The gulf between the Philadelphia School District and its teachers widened Friday, with the union president telling members not to report to work Monday amid concerns over COVID-19 and building safety.

There is absolutely no reason, other than sheer cruelty, to bring members into unsafe buildings Monday, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan said in a statement. He directed staffers to work remotely.

The standoff emerged after Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said he expects 2,000 prekindergarten through second grade teachers to show up at schools Monday in advance of a Feb. 22 reopening for 9,000 students. Its the districts third attempt at reopening since the pandemic shut schools in March.

The district, in an email to PFT members Friday afternoon, took a hard line.

If you are expected to be in your building on Monday and choose not to do so, you will be subject to disciplinary action, Chief Talent Officer Larisa Shambaugh wrote.

 READ MORE: Philly teachers union says its not safe to reopen schools, city to appoint mediator. Will teachers return?

In a statement, Hite said he found Jordans directive deeply disappointing.

This is in violation of our collective bargaining agreement and the Memorandum of Agreement that PFT reached regarding the reopening of schools just a few months ago, he said. What is more troubling is that this action directly impacts our efforts to support the more than 9,000 pre-K to second grade families who want their children to return to school buildings for in-person learning.

The superintendent, in an email sent to principals and obtained by The Inquirer, said he understood that some people believe it is not yet the right time to return students to schools.

I firmly believe both that this is what our students need and that we are ready, he wrote. Will we be perfect in our implementation? No. We will find issues and we will then need to address them. But we must move forward together.

The PFT president earlier this week triggered a provision in the unions reopening agreement with the district that requires a neutral third party to judge whether the district has met health standards.

The mediator chosen by the city is Peter Orris, a doctor with a masters in public health. Orris, who lives and works in Chicago, has begun reviewing documents, and will call the two sides together this weekend.

A city spokesperson said officials hope the parties abide by the findings and recommendations of the mediator since this is precisely why such a provision was included in the agreement.

Many classrooms throughout the city lack adequate ventilation, but Hite said this week that even in those rooms that have been judged through air balancing to have a safe occupancy of zero, one teacher can be inside as long as he or she is alone.

The district is spending $4 million on ventilation, including purchasing window fans for 1,100 classrooms. The fan fix, which Hite has said is just one layer of protection and a good-faith effort, has drawn outrage and skepticism.

Vaccines are also a sticking point. Hite has advocated for teachers to be vaccinated as soon as shots are available for them and said the district plans to organize inoculation clinics at its schools. But a return to classrooms is not conditional on vaccination, he said.

A group of 119 school nurses signed a letter to the superintendent, the school board, members of City Council, and Health Commissioner Tom Farley demanding full educator vaccination before schools reopen. School nurses have been vaccinated.

Many questions remain, including the susceptibility of new COVID-19 variants to the vaccine, unresolved ventilation concerns, and other safety issues in our schools, the nurses wrote. Vaccines are not yet approved for children, and are not being offered to many of their parents, some of whom are frontline workers.

Labor disputes have snarled reopening plans around the country. In Chicago, teachers have refused to report to buildings, and a strike is possible. In Montclair, N.J., reopening plans were also halted in January when teachers refused to go into buildings. The school system plans to sue the teachers union there.

 READ MORE: Window fans may be Phillys fix for schools with poor ventilation. But teachers and parents are saying no way.

Moved by hundreds of phone calls, emails, and other outreach, some elected officials in the city called on the district to halt reopening.

None of us takes the decision to open schools or keep them virtual lightly. We recognized that there is no substitute for in-person learning. We are fully invested in a safe and responsible reopening of school that earns the public trust and establishes clear standards for facility maintenance as well as testing and health protocols, City Councilmembers Helen Gym, Jamie Gauthier, Kendra Brooks, and Derek Green and State Reps. Rick Krajewski and Chris Raab said in a statement.

Not getting school reopening right will mean consequences for vulnerable communities, the lawmakers said. They will be borne in Black and brown neighborhoods already disproportionately impacted by COVID, by vulnerable families with chronically sick or disabled loved ones, by immigrant families terrified to access medical treatment.

State Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Phila.) also called on the district to hold off on reopening.

I recognize that many workers whose contributions are often unacknowledged  cafeteria workers and student climate staff  have remained in schools to distribute meals and provide support to children throughout the city, Saval said in a statement. But for a school to fully reopen, it is necessary at the very least for the building to be considered minimally safe for increased occupancy.

Not a single room in Laura Wheeler Waring school in Fairmount, for instance, is fit for occupancy for multiple people, based on the districts data.

City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson, the mother of a district kindergartner scheduled to return when schools reopen, said the district should slow its reopening plan. Gilmore Richardson said Orris verdict and a plan for teacher vaccinations should determine reopening.

The districts past actions around building conditions make the public mistrustful, Gilmore Richardson said. And while virtual school is not the best learning option for most students, putting children back in unsafe classrooms, with the risk of further disruption from COVID-19 outbreaks, will not expedite the closing of our achievement gap.

Robin Cooper, president of the districts principals union, whose members have been working in district buildings for months, believes its too soon to bring teachers and children back, especially given the lack of educator vaccinations and low opt-in numbers among students. At Sheridan Elementary in Kensington, for instance, just 46 of 255 eligible children are scheduled to return.

Districtwide, the families of two-thirds of the 30,000 children who could return chose not to send them back.

No one, Cooper said, should be jeopardizing their own health to educate.

A group of teachers plans to gather Monday morning outside school district headquarters to highlight safety concerns. Some will teach from outside the building.

At a recent McCall Elementary virtual staff meeting, people were in tears over safety fears, said Kaitlin McCann, of the Center City school.

Hearing my staffs stories, Im going to side with them, said McCann, who teaches seventh and eighth grade but plans to work from the School District parking lot as a gesture of solidarity. We all want nothing more than to be in person, with our students, but we dont want to be inside school until vaccines are distributed, until it is completely safe.

After a busy, tense Friday and a meeting with teacher representatives from each school, Jordan said his members were outraged and disgusted and said he was profoundly disturbed by the districts threat of discipline.

Its nothing short of bullying, Jordan said Friday night, and I wont stand for it.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : At the Cabinet meeting held on Friday, Delhi government approved a proposal to set up a committee of Group of Ministers to look into the proposed new excise policy in the national capital. As per official information, the AAP-led Delhi government has proposed to introduce an ambitious excise policy.

An official statement received from Delhi government read, "Delhi Cabinet approves constitution of a Group of Ministers to look after the new excise policy. This (proposed) policy by the Delhi government will be finalised soon and today the necessary Cabinet nod was given." The committee of Group of Ministers will function under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, while Health and Law Minister Satyendar Jain and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot will be two its other members.

The committee will examine all the aspects of the current system of excise duty administration, report of the expert committee and the suggestions, and feedback from the stakeholders and the people.

In October 2020, Delhi government had constituted an expert committee to suggest measures for augmenting the state excise duty revenue. The Arvind Kejriwal-led government had also invited suggestions from the people and stakeholders after placing the report of the expert committee in public domain and had claimed to have received an overwhelming response from the people.
Joe Biden is loading the State Department with officials who loathe Israel. Yesterday, I wrote about one of them, Hady Amr, the Hamas-supporting new Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israel-Palestine. I wrote about another, Robert Malley, the new envoy to Iran and longtime foe of Israel, here.

The latest addition is expected to be Matt Duss, a former foreign-policy adviser for Sen. Bernie Sanders. According to Jewish News Syndicate:

Duss has been accused of furthering anti-Semitic conspiracy theories during his tenure at the left-wing think-tank Center for American Progress. He allegedly was part of an incident in 2012 where several staffers at the centers ThinkProgress website were condemned for using anti-Semitic tropes of Jews dominating politics and money. The staffers alleged pro-Israel Jews and members of Congress of being Israel firsters, a term implying that those who support the Jewish state have dual loyalties, according to The Washington Free Beacon. He also faced a backlash for publicizing Nazi-era propaganda posters in 2013.

(Emphasis added)

Thats not all:

In 2019, Duss also drew controversy for meeting with Hanan Ashrawi, a longtime aide to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting took place after Ashrawi was denied a travel visa to the United States by the Trump administration. More recently, Duss called the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh terrorism. He also criticized American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris for his comparison between Rep. Marjorie Greene Taylor (R-Ga.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for their anti-Semitic rhetoric.

The Biden administrations selection of people like Amr, Malley, and Duss is almost enough to make one think that Joe Biden doesnt like Israel. In fact, thats exactly what it makes me think.

Its possible the Biden has no idea about the views of those being selected to staff his State Department. Biden doesnt come across as being on top of things.

But Biden has yet to call Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. He has called the leaders of Canada, Mexico, the UK, France, Germany, NATO, Russia, and Japan, but not Israel.

Biden may be be running on close to empty, but surely he still knows which leaders he has called and which ones he hasnt. If not, he can have someone look it up and remind him.

Bidens snub of Israels leader and his selection of anti-Israeli staffers for key State Department jobs demonstrate Bidens antipathy for the Jewish State and his preference for its enemies.
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A pharmacy graduate student is suing the University of Tennessee for violating her freedom of speech and 'spying' on her after they tried to expel her for allegedly 'vulgar' posts on social media.

Kimberly Diei, 27, was expelled in September by the college's Health and Science Center (UTHSC) after anonymous students twice complained about her photos on Instagram and Twitter, including wear low-cut tops, sticking her tongue out and writing reportedly raunchy rap lyrics inspired by Cardi-B.

Although the college later reversed the decision to avoid court, the doctoral candidate, who is studying for a PhD in nuclear medicine, is fighting back with the help of a pro-bono lawyer and filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday.

The University of Chicago graduate, who now studies at the Tennessee public school's Memphis campus, posts under the pseudonym kimmykasi and called her messages to her 19,500 Instagram followers and 2,000 Twitter followers 'sex positive' and designed to 'empower' black women.

A spokeswoman for the University of Tennessee, Melissa Tindell, said she could not comment on pending litigation.

Kimberly Diei, 27, a pharmacy doctoral candidate at The University of Tennessee, is suing the school for allegedly violating her 'freedom of speech' by expelling her for supposedly 'vulgar' posts on social media after some students made anonymous complaints

The University of Chicago graduate has 19,500 Instagram followers and posts 'sex positive' photo of herself, like this one from Instagram, which she says are designed to empower the black community

A disciplinary panel at the college expelled her in September for the posts, though they reversed the decision when it became clear she would sue. Diei pictured in a photo from Instagram

Diei, pictured on Instagram, said her posts were 'sex positive' and that her social media did not impinge on her ability to be a pharmacist

Diei, pictured on Instagram, said she believes she was targeted by students because she is 'outspoken' in class and that they made complaints on Facebook

Diei posts on Twitter under a pseudonym which she says is not affiliated with the college. The college used examples of her tweets to say the content was 'inappropriate'

She studies at The University of Tennessee's Health and Science Center (UTHSC), in Memphis, where she specializes in nuclear medicine and hopes to get her PhD in 2023

Diei told The New York Times that the case has made her 'sick to my stomach' but she believed that the university had violated her First Amendment rights 'for no legitimate pedagogical reason' and that she was taking the case forward to prevent future students being targeted.

She added, in an interview with legal website Fire.org: 'Its just a matter of time before they come back for another investigation into my expression on social media. UT spied on my social media activity  activity that has no bearing on my success as a pharmacist or my education. I can be a successful and professional pharmacist as well as a strong woman that embraces her sexuality. The two are not mutually exclusive.'

On Wednesday Diei filed a federal lawsuit against the college with the help of a pro bono lawyer

In her lawsuit Diei accuses the university of spying on her social media and making up their own rules to punish individual students

Diei graduated from the University of Chicago in 2015 with a biology degree before teaching physics in a charter school.

She went back to school to specialize in nuclear pharmacy and handling radioactive materials and hopes to earn her doctorate pharmacy degree in 2023.

The situation started last year when Diei was reported for the first time and ordered to write a 'letter of reflection', but the second time she received a letter on Sept. 2 claiming her 'conduct is a serious breach of the norms and expectations of the profession' and that one of posts identified her as a student at the college, which she denies.

The college referenced the student handbook, which says that university staff 'may monitor social networking sites on occasion and egregious unprofessional postings could lead to disciplinary actions.'

But it left her to extrapolate what was 'egregious', she said.

The disciplinary panel of the school's professional conduct committee, composed, according to court papers, of nine faculty members and three students, cited several examples it considered objectionable in Dieis posts.

Reportedly including 'contributing to a trending discussion on Twitter about the song WAP by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion by suggesting lyrics for a possible remix.'

Her suggestion  'He aint my pops but I call him DAD' because he is good in bed (her wording was different)  was 'well within the normal bounds of discussion on social media'. her complaint says.

The pharmacy dean overruled her expulsion three weeks later, after a telephone conversation in which, Ms. Diei said, the dean asked her to try to block people affiliated with the school from her accounts, and to minimize her affiliation with the university, which she said was 'hard for me to do when I have so many followers'.

Ms. Diei said she crafted her posts for an audience of black women like herself, and hoped she might become popular enough to make money promoting products.

'I use words and phrases common amongst our community,' she said, including the word 'kasi' in her pseudonym, an Igbo word meaning 'greatest' that is a tribute to her Nigerian father.

Greg H. Greubel, Diei's pro-bono lawyer, a staff attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said in the age of social media colleges and schools are struggling to learn how and when to assert rules over their students' online lives, with students claiming that what they do off campus is irrelevant.

He added: 'Its so hard to fit old First Amendment principles into the social media era. This is one of those areas of law that needs to evolve.'

Kimberly Diei's pro bono lawyer Greg Greubel filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday accusing The University of Tennessee of violating her 'freedom of speech'. The university said it cannot comment on an on-going legal case

Peter Lake, who often advises college presidents and is the director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson University College of Law, said the troubles stem from the blurring of boundaries between school and home life as a result of the internet.

He added: 'If someone is shouting in a classroom, you have the right to control the time, place and manner. When they are shouting on Twitter, is it their space or yours?'

Mark Merritt, a former general counsel at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that universities generally do not 'spy' on students social media, unless they receive a complaint.

He said: 'Universities dont tend to be social media police in the sense that theyre out there actively monitoring social media. But it happens fairly frequently that things are brought to the attention of the administration.'

In January the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of a high school cheerleader in Pennsylvania who was removed from the junior varsity squad after she posted allegedly rude complaints about not making the varsity team.

The cheerleader had sent an image to 250 Snapchat friends of herself and a friend raising their middle fingers, along with text cursing 'school,' 'softball,' 'cheer' and 'everything.'

After getting kicked off the team, she sued and won reinstatement.

But the Mahanoy Area School District is appealing, in a case being closely watched by school authorities.

In 2007, the Supreme Court backed Alaskan head teacher Deborah Morse who suspended a student for unfurling a 14-foot banner with the message 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus', as the Olympic torch parade went through Juneau en route to the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

The student, Joseph Frederick, was suspended for ten days even thouugh he said it was a prank.

By a narrow margin the Supreme Court backed the principal's 'suppression' of Frederick's freedom of speech, claiming there was a loophole for when that speech 'promoted' illegal drug use.

The decision showed the court deeply split over what weight to give to free speech in public schools.

Douglas Mertz, a lawyer for Joseph Frederick, with the banner that led to a 10-day suspension in 2002 and a trip to the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2007 that a student's freedom of expression can be suppressed by their school if they were advocating illegal drug use

In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled that the University of Missouri cannot punish students for indecent or offensive speech that does not disrupt campus order or interfere with the rights of others, after it expelled a student for distributing an underground newspaper

Legal experts have said that freedom expression lawsuits took place in multiple colleges and schools ion the 1960s and 1970s.

In the early 1970s the University of Missouri expelled Barbara Papish, a thirty-two-year-old graduate journalism student for reprinting an offensive cartoon and a vulgar headline in an underground newspaper, saying it violated a university policy requiring students 'to observe generally accepted standards of conduct and prohibiting 'indecent conduct or speech.'

The Supreme Court found in 1973 that the university had violated the First Amendment by expelling the student and held that 'the mere dissemination of ideas  no matter how offensive to good taste  on a state university campus may not be shut off in the name alone of conventions of decency.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  The Department of Health reported one person infected with the COVID-19 variant first detected in the United Kingdom, died last month. The news comes as the agency confirmed eight new infections of the more infectious variant in the country.

The agency said Friday that there are now 25 people in the country with B.1.1.7. SARS-CoV-2 variant, also known as the UK variant, which is believed to be more transmissible than the novel coronavirus.

Two of the new cases  a 15-year-old female and an 84-year-old male  were from La Trinidad, Benguet. The teenager was a relative of another patient who was previously found with the variant. She is currently isolated but has no symptoms. Meanwhile, the elderly patient had no known travel history or contact with a patient. He had also passed away on Jan. 24.

Three other cases were from Bontoc, Mountain Province, two of whom a 25-year-old female and a 54-year-old female were close contacts of another previously recorded patient infected with the variant. The 54-year-old patient has since recovered, while the DOH is still identifying how the third case caught the variant. On Jan. 26, the DOH confirmed there was local transmission of the UK variant in the Bontoc area.

Two more infected patients were returning overseas Filipinos a 29-year-old female who arrived from the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 7 and a 54-year-old male who lives in Cebu. The DOH said the male Cebu resident came from Dubai.

Both cases have recovered.

The eighth case is a 35-year-old male from Liloan, Cebu. His exposure and travel history is still being verified, the department noted.

The DOH identified the first case of the UK variant in the country through genome sequencing on Jan. 13. Sixteen others were also reported infected over a week later.
In 1984, after I called it quits on my post high school education, I had racked up approximately $15,000 of college loans. That would be about $44,000 in todays dollars. I had a Bachelor of Science and one year of law school to my credit and went out and found a real job paying $14,400. At 23, I wasnt quite up to the challenge of managing my budget and expenses. After making a few monthly payments on my debt, I missed paying regularly and eventually defaulted.

As time went by, I tried to purchase a car and other large items that required loans and due to my default and outstanding debt, I was turned down for the loans. With the help of my wife, I eventually got on track and began paying down my debt. I was able to completely pay it off by the time I was 30.

My wife and I sacrificed to pay off those loans. We didnt take big vacations or drive fancy cars. Our homes were modest. We understood our obligation and took them seriously. We didnt expect anyone else to take on our burden. We didnt want our three children to have similar debt when they graduated college so to supplement their employment and scholarship money, we paid the rest of their tuition expenses until they graduated.

A couple months ago, I was spending some time with a young man who reports to me in the firm that employs both of us. He is in his early 30s. His wife is an attorney and they live on the west coast. We were talking politics and he was saying how much he and his wife were attracted to Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warrens policies. They especially liked the idea of getting their college loans forgiven. He told me together, he and his wife had about $150,000 in college debt. He said their college debt was one of the reasons they hadnt purchased a home and had put off having children. Granted, the cost of living on the west coast is much higher than Chattanooga, but I know he makes around $100,000 per year and his wife makes even more. They apparently had made different kinds of sacrifices as a result of their college debt than my wife and I had made.

I approved his time off request in 2019 in which he and his wife took a two-week vacation to Europe. He and his wife drive new cars, he takes frequent long weekends, and other vacations traveling the country. My wife and I didnt visit Europe until we were in our early 50s. Most of our vacations when our children were young were simply to our familys homes in Florida or Chicago.

When I received my student loans, almost all college loans were secured through private means. A person needed to be a good risk to private institutions and not just everyone received a college loan. One of the disadvantages of the college loan business being taken over by the government entirely in 2010 is a lack of accountability  either by the government or those receiving the loans. People can take out huge loans for degrees that wont prepare them for meaningful employment or they can make bad decisions by choosing to spend their income on things other than their loan repayment.

Now the Democrat-controlled Senate is encouraging President Biden to wipe out $50,000 in student loan debt for each person. Evidently, this is great news for people who dont want to be held accountable for their obligations. I dont think its great news for society. Those of us who took responsibility to pay off our loans and those who didnt take them get to pay additional taxes to pay off other peoples student loan debt. And what about the people who didnt even go to college? If the average college graduate earns three times more than the person with only a high school degree, why should they have to subsidize the person who is unwilling to take the responsibility to pay off their obligations?

Entitlement clearly takes different forms. Apparently, accountability is a value not taught or learned in todays society. Rest assured, whatever you subsidize, you get more of. Subsidize bad decisions and you will get more bad decisions.

Bob Linehart

* * *

Mr. Linehart,

I agree wholeheartedly with your stance. I dont think you do anyone a favor by paying their debts. When we had too much debt on our credit cards, my wife and I had to learn how to budget and manage our money. Most people had to in our generation.

This generation of young people, seem to have an entitlement mentality. Maybe the colleges and universities, should be teaching young people how not to go in debt, or how to manage their money.

David Garren

* * *

Since the Panderer in Chief has discovered executive orders, there is no limit to his generosity as he distributes others wealth. If you will recall the analysis of his and Dr. Bidens lack of personal generosity when he was vice president and before, they regularly donated less than 1 percent of their income to charity over the decades. He did manage during those decades to create relative wealth from his family.

Nothing is so easy than to be generous with another persons income and Mr. Biden and his party regularly demonstrate that sad fact. The idea of absolving those who have borrowed for tuition from repaying their debts is a personal affront to those who sacrificially honored their commitments.

Fred Decosimo

* * *

I do not write this to say that people shouldn't be responsible for their debts. But I do believe institutions that aggressively push loans for amounts larger than students require to pay for college bear some responsibility for that predatory behavior. I would further assert that colleges are participating in this racket and also bear responsibility.

While you can default on many loans through bankruptcy, and corporate America makes it a routine practice, we expect children to mind their p's and q's and we are indignant if they aren't successful. This seems pretty hypocritical.

Many people come out of college owing more than they can hope to repay, because interest is allowed to accrue at absurd rates and partial payments are sometimes applied to "fees" that supposedly keep the borrower out of default status, but are not applied to principal or interest. Talk about your recurring income model. You could do as well getting a loan from a loan shark in some cases. Here again, who's scamming who?

Lending institutions should not be allowed to make ridiculous loans to people without means to repay and expect to have the government be their enforcers in collection efforts. Colleges should not be able to peddle a degree as a guaranteed income or lifestyle and have no one challenge that notion.

While it isn't a popular idea, college is not the right path for all. When it is the best path, it should be available to anyone willing to put in the effort to accomplish it, at a reasonable rate, with adequate financial aid options not designed to create perpetual debt.

Finally, when corporate welfare is discontinued, I might rouse my ire to direct it toward student loan debtors, but not until then.

Darlene Kilgore
Recently, Nicholas Kristof addressed his column to his conservative hometown friends in Yamhill, Oregon, urging them to hold liberals accountable while doing the same for right-wing extremists. In that spirit I offer a rejoinder in the form of a letter to my liberal friends.

Dear Friends,

No, I cant relax! And no, Im not worried that the Biden administration is going to send Trump voters to re-education camps. Im just afraid that todays Democratic leaders might look to the very Democratic state of California as a model for Americas future.

Between July 2019 and July 2020, more people  135,400  left the state than moved in. No. 1 destination: Texas, followed by Arizona, Nevada and Washington. Three of those states have no state income tax, while Arizonas is capped at 4.5% for married couples making over $318,000.

In California, by contrast, married couples pay more than twice that rate on income above $116,000. Californians also pay some of the nations highest sales tax rates (8.66%) and corporate tax rates (8.84%), as well as the highest taxes on gasoline (63 cents on a gallon as of January, as compared with 20 cents in Texas).

Some of my liberal friends tell me that tax rates basically dont matter in terms of the way people work and economies perform. Uh-huh. Still, Id have an easier time accepting the argument if all those taxes went toward high-quality government services.

The state ranks 21st in the country in terms of spending per public school pupil, but 37th in its K-12 educational outcomes. It ties Oregon for third place among states in terms of its per capita homeless rate. Infrastructure? As of 2019, the state had an estimated $70 billion in deferred maintenance backlog. Debt? The states unfunded pension liabilities in 2019 ran north of $1.1 trillion, or $81,300 per household.

In San Francisco, District Attorney Chesa Boudin has championed the calls for decriminalizing public urination, public camping and open-air drug use.

Predictably, recent trends include an estimated 51% jump in San Francisco burglaries and a 41% jump in arsons. For the Bay Area as a whole, there has been a 35% spike in homicides.

Homicides have been rising around the country. But those trends owe much to liberal governance in like-minded jurisdictions like Seattle and New York, with deluded attempts at criminal-justice reform.

Austin, the preferred destination of San Francisco exiles, remains one of the safest big cities in America (its run by a Democrat). Another thing you dont hear from Texas: a board of education voting  as San Franciscos just did  to strip the names of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Paul Revere from schools. Not that it really matters, since all these schools remain closed thanks to the resistance of teachers unions.

And there is Californias political class. Democrats hold both U.S. Senate seats, 42 of its 53 seats in the House, have lopsided majorities in the state Assembly and Senate, run nearly every big city and have controlled the governors mansion for a decade. If ever there was a perfect laboratory for liberal governance, this is it.

Liberals have had a hard time understanding how any American could even think of voting for Republicans, given the partys fealty to the former president. Ive shared some of that bewilderment. But Democrats wont have Donald Trump to kick around anymore, meaning the consequences of liberal misrule will be harder to disavow. If California is a vision of the sort of future the Biden administration wants for Americans, expect Americans to demur.

Like Republicans, Democrats do best when they govern from the center. Forget California, think Colorado. A purple country needs a purple president  and a political opposition with the credibility to keep him honest.

BRET STEPHENS is a columnist for The New York Times.

Ukrainians want regulation of right to bear arms, feel responsible enough for this  poll

KYIV. Feb 5 (Interfax-Ukraine)  The majority of Ukrainians consider themselves responsible enough to grant them the right to carry short-barreled weapons, according to the data of the first national survey on the request of citizens for the right of armed self-defense.

Presenting the results of the survey at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Friday, the organizer of the survey, Managing Partner at PGR Consulting Group Ruslan Rokhov said Ukraine has not adopted a law on weapons yet, and people who wanted to protect themselves, they cannot acquire weapons, since this issue is not legally regulated.

"In Ukraine, the crime rate is assessed [by the respondents] as very high [...] when asked if you feel safe going home in the dark, some 62% answered that 'rather yes,' some 36% answered, that 'rather not' [...] in small towns and villages people feel safe, in big cities people feel not safe," Deputy Director of the Info Sapiens research company Inna Volosevych said.

According to the poll, some 62% of Ukrainians believe that the police should be responsible for the safety of citizens, and 34% of respondents said that people are responsible for their own safety.

"What can contribute to an increase in the level of security? Some 38% of Ukrainians believe that this is a police reform, while 21% believe that this is the granting of citizens the right to legally acquire and carry short-barreled weapons for self-defense," Volosevych said.

According to the poll results, some 40% of Ukrainians believe that when a threat to life and health arises, it is necessary to defend oneself as much as possible, while 33% believe that it is necessary to hide or run away by calling the police.

"We asked Ukrainians if you would like to legally acquire and own short-barreled firearms for self-defense, or if you entrust the protection of your life and property to the police. Opinions were divided here: 49% more likely rely on the police, and 44% would like to purchase short-barreled weapons for self-defense," the deputy head of the research company said.

According to the survey, some 54% of Ukrainians do not know that there is no law on weapons in Ukraine, while 46% of respondents are aware of the absence of legislative regulation of the possession of weapons.

At the same time, some 61% of the respondents believe that the Verkhovna Rada should adopt a law on weapons, some 36% do not agree with this. At the same time, answering a question whether you consider yourself responsible enough to own a short-barreled weapon for self-defense after training and exams, some 65% of the respondents answered in the affirmative, and 33% do not think so.

"We certainly need the law on weapons. Now we need to understand which of the two bills that are in the Verkhovna Rada should be taken and reach the final stage," Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian Gun Owners Association Georgy Uchaykin said.

He said initially the association had prepared one bill, and later it was negatively corrected.

According to Uchaykin, in the Verkhovna Rada profile committee there is "lobbying for corruption interests that exist in the weapons circulation system."

"We do not need to pass a bad bill after 30 years of waiting," he said.

MP of Ukraine Andriy Sharaskin, in turn, said that the consideration of the law on weapons by the parliament is postponed, and "manipulation is spreading about legalization, about the unpreparedness of society."

The national sociological survey was carried out by Info Sapiens from February 1 to February 3 by telephone interview, the sample size was 2,012 respondents, the theoretical margin of error is 2.2%.

Kuaishou, a Chinese video app that's largely underappreciated outside China, has just completed a massive initial public offering in Hong Kong. The app is by far the biggest rival for Douyin, TikTok's Chinese version, and unlike many Western video platforms that make money from ads and subscriptions, Kuaishou's cash cow is its tipping business.

Kuaishou's shares opened in Hong Kong on Friday at HK$338 ($43.6) apiece, a 194% jump from its IPO price of HK$115 ($14.8). That catapults its market cap to nearly HK$1.4 trillion ($180 billion). The company pocketed approximately $5.4 billion from the listing with a total of 365,218,600 shares, excluding the overallotment option.

Kuaishou, which is backed by Tencent, now has a replenished coffer to invest in growth and hopefully work toward profitability. In the first nine months of 2020, the app posted an adjusted net loss of 7.2 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), compared to an adjusted profit of 1.8 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier.

Kuaishou's stock is a huge hit with both institutional financiers and retail investors from China, many of whom are familiar with the app that boasted 481 million monthly users in the 11 months ended November. The app set a record as the most oversubscribed deal in Hong Kong, attracting retail investor demand totaling $164.8 billion, the South China Morning Post reported. Its share reached HK$322.8 on the gray market platform operated by Phillip Securities Group and HK$421 on online broker Futu Securities.

Like Douyin, Kuaishou began as a platform for people to create and share 15-second short videos (following a brief period as a GIF app) and later expanded into livestreaming. The transition is natural, as creators who have built a name may seek further interaction with followers, and followers may want to express their loyalty and affection to creators. Livestreaming and virtual gifting fill that need.

Kuaishou has three main monetization methods, with livestreaming making up the majority of its revenue. Fifty-eight million users on Kuaishou spent on live videos monthly in the 11 months ended November, and on average every paying user brought 47.6 yuan ($7.36) in revenue.

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The app also sells ads, with each user driving 71.4 yuan ($11) in marketing revenue for the period. Lastly, Kuaishou allows creators to hawk products. The gross merchandise value -- an industry metric used loosely to measure e-commerce transactions -- generated directly on Kuaishou reached 332.7 billion yuan ($51.4 billion) in the period.

For comparison, the livestreaming feature on Alibaba's Taobao bazaar generated over 400 billion yuan in GMV for the 12 months ended December.

While Kuaishou enjoys growing revenue from livestreaming, regulatory risks loom in the background. The Chinese government has banned users under the age of 18 from purchasing virtual gifts. It has also urged platforms to put a cap on users' monthly spending on virtual gifts, though regulators haven't specified or suggested a limit.

Kuaishou is aware of the risk, noting in its prospectus that "any limits on user spending on virtual gifting ultimately imposed may negatively impact our revenues derived from virtual gifting and our results of operations."

Until regulators take further action to rein in virtual gifting, Kuaishou will likely continue to thrive while it works on diversifying its business.
A lack of incentives for car buyers in the Morrison governments electric vehicle strategy wont encourage uptake of clean cars, industry advocates say, leaving Australian consumers priced out of a competitive global market and making it harder to meet climate targets.

The Morrison government released a discussion paper on Friday that ruled out subsidies to boost private uptake of plug-in hybrid and battery-powered electric cars, arguing they dont provide value-for-money in emissions reductions.

The Morrison government has released its long-awaited electric vehicle strategy. Credit:Getty Images

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari argued that due to limited global manufacturing capacity electric car makers are steering clear of Australia and selling their cars in markets with the most attractive policies, pointing to international initiatives to drive EV uptake.

Many of the most popular electric vehicles in the US and UK are unavailable to Australian consumers and that trend will rapidly accelerate under [Energy Minister Angus] Taylors do-nothing plan, he said.
Dominic Ongwen at his first appearance hearing at the International Criminal Court in The Hague (file photo).

A young man in northern Uganda has been talking about how he was abducted as a nine-year old and forced to commit horrendous acts as a child soldier for the self-styled rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA.

Paul, now 23, says rebels attacked his home and abducted him as he tried to hide under his bed.

The LRA fought a civil war against the Ugandan government from the 1980s onwards and infamously abducted as many as 25,000 children as fighters and forced labourers.

Paul (his surname has been omitted to protect his identity) was interviewed as part of an initiative focusing on international justice launched by the UN-backed International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC, which is based in The Hague, is the world's first permanent international court to prosecute some of the most heinous of crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On Thursday at the ICC, Dominic Ongwen a former LRA leader and was found guilty of 61 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in the context of the conflict in northern Uganda from 2002-2005.

Read more here about Paul's life after abduction and conflict.
At least, 37 herdsmen and 5, 000 cows illegally occupying the Ondo State's forest reserves have been chased out by the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun, for violating the order of the state government.

This followed the recent order handed down by state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, that all herdsmen illegally occupying the state's forest reserves should leave or register with the state government to make their operations legitimate.

It was gathered that in spite of the order, the herdsmen have remained in the forest, prompting Amotekun corps to chased out some of them.

The state Commander of the Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, who disclosed this, said his men were still in the forest to flush out the remaining erring herders.

Adeleye said some of the herdsmen, who could not cope with the terms and conditions of the state government, had met with the corps and had opted to move out of the state peacefully.

He disclosed that the suspects were arrested in Ala, Oda and Ofosu forests of the state.

He said: "Some of them have opted to leave the state because they couldn't meet with our terms and conditions.

"They came through the Chairman of Miyatti Allah in the state.

"Some opted to go to Osun, Edo and Kogi States.

"So, our men escorted them to the boundaries of those states.

"We have to monitor their movements out of the state so that they would not destroy farms on their way out.

"37 herders have been arrested with about 5, 000 cows.

"Majority of the herders have been coming to us through their chairman and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Hausa Matters.

"We will hand over the culprits to the chairman to lead them out and anybody caught again after this would be arrested and prosecuted."

The Amotekun boss implored the farmers to always call on the corps whenever the cows invaded and destroyed their farms, saying the corps would respond immediate.

The best way to move forward



over the ongoing farmers' protests in Delhi is dialogue and the NDA government is willing to talk to the ryots to resolve the issue, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister said on Friday.

"I would request my farmers' friends that the best way to move forward is dialogue.If there is any misconception, any misunderstanding, anything to deal with farmers, it can be discussed through dialogue," he told reporters here.

The exercise with regard to the new farm laws is to create one market for the country which would benefit the farmers and provide more opportunities to sell their products, he said.

"Actually speaking, the whole exercise is to create one market for the country which farmers will benefit.It also means that providing more opportunities for farmers to sell their products not only through one source that is Agriculture Price Market Committee but through multiple sources.I think it should be helping the farmers," he said.

But, he fully appreciates that the farmers have some grievance and the government is willing to talk to them, Prabhu said.

Even on Friday, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Parliament that the government is willing to hold talks with the farmers, he said.

The NDA government is for the welfare of farmers, he asserted.

Prabhu was asked about the ongoing farmers' protests in Delhi over the three new farm laws.

The former Union Minister, who addressed a press conference on the recent Union Budget, spoke about the measures taken by the NDA government for farmers' welfare.

Describing the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as "historic", he said the budget, which came against the backdrop of adverse impact of COVID-19 on India's economy and other economies world over, has created a "new wave in terms of growth for the economy".

Almost all rating agencies, global research institutions and investment bankers have concluded now that not only the worst for India's economy is over but India would register, probably, a double digit growth in 2021-22, he said.

"Therefore, I was saying this is a historical budget.You can compare this budget with the budget of 1991 when India broke away from the past and embarked upon a completely new economic policy.This budget has huge component for growth," he said.

He said provisions have been made in the budget for the welfare of common people.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a day's visit to poll-bound Assam and West Bengal on February 7 to lay the foundation stone for several infrastructure projects.

According to a government statement, Modi will visit Assam on Sunday around 11.45 a.m. and will lay the foundation stone of two hospitals and launch 'Asom Mala', a programme for state highways and major district roads, at Dhekiajuli in the state's Sonitpur district.

Later on the same day, the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Haldia in West Bengal around 4.50 p.m. There, he will lay the foundation stone of key infrastructure projects.

The statement said Modi will dedicate to the nation the LPG import terminal built by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in West Bengal, which has been constructed with an investment of around Rs 1,100 crore and has a capacity of one million metric tonne per annum.

It said that LPG import terminal will cater to the growing requirement of LPG in West Bengal and other states in eastern and north-eastern India and is an important step towards realizing the vision of the Prime Minister to provide clean cooking LPG to every household.

The Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the 348 km Dobhi-Durgapur Natural Gas Pipeline section, which is part of the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project.

According to the government, the pipeline will help revival of HURL Sindri (Jharkhand) fertiliser plant, supply gas to Matix Fertilizer Plant in Durgapur (West Bengal) and cater to gas demand of industrial, commercial and automobile sectors, and city gas distribution across all major towns in the state.

Modi will then lay the foundation stone of the second Catalytic-Isodewaxing unit of Haldia Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation, which will have a capacity of 270 thousand metric tonne per annum, and once commissioned, is expected to result in a saving of about $185 million in foreign exchange.

Modi will also dedicate to the nation the four lane ROB-cum-flyover at Ranichak, Haldia on NH 41, which has been built at the cost of Rs 190 crore.

The statement said that these projects are in line with Prime Minister's vision of Purvodaya, of driving growth of Eastern India. Governor and Chief Minister of West Bengal, and Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas will be present on the occasion.

In Assam, the Prime Minister will launch 'Asom Mala', aimed at helping improve state highways and major district roads network in the state.

It said that the programme is unique for its emphasis on effective maintenance through continuous field data collection and its linkage with the Road Asset Management System.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will also be present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister will then lay the foundation stone of two medical colleges and hospitals, which are being set up at Biswanath and Charaideo, at a total estimated project cost of over Rs 1,100 crore.

It said that each hospital will have 500 bed capacity and 100 MBBS seats capacity.


Life and art are not always easily separated, particularly when it comes to a writer such as Plath. There is extraordinary, transformative power in the best of her writing, a disciplined, ferocious exploration of possibilities and extremes that begins close to home.

In a long, detailed work of 900-plus pages of text, with more than 100 additional pages of end-notes, Clark seeks to avoid not only the highly charged, adversarial discourse of much Plath biography, but also the overwrought popular image of the writer and the individual as fragile, tormented and self-destructive before all else. As Maggie Nelson notes in her book The Art of Cruelty: Lest we forget, to be called the Sylvia Plath of anything is a bad thing.

As Heather Clark explains in her prologue, she wanted more and she wanted less. For her biography Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath, she was adamant that her subject, one of the most important American writers of the 20th century, deserved a lengthier study than was currently available. She also set out to produce a less pathological portrait of Sylvia Plaths life than what now exists, a book that focused above all on her development as a writer.

Plath found many ways to be a writer. She put so much of her life on paper, employing different registers, personally and professionally: from determinedly sunny letters to her mother to self-lacerating journal entries, from stories written to a perceived formula for popular magazines to her most formally inventive poetry.

Credit:

She was 30 when she died, by suicide, on February 11, 1963. A single volume of poetry, The Colossus, had already appeared under her name, and her novel, The Bell Jar, had just been published under a pseudonym. She was not the household name she has become, but she had been published for years in journals and magazines. Her quest for a literary career took place, Clark shows, when the priorities for a woman were still considered to be husband and family. Plath wanted that too, but she wanted more.

She thought all this would be possible in her marriage to the poet Ted Hughes, whom she met when she was studying at Cambridge University. She was ambitious for them both, determined to help promote him and to be a literary high-achiever in her own right herself. Clark has already written about this dynamic in a different context, in a scholarly study, The Grief of Influence, an intertextual examination of the poetry of Plath and Hughes and the complex, competitive to-and-fro of their influences on each other.

Clark has challenging material, but she has produced a judicious and measured book. Red Comet has a strong, engaging narrative that interweaves archival elements, quotations from the work and carefully qualified judgements, There is a rich texture of the everyday alongside wide-ranging investigations of influences and references with which Plath was in dialogue.
In the Rajya Sabha, Tomar was countering the Opposition's claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three laws. He added that farmers 'of just one state are being misinformed and instigated'

New Delhi: Putting up a strong defence of the new farm laws, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday said the government's offer to amend them to assuage farmers' sentiments did not mean they had any flaws. He added that no member of the protesting unions or their sympathisers have been able to point out any lacuna.

Countering the Opposition's claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three laws, he said in Rajya Sabha that farmers of just one state are being misinformed and instigated.

In an apparent reference to a booklet released by the Congress recently, the minister slammed the party saying: "The world knows water is required for farming. Only Congress can do farming using blood. BJP cannot do this."

Acknowledging that the three laws are currently a burning issue, the senior minister said Opposition parties criticised the government and even termed the three legislations as "kala kanun" (black law).

"For two months I kept asking farmer unions what is kala in the laws so that I can try to rectify. But I could not get the answer... Also nobody (from Opposition benches) tried to point out the provisions in the laws which are against farmers," he said.

Tomar, along with two other Union ministers has held 11 meetings with farmers' representatives in wake of the ongoing protests. But the deadlock still continues.

Thousands of farmers from all over the country are protesting at different borders of the National Capital demanding repeal of The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement On Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The Supreme Court has stayed their implementation till further order.

The farmers are also demanding a legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The government, Tomar stressed, is committed to welfare of farmers and to the continuation of the 'mandi' system of procurement of crops on MSP-based mechanism.

The laws give farmers alternatives to sell their produce outside 'mandis', and unlike the state government notified market places, such sale would not attract any tax, he said.

"The agitation should have been against the tax levied (by state government) on sale made in mandis but strangely the protests are against freeing of the system from such taxes," he said, intervening during the discussion on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the start of the Budget Session.

The Union Minister said that while the central law on contract farming free farmers from paying taxes on their sale and also empowers them to exit agreement with traders, as per the provisions of Punjab contract law, a farmer could be sent to jail or liable to pay penalty of up to Rs 5 lakh for violation of agreement.

"I also want to ask farmers, specially those from Punjab where norms are different, including commission for ahratiays,...we have freed farmers from tax and state governments are levying taxes...so should the agitation be against those who are levying taxes or the one who is freeing them of taxes?

"But the flow is against the tide," Tomar said.

Referring to the law on farm trade, he said it allows farmers to sell their produce outside mandis, including from their own homes, warehouses and farm land. And there will be no state or central tax.

He also informed the House that there are state levies for trade inside APMC mandis. The central law is applicable outside the mandis and there are no taxes.

Tomar reiterated that the NDA government and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are fully committed towards farmers. He said the government has held several rounds of talks while respecting their protest.

He said farmers were asked to tell about problematic provisions in the laws and the government even tried to anticipate their concerns, like on continuation of APMC and offered solutions.

"We told them APMC system will not end. We gave them proposals. But at the same time I told them that if the government is ready to make amendments it should not be construed that there are shortcomings in the legislations," he said.

"But farmers are protesting. People in one state are victims of misinformation," he said.

When some Opposition parties tried to point out the agitation was not limited to only one state, Tomar categorically said, "It is an issue of only one state".

He further said farmers have been instigated and misled that these laws would snatch their farm lands.

"Please tell me one provision in the contract act...which authorises a trader to take away land from farmer. But people are being instigated that they will lose their land," he rued.

Tomar said the government has made efforts to double farmers income and increase share of agriculture sector in the country's GDP.

"These agriculture reform laws are important steps towards these goals...the legislations will bring revolutionary changes in the lives of farmers and boost their income," he added.

During his intervention, the minister highlighted various measures the NDA government has taken for the growth agriculture sector and increasing income of farmers.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke on the House floor Thursday night and pushed back at conservative critics who have suggested she's making a 'mountain out of a molehill' when recounting her experience during the January 6 insurrection.

'Sadly, less than 29 days later, with little to no accountability for the bloodshed and trauma of the 6th, some are already demanding that we move on,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'Or worse, attempting to minimize, discredit or belittle the accounts of survivors.'

AOC has been in an argument this week with South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace after the New York Democrat went on Instagram Live Monday night, to explain how terrified she was during the riot, believing she might die.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke on the House floor Thursday night and pushed back at critics who tried to say she was making a 'mountain out of a molehill' when recounting her experience during the January 6 insurrection

Ocasio-Cortez planned a special hour of speeches on the House floor so members could share what happened to them that day

In a tweet Wednesday, AOC called out conservative critics who diminished her experience during the January 6 insurrection by pointing out she was in a Capitol office building

In a Monday night Instagram Live, AOC recounted her experience hiding in her office bathroom and fearing for her life during the January 6 insurrection

Among the conservatives attacking her this week was Rep. Nancy Mace, who said there were no insurrectionists in their hallway. AOC shot back that 'none of us knew in the moment what areas were compromised'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walks through Statuary Hall on Thursday. She led a special hour allowing her colleagues to speak on the floor about what they observed during the insurrection

Ocasio-Cortez recalled hiding in her office's bathroom and hearing that someone was after her.

'I just hear these yells of "Where is she? Where is she?" Ocasio-Cortez said. 'This was the moment where I thought everything was over. I thought I was going to die.'

The congresswoman than revealed it was a Capitol Police officer who was there to secure her office and 'was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility.'

'I didnt know if he was there to help us or hurt us,' AOC said.

She ended up sheltering in place in her colleague Rep. Katie Porter's office.

During the Instagram Live, Ocasio-Cortez also revealed she was a sexual assault survivor.

Mace slammed AOC saying that 'insurrectionists were never in our hallway.'

Ocasio-Cortez hadn't said that they were, only she had been frightened that they might be.

'This is a deeply cynical & disgusting attack,' Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. 'As the Capitol complex was stormed and people were being killed, none of us knew in the moment what areas were compromised. You previously told reporters yourself that you barricaded in your office, afraid youd be hurt.'

Ocasio-Cortez pointed to a news story where Mace had told journalists she was hiding in her Congressional office during the insurrection 'after she voted to certify the electoral votes.'

Mace also tweeted on January 6 that she had been evacuated due to the threat.

Responding to the criticism from the right, AOC organized a special order hour where lawmakers could come to the Hosue floor Thursday night and share their experiences about January 6.

'Tonight for this special order we will begin to hear and commit to the Congressional record just some of those many stories,' Ocasio-Cortez said, kicking it off.

During her own turn she talked about the danger in minimizing survivors' trauma.

'In doing so, they not only further harm those that were there that day and provide cover for those responsible, but they also send a tremendously damaging message to survivors of trauma all across this country,' she said. 'As the way to deal with trauma, violence and targeting is to paper it over, minimize it and move on.'

She said this is the reason trauma victims 'don't get care.'

A number of AOC's top allies chose to speak including Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Cori Bush of Missouri.

AOC ended the hour by thanking Capitol Police, food service workers and calling one of her staffers, who stayed by her side that day, a 'hero.'

Former President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial begins next week.

He was impeached by the House just days before he left office for his role in inciting the insurrection.

Only 10 House Republicans voted with Democrats to impeach Trump.

Trump pushed the lie for months that widespread voter fraud was the reason he wasn't getting a second term.

At a rally at the ellipse on January 6 he encouraged supporters to march on the Capitol, where Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress were gathered to certify the election results.

A MAGA mob ambushed the Capitol and five were killed, including a Capitol Police officer, in the immediate aftermath.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5) Chinese research vessels have long been seeking humanitarian shelter from coastal states, including the Philippines, should they encounter rough sea conditions, Beijings ambassador to the country said Friday.

It is very normal for a scientific research vessel to seek humanitarian shelter from a coastal state, Ambassador Huang Xilian said in an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines The Source, adding that the two nations have been rendering assistance to each other on such humanitarian occasions for many years now.

When they encounter bad sea conditions and bad weather in the Pacific, they tend to request for humanitarian shelter in the Philippine waters, he explained.

Huang was reacting to the case of Chinese survey vessel Jia Geng, which recently sought shelter in waters off Catanduanes due to bad weather.

The ship was permitted to stay in Philippines waters following a request from the Chinese embassy, and has never intruded, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Huang also disputed reports that officials from the Philippine Coast Guard were not allowed to board to check the vessel.

What they need is just some measures to prevent COVID, Huang pointed out. So the Philippine side, eventually, decided not to board. Its not the Chinese vessel who turned down their request to board.

Huang said the vessel was initially headed northwest of the Pacific for scientific research. The ship left Cabugao Bay on Monday, officials said.
HARTFORD  A city man concealed his identity for more than a year after he committed a homicide in Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

U.S. Marshals from the Violent Fugitive Task Force and Hartford police arrested Jeffrey Lopez-Alameda Thursday morning in the 200 block of Hillside Avenue.

Officials said he was wanted in connection with a 2019 homicide in Puerto Rico. They provided no additional information about the homicide.

On May 31, 2019, authorities in Puerto Rico issued an arrest warrant for Lopez-Alameda, charging him with first-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons violations.

Investigators said Lopez-Alameda fled Puerto Rico after the April 2019 homicide, obtained a stolen social security card and assumed the identity of Radames Negron Gonzalez.

Lopez-Alameda got a Connecticut license using the stolen social security card and had been living in the state under the stolen identity for over a year, officials said.

It should be noted that Jeffrey Lopez-Alameda ... was so good at concealing his identity that his neighbors and fiancee were unaware of his real name, the U.S. Marshals Service said.

Hartford police worked with U.S. Marshals from the violent fugitive task forces in Connecticut and Puerto Rico to apprehend Lopez-Alameda without incident in Hartford. He was transported to police headquarters and is awaiting extradition to Puerto Rico.
The Union County Board of Commissioners will hold a walk-up food distribution event for Union County residents to aid those affected by COVID-19 on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception Church, 417 Union Ave. in Elizabeth. This is a rain or shine event.

The food distribution is being coordinated by the County of Union with support from Village Supermarket and Gargiulo Produce.

Food distributions have become a lifeline for our residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, said County Commissioner Chairman Alexander Mirabella. We are proud to be able to continue providing this valuable resource in 2021 to our residents.

Residents continue to face unprecedented levels of unemployment, housing issues and food insecurity and we are working hard to help everyone put food on their table, said Commissioner Sergio Granados who also serves as Liaison to the Human Services Advisory Council. We thank Village Supermarket and Gargiulo Produce for their partnership in this effort.

No pre-registration is required. The food distribution is open to all Union County residents. Food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Recipients are advised to bring a cart or wagon to convey their food by hand, and proof of New Jersey residence such as a drivers license, utility bill, or ID card.

Each recipient will receive an emergency allotment of produce, dairy, and shelf stable food to sustain a family for several days. Please note that only one allotment will be provided per recipient. This event will run in compliance with state COVID-19 orders, regarding social distancing and other protocols.

For questions and more information, residents may call the UCDHS Directors Action Line at 888-845-3434 or 908-558-2288.
New York, Feb 5 : US President Joe Biden has cancelled the nomination of Vijay Shanker to be a judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in Washington.

The White House on Thursday informed the Senate that it was withdrawing his nomination, which was made by former President Donald Trump in June.

The Senate did not take up Shankar's nomination while Trump was in office and the Republican party had the majority.

His was one of 32 nominations, 17 of them for judges, that were held over from the Trump administration and pulled back by Biden.

Appointment of judges is a political matter in the US and the president appoints them from the pool of ideological soulmates or party loyalists. Even federal prosecutors are appointed on a party line and like judges they have to be approved by the Senate.

In many states judges are elected by citizens in general elections like legislators.

While many political appointees, including prosecutors, leave voluntarily when an administration changes or are fired, judges keep their positions.

When Trump nominated him, Shankar was the deputy chief of the Appellate Section of the Criminal Division at the Justice Department.

He investigated and prosecuted violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related offences and oversaw 30 lawyers who handle federal criminal appeals and draft Supreme Court briefs.

He was simultaneously an adjunct associate professor at the Washington College of Law of the American University.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Friday announced major restrictions for the final days of Carnival, including the closure of all bars, a ban on all to-go drinks and street closures and barricades in normally congested areas.

The restrictions  in effect Feb. 12 through Mardi Gras Day on Feb. 16  are an effort by the city to prevent another surge in COVID-19 cases following Mardi Gras, especially as new variants of the virus spread.

For those five days, all bars will be shut down, including those with conditional use permits through the state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Restaurants, stores and other businesses will be allowed to remain open, but will not be allowed to serve to-go drinks. The mayor encouraged bar owners and employees to begin making unemployment claims through the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

City officials said barricades will be installed at every intersection from Canal Street to Dumaine on Bourbon, and at the 500 and 600 block of Frenchmen Street from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said officers would be manning the barricades.

Cantrell also said that there would be an increased police presence on Bourbon Street and throughout the city beginning this weekend. The announcement follows recent photos circulating on social media of large, unmasked gatherings in the city, including at least one on Bourbon Street over the weekend, as well as news that French Quarter area hotels are expecting at least 40% occupancy Mardi Gras weekend through Fat Tuesday.

The mayor said that large gatherings, including street performances, will not be tolerated and the loitering would be banned on Bourbon Street, Frenchmen Street and under the Claiborne overpass.

I'd rather be accused of doing too much than doing too little, Cantrell said at the press conference.

+5 Krewe of House Floats leads to a Carnival miracle  in the form of crawfish bread Parades may be canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Krewe of House Floats has caused a bit of a Carnival miracle.

Ferguson said businesses found to be violating the guidelines could lose their permits beyond Mardi Gras, and that individuals could be fined up to $500.

If you are caught out of compliance, you will be shut down on the spot, said Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Peter Bowen. This city is not interested in doing business with anyone who would knowingly break the law and threaten the safety of our residents

Cantrell said the heightened enforcement and new measures would have a financial impact on the city, and that the fencing implemented under the Claiborne underpass from St. Louis Street to St. Bernard Avenue will cost around $69,000.

City Council President Helena Moreno and Councilman Jay Banks spoke in support of the restrictions, warning visitors who plan on breaking the citys rules to stay away.

For those who are looking to come to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, or you're going to be in crowds and going up and down streets, drinking at bars and hanging out with a bunch of people, that Mardi Gras is not happening this year, so don't come. Moreno said. If you are looking to come to our city to enjoy our city, to enjoy our beautiful house floats and to go to the wonderful City Park exhibit, and attend those types of social distance types of things happening throughout our city, well sure, you're welcome here.

Cantrell agreed, saying that New Orleans is a welcoming city but if your thoughts are coming here to party and to hang and to drink and to spread COVID, no, you do not need to come and you should not come.

Banks also spoke about the personal toll the virus has taken on the community.

It's no secret that I am very involved in Mardi Gras, but I do not intend for this to be my last Mardi Gras, he said. For those of you who have sent me some stupid emails criticizing me or my stance on this, I get it. Perhaps I am paranoid, perhaps I am overly cautious. But my personal list of dead people is 23  I don't want to see 24.

+10 Skipping a beat: High school musicians, dancers heartbroken at missing Carnival parades Last year on Mardi Gras Day, Imani Powell woke up at 5 a.m. to get to school for band warm-ups. Donning her feathered cap and purple and yello
Johnson & Johnson asked U.S. regulators Thursday to clear the worlds first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies. If approved, it would be the third COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in the U.S. following Pfizer and Moderna.

"Today's submission for emergency use authorization of our investigational single-shot COVID-19 vaccine is a pivotal step toward reducing the burden of disease for people globally and putting an end to the pandemic," said Dr. Paul Stoffels, chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson. "Upon authorization of our investigational COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, we are ready to begin shipping."
Pak pushing arms and drugs amidst farm stir: Punjab CM

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has alerted the centre about Pakistan executing a plan of pushing illegal drugs and weapons into India in a sinister plot to turn the so-called farmers' protest into a broader anti-government stir.

Cross-border smuggling of weapons by Pakistan has increased since the farmers' agitation began, he said, adding that this could cause disturbance in the Punjab, a border state, even as he demanded a thorough probe into the matter.

The chief ministers remarks come at a time when protesters demanding repeal of the three farm laws, fought with police using swords on Republic Day, in what is seen as testing the governments resolve to fight anti-national elements within the country.

The Punjab chief minister said he has inputs from the security forces that more and more illegal drugs and weapons are being pushed into India from across the border and that he feels there's a deep conspiracy behind it that needs to be probed, according to a report in Times Now television channel.

Amarinder Singh said he has been warning the central government for a long time that "Pakistan is trying to infiltrate". He further warned the authorities saying that Pakistan has sleeper cells which they can activate as a "a disturbed Punjab suits Pakistan's policy".

While the Indian security forces are engaged in thwarting Pakistans bid to smuggle weapons into J&K, Rawalpindi is trying to spread vio;ence into more border states.

"I have a hostile country on my western border. On the north of us, we have China. These two countries are going to collude. About 20 per cent of the Indian army belongs to this area and we can't allow their morale to go down. I think we should be cautious in our choice of putting out news which should not create a situation where the morale of our troops goes down," Punjab CM told news agency ANI.

Amarinder Singh said Pakistan has been sending weapons through drones and is also trying to cause infiltration. There has been a spurt in "drone delivery" since the farmers' agitation started and "weapons, money, and heroine" have been coming in, he added.

The chief minister said he met the union home minister Amit Shah in November after the farmers' agitation moved to Delhi borders to convey his concerns about Pakistan's attempts to cause disturbance.

"I went to see the home minister when everyone started making big news about farmers' struggle to discuss the issue that has taken place. Since the farmers' struggle started in October, the number of weaponry that is coming to Punjab (from Pakistan) has increased. It is drones that are bringing it in. That was what was concerning me because those drones that bring weapons are meant for something. They are not sent as a present here. We may capture 30 drones, but there are 20-30 that may get past us, to their objectives," he said.
By Rajendra Jadhav and Bharat Gautam

(Reuters) - Physical gold demand picked up in China this week ahead of the Lunar New Year festival, while Indian retail buyers cheered a sharp dip in domestic rates.

Singapore dealers, meanwhile, flagged a possible supply crunch fuelled by a surge in interest for silver.

Chinese dealers charged premiums of $0.50-$5 an ounce over benchmark spot gold prices.

Demand is "a little better due to the Lunar new year," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer for Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong, adding premiums could rise further if prices remain low following the holiday.

Gold rates in the top consumer flipped to a premium for the first time in 11 months mid-January, as demand showed signs of recovery from a pandemic-induced slump.

In Hong Kong, dealers sold bullion between a discount of $2.50 an ounce and a $2 premium.

In Singapore, customers were charged a $1.2-$2 an ounce premium over benchmark prices, with a rush for silver continuing even after spot prices for both silver and gold retreated after a sharp retail-frenzy driven rally in silver, dealers said.

"We're starting to see premium increases from some refineries and bulk suppliers for gold and silver bars," pointing to supply tightness, Gregor Gregersen, founder at Singapore dealer Silver Bullion.

In India, a dip in prices to a near eight-month trough drew buyers in.

This pushed Indian premiums to a six-month peak of up to $6 an ounce over official domestic prices, inclusive of 12.5% import and 3% sales levies.

Many retail buyers who were awaiting a correction were now making purchases, said Mukesh Kothari, director at Mumbai gold dealer RiddiSiddhi Bullions.

The combination of a cut in import duties on gold and silver on Monday, a strong rupee and a retreat in global prices contributed to the dip in Indian rates, a Mumbai-based dealer with a bullion importing bank said.

(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri and Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru, Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; editing by Arpan Varghese and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Silver Price May Rally Above $39 On Range Breakout

Nearly 6+ months ago, our research team highlighted a unique price range that appears to be repeating itself in Silver. This price range consists of a $5.40 bullish or bearish price phase. Using our 100% measured move techniques, weve seen silver move higher and lower by this range over the past 10+ months and, quite interestingly, the current sideways price range in Silver is almost exactly a $5.40 range. After a bit of research related to the explosive upside price move in June 2020, where Silver rallied from $17.75 to levels over $28.75  an $11 Candle Body Range (nearly 2x the $5.40 range), our researcher team believes the next breakout move in Silver may be another 2x or 3x rally  ranging from an $11+ rally to a $16.50+ rally. This suggests a potential upside price target in Silver near $39 to $45 if our research is correct.

Potential Silver Blastoff Once Price Clears $30

This Daily Silver Futures chart highlights the continued $5.40 range that has bound silver over the past 4+ months. The peak in price, near $30 represents the high price level that would have to be breached if any breakout attempt is confirmed. Initially, we expect to see the $28 (upper channel) level breached, then we need to see the $30 breached as the breakout move continues/confirms.

The news that the Reddit group is targeting Silver, as one of the most heavily shorted markets on the planet, suggests we may see a very explosive move higher in the near future if enough pressure is put on the shorts to present a real short-squeeze. The other interesting facet of this setup is that Silver has already initiated a bullish price phase while the global markets appear to be in a Depreciation phase. My team and I have written about this in a previous research article entitled Long Term Gold/US Dollar Cycles Show Big Trends For Metals  Part II.

If our research is accurate and correct, the combination of the Reddit targeting, extreme short positions, longer-term Depreciation cycle phases and the current Bullish Silver price phase may prompt a very big and explosive breakout move once Silver prices clear $30.

Reddit Focuses Attention On Silver  What Next?

The interesting component to all of this is the renewed focus on extremely heavily shorted symbols because of the Reddit group. Silver was trading near the middle of the $5.40 price range and price was stalling/declining price to the sudden shift by the Reddit group. Maybe this renewed focus in the Silver short positions focused the broader market into the unique setup that has continued in Silver over the past 12+ months  a rallying market in a Depreciation phase with a very heavy short interest. It has all the makings of a potentially very big upside break move.

Be sure to sign up for our free market trend analysis and signals now so you dont miss our next special report!

Recently, if youve been following my research, I have been expecting a shorter-term downward price trend in Silver  with a longer-term outlook still Bullish. After reaching the peak of the channel in late December 2020, I expected Silver to move a bit lower before building enough momentum to attempt a breakout move. Now that a renewed focus on Silver has taken over, there is a very real potential that a breakout above $28~$30 is in the works  possibly initiating a very explosive upside trend.

The last explosive upside move in Silver, from June 2020 to August 2020, only about 90 days, prompted an $11.50 to $12.50 rally (about 2x the $5.40 range). This next upside breakout trend may see a similar, or larger, scale of a price advance  targeting $39 to $45 (or higher).

In short, any breakout above $28 to $30 may prompt a very big upside price advance. Any failure of this breakout attempt will likely prompt a downside price move to levels near $24 to $25.50 (again). This renewed attention into Silver, one of the most heavily shorted commodities on the planet, may prove to be an incredible opportunity for traders  possibly pushing miners and other precious metals much higher over time.

As a reminder, this increased volatility and price range will create some opportunity for euphoric enthusiasm by many traders. Please dont get caught up in all of the hype. This may be a once in a blue-moon setup in precious metals because of the renewed focus on Silver. It may also prompt a big pullback move after any rally attempt. Play this smart  dont get caught up in the hype.

2021 is going to be full of these types of trend rotations and new market setups. Quite literally, hundreds of these setups and trades will be generated over the next 3 to 6 months using my BAN strategy. You can learn how to find and trade the hottest sectors right now in my FREE one-hour BAN tutorial. You owe it to yourself to see how simple it is to trade 30% to 40% of the time to generate incredible results.

Dont miss the opportunities in the broad market sectors over the next 6+ months. For those who believe in the power of relative strength, cycles and momentum then the BAN Trader Pro newsletter service does all the work for you in determining what to buy, when to buy, and when to take profits. You will be kept fully informed of the market with my short pre-market report every morning along with the BAN Hotlist for those looking for more trades.

Have a great weekend!

Chris Vermeulen

www.TheTechnicalTraders.com

Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic



Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better.



His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility.



He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk

Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect.

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India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO)'s expert committee on Friday said that it does not recommend granting permission for emergency use authorization of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine in the country "at this stage."

The CDSCO's Subject Expert Committee (SEC) noted that "incidents of palsy, anaphylaxis and other SAEs have been reported during post-marketing and the causality of the events with the vaccine is being investigated."

The committee also stated that the firm "has not proposed any plan to generate safety and immunogenicity data in Indian population."

"After detailed deliberation, the committee has not recommended for grant of permission for emergency use in the country at this stage," SEC further stated in its document.

Earlier today, the US-based pharma company, which was the first drugmaker to seek emergency approval in India for its vaccine developed with Germany's BioNTech, made the withdrawal decision after a meeting with CDSCO.

"Based on the deliberations at the meeting and our understanding of additional information that the regulator may need, the company has decided to withdraw its application at this time," Pfizer said in a statement.

"Pfizer will continue to engage with the authority and re-submit its approval request with additional information as it becomes available in the near future," the company added.

Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine needs to be stored in an extremely low temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius since the vaccine uses synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) to prompt an immune response against the virus.

Moreover, Pfizer on Tuesday said it expects to generate $15 billion, or about a quarter of its total revenue this year, from sales of its Covid-19 vaccine co-developed with German partner BioNTech SE.

Sales from the vaccine - on track to be the drugmaker's top product this year - could top $15 billion if the company signs more supply contracts, it said.

Pfizer aims to make two billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in 2021.

Meanwhile, India started its mass vaccination against the virus from 16 January after approving two Covid-19 vaccines from emergency use in the country  Serum Institute of India's locally produced Oxford Covid-19 vaccine Covishield and Bharat Biotech's indigenously manufactured Covaxin.

Moreover, local company Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd is running trials for Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, which is expected to be approved this month or next.

















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3 1 of 3 Courtesy of the Zemault family. Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Celeste Brown Show More Show Less 3 of 3





A vigil is planned for Friday to support the family members of Darrell Zemault Sr. as they view the body camera footage nearly five months after he was killed in a fatal police confrontation.

San Antonio police killed Zemault, 55, on Sept. 15 in front of his West Side home during an attempt to arrest Zemault on two family violence warrants. The department said the incident escalated after Zemault tried to grab one of the officer's gun, which resulted in another detective shooting Zemault in the back.
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PODGORICA -- A Montenegrin court has scrapped the guilty verdicts handed down in relation to a plot to overthrow the government in 2016.

The Appeals Court on February 5 annulled the first-instance verdicts issued against 13 defendants in the so-called plot coup trial, citing significant violations of criminal procedure, and asked the High Court to retry the case.

In May 2019, members of the group were convicted on terrorism charges and creating a criminal organization as part of an October 2016 attempt to overthrow the government and undermine the country's NATO membership bid.

The High Court handed members of the group a total of nearly 70 years in prison -- the lengthiest of 15 and 12 years given to alleged Russian military intelligence officers (GRU) -- concluding a trial that the then-opposition claimed was politically led.

Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic, two pro-Russian leaders of the Democratic Front that is now part of the ruling coalition, and eight citizens of Serbia were among the convicts. The two Russians, Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov, were sentenced in absentia.

The court found that the group plotted to occupy the country's parliament during 2016 parliamentary elections, assassinate then-Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, and install a pro-Russian leadership.

Russia has denied any involvement.

"We do not feel any satisfaction or joy. We are politically persecuted in a rigged procedure, Knezevic said after the Appeals Court's ruling.

Speaking at the same press conference, Mandic said the rigged court process must be investigated and that all those involved will have to face the law and justice," pointing his finger at Djukanovic.

Djukanovic, who staunchly supported NATO accession, has been serving as the president of Montenegro since 2018.

His long-ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) had ruled the Balkan country since the early 1990s until a three-member coalition led by the Democratic Front came to power following general elections held in August 2020.

All arrivals from India banned with immediate effect says Sri Lanka

Why has the Lankan MPs links to Kasargod come under the ambit of the Indian agencies

After pulling out of ECT deal, Sri Lanka clears USD 400 million debt to India

International

oi-Deepika S

Colombo, Feb 05: Sri Lanka has settled a USD 400 million currency swap facility with India, the Indian High Commission here said on Friday.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) had concluded the USD 400 million currency swap agreement in July last year under the SAARC currency swap framework.

"This swap facility was drawn by CBSL on July 31, 2020 for an initial period of three months. A three-month rollover was provided at CBSL''s request till February 1, 2021," the high commission said in a statement.

"Further extension would require Sri Lanka having a successfully negotiated staff level agreement for an IMF (International Monetary Fund) programme, which Sri Lanka does not have at present," it said, adding that the CBSL settled the swap facility with the RBI as scheduled.

"It is reiterated that India abides by all of its international and bilateral commitments in letter and spirit," it said.

Sri-Lanka says no adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines sent by India

The SAARC currency swap framework came into operation on November 15, 2012, to provide a backstop line of funding for short term foreign exchange liquidity requirements or short-term balance of payments stress till longer term arrangements are made.

The facility is available to all SAARC member countries, subject to their signing the bilateral swap agreements.

Besides India, the other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries are - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, CBSL also tweeted that it has settled its swap facility with RBI as scheduled.

"There was no special request from India for a premature settlement as erroneously reported by certain media outlets. Discussions on future collaboration continue," it said.

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Story first published: Friday, February 5, 2021, 19:35 [IST]
More than forty- five years after surviving the Lady Angela ferry disaster, Cornelius Chance is counting his deed of saving lives, as one of his life-long memories.





Chance recalls the voyage on that fateful morning of December 18th 1975, as being normal; the Lady Angela had left Mustique for mainland St Vincent.





"We left Mustique about 6 o clock and it was regular sailing even though the sea was a bit choppy It was coming close to Christmas, so many of the construction workers were going back to the mainland, recalled Chance.





Chance, who was 19 years old at the time and had been a member of the crew for about two months, remembered that Captain Morris Tannis choosing to use the route next to the area called the Bullet (to the north of Bequia) en route to St Vincent.





He recalled the vessel developing engine troubles.





"After the engine shut down, we drop (ped) the anchor, but it was too deep, so the anchor couldnt hold, and we start (ed) to drift, Chance said.





Chance related that the wind began tossing the wooden vessel towards the rocks at which point panic and hysteria set in.





With danger looming large, making a charge for the nearby rocks seemed to be the best bet.





Chance, a Sandy bay native who now resides in Bequia, said he used the knowledge of his upbringing and knowledge of the sea to good effect that morning.





"Some of us got into the life boat heading for the rocks but we had then to swim to the rocks.  I never panicked because I know I cudda swim Growing up in Sandy Bay, I know that three big swells come, then the other is usually calm, so I did just that and got to the rocks, he related in this exclusive interview with THE VINCENTIAN.





Chance said while on the rocks, he helped others to safety, however, he was forced to get back into the water to help someone who was having difficulties.





"I saw him holding on to the anchor and noticed that he was having difficulty. So I jumped off the rock and went behind his back and held him and got him on to the rock, Chance brought back to mind.





Reports recall that about ten or so persons lost their lives on that December morning. Also perishing were animals which were being brought to the mainland for slaughter by the workers, for the Christmas festivities.





Chance maintains that had they been able to successfully negotiate the passage off the Bullet, things would have been different.





"If we bin (had) passed the Bullet, we would ah bin in the clear open sea and things would have bin different, Chance reasoned.





And even as the memory of the Lady Angela reminds him of good deeds he has performed, it was not the only ordeal on the high seas when Chance was able to do a good deed.





He looked back at an occasion when he helped to save the life of a Tobago fisherman.





"In 1984, I was working on ship and we were heading to Curacao, and I saw a pirogue in the water and my instinct tell me say that the fisherman was in trouble, Chance stated.





He brought what he had observed to the attention of the ships captain and they were able to help the distressed fisherman, who had been adrift for some days.





One who always saw the sea as his means of earning a living, Chance went on to work on a Trinidad and Tobago vessel and with the Mustique Company, as part of the crew of Endeavour, for 18 years.





Now 64 years old, it has been three years since Cornelius Chance has retired from the sea, but he has no regrets. In fact, he is a proud seafarer who takes joy in remembering how he helped to save lives.
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The federal government has already moved to shut down blatantly fraudulent schemes related to the CARES Act and COVID-19 relief. We expect the government to shift its attention to the billions of dollars earmarked for hospitals and other healthcare providers." -- Brian D. Roark, Bass, Berry & Sims

Examining issues surrounding the receipt of COVID-19 relief funds will be a significant area of focus for the government as it ratchets up scrutiny of healthcare companies in 2021, according to Bass, Berry & Sims ninth annual Healthcare Fraud & Abuse Review 2020.

The federal governments financial response to the pandemic through the CARES Act and other COVID-19 relief programs has allocated billions of dollars to the healthcare industry. The Review details how such a scenario presents an enforcement perfect storm for the healthcare industry as a result of the distribution of large amounts of fast cash within a highly regulated industry, along with poor and evolving government guidance, and assured retrospective scrutiny by the regulators.

Download the Healthcare Fraud & Abuse Review 2020.

The federal government has already moved to shut down blatantly fraudulent schemes related to the CARES Act and COVID-19 relief. We expect the government to shift its attention to the billions of dollars earmarked for hospitals and other healthcare providers, scrutinizing eligibility, use and documented support for COVID-19 funds, said Brian D. Roark, head of the Bass, Berry & Sims Healthcare Fraud Task Force. We expect these investigations will be much more wide-ranging than more typical fraud investigations in healthcare. Regulators examining the need and use of COVID-19 relief funding are likely to scrutinize the whole enterprise.

Recoveries down, new cases up

The raw numbers suggest that the pandemic impacted investigations, litigation and civil fraud recoveries during federal fiscal year 2020, which ended Sept. 30, 2020. Recoveries by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in FY20 declined nearly 30 percent compared with the prior fiscal year, dropping to $2.2 billion from the $3.1 billion collected in FY19. Notably, the $2.2 billion in civil fraud recoveries is the lowest amount recovered in more than 10 years. One thing that has not changed, however, is the fact that recoveries from healthcare-related cases continued to comprise the overwhelming percentage of total recoveries, amounting to more than $1.8 billion of the total.

Announced recoveries in FY21 already have eclipsed the 2020 total and are nearing $4 billion, fueled by a number of high-profile opioid-related settlements. New qui tam lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act in FY20 increased to 672 new cases and another 250 non-qui tam civil fraud suits were filed, representing an increase of more than 100 compared with FY19, according to DOJ figures. The significant number of new cases will continue to fuel enforcement efforts for years to come.

The early days of the pandemic may have delayed enforcement efforts somewhat, but the activity toward the end of last year and so far this year suggests the lull is over, said Matthew M. Curley, a member of the firms Healthcare Fraud Task Force and lead editor of the Healthcare Fraud & Abuse Review. Since 2010, more than 7,000 whistleblower cases have been filed under the False Claims Act, and whistleblowers have collected nearly $4.2 billion for their efforts during those years. There can be no question that the financial incentives to file qui tam whistleblower lawsuits remain compelling.

Sectors and issues to watch

For hospitals and health systems, regulators and whistleblowers continued their focus on issues arising under the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law. Scrutiny of financial arrangements between hospitals and physician referral sources resulted in a number of high-profile False Claims Act settlements last year. Management services agreements and alleged physician inducements continue to receive significant scrutiny from regulators and whistleblowers, said Anna M. Grizzle, a member of the firms Healthcare Fraud Task Force who advises clients in connection with enforcement and compliance-related issues. These settlements are a reminder that even during an unprecedented pandemic, healthcare providers cannot afford to lose focus on the importance of ensuring their relationships with referral sources are compliant with the applicable regulations.

The pharmaceutical and medical device industries continued to account for the largest recoveries within the healthcare industry last year. Many of the headliner settlements related to the opioid crisis and many involved allegations of Anti-Kickback Statute violations. The government also stepped up its scrutiny of payments to physicians for speaking engagements where payments were intended to induce prescriptions. In what is surely a sign of things to come, HHS-OIG issued a Special Fraud Alert on speaker programs, highlighting the risks such programs pose.

Enforcement actions involving speaker programs reflect a growing focus by regulators on the relationship between pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and providers, said John E. Kelly, managing partner of Bass, Berry & Sims Washington, D.C., office and former Assistant Chief for Healthcare Fraud at the DOJ. HHS-OIG and the DOJ are routinely looking closely at both sides of these relationshipsin this case, manufacturer and providerand this is a clear reminder to the industry that the Anti-Kickback Statute is a two-way street. For providers, the old adage rings true: If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Last year also saw continued efforts to pursue civil and criminal enforcement against individuals in fraud cases. Physicians and healthcare executives settled civil and criminal allegations related to medical necessity, services not provided, inflated bills, kickbacks and other allegedly fraudulent activity. Two executives were part of a $41 million settlement resolving allegations of submitting false claims for presumptive and definitive urine drug testing that was not medically reasonable or necessary.

Holding individuals accountable in healthcare fraud cases is now a well-established fraud enforcement priority, said Lisa S. Rivera, a Healthcare Fraud Task Force member and former federal prosecutor. The increased liability of executives for corporate actions makes the need to lead on compliance all the more personal. Making this a top leadership priority within an organization is a critical element of building and maintaining a culture of compliance.

For long-term-care facilities, the focus of regulators and whistleblowers likely will turn to fraud theories related to quality of care. For its part, DOJ announced its National Nursing Home Initiative in furtherance of its previously announced Elder Justice Initiative and has forecast increased civil and criminal enforcement efforts focused on nursing homes where grossly substandard care to residents has been provided.

The current COVID-19 crisis will accelerate regulators focus on quality-of-care issues, said Jeff H. Gibson, a member of the Healthcare Fraud Task Force. Whistleblowers recognize this reality and likely will be pursuing cases based on inadequate care. Skilled-nursing providers must closely monitor quality metrics and complaints regarding quality and work to address identified shortcomings proactively.

Comprehensive review of settlements

Bass, Berry & Sims Healthcare Fraud & Abuse Review 2020 will assist healthcare companies in developing a greater understanding of the civil and criminal enforcement risks they face during a time of great uncertainty for the healthcare industry. The Review offers analysis of major trends in False Claims Act case law, issues to watch as 2021 unfolds, and a comprehensive review of settlements in the following categories:



Hospitals and Health Systems

Hospice and Home Health

Skilled Nursing Facilities and Nursing Homes

Pharmaceutical and Device

Laboratory, Pathology, Radiology and Diagnostics

Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Treatment

Specialty Care and Other Provider Entities

Individual Providers

Other

Download the Review here and visit Bass, Berry & Sims Inside the FCA blog to stay up-to-date on FCA matters.

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Residents in the Midwest are bracing for a 'flash freeze' set to send temperatures plummeting as low as -35 degrees Fahrenheit (-37 Celsius).

The severe cold snap will be caused by a polar vortex pushing arctic winds down into the US, where all 50 states - even Hawaii - are expected to experience below freezing temperatures next Monday.

More than 212 million Americans will affected by the bitterly cold conditions, CNN reports.

However, the icy weather will be at its most extreme in the Midwest, where preparations are already in place to close schools and roads for fear of fatalities.

In some areas, temperatures will be up to 30 degrees below average. Meteorologists predict it could get so cold that car antifreeze could solidify.

Residents in the Midwest are bracing for a 'flash freeze' set to send temperatures plummeting as low as -35 degrees Fahrenheit (-37 Celsius)

The severe cold snap will be caused by a polar vortex pushing arctic winds down into the US. This map shows temperatures expected across the country on Sunday as the winds from the Vortex start to move in

Residents in many parts of the Midwest have already experienced heavy snow in recent days. As of Friday, much of the region is under a winter storm watch. There are fears the 'flash freeze' could create treacherous driving conditions, with water and slush quickly turning to slippery ice

The National Weather Service has warned that the flash freeze will 'quickly turn any wet or slushy roads to ice,' and create dangerous driving conditions.

Areas of Minnesota and Iowa will likely get so cold that it could be unsafe for children to leave home and attend school.

'As temperatures fall some 25 to 30 degrees below seasonal averages, arts of the Upper Midwest will near the thresholds necessary to cancel, or in the case of 2021, virtualize classes,' CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri stated.

Officials in St. Paul, Minnesota, say they will cancel classes on Monday if the forecast still shows that the temperature will be below -25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, there are also concerns that rivers flowing through the Midwest could freeze over, creating water traffic problems.

'Areas to the south of Minnesota - the lower portions of the upper Mississippi and the Illinois River - are seeing relatively decent flows and levels are good for navigation, especially around St. Louis, but extreme cold outbreaks give us a concern for ice bites, which takes flow out of the river,' Justin Palmer, a hydrologist with the North Central River Forecast Center in Minnesota, told CNN.

'Ice gets created in the pools, we drop a lot of flow, which drops stages and becomes an issue for potential groundings.'

Not even Hawaii will be immune from chilly temperatures, which have already arrived in the Aloha state.

Temperatures dropped down in the 50s in many areas on Thursday, with Jason Shitanishi, chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Honolulu Farm Service Agency telling The Star Advertiser: 'I haven't been that cold in a long time'.

Snow even fell atop Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Mauis Haleakala on Thursday. Rangers closed roads near the summit of Haleakala, citing ice on the road and dangerous driving conditions. It is the third year in a row that snow has been reported near the peak of the volcano.

This map shows forecast lows headed into next week when the polar vortex is expected to blow down into the US. Below freezing temperatures will be felt in Nashville and Charleston

The polar vortex will bring the coldest temperatures of the year to the Midwest, with subzero temperatures forecast in many areas

Even after the polar vortex, temperatures across most of the country will remain below average for all of next week

Residents in the Midwest - from Nebraska up through Michigan - are already under winter storm watch with heavy snow expected as of Friday. Residents in Illinois are seen clearing a dumping of snow last week

One local in Round Lake Heights, Illinois is seen riding a snowmobile down a subruban street after a Winter Storm Olena dumped 30.5 inches of snow there earlier this week

Snow even fell atop Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Mauis Haleakala on Thursday. Rangers closed roads near the summit of Haleakala, citing ice on the road and dangerous driving conditions. It is the third year in a row that snow has been reported near the peak of the volcano. One visitor even made a snowman atop Haleakala once the summit reopened to tourists

Residents in the Midwest - from Nebraska up through Michigan - are already under winter storm watch with heavy snow expected as of Friday.

Up to eight inches is expected to fall in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while areas around Lake Michigan could see up to a foot of snow.

The Polar Vortex will also affect the Northeast, which is still recovering from Winter Storm Orlena.

The storm dumped a whopping 35 inches of snow in Mt. Arlington, New Jersey - the most seen there since 1899.

Meanwhile, more than 17 inches of snow fell in the Big Apple, forcing the temporary closure of schools, businesses and COVID-19 vaccination centers in the early part of the week.

The Polar Vortex Explained The stratospheric polar vortex is located in the layer that is 5-30 miles above Earth's surface and only appears in winter. Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) are occasions in the winter (~6 times per decade), when the polar stratosphere warms and the winds that normally flow from west to east around the North Pole weaken dramatically and even reverse direction, corresponding to a breakdown of the polar vortex. These SSWs can eventually cause the tropospheric jet stream to weaken, which allows cold air bottled up near the polar cap to escape and expand into the middle latitudes, such as the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia. This cold air has now escaped and is set to hit the US on Monday. Source: Climate.gov Advertisement

Russell Michelle Hoyer are pictured Wednesday trying to find their driveway under the snow in Mt. Arlington, New Jersey where a whopping 35.5 inches of snow has fallen since Sunday
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KYODO NEWS - Feb 4, 2021 - 00:54 | World, All

North Korea has designated Nov. 29 as a holiday to commemorate the country's launch in 2017 of an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to its calendar for this year, obtained by Kyodo News on Wednesday.

The designation indicates that North Korea has been aiming to bolster its nuclear and missile capabilities, as its negotiations with the United States on denuclearization and sanctions relief have shown little sign of moving forward, regional experts said.

On Nov. 29, 2017, North Korea fired what it said was its "most powerful" ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear warhead anywhere in the continental United States. Afterward, leader Kim Jong Un declared the completion of "the state nuclear force."

At the first congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in nearly five years in January, Kim was quoted by state-run media as displaying his "important will" to protect national security by "placing the state defense capabilities on a much higher level."

Related coverage:

North Korean diplomat defected to South Korea in 2019: media

North Korea ends session of top legislature without Kim's attendance

North Korea stages military parade ahead of U.S. Biden's inauguration

Kim also said at the meeting that the launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM allowed North Korea to declare "with pride to the world the accomplishment of the historic cause of building a state nuclear force and the cause of building a rocket power."

Since early last year, North Korea has cut off traffic to and from China and Russia, with fears lingering that the novel coronavirus, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, could intrude into the nation.

The calendar was created by a North Korean company but printed in China.
Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products

Bern, 05.02.2021 - To date, 63 side effect reports in connection with COVID-19 vaccinations in Switzerland have been evaluated As at 4 February 2021, Swissmedic, in collaboration with the regional pharmacovigilance centres, has evaluated 63 reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADR) to COVID-19 vaccinations in Switzerland. So far there is no evidence of new safety signals.

As at 4 February 2021, a total of 63 reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADR) in connection with the COVID-19 vaccinations in Switzerland have been evaluated and assessed at Swissmedic.

Of those patients affected, there were more women (57%) than men (32%), although the gender is not stated in some reports (11%).

37 reports (59%) were classified as not serious. The most commonly reported reactions in these non-serious reports were headache, chills, fever and pain at the injection site.

26 reports (41%) were classified as serious. The most common were breathing difficulties (dyspnoea), skin swelling (angioedema), skin rashes associated with allergic reactions and severe flu symptoms, including high fever or badly aching limbs. In six of the serious reports, fatalities were reported in patients aged between 85 and 92 with pre-existing illnesses. As far as is currently known, these deaths resulted from illnesses that commonly occur in this age range, including infections, cardiovascular events or diseases of the lungs and respiratory tract. Despite a chronological correlation, there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the vaccination was the cause of death.

The reports of adverse reactions received to date and subjected to careful analysis do not change the positive benefit-risk profile of the COVID-19 vaccines. Known side effects of COVID-19 vaccines are listed in the product information texts published at www.swissmedicinfo.ch.

Numerous other reports of suspected adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines have been received by Swissmedic, particularly in recent days. The information presented here will be updated as soon as new results on evaluated cases are available.

Internationally as well, fatalities in elderly people with pre-existing illnesses who have also received a COVID-19 vaccination are being carefully analysed. For this purpose, Swissmedic remains in regular contact with the drug regulatory authorities in other countries. To date, these investigations have also not shown any evidence of a causal connection.

Address for enquiries

Swissmedic

Media Unit



+41 58 462 02 76

media@swissmedic.ch

Publisher

Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products

http://www.swissmedic.ch/?lang=2




Tom Hallberg covers a little bit of everything, from skiing to long-form feature stories. A Teton Valley, Idaho, transplant by way of Portland and Bend, Oregon, he spends his time outside work writing fiction, splitboarding and climbing.
In an Instagram video titled, Me taking the Master Somm exam, Josh Decolongon, dressed in a barong, a formal dress shirt from the Philippines, and his signature clear-frame glasses, holds a glass of wine to his nose and swirls it around.

You can tell this grape is thin-skinned, like me in high school, he says, then deadpans: I was bullied.

He examines another glass.

Its leathery, its sweaty, its rough, its full. Very long, he says, pausing thoughtfully. Im gonna call this one 2015 Chateauneuf-du-Pape ... or 2018 Folsom Street Fair.

Decolongon is a 28-year-old certified sommelier from Vancouver, B.C., who moved to San Francisco in 2016 for the same reason many young people do  to found a startup (his is called Endless West, which crafts alcoholic beverages in a lab). But since the pandemic started, hes been focusing his efforts on something a little different: making wine memes.

On Decolongons Instagram, where he goes by the handle @sommeligay, youll find hilarious videos like The Real Housewines of Bordeaux, a parody of the Real Housewives TV franchise where he impersonates different wine varieties, and a series titled The grapes of Champagne, France as iconic moments in gay music culture." Youll also find helpful charts comparing different wine grapes to astrological signs, and suggestions for wine pairings with Filipino cuisine.

Not to get too cerebral about it, because they are really just funny videos, but I think that it's important to break away from how we're trained to talk and think about wine in order to connect with those who feel othered by the current dominant voices of wine, said Decolongon. So I love talking about wine with regards to astrology, because it makes it more fun for queer people, or people who gravitate toward that kind of thing.  It makes wine less intimidating.

For him, that desire to connect with those who feel "othered" is rooted in personal experience, going back to when he first became interested in wine at age 19 (the drinking age in British Columbia).

I got into wine as a little bit of an escape, he recalled. I was a bit of an awkward queer Filipino boy who didnt feel he fit in with university life, and wine felt like the antithesis to beer.  From a very early moment in my life, I knew that I wanted to contribute something different to the wine and food world.

Maybe his content is just funny videos, as he says, but Decolongons goal to make the wine world more inclusive seems to be resonating  hes already gathered a few thousand followers, who often engage in thoughtful discussions in his comment section. In one video, he urges his followers never to limit the way you communicate about wine.

More for you Food 15 Cheap Wines That Taste Super Expensive

If wine truly is for everyone, then confining people to a rubric is like visiting a country with a low English-speaking population and then insisting on only speaking English, he writes in the caption. Tell me about how your wine reminds you of grandmas purse. ... Tell me how it reminds you of tamarind, of calamansi, of arroz con gandules.

The use of language surrounding wine is perhaps Decolongons most passionate wine-related stance.

As sommeliers, we learn this particular set of language that only serves people who have access to those ingredients or have access to that particular sort of language, he said. I get that we're trained to describe everything in an objective way, but wine and food is all about the people. I want to hear about these experiences that people have, because thats what makes me gravitate toward wine and flavors.

So, rather than snooze-fest descriptors like apple or vanilla, Decolongon prefers referring to wines as tasting like the leather chaps of a sweaty cowboy after he wrestled his friend in a blackcurrant patch" or my mom giving me a backhanded compliment when I tell her who Im dating (yes, these are both real tasting notes hes used before).

His interest in a more nuanced, accessible approach to thinking about and drinking wine also extends to wine pairings. While pairing suggestions often center French and Italian food, many other cuisines often get overlooked, like Filipino food.

One of my pet peeves in the world of wine is that sometimes you find these specific wine pairings that are often Eurocentric, and then when it comes to Asian food, there's just one article thats like, Oh, sauvignon blanc pairs well with Asian food, he said. And it's like, you're really gonna write off an entire grape to an entire continent of food?

So one evening, Decolongon took it upon himself to test 13 wines with seven Filipino flavors, for a total of 91 possible combinations. Hes been writing about his findings on his blog ever since, where he recommends pairing chardonnay from Californias Arroyo Grande Valley with classic adobong manok, or Valdespino Deliciosa Manzanilla Sherry with pinakbet.

I was studying wine a couple of years ago and I was like, Why do I know more about French regions than I do about Filipino regions as a Filipino? he said. So I thought to myself, I need to decolonize wine in the sense of extending it to other cultures and learning about my own culture at the same time.

Systemic inequality in the wine industry is still pervasive  less than 1% of U.S. wineries have a Black owner or winemaker, according to Wine & Spirits magazine, and 71% of U.S. wine drinkers are white, according to Wine Market Council research from 2017. But Decolongon is part of a new movement of Bay Area locals passionate about rectifying this issue.

Napa-based organizations Wine Unify and the Roots Fund, which both arose in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, provide wine education for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color), according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Oaklands Ordinaire Wine Shop and Wine Bar also offers virtual wine classes for BIPOC, which are free for all students.

In an industry that so often can feel stuffy and exclusive, folks like Decolongon just want to bring a little pleasure back to the experience. Whether hes comparing a wine to popcorn, poppers, and that, like, sticky part of the bar at the back of Toad Hall or twerking flowers, his Instagram is an invitation for those who are usually left out of the conversation to join him.

So often when we talk about wine, we forget why it's fun, he said. It's super important to keep that joy.
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 5, 2021 / Sassy Resources Corporation ("Sassy" or the "Company") (CSE:SASY)(FSE:4E7)(OTCQB:SSYRF) is pleased to announce that results from the first two drill holes have confirmed a new early-stage grassroots gold-silver discovery at the Westmore target, immediately southwest of an expanded 5-km-long system of precious metal-rich copper-zinc-lead mineralization at the Company's 100%-owned Foremore Property (146 sq. km) in Northwest B.C.'s rich Eskay Camp. Additional drill results are pending and the 2021 exploration season kicks off in March-April (weather permitting) with a state-of-the-art airborne geophysical survey over the Westmore discovery and surrounding area.

Highlights:

The two first-ever drill holes at Westmore, completed to vertical depths up to 225 meters, have intersected multiple gold and silver-bearing quartz veins and stockworks in WM20-001 and WM20-002 with individual drill core intersections returning up to 14.2 g/t Au and 86.4 g/t Ag;

The abundance of mineralized veins with pockets of high-grade combined with critical pathfinder elements in drill core (consistent with features recognized on surface) and thick zones of quartz stockworks in drill core suggest the potential for a large orogenic style gold-silver deposit at Westmore;

Never previously drilled or systematically explored due to ice and snow cover that has only recently receded, Westmore's current mineralized footprint after just five months of field work is 600 meters x 600 meters x 225 meters with the system open for expansion in all directions including at depth;

Assay results for four additional drill holes from 2020 will be released after they are received, verified and interpreted;

Gold and silver assay results for 759 surface rock samples collected immediately over the Westmore intrusive are illustrated on the inserted figures. One hundred and thirty (130) samples returned gold values ranging from 1 g/t Au to 157 g/t Au, and 56 samples returned silver values ranging from 30.7 g/t Ag to 1,510 g/t Ag;

Highlights of sample results not previously released include 157 g/t Au and 83.5 g/t Ag (grab sample C0012933) and 101 g/t Au and 1,320 g/t Ag in a 0.10 m chip sample (C0012588).

Mr. Ian Fraser, Sassy VP-Exploration, stated: "We now have over 2,000 additional data points to plan our upcoming drilling in a major follow-up to this discovery. With multiple vein systems in excess of 200 meters in strike, pockets of high-grade gold and silver at surface and in drill holes, and a vertical dimension that remains unknown, there is ample opportunity at Westmore to define a new gold-silver deposit in the Eskay Camp.

"We are busy compiling and interpreting surface and drilling results at Westmore," Mr. Fraser continued. "A property wide, deep-penetrating high-resolution geophysical survey is now being planned to be carried out this spring, followed by an expanded drill program aimed at delineating high-grade gold and silver zones within this system."

Mr. Mark Scott, Sassy Resources President and CEO, commented: "It is rare to accumulate so much encouraging data, in particular well-mineralized drill intercepts, over such a short period of time from a greenfield area with no drilling history or previous systematic exploration. To advance Westmore as quickly as Sassy did last summer and fall during a pandemic and unusually challenging Eskay Camp weather conditions is a testament to our exploration team and sets us up for an exciting and rewarding 2021."

Drill Holes WM20-001 and WM20-002

Each of the first two drill holes, completed from the same platform toward the south at dips of minus 45 degrees and minus 60 degrees, intersected multiple auriferous quartz veins and stockworks starting just 9.45 meters downhole in WM20-001 and 11.00 meters downhole in WM20-002;

Coarse, visible gold (VG) was observed in each of the first two drill holes;

WM-20-002 cut 14.2 g/t Au and 22.60 g/t Ag over 0.90 m within a broader 6.3-meter alteration zone grading 2.06 g/t Au and 3.73 g/t Ag starting 42.70 meters downhole;

Each of the first two drill holes intersected broad zones of anomalous mineralization toward the bottom of each hole (16.90 meters in WM20-001 and 18.7 meters in WM20-002) indicating the depth extent of the Westmore mineralized system and these broad zones of mineralization are indicative of the potential of high-grade pockets occurring at depth.

Geochronological Study

Sassy has commissioned lead isotope studies on several mineralized samples collected at Foremore in 2020 inclusive of lead-rich gold bearing samples collected at Westmore. A historic study of a Westmore sample suggests a possible genesis within the Triassic-Jurassic period which is consistent with the Jurassic host rocks at the prolific Eskay Camp. Lead isotope studies of Westmore samples and an age-date of the Westmore intrusive will add additional insight into the timing and genesis of the Westmore intrusive and mineralization.

Westmore Discovery Zone

The Westmore intrusive is interpreted to be an orogenic gold deposit structurally controlled by east-west trending features that appear to be related to brittle-type shears. The brittle shears have resulted in gold-silver bearing quartz veins that occur as east-west trending, and typically steeply north dipping, swarms and quartz stockworks. Individual veins have been mapped to be up to 1 meter thick, but typically the quartz vein swarms and stockworks are made up of multiple narrow quartz veins that collectively achieve widths of 2 to 3 meters on surface. In these structural settings, the individual veins pinch and swell in the horizontal and in the vertical dimension. Collectively, the vein swarms and resulting quartz stockworks can achieve significant widths and a significant vertical dimension.

Within both drill holes being reported, there are sections of anomalous gold-silver mineralization associated with alteration halos comprising anomalous As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mo, Pb, Sb, Se, Te and Zn values. These alteration halos coincide with zones mapped and logged as zones of increased quartz veining, or zones logged as quartz stockwork, that achieve drill hole lengths of 1.0 m to 22.0 m. Preliminary interpretation suggests it is within these broad zones of quartz stockwork and anomalous gold-silver mineralization that higher-grade intercepts of gold-silver can be intersected and their associated geochemical signatures can be utilized to vector future drill holes within these zones.

Widespread Surface Mineralization

Systematic geological sampling and mapping in the 2020 field season resulted in the collection of 822 surface samples from the Westmore Discovery Zone area. Final results for 54 samples are pending. Gold values within the top decile (>90th percentile) of results received have a strong mineralogical association with Ag, Bi, Cd, Hg, Pb, Sb, Se, Te and Zn. Silver values within the top decile (>90th percentile) of results received are strongly associated with gold, but appear to have a slightly different mineralogical signature defined by an association with As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sb, Se, Te and Zn. See Table 3 for 20 recently received surface sample assay results, highlights not previously reported. Interpretive work of the Au and Ag geochemical associations is ongoing. However, the strong Te association and the very strong Cd/Pb/Zn association with both elements are of interest. Within Westmore samples, it is common to identify visible gold (VG) closely associated with galena (Pb).

Westmore Au/Ag Sample Maps (with drill holes indicated) - 2020 Surface Sampling





Table 1: Westmore Drill Core Assay Highlights - First 2 Holes of 6

Drillhole From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) Au

(g/t) Ag

(g/t) WM20-001 9.45 16.15 6.70 0.52 0.81 Including 15.00 16.15 1.15 2.89 2.55 Including* 15.80 16.15 0.35 6.35 2.49 WM20-001 33.05 37.55 4.50 0.91 1.78 Including 35.30 36.40 1.10 3.62 6.66 Including* 35.80 36.40 0.60 6.53 11.90 WM20-001 46.70 47.60 0.90 0.78 86.40 WM20-001 53.60 57.30 3.70 0.42 0.89 Including* 53.60 54.10 0.50 2.97 3.18 WM20-001 61.30 63.75 2.45 0.47 3.24 Including 62.50 63.15 0.65 1.71 11.50 WM20-001 79.90 80.35 0.45 0.37 8.29 WM20-002 17.50 22.80 5.30 0.56 0.73 Including 17.50 18.80 1.30 2.10 1.42 Including 17.50 18.30 0.80 3.35 2.14 WM20-002 42.70 49.00 6.30 2.06 3.73 Including 42.70 45.00 2.30 5.61 9.07 Including* 42.70 43.60 0.90 14.20 22.60 WM20-002 62.50 65.70 3.20 0.45 1.62 WM20-002 125.95 127.40 1.45 0.40 2.23 WM20-002 133.70 135.05 1.35 3.38 6.96 Including* 134.45 135.05 0.60 7.56 13.10 WM20-002 170.50 172.65 2.15 0.63 0.49 Including 171.50 172.65 1.15 1.04 0.62 WM20-002 250.20 250.70 0.50 0.62 11.6 *Visible gold observed in drill core. Drill hole intercepts are core lengths - true widths are unknown at this time.



Table 2: Westmore Diamond Drill Hole Location & Orientation

Drillhole # Easting

NAD83 Northing

NAD83 Elevation

(ASL m) Start Date End Date Azimuth

() Dip

() Final Depth (m) WM20-001 378324 6325533 1537 19-Sep-20 23-Sep-20 184.4 -45 211.0 WM20-002 378324 6325534 1537 23-Sep-20 27-Sep-20 180.0 -60 304.5 WM20-003 378428 6325513 1505 28-Sep-20 05-Oct-20 180.3 -50 297.0 WM20-004 378222 6325718 1582 01-Oct-20 03-Oct-20 360.0 -50 197.0 WM20-005 378428 6325514 1505 05-Oct-20 10-Oct-20 180.0 -65 313.5 WM20-006 378222 6325712 1582 11-Oct-20 16-Oct-20 151.8 -50 339.5 Total Drilling (first-ever at Westmore) 1662.5



Table 3: New Westmore Surface Sample Results - Highlights

Sample ID Showing Sample Type Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Pb % Zn % C0012933 Westmore Grab 157.0 83.5 4.04 0.38 C0012588 Westmore Chip 0.10m 101.0 1,320.0 1.32 0.95 C0026497 Westmore Chip 0.60m 96.9 68.1 1.86 0.15 C0026509 Westmore Chip 0.10m 92.6 1510 1.15 0.30 C0012901 Westmore Chip 0.35m 82.9 35.6 1.05 0.06 C0026571 Westmore Grab 61.0 39.3 1.42 0.12 C0012938 Westmore Grab 54.4 40.6 1.76 0.04 C0026494 Westmore Chip 0.32m 48.5 14.8 0.11 0.01 C0026552 Westmore Chip 0.55m 39.8 29.0 0.79 0.26 C0026513 Westmore Chip 0.20m 38.7 62.6 3.50 0.26 C0026519 Westmore Chip 0.30m 36.5 674.0 0.33 0.17 C0026495 Westmore Chip 0.59m 36.4 20.1 0.12 0.19 C0026493 Westmore Chip 0.36m 35.3 25.9 0.30 0.01 C0012717 Westmore Grab 31.3 10.5 0.05 0.01 C0026529 Westmore Chip 0.30m 25.9 405.0 0.28 0.02 C0012904 Westmore Chip 0.10m 23.0 35.5 1.53 0.38 C0012905 Westmore Chip 0.10m 21.1 20.8 0.49 0.36 C0026670 Westmore Grab 19.6 54.6 2.58 0.12 C0012937 Westmore Grab 16.8 21.1 1.06 0.06 C0012907 Westmore Chip 0.15m 16.5 20.4 0.13 0.01



The results reported above are the 20 highest grade gold values recently received from the 2020 Westmore surface sampling program and have not been previously released. The highlights are from 744 samples collected over the Westmore Discovery Zone. All samples are samples of mineralized quartz material and are composites in nature as the sampler typically collected up to 2 kg of material per sample. Using the same ranking parameters as the entire Westmore surface sample data base, 60 samples within this new batch of samples reported to the 90th percentile and averaged 21.45 g/t Au. The reader is cautioned that grab/chip samples are selective in nature and may not be accurately representing the actual grade of the numerous mineralized quartz veins and stockworks occurring at the Westmore Discovery Zone.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Ian Fraser, P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Sassy Resources. Mr. Fraser is the Qualified Person responsible for the scientific and technical information contained herein under National Instrument 43-101 standards.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Sassy implemented an industry-standard QA/QC program for all field and drill core samples collected during its 2020 exploration program. All samples were placed in clear plastic sample bags together with pre-numbered sample tags and remained on site until transportation to the lab. Samples were transported and submitted directly by Company personnel to the MSALABS preparation facility at Terrace, B.C. Initially, in 2020, samples were crushed to 70% passing 2mm, split to 250g, and pulverized to a pulp with 85% passing 75 micrometres. The pulps were then shipped to MSALABS laboratory in Langley, B.C., where they were fire assayed for gold by 50g fire assay fusion with atomic absorption finish (AAS), 48 elements by multi-element ICP-AES/IMS under 4-acid digestion. Samples that reported Au values over 10 g/t were re-analyzed by the gravimetric method, and those with Ag values over 100 ppm were re-analyzed by ICP-AES ore grade methods. Sassy changed this initial approach and requested a 500g split be obtained and that the pulverizer be washed with barren material between each sample. As above, under this procedure all samples were assayed for gold and 48 elements by multi-element ICP-AES/IMS under 4-acid digestion. In addition, Sassy requested MSALABS to perform multiple check assays on coarse reject material utilizing a 500g split and to perform Metallic Screening analyses on all gold results 10.0 g/t Au. MSALABS is an accredited lab independent of Sassy Resources.

As part of Sassy QA/QC protocol, check assays of MSALABS results in 2020 were performed at Actlabs laboratory in Kamloops, B.C. Within the group of samples selected for check assay, Sassy inserted several blanks and standards. At Actlabs, samples were crushed up to 80% passing 2mm, a riffle split of 500g was further pulverized to 98% passing 105 micrometres. Pulps were analysed for Au by Fire Assay (50g) with an atomic absorption finish. All fire assays exceeding 10 g/t Au were assayed by Metallic Screen (500g) sieved at 100 mesh (149 micrometres) with assays performed on the entire + 100 mesh and 2 splits of the - 100 mesh fraction. A final assay was calculated based on the weight of each fraction. In addition, a 58 element + S, multi-element, 4-Acid "Near Total" Digestion assay was performed by ICP-MS. Over-limit analyses for Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn were performed for Ag by 4-Acid ICP-OES technique. In early September Sassy made the decision to utilize Actlabs for all assay needs to the end of the 2020 exploration program and in doing so, maintained Sassy QA/QC protocol. Actlabs is an accredited lab independent of Sassy Resources.

About Sassy Resources Corporation

Sassy Resources is an exploration stage resource company currently engaged in the identification, acquisition and exploration of high-grade precious metal and base metal projects in North America. Its current focus is the Foremore Gold-Silver Project located in the Eskay Camp, Liard Mining Division, in the heart of Northwest B.C.'s prolific Golden Triangle.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Investors are cautioned that, except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained in this document includes "forward looking information", with respect to a performance expectation for Sassy Resources Corporation. Such forward looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections formulated using assumptions believed to be reasonable and involving a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such factors include, without limitation, fluctuations in foreign exchange markets, the price of commodities in both the cash market and futures market, changes in legislation, taxation, controls and regulation of national and local governments and political and economic developments in Canada and other countries where Sassy carries out or may carry out business in the future, the availability of future business opportunities and the ability to successfully integrate acquisitions or operational difficulties related to technical activities of mining and reclamation, the speculative nature of exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks obtaining necessary licenses and permits, reducing the quantity or grade of reserves, adverse changes in credit ratings, and the challenge of title. The Company does not undertake an obligation to update publicly or revise forward looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Some of the results reported are historical and may not have been verified by the Company.

Contact Info:

Mark Scott

Chief Executive Officer & Director

info@sassyresources.ca

Terry Bramhall

Sassy Resources Corporate Communications/IR

1.604.833.6999 (mobile)

1.604.675.9985 (office)

terry.bramhall@sassyresources.ca

In Europe:

Michael Adams

Managing Director - Star Finance GmbH

info@star-finance.eu

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Sassy Resources Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/627995/Sassy-Drilling-Confirms-Westmore-Gold-Silver-Discovery
A handful of local pharmacies also received doses, but supplies have been limited. Kathleen Cuddy, the county's public health director, previously said that she was aware of three Kinney Drugs locations, Rite-Aid in Auburn and Herbst Pharmacy in Port Byron that offer the vaccine.

"The Cayuga County Health Department has not been receiving routine information about vaccine allotments in our county," Deanna Ryan, a senior public health educator at the department, wrote in an email to The Citizen. "We continue to ask (New York state) for this and other information so we can better direct residents and efficiently coordinate utilization of our resources."

Central New York has been one of the better-performing regions in the state. According to the state's COVID-19 vaccine tracker, the region has administered 89% of the total doses received  107,503 out of 120,590. That includes second doses that have been administered at various sites, including state-run clinics. The state operates a vaccination clinic at the Expo Center on the New York State Fairgrounds.
By Bikash Sangraula, KYODO NEWS - Feb 5, 2021 - 12:22 | World, All

When Surendra Malakar started wood carving in his teenage years, it was a matter of pride for his father who couldn't elevate his own skills from basic carpentry.

Malakar comes from Bungamati village in Lalitpur district neighboring Kathmandu. This village and its neighboring Khokana village are renowned for being home to some of the finest wood craftsmen in Nepal.

It was, therefore, not surprising that after devastating quakes struck in 2015, officials scouted for skilled craftsmen, sculptors and masons from these two villages to rebuild centuries-old heritage.

The two quakes left nearly 9,000 dead and over a million homes uninhabitable apart from flattening or badly damaging 920 heritage sites, including World Heritage structures, said Damodar Gautam, director general of the Archaeology Department. Of them, 465 have been restored.

Malakar, 35, was among the people selected by Hanumandhoka Durbar Museum Development Committee that has been tasked with restoring a 19th century section of Kathmandu Durbar Square. This section is located between the nine-storied palace, also called Basantapur tower, built in the 18th century, and the Gaudi Baithak, a neoclassical structure built in 1908.

Kathmandu Durbar Square was the worst hit of the three World Heritage sites in Kathmandu Valley, the other two being Patan Durbar Square and Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

"Being selected to work here was an honor for me and my family. I am now rebuilding a World Heritage site and am contributing to Nepal's tourism," Malakar said.

Before this, he was crafting souvenirs such as photo frames, tiny carved window frames for decoration, wooden replicas of temples and stupas, Buddha statues, and wooden toys such as rhinos and elephants.

Restoring a World Heritage site is a difficult job, Malakar said.

Apart from ensuring that the materials used to restore the structures are identical to the original ones, each artistic carving needs to be the exact replica of the wooden structures salvaged from the debris left by the quakes in April and May 2015.

There is an upside though. Malakar has had steady employment here for the past five years.

"Before I started working here, there were times when there was no work for months," he said.

Supplemented by his father's carpentry work and his elder brother's income as a teacher, Malakar's eight-member family is getting by comfortably while tens of thousands of Nepalis are struggling to make ends meet because the coronavirus pandemic has left no sector of the economy untouched, leaving many people jobless.

The pandemic caused a more than 80 percent drop in tourist arrivals last year from nearly 1.20 million in 2019 to around 230,000. It has also left 2,031 people dead so far with total cases of infection standing at 271,431.

Sandeep Khanal, executive director of the committee, says the reconstruction work of this section of Kathmandu Durbar Square has provided employment to 50 to 100 people daily, depending on what kind of work is being done. The section, built sometime in the Rana era, is being rebuilt with Nepal's own resources.

Nepal plans to complete the rebuilding project by April 25, 2022.

Ganesh Maharjan, 41, who is another craftsman working at the same site and also has a family of eight, learned the craft at a carpentry factory in his own house in Khokana village.

In Bungamati and Khokana villages, almost every house has a workshop for manufacturing artistic wooden frames used for building private houses. Orders arrive from major cities in the country, including the capital Kathmandu, said Baburaj Desar, 32, who lives in Bungamati village.

"It is like our ancestral profession," said Desar who had to lend his hand to the family profession at the age of 10 because of poverty. He is also part of the team that is restoring Kathmandu Durbar Square. "The income is good," he said.

Khanal, the committee's chief, said he aims to complete restoring the structure in six months.

Inside the structure, wooden beams have already lined the ceiling from underneath and pillars with exquisite carvings that have centuries-old cultural meanings are being fitted.

On a sunny afternoon in December, female laborers were already placing tiles, salvaged from the quake debris, on the rooftop.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to compensate farmers whose crops have been destroyed by cattle in the different regions of the country.

The group said this in a statement issued by its director, Ishaq Akintola, on Friday.

MURIC suggested that the compensation may be paid in installments, but stressed that it should be paid to farmers whose farms were destroyed in all states of the federation.

This is coming amidst an ongoing agitation by many Nigerians calling for the evacuation of Fulani pastoralists from forests in their respective states where they are grazing their cattle.

The six South-west governors had banned open grazing two weeks ago during a meeting on security challenges rocking the region in Akure, Ondo State.

Read full statement below:

HERDSMEN: COMPENSATE FARMERS FOR LOSS OF CROPS  MURIC TELLS FG

MURIC is now in possession of indubitable evidence of the destruction of crops on farmlands by cows brought by herdsmen. We sent out feelers to all states where we have branches of MURIC and the reports are overwhelmingly convincing. We asked our members to supply information on the activities of herdsmen in their states, including Abuja. In fact we were stupefied by the outcome.

The most recent report from a young member of MURIC in Ogun State who ventured into agriculture reads: Herders invaded my five hectares of rice farm three days ago (Sunday, 31st January, 2021) and it was totally destroyed. The incident happened at the farm of Sanpro Foods, a rice production company whose premises is located at the Oyan farm settlement, Ibaro Rice Village, Ibaro in Abeokuta North Local Government, Abeokuta, Ogun State. The farm is along Igboora Road after the roundabout.

The most heart-rending part of the report was towards the end where it added: The most frustrating part is am not getting my investment back and I hate this feeling of nothing can be done. I dont know what to do, perhaps I should organise a press conference.

As if that was not enough, the mudiir (principal) of a local Arabic school in Lagos also reported another sad incident in which herders brought cows to invade his fathers cashew farm in Ijomu-Oro, Kwara State. Everything was destroyed and he lamented that his father would have realised millions of naira had he been able to harvest his cashew nuts. He added that the fear of herders has forced farmers in Ido-Oro (also in Kwara State) to abandon their farms.

This is frightening. Farmers in Kwara State are afraid of going to their farms due to the activities of herders. Farmers in Zamfara and Katsina have run away from their farms for fear of being killed or kidnapped by bandits. Farmers in Ilesa, Osun State, those in Igangan, Oyo State and those in Ebonyi live in palpable fear of herders. From where shall food come to our tables? Famine is coming! Cows and bandits have taken over Nigerian farms.

MURIC charges FG and the state governments to take responsibility. It is very clear that FG is yet to appreciate what farmers are going through in the hands of marauding herdsmen. Perhaps we will appreciate the pain of farmers better when we realise that agriculture essentially entails a long and slow process from clearing to planting and harvesting.

No crop starts germinating in a single day and ripens for harvest the next day. Both cash and food crops are the outcome of hard work and patient perseverance over time, sometimes two or three years. The shortest is three months for crops like corn and yam. How would you feel if someone just walks in and smashes all what you have been putting together for months or years? We therefore declare that farmers have been patient enough. FG should do something urgently.

What MURIC will like to suggest is that FG should roll out a compensation programme, albeit instalmentally, to be paid to farmers of all categories who have evidence of loss of crops due to the activities of herders and bandits. This will make governments policy of bailout comprehensive, fair and balanced.

We recall our advice to FG two days ago in which we advocated for payment of bailout for herders to enable them buy land from private owners for use as ranches. The compensation we are now asking for farmers who lost their crops will be spread to all parts of the country: farmers in Benue, Ondo, Sokoto, Ekiti, Enugu, Ogun, Katsina, etc will be eligible. This is the way government can take responsibility. We may add here that such compensation will assuage farmers, douse tension across the country and inject a new dose of confidence in Project Nigeria.

We were motivated to offer this advice after a female member of MURIC related her experience. She reported how she witnessed an argument between some herdsmen and farmers when she travelled to visit her mother in Ilesa in 2019. According to her, the herdsmen had driven cows unto a farm thereby destroying everything in it. The farmer insisted on compensation or there would be trouble and he only backed down after the herdsmen paid the money.

This example shows that payment of compensation to farmers will bring peace to our troubled land. We are also aware that in the culture of the herdsmen, those who kill their cows can only be forgiven after compensation has been paid.

We therefore appeal to all ethnic groups who are currently agitating to simmer down. There is no problem without a solution so long as we can have time to sit down and think. We call on the security agencies to descend on criminals among the herdsmen as well as others in society and bring them to book. What we should not do is ethnic profiling. But no tribe has immunity so long as crime has been committed and evidence has been provided.

ADVERTISEMENT

We remind Nigerians that wars and conflicts have not yielded positive results anywhere in Africa. It was Herodotus who said, In peace, sons bury their fathers, but in war, fathers bury their sons. The question is : do we want to start burying our sons? May Allah forbid. Neither does anyone know who will survive if we start a war. That was why Bertrand Russell said, War does not determine who is right, but who is left. We hope Nigerians still have time to ponder before we start counting bodybags.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
The Future-Amazon legal fracas over the American retail giant's right as a shareholder may not only delay the Rs 24,000 crore transaction but threatens to even derail it, say corporate lawyers.

While both Future and Amazon are putting strong arguments in Delhi High Court against each other, corporate lawyers said the best way forward is to negotiate with each other on how to make sure that Future group companies do not end up in bankruptcy courts. "Amazon has made some strong arguments on shareholders rights. Once an agreement is signed, one of the partners cannot take ...
Created once more by Anna Winger and Jorg Winger, the series began in 2016 showing East German soldier turned Agent Martin Rauch (Jonas Nay) infiltrate his way into West German life at the height of the Cold War. The next series saw Martin banished to Africa until his spymaster Aunt Lenora recruits him to fight again for communism in the Global Cold War. Set against the backdrop of real events during the last Summer of Anxiety, when terrorism raged across Western Europe.Deutschland 89 picks up from three years earlier when the anti-fascist Berlin Wall falls on 9 November 1989, superspy Martin Rauch gets involved and must deal with the consequences. The peaceful revolution has thrown his world into turmoil. He and his fellow agents at the East German Foreign Intelligence are reeling. Their government has collapsed, their organisation is in chaos and their futures are uncertain, at best.Martin faces the question as to how to play the next hand? Join Big Brother at the KGB? Go West and work for an enemy agency? Use international contacts to begin a new career? Or run off to paradise with hoarded gold? With Lenora still locked up and everything on the line, Martin must race to save his son, settle old scores and escape the scramble of agencies trying to get their hands on the legendary Kolibri.Created by Joerg Winger and written by Anna Winger, writer of recent success Unorthodox, the Deutschland series boasts a whole host of accolades including best drama series at the International Emmy Awards, Seoul International Drama Awards and Series Mania.In the UK, Deutschland 83 premiered on Channel 4 to celebrate the launch of Walter Presents, the free foreign-language on-demand service available exclusively in the UK via Channel 4s digital hub All 4. On its UK premiere in January 2016, Deutschland83 became the highest-rated foreign language drama launch in UK TV history.


President Xi Jinping has sent New Year's greetings to Chinese people of all ethnic groups, wishing happiness and good fortune for the people and prosperity for the nation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extended the greetings during an inspection trip in southwest China's Guizhou Province prior to the Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb. 12 this year.

The trip took Xi to places including the city of Bijie and the provincial capital Guiyang. He visited a village, a residential community and a supermarket from Wednesday to Friday.

On Wednesday, Xi arrived in Bijie, once a typical poverty-stricken area. After over 30 years of effort, the city completed the poverty alleviation task in 2020.

Xi visited a section of the Wujiang River, one of the biggest tributaries of the upper Yangtze River. Checking the ecological environment and water quality of the river, he emphasized blazing a new path that prioritizes ecological conservation and green development.

Xi later went to Huawu Village in Xinren Miao Township. The once extremely impoverished village has eliminated poverty through crop and animal husbandry as well as tourism. Xi visited the home of a villager and a Miao embroidery workshop, urging efforts to promote ethnic and traditional cultures.

"This year, we will secure the great victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, achieving the first centenary goal," Xi told villagers at a public square. "No ethnic group should be left behind."

On Thursday, Xi paid a visit to a supermarket in Guiyang, checking the supply of goods for the Spring Festival holiday and demanding strengthened COVID-19 response measures and food safety supervision.

While visiting the Jinyuan community, Xi learned about issues including primary-level Party building and public service and required building communities into the safest havens for the residents.

Xi also warned that epidemic control remains a formidable task, urging local authorities to improve services for residents since people are encouraged to stay put for the holiday this year.

"The past year was an extraordinary one. Faced with a violent storm, we fought it with courage and triumphed. Each and everyone of us has experienced it together, and each and everyone of us is remarkable," Xi told local residents at the community's public square.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to comedian Munawar Faruqui in connection with a case filed by the Madhya Pradesh police for alleged "hurting of religious sentiments". The top court has also stayed the production warrant issued in a case by the Uttar Pradesh police.

A bench headed by Justice RF Nariman and BR Gavai observed that the Arnesh Kumar judgment "was not followed in the case", while issued his interim bail notices.

Faruqui, who was in jail for over a month without concrete evidence on passing allegedly objectionably remarks about Hindu deities during a show as claimed by the police, challenged the Madhya Pradesh High Court order denying him bail.

Faruqui and four others were arrested on January 1 following a complaint by a BJP MLA's son that alleged objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were passed during a comedy show at a cafe in Indore on New Year's day. One more person was arrested subsequently. The high court, in its order passed on January 28, had refused to grant him bail noting that to "promote harmony" is one of the constitutional duties. It had also turned down the bail plea of another accused in the case.

In its order, the high court had said it would not comment on merits of the case, but based on the material seized, the witnesses' statements and considering the fact that probe was going on, no case was made out for grant of bail. "The evidence/material collected so far suggests that in an organized public show under the garb of stand-up comedy at a public place on commercial lines, prima facie, scurrilous, disparaging utterances, outraging religious feelings of a class of citizens of India with deliberate intent, were made by the applicant," it had said.

There was a possibility that "more incriminating material" would be collected, and further, a similar case has been registered against Faruqui in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, the high court had noted. "That apart, there is also specific assertion by the counsel for the complainant that the applicant, along with other co-accused persons, (were) allegedly making outraging filthy jokes in social media deliberately against Hindu Gods, Lord Shriram and Goddess Seeta, hurting religious sentiments of Hindus for the last 18 months, despite protest on various social media platforms. There is nothing on record to the contrary," it had said.

As per the First Information Report, the comedy show was held at a cafe in 56 Dukan area of Indore on January 1. Eklavya Singh Gaud, son of BJP MLA Malini Laxman Singh Gaud, had filed a complaint against Faruqui and others. Gaud had said that he and his associates had gone to watch the show where alleged indecent jokes were made about Hindu gods and goddesses and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

He forced the organizers to stop the show, he had said. Faruqui and others were arrested for the alleged offences punishable under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including section 295-A which deals deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class.

They were also accused of holding the show amid COVID-19 pandemic without permission and were booked under other relevant provisions of the IPC.
In June 2020, just six months after the World Health Organization first learned of a viral phenomenon in Wuhan, China, that would become the COVID-19 pandemic, life in the city where the disease was first identified was largely back to normal. The Chinese government attributed the success of a brutal lockdown period to its citizens voluntarily adopting safety precautions. Even when residents of Wuhan were no longer required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) in public, 35 year-old resident Pan Yuan told Reuters that people still wear masks.

That same month in the United States, Tim Walters, co-founder of an anti-lockdown protest group "ReOpen Maryland," announced on social media that despite contracting COVID-19, he would continue not wearing a mask and would not be assisting in contact tracing efforts.

These are, of course, just anecdotesthe Chinese government has plenty of incentive to showcase its success in containing the virus, and Walters' actions don't represent American response as a whole. But the contrast illustrates an ongoing conflict over how to react to a global pandemic; a conflict that persists despite overwhelming evidence that masks are effective in slowing the spread of a disease that has killed thousands and injured millions physically and economically. Countries that embrace masks as a cultural norm, however, have been far more resilient to the viruss impact, providing ample incentive for the United States to make mask-wearing a cultural norm.

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Face mask habits dont spontaneously appear in fashion like Ugg boots or a bolo tie; theyre nearly always the product of an environmental or biological catalyst. Japan, one of the countries quickest to embrace face masks as a precaution, has been using them for centuries.

Tomatsu Hirai, a clinical pharmacist in Tokyo and a collector of vintage medical paraphernalia, told The Japan Times that wearing masks to contain unclean breath dates back to the Edo Period (1602 - 1868) at the latest, and the custom became more widespread after Japan suffered back-to-back disasters in the 1918 influenza pandemic and the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which triggered massive fires that choked the island nation with smoke and ash for weeksnecessitating daily mask wear. When a second flu pandemic hit Japan in 1934, its population had barely had a chance to break the habit.

After that, wearing a mask in Japan became de rigeuer for the sick, the immuno-compromised, and those simply observing an abundance of caution.

Masks serve an entirely secondary function for young people in countries that have adopted masks as casual wear, too: They act as a social firewall. In the U.S., its not uncommon to wear headphones in public not only to listen to music, but as a not-so-subtle hint that you arent interested in conversation. Masks serve a similar purpose, with the added implication that it might actually be dangerous to talk to you, since you may be sick with something nasty.

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While it might seem obvious, the fact remains that masks are only effective with widespread use. Its a community effort achieved by collaboration rather than the efforts of a lone hero, and it's influenced largely by social pressure: Jamie Cho, an immigrant from South Korea living in New York, told the Huffington Post that she always wore a mask when sick during her childhood, but changed that habit when she moved to the United States.

(My mother) was scared of me seeming more foreign than I already was at the time as a young immigrant, she said, because of that, Ive never worn a mask in a Western country prior to COVID.

In 2021, young people are disproportionately responsible for spreading SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in the U.S., and a Centers for Disease Control study found that social or peer pressure to no wear mask had a large impact on their personal health decisions. Meanwhile, in Asian countries where mask wearing has been common for decades, studies from both the current pandemic and the 2002 SARS epidemic show that normalized mask wearing had a dramatic effect on stopping the spread.

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Its clear that when the U.S. faces its next pandemic, cultural acceptance of masks can play a significant role in mitigating its impact. As for the likelihood of widespread acceptance, New Zealand, which also dealt with anti-mask protests in the early days of the COVID pandemic, provides an example.

There havent been mass protests, but there have been some small ones, Professor David Murdoch, MD, of the University of Otago, Christchurch, told SFGATE. I think for a start that a kind of collective responsibility is stronger in New Zealand. But it was still a transition.

On March 16, 2020, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern mandated that anyone arriving in New Zealand, including citizens returning from abroad, had to quarantine. She made no apologies for what she claimed were the strictest regulations in the world, and by July, New Zealand was free of cases.

Nobody knows exactly how the world will change following this pandemic, but it's naive to think the ongoing lockdown that's approaching a year in length wont have a long-term impact on social norms and customs.

I think face masks will continue to be used by the general public in times when they dont feel well, Dr. Panagis Galatsatos, a critical care doctor who works with COVID-19 patients, told CNBC. And honestly, were realizing that no one feels slighted without a handshake.

Others take a harder line: I do think we need a new culture of masks, said former director of the CDC Dr. Tom Frieden, at least any time not feeling well.

The good news is that the partisan nature of this issue seems to have dissipated over time. According to a PEW Study. In June, 76% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans said they were usually wearing masks in public, but by August, those percentages had increased to 92% of Democrats and 76% of Republicans, reducing the partisan gap from 23 percentage points to 16 percentage points.

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The CDC study also identified confusing messaging as harmful to mask participation. The agency struggled to clarify its message early in the pandemic, and has recently come into conflict with the advice of foreign world leaders. With time and experience, however, that confusion is likely to have less of an impact on the average person's day-to-day decision-making.

Ultimately, masks are effective and simple, making it difficult to argue that the inconvenience of foggy glasses and mild maskne outweigh having to relive the darkest days of 2020. But mask wearing in the future will require mainstream acceptanceand not forgetting the lessons of half a million dead Americans.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has come into the limelight in India after she tweeted in support of farmer protest in India. On Thursday, the Delhi Police even filed an FIR against her and the alleged "pro-Khalistan" creators of a "toolkit" that Thunberg and others had shared on Twitter in connection with the farmers' protest. The complaint said that the toolkit was aimed at waging a "social, cultural and economic war against the Government of India".

The police maintained that no one has as such been named in the FIR. The case is against unnamed persons on charges of criminal conspiracy, sedition and various other sections of the Indian Penal Code.

A few days back, Thunberg had extended her support to the farmers' agitation and had shared "a toolkit for those who want to help".

"Here's a toolkit if you want to help," tweeted Thunberg, which takes the user to a document containing details on ways to support the protest.

"The 'Toolkit' matter is a serious one. It clearly shows that some foreign elements are conspiring to defame India," Minister for Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said.

While the police and government have termed the "toolkit" a part of a conspiracy against India, communication specialists say this is a basic tool of any social justice campaign. "Any movement that requires public awareness uses a toolkit and it gives basic info about a subject. The Centre for Disease Control in USA did use a social media toolkit during the pandemic to raise awareness," Asmita Ghosh, Communication specialist, said during a panel talk with India Today.

Social media experts explain it as a guide created to raise awareness over an issue, particularly pertaining to social justice.

The "toolkit" that the teen activist shared says that it is meant to "enable anyone unfamiliar with the ongoing farmers protests in India to better understand the situation and make decisions on how to support the farmers based on their own analysis." It further gives a brief introduction to why the farmers have been agitating since November.

This is not just about one country and its oppressed peoples, its about common people across the world having the opportunity to be self-sufficient, feel secure about providing for their families, and live well. On their own terms, as any democracy true to its name should facilitate, the toolkit reads.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has claimed the initial probe suggests the document's link with a pro-Khalistan group named 'Poetic Justice Foundation'.

Senior Delhi Police official said considering the unfolding of events in the past few days, including the violence on January 26, it has revealed: "copycat execution" of the action plan mentioned in the 'toolkit'.

"This toolkit has a particular section which says digital strike-through hashtags on or before January 26, tweetstorms on January 23 onwards, physical action on January 26 and watch-out or join farmers march into Delhi and back to borders," Special CP (Crime) Praveer Ranjan of Delhi Police said.

He said if someone goes by how the events unfolded, including the violence on January 26, it reveals a "copycat execution of the action plan mentioned in the "toolkit".
The diplomats stressed the need for making the country's anti-corruption institutions more resilient.

The Ambassadors of the G7 countries (the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan) in Ukraine during a meeting with Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov have elaborated on the reforms they expect to be implemented in Ukraine.

"In their meeting with Dmytro Razumkov, G7 Ambassadors were encouraged by the Verkhovna Rada plans to support reform this year. They emphasised the importance of comprehensive judicial reform including High Council of Justice, as essential to Ukraine development," the UK Presidency of the G7 Ambassadors' Support Group in Kyiv said on Twitter on February 5, 2021.

Read alsoG7 Ambassadors provide advice on Constitutional Court reform in UkraineAlso, the diplomats stressed the need for making the country's anti-corruption institutions more resilient.

"They praised positive steps on reform of the Security Service of Ukraine, and looked forward to their completion and implementation, increasing Ukraine's resilience," reads the tweet.

Background

On February 4, 2021, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the G7 Ambassadors emphasized the need for a comprehensive judicial reform, including with the simultaneous reform of the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges.

Reporting by UNIAN
Howard Cohen, The Miami Herald (TNS)

Parkland student activist David Hogg has a new fight on his hands. This time hes bringing a pillow to battle.

On the same day Hogg announced his business endeavor, his name hit national news again when three of South Floridas House Republicans voted Thursday to remove Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off congressional committees. The newly elected Greene had questioned whether the 2018 Parkland school shooting really happened, and video showed her harassing Hogg and other Parkland survivors who fought for gun control.

Hogg, 20, said he, along with Los Angeles software developer and entrepreneur William LeGate, are starting a pillow company to compete against MyPillow, the company led Mike Lindell.

Lindell is the founder and CEO of MyPillow, whose product was pulled by several major retailers after he voiced support for former President Donald Trumps baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.

Lindell pitched his pillows on late-night infomercials.

Hogg and LeGate are turning to social media  namely the former presidents former favorite platform: Twitter.

William LeGate and I are going to prove that progressives can make a better pillow, run a better business and help make the world a better place while doing it., Hogg posted Thursday.

LeGate, 26, said in a video clip posted to Twitter: I dont know about you guys, but I like pillow companies that dont fund insurrections against the U.S. government.

LeGate, a 2013 Thiel Fellow, is the CEO of PredIQt, a decentralized prediction market, according to Crunchbase. At 14, LeGate created an iOS app development company, Imagination Research Labs, after teaching himself computer coding from online Stanford courses.

People underestimate what two kids can do selling pillows, LeGate said on Twitter, adding that the pair are not looking for investors.

I am funding 100% of our pillow venture, he wrote. It will be 100% owned by me, David, & our strategic partners. We want to retain complete control so no compromises on values.

Hogg, whose goal for the first year seems modest: $1 million, says on Twitter the two are up for the pillow fight with the MyPillow founder.

Mike isnt going to know what hit him. This pillow fight is just getting started.

LeGate said the pair will rely on social media and are soliciting memes to push their as-yet unnamed pillow. They also havent revealed its design.

We plan to spend exactly $0 on marketing to compete against industry giants  and we will win  with MEMES!

The feathers wont fly on Twitter, though. Lindells personal and corporate accounts were permanently banned on Twitter because of his claims that Trump won the November election, USA Today reported.
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Iran Gets First Batch Of Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine As It Shuns West

02/05/21

Source: RFE/RL

Iran, the country hardest-hit by the pandemic in the Middle East, has turned mainly to Russia, China, and India for vaccines.



Russia's Sputnik V vaccine shipment arriving in Tehran

(photo by Mehr News Agency)

The first batch of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine has arrived in Iran as the country prepares to launch a COVID-19 inoculation campaign aimed at curbing the usage of Western medicines.

The state news agency IRNA showed video of the vaccine delivery being transferred off a Mahan Airline flight at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran on February 4.

Iran's ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said the second and third deliveries of the vaccine were due to be sent to Tehran on February 18 and 28.

Mohammad Reza Shansaz, the head of Iran's drug regulator, said earlier this week he expected Iran to initially receive 500,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine.

Iran, the country hardest-hit by the pandemic in the Middle East, has turned mainly to Russia, China, and India for vaccines after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in January announced a ban on those made by the United States and Britain, calling them "completely untrustworthy."

On February 3, however, Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that Anglo-Swedish firm AstraZeneca would provide the country with 4.2 million doses of its vaccine. They were purchased via COVAX, the World Health Organization-backed program to ensure global access to vaccines.

Tehran has also said it is working on developing its own vaccine, as well as on one with Cuban experts.

Russia registered Sputnik V in August 2020 before the start of large-scale clinical trials or data, raising many questions over the vaccine's safety and efficacy.

However, peer-reviewed, late-stage trial results published in The Lancet medical journal this week showed the two-dose regimen of Sputnik V was 91.6 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19.

Other countries, including Argentina, Serbia, and Hungary, have approved the Russian vaccine.

Iran has accused the United States of blocking its access to vaccines and other medical equipment and supplies through its sanctions regime.

Iran has recorded 58,000 deaths during the pandemic, though many experts say the figure is likely much higher due to underreporting by officials.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, and ISNA

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 5 (ANI): Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Friday met his counterparts from Tajikistan and Bangladesh and a delegation from France in separate meetings on the last day of Aero India 2021 in Bengaluru.



"IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria met Lt Gen Safaralizoda Rahmonali, Chief of Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan during Aero India 2021. The chiefs acknowledged strong bilateral ties and discussed enhancement of ongoing defence engagements," IAF tweeted.

IAF chief Bhadauria also held extensive talks with Bangladesh air force chief.

"CAS, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Air Chief Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat, CAS, Bangladesh Air Force during a bilateral meeting at Aero India 21. The wide range of exchanges between the two Air Forces is a reflection of strong bonds of friendship that bind India & Bangladesh," IAF said in another tweet.

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria also met a French delegation and affirmed deep strategic partnership between India and France.

"General Thierry Carlier, Dir for Intl Development, French Defence Procurement Agency(DGA), met with the CAS at #AeroIndia21. Defence cooperation is an important pillar of a deep strategic partnership between India & France," the IAF said.

On Thursday, IAF Chief had met Lt Gen Issameldin Saeid Koko Abdalrrahman, Commander of Air Force, Sudan and discussed measures to enhance bilateral cooperation.

"CAS met with Lt Gen Issameldin Saeid Koko Abdalrrahman, Cdr of Air Force, Sudan and discussed measures to enhance bilateral cooperation and training mechanisms between the two Air Forces," tweeted IAF.

Aero India is being held from February 3 to 5 at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru. (ANI)


A petition to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom has reached more than 1.4 million signatures and is only 100,000 names off triggering a mid-year election.

The 54-year-old star of the Democrat Party has seen his approval rating dive because of the state's oppressive Covid restrictions and a botched vaccine roll-out.

More than a third of voters said they would oust Newsom at the ballot box if the recall qualifies, a survey by UC Berkeley found this week.

Newsom, once widely tipped for a future White House run, is facing criticism from within his own party as the GOP-led campaign to recall him steams to a conclusion.

Newsom, once widely tipped for a future White House run, is facing criticism from within his own party as the GOP-led campaign to recall him steams to a conclusion (pictured during a press conference last month)

California Governor Gavin Newsom is shown above, left, sitting with ten others in the indoor/outdoor dining room at The French Laundry on November 6, without a mask. The photos were obtained by Fox 11 LA via a Twitter user

Demonstrators shout slogans while carrying a sign calling for the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom during a protest against a stay-at-home order on November 21

'It's like he's putting us out to die,' union boss Sandra Diaz told The Los Angeles Times.

She represents janitors, security personnel and other essential workers who were removed from the state's vaccine priority tiers by Newsom.

'It's more important for us as a union to see this get better, no matter who that upsets,' Diaz added.

The campaign launched by the California Patriot Coalition has until mid-March to hit a required threshold of nearly 1.5 million signatures. It has already got 1.4 million.

Launched by Orrin Heatlie, chairman of the coalition, it has the backing of potential Republican candidates including Joe Collins and Doug Ose.

Newsom faces rising dissent from political allies over his lockdown policy which has kept businesses and schools shuttered for months and seen late changes to who will be priortized for the Covid vaccine.

His woes started in November when he was caught dining out at the exclusive French Laundry restaurant for a lobbyist's birthday as he told Californians to avoid gatherings, reinforcing perceptions that he is out of touch with people.

Newsom apologized for the dinner and said at the time: 'I made a bad mistake. I should have stood up and  drove back to my house.

'The spirit of what I'm preaching all the time was contradicted. I need to preach and practice, not just preach.

'You have to own it, and you have to be forthright and I'm doing my best every single day in trying to model better behavior.'

In the new year, he drew more fire for initially refusing to release the data he was using to determine which regions of the state should be locked down, then abruptly reversed course last week and lifted stay-at-home orders statewide.

Republican challenger Collins launched a 28-day 'Recall Road Trip' earlier this week that will see him visit 16 cities across the state as he tries to force Newsom out.

'Gavin has been less than mediocre for California,' Collins told Fox News yesterday.

'Instead of giving money to illegal immigrants, he should have given back to small businesses  he should have been transparent on why he chose to shut down California.'

The state recorded its highest caseload on December 15 with more than 53,700 infections.

But two months later, they have plummeted to just 13,000 cases as of Wednesday and citizens are desperate for a pathway out of lockdown.

Bill Burton, a former spokesman for President Barack Obama who lives in Southern California, said Democrats nationally have hammered a 'follow the science' message when many are more worried about getting their kids back in school and reopening their businesses.

'There's some disconnect between public policy and what regular people are experiencing in their lives,' he said.

Newsom's woes started in November when he was caught dining out at the exclusive French Laundry restaurant for a lobbyist's birthday (pictured) as he told Californians to avoid gatherings, reinforcing perceptions that he is out of touch with people

The campaign launched by the California Patriot Coalition has until mid-March to hit a required threshold of nearly 1.5 million signatures. It has already got 1.4 million

The UC Berkeley poll found that 49 percent believed that Newsom's stay-at-home orders had little impact if any, while 47 percent agreed they had a major or at least some impact.

The majority said that the rules were confusing and inconsistent.

The poll revealed that just 31 percent of respondents felt Newsom and other state government leaders had done an excellent or good job, 23 percent said they'd done a fair job, while 43 percent said it was a poor job.

It's a remarkable slip in his political standings after he defeated Republican challenger John Cox by a record margin in 2018.

'People are reevaluating how well Newsom is doing handling the pandemic,' Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll, told the Times.

'Once your job performance rating starts to decline, it's more difficult to put it back in the right direction. You kind of accumulate negatives over time.'

The vaccine program for 40 million citizens has been plagued by setbacks.

Newsom first planned to prioritize shots for healthcare workers, teachers, first responders and food and agriculture workers, and those aged over 65.

But a few weeks into the roll-out, he changed tack to an age based system and eliminated the priorities for essential workers.

Newsom is also facing criticism over California's slow vaccine rollout. Newsom first planned to prioritize shots for healthcare workers, teachers, first responders and food and agriculture workers, and those aged over 65. But a few weeks into the roll-out, he changed tack to an age based system and eliminated the priorities for essential workers

CVS has said it will be able to administer between 20 and 25 million doses per month and Walgreens has said it will be able to administer 10 to 13 million. So far, only about 32 million have received one or both shots.

Former Republican congressman Ose said Wednesday he is considering entering the impending recall election aimed at Newsom.

In an interview, Ose said voters are clamoring for new leadership after Newsom's wobbly COVID-19 vaccine rollout and long-running social-distancing rules.

'I know I can do a better job than Newsom is doing,' Ose said. 'Anybody running needs to talk about issues that matter around the kitchen table.'

If Ose decides to become a candidate, he said he will run in the recall if it qualifies or, if it doesn't, challenge Newsom when he is expected to seek a second term in 2022.

Ose, a businessman from the Sacramento region, served in Congress from 1999 to January 2005.

He has recently tweeted in support of the recall, as well as urging schools to reopen.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a regular press briefing in Beijing, China, February 4, 2021. /CMG

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday refuted a BBC report on alleged abuses of women's rights in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, saying that China is against any acts of interference in its internal issues using Xinjiang affairs.

The remarks by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin were in response to a BBC report that said there was "systematic rape" of women in "Xinjiang camps."

At a regular press conference, Wang said that there is no systematic rape or sexual abuse of women. Respecting and guaranteeing human rights are the basic principles stipulated by China's Constitution, as it is a country ruled by law.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, unprecedented achievements have been made in women's liberation and development in China, the spokesperson said. Women of all ethnic groups enjoy political rights, cultural and educational rights, labor and social security rights, marriage and family rights as well as other rights according to the law.

There are no so-called "re-education" camps in Xinjiang, Wang said, stressing that the vocational education and training centers in the region are part of its counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts. They are no different from the Desistance and Disengagement Programme (DDP) of the UK, or the de-radicalization centers in France.

The vocational education and training centers strictly abide by the Constitution and laws to protect the basic rights of trainees from violation, and forbid insulting or abusing trainees in any way, Wang said.

He said that there has been much false information on Xinjiang circulating recently. Some of the interviewees in previous reports turned out to be "actors" for and "tools" used by anti-China forces in order to attack China using Xinjiang affairs.

Wang said that China welcomes foreigners who hold the principle of objectivity to visit Xinjiang and learn about the actual situation in the region, but also strongly opposes any attempt to interfere in China's internal affairs as well as suggestions of any so-called investigation with presumption of guilt.

He added that in recent years, more than 1,200 diplomats, journalists and representatives of religious groups from more than 100 countries have visited Xinjiang.

For Xinjiang's social and economic development, Wang pointed out that the Chinese side has published eight Xinjiang-related white papers, and the government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has held 25 press conferences.
WINDSOR LOCKS  A Windsor man has been charged in several sexual assault cases, with more charges expected as authorities search for additional victims, police said.

Police identified the suspect as Akin Jamal Warner, 25, of Cobblestone Way.

The Connecticut investigation began on Jan. 3 when a 17-year-old girl reported a sexual assault in Windsor Locks, police said.

Police said during the investigation, detectives learned of three more incidents involving Warner with similar circumstances in each case. Windsor and state police are aiding in the investigation.

During the investigation, detectives also learned Warner lived in California last year and found that the Orange County Sheriffs Office had two open sexual assault cases involving him, police said. The investigation into those cases is ongoing.

On Jan. 27, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Warner, and a search warrant granting them permission to take his DNA for the investigation into the Jan. 3 complaint.

On Jan. 28 around 1:20 a.m., Warner was taken into custody without incident at his Windsor home.

Warner was charged with first-degree sexual assault. He is being held at Hartford Correctional Center on a $500,000 bond. His next in court on Feb. 22.

On Wednesday, detectives charged Warner with another count of first-degree sexual assault while he was in custody at Hartford Correctional. The bond on that charge was set at $750,000.

The scope of Warners alleged sexual assaults involve both east and west coast jurisdictions, police said. This, along with the specific and repeated methodology he used, leads us to believe that the potential for additional victims may exist.

Police urged any additional victims to contact the department, which said even if the incident didnt happen in Windsor Locks, theyll guide the individual to the correct agency and point of contact.

Any agency requiring additional information or any survivors who wish to report an incident is urged to call Detective Sgt. Jeff Lampson at 860-627-4693.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Satisfy an appetite for dining right here on Staten Island, say merchants groups from around New York City, including three from the borough. The Forest Avenue Business Improvement District (BID), Castleton Avenue Merchants Organization (CAMO) and Downtown Staten Island/Chamber or Commerce join about 40 neighborhood associations across the city to promote hyper-local business strips.

A Valentines Day Sweethearts Shop Local program runs through Feb. 14 with several messages impressed upon borough residents: shop local, order direct and not through costly, third-party delivery services, write a positive review, shout out eats on social media, buy a gift card and send a love letter.

Forest Avenue's Business Improvement District rallies for restaurants through Feb. 14 to "show the love." (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

Nina Flores, executive director of the Forest Avenue BID said, Our district is thrilled to be a part of this collaboration. Small business is the backbone of this great city. Staten Island is one big community, and each corridor provides a unique experience. Drive by and sample them all.

The Forest Avenue BID encompasses West Brighton between Hart Boulevard and Broadway. It has lost three eateries in the pandemic  Mar Mar, Philly Pretzel Company and Project Brunch  with spots like The Phoenix, The Staaten, and On Your Marks chocolatier and coffee shop still temporarily shut.

Forest Avenue restaurants that are alive are a newly expanded Beans n Leaves (beansandleavescafe.com), Jodys Club Forest (facebook.com/jodysclubforest76), Cafe Milano (cafemilanosi.com), Better Gourmet (justeatbetter.com), KettleBlack (kettleblackbar.com), HoBrah (hobrahtacos.com) Burrito Bar (theburritobar.com), Fab Cup (fabcup.com), Kings Arms (facebook.com/kingsarmsdiner), Sallys Southern (sallyssouthern.com), the Mustard Seed (mustardseedsi.com), and Panini Grill (paninigrillsi.com) to name a few.

The Castleton Avenue group corrals several eateries and retail shops including Wicked Stitches embroidery shop, designer of a shop local themed cloth bag.

Do your part to keep your neighborhood alive and vibrant. Were gonna love you for it! enthused Nancy Nix, co-owner of Wicked Stitches and CAMO chair.

A burger from the Kings Arms, West Brighton (Courtesy of Kings Arms)

Castleton Avenue restaurants highlighted for the month are Nurnberger Bierhaus (facebook.com/nurnbergerbier); Presto Pizza and Pasta, and Sushi Wen (sushiwensi.com). New businesses on the strip include a Dunkin Donuts and Dickies Deli, formerly Dicks Deli.

Janet Dugo of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerces Downtown Business District explained, The restaurants of Downtown Staten Island are happy to participate in the city-wide #SmallBusinessSweeties campaign, reminding people to shop and dine locally. As a special treat, the Chamber is providing a free chocolate rose to anyone who purchases a meal  pickup, delivery, or sit-down  on Valentines Day at one of the participating Downtown restaurants!

West Brighton-made bags from Wicked Stitches (Courtesy of Priscilla Marco)

Those downtown spots would be St. Georges Beso (besonyc.com), Pier 76 (pier76si.com), Cargo Cafe (cargocafe.nyc), DaddyOs BBQ (daddyosbbqnyc.com), OHenrys Public House (ohenryspub.com), Taverna on the Bay (tavernaonthebay.com), Lakruwana (lakruwanarestaurant.com) and VINUM (vinumnyc.com).

A Pier 76 pie in St. George (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)(Staten Island Advance/Pamela Si

Staten Island Chamber of Commerce president Linda Baran said, We encourage all Staten Islanders to show their hometown restaurants some love and eat local this Valentines Day. So whether its dine-in, takeout, or delivery, lets do it here, and support our neighbors and friends. Its been a tough year, and these businesses need to know how much we care.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
The partners of GPPF are delighted to announce that Kasturi Sen has joined the firms Employment and Civil Rights Law teams. Ms. Sen, an experienced employment lawyer, is committed to fighting for social justice and focuses her practice on protecting the rights of individuals who have suffered discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage theft or other violations, or been targeted by unfair non-compete practices in the workplace. She also represents individuals who have been victims of police misconduct or faced other types of civil rights violations.

Ms. Sen began her legal career as an associate in the Labor and Employment Law Section of Morgan Lewis & Bockius in Philadelphiarecognized widely as one of the best such legal departments in any law firm in the country. There, she gained substantial experience participating in single-plaintiff employment and non-compete litigation. As she progressed within the firm, Ms. Sen also became heavily involved in nation-wide ERISA class actions. Ms. Sen has won summary judgment for her clients on single-plaintiff discrimination and non-payment of overtime claims. She has also received injunctive relief for her clients when needed.

After five years at Morgan Lewis, Ms. Sen left to join the Defender Association of Philadelphia, where she served as an Assistant Defender, primarily in the Major Trials Unit, handling serious felony jury trials. During her seven-year tenure at the Defenders, she successfully represented clients accused of felony and misdemeanor crimes, handling hundreds of jury and bench trials and preliminary and suppression hearings. She also trained newer attorneys by co-chairing jury trials with them.

From both her tenures, Ms. Sen gained vast trial and appellate experience practicing before the Third, First and Second Circuit US Courts of Appeal, the Eastern and Middle Pennsylvania federal district courts as well as Pennsylvania state tribunals and the Philadelphia Immigration Court.

In the pro bono arena, Ms. Sen has successfully won asylum for immigration clients in removal proceedings. Ms. Sen serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ACLU. She has also served as counsel to the Attic Youth Center in Philadelphia, a non-profit aimed at creating opportunities for LGBTQ youth and youth allies in a safe and supportive community. While still in law school, Ms. Sen served as a summer intern at the Womens Law Project in Philadelphia as part of a pro bono project through Morgan Lewis. For her dedication to pro bono work, Morgan Lewis recognized her with the Morgan Lewis Difference Maker of the Year Award in 2011.

A graduate of Cornell University Law School (J.D. 2008), Ms. Sen served as the Articles Editor of its International Law Journal, a moot court board member, and the academic chair of its Womens Law Coalition. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Sen worked for three years as an analyst in securities fraud for NERA Economic Consulting in New York City. She received her undergraduate degree in Economics from Franklin & Marshall College (B.A 2002). Born and raised in India, Ms. Sen is fluent in Bengali and Hindi.
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Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Jagan instructed the in-charge Ministers to review implementation of the Prevention of SC and ST Atrocities Act in the districts once in three months. (Photo: BY Arrangement)

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has asked officials to expedite their inquiry into all pending cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

He gave the direction during a meeting of the high-power SC, ST vigilance and monitoring committee at the Secretariat on Thursday.

He said that such a meeting was not held since 2013, as the previous TD government laid no focus on law enforcement, especially those of SC and ST cases. He said that there should be a regular review of SC and ST law enforcement, both at the state and district levels.

The Chief Minister said that for the first time in the history of the state, the police department has taken tough decisions regarding the SC, ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act and took stringent action against those police officers who were found guilty, proving that no one is above the law. He said that the State government shall continue to provide financial assistance to victims of harassment without any delay. He directed the officials to provide jobs to families of rape and murder victims pertaining to SCs and STs. He suggested providing land for the victims and in case of unavailability, he told the officials to acquire and distribute it to the victims.

He instructed the in-charge Ministers to review implementation of the Prevention of SC and ST Atrocities Act in the districts once in three months. He told the officials to prepare an SOP on law enforcement and effective implementation of the Act. The Chief Minister also directed the investigation wing of SC, ST Act cases in CID to review the progress on a regular basis. He asked the officials to focus on setting up special courts, especially appointing lawyers, as well as providing assistance to victims.

The Chief Minister said, Police need to be closer to the downtrodden communities and provide assurance on the law. We have already made it mandatory for collectors to visit village secretariats once a week. From now onwards, SPs along with collectors should visit SC and ST colonies once a week. At the very first collectors conference after the formation of the government, it was told that the State shall stand by the oppressed sections and women.

Dr G Sunil Kumar, Director, Scheduled Castes National Commission, said the Andhra Pradesh government was the only one in the country to have given Rs 10 lakh compensation to victims in various cases.

Committee members lauded the government's handling of incidents in Rajahmundry, Prakasam and Srikakulam districts with the implementation of the Act.

Meanwhile, the officials informed that the number of cases had decreased by 11 per cent in 2020, which is the lowest in the last six years. There was almost 36 per cent reduction in SC and ST murder cases in 2020, 17 per cent in rape cases, five per cent in trauma cases, 46 per cent in incidents of arson, 11 per cent in other IPC cases and 18 per cent reduction in cases under the SC, ST Act. In terms of time taken for investigation, in 2017 an investigation took nearly 264 days on an average while it was now being accomplished in 50 days.

The Chief Minister later released a booklet prepared by the police department titled 'Good conduct towards SCs, STs and women.'

The meeting was attended by Ministers Mekatoti Sucharitha, Pinipe Viswaroop, Adimulapu Suresh, Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das, DGP Gautam Sawang and other senior officials.
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to media during a break in impeachment proceedings, in the Senate subway area in the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Biden Admin Rushes to Embrace Beijing: Sen. Cruz

The Biden administration is rushing to embrace the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)a policy strategy Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called dangerous in a video he posted that seeks to bring attention to comments made by the presidents Cabinet nominees.

The warm relationshipwhich has already emerged in the beginning weeks of the administrationthreatens to undo years of efforts to counter the CCP. Under the Trump administration, the United States began responding to Beijings unrestricted warfare strategy by ratcheting up its war of words and escalating its countermeasures.

Cruz told The Epoch Times via email that China poses the single greatest geopolitical threat to the United States over the next century.

We need serious, clear-eyed policymakers to confront that threat, he said. One of the really disturbing patterns weve seen with Biden nominee after Biden nominee is their rush to embrace the worst elements of the Chinese Communist Party. I will continue working with my colleagues to protect our national security.

The Biden administration didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

On his first day on the job, Secretary of State Antony Blinkenwho has a decades-old relationship with Bidentold reporters the U.S.China relationship was arguably the most important relationship that we have in the world.

Blinken said he favored cooperation with China on climate change and other issues of shared concern, while also endorsing the determination that the previous administration made that China is committing genocide against Muslims in Xinjiang.

Meanwhile, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, Bidens nominee to be secretary of the Department of Commerce, has refused to commit to keeping Huawei Technologies on the Commerce Departments Entity List, which would stop it from acquiring American technology.

Chinas Huawei has received bipartisan scrutiny over security concerns; Beijing notably requires its companies to share their information with the CCPs intelligence sector. Washington has repeatedly stated that Huaweifounded in 1987 by a former Peoples Liberation Army engineeris an extension of the regime.

Another nominee, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is Bidens nominee for ambassador to the United Nations. She received criticism over her 2019 remarks at an event sponsored by the CCP-backed Confucius Institutes.

Cruz recently joined three of his colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to vote against advancing Greenfields nomination to the full Senate floor.

At the 2019 event, Greenfield spoke positively about China, telling the audience that the country has invested in Africa in a number of ways, including railway projects and other infrastructure development. Africa wouldnt benefit from competition between the United States and China, she added, saying the United States could learn from China and its recent success on the continent.

The U.S. should be focused on building a strong partnership with Africa which is based on shared values of peace, prosperity, sustained economic growth and development, and a firm commitment to good governance, gender equity, and the rule of law. I see no reason why China cannot share in those values. In fact, China is in a unique position to spread these ideals given its strong footprint on the continent, she said.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said the biggest issue with her speech was the lack of acknowledgment of the malign activities of China. Greenfield defended herself, telling senators that she has a long track record of acknowledging those activities, and expressed regret for accepting the invitation to speak at the Savannah State University Confucius Institute.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the recently confirmed secretary of the Department of Homeland Security allegedly abused his power to provide special government favors to benefit well-connected Democrats, which resulted in a high-level official at Huawei obtaining an EB-5 visa, according to a press release from Cruzs office. Cruz opposed the nomination of Mayorkas.

In 2013, Mayorkas, then a nominee under the Obama administration, was under investigation based on allegations that he personally intervened to win an approval for Gulf Coast Funds Management, a financing company that was headed by the late Anthony Rodham, brother of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Emails obtained by the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) show that after winning approval to participate in the foreign visa program, at least one of the visas sought by Rodhams firm was for a vice president of Huawei Technologies.

Aside from the comments by some of Bidens nominees, the presidents administration is also carrying out a number of actions that would be beneficial to the CCP.

Under Bidens hand, the United States is rejoining the Paris Climate accord. China is the worlds largest financier and builder of both fossil fuel and renewable infrastructure worldwide, according to the Climate Action Tracker. It is the largest emitter of CO2 emissions in the world.

The United States is also now rejoining the World Health Organization. Former President Donald Trump accused the WHO of refusing to act on reforms recommended by the United States, including providing proof of its independence from the CCP. Since the pandemic first broke out in Wuhan, China, the WHO repeated the Chinese regimes talking points. It initially parroted the Chinese regimes official statements that there was little or no risk of human-to-human transmission of the virus.

The new administration is also delaying a Chinese military-related investment ban. In China, certain companies have names similar, but not identical to, communist Chinese military companies. Under Biden, the U.S. Treasury Department is temporarily allowing U.S. investment into those companies.

Robert Gates, the defense secretary under the Obama administration, wrote in his 2014 memoir that he believes Biden has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.

-AFL urged

Liberia's military has been asked to form a robust agricultural battalion to find ways to solve the country's collective food insecurity problem, and by extension, create jobs for civilians and agriculture students.

In a keynote speech Wednesday, 3 February at the 64th Armed Forces Day Symposium at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA) president Cllr. Taiwan Gongloe said the military can play a lead role in solving the country's food insecurity problem.

Despite having a rich soil that is said to have great potential for farming purposes, Liberia heavily relies on food import, including its staple, rice. Millions of dollars are said to be used annually for rice import alone.

However, Cllr TiawonGongloe believes that given the level of discipline that exists in the military, using the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) to intervene in the agriculture sector would help Liberia overcome its food insecurity problem.

"The level of discipline that exists in the military makes it ideal for leading our national effort to overcome our food insecurity problem," Cllr. Gongloe suggests.

In support of this recommendation, the Liberian legal luminary also calls on the legislature here to make adequate budgetary appropriation so as to strengthen the Armed Forces of Liberia. Cllr. Gongloe further states that the Liberian Government must also provide more incentives for entrepreneurs that want to venture into food production.

He urges the government to use the process of eminent domain, saying "The Government of Liberia should identify huge parcels of farmland in each county and make them available to the military to produce food for Liberia." He declares that "As a nation, we cannot make progress, if we cannot produce most of the food that we eat."

The LNBA Boss notes that the engagement of the military in food production will also provide opportunities for civilian jobs for agricultural school students, graduates and those with skills from T-Vet programs in the operation and repairs of farming machines, and other logistical and administrative services.

"It can be done, once there is a political will," he maintains.

The symposium brought together panelists mostly from the government, diplomatic sector, civil society and also international partners to discuss the topic: "Enhancing Military and Legislative Interaction in a Democracy: Liberia in Perspective".

Giving a brief narrative of his temporary, but, quite interesting time with the AFL through some observations about its past and present history, Cllr. Gongloe says the AFL has transcended from a brutal force to an incrementally disciplined and professional force over the years.

"... ,Let me quickly say that my general observation and the observations of many critical Liberian thinkers that I have spoken to is that the armed forces, for more than a decade, has been incrementally disciplined and more professional that it is now trusted by the public more than the paramilitary forces," the legal pundit states.

"Today, we are all proud of the performance of the men and women of the Armed Forces as part of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Mali," he adds.

While focusing on the theme of the symposium, he urges the military to stay out of politics and let the politicians make whatever mistake they can make, noting instead that the military can play a leading role to reverse the increasing level of food insecurity in the country.

"The military with the support of the legislature should expand the scope of the military's role of providing for our collective security, beyond protecting us from invasions from across our borders to our collective security from hunger," he emphasizes. The symposium brought together members from the various security institutions including the AFL and experts to discuss topics for the development of the Armed Forces of Liberia.

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It was held under the theme: The Military in Sustaining Democracy. The knowledge gained from the symposium helps the AFL in answering questions and to solve problems.

Madam Moima Briggs Mensah, Representative, Bong County; Commissioner BoakaiDukuly (Proxy for Counselor Davidetta Brown Lansanah, Chairperson, National Elections Commission); Madam Cecelia N. Flomo, Acting Executive Director, Governance Commission; Mr. Harris FumbahTarnue, Principal, Booker Washington Institute (BWI) and Counselor Cyril Jones, CEO, Jones and Jones Law Firm, served as discussants at the symposium.

Other discussants include Lieutenant Colonel Matt Alden, SDO/ DATT US Embassy and Mr. Jimmy W. Smith, Representative, District 2, Montserrado County. Mr. Julius Jeh served as the moderator.
The Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, J Aloysius Tarlue, has officially written the plenary of the Liberian Senate, requesting approval to print fresh family of Liberian banknotes completely.

Governor Tarlue seeks to replace existing Liberian bank notes in three (3) years, from 2021-2023.

The request to print totally new family of bank notes comes at a time there is acute shortage of local currency in banks, forcing tellers to restrict daily withdrawal.

The request to the Senate is a reiteration of President George MannehWeah's recent appeal to legislators during his Annual Message before the 54th Legislature sitting in joint session. Mr. Weah pleaded with lawmakers to quickly approve printing of new family of Liberian banknotes for the economy before another peak in high demands for local currency.

In his communication to the Senate, Governor Tarlue said for consideration and approval in compliance with section 23 of the Act creating the Central Bank and based on CBL's forecast, the total projected amount of new banknotes to be printed is LD$48.733 Billion.

"That the details including the assumptions, rationale, volume and estimated cost of the printed of the banknotes are contained in the enclosed proposal", he said.

He continue that in view of the justification outlined, both in the Board Resolution and the proposal for printing new Liberian banknotes, "The Management of the CBL wishes to respectfully request for Senate's consideration by granting approval of this proposal."

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The CBL boss said approving the proposal will fast track the systemic procurement process of printing and delivering of new banknotes in the country which my take six to nine months.

But the request is likely to face thorough scrutiny at the senate, especially given that 4 billion of the current Liberian banknotes printed late last year in 500 denominations have been scarce in circulation, leaving lawmakers to call the CBL to account.

Bong County Senator Prince K. Moye, wants plenary of the Liberian Senate to reject the Governor's communication and return it, arguing that instead, the President of the Republic of Liberia should be the one communicating to them.

However, the during the CBL amended Act in 2020, the Senate amended that the request to printing money should come directly from the Central Bank, and should filed within three years.

Gbarpolu County Senator Daniel Nathaan noted that before the Senate approves printing of any banknotes, the Central Bank of Liberia should account for both the LRD16 Billion that allegedly went missing and the LRD4 Billion printed in 2020.

Sen. Nathaan said in order to make an informed decision, the Liberian Senate should be in the know of expenditure of monies that were printed.

Meanwhile, the Senate committees on Banking and Currency and the Judiciary have taken seized of the CBL communication to report to plenary in two weeks whether to approve or reject the request.

The Senate Banking and Currency committee is headed by Grand Gedeh County Senator Marshall Dennis and the Judiciary committee is chaired by Senator Cllr. H. Varney G. Sherman of Grand Cape Mount County.
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Dr. Marc Gulitz, DC - CEO of Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic "Bowie will be a fantastic location for us. We're looking forward to being able to host an opening for our team and partners at an appropriate and safe future date. We're always looking to expand our reach and are currently working on additional sites around the State of Maryland."

Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic, a leading Chiropractic and Physical Therapy practice, today announced a new office location in the Bowie area of Prince George's County. The new location, 4201 Northview Dr #101, Bowie, MD 20716, will be the company's tenth location around Maryland, and will become home to a growing team of healthcare professionals.

According to CEO, Dr. Marc Gulitz, the expansion has been planned for some time. "Our vision has always been to serve the entire Baltimore Metro area, and then expand throughout the State and Region. We are excited about serving the needs of the Prince George's County community, along with our referring Doctors and partners. We're also committed to expanding our team and creating healthcare jobs throughout Maryland."

Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab specializes in the care of acute injuries caused by automobile or work related accidents. Adding a new location is a strategic move that will allow them to have a physical presence in the City of Bowie, expanding their patient care and reach to tens of thousands more Maryland residents.

"Given the number of residents, and referring partners in the City of Bowie, and the surrounding communities," says Dr. Gulitz, "we expect this new location to quickly grow in patient visits, and staff. Within six months we believe this new location will be seeing a similar volume to our nine other clinics."

About Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic

Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic specializes in the rehabilitation of acute musculoskeletal injuries, such as those commonly experienced in auto accidents and work related injuries. Our healthcare providers work alongside primary care physicians, pain management physicians, physical therapists, orthopedists, and neurologists to manage care, and provide positive outcomes for patients. Founded in 2012, Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic is one of the fastest growing practices in the Region. For more information visit the website at http://www.midatlanticspinalrehab.com

About Growth Solutions Team

The Growth Solutions Team is a leading provider of Business Consulting, Sales & Customer Service Training, and Small Business Advisory services. Our team assists companies with revenue generation, profit maximization, business processes, Strategic HR, and business development. Our programs are designed to meet you where you are, and to generate lasting results for your company. For more information visit the website at http://www.growthsolutionsteam.com
Oregon lawmakers are set to decide Friday what consequences if any Rep. Diego Hernandez, D-Portland, should face for violating the Legislatures workplace rules by pressuring two women to restart romantic relationships and subjecting a long-term partner to controlling and abusive treatment.

The women involved in the case all had jobs that brought them to the Capitol in some capacity, whether as lobbyists or in political positions, and legislators determined in hearings this week that they reasonably feared Hernandez might use his powerful position in the Legislature to undercut their careers if they rebuffed him.

The most severe option would be for the House Committee on Conduct to recommend that the full House vote to expel Hernandez, who easily won reelection in November. The chief clerk of the House and a deputy combed through extensive House records dating back to statehood on Thursday and could find no evidence the House has ever expelled a member.

Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, resigned in 2018 after an investigator confirmed that Kruse groped and otherwise sexually harassed lawmakers and other women at the Capitol, a situation known for years to legislative leaders.

Hernandez has resisted calls to resign and said in a statement read by his lawyer Monday that he did not believe he violated legislative rules in his conduct toward the women. In a long statement that mostly blamed others, he characterized his actions as blurring lines and mishandling messy break-ups  a narrative the women refuted  and said he is sorry in retrospect and wants a chance to improve.

All three women with substantiated allegations against Hernandez have called for him to be expelled. And a long list of public employee unions and progressive groups and elected officials said in recent days that Hernandez should resign or be expelled.

In testimony, the three women said expelling Hernandez would set a precedent that mistreatment of workers by lawmakers and others at the Capitol would not be tolerated.

One of the three women, known in investigators reports and committee discussions as Subject 4, said that other unnamed sitting lawmakers have committed more serious transgressions than Hernandez and it was unfortunate that Hernandez, one of the few Latino or Latina lawmakers in Oregon, is being taken to task first.

The woman, who described herself as non-white, said she initially did not want to be part of a process that went after a Latino man for violations that white men have been guilty of without consequence. At the same time, the woman said Hernandez work to advance policies that help many Oregonians is not a ticket or an indulgence for injury to women.

The woman had been friends with Hernandez for some time when he pressured her into a physical encounter in mid-2017, after which she felt coerced by him to resume an unwanted intimate relationship, investigators found.

I do not owe Rep. Hernandez my silence in exchange for his public service, Subject 4 said. She said Hernandez demonstrated he does not understand what was wrong with his treatment of a series of women and seems unlikely to learn through training, given his masters degree in social work.

The 2 p.m. Friday committee meeting to determine any consequences for Hernandez will stream on the Legislatures website.

The four lawmakers on the House Committee on Conduct, two Democrats and two Republicans, have already determined this week that Hernandez violated the Legislatures human resources rules against sexual harassment and created a hostile workplace in his treatment of three women. In one case, the committee found that Hernandez violated a rule against quid pro quo sexual harassment by texting the then-executive director of House Democrats political organization, referred to as Subject 1, with what she perceived to be a specific veiled threat to get her disciplined or fired from her Legislature-linked job.

The committee also found that Hernandez violated the rule against quid pro quo sexual harassment in his treatment of Subject 4, who said he ultimately threatened to complain to her supervisor about an unspecified matter. When he threatened to complain to my boss after I disagreed with him, I felt like I had lost the war, she said. I wasnt about to risk my income by being anything less than agreeable again, even if that meant I could only muster the strength to talk to him by phone. I avoided seeing him in person for months.

Hernandez first initiated a physical relationship with Subject 4 when he offered her a ride home after they spent time with friends, only to claim once they were in the car that he was too inebriated to drive. Hernandez asked if he could kiss Subject 4, who was in a relationship at the time.

I believe that Rep. Hernandez knew I was in a vulnerable position that night, and that he took advantage of that position for his own gain, Subject 4 wrote. I thought I was getting a ride home, but instead I felt physically cornered.

Her story echoed some elements from the account of Subject 1 that Hernandez made her feel cornered and that he attempted to take advantage of his claimed inability to drive due to inebriation as an opportunity for physical intimacy. Investigators found Subject 4 felt pressured to resume a relationship with Hernandez and did so briefly in 2018.

Subject 4 also described Hernandezs persistent controlling behavior, a characteristic also noted by Subjects 1 and 2 this week. How do you tell a legislatorsomeone people wait weeks to meet with for 15 minutesthat hes taking too much of your time and your life? she said. I tried to. I tried to set reasonable boundaries and I tried not responding, but he would keep reaching out until he got a response or his way. He joked, Im not HBO you cant cancel me. Im more like Comcast. Its really hard to cancel me.

Subject 1 testified on camera Tuesday, giving a detailed account of Hernandezs relentless and aggressive efforts to reengage her in a relationship.

On Monday night, Subject 2, who had a long-term relationship with Hernandez, talked about Hernandezs pattern of controlling and abusive behavior and accused him of gaslighting my experience. Investigators said her account was backed up by text evidence and Hernandez own admissions.

Subject 1, who had a brief relationship with Hernandez in early 2017, said she said she felt compelled to testify to the committee on live video in order to defend her credibility because of how Hernandez publicly downplayed and otherwise mischaracterized his behavior. When accusations of misbehavior first surfaced, Hernandez claimed that House Speaker Tina Kotek had initiated a drive to get women to complain about him to punish him for a vote regarding public employee retirement benefits.

Hes created a completely fantastical story about angry ex-girlfriends who were recruited in a coordinated effort to push him out of the Legislature because of a single vote he took, a narrative that is nothing but a couple of bad breakups and dating when youre young is hard, Subject 1 said, referring to Hernandez various explanations for the situation over the last year.

Hernandez did not appear at this weeks hearings but was represented by his lawyer, Kevin Lafky. Hernandez said in a statement read by his lawyer on Monday that it was a violation of his rights for only him or his lawyer, but not both, to be allowed to participate.

Subject 1 was a lobbyist when she briefly dated Hernandez at the start of 2017, after meeting him in a professional capacity in 2016, she said. She soon told Hernandez she no longer wanted a romantic relationship, a decision she made in part because his behavior was possessive and manipulative, including going through her phone without her permission, the woman told lawmakers.

After she ended things, she tried to spend as little time as possible with him, as he constantly shifted their professional conversations about legislative matters to personal topics and requests to spend time together, she said.

He wasnt taking no for an answer, which was making me nervous and uncomfortable, she said.

One day, an anonymous gift package arrived at her home. Soon after, she left work at the Capitol and found flowers on the windshield of her car. The anonymous gifts arriving at my home and my place of work made me feel very exposed and vulnerable, like someone was watching me, she said. Hernandez eventually confirmed he left the flowers and sent the gifts.

The woman repeatedly told Hernandez she did not want a relationship, but he continued to pursue her, according to her testimony Tuesday night and findings of independent investigators hired by the state.

In the summer of 2017, the woman agreed to meet Hernandez before he was scheduled to attend an event with the intent to again make clear she was drawing a line she did not want him to cross. Honestly, I felt worn down by his continued requests and I was striving to maintain a professional relationship, she said. He suggested they meet up again after the event and the woman said she neither agreed or disagreed. Near dusk that evening, she said, Hernandez showed up at the entrance to her apartment building and phoned for her to let him in.

It was clear to me at that point that I had completely lost any measure of control over the situation, said the woman, who lived in a first-floor apartment with many windows. She hid in her closet until Hernandez left, she testified.

Yet Hernandez continued to push to spend time with her and when the woman accepted a job as executive director of the House Democrats political organization, he suddenly had more access and power over her since he was a leader in the caucus, she said. He became less requesting of her time and more insistent upon it, she testified.

She avoided him when they were both at a professional conference in October 2017, the woman said, but after the conference she received a text message from him that she perceived to be a veiled threat.

While telling me that I was the perfect fit for the position, he openly criticized my work performance at the conference that weekend and accused me of drinking too much, she said. He offered that the was sharing this with me and no one else, but that he and I should meet in person to sort out how to work together better moving forward.  I felt like this was an attack on my credibility from someone who had influence and power over my job  I was feeling cornered 

-- Hillary Borrud; hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

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Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
Brian McCreary has been identified as the man on the left wearing a facemask in these images from the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C.

North Adams Man Arrested in Capitol Riot

This man, with the glasses and mask, is Brian McCreary, my coworker from Dominos Pizza. #CapitolRiot pic.twitter.com/5n7bRTdh92  Brians Coworker  (@ppkidiot) January 10, 2021

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  A second Berkshire County man has been arrested in relation to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Brian McCreary, 33, of North Adams was arrested near Springfield on Thursday by agents from the FBI's Boston bureau.

McCreary is facing initial charges of two counts of entering a restricted building or grounds, and three counts of violent entry and disorderly conduct. A number of those arrested have had further charges added.

David Lester Ross , 33, of Pittsfield was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 and charged the next day with curfew violation and unlawful entry.

McCreary was identified by a co-worker in an image with the so-called "QAnon shaman" Jacob Chansley, who is being held in an Arizona detention facility.
Kabul, Feb 5 : At least 26 people were killed during clashes between security forces and Taliban militants in Afghanistan's Kunduz province on Friday, a top official confirmed.

"In the clash 16 pro-government militiamen including their commander Abdul Hakim and 10 Taliban rebels were killed and nine others including five rebels were injured," the official told Xinhua news agency.

Villagers said hundreds of Taliban militants launched massive offensive on pro-government militiamen in Tepa Akhtar area of Khanabad district early morning triggering heavy fighting which lasted for three hours.

Mohammad Yusuf, head of Kunduz provincial council, also confirmed the clash, saying that delay in dispatching reinforcement led to the death of 16 pro-government militiamen.
Criminal Background Records As time passes laws evolve and legislative bodies continue to modify and/or improve these laws. Every time a background screening law changes, employers should take immediate note.

Seemingly every year laws governing the use of criminal history records, as a part of the pre-employment screening process, change and grow increasingly complicated. Adam Almeida, President and CEO of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com, states: Working with a well-qualified third-party pre-employment background screening agency, such as CriminalBackgroundRecords.com, should remain a best practice for all employers in order to avoid confusion and potential risk regarding the use of criminal records reports.

Ban-the-Box laws have spread across the country and have been enacted in numerous states and municipalities. Arising from a perception of inequality and bias based on the box that asks if you have criminal history on employment applications, Ban-the-Box laws continue to evolve.

From Business.com on January 25, 2021:

Social justice advocates and employment experts say those convicted of crimes should be allowed to prove their qualifications for a job instead of being eliminated early in the process. With this in mind, there has been a push over the past two decades for employers to remove this type of question from the initial job application and instead ask it later in the hiring process. In theory, this gives job candidates the chance to make their initial case for why they should be hired. It lets them be evaluated on their qualifications, rather than on their criminal convictions, which may or may not give insight into the type of employee they would be. (1)

As time passes laws evolve and legislative bodies continue to modify and/or improve these laws. Every time a background screening law changes, employers should take immediate note.

A good example of modification to law is in Illinois. In early 2021 the state legislative took up the issue of improving existing ban-the-box laws, unique to that state.

From JDSupra.com on January 28, 2021:

On January 13, 2021, the last day before the previous General Assembly adjourned, the Illinois legislature passed Senate Bill 1480 as part of an ambitious lame duck legislative agenda. The bill amends the IHRA to make it a civil rights violation to use a conviction record in any employment-related decision, unless (1) there is a substantial relationship between the criminal offense and the position or (2) it would involve an unreasonable risk to property or the safety of a specific individual or the general public. (2)

Almeida concludes: Laws change all the time and a best practice remains for employers to work with a well-qualified third-party pre-employment background screening agency in order to stay current with laws governing the employment process.

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is a third-party employment screening company, an advocate of SHRM, a member in good standing with the PBSA (Professional Background Screening Association) and for over 17 years has maintained an A+ Rating with the BBB (Better Business Bureau). The company has highly trained operators well versed in the needs and requirements of companies and organizations large and small utilizing public records, such as criminal background records, as part of a hiring process. Assisting companies in maintaining full compliance under the law is a central tenet of all client relationships with CriminalBackgroundRecords.com.

Notes:

(1) business.com/articles/ban-the-box-laws/

(2) jdsupra.com/legalnews/illinois-poised-to-bar-criminal-1774361/
Admin gears up as Hisar farmers get set to protest today

Punjab MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu hoists black flag at his residence in support of protesting farmers

Ahead of polls, TN govt announces Rs 12,110 cr farm loan waiver

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Chennai, Feb 05: The ruling AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu on Friday announced a Rs 12,110 crore farm loan waiver in the State assembly. A total of 16.43 lakh farmers who availed loans from cooperative banks to benefit.

Making the announcement in the state assembly, Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the scheme would come into immediate effect and the required financial allocation would be made by his government.

Travesty of truth: Chidambaram slams MEA assertion that new farm laws passed after full debate

He said the AIADMK was the only party that fulfills promises and also comes up with fresh welfare measures.

Targeting the opposition DMK, he said the party had promised two acres of land, but failed to implement.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

The CM added that the scheme would come into immediate effect to reduce the burden on debt-ridden farmers who are currently affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, two cyclones in the state since November, and the monsoon.
Press Release

February 5, 2021 De Lima to Filipinos: Defend Charter, sovereignty amid economic Cha-cha proposal Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has warned against the dangers of amending the 1987 Constitution's economic provisions which would open more Philippine sectors to foreign management and control. In her message during a webinar entitled "Bakuna at Ayuda, Hindi Cha-Cha: Charter Change in the Time of Pandemic and Economic Crisis" last Feb. 4, De Lima urged the Filipino people to work together in defending and guarding the Charter. "The wisdom of our Constitutional framers in erecting high walls of protection for the Constitution against reptilian politicians has been guiding us. But it is our duty to always show up to defend the Charter every time there is an attempt to undermine it by despots like Duterte," she said. "Ngayon, binubuhay na naman nila ang ang Cha-Cha. But this time, they try a different tack--economic. Sinusubukan nila ang economic Cha-Cha sa pag-aakalang wala ritong masyadong aalma. Nagkakamali sila," she added. Last February 2, 64 members of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments voted in favor of Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 2 proposing economic amendments to the country's charter. Under the Resolution of Both Houses No. 2, the phrase "unless otherwise provided by law" would be added to the constitutional restrictions that limit the participation of foreign investors in the governing body of entities based on their proportionate share in the capital. De Lima, a social justice and human rights champion, said she fears that the present administration might also use the economic Cha-Cha move as a ground plan to position more Chinese investors in the country's economic sphere while Duterte has the clout of office. "I envisage an economic capture if that happens that can compromise our claims in the West Philippine Sea and affect our overall economic sovereignty. This scenario is not farfetched because Duterte is all-out in supporting and defending China," she said. "China is rich and they would not entertain second thoughts if sabotaging our economy would advance their expansionist agenda in the South China Sea and their project of setting up a hegemony in the region," she added. While there may be merit in reviewing and possibly adapting the Constitution to the needs of the time, De Lima maintained that now, under Duterte's rule, is not the right time. "This is a very dangerous and horrifying scenario. That's why we must zealously guard the Constitution against Duterte. Sama-sama nating pigilan ang tangkang ito sa ating Saligang Batas. Ibuhos natin ang ating talino, kakayahan at lakas para tutulan at ipaunawa sa publiko ang panganib na idudulot ng Cha-Cha ni Duterte," she said. "Wala man po ako diyan, kasama ninyo ako sa labang ito, at laging kapanalig para sa demokrasya, karapatang pantao at pagprotekta sa ating Konstitusyon," she added. Since 2016, De Lima said Duterte and his allies have set their eyes on the Constitution to do with it what they please, thereby endangering the Constitution's democratic safeguards and people's civil and political rights in a bid to allow them more rooms for despotic maneuvers.
Posting false information on Facebook, four people in Hanoi have been fined a total of VND30 million (around $1,500).

A Hanoi woman is fined for spreading false news

The Hanoi Department of Information and Communications decided to impose a fine on a 31-year-old woman named Hoang Thu Trang in Nam Tu Liem district for spreading fake news on Facebook.

On January 28, Trang posted information and photos of the travel schedule of a Covid-19 patient on her Facebook page.

According to inspectors of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications, the information is false and was fabricated, causing public confusion. Trang's behavior violated the provisions of Article 5, Decree No. 72/2013 of the Government on the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information.

One of the prohibited acts under this regulation is taking advantage of Internet services to misrepresent, slander and distribute fake information, false information, harming the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals.

This act will be sanctioned according to Point D, Clause 1, Article 101 of the Government's Decree No. 15/2020 on sanctioning of administrative violations in the fields of post, telecommunications, radio frequency, and IT and electronic transactions. Under this regulation, the fine imposed on Trang is VND7.5 million and she has to remove the false information.

On the same day, the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications also decided to impose administrative fines on three other people, namely Pham Manh Dat, 28, from Hoan Kiem District, Tran Thi Hang, 28, from Thanh Tri District and Hoang Ngoc Anh, 29, from Cau Giay district.

Dat was sanctioned for posting false news about a group of reporters of the Vietnam Television (VTV). Dat wrote on his Facebook page that these reporters got a meal offered by the wife of a Covid-19 patient in Van Don, Quang Ninh province while they were filming a TV program there.

Meanwhile, Hang and Ngoc Anh, shared false information about a Covid-19 patient, writing on their Facebook that this patient joined a party at a karaoke parlor with service girls.

These people have to pay fine of VND7.5 million/person. The total fines on the violators were VND30 million.

Earlier, a Facebooker in Thai Nguyen province had to pay a fine of VND5 million for spreading false news about a Covid-19 patient.

Trong Dat

New laws to handle fake news online Minister of the Public Security To Lam speaks to Voice of Vietnam about a complete new set of laws designed to handle fake news on the internet.
The American Library Association on February 4 announced Deacon King Kong by James McBride (Riverhead Books) as the winner of the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and Fathoms: The World in the Whale by Rebecca Giggs (Simon & Schuster) as the winner of the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.

The selections were announced at the Reference and User Services Association's Book and Media Awards (BMAs) virtual event, sponsored by NoveList, on Thursday, February 4, 2021. The awards, which were established in 2012, have become a highly coveted literary honor, reflecting the expert judgment and insight of library professionals and booksellers who work closely with adult readers.

McBride earned a starred review for what PW called a "sharply compassionate shaggy dog tale of a heavy drinking Baptist deacon who shoots a drug dealer and becomes a walking dead man. Booklist's Donna Seaman praised Giggs' book as a "deeply researched and deeply felt" book that urges us "to save the whales once again, and the oceans, and ourselves."

The Medals are made possible, in part, by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York in recognition of Andrew Carnegies deep belief in the power of books and learning to change the world, and are co-sponsored by ALAs Booklist and the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).

It has been my great honor to work with this committee of such passionate and discerning readers, said Bill Kelly, chair of the selection committee for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence. As we collectively read and discussed scores of incredible books this last year, a year of extraordinary challenges, we discovered a renewed appreciation for the power of literature. More than ever we need books that nourish the mind and heart alike. Our two winners are exemplars of this power and it is our privilege to award them this honor.

This year's fiction finalists also include A Burning by Megha Majumdar (Alfred A. Knopf), which PW praised as a "memorable, impactful work," and Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar (Little, Brown and Company), which graced the cover of PW's 2020 Best Books issue.

Nonfiction finalists included Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine (Graywolf Press), which PW called a "unique and powerful meditation on the challenges of communicating across the racial divide in America," and Memorial Drive: A Daughters Memoir by Natasha Trethewey (Ecco) hailed by PW as a "beautifully composed, achingly sad memoir" from the U.S. poet laureate Trethewey.
In a recent report, we explored how the present perfect was playing in a kind of language competition.

In todays report, we will continue our journey with the present perfect. But this time, instead of talking about history, we will travel around the world. You will learn how the present perfect has different uses in different kinds of English.

Lets begin with a few important terms and ideas.

What is the present perfect?

You can think about English verbs in terms of tense, aspect, and mood. Tense means time  present, past, or future. Aspect can suggest whether an action has been completed or not.

Mood is complex - do not worry too much about it today.

When we talk about the present perfect, we are talking about tense (the present) and we are talking about aspect (the term perfect).

The basic idea is that the present perfect suggests an action has been completed and has a connection to the present point in time in some way.

In a recent report, we talked about how Betty Azar, an English grammar expert, defines the present perfect. In her book Understanding and Using English Grammar, Azar describes the present perfect in terms of form and meaning. The form is have + past participle. The meaning is that the perfect tenses all give the idea that one thing happens before another time or event.

Here is an example:

I have already eaten.

Have  eaten suggests that the speaker ate at some point in the past. It also suggests the action of eating has some connection to the present moment in time. For example, perhaps another person asked if the speaker wanted to eat food.

This example shows you a general way in which the present perfect is used. But the present perfect has different uses in different kinds of English, as we will see.

Different kinds of English

In recent Everyday Grammar stories, we explored the present perfect in British English. We also explored how Americans have been using the simple past more often than the present perfect.

But there is another kind of English that uses the present perfect in an interesting way: Australian English.

A study in Linguistics looked at the use of the present perfect in a number of Australian radio broadcasts.

The lead writer, Marie-Eve Ritz, notes that speakers of Australian English often use the present perfect as a way to make stories seem more real. The researchers call this the narrative use of the present perfect.

The examples came from call-in radio shows where people described stories in a natural or everyday way.

The basic idea is that the speakers often used the present perfect in place of the simple past.

Here is an example from the research, a short part of a radio broadcast on Triple J radio Sydney. Note that an American voice is reading these words:

I looked over my shoulder, hes standing right behind me. Hes WALKED in, yknow the doors that separate the classrooms, hes COME in the one behind me, they all started laughing.

Note that the speaker began in the simple past with the words I looked over...

But then the speaker used short forms of he has walked in and he has come - the present perfect.

The study also gives an example of how speakers of Australian English sometimes change from the simple past to the present perfect after using the word then.

Consider this example, once again from Triple J radio Sydney.

I just wanted to get out of the building as soon as possible. And THEN, about four of them HAVE COME UP to me and one guys on crutches 

American English

In general, you will not hear this narrative use of the present perfect in American English.

Speakers of American English use something else to make past experiences seem more real - the so-called historic present, which you can read about in our previous Everyday Grammar story.

The basic idea is that Americans sometimes change from the past to the present when reporting speech or describing a past event.

The idea is that the change in verb tense makes the story seem more real and present to the listener or reader.

Closing thoughts

In todays report, you learned about how some speakers of Australian English use the present perfect in an interesting way.

You also learned that Americans use a different kind of verb form to tell stories.

The next time you are watching films or news broadcasts in English, pay careful attention to the present perfect. Try to watch news broadcasts from different kinds of English  American, Australian, and so on. Over time, you will develop a deep understanding of the present perfect and how different English speakers use it.

Im John Russell.

John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

aspect  n. grammar : the characteristic of a verb that expresses the way an action happens. A verb's aspect shows whether an action happens one time and stops quickly, happens repeatedly, or happens continuously.

mood  n. grammar : a set of forms of a verb that show whether the action or state expressed by the verb is thought of as a fact, a command, or a wish or possibility

past participle  n. grammar: the form of the verb that is used with have in perfect tenses and with be in passive constructions

narrative  adj. having the form of a story; of or relating to the process of telling a story

crutch  n. a long stick with a padded piece at the top that fits under a person's arm  usually plural
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The NHS trust that treated Captain Tom Moore for pneumonia admitted in a board meeting that a 'significant proportion' of its Covid patients caught the virus in hospital.

Captain Tom, dubbed a national hero and knighted by the Queen for raising over 33million for NHS charities during the Covid crisis, died on Tuesday aged 100. He caught coronavirus, having been unable to get vaccinated because he was having ongoing treatment for his pneumonia.

The World War II veteran's family have since claimed that he contracted the virus during his stay at Bedford Hospital, where he was an inpatient for 10 days while he was ill and where he later died after testing positive.

The Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital as well as one in Luton, raised concerns about the rate of in-hospital infection in a board meeting this week.

Minutes from meeting said the 'high transmissibility of the mutant virus' - believed to be a reference to the Kent variant of the coronavirus, which is thought to spread around 50 per cent faster than older versions - had made it harder to control.

It revealed around one in seven of all Covid patients in January may have caught the virus in hospital - down from more than a third in October, November and December - and that some got it while they were well enough to be discharged but waiting around to be sent home.

The spread of the virus inside hospitals, known as nosocomial infection, has been a running problem for the NHS and health services globally because people often transmit the virus before they get symptoms, and can even pass it on after testing negative.

Data presented to the board of directors at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust showed that around one in seven people with Covid in its hospitals in January had tested positive five or more days after admission, suggesting they may have picked up the virus in the hospital.

Captain Tom, dubbed a national hero and knighted by the Queen for raising over 33million for NHS charities during the Covid crisis, died on Tuesday aged 100

Notes from the hospital's board meeting on Wednesday, February 3, said: 'A significant proportion of cases in the second surge were detected 8+ days following admission, indicating infection was due to acquisition in the hospital.

'The highly transmissible nature of the circulating mutant virus and the inability to isolate patients in single rooms combined with infections in staff and asymptomatic carriage resulted in high numbers of nosocomial infections.

'A significant additional factor was the length of stay for many patients who were medically fit for discharge but were unable to return to their place of residence.

PATIENT NUMBERS COULD FALL TO PRE-LOCKDOWN LEVELS 'BY MARCH' The number of hospital patients with coronavirus may fall to levels seen at the start of November by March 8  the day Boris Johnson hopes schools will be able to re-open. Patients in hospital with coronavirus across England have been falling at an average of 479 per day over the last 13 days, according to statistics analysed by the Health Service Journal (HSJ). The latest Department of Health figures shows there were 28,112 patients with Covid in hospital in England as of January 31. The HSJ analysis revealed that the number of Covid inpatients in England had fallen by an average of 479 over the past fortnight. The trade publication claimed that if the current speed continues, then there would be around 11,000 infected patients in hospitals on March 8. Data from the Department of Health shows that in the first seven days of December  just after England's second national lockdown finished  there was an average of 13,200 patients in hospital with Covid. The equivalent figure from the start of November  before the second lockdown  stood at around 10,000. Advertisement

'Case reviews have shown that a number of these patients acquired infection while waiting appropriate and safe discharge.'

Hospitals can estimate how many people have caught the virus in their hospital by the period of time between them being admitted to hospital and testing positive.

It takes people an average of five days to develop symptoms of Covid after they catch the virus, according to the World Health Organization, and a similar amount of time for the virus to reliably show up in a swab test.

Many people in hospital have other health problems which means they are likely to get symptoms if they do catch the virus, which preys on the elderly and people who are in poor health.

Therefore, hospitals can work out that it's likely, if someone tests positive in the first four days of their stay in hospital, that they caught the virus before they came in, because otherwise they would not test positive until later.

If they test negative on admission, however - and all patients are now tested before they go into hospital - and then don't test positive until five or more days later, they are generally classed as having caught the virus in hospital.

In its board meeting, the Bedfordshire Hospital Trust data showed there were 775 patients who tested positive for coronavirus in January.

Of these, 106 (14 per cent, or one in seven) tested positive five or more days after admission, suggesting they likely caught the virus in hospital. Half of them - 54 - tested positive after eight days, meaning they almost certainly did.

The trust's data showed that the proportion of patients testing positive later into their stay in hospital is significantly higher in the second wave, suggesting it has been harder for staff to contain the virus.

While between 22 and 25 per cent of cases were found after five days or more during the first wave, from March to June 2020, the proportion has been between 14 and 48 per cent during the second wave, from October to January.

Many of these cases of the virus spreading in hospital are considered by the NHS to be unavoidable.

The Bedfordshire report said: 'There were six incidents of potentially avoidable nosocomial Covid infection. (A hospital-acquired infection also known as a nosocomial infection is an infection that is acquired in a hospital or other health care facility).'

A spokesperson for the trust said in a statement to The Mirror: 'The safety of our patients and staff is our main priority and we have strict infection prevention processes, social distancing measures and visiting restrictions in place to help keep everyone safe, while every patient and staff member is regularly tested.'

Bedford Hospital, where Captain Tom Moore was treated for pneumonia and then later died when he returned after catching coronavirus

NHS England data shows the average number of Covid-19 cases caught on wards dropped from 553 on January 10 to an average low of 369 on January 25 in hospitals across the country

Captain Tom Moore's family revealed this week that he only tested positive for coronavirus after his 10-day stay in hospital where he was being treated for pneumonia.

The war veteran, was clear of coronavirus on December 9 before he flew away for what would be his final holiday to Barbados, and again when he arrived home on January 6.

After returning to the UK he was admitted to Bedford Hospital on January 12 where he was diagnosed with pneumonia, but he tested negative for coronavirus in a routine test when he was admitted.

But by the time he was discharged from the hospital on January 22 tests showed he had now caught the disease, the family said.

At his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, he was cared for by family and medics until he had to be taken back to hospital on January 31 by ambulance when he started having breathing difficulties.

The next Tuesday, February 2, his devastated daughters Hannah Ingram-Moore and Lucy Teixeira announced he had passed away peacefully.

It is almost impossible to know for certain how someone contracts coronavirus, because it spreads silently and often comes from people who don't know they are ill.

The virus is so hard to contain in hospitals because staff have to get very close to, and touch, patients known to have Covid-19, and there is a risk that patients test negative when entering the hospital despite actually having the virus and being capable of spreading it.

Although staff are required to wear protective equipment at all times, including face masks, aprons and gloves, these do not guarantee that they will never catch the virus.

Wards have been segregated to keep Covid-positive patients away from others who are there for treatment for other serious illnesses, but even these can be impacted by silent cases of the virus.

The risk of transmission in hospitals is also heightened because Covid patients there generally have large amounts of the virus in their body, which is what makes them sicker, making them more likely to pass it on.

Testing surveys have found that staff working in patient-facing medical roles are more likely to contract coronavirus than the general population.

But hospitals are now warning that keeping Covid and non-Covid patients separate is becoming increasingly difficult as wards get ever busier.

Papers published before a board meeting of Surrey and Sussex Healthcare Trust, according to The Times, stated: 'It is becoming much more difficult to separate the Covid positive and Covid negative patients.'

The documents said it was increasingly common for patients admitted into 'cold' areas for non-Covid treatment to be transferred into 'hot' areas for Covid sufferers despite showing no symptoms.

But despite this, national data showed that in January the number of people contracting coronavirus in hospital had fallen from its peak over the winter and was continuing to come down.

NHS England data show the average number of Covid-19 cases caught on wards in England dropped from 553 on January 10 to 369 on January 25, a fall of 33 per cent.

This happened despite the number of patients in hospitals rising throughout the month, with a record 34,000 inpatients in England alone by mid-January, dipping to 28,000 by the end of the month.

The number of Covid cases caught in hospital on any single day was highest on January 4 with 635 cases, a day before the third national lockdown came into force.

This then halved to a low of 304 on January 22, while the daily average, calculated over seven days, declined more slowly.


A Brisbane man and woman have been charged after several women were allegedly drugged, tattooed as property, and held for unlawful prostitution.

Two house raids in Mount Gravatt East and South Brisbane on Tuesday, February 2, led to evidence to support the charges of sexual servitude and offences related to organised prostitution, including recordings of male clients and the victims engaging in sexual acts.

Matthew James Markcrow, 35, was charged with 10 offences, including conducting a business involving servitude, conducting a business of unlawful prostitution, possession of dangerous drugs and utensils, and possession of tainted property and recordings in breach of privacy.

Crystal Marie Sawyer, 23, was charged with three offences, including conducting a business of unlawful prostitution.
Justice Party chairman Kim Jong-cheol speaks during a New Year press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Jan. 20. He was expelled and stripped of his party membership for sexually harassing a fellow lawmaker on Jan. 15. It was the first time the head of an established political party was removed due to sexual misconduct. Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo



The latest sexual harassment allegations involving former Justice Party Chairman Kim Jong-cheol raise questions over why sexual violence is being repeated in politics, despite campaigns to prevent it.



Last month, Kim admitted to sexually harassing Jang Hye-young, a female lawmaker, after having dinner together on Jan. 15. He was dismissed from his leadership post and stripped of his party membership.



Kim joins former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, ex-Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don and former South Chungcheong Province Governor Ahn Hee-jung. Park and Oh sexually harassed their respective female subordinates and Ahn raped his secretary.



Park committed suicide in July 2020 after police received a complaint from the victim. Oh faces a trial after allegations against him surfaced in April 2020. Ahn is currently serving a three-and-half-year prison term after being convicted of sexual assault in 2019.



Some attributed the continuing prevalence of sexual misconduct by high-ranking civil servants and politicians to the fact that the parliament and government are male-dominated.



"It is a problem that the National Assembly is composed primarily of men in their 50s who therefore have influence on parliamentary culture as well as power," Park Seong-min, a member of the Supreme Council of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), said in a radio interview. "Their level of sensitivity toward gender issues certainly falls behind that of younger generations. They fail to understand deeply the purpose of measures that are aimed at preventing sexual offenses and act accordingly."



A National Assembly administrative staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the male-dominated leadership of major political parties causes "gender inequality" that can lead to sexual offenses.



"For instance, a female lawmaker will need to win favors from the leadership if she wants to extend her term and secure her candidacy for the next Assembly election," the staffer said. "The lawmaker may act in a submissive manner, which will be misunderstood by male leaders as a tacit approval to exploit her and still go unpunished."





Former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon committed suicide in July 2020 after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced. Yonhap





Former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don stepped down in April 2020 over sexual misconduct allegations. He admitted his wrongdoings and faces trial. Yonhap





Former South Chungcheong Province Governor Ahn Hee-jung is serving a three-and-half-year jail term after being convicted of raping his secretary in 2019. Yonhap
Barbecuing in front of the Lafayette mayor-president's house to protest a police killing has landed a woman in court.

The district attorney's office on Thursday charged Tara Fogleman Laxey, 46, with obstruction of a public passage and disturbing the peace for the August incident. Both are misdemeanors.

Laxey is expected to appear in court Tuesday for arraignment. She will plead not guilty, her attorney Marcus Allen said Friday.

"This will inevitably go to a trial," Allen said. "Shes not willing to negotiate. She feels she stood up for what she believes in."

+2 Lafayette mayor refuses to meet with protesters outside his home: 'That's not good trouble' Protesters in Lafayette and Mayor-President Josh Guillory and his administration continue to be at odds over community response to the police 

Laxey, an activist with the group Unity 7 and The Village, went live on Facebook in late August from the street outside Mayor-President Josh Guillory's house while she grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. She wanted Guillory to visit with her to discuss the Aug. 21 shooting death of Trayford Pellerin at the hands of Lafayette Police.

Allen questioned why the district attorney's office would prosecute the case at all, much less in district court instead of city court. The move, he said, is fanning the flames of the Black community because Laxey's case is tied to the killing of Pellerin, which set off marches and protests last year.

Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

That same group of protesters, Allen said, are backing Laxey now and may protest before her arraignment.

+16 Man shot and killed by Lafayette police officers identified as 31-year-old Trayford Pellerin The Black man shot and killed by Lafayette police officers while armed with a knife near Evangeline Thruway Friday night has been identified a

"Why would the city do that right now?" he asked. "We don't need that right now, on the heels of an officer committing suicide" after leaving a message about police brutality and unfairness. "The fire had calmed down."

After Laxey's grilling protest, Guillory called it an act of public intimidation and said his wife and children should not have been subjected to the event.

It was a tragedy for our community that children and my wife that did not ask for that had to witness it firsthand," he said at the time.
OTTAWA  The federal government has urged First Nations to stop having mass gatherings at funerals, which have sparked COVID-19 outbreaks in Manitoba.

OTTAWA  The federal government has urged First Nations to stop having mass gatherings at funerals, which have sparked COVID-19 outbreaks in Manitoba.

"Funerals and weddings, as you can imagine, are highly emotional events where people do let down their guard (and) are a source of super-spreading. There's no denying that," federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said Thursday.

"Any of these events are a cause of great concern."

Manitoba reserves have reported outbreaks linked to funerals, some adding up to more than 150 contacts.

In recent weeks, First Nations leaders in Manitoba have pleaded with residents not to hold such gatherings because the First Nations pandemic team has become exhausted as it responds to multiple outbreaks.

Miller said the Manitoba team has done an "exceptional job," and Ottawa has worked with bands since the start of the pandemic to convince them not to hold mass gatherings  and to use protocols to reduce risk when they go ahead.

"It continues to be a real threat," Miller said, noting that one funeral in an unspecified province resulted in COVID-19 cases in 14 Indigenous communities.

"It is always a very, very direct conversation with health-care teams on-reserve and leadership."

Premier Brian Pallister had chided Miller for not asking Peguis First Nations to cancel its "relaxed" Christmas lockdown, which ultimately did not spark an outbreak.

Valerie Gideon, a senior official in Millers department, said proactive messaging from Manitoba chiefs seems to have had a positive effect.

"We can see that with the reduction in the numbers of active cases in Manitoba, which has been pretty dramatic over the last two weeks, that certainly what communities are doing is working."

"People are tired, and I think we have to recognize not just the social challenges but also the mental-health challenges that result from prolonged periods of social isolation."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
WASHINGTON  Former President Donald Trump raised more than $8.9 million in Texas in the weeks after losing the election that he claimed, without evidence, was stolen from him.

It was part of an unprecedented fundraising push by the former presidents campaign in the final weeks of 2020 as it asked supporters for cash to help fund Trumps legal fight to overturn the results, or stop the steal as he branded it.

Campaign finance reports filed Jan. 31 give the first indication of who gave Trump and the Republican National Committee the $287 million they raked in after election day, even as his claims of widespread voter fraud were rejected in dozens of court cases. Just $13 million went toward legal expenses, ABC News reported.

Many of the Texans who made contributions are retired and were giving to Trump multiple times, according to FEC reports showing totals from Nov. 4 through the end of the year. The actual figure is likely much higher than $8.9 million, as the reports only show itemized donations, which accounted for less than half of what Trump raised during that period.

IN AUSTIN: New Texas House election committee chairs fought 2020 results, faced discrimination claims

That Trump was able to raise so much in Texas even after losing the election makes sense, given that the vast majority of Republicans in the state still believe the election was stolen from him, said Renee Cross, senior director of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston.

A recent poll by the Hobby School found that 83 percent of Texas Republicans believe there was widespread fraud.

So many Republicans feel that he was wronged, not only through the election results, but that he was wronged throughout his tenure, Cross said. The fact that they would step up and give to him even at the end isnt surprising to me.

Observers say Trumps fundraising in Texas mirrors a national trend during that period as the president and the Republican Party made repeated appeals to supporters for help Trumps Election Defense Fund.

Much of the money raised actually went toward more fundraising efforts and over $30 million was transferred into a new committee that Trump set up after the election, Save America.

Big time bait-and-switch by Donald Trump and a bunch of other politicians lower in the food chain capitalizing on that opportunity  to rip their own supporters off, really, said Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, a government watchdog group in Washington, D.C.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

The donors who were defrauded by and large in November and December by team Trump  these were elderly Republican donors who its just despicable to prey on that donor pool, in my opinion, Ryan said.

But that big fundraising boost didnt extend to many of Trumps biggest backers in Texas, even as they pushed lawsuits to overturn the election results.

U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert may be one exception, raising more than $26,000 in the final weeks of the year  a smaller than average haul for a congressman, but a much more than normal for the Tyler Republican. Gohmert reported raising less than $1,000 during the same period in 2016 and 2018.

Gohmert traveled to Philadelphia in the days after the election, where he claimed without evidence on social media that voter fraud was rampant and wondered wheres @TheJusticeDepartment??? Gohmert also filed his own lawsuit seeking to overturn the election. It failed.

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess of Denton also saw a fundraising bump, raking in nearly $21,000. He, too, had raised $1,000 or less in that period during the last two election cycles.

Nearly all of the 16 Texas Republicans who voted against certifying Bidens win in the House of Representatives saw a few-thousand-dollar increase from their 2018 election totals, a bump typical from a midterm to presidential election year. Of the seven lawmakers who were also in office in 2016, four  including Gohmert and Burgess  saw an uptick from that cycle.

Fifteen of the members did not respond to Hearst Newspapers requests for comment this week. U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud of Victoria was the only representative to weigh in on the fundraising totals; his campaign raised about $8,500 at the years end, about $5,000 more than it had in 2018, the first year he served in office.

The longer the congressman has served, the stronger his financial support of his campaign is from year to year, as the citizens of District 27 appreciate his hard work and steady representation of their conservative values, said Cloud campaign manager Bunni Pounds.

She declined to say whether Clouds efforts to challenge the election contributed to that number.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who had agreed to argue Trumps case before the Supreme Court if it had taken it up, also posted strong fundraising figures for the end of the year. Cruz, who reported $2.6 million in donations during the final quarter of the year, raised at least $537,000 after the election, according to itemized receipts.

Nationally, some of Trumps most outspoken supporters reaped wide financial benefits from their rebuke of the election results. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California netted more than $950,000 in the last weeks of 2020  about 48 times the amount he raised in 2016. Other fierce supporters saw similar surges, including U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Devin Nunes of California and Elise Stefanik of New York.

Harris reported from Austin.

ben.wermund@chron.com

cayla.harris@express-news.com

Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited (Fonterra) has been notified that credit agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed its long-term issuer default rating at A and has revised its rating outlook for the Co-operative from Negative to Stable.

Chief Financial Officer Marc Rivers says this reflects the Co-ops progress following our strategic review and, in particular, the work weve done to improve our balance sheet over the last few years.

Please see the link below for details:

Fonterra acknowledges Fitch Ratings review

Source: Fonterra Shareholders' Fund

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GODFREY  At Tuesdays Godfrey board meeting, trustees unanimously approved ending the Piasa Hills Special Service Area (SSA), removing SSA property lines and abating the 2020 Piasa Hills Special Service Area tax levy.

In June 2006, the village established a SSA and an accompanying tax for sewer line installation in the Piasa Hills neighborhood. By establishing the SSA, the village was permitted to levy taxes against the properties within the SSA boundaries up to the maximum of 2.7385 percent of the propertys assessed valuation for up to 20 years.

Each year $78,340 has been levied since the SSAs inception, including $78,340 levied in December for the 2020 tax year. The tax added an average of $500 per year to the property tax bill of owners within the SSA.

In October 2019, the village sold its sewer system, including the Piasa Hills portion installed per the SSA, to the Illinois American Water Company for more than $13 million dollars. Illinois American also assumed all responsibility for maintenance as a part of the sale.

With the sale proceeds, the village was required to retire any outstanding debt obligations associated with any part of the sewer system, including the loan utilized for the sewer line installation within the Piasa Hills SSA.

Trustee Mark Stewart, a candidate for Godfrey mayor, said he did not believe there was a legal basis for the tax and made the motion to end the SSA.

There is absolutely no purpose for the village to continue to levy this unfair tax upon the property owners in Piasa Hills, Stewart said. Basic property taxes are enough of a burden for the property owners in the village, but to continue to pile on an unfair, unnecessary tax on top of them is unconscionable.

The residents hope the Village of Godfrey hears their voice. I hear them, he said.
An official funeral ceremony was held today in Baghdad's Celebration Square to bid farewell to the remains of 104 Yazidi genocide victims killed by the Islamic State (IS) in August 2014.

The remains were excavated from some of the more than 80 mass graves in Sinjar, of which only a few have been opened. DNA tests to identify the victims were conducted by the Iraqi Medico-Legal Department of the Martyrs Foundation, in cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons and the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL (IS). The coffins will be transported by air to Sinjar, where a burial ceremony will take place according to Yazidi rituals on Feb. 6 in the presence of a large throng of the public as well as social, religious and secular figures. Local and international institutions will provide psychological support to the victims families throughout the memorial service, which spans seven days in accordance with Yazidi traditions.

Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi attended the official ceremony in Baghdad, as did governmental and international figures, diplomats, activists, Iraqi citizens, and a number of the victims' families and their representatives. The remains will be moved to where the massacre occurred, namely Kocho village in Sinjar, where they will be buried in the presence of local and international officials and the media.

The majority of this first set of victims hailed from Kocho, whose entire male population was killed and whose women and children were captured. On Aug. 15, 2014, IS massacred more than 400 men and threw them in four mass graves around the village. The next day, they killed more than 80 elderly women and threw their bodies in what is now known as "the mothers grave," south of the city of Sinjar. Also, more than 1,000 women, girls and children were taken captive and sold in slave markets in Mosul, Raqqa and Tal Afar.

Official statistics indicate that IS's attack on Yazidis in Sinjar displaced more than 350,000 civilians and killed and captured more than 10,000 unarmed civilians. This is while the fate of nearly 2,880 captivated women and children is still unknown. The war totally destroyed the neglected city of Sinjar, which is located on the Iraqi-Syrian border. More than 70% of its people cannot return home due to the lack of services and insecurity, and because it turned into a regional conflict arena in the absence of a unified administration.

Baghdad and Erbil reached an agreement in 2020 on the administratively disputed Sinjar district. It involves the security dossier, a unified administration, and the services and reconstruction dossier. But hurdles obstructed the deals implementation and delayed the administrative and service files, as the two sides have not yet reached an agreement over appointing new a administration in the area.

A number of Yazidi cultural, social and elite figures issued a memorandum regarding the Yazidi communitys concerns about the mechanisms agreed upon between Erbil and Baghdad. Based on that, the federal government has been tightening its grip on the security situation and the rule of law in the past months, so as to urge citizens to return to their areas.

Although more than three years have passed since the district was liberated from IS, many Yazidis continue to live in the refugee camps in the district under poor humanitarian conditions.

The Iraqi parliament has had its second discussion of a Yazidi survivors' draft law that, when passed, will compensate Yazidi women who were enslaved by IS. Lawmakers are planning to vote on the bill in the next few days. The draft was sent to parliament in 2019 by the Iraqi president and officially confirmed by the Council of Ministers, but disputes over the status of the children born of rape during war were the reason for the delay.

Multiple problems hinder the Yazidis' return, including the urgent need to rebuild their houses and villages first and ensure that services such as electricity and water are available. Also, there is a humanitarian and emotional aspect that makes it difficult for survivors and families to return, particularly since their relatives were massacred in or kidnapped from these houses and areas.

Moreover, the fact that a number of local and regional conflicting forces are present there has made the district an unsafe place in general, particularly with occasional Turkish shelling in light of the presence of the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Successful implementation of the abovementioned Sinjar agreement between Baghdad and Erbil will hopefully push all these forces out and calm the situation so that Baghdad, Erbil and international organizations can provide functioning services to the people.

Yazidis consist of an ethnic group present in Iraq, Syria, Turkey and some post-Soviet Union states. There are relatively large Yazidi communities in Germany, the European Union, the United States and Canada. Yazidism is a monotheistic religion, and its followers believe in one God; its holiest temple, Lalish, is located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is a closed, non-missionary community, amounting to nearly a million people worldwide. Nearly 72 genocides have been committed against Yazidis throughout history, all due to their religious affiliation.

While many of the mass graves in Sinjar remain unopened, the residents are waiting for the government and the UN investigation team to complete the process so that they are able to bury the victims in their own graves.
Deadlines loom for Capitol Hill action on Trump-era climate issues

Posted on 5 February 2021 by Guest Author

This commentary, authored by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels and Benjamin Santer, was originally published on the Yale Climate Connections website on Jan 26, 2021. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article posted on Yale Climate Connections.

COMMENTARY

Deadlines loom for Capitol Hill action on Trump-era climate issues

As with the new Biden administration, Congress too faces a deadline for acting on Trump-era 'eleventh-hour' regulations.

by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels and Benjamin Santer

Much ink has been spilled in recent weeks, figuratively speaking, on what the Biden/Harris administrations first 100 days in office reveal about its making climate change a top priority. Those words have flowed both at this site and many other venues.

The Washington Posts January 22 posting of Tracking Bidens environmental actions is notable. Written by Post Pulitzer Prize winners Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, with graphics editing by John Muyskens, the piece compiles Trump administration environmental, conservation, and energy regulations and policies that the Biden team hopes to overturn or unwind.

Biden can overturn some of them with a stroke of a pen, they write. Others will take years to undo, and some may never be reversed.

Listing 64 air quality and greenhouse gas initiatives, they count one (stepping back into the Paris Climate Agreement) as having been overturned and another 21 as being easy to reverse. They score another 27 Trump actions as medium  requiring rewriting a regulation or pursuing a successful court action; and 15 as difficult  requiring lengthy rule-making process, legislation, or involved court action.

Clock is running for action on eleventh-hour rules

Along with the quickly-ticking clock in the White House on the administrations first 100 days, lets not lose sight of another clock that is also running on Capitol Hill. It is not necessarily identical, second-by-second, but just as relentless.

As is the case with so many others who have spent years working to bring climate change to the fore as a critical national and international issue, we are pleased with the day-one Biden Executive Order to re-enter the Paris Climate Agreement. Fortunately, given the din of opposition from the usual voices on Capitol Hill, that action does not require congressional approval. The U.S. will be officially back in on February 19th  and the global community can continue to welcome our return.

Its no surprise that the fawning Senate majority of the 116th Congress did not exercise its right under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to un-do damaging Trump rules. But even with its razor-thin 50/50 split in the new Senate, the new 117th Congress is positioned to do so, without fear of having to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold. There is now, at least and at last, an opportunity during its first 60 legislative workdays for the Congress to conduct serious oversight of some of the especially offensive and glaring rules finalized in the waning days of the Trump administration and, if it chooses, send nullifying legislation to the new President for signing.

A few especially egregious examples were published in the Federal Register literally at the 11th hour:

A January 6, 2021, rule that EPA give greater consideration to studies where the underlying response data  frequently involving confidential human health issues protected by HIPAA law being made publicly available. That would knee-cap important health-based rulemaking on many toxic air pollutants and other contaminants as well as the mental health risks from climate change.

A January 7, 2021, EPA rule on the threshold for significant pollution contributions that would end application of the Clean Air Act to many non-electric power plants that are sources of important greenhouse gases.

A January 13, 2021, EPA rule that piggy-backed onto the January 7 rule to bar future greenhouse gas regulations from applying to oil refineries, manufacturing, plants, and other facilities.

Appropriate Senate and House committees of jurisdiction now owe it to their air-breathing constituents to seek expert analyses as they review these and other Trump-era health and safety rules before the clock runs out on them for such oversight; and, where appropriate, to take action.

In some cases, nullification under the Congressional Review Act may be most appropriate and most expeditious. In some other cases, Biden administration executive action may be more appropriate. In still others, judicial action may be best.

The Trump administration itself, like the 115th Congress taking office in January 2017, proved to be prodigious and, it must be acknowledged, an effective practitioner of the using the Congressional Review Act. Its actions nullified Obama/Biden administration policies on climate change and other environmental and public health issues. That law, still untested in the courts, has been used only 17 times since it was enacted as part of the 1996 Newt Gingrich-inspired Contract with America; 16 of those came soon after the Trump administration took office.

Theres a saying familiar to us all: Whats good for the goose is good for the gander. It is especially apropos when the resulting actions enjoy bipartisan support from the public at large. This is a time when legislators should listen, and closely, to what their constituents are saying and expecting them to do.

Gary Yohe is the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, Emeritus, at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He served as convening lead author for multiple chapters and the Synthesis Report for the IPCC from 1990 through 2014 and was vice-chair of the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment.

Henry Jacoby is the William F. Pounds Professor of Management, Emeritus, in the MIT Sloan School of Management and former co-director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, which is focused on the integration of the natural and social sciences and policy analysis on threats to the global climate.

Richard Richels directed climate change research at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). He served as lead author for multiple chapters of the IPCC in the areas of mitigation, impacts, and adaptation from 1992 through 2014. He also served on the National Assessment Synthesis Team for the first U.S. National Climate Assessment.

Ben Santer served as convening lead author of the climate change detection and attribution chapter of the IPCCs Second Assessment Report and has contributed to all five IPCC assessments.
Burma Myanmar's Veteran Student Leaders Demand Boycott of Myanmar Military Businesses

Teachers from the Yangon University of Education staged a protest against the coup on Friday. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Myanmars long-respected former student leaders have called for people to take multiple approaches, including a boycott of military-run businesses, to oppose military rule.

Praising the ongoing civil disobedience movements, like the refusal by government staff to work for the military regime, Ko Min Ko Naing and Ko Jimmy of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society said strikes by farmers, students, workers and other groups are on the way.

People must find other ways to reduce military revenue, they said in a statement.

The military is involved in areas like banking, breweries, buses, telecoms, tobacco and TV channels.

People should stop using their services and boycott shops where their products are sold, said the leaders.

Since Mondays coup, people across the country have expressed their opposition to the takeover in different ways.

Ministerial staff and students launched a red-ribbon campaign against the coup and citizens have banged pots and pans at 8pm every night since Tuesday to oppose military rule.

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An ambulance car carries people who tested positive for coronavirus to a hospital in Ha Long, Quang Ninh Province, February 2, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Cuong.

Many localities have decided to cancel fireworks shows on Lunar New Year's Eve, a long-standing tradition, to limit crowds amid the latest Covid-19 outbreak.

Authorities in Ha Long Town in the northern province of Quang Ninh, home to world natural heritage site Ha Long Bay, announced the suspension and will instead use the money earmarked for it to buy medical equipment to test all locals.

Ha Long has had a number of Covid-19 cases in the new wave that began in Vietnam last week, all linked to an employee at Van Don Airport.

The southern province of Binh Duong, home to a number of industrial parks, will also cancel fireworks shows and focus its resources on the Covid-19 fight. Five cases of infection have been found so far.

Gia Lai Province in the Central Highlands, which has diagnosed 18 cases, has canceled the fireworks, all Tet festivals and crowded events and closed non-essential establishments like karaoke parlors, bars and dance clubs. The Ministry of Health has sent two teams of medical experts from HCMC to Gia Lai to support its containment efforts.

Hung Yen, Ha Nam and Vinh Phuc provinces in the north, all close to Hai Duong, the epicenter, have all announced cancelations of fireworks shows.

Hanoi, which has 22 cases, will only have one fireworks show instead of the originally planned 30, and people will not be allowed to gather to watch it.

Hai Phong, around two hours east of Hanoi, will only set off fireworks at one venue on Do Son Beach, instead of 12 as planned. All crowded events, arts shows and traditional festivals have been suspended in the city where one case has been found.

The new wave of Covid-19, caused by the fast-spreading U.K. variant, began just a couple of weeks before Tet, Vietnam's biggest and most important festival, an occasion for family reunions, big gatherings and home parties. It peaks on February 12 this year.

Since the outbreak began last Thursday, the Health Ministry has confirmed 375 people with Covid-19.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 09:48:59|Editor: huaxia

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PHNOM PENH, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia confirmed three new imported COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of infections in the kingdom to 470, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement.

Two Indians - a man and a woman in their 20s - tested positive for the virus upon their arrival in the country on Wednesday from India via a connecting flight in Singapore, the statement said.

A Cambodian woman, 63, was confirmed positive for the virus in her second test on the 13th day of her quarantine, it said, adding that the woman returned to the kingdom on Jan. 22 from the United States via a connecting flight in South Korea.

Currently, the new patients are undergoing treatment at the National Center for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control in the capital Phnom Penh.

The Southeast Asian nation has so far registered a total of 470 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with zero deaths and 452 recoveries, according to the statement. Enditem
Court Correspondent

Judicial manager Cecil Madondo who allegedly sold exclusive mining rights three times between October and December last year, causing one company to lose US$260 000 will spend the weekend behind bars after his bail ruling was deferred to February 8.

The State led by Mrs Netsai Mushayabasa opposed bail saying, Madondo, the managing director of Tudor House Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, was a flight risk and was likely to interfere with State witnesses.

His lawyer, Mr Rueben Mukavhi, said Madondo was a family man who owned a company and a farm and would not leave all that behind because of such a civil case.

Mr Nduna deferred the matter to February 8 for bail ruling.

It is alleged that Madondo had been appointed by the High Court as corporate rescue practitioner of Redwing Mine in Penhalonga, Mutare, when he allegedly sold the mining rights three times.

He was not asked to plead to the charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Ngoni Nduna on Tuesday.

He is being represented by Mr Reuben Mukavhi.

The court heard that On October 15 last year, Madondo told Patricia Mutombgwera and Grant Chitate that he had given their company Probadeck Investments Pvt Ltd exclusive mining rights in respect of claims held by Redwing Mining Company Pvt Ltd covering 132 gold mining blocks, eight copper mining blocks and any other mining claims belonging to Redwing Mine.

On October 30 last year, it is alleged, Mutombgwera and Chitate, acting upon that information, signed a joint venture relationship agreement with the mining company represented by Madondo believing that their company had secured exclusive mining rights.

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Both parties went on to register a tribute agreement with the registrar of deeds to operationalise their joint venture agreement.

Probabadek Investments allegedly paid US$60 000 corporate rescue fees into Madondo's personal company, Tudor House Consultants, and made a capital expenditure amounting to US$200 000.

It is alleged that sometime in November 2020, Madondo, well knowing that he had ceded all mining rights to Probadek Investments, prepared another memorandum of tribute agreement with Prime Royal Pvt Ltd giving them the same mining blocks which he had ceded to Probadek.

On December 1, Madondo, the court heard, entered into another memorandum of tribute agreement with Betterbrands Mining Pvt Ltd giving them the same mining blocks.

A woman arrested for breaching Covid-19 travel restrictions told the court that she had no address and she travelled the country for special work.

After hearing from the defendant, Judge Kevin Kilrane said he could not release her.

She is travelling up and down the country, he said. She has no address. I can only conclude that she intends to continue her present line of business.

Czechian national Zdenka Weisshauptova, 50, of no fixed abode was arrested on Tuesday at Sligo Bus Station from where she intended to travel to Bundoran.

She was brought before Wednesdays sitting of Donegal District Court.

As well as being charged with breaching Covid-19 travel restrictions having left her place of residence without reasonable excuse, Weisshauptova was also charged with failing to state her name and address.

Both charges occurred at Sligo Bus Station, Great Edward Street, Sligo on February 2.

Garda Joe Evans gave evidence of having found the woman at the bus station while she was en route to Bundoran. He said that the previous day, she had been in Dundalk and Enniskillen.

She goes from town to town, said the garda, adding: She is not an essential worker.

The court heard that the defendant had been in Ireland for around six years and had lived in Cork and Omagh.

Judge Kilrane asked the defendant: What is all this about, travelling around the country?

Weisshauptova replied: I am working.

When pressed on the nature of her work, all she would say was: Special work.

The judge said: Well, you had better take your special work elsewhere.

Inspector David Durkin told the court that gardai had no objection to bail in principle, but were concerned about the lack of address.

When asked what her most recent address was, Weisshauptova said she had rented a room in Manorhamilton for two months because of the Covid, but she had to leave.

It didnt work well for the second person in the house, she said.

Judge Kilrane sentenced the defendant to four months in prison for breach of the travel convictions.

He said: It is clear that this lady is working in the state for the last number of years and the nature of her work takes her from room to room and house to house.

She had on her person 275 so it appears that her work sustains her. The problem is that she is travelling all over the country. This defies all rules.

The country is suffering economically and in human terms and in health terms because of the pandemic.

I can only assume that if this lady is allowed to continue her trade, she is endangering people all over the country.

The judge said he would wait two days before signing the warrant for Weisshauptovas imprisonment. He had earlier indicated that with a guilty plea and an address, he would consider releasing her.
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British scientists are starting a study Thursday to find out if its OK to mix and match COVID-19 vaccines.

The vaccines being rolled out now require two doses, and people are supposed to get two shots of the same kind, weeks apart.

Guidelines in Britain and the U.S. say the vaccines arent interchangeable, but can be mixed if the same kind isnt available for the second dose or if its not known what was given for the first shot.

Participants in the government-funded study will get one shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine followed by a dose from Pfizer, or vice versa.

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This study will give us greater insight into how we can use vaccines to stay on top of this nasty disease, said Jonathan Van Tam, the U.K.s deputy chief medical officer.

He said that given the challenges of immunizing millions of people amid a global vaccine shortage, there would be advantages to having data that could support more flexible immunization campaigns.

COVID-19 vaccines all train the body to recognize the coronavirus, mostly the spike protein that coats it. The ones from AstraZeneca and Pfizer use different technologies. AstraZenecas uses a common cold virus to carry the spike gene into the body. Pfizers is made by putting a piece of genetic code called mRNA  the instructions for that spike protein  inside a little ball of fat.

The British research is scheduled to run 13 months and will also test different intervals between doses, four weeks and 12 weeks apart.

A study published this week on the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine showed it was about 91% effective in preventing COVID-19. Some immunologists credit the fact that the vaccine uses two slightly different shots, made with similar technology to AstraZenecas.

But the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are so different that its really hard to know if that would work, said Alexander Edwards, an associate professor in biomedical technology at Britains University of Reading.

Matthew Snape, the new studys leader at Oxford University, which helped develop the AstraZeneca vaccine, called for British volunteers over age 50 to sign up; scientists are hoping to enroll more than 800 people.

If the vaccines can be used interchangeably, this will greatly increase the flexibility of vaccine delivery, he said in a statement. (It) could provide clues as to how to increase the breadth of protection against new virus strains.

In recent weeks, Britain, the European Union and numerous other countries have been hit with vaccine supply issues: AstraZeneca said it would dramatically reduce the expected number of doses it could deliver due to manufacturing delays and Pfizer also slowed deliveries while it upgraded its Belgian factory.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Saudi Arabia has temporarily released two US-Saudi nationals held as political prisoners since 2019 amid growing international pressure over the kingdoms human rights record.

Journalist Salah al-Haidar and Bader al-Ibrahim, an epidemiologist and writer, left Saudi custody on Thursday pending trial at Saudi Arabias specialized court for terrorism cases.

Al-Haider and al-Ibrahim had remained in pretrial detention since they and 10 other journalists were arrested in April 2019 in what was seen as a crackdown on dissent. Al-Haidars mother, Aziza al-Yousef, is a well-known womens rights defender who was also arrested for her activism along with other right-to-drive campaigners in May 2018.

The Freedom Initiative, a Washington-based advocacy group, called their release a welcome but long overdue step.

"Bader al-Ibrahim and Salah al-Haider should have never been jailed in the first place and their release should certainly not be on a 'temporary' basis," Freedom Initiatives Bethany al-Haidari said in a statement.

They have been detained, separated from loved ones, and tried as terrorists for simply expressing their views. Peaceful dissent is not terrorism, she said.

Since the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabias rights record has come under increased scrutiny in Washington. During his election campaign, President Joe Biden vowed to reassess the US-Saudi relationship and take away the kingdoms dangerous blank check.

"We welcome and are closely monitoring the conditional release of US citizens Badr Al-Ibrahim and Salah Al-Haidar," a State Department spokesperson told AFP.

In December, Saudi-American doctor Walid Fitaihi was sentenced to six years in prison over tweeting his support for the 2011 Arab Spring protests and for obtaining US citizenship. Fitaihi, a Harvard-educated physician, was swept up in the Saudi governments anti-corruption purge in November 2017 that saw hundreds of businessmen, Saudi royals and other perceived government critics detained at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh.

Al-Haider and al-Ibrahims release came the same day Biden announced an end to US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen as well as the appointment of a special envoy to oversee a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
The U.S. Navy completed on Friday its first freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea since President Joe Biden took office, a move criticized by the Chinese military as seriously violating Chinas sovereignty and security.

According to a news release from the U.S. 7th Fleet, the USS John S. McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, an area in the northern South China Sea contested by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

China claims straight baselines around the Paracel Islands, a position widely seen as inconsistent with international maritime law. In January, Japan joined a growing list of countries that have recently submitted diplomatic notes to the United Nations to formally challenge these claims.

The United States has conducted regular FONOPS in the South China Sea since 2015. These operations are designed to be conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows  regardless of the location of excessive maritime claims and regardless of current events, the news release stated.

The operation upheld the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the unlawful restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and also by challenging Chinas claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands, the news release said.

A spokesperson for the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command criticized the FONOP, stating that the USS John S. McCain intruded into Chinas Xisha [Paracels] territorial sea without permission. The spokesperson accused the U.S. military of seriously damaging regional peace and stability and seriously violating Chinas sovereignty and security.

According to the spokesperson, the Southern Theater Command organized naval and air assets to track the U.S. warship and warn it away from the area.

Cmdr. Joseph Gunta, the executive officer of the USS John S. McCain, observes from the vessel as it sails in the South China Sea, Feb. 5, 2021. Credit: U.S. Navy.

China claims virtually all of the South China Sea and its assertive behavior in these disputed waters have been a source of tension with the U.S. Fridays FONOP was the latest indication from the Biden administration that it is sustaining U.S. policies that challenge Chinas claims and promote what Washington calls a free and open Indo-Pacific.

In a call Thursday with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that stance. Vietnam is the most assertive among the Southeast Asian nations that challenge Chinas South China Sea claims.

Blinken and Minh reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership and discussed our shared commitment to peace and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific region and protecting and preserving a rules-based South China Sea, the State Department said.

Also Friday, the U.S. Nimitz Carrier Strike Group navigated through the Strait of Malacca into the South China Sea, USNI News reported. Its the second foray into those waters by a U.S. aircraft carrier since Biden took office last month. In January, the United States sailed the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group into the South China Sea for routine operations including maritime strike exercises and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units.

In a reminder of the day-to-day tensions in the South China Sea, particularly in waters where there are overlapping claims, a Malaysian coastguard vessel appears to have sailed up to a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship at South Luconia Shoals in the past week, about 100 nautical miles off Malaysias coast.

Publicly available automatic identification system (AIS) data shows that the HJ5202, which belongs to the CCG, has been operating around the South Luconia Shoals since Jan. 17. The area is within Malaysia exclusive economic zone but is also claimed by China.

The Coast Guard 3902, a Malaysian vessel, sailed up to the South Luconia Shoals from Tanjung Kidurong on Feb. 2 and returned to port on Feb. 4. The AIS data indicates that the HJ5202 may have sailed within 1.5 to 2 nautical miles of the Coast Guard 3902 at one point on Feb. 4.
The study identifies the additional effect of the outbreak's psychological impacts on Black Americas, beyond the threat of contracting the coronavirus.

"While the notion has been floated among commentators, this is the first study that uses nationally representative data to assess whether this threat, or feeling, is real among Black adults, and then assess how it how it impacts their health," said Ryon Cobb, assistant professor of sociology in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and lead author on the study.The study used data from the American Trends Panel survey by the Pew Research Center collected shortly after the initial outbreak in March 2020, a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States.Using self-reports of perceived coronavirus threat and beliefs about racism in medical settings, researchers found that the perception that the coronavirus outbreak was a major threat to one's health and the belief that Black Americans face discrimination in medical settings were positively and significantly associated with higher psychological distress levels.The research also establishes a relationship between these two factors that multiply the risk. Cobb said the data suggest people may take preventive measures more seriously though it could also cause Black adults to engage less with the health care system."What we find in the data is the more people think COVID-19 outbreak is a threat to their health, it increases the likelihood of adherence, with Blacks and Latinos more likely to adhere to COVID guidelines than their white counterparts," he said."Contracting COVID-19 makes interactions with the health care system inevitable. The fear held by many people of color is that medical institutions are biased against Blacks. The stress of the outbreak and potentially unfair treatment appears to induce psychological distress," said Christy L. Erving, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Vanderbilt University."Discussions about dealing with the fear of just getting it or not often come down to, if you don't get it, you're fine," Cobb said. "But the outbreak itself is stressful, and the increasing stress is part of people's health, regardless of whether they have COVID."The study presents a snapshot of some underlying aspects of how structural bias in the American health care system contributes to the outbreak's stressfulness, which continues to have a disproportionate effect on Black Americans."These findings highlight the complexity of how a public health crisis can influence Black community members' navigation of an already unequal health care system in increasingly difficult circumstances," W. Carson Byrd, associate professor at the University of Michigan, added."We need to be mindful of these perceptions, especially as they blend with the reality that, in the United States, hospitals are businesses. As such, their profits track with the severity of illness in patients. While the stories are anecdotal, they are also backed up by the data: People being turned away from hospitals or unable to see a doctor can lead to worsening health," Cobb said."And by the time things are critical, at least for Black Americans, the perception is that there is little hope for recovery."Source: Eurekalert
Bayer Vietnam introducing its new insecticide Vayego 200SC

Commenting on the launch of Vayego 200SC by Bayer Vietnam, Weraphon Charoenpanit, country commercial lead of the Crop Science Division, said: As part of our commitment to delivering better agricultural solutions, Bayer is helping farmers to embrace technological advances for improved productivity, healthy harvests and increased livelihoods. Through the introduction of Vayego in the field of plant protection, Bayer Vietnam is helping farmers to improve production and contributing to the sustainable development of Vietnam's agriculture to help realise our group vision of "Health for All, Hunger for None."

Vayego is a liquid formula containing tetraniliprole, an active ingredient discovered and developed by Bayer. It offers excellent control of Lepidopteran species in different crops such as rice, vegetables, and plantation crops, with low risk to beneficial insects as it belongs to the GHS5 group.

Bayer Vietnam's Vayego 200SC offers multi-faceted protection to modern farmers

In Vietnam, Vayego is registered as an innovative solution for controlling Leaffolder in rice, Fall Armyworm (FAW) in corn, and Plutella xylostella in cabbage, and will be registered for fruits and vegetables. As a product for many crops and pests, Vayego can contribute to societal benefits and can play an important role in sustainable pest management.

Nguyen Thi Phong Lan, head of the Plant Protection Department at the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, said: Currently, the occurrence of rice, corn, and cabbage pests in Vietnam is relatively serious. There is an urgent need for new high-efficiency pesticides in the market. The new Vayego solution has shown very good results during preliminary tests in the Mekong Delta and other provinces. It is expected to become an important solution for the prevention and control of Lepidopteran species in the next few years, and it will provide strong support for ensuring the smooth progress of rice, plantation crops, and vegetable production, promoting green growth and control, and ecological construction.

Vayego 200SC can keep away leaffolder from rice plants, a major disruptor for Vietnamese farmers

It is no doubt that farmers are facing a number of challenges including damaging pests like leaffolder in rice, FAW in corn, and Plutella xylostella in cabbage, causing variable or low yields. Increasing labour costs and limited access to technology and know-how are some of the other challenges facing farmers. Without adequate crop protection, farmers in Vietnam lose an average of 37 per cent of their yield to pests.

The new Vayego solution is highly effective against the most potent pests. It has long-lasting efficacy that can reduce the number of applications needed, saving labour costs, and increased convenience and safety for farmers. It is more than a new solution, Vayego can help reduce crop losses and help farmers improve their production and incomes.

As the world continues to contend with COVID-19, and outbreaks of pests in some parts, farmers are struggling to safeguard their crops. With the launch of Vayego in Vietnam, Bayer offers greater access to global innovative technologies to support high-quality sustainable development.

Professor Herman Wasserman, from the Centre for Film and Media Studies, has been named as the recipient of the 2020 University of Cape Town (UCT) Book Award for his second monograph: Media, Geopolitics and Power: A view from the Global South. His third monograph, The Ethics of Engagement: Media, conflict and democracy in Africa, was recently published.

The purpose of the UCT Book Award is to recognise outstanding and/or influential books written by UCT staff members. It can be awarded to single- or multiple-author books, academic books or fiction, and in electronic or printed format. There are no restrictions on language or codes, and while an award is usually bestowed annually, no award is made if the nominations are not of sufficient merit.

"The book is an attempt to contribute to the field of global media studies."

The book is an overview of Wasserman's research spanning more than a decade, until 2017. His work during this time focused largely on the globalisation of media and the impact of changing geopolitical relations from the vantage point of Africa and, more broadly, the Global South.

It examines questions around issues such as the global phenomenon of tabloidisation of the news and how this manifests in the South African context; the influence of China on African media; the impact of South Africa's BRICS membership on our media; the dominance of the Global North in academic research and how this has shaped the field of media studies; and how voices from the Global South should be better heard in international scholarship.

"The book is [not only] an attempt to contribute to the field of global media studies by ... providing examples and case studies from Africa, but also to interrogate the very assumptions upon which global media studies are based, and the power relations that shape our discipline," said Wasserman.

Wasserman is grateful for the recognition from his peers at UCT, which he appreciates "very much".

"I realise how many outstanding colleagues at UCT do important work, and it's an honour to be counted among the previous recipients of this award," he said.

Meritorious Book Prize

The UCT Book Award, which carries a purse of R30 000, is usually awarded alongside Meritorious Book Prizes of up to R15 000 in value. These are awarded for books in specialised fields that merit recognition for their contribution and/or are awarded to celebrate promising first-time books by authors who deserve special recognition and support. Like the UCT Book Award, the prizes are awarded to UCT staff members; books written in the past five years are eligible.

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This year, one Meritorious Book Prize was awarded to lecturer and PhD candidate Kharnita Mohamed from the Department of Anthropology for her book, Called to Song. It is Mohamed's debut novel and follows Qabila - a black, Muslim, middle-class academic in post-apartheid South Africa - as she struggles her way towards a flourishing life.

The book is written from a black feminist perspective and grapples with how our violent histories of racism, sexism and heterosexism influence intimacy, gender relations and racist dis/continuities.

Called to Song was longlisted for the 2019 Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Prize and has been shortlisted for the 2020 National Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences Awards in the fiction category.
With Egypt deliberately entering at loggerhead with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) talks, the country is seeking to establish strong relations with upstream countries particularly the DRC. Cairo is also on a smear mission to establish unholy alliances to sway upstream countries politically as technical negotiations between Cairo and Addis Ababa on dam remain at a standstill.

The continued negotiation over the GERD among Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan has produced no meaningful binding agreement so far. This and other motives once again pushed the Egyptian political administration to renew its policy based on mending and strengthening its relationship with other Nile upstream countries in the equatorial lakes region, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been one of Egypt's political and strategic allies since the beginning of the Nile water dispute. Since there have been high-level visits between the two countries.

Egypt is wrongfully trying to portray itself as an ally of the upstream countries while its acts prove the opposite. That fact that the country is trying to prevent the construction of GERD is an case in point. There could be no solid fact about Egypt's real identity other than its acts on the GERD talks as well.

However, with Ethiopia having a real cause and reasonable arguments, upstream countries do understand the purpose of the construction of the flagship project. And, Ethiopia has strengthened its diplomatic works once again. This in fact is an antidote to Egypt's age-old conspiracy to sow discord among the upstream countries of the Nile.

Last week, FDRE Pesident Sahle-Work Zewde paid visit to Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the upstream riparian countries of the Nile waters. She discussed with the leaders of the two countries on regional and continental issues of bilateral and multilateral affairs.

Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dina Mufti told The Ethiopian Herald that President Sahle-Work Zewde's visit to the upstream countries of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the week is part of diplomatic initiative by Ethiopia. The president's visit to the two countries was successful in setting out plans to increase diplomatic engagements.

"The discussions enlighten our African brothers on some national issues like GERD, border dispute with Sudan and the law enforcement process held in the country for the past two months."

Regarding the GERD, Ethiopia is committed to the trilateral negotiation that has been going on under the auspices of the AU and Ethiopia would like to see he process succeed as it is a stanch proponent of the concept of African solutions to African problems.

The messages the president conveyed during her visit to the countries was that Ethiopia believes that the three countries will reach an agreement that all parties would accept without harming one another through win-win process. "We will continue negotiation until we find possible solution which agreed all of us over this issue. Ethiopia has good relationship with all African brothers and will continue to further strengthen our relation."

On the contrary, Dina said the intention of Egypt's move to upper riparian states is clear as it keeps undermining the negotiation over the GERD. However, Ethiopia's recent visit goes beyond water issues. Egypt's relations with upstream countries do not bother Ethiopia.

In fact, Ethiopia has been strong partner in ensuring peace and stability in the region. He recalled that Ethiopia's role in restoring and building peace during the time the DRC had faced in the 1960s.

Egypt is leaving no stone unturned to create confusion on the Nile politics. Egypt is now worried in finding new alliances from the basin countries no matter how absurd its logic is.

There remains strong argument that Egypt and Sudan are intentionally delaying the AU-led negotiation so that they can rely on new leadership of the AU to meet their ends.

However Dina said the country's chairmanship over the negotiation will not negatively affect Ethiopia's principle-based negotiation.

Ethiopia gives credit to outgoing AU Chairperson South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa for his relentless efforts in bringing the tripartite parties together to find possible solutions regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). He played pivotal in bringing the three countries together and as he proceed the negotiation smoothly despite all hindrances.

"We should continue from where we have stopped and hopefully the African initiative will continue so as to find solutions. The trilateral talk will continue and the new AU chairmanship headed by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi will take over the negotiation and Ethiopia remains fully confident on the AU-led negotiation and the principle of 'African solutions to African problems'.

A key historical moment was celebrated when the first-year filling of the GERD was achieved, with no effect at all on the downstream flow of the Nile River. The filling of the dam was made possible by a particularly heavy rainy season.

Regarding the first round filling President Sahle-Work commented that the "day will forever remain an historic day for Ethiopia and Ethiopians. "We are translating our dreams into reality." She recalled that generations of Ethiopians and former leaders had sought to utilize the Nile waters but failed because of "innumerable obstacles".

"Despite failures," she said, "they were rightfully hopeful that future generations of Ethiopians will one day +build a dam on the river.

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According to the President, Ethiopia's move to utilize of the Nile waters creates an opportunity to further strengthen cross-border relations among neighboring countries.

"The development of the dam has reached a point of no return, a triumph for all stakeholders who have been trying hard to build peace and ensure security in the region," she added.

Now and for the future, Ethiopia is always looking for amicable solutions regarding GERD rather than moving here and there and rushing for unwanted things.

"We would like to reach on amicable solutions on the outstanding issues of the GERD as the dam is being respecting international law governing trans-boundary resources."

So far, Ethiopia has continuously noted that the project will not harm any of downstream countries and the intention of building the project is to connect millions of homes to the grid.

The importance of the renaissance dam, construction is aimed at bolstering the economy in the country, where more than half of the population currently lives without access to electricity. And, the construction of GERD brings people's hope more close to the reality.

In this regard, the government of Ethiopia achieved the first round filling successfully and keeps working for the second round. At the same time Egyptian are looking for all possible ways to postpone the second round filling.
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Mr Saeed Muhazu Jibril, the Minister-designate for the Savannah Region, says he will focus on improving electricity supply, road network and quality education when confirmed as substantive Minister.



Mr Jibril, who is Municipal Chief Executive for West Gonja, said this when he paid courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of Kpembe Traditional Area to officially inform him of his nomination by the President as the Regional Minister-designate for the Savannah Region.



As tradition demands, the Minister-designate is expected to officially inform all traditional leaders in the region and to seek their blessings, prayers and support before his vetting at the Appointments Committee of Parliament.



The Kpembewura Ndefoso Deri Haruna Bismark Banbanne IV assured the Minister-designate of his blessings and prayers, saying "I am strongly behind you and I know you will be confirmed."



He also appealed to all the sub-chiefs to support the Minister-designate with their prayers to succeed.

Source: GNA









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Britain dished out another 500,000 Covid vaccines yesterday, as it hurtles towards its target of inoculating the 15million most vulnerable by mid-February.

Department of Health statistics shows 480,560 first doses were administered on Thursday, alongside 4,000 second doses.

Almost 11million Britons have now had their first vaccination, the latest figures show.

Boris Johnson has promised to get jabs to the most vulnerable - over-70s, NHS frontline, care home residents and the vulnerable - by February 15.

And with the country jabbing an average 400,000 people every day, the UK is well on track to hitting his goal.

The PM is now facing a battle royal on lockdown, with Tories demanding all curbs are dropped in May when over-50s are vaccinated.

No10 is under renewed pressure to step up the reopening of the country after the government accidentally revealed the top nine groups - around 32million people - should be covered by the spring.

Ministers had previously refused to confirm a timetable, but the Cabinet Office cited it as a reason elections in England can take place on May 6.

Boris faces Tory demands to drop ALL curbs by May Boris Johnson is facing a battle royal on lockdown today as Tories demands all curbs are dropped in May when over-50s are vaccinated - but SAGE modelling suggested even a slower easing could mean 130,000 more deaths. The PM is under renewed pressure to step up the reopening of the country after the government accidentally revealed that the top nine groups - around 32million people - should be covered by the spring. Ministers had previously refused to confirm a timetable, but the Cabinet Office cited it as a reason elections in England can take place on May 6. Senior Conservatives seized on the optimism to reiterate calls for a quick relaxation amid fears over the huge impact on education, the economy and other health issues. Mark Harper, who chairs the Tory MP lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group (CRG), said: 'These top nine groups account for around 99 per cent of those that have died from Covid and about 80 per cent of hospital admissions. 'It will be almost impossible to justify having any restrictions in place at all by that point.' Mr Johnson is set to unveil his road map out of lockdown towards the end of the month, with hopes the return of schools from March 8 can be followed by allowing mixing outdoors, with bars and restaurants freed up over the summer. There was a barrage of other good news today, with the R number dipping below the critical level of one, research showing the AstraZeneca jab seems effective against the Kent variant, and the UK regulator saying it was not detecting significant side-effects. Another 19,114 people were reported as testing positive, down a third on last Friday, and the grim daily death toll was down 18 per cent week on week at 1,014. Advertisement

Thursday's figures are a three per cent rise on Wednesday, when a total of 471,011 doses were administered.

The highest number ever was achieved on Saturday January 30, when the UK managed as many as 609,010 in 24 hours.

Ministers have warned supplies are set to be the main issue strangling the rollout, with deliveries previously described as 'lumpy'.

And the PM has been called upon to sort out the 'lackadaisical approach' to jabs on Sundays, when the number given appears to dip sharply.

The Prime Minister this week praised the NHS for its mammoth rollout to 10million in the most vulnerable groups in the country.

Heralding the achievement in a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister thanked everyone involved in the roll-out, from scientists to delivery drivers to pharmacists.

He said: 'And it is thanks to their effort  the most colossal in the history of our National Health Service  that we have today passed the milestone.'

But despite the inoculation drive being an undoubted success with Britain administering more jabs per person than any other country except Israel, a trend has emerged in the figures showing a sharp drop-off in uptake on Sundays.

For example, last Sunday there were 46 per cent fewer jabs administered compared to the day before  dropping from almost 600,000 to 320,000. The fall was even more pronounced two Sundays ago, on January 24, when half as many jabs were done compared to the Saturday.

Several GPs, who asked not to be named, told MailOnline that a large number of practices shut on Sundays and do not offer appointments  despite No10 insisting the immunisation drive is 24/7 operation.

It echoed claims made by Scotland's national clinical director who said the closure of surgeries on Sundays was hampering the vaccine rollout north of the border.

The Royal College of GPs has said family doctors are 'doing everything they can' to get the vaccine to those who need it most, with 'some' but not all practices providing services seven days a week.

Economists from the Institute for Economic Affairs told MailOnline that there is 'no incentive' for family doctors, who've been juggling the vaccine rollout and battling Covid on the frontlines of the second wave, to work seven days a week. It suggested GPs be offered commission on every jab done on a weekend.
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Syracuse, N.Y.  Kinney Drugs is working on a way to bring Covid-19 vaccines to places such as senior apartment complexes, churches or even senior centers, according to a vice president with the drug store chain.

The idea is in the very beginning stages, and it depends greatly on an increase in vaccine supply, said John Marraffa, vice president of government affairs and healthcare services integration.

But, ideally, it would mirror the drug stores flu shot program that brings the doses to one place in a community to vaccinate many seniors at once.

I want to create a program that can deliver vaccine to people who are most vulnerable in a way that they need it, Marraffa said.

A pilot program is starting today in Onondaga County. Over the next few days, about 400 seniors at four different senior centers will get the vaccine, he said.

One of those places is Camillus Pointe Senior Apartments. Marraffa declined to name the other three.

We have a lot of excited people over here, said Tiffany Waterman, property manager at Camillus Pointe.

Other similar complexes do get the vaccine, if theres a nursing home attached to the facility, Marraffa said. But seniors living at stand-alone independent living centers have to make appointments on their own.

Thats hard for some seniors, like the 140 who live at Camillus Pointe, Waterman said. At one point, one of the complexs residents, a former nurse, used the community computer room to try and sign up others for shots, she said.

Now, the shots are coming to them.

Marraffa said hed like to replicate the effort at other, similar senior centers. The problem, for now, is the lack of vaccine.

New York state has designated pharmacies like Kinney Drugs as vaccination sites exclusively for people 65 and older.

Kinney Drugs gets about 100 doses of vaccine for each of its 75 stores each week. So far, the chain has vaccinated about 30,000 people statewide, Marraffa said.

Kinneys has been able shift around that supply to hold some pop-up clinics for seniors, including one at the Oncenter last Sunday. Thats also where the doses came from for the seniors like those at Camillus Pointe.

Marraffa said its too soon to make promises about where Kinneys might bring the vaccine next.

But he is working on building that system so that when vaccine supplies improve, the pharmacy chain will be able to set up more clinics where seniors already are.

This is new for all of us, he said. Were learning.

MORE ON VACCINES

Whos getting the vaccine in Onondaga County? Breakdowns by age and race

Kinney Drugs has appointment alert system for seniors

Looking for a vaccine appointment in CNY? Keep checking these websites

Got a story idea or news tip youd like to share with a Syracuse-area reporter? Please contact me through email, Twitter, Facebook or at 315-470-2274.
Alberta, Canadas oil heartland, may seek compensation from the United States after newly inaugurated President Joe Biden moved to nix the Keystone XL Pipeline, Bloomberg said on Thursday.

Alberta spent $1.2 billion on the project so far, and may look to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to help it recoup some of those costs, according to an official from Premier Jason Kenneys office said.

The pipeline was supposed to carry 800,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada to the United States.

The death of the Keystone XL project is a massive blow for the oil-rich province and Canadas entire energy industry. Canada has struggled with insufficient takeaway capacity for yearsand consequently a lower price for its benchmark, Western Canadian Select. The major price difference between WCS and WTI has eaten into Canadian oil company profits.

The heavy oil that comes from Alberta is particularly suited to U.S. refineries.

Alberta has been counting on Keystone XL to alleviate the takeaway capacity constraints and prop up the price of its oil. Without the Keystone, Canada will continue to ship more oil by raila costlier endeavor and a method that is not as safe as shipping by pipeline.

The owner of the pipeline, TC Energy, went after compensation the last time the project was scrapped under U.S. President Obama. That time, TC Energy tried get $15 billion in compensation under NAFTA. However, TC Energy dropped the case when President Trump revived the project.

The Transmountain expansion project is now the most critical pipeline in Canada. Owned by the government of Alberta, the pipeline may be the last hope for Albertas oil industry. It remains one of the few viable ways of increasing Canadas pipeline takeaway capacity.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
In this still image taken from a video, Imran Ahmad Khan MP speaks to NTD in a virtual interview, in London on Feb. 4, 2021. (NTD)

Significant and Growing Support for UK Genocide Amendment: APPG Chair

There has been significant and growing support in UK Parliament for an amendment aiming to stop and prevent the UK from doing bilateral trade with genocidal countries, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Foreign Affairs Imran Ahmad Khan told NTD.

The so-called genocide amendment is one of the amendments (pdf) to the UKs post-Brexit international trade bill that are due to be voted on in the House of Commons on Feb. 9.

If passed, UK courts will be the first domestic courts that have the power to preliminarily determine whether a country has committed genocide. If such a determination is made, a minister must arrange a motion for debate in each House of Parliament requiring the government to set out its course of action, which may include stopping negotiation towards or withdrawing from a trade deal with that country.

A previous version of the amendment was passed in the House of Lords, before it was defeated in the Commons by only 11 votes.

The modified amendment has won a two-thirds majority on Tuesday in the House of Lords, 40 Conservative Peers are among the supporters despite the governments opposition to the amendment.

Forty of those who voted in favour were very senior conservative peers, with long and dearly held track records of supporting successive conservative governments, Imran Ahmad Khan, Conservative MP and chair of the APPG for Foreign Affairs, told NTD on Thursday.

But on this issue, their love of party was no match for their love of humanity, he added.

Im pleased to report that its my feeling that there is significant and growing support in both houses.

The debates around the genocide amendment have been largely focused on the Chinese regimes treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. The topic has gained momentum yet again after BBC on Wednesday reported on systematic rape, sexual abuse, and torture against Uyghur women in Chinas re-education camps.

Chinese flags on a road leading to a facility believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, on the outskirts of Hotan in Chinas northwestern Xinjiang region, on May 31, 2019. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

The government had argued that the amendment is unnecessary and ineffective, an argument Khan disagrees with.

Not only would the alternate amendment ensure that the United Kingdom take a principled stand against genocide and persecution, but also it safeguards us from being complicit through commerce and trade with genocidal regimes, he said.

Only through leading by example on this subject, will real effective change be made by the international community.

Khan said Britain must be prepared to stand alone to defend values that define the country.

For the first time in over 40 years, the United Kingdom has an opportunity to again determine our place in the world and pursue a truly independent foreign policy, he said.

Values that define our nation such as tolerance, pluralism, democracy, freedom, can be put to the forefront of all our policy decisions. We must be prepared to act unilaterally in protecting these values, and defending the persecuted and oppressed minorities, wherever they may be. I think these must be part of the British brand.

Conservative MP Liam Fox on Thursday said that he would welcome Magnitsky-style sanctions against individual officials, but theres a limit to what the outside world can do when totalitarian regimes become established.

I could not disagree more, Khan said.

Britain must have the courage and confidence to resist evil, as this country proudly has in the past. When Churchills Britain stood alone against totalitarian evil for nine months in 1940, completely alone in the world, it was not easy. Nor was it without cost. But it was the right thing to do, and our finest hour, Khan said.

Britons everywhere still take pride in it. We should take heart from that, and the experience and the resolve of our ancestors, and take pride in our actions today, he added.

The moon rises behind Victoria Tower, which had been illuminated with Union Flags to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, on Castle Hill overlooking Huddersfield, northern England on May 8, 2020. (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

Opposition

The genocide amendment is designed to circumvent the international route of recognising genocide, which has been paralysed by China and Russias veto powers in the United Nations, and to cater for successive UK governments long stated position that genocide has to be determined by a court.

Barrister and Conservative MP Robert Neill is concerned that the amendment risks serious constitutional and legal consequences.

In an article published on Tuesday in The House, Neill argued that the UK should fight the political obstruction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by political and diplomatic means instead of circumventing it.

He also argued that the amendment will drag the court into political arena, and that although genocide is determined by a court, it would do nothing as Beijing will still dismiss it as political interference.

We must recognise that a political issue requires a political decision, he wrote.

I believe that a better course is to be found by ensuring Parliament is given full scrutiny and a decisive vote on the negotiating mandate for, and final sign off of, any future trade deal. 

Aarif Abraham, a solicitor who specialises in areas including International human rights law, on Friday wrote an article to counter Neills arguments.

Cases at the ICJ are based on consent. If a State, such as China, has a reservation to the Genocide Convention, then action at the ICJ is impossible, Abraham wrote in The House.

Abraham also cited precedences when successive governments dismissed Foreign Affairs Committees recommendations on alleged genocide, on the grounds that genocide determination can only be made by a court.

This amendment formalises the governments long stated position and can break 70 years of inaction, he wrote.

Reporting by Jane Werrell of NTD.

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JERUSALEM - The International Criminal Court said Friday that its jurisdiction extends to territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, potentially clearing the way for its chief prosecutor to open a war crimes probe into Israeli military actions.

FILE - In this Tuesday Aug. 28, 2018 file photo, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICC says its jurisdiction extends to territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, appearing to clear the way for its chief prosecutor to open a war crimes probe into Israeli military actions. Bensouda, said in 2019 that there was a reasonable basis to open a war crimes probe into Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip as well as Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. (Bas Czerwinski/Pool file via AP, File)

JERUSALEM - The International Criminal Court said Friday that its jurisdiction extends to territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, potentially clearing the way for its chief prosecutor to open a war crimes probe into Israeli military actions.

The decision was welcomed by the Palestinians and decried by Israel's prime minister, who vowed to fight this perversion of justice. The U.S., Israel's closest ally, said it opposed the decision.

The ICCs chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said in 2019 that there was a reasonable basis to open a war crimes probe into Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip as well as Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. But she asked the court to determine whether she has territorial jurisdiction before proceeding.

In a statement on Twitter, Bensouda's office welcomed the judicial clarity of the ruling, but said it needed time before deciding how to proceed.

The Office is currently carefully analysing the decision & will then decide its next step guided strictly by its independent & impartial mandate, it said.

The Palestinians, who joined the court in 2015, have pushed for an investigation. Israel, which is not a member of the ICC, has said the court has no jurisdiction because the Palestinians do not have statehood and because the borders of any future state are to be decided in peace talks. It also accuses the court of inappropriately wading into political issues.

The Palestinians have asked the court to look into Israeli actions during its 2014 war against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, as well as Israels construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem.

The international community widely considers the settlements to be illegal under international law but has done little to pressure Israel to freeze or reverse their growth.

The international tribunal is meant to serve as a court of last resort when countries' own judicial systems are unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute war crimes.

Israels military has mechanisms to investigate alleged wrongdoing by its troops, and despite criticism that the system is insufficient, experts say it has a good chance of fending off ICC investigation into its wartime practices.

When it comes to settlements, however, experts say Israel could have a difficult time defending its actions. International law forbids the transfer of a civilian population into occupied territory.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war, territories the Palestinians want for their future state. Some 700,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians and much of the international community view the settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Israel says east Jerusalem is an indivisible part of its capital and that the West Bank is disputed territory whose fate should be resolved in negotiations.

While the court would have a hard time prosecuting Israelis, it could issue arrest warrants that would make it difficult for Israeli officials to travel abroad. A case in the ICC would also be deeply embarrassing to the government. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, led the 2014 war in Gaza, while Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz was the military chief of staff at the time.

In a videotaped statement released after midnight, Netanyahu accused the court of pure anti-Semitism and having a double standard.

The ICC refuses to investigate brutal dictatorships like Iran and Syria, who commit horrific atrocities almost daily, he said. We will fight this perversion of justice with all our might!

Nabil Shaath, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, welcomed the decision and said it proved the Palestinians were right to go to the ICC. This is good news, and the next step is to launch an official investigation into Israels crimes against our people, he said.

The ICC could also potentially investigate crimes committed by Palestinians militants. Bensouda has said her probe would look into the actions of Hamas, which fired rockets indiscriminately into Israel during the 2014 war.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the Biden administration, which has said it intends to restore relations with the Palestinians, opposed the decision and reiterated American opposition to the Palestinians even being party to the Rome Statute that created the court.

As we made clear when the Palestinians purported to join the Rome Statute in 2015, we do not believe the Palestinians qualify as a sovereign state, and therefore are not qualified to obtain membership as a state, or participate as a state in international organizations, entities, or conferences, including the ICC, Price said in a statement.

We have serious concerns about the ICCs attempts to exercise its jurisdiction over Israeli personnel," he said. The United States has always taken the position that the courts jurisdiction should be reserved for countries that consent to it, or that are referred by the UN Security Council.

The decision, detailed in a 60-page legal brief, was released late Friday, after Israel had shut down for the weekly Jewish Sabbath.

Human Rights Watch welcomed the decision, saying it finally offers victims of serious crimes some real hope for justice after a half century of impunity.

Its high time that Israeli and Palestinian perpetrators of the gravest abuses  whether war crimes committed during hostilities or the expansion of unlawful settlements  face justice, said Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at the New York-based group.

The three-judge pretrial chamber ruled that Palestine is a state party to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC. With one judge dissenting, it ruled that Palestine qualifies as the state on the territory in which the conduct in question occurred and that the court's jurisdiction extends to east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.

Last year, the Trump administration imposed sanctions against ICC officials, after earlier revoking Bensoudas entry visa, in response to the courts attempts to prosecute American troops for actions in Afghanistan.

The U.S., like Israel, does not recognize the courts jurisdiction. At the time, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the steps were meant as retribution for investigations into the United States and its allies, a reference to Israel.

The Biden administration has said it will review those sanctions.

Associated Press writers Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Spain said on Friday it would limit use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under 55, becoming the latest European nation to impose an age restriction on the Anglo-Swedish jab.

The move echoes earlier decisions by a growing number of countries in Europe that have restricted the vaccine's use despite the European Medicines Agency green lighting its use late last week for all adults.

"The public health commission, at a meeting on Friday and following scientific evidence, has approved setting as 55 the maximum age for people to get the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19," the health ministry said in a statement.

Spain will receive its first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines this weekend, it added.

Last week, the German vaccines authority advised against using AstraZeneca's vaccine for the over 65s, judging that there was "not enough data" on its effectiveness in this age group.

The decision came just hours after the EU's medicines regulator gave the vaccine the green light for use in adults of all ages, saying it believed it would be safe for older people too.

France followed suit on Tuesday and Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands and Sweden have taken similar steps, while Switzerland has called for "additional studies" and although Italy approved the jab, it recommended using an alternative vaccine for the over-55s.

The Dutch Health Council said Thursday that the vaccine's efficacy in people aged over 55 was unclear because only a small number of that age took part in clinical trials.

The age controversy compounds a row over a shortfall in deliveries from AstraZeneca that has forced the EU to recalibrate its vaccination strategy.

The AstraZeneca jab is only the third vaccine to be approved by the EU after those developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

However its efficacy is reported to be just 60 percent, compared with more than 90 percent for the others.

Spain has so far vaccinated just under two million people and plans to have covered 70 percent of its population by the summer's end, a goal reaffirmed on Wednesday by the government despite shortages and delays in vaccine supplies.

Also on Wednesday, Health Minister Carolina Darias said Spain was "open" to the idea of using Russia's Sputnik V vaccine as long as it was approved by European regulators.

Spain has been hard-hit by the pandemic, recording over 61,000 deaths from nearly three million cases so far.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
A 54-year-old autorickshaw driver, was on Thursday, felicitated by Sanjeev M Patil - deputy commissioner of police (west) Bengaluru, for returning a bag containing cash worth Rs 2.6 lakh which belonged to a passenger.

The autorickshaw driver, Kumar D, is from Anandapura near KR Puram, Bengaluru. He had picked up a passenger who was later identified as Mumbai-based Amit Kumar Pandey, at Cottonpet and dropped him near Eidgah ground in Chamarajpet.

Also read: Autorickshaw Driver Felicitated After Returning A Bag Of Gold Jewellery A Passenger Left Behind

TOI (Kumar D)

After dropping Pandey off, Kumar left the spot and found another passenger within a few minutes. She asked him to drop her to Srinagar and while they were on their way, the passenger found a bag on the seat and informed Kumar about the same.

I realised the previous passenger might have left it behind in a hurry. I did not want to lose a passenger and hence dropped the woman at Srinagar. I returned to the place where the bag owner had alighted. I remembered he had entered a shop. I met the shopkeeper and enquired about the man, and the former informed the bag owner over the phone. Within a few minutes, he arrived with police and I returned his bag, Kumar said.

Also read: Honest Autorickshaw Driver Returns Bag With Rs 4 Lakh To A 61-Year-Old Passenger In Jodhpur

TOI (Representational Image)

According to Chamarajpet police, Pandey is a manager with a Mumbai-based photo frame works chain and had come to Bengaluru to collect money from clients.



Pandey collected cash from several shops on Wednesday and kept it in a bag. He packed his belongings in another bag and hired Kumars auto in the morning. He reached Chamarajpet around 10am but forgot to take the cash bag with him. He later realised he had forgotten the bag in the auto and headed straight to Chamarajpet police station, an officer said.

Pandey was already at the police station when he received the call about Kumar waiting for him with the bag, at the shop he had visited earlier.

We rushed to the spot along with Pandey. The driver asked him to check his belongings in front of us. Pandey found the cash intact. He gave Kumar Rs 3,000 as reward for his honesty. We brought both of them to the station and returned the cash to Pandey, a police officer said.

Also read: She Was Alone At 1:30am, So Mumbai Driver-Conductor Waited Till She Got Into Autorickshaw Safely

Twitter (Representational Image)

Kumar was felicitated for his honestly and given Rs 5,000 and a certificate of appreciation by DCP Patil.
Taiwan blames Beijing 'bullying' for Guyana U-turn

Taipei says it condemns the Chinese government's 'bullying' and efforts to compress Taiwan's international space. File image: Shutterstock

Taiwan on Friday blamed "bullying" by Beijing for Guyana's decision to revoke a deal for the island to open a representative office in the South American country, saying it had tried without success to get Guyana to change its mind.



Taiwan had already begun initial operations at the office, in effect a de facto embassy, last month. It had been welcomed by Washington and condemned by Beijing, which claims Taiwan has no right to state-to-state ties.



Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said that because of Beijing's pressure, Guyana had "unilaterally" decided to back out of the deal, and Taiwan expressed deep regret it was unable to get the decision reversed.



"We express our strongest dissatisfaction and condemnation of the Chinese government once again bullying and compressing Taiwan's international space and Taiwan's participation in international affairs," the ministry said.



Beijing's continued efforts to isolate Taiwan in the international arena runs counter to declarations by mainland leaders that they are against bullying and that "no one with thick arms and big fists has the final say", it added.



"The Chinese government's way of saying one thing and doing another will only highlight its evil nature."



In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Guyana's "timely correcting of its mistake" would benefit their relations.



"Taiwan's separatist actions and botched performances do not enjoy popular support, their ugly features laid bare, doomed to become a laughing stock," he added.



Beijing has gradually whittled away at the number of countries which still maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and now only 14 do, almost all developing countries including Haiti, Nicaragua and tiny Nauru in the Pacific.



The United States has been particularly concerned at Beijing's efforts to grab Taiwanese allies in Latin America and the Caribbean, a traditional area of influence for Washington, and has accused China of offering economic inducements to seek domination. (Reuters)

Oakland renter Angelica Rivas says that when she turns on the kitchen faucet, cockroaches spill out. And the water pressure is so low in her shower, she says, she often has to bring buckets of water from the kitchen just to bathe.

Rivas has lived in her apartment with her four children for nearly 15 years. She and her neighbors went on a rent strike last March to demand that the landlord make repairs.

Then the pandemic forced a Bay Area-wide shutdown, and Rivas, who worked as a housekeeper, and many of her neighbors at 1821 28th Ave. lost their jobs. The rent strike turned into an inability to pay.

In theory, Rivas and her neighbors shouldnt worry about losing their homes. In one of the strongest eviction moratoriums in the state, Oakland prohibits evictions for nonpayment of rent at most residential units.

Nevertheless, Rivas landlord has issued multiple eviction notices to tenants since March.

Housing experts and tenant advocates say Rivas situation isnt uncommon in the Bay Area because of confusion around a separate eviction moratorium issued by the state.

The statewide moratorium lets landlords send 15-day eviction notices as long as they include a form for tenants to fill out if they are unable to pay rent due to the pandemic.

Tenant advocates say Oaklands policy and other local moratoriums supersede the statewide law.

While we think its clear that Oaklands eviction moratorium and Alameda Countys eviction moratorium takes precedence. ... It appears that there are some landlords that have a different opinion, said Jackie Zaneri, a staff attorney at the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment who represents Rivas and other tenants in her building.

Housing experts say it can be confusing for landlords and tenants to know which moratorium to follow. Rivas landlord, Michael You, has included the form with his eviction notices.

Admittedly, it is a tricky time to be involved in managing property, You said. I do need the cooperation of the tenants to ensure access as well, and to help reduce the risk of infestation by good housekeeping standards. It is also troubling that I have not received rent from all the tenants for 10 months.

You said his tenants didnt complain about the condition of the apartments before the pandemic. The tenants and their lawyer said they did.

The situation underscores the complexities of enforcing local eviction moratoriums against a statewide policy with different rules. The result is confusion between landlords and tenants about what policies prevail. Meanwhile, both sides struggle with economic instability in an unrelenting pandemic that threatens to exacerbate the states homeless crisis. Many tenants, often terrified of an eviction on their record, give up and leave once they receive a notice, advocates say.

Most tenants are not able to consult with an attorney, and most tenants dont know their rights, said Alex Werth, a policy associate at East Bay Housing Organizations. These laws are extremely complicated. The eviction process is extremely complicated. For a lot of tenants, especially the most vulnerable ones, they will receive an eviction notice and either assume they must leave right away or will leave out of fear.

In late January, Gov. Gavin Newsom extended the statewide eviction moratorium to allow tenants facing financial hardship because of the pandemic to stay in their homes until June 30, when property owners will again be able to evict tenants who dont pay their rent.

Under the state law, tenants who receive a 15-day eviction notice for nonpayment of rent can file a declaration that they are unable to pay due to income losses as a result of the pandemic.

Meghan Gordon, the director of the housing unit at the East Bay Community Law Center, said when the pandemic started, landlords didnt know what was going on and an initial surge of eviction notices went out. But that surge died down as landlords learned of Oaklands protective order.

In March, the Oakland City Council passed a moratorium that bans eviction of most tenants in residential units built before 1996 for nonpayment of rent due to financial difficulties during the pandemic. It also prevents landlords from charging late fees for back rent, and limits certain rent increases.

Eviction notices are precursors to any eviction lawsuit. Under the citys policy, the moratorium provides an absolute defense against eviction if the notice was served during the local emergency, according to the city attorneys office.

The moratorium will be lifted only once the City Council votes to end the state of emergency.

Rivas neighbor, Felix Martinez, said the stove in his unit hasnt worked for nearly two years. He said his wife is constantly scraping mold off the walls.

Evelyn Rivas, another tenant, said she was shocked when she received the first eviction notice in April.

What if I lose my house? she asked in Spanish. What if Im out on the street?

Rent for several apartments in the building is nearly $1,500 a month.

In response to every eviction notice, Zaneri said she responded with a declaration from the tenants that they were unable to pay rent due to loss of income during the pandemic.

On Dec. 31, Zaneri sent a letter to the landlord demanding an end to the notices and that he immediately address repairs (including eliminate rodents and pests), replace missing or expired fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, fix broken door locks and stop up sewage leaks.

Zaneri said the landlord has not responded to the demand letter. She said she has spoken to the landlords attorney, who provided no timeline on repairs.

You, the landlord, told The Chronicle that he has commenced work to remediate the concerns raised by the tenants. The complexity of complying with COVID-19 pandemic restrictions while effectuating repairs to a property has elongated the process.

You said he expects the renovations and remediation of the property to be completed shortly. He did not respond to questions about why he was sending eviction notices despite the citys moratorium.

It is outrageous that a landlord who has totally neglected their duty to provide a safe and habitable apartment for tenants by failing to make major repairs for years would then give their tenants an eviction notice for failure to pay rent during the pandemic, Zaneri said.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
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MONROVIA-President George has threatened his cabinet ministers if they fail to perform. He said they either perform of be removed.

He made the statement in his first cabinet meeting held on Thursday, February 4, 2021 at the Foreign Ministry. He said, that the year 2021 is a year of performance, commitment and diligence.

Dr. Weah warned that there will be zero tolerance for non-performing cabinet members and other government officials.

"This year and onwards, you must implement my agenda to stay on or take the bench. I will dismiss any official of government who fails to perform", President Weah warns.

The Liberian Chief Executive said agriculture, the second flagship program of the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD), remains a priority as his government embarks on making Liberia food secure and improving the livelihood of Liberians.

President Weah, who is expected to attend this year's agriculture fair in Gbarnga on February 12, 2021, mandated the Minister of Agriculture, Jeanine Cooper, to ensure all government farms are cultivated.

"Madam Minister, please make sure we develop and cultivate our farm lands throughout the country this year. Let's begin with the 5,000 acres in Grand Cape Mount. I will lead the entire cabinet to plant rice and crops by April this year", Dr. Weah said.

Commending Min. Cooper, the Liberian President said: "I was told you are the best in terms of changing the dynamics of agriculture in the Country, and that you can help make my dreams of "made in Liberia" come true. You have so far exhibited that. I want you to do more".

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The Liberian Chief Executive urged all members of the cabinet to get involved in agriculture saying: "Living by example is cardinal."

President Weah then commended members of the cabinet for submitting detailed reports on their various achievements, he promised to peruse them before acting on a way forward insisting people who don't perform will take the bench as there would be no sacred cow.

The cabinet also discussed and approved the President's tour which begins on February 12, 2021 in Bong County. The first phase of the tour will take him to Bong, Nimba, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Maryland and Grand Kru Counties.

President Weah is expected to hold town hall meetings with locals, county caucuses and administration, as well as commission projects including roads, administrative buildings and housing units.

Also during the tour, Dr. Weah is expected to become the first ever President of Liberia to visit and interact with residents of Gbi and Doru where one of his farms is located.

Additionally, the cabinet received and discussed recommendations from the universal periodic human rights report.

Following cabinet's review, the Minister of Justice and other line ministries including Gender, were mandated to accept and make recommendation to the international body in cognizance with Liberia's laws and tradition
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interview

Much has been said about the Landless People's Movement (LPM) good showing in last year's regional council and local authority elections. This week, New Era journalist Kuzeeko Tjitemisa (KT) caught up with operative secretary and parliamentarian Edson Isaacks (EI) to share his party's long-term vision as well as his stance on other pertinent issues and challenges in the country.

KT: When one speaks of LPM, names that come to mind are that of Bernadus Swartbooi, Henny Seibeb, or Utaara Mootu. But as the party operative secretary, you are the engine of the party and yet people know little about you. Who is Edson Isaacks and what role did you play in the establishment of LPM?

EI: Well, I am a teacher by profession with over 20 years' experience. I'm humbled to have made my contribution to the birth, growth and formation of the LPM.

Initially, we started as a social movement that advocated for the return of ancestral land to the dispossessed people of Namibia. During the initial phase, we worked extremely hard to build a strong support base.

I was instrumental in organising community engagements. We furthermore had consultative meetings, which were called smart talks where we invited land experts, lawyers and various academics to discuss the burning land question, with a view to influence public policy.

I was fortunate enough to have played an instrumental role with the LPM even since it was a social movement. I am a leader in my own right, and my contributions speak for itself, therefore I command the respect and cooperation of the LPM rank and file leaders.

I was never wheelbarrowed into any position. We have campaigned and fought for the poor, landless and destitute Namibians, even when we as a movement didn't have any finances. We have worked extremely hard to build this organisation on a solid foundation of integrity and tenacity.

KT: During last year's regional council and local authority elections, your party relatively did well, especially in the //Kharas and the Hardap regions. To what is this performance attributed?

EI: We are first and foremost extremely grateful to all voters who went out in numbers to cast their votes. Particularly those that demonstrated confidence in LPM and voted for us during the regional and local authority elections. I want to emphasise that fact that we are one of the fasted growing parties in Namibia.

We have local authority councillors throughout Namibia. In towns, villages and cities. From Okakarara, Khorixas, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and City of Windhoek. We have demonstrated that we are a party for all Namibians regardless of race, sex, and origin. We have also made history by being the first to control two regions.

This success we attribute to the relentless pursuit of justice, equity and truth by the movement. We have also worked hard to groom youthful leaders in the movement who were able to galvanise the electorate.

For example, the chairperson of the management committee of the Keetmanshoop municipality Easter Isaak is a youthful leader who has been groomed and now serves the community in a key position in the council. Therefore, our performance is the cumulative effort of four years of diligent work, in which we fought for social justice matters.

It does not make sense to have a democratic process where the people elect their local and regional leaders and then have an autocratic system of governance where the President solely appoints a governor. It is contradictory to the values of democracy.

KT: The perception or narrative has been derived that LPM is predominantly a party of the people of the South, or that it only serves the interest of the people of the South. What is your take on these perceptions and what is the party doing to change this?

EI: I can't respond to frivolous perceptions, which are not rooted in reality. We are a party for all Namibians. Anyone that has been following us for the past four years knows what issues we have advanced. Anyone that has listened to parliamentary debates knows the issues we have advanced. This question is unfounded, frivolous and without any factual basis.

KT: Seeing that the ruling party Swapo has lost control of almost all constituencies in the //Kharas and Hardap regions during last year's regional council and local authority elections, will your party be lobbying for governors to be directly elected by the people to enable better representation of the people's aspirations?

EI: As LPM, we believe that the position of regional governors should be done away with. Appointment of regional governors should be done away with. Governors should be elected by the people and not imposed by the head of state on the people.

It is contradictory to the values of democracy. In essence, the governor should form part of the portfolios of regional councils that can be snapped up by any party that gets the most votes in a particular region. A party cannot claim to have been given the mandate to govern a region, but then have a governor appointed from another political party who may not share the mandate of the victor and the aspirations of the majority of the people.

The appointment of regional governors is Swapo's attempt to control regional structures where it has lost popularity. It is dictatorial.

KT: How will LPM ensure good service delivery amidst claims that your elected representatives lack experience?

EI: We have brought in performance agreements with all our councillors, which will ensure that our elected councillors execute the mandate and vision of the party. We have set up a technical team of experts, which will work closely with our councillors in order to offer advice and guidance.

KT: What is your party's stance on issues such as youth unemployment and the Fishrot matter before the court?

EI: Youth unemployment has reached an alarming rate in Namibia. For LPM, youth are our backbone. You will know that we have one of the youngest MPs in the National Assembly, Hon. Utaara Mootu. Therefore, we believe that youth should be on the decision-making table in order to influence public policy. We will work hard to ensure youth empowerment in Namibia.

Regarding the Fishrot matter, we believe that the entire Swapo leadership, starting from [President] Geingob must answer to the charges. It seems that high-level corruption, as alleged, always involves the highest office in the land. Swapo has created a cesspool of corruption in Namibia. Our desire is the speedy prosecution of all implicated in this matter.

KT: What is your party's short and long-term vision?

EI: Our short-term vision is to deliver on our party manifesto in all localities where we won.

We intend to work with tenacity to ensure that the dignity of Namibians is restored. It is becoming abundantly clear that Swapo is a dead and decomposing party. We are working towards taking over national government in order to serve Namibians in their interest.

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KT: How is the party preparing for the general election in 2024?

EI: This question is a little too premature at this time. While we have our systems in place for the 2024 national elections, we are just coming out of a rigorous elections campaign where we emerged victorious and need to ensure that our councillors are well equipped for the enormous task in front of them.

Our strategy is not just about winning votes; it is about the people whose trust in us cannot be betrayed. We must ensure that we act on our mandate to truly restore the dignity of our people. It starts at the local level. So, for now, we will not respond to this question until the time is ripe and right.

KT: Many opposition parties have struggled to make a meaningful impact over the years. How different is your party from those that have been rendered irrelevant?

EI: Taking over two regions and controlling a good number of local authorities through coalitions where we were not expected to win was not by coincidence. It means that we have already made a meaningful impact on the electorate.

What you should be asking is how we will maintain the momentum and continue to win over the hearts and minds of our people. We are guided by our political values, which are to alleviate poverty, create decent jobs, and have a well-crafted agrarian reform programme, to achieve restitution of ancestral land rights, fair and just urban and rural land reform, access to land and housing.

All these rest on the absolute commitment to protect citizens from corruption and greed by destroying and defaming corruption, patronage and lack of service delivery.

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In late 2020 a growing number of Iranians in the capital (Tehran) were openly complaining of an odd problem with the GPS on their cellphones. At seemingly random times the GPS indicated another location than the one the user knew they were at. After months of complaints to the city government were ignored, one frustrated resident compiled evidence of the problem and sent it off to American government communications authorities, noting that complaints to their Iranian counterparts were futile. The complaint largely consisted of a spreadsheet where incidents of GPS malfunction, including time, known location and false location indicated by the cellphone GPS. The Iranian message asked if the Americans knew about the problem and what might be done about it. Many Iranians had access to foreign news, despite their censored Internet, and there were many Tehran residents who had family or friends in other countries that they could call or contact via the Internet. Apparently, it was widely known that Russia, China and North Korea had all manner of GPS jamming technology, and in 2019 it became public that the Russians were using GPS spoofing to conceal the true location of senior leaders and some military units. Since 2018 a growing number of Iranians were openly demonstrating against their own government about mismanagement, which included a growing number of crashes by commercial and military aircraft. The failure of their own government to respond to the GPS problem led to some Iranians reporting the incidents to other countries. The spreadsheet sent to the Americans revealed several interesting patterns. The most telling item was that the GPS disruptions were all occurring in the vicinity of the Iranian Army Command And Staff University. Another feature of the problem was it only occurred in small areas and that location moved in a circular fashion at a speed of about 35 kilometers an hour. Finally, the incidents of GPS problems had been increasing for months, as had the government use of lethal force against demonstrators. The American government did not remain silent but could only speculate that the Iranian military was testing a new GPS spoofing technology in downtown Iran. American government requests for information from the Iranian government were also ignored and that alarmed many nations that operated commercial ships and airliners in the Persian Gulf and Iranian Indian Ocean coast. Iran has been caught making attacks on foreign shipping with naval mines in shipping channels or limpet mines attached, usually at night, to the hulls of foreign ships anchored in the Persian Gulf. Iran always denies responsibility but several major investigations, including one by the UN, concluded that Iran was behind this violence. That has not stopped Iran from using GPS spoofing against ship or airliner navigation systems would be likely.

Developers and users of GPS jamming gear tend to keep quiet about it because this sort of thing is illegal in peacetime, especially when civilians are going to experience the GPS disruptions themselves. When the United States tests military GPS jamming it does so at sea or in remote areas and warns nearby civilians who might encounter GPS problems to be aware of the tests and act accordingly. This warning policy has been in use for decades because of the growing number of new electronic equipment designs that could cause problems for civilians if the disruptive effect extended farther than expected.

Despite the secrecy about GPS disruption, since 2017 there has been growing evidence that Russia has been frequently jamming or spoofing GPS signals, mainly to hide the exact location of key people or military units. Developing equipment like this is easily within Russian capabilities. In early 2019 a report made the news describing there had been nearly 10,000 instances that someone, apparently Russia, had been jamming or spoofing satellite navigation signals. Not just the American GPS, but also signals from non-American satellite navigation systems (Chinese Beidou, EUs Galileo, Japans QZAA and even the Russian GLONASS). Much of this activity was not outright jamming but spoofing. This was apparently done to conceal the true location of key Russian officials, like president Putin, and Russian military units. The spoofing was particularly common for Russian military forces in Ukraine and Syria. The spoofing replaced the actual satellite signal with a false one that rendered smart bombs or planned attacks on targets inaccurate.

Spoofing has become more popular and practical because it does not require expensive or high-tech equipment. While American weapons and military navigation systems have a backup in the form of unjammable INS (Internal Navigation System) systems, these are useless if the spoofing is not detected. American systems are supposed to detect spoofing and revert to INS but the Americans do not disclose details of how these systems work in order to make it difficult for spoofing systems to be modified to be less detectable. That is one reason why the U.S. has not released information on spoofing incidents. To further complicate the issue there have also been instances where mandatory AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponders that all large ships much carry are more frequently reporting instances of getting no GPS signal at all. Large ships usually carry two AIS units, in case one malfunctions so AIS failure can be ruled out as a cause. Something outside the ship is messing with the GPS signa.

Other nations are not as secretive in complaining and often the culprit is Russia. In late 2018 Finland and Norway went public with their accusations that Russia deliberately jammed GPS signals in northern Finland and Norway from a location near the Russian military bases in the Kola Peninsula on the Barents Sea. The jamming took place as NATO held its largest training exercise since the Cold War ended in 1991. Russia denied any responsibility even though they are known to possess long-range jammers for GPS and other signals. Norway said they had tracked the jammer to a specific location but when Russia refused to admit any involvement Norway refused to explain how they tracked the signal because that would provide Russia with information on Norwegian EW (Electronic Warfare) equipment that might be useful to them.

What was curious about this incident was that it had no impact on the NATO military exercises and even commercial airliners operating in the area had INS (unjammable Inertial Navigation Systems) backup in case GPS signals were not working properly. The potential victims were civilians with smaller aircraft or on the ground who depend on commercial navigation gear using GPS. Then again, that may have been the point because Russian firms have long been producing a wide variety of GPS jammers that are generally ineffective against military GPS users but would be useful for criminals, terrorists or anyone involved in irregular warfare, as Russia has been in Ukraine since 2014. As for the damage to diplomatic relations with Norway and Finland, these two nations need no reminders of what a bad neighbor Russia is and historically has been.

During the last decade American researchers have developed new concepts and technology that greatly improve current INS accuracy and cost. By 2013 prototypes proved they could be nearly as accurate as GPS and almost as small. Cost was still a factor, with the new INS still costing more than 10 times what GPS does. But this is all a big improvement over what has been available before. The new INS can now be used to monitor GPS and alert the operator that their GPS has either developed a problem or is being jammed. The new INS is also useful for some fast missiles that often lose their GPS signal as they maneuver. Another urgent chore for INS is to alert users that their GPS is being spoofed rather than jammed and that their navigation system might not be reliable. Thus, even with the ability of anti-jamming tech to keep up with jammer technology, there is still a demand for a new INS. That has led to smaller, cheaper and more accurate INS systems. Aside from airlines and commercial shipping, there is not much of a mass market for these new INS systems because for most consumers GPS is reliable enough to keep the INS gear out of the more cost-sensitive consumer market. But the demand from the airlines, shipping companies and the military is huge. INS tech is becoming a popular feature for smartphones and other consumer items, as some smartphone (and smartwatch) manufacturers seek to use INS to automatically fill in if the user temporarily loses the GPS signal.

Many Department of Defense navigation and electronics experts believe current anti-jamming efforts are sufficient to keep military GPS use viable, but the new INS technology has attracted a lot of attention in the military as backups are always appreciated because when equipment fails in combat its literally a matter of life or death. Meanwhile, the U.S. is building and testing more compact GPS anti-jamming systems for smaller (as small as 200 kg/440 pounds) UAVs. This is part of a program to equip all American UAVs, even the smallest ones, with more secure GPS. While all UAVs can be flown by the operator, the GPS makes it a lot easier for the operator to keep track of exactly where his UAV is at all times and sometimes the UAV is programmed to simply patrol between a series of GPS coordinates. If the GPS jams or fails the operator can usually use the video feed to find landmarks on the ground and bring the UAV back to where it can be seen and landed.

GPS spoofing equipment has also found a market among criminal gangs. This was first encountered during 2018 in Shanghai, China where local gangsters were found to be using technology for spoofing (misdirecting) GPS signals. Shanghai was just the beginning because this spoofing tech was subsequently encountered in twenty other Chinese coastal cities where gangsters ran profitable smuggling operations. The Chinese GPS spoofing was implemented differently from the Russian method. The Russian spoofing would make all GPS devices in an area appear in the same position instead of the many different positions they actually were. In contrast, the Chinese spoofing, when active, would show individual ships each in a different location but always around the same central point that was apparently where the spoofing signals were broadcast. This produced what was called a crop circle pattern. This was first noted by crews of ships slowly entering the port of Shanghai. While doing so they would watch the location of other ships via their AIS transponders. By international law, all large seagoing ships were required to carry and use AIS equipment, which constantly broadcast the GPS position of the ship. But there were cases where ships suddenly saw the AIS positions of ships near them change. The bridge crew could see, often with/or without, the use of binoculars, where the other ships actually were while, at the same time, the AIS display was showing them somewhere else within a circular area. After a few minutes, AIS signals would accurately report location again. In situations like this, it was noted that no GPS receivers onboard were receiving a signal as were GPS devices ashore that were within the circle.

The Chinese government denied responsibility for this GPS spoofing and blamed it on smugglers who apparently use the spoofing device to avoid being caught by the police while a smuggler ship was carrying illegal cargo. In one case the smuggler was caught anyway, because of an accident caused by the spoofing, and the smuggler ship was found to be carrying sand illegally obtained nearby and being taken out of the port for sale elsewhere. Sand mining had been banned in this region because this valuable commodity was in great demand elsewhere and exporting more of it was damaging the environment.

GPS spoofing declined during 2020 but China revealed no details about what happened. In the past China has given local hackers a choice between going to prison or quietly working for the Chinese government. Russia uses similar tactics as do many other governments. One thing that was noted about the Shanghai Spoofer was that the spoofing often took place around oil terminals where ships smuggling oil for Iran or to North Korea often operated. The governments of Iran and North Korea also noticed this and could have received useful information on how the Shanghai spoofing gear worked. Thats one of the conspiracy theories popular with many Iranians and South Koreans.
(Natural News) Health authorities in the U.S. are now looking at the death of a Florida doctor on Jan. 3, days after receiving the Wuhan coronavirus jab made by Pfizer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the pharmaceutical company are investigating the sudden death of Miami obstetrician Gregory Michael. The 56-year-old died 16 days after receiving the BNT162b2 vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech.

The American drug maker said it is actively investigating the incident, but it does not believe Michaels death had any direct connection to the vaccine. In a statement to The New York Times, Pfizer remarked that it was closely monitoring all adverse events in individuals being vaccinated with its jab.

There have been no related safety signals identified in our clinical trials [or] the post-marketing experience thus far, the statement read. Nevertheless, the pharmaceutical firm extended its sympathies to the bereaved family.

Meanwhile, the CDC and the Florida Department of Health are also conducting a concurrent investigation on the matter. In an email sent Jan. 8, Darren Caprara, the director of operations for the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department, said that the actual cause of death is yet to be determined as studies are still ongoing. Samples from an autopsy had been sent to the CDC.

In a separate statement, the CDC said it plans to evaluate the case and provide timely updates on what is known and any necessary actions.

Wife shares how perfectly healthy husband succumbed to vaccines adverse effects

Michaels wife, Heidi Neckelmann, told The Daily Mail in an interview that her husband was active and healthy and had no pre-existing conditions. She believes the COVID-19 vaccine he received on Dec. 18 caused his death. In my mind, his death was 100 percent linked to the vaccine, Neckelmann said.

Michael did not experience an immediate reaction to the jab, but he noticed red spots on his feet and hands three days after vaccination. When he sought medical treatment at Miami Beachs Mount Sinai Medical Center where he worked, doctors discovered that he had developed a rare disorder characterized by a decrease in the number of platelets.

All the blood results came back normal, except for the platelets which came back as zero: At first, they thought it was a mistake. So they did the test again  a manual count which is supposed to be more accurate. This time, it showed just one platelet, Neckelmann said.

Platelets prevent excessive bleeding by helping the blood clot. A normal platelet count would range from 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of blood.

Doctors eventually diagnosed Michael with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a rare autoimmune illness. Those affected with ITP have an immune system that mistakes platelets for foreign objects, causing the body to destroy them. Neckelmann commented that doctors talking to her husband said it was highly probable that the vaccine instructed his body to attack the wrong thing.

Michael then received medicine and an incredible amount of platelet infusions. But no matter what they did, nothing helped. The blood tests came back with zero platelets every time, Neckelmann recounted.

Left with no choice after seeing his platelet count, the doctors told Michael he had to undergo surgery to remove his spleen. He was originally not a candidate because his blood was unable to clot, making the procedure dangerous. Michael died from a hemorrhagic stroke before he could undergo the procedure.

Michaels death adds to a long list of COVID-19 vaccines adverse effects

If the investigation determines the BNT162b2 vaccine caused Michael to develop ITP, his would be the first known death linked to the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. In other countries like the U.K., health workers and nursing home residents were the first people to get vaccinated against the Wuhan coronavirus. Adverse effects have also been reported.

Two health workers from the National Health Service experienced adverse reactions after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. British authorities noted that the two health workers used auto-injector pens for their allergies. This prompted the U.K.s health regulator to issue new guidance against giving the vaccine to people with a history of a significant allergic reaction to a vaccine, medicine or food.

Meanwhile, a Tennessee nurse fainted moments after receiving the Wuhan coronavirus jab. CHI Memorial Hospital Nurse Manager Tiffany Dover fell unconscious after being vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. A doctor standing behind Dover managed to prevent her from falling to the floor. The nurse manager told News Channel 9 when she regained consciousness: It just hit me all of the sudden, I could feel it coming on.

Visit VaccineDeaths.com to read more about fatalities connected to the Wuhan coronavirus vaccine.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

NYTimes.com

APNews.com

WSJ.com

NewsChannel9.com
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of murdering George Floyd, divorced his wife Kellie this week under secret terms.

The news comes after Minnesota prosecutors on Thursday asked a judge to reinstate a third-degree murder count against Derek Chauvin.

Prosecutors said an appellate court decision from earlier this week sets legal precedent that shows the count is appropriate.

Derek Chauvin faces trial in March on one count of second-degree murder and one count of manslaughter.

Washington County District Judge Juanita Freeman issued the divorce order under seal on Tuesday, with a redacted version being made public on Thursday.

Freeman ordered redaction in the divorce case because of harassment and financial fraud allegations against the pair.

Chauvin, 44, and his beauty queen wife Kellie, 46, divorced this week under secret terms

Unless a judge approves a parties' request to seal the related documents, most divorces and their settlements are public record.

Kellie Chauvin filed for divorce two days after her husband was charged with killing George Floyd on May 25, raising suspicions that the move was to protect assets from civil litigation.

Two months later, Floyd's family filed a federal lawsuit against Chauvin, as well as the city of Minneapolis and the officer's three former colleagues who ssisted in Floyd's arrest: Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao.

That same month, the Washington County Attorney's Office charged the then-married couple with nine felony counts each of failing to report $464,433 in joint income dating back to 2014. They a set to face trial in that case on June 30.

Freeman rejected an initial proposed divorce settlement last October that had been drafted by Kellie and Derek Chauvin.

The judge cited possible fraud, noting that giving 'substantially all' of one's assets to the other spouse can be an indicator of fraudulent activity.

'Judge Freeman is placed in a difficult position,' divorce attorney Jack De Walt, who is not involved in the case but has reviewed the latest documents and previous filings, told the Star Tribune.

'On the one hand, you have a case that clearly has larger implications on both a state and national level.  On the other hand, you have two parties seeking a divorce, and the [judge] must have felt that the revised proposal  adequately addressed her previous concerns.'

Kellie Chuavin, then a radiology technician, met Derek Chauvin when he brought a suspect in for a health check before an arrest, returning to the hospital shortly after their initial meeting to ask her out (pictured: Chauvin and her husband in his mugshot, right)

According to a second December divorce proposal - that came after the initial October one - Kellie Chauvin's share of marital assets was $658,461, while Derek Chauvin's share was an $8,862 debt.

Non-marital assets, money and property that were earned before marriage are normally awarded to the earner. Derek Chauvin's non-marital award was $429,630. Kellie Chauvin's share, meanwhile, was $45,256.

The agreement would see Kellie Chauvin would receive $754,911 from Derek Chauvin's pension and three of his other bank accounts, while her husband would receive $452,524 in nonmarital assets from the same accounts.

The couple married in 2010 and share no children together. They previously said that they were not seeking spousal maintenance.

After all assets and debts are factored in, Kellie Chauvin would receive $703,717; Derek Chauvin would receive $420,768.

Divorce attorney Marc Beyer told the Star Tribune that the judge could have been persuaded to award Kellie Chauvin more marital assets because of the impact his criminal case has had on her, and the amount of Derek Chauvin's nonmarital award.

Derek Chauvin (left), the white Minneapolis cop accused of killing George Floyd (right) by kneeling on his neck during an arrest last spring, is facing a second degree murder charge

George Floyd's death proved to be the catalyst for mass protests around the country and the world, galvanising the Black Lives Matter movement that dominated news channels for large parts of 2020, and continue to this day. Pictured: Demonstrators walk along Pennsylvania Avenue as they protest the death of George Floyd, May 29, 2020

Last October, Judge Peter Cahill dismissed a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin, saying that in order to prove that count, prosecutors would have to show his intentional conduct was 'eminently dangerous to others' and not specifically directed at Floyd.

But on Monday, a three-judge panel from the state Court of Appeals came to a different conclusion when it upheld the third-degree murder conviction against former Minneapolis officer Mohamed Noor.

Noor is serving a 12-and-a-half year sentence for the 2017 shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault.

In the Noor decision, the panel ruled that a third-degree murder conviction can be sustained even if the action that caused a death was directed at one person.

'Because the decision in Noor is precedential and now provides this Court with clear guidance regarding the elements of third-degree murder, the State respectfully requests that the Court reinstate the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin or, in the alternative, that it permit the State to file an amended complaint that includes this third-degree murder charge,' prosecutors wrote.

The defendants in the George Floyd case (clockwise from top left): Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Keung, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane

Prosecutors said the appeals court has 'clarified the law' and rejected the reasoning Cahill used when he dismissed the third-degree murder count against Chauvin. They also said the appeals court decision can be applied beyond the Noor case.

The appeals court decision may not be final - Noor's attorney plans to ask the state Supreme Court to review it, but an appeal is not automatic and the Supreme Court could decline to consider it.

Floyd, a Black man in handcuffs, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd's neck even as he said he couldn't breathe. Floyd's death sparked protests in Minneapolis and beyond, and led to a nationwide reckoning on race.

Three other officers - Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao - are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter and are scheduled to face trial in August.

Prosecutors also want to add a charge of aiding and abetting third-degree murder to the other former officers' cases.

Floyd's death sparked nationwide and global protest over racial justice. A protester is seen above near a building that was set on fire during a demonstration in Minneapolis on May 29 - four days after Floyd's death

Susan Gaertner, a former prosecutor, said from a strategic standpoint it's not surprising that prosecutors would want to reinstate the third-degree murder charge, but getting it back into the case might add unnecessary complexity.

'Going into a trial, no matter how well-prepared you are, you have to leave room for surprises or twists and turns of how the evidence ends up.

So to have multiple theories that you can rely on can be helpful,' she said. But, since the third-degree murder charge contains confusing language, it can be difficult for jurors to wrap their heads around.

On Wednesday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz highlighted a proposal for a $35million fund for extensive security plans around Derek Chauvin's trial for the death of George Floyd.

Officials are planning to bring in hundreds of officers from across the state and even the National Guard if violent protests erupt around the March 8 trail of Chauvin, 44.

They are also considering building a perimeter wall around the city's courthouse and government administration building.

Authorities fear a repeat of the crime and disorder that spread through the city as protesters looted and rioted in the wake of Floyd's death.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, pictured, said the fund would be used to reimburse agencies across the state for providing security for the trial

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has highlighted a proposal for a $35million fund to pay for hundreds more police officers, pictured in Minneapolis last year during George Floyd protests, to deal with civil unrest

Chauvin was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after he was caught on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 44 seconds, killing him on May 25, 2020.

'We know we can't predict every public safety challenge that may arise, but we can and must be prepared to protect Minnesotans' safety,' Walz tweeted on Wednesday.

'That's why our budget includes aid for local governments, from Centerville to St. Paul, for expenses that arise from extraordinary events.'

Walz said in a news conference on Wednesday that $35million State Aid for Emergencies account is needed for security plans that have been made for the trial months ago.

'This is an opportunity for Minnesota to put a face forward to the world to show that we can protect First Amendment rights and we can make sure that public safety is adhered to,' Walz said.

The security plan will likely involve the National Guard and hundreds of officers from agencies across the state, Axios reported.

Exact details of the security plan were not immediately clear, but there are also talks of building a perimeter around the Hennepin County Government Center.
Bangladesh: BCSM calls for release of Bangladeshi fishermen in Qatar

February 05,2021 | Source: Dhaka Tribune

The Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants (BCSM) has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the four Bangladeshi fishermen detained in Qatar. The platform of 19 civil society organizations expressed deep concerns on the arrest of four Bangladeshi fishermen by Qatari authorities and their sentencing of three months imprisonment with hefty fines and deportation to Bangladesh, said a press release on Thursday. Professional Fishermen Society (FPS) of Bahrain and BHRWS also urged the Qatari government to release the workers.



BHRWS confirmed that at the time of their arrest, the Bangladeshi expats were fishing in the water of Bahrain territory. It was also alleged that Qatar has endangered the health of these detained men as Covid-19 has already been detected in the countrys central prison. It is also disturbing to note that while several Bahraini nationals, who were detained for the same offence, were released by the Qatar authorities; the Bangladeshi nationals were detained, prosecuted, and imprisoned.



Earlier, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued reports about the misery of Asian workers in Qatar and the Covid-19 outbreak in the prison. Unfortunately, to the best of our knowledge Bangladesh embassy in Doha is yet to make headway in securing their release, BCSM also mentioned in its press release. As these fishermen did not get a fair trial as alleged by BHRWS, the BCSM is demanding their immediate and unconditional release. We find atari authorities discrimination in their treatment between Bahraini and Bangladeshi nationals unacceptable. We urge Bangladeshs Foreign Ministry to take immediate steps to ensure that these workers are released by Qatar, it added.
India has become the first country in the world to reach the5 million COVID-19 vaccination mark in just 21 days, the Union Health Ministry said as nearly 53 lakh beneficiaries have been administered shots under the countrywide inoculation exercise till Friday evening. The USA, the UK and Israel have reached 5 million vaccinations in 24, 43 and 45 simultaneous days respectively.

"The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination program was conducted successfully on the twenty-first day as well," the ministry said. The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against COVID-19 is nearly 53 lakhs.

A total of 52,90,474 beneficiaries were vaccinated through 1,04,781 sessions, as per the provisional report comprising data collected till Friday 6 pm. As many as "3,31,029 beneficiaries have been vaccinated till 6 pm on the 21st day of the vaccination drive,"the ministry said, adding, the final report would be completed by late in the night.

The final report would be completed for the day by late Friday night, the ministry said. One of the highlights of the vaccination process is a link for downloading the certificate which is also a part of the confirmatory SMS sent to the beneficiary post vaccination.

The Certificate can also be downloaded by the Vaccinator and District Immunization Officer and handed over to the beneficiary, the ministry said. Total 27 persons have been hospitalized so far which translates to 0.0005 per cent of the total vaccinations done so far. No new hospitalization has been recorded in the last 24 hours, the ministry said.

The ministry further said total 22 deaths have been recorded till date and none of these deaths have been causally linked with COVID-19 vaccination. "One new death was reported in the past 24 hours, of a 77-year-old male in Agra, seven days after vaccination. It was a case of shock with pre-existing diabetes. None of these deaths have been causally linked with COVID-19 vaccination," the ministry said. Total3,31,029beneficiaries who have been vaccinated on Friday 6 pm include 29,229 from Bihar, 12,992 from Kerala, 23,291 from Karnataka, 1,104 from Madhya Pradesh, 35,172 from Maharashtra, 6,258 from Tamil Nadu, 8,038 from Delhi, 27,862 from Gujarat, 53,959 from Uttar Pradesh and 17,329 from West Bengal, according to the provisional report.
Cabinet drafting program to support Ukrainian air carriers

The bill, tabled in the Rada, exempts domestic air transportation services from VAT.

Reporting by UNIAN

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Community meetings will take place in southern Greenland in the coming days and will be attended by members of Greenlands administration and their advisors along with representatives of Greenland Minerals.

Instead of the originally determined 12 weeks, the consultation period will be extended to 23 weeks.

( ) ( ) (FRA:G7P), in consultation with the Government of Greenland, has extended the period for the public consultation hearings for its Kvanefjeld Rare Earth Project to 1 June 2021.

COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have created logistical challenges around travelling and holding public meetings and information forums.

The extension will allow sufficient time and opportunity for details of the project to be communicated and discussed amongst the cross-section of stakeholders, particularly in consideration of the substantial technical information associated with the project, which is publicly available via the Naalakkersuisut (Government of Greenland) official website.

Opportunity for effective communication

Greenland Minerals managing director Dr John Mair said: Kvanefjeld is a significant project for Greenland, and we openly support an extension to the public consultation period in order for the project to be effectively communicated and discussed among community and government stakeholders.

We appreciate that the government is undertaking the public consultation during a time of logistical challenge and are working cooperatively to support this.

We welcome open communication and look forward to upcoming meetings and information forums in southern Greenland and will continue to address queries and concerns that arise, as well as discussing the significant opportunities and benefits of the project.

There is a substantial amount of information that relates to many aspects of the project, and it is important that local stakeholders have ample time and opportunity to understand all aspects.

Greenland borders closed for February

The Greenland Government announced that the country is closed for entry during the period from 1 February to 28 February - which imposes further limitations for specialist advisors and independent experts to enter Greenland to participate in the consultation process.

The government has also highlighted that, with the scheduled upcoming municipal elections in April, it is important that a newly-elected local municipal council has the opportunity to be involved in the consultation process to represent those who will be living with the mining project.

Meetings with stakeholders planned

Community meetings will take place in southern Greenland in the coming days and will be attended by members of Greenlands administration and their advisors, along with representatives of Greenland Minerals.

A further round of meetings is currently being planned that will be attended by politicians.

Kvanefjeld Project potential

The Kvanefjeld Rare Earth Project is unique with respect to its favourable metallurgy and forecast production profile across all commercially important rare earths.

Rare earth elements are critical to the electric vehicle revolution and renewable energy, as well as many other energy-efficient applications.

The project is forecast to be a globally significant producer of all commercially important rare earth elements including neodymium, praseodymium, terbium and dysprosium, over an initial 37year mine life.
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A group of Rancho Santa Fe residents has submitted a petition to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters to recall recently appointed board member Jon Yonemitsu and force a special election for the board vacancy on the Rancho Santa Fe School District board.

In order to petition against the boards appointment to fill trustee Marti Rittos vacant seat, a group of voters needed to gather 65 signatures (representing 1.5 percent of the 4,292 registered voters). Speaking on behalf of the petitioners, resident Diana Knickrehm said the group gathered over two times the required amount.

The San Diego County Registrar of Voters has 30 business days to ratify the signatures and if the recall takes place, the school district has 130 days to schedule an election, likely in March or April 2018. Yonemitsu would have to be removed immediately.

The school district would be required to bear the $50,000 to $100,000 cost of the election, according to Superintendent David Jaffe.

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For me, the best board is one that is fully functioning with five members and Mr. Yonemitsu is well-qualified, Jaffe said. The absence of any board member for four to five months is a disruption and while its certainly within the rights of the petitioners to do what theyre doing, it doesnt serve the students at this school.

After trustee Marti Ritto resigned effective Sept. 13, the board gave three weeks for candidates to submit their names and they interviewed five candidates for the vacancy in an open session on Oct. 16. The board allowed a week for public input before selecting and appointing Yonemitsu unanimously in open session on Oct. 23.

The board had options on what method to take to fill Rittos seat, including paying the cost for a special election or going through an appointment process  the board unanimously voted to appoint a new member. At that Sept. 15 meeting, several residents requested the special election route, raising concerns that the selection of the new board member should be made by the community as there has been a pattern of appointments in the district. Tyler Seltzer was appointed in 2011 and Scott Kahn was appointed in May 2016. Both board members went on to be elected  Seltzer was been re-elected twice, in 2012 and in 2016, and Kahn was elected in 2016.

The appointees seat would be up for election in November 2018.

At that meeting, one of the residents even warned the board that if they chose to appoint, residents would file a petition.

This is about voter representation. It is about proper process, not anything personal, Knickrehm said, making it clear that the group has nothing against the appointed board member.

She said particularly with a bond measure on the horizon, the cycle of appointments in the school district needs to be broken and the board member should be chosen through a public election.

Getting the signatures was easy because residents are generally very appreciative that we are defending their right to vote. This is an amazing community full of intelligent, capable and caring people, Knickrehm said. An appointment once is OK. Twice, well they got away with it. But three times, definitely not. Rancho Santa Fe wants elected officials who respect their role as community representatives, not board members who think they know better.

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Jaffe maintains that the board followed protocol in its appointment process and said he wouldve been happy to welcome any of the five candidates to the board.

Its a shame to have a well-qualified candidate like Mr. Yonemitsu be recalled and not have a fully functioning board for any amount of time, Jaffe said.
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When the world slowed down during the pandemic, many of us found solace in the natural world. Here are a selection of photos that celebrate the best images of animals and nature.

From aerial shots and animals to landscapes, the stunning images have been submitted as entries to the Animals and Nature categories of this year's CEWE Photo Award, the world's largest photo competition, which aims to celebrate the best photography from across the globe.

The competition, which is open for submissions until May 31st, invites entrants to submit photos which celebrate the competition's 'Our world is beautiful' theme.

The competition, now in its fourth edition, launched for entries in May 2020 and is open to everyone  from keen amateur photographers to established professionals.

Clare Moreton, photo expert at CEWE UK, said: 'As we find ourselves living quieter lives during lockdown, many people have been taking great comfort in animals and the natural world. Whether it's taking photos of our beloved pets or looking back on photos we took of wildlife on holidays abroad, engaging with photography of the natural world has been a great way to remind ourselves of the bigger picture.

'We've really enjoyed seeing people's entries to the CEWE Photo Award 2021 and are looking forward to seeing many more entries before the competition closes in May.'

Here, FEMAIL shares some of the top images from this year's Animal and Nature categories.

A hungry bear in Alaska stands on the edge of a waterfall as it tries to catch lunch in this photograph by Doris Dorfler-Asmus

A pair of owls share a tender moment in this stunning snap captured by photographer Christian Mars

A snake emerges from the depths of the water in this incredible close up image taken by Radim Hlavac

A penguin cares for its chick in this adorable photograph by Christoph Bliem, which was taken in Antarctica

Oops! A squirrel can be seen dropping its breakfast from the branch it is perching from in this photo by Doris Dorfler-Asmus

A horse gets up very close and personal in this camera shot taken by photograher Jane Wintersohl

This is the very moment a kingfisher stops for a snack. The perfectly-timed photo was captured by Thomas Hinsche

What are you looking at? A cat gazes into the distance in this shot by Emese Madarasz-Grasselly

This adorable puppy is unimpressed by its first experience of snow in this photo captured by Talina Lux

A trio of meerkats are seen keeping a lookout in this photograph captured by Clemens Capek

Two butterflies show that sharing is caring as they perch on the same flower bud in this photo by Ruurd Visser

Two dogs use blankets to wrap up in the cold in this autumnal image taken by Rene Brunda

A pigeon keeps cosy in the chilly winter months in this photo by Reinhold Fischer

Melanie Frey captured the moment two zebras decided to show off their patterned coats

Raindrops gather on a spider's web in this stunning close up photograph captured by Michael Konrad
Brian P. McCreary, second from left with blue mask, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday for his role in the breaching of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. McCreary, of North Adams, was arrested in Springfield by FBI agents. He faces charges of entering a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/04/2021



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star Paige Banks feels Chris Williams must have some serious trauma in his past if he's able and willing to disrespect his new wife in ways viewers have already seen on the show's twelfth season.During Wednesday night's episode of : Unfiltered, Paige watched back a hurtful Season 12 clip of Chris telling her bridesmaids how Paige is the "opposite" of the pretty-girl type of woman he was used to dating."Like trophy wives," Chris said when describing his exes or past flings.After Paige's friend pointed out how Paige should definitely be considered a trophy wife based on her beauty alone, Chris replied, "I don't think [Paige] is a trophy wife."On Unfiltered, host Jamie Otis -- who starred on Season 1 of -- asked Paige how it felt to hear Chris say she's not a trophy wife at their wedding.Paige paused and quietly responded with, "Yeah, there's a lot that I can take, but I wasn't anticipating that."Paige confirmed her friends had never told her about Chris' trophy-wife comments, and Paige's co-star Jacob suggested on Unfiltered, "They were probably trying to protect you."Chris had also told Paige's bridesmaids that Paige was probably the woman he needed but didn't want."When you saw this air last week, were you ready to throw in the towel, or are you ready to throw in the towel now?" Jamie asked Paige, who had been hoping to be matched with a God-fearing and caring man."I think that someone like this, there's clearly some traumas that [Chris] is dealing with, right?" Paige reasoned."You need to look outside of the person at this point -- who has hurt you for you to feel like this kind of remark is okay?"Dr. Pepper Schwartz -- who worked with fellow experts Pastor Calvin Roberson and Dr. Viviana Coles to match Chris and Paige for matrimony -- then interjected, "Let me just say this reflects on [Chris], not you, [Paige].""I think you are beautiful," Pepper assured Paige. "And I don't think Chris understands how insulting he is. Most of us, when we say 'a trophy wife,' what we mean is someone who is very pretty with nothing else to offer.""You know? And the fact he thinks that is a good term," Pepper continued, "is shocking to me."Paige was asked what she thinks it would take to have a happy marriage with Chris going forward."Therapy and Jesus at this point," Paige confessed. "I just met this man and there's already all these different things."Not only did Chris admit he wasn't attracted to his wife on their wedding day, but he asked Paige shocking questions about sex during their wedding dinner and also mentioned his ex-girlfriend several times throughout the evening.Chris had been engaged to a woman just three months prior to signing up for the extreme experiment, and he even covered up a tattoo of the woman's name just a few days before getting married to Paige."And so, if this is something he's seriously committed to, then he will put in the necessary work to look outside of his physical eye and look into his spiritual eye," Paige explained."So I pray, for his sake, that these next couple of weeks, he can really start to realize what he has in front of him."Jamie said she'd love to give Paige a standing ovation for that comment.During Wednesday night's episode of 's twelfth season, Chris and Paige apparently slept together twice after their wedding.But Chris apparently disappeared in the morning for hours and later informed Paige he had "a panic attack.""To be perfectly honest with you, I think that on paper, you are everything that I need, but I don't think the attraction is fully there yet," Chris admitted to his new wife.Paige was shocked Chris had already formed this opinion of her considering they had only been married for about 12 hours."We became intimate last night and this morning," Paige revealed. "I am so confused. I have never been with a man who wants to have sex multiple times that didn't desire me or didn't find me attractive."Paige then shared her dilemma with Chris' parents and her male friends hoping to receive some insight into her husband's mind and behavior, but that only upset Chris further and resulted in an argument."Going in, I wasn't planning on having sex with her, but I felt like maybe having sex with her would bring this closeness to her... maybe I would generate some type of attraction [or connection]... but I was wrong. There was nothing there," Chris told his parents.After Chris and Paige took some time away from each other, Chris apologize for how he had acted earlier that day."I feel like I came across as an assh-le and I wasn't trying to. I do also owe you an apology because I think my attitude was horrible and that's not me at all," Chris said."I was honestly kind of checked out at that point," Paige confessed. "But we both committed to this process so many months ago, and to just kind of throw it away due to issues... would be doing us a disservice."Chris and Paige decided to start fresh and remain optimistic about their romance potentially getting stronger during their honeymoon in Las Vegas.Chris told Paige that he was looking forward to bonding and getting to know her better."I don't see things getting worse at all. I hope getting away will bring us closer together. I hope this is a fresh start for our lives," Chris said in a confessional.Interested in more news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group or click here to view our newspage!And click here for more updates on former cast members and info on where they are now!
CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP)  Ben Sheppard had 14 points to lead five Belmont players in double figures as the Bruins won their 16th consecutive game, easily defeating Eastern Illinois 89-61 on Thursday night. Mitch Listau added 13 points for the Bruins. Caleb Hollander chipped in 12, Luke Smith scored 11 and Nick Muszynski had 11.

Marvin Johnson had 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Panthers (6-14, 3-10 Ohio Valley Conference). Barlow Alleruzzo IV added 11 points. Madani Diarra had 11 rebounds.

The Bruins improve to 2-0 against the Panthers for the season. Belmont defeated Eastern Illinois 79-66 on Jan. 21.

___

For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

___

This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 18:21:49|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- China has decided to assist Papua New Guinea (PNG) with a batch of vaccines to help the country completely overcome the pandemic, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday.

Wang made the remarks in a phone conversation with PNG's Acting Foreign Minister and Minister for National Planning and Monitoring Rainbo Paita.

Noting the mutual respect and mutual trust between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic ties 45 years ago, Wang said China and PNG have always supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and that bilateral relations have become a model of friendly exchanges between China and Pacific Island countries.

China and PNG are sincere friends and trustworthy partners, Wang said, adding that since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides have worked hand in hand to fight the pandemic, and the friendship between the two countries has been further promoted.

China, Wang said, is ready to enhance the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Connect PNG Infrastructure Development Program to facilitate PNG's economic recovery.

The Chinese government supports Chinese enterprises to invest and operate in PNG, and hopes that PNG will continue to provide an open, fair and friendly business environment for Chinese enterprises, said Wang.

Wang said that China appreciates that the PNG government has been firmly upholding the one-China policy. China firmly supports PNG in safeguarding its national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and exploring a development path that suits its national conditions.

Wang said China stands ready to continue its mutual understanding and support with PNG on issues concerning each other's core interests. China supports PNG in playing a more important role in international and regional arena, and pays attention to and understands the special concerns and reasonable demands of PNG and other Pacific island countries on climate change issues.

Wang stressed that China is willing to strengthen dialogue and communication with the PNG side on global climate governance.

Wang said that China is taking concrete actions to fulfill its commitment to make vaccines a global public product, and is willing to offer help to PNG within its capacity. China has decided to assist PNG with a batch of vaccines to help PNG completely overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang said.

Paita congratulated China on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and appreciated China's major achievements in various undertakings.

A friend in need is a friend indeed, said Paita. He said the government and people of PNG sincerely thanked China for its decision to provide COVID-19 vaccines to his country and spoke highly of China's positive contributions to assisting PNG in its pandemic fight and economic recovery.

The relations between PNG and China are mutually beneficial, friendly and sincere, Paita said, noting that his country always pursues the one-China policy and is willing to continue deepening mutually-beneficial practical cooperation within the frame of the Belt and Road Initiative and enhance exchanges and coordination with the Chinese side on international issues such as climate change. Enditem
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Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
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WASHINGTON  The Pentagon will deploy more than 1,100 troops to five vaccination centers in what will be the first wave of increased military support for the White House campaign to get more Americans inoculated against COVID-19.

President Joe Biden has called for setting up 100 mass vaccination centers around the country within a month. One of the five new military teams will go to a vaccination center opening in California. Other centers are expected to be announced soon.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked the Pentagon to supply as many as 10,000 service members to staff 100 centers. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the initial five teams, but the others will be approved in separate tranches as FEMA identifies the other site locations.

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Acting FEMA Administrator Robert Fenton told reporters that two vaccination sites that will be predominantly federally run will open in California on Feb. 16, one at California State University, Los Angeles, and the other in Oakland.

Military troops will staff one of the two California centers, FEMA and Pentagon officials said. Personnel from other parts of the federal government will be at the other one. More sites will open around the country as more doses of vaccine become available.

The military deployment comes as the nation is in a race against a virus that is spawning mutations which may make it spread more easily and inflict deadlier disease.

Only about 2% of Americans have received the required two-dose vaccination regimen that confers optimum protection with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines currently available. To reach widespread, or herd immunity, the U.S. must vaccinate 70% to 85% of its population, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the governments top infectious disease expert.

That would be roughly 230 million to 280 million people, compared to 6.9 million who are currently fully immunized with two shots.

More help could be on the way soon. Johnson & Johnson announced this week it is seeking emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its vaccine, which requires only one shot.

Each of the Pentagons five military teams includes 222 personnel, including 80 who will give the vaccines, as well as nurses and other support staff. The teams would be able to provide about 6,000 shots a day.

The five teams represent a growing use of the active duty military to a vaccination campaign that already involves nearly 100 National Guard teams in 29 states across the country. National Guard leaders told The Associated Press that they are now considering training additional Guard members to give shots, so that they can also expand vaccinations in more remote and rural portions of their states.

Gen. Dan Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said the Guard has the ability to field about 200 additional teams. Training other medical personnel to give the vaccination shots, he said, would potentially provide more.

If we reach the point where weve fully implemented all of our folks who can (give shots), then theyre looking at potential training opportunities if were going to need more than that, said Hokanson. Were going to do everything to make a difference and meet whatever that need is.

The Pentagon has said that the FEMA teams could be a mix of active duty, National Guard and Reserves. But Hokanson and Maj. Gen. Jerry Fenwick, director of the Guards Office of the Joint Surgeon, said that at this point, the FEMA teams are more likely going to be filled largely by active duty troops. The Guard, they said, will probably be tapped by their governors for use in their own states. are more likely to be used in remote, rural locations.

Guard leaders said the close to 100 mobile vaccination teams already active are delivering more than 50,000 shots a day.

As more vaccines come on line, theres surely going to be more demand for vaccinators, said Fenwick.

Pentagon officials have made it clear that they are being careful about tapping National Guard and Reserves, because in many cases those service members are already working in medical jobs in their civilian lives at local hospitals and medical centers. Hokanson noted that while the Guard could staff as many as 600 vaccine teams, he has to cut that number about in half because of those types of civilian job restrictions.

He said that so far Guard members are only operating in their own states, but could go to neighboring states if needed in the future, as long as they have enough teams.

Biden has compared the campaign against COVID-19 to a war. Alongside the troop deployment, he also invoked a Cold War-era law called the Defense Production Act to help bolster manufacturing of vaccines, at-home COVID-19 testing kits and nitrile gloves used by health care workers and vaccinators. Referred to as the DPA, the law in essence allows the government to assign missions to private companies during national emergencies.

Tim Manning, the White Houses COVID-19 supply coordinator, said Friday the administration was looking to help drugmaker Pfizer clear a bottleneck around fill-and-finish capabilities with vaccine production by giving the drugmaker first priority to access needed supplies.

Manning said also said the government is investing in six manufacturers to develop at-home and point-of-care COVID-19 tests, with the goal of producing 60 million tests by the end of the summer. Earlier in the week, the White House announced a $230 million contract with Ellume, manufacturer of an at-home test approved by the Food and Drug Administration. No prescription is required for the over-the-counter test.

The country is well behind where we need to be in testing, said Manning. Due to contract issues, he said he could not yet reveal the names of the companies.

Another round of contracts will build capacity to produce surgical gloves in the U.S., including processing the raw materials for the gloves. There were widespread shortages at the start of the pandemic last year.

Manning said the goal is to produce more than 1 billion nitrile gloves domestically by the end of this year.
Valimai, the Ajith Kumar starrer has been under production for over a year now. As reported earlier, Thala Ajith fans are highly upset with the makers of the movie for not revealing any updates, so far. However, Ajith Kumar himself has assured the fans that the Valimai update is on the way.

Thala Ajith, who has been shooting in Hyderabad for the H Vinoth directorial, has been meeting his hards fans lately. During their meeting, a fan of Ajith named Harish asked the actor for an update on Valimai. The actor promised the fans that an update on the project will be out by the end of February 2021.

"Last evening met #ThalaAjith sir at #Valimai set's and 10mins we enjoyed with him and when we asked him #ValimaiUpdate he told by February end will get All updates. Really humbled sir for giving us appointment," wrote Harish on his Twitter post. He also shared a picture with Thala on his post.

In the new picture, Ajith Kumar is seen in a black hooded jacket and his signature salt n pepper style. The look from the picture posted by Harish is assumed to be the talented actor's look for Valimai, which is said to be a complete action thriller.

Reportedly, Ajith is playing the role of Eeshwar Murthy IPS, a police officer, in Valimai. The star is apparently appearing in two different get-ups in the movie, that depicts the two stages of Eeshwar Murthy's life. If the sources are to be believed, Valimai revolves around the two different stages of Eeshwar Murthy's character. Yuvan Shankar Raja has composed the songs and background score for the movie, which is jointly produced by the senior Bollywood filmmaker, Boney Kapoor, and Zee Studios.

Also Read:

IT'S OFFICIAL: Silambarasan, Gautham Menon & AR Rahman To Join Hands Again!

Thalapathy 65: Vijay-Nelson Dilipkumar's Film To Start Rolling From April?


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Stockholm (Sweden), Feb 04, 2021 (SPS) - The Swedish Foreign Minister, Ann Linde, made it clear that the conflict in Western Sahara is a decolonization problem within the UN, stressing that the status of Western Sahara can only be determined through a just, sustainable and mutually acceptable negotiated solution that satisfies the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination in accordance with international law, including Security Council resolutions of the ONU."

Clearing doubts about the position of the Nordic country, after Donal Trump's illegal maneuver in Western Sahara, and the clear adherence to international legality, Ann Linde asserted that the recognition of Morocco's claims without taking into account international law and the resolutions of the UN Security Council do not contribute to a lasting solution to the conflict. "

Likewise, she announced that her Government will continue to be clear in all contexts, including in contacts with the newly appointed Biden administration, about the importance of working to resume the UN-led process to find a solution to the issue of Western Sahara that is in line with international law. "

"Working under the auspices of the United Nations is of the utmost importance, especially in light of the recent events on the ground in Guerguerat, and to appoint the Secretary General's personal envoy as soon as possible," added the Foreign Minister.

The government is putting pressure on the UN for this to happen. I myself have raised the issue with the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, defended Ann Linde in response to the vice president of the Swedish parliament, Lotta Johnsson Fornarve

I also spoke recently with my Moroccan colleague and stressed the importance of resuming the political process under the auspices of the United Nations. The same message has been transmitted to the Frente POLISARIO at the level of senior officials, she added. SPS

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Brian P. McCreary, second from left with blue mask, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday for his role in the breaching of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. McCreary, of North Adams, was arrested in Springfield by FBI agents. He faces charges of entering a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct.
BERLIN - As the European Union's vaccination program stumbles, Russia and China are poised to fill the gap - with Moscow opening talks to produce vaccines in the heart of Europe and both building political cache as they supply those scrambling for shots on the bloc's fringes.

Vaccines produced in Russia and China are already on the program in parts of the Balkans and Eastern Europe outside the E.U. Now, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have expressed their openness to using offerings from Moscow and Beijing if E.U. regulatory approval is granted.

That prospect may not be far off.

Developers of the Sputnik V vaccine - riding high on peer-reviewed trial results published Tuesday in the Lancet that put its efficacy alongside the West's best offerings - said this week they expect E.U. clearance by March. They have already started knocking on doors in Germany to find a manufacturing partner.

The European Medicines Agency said it is providing scientific advice for applications by Sputnik V and one of the Chinese vaccines, Sinovac, though neither has yet submitted a request for E.U. approval.

From a health standpoint, any vaccine in an arm can help stop the pandemic or save a life. But the E.U.'s struggles to competently roll out its own program - using U.S.- and European-made vaccines - has left Russia and China appearing as possible saviors as well as potentially necessary partners.

The prospect of the Sputnik vaccine's inroads into Europe comes as Germany is already under pressure to take a tougher line on Moscow following the poisoning and jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. A planned gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is under particular scrutiny.

"With the controversies, the arguments and the finger pointing, the E.U. looks like a clown show," said David Fidler, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. "There's no question in my mind that there was dancing on the tables in Moscow and Beijing about this."

Pharmaceutical industry insiders have pointed at slow ordering and haggling over price as the reason the E.U. has stumbled. E.U. officials also have said they have been left with an unfair share of the burden of supply shortfalls by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

Other vaccine candidates ordered by the European Union have been held up in trials, while deliveries of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine - developed in Germany - were also temporarily disrupted.

Amid the squabbling, it is two countries outside the bloc that are leading the continent's vaccination charts: newly Brexited Britain, with AstraZeneca and Pfizer, and yet-to-join Serbia, which is using Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm.

In Serbia, slightly more than 7% of people have had their first dose of vaccine, compared to 2.4% in Germany, a rate in line with the rest of the E.U., according to Bloomberg News's vaccination tracker. Some 15% of people have received a vaccine dose in Britain.

"Serbia is vaccinating faster," conceded Merkel in a television interview on Tuesday, citing their use of the Chinese vaccine. "We have always said that anyone who is authorized by the European Medical Agency is very welcome."

Merkel's acknowledgment of Serbia's successful look east also appears to leave little hope for smaller countries that may have been hoping for Western vaccine assistance.

And some in Europe are particularly keen to keep Moscow's influence at bay.

The parliament in Ukraine, which lost Crimea to Russian annexation in 2014, has banned Russian vaccines, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling on Europe for more assistance. "The richest found themselves first in the global vaccine queue," he said in December.

Meanwhile, Sputnik V is already being supplied to the rebel-held area in eastern Ukraine, according to local press reports.

Russia has made little attempt to veil that it's vaccine diplomacy is part of a wider push by President Vladimir Putin to assert influence abroad, choosing a vaccine name that evokes the space race during the Cold War with the West.

"The problem is that - especially in smaller countries - pragmatic business with Russia and political influence is hard to separate," said Peter Kreko, director of Political Capital, an independent, Budapest-based think tank. "The Russian strategy to pick at the coherence of the European Union and to find the weakest links and assert influence is clearly visible and already successful."

Beijing has claimed it won't use its vaccines for diplomatic leverage, but in public remarks, officials have linked the vaccine to greater cooperation and outreach. Any vaccine partnership in Europe is likely to raise alarms in Washington.

A few months ago, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had seemed an outlier within the E.U. by opening discussions on possibly having Sputnik V manufactured locally.

But now, Sputnik V's developers, the Gamaleya Institute and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, are actively looking for a German partner for a possible tie-up on production, according to Germany's health ministry, which confirmed that they had approached the German biotech firm IDT Biologika. The company declined to comment on the discussions.

"If a vaccine is safe and effective, regardless of the country in which it was manufactured, then of course it can help to cope with the pandemic," German Health Minister Jens Spahn told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview published Sunday.

Germany's favorable comments toward Russia's and China's vaccines have already been jumped on by Orban, who has charged ahead without approval from E. U. regulators, with both Sputnik V and Sinopharm approved for use in the country.

"With the Russian vaccine at least, Orban can say we were thinking ahead of Europe," Kreko said. "Right now he can say we were pro-Sputnik, before it was cool."

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who has long played the E.U. off its rivals in Moscow and Beijing, was left to appeal to China for help. Beijing responded quickly - although it's still unclear how much of the vaccine was a gift and how much was a purchase.

European countries later followed up with aid, but it was too late to change the perception in Serbia that China was opening up with assistance at the same time countries in the E.U. were cutting it off.

Now, it's a similar picture for smaller countries that may increasingly see Serbia's route as the only path.

The World Health Organization's Covax program, which aims to supply vaccines to countries that can't afford it, had received pledges from the E.U. to supply doses. But the aid has not materialized amid chaos and delays in the E.U.'s efforts to buy vaccines for itself.

"They've now got to take seriously Russia and China on vaccines," Fidler said. "That's a result of how wicked this pandemic is, but it is also a result of policy mistakes."

Production and certification of the Russian vaccine in Europe could increase the credibility of Sputnik V and speed up vaccination among Europe's neighbors, said Joanna Hosa, deputy director of the wider Europe program at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"The primary objective that the European Union has is to ensure that the people are vaccinated," she said. "I think in this case, the European Union will try to close its eyes to the downside of having Russia distribute vaccine."

It's not a problem if Hungary and others want to use Russian and Chinese vaccines to protect their citizens, Kreko said.

"The problem is if it's communicated in a way that it's only our Eastern friends that can help us in a time of trouble," he added.

- - -

The Washington Post's Luisa Beck in Berlin and Michael Birnbaum in Riga, Latvia, contributed to this report.
Gandhinagar, Feb 6 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will launch its campaign for the local body polls in Gujarat, which are scheduled to be held at the end of this month, by holding roadshows in Ahmedabad and Rajkot on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Senior AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, will be the star campaigner of the roadshows. The AAP will also campaign in the state with other star campaigners in the coming days.

The Gujarat unit of AAP informed that around 10 MLAs and MPs of the party from New Delhi, including Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Dilip Pandey and Saurabh Bhardwaj, will visit Gujarat as star campaigners ahead of the localbody polls.

"The Ahmedabad roadshow will be held in two parts, one on the eastern part of the Sabarmati river and the other on the western side. The roadshow will begin at 10 am on Saturday after taking blessings from the Nagarvale Hanuman temple in Hatkeshwar. We will ensure that all social distancing norms are followed," said Bhemabhai Chaudhary, vice president of AAP's Gujarat chapter.

"Sanjay Singh will arrive at Ahmedabad on Saturday morning after which he will head to Surat by road. A roadshow and public address in Surat has been planned for Sanjay Singh," Chaudhary added.

The roadshow in Rajkot will begin at 3.30 pm on Sunday from the Greenland Cross Road.

Meanwhile, AAP Gujarat announced its fifth list of candidates for the local body polls on Friday. According to a press statement, the fifth list has 58 per cent female candidates. Out of the total candidates announced so far, one third candidates are female.

If you are a fan of amusement parks and love a good adrenaline rush, then you might be thrilled with this development. A roller coaster which is been built in the Middle East is set to smash existing records for speed, height and track length.

According to Qiddiya Investment Company, Falcons Flight will travel across approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) of track at unprecedented speeds of about 155 mph (249 kmph).

Qiddiya

Riders will experience the thrill of diving over a vertical cliff into a 160-meter-deep valley (525 feet) thanks to the use of magnetic motor acceleration (LSM technology), and "achieve unprecedented speeds of 250-plus km/h" - about 155 miles per hour.



"The Falcon's Flight will also be the world's tallest free-standing coaster structure, featuring a parabolic airtime hill allowing a weightlessness airtime experience," the company said in its press release.



Also read: Ready For The Ultimate Thrill? World's Tallest Swing Ride Is Now Open In Dubai

Qiddiya

Rollercoaster fans around the world have been eagerly anticipating this ride since it was announced as there is nothing quite like it anywhere else. Now we are in the design stage with the experts at Intamin and the engineering team at Six Flags, the excitement is building! Falcons Flight will dominate the skyline at Qiddiya weave all the way around our destination, right out of the theme park, up the cliffside, and down the cliff face  the greatest drop of any ride in the world; it wont be for the fainthearted! the release said.



Currently, the fastest roller coaster in the world  traveling at up to 149 mph  is the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Also read: Japan Reopens Amusement Parks Amid Pandemic, But No Screaming Allowed On Roller Coasters

Qiddiya

The worlds tallest, standing at 456 feet, is Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. The worlds longest coaster is the Steel Dragon 2000 at Japans Nagashima Spa Land amusement park in Nagashima, Kuwana.



Falcons Flight is set to open in Saudi Arabia in 2023.



Also read: Watch: Guy In A Roller Coaster Superbly Catches A Dropped Phone Flying Past At 134 Kmph




New Delhi, Feb 5 : Dishwashing category creator and Indias leading dishwash brand, Vim by Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) announced its foray into the machine dishwash segment with the launch of Vim Matic.

In hindsight to the difficulties experienced during the lockdown vis-a-vis managing chores by households, Indian dishwasher manufacturers witnessed a 250 per cent increase in demand. Based on this insight, Vim chose to extend its category expertise from hand dishwashing to machine dishwashing with this new product offering.

Vim Matic machine dishwasher range includes Detergent Powder, Rinse Aid, Salt and an All-In-One Tablet which does the job of the first three, thus adding convenience to the consumer experience. This product includes powerful enzymes which help cut through tough Indian grease, that appears from oil/ghee, masala, milk and tea, even in a dishwasher.

Commenting on the launch, Prabha Narasimhan, Executive Director, Home Care, Hindustan Unilever Ltd said: "Consumers trust Vim for its superior degreasing ability. When they considered adopting a machine dishwasher at home, it was natural for us to partner with them in this upgrade. Vim Matic has been designed to address the need of an Indian consumer and help break the myth that machine dishwashers are not meant for India." Through extensive consumer research, Vim realised one of the barriers for dishwasher usage is the apprehension of Indian cooking stains being removed. Addressing this concern, Vim has designed a machine dishwasher product suited for the removal of tough Indian grease. With the launch of this product, the brand not only hopes to cover the demand from dishwasher owners, but also build the Machine Dishwasher segment in the country.

Vim Matic range of products is suitable for all kinds of dishwashers and utensils. It is available for purchase on Amazon.

Launched in 1993, Vim was the original hand dishwashing brand that created the category and is the market leader in the dishwashing segment.

Vim was the first brand to introduce dishwash gel in India in 2005 and has been the leader in the segment.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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OTSEGO COUNTY, MI  A semi-truck carrying a load of paper traveled off I-75 and jack-knifed in the median amid winter weather in Ostego County.

Troopers from the Michigan State Police Gaylord Post were called to the scene on northbound I-75 near mile marker 269 in Otsego Lake Township at approximately 3:05 a.m. on Friday.

Speed is believed to be a factor in the crash, police said. There were no reported injuries.

RELATED: Fridays travel conditions in Michigan to be worst weve seen all winter, NWS says

One lane of the busy north-south highway was closed between the Crawford County line and mile marker 269 while the semi-truck and its contents were removed.

Swirling snow, slick roads, strong winds and frigid temperatures moved into Michigan during the evening commute on Thursday and continued through the night into Friday.

Fast snowfall rates mean snow will accumulate on roads. Treated roads could get slushy while untreated roads will remain snow-covered.

Travel conditions will likely be the worst we have seen all winter on Friday, the NWS noted on Thursday.

Activists in Irvine Calling for Monthly Stimulus Checks Deliver Invoice to Congresswoman

Community activists in Irvine demanding $2,000 monthly stimulus checks delivered a past due invoice on Feb. 4 to the office of Rep. Katie Porter (D-California).

Monica Lazo, California regional organizing director for the Economic Security Project, handed approximately 10,000 signed petitions to Cody Mendoza, a senior field Representative for Porter, calling for monthly payments to individuals struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was joined in the presentation by several University of CaliforniaIrvine (UC Irvine) students and a local business owner.

Lazo told The Epoch Times that the group was submitting invoices for COVID relief, which we believe should have been a part of the assistance last year.

The Irvine delivery was part of a national day of action, she said, where activists across the country planned to deliver petitions to members of Congress in various states, and reach out to them via social media, to make the issue well-known.

According to Lazo, 275,000 California residents signed a petition which called for $2,000 monthly stimulus checks for adults and $1,000 checks for kids.

She said the presentation to Porter, who represents the states 45th District, was a little bit different because the group knows she supports them, but wants her to be more vocal in Congress. We want the folks that we consider cash champions to know that we support them as they keep getting and building that pressure in D.C., Lazo said.

Allan Calderon, UC Irvines External Vice President for Associated Students, said he wants students to be included in future stimulus checks because they have faced plenty of struggles due to the pandemic.

Students have already faced a number of issues. We have skyrocketing tuition, rents are skyrocketing, and mental health resources are basically inaccessible, said Calderon. Now more than ever do we need help, as students are basically ineligible for any stimulus aid from the last two packages.  Were really hoping that were eligible in this next one.

Mendoza said Porter recognized near the beginning of the pandemic that COVID-19 would be a long-term problem.

[The pandemic] started almost a year ago, and at the time the congresswoman recognized that it was going to be a long-term issueit wasnt going to be fixed in a couple monthsand she at the time called for long-term solutions and long-term ways to help the American people, Mendoza said.

Were a year in, and she continues to fight for those bold solutions to help people out, including rescue payments, he added.

Lazo said she believes that $2,000 is significant enough to help cover expenses for needy residents. Its a number that we think is doable, she said.

According to Lazo, the new stimulus will likely have a threshold income, so families making over a certain amount of money will not receive any funds.

So we will have money left over, we will have more available for more than one check, and $2,000 we believe covers the essentials, she said. In California, youre lucky if you have a house for $2,000 in terms of a mortgage or rent payment. So its still not enough.

Colombo: India has once again emphasizes for the devolution of power to the provinces under the 13th Amendment (13A) of the Sri Lankan Constitution and the system of provincial councils as a meaningful step towards better representation of the island's Tamil minority.

During a meeting with Eastern Province's former chief minister Sivanesaturai Chandrakanthan and former lawmaker Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan, India's Deputy High Commissioner Vinod K Jacob on Tuesday discussed bilateral cooperation and implementation of the 13th Amendment.

"Deputy HC Vinod K Jacob held separate meetings with delegations led by Hon'ble MP S Chandrakanthan (Pillayan) & Mr V Muralitharan (Karuna Amman). Development coop in the East & full implementation of 13th amendment & Provincial Councils were discussed in these meetings," the Indian High Commission in Colombo tweeted on Tuesday.

The 13th Amendment provides for devolution of power to the Tamil community. India has been pressing Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment which was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987. However, the Sinhala nationalist parties and the erstwhile Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam vehemently opposed it. While nationalists have decried it as excess sharing of power, the Tamil Tigers criticised it as sharing of only few powers. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has shown inclination to abolish the provisions in a soon-to-be revised Constitution.

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In 2018 the state government passed laws to give police the capacity to deal with armed crooks, with Firearms Prohibition Orders providing new search powers as well as hefty penalties (up to 10 years jail) for crooks who tool up. But a bizarre judicial decision (later overturned) and a failure to provide adequate resources to a gun squad meant little changed. Until now. Police big guns with the big guns: Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill, Detective Superintendent Peter Brigham and Detective Inspector Mick Daly. Credit:Victoria Police Enter Mick Daly, a veteran homicide investigator who has been made the boss of the new illicit firearms unit, a group of four specialist teams tasked with tracking guns, linking them to crimes and co-ordinating a statewide blitz on firearms trafficking. This means that double the number of investigators that worked on guns and police are now issuing FPOs on a weekly basis on bikies, gang members and other known violent offenders, with around 800 now slapped with the bans. Some crooks are too dumb to sniff the wind, like the one pulled up after a quiet gamble at Crown Casino. The police did their routine checks, saw he was the recipient of an FPO and ordered him to open the boot. Inside was a loaded shotgun. Now the only Straight Flush that will matter to him will be in the Barwon Prison lavatory.

After a decade in homicide, Daly has seen the carnage left by illegal guns, having worked on a series of underworld murders including that of Jason Moran, gunned down at the Essendon Auskick back in 2003. Morans friend, Pasquale Barbaro, was also shot dead as collateral damage and seven kids in the back of the van were left covered with the victims blood. Paul Virgona was killed when the van he was driving was sprayed with bullets. In that case, Daly says, the murder weapon, dropped at the scene, was found to have been handled by several of underworld boss Carl Williams trusted associates. Repeatedly the calibre of the crook does not match the calibre of the gun, which is why we have had a spate of mistaken identity murders such as Paul Virgona, cut down in a hail of bullets on Eastlink in November 2019, and Muhammed Yucel, killed by an inept hit team in Keysborough in May 2017 when the real target was a gangster who lived a few houses away. In Melbourne we average a shooting every week. Last year there were nine gunshot murders, 41 non-fatal shootings and a large number of drive-by gun blasts from would-be gangsters.

Most of the non-fatal shootings involved abductions where the victims were shot (usually in the thigh) as a punishment for failing to pay a drug debt. Some would turn up at hospital apparently bewildered as to how a bullet ended up in their leg (one claimed his mobile phone exploded in his pocket). Others thought a Band-Aid and a nip of bourbon would make it all go away. When they do belatedly turn up at hospital with an infected wound that smells like a skunk in a blender they invariably suffer post-shooting amnesia, unable to tell police what happened, where it happened or who did it. Detective Inspector Mick Daly with Police Minister Lisa Neville. Credit:Simon Schluter One thug with a buried slug used a Stanley knife to remove the offending bullet. This is not recommended by the Surgeon-General or surgeons in general. So where do the guns come from? According to Daly, the bulk are so-called grey guns; weapons that were once licensed firearms but were not handed in during the 1996 and 2017 gun amnesties.

He says many have been stashed in cupboards and sheds. When they are stolen, usually by burglars looking for cash and sellable items, they leak into the underworld. And, of course, the victim can hardly report the theft of a gun that should have been handed in years ago. Others are more targeted, such as when a licensed shooter lets slip that they have a gun safe at home. Another problem area is country properties where farmers need guns to control feral animals and put down injured stock. But these sorts of guns, while extremely deadly, are not the height of gangster fashion. The most image-conscious crooks want flash semi-automatic handguns, which is why they command an asking price between $15,000 and $20,000 (compared to $1000 on the legitimate market). While that is a large amount of cash to most of us, in the inflated world of drug trafficking it is seen as a legitimate (but non-claimable) business expense. They want them to protect themselves from rip-offs, chase up debts and look like serious gangsters. We know there are offenders who sell drugs and also firearms, says Daly, adding that the drug dealer who can source guns usually goes up the pecking order.

According to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), there are 250,000 long arms and 10,000 hand guns in the illicit market and around 2.9 million legal guns. ACIC found that the illicit firearms market is driven in part by outlaw motorcycle gangs, Middle Eastern organised crime groups and other groups engaged in trafficking illicit commodities such as drugs. The West Gate Bridge: Not a dumping ground for takeaway meals or red-hot firearms. Credit:Joe Armao One interstate firearms dealer diverted 350 guns into the more lucrative underworld market, with many of the weapons ending up in Melbourne. In another case police found more than 20 guns hidden in a storage facility, raising the possibility of an underworld gun library where you pay to borrow a gun for a particular job.

And for the crooks who are not connected there are always homemade firearms  little pen pistols, pipe guns and slam guns. They are single-shot and of varying efficiency but in the wrong hands they can still be deadly. Underworld matriarch Kath Pettingill had a weakness for pen pistols, with one falling from her underpants when she was stopped by police. This was neither discreet nor particularly hygienic. Loading One excited crook couldnt wait to use his new toy and chose not to read the users manual, which meant he was holding his pipe gun the wrong way around when he fired, managing only to put a dum-dum bullet in his tum-tum. If there is a criminal version of Mensa, he would be manning the drinks trolley. Some crooks know a used gun can implicate them in crimes as easily as a fingerprint does. Which is why Jason Moran threw the gun used to kill Alphonse Gangitano from a moving car on the West Gate Bridge in McDonalds wrappers. (He avoided being charged with murder or littering.)
The Sugar Land City Council recognized former congressman Pete Olson (R-Sugar Land) for 12 years of service as the United States representative for Texas 22nd congressional district.

Pete and his wife Nancy gave unselfishly to our community, said Mayor Joe Zimmerman, during Tuesdays city council meeting. I dont think there are many people who know the sacrifice it takes to be a congressman and to go every week up to Washington, D.C., and work with some of those boneheads up there.

Olson was first elected to Texas 22nd in 2008. His term expired in January 2021. The current representative of the district is Troy Nehls, former Fort Bend County sheriff.

What makes this town so special is that we are one big family, said Olson, after thanking the council. Our kids grew up here. The greatest thing you can have is to grow up here with your leadership. The most diverse city, most diverse county in the entire country, in the entire world.

Olson grew up in Seabrook, Texas. He attended Rice University and the University of Texas, School of Law in Austin. After completing law school, Olson joined the United States Navy and earned his Naval Aviator wings in March 1991. He flew missions over the Persian Gulf after Operation Desert Storm. In 1995, he was appointed Naval Liaison Officer to the U.S. Senate.

Olson joined the staff of Sen. Phil Gramm in 1998. He went on to serve as chief of staff to Gramms successor Sen. John Cornyn from 2002 to 2007, before turning his attention to Texass 22nd congressional district.

Olson and his wife Nancy live in Sugar Land with their children Kate and Grant.

We are blessed to be here because of you people, the people of Sugar Land that gave us such happiness, prosperity and joy in our lives, said Olson.

juhi.varma@hcnonline.com
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The calamitous state of the British Army is revealed today in a leaked briefing.

All but one of its 33 infantry battalions are dangerously short of combat-ready troops, according to the alarming Ministry of Defence report.

Marked 'Official: Sensitive', it shows that key frontline units have barely half the manpower needed for operational deployment.

A former defence minister said it brought into question whether the UK could still meet its obligations as a leading member of Nato.

Despite the shortfalls, a number of infantry battalions face the axe in a review of defence expenditure and long-term strategy.

The manpower crisis was blamed last night on years of poor pay and conditions and on the decision to outsource recruiting to a private firm.

Colonel Richard Kemp said the 1.3billion contract handed to Capita had proved 'disastrous', with bureaucratic hurdles putting off potential recruits.

The officer, who commanded forces in Afghanistan, added: 'The Army is already too small to adequately protect Britain in an increasingly dangerous world.

These further cuts are dangerously irresponsible.'

The MoD document  titled 'Infantry Battalion Soldier Strength Summary, January 2021'  lists how many soldiers each of the 33 battalions needs.

The 1st Battalion, the Scots Guards, one of the Army's most prestigious regiments, ranks worst. It has a working requirement for 603 troops, yet only 339 are available for operations  a deficit of 264.

Key frontline units in the British Army have barely half the manpower needed for operational deployment, according to a leaked Ministry of Defence report. Picture: Troops sheltering from dust kicked up by a Chinook in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, 2009

Scots 'to be spared cuts' Sparse Scottish battalions are set to be spared at the expense of English regiments to avoid giving more ammunition to the SNP. Defence cuts are due to be announced before local elections in May  with the Army's total headcount set to be slashed by thousands. Three of the five lowest-manned infantry battalions are Scottish  including the 1st Battalion, the Scots Guards, which is just 56 per cent 'fully deployable'. However, those north of the border are reportedly deemed 'untouchable' within the Ministry of Defence. A source said spending cuts were 'likely to be based on political priorities'  but the MoD last night insisted no final decisions have been made. Advertisement

The infantry as a whole needs 14,984 soldiers but has only 11,301 who could be sent to the battlefield, according to the report.

The only battalion with a surplus of soldiers ready for operations is 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles, which is '103 per cent fully deployable'. This means soldiers who are not prevented by illness or absence from participating in frontline operations.

Tobias Ellwood, a former defence minister who chairs the Commons defence committee, said: 'Our infantry is getting smaller. We all want Britain to stand tall and lead in a fast changing world.

'This cannot be achieved if soldier numbers are cut and if we cut any more infantry battalions.

'Losing so many personnel would effectively remove ourselves from significant participation in major Nato operations.

'Britain's role on the world stage is at stake and our relationship with the US. Cutting our forces at the very moment President Biden is regrouping the Western resolve to counter growing threats will compromise our ability to step forward as a valued and trusted ally.'

The Army signed the ten-year recruitment contract with Capita in 2012.

This decision was called 'naive' by the Commons public accounts committee and led to thousands of would-be recruits deciding against joining the Army because the process became too long and complicated.

Applications fell by 25,000 in 2017.

A spokesperson for Capita said: 'As has been widely acknowledged, the army recruitment contract has been completely turned around following a re-set in 2018.

'Over the past two years, targets have been consistently hit and the proportion of candidates getting through the process greatly increased.

'Even through a pandemic, we are hitting targets. We have recruited thousands of excellent candidates for the army, supporting them to meet fitness targets and helping them achieve their dreams of learning skilled trades.'

Surveys of troops have confirmed that they complain of poor living standards and sub-standard accommodation.

Fewer than half those questioned were satisfied and even though quality of food provision varies, soldiers are often banned from cooking in their own facilities because of the risk of fire.

Colonel Kemp added: 'Outsourcing recruiting to Capita was a disastrous decision, potential recruits faced months of unnecessary delays and struggled to meet a real soldier in the process.

'This contributed significantly to the current manning crisis. On top of that soldiers signed off in droves due to poor pay and appalling living conditions.

'While recently the Army has taken major steps to resolve undermanning, the damage of the previous decade is so serious they face an uphill struggle.'

Tobias Ellwood, a former defence minister who chairs the Commons defence committee, warned Britain cannot 'stand tall and lead' if 'soldier numbers are cut and if we cut any more infantry battalions'

Army recruitment has improved significantly over the past year and applications to join the ranks are at a five-year high.

The Infantry Training Centre at Catterick, North Yorkshire, is also running at full capacity.

Last night the MoD said in a statement: 'The Army achieved its target for infantry recruits in 2020 and continues to actively recruit today. We are confident that the Army has the numbers and talent required to protect the United Kingdom.

'The Integrated Review is not yet complete and any reporting about Army force structure is merely speculation.'

A target of 82,000 full-time troops was set for the Army in the 2015 strategic defence review.

Figures for October last year put strength at 80,040, the highest recorded total since early 2018.

A target of 82,000 full-time troops was set for the Army in the 2015 strategic defence review. Figures for October last year put strength at 80,040, the highest recorded total since early 2018. Pictured: Boris Johnson speaking with the Queen's Royal Hussars in Estonia

The Army is broken up into working parts such as the infantry, artillery, engineers and signals.

Of the working requirement of 14,984, a total of 13,436 are fully trained, according to the January summary.

The figures drop considerably when those troops who due to illness or official absence could not be mustered are removed.

The 'fully deployable' figure represents those troops who could be called up to serve on the front line at short notice and fulfil any manner of arduous physical duties.

According to official figures the infantry has just 11,301 'fully deployable' troops  a rate of just over 75 per cent.

The infantry also has 900 officers who could accompany these troops into the battle zone.

Soon we won't be able to function in a future war, warns COLONEL RICHARD KEMP

We already knew Britain's strength had plummeted to a historic low, with the Army able to muster fewer soldiers than at any time since the Napoleonic Wars.

But the confidential figures starkly reveal the full sickening reality: barely more than 11,000 infantry troops are ready for the battlefield, leaving Britain faced with an existential question over our future international standing.

While the 21st century will be more and more about new technologies, we also need adequate troop numbers to maintain combat effectiveness and credibility.

What the figures reveal is that we are now very close to the point of being barely able to function in a conflict or major operation despite the unrivalled fighting spirit of our troops and their commanders.

Britain needs adequate troop numbers 'to maintain combat effectiveness and credibility,' writes Colonel Richard Kemp

Yet the Army is facing severe cuts to frontline troops forced upon them by the Government. It looks like the infantry will again take the biggest hit.

Yet it is always the infantry that is at the forefront when there is a crisis, as seen in recent years in Afghanistan and Iraq and in humanitarian disasters around the world, as well as at home, most recently proving vital to the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.

For political reasons the Government is unlikely to countenance cuts to the Scottish regiments despite the fact that they have the worst manning levels in the infantry. I do not want to see any of them cut.

But surely in a matter as serious as national defence it makes sense to target regiments that are historically less able to sustain themselves rather than buckle to blackmail by the Scottish National Party.

My own regiment, the Royal Anglians, is a prime target, despite strong manning levels and one of its battalions being deployed in Mali on the UN's most dangerous peacekeeping operation to date.

The Government must reconsider this disastrous plan.

Money spent on retaining the few thousand troops they plan to cut would save any battalion from the axe and avoid fatally weakening our national defences.

The Army is already too small to adequately protect Britain in an increasingly dangerous world. Further cuts are dangerously irresponsible and must not go forward.

And if harsh choices are to be made, they must be made on a sound military basis  not for short-term political gain as a sticking plaster for the Union.

Colonel Kemp is former commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, and commander of British forces in Afghanistan

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Scores of widows of farmers on Thursday staged a noisy protest in Yavatmal to slam Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut for her anti-farmers remarks, burnt her effigy and demanded an unconditional apology from her.

The protesters  carrying banners and placards to proclaim 'Yes, we are farmers but not terrorists', referring to Kangana's recent statement to malign the farmers protesting on Delhi borders and compare them to terrorists  also burnt the Bollywood actor's pictures.

They also hit her effigy with shoes to register their anger before setting it afire.

The protesters announced their resolve to boycott all films of Kangana till she did not withdraw her remarks and tender an unconditional apology to the Indian farmers for her "insulting statements".

Leading the protests was social activist Smita Tiwari along with farmers' widows like Bharati Pawar, Poornima Kopulwar, Kavita Sidam, Lakshmi Gandhwar, Rama Thamke, Vandana Mohurle, Rekha Gurnale, Aparna Malikar, and Yogita Choudhary.

Farm activists like Anil Tiwari, Ankit Naitam, Sunil Raut, Suresh Talmale, Neel Jaiswal, Manoj Chavan, Sandeep Jajulwar, Chandan Jainkar, Pradeep Kosare, Bablu Dhurve, and Ashutosh Ambade also participated and raised slogans against Kangana.

"We have seen the repression let loose on farmers on Delhi borders by police and paramilitary forces. We witnessed peasants getting beaten up mercilessly and dying. The farmers will return home only after the three new central agricultural laws are withdrawn by the BJP-led Union government," Pawar said in her speech.

A young widow, Seedam recalled how her debt-ridden husband committed suicide and her family suffered as a consequence. "However, rather than sympathise with the cause of farmers' widows and orphans, unpatriotic people like Kangana are making fun of their sacrifices," she said.

Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission (VNSSM) President Kishore Tiwari, who spoke at the protest meet, labelled Kangana as the "BJP's unofficial spokesperson" and criticised her for tweets comparing poor farmers with terrorists as an "outcome of a perverted mindset".

Tiwari, accorded a Minister of State status in the state, said that the whole country was now waiting for February 7 'chakka jaam' programme and appealed to the people to avoid travel by road on that day in support of farmers agitating on Delhi borders.

Anil Tiwari said that the biggest problem confronting the agro sector was the unending suicides by farmers. Instead of speaking up for the suffering peasantry, Kangana has chosen to ridicule the 'annadaatas' by branding them as terrorists, he alleged.

Last month, the VNSSM and other farm organisations had sent batches of farm widows to Delhi to join the protesting farmers and express solidarity on behalf of Maharashtra's peasantry.

Remember Donald Trump? Hes still around! Without any inflammatory Twitter missives to fire off these days since being booted from the social media platform, the onetime president of the United States has been forced to take some of his many, many beefs old skoolto the written letter. Trumps newfound reliance on non-tweet-based communication can be seen in his recent dust-up with the Screen Actors Guild, which held a disciplinary meeting this week to consider revoking Trumps membership in the organization. This, of course, would be a perfect opportunity for a Trump tweet: a takedown, a whataboutism, a deeply personal attack on someone no one had ever heard of, anything! Instead, we got a Trump letter, resigning before he could be ousted.

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I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership. Who cares! the Trump letter begins. Ahh, thats the stuff. Feels like 2020 all over again. It still sends a bolt of anxiety coursing through my nervous system. While Im not familiar with your work, Im very proud of my work on movies such as Home Alone 2, Zoolander and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; and television shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saturday Night Live, and of course, one of the most successful shows in television history, The Apprenticeto name just a few! the letter continues. Trump then goes on to boast about how he helped cable news ratings, which created thousands of jobs at networks such as MSDNC and Fake News CNN, among many others. Trump seems to have realized a letter, if done a certain way, is really just a collection of tweets.

Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Trump still has the same arsenal of petty insults at his disposal, but his nonsensical self seems more pathetic than terrifying in letter form (and without the nuclear codes). I no longer wish to be associated with your union, Trump said in conclusion. As such, this letter is to inform you of my immediate resignation from SAG-AFTRA. Thank you, the union replied.

Hate to say it: would have worked better as a tweet.
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Prime Minister will virtually release a commemorative postage stamp on on Saturday as part of the institution's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

An official release issued by the high court's Registrar said this on Friday.

The has completed sixty years of its establishment on May 1, 2020.

Though the PM was supposed to personally attend one of the events and scheduled to release the stamp as part of the Diamond Jubilee, the celebrations were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak in Gujarat, the release said.

Now, the stamp will be released virtually by PM Modi on Saturday, it said.

"The Prime Minister has kindly consented to grace the function and do the honours of releasing the commemorative postage stamp of Diamond Jubilee of the High Court of Gujarat at 10.30 am on February 6, 2021," it said.

The function will be held through virtual mode, wherein the prime minister would also address the gathering, it added.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Chief Justice of Justice Vikram Nath will also address the gathering through virtual mode, the release said.

The United States and France have called on Lebanese leaders to urgently form a "credible and effective" government in the country. In a joint statement released by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on the occasion of the six-month anniversary of the Beirut blast, urged all stakeholders in the country to act upon their commitments and form a credible government as soon as possible. Following the Beirut blast and the subsequent resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, Lebanon has been left without a government.

Read: Lebanon Activist Lokman Slim Found Dead In His Car

"The six-month anniversary of this tragic event underscores the urgent and vital need for Lebanese stakeholders to finally act upon the commitments they have made to form a credible and effective government, and to pave the way for the implementation of necessary reforms, in accordance with the aspirations of the Lebanese people. Such concrete actions remain absolutely crucial for the engagement of France, the United States, and their regional and international partners to provide additional, longer-term structural support to Lebanon," the joint statement by the US and France read.

Read: Lebanon Tightens Security In Tripoli After Anti-lockdown Protests Take A Violent Turn

Lebanon political stalemate

After Hassan Diab resigned last August, Lebanese President Michel Aoun called on diplomat Mustapha Adib to serve as his Prime Minister. However, Adib resigned three weeks later after he failed to form a government because of the sectarian nature of politics in Lebanon, which saw factions squabble over ministerial portfolios. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was designated the new head of government in October. Hariri has also failed to form his cabinet as of now and is facing similar disagreements over ministerial berths.

Read: Protests Amid Lebanon Lockdown Leave 1 Dead, 220 Injured

The international community is calling for a non-sectarian government in Lebanon, which they say will bring the much-needed reforms in the country. Lebanon's parliament is divided into religious factions with seats equally distributed between Christians and Muslims, including further divisions between the sects of these religions such as Maronite Catholic, Protestant, Sunni, Shi'ite, etc. The parliamentary division in the former French colony was created after the 1989 Taif Agreement, which removed the Christian majority and distributed seats equally.

Read: Lebanon Begins All-day Curfew As Coronavirus Spins Out Of Control

(Image Credit: AP)


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San Francisco, 5 Feb 2021: The Report Regulatory Affairs Outsourcing Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Service, By Company Size, By Category, By Indication, By Stage, By End-user, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

The global regulatory affairs outsourcing market size is expected to reach USD 14.9 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 11.9% from 2021 to 2028. A significant increase in the fixed costs of in-house resources for regulatory affairs and operation activities, like training, technology, specialized knowledge, and facilities, is driving the outsourcing of regulatory affairs functions.

Addressing local regulatory challenges and constant changes in the regulations of the major markets, such as the U.S., Europe, and Asia, are creating demand for the services. Compliance with the current regulations has become an immense chore, leave alone trying to stay up to date with developments around the world. Amendments to current regulations are likely to simplify the regulatory pathway for the industry but, in turn, complicate the operation for healthcare product manufacturing companies. Thus, leading to the regulatory affairs outsourcing to service providers.

Moreover, due to the COVID-19, various healthcare companies are likely to opt for more regulatory advice in the recovery phase  on remote monitoring, telemedicine, data privacy, and more. Furthermore, as companies push to speed up the product development and approvals in therapies, vaccines, and devices for COVID-19, they are likely to engage even more intensively with the regulatory agencies.

Access Research Report of Regulatory Affairs Outsourcing Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/regulatory-affairs-outsourcing-market

Regulatory Affairs Outsourcing Market Report Highlights

The regulatory writing and publishing services dominated the market with a share of 36.7% in 2020 as they are offered from the early stages of development to the post-marketing authorization phase and are vital for the success of a product

In terms of company size, the large size companies are projected to expand at the fastest CAGR of 12.3% during the forecast period. Goodwill and resource abundance are the two key factors promoting their selection by end users

By stage, the clinical segment accounted for the largest share of 46.7% in 2020 due to the increasing demand for clinical trials in developing countries

Based on end user, the pharmaceutical companies are anticipated to register the fastest growth rate over the forecast period. This may be due to evolving areas such as orphan drugs and adaptive trial designs

The Asia Pacific held the largest share of 37.9% in 2020 owing to higher offshoring of such services into regions of economic benefits and the expansion of life sciences companies in countries, such as India and China

List of Key Players of Regulatory Affairs Outsourcing Market

Accell Clinical Research, LLC

Genpact Ltd.

Criterium, Inc.

PRA Health Sciences

Promedica International

Medpace

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.

ICON plc

Covance

Parexel International Corporation, Inc.

Freyr

Access Press Release of Regulatory Affairs Outsourcing Market @ https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-regulatory-affairs-outsourcing-market
The United States will not hesitate to seek consequences for the moves by Russia that Washington deems not in their interests, President of the United States Joe Biden said speaking at the U.S. State Department.

"We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people, and we will be more effective in dealing with Russia when we work in coalition and coordination with other like-minded partners," he said.

At the same time, according to Biden, Washington needs to interact with Moscow through diplomacy where it would be beneficial, and thereby promote U.S. interests.

Biden promised a new era after the scattershot foreign policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, declaring America is back on the global stage in his first diplomatic address as president.

In his speech, Biden signaled aggressive approaches to China and Russia, urged Myanmars military leaders to halt their coup, and declared an end to U.S. support for a Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen.

"American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy. We must meet the new moment ... accelerating global challenges from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation," Biden said.

Bidens speech on Thursday was a full-throated attempt to vanquish those doubts, and convince Americans of the value of a forceful international approach.

"Investing in our diplomacy isnt something we do just because its the right thing to do for the world," he said. "We do it in order to live in peace, security and prosperity. We do it because its in our own naked self-interest."

Bidens choice of the State Department as venue for his first big diplomatic address was an important symbol of the value he places in career diplomats, who Trump largely saw as opponents.

"American alliances are our greatest asset. And leading with diplomacy means standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies and key partners once again," Reuters cited Biden as saying.

Biden in his early days has attempted to repair what he has called the damage to Americas standing around the world, rolling back Trump policies. He is working to revive the Iran deal, and renewed U.S. membership in the Paris accord and the World Health Organization.

He challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive actions, interfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens, are over," he said.
Dagoretti North MP Simba Arati and his South Mugirango counterpart Sylvanus Osoro have been inducted into the National Cohesion and Integration Commission's list of shame as Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i warned that political leaders spewing hate speech may be barred from contesting in the 2022 elections.

NCIC chairman Samuel Kobia said the two, alongside Emurua Dikirr MP Johanna Ng'eno and former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko, are the latest inductees of the list, periodically produced by the commission.

The four have been accused of propagating hate speech and disunity in the country through their rhetoric and actions in political rallies and gatherings.

"Pursuant of NCI Act 2008 Section 26 (2, b), the Commission shall publish the names of persons or institutions whose words or conduct may undermine peace and harmony. On the list of fame and on the list of shame are Johana Ng'eno and Mike Sonko. We have also added to the list, Simba Arati and Sylvanus Osoro," said Dr Kobia.

On the flipside though, Fafi MP Mohamed Abdikhaim and his Njoro counterpart Charity Gathambi, were both inducted into the list of fame following their efforts in the recent past to unite their constituents and preach against violence and hate speech.

Premature campaigns

Mr Arati and Mr Osoro were on Monday involved in a scuffle that disrupted the funeral service of the father of Kisii deputy governor Joash Maangi.

Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga also had their rallies in Burma and Githurai markets disrupted by rowdy youths last week, after factions in support and against the BBI document clashed.

"With over 15 months to the next elections, we are not just concerned that the political temperature is hastily rising, but that the country is continuing to be subjected to premature campaigns, sometimes accompanied by violence as was witnessed in, Burma and Githurai in Nairobi. The commission condemns the event in Kisii where senior citizens fight in public," Dr Kobia said yesterday.

And while appearing before National Assembly committee on Administration and National Security led by Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange, Dr Matiang'i yesterday said they have been mapping and profiling politicians making divisive remarks across the country and action will be taken against them. He, however, did not give the timelines for this.

"Some of these leaders must be barred from holding office. Some people make divisive remarks and get away with it. Government acts and acts decisively. You may say we are taking time to act, but we will definitely go hard on these people," Dr Matiang'i said.

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"Our national surveillance team has been mapping and profiling these leaders. We will soon go to court with tight evidence about these leaders not only from Marsabit, but across the country," he added.

Insecurity

On the ongoing insecurity in Marsabit, Dr Matiang'i told MPs that he is contemplating invoking the Public Order Act in order to close all the FM stations in the region as a measure to contain insecurity in the area.

He said the FM stations serve no purpose in the region as they have been used to propagate and fuel tension among the communities staying in the region.

"I am about to close the FM stations in Marsabit. They are just spewing hate speech messages. I have consulted the Communications Authority and my colleague in charge of ICT and we have agreed that the stations are actually of no use to us," Dr Matiang'i said.

The lawmakers told the CS to act urgently and decisively on leaders in Marsabit propagating hate speech despite their status.

Mr Koinange said the leaders from Marsabit are the shepherds of their people on the ground and should therefore guide them on the steps to peace.

The committee vice chairperson Fatuma Gedi supported the immediate closure of the FM stations in the area, admitting that they largely contribute to the insecurity in the area.
Three new piles of limestone rocks sit at the bottom of Galveston Bay, dropped there in December as an experiment in helping hard-hit oysters. The coastal area was once a top Texas oyster producer. Then came drought  and Hurricanes Ike and Harvey.

A state agency and two environmental groups are carrying out this latest attempt to support the bivalves. Officials this week banned harvesting over a 40-acre site to let the oysters grow. After 21 months, one rock pile will remain protected. The other two will be harvested.

If all goes as hoped, the protected population will repopulate the fished ones, creating a sustainable model for how to harvest. The idea could be replicated throughout the bay and others to support an animal  and industry  that experts say is threatened globally by over-harvesting, storms and disease.

Now Playing: Video: Chron

Gulf oysters comprise the worlds largest native harvested population, said Jennifer Pollack, chair for coastal conservation and restoration at Texas A&Ms Harte Research Institute. Texas and Louisiana are top producers. More than 5 million pounds of eastern oysters, worth $33.5 million, were harvested in Texas in 2019.

Still, the amount of Texas oysters collected is trending down. And while Galveston Bay historically played a big role in the business, storms and drought have accelerated the decline of its population. Researchers and advocates recreated reefs, but so many oysters there now are so young that Texas recently banned public harvesting in the bay altogether.

The oysters world is also only getting trickier to live in: Climate change is expected to make more frequent the intense storms that can decrease the bays salinity with rain, making oysters seal up, or bury the oysters in sediment with a surge.

The newest project is a joint effort of the state, The Nature Conservancy and the Galveston Bay Foundation. It highlights a shift toward thinking broadly about the bay, instead of reef by reef, organizers say. It comes amid growing public interest in where seafood comes from  and how its harvested.

These are very valuable, iconic things about our coast, Pollack said. So if its going down, we need to think about these different strategies for managing it. Its not just business as usual anymore.

A lot of sense

Bill Rodney, a coastal ecologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is among those waiting to see if baby oysters waft over to the new rocks and glom on.

Rodney has devoted much of his career to helping this creature, struck by how oyster reefs provide homes for lots of marine life. The reefs are basically oyster shell piles on which oysters grow. Those shells, its habitat, are removed when theyre fished. Storms can also bury them in sediment. To address this, Parks and Wildlife puts material such as limestone in the bay to build reefs back, and it requires fishermen to return  or pay to replace  some of the shell they collect.

But thats just one approach. The Galveston Bay Foundation, unlike the state, often rebuilds reefs too close to shore to be harvested. Their strategy stems from how much work goes into it. Shannon Batte spends three days a week driving to restaurants to collect shells from oysters that people have eaten, discarded in blue bins with stray lemons, forks and Tabasco packets.

Batte on Wednesday drove 14 bins to a clearing on a wooded lot in Pasadena, shoving them off a trailer with gloved hands and spilling their stinky contents on the ground. A piece of oyster wound up on her shoe. Wildlife will eat the leftovers and the sun will kill anything unwanted before staff pick out the trash and return the shells to the bay.

The new reef rebuild model is something neither has tried, a hybrid of allowing fishing and protecting. It tests the idea that oyster populations arent necessarily on the same reef but connected through currents, as larvae fertilized in the water float around to find a home.

Rodney was following the restoration literature, and, he said, it just seemed like it made a lot of sense.

Ian Terry / For the Chronicle

Common goal

When a chance arose to apply for funding after BPs 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill  which shut down Louisiana oyster fishing and increased demand in Texas  Rodney worked on a proposal. Someone at The Nature Conservancy had a similar idea. (They have a like project going near Rockport in Copano Bay.)

Both groups, with the foundation, received $2.3 million in grant funds to test it where Trinity and Galveston bays connect.

All recognized the once-thriving spot needed a boost. In 2008, Hurricane Ike suffocated a significant chunk of oysters with sediment. Drought also made the bays salty. Disease spread, as did snails that make holes in oyster shells and eat the gooey animals.

Next came heavy rains, which triggered massive spring floods in 2015 and 2016 and devastated the region during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The bays became less salty. Oysters sealed up and stopped filtering water for food and oxygen. Oystermen all the while kept fishing as allowed.

Luckily, oysters tend to bounce back, said Haille Leija, habitat restoration manager with the Galveston Bay Foundation. Those helping to run two big oyster businesses on the bay  Prestige Oysters in San Leon and Jeris Seafood in Smith Point  agreed the population now seems improved.

Its like anything else, said Tracy Woody, Jeris president, you have to manage your harvest.

Woody thinks this sort of project might help. So does Raz Halili, who learned about oysters from his parents. Now vice president of Prestige, he didnt see the states project as the savior or single miracle for the industry, but part of a needed broad effort toward a single goal: having a healthy ecosystem.

emily.foxhall@chron.com
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The police in Anambra State have launched an investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the killing of a man, his wife and daughter at a church in Azia, Ihiala Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the killing to journalists on Friday in Awka.

Some assailants were said to have stormed the church at about 7 p.m. on Wednesday and attacked the family during a midweek church service.

The three died on the spot, while one other person sustained injuries from the attack.

The man was a 70-year-old businessman, his wife, 56, a school headmistress, while their daughter, 36, was a postgraduate student.

A masked gunman came on a motorcycle to the church, walked inside and rained bullets on the affected persons after collecting the key of Mercedes C Class from the secondary school teacher.

The assailant later moved to meet his cohorts, who were waiting outside; thereafter, they sped off with the car.

On their way, the car developed a problem, they abandoned it at Okija, a neighbouring town, a source said, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The police said they were intensifying efforts to arrest the killers.

(NAN)
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
A Belfast man has been charged with harassing prominent loyalist activist, Jamie Bryson.

Although 57-year-old Robert Alan Beck, from Barnetts Lodge, did not appear at Newtownards Magistrates Court on Friday, he was accused of two charges relating to an alleged incident on January 8 this year.

Beck is alleged to have used a public communications network to send a message to Mr Bryson that he knew to be false for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety ans also that he harassed Mr Bryson on the same date.

Defence counsel, Conor Holmes, instructed by Madden and Finuncane, asked for the case to be adjourned until February 17 to "marry up" with other offences being faced by Beck. He is on custody on others matters but on bail on these charges, explained Mr Holmes who said a bail application will be made at High Court on Monday. The case was adjourned until February 17.

ROSELAND, N.J., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Carella Byrne Cecchi Olstein Brody & Agnello, P.C. has filed a securities fraud class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE: QSR) ("Restaurant Brands") on behalf of those individuals who purchased or acquired Restaurant Brands common stock between April 29, 2019, and October 28, 2019, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The action is captioned Paul J. Graney v. Restaurant Brands International Inc., et al., Case No.1:21-cv-20508 (the "Graney Action").

There is a related class action case pending against Restaurant Brands in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. That first-filed action issued a notice of its filing pursuant to the federal securities laws on December 21, 2020, which triggered the deadline of February 19, 2021, for any investors who purchased Restaurant Brands common stock to seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class. The filing of the Graney Action does not change the February 19, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline. For additional information or to learn how to participate in this litigation, please contact Carella Byrne Cecchi Olstein Brody & Agnello, P.C.: Zach Bower, Esq. (973) 994-1700 or via e-mail at [email protected].

Restaurant Brands is a Canadian corporation and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is one of the world's largest restaurant chains with over 27,000 Tim Hortons, Burger King, and Popeyes restaurants in more than 100 countries and U.S. territories. On April 24, 2018, Restaurant Brands announced a new strategy designed to improve performance within its Tim Hortons brand. Specifically, the "Winning Together Plan" would focus on three key pillars: restaurant experience; product excellence; and brand communications. Then, on March 20, 2019, Restaurant Brands announced "Tims Rewards"  a new loyalty program for Tim Hortons customers in Canada. Under the Tims Rewards program, customers would be eligible for a free hot brewed coffee, hot tea, or baked good after every seventh paid visit to a participating Tim Hortons restaurant. On April 10, 2019, Restaurant Brands announced that it was expanding the Tims Rewards program to include customers in the United States.

The Class Period begins on April 29, 2019, when Restaurant Brands filed its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 with the SEC. Among other things, Restaurant Brands reported 0.5% system-wide year-over-year sales growth for Tim Hortons on system-wide sales of $1.547 billion. The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the defendants repeatedly touted the implementation and execution of Restaurant Brands' "Winning Together Plan" and "Tims Rewards" loyalty program. On the heels of Restaurant Brands touting the benefits of these initiatives, the company completed two stock offerings on or about August 12, 2019, and September 5, 2019, collectively resulting in proceeds of approximately $3 billion to insiders.

However, the reality about Restaurant Brands' execution of its "Winning Together Plan" and "Tims Rewards" loyalty program was revealed on October 29, 2019 when the company announced disappointing financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019. Among other things, Restaurant Brands reported a 0.1% system-wide year-over-year sales decline for Tim Hortonsrepresenting a 1.4% same-store sales declineon system-wide sales of $1.774 billion. Following this news, the price of Restaurant Brands common stock declined $2.59 per share, or approximately 4%, from a close of $68.45 per share on October 25, 2019, to close at $64.86 per share on October 28, 2019.

The filed complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Restaurant Brands' "Winning Together Plan" was failing to generate substantial, sustainable improvement within the Tim Hortons brand; (2) the "Tims Rewards" loyalty program was not generating sustainable revenue growth as increased customer traffic was not offsetting promotional discounting; and (3) as a result, the defendants' statements about Restaurant Brands' business, operations, and prospects lacked a reasonable basis.

Restaurant Brands investors may, no later than February 19, 2021, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class through Carella Byrne, or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain a class member. A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed as a lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.

Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, P.C., founded in 1976, is a leading law firm in the New Jersey - New York metropolitan area, serving a diverse clientele ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations. For more information about Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, P.C., please visit www.carellabyrne.com.

CONTACT:

Zach Bower, Esq.

Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein,

Brody & Agnello, P.C

2222 Ponce De Leon, 3rd Floor

Coral Gables, Florida 33134

Phone: (973) 994-1700

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, P.C.

Related Links

http://www.carellabyrne.com


The Cabinet of Ministers is planning to invest UAH 2.76 billion in the development of the mineral resource base in the next four years and another UAH 3.53 billion in the period from 2026 to 2030.

Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Roman Abramovsky stated this during the fourth meeting dedicated to the public discussion of the draft National Economic Strategy of Ukraine until 2030, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"From 2010 to 2020, the funding had to reach UAH 10.7 billion. In fact, these volumes remained at a level of just over UAH 1.2 billion, moreover, they were not always used effectively, so the industry is declining. Our proposal is [to allocate] UAH 2.76 billion for the next 4 years and another UAH 3.53 billion from 2026 to 2030. Due to this, we want the mineral resource base to be constantly updated, Abramovsky said.

He added that the Ukrainian government plans to digitize information on subsoil users, implement modern digital solutions, such as electronic auctions, an electronic map of minerals, and the introduction of an electronic cabinet of the subsoil user. Currently, all geoinformation and information on land plots are updated on the National Geospatial Data Portal.

As reported by Ukrinform, a special working group of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is developing the National Economic Strategy until 2030 using the platform of the Economic Recovery Center. The discussion of the draft National Economic Strategy until 2030 was launched on January 22 and will last until February 10.

iy

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Ludovic Orban, met on Friday the representatives of the Romanian Banks Association (ARB).

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, on Friday, within the meeting there were talks regarding identifying legislative solutions for increasing the economy's credit level and facilitating access of companies and physical persons to financial-banking resources, for own needs of development.

"The representatives of the banking system appreciated the positive evolutions from the economy and the measures to stimulate credit for companies, the IMM Invest type, which helped the companies, during the difficult period since the beginning of the pandemic, offering quick access to financing of which they needed for investment and working capital," according to the press release.

Within the talks it has been established to hold periodic meetings, for approaching parliamentary priorities and shared interest projects.

At the meeting took part a delegation formed of representatives of the main banking institutions in Romania, led by Sergiu Oprescu, the chairman of the board of the directors of the Romanian Banks Association.
Wild Horizon/Universal Images Group via Getty

Now that we're seeing some glimmer of light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, Texans are feeling a little bit of that wanderlust again. The good news for Lone Star State travelers is two of the top U.S. destinations to visit in 2021 are right in the heart of Texas, according to Travel & Leisure.

Fort Worth and the Hill Country made the 50-location list. Fort Worth landed at the No. 15 spot. Some of the big draws to Fort Worth include the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the creative art project Art Tooth.
A 27-year-old British man who was arrested at Heathrow airport after arriving on a flight from Turkey has been charged with terror offences.

Stefan Aristidou was arrested at the London airport by officers from the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command on Wednesday evening.

After his flight from Turkey landed he was taken into custody at a south London police station.

Stefan Aristidou, 27, was arrested at Heathrow Airport as part of a pre-planned operation on Wednesday and taken to custody at a south London police station. Picture: Stock

The British national was remanded and charged under the Terrorism Act on Thursday.

Aristidou is due before Westminster Magistrates Court today charged with seven counts of dissemination of terrorist publications.

As part of a pre-planned operation, Aristidou was arrested at Heathrow at around 6.10pm on Wednesday by officers.

Aristidou was remanded and charged under the Terrorism Act on Thursday and is due to appear before Westminster Magistrates Court today charged with seven counts of dissemination of terrorist publications. Picture: Stock

He was arrested on suspicion of the preparation of terrorist acts - in relation to alleged offending in Syria - encouragement of terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: 'Stefan Aristidou, 27, a British national, was charged on Thursday, February 4 with seven counts of dissemination of terrorist publications, contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

'He has been remanded in custody to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court today, Friday, February 5.'

Dublin, Feb. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Telecom API Market by Technologies, Application and Service Types, Stakeholders, User Types, Deployment, and Platform as a Service Types 2021 - 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Now in its ninth year of coverage, the publisher offers the most comprehensive research analyzing the telecom API market ecosystem including players, platforms, tools, solutions, and service offerings. This report provides an in-depth assessment of the global and regional telecom API market, including business models, value chain analysis, operator strategies and a quantitative assessment of the industry from 2021 to 2026.

Furthermore, the report evaluates the current state of the market and outlook for the future including analysis and forecasts for the telecom API market, which is segmented in many ways.

Report Findings:

Global Telecom API related revenue will reach $674B by 2026

Global UCaaS revenue will reach $91B by 2026 with 48.0% CAGR

Enterprise-hosted deployment is growing most rapidly through 2026

While the smallest in revenue overall, MEA is fastest-growing region at CAGR 40.2%

Global Communication Service Providers (CSP) continue to see Telecom APIs as a means of leveraging their network and subscriber assets to generate revenues with high margins. However, the ecosystem remains one in which largely third-parties, such as OTT players, maintain the end-user relationship with app and service clients, while CSPs merely provide data as a service on a B2B basis.

While this model may suffice for CSPs with respect to the consumer segment and SMBs, it is not sustainable for large corporate clients. CSPs are facing increasing pressure to provide a greater variety of high-quality enterprise communications and business collaboration solutions. Accordingly, the author sees this as an area ripe for leveraging Telecom APIs to offer value-added carrier offerings such as team collaboration, telepresence, and unified communications (UC) as part of a Telecom API enabled marketplace.

This vision is beginning to come true. With the help of leading Telecom API and Communications-enabled app providers like Ribbon Communications, AT&T has recently launched an API Marketplace, which is something that the author has recommended since 2011. Offering a turn-key approach by leveraging solutions such as Ribbon's Kandy APIs and Wrappers, AT&T plans to facilitate enterprise customer ability to leverage telecom assets for embedded applications. Ribbon is also supporting KPN's Telecom API marketplace.

Other leading telecom vendors such as Mavenir support the programmable telecom (Telecom APIs, platforms, and apps) ecosystem. The company recently announced its Mobile-Native Unified Communications and Collaboration as a Service (mUCaaS) solution. One of the key differentiators claimed by this solution is the ability for business-critical communications are prioritized by the mobile network using quality of service indicators that don't have to compete with other existing OTT UCaaS applications.

For many larger Telecom API vendors, a substantial proportion of revenue continues to be generated from SIP Trunking in support of their client's VoIP, UC, and other IP-based communications apps and services. However, many smaller players are innovating in areas that have high growth potential such as analytics data, device information, edge computing, and number management for calls, data, and subscribers. The last category, in particular, is emerging as an important area for unwanted call management solutions including robocall management.

Longer-term, we see CSPs leveraging Telecom APIs and related tools to support a variety of industry requirements in which carriers are amply positioned to leverage their market position. Those opportunities include Internet of Things (IoT) authentication, robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), and support of Blockchain. Three areas that represent great opportunities for carriers to aggressively pursue solution development in the more near-term timeframe are AI, IoT, and Mobile Edge Computing.

Report Benefits:

Gain a better perspective of the State of the Market for Telecom APIs

Identify challenges and opportunities across the entire API ecosystem

Understand the role of Telecom APIs within the realm of Programmable Telecom

Identify leading companies and solutions for Telecom API enabled apps and services

Understand the market dynamics, players, and outlook for communication enabled apps

Forecasts for every major Telecom API area including Categories, Solutions, Stakeholder Share, and more

Forecasts for Telecom API support of Unwanted Call Management including Do Not Disturb and Call Screening

Key Topics Covered:



1.0 Executive Summary

2.0 Introduction



3.0 Telecom API Overview

3.1 Role and Importance of Telecom APIs

3.2 Business Drivers for CSPs to Leverage APIs

3.2.1 Need for New Revenue Sources

3.2.2 Need for Collaboration with Development Community

3.2.3 B2B Services and Asymmetric Business Models

3.2.4 Emerging Need for IoT Mediation

3.3 Telecom API Categories

3.3.1 Access Management

3.3.2 Advertising and Marketing

3.3.3 Billing of Non-Digital Goods

3.3.4 Content Delivery

3.3.5 Directory and Registry Management

3.3.6 Enterprise Collaboration

3.3.7 IVR/Voice Solutions

3.3.8 Location Determination

3.3.9 M2M and Internet of Things

3.3.10 Messaging and other Non-Voice Communications

3.3.10.1 Text Messaging

3.3.10.2 Rich Communications Suite Enhanced Messaging (RCS-e)

3.3.10.3 Multimedia Messaging

3.3.11 Number Management

3.3.12 Payments including Purchaser Present Verification

3.3.13 Presence Detection

3.3.14 Real-time Communications and WebRTC

3.3.15 Subscriber Identity Management

3.3.16 Subscriber Profile Management

3.3.17 Quality of Service Management

3.3.18 Unified Communications and UCaaS

3.3.19 Unstructured Supplementary Service Data

3.3.20 Unwanted Call Management and Robo Calls

3.3.21 Voice/Speech

3.4 Telecom API Business Models

3.4.1 Three Business Model Types

3.4.1.1 Model One

3.4.1.2 Model Two

3.4.1.3 Model Three

3.5 Enterprise Market Segmentation

3.5.1 Use Case Segmentation

3.5.2 Workforce Management

3.5.3 Fraud Prevention

3.5.4 Call Centers

3.6 Competitive Issues

3.6.1 Reduced Total Cost of Ownership

3.6.2 Open APIs

3.6.3 Configurability and Customization

3.7 Applications that use APIs

3.8 Telecom API Revenue Potential

3.8.1 Standalone API Revenue vs. API enabled Revenue

3.8.2 Telecom API-enabled Mobile VAS Applications

3.8.3 Carrier Focus on Telecom API's for the Enterprise

3.9 Telecom API Usage by Industry Segment

3.10 Telecom API Value Chain

3.10.1 Telecom API Value Chain

3.10.2 How the Value Chain Evolves

3.10.3 API Transaction Value Split among Players

3.11 API Transaction Cost by Type

3.12 Volume of API Transactions

4.0 API Aggregation Marketplace

4.1 Role of API Aggregators

4.2 Total Cost of Operation with API Aggregators

4.2.1 Start-up Costs

4.2.2 Transaction Costs

4.2.3 Ongoing Maintenance/Support

4.2.4 Professional Services by Intermediaries

4.3 Aggregator API Usage by Category

4.3.1 API Aggregator Example: LocationSmart

4.3.2 Aggregation: Intersection of Two Big Needs

4.3.3 The Case for Other API Categories

4.3.4 Moving Towards New Business Models

5.0 Telecom API Marketplace

5.1 Data as a Service (DaaS)

5.1.1 Carrier Structured and Unstructured Data

5.1.2 Carrier Data Management in DaaS

5.1.3 Data Federation in the DaaS Ecosystem

5.2 API Marketplace Companies

5.2.1 Kong (Mashape)

5.2.2 Salesforce (Mulesoft)

5.2.3 TeleStax

5.3 Telecom API Ecosystem Vendors

5.3.1 APIs part of Infrastructure and Services Portfolio

5.3.1.1 Ericsson

5.3.1.2 Huawei

5.3.1.3 Nokia Networks

5.3.1.4 Ribbon Communications

5.3.2 API Capabilities acquired via Merger & Acquisitions

5.3.2.1 Amdocs

5.3.2.2 Aspect Software

5.3.2.3 BICS

5.3.2.4 CA Technologies

5.3.2.5 Cisco

5.3.2.6 Google

5.3.2.7 Oracle

5.3.2.8 Persistent Systems

5.3.2.9 VoIP Innovations

5.3.2.10 Vonage

5.3.3 API Capabilities Independently Developed

5.3.3.1 Apidaze (VoIP Innovations)

5.3.3.2 Apifonica

5.3.3.3 Bandwidth Communications Inc.

5.3.3.4 CLX Communications

5.3.3.5 Fortumo

5.3.3.6 hSenid Mobile

5.3.3.7 Hubtel

5.3.3.8 MessageBird

5.3.3.9 Syniverse

5.3.3.10 Telnyx

5.3.3.11 Tyntec

5.3.3.12 Twilio

5.3.3.13 Vidyo

5.4 Telecom Application Development Market

5.4.1 Communications-enabled App Marketplace ("CAM")

5.4.1.1 Market Opportunities and Challenges

5.4.1.2 Marketplace Facilitators

5.4.2 Improving Existing Apps and Services Marketplace

6.0 Telecom API App Enablers

6.1 Monetization of Communications-enabled Apps

6.1.1 Direct API Revenue

6.1.2 Data Monetization

6.1.3 Cost Savings

6.1.4 Higher Usage

6.1.5 Churn Reduction

6.2 Telecom App Development Issues

6.2.1 Security

6.2.2 Data Privacy

6.2.3 Interoperability

7.0 Communication Service Provider Telecom API Strategies

7.1 Carrier Market Strategy and Positioning

7.1.1 API Investment Stabilization

7.1.2 Carriers, APIs, and OTT

7.1.3 Leveraging Subscriber Data and APIs

7.1.4 Telecom API Standards

7.1.4.1 GSMA

7.1.4.2 TM Forum

7.1.5 Telecom APIs and Enterprise

7.2 Select Network Operator API Programs

7.2.1 AT&T

7.2.2 Verizon Wireless

7.2.3 Vodafone

7.2.4 France Telecom (Orange)

7.2.5 Telefonica

7.3 Carrier Focus on Internal Telecom API Usage

7.3.1 The Case for Internal Usage

7.3.2 Internal Telecom API Use Cases

7.4 Carriers and OTT Service Providers

7.4.1 Allowing OTT Providers to Manage Applications

7.4.2 Carriers Lack the Innovative Skills to Capitalize on APIs Alone

7.5 Carriers and Value-added Services

7.5.1 Role and Importance of VAS

7.5.2 The Case for Carrier Communication-enabled VAS

7.5.3 Challenges and Opportunities for Carriers in VAS

8.0 API Enabled App Developer Strategies

8.1 Telecom APIs as a Critical Developer Asset

8.2 Judicious Choice of API Releases

8.3 Working alongside Carrier Programs

8.4 Developer Preferences: OTT Service Providers vs Carriers

9.0 Telecom API Vendor Strategies

9.1 General Strategies

9.1.1 Value Chain Enhancers and Development Facilitators

9.1.2 Moving from Platforms to Cloud-based CPaaS

9.2 Specific Strategies

9.2.1 Reliance upon SIP Trunking

9.2.2 Improving Existing Solutions

9.2.3 Increased Focus on Enterprise Solutions

9.2.4 Embracing Next Generation Use Cases

10.0 Global Markets for Telecom APIs

10.1 Telecom API Market by Category

10.2 Telecom API Market by Service Type

10.3 Telecom API Market by User Type

10.4 Telecom API Market by Network Technology

10.5 Telecom API Market by Deployment

10.6 Telecom APIs Market by Platform as a Service

10.6.1 Telecom APIs Market by CPaaS

10.6.2 Telecom APIs Market by UCaaS

10.7 Telecom API Market by Module

10.8 Telecom API Market by Stakeholders

10.9 Telecom API Market by Region

11.0 North American Markets for Telecom APIs



12.0 Latin American Markets for Telecom APIs

13.0 European Markets for Telecom APIs

14.0 APAC Markets for Telecom APIs

15.0 MEA Markets for Telecom APIs

16.0 Telecom API Success Stories

16.1 Patronus

16.2 RumbleUP

16.3 Rently

16.4 Phone.com

16.5 VOIPo

17.0 Technology and Market Drivers for Future API Market Growth

17.1 Service Oriented Architecture

17.2 Software Defined Networks

17.3 Virtualization

17.4 Internet of Things

17.5 Bringing it all Together for a Bright Telecom API Future

17.6 IoT WANs and Telecom APIs



18.0 Conclusions and Recommendation

19.0 Appendix

Companies Mentioned



Amdocs

Apidaze (VoIP Innovations)

Apifonica

Aspect Software

Bandwidth

BICS

CA Technologies

Cisco

CLX Communications

Ericsson

Fortumo

Google

hSenid Mobile

Huawei

Hubtel

LocationSmart

Mashape

MessageBird

Mulesoft

Nokia Networks

Oracle

Persistent Systems

Ribbon Communications

Syniverse

TeleStax

Telnyx

Twilio

Tyntec

Vidyo

Vonage

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6iphbv
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Brookings Institution, a non-profit public policy organisation based in Washington DC, has run an article highlighting Vietnams impressive progress in universal health coverage (UHC) over the past decade.

Providing treatment to a insurance-covered patient at a health care facility in Son La (Photo: VNA)

The article cited a recent research as saying that Vietnam provided a generous benefit package that is more equitable for all.

It held that the takeaway lessons for other developing countries that want to achieve UHC through health insurance include strong political commitment with financial resources and an incremental approach that is attuned to their population. When designing health insurance systems, keeping tabs on all three UHC dimensions, ensuring consistent service coverage for essential health services, and government subsidies for vulnerable populations are needed.

Vietnam established health insurance for employees in the 1990s, but it wasnt until 2003 that the government began taking more financial responsibility for the poor. That was when it increased coverage, though incrementally, it noted.

It said that Vietnam made impressive increases in population coverage over the span of 13 years through the critical policies/laws/decrees they enacted.

Vietnams pro-poor design focused on stabilising the most vulnerable populations, so those uninsured are assumed to have some form of financial capacity.

However, it noted that Vietnam still faces great challenges, including aging population and shifting disease burdens are putting a lot of pressure on the financial sustainability of their health insurance systems.

Cross subsidization, provider payment reform, and cost-effective benefit packages have to be carefully designed and implemented to improve the efficiency, equity, and affordability of health insurance systems. Though the future is uncertain, Vietnams prospects look promising as they continue to customize their designs to their realities, it added./.VNA
No one who watched the first episode of Its A Sin, Channel 4s new drama about the spread of Aids in the early 1980s, can have failed to register the sense of freedom and optimism that permeated an era when gay men could express their sexuality without fear for pretty much the first time in British history.

As the series progresses, of course, the story becomes much darker. It is a chilling reminder of the last time our world was confronted by a mysterious and lethal virus trailing thousands of deaths and devastation in its wake.

Of course, the Aids virus, HIV, and the Covid-19 virus are very different, not least in terms of transmission and their impact on the body. And yet there is a fundamental link between the two that has potentially catastrophic implications for the future health and survival of our ever-expanding global population  even after this present crisis is over.

Thats because both HIV and the Covid virus, along with a host of other deadly microbes, originated in animals and jumped the species barrier into humans. They are known as zoonotic diseases.

They did so because, for a host of reasons, mankind has changed its relationship with both wild and farmed animals, destroying their habitats and crowding them together  and the process, as we shall see, is only accelerating.

This trend presents us with two vital questions: when will we really wake up to the greatest new threat of our age?

And when will we understand that  like the war on terror, the threat of nuclear war, or the climate change crisis  our battle to defeat it must become one of the globes top priorities?

If we fail to appreciate the seriousness of the situation, this present pandemic may be only a precursor to something far graver still.

Let us return to HIV: it was in 1981 that previously healthy young men in New York and California began presenting at hospitals with fever, flu-like symptoms and a range of rare infections and conditions. It wasnt long before cases were being reported in London and other major European cities of a baffling disease that attacked the immune system and seemed to target gay men, drug users and haemophiliacs.

Cameroonian rainforest and became infected via contact with the animals blood or from eating the bush meat

Panic escalated when it became clear that heterosexual men and women were also vulnerable to infection.

Scientists united in a global effort to identify the virus  soon to be named HIV/Aids  and its source.

Just as with Covid-19 today, there were denialists and conspiracy theorists.

Aids, it was claimed, had been created in a U.S. government laboratory and spread by the CIA as a weapon to reduce black populations. Another theory suggested it was the result of a polio vaccine programme that had gone wrong.

Forty years on, genetic sequencing and historical records now confirm that the virus that causes Aids originated in a harmless chimpanzee virus that mutated and crossed into humans, probably when a hunter butchered an animal deep in the Cameroonian rainforest and became infected via contact with the animals blood or from eating the bush meat.

Slowly, this virus spread in humans over decades, continuing to mutate until one strain evolved that was infectious enough to be passed from person to person via bodily fluids.

Ecologists at University College London (UCL) report that, since 1940, 335 new and potentially fatal diseases have emerged globally

Travelling from village to village down remote rivers in central Africa, the virus eventually reached Kinshasa, the teeming capital of the Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), perhaps sometime in the 1960s or even earlier.

There, in one of Africas fastest-growing cities, it began to establish itself in the population and spread further as it hitched a ride on boats and planes around Africa and the rest of the world, courtesy of those it infected.

In the 1970s, increasing global travel, mass movement of people and the sexual revolution accelerated its spread. To date, HIV has killed 32 million people and infected more than 75 million.

No one knows how it arrived in the U.S. or Europe, but scientists researching medical records have, over the years, cited candidates including a Norwegian sailor, a Canadian flight attendant and  most recently  a World War I soldier as among the first Western victims.

With hindsight, we can see the emergence of HIV/Aids as a milestone in a new era of pandemics and serious dis-eases linked to mankinds increasing domination of the planet, the destruction of the natural world and disregard for wildlife.

Ecologists at University College London (UCL) report that, since 1940, 335 new and potentially fatal diseases have emerged globally, of which more than 200 are zoonoses  viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and prions that occur naturally in wild and domesticated animals but which are turning up in humans.

They include some of the most deadly diseases ever encountered: HIV, of course, Ebola, Lassa Fever, Marburg and Simian foamy virus in Africa; Sars and now Covid-19 in China; Chagas, Machupo and Hantavirus in Latin America; Hendra in Australia, and Mers in Saudi Arabia.

Almost all have spread internationally and there are vaccines for only one or two. In addition, three new deadly pandemic influenza A strains have surfaced since 1957, and bird and swine flus have crossed to humans.

Princess Diana talking to AIDS patient with Kaposis Sarcoma on his legs during the opening of the Rodney Porter Ward for AIDS Patients at St Marys Hospital

Any one of them can mutate and potentially devastate human populations.

So how and why are these zoonoses making the transition? Over centuries, the close proximity of humans and the animals kept for food in primitive dwellings was a factor  and remains so in parts of Asia, especially when it comes to poultry.

Today, however, zoonoses are increasingly linked to deforestation, land clearance, the encroachment of urban dwellings into previously wild areas, and the hunting and sale of animals for food in markets.

Others, like Dengue and Chikungunya, both mosquito-borne, are spreading fast as the world warms because of climate change, allowing disease-carrying insects to flourish in new areas. Some years ago I travelled to the heart of the Congo basin rainforest in Gabon where there had been an outbreak of Ebola  named after a river in the Congo  several years earlier.

Accompanied by local guides, it took me several days by car on some of the worst roads in Africa, and then by small boat down the Ivindo River to reach the small village of Mayibout 2.

Drenched in sweat in the intense heat, under constant attack by insects and fearful of catching malaria, I met the village chief, Bob Lucien.

The Ebola outbreak was over but nothing would be the same again for the community, he said. He, like others, had fled the village when the disease struck, but it had killed two of his family and many of his friends.

Over a glass of palm wine, I was told that it had started when a group of youths, hunting with dogs, killed a chimpanzee and brought it back to the village to eat.

Several families had prepared and shared the chimp meat and 26 people were infected, said Lucien.

The first signs of Ebola are as innocuous as a sore throat or fever but within days these would escalate to violent vomiting and diarrhoea. As the virus spreads through the body, it damages the immune system and organs and ultimately destroys cells responsible for blood-clotting, resulting in severe, uncontrollable bleeding. In the case of the Mayibout outbreak, most of those infected died.

Bob told me that the villagers were still traumatised and refused to eat anything from the forest now. Ebola for them was a curse and they feared its return.

He added that when the village was small and the forest pristine, there had been very little illness. But as roads were built, the population grew and the village expanded into the forest  even as hunters, loggers and gold-miners moved in and deforestation commenced  that changed.

There was nothing to prove conclusively that environmental change was the cause of the Ebola outbreak, but researchers have since studied many other incidents of this and other diseases and found almost all have started in places where deforestation had recently taken place.

It is thought that disrupting the normal forest habitat of bats, often a reservoir of viruses that may ultimately endanger humans, forces them to find other places to live, presenting new opportunities for primates to become infected  and the viruses can then be passed via primates to humans.

The growing demand for bushmeat  African wild animals killed for food  and the popularity of wet markets in Asia and elsewhere selling fresh meat, often from exotic animals, is another factor in the growth of zoo- notic illnesses.

According to researchers at Brown University in the U.S., the past three decades has seen an increasing number of infectious disease outbreaks from an increasing number of sources. Some are unexpected.

In 1997, fires set by palm oil companies to clear vast tracts of Indonesian forests for plantations, killed thousands of orang-utans and other animals.

Months later, a new disease broke out near a town called Sungai Nipah hundreds of miles away in Malaysia, killing hundreds of people.

It took scientists years to establish that fruit bats, which usually foraged on trees in the Indonesian forests, had been forced by the fires to seek new food sources.

Some had flown to Sungai Nipah where they had roosted in the fruit trees and dropped pieces of half-eaten fruit into the pig pens below.

The pigs ate the fruit, which was contaminated by bat urine, and then passed the disease, now called Nipah, to humans (the movie Contagion is modelled on the evolution of Nipah).

Not all diseases that have spilled over from animals to humans in the past 50 years come from tropical hotspot areas, however. Lyme disease, caused by tick bites, has become an epidemic in the northern U.S. because developers are building houses in recently-cleared forest land on the edge of cities.

Bats that colonise Australian suburbs can infect horses with a disease called Hendra and they can then pass it on to humans.

In the Western Ghat mountains of India, a rare but devastating disease known as Kyasanur forest disease (KFD) has long been known  but in the past decade has spread far and wide as cattle farmers have felled more forests.

The more we destroy or change nature, the more likely we are to see fearsome diseases like Covid-19 emerging, says Kate Jones, professor of ecology at UCL.

The coincidence of the appearance of new diseases with the simultaneous expansion of human dwelling and destruction of the natural environment is highly significant, she argues.

Peter Daszak, the British-born ecologist now in Wuhan as part of the World Health Organisation team investigating the Covid-19 outbreak, agrees.

Rampant deforestation, uncontrolled expansion of agriculture, intensive farming, mining and infrastructure development, as well as the exploitation of wild species, have created a perfect storm for the spill-over of diseases, he says.

One of the side-effects is a growth in the number of interactions between humans and nature at its most red in tooth and claw.

Intensive farming increases the frequency of contact between humans and wildlife and exposes us to diseases never encountered before, says Sean OBrien, president of NatureServe, a U.S. group of scientists working with conservation organisations.

We are bringing together wildlife that would never naturally encounter each other in nature, creating bizarre links in a chain that can allow a disease to jump from one species to humans via another species.

While hundreds of millions of lives and the economies of many countries have been devastated by Covid-19, it may be that with this pandemic, the world has actually dodged a bullet.

Covid is highly contagious  as shown by its rapid spread around the globe  but so far it has not proved nearly as dangerous as other new diseases, killing only around two per cent of the 105 million people it has so far infected.

Many new influenzas and zoonotic diseases are far more dangerous but not nearly so easily spread.

Ebola, for example, kills more than 60 per cent of the people it infects; Mers 34 per cent; and many other diseases more than 20 per cent.

The nightmare scenario that governments are having to face up to is the emergence of a new disease  or a new strain of an older one  which is as contagious as, say, measles, and as deadly as Ebola.

Then humanity could face a far worse pandemic than Covid-19, possibly on the scale of the Black Death, which killed up to one in three people in Europe in the Middle Ages.

Because of air links and global trade, a virus could be spread round the world in a few weeks by people unaware that they are infected, killing tens of millions of people before borders could be closed.

Covid-19 may be only the beginning. Future pandemics are likely to happen more frequently, spread more rapidly, have greater economic impact and kill more people if we are not extremely careful about the possible impacts of the choices we make today, warns Josef Settele, biologist and co-author of a new UN-level study on future pandemics.

And he is no solitary voice. I think we will get a wave of new zoonotic diseases emerging, a mixture of old and new ones, says Delia Grace Randolph, co-leader of animal and human health at the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya.

Animals have thousands of viruses. Some of them are now familiar, like Ebola and Marburg and avian flu.

But some will emerge which we did not know about. The worst may be yet to come.What we are doing is destroying the natural world, constantly chipping away at wildlife habitats.

When you put animals in situations where they have to eke out resources in a human situation you get diseases. The trouble is, we dont know what else is out there.

Despite a global pandemic of a new respiratory illness or virulent influenza strain being one of the highest priorities on the risk registers of most developed countries, our experience of Covid-19 this past 12 months has shown just how unprepared we were for that reality.

Surely now is the time for politicians to do more than deliver platitudes about population growth and urban expansion, environmental destruction, hunting and the lucrative trade in wild animals around the globe.

Yes, we must maintain plentiful supplies of PPE (personal protective equipment), be able to expand intensive care space rapidly at short notice and establish an international network of well-funded vaccine labs that are constantly vigilant and primed to react instantly if a new virus emerges.

But, above all, we cannot continue on the path of wilful disregard of our duties as custodians of the natural world, and we must take global measures to defeat the threat our destruction of the environment poses.

We may have chosen to ignore those facts before  but we know now that our lives depend on it.

n John Vidal is writing a book on the links between nature and disease.

Battle: (From left) Princess Diana in an HIV hospital ward in London in 1989, doctors in PPE gear treat a patient in Cambridge last year, and a boy with a monkey in Gabon, Africa

Pictures: rex/shutterstock/getty/afp
Eighteen passengers died while 45 others were injured when the vehicles in which they were travelling crashed head-on yesterday at Sarekyekuta near Buipe in the Central Gonja District on the Tamale-Kumasi main road.



Sixteen were said to have died on the spot while two others were pronounced dead at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH).



Acting Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Savannah Region, Inspector Agyekum Owusu, who confirmed this to the Ghanaian Times,said that the bodies of the dead had been deposited at the Holistic Medical Hospital, at Buipe and TTH mortuaries.



He indicated that some of the injured were taken to TTH, while others were rushed to Holistic Medical Hospital at Buipe.



Inspector Owusu said that a Yutong bus with registration number GT 3345-16 was heading towards Zebila in the Upper East Region from Kumasi, while the other vehicle with registration number AC 1699-20 was travelling from Garu also in the region to Kumasi when they crashed at Sarekyekuta.



It is recalled that 10 people died while 32 others were injured when the vehicle in which they were travelling was involved in an incident at Nasia in West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East regionlast week, on the Nasia bridge.



Two of them died on the sport while eight others died in Walewale hospital and the TTH, and the injured who, were in critical condition, have been rushed to the TTH and the Walewale hospital.



The driver of the vehicle, Tanko Ibrahim, said he was trying to dodge a cow which was crossing the road and crashed onto a metal pole of bridge and landed on the shoulder of the bridge



The vehicle which was carrying about 45 passengers was said to be heading towards Bawku in the Upper East Region from Kumasi



The Motor Traffic and Transport Department and other police personnel who were dispatched to the accident scene could not talk to journalists as they were busy trying to rescue passengers who were trapped in the vehicle, which has been damaged beyond repair.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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US President Joe Biden on February 4 asked the Myanmar military to relinquish power and release the detained government officials, including President Win Myint, and Nobel laureate and democratically elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and her NLD party members. In US State Department remarks, calling the militarys seize of power a coup, Biden insisted that he was in touch with world leaders to address the political turmoil in the Southeast Asian country. Further warning the Burma military that he will take appropriate action, Biden warned that his administration will reimpose sanctions rolled back in 2011 when the nation held its first democratic elections.

Ordering the Myanmar military to restore communication and internet lines, and transfer the power to the democratic government, Biden made threats at Chinas vested interest, saying: We will take on directly challenges posed to our prosperity, security and democratic values by our most serious competitor, China. Furthermore, he added, Well also confront their economic abuses. But we're ready to work with Beijing when it's in America's interest, according to an ANI report. Biden made clear, that his administration was working with global partners to push for the restoration of democracy as well as the rule of law.

Read: Australian Prime Minister Says He Invited Biden Down Under

Read: Hunter Biden's Memoir 'Beautiful Things' Out In April

The United States removed sanctions on Burma over the past decade based on progress toward democracy, Biden said, separately in a statement. Calling Myanmar with the former name Burma, Americas leader stressed, "The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities, in a warning to the couping armed forces.

This afternoon, Im visiting the @StateDept and delivering remarks on Americas role in the world. Tune in. https://t.co/zWG3UETxGX  President Biden (@POTUS) February 4, 2021

US stands with Myanmar

Threatening that he would hold those accountable for the political chaos as responsible, the US president told the State Department that he is working towards Burmas democratic transition and maintaining the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections. Biden issued remarks, following strong condemnation of Myanmars military coup by his Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had called the militarys capture of power a"grave concern and alarm. "We call on Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections on November 8," Blinken said in a statement. "The United States stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development. The military must reverse these actions immediately."

[Myanmar's Vice President Myint Swe, right, smiles while sitting with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, left, and then President Htin Kyaw during a photo session after the second session of the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference. Credit: AP/file]

Read: US Will Take On Challenges Posed By China Directly: Biden

Read: President Biden Withdraws US Support For War In Yemen, Backs UN-led Initiatives
Nyala / East Jebel Marra  The head of the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) in South Darfur says he has held discussions with international humanitarian organisations with an aim to evaluate the humanitarian and security situation on the ground in east Jebel Marra. The area has seen armed attacks that forced thousands of civilians to be displaced to North and South Darfur last week.

The Humanitarian Aid Commissioner in South Darfur, Adam Karameddin, underscored that the commission discussed with other relevant humanitarian agencies necessity of humanitarian intervention in the area of east Jebel Marra by dispatching teams to evaluate the situation on the ground.

Karameddin said in a statement to the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) that the commission is working with other humanitarian agencies to determine the extent of displacement.

Spokesperson for the Darfur Displaced and Refugees General Coordination, Adam Rujal reported last week that the villages Falouja, Kebe, Rogola, and Hillet El Faki Ahmed Zakariya in eastern Jebel Marra were raided on January 24 and 25.

"Eight people were killed on the first day, and three on the second day. Dozens of others were injured and went missing," he stated.

Residents of the area have urged the government and the humanitarian organisations to urgently intervene to evacuate the injured and provide assistance to civilians.

Gunmen driving vehicles and riding motorcycles, horses, and camels have killed 14 people, wounded eight, burned 11 villages, looted mills, and have stolen 15,000 head of cattle in Tawila locality, North Darfur, in the last 10 days, community leader from North Darfur Abdallah El Tajani said at a press conference in Nyala.

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Not all the dead have yet been buried, El Tajani said. He stated that the villages in Tawila locality "have been under constant attack".

El Tijani said that the attacks have caused the complete displacement of 11 villages. Some 15,000 displaced people are now staying in other areas, including Katur, Shangil Tobaya Camp, and Zamzam Camp south of the North Darfur capital El Fasher. They are living in harsh conditions, without shelter or food. Families have been separated.

A significant contingent of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries have arrived in South Darfur as "Peace Shield Forces" to maintain peace and to restore stability.

The acting Wali (governor) of South Darfur in a statement via the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) asserted that "the force that arrived in the state is a strong boost to the peace process and the protection of civilians." He explained that that its mission is specific and "to enforce the law".

The RSF Commander for the South Darfur Sector, Brig Abdulrahman Gumaa, said that the mission of the is "peacekeeping and rapid intervention to end tribal disputes".
MUSKEGON, MI -- Arik Hoffmans mother is the first to admit her son had a troubled past.

He had spent time in jail before and had weapons-related convictions on his record.

But last year, the 23-year-old Hoffman was inspired by a YouTube video that involved motorcycles. He brainstormed with a friend and they created the new Muskegon group Bikes Up Guns Down.

He was trying to change his life around and was really getting into that, said Kerri Hoffman, his mother.

Only weeks after the organizations creation, Arik Hoffman was fatally wounded in a Jan. 24 Muskegon Heights shooting and died at a hospital. Police have released few details about the shooting, other than it happened about 9:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of Dyson Street and another man was wounded.

Kerri Hoffman said police have not told her much more.

Her son was father to a 7-month-old baby and was helping raise his girlfriends 4-year-old daughter.

He was acutely aware of the emotional toll of gun violence. A close friend, Elijah Henderson, was shot and killed in May 2013 at the age of 17.

They were were very close and it tore him right apart, Kerri Hoffman said.

Tavin Allen was the friend who launched the Bikes Up Guns Down local organization with Hoffmans help and inspiration. The group has a Facebook page and the goal is to get people, especially youth, occupied with something other than street violence.

An annual event in Miami to protest gun violence goes by a similar name.

I got to the point in my life where it wasnt worth it, Allen said about illegal behavior. I just feel like (Arik) was there too.

After his friends death, a candlelight vigil attracted dozens of people. Many people knew Arik Hoffman, called Fatty by close friends, and Allen said others wanted to show support for the new anti-violence group.

He said he saw people there that might have been rivals in the past, but who shook hands.

Friends said Hoffman was the kind of person who acted goofy sometimes and could easily cheer others up.

He was just always full of joy, Allen said. Just a really outgoing person.

According to a line in his obituary: Give him five minutes and youll forget why you were in a bad mood.

Kerri Hoffman said that when Bikes Up Guns Down group was created, her son started to realize the impact it could have. He talked about kids looking up to me.

She said he was recently trying to come up with a gun drop-off program and wanted to work with the police on it.

She hopes police are making headway in investigating his death.

I want to know what happened to my son and who did this, she said.

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New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India on Friday kept the key policy rates unchanged in its bi-monthly Monetary Policy review.

The central bank announcing the outcome of its bi-monthly Monetary Policy rates on February 5 said that it has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 4 percent and the reverse repo rate at 3.35 percent, with Industry leaders saying that RBI's accommodative policy stance will aid economic growth.

This is the first monetary policy announcement after the presentation of the Union Budget 2021-22. The Reserve Bank's rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) began its meeting on Wednesday. The MPC kept the key benchmark rate unchanged in its last three reviews.

Here is how the Industry leaders reacted:

Dinesh Khara, Chairman, SBI

The RBI policy announcement today is an acknowledgment and continuation of doing whatever it takes to maintain an orderly, seamless and non-disruptive liquidity management policy to support debt management.

Rajiv Sabharwal, MD and CEO, Tata Capital

"The monetary policy, post the union budget is a true indicator of the government and RBIs pro  investment resolve to work towards helping the economy bounce back stronger."

Shanti Ekambaram, Group President - Consumer Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank

"In line with market expectations, the Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep key rates unchanged. The stance continued to be accommodative as long as it is necessary to support growth as the economy comes out of the pandemic."

Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD & CEO, Bandhan Bank

"The RBIs plan for reviewing the regulatory framework for microfinance is a most welcome step."

Sanjay Dutt, MD & CEO, Tata Realty and Infrastructure Limited

"We welcome the apex banks decision to keep the repo rate and reverse repo unchanged at 4% and 3.35% respectively, for the fourth time in a row. Maintaining this accommodative outlook is extremely crucial, especially with the green shoots of recovery being visible now."

Churchil Bhatt, EVP & Debt Fund Manager, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company

Live TV

#mute

"To support bond yields amidst large government borrowing, RBI has also extended the HTM hike relaxation to FY23. However, more steps including OMOs and Operation Twist may intermittently be needed in order to contain further rise in yields. Overall, the tone of the policy remains growth supportive and fittingly complements FY22 budget.

EDWARDSVILLE  The adopted son of one of two men found murdered in their Godfrey home was charged Friday with multiple felonies.

Robert Bob Andrews, 59, and Leonard Jim Ebrey, 67, were both found stabbed to death after emergency personnel responded to a report of a house fire at their home in the 2300 block of Wedgewood Drive, Godfrey.

Bryce V. Andrews, 22, of the same address, was charged Wednesday with four counts of first degree murder, all Class M felonies; aggravated arson, a Class X felony; offenses relating to motor vehicles, a Class 2 felony; and two counts of concealment of a homicidal death, both Class 3 felonies.

He was the adopted son of Robert Andrews.

Bryce Andrews was named as a person of interest in the case Thursday. Charges had been filed Wednesday and suppressed until the suspect was in custody.

Bryce Andrews was taken into custody at a St. Louis area hospital at about 10:30 a.m. Friday, and is awaiting extradition to Illinois. Bail was set at $1 million.

Madison County Sheriff John Lakin; Lt. Brian Koberna, of the Sheriffs department and a deputy commander with the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis; and Madison County States Attorney Tom Haine spoke at a press conference early Friday afternoon at the Madison County Sheriffs Department.

If convicted, Andrews could face a natural life sentence, according to Haine.

Koberna would not discuss whether Bryce Andrews was injured in the incident, but noted it was a violent crime involving stabbing or cuts.

The announcement followed an intense investigation by the Major Case Squad on Monday. Lakin praised the squad, noting there were about 29 investigators involved.

Its a testament to their professionalism and dedication to the citizens of our area, he said. I think these guys did a great job.

The incident began with a 911 call reporting a residential fire at 2301 Wedgewood Drive at about 6:04 a.m. Monday. The area has an Alton mailing address but is in Godfrey.

Firefighters discovered the victims, who had been stabbed to death.

Koberna called the murders a heinous attack.

After the homicide, Bryce set fire to the residence. He also stole the victims vehicle and it was subsequently located in North St. Louis, Koberna said.

Investigators found numerous pieces of evidence, which Koberna declined to discuss.

Our team worked tirelessly throughout this investigation, he said. Our investigation shows Bryce is responsible for all those charges.

This has been a really tough week for Madison County, Haine said. Weve had a number of very difficult cases that have occurred.

At least the community can take solace in one fact, he said In this case it was not a random act of violence. This was not an invasion of a home by an outsider. This was an internal, terrible tragedy.

Haine noted that the investigation is ongoing.
China gave a muted response to US President Joe Biden's twin policy approach of confrontation with Beijing on challenges it posed and cooperation to further American interests, saying both countries can achieve "big things" together and their common interests far outweigh their differences. In his first foreign policy address, US President Biden on Thursday described China as the most serious competitor to the US and vowed to confront Beijing on various fronts, including human rights, intellectual property and economic policy.

Biden said his administration would, take on directly the challenges posed [to] our prosperity, security and democratic values by our most serious competitor: China. "We will confront China's economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive action to push back on China's attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance," Biden said in his address to State Department employees at its Foggy Bottom headquarters in Washington.

"But we are ready to work with Beijing when it is in America's interest to do so. We will compete from a position of strength by building back better at home, working with our allies and partners, renewing our role in international institutions, and reclaiming our credibility and moral authority, much of which has been lost," he said, giving a glimpse of his administration's policies on China.

Outlining his eagerly awaited China policy, Biden said, "that is why we have moved quickly to begin restoring American engagement internationally and earn back our leadership position to catalyse global action on shared challenges."

Reacting to Biden's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here on Friday: "As two major countries China and the US share broad common interests and special major responsibilities for upholding world peace stability and prosperity.

"It is natural that we have differences but our common interests far outweigh our differences. Our cooperation can do big things conducive to the two countries and the world, Wang said. China heaved a huge sigh of relief over the defeat of former US president Donald Trump by Biden in the US presidential election.

Trump's four years in power are regarded as the worst phase in China-US relations as the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) headed by President Xi Jinping struggled to deal with what China's officials say was the most elusive and unpredictable American leader ever. During his tenure, Trump pushed aggressively on all aspects of US-China ties, including with his relentless trade war, challenging China's military hold on the disputed South China Sea, its constant threats to Taiwan and describing coronavirus as China virus after it emerged from Wuhan in December 2019, as well as on Xinjiang and Tibet issues.

Wang in his response skirted Biden's comments related to challenges Beijing posed but stuck to highlighting the traditional Chinese approach of win-win cooperation. "China is committed to developing relations with the US featuring non-conflict and non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. In the meantime, we will continue safeguarding our national sovereignty, security and development interests, he said.

Biden's foreign policy approach was keenly awaited in Beijing as during his campaign he identified Russia as the main problem for the US, a former President Barack Obama era foreign policy during which Beijing firmed up its position politically, economically and militarily around the world by launching its most ambitious trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

On February 2, senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi asked President Biden to reset the China-US ties damaged by Trump. Yang said that normal China-US interactions need to be restored, and "China should be seen as it is." The Trump administration pursued some misguided policies toward China, said Yang, a member of the Politburo of the ruling Communist Party of China, noting that the root cause for it was a strategic misjudgement by some in the US.

"They view China as a major strategic competitor, even an adversary. That, I am afraid, is historically, fundamentally and strategically wrong," he said at a meeting here. It is a task for both China and the US to restore the relationship to a predictable and constructive track of development, and to build a model for interaction between the two major countries that focuses on peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.

Yang said that he hopes the new administration will remove the blocks to people-to-people exchanges, such as harassing Chinese students, restricting Chinese media outlets, shutting down Confucius Institutes and suppressing Chinese companies in the US.
Britain on Friday said it had agreed on a deal with German biotech firm CureVac to work to develop vaccines against coronavirus variants, placing an initial order for 50 million doses in case they are needed. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cited the possibility of new variants of the coronavirus as one of the biggest risks to the vaccine rollout and hopes that the economy can start to be reopened from lockdown in the spring. The government said both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines being currently rolled out appear to work well against variants ...
WASHINGTON  Californias House delegation split largely along party lines Thursday over whether to kick Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off her committees, with just one of the states GOP members voting with Democrats to remove the first-term Georgia Republican over incendiary comments she made before being elected.

California Democrats joined all their party colleagues in voting to remove Greene because of comments that included suggesting violence against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. The vote was 230-199 to pull her from committees, the main forum where lawmakers can influence legislation.

Eleven Republicans sided with the Democrats, including first-term Orange County Rep. Young Kim, who also split with the majority of her Republican House colleagues last month in recognizing the vote electing Joe Biden as president.

It was a move with few precedents  seldom if ever has the majority party stripped a member of the minority from the ability to do much besides vote and give floor speeches. But Democrats said it was necessary after GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield refused to remove Greene from the Education and Budget committees himself.

Democrats cited numerous past comments and social media interactions of Greenes that have surfaced in recent days, including a conspiracy-laden post with references to antisemitic tropes that blamed space lasers for the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County. Greene also indicated support for executing Democratic members of Congress, harassed a survivor of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., and supported the QAnon lie that Democrats are a cabal of pedophiles.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., angrily walked the House floor with a large photo that Greene had posted of herself holding an assault rifle next to photos of Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, with the caption, Squads worst nightmare.

Theyre not the Squad. Theyre Ilhan. Theyre Alexandria. And theyre Rashida, Hoyer said, facing the Republican side of the aisle. They are people. Theyre our colleagues.

Many Republicans repudiated Greenes comments, but said she deserved a chance to move beyond them. They also warned the action would set a harmful precedent.

Rep. David Valadao of Fresno, one of 10 House Republicans who voted last month to impeach former President Donald Trump, said in a statement that if we looked into comments made by all 435 members of Congress, ever in their lifetime, and proceeded to take time on the House floor to punish them ... we would never have time to address the critical issues our country faces today.

But Pelosi dismissed such concerns, saying Republicans gave up the chance to police their own side of the aisle.

If anybody starts threatening the lives of members of Congress on the Democratic side, wed be the first to eliminate them from committees, Pelosi said. They had the opportunity to do so.

Before the vote, Greene defended herself in a speech on the House floor, saying she got sucked into QAnon for a time before realizing its tenets were false.

Throughout 2018, because I was upset about things and didnt trust the government really, because the people here werent doing the things that I thought they should be doing for us ... I was allowed to believe things that werent true, and I would ask questions about them and talk about them, Greene said. And that is absolutely what I regret.

She declared that she now knows school shootings and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were real, contrary to what she suggested before being elected. She also painted herself as a victim of cancel culture and baselessly equated the media as just as guilty as QAnon of spreading misinformation.

McCarthy said Democrats were blinded by partisanship and politics.

Never before in the history of this House has the majority abused its power this way, he said. Rep. Greenes past comments and posts as a private citizen do not represent the values of my party. ... I condemn those views unequivocally.

But he said that in a conversation with him, Greene had acknowledged her responsibility as a member of Congress to be held to a higher standard. He drew parallels to actions involving Democrats who have no such record of violent or bigoted speech, including an attempt by an alleged Chinese spy to connect with Dublin Rep. Eric Swalwell. In that case, Swalwell cut off contact when her espionage ties were made known to him, and investigators said he was under no suspicion of wrongdoing.

Greene was also defended by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista (San Diego County), who noted other members of Congress who had questionable pasts before serving, including former Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Democrats rejected Greenes floor speech as lacking an acknowledgment of her past calls for violence or expressions of antisemitism.

Far too little, way too late. Game over Marjorie, tweeted San Rafael Rep. Jared Huffman. He added: What Rep. Issa is really saying: todays GOP would welcome Robert Byrd, fresh from the KKK, just as the Democratic Party did in 1952. Shame on the Dems of 1952 and the GOP of today.

Democrats also sought to tie Greene to McCarthy. In a press release, Pelosis office referred to McCarthys party affiliation as Q-CA.

Keep this in mind  Kevin McCarthy wants to be Speaker, tweeted San Mateo Rep. Jackie Speier. Marjorie Taylor Greene has become (Donald) Trumps pet and she raised $325,000 in two days as a result of her looney lies Kevin has been coopted.

Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan
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On Friday, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a landmark piece of bipartisan legislation to abolish the death penalty in the state with the most executions in American history. The vote follows passage earlier this week in the state senate. Gov. Ralph Northam has promised to sign the bill, which will make Virginia the 23rd state in the country without a death penalty law on the books.

As Cassandra Stubbs, the director of the ACLUs Capital Punishment Project, told me, Virginias move will mark the first time in U.S. history that a majority of states have a formal ban on executions, including three governor-enacted state moratoriums. (There was a brief four-year period in the 1970s when the Supreme Court barred executions, but states maintained their capital punishment laws or updated them and eventually resumed executions.)

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These are enormous momentum swings when you look at where we were, say, ten years ago, Stubbs said.

Critically, the measure was passed via legislation as opposed to gubernatorial moratorium, which can be reversed whenever a new governor takes office. Virginia juries havent imposed a new death sentence in ten years, but the state executed a prisoner as recently as 2017 and there are two inmates that remain on death row. Stubbs is hoping other states will follow Virginias example and go the legislative route to end the death penalty.

At this point when we know so much about the arbitrariness and the discrimination and the unfairness, really the injustice of how the death penalty gets carried out in America, moratoriums are not enough, Stubbs said. We need our leaders to work for repeal and we need our leaders to make inroads to grant commutations.

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As the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported, the Commonwealth of Virginia has carried out 1,390 executions since 1608, the most in the history of anywhere in America, according to Stubbs. Since the Supreme Court revived the death penalty in 1976, meanwhile, Virginia has executed 113 people, the second-highest toll in the United States, according to the Daily Progress. This history makes todays move even more significant.

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Its a state that chose to break from the legacy of lynching and discrimination and chose to do so explicitly because of racial bias, Stubbs said after the measure passed the Virginia House of Delegates 57-41 with three Republicans joining the Democratic majority to pass abolition. Weve seen repeal in a number of states around the country, but this is a large southern state and its just an enormous momentum changer.

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During House of Delegates debate, abolition advocates made racial bias inherent to the death penalty in the United States a prominent argument.

The death penalty is the direct descendant of lynching. It is state-sponsored racism and we have an opportunity here to end this today, said Del. Jay Jones.

Stubbs also said that the Trump administrations brutal and unprecedented lame duck execution spree in its final days in office further illustrated to the nation the arbitrariness and cruelty of the death penalty as its applied in the United States, particularly by a Supreme Court that rubber-stamped Trumps executions without any serious deliberation.

There is no question that President Trump really held up a mirror to the injustice of the death penalty through that atrocious execution spree, she said. As a long-time lawyer in this field, I was appalled not only by the Trump administration but by Supreme Court. We saw that the Supreme Court failed to stand up for the Constitution, it failed to even grapple with or apply or consider many of the very serious constitutional challenges that many of the death row prisoners had filed. Instead they vacated those lower court decisions [blocking executions], often in the middle of the night without reasoned opinions.

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Stubbs is now hopeful that President Biden will decide not to leave the remaining federal death row inmates liable to the whims of a future Republican president or the current Supreme Court.

There is so much pressure on President Biden to grant commutations, she said. We cant count on the courts and we cant count on whoever is going to be in office nextwe need commutations to make sure that doesnt happen again.

Back in Virginia, the move towards racial justice is part and parcel with the progressive action taken by state leaders in the legislature after Democrats took control of both chambers last year following a victory in the 2019 election. On Friday, Democrats in the House of Delegates also passed a bill on a party-line 55-42 vote to make Virginia the first southern state to legalize marijuana, with the Senate set to take up passage later in the day.

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Indeed, Virginia has become a test lab of sorts for bold progressive social justice reforms in a previously purple state that has trended blue, which could serve as a model for the rest of the country as demographic shifts change the political makeup of large southern states like Georgia and Texas.

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In addition to the death penalty ban and marijuana legislation, Virginia legislators are considering a proposal that would restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies. They are also taking up legislation to codify the emergency pandemic voting rights reforms that helped take Virginia from the second-most difficult place to vote in the country in 2016 to 12th easiest place to vote last year, according to an analysis by researchers at Northern Illinois University.

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Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, Eileen Filler-Corn, told me last month that her body would be taking steps aimed at making Virginia even more inclusive, [including] automatic expungement [of criminal records of non-violent offenders], the restoration of rights legislation, creating a Virginia LGBTQ advisory board, and of course marijuana legalization. Last week, the House of Delegates passed a bill mandating race and ethnic reporting in vaccine distribution, in order for the state to get a better handle on racial disparities in its efforts to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control.

Filler-Corn has pushed for this legislation while directly confronting members of an opposing caucus who have taken to rejecting the very premise of democracy. Like what weve seen at a national level this week with the vote to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments for years of hate speech and conspiracy theorizing, Filler-Corn removed three Republican members from committee assignments after they asked Congress to overturn the election in Virginia, which President Joe Biden won by 10 points, and after at least one member participated in the rally that led to the Capitol insurrection.

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Soon, Virginan voters will get a chance to show their support or disapproval for this bold agenda. As one of the few states with off-year elections, Virginians will go to the voting booth in November to elect a new legislature and governor. While Virginia has trended increasingly blue in recent years, it was very recently a purple state controlled by a Republican legislature. It also has a recent history of voting out whichever party last won control of the White House.

Filler-Corn is confident that aggressive progressive policy action will lead to political results.

Honestly, everything that were passing, were just following exactly what we said to our voters when we were running, she said. I am confident that we will maintain the majority and be able to continue to do good and pass great legislation for Virginia.

Well know in November how voters respond when Democratic leaders actually govern on a Democratic agenda. Whatever happens next, national Democrats should start looking to Virginia.
New York  In response to the South African Constitutional Court's decision today to uphold a 2019 High Court ruling that invalidated legislation allowing for the surveillance of members of the press, the Committee to protect Journalists issued the following statement:

"Journalist Sam Sole's communications should never have been intercepted, but the South African Constitutional Court's ruling today, which confirms that laws permitting such actions are unconstitutional, is an important step toward creating a safe working environment for the press," said Angela Quintal, CPJ's Africa program coordinator. "The right to privacy is critical for press freedom to flourish, and court rulings against surveillance must be backed with the political will to prevent further abuses. Surveillance of journalists remains a grave concern across the region and around the world."

In 2019, South Africa's High Court ruled the "Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002" law unconstitutional, following a legal challenge by amaBhungane, a South Africa-based investigative journalism organization, and Sam Sole, an investigative journalist at that outlet, according to a copy of that judgment reviewed by CPJ and a report by amaBhungane. In that case, Sole showed evidence that authorities had intercepted his communications with a source while he was reporting on former South African President Jacob Zuma.

Today's judgment, following authorities' appeal of the 2019 decision to the Constitutional Court, said that the 2002 law "fails to provide adequate safeguards to protect the right to privacy, as buttressed by the rights of access to courts, freedom of expression and the media, and legal privilege," according to a summary of the decision on the Constitutional Court's website. The court, which is required to confirm rulings on constitutional matters, also said "the confidentiality of journalists' sources is protected by the rights to freedom of expression and the media."

Two digital rights groups--South Africa-based Right2Know and U.K.-based Privacy International--also submitted an amicus briefs in the case.
LET'S PLAY A GAME: This Monopoly board shows how gentrified Third Ward is

Tenants of Barbee Street Apartments, a 16-unit apartment complex at 2210 and 2216 Barbee Street, received a "Notice to Vacate" last Monday informing them they had until Feb. 10 to move out, as reported by Houston Chronicle's Anna Bauman. At that time, the new owner is set to begin renovations and will cut off all utilities.

Longtime residents are now struggling to find new and affordable housing on short notice and with few resources.

Youre in business to make money, I understand that  but its about how you treat people, said resident John McClenon, as reported by Bauman. At least try to be fair about it.

Rocket House Buyers owner Ehab Shoukry said he isn't to blame, as the current owner should have given residents more notice. He is now working with a local church to help residents find nearby affordable housing and has offered to give them financial assistance.

The property is in violation of multiple housing codes and must be fully renovated, according to Shoukry.

Concerns of gentrification and eviction out aren't new to Third Ward residents. A 2019 survey of more than 1,600 residents published by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy found that majority of residents were "extremely concerned" about a local loss of African American culture and nearly one-third were worried about being forced to relocate within the next year.

HIT HARD: Study shows Black, Hispanic students have been hit hardest by COVID school closures

Residents hoping to avoid the push say they have few options.

I dont see this as gentrificaton, said Shoukry, per Bauman. I see it as improving the property values, improving the look of the area, because a lot of these properties were buying are abandoned properties.

Frankie Johnson, a local resident now living with his sister after nearly a dozen years in the Third Ward, disagrees. He shared with Bauman that he "knew this would happen" after the brand new four-story LGBTQ affirming affordable housing complex and townhomes went up down the block.

Theyre trying to bring suburb people back in," Johnson told Bauman.

Bauman reported that the deadline for residents to vacate the Barbee Street property has since been extended to Feb. 25.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Some schools got an early jump on celebrating a snow day opting to cancel classes Friday, Feb. 5 due to inclement weather.

Washtenaw County was blanketed with snow late Thursday, with 2-4 inches of snow expected in Southeast Michigan.

Washtenaw County schools closed are:

Arbor Preparatory High School

East Arbor Charter Academy

Father Gabriel Richard High School

Fortis Academy (virtual learning only, no in-person classes)

Lincoln Consolidated Schools

Livingston Classical Academy

Manchester Community Schools

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School

South Arbor Charter Academy (virtual learning only, no in-person classes)

Washtenaw Christian Academy

Whitmore Lake Public Schools

Ypsilanti Community Schools: Food distribution and grab-n-go delivery bus service canceled. Distribution is rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 8.

Lenawee County schools closed are:

Addison Community Schools

Adrian Public Schools

Blissfield Community Schools

Britton Deerfield Schools

Clinton Community Schools

Hudson Area Schools

Madison School District

Morenci Area Schools

Onsted School District

Sand Creek Community Schools

Tecumseh Public Schools

Livingston County schools closed are:

Brighton Area Schools

Fowlerville Community Schools

Holy Spirit Catholic School

Howell Public School District

Light of the World Academy

Livingston Christian Schools

Livingston Educational Service Agency

Maple Tree Montessori Academy

Pathway School

READ MORE:

Ann Arbor and Detroit snow, wind and cold: Heres the scoop

What 10 other weather forecasters are saying about Michigans early-February snowstorm

Fridays travel conditions in Michigan to be worst weve seen all winter, NWS says
Another day, another Apple Car related rumor. This time, a Wall Street Journal report claims that Kia has approached a number of potential partners for manufacturing the Apple Car in Georgia which would involve a multibillion-dollar investment.

The report also states that Hyundai is in talks with Apple about investing more than $3 billion so that its subsidiary Kia would start building the Apple Car as soon as 2024. Initially, the agreement between the two companies would involve assembling 100,000 vehicles in the first year in Georgia.

While the deal between Hyundai and Apple is not yet finalized, both Hyundai and Kia are currently talking with potential partners and have been hearing encouraging things.

Another report from Japanese publication Nikkei claims that Apple is in talks with at least six carmakers over Apple Car. Analyst Tatsuo Yoshida from Bloomberg Intelligence believes that Japanese automakers like Toyota and Honda are too busy with the development of their own electric vehicle and autonomous driving technology that they are unlikely to partner with Apple. Nissan or Mitsibushi do have idle resources so they might sign a deal with Apple.

A lot has leaked about the Apple Car in recent weeks. A CNBC report detailed that the first Apple Car will be designed to not have a driver and that it will be a fully autonomous electric vehicle. The first version of the Apple Car will be based on Hyundais E-GMP platform that is currently rated to offer 310 miles of range and can charge from 0-80% in just 18 minutes.

One thing is clear for now though: the Apple Car is in the early stages of development and irrespective of which company Apple chooses to partner with, it is not going to see the light before 2024 at the earliest.

[Via Wall Street Journal
Michelle Steel sits at an Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting in Santa Ana, Calif., on Sept. 29, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Orange County Supervisor Candidates Reveal Their Platforms

Homelessness, public safety, and the economy are among the top priorities of five candidates running for a vacant seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors (BOS).

The opportunity to become the District 2 supervisor arose after Michelle Steel abandoned the post to join U.S. Congress last month. The district covers Costa Mesa, Cypress, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Stanton, Rossmoor, and portions of Buena Park and Fountain Valley.

A special election March 9 will determine who fills the seat from the following candidates:

Kevin Muldoon

Newport Beach Councilman Kevin Muldoons platform includes addressing Orange Countys homelessness crisis, and opposing a recent order to release more than 1,000 inmates from the county jail due to the ongoing pandemic.

The economy is also a top priority, he said in a statement.

I care deeply about Orange County and as your supervisor I will work to safely reopen businesses and rebuild our economy. I am optimistic about our future but it will require all of us to work together and support local businesses.

John Moorlach

Former Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach entered the race after losing his reelection campaign for a state senate seat.

He served in the senate for the past six years as the legislatures only member trained as a CPA, and previously sat on the BOS. Earlier in his career, he spent 12 years working as Orange Countys treasurer-tax collector.

We must protect the vulnerable while balancing the viability of our business community and its critical workforce, Moorlach said in a statement. Locking down the local economy reduces the tax revenues needed to run our county and its municipalities. All at a time when they are assisting those in their greatest time of need.

Michael Vo

Fountain Valley Mayor Michael Vo said in a statement that, if elected, he would serve the community in a variety of ways.

As your supervisor, I pledge to: Support and increase robust public safety efforts, aid and support our small businesses and local economy, champion fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, fully fund senior and veteran services programs, address the homelessness crisis, promote improving resources for mental health, provide COVID-19 testing and vaccination to all Orange County residents, [and] advocate for local control.

Katrina Foley

Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley previously served as a councilmember for the city, and is a former Newport-Mesa Unified School District trustee. Shes also an attorney and small business owner.

We need a leader on the Orange County Board of Supervisors who will focus on residents and businesses first, protect our neighborhoods and public spaces, address homelessness, keep our tax dollars secure, and our families safe, she said in a statement.

As your supervisor, I will: Protect public health through access to healthcare, including COVID-19 testing, vaccinations and treatment. Support businesses so they can create and retain jobs. Partner with cities to tackle the root causes of homelessness, provide transitional and permanent housing, and clean up our neighborhoods. Combat the climate crisis and enhance our beaches and open space. Sunshine the more than $7.5 billion budget for better transparency, accountability, and effective management of our tax dollars.

Janet Rappaport

Janet Rappaport is a tax attorney and Navy veteran. She has experience in tax, finance, and infrastructure projects.

I can review and dissect a budget, Rappaport said in a statement. Supervisors mainly manage the county budget. I am committed to conservative and effective management of your tax dollars.

If elected to the board, she said her first priority would be to address the pandemic and stabilize the economy. She said she will do this by prioritizing the vaccines availability to every resident.

I am committed to being the voice of civility and helping redirect our public discourse back to a path that leads to solutions rather than the complete breakdown we have experienced on all sides for years now, Rappaport said in a statement.

To stabilize our economy and community, the virus must be controlled. To accomplish this, Orange County needs strong relationships with State partners and others on key issues like funding. I am committed to developing relationships and consensus so that Orange County gets the funding it needs.
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], February 5 (ANI/NewsVoir): Samsung, India's biggest consumer electronics and smartphones brand partners with udChalo, a top Online Travel portal for Indian Defence Personnel, to launch an exciting Defence Purchase Program for the Indian Armed Forces Personnel.

This Program will be made available to all udChalo verified customers who will be redirected from the udChalo website to purchase the product from (https://www.samsung.com/in/microsite/defence-purchase-program/#:~:text=Welcome%20to%20Defence%20Purchase%20Program,the%20range%20of%20Samsung%20products) With the launch of this program, millions of Armed Forces Personnel in India can buy Samsung smartphones and appliances from the comfort of their home, while also availing of exciting offers and discounts.

"As India's largest consumer electronics company, we are constantly innovating to create new shopper journeys and consumer affordability programs to make Samsung.com the most exciting destination for consumers. Our new employee purchase program will excite millions of defence personnel looking to access the latest technology across product categories," Akash Saxena, Head B2B business, Samsung India, said.

"As a homegrown company, we take pride in truly understanding the pulse of the Armed Forces Community and working collaboratively with several brands to bring value products and services to our consumers. Our strategic partnership with Samsung Electronics reinforces our commitment to make life simpler for our soldiers by offering the latest products and technology to our Customers through our website and app platforms," said Varun Jain, Co-founder, Director and CEO, udChalo, speaking about the partnership with Samsung India.

Armed Forces Personnel using the Defence Purchase Program will get exclusive discounts and offers on Samsung Galaxy smartphones, tablets, wearables, TV and appliances. They will also get free insurance cover on selected products. All other consumer offers, including No Cost EMI, cashbacks and easy exchange, will be applicable on these transactions.

To avail the exciting Defence offers and discounts, all udChalo verified customers must log in to the udChalo website and will be re-directed to the Samsung portal for the selection and purchase of products.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For latest news on Samsung India, please visit Samsung India Newsroom at: ( https://news.samsung.com/in )For Hindi, log on to Samsung Newsroom Bharat at (https://news.samsung.com/bharat ) You can also follow us on Twitter: @SamsungNewsIN.

udChalo, a Brand of UpCurve Business Services Private Limited, registered under Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Govt of India and approved by IATA, is an Online Travel portal for Defence Personnel. The company was founded in 2012 by Army Institute of Technology graduates, Ravi Kumar and Varun Jain and cemented over the years with an aim to create a platform that helps the Indian Defence Personnel and their Dependents to travel with utmost ease and convenience.

udChalo operates in the areas of travel for Defence Personnel through the Website. App platform and 70 plus Offline ticket booking offices catering to more than 2.8 million serving Defence Personnel, Veterans and their Dependants. udChalo's booking offices are operated by Veterans/Veer Naris/Dependents from the Indian Armed Forces Community.

Besides offering the convenience of Air travel, the company has also introduced Hotels, Taxis, Buses, Trains and Tax filing as additional service offerings to its customers and is in the process of integrating more services into its portfolio. With a vision to make life simpler for our soldiers, the company stands true to its motto 'Service for Services'.

udChalo's, aim is to make life simpler by building unique, convenient, and cost-effective platforms for soldiers to access consumer products and services. The company has been awarded the 4th position at the Economic Times ET Rise, India's Fastest Growing MSME 2020.

udChalo travel services and tax filing are now available to everyone at affordable costs coupled with reliable customer service.

This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

DISCLAIMER

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Australian bakers are begging for a 'game-changing' product that can be used to make cheesecake in a fraction of the time it takes to boil an egg to be launched Down Under.

Philadelphia 'No Bake' cheesecake filling is a ready-to-eat mixture that can be used to make cheesecakes in under two minutes - but it's only available in the US.

The filling - which is designed to be spread over a pie crust or biscuit base and enjoyed immediately - is made from milk, cream and sugar, just like a homemade cheesecake.

The frenzy began when a woman posted a photo of the product in a Facebook cookery group, asking members if they had seen it sold anywhere in Australia.

Scroll down for video

Australian bakers are calling for Philadelphia 'No Bake' cheesecake filling (pictured) to be launched Down Under, as it is currently only available in the United States

'Does anyone know a shop in Aus which sells this please? Walmart has it and I'm super jealous,' she wrote.

The photo was quickly flooded with comments from stunned home cooks who couldn't believe they had never seen the filling in Australian supermarkets.

'Wait what - this exists? Amazing,' one woman replied.

'Woah! I need this sorcery in my life,' a second added, while a third wrote: 'Omg I don't know [where it is sold] but I need it.'

Another said she has only seen the product in the US, adding: 'They have such a huge variety of Philly there, wish I could have brought it back when I was over.'

One man suggested contacting Mondelez Australia (Foods) Ltd. who are the distributors of Philadelphia Down Under.

'Might be worth a call, good luck!' he added.

Some suggested mixing cream cheese with flavoured spreads like Nutella or Biscoff for a DIY solution until the product is brought to Australia.
What the Future of Work Will Look Like

Critical Role of Human Resources in 2021

The Future of Work is Now

2020 proved to be a year of rapid change and expansion when it came to the management of remote workers in the state and local government arena.While the key focus on cybersecurity and network safety will remain paramount in 2021, ongoing remote work will present opportunities for training, awareness building and collaboration.Much of the enhanced collaboration capabilities will come in the form of digitized solutions that will streamline teleworking and allow government employees to remain efficient and effective  from any location.Mandatory teleworking policy extensions will also most likely remain in place throughout 2021, which will present opportunities for agencies to further shift into a more dynamic future of remote work.In addition, with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations, most agencies will likely develop work policies that are best suited for their environments -- with the hybrid office/remote option being the most popular.And, employees want a hybrid work environment. According to a December 2020 Gensler survey of 10,000 office workers around the globe, more than half of the respondents prefer the flexibility of working from home, but still value their time in the office.Thankfully, many government employees already have a high comfort level for remote working, and the next 12 months will be about optimizing how agencies operate.The future of work for state and local agencies will take a page from 2020, but with even more expanded digitized solutions for creating a seamless government employee experience.Whether it's for the hiring and onboarding of employees, ongoing project collaboration or employee reviews, maximum productivity will come from using tools and platforms such as DocuSign, Slack and Zoom. HR will be the facilitator of this new hybrid horizon of digitally enhanced work.This will also require a complete revamping of HR policies around remote work -- from hiring to onboarding to acceptable user agreements, and even reconfiguring office layouts to determine who gets full-time desks and offices.Historically, government HR executives were known for managing compliance documents, moving applicant resumes along, and maintaining personnel files.In the future of work, HR will also serve as the guides for acquiring and maintaining the right employee engagement tools to developing usage policies around video conferencing to automating all processes and paperwork.In addition, government offices may require that their employees are vaccinated before they return to the office. With this in mind, HR will likely be the custodians of tracking and managing all of the employee vaccination records.In terms of innovations, the streamlining of communications through bulk email distribution, SMS, digital employee training, and self-service access to wellness resources will all come into the forefront.New HR automation processes will also make it easier for communicating with and managing remote workforces. Modern tools can automate steps in common HR workflows, minimizing the amount of human time needed and reducing room for human error.Integrating tools like DocuSign eSignature into existing HR systems will save staff time getting employee agreements sent and signed.This solution takes care of generating, sending, signing, and managing documents like offer letters and employee handbooks. DocuSigns PowerForms feature also further eliminates preparation time, enabling agencies to more easily turn around pre-built templates. It also provides an added layer of security, and the ability to protect Personally identifiable Information (PII), and offers the ability to verify a signers government ID for faster remote onboarding.In 2020, state and local agencies did a tremendous job of pivoting towards remote working and digital citizen engagement  in ways that will have a lasting impact on mission success.Moving forward, the next 12 months will be a time where HR will have the opportunity to shape an even-more digitized and streamlined work environment. This will also include leading office reopening efforts, potentially being the custodians of immunization records and helping employees to embrace a new hybrid work culture.Ultimately, we will see a more efficient and effective government where employees are truly empowered with innovation to work from any location.
A New York mans discovery of long-neglected objects in an attic has put a Berkshire heroine back in the news.

A story by CNN reporter David Williams tells of the discovery of an acclaimed photographic portrait of Susan B. Anthony, the image adopted more than a century ago as the voting rights advocates official portrait.

Adams to mark Susan B. Anthony's birthday with virtual celebration ADAMS  Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the town will celebrate Susan B. Anthonys birthday this month in a way the voting pioneer probab

The photo, taken by James Hale in 1905, was found covered in dust inside a building in Geneva, N.Y. Along with the photo of the town of Adams favorite daughter, the new owner of the building discovered glass-plate negatives, photos, frames and photography gear dating to the late 1800s.

Hale had given the Anthony photo to The Susan B. Anthony Memorial Association. A newspaper clipping about the image also is part of the collection of the Library of Congress.

The association sold copies of Anthonys portrait as a fundraiser. A promotional card, also in the Library of Congress collection, says of the photo: She is represented as seated, reading a book, the face in profile. The lights and shadows are exquisitely managed, and the whole effect is most pleasing.

The glass-plate negative for Anthonys portrait also was found, but not in one piece. According to the CNN story, Hale had a photography studio in the building.

Anthony died in 1906, at age 86  14 years before her lifes work of securing voting rights for women was realized with the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Last year, then-President Donald Trump offered Anthony a pardon, which her descendants and modern-day supporters said she would not have accepted.

Anthony had been arrested in Rochester, N.Y., in 1872 for voting in that years presidential election. Geneva, N.Y., sits at the top of Seneca Lake, less than 50 miles from Rochester.

Historians says Anthony had hoped to use her arrest as a springboard to put the suffrage question before the U.S. Supreme Court. Anthony lost that opportunity when her attorney paid a $100 fine on her behalf.
Another 27 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the new UK variant - genetic line B 1.1.7, were reported on Friday by the National Centre for Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Control within the National Institute of Public Health, informs the Ministry of Health.

According to the cited source, 17 cases are in Bucharest, two in the counties of Ilfov, Cluj, Valcea and one case in the counties of Timisoara, Caras-Severin, Galati, Mures.

AGERPRES
ANN ARBOR, MI  Restaurants were allowed to reopen their doors this week throughout Washtenaw County and the state to both the delight and cautious concerns of residents.

Heres that story and some other headlines you might have missed this week.

Ann Arbor restaurants welcome back customers for in-person dining

Ann Arbors restaurants welcomed back customers as the state returned to in-person dining at limited capacity across the state Monday, Feb. 1.

Dan Sutter, the general manager of Knights Steakhouse on Dexter Road, said customers were excited for the opportunity to return to in-person dining. The restaurant operated 16 tables in a heated outdoor tent through the indoor closure, but all of the customers who visited Monday opted to eat inside, pushing the lunch service towards their 50-person capacity under the new rules.

Those cute chalk characters you see all over Ann Arbor sidewalks, walls come from this artist

David Zinn could have opted for art pieces to keep for as long as he wished.

Instead, the artist uses chalk to create intricate, animated 3D cartoon-like designs on sidewalks and walls throughout Ann Arbor that make passersby stop, look twice and often smile.

The fact that rain washes away his art doesnt faze him.

Ann Arbor homeless shelter celebrates lives of two people killed by cars in same week

Jimmie Mack and Cyntoise Smith were more than just two faces at the Robert J. Delonis Center in downtown Ann Arbor.

They were joy manifest.

Mack and Smith were warm, joyful souls who shared their happiness with others before their tragically similar deaths on Jan. 18 and Jan. 22, said those gathering at a memorial service for them at the center on Monday, Feb. 1.

Were running out of time: Ann Arbor parents rally to advocate for option of in-person learning

Ann Arbor Public Schools students, parents and community members held a rally outside the downtown Ann Arbor post office Saturday afternoon with one clear message:

They want kids to have an option for in-person learning.

Some parents are speaking out against returning to in-person classes in Ann Arbor

Some parents are concerned the timing isnt right for in-person classes to return to Ann Arbor Public Schools.

While the district has mainly heard from parents expressing frustration with their children remaining in remote learning, a number of parents who spoke at the Jan. 27 Ann Arbor School Board meeting said theyd like the district to stay where it is.

District officials have said theyre targeting an early March return to in-person classes, although a specific date has not yet been set. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said shed like all Michigan districts to offer some type of in-person learning by March. 1.

University of Michigan being sued for FOIA violation, legal complaint states

The University of Michigan is being sued by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni over alleged violations of the Freedom of Information Act.

In December, ACTA filed a complaint in the Michigan Court of Claims on behalf of Lance J. Johnson, a UM Law School graduate who made a gift to the school in 2007. Johnson previously said the gift was for an annual legal seminar to study the feasibility of appointing independent legal counsel for children involved in custody disputes. But Johnson claims the law school only sporadically had the workshop.

Ann Arbor firefighters stop blaze from destroying 120-year-old home

A 120-year-old Ann Arbor home was saved from a fiery end thanks to the quick work of firefighters.

Fire crews were called at 4:19 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, to a structure fire in the 100 block of N. First Street where flames were reportedly seen coming from a two-story residence, according to the Ann Arbor Fire Department.

Crews arrived to find flames coming from the exterior of a 120-year-old home and quickly went to work extinguishing the blaze, officials said.

Briarwood Mall lot to be used as drive-thru COVID testing site

A drive-thru COVID-19 testing site will be established outside Briarwood Mall, according to a resolution passed by the Ann Arbor City Council.

The resolution for a special event designation at Briarwood Mall, 100 Briarwood Circle, from Feb. 20, 2021 through April 2021 for drive-thru COVID-19 testing passed unanimously at the Feb. 1 Ann Arbor City Council meeting.

131-year-old Ypsilanti brick water tower is worth celebrating, local brewer says

A downtown Ypsilanti brewery believes a 131-year-old community landmark thats often joked about should be celebrated.

At the intersection of Cross and Summit streets sits the Ypsilanti water tower, known to residents by many names, most of them based off its conspicuous design. In 2003, when Cabinet magazine hosted a contest to find the worlds most phallic building, the water tower took home the title.

Ann Arbor OKs largest greenbelt purchase in history, preserving 375-acre farm

Ann Arbor is adding a 375-acre cattle farm to its greenbelt, a ring of permanently protected farmland and natural areas surrounding the city.

Its the largest greenbelt purchase in the 17-year history of the city taxpayer-funded program, which has protected over 6,200 acres of land just outside the city.

City Council voted unanimously this week to OK the $3.6 million purchase of development rights through a conservation easement on the Hamilton family farm along Five Mile Road in Salem Township, northeast of Ann Arbor.

Expecting senior population boom, Ann Arbor officials OK new housing for older adults

A new senior living complex is slated to break ground in Ann Arbor in June, and city officials view it as much-needed housing for an aging population.

Over the next 20 years, the senior population in Washtenaw County is expected to double, said City Council Member Lisa Disch, D-1st Ward, noting she will be among that group.

Two years after text scandal, Ann Arbor finally hires new HR leader for city hall

Nearly two years after the city of Ann Arbors human resources director resigned amid a text scandal, the city has found a new HR leader.

Tom Guajardo took over as the citys HR and labor relations director Jan. 25.

One of the top positions in city hall, it comes with a $125,000 annual salary.

Chipotle to open restaurant on Ann Arbors west side

Chipotle Mexican Grill is opening a new restaurant in Ann Arbor.

Construction is taking place at 2295 W Stadium Blvd. for the fast-casual restaurant, known to make tacos, burritos and salads in front of customers.

Chipotle spokesman Tyler Benson in an email said the company is scheduled to open a location in Ann Arbor at some point in the first quarter of the year, confirming the Stadium Boulevard address. He did not confirm an exact opening date.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy was dealing with a batch of petitions and PILs filed on this matter since 2016.

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday gave a last opportunity to the state government to inform the court whether it will implement the 2010 government order, GO 44, which had reserved 25 per cent seats in private schools for students from below the poverty line (BPL) and downtrodden families.

The court noted that the GO was issued in adherence to the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 which prescribed such a mandatory quota for admissions to Class 1 and pre-school in private schools.

Most states including Telangana had not implemented the law, thereby depriving children from BPL families of access to quality education in the past over 10 years, it was noted.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy was dealing with a batch of petitions and PILs filed on this matter since 2016.

Government special counsel Sanjeev Kumar informed the court that GO 44 issued in July 2010 was suspended by the erstwhile High Court of undivided AP on a plea by Nalanda Education Society. After bifurcation of the High Court, the writ petition on the GO was transferred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Since then, no vacate petition as expected was filed by Telangana state before the AP High Court.

Further, counsel said, the full bench of the Telangana High Court did take a decision and stated that the state was not bound by the order passed by the united AP High Court, but such an order still needs to be examined.

After hearing the contentions of counsel Kumar, the CJ observed: This shows laxity on the part of the Telangana government. The state is doing nothing for the benefit of students from the weaker sections.

The court said that if the state government failed to inform the High Court of its stand on implementation of central law, it would issue a direction for the benefit of such affected students, to be effective from the next academic year.
The Bay Areas corporate catering scene collapsed during the early days of the pandemic as companies embraced remote work, but it didnt disappear.

With the region slowly reopening after the states latest stay-at-home order was loosened last month, family-owned restaurants, catering companies and local coffee companies that normally depend on sales to local offices for a large portion of their business are redefining what success looks like. The pre-pandemic large breakfast, lunch and dinner orders that once fueled local office meetings have been replaced by individual delivered meals and snacks as well as virtual cooking classes complete with grocery delivery for employee perks.

Binita Pradhan, owner of Binis Kitchen in San Franciscos South of Market district, said her catering operation used to revolve around the popularity of her hand-rolled Nepalese dumplings, or momos, filled with vegetables or lamb. But within a week of Marchs shelter-in-place orders, Pradhan said she lost about $80,000 in expected revenue, much of which was due to lost catering opportunities when offices closed.

Pradhan has been rebuilding her catering businesses over the last 11 months, which has included, for example, sending meals to groups of remote workers for the same company so they can have the catered dining experience while participating in virtual meetings.

Stephen Lam / Special to The Chronicle 2019

In this pursuit, Pradhan, for the first time in her career, is teaching her kitchen staff how to cook various American dishes alongside her popular Nepalese fare. That includes making cornbread, barbecue bone-in chicken, barbecue sauce, grits and jambalaya from scratch.

I havent changed my brand or anything, she said. But this American food is what the city and the workers who are at home more now really seem to want.

Pradhan said while her corporate catering revenue isnt near what it was before the pandemic, when it could have been tens of thousands of dollars a month, her menu tweaks have made her more popular among remote workers. And the catering opportunities are slowly starting to increase.

Stephen Lam / Special to The Chronicle 2019

Before the pandemic, the national corporate catering market was between $90 billion to $100 billion annually, according to Ali Sabeti, the CEO of ZeroCater in San Francisco, which provides catering to companies like Meraki, Datadog and Salesforce. Much of that revenue was concentrated in larger regions in the U.S., including the Bay Area, he added, though data on the local market size is harder to find.

Food as a perk for employees has long been a significant expenditure for companies. Yahoo reportedly spent around $150 million on food for employees in 2016, from packaged snacks to catered meals. In 2017, ZeroCater conducted a survey that showed startups in San Francisco were spending between $78,000 and $208,000 a year on snacks for a company of 100 people. Sabeti said due to the pandemic, those numbers remain down, but as the region moves more into reopening, he can see the catering scene starting to grow.

Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

Companies that had a cafeteria, or companies who had no food program  as their employees come back, food is becoming more and more important as an incentive, he said. In the post-COVID world ... what were seeing is less employees (in the office) but a higher adoption of food as a benefit by companies.

Lamont Perriman of Montperi Catering in Oakland said his business is adjusting on the fly to catering options requested by companies with a remote workforce, and hes finding some success.

Before the pandemic, Perriman said it wasnt unusual for him to book a catering gig with a local office that paid between $15,000 and $30,000 for an entire days worth of food. As these opportunities dwindled, Perriman said he is being approached by more companies that want him to host virtual events for their employees stuck at home, including cooking demonstrations and cocktail classes.

Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

It can be a complicated process. He often has to coordinate grocery deliveries to the homes of remote workers so they have the ingredients they need to participate in his demonstration.

A lot of the same money that they would spend on us coming for a catering event has shifted to us paying for delivery or using Instacart to get foods to their homes, he said. Its positive that a lot of these companies are still offering these kinds of catering events. People have been in their homes for a long time now and, honestly, its good for humans to see other humans, even if its online.

Equator Coffees revenue was cut in half by the pandemic with workers not coming in to the office because it was selling coffee to companies like Google, Twitter and Slack, according to Helen Russell, co-founder of the San Rafael coffee company. Now, with offices reopening, Russell said Equators wholesale business is close to 50% back to what it was before the pandemic.

Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

What has been a boon for Equator recently has been its connection with companies like food service provider Guckenheimer, which creates online marketplaces where remote workers can order their favorite catered foods, paid for by their employer. Through this, Equator will be sending packages of coffee and snack boxes to Twitch employees working from home, among other companies, Russell said.

What the pandemic has reinforced for Equator Coffees, Russell said, is the importance of the company being able to generate revenue through multiple avenues, including grocery deliveries. Recent success provided Russell and her team with a sense of hope for the companys future.

It might take us two years to get where we thought we would be back in 2019, but were still one of the lucky ones able to change so we can survive and grow, Russell said.

Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

The state of the catering industry in the Bay Area remains precarious for many businesses, but theres a prevailing sense of hope. Offices are reopening at limited capacities, and restrictions could continue to relax as the region addresses the spread of the coronavirus. Even though catering operations still have a long way to go before finding financial success similar to before the pandemic, Perriman said the future still remains intriguing.

For example, if companies have workers scattered across the country, they can host a cooking class for them virtually by one catering company.

Catering companies have the ability now to reach more people, Perriman said. Theres some opportunities there to create connections, and it could even help companies save a little money.

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
President Moon Jae-in speaks on the phone with U.S. President Joe Biden, Feb. 4, at Cheong Wa Dae. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae





By Do Je-hae







Now that President Moon Jae-in has spoken with U.S. President Joe Biden via telephone, the biggest question in Korea's diplomatic community is when the two leaders will meet each other in person.







Following the first talks between the two leaders Feb. 4, the presidential office said they had agreed to get together for a summit as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic was better under control.







But the White House readout on the phone conversation did not mention anything about a summit, although Cheong Wa Dae later explained that Biden expressed a wish to meet in person with Moon. "U.S. President Biden mentioned the importance of a face-to-face conversation," a presidential source said.







Korean leaders in the past visited the U.S. within about 50 days of the inauguration of a new U.S. leader. Therefore, speculation is rising that Seoul will try to arrange a Korea-U.S. summit as soon as possible, particularly given that President Moon's diplomatic priority for the remainder of his presidency will be resuming talks between the U.S. and North Korea to move his "peace process" on the Korean Peninsula forward.







The commitment to resuming U.S.-North Korea talks and improving inter-Korean ties was reaffirmed by foreign minister nominee Chung Eui-yong, who as Moon's first national security advisor oversaw Moon's summitry with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018, starting with the April 27 summit at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjeom.







"We will direct all diplomatic capacity toward establishing a real foundation for progress on North Korea's denuclearization through an early resumption of talks between the U.S. and North Korea, and will coordinate a strategy with the new U.S. administration," Chung said at the start of a nomination hearing at the National Assembly, Friday. "We will pursue exchanges between the two leaders and high-level officials at an early date in order to build trust and establish policy consensus."







One of the most pressing questions facing Moon's summit diplomacy is whom he will meet with first in person, Biden or China's Xi Jinping, in what is largely regarded as the final year of the South Korean leader's presidency. The first six months are particularly considered crucial, as the current administration will start to lose relevancy once the campaign season officially begins in the latter half of the year ahead of the presidential election in March 2022.







The order of precedence in Moon's exchanges with the U.S. and Chinese leaders has gained keen attention amid the Washington-Beijing strategic competition. Moon's Jan. 26 phone conversation with Xi raised eyebrows as it came before Moon had talked with the new U.S. president. Such a conversation, amid arrangements that were being undertaken for the first Moon-Biden phone talks, has triggered criticism from many diplomatic experts that it went against Korea's diplomatic tradition.







U.S. President Joe Biden, left, talked with President Moon Feb. 4 on Korea-U.S. alliance and global cooperation. Chinese President Xi Jinping underlined joint projects for the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations during his phone talks with Moon on Jan. 26. Yonhap





It will most likely be Biden that Moon meets first as prospects still remain unclear for Xi's reciprocal visit to Korea in the first half of the year, even though China has conducted an unusually active diplomatic outreach to Korea despite the pandemic with successive visits of two of China's most senior diplomats to Korea last year  Yang Jiechi, a member of China's Politburo and the most senior foreign policy adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping, and State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.







Unlike Seoul, the Chinese side did not mention anything about a forthcoming summit with Moon after the Moon-Xi phone talks.







"Seoul has continued to emphasize Xi's visit to Korea, but Beijing has been sending a signal that Seoul needs to take more pro-China steps. Beijing is unlikely to officially declare Xi's visit to Korea without them," Shin Beom-chul, director at the Center for Diplomacy and National Security at the Research Institute for Economy and Society in Seoul, told The Korea Times.







With Biden, a forthcoming event would enable him to meet Moon in person, although in a multilateral setting. Moon has been invited to the G7 summit in the U.K in June and there is likely to be a U.S.-Korea summit on the sidelines of the event.







Seoul is expected to go all out to arrange Moon's visit to Washington for a summit with Biden before then, given the urgency the South Korean leader has often expressed for his peace process since the beginning of the year.







U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken listens as U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks to State Department staff, Thursday, Feb. 4, in Washington. Biden did not mention North Korea during his first visit to the State Department since taking office. AP-Yonhap





Moon also wants progress on bilateral issues, such as OPCON transfer. "Moon could be expected to fully endorse the ongoing U.S.-Korean alliance while raising the topic of OPCON, that is, South Korean command of forces in the event of war, and the need not to upset the North with large-scale military exercises and intimidating fly-overs by U.S. bombers and surveillance planes. In that context, he and his aides might hope for such a visit to resolve ongoing problems between the U.S. and South Korea, including difficult protracted negotiations on South Korea's contribution to the cost of maintaining U.S. bases and forces in the country," Donald Kirk, a columnist and Korean Peninsula affairs, told The Korea Times.







However, concerns are rising that Washington is unlikely to be considering a Korea-U.S. summit any time soon as the Biden administration is undertaking a careful review of the North Korea policy of the previous administration. Biden did not mention North Korea during his first visit Feb. 4 to the State Department since taking office.







If an in-person meeting is not feasible due to the pandemic, there is the possibility that the first Moon-Biden summit could take place virtually. President Moon held a first online bilateral summit at Cheong Wa Dae with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, Jan. 28.


Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have flooded the #AOCLied hashtag with images of cats and dogs after the Congresswoman called on fans to report social media critics to Twitter and Facebook.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez has been in a war of words with Twitter users suggesting she exaggerated the degree of the danger she was in during the riots at the US Capitol.

Trending hashtags from the meme trolling included #AOClied and #AlexandriaOcasioSmollet, about the hate crime hoax of actor Jussie Smollett in 2019.

In response, fans bombarded the hashtags with an endless ream of pets.

The reclamation of hashtags came as Ms Ocasio-Cortez spent the week defending her recollection of events during the riot at the US Capitol building, which accelerated after she challenged the assertions of One America News Network's Jack Posobiec.

After GOP congresswoman Nancy Mace said that her office is two doors down from AOCs and that insurrectionists never stormed our hallway, Mr Posobiec has been a leading figure in the campaign to discredit the New York politician's account.

"This isnt a fact check at all. Your arrows arent accurate. They lie about where the mob stormed & place them further away than it was," Ms Ocasio-Cortez said to Mr Posobiec.

"You also fail to the convey *multiple* areas people were trying to storm. It wasnt 1. You also failed to show tunnels. Poor job all around."

Mr Posobiec continued the back and forth, sharing an email from her office purportedly calling for help to "combat this campaign of disinformation" by calling out Photoshopped tweets, fake news and misleading posts.

"Scan your social media to find posts with this misleading information, especially those using the trending hashtag," the email reproduction posted across Twitter reads, without explicitly calling out the specific hashtags.

"Identify any posts that are threatening or harassing and use the built-in report features to flag them for moderators. Facebook and Twitter both have built in tools for reporting posts and tweets that break the rules."

A spokeswoman for Ms Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to The Independent's request for comment. Twitter has also been approached for comment on whether they have taken any action on the hashtags.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A tragic case concluded on Thursday as the senior-citizen driver, who police said fatally struck an 89-year-old pedestrian in Meiers Corner two years ago and drove off, was sentenced to five years probation and fined $5,000.

Johnson Kims drivers license also was revoked stemming from the April 20, 2019 incident that claimed Anastasia Diazs life.

In October, Kim 76, pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to a felony charge of leaving the scene to resolve the case.

Police said the events unfolded at around 10:30 p.m. at the intersection of Bradley and Purdy avenues.

Kim, a Bulls Head resident, was behind the wheel of an older-model, two-tone Toyota Sienna minivan.

A preliminary investigation by the Highway Collision Investigation Squad determined that Diaz was crossing Bradley Avenue, from east to west, in the crosswalk, when the minivan struck her, said police.

The Sienna was traveling northbound on Bradley toward Victory Boulevard and continued in that direction without stopping after the impact, police said.

Diaz was coming home from an Easter vigil with her sisters at the time of the incident.

I was screaming a lot, Isabel Diaz, the victims sister, previously told the Advance. My [older sister] was on the floor. She was not screaming.

Diaz was in cardiac arrest by the time emergency crews responded, according to a written statement released by the NYPD.

Prosecutors said Diaz died due to her injuries.

Investigators with the NYPDs Highway Patrol located the Sienna by stitching together surveillance footage from multiple sources, said prosecutors.

A source said investigators used several cameras from the incident site to approximate where the driver ended up that night.

Kim was arrested on April 23, 2019.

At Kims Criminal Court arraignment, prosecutors said he took the minivan to a New Jersey body shop for repairs on the day after the crash.

Defense lawyer Gillian Kress said Kim had his vehicle fixed after noticing the next day that the side-view mirror was inexplicably damaged.

Kress said the defendant did not know he had hit anyone.

She said her client, who is an American citizen, had trouble communicating with police after his arrest because his first language is Korean. She added that an interpreter was not immediately provided to him.

Kress said Kim, who has been living on Staten Island with his wife since 1992, does not have a criminal record.

Kim was indicted on two felony counts of leaving an incident scene in which injuries were sustained.

He was also accused of a felony count of tampering with physical evidence.

This was a tragic accident, and we all feel incredibly remorseful for the family, Kress said after the sentencing. Mr. Kim feels particularly sorry and sees himself as a sinner that can only hope for redemption one day. Unfortunately, nothing can bring Ms. Diaz back.

The lawyer thanked the court for not compounding this tragedy with unjustly sentencing Kim to jail time.

Such a sentence likely would have resulted in his death, owing to his age and poor health, said Kress.

We believe in the mercy the court has shown as Mr. Kim has lived a law-abiding life for 76 years and will not reoffend, she said. We believe justice was served today. and we once again extend our deepest condolences to the family.
Horse racing loses and college students win in a move that Gov. Tom Wolf suggested in his budget.

The governor wants to shift $199 million from the Race Horse Development Trust Fund into financial aid for students at state universities.

Students who live in Pennsylvania for as many years as they receive assistance keep the grants. Otherwise, they repay the money.

Awards are based on income and offered to full-time students at Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg or any of 12 other universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Lisa Stetz said similar programs helped many teachers go through college before taking jobs in Hazleton Area School District, where she is a guidance counselor.

In my opinion, college students will jump on the opportunity to get a college education at a reduced rate, Stetz said in a text message.

Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters of Pennsylvania, said the proposal helps Pennsylvanians cope with rising college costs and student debt.

In a ranking of average student debt for college graduates in 2019, only two states residents owed more than Pennsylvanians, according to a report by lendedu.com.

We want nurses; we want teachers. We want people who are going to be qualified to work in in our communities so that we can have a strong economy. We need to do something about higher education, and this is a really good way of repurposing tax dollars that are spent wasted, Spicka said when commenting on the governors budget during a video a news conference on Wednesday.

A report by Education Voters in May 2020 said Pennsylvania gives average subsidies of $14,507 for race horses and $5,177 for students at state universities.

Each year, 10% of the states take from slot machines enters the race horse trust fund, which pays for purses at races, breeding programs and drug tests of horses.

The report said the fund received $240 million, or more than four times the combined bets placed at Pennsylvanias tracks.

But payments into the fund tumbled in 2020 when slot revenue plummeted by $1 billion as the pandemic cut casino attendance.

Pete Peterson of the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition said the trust fund supports 20,000 jobs.

They include jockeys, trainers, grooms and track workers, but also manufacturers of horse trailers, barn builders, veterinarians and feed mill hands.

Theres a synergy between racing, breeding and the agricultural industry, Peterson said.

He said racers wouldnt bother competing if the fund dries up.

It would effectively end horse racing in Pennsylvania, he said.

Peterson pointed out that Wolf signed a law in 2017 that created the trust fund, to prevent the money from being redirected.

If the state transferred money from the race horse fund to the college aid program, lawsuits might result. Lawmakers rejected the transfer when Wolf proposed it a year ago.

State Sen. John Yudichak, I-14, Swoyersville, said he wants to increase college funding but not at the expense of harness racing, including the local track, Mohegan Sun Pocono.

We shouldnt be shedding jobs. We shouldnt be shutting down state facilities, Yudichak said Wednesday when discussing the budget at a news conference. We certainly shouldnt be shutting down the horse racing industry in Pennsylvania that has brought millions upon millions of dollars in tax revenue to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
As Future Group Chairman Kishore Biyani fights a messy legal battle with the mighty Amazon, his flagship company, Future Retail, is struggling to survive. If the Big Bazaar or EasyDay store in your neighbourhood looks well stocked, it's not because the retail company has managed to pull itself out from the brink of bankruptcy, but because it's likely new owner, Reliance Retail, has been making sure that the stores have enough merchandise to generate footfalls and thereby sustain the business month-on-month.

Over 50 per cent of the food and grocery merchandise at the Future Retail stores are being supplied by JioMart, and the deal is an extended credit period. A large chunk of suppliers have snapped ties with the retailer as they have huge outstanding, which the retailer hasn't been able to settle. Its apparel business, FBB, which largely consists of private brands is slightly better off, as it is currently trying to get rid of the inventory it had accumulated during the COVID-19 lockdown.

"Since the food and grocery inventories are getting filled up, customers are visiting our stores to fill up their grocery basket, and in the bargain, they are also shopping for apparels," explains a Big Bazaar store manager.

ALSO READ: SEBI ban on Kishore Biyani, others won't sway Reliance deal, says Future Retail

Since the retailer has managed to get extended timelines from JioMart, it is using the cash being generated by the business to pay its employees' salaries, which have been drastically cut down. Ever since the retail major's debt crisis came out in the open last year, it had to shut down several stores and let go of employees. It has also been struggling to complete the full and final settlements of many of its former employees.

Just when Biyani thought he could finally pay off his creditors the whopping Rs 12,000 crore debt he had accumulated by signing a Rs 24,000 crore deal with Reliance Retail, Amazon accused Biyani of not giving them the first right of refusal to buy Future Retail.

In October 2019, Amazon bought a 49 per cent share in one of Future Group's promoter-held company, Future Coupons, for Rs 1,431 crore. This gave Amazon an indirect entry into Future Retail, as Future Coupons owns a 9.8 per cent share in Future Retail, that owns formats such as Big Bazaar and Easy Day. The additional benefit offered to Amazon was that after three years of signing the deal and within 10 years, Amazon will have the first right to get the promoter's share in the company (subject to FDI in Indian retail being permitted).

ALSO READ: SEBI bars Kishore Biyani from accessing securities market for 1 year

There was a separate agreement signed between Future Coupons and Future Retail. Under this agreement, since Future Coupons had a 9.8 per cent stake in the latter, the promoters of Future Retail can't sell their own shares to any third party except for Amazon. Reliance was also part of the third party list, along with 15-16 other companies. The agreement also said that in case of a disagreement between Future Coupons and Amazon, then the case will go for arbitration to the Singapore Interational Arbitration Court (SIAC).

By end of December 2019, when the Future Group companies' shares were in the region of Rs 500-600 per share, Biyani had pledged them in order to take loans from financial institutions. The trouble began in March 2020, when the shares tumbled down to below Rs 100 and more and more shares went to the lenders, as value of collateral dipped. COVID made things worse as all the stores were shut and were not generating revenue.

This is when, claim company insiders, Biyani approached Amazon to get its financial institutions to take over their loans and thereby safeguard the 9.8 per cent stake of Future Coupons in the retail arm.

ALSO READ: Future Group shares plunge as SEBI bans CEO Kishore Biyani from securities market

"When Amazon didn't give us any solution, that was the time we started talking to other potential buyers, including Reliance. On August 29, we announced the deal with Reliance Retail. Since we had a deal with Future Coupons, we took a NOC from Future Coupons, and they gave it to us. During this time there were enough meetings that happened between Amazon and Future Group and Amazon agreed. Amazon was part of all discussions and they knew what was happening," says a company insider.

Amazon sent a notice to Future in early September accusing the latter of breaching contract. They went to the emergency arbitrator in Singapore and got an interim award which said that the deal had to be put off. Thereafter both Amazon and Future have been making rounds of various courts in India and have had their share of highs and lows.

Future is currently contesting a recent Delhi High Court ruling that had ordered the company to halt the sale of its retail assets to Reliance Industries. The deal has already got a nod from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Competition Commission Of India (CCI).

On the other hand, Biyani has been banned by SEBI from accessing the securities market for a year on charges of insider trading between March and April 2017.

ALSO READ: Delhi HC orders status quo on Future Group-Reliance deal
Charged: Lyubov Sobol, a Russian opposition activist, is seen in the back of a prison car in Moscow yesterday. Photo: Pavel Golovkin/AP

The Kremlin has strongly rebuffed Western criticism and described the thousands of arrests at protests against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny as a necessary response to the unsanctioned rallies.

Many of the people arrested spent long hours on police buses and were held in overcrowded jail cells. Asked about the treatment of detainees, Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman said they had to bear responsibility for joining the unauthorised protests.

The situation wasnt provoked by law enforcement. It was provoked by participants in unsanctioned actions, Mr Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a call with reporters.

Massive protests erupted after Mr Navalny, (44), an anti-corruption campaigner who is Mr Putins most determined political foe, was arrested on January 17 upon returning from his five-month convalescence in Germany from a nerve agent poisoning, which he has blamed on the Kremlin.

Russian authorities deny any involvement and claim they have no proof that he was poisoned, despite tests by several European labs.

On Tuesday, a Moscow court ordered Mr Navalny to prison for two years and eight months, finding that he violated the terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany. The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Mr Navalny has rejected as fabricated and the European Court of Human Rights has ruled unlawful.

His imprisonment generated international outrage and triggered new protests in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Read More

Mr Navalny has another court hearing scheduled for Friday in Moscow on separate charges of slandering a World War II veteran. He has rejected the case as the Kremlin enacting political revenge.

Following Mr Navalnys arrest, authorities also moved swiftly to silence and isolate his allies. Last week, a Moscow court put his brother, Oleg, top associate Lyubov Sobol, and several other key allies under house arrest  without access to the internet  for two months as part of a criminal probe into alleged violations of coronavirus restrictions during protests.

Ms Sobol was charged yesterday with inciting the violation of sanitary regulations by organising protests. She was also fined for resisting police while waiting for Mr Navalny to arrive in Moscow from Germany last month.

Protests about Mr Navalnys arrest and jailing have spread across Russias 11 time zones over the past two weekends, drawing tens of thousands in the largest show of discontent with Mr Putins rule in years.

In a no-holds-barred response to the protest, police arrested over 10,000 protest participants across Russia and beat scores, according to arrest-monitoring group OVD-Info. Many detainees spent hours on police buses after detention facilities in Moscow and St Petersburg quickly ran out of space, and later were packed into jail cells.

Some of the arrested individuals said their cells lacked beds and they had to sleep on the floor, while others complained there werent enough beds and inmates took turns to get a nap.

One detainee, Almir Shamasov, who spent 10 days at a detention facility in Sakharovo, outside Moscow, said he spent 20 hours in a police van that either was flooded with fumes or shivering cold when the engine was cut off.

Mr Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, shrugged off questions about detainees waiting on police buses and being squeezed into cramped cells by saying they had themselves to blame.

The number of detainees is larger than detention facilities can handle. Its larger than what could be quickly processed, and that, unfortunately, causes such consequences, he said.

He added that Russia wont listen to Western criticism of Mr Navalnys sentencing and the police action against protesters.

press release

London  n 31 December 2020, Ghana and the UK announced that they had reached a consensus on the main elements of a trade agreement that would replicate the effects of the trade relationship between Ghana and the UK prior to the end of the Transition Period following the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union. They stated their intention to finalise the text of the agreement to reflect progress made in relation to rules of origin, cumulation arrangements, time-bound commitments, provisions for development cooperation and commitments to human rights and good governance.

Today Ghana and the UK are pleased to announce that they have finalised negotiations on a new Interim Ghana-UK Trade Partnership Agreement. This Agreement will provide for duty free and quota free access for Ghana to the UK market and preferential tariff reductions for UK exporters to the Ghanaian market.

The Agreement will enter into effect following the completion of relevant internal procedures required in both Ghana and the UK.

The new Agreement reaffirms the deep interest of both Ghana and the UK to strengthen their longstanding trade and economic relationship. The Agreement also reflects the importance of integration between the West African States within the context of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and amongst African States within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area. The Agreement further underscores their shared ambition to enhance relations between the UK, ECOWAS and African States more broadly.

SOURCE UK Department for International Trade
The Sweetwater Regional Cancer Center received a grant from the Wyoming Breast Cancer Initiative for the fourth year in a row to host its annual Paint the Town Pink and Ladies Night Out Initiative  a community education and awareness event scheduled for October 2021.

The grant award has been named in honor of Sweetwater County resident Patricia Tricia Angelovich for serving as the Pink Ribbon Runs Pink Flamingo Flock Boss and for her contributions in supporting the Wyoming Breast Cancer Initiative.

The purpose of the grant-funded event is to spread awareness of breast health ed...
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on February 4 shared the eye-catching colourful imagery of Morocco's anti-atlas mountains that illustrated the combination of rocks of various textures and mesmeric designs in an aerial shot. Anti-Atlas Mountains in Morocco formed due to the collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates about 80 million years ago, according to NASA.

Taking to its official Instagram handle, the space agency wrote: "Lets take a colorful trip about 440miles (708km) above Earths surface via an orbiting satellite, shall we?" astounding the viewers with a photo depicting a splash of colours. It further explained that in the image, one can see southwest Moroccos gorgeous Anti-Atlas Mountains, formed as a result of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates colliding about 80 million years ago.

According to NASA, the collision had led to the formation of the Tethys Ocean, a former tropical body of saltwater which separated the supercontinent of Laurasia in the north from Gondwana in the South during the Mesozoic Era. In a release, NASA explains that nearly 251 to 65.5 million years ago, several colourful rocks ranging from limestone, sandstone, claystone, and gypsum layers congregated to form an ocean bed that piled up into the famous Anti-Atlas.

Read: NASA Inquires About 'meteorite' In Australia, It Turns Out To Be 'interesting' Project

Read: NASA Shares Stunning 'pulsar SXP 1062' Imagery Embedded In Supernova Remnant

Illustrates 'complex folding'

In this image of southwest Morocco, visible, near-infrared and short-wavelength infrared bands are combined to dramatically highlight the different rock types, and illustrate the complex folding, NASA said. Terra got its name from the Latin word for Earth and was the first satellite to form the Earth Observing System (EOS) when it launched in 1999, it added. The photograph was originally captured in November 2007 by NASAs ASTER instrument on the Terra satellite launched in December 1999. Highlighting the different layers of rock and sediment, the images tie-dye appearance to the oceanic mountain ranges awestruck the viewers. We apologize in advance if your ears popped on the way there, NASA said on a lighter note.

Read: Elon Musk Reveals Ambitious Plans To Get Humans To Mars Seven Years Ahead Of NASA

Read: NASA Says Asteroid Bigger Than Eiffel Tower Will Pass Earth; All You Need To Know

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
| By Jen Badie

Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and most inhumane.

Anthony K. Wutoh, PhD 96, BSP 90, RPh, addresses the University of Maryland, Baltimores Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month celebration. Wutoh is Howard Universitys provost and chief academic officer and a University of Maryland School of Pharmacy alumnus.

White America needs to understand that it is poisoned to its soul by racism.

Amid a global pandemic and a reckoning on racial injustice, those words from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could just as easily have been spoken now rather than over 50 years ago, Anthony K. Wutoh, PhD 96, BSP 90, RPh, said in addressing the University of Maryland, Baltimores (UMB) Dr. King and Black History Month celebration.

Wutoh, Howard Universitys provost and chief academic officer, illustrated his point while discussing COVID-19s impact on communities of color, which he called alarming because of the disproportionate number of deaths they have suffered. He added that communities of color also were least prepared for the widespread effects of the pandemic, such as lockdowns and virtual schooling.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the impact of the various societal and racial disparities in health care, economic status, housing, and access to resources that Dr. King spoke against, protested, was jailed for, and ultimately was assassinated addressing, Wutoh said during his keynote address, given via taped videoconference Feb. 4.

He said that Dr. Kings speech in which he discussed inequality of health and human rights rings just as true in 2021 as in 1966.

In addressing systemic racism in the United States, Wutoh talked about the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020 at the hands of police officers and the widespread protests that resulted.

This spark, which finally seemed to awaken the sleeping conscience of white America, was reminiscent of the videos of dogs being unleashed on peaceful protesters during the civil rights era, police brandishing and using clubs and other weapons on men, women, and children asking to be treated equally under the law, and fire hoses and other instruments of violence thrusting innocent people against the walls and into the ground, helpless to defend themselves, he said.

It seemed that as we were managing through one global pandemic, the reckoning of systemic racism forced Americans to ask what kind of country it is that we live in if this is the way that other Americans are being mistreated, abused, and killed while we silently ignore their plight.

He quoted Dr. Kings address to social scientists in 1967: The policymakers of white society have caused the darkness. They create discrimination. They structured slums, and they perpetuate unemployment, ignorance, and poverty.

One could read the text of the speech and almost forget that this was not written in 2020, he said.

Parallels to Ghana Hit Home

Wutoh drew parallels between the double pandemics of today and Dr. Kings visit to Ghana during its independence ceremonies in 1957. Wutoh, who emigrated with his family from Ghana to Marylands Eastern Shore when he was a child, said Dr. Kings visit showed his global impact.

Dr. Kings voyage was symbolic of a growing international alliance of oppressed people and his goal to broaden the scope of the civil rights efforts beyond the American South, Wutoh said. Dr. King certainly identified with the struggles of the newly independent Ghanaians and noted a significant parallel between the resistance against colonialism and the struggles to overcome racism in the United States.

Wutoh said that Dr. King cried for joy as he saw the jubilation of hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians.

The reflections of Dr. King highlight what we are increasingly aware of today. We live in a dramatically more interdependent world where the impacts on the lives of people in one corner of the world have an indirect  or even sometimes a direct effect  on the lives of people a world away, he said.

Wutoh was introduced by UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, who said he

has been inspired by and felt a connection to the speakers the University has hosted at the Dr. King event over the years.

They have given me a chance to listen and to learn about the issues to make sure I am more informed and able to take better actions, he said. There is so much work yet to be done. Our celebration of Dr. King serves as our call to action  a challenge to get to work.

The event, which was sponsored by UMBs Diversity Advisory Council, kicked off with Bowie State University Gospel Choir member Shayla Herron singing Lift Every Voice and Sing, often called the Black national anthem.

Jarrell later congratulated the Universitys Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Recognition Award winners:

Outstanding Faculty: Sandra M. Quezada, MD, MS, associate professor, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the schools associate dean for admissions and assistant dean for faculty diversity and inclusion

Sandra M. Quezada, MD, MS, associate professor, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the schools associate dean for admissions and assistant dean for faculty diversity and inclusion Outstanding Staff: Mishawn Smith, MPA, executive administrative assistant, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, University of Maryland School of Nursing

Mishawn Smith, MPA, executive administrative assistant, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, University of Maryland School of Nursing Outstanding Student: Eseosa Fernandes, MD, MPH, University of Maryland Graduate School

Eseosa Fernandes, MD, MPH, University of Maryland Graduate School Outstanding Student: Student National Dental Association, University of Maryland School of Dentistry

The program also highlighted the winners of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contest. The first-place winners recited their works: Shayla Monroe, Southwest Baltimore Charter School, middle school essay; Kamri Moses, Western High School, high school essay; and Shakeer Franklin, Bard High School, high school creative.

The event concluded with a reading of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis essay, Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation, by Russell A. McClain, JD, professor, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

Inspiration from the Next Generation

Participants could also tour a virtual lobby of research posters by UMB CURE Scholars. Presentations included Hypersegregated Neighborhoods in Baltimore: Roland Park by Ayishat Yussuf; Breast Cancer in African American Women by Jaliyah Smith; and Forensic Fingerprinting by Zoe Fisher.

After the event, Wutoh joined the CURE Scholars via Zoom for a question-and-answer session. He told the scholars he was impressed with their research posters and thrilled to see so many young, Black students interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

The scholars had many questions for Wutoh about his career, his education, and his values. They also asked if he had ever experienced racism and how he dealt with it.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where people are not as respectful to Black individuals and people of color, he said. This country is getting better at dealing with racism and making sure that people are treated fairly and with respect, but we still have a way to go; however, I feel very encouraged by your generation because you have the confidence and capabilities to speak up for whats right.

In his keynote address, Wutoh also emphasized that while the country has come a long way, it still has much work to do. He called on UMB to further Dr. Kings vision.

UMB uniquely holds the intellectual capital to help research, advise, and implement the change necessary to move our society forward, he said. We also bear the responsibility of educating the next generation of leaders in a manner that equips them to value diversity, not only in race and ethnicity, but also diversity of thought, diversity of experience, and diversity of culture in a way that will not only honor Dr. Kings legacy, but also improve the conditions of Americans and the global community going forward.

UMB senior media relations specialist Jena Frick contributed to this article.
Frustrated sheep farmers have told how they dont want to be 'shooting people's dogs', but that unleashed animals have become a serious problem since the pandemic.

Pat O Se, chair of the Hill Committee of Kerry IFA, told Newstalk Breakfast that the problem has increased with people 'going out and buying new pets and dogs and bringing then on to the hills'.

He added that not only are dogs causing sheep deaths, there are also "many multiples of that where sheep are injured - they're coming in with broken legs, broken hips and an awful lot of abortions on the hill".

"We need to get dogs off the hills - the only dog that should be on a hill is a dog by a farmer, or somebody representing a farmer, for the sole purpose of herding livestock".

"It's something we have been very concerned about in IFA over a long period of time, he added.

"We are not anti-dog by any means or anti-pets - we are saying keep them off of the hills at the moment".

He added that the only legislation open to farmers currently is that they "are legally entitled to shoot dogs that are worrying their sheep.

"And that's the last we want to be doing, is going out on the hill shooting people's dogs".

He is calling on Minister Charlie McConalogue to bring in legislation which would see owners fined up to 5,000 for dogs found on the hill, even if they are on a leash.

One Kerry farmer, John Joe Mac Gearailt, described how several of his sheep just walked off a cliff after two people left their black Labrador off the leash.

"The dog seen the sheep, gave chase and six of the sheep jumped off the cliff, he said.

"It was a very bad experience last July: there was this guy down from Dublin, he'd a Dublin accent, and inside the middle of my sheep [he] left his dog off.

"I made a roar at him, we exchanged unpleasantries I suppose and I just lost the plot".

He said he then headed down the hill to "get at him with a stick, but thank God the man ran".

"As farmers we have decided we're going to lock these gates until this gets sorted now, because somebody will end up getting hurt on the mountains.

"And there's no need for that type of carry on.
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TUCSON, Ariz.  An inmate at the state prison in Tucson has died from an apparent suicide, according to authorities.

Arizona Department of Corrections officials said 48-year-old Brandy Brents died Wednesday from an apparent act of self-harm by hanging.

Prison staff reported discovering Brents unresponsive in his cell.

Efforts to revive him failed and Brents was pronounced dead.

Corrections officials said Brents was sentenced out of Navajo County in 2015 for multiple aggravated assault charges.

They said all inmate deaths are investigated in consultation with the county medical examiners office.

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(Newser)  More than 60 ice fishermen were rescued in Wisconsin Thursday just before a major storm hit the area. The Coast Guard says helicopters and other rescue assets were called in after the anglers became stranded on floes in Lake Michigan near Sturgeon Bay, NBC reports. "The ice had broken free from land, and high winds associated with the approaching winter storm system quickly pushed the floe farther away from shore," US Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City said in a Facebook post. Rescuers said the ice broke about half a mile offshore and a 1,000-foot gap soon opened up. The Coast Guard says all 66 anglers were rescued from three ice floes within four hours, with no injuries.

story continues below

Rescuer Dale Stroschein tells WBAY that he has been fishing in the area for more than 30 years and has never seen a similar incident. "In my years of being on this ice, Ive seen it open north, south, but Ive not seen it where you got a split going to the west in that north-south region," he says. "And there must be a super strong current today. Ive never seen that." The Coast Guard issued a reminder: "No ice is 'safe' ice. Always ensure you check the weather before heading out, use the buddy system, and wear your lifejacket." CNN reports that the winter weather also led to a 40-car pileup in Iowa. State troopers say whiteout conditions caused the pileup on Interstate 80 west of Newton. Several drivers were injured, some of them seriously. (Read more ice fishing stories.)
Trump is innocent!

A Temporary Cadet called D. J. W. Trump, of the Auxiliary Division of the R.I.C., was in the news in the Echo on Saturday, February 5, 1921.

His initials may even have been the same as the latter-day U.S President  but our man appears to have had trumped-up charges against him when he appeared before a Field General Court Martial

Trump was found not guilty and released after being accused of robbing Mrs Margaret Burns, of Newcastle West, of 2 10s.

However, Constables Holmes and Hartley, of Ballinhassig R.I.C. Barracks, were found guilty of obtaining whiskey, stout and cigarettes by improperly evading payment and of assaulting two soldiers of the Essex Regiment at Kinsale. They were sentenced to six months with hard labour.

That days Echo also reported that the down mail on the Kerry branch of the GS&WR was held up the day before at Banteer by masked armed men. All letters for Millstreet and Rathmore were taken but parcel post remained untouched.

An unknown man was shot dead in Dundrum, Dublin yesterday morning. His body was discovered in a field near a public house known as The Lamp. He had been dead for some hours and his underclothes were stated to be of a military pattern.

Four armed men held up a bread van belonging to a Belfast firm in the vicinity of Armagh. The van, the bread and the harness were burned and two shots were fired over the head of the driver.

Meanwhile, a 56-year old woman from Armaghbreague, near Keady, Co. Armagh, was attacked by unknown men, had her hair cut off and her face tarred.

Kitty OShea dead

Londons Evening Standard reported that Katharine Parnell (formerly OShea), widow of the late, great Irish leader, C.S. Parnell, died early this morning.

Shooting in Youghal

Alfred Kidney, only son of William Kidney, of Nile Street (later ORahilly Street), was fired at and wounded seriously, if not fatally.

The shooting occurred last night at 8pm on North Main Street, Youghal, opposite Mrs Flynns shop. It was dark and very wild at the time with very few people on the streets.

Alfred was found in pain in a pool of blood on the flagway and brought into Miss Fitzgeralds house. Police and a military lorry were quickly on the scene. So too doctors Twomey and Murphy and Fr Roche.

Alfred was wounded in the abdomen and behind the ear. The incident is shrouded in mystery but some months ago an attempt to kidnap the young man was foiled by the arrival of neighbours. (The shots proved fatal. Alfred was 28 and a locksmith by trade).

Martial Law debate

Todays Echo dealt at length with scholarly arguments concerning martial law. As far back as the early 17th century, Edward Coke wrote that proclamations of martial law are illegal and that to put a man to death by martial law is akin to murder. The Kings assent to the Petition of Right in 1628 has since been exploited by giving martial law the false nature and authority of a statute.

This presented a grave constitutional issue and has now enabled new offences to be created under martial law in Ireland.

No less a figure than Herbert Asquith (leader of the opposition Liberal Party) points out that misstatements at ministerial level have made it impossible for even parliament to know fully what is happening in Ireland. Constitutional safeguards are more necessary than ever.

Night Boat to Cairo

Appearing at the Police Court, before Resident Magistrates Kilbride and Callan, was Michael Lynch, of 29, Corporation Buildings. He was charged by Sergeant Curran with maliciously breaking two panes of glass at the house of Kate Sheehan residing at No.13. She stated that the accused called her an informer. The defendant said it wasnt he who broke the panes. Mrs Sheehan said she saw him do it. The defendant was an ex-soldier lately returned from Egypt and was not conducting himself too well since his return to the city. He was fined 5s. plus costs and ordered to pay 15s. compensation.

Serious Power Outage

The citys tramway dispute has led to serious complaints from those in charge of Corks hospitals.

Owing to the absence of electric power, great difficulties were being experienced in connection with running the operating theatres and use of x-ray apparatus. Hospital lifts could only be used with the greatest difficulty.
Embattled fashion chain French Connection has received two separate takeover approaches from potential suitors, it told investors this morning.

The retailer revealed that it had been approached regarding a takeover by retail investor Spotlight Brands, with backing from restructuring and investment group Gordon Brothers.

It has also received another potential proposal from brand investment platform Go Global Retail.

Takeover? French Connection has received two separate takeover approaches from potential suitors, it told investors this morning

After its share price jumped on Thursday, in a stock market statement today, French Connection said: 'Discussions with both Spotlight and Go Global remain at a very early stage.

'Accordingly, there can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made.'

Each of the two potentially interested parties have until 5pm on 5 March to 'put up or shut up' and confirm whether or not they wish to make a formal offer for French Connection.

The group's share price is up over 36 per cent or 5.75p to 21.4p this morning.

French Connection has been struggling with dwindling footfall, sales and profits for a number of years and has been battling to keep up with online-based rivals like Asos and Boohoo.

Star connection: Amanda Holden out and about in London last January wearing French Connection

The retailer has had to shut shops at various points for lockdowns since the coronavirus outbreak.

In October, French Connection revealed it had sunk to an underlying loss of 12.2million in the six months, against a 3.6million loss by the same point the year before.

The retailer's total revenue sunk by over 53 per cent to 23.9million over the period as a result of the pandemic.

'The financial performance in the period is considerably worse than last year given the situation', French Connection said in October.

In an update on 11 December, French Connection said it expected 'considerable challenges' to remain across its operations.

In the early stages of the second half of last year, the group fared reasonably well, but footfall started to drop off again in September, with problems 'compounded' in November by further shutdowns. The update was posted before the latest national lockdown, which has forced the retailer to shut all its high-street stores once again.

But, in a glimmer of good news, French Connection said its online sales had performed well over the last few months, even though fewer promotional offers were on available for shoppers.

The group said it wholesale arm continued to perform strongly, with Spring 2021 orders, at that point, ahead of expectations.

In October, the retailer outlined how it applied the furlough scheme to its staff.

It said: 'From 24 March 2020, we asked all store and concession staff to accept the 'furloughing' of their employment at a reduced level of pay so that we could sign up to the UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and implemented similar measures in our retail operations around the world.

Closed: French Connection currently has all its UK stores closed as a result of lockdown

Keeping up: French Connection has faced an uphill struggle keeping up with rivals

'In addition, from 7 April 2020, we asked those head office staff, both in the UK and globally, who had a significant reduction in their regular work load either due to the nature of their role, or because they were unable to perform their role effectively remotely to accept the 'furloughing' of their employment and a reduced level of pay.'

Chief executive Steven Marks said the pandemic had been the most challenging period the firm, which he founded in the 1970s, had ever faced.

French Connection's biggest shareholder is boss Mr Marks, with a 42 per cent stake, while Frasers Group, led by retail tycoon Mike Ashley, holds a 24.93 per cent stake.

Today's update comes a year after French Connection scrapped plans to find a buyer following a search, and said it planned to focus on completing a major turnaround.

French Connection distributes its clothes through its own stores in the UK, US and Canada and through franchise and wholesale arrangements around the world.

The company became notorious for the use of the 'fcuk' initialism in its advertising campaigns in the early 2000s, but has since struggled to keep up with its rivals.

Joe Morris, a partner at law firm Gowling WLG, said: 'The intense interest in French Connection is a welcome and well-founded disruption to the market. While they don't enjoy the popularity that they had twenty years ago, there is still an opportunity to revive the brand's fortunes through an injection of innovative, supply chain led thinking.

'While it is too early to speculative on the plans of any eventual buyer, there is still a definitive customer following for the brand that can still be capitalised and built on.'
Jaipur, Feb 5 : Decks have been cleared to allow the mining of a special sandstone, much sought after by builders, including those constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya, from Bharatpur's Bandh Baretha sanctuary.

However, officials, environmentalists and public representatives of the area are shocked at the lightning pace with which the decision has been taken.

Last Friday, a standing committee of the Rajasthan Wildlife Board cleared a proposal to allow the mining of a special sandstone. The proposal to denotify Bharatpur's Bandh Baretha wildlife sanctuary for pink sandstone mining will now be put up before the Rajasthan Wildlife Board headed by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, said Chief Wildlife Warden Mohan Meena.

After the matter is taken up by the state wildlife board for consideration, it will be sent for the approval by the National Wildlife Board.

The standing committee of the Rajasthan wildlife board, it needs to be mentioned here, is headed by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Last Friday, it was decided to shift Bharatpur's Bandh Baretha wildlife sanctuary "southwestward" to exclude three forest blocks which have been "damaged irreparably" by rampant mining.

This loss of 7 sq km will be compensated with the addition of 198 sq km of territorial forest to the sanctuary.

This boundary reorganisation shall allow smooth mining of the pink Bansi Paharpur sandstone which has been named after the area. This unique stone is in high demand for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Although thousands of tonnes of the pink sandstone mined in Bharatpur's Bansi Paharpur have been sourced for the temple for the last many years, much more is needed, said officials.

Senior IAS officer Neeraj K Pawan, former Bharatpur district collector, told IANS, "This is a very quick development. Such decisions take years. However, if it has been done, it should be praised for its speed.

"Yes mining was rampant in this sanctuary and there have been many serious fights too. So this will resolve such infighting issues too within villages, besides serving the need of builders," he added.

Meanwhile, renowned environmentalist Harsh Vardhan told IANS, "It is too obvious that the state government has sided with the needs of a particular variety of stone as needed by a temple which is under construction. Obviously, instead of serving ecological needs, either commercial or religious bias has played an overriding reason." Harsh Vardhan further said: "Welcome to note that 198 sq km of territorial forest additional land has been provided as compensation which is fair enough. The decision makers of Rajasthan are now requested to take up some conservation methods at Baretha which will enhance ecological worth of state a priority." The Bandh Baretha dam was commissioned by the former rulers of Bharatpur to create an eco-system to save Bharatpur from recurring floods. There has been a proposal to seek 'flowing water' from Baretha to meet the recurring needs of Keoladeo National Park which survives on flowing water. During the annual monsoon season, it kickstarts its aquatic ecology.

Vardhan says that Band Baratha sanctuary supplies drinking water to Bharatpur and hence water retention is of great significance here. "Instead of tapping its water for use in this park, the state government has paid heed to a demand for several years, outstanding, for stones," he added.

Vishvendra Singh, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Deeg-Kumher Constituency in Bharatpur, meanwhile, expressed ignorance of any such issue and said he will study the developments before commenting on them.



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Wisconsin Governor Issues New Mask Mandate Right After State Legislature Repeals Previous Order

MADISON, Wis.Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued a new statewide mask order on Thursday, an hour after the Republican-controlled Legislature voted to repeal his previous mandate saying he didnt have authority to make such a decree.

Evers and the Legislature have been at odds throughout the pandemic but the latest moves created an unprecedented level of whiplash. Republican lawmakers last year persuaded the state Supreme Court to scrap Evers stay-at-home order and a state appeals court halted the limits he placed on indoor gatherings.

As the Legislature moved to repeal the order, many cities and counties rushed to enact or extend local mask ordinances. Milwaukee and Dane County, where Madison is located, are among those with orders in place.

The Democratic governor said in a video message that his priority is keeping people safe and that wearing a mask is the most basic way to do that.

If the Legislature keeps playing politics and we dont keep wearing masks, were going to see more preventable deaths, and its going to take even longer to get our state and our economy back on track, Evers said.

Republican state Sen. Steve Nass, who led the push to repeal the order, accused Evers of being a lawless governor. Nass said he was drafting another resolution to repeal the new order and was considering asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take emergency action.

The Supreme Court could end the legislative back and forth with a ruling in a pending case that says Evers must secure lawmakers approval every 60 days. The court could also say he doesnt need approval, thus forcing the Legislature to repeal every order Evers issues if it wants to stop him.

The attorney who argued in the case to undo Evers order, Rick Esenberg, said it is now incumbent upon the courts to rein in this abuse of power.

Republicans say the issue isnt about masks, but whether Evers can legally issue multiple emergency health orders during the pandemic. The Legislature argues he cant, and must secure their approval every 60 days. Evers contends the changing nature of the pandemic allowed him to issue multiple orders and mask mandates.

I know you want to make it about masks. Its not, said Republican Majority Leader Jim Steineke. Its about the rule of law.

Wisconsin Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, left, talks with Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, during the first 2021-22 legislative session in the Assembly Chambers at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Jan. 4, 2021. (Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File)

The Assembly voted 52-42 to repeal the mandate, with seven Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition.

The vote came a week after the Senate voted to kill the mandate. Republicans, who control both chambers, argued that Evers exceeded his authority by repeatedly extending the mask mandate without legislative approval. The repeal hadnt even taken effect before Evers issued a new one.

The coronavirus has ebbed in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the U.S., but health experts have warned of a continuing danger, including the emergence of new and more contagious variants. All of Wisconsins neighboring states have some form of mask mandate, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.

Masked voters line up in Wisconsins primary election in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

Prior to Thursdays vote, Assembly Republicans sent Evers a letter saying they would support a more limited mask mandate that applies to places susceptible to transmission of the virus. Republicans said that includes health care facilities, nursing homes, mass transit, state government buildings, assisted living facilities, public schools, universities and prisons.

The Assembly also passed a bill that contains a provision designed to ensure the state doesnt lose about $50 million a month that pays for food stamp benefits for roughly 243,000 low-income people in the state. Federal law requires there to be an emergency health order in place to receive the money. The Senate planned to meet Friday to approve the bill, sending it to Evers.

Evers has not said whether he will sign the bill.

By Scott Bauer
By Ritah Kemigisa

Government has failed to account for 31 cases out of the 44 alleged kidnap cases they have received.

In his statement before parliament about the alleged kidnappings in the country, the internal affairs minister Gen Jeje Odongo says investigations are currently ongoing to trace the 31 people majority of whom are from Kyotera district and Kyebando in Nansana.

He however says they have managed to handle 13 cases and admits that the majority were not kidnapped as alleged but rather were arrested lawfully while some have been charged and released on bail.

These he says include; Muyanja Sulaiman, Ssebaduka Ali Bogere, Twaibu Ddumba, and Babirye Rita among seven who are currently on bail

He adds that four others including Lumu Ronald, Kabaale Benard, Mugarura Ronald and Shafik were not kidnapped but were arrested.

He meanwhile says a one Rogers Galiwango allegedly kidnapped from Kyebando with 10 others resurfaced after 3 days while Fred Kiwananuka is yet to make a statement before police after he was allegedly abandoned in Busunju.
Albany, N.Y.  New York will open Covid-19 vaccinations to people with underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to the illness on Feb. 15.

Generally, New York will follow existing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on what specific conditions make individuals eligible for the vaccine, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today during a press conference in Albany. The state is working with the CDC to clarify a few matters before shots start later this month.

Underlying conditions are a major risk factor for death from Covid. A total of 94% of people who have died from the disease had some type of underlying condition that made them more vulnerable, Cuomo said.

New York originally said it would open vaccinations for people with underlying conditions at the same time shots started for people age 65 and up. That was several weeks ago, but eligibility for those with conditions never began.

The problem was that the population of people with underlying conditions is large and supply of the vaccine remains limited, Cuomo has said.

Supply is still tight, but the state is now planning to shift most of the shots it has been reserving for hospital workers to local health departments. The departments will use the new doses for people with underlying conditions, Cuomo said.

Hospitals have had eight weeks to vaccinate their staffs and the statewide percentage of workers who have received shots is up to 75%, Cuomo said. Herd immunity to the virus kicks in when 70% to 90% of a population has been vaccinated.

Hospitals will have one more week to get to their last workers. Facilities will continue to get shots they need for existing appointments and for second doses.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

In Syracuses deadliest nursing home, an overwhelmed staff could not put out the Covid fire

No Covid-19 vaccine yet for Onondaga County waiters, Uber drivers. Heres why

Whos getting Covid vaccines in Onondaga County, broken down by race and age

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598

There have been a further 1,047 Covid-19 cases and 35 more deaths in the Republic of Ireland, the Department of Health confirmed today.

This brings the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,621 and the total number of Covid-19 related deaths to 201,763.

Of the 35 deaths confirmed today, 29 occurred in February and six in January.

The median age of those who died is 84 years and the age range is 63-96 years.

Read More

Of the cases notified today, 505 are men and 540 are women while 58pc are under 45 years of age, with a median age of 38 years old.

There are 292 cases reported in Dublin, 119 in Cork, 76 in Wexford, 60 in Limerick, 47 in Kildare and the remaining 453 cases are spread across all other counties.

As of 2pm today, 1,221 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 181 are in ICU. There were 51 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said many different individual actions are needed to slow down the spread of the disease.

He added: Every action you take is another layer of protection between you and the virus - the more layers you have the more protection you have.

Public health measures are based on this principle. Keep physical distance from others, wash hands regularly, avoid crowds, wear face coverings and vaccines all provide you with layers of defence against Covid-19.

This comes as the more infectious UK variant of Covid-19 now accounts for two-thirds of cases, amid little hope of any significant easing of restrictions early next month.

Professor Philip Nolan of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) indicated this lockdown needs to drive down cases to very low levels.

When asked what might happen on March 5,he said there would still be a very high level of disease and it will be necessary to ensure cases continue to fall.

He added that the next few weeks will be difficult, and as we bring the daily case levels below 1,000 a day, our progress will seem to slow down.

It is now more important than ever that we continue our efforts to bring case numbers down towards the very low levels we achieved in June and July, he said.

It is very good news that our estimates of the R number are well below one  in the region of 0.5 to 0.8.

I noted last week that the testing of close contacts will impact on case numbers in the coming days.

We shouldnt be disappointed by this, it shows that we have moved from the mitigation phase of the last few weeks, back to the containment phase where we are tracking down every possible chain of transmission.


Bank of America searched through customer transactions to target people who may have been involved in the Capitol riot and handed information over to federal authorities, according to a new report.

At the request of federal investigators, the bank identified 211 customers who fit the profile after making purchases in the D.C. area or spending money on flights or accommodation in the days around the violent riot, Fox News' Tucker Carlson claimed on Thursday.

Carlson reported that one person identified by their transactions was taken in for questioning but was found to have no links to the event, as he accused the bank of spying on its customers and sharing their private information without their knowledge.

He also accused the bank of treating its customers 'like a member of Al Qaeda' for handing over the information.

Carlson later accused the left of 'creating extremists like they did in Iraq' as he hit out at federal attempts to identify domestic terrorists from the Capitol riot, stating that it was 'dramatically elevating the chance that something really awful is going to happen'.

Scroll down for video

Fox News' Tucker Carlson claimed on Thursday that Bank of America had handed over customer information to federal agents following the Capitol riot on January 6

Bank of America says by law it can not comments on dealings with law enforcement

In the opening of his Thursday's night show Carlson spoke at length about the Bank of America report, after criticizing the federal investigation on their 'hunt for political extremists'.

'At one level that does not sound bad. Because no sane person is for political extremism, especially violent extremism,' he said, but argued they 'have to be more precise' in the search.

'Here's the remarkable thing about this public conversation we're having. No one is doing that. Have you noticed? None of these newly energized and highly empowered extremist hunters have told us exactly what an extremist is,' he continued.

Carlson then revealed the new claims about Bank of America's actions in which he alleged that the second largest bank in America, which has more than 60 million customers, is 'actively but secretly engaged in the hunt for extremists in cooperation with the government'.

'Bank of America is, without the knowledge or the consent of its customers, sharing private information with federal law enforcement agencies,' Carlson claimed.

'Bank of America effectively is acting as an intelligence agency. But they are not telling you about it.'

He reported that the bank had gone through the records of Americans 'who had committed no crime', searching for customers who fit certain criteria.

These included people who had made debit card or credit card purchases in Washington, D.C. between January 5 and January 6, and those who had made purchases for hotels and AirBnb reservations in Washington, Virginia, or Maryland after January 6.

He reported that the bank had gone through the records of Americans 'who had committed no crime', searching for customers who fit certain criteria, as listed above

The criteria also included those who made accommodation reservations

And people who had made weapons or airline purchases, as pictured

Other criteria, he claimed, included people who had made weapons purchases or purchases at a weapons-related merchant between January 7 and their upcoming suspected stay in the DC or an airline-related purchase since January 6.

The Fox Host blasted the profile as 'remarkably broad' and claimed that it cast an 'absurdly wide net'.

'Any overnight stay anywhere in the three state area. That's spans hundreds of miles,' he fumed.

'And then any airline related purchases. Not just flights to Washington, flights to anywhere, to Omaha, to Thailand.'

He also blasted the bank for then handing over the information on the 221 people identified 'without notifying the customers who were being spied upon'.

He claimed that federal investigators interviewed one of these people who 'hadn't done anything wrong and in the end was cleared'.

It is not known on what grounds the person was allegedly interviewed and if it was linked to terrorism charges.

Bank of America has said it is required by federal law to comply to requests

Carlson blasted the bank as treating its customers like 'a member of Al Qaeda'

There is no federal law that explicitly charges crimes as domestic terrorism, but prosecutors have successfully used other statutes to cover conduct that might reasonably be seen as terrorism, including at the Capitol.

'Imagine if you were that person?' Carlson fumed.

'The FBI hauls you in for questioning in a terror investigation. Not because you have done anything suspicious. You haven't. You bought plane tickets and visited your country's capitol. You thought you could do that. You thought it was your country.

'Now they are sweating you because your bank, which you trust with your most private information, information of everything you buy has ratted you out to the fed without telling you without your knowledge.

'Because Bank of America did that, you are being treated like a member of Al Qaeda. What country is this?'

'That actually happened to someone. It's hard to believe it, but it did.'

Carlson then claimed that Bank of America confirmed it actually happened 'by not denying it'.

'We don't comment on our communications with law enforcement,' the bank said in a statement to Fox.

'All banks, it continues, have responsibilities under federal law to cooperate with law enforcement in full compliance with the law.'

Federal agents were allegedly hunting for those involved in the January 6 Capitol riot

The allegedly questioned one person identified by the bank who was innocent of any crime

Carlson blasted the statement alleging that Bank of America had a choice and claimed that its actions could be challenged in court.

'Bank of America did have a choice. The bank could have resisted turning over information on its innocent customers to federal investigators. But Bank of America did not do that.

DailyMail.com also contacted Bank of America and a representative said that it could not, by law, comment in the claims or its potential dealings with law enforcement, pointing to the same statement offered to Fox News.

Banks are required by law to cooperate with law enforcement investigations or else face criminal and civil penalties.

There are also specific laws that prohibit banks from divulging information about those dealings with law enforcement.

They include the Bank Secrecy Act that requires financial institutions in the US to assist U.S. government agencies in detecting and preventing money laundering.

Capital One Financial Corp was last month fined $390 million for engaging in what the U.S. government called willful and negligent violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

It is not known at what other points Bank of America, or other U.S. banks, may have been asked to hand over information on customers.

Later in the show, Carlson again targeted federal authorities definition of 'domestic terrorism' as he accused them of not explaining what it is.

'We're starting to believe they are not defining it for a reason,' he claimed.

He compared the events of January 6 to 9/11 and said that the pro-Trump mob 'wasn't terrorism, it was a riot'

'So I wonder that's the pretext upon which they are justifying 9/11 level surveillance suspension of civil liberties effectively martial law in the Capitol? It's that?' the host asked.

He spoke to conservative commentator Saagar Enjet who stated: 'I'm deeply troubled by the people who ruined Iraq and Afghanistan now trying to bring their methods to the United States.'

'They are creating extremists like they did in Iraq,' Carlson agreed.

'Making it a dead certainty that somebody is going to be driven into total lunacy and do something terrible. I mean, they are making people crazy. And dramatically elevating the chance that something really awful is going to happen. I'm upset about it.'

Following the riot, Bank of America had already stated that it would 'review [its] decision making criteria' when it comes to making political donations.
President George Manneh Weah is expected this Friday, 5 February to formally light up the streets of Monrovia and its environs, according to the Executive Mansion.

A press release issued says President Weah is expected to turn on the switch at Vai Town, Bushrod Island to light up the Johnson Street to Freeport corridor.

Simultaneously, Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee and Senator Saah Joseph will turn on switches at the Broad & Buchanan Streets and Congo Town respectively. The switch at Congo Town will light up the Paynesville Boulevard to Monrovia City Hall corridor, while that of Broad & Buchanan Streets will light up Capitol Bypass to the Crown Hill.

The Executive Mansion says "Presidential Street Light Project" was initiated by Mr. Weah not only for the beautification of Monrovia, but to also provide security for drivers, pedestrians, and other residents of the city. The President has promised that the initiative will be extended to other nearby streets.

The project, funded entirely by the Government of Liberia, is being implemented by the Ministry of Public Works with technical support from the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) and Quality Group of Companies serving as Contractor, the release says.

The ceremony will commence at 6:00pm. In a related development, President Weah has issued an Executive Order that exempts the LEC from customs duty, GST on generation, transmission and distribution equipment, material and fuel.

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According to the Executive Mansion, this is consistent with his commitment and passion to accelerate the spread of electricity across the country.

Executive Order 104, which was issued on 3 February, seeks to reactivate Executive Order #9 which has since expired at the time the Government of Liberia is creating every avenue to expand its use of hydroelectric power generated at the Mount Coffee facility to deliver affordable electricity to customers.

President Weah says the Executive Order is in the interest of national reconstruction and development.

He maintains that the Executive Order is imperative because the LEC, during its transition from the use of fossil fuels to hydropower to generate electricity, faces external market forces and risks that increase the costs of operations of the entity.

President Weah continues that there is still a need to minimize the cost of fuel to enable the LEC to provide electricity to the general public at a reasonable cost.

He explains that some of the costs which are associated with the purchase, delivery, storage, and use of fossil fuels, particularly Heavy Fuel Oils (HFO), represent a significant expense to LEC, which slow investments in the transition to the wider use of hydroelectric power in Liberia.

President Weah also intimates that it is necessary for the LEC to achieve what he calls "higher levels of operational and financial efficiencies" to enable it to distribute electricity at affordable rates to customers.

Customs Duties and GST on petroleum products are LEC cost categories that have the potential for volatility that adversely impacts the monthly expenses of the Corporation.
She enlisted the help of her husband Patrick Kielty earlier this week to assist dying her hair amid the UK's current lockdown.

And TV presenter Cat Deeley showed off her newly-dyed locks as she arrived to BBC's Wogan House in London on Friday.

The 44-year-old broadcaster looked effortlessly chic in a knee-length cream cardigan with fringe detailing ahead of her stint covering Steve Wright's Radio 2 show.

Style savvy: TV presenter Cat Deeley showed off her newly-dyed locks as she arrived to BBC 's Wogan House in London on Friday

The Birmingham beauty teamed her statement cardi with a pair of leather skinny jeans and a biscuit-coloured turtleneck.

Cat paired the look with leather buckle boots, a large tote bag and trendy shades as she held her black face mask in her hands.

The glamorous star worked her locks into a loose wavy style and sported a glowing beauty look for the afternoon.

On Sunday the TV presenter shared a hilarious video to her Instagram story, joking that 'Fernando', aka her husband Patrick Keilty, 50, was about to open his salon.

All smiles: The 44-year-old broadcaster looked effortlessly chic in a knee-length cream cardigan with fringe detailing ahead of her stint covering Steve Wright's Radio 2 show

Hell for leather: The Birmingham beauty teamed her statement cardi with a pair of leather skinny jeans and a biscuit-coloured turtleneck

Cat resorted to using a home kit to dye her hair with salons closed for potentially months longer under current lockdown rules.

The mother-of-two captured their amateur set-up, with Patrick wearing a protective white apron and gloves as he prepared to apply the colour to his wife's hair.

Cat swung the camera around to reveal the mix of hair dye, saying: 'We're listening to Michael Ball and that is about to go on my head.'

She filmed the video with a pink love heart filter and asked her husband, who also celebrated his 50th birthday on Sunday, if this was how he expected to spend his birthday.

Patrick turned to the camera, joking: 'I mean, it's probably the greatest birthday I've ever had - especially with that filter.'

Welcome to the salon! Cat resorted to using a home kit to dye her hair on Sunday with salons closed for potentially months longer under current lockdown rule

Cat and television host Patrick have been married since 2012 and are parents to sons Milo, four, and James, two.

The pair had been friends for years before their friendship turned to romance thanks to Patrick's major gesture, after first striking up a bond while co-hosting Fame Academy back in 2002.

The mother-of-two recently shared a clip of her homeschooling with son Milo and she said she was 'losing her mind' while stuck indoors.

Birmingham-born Cat and her family recently moved back to the UK after living happily in Los Angeles for over 14 years.

Home salon: The TV presenter shared a hilarious video to her Instagram story, joking that 'Fernando', aka Patrick, 50, was about to open his salon

They put their Beverly Hills mansion on the market for $4.9 million (3.8 million), in August 2020, and are now living in north London.

Cat recently revealed the 'catalyst' for the family's departure was the terrifying moment Patrick and their eldest son narrowly avoided a public shooting incident at the Century City Mall.

Speaking on the Made By Mammas podcast in December, she said: 'It was always kind of in our minds that we would, at some stage or another you know, come back.

'The main factor was friends and family because we will never get this time back again.
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Navalny, surrounded by guards, being placed in a glass box in court - Babushkinsky District Court /TASS via Getty Images

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was back in court on Friday facing defamation charges, just days after he was jailed for three years on separate charges sparking international condemnation.

Prosecutors say Mr Navalny slandered a Second World War veteran who took part in a pro-Kremlin video last year.

The 44-year-old activist pleaded not guilty to the charges, which he and supporters claim have been fabricated to undermine his public support.

The trial began as EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell met with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Mr Borrell said he would send a clear message to Russia over Navalnys jailing, though the Kremlin has already brushed off criticism of the conviction.

Mr Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow could explain but not discuss the decision, while the Russian foreign ministry accused Western leaders of focusing on the case to distract from troubles at home.

A Russian court on Tuesday converted Mr Navalnys suspended sentence over a 2014 fraud conviction, which he says was politically motivated, into a real jail term.

Navalny looking shocked from the glass defendee box - Babushkinsky District Court/TASS via Getty Images

The opposition leaders arrest last month on his return to Russia, after recovering in Germany from a near-fatal nerve-agent poisoning, sparked nationwide protests that have seen thousands arrested.

If convicted on the slander charge he faces a fine or community service. Defamation is now a jailable offense in Russia but Mr Navalnys lawyer argued he could not face a prison term because the alleged crime was committed before the law was changed.

I understand very well why this case has been brought, why it was fabricated, Mr Navalny told the court.

The whole thing was invented by PR people and [state media] journalists... everyone knows that investigations are fabricated, the prosecutors are shameless and the court is corrupt.

Mr Navalny called the veteran and others the shame of the country on social media, over their support for constitutional changes that allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until at least 2036.
Three new piles of limestone rocks sit at the bottom of Galveston Bay, dropped there in December as an experiment in helping hard-hit oysters. The coastal area was once a top Texas oyster producer. Then came drought  and Hurricanes Ike and Harvey.

A state agency and two environmental groups are carrying out this latest attempt to support the bivalves. Officials this week banned harvesting over a 40-acre site to let the oysters grow. After 21 months, one rock pile will remain protected. The other two will be harvested.

If all goes as hoped, the protected population will repopulate the fished ones, creating a sustainable model for how to harvest. The idea could be replicated throughout the bay and others to support an animal  and industry  that experts say is threatened globally by over-harvesting, storms and disease.

Gulf oysters comprise the worlds largest native harvested population, said Jennifer Pollack, chair for coastal conservation and restoration at Texas A&Ms Harte Research Institute. Texas and Louisiana are top producers. More than 5 million pounds of eastern oysters, worth $33.5 million, were harvested in Texas in 2019.

Still, the amount of Texas oysters collected is trending down. And while Galveston Bay historically played a big role in the business, storms and drought have accelerated the decline of its population. Researchers and advocates recreated reefs, but so many oysters there now are so young that Texas recently banned public harvesting in the bay altogether.

The oysters world is also only getting trickier to live in: Climate change is expected to make more frequent the intense storms that can decrease the bays salinity with rain, making oysters seal up, or bury the oysters in sediment with a surge.

The newest project is a joint effort of the state, The Nature Conservancy and the Galveston Bay Foundation. It highlights a shift toward thinking broadly about the bay, instead of reef by reef, organizers say. It comes amid growing public interest in where seafood comes from  and how its harvested.

These are very valuable, iconic things about our coast, Pollack said. So if its going down, we need to think about these different strategies for managing it. Its not just business as usual anymore.

A lot of sense

Bill Rodney, a coastal ecologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is among those waiting to see if baby oysters waft over to the new rocks and glom on.

Rodney has devoted much of his career to helping this creature, struck by how oyster reefs provide homes for lots of marine life. The reefs are basically oyster shell piles on which oysters grow. Those shells, its habitat, are removed when theyre fished. Storms can also bury them in sediment. To address this, Parks and Wildlife puts material such as limestone in the bay to build reefs back, and it requires fishermen to return  or pay to replace  some of the shell they collect.

But thats just one approach. The Galveston Bay Foundation, unlike the state, often rebuilds reefs too close to shore to be harvested. Their strategy stems from how much work goes into it. Shannon Batte spends three days a week driving to restaurants to collect shells from oysters that people have eaten, discarded in blue bins with stray lemons, forks and Tabasco packets.

Batte on Wednesday drove 14 bins to a clearing on a wooded lot in Pasadena, shoving them off a trailer with gloved hands and spilling their stinky contents on the ground. A piece of oyster wound up on her shoe. Wildlife will eat the leftovers and the sun will kill anything unwanted before staff pick out the trash and return the shells to the bay.

The new reef rebuild model is something neither has tried, a hybrid of allowing fishing and protecting. It tests the idea that oyster populations arent necessarily on the same reef but connected through currents, as larvae fertilized in the water float around to find a home.

Rodney was following the restoration literature, and, he said, it just seemed like it made a lot of sense.

Ian Terry / For the Chronicle

Common goal

When a chance arose to apply for funding after BPs 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill  which shut down Louisiana oyster fishing and increased demand in Texas  Rodney worked on a proposal. Someone at The Nature Conservancy had a similar idea. (They have a like project going near Rockport in Copano Bay.)

Both groups, with the foundation, received $2.3 million in grant funds to test it where Trinity and Galveston bays connect.

All recognized the once-thriving spot needed a boost. In 2008, Hurricane Ike suffocated a significant chunk of oysters with sediment. Drought also made the bays salty. Disease spread, as did snails that make holes in oyster shells and eat the gooey animals.

Next came heavy rains, which triggered massive spring floods in 2015 and 2016 and devastated the region during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The bays became less salty. Oysters sealed up and stopped filtering water for food and oxygen. Oystermen all the while kept fishing as allowed.

Luckily, oysters tend to bounce back, said Haille Leija, habitat restoration manager with the Galveston Bay Foundation. Those helping to run two big oyster businesses on the bay  Prestige Oysters in San Leon and Jeris Seafood in Smith Point  agreed the population now seems improved.

Its like anything else, said Tracy Woody, Jeris president, you have to manage your harvest.

Woody thinks this sort of project might help. So does Raz Halili, who learned about oysters from his parents. Now vice president of Prestige, he didnt see the states project as the savior or single miracle for the industry, but part of a needed broad effort toward a single goal: having a healthy ecosystem.

emily.foxhall@chron.com
Srinagar:

Authorities on Saturday clamped curfew in three towns and imposed severe restrictions in the rest of Kashmir to foil a plan by separatists to hold a rally to mark the first anniversary of the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani.

Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed in strength across Kashmir and Internet services snapped to maintain law and order, officials said.

Normal life came to a standstill in the Valley due to a strike call, given by the separatists and the curfew-like restrictions imposed by the authorities.

Curfew was imposed in Tral, Wanis hometown in Pulwama district, as a precautionary measure, a senior police official said.

The joint separatist camp, including Hurriyat Conference factions led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and the Yasin Malik-led JKLF, has asked the people to march to Tral, about 36 kms from here, to pay tribute to Wani, who was killed in an encounter with security forces on this day last year.

The official said curfew had also been imposed in Shopian town of South Kashmir and Trehgam in North Kashmirs Kupwara district. Elsewhere in the valley, restrictions on the movement of people are being strictly enforced, he added.

TRENDING NOW: Sikkim standoff | India will suffer worse losses than 1962 if it incites border clash: State-run Chinese media

In view of the prevailing situation in the Valley, the Amarnath pilgrimage has been suspended from the Bhagwati Nagar base?camp in Jammu till further orders.

The yatra, however, continued from Pahalgam and Baltal base camps in Kashmir. From Jammu, the pilgrims reach Pahalgam or Baltal base camp, before proceeding to the cave shrine.

All university examinations scheduled for Saturday have been postponed. Schools were closed earlier in the week.

Shops and business establishments remained closed while vehicles remained off the roads, the official said, adding that the situation was peaceful so far.

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Storytime MURDER IN THE CASSAVA PATCH

The Phebe Hospital Massacre-September 1994

The Bulk Challenge Story

Three Seeds

The African Passover

Two Hateful Brothers

The Baboon and the Boy ILUNAFRIQ Storytelling Platform for Creatives of African Descent TLC Africa True Stories From Africa... The Bulk Challenge Story The towns pregnant; it will soon deliver, the people joked predicting another battle in the city. They could hear the drum roll of war but the warlords, who ruled Liberia, denied and promised there will be no combat in Monrovia, the capital city. These people had uncanny predictive abilities after being burned many times when the powder keg exploded for no reason during six years of war. They could not be fooled. Read full story... The Phebe Hospital Massacre-September 1994 It seemed well rehearsed and choreographed. Two ladies, on meeting, suddenly transformed and pretended to be lame and crippled; they jerked, trembled and struggled for balance and finally hugged, and an eruption of laughter started that seemed interminable. Read full story... True Pem Pem - Dead Man Story In December 2007, a poor Liberian family had the problem of moving a dead body from Harbel to Cotton Tree. With little resources, the family decided that the cheapest way was to transport the body by pem pem (motor bike). The family identify a pem pem driver who agreed to transport the body for LD 3,000 ($50.00). The pem pem driver pulled up in the yard. The family sat the dead man up on the back of the pem pem. They lean him forward on the pem pem driver's back, and put a black plastic bag over the dead man's face. They ask the pem pem driver if he was okay? He said yes and took off speeding down the highway. The breeze was strong and after about a couple of miles the plastic bag flew off the dead man's face. It was at that moment the pem pem driver looked in his rear view mirror and saw the dead man looking at him with his tounge sticking out. He panic, lost contol of the bike and ran it right into the gutter shouting, "my people, your come for me o, the dead man want catch me, your help me o, he will will catch me...." True Liberian Ghost Story This story happened a while ago in Monrovia , and even though it sounds like a tale, it's true. John Forkpa, a University of Liberia student, was on the side of the road hitch hiking on a very dark October night and in the midst of a storm with thunder and lighting. The night was rolling on and no car went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly he saw a car slowly coming towards him and stopped. John, desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got in the car and closed the door, just to realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't on! The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road and saw a curve approaching.

Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before he hit the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the wheel.

John, paralyzed with terror, watched how the hand appeared every time they came to a curve.

John saw the lights of a shop down the road so, gathering strength, jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and asked for two shots of gin.

He then started telling everybody about the horrible experience he went through. A silence enveloped everybody when they realized he was crying and....wasn't drunk. About 15 minutes later, two guys walked into the same shop. They were also wet and out of breath. Looking around and seeing John Forkpa sobbing at the bar, one said to the other, Look at, .. there's the stupid ass that got in the car while we were pushing it.

S T O R Y T I M E Why Spider Has A Small Waist Once upon a time. Time...... Spider was once invited to two towns that were having feast. He accepted the invitation of both towns. There were no clocks, telephone, fax service or email to tell him the time of the feast. So Spider came up with his own solution. He tied a rope around his waist, and give one end to friends in each town. He told each one, that when the feast was ready to begin, they should pull the rope to notify him that they were about to eat. When he felt the tug, he will then head for the feast in that town. Spider waited and waited for the rope to be pulled, finally, the time arrived. Spider felt a tug from one side, he jumped up and started heading in the direction of that town, suddenly there was a jerk from the other side, and he found himself right back where he started from. Then the rope began to tighten around his waist, as his friends pulled on the rope from both direction. They pulled and pulled and pulled, but spider did not show up, they pulled even harder and still spider didn't come. The harder they pulled, the smaller spider waist became, and all spider could do, was watch and feel the pain of his waist getting smaller and smaller and he didn't get to eat any of the food that was being served at feast in either town. And that is why today, Spider has a small waist. Moral of the story, don't be greedy. The End Submitted to TLC Africa by Kulubozomo Gbolee-Weefaa A Grebo Parable: Submitted by Jack & Olga van Dam Once, all the animals were playing a game called "Seebee". This game they played as follows: The participants make a ring, while singing, one of the animals would get in the center to dance, then push another in the ring as a sign of challenge. The one so challenged would get out of the ring and do the same thing. The push is so violent that at times the one pushed, falls. Tedecho, the smallest rat, jumped onto the elephant's foot, for him to come out. "Eh my Man",No one has challenged me" said the elephant. "Yes, I have" said Tedecho, the rat. "How have you, please show me", said the elephant there-upon the small rat stomped again on the elephant's foot. "Is that the challenge?", asked the elephant. "Yes", said Tedecho. The elephant trumpeted in the air, shoke his head and remarked that if unequal were going to challenge each other, the play should be called off! Moral: It becomes embarrassing when a small boy challenges a giant, which, if done however, should be disregarded by the latter. Pleebo, 1959. Spider Story By Fatu Dorley Once upon a time... time. There was spider who stole from the king and the punishment was death. So the king called all the town people to come and witness the death of Mr. spider. Every body said that they should burn spider for the crime he committed. Spider started to laugh and say " O fire and myself are good friends I beg your put me in the fire please please." So the king got mad and said they were going to throw him in the river. Spider started to cry and beg " No my people don't throw me in the water I'm to afraid of the water, I don't know how to swim." So the king said that was his punishment to be thrown in the water. As soon as they threw him in the water he floated right to the top and swam right on the other side the water saying I fool all ya'. The significance of the story is that spider knew if they threw him in the fire he was going to get burned so he tricked the king into letting him put him in the water.

The End This is about spider Spider and all the animals were invited to a feast. And spider chose dog to be his partner. When the food was ready, they put spider and dogs food together O. All along spider never thought dog had a big mouth. All spider thought was that dog's nose was it's mouth. So spider was so happy because he thought he was going to eat all the food from the dog. Spider told the dog to start eating, my people. Because he was going behind the house to pee, ahhh. When spider came back all the food was gone from the bowl. He ask the dog what happen to the food. And the dog open his mouth wideeee. Spider cry and laugh and said O I thought your nose was your mouth. And spider never chose dog as his friend again.

The End.

The moral: Don't under estimate people


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Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that the government owed Air India Rs 498.17 crore in total dues on account of airfares for VVIP flights till the end of 31 December.

According to reports Puri told Parliament, "Usually, the credit period for government of India departments varies from 15 to 30 days from the receipt of invoice and no interest is paid to Air India in case of non-payment within the credit period."

Also read: Budget 2021: Two PSU Banks, One Insurance Firm to be Privatised, Here's What You Need to Know

It was reported last month that Air India was seeking to raise Rs 225 crore through a short-term loan facility from domestic lenders to refinance an earlier loan.

Provisional figures for 2019-20 projected Air India's total debt at Rs 38,366.39 crore. Air India's total net fixed assets were at Rs 45,863.27 crore in March 2020. It includes land, buildings, aircraft fleet, engines, other fixed assets, right-of-use assets and intangible assets.

The government also told the Rajya Sabha that the interest of Air India employees will be safeguarded in accordance with the guidance of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management after divestment.
The Reserve Bank will overhaul the system it uses to support think tanks that generate economic debate after it was revealed it had been paying $20,000 a year to two right-aligned institutes for more than a decade.

Governor Philip Lowe on Friday said the RBA would consider supporting think tanks that produced regular, publicly available research, did not have ties to a political party and were looking to widen Australian economic debate.

RBA governor Philip Lowe has revealed the bank has a new system in place to consider financial support for private think tanks. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

It follows revelations in December that the bank had been making payments to the Centre for Independent Studies and the Sydney Institute since the early 2000s. Since 2006, they have each received annual contributions of $20,000.

No money had gone to left-leaning or centrist think tanks such as Per Capita or the Grattan Institute.
A rough outline of the housing construction proposed for Sullivan School.

North Adams Council to Review Housing Proposal for Sullivan School



Sullivan School has been vacant and a target for vandalism since its closure in 2016. The proposal before the council sees the large classrooms as ideal for transforming into apartments.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The City Council will weigh in next week on a bid to turn the former Sullivan Elementary School property into 75 units of housing, most of which will be affordable.

Xenolith Partners LLC of Bedford, N.Y., and SanoRubin Construction Services LLC of Albany, N.Y., are offering $10,000, well below the assessed value of $2,333,350 and requiring council to approval to proceed. It was the only bid on the property.

The bids were reviewed by the Proposer Selection Review Committee made up of Administrative Officer Angie Lopes Ellison, Community Development Director Michael Nuvallie and Project Coordinator Zachary Feury. The committee is recommending the plan with some caveats.

"The financing plan indicated by the proposers is dependent upon public funding through grant programs and tax abatement. While not optimal for the City, the public funding and tax abatement described by the proposers is not unreasonable and is not a deterrent to accepting the proposal," they state in their recommendation. "There is, however, concern as to the 30-year tax abatement term in that it may exceed the term the City is legally allowed to provide. Acceptance of the proposal should be conditional upon the terms of the tax abatement being in the best interest of the City."

The developers are requesting a 30-plus year tax abatement that would limit property taxes on each unit to between $710 to $900 with annual escalations of 2 percent. The top tax after 30 years would be about $1,630.23.

The project would have three phases of construction with the first the rehabilitation of the 1965 school into 30 units and amenities. The second would be the construction of three six-unit townhouse on Summit Avenue and the third phase would add four more six-unit town houses. Pending preconstructions studies and financing rounds, the developers do not anticipate closing until 2023.

Xenolith says it has developed 700 units of affordable housing with another 700 in predevelopment, along with 62,000 square feet of community facility space. Sano-Rubin says it is a fourth-generation construction firm with more than 200 employees. Both companies are women owned.

Also involved is EDM, a well-known Pittsfield firm that has done engineering studies for several local communities.

The proposal states the approximately 900-square-foot classrooms "divide and combine neatly into studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments. The gymnasium, cafeteria, library and administrative spaces convert logically into amenity spaces such as fitness, laundry, tenant and bicycle storage, and a generous community room with a kitchen. The building will likely require the abatement of hazardous materials, the extent of which will be determined through an environmental assessment. The windows and facade will be restored to the extent feasible."

While attempts would be made to maintain the school building's aesthetic, the townhouses would have a more traditional New England look with covered porches, hipped and gabled roofs and facades inspired by residential architecture. All construction would be made with an eye toward sustainability and modern efficiency.

The plans are for three studios, 17 one-bedroom, 10 two-bedroom and three three-bedroom units in the school, of which 5 percent would be handicapped accessible. At least 5 percent of the townhouses would also be Americans With Disabilities compliant.

"We intend the design of the new townhouses to feel right on site, feel right sitting adjacent to the mid-century modern architecture of the renovated school building, feel right in the neighborhood, and feel right in the community of North Adams," say the developers.

Once permitted, construction is expected to take seven months for the school and five and seven months for the townhouse units, pending financing availability. Cost of the total project is estimated between $25 million and $35 million; some of this funding is anticipated through federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and other sources through the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

The majority of the units would be considered "affordable" to households earning 30 percent to 80 percent of the area median income. As of 2019, the median income in North Adams was $41,471. The developers say they understand the "greatest current need" is at the 30 percent tier. Low-income housing credits set standards of no less than 20 to 40 percent of units be affordable to certain ranges of income.

Sullivan was one of five properties recently put out for requests for proposals and one of only three that received bids. The other is the single family home on Houghton Street that has been vacant for some time. A bid by Kenneth Daly to purchase it for $12,000 is being recommended by the proposal committee. The house is assessed at $79,900 but has been put out before with no bids.

Daly said he was buying for his daughter, a local business owner, and detailed the issues with property, including water damage from leaking pipes that will have to be fixed.

The mayor said the Mohawk Theater, which the council had debated extensively before allowing an RFP, received two bids. One did not meet the minimum requirements and the other was not recommended by the proposal committee, and the mayor said he concurred with that decision. Two other properties , one on Mohawk Trail and the Windsor Mill, received no offers.

The proposal for Sullivan, released Wednesday night, has engendered a lot of concern among Kemp Avenue residents and accusations the mayor is "pushing" the project through.

"I'm not representing the bidder. I'm representing the interests of the city, which is to put the order in front of the council for consideration," said Mayor Thomas Bernard on Thursday, adding that the city has solicited requests for proposals for Sullivan eight times. The last proposal recommended by the administration, for use as an advanced manufacturing school, was shot down by the council.

The structure has been closed since the opening of Colegrove Park Elementary School in 2016. It's been the site of vandalism, including several fires set inside , and Bernard said ballpark figures to demolish the structure are ranging from $750,000 to $1.5 million.

Since the offer is so far below the assessed value, the decision lies with the City Council. The mayor said he hoped that representatives from the developers would be there to answer questions but cautioned that some answers would likely not be immediately possible, such as negotiating the requested tax abatement. It didn't make sense, he said, to spend time researching the city's options if the council didn't authorize him to move forward on a proposal.

The city has been trying to offload unused or underused properties for some time. "We want to get these into productive hands," said the mayor, who indicated he was worried about the signal being sent to interested developers about the type of welcome they would receive in North Adams.

Bernard described the Sullivan proposal as "inclusive development."

"One of the things about inclusive development is economic diversity and neighborhood," he said. "It creates places where you can live in, where it's desirable for people to live."
Mumbai, Feb 5 : Bengali star Rituparna Sengupta is currently shooting for Antardrishti in Uttarakhand. The film marks the directorial debut of the veteran cinematographer Kabir Lal, and is a revenge thriller.

Speaking to IANS in between shots, Rituparna said: "The film is a thriller and the story of two sisters. It is a murder mystery in which the younger sister gets killed. The story follows the elder sister's (played by her) journey to find the truth behind the mysterious death. My character is visually challenged. So, it is very interesting to see how she navigates her way to uncover the truth." The film is a remake of the Spanish thriller Julia's Eyes and being shot in four languages -- Bengali, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada.

The Bengali version feature Sean Banerjee and Indrajeet Chakroverthy with Rituparna, while the Marathi version titled Adrushya is co-stars Manjari Fadnnis. The Tamil version, titled Un Paarvaiyil, features Gayatri Shankar and the Telugu version, Agochara, also has actress Esha Chawala.

"I was intrigued by the story and I felt the character would give me a chance to play a challenging role. I am always looking for a challenge that gives me the kick to go out of my comfort zone and discover something through my performance," she added.

She also spoke of director Kabir Lal's cinematic vision. Lal has in the past shot films like "Taal", "Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai", and "Pardes" among others.

"The way he is setting up scenes, lighting and framing them is wonderful. He is a knowledgeable man. I can see how beautifully he is bringing his experience into every scene, as a cinematographer," shared Rituparna.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

Workforce

Labor nominee says that unemployment tech needs to be updated

Providing federal funding to help states update the antiquated technology used for the distribution of public benefits a "necessary step," said mayor of Boston and Labor Secretary nominee Marty Walsh in his hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions today.

Since the onset of the pandemic, surges in unemployment claims have laid bare the vulnerabilities in the technology used by states to deliver benefits, resulting in slow response times for users trying to claim benefits and higher levels of fraudulent claims,

By October of last year, Maine had to cancel over 100,000 fraudulent initial unemployment claims and weekly certifications, said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) during the hearing.

"What we saw were these criminal enterprises ruthlessly exploiting gaps in systems and states all over the country," she said before asking Walsh about his thoughts on upgrading unemployment insurance systems. "Part of the problem is we have these legacy systems that simply cannot handle increased volumes that are slow to adjust for changing results and that cannot easily catch fraud."

Walsh agreed that the benefits technology states use needs to be updated. He also talked about making the process more user-friendly.

"The unemployment system needs to be brought into the 21st century as far as technology," he said. "We also have to make it easier for workers that are unemployed to access unemployment benefits and easier for workers that are unemployed when they go back to work to be able to let the states know that they're back to work."

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) also honed in on the issue and her eagerness to grow the STEM and cyber workforce.

"Our personnel [in Nevada] had to use outdated technology and without adequate federal government support," she said.

Walsh voiced a willingness to work with Congress to "think about what the commitment is to upgrading the technology system" before talking more broadly about updating federal IT as well.

"I know that this is a priority as well of the president and of the vice president," he said. "We bring all these young people in to work in government and when they get here they laugh at where we are as far as technology is, so maybe we should start listening to some of these young people around us to try to understand."

Other lawmakers also directed the conversation to issues in the federal contracting space.

Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) asked Walsh about wage theft and worker safety violations by federal contractors, saying that she had a bill on the issue. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) also asked Walsh about prevailing wage regulation for federal contractors.

"Federal contracts that we get out should follow the rules and regulations  whether it's paying fair wages, whether it's respecting the rights of workers, whether it's making sure we have safe work conditions," said Walsh.
Republicans, Democrats Say They Dont Want Trump to Testify in Impeachment Trial

Senators from both parties said Thursday they dont want former President Donald Trump to testify during the upcoming impeachment trial.

Of course not. They want a ridiculous show trial because theyre more motivated by partisan anger than they are to actually solving the very real problems we have in this country. We need to get to work and do our jobs, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Asked the same question, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) shook his head as he walked away.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the lead House impeachment manager, asked Trump in a Feb. 4 letter to testify in person about his disagreements with the impeachment resolution the House passed last month.

In light of your disputing these factual allegations, I write to invite you to provide testimony under oath, either before or during the Senate impeachment trial, concerning your conduct on January 6, 2021, Raskin wrote.

Trump was impeached for alleged incitement of insurrection. The resolution asserts he incited the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

Trumps legal team rejected Raskins request, describing it as a public relations stunt.

There is no such thing as negative inference in this unconstitutional proceeding, attorney David Schoen wrote to Raskin. Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you cannot prove your allegations against the 45th president of the United States, who is now a private citizen.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the former Senate Judiciary chairman, told reporters that the request for Trump to testify was a political ploy, according to the Capitol Hill pool report.

Predicting Trump wouldnt testify, he added: I dont think that would be in anybodys interest.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks to media at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 7, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

The House impeached Trump without calling any witnesses, a departure from previous impeachment efforts. Senators last year rejected attempts to pressure the upper chamber to call witnesses, saying its not the Senates role. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told reporters that the House didnt do their work as a grand jury, and they expect the Senate to do their work.

I dont know why we have to pick up the pieces for the inadequacy of the House of Representatives, he added.

Several Democrats also said they dont want Trump to testify.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a close ally to President Joe Biden, said it would be a terrible idea. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said it would be a dog and pony show.

Forty-five Republicans voted recently to declare holding a trial for Trump unconstitutional since hes now a private citizen. According to a tally by The Epoch Times, 35 have suggested or committed to voting to acquit Trump in trial, which is slated to start next week. Unless Democrats sway 17 of the 50 Republicans in the upper chamber, Trump will be acquitted.

The trial is already over. They dont have the votes to convict, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told reporters on Thursday. This is just, I think, continuing to embitter the public. Its divisive, and it does nothing to promote unity. I think its a big mistake on the Democrats part.
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Law enforcement experts are puzzled by a Wisconsin prosecutor's request Wednesday for an arrest warrant and bond increase for murder suspect Kyle Rittenhouse, drawing additional scrutiny to his high-profile case.

In a bizarre turn Wednesday, it appeared that prosecutors didn't know the whereabouts of Rittenhouse, 18, after attorneys failed to notify the court of the address of a "safe house" where he is alleged to be residing, raising questions about why Rittenhouse wasn't being more closely monitored in the first place.

"I don't understand why you wouldn't tell the district attorney and the police the location of a murder defendant charged with first-degree murders," said NBC News terrorism analyst Jim Cavanaugh, a retired special agent of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Rittenhouse was charged with killing two people during protests of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha last summer.

IMAGE: Protests in Wisconsin after Kenosha shooting (Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The Kenosha County District Attorney's Office alleged Wednesday that Rittenhouse violated the conditions of his bond by failing to notify the court of his changed address and asked the court to issue a warrant for his arrest and to increase his bond by $200,000. It also asked the court to order Rittenhouse to update his address immediately.

Rittenhouse was released from the Kenosha County Jail on a $2 million bond in November with donations made to his legal defense fund, largely from right-wing activists and conservative celebrities.

Rittenhouse's attorney, Mark Richards, alleged that police advised his previous attorney, John Pierce, not to provide the updated address.

"While completing paperwork related to Kyle's release, Attorney Pierce was directly informed by a high-ranking member of the Kenosha Police Department not to provide the address of the Rittenhouse Safe House because of the numerous threats made against Kyle and his family," Richards said in a response to the motion.

Story continues

Counsel for Rittenhouse did not immediately respond to a request for comment by phone or email Thursday.

Kenosha police rebutted the claim Thursday, saying that while a police captain did speak with Pierce "regarding security concerns raised by Mr. Pierce, surrounding the Kyle Rittenhouse release from custody," the captain didn't provide "instructions about how to fill out paperwork."

NBC News legal analyst Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, said: "It's beyond unusual to lie to a court about where a client is residing. It is no excuse to say that somebody else told me to lie about that. That adds insult to ethical injury."

Rittenhouse's attorney said Wednesday that attorneys contacted an assistant district attorney in November to discuss providing a new address if the prosecutors agreed to a sealed filing but that the district attorney's office refused.

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Cavanaugh said that "it's unusual to deal with a defendant in a safe house" and that he could understand why Rittenhouse's defense wouldn't want the address made public, saying it's a reasonable request to ensure that Rittenhouse gets his day in court. Still, he said, authorities and prosecutors "have to know" where a murder defendant is, especially if he is receiving the threats alleged by Rittenhouse's defense.

Kirschner said that when he was a prosecutor, his department kept the court apprised about where a defendant was, no matter what. A simple rule, he said, is: "Don't lie to the court."

"There are so many appropriate ways to take care of the circumstances in the Rittenhouse case that don't involve telling the judge lies," he said.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) underwent a major change at the top of its hierarchy in the aftermath of the 2020 election, as Director Christopher Krebs was fired as a result of his beliefs regarding election security.

As the calendar turns to 2021, the media are finally reporting what many security experts have known for far too long: that America is under constant attack in an international cyber-war involving countries like China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea.

At this time, it is imperative that America steers its focus toward protecting critical infrastructure as tensions continue to escalate with China in particular. In addition, the vulnerability of computer systems managed by small businesses and individuals is at an all-time high. With the persistent COVID-19 pandemic, many small businesses and remote employees continue to encounter added risks with a large number of the American workforce shifting to the cyber-sphere.

With fewer resources and lost revenue forcing the attention of most businesses on keeping their operations afloat, cyber-criminals are projected to have their most profitable year ever. With that in mind, here are some of the most dangerous cyber-threats to look out for in 2021:

Internal Business Compromises : With telecommuting being the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, some dishonest employees may see the opportunity to make money from company data that are now accessible minus the usual supervision. Prior to the coronavirus, the : With telecommuting being the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, some dishonest employees may see the opportunity to make money from company data that are now accessible minus the usual supervision. Prior to the coronavirus, the 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report had already pointed out a new trend of insider compromises that make up close to 30 percent of data-related breaches.

Phishing : Email or spear-phishing has long been the most frequently used method of gaining entry into a network during a cyber-attack. Companies exchange hundreds of emails and other electronic messages every day. Attackers are known to choose the late afternoon, when workers tend to tire and are less sharp, to deliver bait emails loaded with malware. Just one click on a compromised email can give hackers unfettered access to an entire network.

Browser Hijackers : Browser hijackers modify browser settings and redirect traffic to partner sites in order to generate ad revenue for attackers. This causes a change to a victims' browser homepage and default search engine, as it is replaced with an illegitimate version of a reputable online search provider. The phony search engine can also insert unwanted banners and advertisements onto of legitimate websites. Some examples of this scam are the : Browser hijackers modify browser settings and redirect traffic to partner sites in order to generate ad revenue for attackers. This causes a change to a victims' browser homepage and default search engine, as it is replaced with an illegitimate version of a reputable online search provider. The phony search engine can also insert unwanted banners and advertisements onto of legitimate websites. Some examples of this scam are the Yahoo Search Redirect Virus and the Google Redirect Virus

APTs : Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) have been talked up quite a bit in the aftermath of the : Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) have been talked up quite a bit in the aftermath of the SolarWinds hacking attack . They use stealthy and persistent hacking techniques to compromise a network and remain inside for long periods. These attacks require a lot of effort and are mostly aimed at high-value targets like major corporations and governmental entities; however, individuals and smaller businesses that are connected to larger entities have seen a rise in attacks, perhaps as a stepping stone to their larger counterparts. Some of the more infamous APT groups are APT38 (Lazarus Group), APT35 (Charming Kitten), APT37 (Ricochet Chollima), and the well known group APT29 (Cozy Bear).

Ransomware : COVID-19 contributed to the year 2020 seeing a rise in ransomware attacks. Cyber-insurance provider Coalition reported that ransomware attacks accounted for 41% of all cyber-insurance claims submitted in the first two quarters of 2020. Additionally, the : COVID-19 contributed to the year 2020 seeing a rise in ransomware attacks. Cyber-insurance provider Coalition reported that ransomware attacks accounted for 41% of all cyber-insurance claims submitted in the first two quarters of 2020. Additionally, the 2020 CrowdStrike Global Security Attitude Survey reported that that 27% of ransomware victims paid ransom to hackers in the previous year. Some of the more active strains of ransomware include the Sodinokibi and Lucky ransomware variants

Social Engineering: Social engineering attacks, which are a form of psychological manipulation, trick people into divulging confidential information. Attackers use this method to procure login credentials and then access a network. Most companies tend to store employee and customer data, financial information, or other data including Social Security numbers on their networks.

Twenty twenty-one is shaping up to be a landmark year for cyber-attacks. Recent history points to hackers leveraging global events, and with the increased exploitation of lax security protocol from both businesses and individuals, now, more than ever, investment in cyber-security is paramount.

Julio Rivera is a business and political strategist, the editorial director for Reactionary Times, and a political commentator and columnist. His writing, which is focused on cyber-security and politics, has been published by websites including Newsmax, Townhall, American Thinker, and BizPacReview.

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BEREA, Ohio -- Ward 2 Councilman Chris McManis read aloud an email at the Feb. 1 City Council meeting that indicates that the homeowners association -- and not the city -- will pay for streetlights never installed on two streets in the Sandstone Ridge subdivision.

The estimated cost is $16,000.

Mayor Cyril Kleem told council in December that the situation has existed since 2009. At that time, electric supplier CEI no longer installed streetlights in developments, leaving it up to developers to do so.

Streetlights were installed in prior and subsequent phases of Sandstone Ridge. For whatever reason, the construction phase involving Stoneridge Way and Slippery Rock Lane was skipped.

A 2001 Berea ordinance prohibits the city from installing development streetlights because they would be considered new infrastructure. An amendment to that legislation currently sits before council to allow it.

Just so council and the administration understand, we are capable and able without any city financial assistance to complete this project, homeowners association president Ferris Kleem (a distant relative of the mayor) said in the email, speaking on behalf of the HOA and David Barnett, management company president.

Ferris Kleem indicated that he and Barnett met with The Illuminating Company on Jan. 28 and developed a plan to install the needed streetlights.

He said the HOA had been waiting seven years to receive city permission to install the lights, an assertion the mayor unequivocally denied.

The approval has never been asked, Mayor Kleem told council, noting that Ferris Kleem said two years ago that the HOA would do the lights.

I have all the emails going back to 2009  where the HOA was refusing to pay for these lights and said the city should do it. We said we couldnt because of this ordinance, Mayor Kleem said.

McManis said he shared the HOA email because the administration recently offered to pay for the lights.

Its an important project to get done, but  I would certainly rather it go through the HOAs wallet than the rest of the citizens of the city, McManis said.

Mayor Kleem added that he would love for the HOA to pay for these lights, but he encouraged council to pass the amended ordinance (possibly at the next council meeting) in case the HOA does not follow through with the installation.

Well give (Ferris) another month, Mayor Kleem told council. If he doesnt do it, then we can move forward with it. Lets just get this done.

Read more stories from the News Sun.
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By Lee Hyo-jin







A restaurant owner, who had previously served 20 years as a police officer in Busan, has been sentenced to jail for raping a Vietnamese woman.







Changwon District Court sentenced the 54-year-old man to four years in prison, Thursday, for raping the 20-year-old victim. The court also ordered him to undergo 40 hours of treatment for sex offenders and restricted him from getting jobs at child-related facilities for seven years.







The man was convicted of raping the college student from Vietnam on her first day at work as a part-time worker at the restaurant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The crime took place at around 11:20 p.m., Aug. 17, 2020.







He committed the crime while drinking with her in the restaurant after working hours. The victim's friends reported the rape to police on the same night it happened.







During the police investigation and trials, the accused admitted to having sex with the victim, but insisted that it was consensual, claiming that no violence was involved.







However, the judge did not accept his claim as her testimony was "detailed and consistent." The court also viewed that the man attempted to destroy evidence by washing the victim's clothes.







Although the man stated that he tried to "wash off vomit and blood from her clothes," the court saw it as an attempt to get rid of evidence, considering his 20 years of experience as a police officer.







"He committed the crime against the victim who was in an unfamiliar environment due to differences in language and culture, and it seems that it will take a considerable amount of time for her to recover from shock and damage," said the court in its ruling.






Allegro 55+ Residents At Allegro, we always feel as if were staying at a ve-star resort or on a luxurious cruise ship. Best of all, the people that work here are very accommodating, friendly and professional to both guests and visitors alike. - Cesar & Andrina

When the time comes to downsize, a lot of South Florida seniors make the decision to move to a community that is designated as 55+. They want neighbors their same age, who have similar interests.

There is a community in Doral that definitely fits the bill. It is Allegro 55+, which used to be known as Allegro Doral. Exclusively for active adults, Allegro offers a premier 55+ community with luxurious amenities. Residents have access to premium personal services through Allegro's Concierge, while the communitys Resident Experience Director guides residents to experience a lifestyle where no two days are the same.

From Day One our community in Doral has been exclusively for active adults who want a hassle-free lifestyle and to enjoy luxury living in South Florida at its best. We feel the new name makes it more clear what we are, said Maria Goicoechea.

Allegro 55+, which welcomed its first residents in 2019, is located at 4720 NW 85th Avenue in Doral. The community is surrounded by plenty of greenery, including mature palm trees. It overlooks Osprey Lake, giving residents access to an amazing water-front view in the heart of the city.

The great view is just the tip of the iceberg though. Living life at Allegro is full of possibilities. Each of our residents has unique needs, interests, and hobbies that shape their lifestyle. At Allegro, we strive to create experiences that inspire, imagine and innovate through every level of care, said Goicoechea.

There are five different floor plans available in the eight story-tall, waterfront apartment building, ranging in size from 800 to 1,357 square feet. The smallest apartment is the one-bedroom, one-bath Sonata. The largest is the two-bedroom, two-bath Symphony model.

All apartments feature hardwood floors and large kitchens with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. Bathrooms are luxuriously large as well. Each apartment comes equipped with a large balcony from which residents can bird watch and enjoy the warm weather.

Included in the price of rent are access to an onsite pool & terrace, fitness center and yoga studio, a movie theater, and hair & nail salon. There are plenty of gathering places both inside and out, including a sit-down bar, covered patio, great room, library, cards and game room and a large lobby.

Residents also have access to garage parking, housekeeping and transportation services. Plus, there is a concierge at the front desk during business hours who can assist with the various services residents may need on occasion, such as dry cleaning, pet services, housekeeping and more. In addition, the community is pet friendly.

Living life at Allegro 55+ is like living full time in a luxury hotel. Anything our residents need is at their fingertips. All they have to do is ask, said Goicoechea.

In addition to all the amenities inside, Allegro 55+ is conveniently located steps away from Downtown Doral and just one mile from Miami International Airport as well. Plus, there are plenty of shops and restaurants within walking distance.

Because Allegro 55+ offers both short and long-term leases, it is the perfect place to either stay for an extended business trip or settle for the long haul. To learn more about Allegro 55+, visit the communitys website: Allegro55.com, or call 786-837-7726.

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She's known for wearing baggy streetwear while strolling around Bondi Beach.

But Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis put her eye-popping assets on display on Friday as she stripped down to a bikini for a makeup tutorial on Instagram.

In a series of videos, the 30-year-old took her followers through a step-by-step guide to how she applies a product she bought from Mecca.

Heaving bosom: Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis put her eye-popping assets on display on Friday as she stripped down to a bikini for a makeup tutorial on Instagram

While she tried to keep the focus on her makeup routine, all eyes were on her bikini top as it struggled to contain her heaving bosom.

Addressing the elephant in the room, she said: 'I know, my boobs are huge. I'm about to get my period.'

Hormone changes during the menstrual cycle can lead to breast swelling, hence why Martha was looking more ample than usual.

'I know, my boobs are huge': While she tried to keep the focus on her makeup routine, all eyes were on her bikini top as it struggled to contain her heaving bosom

At one stage in the tutorial, her chest jiggled as she shook a bottle she was holding.

Martha recently signed a five-figure deal with British online retailer PrettyLittleThing.

She announced the partnership by sharing a gallery of photos to Instagram of herself modelling a patterned corset shirt from the brand at Sydney's Bondi Beach.

Gorgeous: Martha recently signed a five-figure deal with British online retailer PrettyLittleThing. She announced the partnership by sharing a gallery of photos to Instagram of herself modelling a patterned corset shirt from the brand at Sydney's Bondi Beach

The blouse featured baggy sleeves, which complemented her chic split-front pants.

The influencer displayed her black pedicure in classic platform sandals as she carried her essentials in a chain-strap handbag.

Martha is enjoying a fresh wave of popularity in Great Britain as her season of MAFS airs there for the first time on youth channel E4.

Stylish: The blouse featured baggy sleeves, which complemented her chic split-front pants
NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Vytalize Health, a new kind of Medicare ACO driving the transition of independent practices to value-based healthcare, announced that it has made three strategic hires in January to bolster its leadership in the growing market. The hires were made to support their recent growth to 600 providers, 65K Medicare beneficiaries, and $1B in medical spending in 2021.

Gary Thompson joins Vytalize as Chief Operating Officer, effective January 15th. In this newly created position, Gary will serve on Vytalize's leadership team and report to Chief Executive Officer Faris Ghawi. Gary joins us from Synchrony Health, where he served as CEO. In 2010, Gary was the founder and CEO of the nation's first Accountable Care Organization enablement company (Imperium Health), which focused on independent Primary Care Physician-led ACOs. Gary has developed 17 ACOs across the country with over 1,100 participating Primary Care Physicians. Previously, he served as the national Vice President of Clinical Programs for Humana.

Majelle Yu, MD, joins the company as ACO Medical Director effective January 15th. Dr. Yu will be responsible for overseeing practice transformations to value-based care. Dr. Yu joins Vytalize from Optum360, where she served as Senior Vice President of Operations that managed clinical and administrative teams in executing over 14 million Medicare, Medicaid, commercial insurance utilization reviews, denial discussions, and appeals. During her tenure, she paved the way for operations transformation, incorporating robotic process automation, utilizing natural language processing, and deep learning into operations.

Kevin Murphy joins Vytalize as Chief Financial Officer, effective January 1st. Kevin has over two decades of experience in mergers & acquisitions at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, executing over $100 billion of transactions primarily in healthcare services. He also served as Chief Executive Officer and CFO of Ceras Health, a digital health company.

"We are thrilled to have healthcare heavy-weights Gary, Dr. Yu, and Kevin join our fast-growing team. They join us at an exciting time as we continue to expand our partnerships with primary care physicians and provide high-touch, data-driven, and evidence-based care for seniors," said Faris Ghawi, co-founder and CEO. "We feel grateful to work alongside Gary, Majelle, Kevin, and the rest of the team that has assembled around our simple yet critical mission: transitioning the world to value-based healthcare by taking care of the providers that take care of us."

About Vytalize

Vytalize Health partners with independent providers in value-based care arrangements for Medicare beneficiaries. The company combines a Medicare ACO, virtual doctors' office, and a digital health platform to equip its network of physicians with everything they need to be successful in caring for their patients and staying ahead in a rapidly changing healthcare system. The company works with over 600 providers and $1 billion in medical spending.

Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Vytalize Health
analysis

Six months after the 1994 election that brought the ANC to power, I was interviewing Ahmed Kathrada, then President Mandela's parliamentary counsellor, when I heard the door behind me open. A look must have been exchanged because Kathrada stopped mid-flow to ask if I wouldn't mind stepping out for a moment. As I was leaving, I heard the new arrival say: "He's done it again."

I knew that "he" must be Nelson Mandela and I had a good idea what he must have done. That evening's news soon confirmed it: Mandela had gone off-piste again. Never the most riveting of speakers, he would, every now and then, galvanise his country's attention by breaking away from the monotonously good stuff his speech writers had compiled to speak from the heart. I had taken this as an endearingly maverick but spur-of-the moment act by an otherwise disciplined man who always insisted that he served the collective. But reading Dare Not Linger, which the writer Mandla Langa (who, in the interests of full disclosure, is a friend of mine) has compiled from Mandela's handwritten notes and from interviews, I learned that Mandela did this deliberately. It was his way of breaking away from a consensus with which he disagreed: he went along with the majority decisions of his cabinet but could not resist making his real point of view public.

He "did it again" in December 1997 during his farewell to the ANC conference. Then, as Langa writes, Mandela diverted from his speechwriter's pages to caution the incoming leaders against surrounding himself with yes men and women. This he followed with a warning of the dangers when a leader hangs out with "powerful and influential individuals who have far more resources than all of us put together".

Those words have acquired ever greater resonance in the 20 years that have passed since Mandela said them. This was brought home earlier this year, at Ahmed Kathrada's funeral, where the seemingly unthinkable happened. Kathrada had spent decades in prison with Mandela and in a country that uses funerals to venerate its freedom fighters, and in particular those Robben Island veterans, the serving president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, was conspicuous by his absence. Not that this was Zuma's choice: he had stayed away only because the Kathrada family made it clear they did not want him there. Theirs was a protest that Kathrada himself had previously triggered. He was of Mandela's generation, whose loyalty to the ANC (which, as Mandla Langa writes, "is an heirloom, passed down from one generation to the next") had been absolute. But a year before his death, Kathrada broke his silence to publish an open letter to Zuma asking him to step down. This is how Kathrada ended his letter: "To paraphrase the famous MK [a shorthand for the ANC's military wing, Umkhonto We Sizwe] slogan, there comes a time in the life of every nation when it must choose to submit or fight. Today, I appeal to our president to submit to the will of the people and resign."

Zuma survived this challenge as he has also survived an arms scandal, a rape trial, a constitutional court judgment against him and allegations that the state has been captured by the Guptas, one of South Africa's new rich. Given that he has surrounded himself with people who owe their position to him and is the head of an organisation that, despite internal differences, traditionally speaks with one voice, this survival is not in itself surprising. But the fact that a loyalist such as Kathrada should publicly break with his president was an indication of how serious a contravention of ANC principles is this rising corruption in government.

To read in Dare Not Linger of Mandela's insistence on making his own hotel bed, or to look at the photo of him cleaning his own shoes on a plane, is to remember the man who, with his closest comrades, was responsible for the miracle of South Africa's peaceful transition. But it is also to question what part those stalwarts, and in particular their leader, Mandela, played in laying the ground for South Africa's current dystopia. After all, Mandela was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki, his chosen deputy, whose Aids denialism, according to a Harvard University study, led to the unnecessary deaths of 300,000 people. And then Mbeki's attempt to cling on to the ANC presidency when his time as South Africa's president was up led to Zuma's ascendance. So how could it happen so fast?

In its exploration of the run-up to the 1994 election, Dare Not Linger goes some way to answering this question. Hindsight tells us that apartheid's extreme right did not have the wherewithal to prevent an election that they knew the ANC would win. But Mandela's account of his meetings with apartheid's heavy hitters shows how serious the threat seemed at that time. Mandela was the great conciliator, the prisoner who invited his guards to presidential tea parties, and he was clearly personally comfortable with forgiveness, but what this book highlights is the way in which the need to end rising political violence explains many of his efforts to keep the old apartheid state on board including, at one time, discussing with the far right the possibility of them having their own mini-state - their volkstaat.

In the face of the far-right threat, Mandela's call to move on from the past was understandable, while his stress on unity within his organisation was consistent with the way the ANC had functioned, particularly in its underground years. It had long been a broad front movement in which people with different political agendas, including communists, had banded together to bring about the end of apartheid (in their words, to achieve national liberation). This single-minded pursuit, together with Mandela's generation's early training in consensus decision-making, which is so well described in Long Walk to Freedom (the first volume of his autobiography), had kept the movement together in the most adverse of circumstances.

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But it could be argued that the continuation, post-apartheid, of such a disciplined unity, when combined with an emphasis on reconciliation, has had consequences that are today playing themselves out. The rise of the Rhodes Must Fall movement, which began by attacking symbols of white power and has expanded into demands for a more complete historical redress, along with the protests against the failure of the state to deliver services, are two signs of the rising discontent in the country. On top of that, there are indications that people within the ANC may be readying themselves to break with previous traditions - several prominent ANC MPs have already voted with the opposition in a recent vote of no confidence against Zuma.

At the end of his preface to Dare Not Linger, Langa describes how at Mandela's last ANC conference as leader, the singing crowd settled on a "valediction to a unique son and a sad admission that... South Africa would never be the same again. 'Nelson Mandela,' they sang, 'there's no other like him.'" Perhaps that is the problem: that he was so unique and he made it look so easy. That first peaceful democratic election was almost a miracle: tempting to assume that such effortlessness would continue. But given the constraints of the global economy, and South Africa's terrible history, that now looks like magical thinking.
A woman has suffered a fractured nose and other injuries after being shot in the face with a frozen paintball in a seemingly random attack.

Trenidy Alvarez, from Saint Joseph, Missouri, was closing up shop at Topsy's Popcorn at the East Hills Mall around 9.30pm on January 28 when her attackers struck.

As she took the trash out, Alvarez, 30, noticed a car circling the parking lot but did not pay much attention to it.

Seconds later, she was struck with four paintballs, one of which landed just an inch away from her eye, causing severe damage to her cheek.

Alvarez said that her attackers were four young men in a car who aimed at her from close range from inside the vehicle before speeding off.

The attack fractured Alvarez's nose and left metal splinters embedded in her cheek as pieces of the paintball fused with her face.

Missouri woman Trenidy Alvarez (pictured) suffered a fractured nose and other injuries after being shot in the face with a frozen paintball in a seemingly random attack

Alvarez, from Saint Joseph, Missouri, was closing up shop at Topsy's Popcorn at the East Hills Mall around 9.30pm on January 28 when her attackers struck. Pictured: A wound on Alvarez's cheek following the attack, left metal splinters embedded in Alvarez's cheek as pieces of the paintball fused with her face

Recalling her attack, Alvarez told Jam Press that she was alone as she had been one of the last to leave work that night.

'The attackers were a car of four teenage boys, they looked about 16 years old,' she said.

'They had driven by me and I wasn't paying them any mind except I did hear the loud squealing of their car.

'They saw me, turned around, sped back towards me and shot at me as I was looking up to see who was approaching.

'They did not leave the car. They remained inside it as they shot four paintballs at me.

'One paintball struck me an inch below my eye. The force fractured my nose and somehow left metal splinters embedded into my cheek bone where I was impacted.

'The pain I felt was actually more in my nose than it was in my cheek where I was struck,' she told Jam Press.

The drive-by incident happened at the East Hills Mall in Saint Joseph, Missouri, around 9.30pm on January 28. Alvarez had been alone as she was one of the last to leave the popcorn store where she worked

Police responding to the incident took photos of Alvarez's injuries as well as marks left on a nearby wall by a paintball pellet (pictured)

The 30-year-old called her fiance for help - luckily he was already on his way to pick her up and arrived soon after.

'I was in the process of dialling him when I was shot so when he answered he heard the car squeal away and I had yelled out that I had been shot at in the face,' Alvarez said.

'He arrived within a minute after they left and he called the cops for me as I was in a deep state of shock.'

A police officer took Alvarez's statement and pictures of the impact on both her face and a nearby wall which had been hit by paintball pellets.

The couple drove to the hospital, where Alvarez was given an X-ray to discover the extent of her injuries.

Alvarez has hired a lawyer and intends to pursue charges against her attackers, who have been identified. Pictured: Alvarez before her attack (left) and with her wounded cheek afterwards (right)

'I met with my doctor and she took x-rays confirming a fractured nose and metal splinters embedded in my cheekbone,' Alvarez said, adding that she will undergo a CT scan in the next few days to see if she requires surgery.

She said she was in such a state of shock following the attack that she could not sleep for two days.

Alvarez has hired a lawyer and intends to pursue charges against her attackers, who have been identified.

'The detective who found them has told me that the chance of them being punished is unlikely due to the fact of their age,' she said.

'I will be further pursuing charges and have hired an attorney to do so.'
Prayagraj : , Feb 5 (IANS) One of the fastest selling items at the ongoing Magh Mela in Prayagraj this year, is the 'khadau' (wooden slipper).

While it is normal for saints and seers to wear the 'khadau' since they avoid wearing leather slippers or shoes for obvious reasons, this year, a large number of devotees, particularly the youth, can be seen wearing the 'khadau'.

Prem Srivastava, 23, a student from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh who is visiting the Magh Mela for the first time, flaunts his 'khadau' said, "I bought a pair of 'khadau' out of curiosity because so many people were wearing it. It has been four days since I am wearing it and I can already feel the difference. I feel more at peace with myself and physically too, I feel better and my shoulder pain has gone." His friend, Saumendra, explained, "While saints and seers wear 'khadau' because it is made of wood and not leather, I feel it is beneficial for everyone because it works on the principle of acupressure and relieves pain in the body." The khadau is also believed to be helpful in lowering blood sugar levels.

Both the friends agree that wearing the 'khadau' is initially cumbersome but it takes a few days get used to it.

Most 'kalpvasis', who stay on the banks of the river for one month and practice compete austerity, also prefer to wear 'khadau'.

Chanda Rani, an octogenarian from Sitamarhi in Bihar, said that she wears 'khadau' during her 'kalpvas' because leather is not considered auspicious.

"Besides, the 'khadau' does not slip on sand and mud," she added.

Seeing the growing popularity of the wooden footwear, a large number of stalls selling 'khadau' have come up in the Magh Mela township and their sales are outstripping the sales of even the religious memorabilia in the Mela.

"Earlier, I could manage to sell two to three pairs of 'khadau' in a day but this time, I am selling about half a dozen pairs every day," said Kamlesh, a 'khadau' seller.

The 'khadau' costs about Rs 300 per pair and prices go up to Rs 900 per pair, depending on the quality of wood.

'Khadau' is made from the wood of various trees, especially Vijaysar, Dhak and Sheesham and prices go up depending on the weight of the footwear.
For seven days, citizens held their breaths, hanging on to hope and praying that Andrea Bharatt would be found alive.

That hope dissolved in tears yesterday afternoon when her body was found down a precipice along a road in the forested Heights of Aripo, Arima.

The decomposing body of 22-year-old Andrea was identified by the clothing she was wearing on her last day at work on Friday by her father, Randolph Bharatt.
Onwards and upwards: Bayern Munich and Thomas Mueller have their eyes on the Club World Cup after Friday's clash with Hertha Berlin

Bayern Munich striker Thomas Mueller is hoping to spoil fellow World Cup winner Sami Khedira's homecoming Friday when the Bundesliga leaders take on Hertha Berlin before departing for the Club World Cup in Qatar.

"I am really happy that Sami is back. He's a child of the Bundesliga," Mueller told the Bayern website ahead of Friday's clash.

"I'm excited to see how his return to Germany pans out, even if I hope it starts badly on Friday."

Former Germany midfielder Khedira, who won the World Cup alongside Mueller in 2014, could make his first Bundesliga appearance in over a decade on Friday after joining Hertha from Juventus in a headline-grabbing move earlier this week.

The 33-year-old is charged with helping hapless Hertha turn their season around, with the ambitious capital club currently stuck just a single place above the relegation play-off spot.

For Bayern, the game is a chance to consolidate their seven-point lead at the top of the table before they travel to Doha for the Club World Cup next week.

Last season's Champions League winners will play their semi-final on Monday against the winners of Thursday's game between Qatari club Al-Duhail and African Champions League winners Al-Ahly.

Mueller said Thursday that the Club World Cup was Bayern's chance to "crown an incredible year" after winning only their second ever treble in 2020.

Second-placed RB Leipzig will look to keep the heat on Bayern with a win at bottom club Schalke, while Borussia Dortmund hope to break back into the top four on their trip to Freiburg.

Dortmund should return to full strength on Saturday after injury scares for veteran defender Mats Hummels and English winger Jadon Sancho.

Hummels missed Tuesday's narrow German Cup win over Paderborn with a knee problem, while Sancho limped off the field in extra-time.

Yet Dortmund director Sebastian Kehl told Bild newspaper he hoped both players would return against Freiburg.

Story continues

Elsewhere, Borussia Moenchengladbach prepare to take on local rivals Cologne amid growing speculation over the future of coach Marco Rose.

Rose, 44, has been touted as a potential successor to interim coach Edin Terzic in the Dortmund dugout at the end of the season.

"We want to have clarity (about Rose's future) as soon as possible", Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl told Sky.

One to watch: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

The veteran Dutch striker could make his first Bundesliga appearance since 2017 after making a surprise return to Schalke from Ajax in January.

Huntelaar, 37, was prolific for Schalke between 2010 and 2017, and has now returned to help them launch an improbable bid to avoid relegation in the second half of the season.

Bottom of the league and nine points adrift of safety, Schalke's season hit a new low as they were knocked out of the cup by Wolfsburg on Wednesday, with Huntelaar making a 10-minute cameo as a substitute.

Key stats

15 - Clean sheets Manuel Neuer has kept in 22 games against Hertha, a joint Bundesliga record for the most against any single club.

126 - Goals Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored in 240 games for Schalke in his previous, seven-year spell at the club.

3,926 - Days since Sami Khedira's last Bundesliga appearance, for Stuttgart against Hoffenheim on the last day of the 2009/10 season.

Fixtures (all times 1430 GMT unless stated)

Friday

Hertha Berlin v Bayern Munich (1900)

Saturday

Bayer Leverkusen v Stuttgart, Freiburg v Borussia Dortmund, Schalke v RB Leipzig, Mainz v Union Berlin, Augsburg v Wolfsburg, Borussia Moenchengladbach v Cologne (1730)

Sunday

Hoffenheim v Eintracht Frankfurt, Arminia Bielefeld v Werder Bremen (1700)

kih/jc
INM will not be hit with a fine or other regulatory sanction despite the Data Protection Commission (DPC) making a number of findings against the company in relation a 2014 data breach.

The DPC said the company's actions in a data security incident at the heart of the probe were not in compliance with data protection law.

The lack of fine or other penalty is because the case dated before the introduction of the tough General Data Protection Directive (GDPR), the DPC said.

The case dates back to 2014 when data relating to a number of former and then current staff at INM, including journalists and executives as well as external advisors, was allegedly removed from the company's premises and interrogated by outside contractors at the direction of then INM chairman Leslie Buckley.

Mr Buckley has said the data search was done as part of a cost-cutting exercise where he was seeking information about a contract.

The DPC said in a statement that the incident concerned the processing of personal data held in INMs internal IT and backup systems in circumstances which it found were not in compliance with data protection law.

In a statement, INM said the report set out a number of recommendations to improve data protection governance. The company said its board and senior management had been significantly restructured since the data breach in 2014 at the heart of the probe. INM, which publishes independent.ie, was sold in 2019.

The DPC has made a number of findings and recommendations addressing INMs compliance with its obligations as a data controller under the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2003 in connection with the data security incident.

The company is satisfied that all of the recommendations contained in the report have already been implemented in full since 2018.

Mr Buckley said he had been informed in writing by the DPC that its report makes no adverse determinations or express criticisms against him.

I welcome the conclusion of the investigation by the DPC and the confirmation from the Commission that it makes no adverse findings against me, he said in a statement.

In its statement, the DPC said the findings in the report relate solely to compliance by INM.

The DPC probe is one of a number of overlapping investigations into a range of corporate governance issues at the countrys largest media group dating to the same period including a high-profile investigation by High Court-appointed corporate inspectors.

Mr Buckley has separately challenged the inspection into INMs corporate governance currently under way under the authority of the High Court.

Mr Buckley has sought in court to have the appointment of the inspectors, barrister Sean Gillane SC and solicitor Richard Fleck, revoked on grounds of objective bias, claiming they omitted key evidence from an interim report.

A ruling on that is not expected until late May.

The inspectors are investigating several issues, including the 2014 data incident and claims that Mr Buckley put pressure on former INM chief executive Robert Pitt to pay an inflated price for Newstalk, a radio station owned by Denis OBrien, who at the time was the then stock-market-listed companys biggest shareholder. The Newstalk deal was ultimately abandoned.

Mr Buckley has rejected allegations he improperly favoured Mr OBrien over other shareholders. Mr OBrien is no longer involved in INM, after the sale of INM to Belgian-Dutch group Mediahuis in 2019.
One lucky person who recently bought a scratch-off lottery ticket in Gettysburg has won $1 million, officials said.

The $1 million Jackpot Party ticket was sold at the Gettysburg Travel Plaza at 25 Sandoe Road, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced in a Friday news release. The plaza will receive $5,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Jackpot Party is a $20 game with a $1 million top prize. Scratch-offs expire a year after their end-sale date. Lottery officials said winners should immediately sign the back of their tickets and call 1-800-692-7481.

READ MORE: Hershey is raising prices on chocolates for the 2021 holiday season

US employers add just 49,000 jobs as unemployment falls to 6.3%
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Maths whizzes tackle industry problems

Top researchers and postgraduates convene virtually for the 2021 Mathematics in Industry Study Group (MISG).

The MISG is a five-day workshop where leading mathematicians, scholars and students work collaboratively with representatives from industry on research problems. The study group has been in existence for over 50 years and convenes in different countries across the globe. The group was launched in South Africa in 2004.

About 60 participants are attending the 2021 MISG, which runs from 1 to 5 February 2021. A graduate modelling camp also took place from 28 to 30 January to prepare and train participating students ahead of the study group.

Hosted by the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, the 2021 virtual MISG has enabled the participation of exceptional researchers across the country and globe who may be restricted from travelling due to the Covid-19 pandemic, or teaching commitments. Invited international guests hail from the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, India, and Spain.

The study group is an opportunity for both students to develop their problem-solving skills and for academics to expand their research collaborations, while solving problems of significance and thereby benefiting the industries involved.

The following four industry problems were submitted for the group to solve this year:

Value of domestic tourists in travel and tourism industry, proposed by Precious Shabalala from the University of Mpumalanga Developing a South African tourism climate index, proposed by Professor Jennifer Fitchett from the University of the Witwatersrand Masks and the spread of droplets and airborne virions [the active, infectious form of a virus], proposed by Professor Alex Welter from Stellenbosch University Diffuser recycle rate, proposed by Mr Richard Loubser from the Sugar Milling Research Institute.

Professor David Mason, a distinguished Wits academic in the field of applied mathematics, championed the MISG in South Africa and has organised it annually since its establishment. An Emeritus Professor in the School of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Mason is lauded for his immeasurable contribution to the field and for building human capacity through the development of young researchers. The mathematician has published over 100 articles in Web of Science journals and has supervised/ co-supervised 24 masters and 12 PhD students to completion.

Mason says the MISG has made a positive impact on all stakeholders involved.

It has introduced new problems for the teaching and the research. It has had an impact in industries, for example the sugar industry. Sometimes representatives from the sugar industry present our results at conferences. In the mining industry, we have worked on problems on safety and mines, says Mason. He adds that the MISG has contributed to the personal development of participants, whereby at least one of them has set up their own consultancy after participating.

The Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (CoE-MaSS) and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences are sponsors of this years study group. Caryn McNamara, Manager at CoE-MaSS, says their sponsorship contributes to the critical development of emerging and established researchers.

The MISG is a wonderful opportunity for researchers to network with top international experts in their respective fields from numerous countries. This type of early international exposure can springboard a young researchers development to the next level in their research much earlier on in their academic career.
Education Minister Norma Foley has announced a two-track approach to the Leaving Cert.

It will involve exams and a second, non-exam process, the details of which have to be worked out.

Crucially for the minister, she has bought herself and the Government time to work through a solution with all involved.

The announcement was made after a meeting of the State Exams Advisory Group, which includes representatives of teacher unions, principals, students, parents and other education partners .

Ms Foley announced a new phase in the planning for the exams which will involve intensive one-to-one discussions with the various, which are starting immediately.

Read More

The process will explore options for both the Leaving Cert and Junior Cert.

The Minister aims to provide clear plans and information to students as quickly as possible on how the examinations will be held and details of the corresponding measure to be offered to students, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said.

Ms Foley said they would be actively planning both to hold the Leaving Certificate exams, and to put in place a corresponding measure that can also be offered to students..

She said the discussions in the exams group had been hugely helpful in considering the many issues and challenges involved.

Examinations need to be available to students. Given the impact on learning for students both last year and this year, there is also a need to explore a parallel approach which can be offered to students.

Any corresponding measure should have the confidence of the education partners. Last year a process was put in place that involved schools generating estimated marks and the application of a national standardisation process. This allowed students to progress.

Read More

Any corresponding measure this year would need to incorporate new features. In particular, the State Examinations Commission will need to be given the necessary legal powers to run the process.

It will also need to provide more comprehensively for students studying outside school. Recognition of the skills and competences associated with orals, practicals and coursework should also form a clearer part of any such measure.

Due to the nature of the pandemic, and the need to always have regard to public health advice, in addition to planning actively to hold the Leaving Certificate examinations, it is necessary to have in place a parallel measure that can also be offered to students.

I am committed to working with all the education partners to achieve this.


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Panel Keeps Beshear Impeachment Alive

By The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - A legislative panel has dismissed two petitions calling for the impeachment of Kentucky's governor. But the committee on Friday kept alive another citizens effort seeking the Democrat's ouster.The petitions seek Beshear's impeachment for his restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19. The House panel requested more information from Beshear as it reviews the remaining petition against the governor.Kentuckys Supreme Court ruled last year that the governor had the authority to put restrictions on businesses and individuals to try to contain the coronavirus.A petition seeking the impeachment of the state's Republican attorney general is still pending.

Kuwait has decided to impose a two-week ban on the entry of foreigners into the country from February 7 after a rise in coronavirus cases, said a report.

The Kuwait cabinet, in a statement, said the decision exempts close relatives of Kuwaiti citizens and domestic workers, Kuwait Times reported.

The Cabinet also ordered the total closure of health clubs, salons, barbershops, celebration halls and tents and banned all types of gatherings including national holiday celebrations later this month. Commercial shops and restaurants including malls will close from 8 pm to 5 am, but delivery services will be allowed to continue. Pharmacies and food stores are exempt from the ban, the report said.

The closure and limiting of commercial activities will commence from Feb 7 for a period of one month, which can be renewed if the situation does not improve, it said.
Baptist Health to Begin Vaccinations Next Week

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - Kentucky residents age 70 and older can sign up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning next week at Baptist Health Hospital.The hospital says you can make an appointment beginning Monday morning online at www.ScheduleYourVaccine.com . Vaccinations will begin on Wednesday.Appointments cannot be made by calling the hospital's main phone numbers. Switchboard operators do not have access to scheduling. Calls from people attempting to make appointments can cause problems for other patients trying to reach the hospital for urgent medical reasons.Appointments are expected to fill up quickly, but available appointments may open due to cancellations. The online portal will be updated with any cancellations and additional appointments. To promote social distancing, patients who arrive more than 30 minutes early are asked to wait in their vehicle.Vaccinations will begin on Wednesday in the hospital's education meeting rooms, located at the rear of the Larry Barton Atrium, near Outpatient Lab and Imaging. Those with a vaccination appointment must enter at the first floor of the Larry Barton Atrium to be screened.Baptist Health President Chris Roty said hospital staff will administer the vaccinations as quickly as possible, but getting to everyone who wants one will take time. He added that it may take several months before they are able to transition to the next phase of vaccine administration.
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Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
ROMEFormer European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi was due to start talks with Italys divided political parties on Thursday to seek backing for a new government to deal with the entwined health and economic crises.

Draghi, one of the most respected figures in Italy who has received a mandate from the head of state to put together an administration, entered parliament in mid-morning and was due to see leaders of the smaller groups later in the day.

He was expected to meet the main parties on Friday, with many political leaders undecided over whether to endorse his appointment or even look to join his new cabinet.

Financial markets have cheered the sudden arrival of Draghi, hopeful he can spearhead long-awaited reforms to boost growth in the euro zones third-largest but most sluggish economy, thereby bolstering the currency bloc.

However, he needs the backing of parties from across the political spectrum before he can take office.

The largest group in parliament, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which played a prominent role in Italys last two coalitions, initially signalled it would not back Draghi, but struck a more cautious note on Thursday.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella meets with Roberto Fico, head of the lower house of parliament, in Rome, Italy, on Feb. 2, 2021. (Paolo Giandotti/Presidential Palace/Handout via Reuters)

In my opinion, the 5-Star Movement has the duty to meet (Draghi), listen and then take a position on the basis of what our parliamentarians decide, said Luigi Di Maio, the outgoing foreign minister and party big-wig.

We did not seek the stalemate  but it is precisely in these circumstances that a political force shows itself to be mature in the eyes of the country.

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi suggested he might be ready to support a Draghi government a move that could cause a schism within the right-wing opposition bloc.

The decision of the President of the Republic to appoint Mario Draghi to form the new government goes in the direction we have been indicating for weeks: that of a personality with a high institutional profile around whom we can try to build substantial unity, Berlusconi said in a statement.

One of his allies, the far-right Brothers of Italy, has ruled out voting for Draghi, while the largest party in the bloc, the eurosceptic League, has sounded at best lukewarm, saying early elections would be best for the country.

The president moved quickly to anoint Draghi after talks aimed at salvaging outgoing Prime Minister Giuseppe Contes 17-month-old coalition imploded on Tuesday evening.

Mattarella warned that a new government had to take office immediately to prevent Italy from missing out on more than 200 billion euros ($243 billion) from a European Union fund designed to help overcome the economic slump.

Matteo Renzi, the head of the small Italia Viva party which triggered Contes downfall by withdrawing from the cabinet, said he hoped a Draghi government could take office next week.

By Crispian Balmer and Angelo Amante

Did you know that MCLA hosts a Regional Science Resource Center (RSRC)? Housed within the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation on MCLA's campus, the RSRC helps teachers to implement more inquiry-based, student-centered science in all classrooms by providing ongoing technical support, access to materials and equipment. All of our supplies and equipment support the implementation of the Massachusetts Curriculum in Science and Technology/Engineering for K-12 students.

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Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
School system racks up 10 Blue Ribbon awards for communications

Molly McGowan Gorsuch

The North Carolina School Public Relations Association honored the Henderson County school system and its public information officer for excellence in communications during the 2020 Blue Ribbon Awards celebrated virtually on Friday.

Officer Molly McGowan Gorsuch won a total of 10 Blue Ribbon Awards for outstanding and effective communication in multiple categories. These included six Gold awards in Image & Graphic Design (2), Marketing (2), Digital Media Engagement (1) and Electronic Media (1) and four Silver awards in Image & Graphic Design (1) and Publications (3).

"These award recognitions reflect the unparalleled service Mrs. McGowan Gorsuch provides to our school system and to our greater school communities," schools Superintendent John Bryant said. "Her gifts and talents as a Public Information Officer and leader of our district communications are on daily display. We are so proud of these well-deserved honors for her work, and we thank the NCSPRA Blue Ribbon Awards committee for recognizing Molly's outstanding contributions."

Ken Derksen, NCSPRA president and communications and public relations officer for Wayne County Public Schools, said the work of the award winners exemplifies the high standards and qualities that members demonstrate in their daily school communications programs. "Blue Ribbon Awards are among the highest and most prestigious honors that a member of our organization can attain," he said.

During the virtual 2020 Blue Ribbon Awards ceremony on Friday, N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt paid tribute to award winners and thanked all North Carolina school districts for their efforts to effectively communicate during difficult times. Truitt praised the districts and their communications teams for the powerful way they have responded to help parents, students, and staff during the Covid crisis.

"You have conquered the digital landscape in order to meet the ever-changing demands of this pandemic, Truitt said in a video message. You have mastered the use of social media channels, video messages, and email sending platforms, and you have remained vigilant in the face of an overwhelming demand for answers. Most importantly you all have been steadfast in your determination to ensure that questions posed by parents and teachers have received the answers they require and deserve. Truitt called the work of the winners exceptional, and thanked them for their dedication and for helping to shape the communications landscape.

NCSPRA recognizes outstanding communications through its Blue Ribbon Awards program each year. With 115 public school districts in the state, HCPS was one of 41 districts statewide to receive a Blue Ribbon Award. This years submission categories included: Marketing, Digital Media Engagement, Electronic Media, Excellence in Writing, Publications, Image/Graphic Design, Photography, and Special Projects and Events. The Georgia School Public Relations Association judged NCSPRAs 2020 Blue Ribbon entries.
Leading Indian language dailies including Amar Ujala, Eenadu, Hindustan, Sakshi, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, and Malayalam Manorama have jointly reached out to their stakeholders via a letter than claims 80-90% circulation surge compared to pre-COVID ABCs audited circulation and 80% advertising recovery compared to pre-COVID.

The letter reads, The Indian economy is currently witnessing a very healthy recovery with the vaccine drive gaining momentum and GST collection showing a growth trend. Tier 2,3 and other markets of Bharat contributed in a significant way to bring back the demand and delivering sales for a variety of businesses including but not limited to automobile, consumer durables, FMCG, education and most importantly Real Estate. Indian language newspapers contributed to this growth and also benefitted from positive market sentiments.
The steppes of Kazakhstans Almaty region are not the most inviting place, especially in winter time, but one unusual phenomenon has been attracting a lot of tourists there lately.

Located between the villages of Kegen and Shyrganak in the middle of a snow-covered plateau is a 14-meter-high ice tower that continuously spouts water which turns to ice almost instantly. The unique structure looks like a miniature volcano, only instead of hot lava, it spouts water. The sight has become popular both among locals, but also Instagram fans and influencers looking for special backgrounds for their social media posts.

According to a recent Instagram post, the ice volcano is the result of an underground spring that spouts water all year-round. In the summer, it causes a green vegetation bloom for tens of meters around it, but in winter time, when temperatures drop below zero, the water freezes creating the ice volcano cone. It continues to spray water all around, creating a natural ice-rink.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by  | Almira  (@alyasskat)

Photos and videos of the ice volcano in Almaty recently went viral on social media, attracting large numbers of visitors to the otherwise barren steppes, some of whom drove for several hours just to see the weird natural formation in person.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tengri Travel (@tengritravel.kz)

Interestingly, locals say that this is the first year that the volcano actually gushes water, as in previous years there was only, a smaller, empty ice cone.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irina Mironova (@irina0328)

Last year there were no such water sprays spurting upwards like a fountain, but only an empty cone, local girl Samal Zhainak told Tengri Travel.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by QazaqDulatJanys (@kasym_aitbek)

The ice volcano is four hours away from the Kazakh capital city of Nur-Sultan, formerly Astana.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by   (@bekturgantursynbubi)
ACLU, for first time, elects Black person as its president

Deborah Archer, a professor at New York University School of Law with expertise in civil rights and racial justice, has become the first Black person in the 101-year history of the American Civil Liberties Union to be elected its president.

The ACLU announced Monday that Archer was elected over the weekend in a virtual meeting of the organizations 69-member board of directors. She succeeds Susan Herman, a professor at Brooklyn Law School who had served as president since 2008.

As the ACLUs eighth president since 1920, Archer will act as chair of its board of the directors, overseeing organizational matters and the setting of civil liberties policies. The fight against racial injustice is expected to be a top priority.

The ACLUs day-to-day operations are managed by its executive director _ a post currently held by Anthony Romero. During former President Donald Trumps four years in office, the ACLU filed an unprecedented 413 lawsuits and other legal actions against his administration, challenging policies related to immigrant rights, voting rights, LGBT rights, racial justice and other issues.

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The campaign against Trumps administration _ promoted in a catchy See You In Court ad campaign _ fueled huge increases in donations and membership. According to Romero, the ACLU national office and its state affiliates received about $175 million in donations in the three months after Trumps election, helping to finance a major expansion of staff.

The ACLU has proven itself as an invaluable voice in the fight for civil rights in the last four years of the Trump era, and we are better positioned than ever to face the work ahead, Archer said.

Early in her career, after graduating from Yale Law School, she was a legal fellow at the ACLU in 1997-98. She has been a member of the ACLUs board since 2009, and a general counsel and member of the boards executive committee since 2017.

At NYU Law School, Archer is a professor of clinical law and director of its Civil Rights Clinic. She has served as chair of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates alleged police misconduct, and also was assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

There is no one better equipped, who best personifies or is more capable to helm the future battles for civil rights, civil liberties, and systemic equality than Deborah Archer, Romero said.

Romero is hopeful that the newly installed administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will be more attentive to the ACLUs major concerns than the Trump administration was, but he expects daunting challenges ahead.

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President Trump may be gone but his toxic legacy on civil rights and civil liberties is still very much with us, Romero said. It will take years to clean up.

At the top of our agenda is the effort to redouble this nations longstanding but frayed commitment to civil rights and racial justice, he added. The country needs a president who will be transformational when it comes to these issues.

Other ACLU priorities, Romero said, include voting rights, a rollback of the Trump administrations get-tough immigration policies, and joining in efforts to thwart anti-abortion legislation surfacing in many Republican-governed states.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday promised a new era after the scattershot foreign policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, declaring America is back on the global stage in his first diplomatic address as president.

In his speech, Biden signalled aggressive approaches to China and Russia, urged Myanmars military leaders to halt their coup, and declared an end to U.S. support for a Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen.

American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy. We must meet the new moment  accelerating global challenges from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation, said Biden.

Trump angered European and Asian leaders with tariffs, the fracturing of global alliances, and threats to withdraw U.S. troops. He did little to push back against a wave of authoritarianism in some countries.

After a Trump-inspired mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, protesting Bidens election win, foreign allies and rivals alike expressed doubts about the health of American democracy.

Bidens speech on Thursday was a full-throated attempt to vanquish those doubts, and convince Americans of the value of a forceful international approach.

Investing in our diplomacy isnt something we do just because its the right thing to do for the world, he said. We do it in order to live in peace, security and prosperity. We do it because its in our own naked self-interest.

Bidens choice of the State Department as a venue for his first big diplomatic address was an important symbol of the value he places in career diplomats, who Trump largely saw as opponents.

American alliances are our greatest asset. And leading with diplomacy means standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies and key partners once again, Biden said.

Biden in his early days has attempted to repair what he has called the damage to Americas standing around the world, rolling back Trump policies. He is working to revive the Iran deal, and renewed U.S. membership in the Paris accord and the World Health Organization.

He challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive actions, interfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens, are over, he said.

Trump had initially sought a warm relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping but differences over trade, Hong Kong and what the U.S. military calls Beijings destabilising and aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea prompted a rift.

China, which is expanding its military and working to grow its influence around the world, is perhaps Bidens biggest international challenge as he begins his presidency. He called Beijing our most serious competitor.

Well confront Chinas economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive action to push back on Chinas attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance. But were ready to work with Beijing when its in Americas interest to do so, he said.

Not all U.S. allies may be happy at the sharp turn in U.S. foreign policy, including Poland, where Trump once pledged to deploy U.S. troops or a host of nations that have criticised heavy-handed intervention by Washington in the past.

We are a country that does big things. American diplomacy makes it happen and our administration is ready to take up the mantle and lead once again, Biden said.

(REUTERS)

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will define economic development policies and reforms being carried out in Ukraine in order to complete its review and decide on the date of disbursing the next tranche under the current stand-by program.

IMF Spokesperson Gerry Rice said this at a briefing on February 4, when asked about possible dates when the IMF will allocate the next tranche for Ukraine.

The virtual mission, staff mission had begun late last year. It was passed, took a short break over the holiday period, and has resumed, and is ongoing, he said.

Gerry Rice stressed that the issues are being discussed broadly in regard to the Ukraine program and its covering the economic development policies and reforms, This is the issue the Fund needs to discuss to underpin the completion of the review.

Prior to receiving the next tranche of the IMF program in Ukraine, the Fund's mission is working to study the terms of the program and, based on the results of the work, it recommends the IMF Executive Board to decide whether to continue financing. This time, due to the pandemic, the IMF mission is working in Ukraine in a remote format.

As reported by Ukrinform, in June 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved a new 18-month Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine with total funding of $5 billion. The Fund stressed the new program aims to help Ukraine to cope with COVID-19 pandemic challenges by providing balance of payments and budget support.

Earlier this week, NBU Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko said he hopes that this year Ukraine will receive three tranches worth about $2.2 billion from the IMF.

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GOV. JUSTICE AGAIN CALLS FOR MORE VACCINE DOSES IN WEST VIRGINIA

During Fridays briefing, Gov. Justice said that he and other state pandemic response leaders are pushing as hard as we can  urging the federal government to supply more doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to West Virginia.



Were going through every channel we can go through, said Gov. Justice, who participated in a national COVID-19 leadership call on Wednesday with members of President Joe Bidens administration, other governors across America, United States COVID-19 Czar Jeff Zients, and others.



One thing that I cannot get straight in my head is you have states all across this country that have hundreds of thousands or millions of vaccines that are not in somebodys arm, theyre in a warehouse, Gov. Justice continued. Hours mean something  not days, weeks, or months  hours mean something to try to save somebodys life.



According to the latest numbers posted to the CDCs National Vaccination Tracker, out of the 57.4 million vaccine doses that have been delivered to states across America, only 35.2 million have been administered to date; an overall administration rate of 61.2 percent. Meanwhile, West Virginia has successfully administered 294,059 of the 328,600 total doses that have been delivered in the state to date; an overall administration rate of 89.4 percent.



Theres more than 20 million vaccines in our nation, right now, that arent in someones arm, Gov. Justice said. I just havent been able to break through yet on the fact that we ought to be going and getting some of those vaccines and moving them around the chess board to states that are out of vaccines or states that are absolutely good at what theyre doing, and theres none better than our health people, our national guard, and all the great people that are doing this in West Virginia.



But were pushing, Gov. Justice continued. And were going to keep pushing just as hard as we can.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Federal prosecutors vehemently opposed former NYPD officer Justin Volpes request to cut short the prison sentence he is serving for sodomizing a handcuffed Haitian immigrant with a broomstick in a Brooklyn stationhouse in 1997.

Volpe, formerly of Eltingville, is currently serving a 30-year sentence at the Low Beaumont Federal Correctional Facility in southern Texas after he pleaded guilty to civil rights violations. He had been charged with beating and sodomizing Abner Louima on Aug. 9, 1997, in a bathroom in the 70th Precinct stationhouse in Brooklyn, where Louima was taken after being arrested outside a Brooklyn nightclub.

Volpe beat and sodomized Louima with a broomstick, causing a ruptured bladder and colon, authorities alleged. Louima was hospitalized for two months while recovering from the injuries.

Rather than accept responsibility for his crimes in a timely manner, he forced his victims to relive their respective traumas by testifying at trial. His actions were premeditated, brutal and brazen, evincing a clear belief that he was above the law and that his victims lives, quite simply, did not matter, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes wrote in a motion opposing Volpes request. A sentence of 30 years  and not a lesser sentence continues to be necessary to reflect the seriousness of the offenses, to promote respect for the law and to provide just punishment and adequate deterrence.

Volpe wrote in his pro-se motion, filed in the Eastern District of New York on Dec. 23, he was asking for an early release because of COVID-19 concerns after he tested positive for the virus while in prison in November.

No medical treatment of any kind was provided or offered, Volpe wrote. There is no conclusive medical evidence on the long-term effects of this virus.

He asked the court to have his sentence reduced by five years in order to have the chance to meet any need with private insurance and at home with my familys love.

He is eligible for release January 2025, according to prison records.

In 1997, I committed a serious wrong and crime,' Volpe wrote in the motion. I take full responsibility and live with the pain it has caused the victim, his family, and others. I do not seek to evade just punishment for my crime. I have served the overwhelming majority of the sentence. After 21 plus years in prison, it is my family who is being punished more.

Geddes disagreed, arguing in her motion that the COVID-19 pandemic [does not] constitute an extraordinary and compelling reason.

According to medical records provided by the [Bureau of Prisons], the defendant tested positive for COVID-19 on or about November 3, 2020 and was released from isolation on or about November 16, 2020, Geddes wrote. Furthermore, as a result of the defendants positive test, it is highly likely that the defendant now has antibodies to the virus and has some form of immunity from contracting it in the future.

Abner Louima addresses the media outside of Brooklyn Federal Court after sentencing of Charles Schwarz, Thomas Wiese and Thomas Bruder. (Staten Island Advance)(Staten Island Advance)

THE CASE

Four officers initially faced charges in the attack.

Former Island officer Charles Schwarz pleaded guilty to perjury for helping cover up the assault, served a five-year term and currently earns a six-figure salary with NYCHA, public records show.

Schwarz was accused of lying after he said he had not escorted Louima to the bathroom and he wasnt in the bathroom during the attack.

Convictions of former officers Thomas Bruder and Thomas Wiese ultimately were overturned by a federal appeals court.

The assault sparked protests and what was, at the time, the largest settlement ever in a police brutality case in New York. The city and police union agreed to pay Louima $8.7 million.
Customer Service Center Jobs Reserved for Saudi Citizens, Says HR Ministry

A new ruling from Saudi Arabias HR Ministry will now require all call centres to be employed solely by Saudi citizens.

The policy comes after an economic downturn in recent years, largely due to the pandemic and a significant decrease in oil demand . In the third quarter of 2020, unemployment in Saudi Arabia reached 14.9% , and roughly 60% of all Saudi citizens between 20 and 29 are currently unemployed. The HR Ministry believes that by reserving call centre roles specifically for Saudi citizens it will help the country prosper internally.

Ahmed Alrajhi, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, commented on the ruling on Twitter (News - Alert) :An extension of the ministrys endeavors to expand Saudisation, with the aim of enabling the nations sons and daughters to have job opportunities; We issued a decision restricting work in the professions and jobs of remote customer service to Saudi men and women, whether through direct or indirect contracting,

Since 2014, Saundi Arabia and other Gulf countries began recruiting migrant workers after oil prices spiraled downward. The dual combination of pandemic difficulties and lack of oil exportation has forced the Saudi Ministry to prevent unemployment from jumping any further. The official ruling states that all client-facing roles that use telephone contact, email, social media and other modern means must be held by citizens of the country.

This decision is intended to create job opportunities for Saudis, help them improve their income levels and support the Saudi economy. stated the Human Resources and Social Development Ministry.

Along with the hiring changes, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also revealed that the Saudi Public Investment Fund would invest $40 billion in economic stimulus annually over the next five years. Though the world is growing cautiously optimistic about the pandemic slowing down, Saudi leaders will continue to find ways to help unemployment grow in the meantime.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
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Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Zomato for empowering street food vendors with new digital technology and to provide greater income-earning opportunities on the food delivery platform.

As part of Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme, MoHUA and Zomato will work together to onboard street food vendors on Zomato's food-tech platform, a ministry statement explained.

This agreement will give street vendors access to thousands of customers and would thus help them in growing their business. MoHUA has also introduced 'PMSVANidhi se Samriddhi'

mobile app for socio-economic profiling of the scheme's beneficiaries and their families. This app will link beneficiaries to various other central government schemes.

As part of the MoU, MoHUA and Zomato will operate a pilot programme with 300 vendors across six cities. These are - Bhopal, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Patna, Raipur and Vadodara. Assistance will be provided to street vendors for PAN and FSSAI registration. They will receive training on using the partner app and other technolog aids, menu digitisation, basic hygiene and pricing of products.

Sanjay Kumar, Joint Secretary, MoHUA, exchanged the MoU with Mohit Sardana, Chief Operating Officer of Zomato. MoHUA Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra as well as other

MoHUA and Zomato officials were also present for the exchange.

State mission directors of DAY-NULM from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Punjab joined the meeting via video conferencing. Municipal commissioners of Bhopal, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Patna, Raipur, Vadodra were also virtually present for the exchange.

"COVID-19 pandemic has restricted consumers from stepping out and forced them to follow physical distancing norms. In the given scenario it is important to connect street food vendors with technology-enabled platforms to help them grow their business, thus helping them gain financially," the ministry statement said.

MoHUA started implementing PM SVANidhi Scheme on June 1, 2020. The goal is to provide affordable working capital loan to street vendors who have been adversely affected due to the COVID-19 lockdown. As of February 4, 2021, the ministry has received over 36.40 loan applications under PM SVANidhi scheme. Over 18.80 lakh loans have been sanctioned while over 14.04 lakh loans have already been disbursed.

Also Read: Indian startups receive $10.14 billion in funding in 2020; Zomato, Byju's lead

Also Read: Ahead of IPO, Zomato set to close $500 million funding
Yemen's foreign minister said his government will work with President Joe Biden s administration to end the war in the Arab world's poorest country.

Still, Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak insisted the Houthi rebels and their Iranian backers remain the main obstacle to peace  an apparent defense of Saudi military involvement in Yemen.

On Thursday, Biden announced the U.S. was ending support for the grinding Saudi-led war in Yemen. The five-year conflict has killed some 130,000 people, including over 13,000 civilians, and resulted in the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

We will deal positively with the attitude of the new U.S. administration, which wants to end the conflict in Yemen, Bin Mubarak told The Associated Press late Thursday.

This has always been our goal since the war started, and we dealt positively with all U.N. initiatives in the past, but we are always faced with the intransigence of Houthi militias and Irans agenda in the region," he said.

Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdel Salam tweeted late Thursday that peace would not be achieved until the aggression was brought to a halt and the siege was lifted.

Yemens war began in September 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and began a march south to seize the entire country. Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and other countries, entered the war alongside Yemens internationally recognized government in March 2015.

Biden announced an end to relevant U.S. arms sales but gave no immediate details on what that would mean. The administration already has said it was pausing some of the billions of dollars in arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabias main partner in its Yemeni offensive. The U.S. has sold bombs and fighter jets to Saudi Arabia that the kingdom later used in strikes on Yemen killing civilians.

Biden also called for a cease-fire, an opening of humanitarian channels to allow more delivery of aid, and a return to long-stalled peace talks.

Saudi Arabia has been conciliatory in its response to rebuffs from Biden, who as a candidate blasted the kingdoms current rulers for rights abuses and as president has made clear he intends to distance his administration from Saudi leaders.

However, the Biden administration also says it will help Saudi Arabia boost its defenses against outside attacks, as part of maintaining key security, counterterrorism and military ties. Saudi state media focused on that part of Bidens announcements Thursday.

The Yemeni government also welcomed Biden's decision to appoint Timothy Lenderking as special envoy to Yemen, hailing it as another important step attesting to the U.S. commitment to end the war, according to a statement from Yemens state-run SABA news agency.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has blasted the government over its failure to consult them as a tripartite partner over recent changes at the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) saying the dissolution of the state entity board was meant to avoid scrutiny over its decisions.

Labour minister Paul Mavima dissolved the Nssa board in November last year. He said he had dissolved the board as part of transforming the national pension insurer. Mavima then appointed a three-member interim board which will oversee the administration of the authority with the substantive board being constituted three months after the board's dissolution.

A number of substantive decisions have been taken since the board, which comprised representatives from the tripartite partners, namely labour, business and government, was dissolved.

This includes the substantive appointment of Arthur Manase as the general manager and the decision to sell 32,55% of its shareholding in the ZSE-listed tube and pipe producer, Turnall Holdings Limited together with 31,22% of its 66,22% stake in First Mutual Holdings Limited.

ZCTU secretary-general Japhet Moyo said labour was opposed to the decisions to sell Nssa shares in various companies particularly given the parlous state of the economy adding that selling shares now would short change pensioners as they would be sold for a song.

"Our considered view is that Nssa was aware of our position regarding its restructuring and investment focus and is it a coincidence that it is happening at a time when there are no social partners in the current interim board?" Moyo said "Unfortunately Nssa is known for making wrong investment decisions and they have yet to prove that this time they got it right."

Moyo said they had no doubt that the dissolution of the board was to force through their decisions without the scrutiny of the tripartite partners. ZCTU president Peter Mutasa described the making of decisions at a time the board had been dissolved as "a heist".

Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe president Israel Murefu, which represents business in the Nssa board, said they had not been consulted over some of the recent changes at Nssa, but expressed hope that the investment decisions made will benefit the pension fund.

"I think that the sooner they put in place a fully constituted tripartite board the better. This will ensure that the tripartite partners give their input in the decisions made by Nssa," Murefu said.

He revealed that Mavima has asked for names of individuals to represent business on the board to be put in place.

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The standoff between government and labour over the recent changes at Nssa demonstrates the continued mistrust and resentment between the two partners.

In May 2017 then labour minister Prisca Mupfumira removed Mutasa from the Nssa board accusing him of working against the authority and leaking confidential information. This resulted in the labour body dragging Mupfumira to court to push for his reinstatement. Mutasa was eventually reinstated when Patrick Zhuwao replaced Mupfumira as labour minister

The mistrust between government and labour was also reflected by Mutasa's remarks at the Emcoz congress held in Bulawayo in 2019.

"If you look at what is wrong in our country it is because there is no democratic ownership of anything. It is for those who fought for the liberation of the country to do what they want and everyone else must just follow," Mutasa said. "I used to go to the (then Labour) minister (Sekai Nzenza) alone when invited but now I am afraid to go alone. I have to hire some people. That is how bad the relationship is. So we must talk about these things freely."

He also pointed out that social partners are not consulted and are taken by surprise when policies such as ZimAsset, the Transitional Stabilisation Programme and now the National Development Strategy are announced by the government.
Veteran Limerick TD Willie O'Dea has accused Transport Minister Eamon Ryan of acting in "clear breach" of the Programme for Government by not allowing the controversial Moyross road project to proceed.

He said what Mr Ryan is doing is a clear breach of the terms of programme for government.

Speaking today, Mr ODea gave voice to the possible threat of Fianna Fail TDs not supporting Green measures when they need to be voted upon in the Dail.

Referring to comments made at Wednesday's meeting of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party, Mr ODea said: In fairness I didn't hear any of my colleagues saying that, let me be absolutely clear, I'm saying it. The programme for government is a compromise.

"There are certain things in there in the programme for government at the behest of the Greens, which they expect me to support, even though I might not like them and I don't like some of them.

And if they expect me to support their proposals, surely to goodness I can expect them to support the proposals put in at our behest.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr ODea said there has been deliberate confusion spread about the stances taken by politicians in relation to the roads progress.

There are two phases to this project. No one is against the project in principle but people have expressed concerns around the route proposed as it would at present go through a floodplain and also divide up a village in two. So people have merely voiced their concerns on that, he said.

Mr ODea on Morning Ireland said Mr Ryans refusal to sign off on the project is a clear breach of the Programme for Government which states it will develop and implement existing transport strategies for cities including Limerick and Waterford.

Willie O'Dea doesn't want Moyross to become "a rat run". Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

17 million of taxpayers money has already been spent on preparatory work on the road. And we're just waiting for the minister to sign off on it, and suddenly the minister Ministry of Transport changed and we've found that the minister is not signing off on it, Mr ODea said.

There's great consternation throughout the area generally not just in Moyross, but right throughout the city at what is perceived as the government's failure to fulfil its promises in the programme for government, he added.

In response, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said the Government and society all have to deliver for the people of Moyross because that area, more than any other has been left without proper transport and was left in a cul de sac that does cut down its connectivity to the rest of the city.

Speaking on RTE radio, Mr Ryan said he was willing to approve part of the project but wants to explore other transport options for the rest of it, an option which Mr ODea utterly rejected.

I completely reject the notion of partial road, because what's actually being proposed will result in a rat run through a residential area of Moyross, he said.

No one on my watch would allow Moyross become a rat run.

Mr Ryan responded: We do have to get good transport planning and the right transport plan to the area.

Mr Ryan said he is looking at the four existing rail lines in Limerick to develop new railway stations and it is in that context that the pause on the part of the road is occurring.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Avinyan received on February 5 Ambassador of Iran to Armenia Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri and discussed issues related to trade and economic cooperation, as well as Persian Gulf-Black Sea international transport corridor.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the office of Tigran Avinyan, greeting the guest, Avinyan noted that Armenian-Iranian relations are unique for their centuries-old friendship , based on mutual trust and respect. The sides shared the opinion that the Armenian-Iranian partnership has great potential, which should be brought to life step by step.

Assessing peace, stability and sustainable development as a common interest for Armenia and Iran, Tigran Avinyan referred to the regional situation resulted by the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh. The Deputy PM particularly focused on the issue of the exchange of detainees, which is a priority for Armenia.

The sides also discussed trade and economic cooperation issues. Ambassador Zohouri highlighted the necessity of joint efforts for the best use of the existing economic cooperation potential.

The sides also referred to the cooperation in the sphere of cooperation.

Issues related to Persian Gulf-Black Sea international transport corridor were also discussed at the meeting.

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An office block that houses the offices of China's CGTN Europe (China Global Television Network), is pictured in Chiswick Park, west London on Feb. 4, 2021. AFP-Yonhap



U.K. regulators stripped China's state TV channel of its national broadcasting license on Thursday, after an investigation cited lack of editorial control and links to China's ruling Communist Party.



The communications watchdog, Ofcom, said it revoked the U.K. license for China Global Television Network, or CGTN, an international English language satellite news channel.



CGTN had been available on free and pay TV in the U.K. It did not respond immediately to requests for comment.



Regulators started looking into the station after receiving a complaint from a human rights group, Safeguard Defenders, calling for an investigation into its ownership.



Ofcom is also continuing to investigate a slew of other complaints that it violated rules on fairness and accuracy. One was from a former British Consulate employee in Hong Kong who said he was detained and tortured by Chinese police for information on protesters. Another was by a British corporate investigator who said he was forced to confess while imprisoned in China. CGTN did not respond to requests for comment on those claims at the time, and Ofcom said its rulings are still pending.



The decision adds to fraying ties between Britain and China, already strained by U.K. efforts to address alleged human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in Xinjiang and widen residency rights for Hong Kongers.



The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded with renewed criticism of the British Broadcasting Corp., specifically a Jan. 29 report on COVID-19 in China, calling it ''typical fake news'' and demanding a public apology. It said ''China reserves the right to take further measures.'' The BBC said it stood by its reporting and rejected the ''unfounded accusations.''





Motorbike couriers wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus wait at an intersection near the CCTV Headquarters building, the home of Chinese state-run television network CCTV and its overseas arm CGTN, in Beijing, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. AP
The European Union has funded a project to improve personalized treatments for ovarian cancer with nearly 15 million euros for five years. The international DECIDER project has partners from 14 organizations in seven EU countries.

In Europe, over 40 000 women die of ovarian cancer every year. In addition to surgery, most patients are treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the effect of the chemotherapy often decreases during the treatment cycles, and currently there are few effective treatments to those patients who develop resistance to platinum-based drugs.

The project starts in February and will develop diagnostic tools to identify earlier and more reliably patients whose cancer is not responding to the current treatments. The research also aims to discover effective combination treatments based on the data measured from the tumors.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world and as the population ages, the incidence of cancers will only increase. Any new tools that enable better and more targeted treatment of cancers in the future will not only decrease the amount of human suffering, but also the burden on healthcare." Sampsa Hautaniemi, Professor and Coordinator, DECIDER Project, University of Helsinki

Artificial intelligence to integrate and visualize patient information for doctors

In the project, a patient's response to treatments is predicted using methods, which use, among others, histopathological and genomic data from the patient. Genomic changes and aberrations in gene functions are used to find effective, personalized treatments.

"We will develop an open source program, which will integrate and visualize all relevant data from a patient. Using this information, doctors can more easily identify effective drugs for their patient," says Hautaniemi, whose research group works in the project on method development as well as analysis, integration and interpretation of the data measured from the tumors.

An important part of the project is collaboration with SMEs in developing, producing and registering diagnostic kits, producing a drug-sensitivity test based on the tumor tissue samples, developing image based diagnostics of digital samples, and developing data pseudonymization and anonymization techniques necessary for the management of sensitive patient data for privacy risk protection.

All patients participating in the research are treated in Finland, and Finnish patient organizations have an important advisory role in the project.

Legal researchers address ethical and legal concerns

In addition to medical research, the project also includes a legal work package that addresses the ethical and legal concerns that may arise in the project. Furthermore, the legal researchers will also study whether there are inconsistencies between the pharmaceutical regulatory system and other relevant legislation.

"Our aim is to overcome legal challenges that impede or slow down the provision of new treatments for chemotherapy resistance in high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients. We want to facilitate the commercialization and availability of personalized therapies in an ethically and legally sustainable manner," says Professor Paivi Korpisaari.
MOSCOW  Russia said Friday it was expelling diplomats from Sweden, Poland and Germany, accusing them of attending a rally in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as international tensions grew over the jailing of the Kremlins most prominent foe.

The announcement came as the European Unions foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the treatment of Navalny represents a low point in relations between Brussels and Moscow.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Swedish and Polish diplomats in St. Petersburg and a German diplomat in Moscow of taking part in what it called unlawful rallies on Jan. 23. Tens of thousands of people across Russia took to the streets that day to protest Navalnys arrest.

The diplomats were declared persona non grata and were required to leave Russia shortly, a ministry statement said.

European officials strongly denounced the move.

Germany said its diplomat was fulfilling his duty by following the developments, and it warned Moscow that its action wont go unanswered, summoning the Russian ambassador.

We consider this expulsion unjustified and think it is another facet of the things that can be seen in Russia at the moment that are pretty far from the rule of law, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin after a videoconference with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron expressed solidarity with Germany, Poland and Sweden and condemned in the stronger terms the expulsions and what happened to Navalny from the beginning to the end.

Sweden said it considers this entirely unjustified, which we have also conveyed to the Russian side, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mats Samuelsson said in a statement to The Associated Press. Stockholm strongly rejects Russian claims that the diplomat took part in a demonstration in Russia and reserves the right to take appropriate measures in response, he said.

Poland also warned Moscow the move will worsen relations.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the action was further evidence Moscow was turning its back on international law, tweeting that expelling diplomats for simply doing their jobs is a crude attempt to distract from Russias targeting of opposition leaders, protesters and journalists.

Speaking at the start of his talks with Lavrov, Borrell said our relations are under a severe strain, and the Navalny case is a low point in our relations.

Afterward, Borell said he had relayed his concerns over Navalnys jailing and the arrests of thousands of who had rallied on his behalf. The EU official said he also communicated the blocs support for Navalnys release and for an investigation of the August poisoning but added that there were no proposals of additional sanctions against Russia from the EU at this point.

Merkel said that we reserve the right to continue the sanctions but noted the Navalny situation shouldnt affect the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under construction to deliver more Russian natural gas to Germany.

Lavrov again accused European officials of refusing to share evidence of the poisoning. The Kremlin has said it wont listen to Western criticism of Navalnys sentencing and police action against his supporters.

Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption investigator and Russian President Vladimir Putins most prominent critic, was arrested Jan. 17 upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.

On Tuesday, a Moscow court ruled that while in Germany, Navalny violated probation terms of his suspended sentence from a 2014 money-laundering conviction and ordered him to serve two years and eight months in prison. The ruling prompted international outrage.

In the mass protests across Russias 11 time zones for two weekends in a row, many people chanted slogans against Putin in the largest show of discontent in years. Thousands were detained. Several of Navalnys close allies face criminal charges and are under house arrest, and many of his associates were handed short jail terms.

Top Navalny strategist Leonid Volkov argued Thursday that trying to maintain rallies every weekend would only lead to many more arrests and wear out the participants and said that protests should pause until spring after reaching a peak.

Instead, he urged supporters to focus on challenging Kremlin-backed candidates in Septembers parliamentary elections and securing new Western sanctions against Russia to press for Navalnys release. He said Navalnys team would try to ensure that every world leader would discuss nothing but Navalnys release with Putin.

On Friday, however, another Navalny ally, Vladimir Milov, expressed disappointment with Borrells visit to Moscow. He called it a disastrously weak visit and said Lavrov used him as a decoration to lecture Europe on international law.

Maybe hell bring back some Sputink V vaccines as a reward, Milov tweeted, referencing Borrells praise of Russias domestically developed coronavirus vaccine.

Navalny, meanwhile, was back in court Friday for yet another trial  this time on a charge of defaming a World War II veteran featured in a pro-Kremlin video that Navalny denounced on social media last year.

A criminal probe was opened after Navalny slammed people featured in a video promoting constitutional amendments last year that allowed an extension to Putins rule. Navalny called the people in the video corrupt stooges, people without conscience and traitors.

Russian authorities maintained that Navalnys comments denigrate (the) honor and dignity of Ignat Artemenko, the veteran featured in the video.

If convicted, Navalny faces a fine or community service. He has denied the charge and refused to enter a plea on Friday, calling the trial a PR process aimed at disparaging him.

The Kremlin needs headlines (saying that) Navalny slandered a veteran, he said.

Artemenko, 94, took part in the hearing via teleconference, saying he was distressed by Navalnys comments and demanding a public apology.

Navalny accused Artemenkos family of exploiting the frail man for their own gain, alleging the case was fabricated and the evidence falsified.

The judge should burn in hell, and youre selling your grandfather out, Navalny said, as Artemenkos grandson testified.

The hearing was eventually adjourned until Feb. 12.

Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.
(Newser)  President Biden, declaring that "America is back," delivered his first diplomatic address as president Thursday. He outlined several policies that reverse those of the Trump administration, and one that also breaks with an Obama administration policy that he helped shape, the New York Times reports. Biden, calling Saudi Arabia's involvement in Yemen's civil war a "humanitarian and strategic catastrophe," announced that the US will end its support for the Saudi offensive, including arms sales tied to that offensive. "This war must end," said Biden, who has appointed diplomat Timothy Lenderking to negotiate a peace deal. Barack Obama offered US support when Saudi Arabia intervened against Houthi rebels in 2015. More:

Kingdom isn't being totally cut off. Biden said Saudi Arabia would "pay the price" for human rights abuses, but also said he would "continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty" with the sale of the defensive weapons it uses to safeguard itself from Iran. Steven Cook, a Middle East researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, tells the AP that promising to help the kingdom boost its defenses could provide "face-saving cover" for the Saudis to exit the Yemen conflict, and convince them that "to declare victory and go home is really the only way."

story continues below

"Horrific humanitarian crisis." The Yemen conflict has caused what UNICEF says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Sen. Chris Murphy, an early critic of US involvement, was among those applauding Biden's stance. "For the last six years, the war in Yemen has led to a horrific humanitarian crisis that has hurt US security and moral credibility," the Democrat said in a statement. "Todays actions by President Biden are a decisive first step to bring this nightmare to an end."

The Yemen conflict has caused what UNICEF says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Sen. Chris Murphy, an early critic of US involvement, was among those applauding Biden's stance. "For the last six years, the war in Yemen has led to a horrific humanitarian crisis that has hurt US security and moral credibility," the Democrat said in a statement. "Todays actions by President Biden are a decisive first step to bring this nightmare to an end." A harder line on Russia . Biden urged Russia to free opposition activist Alexei Navalny and vowed to take a much harder line on Russian actions than Trump did. He said that when he spoke to Vladimir Putin last week, he told his Russian counterpart "in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive actionsinterfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizensare over," the Times reports.

. Biden urged Russia to free opposition activist Alexei Navalny and vowed to take a much harder line on Russian actions than Trump did. He said that when he spoke to Vladimir Putin last week, he told his Russian counterpart "in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive actionsinterfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizensare over," the Times reports. "Pushing back" on China . Biden spent less time talking about China, though he called the country America's "most serious competitor" and said he wouldn't go easy on Beijing, the Washington Post reports. "Well confront Chinas economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive action, to push back on Chinas attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance," the president said, adding: "But were ready to work with Beijing, when its in Americas interest to do so."

. Biden spent less time talking about China, though he called the country America's "most serious competitor" and said he wouldn't go easy on Beijing, the Washington Post reports. "Well confront Chinas economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive action, to push back on Chinas attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance," the president said, adding: "But were ready to work with Beijing, when its in Americas interest to do so." "Moral leadership." Biden vowed that the US would "rebuild what has been so badly damaged" and restore America's "moral leadership on refugee issues," CNN reports. He said the refugee cap Trump set at 15,000 for this fiscal year will be returned to 125,000 in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2021. Biden also said US agencies will also be asked to "reinvigorate our leadership on the LGBTQI issues, and do it internationally."

Biden vowed that the US would "rebuild what has been so badly damaged" and restore America's "moral leadership on refugee issues," CNN reports. He said the refugee cap Trump set at 15,000 for this fiscal year will be returned to 125,000 in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2021. Biden also said US agencies will also be asked to "reinvigorate our leadership on the LGBTQI issues, and do it internationally." Germany troop withdrawal frozen. Biden confirmed that the withdrawal of 12,000 US troops from Germanyordered by Trump as payback for Germany's failure to raise defense spendingwill be frozen, the Hill reports. He said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will lead a "global force posture review" to ensure "our military footprint is appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities."

(Read more President Biden stories.)
China will provide Egypt with 300,000 doses of its Sinopharm vaccination soon, Beijings ambassador to Cairo announced, as Egypt continues to push forward with its immunisation campaign against the pandemic for its frontliners.

China will soon provide 300,000 doses - enough to vaccinate 150,000 people - of the Chinese vaccine. This comes under the the frame of deepening our friendship and bolstering cooperation between the two countries in facing the pandemic, Liao Liqiang, the Chinese Ambassador to Egypt, announced on Twitter on Thursday evening.

Egypt has started its vaccination campaign against coronavirus using the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine late January by inoculating hundreds of medical workers at quarantine hospitals.

The roll-out would see each person receiving two shots administered 21 days apart.

Minister of Health Hala Zayed said in a press conference on Wednesday that the ministry has concluded the vaccination of medical staff in 22 isolation hospitals nationwide.

The ministry began vaccinating health staff in 86 chest and fever hospitals nationwide as a second phase of the immunisation program, she added.

Egypt approved the emergency use of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine in early January, with priority of the vaccination program given to medical front-liners, patients suffering from chronic diseases and the elderly.



The first batch of vaccines consisting of 50,000 doses, which Egypt received in December, was tested by the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) to ensure its safety for use.

Egypt is looking at boosting and diversifying its supply of coronavirus vaccines to face the outbreak in the overpopulous country which many fear could overwhelm the countrys health system.

On 31 January, Egypt received the 50,000 doses as a first batch of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine from the British-Swedish companys branch in India.

The batch, which consists of 50,000 doses, is part of a UPA's agreement that includes 20 million doses of the British AstraZeneca's vaccine  which is developed by India's R-pharma and Serum Institute following their deal to transfer the vaccine manufacturing technology from the British company.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio--A dark money group that served as the main vehicle for what authorities say was the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history has agreed to plead guilty to a federal racketeering charge.

The political nonprofit Generation Now admitted in the agreement that it was at the center of the scheme to funnel $61 million in bribes from FirstEnergy Corp. and its affiliates to ex-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, in the form of largely anonymous political contributions.

The money then was distributed by Generation Now to benefit Householders political career, including helping him become speaker by supporting state legislative candidates who supported him, as well as to help secure the passage of House Bill 6, which green-lighted more than $1 billion in subsidies for two nuclear plants owned by a former FirstEnergy subsidiary. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill into law in July 2019.

Prosecutors have said Householder secretly controlled the group.

The agreement was signed last week and filed Friday in federal court. Generation Now is the third person or entity to admit to corruption as part of the sweeping federal bribery investigation into the passage of HB 6.

As part of its plea agreement, Generation Now agreed to forfeit nearly $1.5 million to the federal government, as well as any other assets it may have received as part of the bribery scheme, according to court records. The agreement was signed by Jeff Longstreth, a former top Householder aide who previously has pleaded guilty to racketeering as part of the case, and Longstreths attorney, Robert Krapenc. Krapenc didnt immediately return a message seeking comment.

Court records do not indicate when the plea hearing will take place. Under federal law, corporations, like people can be criminally charged and forced to pay a fine or forfeit assets.

Householder and four others were arrested last summer and charged with racketeering as part of the case. Householder has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. Two other Ohio political operatives, Longstreth and Juan Cespedes, have pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.

FirstEnergy hasnt been officially named or charged in the case, but federal court records make it clear the company is at the center of the federal probe.

Last fall, the Akron-based utility sacked its CEO and other top executives after an internal review committee determined they violated certain FirstEnergy policies and its code of conduct.

Ohio House members unanimously voted to remove Householder, a Perry County Republican, as speaker last July, shortly after his arrest. But he remains in the legislature and was overwhelmingly re-elected last November.

His successor, House Speaker Bob Cupp, a Lima Republican, has called for Householder to resign. But hes been unable to marshal the votes within the Republican caucus to remove Householder from office. House Republicans also have disagreed about how or whether to repeal HB6 and its nuclear subsidies, although a judge has placed the subsidies on hold in response to a lawsuit from Attorney General Dave Yost.

House Democrats, who are in the deep minority, meanwhile have called for Householders immediate expulsion. Following the news of the Generation Now plea agreement on Friday, state Rep. Jeff Crossman, a Parma Democrat, said he plans to reintroduce a bill that would ban people from being sworn into office following a felony indictment.

How many more smoking guns do we need to prove the HB6 process was corrupt and how many more guilty pleas will it take before House Republicans finally act? Crossman said in a statement.
NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Khaled Salem, running for the U.S. Senate against Chuck Schumer in 2022, today issued a warning to Iran not to waste the opportunity to negotiate with the Biden administration over nuclear weapons. As part of a message to the Gulf States, Salem offered encouragement as well as concerns about threats to peace in the region. For the Middle East-born Khaled, who immigrated to the US decades ago, this is an issue and geographical area he knows arguably better than any other candidate in the history of American politics.

U.S. Senate Candidate Khaled Salem U.S. Senate Candidate Khaled Salem

"Iran and the United States do not need to be on a collision course," Khaled shared. "Yes, this could be a huge disaster, but this moment also presents an opportunity for both sides. Neither the US nor Iran want a war, especially not a nuclear confrontation. It's a complex matter, but also relatively simple. If the countries involved elect to move towards peace and cooperation, any issues can be worked out in good faith. There are solutions. It will take skilled diplomacy and good will to make it happen."

A key criterion, from Khaled's point of view, is a choice by Iran to move away from military dictatorship. The current regime is aggravating geopolitical conditions in the Middle East to bolster its domestic support. This approach results in a heightened state of tension while also punishing the citizens of Iran with sanctions. "The war-mongering benefits no one, except a power-hungry elite," Khaled explained. "This needs to stop. Biden is offering an honorable path to peace. They should take it."

Khaled also advised Gulf States to seek other resources for their people from under the umbrella of the Biden administration. In addition, he urged for a continuation of American policy of alliance with Israel, for protecting that country due to Iran's hostility as well as other forces in the region that favor terrorism and do not want to live in peace.

More broadly, as the campaign continues, Khaled has repeated his calls for New York City's mayor and police to intensify policing in the streets, due to increased violence and reckless driving. He asked Congress to accept his call for a new kind of debt consolidation loan for consumers. At the same time, he suggested that Congress take up a rule to limit personal attacks on political opponentson the grounds that the practice did nothing to benefit the people the US, or even help politicians' own careers. "This is not freedom of expression," he said. "It's idiotic and counterproductive."

Salem again encouraged the new administration to issue an order to American embassies to stop discriminating against dual American citizens. Other key policy positions include:

Laws and procedures to reduce domestic violence nationwide.

A reduction in U.S. military activity and presence in the Middle East .

. A policy that requires these regions pay for American military services.

The establishment of a home loan program for middle class single parents.

Salem is running in the next general election, scheduled for November 8, 2022. Thirty-four of the Senate's 100 seats are being contested in these elections.

For more information, visit https://www.khaled2022forcongress.com/

Or visit https://www.facebook.com/Khaledforcongress/, https://twitter.com/KhaledYork, or https://www.khaled2022forcongress.com/donate

Media contact:

U.S. Senate Candidate Khaled Salem

[email protected]

1518 348 6868

SOURCE U.S. Senate Candidate Khaled Salem

Related Links

https://www.khaled2022forcongress.com


OTTAWA - Canada is committed to helping poor countries obtain COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday as he rebutted criticism over Canada's decision to draw from an international fund designed to help poor countries.

A medic administers a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a fellow medic during a campaign to vaccinate front-line medical workers, at the health ministry, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Nasser Nasser

OTTAWA - Canada is committed to helping poor countries obtain COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday as he rebutted criticism over Canada's decision to draw from an international fund designed to help poor countries.

Oxfam Canada and the ONE Campaign say it is wrong for the federal government to agree to accept almost 1.9 million doses of vaccine from the COVAX Facility by the end of June.

But as Trudeau noted on Friday, Canada is one of the leading donors to COVAX, a new international partnership under the World Health Organization created last year to help deliver billions of expensive vaccine doses to poor countries that cant afford them.

In return, donor countries are allowed to receive vaccines for their own use.

Canada is facing shortfalls in the delivery of vaccines for Canadians from two major international biotech firms, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which has the Trudeau Liberals under fire from their political opponents.

"When wealthier countries invest in COVAX, half of that funding is for doses at home, and the other half is to buy doses for low- and middle-income countries," Trudeau said Friday.

"Our contribution was always intended to access vaccine doses for Canadians, as well as to support lower income countries."

Diana Sarosi, Oxfam Canada's policy director, says it is wrong for Canada to accept COVAX vaccines because of domestic political pressure and says it will ultimately do harm in poorer countries.

"Canada should not be taking the COVAX vaccine from poor nations to alleviate political pressures at home. Receiving one or two million doses isn't going to solve Canadas vaccination challenges and it is going to cause harm elsewhere in the world for the poorest and most marginalized people," Sarosi said in a statement.

"Purchasing more vaccines, when Canada has already purchased enough to vaccinate the entire population four times over, is not a viable solution."

Trudeau said Canada remains committed to helping poor countries, through its commitment to COVAX and other international agreements.

Canada has pledged $220 million to COVAX and another $865 million to the ACT Accelerator, which tries to ensure low- and middle-income countries have equitable access to medical treatments during the pandemic.

"Canada is committed to making sure that the rest of the world doesn't get left behind when it comes to vaccination. That's why we are one of the world's top donors to COVAX," Trudeau said. "To beat this virus anywhere, we have to beat it everywhere."

Sarosi and Stuart Hickox, the Canadian executive director of the ONE Campaign, called on Canada and other governments to force vaccine makers to give up their intellectual property rights so their vaccines can be more rapidly and affordably reproduced.

Hickox said Trudeau should join French President Emmanuel Macron and 100 other countries that are calling for a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization.

"There's no doubt that this makes Canada look bad. What's lost in this frenzy is the fact that COVAX is operating as it was designed, and that Canada is one of the biggest donors," said Hickox.

"Once the domestic vaccine rollout stabilizes, Canada should announce a clear strategy of how Canada will share back the extra vaccines the government secured."

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole skirted a question on Thursday about whether he would reject the COVAX doses if he were prime minister.

Instead, O'Toole said he never would have let the current shortfalls happen if he were in charge 10 months ago. He said the fact that Canada was dipping into COVAX was a sign that the government had rolled out an inadequate plan to vaccinate Canadians.

"Canada should have made sure that we had a domestic supply that ensured we were vaccinated quickly so we could reopen the economy, get the economy moving together," O'Toole said.

Only then, he said, should Canada play its role in helping the developed world.

"I would like to see the vaccines rolled out here as quickly as possible," said O'Toole.

Green party Leader Annamie Paul said Friday that Canada is embarrassing itself on the world stage by taking doses from COVAX.

There is a very big difference between having a right and doing whats right, said Paul. This is not right.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the COVAX issue highlights Canada's inability to produce vaccines.

"This is all very troubling and just highlights how bad things are," Singh told reporters Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.

Science supply teacher William Chinyanga, 50, from Zimbabwe, was charged with four counts of encouraging terrorism on January 13

A science supply teacher has been charged with terror offences over speeches shared on his Facebook page.

William Chinyanga, 50, who was born in Zimbabwe, was charged with four counts of encouraging terrorism on January 13.

The charges relate to speeches allegedly shared by the teacher - who lives in Archway, north London - on Facebook in early December 2019.

The videos encouraged viewers to burn down petrol stations and businesses in Zimbabwean capital Harare to put 'pressure' on the Government, local media reports.

Chinyanga is a campaigner for political change in his home country, the Old Bailey heard.

He was arrested on February 25 last year by officers from the Mets Counter Terrorism Command.

On Friday, Chinyanga appeared at the Old Bailey for a preliminary hearing in his case.

Chinyanga is a campaigner for political change in his home country, the Old Bailey (pictured) heard

Chinyanga, 50, (pictured outside court) from Zimbabwe, was charged with four counts of encouraging terrorism on January 13

Mr Justice Sweeney set a provisional trial date of January 10 2022 with a further preparatory hearing on May 28.

The defendant - who spoke only to confirm his identity in the dock - was granted conditional bail.

The video shared in early December 2019 - titled The Roadmap to Zimbabwean Freedom - allegedly urged viewers to burn buses, petrol stations, fuel tankers and buildings to exert political pressure, Zimbabwean newspaper The Herald claims.

The video is understood to have been reported to authorities in Britain.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Information Affairs Minister Ali bin Mohammed Al-Romaihi lauded the dedicated patriotic efforts and the honourable sacrifices made by the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) to safeguard security, peace and stability.

Al-Romaihi also praised the BDFs effective role as a main pillar for building the nation, and enhancing its progress, in light of the comprehensive development march spearheaded by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Supreme Commander, and supported by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister.

The minister extended deepest congratulations to HM the King and HRH Crown Prince and Prime Minister marking the BDFs 53rd anniversary, expressing his pride and that of all Bahrainis in the advanced level reached by the BDF and its brave soldiers, as well as in their professionalism in carrying out their sacred patriotic duties with resolve, patriotic spirit and high competence for the sake of safeguarding the kingdoms stability and integrity, in addition to defending regional and global security, in partnership with the military forces of brotherly and friendly countries.

Al-Romaihi paid tribute to the BDF Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, all BDFs servicemen, in addition to land, air and naval units for their dedication in defending the kingdoms boundaries, security, independence and sovereignty, consolidating the noble humanitarian values and championing religion, as well as GCC, Arab and Islamic fraternity.

He prayed to Allah the Almighty to rest the souls of the kingdoms fallen servicemen who had sacrificed their lives while defending the nation at the fields of Right, glory and dignity.

The minister praised the honourable presence of the BDF in the frontlines of Team Bahrain, led by HRH Crown Prince and Prime Minister, hailing the BDFs noble humanitarian contributions to the kingdoms fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic, through harnessing all its technical potentials, modern medical institutions and specialised competencies. In this regard, he commended the professional performance of the operation rooms of the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research, the field Intensive Care Unit at the Military Hospital, the King Hamad University Hospital, among others. All these state-of-the-art facilities delivered the necessary assistance to the national efforts aimed at preserving public health and safety, while undertaking the military duties entrusted to them, at the same time.

Al-Romaihi affirmed that thanks to the forward-looking vision of HM the King, the Supreme Commander, the BDF has reached the highest military levels of technical, armament, scientific and administrative preparedness.

He stressed that the BDF will always remain the protective shield of the development and civilisational achievements of the Kingdom of Love and Tolerance, as well as a bulwark against the forces of darkness, terrorism and external conspiracies.

It will also continue achieving glory and heroism while defending the Islamic Religion, and the constitutional fundamentals, as well as consolidating the values of goodness, peace and the pillars of progress and prosperity across brotherly Arab and Islamic countries, and the entire world, he added.

The company completed several projects in December quarter including a scoping study for Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE project, and the delivery of some of the best intercepts with successful infill drilling and extensional drilling at Ban Phuc deposit.

Blackstone Minerals is developing the district scale Ta Khoa Project in Northern Vietnam.

( ) ( ) (FRA:B9S) has ended the December quarter with key initiatives to restart production at Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE project in Vietnam along with strong cash position, which could boost growth in the year ahead.

During the quarter, the company completed a scoping study for the development and restart of the Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE project in Vietnam.

The scoping study is underpinned by the Ban Phuc disseminated sulphide (DSS) open pit mine and integrates both upstream and downstream processing to produce a precursor product for Asias growing Lithium-ion battery.

Vietnam Ta Khoa Project (90% interest)

Blackstone owns a 90% interest in the Ta Khoa Project, which is around 160 kilometres west of Hanoi and includes an existing modern nickel mine built to Australian standards, which is currently under care and maintenance.

The Ban Phuc nickel mine successfully operated as a mechanised underground nickel mine from 2013 to 2016.

During the quarter Blackstone released a scoping study that features an 8.5-year project life underpinned by the Ban Phuc DSS deposit and integrates upstream and downstream processing to produce precursor Nickel:Cobalt: Manganese (NCM) product for the Lithium-ion battery industry.

The company is now advancing the Ta Khoa Project through to a pre-feasibility study, which will contemplate the option to mine higher grade MSV deposits within the Ta Khoa district.

The discovery of higher grade MSV deposits have the potential to reduce upfront capital requirements by enabling the company to restart the existing Ban Phuc concentrator.

Geology  Exploration & Resource Definition

Blackstone is continuing its aggressive geology program with ten active drill rigs.

Drilling during the quarter was primarily focussed on increasing the confidence of the Ban Phuc DSS deposit as well as targeting higher grade MSV deposits, to delineate additional resources and mining inventory for ongoing studies.

Ta Khoa Nickel-PGE (copper-cobalt) district

Ban Phuc (DSS)

Blackstone has been successful with additional infill drilling at Ban Phuc and extensional drilling within the KCZ.

The results delivered during the December quarter were some of the best intercepts to date.

Ban Chang (MSV)

Blackstone continues to target MSV prospects analogous to the previously mined Ban Phuc MSV, where previous owners successfully mined 975,000 tonnes of high-grade ore at average grades of 2.4% nickel & 1.0% copper from an average vein width of 1.3 metres.

The first higher grade MSV deposit targeted for a JORC compliant resource in 2021 is the Ban Chang prospect.

Ban Chang is located 2.5 kilometres south-east of the processing facility and the Ban Phuc deposit adjacent to the Chim Van  Co Muong fault system.

Following initial drill holes at Ban Chang which intersected highgrade massive sulphide nickel over a 1.2 kilometres strike length, drilling success in the December quarter continued to support the companys strategy to delineate a Maiden Resource at Ban Chang to supplement ongoing studies.

Ban Khoa (DSS)

The Ban Khoa prospect is centred on an ultramafic body adjacent to the Chim Van  Co Muong Fault, approximately 1.5 kilometres north of the Ban Phuc deposit.

The body is interpreted to be a 300 metres wide sill which has intruded into fine-grained Ban Phuc sediments.

Blackstone started drilling during the quarter after its in-house geophysics crew generated new targets associated with the highly prospective Ban Khoa ultramafic intrusion.

The prospect is analogous to the Ban Phuc DSS orebody where the company delivered the King Cobra discovery and announced the maiden indicated mineral resource of 44.3 million tonnes at 0.52% nickel for 229,000 tonnes.

Ban Khoa has a combination of high priority MSV prospects within a broader DSS target associated with the Ban Khoa ultramafic intrusion.

Other major developments

During the quarter, the company strengthened its management team to drive the development of Ta Khoa as a mine-to-market nickel business.

The company appointed Peter Plakidis as a non-executive director and thanked Steve Parsons, who resigned as a non-executive director, for his contributions.

Blackstone joined the US-based OTCQB market to enhance visibility and accessibility to North American investors and its shares are now also traded under the code of ( ).
When six of Sarah's dogs were stolen in late December, she was left reeling. But she was not alone, as increasing numbers of pet owners have experienced similar losses across Britain.

"I can't name one feeling because there was too many -- I was basically shocked, upset, frightened because of how this happened," the 35-year-old, who declined to give her surname, told AFP.

"(I was) obviously really, really, really worried for the dogs and it's hard to go on with daily life because you feel guilty."

The dogs disappeared after thieves broke into the outhouse where they slept overnight at the family's property in a quiet village near the town of Port Talbot in south Wales.

Five remain missing but a female English springer spaniel stolen was recently found by a passerby, and a vet was able to trace her back to Sarah.

She had a nasty wound where the perpetrators had unsuccessfully tried to remove her microchip.

"Seeing the injuries that my spaniel has got, (I'm) even more worried for the dogs now," said Sarah.

- 'Huge demand' -

Britain has seen an explosion in the number of dog thefts since the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns started early last year, as demand for pets has surged.

"It's just as growing a pandemic as Covid itself," said Wayne May, from DogLost, an organisation that tries to reunite missing canines with their owners using its online database.

"I've been doing this for 30 years now and 2020 was the worst ever year," he added, noting there had been an estimated 250 percent rise in dog thefts since last March.

Already known as a nation of dog lovers, a burgeoning number of Britons have been looking for four-legged companions during the virus lockdowns to help overcome loneliness and anxiety.

Prices for puppies in particular but also older dogs have skyrocketed, attracting greedy breeders -- and the interest of criminals.

Figures from Pets4Homes, an online marketplace for sales and adoptions, showed the average price asked in around 150,000 listings from March to September was 1,883 ($2,575, 2,149 euros).

Story continues

The average price during the same period the previous year was less than half that, at 888.

Some puppies of popular breeds, such as spaniels, bulldogs, pugs and poodle crossbreeds, can be listed for more than 4,000.

Meanwhile, adoptions have also risen.

The "pets" section of the website of the animal welfare charity the RSPCA attracted 40 million views in the final nine months of 2020 -- an increase of 13 million compared to 2019.

"Because there's been such a huge demand for puppies especially, we've seen people start to try and meet this demand by acting illegally and illicitly," said Sam Gaines, head of companion animals at the RSPCA.

- 'Lucrative' -

She added that the extra demand had led to a rise in puppies being brought in from abroad.

"We do have huge concerns about how puppies are bred and reared from outside of the UK, and the really long journeys that they need to endure to actually get to this country," Gaines told AFP.

Organised criminal groups are now taking a growing interest in this area, alongside less coordinated thieves long active in more opportunistic dog stealing, according to DogLost's May.

"Prior to the pandemic... it was opportunity theft, a very very small percentage was criminal gangs or specifically targeted thefts," he explained.

"That all changed last year... we're now getting organised gangs and groups, stealing your dogs to breed from or to look for a reward or a ransom."

May believes only tougher sanctions can discourage the growing number of thieves.

"It's more lucrative now to be a dog thief in the United Kingdom than to be a drug dealer, because the punishment doesn't fit the crime," he added, noting punishment for stealing a dog is a paltry 200-250 fine.

"The criminal gangs are willing to take that risk for such a paltry sum."

pau/jj/phz/har
Age is an issue of mind over matter, Mark Twain said. If you dont mind, it doesnt matter.

Thats good advice. Unfortunately, we know that many employers do pay attention to age. According to the Urban Institute and ProPublica, more than half of workers over the age of 50 lose their longtime jobs before they want to retire, and nine out of 10 never recover their previous earning power.

Age discrimination in the hiring process is a real problem, and with so many folks unemployed right now in Connecticut (home to the seventh-oldest workforce in America), we must take action this legislative session to protect older workers and ensure that our economic recovery is as strong and fair as possible.

As chairman of the Aging Committee, Im proposing a bill that would make Connecticut a national leader in this regard. My bill prohibits employers from asking for age-specific information  such as dates of birth, school graduation and attendance dates  on job applications. Unless theres a bona fide occupational need for determining your age (a bartender being at least 21, for example), the employer doesnt need to know what year you graduated high school or were born.

If enacted, Connecticut would join one of just a handful of states that explicitly ban this type of information on job applications.

My goal is to prevent older workers from being vetted by their age before they ever get an opportunity for an interview. We know that older workers can be just as productive or more than younger applicants  they just need a chance. Researchers recently conducted a study in which they sent out 40,000 applications for fictitious job seekers and used different ages to see if it made a difference in getting call backs. It did.

No wonder then that, according to the AARP, 60 percent of older workers  those 50 and over  believe theyve been discriminated against because of their age. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the last recession, the average 54-year-old job seeker was unemployed for a year  much longer than younger job seekers. Statistics show that women and people of color suffer even more.

Sadly, theres no reason to think that well have a more equitable recovery now. A new report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, and reported on by the ABA Journal, discovered that the unemployment rate for Americans 65 and older rose about 2.5 percent more in April 2020 than it did at the peak of the recession. Experts say age discrimination is at least partly to blame.

Making matters worse, the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit recently decided that recruiting practices that disproportionately eliminate older applicants dont violate federal law. Another federal court decision said that protection from age discrimination only exists for those older workers who have jobs, not for job applicants.

This is the third year in a row that Ive introduced this bill. Last year, it quickly earned bipartisan support, and the AARP and the states largest business organization were also on board. The bill was poised for passage until the pandemic shut down the 2020 legislative session.

This year, we must finish the job.

State Sen. Derek Slap, a Democrat, represents the 19th District, which includes West Hartford, Farmington, Burlington and Bloomfield.
As states prepare COVID-19 inoculations for a wider swath of the population, researchers who have been mapping potential vaccine distribution sites found that, in dozens of counties across the country, Black residents are more likely than white residents to live farther away from a site.

Long drives to vaccination sites may keep people from getting the vaccine, and could widen the already-significant health disparities between Black and white Americans, wrote the researchers, from the University of Pittsburgh and the West Health Policy Center.

Researchers hope health departments around the country will use the mapping project to pinpoint under-served areas of their communities and open more convenient facilities like mobile clinics or mass vaccination sites at gyms and stadiums. Many counties, including in the Philadelphia region, have already begun to open such sites.

The idea is not to say Black Americans will have less access to the vaccine. Its that, unless you do something, theyll have less access to the vaccine, said Sean Dickson, the director of health policy at West Health.

The analysis mapped 68,128 sites across the country that would likely hand out vaccines: hospitals, federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, and community pharmacies that have already hosted immunizations, like the annual flu shot. Researchers found that 25% of counties in the country had three or fewer potential vaccine facilities, and that rural states like Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming had the longest average driving distance to a potential facility.

But disparities arent limited to rural areas.

In urban areas, we found particularly large disparities in Atlanta, New Orleans, and some of the large Texas metro areas, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, said Inmaculada Hernandez, an assistant professor of pharmacy and therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh and one of the studys authors.

In those areas, Black residents were more likely to have to drive more than a mile to the closest vaccine facility than white residents. And in 90 counties in the country -- including York County in Pennsylvania -- Black residents had a significantly higher likelihood of having to drive 10 miles or more to a vaccination site.

Hernandez said the mapping project has implications beyond the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, showing how many Americans lack easy access to health-care facilities.

The study also shows how health disparities manifest in different ways around the country, Hernandez said. Some counties had very few health-care facilities and long driving distances to reach them; in other counties, there were shorter driving distances to vaccine distribution sites, but not enough facilities to handle the number of people who need to be vaccinated.

And then there were counties where potential vaccine access varied greatly by race.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated and accelerated the existing fault lines in race and health care, Dickson said. The disparities weve outlined here are only potential disparities. Theyre disparities if we choose not to act on them.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has told the New South Wales premier not to come to her state during a live TV interview.

Ms Palaszczuk made the snub to Gladys Berejiklian while speaking on the Today Show at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast on Friday morning.

She had been defending her state's hard border closure with New South Wales, which was finally eased after six weeks - the third such lockdown since the pandemic began - on February 1.

Though the topic remains a sore point between the two state premiers who have not been on talking terms since the borders were first closed in March 2020 - accusing each other of ignoring text messages and briefing against one another.

Host Leila McKinnon told the premier Ms Berejiklian had appeared on the show 20 minutes earlier and extended an invitation for Ms Palaszczuk to visit Sydney.

Ms Palaszczuk laughed off the invitation before she gave a cutting response.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has told the New South Wales premier not to come to her state during a live TV interview

Only 20 minutes earlier Gladys Berejiklian had appeared on the Today Show where she shared a cheeky exchange with Karl Stefanovic over the reopening of the border, before extending an invitation to the Queensland premier

'Everyone from NSW is welcome to come here but Gladys used to co-go to Palm Cove I hear,' she said.

'But if she is going to criticise Queensland, don't come to Queensland.'

Only 20 minutes earlier, Ms Berejiklian had appeared on the Today Show where she shared a cheeky exchange with Karl Stefanovic over the reopening of the border, before extending a tongue-in-cheek invitation to the Queensland premier.

Stefanovic opened the interview with a backhanded comment about the premier's ongoing stoush with Ms Palaszczuk.

'Wish you could be here on the beautiful Sunshine State at Burleigh Heads,' he said.

Ms Berejiklian rolled her eyes before laughing off the cheeky jab and replying, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah'.

The Today Show host later capped off the interview with another bold question.

'When are you coming to God's country to have a dark and stormy with the Queensland premier?' he said, pointing at their less than brilliant relationship.

Ms Berejiklian responded in good humour: 'Well I'm hoping all the premiers will come to NSW, the only state where everybody is welcome all of the time.'

'We are open always. We welcome everybody. You don't have to be worried about being locked in or locked out.'

The state border closure remains a sore point between the two state premiers who have not been on talking terms since the borders were first closed in March 2020 (pictured, the border at Coolangatta on December 21, 2020)

McKinnon pointed out the hard border closure had been particularly tough on businesses (pictured, quiet streets in the Gold Coast as businesses remained closed in August 2020)

Ms Palaszczuk had earlier said she held no regrets about closing the Queensland borders, saying the long-term payoff was worth the months of lockdown.

'Look at our lifestyle, everyone here is getting on with their life, overseas they are locked down, not going to work, they are not enjoying their freedoms and not going to any tourist destinations,' she said.

'This is the lucky country.'

McKinnon pressed the premier on the issue and pointed out the lockdown had been particularly tough on businesses.

Though Ms Palaszczuk remained firm on her position and said health was the top priority.

'You can't have a job unless your health is protected, and we had to take those measures,' she said.

Nigel Stephenson, MP for South Leeward, wants a pardon for those currently serving sentences for marijuana.

Nigel Stephenson, a three-time Parliamentary Representative for South Leeward, is calling on this countrys government to commute the sentences of persons convicted for marijuana-relate charges.





He made his position known last Tuesday as he contributed to the 2021 Debate of the 2021 Appropriate Bill/Budget.





His appeal came in light of the presence of the coronavirus/COVID-19 disease here, to which, he said, prisoners serving sentences for marijuana-related charges are exposed.





The MPs concern comes as a drive to establish a Medical Cannabis Industry here is gathering speed.





Stephenson sees no distinction between medical cannabis and marijuana as a whole and commended those farmers who dared life, limb and property on the precipices as they involved themselves, in the, albeit, illegal marijuana trade.





He alluded to sacrifices made to earn a livelihood by traditional marijuana farmers, some of whom could well be imprisoned currently.





Stephenson reached out to the Mercy Committee and/or the pertinent authorities to consider pardoning persons jailed for marijuana.





He pointed to the objective of making money from the marijuana industry and disclosed that it was the same intention that the traditional farmers had been pursuing that led to their incarceration.
New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith broke with most of House Republican colleagues Thursday and voted to punish first-term Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for a series of hateful comments and conspiracy theories before and after she was elected to Congress.

The vote was 230-199 to remove Greene from her positions on the House Budget and the Education and Labor committees. Smith, R-4th Dist., was one of 11 Republicans who joined every Democrat in voting yes.

New Jerseys other Republican House member, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, voted no.

The House acted because Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California refused strip Greene of her committee assignments, unlike the action he took against then-Rep. Steve King of Iowa for comments that appeared to support white supremacy.

Neither Smith nor Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., responded to requests for comment. They did not speak during the debate.

Smith has a long history of fighting anti-Semitism, and Greene, R-Ga., has supported the QAnon conspiracy theory that claimed President Donald Trump was fighting a global child-sex trafficking ring led by prominent Democrats and Hollywood celebrities. The Anti-Defamation League said it contains marked undertones of anti-Semitism and xenophobia.

Greene also blamed California wildfires on lasers from space funded by the Rothschilds, who like George Soros have become the main characters in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jews.

She endorsed executing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other prominent Democrats, suggested President Bill Clinton was involved in murder and President Barack Obama was a secret Muslim, and questioned whether a hijacked plane really crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, and whether there was a mass murder at a high school in Parkland, Florida.

I never once said any of the things that I am being accused today during my campaign, Greene told the House on Thursday. I never said any of these things since I have been elected to Congress. These were words of the past and these things do not represent me, they do not represent my district and they do not represent my values.

After winning her House seat last November, however Greene called for jailing Hillary Clinton and continued to raise baseless claims of a stolen election, even after Joe Biden was sworn in as president.

Before supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Jan. 6 in an insurrection in which five people died, the newly elected congresswoman called the demonstration a 1776 moment for Republicans, referring to the American Revolution.

And she went on the attack just hours before the vote.

Its not just me they want to cancel.



They want to cancel every Republican.



Dont let the mob win.  Marjorie Taylor Greene  (@mtgreenee) February 4, 2021

Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist., whose resolution condemning QAnon overwhelmingly passed last year, said the House needed to act against Greene, or else violent extremists will see it as another sign that they have a legitimate place in our nation.

If you believe these conspiracy theories are dangerous, you have to separate yourself from the people who are spreading them, he said on the House floor.

McCarthy said the resolution sets a dangerous new standard that will only deepen divisions within this House, and pointed out that his offer to remove Greene from Education but leave her on Budget was rejected by House Democratic leaders.

If thats the new standard, if people are held to what they said prior to even being in this house, if the majority party gets to decide who sits on what other committees, I hope you keep that standard because we have a long list you can work with within your own, he said.

But Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the resolutions chief sponsor, said Greene was in a special category.

If a Democrat purports violence against members and peddles dangerous lies and conspiracy theories, then refuses to renounce them and our caucus refuses to police it, then punishment would be in order, said Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. Thats the reality of what were dealing with today with Congresswoman Greene.

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The House vote may not be the last word on Greene. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., has said he will move to expel her from the House.

Im committed to bringing it up, Gomez said, according to pool reports. There needs to be a vote sooner rather or later on this, but Im gonna do it.

The House overwhelmingly voted to condemn anti-Semitism in 2017 after Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn,, raised ages-old canards about Jews having dual loyalties and buying congressional support for Israel. Omar apologized unequivocally.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant.

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Allstate CEO to Present at Bank of America Securities Conference 2021

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL), one of the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurers, announced that Tom Wilson, Chair, President and CEO, will present at the virtual Bank of America Securities Conference at 11:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

A webcast of the presentation can be accessed at www.allstateinvestors.com, where a replay will be posted in the executive speeches section shortly after the presentation ends.







Financial information, including material announcements about The Allstate Corporation, is routinely posted on www.allstateinvestors.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005396/en/
A dog owner was reduced to tears as he was reunited with his pet after a house fire.

Video from the Chattanooga Fire Department captured the moment the dog was brought back to the Tennessee man after the animal was revived by firefighters.

The owner is seen looking emotional as the dog is returned to him following the blaze at his home in the St Elmo district of the city.

The man and his family were unhurt in the blaze, which destroyed over half of the house according to firefighters.

The department said the family lost several other pets in the fire.
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
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We, the Amazon workers of BWI2 in Baltimore, Maryland, register our support for keeping schools closed until the COVID-19 pandemic has been contained. We call for a struggle of all working people against the homicidal policy to reopen schools before the pandemic is stopped!

In refusing to return to unsafe classrooms, teachers in Chicago, Washington D.C. and elsewhere are defending our communities. If schools are allowed to reopen, COVID-19 will infect our children, enter our homes and infect us. It is up to all working people to stop this capitalist policy of mass infection. The Amazon workers of BWI2 call for workers to begin organizing plans for a political general strike to stop the efforts to reopen before it is safe.

Amazon workers protest unsafe working conditions in Staten Island, New York, on March 30, 2020 (Credit: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

The majority of scientific studies show that the closure of schools and non-essential businesses last spring saved tens of thousands of lives. Amazon warehouses have become hotbeds of COVID-19. While Amazon CEOs refer to us as heroes, they take away our hazard pay and benefits while thousands of our coworkers have become sickened and some have died.

We understand the difficulties imposed on students and parents because of poorly prepared remote classrooms. In many cases, these online accommodations were purposely made to fail. Democratic and Republican administrations are using their own disastrous response to the pandemic to force surrender to it now, as even deadlier coronavirus variants are spreading throughout communities.

Furthermore, the effort to reopen schools before the virus has been contained is based on deliberate lies. Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon and the Washington Post, has been one of the loudest voices demanding that schools reopen.

Bezos Washington Post newspaper regularly demands that children return to schools. It cynically tries to play working people against one another by claiming teachers are making it impossible to get kids back to class. It lies by making claims that COVID-19 does not spread in schools. Its newspaper columns feature advocates of big business who care nothing about the lives of children.

The real reason to get schools open is so that parents can get back to work. This has been admitted in recent statements by members of Democratic President Joseph Bidens own administration. It has nothing to do with the well-being of our children!

Teachers cannot do their jobs in an unsafe environment, just as we cannot do our jobs under unsafe conditions at Amazon. Schools have been underfunded by Democratic and Republican administrations for decades. Why should we trust what these people say about the safety of our schools?

In Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia, teachers are being forced to return to schools this month even as the vaccination of the population has broken down due to mismanagement and incompetence. Daily COVID-19 case counts in Maryland are currently double what they were in spring of last year, when schools were taken remote.

COVID-19 has exposed the interconnectedness of society. As working people, we must remember the traditional militant labor slogan: An injury to one is an injury to all. This saying has gained a deeper meaning during the pandemic.

That is why we are calling for the preparation for an all-out political general strike against the reopening. Workers should form and join rank-and-file safety committees in their own workplaces to discuss strategies, demands and plans for organizing a united struggle of all workplaces and industries against these policies.

This struggle cannot be conducted under the auspices of the existing trade unions, including those currently seeking to gain rights to organize in Amazon warehouses. These organizations claiming to speak in the name of working people are opposed to a united working class struggle against the reopening policies of big business. They are opposed to any struggle of working people against big business.

Workers must take the initiative to form independent rank-and-file safety committees or else run the risk of being delivered, bound and gagged, to the representatives of Wall Street by their trade union accomplices.

In raising this call for a united general strike against the homicidal policies of school reopening, the BWI2 Rank-and-File Safety Committee issues this modified version of its demands:

Paid time off with no threat of termination for workers unwilling to risk themselves during the pandemic. The rehiring at the same wage or higher for workers previously terminated for protesting and resisting Amazons abuses.





Accessible, reliable and safe testing and vaccination for all employees who desire them.





Closure of facilities for necessary cleaning. If an outbreak is detected at a fulfillment center, it must be closed for at least two days and deep-cleaned with no loss of pay to the workers affected.





An end to abusive speed-up. Extended break periods at the end of every hour to maintain health and safety. Time Off Task (TOT) tracking and other forms of harassment must be abolished.





Immediate reinstatement of hazard pay with retroactive pay increases.

We encourage all workers agreeing with these demands to join our growing rank-and-file safety committee network and help us prepare this opposition to the unsafe policies of Wall Street and big business.

Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

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Chairman Tehreek Jawanan Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir (TJP) on Kashmir Solidarity Day said in his statement that a solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue is essential for sustainable peace in South Asia

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Feb, 2021 ) :Chairman Tehreek Jawanan Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir (TJP) on Kashmir Solidarity Day said in his statement that a solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue is essential for sustainable peace in South Asia.

He said oppress Kashmiris nation is looking at UN resolutions for its implementation to hold a referendum in IIOJK.

But unfortunately, UN is refraining from taking any practical action against India. He said that Kashmir issue is a flash point between the two nuclear powers India and Pakistan which needs to be resolved through referendum.

He said our Hearts beat with the Kashmiri people and are aware of the pain and suffering that the Indian army is brutally inflicting on them.

He said that Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders have been imprisoned in jails.

The UN agencies should implement the resolutions on Kashmir so that a plebiscite can be held in occupied Jammu and Kashmir to decide their future, he added.
Low-frequency sound waves aimed at a cloud could help to increase rainfall and alleviate drought in otherwise dry areas, according to a team of Chinese scientists.

Researchers from Tsinghua University in Beijing fired sounds at clouds using a frequency of about 50 herts - barely perceptible to human ears - at 160 decibels.

Study author Professor Wang Guangqian said sound waves 'excite the cloud' and vibrate it - this leads to a greater probability of water particles colliding and coming together - creating larger droplets and a greater chance of rainfall.

The team discovered that there were significantly more water droplets in the cloud after they fired their device - which is about as loud as a running jet engine.

Wang and colleagues believe that this technology could bring new and greater levels of rainfall to areas of the world that suffer from drought.

Study author Professor Wang Guangqian said sound waves 'excite the cloud' and vibrate it - this leads to a greater probability of water particles colliding and coming together - creating larger droplets and a greater chance of rainfall

Tibetan Plateau, also known in China as the Qingha. Low-frequency sound waves aimed at a cloud could help to increase rainfall and alleviate drought in otherwise dry areas, according to a team of Chinese scientists

'EXCITING CLOUDS' TO MAKE IT RAIN The team used a diesel engine to compress air at sea level that is then fired as sound at a cloud. The sound was at frequencies between 50 and 160 hertz and at up to 160 decibels in volume at sea level. The sound - 30 decibels by the time it reaches the cloud 3,300ft up - acts to vibrate the cloud. This causes smaller particles of water vapour to oscillate and merge. As the particles move faster and come together they form larger water droplets that can fall as rain. In their study - rainfall increased by between 11 and 17 per cent surrounding the experiment. Advertisement

During a weather manipulation experiment using the sound wave technology on the Tibetan Plateau in 2020 - they recorded a 17 per cent increase in rainfall.

China has about 20 trillion tonnes of atmospheric water vapour - but only 20 per cent falls as rain naturally to the ground - and at uneven rates across the country.

Wang said the amount that falls as rain in the western regions is even smaller than the national average of 20 per cent, inspiring him to find a way to 'trigger rain'.

In a paper published in the journal Scientia Sinica Technologica, the team say the sound energy technology is changing cloud physics.

Wang said that unlike other technologies designed to 'make it rain', his produces no chemical pollution, requires no 'airborne vehicles such as aircraft or rockets'.

He said future versions could even be developed to be controlled remotely at a very low cost base - making it more viable for more remote and inaccessible areas.

'There is no chemical pollution or dependence on airborne vehicles, and it can be remotely controlled at low cost,' Wang wrote in his paper.

According to a report in the South China Morning Post, critics have said the sound method could be damaging to wildlife living in areas where it operates.

It is about the same volume as an operating jet engine, but most humans will never hear it as the frequency of the sound is outside human hearing range - for most.

While the frequencies it operates - 50 to 160 hertz - is imperceptible to most human ears, it could be picked up by wildlife and disturb their natural rhythms.

Wang and colleagues believe that this new technology could bring new and greater levels of rainfall to areas of the world that suffer from drought. Stock image

Wang currently uses a diesel engine to produce the sound - it is capable of compressing air at sea level and using it to fire sound at the clouds.

While they are blasting out at 160 decibels at sea level - by the time they reach the clouds 3,300ft up - the volume drops to 30 decibels due to the reduced pressure.

They used radar signals to measure the water droplets inside the clouds before and after firing their device - and while we don't have figures - they claim there were 'significantly more water droplets formed' after the blast of sound.

The increase is thought to be caused by smaller particles oscillating and merging into larger ones which are then large enough to come down as rainfall.

Within a radius of 1,600 feet from the sound generator rainfall increased by between 11 and 17 per cent, according to Wang and his colleagues.

'The trigger and periodic effect of the acoustic waves on the cloud are proposed to be the key responses of acoustic atmospheric interference,' Wang wrote.

'This study is important to further research on atmosphere interference technology based on low frequency strong sound waves.'

However, not everyone believes in the findings.

Speaking anonymously to South China Morning Post, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said the experiment would need to be replicated many many times to gather data.

The person said there was no real evidence to support the idea that rainfall was linked to sound, adding that 'the subject remains more myth than science'.

The findings have been published in the journal Scientia Sinica Technologica.
Los Angeles, Feb 5 : Actor Ian Somerhalder has shared his secret behind a good romance. He says communication is the key to a healthy marriage. The actor also revealed that he and his wife Nikki Reed always make sure they speak to each another and make time for themselves as a couple.

"Communication, taking time for yourself, for yourselves together... She's the first one that says, 'go, go on a bike ride, go socially distance walk with your buddies, go have a bourbon at the bar', you know, like just go," the actor said.

He shared that they "don't really fight", although they do sometimes bicker because the star is "a tornado".

"We don't really fight. I just basically ... Well, I'm a tornado. I literally live, and I've learned this now as a parent. Cause I, you know, being a parent forces you to reckon with all of the things that, who you are really comes out, not just in a marriage, but when you become a parent and I am a tornado," Somerhalder said on SiriusXM's Radio Andy, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Not long ago, the actor had hailed parents as "superheroes".

"I wanted to play a guy whose superpower was just being a good dad. He's a dad, he's a husband, he's a doctor. Literally, that's the guy's superpower. To me, scientists are superheroes. Great parents are superheroes," he had said.

The actor shared that he is a "parent now".

"I do recognise that it takes being a bit of a superhero to be a good parent, and that's all I wanted to play -- just this guy. What we realised was people don't want an ordinary hero. They want an extraordinary hero. We re-tooled this entire trajectory of this guy," he said.
 Flash

Another 20,634 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,892,459, according to official figures released Thursday.

The country also reported another 915 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 110,250. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

A seven-year-old with known underlying health conditions is among the latest reported deaths of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in England, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

"While the risk from the virus to children is low, people with underlying conditions are known to be at higher risk of serious disease," according to the London-based newspaper.

Patients were aged between seven and 102 years old and all except 30 -- aged 40 to 99 -- had known underlying health conditions.

Earlier Thursday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Britain remained "on track" to complete the vaccination of the top priority groups, which cover 15 million people, by mid-February.

Meanwhile, one in five of all adults in Britain have already received a jab, according to Hancock.

"We are on track to deliver the commitment we have made of offering the jab to all of the top four priority groups by Feb. 15," Hancock told reporters.

"I'm just so proud of the team who are delivering this, it's going really, really well... Today we passed the threshold of one in five of the population who have been jabbed already."

Also on Thursday, British vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said Britain is "getting safer every day" as more people are given coronavirus vaccines, but the infection level is still "alarmingly high".

Nearly 10.5 million people in Britain have been given the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to publish detailed plans for easing lockdown on Feb. 22 after the "milestone" of 10 million first-dose vaccinations was passed in the country.

However, there are 32,000 people in hospital with coronavirus and the level of infections is "alarmingly high", he said.

Zahawi said 39 new vaccination sites have opened this week as part of the British government's "ambitious plan" to roll out the vaccines. Britain aims to offer all adults their first dose by autumn.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.
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[February 05, 2021] Razer Huntsman V2 Analog Keyboard Unlocks Full Versatility With a New Dimension of Input

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers (Hong Kong Stock Code: 1337), today announced the new Razer Huntsman V2 Analog - a feature-packed keyboard equipped with Analog Optical Switches, Razer's cutting-edge switch innovation. With the introduction of analog input, true full-range directional motion is finally available on PC gaming without a controller. Gamers can now also unlock a whole new dimension of gaming with the ability to fully adjust and program each keystroke down to the millimeter. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005344/en/ The new Razer Huntsman V2 Analog keyboard is equipped with Razer Analog Optical Switches for the next generation of input. (Photo: Business Wire) Introducing Razer Analog Optical Switches The Razer Analog Optical Switch is not only a ground-breaking evolution in keyboard switch technology, but also the key to unlocking an unparalleled gaming experience. The unique innovation combines three components: analog input, adjustable actuation, and dual-step actuation. Analog Input: The analog input emulates an analog joystick input for smoother, more nuanced control and maneuverability. This finesse removes the limitations of an 8-way WASD movement and allows for a true 360-degree of motion that benefits games optimized for controller support like third-person games, multi-platform shooters, racing games, as well as vehicle simulators.

The analog input emulates an analog joystick input for smoother, more nuanced control and maneuverability. This finesse removes the limitations of an 8-way WASD movement and allows for a true 360-degree of motion that benefits games optimized for controller support like third-person games, multi-platform shooters, racing games, as well as vehicle simulators. Adjustable Actuation: Players can also custom tune and adjust each key's actuation point to suit any playstyle; ranging from a quick actuation of 1.5mm for fast-paced gaming to a full 3.6mm actuation for deep and deliberate keystrokes.

Players can also custom tune and adjust each key's actuation point to suit any playstyle; ranging from a quick actuation of 1.5mm for fast-paced gaming to a full 3.6mm actuation for deep and deliberate keystrokes. Dual-step Actuation: With dual-step actuation, one keystroke can activate two programmed functions set at two different actuation points. It essentially offers twice as much functionality per keystroke and is suitable for activating advanced combos in games - such as taking out a grenade and throwing it in the same keystroke. "We are constantly innovating at the forefront of gaming keyboard switch technology. Through iterations of testing and research with our community, we have designed a completely new switch that opens the door to a whole new gaming experience," said Alvin Cheung, Senior Vice President of Razer's peripherals business unit. "With the new Razer Analog Optical Switch technology, gamers can now reap the benefits and unlock the full potential of PC gaming to experience absolute control." Born from the acclaimed Razer Optical Switches, these Analog Optical Switches also harness the speed of light to actuate each key. Razer Analog Optical Switches track how much light goes through the switch and allows the keyboard to measure how far down each key is pressed. And unlike traditional mechanical switches, i requires fewer moving parts and no metallic contacts - only pure light. With no physical contacts to degrade, these switches can easily last up to 100 million keystrokes.



Community Driven Upgrades As the latest addition to the Huntsman family, the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog includes new upgrades driven by community feedback from the Huntsman Elite while also retaining its fan-favorite form factor and media keys with a digital dial.

Due to popular demand, doubleshot PBT keycaps have been added for a sturdy, textured finish, as well as a standard bottom row that allows for further customization. Razer utilizes a doubleshot plastic molding process to create a more durable keycap as compared to traditional ABS (News - Alert) plastic found on most other keyboards. These doubleshot PBT keycaps will also be available in various regional layouts, including UK, German, French, Nordic, Russian, Spanish, and Japanese. Razer also offers additional personalization with the PBT Keycap Upgrade Sets sold separately in Classic Black, Quartz Pink, Mercury White, or Razer Green. The new Huntsman V2 Analog keyboard also features improved connectivity. For extra versatility and convenience, the keyboard is now powered by a single braided cable, with a second cable allowing for optional USB 3.0 passthrough. Users also have the option to choose between USB Type-C or USB 3.0 Type-A via an included adapter. Game with Chroma Integration The Huntsman V2 Analog is fit for the ultimate RGB Chroma battlestation. Following in its predecessor's footsteps, the keyboard shines brilliantly with underglow lighting from every side - including around its now bezel-less plush magnetic leatherette wrist rest. Gamers can personalize a variety of lighting effects with a selection of up to 16.8 million colors within the Razer Synapse 3 software. In-game Razer Chroma lighting effects are also integrated into popular game titles and can display tutorials, dynamic effects that react to gameplay and more. The Razer Chroma experience can extend to other devices for even more immersive visual feedback. Razer Huntsman V2 Analog owners may pair it with other Razer Chroma-enabled products and synchronize with smart lighting in the home via Philips (News - Alert) Hue integration with Razer Chroma. New Analog Optical Switches, a broad range of improvements from doubleshot PBT keycaps to streamlined connectivity options, and full Razer Chroma integration make the new Razer Huntsman Analog the most advanced, most versatile and most customizable Razer keyboard ever. ABOUT THE HUNTSMAN V2 ANALOG Razer Analog Optical Switches

100 million keystroke lifespan

Razer Chroma RGB customizable backlighting with 16.8 million color options

Razer Doubleshot PBT Keycaps

USB Type-C to USB Type-A Adapter

USB 3.0 Passthrough

Underglow lighting

Magnetic plush leatherette wrist rest

Multi-functional digital dial with 4 media keys

Fully programmable keys with on-the-fly macro recording

Hybrid onboard storage - up to 5 keybinding profiles

N-key roll-over with anti-ghosting

Gaming mode option

Braided Fiber Cable

1000 Hz Ultrapolling

Aluminum matte top plate For more information, please see here. PRICE & AVAILABILITY $249.99 USD / 269,99 MSRP

Razer.com: February 4, 2021

Amazon, Best Buy: February 9, 2021 LAYOUT AVAILABILITY US

UK

German

French

Nordic

Spanish

Russian

Japanese PRODUCT ASSETS Please find the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog press kit here. ABOUT RAZER Razer is the world's leading lifestyle brand for gamers. The triple-headed snake trademark of Razer is one of the most recognized logos in the global gaming and esports communities. With a fan base that spans every continent, the company has designed and built the world's largest gamer-focused ecosystem of hardware, software and services. Razer's award-winning hardware includes high-performance gaming peripherals and Blade gaming laptops. Razer's software platform, with over 100 million users, includes Razer Synapse (an Internet of Things platform), Razer Chroma RGB (a proprietary RGB lighting technology system), and Razer Cortex (a game optimizer and launcher). In services, Razer Gold is one of the world's largest virtual credit services for gamers, and Razer Fintech is one of the largest offline-to-online digital payment networks in SE Asia. Founded in 2005 and dual-headquartered in Irvine (California) and Singapore, Razer has 17 offices worldwide and is recognized as the leading brand for gamers in the USA, Europe and China. Razer is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 1337). Razer - For Gamers. By Gamers. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005344/en/

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Bengaluru, Feb 5 : A stray dog which had apparently killed a young leopard in a fight later succumbed to his injuries in Karnataka's Mandya district, forest officials said on Friday.

"Prima facie it appears that both the animals fought hard before their deaths but the exact cause of the leopard's death is yet to be ascertained," Deputy Conservator of Forests (Mandya) Ravishankar told IANS.

He added that both the animal carcasses have been sent for autopsy.

"Though the leopard appeared to be only 6 months old and the dog was robustly built, still I would bet on the former's victory, but never know that in a jungle circumstances and luck completely dominate laws," Ravishankar said.

According to another forest official, with the livestock being closely guarded by men, the leopards are going after dogs.

"They also relish canines and it's easy for the leopards to hunt down dogs. Generally, villages with a good population of dogs attract leopards. They attack and catch dogs by the throat leaving no chance for them to bark and raise an alarm. But in this case it is clear that both the prey and the predator have fought hard. At least such signs are visible," an official said.

While a local resident, Thimme Gowda told IANS that a local stray dog, regularly fed by the villagers had grown into a strong adult dog, which villagers used to fondly call 'kariya' (blackie).

"It was a well built dog, whereas the leopard that died was small but still a strong one. This confrontation may have taken place in the wee hours of the morning as that is the time when animals like leopards come out to hunt their prey," he added.

He added that due to the prevailing cold weather, the villagers shut their doors while sleeping though some of them may have heard but ignored the sound of the barking dog.

"We only came to know about the incident in the morning when some villagers on their way to the fields noticed both the carcasses," he added.

The Union Budget has been lauded across industry segments for the infrastructure push to revive the economy from COVID lows.

However, a closer look at the allocation made for the Indian Railways in the Budget reveals that the Ministry of Finance has drastically curtailed the gross budgetary support (GBS) for the transport behemoth in the current financial year and introduced special loan from general revenues.

This is against the precedent that GBS to the Ministry of Railways is fully funded by the Finance Ministry.

Against a GBS of Rs 70,250 crore budgeted for the current financial year for the railways, the Ministry of Finance has axed the capital support from the Budget in the revised estimate for 2020-21 by a whopping 58 per cent to Rs 29,250 crore.

Under the budgetary support for the current fiscal, however, another Rs 79,398 crore has been allocated as a special loan from general revenues, according to the document outlining the expenditure profile of the Ministry of Railways.

ALSO READ: Railways' revenue declined by Rs 36,993 crore in 2020 due to pandemic: Govt

The special loan will be utilised towards COVID-19 related resource gap in the current financial year. The amount will also be utilised towards liquidating adverse balance in public accounts in 2019-20.

While the Railway Ministry did not respond to the queries sent by Business Today on the matter and the reason behind the loan arrangement in the revised estimate pertaining to the gross budgetary support of the current financial year, a government source revealed that this essentially means that the amount will be utilised for bridging the revenue gap caused due to the pandemic and clearance of the pension dues of 2019-20.

Queries sent to the Railway ministry by Business Today pertained to the modality of the loan, repayment period and interest thereof.

Experts believe that the arrangement is just about styling the revenue expenditure as capital expenditure.

Being asked about the special loan from general revenues, former economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told Business Today, "All it amounts to is one arm of the government giving a loan to another arm of the government. So it's actually no loan. It is allocation for revenue expenditure. It should have been provided for as revenue expenditure."

ALSO READ: Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train to miss 2023 deadline on land delay in Maharashtra: Piyush Goyal

"If there are losses in the railway operations in the last year and this year that has to be paid, the government should pay without calling it a loan. The government may convert the loan into a grant in later years. But it should have been termed as a grant this year itself. This is just a window dressing to show that the capital expenditure has gone up in the year of COVID-19," Garg added.

For the next financial year, the government has provided a record sum of Rs 1,10,055 crore.

That being said, the Railway Budget has made conservative projections pertaining to freight and passenger earnings in the next financial year compared with budget estimate (BE) of the current financial year. Under all major revenue heads, the projections made for the next financial year is lower than the BE of 2020-21. This is despite the fact that the Economic Survey has pegged the Indian economy to grow at a rate of 11.5 per cent.

Freight revenue for 2021-22 is projected at Rs 1,37,810 crore, compared with Rs 1,47,000 crore that was estimated for the current financial year. Passenger receipts is projected to remain flat at Rs 61,000 crore.

The COVID impact is visible in the revised estimate of the current financial year. In RE for 2020-21, passenger receipts are pegged at Rs 15,000 crore, while freight earnings are estimated at Rs 1,24,184 crore.

ALSO READ: Budget 2021: Finance Minister allots Rs 1.10 lakh crore to Indian Railways
Moscow banned the entry of visitors from many foreign countries last spring as part of its efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic. It subsequently allowed citizens of some countries, including all other members of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) except Armenia, to visit Russia.

The ban directly affected tens of thousands of Armenian migrant workers earning a living in Russia on a seasonal or permanent basis. Many of them had to return to Armenia following lockdown restrictions imposed across Russia last March.

After repeated appeals from the Armenian government Moscow last week allowed Armenian citizens testing negative for COVID-19 to enter Russia by air from February 1 to March 1. They have to use a special mobile phone application certifying negative results of their coronavirus tests taken shortly before their departure from Armenia.

Pashinian noted with satisfaction the lifting of the ban when he spoke at a meeting of the prime ministers of Russia and other EEU member states held in Kazakhstan. He said that the move is of fairly great social and economic significance for Armenia.

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian said on Thursday that 1,423 Armenian citizens flew to Moscow and other Russian cities from Yerevan on February 1-3. More than 1,260 others returned to Armenia from Russia in the three-day period, Grigorian told Pashinian during a cabinet meeting in Yerevan.

Flights to Russia from Armenias second international airport located in Gyumri resumed on Thursday evening. Gyumri and the surrounding Shirak province have for decades suffered from high unemployment and poverty, forcing a large part of the regions population to work in Russia.

Im going [to Russia] for work. I was stuck here for a year because of the pandemic, one local resident, Onik Poghosian, said as he prepared to board a Gyumri-Moscow flight on Friday.

My family will stay here and I will come back again, Poghosian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service.

Armenuhi Ghasaboghlian was at the Gyumri airport to see off her son and his family that had emigrated to Russia in the 1990s but returned to Armenia following the 2018 Velvet Revolution. She said the family decided to again leave the country.

Our living conditions were such that we realized that we cant sufficiently provide for the children, explained the woman. We werent scared of the coronavirus or the war [in Nagorno-Karabakh.]

President Joe Biden announced an end to US support for a grinding five-year Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen that has deepened humanitarian suffering in the Arabian peninsulas poorest country, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.

AFP

The move would fulfil a campaign pledge by Biden, whose administration plans to pursue diplomacy to end the overall conflict in Yemen. Biden sees the United States playing a more active and engaged role to end the war through talks, Sullivan said at a White House briefing.

US House Punishes QAnon Conspiracy Theorist Lawmaker

The Democratic-led US House voted Thursday to discipline a congresswoman who embraced QAnon conspiracy theories and endorsed violence, capping weeks of mounting turmoil over holding to account a lawmaker whose extremist rhetoric caused a rupture in Republican ranks.

Reuters

Conservative first-term congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, facing bipartisan opprobrium for a series of disturbing comments and support of social media posts advocating the assassination of Democratic lawmakers, was stripped of her two assignments on the House education and budget committees.

1 In Every 5 Adults Had Covid By Mid-December, Says ICMR Survey

More than one-fifth of the country's adult population had at some point been infected by Covid-19 by mid-December, the third serological survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research shows.

BCCL

The separate data released on seroprevalence among those aged 10-18 was found to be 25.3%.

Former LRA Commander Found Guilty Of War Crimes In Uganda

A former Ugandan child soldier who became one of Joseph Kony's deputies has been convicted of dozens of crimes, including sexual enslavement and the killings of babies.

Reuters

Dominic Ongwen, known as one of the most ruthless commanders of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) - a guerrilla group that operated in northern Uganda - was found guilty by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of 61 out of 70 alleged counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Will Not Enter Delhi, Say Farmers As Police Prepare For Chakka Jam

As the farmers continue their agitation against farm laws at various borders of the national capital, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday informed that three-hour-long 'chakka jam' on February 6 will not take in Delhi.

BCCL

Speaking to reporters at the Ghazipur border protest site, he said farmers would provide food and water to the people who will be stuck due to 'chakka jam'.

2020 Saw Fewer Deaths In The State, Finds Kerala Govt Study

A Kerala Health Department study says that there was a 11.1 per cent reduction in absolute number of deaths in the state in the pandemic year of 2020 compared to 2019.

BCCL

The report said many developed countries reported a huge increase in all-cause mortality numbers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2021) - Champion Bear Resources Ltd. (TSXV: CBAV) ("Champion Bear" or the "Company") announced today that is encouraged by the efforts and investments of the partners involved in evaluating the Parkin Offset Dyke where Champion Bear holds a 50% interest.

Lonmin Canada Inc. currently has a joint venture agreement with Wallbridge Mining whereby it can spend up to $11 million on exploration to earn up to half of Wallbridge's interest in the Parkin properties. This is in addition to the $7.2 million that was spent by Implats on previous exploration programs.

Richard Kantor, the Company's President commented, "Champion Bear acquired the CBA Parkin offset property in 1997 from John Brady, a prospector of renown in the Sudbury area. It is host to the aptly named Brady Showing, where surface stripping exposed massive sulphide mineralization which from channel sampling returned 11.2% Cu, 0.6% Ni, 9.2g/t Pt, 4.3g/t Pd and 1.6g/t Au over 2.7 meters. Diamond drilling intersected gold values like the Glencore Parkin Property (located immediately to the SW) which included 44.0g/t Au over 1.4 meters at a depth of 543 meters."

Mr. Kantor further added "It is very rare for a small exploration company to have a piece of the action in the Sudbury Basin, Canada's premier mining community which has been largely controlled by the major mining companies for the past 125 years. With the Sibanye Stillwater acquisition of Lonmin in 2018, I look forward to seeing the results of any exploration the company may carry out on the properties in the near future."

Champion Bear is looking forward to the results of the Joint-Venture exploration program when they become available.

Mr. J. Michael Sweeny, PGeo, Independent Consultant is the "qualified person" within the meaning of Canadian National Instrument 43-101 - Standards for Disclosure of Mineral Projects, has reviewed and is responsible for the technical content of this news release.

About Champion Bear

Champion Bear is a mineral exploration company focused exclusively on the historically prospective regions of Ontario. The Company's primary targets are platinum group metals, precious metals, and polymetallic base metals deposits. Champion Bear's aim is to create shareholder value through selective property acquisition followed by focused exploration emphasizing drilling. The Company has assembled a large land position in the Dryden and Sudbury areas, totaling over 16,000 hectares. Additional information about Champion Bear can be found on the Company's website at www.championbear.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. For further information, please contact: Richard D. Kantor, Chairman and President of Champion Bear at phone: (403) 229-9522.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation including statements relating to the purpose and benefits to be derived from the Agreement. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information, including statements regarding the potential development of resources, joint venture exploration and drilling plans which may or may not occur. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the activities of its industry partners, the market price of the Company's securities, metal prices, exchange rates, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, environmental risks, title disputes, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, and regulations and other matters. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73836
The Sahel region has been described as a hotspot for human-made climate change, facing both slow-onset temperature warming and a rise in sudden, extreme weather shocks, such as floodings and droughts.

Migration has long been a hallmark of Sahelian populations, with people migrating to mitigate the impacts of environmental degradation caused, among others, by the impact of climate change, and diversify access to livelihoods sources which remain predominantly based on agricultural activities and natural resources.

The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 emerged in the region in March 2020.4 Governments were prompt to take action, imposing movement restrictions, closing international borders and implementing localised lockdowns, all in view of limiting the spread of the virus.

However, with the spread of the virus, long-held seasonal migration patterns were limited, putting on hold an important source of supplementary revenue for millions of Sahelians across the region. This report aims to gauge the impact of these restrictions on environmental migrants' 5 lives in the immediate, mid- and longer term.

The present study, conducted by reach in partnership with the Start Network as part of its Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF), aims to increase understanding of the inter-linkages between migration, climate change and COVID-19 in the Sahel, with the aim to improve Start Network member agencies' and the donor community's ability to respond to this crisis.

The study's findings draw on an extensive secondary data review, the knowledge of migration experts, humanitarian and development practitioners in the region. Most importantly, the findings draw on 135 individual in-person interviews with migrants engaged in seasonal migration patterns in the region, conducted in Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Niger, with Burkinabe, Nigerian and Nigerien migrants and non-migrants.

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Overall, the study finds that already prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 seasonal environmental migrants' livelihoods were based on a fine balance between ever increasing unpredictable harvest yields and seasonal migration patterns to complement otherwise insufficient agricultural outputs.

Already before the virus outbreak, seasonal migration patterns were more akin to distress migration -- migration done out of necessity to meet the most basic needs -- as opposed to supplementing livelihoods at origin. COVID-19, and associated movement restrictions, has tipped this fine balance over. The disruption of migration patterns has had an immediate impact on environmental migrants' lives, which will continue to permeate their lives in the mid- and, possibly, longer term.

A Guest Editorial

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My brilliant late father, who would have turned 100 this week had he lived, was fond of delivering mock-pompous Johnsonian pronouncements (no, not that Johnson; I mean Samuel, of dictionary fame).

Three in particular stick in my mind. The first was his reaction when I passed my 11-Plus, after I told him that school friends who'd been similarly successful in the exam had been promised bicycles by their parents.

'Bicycles, indeed!' he spluttered. 'I'd have thrashed you, my boy, if you'd failed!'

Another was his advice to a young colleague, his fellow journalist Frank Johnson  now dead too, alas  who had consulted him on a matter of etiquette.

Would it be socially acceptable, Frank wondered, if he were to ask a waitress from the Reform Club out for a date?

After thinking about it for a moment, my father replied: 'Only if you go to bed with her, dear boy.'

(In the interests of strict historical accuracy, I should point out that according to Frank's account, my father actually used a short Anglo-Saxon verb in place of the expression 'go to bed with'. But this is a family newspaper.)

My brilliant late father, who would have turned 100 this week had he lived, was fond of delivering mock-pompous Johnsonian pronouncements (no, not that Johnson; I mean Samuel, of dictionary fame)

Obscure

But it was his third memorable saying that had a more profound effect on my life than any other. I'm thinking of what he said to me  and I know I've quoted this before  when I told him I wanted to study English at his old university.

'English!!!' he exclaimed, in mock horror. 'English is a subject for ladies and foreigners! A gentleman, my boy, reads English in his spare time!'

Looking back, I can see this was just one of his jokes, like his remark about the 11-Plus (my blind father was never a thrasher) and the waitress from the Reform.

But as I've learned from 37 years as a dad myself, children tend to take their parents' light-hearted pronouncements more seriously than they were intended.

Indeed, I'm sure my own four sons could dredge up many things I've said and written about them over the years things I've long forgotten and never really meant in the first place  that have stung them more cruelly than I will ever know.

So it was with the 18-year-old me. Ever anxious to earn my father's approval, I gave up all thought of studying English, the subject I enjoyed most, and switched to his own speciality, history.

In a way, I'm glad I did, since I find it hard to see how much benefit of any sort a native English speaker can gain from studying his own language and literature as an academic discipline.

True, I might have found it easier to follow some of the more obscure passages in Shakespeare  never mind Beowulf or Chaucer  had I spent three years digging into the texts under expert guidance. I might also have spotted themes and references that have eluded me.

But those considerations aside, I've always derived great pleasure from reading English literature of all sorts, from the classic to the trashy, 'in my spare time', as my father might have put it.

Would I really have enjoyed the experience more if I had an English degree under my belt? Many will say 'Yes' but I rather doubt it.

As for practical applications, at least when history is taught well it offers a training in weighing up the reliability of evidence, organising facts and constructing a narrative  useful in many lines of work, not least in journalism.

As the great military historian Sir Antony Beevor puts it: 'History is probably the best discipline available for anyone who wants to learn how to research, how to marshal their material and their thoughts, and how to present their arguments in the most effective way.

'If that's not a good preparation for diplomacy, politics, the Civil Service or even banking then I don't know what is.'

Meanwhile, it's true that to understand the pitfalls of the present, it is very helpful to have some knowledge of the past.

As for a course in English, well, I guess it's a good training for English teachers, who happen to include our second son. But the last time I looked at the situations vacant columns, there weren't many steady jobs on offer to poets, playwrights and novelists.

Debt

Yet nor is there much demand these days for history graduates, such as our youngest, who followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

Indeed, when I look at our sons  all four festooned with glittering arts degrees from Russell Group universities, all saddled with huge student debt, but only the teacher among them gainfully employed with career prospects  I can't pretend I'm at all surprised by this week's news that courses such as those they studied are fast going out of fashion.

Fewer than 7,000 students were accepted for English degrees last year, says the university admissions service, Ucas. That's down by a third since 2011.

Over the same period, enrolments for history fell by a fifth to 12,870 and only 3,830 applicants were accepted to study modern languages  a third fewer than ten years ago.

Meanwhile, admissions to read the sciences have soared. Enrolments for computer science have gone up from about 20,000 to 30,000, and for engineering from 26,000 to more than 31,500.

Admissions to read medicine have also shot up  not before time  with numbers a third higher than in 2011, and interest in nursing degrees is up, too.

Though it pains me to say it, I reckon this swing towards science courses is as good for the country as it is for the career prospects of those who pursue them.

But a part of me also mourns the decline of less utilitarian disciplines. Call me an old romantic, but weren't people of my generation (I'm 67) brought up to believe that education is a good thing in itself, not just a means to a materialistic end?

But that's easy for me to say. Growing up in the golden age before student loans, when the good old taxpayer stumped up for my tuition fees  and gave me a generous maintenance allowance to boot  I didn't have to think too far ahead.

No such luck for today's students (though at the rate three of my four sons' careers are progressing, I don't see much prospect that taxpayers will ever see the money back from their loans).

But if you ask me, it's not just the fear of huge debt that has put school-leavers off studying for qualifications with less obvious pulling-power in the jobs market.

Obsessions

I also get the firm impression that arts courses have become more of a waste of time than ever  and I blame the mass takeover of the education establishment by the woke Left.

Even in my day there were plenty of Lefty dons around. But there were also quite a few conservative-minded teachers in higher education who could offer a different perspective.

These days, such dissenters are a highly endangered species. A critical mass of Left-wing academics has developed, recruiting and promoting only those who think like them.

The result is that subjects such as history and English  and even history of art  are increasingly taught through the narrow perspective of the Left's obsessions with race, class and gender.

Too many arts students are being taught what to think, not how. No wonder so many are coming to believe it's not worth their while to take an arts course.

After all, who wants to spend three or four years being told the British Empire was wholly evil, that our industrial wealth was built entirely on slavery, that obscure Afro-American artists are as worthy of study as Michelangelo, and that Jane Austen's work can be understood only through the prism of gender stereotypes?

We've got the BBC and the Guardian to tell us that sort of thing.

My dear old Tory dad must be spinning in his grave over the way his beloved history is taught these days. Indeed, I strongly suspect that if he were around today, he would encourage his grandchildren to study something useful instead.
By Lisa Barrington and Mohamed Ghobari

DUBAI/ADEN (Reuters) - Yemen expects a first batch of 2.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by March through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, and Saudi Arabia could separately finance shots for around 50% of the population, agencies involved have said.

Six years of war in Yemen have created what the United Nations describes as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis. What little remains of its health system relies on foreign aid.

"The government of Yemen has applied to the COVAX initiative to cover the initial needs of 23% of the population of Yemen, about 14 million doses," Philippe Duamelle, UNICEFs representative in Yemen told Reuters.

"A first allocation of 2.3 million doses has been confirmed and should be available by end-February, beginning of March, depending on the suppliers' availability of vaccines."

COVAX is co-led by the GAVI alliance, which secures vaccines for poor countries, the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the U.N. Childrens Fund (UNICEF).

Yemen will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine through COVAX as this can be used in the existing cold chain infrastructure, Duamelle said.

The aim is to vaccinate 70% of Yemen's population. The health ministry for Yemen's internationally recognised government on Friday said it had applied to Saudi Arabia's King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) for it to finance vaccines for 50% of the population.

KSRelief could not immediately be reached for comment. Saudi's finance minister last month said his country was talking to manufacturers to provide COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries including Yemen.

Yemen is divided between the government temporarily based in the south and the Houthi movement that ousted it from power in the capital, Sanaa, in the north in late 2014. A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in early 2015 to return the government to power.

Story continues

The government of Yemen intends the COVAX vaccines to be distributed throughout the country, including to Houthi areas, health minister Ali Walidi told Reuters.

"GAVI, WHO and UNICEF teams are in constant discussion with the government of Yemen and the authorities in the north to define the logistical arrangements and the vaccination modalities," Duamelle said.

Houthi health authorities told Reuters they had no money or plans to buy vaccines.

Yemen's government has reported 2,122 coronavirus cases, including 615 deaths. Houthi authorities, who control most large urban centres, have not provided figures since May when they said there were four cases and one death.

The U.N. and aid agencies say these official figures vastly underestimate the spread of the virus.

Confirmed cases have levelled off to a couple of new cases a day since September, and suspected cases presenting at health centres and in communities have slowed, aid agencies say, concluding that the first wave of the epidemic has passed.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington and Mohamed Ghobari; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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Deputy President William Ruto is on a mission to reverse the gains made by President Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga, who have stepped up campaigns to popularise the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

The President and Mr Odinga have, for a fortnight, toured Mt Kenya, Nyanza and Coast.

Mr Kenyatta got assurance of support for the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill from ward representatives in central Kenya.

The DP is expected at the Coast today, touring Kwale, Mombasa and Kilifi counties.

The Ruto visit comes hot in the heels of meetings by Mr Odinga's allies on Coast unity.

The DP has also been meeting rivals of President Kenyatta's supporters in Mt Kenya as he seeks to pile pressure on the Kieleweke brigade that is opposed to his presidential ambitions.

Mr Ruto will first tour Lunga Lunga where he will be hosted by area MP Khatib Mwashetani.

He will commission projects funded by the National Government Constituency Development Fund.

According to Nyali MP Mohammed Ali, the DP will be at Kadongo grounds in Kisauni for a youth economic empowerment forum on Friday.

He will then head to Jomvu and Changamwe for similar engagements.

The DP's tour of Mombasa will end when he officiates the opening of Kwa Bullo Primary and Secondary schools and a meeting with boda bodas in Frere Town.

Former Senator Hassan Omar and the Nyali MP will host Dr Ruto in Mombasa.

"The DP has toured many parts of the country and is coming to the Coast with the same message of addressing issues affecting our people, which Mr Odinga has failed to," Mr Omar said.

The DP tours the region on the back of a campaign by local leaders on the region's unity.

The push is being spearheaded by Governor Ali Hassan Joho of Mombasa and Kilifi's Amason Kingi, who appear to have side-lined MPs Aisha Jumwa (Malindi), Owen Baya (Kilifi North) and several other leaders allied to the DP.

Ms Jumwa's attempt to popularise Kadu Asili as the Coast regional outfit suffered a blow when party officials accused her of attempting to hijack it.

"We have talked with the DP and agreed to talk as leaders. We do not have to listen to Kingi who says the region should wait until June to have a party," the Malindi MP said.

Other MPs supporting the DP include Paul Katana (Kaloleni), Shariff Athman ( Lamu East), Feisal Bader (Msambweni) and Woman Representatives Lydia Haika (Taita Taveta) as well as Rehema Hassan (Tana River).

Mr Kingi on Monday called unity talks with at least 25 lawmakers and announced another meeting in Taita Taveta next week.

He said the region's six governors would be at the meeting.

Mr Omar dismissed plans by Mr Joho and Mr Kingi.

"The two have realised that their exit is imminent and now want to pamper the emotions of Coast people. Why are they talking of unity after all those years they have been in politics and leadership positions?" he asked.

Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, who is an ally of Mr Odinga, said Dr Ruto cannot neutralise the ODM leader "through his few tour".

"Let them continue with their visits and see if they can succeed in their plans. Let them try and see how far they can go. One thing he and others need to know that the region is intact," Mr Nassir said.

2017 election losers

The DP has in the past few days been meeting 2017 election losers in Mt Kenya, especially from constituencies whose MPs support President Kenyatta.

Mr Duncan Maina, who lost to Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu, visited Dr Ruto in Nairobi.

The Nyeri Town MP is one of the DP's harshest critics.

"Thank you DP for pricking the consciousness and conscience of ordinary Kenyans. We know the colonialists and their surrogates are immensely unhappy, " Mr Maina said after the Karen visit on Saturday.

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The DP also met Nyeri businessman Njoroge Wainaina who lost to Kieni MP Kanini Kega in the last election.

Mr Wainaina contested the Kieni parliamentary seat for the second time after losing to Mr Kega in 2013.

Mr Kega dismissed the meeting as a ploy to seek popularity and money from the DP.

"They are just after the cash because the DP has deep pockets. This does not concern us. They can hold whatever meetings they want," Mr Kega said.

The DP also met Chinga Ward Representative Kirugu Thuku on Tuesday amid reports that the latter is gunning for the Othaya parliamentary seat.

Leaders who support Mr Kingi and Mr Joho include Senators Mohammed Faki (Mombasa) and his Kilifi counterpart Stewart Madzayo and MPs Ali Wario (Garsen) Abdulswamad Nassir (Mvita) Mishi Mboko (Likoni), William Kamoti (Rabai), Said Hiribae (Galole), Andrew Mwadime (Mwatate), Omar Mwinyi (Changamwe), Badi Twalib (Jomvu), Ken Chonga (Kilifi South) and Teddy Mwambire (Ganze).
Once upon a time, I thought that it was perfectly appropriate for restaurant workers to earn less than minimum wage. Tipping, in my view, was a means for customers to show gratitude and to reward a job well done. If I wanted to earn more as a restaurant worker, then I needed to hustle more, put more effort into my demeanor, and be a bit more charming.

I thought this even when I was a waitress, working at a burger and burrito joint called Munchies during the summers when I was a college student. Collecting tips gave me a certain satisfaction. I liked sweeping dollar bills and coins off tables into the front pocket of my blue apron. Each time someone left me a big tip, anything more than I expected, a tiny jolt of dopamine flooded my brain as though I had just hit a mini jackpot. I got upset when people stiffed me, walking out and leaving nothing or just pennies  a true insult  but whenever that happened I reminded myself that I might get lucky next time. Or I would do better somehow.

Never did it occur to me that it was fundamentally unjust for me to earn less than the minimum wage and to depend on the good will of strangers in order to earn what was guaranteed by law to most workers. I had no idea that tipping was a legacy of slavery or that racism and sexism had operated to keep women, especially Black women like me, shut out of federal protections for wage labor. I did not question tipping as a practice, though looking back I see that I should have.

The first week on the job, one of my white co-workers, a middle-aged woman from rural Oregon, pulled me aside after she watched a group of rowdy white men, who had been rude and condescending to me throughout their meal, walk out the door without leaving a tip. From now on, dear, she said, Ill take the rednecks. Just pass em on to me. This became a kind of joke between us  a wink and a nod before we switched tables  except it wasnt funny. The risk that my race, not the quality of my work, would determine how much I was paid for my services was ever-present.
Tamarack is one of the only undeveloped nickel projects in the US and the latest study looked at the economics for three potential production scenarios

Talon Metals Corp ( ) (OTCMKTS:TLOFF) (FRA:TAO) has further updated its preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the Tamarack nickel project in Minnesota, USA, which shows low costs, a high rate of return and quick pay-back.

Tamarack is one of the only undeveloped nickel projects in the US and the latest study looked at the economics for three potential production scenarios. These are: nickel sulphates for the electric vehicle (EV) market; concentrates for refined nickel powders, also for the electric vehicle (EV) market; and nickel concentrates for the traditional stainless steel market. All three showed robust economics.

Sean Werger, Talon's president, described the new PEA as a "significant milestone".

"Having said that, there is much more to come," he added. Indeed, this is evidenced by the fact that today's economics exclude the tremendous drilling success we have recently announced both within our current resource area (where we have announced extensions of massive sulphide mineralization) and approximately 1/3 of a kilometer north-east and up-dip of our resource area (where we have announced shallow, sheet-like mineralization).

In Mach last year, a PEA for the project put the after-tax net present value (NPV) at US$291 million with an after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) at 36%.

Under the nickel suphate scenario reported on Thursday, that after-tax NPV is lifted to US$569 million (after-tax IRR of 31.9%). For nickel powder, it goes to US$567 million (after-tax IRR of 48.3%) and for the nickel concentrate scenario, it moves to US$520 million (after-tax IRR of 45.6%).

Low costs were seen across all three scenarios, noted Talon, with AISC (all-in sustaining costs (net of by-product revenue) of US$3.01 per pound of nickel under the scenario of selling nickel concentrates to the stainless-steel market.

The pre-tax payback period ranged from 1.4 to 1.8 years and after-tax payback period ranging from 1.5 to 2.1 years, across the scenarios.

The overall tonnage included in the mine plan increased from March last year by 119% from 4.9 million tonnes to 10.8 million tonnes, while the processing rate increased 80% from 2,000 tonnes per day to 3,600 tonnes per day (tpd).

The company noted that it currently had three drill rigs running at site, so shareholders "should expect plenty of news over the coming days, weeks and months".

"With approximately C$15.4 million currently in the bank, we are well equipped to progress our strategy of growing the resource further and getting ready for feasibility studies," it added.

Talon's asset, on which it is in joint venture with Rio Tinto ( ), comprises the Tamarack North project and the Tamarack South project, which spans a large land position, with 18km of strike length, with numerous high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area.

Talon has an earn-in to acquire up to 60% of the asset.

Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvetstors.com
Napa County has halted first-dose vaccinations due to limited supply, county officials said on Thursday.

Were running out of vaccine, Dr. Karen Relucio, the countys health director, said during a briefing. We basically had to stop our first dose clinics because we dont have enough to get to the people that need the second dose.

She said county residents who got their first doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines may have to delay getting their second doses by at least two weeks, with priority given to health care workers and those who are 75.

We have the capacity to give 10,000 shots a week, Napa District 1 Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht said during the briefing. Weve done it. We would love to be doing that on a weekly basis. We just dont have the product.

He said he has written a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom urgently asking for more vaccine supply. Wagenknecht also lamented meeting the states vaccination expectations with the first doses.

When they set us to doing 10,000 a week, we took them seriously and we did the 10,000 but we had to use some of our second doses, he said. We are paying for that now.

He warned that the limited vaccine supply could leave the door open for a huge outbreak at the Napa State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital that operates approximately 1,255 beds.

That could be tragic for us, Wagenknecht said. We need more product. Were just trying to get it.

The county, with a population of nearly 138,000, has administered over 27,000 doses since December.

Napa County recorded over 2,500 new coronavirus cases in January  a slight dip from more than 2,600 in December. But the county saw a spike in deaths over the same period. Of the 58 confirmed deaths linked to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, 25 of those were reported in January alone.

We are on our way down but we still have a lot of cases, Relucio said.

Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com
February 5, 2021 in Travel (E)

[prMac.com] Menlo Park, California - Yaxo LLC is pleased to announce the release of Vancamper for iPhone. Vancamper is a modern platform which helps people buy and sell campervans and recreational vehicles online. Demand for campervans and other recreational vehicles has surged during the pandemic as people look to safer ways to enjoy domestic travel. The platform allows sellers to easily list campervans for sale and provides intuitive search and filter tools to connect buyers to sellers as fast as possible. The platform also provides integrated messaging, tools to easily share listings and the option to track favorite campers for sale.



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* Requires iOS 10.0 or later

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Yaxo LLC is a software development company based in Menlo park, California. They specialize in making accessible, privacy-centric applications in the travel industry. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2013 Yaxo LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.

###
India's decision to export millions of coronavirus vaccine doses to Saudi Arabia has rankled its vast expat community, locked out by the kingdom's months-long flight ban that sparked tense diplomatic wrangling.

The plight of Indian workers, who make up the kingdom's biggest expatriate community, underscores the turmoil caused by tightening coronavirus restrictions, as infections surge amid a stumbling vaccination drive.

This week, Saudi Arabia suspended entry from 20 countries -- from the neighbouring United Arab Emirates to the United States and Britain -- and halted entertainment events, as it doubles down to stem the spread of the virus.

But Indian workers have been hit the hardest by a nearly five-month flight ban they say has upended their lives, dividing families and costing jobs and business contracts.

Saudi Arabia last September barred flights from India, Brazil and Argentina, leaving hundreds of thousands of Indians locked out of the country.

The social media accounts of Indian diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia have been inundated with angry and desperate messages from workers, with many questioning New Delhi's decision to export the vaccine before the crisis is resolved.

"India should not offer the vaccine to Saudi Arabia because (the kingdom) has barred Indian flights, jeopardising the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of workers," one wrote to the Indian embassy in Riyadh on Twitter.

The sentiment was echoed by a young Indian engineer who has been locked out since he left the kingdom last summer to visit his family in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

"Day and night we tweet to (authorities) begging for help, but all India cares about is selling vaccines," he told AFP, requesting that his name be withheld.

- 'Reduce suffering' -

Indian officials, however, are careful not to equate the issues, as India -- known as the world's pharmacy -- steps up worldwide shipments of the vaccine developed by the British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca with Oxford University as a form of "vaccine diplomacy".

Story continues

But the flight ban has become a "big irritant" for New Delhi in otherwise upbeat ties between the allies, two sources privy to "blunt" discussions between officials on both sides told AFP.

"India's gesture to not link vaccines to the flight ban shows the two countries are strategic partners and the Saudis need to be considerate to reduce the suffering of the Indian workforce," one of the sources said.

"But so far, there has been no comforting signal from Saudi."

In private meetings with Indian officials, authorities in Riyadh insist the ban is based on "health data", the sources said.

But Indian officials have fruitlessly pointed out that active cases in their country have steadily declined, while until this week the kingdom permitted flights from other worse-affected nations, they added.

Saudi Arabia hosts around 2.6 million Indians.

Some workers are questioning whether keeping them out is a deliberate strategy to reduce the expat workforce, as the economy reels and the kingdom pushes an aggressive "Saudisation" drive to boost employment for nationals.

"Is locking us out a way to get rid of us?" the engineer asked.

- 'Problem got worse' -

Saudi authorities did not respond to a request for comment.

India is ready to export to Saudi Arabia 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India, New Delhi's envoy to Riyadh wrote recently in the Arab News daily.

The doses are badly needed amid slow deliveries of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has held back Saudi's inoculation drive and delayed the second dose for many.

While Indian vaccine shipments have reached other Gulf states, including the UAE, they are yet to land in Saudi Arabia.

The delay occurred after the Saudi food and drug authority (SFDA) last month requested a physical "inspection" of the Serum Institute facility and was rebuffed by its chief executive Adar Poonawala, the two sources said.

"Indian officials conveyed to Saudi the drug was first approved by Britain and then by India, and the Serum Institute is too busy to entertain requests for a physical inspection," one of the sources added.

"But the deliveries are expected to proceed soon", after the SFDA agreed to a virtual interaction with the institute. The institute did not respond to AFP's request for comment.

However, there is still no resolution in sight for Indian workers.

After the flight ban, well-heeled Indians could enter the kingdom via a third country after a two-week, self-paid quarantine there -- an option most blue-collar workers cannot afford.

But even that window closed on Wednesday, after India was named among the 20 countries from which entry is barred.

"The problem just got worse for Indian workers," the source said.

ac/sls/fz/sw
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Amaravati, Feb 5 : Andhra Pradesh State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar has annulled the Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) Panchayat elections manifesto, and ordered it to withdraw its copies as it defeats the very purpose of and object of apolitical nature of gram panchayat elections.

"TDP Panchayati Ennikala Manifesto - 2021 is a suggestive affiliation of political party in the context of gram panchayat elections held on non-party basis, which is a clear violation of the commission's orderdated October 25, 2018 and it defeats the very purpose and object of apolitical nature of gram panchayat elections," said Kumar.

Lella Appi Reddy, a leader of the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), complained to Kumar on January 29 about the party-affiliated manifesto announced by TDP national president Nara Chandrababu Naidu.

Incidentally, Kumar was not satisfied with the explanation given by the TDP leaders as to why it released a party manifesto banned in rural local bodies elections.

The SEC invoked his plenary powers, conferred upon him by the Constitution of India under Article 243 K and Section 200 of AP Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 to annul the manifesto.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 13:14:05|Editor: huaxia

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HOUSTON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- A police officer was shot dead in the U.S. state of New Mexico on Thursday, local police said.

Authority said multiple agencies pursued the suspect's vehicle before there was an exchange of gunfire. New Mexico's State Police confirmed the deadly shooting, saying its officer was shot on eastbound interstate highway 10 near Las Cruces in the south of the state Thursday afternoon.

After shooting dead the officer, the suspect took off down the interstate highway heading east, police said. Then a Las Cruces police officer was shot when trying to stop the suspect.

The injured officer was taken to a nearby hospital and was in stable condition, authorities said.

The suspect who shot both officers is dead, police said.

New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered all flags lowered to half-staff in the state from Friday to Tuesday in mourning for the deceased officer.

"I am shocked, heartbroken and enraged by the loss of this public servant," the governor said in a statement. "I am praying for the local officer who was also shot and injured."

Investigation was underway to determine the cause of the incident. Enditem
Burma Thousands Join Peaceful Protests Against Myanmar Military

Staff from Mandalay Education Degree College join the civil disobedience movement against the military coup on Friday. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

Yangon  Thousands of government staff across Myanmar have joined the civil disobedience movement against Mondays military coup.

To resist the coup, hundreds of doctors and nurses from the government hospitals launched a civil disobedience movement on Wednesday, calling for the release of those arrested since the coup.

The movement has called for parliament to convene with the parliamentarians democratically elected in the Nov. 8 general election.

Government staff have stopped working and others are taking part in a red-ribbon campaign to show their defiance against the coup while continuing to work.

On Friday morning, thousands of government staff, doctors, nurses, students, professors and teachers at 91 government hospitals, 18 universities and colleges and 12 government departments in 79 townships across the country were on strike, according to the Civil Disobedience Movement Facebook page.

Many university students in major cities said they will not attend classes under the military government.

On Friday morning, more than 300 teachers, including senior Yangon University staff, joined the protest, according to Dr. Nan Nwe of the universitys psychology department.

As we teach students to question and understand justice, we cant accept this injustice. Our stand is not political. We only stand up for the justice, Dr. Nan Nwe told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

More than 200 Yangon University of Education staff, including departmental heads, have joined the civil disobedience movement.

I feel resentful and insulted by the coup, Daw Khin Htet Htet Thar, a tutor at the university, told The Irrawaddy. I cant serve under a military dictatorship. We will go back to work when our elected government returns.

One of the protesters, Dr. Lynn Letyar, a surgeon at the 500-bed Lashio General Hospital in northern Shan State, told The Irrawaddy that he was heartened to see how many people had joined the movement.

We want people from more sectors to join us. I am inviting everyone to take part, the medic said.

He said 38 out of 40 doctors and 50 out of 70 nurses from the hospital have been on strike since Feb. 3.

Peaceful protests have seen citizens clapping, honking car horns and banging pots and pans at 8pm every night across the country with the movement gaining momentum.

Hundreds of civil servants from the Transport, Electricity and Energy, Labor, Immigration and Population and Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement ministries also joined the campaign on Friday in Naypyitaw.

Myanmars military sued President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under the Export and Import Law and the Natural Disaster Management Law respectively on Wednesday.

The detained state counselor appears to have called on the public to oppose the military coup through her Chair NLD Facebook page hours after she was arrested.

The National League for Democracy on Friday issued a statement saying it appreciated the peaceful protests.

The military announced on Feb. 2 that sick people can visit military hospitals for treatment.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar has 134 More Political Prisoners Following Military Coup

Myanmar President Moved from Official Residence, Suu Kyi in Good Health

NLD Turncoat Criticized After Being Named to Myanmar Military Regimes Cabinet
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Seven years later, McClellan and his partner had a healthy enterprise. Then the pandemic hit and healthy became booming, as people stuck at home turned to the internet to meet new people and pass the time. Calls and emails to the AARP Fraud Watch Network confirm a recent surge in romance scams targeting older Americans.

How do background-check firms like Social Catfish, BeenVerified and TruthFinder help? For a small monthly fee, customers can access tools that help locate people's background information, such as former addresses and employment history. In addition, some sites have a reverse image search function, where customers can upload a photo to check whether it's authentic. Social Catfish, which specializes in romance scams, offers a more costly service as well: A staffer will research and create a full report on the person in question.

I asked McClellan how his customers break down between men and women, and he said that subscribers are split roughly 50-50 (clearly, we're all vulnerable). I also asked what percentage of the people that his business investigates turn out to be scammers. About 70 percent, he responded, pointing out that most of his clients turn to his firm only when they've seen some kind of red flag, usually a request for money.

Clues of fraud can be easy to spot. To start, many romance scammers use the same fake photos; often, he said, they'll steal pics of attractive people in military uniforms or porn stars (dressed, of course) or popular posters on social networks. The commonality? All have proven they'll draw lots of eyeballs. McClellan added that scammers use the same scripts, with the same canned phrases, over and over. Plus, he said, it's not uncommon for scammers to be involved with multiple victims at one time and to spend hours on the phone with the same person. They see it as a full-time job.
(Support Free Thought) -

HR127, known as the Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act introduced by Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18], is, without a doubt, the most tyrannical gun control bill ever proposed. Like all gun control measures, this bill would hit the poor and minority communities the hardest. Its massive scope would also turn tens of millions of legal, law abiding gun owners into felons overnight.

As TFTP reported in December, before Joe Biden took office, his administration has major plans for eviscerating the Second Amendment. Biden has been an outspoken gun grabber and on his campaign website, hes stated that he will use executive action to enforce gun control.

On the site, Biden states that he will use executive action to get weapons of war off our streets. Calling an AR-style weapon a weapon of war is laughable given the fact that Biden, under president Obama, aided in the wholesale slaughter of countless innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia  using actual weapons of war like drone strikes, hellfire missiles, and sanctions.

Nevertheless, the new boss  who is the same as the old boss, contrary to what many believe  is presiding over a Congress that will consider the most tyrannical gun control measures in the history of America, HR127.

Former vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, Spike Cohen points out that HR127 would be most heavily enforced against those with the least ability to defend themselves in court: the poor, and minorities. It will also make things much worse in marginalized communities, where only police and criminals will have guns.

In a post to Facebook, Cohen narrowed down some of the bills most ominous points that would target every single gun owner in the country.

1 Firearms License required for any new gun purchases or ownership transfers.

Licensee Must be 21, complete a 24 hour gun safety training course, and must undergo a psych evaluation.

Multi-tier license. Individual license for ownership and display of antique firearm, standard firearm license, and military style license.

Military license requires additional 24 hour safety course.

Licensing is revoked immediately for anyone indicted of a crime in which the sentence lasts longer than 1 year.

This heavily discriminates against anyone who has ever seen a therapist or had to get mental health treatment, such as victims of abuse and people with depression, and veterans seeking care for PTSD. Depression and addiction are mentioned specifically as reasons for licensing denial.

Also, gun licensing is expensive, which makes ownership less accessible for those who need their own protection most.

2 Requires an $800 annual government insurance fee for all current and future gun owners, to be paid to the Attorney General EVERY YEAR.

There is no grandfather clause, meaning this applies to anyone that owns a gun at all, not just those who purchase a new firearm after this passes.

This fee will certainly go up each year. Its yet another barrier for those in poverty to be able to defend themselves.

3 Mandatory Nationwide Firearms Registration & Database

ALL firearms owned shall be registered under penalty of up to $150,000 and 15 years in prison.

Serial, make, model, date, identity of owner, and the location of where the firearm will be stored to be collected and maintained in a database by the US Attorney General.

Names and information of all those who may have access to the firearms shall be collected as well.

This information to be accessible by state, local, and federal police, military, as well as state and local governments.

4 Ammunition and Magazine Bans

Bans .50cal and larger ammunition outright.

Bans all mags that hold more than 10 rounds

This ammo is mostly used for hunting and is rarely used against people. The most common handguns and rifles use magazines that exceed this arbitrary limit, which makes TENS OF MILLIONS of law-abiding gun owners felons overnight.

Illegal ownership of even a single round of banned ammo will result in up to $100,000 in fines AND 20 years in prison.

This bill was originally presented last year and reinvented this year with a whole new level of tyranny added to it both in the government and out of it. For example, the registration data will be made public. Given the cancel culture mass hysteria-inciting media frenzy as of late, this list could be used by big tech and woke cults to target their political rivals. They could seek out this data and use it to implement blacklists, social media bans, and any other number of ways the cancel culture attacks those with whom they disagree.

As we reported in December, many of these gun control measures are already on the presidents agenda, which go even further.

One of Bidens most ominous moves in regard to controlling guns is his push for smart gun technology that will require biometrics to fire in an ostensible move to prevent unauthorized use. In reality, however, this paves the way for bad actors, including the state and hackers, to be able to control, hack, or essentially turn off your gun, making it a paperweight.

Biden also plans to pick up where Trump left off in regard to extreme risk laws, also called red flag laws. Under Bidens plan, which is similar to the many plans implemented under Trump, family members or law enforcement officials will be able to make claims  many which involve no evidence  allowing a persons guns to be temporarily taken until that person is declared fit enough to get them back.

This attacks on the Second Amendment must be resisted. Please consider calling your representative and peacefully telling them to oppose this bill.
COVID-19 testing information for west-central Illinois counties:

Morgan County

Jacksonville

Days and times: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Location: Drive-through testing site located at the intersection of Dunlap Court and Morgan Streets.

Details: No appointment necessary. Photo ID and insurance card requested but not required.



Brown County

Mount Sterling

Days and times: By appointment.

Location: Brown County Health Department, 120 E. Main St. 217-773-2714

Details: Testing eligibility determined by telephone screening.



Cass County

Beardstown

Days and times: Monday-Friday 9-11:20 a.m.

Location: Cass County Health Department, 8590 St. Lukes Drive. 217-323-2182

Virginia

Days and times: Monday-Friday 1-3 p.m.

Location: Cass County Health Department, 331 S. Main St. 217-452-3057

Details: Testing by appointment only and is limited to those who live or work in Cass County. Schedules subject to change.



Greene County

Carrollton

Days and times: By appointment. Open seven days a week.

Location: Boyd Rural Health Clinic, 800 School St. 217-942-3600

Details: Testing performed if medically indicated, pre-op with doctors order, or return to work. Must call and leave message with name and callback number.



Jersey County

Jerseyville

Days and times: By appointment.

Location: Jerseyville Community Hospital Walk-in Clinic, 903 S. State St. 618-498-2273

Details: Testing performed if medically indicated.



Macoupin County

Gillespie

Days and times: By appointment.

Location: Maple Street Clinic, 109 E. Maple St. 217-313-5078

Details: Drive-through free testing. Register by phone or online at mcphd.net.



Pike County

Pittsfield

Days and times: By appointment.

Location: Quincy Medical Group, 320 N. Madison St. 217-277-4001

Details: Testing performed if medically indicated.

.

Days and times: Monday-Saturday 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Location: Illini Express Clinic, 101 E. Washington St. 217-277-3504

Details: Testing performed if medically indicated. Register upon arrival.



Scott County

Winchester:

Days and times: Mondays and Fridays 9-11 a.m.

Location: Scott County Health Department, 335 W. Cherry St.

Details: Schedule subject to change. See Facebook page for updates.

Burma NLD Turncoat Criticized After Being Named to Myanmar Military Regimes Cabinet

Daw Thet Thet Khine as an NLD lawmaker in 2016 / The Irrawaddy

YANGONA National League for Democracy (NLD) renegade has come under fire for accepting a union minister position in the military regimes cabinet, four days after Myanmars armed forces staged a takeover and arrested Union President U Win Myint and the countrys de facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Five years ago this month, Daw Thet Thet Khine was sworn in as a Lower House lawmaker representing Daw Aung San Suu Kyis NLD. Prior to that she was not involved in politics and was known primarily as the owner of a jewelry shop and some other businesses in Yangon. A few years after her election win, she left the NLD to set up the Peoples Pioneer Party (PPP), saying she was unhappy with the NLDs internal policies and its leadership.

In the run-up to the November 2020 election, the 53-year-old was among politicians from military-friendly political parties who rushed to meet military chief (now coup leader) Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. They asked him how he could help them if they were mistreated by the NLD in the election. The general replied: Theres nothing I wont dare to do. Daw Thet Thet Khine told the media at the time that she only attended the meeting in order to explain her partys polices to the senior general.

By then she had already become the subject of public criticism for her views on the NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Her attendance at the meeting was perceived as kowtowing to the military and only fueled the criticism.

Unsurprisingly, her PPP did very poorly in the election. She herself was decisively defeated, garnering just 7.03 percent of the vote in her constituency, compared to 83.18 percent for her NLD rival.

Since her electoral loss, she had been largely spared by politically aware Myanmar netizens on Facebook, as they focused on other more worrisome issues like the militarys claims of electoral fraud.

However, she was firmly back on their radar on Thursday night following her appointment as the union minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement by the military regime. Many online critics found it hard to accept that someone who was defeated at the polls had been appointed to a union position, while elected lawmakers were in detention or barred from convening the Parliament. Furthermore, they were disappointed with her stance, especially at this time, amid a national outpouring of opposition to the toppling of the countrys democratically elected government by the military. Her appointment has unsurprisingly reinforced her public image as a turncoat.

As the news spread, Facebook went wild with posts like Shame On You Thet Thet Khine, you dont deserve it! while others called for a lifetime boycott of her businesses.

Her family businesses were not spared, either. Some called for people to unlike her Shwe Nan Taw Gold & Jewelry shops Facebook page, and left abusive comments. They urged staff there to resign, with one screenshotting a message sent via Facebook Messenger that reads: She would even sell you out for her own interests.

Following her appointment, Daw Thet Thet Khine told the media she was happy with her appointment, as it gave her a chance to work for the people.

The ministry she was picked for is also responsible for disaster response and, more importantly, plays a major role in the governments repatriation program of Rohingya from Bangladesh, as well as their resettlement.

I think they have picked me for my qualifications, and they just wanted to have the right person in the right place. I will do my best, she said.

Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend

Daw Thet Thet Khine was not the only NLD renegade handpicked by the military regime. It also appointed New National Democracy Party chairman U Thein Nyunt and National Democratic Force chairman U Khin Maung Swe to its governing body, the State Administrative Council (SAC). Both are former NLD members who split from the party in order to take part in the military-organized 2010 election, which the NLD boycotted. The polls were internationally condemned as a sham.

Also appointed to the SAC was former Karen National Union leader and ex-political prisoner Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung, who mounted an unsuccessful run for a Lower House seat representing Ayeyarwady Regions Pantanaw Township for the Karen Peoples Party in last years general election.

For all his history of political and armed struggle against Myanmars military dictatorships since 1962not to mention his escape from a prison on the Coco Islands in the Andaman Sea, which earned him the nickname Burmas Papillonhe was known to be an admirer of then-President U Thein Sein, a former general who became head of state via the military-orchestrated election in 2010. Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung praised the president as his savior for granting him amnesty in 2012, ending the life-imprisonment term handed to him for waging his armed struggle.

You may also like these stories:

Anti-NLD Ethnic Politicians Picked by Military Regime for Governing Council

Biden Urges Myanmar Military To Relinquish Power and Free Detainees

NLD Patron U Win Htein Arrested for Sedition After Condemning Coup

Sri Lanka Tamils defy ban to stage independence day protest President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (centre) celebrated the national day at a military parade in the capital Colombo

Thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils defied bans to stage protests as the Sinhala-majority government celebrated its independence day with a military parade.

Demonstrators marched in northern and eastern regions to demand the release of prisoners and seek information on thousands of Tamils missing since the end of an ethnic war 11 years ago, Tamil legislator M. A. Sumanthiran said.

Police obtained court orders banning the protests, but thousands joined the marches anyway, shouting anti-government slogans and displaying black flags of defiance.

"The reason for this protest walk is to draw attention to the rights of the Tamil-speaking people that have been denied in this country," Sumanthiran said.

The legislator for the main opposition Tamil party, the Tamil National Alliance, said the group also wanted to draw attention to the military occupation of private land in the 1972-2009 civil war.

Sri Lanka's Muslims, the second-largest minority after Tamils, joined the protests to demand that the government end the forced cremation of those who die of Covid-19.

Muslims want their dead buried according to Islamic rites, but the government says traditional burials of coronavirus victims could contaminate ground water.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a member of the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community and a key figure in the crushing of Tamil rebels, celebrated the national day at a military parade in the capital Colombo.

"I govern this country in accordance with Buddhist teachings," he said in an address.

"Every person in this country, irrespective of his or her ethnic or religious identification, has the right to enjoy the freedom as equals under the nation's legal framework."

Since winning a landslide in November 2019, Rajapaksa has ended the singing of the national anthem in Tamil, started three years earlier.

Critics said the move dealt a blow to Tamil-Sinhala reconciliation efforts.

The war claimed more than 100,000 lives. The bloody finale also brought allegations that up to 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by troops, a charge the military denies.

aj/tw/leg
Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 5:52 pm

Olympia city officials on Tuesday roundly condemned the actions of the group Oly Housing Now, which staged an occupation of the Red Lion Inn on Sunday that ended in seven arrests.

City council member Dani Madrone said she was "appalled." Mayor Pro Tem Clark Gilman said he was "disappointed" and confused. Others used adjectives such as "reckless," "uninformed," and "infuriating."

The latter term came from council member Renata Rollins, who co-founded a homelessness advocacy group and has been vocal about supporting harm reduction approaches to homelessness. She called the group's actions "short-sighted, ego-driven, and counterproductive."

Rollins said that several of the group's demands were for policies that that city is already practicing  such as providing bathrooms and dumpsters and not sweeping encampments  and that Thurston County already has put a significant amount of federal aid into homeless response. (The amount is $12 million, according to Thurston County Public Health Director Schelli Slaughter.)

"The group's demands made no sense," Rollins said. "They read like they were copied and pasted from some other community's struggle because whoever penned them had no context for what's actually going on in Olympia and Thurston County.

"This wasn't activism, this was nihilism," Rollins added. "And it caused so much unnecessary preventable harm."

Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby had more pointed words.

"I'm calling this crime an act of domestic terrorism," Selby said at Tuesday's city council meeting.

Selby said the organizers "exploited and victimized the very group they claim to want to help" and "should be held accountable to the furthest extent of the law."

"This created an active crime scene that necessitated a police response appropriate to the scale of the actions of these terrorists," Selby said.

Selby and other council members also expressed sympathy for the hotel staff and appreciation for the hotel management, noting that the county and local nonprofit Family Support Center have paid for rooms at the hotel to house homeless families during the pandemic.

This is the second time Selby has used the term "domestic terrorists." The first was over the summer, when a group vandalized her house with spray paint. She later apologized for those comments, calling them an "overreaction" after the quote appeared in national media accounts.

Several members of the public responded to Selby's characterization on Tuesday, calling it inappropriate.

"I don't appreciate how the mayor called them terrorists," said Nolan Hibbard-Pelly, who said he participated in the action by holding a sign outside the hotel. "I don't think calling housing activists or people that spray paint your house [terrorists] is really appropriate."

Tierra Watkins said that while she understood why the council condemned the group's actions, she thinks the protest centered the urgency of the housing crisis and compared the verbal and police response to recent events at the state Capitol in January, such as when demonstrators broke into the Governor's Mansion grounds.

"Why is it treated like domestic terrorism when actual acts of domestic terrorism like at our governor's mansion at the state Capitol take place and don't get the same type of treatment?" Watkins said.

More on the FEMA Funds

Rollins noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding referenced by the group's demands only recently became available. The program, which county officials have said they're looking into, is actually a reimbursement program that was recently expanded.

In December, the state of California obtained 75% reimbursement for purchasing hotel rooms to house high-risk homeless individuals, according to The Hill. Last week, President Biden issued an executive order that directs FEMA to reimburse municipalities for 100% of certain COVID-response expenses, including hotel vouchers, but White House officials have not answered questions about whether the reimbursement will be retroactive to the entire pandemic or only cover future spending on shelter.

When the pandemic began, the city of Los Angeles rented hotel rooms for as many as 4,300 homeless individuals out of 15,000 in the city identified as especially vulnerable to COVID-19, according to the Los Angeles Times.

___

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Visit The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.) at www.theolympian.com

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Nairobi  Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko is on Thursday set to know his fate on whether he will be released or not.

Two court sessions are set to issue verdicts on his fate with the first being in Kiambu where he was expecting a determination of his bail application in 12 charges of assault and robbery he is facing.

Sonko was on Tuesday charged with assault and robbery with violence, in offenses which he committed in 2019.

Sonko however denied a total of 12 counts and was remanded at the Gigiri Police Station after the prosecution pleaded with the court to allow detectives more time to complete their investigations, an indication he could face more charges.

Sonko's woes deepened on Wednesday when he was produced before a Kahawa West law court in Kamiti prisons where he faced terror-related charges.

An affidavit filed in court indicated that Sonko is under investigation for arming a militia group.

"I have intelligence information that the suspect is connected to financing of terrorism activities and he is in the advance stage of procuring arms and ammunition using a wide syndicate which is complex ad sophisticated," an affidavit filed in court by a Chief Inspector Newton Thimangu of the Anti Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), an arm of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) states in part.

He also indicated that Sonko had "started arming his private security agents with full military attire namely military boots, military jungle uniforms and firearms. The suspect who was in company of unknown person had worn militia attire and together with the suspect they were both spotted in public in full glare of the media and in front of huge mass of people in a public rally."

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An undated photograph of Sonko and an unknown person was attached to the affidavit.

The prosecution asked the court to grant the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) 30 days to complete their investigation.

Charges read out to him on Tuesday stated that he assaulted two people in Buru Buru in 2019, leaving them with serious injuries.

The charges included assault, causing actual bodily harm, robbery with violence and destruction of property.

He also faced an additional charge of entering private property without permission or a search warrant.

His case was heard by Kiambu Senior Principal Magistrate Stellah Atambo who ordered he be remanded at the Gigiri Police Station.

The prosecution has indicated that it intends to apply to have the former Governor taken to Mombasa where a warrant of arrest against him is pending.

Sonko was impeached in November over gross misconduct, abuse of office and corruption.

He is also facing corruption charges in court alongside several county officials and suppliers accused of colluding to siphon public funds.
Recently, the government gave a verdict allowing Indian theatres to run at 100 per cent occupancy once again. This news has naturally left the industry folk buzzing as it finally seems financially viable to release films in theatres again. Many might know, but veteran actor Sunny Deol had a big part to play in the decision.

According to a leady daily, the actor met with several officers in order to discuss the future of cinemas. A source close to the actor revealed, It was Sunny Deol who led the delegation from the film industry and met Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India, Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Amit Khare, Secretary, I & B Ministry and Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, a few days back. He requested them to consider the request for allowing theatres to function at greater than 50% occupancy, and preferably at 100% itself, He was joined by Kamal Gianchandani, President, Multiplex Association of India, Sanjeev Bijli, MD PVR and Nitin Tej Ahuja, CEO of The Producers Guild of India. The Ministers were kind enough to patiently listen to the argument and assured Sunny sir that they would take this into consideration and pass on a resolution soon. At the end of the day, the whole movie business helps everyone in the supply chain. It is only going to help the economy further as the money generated by sales of movie tickets keeps the business going for one and all.

Stephen Bear admitted on Tuesday that he has only earned 29.90 from 15,000 views on his YouTube channel, following his arrest for alleged revenge porn in January.

The Celebrity Big Brother star, 31, made light of his small earnings as he declared he might 'buy a new house' in a video.

It comes after Stephen vowed to clear his name after being arrested for allegedly recording himself having sex with ex Georgia Harrison without her knowledge, and then sharing the content online.

Oh dear: Stephen Bear admitted on Tuesday that he has only earned 29.90 from 15,000 views on his Youtube channel, following his arrest for alleged revenge porn in January

Stephen - who currently boasts over five and a half thousand YouTube subscribers - has been frequently uploading videos for two weeks since he returned from Dubai in January.

He titled a new upload: 'HOW MUCH MONEY I MADE FROM 15000 VIEWS!!!! I MIGHT BUY A NEW HOUSE!!!!' (sic)

The Ex On The Beach star, who is currently on bail, sarcastically said in the video: 'Guys look I'm not making this video to show off how much money I'm on, I'm not showing off how much money I got paid for this 15,000 views.

'I'm just making this video to inspire people, you know how much money you could potentially earn.

Shocking: The reality star has vowed to clear his name after being arrested for allegedly recording himself having sex with ex Georgia Harrison without her knowledge

'I'm not rubbing it in anyone's faces, I know we're in a pandemic right now, I know a lot of people are getting furloughed so maybe speaking about money isn't the best idea.

'But I want to motivate people, I want to inspire people, I just want everyone to know how much money you could potentially make on YouTube.

'So when I show you this don't hate me, don't be annoyed, never compare yourself to others that's the wrong thing you can do...'

While sat on a couch at home, Stephen said he was on the way to becoming the 'world's greatest ever Youtuber,' as he branded his content 'sick'.

He continued by asking his brother, Danny, how much he believes he got paid for 15,000 views on the video platform.

'I have no idea,' his brother responded. 'Four grand?'

All that hard work: He pulled back the curtain to reveal what social media influencers realistically get paid as joked he might 'buy a new house' in a new upload

Stephen also asked his father how much money he predicted he got paid for almost 20,000 views. Stephen Bear Snr said: '20,000?'

The reality star sat down and continued: 'Right, the moment everyone has been waiting for...Most YouTubers don't like saying how much they're earning but with me, it's either on or off, hot or cold very easy. very direct, very transparent.

'For nearly 15000 views I got a total of 29.90. How crazy is that?

'So I've worked out in my head if I done 1000 videos a day at 29.90, that's only 29,000. Imagine all I've got to do is 1000 videos a day!'

Honest: Stephen - who currently boasts over five and a half thousand YouTube subscribers - has been frequently uploading videos for two weeks since he returned from Dubai in January

He continued to mock his earnings by suggesting if he made a million videos in a day at 29,90, he could be making up to 30 million in just one day. 'That's insane!' Stephen proclaimed.

He was arrested on January 15th for allegedly filming himself having sex with Georgia, 26, without her knowledge and for sharing the explicit content online.

The reality star was taken into custody at London's Heathrow Airport as he landed from Dubai, after the UAE was removed from the UK's quarantine list.

Georgia accused Stephen of revenge porn in December last year when she alleged on social media he had secretly recorded them being intimate on CCTV cameras at his home, with Bear issuing a denial at the time insisting the claim was not true.

She believes Stephen showed the recording to at least 'two friends' and claims the footage was being widely shared on WhatsApp.

Georgia also alleges the ex-Celebrity Big Brother housemate of sharing screenshots of the video to followers on his OnlyFans account, but Stephen denied it was her in the video.

Essex police have since announced a formal charge is yet to be made while the investigation continues, with the TV personality remaining on bail until February 10.

In statement to MailOnline, a spokesperson confirmed: 'A 31-year-old man from Loughton, who was arrested on suspicion of disclosing private sexual images or film without consent with intent to cause distress, voyeurism, harassment and obstructing a police officer, has been released on bail until 10 February.'
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown once again called out his colleagues in the U.S. Senate on Thursday for not wearing face masks  this time a senator from a neighboring state.

During debate over a budget resolution, Brown briefly interrupted proceedings.

"... I would like to ask Senator Paul, in front of everybody, to start wearing a mask on the Senate floor like the entire staff does all the time," said Brown, a Democrat from Cleveland. "I wish Senator Paul would show the respect to his colleagues to wear a mask when he's on the Senate floor walking around and speaking."

Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Bowling Green, didn't respond to Brown's request and returned to his seat.

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Paul, who has tested positive for COVID-19, previously has said people who've already contracted the virus should "throw away their masks," claiming that those people are immune from getting it a second time, the (Louisville) Courier-Journal reported.

More: House removes Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from committees

Reinfection of COVID-19 is possible, though it's rare, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Senator Sherrod Brown, photographed February 9, 2019.

This isn't the first time Brown has publicly reprimanded his fellow senators for not wearing masks in the Senate chamber.

In November, Brown implored Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan to wear a mask while speaking, warning that Sullivan could be exposing Senate staff to COVID-19.

That provoked some ire from other GOP senators over social media.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that people wear masks while in public settings to limit person-to-person spread of COVID-19.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Sherrod Brown tells Rand Paul to wear a mask while on the Senate floor
After being suspended for almost two years, high speed 4G internet services have been restored in the entire Jammu and Kashmir from Friday.

Taking to Twitter, Rohit Kansal, J&K administration, principal secretary, said that 4G mobile internet services are being restored in the entire J&K.

4G mobile internet services being restored in entire J&K @diprjk  Rohit Kansal (@kansalrohit69) February 5, 2021

The 4G internet services were snapped to prevent a backlash against the government's move to revoke the former state's special status by abrogating Article 370.

Two years back on 5 August, J&K was turned into a union territory. The abrogation of Article 370 stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, splitting it into two Union Territories -- J&K and Ladakh.

The move to restrict high-speed internet services was taken back then and though 2G services were restored in several places, high-speed services were not restored.

The Centre had reportedly cited separatists and Pakistan-based terrorism as the reason to restrict high-speed internet in J&K.

Last year in August, the government had told the apex court that a special committee looking into the issue of internet restoration in J&K was considering allowing 4G internet access on a trial basis in the UT.

The Modi government had said that 4G access will be given in one district of the Jammu region and one in Kashmir after which 4G internet services were restored in Ganderbal and Udhampur district from 16 August.

In the rest districts of J&K, internet speed continued to be restricted to 2G.

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Nifty, Sensex on a strong uptrend  Weekly closing report

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We had mentioned in last weeks closing report that Nifty, Sensex may try to recover. The major indices recovered all previous losses and made new all-time highs post announcement of the Union Budget for the financial year 2021-22.

The trend of the major indices in the week is given in the table:

On Monday, the major indices posted huge gains on announcement of the Union Budget. On the NSE, there were 1,357 advances, 567 declines and 82 unchanged.

In the Union Budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a Bill to set up a DFI (development finance institution) with a capital of Rs20,000 crore to provide lending of at least Rs5 lakh crore. A National Monetization Pipeline of potential Brownfield infrastructure assets will be launched. She also proposed to amend the Insurance Act, 1938 to increase the permissible FDI limit from 49% to 74% and allow foreign ownership and control with safeguards.

The FM proposed voluntary scrappage policy to replace personal vehicles older than 20 years and commercial vehicles older than 15 years. This move will benefit the auto sector and help improve commercial vehicle sales.

Coromandel International reported 26% YoY rise in net profits for the Oct-Dec 2020 quarter to Rs 333.80 crore against Rs 264 crore in the previous year. Revenues rose 8% YoY to Rs 3,542 crore vs. Rs 3,288 crore YoY.

On Tuesday, the major indices continued to rise and ended with major gains. On the NSE, there were 1,242 advances, 681 declines and 304 unchanged.

HDFC standalone profit declined 65% YoY to Rs 2,925.8 crore in Q3FY21 vs Rs 8,372.5 crore in the previous year due to the higher base last year from the stake sale in GRUH Finance.

Dixon Tech reported 138% growth in net profit to Rs 61.59 crore compared to Rs 26.3 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 119% YoY to Rs 2,182.78 crore versus Rs 993.81 crore in the previous year.

Larsen & Toubro shares jumped after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech announced the setting up of a Rs 20,000 crore Development Finance Institution (DFI) with a view to mobilise Rs 111 lakh crore required for funding the national infrastructure pipeline.

On Wednesday, the major indices continued to rise and ended with decent gains. On the NSE, there were 1,165 advances, 703 declines and 354 unchanged.

Bharti Airtel consolidated net profit grew to Rs 853.6 crore in Q3FY21 against loss of Rs 1,035 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Consolidated revenue rose to Rs 26,517,8 crore from Rs 21,947 crore YoY.

Adani Enterprises reported a fall in net profits at Rs 297 crore compared to Rs 426 crore YoY. Revenues grew 6% YoY to Rs 11,788 crore from Rs 11,075 crore in the previous year.

Ajanta Pharma reported a 64% rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 177 crore. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 108 crore.

Hawkins Cookers reported 8% YoY growth in net profit to Rs 24.22 crore compared to Rs 22.49 crore in the previous year. Revenues grew 20% YoY to Rs 234 crore compared to Rs 194 crore YoY.

On Thursday, the major indices continued to rise and ended with decent gains. On the NSE, there were 1,195 advances, 690 declines and 335 unchanged.

Sebi barred Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani from accessing the securities market for a year. SEBI said Biyani and brother Anil, who was also banned from the market, traded in shares of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) through another unit using unpublished price sensitive information.

State Bank of India reported a 6.9% year-on-year decline in standalone profit at Rs 5,196.22 crore for Q3FY21. Net interest income grew by 3.7% year-on-year to Rs 28,819.94 crore.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation net profit jumped to Rs 2,354.6 crore compared to Rs 747.2 crore YoY. Revenue from operations declined 2% YoY to Rs 68,659.2 crore, compared with Rs 70,042.2 crore.

On Friday, the major indices continued to rise and ended with decent gains. On the NSE, there were 760 advances, 1,153 declines and 84 unchanged.

Mahindra & Mahindra reported 39.6% YoY growth in profit at Rs 530 crore due to an exceptional loss of Rs 1,213.98 crore, representing impairment provisions for certain long-term assets and other exposures. Revenue from operations grew by 16% YoY to Rs 14,056.5 crore.

Jubilant Life Sciences consolidated net profit rose 52.3% YoY at Rs 310 crore against Rs 203.4 crore in the previous year. Revenue went up 16.7% YoY at Rs 1,771.3 crore versus Rs 1,518 crore.

Bajaj Electricals posted consolidated net profit of Rs 98.2 crore which was over tenfold compared to Rs 9.37 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 16.8% YoY at Rs 1,500 crore.
New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday conducted raids at three Delhi farmhouses of Misa Bharti, RJD MP and daughter of party chief Lalu Prasad, her husband and a firm linked to them, in a money laundering case probe.

Sleuths of the central probe agency swooped on the farmhouses in Ghitorni, Bijwasan and Sainik Farms areas here early morning.

The farmhouses are linked to Bharti, her husband Shailesh Kumar and M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited.

Two more premises are under the scanner of the agency and can be searched later, an ED official said.

The searches are connected to a money laundering probe being conducted by the agency against two brothers, Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain, and others who are alleged to have laundered several crore rupees using shell companies.

The Jain brothers were arrested by the ED under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

One of the firms that the arrested duo dealt with was M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited. Bharti and her husband are alleged to have been directors of this firm in the past.

Also Read: No wrong was done in tendering, this is BJP conspiracy, says Lalu

The agency said it was detected that 1,20,000 shares of M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited were bought during 2007-08 at a rate of Rs 100 per share by four shell companies -- M/s Shalini Holdings Limited, M/s Ad-Fin Capital Services (India) Pvt. Ltd, M/s Mani Mala Delhi Properties Pvt. Ltd., and M/s Diamond Vinimay Pvt. Ltd.

These 1,20,000 shares, it said, were bought back by Bharti at Rs 10 per share.

The ED had also arrested Rajesh Agarwal, a Chartered Accountant allegedly linked to Bharti, who provided accommodation entries (black funds) of about Rs 60 lakh to M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited.

The firm, it said, was registered at 25, Tughlaq Road here till the shares were bought back by Bharti. In 2009-10, the address was changed to Bijwasan, it added.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 23:20:48|Editor: huaxia

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Photo released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) shows the first image of Mars captured by Mars probe Tianwen-1 from a distance of 2.2 million km. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Friday released the first image of Mars captured by the country's Mars probe Tianwen-1.

The image was captured from a distance of 2.2 million km from Mars, said the CNSA.

The probe conducted its fourth orbital correction on Friday at 8 p.m. (Beijing time), aiming to ensure that the probe achieves a sound planned rendezvous with Mars.

A Mars probe is launched on a Long March-5 rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, July 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

The probe has traveled about 197 days in orbit, flying about 465 million km. It is currently 184 million km from Earth and 1.1 million km from Mars. All probe systems are in good working condition, the CNSA said.

China launched the Mars probe on July 23, 2020. It was designed to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission.

The probe completed its first orbital correction on Aug. 2, its second on Sept. 20 and its third on Oct. 28. 
In the quarter to December 2020, there were a number of significant shifts in the regulatory environment, which have the capacity to unlock a number of near-term and medium-term openings.

Creso achieved a number of major milestones in international markets, which were underpinned by pleasing regulatory shifts

( ) (FRA:1X8), which saw rapid growth in its December quarter with a number of major milestones in the international markets, is set to benefit from the changing global attitudes to cannabis.

In the quarter to December 2020, there were a number of significant shifts in the regulatory environment, which have the capacity to unlock a number of near-term and medium-term openings.

The company is being positioned to capitalise on such opportunities as they develop.

Quarter of rapid growth

Non-executive chairman Adam Blumenthal said: The quarter was a period of rapid growth for the company.

Creso achieved a number of major milestones in international markets, which were underpinned by pleasing regulatory shifts.

Pleasingly, Creso continued to expand its global footprint. Through the companys animal health business, we entered into the Latin American market and Mernova continued to gain traction in Canada, progressing agreements and purchase orders to unlock a number of new provinces.

The company also furthered its presence in the Australian and New Zealand markets, securing an agreement with Martin & Pleasance to drive growth.

Strong sales were achieved over the period, stemming from a scale-up of Mernovas operations and the receipt of a number of new orders.

While the uptick in customer receipts is very pleasing, we are now focused on continuing this rapid growth.

Accelerating strategic initiatives

The company has a number of purchase orders on and across all business divisions, which we expect to complete in the coming months allowing further sales to be recognised.

Board and management will continue to monitor regulatory shifts in key markets. Recent developments in the US have the potential to positively impact Creso Pharma and we are very well placed and funded to capitalise on these opportunities.

We remain in a strong position underpinned by growing sales revenue and burgeoning market opportunities, and we look forward to accelerating our strategic initiatives to deliver returns for our valued shareholders.

Nutraceuticals

Subsequent to the quarter-end, the company successfully delivered its leading cannaQIX products Lupin Internationals subsidiary (NYSE:LUPIN), Pharma Dynamics South Africa, which will distribute Creso Pharmas hemp-based products across South Africa.

There are plans to extend the distribution to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, Angola, Mozambique, and Uganda.

Creso Pharma anticipates additional opportunities will materialise in Africa through its established regional partner and will actively pursue those opportunities in the near-term.

Animal Health

Its anibidiol became the first approved CBD hemp-based complementary pet feed in Latin America after it secured regulatory approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Feed in Uruguay through its commercial partner Adler Laboratories, Uruguay.

The approval represents a strategic milestone, unlocking a large opportunity with over 24 million pets across Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia and further Latin American countries.

Demand for the products remains high and these additional POs served as further confirmation of the success of the anibidiol product line in the rapidly growing European animal health market.

Global regulatory changes

Some of the global regulatory changes include:

Court of Justice of the EU ruling which unlocks major potential for CBD in Europe after it ruled that member states must not prohibit the marketing of lawfully produced CBD and that CBD is not considered a narcotic.

This landmark ruling, which allows CBD to be freely sold in the European Union, provides opportunities for Creso Pharma, which already has commercial agreements in place in the Iberian markets.

The United Nations Commission on Narcotic removed cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 drug convention treaty, which classifies cannabis as a dangerous and addictive drug, and moved it to Schedule I, which is the least restrictive drug classification.

This landmark decision also recognised the potential medical properties of cannabis, which will benefit Creso Pharmas existing global distribution network and footprint.

Potential cannabis reform in the US with Democratic majority

With the growing push in the US to act on cannabis reform, and post-quarter end, the Democratic Party winning the balance of power in the US Senate, there is an increased likelihood of the decriminalisation of cannabis and the passing of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act.

The company has an established global distribution network, and its Mernova facility is only 220 miles from the US border, an ideal location to cater to the Canadian and US markets.

Creso is currently exploring several US market opportunities in anticipation of the legislations imminent approval.

TGA reschedules CBD

In December, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced a final decision to down-schedule low dose cannabidiol (CBD) preparations from Schedule 4 (Prescription Medicine) to Schedule 3 (Pharmacist Only Medicine).

This decision allows for low-dose CBD containing products, up to a maximum of 150 mg/day, for use in adults that have been approved by the TGA, to be supplied over-the-counter by a pharmacist, without a prescription.

cannaQIX 50, Cresos proprietary buccally formulated cannabidiol (CBD) lozenge is available in Australia by prescription, under the LozaCan brand.

Creso is exploring the requirements to sell this product, as well as its other GMP-manufactured ranges, more broadly to Australian consumers.

The TGA decision has also allowed Creso Pharma to expedite its heads of agreement with Martin & Pleasance Pty Ltd to bring Creso Pharmas suite of CBD-based products to the Australian market.

Well-funded for near-term growth

Creso generated A$709,000 in receipts from customers  up 740% increase on the previous quarter - and highlights the growing sales pipeline it has built over the last three months.

Out of the purchase orders received during the quarter, only partial amounts were captured in the quarters cash receipts, with the remainder to be recorded in the first and second quarters of 2021 cash receipts.

Further, the company expects ongoing substantial growth in customer receipts during the current period and beyond, as more purchase orders are secured and delivered across all business divisions.

The company also extinguished all convertible note structures during the period, leading to a streamlined and optimised balance sheet.

Coupled with a strong cash balance of $6 million at the end of the quarter, Creso is very well funded to pursue a number of near-term growth objectives.

Expansion into new markets

Its wholly-owned subsidiary delivered several important milestones, in the quarter.

It entered Canadas largest recreational cannabis market and received a Notice to Produce from the Province of Ontario, for its HPG13, Lemon Haze and Mimosa strains.

Mernova also secured a supply agreement with the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation (OCRC), operating as the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), formally recognising Mernova as a supplier.

It also secured a purchase order from Truro Cannabis Company, and Yukon Liquor Corporation.

Additional purchase orders were also successfully delivered to the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation.

It also secured a maiden PO from Cannabis NB, the government-owned retail cannabis monopoly in the Atlantic Canadian Province of New , marking Mernovas entry into the province.

Expand into hash market

Mernova also made the strategic decision to expand its current operations and target the Canadian hash market, following a comprehensive review of the significant market opportunities in Canada, and positive feedback on its current product range.

Hash, which can now be legally produced and sold in Canada, has grown in popularity in the legal market across Canada, as part of the new wave of cannabis-derived products.

In the US, hash use is increasing due to an overall rise in global interest in cannabis, increased availability due to legalisation in many states, and demand among older consumers familiar with the cannabis concentrate.

Mernova is working to capitalise on this growing demand and to further diversify its product lines, and has received considerable interest in its soon-to-be-launched hash products.

It will progress production of premium hash from its state-of-the-art facility with the launch of the new products in the first quarter of 2021.
A more recent publication of this set of statistics is available. Latest publication: Foreign Shipping Traffic 2021, March

Published: 5 February 2021

Sea transport decreased in December

The goods volume of foreign sea transport was in total 8.1 million tonnes in December 2020. Sea transport decreased by six per cent from last year's December. Exports decreased by five per cent and were 4.4 million tonnes. Import volume decreased by seven per cent and amounted to 3.7 million tonnes.

Foreign sea Transport by month (tonnes) in 2018 to 2020

General cargo was transported most, in total 1.3 million tonnes, which is 15 per cent of all transport. The second most transported was oil products, 1.1 million tonnes, and crude oil, 1.0 million tonnes.

Container transport

A total of 1.0 million tonnes of containers were transported through Finnish ports in December 2020, which is three per cent less than in December 2019. The number of containers transported was 69,791 (125,591 TEU containers) 1) . Exports of containers went down by five per cent measured in tonnes and imports grew by one per cent compared to December 2019.

Vehicle transport

A total of 168,106 transport equipment were transported in foreign sea traffic in December 2020. Most transports of transport equipment were passenger cars belonging to passengers. In December, 83,887 passenger cars were transported. The second most transported were trucks, 51,432 and truck trailers, 29,796.

Passenger traffic

A total of 302,074 persons were transported in passenger traffic in December 2020. In all, 197,505 persons travelled between Finland and Estonia and 100,104 persons between Finland and Sweden and 4,465 passengers between Finland and Germany. Passengers made up only 22 per cent of the number of passengers in December 2019. In December 2020, no passengers of foreign cruise ships arrived in Finland.

Vessel traffic and goods volume in the Saimaa Canal

A total of 100,064 tons of transport were registered through the canal in foreign traffic. Timber was transported most in vessels in foreign traffic, in total 32,725 tonnes. The second most transported was crude minerals and cement.

1) TEU, the basic measurement unit of container traffic, refers to one container that is twenty feet long, eight feet wide and 8.5 feet high.

Source: Transport and tourism, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Matti Kokkonen 029 551 3770, Sami Lahtinen 029 551 3207, matti.kokkonen@tilastokeskus.fi

Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala

Publication in pdf-format (166.6 kB)

Updated 05.02.2021

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Foreign Shipping Traffic [e-publication].

ISSN=2670-2002. December 2020. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 30.5.2021].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/uvliik/2020/12/uvliik_2020_12_2021-02-05_tie_001_en.html
103rd Airlift Wing / Contributed Photo

EAST GRANBY  A Connecticut Air National Guard airman was rescued from the wing of an aircraft after he became disoriented inside the fuel tank of a aircraft Friday morning.

Around 9 a.m., first responders were dispatched to the 103rd Airlift Wing, a unit of the Connecticut Air National Guard stationed at Bradley Air National Guard Base for a reported airman stuck in a wing of an aircraft.
New Delhi:

At least two Egyptian policemen were killed and nine others injured on Saturday in a targeted bomb attack on their armoured vehicle in the restive North Sinai region, said an official at the interior ministry.

The official said security forces were combing the area for more bombs.

News reports said 12 people were injured in the attack, but there was no confirmation.

The explosion took place a few hours after the interior ministry said that police killed 14 terrorists in a gun battle in Ismailia city.

(With PTI Inputs)

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 21:05:02|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges between Taiwan and any country that has diplomatic relations with China, and Guyana's correction of its mistakes is good for the overall China-Guyana relations, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks when responding to a reporter's question about Guyana's termination of an agreement with Taiwan for the latter to establish an office in the Latin American country.

Wang told a press briefing that the government of Guyana is upholding the correct position of the one-China principle by announcing the termination of the related "agreement", reiterating that it attaches importance to developing friendly relations with China and not establishing so-called official relations with Taiwan.

"There is but one China in the world, and the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges between any country with diplomatic relations and Taiwan," Wang said.

The Democratic Progressive Party authority in Taiwan deliberately uses the guise of unofficial activities, such as economic, trade and cultural activities, to seek "Taiwan independence" and expand its "international space." This is an attempt to conceal the truth and deceive the world, said the spokesperson.

"The facts have once again proved that the one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and the consensus of the international community," Wang said, adding that the separatist actions and clumsy performances of Taiwan have proved unpopular, its ugly face has been revealed, and it is doomed to make a fool of itself.

Regarding reports that the U.S. Embassy in Guyana and the "American Institute in Taiwan" once encouraged Taiwan to establish an office in Guyana, Wang said China firmly opposes the seriously wrong statements made by relevant U.S. officials in violation of the principles of international law and international relations.

He said that the Taiwan question bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and is purely China's internal affair, which allows no interference by any external forces.

Wang said that China urges the United States to correct its mistakes, earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and exercise caution in its words and deeds. Enditem
Pilibhit : , Feb 5 (IANS) The wife and brother of a farmer, who went missing and was later found dead in Delhi, have been booked by the Uttar Pradesh Police on charges of insulting the national flag.

The farmer, Balvinder Singh, of the Bhopatpur village, had left for the Ghazipur border on January 23. A week later, on February 1, his family got a call from Delhi Police saying he had died in a road accident.

The next day, they were handed over his body after autopsy at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in Delhi.

The last rites were performed at his village Wednesday and his body was draped in the Tricolor.

Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, SHO of Seramau North police station, said, "His wife Jasveer Kaur, brother Gurvinder Singh and an unidentified person have been booked under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act." The section under which they have been charged says, "Whoever in any public place or in any other place within public view burns, mutilates, defaces, defiles, disfigures, destroys, tramples upon or otherwise shows disrespect to or brings into contempt (whether by words, either spoken or written, or by acts) the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India or any part thereof, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both." Section 4(d) adds that 'disrespect" includes 'using the Indian National Flag as a drapery in any form whatsoever except in state funerals or armed forces or other paramilitary forces funerals.' Gurvinder said that there was a reason they placed the Tricolour on Balvinder's body. "We believe farmers are fighting for the country, like soldiers at the border. Balvinder was a martyr for the farmers' cause. A funeral is a sacred ritual. It was a patriotic gesture," he said.

Religious and farmer representatives, meanwhile, extended their support to the grieving family.

"I condemn the police action and demand that the UP government ask the Pilibhit police to withdraw the FIR. If the Tricolour was placed on the body of a protesting farmer, it symbolised the patriotism of farmers, not an insult to national honour," said a local Sikh leader.

Vice president of RLD's Uttar Pradesh unit Manjit Singh Sandhu, said, "FIRs are being used to suppress the voice of farmers. There will be a massive agitation on the streets if the FIR is not withdrawn. The family did nothing to insult the Tricolour." After getting his body, Balvinder's family had questioned the manner in which he had died. His younger brother Virendra Singh had said, "He had multiple injuries on his face. The body should have had injuries and fractures in other parts if he had been mowed down by a speeding heavy vehicle, as claimed by the police."
Police have launched a corporate manslaughter investigation into the death of Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe (Family/PA).

Police have launched a corporate manslaughter investigation into the death of Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe.

The 14-year-olds body was recovered from a storm drain close to the M2 motorway in June, six days after he went missing.

Detectives are investigating access to the drain network.

This corporate manslaughter investigation will enquire into risk assessments of the storm drain at Premier Drive / culvert network and reporting structures within DfI/Rivers Agency.



The watercourse and storm drain are designated under the Drainage (NI) Order 1973.@MyNoah8 https://t.co/ttbAithb9k  KRW Law Human Rights (@KRWLaw) February 3, 2021

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) statement said: Police can confirm this is a corporate manslaughter investigation.

Detectives have been investigating the circumstances of the death.

Investigation material has been gathered and police are working with the Health and Safety Executive and Public Prosecution Service.

The PSNI said last year they believed Noah entered the drain in the Northwood Road area of north Belfast.

It is owned by the Department for Infrastructure.

The schoolboy had cycled from his home in south Belfast.

His disappearance prompted a major search operation, with hundreds of people from across Belfast involved.

KRW Law, which represents Noahs mother Fiona Donohoe, said: This corporate manslaughter investigation will enquire into risk assessments of the storm drain at Premier Drive / culvert network and reporting structures within DfI/Rivers Agency.

A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure said: The Department can confirm that there is no case against them.

DfI have been advised that an investigation in the offence of corporate manslaughter has been launched and the department is cooperating fully with all aspects of this investigation.

No further comment can be made while these investigations are continuing.
analysis

Name: Dr. J. Nutai Kolleh

Position: Doctor In Medicine of General Practice

It is often said that dream positive and disbelieve in impossibility; this is the case of a youthful medical Doctor, J. Nutai Kolleh, who has risen himself hard above the bar to become an inspiration to many young people of Liberia.

Dr. Kolleh- age, 31, in 2019 graduated fromA.M Dogliotti Collage of Medicine with honors. Not just that, he was pronounced dux and given special recognition for being the best student among those who walked out of the walls of Dogliotti in 2019.

"It was surprising when I was announced as the dux. It was a great feeling of joy" Dr. Kolleh said.

Before explaining how the youthful medical doctor is performing in his career now, let's just look back as his days as a child growing up. A child who walked distances to gain his primary education in one of Liberia's counties, Bong, it was not easy.

Dr. Kolleh, like any other child, was brought up by his parents- an educated father and an uneducated mother who sold her produce in the market to make ends meet and ensured that she and her family did not lack any basic necessities.

"Growing up as a child, I still remember those days when the English teacher would come in class asking that we write an author biography." He recollected his days in elementary school.

He said; "I can remember it was a common thing for us to write, that we wanted to become a medical doctor upon leaving high school." So, he struck to it.

"Me and other friends back then, felt that medical doctor was the very biggest of all careers," Dr. Kolleh said as he looked on and laughed faintly.

The child back in high school has grown up after so many years of preparation as a young man.

During his preparatory stages, he attended various high schools and graduated from the World Wild Mission High School situated in Paynesville; after which he enrolled at the University of Liberia.

I asked him if all was rosy during his days at the University of Liberia. He looked and this was how he responded: "Things were hard. During our days, we had one bus leaving from Paynesville to UL Fendell campus. I remembered doing desktop publishing to enable me get those things I needed when I was in school."

He has gone through his own ups and downs, his good and bad times- those times which had shaped him to become a better person.

He explained to me that when he graduated in 2019 from the A.M Doglitti Collage of Medicine, he did not hesitate to do his internship. So, on the 27th of January 2020, a process he said required of him to cover four departments in four hospitals in Liberia started.

To track the personality for the week, it was not an easy one. Busy with patients, doing his regular rounds, talking with people privately and many more.

"When I get the phone call, I will be on call, he said.

I did not know the terminology of a person on call. My journalistic thoughts were, once you are on call, it means, you are on a phone call. But I missed it big time. In the medical field, on call means, to see patients. After he told me this, I left and laughed at my behavior.

Anyway, let's leave that because it is not really the issue I want to push here.

Now that the internship of Dr. Kolleh has come to an end, I was inquisitive to know if he was just going to be assigned as a doctor; but he responded by saying, "I was sent to school by the government of Liberia and I must work for the government as part of the agreement. But first, I need to be licensed by The Liberia Medical and Dental Council (LMDC)," he explained.

He indicated that after the process of his licensing, he will have to work for the Liberian government for a period of one year; mainly in the rural parts of the country. This according to him, is intended for more exposure. He does not want to be ungrateful to the Liberian government. So, the best thing is to abide by whatever agreement that was reached. In addition to his experience during his internship at ELWA, Du-Side and other places, he still thinks that he has a lot more to do for those waiting.

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He is not satisfy with the level of education thus far. He wants to specialize in a particular area in the field of medicine.

When he was asked which area he has earmarked to specialize in, the youthful medical doctor said, " I want to specialize in surgery" but he said it is still open as to which of the surgeries he wants to focus.

Anyway, that is a good place. At least he did not go into Gynecology as one of my friends did.

The personality of the week still thinks that Liberia needs many medical doctors so as to help those already in the field.

The youthful medical Doctor has promised to specialize himself, work to help address medical issues in Liberia. He has age in his favor and if he goes up higher, I think he will do it.

This is the personality of the week. Read next week to know who the personality will be.

Thank you for reading!

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Just as he thought he was close to the other side of COVID-19. Just as his breathing was less labored, as he no longer woke up nights in a pool of his own sweat, no matter the weather. As he eased beyond the two days spent in UAB Hospital being aggressively treated for the virus and the pneumonia in his left lungdays made most painful because he was not able to attend the funeral of his great-grandmother, the family matriarch, who died from COVID-19 on New Years Day.

Just then, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin began to hurt. Really hurt.

In his joints and limbs. In his arms and shoulders. In his legs, from his hips to his feet. It hurt to walk, it hurt to be still, he recalls. It was more painful than the pneumonia. "

The mayor has shared snippets of his experience with COVID-19, yet not the depth of his battle with the neurological effects of the virus, effects well beyond the familiar loss of taste and smell. Evolving affects those studying the virus and its impactincluding tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, dizziness, confusion, delirium, seizures, and even strokeare still just beginning to recognize and assess.

Now, I will tell you: What was scarier than being there was the neuro-Covid thing, he says. You dont want that. It freaked me out. It scared me. At one point, I thought I was having a stroke. I dont even know what that means but internally I felt what was going on with my body and I knew something was wrong.

Its a fight. I was intent on fighting, but it was a fight. It was not easy.

Almost 500,000 Alabamians have tested positive for COVID-19 in less than a year since the first positive test was discovered in the state. Nearly 8,500 people have died.

Since the onset of the global pandemic, experts have focused on stemming the spread of the virus, creating and disseminating a vaccine (as uneven and inequitable as the distribution of one of the two vaccines now seems to be). Scientists still arent sure why the virus can have significant neurological effects on some people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though, has added new confusion to its list of signs that may be a reason to seek emergency medical attention.

There was conversation that [coronavirus] was a hoax or like the flu, Woodfin says now. Let me be the first to tell you: The coronavirus is not a hoax, and its definitely not the flu. I want to make that very clear.

He is among at least four Alabama mayors whove revealed having tested positive for the virus: Auburns Ron Anders, Andy Betterton of Florence, and Decaturs Tab Bowling, who admitted dismissing well-established edicts to wear masks and practice social distancing by joining a large family gathering over the Christmas holidays. I made a mistake, he said.

Woodfin says he and his family diligently practiced social distancing for several months. On visits to the home of his mother, Cynthia Woodfin-Kellum, Woodfinlike countless children with their parents during the pandemicsays he stood on the front lawn while she remained on the porch.

At first [after testing positive on December 30], I was selfish, he recalls. I wanted to hug my mom.

Almost exactly a year to the day before his positive test, Woodfin-Kellums husband of 16 years, Reggie, died at the age of just 66. I think my mother is breaking out from isolation, the mayor says. She lost her husband a year ago and has been in the house by herself since then. She was really close to her grandmother; with hers and her husbands deaths, shes overwhelmed. Shes over 65. I cant wait until she can get the vaccine.

Woodfin entered Princeton Baptist Medical Center on Jan. 4, the Monday following news of the positive testagain after thinking he was getting better. Yet he found himself struggling to breathe and watched his oxygen level slide. His personal physician encouraged him to check-in.

Im glad I called, Woodfin says. Some people would have just said, Im just fatigued.

Treatment included Remdesivir, plasma therapy, and steroids.

I had a whole lot of stuff, he says. It worked because they kicked me out.

Before leaving Princeton Hospital, Woodfin says two experiences there still remain with him.

One occurred in the middle of the night when the pain being endured by another patient in the COVID-19 area became eerily audible.

I wont call them screams, but her, her moans were audible, loud enough for me to be really concerned about the level of her pain, he says. This whole thing has increased for me the whole notion of what empathy really means.

Additionally, Woodfin recalls the words of a nurse who treated him. She told me in almost 30 years of being a nurse, what shes witnessed, the depth of what shes seen, the amount of pain, shes never seen anything like, he recalls. It reminded me of the scale of people that have died. Its made me appreciate science more. Its made me really appreciate doctors and nurses more, and that people need better access to health care.

Things for me could have happened differently if I hadnt had my own personal access to health care, so its made me want to weigh into this health care fight. I dont understand a state that doesnt expand access to health care. Dont tell me youre Christlike and dont want to do something that will help people.

Woodfins grandmother was buried on the day he was released from the hospital. He last saw her a year ago when the family came together to celebrate her 87th birthday. I walked her to her car, we hugged he recalls. When she was getting in, she talked about how important it is we celebrate all of us, all the generations.

The emotional toll of not being able to attend a loved ones funeral due to concerns about the spread of the virus has been felt by far too many  in Alabama and nationwide.

Ive heard about these experiences, Woodfin says. Ive spoken with funeral home directors and read stories about people who couldnt go to a funeral or couldnt see their family member as they suffered in the hospital. I never thought Id be living that experience myself.

Almost 30 days after testing positive, Woodfin was still not 100 percent. He was eager to begin easing back into working out regularly, even walking more. If I take the stairs three flights, I can feel it.

He still sees some light in the experience.

The body has a way of humbling you, he says. It made me sit down; it forced me to just be still.

Unafraid to start uncomfortable conversations, Roy is a voice for whats right and wrong in Birmingham, Alabama (and beyond). His column appears in The Birmingham News and AL.com, as well as in the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register. Reach him at rjohnson@al.com and follow him at twitter.com/roysj

On February 2, photographer Dmitry Markov, widely considered one of the greatest chroniclers of modern Russia, joined a protest against the arrest of anti-corruption activist Aleksei Navalny in Moscow. Markov told the North Desk of RFE/RL's Russian Service that he disagreed with Navalny's positions on many things. But he also said, "Damn, when there are 20 politicians like Navalny, you can choose: this one or that one. But now there's only one like him. So yes, I support him, despite some disagreements."

As Markov milled around the courthouse in Moscow where Navalny was being held on February 2, he says a group of riot policemen "broke away from the cordon -- I must say, everything was done politely -- then came up and said, 'Let's go.' They just pulled me out of the crowd and led me toward the police van." Markov says he overheard a policeman say to another that "three people should have been taken, not one!" The photographer says that when a policeman ordered, "Stop, stop, do we have foreigners or journalists here?" he remained quiet despite knowing he probably could have been let off. "I understood that, in principle, it was possible to leave, but I felt that it was important for me to go through this whole story as an ordinary person, like the majority of people there."

Markov says it was so packed inside the police vehicle that it reminded him of taking cheap public transport in the 2000s. Once inside a police station and sitting alongside dozens of other young protesters, he was confronted with the striking image of the masked policeman seated under the portrait of Putin. Markov said the policeman "is shy, afraid to show his face, he is sitting in a balaclava indoors, the room is hot." "It was very representative," he said. "Navalny talked a lot about fear, and this is one of the illustrations of this."
An Illinois father stabbed his nine-year-old daughter to death and then took his own life in an apparent murder-suicide that occurred while the girl was spending the night at his home, police said.

Officers with the Lake Villa Police Department arrived at a residence in the 100 Briar Ridge Lane at 2.15pm on Thursday to perform a welfare check and found the 36-year-old man and his daughter dead.

A preliminary investigation has determined that the child's mother and father live separately but share custody of the girl.

Police in Lake Villa, Illinois, arrived at this home on Briar Ridge Lane on Thursday to perform a welfare check and found a nine-year-old girl and her 36-year-old father dead inside

On Wednesday, the mother agreed to let her daughter stay with her father overnight.

The following day, the mother learned that her nine-year-old had not been in school. She made several attempts to contact the girl's father, but was unable to reach him.

The woman then called the police, asking them to check on her daughter.

Police said that based on the facts and circumstances obtained so far, the case is being investigated as a murder-suicide. Investigators believe the father killed his daughter and then himself.

Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Spokesman Christopher Covelli said the girl had suffered what appeared to be sharp-force wounds, reported Lake and McHenry County Scanner.

Autopsies on the father and daughter were pending.

'This is an incredibly tragic set of circumstance and our deepest condolences go out to the family of the child,' Lake Villa Police Chief Craig Somerville said in the news release. 'I want to reassure the Lake Villa community that there is no evidence to suggest there is a threat to the public.'

Taxi and private hire vehicle drivers can claim a free pack of high quality PPE and vehicle cleaning materials

This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 5th, 2021

Taxi and private hire vehicle drivers in Wales will be able to claim a free pack of high quality PPE and vehicle cleaning materials, funded by the Welsh Government.

The move is intended to increase confidence in travelling safely for drivers and passengers.

The pack contains medical grade re-usable face coverings and hand sanitiser, as well as all-purpose sanitiser, cloths, wipes and gloves so vehicles can be effectively cleaned between passengers.

Medical grade face coverings have been chosen to provide enhanced protection over standard face coverings.





The Welsh Government is strongly recommending for drivers to wear face coverings when transporting passengers, if it does not interfere with their ability to drive safely.

The chosen face coverings are intended to be comfortable to wear for a long period of time.

The legal requirement for passengers to wear face coverings remains in place.

Ken Skates, Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, said: Taxis and private hire vehicles are an essential part of our public transport network and we appreciate the vital role drivers have played as frontline workers during this pandemic.

We recognise drivers are keen to make their vehicles as safe, clean and hygienic as possible, and these packs will contribute to the ongoing efforts they are making.

Weve worked closely with Lyreco and the Welsh Government Local Government Association to develop this initiative and thank them both for their efforts.

Drivers will be able to apply for a pack via this link and the pack will be delivered free of charge. The initiative is strictly for licensed Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle operators registered in Wales only, each applicant will receive one pack per person.

Russell George MS  Shadow Minister for Transport  has given a broad welcome to the initiative but questions why it has taken Labour so long to introduce the scheme.

Mr George said that it is essential to recognise the vital contribution taxi and PHV drivers make to transport in Wales, while also ensuring that taxi travel is as safe as possible  for both drivers and passengers, adding: Its about time this sector was brought into closer alignment with other public transport operators in Wales.

Despite a downturn in taxi and other journeys caused by the pandemic, the 74,100 licensed operators in Wales and those they transport will welcome this decision.

Such a scheme, if implemented properly, will come at a considerable cost and ministers must ensure they are in a position to deliver, in full, on this promise.
Police are hoping to be able to hand out Covid fines after events that breach regulations in a bid to crack down on large gatherings at funerals.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne revealed the move during a meeting of the Policing Board yesterday, in the wake of fresh controversy over two recent funerals that appeared to be in breach of Covid regulations.

Large crowds gathered at the funerals of former IRA man Eamon McCourt in Londonderry on January 25 and former UVF man Hugh Hill on January 29.

Police also attended a funeral in the Norglen Parade area of west Belfast yesterday.

Mr Byrne said it is recognised that "consistency has to be a more key part of our message" going forward.

"We have been having dialogue in recent days with the Public Prosecution Service about how we can use fixed penalty notices post-event, which is not something we have been doing, to try and see if we can speed up the process," he said.

He said officers have investigated 24 breaches of Covid regulations regarding funerals and 11 of those probes are ongoing.

Mr Byrne said the vast majority have respected the regulations, so the dilemma is making small groups of people know they are no different from anyone else.

"We make it plain that the restrictions are there to be observed, in this case limited to 25 people, and that if they are breached we will be gathering evidence and following it up," he said.

"Our hands are tied with the summary nature of these offences.

"We can't compel people to come to interview, we can't arrest them, so we have to follow up 'slow-time', which I know is causing frustration. That's why we are looking at the moment at fixed penalty notices in the days afterwards when we know who people are."

He said there are difficulties in policing funerals during the pandemic, including people wearing masks and using large umbrellas. "Even in the face of unequivocal breaches, we have to pass an evidential test, in a criminal justice process that often takes too long," he said.

He quoted Denzel Washington from the film Training Day, stating: "It's not what you know, it's what you can prove."
In a straw poll of 810 active-duty military personnel, spouses and veterans, more than half of active-duty families, or 53%, said they did not plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine, citing safety concerns and suspicions over development. Nearly half of veteran families agreed.

The survey was conducted by researchers with the military advocacy group Blue Star Families Dec. 10 to 14. In it, 40% of 57 active-duty service respondents said they would get the vaccine, while 49% said they would not. Another 11% said they were undecided.

Among 613 spouses of active-duty personnel, 32% said they planned to get the vaccine, 54% said they would not and 14% were undecided.

Read Next: Face Masks Now Mandatory Almost Everywhere on Military Bases

Veteran families were slightly more inclined to get the vaccine, with 41% saying they would get it, 46% saying they would not and 13% undecided.

Seven in 10 respondents said they didn't want to get the vaccine because they didn't trust the development process or had concerns about safety, according to the results, released Thursday.

"I am looking for long term placebo controlled studies. I do not want my family, or service members to be guinea pigs," one military spouse wrote in the survey's comments section.

The survey was conducted the week after the Pew Research Center announced the results of a national poll that found 60% of Americans would definitely or probably get a coronavirus vaccine, and the same week the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Jennifer Akin, a Blue Star Families researcher, said she started noticing social media posts by military family members about vaccine hesitancy and decided to conduct the survey after Pew released its results.

While the Blue Star Family survey is not a scientific poll, its results provide a baseline for observing acceptance or reluctance over time, Akin said.

"This is a divisive topic ... but at the end of the day, if we as military families can recognize that this is a readiness issue, it can be very helpful," she said.

According to the survey, 28% of respondents didn't perceive the COVID-19 coronavirus as a threat.

"There's work to be done to counteract that narrative," Akin said.

Since the survey was conducted, the FDA has issued an emergency use authorization for another COVID-19 vaccine, made by Moderna. Both are based on messenger RNA technology, which uses bits of genetic code to instruct a person's cells to make antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

To date, more than 32 million doses have been administered in the U.S., according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Speaking at a virtual presentation Thursday hosted by the American Red Cross and Blue Star Families, Fauci said the research and safety data on both vaccines was reviewed by scientists and medical experts "not beholden to the federal government or companies but to the American public," and the decision to administer it was made by scientists with an independent advisory board.

"That's the reason why many of you hear me, every day in the media, saying when your turn comes up, please get vaccinated, for your own safety, for that of your family and that for the American community in general," Fauci said.

For the most part, military family members have not had to make the decision whether to get the vaccine because they don't have access to any. The Department of Defense has administered 508,965 vaccinations, but mostly to active-duty military personnel and essential employees, as well as some Tricare beneficiaries over age 75.

Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director of the Defense Health Agency, said the DoD hopes to expand eligibility to those 65 and older "soon," but added that anyone who has access to a vaccine elsewhere should take it.

"If it's available in the community and easier for you to get it there, then get it at your first opportunity," he said. "Please let us know if you get the vaccine somewhere else so we can update your records."

Among the big concerns voiced in the Blue Star Families survey and during the virtual presentation Thursday were vaccinations for children and pregnant women.

Roughly 18% of active-duty family respondents and 26% of veteran families said they would seek the vaccine for their children.

Neither of the available vaccines is approved for young children. The Moderna shot is approved for those 16 years and older, while the Pfizer vaccine is approved for people at least 18 years of age.

Fauci said children and pregnant women were not included in the vaccine clinical trials because they are considered vulnerable populations. But studies have begun on adolescents.

"You wait until you get pretty confident that you are dealing with a safe and effective vaccine. And then you can start trials in children, which we have already done ... a de-escalation study, starting off with older children and working your way down," Fauci said.

Tests on pregnant women have just begun, he added. Of the 32 million vaccinations given so far, 10 pregnant women -- mainly health care workers -- have received shots and no "red flags," including unexpected medical reactions, have been observed, Fauci said.

Since the pandemic began, nearly 226,000 people affiliated with the DoD have tested positive for COVID-19, including 143,272 military personnel and 23,034 dependents. Another 45,106 civilian employees and 14,341 military contractors also have had the virus.

More than 250 have died, including 19 service members and nine family members.

Across the U.S., more than 26 million Americans have tested positive for COVID-19, and nearly 455,000 have died. The number of new cases has dropped by 30% in the last 14 days, and President Joe Biden has launched an ambitious effort to deliver 150 million vaccinations in his first 100 days of office.

During the Blue Star Family forum, first lady Jill Biden urged viewers to continue practicing social distancing, wear masks and "get the vaccine when it's your turn."

"We can beat this together," she said.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime

Related: For Now, US Troops Won't Be Required to Get The New COVID-19 Vaccine
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has approved 12 additional hospitals for chemotherapy in the ongoing Cancer Access Partnership Programme aimed at over 50 per cent cost reduction.

He disclosed this in a statement he issued on Thursday in Abuja to mark the World Cancer Day, annually marked on February 4 to raise awareness on cancer and to encourage its prevention, early detection, and treatment.

He said that the Federal Ministry of Health under his watch had continued to improve access to cancer care services, especially in diagnosis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy services.

Chemotherapy is an aggressive form of chemical drug therapy meant to destroy rapidly growing cells in the body. Its usually used to treat cancer, as cancer cells grow and divide faster than other cells.

Radiotherapy, also another way of treating cancer, is where radiation is used to kill cancer cells. It may be used in the early stages of cancer.

Mr Ehanire, therefore, stated that we are currently improving services in some hospitals across the country, with the installation of radiotherapy machines already in advanced stages in UNTH Enugu, UBTH Benin, UDUTH Sokoto, UCH Ibadan and ABUTH Zaria.

These would have been completed, but for the hitches caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I also approved the inclusion of 12 additional hospitals in the ongoing Cancer Access Partnership (CAP) Programme; this will increase the number of hospitals offering this service from seven as at the 2020 World Cancer Day to 18 as at today.

The initial seven hospitals offering the service were National Hospital Abuja, ABUTH Zaria, AKTH Kano, OAUTHC Ile-Ife, UCH Ibadan, LUTH Lagos and UNTH Enugu.

The additional hospitals are FTH Gombe, UPTH Port Harcourt, UBTH Benin, UITH Ilorin, UCTH Calabar, AEFUTHA Abakaliki, JUTHJos, UDUTH Sokoto, FMC Birnin Kebbi, NAUTH Nnewi, ABUTH Bauchi and Kalgo Medical Centre in Kebbi.

The CAP programme also improved from nine molecules from one manufacturer to 20 products in 29 formulations from three manufacturers.

ChemoSafe

According to him, the Federal Ministry of Health successfully developed a National Chemotherapy Safety (ChemoSafe) policy in 2020, which will be launched soon.

He said we also developed a National Hospice and Palliative Care Policy to address the Palliative Care Need of cancer patients and other patients that may need the services.

This policy will also be launched this year.

The minister noted that the government established the Cancer Health Management Fund in 2020 to demonstrate its commitment to improving access to cancer care services.

He added that the government had already developed an indigent patients selection criteria to ensure that only those who needed the fund benefit from it.

This is meant to complement other patients assisted programmes like the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the CAP programme.

We are currently working out modalities to ensure that almost all cancer care services are covered by NHIS.

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Mr Ehanire urged those in the Cancer Ecosystem to join hands with the ministry to take the war against cancer to the next level.

Globally, he said, there was a continuous rise in the incidence of cancers, especially in low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria.

He said according to available statistics from our Cancer Registries, the Age Standardised incidence Rate (ASR) in males started rising at age 35-39 years and peaked by 70  74 years, while the rise in females started at age 25-29 years and peaked at 65-69 years between 2009 and now.

We have also started seeing an increased incidence of childhood cancers, especially haematological cancers in our facilities.

According to him, the theme of the 2021 World Cancer Day I AM and I WILL is still the theme that has been reflected on for 2019 and 2020.

He explained that the ministry had commenced full implementation of the screen, see and treat programme of the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

The objective of this programme is to embark on massive awareness, free screening and treatment of precancerous lesions of 430,000 women in three pilot states of Kaduna, Lagos and Rivers.

And in 2020, over 1000 Health Care Workers (doctors, nurses, lab scientists, CHEWS and data collectors) in the three states and the Federal Capital Territory were trained and over one thousand women screened in the course of hands-on training of the health professionals.

In addition, he said, the ministry had intensified efforts to ensure wider accessibility and availability of Human Papilloma Virus vaccine through the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) within this year 2021.

This will target our young girls and boys (9-13 years of age) to eliminate Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which is known to be responsible for over 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases, the minister noted. (NAN)

The owners of the McFarland Apartments are expected to hire a company to remove the giant debris pile that has remained untouched after a catastrophic wall collapse more than four years ago.

Adam Klein, attorney for McFarland Apartments, announced at a court status hearing Friday morning the latest timeline for removal of the debris that crushed Howard Henrys tire shop below.

While the cleanup was supposed to start last year, there were delays in securing a contract with the H&K Group, of Skippack, Pa., Klein told Senior Judge Kevin Hess.

But various issues were sorted out and the contract was expected to be signed Friday after the court hearing, Klein said. Then the company would seek to get a surety bond next week and move forward with obtaining the proper permits from the city.

Is the car still there? Hess asked of an car that has been stranded among the tons of dirt, concrete and other debris since May 5, 2016, when the wall that propped up McFarlands parking lot collapsed.

Yes, Klein said. That should be removed in the cleanup I feel like well be breaking ground very soon.

The work will involve removing the tons of debris, starting from the top, and shoring up the 8-unit apartment building closest to the collapse.

Hess declined to set a date for trial to determine fault in the collapse from among more than a dozen defendants who have been sued by Henry. Among the defendants are McFarland Apartments, PennDOT and several subcontractors hired by PennDOT to complete work on the 107-year-old wall in the months before it suddenly collapsed.

Henrys attorneys pushed for a trial date to be set to get things moving, but Hess said it would serve no purpose to set a trial date when Henry has an appeal pending on a central aspect of the case.

Last year, Hess ruled that plans should immediately go forward with cleanup of the site but that the defendants didnt have to rebuild Henrys property to what it was like before the collapse, a method that was being pursued by the previous judge, Judge Lawrence F. Clark.

Hess ruled that it was beyond the courts authority to determine the amount of damage to and liability for Henrys business, which had to close after the wall collapsed.

The liability side of the case must be determined by a settlement or jury trial, Hess ruled. Henry has appealed that ruling to Superior Court.

While awaiting a ruling from Superior Court, Hess said he could continue to prepare for trial in Henrys lawsuit by handling pending motions and discovery questions.

Last year, it looked like the case was headed to a settlement, but now attorneys agree it looks like the matter will likely go to trial, barring any significant changes.

Meanwhile, McFarland has filed its own lawsuit against PennDOT and some subcontractors seeking damages for lost revenue from its 8-unit apartment building and parking lot.

READ: Documents detail history of Harrisburg wall that collapsed: From the beginning

READ: Harrisburg tire shop owner slaps McFarland apartments, PennDOT contractors with lawsuit
Forty workers compensation insurance carriers out of 120 assessed in Texas scored high enough to be placed in the high performer tier in a study recently released by state workers comp regulators.

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers Compensation (DWC) in its 2020 Insurance Carrier Performance Based Oversight (PBO) assessment looked at the performance of 120 insurance carriers in five measures:

paying initial temporary income benefits;

processing initial medical bills;

processing requests for reconsideration of medical bills;

submitting initial payment data by electronic data interchange (EDI); and

submitting medical bill processing data by EDI.

DWC reviewed 120 insurance carriers with the following results: 40 had scores placing them in the high performer tier, 76 were in the average performer tier, and four had a score placing them in the poor performer tier.

2020 Insurance Carrier Tier Assessments System Results

Measures Number of Insurance Carriers High Tier Performers Average Tier Performers Poor Tier Performers All insurance carriers were assessed on the same measures 120 40 76 4

This was the first PBO cycle using the new methodology which places greater emphasis on the timely initial payment of temporary income benefits. This assessment also took place when changes to business operations were being made in response to COVID-19. DWC recognizes these changes may have affected PBO outcomes for certain insurance carriers. System Results PER Measure Measures Measure Weights High Tier Performers Average Tier Performers Poor Tier Performers Timely payment of initial Temporary Income Benefits 50% weight 25 72 23 Timely submission of Initial Payment data via EDI 5% weight 60 46 14 Timely processing of initial medical bills 30% weight 115 5 0 Timely processing of request for reconsideration medical bills 10% weight 70 43 7 Timely submission of medical bill processing data via EDI 5% weight 109 9 2

The 2020 PBO assessment results and a list of the insurance carriers that were reviewed are posted on the TDI website. If an insurance carrier is not listed, they were not assessed in 2020; however, no insurance carrier in the Texas workers compensation system is exempt from compliance with the Texas Labor Code and DWC rules.

The data time frame used to assess performance of the insurance carriers for the above measures was Jan. 1, 2020, through June 30, 2020.

DWC will assess health care providers separately in 2021.

Source: TDI-DWC

Topics Carriers Texas Workers' Compensation
Europe and pharma groups must work together to speed up COVID-19 vaccinations, the head of the European branch of the World Health Organization said Friday, expressing concern about the effectiveness of vaccines on virus variants.

"We need to join up to speed up vaccinations," WHO Europe director Hans Kluge told AFP in an interview, as Europe bids to overcome a slow start to its vaccination campaign amid tensions between Brussels and vaccine manufacturers.

"Otherwise competing pharmaceutical companies (must) join efforts to drastically increase production capacity ... that's what we need," Kluge said.

In the European Union, just 2.5 percent of the population has received a first vaccine dose, though announcements by several laboratories of increased vaccine deliveries have raised hopes of an acceleration.

Asked whether the vaccines available since December would be effective against new virus variants, Kluge replied: "That's the big question. I'm concerned."

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

"We have to be prepared" for new problematic mutations of the virus, he warned, calling on countries to expand their genomic sequencing capacity.

Follow our LIVE blog for latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

"It's a cruel reminder that the virus still has the upper hand on the human being."

'Tunnel a little bit longer'

Of the 53 countries in the WHO's European region -- which includes several countries in central Asia -- 37 have reported cases of the British variant and 17 have registered cases of the South African variant.

While the fight against the pandemic now appears more challenging than in December when the first vaccines became available, Kluge remained optimistic.

"I'll be honest, I think that the tunnel is a little bit longer than what I thought at the end of December, but it's going to be manageable, more preventable this year."

"'The' solution or 'the' strategy doesn't exist. We have to get better at what we do and we are getting better," he said.

He reiterated the WHO's call for rich countries to show solidarity toward poor nations unable to buy vaccines, urging wealthy ones to share their doses after having inoculated a portion of their own population.

"Maybe if EU countries vaccinate 20 percent of their population -- -- and you need 70 percent for herd immunity -- but we could say for example that if they hit 20 percent would mean elderly people, health care workers, people with comorbidity -- if they hit 20 percent maybe that's the moment that they can already start to share some vaccines," he suggested.

The milestone of 100 million vaccine doses administered was passed on Tuesday, with 65 percent of jabs given in high-income countries, according to World Bank criteria.

Sharing doses

In a bid to combat "vaccine nationalism", the WHO has set up Covax, a global inoculation-sharing initiative to help poor countries.

"We know that in the EU, Canada, UK, US, they all ordered and made deals for four to nine times more doses than they need. So my point here is, don't wait until you have 70 percent of the population (vaccinated) to share with the Balkans, to share with central Asia, Africa."

While the WHO is in favour of countries issuing vaccination certificates, Kluge was opposed to the idea of "vaccination passports" required for travel.

"We certainly don't want to have a situation where there are so-called vaccine passports, that's something that we are definitely not subscribing to because it will increase inequities."

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.
WASHINGTON - House Democrats on Thursday asked former president Donald Trump to testify about his role in the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, an invitation his advisers immediately rejected and one that gives no indication as to whether more witnesses will be called to next week's Senate impeachment trial.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the lead impeachment manager, wrote to Trump that he was inviting the former president to testify because his lawyers had disputed the allegation that he incited the Jan. 6 insurrection, despite "clear and overwhelming evidence."

In their single article of impeachment, Raskin and the other House managers argue that Trump incited the riot by whipping his supporters into a "frenzy" in his Jan. 6 speech and by peddling a false narrative for months that President Joe Biden's victory was tainted by massive fraud. They also accuse Trump of refusing to help stop the mayhem and even enjoying it as he watched it unfold on television from the White House.

"If you decline this invitation, we reserve any and all rights, including the right to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions (and inaction) on January 6, 2021," Raskin wrote.

Trump's impeachment lawyers, David Schoen and Bruce Castor Jr., fired back in a letter to Raskin that his invitation was a "public relations stunt" and repeated the president's central defense: that it is unconstitutional to bring an impeachment proceeding against a former president.

"The President will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding," Trump spokesman Jason Miller said in a statement.

The House impeached Trump before he left office, and most legal scholars agree that a former president can be tried by the Senate even after leaving office.

Other Republicans also attempted to dismiss the effort to coax Trump to testify. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called it a "political ploy."

The gambit by House Democrats came amid lingering uncertainty about the shape of the Senate trial, which is set to begin Tuesday, and whether the nine impeachment managers will have the opportunity to call witnesses to bolster their case. That decision will affect the scope and ambition of the trial, which will be Trump's second.

House leaders have been calling for testimony from a range of eyewitnesses to the insurrection, including police officers who were injured as they fended off rioters while lawmakers barricaded themselves in various rooms inside the Capitol complex.

Their goal: to force Republicans to remember the terror and violence of that day before they vote to acquit, as a majority of them have indicated they will do. Four rioters and one Capitol Police officer died in the riots; two other officers subsequently took their own lives.

But Senate Democrats as well as Republicans have been reluctant to allow witnesses, because it could stretch out the trial for weeks at a time when Democrats want to focus on President Biden's agenda and Republicans want to turn the page on Trump's role in the insurrection.

The decision lies with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who has not announced whether he intends to allow a Senate vote to compel any witnesses or evidence beyond what the House managers have compiled on their own.

Addressing the trial in the Senate chamber Thursday, Schumer made no mention of witnesses. "We will move forward with a fair and speedy trial," he said. "The House managers will present their case. The former president's counsel will mount a defense. And senators will have to look deep into their consciences and determine if Donald Trump is guilty."

A spokesman for Schumer did not respond to a request for comment.

Last month, Schumer told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, "I don't think there's a need for a whole lot of witnesses."

His reticence comes after Trump's first impeachment trial last year, when Schumer - then minority leader - tried and failed to subpoena witnesses in successive votes that broke along party lines.

As of yet, House Democrats have not made public any other invitations for witnesses to testify, and Trump's defense team has no plans to call any witnesses, several of his advisers said Thursday. Several Trump White House aides with direct knowledge of the events of Jan. 6 at the Capitol and in the West Wing said they have not been asked to testify.

The House managers have "made clear" that they want to call witnesses, said one person familiar with their thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. But they understand that it is a decision for Senate leaders, who are hashing out impeachment rules big and small, down to the size of the television screens that will be allowed on the Senate floor to play video compilations of the mayhem that unfolded Jan. 6, the person said.

Although the idea of live witness testimony was initially discussed enthusiastically by House managers, that focus has dissipated somewhat as the partisan divide in the Senate has become clear and many senators made the case for a shorter trial, according to people familiar with the discussions.

In an interview earlier this week, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Democratic caucus, seemed to acknowledge the uncertainty of how the trial will unfold and how robust of a case the House managers will be permitted to present.

"There's reason to believe that certainly a handful of Senate Republicans are going to be open to doing the right thing, once the evidence is presented, which could include possible witnesses," Jeffries said. "Let's see what takes place."

White House officials are monitoring the developments, but declined to comment on Trump's potential testimony or the prospects that allowing many witnesses could prolong a trial they are seeking to move past. While top White House officials are in regular contact with Senate Democrats, they have publicly reiterated that they are leaving all mechanics about impeachment to members of Congress.

Biden has largely avoided commenting on Trump's impeachment, and has declined to take a position on the terms of the trial. But he has said that he believes the Senate should proceed with one, saying otherwise "it makes a mockery of the system."

"He was impeached by the House, and it has to move forward," Biden said in an interview with People that was published this week. "Otherwise it would come off as farcical."

House managers believe there is less of a need for eyewitness testimony this time because virtually the entire jury of senators - and an international television audience - bore witness to the alleged crime.

That's one reason House Democrats have spent a great deal of time - and hired an outside law firm - to pull together a video compilation of everything that unfolded Jan. 6, including Trump's remarks at his "Save America" rally on the Ellipse, the responses from his supporters in the crowd, their march down Pennsylvania Avenue, and their violent and frenzied invasion of the Capitol itself.

"Witness testimony is critically important in an impeachment trial," said Norman Eisen, who served as a counsel to the House managers in Trump's first impeachment. But he said the footage taken that day could serve that role.

"There is a vast amount of self-incriminating video capturing Trump's comments and the insurrectionists' reactions," he said. "Everyone can and will see for themselves what happened."

Democrats have said the presentation will include fresh footage from inside the Capitol as well as cellphone snippets from the rally in which protesters can be seen responding to Trump's exhortations that they pressure Congress as it prepared that day to certify Biden's victory.

"You'll never take back our country with weakness," Trump said toward the end of his speech. "You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated."

Some Republicans have seized on the fact that the House declined to hold investigatory hearings before impeaching Trump last month - a departure from his first impeachment last January, when House managers relied heavily on the testimony of current and former government officials to make their case that Trump had illegally sought help from Ukrainian officials to secure reelection. Trump was acquitted in that trial.

Although the Republican-controlled Senate rejected attempts to compel testimony from witnesses during that trial too, the House managers worked around the restriction by playing video of other witnesses who had been willing to appear before House investigators. The House did not issue its own subpoenas for witnesses then or now, which GOP senators have cited in their arguments against compelling testimony this time.

"Just like a year ago, the House didn't do their work as a grand jury, and they expect the Senate to do their work," Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Thursday. "I don't know why we have to pick up the pieces for the inadequacy of the House of Representatives."

The decision to ask Trump to testify came after his lawyers submitted a response to the House managers' impeachment brief in which they denied that Trump encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol or interfere with the count of the electoral college vote in the joint session of Congress that day.

The thinking was that "we need to call him on this," said the person familiar with the discussions.

The Democrats also plan to make Trump's persistent and false claims of election fraud a significant part of their case - and they believe there is no more potentially incriminating witness than the president himself, who has continued to claim that he won the election even as he settles into his new life at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, according to several aides.

One Trump aide who spoke on the condition anonymity to describe the former president's activities said Thursday that Trump is in good spirits, adjusting to his new life and focused on helping Republicans win majorities in the House and Senate in 2022.

Trump is unlikely to make any public appearances next week, the adviser said. His lawyers are expected to argue primarily that the proceeding itself is not constitutional, that he did not technically incite any violence and that his words did not spur those who charged the Capitol.

Graham has told the president and the team that the constitutionality argument is the one most likely to resonate with Republican senators, the adviser said.

"We expect to lose four or five Republicans," the adviser said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Matt Viser contributed to this report.
Two Offaly groups received funding from Bank of Ireland's Begin Together Community Fund.

It is part of Leinster Rugby's affiliate charity initiative where local causes receive support from the 2020 Begin Together Community fund.

There are two grantees in Offaly, Edenderry Swimming Pool, and Offaly Traveller Movement.

Edenderry Swimming Pool aims to encourage and promote swimming and meet the recreational, fitness and educational needs of the whole community including children, adults, the elderly, and those with special needs.

The Begin Together funding will be used to make the pool more inclusive and accessible, by rolling out a special needs program for children.

This will support users and their families to maintain a healthy lifestyle, supporting their physical and mental wellbeing

Offaly Traveller Movement is a community development organisation working towards social justice for travellers in Offaly through a partnership approach between the traveller community and the settled community.

The Begin Together grant will fund the Young Minceirs Tairean project which aims to equip young travellers with the tools to manage their mental health and wellbeing.

It will also include wellbeing activities such as art therapy, drumming, meditation and mindfulness and aim to empower young people to take responsibility for their own mental health and wellbeing.

Bank of Irelands Begin Together Community Fund will reopen for applications in the spring and works alongside Begin Together Arts Fund, and Begin Together Fund for Colleagues, as part of a multi-year commitment to support communities and local charities.
Story Highlights 78% of Ecuadorians say their lives have been affected by COVID-19

39% have lost their jobs or businesses because of coronavirus

Record-low 16% say it is a good time to find a job

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Voters in Ecuador head to the polls Sunday to choose a leader they hope can rescue their economy, which has been slowing down since 2015 and almost paralyzed since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gallup surveys conducted in Ecuador in late 2020 show the COVID-19 pandemic has left relatively few lives untouched. Half of Ecuadorians (50%) say their lives have been affected by the coronavirus situation "a lot," and another 28% say it has affected their lives "some."

For many, this has meant lost jobs and closed businesses -- either temporarily or permanently -- and reduced hours and wages. As businesses shuttered across the country and unemployment soared in 2020, 64% of Ecuadorians say they temporarily stopped working at their job or business, and 39% say they lost their job or business because of the coronavirus situation.

More than six in 10 (63%) in Ecuador say they received less money than usual from their jobs or businesses, which many Ecuadorians could ill afford, as the percentage of adults who struggled to afford food shot to a record-high 64% last year. Many also saw their hours cut: 58% say they worked fewer hours at their jobs or businesses because of the pandemic.

Most Ecuadorians' Lives Affected by COVID-19 Have you experienced each of the following as a result of the coronavirus situation? Yes No Does not apply/No job* % % % Temporarily stopped working at your job or business 64 28 8 Received less money than usual from your job or business 63 27 9 Worked less hours at your job or business 58 30 11 Lost your job or business 39 51 9 * Volunteered response Gallup World Poll, 2020

Men and women in Ecuador are just as likely to say they have lost their jobs or businesses because of the pandemic, but women are somewhat less likely to say they worked fewer hours or stopped working temporarily because of the pandemic. Women are also slightly less likely to say that they earned less money than they usually do. These findings may reflect women's greater likelihood than men to work part time rather than full time for an employer or for themselves.

Jobs Outlook Bleakest in Years

Ecuadorians do not have much hope that their situations will get much better on the jobs front. A record-low 16% say it is a good time to find a job where they live, while more than eight in 10 (81%) say it is a bad time to find a job. Men and women, Ecuadorians from all age brackets, and those in urban and rural areas are similarly dour about the job outlook.

Line graph. Ecuadorians are now the most pessimistic they have been in more than a decade about the job outlook in their local communities. One in six Ecuadorians think it is a good time to find a job.

Bottom Line

With a crowded field of candidates, Ecuador is unlikely to choose a new president this weekend. Experts anticipate that decision will be punted to April 11 in a run-off. Regardless of who is ultimately chosen, the next president will immediately face two monumental tasks: to pick up the pieces of a battered economy that has contracted between 10% and 12% -- and find a way to successfully vaccinate Ecuadorians to make economic recovery possible. For most Ecuadorians who have seen their lives upended during the pandemic, it's likely that both can't happen soon enough.

At the same time, Ecuadorians are not alone in their struggles. Many in Latin America were already having a tough time before the pandemic and could lose ground in the battle against poverty as they see their jobs destroyed, some of them never to return. Future Gallup articles will analyze how COVID-19 has affected lives across the broader region and the rest of the world.

Editor's note: Because of the pandemic, Gallup switched from face-to-face surveys in Ecuador to telephone surveys in 2020, as it did across most of the world.

For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details.

Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
A construction site in Wuhan, China, Jan. 22, 2021 (Gilles Sabrie/The New York Times)

Steven Lee Myers, Keith Bradsher, Sui-Lee Wee and Chris Buckley

The order came on the night of Jan. 12, days after a new outbreak of the coronavirus flared in Hebei, a province bordering Beijing. The Chinese governments plan was bold and blunt: It needed to erect entire towns of prefabricated housing to quarantine people, a project that would start the next morning.

Part of the job fell to Wei Ye, the owner of a construction company, which would build and install 1,300 structures on commandeered farmland.

Everything  the contract, the plans, the orders for materials  was all fixed in a few hours, Wei said, adding that he and his employees worked exhaustively to meet the tight deadline.

There is pressure, for sure, he said, but he was very honored to do his part.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

In the year since the coronavirus began its march around the world, China has done what many other countries would not or could not do. With equal measures of coercion and persuasion, it has mobilized its vast Communist Party apparatus to reach deep into the private sector and the broader population, in what the countrys leader, Xi Jinping, has called a peoples war against the pandemic  and won.

China is now reaping long-lasting benefits that few expected when the virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and the leadership seemed as rattled as at any moment since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

The success has positioned China well, economically and diplomatically, to push back against the United States and others worried about its seemingly inexorable rise. It has also emboldened Xi, who has offered Chinas experience as a model for others to follow.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

While officials in Wuhan initially dithered and obfuscated for fear of political reprisals, the authorities now leap into action at any sign of new infections, if at times with excessive zeal. In Hebei this January, the authorities deployed their well-honed strategy to test millions and isolate entire communities  all with the goal of getting cases, officially only dozens a day in a population of 1.4 billion, back to zero.

The government has poured money into infrastructure projects, its playbook for years, while extending loans and tax relief to support business and avoid pandemic-related layoffs. China, which sputtered at the beginning of last year, is the only major economy that has returned to steady growth.

When it came to developing vaccines, the government offered land, loans and subsidies for new factories to make them, along with fast-tracking approvals. Two Chinese vaccines are in mass production; more are on the way. While the vaccines have shown weaker efficacy rates than those of Western rivals, 24 countries have already signed up for them since the pharmaceutical companies have, at Beijings urging, promised to deliver them more quickly.

Other nations, like New Zealand and South Korea, have done well containing the virus without heavy-handed measures that would be politically unacceptable in a democratic system. To Chinas leaders, those countries do not compare.

Beijings successes in each dimension of the pandemic  medical, diplomatic and economic  have reinforced its conviction that an authoritarian capacity to quickly mobilize people and resources gave China a decisive edge that other major powers like the United States lacked. It is an approach that emphasizes a relentless drive for results and relies on an acquiescent public.

The Communist Party, in this view, must control not only the government and state-owned enterprises but also private businesses and personal lives, prioritizing the collective good over individual interests.

They were able to pull together all of the resources of the one-party state, said Carl Minzner, a professor of Chinese law and politics at Fordham University. This of course includes both the coercive tools  severe, mandatory mobility restrictions for millions of people  but also highly effective bureaucratic tools that are maybe unique to China.

In so doing, the Chinese Communist authorities suppressed speech, policed and purged dissenting views and suffocated any notion of individual freedom or mobility  actions that are repugnant and unacceptable in any democratic society.

Among the Communist Party leaders, a sense of vindication is palpable. In the final days of 2020, the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the countrys top political body, gathered in Beijing for the equivalent of an annual performance review, where in theory they can air criticisms of themselves and their colleagues.

Far from even hinting at any shortcomings  the rising global distrust toward China, for example  they exalted the party leadership.

The present-day world is undergoing a great transformation of the kind not seen for a century, Xi told officials at another meeting in January, but time and momentum are on our side.

Check here for the latest updates on all COVID-19 vaccines

A Party Mobilized

In recent weeks, as new cases kept emerging, the governments Cabinet, the State Council, issued a sweeping directive. There cannot be a shred of neglect about the risk of resurgence, it said.

The dictates reflected the micromanaged nature of Chinas political system, where the top leaders have levers to reach down from the corridors of central power to every street and even apartment building.

The State Council ordered provinces and cities to set up 24-hour command centers with officials in charge held responsible for their performance. It called for opening enough quarantine centers not just to house people within 12 hours of a positive test but also to strictly isolate hundreds of close contacts for each positive case.

Cities with up to 5 million people should create the capacity to administer a nucleic test to every resident within two days. Cities with more than 5 million could take 3-5 days.

The key to this mobilization lies in the partys ability to tap its vast network of officials, which is woven into every department and agency in every region.

The government can easily redeploy volunteers to new hot spots, including more than 4,000 medical workers sent to Hebei after the new outbreak in January. A Communist Party member goes to the frontline of the people, said Bai Yan, a 20-year-old university student who has ambitions to join the party.

Zhou Xiaosen, a party member in a village outside of Shijiazhuang, a city of 11 million people that was among those locked down, said that those deputized could help police violations but also assist those in need. If they need to go out to buy medicine or vegetables, well do it for them, he said.

The government appeals to material interests, as well as to a sense of patriotism, duty and self-sacrifice.

The China Railway 14th Bureau Group, a state-owned contractor helping build the quarantine center near Shijiazhuang, drafted a public vow that its workers would spare no effort. Dont haggle over pay, dont fuss about conditions, dont fall short even if its life or death, the group said in a letter, signed with red thumbprints of employees.

The network also operates in part through fear. More than 5,000 local party and government officials have been ousted in the past year for failures to contain the coronavirus on their watch. There is little incentive for moderation.

Residents of the northeastern Chinese city of Tonghua recently complained after officials abruptly imposed a lockdown without enough preparations for supplying food and other needs. When a villager near Shijiazhuang tried to escape quarantine to buy a pack of cigarettes, a zealous party chief ordered him tied to a tree.

Many measures seemed over the top, but as far as theyre concerned, it was necessary to go over the top, said Chen Min, a writer and former Chinese newspaper editor who was in Wuhan throughout its lockdown. If you didnt, it wouldnt produce results.

The anger has faded over the governments inaction and duplicity early in the crisis, the consequence of a system that suppresses bad news and criticism. Chinas success has largely drowned out dissent from those who would question the partys central control. The authorities have also reshaped the public narrative by warning and even imprisoning activists who have challenged its triumphant version of events.

In the beginning, the pandemic seemed to expose the fundamental pathologies of Xi-style governance, said Jude Blanchette, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

In fact, with time and hindsight, we see that the system performed in large part as Xi Jinping was hoping it would do, he added.

The measures in Hebei worked quickly. At the start of February, the province recorded its first day in a month without a new coronavirus infection.

An Economy Revived

In many countries, debates have raged over the balance between protecting public health and keeping the economy running. In China, there is little debate. It did both.

Even in Wuhan last year, where the authorities shuttered virtually everything for 76 days, they allowed major industries to continue operating, including steel plants and semiconductor factories. They have replicated that strategy when smaller outbreaks have occurred, going to extraordinary lengths to help businesses in ways large and small.

Chinas experience has underscored the advice that many experts have suggested but few countries have followed: The more quickly you bring the pandemic under control, the more quickly the economy can recover.

While the economic pain was severe early in the crisis, most businesses closed for only a couple of weeks, if at all. Few contracts were canceled. Few workers were laid off, in part because the government strongly discouraged companies from doing so and offered loans and tax relief to help.

We coordinated progress in pandemic control and economic and social development, giving urgency to restoring life and production, Xi said last year.

Zhejiang Huayuan Automotive Parts Co. missed only 17 days of production. With the help of regional authorities, the company hired buses to bring back workers, who had scattered for the Lunar New Year holiday and could not return easily since much of the country was locked down at the beginning. Government passes allowed the buses through checkpoints restricting travel.

Workers were only allowed to go back and forth between the factory and dormitories, their temperatures checked frequently. BYD, a large customer, started manufacturing face masks and shipped supplies to Huayuan.

Soon, the company had more orders than it could handle.

An ambulance manufacturer in Anhui province increased production immediately, buying screws, bolts and other fasteners that Huayuan produces. Then Chinese automakers started needing them as the virus spread and overseas suppliers shut down.

We just said no to clients who only wanted standard parts  we wanted to sell more specialized parts, with higher profit, said Chen Xiying, the companys deputy general manager. Clients who were slow to pay, we rejected outright.

Like China itself, Huayuan rebounded quickly. By April, it had ordered nearly $10 million of new equipment to start a second, highly automated production line. It plans to add 47 technicians to its workforce of 340.

Before the pandemic, multinationals were looking beyond China for their operations, in part prodded by the Trump administrations trade war with Beijing. The virus itself added to fears about dependence on Chinese supply chains.

The pandemic, though, only reinforced Chinas dominance, as the rest of the world struggled to remain open for business.

Last year, China unexpectedly surpassed the United States as a destination for foreign direct investment for the first time, according to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development. Worldwide, investments plummeted 42%, while in China they grew by 4%.

Despite the human cost and disruption, the pandemic in economic terms was a blessing in disguise for China, said Zhu Ning, deputy dean of the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance.

A Diplomatic Tool

Last February, while the coronavirus ravaged Wuhan, one of the countrys biggest vaccine manufacturers, Sinovac Biotech, was in no position to develop a new vaccine to stop it.

The company lacked a high-security lab to conduct the risky research needed. It had no factory that could produce the shots, nor the funds to build one.

So the companys chief executive, Yin Weidong, reached out to the government for help. On Feb. 27, he met with Cai Qi, a member of Chinas Politburo, and Chen Jining, the mayor of Beijing and an environmental scientist.

After that, Sinovac had everything it needed.

The officials gave its researchers access to one of the countrys safest labs. They provided $780,000 and assigned government scientists to help.

They also cleared the way for the construction of a factory in a district of Beijing. The city donated the land. The Bank of Beijing, in which the municipality is a major shareholder, offered a low-interest $9.2 million loan.

When Sinovac needed fermentation tanks that typically take 18 months to import from abroad, the government ordered another manufacturer to work 24 hours a day to make them instead.

It was the sort of all-of-government approach that Xi outlined at a Politburo Standing Committee meeting two days after Wuhan was locked down. He urged the country to accelerate the development of therapeutic drugs and vaccines, and Beijing broadly showered resources.

CanSino Biologics, a private company, partnered with the Peoples Liberation Army, working with little rest to produce the first trial doses by March. Sinopharm, a state-owned pharmaceutical company, got government funding in 3 1/2 days to build a factory.

Yin of Sinovac called the project Operation Coronavirus in keeping with the wartime rhetoric of the countrys fight against the outbreak. It was only under such comprehensive conditions that our workshop could be put into production, he told The Beijing News, a state-controlled newspaper.

Less than three months after Yins Feb. 27 meeting, Sinovac had created a vaccine that could be tested in humans and had built a giant factory. It is churning out 400,000 vaccines a day and hopes to produce as many as 1 billion this year.

The crash course to vaccinate a nation ultimately opened a different opportunity.

With the coronavirus largely stamped out at home, China could sell more of its vaccines abroad. They will be made a global public good, Xi promised the World Health Assembly last May.

Although officials bristle at the premise, vaccine diplomacy has become a tool to assuage some of the anger over Chinas missteps, helping shore up its global standing at a time when it has been under pressure from the United States and others.

This is where China can come in and look like a real savior, like a friend in need, said Ray Yip, a former head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in China.

Chinas efficiency at home has not translated into an easy triumph abroad. Chinese vaccines have lower efficacy rates. Officials in Brazil and Turkey have complained about delays. Still, many countries who have signed up for them have acknowledged that they could not afford to wait months for those made by the Americans or Europeans.

On Jan. 16, Serbia became the first European country to receive Chinese vaccines, some 1 million doses from Sinopharm. The countrys president, Aleksandar Vucic, stood in chilly winds with the Chinese ambassador to welcome the first planeload of supplies.

He told reporters that he was not afraid to brag of the countrys relationship with China.

Im proud of that and will invest more and more of our time and efforts to create and even improve our great relationship with the Chinese leadership and the Chinese people.

c.2021 The New York Times Company

A petitioner is detained by police outside the Chaoyang Hospital where a group of people are protesting about medical and land grab issues in Beijing on May 8, 2012. (Mark Ralston/AFP/GettyImages)

Chinese Officials Forcibly Quarantine a Petitioner at Hospital

A Chinese petitioner was placed under mandatory quarantine after he was intercepted by authorities in Beijing and taken back to his hometown. He believes that the officials are restricting his freedom in the name of pandemic control.

Chinese petitioners appeal to central authorities for the redress of their grievances, usually by traveling to Beijings government offices and filing their complaints.

Wu Youming lost his plot of land in 2008 after local authorities forcibly acquired it to build luxury office buildings, without offering compensation. He is from Wuxue city, in central Chinas Hubei Province. He has been petitioning his case since 2009.

He has been detained ten times and has endured torture during detention. On one occasion, he lost several teeth after police beat him at a detention center. He has had difficulty eating since then.

Wu had recently gone to Beijing to appeal his case. In order to hide his itinerary from the authorities, he chose to stay in the citys Fangshan district, far away from Beijings central locations. Unexpectedly, officials from Wuxue were able to locate him quickly. On Jan. 7, Wu was arrested and detained at an unknown location for three hours, before the officials hired triad thugs to take him back to Wuxue.

Wus luggage was left behind in Beijing. His belongings were worth more than 5,000 yuan ($772), but the officials and hired thugs did not help him collect his things before Wu was escorted to his hometown.

According to local COVID-19 restrictions in Wuxue, Fangshan district in Beijing is considered a low-risk area for the spread of COVID-19. People arriving from the district only need to take a nucleic acid test, and do not have to go through quarantine if they test negative, Wu explained.

However, city and village officials forcibly sent Wu to the Second Hospital of Wuxue, where he has been placed under quarantine with other people who came back from high-risk areas in Hebei Province.

During the 14-day quarantine at the hospital, Wu suspected that authorities put poison in his food.

I had to be very careful and I didnt eat much. However, when I exercised after the meal, I could smell that my sweat had the strong odor of medicine. I was really scared, Wu said.

He tried to detox his body by eating garlic and drinking green tea with lemon as much as possible. He thinks this method indeed worked.

But Wu did not confront authorities about it. I didnt dare to question them. If they knew that I figured this out, they would find other ways to harm my life. They just want to take my life, so that they dont have to pay any compensation [for the land I lost], Wu said.

Wu was later taken to a second hospital in Wuxue. He was very wary when the officials urged Wu to eat more. He was then taken to his home, where he was told to self-quarantine for 14 days.

The Chinese-language Epoch Times spoke with Wu on Feb. 2. It was the 6th day of his self-quarantine.

Wu believes the mandatory quarantine is an excuse the officials used to restrict his freedom.

I cannot go out at all, as I am under surveillance. Even if I need to go to a doctor, they will not give me permission. I was told that I would be locked up in a detention center, and then sentenced to prison, if I try to escape, he said.

Wu said he is concerned about his personal safety. You cannot imagine how evil they are. Now my best hope is to stay alive. I will not seek compensation for my financial and property losses any more, he said. Chinas public security and judicial system have control of all the social resources I am very worried.

Yi Ru contributed to this report.
Days after Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa's comments that it is time to extend a "hand of peace in all directions", India on Thursday said that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment free of terror and hostility.

In an address at the graduation ceremony of Pakistan Air Force cadets, Gen Bajwa on Tuesday said Pakistan was firmly committed to the ideal of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence."It is time to extend a hand of peace in all directions," he said in comments largely seen as a message to India.

'Our position is well-known'

"Our position is well-known. India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. When asked to comment on Bajwa's remarks, he said "The onus is on Pakistan for creating such an environment.''

Bajwa also said that India and Pakistan must resolve the longstanding issue of Jammu and Kashmir "in a dignified and peaceful manner" and bring "this human tragedy to its logical conclusion".

India has repeatedly said that talks and terror cannot go together and Pakistan should take demonstrable steps against terror groups operating from its soil responsible for terror attacks against India. The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.

The relations further deteriorated after India in August 2019 announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories. Notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic in the region, Pakistan has been resorting to unprovoked ceasefire violations along the LoC and making concerted efforts to push militants into Kashmir.

READ | US hails Centre's 3 farm laws, says 'reforms will improve efficiency of India's markets'

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10,752 ceasefire violations by Pakistan in 3 years

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday that a total of 10,752 cases of ceasefire violation have taken place along India's border with Pakistan in the last three years in which 72 security personnel and 70 civilians were killed. Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said 364 security personnel and 341 civilians were injured in these ceasefire violations along the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

During the three years, 1,452 terrorist attacks have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir in which 233 security personnel and 115 civilians were killed, he said in a written reply to a question. As many as 635 terrorists were also killed in gunfights with security forces in 2018, 2019 and 2020, he said. Reddy said a total of 484 security personnel and 373 civilians were injured in terrorist attacks.

READ | Delhi police reveals 'pro-Khalistani' angle to anti-Farm Law 'toolkit'; authors booked

READ | Aero India Show 2021 Day 2: Rajnath Singh addresses IOR Defence Mins; emphasises potential

(With agency inputs)

Researchers in Australia have examined thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) and gray wolf (Canis lupus) skulls of different ages, stages and sizes, from newborns through to fully grown adults, and compared them to those of five living marsupials. Published in the journal Communications Biology, their results show that not only did the thylacine resemble the gray wolf as adults, but were very similar as newborns and juveniles.

When the first European settlers arrived on the remote Australian island state of Tasmania, they were astonished to find a large, striped dog-like animal which, unlike other canids, had an abdominal pouch where it reared its young.

Appropriately named Thylacinus cynocephalus, translating to pouched-dog dog-headed, the marsupial thylacine displayed remarkable similarities to placental canids, despite last sharing a common ancestor over 160 million years ago.

The thylacine and the gray wolf are considered one of the most striking cases of convergent evolution in mammals, independently evolving nearly identical skull shapes in response to shared carnivorous and predatory ecologies.

We know that the thylacine and wolf look similar as adults, but we dont know when they started to exhibit their remarkable similarities during development, said lead author Dr. Axel Newton, a researcher in the School of Biomedical Sciences at Monash University, the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne, and the Department of Sciences at Museums Victoria.

All marsupials, including the thylacine, are born with unusually well-developed jaws relative to the rest of the head, added co-author Dr. Vera Weisbecker, a scientist at the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders University.

Scientists think that this reduces the potential of marsupials to evolve some extreme skull shapes. However, it clearly did not prevent the evolution of the thylacines unusual wolf-like skull!

Our research shows how 3D imaging can reveal hidden diversity in nature, said senior author Dr. Christy Hipsley, a researcher in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne and the Department of Sciences at Museums Victoria.

Using X-ray computed tomography and preserved museum specimens, the researchers compared the skulls of the thylacine and the gray wolf across their early development and into adulthood.

Additionally, they examined the skulls of five extant marsupial species: the brush-tail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), woylie (Bettongia penicillata), Eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus), and dunnart (Sminthopsis sp.).

By comparing entire growth series from newborns to adults, we were able to visualize tiny differences in development that pinpoint when and where in the skull adaptations to carnivory arise on a cellular level, Dr. Hipsley said.

That is only made possible through museum loans of preserved specimens, in this case from as far away as Alaska.

Remarkably, the Tasmanian tiger pups were more similar to wolf pups than to other closely related marsupials, added co-author Professor Andrew Pask, a researcher in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne and the Department of Sciences at Museums Victoria.

The study complements earlier findings that the thylacine and the gray wolf have evolved similar instructions in their genome, which influence cranial stem cells during development.

_____

A.H. Newton et al. 2021. Ontogenetic origins of cranial convergence between the extinct marsupial thylacine and placental gray wolf. Commun Biol 4, 51; doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-01569-x
Two Islamic State officials who allegedly facilitated last months double suicide bombing in a crowded Baghdad marketplace have been killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi says.

Abu Hassan al-Gharibawi, commander of IS forces in southern Iraq, and Ghanem Sabah Jawad, who had a role in transporting suicide bombers, were killed in an airstrike west of Baghdad on Tuesday near Abu Ghraib, Kadhimi said on Twitter the same day.

The airstrike was carried out by the US-led international coalition to defeat IS on intelligence gathered by Iraqi authorities, Iraqs Security Media Cell said. Members of an infantry unit from Iraqs 17th Division later arrived on the scene and reportedly found suicide vests among the bodies.

Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool, a spokesman for Kadhimi on military matters, said Gharibawi  also known as Jabbar Ali Fayyad  supervised the Jan. 21 twin suicide bombings at Tayaran Square which killed more than 30 people and wounded more than 110. Jawad was responsible for transporting the suicide terrorists, Rasool said.

The two are the latest senior IS officials killed by the international coalition since last months bombings.

The man believed to have been IS top leader in Iraq, Abu Yasser al-Issawi, was killed last week in the Wadi al-Shay area outside Kirkuk. Iraqs Counterterrorism Service had at first said Iraqi soldiers had shot him in an operation involving the US-led coalition. The coalition later said Issawi was killed in an airstrike.

The killings come after Kadhimi vowed to crack down on security lapses and hunt down the remnants of IS following last months massacre in Baghdad. The capital has enjoyed relative security from IS attacks in recent years since the government declared victory over IS in 2017.
They are gathered in front of Dagon University. UN Security Council: Free political prisoners. Asean: Return to the democratic path. Card. Charles Bo announces a day of prayer and fasting. Experts: block investments in sectors controlled by the military.

Yangon (AsiaNews) - Hundreds of students and teachers are gathered today in front of the Dagon University of Yangon to protest against the February 1 military coup. The demonstration is the most important act of civil disobedience since the military coup.

Demonstrators are shouting "long live mother Suu", a reference to Aung San Suu Kyi, the civilian leader of the country until the coup, whose release they are demanding. They wear a red ribbon - the colour of the National League for Democracy - and wave a "three finger salute", also used by young pro-democracy demonstrators in Thailand.

Meanwhile, the arrests of the allies of Aung San Suu Kyi - head of the civilian government of the country until the military coup on February 1st - continue. This morning it was the turn of Win Htein, one of the historic leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The 79-year-old supporter of Suu Kyi is among the approximately 150 people arrested by the military in recent days; according to the local Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners, the group includes parliamentarians, activists and officials linked to the deposed executive.

The military took control of the country by declaring a state of emergency for a year and placing the levers of power in the hands of General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

The coup d'etat comes after the NLD won a landslide victory in last Novembers parliamentary election, i n which the pro-military party won only 25 seats against 346 won by Suu Kyis party (with more than 80 per cent of the vote).

Yesterday the United Nations Security Council called for the release of all those arrested. However, the document lacks an explicit condemnation of the coup. A resolution to this effect has already been rejected by China and Russia on February 2.

In the meantime, diplomacy is beginning to move. The leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia today called for a special meeting of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Countries), of which Myanmar is a member.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin say the coup caused the countrys democratic process to take "steps backward", with the risk of destabilizing the entire region. Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand, however, have a different position: for the three Asean nations, what happened is an "internal issue" for Myanmar.

Until this afternoon (local time), local sources contacted by AsiaNews spoke of a "surreal calm", with banks, shopping centres, shops and offices still open. Acts of protest were repeated, such as banging pots and honking cars. As a result of similar gestures, four people, including a teenager, have been arrested in the past 24 hours.

The memory of past repressions terrifies people. The Armed Forces managed the country directly from 1962 to 2011. After an (almost) democratic transition, the NLD won the elections in 2015, the first free vote in 25 years: since then and until two days ago it has governed in coexistence with the military.

By law, the Armed Forces must occupy 25% of parliamentary seats and choose three key ministers: Internal Affairs, Defense and Borders. The army also controls the country's main economic sectors.

After invoking dialogue between the military and the NLD to overcome the crisis, Archbishop of Yangon and president of the Burmese bishops, Card. Charles Maung Bo, announced a day of prayer and fasting for 7 February. In a tweet, the cardinal said today that the country "can achieve the common good with love, justice, truth, peace and reconciliation".

Civil society is also on the move. NLD supporters have launched a petition on Change.org to save Myanmar from the military coup and honour the results of the latest elections. A similar initiative was also promoted by Italy-Burma.

On the economic front, pending possible sanctions by the US and the European Union, the Japanese beverage giant Kirin today closed its collaboration with a partner in Myanmar, which according to the UN has strong links with the military. For several observers, blocking foreign investment in companies controlled by the armed forces is the most effective means of putting pressure on Naypyidaw's generals.


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President Paul Biya in a State House audience on February 4, 2021 received a special envoy of his Nigerian counterpart, President Muhammadu Buhari.

Cameroon and Nigeria are not only friendly and brotherly countries that share a long border and have historical, geographical and cultural links but also enjoy growing mutual support.

President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria on February 4, 2021 dispatched his envoy to Yaounde, Ambassador Joseph Keshi to deliver a message to his Cameroonian counterpart, President Paul Biya. The message delivered during State House discussions President Paul Biya had with the Nigerian envoy served to further cement and diversify cooperation between the two countries. President Muhammadu Buhari in the message solicited Cameroon's support as Nigeria is vying for the post of Commissioner for Peace, Security and Politics in the African Union. The election will take place on Saturday, February 6, 2021 and the Nigerian President believes that Cameroon's support will ensure victory for his country's candidate.

Cameroon and Nigeria also have common concerns and cooperation in the areas of terrorism, security, health and the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. These areas of common concern also featured in the discussions between President Paul Biya and the Nigerian envoy, Ambassador Joseph Keshi. With regard to the fight against terrorism, the two countries are all involved in the fight against the terrorist sect Boko Haram whose fighters have waged war in the North Eastern part of Nigeria and the Far North Region of Cameroon. Besides sharing intelligence on how to fight the terrorists, Cameroonian and Nigerian defence forces all fight Boko Haram within the framework of the Multinational Joint Task Force operating within the Lake Chad area that is the war front. The two countries also have a Cross-border security Commission which serves as framework for them to brainstorm and map out strategies on how to fight crime and other security issues along their common border.
Victorias 25,000 Catholic school teachers and staff have demanded the right to take protected industrial action in a push for more leave, smaller class sizes and less teaching time.

The union for non-government school teachers says the recent overhaul of governance in Melbournes roughly 300 Catholic schools  taking authority away from the local parish priest and into the hands of the archdiocese  gives staff legitimate claims to bargain collectively for better working conditions.

Catholic school teachers who sought to rally for a pay rise in 2013 were warned their action was unprotected. Credit:Andrew De La Rue

The governance change took effect on January 1, in response to a recommendation in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Billions of dollars in annual government funding for Catholic schools would have been put at risk without the change.

The overhaul has reduced the number of employers in Victorias Catholic school system from more than 500 to fewer than 30.
Madam Zinabu Yakubu, a Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) at Tanina in the Wa West District, has appealed to benevolent individuals and organizations to support the community to complete a maternity unit under construction.



She said the unit, when completed, would help alleviate the challenges women went through to access skilled delivery services at Poyentanga or Wa in the Upper West Region.



We dont have a delivery room here so women go to Poyentanga or Wa. We are suffering but what can we do, Madam Yakubu said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).



She said she had served the women in the community for several years, as a TBA, until the Government made it mandatory for every pregnant woman to deliver at a health facility.



Our CHPS compound doesnt have a place for delivery. If we are able to build this one here I will support the women to deliver because sometimes I follow them either to Wa or Poyentanga to ensure they deliver safely, she said.



It will help us a lot but I cannot do anything. I will only plead that some kind people should help us.



Meanwhile, Mr Seidu Kassim, the Assembly Member of the Tanina Electoral Area, told the GNA that they had been able to raise some money to start the project but required GH39,689.00 to complete.



He said the amount covered the cost of roofing, plumbing, tiling and other finishing works.



The decision to construct the facility stemmed from the need to help reduce the drudgery pregnant women went through to access skilled delivery services, he said, and that the required amount was huge and the community alone could not raise it.



Mr Kassim said the chief of the community led the initiative about three years ago following a promise by the Wa West District Health Directorate to provide the CHPS facility with a midwife if the maternity unit was constructed.



I am appealing to kind hearted people and NGOs to help us to build this maternity ward so that Tanina women will not have to travel to other places to deliver, he said.



The facility, he said, also lacked water, which affected its smooth operation as the health staff had to source water from a borehole at the community.



In recent days, pregnant women are required to deliver at health institutions as part of measures to reduce maternal mortality as well as meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal on Health.



In some jurisdictions, women who delivered at home were fined at the health facilities.



Meanwhile, access to delivery services at some of those health facilities, particularly at the rural level, is a privilege owing to the long distance pregnant women had to trek on deplorable roads before accessing care.

Source: GNA









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The NATO alliance grows stronger. It is by no means perfect, but after 72 years, it perseveres as an international instrument to preserve peace and deter aggression. Our new administration recognizes this strategic benefit, and it is no surprise that the first callby the new secretary of defense is to the head of NATO.

An area of focus for the alliance is the Black Sea Region. The U.S. Navy recently sailed two ships into the Black Sea to conduct drills and improve interoperability with partners, and on the ground, a new corps is being built in Romania to serve as a hub of land activity in the region. The beauty of belonging to an alliance means that Romania will not have to do this alone. They have many friends who can help.

The NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) is one of those friends, and together, both corps are working to accelerate the growth of this Multinational Corps Southeast for the region and the alliance. In direct support, U.S. Army Europe and Africa are providing a wide range of exercises in 2021 and beyond to help this new corps build operating capacity.

To help this Romanian corps establish a firm foundation, we had the honor of leading one of their first academic seminars. This event served as a platform for in-depth intellectual conversations as everyone invested time to think about how to build their new corps and where it fits into the broader alliance network. The team worked safely around a continued pandemic and various national restrictions to bring together top scholars and military leaders, which drove interactive discussions about strategy, planning, warfighting, and operational culture. The level of introspection was enlightening. The approach was partner-centric, with everyone challenged to open up their minds and exercise imaginations.

A Romanian general present for the sessions highlighted the significance of this approach by saying, "it is a new way to collaborate and think amidst a military culture that is normally very hierarchical." The group was taught Dr. Celestino Perez's methodology for design thinking, and in turn, developed a framework to describe how the Romanian corps intends to operate and fight. An introduction to NATO planning from the ARRC provided necessary linkages for NATO procedural interoperability, and examples of assessments, red teaming, and wargaming were shared. Overall, there are three big ideas to take away from this event that illustrate the exceptional thinking from such a diverse group.

1. Mission Command. Dr. Robert Johnson from the Oxford Changing Character of War Centre delivered an impactful lecture titled "Decision-Making in the Information Age." His presentation's ideas triggered a discussion on the agility and speed required to make decisions on today's modern battlefield. There was a consensus from young and old that operations orders do not need to be thousands of pages. In fact, most general officers present recommended mission-type orders, which provide a general commander's intent with an associated plan of action and tasks for each subordinate unit with enough detail to ensure adequate coordination.

Dr. Johnson warned that adversaries use the speed of NATO decision-making to determine their freedom to operate and make calculations. It is key for the alliance to respond with appropriate measures to contest, compete, and impose friction that will force would-be adversaries to change their cost-calculus, giving them a realization that the costs outweigh any perceived benefits. This lesson applies to multiple adversaries and across all regions.

2. Bottom-Up Innovation. A key presentation to the group was by members of the U.K. Fight Club, a wargaming experimentation group. The younger Romanian leaders expressed a high interest in stress testing ideas and concepts through gaming and simulations to discover winning ideas and innovations. This approach from the bottom-up will drive experimentation, but more importantly, it will garner long-term buy-in and improve professionalism across formations. The level of human interoperability at the most junior levels will increase between multiple nations as this effort expands across the alliance.

The output from the design thinking sessions pointed out the need to start from a blank sheet of paper. Similar to the US Marine Corps Commandants Planning Guidance in July of 2019, the Romanians know they have a unique problem frame and value proposition to NATO and their nation. Finding their niche and the intersection of mutual interests requires critical and creative thinking that can be informed by wargaming and more of these types of academic sessions.

3. Geography Matters. The Romanian corps commander, Major General Tomita - Catalin Tomescu, provided sage advice on the vital importance of the lay of the land. He has spent many decades learning the region and all the nuances of the geography that cannot be appreciated with satellite imagery and maps alone. This wisdom is another benefit of operating in an alliance where knowledge is shared horizontally and vertically.

In the Romanians, we have a fully committed and devoted partner. They have invested in a number of ground capabilities to include the Patriot missile defense system, Piranha armored vehicles, high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), and other key platforms, to strengthen our collective defense. After working with our Romanian counterparts over the past year, it is abundantly clear they will be successful in building this new corps that will serve as a strategic hub of activity in the region.

General Tomescu highlighted early last year that trust and understanding are essential," and after this week of academics, he confirmed, "indeed, we not only have that, but we have also formed a strong bond of relationships across multiple generations that will endure for decades to come.

Matthew Van Wagenen is a Brigadier General in the U.S. Army currently serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (DCOS OPS) in the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. @MatthewWagenen

Arnel P. David is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army currently serving as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff G5 (DACOS G5) in the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. @arnelpdavid

The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect any entity or organization of the U.S. Government or NATO.

The Transportation Security Administration is beefing up its enforcement of a federal mask mandate, announcing Friday that people who refuse to comply could face fines of more than $1,000.

The agency announced that it is recommending fines ranging from $250 for a first offense and up to $1,500 for repeat offenders. "Aggravating" or "mitigating" factors could result in higher penalties, the TSA said.

President Biden last month signed an executive order requiring that travelers wear face masks when in airports, at bus, ferry and rail stations, and when flying commercially or riding buses and trains. The order went into effect Feb. 2 and will stay in place until May 11.

While the TSA strongly encouraged people to wear masks when going through airport security checkpoints, under the previous administration, the agency had no authority to sanction those who refused. Biden's executive order changes that, giving the TSA and other agencies more tools to enforce the requirement.

Passengers can be asked to leave a station, be denied boarding or asked to leave a train, ferry, bus or airplane. Local agencies also can report scofflaws to TSA for further action.

The TSA issued the new directives Jan. 31. For ground transportation, passengers have to be told - when they buy tickets and again before departure - that scofflaws "may be subject to penalties under federal law."

Health experts say that wearing a mask is critical to stopping the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus, which has sickened more than 26 million and killed at least 454,000 in the United States. However, the issue of whether people should wear masks became deeply politicized under the Trump administration.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which last year said it would not enforce mask violations, has said it will ensure compliance with the new mandate.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday that while the COVID-19 pandemic remains serious, he does not think another nationwide lockdown is necessary. But he urged people to take all necessary precautions to avoid contracting the coronavirus.

During a COVID-19 news briefing from Paris, Castex said that while France's infection rate remains too high, it is still lower than it was in October. He warned if the situation deteriorates, the government will not hesitate to call for a shutdown.



Apple has accepted a ruling from South Korea's national Fair Trade Commission that it has abused its dominance of the smartphone market in that country to skew conditions in its favor when it came to selling and supporting iPhones through carriers. Therefore, Apple has "volunteered" to fund facilities and education for small business in the IT sector.

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Apple has emerged on the losing side of an antitrust case pressed by South Korea's Fair Trade Commission. This body has been investigating the Cupertino giant's division in its jurisdiction since 2016, in response to complaints that it has been abusing its leading market position to gain disproportionately advantageous treatment from carriers in the country.

They reportedly include Apple using its power to nominate a minimum volume of units that these telecomms companies were obliged to buy in, and having them pay a certain percentage of iPhone repair costs. The Fair Trade Commission also upheld allegations that the carriers (which includes large national firms such as SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus) were even obliged to pay for Apple ads.

Therefore, Apple is now liable for damages to be paid to the South Korean government, although this might take yet more wrangling in its courts to work out the extent of what is owed. Therefore, the Commission has an alternative in which a company found guilty in an antitrust case can take part in what is called a "correction scheme" instead.

In Apple's case, it takes the form of investments that "contribute to the domestic ICT ecosystem". They should result in the construction of a new 40 billion won (KRW, or US$35 million) research and development center, as well as ICT education center worth 25 billion won ($22 million), that will benefit smaller enterprises in South Korea.

Apple will also contribute 10 billion won ($8.9 million) to the digital arm of South Korea's public education system, and will spend a final 25 billion won on providing consumers with 10% discounts on their iPhone repairs

This, as the Commission's chairperson Joh Sung-wook noted in a recent press conference, is the first incidence of a correction scheme that results in such direct wins for consumers and small business in South Korea. Apple will now remain under observation from the Fair Trade body so as to ensure it complies with the terms of its new settlement.

iPhones are also sold with carrier subscriptions only on Amazon.
Nairobi  President Uhuru Kenyatta has slammed leaders whom he described as arrogant and are hell bent to polarize the country in their pursuit to clinch to power.

While speaking during the first memorial service of the late retired President Daniel Arap Moi on Thursday, President Kenyatta who has since taken issue with the dynasty vs hustler narrative decried that the arrogance being displayed by some leaders saying the trend is worrying.

"The arrogance that we see in today's leadership raises many questions as to the future of this country," he said even as he pleaded with the political class to exercise tolerance for a better and united Kenya.

The Head of State urged leaders who are seeking power to do so with respect and humility to avoid antagonizing Kenyans.

"Whether you insult or become abusive to your opponent even if you are angered that will not help. It is though respect and humility that God will favor you and assist you to achieve your ambitions," he said.

President Kenyatta reminded those who are keen to succeed him to exercise patience and be mindful of others.

"We need a united Kenya and those seeking to succeed me should do so in a respectful manner," he said.

He reminded Kenyans of how the late Mzee Moi patiently waited for his moment and served the country's first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta as Vice President for 11 years between 1967 and 1978.

President Kenyatta cautioned Kenyans to be alert and desist the hustlers versus dynasties debate that he noted risks plunging the country into chaos.

The ongoing debate has put Deputy President William Ruto warpath with leaders loyal to President Kenyatta who have accused the country's second in command on inciting the rich against the poor, accusations Ruto has repeatedly denied.

"Let us be on the lookout that we do not give power to a demolition squad that will erode the gains that we have made us a country since independence," he said.

DP Ruto has remained unbowed insisting that his hustler movement campaign is about empowering small business in a bottom-up approach as opposed to a top-down model which he says has increased inequity in the country.

With the 2022 General Election just 18 months away, DP Ruto has been traversing the country selling his agenda in a full-blown campaign that he hopes will catapult him to presidency.

Ruto recently distanced himself from assertions President Kenyatta or his community owes him a political debt signaling his intent to seek the presidency without President Kenyatta's support who in the run-up to the 2017 elections had pledged to lead his deputy's 2022 campaign.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 5, 2021 / Great Atlantic Resources Corp. ("Great Atlantic" or the "Company") (TSXV:GR), is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement offering of units of the Company at a price of $0.50 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $500,000 with a lead order from Palisades Goldcorp Ltd.

Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant of the Company. Each Warrant will be exercisable to purchase a Common share at an exercise price of $0.75 per Warrant Share for a period of 36 months following the closing of the Offering.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds for exploration at its Golden Promise Gold property in Newfoundland as well as general working capital as well as exploration work on its other assets located in Newfoundland and New Brunswick.

A finder's fee may be paid to eligible finders in accordance with the TSX-V policies. All securities issued pursuant to the offering will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the date of closing. The offerings and payment of finders' fees are both subject to approval by the TSX-V.

About Palisades Goldcorp

Palisades Goldcorp is Canada's resource focused merchant bank. Palisades' management team has a demonstrated track record of making money and is backed by many of the industry's most notable financiers. With junior resource equities valued at generational lows, management believes the sector is on the cusp of a major bull market move. Palisades is positioning itself with significant stakes in undervalued companies and assets with the goal of generating superior returns.

On Behalf of the board of directors

Mr. Christopher R. Anderson "Always be positive, strive for solutions, and never give up"

President CEO Director

604-488-3900 - Dir

Investor Relations:

Please call 604-488-3900

About Great Atlantic Resources Corp.: Great Atlantic Resources Corp. is a Canadian exploration company focused on the discovery and development of mineral assets in the resource-rich and sovereign risk-free realm of Atlantic Canada, one of the number one mining regions of the world. Great Atlantic is currently surging forward building the company utilizing a Project Generation model, with a special focus on the most critical elements on the planet that are prominent in Atlantic Canada, Antimony, Tungsten and Gold.

This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Great Atlantic Resources Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/628048/Great-Atlantic-Announces-Private-Placement-for-up-to-500000-With-a-Lead-Order-From-Palisades-Goldcorp

Former CDC Director Joins Chorus Supporting School Reopenings

A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday said he supports schools reopening if proper measures are put into place, joining a chorus of current and former officials from the public health agency.

Early on in this pandemic, the move was to get schools closed, and that was based on what we knew about flu, and how readily flu spread through classrooms. What were learning, both from studies in the United States and studies from around the globe, is that you can get children back to school safelysafely for the children, safely for the staff, and safely for the teachers, if youre able to do those things, Dr. Richard Besser, former acting CDC head, said on Fox News Your World.

Besser referred to implementing social distancing protocols, keeping classroom size lower than normal, improving ventilation, and screening for COVID-19.

These things work, he added, referring to a CDC journal viewpoint article about the effects of school reopening on transmission of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.

Citing several studies, CDC officials said there has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission.

Schools in all 50 states have reopened since the nationwide shutdown in spring 2020 but a number remain closed, primarily because of resistance from teachers unions.

Children arrive for class on the first day of school reopening, in New York City on Dec. 7, 2020. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

In one of the most high-profile cases, Chicago union officials continue battling a return to the classroom, accusing city officials of not having proper measures in place to assure the safety of teachers. One of the unions demands is to have a certain number of teachers vaccinated each week against the CCP virus.

But teachers do not need the vaccine for schools to safely reopen, the CDCs current head, Rochelle Walensky, recently told reporters.

Besser echoed that in his television appearance, saying: I think teachers should be in the group of frontline workers who are given vaccines early, but you dont need to have that to be able to open up schools very safely.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington on Thursday that the administration is still waiting on the CDC to issue their final guidance in regards to school reopenings. Biden vowed while campaigning to reopen schools during his first 100 days in office.

The president, let me be crystal clear, wants schools to open, he wants them to stay open, and he wants to do that safely. And he wants health and medical experts to be the guides for how we should do exactly that, Psaki said. So Dr. Walensky spoke to this in her personal capacity. Obviously, shes the head of the CDC, but were going to wait for the final guidance to come out so we can use that as a guide for schools around the country.
The government on Friday strongly defended the farm laws in and said its offer to amend them should not be viewed as if they had any flaws, even as the Opposition demanded that the legislations be repealed and fresh ones brought after consultations.

The government also launched a fierce attack on the Congress and other Opposition parties for trying to instigate the farmers with wrong information.

Intervening in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar alleged that farmers were being misled by the Opposition and the agitation was only in one state.

As many as 50 speakers from 25 political parties participated in the debate in on the Motion of Thanks lasting over three days. While 18 members of the BJP took part in the discussion, seven Congress MPs and 25 from other Opposition parties also spoke.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the motion on Monday after Question Hour.

Parties like Congress, Shiv Sena, SAD, NCP, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and from the Left demanded that the three new farm laws be repealed.

The Opposition members also attacked the government for dubbing the farmers protesting against the new laws as "anti-national" and for "defaming" their agitation.

Congress MP Anand Sharma said the economic growth in the country has been sluggish and the situation has worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The government is responsible for this situation," he said, adding that in these circumstances farmers were forced to fight for justice and their rights.

He criticised the attack on Delhi Police personnel during the farmers' tractor parade rally on Republic Day.

On the snapping of Internet at farmer protest sites and disrupting of water and power, he said, "We have become internet shutdown capital of the world. It is time to mend ways, especially during this Parliament session."



Party colleague Partap Singh Bajwa demanded setting up of a committee headed by a Supreme Court judge for an impartial probe into the January 26 incidents.

Another Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge said the government claims it has increased the MSP for crops and doubling farmers' income, but data suggests otherwise.

He said the schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, mentioned in the President's speech, were actually one that benefitted capitalists and termed the government's claim of doubling farmers' income a "jumla" (rhetoric).

In his speech, Tomar said the Opposition parties criticised the government and even termed the three legislations as "kala kanun" (black law). "For two months I kept asking farmer unions what is 'kala' in the laws so that I can try to rectify. But I could not get the answer."



Tomar, along with two other union ministers, has held 11 meetings with farmers' representatives in wake of the ongoing protests. But the deadlock still continues.

The minister said while the central law on contract farming free farmers from paying taxes on their sale and also empowers them to exit agreement with traders, as per the provisions of Punjab contract law, a farmer could be sent to jail or liable to pay penalty of up to Rs 5 lakh for violation of agreement.

Certain remarks by the minister were, however, expunged by the chair.

Taking on the Congress over charges that journalists and intellectuals have been arrested, Rakesh Sinha (BJP) said he would like to show a mirror to the party.

He claimed that 53,000 people were imprisoned under the now-scrapped Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, and only 434 of them were convicted after seven years.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut alleged that anyone speaking the truth is dubbed as a "traitor" or "anti-national" and that cases of sedition have been slapped against those criticising the government.

He said farmers fighting for their rights have been branded as anti-nationals or Khalistanis.

He said the farmers, who were known as 'warriors' when they fought the Mughals and the British, are now dubbed as anti-nationals when they are fighting for their rights on Delhi's borders.

He said till the time this movement is alive, the nation will remain alive and this 'andolan'.

Praful Patel (NCP) said when the government is talking of working for the welfare of farmers, why did it not send the farm laws to a Select Committee for wider consultations to avoid the situation that has arisen now.

He also clarified that former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's letter of 2007 is being circulated to misrepresent the facts as no bill was brought to Parliament.

BSP member Satish Chandra Misra demanded that the government should repeal the three new farm laws and also provide legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) on all crops, alleging that the government's intention are not clear.

He said if the government is ready to suspend the laws for 1.5 years, what is stopping it from withdrawing these Acts. He urged the government to shed its ego and accept the farmers' demand.

SAD leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said the prime minister should intervene and listen to the farmers' demands.

The Akali Dal member said the government should accept the farmers' demand to repeal the three laws. He said all Opposition parties are also demanding the same.

IUML member Abdul Wahab demanded restoration of MPLADs fund.

CPI member Binoy Viswam hit out at the government for terming the economic crisis as an act of God, and said the policies of the government are squarely responsible for the situation and not the almighty.

Putting up a strong defence, BJP member Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe said the government is committed to the welfare of farmers and has taken a slew of steps in the last six years in that direction.

"Everyone keeps saying that the government must leave its arrogance but where is the arrogance... We are ready for talks. We even offered to put it (the laws) in abeyance for 18 months. If we are showing so much flexibility why don't they (protesting farmers) show similar flexibility... If people in support of the laws also sit on dharna, do we want civil war," he said.

BJP member K J Alphonse said hoisting a religious flag at the Red Fort was "treason".

He said farmer leader Rakesh Tikait cannot get away by shedding tears after the violence during their tractor parade seeking the repeal of new farm laws. He also accused the Opposition of sowing the seeds of dissent and hatred against the government.

BJP leader Neeraj Shekar asked the protesting farmers to recognise people who have boycotted the presidential address and now participating in the debate to give speech on injustice meted out to farmers.

BJD leader Sasmit Patra attacked the government for not properly implementing the Swaminathan Committee report on MSP.

Subhash Chandra Bose Pilli of YSRCP raised state issues such as special status to Andhra Pradesh and approval of revised cost estimate of the Polavaram Irrigation project.

Shamsher Singh Manhas of the BJP said the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was neglected by previous governments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now working towards the development of Jammu and Kashmir and is ensuring funds are available for that.

RPI (A) member Ramdas Athawale said three new farm laws are good and should have been supported. Why the government would bring laws that are against farmers, he asked.

He said farmers' agitation should have been withdrawn when the Supreme Court had stayed implementation of these laws till further order.

BJP member Anil Jain criticised the Congress for boycotting the President's address. Sonal Mansingh, BJP nominated and BJP members Indu Bala Goswami, Brijlal, Ram Chander Jangra of BJP also spoke on the occasion.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Trevor Bauer Show is about to come to its conclusion. At least thats what MLB Networks Jon Heyman reports.

Mets are engaged with Trevor Bauer. They expect to hear something  one way or another  in the next 24 hours or so. Situation is fluid but theres hope. @ByRobertMurray tweeted that the sides are talking.

Last week, Heyman reported on contract terms being discussed by Bauer and the Mets.

Mets offer to Bauer thought 3-4 years with opt-outs and less than $36M AAV record. Dodgers could have similar type interest but unlikely to go long. Some teams believe Bauer seeks much longer deal, and pitching comps theyve used are long deals: Cole (324M) and Strasburg (245M).

USA Todays Bob Nightengale reports The #Mets made their formal 3-4 year offer for at least $30 million a year to Trevor Bauer around Jan. 16 and since have remained the heavy favorites to land him.

Bauers agent, Rachel Luba, tweeted Thursday that Bauers decision is down to 2.

The 30-year-old Bauer has spent the offseason flirting with the Mets on social media, going out of his way to praise new owner Steve Cohen and the Mets fan base.

Bauer went into the winter as the best pitcher available on the open market, which makes sense, since he won the 2020 National League Cy Young Award with a career-best 1.73 ERA for the Cincinnati Reds.

Adding Bauer would complete a successful offseason for the Mets, which saw them also trade for Cleveland Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
South Africa: Criminal charges laid against state officials

A total 6 140 government officials face criminal liability after investigations found that they had dipped into the Unemployment Insurance Funds Temporary Employment Relief Scheme (TERS) to the tune of R41 million.

To this effect, the government has opened 75 criminal cases that are currently under investigation.

This revelation was detailed by Special Investigating Unit (SIU) head Advocate Andy Mothibi, during a media briefing on findings of the units probe into personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2020, late former Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu in his audit report found that among those who benefited from the scheme were people beyond the legal age of employment, or were deceased, working in government, receiving social grants or students funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

The TERS was introduced by government to provide economic relief to the vulnerable and assist employers to protect jobs.

The SIU received allegations relating to the payment of TERS.

However, due to these matters falling outside the mandate of the Proclamation signed by the President in July 202, a secondment agreement was entered into.

A secondment agreement was entered into between the Department of Employment and Labour and the SIU, for SIU to assist the department with the investigations. The secondment agreement came to an end on 15 December 2020, he said.

During the secondment investigation, Mothibi said the seconded team worked closely with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Hawks.

The secondment team conducted a red flag analysis of the TERS data.

The team found that 6 140 government officials were identified and were claiming from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to the value of R41 009 737, making use of 3 959 bank accounts.

Of the 3 959 bank accounts identified, a total of 581 bank accounts were associated to multiple beneficiaries (3079), he said.

The team also identified 79 exceptions relating to members of the South African National Defence Force, with the probe revealing 59 SANDF members received payments to the value of R327 630.

The seconded team also looked into payments to inmates at the Department of Correctional Services as well as payments to deceased individuals. He said the SIU has processed a proclamation to fully investigate the UIF matters.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

Citigroup expects the company to reinstate the dividend for the current financial year.

( ) shares ticked up even higher as a clutch of big-hitting brokers upped their price targets for the postal service.

The mail group has already seen its share price jump 250% since April on the back of burgeoning parcels demand.

Citigroup, though, suggests the shares will go to 550p with a third-quarter trading update next week set to underline the transformation in the groups outlook.

The US broker upgraded in April on the hoped-for acceleration in parcel volumes and in November suggested there was scope for prices in parcels to rise, both of which now appear likely it says.

Underlying profits for the year to March 2021 to be 289mln, it now forecasts, and rise to 410mln in 2022.

The broker also expects the company to reinstate the dividend for the current financial year.

Yesterday, UBS analysts upgraded Royal Mail to buy from neutral saying they had increased their 2021 earnings expectations for the post carrier amid the stricter and longer duration lockdowns in the UK.

In a note, the bank also upped its price target for the FTSE 250 firm to 445p from 320p, adding that they also expected Ofcoms recent recommendation to reduce mail deliveries to five days a week from six days will also help the firms UK parcels, international and letters (UKPIL) business save around 100mln per year.

Other brokers are similarly bullish. has raised its price target to 450p from 370p with a buy tag, while Jefferies played catch-up and lifted its target to 300p (145p). Jefferies has an underweight recommendation.

Royal Mail shares rose 0.3% to 421.1p.
Bengaluru, Feb 5 : A woman lawyer and a politician, Meera Ragahvendra has smeared black ink on rationalist Kannada writer K. S. Bhagwan's face, besides heckling him in a city Magistrate Court premises.

She has not only dared him to initiate any action against her but she has posted on her Twitter as well, justifying her action and posted 34 second clip on her Twitter timeline too.

In her Twitter bio, she claims that she is a politician, but does not mention the name of the party with which she is associated.

She asserts that Bhgawan succeeded in getting bail for a case related to hurting Hindu's feelings but 'I am content that I smeared ink on his face' Jai Sri Ram, she said in her tweet on Thursday.

In a clip, a woman (whose identity could not be independently verified by the IANS) is heard shouting against the writer, saying he should be 'ashamed' for his stand on religion. "You are a professor and so old, yet you continue to speak rubbish about our religion Hinduism and the Gods. Aren't you ashamed of yourself," she is heard yelling at Bhagwan.

Bhagwan is one of the harshest critics of Sanatana Dharma and its rituals and he has written books against Lord Rama. His books and views on Hindu religion have come under severe criticism from the right wing that accused him of giving views that are'aanti-Hinduism'.

Recently, Karnataka has dropped his book 'Rama Mandira Yeke Beda' (Why we do not need the Ram Temple)', opposing the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya from the public libraries run by the government.

A police team probing the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh said Bhagwan's name was also on a list of targets of the alleged killers. He has been provided security for the last few years due to the threat perception against him.

Raghavendra had pinned message on herr timeline on December 17, 2020 to announce that she had filed a case against him and he would soon be summoned by the court.

The DCP of central Anuchet said a case has been filed against the woman, Meera Raghavendra.

"When he got out of the car, she smeared him with the ink," a police officer said.

In his complaint, Bhagwan alleged threats to his life.

The police have registered a case of wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation and is investigating.
Courtesy of KeeneVisions

The image of beloved Bay Area actor Robin Williams is once again gracing a wall in the Bay Area.

The Marin resident known for iconic roles in films like "Mrs. Doubtfire" had been previously memorialized in a mural at 1028 Market St., which was removed when the site was demolished to make way for a rental building. Now artist KeeneVisions, who most recently created the mural of viral TikTok star 420doggface208 on Haight St., has paid homage to Williams with new artwork at the Bay Street Mall in Emeryville commissioned by Oakland Chinatown nonprofit 333 Arts (formerly Dragon School).
CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cardinal Energy Ltd. ("Cardinal" or the "Company") (TSX: CJ; CJ.DB.A) is pleased to announce that it is issuing a notice of redemption to holders of its currently outstanding $28,207,000 8.00% Convertible Unsecured Subordinated Debentures due December 31, 2022 (the "Debentures"). The Debentures are not subject to a pre-payment penalty.



As set out in the notice of redemption, Cardinal will redeem, as of March 11, 2021 ("Redemption Date"), all of the aggregate principal amount of the Debentures for cash. On the Redemption Date, Cardinal will pay the aggregate principal amount of the Debentures (being $1,000 for each Debenture) plus all accrued and unpaid interest thereon to but excluding the Redemption Date (less any tax required to be deducted) (collectively, the "Redemption Price"). The Debentures are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") under the symbol "CJ.DB.A" (CUSIP 14150GAB9).

Holders of the Debentures have the right to convert their Debentures, at their option, into common shares of Cardinal ("Cardinal Shares") at a conversion price of $1.25 per Cardinal Share at any time prior 5:00 p.m. Toronto time on March 10, 2021. A holder electing to convert the principal amount of their Debentures will receive approximately 800 Cardinal Shares per $1,000 principal amount of Debentures converted plus a cash payment for accrued unpaid interest up to, but excluding, the date of conversion (less any tax required to be deducted). No fractional shares will be issued on conversion but, in lieu thereof, the Company will pay the cash equivalent thereof determined on the basis of the Current Market Price (as defined in the Indenture governing the Debentures) of the Cardinal Shares on the date of conversion. As all of the Debentures were issued in "book-entry only" form and are held by CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc., beneficial holders of Debentures must contact their broker, dealer, bank, trust company or other nominee to exercise their right to convert their Debentures.

The redemption of the Debentures will be funded in whole or in part through the issuance of up to $26,884,423 principal amount of unsecured subordinated non-convertible notes (the "Notes") which will be issued at a 0.5% discount to the face value based on the maximum financing size for total maximum net proceeds of up to $26,750,000 (the "Redemption Financing"). The amount of Notes to be issued will be dependent on the actual principal amount of Debentures outstanding on the Redemption Date, after giving effect to conversions, if any, occurring prior to the Redemption Date. The Notes will bear interest at 8% per annum from funding until September 30, 2021, and increasing to 9% per annum on October 1, 2021, to 10% per annum on April 1, 2022 and to 12% per annum on September 30, 2022 (all interest will accrue quarterly in arrears and be payable on the first business day following the last day of each fiscal quarter). The Notes will not be subject to a pre-payment penalty except in the case of a change of control. The closing of the Redemption Financing is expected to occur on or about the Redemption Date, and is subject to the approval of the TSX and certain other funding conditions.

The Redemption Financing is being provided solely by certain insiders (or companies controlled by them) of the Company, some of whom also hold an aggregate of $720,000 principal amount of Debentures. Insider participation in the Redemption Financing will be "related party transactions" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in a Special Transaction ("MI 61-101"). The Redemption Financing is not subject to the formal valuation requirements of MI 61-101 and is exempt from the minority approval requirements pursuant to sections 5.7(1)(a) and (f) of MI 61-101.

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information including, without limitation, anticipated timing of the Redemption Date, anticipated completion of the Redemption Financing on the terms and timing contemplated and the amount of and anticipated use of proceeds. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "expect", "intend", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and "confident" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors including the risk that the conditions to closing will not be satisfied and that that closing will not occur which may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

Cardinal believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Cardinal undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities laws.

About Cardinal Energy Ltd.

One of Cardinal's goals is to continually improve our Environmental, Safety and Governance mandate and operate our assets in a responsible and environmentally sensitive manner. As part of this mandate, Cardinal injects and conserves more carbon than it emits making us one of the few Canadian energy companies to have a negative carbon footprint.

Cardinal is a Canadian oil focused company with operations focused on low decline light, medium and heavy quality oil in Western Canada.

For further information:

M. Scott Ratushny, CEO or Shawn Van Spankeren, CFO or Laurence Broos, VP Finance

Email: info@cardinalenergy.ca

Phone: (403) 234-8681

Website: www.cardinalenergy.ca




The government in Tamil Nadu



on Friday announced waiver of Rs 12,110 crore farm loans availed by 16.43 lakh farmers from cooperative banks.

Making the announcement in the state assembly, Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the scheme would come into immediate effect and the required financial allocation would be made by his government.

He said the was the only party that fulfills promises and also comes up with fresh welfare measures.

Targeting the opposition DMK, he said the party had promised two acres of land, but failed to implement.
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Morgan Wallen's record label is remaining silent on their possible future with the country music star, after suspending him 'indefinitely' when he was caught on tape uttering a racial slur.

Executives with Big Loud Records, which signed Wallen in 2016, did not respond to repeated messages from DailyMail.com on Friday, and have issued no further statements since suspending Wallen.

It remained unclear whether the label intended to forgo any revenue from Wallen's two albums, including January's Dangerous: The Double Album, which has topped the Billboard 200 for the past three week.

Big Loud also isn't saying what the 'indefinite suspension' means, or whether they would reconsider teaming up with Wallen again after a review period.

Morgan Wallen's record label Big Loud Records is remaining silent on their possible future with the country music star, after suspending him 'indefinitely' this week

Wallen's second album with Big Loud, Dangerous: The Double Album, has remained atop the Billboard 200 for three straight weeks. Labels typically take a percentage of album sales

In their only statement on the matter, the Nashville label said on Wednesday: 'In the wake of recent events, Big Loud Records has made the decision to suspend Morgan Wallen's recording contract indefinitely'.

'Republic Records fully supports Big Loud's decision and agrees such behavior will not be tolerated,' the statement added. Wallen is co-signed with Republic.

Despite the scandal, which Wallen apologized for, his music continues to sell well on iTunes, where his albums were second and third on the Top 10 Albums list on Friday.

Record labels typically keep a percentage of the sales of each record, but the details of Wallen's contracts are unclear.

Wallen, 27, has faced tremendous industry backlash, with thousands of radio stations banning his music, and the American Country Music Awards saying he is no longer eligible for the genre's top recognition.

He is one of the country genre's biggest young stars, with his new record, Dangerous: The Double Album, spending three weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart, but the reaction from the music industry has been swift.

iHeartMedia, the largest radio station group owner in the U.S. with more than 855 stations, has banned Wallen's music from the airwaves, as have other large radio station owners Cumulus Media and Entercom.

Cumulus Media, the nation's second largest chain of stations, was the first to ban Wallen's music. Together the three companies run more than 1,500 radio stations.

The Academy of Country Music, which is currently taking nominations for their annual awards show in April, said in a statement they would 'halt' Wallen's eligibility for this year's show and will also be reviewing the awards eligibility and submission process.

'The Academy does not condone or support intolerance or behavior that does not align with our commitment and dedication to diversity and inclusion,' the ACM statement said.

The backlash came after Wallen was heard on a recording made by a neighbor and made public Tuesday, using the slur as he chatted with friends while returning to his Music City home.

Wallen was heard saying of an acquaintance, 'Take care of this p**** ass n*****' and 'take care of this p**** ass mother******' as he entered his home

The Tennessee native's neighbor recorded the country artist as he came back to his house Sunday with friends, disturbing neighbors with loud noise and car horns.

He was heard saying of an acquaintance, 'Take care of this p**** ass n*****' and 'take care of this p**** ass mother******' as he entered his home.

'I'm embarrassed and sorry,' the country music artist, 27, told TMZ, which made the video public on Tuesday. 'I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back.'

He continued, 'There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.'
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Egypt has urged citizens traveling to Kuwait to postpone travel after the Gulf country decided to suspend entry for non-Kuwaitis for two weeks, effective as of February 7.

In an official statement on Thursday, Nabila Makram, emigration and expat affairs minister, asked citizens to delay travel plans in the current period amid several precautionary measures taken by Kuwait aiming to stem the outbreak of the pandemic and the spread of new variants.

Makram asked that citizens temporarily in transit in Gulf countries en route to Kuwait to return to Egypt, especially if they wont be able to travel to Kuwait before the airports closure and they cant bear the cost of accommodation in their current transit country.

She said providing alternatives to cover accommodation for Egyptians residing in Gulf transit countries, including the UAE and Oman, would not be facilitated.

Several businessmen, charity group Misr ElKheir, and Banque Misr have previously helped in bearing huge expenses to cover stranded Egyptians in the UAE and Oman, the minister said, adding that such aid would be difficult to provide now due to the extended period of border closures and visa difficulties in transit countries.

On Wednesday, Kuwaiti authorities announced a two-week ban on foreigners arriving to the country beginning Sunday.

Authorities have also ordered most businesses to shut down from 8pm to 5am beginning Sunday for one month.

Health clubs, spas, and gyms are included in the closure order, with the country also banning celebrations for its upcoming 25 February National Day.

Kuwait saw infections drop in late November; however, cases began to spike at the start of the new year. It has reported over 166,000 cases, with 950 deaths since the outbreak.

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New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has launched Switch Delhi, an electric vehicle mass awareness campaign, to sensitize citizens about the benefits of switching to electric vehicles.

Delhi government has rolled out incentives on the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) among all the states.

"Our vision is that by 2024, 25 per cent of new vehicles must be electric. Approximately Rs 30,000 subsidies are to be given for 2/3-wheelers while Rs 1.5 lakh for 4-wheelers. We are starting the Switch Delhi campaign to make people aware of clean vehicles," Kejriwal said in his video conference on Thursday.

       ,    Electric vehicle  Switch  pic.twitter.com/QNLCdDWYHq  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 4, 2021

Appealing to the people to take part in the movement, Kejriwal said, "We have to turn our EV adoption movement into a mass movement, a `jan andolan`, to form a collective commitment to decrease pollution.

"The government launched the campaign to inform, encourage and motivate every person in Delhi to switch from polluting vehicles to zero-emission EVs. All the hired cars being engaged by various departments of the Delhi government will switch to EVs within six months.

The Chief Minister said that the focus should be on the problem of air pollution which haunts the state and the health of its citizens.

"Over the last year, the people of Delhi have fought a courageous fight against Corona. They overcame all odds to defeat three waves of Corona. While all the people of Delhi deserve credit for this, it should not take away our focus from the long-term challenges facing Delhi. One such challenge is air pollution. To address the vehicular pollution in Delhi, in August 2020, the Delhi government notified the landmark Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy. It has been called the most progressive EV policy in India and among the best globally," he added.

The Chief Minister informed that the state government has made road tax and registration fees for the EVs completely free. The policy has been created to promote the adoption of EVs on a large scale that cannot run on petrol. The government will also issue tenders to develop 100 public charging stations spread across the state.

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Kerala Assembly Elections 2021: NDA ally in Kerala splits, alleges BJP's conspirancy

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 05: A section of leaders from the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), an NDA constituent in Kerala, broke away from the party.

The rebel leaders alleged that BJP has made a secret understanding with the ruling LDF for the upcoming state Assembly elections. They further announced a new party that will work with the Congress-led UDF in the Assembly polls.

Announcing the decision to float the Bharathiya Jana Sena (BJS), rebel leaders V Gopakumar and N K Neelakandan said the LDF government had deeply hurt sentiments of Hindus by allowing entry of women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala Temple - a move that followed a Supreme Court verdict in 2018.

"Thousands of faithful, including BDJS workers, faced police action when they protested against the women's entry into the temple. Now, as part of implementing Congress-free Kerala, the BJP wants to see the LDF retain power in the state in the coming assembly elections. The Hindu faithful cannot accept the BJP's conspiracy to ensure the victory of the LDF," said Gopakumar.

Another factor, according to the rebel leaders, is that the BDJS has not got a deserving space in the NDA. Many district committees wanted to quit the NDA ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections, they said. In the recent local body elections, they said, the BJP did not help BDJS candidates and fielded its own candidates against it.

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Story first published: Friday, February 5, 2021, 16:41 [IST]


From time to time, NASA releases some surreal and quite literally "out of the world" images from various corners of the universe, captured by their numerous exploratory telescopes. On Tuesday, the American space agency's 21-year old Chandra X-ray observatory released a jaw-dropping image of a pulsar.

A pulsar is a space object that radiates two narrow beams of lights in opposite directions. Pulsars are known to spin, leading an untrained human eye to believe that they are flickering stars, which they are not. They are as large as a city and carry more weight than the sun. Scientists keep an eye out for pulsars while searching for planets outside the solar system.

The image of a pulsar captured by the Chandra X-ray observatory shared on its Instagram account can be identified as the bright blue light on the right-hand side.

The pulsar seen in the image  SXP 1062  is said to be among the slower spinning ones, with one full rotation taking 18 minutes. PSR J1748-2446ad, the fastest rotating pulsar known to astrophysicists, by contrast, rotates 716 times per second!

This pulsar is likely one among the thousands of pulsars that the Chandra has found since 1999, but is dwarfed by some of its other finds.

"Chandra has traced the separation of dark matter from normal matter in the collision of galaxies in a cluster and is contributing to both dark matter and dark energy studies," says the telescope's website.

For the newer astronomy and astrophysics experts out there, it's always worth keeping an eye on the Chandra, whose finds in far corners of the universe are a revelation.
Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 76 points higher at 14,971 around 8.10 am, indicating a solid start for the benchmark indices on Friday.

Here are the top stocks that are likely to move the market today:

Stove Kraft: Shares of Stove Kraft will debut on the bourses today. The issues that ran between January 25-28 was subscribed 18 times. Analysts see the stock listing at a premium of 8-10 per cent. READ MORE

Hero MotoCorp: The firm on Thursday reported a 23.2 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to Rs 1,084 crore for the December quarter of FY21 (Q3FY21). Heros net sales for the quarter improved by 39.7 per cent to Rs 9,776 crore.

Q3 earnings: Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Punjab National Bank, Mrs Bectors Food, Fortis Healthcare, Pfizer and Shipping Corporation of India are among 127 companies that are scheduled to release their December quarter numbers today.

Industries bottom-line earnings may come under pressure owing to weaker sales on a quarterly basis, and increase in input costs. Analysts see up to 20% YoY jump in PAT for the cookie maker. READ MORE

IRFC: Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) has sold $750 million worth of dollar-denominated bonds to overseas investors priced at a coupon of just 2.80 per cent per annum.

Tata Power: The firm posted over 22 per cent YoY rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 318.41 crore for the December quarter, mainly on the back of higher revenues.

Biocon: Biologics, an arm of biotechnology major Biocon, has signed a pact with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to expand access to life-saving cancer biosimilars in over 30 countries.

Container Corporation of India: The company reported a higher consolidated profit at Rs 234.3 crore for Q3FY21 against Rs 180.9 crore logged in Q3FY20. Revenue rose to Rs 1,766.9 crore.

Vedanta: The company's board has approved an expansion of Lanjigarh alumina refinery from 2 MTPA to 5 MTPA at a cost of Rs 3,779 crore.

Jindal Stainless: The firm said, on Thursday, its consolidated revenue in Q3 FY21 stood at Rs 3,585 crore, up by 9 per cent YoY. The profit after tax was Rs 170 crore.

IndoStar Capital Finance: The company reported a multi-fold jump in net profit at Rs 24 crore for the quarter ended December 2020. The company's net revenues from operations fell 16 per cent YoY to Rs 157 crore.

Thomas Cook India: The company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 66.23 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020, due to the continued impact of Covid-19 as against a profit of 8.60 crore in the same period last year.

Gillette India: The firm posted a 15.24 per cent YoY jump in net profit at Rs 81.90 crore for the quarter ended December 2020. It had reported a profit of Rs 71.07 crore in the year-ago period.

Minda Industries: The company reported an over two-fold jump in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 121 crore in the third quarter ended December 2020, riding on the continued growth momentum in the automobile industry fuelled by strong demand.

HCL Tech: The firm plans to add 1,000 employees in the next few months to work out of its campus near Nagpur.

The new hiring will be a mix of freshers and experienced hands, the New Delhi-headquartered company said in a statement.

Adani Transmission: The firm posted a nearly 128 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 464 crore for the quarter ended December 2020.

Tata Consultancy Services: The board of Directors of MCX has decided to award the contract for the implementation of the Commodity Derivatives Platform to TCS.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday condemned as "unjustified" Russia's expulsion of European diplomats for participating in unauthorised demonstrations in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny .

"We consider these expulsions to be unjustified. We believe it is yet another aspect that can be observed right now of Russia being quite far from the rule of law," she said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said earlier that the move would "not go unanswered".

Merkel said however that Berlin's stance on the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with Russia remained "unaffected".

Nord Stream 2 is a 10-billion-euro ($11-billion) pipeline that will run beneath the Baltic Sea and is set to double Russian natural-gas shipments to Germany, Europe's largest economy.

The United States and several European countries such as Poland have criticised the project, saying it will increase German and EU dependence on Russia for critical gas supplies.

France recently joined in a call for Berlin to abandon the project in protest over Navalny's detention in Moscow.

At a joint video news conference after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Merkel acknowledged that the pipeline was a "controversial project" but "solutions can be found together" on the issue.

The German leader also stressed that it was important to keep a channel open for discussions with Russia, given that it was a key player on many geopolitical issues.

"Despite deep-reaching differences, it is nevertheless strategically advisable to stay in talks with Russia," said the German leader, noting that cooperation was required on many issues including Libya, Syria and Belarus.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Ferrari rules out Indycar for now

Ferrari has ruled out entering Indycar for now.

Last year, the American series' boss Roger Penske revealed that talks with the Maranello outfit were underway.

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto had looked into whether an Indycar program may be a way for the fabled Italian team to avoiding sacking personnel amid the new F1 budget cap.

However, the same goal has reportedly been achieved by moving some of Ferrari's staff into a separate building at Maranello to work exclusively for the Haas team in 2021.

"After our discussions we have come to the conclusion that we will not be entering Indycar anytime soon," Binotto is now quoted by Speed Week.

"It might be possible in the medium and long term, but today we want to concentrate our investments on Formula 1."
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[February 05, 2021] Canada Invests in Energy Efficiency for the Agri-Food Industry

OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 5, 2021 /CNW/ - Energy efficiency is essential to reaching net-zero emissions. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, the Government of Canada remains committed to building a clean energy future to strengthen the economy, create good, middle-class jobs and support the natural resource sectors. The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, today announced a $24,000 investment in Bonduelle Canada Inc., the current world leader in ready-to-use vegetables, to reduce energy costs and improve energy efficiency as part of the government's efforts to advance a low-carbon energy future. The company's St-Denis-sur-Richelieu facility will reduce energy consumption and improve its financial and environmental performance through a process integration study that will recommend energy-efficiency improvements. The modernization project for the plant will help improve industrial energy efficiency in Canada by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Federal funding is provided by the Energy Efficiency for Industry Program, which offers financial assistance to help fund Canadian industrial facilities' energy management projects. Energir also contributed to the project to bring the total investment to nearly $50,000.



Bonduelle Canada Inc. is a family-run company founded in 1853 by Louis Bonduelle. Bonduelle provides over 100 countries with vegetables that are preserved using natural processes. The government continues to support green infrastructure projects that will create good jobs and advance Canada's green future. Increasing the energy efficiency of Canada's industrial sector is a key part of Canada's efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Quote

"Improvements in energy efficiency will get us a third of the way to our Paris targets. With today's announcement, we're working to lower our emissions and creating good, middle-class jobs." The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr.

Canada's Minister of Natural Resources "We welcome the opportunity to support Bonduelle Canada's efforts to improve energy efficiency. This investment will help St-Denis-sur-Richelieu reduce greenhouse gas emissions and bring us closer to a zero-emission future." The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons "At Bonduelle, we are deeply linked to the earth, our most precious asset. Therefore, it is essential that we take care of it with initiatives such as reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2035 so that everyone can enjoy its benefits in the future." Christian Malenfant, Vice President Marketing, R&D and CSR

Bonduelle Canada Inc.

"Through its energy-efficiency programs, Energir is proud to help seek out innovative solutions to encourage customers to use less energy, and to use it more wisely. With this initiative, Bonduelle is demonstrating leadership by taking steps to further decarbonize its operations and make major strides toward meeting GHG reduction targets." Valerie Sapin

Director of Marketing, Customer Experience and Energy Efficiency

Energir

Associated Links Energy Efficiency for Industry

Bonduelle Canada Inc.

Energir Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

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TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Widget, the manufacturer and distributor of premium CBD products from Hemp Bombs, Nature's Script and Perfect Paws Hemp for pets, announced today the donation of over $1 million worth of CBD pet products to local shelters to help dogs and cats they take in stay calm and adjust to their surroundings, improving their chances of adoption.

The company, which rebranded its CBD pet division last year to Perfect Paws Hemp, has donated CBD tincture oils, CBD dog chews and CBD pet shampoo to 16 Tampa Bay-area animal shelters and humane societies. Interest in the adoption of pets has soared recently because of the pandemic, and shelters are doing their best to manage the stress of keeping up with the demand.

"As a CBD manufacturer, we've reached out to local shelters to see if we can help alleviate some of that stress," said Global Widget's co-founder, Kevin Collins. "It seems our CBD pet products have found the perfect home in our Bay-area shelters because of CBD's ability to help calm pets in new environments or high-anxiety situations."

The Humane Society of Tampa Bay in Tampa, and Pet Pal Animal Shelter in St. Petersburg, Florida, were among the shelters that received donations.

Glen Hatchell, CPDT-KA, Behavior and Enrichment Manager at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, said, "A lot of animals struggle with this environment at first. So, I'm always looking for new ways we can safely help them remain calm until they can see that this is a good place for them. If I can help them remain calm, it helps them get adopted more quickly."

"We've had great success with it," said Scott Daly, executive director of Pet Pal Animal Shelter, referring to CBD oil for pets. "I usually give it to our dogs when they first come in. It can be a stressful environment."

All animals have endocannabinoid systems that maintain the same functions as humans. CBD, the non-psychoactive compound found in hemp, has been observed to work within that system to promote calmness and relaxation.

Photographs from the Million Dollar CBD Pet Product Giveaway can be found on the Perfect Paws Hemp Facebook Page here.

About Us

Global Widget, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Tampa, Florida, is a vertically integrated manufacturer, distributor and marketer of CBD and health and wellness products, and a leader in gummy production and packaging. The company is the trusted powerhouse behind the iconic CBD brands Hemp Bombs, Nature's Script and Perfect Paws Hemp for pets, as well as the immunity support brand Defense Boost. With more than 110,000 square feet of facility space and about 200 employees, Global Widget is one of the nation's largest CBD companies and a leading contract manufacturer providing quality products and support services to retailers and distributors worldwide. www.globalwidget.com.

Media Contact:

Joe Agostinelli, PR Manager

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Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
(This article is part of the California Today newsletter. Sign up to get it delivered to your inbox.)

Good morning.

Over the past couple of weeks, amid the continuing roller coaster ride that is the vaccine distribution, not to mention some intense winter weather, California has also been taking some of its biggest strides toward reopening.

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have fallen significantly, and state officials pointed to data suggesting those trends are likely to continue as they explained their abrupt announcement last week that the state was lifting its stringent regional stay-at-home orders.

[Track coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths across California.]

Californias average positivity rate over the last two weeks is 6.9 percent, after peaking at 14 percent on Jan. 8. Intensive care units, according to state models, are expected to have much more capacity by the beginning of March. Health care workers, nursing home residents and others who are at significant risk of getting seriously sick from Covid-19 are getting vaccinated, even if its not at the rate we want.
When Brighton rocked  how a humble English seaside town became a mecca for antiques

As a selection of artefacts from his eclectic collection comes to Christies, the Brighton antiques dealer Patrick Moorhead recalls the heady days of the 1960s, when competition among the traders in the so-called Lanes was fierce

Robinson Crusoe author Daniel Defoe didnt think much of Brighton in the early 1700s, describing it as a poor fishing town, old built, and on the very edge of the sea. The narrow backstreets of cottages he escaped to when a gale blew up were cramped and dirty  nothing like the elegant boutiques and antique shops found in The Lanes area today. Brightons impoverished fortunes changed with the arrival of the Prince Regent and the construction of the Royal Pavilion in 1787. Suddenly everyone who could afford one wanted a seaside villa: the unconventional mix of second-homers ranged from aristocrats to dissolute bohemians. By the 1800s, the Romantic artist John Constable was dryly describing the thriving hotspot as Piccadilly on sea.

John Nash, The Banqueting Room at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, 1826. A plate from Views of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. Bridgeman Images

With the wealthy blow-ins came merchants keen to supply them with the very best furniture and art money could buy. As Giles Forster, a Christies specialist in the 19th Century Furniture and Works of Art department, explains: The town began to develop a reputation as a place where you could source beautiful and curious works of art. By the mid-20th century, however, many of these villas had fallen into disrepair  they were just too costly to maintain, adds Forster  and their contents were sold to the small family-owned antique and jewellery shops that populated the The Lanes.

I want it to capture that rush of discovery, that sense of a find: Patrick Moorhead on the online sale at Christies of treasures from his collection

It was here in the 1950s that the Moorhead family established their shop. Patrick Moorhead belongs to the third generation of the family and is a highly respected international antiques dealer. He remembers the stiff competition between the businesses as a child. I loved the buzz, he says. New objects would come in every day. You had to be up early in the morning, going from shop to shop, to be sure to get to the best things first.

Patrick has a sixth sense for quality, knowing what is a good example instinctively by its look and feel  specialist Giles Forster

He quickly developed an eye for excellence and learned to recognise the differences between styles and periods, high-quality originals and copies. Everything would change hands until it found its way to the right dealer whose specialism it was, whether it be a Chinese vase, a war medal or a fine manuscript, he recalls. I remember on one occasion buying a bookcase; I was the twelfth dealer it had passed to that day, and I was very relieved to sell it on to the thirteenth. From 4 to 25 February, a selection of artefacts from Moorheads collection will be offered in Patrick Moorhead: Hidden Treasures, a dedicated online sale encompassing Regency furniture, Meissen porcelain, chandeliers and Chinese ceramics.

Patricks taste is eclectic and wrought from years of experience, says Forster. His energy is boundless and he has a sixth sense for quality, knowing what is a good example instinctively by its look and feel. Moorhead describes the auction as a microcosm of his whole career. I want it to capture that rush of discovery, that sense of a find, he says, choosing objects that have both sentimental value for him and reflect the history of his home town.

A pair of Kangxi-period blue and white Soldier vases and covers (above) are similar to those found in Brightons Royal Pavilion. A set of Victorian oil lamps (above left) is offered in memory of Moorheads father, who began his career buying up these beautiful but redundant objects following the advent of electricity.

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Turkey-Greece: new talks before EU summit in March After resumption of bilateral meetings on Jan. 25 in Istanbul

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, FEBRUARY 5 - New "explorative talks" between Turkey and Greece are scheduled to take place between the end of February and the beginning of March, before the European Council on March 25-26, Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, speaking about a "step in the right direction".



The first meeting in this format since 2016 was held in Istanbul on January 25. The aim is to discuss disputes on the eastern Mediterranean and other bilateral issues.



The location of the next round of talks still needs to be determined. The sides had agreed to meet in Athens, but Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said this week that talks could be hosted in Ankara, expressing the wish to "maintain dialogue and find political and peaceful solutions to the problems".



(ANSAmed)
Unions representing San Francisco teachers and other employees of the citys school district announced their conditions for returning to in-person instruction Friday, a proposal they plan to submit to school officials.

Susan Solomon, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, which represents 6,500 teachers and para-educators citywide, said teachers and staff would return to in-person instruction in the states red reopening tier with vaccines  or in the orange tier if teacher and staff vaccinations are not available.

The reopening proposal was not tied to specific dates.

The announcement comes amid mounting pressure on the district and the unions representing school employees to reopen in-person learning for the districts more than 52,000 students. The issue came to the forefront when City Attorney Dennis Herrera sued the school district and board Wednesday to compel them to create a specific plan to reopen.

The next day, Mayor London Breed held a news conference with other officials to pressure the union and district to make a deal. Breed has said students learning loss and mental health make the issue urgent. The districts own research shows Black, Latino and Asian students as well as those from low-income families have lost significant academic ground compared with wealthier and white students during the pandemic.

School reopenings are guided by the states color-coded system. Under state guidelines, the red tier indicates substantial spread of the coronavirus and the orange tier indicates moderate spread of the virus. At present, San Francisco is in the purple, or widespread, tier. Schools in counties in the purple tier are allowed to open for K-6 grades if their average adjusted case rate is below 25 cases per 100,000 population and they file a safety plan.

Local, state and national health officials have said its safe for schools to reopen with proper precautions. Very few cases of transmission have been traced to schools in the Bay Area and elsewhere.

Solomon made the announcement shortly before she said she would present the unions reopening demands to San Francisco Unified School District administrators at the bargaining table.

The teachers said their offer would also require the district to make sure that virus testing, social distancing, disinfecting, protective equipment and enhanced ventilation were in place at schools. It was unclear how many of those requirements have been met. The union had previously demanded the installation of toilet lids in lavatories and air monitors in classrooms.

The majority of our (concerns) have been addressed, Solomon said. There are a few other areas where we would like to see movement, including testing and vaccine availability.

At present, all counties are vaccinating essential health care workers and long-term care residents and employees. The state also allows counties to give shots to people over 65, education and child care workers, emergency services workers and those working in food and agriculture, if vaccine is available. Some counties had begun vaccinating teachers but pulled back in the face of vaccine shortages.

Solomon said the union and the district were not very far apart in their proposals for reopening and pointed out that the two sides are meeting daily.

The school district did not respond to requests for comment.

The pressure on the district and the unions increased Thursday when a tearful Breed stood with schoolchildren holding signs that said I Miss My Friends and urged all sides to work together to get schools open.

The organizers of the event  Decrease the Distance  announced the creation of a citywide petition, and pressed for the school board and teachers union to reach an agreement by Feb. 18 on the conditions required to reopen schools.

Breed was joined by state Sen. Scott Wiener, who said he was upset that the day after the school board voted to rename 44 schools, the district announced that middle and high schools would likely not reopen this school year.

I have always been a big supporter and fan of this school district, he said. My frustration is what I see is a defeatist attitude.

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, a statewide childrens advocacy group, has been paying attention to whats been happening in San Francisco as well as other places around California and believes the building pressure - from parents and politicians  may finally stop the gridlock thats kept most California public schools closed.

Ive been involved in education policy and advocacy for a long time, and Ive never seen parents this energized about a policy anytime or anywhere, he said. It is having an impact. Ideally the focus wouldnt be on blaming this politician or that school official but on getting schools open. But clearly the pressure is having an impact.

Lempert said schools are reopening safely elsewhere in the country while many California districts seem to be going nowhere.

District officials had said they were ready to reopen to the youngest and most at-risk students at the end of January, but couldnt reach an agreement with the union.

San Francisco public schools have been closed since mid-March, but more than 15,000 private school students are back in class. Parents of public school students who have spent nearly a year with their children camped in the living room said they are frustrated.

Private and parochial schools have opened safely, said Jonathan Alloy, who has two children  Samuel, 9, and Rebecca, 8  at Commodore Sloat Elementary School. The children of families with the money for private school are getting a good education.

Alloy said the unions offer to return to the classroom when pandemic tier color improves has got lots of caveats and no sense of timing.

While he spoke, Rebecca was jumping rope with her virtual classmates in front of the living room computer, as part of her physical education class, and Samuel was pounding out a book report.

The closures are having an enormous negative impact from a mental health and socialization standpoint, Alloy said. Its time they did something.

But parent Laurel Paul, with two sons in two San Francisco high schools, said she understood the teachers reluctance.

Were all frustrated and ready for the pandemic to be over, she said. I dont blame parents for being upset. But I dont see any good choices. The surge is scary. The variants are scary. Im glad the union is pushing for safety.

Pretending the pandemic will just go away, she said, is wishful thinking.

I wonder if some of these parents who want the schools to reopen now have found a secret door to Narnia, she said.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Jill Tucker and Michael Cabanatuan contributed to this report.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF

The FBI reportedly raided the homes of two Trump supporters who spoke at rallies the day before the Capitol protest and is now contacting random Trump supporters who didn't attend any Capitol protest-related events for questioning.



From CNN:

The FBI recently raided the homes of two men who sponsored an invective-laced rally near the US Capitol a day before the deadly insurrection, the first known search warrants involving people who organized and spoke at rallies preceding the attack.



CNN learned of the raids through an eyewitness account, public records, a lawyer representing one of the rally organizers and an FBI spokeswoman who confirmed details of the searches.



FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller confirmed that federal agents executed search warrants last week at two properties in Orange County, California, which public records indicate belong to Russell Taylor and Alan Hostetter. The two men run the American Phoenix Project, which co-sponsored a pro-Donald Trump rally near the Supreme Court on January 5, one day before the attack.



Neither man has been charged with any crimes.



Footage of the rally shows the men spewing militant vitriol: Hostetter told the crowd to prepare for "war tomorrow" against "vipers" in Congress who refused to nullify President Joe Biden's win. Taylor said, "We will not return to our peaceful way of life until this election is made right."



Court documents related to the search warrants are still under seal, but the raids are the first publicly known federal actions against people who organized rallies linked to the Capitol attack. Federal investigators have issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants in the probe.



[...] An FBI spokesperson told CNN the search was conducted at the property Taylor owns at 6 a.m. Wednesday. CNN obtained photos and videos of FBI agents at his house hours later.



Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment further about the raids or what investigators were searching for, noting that the case files are still sealed.



A lawyer for Taylor, Dyke Huish, told CNN that the agents were "just gathering information on people that were at or near the Capitol building on the day in question," referring to January 6. Huish said Taylor "cooperated with investigators" and the search was finished "without incident." Eimiller, the FBI spokeswoman, said "no arrests were made" during the searches.



Taylor acknowledged the raid on his Orange County home in a Telegram post on Friday. Using a pseudonym, Taylor urged his followers to "hold the line," adding, "I am working with a lawyer and per his recommendation he said to keep on the down low for a bit to stay off any radars."

"Hostetter is a former infantryman, sheriff's deputy, SWAT officer and police chief," The Washington Post reported.



Their story sounds a bit strange, especially the whole part about how Taylor "cooperated with investigators."



Neither took part in the "storming."



Their story has a lot of parallels with Proud Boys founder Enrique Tarrio's, who we now know was a "prolific" FBI informant for years.



I'm not making any accusations in this case but any time people shoot their mouths off about violent revolution you have to be suspicious.



The Gateway Pundit reported on Thursday that Noel Fritsch, formerly of Big League Politics, had his home visited by the FBI on Wednesday "even though he was no where near the rally or subsequent takeover of the Capitol Building."





EXCLUSIVE: FBI Visited Home of Trump Supporter Who Was Working in DC, But Did Not Even Attend the Rally @NoelFritsch https://t.co/gAmfZ3LwF1  Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) February 5, 2021



"Fritsch says that the agents harassed his pregnant wife and attempted to intimidate her, while she was home alone with their four young children," The Gateway Pundit reported.



Hip hop artist and stanch lock down critic An0maly also said he was contacted by the FBI on Wednesday morning for questioning even though he "didn't attend the event," "wasn't in DC" and "wanted zero part in it."





.@LegendaryEnergy - same happened to me today.



2 of Rosenstein's goons harassed my 39 week pregnant wife mid-day while she's at home raising our 4 boys, 7 & under.



Worse, promising future intimidation, they told her they'll have to keep coming back til we speak. https://t.co/ugR0wO08XL  Noel Fritsch (@NoelFritsch) February 3, 2021

Here's original tweet I replied to. pic.twitter.com/mBnzFYTMbj  Noel Fritsch (@NoelFritsch) February 4, 2021



Pro-Trump YouTuber Brenden Dilley said two FBI agents visited his house last week to question him about a broadcast he did on January 6th -- which he recorded live on YouTube from his home in Phoenix, Arizona.





The KGB, I mean, FBI visited Brenden Dilley at his home two days ago, to inquire about his "role" in the DC guided tour of the capitol.



Dilley didn't even go to the rally, he was in Phoenix at his home doing his show.https://t.co/w9ZsPhZPjU  Lefty Paingood (@LPaingood) January 29, 2021



[FBI discussion starts at 10:52.]



Tucker Carlson reported Thursday night that Bank of America searched through their customers' data for purchases that may have been related to the Capitol protests and handed their private information over to the feds -- which resulted in at least one entirely innocent person being questioned by the FBI.







As a reminder, the only person killed in the Capitol building was Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, who was shot dead at point blank range by a Capitol police officer while unarmed.



Officer Brian Sicknick, who was a patriot that was disgusted with our corrupt ruling class and had called for "regime change" in Washington in the past -- reportedly died of a stroke after experiencing a blood clot.





CNN saves this nugget for the 8th paragraph:



Medical examiners did not find signs that the officer sustained any blunt force trauma, so investigators believe that early reports that he was fatally struck by a fire extinguisher are not true.https://t.co/coAVfuXhin  Jon Miller (@MillerStream) February 5, 2021



From Forbes:



Two law enforcement officials told the New York Times last month that Sicknick's injuries were the result of being hit in the head by a fire extinguisher, but a medical examiner has reportedly disputed that account, according to CNN, finding no evidence of blunt force trauma.

ProPublica reported last month that "the family got word that Brian Sicknick had a blood clot and had had a stroke; a ventilator was keeping him alive."



Though the FBI is aggressively working to imprison everyone who had any connection to the Capitol protest, they took a knee during the Black Lives Matter riots last year.







The FBI also "took a knee" when it came to raiding Jeffrey Epstein's island -- video showed electronics from his house were removed before the FBI eventually raided the joint -- and to this day they still don't appear to have ever raided Epstein's Zorro Ranch.



It came out just two weeks ago that billionaire Leon Black gave Jeffrey Epstein $158 million in addition to the bare minimum $46 million Epstein received from billionaire Les Wexner -- were either of their homes raided by the FBI?





Revealed: Jeffrey Epstein Received At Least $200 Million From Billionaires Les Wexner And Leon Black https://t.co/zcdobEs2Di  Chris Menahan  (@infolibnews) January 26, 2021



Of course not!



As a reminder, Epstein reportedly worked as an FBI informant to secure a sweetheart plea deal when he was facing life in prison back in 2007.



Epstein allegedly informed on two Bear Sterns executives -- both of which were acquitted -- and managed to serve only 13 months and had the FBI close their criminal probe into his alleged crimes.



Alexander Acosta, who oversaw the plea deal, reportedly told the Trump transition team when asked about his handling of the case that "I was told Epstein 'belonged to intelligence' and to leave it alone."



Incidentally, whatever happened to the "vast trove of lewd photographs" that "appear to be of underage girls" that the FBI seized from Epstein's massive townhouse in New York City?



Did they seize the suspected blackmail Epstein had on high-level politicians to bury it?



The FBI was tipped off to Jeffrey Epstein's operation all the way back in 1996 and did nothing to hold him accountable for over two decades. The whole case has been successfully covered-up and memory-holed.



Had the FBI spent one one-hundredth of the time they're spending going after random Trump supporters on investigating Epstein's network they could have blown the whole operation wide open.



They chose not to.



That should really tell you everything.



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Indian starup investor Blume Ventures is in talks to raise a Rs 400-crore fund to buy out its own holdings in older portfolio companies and double down on a few of its existing investments, said people familiar with the matter.

The so-called secondary fund will give an exit option to early investors from whom Blume raised funds to invest in businesses. This kind of fund-raisingunprecedented in the Indian venture capital spaceallows Blume to retain its stake in startups with a new set of investors.

"No VC in India has done this beforeto replace old LPs with new LPs and still manage the fund yourself. It's a unique structure that could become common in the future," said a senior investor on condition of anonymity.

LPs, or limited partners, are high net worth individuals, family offices, university endowments, or pension funds that invest in venture funds.

Blume plans to use the proceeds of the fundnamed Fund 1x and launched in December 2020to reshuffle the investment structure in eight to 12 companies, according to these persons who didnt want to be named. Moneycontrol has also reviewed documents that reveal Blumes secondaries fund plan.

The move underscores the paradox of increasing investor interest in Indian startups despite the difficulty in securing timely exits.

It is also a validation of Blume's track recordin recent years, the Mumbai-based firm has picked out several winners such as online learning firm Unacademy, delivery startup Dunzo and robotics firm GreyOrange. Even if a startup is doing well, early-stage investors often look for an exit depending on how long businesses stay private.

Why This Fund Is Different

The new fund, which has a different set of LPs, will function as a lower-risk, lower-return investment vehicle compared with the early-stage funds Blume typically runs.

Blume declined to comment on a query from Moneycontrol.

Blumes new fund would centre on two type of transactions. One, the so-called secondary sale under which shareholderstypically early investorsof a private company sell their shares to another buyer. This is different from a primary sale, in which company issues new shares to investors, and the proceeds of that sale go directly into the company.

Using proceeds of the new fund, Blume will buy out its own holdings in GreyOrange, makeup brand Purplle, insurance firm Turtlemint and software-as-a-service firms WebEngage, Exotel and IDfy.

As a sweetener, this fund will increase its stakes in Dunzo, milk and groceries delivery platform Milkbasket and Slice, a credit and payment platform in their future funding rounds, according to the persons cited above, "So along with older companies, the LP is also getting stakes in newer fast-growing startups," said a person involved in negotiations, requesting anonymity.

The new fund essentially means a unique structure for the Indian startup ecosystem. Raising this fund solves many key issues for Blume and its investors.

Many of Blumes proposed secondary investments GreyOrange, Exote, Webengage and IDfy are from its first fund in 2010. This poses an issue.

The Lifecycle of Such Funds

Venture funds generally have a lifecycle of seven-10 years during which they are supposed to invest and return profits to their LPs. The LP structure is key to this transaction working out.

They are effectively replacing old LPs with new LPs. They are selling a whole block of six companies to new LPs and Blume will still earn carry whenever these companies have an eventual exita merger or an IPO, one of the persons cited above said.

Carried interest, or carry, is the money venture capitalists earn on profits made on investmentoften in many millions and is the cornerstone of the VC business model.

A combination of primary and secondary investments is vital to Blumes investment recast. With the new fund and new LPs investing in Blumes 10-year-old investments today, they are betting these companies can still grow significantly.

The secondary investments have to grow from here. Only then does the structure really make sense and the new LPs stand to make money, said another person aware of discussions, requesting anonymity.

Adding some primary deals was like a sweetener from an LP perspective. So, in addition to some of the older companies, they would also get stakes in some of the newer companies and be part of their long-term growth, the person said.

Fund 1x will have an investment period of two years and a five-year life cycle that can be extended to seven with the approval of LPs.

The Returns Blume Is Targetting

It expects to generate an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 25 percentthe average rate of return adjusted for the time value of moneygenerally the yardstick for measuring VC returns. Because this fund will invest in established firms but at higher valuations, its risk is lower but so are the returns.

Most LPs in early-stage venture funds expect a gross IRR of 30-40 percent over an 8-10 year fund lifecycle.

What Blume is doing hasnt been attempted by any venture fund in India but there are some parallels, as investors looking to sell large sections of an old portfolio is a common problem.

For instance in 2019, Norwest Venture Partners India sold stakes in half a dozen of its business-to-business and software bets, including now unicorn Zenoti, Capillary Technologies and logistics firm Elastic Run. These stakes were acquired by Avatar Venture Partners, a fund set up by Mohan Kumar, a former partner at Norwest.

What Blume is doing is similar except it is managing the selling and the buying and only the LPs are changing.

Started in 2010 by former angel investors Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath, Blume raised a debut Rs 100 crore fund entirely locally to make angel investments in an institutional manner. It followed this up with a $60-million second fund in 2015 and a $102 million third fund in 2019.

As it grew, it became much more like a traditional venture fund looking for sizable stakes early on with a focused approach and raising money from foreign institutions and family offices.

Its second fund had 67 percent of the capital from abroad and the third fund had 80 percent. Foreign LPs have a different approach than Indian LPsthey invest in large funds globally, cut larger cheques and have a longer horizon.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Adoagyiri constituency, Frank Annoh-Dompreh wants the Speaker of Parliament to expose fellow MPs who have tested positive for coronavirus but refusing to isolate themselves.



According to him, their actions will not only harm others but tarnish the image of the August House.



What they are doing is dangerous and must not be accepted. The speaker should name and shame them if that is what they want.



 . . Now the perception out there is that all parliamentarians are positive, The majority Chief Whip said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show 'Ghana Montie'.



The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has disclosed that 15 MPs and about 56 parliamentary staff had tested positive for coronavirus.



He had earlier threatened to expose MPs that had contracted the virus but were still attending to business in the House.



The Speaker also announced that the House will sit twice a week starting next week.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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President of The Network of Finance and Tax Reporters (NFTR) Gambia chapter has disclosed that tax compliance and reduction is needed amid the negative impact of the deadly corona virus that has paralyzed businesses across the globe.

Abdoulie Nyockeh was speaking on Tuesday during a public private partnership (PPP) media dialogue held at The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The event, he said,is the 5th NFTR Gambia chapter media engagement since its formation in 2019.

"Today's forum is part of the NFTR Gambia chapter action plan 2021, which was recently validated by various stakeholders and members of the network. The essence of the forum is to bring key players together and discuss tax compliance and the need for tax reduction or tax breaks due to the negative impact of the deadly pandemic coronavirus."

Nyockeh maintained that the primary objective of the NFTR Gambia chapter is to ensure that there is transparency in tax payment, acknowledging the role of the private sector in the payment of tax.

"Payment of tax is crucial to our economy considering the negative impact of the pandemic in 2020, there is need for government to consider and exercise tax breaks or tax reduction."

He explained further; "I believe this forum is geared toward establishing a strong partnership between the media, public and private sectors and map out the way forward for a better Gambia."

He thanked GCCI, GRA and The Gambia Bankers Association for collaboration and Jah Oil Company for their support, further urging other private sectors not to see NFTR as partners in development.

Lamin Cham editor-in-Chief at Standard Newspaper urged members of the network to go forward and sensitize the business community about issues relating to tax collection and how the tax money is used.

The media, he added, should be the eye and voice of the general public especially on issues relating to tax collections.

Alagie Jeng, acting director The Gambia Bankers Association said the forum marks another milestone achievement for the network, adding that the government and private sector have crucial role to play in national development.

Muhammad Saine, business developer at The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry said with the advent of the new government in 2017, a project was launched to change the economic outlook within the new found democracy.
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By Khanh Vu

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam is expected to get access to the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines within the first quarter under the COVAX coronavirus vaccine sharing scheme, its government said on Friday.

The World Health Organization is working with Vietnam's health ministry over the use of COVAX vaccines in the country, the government said in a statement.

The COVAX vaccine-sharing facility has allocated at least 330 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for poorer countries and will aim to deliver these and many millions more in the first half of 2021.

The health ministry on Jan. 30 approved the vaccine from AstraZeneca for domestic inoculations.

The government has said it would buy up to 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and the first batch would arrive by the end of March.

Vietnam reported 19 more COVID-19 cases on Friday and said a recent outbreak had expanded to at least 11 cities and provinces.

The outbreak detected on Jan. 27 has accounted for about a fifth of Vietnam's total of 1,976 coronavirus cases. It has recorded 35 deaths overall, among the lowest numbers in Asia.

The government on Friday called for food production to be maintained to ensure sufficient supplies "in any circumstances" referring to a possible larger spread of the virus.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Martin Petty)

The cleric said the ban on open grazing will help to separate pastoralists from terrorists.

The General Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare, has explained why open grazing must end in Nigeria.

The practice, he said, must end in order help separate pastoralists from the terrorists kidnapping and killing citizens, Mr Bakare noted on Thursday.

He gave his position on the issue while speaking on Arise Television.

"I will bring to the attention of Mr President, and I know his ministers and those in government will be doing the same with him. One of the issues is open grazing. It is obsolete and it needs to end. It needs to end because the nations of the earth had gone beyond this."

He explained how grazing is done in some other countries and why it is important for Nigeria government must learn from others.

"I was in Glasgow, I was in Israel; there are so many things that we can do about agricultural pastoralism that would stop all the troubles in our land.

"We've lived with Fulani and Fulani have lived with us across our lands. We must separate this agricultural pastoralism from the second thing, the terrorists in the forests. The government must fish out the criminals.

"We must be careful of indiscriminate violence and separate terrorists in the forests from agricultural pastoralism."

The six South-west governors banned open grazing two weeks ago during a meeting on security challenges rocking the region in Akure, Ondo State.

Mr Bakare was President Muhammadu Buhari's running mate in the 2011 presidential election under the banner of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). They lost to Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : As the deadlock in the Lok Sabha continued for the 4th straight day with the Opposition protesting against the three contentious farm laws, Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar said the issue will be resolved as the government is ready to hold a separate discussion on the matter in the House.

The Minister said there has been a compromise with the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and its proceedings are now running smoothly. "I am confident that a similar understanding will be developed for the Lok Sabha too." He said that the government is also ready to hold discussions with farmers to resolve their issues related to the three farm laws.

The Minister, while talking to the media inside the Parliament premises, said the government is keen to break the deadlock both in the House and the Delhi borders where thousands of farmers are protesting against these laws.

His remarks came after the Lower House witnessed pandemonium for the fourth straight day on Friday over the three contentious farm laws. The entire opposition was dissatisfied with the assurances from the government regarding the farmers agitation.

Over 12 opposition parties since the day after the Budget presentation have been creating a ruckus in the House seeking an open discussion on the three farm laws that were enacted in September last year. The Congress, DMK, NCP, CPI(M), CPI, SP, BSP, VCK, YSRCP, AAP and RSP are among those parties protesting against the government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) former allies Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena are also playing a major role in the protest over the farm laws.

The opposition parties are seeking a withdrawal of these laws and term them as "black laws" and "anti-farmer".

The House was adjourned for the day after two brief sittings on the same issue -- the first one till 6 p.m. after 16 minutes proceedings that started at 4 p.m., and the second till Monday 4 p.m.

The opposition parties held a separate meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday evening requesting him to hold a detailed discussion on the farm laws issue, avoiding other House business, considering the plight of thousands of farmers who are staging an agitation at different borders of the national capital since November 26 demanding repeal of these laws.
David Hogg just started a pillow fight with Mike Lindell.

Hogg is a gun control advocate who survived the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Lindell, the founder and CEO of MyPillow, is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump who continues to spread false claims about voter fraud. On Thursday, entrepreneur William LeGate tweeted about starting a company with Hogg that could "put MyPillow out of business," and Hogg quickly responded that he was game.

Hogg and LeGate later confirmed that this isn't an elaborate troll, and that their pillows will be "union made in America to create good jobs that support American families." Also, they will "not attempt a white supremacist overthrow of the United States government." Hogg said their website should go up in a few weeks, and the yet-to-be-named company will hire veterans, formerly incarcerated people, and "the workers from MyPillow in the case we put them out of business."

More stories from theweek.com

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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

While the concept of the electric vehicle has been around since the 1890s, it would take another 100 years before a major automobile manufacturer would mass produce the first modern electric car. But that first electric car wasn't a Tesla or a Prius. It was the EV1, created by General Motors in the late 1990s.

Two weeks ago, GM added another first to its electric legacy by pledging to eliminate gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035.

"[General Motors] is so confident that electric propulsion and the infrastructure are ready, that it can abandon the internal gasoline engine," said George Hoffer, an emeritus professor of transportation economics at Virginia Commonwealth University. "That's a bold move. Especially bold in the sense that the best predictions in 2035and this is the highestis that no more than 40% of the market will be electric. Well, if they are going to be a 100% electric and no more than 40% of the market is going to be electric, that means they are effectively writing off over half of what's expected to be the size of the U.S. market in the midcentury."

This bold move has been in the works for several years, Hoffer said, and has little to do with the new presidential administration. All three of the major marketsChina, the United States and Europeare moving to electric vehicles. But the big move is from China where, being driven by nonmarket factors, the government, concerned about environmental issues, is pushing to get rid of automotive emissions.

"The Chinese government has put a lot of incentives into electrification in China," Hoffer said. To put things into perspective, General Motors sells more vehicles in China than it does in the U.S.

"So China is driving General Motors because General Motors is actually larger in China than it is in the United States," Hoffer said.

Hoffer, an automobile industry expert, discussed the future of the electric vehicle and the auto industry in a wide-ranging interview with VCU News.

Why is GM doing this now? Is it surprising that GM is the first major traditional manufacturer to do this?

Let's go back in history. Through the late 1960s GM had over 50% of the U.S. market. GM was the dominant firm by far. Since that time, GM has continued to lose market share. And of course it culminated with General Motors taking bankruptcy in the late '00s. Since that time, GM has continued to lose market share. Last year, GM had barely over 17% of the U.S. market17.3%. The point is that GM has been on a continual slide for well over 50 years. And the slide has continued since reorganization and exit from bankruptcy.

They're selling more vehicles in China than in the U.S. And, of course, the Chinese are pushing electrification. So that pushes General Motors heavily into electrification because that's where their major market is going.

How is GM commencing with its plan?

GM has two ads this week in the Super Bowl. One is for a Tesla-equivalent called the Cadillac Lyriq. This is GM's response to the largest Tesla. It is the first car of General Motors to be designed from scratch [as] an electric car. If you exclude Tesla, all electric cars to date have been existing cars and you just plop an electric motor in. You have a bastardization and they've all failed. That's one reason why the electric cars had failed.

The second thing is, it's the first one that is close to being a self-driving car. This is the '22 Cadillac Lyriq. So the best way to view this car is it's General Motors' answer to the decade-old Model S Tesla.

Will other manufacturers feel pressure to follow suit?

Everybody is trying to be green. What GM did two weeks ago, they upped the ante quietly. Everybody's under the same pressure.

The people who are coming in selling electric cars are going to be of two types. One will be existing manufacturers osmosing into the electric car business. You'll start seeing this in late spring. VW is going to sell an electric car called the ID.4. It's kind of a compact sport utility vehicle or compact utility vehicle based on a car. The consumer will see a lot of push for electric cars. The new electric cars are going to be sold by existing firms and firms that are from abroad, especially China, which has given subsidies to electric car manufacturers.

What should concern consumers when purchasing an electric vehicle?

There are two things that concern the public. The first is range. If you get an electric car, you always want to get the high end because the early cars had horrendous depreciation. And that's a real danger with a lot of these new electric cars. There'll be so many new entrants, You don't want to get a car that's here today and gone tomorrow, right? This is going to be the Wild West. Can you imagine a hundred different models of electric cars coming in the U.S. within the next two years? So consumers should really watch out with respect to what they're buying. The problem, just forgetting about where you'll charge it and things like thatassuming you've got that, you definitely want range.

And then there's a second big battle coming, which may obsolete so many electric cars before they even start. All the electric cars that are being used now are what're called liquid batteries. What they're working on now is what's called solid-state batteries. You can do so much more with them because they are lighter. And the key is you don't have the problem of leakage. You can mold them into whatever shape you want. The question is how fast the electric car industry will go to solid-state batteries.

Another thing with respect to the electric car, we may talk about the range of how far it will go, but that assumes that you don't use the air conditioner, that it's not raining. It assumes that you're not driving at night. Remember everything that you do in the car is electric. So don't get duped by the ranges.

How might this affect the future of the transportation industry?

The electric car will have major ramifications on automobile dealers of the United States. Why? Because the electric car needs very little maintenance. Think of it. How much maintenance does your refrigerator need?

In the United States, the auto dealers have great concern about electrification. There are two problems. As a general rule, all of your profits come from parts and service. And with the electric car, you need much less service and many, many, many fewer parts. That has real implications also for employment in the auto industry. Because all the people who make the parts that you don't see in the carremember, that car has somewhere around 15,000 partsthat gets dramatically cut when you go to the electric car. You don't even have a transmission.

And the second issue is, will the new people selling electric cars use franchise dealers or sell direct? Electric cars are basically an electric motor with very fancy software. Well, who's better at software than the high-tech people? So the traditional American auto industry is scared to death of that. Everything is software. And so who's better at software than the  the Microsofts, the Apples, the Samsungs?

How will electric vehicles change our driving habits? When we no longer need to worry about tailgate emissions, will people drive more?

What's happened within the last year [with social distancing during the pandemic] has really enhanced the desirability of personal transportation. And I think that will be [the case] for a long time. The electric car will make things simpler, [because it requires] less service. The electric car actually lends itself to more personal transportation rather than less.

The electric car is so much mechanically simpler that it actually enhances the desire and the ability for ownership. It's much more forgiving. I think it'll unequivocally help. And that's also because smaller vehicles are much easier to operate electrically because the batteries don't have to be as intense.

Explore further Volkswagen triples electric car sales ahead of climate rules
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DUBLIN, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Biosimilar Lymphocyte Modulator Global Market Report 2020-30: COVID-19 Growth and Change" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Biosimilar Lymphocyte Modulator Global Market Report 2020-30: COVID-19 Growth and Change provides the strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global biosimilar lymphocyte modulator market.



Major players in the biosimilar lymphocyte modulator market are Pfizer, Biogen, Genentech, Novartis and Celltrion.



The global lymphocyte modulator market is expected to decline from $1.29 billion in 2019 to $1.21 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -5.57%. The decline is mainly due to the COVID-19 outbreak that has led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of industries and other commercial activities resulting in operational challenges. The entire supply chain has been disrupted, impacting the market negatively. The market is then expected to recover and reach $1.67 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 11.1%.



The biosimilar lymphocyte modulator market consists of sales of immune regulating lymphocyte modulators by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that manufacture lymphocyte modulator biosimilars. Lymphocyte modulators are intended as an aid in the treatment for cancer and autoimmune diseases, and for regulating carotene intake in humans with a weak immune system. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.



In July 2020, Cytocom, Inc., a US-based immunotherapy generating company, announced the acquisition with ImQuest Life Sciences, Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to support Cytocom's vision of strategic growth and strengthen internal drug development programs with new assets and secured revenue-generating operations, scientific resources, and tools and capacity. ImQuest Life Sciences is a US-based company with leading drug discovery and development. The company was founded in 2004.



The biosimilar lymphocyte modulator market covered in the report is segmented by drug into campath-1h; natalizumab biosimilar; efalizumab - a1089-anti-CD11a biosimilar; anti-cd38 daratumumab biosimilar; anti-cs1 elotuzumab biosimilar and by disease into arthritis; diabetes; multiple myeloma; enterocolitis; multiple sclerosis; psoriasis; others.



The shortage of raw material for lymphocyte modulator drugs is expected to restrict the growth of the biosimilar lymphocyte modulator market. Drug shortages are due to several factors including challenges for acquiring raw materials, manufacturing problems, regulatory issues, business decisions, and numerous disturbances within the supply chain. They adversely affect patient care by causing the replacement of safe and effective therapies with elective medicines, compromising or delaying medical procedures, or causing medication errors.



For instance, in January 2019, the American Society of Haematology, an association comprising of clinical scientists and physicians that provides care to patients in diverse settings, sent a letter to USFDA highlighting the issue of shortage of critical hematologic drugs such as etoposide and methotrexate, which have no alternatives. Mainly the drug etoposide, which is a chemotherapeutic drug, that is a crucial component in treatment regimens designed to be curative for life-threatening conditions including leukaemia and lymphomas. Due to the shortage, some patients have received less effective treatment. Thus, the raw material shortages cause delayed and compromised medical treatments and also results in limiting the growth of the market.



Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Immunotherapy has been gaining popularity in recent times because of its positive results in anti-cancer treatments. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) comprise of all lymphocytic cell populaces that have occupied the tumor tissue. TILs have been depicted in various solid tumors including breast cancer, and are emerging as a significant biomarker in predicting the efficacy and result of treatment.



Due to promising results, many companies have started launching TIL technologies. For instance, in January 2020, Lovance Biotherapeutics, a US-based start-up company, has licensed TALEN technology from Cellectis to develop gene-editing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) to treat several cancer indications. Other companies investing in TIL technology are Optera Therapeutics Corp and TILT Biotherapeutics.



Immunotherapy combined with other cancer treatments is expected to drive the growth of the biosimilar lymphocyte modulators market. The combination of immunotherapies or pairing of immunotherapies with other types of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation enhances the benefit associated with lymphocyte modulators.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Lymphocyte Modulator Market Characteristics



3. Lymphocyte Modulator Market Size and Growth

3.1. Global Lymphocyte Modulator Historic Market, 2015 - 2019, $ Billion

3.1.1. Drivers of the Market

3.1.2. Restraints on the Market

3.2. Global Lymphocyte Modulator Forecast Market, 2019 - 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

3.2.1. Drivers of the Market

3.2.2. Restraints on the Market



4. Lymphocyte Modulator Market Segmentation

4.1. Global Lymphocyte Modulator Market, Segmentation by Drug, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

Campath-1H

Natalizumab Biosimilar

efalizumab - a1089-anti-CD11a biosimilar

Anti-CD38 daratumumab Biosimilar

Anti-CS1 elotuzumab biosimilar

4.2. Global Lymphocyte Modulator Market, Segmentation by Disease, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

Arthritis

Diabetes

Multiple Myeloma

Enterocolitis

Multiple Sclerosis

Psoriasis

Others

5. Lymphocyte Modulator Market Regional and Country Analysis

5.1. Global Lymphocyte Modulator Market, Split by Region, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

5.2. Global Lymphocyte Modulator Market, Split by Country, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion



Companies Mentioned

Pfizer

Biogen

Genentech

Novartis

Celltrion

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/b8kugd





Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets

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Hong Kong has unveiled controversial guidelines for schools in the Chinese-ruled city that include teaching students as young as six about colluding with foreign forces and subversion as part of a new national security curriculum.

Beijing imposed a security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 in response to months of often violent anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019 that put the global financial hub more firmly on an authoritarian path.

The Education Bureau's guidelines, released late on Thursday, show that Beijing's plans for the semi-autonomous Hong Kong go beyond quashing dissent, and aim for a societal overhaul to bring its most restive city more in line with the Communist Party-ruled mainland.

Hong Kong yesterday unveiled controversial school guidelines that include teaching students as young as six about colluding with foreign forces and subversion. The above picture shows school students holding signs during a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong on June 12, 2020

'National security is of great importance. Teachers should not treat it as if it is a controversial issue for discussion as usual,' the guidelines said.

Teachers should 'clearly point out that safeguarding national security is the responsibility of all nationals and that as far as national security is concerned, there is no room for debate or compromise'.

After the 2019 protests in which many of the demonstrators were teenagers, Chinese leaders turned to re-education in a bid to tame the city's youth and make them loyal citizens.

Head of the Professional Teachers' Union, Ip Kin-yuen, said the guidelines would cause 'uncertainty, ambiguity and anxiety' for teachers and enforce a 'restrictive and suppressive' education style that does not foster student development and independent thinking.

After the 2019 protests in which many of the demonstrators were teenagers, Chinese leaders turned to re-education in a bid to tame the city's youth and make them loyal citizens. High school students are pictured gesturing during a rally in Hong Kong on November 29, 2019

Raymond Yeung, a former teacher partially blinded by a projectile during 2019 protests, described the guidelines as 'one dimensional, if not brainwashing'.

Wong, mother of primary school children, said the law was 'clamping down on people's individual thoughts' and adding national security to the curricula created a climate of fear.

'I am angry. They shouldn't be bringing this into classrooms,' said Wong, who declined to give her first name due to the sensitivity of the issue.

However, not all parents were opposed to the changes.

'It's a good start, no matter who you are and where are you from, you have to love your country,' said Feng, mother of a six-year-old.

Beijing imposed a security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 in response to months of often violent anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019. Fully armed riot police is seen during a protest in Sham Shui Po district on China's National Day in Hong Kong on October 1, 2019

Children in primary schools will learn how to sing and respect China's national anthem, and gain an understanding of the four main offences in the new security law, including terrorism and secessionism.

In secondary schools, pupils will learn what constitutes such offences, which can carry sentences of up to life in prison.

Some legal scholars have said the law's language is broad and vague, and the range of activities authorities might see as potential threats to national security was unclear and fluid.

An educational cartoon video released by the government shows an owl wearing glasses and a graduation hat explaining Hong Kong's institutional architecture, its duties to the central government in Beijing and the national security law.

At one point the video says 'national security affairs are of utmost importance to the whole country,' while showing smiling faces of a student, a chef and an engineer.

Schools are encouraged to 'organise various game activities, such as puppet theatre, board games ... to establish a good atmosphere and improve students' understanding of national security', according to the guidelines.

Hong Kong authorities said said national security education will become part of subjects such as geography and biology to enhance students' sense of national identity. This photo taken on June 30, 2020 shows children holding a Chinese national flag at a kindergarten in Shenzhen

The guidelines said kindergartens can help students learn about traditional festivals, music and arts and develop fondness for Chinese customs to 'lay the foundation for national security education'. Kindergarten children were not expected to learn about national security crimes.

The Education Bureau said it accepted international and private schools had different curricula, but said they had a 'responsibility to help their students (regardless of their ethnicity and nationality) acquire a correct and objective understanding ... of national security'.

Schools should also stop students and teachers from participating in activities deemed as political, such as singing certain songs, wearing various items, forming human chains or shouting slogans.

Teachers and principals are required to inspect notice-boards, remove books that endanger national security from libraries and call police if they suspected any breaches.

The bureau said national security education will become part of subjects such as geography and biology to enhance students' sense of national identity.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.

COVID-19 vaccine shortages are leading some to question whether the United States would be better off simply trying to give a single dose to as many people as possible.

This view has been bolstered by early data from Israel indicating that a single dose of vaccine is extremely effective and can drive down infection rates.

But public health experts remain adamant that the approved two-dose vaccine regimen needs to be maintained, in the face of new COVID-19 variants that could potentially undermine vaccine effectiveness and cause the infection rate to surge.

"If we have only one dose in our high-risk population, the ones that are going to impact the health care system, and we get lower efficacy there, then we're going to be in trouble," Dr. Arnold Monto, acting chair of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, said during an HD Live! interview.

"We do emphasize that the two-dose approach should be the one that we follow, and that we use the vaccine with the mitigation strategies to cut down on the transmission," Monto continued.

Israel recently conducted a study in which they compared infections among 200,000 people vaccinated with their first dose against a group of unvaccinated folks, Dr. Ran Balicer, chair of Israel's COVID-19 National Experts Team, said in the same HD Live! interview.

Both groups continued to have similar infection rates for about two weeks, but on day 14 the group that had received one dose had a sudden decline in infection rates, Balicer said. By day 17, the vaccinated group had a 33% decline in infections compared to the unvaccinated group.

"That shows the vaccine, even the first dose, has an impact on infections," said Balicer, director of the Clalit Research Institute at Clalit Health Services, one of the four HMOs that provide health care to the entire Israeli population.

Reliance on data

Another report based on Israel's vaccination experience found that a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine can provide up to 90% protection against COVID-19 infection by day 21.

The study, performed by British researchers, tracked Israelis who had received their first dose of vaccine.

"We found that the vaccine effectiveness was still pretty much zero until about 14 days after people were vaccinated," lead researcher Dr. Paul Hunter, a professor with the University of East Anglia's Norwich Medical School, said in a university news release. "But then after day 14, immunity rose gradually day by day to about 90% at day 21 and then didn't improve any further. All the observed improvement was before any second injection."

These results support a policy adopted by the United Kingdom to extend the gap between doses out to 12 weeks, to try and get first doses into as many arms as possible, Hunter said.

Balicer agreed that "the benefits of having one dose are clear because then you can have vaccinated many more people with limited vaccine supply and have some partial immunity to a larger part of the population."

However, Balicer continued that "it's worth us noting that it is important, in our opinion, to follow the two-dose full protocol, because that's where you have the data from the clinical trials to tell you that you have a long-lasting immunity and that you have a strong enough protection of all of the age groups."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a news briefing Wednesday that the United States is not following in Britain's footsteps, based on data from large clinical trials.

"As you all are aware, the Moderna trial, with 30,000 people, and the Pfizer trial, with 44,000 people, indicate to us that maximum responses are given with a prime followed by a boost21 days with Pfizer and 28 days with Moderna," Fauci said.

"We feel strongly that we will go by the science, which has dictated for us the optimal way to get the 94% to 95% response, which is, in fact, durable for the period of time that we've been following it," Fauci added.

New COVID variants

The emergence of highly infectious variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil have increased the need to be cautious regarding the vaccine protocol, since high infection rates will promote continued mutation of the coronavirus, said Monto, a professor of epidemiology and global public health with the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

"If we don't get viral replication, we don't get mutations," Monto said. "So what we have to do is beat down the virus and virus transmission as our major goal."

Admittedly, the vaccine supply shortage is the greatest problem with the U.S. rollout, Monto said.

"We wouldn't have any problems in prioritizing if we had all the vaccine we needed for everybody," Monto said. "Most of our problem now has dealt with who is to get the vaccine, whether people are jumping the queue, and none of this would be a problem if we had enough vaccine."

Because of this, the United States needs to move past trying to convince vaccine-hesitant people to take the shot, and instead get two doses of the vaccine into the folks who really want it, Monto said.

"We have a majority of high-risk individuals who are eager to get the vaccine," Monto said. "Given the shortages of vaccine, we really don't have vaccine sitting on shelves, waiting to be given. Let's vaccinate [those people], and then pick up and try to convince those who haven't gotten vaccinated for one reason or another that this vaccine is safe and effective."

By the time millions of eager people have been vaccinated, there will be tons of data available to provide an unassailable record regarding the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, Monto said.

"At time of vaccine approval, there was concern we only had data for two or three months from the rollout of the vaccines," Monto said. "Now it's going up and up, and we've got millions of people who've received the vaccine."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about COVID-19 vaccination

Copyright  2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Mailers from a political committee looking to get non-Democrat New York City residents to change party affiliation could be confusing to some, as the mailer looks like an official document from the city Board of Elections.

Launched in 2020 by investor Lisa Blau, Be Counted NYC looks to increase voter turnout in Junes mayoral primary. New York has a closed primary, meaning only Democrats and Republicans are eligible to vote for their own partys primary.

Blaus husband Jeff is the CEO of Related Companies, one of the largest development firms in the city.

In addition to an official voter registration form, the mailer comes with a letter from Be Counted NYC, urging people to switch party affiliation to Democratic so they can cast a vote in the June mayoral primary.

The voter registration form and letter comes with a postage paid envelope so the voter registration can be mailed directly to the Board of Elections.

(Staten Island Advance photo)

Many New Yorkers do not realize that the election that is almost certain to choose the next Mayor is not the November 2021 General Election, but the June 2021 Democratic primary. Why? Almost 70% of New York City Voters are registered Democrats, meaning that whoever wins the Democratic primary will almost certainly become the citys next mayor, it says.

In 2013, only 3% of New Yorkers voted in the primary that ultimately got Mayor Bill de Blasio elected.

Blau called the process undemocratic.

I think that is sort of undemocratic, to have those sorts of deadlines and expect voters to be making plans to vote in a June primary. Its not really how a voter thinks, Blau told POLITICO in December.

Voters in New York used to have about six months before the primary to change their voter registration until last year when the state Legislature made Feb. 14 a fixed deadline for registration.

Will YOU enroll as a Democrat by February 14, 2021 to make sure you can vote in the election that will determine the future of NYC? the mailer concludes.

Blau, who said she is not involved with any of the mayoral candidates, said voters who cast a vote in the primary are can be more ideologically extreme and partisan than the electorate as a whole.

To date, she has spent $1.5 million in outreach to Republican and unaffiliated voters, The Post reported citing data from the Board of Elections.

The money was largely spent on hiring Manhattan-based data-mining firm Project Applecart, that holds a patent for a way to target voters using social media, text messages, emails, and other digital means, THECITY reported.

LARGE REPUBLICAN SURGE ON STATEN ISLAND IN 2020

Last year, the number of registered Republicans on Staten Island soared by 44% more than borough Democrats over eight months.

From early March 2020 through the beginning of October 5,832 Republicans joined the party compared to 4,043 Democrats, according to data from the parties.

As previously reported, Republicans have been out-registering Democrats by a margin of over 5:1 since the time that President Trump was elected in 2016, said Brendan Lantry, currently the former Staten Island Republican Party Chairman, while still holding the position last year.

These numbers show continued growth and momentum for our party, but we take nothing for granted.

Lantry said in those eight months, at least 4,297 existing voters from other parties switched to the Republican Party, while 2,336 voters moved to the Democratic Party in the same period.

In the 2020 General Election, Republican Nicole Malliotakios won the congressional seat from Democrat Max Rose, flipping the seat back to red. Republican Mike Tannousis beat Democrat Brandon Patterson for the Mid-Island Assembly seat that was vacated by Malliotakis.

FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.
Counting the dead is one of the first, somber steps in reckoning with an event of enormous tragic scope, be it war, a natural disaster or a pandemic.

This dark but necessary arithmetic has become all too routine during the covid-19 outbreak.

The total U.S death toll has now surpassed 450,000.

Each death is unique, a devastating loss that ripples through a family, a network, a community. But in the aggregate, the national death toll can feel abstract, and its repetition in the news can become numbing. Journalists, commentators and public officials are left searching for new ways to convey the deadliness of this pathogen, and the significance of its mounting fatality rate.

Many have turned to history, citing Pearl Harbor (2,403 killed) or the 9/11 attacks (at least 2,977 killed) as a way of providing perspective when the number of daily covid deaths in the U.S. reached those levels. (Currently, more than 3,000 Americans are dying from covid every day.)

Jan. 21, 2021, offered another opportunity for historical comparison: That was the day when the covid death toll in the U.S. reached  and then exceeded  the 405,399 Americans who died in World War II.

For many, attempting to compare the two death tolls  or even take note of their brief conjunction  is misguided or offensive. It is certainly a morally fraught exercise. The true emotional and social impact of either event can never be quantified, but many media outlets still mentioned it.

This raises the question: Are we as a society too quick to reach for these historical comparisons? Should a politically driven world war and a biologically driven pandemic, more than seven decades apart, be put side by side at all?

This is comparing apples to oranges, wrote NPR listener Kris Petron in December in response to a story that made use of that comparison. It is extremely disrespectful to our nations veterans, who write a blank check with their lives, to defend our Constitution.

This type of response, over time, has convinced medical historian Dr. Howard Markel not to draw parallels between death tolls from war and a pandemic.

I try not to make comparisons to an event or group that I know contains within it a great deal of sentiment, feeling and pain, said Markel, a professor at the University of Michigan and author of When Germs Travel: Six Major Epidemics That Have Invaded America and the Fears They Have Unleashed.

The notion that combat deaths carry a unique meaning or value is deeply rooted in human culture. Societies tend to valorize those who died for a cause on a battlefield.

But in this pandemic its the frail elderly  many of them living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities  who have died in vast numbers.

To the watching world, thats not the same as the death of a young soldier in their 20s, lets say, on the front lines in a war, said Yale historian Frank Snowden, author of Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present.

But, I dont think we have a right to weigh up lives and say which is more important, Snowden added.

Unlike covid-19, the global influenza pandemic of 1918-19 killed many people in their 20s and 30s  yet, as Snowden noted, there wasnt much collective mourning for those young adults, despite dying in the prime of life.

People were so used to mortality because of the [first world] war that even the horrible tallies that were coming with the Spanish influenza had lost their capacity to horrify the way that one might expect, he said.

When we do compare death tolls, what exactly are we comparing?

The effort to compare the death toll of the pandemic with that of a war strikes historian Samuel Biagetti as an especially modern exercise.

Through the vast majority of human history, people have understood warfare and disease to go hand in hand and to be inextricably linked, said Biagetti, who is the creator and host of the podcast Historiansplaining.

The flu pandemic 100 years ago was fueled by the conditions of World War I and ultimately killed more people than the war, with an estimated 50 million flu deaths worldwide and upward of 700,000 flu deaths in the U.S.

Biagetti pointed out that World War II was the first conflict in American history in which combat killed more fighters than disease, a pattern that has continued since and reflects medical advances such as vaccines and antibiotics.

The carnage of war doesnt end just because peace is declared. The spillover effects of war continue long after formal hostilities end, and include disability and disfigurement, mental trauma, addiction, homelessness and suicide.

One example is the ongoing suicide crisis among U.S. veterans. From 2005 to 2017, 78,875 veterans died by suicide  more than the number of soldiers killed in Vietnam, 58,220.

For all these reasons, Biagetti said he worries about comparing the current pandemic to any war, even if just for the purpose of counting the dead: You cant just try to sum up in a simple statistic how big is this disaster versus that disaster, as if they can even be summed up in a simple number at all.

And yet the language of warfare permeates so much of the national discourse about the pandemic.

Nurses work on the front lines. Coronavirus is described as an invisible enemy. The country is battling the virus. In his inaugural address, President Joe Biden said the pandemic has taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II.

War metaphor is a call to action, a recognition of sacrifice

Some Americans whose relatives have died of covid embrace the rhetoric of war and believe comparing the pandemic to past wars is imperative.

The scale of this is that of a war, its just a different type of war and its not one that were necessarily taught in our history books, said Kristen Urquiza, who co-founded the advocacy group Marked By COVID after her father died from the disease over the summer.

Urquiza said the country struggled collectively to respond to the coronavirus because Americans have little understanding about what it takes to overcome a pandemic.

In a way, its sort of more dangerous [than war] because we are culturally unprepared for it.

There are also veterans who feel the war analogies are appropriate, and even helpful. Dr. Cleavon Gilman, an emergency physician in Yuma, Arizona, has treated covid patients from the early days of the outbreak and readily compares the pandemic to a war.

Its very hard to communicate the severity of this pandemic if youre not in a hospital, where this war is being waged, said Gilman, who served as a Marine combat medic in Iraq in 2004.

World War II was the deadliest war in world history, but not in American history: That distinction belongs to the Civil War. The death toll has traditionally been estimated to be about 618,000, but new research indicates 750,000 may be more accurate.

But World War II looms large in Americas cultural memory as a good war, one that united the country against a clear-cut enemy, said Catherine Mas, a professor at Florida International University who studies the history of medicine, race and religion.

In retrospect, the American response to World War II stands in sharp contrast to the current political divisions over the coronavirus, and the fragmented and uneven national response.

Despite the differences, Mas said the comparisons can still be powerful tools as the country tries to reckon with a crisis that has taken place out of sight for many Americans. People are dying in hospitals without family members at the bedside, and only health care workers are there to bear witness.

The reason we want to compare covid-19 deaths to something like World War II is not just because the numbers are there, but to acknowledge this is a significant rupture in society, she said.

This mass death is going to create trauma: How are we going to deal with that? How have we dealt with that in the past? I think its part of our human condition to try to search for some reference points.

This story was produced in partnership with NPR and KHN.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chairperson of the African Union, holds a virtual meeting with Heads of State and Government of Countries neighbouring South Africa discussing responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

African leaders will focus on the continent's Covid-19 response at their virtual summit, hosted from Addis Ababa, this weekend. They will also examine security crises that have been overlooked during the pandemic.

The two-day African Union summit takes place one year after Egypt recorded the first case of Covid-19 in Africa, prompting widespread fears that member states' health systems would quickly be overwhelmed.

Despite early doomsday predictions, the continent has so far been hit less hard than other regions, recording 3.5 percent of global virus cases and 4 percent of global deaths, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many African countries are currently battling damaging second waves while straining to procure sufficient vaccine supplies.

"The developed North, which has substantial financial resources, has purchased the largest stocks, while we in Africa are still struggling to get our fair share," South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in remarks opening the pre-summit meeting of AU foreign ministers.

Member states will vote this weekend to choose those to lead a restructured AU executive body. The results are expected to shape how the multi-national alliance responds to the pandemic and a host of economic and security challenges.

Security taking second place behind Covid

Security crises, meanwhile, include a three-month-old conflict in the AU's host country Ethiopia, and longer-running problems in the Sahel and elsewhere.

"We hope that the summit will present an opportunity for African leaders to refocus their attention on a number of conflicts and crises that have had attention diverted away from them, due to the logical focus on Covid in the last year," said Imogen Hooper, AU analyst for the International Crisis Group.

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Vaccination a major difficulty

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver a pandemic response update during the closed portion of the summit on Saturday.

As outgoing AU chairman, Ramaphosa has spent the past year overseeing efforts to scale up testing and delivery of vaccines, while grappling with 1.5 million infections in his own country -- roughly 40 percent of the continent's total.

Arrival of the first consignment of #COVID19 Vaccines #WeChooseVaccination https://t.co/PHOfkdcics - Cyril Ramaphosa  #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) February 1, 2021

This week South Africa received one million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and Ramaphosa's government plans to inoculate 67 percent of its population by year's end.

Continent-wide targets are less ambitious, with the WHO describing an end-of-year goal of around 30 percent as more "realistic".

Concern over regional conflict

There are several internal crises the AU has done little to resolve.

The organisation's Peace and Security Council has failed to address the conflict between government forces and anglophone separatists in Cameroon, for example, to say nothing of rising Islamist militancy in Mozambique.

The conflict in AU host nation Ethiopia, pitting Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government against the former ruling party of the northern Tigray region, has proved especially sensitive.

(With AFP)
Two Connecticut charitable organizations will receive large pizza donations Tuesday, as part of a nationwide initiative on National Pizza Day.

Proof Pizza Truck, based in Bridgeport, and E&D Pizza Company of Avon will be part of a simultaneous donation effort with the Pizza Across America campaign on Feb. 9. Pizzerias across the country will join the World Pizza Champions, a group of pizza industry leaders, in supporting their neighbors in need.

Participating businesses are encouraged to donate at least 10 large pizzas to local food banks, shelters, or care centers of their choice.

Proof owners Lenny and Jennifer DeGirolomo said theyre excited to participate in the large-scale campaign. Their pizza will go to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, which provides food, shelter, clothing, and other assistance programs for the homeless.

Were just trying to do our part. If a slice of our pizza can put a smile on somebodys face and be able to provide them with a meal, thats what its all about, being there for each other, Lenny said.

Proof, which launched in 2017, began selling its wood-fired pies at farmers markets and now services private parties, corporate events, weddings, and other gatherings. In recent weeks, the truck has parked regularly at Veracious Brewing Company in Monroe, and offered Home Slice pizza kits for pickup and delivery.

Michael Androw, owner of E&D Pizza Company in Avon, said hes planning to double the amount, bringing 20 pizzas to House of Bread in Hartford. The organization offers food, housing, shelter, education, medical, psychological, and legal services to people in need in the greater Hartford community.

Androw, who opened his pizzeria in 2014, said he didnt hesitate to get involved with the project, even as the restaurant industry has had its own struggles with the impact of COVID-19.

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say we take [luxuries] for granted, Androw said.

The Pizza Across America campaign is organized by Slice Out Hunger, a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization that produces pizza-related events and campaigns to support American hunger relief and prevention measures. The organization has raised over $1,000,000 to fund hunger relief efforts in the U.S. since 2009, according to a statement.

Learn more about Proof at proofpizzatruck.com and E&D at eanddpizzacompany.com.
Good morning, North State. Here's what you need to know to start your day on Feb. 5.

US virus deaths surpass 450K; daily toll is stubbornly high

Coronavirus-related deaths across the United States have now passed 450,000. Despite falling infections and the arrival of multiple vaccines, daily deaths remain high  at more than 3,000 a day. However, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, new covid-19 deaths could begin falling - as early as next week.

Surprise tax forms reveal extent of unemployment fraud in US

State lawmakers are demanding reform to the employment department. Efforts to secure the unemployment system against fraud. Reform proposals include: cross-check against incarceration records, expanding educational resources to non-English speakers, and requiring future benefit vendors to add chip security technology on issued debit cards.

US economy adds 49,000 jobs in January  a grim sign for the jobs recovery

The Department of Labor released its first monthly job report for 2021. It details the unemployment rate, including the number of jobs added or lost last month. The US economy added only 49,000 jobs in January, signaling the labor recovery remains sluggish. At least 10.7 million American workers are currently unemployed, which is more than five million above pre-pandemic levels.

Biden and top Democrats split on how to cancel student debt

There is a push for student loan forgiveness on Capitol Hill. A group of Democratic lawmakers held a news conference Thursday to introduce their resolution. It askes the president to forgive $50,000 of federal student loan debt for all qualified borrowers. Experts say such executive action would cancel all debt for 80% of federal loan borrowers.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Amid the Opposition's continuous attack on the government in Parliament over the farmers protests, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar on Friday said that as per the Centre's three new farm laws,the farmers can terminate their contract at any time and can withdraw from their agreement without any penalty.

Earlier in the day, Congress member in the Rajya Sabha from Haryana Deepender Hooda lashed out at the Centre for the serious situation arising out of the farmers' movement.

Tomar said that contract farming in Punjab has provisions that may land a farmer in jail with a fine of upto Rs 5 lakh, whereas the central government's new farm legislation gives complete liberty to a farmer.

The Minister said that there are about 20-22 states who have incorporated such provisions in contract farming.

"We brought Trade Act, a provision was made that areas outside APMC will be trade area, can be a farmer's home also. It will not attract any tax. Within APMC, States levy tax. The Centre's act abolishes the tax outside APMC and State forces you to pay tax.

"Farmers are being misled that the new legislations will take away their land. There is not a single provision in the contract farming law that says this."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The San Jacinto River Authority has been awarded nearly $1.4 million in grant funds to use for three studies focused on flood prevention in The Woodlands, Montgomery County and other areas of the region to the southeast.

The money will be used to examine three issues: sedimentation activity and flow from the northern portions of the Lake Houston Watershed; the feasibility of a possible detention dams being built in 15-20 years on two different feeder creeks in Waller County; and a joint reservoir operations study for both Lake Houston and Lake Conroe.

On HoustonChronicle.com: SJRA to learn fate of four regional flood relief projects next month

Matt Barrett, the manager of the Flood Management Division of the SJRA, said the studies are part of what could be a several decade project to possibly build detention dams on Walnut Creek and Birch Creek in Waller County. Those two creeks are part of the wider Spring Creek Watershed area and have been identified as possible solutions to down-river flooding issues.

Harris County Flood Control District just is wrapping up a large, region-wide flood study that looked at options across the entire San Jacinto River Basin, which is the Lake Houston Watershed. One of the specific components of that was a siting study for reservoirs in the Spring Creek watershed. There were three different sites looked at, two were recommended for further analysis, Barrett said of the detention dam. The goal of those projects, if constructed, is to reduce flooding along Spring Creek. What were looking to do is take the next step, to dig down deeper, look at potential environmental issues, better funding options, do a little bit more high level design of what those dams, reservoirs may look like. We want to make sure, are these really feasible to do.

According to a release from SJRA officials, the three grants were split with $500,000 granted to both the sedimentation and detention dam studies and another $375,000 for the joint Lake Houston-Lake Conroe operations probe. There is a need for matching funds partners, and Barrett said SJRA officials had worked to secure relationships with various MUDs and flooding prevention entities across the region.

The actual cost of the sedimentation and detention dam and reservoir studies is $1 million and the joint operations study is $750,000. Heather Ramsey Cook, a spokesperson for the SJRA, also said the studies would be done in collaboration with other funding partners such as the city of Humble, the Harris County Flood Control District, the Harris-Montgomery Counties Municipal Utility District 386, as well as Montgomery County MUDs No. 7, No. 46, No. 60, and The Woodlands MUD No. 1.

SJRA does not have a dedicated source of funding for flood management, Barrett said. We really rely on grant money from the federal government and local partners.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Lake Conroe dams releases cause flood of lawsuits

Barrett said all three projects affect the entire region as water flows south from large watersheds to the north and west. Sedimentation build up is a top concern, he noted, as is local entities working together on water operations.

The goal (of) the upper San Jacinto Watershed sedimentation study is to identify and determine where sediment that gets in the river is coming from and where it deposits and coming up with some best solutions and practices to mitigate the amount of sediment coming down the river, he explained. The (joint operations study) is due to the city of Houston looking at installing additional (water release) gates down there. The idea is to look at the two lakes, and sure we have the best, most efficient plan to operate the lakes. It is making sure once these gates are on Lake Houston, the operations protocols are synced up with what we do here on Lake Conroe.

According to a December Houston Chronicle article, a total of four projects were named as priorities for the 2020 Flood Infrastructure Fund cycle in September by the Texas Water Development Board. The FIF provides loans and grants to entities for flood relief projects. Most of these projects could take place at the same time if approved but would be long term projects spanning out over several years.

The projects included the Upper San Jacinto River Basin Regional Sedimentation Study, the Spring Creek Watershed Flood Control Dams Conceptual Engineering Feasibility Study and the Lake Conroe - Lake Houston Joint Reservoir Operations Study in addition to the Flood Early Warning System for San Jacinto County. All four secured grant funding.

Detention dam

The idea of a detention dam and reservoir of some kind along the greater Spring Creek watershed has been on the minds of local officials for several years in the aftermath of a series of flooding and storm water incidents since 2015.

On HoustonChronicle.com: The Woodlands plans to expand scope of flood task force

Bruce Rieser, the township director who is chairman of the One Water Task Force, has long advocated for studies to see if a detention dam and reservoir could be constructed in the future. During the Jan. 27 meeting of the township Board of Directors, he said action on flood prevention is needed immediately due to changes in how a 500-year flood event is defined by federal agencies.

Rieser also said the possibility of building a detention dam in Waller County is a positive development in regard to preventing water flowing downstream and impacting the Houston region and The Woodlands.

Based on the Atlas-14 rain data, current 500-year flood line is actually considered the new 100-year (flood) line, Rieser said. This is an issue that will be closely watched.

The urgency for the project is also because most water projects can take 15 to 20 years or more to come online after the projects begin. Years of research, land acquisition, legal wrangling and then bidding and construction is required, Barrett said.

It is not anything that would be built in the near term. You are probably looking at 10 to 20 years to build, Barrett added. It is not a short-term project.

Jim Stinson, the general manager of The Woodlands Water Agency, said he and other officials from several municipal utility districts were supportive of the studies and would assist in any manner needed. Woodlands Water, formerly called The Woodlands Joint Powers Agency, oversees and manages the 10 MUDs in The Woodlands.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Woodlands residents complain about SJRA waste water plant odors

Four of our MUDs  MUDs 1, 7, 46 and 60  have offered letters of support with financial assistance on the continuation of Spring Creek storm water detention and channel improvement study, Stinson said in an email.

The issue of downstream flooding has risen importance since a series of high-water storm events hit the region in May, 2015 and 2016, prompting the SJRA and others to embark on various studies of flooding issues. The next few years saw flooding in April and May of 2016, Hurricane Harvey in September 2017 and Tropical Storm Imelda in September 2019.

In a release about the grants, Barrett stated partnerships had already been secured.

SJRA has secured partnerships with numerous entities for the 50 percent local match required by the grants, he stated in the release. Additionally, SJRA will contribute in-kind project and grant management services and other support efforts to the studies. Any proposed large-scale flood mitigation projects that may come from these studies will require additional federal, state, or local funding sources.

jeff.forward@chron.com
If vaccine supplies will be confirmed, seven million Italians could be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the March, the governments special commissioner Domenico Arcuri said on Friday.

Arcuri said the first 249,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in Italy on Saturday and will be administered from next week, to people up to the age of 55.

Pfizer and Moderna doses will be administered in parallel, to those over 80 and most exposed to risks, such as health workers.

Short link:


Wameja Ltd - Australian software company - Agrees with Mastercard Inc to extend the terms of their scheme implementation agreement. This accommodates a revision to the indicative transaction timetable for the scheme or arrangement after Seamless Distribution Systems AB, which purchased Wameja's core business in July 2019, gave notice of a potential claim under indemnity given by Wameja to Seamless concerning "licences for certain third party intellectual property utilised by Botswana Telecommunications Corp Ltd" as users of eServGlobal's 'Paymobile' platform. Seamless later notified of potential further claims under the indemnity regarding third party intellectual property use in Paymobile.

"The audit of the third party intellectual property embedded in the Paymobile platform utilised by BTC, as announced on 3 December 2020, is progressing and Wameja is managing the audit. Wameja maintains its view that the potential for a legitimate material claim under the indemnity in the [scheme purchase agreement] is very low. The Wameja board remains optimistic that the Potential Indemnity Claims will be resolved," says Wameja.

Current stock price: 6.70 pence

Year-to-date change: up 9.8%

By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Aadhaar will be accepted as birth proof from online subscribers: EPFO

Step by step instructions on how to lock and unlock your Aadhaar biometrics online

Aadhaar-PAN Linking Deadline and Penalty Fine Details: How to check Aadhar linked with PAN

No denial of Covid vaccine, treatment, essential services for want of Aadhaar: UIDAI

Aadhaar not mandatory for registration on Co-Win portal

India

pti-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 05: Aadhaar is not mandatory for registration on Co-WIN portal, Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey informed Lok Sabha on Friday.

Providing details about the Co-WIN portal, he said it has been developed by the Ministry of Health, government of India with the support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India Office.

On whether Aadhaar is mandatory for registering on the Co-WIN application, Choubey, in a written reply, said, "No, Aadhaar is not mandatory for registration on Co-WIN portal."

He further said that Rs 58.90 lakh has been incurred on Co-WIN, as on February 1 this year.

SC rejects review of its verdict upholding Aadhaar scheme

On whether any privacy impact assessments were carried out to develop the application, Choubey said, "Yes, privacy impact assessments were carried out for Co-WIN portal. For data safety, data is encrypted using a highly secure key, no unauthorised access to database on AWS server is allowed and restricted access to relational database service (to decrease the risk of malicious activities)."

The Co-WIN application follows the privacy policy as stated in the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), he added.
Oswego, N.Y.  Attorneys for candidates in New Yorks 22nd Congressional District race filed arguments to a judge Thursday about why he should or should not send Republican Claudia Tenney to Congress while an appeal is pending that could give her opponent the victory.

Democrat Anthony Brindisis attorneys are hoping Tenney will not set foot in Congress until an appellate court rules. Their motion to prevent Tenney being named the winner, filed last week, was the latest delay in the only undecided Congressional race in the country, three months after Election Day.

Tenney is currently ahead by 122 votes over Brindisi of more than 316,000 cast for the two candidates.

Brindisis attorneys last week asked State Supreme Court Justice Scott DelConte to temporarily halt the certification of the race for Tenney. DelConte agreed, saying he wanted to consider arguments from both sides as to whether allowing the race to be certified, and therefore Tenney to be seated in Congress, would cause irreparable harm if an appellate court ultimately determined Brindisi was the winner.

In briefs filed Thursday, both candidates weighed in. They will make oral arguments tomorrow morning. DelConte has not yet said when hell rule.

Brindisis attorneys argued that the moment Tenney is seated in Congress, the appeal stops in its tracts under what they called the mootness doctrine. State courts have no jurisdiction to remove a member of Congress, they argued. Only Congress itself can determine whether to remove a member.

As a result, the appellate court could determine that Brindisis appeal is moot and not worth continuing, denying him his right to an appeal and potentially leaving Tenney in place even if Brindisi should have won the race.

Although respondent Brindisi agrees that this case must be resolved expeditiously, the public interest weighs strongly in favor of certifying the correct winner of this election, they write.

Tenney, however, argued that she won the election and has every right to be seated in Congress as soon as possible. Her 122-vote lead comes after several reviews and a long and arduous process, which has left the 22nd Congressional District without a representative for nearly a month.

If the state elections board certifies Tenney as the victor, it can later amend or revoke the certification if officials determine theyve done so in error, her attorneys argue. They cited a 2013 case where exactly that occurred, when George Amedore (R-Rotterdam) was seated in the New York State Senate but was replaced by opponent Cecilia Tkaczyck.

That was a state case, however, and Brindisis attorneys argue that it does not apply to Congress. But Tenneys attorneys suggest Congress could unseat Tenney if Brindisi ends up winning the appeal at the state level:

No legislative body has ever refused to accept a late or amended certificate of election to our knowledge, they write.

That said, Tenneys attorneys do not think Brindisi will win his appeal. His attorneys so far have not drafted it, but theyve suggested it will be, at least in part, in response to several recent rulings affecting big batches of votes that Brindisi wanted counted.

Brindisis team last month asked an appellate judge to briefly halt the review of more than 1,000 ballots in Oneida County, though a judge rejected that effort. Tenney picked up an additional 93 votes from that review.

Tenneys attorneys argue that Brindisi will not win his appeal, and Tenney should accept her rightful place in Congress during this period where important decisions are being made in the nations capital affecting their lives.

Brindisis team also asked DelConte to halt Tenneys certification because of what they say is a small discrepancy between a batch of hand-counted votes and machine-counted votes in Oneida County that, if extrapolated to the whole county, could have affected 800 votes.

As a result of the discrepancy, Brindisis team asked for a manual audit of ballots. DelConte last week rejected that request.

If Tenney is certified as the winner, Brindisi could still ultimately become a Congressman in another long and drawn-out process. Once Tenney is certified, Brindisi will have 30 days to submit a notice that he intends to contest the ruling to Congress on the grounds that the election was fraudulent or irregular.

Tenney would then have another 30 days to defend herself, and Brindisi would have 10 days after that to respond.

From there, the Committee on House Administration could investigate and issue a recommendation to replace or keep Tenney to the full House of Representatives. The House would then vote, by a simple majority, on whether to accept the committees findings.

Peter Whippy, a spokesman for the House committee, said he couldnt think of another case like New Yorks, in which a race was certified while an appeal was pending.

Contact reporter Patrick Lohmann at PLohmann@Syracuse.com or (315)766-6670, and follow more #NY22 updates on Twitter: @PatLohmann.

More on the NY 22nd race:

Amid errors and delays, a lesson from New York 22nd race: How not to run an election

Judge delays NY 22nd race another week after last-minute Brindisi effort

In NY 22nd, judges suggests there are no great options to fix Oneida County mistake

Whats next in Brindisi-Tenney House race? Appeals, recount, could delay decision for months

700 votes were tossed in Oneida County. Officials ignored state law in latest mess up

Oneida County botched 2,400 voter signups, preventing their votes in Brindisi-Tenney race

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Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Nairobi  Kenya recorded 180 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday raising the country's caseload to 101, 339.

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the new infections were identified from 4, 580 samples which were tested.

Nairobi County produced the majority of the new infections after posting 99 cases followed by Kiambu which had 33 cases.

Kenya has so far conducted 1, 200, 302 tests since the onset of the pandemic in the country in March, 2020.

Kagwe added that 53 patients who were under the home-based care programme have been cleared of the virus while 30 were discharged from various hospitals raising the country's total number of recoveries to 84, 143.

Four more patients succumbed to the disease raising the total number of virus-related fatalities in the country to 1, 773.

The government is targeting to vaccinate 16 million people by end of the year to suppress the virus with vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Johnson and Johnson.

Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr. Mercy Mwangangi last week said the government hopes to start receiving the vaccines from February for the first phase to start until June.

Even after President Uhuru Kenyatta extended several containment measures, including a ban on political gatherings and a night curfew that starts at 10pm to 4am until March, he is among leaders who continue to flout rules restricting large gatherings with meetings convened by the Head of State often falling short of health ministry guidelines.
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Two days after a similar attack in Abia State, some hoodlums on Thursday attacked the police divisional headquarters in Isu, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigerias South-east.

A part of the station was razed down and four patrol vehicles burnt down during the attack, according to a statement from the police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Loveth Odah.

One policeman sustained machete cut injuries during the attack and he is responding to treatment in the hospital, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Ms Odah, a deputy superintendent of police, as saying.

She said the attack occurred at about 3:25 a.m. and that the hoodlums are suspected to be members of IPOB.

The attack in Abia, which happened around 3 a.m. on Monday, was at Umuoba Police Station in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area.

The police spokesperson in the state, Geoffrey Ogbonna, said the hoodlums razed down the station and its operational vehicles.

In the course of that attack, one inspector lost his life, another policewoman was seriously injured.

The hoodlums then broke into the armoury and stole some arms, including the gun of the inspector who was killed.

They also burnt down the station and the vehicles parked in the premises, including one of our serviceable patrol vans, he said.

Abia State is also in Nigerias South-east.

It is unclear, for now, if there is any connection between the attacks on the two stations.

Nigerian soldiers recently carried out a military operation in a community in Imo State, still in Nigerias South-east, recently after a reported clash with the Eastern Security Network, a security arm of IPOB.

Several states in Nigeria have been grappling with a variety of security challenges, including kidnapping, armed robbery, as well as inter-communal feuds and attacks by criminal herders.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Across medical and social sciences, the reasons men choose to have children and their understanding of fertility awareness have been seriously understudied. Maja Bodin wants to address the issue in her research paper, "A wonderful experience or a frightening commitment? An exploration of men's reasons to (not) have children."

Her findings were part of a wider study into fertility awareness which included an opportunity for men to talk about fertility with a midwife.

Before the conversation, the men filled out a questionnaire aimed at capturing the social demographics of the group. However, it concluded with two open-ended questions: why you would want to have children, and why would you not want to have children?

"Most studies just assume that people want children, and if asked whether you do or do not, it's just a 'yes' or 'no' or 'maybe' answer. They stop there, they do not ask why.

"There are studies showing that many people just go with the flow, especially men. They haven't really thought so much about why they want children. But I am questioning whether this is true, I think that they just never got the question," said Bodin.

The results of these two questions were analyzed and resulted in five categories: images of being a dad, passing something on, personal development and self-image, the potential relationship with the co-parent, and practical circumstances and prerequisites.

Some men had a vision about parenthood and family life and looked forward to the experience. They longed for children and thought it would be joyful and that having children is the meaning of life; they described children as cute, funny, nice.

On the other hand, some men didn't particularly like children and thought they were annoying or difficult to handle. They also felt they were not up for the task or did not see themselves as the 'daddy type."

"One of the most common reasons to want children was to pass something on to the next generation, either genes or social heritage, traditions and valuesthey wanted to see a small version of themselves.

"Others did not want to pass on their genes because they had some disease, or referred to over population, climate change and the future looking bleak. Some thought it would lead to personal development: that they would learn, and the experience would enrich their lives. Others had the opposite view that it would mean they could not do what they wanted."

Bodin collected the data at sexual health clinics in Uppsala and Stockholm. The mean age of participants was 28 years; 72 percent wanted to have children with one-fifth wanting a child within two years.

Bodin was surprised that these questions, which were just a very small part of a bigger study, contained a lot of information and variety in the answers. Although most men wanted children, many of them also gave reasons why they would not want children.

"It shows there are a lot of people who think about pros and cons, and that reproductive decision-making is not as straight forward as it may seem," added Bodin.

Explore further Study shows children who self-identify as sexual or gender minority more likely to be obese than peers

More information: A wonderful experience or a frightening commitment? An exploration of men's reasons to (not) have children. A wonderful experience or a frightening commitment? An exploration of men's reasons to (not) have children. mau.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2 %3A1401585&dswid=-2495

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Using AI and computer automation, Technion researchers have developed a 'conjecture generator' that creates mathematical conjectures, which are considered to be the starting point for developing mathematical theorems. They have already used it to generate a number of previously unknown formulas. The study, which was published in the journal Nature, was carried out by undergraduates from different faculties under the tutelage of Assistant Professor Ido Kaminer of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Technion.

The project deals with one of the most fundamental elements of mathematicsmathematical constants. A mathematical constant is a number with a fixed value that emerges naturally from different mathematical calculations and mathematical structures in different fields. Many mathematical constants are of great importance in mathematics, but also in disciplines that are external to mathematics, including biology, physics, and ecology. The golden ratio and Euler's number are examples of such fundamental constants. Perhaps the most famous constant is pi, which was studied in ancient times in the context of the circumference of a circle. Today, pi appears in numerous formulas in all branches of science, with many math aficionados competing over who can recall more digits after the decimal point: 3.14159 265358 979323846 26433832795028 841971693 9937510582 0974944592 30781640628620 89986280348 253421170 67982148 0865132823 0664709384 4609550582231725 3594081284 811174502841027019385211 05559644622 9489549303820...

The Technion researchers proposed and examined a new idea: The use of computer algorithms to automatically generate mathematical conjectures that appear in the form of formulas for mathematical constants.

A conjecture is a mathematical conclusion or proposition that has not been proved; once the conjecture is proved, it becomes a theorem. Discovery of a mathematical conjecture on fundamental constants is relatively rare, and its source often lies in mathematical genius and exceptional human intuition. Newton, Riemann, Goldbach, Gauss, Euler, and Ramanujan are examples of such genius, and the new approach presented in the paper is named after Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Ramanujan, an Indian mathematician born in 1887, grew up in a poor family, yet managed to arrive in Cambridge at the age of 26 at the initiative of British mathematicians Godfrey Hardy and John Littlewood. Within a few years he fell ill and returned to India, where he died at the age of 32. During his brief life he accomplished great achievements in the world of mathematics. One of Ramanujan's rare capabilities was the intuitive formulation of unproven mathematical formulas. The Technion research team therefore decided to name their algorithm "the Ramanujan Machine," as it generates conjectures without proving them, by "imitating" intuition using AI and considerable computer automation.

According to Prof. Kaminer, "Our results are impressive because the computer doesn't care if proving the formula is easy or difficult, and doesn't base the new results on any prior mathematical knowledge, but only on the numbers in mathematical constants. To a large degree, our algorithms work in the same way as Ramanujan himself, who presented results without proof. It's important to point out that the algorithm itself is incapable of proving the conjectures it foundat this point, the task is left to be resolved by human mathematicians."

The conjectures generated by the Technion's Ramanujan Machine have delivered new formulas for well-known mathematical constants such as pi, Euler's number (e), Apery's constant (which is related to the Riemann zeta function), and the Catalan constant. Surprisingly, the algorithms developed by the Technion researchers succeeded not only in creating known formulas for these famous constants, but in discovering several conjectures that were heretofore unknown. The researchers estimate this algorithm will be able to significantly expedite the generation of mathematical conjectures on fundamental constants and help to identify new relationships between these constants.

As mentioned, until now, these conjectures were based on rare genius. This is why in hundreds of years of research, only a few dozens of formulas were found. It took the Technion's Ramanujan Machine just a few hours to discover all the formulas for pi discovered by Gauss, the "Prince of Mathematics," during a lifetime of work, along with dozens of new formulas that were unknown to Gauss.

According to the researchers, "Similar ideas can in the future lead to the development of mathematical conjectures in all areas of mathematics, and in this way provide a meaningful tool for mathematical research."

The research team has launched a website, RamanujanMachine.com, which is intended to inspire the public to be more involved in the advancement of mathematical research by providing algorithmic tools that will be available to mathematicians and the public at large. Even before the article was published, hundreds of students, experts, and amateur mathematicians had signed up to the website.

The research study started out as an undergraduate project in the Rothschild Scholars Technion Program for Excellence with the participation of Gal Raayoni and George Pisha, and continued as part of the research projects conducted in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical Engineering with the participation of Shahar Gottlieb, Yoav Harris, and Doron Haviv. This is also where the most significant breakthrough was madeby an algorithm developed by Shahar Gottliebwhich led to the article's publication in Nature. Prof. Kaminer adds that the most interesting mathematical discovery made by the Ramanujan Machine's algorithms to date relates to a new algebraic structure concealed within a Catalan constant.

The structure was discovered by high school student Yahel Manor, who participated in the project as part of the Alpha Program for science-oriented youth. Prof. Kaminer added that, "Industry colleagues Uri Mendlovic and Yaron Hadad also participated in the study, and contributed greatly to the mathematical and algorithmic concepts that form the foundation for the Ramanujan Machine. It is important to emphasize that the entire project was executed on a voluntary basis, received no funding, and participants joined the team out of pure scientific curiosity."

Explore further Ramanujan machine automatically generates conjectures for fundamental constants

More information: Gal Raayoni et al. Generating conjectures on fundamental constants with the Ramanujan Machine, Nature (2021). Journal information: Nature Gal Raayoni et al. Generating conjectures on fundamental constants with the Ramanujan Machine,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03229-4
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Burma UN Security Council Expresses Deep Concern at Myanmar Coup, Calls for Release of Detainees

Military trucks and armored personnel carriers are seen in Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, on Feb. 3. / The Irrawaddy

In a rare consensus on Myanmar, the United Nations Security Council on Thursday called for the Myanmar military regime to release detainees, including State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint, who were arrested during the militarys pre-dawn takeover of power on Monday. The move came as two UNSC members, China and Russia, both of which have good relationships with the Myanmar military, finally agreed to the statement.

The UNSC members also expressed deep concern at the Myanmar militarys imposition of a one-year state of emergency after taking power, and at the arbitrary detention of the countrys democratically elected leaders.

Both the elected President and Myanmars de-facto leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, have been charged with offenses widely viewed as ridiculous. The President was moved from his official residence at the Presidential Palace to a home outside the compound on Friday.

The statement from the UN Security Council reads: The members of the Security Council emphasized the need for the continued support of the democratic transition in Myanmar. They stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. They encouraged the pursuance of dialogue and reconciliation in accordance with the will and interests of the people of Myanmar.

Myanmar netizens, who are more active than ever despite the military regimes attempt to block Facebook, the countrys most popular social media platform, didnt take long to comment on the UNSC statement.

One Facebook user with knowledge of UN procedures said the UN seldom makes such comments, while noted historian Dr. Thant Myint U tweeted that the UNSC decision represents a rare consensus on anything about Myanmar.

U Aung Myo Min, a veteran human rights advocate and the director of Equality Myanmar, echoed this view, saying, It is historic as all of the 15 UNSC members support [the statement] in unity.

A window has now opened and we have to keep working to open the main door in order to take further actions, he told The Irrawaddy.

The statement followed a closed-door meeting of the UNSC to discuss the issue on Tuesday, a day after the coup.

At the meeting, Christine Schraner Burgener, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar, urged the UNSC to unite in support of democracy in Myanmar. She said, I strongly condemn the recent steps taken by the military and urge all of you to collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy in Myanmar.

However, the UNSC avoided using the term coup, as China and Russia did not agree to condemn the coup leaders.

With a majority of Myanmars population opposed to military rule, this week world leaders including US President Joe Biden condemned the coup and vowed to help restore democracy in Myanmar. The US also warned of new sanctions.

On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the coup absolutely unacceptable, urging the international community to make sure democracy is protected in Myanmar.

And in a statement on Monday, Tom Andrews, the UNs special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, urged the international community to show resolve in denouncing the militarys actions, to take decisive actions including strong targeted sanctions, and to ensure that those responsible for the countrys past human rights violations are held accountable.

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Last week Cairo saw the launch of the Civil Committee for the Support of Relations of Nile Basin Countries. Its 40 members include academics, researchers, former diplomats and media experts, and the committee is expected to cooperate with a Khartoum-based counterpart to give a new momentum to Egyptian-Sudanese relations.

There are endless avenues for joint cooperation between Egypt and Sudan and we believe for cooperation to happen we need to consolidate relations between the peoples of the two countries, says Amany Al-Tawil, an expert on African affairs and the coordinator of the new committee.

The 23 January launch of the committee in Cairo came three months after its Sudanese counterpart was formed. According to Ali Youssef, a former Sudanese diplomat and coordinator of the Sudanese committee, the initiative was promoted by a group of Sudanese intellectuals and diplomats who have family relations or other forms of association with Egypt and who know that there is a need for candid dialogue to help make Egyptian-Sudanese relations really strong.

Both Al-Tawil and Youssef took part in the launch of the Egyptian committee last week in Cairo. Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, they said that they are particularly mindful of the confused images adopted in each of the two countries about the other.

During the 30-year rule of the Salvation Front in Sudan a lot of harm was done to the image of Egypt in the minds of the Sudanese people. Today, we need to work together, hand in hand, to clarify the position of Egypt vis-a-vis Sudan, Al-Tawil said.

According to Youssef, explaining Sudan to the Egyptians and Egypt to the Sudanese via media and academic channels is a top priority for the two committees.

I think that to be effective we need to keep an eye on the simple fact that there are issues on which the two countries agree and issues on which they disagree. We dont need to deny our differences, what we need to do is to discuss them at the level of civil society, said Youssef.

Candid debate is always a healthy exercise, even when it comes to issues like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam [GERD] on which Sudan, unlike Egypt, favours a more active role for the African Union.

During the past five years of on-off talks on GERD, Egypt and Sudan have seldom seen eye-to-eye on how to manage the talks, and much less on what to get out of them.

Youssef thinks it is wrong to overlook areas of disagreement between the two countries, even when they include thorny issues, such as border disputes and water management.

Our role is to help the two countries reach answers. If we look the other way the problems dont just resolve themselves. We have to have the will to work out differences, he argued.

According to Al-Tawil, the meetings the two committees are planning to hold will allow all issues of agreement and disagreement to be addressed, with an eye on creating room for cooperation to serve the best interest of the peoples of both the Nile Basin countries.

Egypt and Sudan have ample room for economic, cultural and political cooperation and the role of the two committees is to assert and expand such opportunities, Al-Tawil said.

Mohamed Badreddin, a former Egyptian diplomat and a member of the committee, said that at a time when Cairo and Khartoum seem to be looking to reset their relationship, a coordinated civil society initiative could help push the official agenda.

According to Badreddin, public diplomacy is particularly useful when it operates on a parallel track to the one pursued by governments. So while we are not working on behalf of the government, we have an eye on the positions of our governments, he said.

Mohamed Ilyass, Sudans ambassador to Egypt, says that while the Egyptian and Sudanese governments will continue to work together within the framework of official relations the initiative could be very helpful in providing momentum to upgrade these relations and the ample opportunities they offer.

Egyptian-Sudanese relations have gone through ups and downs during the past three decades. One of the lowest points was in 1995 when Egypt accused Sudan of involvement in an attempt to assassinate then president Hosni Mubarak during a visit to Addis Ababa to head the Egyptian delegation to the African Union summit. In 2019, Sudanese political forces that led the revolution to remove Oamr Al-Bashir accused Cairo of siding with Sudans reviled dictator.

The dispute over the methodology of GERD negotiations is not the only point of contention between Cairo and Khartoum. Among the host of other issues dividing the two capitals is the future of Halayeb and Shalatin, a disputed territory between the two countries. Nor has Egypt made a secret of its concerns over fast-tracked Sudanese-Israeli normalisation at a time when Israel is shrugging off basic Palestinian rights.

Badreddin agrees that there are no easy answers to any of these questions. Our mission is not an easy one, that much we know, he says.

Hussein Bahgat, the director of the Centre for Development and Media Support and a member of the Egyptian committee, believes a crucial part of the committees work is to create solid and sustainable channels of communication between media outlets and research centres in the two countries.

According to Al-Tawil and Youssef, the committees are currently compiling a joint list of objectives on which they will work in parallel.

We are going to cover all fronts, but our first step is to remove any misunderstandings about Sudans position towards Egypt and Egypts position on Sudan, said Youssef.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 February , 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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DENVER  The Colorado Judicial Department has said that allegations of a $2.5 million contract given to a former department employee to prevent her from filing a sexual discrimination lawsuit are untrue.

Former State Court Administrator Chris Ryan had told The Denver Post that the contract he signed was aimed at stopping Mindy Masias from filing a lawsuit that would expose sexual misconduct she knew of during her 20-year career, the newspaper reported Friday.

Ryan had held the second-highest administrative job in the states court system.

But the Judicial Department issued a statement saying that it categorically denies that the contract for leadership training was awarded to The Leadership Practice in June 2019 due to blackmail or to keep information about the department quiet, said a memo circulated to the departments employees and judges.

The Leadership Practice is the company Masias started in Jan. 2019, shortly before her resignation from the judicial department, The Post reported. Masias did not immediately respond Friday to an email seeking comment.

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Ryan stood by his allegations when contacted by The Post on Thursday. He said that Masias was prepared to go public with allegations of misconduct by more than 20 judges and court officials.

Theyre trying to say its their word, the revered public servants, against me, the discredited public servant, Ryan said about the departments response. Theyre riding it for all its worth to evade any personal responsibility.

The department and other parties related to the allegations were contacted multiple times by The Post but did not respond to the newspapers requests for comment.
THE government has expressed the intention of banning the use and production of plastic fibers ropes as a move to protecting investors in the sisal value chain.

That was said by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, while responding to a question by Korogwe Rural MP, Timotheo Mzava (CCM) who wanted to know the government's outline and strategies in improving the cultivation of strategic crops as well as ensuring their availability in the market.

"After banning the use of plastic carrier bags, the ban will now be on the use and production of plastic fibers ropes to protect investors in the local industries and the interest of those in the value chain," said Mr Majaliwa.

Equally, he re-assured the MPs that the government is still committed in protecting and promoting investors especially those in the agriculture sector.

According to him, plans are underway to ban the production of plastic fibers to boost production of the Tanga-based factory which produces various products including sisal fibers being used to make paper, cloth, footwear, hats, bags and carpets, just to mention a few.

"Efforts are now directed on the promotion of local and foreign investments as well as the construction of processing industries, as the value addition in agricultural crops would offer farmers better prices and create jobs for Tanzanian youth," said the Premier.

Meanwhile, Mr Majaliwa tasked the Ministry of Agriculture to review the warehouse receipt system on legumes efficiency if it is to remain applicable in strategic crop production.

He said the review would help farmers of lentils and legumes which are mostly cultivated by small scale farmers so that they get their payments on time.

According to him, most small scale farmers wish to get their money within a short period instead of using the warehouse receipt system that requires farmers to deliver their crops to the Cooperative Societies.

"The warehouse receipt system should be applicable for other crops such as cotton, tobacco, tea, coffee, cashew nuts and sisal, let's excuse these small scale farmers of lentils and legumes," he said.

Expounding further, Mr Majaliwa explained the advantages of using the warehouse receipt for farmers that it makes the farmers to get better prices when selling their crops in auctions.

He said, for example, a kilo of legumes can be sold at between 900/- and 1,200/- when marketed by primary Cooperative Societies not 600/- in ordinary market.

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The system operates in a way that farmers receive part of the payments through banks directed in a system submitted by the primary cooperative societies.

The Premier's statement came in response to the question by Kwimba MP Shanif Mansoor (CCM) who wanted an explanation why small scale farmers, who should be paid cash money after selling their crops, are instead told to wait for a long time to be paid.

According to him, the directive by the Agriculture Ministry that all the crops should be sold through the warehouse receipt system does not favour small scale farmers.

Responding, the Prime Minister said selling crops through the warehouse receipt system requires a farmer to wait until the crops are sold by primary cooperative societies through auctions, an arrangement that takes some time to be concluded.

Communist Party Tightens Control on Chinese Social Media; License Now Required to Comment on Current Affairs

The Chinese Communist Party has further tightened its control over speech, information, and thought among the Chinese people, announcing limits on what can be posted on social media.

Social media platforms in recent days have issued notices to users, requiring them to obtain Internet News Information Service Licenses or otherwise be banned from commenting on politics, economics, the military, diplomacy, and other major news.

The notices explain that if a user doesnt have a license, they are advised not to compile, publish, comment on, or interpret any information on current affairs.

The notices from Sohu and Baidu clearly state that users are now required not to release such information without approval, and that the new rules prohibit the development of such content without permission or beyond the permitted scope.

Sohus notice to social media/self-media accounts owners. (Screenshot)

Sohus notice also listed penalties for violations of the new regulations.

For reposting existing information, unlicensed accounts spreading prohibited content will initially be banned for seven days. A second violation will trigger a 15-day suspension, followed by a 30-day suspension for a third violation.

A fourth violation will result in the account being permanently disabled.

The penalties are harsher for those sharing original posts. Unlicensed accounts directly posting information in violation of the rules will be permanently banned once discovered, the notice said.

Commentators who arent affiliated with a state-approved media company have said its almost impossible for them to be granted a license, given the long list of unrealistic requirements demanded by WeChat, Sohu, and Baidu on behalf of the authorities.

The criteria, according to the owner of the NetEase account Tianma Xingwen, will make personal accounts ineligible for a license.

As a researcher and columnist on international relations, it seems that from now on, I can only talk about eating, drinking, and having fun on social media, Ma Xiaolin, a veteran reporter who covered the Iraq war, said on Weibo on Jan. 30.

The new regulations will mean that the future of Chinese social media will belong to only a very small number of people, they said.

The CCPs Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) is behind the push for the new social media restrictions. The internet regulation and control agency announced during its national meeting on Jan. 29 that it would focus its resources on prominent problems that disrupt the peace and order of internet communications, including viral topics and videos.

Major internet service providers that own social media platforms, such as Tencent and Sina Weibo, attended the meeting.

Zhuang Rongwen, vice minister of the CCPs propaganda department and director of the CAC, said at the meeting that its necessary to maintain the correct political orientation, public opinion orientation, and value orientation across all internet platforms, no matter what they are.

The CAC said in a Jan. 31 notice that with the licenses, its now focused on rectifying the situation where the public has had access to unregulated online commentators.

The agency also said that licensed media personalities will still need to follow a review before posting policy, implying that they wont be able to discuss politically sensitive views about current affairs, including during livestreams.

Ling Yun contributed to this report.

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US President demanded on Thursday that the Myanmarese military relinquish the power it has seized in a

In a military coup, the Myanmarese armed forces have seized power and arrested its elected civilian leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi. The whereabouts of her are still not clear.

"The Burmese military should relinquish power they have seized, release the advocates and activists and officials they have detained, lift the restrictions on telecommunications and refrain from violence," Biden said in his remarks at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.

"As I said earlier this week, we will work with our partners to support restoration of democracy and the rule of law and impose consequences on those responsible," he added.

Biden said in the last few days, his administration has been in close cooperation with allies and partners to bring together the community to address the military in

"I have also been in touch with (Republican) Leader (Mitch) McConnell to discuss our shared concerns about the situation in Burma and we are united in our resolve. There can be no doubt in a democracy, force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election," he said.

According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, there is genuine bipartisan agreement on "We believe we can work with Congress on a package of sanctions to impose consequences in -- in response to this We will also be working with allies and partners around the world," he said.

A day earlier, a senior State Department official told reporters that they have been talking to India and Japan in the region on the issue of

Among others, the US is reviewing the possibility of a new executive order and also looking at specific targeted sanctions both on individuals and on entities that enrich the military.

"So we believe we have plenty of space to be able to find the types of sanctions targets necessary to sharpen the choice for the Burmese military," Sullivan said.

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi called for sanctions on Myanmar. "I myself have been a supporter of sanctions of Burma at the time, going way back, I still call it Burma as a matter of fact," she said.

McConnell has also called for sanctions against Myanmar. "We already have sanctions in place against key military officials. And Congress has already given the executive branch the authorities it needs to swiftly apply even more sanctions to the military and its infiltration into Burma's economy," he said.

"But we will also need the help of our friends and allies to effectively pressure the junta. It is time for freedom-loving nations to stand up for democracy and impose their own meaningful costs on the military junta," he said.

McConnell slammed the Chinese Communist Party's state news organ dismissively calling the events in Myanmar a "major cabinet reshuffle".

"That is a joke and the free world knows it. This is a military coup and an attack on democracy, plain and simple.

"There are two paths before Burma. It can continue to grow into a modern, democratic country, connected to the global economy...or remain a corrupt, impoverished, authoritarian backwater in the shadow of the People's Republic of China. The people of Burma have said which one they prefer," he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians

Multiple bone fragments which date back to about 120,000 years ago, or the Middle Paleolithic era, have been discovered by archaeologists at an excavation site near Ramla in central Israel. One of the bone fragments features six parallel etchings on the side, which the researchers believe is "the oldest known example of this form of messaging"in Levant and are the first evidence of prehistoric symbols used by humans.

Experts believe it held symbolic or spiritual significance'.The bones are believed to have come from an auroch or urus, an extinct species of cattle that was once common in Europe, North Africa and Asia at that time. The findings were published in the journal Quaternary International anddetermined that the markings were man-made, specifically made by right hand, using a flint tool in a single session.

It was, in fact, earlier believed that the first symbolism used by humans was during the Middle Paleolithic era and this discovery supports this theory. According to the scientific journal, the engraving is an example of symbolic activity. The researchers have hypothesized that the choice of the particular bone was related to the status of that animal in the hunting community.

According to Dr Yossi Zaidner of the Institute of Archeology, Hebrew University, the site near Ramla may have been used as a camp or meeting place by Paleolithic hunters to slaughter the animals they had caught, reports Daily Mail. He said that it is fair to say that the oldest symbolic engraving ever found on Earth has been discovered.

Dr Iris Groman-Yaroslavski from the University of Haifasaid that based on their study, they surmised that people in prehistoric times used sharp tool made from flint rock to make engravings.A 3-D imaging was used to analyze the bone fragment to view the details of the engravings, ranging in length from 38 mm to 42 mm.

Marion Prevost from the Institute of Archeology at Hebrew University said that there was a definite message and meaning behind the engravings and that they have rejected that those engravings are some sort of inadvertent doodling.
PISCATAWAY, N.J., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hearing aid innovator Signia yesterday hosted an interactive virtual event with legendary comedy group The Second City exclusively for Signia's hearing care professional customers and employees.

"Given the impact COVID-19 has had on all of our lives, we recognized the need to relax and recharge together, even if it was virtually," said Mike O'Neil, President of Signia U.S. "Our customers and employees are at the core of our success, and it's more important than ever to maintain and improve these relationships with social distancing guidelines in mind."

The engaging event began with a welcome message and short introduction from O'Neil and was followed by a variety of fast-paced, upbeat sketches and improvisation performed by The Second City. Event attendees also had the opportunity to join in on the interactive comedy experience and share suggestions via chat.

When designing the event, Signia chose The Second City due to its world-renowned reputation in the comedy space and its ability to connect with attendees of all ages. The legendary comedy group is where stars like Bill Murray, Joan Rivers, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Keegan-Michael Key and Stephen Colbert launched their comedy careers. The group launched in 1959 as a small cabaret and has grown to include theaters and training centers in Chicago, Toronto and Hollywood.

"While we can't currently be together physically, live, interactive events help foster important connections with our employees and customers. We hope the guests enjoyed the event, and we look forward to hosting more complimentary programs in the future," said O'Neil.

For more information on Signia, visit www.signiausa.com. For company logos, click here.

About Signia

Signia is one of the world's leading hearing aid brands. We aim to enhance human performance through iconic innovations that shape the prescription audio category. Since its launch in 2016, Signia has regularly brought world-first hearing solutions to the market.

In addition to highly innovative hearing aids, Signia also delivers tools and apps to increase customer interaction and engagement at all levels of hearing aid management. Signia allows hearing care professionals and hearing aid wearers not just to correct a hearing loss but to gain an edge.

Contact for journalists:

Daniel Griffin

[email protected]

Phone: +1.845.536.2200

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Press Release

5 February 2021

LONDON - More than 300 international brand leaders in the European hospitality industry were given valuable insights on how to proactively prepare for and roll-out their business recovery in 2021 and beyond when they attended the HSMAI Europe Day 2021. This included the HSMAI Revenue Optimisation Conference (ROC) Europe and Chief Officers Roundtable (COR) Day 2021 last week.

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Speakers and facilitators at the virtual event included industry chief officers, senior management, academics and economists, research and brand strategists. They focused on a range of critical next steps for revenue optimisation, marketing, sales and distribution.

Top insights and next steps for the industry included:

1. Planning for business - start now and focus on the domestic market recovery in Quarter 2 in 2021

Do plan now: It is vital that hotels do not get left behind in the marketplace. Whilst the first quarter of 2021 may be slow for business, the industry needs to be patient and resilient - so now is a critical time to market for business. Whilst timing of international travel is still uncertain, vaccination roll-outs mean that domestic bookings are set to increase in the second and third quarter of 2021. If possible, hotels should look to stay open so they are up and ready for the first spike of the recovery. This is also the chance to market to the more eco-conscious/green travellers where domestic travel is a priority.

2. Get ready for the pent-up demand of leisure bookings starting Quarter 3 of 2021

Research and predictions presented by STR at the conference revealed that, by this summer, the industry is set to see a hike in bookings. Hotels located in high-end leisure destinations are expected to do very well, so it is important they get ahead of the marketing curve to capitalise on the likely opportunities.

3. Changing work practices mean new opportunities for hotel business

Increasingly more businesses, of all sizes, are expected to work from home even after the pandemic, but on a regular basis will have the need to meet face to face for staff and client meetings as well as social gatherings - hotels should look at new ways to market and capitalise given the changing work practices.

4. Focus on anticipated demand of SME business in the Group/MICE bookings arena

Corporate bookings are set to return from Quarter 4 in 2021/the beginning of 2022. Discussions at the HSMAI Europe Day focused on how SME business will probably be the market that will recover first. This demand could be stimulated by applying dynamic, rather than fixed rates.

5. Focus on flexible rates given the climate, combined with a valid distribution strategy

Given uncertainties in the current climate, hotels need to recognise that customers need the reassurance of flexible rates and this trend is likely to pan out well into 2022. Whilst guests are still price driven, flexibility is the core issue. Applying a distribution strategy that optimises the use of your brand website, OTAs, and other distribution channels, will be key to rapid recovery.

"Hotels should consider a breadth of distribution channels (in addition to the brand website) as customers are highly educated in terms of rates and channels/metasearch platforms." - Sascha Dalig, Regional Director Central Europe, Wyndham and member of HSMAI Europe Customer & Distribution Advisory Board.

6. Stay on top of the digital transformation and data insights to maximise bookings and enhance the customer experience

Increasingly hotels' customers are more engaged online and expect simplicity and ease of use when they are searching and making a booking. Hotels need to ensure their user experience design meets the requirements - not just for customers but for their own hotel teams. It is important for hotels' sales and marketing teams to recognise the importance of gathering data insights at different points of the customer's journey to be able to offer the right personalised customer experience.

7. Be prepared to adapt and innovate loyalty programmes

The industry needs to consider how they can innovate and evolve loyalty to existing programmes. Hotels may want to consider moving from global and regional marketing to local initiatives and providing relevant propositions and experience initiatives to a focus on local. Whilst many customers can't travel as far in the current climate, they still would like the same experiences they travel for in the first place. Be aware that the loyalty members are loyal to several programmes and platforms. Personalising a guest's stay is critical to make the difference and to build loyalty and a relationship between the member and the hotel.

"The true constant is that loyalty continues to evolve in our ever-changing travel world. The first step is to understand who the new traveling groups are and how important recognising them close to home has become. Ultimately it's about being genuine, communicating constantly and being transparent with them." - Amanda Elder, Chief Commercial Officer, Kempinski Hotels.

8. Consider new KPIs to benchmark your multiple compsets

The concept of a singular KPI concept is obsolete and hotels should look at multiple KPIs including hotels, alternative accommodation, and software platforms. Hotels should consider benchmarking its property/properties with competitors, using metrics such as GOPAR, and segmentation. Sustainability metrics will be increasingly important for hotels given the rise of the eco-conscious traveller.

9. Take care of your (former) colleagues, and the junior professionals in our industry

Protecting a hotel's company's culture and associates' mental health has never been more important. In a few years, people will refer back to the pandemic and remember how a hotel brand dealt with the challenges. For example, guests may ask "Are you still in touch with those you had to lay off?" "Do you provide time for your colleagues to deal with any possible stress?" "Are you supportive to young graduates looking to enter the industry, even when you cannot provide them with current job opportunities?" The answers to these questions will prove to be crucial.

"Areyou scheduling sufficient 1:1 time with team members who you suspect are struggling more with the ongoing challenges due to personal situations or their personalities? People will rarely share serious issues on a group call. Are you striking the right balance between being positive and optimistic yet also realistic? Are you celebrating the good news and wins that probably still happen but are overshadowed by the negative that currently surrounds our industry?" - Philipp Weghmann, Executive Vice President - Europe, Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

10. The sales round table confirmed that B2B customers have great need, will and money to both travel and meet again

Vaccine and relief of restrictions will motivate business recovery. The pandemic has resulted in accelerated progress of digital meetings that certainly will affect corporate travel, but also open up different business opportunities such as companies that will only use home offices and utilise hotels as their base for employee interaction and culture-building meetings.

"We believe that people working from home could transform into bleisure customers where they travel and work from any preferred place in the world. One thing is for certain, that the need for face to face corporate meetings will always be there. We are optimistic about the future because cost savings to meet your clients digitally is nothing compared to the loss of relationships when your competitor meets your client face to face and this will drive future corporate travel." - Anant Vithlani, Vice President Sales, Nordic Choice Hotels and Chair of HSMAI Europe Sales Advisory Board.

"I was delighted to actively take part in this top of the class hospitality event. As usual, HSMAI Europe has done a great job by focusing on what Hospitality Managers really need: that is creative solutions for boosting their revenue in this period of economic crisis. It was inspiring, useful and insightful." - Frederic Toitot, Vice President, Global Learning & Development, ACCOR and Chair of the HSMAI Europe Revenue Optimisation Advisory Board.

Ingunn Hofseth, President & CEO for HSMAI Region Europe commented: "The pandemic took its toll on the hospitality industry in 2020. The industry is a resilient one but after such challenging times, HSMAI recognised the need for this year's annual event to focus on how best to market and capitalise on their business recovery in 2021 and beyond. Since the event, we have had an overwhelmingly positive response from attendees who feel even more inspired and ready to embrace the opportunities as signs of a green shoots recovery are on its way."

The HSMAI Sales Leader Forum will be hosted on Thursday 6 May. Further details to follow, see here.
HOUSTON  Two men who claimed they were covering the Capitol riot as journalists were indicted by a federal grand jury this week in connection with the attack.

A grand jury in Washington, D.C., charged Nicholas DeCarlo and Nicholas Ochs with crimes related to the insurrection, including stealing and destroying government property, physical violence in a restricted building and conspiring to obstruct a congressional vote to certify the 2020 election. The charges were contained in an indictment released by federal prosecutors this week.

The indictment noted that both men posted footage of themselves in the Capitol online after the Jan. 6 attack. In an interview last month with the Los Angeles Times, DeCarlo claimed he and Ochs were journalists, not rioters. They were affiliated with Murder the Media, a Monte Rio, California-based company that livestreamed video.

Ochs, 34, of Waikiki, founded the Hawaii chapter of the right-wing extremist Proud Boys, which on Wednesday was named as a terrorist group by Canada. He was arrested after he returned to Hawaii from Washington. He was later released.

A court record includes a social media post with DeCarlos and Ochs photo inside the Capitol.

DeCarlo, 30, of Burleson, Texas, was charged last month based in part on his posts and comments to The Times. He was arrested at his north Texas home last week and released on house arrest on the condition he not use the internet. He learned of the indictment late Wednesday from The Times.

I expected something like this, DeCarlo said of the charges, because Ive been speaking poorly of the government for some time.

In addition to his reporting, DeCarlo said he also worked trading bitcoin, online currency.

I cant do any of that now, he said. How am I supposed to make a living when my career is online?

DeCarlo and Ochs were charged with stealing U.S. Capitol Police flex cuffs and scrawling Murder the Media on the Capitols Memorial Door during the attack, according to the indictment and federal prosecutors, who cited a photograph of the pair posing in front of the graffiti. DeCarlo admitted to entering the Capitol but said he was there to report and did not break in or cause any damage.

I dont know what hooligan did that, said DeCarlo, who goes by Dick NeCarlo online.

A video the two men posted online suggested they were active participants in taking over the Capitol: Ochs says, Congress stopped the vote when we stormed the Capitol. As weve been saying all day: We came here to stop the steal.

We did it! DeCarlo replies. Thats what I came down here to do. Thats what we did.

Separately, federal agents this week arrested a member of the Seattle chapter of the Proud Boys for his alleged role in storming the Capitol.

Ethan Nordean, a self-described sergeant of arms for the Seattle Proud Boys, was charged with impeding an official government proceeding, aiding and abetting, knowingly entering restricted grounds, and violent entry.

At least 168 people have been charged so far in connection with the riot. Investigators have focused on members of several extremist groups, including the paramilitary Oath Keepers, Three Percenters, self-described Nazis and white supremacists. But many in the mob had no militant affiliations.

Unlike Nordean and Ochs, DeCarlo said he was not a member of the Proud Boys. But he said the Proud Boys had raised money for his defense as outrage grew on the right about overreach by alphabet agencies of the federal government including the FBI, which has been arresting Capitol rioters. A supporter is using selfie photos the pair snapped at the Capitol to make Free the Nicks T-shirts.

Everybody is realizing these agencies have never been there to help us. The only people they really protect are congressmen, DeCarlo said.

--

Molly Hennessy-Fiske of the Los Angeles Times wrote this story.

2021 Los Angeles Times.

Visit at latimes.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The NPP Member of Parliament for the Mion constituency of the Northern Region, Hon Musah Abdul- Aziz Ayaba has called on his constituents and by extension Ghanaians to take to all protocols aimed at preventing or stopping the incidence of the COVID-19 Pandemic seriously.



The Mion Legislator made this appeal when he embarked on a Thank You tour to some communities in his constituency.



The tour was aimed at thanking the electorates for voting for him massively and to also renew his commitment and determination to make life bearable for the people as well as bring to them the needed development in the area.



Some of the communities visited included, Bofoyili, Nsoja, Ntekito, Dagboni, Kpalmag, Kulinkpegu 1 and 2, Salinkpang among other places.



In all the communities, the durbar of Chiefs and the people were organized in honour of Hon Musah Abdul-Aziz Ayaba.



The Thank You tour also saw the handing over of the Sambu- Naalogni-Wagambo road to a contractor.

The Northern Regional Feeder Roads Director was in attendance.



It must be stated that

Hon Abdul- Aziz made history by winning the Mion seat for the NPP for the first time. It is believed that if the young legislator is supported well to develop his constituency his reelection will be easy in the next elections.



The constituents it must be added were excited about the respect, gratitude, and humility showed by the Hon MP and indicated that the Thank You tour he has embarked upon was the first of its kind since 1992.

They also promised to abide by the COVID-19 protocols to stay safe.

Source: peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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PRESIDENT John Magufuli's efforts to improve social services have won praise from lawmakers, who have said the Head of State has written history in his determination to improve people's wellbeing.

The MPs also expressed optimism that the government would maintain the speed of social services delivery in education, water, health and infrastructure in the next five years.

The MPs made the remarks separately as they were discussing the president's speech when he inaugurated the 12th Parliament. They said the president has set legacy which will not be erased.

Special Seats MP Juliana Shonza said for the past five years the government has disbursed over 2.2trl/- for 1,422 water projects that have helped to reduce water challenges to women.

She was optimistic that in the next five years the government would increase the budget for water projects to address the shortage, particularly in rural areas.

Her views echoed Zaitun Kaswai's remarks on the 512bn/- ambitious water project in Arusha. She appealed to government to also focus on drilling water wells in areas where it was hard to supply running water.

"I'm happy for the ongoing projects in health and water projects. For sure, we have got a focused leader working hard for the nation," she said.

Singida West MP Elibariki Kingu asked for government's intervention on the number of charges on meat processing factories, a move that would protect and promote more investments in Tanzania.

He said in Tanzania an investor in meat processing faces a total of 860m/- charges per year against those in Kenya and Ethiopia who pay an average of 1m/- per annum.

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Mr Kingu said the number of nuisance taxes in the livestock industry frustrates investors, who might end up shutting down their businesses.

Mr Kingu noted that the Ministers for Livestock and Fisheries (Mashimba Ndaki) Industry and Trade (Geoffrey Mwambe), as well as the one in the docket of Investment Prof Kitila Mkumbo should act promptly for the betterment of the country.

"They have to make decisions instead of keeping waiting for directives from the Head of State. You better be fired after making a decision instead of being sacked for failure to make any decision for the country," he said.

Earlier, the Kibiti MP Twaha Mpembenwe, apart from commending the government for bringing development projects in his constituency, spoke on the importance of stabilising the price of cashew nuts so that prices of the commodity from Coast, Mtwara and Lindi regions can match.

He said for a long time cashews from Coast Region have been sold at lower prices compared to those from Mtwara and Lindi regions.

"The Grade One cashew nut from Coast region is sold at 800/- per kilogramme while the price of cashews of the same quality from Mtwara is 2,700/-. I am kindly asking the government to consider it," he said suggesting for the possibility of the auctions to be done on the same day to avoid illegal price fixing.
A seven-day vaccination centre has been set up at Villa Park, in Birmingham, the home of Premier League club Aston Villa (Jacob King/PA)

Covid-19 vaccination is having an effect on cutting cases and death rates, with things looking optimistic for the summer months, an expert has said.

Modelling by University College London (UCL) researchers suggests the reproduction number (the R) for coronavirus was 0.75 on February 2, which means the epidemic is shrinking.

Professor Karl Friston said the team had produced a most likely scenario going forward, with a progressive and gradual unlocking of society as restrictions are lifted.

He said that by July the UK could have reached a place where some people will still have ongoing infections but a form of herd immunity is reached via vaccination, natural immunity and social distancing.

Technically, all herd immunity means is youve stopped exponential growth, he said, with the R number under one and no more need for lockdowns.

Prof Friston, who is the scientific director at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, added: The bottom line is that vaccination appears to be having a tangible effect on confirmed new cases and daily death rates recorded over the past few weeks.

If the vaccination programme continues to unfold at its current pace  and lockdown is eased gradually as a function of declining prevalence  we might attain herd immunity by as early as July.

This encouraging (perhaps optimistic) forecast accommodates fluctuations in viral transmissibility.

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However, there is a lot of uncertainty about transmission risk that should nuance any interpretation of these predictions.

These long-term predictions reflect a material response to the third lockdown that is clearly evident in declining incidence, hospital admissions and daily death rates.

At present, the reproduction ratio is estimated to be the lowest it has been since late April but is likely to rise gently again as restrictions are eased over the forthcoming months.

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Some scientists urged caution over the modelling, with Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, saying: At the present time it is very difficult to estimate when or even if the UKs Covid-19 vaccination programme will bring us to the herd immunity threshold.

The UCL study estimates the extent to which vaccination interrupts transmission which is one, but only one, of several unknowns about the long term impact of the vaccination programme.

Last month, Professor Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia, warned that herd immunity, where the unvaccinated are protected by others having the vaccine, cannot be achieved either through natural infection or the programme using the Pfizer/BioNTech and Astra Zeneca jabs.

He told Radio 4s Today programme that vaccines would allow a return to near-normal life for large parts of society but those who refuse a jab will not be protected in the traditional sense by herd immunity.

He said: The rolling out the vaccine is going to make a huge difference and going to enable us to relax many of the restrictions that were under at the moment and, certainly as were moving into spring when the better weather comes along, thatll considerably help.

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Whatsapp Pharmacist Asha Fowells vaccinates Barrie Reader, aged 74, with his first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, at Copes Pharmacy and Travel Clinic in Streatham, south London (Yui Mok/PA)

Prof Hunter said it was going to be pretty much impossible to reach herd immunity with the vaccines or through naturally-acquired infection.

While vaccines were very good at stopping people getting severe illness and dying and will suppress spread of infection to other people, they will not completely stop it.

There will continue to be a risk to those people who are not vaccinated, he said.

The UEA study suggests that everyone, including children, would need to be inoculated with the Pfizer jab, which it said was more effective than the Oxford/AstraZeneca one, in order for the UK to achieve herd immunity.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Friday she was glad to be booted from her House committee assignments  slinging a series of sharply partisan attacks while also conceding that she was sorry for her past conspiratorial statements.

In remarks to reporters outside the Capitol, Greene (R-Ga.) claimed she had been freed by the bipartisan vote on Thursday that stripped her of her seats on the House Budget and the House Education and Labor panels.

If I was on a committee, Id be wasting my time, because my conservative values wouldnt be heard, and neither would my districts, Greene said.

Now, I have a lot of free time on my hands, she added, which means I can talk to a whole lot more people all over this country, and I can talk to more people and make connections and build a huge amount of support.

Greene mentioned her revoked committee assignments only sparingly in her news conference, mostly swinging between commentary on her Christian faith and conservative broadsides against the media and Democrats.

Im grateful that I had the opportunity to say the things that I dont believe and I shouldnt have said in the first place, Greene said. And Im really grateful to my God, because he forgives me. And thats what being a Christian is all about.

But despite her talk of repentance, Greene remained largely defiant on Friday as she accused journalists of addicting our nation to hate and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) of faking her personal account of last months Capitol siege.

Among her other more controversial remarks on Friday, Greene said that the 11 House Republicans who voted to revoke her committee posts had committed a big betrayal, that the United States was being flooded with illegals, and that women who have abortions are left with a hole in their soul that never heals.

Greenes news conference is the latest flare-up in the weeklong controversy over the congresswoman, which erupted last Tuesday after CNNs KFile and Media Matters for America reported on some of her past social media activity indicating support for QAnon conspiracy theories and executing prominent Democrats.

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But Greenes embrace of those dangerous claims had been public knowledge well before her election to Congress last November, and POLITICO reported as early as last June on a series of Facebook videos in which she espoused racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic views.

Although House GOP leadership condemned Greenes statements at the time, national Republicans did little in the following months to halt her ascent to the House. And after Greenes congressional primary victory last August, then-President Donald Trump even praised her on Twitter as a future Republican Star.

The most recent reporting on Greenes incendiary rhetoric and bizarre beliefs, however, triggered a new wave of outrage from Democratic lawmakers and Republicans as high-ranking as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who described her loony lies and conspiracy theories as a cancer for the party.

But within the House GOP caucus, the controversy exacerbated existing disputes over the partys direction in the post-Trump era, and emerged as many conservative members called for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.)  the No. 3 House Republican who voted for Trumps impeachment  to be removed from her leadership role.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) came under particular pressure to resolve the intraparty conflict, while top House Democrats warned they would move to strip Greene of her committee assignments if McCarthy did not do so himself. Greene, who had been seated on the House Education and Labor panel, had suggested prior to her election that the Sandy Hook and Parkland school shootings were hoaxes.

McCarthy appeared to achieve a tenuous ceasefire among House Republicans on Wednesday, when he decided against booting Greene from her committees and defended Cheney ahead of a secret-ballot caucus vote that resulted in the defeat of efforts to oust her from GOP leadership.

House Democrats then proceeded to follow through on their threat to revoke Greenes committee posts on Thursday, with 11 Republicans also supporting the resolution to strip the congresswomans assignments.

In a brief floor speech before the vote, Greene acknowledged that school shootings are absolutely real and that 9/11 absolutely happened, but she stopped short of an apology for her past statements. She also compared the American media to QAnon and attacked Big Tech, cancel culture and the Black Lives Matter movement.

On Friday, in a question-and-answer session following her news conference, a reporter pressed the congresswoman on whether there was anything specific she was sorry for saying.

Oh, of course, Greene said. Im sorry for saying all those things that are wrong and offensive, and I sincerely mean that. And Im happy to say that. I think its good to say when weve done something wrong.
Kedleston Hall is a Georgian jewel a few miles north of Derby built to rival Chatsworth. Its 18th-century Palladian facade and neoclassical architecture and parkland are just as impressive and it is one of the National Trusts most popular visitor sites.

It was always the wish of its former owner Lord Curzon, a Viceroy of India and a nearly Prime Minister, that his childhood home, more a palace to showcase his exquisite collection of paintings, artefacts and furniture, should be opened up to the public.

And it was duly handed over by his heirs in 1987, 62 years after his death in 1925. By some distance he has been the most generous of benefactors to the National Trust  two of his other historic properties, Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire and Bodiam, in East Sussex, were bequeathed to the nation, along with provision for their maintenance. He also restored the Elizabethan mansion Montacute in Somerset, which the Trust also took over.

But this singular generosity was scarcely mentioned by the Trust on its Kedleston website. Instead, in what looks like yet another example of the organisations wilful misrepresenting of British history, the emphasis has not been on his munificence but raking over what it described as his racist ideology.

Kedleston Hall (pictured) is a Georgian jewel a few miles north of Derby built to rival Chatsworth. Its 18th-century Palladian facade and neoclassical architecture and parkland are just as impressive and it is one of the National Trusts most popular visitor sites

Sour, mean-spirited and wholly lacking in the benevolence which Curzon bestowed on it, the remarks reduced one of Britains great figures from the early 20th century to that of a haughty imperialist.

Barely an accomplishment was mentioned in its biographical essay without a corresponding reference to failure.

It signed off with a quotation from a contemporary who sneers of Curzon that he had never known a man less loved by his colleagues and more hated by his subordinates, never a man so bereft of consciousness or charity, or of gratitude.

So much for even-handedness  these parting words were, of course, designed to make the reader less disposed to Lord Curzons triumphs. And this, remember, was on the very website which is supposed to be cherishing the gift of his outstanding philanthropy.

To many, such a casual demolition of the reputation of a man whose achievements feature in school history lessons  the man who was responsible for devising the deeply moving Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph which endures to this day  is yet another compelling sign of how the National Trust has manifestly changed from being the revered custodian of our national treasures to a lazy and infantile body intent on airbrushing history.

As well as monstrous ingratitude, it reveals a disturbing trend in the thought-processes of a 126-year-old organisation that seems incapable of learning from history but rather is contemptuous of it.

Two of his other historic properties, Tattershall Castle (pictured) in Lincolnshire and Bodiam, in East Sussex, were bequeathed to the nation, along with provision for their maintenance

This then is the current woke agenda of a body which devoted a year-long audit to establish which of its 300-plus properties were built from the proceeds of slavery and colonialism and which cannot resist gesture politics such as dropping the word Easter from its Easter egg hunts, or forcing volunteers to wear rainbow lanyards to show support for LGBT+ rights.

And, of course, its all dressed up in Orwellian language.

Kedlestons Eastern Museum and website have, we are told on the website, been revamped after a year of listening to local communities and national thought-leaders.

As if that was not calumny enough, the website then made matters worse by delivering a string of factual errors about Curzons life.

For example he was not relegated to the backbenches in 1898  that was, in fact, the year he was appointed viceroy.

He did not convert the ground floor of Kedleston into the museum in 1927: he had been dead two years.

Nor did he make colonial expeditions to Persia, Russia and Korea before becoming viceroy. None of these places was a colony, and Curzon visited them as an independent traveller.

Further, the website said that he was asked to stand down as an MP at the 1906 election; he was not a member of Parliament at that time.

Perhaps the most egregious reference is to the Peacock Dress worn by his American-born heiress wife, Mary, for the Delhi Durbar of 1903. The essay says it was designed as a deliberate political statement expressing British colonial power.

This assertion has infuriated Curzons eminent biographer David Gilmour. There was no colonial connotation to this dress, he says. To suggest that she wore it as a deliberate embodiment of British superiority is simply wrong.

One of Curzons descendants, who asked not to be named, told us: Theres too much negative from the National Trust and not enough positive. Lord Curzon was a remarkable man and a great benefactor of the nation. He donated 14th-century Bodiam Castle in East Sussex and Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire, both of which he had helped to restore, to the National Trust on his death in 1925'

To show such sneering contempt but also ignorance to someone who was one of the greatest benefactors of the National Trust in its history reveals the bias in their argument.

It seems they are trying to present him as a Cecil Rhodes character when in fact he was a great public servant and a faithful employee of the Crown. He was the most travelled man to sit in the Cabinet and incredibly knowledgeable of foreign affairs.

Outside politics he was chairman of the trustees of the National Gallery. Of course he had his faults  he couldnt get on with people, even his own children  but to treat him like this is both unnecessary and absurd.

Last night one of Curzons descendants, who asked not to be named, told us: Theres too much negative from the National Trust and not enough positive.

Lord Curzon was a remarkable man and a great benefactor of the nation. He donated 14th-century Bodiam Castle in East Sussex and Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire, both of which he had helped to restore, to the National Trust on his death in 1925.

He always wanted Kedleston Hall to go to the National Trust and it was his nephew, the 3rd Viscount Scarsdale, who inherited Kedleston Hall, who very generously gave it to the National Trust in 1987.

Lord Curzon was remarkable in terms of saving Britains heritage. The 3rd Viscount Scarsdale was particularly delighted he was able to fulfil Lord Curzons wishes in that sense. So there are three of Lord Curzons properties which have been given to the National Trust directly or indirectly.

Yesterday the brouhaha over its appraisal of Curzon  highlighted by Spectator magazine columnist Charles Moore  forced the National Trust to take down the offending article to check its content.

But the episode has left a distinctly unpleasant taste for those such as David Gilmour, whose 1994 biography of Curzon was updated last year.

I have been a member and supporter of the National Trust for some 40 years but I feel dismayed by some of the things they do.

As a biographer of Rudyard Kipling, I was particularly aggrieved by their suggestion that his house, Batemans, was tainted by slavery.

One of the errors on the Kedleston website that particularly annoyed Gilmour was the absence of any mention of Curzons role in the Treaty of Lausanne signed with the Turks in 1923, the last outstanding matter of World War I.

It also claimed that he directed Middle Eastern policy after World War I when actually it was the Colonial Office run by Churchill.

This singular generosity was scarcely mentioned by the Trust on its Kedleston website. Instead, in what looks like yet another example of the organisations wilful misrepresenting of British history, the emphasis has not been on his munificence but raking over what it described as his racist ideology. Pictured: Viceroy Lord Curzon and Lady Curzon tiger hunting in Hyderabad in 1902

So who exactly was George Curzon and why has he become the latest target of the National Trusts relentless political correctness?

His career was certainly impressive. And it helped make him the figure who could later be so generous to the National Trust.

An MP at the tender age of 27, he was appointed Under Secretary for India just five years later. Before his 40th birthday he had secured the British empires most prized job: Viceroy of India.

He went on to be Chancellor of Oxford University in 1907, Lord Privy Seal in 1915 and Foreign Secretary in 1919.

Yet it was the speed and apparent ease of his ascent which made so many people hate him, a loathing that may have prevented him securing the highest office he craved  that of Prime Minister.

Too often he was mocked as a pompous figure of fun. Even as an undergraduate at Balliol  Boris Johnsons old Oxford college  he was the butt of a satirical verse which was to haunt him throughout his distinguished, but frustrated, political career.

My name is George Nathaniel Curzon, the ditty went, I am a most superior person, My cheek is pink, my hair is sleek, I dine at Blenheim once a week.

But there was some truth in it. He was clever and good-looking  and he knew it. But his stiff and rigid manner was in part because of the back brace that he had to wear for curvature of the spine. His childhood was miserable. The son of an austere clergyman who had unexpectedly come into the Kedleston estate, Curzon described his lineage as long but unremarkable.

He was largely raised by a brutal and domineering governess who made him parade around the local village in a dunces hat bearing the words liar, sneak, and coward. Eton then Oxford offered an escape.

So too did women. He was an accomplished womaniser at a time when being discovered with another mans wife could lead to ruin. Curzon took great risk conducting many affairs and he had as much interest in other mens wives as accumulating prizes for his scholarship. He was a member of The Souls, an infamous group of Britains social and intellectual elite.

Then in 1895 at the age of 36 he married Mary Leiter, who brought a fortune to the union. The marriage was a huge success and they would go on to have three daughters who blossomed into great society beauties  but not the son he craved.

Four years after their glamorous wedding, the couple were in India, the site of both his greatest triumph and greatest disaster. He devoted much of his energy as viceroy to conservation, restoring such wonders as the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort in Delhi.

He also helped preserve the countrys one-horned rhinoceros, a venture that is still bearing fruit today. He displayed considerable moral courage  and incurred the wrath of his compatriots  by punishing British Army regiments guilty of outrages against natives.

But he also presided over the Partition of Bengal in 1905, which led to scenes of communal violence, and he was eventually manoeuvred out of office by the ambitious Army commander General Kitchener.

Back in Britain, his despondency was deepened with the premature death of his adored wife. During his time as Chancellor of Oxford he had enjoyed a prolonged affair with the romantic novelist Elinor Glyn. She did not expect to marry him but nevertheless was shocked to read without warning of his engagement to another American heiress, Grace Duggan.

The marriage was a failure but politics still held an allure. Success as Foreign Secretary followed by a chance to succeed Bonar Law as Prime Minister in 1923. Here was an opportunity to be the first Viceroy of India to become PM.

Created a marquess two years earlier, it was not his aristocratic title but his lack of popularity, perceived arrogance and sense of entitlement that saw this glittering prize snatched from him and handed to Stanley Baldwin.

Two years later Curzon was dead of a haemorrhage, leaving an estate valued at 343,000  19 million in todays money.

Winston Churchill, who neither liked nor was liked by him, wrote magnanimously of him: The morning had been golden; the noontide had been bronze; and the evening lead. But all were solid, and each was polished till it shone after its fashion.

In 1991, the National Trust angered Curzons heirs when they removed Persian rugs and a Louis XV table because they didnt conform to Kedlestons 18th-century Robert Adam design.

But the decision to rewrite Curzons place in history now might be seen as a far greater betrayal of his heritage.

Asked about the biography of Lord Curzon on its website, a National Trust spokesman yesterday said: This biographical article is an old piece of content. We have rigorous standards for fact checking our content but occasionally we do make errors and always correct them when they are noted.

We aim to share balanced and well-researched stories of all the places in our care. We have taken down this page while we review and fact check the content.

Additional reporting: David Wilkes
Hotel systems are generally not designed to generate the kind of airflow turnover needed to minimise the risk of aerosol transmission, he says, especially in the face of the threat posed by the new, more highly infectious virus strains coming out of Britain, South Africa and Brazil. We have gone down the path of least resistance because there is great cost and inconvenience in dealing with an airborne threat Miller argues. However that is demonstrably less than the cost and inconvenience of repeated instances of quarantine breach, cross-infection and lockdown. He believes developing more quarantine facilities at greenfield sites must be on the agenda, but in the interim the stepping stone to greenfield sites is to immediately upgrade the airflow within the [existing] facilities, and the way they are administered. Sydney-based epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, who sits on a World Health Organisation advisory panel, is equally perturbed. Its not always easy to change a hotel ventilation system she says. They often cant maximise airflow change with an industrial unit thats designed for a lower rate of airflow change [than a hospital] - though older hospitals too can have ventilation problems. She says any facility being used for quarantine should have at least 10 airflow changes an hour, and would also prefer to see them located in regional areas or on the edges of CBDs.

McLaws points to Howard Springs outside Darwin, a former labour camp currently co-funded by the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory to provide up to 850 quarantine places a fortnight, as ideal. It has single-storey rooms with verandahs and open-air walkways, and proximity to top-class medical facilities. Following Fridays national cabinet meeting Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled plans to more than double Howard Springs capacity, but reiterated that hotel quarantine would remain the primary mode of dealing with returning travellers. The remote Howard Springs quarantine facility outside Darwin. Credit:Louise Radcliffe-Smith The hotel quarantine system, he declared, had been incredibly effective, processing more than 210,000 international returnees with only a handful of cases that havent been completely contained. He also left the gate open to the Toowoomba option - albeit warning there is a lot more information we are going to need - and flagged the possibility of home quarantine down the track depending on a successful vaccine rollout. Toole is not optimistic that large-scale alternatives to hotels are possible, but I think every option now needs to be examined.

Border health security is our number one priority to keep the virus out until we are vaccinated. You have to throw resources at it. Im annoyed to see in Perth that a security guard wasnt being paid enough to make a living and had to have a second job  why arent we paying these people decent salaries? Its a drop in the bucket in terms of resources. Jane Halton, one of the countrys foremost experts on quarantine who completed a report on the topic for national cabinet last year, told the Herald and The Age that the quarantine system has to continue to evolve  the pandemic is not static and neither can quarantine be. We are learning as we go, in terms of what works and what some of the risks are, so we have to take steps to mitigate those as we understand them better. Jane Halton said the quarantine system was generally working well but needed to continue to evolve. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer But she believes the hotel quarantine system is generally working well. Now chair of the global Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), Halton says a broad question remains over how to ensure best practice is well-coordinated among the states and territories. And she cautions that any facility outside a major capital needs close proximity to a major transport hub and acute-care facilities, with access to an expert workforce large enough to be rotated.

This weeks shocks have laid bare the fact that some states have been slow to shore up their defences against the virus. It has also highlighted the strikingly different policies on whether ancillary staff working in quarantine hotels should be allowed to hold down additional jobs. In NSW, for instance, the government sees no need to ban secondary employment among hotel quarantine workers. State Health Minister Brad Hazzard argues that in the real world, people including security guards and cleaners have lives. They go home to their families, they see their friends and if you tried to stop them living those lives, you wouldnt have people doing the job. He says the state has progressively adopted additional checks and balances, the most significant of which is the daily saliva test for every staff member working in hotel quarantine. National cabinet agreed on January 8 that any worker involved in quarantine should have daily COVID-19 tests. However Toole points out that while this was adopted in NSW on January 17, it didnt get implemented in WA until January 29, too late for the Perth security guards infection to be promptly picked up. Scott Morrison is sticking with hotel quarantine despite the virus leaks. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The WA government says its now working with hotel and security companies to negotiate an arrangement that prevents staff from having secondary employment. Its also testing workers for the virus daily, and requiring mask-wearing by guards in hotel corridors  which was not the case prior to this weeks reported infection in the security guard. South Australia is running five medi-hotels for returning travellers and, from Monday, its workers too will have daily saliva tests as well as a weekly nasal swab, but staff will continue to be allowed a second job outside hotel quarantine. Queensland also allows hotel staff or contractors to have multiple jobs or work across multiple sites with the same employer, justified on the basis that restricting these opportunities would have significant financial impacts. Victoria, seared by its harsh lockdown for 3 months last year triggered by breaches of security at quarantine hotels, has the toughest regime. It has set up a dedicated agency, COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria (CQV), to run the system, which directly contracts ancillary workers who are banned from holding down secondary jobs. Queensland and WA are keenest among the states to explore alternatives to quarantine in big city hotels, with WA pushing Christmas Island as one option (firmly rejected by Morrison), while the Toowoomba option holds appeal for Queensland.

But in NSW, Hazzard remains adamant that it would be impractical  indeed, downright disadvantageous  for us to be considering moving our public health hotels out of the Sydney regional area, not least because of the sheer size of the NSW quarantine workforce (3500 people daily). Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said this week he was always happy to sit down with the Prime Minister and see if there are some bespoke facilities that can be built but warned staff have lives  you can put a quarantine facility 50 kilometres from where we are standing, or 500 kilometres, but there will be people there too and the virus spreads. The fresh spotlight on hotel quarantine has renewed criticisms that the Morrison government has largely absented itself from the quarantine task. Labor has branded Morrison hands-off Harry for not picking up what it says is the Commonwealths primary constitutional responsibility for quarantine. How well-founded is that line of attack? Sydney University constitutional law expert Professor Anne Twomey writes in a forthcoming article for the Australian Law Journal that it appears that the Commonwealth Government took the view that it did not have the capacity or competence to be able to establish and run [compulsory hotel quarantine]. Instead it took the easier path of leaving it to the states to take up the financial and logistical burden of establishing an entire system from scratch within 48 hours [last March]. Twomey says while section 51 (ix) of the Constitution does vest quarantine power in the Commonwealth it is not an exclusive power, and the states public health safeguards operate alongside it. While the Commonwealth could have chosen to exclude state law under section 109, it had not done so.

In past decades, she writes, the federal government had gradually taken over quarantine stations from the states but closed them after successful immunisation campaigns, particularly against smallpox. The resulting lack of large-scale quarantine capability in capital cities [with the exception of Howard Springs] has left Australia ill-equipped to deal with a major pandemic, Twomey concludes. Melbourne University Professor Cheryl Saunders, also a constitutional expert, notes that usually the Commonwealth exercises its concurrent powers  often quite aggressively. But in this case, the federal government held back, in recognition of the fact that it doesnt have the personnel, it doesnt have the presence on the ground, it doesnt know the local scene as deeply as a state or territory government does. Last years probe into Victorias hotel quarantine failures by jurist Jennifer Coate noted there had been an opportunity for the Commonwealth to come up with a national quarantine scheme immediately after 2009, when it reviewed the countrys response to the H1N1 flu pandemic. People associated with the Australian Open line up at a testing facility at the View Hotel in Melbourne. Credit:Getty That review had recommended that the roles and responsibilities of all governments for the management of people in quarantine  during a pandemic should be clarified, with a set of nationally consistent principles to be drawn up. But that was never acted upon.

Toole and McLaws both believe the federal government should be exercising firmer leadership over how hotel quarantine is run. Asked how national standards were currently being co-ordinated, the federal health department cited a Statement on national hotel quarantine principles adopted by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC)  the body that brings together all federal, state and territory chief health officers  published on Christmas Eve. But those who want to see the Commonwealth step up further say the AHPPC is already over-burdened and the December statement is not prescriptive enough, particularly on the risks of aerosol transmission. McLaws calls for more stringent adoption of best practice around the country, including eye protection and enhanced PPE for hotel quarantine workers, and the use of CCTV instead of personnel keeping watch in corridors. Toole says its now up to the federal government to do everything in their power - and that power is considerable - to ensure that there is a national standard that is being implemented by every state.
In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all creation, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his Companions.

Dear brothers and sisters! The Islamic way of life always emphasised a strong sense of brotherhood in such a way that a community should be maintained to ensure that mutual understanding pave way for the peace and harmony, As long as individual or group of individuals failed to recognise and identify their variations, colours, nations and tribes, peaceful co-existence will no longer exist among them, and this will lead to series of violence and conflicts. In this regards Islam is a religion which adores peace rather than violence; and love, compromise, dialogue rather than confrontation. In line with this, the principle of reconciliation should be given attention to address the gabs caused by lack of mutual understanding. Consequent upon this, this sermon reveals that reconciliation, patience (Sabr) and forgiveness will serve as tools for negotiation to reach an equitable settlement and to restore peace and security for the wellbeing of our country.

Dear brothers and sisters! In a bid to tackle the armed Banditry and kidnappings in his State Zamfara, His Excellency Governor Muhammad Bello Matawalle has decided to use the Carrot and Stick approach, in order to deal with the problems of armed banditry and kidnappings, which we all supported, and praying tirelessly for him to succeed in his mission by the Grace of Almighty Allah!

The Zamfara State government has described its peace and reconciliation initiative as the best way to address the armed banditry, and which is true according to what we are witnessing now and before their coming.

Muhammad Bello Matawalles Government has also said that it has no regrets negotiating with bandits, a move that every right thinking person must support!

Respected brothers and sisters! Also A renowned and respectful Kaduna cleric, Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi came up with an effective initiative towards reconciliation with the several groups of the dreaded armed bandits, daredevil kidnappers and armed robbers in some parts of Kaduna State, Zamfara State, and In Shaa Allah Nigeria generally. The Sheikh organised discussion sessions with the leaders of these miscreants with a view to cajoling them to lay down their arms and ammunition so as to give peace a chance. Education, enlightenment and appeals are used to entice these daredevil individuals to see reasons to abandon their nefarious acts and embrace peace. No ransom, gifts or any enticement or inducement is involved thus far! Yet, he has so far been able to receive thousands of repentant bandits who have voluntarily surrendered along with their commanders. As at today, more cells of kidnappers and bandits have sent their emissaries with white flags indicating their readiness to abandon jungle life and reintegrate with people in the cities. Alhamdulillah.

Fellow brothers and sisters! Reconciliation is a process in which two people or two groups of people become friendly again after they have quarreled or have not been in contact with each other. According to this definition reconciliation is a reuniting and harmonising of two hostile people or groups by calling them to come together within the context of understanding and respect in order to foster mutual understanding, stimulate communication, correct stereotypes, work on specific problems of mutual concern, explore similarities and differences, and facilitate means of witness and cooperation between them.

On the other hand, the reconciliatory methods are available at individual, family, group, community, national and international level. This unit intends to introduce these methods. The peaceful methods exist in two broad categories. The first is the proactive category, which entails methods that aim to prevent the occurrence of conflict in the first instance. Example include undocumented community-based trust and confidence building measure, communication, good governance, inter party collaboration, etc. the second category is reactive, dealing with responses to situations that have already turned conflictive, or conflictive, or are potentially so these include third party interventions like mediation, conciliation, arbitration and litigation.

Resolution is a community priority that involves elders, local leaders and family members who put pressure on the parties and guarantee the implementation of the agreement; the process is guided by established norms that include honour restoration, face saving, avoiding shame, saving dignity; relationships are key and their restoration is paramount; the third party keeps litigants separate while being their only channel of communication and reconciles them only when an agreement has been successfully negotiated.

Some sees resolution as a variety of approaches aimed at terminating conflicts through the constructive solving of problems. As such any of the approaches to be apply should be acceptable by the parties involved and it should be best and relevant to parties involved. Some said that conflict resolution as a sense of finality, where the parties to a conflict are mutually satisfied with the outcome of a settlement and the conflict is resolved in a true sense.

Respected servants of Allah! Wallahi no doubt, one of the most honourable morals is reconciling people. It is highly recommended and it has been stated on more than one occasion, as Allah Almighty says:

So fear Allah and amend that which is between you. [Quran, 8: 1]

Reconciling people or group is one of the acts that yields great reward because it allows grudges to be removed and hearts cleaned. Allah Almighty says:

No good is there in much of their private conversation, except for those who enjoin charity or that which is right or conciliation between people. And whoever does that seeking means to the approval of Allah  then We are going to give him a great reward. [Quran, 4: 114]

Reconciling people or group is so important that a Muslim should regard it as an important aim in his worldly life. It is through reconciliation that hearts become one and unity and peace is encouraged. Neglecting this may lead to a disintegration of the society. This is why Islam put reconciling people above many acts of worship. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

Should I not tell you what is better in degree than prayer, fasting and charity? They (the companions) said: Yes. He said: Reconciling people, for grudges and disputes are the razor (that shaves faith/iman). [Ahmad, Abu Dawud and At-Tirmizi]

The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:

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Sadaqah (i.e. charity) is due on every joint of a person every day the sun rises. Administering of justice between two men is also a sadaqah. Assisting a man to ride upon his riding animal, or helping him load his luggage upon it is a sadaqah; a good word is a sadaqah; every step that you take towards prayer or reconciling people is a sadaqah, and removing harmful objects from the pathway is a sadaqah. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Due to the importance of this virtue (reconciliation/sulhu), Islam assigned one of the disbursement channels of Zakah for those who seek to reconcile people. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

The best charity is to reconcile between people. [At-Tabarani in Al-Mujamul-Kabir]

Reconciliation can be said to be bridging the gaps or filling spaces that occurred because of disputes and conflicts over worldly affairs and by removing their bad effects. Allah Almighty informed us that settlement of disagreements is best. Allah Almighty says:

there is no sin upon them if they make terms of settlement between them  and settlement is best. [Quran, 4: 128]

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

It is unlawful for a Muslim to forsake his fellow Muslim for more than three consecutive days. When they meet, each of them turns his face away from the other. The better one is the one who starts the greeting. [Ahmad]

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

The one who reconciles people is not considered a liar if he exaggerates what is good or says what is good. [Ahmad]

A great Islamic scholar said:

Allah Almighty likes lying for the sake of reconciliation and dislikes truthfulness for the sake of corruption.

Here is a great Hadith that we should ponder upon. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

The gates of Paradise are opened on two days: Monday and Thursday. Every servant who does not associate anything with Allah Almighty is granted pardon, except the person in whose (heart) there is rancour against his brother. It would be said: delay both of them until they reconcile; delay both of them until they reconcile; delay both of them until they reconcile. [Muslim]

Imam Al-Awzai may Allah have mercy upon him said:

There is no step that is dearer to Allah Almighty than a step towards reconciling people. Whoever reconciles two people, Allah Almighty will grant him safety from Hellfire.

Dear brothers and sisters! Reconciling people or group is among the great noble morals. The Shariah urged it in more than one occasion. Even the Poets did not forget the virtue of reconciling people, so they immortalised it in their poems. One Arab poem said a line of verse that means:

All merits are referred to two matters; glorifying the Orders of Allah Almighty and seeking to reconcile people.

Reconciling people is a branch of faith and an Islamic moral code through which grudges are eliminated, hearts are purified, and flames of fitnah and blood shed are extinguished.

Islam urges the true believer to regard reconciling people as one of his most important aims in his life, as it is through reconciliation that the nation becomes a coherent unit where one part thereof seeks to amend the other part. Thus, it becomes like a single body; if one organ of it complains, the rest of the body suffers sleeplessness and fever. Neglecting this matter (Sulhu/reconciliation) leads to the disintegration of the nation and the severance of its ties. That is why Islam considered reconciling people or group better than many acts of worship.

Imam Al-Qari may Allah have mercy upon him said:

Bringing reconciliation to conflicts and disputes that might lead to shedding blood, plundering money, and violating sanctities is better than fulfilling obligatory acts of worship whose benefits do not extend to others, taking the possibility of making up for them, in case they are missed, into consideration. This is so because such acts of worship are among the Rights of Allah Almighty that are less significant in His sight than the rights of the servants.

Imam At-Tibi may Allah have mercy upon him said:

Reconciling people and avoiding corrupting relations between them, because reconciliation is a reason for holding firm to the rope of Allah Almighty and avoiding disunity and division between the people, whereas disputes are a crack in the religion. Whoever seeks to amend the relations between the people and removes the corruption thereof will attain a degree that is greater than that of the fasting person who observes night prayers and is preoccupied with his own benefit only.

From the sum of these explanations, we reach an important result, which is that our great religion, Islam, aspires for reconciliation and seeks for it. Allah Almighty informed us that settlement of disagreements is best (Was-Sulhu Khair).

Reconciling people or group is a great act of worship that Allah Almighty loves. The one who seeks to reconcile people is the one who offers his time, energy, knowledge, effort, money, authority, and power to reconcile the disputing parties. He is a person whose soul loves goodness and yearns for it. He does not care about the peoples opinions or criticism as long as he seeks the pleasure of Allah Almighty. He exposes himself to dangers and embarrassing situations and shares the concerns of his brothers and sisters in order to reconcile two persons or two groups.

Many are those homes which were about to collapse because of a simple dispute between the spouses. Then, when a person interfered seeking reconciliation between them by means of a good word, a sincere advice, or sometimes a sum of money, he restored peacefulness between them and saved the family from loss and destitution?

How many ruptures of relations were about to occur between two brothers, friends or relatives because of a mistake or a minor error, but then a person succeeded in reconciling them.

How many lives and properties were saved and satanic temptations were suppressed after they were about to start, thanks to the favour of Allah Almighty and then to those good people who reconcile others, people like Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi and His Excellency Governor Muhammad Matawalle of Zamfara State and all those who are assisting them in this great mission!

Congratulations to those who were guided by Allah Almighty to reconcile two warring parties, two opponents, spouses, neighbours, friends, partners, or groups.

What further indicates the great virtue of reconciling people is that Islam allows lying to reconcile quarreling people. The intended meaning of lying here is to exaggerate in describing and confirming the good aspects of the other party so as to reconcile hearts and to assert that such a dispute was not intentional. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

The one who reconciles people is not considered a liar if he exaggerates what is good or says what is good. [Ahmad]

We have to realise that we are human beings and that disputes and misunderstandings breaking up among us is something normal. Rare are those people who are safe from disagreement. It might occur between you and your fellow citizen, your brother, relative, spouse, or friend This happens often. So, we have to rid ourselves of this by reconciliation, shaking hands, forgiveness, condescendence, love, and brotherhood so that everything becomes alright again.

Respected servants of Allah! Someone may say: I want to go to so-and-so to reconcile, but I fear that he rejects me, refuses to receive me, or depreciates my visit!

I tell you: remember that your beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is telling you: Go to him even if he dismisses you or talks badly about you. Go to him once, twice, and thrice and hasten to give him a present, smile at him, and treat him nicely.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

Allah Almighty augments the honour of he who forgives. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

If you pardon, Allah Almighty will increase your honour; if you reconcile people, Allah Almighty will increase your honour. If you were expelled or the door was not opened for you and you returned, then know that this is one of the wishes of the pious predecessors of the Ummah because it is proof of the purity of the heart since Allah, the Almighty, says:

And if it is said to you, Go back, then go back; it is purer for you. [Quran, 24: 28]

So, take care of this, O believer, and do not leave for Satan (Shaitan) a way to yourself.

Try reconciliation today. Call the one who is disputing with you and treat him nicely. Perhaps this call might be a reason, after the mercy of Allah Almighty, for forgiving your sins. Allah Almighty says:

Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. [Quran, 24: 22]

Go to him. There are people who went to sit with their opponents for only fifteen or thirty minutes, but they ended up sitting for long hours because of the great happiness, comfort, familiarity, and love they felt.

Try to be the one who takes the initiative of reconciliation and do not let Satans whisper overcome you. The one who seeks reconciliation should keep the etiquettes of settlement in mind so that Allah Almighty supports him and so that he receives the fruits of his endeavour. The greatest of these etiquettes include:

1. He should make his intention sincere for the sake of Allah Almighty. He should not intend money, prestige, ostentation, or fame with the reconciliation, but he should seek the countenance of Allah Almighty.

2. He should adhere to justice and completely avoid injustice.

3. Let your conciliation be based upon Shariah knowledge and the laws of the land. It is preferable that you consult Islamic scholars and experts in this regard, study the issue from all its sides, and listen to each of the parties.

4. Do not be rash in your judgment and take your time because hastiness may lead to corrupting more than what has been amended.

5. You should choose the appropriate time for reconciling between the conflicting parties. That is to say that you only start the reconciliation when the issue becomes cool, the severity of the dispute is alleviated, and the fire of anger is extinguished; then you start to reconcile them.

6. What is more important also is using nice words. You should mention his merits and good deeds and you may exaggerate even to the point of lying; then warn him against grudges and disputes.

Respected servants of Allah! Wallahi from these reconciliation moves initiated by Governor Muhammad Matawalle and Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Gumi, the glimmers of hope have begun to emerge for the restoration of security and peace in the terror-troubled Nigerian Northwest region and generally Nigeria, as they promised to comb the herder communities on a reorientation mission against the armed banditry and kidnapping.

This development comes on the heel of the current forays by Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi, into the Zaria-Giwa-Birnin Gwari axis and sections of Southern Kaduna, and now Zamfara State on pacification and peace-making mission to Fulani herdsmen communities allegedly producing the main population of armed bandits and kidnappers.

Over the last fortnight, Sheikh Gumi, accompanied by a group of other Muslim clerics, security agents, reportedly on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police, and other relevant persons had forayed into the bushes of the axis, meeting hundreds of Fulani herders there, pacifying them against crimes and interfacing with them on their grievances.

Therefore I called on Christian and Muslim clerics to join in the campaign for the restoration of peace and security in the region and in Nigeria generally.

I also called on government, civil society organisations and Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) across Nigeria to support Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi and Governor Muhammad Bello Matawalle on the venture.

Lastly, Dear brothers and sisters! Know that, wallahi there is clearly a nefarious plan by the enemies of this potentially great country, Nigeria to initiate a violent crisis that may lead to its destruction. Our enemies from within and outside, are more determined than ever to set us against each other, so that we may get to a point of no return when the conflagration began. Foreign terrorist, are also busy, fully armed, to cause whatever damage they can inflict on our dear country. Their desire is to destroy Nigeria. Please we must not allow them. Lets reconcile ourselves!

O Allah, purify our hearts from grudges, envy, and cheating. O Allah, amend our relations with our relatives. O Allah, amend our relations with our loved ones. O Allah, make life an increase for us in every good and make death a relief for us from every evil with Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the Merciful.

I ask Allah for peace and good health, and to protect us and all the brothers and sisters, ameen.

May Allah send His Salah and Salam upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

And all praises and thanks are due to Allah alone, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okenes Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.

This Jumuah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Jumadah Thani 22, 1442 AH (February 05, 2021).


The Myanmar focused investment company, announces that further to its announcement of 1 February 2021, trading in the Company's ordinary shares and warrants on AIM will be restored at 7.30 a.m. today . There is limited news on the evolving political situation in Myanmar. To date, some new cabinet ministers have been appointed and banks and most communications

5 Feb 2021

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Cellular Goods a UK-based provider of premium consumer products based on biosynthetic cannabinoids announced its intention to join the main market (standard) this spring. Target valuation 20m raising c. 8m to finalise the development and launch of a range of the Company's premium-quality consumer products based on biosynthetic cannabinoids, which is fully compliant under UK law.

Kanabo Group (RTO by Spinnaker Opportunities SOP.L) on the main market (standard). Raising 6m, enlarged mkt cap 23.4m. Kanabo focuses on the distribution of Cannabis-derived products for medical patients, and non-THC products for CBD consumers . Due 16 Feb.

NextEnergy Renewables to launch an IPO on the Main Market. NREN is a differentiated renewables investment company that aims to capture the most attractive private renewables and energy transition infrastructure investment opportunities globally. Targeting a 300m raise. NREN is targeting total returns of 9-11 per cent. per annum (net of all fees and expenses but including the Target Dividend and capital appreciation) . The Company's target dividend yield for the first full financial year to 31 December 2022 is 5.5 pence. Due Early March

Auction Technology Group is considering an IPO on the Main Market. The Group operates six world-leading online Marketplaces and proprietary global auction platform technology for curated online auctions . In FY20 the Group delivered pro forma revenue of 52.3 million, supported by notable underlying year-on-year growth from both Standalone ATG Group and Standalone Proxibid Group (12.4 per cent. and 40.4 per cent., respectively). For the same period, the Group delivered a strong profitability performance of 22.3 million pro forma Adjusted EBITDA representing a pro forma Adjusted EBITDA margin of 42.6 per cent.

Digital 9 Infrastructure launch an initial public offering on the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, by way of an initial placing and offer for subscription for a target issue 400m. Digital 9 Infrastructure plc is a newly established, externally managed investment trust. The Company will invest in a range of digital infrastructure assets which deliver a reliable, functioning internet. The IPO Prospectus is expected to be published in March 2021.

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure to admit its shares on the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange . Targeting a 300m raise. Cordiant invests in global infrastructure and real assets, running infrastructure private equity and infrastructure private credit strategies through limited partnership funds and managed accounts. Due 16 Feb

4basebio UK Societas is a specialist life sciences group focused on therapeutic DNA for gene therapies and DNA vaccines and providing solutions for effective and safe delivery of these DNA based products to patients. The Company has been divested from 4basebio AG , a German company listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange . No capital to be raised on Admission. Anticipated market capitalisation on AIM Admission: 14.53m. Due 17 Feb

Baskerville Capital plc (to be renamed Oberon Investments Group Plc) is a boutique financial institution providing a personalised wealth management service for retail and professional clients, as well as a corporate broking arm for small and mid-cap companies. Oberons strategy is to progress through the organic growth of assets under administration in its wealth management division and by the acquisition of complementary businesses in the financial services sector and by creating a trusted brand for the provision of advisory and fundraising services for companies in the small and mid-cap sectors. Expected admission date 9 February 2021.

Cornish Metals (TSX-V: CUSN) intends to list on AIM. The Company is proposing to raise 5m by way of private placement of new Common Shares to advance the United Downs copper-tin project. The Company expects that Admission will become effective in February 2021. The Company's Common Shares will continue to be listed and trade on the TSX-V in Canada.

Banquet Buffet

Kibo Energy* 0.375p 8.3m (LON:KIBO)

The Africa-focused energy company announces that further to the RNS dated 28th January 2021, its subsidiary Mast Energy Developments Plc (MED) has raised in excess of 5m through Clear Capital Markets Ltd for its upcoming IPO on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange plc ("London Stock Exchange" or "LSE") by way of a Standard Listing, which on listing will have a market capitalisation of c. 23 million. MED will now proceed with final submissions to the FCA and will revert in due course with the publication of the final prospectus which will include listing date details. Kibo intends to maintain a strategic interest in MED post the initial fundraise and Admission of at least 55%, ensuring continued upside from future developments.

Hargreaves Services 292p 94.3m (LON:HSP)

The diversified group delivering services to the industrial and property sectors announced the conditional sale of a further phase of land at Blindwells, its major 1,600 unit residential development site near Edinburgh.

Following the completion of the first sale of land at Blindwells to Bellway in January, Hargreaves Land has now exchanged a conditional sale contract with Persimmon for a further 12.9 acre parcel. Completion is conditional on receipt of detailed planning permission and the completion of infrastructure works to service the site. The Persimmon phase has capacity for 192 homes including 30 designated as affordable.

The minimum sale value of this phase is 9.3m, with one third payable on completion and two further equal installments to be paid 12 months and 24 months later as infrastructure serving the plots is constructed. Completion is expected in the second half of the financial year ending 31 May 2022.

Myanmar Investments 0.6p 22.9m (LON:MIL)

The Myanmar focused investment company, announces that further to its announcement of 1 February 2021, trading in the Company's ordinary shares and warrants on AIM will be restored at 7.30 a.m. today .

There is limited news on the evolving political situation in Myanmar. To date, some new cabinet ministers have been appointed and banks and most communications systems are operating including internet access. The Company's two investments in the microfinance sector and mobile phone communication towers have so far not been directly affected by the recent events however it is too early to forecast the future impact on these investments. The Company is closely monitoring the situation and will provide shareholders with further updates in any new developments as they become available.

The Company would encourage investors to always assess the veracity of media commentary on the evolving political situation in Myanmar.

Savannah Energy 17.075p 171m (LON:SAVE)

The African-focused British independent energy company sustainably developing high quality, high potential energy projects in Nigeria and Niger, is pleased to announce that its Accugas subsidiary has entered into a new gas sales agreement with Mulak Energy Limited.

The GSA is initially for a seven-year term. It envisages the supply of gas produced by Savannah's majority-owned Uquo field for an initial two-year period on an interruptible basis and the subsequent five years on a firm contract basis. During the Interruptible Gas Delivery Period, Mulak is able to nominate a maximum daily quantity of up to 2.5 MMscfpd. Volumes in the Firm Delivery Period will be agreed by the parties before the end of the Interruptible Gas Delivery Period. The GSA is priced to reflect Mulak's status as an industrial customer; Accugas, therefore, expects to see its weighted average gas sales price realisation increase as a result of this contract, without the need for any incremental capital expenditure beyond our previously announced plans. Sales under the GSA benefit from a bank guarantee arrangement from an investment grade credit rated international bank.

Aquis Exchange 525p 142.6m (LON:AQX)

Yesterday the exchange services group announced the resumption of trading in Swiss shares on its pan-European exchange facility, Aquis Exchange.

Following the UK government's agreement on equivalence with Switzerland, UK-based exchanges now have the ability to offer trading in Swiss shares. This follows the ban on EU venues from offering trading in Swiss shares, implemented in July 2019 after the EU did not renew equivalence with Switzerland.

The shares will be traded on Aquis Exchange's London venue, and include over 125 key Swiss names including Novartis, Roche and Nestle.

Distribution Finance 63.5p 70.8m (LON:DFCH)

The holding company of DF Capital Bank Limited, a newly authorised bank providing personal savings products and working capital solutions to dealers and manufacturers across the UK, today announces that it has conditionally placed with certain new and existing institutional and other investors, and entered into a direct subscription agreement at a price of 55.0 pence per Placing Share to raise 40.0 million.

 Net proceeds of the Placing to be primarily utilised to accelerate the Group's business plan and loan book growth by:

o unlocking significant and current pipeline of demand;

o allowing the Group to provide larger facilities to select customers where the Group is currently restricted due to regulatory large exposure limits; and

o removing the current 270 million constraint on the loan book and should support a loan book of up to 550 million.

Tekcapital 17.25p 16m (LON:TEK)

The UK intellectual property investment group focused on creating valuable products from investing in university technology, is pleased to announce that portfolio company Salarius Ltd's subsidiary MicroSalt Inc. has launched an equity crowdfund to raise up to US$750,000.

MicroSalt Inc. has launched the crowdfund via crowdfunding platform microventures.com . US$188K has already been raised to-date and their goal is to raise up to US$750,000 in the next 150 days at a pre-money valuation of US$5m, with a 10% early subscriber discount for the first $100,000 invested. Proceeds will be used to help fuel the company's growth and innovation strategy.

Ascent Resources 13.5p 13.1m (LON:AST)

The onshore Caribbean, Hispanic American and European focused energy and natural resources company, notes the recent share price movement and provides an update in relation to its previously announced direct negotiations with the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and on its Slovenian operations.

Direct Settlement Negotiations -The Company confirms it remains in direct negotiations with the Republic of Slovenia with a view to potentially settling the claim in an amicable manner in the short term, as previously announced on 22 October 2020. The Company also announces that PG-11A, one of its two development wells on the Petisovci tight gas field has now been put back into production.

Following recent increases in local gas prices (some 175% up from mid 2020 levels of circa EUR7 per MWh) and a recently observed pressure anomaly building up in the annulus and tubing at PG-11A, the JV partner has put the well back into production with a view to accreting additional JV revenues and to enable an evaluation of the source of the pressure anomaly and remedial action. The well has begun flowing on the 4 February with an initial production rate equivalent to circa 12,000 scm/d and will be monitored over the course of the next week for a stabilised production rate. The second well, PG-10 is currently producing at circa 5,000 scm/d whilst PG-11A had previously been shut in since December 2019.

Silence Therapeutics 597p 497m (LON:SLN)

The specialist in the discovery, development and delivery of novel short interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with significant unmet medical need, today announced an oversubscribed private placement of 2,022,218 of the Company's American Depositary Shares, each representing three ordinary shares of 5 pence each in the capital of the Company, at a price of US $22.50 per ADS, with new and existing institutional and accredited investors. Silence anticipates that the aggregate gross proceeds of the Private Placement will be approximately US $45 million (approximately 33 million) before deducting placement agent fees and other expenses.

Silence intends to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement primarily to support development of the Company's pipeline based on its messenger RNAi GOLD TM (GalNAc Oligonucleotide Discovery) Platform, and for general corporate purposes.

Warehouse REIT 123.75p 478.8m (LON:WHR)

The company that invests in e-commerce urban and last-mile industrial warehouse assets in the UK, announces a placing to raise gross proceeds of up to 45.9 million at 121p. The Placing proceeds, together with the Group's existing facilities, will be used to help finance the acquisition of two adjacent distribution warehouses in Harlow for 13.9 million (including costs) and two further assets

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Remember the poised, no-nonsense Poornima Rao Gaikwad from City of Dreams, the web series aired on Hotstar in 2019? That was Priya Bapat. She is well-known for Marathi films like Vazandar, Happy Journey, Aamhi Doghi . Now she is all set to make her international debut with Aditya Kripalanis Father Like. Priya has just finished shooting for Season 2 of City of Dreams and is ecstatic about the experience. Talking about her role in the political-drama, the Mumbai-born Priya says, As an actor it was more difficult for me in Season 1 than shooting for Season 2. In Season 1, everything was very new to me. Poornima has so many shades and layers that it took me time to get into the skin of the character. While shooting for Season 2 it was easier for me to relate to Poornima. I was even able to insert my own angle and approach to it.Priya says director Nagesh Kukunoor held her hand through the series and his sheer dedication and guidance are what the audience see in Poornima in Season 1. But this time it was fun, we both collaborated to bring alive the character on screen, she avers.

After spending so much time together while shooting, the team becomes like a family, feels Priya. The City of Dreams team has become family to me. Especially Nagesh Kukunoor and Elahe Hiptoola, the producer. She makes sure of the actors wellbeing. As for Nagesh, I think he chose me to play Poornima because he thought I am more like the character  quiet and reserved. But when he found out I am the opposite, he was pleasantly surprised. He caught me doing masti with my co-star Atul Kulkarni in his van, it was then he came to know my carefree and jovial nature, shares Priya. While 2020 hasnt been pleasant due to the pandemic, it has taught Priya the importance of life. 2020 taught me that nothing should be taken for granted, especially health and people. The entire year, I was working out, not to lose weight but to be fit. We were stuck inside our houses with limited supplies. The less expectation one has from life, the livelier and more peaceful life becomes, believes Priya. While City of Dreams has won Priya fans beyond Marathi cinema, she is looking for something more substantial. Offers did come from various movie industries, after the success of Season 1. I am taking my time to choose the best, she concludes.
Health care worker denied Moderna vaccine because county says it will not give it to pregnant or breastfeeding moms
Dr. Karen Landers with the Alabama Department of Public Health said it is committed to getting Alabamians their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

"Our local health departments will be focused on giving the second doses due to vaccine supply," said Landers.

She said the next doses that they're getting will be specifically for people who need their second dose within the 28-day timeline. The Department of Public Health is no longer supplying first doses.

Dr. Landers said the Department of Public Health is hoping to receive more first doses of the Moderna vaccine in the early weeks of March, as long as nothing changes with supply.

On Feb. 8, Alabamians 65 years and older can get the vaccine, along with individuals who are 16 years old to 64 years old with a high-risk medical condition. Others in this vaccine group are frontline critical workers.
Lucknow: Five people of the same family tried to commit suicide on Friday in front of Lok Bhavan and Vidhan Sabha in Hazratganj in the heart of Lucknow, the capital of UP, but the police managed to handle the situation in time. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Somen Burma said that a family resident of Dhannupurwa in Hardoi attempted self-immolation on Friday.

The police personnel present there caught one person as soon as he poured oil on them and stopped the other. They are being interrogated. He said that as soon as a member of the family poured kerosene over him, the policemen present there apprehended him. They could not set fire and no one was injured. He told that Rajaram, Umesh Yadav, Veeru Yadav, Usha Devi, Maya Lok Bhawan, hailing from Dhannupurwa, Hardoi. These are all people of the same family.

Rajaram tried to commit self-immolation by pouring oil, but the police stopped him on time. Police sources said that Rajaram alleges that some people want to occupy the house where he lives. A complaint was made with the police of Kotwali town of Hardoi about this, but no action was taken. DCP Burma said that officials of Hardoi Police have been talked to and the matter is being investigated.

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Mumbai, Feb 5 : Superstar Salman Khan is all set to release his action drama Radhe in theatres on the occasion of Eid. The film is billed as a single screen entertainer, but Salman admits the scene is rather bleak for the traditional big screen exhibitors right now.

"There are three films of mine that are ready for release, and the problem with single screen theatres is that there are very few films being released over there," said Salman, whose upcoming roster also includes Antim, Tiger 3, Kick 2, and Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali.

"Nowadays, there is a kabristan (graveyard) kind of feel to single screen theatres, as no one goes there to watch films. Obviously, the people who own these have no other option than running them, and there are so many theatres that have shut down due to financial reasons. I feel it is not a good sign. We are in the profession of acting, so we make films. But where should we release them?" he said.

"It's a catch-22 situation as we are incomplete without them (theatre owners) and they are incomplete without us. I have a good hold over single screen theatres, so they (theatre owners) requested me to release 'Radhe' in single screen theatres," added Salman, while interacting with the media at the launch of Indian Pro Music League in the city.

A couple of weeks ago, putting an end to speculations around the release of his film, Salman had issued a statement on Instagram assuring exhibitors he would release the film only in theatres, contrary to the rising trend of taking films straight to OTT.

Salman's assurance came after exhibitors all over India had requested him to release the film only in theatres.

He urged theatre owners to follow safety precautions while screening films.

"Covid-19 is still there, so we have requested theatres owners to follow safety precautions while screening films, so that no one gets infected. The younger generation is surviving this period, so the problem is not about the younger generation but we have to take care of our parents and grandparents. If they get infected because of us, then we will feel the guilt for our lifetime, so that is the only thing we have to be careful about," he said.

"Now the vaccination drive has also started, so we are going towards a safe zone. I hope and pray that 2021 and 2022 will be better than 2020 for all of us and we will make growth in our lives," he added.

Salman took the occasion to wish fans a happy Valentine's Day in advance. "What is my connection with Valentine's Day? Or is there only me who has anything to do with Valentine's Day?" he laughed, adding: "I wish everyone a very happy Valentine's Day, God bless and be safe." Salman's new film Radhe is directed by Prabhu Deva. The film also features Disha Patani, Randeep Hooda and Jackie Shroff in pivotal roles.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Delhi government on Friday announced that it is reducing circle rates of properties by 20 per cent for the next six months across all categories in a bid to provide a big boost to the COVID-19 hit real estate sector. The reduction in circle rates will apply to all residential, commercial and industrial properties in Delhi.

The decision to reduce the circle rates was taken during a Delhi government Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced the circle rate reduction on Twitter.

Sisodia wrote, "Circle rates of residential/commercial/industrial properties in Delhi reduced by 20 per cent across all categories for next 6 months. This would be a big relief for people willing to buy property and a big boost up for real estate sector."

A big decision by Hon CM @ArvindKejriwal. Circle Rates of Residential/Commercial/Industrial Properties in Delhi reduced by 20% across all categories for next 6 months. This would be a big relief for people willing to buy property and a big boost up for Real estate sector. - Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) February 5, 2021

CM Arvind Kejriwal retweeted Sisodia's post saying that the move to reduce circle rate by 20 per cent will help in giving a boost to the post-COVID-19 economy.

I am sure this step will help in giving a boost to economy post COVID. https://t.co/vdgQXXcGhc - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 5, 2021

Circle rate is the minimum value at which the sale or transfer of a plot, built-up house, apartment or a commercial property can occur. This rate is set by the state government's revenue department or the local development authorities.

Also Read: Demonetisation, RERA impact: Circle rates, property value may see rise a year from now
Witness Urges Senate to Kill Medical Assistance in Dying Bill in Final Round of Committee Hearing

Gabrielle Peters is a writer with disabilities who lives on one of the lowest incomes in Canada. She was admitted to a hospital in Vancouver following the onset of a rare autoimmune system disease in 2009. Soon after, her partner left her to become homeless after the disease made her unable to work. But she hung on to life on the belief that everyone can to choose to live with dignity.

But Peters is concerned that people with disabilities may be deprived of the choice to live following the introduction of Bill C-7, an Act to amend the Criminal Code on medical assistance in dying (MAiD). She questioned the justifications for MAiD in a statement presented at a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday.

It was the last round of witness testimony that senators heard before the committee went into the clause-by-clause review of Bill C-7 on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs accepted the bill on Wednesday evening, but members have agreed to hold off proposing amendments until the Senate returns next week for the final debate.

Decades of dire warnings about how old and disabled people were going to burden our health care and society has been matched by marketing MAiD as a heroic, brave, self-sacrificing, and honorable death, Peters said. [But] youd shocked by the number of times Ive been called selfish for wanting health care by health care professionals.

During her testimony, Peters said that while government commissioned studies have found some potential cost savings to amending the MAiD, they had only considered it in comparison to the costs for end-of-life care.

[They] imagine the cost-savings of the early death of a disabled person with not dying, and has decades of health care, and possibly income, and other supports ahead of them, Peters said. If its not cost-saving, then we are left with ableism versus the rugged individualism Canadian myth.

Bill C-7 was introduced to Parliament in October 2020, in an attempt to bring the federal law into compliance with a September 2019 Quebec Superior Court ruling that found it unconstitutional to only allow MAiD for people whose death is foreseeable, as authorized in the current law, Bill C-14.

Greater Access for Palliative Care

Opposition Conservatives have contested the need for the legislation to include safeguard measures, such as the previously removed 10-day reflection time for patients who have requested MAiD. They have also called for the greater support for palliative care from the government.

Palliative care is essential care, thats part of a care continuum right up until terminal care or end-of-life care. It ends with the natural death of the person, Sen. Marie-Francoise Megie told the committee.

Megie, who is also a physician, said the Canadian public doesnt know enough about palliative care, medical care for people living with a serious illness, arguing that most patients who qualify would have possibly chosen the care over the MAiD, had they had more information about that option.

She quoted a letter from the Minister of Health that said the majority of people who have received MAiD would have benefited from palliative care services.

Its very common for patients receiving palliative care to tell us that if they had known what palliative care could offer them, in a place like a palliative care home, they would have accepted it much earlier, she said.

Meanwhile, Joshua Wales, a palliative care physician for Sinai Health, told the committee that he supports the removal of the 10-day reflection period for people whose death is near.

While I understand its original intention, in most cases, their reflection period has become a meaningless logistical barrier, Wales said. Its elimination will decrease the duration of suffering of those eligible for MAiD and desire it as soon as possible.

Wales said that, from his experience, patients do not impulsively request MAiD, but have often decided weeks, months, and even years ahead.
A man who allegedly sped through Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall, sending terrified pedestrians diving out of harm's way has been charged with multiple offences.

Bryce O'Donnell, 20, was arrested in Ballarat on Thursday afternoon over the horrifying incident that took place on January 28.

Mr O'Donnell allegedly tore down the street in a green Mitsubishi Lancer to evade police around 5pm last Thursday.

A male passenger got out of the car and ran away, as police drew their firearms in a bid to stop the driver.

After ramming into a bollard, the driver did a U-turn back along Bourke Street and escaped.

Officers found the car on Ashworth Street in Albert Park just before 7pm without number plates.

The 20-year-old was questioned by detectives last night before being charged with 11 offences.

Bryce O'Donnell, 20, was arrested in Ballarat on Thursday and charged with 11 offences over the Bourke Street Mall driving incident

Shattered glass was seen on the floor after the car slammed into bollards on Bourke Street Mall last Thursday (pictured)

These included reckless conduct endangering life, reckless conduct endangering serious injury, failing to stop on police request, reckless exposure of a police officer to risk by driving and committing an offence while on bail.

He was also charged with driving while disqualified.

Mr O'Donnell appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday and did not apply for bail.

He will face court again on February 23.

Police said the passenger in the Mitsubishi Lancer was arrested separately, and they aren't looking for anyone else as part of their investigation.

At the time of the shocking incident, witnesses said pedestrians were forced to dive out of the path of the car as it came 'tearing down' the street.

Mr O'Donnell appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday and did not apply for bail

Witnesses said pedestrians were forced to dive out of the path of the car as it came 'tearing down' the street (pictured scene at time of incident)

One witness said 'folks were running in every direction, into the shops,' as the car sped through the streets.

He said the officers were 'stymied' in trying to effectively stop the car in its tracks by a tram which cut them off, appearing to 'miss the sound of the sirens'.

Police had been following the driver after noticing the number plates didn't match the car.

The incident was eerily reminiscent of the devastating Bourke Street rampage of 2017, when James Gargasoulas ran down and killed six people in the busy CBD - including a baby boy and a young girl.

Gargasoulas injured dozens of others, knocking them to the ground and into walls while driving in a drug-induced psychosis.

He was sentenced to life in jail at Victoria's Supreme Court on February 22, 2019 with a non-parole period 46 years making him eligible for parole in 2063.

The non-parole period of 46 years is understood to be the longest handed down in Australia.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Congress leader Anand Sharma while speaking on the motion of thanks to the Presidents' address on Friday in the Rajya Sabha said it was a black day when farm laws were passed as the House was not in order. He demanded a judicial inquiry with a sitting judge of the Supreme Court in the January 26 violence.

"The way the farm ordinances were brought in during the pandemic was not normal, what was the hurry, why it was not sent to the select committee...it was black day when the farm laws were passed in the Rajya Sabha," Sharma said.

He alleged that "there was a conspiracy in the January 26 incident. I condemn it but there should be judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court as how few tractors reached the Red Fort who allowed them in." "No one has the right to attack those who are discharging their duties. The Red Fort incident has sent shockwaves across the nation and it should be investigated. We express sympathies for the police personnel and officers who got injured during the January 26 violence." The Congress leader urged the government to shun arrogance and withdraw the farm laws immediately.

"We will support the Prime Minister and government in the interest of the country but we will challenge any decision which is against the democratic values of the country " Sharma said.

He said that the farmers are forced to fight for their rights and to get justice and the government is responsible for the situation that has arisen.

Sharma also mentioned the contribution of the Congress government in the country's development.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Three Mount St. Marys University seniors have been named semifinalists for the prestigious and highly competitive 2021-22 Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Julia Baer, Nathaniel Bald and Kerri Czekner are one step away from attaining a grant, which would allow them to continue their academic pursuits in New Zealand, Rwanda and Italy, respectively.

This year, the Fulbright received a record-breaking number of applications, up 12% from last years number. This makes it even more impressive that the Mount had three out of four students reach semi-finalist status this year, said Jamie Gianoutsos, Ph.D., associate professor of history and director of the Office of Competitive Fellowships. Through Fulbright, students have the opportunity to further their education, conduct research and immerse themselves in a new culture. She noted that this is the first year that Mount students proposing research rather than English teaching or foreign study have advanced to semi-finalist status.

Baer and Czekner applied for a Research/Study Grant through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, and Bald applied for the English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is designed to provide research, study and teaching opportunities through grants in over 140 countries to recent undergraduates and graduate students. The Research/Study Grant allows recent college graduates and young professionals to develop and execute a unique research project for a specific country. The ETA programs enable award winners to join local English teachers in their respective countries to provide assistance through teaching the English language as well as communicating and representing American culture.

Julia Baer, a double major in biology and chemistry, seeks to conduct research on the biogeography of microbial communities in volcanic Antarctic habitats in the laboratory of Craig Carey, Ph.D., at the University of Waikato in New Zealand. Last year, Baer was the recipient of the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the preeminent national undergraduate award for students intending to pursue research careers in natural science. During her time at the Mount, she has conducted summer research on the microbiome of blue mussels at the University of Connecticut Avery Point and performed computational protein docking experiments in the Lombardi Lab at the Mount. Baer has served as a resident assistant for three years. She is grateful to the professors at the Mount and the University of Connecticut who wrote recommendation letters for her: Patrick Lombardi, Ph.D., and Garth Patterson, Ph.D., at the Mount, and Michael Finiguerra Ph.D., at the University of Connecticut - Avery Point.

A biochemistry major and English minor, Kerri Czekner strives to conduct cancer research in the melanoma laboratory of Dr. Luisa Lanfrancone at Istituto Europeo di Oncologia in Milan. Kerri is a Founders Scholarship recipient and also creative nonfiction editor of the Lighted Corners literary magazine. Last summer she developed a research project to create a portable spectrophotometer for the food and beverage industry that is capable of measuring color intensity and hue. Associate Professor of Chemistry Garth Patterson, Ph.D., advised Czekner on this project. She also has worked in the lab of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Isaac Mills, Ph.D., for more than three years. Czekner is grateful to Mills as well as professors Nick Hutchings and Dana Ward, Ph.D., for writing recommendation letters for her. Professor Emeritus Michael Sollenberger, Ph.D., completed Czekners Italian language evaluation.

Nathaniel Bald, a triple major in French, German, and economics, is pursuing the opportunity to assist in English teaching for 20 hours a week with university professors in their classrooms in Rwanda. As a university-certified tutor in his three majors, Bald is a natural teacher and mentor. In Fall 2019, he participated in the Semester of Service program, working with Associate Professor of Sociology Layton Field, Ph.D., and Mount CARiTAS (Community Advancement Resources in Training, Assessment and Service) at a research-based internship. Through the internship Bald developed a client needs survey for the Thurmont Food Bank and researched global and local food insecurity through the Matthew-25 Series project. Bald also is a distance runner on the Division I track and field team; has written for Tolle Lege, the student journal of theology and philosophy; and has given talks and led retreats for the Center for Campus Ministry. Bald appreciates the recommendation letters that Field, Professor Marco Roman, Ph.D., and Brendan Johnson, assistant director for campus ministry and social justice, wrote for him.

The Competitive Fellowships Committee, comprised of faculty members Director Jamie Gianoutsos, Ph.D., Associate Director Christine Blackshaw, Ph.D., Josey Chacko, Ph.D., Angy Kallarackal, Ph.D., Michelle Ohanian, Ph.D., and Garth Patterson, Ph.D., oversaw these applications and conducted the Fulbright on-campus interviews. The Career Center also provided interview support.

Baer, Bald and Czekner are all Mount St. Mary's University Honors Program students.

According to Fulbright, applicants who reach this stage will be notified if they have been selected, designated as an alternate or not selected between early March and late May, with dates to vary by country.

For more information on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, visit us.fulbrightonline.org.
BERLIN (AP)  Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that Germany is over the peak of its latest surge in coronavirus cases but she wants to wait for data on the spread of new variants before deciding on lifting restrictions.

In an interview with German broadcaster RTL, Merkel said she warned months ago that the country faced a hard winter.

And still we can say, the crest of the second wave has been passed, she said, adding that Germans need to hold out a little longer until vaccinations start having an effect on hospitalizations and the number of older people becoming seriously ill from COVID-19.

I can see a light shining at the end of the tunnel, Merkel said. However, the chancellor also cautioned against "false hopes."

As Germany nears 60,000 confirmed deaths in the pandemic, Merkel said she wanted to wait for fresh data on the prevalence of new coronavirus variants in the country before deciding whether to discuss easing restrictions at a meeting with state governors Wednesday.

Schools, restaurants and most stores have been shut since December, helping push down the number of cases in many parts of Germany.

Merkel said 70 of the countrys 401 regions saw the number of new cases go below the target threshold of 50 per 100,000 inhabitants in a week.

We're going to get information at the end of the week or the beginning of next week on how widespread the mutation, this British virus, is, she said, referring to a variant that first appeared in England last year and which scientists say may spread more easily.

Merkel said she's had some restless nights trying to make decisions that affect the lives of millions, and cited a town hall meeting earlier Thursday in which she spoke to families struggling under the strain of the lockdown.

The veteran leader again defended the sluggish vaccine rollout in Germany, which has been blamed on slow regulatory approval and late orders by the European Union. About 14 million people across the 27-nation EU had received a first shot of a coronavirus vaccine by Wednesday, less than half the number who received an initial dose in the United States. Germany has vaccinated just over 2 million people so far.

Story continues

Merkel noted that the U.S., which has numerous vaccine production sites, doesn't allow domestically produced doses to be exported, unlike in Europe, where some manufacturers' plants supply the rest of the world. The EU recently announced it, too, will tighten vaccine export rules.

In total, the EU has purchased enough vaccine to inoculate its 450 million inhabitants twice over, if all orders come through. Merkel acknowledged the slow start.

I think we're going to catch up quite a bit, she said, adding that new mutations might require routine vaccinations in the future, similar to the flu.

Asked how she manages to keep her signature hairstyle in shape during the lockdown, which has led to the closure of hairdressers, Merkel acknowledged receiving the help of an assistant.

Of course, we adhere to all the hygiene requirements, she said. And the fact that one slowly turns grey is something one has to live with. So I'm looking forward to hairdressers being able to open again.

___

Follow AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at:

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Fashion mogul Peter Nygard is shown during a bail hearing in Winnipeg on Jan. 6, 2021, in this courtroom sketch. (The Canadian Press/La Liberte Manitoba, Tadens Mpwene  POOL)

Judge to Rule on Bail Application for Peter Nygard, Who Faces Sex Charges in US

WINNIPEGA Manitoba judge is to rule today on whether a Canadian fashion king facing charges of sex trafficking and racketeering in the United States will be released on bail.

Peter Nygard, who is 79, was arrested in December in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act and faces nine counts in the Southern District of New York.

Defence lawyer Jay Prober argued in court last week that his clients health is at risk behind bars.

Court heard there is a plan for an in-home security guard and 24-hour video surveillance to monitor Nygard if he is released.

Federal lawyers told court that Nygard has the means to flee and the charges he faces in the United States are too serious for his release.

Authorities there accuse Nygard of using his influence in the fashion industry to lure women and girls with the promise of modelling and other financial opportunities.

They allege that for 25 years Nygard targeted women and underage girls from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and forcibly sexually assaulted them.

A full package of extradition materials from U.S. prosecutors has not yet been provided to Canadian authorities.

Prober has said its unfair to keep Nygard behind bars without the complete information.

Nygard is also the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the United States involving 57 women with similar allegations.

Two of Nygards sons have filed a separate lawsuit against him claiming they were statutorily raped at his direction as teenagers.

Prober has said his client denies all the allegations.

Nygard founded his fashion company in Winnipeg in 1967. It grew from a partial stake in a womens garment manufacturer to a brand name sold in stores around the world.

He stepped down as chairman after the FBI and police raided his offices in New York City last February.

The 120,000-year-old animal bone fragment with six incised lines is one of the oldest representations of abstract patterns produced by Middle Paleolithic and Middle Stone Age hominins and the oldest known so far in the Levant.

The engraved bone fragment was recovered at the open-air archaeological site of Nesher Ramla on the western slopes of the Judean hills in central Israel.

The specimen was dated to the beginning of Marine Isotope Stage 5 period (120,000 years ago).

The bone was from an aurochs (Bos primigenius), an extinct species of ox that inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa.

The site was likely used as a camp or a meeting place for Paleolithic hunters who would then slaughter the animals they caught at that location, said senior author Dr. Yossi Zaidner, an archaeologist in the Institute of Archeology at Hebrew University.

The identified bone is believed to have come from an aurochs, an extinct species of wild cattle.

The researchers studied the engraved bone using 3D imaging and microscopic methods of analysis.

They think that the engravings were most likely produced by a right-handed individual in a single working session.

The characteristics of the incisions, especially the presence of longitudinal polish and striations in one of the incisions, suggest that they were made by a retouched flint flake.

Based on our laboratory analysis and discovery of microscopic elements, we were able to surmise that people in prehistoric times used a sharp tool fashioned from flint rock to make the engravings, said Dr. Iris Groman-Yaroslavski, an archaeologist in the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa.

According to the team, the production of the engravings is likely related to a symbolic behavior.

Every indication was that there was a definite message behind what was carved into the bone, said first author Marion Prevost, an archaelogist in the Institute of Archeology at Hebrew University.

We reject any assumption that these grooves were some sort of inadvertent doodling. That type of artwork wouldnt have seen this level of attention to detail.

We hypothesize that the choice of this particular bone was related to the status of that animal in that hunting community and is indicative of the spiritual connection that the hunters had with the animals they killed, the authors said.

It is fair to say that we have discovered one of the oldest symbolic engravings ever found on Earth and certainly the oldest in the Levant, Dr. Zaidner said.

This discovery has very important implications for understanding of how symbolic expression developed in humans.

At the same time, while it is still not possible to determine the exact meaning of these symbols we hope that continued research will unveil those key details.

The study was published in the journal Quaternary International.

_____

Marion Prevost et al. Early evidence for symbolic behavior in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic: A 120 ka old engraved aurochs bone shaft from the open-air site of Nesher Ramla, Israel. Quaternary International, published online January 20, 2021; doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2021.01.002
Panasonic AI-driven cameras empower an expanding vision of new uses

Imagine a world where video cameras are not just watching and reporting for security, but have an even wider positive impact on our lives. Imagine that cameras control street and building lights, as people come and go, that traffic jams are predicted and vehicles are automatically rerouted, and more tills are opened, just before a queue starts to form. Cameras with AI capabilities Cameras in stores can show us how we might look in the latest outfit as we browse. Thats the vision from Panasonic about current and future uses for their cameras that provide artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities at the edge. Panasonic feels that these types of intelligent camera applications are also the basis for automation and introduction of Industry 4.0, in which processes are automated, monitored and controlled by AI-driven systems. 4K network security cameras The companys i-PRO AI-capable camera line can install and run up to three AI-driven video analytic applications Panasonics 4K network security cameras have built-in AI capabilities suitable for this next generation of intelligent applications in business and society. The companys i-PRO AI-capable camera line can install and run up to three AI-driven video analytic applications. The AI engine is directly embedded into the camera, thus reducing costs and Panasonics image quality ensures the accuracy of the analytics outcome. FacePRO facial recognition technology Panasonic began advancing AI technology on the server side with FacePRO, the in-house facial recognition application, which uses AI deep learning capabilities. Moving ahead, they transitioned their knowledge of AI from the server side to the edge, introducing i-PRO security cameras with built-in AI capabilities last summer, alongside their own in-house analytics. Moreover, in line with the Panasonic approach to focus more on collaboration with specialist AI software developers, a partnership with Italian software company, A.I. Tech followed in September, with a range of intelligent applications, partially based on deep learning. Additional collaborations are already in place with more than 10 other developers, across the European Union, working on more future applications. i-PRO AI-capable security cameras Open systems are an important part of Panasonics current approach. The companys i-PRO AI-capable cameras are an open platform and designed for third-party application development, therefore, applications can be built or tailored to the needs of an individual customer. Panasonic use to be a company that developed everything in-house, including all the analytics and applications. However, now we have turned around our strategy by making our i-PRO security cameras open to integrate applications and analytics from third-party companies, says Gerard Figols, Head of Security Solutions at Panasonic Business Europe. Flexible and adapting to specific customer needs This new approach allows the company to be more flexible and adaptable to customers needs. At the same time, we can be quicker and much more tailored to the market trend, said Gerard Figols. He adds, For example, in the retail space, enabling retailers to enhance the customer experience, in smart cities for traffic monitoring and smart parking, and by event organisers and transport hubs to monitor and ensure safety. Edge-based analytics offer multiple benefits over server-based systems Edge-based analytics Edge-based analytics offer multiple benefits over server-based systems. On one hand, there are monetary benefits - a cost reduction results from the decreased amount of more powerful hardware required on the server side to process the data, on top of reduction in the infrastructure costs, as not all the full video stream needs to be sent for analysis, we can work solely with the metadata. On the other hand, there are also advantages of flexibility, as well as reliability. Each camera can have its own individual analytic setup and in case of any issue on the communication or server side, the camera can keep running the analysis at the edge, thereby making sure the CCTV system is still fully operational. Most importantly, systems can keep the same high level of accuracy. Explosion of AI camera applications We can compare the explosion of AI camera applications to the way we experienced it for smartphone applications" We can compare the explosion of AI camera applications to the way we experienced it for smartphone applications, said Gerard Figols, adding However, it doesnt mean the hardware is not important anymore, as I believe its more important than ever. Working with poor picture quality or if the hardware is not reliable, and works 24/7, software cannot run or deliver the outcome it has been designed for. As hardware specialists, Figols believes that Panasonic seeks to focus on what they do best - Building long-lasting, open network cameras, which are capable of capturing the highest quality images that are required for the latest AI applications, while software developers can concentrate on bringing specialist applications to the market. Same as for smartphones, AI applications will proliferate based on market demand and succeed or fail, based on the value that they deliver. Facial recognition, privacy protection and cross line technologies Panasonic has been in the forefront in developing essential AI applications for CCTV, such as facial recognition, privacy protection and cross line. However, with the market developing so rapidly and the potential applications of AI-driven camera systems being so varied and widespread, Panasonic quickly realised that the future of their network cameras was going to be in open systems, which allow specialist developers and their customers to use their sector expertise to develop their own applications for specific vertical market applications, while using i-PRO hardware. Metadata for detection and recognition Regarding privacy, consider that the use of AI in cameras is about generating metadata for the detection and recognition of patterns, rather than identifying individual identities. However, there are legitimate privacy concerns, but I firmly believe that attitudes will change quickly when people see the incredible benefits that this technology can deliver, said Gerard Figols, adding I hope that we will be able to redefine our view of cameras and AI, not just as insurance, but as life advancing and enhancing. i-PRO AI Privacy Guard One of the AI applications that Panasonic developed was i-PRO AI Privacy Guard Seeking to understand and appreciate privacy concerns, one of the AI applications that Panasonic developed was i-PRO AI Privacy Guard that generates data without capturing individual identities, following European privacy regulations that are among the strictest in the world. Gerard Fogils said, The combination of artificial intelligence and the latest generation open camera technology will change the worlds perceptions from Big Brother to Big Benefits. New applications will emerge as the existing generation of cameras is updated to the new open and intelligent next generation devices, and the existing role of the security camera will also continue. Future scope of AI and cameras He adds, Not just relying on the security cameras for evidence when things have gone wrong, end users will increasingly be able to use AI and the cameras with much higher accuracy to prevent false alarms and in a proactive way to prevent incidents." Gerard Figols concludes, That could be monitoring and alerting when health and safety guidelines are being breached or spotting and flagging patterns of suspicious behaviour before incidents occur.

Geopolitics, Politics & Conflict

-Iran is claiming that it is already increasing its oil production, and will have reached pre-sanctions levels within a month or two. Iran is also claiming that the market would be able to absorb its full-out production of 4 million barrels per day. If that is indeed true, and were not saying that it is, it would certainly limit other OPEC members and their plans going forward. For now, the plan is for the group to reassess every month to see where the market is, and then decide on production volumes for the group as a whole and individually. Any increased production in Iran, even if swallowed up by an increase in demand, would surely stymie production from other OPEC members.

Iraq may have a shot at bringing itself into fuller compliance with its OPEC cuts now that Iraqi protestors have shut down the Dhi Qar Oil Company in southern Iraq. The oil company owns Nassiriya and Gharaf, which produce 290,000 barrels of oil. Iraq has failed to comply with its output quotas for months, including in January. The protests come as Iraq battles with severe unemployment.

Following the very tentative peace and transition process in Libya, which will dictate how the oil flows and if it continues to flow, the UN has released a list of 24 candidates for Libyas tripartite presidency council and 21 names for prime minister. The four ultimately elected will preside of Libyas first full elections since the war in December
Chief Minister on Friday said he was not offended by senior leader K Sudhakaran's remarks against him and he was proud to be the son of a hardworkingman who was a toddy tapper.

Sudhakaran had said Vijayan, who hails from a family of toddy-tappers, will be remembered "as the first CM from the working class to use a helicopter."



He made the comments on Tuesday at the venue of 'Aishwarya Yathra,' led by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala at Thalassery in Kannur district.

Asked about the remarks made by the Kannur MP, Vijayan said he does not consider thecomments as abusive as he was the son of a toddy tapper.

"I have said earlier also that my father was a toddy tapper. My elder brother was also a toddy tapper.Second brother too knew the job but started a bakery."



"Ours is an agrarian family.I am not offended by the comment. I do not take it as abuse.I am the son of a toddy tapper.I am proud that I am the son of a hardworking man," Vijayan said.

He said Sudhakaran had blamed Alappuzha MLA Shanimol Usman for making the matter a controversy.

"Even Ramesh Chennithala had to change his stance in the matter.People of the state very well know my lifestyle," Vijayan said.

In a sort of u-turn, several leaders on Friday sought to play down the remark, saying it was not abusive.

The Congress' disciplinary committee earlier said it will look into the matter, but party's Rajya Sabha MP K C Venugopal claimed the statement was made in a colloquial manner.

The lone women MLA Shanimol Usman, who had earlier lashed out at Sudhakaran for his remarks, tendered an unconditional apology to the MP, saying she should have spoken to him before reacting.

Chennithala, in response to questions posed by reporters yesterday, had said such comments should have been avoided.

However, on Friday, he told the media that his reaction yesterday was a "general statement" and Sudhakaran was an asset to the Congress party.

"Sudhakaran said he didn't make any abusive statement against the CM.When I enquired, it was true.I made a general statement in the matter when reporters asked me.He is a popular leader and an asset for the Congress party," Chennithala said.

Meanwhile, Sudhakaran, who met the media in Delhi, stood by the statement, saying he only mentioned the occupation of Vijayan's family to point out his "lavish lifestyle" now.

"The discussion for the last two days was that I had made casteist remarks.The CPI(M) reacted to my Tuesday's speech on Thursday.They woke up from their sleep.Shanimol Usman intervened unnecessarily and now she understands and tendered an apology.Leader of opposition also changed his stand."



In a Facebook post, Usman said she should have asked Sudhakaran about the incident before reacting.

"Sudhakaran made the statement in a colloquial manner. Sudhakaran had clarified that he was not intending to make any casteist remarks," Venugopal said.

However, state law minister A K Balan said Sudhakaran always had "hatred towards Vijayan".

"The congress leaders are afraid of Sudhakaran.The congress leaders should show the spine to stop Sudhakaran from making such casteist remarks," Balan said.

The BJP leadership also said there was no need to consider the statement by Sudhakaran as a casteist remark.

"There is no need for such a controversy.The Left leaders have made even more derogatory statements earlier," BJP state president K Surendran said at Kozhikode.

Sudhakaran had earlier expressed his interest in taking over as the Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president after the party's recent local body poll debacle.

The Chief Minister had to face similar remarks when the Left government decided to implement the September 28,2018 Supreme Court verdict, allowing entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple.

Earlier in 2019, BJP state vice-president M Sivarajan said it would have been better if Vijayan "had gone back to toddy-tapping" instead of being the CM.

During the initial protests against the state's decision to implement the top court order, a local woman in her 50s allegedly used a derogatory term to denote Vijayan's caste, a video of which went viral.

She later shot a video apologising to the Chief Minister.

Prior to that, 'Janmabhoomi', a BJP mouthpiece, carried a cartoon, referring to his caste of traditional toddy tappers and implying he was unfit for the job.

However, Vijayan had brushed aside these remarks, saying the saffron party always reminded him of his caste and expected him to follow his family's footsteps, but that times had changed, a new era had come about and they would have to understand it.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senator Bill Hagerty on Thursday, in reaction to President Joe Bidens remarks on foreign policy at the State Department, hit what he calls the Biden "America Last" policy.

Senator Hagerty said, In a major speech today, President Biden outlined a vision for a foreign policy bent on resuming the Obama-Biden Administrations failed approach of multilateralism and appeasement, which ultimately subjugates Americas best interests to those of others. Contrary to President Bidens false assertions, America never stopped leading the world over the last four years. In the Middle East, Israel and our Arab allies are more secure and stable as a result of the Abraham Accords.

"The Trump Administration awakened the world to Communist Chinas predatory diplomatic, economic, technological, military, and moral challenge. And when I served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan, I saw every day the Trump Administration do more than predecessors to strengthen and expand the Quad strategic partnership with Japan, India, and Australia.

As Senator, I will always put America First and never support an America Last foreign policy.
FM promises a simplified GST regime, improved GSTN network

After record revenue collections from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman has proposed to simplify the indirect tax regime and improve the capacity of the GSTN network.

She said several measures have been taken to further simplify the GST. The capacity of GSTN system has been announced. Deep analytics and artificial intelligence have been deployed to identity tax evaders and fake billers, launching special drives against them. The finance minister assured the house that every possible measure shall be taken to smoothen the GST further and remove anomalies such as the inverted duty structure.

With respect to the custom duty policy, the finance minister said that it has the twin objectives of promoting domestic manufacturing and helping India get on to global value change and export better. She said the thrust now has to be on easy access to raw materials and exports of value added products. In this regard, she proposed to review 400 old exemptions in the custom duty structure this year. She said extensive consultation will be conducted and from 1 October 2021 and a revised custom duty structure free of distortions will be put in place. She also proposed that any new custom duty exemption henceforth will have validity up to 31 March 2 years from the date of its issue.

The finance minister announced withdrawal of a few exemptions on parts of chargers and sub-parts of mobile phones. Further, some parts of mobiles will move from NIL rate to a moderate 2.5 per cent.

She also announced reducing custom duty uniformly to 7.5 per cent on semis, flat, and long products of non-alloy and stainless steel. Steel scrap imports will be exempt from duty for a period up to 31 March 2022.

Stressing the need to rationalise duty on raw material inputs to man-made textile, the finance minister announced bringing nylon chain on par with polyester and other man-made fibers. Announcing uniform deduction of the BCD rates on caprolactam, nylon chips and nylon fibre and yarn to 5 per cent, the minister said this will help the textile industry, MSMEs and exports too. She also announced calibration of customs duty rate on chemical to encourage domestic value addition and to remove inversions. The minister also announced rationalisation of custom duty on gold and silver.

Sitaraman said a phased manufacturing plan for solar cells and solar panels will be notified to build up domestic capacity. She announced raising duty on solar inverter from 5 per cent to 20 per cent and on solar lanterns from 5 per cent to 15 per cent.

The finance minister in her budget speech said that there is immense potential in manufacturing heavy capital equipment domestically and the rate structure will be comprehensively reviewed in due course. However, she announced an immediate revision in duty rates on certain items immediately, including tunnel boring machine and certain auto parts.

The budget proposes certain changes to benefit MSMEs, which include increasing duty on steel screws, plastic builder wares and prawn feed. It also provide for rationalising exemption on import of duty-free items as an incentive to exporters of garments, leather and handicraft items. It also provides for withdrawing exemption on imports of certain kinds of leather and raising custom duty on finished synthetic gem stones.

To benefit farmers, the finance minister announced raising custom duty on cotton, raw silk and silk yarn. She also announced withdrawing end-use based concessions on denatured ethyl alcohol. The minister also proposed an Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess on a small number of items. While applying the cess, we have taken care not to put additional burden on consumers on most items, she said.

Regarding rationalisation of procedures and easing of compliance, the finance minister proposed certain changes in the provisions relating to ADD and CVD levies. She also said that to complete customs investigation, definite time-lines are being prescribed. The minister said that the Turant Custom Initiative rolled out in 2020 has helped in putting a check on misuse of FTAs.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez faced criticism over the claims she made about the Capitol riot, as many noted that she was not even in the building during the time of the siege. So, where was AOC? Almost a month after the Capitol riot, AOC recounted her story of everything that went down, from her perspective, in a 90-minute Instagram Live video. AOC described fearing for her life as she hid in the bathroom of her office in the Cannon House Office Building in the Capitol complex. However, Tatum Report pointed out that the rioters did not breach the Cannon building despite being connected to the Capitol by a tunnel. Some people on social media even posted maps showing the distance between the two buildings. Right-wing critics said she might have exaggerated the danger she was facing at the time of the riot. RedState, a conservative website, questioned Ocasio-Cortez's account with a headline that read: "AOC wasn't even in the Capitol building during her 'near death' experience." On Twitter, the congresswoman was also likened to actor Jussie Smollett who was accused of staging an attack against himself. And the hashtag #AlexandriaOcasioSmollett even trended.

Cannon Building Among Locations in Capitol Complex Forced to Evacuate

Despite criticism, AOC stood by her remarks and pushed back against critics. Indeed, Ocasio-Cortez was not in the main Capitol building where the Senate and House Chamber were when the riot broke out, and she was in the Cannon building instead.

Politifact noted that during the video, she didn't really make any claims that she was in the main Capitol building when the riot broke out. Apart from that, the Cannon building was also one of the two buildings in the complex forced into evacuating.

Related story: [Video] Security Camera Captures Suspect Leaving Pipe Bombs at U.S. Capitol on Night Before Riot

AOC stated that around 1 p.m. that day, she heard "violent bangs" on her door, and it seemed like "someone was trying to break the door down."

Rioters were already gathered outside the Capitol at that time but had not broken in yet, reports said. When she approached her legislative director, Geraldo Bonilla-Chavez, she was told to "hide, run and hide."

AOC Thought She Was 'Going to Die' As Police Called for Her

It was during this time when she hid in her office bathroom as she heard a man's voice shouting, "Where is she? Where is she?"

She told her viewers that it was during this time when she felt "everything was over" and said, "I thought I was going to die." She was so fearful of the person calling for her without realizing that it was actually a Capitol Police officer calling her attention.

When they found her, the officer told her to move to another building. She said she could hear "all of these rioters behind the glass of the door."

Read also: [Video] Schumer Makes a Hilarious 'Incited' Gaffe on Senate Speech, Social Media Erupts

She ended up sheltering with Rep. Katie Porter, who said in a February 1 interview with MSNBC that she expected people roaming the hallways at that point. However, as Rep. Nancy Mace tweeted the following day, rioters didn't make it to the hallway where the congresswomen were sheltered.

She also said most lawmakers were just asked to evacuate due to the nearby threat, although the building they were in wasn't compromised. AOC also clarified on February 4 that none of them knew which areas in the Capitol were dangerous.
[February 05, 2021] Winshuttle EnterWorks Recognized in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Master Data Management Solutions

Winshuttle, the provider of the EnterWorks industry-leading Master Data Management (MDM) and Product Information Management (PIM) platform, today announced that it has been recognized in the 2021 January Gartner Magic Quadrant for Master Data Management Solutions. According to the Gartner (News - Alert) report, "The MDM market continues to evolve and thrive as organizations seek to benefit from the business agility afforded by mastering their most critical data, particularly in times of change. Data and analytics leaders should use this research to inform their MDM solution choices beyond vendor marketing hype." "We're excited to be recognized by Gartner in the Magic Quadrant report, which we believe is a recognition of our continuous efforts in this domain," said Kristian Kalsing, Vice President of Product & Solutions at Winshuttle. "Gartner Inc.'s findings align with what we're seeing; the majority of our new customers in 2019 and 2020 chose our platform for its strong multi-domain capabilities." Leading brands such as Fender, GSK, Thomson Reuters (News - Alert) , Mary Kay, Restoration Hardware US Foods, Ecolab, Carhartt, Rich Products and more rely on the EnterWorks platform to drive business results at scale, become more agile and transform digital into a competitive advantage. The solution serves as a multi-domain data hub with various uses, including:



Multi-domain Master Data Management (MDM) - helps users create a single, governed source of truth for strategic data assets across systems.

- helps users create a single, governed source of truth for strategic data assets across systems. Product Information Management (PIM) - enables users to create, manage and share trusted, differentiated product data at the speed the market demands.

- enables users to create, manage and share trusted, differentiated product data at the speed the market demands. Digital Asset Management (DAM)- provides users the ability to store, manage and share digital assets across all channels. "We built our EnterWorks platform to be the most flexible, robust and scalable MDM solution on the market," said Kerry Young, Vice President and General Manager of Winshuttle EnterWorks. "We feel that our recognition in this report is a testament to the great work our team is doing and our commitment to providing customers with solutions that improve the quality of their most important data and get that data across their systems and sales channels faster-enabling them to compete and thrive in an increasingly competitive digital economy. We're excited to continue to provide solutions that accelerate our customer's digital transformation initiatives and drive business value." To review the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Master Data Management Solutions, please visit: https://more.winshuttle.com/Q12021-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-master-data-management-solutions.html

You can learn more about Winshuttle EnterWorks at winshuttle.com/enterworks. Gartner disclaimer: Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About Winshuttle Over 2,400 enterprises across the globe trust Winshuttle's automation, product information management (PIM), and multi-domain master data management (MDM) software to drive business results at scale, become more agile and transform digital into a competitive advantage. Winshuttle EnterWorks is an industry leading multi-domain MDM & PIM platform that powers leading brands such as Fender, GSK, Thomson Reuters, Mary Kay, IDEA, US Foods, Ecolab, Carhartt, Rich Products, and many more. Highly ranked by industry analysts, the EnterWorks platform enables enterprise organizations to get trusted data and content to the systems and channels that power their business-at the speed the market demands-and all from a single platform. Learn more at winshuttle.com/enterworks. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005454/en/

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Shady Grove Fertility experienced a 52% increase in egg freezing from June through September 2020, indicative of a larger egg freezing trend among women during the pandemic. Everybody had to take a hard stop in their lives. And I think what happened was it gave people the time and the space to kind of reassess their priorities and the directions that theyre taking in their life.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has led people to trade social lives for sheltered ones at home, it has also offered women time to reflect on their future family-building plans, an impact that Shady Grove Fertility (SGF) says could contribute to the uptick in egg freezing, as recently reported in Time Magazines article, Data Show More Women Are Freezing Their Eggs During the Pandemic, Defying Doctors Expectations.

Everybody had to take a hard stop in their lives, says Sharon Covington, MSW, LCSW-C, Director of Psychological Support Services at SGF. And I think what happened was it gave people the time and the space to kind of reassess their priorities and the directions that theyre taking in their life.

To get a better understanding of egg freezing trends, TIME tapped 54 fertility centers across major American cities, including SGF, which has 37 locations across the eastern seaboard, for analysis. SGF has seen a 50% increase in women freezing their eggs since 2019, among other fertility trends made apparent during 2020. In March 2020, SGF was forced to limit fertility treatment services, but upon full reopening, experienced a 52% increase in egg freezing from June through September 2020.

Despite SGFs adaption to a not-so business as usual model given the extra precautions the practice is taking to foster a safe and healthy fertility space, Covington explained to TIME that she is busier than ever. Upon assessing why there is a significant surge in cycles, Covington explained that the women she sees are freezing their eggs because of the pandemic, not in spite of it. Women who were once occupied with busy social and professional lives are now grounded at home. This time in isolation allowed women to pursue treatment privately.

Pavna Brahma, M.D., an SGF physician in Atlanta, was among the physicians interviewed by TIME. She theorizes that many factors contribute to the rise in fertility preservation, including social changes induced by the pandemic, more job flexibility to attend appointments, and growing awareness about the advantages of egg freezing. She continued to share that economic factors may also play a role in the egg freezing boom. Many women want to take advantage of the moment when they know they have coverage and economic stability in their job, explains Dr. Brahma.

Fertility preservation and egg freezing are key influencers in Dr. Brahmas passion for reproductive endocrinology, positioning her career more as a mission rather than a job. She hopes to expand access to egg freezing and inform women about its empowering benefits.

The Rise of Egg Freezing Over the Years

SGF is one of the largest fertility centers in the country and among the top 5 egg freezing programs across all 50 states. For women who have reservations about the cost-benefit of egg freezing, SGF offers a 100% refund guarantee program for elective egg freezing.

In the TIME article, staggering data on egg freezing over the greater part of a decade is revealed. In 2009, just 475 women froze their eggs, according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART). By 2018, 13,275 women did so, an increase of 2,695%.

SGFs own employee and patient, Melanie, was among the small circle of women who froze their eggs in 2009. Bradshaw had her sights set on traveling the world rather than micro-monitoring her biological clock, leading her to freeze 23 eggs with SGF. In 2020, nearly 11 years after freezing her eggs, Bradshaw returned to SGF to thaw her eggs and is now happily adjusting to life with her newborn.

Another SGF egg freezing patient, Rachel, opens up about her proactive steps to parenthood, Egg freezing is an investment in the future and probably the best one Ive ever made. I no longer have to worry about my biological clock ticking as I rebuild my life. No matter how old I am if or when I decide to have another child, my eggs will always be 36. As my eggs wait to be thawed one day, medicine continues to advance, and the statistics continue to improve. How lucky are women to have this gift?! As I prepare for one more cycle, the only regret I have is that I didnt freeze my eggs sooner.

Addressing the Prospects of Parenthood with Egg Freezing

Egg freezing does not guarantee the promise of having a baby one day but freezing at least 15 eggs does significantly increase the odds, with the actual quantity dependent upon a womans age. SGFs Joseph Doyle, M.D., was among the researchers who published the following egg freezing statistics and success rates in the peer reviewed medical journal Fertility and Sterility:



Women under the age of 38 have a 70 to 80 percent likelihood of taking home a baby if they freeze between 15 and 20 eggs.

For women under 38 years of age, between 40 to 45 percent of women will have a live birth if they thaw 8 to 9 eggs.

Greater than 85 percent of all frozen eggs will survive our thawing process.

Among the eggs that survived the thawing process, 71 percent will become successfully fertilized.

As we have continued to gather data daily on egg thawing, we have grown increasingly confident in this procedure, explains Dr. Doyle. And we back this confidence with a money-back guarantee, a program that we call our Shared Risk 100% Refund Program. Patients who participate in Shared Risk can receive their money back should their attempts at having a child using their frozen eggs prove unsuccessful. As with any SGF treatment plan, our goal is for you to take home a baby, and we do everything we can to help you grow your familywhen the timing is right for you.

Looking for more information? Watch SGF's Egg Freezing On-Demand webinar, available for viewing at your convenience.

Women interested in egg freezing can schedule an appointment directly with an SGF specialist without a referral by calling 1-877-411-9292 or by completing this brief online form.

About Shady Grove Fertility (SGF)

SGF is a leading fertility and IVF center of excellence with more than 85,000 babies born and 5,000+ 5-star patient reviews. With 37 locations throughout FL, GA, MD, NY, PA, VA, D.C., and Santiago, Chile, we offer patients virtual physician consults, deliver individualized care, accept most insurance plans, and make treatment affordable through innovative financial options, including 100% refund guarantees. More physicians refer their patients to SGF than any other center. Call 1-888-761-1967 or visit ShadyGroveFertility.com.
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A PORTRAIT of women's health campaigner Vicky Phelan has raised over 55,000 at auction for frontline workers.

The triptych portrait by artist Vincent Devine was auctioned by Sheppard's Irish Auction House and all proceeds, including the donation of Sheppards auctioneer fees, brings the total to over 55k which will go directly to Heroes Aid a charity supporting frontline healthcare workers.

SOLD!!!!



Historic portrait of @PhelanVicky by artist @vincent_devine has just sold at auction for an amazing 46,500.



Thanks to @SheppardsDurrow for generously hosting the auction



Thanks also to all of you- your support means the funds will help frontline healthcare workers pic.twitter.com/787E6VnjvD February 4, 2021

Vicky, who is currently undergoing treatment for her cancer in the United States said she is thankful for the generosity shown and shared a special story behind the man who bought the painting.

"The painting was bought by a very, very close friend of my family, David Brennan. David wanted to buy the painting to thank my parents, John and Gaby Kelly, for being so good to him when he was a young lad. David practically lived in our house when he was a teenager. His hope for the painting is that it will be made publicly available to the people of Ireland and that it will continue to do good and raise awareness for cancer and will keep my candle lit for generations to come," she said.
The Deputy Commander of Somali National Army 27th Division, General Salah Yakub, claimed that General Abukar Hud is linked to Al-Shabaab.

During a press conference in Hiiraan General Yakub said that security forces thwarted an attack by General Hud against the HirShabelle administration.

"It is unfortunate that an official who holds high rank is firing heavy weaponry against his people," said Deputy Commander Salah Yakub.

The commander said security forces are currently conducting large-scale operations against General Hud's rebels and will arrest them.

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"He is now being pursued by the forces and he will be captured I don't think he will survive that way,"

Forces allied to general Hud have clashed with HirShabelle forces on Thursday.

The number of casualties still remains scanty.

General Hud started fighting in Beledweyne after Ali Gudlawe was elected the president of HirShabelle saying his election violated clan form which dictated a new president should have come from Hiiraan region.
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Kenyan scientists are investigating a possible disease outbreak that is killing thousands of mangrove trees at the Coast.

This was revealed during the planting of 5,000 mangrove seedlings at Mida Creek to mark World Wetland Day after community conservationists reported to the Kenya Forest Research Institute (Kefri) a 'strange disease' killing the trees in Kilifi, Mombasa, Lamu and Kwale counties.

Environment and Forestry Chief Administrative Secretary Mohamed Elmi said the research will help identify the cause of the disease and how to cure the trees.

"Kefri is researching a disease that is affecting mangrove and we will get a solution very soon," he said.

Mr Elmi said Kefri would buy 200,000 mangrove seedlings planted by women groups at the Mida creek, and urged Kenyans to plant trees from which they could earn money and also address climate change.

"One mangrove is equal to 10 trees. Kefri is doing research for forests and has been doing research for many years," he added.

The lead researcher on the disease affecting mangroves, Dr Jane Njuguna, who is also the senior deputy director of research and development at Kefri, said a solution would soon be found to ensure mangroves continue growing healthy.

"The new disease was reported by communities living near the mangrove forest and we suspect it is caused by barnacles, which have led to the deaths of thousands of mangrove trees along the Coast," she said, referring to the sea creature that often attaches itself to surfaces.

According to Mr Salim Athman, a resident and tour guide at Mida Creek, the disease manifests by the leaves of the Mangrove trees turning from bright green to brownish colour before eventually drying up.

"We have witnessed some mangrove trees turning from the natural green colour to light green and brown after shrinking before finally drying up," he told the Nation adding, "The young trees dry up immediately after sprouting out from the muddy soil at the creek."

Increase mangrove cover

Dr Njuguna said the researchers will continue working with the community to increase mangrove cover and obtain more reports about their growth across the region.

"The disease is caused by marine crustaceans, which have external shells that attach themselves permanently to trees and in the process suppresses the tree, leading to its death," she said.

Dr Joshua Cheboiwo, the director of Kefri, said the institute had employed four ecologists who will work with the Kenya Marine Research Institute (Kemri) on mangrove research on Kenya's coastline.

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"Other than researching the disease, we also need to know how climate change has affected marine life in the region," he added.

Dr Cheboiwo said Kefri is keen to ensure that two billion trees are planted by 2022 to meet the recommended 10 per cent forest cover for the country.

"We have already attained 7.2 per cent cover and will be planting 45 million seedlings in every county so as to meet the recommended 10 per cent cover after identifying areas where the trees would be planted such as schools, government land, and private farms," he said.

Ms Arafa Salim Baya, a community conservationist and patron of Bidii na Kazi Women Group in Mida Creek, said residents were hopeful that Kefri will find a lasting solution to eradicate the disease.

"We had lodged complaints with the authorities about the barnacles and we are happy that researchers have begun investigations so as to get a solution," she said.

The Kefri officials said the 200,000 mangrove seedlings raised by community conservation groups at Mida Creek will cost between Sh5 million and Sh10 million, helping the community to sustain themselves.
Fines were issued by gardai after up to 100 people attended a graveyard ceremony in Crosstown, Wexford.

The incident was one of two involving members of the Travelling community where officers intervened on public health grounds this week.

Gardai were called to a graveyard gathering of up to 100 people in Crosstown on Tuesday. Dozens of mourners also attended a funeral in Bunclody yesterday.

Pavee Point has warned against large numbers continuing to attend funerals across the country during lockdown.

Cultural norms must take a back seat at this time or there will be a lot more funerals in the coming weeks, according to Martin Collins, co-director of the Traveller organisation.

The gathering in Crosstown was connected to a funeral held last week for a member of the Travelling community who passed away from Covid-19.

There is a tradition in Wexford where you attend the grave nine days after a person is buried and up to 100 people attended the cemetery, which is unacceptable in the middle of a pandemic and with the current surge of Covid across the county, said Wexford mayor Ger Carthy.

Gardai attended the scene and engaged with those present, a Garda spokesperson told the Irish Independent. It is understood fines were issued to those found to be in breach of health regulations.

Meanwhile, up to 60 people gathered yesterday for a funeral at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Bunclody.

Gardai at one point entered the church to ask some mourners to leave as under current Level 5 restrictions, funerals are limited to 10 people.

There has been a sharp increase in cases among the Traveller community, with 29 outbreaks occurring between January 23 and 30, according to the latest data from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).

Large gatherings at this time is reckless and dangerous, Mr Collins said.

"As a Traveller man I know the cultural significance and they will come from all over the globe to show respect to the deceased.

It is the most unnatural thing in the world to stay away from a funeral, but cultural norms have to take a back seat. Public health and the preservation of life trumps everything else.

If we dont do whats being asked, there will be a lot more funerals.

I feel deflated. I dont think at this stage anyone can plead ignorance, whether youre a Traveller or settled, rich or poor. People know what they need to do.

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Armenias Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan today received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden Patrik Svensson, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland Pavel Cheplak and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lithuania Inga Stanyte-Tolockiene.

Badasyan welcomed the Ambassadors to the Ministry of Justice and stated that the meeting serves as a good opportunity to discuss the adequate response in case of violations of fundamental human rights.

On behalf of his colleagues, Ambassador Svensson extended thanks for the opportunity to meet and stated that there is a great desire to enhance cooperation in the areas of democracy and human rights in the next few years. Sweden supports the reforms that Armenia earmarked after the velvet revolution for human rights protection, judicial-legal reforms, rule of law and strengthening of democracy, Svensson said.

Ambassador Stanyte-Tolockiene said the Ministry of Justice of Armenia has been the frontrunner in the implementation of reforms and congratulated Armenia on the progress made based on the results of Transparency Internationals 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index. Ambassador Cheplak seconded his colleagues and asked about the activities that the Ministry of Justice is carrying out to create anti-corruption bodies and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

During the meeting, the interlocutors attached importance to the immediate return of captives and the quick and adequate response to the gross violations of human rights. Minister Badasyan expressed gratitude to the Ambassadors for their positive assessments and provided details about the reforms in the anti-corruption field and police reforms. In this context, Badasyan attached importance to the EUR 30,000,000 that the European Union is allocating to the Government of Armenia to support the implementation of reforms in the justice sector, adding that EUR 9,000,000 of the EUR 30,000,000 has already been allocated.
Governor Tom Wolfs proposed fiscal year 2021-22 budgetwhich seeks to raid $199 million from the Race Horse Development Trust Fundwould result in the end of horseracing in Pennsylvania, an integral part of the states agriculture industry that supports hundreds of small businesses and 20,000 family-sustaining jobs.

The proposed budget repeats a recommendation the Wolf Administration put forth last year that failed to gain traction in the legislature.

It is hard to fathom why the Wolf Administration would once again put forward a fundamentally flawed proposal that was widely dismissed and failed to gain any meaningful support last year in the legislature, said Pete Peterson, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition, an organization representing the six Thoroughbred and Standardbred horsemen and breeder associations in the state. This proposal would result in the end of horseracing, which supports 20,000 jobs, delivers an annual $1.6 billion economic impact, and preserves hundreds of thousands of acres of open space.

Peterson noted that the effects would be felt well beyond Pennsylvanians who work at a race track or breed horses. Purse money earned by a horse enables the owner to buy hay and straw from farmers, feed from local feed mills, as well as pay the horses jockey, trainer, blacksmith, groom, veterinarian, and equine dentist. In addition, countless small businesses in the manufacturing, retail and construction industries count horsemen and breeders among their major customers for horse trailers and vehicles, feed equipment, riding tack and other supplies, the construction or repair of barns and fencing, and more.

Given the current economic climate, we should be looking for ways to provide support to struggling working families and small businesses, not threatening their jobs and livelihoods, said Peterson. Eliminating horseracing and breeding would have far-reaching negative impacts throughout the agriculture industry, Pennsylvanias leading economic sector, as well as the broader state economy. Pennsylvanians who work in or rely on the horseracing industry to support their families already face financial challenges due to the COVID-related shutdown of race tracks and casinos last year and this proposal will only add to their stress.

Everyone recognizes that college debt and rising tuition rates are major problems, but you dont fix one debt problem by putting an entire sector of the agriculture industry out of business and thousands of people out of work.

Beyond the economic ramifications, Peterson noted that the Administrations proposal to divert non-tax dollars from the Race Horse Development Trust Fund for purposes other than what they were intended also faces a significant legal hurdle. In 2017, the General Assembly passed  and Governor Wolf signed into law  legislation (Act 42) that specifically states the amounts in the RHDTF are not funds of the Commonwealth and that the Commonwealth shall not be rightfully entitled to the RHDTF funds.

The General Assembly and Governor approved that trust fund protection language in order to spur new long-term investment in Pennsylvanias racing and breeding industry by providing increased economic certainty for investors. Now, no more than four years later, the Governor appears to be suggesting that the Commonwealth reverse its commitment.

Given the proposals far-reaching negative impacts on Pennsylvanias agricultural industry and the significant legal issues it faces, we are optimistic that the legislature will again reject this proposal, said Peterson. But by merely floating this idea, the Administration is hurting working families that are already reeling from the effects of COVID-19. These next few months are an extremely important time for horse breeders, as customers are deciding right now whether they want to breed their horses here in Pennsylvania or in other states such as New York, Virginia, Maryland, or Kentucky. Putting this idea out there  even though it has little chance of success  will result in real financial harm to our breeding farms here in Pennsylvania.

(Pennsylvania Equine Coalition)


Kuaishou has more than 260 million daily active users on average in China and is the main rival to Douyin, the Chinese counterpart to TikTok

Shares in Chinese video app company Kuaishou almost tripled on their Hong Kong debut Friday, following a $5.4 billion initial public offering for the TikTok rival that was the biggest for an internet firm in nearly two years.

Its outstanding debut comes despite a crackdown by China on tech firms in recent months and will be a sign of encouragement to TikTok owner ByteDance, which is said to be planning its own listing.

The firmamong China's most popular short video platformssoared to HK$338 at the open, from an IPO price of HK$115, valuing it at about $180 billion. It ended the day at HK$300.

The Kuaishou appwhich means "quick hands"has more than 260 million daily active users on average in China and is the main rival to Douyin, the Chinese counterpart to Tiktok.

Fans spent more than 86 minutes a day on Kuaishou on average, according to the company, watching videos and sharing small virtual gifts, tips and stickers with the creators who make them.

Investors snapped up the new stock even as the firm noted that it faced severe constraints in China at a time when Beijing is paying closer attention to the country's technology sector and high-flying firms within it, tightening rules for runaway e-commerce companies.

The most notable is Alibaba, whose co-founder Jack Ma has had his wings clipped after years of being hailed as the darling of China's entrepreneur class, with officials halting the record-breaking IPO of its fintech arm, Ant Financial, last year.

Kuaishou's Zynn app is already proving popular abroad, particularly in the United States

Overseas ambition

Crucially, rules were tightened on livestreaming in November, which banned underage users from giving virtual rewards on online live shows.

"Given that the internet business is highly regulated in China, intensified government regulation of the short video, live streaming and e-commerce industries in China could also restrict our ability to maintain or increase our user base or the user traffic to our platform, which will materially and negatively impact our business operations and financial results," Kuaishou said in its prospectus.

Still, the firm reported revenue of 40.7 billion yuan ($6.3 billion) in the nine months ended Septemberwith 62 percent of that from income for virtual gifts, for which Kuaishou takes a cut.

The firm is also looking to take on ByteDance's TikTok in the overseas arena, launching Zynn which is already proving increasingly popular, particularly in the United States.

ByteDance will take the soaraway success of the debut as a sign of optimism as it considers a listing of some of its assets, having spent most of last year battling a potential US ban on TikTok as Donald Trump raised national security concerns.

"A successful listing by Kuaishou will pave the way for its larger rival," said Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Vey-Sern Ling.

"Douyin will be more motivated to come to the market and investors can get better insight into China's short-video industry with Kuaishou's regular disclosures going forward."

Proceeds from the IPO, the biggest since Uber's $8.1 billion issue in May 2019, will go to boosting diversity in the company's content offerings, strengthening its research and development and tech capabilities, as well as to acquisitions, Kuaishou said.

Explore further TikTok lookalike Zynn brings Chinese video app rivalry to US

 2021 AFP
[February 05, 2021] Randy Thornton Named Chief Client Officer at Alacrity Solutions

Alacrity Solutions Group, LLC ("Alacrity Solutions"), a recognized leader in providing insurance services in North America, welcomes Randy Thornton as Alacrity's new Chief Client Officer. Thornton joins Alacrity Solutions with over 20 years of experience in the insurance services industry across a number of leadership positions at Sedgwick, York Risk, and ICAT Managers. He has consistently worked to help clients solve their most critical problems and achieve their desired results. "This is an exciting time for Alacrity Solutions and I couldn't be more thrilled to join the team. I look forward to expanding upon the growth and success that Alacrity has established within the industry and it is the perfect time in our evolution to do just that," said Thornton. "We are very excited to welcome Randy to Alacrity Solutions. Randy brings a rare combination of keen customer focus, strong business development acumen, and a strategic mindset, with the proven ability to inspire and lead others," said Jim Pearl, CO of Alacrity Solutions. "Randy will develop a best-in-class focus on the clients we serve, and will be instrumental in taking Alacrity into the next stage of growth."



As the Chief Client Officer at Alacrity, Thornton will be responsible for developing and implementing a strategic client success roadmap, leading management and growth of current and new clients, and deploying best practices that position Alacrity to achieve growth goals. The sales, client services and marketing teams will report directly to Randy. About Alacrity Solutions

Alacrity Solutions, based in Fishers, Indiana, is one of the largest independent providers of insurance claims management services in North America. Alacrity provides property, auto, and casualty claims adjustment services and staffing solutions, as well as a nationwide managed repair network, to national and regional insurance companies, MGAs, TPAs, self-insured corporations, and clients in the federal/state government sector. Kohlberg & Company, a New York-based private equity firm investing in businesses globally across the industrial manufacturing, consumer products, business, healthcare and financial services sectors, acquired a majority stake in Alacrity in 2019. For more information, visit: www.alacritysolutions.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005465/en/

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KYODO NEWS - Feb 5, 2021 - 20:45 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Britain's AstraZeneca Plc said Friday it has formally filed a request for Japan's health ministry to approve its novel coronavirus vaccine, making it the second drugmaker to do so after U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc.

The firm is seeking fast-track approval on the basis of trials held overseas and in Japan. A clinical study of the AstraZeneca vaccine developed with the University of Oxford began in Japan last August and the results of the domestic clinical study with 256 participants are expected to be submitted in March.

"It is my understanding that a decision will be made after the efficacy and safety (of the vaccine) has been carefully verified based on the submitted data and latest scientific findings," Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, said at a press conference Friday.

AstraZeneca's announcement comes as Japan struggles to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control ahead of this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The nationwide tally of cases topped 400,000 on Friday, keeping up the pace of an increase of 100,000 in about three weeks.

Tokyo, which remains the hardest-hit area among 47 prefectures, reported 577 new infections the same day, bringing its cumulative total to 102,777. While figures for the capital have trended downward since Jan. 7, the day it saw a record 2,447 daily cases and a state of emergency was declared in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures, the death number has been gradually rising since the beginning of January.

AstraZeneca is set to provide 120 million shots, enough for about 60 million people, to Japan. Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, AstraZeneca's does not need to be stored and transported at subzero temperatures, making it easier to handle. But, its efficacy stands at 70.4 percent, compared with 95 percent shown by clinical trial data of the Pfizer vaccine.

With the British drugmaker falling behind on its expected supply to the European Union, Kato said the Japanese government will also continue its efforts to support domestic production of the vaccine.

AstraZeneca plans to produce over 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in Japan, or about 75 percent of what the firm is set to provide to the country.

Pfizer, which applied for Japanese government approval for its vaccine in December, is expected to get the green light on Feb. 15, when the ministry holds a panel meeting, according to sources close to the matter.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to secure vaccines for Japan's entire population of 126 million. Earlier this week, however, he admitted the country has fallen behind other countries in beginning to administer shots, citing an abundance of caution in ensuring their safety.

Health experts say vaccines are essential to reaching herd immunity, an indirect protection provided to those who are not immune to an infectious disease when at least 60 percent of a population carries the antibody.

But a government-run testing of 15,000 people for novel coronavirus antibodies in five prefectures found a 0.91 percent infection rate in Tokyo last December. The positivity rates for Osaka, Aichi, Fukuoka and Miyagi prefectures were at 0.58 percent, 0.54 percent, 0.19 percent and 0.14 percent, respectively.

The rates were drastically lower compared with those seen overseas, with England reporting a positivity rate of 4.4 percent last September, and New York City saying over 27 percent of its population had the antibody last summer.

(Natural News) One city that is taking an appropriately cautious stance when it comes to 5G is Kalamata, Greece, whose city council made the decision to block further development on the 5G network that was being piloted in the city.

The move came following a meeting in which the council determined that the radiation from the upgrade to the mobile network was dangerous. Most of the councilors voted in favor of bringing testing of the risky technology to a halt. Kalamata would have been the first city in Greece to have a 5G network, but the councilors said they felt the network should only be operating in their city when the corresponding networks are put in place throughout the rest of Greece. In other words, they do not want to allow 5G in their city while it is still in the experimental stage.

A text that was read by city council representatives labeled the radiation from 5G as well as 2G, 3G and 4G as dangerous. The decision to stop the program came down in a 16-to-13 vote following three hours of debate. Citizens cheered the decision, saying that they considered it a victory. However, the telecommunications firm behind the pilot program, Wind, said that it was disappointed and claimed that technophobia and digital illiteracy threatened to take us back decades.

During the meeting, discussions focused on the dangers that applying high levels of radiation pose to the health of local people, as well as its potential to cause infertility. Some reports said that many local people felt they were being used as guinea pigs in a 5G experiment that could leave them with serious health issues in the future, including sterility.

Other cities approaching 5G with caution

The citizens of Kalamata are not the only ones who are taking a stance against 5G. One of the most high-profile cities that is expressing extreme caution on the 5G front is Brussels. The Belgian capital has said that there needs to be a wider debate about 5G before it is fully rolled out there.

The minister-president of the citys regional government, Rudi Vervoort, said that public concerns about the health impact of 5G networks mean that interest groups and politicians need to convince residents that the technology is beneficial. He said that while they were not necessarily against testing zones in places like the airport, they believe more discussion is needed before any type of serious rollout takes place.

The government of Brussels had previously blocked a large-scale rollout of 5G networks over health concerns, and lawmakers in the region have put strict radiation limits in place that telecommunication operators say will make it impossible for them to roll out 5G there.

Public opinion, whether we want it or not, is also an actor in the development of this project, Vervoort said. It [the deployment of 5G] cannot happen behind the back of the citizens.

The city council of Los Altos, California, meanwhile, has denied appeals by AT&T and Verizon to install 13 small cell node sites across town. The city was particularly concerned about keeping 5G away from residential zones and schools. States like Oregon and Louisiana have passed bills that require investigations into 5G technology; Oregon is also calling for a review of the health effects of exposure to wireless in schools on children.

With so many experts voicing concerns about the safety of 5G, councils like those of Kalamata, Los Altos and other areas should be commended for proceeding with caution and protecting their citizens.

Sources for this article include:

GlobalResearch.ca

LosAltosOnline.com
WARNING: This story contains an image of an Indigenous person who is deceased.

A NSW Corrective Services Officer has been charged with the manslaughter of an Indigenous prisoner, in what the Aboriginal Legal Service has welcomed as a historic day for justice.

Wiradjuri man Dwayne Johnstone, 43, was handcuffed, shackled and running away from two corrections officers at Lismore Base Hospital when he was shot in the back on March 15, 2019. He was immediately treated in hospital but died a short time later.

Mr Johnstones death was the subject of an inquest before State Coroner Teresa OSullivan, who on the third day of proceedings referred the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Police say that, following extensive inquiries, a 57-year-old man attended Lismore police station on Friday and was issued with a court attendance notice for an allegation of manslaughter. He is due to face Lismore Local Court on March 29.
Tom Hollander is the consummate show-stealer. I remember first seeing him on stage in The Judas Kiss, David Hares play about the Oscar Wilde scandal in 1998. Even though I can picture him strutting around as the treacherous lover, Bosie, I had to look up who played Wilde (it was Liam Neeson).

Sometimes Hollander is the lead (remember his hilarious, deeply affecting performance in the church sitcom Rev which he co-created), but more often he spices things up with a piquant supporting role. Examples include the horrendous Corky in The Night Manager, which left a huge impression and won him a Bafta; his Edward Stratton in Baptiste was more memorable than Baptiste himself. From Gosford Park to Bohemian Rhapsody, Hollander has the happy knack of always being the best thing in the thing.

But try telling Hollander that  offer him puffery and he will re-route you faster than Waze. We are meeting to talk about his role as Douglas Petersen in the BBCs adaptation of David Nicholls bestseller Us. Its the story of the collapse of the Petersen family after Connie (Saskia Reeves), Douglas bohemian wife, wakes up one night to tell him that after 20 years of marriage shes had enough. When their teenage son Albie (Tom Taylor) heads off to university, she wants to leave too.

European vacation: Tom Hollander, Tom Taylor and Saskia Reeves in Us, adapted from David Nicholls hugely successful novel. Credit:BBC First

They set off regardless on a long-planned grand tour around Europes great cities that Douglas hopes will bring them all back together. Hollanders stick-in-the-mud Douglas is barnstormingly brilliant, of course  but he just wants to talk about how great everyone else is.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 07:43:55|Editor: huaxia

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A new communication technology experiment satellite is launched at 11:36 p.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-3B carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 4, 2021. The satellite will be used in communication, radio, television and data transmission, as well as technology tests. This launch marked the 360th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets. (Photo by Zhang Jing/Xinhua)

Indian airlines are now carrying 60 per cent of the total pre-COVID domestic passengers and this is better than most countries in the world

Scheduled domestic flights in India were completely suspended for a period of two months between March 25 and May 24, 2020, due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. (Representational image: Twitter/@airindiain)

Bengaluru: The Indian aviation sector is showing positive signs after being completely shut down during the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year but remains in the "eye of the storm", Remi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia has said.

Indian airlines are currently carrying 60 per cent of the total pre-COVID domestic passengers and this is better than most countries in the world, he said in an interview to PTI.

"This is better but this is far from being a sustainable situation. We are not out of the woods yet. We are still in the eye of the storm," he added.

Airbus has been observing positive signs such as the pent-up demand for leisure travel in India, he noted.

"I think there is a desire in people to fly again...Business travellers have started to come back. It is essential for your business to meet your business stakeholders or partners and for that, you need to travel," Maillard mentioned.

"I would say in a nutshell that we are still facing a lot of headwinds with the virus and the complexity of the situation. But in the midterm, I think there will be an upswing," he said.

Airbus and Boeing are two of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world.

Scheduled domestic flights in India were completely suspended for a period of two months between March 25 and May 24, 2020, due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Maillard said international passenger traffic is still weak in India and it is difficult to predict how and when it would recover.

Scheduled international flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 last year.

However, special international flights have been permitted since May last year under the Vande Bharat Mission and air bubble arrangements formed with around 24 countries.

Maillard said: "I think international traffic is also an opportunity for the Indian carriers. The market share of Indian carriers in the country's international traffic is about 34 per cent. It means two-third of the international traffic for the time being or before was with foreign carriers."

"I think it is time for Indian carriers to scale up their operations and gain control of the international traffic as well. Also, we observe that air travellers have adapted to COVID-19 with a preference to point-to-point non-stop travel to avoid connections. Again, that is the opportunity to develop long haul travel from India," he stated.

Indian airlines have been badly hit by the coronavirus-induced economic crisis. Majority of them last year took drastic measures like pay cuts and firing of employees to cut costs.

Asked about Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement that aircraft leasing companies based out of GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec) city in Gujarat's Gandhinagar would get a tax holiday on capital gains and rental income earned, Maillard said, it was a "big step".

"It is a very important step. In India, large majority of the aircraft with the airlines are leased. This is valid today, and this is going to be valid tomorrow," he said.

At present, no major aircraft leasing companies are based in India. Majority of the aircraft fleet with Indian carriers have been leased from foreign companies such as Avolon, GECAS, BBAM, BOC Aviation and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Capital.

Therefore, domestic airlines end up paying their lease rental in US dollars instead of rupees, which significantly affects their profitability.

However, Maillard said "more support" is needed from the government.

"Given the current status of the Indian civil aviation industry, we would need more support from the government in terms of tax exemptions on the air turbine fuel (ATF), imported aircraft parts, and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) industry," he noted.

"Also, we need to continue investing in infrastructure and this is something that we have been discussing with the Ministry of Civil Aviation," he mentioned.

Asked about aircraft deliveries, he said Airbus handed over 566 planes to airlines globally but it was 34 per cent lower than 2019.

"I think this is an outstanding performance given the COVID-19 context," he said.

"Out of the 566 aircraft, a bit more than 10 per cent went to Indian carriers, including 44 to IndiGo. Indigo has become a top customer in terms of delivery last year," he stated.
Utilization of renewable solar energy is crucial for addressing the global energy and environmental concerns and achieving sustainable development in our society. In this regard, photocatalytic water splitting has attracted significant interest as a cost-effective means to convert sustainable solar energy into valuable chemicals.

However, efficiency is sensitive to reaction conditions and experimental setup, it is difficult to compare the results obtained by different research groups or provide a reliable guide for large-scale implementation. Due to the lack of testing standards, it is difficult to compare the results obtained by different research groups or provide a reliable guide for large-scale implementation.

Recently, a research team led by Prof. LI Can and Prof. LI Rengui from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with Prof. Kazunari Domen from The University of Tokyo, Prof. Lianzhou Wang from The University of Queensland, Prof. Kazuhiro Sayama from the National Institution of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and Prof. Gang Liu from the Institute of Metal Research, CAS, initiated the establishment of international efficiency accreditation and testing protocols for particulate photocatalysts toward solar fuel production.

Their perspective, published in Joule, was expected to serve as a useful guide for developing a well-recognized testing standard and for further promoting research advances in the field of photocatalytic solar energy conversion.

The researchers discussed the protocols for the reliable determination of the efficiency of the overall photocatalytic water splitting reaction based on particulate photocatalysts.

They also proposed to establish accreditation research laboratories for efficiency certification toward the launch of a figure of merit - a "Best research photocatalyst efficiencies" chart.

This initiative would provide an important platform for establishing standard testing protocols for photocatalytic water splitting and for improving the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency in practical applications.

###

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Lawyers for former US President on Thursday (local time) dismissed the prospect of him testifying at his Senate trial next week by calling it a public relations (PR) stunt after managers requested that he do so under oath.

"We are in receipt of your latest public relations stunt. As you certainly know, there is no such thing as a negative inference in this unconstitutional proceeding," attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen wrote to lead manager Representative Jamie Raskin as quoted by The Hill.

"Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you cannot prove your allegations against the 45th President of the United States, who is now a private citizen," the letter continued and added, "The use of our Constitution to bring a purported proceeding is much too serious to play these games."

However, the letter did not say that Trump would not testify, but Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, later said unequivocally that the former president would not participate.

"The President (Trump) will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding," Miller said in a statement.

Trump's second impeachment trial is set to begin next week. The House of Representatives last month impeached the former president for inciting violence against the government over his role in the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, which also claimed the life of a police officer.

The American outlet reported that Raskin sent a letter to Trump and his attorneys earlier on Thursday alleging that the former president's defence denies irrefutable facts about Trump's role in the deadly insurrection.

Raskin asked Trump to testify, and face cross-examination, as early as Monday and not later than February 11, suggesting that the testimony would not necessarily be in the Senate chamber or even in public.

The Democratic impeachment managers outlined their case in a legal brief filed this week, in which they argued Trump was "singularly responsible" for the riot.

However, the former President's lawyers argue that Trump is constitutionally ineligible to face an impeachment trial because he's no longer in office. They added that even if senators found the proceedings constitutional, his comments were protected under the First Amendment.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bharti AXA General Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, one of Indias leading business groups, and AXA, one of the worlds largest insurance companies, today launched its unique campaign Caregivers to support cancer survivors in the battle against the killer disease.

Commemorating World Cancer Day, a global uniting initiative by the Union for International Cancer Control to raise worldwide attention and inspire action for a cancer-free future, Bharti AXA General Insurance believes that all caregivers - friends, family, and others - play a significant role to win the battle against cancer.

The implicit essence is best captured by the tagline Iss Jung Mein Hum Sang Hai. The campaign was kicked off with the release of the poem across Bharti AXA General Insurances social media handles and poet Priya Maliks Instagram page hours before World Cancer Day. Through this awareness drive, the company aims to engage with close to a million Indians today on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and focuses on highlighting everyones role in achieving a cancer-free world.

To create a meaningful impact, Bharti AXA General Insurance has collaborated with noted poetess Priya Malik for a poignant tribute titled, NayaNazariya to reflect her own experience as a caregiver and shed light on the selfless devotion of caregivers everywhere.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Sanjeev Srinavasan, MD and CEO, Bharti AXA General Insurance, said, With this campaign, we aim to draw focus towards everyones role in achieving a healthier and brighter world without cancer. It is essential to spread awareness about the importance of a caregiver's physical, emotional and mental health for the well-being of a Cancer patient. We would like to dedicate our initiative to every caregiver for the predicament they face and thank them for their support, grit, and determination.

According to various studies, the awareness of health aspect, knowledge of various stages of cancer and physical/mental impact, and methods to keep track of treatment were consistently rated as major issues to care for cancer patients effectively.

To support and understand the emotions of caregivers of cancer patients, Bharti AXA General conducted a study with about 500 caregivers, which highlights their challenges, their strength and utilization of formal support systems, and the steps they take to support a Cancer patient.

Staying positive emerged as the biggest challenge for caregivers. About 50 per cent of the caregivers between the age group 25 to 34 years and 54 per cent of those above age of 35 years faced this issue. Keeping track of treatment stages, expenses, and medications were the other challenges faced by these caregivers. As many as 52 per cent of caregivers above 35 years of age felt that acceptance of the diseases for the sake of self/patient was a challenge as compared to only 18 per cent of those between 25 and 34 years and 29 per cent of caregivers between 18 and 24 years. Keeping track of treatment stages, medications and acceptance of the disease are the top three challenges faced by the caregivers.

More than 50 per cent of caregivers found strength and inspiration by talking to family members, other caregivers, and supportive people and doing Yoga/Exercise/Meditation. Only 27-28 per cent of caregivers have utilized the facility of therapy/counseling sessions and visits to formal support groups. More than 50 per cent of caregivers highlighted that knowledge about the various stages of Cancer and modes to keep a track of treatment schedules were the key activities they focused on supporting the Cancer patients.

On World Cancer Day, which aims to create more awareness around this unnoticed phenomenon, the study by Bharti AXA General Insurance and YouGov aims to notify that Cancer Caregivers may experience periods of stress, anxiety, depression and frustration and stress on the fact that the awareness and support from other people will help boost their spirits.

According to the WHO, 17 people die every minute from Cancer in the world. Patients diagnosed with Cancer are said to be the most vulnerable group in society. Cancer affects not only the patients but also his/her entire family and caregivers.

From spreading awareness and showing a glimpse of a caregivers life, through this relevant campaign, the company urges people to support the caregivers and tell them that they are not alone in this battle.

With this, Bharti AXA General Insurance pledges to stand tall and take step towards ensuring the betterment of the caregivers.
The University of Wolverhampton has been awarded funding for women to study selected Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

The British Council, which specialises in international cultural and educational opportunities, has launched the Scholarships for Women in STEM programme in partnership with 19 UK universities aimed at beneting women from the Americas, South Asia and South East Asia.

The University is one of ten universities alongside Imperial College, the University of York and Durham University, who have been chosen to host women from the Americas - North, Central and South America - covering countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela.

The Scholarship is open to five women who have graduated with a STEM Undergraduate degree, including cisgender and trans women, those who identify as non-binary and women with children. The 30,000 funding for each successful candidate will cover full tuition fees, provide a cost-of-living bursary and childcare costs if needed.

Applicants should have a background in STEM, a passion for advocating STEM education amongst future generations of women in their home countries and should be able to demonstrate their need for nancial support. Applicants can apply to study a Master's degree in Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Wildlife Conservation, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Advanced Technology Management (Sustainability), Building Information Modelling for Integrated Construction, Programme and Project Management and Public Health under the Scholarship.

She's no stranger to speaking her mind on social media.

And on Friday, Hayley Vernon became the latest celebrity to share false claims that Covid-19 is a government conspiracy.

The former Married At First Sight star turned OnlyFans model re-posted a suggestive image of a tethered rope to her Instagram Stories.

False: Former Married At First Sight star turned OnlyFans model Hayley Vernon (pictured) shared a false Covid-19 conspiracy post on Friday

The image read: 'Rare image of the rope that is holding the governments [sic] Covid-19 story together.'

The reality star is just one of a growing number of celebrities peddling Covid-19 conspiracy theories online.

Former My Kitchen Rules judge, Pete Evans was fined $25,200 in April last year after he falsely claimed his $15,000 BioCharger lamp could cure coronavirus.

Ideas: The former Married At First Sight star turned OnlyFans model re-posted a suggestive image of a tethered rope to her Instagram Stories. The image read: 'Rare image of the rope that is holding the governments [sic] Covid-19 story together'

Dangerous: More than 100million people have contracted the virus worldwide and two million people have lost their lives to the virus

More than 100million people have contracted the virus worldwide and two million people have lost their lives to the virus.

It comes after Hayley took to social media to criticise the way people speak in the Sunshine State.

Posting to her Instagram Stories, Hayley called Queenslanders 'slow' following a business meeting in January.

Controversial: It comes after Hayley took to social media to criticise the way people speak in the Sunshine State

'So, I've just had a meeting, a business meeting, and the lady turned around mid-conversation and said "are you in a rush?", and I said "why?",' she explained.

'She goes "oh, you just speak really quickly"... I almost felt like saying "no, no," but yeah I do. But everyone in Queensland just speaks really slow.'

The former tradie then went on to question how quickly she spoke, being originally from Melbourne and able to 'speak under water with marbles in my mouth'.

'Is it a Melbourne thing? Do I speak quickly? Yeah, I do speak quickly,' she said.

'My mum used to say I could speak under water with marbles in my mouth.'
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A war rages on in America, and it didnt begin with Donald Trump or the assault on the Capitol.

It started with slavery and never ended, through lynchings and voter suppression, the snarling attack dogs of Bull Connor and the insidious accounting of redlining.

Todays battles in the race war are waged by legions of white people in the thrall of stereotypes, lies and conspiracy theories that dont just exist for recluses on some dark corner of the internet.

People like the murderer who fatally shot nine Black parishioners at a church in South Carolina, telling detectives that Black people were taking over the country and raping white women. And the shooter who killed 23 and wounded 23 others at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas  targeting Mexicans, authorities say, because he believed they were invading the country to vote for Democrats.

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And the riotous mob, rife with white supremacists, that bought in when Trump and others insisted falsely that the presidential election was stolen, mostly in areas where people of color live and vote.

For a very long time, civil rights leaders, historians and experts on extremism say, many white Americans and elected leaders have failed to acknowledge that this war of white aggression was real.

Racist notions about people of color, immigrants and politicians have been given mainstream media platforms, are represented in statues and symbols to slaveholders and segregationists, and helped demagogues win elections to high office.

The result? A critical mass of white people fears that multiculturalism, progressive politics and the equitable distribution of power spell their obsolescence, erasure and subjugation. And that fear, often exploited by those in power, has proven again and again to be among the most lethal threats to nonwhite Americans, according to racial justice advocates.

So how does the nation begin addressing the war of white aggression after countless missed opportunities?

The Rev. William Barber II said it starts with collectively refusing to have political debates rooted in lies and racist tropes.

The collateral damage, when you keep unleashing the lies, sow the wind and pour this poison into the veins of people, is the system becomes so septic that violence spews out of it, the civil rights leader said.

Historically, white supremacy has advanced in lockstep with fears of Black political power. After the Civil War, when formerly enslaved people got the right to vote and hold office, the white response was Jim Crow segregation, voter suppression and oppression through law enforcement.

And the Jan. 6 Capitol riot occurred the same day that Georgia declared the winners of its runoff elections  Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, the first Black and Jewish candidates the Southern state had ever sent to the U.S. Senate. And it happened as Inauguration Day approached for Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian person sworn to serve as vice president.

It should not go unnoted that at least one large Confederate flag was waved by the Capitol trespassers.

To many in that mostly white mob, nonwhite Americans wielded an inconceivable amount of political influence in the last election.

This kind of mob violence, in reaction to Black, brown and white people coming together and voting to move the nation forward in progressive ways, has always been the backlash, Barber said.

Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism, said we must stop using benign terms like culture war to describe violence that literally kills Americans.

All somebody had to do was actually look at the dead bodies and the killers to realize that the threat of domestic white supremacist violence has been with us for quite a while, Segal said.

According to the ADL, roughly 74% of extremists who committed homicides in the U.S. between 2010 and 2019 were right-wing extremists, and a majority of those were white supremacists.

Christian Picciolini, a former far-right extremist who founded the deradicalization group Free Radicals Project, said it has become easy to otherize and ignore supporters of far-right movements and hate groups. It has long been part of a collective denial among white people that a real-world, violent threat exists.

We have to understand that, if we want to prevent this in the future, we have to examine our history  400 years of what I would classify as our nations potholes, said Picciolini, who last year released the anti-extremist book Breaking Hate.

Malcolm Graham, a former state senator in North Carolina, firmly believes that Americas failure to confront white supremacism cost the life of his older sister, Cynthia Graham-Hurd. She was among the nine killed by Dylann Roof in 2015 during a Bible study meeting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.

The massacre was a defining moment, Graham said. But that moment was wasted when officials and media overemphasized how victims families forgave the killer, instead of investigating his path to extremism, he said.

During closing arguments at Roofs trial, a federal prosecutor said the 22-year-old avowed white supremacist intended to start a war between the races.

His actions instead sparked a national reckoning over white supremacist iconography, including the Confederate battle flag, monuments and statues that appeared in photographs and drawings investigators found among Roofs belongings. In July 2015, former Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, who is Indian American, signed legislation permanently lowering the Confederate battle flag that flew over South Carolinas Capitol.

There have been moments when it seemed like a reckoning with racism was at hand. After last years police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, 111 Confederate monuments and other white supremacist symbols were removed, relocated or renamed, the SPLC said. But nearly 1,800 Confederate symbols, including 725 monuments, remained on public land as of December.

Confederate symbols are not relics of the past  they are living symbols of white supremacy, SPLC chief of staff Lecia Brooks said.

For Graham, who lost his sister at Mother Emanuel, the onus isnt on Black people to begin negotiating a truce in the race war. Accountability must come first, he said.

I think white folks need to have a town hall meeting, and I think they need to start calling their people out, Graham said. They have to be able to point a finger at folks that look like them, and point them out at their dinner table, at their churches, at their places of employment.

_____

Aaron Morrison covers race and justice for The Associated Press as a member of the APs Race and Ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aaronlmorrison.
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Source: AP

India has high hopes its ties with the United States will deepen under President Joe Biden, who was a key proponent of the 2008 civil nuclear deal between the countries and whose new administration includes several Indian Americans.

Key officials in Bidens administration have already begun dialing their Indian counterparts. Last week, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke with US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, reiterating their commitment to their strategic partnership, and Indias Defense Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to new US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The 2008 nuclear accord paved the way for the supply of US hi-tech equipment which India wanted along with the technology and ended Indias isolation after it conducted nuclear tests in 1998 and refused to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. The United States is also supporting Indias entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a move that has been blocked by China.

With an American of Indian descent in Vice President Kamala Harris and more than 20 Indian Americans in key roles in the Biden administration, India is hoping to maintain a significant economic, security and defense bilateral partnership.

Despite an unpredictable foreign policy, the Trump administration had consistently supported Indias emergence as a leading global power and a partner in maritime security and intelligence to counter Chinas influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

In diplomatic parlance, the bilateral relations between the worlds two largest democracies are a rare bipartisan success. A strong political affinity and a tactical convergence of interests to counter China drive the relationship, experts say.

India sits at the center of the strategic architecture the US envisions for the Indo-Pacific region, the new theater of power play between Washington and Beijing.

I think the Trump administration has carried that forward, including the concept of an Indo-Pacific, and to make sure that we were working with India so that no country in the region, including China, could challenge its sovereignty, and also working on concerns that we share about terrorism, Blinken said during his confirmation hearings.

Indias immediate worry is a 9-months-long military standoff with China along their disputed border in eastern Ladakh. Tens of thousands of soldiers are facing each other at friction points in the region in sub-zero temperatures.

"China is the big elephant in the room, said Gurcharan Das, a writer.

The 2+2 dialogue between the defense and foreign ministers and the Quad grouping comprising the US, Japan, Australia and India have enabled a greater strategic consultation and cooperation.

As the Biden administration unfolds its foreign policy agenda, India will be watching for and assessing any changes.

That Indian and US interests coincide regarding the need to contain Chinese aggression is obvious, but there are uncertainties about the precise direction that the incoming Biden administration will adopt vis-a-vis China, said Vivek Katju, a former diplomat.

There is a compelling need for the Modi government to have an honest interaction with the Biden administration on China, though ultimately, India has to rely on its own capabilities to meet the Chinese threat, he said.

With a more hard-nosed foreign policy and the worlds seventh-biggest economy with nearly 1.4 billion people, the Modi government has worked to elevate Indias stature.

Even as it ramps up its military ties with the US, India is trying to navigate its defense relationship with Russia and an energy relationship with Iran despite the threat of US sanctions.

During the Trump presidency, the US and India concluded defense deals worth over $3 billion and bilateral defense trade increased from near zero in 2008 to $15 billion in 2019.

But Indias acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile systems has been considered critical to countering a perceived threat from China as it increasingly makes economic inroads throughout South Asia, Indias traditional sphere of influence, experts say.

Washington is also expected to press India to remove trade barriers and open its markets more to US companies.

The Trump administration suspended Indias benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences as India declined in 2019 to open up its markets more to US companies.

Another area of Indias concern is Trump administration policies that hit Indian immigrants hard. An estimated 4.6 million people of Indian origin are in the United States, and India is hoping visa rules are eased under Biden.

The Biden moment offers the opportunity for Delhi to overcome the bilateral differences on trade and elevate defense cooperation to a higher level, said C. Raja Mohan, director of the Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore.

Democrats are also expected to closely scrutinize Modi governments handling of minorities, tensions in Indian-administered Kashmir and human rights. Many Hindu nationalist supporters were upset with Harris when she as a US senator expressed concern about the situation in Kashmir in 2019.

Criticism of the Modi government over its crackdown on dissent and civilian protests is unlikely to dent the high-value military and trade relationship between the two countries, experts say.

We can treat these issues fairly and reasonably. I hope they dont become vocal publicly because some elements in the Democratic party are inclined to do so, said Kanwal Sibal, a retired Indian diplomat.

Raja Mohan said a political understanding on strategic burden-sharing would help Delhi and Washington develop deeper cooperation and diplomatic engagement, despite some irritants.

An America that moves towards doing less on the global security front will need strong partners like India who can contribute more, he said.
 Flash

The Information Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged stern representations with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Beijing office over its COVID-19-related fake news, according to a statement released on the ministry's website on Thursday.

The statement said that the BBC aired the fake news on Jan. 29.

According to the statement, the BBC video linked COVID-19 with politics and once again hyped topics of "covering up" the epidemic and the virus' origin.

The BBC also aired a video clip of anti-terrorism drills as news coverage of "violent law enforcement and human rights violations" by China's epidemic prevention authorities.

"This is fake news with typical ideological bias, which has resulted in a vile impact," the statement said.

The Chinese side urged the BBC and its Beijing office to take China's stance seriously and take earnest measures to undo the report's vile impact, said the statement.

The BBC and its Beijing office should also make a public apology to China over the fake news, abandon its ideological bias, and stop deliberately smearing and attacking China. The BBC should follow work ethics, and carry out China-related news reporting in an objective, balanced and fair manner, the statement said.

"China reserves the right to take further measures," it said.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Lambasting the opposition over the ongoing farmers' agitation over the three new central farm laws, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday told the Rajya Sabha that farmers were "tricked" on the issue and that people of only one state had fallen victims to misunderstanding.

"The farm laws have been dubbed 'black'. But when I asked in every meeting held with farmers what was 'black' about these statutes so that I can fix these, but nobody gave any answer," he said while participating in the Motion of Thanks on the President's address to Parliament.

"The world knows that water is used for farming; only the Congress can do farming with blood," he quipped.

"The three agrarian reform laws is a burning issue today. Opposition leaders have not desisted from cursing the central government. They have called the laws 'black'...." The Minister said that the government had enacted law {The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Production and Facilitation) Act, 2020} that provides for an area outside Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) to be declared a 'trade area' for agricultural crops.

"It can also be a farmer's home or farm. If there is trade outside APMC, then there will be no tax of any kind. The state government levies tax within the APMC, while the central government has abolished the tax outside it," he pointed out.

He questioned as to who all should the agitation launched against in such a case -- those levying tax or those making it tax-free. "But things are moving in the wrong direction in the country. There is a movement against no tax," Tomar said.

The Minister reiterated that the Modi government was committed to the welfare of farmers across the country.

"We have continuously tried to accord respect to the farmers' protest. We held talks with them 12 times after sending out invitations with due respect. We have not spoken anything wrong about them. We have only asked them to point out anything amiss in the laws. We have tried to redress their grievances in tune with their feelings," Tomar said.

He said that the Centre had even proposed to farmer leaders that the government was ready to make amendments to the laws. "However, it does not mean that there are shortcomings in the laws. People of an entire state are victims of misunderstanding. The farmers have been hoodwinked into believing that these laws will take away their lands. Tell me one provision in contract farming law that allows a company from snatching a farmer's land," the Minister said.

The farmers are demanding the repeal of The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Production and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

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GREENVILLE  It's a mild form of activism that almost isn't.

See a request or person in need on Facebook, hit the "like" button  or a heart symbol or a crying emoji, if the feeling strikes. Share it. Maybe make a "prayers sent" comment.

Then ... scroll on.

Margaret Stegall confesses she does such things. Understandable, especially when the post is about a stranger's family's desperate plea for a liver transplant. This past summer, though, something moved her. Simply "liking" the post of a fellow Bob Jones University grad in need wouldn't do.

Now, a mere six months later, Stegall is preparing herself for a flight to Denver to be cut open and give a piece of her body to a woman she has never spoken with.

I saw the post, and while there are certainly a million reasons not to do something, I couldnt click like on that post and go about my day if there is something I could do, Stegall told The Post and Courier. "I could think of a million reasons, but they're selfish compared to someone's life."

The post was made to the "BJU General Alumni" Facebook page on June 29. As of Feb. 5, the post had 763 reactions in one form or another, with many commenting a desire to help if not for lacking a compatible blood type.

In the post, a family member describes the plight of Janet Pierce Thorin, a 2008 Bob Jones nursing school grad. Since age 19, Thorin has suffered an autoimmune disease that attacks her liver.

The previous five years, the disease began to take its toll. In the year leading up to the request, the condition worsened rapidly, causing Thorin to lose 25 pounds, which contributed to osteoporosis.

The challenge has been finding a match with the matching blood type, along with every other miniscule detail required to make a liver viable.

Thorin wasn't available to comment for this story as prepares for the transplant, which will happen on Feb. 22. The only connection Stegall has made, beyond being a 2016 BJU grad, is a conversation with Thorin's family.

There has been no Zoom meeting, no phone call. In most cases, receivers and donors are either family members or complete strangers.

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The medical experts have told Stegall it's best to wait until after the transplant for the two to connect.

The liver is an organ that can be partially shared, allowing both to have what they need to function, like giving an extra kidney. The portion of Stegall's liver will grow inside Thorin, and the donor's liver will grow back as much as the body needs to function.

Everybody has more liver than they need," Stegall said.

It wasn't long after seeing the post, shared by a friend, that Stegall said she reached out to the family member. She was told there were other willing donors but that they would keep her information.

The blood type isn't the only factor. A liver must be the right size and its makeup be able to fit like a puzzle.

In December, Stegall received a message that one other person was a possibility but that if that donor fell through, she would be next in line. On New Year's Eve, she got the call asking her to fly to Denver to do bloodwork and undergo a psychological evaluation.

The recovery, she's told, will take eight weeks for both.

Behind it all, Stegall said her faith has driven her and her desire that if it were she who needed help, someone would do the same for her.

Stegall is no stranger to advocacy involving vital organs. She's the director of development at the American Heart Association-South Carolina. Her employer has given her the necessary time off and support.

Likewise, the BJU community has stepped up to provide financial assistance. A GoFundMe page has been set up to accept donations. It had raised more than $4,000 as of Feb. 5.

"Were proud of Margaret for her courage and commitment in donating a portion of her liver to someone she did not know," BJU Chief of Staff Randy Page told The Post and Courier. "Its also been incredibly heartwarming to see alumni and friends from around the globe donate to help Margaret with her expenses while donating."
NEW YORK - Christopher Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award acting winner in history, has died. He was 91.

FILE - Christopher Plummer attends the premiere for "Knives Out" on day three of the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 7, 2019, in Toronto. Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award winner in history, has died. He was 91. Plummer died Friday morning, Feb. 5, 2021, at his home in Connecticut with his wife, Elaine Taylor, by his side, said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK - Christopher Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film "The Sound of Music" and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award acting winner in history, has died. He was 91.

Plummer died Friday morning at his home in Connecticut with his wife, Elaine Taylor, by his side, said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager.

FILE - Christopher Plummer poses for a portrait to promote his film "Boundaries" on June 11, 2018, in New York. Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award winner in history, has died. He was 91. Plummer died Friday morning, Feb. 5, 2021, at his home in Connecticut with his wife, Elaine Taylor, by his side, said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP, File)

Over more than 50 years in the industry, Plummer enjoyed varied roles ranging from the film "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," to the voice of the villain in 2009's "Up" and as a canny lawyer in Broadways "Inherit the Wind." In 2019 he starred as murdered mystery novelist in Rian Johnsons whodunnit "Knives Out" and in the TV suspense drama series "Departure."

But it was opposite Julie Andrews as von Trapp in 1965 that made him a star. He played an Austrian captain who must flee the country with his folk-singing family to escape service in the Nazi navy, a role he lamented was "humourless and one-dimensional." Plummer spent the rest of his life referring to the film as "The Sound of Mucus" or "S&M."

"We tried so hard to put humour into it," he told The Associated Press in 2007. "It was almost impossible. It was just agony to try to make that guy not a cardboard figure."

FILE - Christopher Plummer arrives at the Oscars on March 4, 2018, in Los Angeles. Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award winner in history, has died. He was 91. Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award winner in history, has died. He was 91. Plummer died Friday morning, Feb. 5, 2021, at his home in Connecticut with his wife, Elaine Taylor, by his side, said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

A GIF of the captain ripping a Nazi flag became a popular meme in recent years, and gave Plummer a new does of fame.

"The world has lost a consummate actor today and I have lost a cherished friend. I treasure the memories of our work together and all the humour and fun we shared through the years," Andrews said in a statement.

The role catapulted Plummer to stardom, but he never took to leading men parts, despite his silver hair, good looks and ever-so-slight English accent. He preferred character parts, considering them more meaty. His memoir in 2012 was titled "In Spite of Myself."

Plummer had a remarkable film renaissance late in life, which began with his acclaimed performance as Mike Wallace in Michael Manns 1999 film "The Insider," continued in films such as 2001s "A Beautiful Mind" and 2009's "The Last Station," in which he played a deteriorating Tolstoy and was nominated for an Oscar.

"He was a mighty force both as Man and Actor," Helen Mirren, his co-star in "The Last Station," said in a statement Friday. "He was fearless, energetic, courageous, knowledgeable, professional and a monument to what an actor can be."

In 2012, Plummer won a supporting actor Oscar for his role in "Beginners" as Hal Fields, a museum director who becomes openly gay after his wife of 44 years dies. His loving, final relationship becomes an inspiration for his son, who struggles with his fathers death and how to find intimacy in a new relationship.

"Too many people in the world are unhappy with their lot. And then they retire and they become vegetables. I think retirement in any profession is death, so Im determined to keep crackin," he told AP in 2011.

Plummer in 2017 replaced Kevin Spacey as J. Paul Getty in "All the Money in the World" just six weeks before the film was set to hit theatres. That choice that was officially validated in the best possible way for the film  a supporting Oscar nomination for Plummer, his third. "I was just hopeful that at my age, my memory would serve me," he said at the time. "I had to learn my lines very quickly."

Director Ridley Scott said he had "a wonderful experience" with Plummer on the film. "What a guy. What a talent. What a life," Scott said in a statement.

There were fallow periods in his career  a "Pink Panther" movie here, a "Dracula 2000? there and even a "Star Trek"  as a Klingon, no less. But Plummer had other reasons than the scripts in mind.

"For a long time, I accepted parts that took me to attractive places in the world. Rather than shooting in the Bronx, I would rather go to the south of France, crazed creature than I am," he told AP in 2007. "And so I sacrificed a lot of my career for nicer hotels and more attractive beaches."

The Canadian-born actor performed most of the major Shakespeare roles, including Hamlet, Iago, Othello, Prospero, Henry V and a staggering "King Lear" at Lincoln Center in 2004. He was frequent star at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada.

"Ive become simpler and simpler with playing Shakespeare," he said in 2007. "Im not as extravagant as I used to be. I dont listen to my voice so much anymore. All the pitfalls of playing the classics  you can fall in love with yourself."

He won two Tony Awards. The first was in 1974 for best actor in a musical for playing the title role in "Cyrano" and his second in 1997 for his portrayal of John Barrymore in "Barrymore." He also won two Emmys.

Plummer was born Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer in Toronto. His maternal great-grandfather was former Canadian Prime Minister Sir John Abbott. His parents divorced shortly after his birth and he was raised by his mother and aunts.

Plummer began his career on stage and in radio in Canada in the 1940s and made his Broadway debut in 1954 in "The Starcross Story." While still a relative unknown, he was cast as Hamlet in a 1963 performance co-starring Robert Shaw and Michael Caine. It was taped by the BBC at Elsinore Castle in Denmark, where the play is set, and released in 1964. It won an Emmy.

Plummer married Tony-winning actress Tammy Grimes in 1956, and fathered his only child, actress Amanda Plummer, in 1957. Like both her parents, she also won a Tony, in 1982 for "Agnes of God." (Grimes won two Tonys, for "Private Lives" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown.")

Plummer and Grimes divorced in 1960. A five-year marriage to Patricia Lewis ended in 1967. Plummer married his third wife, dancer Taylor, in 1970, and credited her with helping him overcome a drinking problem.

He was given Canadas highest civilian honour when he was invested as Companion of the Order of Canada by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968, and was inducted into the American Theatres Hall of Fame in 1986.

AP Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle in New York and AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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The General Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare, has explained why open grazing must end in Nigeria.

The practice, he said, must end in order help separate pastoralists from the terrorists kidnapping and killing citizens, Mr Bakare noted on Thursday.

He gave his position on the issue while speaking on Arise Television.

I will bring to the attention of Mr President, and I know his ministers and those in government will be doing the same with him. One of the issues is open grazing. It is obsolete and it needs to end. It needs to end because the nations of the earth had gone beyond this.

He explained how grazing is done in some other countries and why it is important for Nigeria government must learn from others.

I was in Glasgow, I was in Israel; there are so many things that we can do about agricultural pastoralism that would stop all the troubles in our land.

Weve lived with Fulani and Fulani have lived with us across our lands. We must separate this agricultural pastoralism from the second thing, the terrorists in the forests. The government must fish out the criminals.

We must be careful of indiscriminate violence and separate terrorists in the forests from agricultural pastoralism.

The six South-west governors banned open grazing two weeks ago during a meeting on security challenges rocking the region in Akure, Ondo State.

Mr Bakare was President Muhammadu Buharis running mate in the 2011 presidential election under the banner of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). They lost to Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party.
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Shell followed rival BP and posted a multi-billion pound loss for 2020.

In what chief executive Ben van Beurden called an 'extraordinary year', the Anglo-Dutch oil supermajor was hit hard as the coronavirus pandemic sent demand for oil tumbling.

Shell posted losses of 14.7billion two days after BP recorded a 13billion loss and US rival ExxonMobil plunged 16.3billion into the red.

In what chief executive Ben van Beurden (pictured) called an 'extraordinary year', Shell was hit hard posting losses of 14.7bn as the coronavirus pandemic sent demand for oil tumbling

The losses from Shell and BP go down as some of the largest in UK corporate history, although they are still some way behind the 24billion loss Royal Bank of Scotland recorded in 2009 during the financial crisis.

Analysts at Bernstein said Shell's refining arm was to blame after the company cut back on production.

But there were also heavy writedowns on its oil assets during the year as the company looks to shift from fossil fuel to renewables with a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Shell is pursuing a different green energy strategy to BP. The company already operates the biggest natural gas trading operation in the world and intends to double down on its market expertise rather than join the scramble for renewable power assets.

Shell is due to unveil a strategy update next week with more detail on its low-carbon investment plans.

But some investors remain concerned by the lack of money being pumped into new oil projects as global prices have started to recover with Brent crude at $58 per barrel.

The results show Shell invested 13billion in new projects in 2020, 4.4billion less than a year earlier.

One analyst said: 'There's still no evidence that the margins and return on capital in green energy are better than the margins in oil.

'I understand there is pressure from the green lobby, politicians and the majestic fund managers like Blackrock but there is a real danger this industry is heading in the wrong direction.'

However, in a sign of confidence Shell said it planned to raise its dividend in the first quarter of 2021.

The decision will come as a relief after Shell slashed the payout early in the crisis for the first time since the Second World War in a bid to keep a lid on its debt, which stands at 55billion.

Russ Mould, director at AJ Bell, said: 'Shell's full-year results were undeniably ugly but the oil major's promise of a dividend in the first quarter of 2021 would represent an increase in the pay-out on both a quarter-on-quarter and a year-on-year basis.'
You might recognize that address as the same one for Pacific Standard Time, which is now officially closed. That restaurant started as a joint project with One Off Hospitality and Underscore Hospitality, and garnered positive reviews when it opened. But over the past year, both chef Erling Wu-Bower and Josh Tilden surprisingly left. In August, One Off Hospitality took full control of the space, with Avec veteran Perry Hendrix named as executive chef. But in November, PST announced that it was temporarily pausing operations because of the state mandated dining restrictions.

The California Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit that sought to overturn a ballot measure that makes app-based ride-hailing and delivery drivers independent contractors instead of employees eligible for benefits and job protections.

Justices on Wednesday declined to hear the case brought by drivers and unions opposed to the measure. The case can be filed in a lower court.

The lawsuit claimed the measure was unconstitutional because it limits the power of the Legislature and excludes drivers from being eligible for workers compensation.

Proposition 22 passed in November with 58% support and shielded companies like Uber and Lyft from a new state labor law that would have required app-based services to treat drivers as employees and not independent contractors.

It was the most expensive ballot measure in state history with Uber, Lyft and other services putting $200 million behind the effort to undo a law that had been aimed squarely at them by labor-friendly Democrats. Unions, who joined drivers in the lawsuit, spent about $20 million to challenge the proposition.

When the lawsuit seeking speedy review was filed directly with the Supreme Court last month, Mary-Beth Moylan, associate dean of McGeorge Law School in Sacramento, said the first challenge would be getting the court to take the case.

Moylan said the high court could simply kick the case to a lower court if it felt there was no urgency to it and there were factual, not just legal, issues to weigh first.

Many drivers for the services had opposed the measure because they wanted to maintain the flexibility to set their own schedules.

Were thankful, but not surprised, that the California Supreme Court has rejected this meritless lawsuit, said Jim Pyatt, a Modesto retiree who drives for Uber, in a statement from a group that supports Proposition 22. Were hopeful this will send a strong signal to special interests to stop trying to undermine the will of voters.

Opponents of the referendum had said the companies exploited drivers and the ballot measure would deny them benefits required for many types of other workers.

The parties who brought the case said they were disappointed and would continue to challenge the measure but didnt say how or if they would refile the case.

Make no mistake: we are not deterred in our fight to win a livable wage and basic rights, plaintiff Hector Castellanos said in a statement from Proposition 22 opponents. We will consider every option available to protect California workers from attempts by companies like Uber and Lyft to subvert our democracy and attack our rights in order to improve their bottom lines.

Proposition 22 granted the delivery services an exemption from AB5, a landmark labor law that would have required providing drivers with protections like minimum wage, overtime, health insurance and reimbursement for expenses.

Uber and Lyft had challenged AB5, which threatened their business model, in court. They threatened to leave the state if voters rejected the measure.

Under the measure, drivers remain independent contractors exempt from mandates such as sick leave and workers comp but are supposed to receive alternative benefits, including a guaranteed minimum wage and subsidies for health insurance if they average 25 hours of work a week.

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The government hopes to fight a dire housing shortage in the Seoul metropolitan area by pushing forward urban reconstruction and redevelopment projects.

To attract private builders to the massive projects, the government will ease some regulations considered sacrosanct until now, including confiscation of excess profits from apartment renovations.

The decision comes after 24 different sets of real-estate regulations, including massive property tax hikes, have failed to tame housing prices in the capital.

The government on Thursday announced plans to build 830,000 homes across the country by 2025. That includes 323,000 in Seoul and 293,000 in the western port city of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province.

The government aims to shorten the overall construction period of housing complexes by up to five years. They often take more than 10 years.


As the U.K. variant is believed to be more infectious than previous strains, authorities fear that it is a matter of time before new variants rapidly spread in the country.

"There are worries about a fresh resurgence in March and April," Yoon Tae-ho of the Ministry and Health and Welfare told reporters. "All medical professionals and authorities have to prepare for the possibility."

Health authorities believe that the rest are also probably infected with a variant.

Of 38 foreigners working in South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla provinces who tested positive for COVID-19 the previous day, four were confirmed to have the U.K. variant. None of the four had been overseas recently.

The government on Thursday apologized for its tardy response to a recent spate of group infections with coronavirus variants.

As of Thursday, 39 people had been diagnosed with variants from the U.K., Brazil and South Africa, and more cases could occur among those who have come into contact with them.

The first was a foreigner who arrived from the UAE on Dec. 25 last year and tested positive on Jan. 7.

Health authorities tried to check if the foreigner was infected with a variant, but said that they could not confirm it "due to lack of specimens." While they were failing to take follow-up measures, more people got infected, reaching a total of 36 by Jan. 26.

Only on Jan. 27, after another foreigner in South Gyeongsang Province who arrived from the UAE was diagnosed with the U.K. variant and found to be a relative of the other foreigner from the UAE did the authorities began analysis of the coronavirus strain.

"Five Syrians in Yangsan who had come from the UAE tested positive on Jan. 13. We were told by authorities on Jan. 27 that one of them was diagnosed with the U.K. variant," a local government official said. "Then we conducted additional testing on foreigners here."

But health officials did not visit the areas where the foreigners lived until Feb. 2, about a month after the first variant case occurred.

"The latest group infections show that new variants are more transmissible than existing strains," said Prof. Kim Woo-joo of Korea University. "We need to check arrivals from abroad more thoroughly since weve missed the chance to ban foreign arrivals."
New Delhi: Actress Rhea Chakraborty was clicked outside her gym on Friday (February 5). The actress, who was embroiled in multiple controversies following the death of her boyfriend, actor Sushant Singh Rajput last year, has finally started getting spotted in public again.

When the paparazzi asked her how she is, the actress responded in Hindi, "I am getting better." A pap also shared a video of the actress exiting her gym and getting inside her car.

The video shows Rhea greeting the paps and saying, Theek ho rahi hoon, when asked about her well-being.

Rhea has been accused by Sushants family of abetting his suicide, and misappropriating the late actor's funds. He was found dead on June 14, 2020 at his Mumbai residence. Three central agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) are probing the death of the actor from different angles.

Rhea was arrested by the NCB in a drugs probe related to Sushants death and she spent almost a month in jail before she was granted bail. Her brother, Showik Chakraborty and some staff members of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput were also arrested under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

On February 2, NCB arrested assistant director Rishikesh Pawar for allegedly supplying ganja and hashish to the late actor. So far, the central agency has arrested around 30 people in the drugs probe.

[February 05, 2021] Rabon Law Firm and Hoyer Law Group Announce Settlement of First Whistleblower Lawsuit Connected to Operation Brace Yourself

The Rabon Law Firm of Charlotte, NC, and Hoyer Law Group of Tampa, FL, today announced the settlement of what is believed to be the first federal False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit brought against numerous defendants in one of the largest nationwide Medicare frauds ever involving telemedicine and durable medical equipment. FCA lawsuits are brought for the benefit of the United States to recover money paid out by the Government because of fraud. Under the settlement, the United States will receive $20,332,516 out of assets forfeited pursuant to the criminal plea agreement of Kelly Wolfe (News - Alert) , one of the main defendants. The suit, filed in March 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, was brought by Condra Albright against her former employer, Regency, Inc., and a host of other defendants. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants defrauded Medicare by setting up sham Durable Medical Equipment (DME) storefronts, in several states, that conspired to engage in illicit marketing and sales of DME products such as back, knee, ankle, and wrist braces to senior citizens. The defendants paid kickbacks to marketing companies that in turn had schemed with telehealth companies to obtain sham physician prescriptions for the braces. The sham DME's then "filled" those medical device prescriptions and falsely billed Medicare. The braces that were delivered were not only cheap, off-the-shelf orthotics, they were medically unnecessary and based on false DME prescriptions. Typically, multiple braces were sent to the affected Medicare beneficiaries, regardless of the lack of actual need. After the lawsuit was filed, the Department of Justice announced a massive simultaneous nationwide raid on April 9, 2019, led by the US Department of Justice, the FBI, and various federal agencies. The investigation was called "Operation Brace Yourself" and spanned 17 federal districts, involved the execution of over 80 search warrants and numerous arrests for healthcre fraud. The DOJ announced that the fraud schemes - which included the same schemes and defendants identified in the Albright action - caused more than $1.2 billion in losses to United States from false claims submitted through some 130 DME's. The faction of the conspiracy named in the Albright case was responsible for at least $183 million of the losses.



The Albright case, filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, played a crucial part in the success of Operation Brace Yourself, including information that led to the seizures and forfeitures of tens of millions of dollars rightfully belonging to the Government because of the frauds. The number of persons charged nationwide with healthcare fraud under this initiative now stands in the hundreds, and numerous guilty pleas and forfeitures have ensued. Under the False Claims Act, private citizens with knowledge of fraud being perpetrated against the government may bring a lawsuit on behalf of the government and share in the recovery. Whistleblower lawsuits under the Act are often referred to as "qui tam" lawsuits, which makes reference to a Latin phrase which means to bring a suit "on behalf of the king," as well as oneself.

Ms. Albright is represented by Chet Rabon, of the Rabon Law Firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, and by Dave Scheer, Jesse Hoyer, and Sean Estes of the Hoyer Law Group in Tampa, Florida. "Our client, Condra Albright, truly did the right thing here," said Rabon. "When she determined precisely how the defendants were cheating the Government, she did her duty and reported this to the government and retained counsel to bring this case to recover the ill-gotten gains for the primary benefit of the taxpayers who were harmed," he continued. "The False Claims Act is a tremendous tool in recovering money stolen from the taxpayers of our country," added Dave Scher. "But without the courage of whistleblowers like our client, coupled with incentives provided under the law, most fraud against the Government would go unchecked," he further noted. Total recoveries under the federal False Claims Act, since the major amendments of 1986, exceed $64 billion through the end of 2020, with relator share awards approaching $8 billion. The vast majority of funds recovered through verdicts and settlements under the Act derive from whistleblower-initiated civil actions such as this. To date, qui tam cases account for about 72% of all dollars recovered. Attorney Chet Rabon further commented, "With the size of the annual US Government budget approaching $7 trillion, and the US Government being the largest purchaser of goods and service in the world, by far, opportunities for companies to cheat and defraud the government are rife. The US loses billions of dollars each year to these frauds, in all sectors, including health care, pharmaceuticals, procurement, construction, educational grants and loans, just to name a few." Sadly, most fraud against the government is neither reported nor uncovered. "Insiders who have evidence of these frauds and who are brave and moral enough to help stop it should contact experienced qui tam lawyers to evaluate their possible case," Rabon noted. Incentives in the law that reward whistleblowers are an effective tool to battle the unlawful conduct. Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers receive between 15% and 30% of the monies the government recovers when these civil fraud cases are resolved by settlement or trial. The False Claims Act is a powerful weapon against fraud on the government, generating more than $15 in recoveries to the taxpayers for every $1 spent on health care fraud enforcement. Ms. Albright is expected to receive an award of $4,676,479 from the total amounts to be forfeited to the United States in connection with the plea referenced in the Settlement Agreement. Citation for case: United States ex rel. Albright v. Regency, Inc., et al.

Case No. 8:19-cv-686-T-30AEP (M.D. Fla.) About the Rabon Law Firm, PLLC

The Rabon Law Firm is headed by attorney Chet Rabon, who has practiced law in Charlotte, NC, for more than 30 years. The Rabon Law Firm concentrates in whistleblower representation in cases nationwide under the Federal False Claims Act and companion state acts, as well as IRS and SEC (News - Alert) Whistleblower fraud cases, and has numerous such cases currently under investigation and in litigation throughout the United States. The Rabon Law Firm has been lead or co-counsel in FCA cases that have recovered in excess of $1 billion dollars to the federal and state governments. About the Hoyer Law Group

Hoyer Law Group fights fraud and advocates for whistleblowers and employees nationwide, with offices in Florida, D.C., Michigan, and California. Click here to learn more about Hoyer Law Group's whistleblower practice and here for more information about our team. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005526/en/

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[February 04, 2021] Emerson Chief Executive Officer David N. Farr to Retire; Lal Karsanbhai to become CEO on Feb. 5

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Emerson (NYSE: EMR), a global technology and industrial software leader, today announced Chief Executive Officer David N. Farr will retire on Feb. 5. Lal Karsanbhai, who has served as executive president of the company's Automation Solutions business since 2018, will become the new CEO of Emerson and join the board of directors. Karsanbhai has led Automation Solutions to strong performance, elevating Emerson's software profile and digital transformation business. Farr, who was named CEO in 2000 and chairman of Emerson's board of directors in 2004, will remain as chairman through May 4. Over his two decades at the helm of the $16.8 billion global company, Farr has led Emerson through multiple strategic evolutions to grow the company's global footprint, stay ahead of changing market conditions and advance the organization's capabilities and competitiveness on the worldwide stage. "David is a tremendous leader who has brought the company through difficult times  9/11, the dot-com bubble, the Great Recession and now a global pandemic  with conviction and an unwavering belief in the strength of Emerson," said Clemens A.H. Boersig, lead independent director of Emerson's board. "Emerson has a long history of strong leaders in the corner office, with David being just the third CEO in the last 66 years. We wish him the best in his retirement and are grateful to have his expertise in the coming months as chairman of the board." Under Farr's leadership, Emerson has transformed from a components manufacturing company to an industrial software leader with a singular purpose uniting nearly 85,000 employees: "We drive innovation that makes the world healthier, safer, smarter and more sustainable." Farr built on the company's longstanding disciplined management strategy, making it one of the few companies to increase its dividend to shareholders for 64 consecutive years. Additionally, Farr has been a fierce champion and sought-after voice for manufacturing. He served as chairman of the board of the National Association of Manufacturers from 2017 to 2019, working on Capitol Hill to advocate andadvance initiatives that would build industry in the United States. Farr serves on the board of directors for the US-China Business Council and has been a member of the board of directors of IBM since 2012. He and his wife are highly committed to the St. Louis community, and Farr currently serves on the executive board of the Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis (The Muny at Forest Park). He has also served on the boards of directors for many nonprofits and educational institutions, including the United Way of Greater St. Louis, and is an active supporter of Forest Park Forever.



Farr joined Emerson in 1981 in a corporate staff position and progressed through corporate and business unit management positions with increasing responsibility before being appointed president of Emerson's Asia-Pacific operations in 1993. After four years in Hong Kong, Farr returned to the United States in 1997 to oversee Emerson's process control business. He was appointed chief operating officer in 1999, a position he held until being named CEO. "I have had the opportunity to work alongside Lal during his 25-year career at Emerson and have observed his strengths and proven skill as a seasoned leader with a deep understanding of both business operations and the markets we serve," Farr said. "The board of directors has been actively engaged throughout our five-year succession process, and we are confident Lal is well-positioned to continue building on Emerson's legacy of success."

Karsanbhai, who is currently a member of Emerson's Office of the Chief Executive, leads a business with $11.2 billion in global sales in 2020. The Automation Solutions business offers advanced technologies, software and services to process, discrete and hybrid businesses in industries that include life sciences, power, energy, food and beverage, and water and wastewater. "I am humbled by the Emerson board and David's confidence in me," Karsanbhai said. "This is an exciting time for the organization as we continue growing Emerson's global software footprint and expanding the company's support of essential industries. I am honored to carry the legacy of Emerson's leadership into the future and look forward to working with the Office of the Chief Executive to drive these vital goals." Karsanbhai began his career at Emerson in 1995 as an international planner. He was appointed director of corporate planning in 1999, served as vice president of regulator technologies from 2002 to 2005, when he became vice president and general manager of natural gas for Emerson in France. He was named president of Emerson's Fisher regulator technologies in 2008, a role he held until 2012, when he became vice president of planning with responsibility for Emerson's global strategy. He was named president of Emerson's former Network Power business in Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2014 and became group president of Emerson's Rosemount measurement & analytical business in 2016. During his tenure at Emerson, Karsanbhai has worked in Europe, Africa and North America. He is fluent in Portuguese, French and English. Karsanbhai has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis. About Emerson Emerson (NYSE: EMR), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global technology and engineering company providing innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial and residential markets. Our Automation Solutions business helps process, hybrid and discrete manufacturers maximize production, protect personnel and the environment while optimizing their energy and operating costs. Our Commercial & Residential Solutions business helps ensure human comfort and health, protect food quality and safety, advance energy efficiency and create sustainable infrastructure. For more information visit Emerson.com . SOURCE Emerson

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Browards new top prosecutor is calling for an independent investigation into how a man died following a violent altercation with jail officers.

Kevin Lavira Desir, 43, died on Jan. 27, a week after the altercation, when family members withdrew life support after the incident resulted in a severe brain injury that left him in a vegetative state. Desir suffered from mental illness and was at the Broward County Jail awaiting trial for charges of criminal mischief and marijuana possession.

The jail is run by the Broward Sheriffs Office.

In a letter sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Thursday, Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor wrote that the policy when BSO has an officer-involved civilian death is for the sheriffs office to contact the FDLE to conduct the investigation. FDLE would then present the findings to the countys state attorneys office for review.

To eliminate any potential appearance of impropriety, I am requesting that FDLE, as an independent agency, conduct the homicide investigation of this incident, Pryor, just recently elected state attorney, wrote in the letter.

Pryor wrote that the process was to ensure transparency and independent review of the facts, and requested that any future officer-involved civilian deaths, both in the community and inside any detention facility, be investigated in the same independent manner.

The death of Desir was revealed in a story by the Miami Herald last week.

Carey Codd, a BSO spokesman, said the sheriffs office has not received any recommendation to turn over the investigation to an independent agency.

Kevin Lavira Desir

Kevin Desir was arrested by Coral Springs police on Jan. 6 on felony criminal mischief charges after he allegedly smashed the taillights and scratched the side of his neighbors 2017 red Dodge Charger with a brick. He was released on bail and arrested a week later on a charge of marijuana possession, violating the terms of his bond.

Broward Public Defender Gordon Weekes wrote in a Jan. 25 letter that Desir was pepper-sprayed and Tasered by county jail deputies in response to a mental health crisis.

Story continues

Jeremy McLymont, one of the familys attorneys, said his legal team is requesting a hearing in order to consider a request that any surveillance footage of the incident be released. BSO has thus far declined to produce the video.

BSO needs to be held accountable for what theyve done, McLymont said. They need to hold a transparent investigation. They need to release the video.

Moses Desir, Kevin Desirs eldest brother, said at a Thursday Fort Lauderdale news conference attended by a throng of supporters  including the dead detainees young children  said his brother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder more than 20 years ago and was grieving the recent loss of his father, who died a little over two months ago.

If you know any individual who has mental illness and struggles with it, when they lose a loved one they grieve and they dont grieve like we do, Moses Desir said.

Veda Coleman-Wright, BSO communications director, said in an email that Kevin Desir cut himself with an unknown object while in the infirmary at North Broward Bureau, a 1,200-person facility in Pompano Beach for detainees with mental illnesses and other special needs.

Coleman-Wright said Desir became violent and bit two deputies, causing injury to one.

Desirs cousin, Frantz Abraham, said the story the family has been told does not fit with the Kevin they knew. Abraham said said they were virtually brothers while growing up.

A lot of the stuff that we know, he doesnt have a history of doing, as far as hurting himself, said Abraham. And hes been dealing with his mental issues for over 20 years.

Sercilia Desir, Kevin Desirs mother, said she believes her son didnt need to die.

Now, at my age, I dont have a son to take care of me, she said.

The Broward jail system has been plagued by troubling incidents for years.

In one such incident, a detainee cut off his penis. In another a woman gave birth in her cell, unassisted and alone.

These stories unfortunately continue a tragic pattern of mentally ill inmates needlessly suffering and dying while being held in the jail, Weekes wrote in a letter last week to Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony.

Responding last week through the Herald, Tony said the public defender was making unsubstantiated allegations, adding BSO treats those with mental illnesses humanely. He said the department was investigating its own actions.
Community anti fracking group Love Leitrim, have declared their opposition to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada and have asked the Irish government not to ratify it.

Trade related chapters of CETA have been provisionally applied in Ireland for three years but the investment chapter will only come into effect if it is ratified by all EU member states including Ireland note Love Leitrim.

The group point out that the Irish government may ratify this as soon as this month.

They say there is real fear amongst a range of organisations that ratification will negatively impact efforts to bring forward progressive legislation and policies on a range of issues including the environment, climate, workers rights and social protection. There are a broad number of groups opposing the ratification of CETA including Trocaire, Comhlamh, Friends Of Irish Environment,and a majority of opposition political parties note Love Leitrim.

The group state that one of the major worries related to the CETA deal is what is known as the 'Investor Court System' , a mechanism that would bypass domestic and EU courts. Ratification of the element of CETA would mean that Canadian companies or companies with Canandian subsidiaries (including American companies) could try to sue the Irish state for changes in environmental, health, and other laws on the grounds that it might impact a company's future profits.

Love Leitrim Chairperson Jamie Murphy, speaking after an online meeting of the group last night, called the possible ratification of CETA a ''profoundly dangerous and anti democratic act that will drastically impact the ability of Ireland to bring forward laws and policies in many areas including the environment. We would support the view of Professor John Sweeney of NUI Maynooth who says the fear of such financial claims arising (from CETA) would inhibit the state from implementing positive and progressive policies. We are calling on all government parties, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party who in opposition opposed CETA not to ratify it. There is no obligation for the Irish government to do so. If they do it will have a devastating impact on future attempts to bring in progressive legislation in the future especially related to the fossil fuel industry and our attempts to fight climate change..Please contact your local TDs and Councillors and ask them to voice their opposition."
SpaceX began its public beta program for its Starlink satellite internet last October and according to a public filing, the service now has 'over 10,000 users in the US and abroad.'

'Starlink's performance is not theoretical or experiment [and] is rapidly accelerating in real time as part of its public beta program,' SpaceX wrote in the Thursday filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The Elon Musk-owned firm also reveals Starlink's service is 'meeting and exceeding 100/20 megabits per second (Mbps) throughout individual users' and many are seeing latency 'at or below 31 milliseconds.'

The public beta program, which is available in the US, Canada and the UK, has a $99 a month fee, plus an up-front cost of $499 for the Starlink Kit that includes the 'UFO on a stick' terminal, mounting tripod and WiFi router.

Scroll down for video

SpaceX began its public beta program for its Starlink satellite internet last October and according to a public filing, the service now has 'over 10,000 users in the US and abroad

SpaceX launched the first batch of 60 Starlink satellites on May 23, 2019 and today, the constellation includes 1,095 devices.

The firm plans to launch at least 2,200 satellites over the next five years in order to offer a global broadband service covering even the most remote areas of the world.

Along with revealing its current number of users, SpaceX also petitions the FCC to be listed as an 'Eligible Telecommunications Carrier' (ETC), which would enable the firm to receive federal funds.

This would include money from the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunities Fund (RDOF), which is a $20.4 billion fund aimed at unleashing high-speed internet across the US, with a focus on rural areas.

The Elon Musk-owned firm also reveals Starlink's service is 'meeting and exceeding 100/20 megabits per second (Mbps) throughout individual users' and many are seeing latency 'at or below 31 milliseconds'

The public beta program, which is available in the US, Canada and the UK, has a $99 a month fee, plus an up-front cost of $499 for the Starlink Kit that includes the 'UFO on a stick' terminal, mounting tripod and WiFi router

'Expedited designation of Starlink Services as an ETC in the Service Areas will serve the public interest by ensuring that the Starlink Services is eligible to receive federal USF support, including the RDOF support it won through the auction, and to expand broadband coverage in and throughout the Service Areas,' SpaceX states in the filing.

SpaceX also highlights it received this designation to provide service areas in 'Alabama, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.'

And this access was awarded to Musk's firm under the FRDOF.

Last December. the FCC awarded SpaceX with nearly $900 million in federal subsidies in the first phase of the auction.

'Starlink Services respectfully requests that the Commission grant this petition by June 7, 2021 in order for Starlink Services to meet the Commission's deadline for ETC designation for the purposes of receiving RDOF support.'

The firm continues with how ETC designation will benefit users.

'Activate Starlink service in areas with fewer users than would otherwise be economically justified, enabling broadband coverage even to the least densely populated areas,' reads the filing.

'Accelerated production means more people receive service faster in the unserved areas where SpaceX placed winning bids.'

Early adopters of the service found the space found the space broadband is 'streaming 1440p and 4K with zero buffering' and a screen shot from another customer shows latency speed of 38 milliseconds.

Early adopters of the service found the space found the space broadband is 'streaming 1440p and 4K with zero buffering' and a screen shot from another customer shows latency speed of 38 milliseconds

SpaceX has ramped up its Starlink mission, with the goal of sending new batches of satellites into orbit every week  and sometimes twice a week. The firm's latest launch took off Thursday (pictured), which brought the satellite constellation to more than 1,000 devices

In November, Twitter user Kenneth Auchenberg shared a post about his experience: 'Results from a Starlink beta tester in Washington state.'

'Streaming 1140p and 4K with zero buffering on YouTube.'

Auchenberg explained on Reddit that the terminal is atop his roof and has been 'getting steady high speeds.'

'Noticed a couple of interruptions, probably from satellite transitions, but almost 100% steady since initial setup,' reads the post.

'I actually uploaded this post using Starlink.'

Another customer, who lives in Montana, shared a screen shot from the app that shows the service is providing download speeds of 174.21 Mbps and upload speeds of 33.40 Mbps.

SpaceX has ramped up its Starlink mission, with the goal of sending new batches of satellites into orbit every week  and sometimes twice a week.

The firm's latest launch took off Thursday, which brought the satellite constellation to more than 1,000 devices.

A second launch was set for Friday, but will remain grounded until at least Sunday.
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low around 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low around 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
They received equipment and tools worth millions to assist them in their businesses and economic activities.

In a bit to reduce the economic hardship brought in by the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiated a programme to empower 300 youth and women in the towns of Douala, Bafoussam, Yaounde, Buea and Bamenda.

After two weeks of intensive training on their specific domains, the 80 youths and women selected from Douala on Tuesday February 2, 2021 received equipment to assist in boasting their economic activities. The ceremony at the Littoral governor's esplanade gave an opportunity for the Assistant UNDP Resident Representative Alassane Ba to echo their willingness to empower women and youths in Cameroon. He said the women and youths have undergone training to manage both their businesses and the equipment offered them. Alassane Ba said UNDP launched a programme in 2020 to promote local entrepreneurship in a bit to support the Cameroon government to empower those highly touched by the pandemic so as to ameliorate their living standards. He added that the equipment will go a long way to enable the starters embark on their businesses and improve on their lives.

In his keynote address the Secretary General in the Littoral Governor's office Aboubakary Haman Tchiouto appreciated the UNDP for assisting youths and women in the Littoral region. He said the Covid-19 pandemic affected many Cameroonians and with this gesture, beneficiaries will pickup from scratch and improve on their livelihoods, He said the programme is in line with governments initiative to empower the young and women as they constitute a larger portion of the Cameroonian population. He asked the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the equipment and tools.
Ten soldiers who took cocaine and cannabis at an illegal party have been kicked out of the Army.

Their commanding officer sent them hundreds of miles to a testing facility to ensure the drugs were detected before vanishing from their system.

Lt Col Simon Harris was praised for his 'old school' hardline stance in dealing with the troops, two of them women.

Lt Col Simon Harris, pictured, was praised for his 'old school' hardline stance in dealing with the troops, two of them women

Nine members of 3rd Battalion, the Royal Horse Artillery  a formation that dates back to 1793  had taken cocaine in the party at Albemarle Barracks near Newcastle on January 15. One had taken cannabis.

With nearer drug testing facilities closed, they were driven 650 miles to and from Trenchard Lines military base at Upavon in Wiltshire, where they all failed compulsory drug tests (CDTs).

As the incident represented a first offence for those involved, their commanding officer could have given them a second chance  but instead ended their military careers within 24 hours.

The swift approach was backed by soldiers who felt let down by their colleagues.

It is a marked contrast with the way in which the Royal Air Force dealt with a similar situation in November.

History: The Royal Horse Artillery at Waterloo

Military police found 'drug paraphernalia' when they broke up a party at RAF Honington, Suffolk, but the 11 airmen they arrested were not drug-tested for four days.

This meant that traces of illegal substances would have been hard to detect and they passed CDTs.

A Royal Artillery source said last night: 'The commanding officer is an old-school disciplinarian. Having partied all night the troops were dragged out of their block and put on parade. They looked high on drugs.

'Lt Col Harris wasn't going to let them off the hook by delaying the drug test or, after they all failed CDTs, using his discretion to grant them a reprieve. Under current Army rules if soldiers are young and have a good record he can let them stay on.

The regimental badge

'He was having none of that and when word spread that they had been kicked out so quickly other squaddies thought it was the right response.

'If the Army is serious about tackling drug taking it has to come down hard on people. Giving second chances to people after they've been snorting cocaine just seems weak.'

Official figures suggest drug use is rising in the Armed Forces. In 2019, 660 members were dismissed for failing drug tests, up from 580 in 2017.

Last night the Army said in a statement: 'We are aware of an incident involving personnel at Albemarle Barracks. The Army does not tolerate drug abuse within its ranks and any Army personnel caught taking drugs can expect to be discharged.'

The Royal Horse Artillery was founded in 1793, when the 3rd Duke of Richmond in his role as Master-General of Ordnance raised troops to provide fire support for the cavalry.

Soldiers of the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery pictured in training

All members of the regiment were mounted, breaking with the practice up until then of guns being served and drawn by different units. The radical change greatly enhanced tactical mobility during the Napoleonic Wars.

The annals of the Royal Horse Artillery in recent years includes the heroism of Ben Parkinson,of its 7th Parachute Regiment, who survived the most serious injuries of any British soldier in Afghanistan.

Last year he went on a 1,000- mile cycle ride despite having lost both his legs.

In 2013, 17 soldiers in the 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery, were kicked out of the Army after being caught using a dangerous performance-enhancing drug.
Actor Chadwick Boseman joins the ranks of stars like Heath Ledger and James Dean to receive award nominations after his death. The Black Panther star had not one but two films released in 2020, the same year he died of cancer. How do his posthumous award nominations stack up?

Chadwick Boseman died in 2020

Bosemans family announced his death on August 28, 2020, via his official social media channels. It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman, they wrote. Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV.

Bosemans death came as a shock to his fans and coworkers. From Marvel President Kevin Feige through Avengers: Endgame co-stars like Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr., everyone expressed their sadness of the King TChalla portrayers death. His Black Panther family, like Lupita Nyongo, released lengthy statements.

His movie Ma Raineys Black Bottom earned him award nominations

A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much, the statement continued. From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilsons Ma Raineys Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.

Based on the August Wilson play, Ma Raineys Black Bottom premiered on Netflix in December 2020. For the film, Boseman earned several posthumous award nominations. These including Best Actor  Motion Picture Drama at the Golden Globes and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role from the Screen Actors Guild.

The last film released in his lifetime was Da 5 Bloods

Undoubtedly, 2020 was a strange year for Hollywood. But Bosemans multiple Netflix releases served him well. The final project released while he was still alive was another streaming service offering. The Spike Lee-directed war drama Da 5 Bloods debuted in June 2020 to great acclaim.

Like Ma Raineys Black Bottom, Da 5 Bloods garnered award nominations. The former was relatively expected. But some were surprised to see the latter on the list when the 2021 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations were announced. Boseman is up for the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role award.

Is Chadwick Boseman eligible for an Oscar in 2021?

Chadwick Boseman poses with his award during the 50th NAACP Image Awards on March 30, 2019, in Los Angeles. | Lisa OConnor/AFP via Getty Images

RELATED: Ma Raineys Black Bottom: Will Chadwick Boseman Win An Oscar?

Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, award show announcements have been all over the place in 2021. The Golden Globes and SAG Awards are typically in January. And the results are used to predict the outcome of the Academy Awards, which is usually a few weeks later.

This year, the Oscars are pushed back to late April in hopes of being able to have an in-person ceremony. Given his record-breaking four SAG Award nominations (two individual and two he shares with the casts) and his Golden Globe nomination, Boseman is a shoo-in for a posthumous Oscar nod. Whether or not he wins is to be determined.
Retired US Navy Adm. William McRaven. Charles Dharapak/AP Images

Retired US Navy Adm. William McRaven said Tuesday that Russia was the greatest external security threat to the US.

McRaven, a former Navy SEAL and special-operations commander, said Putin has outplayed the US.

He praised Biden for efforts early in his presidency to press Putin on US national interests.

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During a recent discussion of the challenges the new Biden administration faces, retired Adm. William McRaven said Russian President Vladimir Putin has outplayed the US and that Russia is the greatest external security threat.

"I am often asked where do I think the greatest external security threat is, and I always point to Russia," McRaven, a former Navy SEAL and special-operations commander, said at a Chatham House event on Tuesday. "A lot of people think about China, but Russia jumps to mind first."

While he acknowledged that Russia is not the superpower it once was, he stressed that "Putin has outplayed us."

"He has played the great game better than anyone on the world stage," McRaven said of the Russian president. Pointing to Russian actions in Crimea, Ukraine, Syria, and even the US that were detrimental to American interests, he said: "Putin is a very dangerous person."

China is often regarded as the pacing threat for the US, and during the Trump administration, tremendous emphasis was put on countering China with less attention paid to Russia.

Nonetheless, Russia is a great power rival, listed as a leading threat alongside China in the 2018 National Defense Strategy.

"We do need to find areas where we can partner with the Russians," McRaven said, "but make no mistake about it, I think we need to take a hard line with respect to Russia ... We need to let Putin know that there are lines you just shouldn't cross."

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via The Associated Press

McRaven praised President Joe Biden's first phone call with Putin, in which the president, according to a White House readout, "made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies."

Story continues

Biden is said to have discussed arms-control concerns, asserted US support for Ukraine, and pressed Putin on the massive SolarWinds cyberattack that affected a number of federal government agencies and bureaus, election interference, and the poisoning of the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

"I was pleased to see the president in his first phone call with President Putin addressed Alexei Navalny issue," McRaven said. "I don't think President Trump would have done that."

As president, Donald Trump did not condemn Russia over the poisoning of Navalny, whom Russia recently put in prison.

Commenting on his discussion with Putin, Biden said Thursday that he "made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions - interfering with our election, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens - are over."

"We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people," he added.

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McRaven said Tuesday that the US needed to not only make its position clear to Russia but also rebuild and leverage alliances "to make sure that Russia understands how they need to play."

The Biden administration has made priorities of rebuilding alliances, reengaging in international affairs, and leading with confidence and humility. The president's foreign-policy approach stands in stark contrast with Trump's "America First" policies.

During his presidency, Trump was criticized by Democrats and some Republicans for pushing away allies and partners while at times cozying up to adversaries.

In particular, critics expressed concern as Trump struck a conciliatory tone toward Russia, despite warnings from across the intelligence community and other parts of the US government that Russia was engaged in activities that harmed US interests.

McRaven, who voted for Biden despite considering himself a conservative, was an outspoken critic of Trump's policies.

In an opinion column published in August, McRaven wrote that Trump was "actively working to undermine every major institution in this country" as the US struggled with "rising threats from China and Russia," among other challenges.

One of his more famous op-eds was a 2019 article titled "Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President," in which he said: "If this president doesn't demonstrate the leadership that America needs, both domestically and abroad, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office."

He said Trump's actions threatened the trust of American's allies and partners.

"If our promises are meaningless, how will our allies ever trust us? If we can't have faith in our nation's principles, why would the men and women of this nation join the military," McRaven wrote. "And if they don't join, who will protect us? If we are not the champions of the good and the right, then who will follow us? And if no one follows us - where will the world end up?"

McRaven served nearly four decades in the military. As the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, he oversaw Operation Neptune Spear, the successful military raid that killed the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

After retiring from the Navy in 2014, he went into academia and has written best-selling books on leadership, including "Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life ... and Maybe the World" and "Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations."

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Numbers on decline: After tigers, is it time for 'save leopard' project in India

From 8,000 in 2014, India's leopard population increased to over 12,000 in 2018: Javadekar

Three leopards die of suspected poisoning in Mysuru, probe on

Leopard which killed 3 women in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh shot dead

India

oi-Deepika S

Pithoragarh, Feb 05: A leopard, which had killed three women in Uttarakhand's Devalthal area, has been shot dead by a professional hunter hired by the forest department, an official said on Friday.

The seven-year-old leopard was killed by Nainital-based hunter Harish Dhami on Thursday night, Divisional Forest Officer, Pithoragarh, Vinay Bhargava, said here.

The leopard had killed three women and injured two persons in different villages of the Pithoragarh forest division's Didihat range recently, causing panic among residents who were demanding its elimination, he said.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, February 5, 2021, 18:03 [IST]

Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
21 runners killed during mountain race in northwestern province of Gansu; Indian variant of Covid-19 found in Guangzhou; Beijing willing to arrange for vaccines to be sent to Taiwan

May 28, 2021 08:15 PM
CHICAGO, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "Mass Notification Systems Market by Component (Solutions and Services), Application (Business Continuity and Management), Deployment Mode, Organization Size, Vertical (IT and Telecom, Transportation and Logistics), and Region - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market size is expected to grow from USD 8.0 billion in 2020 to USD 27.3 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.5% during the forecast period. Rising demand for public safety and security to boost the adoption of MNS, and increasing implementation of IP-based notification devices driving the adoption of MNS market.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Mass Notification Systems Market"

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Increasing use of data by companies to know more about their core business processes driving the adoption of managed services segment of MNS platforms during the forecast period

Third-party vendors' offer managed services, and they monitor and maintain software operations. Managed services are important as they are specifically related to client experience. Enterprises cannot bargain on the variable, as it helps them in maintaining their market position. A technological domain requires well-delivered managed services. The services being offered must fit perfectly into the client's environment. Technical expertise, service consistency, and flexibility must be provided by the vendors regardless of the client's location.

Rising need to secure data by large firms to drive the demand for on-premises to hold a larger market size

Data security concerns among the end-users is contributing to the higher adoption of on-premises MNS solution globally. The on-premised MNS solution is majorly deployed by the large organizations as it has better ability to invest. Moreover, large firms have wide variety of business segment with serving to broader geographical reason hence data security is of utmost importance.

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North America to dominate the market during the forecast period

North America is estimated to account for the largest share of the market in 2020. MNS can ensure optimum resource utilization during emergency situations. They minimize the loss of life and property. In April 2006, the Virginia Tech shooting had critical legal aftermath, and the jury found the university guilty of negligence for delaying campus warning about shootouts. Prior information about the shootout could have saved many lives. The Clery Act outlines a clear need for MNS in schools and varsities to reduce shootouts and violence rates. The major growth drivers of North America are an increase in the use of smartphones, tablets, notebooks, and PCs at work. North America, especially the US, has the highest percentage of employees using mobile devices at work. This has led to significant penetration of MNS services in the region.

Get 10% Customization on this Research Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=1248

The major vendors offering MNS solutions are IBM (US), Google (US), Motorola Solutions (US), BlackBerry (US), Eaton (Ireland), Honeywell (US), Siemens (Germany), Everbridge(US), Blackboard (US), Desktop Alert (US), OnSolve (US), Singlewire Software (US), xMatters (US), Regroup Mass Notification (US), Alertus (US), Johnson Controls (US), Federal Signal Corporation (US), Rave Mobile Safety (US), and AlertFind (US), ATI Systems (US), CrisisGo (US), Omnilert (US), Catalyst Technologies (Australia), Omnigo (US), and Klaxon (UK).

Browse Adjacent Markets: Software and Services Market Research Reports & Consulting

Related Reports:

Incident and Emergency Management Market by Component, (Solutions (Emergency/Mass Notification System, Perimeter Intrusion Detection, and Fire and HAZMAT), Services, and Communication Systems), Simulation, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/incident-emergency-management-market-1280.html

Emergency Beacon Transmitter Market by Vertical (Military Aviation, Merchant Navy), Service (Engineering, Maintenance), Type (Personal Locator Beacons, Emergency Locator Transmitters), Technology (Analog, Digital) and Geography - Global Forecast to 2020

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/emergency-beacon-transmitter-market-93220519.html

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We already knew Britains strength had plummeted to a historic low, with the Army able to muster fewer soldiers than at any time since the Napoleonic Wars.

But the confidential figures starkly reveal the full sickening reality: barely more than 11,000 infantry troops are ready for the battlefield, leaving Britain faced with an existential question over our future international standing.

While the 21st century will be more and more about new technologies, we also need adequate troop numbers to maintain combat effectiveness and credibility.

What the figures reveal is that we are now very close to the point of being barely able to function in a conflict or major operation despite the unrivalled fighting spirit of our troops and their commanders.

The Army is already too small to adequately protect Britain in an increasingly dangerous world. Further cuts are dangerously irresponsible and must not go forward, warns Col Richard Kemp. Pictured: Boris Johnson speaking with the Queen's Royal Hussars in Estonia, 2019

Yet the Army is facing severe cuts to frontline troops forced upon them by the Government.

It looks like the infantry will again take the biggest hit.

Yet it is always the infantry that is at the forefront when there is a crisis, as seen in recent years in Afghanistan and Iraq and in humanitarian disasters around the world, as well as at home, most recently proving vital to the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.

For political reasons the Government is unlikely to countenance cuts to the Scottish regiments despite the fact that they have the worst manning levels in the infantry.

I do not want to see any of them cut.

But surely in a matter as serious as national defence it makes sense to target regiments that are historically less able to sustain themselves rather than buckle to blackmail by the Scottish National Party.

My own regiment, the Royal Anglians, is a prime target, despite strong manning levels and one of its battalions being deployed in Mali on the UNs most dangerous peacekeeping operation to date.

Britain needs adequate troop numbers 'to maintain combat effectiveness and credibility,' writes Colonel Richard Kemp

The Government must reconsider this disastrous plan.

Money spent on retaining the few thousand troops they plan to cut would save any battalion from the axe and avoid fatally weakening our national defences.

The Army is already too small to adequately protect Britain in an increasingly dangerous world. Further cuts are dangerously irresponsible and must not go forward.

And if harsh choices are to be made, they must be made on a sound military basis  not for short-term political gain as a sticking plaster for the Union.

Colonel Kemp is former commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, and commander of British forces in Afghanistan.
President has formally stopped the planned withdrawal of US troops from that was ordered last year by the Trump administration but had never actually begun.

Speaking at the State Department on Thursday, Biden said the troop pullout would be halted until Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin does a review of America's troops presence around the globe. Austin, he said, will ensure that "our military footprint is appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities".

Last year, then-President Donald Trump announced that he was going to pull out about 9,500 of the roughly 34,500 US troops that are stationed in The US has several major military facilities in the country, including Ramstein Air Base, the headquarters for US European Command and US Africa Command, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States.

Trump's order met resistance from Congress as well as from within the military, which has long relied on as a key ally and base of operations. Trump announced the troop cuts after repeatedly accusing Germany of not paying enough for its own defence, calling the longtime NATO ally "delinquent" for failing to spend 2 per cent of its GDP on defence, the alliance benchmark.

The Pentagon began a review to determine which troops would be redeployed to other locations and which would remain in Germany. That study has been ongoing and there have been no reductions or changes to US troop levels since Trump's announcement.

Austin hinted at a likely reconsideration of the order in a conversation with his German counterpart last week.

Chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the issue of troop cuts came up during Austin's call with German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, and that Austin made it clear that he wants to review America's force posture around the globe.

"What he did assert to the defence minister was that whatever decision we make, we will do it in consultation with her and her government," Kirby said, adding that Austin "made it very clear that he values the support that we have received for so many years from Germany".

German officials have hoped that order will be rescinded by the new administration, and the German Defence Ministry said that in Austin's call with Kramp-Karrenbauer, he "emphasised that Germany is highly valued as a station and that American soldiers feel very comfortable here".

"The US continues to consider its presence in Germany as an important part of joint security," the Defense Ministry said in a readout of the call.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The central province of Binh Thuan has been well known for its fabour tourism destinations, such as Mui Ne, Hon rom, Bau Trang

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Recently, more pristine tourism sites have been discovered in Bac Binh district. These new tourism products promise to be attractive destinations for visitors and explorers.

Mui Yen (Yen Cape), in Hoa Thang commune, Bac Binh district, the central province of Binh Thuan is a pristine tourism destination which has been recently discovered. Visitors have to go a long way, through, slopes, sandbars and reefs, to reach Yen Cape. The site features vast sand hills dotted with small brushes. Yen Cape is about 30 metres high, overhang the sea. Here, visitors can have a panoramic view of the blue sea.

The site is impressive with three or four ledges overhung the sea. At the foot of Yen Cape mountain, visitors can have a splendid view of the sea, with high waves and cliffs and the sunrise.

Besides Yen Cape, Suoi Dua (Pineapple Spring) has just been known as a new destination in Bac Binh district. The spring is pristine and unique as it locates right in the dried land, with sand desert on the two sides.

Visitors start to flock to the new destinations. Binh Thuan province hopes to make these pristine and attractive destinations new tourism products./.VNA
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In a class-action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles by the PARRIS Law Firm, the LA Department of Water & Power (LADWP) is accused of covering up a massive gas leak at the Sun Valley Generating Station for at least three years.

The suit alleges LADWP harmed the largely LatinX and African American community when the utility knowingly allowed the Valley Generating Station to leak toxic gas for years. According to the complaint, residents in Sun Valley and Pacoima were exposed to poisonous fumes that caused recurring headaches, bloody noses, shortness of breath, severe anxiety, and nausea.

"This dangerous gas leak affected our entire community," said Ruben Rodriguez, Executive Director of Pueblo y Salud - a nonprofit organization that works to protect the public health and safety of communities including the San Fernando Valley areas of Sun Valley and Pacoima. "Those in the neighborhoods surrounding the Station were all breathing the same toxic air," Rodriguez added, "they have been suffering with unexplained health issues for years and had no idea why. Now, we know why."

The harm in LADWP's failure to warn residents about the gas leak was also exacerbated because it did so when COVID-19 was spreading like wildfire. LADWP's failure to act, especially during the global pandemic, is inexcusable because exposure to the contaminated gas increases respiratory difficulties and can further complicate someone's ability to recover from COVID-19, the complaint alleges.

"Make no mistake about itthis gas leak represents an utter breakdown of duty and morality," said attorney R. Rex Parris, founder of the PARRIS Law Firm. "I don't think anyone would have thought that a public entity would knowingly allow its facility to leak toxic fumes into residential neighborhoods for 1,085 days," Parris added.

Adding insult to injury, LADWP's own General Manager publicly acknowledged that "the people who live around Valley Generating Station, who breathe the air in that area of the city are making somewhat of a sacrifice in support of the overall efforts of the city." According to the complaint, LADWP violated the public's trust when it made the informed choice to sacrifice residents' health by failing to immediately fix the leak and to notify residents of the gas leak as it happened.

"LADWP knew their gas contained toxic chemicals, and yet they still allowed an entire community to breathe the air for years," said PARRIS Law Firm attorney Sylvia Torres-Guillen. "Local residents feel betrayed, and they are deeply concerned about the long term health impact this exposure will have on their families," Torres-Guillen added.

The case is Pueblo y Salud, et al. v. City of Los Angeles' Department of Water & Power, Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. 21STCV04346 A copy of the complaint can be found here.

About PARRIS Law Firm

The PARRIS Law Firm is recognized as one of America's top personal injury, employment, and environmental law firms. With a proven track record of fighting for justice on behalf of families and individuals, the firm boasts numerous seven and eight-figure verdicts and settlements. To learn more about the firm, please go to: www.parris.com

Contact

Dante Hickles 661.949.2595 | [email protected]

SOURCE PARRIS Law Firm

Related Links

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editorial

Almost every five years, Air Namibia has been repositioning itself, with new strategic plans aimed at revamping the national airline and turning it into a profitable enterprise. The fact of the matter is that Air Namibia has in the past committed many errors in judgement, especially when it comes to profitable route selection.

Industry experts have often alluded that some of these routes appeared to have been purely politically motivated instead of focusing on generating the much-needed revenue. This is evident from the fact that 15 out of the 19 routes Air Namibia was operating in 2019 were unprofitable, among others, due to high structural and operating costs.

The highest loss-making route was the Frankfurt one, which incurred major losses due to high fixed costs and underutilisation. However, attempts to resuscitate the beleaguered airline have often ended in blame shifting and unrealised business targets. This has resulted in N$8.4 billion taxpayers' money being used to bail out the airline over the last ten years.

Air Namibia's creditors have also been circling around the cash-strapped airline for years, while service providers have been seeking millions for unpaid services, which have been mostly attributed to historical debt.

There have been proposals, among others, to voluntarily close down the airline and negotiate exit lease agreements and transfer the airline to the public enterprises' ministry. A new business plan that would need N$4.1 billion was also recommended in the past, while another offer was to liquidate the airline with government assuming liability of about N$2.5 billion. Not any of these worked out.

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The outgoing Air Namibia board which threw in the towel this week claimed government has created the impression that N$7 billion was needed to restart the airline. It must be said that the Air Namibia dilemma is not only rooted in operational deficiencies, but also poor strategic and policy implementation. The airline has struggled to stick to a vision, which would have enabled it to be run on sound business principles.

The changing and chopping of the board and executive officers has also created more uncertainty, leading to unreliable operations. It is no wonder the airline has had 11 CEOs in the last 30 years. Unbelievable!

It now remains to be seen whether the shareholder will accede and support the implementation of a new re-start plan devised by the now former board to turn Air Namibia into a very lean and cost-effective airline, with a focus on profitable routes without the airline being an undue burden on the financial resources of government.

The airline industry is at the moment hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic although an eventual recovery could be boosted by the rolling out of vaccines, with nations hoping to achieve herd immunity against coronavirus in the not-so-distant future.

For Air Namibia, the re-start strategy would be crucial if it still wants to carry the spirit of the nation and safeguard over 600 jobs. The shareholder will also have to carefully evaluate the business plan to allow the current regime to map out a potential recovery, taking into consideration increasing competition and high-fixed operational costs, which have certainly also contributed to the instability of the airline.
The companies anticipate completing the transaction by Q2 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions

Bristol Myers Squibb and WuXi STA  a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec  have announced that WuXi STA has agreed to purchase Bristol Myers Squibbs manufacturing facility in Couvet, Switzerland. The Couvet site will be the first facility in Europe for WuXi STA, a leading contract development and manufacturing organisation. The acquisition will enhance WuXi STAs existing capabilities while growing capacity to support its partners life-saving work.

The companies anticipate completing the transaction by Q2 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions. Upon closing, WuXi STA will acquire the Couvet sites operations and assets, which include the plant and equipment, as well as a workforce with technical capabilities and expertise.

The Couvet site is a world-class facility designed for quality, safety, and efficiency, and we believe WuXi STA will be able to leverage the capacity and capabilities for its own operations as it continues to play a vital role for patients around the world, said Lou Schmukler, Executive Vice President and President, Global Product Development and Supply, Bristol Myers Squibb. This is an important step in the ongoing evolution of our manufacturing network to support our product portfolio. Switzerland remains an important strategic location for Bristol Myers Squibb, and we look forward to maintaining a strong presence in the Neuchatel area.

We are pleased to add the Couvet manufacturing facility to our growing global manufacturing site network and look forward to working with the talented team who share our focus on excellence and a patient-centred approach, said Dr Minzhang Chen, CEO, WuXi STA. The acquisition will allow WuXi STA to better serve European markets and support our global customers to deliver innovative medicines and treatments to patients around the world.

The Couvet facility will continue to operate as part of Bristol Myers Squibbs manufacturing network until the closing of the transaction.
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January 6, 2021 by Oskar Rey

Category: Public Participation , Legislative Body



The right to assemble is protected under both the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (Congress shall make no lawabridgingthe right of the people peaceably to assemble) and the Washington State Constitution Article I Section 4 (The right ofthe people peaceably to assemble for the common good shall never be abridged). In De Jonge v. State of Oregon, 299 U.S. 353, 364 (1937), the United States Supreme Court recognized that the right of peaceable assembly is a right cognate to those of free speech and free press and is equally fundamental, while reversing the conviction of defendant for criminal syndicalism (i.e., assisting in the conduct of a meeting of the Communist Party).

We live in a time of increasing political polarization during a pandemic. This blog will explore the right to assemble in connection with protests and gatherings in outdoor public places and provide thoughts on how local governments can respond to situations that may arise.

Can a Local Government Require a Permit to Assemble?

A local government may do so only if the nature or size of the gathering is one that requires local government services or crowd control. Consider a hypothetical: A group of 15 to 20 individuals want to express their opposition to a piece of legislation being considered by Congress. They plan to march from a city park to city hall chanting slogans and holding protest signs, all while obeying traffic laws and staying on the sidewalks. Under those facts, a city would not have a basis for requiring a permit because the event is consistent with ordinary use of public property and the public right-of-way.

Most cities and counties have special event regulations that address gatherings of a certain size (for example, over 50 participants) or gatherings that disrupt the normal and ordinary use of right-of-way, public property, or public facilities. It is common to differentiate between First Amendment or expressive events, in which the primary purpose is conveying a viewpoint, versus other types of events, such as street fairs, community celebrations, or parades, which are not primarily expressive in nature. Care should be taken not to impose unreasonable restrictions on expressive events because the restrictions may be subject to strict scrutiny by the courts. For more information and examples of regulations, see MRSCs Special Events Permits webpage.

Can a Local Government Impose Permit Conditions on Events?

A local governments ability to restrict expressive conduct in a traditional public forum (which includes parks and streets) is quite limited. Known as time, place, and manner restrictions, these must be content-neutral, narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest, and leave open ample channels for communication of the information. In addition, regulations must not place unduly broad discretion for approving or imposing conditions on expressive conduct into the hands of a government official.

MRSC is sometimes asked whether a local government can require organizers of an event involving expressive activity to obtain insurance coverage. For non-expressive special events, it is common to require event organizers provide liability insurance. However, the analysis changes when the event involves expressive speech or protest. In Long Beach Area Peace Network v. City of Long Beach, 574 F.3d 1011, 1030 (9th Cir. 2009), the Federal Ninth Circuit Court ruled that insurance can be required in some cases but the requirement cannot operate as a bar to First Amendment activity. This case upheld the citys insurance provision since its ordinance provided alternatives to insurance, such as indemnification of the city by event organizers or redesign of the event to address liability concerns.

A related question is whether a local government can charge permit fees and recover the costs of its response to an expressive event (such as crowd or traffic control) from event organizers. In theory, such costs may be recovered, but courts closely scrutinize the regulations under which fees and costs are assessed as well as the decisions made by government officials when implementing those regulations.

For example, in Forsyth County, Ga. v. Nationalist Movement, 505 U.S. 123 (1992), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an ordinance that authorized imposition of a permit fee in an amount not to exceed $1,000. The court noted that the ordinance did not contain ascertainable standards for setting the fee and that the county administrator had unbridled discretion to charge the fee of his or her choosing. The court also found the popularity or unpopularity of the message cannot play a role in the amount of the fees or costs, stating:

Listeners reaction to speech is not a content-neutral basis for regulation. [citations omitted] Speech cannot be financially burdened, any more than it can be punished or banned, simply because it might offend a hostile mob.

Permit fees and insurance requirements are risky in the context of political protests and gatherings. Local governments should consider these issues in detail with their legal counsel and insurance provider before deciding whether such requirements should be imposed.

Can a Local Government Regulate the Carrying of Firearms at Political Protests?

Washington is an open-carry state, but state law regulates the manner in which firearms can be carried or displayed. State law also prohibits aiming firearms at others and discharging firearms in public places. MRSC published a blog article in July 2020 that provides more information on what is and is not allowed.

What about COVID-19?

Political protests have continued to occur during the COVID-19 emergency on a wide range of issues. The governors emergency proclamations do not specifically address the First Amendment right to speech and assembly but COVID-19 restrictions can be used for guidance on determining reasonable permit conditions for protests and gatherings. For example, rather than denying a permit to assemble, a local government could impose permit conditions that minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission, such as requiring that the event be held outdoors and that participants observe social distancing and wear masks.

What about Spontaneous and Recurring Events?

Not all protests and gatherings are planned in advance  sometimes they are an immediate response to a breaking news event. The City of Long Beach case struck down the citys attempt to regulate spontaneous events in part because of a 24-hour notice requirement that applied broadly to spontaneous events. The court found that the notice requirement was not narrowly tailored to the type of spontaneous events for which the city would need advance notice and that there were not sufficient alternative means for expression.

From a practical standpoint, local governments should be prepared for the possibility of political demonstrations and gatherings with little or no advanced warning. Spontaneous and recurring events are often organized and publicized through social media, making it difficult for a local government to identify individuals responsible for the event.

Some of the issues associated with spontaneous and recurring events are described in Black Lives Matter Seattle-King Cty. v. City of Seattle, 466 F. Supp. 3d 1206 (W.D. Wash. 2020), which involved the Seattle Police Departments response to demonstrations that arose after the killing of George Floyd. Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County sought a temporary restraining order, claiming that police made indiscriminate use of tear gas, pepper spray, flash bang devices, and foam-tip bullets (collectively referred to as crowd control weapons) against peaceful protesters.

At the outset, the Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington stated that people have the right to peacefully demonstrate and protest without fear of government retaliation, while at the same time acknowledging that police officers must make split-second decisions about protecting people and property, often while in harms way. It recognized the difficulty in drawing an enforceable line that permits police officers to use appropriate means in response to violence and destruction of property, one that also does not chill free speech or abuse those who wish to exercise it.

Based on a finding that police used crowd control weapons against peaceful protestors, the court issued a temporary restraining order placing significant limitations on the ability of police to use these weapons. The court, quoting Collins v. Jordan, 110 F.3d 1363, 1372 (9th Cir. 1996), noted:

[T]he proper response to potential and actual violence is for the government to ensure an adequate police presence, and to arrest those who actually engage in such conduct, rather than to suppress legitimate First Amendment conduct as a prophylactic measure.

What Happens When Counter Demonstrators Show Up?

Counter demonstrations can raise concerns for local governments because they can increase the chances of verbal or physical altercations between protest groups. Cases have upheld the ability of local government to create separate protest zones for protesters. Analytically, such actions are valid time, place, and manner restrictions so long as the reasons for them are content-neutral and not based on agreement or disagreement with the views of a protest group. See, e.g., Wood v. Moss, 572 U.S. 744, (2014), which found the Secret Service had legitimate security reasons for moving opponents of President George W. Bush to a location further away than where his supporters were allowed to congregate, or Startzell v. City of Philadelphia, 533 F.3d 183 (3d Cir. 2008), which found the city was justified in removing an anti-gay religious group from an area used for the LGBT OutFest event based on conduct that disrupted the event, as opposed to city disagreement with the views of the religious group.

Conclusion

Managing the local government response to demonstrations and protests can be exceedingly difficult. The emotions of participants can often run high and unanticipated developments may require that complex decisions be made on very short notice, sometimes with incomplete information.

Upholding the right to free speech and assembly is a fundamental purpose of government. If providing a forum for people to air their political concerns feels like a heavy lift, perhaps it is helpful to remember the words of Justice Louis Brandeis on the fundamental role of political speech and assembly in our democracy:

[Our founders] believed that freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth; that without free speech and assembly discussion would be futile; that with them, discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious doctrine; that the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people; that public discussion is a political duty; and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government.

Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357, 375 (1927) (concurring opinion).

MRSC is a private nonprofit organization serving local governments in Washington State. Eligible government agencies in Washington State may use our free, one-on-one Ask MRSC service to get answers to legal, policy, or financial questions.

Regime allies Russia and China continue to claim that Syria is respecting the UNs chemical weapons probe, reports the Syria Times.

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya has stressed that Syria has abided by all its obligations towards the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the UN, despite pressures and accusations against it.

His remarks were made during a session held via video by the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the situation in Syria on Thursday.

He added that the formulation of a biased draft resolution against Syria, expected next April, by the OPCWs member states will pose a real threat as it will undermine the authority of the organization and the UNSC that is responsible for the implementation of Resolution 2118.

In this context, Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister and Syrias permanent representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, denounced yesterday the insistence of some Western countries to use the OPCW and the so-called chemical file as a weapon in the war imposed on Syria and as political blackmail to serve their agendas in Syria and the region.

Chinas deputy permanent representative to the UN Geng Shuang has affirmed that the investigations into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria should respect the facts.

The OPCWs probe into the alleged use of chemical weapons should be carried out strictly within the framework of the Chemical Weapons Convention and should adhere to the principles of independence, impartiality, objectivity and respect for facts and science, Xinhua news agency quoted Geng as saying during a UNSC session via video yesterday.

We hope that Security Council members will also reach consensus on these principles as they are the basis for in-depth discussions and mutual trust, he added.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 21:52:57|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia and Malaysia are pushing for a special ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) meeting to discuss the situation in Myanmar.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo conveyed the call in a joint press statement with Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin after a meeting at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Friday.

The Indonesian president said that he has agreed with the Malaysian prime minister that they will assign their foreign ministers to speak with the ASEAN chair to hold a special meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers on the Myanmar issue.

"We discussed regional and global issues, including the ongoing progress in Myanmar," Joko said.

Indonesia and Malaysia, he said, were concerned about the political development in Myanmar and hoping the political differences in the country could be resolved in accordance with the applicable law.

"To realize the vision of the ASEAN Community, it is important for all of us to continue to respect the principles of the ASEAN Charter, especially the principles of rule of law, good governance, human rights, democracy and constitutional governance," he added.

Muhyiddin said that Malaysia was paying serious attention to the political developments in Myanmar.

He agreed with the idea of holding a special meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Myanmar more deeply.

ASEAN, which was founded in 1967, is a regional organization comprising 10 Southeast Asian countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Muhyiddin arrived in Jakarta on Thursday afternoon for his first official visit abroad after becoming Malaysia's prime minister in March last year. He was scheduled to return to Malaysia on Friday evening. Enditem
Nvidia agreed to buy Cambridge-based ARM for US$40bn from Softbank in September

ARM Holdings takeover by US chip designer Nvidia is facing a competition probe after rivals expressed concern that it might affect access to the UKs technology.

ARMs low-power memory chips are crucial for mobile phones and tablets and its pioneering tech is licensed to 500 manufacturers across the globe.

US graphics chip specialist Nvidia Inc ( ) agreed to buy Cambridge-based ARM for US$40bn from Softbank in September, but today the UKs Competition and Markets Authority confirmed it was looking into the deal.

Andrea Coscelli, the CMAs chief executive, said: The chip technology industry is worth billions and critical to many of the products that we use most in our everyday lives.

We will work closely with other competition authorities around the world to carefully consider the impact of the deal and ensure that it doesnt ultimately result in consumers facing more expensive or lower-quality products.

Coscelli added that specifically, the investigation will look at whether an incentive to withdraw, raise prices or reduce the quality of its intellectual property licensing services to Nvidias rivals.

In a letter to the Financial Times, Jensen Huang, Nvidias chief executive, said the US group would maintain Arms open licensing model.

We have no intention to throttle or deny Arms supply to any customer, he wrote.

Even, so rivals fear that the opportunity to utilise ARMs dominant position will be irresistible and hard to stop once the deal is approved.

Herman Hauser, one of the UK companys co-funders argued when the deal was announced that it might lead to Nvidia becoming the next US tech giant alongside Google and Facebook.

The UK government is also be pressurised to block the deal in the interests of national security.

The CMA has invited interested parties to submit their views before it opens a formal investigation later this year.

Brussels is also set to open its own separate EU probe into the deal.
Union Agriculture Minister on Friday said his "khoon ki kheti" jibe against in the Rajya Sabha earlier in the day was made in the context of a document shown by leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

" had released the document in presence of Rahul Gandhi a few days back. It was titled 'khoon ki kheti'," Tomar said.

"My submission is that accountable political parties should not mislead people. Mallikarjun Kharge showed that document in Rajya Sabha and replied that we don't do 'khoon ki kheti'. We only know one way of farming that is done by water. If Congress is doing 'khoon ki kheti' then they must know about it," he said.

Tomar had said in the House that everyone knows that farming is done with water. "Only Congress can practice 'khoon ki kheti'. The BJP can never do so," he had said.

The minister made the remarks while participating in the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's Address.

Congress leader Rahul Gandi had released a booklet titled 'kheti ka khoon' last month in support of farmers protesting against the three new farm laws.

The minister said that debate on the motion of thanks on President's address has concluded in Rajya Sabha.

"There is a deadlock in Lok Sabha and I hope opposition would understand all this and we will have a discussion in Lok Sabha as well," he said.

On some opposition leaders seeking to compare police measures in Ghazipur to "border with Pakistan", the minister said, "I think opposition should respect its maryada (dignity)."

Eleven rounds of talks have been between the government and the protesting farmer unions over their demand for the repeal of farm laws. The government has offered to put the new farm laws on hold for about 18 months.

Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With her Corgi mix Howard lying on the passenger seat, Sunni Liston briefly stepped out of her doggy day-care van on Tuesday in Portland, Ore., to lift a client's pet out of the back and hand it off to its owner.

Before she could even shut the van's rear door, a man slipped into the front seat of the vehicle, which still had a key in the ignition. Liston desperately banged on the side of the van, shouting for the thief to stop, but he peeled away from the curb, running over Liston's foot as he sped off.

"I was pretty panicked,"Liston, 60, told The Washington Post on Wednesday. Her phone, purse and 12 dogs in the van and were gone. She said she didn't know what do.

"The only thing that makes any sense to me, I truly believe that they were dognappers and they knew what they were doing and had seen me there before," she said. "My little guy in the front seat, I was scared to death about him. Each of the other 11 people [with dogs in the van], that was their Howard."

The theft set off an urgent amateur manhunt in Portland, as Liston and her employees at the Cooper Dogpatch day care scrambled to save the dogs. Police and news crews responded to the scene and word of the dognapping spread widely on social media and in the local press.

Thanks to quick thinking by Liston's employees, though, this dognapping had a happy ending.

Liston runs Cooper Dogpatch with her husband, Rick Liston, and employs several young women who help take care of the dogs. The day care picks up clients' pets in urban Portland and drives them to the day care outside the city, where the dogs have plenty of space to run and play. The company van has kennels stacked in the back, where the day-care dogs ride, and a license plate that reads, "WOOF 1."

Sunni Liston was unloading a pup from the van when the thief sneaked into the front seat and took off.

A helpful bystander who witnessed the hijacking lent Liston a cellphone to call the police. Then, she phoned two women who work in her doggy day care. Her employees, Alesha Bennet and Katelynn Border, launched their own search, posting pleas for help on social media. One of them logged into an iPhone-tracking app to try to locate Liston's cellphone.

Sure enough, the phone showed up on the GPS tracker, moving through the Portland streets. As she watched, Border realized a friend lived in the neighborhood where the hijacker had taken the van. She called, and her friend dropped everything to search for the van, Liston told The Post. Less than an hour after the van was taken, Border's friend spotted it pulled over in a parking space. She parked her own car behind the van to trap it, Liston said.

"That 40 minutes was the longest 10 hours of my life," Liston told The Post.

Police responded to the van moments later, but the thief had fled with Liston's purse, wallet and several hundred dollars. He had left the12 dogs unharmed.

"When the police officer called me, I could hear - we have one little dog that comes to us that barks all of the time - he was barking," Liston said. "I just screamed, 'Oh my God, you found them!'"

When she finally made her way to the van about an hour after it had been stolen, Liston found her own pup Howard lying where she'd left him, asleep on the passenger seat, "wondering why he didn't get his supper," she said.

All of the dogs' owners took their pets home safely on Tuesday night. Police have not yet made an arrest in the case, but Liston said an officer told her Wednesday that investigators are seeking surveillance footage that may have captured a shot of a the bandit.

Liston said her company will now buy GPS trackers for all its vans, and that she will start carrying her car keys with her every time she exits the vehicle from now on.

After the harrowing ordeal, Liston said her clients and other members of the "dog-loving" community have banded together to show their support. She said no one had blamed her, even though she had left the keys in the ignition.

"People could have pointed fingers," she said.

Instead, Liston said she had been flooded with kind phone calls, flowers and support all day Wednesday.

"These people who love dogs also seem to have a really compassionate nature for people," Liston said. "Maybe that's something we could learn . . . When a situation happens, maybe walk a mile in somebody's shoes and realize they know what they should have done and the best thing you can do is hold out your hand and help them."
25 of the positive cases detected last week can be traced back to an infection chain within the school, compared with one single case the previous week. Isolated infection cases have doubled.

The numbers paint a clear picture: infections among pupils and students have significantly increased over the past week. This upwards trend has led to the decision by the Minister for Education, Claude Meisch (DP) to close primary schools and Maisons Relais from Friday evening, one week before February half term.

301 positive Coronavirus cases were identified in Luxembourgish schools from 25 to 31 January.

212 of them fall into the scenario 1 (i.e. an isolated case in one class). This compares with 145 scenario 1 cases the previous week. 231 classes in public schools and lycees are affected, and 5 classes in competency centres.

42 scenario 2 cases were identified, with a maximum of 2 positive cases in a class.

Most notably, there were 22 cases from the scenario 3 (three to five positive cases in a class) and 25 scenario 4 cases (chain of infection within a school). The previous week, there had only been one scenario 4 case.
Morgan later explained the inspiration behind Rivers name. Early on in my pregnancy I was walking the River everyday, gave me so much peace I knew that was the perfect name for his lil soul. Plus Michael & I really wanted a nature name, she posted on Instagram Stories. She also showed a glimpse of Rivers nursery, which features a neon River sign; and a peek at a baby outfit that has baseballs and Kopech on it.
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: SandersTrump (TrumpSanders), : Military

 : Kevin Rudd

: BBS  (Fri Feb 5 10:45:32 2021, )









https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-02-05/kevin-rudd-

usa-chinese-confrontation-short-of-war



Officials in Washington and Beijing dont agree on much these days, but

there is one thing on which they see eye to eye: the contest between their

two countries will enter a decisive phase in the 2020s. This will be the

decade of living dangerously. No matter what strategies the two sides pursue

or what events unfold, the tension between the United States and China will

grow, and competition will intensify; it is inevitable. War, however, is

not. It remains possible for the two countries to put in place guardrails

that would prevent a catastrophe: a joint framework for what I call 

managed strategic competition would reduce the risk of competition

escalating into open conflict.



The Chinese Communist Party is increasingly confident that by the decades

end, Chinas economy will finally surpass that of the United States as the

worlds largest in terms of GDP at market exchange rates. Western elites

may dismiss the significance of that milestone; the CCPs Politburo does

not. For China, size always matters. Taking the number one slot will

turbocharge Beijings confidence, assertiveness, and leverage in its

dealings with Washington, and it will make Chinas central bank more likely

to float the yuan, open its capital account, and challenge the U.S. dollar

as the main global reserve currency. Meanwhile, China continues to advance

on other fronts, as well. A new policy plan, announced last fall, aims to

allow China to dominate in all new technology domains, including artificial

intelligence, by 2035. And Beijing now intends to complete its military

modernization program by 2027 (seven years ahead of the previous schedule),

with the main goal of giving China a decisive edge in all conceivable

scenarios for a conflict with the United States over Taiwan. A victory in

such a conflict would allow President Xi Jinping to carry out a forced

reunification with Taiwan before leaving poweran achievement that would

put him on the same level within the CCP pantheon as Mao Zedong.

Washington must decide how to respond to Beijings assertive agendaand

quickly. If it were to opt for economic decoupling and open confrontation,

every country in the world would be forced to take sides, and the risk of

escalation would only grow. Among policymakers and experts, there is

understandable skepticism as to whether Washington and Beijing can avoid

such an outcome. Many doubt that U.S. and Chinese leaders can find their way

to a framework to manage their diplomatic relations, military operations,

and activities in cyberspace within agreed parameters that would maximize

stability, avoid accidental escalation, and make room for both competitive

and collaborative forces in the relationship. The two countries need to

consider something akin to the procedures and mechanisms that the United

States and the Soviet Union put in place to govern their relations after the

Cuban missile crisisbut in this case, without first going through the

near-death experience of a barely avoided war.

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Managed strategic competition would involve establishing certain hard limits

on each countrys security policies and conduct but would allow for full

and open competition in the diplomatic, economic, and ideological realms. It

would also make it possible for Washington and Beijing to cooperate in

certain areas, through bilateral arrangements and also multilateral forums.

Although such a framework would be difficult to construct, doing so is still

possibleand the alternatives are likely to be catastrophic.

BEIJING'S LONG VIEW

In the United States, few have paid much attention to the domestic political

and economic drivers of Chinese grand strategy, the content of that

strategy, or the ways in which China has been operationalizing it in recent

decades. The conversation in Washington has been all about what the United

States ought to do, without much reflection on whether any given course of

action might result in real changes to Chinas strategic course. A prime

example of this type of foreign policy myopia was an address that then

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered last July, in which he effectively

called for the overthrow of the CCP. We, the freedom-loving nations of the

world, must induce China to change, he declared, including by empower[

ing] the Chinese people.

The only thing that could lead the Chinese people to rise up against the

party-state, however, is their own frustration with the CCPs poor

performance on addressing unemployment, its radical mismanagement of a

natural disaster (such as a pandemic), or its massive extension of what is

already intense political repression. Outside encouragement of such

discontent, especially from the United States, is unlikely to help and quite

likely to hinder any change. Besides, U.S. allies would never support such

an approach; regime change has not exactly been a winning strategy in recent

decades. Finally, bombastic statements such as Pompeos are utterly

counterproductive, because they strengthen Xis hand at home, allowing him

to point to the threat of foreign subversion to justify ever-tighter

domestic security measures, thereby making it easier for him to rally

disgruntled CCP elites in solidarity against an external threat.

That last factor is particularly important for Xi, because one of his main

goals is to remain in power until 2035, by which time he will be 82, the age

at which Mao passed away. Xis determination to do so is reflected in the

partys abolition of term limits, its recent announcement of an economic

plan that extends all the way to 2035, and the fact that Xi has not even

hinted at who might succeed him even though only two years remain in his

official term. Xi experienced some difficulty in the early part of 2020,

owing to a slowing economy and the COVID-19 pandemic, whose Chinese origins

put the CCP on the defensive. But by the years end, official Chinese media

were hailing him as the partys new great navigator and helmsman, who

had prevailed in a heroic peoples war against the novel coronavirus.

Indeed, Xis standing has been aided greatly by the shambolic management of

the pandemic in the United States and a number of other Western countries,

which the CCP has highlighted as evidence of the inherent superiority of the

Chinese authoritarian system. And just in case any ambitious party

officials harbor thoughts about an alternative candidate to lead the party

after Xis term is supposed to end in 2022, Xi recently launched a major

purgea rectification campaign, as the CCP calls itof members deemed

insufficiently loyal.

Meanwhile, Xi has carried out a massive crackdown on Chinas Uighur

minority in the region of Xinjiang; launched campaigns of repression in Hong

Kong, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet; and stifled dissent among intellectuals,

lawyers, artists, and religious organizations across China. Xi has come to

believe that China should no longer fear any sanctions that the United

States might impose on his country, or on individual Chinese officials, in

response to violations of human rights. In his view, Chinas economy is now

strong enough to weather such sanctions, and the party can protect

officials from any fallout, as well. Furthermore, unilateral U.S. sanctions

are unlikely to be adopted by other countries, for fear of Chinese

retaliation. Nonetheless, the CCP remains sensitive to the damage that can

be done to Chinas global brand by continuing revelations about its

treatment of minorities. That is why Beijing has become more active in

international forums, including the UN Human Rights Council, where it has

rallied support for its campaign to push back against long-established

universal norms on human rights, while also regularly attacking the United

States for its own alleged abuses of those very norms.

Xi is also intent on achieving Chinese self-sufficiency to head off any

effort by Washington to decouple the United States economy from that of

China or to use U.S. control of the global financial system to block China

s rise. This push lies at the heart of what Xi describes as Chinas dual

circulation economy: its shift away from export dependency and toward

domestic consumption as the long-term driver of economic growth and its plan

to rely on the gravitational pull of the worlds biggest consumer market

to attract foreign investors and suppliers to China on Beijings terms. Xi

also recently announced a new strategy for technology R & D and

manufacturing to reduce Chinas dependence on imports of certain core

technologies, such as semiconductors.

Beijing has concluded that the United States would never fight a war it

could not win.

The trouble with this approach is that it prioritizes party control and

state-owned enterprises over Chinas hard-working, innovative, and

entrepreneurial private sector, which has been primarily responsible for the

countrys remarkable economic success over the last two decades. In order

to deal with a perceived external economic threat from Washington and an

internal political threat from private entrepreneurs whose long-term

influence threatens the power of the CCP, Xi faces a dilemma familiar to all

authoritarian regimes: how to tighten central political control without

extinguishing business confidence and dynamism.

Xi faces a similar dilemma when it comes to what is perhaps his paramount

goal: securing control over Taiwan. Xi appears to have concluded that China

and Taiwan are now further away from peaceful reunification than at any time

in the past 70 years. This is probably correct. But China often ignores its

own role in widening the gulf. Many of those who believed that China would

gradually liberalize its political system as it opened up its economic

system and became more connected with the rest of the world also hoped that

that process would eventually allow Taiwan to become more comfortable with

some form of reunification. Instead, China has become more authoritarian

under Xi, and the promise of reunification under a one country, two

systems formula has evaporated as the Taiwanese look to Hong Kong, where

China has imposed a harsh new national security law, arrested opposition

politicians, and restricted media freedom.

With peaceful reunification off the table, Xis strategy now is clear: to

vastly increase the level of military power that China can exert in the

Taiwan Strait, to the extent that the United States would become unwilling

to fight a battle that Washington itself judged it would probably lose.

Without U.S. backing, Xi believes, Taiwan would either capitulate or fight

on its own and lose. This approach, however, radically underestimates three

factors: the difficulty of occupying an island that is the size of the

Netherlands, has the terrain of Norway, and boasts a well-armed population

of 25 million; the irreparable damage to Chinas international political

legitimacy that would arise from such a brutal use of military force; and

the deep unpredictability of U.S. domestic politics, which would determine

the nature of the U.S. response if and when such a crisis arose. Beijing, in

projecting its own deep strategic realism onto Washington, has concluded

that the United States would never fight a war it could not win, because to

do so would be terminal for the future of American power, prestige, and

global standing. What China does not include in this calculus is the reverse

possibility: that the failure to fight for a fellow democracy that the

United States has supported for the entire postwar period would also be

catastrophic for Washington, particularly in terms of the perception of U.S.

allies in Asia, who might conclude that the American security guarantees

they have long relied on are worthlessand then seek their own arrangements

with China.

As for Chinas maritime and territorial claims in the East China and South

China Seas, Xi will not concede an inch. Beijing will continue to sustain

pressure on its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea, actively

contesting freedom-of-navigation operations, probing for any weakening of

individual or collective resolvebut stopping short of a provocation that

might trigger a direct military confrontation with Washington, because at

this stage, China is not fully confident it would win. In the meantime,

Beijing will seek to cast itself in as reasonable a light as possible in its

ongoing negotiations with Southeast Asian claimant states on the joint use

of energy resources and fisheries in the South China Sea. Here, as elsewhere

, China will fully deploy its economic leverage in the hope of securing the

regions neutrality in the event of a military incident or crisis involving

the United States or its allies. In the East China Sea, China will continue

to increase its military pressure on Japan around the disputed Diaoyu/

Senkaku Islands, but as in Southeast Asia, here too Beijing is unlikely to

risk an armed conflict, particularly given the unequivocal nature of the U.S

. security guarantee to Japan. Any risk, however small, of China losing such

a conflict would be politically unsustainable in Beijing and have massive

domestic political consequences for Xi.

AMERICA THROUGH XI'S EYES

Underneath all these strategic choices lies Xis belief, reflected in

official Chinese pronouncements and CCP literature, that the United States

is experiencing a steady, irreversible structural decline. This belief is

now grounded in a considerable body of evidence. A divided U.S. government

failed to craft a national strategy for long-term investment in

infrastructure, education, and basic scientific and technological research.

The Trump administration damaged U.S. alliances, abandoned trade

liberalization, withdrew the United States from its leadership of the

postwar international order, and crippled U.S. diplomatic capacity. The

Republican Party has been hijacked by the far right, and the American

political class and electorate are so deeply polarized that it will prove

difficult for any president to win support for a long-term bipartisan

strategy on China. Washington, Xi believes, is highly unlikely to recover

its credibility and confidence as a regional and global leader. And he is

betting that as the next decade progresses, other world leaders will come to

share this view and begin to adjust their strategic postures accordingly,

gradually shifting from balancing with Washington against Beijing, to

hedging between the two powers, to bandwagoning with China.

But China worries about the possibility of Washington lashing out at Beijing

in the years before U.S. power finally dissipates. Xis concern is not

just a potential military conflict but also any rapid and radical economic

decoupling. Moreover, the CCPs diplomatic establishment fears that the

Biden administration, realizing that the United States will soon be unable

to match Chinese power on its own, might form an effective coalition of

countries across the democratic capitalist world with the express aim of

counterbalancing China collectively. In particular, CCP leaders fear that

President Joe Bidens proposal to hold a summit of the worlds major

democracies represents a first step on that path, which is why China acted

rapidly to secure new trade and investment agreements in Asia and Europe

before the new administration came into office.

Washington, Xi believes, is unlikely to recover its credibility and

confidence as a global leader.

Mindful of this combination of near-term risks and Chinas long-term

strengths, Xis general diplomatic strategy toward the Biden administration

will be to de-escalate immediate tensions, stabilize the bilateral

relationship as early as possible, and do everything possible to prevent

security crises. To this end, Beijing will look to fully reopen the lines of

high-level military communication with Washington that were largely cut off

during the Trump administration. Xi might seek to convene a regular, high-

level political dialogue, as well, although Washington will not be

interested in reestablishing the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue,

which served as the main channel between the two countries until its

collapse amid the trade war of 2018C19. Finally, Beijing may moderate its

military activity in the immediate period ahead in areas where the Peoples

Liberation Army rubs up directly against U.S. forces, particularly in the

South China Sea and around Taiwanassuming that the Biden administration

discontinues the high-level political visits to Taipei that became a

defining feature of the final year of the Trump administration. For Beijing,

however, these are changes in tactics, not in strategy.

As Xi tries to ratchet down tensions in the near term, he will have to

decide whether to continue pursuing his hard-line strategy against Australia

, Canada, and India, which are friends or allies of the United States. This

has involved a combination of a deep diplomatic freeze and economic coercion

and, in the case of India, direct military confrontation. Xi will wait for

any clear signal from Washington that part of the price for stabilizing the

U.S.-Chinese relationship would be an end to such coercive measures against

U.S. partners. If no such signal is forthcomingthere was none under

President Donald Trumpthen Beijing will resume business as usual.

Meanwhile, Xi will seek to work with Biden on climate change. Xi understands

this is in Chinas interests because of the countrys increasing

vulnerability to extreme weather events. He also realizes that Biden has an

opportunity to gain international prestige if Beijing cooperates with

Washington on climate change, given the weight of Bidens own climate

commitments, and he knows that Biden will want to be able to demonstrate

that his engagement with Beijing led to reductions in Chinese carbon

emissions. As China sees it, these factors will deliver Xi some leverage in

his overall dealings with Biden. And Xi hopes that greater collaboration on

climate will help stabilize the U.S.-Chinese relationship more generally.

Adjustments in Chinese policy along these lines, however, are still likely

to be tactical rather than strategic. Indeed, there has been remarkable

continuity in Chinese strategy toward the United States since Xi came to

power in 2013, and Beijing has been surprised by the relatively limited

degree to which Washington has pushed back, at least until recently. Xi,

driven by a sense of Marxist-Leninist determinism, also believes that

history is on his side. As Mao was before him, Xi has become a formidable

strategic competitor for the United States.

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

On balance, the Chinese leadership would have preferred to have seen the

reelection of Trump in last years U.S. presidential election. That is not

to say that Xi saw strategic value in every element of Trumps foreign

policy; he didnt. The CCP found the Trump administrations trade war

humiliating, its moves toward decoupling worrying, its criticism of Chinas

human rights record insulting, and its formal declaration of China as a 

strategic competitor sobering. But most in the CCPs foreign policy

establishment view the recent shift in U.S. sentiment toward China as

structuralan inevitable byproduct of the changing balance of power between

the two countries. In fact, a number have been quietly relieved that open

strategic competition has replaced the pretense of bilateral cooperation.

With Washington having removed the mask, this thinking goes, China could now

move more rapidlyand, in some cases, openlytoward realizing its

strategic goals, while also claiming to be the aggrieved party in the face

of U.S. belligerence.

But by far the greatest gift that Trump delivered to Beijing was the sheer

havoc his presidency unleashed within the United States and between

Washington and its allies. China was able to exploit the many cracks that

developed between liberal democracies as they tried to navigate Trumps

protectionism, climate change denialism, nationalism, and contempt for all

forms of multilateralism. During the Trump years, Beijing benefited not

because of what it offered the world but because of what Washington ceased

to offer. The result was that China achieved victories such as the massive

Asia-Pacific free-trade deal known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic

Partnership and the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, which

will enmesh the Chinese and European economies to a far greater degree than

Washington would like.

China is wary of the Biden administrations ability to help the United

States recover from those self-inflicted wounds. Beijing has seen Washington

bounce back from political, economic, and security disasters before.

Nonetheless, the CCP remains confident that the inherently divisive nature

of U.S. politics will make it impossible for the new administration to

solidify support for any coherent China strategy it might devise.



Chinese Coast Guard vessels passing Philippine fishing boats in the South

China Sea, April 2017

Erik De Castro / Reuters

Biden intends to prove Beijing wrong in its assessment that the United

States is now in irreversible decline. He will seek to use his extensive

experience on Capitol Hill to forge a domestic economic strategy to rebuild

the foundations of U.S. power in the post-pandemic world. He is also likely

to continue to strengthen the capabilities of the U.S. military and to do

what it takes to sustain American global technological leadership. He has

assembled a team of economic, foreign policy, and national security advisers

who are experienced professionals and well versed in Chinain stark

contrast to their predecessors, who, with a couple of midranking exceptions,

had little grasp of China and even less grasp of how to make Washington

work. Bidens advisers also understand that in order to restore U.S. power

abroad, they must rebuild the U.S. economy at home in ways that will reduce

the countrys staggering inequality and increase economic opportunities for

all Americans. Doing so will help Biden maintain the political leverage he

ll need to craft a durable China strategy with bipartisan supportno mean

feat when opportunistic opponents such as Pompeo will have ample incentive

to disparage any plan he puts forward as little more than appeasement.

To lend his strategy credibility, Biden will have to make sure the U.S.

military stays several steps ahead of Chinas increasingly sophisticated

array of military capabilities. This task will be made more difficult by

intense budgetary constraints, as well as pressure from some factions within

the Democratic Party to reduce military spending in order to boost social

welfare programs. For Bidens strategy to be seen as credible in Beijing,

his administration will need to hold the line on the aggregate defense

budget and cover increased expenses in the Indo-Pacific region by

redirecting military resources away from less pressing theaters, such as

Europe.

As China becomes richer and stronger, the United States largest and

closest allies will become ever more crucial to Washington. For the first

time in many decades, the United States will soon require the combined heft

of its allies to maintain an overall balance of power against an adversary.

China will keep trying to peel countries away from the United Statessuch

as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United

Kingdomusing a combination of economic carrots and sticks. To prevent

China from succeeding, the Biden administration needs to commit itself to

fully opening the U.S. economy to its major strategic partners. The United

States prides itself on having one of the most open economies in the world.

But even before Trumps pivot to protectionism, that was not the case.

Washington has long burdened even its closest allies with formidable tariff

and nontariff barriers to trade, investment, capital, technology, and talent

. If the United States wishes to remain the center of what until recently

was called the free world, then it must create a seamless economy across

the national boundaries of its major Asian, European, and North American

partners and allies. To do so, Biden must overcome the protectionist

impulses that Trump exploited and build support for new trade agreements

anchored in open markets. To allay the fears of a skeptical electorate, he

will need to show Americans that such agreements will ultimately lead to

lower prices, better wages, more opportunities for U.S. industry, and

stronger environmental protections and assure them that the gains won from

trade liberalization can help pay for major domestic improvements in

education, childcare, and health care.

The Biden administration will also strive to restore the United States

leadership in multilateral institutions such as the UN, the World Bank, the

International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization. Most of the

world will welcome this after four years of watching the Trump

administration sabotage much of the machinery of the postwar international

order. But the damage will not be repaired overnight. The most pressing

priorities are fixing the World Trade Organizations broken dispute-

resolution process, rejoining the Paris agreement on climate change,

increasing the capitalization of both the World Bank and the International

Monetary Fund (to provide credible alternatives to Chinas Asian

Infrastructure Investment Bank and its Belt and Road Initiative), and

restoring U.S. funding for critical UN agencies. Such institutions have not

only been instruments of U.S. soft power since Washington helped create them

after the last world war; their operations also materially affect American

hard power in areas such as nuclear proliferation and arms control. Unless

Washington steps up to the plate, the institutions of the international

system will increasingly become Chinese satrapies, driven by Chinese finance

, influence, and personnel.

MANAGED STRATEGIC COMPETITION

The deeply conflicting nature of U.S. and Chinese strategic objectives and

the profoundly competitive nature of the relationship may make conflict, and

even war, seem inevitableeven if neither country wants that outcome.

China will seek to achieve global economic dominance and regional military

superiority over the United States without provoking direct conflict with

Washington and its allies. Once it achieves superiority, China will then

incrementally change its behavior toward other states, especially when their

policies conflict with Chinas ever-changing definition of its core

national interests. On top of this, China has already sought to gradually

make the multilateral system more obliging of its national interests and

values.

But a gradual, peaceful transition to an international order that

accommodates Chinese leadership now seems far less likely to occur than it

did just a few years ago. For all the eccentricities and flaws of the Trump

administration, its decision to declare China a strategic competitor,

formally end the doctrine of strategic engagement, and launch a trade war

with Beijing succeeded in making clear that Washington was willing to put up

a significant fight. And the Biden administrations plan to rebuild the

fundamentals of national U.S. power at home, rebuild U.S. alliances abroad,

and reject a simplistic return to earlier forms of strategic engagement with

China signals that the contest will continue, albeit tempered by

cooperation in a number of defined areas.

The question for both Washington and Beijing, then, is whether they can

conduct this high level of strategic competition within agreed-on parameters

that would reduce the risk of a crisis, conflict, and war. In theory, this

is possible; in practice, however, the near-complete erosion of trust

between the two has radically increased the degree of difficulty. Indeed,

many in the U.S. national security community believe that the CCP has never

had any compunction about lying or hiding its true intentions in order to

deceive its adversaries. In this view, Chinese diplomacy aims to tie

opponents hands and buy time for Beijings military, security, and

intelligence machinery to achieve superiority and establish new facts on the

ground. To win broad support from U.S. foreign policy elites, therefore,

any concept of managed strategic competition will need to include a

stipulation by both parties to base any new rules of the road on a

reciprocal practice of trust but verify.

The idea of managed strategic competition is anchored in a deeply realist

view of the global order. It accepts that states will continue to seek

security by building a balance of power in their favor, while recognizing

that in doing so they are likely to create security dilemmas for other

states whose fundamental interests may be disadvantaged by their actions.

The trick in this case is to reduce the risk to both sides as the

competition between them unfolds by jointly crafting a limited number of

rules of the road that will help prevent war. The rules will enable each

side to compete vigorously across all policy and regional domains. But if

either side breaches the rules, then all bets are off, and its back to all

the hazardous uncertainties of the law of the jungle.

Washington, Xi believes, is unlikely to recover its credibility and

confidence as a global leader.

The first step to building such a framework would be to identify a few

immediate steps that each side must take in order for a substantive dialogue

to proceed and a limited number of hard limits that both sides (and U.S.

allies) must respect. Both sides must abstain, for example, from

cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure. Washington must return to

strictly adhering to the one China policy, especially by ending the

Trump administrations provocative and unnecessary high-level visits to

Taipei. For its part, Beijing must dial back its recent pattern of

provocative military exercises, deployments, and maneuvers in the Taiwan

Strait. In the South China Sea, Beijing must not reclaim or militarize any

more islands and must commit to respecting freedom of navigation and

aircraft movement without challenge; for its part, the United States and its

allies could then (and only then) reduce the number of operations they

carry out in the sea. Similarly, China and Japan could cut back their

military deployments in the East China Sea by mutual agreement over time.

If both sides could agree on those stipulations, each would have to accept

that the other will still try to maximize its advantages while stopping

short of breaching the limits. Washington and Beijing would continue to

compete for strategic and economic influence across the various regions of

the world. They would keep seeking reciprocal access to each others

markets and would still take retaliatory measures when such access was

denied. They would still compete in foreign investment markets, technology

markets, capital markets, and currency markets. And they would likely carry

out a global contest for hearts and minds, with Washington stressing the

importance of democracy, open economies, and human rights and Beijing

highlighting its approach to authoritarian capitalism and what it calls 

the China development model.

Even amid escalating competition, however, there will be some room for

cooperation in a number of critical areas. This occurred even between the

United States and the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. It should

certainly be possible now between the United States and China, when the

stakes are not nearly as high. Aside from collaborating on climate change,

the two countries could conduct bilateral nuclear arms control negotiations,

including on mutual ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban

Treaty, and work toward an agreement on acceptable military applications of

artificial intelligence. They could cooperate on North Korean nuclear

disarmament and on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. They

could undertake a series of confidence-building measures across the Indo-

Pacific region, such as coordinated disaster-response and humanitarian

missions. They could work together to improve global financial stability,

especially by agreeing to reschedule the debts of developing countries hit

hard by the pandemic. And they could jointly build a better system for

distributing COVID-19 vaccines in the developing world.



Human rights activists in Hong Kong protest in support of Xinjiang's Uighur

community, December 2019

Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

That list is far from exhaustive. But the strategic rationale for all the

items is the same: it is better for both countries to operate within a joint

framework of managed competition than to have no rules at all. The

framework would need to be negotiated between a designated and trusted high-

level representative of Biden and a Chinese counterpart close to Xi; only a

direct, high-level channel of that sort could lead to confidential

understandings on the hard limits to be respected by both sides. These two

people would also become the points of contact when violations occurred, as

they are bound to from time to time, and the ones to police the consequences

of any such violations. Over time, a minimum level of strategic trust might

emerge. And maybe both sides would also discover that the benefits of

continued collaboration on common planetary challenges, such as climate

change, might begin to affect the other, more competitive and even

conflictual areas of the relationship.

There will be many who will criticize this approach as naive. Their

responsibility, however, is to come up with something better. Both the

United States and China are currently in search of a formula to manage their

relationship for the dangerous decade ahead. The hard truth is that no

relationship can ever be managed unless there is a basic agreement between

the parties on the terms of that management.

GAME ON

What would be the measures of success should the United States and China

agree on such a joint strategic framework? One sign of success would be if

by 2030 they have avoided a military crisis or conflict across the Taiwan

Strait or a debilitating cyberattack. A convention banning various forms of

robotic warfare would be a clear victory, as would the United States and

China acting immediately together, and with the World Health Organization,

to combat the next pandemic. Perhaps the most important sign of success,

however, would be a situation in which both countries competed in an open

and vigorous campaign for global support for the ideas, values, and problem-

solving approaches that their respective systems offerwith the outcome

still to be determined.

Success, of course, has a thousand fathers, but failure is an orphan. But

the most demonstrable example of a failed approach to managed strategic

competition would be over Taiwan. If Xi were to calculate that he could call

Washingtons bluff by unilaterally breaking out of whatever agreement had

been privately reached with Washington, the world would find itself in a

world of pain. In one fell swoop, such a crisis would rewrite the future of

the global order.

A few days before Bidens inauguration, Chen Yixin, the secretary-general

of the CCPs Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, stated that 

the rise of the East and the decline of the West has become [a global] trend

and changes of the international landscape are in our favor. Chen is a

close confidant of Xi and a central figure in Chinas normally cautious

national security apparatus, and so the hubris in his statement is notable.

In reality, there is a long way to go in this race. China has multiple

domestic vulnerabilities that are rarely noted in the media. The United

States, on the other hand, always has its weaknesses on full public display

but has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity for reinvention and

restoration. Managed strategic competition would highlight the strengths and

test the weaknesses of both great powersand may the best system win.



--

 :SandersTrump  Feb 5 11:33:24 2021 [FROM: 173.]

 :WWW  mitbbs.com [FROM: 173.]


The second dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine will be administered to healthcare workers from February 13, the Centre said on Thursday, highlighting that 45 per cent of them have been inoculated so far.

Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 45,93,427 beneficiaries have been vaccinated against COVID-19 till 1.30 PM on Thursday.

The states and Union Territories that have completed the first dose of vaccination for 50 per cent or more of their healthcare workers are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Odisha, Kerala, Haryana, Bihar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The states and UTs that have covered 30 per cent or less of healthcare workers in the COVID immunization drive till date are Sikkim, Ladakh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur and Puducherry.

These states are being given suggestions by the Union Health Ministry over video-conferences and meetings about how to increase the immunization coverage, Bhushan said.

"The second dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine will be administered to healthcare workers from February 13. Also, 45 per cent of targeted healthcare workers have been vaccinated so far and by tomorrow almost half of the healthcare workers would be inoculated," NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul said.

Only the first dose has been given to healthcare workers so far since the drive has begun on January 16, Paul said.

Two vaccines -- Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin -- have been approved by the Drugs regulator for restricted emergency use in India.

In the COVID-19 immunization drive, 5,912 public health care centres and 1,239 private facilities are being used as vaccination session sites, he said.

"As we proceed, we would be involving the private healthcare sector in a much larger extent," Bhushan added.

Asked when these vaccines will be available for general public and senior citizens, Bhushan said, "Very soon. We have started frontline workers from February 3. Once this wave also stabilises, we will come to 50 years plus population. It will happen in the near future."

Supplementing it, Dr Paul said, private health sector is an integral part of India's healthcare system and there is an active, steady and highly satisfactory participation of the private sector facilities hand in hand with the public healthcare sector.

"This partnership will be further strengthened when we move to the next phase of our vaccination drive," he said.

He also spoke about the apprehensions prevailing about the expiry of COVID-19 vaccine.

"There is no question of a single dose getting wasted because we could not administer it on time before their expiry. Not a single dose will be wasted. We are monitoring the vaccines twice daily and we are very well aware as of which batches are expiring when," Dr Paul said.

He further said a satisfactory picture is emerging in terms of the pandemic.

"We are consistently performing well on almost all parameters," he said while cautioning against lowering the guard and stressed on following the COVID-19 appropriate behaviour.

The health secretary said two states - Kerala and Maharashtra - with 69,365 and 38,762 active cases respectively presently are contributing more than 70 per cent cases in the country. While Kerala account for 44.8 per cent of these cases, Maharashtra's share is 25 per cent of the active cases.

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SGD Pharma, a leading supplier of glass primary packaging in the pharmaceutical industry, has been awarded a platinum rating by EcoVadis, positioning it in the top 1% of all companies rated worldwide. This highlights SGD Pharmas commitment to sustainable practices and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

EcoVadis is the internationally recognized sustainability ratings provider, evaluating over 75,000 companies globally across a range of different industries.

In-keeping with the companys core values of prioritizing ethical standards and sustainability, SGD Pharma conducted several initiatives and actions in 2020 which have been recognized by EcoVadis. For example, the company signed the Global Compact initiative in February 2020, demonstrating its alignment with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. SGD Pharma also conducts advanced emissions calculations, which included the carbon footprint of the business in 2020. By 2025, SGD Pharma plans to reduce 5% of its CO2 emissions per tons of goods produced.

Other actions include the collaborative development of a CSR questionnaire and code of conduct by the purchasing team and the CSR team, in accordance with the UN Global Compact 10 Principles. Both the questionnaire and code of conduct are sent to all suppliers globally, to ensure SGD Pharmas contractors uphold its high standards through the supply chain. Collective agreements have also been signed throughout SGD Pharmas offices and plants globally, ensuring all teams are taking responsibility for CSR within their local regions.

SGD Pharma is dedicated to nurturing people and talent, demonstrated through online training courses for employees on CSR, psychological support offered to all employees with the HR team  particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic  and the development of high CSR standard contracts and documentation supported by HR and the environmental health and safety (EHS) team.

Further actions that SGD Pharma integrated into the business include reusing internal glass offcuts to prevent waste, taking part in global initiatives such as green reporting to help calculate the companys environmental impact, and monitoring COD (chemical oxygen demand) and pH levels within their factories. Monitoring and supporting employees with further qualifications has also been key to helping the business and its employees thrive.

The Ecovadis assessment is increasingly important for stakeholders, especially in the pharmaceuticals industry and is now part of the procurement criteria for many customers. This improved rating highlights the actions that SGD Pharma has implemented, through its global CSR strategy, to improve the way the business operates and treats both its employees and the environment.

With SGD Pharmas long investment into the global CSR strategy for its business, the firm is set to continue to perform well by having such practices in place. It has been suggested that companies with advanced responsible initiatives on environmental climate issues have experienced better stock returns and investor support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In further recognition of SGD Pharmas dedication to environmental sustainability, the company also achieved a B rating from CDP, which is based on its approach to climate change. This score is higher than both the Europe regional average and the manufacturing sectors average (of grade C), placing SGD Pharma in the Management band of companies taking coordinated action on climate issues.

Laurent Millet, group quality and CSR director at SGD Pharma said: We are extremely pleased to have achieved the platinum award for CSR at SGD Pharma, supported through the implementation of our global CSR strategy. A positive EcoVadis rating is what customers expect and to achieve the platinum award is recognition of the investment made across the business, something we are rightly proud of and means we can service more clients in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry with our high standard services. As we look towards the future, we are committed to empowering our employees, promoting the best health and safety practices, protecting the environment, and maintaining exemplary ethical standards, for both our customers and our valued employees.

Read SGD Pharmas full sustainability report here: https://www.sgd-pharma.com/companynews/sustainability-report

References:

1. https://voxeu.org/article/ investors-reward-environmental-responsibility-covid-19- crisis

About SGD Pharma

Founded in 1896 in France and with a global footprint and a strong sales force, SGD Pharma is recognized worldwide as a key player that customers can rely on to support new product development, day-to-day delivery, quality or regulatory support. SGD Pharma benefits from a long know-how and a best-in-class manufacturing footprint. The company has a long-term investment plan to regularly leverage its manufacturing facilities and develop people competencies to be at the cutting edge of the technology. SGD Pharma commits to have the same standard in all its facilities. In 2020, all plants are certified according to ISO 15378 standard, pharma GMPs compliant and equipped with ISO 8 clean rooms. SGD Pharma is a producer of molded glass for pharmaceutical primary packaging, operating worldwide with five factories and a network of more than 90 partners and distributors. For more information, please visit www.sgd-pharma.com
MICHIGAN CENTER, Mich., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Weam Namou, journalist, filmmaker, and author of over a dozen books, signed an agreement with Jeff Porter to represent her two-time international award-winning feature documentary The Great American Family. The story was originally a book written by Namou, which won an Eric Hoffer award. Recently, Namou also signed a contract with Gregory Johnson of Range Media Partners to option her book.

Weam Namou

"The Great American Family is based on the true life story of a brother and sister's life being turned upside down via a gross abuse of power by the U.S. government," commented Johnson. "The unfortunate tale of Dawn and Darrin Hanna is rooted in greed, spies and lies that shine yet another light on the corruption and double standards in the American justice system. It's a story that's hard to believe, but one that proves fact is stranger than fiction."

The documentary that is based on the book, The Great American Family, won several awards including the IndieFEST and ImpactDocs. Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSbmdWKFF2U.

"Weam Namou's movie is like a virtual road map to how we came to have the political distrust and paranoia of today," said Jeff Porter, President of Porter Pictures of Beverly Hills. "She has been an absolute delight to work with on this important story and I look forward to more empowering and socially conscious documentaries from her team."

The Great American Family tells the story of Dawn Hanna, who had been accused of conspiracy against the United States by brokering telecommunication equipment to Iraq during the sanctions. What Dawn did not know was that her co-conspirator was a CIA operative and that the whole project was funded by the United States to listen in on Saddam Hussein and his men. They said Dawn had no idea that the equipment was going to Iraq. This, coupled with sworn affidavits, did not change her sentence.

Namou's devotion to her community, art and, most importantly, the truth pushed her to take on this project. She says that the book and documentary are more relevant right now than ever, especially as the United States enters a phase of healing. Through this story, Namou shows audiences how the American Dream is being taken away from American families through lies leading to war, a criminal justice system that is driven by greed, and a democracy based on double standards, terrorism and sanctions.

There are very few Iraqi-American authors, writers or media personalities. Much of the widespread information today is propagated by Western media, which oftentimes fails to provide authentic stories of Iraq and Iraqis. This can be a very harmful problem and that is why the unique perspective of authors and filmmakers like Weam Namou is so important.

Media Contact:

Bianca Leon Rodrigues

+1 (469) 815-7866

[email protected]

Related Images

weam-namou.jpg

Weam Namou

Related Links

Official Website

The Great American Family Documentary

SOURCE Weam Namou

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Monrovia  The Liberian Senate is carefully handling matters relating to economic sanction placed on one of their colleagues, Senator Varney Sherman of Grand Cape Mount County by the United States Department of Treasury on allegations of corruption and bribery.

Cllr. Sherman stands accused by the Treasury Department of facilitating bribery within the Judiciary for judges to grant ruling in his clients' favor and in some instance paid bribe to facilitate the removal of an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court - Justice Kabineh Ja'neh - who had ruled against him.

The United States also drew in the famous Sable Mining case unearth by Global Witness alleging that Cllr. Sherman had bribed some officials of government including lawmakers at the time to amend the Public Procurement Concession law to pave pay for Sable Mining to get the iron ore reserves at the Wologosi Mountains.

But Cllr. Sherman has rejected all these allegations against him and termed the sanctions against him as unfair.

Last month, Senator Sherman wrote his colleagues at the Senate informing them about the U.S. Sanction against him. According to him, his letter and response was intended to give his colleagues an explanation of his side of the story as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

"I saw it as an obligation to explain to them that the accusations are meritless. Most of my clients have been corporations who are either American-based or have relationship with America and because they don't want to the violate the OFAC, they have terminated contracts with me," he lamented.

The sanction is already dealing a big blow on Cllr. Sherman as most of the clients of his law firm - Sherman & Sherman - are terminating their contracts with him.

He has promised to prove his innocence and has, therefore, challenged the U.S. government to produce the evidence to their allegations against him.

How are Senator Responding?

Despite calls among the Senators to have Sen. Sherman recuse himself from chairing the Judiciary Committee, the Senate leadership has affirmed its confidence in the embattled Senator. They argue that there has been no evidence provided against their colleague to warrant actions against him.

Senators including Steve Zargo of Lofa County, Conmany Wesseh of River Gee, Boycharles Sogbie of River Gee, Darius Dillon of Montserrado County and Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence of Grand Bassa County and Prince Moye of Bong County all weighed in on the discussion.

For Senator Steve Zargo of Lofa County, making Cllr. Sherman a scapegoat to the United States' economic sanctions would could put anyone, too, at risk of sanctions without any tangible evidence.

"Today it is Sherman, tomorrow it could be any of us, if he is accused there should be proof," Steve Zargosaid.

For Senator Darius Dillon, he warned the Senate to approach the issue with care and diplomacy by getting the Foreign Ministry involved to engage the U.S. Embassy to handle the matter.

"We cannot be seen as aiding and abetting an act allegedly committed by one of us against unarguably the world's most powerful nation. Let's be careful so that sentiment cannot drive our decision or action. Let's help our colleague in the process in a way it doesn't draw the Senate as an institution in the matter," Darius Dillon.

Senator Conmany Wesseh of River Gee County who is currently the acting chair on Foreign Affairs had a different view on the matter. For him, the issue under discussion is personal and has nothing to do with the Senate. He said it's Senator Sherman's private matter.

"Do not draw the Senate into a matter that does not involve the Senate. Senator Sherman wasn't representing the Senate for which he's being accused of bribery. We are too old and experience to allow this to happen let sleeping Dog lies," Senator Conmany Wesseh.

For Senator BoylCharles Sogbie, Senator Sherman should do the honorable thing by recusing himself from the Senate Committee on Judiciary as its chair because, according to him, the issue is about integrity and the sanity of the Liberian Senate.

"Let Cllr. Sherman recuse himself as chairman on Judiciary and all positions he occupies in the Senate until this matter is adjudicated to show some sanity to the Senate," Sen. Sogbie stated.

Details of Allegation against Sherman

In a release, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it is "targeting corrupt actors and their networks across several countries in Africa and Asia. Today's actions are taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, and targets perpetrators of corruption and serious human rights abuse.

"On International Anti-Corruption Day, Treasury remains fully committed to imposing costs on those who facilitate corruption at the expense of the people," said Deputy Secretary Justin G. Muzinich," the release said.

At the top of the list of alleged corrupt actors is Liberian Senator Harry Varney Gboto-Nambi Sherman, who the U.S. Treasury Department claims, "has routinely paid judges to decide cases in his favor, and he has allegedly facilitated payments to Liberian politicians to support impeachment of a judge who has ruled against him."

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Senator Sherman, according to the U.S. Government, allegedly offered bribes to be set free from a bribery case he and some other top government officials in Liberia, including former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alex J. Tyler, were connected to.

Global Witness, a British corruption watchdog, in 2015, alleged that Sable Mining Company, through Cllr. Varney Sherman, the company's legal representative, and his colleagues conspired to circumvent the law in order for the company to get a concession to mine the Wologisi Mountain in Lofa without going through a competitive bidding process.

"Varney Sherman, now a prominent lawyer, Liberian Senator, and chair of the Liberian Senate Judiciary Committee, offered bribes to multiple judges associated with his trial for 2010 bribery scheme, and he had an undisclosed conflict of interest with judge who ultimately returned a not guilty verdict in July 2019," the release said.

"In the 2010 scheme that led to his trial, Sherman was hired by a British Mining company in an effort to obtain one of Liberia's last mining assets, the Wologisi iron ore concession. Sherman advised the company that, in order to obtain the contract, they first had to get Liberia's procurement and concession law changed by bribing senior officials," the U.S. Government further noted.
A Brisbane man and woman have been charged after several women were allegedly drugged, tattooed as property, and held for unlawful prostitution.

Two house raids in Mount Gravatt East and South Brisbane on Tuesday, February 2, led to evidence to support the charges of sexual servitude and offences related to organised prostitution, including recordings of male clients and the victims engaging in sexual acts.

Matthew James Markcrow, 35, was charged with 10 offences, including conducting a business involving servitude, conducting a business of unlawful prostitution, possession of dangerous drugs and utensils, and possession of tainted property and recordings in breach of privacy.

Crystal Marie Sawyer, 23, was charged with three offences, including conducting a business of unlawful prostitution.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has lifted the suspension on the embattled former General Secretary of the party.



The committees ruling last Monday, January 25, 2021, after a hurriedly organized meeting in Accra to deliberate on the lifting of the suspension of Mr. Kwabena Agyepong and matters arising.



The report says the decision to lift the suspension on the former Chief Executive Officer of the party stem from the role he played in campaigning for the party and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ensure a second term victory for the party in the December 7, general elections.



Per the decision of the NEC to quash the earlier suspension, Mr. Agyepong is free to seek or contest any position in the party as a bonafide member of NPP.



The highest decision-making body of the party has further quashed the earlier suspension of Mr Kwabena Agyepong leading to his removal from office but stated that Mr. Agyepong would not be reinstated as there is a substantive General Secretary in the person of John Boadu.



Mr. Agyepong in 2015 was suspended by NEC of the party together with the then former National Chairman, Paul Afoko and the First Vice National Chairman, Sammy Crabbe over some disciplinary issues.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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A pregnant Covid conspiracy theorist has now admitted the virus is 'real' and said 'I would not wish this on anyone' after she tested positive and was left struggling to breathe.

Tori Howell, from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, adamantly believed the pandemic was a hoax until she started to develop symptoms on Sunday evening.

Three days later the 28-year-old tested positive for the virus and is now pleading with people to stay at home.

Tori Howell, from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, adamantly believed the pandemic was a hoax until she started to develop symptoms on Sunday evening

Miss Howell, who is 22 weeks pregnant, told Gloucestershire Live: 'I used to listen to every conspiracy theory and believed everything against the reality of what I know now.

'I had been poorly since Sunday and lost my sense of taste and smell. It started with a cold and headache and then sickness.

'Now I am really breathless. I am on steroids and antibiotics as I am asthmatic anyway. I got to say yesterday was my worst day.'

Ms Howell still feels unwell but her baby is doing well.

She is now regularly in touch with a virtual doctor who is keeping an eye on her progress.

'I read so many things online about the virus and I honestly thought it was a load of rubbish as for months I did not know anyone with it,' she said.

'This virus is real. I take back all I ever said before. My message to people is to please stay home. I would not wish this on anyone.'

Miss Howell, who is 22 weeks pregnant, said: 'I used to listen to every conspiracy theory and believed everything against the reality of what I know now'

It comes a day after Covid conspiracy theorist Piers Corbyn was arrested over leaflets comparing Britain's vaccination programme to Auschwitz.

Police said the 73-year-old was detained for 'malicious communications and public nuisance'.

The brother of former Labour leader Jeremy came up with the 'concept' for a pamphlet which features a cartoon drawing of the Nazi death camp.

Above the gates leading into Auschwitz - where 1.2million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust - a sign reads 'vaccines are safe path to freedom'.

Below is an Evening Standard article with the same headline and a caption reading: 'This cynical newspaper headline is in the tradition of the Nazi slogan 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (work sets you free) whereas in reality, the truth is the opposite.'

Piers Corbyn is credited for the 'concept' and Alexander Heaton - who was charged with breaking restrictions during protests in May - for the drawing.


All week long in the high desert of Southern Californias remote Johnson Valley, off-roading enthusiasts, desert racers and rock crawlers have been getting their dusty adrenalin fix at this years King of the Hammers, a nine-day event thats brought thousands of people together on federal land run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

In Hammertown, a temporary lake bed settlement with named streets, vendor booths and garages, thousands of RVs and camper vans have taken up residence. These vehicles, along with motorcycles, trucks and other off-roading vehicles, have in recent days rolled through small towns along Highways 62 and 247 to enter the valley, grabbing supplies and gassing up along the way.

Races are happening daily, fireworks shows are happening nightly, and videos posted on Instagram show large crowds cheering as buggies and jeeps with massive wheels power up mountains in the dark of night, with thousands of colored lights twinkling from lively Hammertown.

Omg King of Hammers last night  like a Mad Max movie! Instagram user imdmarcelo captioned one of the videos posted Monday.

In the middle of a pandemic, though, and with the regions hospital, Hi-Desert Medical Center, at 0% intensive care unit capacity, not everyone has been enthusiastic. I do not know how this happened, says Becky Boyer-Whitehurst, a retired school teacher holing up in her house in nearby Joshua Tree. Two plus two is not equaling four.

To Boyer-Whitehursts surprise, the event was given the go-ahead in January by BLM and San Bernardino County officials. According to David Wert, the county spokesperson, the King of the Hammers' extraordinary organizers are going above and beyond the call of duty.

The county hasnt received any complaints or reports of anything happening at the event that should raise alarms, Wert says. Part of the reason the county thought it was okay to proceed, he adds, is that the activity in [off-highway vehicle] areas takes place every weekend.

Courtesy of Verge Studios LA

Unlike other federal lands open for recreation, Wert says, in Johnson Valley during the King of the Hammers, strict rules are in place. According to an email from the King of the Hammers press team, all racers, staff, media and service workers  along with spectators who wish to enter Hammertown  require a negative COVID test and a mask. All event spectators are being temperature checked, and rapid response tests are available onsite for $30.

In addition, the event is on 96,000 acres of public land that is still open to the public for recreation outside of our event, the press team wrote in an email to SFGATE. The team declined to provide an estimate for attendance, but BLM Public Affairs Officer Michelle Van Der Linden says the number of spectators is noticeably down this year, as event organizers promoted a view-from-home option as part of their COVID-19 mitigation plan.

Meanwhile, 77-year-old Yucca Valley resident and King of the Hammers regular Pam Hoard tells SFGATE there are thousands and thousands of people at the event. It might even be crazier than previous years, she says, because of a whole bunch of pent-up feelings.

Another spectator who asked to be identified only by his first name, Keith, says he has come for the last couple of years, and that Hammertown currently looks about 75% smaller than it did in 2020 (when about 60,000 people showed up).

This year does feel a little different than past years, says Keith, a 50-year-old production designer and producer from Los Angeles. Same enthusiasm just less people.  This year a group of us went for the simple reason of reclaiming some normalcy.

In comparison with years past, theres far less dust this year, Keith says, in part because of some rain the week before, but also because of fewer people driving around. The mask-wearing is also new, of course, and though Keith chooses to wear one (plus a helmet), both he and Hoard have seen numerous people going without. Where they all came from is anybodys guess.

The state of California recommends that residents travel only within two hours of their homes and that out-of-staters do not visit (if they insist on coming, they should quarantine for 10 days upon arrival, according to state guidelines). But the King of the Hammers participants are clearly not all from nearby. The event website even includes instructions for obtaining required green stickers for out-of-state motor vehicles, which are up for sale in Hammertown.

People come from all over, Keith says. Anyone who knows off-road knows about this race.

For Boyer-Whitehurst, thats a disaster in the making, particularly with the newer, more contagious strains of COVID now in circulation. In Joshua Tree, lots of spectators are showing up after the days events to camp or stay the night, she says. Roads are packed. Grocery stores are packed. Everything is packed, she says.

Courtesy of Verge Studios LA

Over in Johnson Valley, though, some residents say they appreciate how the event puts their region on the map. They point to a considerable boost to the local economy, and many were pleased to see the event move forward despite the pandemic.

A call to the Johnson Valley Improvement Association, a nonprofit that hosts events in a high-desert community center, resulted in conversations with four residents who were all generally in favor.

Association board member Linda Walsh says that while it can get rambunctious and create traffic jams on the two-lane road, she says she finds it exciting that people come from all over and likes seeing the local minimarts getting so much business. If people complain about the Hammers, they probably go away for that week, Walsh says.

Another board member, Jim Hanley, agrees that some people consider the event a nuisance, but others like him believe its net positive for Johnson Valley. Although he heard that attendance would be down this year, that certainly didnt seem to be the case on the ground, he says.

I can see across the way it looks like a village popping up, he says. I can see if from my house. It looks like its going to be another hit.

Joe Sabolick, the preacher for New Creation Church, says he loves the King of the Hammers. Theyre very respectful, he says. Its good old-fashioned American freedom out here.

Lauren Miller is from Glendora, but her family has a cabin in the valley, along with dirt bikes, quads and a travel dune buggy. The family visits regularly and first came to the King of the Hammers in 2010. Its so exciting, she says. Such a good community family event.

Miller, her husband, their nine-year-old daughter and their six-year-old son all took COVID tests that came back negative, she says, and they got wristbands. Theyll use them to get into Hammertown and check out Chocolate Thunder, a mountain that eats off-roading vehicles in spectacular fashion year after year. Theyll also watch their favorite competition, the Trophy Truck race.

The people at the community center did not seem particularly concerned about the virus. Meanwhile, as of Wednesday, San Bernardino County had 275,960 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly 2,000 deaths. The county falls within the states in purple tier, meaning the virus is widespread, and public in-school learning remains paused. (Interestingly, racetracks are allowed to open with modifications in the purple tier, but live audiences are not permitted.)

The countys ICU capacity hovers around 6%, and the hospital serving the towns around Johnson Valley, Hi-Desert Medical Center, is technically at 0% ICU capacity. There are, however, four beds available as part of the hospitals surge capacity, according to Hi-Desert Medical Center spokesperson Todd Burke.

We continue to ask the community to practice social distancing, to wear face coverings, to wash their hands frequently and to avoid large gatherings outside their immediate household, Burke says.

Over at Reach Out Morongo Basin, a nonprofit providing services to seniors in Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms, Executive Director Robin Schlosser is taking that advice seriously.

Its a little nerve-wracking, Schlosser says of the thousands upon thousands of people passing through Yucca Valley for the King of the Hammers event.

Aside from worries about the virus, the event traffic has become a burden on her staff members attempting to deliver meals to seniors, Schlosser says. She also has concerns about the remote regions already scarce resources.

We have shortages of food here, Schlosser says. You walk into our grocery stores and its still hit-or-miss on toilet paper sometimes.

Schlosser takes care of her 88-year-old father as well as a disabled son. Shes 60 herself, and well aware that some of the most popular King of the Hammers races are still to come this weekend. So am I going to be extra cautious right now? Yes. Is my staff going to be extra cautious? Yes.
About 400,000 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Moscow, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Thursday, TASS reports.

"Firstly, I must say that we dont have the goal to vaccinate the entire population of the capital. Because we see that the majority of citizens have had this disease, the majority of them had a light case. On the whole, about 500,000 Moscow residents have signed up for vaccination, and 400,000 of them have already received the first shot," Sobyanin said.

He added that the vaccine is safe for the senior population as well. "Not just dozens, but hundreds of thousands of seniors have gotten the vaccine already. And I must say that seniors endure the vaccine must easier than young people," Sobyanin noted.
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As the Hong Kong government prepares to extend its crackdown on public dissent into the city's primary and secondary schools, staff will be told to report students chanting pro-democracy slogans, holding hands in human chains, or engaging in other activities deemed in breach of a draconian national security law imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Teachers will also soon be required to replace Liberal Studies, a schools-based critical thinking program blamed by Beijing for youth involvement in recent protests, with "national education" highlighting the achievements of the People's Republic of China under CCP rule. A Hong Kong Liberal Studies teacher who gave only a surname Au told RFA that the changes are making him consider emigrating:



RFA: Why are you considering emigrating?



Au: Have you seen the [new] course content, that stuff about the national flag, the national emblem in a quiz for primary school students? Shall we analyze it? One of the best things about my subject is that it teaches independent thought and critical thinking. They are going to change it into something that is quite frankly a waste of the students' time, and reduce it to multiple-choices quizzes. The whole point of multiple choice is that there has to be a right or a wrong answer. Before this, there was room for people to hold different views and use reason to argue them. The important thing was the thinking process itself, but they don't seem to want that any more.



RFA: What do you plan to do?



Au: I love teaching, but if I can't hold onto my principles, I ... may be forced to move to a different subject, although I can't imagine what. How can I teach without my principles? Why would I even stay [in Hong Kong] It would be better to take the plunge and try to make a new life somewhere else, rather than to carrying on teaching as an accomplice [of the authorities], wasting my students' time. Wouldn't I just be hiding the truth from them if all I'm allowed to do is sing the government's praises but never say a negative word about it? This goes against the whole point of education.



RFA: How did you come to teach Liberal Studies?



Au: I have a strong interest in education. Even back in university, [studying social sciences], I was asking my lecturers for discussion and guidance on topics relating to education. They didn't announce the formation of the Liberal Studies program until I was in my third year of college. This was tailor-made for me; a perfect companion to social studies. It's such a shame [that it won't exist any more].



Reported by Man Hoi Yan for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Azerbaijan applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) last month, suing Armenia for its human rights violations during its 30-year occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the recent 44-day conflict over the region, Daily Sabah reports.

According to a press release written by the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Thursday, an interstate application to the ECtHR was submitted, "addressing numerous egregious human rights violations by Armenia." Underlining that Article 33 of the European Convention on Human Rights allows states to file against another state, the statement expressed that Azerbaijan submitted its complaints about Armenia in three different sections.

"The first addresses 3,890 missing Azerbaijanis in the occupied territories who were subjected to life-threatening conditions since 1991. The application states that many Azerbaijani citizens were captured by Armenian forces and were tortured and subjected to inhumane, degrading treatment," the statement said.

"The complaints second part concerns Azerbaijani Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) caused by the Armenian occupation."

The statement gave the example of IDPs who were "prevented from accessing their homes, visiting places of worship and paying respects to those buried in the formerly occupied territories."

"The third part of the complaint references acts against Azerbaijani civilians, infrastructure and military personnel between July 12-16, and Sept. 27-Nov. 10, 2020," it stated.

Since July 2020, 101 Azerbaijani civilians have been killed, including 28 women and 12 children; 423 were wounded, including 104 women and 51 children; and 9,294 homes were destroyed or significantly damaged, the statement underscored.

"In addition to individual property, Armenian forces also attacked government assets, including airports, roads, infrastructure, buildings, refugee settlements, factories and culturally significant sites," it continued, indicating that the referred section includes complaints about "the mistreatment of Azerbaijani prisoners of war and mutilation of the bodies of Azerbaijani military personnel by members of the Armenian Army."

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but had been under the occupation of ethnic Armenian separatists for nearly three decades. After six weeks of fighting last year, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Russia-brokered cease-fire for the region. Under the agreement, Armenia must provide Azerbaijan with a safe transportation link through its territory to the exclave of Nakhchivan, which borders Turkey. Russian peacekeepers were also deployed to the region under the deal.

The statement included remarks by Kamal Jafarov, a member of Azerbaijan's National Assembly and deputy head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Jafarov emphasized that this is not the first case in the ECtHR against Armenia on this issue. "In the case of the Chiragov and Others v. Armenia (Judgment of 16 June 2015), the court confirmed that Armenia was responsible for violating Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life) and Article 13 (the right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the Convention (protection of property). Furthermore, ECtHR ruled that Armenia exercises effective control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories by providing full military, political, financial, administrative and cultural support to the self-proclaimed 'Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,'" Jafarov said. He further expressed, "In fact, this entity was established by Armenia to avoid international legal responsibility and create legitimacy over Nagorno-Karabakh. Until now, no country in the world  including Armenia itself  did not recognize the above-mentioned illegal entity.

Even though there is standing case-law on the subject, this is the first interstate application against Armenia on this matter," Jafarov further clarified. "In the previously mentioned case, the application was submitted by Azerbaijani nationals, and the court established Armenias responsibility because of the effective control it exercised over the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. In its present application, the Government of Azerbaijan seeks to establish Armenias direct responsibility for violations to the Convention based on its involvement in the conflict, such as long-range missile attacks that may have been launched from Armenian territory," he said.

"It is also no coincidence that the trilateral agreement, which put an end to the conflict, was signed by the president of Azerbaijan, the president of the Federation of Russia, and the prime minister of Armenia and no reference to any illegal entity is made therein, stated Jafarov.

On Jan. 12, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire Caucasus region. The trio met two months after a cease-fire deal ended a 44-day conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the talks as "extremely important and useful."

"The court has already notified Armenia about the application and assigned it to one of the courts sections. Seven judges will be selected to examine the case, with proceedings expected to begin soon," the statement concluded.

Cambodian couple Leang Phannara and Kim Bethyliza were elated when they could finally wed last Friday after the latest easing of coronavirus restrictions in the country.

Cambodia has been spared the worst of the coronavirus pandemic with fewer than 500 cases and no deaths, but lockdowns and bans on gatherings disrupted lives and left the pair forced to delay their wedding several times.

"We were able to marry in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic because restrictions were lifted, due to our country not having a large number of infections," said Phannara, the 31-year-old groom.

"So we are very happy that we were able to marry, according to our Khmer traditions," he added.

Bethyliza said it was hard trying to organize a wedding with things constantly in flux, but she felt happy and satisfied.

The wedding included a Buddhist blessing, a traditional procession to the bride's side of the family and a ceremony to tie a thread around the couple's wrists, a symbol of the pair tying the knot.

Scenes like this are a welcome sight for wedding planner Heng Sokkhorn, 38, who helped arrange the couple's wedding.

Before the pandemic, she would typically plan about 10 to 20 weddings a month. But due to restrictions and the financial pressures on clients, her business is down about 80 percent and she only planned a handful of weddings in January.

"I felt relieved after the government eased the lockdown, but it is still not fully reopened and back to normal yet," Sokkhorn said.
JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) - The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) will now use reminder emails to schedule second doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

MSDH says anyone who has already received the first dose will receive an email with instructions on scheduling second dose appointments.

Mississippians can continue to make appointments by calling the vaccination hotline: 877-978-6453.

Two coronavirus vaccines, manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech respectively, have been available to Americans since December.

Each vaccine requires two doses. The second dose is administered several weeks after the first dose.

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine - two shots, 21 days apart

Moderna vaccine - two shots, 28 days apart

Appointments can also be made online at covidvaccine.umc.edu.

Related - Schedule Alabama appointments online

Keep up with the latest COVID-19 news at wtva.com/coronavirus.

No human casualties despite heavy shelling by Syrian government forces against opposition groups in northwestern Syria, writes North Press.

Syrian government forces shelled posts of opposition groups in Idleb, northwestern Syria, on Thursday.

The frontlines in the de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria have recently witnessed military escalation between Syrian government forces and the armed groups operating in the region as part of the mutual bombardment between the two parties.

The government forces stationed in Kafr Nabel targeted the villages and towns of Kansafrah, Fateira, Kafr Aweed, and Sufohn in Zawiya mountain, south of the Idleb Governorate, with dozens of artillery and missile shells.

The government shelling caused material losses in both private and public possessions, reporting no human casualties.

The governments bombardment also coincided with an intense flight of reconnaissance aircraft in the area, the source added.

On Wednesday, Russian warplanes launched several airstrikes on the outskirts of the town of Armanaz, northwestern Syria, in conjunction with government artillery shelling.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
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The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office is investigating a crash the claimed the life of a motorcyclist in Marrero Thursday evening.

The motorcyclist was identified by authorities as Tony Brewer, 30, of Avondale. He was killed after being thrown from his bike.

Coroner's office identifies pedestrian, motorcyclist killed in weekend West Bank crashes The Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office has identified a pedestrian who died after she was hit by a car in Harvey and a motorcyclist fatally inj

The crash occurred about 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of Lapalco Boulevard and Westwood Drive (map), said Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman.

The motorcyclist was eastbound on Lapalco when he hit a vehicle that had been traveling on Westwood, according Rivarde. The motorcyclist was ejected from his bike.

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The motorcyclist sustained a head injury and was pronounced dead at the scene, Rivarde said. It's not clear whether he was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

+2 JPSO seeks help identifying Marrero carjacking suspect caught on store surveillance video The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help to identify a man accused of stealing a car from a woman at gunpoint in 

The driver of the other vehicle suffered minor injuries. The driver has not been cited, according to Rivarde.

Toxicology testing will be performed to determine whether either driver was impaired.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New federal mask mandates that took effect earlier this week may not feel so new to New York City residents.

Late last week, President Joe Biden, alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued an executive order requiring mask usage on all forms of public transportation and within all transit hubs.

Americas transportation systems are essential, said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky. Given how interconnected most transportation systems are across our nation and the world, when infected persons travel on public conveyances without wearing a mask and with others who are not wearing masks, the risk of interstate and international transmission can grow quickly.

IS A MASK REQUIRED ON ALL MASS TRANSIT?

This order, which took effect on Tuesday, requires residents to wear a mask when boarding, disembarking and traveling on any form of public transportation, including buses, trains, subways, ferries, airplanes and more.

Additionally, travelers are required to wear a mask in all transportation hubs, including airports, bus terminals, subway stations and seaports.

ARE THERE EXEMPTIONS?

The only exemptions to the new federal mandate are children under the age of 2, people with a disability that prevents them from wearing a mask and people for whom mask-wearing would impede workplace health and safety.

WHAT IF A TRAVELER REFUSES TO COMPLY?

Those who refuse to comply with the mandate may be immediately removed from the public transportation vehicle or facility and may face federal civil charges and fines, according to the CDC.

The order will be enforced by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in cooperation with state and local governments.

ANYTHING DIFFERENT FOR NEW YORKERS?

While the new federal mandate has drastically altered public transit behavior in other parts of the country, its been business as usual for New Yorkers, who have been required to wear a mask on public transit for nearly 10 months.

Since April 17, New Yorkers have been required to wear a mask on all forms of public transportation, including MTA buses and subways, for-hire vehicles and the Staten Island Ferry.

Residents of the five boroughs have been overwhelmingly compliant with mask requirements, with the most recent MTA survey indicating that mask usage in the New York City transit system has reached an all-time high of over 97% across buses and subways.

The possibility of being fined for failing to wear a mask is also something New Yorkers have grown accustomed to, with the MTA implementing a $50 fine for such behavior back in September.

The same mask requirements, including a potential $50 fine for failing to comply, have also long-been in place at the regions Port Authority airports.

WHICH FACE COVERINGS QUALIFY?

Perhaps the only thing some New Yorkers need to do differently is switch to a better mask, with scarves, ski masks, balaclavas, bandanas and vented masks not qualifying as an appropriate face covering under the new federal mandate.
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Health official: 'I am hopeful for the brighter days ahead'
French knighthood for Thuli Madonsela

Alumna receives honour for fight against corruption in South Africa.

The much-admired Wits alumna and South Africas former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela (LLB 1991, LLD honoris causa 2017) has been appointed as Knight of the Legion of Honour (Ordre national de la Legion d'honneur) by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The French Legion of Honour celebrates the accomplishments of distinguished individuals, irrespective of social background or nationality. Viewed as the highest decoration in France it was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.

The categories of the Order include the degrees Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand-Croix (Grand Cross).

Former president Nelson Mandela (LLD honoris causa 1991) was a Grand-Croix recipient in 1994.

Previous Wits alumni recipients of the degree Chevalier include Nadine Gordimer (DLitt honoris causa 1984) and Andre P Brink (DLitt honoris causa 1985).

The title was conferred by Macron on 20 November 2020, but the official ceremony to bestow the insignia on Professor Madonsela will take place as soon as the COVID-19 situation eases.

In his letter to Professor Madonsela, Ambassador Lechevallier said Professor Madonsela is honoured in recognition of her remarkable achievements in defence of the rule of law and the fight against corruption in South Africa.

As current Chair in Social Justice at Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Law, Professor Madonsela said: I can't find the right words to express the depth of my gratitude to the President and people of France for this immense honour.

As indicated in respect of previous awards, I do my work to add value to humanity out of love and gratitude for the privileges life and humanity have given me and in pursuit of my duties. However, a recognition of this magnitude does inspire immense gratitude while spotlighting my work on social justice, the rule of law and ethical governance. I believe it comes from a place of appreciating our interconnectedness as humanity though separated by oceans and borders."

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

The administration of central Quang Tri province has approved in principle three wind power projects with total capital approximating 5.8 trillion VND (251.7 million USD).

They consist of the Phong Nguyen project, worth over 1.9 trillion VND in Tan Thanh and Huong Phung communes; Phong Huy, worth 1.913 trillion VND in Tan Thanh and Huong Tan communes; and Lien Lap, worth 1.973 trillion VND in Tan Lien, Tan Lap, and Huong Tan communes and Khe Sanh township.

All of these localities are located in the mountainous district of Huong Hoa.

Each project will feature 12 wind turbines with designed capacity of 48 MW and an operational lifespan of 50 years, the office of the provincial Peoples Committee said on February 4.

Western mountainous areas of Quang Tri, especially border communes in Huong Hoa district, boast great potential for wind power development as wind speeds average 6 - 7 metres per second.

The province has already seen two wind power projects, Huong Linh 1 and 2, become operational.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved planning for 31 wind power projects with combined capacity of over 1,177 MW in Quang Tri, 22 of which are scheduled to be put into commercial operation this year while seven others are currently under construction.

Studies and surveys are also being conducted on dozens of others in Quang Tri with total capacity of more than 3,600 MW.

Attracting investment to the energy sector, including wind power generation, is one of the priorities of Quang Tri province, which has also taken measures to support enterprises, such as developing e-administration, building an official database, and providing help relating to tax, insurance, land, and environmental matters.

Local authorities have committed that they will not sacrifice forest land for wind power development.
A new sexual consent app in Denmark allows lovers to grant permission from their smartphones - after the country toughened its rape laws to require explicit consent.

The press of a button on the iConsent app gives permission for 'one intercourse' which is valid for 24 hours and can be withdrawn at any time.

But the app has met with a cool reception in Denmark, where one newspaper called it 'as unsexy as another corona press conference'.

The encrypted data is stored on the app in case it is needed for criminal inquiries, although experts have cast doubt on whether it would ever really be used in court.

A new app launched in Denmark allows people to register their sexual consent with their smartphones after the country toughened its rape laws in December

Denmark's parliament passed a new law in December expanding the definition of rape to include any sex without explicit consent.

Previously, prosecutors had to show that the rapist had used violence or attacked someone who was unable to resist.

'Now it will be clear, that if both parties do no consent to sex, then its rape,' Denmark's justice minister Nick Haekkerup said at the time.

A similar law introduced in neighbouring Sweden in 2018 has been credited with bringing about a 75 per cent rise in rape convictions.

The iConsent app was launched the same month, ahead of the new law coming into effect on January 1.

Developers say the app gives people the 'opportunity to document your consent to intercourse' by allowing lovers to send and receive requests via their phones.

But they add that 'consent in the app can never stand alone, and that it is up to you and the other party to secure your consent before, during and after intercourse'.

Users can call up their consent history which the app says is 'stored on secure servers' and only shared in the event of a criminal investigation.

The press of a button on the iConsent app gives permission for 'one intercourse' which is valid for 24 hours and can be withdrawn at any time (stock photo)

The app also offers sexual health advice and links to victim support groups for people who are sexually assaulted.

Around 11,400 women a year are raped or subjected to attempted rape in Denmark, according to the justice ministrys figures.

But the first two dozen reviews of iConsent in the Google Play store give it a score of only 2.3 out of five, with one user saying it 'does not make sense' to create an app for consent.

They also voiced fears that the app could be abused by forcing one party to accept the request, creating a bogus digital record of consent they had not really granted.

In a scathing review, the Copenhagen-based newspaper Berlingske said the app was 'confusingly reminiscent of transferring money'.

'First, we threw out romantic encounters by using the internet where we could hide among the algorithms,' it said.

'Now we've also created an app that removes any kind of human warmth from something we still need to be together for: sex.'

In addition, lawyers have voiced doubts over whether evidence gathered on the app would ever really be used in court, according to The Times.

Mikkel Flyverbom, a Copenhagen professor and member of a Danish ethics council, said the app reflected a 'naive faith in technology'.

People should not get the impression that every complex human interaction can be replaced by pushing buttons, he said.
Kim Brent / The Enterprise

After the November elections that saw some of the highest turnout in years  despite a pandemic  the response of some Republican lawmakers is disappointing. They want to make voting harder so fewer people will turn out, even though their party fared well in November despite losing the presidency. The Texas Legislature should not go down that road in this session. More voting is a strength to be prized, not a problem to be solved.

The Republican pushback to expanded voting is tied to the discredited claim that the November election was riddled with fraud and miscounting. No evidence supporting that allegation has ever been put forth. It would have required a vast conspiracy by hundreds of elections officials in many states. More than 60 lawsuits claiming voting irregularities in the presidential election were dismissed by various courts, including by many judges appointed by Republicans.
Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
A Matabeleland-based pressure group, Ibhetshu likaZulu, will on Sunday commemorate the abduction of 16 Silobela villagers who disappeared at the height of Gukurahundi massacres on January 31, 1985.

Some estimates say over 20 000 people were killed by North Korean trained Fifth Brigade during the 1982-87 killings.

Thousands were displaced including the 16 villagers in Silobela who disappeared.

Ibhetshu LikaZulu secretary general Mbuso Fuzwayo said there would be commemorations of abducted "patriots" over the weekend.

"Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness as we remember Clement Baleni, Enoch Tshuma, Simon Siginya, Bhozo Dube, Dennis Mabhikwa, Mbulani Mnkandla, Lampard Ncube, Milton Ndlangamandla, Velile Hlongwane, Mika Cephas Ndebele, Patrick Mthethwa and local teachers," he said.

"The innocent sons of our motherland were mercilessly taken away; never to be seen. It's sad that up to this day, the Gukurahundi question remains unresolved. There is no commitment by the perpetrator to bring the issue to finality. The nation is being taken for a ride through a half-hearted approach by the regime. They even want to make Gukurahundi a Matabeleland issue, and snub Midlands.

"We reiterate that the Zimbabwean genocide matter will not be resolved unless everyone who was affected is included."

Fuzwayo said the divisive approach shows that those who perpetrated the crimes were not willing to unify the nation.

"President Emmerson Mnangagwa who played a prominent role in the execution of Gukurahundi is on record saying that the chiefs from Midlands cannot be part of the healing process as the people from that province are united. This approach is dangerous especially coming from the leader of the government that killed thousands of innocent civilians," he said.

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"We hope that God's wisdom will reign amongst the chiefs. They must resist this divisive and unpatriotic move. As Ibhetshu LikaZulu, we believe that that peace and reconciliation is possible if based on truth telling and justice."

Mnangagwa has had several meetings with the Matabeleland Collective -- a group of civic organisations and the traditional leaders to discuss the emotive issue. At the last meeting, Mnangagwa surrendered the responsibility of addressing the Gukurahundi issue to the chiefs from Matabeleland.

The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) last year promised to consult how the Gukurahundi issue can be addressed. The programme was suspended due to Covid-19 lockdown.
Pete Evans has encouraged his followers to mock Today show anchor Allison Langdon after she injured herself filming a stunt for her show this week.

Ms Langdon, 41, was hospitalised after injuring herself 'badly' while hydro-foiling on the water during a pre-recorded segment for the breakfast program at Queensland's Gold Coast on Thursday.

A day earlier on Wednesday, Ms Langdon brutally shut down Covid conspiracy theorist MP Craig Kelly in an interview - prompting a series of response posts by the former My Kitchen Rules judge and fellow conspiracy theorist.

Former My Kitchen Rules host Pete Evans (pictured with his wife Nicola) was banned from Facebook for spreading dangerous Covid conspiracy theories in December

Allison Langdon badly injured her leg filming a stunt for the Today show on Thursday and had to go through Gold Coast airport in a wheelchair on Friday

In reply to a post about Ms Langdon's injury, the majority of Evans' followers said Ms Langdon deserved the injury for an unfavourable interview with conspiracy theorist MP Craig Kelly

Injury: The mother of two, 41, hurt her leg while hydro-foiling during a pre-recorded segment for the breakfast program

One example of the numerous comments on Evan's post to messaging app Telegram after being booted from other sites

'I hope she is ok and heals quickly. Foil boarding requires total balance and presence,' the 48-year-old posted to public messaging app Telegram on Friday.

Evans began posting Telegram after being banned from Facebook in December for spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation.

The post prompted more than 100 comments, with the overwhelming majority indicating they thought Ms Langdon deserved the injury.

What happened: As Karl updated viewers, dramatic footage was shown on screen of Ally being pulled from the water after her accident

'Ummm is that what they call Karma?' one person said.

'Should have hit her head and knocked some sense into her' another person said.

'F**k off! I don't believe a word of it, she's looking for sympathy because there's a backlash of public opinion brewing. Never ever trust anything coming from main stream news,' a third added.

Many were angry at Ms Langdon's interview with controversial politician Craig Kelly on national television who has repeatedly promoted unproven drugs to treat Covid-19 and called into the question the safety of vaccines.

Evans' followers had no sympathy for the mother-of-two after her serious injury

Controversial: Liberal MP Craig Kelly (pictured) couldn't see a problem with his appearance on renowned anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist Evans' podcast

Member for Hughes Craig Kelly and Member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek clashed in Parliament on Wednesday morning after the podcast

Evans, a prolific conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer, earlier in the week heaped praise on the rogue MP after recording a 90 minute podcast on coronavirus together

Langdon grilled the Liberal MP on Nine's Today show where she told him: 'Craig, I looked into absolute everything that you have put forward last night. Every single theory was debunked.'

Mr Kelly denied he was spreading misinformation and said Newcastle University Professor Robert Clancy has supported the use of hydroxychloroquine, a controversial drug which has been discredited as an effective treatment.

Langdon told him to stop promoting studies that have not been peer-reviewed on his Facebook page, which has 90,000 followers, and urged him to stop questioning the vaccines.

'Craig, we have seen deaths from Covid, we've seen sickness. We've seen mass job losses, hundreds of billions of dollars spent in government stimulus, all our hopes are riding on a vaccine. You need to be quiet,' she said.

The host also told Mr Kelly he was in a position of authority and was 'failing in that duty'.

The MP, however, stuck by his comments saying he was being misrepresented.

'I've been very disappointed about the Labor Party making this a partisan issue and attacking me and smearing me and slandering me and actually misrepresenting what I say,' he said.

'All I've done is post a peer-reviewed article, the opinions of expert professors and medical experts from around the world. The idea that I somehow have been posting misinformation is absolutely misinformation itself.'

One person even had a conspiracy theory about Ms Langdon's injury

While others believed the injury was real but said she deserved the accident after not listening to Craig Kelly's views

Evans, a prolific conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer, earlier in the week heaped praise on the rogue MP after recording a 90 minute podcast on coronavirus together.

'You my friend are a hero to many Australians and I look forward to sharing a meal with you perhaps in Canberra in the not too distant future.'' Evans said.

Thank you Craig for sharing your perspective and peer reviewed and up to date medical information from the world's leading doctors and researchers about this ongoing scam and human experiment,' he said.

Unfortunate: Allison had been filming alongside co-host Karl Stefanovic when she badly injured her leg and needed to be taken to hospital

Mr Kelly confirmed his appearance on the podcast to multiple media outlets and defended his decision to associate himself with the controversial TV personality.

Evans was banned from Facebook in December for repeatedly 'violating' the site's policies on Covid-19 misinformation and has since had his podcast deleted by Apple and Spotify.

Ms Langdon was later discharged from hospital and was seen being wheeled through Gold Coast Airport in a wheelchair on Friday with her right leg in a brace.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), has maintained that it would proceed on the planned indefinite strike scheduled to begin on Friday, February 5.

President of SSANU, Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, told Daily Trust in a telephone interview that the leadership of JAC met on Thursday and directed all the branches to mobilise all members of the unions and ensure there is total compliance.

Ibrahim said they had also written a notice to all branches to that effect, saying they were not going to back down until there are new resolutions from members of the union nationwide.

He stressed that the federal government failed to resolve lingering issues after fourteen days ultimatum.

The notice, made available to our correspondent by the SSANU's President, explained that the indefinite nationwide strike takes effect from 12 midnight, Friday, February 5, 2021, pending any contrary resolution by the branches.

"In view of the outcome of the meeting, the leadership of JAC of NASU and SSANU at the branches are hereby directed to commence joint general meetings on Friday to give reports on the outcome of the conciliation meeting and pass resolutions on the way forward.

"In the meantime, the nationwide strike takes effect from 12 midnight, Friday, February 5, 2021, pending any contrary resolution by the branches," the notice partly read.

It would be recalled that the JAC had last month held nationwide protests to press home their demands bordering on alleged injustice on sharing formula of N40bn Earned Allowance and non-payment of minimum wage arrears.

Other contentious issues raised include: inconsistencies in the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), delay in renegotiation of FG/NASU and SSANU 2009 agreement, non-payment of retirement benefits of outgone members among others.
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Benjamin Recchie, 39, who lives in Chicagos Little Italy neighborhood with his wife, spent most of the stimulus money on supplies for their first daughter, a pandemic baby born in May. The rest went to charities like the Greater Chicago Food Depository and a few splurges on themselves, such as a Lego model of the International Space Station.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
Quarantine in Ukraine is planned to be extended until April 30, 2021, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during a meeting hosted by the European Business Association on Friday.

"We have already developed a normative act that will regulate quarantine restrictions in Ukraine. The quarantine is planned to be extended until April 30. The restrictions are planned to be eased," he said.

The minister said that, in particular, it is planned to extend the opening hours of public catering, and to allow events with 50% occupancy of the halls (no more than one person per 5 square meters).

At the same time, Stepanov said that strict quarantine restrictions can be introduced in a certain region. For their introduction, it will be determined if two criteria simultaneously exceed the established norms.

The minister said that under strict quarantine restrictions, work of public transport will not be suspended.

Like Greene, he climbed aboard the juggernaut of Donald Trumps popularity, aping his views on coal and hydroxychloroquine and making excuses for Vladimir Putins outrages. Kelly continued to sing along with Trumps anti-democratic anthem even after the presidents juggernaut ran into the electoral ditch; Kelly claims that the Capitol riots were actually a false flag operation carried out by the political left just to discredit Trump. The Australian Medical Associations president, Omar Khorshid, has described Kellys COVID-related advocacy as crackpot. Loading Why does an outwardly sensible Australian politician carry on like this? For the same reason Greene and many other Trump imitators have  because it wins attention. Craig Kelly has 96,000 followers on Facebook and 10,000 followers on Twitter. Other backbenchers envy these numbers. For a 57-year-old MP whos been languishing in the wastelands of backbench irrelevance for a decade and without prospect of promotion, this sort of validation is political crack. Remember the old adage that a lie can travel half-way round the world before the truth has got its boots on, as British Prime Minister James Callaghan said in 1976? The internet  and social media in particular  has intensified this effect and made it precisely measurable. A 2018 study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tracked about 126,000 news stories tweeted by 3 million people between 2006 and 2017. It found that it took the truth about six times as long as falsehood to reach 1500 people on Twitter. Today a lie can travel six times around the world before the truth has its boots on. Why? Because of the emotional impact of fake news. Say the MIT researchers: False news was more novel than true news, which suggests that people were more likely to share novel information. Whereas false stories inspired fear, disgust, and surprise in replies, true stories inspired anticipation, sadness, joy, and trust.

Political lies, it turns out, are the gold medallists of the misinformation Olympics. False political news also diffused deeper more quickly and reached more than 20,000 people nearly three times faster than all other types of false news reached 10,000 people. Social media, in other words, turns crackpot politics into political crack. Donald Trump knew that. He built a movement on it. Thats why people like Kelly do it and keep doing it. To get attention. This suits unprincipled or desperate politicians beautifully; it disadvantages the serious or sane. As for the social media companies that are the drug runners, political polarisation is a great business model, in the words of Deb Roy of MITs social media lab. Where does it end? We know where it led on January 6 in the US with a president making a lunge to rule as a dictator and his shock troops storming the Capitol. Scott Morrison had long tolerated Craig Kellys nuttiness in the name of free speech, but this week drew a line. Where do you draw the line? poses a senior government figure. At public health. Kellys misinformation was a threat to public health. The Prime Minister, after a couple of false starts and the embarrassment of watching Kelly roundly crushed by Labors Tanya Plibersek in an impromptu corridor debate, eventually demanded that Kelly control himself.

Craig Kelly and Tanya Plibersek argue in the hallway of Parliament House on Wednesday. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer The British tech expert and journalist Jamie Bartlett opened his most recent book, The People Vs Tech, with these words: In the coming few years either tech will destroy democracy and the social order as we know it, or politics will stamp its authority over the digital world. He saw it coming. He wrote that two years ago. Loading Australia finds itself at the forefront of trying to stamp its authority over the digital world. This is happening on a number of fronts. The big issue in Canberra at the moment is the governments proposed digital media bargaining code. Morrisons government is preparing to legislate the code into place. The purpose of the code is to make the US-based multinationals pay Australian professional media outlets for using their news. Thus far, the Big Tech firms simply distribute the local media companies news to the users of Google or Facebook. So the local outfits pay the reporters and editors to produce the news which is then distributed by the American digital firms. The tech giants pay nothing for it. The Australian businesses bear all the costs; Google and Facebook bear none yet get the revenue from the online ads that the news stories attract.

The local publishers want a return on their products. The Australian news outfits have haemorrhaged ad revenue to Big Tech over the past decade and a half. The Morrison government, with Labors support in principle, agrees that the Australian publishers should share in the revenue to allow them to stay in business. Loading If Big Tech bleeds them completely dry, disinformation, conspiracy and propaganda would go from being readily available to being dominant. Google and Facebook agreed in principle and entered negotiations on a voluntary revenue-sharing formula. But their negotiations with the biggest media companies, notably News Corp and Nine, publisher of this masthead, failed. The government is now promising a mandatory code instead. This was what provoked Google into threatening to turn off its search engine for Australian users. It was a bad misjudgment. It failed to move the government and only hardened public and political opinion against Big Tech. These guys live in a bubble of their own existence and think everyone loves them, says a senior government figure. These guys are the tobacco companies of 10 or 20 years ago. Would Google really shut off its search engine for Australia and walk away from some $4 billion a year in revenue? Australias e-safety commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant, says Googles tantrum is not new: Theyve done it before. She recalls that, when the federal government planned to create her office of e-safety six years ago to protect Australian children from online harm, Google and other Big Tech firms threatened to quit Australia in protest. Of course, they did not. Well wait and see how serious they are.

Loading When Google made its threat, Microsoft took it as an opportunity. Its chief rang Morrison and offered to fill the void with its own search engine, Bing. Itd be happy to invest in Australian media businesses, Microsoft said. The threat prompted The Financial Reviews tech editor, John Davidson, to try the non-profit search engine, Duckduckgo. He found it looks a lot like Google, only without the creepy and deceptive ads. Davidson bid Google farewell: Goodbye Google. Dont let your bags of unpaid taxes slow you down on the way out. Google, realising it had overplayed its hand, phoned Morrison this week. He made the point that if the Big Tech firms simply negotiated with the Australian media companies in good faith, they could strike a voluntary deal. The compulsory code was a back-up, not the first and only course. A parliamentary inquiry is to report next week; Morrison hopes to legislate within weeks. The head of the US News Media Alliance, David Chavern, representing some 2000 American news publishers, says Australias choice was a cutting-edge move that is not only about the future of news publishing but also whether we can build communities based on facts instead of misinformation and hate.
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Investigating the 'toolkit document' uploaded on a social media handle which the Delhi Police believe scripted the January 26 violence in the capital, the police are now writing to Google to know the IP address from where the toolkit was uploaded.

Over 300 social media handles are also under scanner. This means the Delhi Police have a new front to tackle now, the virtual social media accounts and the probe has gone 'International'.

"The intention of the creators of the tool kits appears to create disharmony among various social, religious and cultural groups and encourage disaffection and ill-will against the government of India. It also aims at waging social cultural and economic war against India," Delhi police said in a statement.

Preliminary enquiry has revealed that the 'toolkit' in question appears to have been created by a pro-Khalistani Organisation "Poetic Justice Foundation".

"A section of the documents titled "prior action" delineates the following action plan, digital strike through hashtags on or before 26th January, Tweets storm 23rd January onwards, Physical action on 26th January, Watch-out or join farmers' march into Delhi and back to borders," it said.

The police believe that the unfolding of events past few days including the violence of 26th January has revealed copycat execution of the 'action plan' detailed in the toolkit.

Though the Delhi police believe it to be an "international conspiracy" to defame the country it refrained from naming anyone into the FIR registered under sections 124-A, 153-A, 153 and 120-B IPC and would be investigated by the Cyber Cell.
(Newser)  Paul Grisham lost his wallet so long ago, in 1968, that he couldn't actually remember losing it, let alone remember what was in it. Luckily, he's been reunited with the brown leather billfoldand a recipe for homemade Kahluaafter it turned up in Antarctica. Grisham, a 91-year-old retired Navy forecaster, had spent 13 months on assignment at a science station and airport on the continent, specifically Ross Island, beginning in October 1967. He doesn't remember much about the experience except that he went down there "kicking and screaming" and hated the blistering cold. "Let me just say this, if I took a can of soda pop and set it outside on the step, if I didn't retrieve it in 14 minutes it would pop open because it had frozen," he tells the San Diego Union Tribune. Fifty-three years after his return to sunny California, however, he got a blast from the past.

story continues below

Two wallets had been found during demolition of a building at the McMurdo research station on Ross Island, which the Union Tribune calls "the southernmost town on Earth," in 2014. They were then sent to Stephen Decato of New Hampshire, who'd worked for an agency that performed snow cap research in Antarctica. He and his daughter, Sarah Lindbergh, had managed to return other items to Navy veterans or their families through a veterans group run by Bruce McKee of Indiana. They eventually located the family of a deceased man named Paul Howard, who'd owned one of the wallets, and Grisham, who'd owned the second. He received it in the mail on Saturday, along with his ID card, driver's license, a beer ration punch card, and "receipts for money orders sent to his wife for his poker winnings at the station," per the Union Tribune. "I was just blown away," says Grisham. (Read more uplifting news stories.)
analysis

To be effective, the African Union (AU) needs to become more accessible, responsive and relevant to the average African citizen. This means we need more information about and involvement in the AU's decision-making processes. The AU summit on 6 and 7 February is an opportunity to remind Africa's leaders of that.

Member states gathered at the summit will no doubt reflect on their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the African Continental Free Trade Area which was launched on 1 January this year. They're also expected to discuss the implementation of the AU Commission's long-awaited structural reforms, and elect new AU Commission leaders.

Heads of state should use this summit to discuss the importance of multilateral institutions in Africa and the continent's quest to make them more effective. By pooling ideas, goals and resources, multilateralism and its institutions can make a vital contribution to the continent's future.

Regional Director of the Institute for Security Studies' (ISS) Addis Ababa office, Roba Sharamo, says the AU event provides an opportunity for the AU Commission to become more fit for purpose and responsive to Africa's needs.

COVID-19 initiatives are a reminder that African citizens should be the main beneficiaries of the AU

When member states are invested in achieving specific outcomes, multilateral institutions work better and can benefit the citizens of the countries involved. Bodies like the AU provide expertise and guidance in norm setting, and encourage states to implement decisions taken. In 2020 for example, African states identified collective responses to COVID-19 that might prevent the continent being left behind in the global rush for medical equipment and vaccines.

Continental-level COVID-19 initiatives are a good reminder that African citizens should be the main beneficiaries of multilateral institutions. But the voices of ordinary people are still largely absent in discussions at the AU level.

Liesl Louw-Vaudran, ISS Senior Researcher, says there isn't enough interaction between the AU and civil society. Despite the spaces that have been opened for increased virtual communication in response to COVID-19, the 2021 AU summit agenda still largely reflects the priorities of governments. There's little space for civil society to raise its views and voices in the continental decision-making process.

Being inclusive is not easy for a bureaucracy. To achieve tangible outcomes, organisations like the AU have to overcome complex decision-making processes involving the interests of many governments. Institute for Global Dialogue Executive Director, Dr Philani Mthembu, said at an ISS seminar in late January that 'multilateral institutions are as strong as their member states are willing to make them.'

The voices of ordinary people are still largely absent in discussions at the AU level

Describing the power of multilateral bodies, political expert Prof Thomas Tieku notes that policy influence is not only achieved by the countries that make up intergovernmental organisations like the AU. Individuals like the AU Commission staff also play an important and often overlooked role.

For instance, since 2002, AU Commission staff in Addis Ababa and in the field have developed many policy guidelines, strategies and responses on diverse issues such as peace operations, mediation, and post-conflict reconstruction and development. When commissioners, the chairperson or their representatives engage in mediation, political advice and good offices in countries such as Madagascar, Sudan or the Central African Republic, the AU is complementing the role of its member states.

Tieku goes on to explain that external actors who aren't members of multilateral organisations, can also have an influence on the daily affairs of these bodies. Relying on such actors has been a sore point for many followers of AU debates, particularly when it comes to the AU's dependency on external funding.

Part of the rationale for UN Security Council debates about predictable and sustainable funding for the AU is that a dependence on external funding will limit the AU's ability to shape its own future. This has been an important driver for revitalising the AU Peace Fund in recent years.

Organisations like the AU often have more influence than we give them credit for

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Debates about external influence have sometimes exposed the AU to global geostrategic rivalries. For instance, the process of establishing the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa-CDC) last year generated some debate. While China's contribution to building the Africa-CDC headquarters was welcomed by the AU Commission, it was criticised by countries such as the United States for potentially bypassing AU member states in its decision.

Governments, multilateral bodies and external actors don't operate in isolation from each other, and all have a vital role to play in achieving development and stability in Africa. Organisations like the AU are not passive agents in decision-making processes, and often have more influence than we give them credit for. But the AU needs to prove its commitment to the continent's people by showing that multilateralism matters, not only for member states in high-level discussions, but for its citizens.

Gustavo de Carvalho, Senior Researcher, Peace Operations and Peacebuilding, ISS Pretoria
A heart-wrenching video shows the moment a Tennessee firefighter reunites a dog with his beloved owner just moments after a fire destroyed their home, killing the bulk of the family's other pets.

Video from the Chattanooga Fire Department captured the moment the dog was brought back to the Tennessee man after the animal was revived by firefighters.

As the firefighter approaches the dog owner, he breaks down in tears and reaches out to his remaining pooch.

Video from the Chattanooga Fire Department captured the moment the dog was brought back to the Tennessee man after the animal was revived by firefighters

The fire happened at around 1.32pm on the 4000 block of Alabama Ave, with responding firemen putting out the blaze roughly 10 minutes after arriving

The fire happened at around 1.32pm Thursday on the 4000 block of Alabama Ave, with responding firefighters putting out the blaze roughly 10 minutes after arriving on the scene.

Firefighters quickly determined that the family that lived in the home was safe outside of the residence, the department said in a press release.

When an additional search of the home was conducted, firefighters discovered that there were several cats, dogs and birds in the home that died.

When an additional search of the home was conducted, firefighters discovered that there were several cats, dogs and birds in the home that died

It was after that search that the dog was revived and reunited with their owner.

Officials with the fire department estimate that roughly 60 percent of the home was a total loss.

It is unknown if the dog had any serious injuries.
When I was growing up, my mother would constantly tell me to mind my attitude. This most often occurred while I was doing household chores at her request. What she meant was for me to not only respect her but also be gracious and grateful, even while doing chores.
The Chinese Ambassador in Damascus has reaffirmed Chinas cooperation and support to the Syrian government in the form of aid, writes SANA.

China has decided to provide Syria with 150,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine, 20 ventilators and 750 tons of rice, according to the Chinese Ambassador in Damascus Feng Biao.

The ambassador told the Damascus-based Al-Watan newspaper that the vaccine will be sent as an aid to the Syrian government.

He added that the continuity of unilateral and illegal sanctions imposed on Syria by some countries increase the suffering of the Syrian people.

China as a dear partner and friend of Syria will go ahead with offering aid to Damascus, the ambassador added, pointing out that his country sent a big quantity of medical equipment to Syria last year.

Biao concluded by saying, I believe that the friendly cooperation between China and Syria will be enhanced under the personal care of the two countries leaders.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The situation in embattled Tigray of Ethiopia is dire, UN humanitarians said on Thursday, citing hundreds of thousands of people who lack essential services and are still without assistance.

"Economic activity, electricity, communication and basic services remain largely disrupted, especially in rural areas, where two-thirds of the population lives," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a release. Banks remain closed, except in Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray.

The conflict disrupted public administration and the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide essential services, OCHA said. During the November harvest season, the fighting broke out, leaving unharvested crops in fields and a lack of food in markets.

The onslaught of COVID-19 and an infestation of desert locusts contributed to rising malnutrition. The conflict cut key vital supply access, it said.

Some 1.3 million children are out of school since the beginning of the conflict. Many schools are now sheltering internally displaced people. There are reports of separated children, forced recruitment, missing family members and severe sexual and gender-based violence allegations.

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 80 percent of the hospitals remain unfunctional, while medical supplies delivered are not sufficient, the humanitarians said.

The United Nations continues to call for full, immediate, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to provide urgent assistance and protection to those in need, OCHA said.

"The United Nations is encouraged that recent high-level visits have resulted in productive exchanges with Ethiopian authorities, who appreciate the potential for further deterioration should humanitarian needs continue to go unmet. The United Nations looks forward to making progress on the assurances received at the highest levels."

Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the government's positive engagement with senior UN officials. The visitors included High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, Undersecretary-General for Security and Safety Gilles Michaud and the World Food Programme's executive director David Beasley.

Guterres said he was seriously concerned over the situation in the Tigray region.

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
Facebook (Image: Reuters)

Shira Ovide

Come a little closer to your screen. Thats it. I want to tell you a secret: Facebook is the best money machine on the internet, and its not a close call.*

Facebook may be an indefensible company that normalizes invasive tracking of people for dollars. Its a place where extremists have ricocheted hate around the world. It may be melting our brains. And its being sued or prodded by so many governments that I have lost count. You might hate it. I might hate it? But I almost cant believe how many of us rely on Facebook, and how stupidly successful it is.

The company said Wednesday that its sales  nearly all of which come from the ads it sells on Facebook, on Instagram and its other apps  reached nearly $86 billion in 2020 and are growing rapidly. Each day, 2.6 billion people use at least one of Facebooks apps, and the user numbers are rising.

This is a company that is embroiled in a different scandal each week and that people say they dislike, yet its products are used by billions of people, and businesses spent like crazy on ads during a pandemic to reach them.

And the really wild thing is that Facebooks products cost the company almost nothing to make. The Instagram selfie of you being vaccinated, the post from Mom about a fundraiser, and your Facebook parenting group  those are the companys products, and most of us are making them for free. It means that Facebook is very profitable.

Ive been writing about corporate finances for a long time. I dont think Ive ever seen this combination of popularity, fast-growing sales, fat profits  and complete revulsion. The gap between Facebooks public reputation and its financial success has never been greater, Kurt Wagner of Bloomberg wrote this past week.

Historians, tell me if theres a comparable company that was so reviled and yet so widely used and successful. (If you say the Gilded Age trusts like Standard Oil, Id argue they make the point for Facebooks critics who want the company broken up like the trusts of a century ago.)

Near the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, my colleagues wrote that strong companies like Americas technology superpowers would most likely become even stronger in this crisis. But as corporations 2020 financial returns roll in, its clear that we underestimated just how much the rich would get richer.

Apple, Netflix, Microsoft and other tech powers are making products that people and businesses are relying on to make it through a pandemic. And they are raking in money hand over fist.

Im not sure how to feel about this. Yes, Im grateful that companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google and others are helping us work, go to school, shop, and stay entertained and connected at a time like this. But its also hard to ignore the disconnect between their mountains of money and the shaky condition of most major economies in 2020 and the battered finances of many families.

This is not a novel reflection about the gap between the haves and the have-nots in this pandemic. Im just left again unsure how to answer an essential question: Is whats good for Big Tech good for all of us?

*(OK, fine. Google search is perhaps the internets very best money machine. Feel free to argue with me!)

Being Informed(-ish) Isnt Good Enough

Thursday was Data Privacy Day. This fake holiday has become an opportunity for Facebook to remind people to review their privacy settings. Its also an opportunity for me to remind you that this is a charade.

These nudges from Facebook as well as Apple's data privacy labels and a California privacy law all reveal a fundamental flaw in how our data is treated in the United States.

The mission is to inform us of what data companies are collecting on us and give us (some) measure of choice. But I dont want being informed to be the final goal.

The focus on making data collection transparent(-ish) is why we have long privacy policies that give a choice between agreeing to anything a company wants to do and not using the service.

Its why technology executives tout our ability to delete voice recordings from inside our homes  but dont stop the data from being collected in the first place. Its why an app used to open and close a garage door also collects information to target users with internet ads. (Yes, really.)

Washington Post columnist Geoffrey Fowler has written that we should reframe data privacy around a simple question: Why is so much of our information being collected in the first place?

The answer is, because companies can. When every company from Facebook to a maker of garage door openers is racing to collect as much data as possible, we cant really opt out  unless we want to cut ourselves off from 21st-century life.

So if Facebook reminds you to look at its 40,000 privacy settings, go for it. But I suggest you also remember Fowlers question: Why is so much information being collected at all?

c.2021 The New York Times Company
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The President of the Senate, Anca Dragu, announced the setting up, at the parliamentary level, at the initiative of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) deputy Alexandru Rafila, of a working group for the fight against cancer, according to AGERPRES.

"Romania is among the most affected countries in the EU when it comes to the cancer rate. The European plan which provides a complete circuit in the approach to the fight against cancer was launched yesterday. At parliamentary level, a working group initiated by Prof. Dr. Rafila was formed. We, as legislators, can contribute to the prevention, treatment and cure of this disease through specific actions that will find their implementation in the Romanian medical system," Anca Dragu wrote on Facebook on Thursday.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Thursday, President Joe Biden announced the United States' new Foreign policy, a sharp break with the policies of his predecessor.



Sending a message to the rest of the world that 'America is back,' Biden declared that diplomacy is back at the center of United States' foreign policy.



Biden announced that his Administration will increase refugee admissions to 125,000 in the first fiscal year.



An Executive Order he signed will rescind policies by the previous administration that limited refugee resettlement and required excessive vetting of applicants, and review the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Program for Iraqis and Syrians. President Biden also intends to propose a raise in refugee admissions for this fiscal year, after appropriate consultation with Congress.



Biden signed another Executive Order reaffirming U.S. support for LGBTQ rights worldwide.



Biden repealed a Trump order to withdraw U.S. troops from Germany.



The US government will end all support for Saudi Arabia's offensive operations in Yemen, including relevant arms sales. At the same time, Washington will continue to support Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty.



The President asked his Middle East team to ensure support for the United Nations-led initiative to impose a ceasefire, and open peace talks in the war ravaged country. Tim Lenderking has been appointed as U.S. special envoy to the Yemen conflict.



Biden signed a National Security Memorandum to outline the structure of the National Security Council.



Speaking at the Department of State Headquarters, Biden said his administration will repair Washington's alliances and meet advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt U.S. democracy.



'America cannot afford to be absent any longer on the world stage,' Biden said, in apparent reference to President Donald Trump withdrawing U.S. financial support to the WHO, leaving the Paris climate agreement, and withdrawing hundreds of U.S. troops from foreign countries.



Within days of Biden assuming office, the United States rejoined the Paris Climate Accord. Biden will be hosting a climate leaders' summit in April. He reversed the decision to leave the World Health Organization.



In another important development, the United States and Russia agreed to extend the New START Treaty for five years to preserve the only remaining treaty between the two superpowers safeguarding nuclear stability.



Earlier, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had said the President has spoken with the United States' key allies in both Europe and Asia.



Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that at the direction of the President, the Defense Department will conduct a global force posture review of U.S. military footprint, resources, strategy and missions.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division training at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, are complaining of a "mass outbreak" of COVID-19 within the unit and claiming there has been no isolation for those infected.

The first of about 4,000 soldiers began leaving Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in a series of bus convoys headed for the combat training center Jan. 22.

The Fayetteville Observer reported Wednesday that it had received a letter from a group of anonymous paratroopers who claim to have been forced to ride in a bus for several hours with unit members "suspected to be infected with COVID-19" without social distancing restrictions.

Read Next: Head of Army Europe and Africa Wants a New Command for Long-Range Fires

The anonymous paratroopers also said that unit members began testing positive just over a week later but have not been quarantined, the Observer reported.

But officials are pushing back on the claims.

"COVID mitigation measures are in place and are proving to be effective," 82nd spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Burns said in a statement.

"Our positivity rate for this exercise is under 5 percent, much lower than our surrounding communities," he continued. "We've implemented several measures in accordance with [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines to reduce likelihood of spreading the virus to one another."

According to the Observer, the letter states, "Soldiers are having to sleep amongst those that are infected and are not provided with a place to quarantine or isolate."

Burns wrote that a "small number of soldiers have tested positive for COVID since their arrival at JRCT.  [They] were quickly identified and isolated in barracks on mainpost (Fort Polk) away from the training area."

"Paratroopers in the isolation barracks are provided meals and sustainment by Fort Polk leadership, and are seen by medical providers twice a day to ensure their health and well-being," he added.

The 82nd would not release the exact number of soldiers who have tested positive for the virus, Burns said in the statement.

The three-week exercise at JRTC, one of the Army's three combat training centers, began Feb. 1 when about 500 paratroopers participated in a parachute assault into the training area, Burns said.

Prior to leaving Bragg, every paratrooper was tested for the virus and "required to restrict their movements until their test results were returned in order to decrease chances of infection prior to movement," Burns said.

The 82nd does not allow soldiers who test positive for COVID-19 to participate in training rotations, he told Military.com.

Paratroopers deploying to JRCT were offered the "option to vaccinate prior to deployment," said Burns, who would not say how many soldiers agreed to be vaccinated.

Vaccinations are being offered on a voluntary basis as long they are being distributed under an emergency use authorization.

"Leaders at every level and paratroopers of every rank are responsible for protecting themselves and their fellow soldiers at all times," Burns wrote. "We continue to emphasize the importance of vaccinations for all populations at Fort Bragg to improve the health, safety, and welfare of our paratroopers and their families."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: DC Guard Chief 'Deeply Troubled' After Nearly 200 Troops Test Positive for COVID-19


There is no serious "legal criteria for the use of narratives" in the Ukrainian media sphere, which can create grounds for speculation in and use of "anti-Ukrainian content," Director of the Institute of Global Strategies Vadym Karasev said.

"Narratives are returning, which recently sounded somewhat muffled in the media, and sometimes did not sound at all. Such concepts as 'pro-Russian content,' 'hostile content' these definitions are very mobile, and there are no serious criteria for their clarity," Karasev said at a press conference entitled "Fierce Start to Political February in Ukraine, Whole World" at Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

The political scientist linked the appearance of such narratives "with the gradual return and strengthening of the U.S. influence in Ukraine after Joe Biden came to power."

According to Karasev, "you need to clearly understand what is 'pro-Russian content,' what is 'anti-Ukrainian content' or, for example, 'enemy content,' otherwise it can create conditions for subjectivity and speculation."

According to the political scientist, the media field of Ukraine needs more verified and objective information, within the framework of which the activities of any television channel should be carried out.

"I hope that the law on media, which is now being heard in the Verkhovna Rada, and, obviously, will be put to a vote, will remove these things. Otherwise, all this becomes an instrument of political struggle," the director of the Institute for Global Strategies said.

As for the situation with the blocking of the activities of the 112, NewsOne and ZIK television channels, associated with one of leaders of the Opposition Platform  For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk, as noted by expert at the Hardarika Strategic Consulting Corporation Kostiantyn Matviyenko "the leadership of the television channels should have found a common language with the authorities."

"The platform for such a common language can be a declaration of a transparent and open editorial policy of television channels. We have many other television channels that do not declare their editorial policies. We need to find the common language, we need to look for a way out of the situation," the expert said.

In a symbolic sense, the present situation in Sri Lanka is more or less similar to the situation that prevailed before the British conquered the country.



by Victor Ivan

On this occasion when Sri Lanka celebrates its 73rd anniversary of independence, the country is in an unprecedented state of unpleasant misery and confusion. By the time we gained independence from the British colonial rule in 1948, Sri Lanka was in a shining position among the Asian countries. Seven decades later, despairingly Sri Lanka finds itself at the bottom of a deep abyss.

Sri Lanka possessed a great civilisation during the reign of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa kingdoms. A visitor to the dry zone of Sri Lanka will inevitably be mesmerised by the ancient ruins of Anuradhapura, Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa, which depict the grandeur of the ancient civilisation.

The extent of the influence of Buddhism on it can be understood from the abundance of ruins of great temples that existed in the past. The Sigiriya fortress, built by the late patricide King Kasyapa, reflects the extent of the advancement of architecture and art at that time. One can easily discern the level of development achieved by the ancient agrarian civilisation from the extensive networks of lakes, waterways, irrigation canals and anicuts, etc., lying in and around these cities.

It can be said that the old era of prosperity ended and the era of decline commenced with the shifting of the Sinhala kingdom from the dry zone of Rajarata to the wet zone. The process of this transition began in the 13th century. By the dawn of the 14th century, Sinhala kingdom had been shifted to Gampola of the Hill Country while there existed a Tamil kingdom in Jaffna.

By the end of the 15th century when Europeans arrived in Ceylon, most of the dry zone had become unpopulated or thinly inhabited areas except for the Jaffna peninsula and two narrow strips of the eastern and western coasts. The magnificent temples and many other historical sites in the Auradhapura and Polonnaruwa areas had become ruins being caught by the incessant flow of the jungle tide that had overwhelmed them for centuries.

The situation before 1815

It was not an advanced civilisation but an extremely degenerated one that existed in the Kandyan Kingdom by 1815 when the British conquered it. Robert Knox, an English sailor and a trader, who was in captivity for 20 years in Ceylon, can arguably be considered as the best author who has ever written about it. His book titled An Historical Relations of the Island of Ceylon written in 1681 offers, more or less, a factual account of significant aspects of the socio-economic and political situation that prevailed in the Kandyan kingdom. The book titled Sinhalese Social Organisation, the Kandyan Period, a comprehensive research study made by Ralph Pieris, Head of the Department of Sociology, University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, can be described as one of the best piece of research available on this period, using Knoxs writings as the major source of the study.

According to Robert Knox, the people of that age had no other resources to count on than the possession of a single room abode, probably a small hut made of wattle and daub, a few implements used for cultivation, some clothing barely enough to cover their body, and a few pots and pans; the adequate supply of rice and salt made them feel self-sufficient; beyond that they had no other expectations.

Knox has written about the brutal punishments inflicted on wrongdoers under the despotic rule of that age, such as mutilation of limbs, execution by beheading, trampling by elephants and drowning in water etc. Ralph Peiris has produced a considerable collection of historical evidence which testifies the observations made by Knox. The policy adopted in regard to infants and young children at that time can be considered as an important indicator reflecting the extent of incivility prevailed at that time.

According to Ralph Peiris, it was a common practice to kill infants born to a family, mainly the female, in excess of three or four children. It was also a practice to kill children born under an unlucky star or at an inauspicious zodiac sign and also to poor parents. Such children were destroyed by stoning or drowning. The marked gender disparity of population was a matter of concern to the officers who were commissioned to enumerate the census of population in 1820. (Peiris: page 217)

In view of the foregoing it would not be difficult to form an opinion on the backward nature of the socio-political and economic environment in Sri Lanka at that time. It was during the British era that the country had undergone a profound change in this situation which was as wide as the earth and the sky.

Entering the modern age

The Colebrooke-Cameron reforms (1831) can be considered as the major reforms programme that had led to making far-reaching changes. There were no permanent borders that demarcated the regional States, previously.

The Colebrook Commission consolidated the regional borders and established a common system of public administration for the whole island. It established a common judicial system under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, for the entire island, which was independent of the interventions and control of the Executive.

Moreover, it created a situation where all were treated equal before the law, regardless of ethnicity, caste, religion or other distinctions. It abolished the Legislative, Executive and the Judicial powers held by the Governor and instead established a system in which the above three aspects of power were assigned to three separate power centres, thus abolishing the dictatorial power of the Governor and laying the basic foundation for a democratic rule.

The result of these reforms can be said to have been enormous and revolutionary. The abolition of the caste-based Rajakariya system, the compulsory service to the king for the use of state land, offered the people the right to choose their career at their wish. The abolition of the Governments monopoly on trade led to a rapid increase in internal and external trade.

The development of commercial plantations not only caused a rapid economic upturn but also led to major improvements in the countrys infrastructure. This resulted in creating an advanced roads network and railway system spanning the entire country. There was also a rapid improvement in the communication methods. There was a rapid increase in the income of the people and a significant change in consumption patterns and quality of their life.

It was the progress of education which eventually served as the biggest force of change. There was a rapid expansion of the system of school education; the share of literate people increased rapidly. A society that reads books and was inclined to question and debate over pressing issues emerged gradually.

By 1910, in terms of Asian standards, Sri Lanka had achieved significant progress among the Asian countries. The length of roads built at that time was about 4,000 miles of which 2,944 miles consisted of rubble paved roads coated with tar. The length of the railway tracks at that time stood at 576 miles. The network of wires harnessed for telegraphic and telephone services amounted to 4,596 and 1,447 miles respectively; 4,400 ships had arrived at the Port of Colombo in 1910.

By 1911, there were 4,215 schools in the country, and 336,374 students had been enrolled in them. The literacy rate that year stood at 40.8% for males and 29.6% for females.

Messing up the ideals of freedom

As mentioned above, Sri Lanka was in a shining position among the Asian countries by the time the country was granted independence by the British. We were endowed with a sound Constitution with the Westminster-style parliamentary system of governance. But, unfortunately the indigenous leaders who assumed power following the independence lacked the statesmanship, adequate political knowledge and imagination required for maintaining the system of democratic self-governance.

They didnt attempt to eradicate the system of cast differences and the injustices associated with it, because they were imbibed in racist attitudes. On the other hand, they acted in a manner that exacerbated racial and religious divisions. This situation intensified ethnic, caste and religious divisions which eventually led to violent clashes and bloodshed. This situation resulted in deteriorating and degrading the socio-political system. After 1978 looting of public property has become a regular feature of State administration resulting in the entire State and its institutional system being exposed to rampant corruption.

In a symbolic sense, the present situation in Sri Lanka is more or less similar to the situation that prevailed before the British conquered the country. Economically, the country is in a state of virtual bankruptcy and the State, the entire institutional system of it as well as the social system are in a state of complete collapse.

Sri Lanka will be able to be free again only if it becomes successful in overcoming the current pathetic situation. Unfortunately, there is no dialogue at all, in the country about the prospects of achieving that.
[February 04, 2021] Compute Health Acquisition Corp. Announces Pricing of $750 Million Initial Public Offering

Compute Health Acquisition Corp. (the "Company") announced today that it priced its initial public offering of 75,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit. The units will be listed on The New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and trade under the ticker symbol "CPUH.U" beginning February 5, 2021. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-quarter of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the shares of Class A common stock and redeemable warrants are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the symbols "CPUH" and "CPUH WS," respectively. The offering is expected to close on February 9, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. The Company is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The Company intends to focus on healthcare businesses that are already leveraging, or have the potential to leverage, computational power, with an emphasis on companies in the medical device space, including imaging and robotics, and companies operating in the virtual care space, including telehealth, care delivery and next-generation payor and provider models.



The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus relating to the offering and the final prospectus, when available, may be obtained from Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, Attn: Prospectus Department, by telephone at 866-471-2526, facsimile at 212-902-9316 or by emailing prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com.

A registration statement relating to the securities was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC (News - Alert) ") on February 4, 2021. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements," including with respect to the proposed initial public offering. No assurance can be given that the offering will be completed on the terms described, or at all. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's registration statement for the Company's offering filed with the U.S. SEC and the preliminary prospectus included therein. Copies of these documents are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204006178/en/

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Earl Peel was due to step down at end of 2020 but delayed amid Covid-19 crisis

aron Parker served as director general of the MI5 from April 2013 until last year

The Queen has named the former head of MI5 as the most senior member of her Royal household, Buckingham Palace has announced.

Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere, will take up his new role as Lord Chamberlain on April 1, succeeding Earl Peel who is retiring after more than 14 years in the post.

Baron Parker served as director general of the MI5 from April 2013 until last year and was a career intelligence officer having joined the MI5 in 1983.

He hosted the Queen's first visit to MI5's headquarters in central London in February last year, when she praised the intelligence agency's officers for the 'tireless work you do to keep our country safe'.

The Queen (pictured right, in 2018) has named the former head of MI5 Andrew Parker (left, in 2017) as the most senior member of her Royal household, Buckingham Palace has announced

Earl Peel, 73, delayed his retirement amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis while the search for his successor took place.

He was due to step down at the end of 2020 but extended his notice period by around three months.

During his MI5 career Baron Parker led the intelligence agency's response to the July 7 London terrorist attacks in 2005, and the following year his teams played the lead role in the disruption of al Qaeda's attempt to attack multiple airliners with bombs hidden in drinks bottles.

He was later promoted to deputy director general of MI5 in 2007 before becoming head of the security service in 2013.

He retired from the post in April last year and in an interview that month said the pandemic could force ministers to 'adjust the dials' on public spending, potentially taking cash away from areas such as the intelligence agencies in the future.

But he insisted that MI5 was able to continue its work during the lockdown, adding that potential threats to the country were also subject to the restrictions.

Baron Parker hosted the Queen's first visit to MI5's headquarters (pictured above) in central London in February last year, when she praised the intelligence agency's officers for the 'tireless work you do to keep our country safe'

Queen Elizabeth II pictured talking to Baron Parker as she leaves after a visit to the headquarters of the MI5 at Thames House in London in February last year

Baron Parker will head the Queen's working household and it will be his job to ensure the smooth running of all the different departments.

The post of Lord Chamberlain, which pays around 90,000 a year, is a part-time one and includes chairing regular meetings of all heads of department.

The Lord Chamberlain oversees all senior appointments in the household, is the channel of communication between the sovereign and the House of Lords and ensures co-ordination between Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.

The position dates from the Middle Ages, when the King's Chamberlain often acted as the king's spokesman in council and parliament.

On ceremonial occasions, the Lord Chamberlain carries a white staff and a gold key, the symbols of his office.

The Queen pictured alongside Earl Peel, 73, who had delayed his retirement amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis while the search for his successor took place (file photo)

Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere During his MI5 career Baron Parker, above, led the intelligence agency's response to the July 7 London terrorist attacks in 2005 Baron Parker served as director general of the MI5 from April 2013 until last year and was a career intelligence officer having joined the MI5 in 1983. He hosted the Queen's first visit to MI5's headquarters in central London in February last year, when she praised the intelligence agency's officers for the 'tireless work you do to keep our country safe'. During his MI5 career Baron Parker, born in 1962, led the intelligence agency's response to the July 7 London terrorist attacks in 2005. The following year his teams played the lead role in the disruption of al Qaeda's attempt to attack multiple airliners with bombs hidden in drinks bottles. He was later promoted to deputy director general of MI5 in 2007 before becoming head of the security service in 2013. He retired from the post in April last year and in an interview that month said the pandemic could force ministers to 'adjust the dials' on public spending, potentially taking cash away from areas such as the intelligence agencies in the future. Advertisement
A foreign national is in police custody for robbing a Kenyan woman he lured from an online dating site.

Alfred Mumoh Bangura, a Sierra Leone national, is said to have robbed Joyce Mbalo of her valuables and a phone worth Sh25,000.

According to DCI detectives, the would-be lovers met on the Badoo dating site and after a few days of chats, they agreed to meet in person.

They would later meet at a petrol station in Marurui, where they thereafter drove off in the suspects car heading towards Kahawa West.

However, along the way, the suspect turned against the woman and robbed her of valuables.

Detectives immediately went on his trail and arrested him yesterday(Wednesday). He was found to be a foreigner from Sierra Leone, and did not have proper documentation, the DCI said.

Mr Mumoh was arraigned in court Thursday morning and remanded at the Industrial Area Prison

Baldwinsville, N.Y. -- A 21-year-old Baldwinsville man has been accused of soliciting for and receiving numerous images of child porn, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of New York.

Richard Curtis was charged with knowingly receiving child porn, a charge that carries a five to 20 year sentence if hes convicted, federal prosecutors said. He could also receive five years of post-release supervision and up to a $250,000 fine, according to prosecutors.

Curtis used Instagram on his cell phone to receive and solicit the images, prosecutors said.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace doubled down on her criticism of New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's account of her personal experience during the storming of the Capitol on 6 January.

After feuding with Ms Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter, Ms Mace told Fox News: "She lost it today, she doesn't deal in reality ... I think it's important that we take members to task when they're not being honest with the American people. This division is hurting our country.

"I'm not going to discount the trauma ... but at no time were there rioters at our doors banging to get in," Ms Mace, who has her office two doors down from Ms Ocasio-Cortez in the Cannon office building, told Fox News who put up part of a Newsweek article on-screen as she spoke. The article said that someone entered Ms Ocasio-Cortez's office, but didn't show the part of the story saying that it was a police officer.

The Capitol complex was breached, and the rioters could have reached the adjoining office buildings, where Ms Ocasio-Cortez and Ms Mace had barricaded themselves had members of the mob been familiar with the layout of the building.

Ms Mace told South Carolina paper The State that she feared Trump supporters might attack her and that she barricaded herself in her office and spent the night there, not wanting to return to her hotel.

She then blasted Ms Ocasio-Cortez for her comments, despite saying she herself also felt threatened, telling Fox News, "I felt like I was a sitting duck, I felt like my life was in danger," in the very same interview.

Read more: Follow live updates on the Biden administration

Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: "Wild that Nancy Mace is discrediting herself less than one month in office with such dishonest attacks. She went on record saying she barricaded in fear. Nancy Mace, who elses experiences will you minimize? Capitol Police in Longworth? Custodial workers, who cleaned up shards of glass?

"All I can think of with folks like her dishonestly claiming that survivors are exaggerating are the stories of veterans and survivors in my community who deny themselves care they need and deserve because they internalize voices like hers saying what they went through 'wasnt bad enough'.

"This is where the true damage of what Nancy Mace is doing comes in. How many survivors are watching her? Who now, seeing her, wont get care or will feel further shame or silence? Who wont speak up because they know there are voices in leadership ready to minimize their experiences?"

Ms Ocasio-Cortez said during an Instagram Live broadcast on Monday that she "thought everything was over," as she hid in the bathroom of her office in the Cannon office building steps away from the Capitol as Trump supporters were about to breach it. A man banged on the door yelling Where is she? Where is she? It turned out to be a police officer who wanted to move her to a secure location, but Ms Ocasio-Cortez said the situation "didn't feel right because he was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility".

Ms Ocasio-Cortez said on 12 January that I had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die". She said she didn't feel safe going to a secure location with Republican lawmakers because there were QAnon and white-supremacist sympathizers and, frankly, white-supremacist members of Congress in that extraction point who I know and who I have felt would disclose my location and would create opportunities to allow me to be hurt, kidnapped, et cetera.
Chris Marvin is a former Army helicopter pilot and combat-wounded veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He consults with nonprofits on how to engage veterans on high-priority social issues.

They stormed the Capitol wearing camouflage fatigues, body armor, tactical helmets and zip-tie restraints. Clearly, many amongst the domestic terrorists who attacked the United States in Washington on Jan. 6 fetishized the military. Now, we have learned that nearly one in five of the insurrectionists arrested thus far are, in fact, military veterans.

The military-to-civilian ratio among the mob actually outpaces that of veterans in Congress, but just barely. The 91 veterans in the House and Senate make up 17% of those serving. In both groups -- the attackers and the members of Congress they were attacking -- veterans are significantly overrepresented compared to the 7% of American adults who have served in the military.

How is it that military service yields such extremes? The answer may be different based on which extreme we examine.

For centuries, the military has molded young men and women into leaders. In just a few months, a recent high school graduate can become a high-functioning, respectable soldier.

After service, veterans are more likely to be good citizens than typical civilians. According to multiple studies by the National Conference on Citizenship, veterans are more likely to vote, volunteer in their communities, join civic organizations, and help their neighbors. Empirically, military service develops civilians into civic assets. From the halls of Congress to corporate suites to nonprofit boardrooms across the country, we see examples of veterans giving back to the nation they once defended in uniform.

Each year, a quarter-million men and women from every corner of America -- mostly teenagers -- arrive at military boot camp, bringing with them all the baggage and challenges of a divided country. But military service is not a panacea for a broken society; military training is not a remedy for a damaged soul.

The military has recently come under fire as a harbor for violent extremists. According to Military Times, more than one-third of active service members have witnessed white nationalism or ideological-driven racism inside the military.

While the military has taken steps meant to root out white supremacists from its ranks, such as prohibiting military personnel from "advocating supremacist, extremist or criminal gang doctrine, ideology or causes," military leaders must also step back and reexamine the services' recruiting and initial training processes to prevent those who espouse any form of hatred from joining.

Entry standards for the military are so high that only 29% of Americans aged 17 to 24 are eligible to join. While the largest portion of this group is excluded because of health reasons -- particularly obesity -- the military also rejects applicants based on behavioral characteristics, such as criminal convictions, certain mental health disorders, and low academic achievement.

What military recruiting has not figured out yet -- or at least has not implemented -- is how to deny initial entry for recruits who show signs of hate-based extremism. Thus, short of a criminal incident in a recruit's past, an avowed white supremacist would face little friction enlisting.

In fact, it is well established that domestic terrorist organizations and extremist groups send members into the military to receive tactical training and gain access to weapons.

"The number of extremists in the military has increased due to a higher percentage of white supremacists attempting to join the military," Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League told Congress last year.

Put simply: The Department of Defense must become better at keeping white supremacists from joining the military, full stop.

Research into post-traumatic stress disorder has shown that certain preexisting conditions in an individual's upbringing or pre-military life can make a service member more susceptible to PTSD. That is not to say that the military should bar people with these backgrounds from service, but it's important to understand that it isn't necessarily the military experience or combat exposure alone that causes conditions like PTSD.

Likewise, if the DoD were so inclined, an analysis of known white supremacists in the ranks could start to illuminate the kinds of red flags in pre-military life that make radicalization more likely.

While the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act does include new requirements for how federal agencies deal with white supremacy and domestic terrorism, it is still unclear how it will impact military recruiting. Moreover, the rise in extremist views and activities across the country does not make the jobs of military recruiters any easier. And certainly, the explicit support for hate groups by the former commander in chief flies in the face of any DoD efforts to stem such sentiments amongst service members.

In short, an overhaul of the military recruiting system is overdue. A couple of Marine Corps sergeants strolling around a shopping center talking to 17-year-olds at random is no longer efficient. Nor can military recruiters sit back at their strip mall storefronts and wait for people to walk in and sign on the dotted line.

With advances in technology and support from federal intelligence agencies, the military recruiting process is getting more sophisticated. And with an increase in available information and resources, recruiters can place more focus on keeping hate out of the military.

New recruits endure months of training and pass numerous thresholds, before the military considers putting a rifle in their hands and sending them overseas. It is, therefore, not unreasonable to also make certain they were never a part of any group that practices acts of hate or advocates for the violent overthrow of the United States government.

We deserve a military where Americans can serve in uniform without fear of hate based on race, sexual orientation or gender identity. We demand a military that produces civic leaders, not leaders of revolt, sedition and insurrection. We expect a military that is worthy of the trust and respect the nation has for it, and that means zero tolerance for white supremacy.

-- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.
Lyell found her surrounded by editors and writers for the liberal quarterly Edinburgh Review. She presided over these salons despite deafness that required visitors to all but shout into her ear trumpet. Rebutting the notion that femininity was a handicap, she insisted, in Society in America, that only deafness posed a serious obstacle. I carry a trumpet of remarkable fidelity, she added, an instrument, moreover, which seems to exert some winning power, by which I gain more in tete-a-tetes than is given to people who hear general conversation. At times Martineau smoked cigars. She was a colorful figure welcome at gatherings of artists, intellectuals and politicians.

Martineau had an unkind reputation for plainness and lack of feminine polish. I was astonished to find, Darwin wrote to his sister Caroline after their first meeting, how little ugly she is. They talked on a most wonderful number of subjects. Like other men who knew her, Darwin considered Martineau overwhelmed with her own projects, her own thoughts and own abilities. Rather than nodding at mens ideas, she was known for responding with her own.

In 1833, the conservative Frasers Magazine had acknowledged the status of Martineau, then 31, by devoting considerable space to arguing with her conclusions and mocking her appearance. Her second published work, On Female Education, a defense of her own passion for learning and a critique of the expectation that her education would end when she reached adulthood, came out when she was 20. Her most famous book, Illustrations of Political Economy, dramatized human stories featuring the economic theories of Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus and James Mill. Didactic, at times simplistic, it was lucid and accessible and considered a step forward for progressive, human-centered economics.

Her most recent success was Society in America, based on two years of travel during which she was feted by artists and legislators. She visited President Andrew Jackson and lodged with the former president James Madison. Both owned slaves, but Martineau did not shrink from portraying the horrors of slavery. She had been writing about it, as both a moral sin and an economically inefficient system, since early in her career. She would have found common ground on this topic with Darwin, a passionate abolitionist who had witnessed slaverys abuses from Africa to Brazil. His theories about natural selection were motivated in part by a desire to undermine racist notions promulgated by scientists.

They compared writing methods. Several of Martineaus books grew out of her detailed travel journals, which was how Darwin had constructed his own book about his voyage around the world. Martineau was said to require little revision for the many pages that flowed from her pen. Darwin thought her invincible and seems to have expressed this idea.

Not at all, she replied; a few consecutive hours of hard work tended to exhaust her. Darwin felt the same. He recorded that he felt gratified to learn that Martineau was not a complete Amazonian.

Decades later, despite many respectful and admiring interactions with Martineau and other female writers and thinkers, as well as with his intelligent and well-read sisters, wife, cousins and colleagues wives, Darwin comprehensively dismissed womens intellectual potential. The chief distinction in the intellectual powers of the two sexes, he stated in The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871), is shewn by mans attaining to a higher eminence, in whatever he takes up, than can woman  whether requiring deep thought, reason or imagination, or merely the use of the senses and hands.
MP CMs condolences 30 May 2021 | 2:20 AM Bhopal, May 29 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday expressed grief over the demise of journalist Rubika Liyaquats mother.

It is a void that can never be filled. My thoughts are with the bereaved family, the senior politician conveyed via social media. see more..

COVID-19: Collectors receive detailed instructions in MP 29 May 2021 | 11:28 PM Bhopal, May 29 (UNI) The Madhya Pradesh administration issued comprehensive guidelines on Saturday to collectors regarding relaxations from Tuesday vis-a-vis corona curfew.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajesh Kumar Rajora dispatched a three-page letter accompanied by an appendix. The specifications shall be in force till June 15. see more..

Two civilians killed by unidentified gunmen in Anantnag 29 May 2021 | 11:06 PM Srinagar, May 29 (UNI) Two civilians were on Saturday killed by unidentified gunmen in south Kashmir district of Anantnag, official sources said. see more..

PM's war against Covid would be won soon, 13 licensed vaccine manufacturers on job: Chugh 29 May 2021 | 10:57 PM Chandigarh, May 29 (UNI) BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Saturday said that the Central government was working on a war footing to fight Corona-19 and within the next couple of months the production of vaccination would reach the desired level. see more..


Apple recently introduced its App Tracking Transparency feature which is set to release with iOS 14.5. The new tool requires developers to ask for permission to track iOS users across apps for ad targeting. Now, Google is also reported to be working on a similar feature of its own. A recent Bloomberg report has said that Google is exploring an alternative to Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature in an effort to limit data collection and cross-app tracking on Android.

The Bloomberg report says that Google's version would be "less stringent" than that of Apple's. It said that Google is trying to balance the rising demands of privacy-conscious consumers with the financial needs of developers and advertisers. In a statement to Bloomberg, a Google spokesperson said that the search giant is always looking to balance privacy with an app ecosystem that's healthy and ad-supported. "To keep advertisers happy while improving privacy, the discussions around Googles Android solution indicate that it could be similar to its planned Chrome web browser changes," the report said.

Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature has come under fire from companies who claim that the new policies will harm small businesses. Facebook has been one of the most vocal and most prominent critics of Apple's new feature. Apple says that the new features are designed to stand up for users. It says that users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites.
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Donald Trump became president on a platform charged with Islamophobia, demonization of immigrants, and white supremacy.

Now, President Joe Biden has begun to undo that. On his first day in office, Biden repealed the discriminatory Muslim ban, which has caused immense harm to Muslim communities in the U.S. and abroad.

Though its repeal is a step in the right direction, it is not nearly enough. We must acknowledge these harms and demand accountability for them. One powerful framework for demanding such accountability is peoples tribunals, which have proved effective in exposing human rights violations and pressuring state actors to take responsibility.

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In December 2015, the Trump campaign first disseminated a press release calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. On Jan. 27, 2017, during the first week of his presidency, Trump issued an executive order prohibiting travel into the U.S. for 90 days from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen and indefinitely suspending travel into the U.S. from Syria. The order also blocked refugee travel into the country for 120 days.

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But Trump alone could not have accomplished this ban. He was aided by dozens of government workers, private lobbyists, and attorneys who implemented the ban and revised it so it would pass court muster.

Once the order was signed, the Department of Homeland Security jumped into action. Within days, it denied entry to hundreds of Muslims from the banned countries who found themselves stranded in U.S. airports or turned away before even boarding their flights.

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Over the course of the next year, the Trump administration engaged in a legal battle as various human rights organizations challenged the constitutionality of the ban. Despite Trumps subsequent revisions of the ban, federal judges in Washington, Hawaii, and Maryland issued rulings against its implementation, and in several instances, appellate courts affirmed those rulings. However, in December 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that a narrower version of the ban could take full effect, even while federal courts heard continued challenges. On June 26, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trump and the government, holding that the ban was constitutional and that presidential powers gave Trump the authority to put into place such a restriction. The Muslim-majority countries affected by the version of the ban that ultimately went into effect were Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.

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Peoples tribunals can be critical in cases like this one, where domestic courts have effectively sanctioned an act even though its enforcement has implicated the U.S. government in a number of human rights violations. Peoples tribunals are forums for justice initiated by grassroots organizations, social justice movements, organizers, lawyers, and academics. These forums provide space to adjudicate charges against the state outside of the formal judicial system. Unlike proceedings that involve state bodies, such as congressional investigations or litigation, peoples tribunals are not beholden to government bureaucracy in their truth finding and exposing missions.

The format of these tribunals mirrors that of a triallawyers take up the roles of prosecutors and defense attorneys; community members, legal scholars, and judges act as jurors; individuals directly affected by the legislation or issue at hand come forward to provide testimony describing their experiences.

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Though these tribunals do not hold legal authority themselves, they do help gather evidence that can later be used by judicial forums such as the International Criminal Court. The ICC has the authority to take on cases or launch investigations based on information that is brought to light through a tribunal. Alternatively, peoples tribunals can help develop stronger foundations to launch more effective, subsequent domestic federal investigations.

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So, while peoples tribunals may not be the sole accountability mechanism appropriate to address the harms of the Muslim ban, they can play an important role in exposing human rights violations committed by Trump and those who aided him.

Further, these tribunals serve important accountability goals by directing international attention to grave abuses of human rights in various countries and by forcing governing bodies and the public to reckon with national histories. For example, in 2016, the International Tribunal for Democracy in Brazil [called] attention to a situation quickly spiraling into fascism when then-President Dilma Rousseff was unjustly impeached and former Vice President Michel Temer took over without holding elections.

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The U.S.s long history of white supremacyand legislation, like the Muslim ban, that is built on this historycan be addressed in present day through tribunals, where witnesses can also make the case for remedy in the form of reparations.

Finally, peoples tribunals differ from formal judicial proceedings in that one of the tribunals primary purposes is to prioritize the narratives of those directly affected. These narratives are often in danger of getting buried when they are up against the voices of state officials in lengthy and complex judicial and legislative processes.

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And there are countless people who still need to tell their stories and get closure. The State Department reports that the Muslim ban is the sole reason that more than 1,500 children have been kept from their American parents and more than 3,000 parents have been kept from their American children. In other words, absent the Muslim ban, these thousands of individuals would have received visas to live with their families. Nearly 4,000 people have been separated from their partners for the same reason.

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The stories are endless. Ismail Alghazali, a Yemeni American, has been kept apart from his wife and two young children, who were unable to obtain U.S. visas because of the ban. Alghazali has never even met his daughter. Shaghyegh Ansaris family in Iran missed her wedding, and Ansari was also unable to be with her father in his last months before he died of brain cancer, shortly after his diagnosis.

Married couples like Masoud Abdi and Shima Montakhabi are also struggling to maintain hope and keep their families intact. Abdi, a permanent resident of the U.S., is afraid that if he leaves, he will not be permitted reentry. Montakhabi is stuck in Iran pending her visa. The couple is now in their 40s, and their hopes of having children are dwindling, while their depression intensifies daily.

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The Muslim ban has also exacted a toll on students at U.S. higher education institutions. In 2017, approximately 17,000 international students in the U.S. came from one of the banned countries.

Like Abdi, many international students and faculty members at U.S. schools have been worried they would not be able to return if they leave to visit family. These fears are not unfoundedcountless individuals with green cards, visas, and even U.S. passports have been detained, handcuffed, and interrogated when returning to the U.S. These circumstances are immeasurably stressful for individuals from banned countries, and on campuses, this stress has obstructed students academic progress.

The fears and anxieties caused by the ban have also resulted in medical crises for Muslim immigrants. A Columbia University study found women from banned countries living in the U.S. experienced a nearly 7 percent increase in the odds of delivering a preterm infant between September 2017 and August 2018. Native-born white women experienced no change in preterm birth trends during the same period. Preterm births are associated with increased infant health complications and higher infant death rates. Similarly, studies also indicate that stress surrounding immigration status is directly linked to decreased or delayed prenatal visits, avoidance of critical government health and housing benefits, and increased risk of obesity and high blood pressure.

These stories deserve to be told in forums that center and honor the individuals who lived through them. Only once those stories are heard and the harm addressed can directly-impacted communities find a measure of peace.
Deborah Copaken, a writer on Netflix's hit series Emily In Paris, penned a powerful op-ed about I May Destroy not earning a single Golden Globe nomination.

Despite her own series picking up two major nods, the 54-year-old author and photojournalist found the British drama's snub unfathomable.

'Now, am I excited that Emily In Paris was nominated,' Copaken wrote in a Guardian article. 'Of course. I've never been remotely close to seeing a Golden Globe statue up close, let alone being nominated for one.'

Stunned: Deborah Copaken, a writer on Netflixs hit series Emily In Paris, penned a powerful op-ed about I May Destroy not earning a single Golden Globe nomination

'But that excitement is now unfortunately tempered by my rage over (Michaela) Coels snub,' she continued.

She protested that the fact 'that I May Destroy You did not get one Golden Globe nod is not only wrong, its what is wrong with everything,'

'But my fury is not just about race. Or even about racial representation in art. Yes, we need art that reflects all of our colors, not just some. But we also need to give awards to shows that deserve them, no matter the color of the skin of their creators,' the writer stressed.

Snubbed: Despite her own series picking up two major nods, the 54-year-old author and photojournalist found the British drama's snub unfathomable

When speaking on the past criticism of Emily In Paris, which was released in October, Copaken noted she understood how a 'show about a white American selling luxury whiteness, in a pre-pandemic Paris scrubbed free of its vibrant African and Muslim communities, might rankle.'

'Did I take the criticism of the show personally? Of course. Who wouldnt? But also not,' she admitted, revealing that several iconic scenes were inspired by her own experiences and faux pas as an American in Paris.

Additionally, her show aired just a few months after she spent the summer 'marching for racial justice through the streets of New York 'with her kids.

'Did I take the criticism of the show personally? Of course. Who wouldnt? But also not,' she admitted, pointing out several iconic scenes were based on her own experiences as a young American and college student in Paris

Sparking backlash: When speaking on the past criticism of Emily In Paris, which was released in October, Copaken noted she understood how a 'show about a white American selling luxury whiteness, in a pre-pandemic Paris scrubbed free of its vibrant African and Muslim communities, might rankle'

After watching I May Destroy, which she calls 'a work of sheer genius about the aftermath of a rape,' her initial reaction was that it 'deserves to win all the awards.'

'I was stunned. I May Destroy You was not only my favorite show of 2020. Its my favorite show ever,' she went on. 'I had to watch it twice, just to understand how Coel did it.'

As a sexual assault survivor, she praised how Coel used 'heart, humor, pathos' to address the complicated issue.

Impressed: After watching I May Destroy, which she calls 'a work of sheer genius about the aftermath of a rape,' her initial reaction was that it 'deserves to win all the awards'

Fans of I May Destroy You were outraged when the hit show, and creator Michaela Coel, were snubbed by the 78th Golden Globe Awards.

The nominations for the event were announced on Wednesday, and the actress, 33, who starred, wrote, directed, and produced the critically-acclaimed series, failed to get a nod in any category.

I May Destroy You was one of the summer's most critically-acclaimed shows around the world when it aired on BBC One and HBO.

'I am genuinely embarrassed for the Golden Globes': I May Destroy You fans were left outraged as the show and creator Michaela Coel (pictured) were snubbed by the awards on Wednesday

The 12-part series fearlessly dives into hard-hitting issues affecting the lives of young London-based writer Arabella (Michaela) and her close group of friends.

It follows Arabella as she comes to terms with a sexual assault after her drink was spiked at a nightclub, in a storyline based on the harrowing real-life experience of Michaela.

Normal People, The Queens Gambit, Small Axe, The Undoing, and Unorthodox were nominated in the Limited Series category at the awards show.

Meanwhile, in the Best Actress category for a Limited Series, nods went to Cate Blanchett, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Shira Haas, Nicole Kidman, and Anya Taylor-Joy instead of Michaela.

Understandably upset about the snub, fans of the show took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter and claiming it had been the best series to air in 2020.

One viewer wrote: 'I am genuinely embarrassed for the Golden Globes. I don't think it's overboard at all to say 'I May Destroy You' was the most important piece of TV in the past twelve months. Madness.'

Another added: 'Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You was the best show of last year, outrageous overlook from the Golden Globes nominations.

While one person hit out: ' there was quite literally no better show that aired in the past year than I May Destroy You, and no better performance than Michaela Coel from the past year, so... yea not even going to give the Golden Globes my time.'



Shocked: Understandably upset about the snub, fans of the show took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the matter and claiming it had been the best series to air in 2020

Another Twitter user went on: 'Golden Globes needs to seriously rethink that I May Destroy You snub.'

And one person claimed: 'Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You not even being nominated for the Golden Globes really speaks "systemic racial" volumes. Last year they snubbed Ava's When They See Us and now this

One fan also said: 'a world in which Emily in Paris has a Golden Globes nomination and I May Destroy You does not... much to think about.'

Although the awards show usually takes place in January, this year's event has been postponed due to the pandemic.

Not considered: Meanwhile, in the Best Actress category for a Limited Series, nods wen to Cate Blanchett, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Shira Haas, Nicole Kidman, and Anya Taylor-Joy instead

The Golden Globes will air in the time slot recently made available after the Oscars were also postponed because of the COVID-19 crisis from February 28 to April 25.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are set to co-host the show virtually from opposite coasts, a first for the awards show.

According to Variety, Tina will broadcast from atop New York City's Rockefeller Center, in the Rainbow Room, while Amy will fulfil her co-hosting duties from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, where the awards show is usually held.

The 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards will air live Sunday, February 28 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on NBC.

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
All three governments have defended these actions as emergency measures necessary to accelerate the production and distribution of vaccines. That explanation may seem inadequate to some, but doing this is legal, and regulators in the West also cut corners for the same reason (though with more transparency).

And now there are significant data about the reliability of the Chinese and Russian vaccines. (Its still too early to tell for Covaxin.) Trial results in the U.A.E. in early December placed the efficacy of the Sinopharm vaccine at 86 percent; others, in China, at 79 percent.

A note, too, about what these efficacy numbers really measure and mean. Confusion over that has created doubts about vaccines  though about some vaccines more than others.

Take Sinovacs, and what appear to be conflicting results about its performance: 91 percent efficacy in trials in Turkey, 65 percent in trials in Indonesia and 50.4 percent in trials in Brazil. That last finding promptly made international headlines, even though researchers at the Butantan Institute, the state-run center in Sao Paulo that conducted those trials, pointed out at the same time that the vaccine had scored a 78 percent efficacy rate in preventing mild-to-severe cases of Covid-19.

We talked to Ricardo Palacios, the clinical research medical director at the Butantan Institute, in late January, and he told us that the trials had deliberately been designed as a stress test. They were conducted exclusively among health care workers directly taking care of Covid-19 patients, he said. (The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine trials included some health care workers and other individuals at high risk, but not just.) And when you study a pool of subjects with much greater exposure to infection, a vaccine is likely to appear to perform less well. The Butantan Institutes trials also defined what counted as a symptom of Covid-19 much more broadly than did other trials.

The protocols for trials vary, in other words, even for the same vaccine. Considering that, now imagine the potential for differences among results from trials for various vaccines  differences that may reveal as much about the trialss designs as the vaccines performance.
As the farmer agitation expanded further with big turnouts at Mahapanchayats in last few days and farmer unions threatening a blockade of national highways on Saturday, the government went ballistic against the Opposition, accusing it of doing "Khoon Ki Kheti" and asserting that farmer unions and the Opposition parties had failed to point out a single flaw in the three new farm laws.

While the battle of barbs between the government and the Opposition reached a flashpoint in the Rajya Sabha on the last day of the second week of the Budget session, a show of Opposition unity could also be visible on Monday when Prime Minister Narendra will reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in the House. BJP has issued a three-line whip to all its members to be present in the House.

Read | Tomar defends farm laws; says Opposition couldn't point out shortcomings

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who rued "nobody is ready to tell what is wrong in these" (koi batane ko taiyar nahin isme kaala kya hai) when the agri laws were being called black laws, went hammer and tongs against the Opposition in the Upper House.

On day 72 of farmer protest that showed signs of further consolidation with the Mahapanchayats in support of them in two BJP-ruled states  Haryana and UP  besides the nerve centre of protest  Congress-ruled Punjab, the Agriculture Minister said protests over farm laws are "limited to only one state" and farmers are being instigated. He also sought to make it clear that the "government's offer to amend them to assuage farmers' sentiments did not mean they had any flaws".

"For two months I kept asking farmer unions what is kala in the laws so that I can try to rectify. But I could not get the answer," he said.

Apparently referring to the release of booklet titled Kheti Ka Khoon, finding fault with the three contentious agri laws by Congress earlier, Tomar slammed the main Opposition party saying, "Khoon se kheti sirf Congress hi kar sakte hai, BJP khoon se kheti nahi kar sakti (Only Congress do farming with blood on their hands, not the BJP)."

Such hyperboles have flown between the two parties during the current farmer protest as well as in the past.

Two days ago, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh cited Operation Blue Star and threat from Pakistan as he pressed for early resolution of farm issues while Congress MP in Rajya Sabha Pratap Singh Bajwa barricades erected at a farmers' protest site with the Berlin Wall and war prison and scenes in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and Uganda. BJP on Wednesday said the Opposition should not make farmers' protest another Shaheen Bagh, referring to last year's anti-CAA protest that had lasted for over 100 days.

Also read: Not the India Gandhi envisaged: Opposition compares barricades at farmers' protest with Berlin Wall

In October 2016, Rahul Gandhi had accused the Modi government of doing "Khoon Ki Dalali" with soldiers' lives after the surgical strike. In 2014, Sonia Gandhi had accused the BJP of doing "Zeher Ki Kheti (farming poison) and in 2007 she had made the "Maut Ka Saudagar' (merchant of death) barb against Modi.

Opposition parties have failed to point out a single flaw in three new farm laws, Tomar insisted peasants of just one state are being misinformed and instigated. Union minister K J Alphons said farmer leader Rakesh Tikait cannot get away by shedding tears after the violence during their tractor parade.

Insisting that hoisting a religious flag at the Red Fort was "treason", Alphons said, "if you are leading an agitation Mr Tikait, and you tell people to take rods with you and then you finally shed tears and say sorry 'I didn't know'. Get a backbone".

Also Read | BJP asks Oppn to not make farmers' stir 'Shaheen Bagh'

BJP Vice President Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe asked "Where is the arrogance" in the government when it is ready to talk even after offering to put the agri laws in abeyance for 18 months and farmer unions even rejecting that? "People in support of the laws can also sit on dharna, do we want a civil war?" he asked as he stressed that the Modi government does not work on populism.

The BJP leaders defended the farm laws and listed out initiatives of the Modi government for farmers to project the government as farmer-friendly.

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Brian Shupe is executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of the Brattleboro Reformer.
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Space! It holds the promise of riches beyond our wildest dreams -- solar systems bursting with precious resources ripe for the taking. Just the idea of such prizes has set off a frenzied rush by global business entrepreneurs to claim stakes in this new frontier.

The private sector has increasingly pushed aside governments and their contractors in a frenzied bid to develop commercial space exploration. At the same time, using all their cost-cutting prowess to reduce the cost of putting people and objects into orbit, and that is only the first step.

This year, for example, there are three separate missions to Mars, which are scheduled to arrive in February. The Emirates Mars Mission is due to arrive next week on Feb. 9. Its task is to study weather cycles and the Mars atmosphere overall. A Taiwanese spacecraft will touch down two days later. Its orders are to map the surface of the Red Planet, do atmospheric tests, and launch a rover that will search for signs of life. Finally, a week later, on Feb. 18, NASA will land another rover on Mars' Jezero Crater to collect soil samples, rocks, and hopefully return to earth with its treasures.

While all of this may send our blood racing and hearts pumping, the more mundane business of turning a profit in this fledgling industry is centered on the transportation side of commercial space. The budding business is built upon the bet that more and more companies will want to fill the skies with much-improved, (and cheaper) nanosatellites constellations, that will allow greatly expanded communications, imaging, and the use of scientific instruments to measure everything from temperature to energy consumption.

Over the next few years, an entirely new fleet of private sector rocket companies with names such as Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Alen, Astra, and Rocket Lab, are hoping to launch daily rockets laden with thousands of pounds of satellites into orbit for commercial and government use.

SpaceX, the company founded by electric vehicle pioneer, Elon Musk, is the front runner in this race for space. Last year, SpaceX launched astronauts to the International Space Station twice and is scheduled to do it again this year. If all goes as planned, expectations are that SpaceX will become the successor to the U.S. government's former space shuttle program.

The company also planned to fly a mission for a Texas-based company that has purchased a trip for a crew of four tourists to the space station. Could this be a forerunner of a sort of private sector cruise line into space?

Although none of these ventures have yet to make a profit, stock investors anxiously await their debut as public companies. Virgin Galactic, the only pure play in space, has seen a doubling of its stock price in the last six months, but it is not the only public company involved in the industry. Aerospace giants Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are also major players in this arena. Additionally, there is also an exchange traded fund (ETF), the Procure Space ETF, (symbol UFO) that is widely traded, which has gained 33% in price during the last three months.

Another space rocket startup, Astra, is planning to go public using a blank check company, or Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation (SPAC), in the near future, worth a $2.1 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Space tug company, Momentus, founded in 2017 by Russian-born, Mikhail Kokorich, is also planning to go public via a SPAC, Stable Road Acquisition Corp, in a $1.2 billion transaction this year.

In addition, Ark Investment funds CEO, Cathie Wood, is also planning to launch a new space-focused ETF to join her stable of seven successful disruptive technologies ETFs.

Critics of the space boom point to the fact that all these companies are losing money. The likelihood of profits, they say, could be years away (if ever). Space bulls argue that early investments in electric vehicles was derided with the same arguments, and look what happened to those with the courage and vision to risk their capital.

For the people attracted to investing in some version of tomorrow's Starfleet, be forewarned that it will require an enormous amount of patience, an extended time horizon, and possibly as much volatility as the Millennium Falcon's frequent jumps into Hyperspace.

As for me, color me Buzz Lightyear, since I am already convinced that "infinity and beyond" could be the future of space investment.
An Army investigation into the command climate of 1st Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, has found that the Fort Bliss, Texas, unit was suffering from low morale before one of its soldiers disappeared seven months ago.

Fort Bliss commander Maj. Gen. Sean Bernabe ordered the two-month AR 15-6 investigation to gain insight on the unit's leadership and the treatment of its soldiers prior to the July 2020 disappearance of Pvt. Richard Halliday.

Investigators interviewed 52 soldiers from the command and analyzed data from four separate command climate surveys.

Read Next: Andrews Air Force Base Intruder Managed to Board a C-40 Transport Aircraft

The Jan. 22 findings concluded that the high operational tempo of the unit's training and deployment cycle "placed remarkable stress on the soldiers in the unit," according to a Fort Bliss statement released Friday.

After returning home from a deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in August 2019, the unit soon began an intense training cycle to prepare for a December 2020 deployment back to the Middle East, according to the statement. The unit is currently deployed.

"It is my assessment that the battalion is tired," the investigating officer, who is not named, stated in a redacted version of the investigation report, describing how the high operational tempo -- combined with the stress of operating during the COVID-19 pandemic -- slowly wore down the soldiers' morale.

"These conditions drove the soldiers of the battalion to have low morale and feel under-appreciated," the report states.

The investigation, however, found no evidence of toxic leadership or maltreatment of soldiers.

"There was no evidence that the battalion engaged in counterproductive, destructive and/or toxic leadership," according to the report.

AR 600-100 states that counterproductive leadership can take different forms, ranging from incompetence to abusiveness and can include bullying, distorting information, refusing to listen to subordinates and abusing authority, the report states. For counterproductive leadership to become toxic, it must continue over time and affect a unit's performance.

"None of these conditions were demonstrated from any of the sworn statements or evidence collected over the period of this investigation," according to the investigation report.

Halliday was last seen on July 23 before 6 p.m. and was listed as Absent Without Leave, or AWOL, when he didn't show up for duty.

Halliday's mother, Patricia, said she and her husband Rob last talked to their son on July 23. Since his disappearance, Halliday's parents have created a "Find Richard Halliday" Facebook page.

In a 45-minute video posted Jan. 31, Halliday's mother criticizes leaders at Fort Bliss for not calling her on a regular basis.

"Can you imagine first sergeants and captains not wanting to talk about Ricard, their soldier?" Patricia Halliday said in the video. "The first sergeant called once, said he'd call every two weeks. I never heard from him again, but when I called him, he said, 'No.' He was unwilling to talk to me. Why are they afraid of me? I'm not doing anything. I'm not threatening anybody. ... I just want to know where Richard is and what happened to Richard."

Since Halliday's disappearance, Fort Bliss has assigned a legal adviser and a casualty assistance officer to his parents, base spokeswoman Lt. Col. Allie Payne, told Military.com, adding that the Hallidays speak to Bernabe, the base commander, on a regular basis.

Halliday's mother told Military.com that Bernabe briefed them on the investigation, but they are waiting to receive a copy of it.

"The briefing was a mockery," she said, adding that she doubted that "everything was OK" with Halliday's unit.

She questioned the fairness of her son's punishment for an Article 15 he received in April for "patterns of misconduct," which involved underage drinking at age 20 and disobeying orders. She said he was made to perform extra duty in "full-battle rattle" or combat equipment for 45 days.

The investigation found that the unit did not conduct extra duty in "any extreme that was outside the guidance in AR 27-10," which governs military justice.

The unit did require soldiers on extra duty to be equipped with their ballistic helmet, body armor, chemical protective mask and gloves, a uniform that "some have considered to be improper," but the "intent was that the extra duty 'sucked' and was an additional deterrent to help other soldiers choose to not violate regulations," according to the investigation report.

Based on the investigation, Bernabe ordered the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Bliss to "reexamine" the operational tempo for "specific units," which were not identified in the redacted report. He also ordered that the leadership of the 1-43rd develop and distribute a "sustainable readiness model" and training plan prior to redeployment from the Middle East, according to the report.

Army Criminal Investigation Command at Bliss is offering a $25,000 reward for credible information on Halliday's disappearance.

In December, the Army created a new classification system for missing soldiers in response to an independent review of Fort Hood, Texas, ordered by senior leaders after the disappearance and murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen. The new policy is designed to create greater urgency to find soldiers when they fail to report for duty.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to remove an incorrect characterization of the investigation.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: Fort Bliss Widens Search for Missing Soldier as Case Details Change
Celebrated San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardins is no longer overseeing the menus at Arguello and the Commissary, two restaurants housed in historic buildings in the Presidio.

Des Jardins said Thursday the decision to end the partnership with Bon Appetit Management Company and the Presidio Trust, which owns the properties, was due to a change in the leasing structure.

"The Presidio Trust decided to change the leasing deal and didnt want to go forward with the previous structure we had," said the James Beard Award-winning, French-trained California chef. "Obviously there were other circumstances due to COVID but at the end of the day that was the driver."

The Presidio Trust confirmed in a statement it's transitioning to a new leasing structure and is seeking new tenants to reopen the restaurants as soon as possible. The trust owns the restaurant names and it's unknown whether these will carry over in new partnerships.

"We look forward to expanding food offerings for our park visitors when the pandemic eases," the Presidio Trust said in a statement. "Future opportunities include two restaurants at the brand new Presidio Tunnel Tops which opens in October."

The trust also ended its partnership with Des Jardins and Presidio Foods Catering and is announcing a new partner next week that it said will "serve its venues and catering customers in the current pipeline and for the future."

Both Arguello and the Commissary opened in the Presidio National Park in 2014 and have been closed since the city of San Francisco issued a stay-at-home order in March 2020. Des Jardins said the two restaurants and catering business employed about 200 staff.

Arguello served Mexican specialties drawing from Des Jardins' heritage in the converted officers club at the Presidio, and Commissary specialized in Spanish-influenced California cuisine.

Des Jardins said she plans to reopen Public House, which she operates in partnership with Bon Appetit, at Oracle Park and School Night, the cocktail bar in the Dogpatch.

"I have another project in the works," said Des Jardins, who competed on season 3 of "Top Chef: Masters." "Im not ready to talk about it."

Des Jardins bid farewell to her flagship restaurant, the elegant Jardiniere, in 2019; the Hayes Valley establishment helped define a new style of fine dining in San Francisco when it first opened in 1997, according to the New York Times.

Berkshire Eagle reports on Middle School Fairs in Berkshire County

iBerkshires coverage of the 2019 Region I High School Science and Engineering Fair at MCLA

Berkshire STEM Pipeline and its partners participated in the first annual MA STEM Week during the third week of October, 2018. See coverage here, here, and here

Northeast Public Radio covers BCC STEM Program open houses for STEM Week including MassTeach, a joint STEM Educator initiative with Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Berkshire Eagle reports on the inaugural year of the Girl's Inc. Eureka! summer science program, which was in part supported by MCLA and the STEM Pipeline, August 3rd, 2018

iBerkshires coverage of the 2018 Region I High School Science & Engineering Fair at MCLA

Berkshire Eagle reports on the South County STEM initiative from Pipeline partner, Berkshire Museum.

Berkshire Eagle highlights area third-graders getting the college experience at MCLA

Berkshire Eagle reports on the 11th Annual Berkshire STEM Career Fair at BCC, November 17th, 2017

Berkshire Eagle reports on "Eureka!", a new STEM program for 8th grade girls launched by Girls Inc.

iBerkshires' coverage of Girls Inc.'s "Eureka!" program press conference, November 2, 2017

Berkshire Eagle Coverage of the Region 1 Middle School Science Fair, April 29, 2017

Berkshire Eagle reports two new state network advisory council members

Berkshire County Robotics Challenge, March 25, 2017 in Berkshire Eagle

Berkshire Eagle's article Passion for STEM 2017 Science and Engineering Fair 3/10/17

Berkshire Eagle's article about Mt. Everett's new "Hyperspace" middle school robotics team, 2/19/17

Berkshire Eagle's article MCLA builds better teachers February 8, 2017

STEM Educator's Conference by Flying Cloud 1/12/17 at MCLA photo gallery

STEM Career Fair at BCC 11/19/16 photo gallery

STEM Network Member Flying Cloud Institute in Pittsfield Public Schools November 12, 2016

Bennington Banner's coverage of Teaching to Learn November 9, 2016

Berkshire Eagle's article on Inside the Job Market by Steering Committee member, Heather Boulger

Berkshire Eagle's coverage of 8th Grade Career Fair at MCLA June 3, 2016

Berkshire Eagle's coverage of the Region 1 High School Science Fair on March 11, 2016

Mursion Simulation Lab MCLA article, November 5, 2015

Berkshire Eagle's coverage of the Region 1 Middle School Science Fair on May 2, 2015

Berkshire Eagle's report on Pittsfield High School's Finance Academy students joining an MCLA class on April 15, 2015

Berkshire Eagle's report on Berkshire sixth-graders getting a taste of college at MCLA on April 7, 2015

Berkshire Eagle's report on BCC getting $500,000 grant from Massachusetts Life Sciences Center on March 30, 2015

Berkshire Eagle's report of High school students getting hands on experience at Nuclea Biotechnologies on March 20, 2015

Berkshire Eagle's report on The Western Massachusetts High School Science Fair from March 13, 2015

iBerkshires report on After-School STEM Program for Brayton Elementary from March 5, 2015

Students Publish Research with Professor from December 31, 2014

Berkshire Eagle's coverage of Teaching to Learn program from December 14, 2014

Berkshire Eagle's coverage of "Berkshire Goes to College" from December 2, 2014

NSF Funds Unique Program

STEM student aims to solve problems

Berkshire Eagle's report on the STEM Starter Academy at BCC from September 16, 2014

iBerkshires Report on NSF "Teach to Learn" Grant from September 15, 2014

Berkshire Eagle coverage of the Berkshire Early Learning Lab from July 29, 2014

Berkshire Eagle coverage of summer STEM programs at MCLA from July 15, 2014

iBerkshires coverage of visiting astronauts to MCLA from March 26, 2014

iBerkshires report on the funding of the STEM Pathways Project from February 6, 2013
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A CT photographer took the shot that became the Bernie Sanders mitten meme

by Rob Ryser

Sen. Bernie Sanders sits in the bleachers on Capitol Hill before Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th US President on January 20, 2021, at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. Images)

Newtown native Brendan Smialowski got a taste of fame after the inauguration when his infamous photo of Bernie Sanders became a viral meme.

Its totally been taken out of the context of journalism, said Smialowski, 40, who has covered four presidents and two wars. But Im happy people are having fun with the image.

Fun doesnt do the meme justice in some cases. The image of Sanders trying to keep warm on a folding chair at the Capitol has been superimposed everywhere from a Bob Ross painting to The Last Supper. Read more.
Since Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat, took to Instagram Live on Monday to describe what the Jan. 6 riot was like from inside the Capitol complex, critics have claimed that she wasnt where she said she was, or that she couldnt have experienced what she described from her location.

These claims are false.

While Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was not in the main, domed Capitol building when the rioters breached it, she never said she was. She accurately described being in the Cannon House Office Building, which is part of the Capitol complex and is connected to the main building by tunnels.

In her livestream, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez recalled hiding in a bathroom and thinking she was going to die as unknown people entered her office and shouted, Where is she? They turned out to be Capitol Police officers who had not clearly identified themselves, and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said so on Instagram. She did not claim that they were rioters  only that, from her hiding spot, she initially thought they were.

During the riot, reporters wrote on Twitter that the Cannon building was being evacuated because of credible threats, and that Capitol Police officers were running through the hallways and entering offices just as Ms. Ocasio-Cortez described.
BEDFORD, NS / ACCESSWIRE / February 5, 2021 / (TSXV:SSE) - Silver Spruce Resources, Inc. ("Silver Spruce" or the "Company") is pleased to announce another step forward in its ongoing exploration programs on the El Mezquite and Jackie properties with the signing of an airborne survey contract with Eagle Mapping Ltd. ("Eagle Mapping") of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.

"Silver Spruce is adding to its growing digital database for the El Mezquite and Jackie exploration properties while advancing our active Phase 1 mapping and sampling programs. The new LiDAR data will enhance 2D and 3D spatial interpretation of the historical and current geological and structural information to support initial drill program design at El Mezquite", said Greg Davison, Silver Spruce VP Exploration. "Our early prospecting reports from Jackie (see image below) point to a similar alteration style to El Mezquite and we are identifying pristine targets for planned Phase 2 detailed mapping studies upon receipt of analytical data from ALS Global".

Early stage prospecting at Jackie showing extensive silicification, argillic and oxide alteration

The Company has retained Eagle Mapping Ltd. ("Eagle Mapping") to carry out a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey over the El Mezquite and Jackie properties. Eagle Mapping will collect LiDAR data and aerial photography at a minimum density of 8 ppm with expected accuracies of 15 cm in the vertical and 30 cm in the horizontal. Colour aerial photography will be orthorectified to the LiDAR base earth model with a 12 cm pixel resolution. Digital elevation (DEM) and digital surface models (DSM) with contours at 1 metre will be generated. The LASer (LAS) point cloud with classified bare earth and metadata final report will be contained in the deliverables. The LAS format is an open binary file format designed for the interchange and archiving of LiDAR point cloud data and regarded as an industry standard for LiDAR data.

The Eagle Mapping aircraft will mobilize from Abbotsford, British Columbia upon receipt of all international flight permits. The survey flights will be based from Yuma, Arizona and should be completed by mid-February 2021.

Eagle Mapping has more than 30 years of Aerial Mapping experience and flown LiDAR surveys from Alaska to Chile for clients associated with Mining, Forestry, Engineering, Ecological and First Nations sectors. They specialize in Aerial LiDAR and air photo collection and processing, and own state of the art LiDAR collection equipment including the RIEGL VQ-780i, LMS-Q1560 and LMS-Q780 using the most sophisticated software to process LiDAR data.

GeoDigital Imaging de Mexico S.A. de C.V. ("GeoDigital") has been retained to compile the Company's El Mezquite and Jackie GIS data and prepare digital base maps for geographical, geological, geochemical and geophysical information including the upcoming LiDAR data.

GeoDigital, based in Hermosillo since 2008, provides the highest international quality standards in geological consulting, satellite imagery and geographic information systems, resource estimation and 3D modelling, topography and digital elevation models, geology and software training.

Exploration Update

Exploration at the El Mezquite property has identified historical artisanal mining, multiple zones of brecciation, silicification and silicate-oxide-sulphate-clay alteration, coincident high chargeability anomalies, and discrete geochemical and structural trends, containing broad areas of elevated precious metal values. The Company's prospecting team has completed two field stints of two weeks duration each on the property with the completion of the planned six week Phase 1 program expected in late February (Press release August 12, 2020). The initial exploration sample data and geochemical analyses are being compiled for interpretation and will be provided shortly.

The Jackie property, located 2 km to the southeast along the general geological strike of the belt, has seen very little, if any, structured exploration. Early prospecting summary reports show areas of intense alteration and brecciation similar to those observed at El Mezquite. The Company's prospecting team has been active on the property for more than three weeks of the planned one-month Phase 1 program to mid-February (Press release January 18, 2021) and initial exploration results will be provided when available.

Project Geology and Location

Silver Spruce's El Mezquite and Jackie Projects are located within the western portion of the Sierra Madre Occidental Volcanic Complex within the prominent northwest-trending "Sonora Gold Belt" of northern Mexico and parallel to the precious metals-rich Mojave-Sonora Megashear.

The 180-ha El Mezquite Au property, a drill-ready project, and the 1,130-ha Jackie Au-Ag property, an early-stage project, both are located approximately 175 km east-southeast of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. The Properties are situated only two kilometres apart in the N-S direction and approximately six kilometres northwest of the Nicho deposit currently under mine development by Minera Alamos.

Other nearby large operating mines include Alamos Gold's Los Mulatos gold mine and Agnico Eagle's La India gold mine located 50-60 km to the northeast, Agnico Eagle's Pinos Altos Mine, 95 km southeast and Argonaut's La Colorada Mine, 100 km to the west.

Exploration is very active, with adjacent and nearby properties reported to be held by Minera Alamos, Newmont, Garibaldi, Evrim, Kootenay Silver and Penoles.

Left - Map of the Sierra Madre Occidental with property locations

Right - Silicification and hematite overprint at the El Mezquite property

The known mineralization commonly consists of disseminated gold hosted in strongly argillized and moderately silicified andesite rocks, typical to the Sierra Madre geological model of the principal deposits. There are at least four hydrothermally altered, oxidized zones at El Mezquite (see image above) trending north to northwest though the major trend of mineralization identified by previous rock sampling has been reported as NE-SW. The highest values of gold and silver reported on El Mezquite are 3.41 g/t Au and 198 g/t Ag. No historical data has been recovered for the Jackie property.

Qualified Person

Greg Davison, PGeo (BC), Vice-President Exploration & Director, is the Company's internal Qualified Person (QP) and is responsible for the technical content of this press release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), under TSX guidelines.

About Silver Spruce Resources Inc.

Silver Spruce Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company which has signed Definitive Agreements to acquire 100% of the Melchett Lake Zn-Au-Ag project in northern Ontario, and with Colibri Resource Corp. in Sonora, Mexico, to acquire 50% interest in Yaque Minerales S.A de C.V. holding the El Mezquite Au project, a drill-ready precious metal project, and 50% interest in Colibri's early stage Jackie Au project, with both properties located <10 kilometres west from Minera Alamos's Nicho deposit. The Company also is pursuing exploration of the drill-ready and fully permitted Pino de Plata Ag project, located 15 kilometres west of Coeur Mining's Palmarejo Mine, in western Chihuahua, Mexico. Silver Spruce Resources Inc. continues to investigate opportunities that Management has identified or that have been presented to the Company for consideration.

Contact:

Silver Spruce Resources Inc.

Brian Penney, Chairman and CEO

(902) 430-8270

info@silverspruceresources.com www.silverspruceresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements," Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to, statements regarding the private placement.

Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate.

SOURCE: Silver Spruce Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/628051/Silver-Spruce-signs-Contract-for-Eagle-Mapping-LiDAR-Survey-and-provides-Exploration-Update-on-El-Mezquite-and-Jackie-Au-Ag-Properties-Sonora-Mexico


In 2018 a Hindi film entertained everyone and took away awards for its quirky content. After regaling us with Badhaai Ho, Junglee Pictures have decided for a sequel and it's called Badhaai Do. The film stars Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar in lead roles and the actors have been shooting for it in Mussoorie and Dehradun for the past one month.



Today in Bombay Times, we have the team speaking to us about the film and their experience on working on this crazy film. Rajkummar Rao and Bhumi Pednekar who have been such talented actors are working together for the first time in this flick.



Talking about it, Rajkummar Rao says, Working with Bhumi is great. She is immensely talented and Ive been following her work. There is so much growth in her as an actor. I was looking forward to working with her and I was not finding a good script. Thencame our way and we both jumped at the chance.



Bhumi Pednekar too sings praises about her co-star and is glad that she got a chance to work with him, Raj has been a revelation for me. I thought he would be someone whos very serious and a bit of an introvert, but hes not like that  at least not in this film. He is a blast to work with and a fantastic actor. Both of us were looking for the right film to collaborate on, and there couldnt have been a better collaboration than 'Badhaai Do'.





The film is directed by Harshvardhan Kulkarni who says that both his actors are hard-working and both try to fine-tune their performances. While Rajkummar Rao plays a cops role in it named Shardul Thakur, Bhumi Pednekar plays the role of a PT Teacher  Suman Singh aka Sumi.
On 10 November 2020, the first wave of people from Ethiopia started to arrive Sudan. As of 25 November, UNHCR has registered 42,000 arrivals but the number is likely higher, as many have not been registered.

Geneva  Three months into the conflict in northern Ethiopia's Tigray region, the humanitarian response remains severely constrained, and the biggest problem facing those seeking to provide food aid is access into the countryside, the United Nations said Friday.

"The main reason is that we simply cannot reach most of the people in need. Also, we have not yet received the clearances to move the necessary staff into Tigray," said Jens Laerke, Geneva spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), speaking at a Geneva press briefing.

Babar Baloch from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, added, "The situation is extremely grave in Tigray and hundreds of thousands of people need life-saving assistance." He added that many people have been caught in crossfire, especially those in two Eritrean refugee camps in the northern parts of Tigray which are to between 15,000 and 20,000 people.

"Some said they had resorted to eating leaves because there was no other food available. They also spoke about the infiltration of armed actors in the camps, of killings, abductions and also some forced returns to Eritrea at the hands of Eritrean forces present in the area," said Baloch.

The conflict began after heavy fighting in November between federal government troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which is dominant in the region and was the main force in a previous government in Addis Ababa.

UN agencies, humanitarian groups and journalists have had their access to the Tigray region restricted or blocked since the fighting began.

Tigrayans make up just over seven per cent of some 114 million people in Africa's second-most populous nation.

Access to food

The main problem in Tigray currently is getting food to people whose crops were ravaged earlier this year by an invasion of locusts.

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"The needs of those on the ground are dire and growing for about 2.3 million people. That includes those who needed assistance before the conflict," said Laerke.

"But access remains for the most part limited to people living in the towns along the main roads from the regional capital Mekelle towards Shire, which is controlled by federal government forces."

Laerke said that incoming cargo is less of a problem where it is warehoused in Mekelle, the Tigray regional capital.

"The problem is access, both to get into Tigray in the first place and also getting from Mekelle into the countryside where most of the people in need are," he said.

Laerke said the UN is encouraged that recent high-level visits have resulted in productive exchanges with the Ethiopian authorities.

"And they do understand the potential for further deterioration should humanitarian needs continue to go unmet."

On Friday, UN agencies such as OCHA and UNHCR renewed their appeals for aid access to all areas in Tigray.

High-level efforts to avert a humanitarian disaster in Tigray included a visit by UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi earlier this week, when he met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, among others.
(The Conversation) A well-worn joke in American Jewish culture goes like this. A Jewish immigrant landed at Ellis Island in New York. The procedures were confusing, and he was overwhelmed by the commotion. When one of the officials asked him What is your name? he replied, Shayn fergessen, which in Yiddish means Ive already forgotten. The official then recorded his name as Sean Ferguson.

Today, members of many white ethnic groups  including Jews, Italians and Poles  believe that insensitive or ignorant Ellis Island officials changed their families names when they arrived in the U.S. to make them sound more American.

But there is actually much more evidence demonstrating that Jews and members of other white ethnic groups changed names on their own. In the research for my book, I looked at legal name change petitions in New York City throughout the 20th century showing that thousands of Jewish immigrants and their children indeed changed their own names.

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As American Jews celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month in May, it is worth revisiting where and why the portrait of coercive Ellis Island name changing emerged.

No evidence in popular literature

Historians Marian Smith and Vincent Cannato argue convincingly that insensitive Ellis Island officials did not forcibly change immigrants names. In fact, immigration procedures did not typically include the question What is your name? Bureaucrats simply checked immigrants names to make sure they matched the names already listed on ships passenger lists.

Evidence from popular literature further supports their argument. Between 1892 and 1920, when thousands of immigrants passed through the immigration station on Ellis Island each day, there were no descriptions of Ellis Island name changing in popular magazines or books. And even after immigration slowed significantly in the 1920s, popular books and magazines for the next four decades did not typically describe Ellis Island officials changing immigrant names.

During this period, popular literature explored a variety of relevant topics such as the origins and usage of names, the social psychology of name changing, Jewish humor and Jewish immigration, but none addressed name changing at Ellis Island.

Indeed, one 1969 Jewish humor book even told a joke with the Sean Ferguson punchline. But the joke was about a Yiddish actor who went to California to become a movie star. All through the train ride, he worked on memorizing a stage name, only to forget it when he came face to face with an imposing Hollywood producer.

Cultural changes of the 60s and 70s

It was not until the 1970s that the image of Ellis Island name changing took hold of the American imagination. One popular 1979 book about Ellis Island and the immigrant experience, for example, described officials who were casual and uncaring on the matter of names.

Francis Ford Coppolas 1974 film The Godfather, Part II featured an insensitive immigration officer giving young Vito Corleone his name.

What Id like to argue is that the culture of the late 1960s and 1970s shaped these portraits of Ellis Island name changing. After the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act eliminated the discriminatory immigration quotas that had restricted immigration from southern and eastern Europe, American popular culture began to tell new stories that valorized the success of immigrants from those very regions.

Ellis Island itself  where Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 act  transformed in the public mind from a set of abandoned buildings to a prominent symbol of European immigrants struggles and triumphs.

The late 1960s and 1970s also witnessed significant challenges to the authority of the United States government: The Pentagon Papers showed that the government had misled the American people, as the U.S. committed more and more troops to Vietnam. Persistent racial inequality exploded in riots in cities throughout the country. And the Watergate scandal exposed criminality and obstruction of justice at the highest levels of government.

Portraits of involuntary name changing at Ellis Island fit both with the islands new prominence as a symbol of immigration, and with growing distrust of government authority.

Name changing a betrayal of family values?

Ellis Island name changing also fit another emerging theme in American culture in the 1970s: a quest for authenticity. Historian Matthew Frye Jacobson has documented the quest of many white ethnic groups during this era, including Jews, to seek authentic culture to bolster their ethnic identities.

With films like The Godfather and Hester Street, which portrayed the challenges immigration posed for one young Jewish family in New York, American culture turned to the Old World  the European countries from which white immigrants had immigrated  as a source for family values and communal integrity. And within this context, changing names seemed like a betrayal of family, community and identity.

From the 1970s through the 1990s, novels, films and plays that portrayed Jewish life, such as Wendy Wassersteins play Isnt It Romantic? and Barry Levinsons movie, Avalon, represented name changers as phonies or sellouts.

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Although Jews were not the only ones to experience this longing for authenticity, my research suggests they changed their names in disproportionate numbers compared with other groups in response to American anti-Semitism.

In a culture that had begun to embrace the Old World as a source of authentic values, the fact that their parents and grandparents voluntarily changed their own names from their original Jewish ones may have been painful for many American Jews to accept. Blaming insensitive government officials at Ellis Island for erasing Jewish names was a much easier task.

But this emphasis upon Ellis Island only obscured the complicated reasons why Jews actually changed their own names.

The Sean Ferguson joke is thus more than a simple joke. It illustrates the ways that Jewish people have struggled, and continue to struggle, with their identity in America. It shows how hard it is to grapple with the past, but also how important that grappling is.
The countrys largest business network is calling on the federal government to extend powers introduced alongside its $90 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme that let struggling businesses cut staff hours as part of its proposed industrial relations overhaul.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry argues the governments IR bill, introduced to Parliament in December as a key plank of its plans to help the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic, will generally be good for jobs and businesses.

Employers and unions are trying to sway crossbench senators Pauline Hanson, Stirling Griff (left) and Rex Patrick on industrial relations. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

But it wants businesses in struggling industries and regions, such as tourist providers starved of international guests, to be allowed to maintain for the foreseeable future the ability to reduce staff hours, which is set to finish along with JobKeeper at the end of March.

And it believes the government should clarify the circumstances in which companies dealing with a short-term crisis will be allowed to strike pay agreements that leave some workers worse off to counter Labor and union claims that the provision is a major attack on worker rights.
Hong Kong: Hong Kong has unveiled controversial guidelines for schools that include teaching students as young as six about foreign interference and subversion as part of a new national security curriculum.

The Chinese government imposed the new security law in June 2020 in response to months of often violent anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019, bringing the global financial hub more firmly on an authoritarian path.

The new Education Bureau guidelines show Beijings plans for semi-autonomous Hong Kong go beyond quashing dissent, and aim for a societal overhaul to bring the city more in line with the Communist Party-ruled mainland.

A new patriotic education curriculum will teach children in Hong Kong about preserving Chinese national security. Credit:AP

National security is of great importance. Teachers should not treat it as if it is a controversial issue for discussion as usual, the guidelines said.
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Significant chunks of money spent in key 2020 Senate races  including Kelly Loeffler's in Georgia  came from nonprofits and companies with little online footprint and no trace of their own financial benefactors, new disclosure filings show.

Why it matters: The 2020 cycle was the most expensive in the nation's history, by far, and an unprecedented amount of spending came from groups that don't disclose their donors. The Biden administration is under pressure to step up enforcement against such groups, and these new financials will only increase that.

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What's new: Federal Election Commission filings submitted Thursday show that two obscure corporate donors gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a group trying to reelect Loeffler, the former appointed Republican senator.

A company called Custom Management Services Inc. donated $160,000 to Georgia United Victory, a super PAC that backed Loeffler. The company's only listed address is a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, law firm, but corporate records indicate it's run by First Financial bank executive Al Heygi.

The nonprofit American Exceptionalism Institute, which does not disclose its donors, gave $200,000 to Georgia United Victory. It also donated $2.5 million to a super PAC backing Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and a Nevada PAC supporting state-level Republicans.

The more than $3.7 million that AEI gave to those three groups from July to October dwarfed its total budget during its prior fiscal year, when it reported raising less than $25,000.

Who provided the millions last year is unknowable because AEI and others are considered "social welfare" groups that are not explicitly political, so they don't face the same disclosure requirements.

Another such group, Florida Promise Inc., listed its address as a Tampa post office box. It gave $1 million in December to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. It appears to be the group's first-ever federal political contribution.

The big picture: According to the Center for Responsible Politics, "dark money" groups had as of late in the cycle poured more than $750 million into 2020 elections.

Story continues

"Reining in dark money is essential to integrity in government and to a government responsive to the people, not special interests," wrote Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday.

Warren and Whitehouse urged Yellen to step up enforcement against nonprofits used to channel money into political organizations in ways designed to mask the true sources of the funds.

The phenomenon is not confined to Republican groups.

Biden himself enjoyed record support from high-dollar groups that shielded donor information from the public.

Democrats in general benefited from a spike in dark money backing during the 2020 cycle.

The bottom line: Democrats have railed against dark money for years. But each filing that shows more undisclosed cash in the system is another talking point in their favor now that they control the levers of power in Washington.

Editor's note: this story has been updated to note Heygi's ties to Custom Management Services.

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The decision by the High Court that four pub owners are entitled to business interruption compensation from their insurer due to the Covid-19 pandemic is warmly welcomed by the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), the 1,100 publicans who are FBD customers and the wider pub sector.

VFI Chief Executive Padraig Cribben says: This High Court decision is the first good news the 1,100 publicans who are FBD customers have received since the crisis began last March. Publicans took out business interruption cover with FBD in good faith and the decision by the insurance company to challenge that cover caused huge distress for our members at a time when they were at their most vulnerable.

While the full detail of the courts 214-page decision is still being analysed, we know that publicans with these policies will now be compensated for the losses incurred by the pandemic. A quantum hearing where the amount of compensation will be decided will be held in due course.

It now follows that other insurance companies should review their business interruption claims and begin a process of working with publicans to ensure adequate compensation is provided for the interruption of their businesses.

The High Court this morning ruled that four pub owners are entitled to be compensated by insurer FBD for the disruption their businesses suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a landmark decision, the outcome of which affects claims made by some 1,000 Irish pubs and restaurants, Mr Justice Denis McDonald found that a policy sold by FBD covered losses the pubs sustained by having to close due to the global health emergency.

The dispute arose after the insurer refused to provide policyholders with cover after the pandemic resulted in the first temporary closure of businesses, in mid-March 2020.

In a lengthy and detailed judgement delivered today, the judge disagreed with FBDs interpretation of its policy.

Judge McDonald said cover is not lost if the closure is prompted by nationwide outbreaks of a disease, provided that there is an outbreak within a 25-mile radius of the premises and that the outbreak is one of the causes of the closure.

The issue of quantifying the losses, the judge said will be dealt with at a later date.

The four test actions were taken by Aberken Ltd, trading as Sinnotts Bar; Hyper Trust Ltd, trading as The Leopardstown Inn; and Inn on Hibernian Way Ltd trading as Lemon & Duke.

The fourth action was taken by Leinster Overview Concepts Ltd the owner of Seans Bar, which is based in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

The publicans challenged FBD Insurance Plcs refusal to indemnify them, as well as the insurers stance that its policies of insurance did not cover the disruption caused to businesses by Covid-19.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 4, 2021) - Austral Gold Limited (ASX: AGD) (TSXV: AGLD) ("Austral") and Revelo Resources Corp. (TSXV: RVL) ("Revelo") are pleased to announce the successful completion of their previously-announced business combination, pursuant to which Austral has acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Revelo by way of a statutory plan of arrangement under the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the "Arrangement"). The Arrangement became effective at 12:01 a.m. (Vancouver Time) on February 4, 2021 resulting in Revelo becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Austral.

"We are grateful for the strong support of Revelo's shareholders and thank Revelo's board of directors, and management of both companies for their hard work on this transaction. The addition of Revelo's assets to our portfolio, including three projects located close to our pre-existing Guanaco/Amancaya mining complex is strategic, and provides us with a leading role in the Paleocene-Eocene Belt in Chile. In addition, we believe this prolific mineralized belt is underexplored for precious metals," said Stabro Kasaneva, Chief Executive Officer of Austral.

Michael Winn, Revelo's Chairman, commented, "We are very pleased to have closed this transaction and wish to thank our shareholders, board of directors and management team for their continued support and for fostering the growth and development of Revelo over the years. We wish Austral the very best with the development of their business moving forward."

Under the terms of the Arrangement, each former shareholder of Revelo is entitled to receive, in exchange for each common share of Revelo (each whole share, a "Revelo Share") held immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement: (i) 0.9184 ordinary shares of Austral, and (ii) C$0.03045715 in cash. To receive the consideration in exchange for their Revelo Shares, registered shareholders of Revelo must complete, sign, date and return the Letter of Transmittal that was mailed to each registered shareholder of Revelo. The Letter of Transmittal is also available (i) from Revelo's depositary, Computershare Trust Company of Canada, that can be contacted by telephone at: 1-800-564-6253 or by e-mail at: corporateactions@computershare.com, or (ii) on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Revelo's issuer profile.

With the Arrangement now complete, Austral intends to cause the Revelo Shares to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange, and Revelo intends to submit an application to the applicable securities regulators to cease to be a reporting issuer and to terminate its public reporting obligations.

Further details regarding the Arrangement are set out in the management information circular of Revelo dated December 21, 2020, which is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Revelo's issuer profile.

Early Warning Reporting

By virtue of its acquisition of all the issued and outstanding Revelo Shares under the Arrangement, Austral is required to file an early warning report pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues. A copy of the Early Warning Report will be filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Revelo's issuer profile.

About Austral

Austral Gold Limited is a growing gold and silver mining, development and exploration company building a portfolio of quality assets in Chile, the USA and Argentina. Austral owns 100% interest in the Guanaco/Amancaya mine in Chile and the Casposo Mine (care and maintenance) in Argentina, and a 26.46% interest in the Rawhide Mine in Nevada. In addition, Austral owns an attractive portfolio of exploration projects in the Paleocene Belt in Chile and a 100% interest in the Pinguino project in Santa Cruz, Argentina. Austral Gold Limited is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: AGLD), and the Australian Securities Exchange. (ASX: AGD). For more information, please consult Austral's website at (www.australgold.com).

About Revelo

Revelo is a Canadian company incorporated in British Columbia and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: RVL). Revelo has interests in an outstanding portfolio of projects prospective for gold and copper located along proven mineral belts in Chile, one of the world's top mining jurisdictions.

For more information, please visit Revelo's website at www.reveloresources.com.

On behalf of Austral Gold Limited:

"Stabro Kasaneva"

CEO

On behalf of Revelo Resources Corp.:

"Timothy J Beale"

CEO

Release approved by the Chief Executive Officer of Austral Gold Limited, Stabro Kasaneva

For Further Information please contact:

Jose Bordogna

Chief Financial Officer

Austral Gold Limited

jose.bordogna@australgold.com

+54 (11) 4323 7558

Timothy J Beale

President & CEO

Revelo Resources Corp.

+1-604-687-5544

info@reveloresources.com

Ben Jarvis

Director

Austral Gold Limited

info@australgold.com

+61 413 150 448



Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements are statements that are not historical and consist primarily of projections - statements regarding future plans, expectations and developments. Words such as "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "could", "potential", "should", "anticipates", "likely", "believes" and words of similar import tend to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, the benefits of the Arrangement to the shareholders of Austral and Revelo, as the case may be; the future plans and success of Austral; the timing and ability of Austral to cause the Revelo Shares to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange; the timing and ability of Revelo to obtain an order that it has ceased to be a reporting issuer and to terminate its public reporting requirements.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied, including, without limitation, business integration risks; uncertainty of production, development plans and cost estimates, commodity price fluctuations; political or economic instability and regulatory changes; currency fluctuations, the state of the capital markets especially in light of the effects of the novel coronavirus, uncertainty in the measurement of mineral reserves and resource estimates, Austral's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and management, potential labour unrest, reclamation and closure requirements for mineral properties; unpredictable risks and hazards related to the development and operation of a mine or mineral property that are beyond Austral's control, the availability of capital to fund all of Austral's projects and other risks and uncertainties identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in Austral's continuous disclosure documents filed on the ASX and on SEDAR. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Austral and Revelo cannot assure readers that actual events, performance or results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Austral's and Revelo's forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and Austral and Revelo do not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law.

For the reasons set forth above, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73718
File image: Donald Trump has been lying low since his impeachment in January 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

Led by the conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, supporters of Donald Trump have expressed outrage over a recent Washington Post column that argued that the former president shouldn't have a presidential library.

The column, by art and architecture critic Philip Kennicott, called upon the US Congress to deny Mr Trump the customary presidential library and argued that he lacks "focus, administrative savvy and financial resources to execute a presidential center."

Presidential libraries are intended to be apolitical institutions, which gather together documents and artefacts to tell the story of each past administration.

Kennicott's article, which argued that allowing Mr Trump a library would "cause further damage to the country", has received its own share of support and criticism since it was published last week.

"It's a long story, it goes on, it's filled with 'blah, blah, blah.'" Limbaugh said of the piece. "They're deathly afraid that Trump is going to triumphantly return to public life."

Mr Trumps critics are not going to be able to stop this They're not going to be able to stop Trump from having a public life, if he wants it, he said.

The radio host, who in February 2020 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Mr Trump, argued that the former president's impeachment trial was being pursued to discredit any future political statements he might make.

Who are these people to decide whether an ex-president deserves a library or not? If he can raise the money for it, then he can do a library, argued Limbaugh, who has millions of listeners.

On questions related to funds required for the library, the radio host claimed previous libraries of former presidents were funded by Saudi Arabia.

He suggested that Democrats might be jealous because the Clinton library doesnt get many visitors, while a Trump institution would become the biggest tourist attraction in the country.

Story continues

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Obama Foundation announced that after an extensive federal regulatory review, the Obama Presidential Center will break ground on the South Side of Chicago in 2021.

Barack Obama tweeted that he hopes that the center will breathe new life into historic Jackson Park while delivering jobs, growth, and much more to the South Side", adding: "Lets get to work.

Read More

Tacky, tawdry and a project of self-aggrandisement: Will anyone want Trumps presidential library?

Trump 'isn't fit to clean the toilets in the Barack Obama Presidential Library', says USA Today in searing editorial

Obama just unveiled the design for his $500 million presidential library

Vanilla Ice 'asks Trump to build his presidential library in trailer park'




The United Nations Security Council on Thursday (local time) expressed deep concern over the military in and called for the immediate release of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and others leaders who were arbitrarily detained.

The 15-member council, which is the most powerful organisation of the governing body issued a statement on Thursday -- three days after the military seized power in the Southeast Asian country in a and detained top politicians.

"The members of the Security Council expressed deep concern at the declaration of the state of emergency imposed in by the military on 1 February and the arbitrary detention of members of the Government, including State Counsellor and President Win Myint and others. They called for the immediate release of all those detained, the Security Council said in a statement.

It emphasized the need for the continued support of the democratic transition in and further stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.

"The members of the Security Council expressed concern at the restrictions on civil society, journalists and media workers. They also called for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need, including through the re-establishment of United Nations relief flights," the statement added.

Council reiterated their strong support to regional organizations, in particular, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and welcomed the ASEAN Chair's Statement dated 1 February. They also reiterated their support to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar for her good offices.

"The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and unity of Myanmar," the statement read further.

Days after the by Myanmar military, the police on Wednesday charged San Suu Kyi for "illegally" importing at least 10 walkie-talkies.

The New York Times reported an official from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party as confirming that the leader has been charged with an obscure infraction: having illegally imported at least 10 walkie-talkies.

Myanmar's military launched the coup on Monday morning after days of escalating tensions between the government and the military in the aftermath of last November's general elections.

San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) claimed an overwhelming victory in the polls, securing over 80 per cent of the seats, according to media reports. However, the military and some political parties disputed the results, alleging that the polls were marred by irregularities.

According to media reports, the detentions started in the early hours of Monday (local time), with political leaders held in Yangon and other cities across Myanmar, and soldiers said to be out on the streets and at prominent landmarks.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A few months ahead of Assembly elections, the AIADMK government in on Friday announced waiver of Rs 12,110 crore crop loans availed by 16.43 lakh farmers from cooperative banks.

Making the announcement in the state assembly, Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the scheme would come into immediate effect and a Government Order shall be issued while the required financial allocation would be made in the interim budget.

Asserting 'Iam a farmer too,' Palaniswami said it was his first duty to address the grievances of the farming people and ruling party MLAs welcomed his announcement by thunping the desks while the opposition benches were vacant.

The principal opposition party DMK, which staged a walk out ahead of the Governor's address on February 2, had already announced boycott of the session. Assembly elections are likely in April or early May in

The waiver would pave the way for 16.43 lakh farmers to continue cultivation without any hassles, Palaniswami said.

In his reaction, DMK chief M K Stalin said since he has been promising crop loan waiver after his party assumed power, Palaniswami has now made the announcement as the Chief Minister had no other option.

He was addressing a poll campaign in Tuticorin.

Palaniswami has not waived the loan considering the farmers welfare but out of selfishness, eyeing the Assembly elections, Stalin said, adding "people know this very well."



Palaniswami, targeting the DMK, said the party had promised two acres of land to landless farmers in the run up to 2006 Assembly polls, but they could not fulfill the promise and people knew it and it is the truth.

Similarly, during 2019 Lok Sabha polls, leader of opposition and DMK chief Stalin had assured waiver of farmers' crop loans in cooperative societies.

After it won 38 out of 39 constituencies, DMK forgot the promise it made to the people.

"This is the routine they follow during every election," he said, adding the AIADMK was the only party that fulfilled promises. His party gave assurances that could be honoured and also came up with fresh welfare measures, Palaniswami said.

After winning polls and retaining power in 2016, late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had waived Rs 5,318.73 crore farm loans, benefitting 12.02 lakh small and micro farmers. In 2017, his government provided Rs 2,247 crore drought relief to ryots.

Farmers faced travails due to COVID-19, the back to back cyclones Nivar and Burevi last year besides the unseasonal rains that caused heavy damage to crops ready for harvest, he said.

Considering their welfare, crop input assistance of Rs 1,717 crore for 16.43 lakh farmers was ordered and the amount was being credited to their bank accounts directly, he said.

Though this measure would help them, the government wanted to extend further support to help them continue farming. Also, farmers and various farmers associations have been urging the government to waive crop loans considering damage to crops, the Chief Minister said and announced the crop loan waiver.

Ministers and Deputy Speaker Pollachi V Jayaraman hailed the Chief Miniser for the initiative.

Speaker P Dhanapal lauded the move on behalf of the House and MLAs could be seen walking up to Palaniswami to greet and thank him for the crop loan waiver. Some legislators touched his feet and took his blessings.

AIADMK's allies during the Lok Sabha polls, the PMK and DMDK, welcomed the announcement.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Lothar Wieler, the head of Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control, gestures as he speaks during a news conference on the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool via AP)

A more contagious variant of the coronavirus first detected in Britain now accounts for almost 6% of all cases in Germany, officials said Friday.

The head of Germany's disease control agency said labs examined the genome of the virus in more than 30,000 positive samples last week to assess the spread of the variant, known to scientists as B.1.1.7., and two others that were first found in South Africa and Brazil.

"The three variants, particularly B.1.1.7., have arrived in Germany," Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute, told reporters in Berlin. "They're not dominant yet, but we have to reckon that their share will continue to rise, just as it has been reported from other European countries in recent weeks."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the prevalence of new variants of the virus will play a role in discussions between the federal and state governments next week about whether to extend existing lockdown restrictions beyond mid-February.

Wieler said the variant first observed in Britain and now detected in 13 of Germany's 16 states "is more contagious than the existing one, and there are first indications that it can also lead to more serious illnesses."

German Health Minister Jens Spahn gestures as he speaks during a news conference on the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool via AP)

He cautioned that rigorous hygiene measures would need to accompany any moves to reopen schools and kindergartens, as demanded by some senior politicians.

A mass analysis of positive tests registered in France Jan. 27 found 14% are suspected to be the variant identified in Britain, according to data released Thursday by the French public health agency. That was up from 3% in a similar analysis a month ago. In neighboring Belgium, 16% of coronavirus cases since Jan. 16 were linked to the variant, according to Belgium's coronavirus center.

Germany's health minister said that despite concerns about the new variants, there were good signs that lockdown restrictions are slowing the country's outbreak.

For the first time in two months, Germany has fewer than 200,000 people actively infected with the virus, and the weekly number of newly confirmed cases has dropped to 80 per 100,000 inhabitants, Health Minister Jens Spahn said. The government's goal is to push the number of new cases per week below the threshold of 50 for every 100,000 inhabitants.

A member of a mobile vaccination team vaccinates a resident at the Buergerheim retirement and nursing home with the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against the COVID-19 disease in Tuebingen, Germany, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Sebastian Gollnow/dpa via AP)

The addition of a third vaccine made by British-Swedish company AstraZeneca would "make a real difference" to Germany's immunization campaign, Spahn said. The first batches will be delivered to states Friday, he said.

Germany has so far given a first dose of vaccine to about 2.1 million people, compared with about 10.5 million in Britain, which issued emergency authorization quickly and is delaying administering second doses so as many people as possible receive an initial shot.

Spahn said Germany's existing rules on who should be vaccinated first will be amended to account for the fact that, for now, the country will give the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot only to people ages 18-64, due to a lack of data on older age groups. His ministry said the revised rules would not introduce penalties for individuals who skip ahead in the line for vaccines.

Lothar Wieler, the head of Germany's Robert Koch Institute, RKI, for disease control, shows the daily management report of the institute during a news conference on the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Hannibal Hanschke/Pool via AP)

A member of a mobile vaccination team vaccinates an employee at the Buergerheim retirement and nursing home with the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against the COVID-19 disease in Tuebingen, Germany, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Sebastian Gollnow/dpa via AP)

German Health Minister Jens Spahn, right, the President of the Robert Koch Institute Lothar Wieler, center, and Klaus Chichutek, President of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, attends a news conference on the current situation of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)

Patient rights campaigners have demanded that queue-jumpers who get shots while millions are still waiting for theirs should be punished. A hospital director apologized this week for getting vaccinated before doctors and nurses. Some 320 police officers in the eastern county of Stendal received shots out of turn, angering local officials.

Spahn said that all people over 80 and those living or working in nursing homes in Germany will have been offered the vaccines by the end of March.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
If you would like to know more about the Summit Pizza West, LLC lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047.

The San Diego employment law attorneys, at Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC, filed a class action complaint alleging that Summit Pizza West, LLC violated the California Labor Code. The Summit Pizza West, LLC, class action lawsuit, Case No. 37-2021-00001288-CU-OE-CTL, is currently pending in the San Diego Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here.

The complaint alleges Summit Pizza West, LLC engaged in unfair competition in violation of Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code  17200 by failing to: (1) pay minimum and overtime wages; (2) provide meal and rest breaks; (3) reimburse employees for business expenses; (4) provide accurate itemized wage statements; and (5) provide wages when due.

The lawsuit also alleges Summit Pizza West, LLC violated the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which gives rise to civil penalties as a result of Summit Pizza West, LLCs conduct. PAGA authorizes aggrieved employees to file a lawsuit to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for Labor Code violations. PAGA allows aggrieved employees to step into the shoes of California state regulators to recover civil penalties, which means ordinary citizens are deputized as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code.

If you would like to know more about the Summit Pizza West, LLC lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047.

Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC are employment law firms with offices located in San Diego and Los Angeles that dedicate their practices to helping employees and consumers fight back against employers and corporations for unfair employment practices. If you need help regarding wage and hour, wrongful termination, discrimination, and harassment issues in the workplace, contact one of their attorneys today.
Not too long ago, the super power-packed teaser of Maanaadu was released. The intriguing teaser featuring Silambarasan aka Simbu was released on the occasion of the actor's 38th birthday (February 3, 2021).

Well, upon its release, the 1-minute-15-second video received huge appreciation from celebs and netizens alike. In the video, multiple high octane sequences, events and even the opening credits were shown moving in rewind mode that intrigued many. Interestingly, many have now compared the teaser with Christopher Nolan's science fiction action-thriller Tenet. For the uninitiated, Nolan has used the concept of time inversion in the film that allows a person to move backwards in time.

After several comparisons of the teaser with Nolan's time inversion concept, Venkat Prabhu has taken to his social media handle to respond to the same, but with a twist. Stating that he is honoured with the comparison of his film with the popular Hollywood director's Tenet, Venkat tweeted, "I am very honored that people are comparing our #maanaaduteaser with #tenet but unfortunately this ain't connected with it!To be honest even I didn't understand #tenet wait for our trailer! Then u might compare us with some other film!! ;)) #aVPpolitics."

Fans and followers of the Mankatha director are quite amused with the epic reaction and are now waiting for the trailer of the highly anticipated film.

On a related note, produced by Suresh Kamatchi under his production banner V House Productions, Maanaadu features an ensemble cast including Kalyani Priyadarshan, Bharathiraja, SA Chandrasekhar, Karunakaran, Premgi Amaren, Udhaya, Manoj Bharathiraja, Aravind Akash, Daniel Annie Pope and Ravikanth. With music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, the action-entertainer has camera cranked by Richard M Nathan.

Also Read: Maanaadu Teaser Release: Silambarasan Is On 'Rewind' Action Mode!

Also Read: Maanaadu Motion Poster Release On January 14? Will It Be A Double Pongal Treat For Simbu Fans?

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - WestRock Co. (WRK), in its update on ransomware incident, said that it is now systematically bringing its information systems back online in a controlled, phased approach. The company noted that all of its mills and converting locations are producing and shipping paper and packaging. The company's mill system production through February 4 was about 85,000 tons lower than plan, and the packaging converting operations are close to returning to full planned production levels. As a result of ransomware incident, shipments from some of the Company's facilities have lagged production levels. The gap is closing quickly as systems are restored, the company said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


Then-President Donald Trump at the Stop the Steal rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Jenny Jing/The Epoch Times)

Trump Appears to Make First Social Media Post Since Leaving White House

Update: Gab said former President Donald Trump has not created an account on their platform. A description of the account realdonaldtrump says that it is reserved for the 45th President of the United States of America. This account is an uncensored Twitter archive and shares email statements sent by The Office of Donald J. Trump.

Former President Donald Trumps account on the social media website Gab was active this week, in what appeared to be his first post since leaving the White House last month.

The account posted a copy of the letter Trumps lawyers wrote to Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the House of Representatives lead impeachment manager.

In the letter, they rejected his attempt to get Trump to testify in the upcoming impeachment trial.

Requests for comment to Trumps political action committee and his lead impeachment defense lawyer werent immediately returned.

Former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis joined Gab this week. Other current and former advisers are active on the website.

Trump had not posted there since Jan. 8.

On that day, he posted twice, including a notice that he wouldnt be attending the inauguration on Jan. 20. Trump left Washington on Inauguration Day, hours before his rival Joe Biden was sworn into office.

Trump is permanently banned from Twitter for allegedly glorifying violence in the wake of the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Trump accused Twitter of going further and further in banning free speech and coordinating with the Democrats and the Radical Left to silence him and his supporters.

Facebook has also banned Trump indefinitely, a decision that is currently being reviewed by its Oversight Board.

Trump was also removed or suspended from other social media sites, including Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitch.

Trump has floated starting a rival to the companies that banned him. Parler, an emerging competitor to Twitter before being kicked off Amazons servers, never drew the former president, but he has been a member of Gab since August 2016. Trump has over 1.3 million followers on Gab, which owns its own servers after facing a deplatforming effort several years ago.

Most technology startups have the luxury of using third-party cloud hosting providers like Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and others. Gab does not have this luxury. Over the past four years we have been banned from multiple cloud hosting providers and were told that if we didnt like it we should build our own. So, thats exactly what we did, CEO Andrew Torba wrote in a blog post last year.

Gab bills itself as The Free Speech Social Network and says its mission is to defend, protect, and preserve free speech online for all people. Gab emphasized on its website that political speech that is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution will be allowed on the platform. Illegal activity, such as pornography and threats of violence, arent allowed.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
[February 04, 2021] IsWhere Partners with HUAWEI CLOUD to Launch a Self-Service Digital Marketing Platform to Help Brick-and-Mortar Retailers Scale and Grow

SINGAPORE, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Singapore-headquartered IsWhere has partnered with global ICT leader, Huawei to officially launch a self-service digital marketing platform to help brick-and-mortar merchants grow their business within their neighbourhood and also attract new consumers. A year of COVID-19 lockdowns and restricted movements have found merchants in Singapore and all over the world struggling to cope with transforming their business. Using IsWhere's location-based mobile technology and powered by HUAWEI CLOUD, the platform empowers brick-and-mortar merchants to boost their customer relationship management (CRM), publishing a variety of product advertisements and promotions that will help them instantly reach consumers who are in the vicinity through their mobile devices. Nicholas Ma, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei International said, "The Huawei-IsWhere partnership supports the rapid digitalization of retail business and consumer marketing to help retailers rebuild and grow their businesses. Today, more than ever, we are working closely with our partners to ensure that their customers are able to transform and scale their business during these challenging times." The integration of HUAWEI CLOUD's artificial intelligence (AI) engine with IsWhere's platform allows mrchants to profile consumer behaviour and provide recommendations for food, shopping retail services and attractions that are in the vicinity. Through its GPS application, merchants can locate customers within a few kilometers of their store and communicate with these customers 24/7 using a real-time machine translation that helps to translate text from source to target languages running on HUAWEI CLOUD. With the help of auto scaling, IsWhere is able to adjust its bandwidth to ensure that the backend computing performance is able to support their website and application to ensure a successful project rollout.



"The IsWhere platform is designed to help consumers make an informed choice easily and safely, without leaving the comfort of their home. Even though restrictions are easing, we still want our customers and shoppers to be safe. Through this platform, consumers can run a simple search and discover the best available promotions nearby for food, shopping and many other local services before venturing out directly to the merchant stores to make their purchase," said Terence Mak, Founder of IsWhere. With this partnership, IsWhere aims to leverage Huawei's extensive network to accelerate the growth across more local communities and be able to launch it in several other countries with other partners this year. Over 570 million Huawei digital device users will benefit from using the IsWhere app to locate the curated promotions and deals that are closest to them.

Strengthening the IsWhere-Huawei Partnership in Thailand to Promote Safe Temple Visits In addition to the Singapore launch, IsWhere has also collaborated with Huawei CLOUD in Thailand to launch the "Digital Temple Thailand" project in partnership with the Thailand National Office of Buddhism (ONAB). The platform enabled 42,000 Thai temples to safely promote temple activities for their mobile users especially around the local neighbourhood. In addition, over 4,700 local tourist attractions, authorized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand are registered on the marketing platform to promote safe domestic travel under COVID-19. In addition to promoting safe temple visits and location-based searches, IsWhere is also working with AIS Business, Teleinfo Media, Office of National Buddhism (ONAB) as well as the Ministry of Commerce (Nakhonpathom), Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) and the Thai Coffee Association who have invited all their merchant members to use IsWhere to promote their business. SOURCE HUAWEI CLOUD

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NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- City Council earlier this week approved the creation of a small business relief program, which will disperse $50,000 to local business owners struggling to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If this is something that can help our small businesses get through this time, its good for our residents and our city, City Council President Nicole Dailey Jones said.

Multiple cities in the area and many throughout the country have successfully implemented similar programs, she said. We feel this is a worthy program to help our city.

Ward 2 Councilman Chris Glassburn introduced the resolution to create the program.

We need to get it rolling as fast as possible, Glassburn said. The business owners Ive heard from say theyre very excited and eager to get the application and get it rolling.

Council plans on tapping into the citys economic development dollars to support the small business relief program.

The mayor proposed putting remnants of COVID money from other projects instead of economic development funds, Glassburn said. Were going to be settling that issue moving forward. There will be debate, but the will of council is there to add the roughly $17,000 in addition to the already approved $50,000.

Mayor Kevin Kennedy said he fully supports providing assistance to local businesses in need.

Im particularly encouraged by the $460 million in funding for small businesses proposed by the state Investing in Ohio Initiative, Kennedy said.

Theres also another round of CARES Act funding being proposed right now. I would much prefer to see us use CARES Act money, he said. It may actually be more than $50,000, maybe even $100,000 going to our local businesses.

The use of previously awarded CARES Act funding for the small business relief program is a touchy subject between council and the administration.

I couldnt agree more with the desire to use COVID-related funding, Jones said. This was suggested to the administration when discussing uses for the COVID money in 2020, but council was given excuses, such as COVID money was needed for employee salaries or it would be too difficult to set up and run this program in the time frame given for use of those funds.

Now that the administration notified council it has leftover COVID money, council is looking forward to using that funding for part of this program. Additional funding will come from the economic development fund, which was set up in part for business retention, she said.

Moving forward, a three-member small business relief program board will be responsible for awarding grants to businesses that can prove COVID-19 interrupted, reduced or impaired operation.

Businesses with three to 50 employees would be eligible for a maximum grant of $2,500, while one- or two-employee businesses could receive a maximum grant of $1,000.

The small business relief program is limited to North Olmsted businesses opened before April 1, 2019, with fewer than 50 employees who regularly work at least 20 hours per week and annually provide an IRS Form W-2.

Businesses must rent or own retail or commercial space. Home-based businesses are not eligible.

In addition, we also listed uses of the small business relief program to cover business costs related to expanding its indoor or outdoor presence temporarily during the pandemic, Glassburn said.

It could be PPE or equipment. This could be applied to that or any losses that theyve not previously used for applications to other government grants.

Both Jones and Glassburn suggest that additional funds could be added to the small business relief program.

If the program is successful and additional COVID-related relief money comes to the city, council will certainly look at setting some more aside for this purpose, Jones said.

Read more news from the Sun Post Herald.
ROME, FEB 5 - Premier-designate Mario Draghi's talks with Italy's political parties on the eventual formation of a government led by him got into full swing on Friday with meetings with many of the bigger groups in parliament. The former president of the European Central Bank was handed a mandate by President Sergio Mattarella to try and form a government this week after outgoing Premier Giuseppe Conte's executive collapsed. Draghi now needs to see if he would have the support of a working majority in parliament. After talks with several smaller parties on Thursday, on Friday Draghi was meeting the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), the left-wing LeU and the centrist Italia Viva (IV) groups, all of whom were part of the coalition that backed Conte's executive, and the right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI), who were part of the centre-right opposition. The round of consultations ends on Saturday with meetings with the 5-Star Movement (M5S), which was also part of the last ruling majority, and Matteo Salvini's right-wing League party. The talks appear to have gotten off to a good start with most parties expressing willingness to cooperate with Draghi, although many have also said support would be conditional on various factors. Ex-premier Matteo Renzi's IV, which brought down Conte's executive in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic by withdrawing its support, is enthusiastically behind Draghi. The PD backing him too. "Professor Draghi's job is to set the perimeters of the ruling majority and reach an agreement," said PD leader Nicola Zingaretti. "We offer content". FI also looks inclined to get behind Draghi. But FdI, who have called for snap elections as soon as possible, gave Draghi his first flat-out No on Friday. One of the big questions regards whether the M5S will support a Draghi executive. The anti-establishment movement is by its nature hostile to the idea of a government led by a technocrat. But the alternative to a Draghi government is likely to be early elections in the middle of the pandemic, with Italy holding the presidency of the G20 this year and co-chairing the COP-26 UN Climate Summit with the UK. On Thursday Foreign Minister and M5S bigwig Luigi Di Maio said the movement had to listen to what Draghi says and show how "mature" it is. A possible way for Draghi to win over the M5S would be for him to name a cabinet that is a mix of experts and political figures, rather than just having technocrat ministers. Davide Casaleggio, the son of late M5S co-founder Gianroberto Casaleggio and an influential figure within the group, said the M5S would have to consult its members via a vote on its Rousseau online platform on its stance. The other founder, comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo, will be part of the M5S delegation that meets Draghi. Salvini has indicated that the League might coop with Draghi for a limited period of time, but only if the government does not feature the M5S. Conte's first government, which lasted from June 2018 until August 2019, was backed by an alliance of the M5S and the League. (ANSA).
Scientists have identified a possible role for the climate crisis in the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Covid-19 was first recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan. However, it is not yet clear exactly how the virus emerged. Researchers suspect that the virus initially spilled over from bats to humans through an unknown intermediary animal, possibly a pangolin .

A study published today finds that changing climate conditions could be linked to a greater diversity of bat species in Yunnan, a province of southwestern China, and its surrounding regions. Early research suggests that the virus causing Covid-19, which is called SARS-CoV-2, could have arisen in this area.

The new study suggests that, over the past century, changes to temperature, rainfall and CO2 levels have caused a shift in the type of vegetation found in the region. This shift has seen tropical shrublands increasingly replaced with tropical savannahs and deciduous woodland, creating more habitat suitable for bat species, according to the results.

Using modelling, the scientists estimate that 40 bat species have moved into the region since the early 20th century as a result of climate change-driven range shifts, likely bringing around 100 coronaviruses with them. This makes the region a global hotspot for increased bat species diversity, according to the results.

The increase in bat diversity in the region could have created novel opportunities for viruses to pass from animals to humans, the researchers say.

We speculate that this could have created new opportunities for cross-species viral transmission, which may have facilitated the eventual spill-over to humans, Dr Robert Beyer, lead author of the study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment and a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and the University of Cambridge, tells The Independent.

The findings provide evidence of a possible contributing role of climate change in the emergence of Covid-19, the authors say in their research paper.

However, other researchers have said it may be too soon to say whether there is a link between shifts in bat species diversity in Yunnan and the emergence of Covid-19.

The paper is interesting but there are many untested aspects of their conclusions, especially since we are still debating the origins of Covid, said Prof Paul Valdes, a researcher at the Cabot Institute for the Environment at the University of Bristol.

They show that climate change may have had a small impact on the biodiversity of bat species in Yunnan but this is more than 2,000km away from Wuhan and the link between the two regions is not discussed.

Early research has identified Yunnan and its surrounding region as the possible place of origin for the virus causing Covid-19. This is because scientists have discovered that bats living in the area carry coronaviruses that are closely related to SARS-CoV-2. However, it is still far from certain where the virus first originated and the issue is still being investigated by researchers.

It is also worth noting that the factors behind animal-to-human disease spillover are complex, says Prof Kate Jones, chair of ecology and biodiversity at University College London.

Climate change certainly has a role to play in changing species distributions to increase ecological hazard, she tells The Independent.

However, spillover risk is a complex interplay of not only ecological hazard but human exposure and vulnerability.

It may turn out that increases in human populations, human movement and degrading natural environments through agricultural expansion have a more important role to play in understanding the spillover process of SARS-CoV-2.

Bats are known to carry coronaviruses. Lesser mouse-eared bats and lesser horseshoe bats are pictured (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Diseases can spill over from animals to humans when they come into contact with one another. This contact can either be direct  through an animal bite or the consumption of raw meat, for example  or indirect  such as when humans come into contact with a surface that has been contaminated by an infected animal.

These points of contact are moderated by a large range of environmental and social factors. In the case of the virus causing Covid-19, it is still not clear what all of these factors were and what the relative importance of each factor could have been, the scientists say.

The expansion of urban areas, farmland and hunting grounds is certainly a major factor, as it creates more opportunities for human contact with pathogen-carrying wildlife, said Dr Beyer.

Our analysis does not allow us to quantitatively assess the contribution of this and other potentially relevant factors, including climate change.

The research does offer an interesting glimpse into how the climate crisis might affect the risk of animal-to-human diseases in the future, says Prof Hans-Otto Poertner, head of biosciences at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI).

This paper is very interesting and offers a hypothesis in line with recent insight into how encounters between humans and virus hosts are likely to increase in the future, involving climate change, he tells The Independent.

Research suggests rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are causing many species to migrate to new areas in search of tolerable living conditions. As species spread to new areas, they will bring new diseases with them, which could have consequences for human health, Prof Poertner explains.

But there are some questions that are not clear to me and where I would like to see more explanations, he adds. For example, it is not clear where the new species of bats that moved into Yunnan over the past century could have come from, he says.
President Uhuru Kenyatta appeared to aim a dig at his Deputy William Ruto on Thursday by describing former president Daniel Moi as a 'loyal' servant to the country's first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta when he served as his vice-president.

He made these comments during the anniversary of Mzee Moi's death at his home in Kabarak, Nakuru County. The event was attended by mzee Moi's family, other politicians including Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula and Nakuru governor Lee Kinyanjui, and neighbours.

DP Ruto was conspicouly absent.

Also, the media was barred from accessing the venue to cover the event save for Standard Group which is owned by the Moi family.

"Mzee Moi served my father (Jomo Kenyatta) for more than a decade with deep respect," explained Kenyatta.

"When he became President, he served Kenyans for 24 years with respect and left with respect. He was not forced out. He respected President (Mwai) Kibaki even though he was not his choice to succeed him. He wanted someone else to take over."

"When I took over the leadership, I had problems visiting him here at Kabarak. He would stand up every time to greet me despite the health challenges he faced. I would tell him not to stand up but he insisted, saying 'you are now head of government and I have to respect you."

President Kenyatta then challenged politicians to show respect.

"You will one day become leaders but I pray that we respect each other. Those who want leadership are raising questions on the future of this country. It is God that gives leadership through the people."

The Head of State's comments could be seen to be aimed at Ruto who has appeared to respond to his comments in public. DP Ruto has also been present at several public gatherings and watched on as politicians aligned to him abused President Kenyatta.
I hate malls.

I always have, even as a tween when it was a cool place to hang out. So going anywhere near a mall isnt usually something Id be interested in, but in an effort to explore the new Bay Area parkland, I journeyed to the Village of Corte Madera this week.

Except, instead of shopping, I walked across the road to a 4-acre portion of restored marshland opened to the public just last week. The new space near the Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve is an important habitat for two endangered species  Ridgways rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse  as well as serving as a serene new public path along the bayfront.

On a chilly Tuesday morning, a variety of birds already seem to be fans, squawking and chirping as they splash through the thick marshlands and climb through the dewy grass. Theyre undisturbed by the few runners and strolling duos who pepper the long, wide path through the wetland, which is lined with a new wooden fence.

This short hike is almost 40 years in the making, constructed by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District to make up for the dredging done to create the Larkspur ferry terminal in the late 1980s. The federal permit allowing the construction had been granted under the condition that the bridge district would one day restore two acres of the marshland, and another two acres when the district was allowed to run high-speed ferries in 1996.

The restoration finally began in October 2020, after pressure from area environmental groups. The district had to relocate about 2,000 dump trucks' worth of soil to grade approximately 14 acres, create the new trail, relocate portions of existing berms and breach the northern berm to allow flooding during high tides.

The Corte Madera marsh is beloved by visitors who use the trails for recreation and is home to a number of endangered species, said John Eberle, the districts deputy engineer. Our goal with this project was to restore four acres of tidal marsh to bolster the habitat for endangered species while at the same time maintaining maximum public access. We were able to achieve both of these goals and added amenities such as a wider pathway, benches and trash receptacles, which will provide for a better experience for the public.

Over the years, the area had become overrun with non-native plant species like pampas grass, some of which had created a fire hazard. The district planted more than 17,000 new native seedlings to assist in restoring native marsh vegetation, including California pickleweed, western marsh rosemary, saltgrass, and fleshy jaumea. The district will continue to monitor the new planting, in addition to the Ridgways rail and salt marsh harvest mouse for the next five years, Eberle said.

The hope is that the new plants and marsh restoration will create ideal conditions for the endangered Ridgway rail and salt harvest mouse to forage, find refuge, and flourish, Eberle said.

Three new concrete benches have been installed at viewpoints along the path, with two educational displays awaiting their new signage.

From the bench on the northeast corner of the acreage, you can also take in views of the Larkspur ferry terminal, San Quentin State Prison and the Richmond bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District

Ann Thomas, the Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed board secretary, said she hopes the district will eventually transform the entire 72 acres it owns, providing more public land for residents and visitors, in addition to being an environmental boon for the area. Wetlands have amazing public benefits as habitation for wildlife, absorbers of greenhouse gases and buffers that soften tidal action along residential shorelines, so any opportunity to create another wetland or march should be welcomed, she said.

As I stare out at the distant jail, pondering whether the inmates get to enjoy this view ever, I realize the soft hum of the highway in the background. For the past 45 minutes, Id been blissfully unaware of the mall positioned beside me, something I would have relished as a tween. Now, residents and visitors to Corte Madera can have that opportunity, too, wandering along the long, flat path fit for all ages that will continue to change as the vegetation grows in and the animals repopulate the grounds.

My favorite aspect of the project is that the marsh now ebbs and flows with the tides, so every visit is just a little different, Eberle said.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
The U.S. Coast Guard and several other agencies have rescued 66 ice fishermen who became stranded on ice floes in a bay in northeastern Wisconsin.

The anglers became stranded when three separate ice floes broke away from the shore and were pushed into the lake from Sturgeon Bay in Door County on Thursday, the Coast Guard said.

Ice boats and helicopters were dispatched at around 9am and used in a complex, four-hour rescue effort to bring the people who were ice fishing to safety.

High winds associated with an approaching winter storm had pushed the floes away from shore before the fishermen could make it back on their own. No one was seriously injured.

Ice fishing huts are seen on a floe that broke free from the shore in Wisconsin on Thursday, stranding 66 anglers who were rescued by the Coast Guard

Helicopter crews lowered rescue swimmers to the ice to help coordinate the rescues as local first responders and the Coast Guard's ice boats arrived

The anglers became stranded when three separate ice floes broke away from the shore and were pushed into the lake from Sturgeon Bay in Door County on Thursday

Participating in the rescue were Coast Guard Ice Rescue teams from Sturgeon Bay, Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay, two helicopters from Traverse City, Michigan, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and local government agencies

One man who assisted in the rescue effort said he's never seen such an incident in more than 30 years of fishing on Sturgeon Bay.

'In my years of being on this ice, I've seen it open north, south, but I've not seen it where you got a split going to the west in that north-south region. And there must be a super strong current today. I've never seen that,' Dale Stroschein told WBAY-TV.

Helicopter crews lowered rescue swimmers to the ice to help coordinate the rescues as local first responders and the Coast Guard's ice boats arrived.

Participating in the rescue were Coast Guard Ice Rescue teams from Sturgeon Bay, Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay, two helicopters from Traverse City, Michigan, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and local government agencies.

'Today's success is a direct result of effective training and the long standing and close relationships with our agency partners in the greater Sturgeon Bay Area,' said Commander Bryan Swintek, search and rescue coordinator for Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan.

Fishing huts on the ice floe are seen from shore after it broke free and drifted away

Ice fishing is a time-honored tradition in the Great Lakes, and a popular winter sport

Ice boats were called in to help with the rescue. Nobody was seriously injured

Ice fishing is a time-honored tradition in the Great Lakes region, and a popular winter sport for enthusiasts.

Often, the ice is thick enough to take fishing huts out onto the lakes, where anglers can stay warm and socialize as they watch their rods.

The Coast Guard urges anyone planning to be on the ice to check local weather beforehand and to always have a means of reliable communication.

'When venturing onto the ice, no ice is ever 100% safe. Proper attire and safety gear is a must,' the Door County Sheriff's office said in a statement.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Rihanna holds a $600 million fortune. Making her the wealthiest female musician in the world. Far ahead of Madonna ($ 570 million), Celine Dion (USD$ 450 million) and Beyonce ($ 400 million).

However, most of her fortune does not come from music, it comes from her partnership with (LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) LVMH, the French luxury goods giant run by billionaire Bernard Arnault. LVMH and Rihanna co-own the makeup brand Fenty Beauty.

A recent tweet by Robyn Rihanna Fenty, popularly known as Rihanna in showbiz, has earned her harsh criticism in India for trying to ride the free wave on farmers' protests in India, with a big expose on her motive to do the same.

Rihanna Fenty, who is also the founder of @fentybeauty, has been exposed to circulating content on Twitter allegedly planned months in advance by Pakistan-sponsored anti India extremist organisations, intelligence sources said.

Sources said to think that Rihanna Fenty was caught unaware in the situation would be a misjudgement as it comes at the ripe time of the ongoing business expansion of @Sephora_India (Sephora India), the chain that retails @fentybeauty in India.

Rihanna for her brand Savage X Fenty raised $100 million for expansion with backing from Marcy Venture Partners -- Jay-Z's venture capital firm -- ACME Capital, TriplePoint Ventures, and Avenir Growth Capital. Out of which Triple Point Ventures is an early stage VC.2 It is pertinent to mention that Zulfikar Bukhari is also currently residing in the UK and has invested in various businesses there.

Rihanna Fenty's @fentybeauty has declared that it does not conduct mandatory audits in regards to Suppliers Code of Conduct under the Californian law for human trafficking, slavery and child abuse 3 -- a clever way of saying they might be using Child labour, sources alleged.

They added that Rihanna's Fenty had the guts to feign compassion for Indian farmers while knowing very well the beauty Industry uses illegal child labour (mostly poor farmer's children, the very farmers that the government is trying to empower with the farm bills 2020) in India to mine MICA4 -- the most important ingredient of her beauty prod beauty products! Fenty beauty is well-aware, as all other companies, that most of this mica is mined by children of poor farmers in India, whose health and lives are endangered by their company's unethical means to earn profit!

Not only is that a huge risk to @fentybeauty in India but this cheap publicity gimmick may actually put it out of business in India, sources said. A poor oversight of facts, or in this case, an ulterior motive to stall the development of farmers in India, so that the farmers remain poor and their children can be exploited by beauty companies like Rihanna's Fenty for their gains, sources added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
At least four young women have been drugged, tattooed, filmed and exploited into unpaid prostitution by a Queensland man and woman in a 'particularly sinister' case, police allege.

After a tip-off by a concerned member of the public, Matthew James Markcrow, 35, and Crystal Marie Sawyer, 23, were arrested in a police raid on a townhouse in Brisbane's south on Thursday.

Markcrow is alleged to have tattooed the women with the phrase 'property of Matt'.

He is charged with conducting a business involving servitude, making recordings in breach of privacy, and conducting a business of unlawful prostitution.

Markcrow (pictured) has been charged with multiple offences after police allege he targeted vulnerable young women and forced them into unpaid prostitution

Sawyer (pictured) is also charged with running the illegal prostitution business in which the women were treated as 'slaves', police said

Police allege his co-accused Sawyer acted as the 'senior girl' in the house where the group were living with the other women following her lead.

She is also charged with conducting a business of unlawful prostitution along with contravene a police order for failing to provide cops with the passwords to her phone and laptop.

'[A] concerned community member [informed police] that at least four young women had [allegedly] been recruited, provided with drugs and illegally prostituted against their own will,' Prostitution Enforcement Taskforce Detective Inspector Juliet Hancock said.

The two accused along with three young women were found at the house by officers conducting the raid, The Courier Mail reported.

Police said the young women had been from dysfunctional homes and had been targeted through social media by the pair.

The business allegedly operated by transporting the women to an inner-city apartment from suburban Brisbane where they were forced to work before being driven back.

Police claim the young women were not paid for the work and were financially dependent on the accused.

A post by Markcrow showing four women with the same tattoo 'property of Matt M.' (pictured)

'It would be, I think fair to say, some of these women (allegedly) don't understand they've been exploited,' Det Insp Hancock said.

'And a couple of them yesterday were definitely very heavily under the influence of drugs so I don't think they understood yesterday, when I was talking to them.'

Markcrow did not apply for bail at the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday and was remanded in custody - making a heart shape with his hands to a young woman at the back of the court as he was led away.

Co-accused Sawyer also appeared on Friday and was granted bail provided she not go within 100 metres of the house, report to police twice weekly, and not contact certain people including Markcrow.

Crystal Sawyer is pictured leaving Brisbane watchhouse on Friday afternoon

The police prosecutor claimed investigators were concerned she would take over the business if bailed.

He said Sawyer told officers 'she was like a mother' to the other girl's in the house - and they observed she appeared to have a 'degree of control' over the women who followed her lead.

The court also heard when she spotted Markcrow in the police holding cells she yelled she would 'take care of everything for you'.

Investigations are ongoing with police suspecting there could be more victims and ask for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously.

Both Markcrow and Sawyer's matters are adjourned until February 24.
Disrupting Indias image only aim of Gretas toolkit created by Canada based Khalistani

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 05: The PowerPoint toolkit which was used by Greta Thunberg was prepared by a pro-Khalistan outfit called the Poetic Justice Foundation.

The presentation had details about the actions against India, which included disruption of the yoga and chai image of India.

There was also mention about the disruption of peace on January 26 apart from the repeal of the farm laws. The Poetic Justice Foundation is a body that was founded by pro-Khalistan activist, Mo Dhaliwal, who is based in Vancouver, Canada. The document created aimed to target India's image and also a soft power push.

The Khalistan infiltration: What we are witnessing in Delhi is exactly what SJF planned

Sources tell OneIndia that the toolkit was not being used in support of the farmers. It was clearly an attempt to incite widespread violence and malign India's image.

Meanwhile, India has reached out to the United States in connection with the probe against the Khalistan backed Sikhs for Justice. The SJF since the beginning of the farmer protests has been putting up posts on the social media to incite violence. The government of India issued a Mutual Legal Assistance Request to the United States for investigation into the matter of the Sikhs for Justice Referendum 2020.

On Friday, the Delhi Police said that it was probing the creators of toolkit. Special Commissioner of Police Praveer Rajan said that they would investigating the toolkit case when asked if Grea Thunberg has been named in the FIR.

Intelligence Bureau officials have been saying for long that pro-Khalistan groups are being pushed by the ISI to exploit the farmers' agitation. Sources tell OneIndia that there have been a lot of funds that have been channelised in the past couple of months. Over USD 1 lakh has been collected in the name of the farmer protests, the official cited above said.

What's the problem if foreign celebs support farmer stir; don't know Rihanna, Greta: Rakesh Tikait

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

The source further added that the agencies are looking into the source of funding. While there is no harm in collecting funds in the name of the protests, the NIA is looking to find if money is being collected in the name of the protests, but is being diverted to fund separatist activities of the SJF.

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By Le Khanh Lam - Partner, RSM Vietnam

The COVID-19 crisis has been creating tremors that are being felt on an international scale by businesses as they look to safeguard their future in terms of cashflow and liquidity.

Cashflow forms the lifeblood of small- and medium-sized businesses and once this is threatened, an organisation can soon find itself in troubled waters. However, there are solutions that business leaders, including directors and shareholders, can aim at in order to remain solvent, enhance cashflow, and propel forward.

Firstly, restructuring is not inherently negative. There are many reasons why it can be a positive course of action. Businesses do not necessarily have to be under financial duress, they may simply need to raise capital, streamline cash flow, address profitability, among many other reasons.

Restructuring can assist an organisation in identifying the key issues challenging liquidity and operational efficiency whilst presenting possible solutions. From this point, it is then possible to begin with the implementation of a new structure.

Reacting to change

Retail and hospitality are two sectors which have been hit heavily by the global health crisis. In these industries, the need to restructure and re-organise their processes has never been higher.

Prior to the pandemic, no precedent existed to build a response framework around and with the virus revolving at such speed, and it was difficult to be anything other than reactive. Over the past few months, we have seen a major shift in the way that the retail environment operates. With the current economic predictions, we will likely see further changes over the coming months as new structures fully take form.

The retailers who are still enjoying success have done so through using the current landscape as an opportunity to streamline or reduce the number of outlets or stores. However, this did not happen without some negative consequences, as a reduction in locations also means cutting jobs and losing staff.

Some of the more successful retailers have been supermarkets, which benefited from their status as essential businesses excluded from government lockdowns and were quick to implement safety procedures for both staff and customers alike.

The changes made through restructuring have already greatly assisted recovery and continued operation of many organisations. Without quick decision making and steps to restructure, many businesses would have failed to maintain a position in the market. Bars and restaurants have now opened with a completely different operational system to the pre-pandemic environment.

The automotive industry has also been amongst those that had to adjust to the sudden change. An oversupply of produced vehicles met with a low demand left a huge impact and when combined with the shifting consumer desire for electric vehicles, has sped up an already changing industry. This accelerated process will likely lead to transforming how consumers purchase vehicles, with showrooms being less important as time progresses.

Beyond the new normal

Globally, we have seen a significant increase in need and interest for restructuring services during the initial shutdown, but what do the next 18 months look like? The unprecedented support from financial institutions has eased demand recently, although as different countries come in and out of lockdown, this demand is expected to increase further.

Many banks and financial institutions share the belief that this is the calm before the storm. Since governments cannot support economies and businesses indefinitely, it stands to reason that the service of restructuring will see high demand over the coming months. This coincides with the fact that all cash borrowed to help weather the COVID-19 storm will become repayable, requiring tough decisions from business owners. One of the more interesting side effects of the crisis has been the shift towards working from home. Undoubtedly, this will have a major impact on real estate for office space within city centres.

Economies dipping into recession, coupled with rising unemployment, are also likely to have a negative impact on the residential property market. However, the significant increase in online shopping will almost certainly lead to an increased demand of warehousing.

Another effect of working from home has been that more organisations are now recognising that they can maintain efficiency while their staff is working remotely, which is likely to lead to a reduction in the use of office space, even after the pandemic.

There are already many examples of organisations implementing hot desk arrangements for staff to work in a smaller office a few days a week. People working from home will certainly affect day-to-day retail operations, as well as service-based industries that are predicated on people buying food and beverages during the day. Pop-up coffee houses, independent bakeries, and similar venues are likely to feel this impact in a significant way.

The core focus of organisations moving forward should not be to dwell on the negative circumstances but rather to look towards finding positive solutions. There are many intelligent ways to reorganise considering the current climate, some of which will involve tough decisions.
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Damaturu  Incessant terrorist attacks have forced residents of four local governments in Borno State to flee to communities in Yobe State, the police said yesterday.

The Yobe State Police Command listed the local governments whose residents have been sacked as Gubio, Magumeri, Kaga and Konduga.

In a statement yesterday by the Police Public Relations Officer, Yobe State Police Command, Mr. Dungus Abdulkarim, the police confirmed the exodus of residents from Gubio, Magumeri, Kaga and Konduga local government areas of Borno State into Yobe State have been observed.

He said: "They are believed to have relocated from their ancestral homes due to incessant attacks by unknown gunmen terrorising their communities while in the search for food items and other valuables.

"In a proactive move, over two thousand (2,000) migrants so far have been profiled by the command for security reasons while the influx of persons into the state is yet ongoing.

"The migrants have so far settled in areas which include Geidam, Tarmuwa and Gujba local government areas of Yobe State as well as Isori, Kuka Reta, Kasesa and Kalallawa Villages around the state capital, Damaturu."

According to him, the police have begun an investigation into the cause of the migration while putting in place measures to ensure public safety.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, did not respond to a text message by THISDAY, seeking confirmation on the migration.

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The defence spokesman did not also respond to phone calls as at the time of filing this report.

The police in Yobe State have also expressed concern about the prevalence of traffic accidents in the state.

The said statistics revealed that over 200 cases of motor accidents were recorded from January 1, 2020, till date.

Abdulkarim in another statement, said: "Forty-one were fatal motor accidents in which 147 persons died as a result and many others suffered various degrees of injuries."

He added that investigation showed that over speeding, violation of traffic regulations, negligence and reckless driving among others contributed to the high rate of accidents.

"To this end, the command is calling on all and sundry to adhere to traffic regulations, obey road signs, drive with due care and diligence in order to save lives," he stated.

He warned that any person(s) found violating traffic regulation would be arrested and subsequently prosecuted.
Gov. Murphy will hold another coronavirus press conference Friday at the Trenton War Memorial.

It starts at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on the governors YouTube.com channel.

Murphy will joined by state Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli, communicable disease service medical director Dr. Edward Lifshitz, State Police Superintendent Colonel Pat Callahan and Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo.

Persichillis appearance will be her first since quarantining after a member of her staff tested positive for COVID-19.

Asaro-Angelo is expected to be asked about tens of thousands of New Jerseyans who are still reporting issues certifying their unemployment benefits or taking a long time to receive their funds. New unemployment filings decreased for the third consecutive week.

Murphy has two other items on his public schedule Friday. At 10:15 a.m. he will sign legislation expanding outdoor dining. The governors Facebook page will stream the signing.

The bill would allow restaurants, bars, breweries and distilleries struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic to extend their footprints and serve patrons in parking lots, yards, patios, decks and public sidewalks. The governor conditionally vetoed a similar bill last month.

Then at 11:30 a.m., Murphy and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will make a joint announcement, which can be viewed here.

There were 2,825 patients in the New Jerseys 71 hospitals with the coronavirus or a suspected case as of 10 p.m. Thursday, according to the states coronavirus dashboard. Thats a decrease of 157 from the 2,982 in the previous 24-hour period. There are 506 patients receiving critical care and 342 on ventilators.

The number of people hospitalized is the lowest since Nov. 23 when there were 2,785 patients.

At least 905,538 people in New Jersey have been vaccinated as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Of those vaccinated, 171,276 have been administered both doses.

Murphy disclosed 101 more deaths and 2,503 additional COVID-19 cases Thursday.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
The Indian diaspora which celebrates its 176th Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago is not an abstract entity, but one that flowers the socio-economic and cultural growth and development of our peoples.

It remains a proud moment for all of uspoliticians, sociologists, economists, civic, religious and cultural leadersin world history.
Houston Zoo is promoting another unique activity to help fund their wildlife conservation and protection sanctuary. This time, a patron can share the Valentine's day love with their partners by gifting them artworks made by their favorite animals.

Elephants, sea lions, gorillas, bears, tigers, and more are taking a brush to the canvas to raise money to help save their friends in the wild.



How is this possible?

With a little help from their keepers, animals at the Houston Zoo have gotten to work creating the most adorable pieces of art to fundraise money for their friends in the wild.

With a little help from their keepers, animals at the Houston Zoo have gotten to work creating the most adorable pieces of art to fundraise money for their friends in the wild.

The custom art pieces range from $50 - $300 and include an unmatted flat canvas, a photo of the animal artist, and domestic shipping.

Related Article: $5 Valentine's Present: Name A Cockroach After Your Ex and Let it Be Eaten by Animals

Who are the artists?



Some of the Animal Artists are:

Asian Elephants

The zoo's Asian elephant herd loves to paint, and they each have their own unique style. To make their signature elephant kisses, our elephants (with their keepers' help) gently press their noses to the canvas leaving the unique heart-shaped print behind.

Sea Lions

Made by the zoo's own professional sea lion trio Cali, Jonah, and Kamia. Each piece is made by the sea lions with the assistance of their keepers. The zoo makes sure that the sea lions are enjoying what they are doing.

White Rhino

George and Indy, the zoo's southern white rhinos, are also doing their share in funding their refuge. They can often be found lounging in the mud or cooling off in the shade. Indy and George gently press their hips and backside's into our non-toxic paint and then onto the canvas to create the unique prints.

Red Pandas

Li Ming and Take have lived at the Houston Zoo since 2015. Their artwork is created by skillfully walking across a canvas. Thick fur covers the red panda's entire bodies, even the soles of their feet, which means you'll see imprints of all that fur in their paw print masterpieces.

Malayan Tiger

Berani is 7 years old and joined the Houston Zoo family in 2016. A favorite of guests, he can often be seen snoozing under the bamboo or taking a dip in his pool. Evidence of Berani's powerful paws is seen in every piece of art he creates.

Chimpanzees

Each piece of art reflects the chimpanzees' personality and their special bond with their animal care team.

Gorillas

Enrichment activities are fun for both animals and keepers, and painting is an engaging activity that the gorillas enjoy. A whole family of gorillas is spending quality time painting their masterpieces with the help of their handlers.

Virtual Experience

For $200, interested animal-lovers can participate in a virtual painting experience with an animal of their choice where they will get to watch and be involved in the creation of their custom art piece.

During this experience, participants will be able to choose their own paint colors and interact with zookeepers as they assist the animals in creating the art pieces.

All these are done to source more funds for the zoo to make sure that the animals are well taken care of.

ALSO READ: Pet Over Love? Study Says You Will Likely Choose Your Pet

For more news about the latest animal trends, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi has reacted to criticisms that the NDC failed to collate presidential results after the 2020 General Elections, wondering how the party could have collated any proper and true results from pink sheets and summary sheets that contain errors.



If I may ask, how can anyone expect the NDC to do any true and proper collation of results on the basis of polling station pink sheets and constituency summary results sheets that contain several patent arithmetic errors and arrive at any accurate outcome? I dont get it! He wrote on social media.



Mr Gyamfi argued that the request for the NDCs own results is not justified because the NDC is in the Supreme Court to challenge the declaration by the Electoral Commission and not to present its version of collated results to the Court.



Read full statement below:



On the matter of the demand for the NDC to present its own collated results of the 2020 Presidential Elections;



For the records, candidate Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia did not present their own collated figures or results to the Supreme Court in the 2012/2013 election petition.



I dare anybody who disputes this fact to point me to any paragraph in the 2012 election Petition where the petitioners presented their own collated figures to the Supreme Court to show that they won the 2012 presidential election.



In that case, the petitioners presented the ECs own declared figures to the court and asked the court to annul about 4 million votes on grounds that those votes had been affected by alleged legal infractions and irregularities.



The petitioners then proceeded to deduct those votes from the results/figures declared by the EC and sought a declaration from the court that candidate Akufo-Addo won the 2012 Presidential election on the basis of the resultant outcome, i.e if those votes were actually annulled. The Petitioners did not present their own collated figures to the Supreme Court to show that they won that election.



Unlike the Petitioners in the 2012/2013 case (Akufo-Addo & Bawumia), the petitioner in the present case, John Mahama is not asking the Supreme Court to annul votes and declare him President-elect on the basis of the resultant outcome. He is simply telling the court that per the figures contained in the declaration of the Chairperson of the EC and Returning Officer of the 2020 Presidential elections, Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensah, none of the 12 candidates in the 2020 Presidential elections attained more than 50% of the total valid votes cast as required by article 63(3) of the 1992 constitution, hence the declaration of candidate Akufo-Addo as President-elect is unconstitutional.



Therefore to my mind, John Mahama doesnt need his own collated figures to illustrate or prove his claim that Jean Mensahs declaration is unconstitutional and invalid. Rather, he needs the figures contained in the declaration of Jean Mensah to illustrate and prove his case, which is precisely what he is doing in court.



Why then is he being asked to present his own collated figures to the Supreme Court, before he can challenge the constitutionality/validity of the 2020 Presidential results declared by Jean Mensah as per Jean Mensahs own figures? Particularly, when his own collated figures has got nothing to do with his petition, which is only a challenge of the constitutionality/validity of the Presidential results declared by Jean Mensah on the basis of figures contained in same.



If I may ask, how can anyone expect the NDC to do any true and proper collation of results on the basis of polling station pink sheets and constituency summary results sheets that contain several patent arithmetic errors and arrive at any accurate outcome? I dont get it!

Source: ghanaweb.com









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Characters Michelle, Stephanie, and DJ Tanner grew up in San Francisco. When it comes to where the cast of Full House recorded episodes, though, the cast members were actually located in a different part of California.

Heres what we know about the only episode of this sitcom that was shot in San Francisco.

Full House Episode Titled Play It Again, Jess | Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Full House takes place in San Francisco, although most episodes werent filmed there

Its a pretty large family, but theres a lot of love. Fans first met the Tanners with the 1980s series, Full House. There, one reporter, named Danny Tanner, required the help of his two best friends to raise his three daughters after the death of his wife.

The family was based in San Francisco, with the girls going to school there and growing up in that same family home. They even adopted a dog that was born in their home  the girls named him Comet.

For several episodes, the Tanners even traveled to other destinations for filming. Two episodes took place in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. For one family vacation, the Tanners even traveled to Hawaii.

RELATED: DJ Tanner Is Finally Getting Married on Fuller House  Heres Our Look at Some of Her Less-Than-Worthy Boyfriends

Comet appears in several episodes of Full House

When it comes to the filming location of the sitcom, however, these cast members werent actually based in San Fransisco. According to Rob on Location, Full House was filmed at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank from 1987 to 1995.

The only episode filmed in San Francisco was season 8s premiere, titled Comets Excellent Adventure. In it, Uncle Jesse gave Michelle permission to walk Comet by herself, even though Danny said no because of her size. After Comet gets distracted by a hot dog truck, he runs away from Michelle.

The rest of the family embarks on a San Fransisco-themed adventure to try and get their dog back. They eventually do, with Comet returning for several episodes of this sitcom. He was there when Jesse and Joey needed inspiration for their jingles and he was there when Stephanie was sad.

RELATED: All the Times That Full House Taught Viewers Lessons About Death, Eating Disorders, Trauma, and Even Child Abuse

The Tanners adopt another dog in the Netflix series, Fuller House

The Full House house, however, the one featured in the title sequence, is located in San Francisco. Now a few decades since the premiere of this series, it has undergone several renovations but has even become a tourist attraction for fans of the sitcom.

Although Comet did not make a reappearance for the Netflix spinoff, Fuller House, the Tanners adopted another dog who was a direct descendant of Comet. Technically, the dog became Max Fullers responsibility, with the character naming the dog Cosmo.

Most episodes of Full House, some even featuring Comet, are available for streaming on Hulu. All five seasons of the Netflix original spinoff series, Fuller House, are available on the streaming platform, Netflix.
Sigh. The internet is mad at Chrissy Teigenagain. This time, the model/cookbook author/consummate Twitter influencer, famous for her relatable style of social media posting, tried to play the ever-popular quote-tweet game. Whats the most expensive thing youve eaten that you thought sucked? she asked her 13 million followers on Wednesday. Her personal pick: One time John [Legend, her husband] and I were at a restaurant and the waiter recommended a nice Cabernet. We got the bill and it was 13,000 dollars. HOW DO YOU CASUALLY RECOMMEND THAT WINE. we didnt even finish it and it had been cleared!!!

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one time john and I were at a restaurant and the waiter recommended a nice Cabernet. We got the bill and it was 13,000 dollars. HOW DO U CASUALLY RECOMMEND THAT WINE. we didnt even finish it and it had been cleared!!!  chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) February 3, 2021

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Commence the usual fray, with some people infuriated at Teigens comment (in a pandemic, you say this??), and others defending her for sharing her anecdote. (Which, it is worth noting, is a story from her pre-pandemic life.) Summing up a lot of peoples feelings was this tweet from writer Andray Domise: I had to send money to a stranger todaya good chunk of the savings that Ive only now been able to scrape together in the couple months since my partner found workto stop them from being unhoused. Meanwhile this doofus is laughing about spending 13 racks on accident. Others jumped in, pointing to Teigens right to spend what shes gotafter all, shes never hidden her wealthand to be more considerate of her recent tough times after a pregnancy loss. Writer Roxane Gay added: The people yall love to hate on here are disproportionately women. Might be worth some reflection.

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damn sounds minorly annoying. i wonder if anything else is going on right now that might, say, throw that experience into extremely sharp relief. probably not i guess. keep up the great posts   matt (@Lubchansky) February 3, 2021

This is how you know money isnt real & capitalism is straight garbage. Yall can accidentally buy a $13,000 bottle of wine but most Americans cant afford a $300 emergency   Dolly  (@DollypartonXXL) February 3, 2021

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The woman lost a baby a few months ago, held him in her arms and to say goodbye. Im pretty sure she knows how fucked up the world can be. Not to mention she has to deal with racist misogynists ripping into her on a daily basis.  @Lil_Books (@Books_Lil_Loves) February 3, 2021

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Chrissy Teigan is a celebrity is a clearly has financial resources beyond our wildest dreams. Thats not a secret. I would be more perturbed if she acted like she was poor when shes clearly not. She just shared an experience she had, not trying to hurt anyones feelings  Sarah Dorsey (@_sarahdorsey) February 3, 2021

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This is all pretty exhaustingTwitter loves to hate as fiercely and for as long as it canbut this latest backlash came with a potent class-war edge to it that feels unique. For all her awkward, anxious, cookie-craving authenticity, Teigens every-girl image cant hold up to the stress of the pandemic. As Amanda Hess wrote for the New York Times way back in March: Among the social impacts of the coronavirus is its swift dismantling of the cult of celebrity. Even in the pandemics infancy, people were sharpening pitchforks, infuriated by the many tweets and grams from celebrities locked down in fancy houses, their perfect faces telling us, Were all in this together. What, the rest of the world suddenly said, do you mean, we?

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Since Hess diagnosed this shift in the consciousness, several celebrities active on social media have found out how sensitive everyone has gotten about wealth. In November, an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians aired that featured Kim complaining about having to take care of her children alone, after Kanye got COVID. Only someone used to having multiple nannies would be unfamiliar with the problem of kids who wont let you pee in peace, viewers pointed out. In December, Cardi B asked Twitter whether she should buy a purse that cost $88,000, and got immediate pushback, characterizing the question as insensitive when so many people were out of money. She responded by pointing to her charitable donations that year, and explaining that she doesnt have any celeb friends who might give her advice on such a purchase. Eventually, exasperatedly, she got confrontational with the haters: Go cry about it.

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The examples of Twitter targets I have mentioned so far are all women. Is Gay correct? Am Iare all the angry peopleacting just a bit misogynistic for being up in arms about an expensive bottle of wine, when Lil Uzi Vert just got a $24 million pink diamond implanted in his forehead? Its impossible to swear that youre not speaking out of internalized misogyny, because that stuff hides way deep down within, but I think the problem here is that its often female celebrities who craft public personas out of so-called relatability. Whether thats because of societys expectation that women make themselves accessible and likable in spite of their true nature is a larger debate. Either way, in pandemic times, that mode of personal connection between rich people and the unstable masses is increasingly untenable.

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But Teigen in particular is used to causing a fracas on Twitter, long before lockdown. She has a history of coming off as one of the gals, only to upend the lovefest by posting things that sound, to others, a little bit offincluding some jokes that have made it all too clear to her followers that her wealth turns problems that would be financially devastating for normies into minor annoyances. Wealth inequality is forever a point of friction in our society, and Teigens Twitter dramas have often piqued that latent frustration in many of us who dont live quite so comfortably. Events that Teigens shared from her personal life over the past year have made the gulf between her world, in which every sharp corner is sanded off by wealth, and our crappy hellscapein which nobody cares how anxious you are or who you lost recently; get back to workvery clear. She is not the girl next door that we like to think she is when she is making us laugh with poop jokes or delighting us with family-friendly recipes. She is the woman in a giant house tucked inside a gated community somewhere far, far, far away from the rest of us.

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A lot of Teigens recent social media presence has been colored by what happened to her last September, when Teigen lost a pregnancy at 20 weeks; by her account, the aftermath has been physically and mentally rough. She won praise for her vulnerability in sharing her story, and its continued to be a topic on her timeline in the months since. Grief is something that is legitimately relatable during a time as unpredictable and heavy as this one.

But Ive still found it jarring to witness the way that money has eased her through these difficult months, at a time when so many people have had to suffer and recover with no help at all. Two incidents stand out to me: In October, around Halloween, Teigen shared a photo of herself in her home, in a robe and towel, being tended to by a private nurse dressed up as a medieval plague doctor. (Response: a private nurse? Not Teladoc, if youre lucky?* Hm.) In January, Teigen said that her therapist had told her she needed to have something to do just for me, so she had decided to get into the very pricey hobby of horseback riding. (Horses? Not, like, 20 minutes of online yoga, somehow pried out of a relentless daily schedule of work and child care? Hm.)

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Teigen tried to excuse her rich-person behavior when people responded with disdain to the horseback riding in particular. She demonstrated then some self-awareness in her presentationas well as reiterated a tendency toward playing the victim.

a lot of u really misinterpreted this tweet and I guess thats on me. I didnt say I have nothing, I said I have nothing I do for just me. A convo with a therapist. A hobby. Cause I lost a baby. And Im figuring myself out. And i didnt buy a horse. But oh my god, what if I did? https://t.co/AYKI37VicV  chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 18, 2021

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And now, the $13,000 wine story. Striking back against the litany of critical takes and goofs, Teigen pointed to her poor mental health as of late, implying that the people critiquing her tweet were being unnecessarily cruel. But that kind of response can be tough to swallow, when 75 percent of people reading Teigens content probably feel like warmed over spit most of the time themselves. Celebrities have really missed the memo that omg I wish I was that wealthy has gone from a fun frivolous fantasy to the thing that makes the celebrity more likely to survive a pandemic than you, one Twitter user, @ace_defective, pointed out astutely.

Teigen also tried to defend herself by saying: Not everything I say on my twitter is going to be relatable to you because it is my life and my twitter and my stories. Of course not, but its disingenuous to pretend that this isnt the long game shes been playing. For years, Teigen has benefited from that casual vibe she projects: Shes like your old friend whos doing much better than you in life, but you still talk sometimes, and you still like each other. She loves video games and cooking. She dunks on her (also rich and beautiful) husband. She comes across as One of Us. And Teigen has gotten powerful from that feeling of closenessin fact, shes the only person whos not a White House official that Joe Biden follows on the @POTUS handle.

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The pandemic has intensified our intense reactions to all of this, to be sure. Yet regardless of whats happening in the world, this much is true: Chrissy Teigen can sail along on goodwill for years, and she has. Then, once in awhile, she will say something that makes everyone realize her unfair advantages as a multimillionaire celeb. Well collectively reconsider whether we want to keep adding our love for her to the pile of things thats good in Teigens life. And so the cycle will repeat, over and over, so long as we live in a culture that provides cover for wealth inequality so drastic that some people can laugh about accidental $13,000 wine tabs, while others cant eat at all. See you back here next time.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration promised Black business executives on Friday that it planned to make sure that the government's economic support programs were able to reach minority-owned businesses.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the new administration intended to address problems in delivering aid to minority businesses in the government's Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loans to small businesses that can be forgiven as long as the businesses retain their employees or hire them back.

Harris and Yellen spoke at a virtual meeting with officials representing some of the 140 chapters of the Black Chambers of Commerce around the country. The appearance was part of the administration's ongoing effort to win support for President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief program.

Biden and Harris told the executives that there would be an effort to simplify the application forms and to provide support for businesses trying to access the loans being administered by the Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department.

Yellen said she had focused much of her economics research over the years on racial disparities in economic outcomes. She said when she began her studies around 1963, the average Black family had roughly 15% of the household wealth of the average white family, and this difference was essentially unchanged more than a half century later.

She said that the rate of unemployment among Black Americans was twice the unemployment rate among white Americans in the early 1960s and that that rate has remained steady over the last half century, as well.

Yellen said the country was set back by the 2008 financial crisis and the long, slow recovery from that economic downturn, with Black unemployment peaking at almost 17% compared to a high of 9.2% for White unemployment during that period.

That is what economic crises do, Yellen said. They hit people of color harder and longer. ... I am worried that the current crisis will do that again unless action is taken.

Story continues

Harris said the administration is determined to improve the Paycheck Protection Program with a high priority on providing more assistance to small businesses seeking the loans.

Yellen said the administration believes it has learned lessons from the failures exposed during the first round of paycheck loans. She said the Biden administration was taking steps to make sure that businesses left out of the first round of loan applications would receive support in the next round of applications.

Harris said the $1.9 trillion support package would also be a major provider of jobs.

We need to get through some dark months here and deal with the pandemic and get the economy on track, Yellen said. She said the country faced some long-standing economic inequalities that the administration was committed to addressing.


Pharmacies across the U.S. may be able administer up to 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine per month later this year, under a federal program to ramp up immunizations.

Starting on February 11, the Biden administration will start shipping vials directly to major outlets such as CVS Health. Walgreens Co, Walmart Inc, Rite Aid Co and Costco Wholesale, as well as supermarket pharmacies.

Some 6,500 retail pharmacies around the country will receive a total of one million doses, with plans to eventually reach 40,000 pharmacy locations nationwide

Drug stores have become a mainstay for flu shots and shingles vaccines, and the industry is capable of vaccinating tens of millions of people monthly.

But some public health experts say that pharmacies, especially large chains, have the capacity to administer as many 3.3 million shots per day as soon as the supply becomes available, according to CNN.

It comes as the White House revealed on Friday that the Pentagon will be deploying 1,000 troops to assist getting Americans vaccinated against COVID-19.

On February 11, the Biden administration ship one million doses per week to U.S. pharmacies such as CVS Health. Walgreens Co and Walmart Inc

Experts say that if all 40,000 locations receive enough supply, they will be able to vaccinate 3.3 million people per day or 100 million per month, and help surpass Biden's goal of 1.5 millions shots in arms perday

CVS has said it will be able to administer between 20 and 25 million doses per month and Walgreens has said it will be able to administer 10 to 13 million. So far, only about 32 million have received one or both shots.

'Based on conservative assumptions, pharmacies have the capacity to meet the demand for 100 million vaccine doses in one month when that level of the vaccine supply is available,' Steven Anderson, president and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, told reporters on a phone call last month.

The first phase involves vaccines being sent to pharmacies and states selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This is based on 'their ability to reach some of the populations most at risk for severe illness from Covid-19, including socially vulnerable communities,' Jeff Zients, coordinator of the president's COVID-19 task force, said earlier this week.

Every pharmacy will be following the federal and state guidelines and only vaccinating those who are eligible under the state-mandated order.

CVS plans to begin offering vaccinations from doses that arrive on the first day, February 11

The pharmacy is expecting 250,000 doses arriving at 330 stores across 11 states including California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

Meanwhile, Walgreens said it will begin administering doses the day after shipments arrive, February 12, across 15 states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia, and Puerto Rico.

Although not every single pharmacy in the aforementioned states will have the vaccine, more doses will be come available as the program expands.

Walmart will be offering the vaccines at its store in states such as Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Louisiana and Wyoming.

Last month, Walmart said that 'when supply and allocations allow' it will be able to administer between 10 and 13 million doses per month across 5,000 locations.

CVS has said that across its 10,000 sores, it projects it will be able to administer between 20 million and 25 million shots per month across its nearly 10,000 stores.

According to a model by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, it suggests that when the program expands to 40,000 pharmacies, they will be able to vaccine 3.3 million per day, CNN reports.

The group says this means seven people per hour or between 99 million and 102.8 million vaccinations per day.

The model does not include independent pharmacies, although the National Community Pharmacists Association believe that if all 17,000 locations had vaccines, they would be able to administer 1.28 million per day, according to CNN.

Doses are being sent to 6,500 pharmacies and, if successful, this will expand to 40,000 drug stores across the country. Pictured: Pharmacist John Forbes gives the Moderna GOVID-19 vaccine to Meghan Bohlander, a physician's assistant, at the Medicap Pharmacy in Urbandale, Iowa, January 2021

So far, more than 57 million vaccines have been distributed with 27 million people receiving at least one dose and more than 6.9 million at least two doses

To help reach this goal, CVS plans to have 90,000 employees, including pharmacists, licensed pharmacy technicians and nurses, administering vaccines.

And Walmart is currently offering staff members a bonus for referring qualified candidates for vaccine administration.

So far, the federal government has shipped more than 57 million vaccines with 27 receiving at least one dose and more than 6.9 million at least two doses.

The two currently approved vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, require special cold storage.

And, since the rollout began in December, chains like CVS and Walgreens have gained experience with the special handling requirements.

Currently, the Food and Drug Administration is weighing approval of a vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, a one-shot regimen that requires only standard refrigeration.

The world at large is in a race with the virus to vaccinate as many people as possible. Worrisome mutations have been identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil.

Officials say the race to ramp up vaccinations is vital with variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil spreading across the county

The UK variant spreads more easily and carries a higher likelihood of fatal disease. The South Africa variant may reduce somewhat the effectiveness of vaccines. All three mutations have been identified in the U.S. with a total of at least 482 cases.

The vaccine is free to Americans, thanks to legislation passed by Congress.

More than 60 percent of the distributed doses have been administered so far, a marked improvement from just a few weeks ago.

Even with the massive snowstorm that hit the Northeast this week and closed several vaccination sites, Zients said 'all vaccine does have been available to the states on schedule.'

But he acknowledged some vaccination centers have had to temporarily close due to the weather.

Lucknow, Feb 5 : In a move that could have far-reaching consequences on the politics in Uttar Pradesh, a panchayat in Agra has asked the nine MLAs and two MPs of the district to either issue a letter of support to the protesting farmers or face "social boycott".

This comes a week after the khap panchayats in Muzaffarnagar called for a social boycott of those who do not support the farmers' agitation.

According to a BKU functionary, farmers' groups in all districts will now start asking BJP legislators and MPs to clarify their stand on the farmers' protest or face the consequences.

"We will stage protests at residences of MLAs and two MPs in the districts. We will ask them to provide a letter supporting the peaceful protest of farmers or they will have to face social boycott," the functionary said.

Talking to IANS, a BJP MLA from Muzaffarnagar, said on condition of anonymity, "We are caught in a Catch 22 situation. If we do not support the farmers, we cannot win the elections in 2022. However, we also cannot defy the party line on this issue. Our leadership should try to resolve the matter at the earliest because both sides seem to be hardening their stand." Meanwhile, several Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) functionaries have expressed apprehension over the legal notices being sent to farmers for 'instigating' people against the three laws.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

The Charger Blog

Brian Nalezynski 21, a Connecticut Army National Guard specialist, helped ensure the safety and security of those in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President Joe Biden. By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications

Brian Nalezynski 21 (left) was among the more than 25,000 members of the National Guard serving in Washington on Inauguration Day.

Brian Nalezynski 21 joined the Connecticut Army National Guard when he was a first-year student at the University of New Haven. His service has taken him to Cuba and, most recently, to Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

Nalezynski was among the more than 25,000 members of the National Guard serving in Washington, along with many other law enforcement agencies, ensuring the safety of everyone attending the inauguration. Serving at a checkpoint near the National Mall, he worked with several agencies, including the Secret Service, U.S. Marshals, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), checking the credentials of anyone trying to gain access at the checkpoint.

My role in the recent inauguration was historic, he said. Being a part of such a historic moment meant a lot to me. This event will be talked about and included in history books for years to come, and to be a part of that was amazing.

Brian Nalezynski 21 served at a checkpoint near the National Mall on Inauguration Day.

I believe my mission in life is to save lives

Nalezynski attended basic and advanced training shortly after beginning his second semester at the University. He has since been deployed to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where he served for nearly a year, and, last year, he supported Connecticut during the early months of the coronavirus global pandemic. He continued his education part time while serving in each mission. He was called to serve again as he was preparing for the spring semester, so he headed to Washington.

Brian Nalezynski 21.

Nalezynskis professor, Robert Sanders, LP.D., J.D., LLM, mentioned Nalezynskis service in Washington in a recent interview with Wake Up With Cheddar. Nalezynskis service on Inauguration Day continued into the night, when he was moved to the United States Capitol Building to conduct security around the perimeter  an especially crucial role following the riot that took place there just weeks earlier.

I learned a lot from this experience, he said. In the military we say, one team, one fight, and that is exactly what we did. From guardsmen and guardswomen from around the country, police, Secret Service, TSA, and many more agencies, we all collectively got together to assist and protect.

A national security major, Nalezynski is now back at the University for the spring semester. If  or more accurately when  duty calls, he is ready to serve again.

I believe my mission in life is to save lives and to protect the United States in any way I can, he said. If I can save just one life, my mission will complete.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 04:23:21|Editor: huaxia

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PARIS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The epidemic situation in France was "particularly fragile" as those more infectious variants of the coronavirus circulate faster, but there was no need for the moment to impose a new nationwide lockdown, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday.

With daily averages of 20,000 new infection cases, 1,600 hospital admissions and 320 deaths, "the situation remains worrying," Castex warned.

However, he said "for the moment, there is no necessity to lock down," arguing that "the level of incidence is certainly high, but it is still much lower than it was last October" when the country entered into second confinement.

"A new lockdown can only be considered as a very last resort. Currently, the situation does not justify such a move," Castex told reporters at a weekly press briefing on the epidemic situation.

"The objective is not to delay (the confinement) but to do everything possible to avoid it. We must hold on, act together," he said.

Castex also said that the percentage of infections by the new variants among new cases has increased from 3.3 percent on Jan. 8 to 14 percent on Thursday.

France has also confirmed four cases of the coronavirus strain first detected in Brazil, Health Minister Olivier Veran told the press briefing.

"Our objective is clear: we want to limit the spread of these variants as much as possible," said Veran, noting that the country was "in a race against time" against more infectious variants.

By next week, all residents in nursing homes who want to be vaccinated will have received their first jab, while up to 4 million people would have the first dose later this month, according to Castex.

Sticking to a three-to-four-week gap between the two injections, France aims to vaccinate all the citizens aged over 65 by the end of May and all adults before September, he added.

As of Wednesday, France has registered an accumulative total of 3,251,160 infections, and 77,595 patients had lost their lives. Some 1,682,951 people have received a first shot of inoculations, health authority data showed.

As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in some countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.

Meanwhile, 238 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 63 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Feb. 2. Enditem
tech2 News Staff

In a pre-print paper yet to be peer-reviewed by members of the research community, Oxford Institute researchers supported the decision of the UK in increasing the interval between the first and booster doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, to 12 weeks. The study hasn't addressed concerns about a lack of efficacy data for the vaccine in the elderly, which are among the priority groups to be vaccinated in most countries, Britain included. The 12-week interval between doses was 'the optimal approach to roll out', according to the study.

The study claims that none of the 12,408 people vaccinated with a single dose of the vaccine was hospitalised with Covid-19 from 22 days after immunisation. The researchers reassured recipients of the vaccine that the protection from it begins 22 days after a single dose. From 22 days to 90 days after vaccination, a single dose of the vaccine was found 76 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 disease.

"Vaccine efficacy after a single standard dose of vaccine from day 22 to day 90 post-vaccination was 76 percent, and modelled analysis indicated that protection did not wane during this initial 3-month period," Oxford academics said in the preprint. The efficacy was 82.4 percent when the first and booster doses were 12 or more weeks apart, compared to 54.9 percent when the booster was given within six weeks of the first dose, the study said.

While Europe's medicine regulator has flagged that there isn't enough data to determine how well the vaccine will work in people aged over 55, Britain has expressed confidence the vaccine works in all age groups. Of the countries vaccinating its population with the AstraZeneca vaccine, the UK has decided to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, by extending the amount of time between initial shots and booster shots. The main agenda behind this move was to minimise the damage from multiple COVID-19 strains that are currently affecting Britain's population.

Oxford claims the vaccine also reduced transmission of SARS-CoV-2, with data suggesting as much as 67 percent reduction in the risk of a positive COVID-19 swab test among the participants in the British arm of the trial.
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If its not too soon to point to a positive result of the pandemic crisis, light has been shone on the dire plight of many seniors. Now that we know, we also know this: there is a need for Manitoba to finally establish an Office of the Seniors Advocate.

If its not too soon to point to a positive result of the pandemic crisis, light has been shone on the dire plight of many seniors. Now that we know, we also know this: there is a need for Manitoba to finally establish an Office of the Seniors Advocate.

Its possible many Manitobans were previously unaware of the inhumane conditions endured by vulnerable members of this provinces older generation. But claims of "I didnt know how bad it was for seniors" lost all credibility in the past year, as attention was focused on institutional tragedies that are the shame of Manitoba and many other provinces.

We wont soon forget  and we shouldnt  the accounts of seniors in long-term care homes lying helpless in their beds, sometimes lodged in the same room with residents who were infectious with the virus, sometimes left in soiled bedclothes as their agonizing calls of help went unanswered in institutions that were poorly staffed and maintained.

We wont soon forget  and we shouldnt  the accounts of seniors in longterm care homes lying helpless in their beds.

Who spoke for these victims? Distressed family members went to the media in an attempt to advocate for their loved ones, hoping the publicity would embarrass the appropriate authorities into action, since the complex functioning of government is too often impenetrable to those on the outside.

Helping seniors cope with COVID-19 would have been a top priority for a seniors advocate office, if Manitoba had one.

The provincial government has been repeatedly offered, and has seemingly ignored, advice to create and empower such an advocate. The Liberals pushed for it in 2016. The Manitoba branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives last June published a well-researched paper on the importance of such a position. The NDP joined the call at a media briefing last Tuesday.

The commendable proposal  at least, it seems commendable to everyone except the government with the power to make it happen  would staff an office dedicated to the interests of seniors. It would speak for the aforementioned residents of long-term care homes but, more widely, it would expose systemic challenges facing all seniors and raise awareness of available resources.

The advocates office would have independence, investigative power and dedicated funding. It would report publicly to the legislature, not privately to the government.

The advocates office would have independence, investigative power and dedicated funding. It would report publicly to the legislature, not privately to the government.

For example, the advocate could highlight the need for the provincial government to make public the regular reports of inspections of care-home facilities, bringing Manitoba in line with other provinces where such inspections are public  information that is valuable to the families of residents of these homes.

If this proposed framework of the seniors advocates office sounds familiar, its because it resembles the Office of the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth, which has operated since 1992.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister now has an opportunity to put his words into action by leading his government in the creation of a seniors advocate.

While the seniors advocate would benefit all Manitoba seniors, not just those in long-term care homes, the past years horror stories, which described nothing short of institutionalized inhumanity, should be the tipping point that finally convinces the provincial government of the need to give seniors a voice of power.

The maxim "respect your elders" may be a cliche, but the sentiment still means something for many Manitobans. Premier Brian Pallister seemed to echo that attitude earlier in the pandemic when, with tears in his eyes and emotion in his voice, he expressed great concern for the pandemic dangers faced by Manitobas seniors.

Mr. Pallister now has an opportunity to put his words into action by leading his government in the creation of a seniors advocate. Its a much-needed and overdue step toward giving older Manitobans the dignity they deserve.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 4, 2021 / Dimension Five Technologies Inc. (CSE:DFT) (the "Company") announces that it has completed a non-brokered private placement pursuant to which it has issued an aggregate of 16,898,174 units (each, a "Unit"), at a price of $0.083 per Unit for gross proceeds of $1,402,548.44 (the "Offering"), before giving effect to a three (3) for one (1) consolidation of the Company's capital (the "Consolidation") which will be completed as soon as reasonably practicable following completion of the proposed acquisition of Aduro Energy Inc. ("Aduro") and its clean energy business pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement with Aduro and the securityholders of Aduro dated October 22, 2020 (being $0.25 per Unit on a post-Consolidation basis). Each Unit is comprised of one common share (each, a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.167 per Warrant Share ($0.50 per Warrant Share on a post-Consolidation basis) for a period of forty-eight (48) months after the date of closing (the "Closing"), subject to acceleration provisions in the event that the Shares have a closing price on the Canadian Securities Exchange (or such other exchange on which the Shares may be traded at such time) of $0.33 or greater per Share ($1.00 or greater per Share on a post-Consolidation basis) for a period of ten (10) consecutive trading days at any time from the date that is four months and one day after the Closing.

The Company paid cash finder's fees of $18,910.43 and issued 227,836 share purchase warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") to certain finders in connection with the Private Placement. Each Finder's Warrant is exercisable into one Share at a price of $0.10 per Share (on a pre-Consolidation basis) for a period of two years after the Closing.

The securities issued in the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period expiring four months and one day from the Closing.

The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering for working capital and to complete the proposed acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Aduro Energy Inc. ("Aduro") from the Aduro securityholders pursuant to a Securities Exchange Agreement dated October 22, 2020 (the "Transaction"). Proceeds from the Offering may be advanced to Aduro as a loan prior to closing of the Transaction to be used to advance the Aduro hydrochemolytic technology. However, there is no assurance that the Transaction will close, and there are a substantial number of conditions precedent before closing occurs, including Company shareholder approval and CSE regulatory approval, among others. For more detailed information, see the Company's press releases dated July 14, 2020 and October 23, 2020 here:

https://webfiles.thecse.com/Dimension_Five_News_Release_announcing_entry_into_Securities_Exchange_Agreement_with_Aduro_Energy_and_Appointment_of_New_CFO_disseminated.docx?cMt3.IMmYhRAOLRqAzW3uO2Iezemui0s

https://webfiles.thecse.com/D5-Aduro_LOI_News_Release_July_14_2020.pdf?ocHPZRW_1no8M24Z8s8lsXKcbmieEDxt

ABOUT Dimension Five Technologies Inc.

Dimension Five Technologies Inc., based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is seeking to change its main business activities as set out in the press releases dated July 14, 2020 and October 23, 2020, referenced above. Additional information on Dimension Five is available on the company's website at http://www.dimensionfive.ca.

For further information, please contact :

Chris Parr, CEO

Chris@dimensionfive.ca

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Forward-Looking Statements.

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this press release include the Company's planned use of proceeds from the Offering, the proposed Transaction and the intention to complete the Consolidation following closing of the Transaction. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include: that the Canadian Securities Exchange or shareholders of the Company may not approve the Transaction as proposed or at all; that the parties may not be able to satisfy the other conditions to closing of the Transaction; that the Company may not be able to complete the Transaction and/or the Consolidation; general market conditions; factors related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; and other factors beyond the control of the parties. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE: Dimension Five Technologies Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/628033/Dimension-Five-Announces-Closing-of-Private-Placement


Back in 2017, the Mid-States Poker Tour expanded its deal with Venetian to include an early February event coinciding with the Super Bowl. Dubbed the Poker Bowl, the tournament built on a relationship that already included a series of monstrous summer events that built some memorable prize pools.

The Poker Bowl began with a somewhat modest $300,000 guarantee, one that proved to be quite a bit smaller than the actual turnout. More than double the required number of entries turned up (695) and it came down to well-known pros Jordan Young and Ankush Mandavia. The two struck a deal that saw both players earn more than $100K, with Young as the official winner.

In 2018, the Poker Bowl returned with an expanded guarantee of $500K. The number would be easily beaten again with 827 entries, and this time, the final four came to a deal. Kfir Nahum and Matthias De Cercq would get the lion's share with $108,410 apiece  the former took home the title via the slightest of chip leads  and John Ploski ($84,743) and Bob Shao ($76,926) got the rest.

The guarantee was upped once again for 2019 with $650,000, but it was again easily surpassed with more than 1,000 entries and a prize pool just shy of $1 million. This time, the last three made a deal, with Eli Ross and Pedro Mendes each getting about $119K but Canada's Brian Wilson snagging $143,929 and the title.

Venetian bumped to number to an even $1 million for 2020 and they finally had a mild sweat with the turnout, but 1,093 entries still made for a prize pool of $1,060,210. Another deal ended play, with five players this time divvying up the remaining monies. Bob Whalen had the most chips by a fair amount, so he secured $140,152 while three European players (Grachia Minasian, George Brady, Thomas Lust) and one other American (Oluwashola Akindele) got between $85K and $100K.

MSPT Poker Bowl at Venetian Event History

Year Event Entries Prize Pool Winner (Prize) 2017 MSPT Poker Bowl 695 $681,100 Jordan Young ($117,381)* 2018 MSPT Poker Bowl II 827 $806,325 Kfir Nahum ($108,410)* 2019 MSPT Poker Bowl III 1,022 $996,450 Brian Wilson ($143,929)* 2020 MSPT Poker Bowl IV 1,093 $1,060,210 Bob Whalen ($140,152)*

*reflects final table deal
New Delhi, Feb 5 : The Centre has informed the Rajya Sabha that it has clearly conveyed to the Canadian government that its Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement on the contentious central farm laws may damage bilateral ties.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said this in a written reply to an unstarred question put by Shiv Sena member Anil Desai in the Upper House of Parliament.

Desai had asked: "Is the government aware of the intervention in India's internal affairs by the Prime Minister of Canada's comments against farm laws passed by Indian Parliament? Does the government of India consider it unfair and unnecessary? If so, has any protest been lodged with Canada and if the Canadian authorities have responded on this matter?" In reply, Muraleedharan said: "The government of India is aware of Trudeau's remarks regarding the farm laws. We have raised this incident with competent authorities of Canada, both in Ottawa and New Delhi. The Indian government has told them that comments related to India's internal affairs are inappropriate and unacceptable and may harm the India-Canada bilateral relations." On December 1, Trudeau had supported the ongoing agitation by farmers since November 26, 2020, and expressed concern.

He said that Canada will always be there to protect the rights of peaceful protests, no matter wherever they take place.

--IANS nnm-skp/khz

/tsb

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Ramesh said Chandrababu was leading politics on to the wrong direction by fighting the government with the help of the SEC. (Photo: facebook @Jogi Ramesh)

VIJAYAWADA: The ruling YSR Congress has objected to the decision by the state election commission to freeze all unanimous Gram Panchayat results of Chittoor and Guntur districts. YSRC MLA Jogi Ramesh said, there is no provision in the law to nullify unanimous elections.

Ramesh challenged SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar to go and file a petition in the court along with TD chief Chandrababu Naidu if they felt unanimous elections were undemocratic.

Ramesh said Chandrababu Naidu staying in Hyderabad was doing dirty politics in Andhra Pradesh. Naidu had appointed an incompetent person as the State Election Commissioner (SEC), he alleged.

Noting the failure of SEC Ramesh Kumar to transfer his vote from Hyderabad to his native place, Duggirala in AP, Ramesh said, One who does not even know the basics is functioning as our Election Commissioner. He did not even know vote can be done only at a place where one resided for 6 months.

The MLA said the unanimous results will depend on how the people of a village think. He questioned why at all should the SEC be freezing the results. Presidential, MP, MLA and MLC elections are done at times in a unanimous manner. Then, how the SEC should oppose unanimous polls in the gram panchayat elections, he asked.

He said more than 90 per cent of the YSRC-backed candidates will win the elections. Was there any complaint that the YSRC ever forced anyone not to file nominations, he asked.

Ramesh said Chandrababu was leading politics on to the wrong direction by fighting the government with the help of the SEC. He demanded that the SEC cancel TDs election manifesto. The SEC should take disciplinary action against Chandrababu Naidu for violation of norms, he said.

MLA Ramesh alleged: SEC Ramesh Kumar has taken the decision to hold the unanimous results in abeyance as he wants to help TD. Chandrababu belongs to Chittoor and the SEC hails from Guntur district.

COMPLAINT AGAINST NAIDU

Meanwhile, the YSR Congress lodged a complaint against the Telugu Desam chief, saying he violated the Model Code of Conduct in the ongoing gram panchayat elections. YSRC state general secretary Lella Appireddy has submitted the complaint to SEC Ramesh Kumar here on Friday.

Appireddy said Chandrababu Naidu violated the election norms by releasing an election manifesto for grama panchayat polls. The GP polls are conducted on a non-party basis under the democratic system but Naidu made a laughing stock out of himself by releasing the TD manifesto, he said.

He said the TD manifesto is largely circulated among the masses through TD cadres, newspapers, the electronic media and through numerous social media platforms. There is no use with the SECs action of suspending the TD manifesto five days after the lodging of a complaint against it.

Appi Reddy said the simple action of the SEC, of suspending the manifesto without taking any serious action against Chandrababu Naidu, was ridiculous and it shocked people. He recalled that the SEC wrote letters to the governor with objectionable comments and allegations against YSRC ministers and CM Jagan.

He also noted that while the SEC initiated action against higher officials, he did not take any action against Chandrababu Naidu despite clear evidence the TD chief violated the Model Code of Conduct for the elections. Appireddy demanded that the SEC take stern action against Naidu by registering criminal cases against him.
EUGENE, Ore.  A White City man has been sentenced to three years on federal probation for illegally poaching a trophy bull elk in Crater Lake National Park, the U.S. Attorney's Office for District of Oregon said Friday.

44-year-old Adrian Duane Wood's sentence includes a six-month stay at a "residential re-entry center" and a lifetime ban from Crater Lake National Park, restriction from hunting during his probation, and a mandate to pay $42,500 in restitution to the National Park Service.

A years-long investigation into Wood's poaching began in July of 2014, according to court documents. At least two sources reported to federal and state authorities that Wood had killed several deer and elk on the west side of the park after baiting them into meadows with rock salt.

On August 31 of that year, an Oregon State Police trooper reported seeing Wood and his son leaving the park after dark.

"When the trooper approached him, Wood hurried toward his vehicle and acted as if he were trying to hide something," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "After speaking with Wood, the trooper located a loaded AR-15 semi-automatic rifle outfitted with night optics beneath his truck. Wood initially claimed the rifle was for bear hunting, but after the trooper pointed out that the rifle was not lawfully equipped to hunt any wildlife, Wood then claimed it was for personal protection."

The trooper cited Wood for being a felon in possession of a firearm, seizing the rifle. Wood was convicted in court and placed on probation. Regardless, state and federal authorities continued to receive reports about Wood's poaching over the next year.

"In October 2015, an NPS ranger found an elk skull, jaw, and vertebrae in the national park," federal prosecutors continued. "The remains were determined to be near a custom track log found on Woods GPS unit. Investigators later learned Wood entered and won second or third place in a Sportsmans Warehouse Big Bull elk hunting contest."

Evidence of Wood's poaching continued to pile up over 2016  including text messages from Wood, photos of him posing with poached elk, and state troopers discovering bloody evidence on Wood's hands and clothing during a stop near the edge of Crater Lake National Park.

"The next day, an OSP trooper returned to the area where they had contacted Wood, walked a short distance into the national park, and discovered a freshly killed and partially butchered elk," prosecutors said. "The carcass was in the same meadow wherein Wood was previously reported to have hunted elk. The trooper noted that the elks head was sawed off and some meat was removed."

In October of 2016, federal Fish & Wildlife agents executed a search warrant at Wood's home  finding multiple guns, ammunition, and trophies. Wood's GPS units also confirmed that he was in the park when he killed a bull elk in September, including a marked location of the kill.

The investigation also including federal forensic scientists examining wildlife specimens taken from Wood's home, comparing them to animal remains found in the park. DNA analysis found that Wood had parts of at least 13 elk, 12 deer, and one black bear. Blood found on Wood's ODFW archery tag matched the elk that was killed in September, and forensics confirmed that the elk had been killed by a gunshot.

Investigators definitively linked Wood to six elk or deer poached within the national park between 2015 and 2016, prosecutors said.

Wood was indicted by a federal grand jury in Medford for violations of the federal Lacey Act by unlawfully taking and transporting a trophy bull elk from Crater Lake National Park and illegally possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. Wood pleaded guilty to the Lacey Act charge and agreed to pay restitution in August of 2020.

"Our nations environmental laws are in place to protect vulnerable wildlife populations and ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy these animals as we do today. Mr. Wood preyed on elk and deer who were unaccustomed to being hunted and thus uniquely vulnerable to poaching, said U.S. Attorney Williams. Beyond the depravity of his crimes, Mr. Wood further engaged his minor son in his illegal acts and bragged about his criminal behavior to others. Thanks to the hard work of federal and state investigators, justice has been served and Mr. Wood has been permanently banned from Crater Lake.

EDIT: A previous version of this story said that Wood's sentence included five years on federal probation. The U.S. Attorney's Office later corrected this to three years.
Joe Biden continues to lie about the impact of mandatory higher wages. Mumbling to President Trump and the American people at the third presidential debate, he had said that "there is no evidence that when you raise the minimum wage, businesses go out of business. That is simply not true." He and his team have since reiterated this claim.

This is the same party that asserts that biological sex is a social construct, that the immutable race of a person should be the basis of his worth, and that climate change is an existential threat to the American people. Congratulations, Democrats: I no longer feel shock and outrage when you make stupid comments. I have simply come to expect it.

Still, I am a little worked up over Biden's comments on hourly wages. His position flies in the face of both basic economic theory and lived empirical realities. The chief policy officer at the swampy U.S. Chamber of Commerce even responded to the Biden lie by stating unequivocally that "there is no question that raising the minimum wage, especially to $15, will put some small businesses out of business and will cost a lot of low-wage workers their jobs." By their estimates, over one million Americans will not have a job if the policy goes into effect. This entire equity mindset is a disastrous combination of hubris, ignorance, and stupidity.

A maddening, heartbreaking, and corroborating story has therefore emerged from the Washington Post, which shared the brief history of the City of Long Beach's journey of manipulating the free market through government intervention. Ostensibly enacted to help hourly earners, the outcomes were predictably harmful toward the very same hourly earners they purport to serve. At this point, it is simply a toss-up as to who has a greater claim to the Super Bowl Trophy of Stupidity: the political class that pushes nonsense through or the electorate that continues to provide that class the political power.

Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia introduced his progressive legislation to the masses a few weeks back, tweeting on January 19 that "[t]omorrow, on the day we inaugurate our new President, I'll sign into law a $4 an hour hero pay increase to our hardworking grocery and supermarket workers. They have been on the frontlines of this pandemic and deserve this support."

No one disagrees with the sentiment that our frontline workers, whether in a hospital, gas station, or grocery store, deserve more. Our nation's teachers could certainly take a page out of their book. We should all thank them for keeping this country and economy chugging. However, this initiative is more about taking from grocery stores than it is giving to grocery store workers. The political left hates business, hates capitalism, and understands neither.

The WaPo story followed this up a few weeks later when it reported that, as a direct result of the mayor's intervention, "two grocery stores in [Long Beach] will shutter in April in response to a local 'hero pay' measure requiring a $4-an-hour increase for grocery workers during the pandemic."

Kroger, the company that owns the two chains whose locations were being shuttered, commented on the damage being done to the community (through lack of food access and loss of jobs) by stating that "the irreparable harm that will come to employees and local citizens is a direct result of the City of Long Beach's attempt to pick winners and losers."

What did the mayor and city council think would happen? It feels like a waste of words to describe how the grocery store operated under market conditions that informed those who ran it at what price they could sell goods, pay their workers, pay other debt obligations, and make a profit. Every business operates at a risk, and the risk-reward ratio was obviously closed to the point that it didn't make sense to put effort into a store with declining profits. Is this so hard to understand?

Apparently, it is, because an emotionally driven, fact-bereft city councilperson going by the name of Mary Zendejas, who sponsored the bill, said that "it really saddens me that they'd rather take away 200 jobs instead of doing the right thing, which is paying hazard pay for these local grocery store workers who risk their lives everyday they come in and who are putting their lives on the line every second they're working."

There is so much wrong with this sentiment. In Zendejas's world, there is now a moral obligation of private companies to pay whatever rate is deemed appropriate by leftists on a given day. Today it's a $4-an-hour boost because everyone is a hero. Tomorrow it's a national $15-an-hour increase. These are entirely arbitrary numbers, and by Biden's logic, if there is no evidence that they upset the balance of supply and demand, then why stop there? Why don't Mayor Garcia and Joe Biden advocate for $50-an-hour hero pay and a $100-an-hour minimum wage. There's no evidence that artificially forcing wages to go up has a detrimental impact, right?

Not that they'll notice, but there are real-world consequences to living in delusional leftist thought bubbles and echo chambers. The grocery store is but the latest proof of what happens when the government gets too involved in the free market. Worthless politicians pretend they care, then they enact policies that do more bad than good. How many more grocery stores, restaurants, and other small businesses will have to close in order to appease the socialist tendencies of elected officials?

Although the councilwoman will blame Big Grocery for being greedy and selfish for not wanting to operate its business at closer margins or at an outright loss, she is 100% responsible for what happened. It is now on the jobless grocers and hungry denizens of Long Beach to vote her and the mayor out before irreversible damage in their community is done.

Parker Beauregard writes at The Blue State Conservative. Contact him at thelastbesthope@protonmail.com.

Image: Smarty9108 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped).

RICHMOND, Va. - Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation Friday that would legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, with retail sales starting several years down the road.

RICHMOND, Va. - Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation Friday that would legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, with retail sales starting several years down the road.

Work on the complicated legislation has been a priority for Democrats who control state government. But the process is far from finished  there are substantial differences between the two chambers' bills that must be worked out before they can be sent to Gov. Ralph Northam, who could also seek to make additional changes.

I think that Virginia is on a path to an equitable legalization plan for marijuana. There have been a few bumps, but Im hopeful that well have a polished bill we can agree upon in the next few weeks," said Sen. Adam Ebbin, one of the chief patrons of that chamber's bill.

If the legislation is signed into law, Virginia would join 15 other states and the neighbouring District of Columbia in legalizing small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The House passed its version of the legislation on a 55-42 vote. The Senate advanced its bill 23-15.

Both chambers' measures would legalize possession of an ounce of marijuana or less for those 21 and older, though that provision has different start dates. Both bills would also start the process of expunging some previous misdemeanour marijuana-related offences, starting July 1. Both measures envision retail sales starting in 2024, overseen by a newly created regulatory entity. And both would use the biggest portion of the tax revenue from sales to fund pre-K for at-risk kids.

Among the differences between the two bills: the Senate version allows localities to opt out of allowing retail stores and it requires a second vote by lawmakers next year to finalize the legal framework.

This year's push for legalization comes after the new Democratic majority at the General Assembly passed decriminalization legislation last year, making simple possession a civil penalty that can be punished by a fine of no more than $25.

Northam, also a Democrat, took a new position in November supporting legalization. He said there were many reasons why he changed his mind, including unequal punishments for marijuana-related crimes among people of colour.

In his annual address to lawmakers last month, he said legalization would ensure Virginia is a more just state that works better for everyone.

Weve done the research, and we can do this the right way, leading with social equity, public health, and public safety," Northam said at the time.

Law enforcement groups, religious advocacy groups and addiction prevention advocates have been among those opposed to the measure.

Regina Whitsett, executive director of Substance Abuse Free Environment, Inc., said legalizing marijuana will increase the number of drug-impaired driving crashes and the use of marijuana among youth. The group is also concerned that edible marijuana products could get into the hands of young children and could result in accidental poisonings.

Its really not marijuana legalization, its marijuana commercialization theyre trying to pass, Whitsett said.

Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said law enforcement officials are concerned that legalization will drive up use of marijuana overall and cause more impaired driving crashes.

The issue of looking at this as a profit industry for Virginia is negated by health care costs, by impaired driving costs, by the fact that young people are exposed to this, Schrad said. There are just a lot of other issues and costs that come from marijuana legalization.

Both versions of the legislation have safety provisions that deal with packaging, advertising and consumer education.

Legalization is expected to bring in substantial tax revenues. A recent study conducted by the legislatures research and watchdog agency, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, found that legalizing and taxing commercial marijuana sales could generate between $154 and $308 million by the fifth year of sales.

House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, who is the chief patron of the House bill, said the legislation is a matter of urgency for people of colour who have been disproportionately penalized for marijuana-related offences.

The commission's study found that Black Virginians comprise a disproportionately high percentage of individuals arrested and convicted of marijuana offences. From 20102019, the average arrest rate of Black individuals for marijuana possession was 3.5 times higher than the arrest rate for white individuals, according to the study, which also found Black individuals were also convicted at a much higher rate  3.9 times higher than white individuals.

These communities have been hurting. The time to provide redress is now," Herring said.
Within two weeks of President Bidens inauguration, automakers have abandoned a legal battle to prevent California from setting stricter fuel efficiency standards, a testament to the power and importance of leadership on the climate crisis. The retreat likely sets the stage for new nationwide standards that will be better for the companies, consumers and the climate.

Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and other vehicle manufacturers announced this week that they are backing out of litigation over the Trump administrations decision to revoke Californias long-standing permission to impose stricter air pollution rules, which Biden has ordered federal agencies to reconsider. The automakers followed General Motors, which turned tailpipe shortly after Biden was elected and withdrew from the same case.

GM went even further in the other direction last week by vowing to phase out manufacture of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles by 2035. It thereby effectively signed on to Gov. Gavin Newsoms pledge to require that all new vehicles sold in California be emissions-free by then, a goal the Biden administration is also reportedly considering.

After the Trump administration decided to wage war on the tightened fuel efficiency standards developed by the Obama administration and California regulators, automakers did not greet their newfound freedom to pollute with the universal gratitude that might have been expected. While GM, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) and others sided with Trump in seeking to cease mileage improvements, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and others entered an agreement with the California Air Resources Board to continue making their fleets more efficient. The rejection of the rollback by its supposed beneficiaries was so embarrassing to the former president that his Justice Department cooked up a laughable antitrust investigation that went nowhere.

In addition to letting loose billions more tons of planet-heating carbon dioxide, the Trump administrations rearguard climate denialism left the entire auto industry facing unwelcome uncertainty about which standards would ultimately prevail. The new administration has already set a course that is more predictable for the companies and responsible for the country.

According to the view that prevailed in Washington over the past four years, regulation is an unwanted restraint on the inherently desirable impulses of corporations. This theory was undermined by nothing so much as the actual experience of those years, which showed that even the relatively small number of players in one sector did not agree on how they should be regulated. That is, after all, the governments job.

There are more ways to make a profit than there are to stem climate-changing pollution. It should be clear by now that the automakers can do both if our leaders have the courage and foresight to push them in the right direction.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
A voter with a dog leaves after casting his ballot paper at a polling station inside a church near Oxford, United Kingdom, on Dec. 12, 2019. (Peter Summers/Getty Images)

Bring Mask and Pencil: Englands Local Elections Get Go Ahead

Englands local elections will go ahead in May, the UK government announced on Friday, but with extra precautions to guard against the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Proxy voting rules have been relaxed to allow people needing to shield or self-isolate at the last minute to cast their ballot.

Polling stations will echo supermarkets with plastic screens, social distance-markers, and plenty of hand-sanitiser.

The usual stubby pencils will be availablebut people are advised to bring their own, or a pen. Voters will need to wear a mask, in accordance with current legislation.

Previously the government had said that the May 6 elections were under review due to uncertainty about lockdown curbs.

Last year, the local elections in May were postponed and put under review as the nation faced the first wave of the pandemic earlier in the spring.

In the year that has intervened, Returning Officers, the government and their partners have made extensive preparations to be able to hold these polls on 6 May 2021 in a way that minimises the risk of spreading the coronavirus, Chloe Smith, Minister of State for the Constitution and Devolution, said in a statement.

The elections will include those which did not go ahead last year.

Voting will still be carried out through the usual three methods: in-person at a polling station; by postal vote; and by proxy vote.

We are changing the rules for proxy voting to ensure that anyone who is self-isolating can request a proxy vote at the last minuteup to 5 p.m. on polling day itself, the government said in the announcement.

Voters (and companions of disabled voters) should bring their mask, as they would wear in any indoor public place, and we will be encouraging them to bring their own pen or pencil with which to mark their ballot paper.

The government is also asking candidates to drop the common practice of offering voters a lift in their car to the polling station. This has been identified as a particular risk of spreading the virus, the Cabinet Office statement read.

The government has pledged an extra 31 million ($42.5 million) (out of a total election budget of 92 million) to help make the election COVID-19 secure.

Everyone who feels comfortable going to a supermarket or a post office should also feel confident attending a polling station in May, Smith said. We encourage anybody who is shielding, or who would prefer not to attend a polling station, to apply for a postal or proxy vote ahead of the polls.

The elections will also cover the selection of police commissioners, and regional mayors, including the Mayor of London.

The arrest of a Troubles shooting victim at a wreath-laying ceremony in Belfast is being investigated by the police watchdog.

Mark Sykes was detained after officers approached a group of people attending an event commemorating the 29th anniversary of a loyalist paramilitary attack on the Sean Graham bookmakers shop.

The incident was described as "a shameful display of policing" by deputy first minister Michelle O'Neill, who said it had caused "unprecedented anger and distress across the community."

Northern Ireland's chief constable, Simon Byrne, appealed for calm as he acknowledged that it was "the latest incident to raise concerns about the enforcement of coronavirus regulations". Public gatherings of more than six people are currently prevented under the lockdown.

He added: "I fully recognise the sensitivities of this incident and just how difficult a day this would have already been for the families who lost loved ones in the atrocity. That should not be forgotten."

Mr Byrne said police were reviewing all footage of the incident, including the officers' body-worn video, and were conducting an "assessment of the conduct of the officers involved".

The Police Ombudsman's Office later confirmed it had received a complaint and had launched an investigation.

"Our investigation will focus on establishing all of the facts surrounding the incident, and investigators will be examining all available evidence in order to consider the appropriateness of the actions taken by police, including the arrest," the ombudsman said in a statement.

Footage of the arrest and angry exchanges involving officers and those attending Friday's event have been posted online.

Police said that officers from the South Belfast local policing team had become aware that a group of between 30 and 40 people were gathered at the event in Ormeau Road at around 2.30pm on Friday.

Mr Byrne said in a statement: "As the event concluded, two officers approached a person to talk to him about a breach of the Health Protection Regulations.

"The situation quickly escalated and a man was arrested for disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest. He was taken to Musgrave police station and was released at 4.04pm.

"In the course of the incident a police officer sustained a minor injury to his face."

Mr Sykes was later released from Musgrave PSNI station in Belfast. His lawyer Niall Murphy said: "Every year the victims and survivors gather in dignity to remember their loved ones and to say a short prayer.

"This year because of Covid restrictions it was restricted to the five families who maintained a dignified silence and left flowers down.

"The police attended, for what reason I will never know, approached victims and survivors of an atrocity and commenced to harass, push and assault man, woman and child."

Mr Murphy added: "The only disorderly behaviour that happened on the Ormeau Road today was by the police who had no right to be there and who have wreaked havoc on community relations both in the Ormeau Road and in the wider community."

Ms O'Neill, vice president of Sinn Fein, said that the response of the PSNI to the outcry over the incident was "inadequate and insulting".

She added: "It further adds insult to injury to the families of the victims who have been waiting almost three decades for truth about the deaths of their loved ones.

The chief constable needs to understand the damage that the actions of his officers today has had on community confidence in policing. This standard of policing is not acceptable and should not be acceptable to any section of this community.

Five people including a 15 year-old boy were killed and several others were injured when gunmen opened fire on customers in the Sean Graham bookmakers on 5 February 1992.

Additional reporting by Press Association

Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
Just days before her new movie Bliss debuts on Amazon Prime, Salma Hayek has set up a bizarre new comedy series centering on a woman's breasts.

The 54-year-old actress has signed on to develop an adaptation of Leslie Lehr's book A Boob' Life as a TV series for HBO Max, according to Deadline.

Hayek will produce through her Ventanarosa Productions company, which has a first-look deal with HBO Max.

New show: Just days before her new movie Bliss debuts on Amazon Prime, Salma Hayek has set up a bizarre new comedy series centering on a woman's breasts

New show: The 54-year-old actress has signed on to develop an adaptation of Leslie Lehr's book A Boob' Life as a TV series for HBO Max, according to Deadline

The series will be a half-hour comedy following a 40-year-old woman named Leslie, whose life is upended when her breasts start talking to her.

She's forced to look at herself in a completely new light, with the show examining the, 'reality of life in a female body in a culture that is obsessed with breasts.'

The book A Boobs Life: How Americas Obsession Shaped Meand You will be published by Pegasus Books on March 2.

Talking chest: The series will be a half-hour comedy following a 40-year-old woman named Leslie, whose life is upended when her breasts start talking to her

Cynthia Mort has come aboard to write the pilot, and she will also serve as showrunner and executive producer.

Hayek will executive produce alongside her Ventanarosa partners Jose Tamez and Siobhan Flynn, with Lehr also serving as an executive producer.

Also executive producing are Melissa Oman and Julie R. Snyder under their Wheeler Girl Productions banner.

Executive producer: Hayek will executive produce alongside her Ventanarosa partners Jose Tamez and Siobhan Flynn, with Lehr also serving as an executive producer

'We are so appreciative that HBO Max was insightful and bold enough to develop this show with us,' Hayek said in a statement.

'In A Boobs Life, we use breasts as a metaphor for the constant judgement women are submitted to, creating a collective sensation that no matter what we do we are never enough,' she added.

'In this show, we give the breast a voice that takes us through the life of a woman from a unique perspective that often we dont dare to see,' Hayek concluded.

Bold: 'We are so appreciative that HBO Max was insightful and bold enough to develop this show with us,' Hayek said in a statement

Hayek is gearing up for a busy year, with her new film Bliss, starring alongside Owen Wilson, debuting on Amazon Prime on Friday.

She also returns as Sonia Kincaid in the sequel to 2017's The Hitman's Bodyguard, entitled The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, alongside Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson.

The beloved actress will also make her first foray into the superhero realm, playing Ajak in Marvel's The Eternals, with Angelina Jolie and Gemma Chan, debuting November 5.
LAFAYETTE, La. - The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development announced today that hurricane debris removal along state right-of-way in St. Landry and Vermilion Parishes is now complete.

Initial debris removal began on September 2, 2020 for St. Landry Parish, and on August 31, 2020 for Vermilion Parish, after impacts from Hurricane Laura, with debris removal continuing following impacts from Hurricane Delta.

With a completion date of January 31, 2021, a total of 37,611 cubic yards of hurricane debris was removed from St. Landry Parish. Additionally, a total of 137,490 cubic yards of hurricane debris was removed in Vermilion Parish after its completion on January 27, 2021.

Debris removal services are still ongoing throughout the Acadiana region, which includes Acadia, Lafayette, and St. Martin parishes.

To date, contractors have removed a total of 295,826 cubic yards of debris in Acadiana.

Approximately three million cubic yards of hurricane debris has been removed statewide.

DOTD would like to remind citizens of the following important tips for assisting the debris removal process.

State contractors are only able to remove debris from state right-of-way.

Dark colored bagged debris will not be removed.

Please do not put debris on power lines, fire hydrants, utility stub outs or anything that would hinder the claw that grabs the debris.

Citizens may check http://www.511la.org for the latest statistical information, debris routes where there has been a pass, and where planned debris pickup is scheduled.
The ongoing investigation in the Bollywood drug probe led the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to the infamous drug dealer, Mohammad Suhal Bilal.

NCB made the connection to Bilal, who is a known drug lord not only in India but also in the foreign countries like Dubia, after the arrests of Chinku Pathan and Arif Bhujwala.

The Bureau received a lead about the whereabouts of Bilal from Arif Bhujwalas mobile chat. A raid was conducted in an area adjoining Mumbai where a 100kg MD drug consignment was coming for him. The team arrested the accused during the raid.

The authorities revealed that the accused had an unique way to communicate during the deals. He used a digital algorithm to modify his voice into a womans pitch to keep his identity hidden. Bilal used to change his sim every week and each sim had a separate set of documents.

A cyber expert, Ankur Puranik explained, First the sample is created, which is then converted into a digital signal to be shared on different mediums including mobile phones. There is a time gap between the signal being transmitted from the device to the network and the accused was using this gap to change the pitch of the sound. This technology can be used to convert a mans voice into a woman's and vice versa.

Sound is a frequency and can be changed with the help of digital algorithms. But changing the frequency of the digital transmission is an illegal activity. This method is mainly used by criminals to keep their identity hidden from the world, he added.

Live TV
After nearly a year of an educational environment pulled apart by a pandemic, many are at the breaking point. Now the state of Texas is adding to the load.

We struggle to understand the trade-off in priorities  accountability over safety  that has prompted the Texas Education Agency to insist that all students report for in-person STAAR testing and that high school students pass end-of-course exams to graduate. Our questions to the agency went unanswered but TEA owes Texas families an explanation.

Even in an ordinary school year, the merits of the STAAR as an accurate measure of learning are debatable. When instruction has been fractured and uneven, a standardized test cannot be a fair barometer. How can it pinpoint learning gaps without taking into account the wildly different levels of instruction children are receiving or the impact of compound traumas on scores?

It is foolhardy to proceed with the STAAR, especially since this year the test will not count toward school accountability. School administrators get a pass  but kids dont?

Forcing students to take the test in-person, adding to their stress and potentially exposing them and their teachers to a deadly virus seems counter to the priorities of safety, flexibility and parental discretion that have thus far guided state policies. The stakes for high school seniors  those in virtual classes who dont show up for the exams may not be able to graduate  seems needlessly callous.

Miguel Cardona, President Bidens pick for Secretary of Education, alluded to that during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday: If the conditions under COVID-19 prevent a student from being in school in person, I dont think we need to be bringing students in just to test them.

Fact is, the blanket testing mandate on public schools across Texas doesnt take into account the varying degrees to which districts and schools are adhering to safety protocols or the fact that one exposure is enough to contract the virus. There are vigilant parents who havent sent their children back to in-person classes because they distrust, often for good reason, the commitment of local school officials to take COVID-19 seriously.

The state is allowing districts to set up satellite centers that will accommodate testing while maintaining strong public health practices. Districts can also apply for waivers so students not scheduled to take the STAAR could learn remotely, freeing up space for test-takers to social distance.

But so far, TEA has not specified any coronavirus prevention measures during testing. And what about the time and resources needed to set up alternate testing sites or the impact on districts whose budgets are already tight?

Were in the middle of a life-threatening pandemic, state Rep. Alma Allen, D-Dallas, said Wednesday at a press conference where Texas House Democratic Caucus members called for the cancellation of the in-person STAAR. We also cannot ask our teachers or our school personnel, students and families to put themselves at risk for an unnecessary test. Let me emphasize unnecessary.

Educators dont need a test to tell them what is known: Many Texas students, grappling with cascading pandemic stresses and disruptions, are struggling. Failure rates are up. Attendance is spotty. Kids are experiencing high levels of depression and anxiety.

Those considerations are why state Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, has filed a bill to cancel this years STAAR and why a growing number of states are requesting federal waivers to cancel their own standardized tests. The Biden administration extended the deadline for waivers but needs to act decisively by granting states permission to forgo the tests, as the Trump administration did last spring.

Last March, Gov. Greg Abbott made the wise choice of canceling STAAR tests, noting then: Your health and safety are top priorities, and the state of Texas will give school districts flexibility to protect and ensure the health of students, faculty and their families.

At the time, Texas had only recorded one death from COVID-19, compared with the current toll of 2.4 million cases and more than 37,000 deaths.

While its true that Texas, and the world, has learned a great deal about the coronavirus in the past year, including how to prevent it, its continued spread and worrisome mutations show we still have a lot to learn. Abbott should keep health and safety as top priorities  far above a faulty barometer of statewide student performance, made even less effective by erratic variations in instruction this past year.

Great risk + questionable benefit = one responsible choice: cancel the in-person STAAR.
A US Army soldier stationed in Hawaii has been charged with murdering his estranged wife and dumping her body in the trash, less than three months after he sought a protective order against her.

Spc Raul Hernandez Perez, 25, is an intelligence analyst assigned to the 500th Military Intelligence Brigade at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu.

His estranged wife, 25-year-old mother-of-one Selena Roth, herself an Army Veteran who previously served as a signals intelligence analyst, was found dead during a welfare check conducted at the request of a family member on the morning of January 13.

Spc Raul Hernandez Perez, 25, has been charged with murder in the January 13 killing of his estrange wife, Selena Roth (left and right). The 25-year-old mom was an Army veteran

Roth's body was found in a trash can at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, Hawaii

Hawaii News Now reported at the time, citing an unnamed source, that Roth's body was discovered in a garbage receptacle.

Officials have not disclosed how Roth died but classified her death as a homicide.

Special agents from the US Army Criminal Investigation Command questioned Hernandez Perez and took him into custody that same evening.

'Our brigade and the Army community are heartbroken by Selena's death,' Col. Theodore Travis, commander, 500th Military Intelligence Brigade, said in a news release Thursday. 'We have extended our condolences to Selena's family, friends and loved ones.

Prior to her medical discharge in March 2020, Roth serve as signals intelligence analyst. She welcomed a baby daughter with her first husband in 2019 (right)

Roth, pictured with her father, was headed for a divorce at the time of her death. Her second husband, Hernandez Perez, sought a protective order against her in November

'We ask that you please respect the highly sensitive nature of this tragedy out of respect for the families. We will ensure that Spc. Hernandez Perez is treated fairly throughout the judicial process.'

Court filings cited by Honolulu Star Advertiser reveal that Hernandez Perez filed for divorce from Roth in October.

Less than a month later, the man filed for a protective order against his wife, accusing her of throwing a computer and other items at him, and letting the air out of his tires.

Roth's previous husband, a US Marine who is the biological father of her two-year-old daughter, also was said to have sought an order of protection against her, claiming that her severe anxiety drove her to throw things and yell obscenities.

Roth's husband accused her in court documents of throwing a computer at him and letting the air out of his tires

Roth was medically discharged from the Army in March 2020 and had recently enrolled in the Hawaii Pacific University School of Social Work, which posted a message on Facebook on Thursday mourning her death.

'She was new in the program but will be missed. She had a baby daughter whom she adored,' the status update reads. 'We are reminded of how fragile life is and of the need to watch out and care for each other. The Army is investigating it as a murder.'

Roth's sister Aubrey Rangel described the 25-year-old on GoFundMe as 'an Army veteran who fought for the rights of female active duty members. She fought against domestic violence and military sexual trauma in the military.'

Roth's sister described her as an advocate against domestic violence and sexual trauma in the military

Rangel also said that Roth was a passionate animal advocate who adopted many pets herself and would feed homeless animals. According to the sister, she was equally kind and generous to people.

'She fought for what she believed in, even if the people around her did not agree, she always fought for what was right,' Rangel wrote.

According to her recent social media posts, Roth appeared to strongly identify with Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen, 20, who went missing from Fort Hood, Texas, in April and was later found murdered.

A male soldier who was suspected of killing Guillen committed suicide before police arrived to arrest him.

'I know it feels old, I know you're tired of all of this, but don't let her death go without consequence.' Roth posted on Facebook in December, adding the hashtags '#iamvanessaguillen, #metoomilitary, #MeToo' and '#NeverForget.'

Roth was laid to rest in Florida on Monday. She is survived by her baby daughter, her parents and siblings.
Shares of advanced 12 per cent to Rs 499 in intra-day trade on the BSE on Friday after the company said it has received an additional work order worth Rs 236 crore (including GST) for an institutional project at Gujarat.

Further, the company has been ranked the L1 bidder (Lowest Bidder) by a regulatory authority for projects totalling to Rs 420.89 crore (including GST) for construction of medical colleges at multiple locations at Uttar Pradesh, PSP Projects, on Thursday, said in exchange filing.

On Wednesday, in a separate regulatory filing, the company announced that it has received Letter of Intent (LOI) for a project worth Rs 588.62 crore (including GST) from a private developer at Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Further, our company has been ranked the L1 bidder by a regulatory authority for projects totalling to Rs 1249.41 crore (including GST) for construction of medical colleges at multiple locations at Uttar Pradesh, it said.

In the past one week, the stock of the construction & engineering company has rallied 20 per cent, against 9 per cent gain in the S&P BSE Sensex in the same period. It hit a 52-week high of Rs 535, on February 11, 2020.

At 02:36 pm, was trading 8 per cent higher at Rs 482 on the BSE, against 0.37 per cent risen in the benchmark index. The trading volumes on the counter more-than-doubled with combined 980,000 equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE.
US President on Thursday said the days of his country rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions are over and warned Moscow that his administration will not hesitate to raise the cost on it.

"I made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions -- interfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens -- are over," Biden told State Department employees.

Russian President is one of the world leaders with whom Biden has spoken over the phone. "We will not hesitate to raise the cost on and defend our vital interests and our people. We will be more effective in dealing with when we work in coalition and coordination with other like-minded partners," he said.

Biden said the politically-motivated jailing of Alexei Navalny and the Russian efforts to suppress freedom of expression and peaceful assemblies are a matter of deep concern to the United States and the community.

"Mr Navalny, like all Russian citizens, is entitled to his rights under the Russian constitution. He has been targeted for exposing corruption. He should be released immediately and without condition," he said.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov over the phone, during which they discussed the New START extension and the need for new arms control that addresses all of Russia's nuclear weapons and the growing threat from China.

Blinken reiterated Biden's resolve to protect American citizens and act firmly in defence of US interests in response to actions by that harm the United States and its allies.

"This includes the release of Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed so that they are able to return home to their families in the United States. The secretary raised Russian interference in the 2020 US election, its military aggression in Ukraine and Georgia, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the SolarWinds incident, among other issues," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.

Earlier in the day, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan explained that unlike the previous administration, the Biden administration will be taking steps to hold Russia accountable for the range of malign activities it has undertaken.

"That includes interfering in America's democracy. It includes the poisoning of citizens on European soil with chemical weapons. It includes the types of hacks and breaches that you just referred to and many other things as well. We will do that at a time and in a manner of our choosing. And we believe that imposing those costs and consequences will have an effect on Russia's behaviour going forward.

"Now, is it going to stop from doing everything we do not like? Of course not. But do we believe that we will be able to take a firmer, more effective line when it comes to Russian aggression and Russian bad behaviour? Yes, we do," he said.

At the same time, Sullivan reiterated that does not rule out being able to work with Russia where it is in American interest to do so.

"We can walk and chew gum at the same time. And the New START Treaty and that extension -- keeping a lid on nuclear proliferation -- is, in fact, very much in America's national security interests," he said.

Meanwhile, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a resolution with senators Chris Coons, Marco Rubio and Dick Durbin calling for broad cooperation between Congress and the Biden administration to formulate a strategy to counter the malign activities of Russian proxies.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alfred Street Baptist Church Foundation is partnering with Google Cloud in presenting the ASBC Foundation's 19th annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Festival, taking place virtually for the first time on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021.



For nearly two decades, the ASBC Foundation's signature event has enabled more than 50,000 Black youth  many of whom are first-generation college students  to directly connect with the nation's iconic HBCUs, while also providing a wealth of vital information about the college admissions process, financial aid, academic disciplines, and the vibrant cultural aspects of Black college life.



The 2020 ASBC Foundation HBCU Festival welcomed 10,000 prospective students and their families, produced 1,766 offers of admission to high school seniors, and awarded more than $5.4 million in scholarships  and 2021 is poised to be even bigger. As title sponsor, Google Cloud will provide funding support, and technology infrastructure for the festival.



A majority of the 70+ HBCUs participating in the 2021 Festival will conduct on-site interviews and offer instant admission virtually, and many schools will waive application fees. There is no cost to attend and/or register for this year's Festival. Since the Festival's inception, participating HBCUs have awarded more than $40 million in the form of academic scholarships and/or waived fees.



"We are overjoyed that Google Cloud is partnering with us for the first time as our title sponsor. Google Cloud is committed to HBCUs, higher education for our Black youth as well as diversity, which is why they decided to support this rewarding event," says the Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, ASBC's senior pastor.



"Partnering with Google Cloud will allow us to reach and impact the lives of so many Black families and their college-bound students," adds ASBC Foundation president Pat Wallace.



Google Cloud provides organizations with infrastructure, platform capabilities and industry solutions, delivering cloud solutions that use Google's cutting-edge technology to help organizations operate more efficiently and adapt to changing needs. Customers in more than 150 countries turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to solve their most critical business problems, including a majority of HBCUs who use Google Workspace for the communications and collaboration needs of teachers, students, staff and others."



"We are proud to sponsor the ASBC Foundation HBCU Festival which includes many of our HBCU customers of Google Workspace," said Steven Butschi, head of Education for Google Cloud. "We are always honored to assist HBCUs in solving challenges through our technology solutions, or by facilitating the recruitment of our country's finest students for these outstanding colleges and universities."



For more information about the 2021 ASBC Foundation HBCU Festival, please visit alfredstreet.org.



This initiative builds on the company's ongoing investments in HBCU students. Since 2013, the Google in Residence program has placed Goolge software engineers at HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) as faculty. The company also hosts Tech Exchange, a virtual student exchange program that teaches HBCU and HSU students applied computer science programs. Google has also launched exploreCSR, Computer Science Summer Institute for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (CSSI-HBCU), and Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program.

About Alfred Street Baptist Church: Established in 1803, Alfred Street Baptist Church (ASBC) will celebrate its 218th anniversary in November and is home to one of the oldest African American congregations in the nation. Since inception, it has served as a prominent religious, educational, and cultural organization in the Northern Virginia community. Under the current esteemed leadership of Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, ASBC has grown from 2,500 members to more than 10,000 members, with services on Saturday at 6pm and Sunday at 8:00am, 10:00am and 2:00pm. For more information, visit www.AlfredStreet.org.

About Alfred Street Baptist Church Foundation: The Alfred Street Baptist Church (ASBC) Foundation is a nonprofit organization that is recognized as such under Section 501(c) (3) of the federal Internal Revenue Service code. The foundation provides academic scholarships to select graduating high school seniors who have demonstrated a financial need and have maintained high academic performance.

About the HBCU College Festival: The HBCU College Festival is a premier event that connects students and parents to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Arguably the largest HBCU College fair in the country, this 2021 event expects to virtually host approximately 10,000 students, parents, college officials and volunteers. Historical information about the Festival can be found at alfredstreet.org.



Media Credentials are reserved for working print, broadcast and online journalists with a local, regional, national or international commercial news organization or publication. All requests must be sent to Carla Welborn at https://www.alfredstreet.org/media-credential-form/ or emailed to [email protected]. Forward a link or an electronic copy of your credential documents and assignment letter. The following information must be submitted for each individual requesting credentials: name, title, news organization, address, work phone, cell phone and email address. Email [email protected] to schedule interviews.

Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12856908



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Alfred Street Baptist Church

Related Links

https://www.alfredstreet.org



Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to villagers who are participating in festive activities, and extends his New Year's greetings to people of all ethnic groups across the country, on a public square of Huawu Village, Xinren Miao Township of Qianxi County, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 3, 2021. Xi on Wednesday inspected southwest China's Guizhou Province ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua)  Visiting poor villages has been a key part of Xi Jinping's more than 80 domestic inspections since he was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in late 2012.

His tour in the less-developed Guizhou Province this week, however, signals a change.

As the country has gained a decisive victory in ending absolute poverty, the focus of work concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers has shifted to promoting rural vitalization.

A priority is to consolidate poverty relief achievements. The more difficult it is for a region to shake off poverty, the greater the need to consolidate and expand its poverty eradication results.

By choosing Guizhou, home to the last nine counties removed from the country's poverty list, Xi wanted to see in person the living conditions of those who had shaken off poverty, and promote steady progress in rural vitalization.

He went to Huawu Village in Qianxi County that was once reeling under extreme poverty but has received support to develop rural industries and tourism.

Xi visited a Miao embroidery workshop there, giving thumbs up to its role in promoting rural vitalization.

He joined the family of Zhao Yuxue in Huawu Village to make a traditional snack for festivals and wished the family "a happier and sweeter life."

As Xi has pointed out on various occasions, rural vitalization involves work in the following aspects:

 rural industries must be bolstered to turn farming into promising work;

 favorable conditions must be created for those who choose to stay in the countryside;

 cultural activities must be enriched;

 the environment and ecology must be good and village-level organizations should be full of vigor.

The message of shifting the focus in work concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers has become clear over time.

A key session of the 19th CPC Central Committee last October called for efforts in consolidating achievements secured in poverty eradication and fully promoting the strategy of rural vitalization.

At the annual central rural work conference held in last December, Xi stressed that China should push forward rural vitalization in an all-round way as "a historic shift" in the focus of its work concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers.

The year 2021 marks the start of China's 14th five-year plan for economic and social development and its new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country.

In that pursuit, the rural areas remain where the most formidable tasks, as well as the broadest and most profound foundations, lie.

Xi's Guizhou tour is expected to point out the future direction for promoting rural vitalization.

As he has said, being lifted out of poverty is not an end in itself but the starting point of a new life and a new pursuit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to villagers who are participating in festive activities, and extends his New Year's greetings to people of all ethnic groups across the country, on a public square of Huawu Village, Xinren Miao Township of Qianxi County, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 3, 2021. Xi on Wednesday inspected southwest China's Guizhou Province ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to villagers who are participating in festive activities, and extends his New Year's greetings to people of all ethnic groups across the country, on a public square of Huawu Village, Xinren Miao Township of Qianxi County, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 3, 2021. Xi on Wednesday inspected southwest China's Guizhou Province ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits villagers of Huawu Village, Xinren Miao Township of Qianxi County, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 3, 2021. Xi on Wednesday inspected southwest China's Guizhou Province ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits villagers of Huawu Village, Xinren Miao Township of Qianxi County, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 3, 2021. Xi on Wednesday inspected southwest China's Guizhou Province ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits villagers of Huawu Village, Xinren Miao Township of Qianxi County, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 3, 2021. Xi on Wednesday inspected southwest China's Guizhou Province ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

(Source: Xinhua)
Imagine being able to turn exposed muscle cells into skin cells to help cover a wound.

Scientists at the Air Force Research Lab are looking at ways to "reprogram" a person's cells to heal wounds more than five times faster than normal, the service said in a Jan. 28 release.

In partnership with the AFRL, Dr. Indika Rajapakse, associate professor of computational medicine and bioinformatics, and of mathematics, at the University of Michigan, is using a live cell imaging microscope paired with a mathematical algorithm to study whether a cell can be altered to speed up the healing process, according to the release.

Read Next: 'Beijing Biden Is Not My President:' Troops' Social Media Posts in Spotlight After Capitol Riots

Rajapakse and Col. Charles Bris-Bois, the Air Force's disruptive technology program team lead, are analyzing real-world injury treatments, such as burn healing, skin grafts and organ transplants.

The hope is to save lives during combat or aeromedical evacuations and improve troops' longevity.

"There are amazing opportunities in the United States, that you don't see in the rest of the world, to humanize science and meet critical needs in medicine," Rajapakse said in the release. The project was made possible through funding from the AFRL's Air Force Office of Scientific Research in Arlington, Virginia.

"We have the resources to do this, and it is our obligation to take full advantage of them," he said.

The process of reprogramming a cell modifies its genome, or its genetic material. This is done using proteins, called transcription factors, that hasten or stop different genes "to regulate activities such as cell division and growth, and cell migration and organization," the release states.

The genetic sequence can be rewritten so that it turns into a different type of cell. For example, a reprogrammed skin cell can become a muscle cell or a blood cell. The algorithm helps "predict the points in the cell cycle where transcription factors can best affect the desired change," the release explains.

With the right transcription factor sequences, Rajapakse found wounds can heal faster using the new process.

The next step is to make the technology usable in a real-world setting.

"The envisioned technology would act like a 'spray-on' bandage, applying transcription factors directly to wounds," the release states. "This method would convert exposed deep muscle cells into surface skin cells, which would mean a higher probability of successful healing than the current methods of skin grafting."

Researchers, doctors and biotechnicians at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio have looked at similar science.

In 2012, the institute began researching ways to patch up burn victims on site, including spray-on skin.

"They're developing artificial skin, or skin that comes from just a very small piece of a person's skin, and then can be made into a large amount, and then be put into a spray bottle," Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Johnson, then-commanding general of Brooke Army Medical Center, said in 2016. Johnson moved on from that post in 2018.

The sprayed-on skin would regenerate and grow as it is applied to the surface of the body, Johnson said at the time.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: It's Raining Blood: Air Force Tests New Way to Resupply Battlefield Medics
APPLE VALLEY, Minn., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Uponor North America (Uponor), a pioneer and leading provider of PEX (crosslinked polyethylene) piping products, launched its new Complete Polymer Solution for commercial-piping applications in the U.S. The innovative platform for this important announcement was a special, 90-minute, virtual event for customers, specifiers, installers, and other buying influencers in the commercial plumbing and mechanical field.

The online unveiling included the official launch of two important initiatives: Uponor's new PP-RCT mechanical piping system for commercial HVAC projects; and the new Uponor Construction Services, offering enhanced, professional estimation, design, and building information modeling (BIM) services to support the design and installation of plumbing and mechanical piping systems.

"Our new PP-RCT and Construction Services offerings, combined with our traditional PEX piping solutions, deliver a complete polymer solution for a wide range of commercial plumbing and mechanical projects," says Bill Gray, president of Uponor North America. "From half-inch diameter PEX to 12-inch diameter PP-RCT, our piping solutions meet the performance, durability, and safety needs of the entire commercial structure."

PP-RCT piping system: Uponor PP-RCT ( P oly P ropylene, R andom copolymer with modified C rystallinity and T emperature resistance) has higher temperature and pressure ratings than PP-R pipe, as well as lower levels of expansion and contraction.

Proven reliable for commercial hydronic heating, chilled-water cooling, and distribution piping for radiant heating and cooling applications  including snow melt, turf conditioning, and permafrost prevention  PP-RCT is 80 percent lighter than steel pipe. That makes it not only easier, but also safer, to install than metallic pipe systems. It also offers higher resistance to corrosion, rust, and scale buildup and quieter operation than metallic piping materials.

Uponor initially announced its entry into the North American PP-RCT market in September 2019 through a partnership agreement with Pestan North America. As a result, Uponor is now marketing approximately 270 pipe and fitting products in the U.S. in sizes up to 12 inches in diameter and with plans to expand up to 24 inches. All Uponor PP-RCT pipe and fittings come protected by a 10-year warranty.

Construction Services: Continuing its 27-year history of offering PEX piping system design for both residential and commercial radiant heating, cooling, and plumbing, residential fire safety, and commercial hydronic piping, Uponor has expanded this offering to become Uponor Construction Services, featuring regionally based designers, as well as a team of BIM experts.

Using the latest design and estimating tools, the Uponor team of skilled and experienced designers and project managers offers a deep menu of design and construction services at no charge, including:

Square-foot budget estimations

Material take-offs

Piping material cost comparisons

Design development

Radiant heating and cooling loop layouts

Pipe sizing and load recommendations

In addition, Uponor Construction Services provides fee-based, system design services (plansets in PDF, Revit, and fabrication models), quoted to meet the particular needs of individual projects, at prices below standard industry system-design rates.

Other fee-based services from the BIM Services team include:

Record modeling

Estimating

As-built modeling

On-site support

Project controls

Modular construction

Kitting and prefabrication

BIM content

All of these services integrate directly into the user's software platform and workflows, providing an integrated partnership with an end goal to deliver a well-designed project that is properly coordinated and fully supported.

"Evolving our Construction Services offering was in response to customer feedback and their growing expectations related to project efficiency, accuracy, quality, and consistency to better meet schedules and budgets," says Gray. "We saw an opportunity to become a more involved partner from the very start of a project through construction onto completion and beyond.

For more information, visit https://uponor.greenhousedigitalpr.com/cps-launch

SOURCE Uponor

Related Links

https://www.uponor-usa.com


WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Sherrod Brown, the newly seated chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, says hed be willing to consider moving on legislation that would allow the cannabis industry access to the banking system if the measure is coupled with sentencing reform for drug offenses.

The Ohio Democrat said helping the nation cope with the coronavirus pandemic will be his committees top priority, followed by providing emergency assistance for renters facing eviction and homeowners facing foreclosure, and support for public transit, including rural bus systems. He told reporters Thursday that his committees first hearing will be about how the pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color.

The U.S. House of Representatives in 2019 overwhelmingly passed legislation that would allow banks and credit unions to handle financial transactions for legal, state-licensed cannabis businesses without fear of federal sanctions because marijuana is still considered illegal under federal law. The bill didnt go anywhere in the U.S. Senate because of opposition from the previous chair of Browns committee, Idaho Republican Mike Crapo, a marijuana legalization opponent. Crapo said the bill didnt address the high level potency of marijuana, marketing tactics to children, lack of research on marijuanas effects, and the need to prevent bad actors and cartels from using the banks to disguise ill-gotten cash to launder money into the financial system.

Brown said he discussed the Secure And Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act last week with a group of Colorado Congress members.

I am willing to look at moving on the SAFE Act, but with it needs to come sentencing reform, Brown said. I dont think we move on legalization the way that Colorado and some other states want us to, unless we really look more seriously at whos in prison for how long for those kinds of offenses and we dont do one without the other.

Brown said the sentencing reform he desires would have to go through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Were not going to move without working with the Judiciary Committee on that at the same time, said Brown.

National Cannabis Industry Association spokesman Morgan Fox said the difficulties that cannabis businesses have accessing banking make it difficult for aspiring small cannabis businesses to get loans. Cannabis businesses that cant access to banks must work in cash, which targets them for robbery, necessitates large security expenses, and requires them to pay bills for utilities, taxes, and supplies in cash.

After the cannabis banking bill stalled in the Senate, Fox said it was included in a House coronavirus relief package that did not become law. Fox said cannabis businesses were declared essential during the pandemic in nearly every state where they operate, but they were not eligible for Small Business Administration loans or loans under the Paycheck Protection Program.

Providing access to banking would help them keep operating, employing people and contributing to local and state economies, says Fox, adding that Ohios cannabis market was valued at $58 million in 2019. He said his 1,500-member trade group hopes the banking legislation will make it into the next coronavirus assistance packages that move through Congress.

The SAFE Banking Acts top Republican cosponsors in 2019 were Ohioans Steve Stivers of Columbus and Warren Davidson of Miami County. A statement from Davidson declared the bill defends civil liberties.

Passing this bill keeps the right perspective: No federal regulator should block Americans lawful access to the financial system, said Davidson. This principle holds true, whether you are talking about firearms or cannabis.

The bill has not yet been reintroduced in the current session of Congress, which started in January.

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This Prime Minister promised unfettered access and now must deliver. The societal and economic interruption caused directly by the protocol cannot be ignored.

We welcome the recognition from Michael Gove in Parliament that these are not "teething problems" and that more action is needed. We also note the Prime Minister's commitment in the House of Commons on Wednesday to use all means at his disposal, including Article 16, but we now need action to back that up, particularly given the harm the protocol is doing to our access to the internal market of the UK.

The Northern Ireland Protocol has ruptured the United Kingdom internal market in order to give armour-plated protection to the single market of the European Union. But it doesn't make sense.

There is no risk to the EU single market from: Goods coming to Northern Ireland for circulation and sale wholly within Northern Ireland from trusted and reliable traders;

Medical devices ordered for particular patients or surgeries in NI from GB suppliers;

GB soil on a rose or second-hand digger coming into another part of the United Kingdom, as it has done for decades and;

Rabies from pets travelling to NI, within our United Kingdom, as it has not existed in either jurisdiction for many, many years. This all amounts to bureaucracy, not logic, and disruption to supply lines with no actual risk. The answer though does not lie in continuing grace periods. That is not sufficient. We need permanent solutions that include significant exemptions for goods for sale within Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister needs to address the growing crisis in Northern Ireland and recognise that the opposition to the protocol is widespread - from families struggling to get their Amazon parcels, to manufacturers struggling to get their supplies. The pharma sector has no clarity on what will happen with medicines at the end of the grace period, and our farmers are buried in paperwork when trying to move their own tractor from one part of the UK to another. The protocol was foolishly foisted on Northern Ireland, despite the fact that not a single unionist party supported it. As unionists, we must stand together and free Northern Ireland from the protocol. As part of our campaign to free us from the protocol, I applied for and was granted an e-petition from Parliament. This secured 65,000 signatures within a few hours of launching. Indeed, people from all 650 constituencies in the UK have now signed the petition and registered their desire for Article 16 to be triggered and have unfettered GB-NI trade.
Tickr, an app that allows U.K. consumers to make financial investments based on their impact on society and the environment, has secured 2.5 million ($3.4 million) in funding lead by Ada Ventures, a VC which focuses on "impact" startups. The cash will be used for product development, expanding the user base, and eventually taking Tickr into other European countries from its current U.K. base.

As well as investing, the platform allows customers to spend their cash via partnerships with impact-oriented compares, and offset their carbon footprint through a subscription. The core business model is 1 p/m per customer, plus 0.30% on assets above 3,000. Additional products, like carbon offsets, for example, are charged as a separate additional subscription depending on the tier selected.

The startup says it is approaching 100,000 users in the U.K. and is reaching a millennial audience, 90% of which have "never invested before" (they say) and these users are investing 250 per month on average.

Tickr App

Tickr App

The app is not billed as a trading app, with quick "in and outs", but is about building wealth whilst investing in a diversified portfolio of high-impact companies. Its competitors include MoneyBox, but Tickr says it is 100% pure impact focus by contrast. The vast majority of Europeans don't invest in markets, so this could be a good opportunity for the product.

Founders Tom McGillycuddy and Matt Latham spent eight years working in investment management, but say they became disillusioned by the jargon, high fees and indifference to causes such as the environment.

Over text interview, McGillycuddy told me: We also realized there was zero consideration for the underlying impact of the investments people were making; it was purely about the return. Coming from Wigan and Liverpool, we were the first people in our families to be exposed to this world, and it didn't seem right. The pair moved into impact investing and subsequently went on to launch Tickr in 2018.
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The Leadership of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the non-teaching staff unions of universities says it will go ahead with its nationwide strike on February 5.

This is to compel the Federal Government to address their demands, a statement from the unions has said.

The JAC non-teaching staff are the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of the Universities (NASU).

Peters Adeyemi, NASU General Secretary, said this in a statement jointly signed by Mohammed Ibrahim, SSANU president, on Thursday, in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the JAC of the two unions NASU and SSANU had last week threatened to embark on strike on February 5, to press home its demands.

The demands included, rectifying inconsistencies in the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS), non-payment of arrears of minimum wage, delay in renegotiation with government, NASU and SSANU 2009 agreement, among others.

It would also be recalled that Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, and other government officials, had met at a meeting on Wednesday, to address most of the unions demands.

NAN also reports that a joint committee was set up to address anomalies complained of by the unions and they were given 48 hours, to communicate a possible date for the next meeting.

Outcome

According to Mr Adeyemi, in view of the outcome of the meeting, the leadership of the JAC of NASU and SSANU at the branches had been directed to convene joint general meetings on Friday, February 5.

This is to give reports on the outcome of the conciliation meeting and pass resolutions on the way forward. The resolutions of the branches must reach the respective National Secretariats on or before Tuesday, February 9.

In the meantime, the nationwide strike takes effect from 12 midnight, 5 February, 2021, pending any contrary resolution by the branches, he said. (NAN)
India: PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) 2021 Operational Guidelines

February 05,2021 | Source: The Miracle Tech

Prime Minister Modi has digitally launched PM Matsya Sampada Yojana on 10 September 2020 in Bihar. Central govt. had earlier released operational guidelines of scheme on 30 June 2020 at dof.gov.in. For this purpose, Indian govt. has made an investment of Rs. 20,050 crore comprising of Rs. 9407 crore of central share, Rs. 4,880 crore of state share and Rs. 5763 crore of beneficiaries contribution. The PMMSY operational guidelines will help states in speedy implementation of the scheme for FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025 as a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Package. e-Gopala App, a comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and information portal for direct use of farmers has also been launched.



Under PM Matsya Sampada Scheme, govt. is going to turn India into a hotspot for fish and aquatic products. This would be done through appropriate policy, marketing and infrastructure support. PM Matsya Sampada Yojana will promote aquaculture by ensuring easy access to credit. Moreover, the central govt. also intends to bring all fishermen under the coverage of all farmer welfare programmes and social security schemes with expanded coverage for accident insurance.



PMMSY will be implemented over a period of 5 years from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025 in all States/Union Territories. PMMSY with diverse interventions along the fisheries value chain would revolutionise the fisheries and aquaculture sector and steer it to next level. Moreover, this scheme with an array of 100 diverse activities is by far the largest investment in fisheries sector. This scheme will bring Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development by addressing critical infrastructure gap in fisheries sector.



PRADHAN MANTRI MATSYA SAMPADA YOJANA (PMMSY) 2021



PM Modi led central govt. is committed towards Blue Revolution or Neeli Kranti. India has the potential to achieve 1st place in the world in production of fish. So, the Union Cabinet has approved the launch of a new PM Matsya Sampada Yojana 2021 to promote aquaculture. The govt. has already constituted a separate department for integrated development of fisheries. The official website for Department of Fisheries in India is http://dof.gov.in/. Check the complete details of the scheme and operational guidelines in this article.



AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF PMMSY



The following are the main aim and objectives of PM Matsya Sampada Yojana 2021:-



- Harnessing of fisheries potential in a sustainable, responsible, inclusive and equitable manner.

- Enhancing of fish production and productivity through expansion, intensification, diversification and productive utilization of land and water.

- Modernizing and strengthening of value chain  post-harvest management and quality improvement.

- Doubling fishers and fish farmers incomes and generation of employment.

- Enhancing contribution to Agriculture GVA and exports.

- Social, physical and economic security for fishers and fish farmers.

- Robust fisheries management and regulatory framework.



BENEFITS OF PM MATSYA SAMPADA YOJANA



The central govt. has also created a special fund to develop infrastructure related to fishing industry. This fund would be used for creation of fisheries infrastructure facilities both in marine and inland fisheries sectors. The central govt. has targeted to achieve its target of additional 70 lakh tonnes fish production by FY 2024-2025. The govt. aims to reach additional Rs. 1 lakh crore in fisheries exports and generate 55 lakh employment opportunities over next 5 years. Union govt. is also focusing on reducing post-harvest losses from 20-25 per cent to about 10 per cent.



FIDF fund would be used to attract private investment in creation and management of infrastructure facilities. Moreover, govt. will also focus on acquisition of the state-of-the-art technologies. FIDF is going to provide concessional Miracle to state govt, cooperatives, individuals and entrepreneurs. This Miracle would be used to take up identified investment activities of fisheries development. Under FIDF, loan lending would be over a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23. The maximum repayment will be over a period of 12 years inclusive of moratorium of 2 years on repayment of principal.



NEED FOR PM MATSYA SAMPADA YOJANA



Fisheries and aquaculture are an important source of food, nutrition, employment and income in India. These sectors provides livelihood to more than 20 million fishermen and fish farmers at the primary level and twice the number along the value chain. Fish being an affordable and rich source of animal protein is one of the healthiest options to mitigate hunger and malnutrition.



Central Government Schemes 2021



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The Gross Value Added (GVA) of fisheries sector in the national economy during 2018-19 stood at Rs 2,12,915 crores (current basic prices) which constituted 1.24% of the total National GVA and 7.28% share of Agricultural GVA. The sector has immense potential to double the fishers and fish farmers incomes as envisioned by government and usher in economic prosperity.



Fisheries sector in India has shown impressive growth with an average annual growth rate of 10.88% during the year from 2014-15 to 2018-19. The fish production in India has registered an average annual growth of 7.53% during last 5 years and stood at an all-time high of 137.58 lakh metric tons during 2018-19. The export of marine products stood at 13.93 lakh metric tons and valued at Rs. 46,589 crores (USD 6.73 billion) during 2018-19. Foreseeing the immense potential for development of fisheries and for providing focused attention to the sector, the Government in its Union Budget, 2019-20 has announced a new scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).



The scheme intends to address critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernization and strengthening of value chain, traceability, establishing a robust fisheries management framework and fishers welfare. It would also address issues like low productivity in inland Aquaculture, disease, sustainability of marine fisheries, sanitary and phyto-sanitary matters that impact the competitiveness of Indias exports along with global bench marking.



COMPONENTS OF PM MATSYA SAMPADA YOJANA (PMMSY)



The PMMSY will be implemented as an umbrella scheme with 2 separate components which are as follows:-

A) Central Sector Scheme (CS): Under the PMMSY central sector (CS) component, govt. has earmarked an amount of Rs. 1720 crore.

B) Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS): Under the PMMSY Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) Component, an investment of Rs. 18330 crores has been envisaged. This investment is segregated into Non-beneficiary oriented and Beneficiary orientated sub-components / activities under the following 3 broad heads. These are Enhancement of Production and Productivity, Infrastructure and Post-harvest Management, Fisheries Management and Regulatory Framework.



PMMSY SCHEME IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES



Most of the activities under the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana would be implemented with active participation of States / UTs. A well-structured implementation framework would be established for effective planning and PMMSY implementation. Here are the full implementation guidelines:-



- For optimal outcomes, Cluster or area-based approach would be followed for PMMSY Scheme with requisite forward and backward linkages and end to end solutions. The suitable linkages and convergence will be fostered with other centre and state government schemes wherever feasible.

- Various new and emerging technologies like Re-circulatory Aquaculture Systems, Biofloc, Aquaponics, Cage Cultivation etc. would be given thrust to enhance production and productivity, quality, productive utilization of waste lands and water for Aquaculture.

- Special focus on Coldwater fisheries development and expansion of Aquaculture in Brackish Water and Saline Areas.

- Activities like Mariculture, Seaweed cultivation and Ornamental Fisheries would be promoted as these activities have potential to generate huge employment opportunities.

- Focused attention would be given for fisheries development in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Islands, Northeast, and - - - - - -

- Aspirational Districts through area specific development plans.

- Govt. will promote high value species, establishing a national network of Brood Banks for all commercially important species, Genetic improvement and establishing Nucleus Breeding Center for self-reliance in Shrimp Brood stock, organic aquaculture promotion and certification, good aquaculture practices, end to end traceability from catch to consumer, use of - Block Chain Technology, Global Standards and Certification, Accreditation of Brood banks, Hatcheries, Farms, residues issues and aquatic health management supported by a modern laboratory network.

- In PMMSY scheme, development of Coastal fisher communities would be done in a holistic manner through integrated modern coastal fishing villages with necessary infrastructure.

- Collectivization of fishers and fish farmers through Fish Farmer Producer Organizations (FFPOs) to increase bargaining power of fishers and fish farmers is a key feature of PMMSY.

- Aquaparks as hub of fisheries and aquaculture activities with assured, affordable, quality inputs under one roof, post-harvest infrastructure facilities, business enterprise zones, logistic support, business incubation centers, marketing facilities etc.

- Insurance coverage for fishing vessels has been introduced for the first time. Annual Livelihood support for fishers during ban/lean period would be provided.

- Well-structured extension support services are envisaged under PMMSY. Youth would be engaged in fisheries extension by creation of 3347 Sagar Mitras in coastal fisher villages. Besides, large number of Fisheries Extension Services Centers would be set up in private space to create job opportunities to young professionals.

- Major investments in construction and modernization of Fishing Harbours and Landing centers for hygienic handling of fish, urban marketing infrastructure to deliver quality and affordable fish, development of state of the art whole sale fish markets, retail markets. E-marketing and E-trading of Fish etc.

- Support will be provided for safety and security of fishers at sea, acquisition of technologically advanced fishing vessels for fishermen for promotion of deep-sea fishing, upgradation of Fishing vessels for improving the export competitiveness, communication and/or tracking devices and Bio-toilets in fishing vessels.

- Private sector participation would be promoted for the development of entrepreneurship, business models, promotion of ease of doing business, innovations and innovative project activities including start-ups, incubators etc. in fisheries sector.



MAJOR IMPACT OF PM MATSYA SAMPADA YOJANA (PMMSY)



Here is the major impact of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana 2021:-



1) Enhancing fish production from 137.58 lakh metric tons (2018-19) to 220 lakh metric tons by 2024-25.

2) Sustained average annual growth of about 9% in fish production

3) An increase in the contribution of GVA of fisheries sector to the Agriculture GVA from 7.28% in 2018-19 to about 9% by 2024-25.

4) Double export earnings from Rs.46,589 crores (2018-19) to about Rs.1,00,000 crores by 2024-25.

5) Enhancing productivity in aquaculture from the present national average of 3 tonnes to about 5 tonnes per hectare.

6) Reduction of post-harvest losses from the reported 20-25% to about 10%.

7) Enhancement of the domestic fish consumption from about 5-6 kg to about 12 kg per capita.

Generate about 55 lakhs direct and indirect employment opportunities in the fisheries sector along the supply and value chain.



LAUNCH OF PMMSY SCHEME IN BIHAR



The event of official launch of PMMSY scheme was held through digital mode on 10 Sept 2020. PM Office said that the investment of Rs. 20,050 crore under PMMSY is the highest ever in the fisheries sector. The project in Bihar envisages investment of Rs. 1,390 crore with the central share of Rs. 535 crore and the additional fish production target pegged at three lakh tons. During the current fiscal, the Union government has sanctioned Bihars proposal costing Rs 107 crore.



PM Modi has also announced the establishment of a fish brood bank at Sitamarhi and of aquatic disease referral laboratory at Kishanganj, for which assistance has been provided under the PMMSY. These facilities will help in enhancing production and productivity of fish by ensuring timely availability of quality and affordable fish seed for the fish farmers and address the need for disease diagnosis as well as water and soil testing facilities.



E GOPALA APP DOWNLOAD FROM GOOGLE PLAY STORE



The e-Gopala app is a comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and information portal for direct use of farmers. At present no digital platform is available in the country for farmers managing livestock including buying and selling of disease free germplasm in all forms, availability of quality breeding services and guiding farmers for animal nutrition, treatment of animals using appropriate medicine.



There is no mechanism to send alerts on due date for vaccination, pregnancy diagnosis and calving among other issues and inform farmers about various government schemes and campaigns in the area. The e-Gopala app will provide solutions to farmers on all these aspects. The prime minister has also inaugurated one-unit fish feed mill at Madhepura and two units of Fish on Wheels assisted at Patna under blue revolution.



Among other launches by Modi is the comprehensive fish production technology centre at Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University in Pusa in Bihar. The centre with facilities for seed production technology and demonstration unit technology for fish, referral laboratory and diagnostic testing, will facilitate in boosting fish production and assist in capacity building of fish farmers, the PMO said.



PRADHAN MANTRI MATSYA SAMPADA YOJANA FAQS



Here are the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) for PM Matsya Sampada Yojana 2021:-



1) What is PM Matsya Sampada Yojana?

To promote aquaculture and fisheries sector, govt. has approved Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana 2021. This scheme intends to address critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernization and strengthening of value chain. Moreover, govt. will focus on traceability, establishing a robust fisheries management framework and fishers welfare. It would also address issues like low productivity in inland Aquaculture, disease, sustainability of marine fisheries, sanitary and phyto-sanitary matters that impact the competitiveness of Indias exports along with global bench marking.



2) Who will Benefit from PMMSY Scheme?

Fishers, Fish farmers, Fish workers, Fish vendors, SCs/STs/Women/Differently abled persons, Fisheries cooperatives/Federations, FFPOs, Fisheries Development corporations, Self Help Groups (SHGs)/Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) and Individual Entrepreneurs.



3) How PMMSY Scheme bring Blue Revolution?

PMMSY scheme will bring Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development by addressing critical infrastructure gap in fisheries sector.



4) What is the Share of Central / State Govt. in PMMSY?

Indian govt. has made an investment of Rs. 20,050 crore comprising of Rs. 9407 crore of central share, Rs. 4,880 crore of state share and Rs. 5763 crore of beneficiaries contribution.



5) What is the Start Date / Last Date for PMMSY Scheme?

The cabinet committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) of Indian government had approved the launch of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana on 20 May 2020. Launch Date is 11 September 2020.



6) What is the Official Apply Online Website for PM Matsya Sampada Yojana?

Only after the official launch of the scheme, you would be able to access PM Matsya Sampada Yojana official portal and then would be able to apply online for PM Matsya Sampada Yojana.



For more details, click the link  http://dof.gov.in/pmmsy



The operational guidelines for Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana can be checked using the link below:-

http://dof.gov.in/sites/default/filess/PMMSY-Guidelines24-June2020.pdf
There are many Hollywood horror movies that leave Arab viewers in a state of shock due to the sadism of murderers who torture their victims or take apparent pleasure in their pain.



Such films are sometimes grounded in Western philosophies that condone such movies on the grounds that they provide an outlet, even a purge, for the viewers inner frustrations and aggression.

But many critics insist that such films also give rise to violence, as viewers may be encouraged to carry out such scenes in real life.



However, in the Arab world today, such atrocities seen in films, whether considered simply fictional or offering dangerous incitation to carrying out such crimes in real life, have in some case unfortunately materialised in real life. We now see such bloody crimes occurring in the Arab world, in which there have been cases of criminals not just satisfied with killing their victims, but also abusing them in a vicious way.



Domestic crimes, including against children, have sadly also been occurring in the Arab world in stark contrast with Arab family ethics, which are the pillars of conservative Islamic societies.



Such shocking and brutal crimes have recently sparked debate about the possible changes in Arab societies that may have resulted in such unfamiliar crimes that contradict all deep-rooted religious and social values. These crimes have also opened a Pandoras Box of questions about the remedies that should be adopted to curb such violence that threatens individuals and public safety.



It is not known how significant a phenomenon such brutal crimes are in the absence of statistics indicating their prevalence when compared to other forms of violence, including verbal violence. But if the media coverage is anything to go by, it is clear that there has been a recurrence of such unfamiliar crimes in several Arab countries over the past few years, though these may still be varied in terms of their motives, context, and pattern.



During 2020, brutal crimes took place in several Arab countries taking different patterns, and three of them are mentioned here as cases in point.



CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

The murder of Shaima, a 19-year-old Algerian girl, entered the media spotlight last year after it was revealed that she had been raped and killed by a rapist of her own age.



It turned out that Shaimas murderer had raped her in 2016 and had been sentenced to three years in jail. He then returned to rape and kill her in revenge immediately after he was set free. Shaimas body was found burned inside a petrol station in the Boumerdes province of eastern Algeria.



Such horrific crimes have also taken place in other parts of the Arab world with different degrees of brutality. In Morocco, a child named Adnan was raped and killed at the hands of a 24-year-old man last year, while in Egypt the security forces arrested an unemployed stepfather for having raped a 24-month-old baby last year. A similar incident had taken place in Egypt three years before, and the man responsible had received the death penalty.



Crimes of revenge, originally a tribal tradition that has not died out with the advent of modernity and urbanisation, did not stop at killing the victim but could also involve abuse and torture.



In Jordan recently, a group of men attacked 16-year-old Saleh Hemdan in the Zarqa governorate in a revenge attack against his father who is currently in prison. The attackers reportedly amputated Hemdans hands and poked out his eyes before killing him. Similar brutality occurred in another crime of revenge in Lebanon, where the victim was killed by his ex-wife. Ibrahim Alawiya was tied to a bed and repeatedly stabbed by his ex-wife before he was killed.



There have been other domestic crimes elsewhere in the Arab region. One case in point was that of an Iraqi mother who dumped her two children in the Tigris River in Baghdad. It was reported that the murders had been motivated by the mothers desire to take revenge on the childrens father and by her anger over the familys living conditions.



In Egypt, a son killed his mother by pouring boiling oil on her in Giza, while a butcher killed his wife and cut her into pieces and put her in a refrigerator in the Haram district of the Giza governorate. A father killed his three sons and committed suicide in Syria.



VIOLENCE AND THE PANDEMIC

All these crimes took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, though it is not clear that there is any direct relation between the pressures of the pandemic and the brutality of the crimes.



Reports suggest that the pandemic has affected social violence in different ways. In some Arab countries, the lockdowns and social-distancing measures to curb the spread of the virus seem to have contributed to a reduction in the number of crimes such as theft and street violence. Crime statistics from Morocco, for instance, indicate an estimated 30 per cent drop in incidents of property-related robbery and a 4.7 per cent decrease in cases of personal theft.



This decline may be attributed to various factors, including greater social solidarity at times of major crisis, social-distancing during the pandemic, and a heavy security presence. However, at the same time the UN has warned that the pandemic has resulted in an almost 33 per cent increase in domestic violence against women, as well as an increase in the crimes of sexual harassment and assault.



The Algerian Network for the Defence of Childrens Rights, a NGO, registered about 800 cases of sexual abuse against children aged between three and 12 years old during the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus in Algeria last year.



Various factors could explain this, including the fact that the pandemic has put additional stress on families and societies in the region. The economic recession associated with the spread of the virus has also resulted in increased rates of poverty and unemployment, while social-distancing may have deepened an already existing sense of isolation, leading to increased rates of anxiety and depression.



Such pressures could all provide fodder for different forms of violence. The accumulation of such problems and the weakening of the social inclusion that could have otherwise curbed individual violence may have led to a growing propensity towards violence among individuals already suffering from psychological disorders.



The relationship between the pandemic and violence notwithstanding, crime in general is usually interpreted in two main contexts. The first sees crime in its social context, looking at the political, economic, and broadly moral aspects of the environment in which a criminal grows up and rebels against.



The second explains crime in a more personal context, blaming the criminal himself for performing such abnormal acts. Commentators thus interpret each crime separately, depending on its motives and the circumstances surrounding it.



Looking at crime in its societal context, it is clear that the Arab region has been in turmoil over the last decade. The 2011 Revolutions and their aftershocks have yielded varying results in the Arab countries, sometimes providing a fertile soil for social violence.



Many factors have acted as catalysts for such violence during this period of chaos and insecurity, including the outbreak of armed conflicts, the rise in terrorism and organised crime, increasing rates of poverty and unemployment, a spike in divorce rates resulting in broken families, weakening religious values, laxity in enforcing the law because of weakened or disintegrating states, and the proliferation of cheap drugs.



The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic added additional pressures, and societies have thus become accustomed to an increase in all types of crimes, both in their usual and unusual forms.



But it seems that economic factors and living conditions have been a prime factor in the growth of social violence in the Arab region. For example, the 2020 Global Crime Index (NUMEBO), which measures crime rates in 133 countries, shows that the Arab Gulf countries have been safer than others in the region, reporting lower numbers of crimes like murder, theft, robbery, rape and others.



Qatar has the lowest crime rates of all, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Other countries in the eastern and western parts of the Arab world ranged between medium and high rates of crime, covering Jordan, Tunisia, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Syria, and Libya.



The results of the Index may indicate that crime rates decrease in countries enjoying a strong economy and high living standards, as is the case in the Gulf. Conversely, crime rates are higher in countries suffering from economic strains and low living standards. In the meantime, there is a direct relationship between political instability and the lack of security, on the one hand, and an increase in crime on the other.



Cases in point can be found in Libya and Syria, which were designated as the least safe countries in the Arab region. According to the Index, Libya ranked 115, while Syria ranked 124 in terms of safety.



YOUNG CRIMINALS

Young men prominently featured in most of the brutal crimes recorded in 2020, whether as perpetrators or as victims. This should be taken into consideration when studying societal violence, particularly since young people already constitute a majority of the demographic structure of the Arab countries.



This link between age and crime is probably not confined to the Arab region. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 200,000 murders occurred in 2020 among young people aged between 10 and 29 years old. This means young people, and particularly young men, are involved in 43 per cent of all crimes worldwide.



The dilemma of many Arab young people lies in the widening gap between what they expect from governments and what services such governments can actually provide. They may experience frustrated hopes in the light of the spread of corruption and poor living conditions. These conditions are all expected to worsen in 2021, perhaps giving rise to even more societal violence.



A report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) warns that the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic will persist in the new year. Unemployment rates are expected to hit 12.5 per cent in the Arab region, and they will particularly affect 27 per cent of Arab youths. The report predicts that the highest unemployment rates will be in Palestine (31 per cent) and Libya (22 per cent). Poverty rates may reach 32 per cent, which means that 116 million individuals will be considered poor.



When young people have their expectations unfulfilled and feel they cannot afford to get married, build a family, or find a decent place to live, they may experience increased levels of anxiety and tension that in turn may give rise to violence. Some young people may also already be more inclined to violence, and they may grow more rebellious against the standards of their societies. For them, violence could be one way of expressing their sense of anger or be a form of self-assertion.



The fact that some people may already suffer from psychological disorders may also explain the emergence of the unusually brutal crimes that have been seen in recent years. Perhaps these criminals see themselves as in some way taking revenge against society as a whole rather than just killing their victims.



The degree of any given crimes brutality would normally only reflect the severity of the mental illness of its perpetrator. But for many commentators, such individual incidents should also be interpreted in the larger context of the fact that the whole Arab region is suffering from collective psychological problems that may be the reason behind the emergence of both familiar and unfamiliar crimes.



According to a poll conducted by the research and polling organisation Arab Barometer, which included 25,000 people in the Middle East and North Africa region and was published on its Website in September, one-third of those surveyed said they had recently experienced a growing sense of anxiety.



The Arab countries that reported the highest levels of anxiety were Tunisia (53 per cent), Iraq (49 per cent), and Jordan (42 per cent). Respondents appeared to have lower levels of anxiety in countries like Egypt (27 per cent), Algeria (27 per cent), Sudan (22 per cent), and Kuwait (12 per cent).



The poll also revealed that three out of 10 people reported that they had been suffering from depression, meaning that some third of respondents were reportedly depressed. Iraq topped the list of those reportedly suffering depression (43 per cent) followed by Tunisia (40 per cent) and Palestine (37 per cent). In other Arab countries, respondents said they were less depressed, among them Algeria (20 per cent), Morocco (20 per cent) and Sudan (15 per cent).



Depression alone of course cannot be seen as a driving force for committing horrible crimes that also involve amputating the hands of a victim or killing a family member. But depression could be an impetus for such crimes when it is coupled with other factors including stressful living conditions, distorted values, a general sense of frustration, and the absence of any outlet for frustrated hopes or the loss of hope itself.



A CULTURE OF VIOLENCE

The results of the Arab Barometer report should not be viewed in isolation from the larger context of collective mental health in the Arab world, particularly in the aftermath of the 2011 revolutions and in the light of the rise of terror groups like the Islamic State (IS) group and Al-Qaeda that condone terrorism and murder.



We can assume that there is a link between the brutality of IS terrorist attacks and brutal social crimes, since both were born in the same social environment of distorted values and unbalanced mental health. The two patterns of crimes, terrorist and societal, tend to feed off each other, spreading a culture of bloody violence. Some analysts would also put terrorists and the perpetrators of brutal crimes in the same category: whereas the first are psychopathic with a tendency towards violence and suicidal attacks, the second are probably mentally ill.



Amputating the hands and poking out the eyes of the Zarqa boy in Jordan in 2020 could bring to mind the way in which IS burned Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh alive in 2015 following a plane crash in Syria. In the same vein, the spread of societal crimes in Tunisia could also be linked to the fact that the country is also the homeland of the largest number of IS groups in the Middle East, since such crimes are related and may be seen as the two sides of the same coin. Although terror and societal crimes are differently motivated, they tend to mirror a crisis in the community itself.



The weakening of religious values could be as dangerous as religious extremism itself in terms of its consequences for public security and safety. Whereas the first could lead to societal violence and crimes, the second may lead to political violence and terrorism.



Brutal crimes generally increase peoples anxiety and fear that security is disappearing and is being replaced by brutality. The fact that recordings of such crimes may also in some cases circulate on social media reinforces that sense of public insecurity.



However, the posting of such crimes on social media has yielded positive changes as they have put additional pressure on governments to take action against such crimes. Social media campaigns have also sparked debates about the effectiveness of the law in curbing crimes and violence in general.



Recent calls for the imposition of the death penalty on the perpetrators of such crimes have been a controversial issue on social media, with some being sceptical that the death penalty could actually curb such violence. A hashtag calling for imposing the death penalty on Shaimas murderer circulated on social media, for example, with many calling for reinstating the death penalty in Algeria, which was abolished in 1993. Hundreds of Yemenis similarly protested against a crime involving the torture of a young man to death that featured in videos circulating on social media in September 2020.



Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters have also demonstrated against such crimes. The Zarqa boys brutal murder raised an outcry in Jordan that reached the highest levels of the countrys political leadership. Jordanian Queen Rania lambasted the crime, while King Abdullah ordered the boys public mourning.



A social media campaign was launched in Morocco to collect one million signatures demanding the execution of Adnans murderer, who had received a life sentence in prison. Moroccan law imposes a penalty of one to five years in prison for the sexual assault of a child and a maximum of 20 years in jail in cases involving additional violence.



Experts have also called for revisiting conditions in prisons where criminals are not rehabilitated and may return to crime when they are released, as was the case with Shaimas murderer. Many argue that jailing alone is not an adequate deterrent against crime unless rehabilitation programmes are provided in prison.



Such experts have also been calling upon Arab governments to give priority to mental-health programmes to help people in general cope with the pressures of life. In the absence of such programmes, people may be seriously destabilised and may give way to pent-up pressures by carrying out horrific crimes.



Algerian Justice Minister Balkacem Zeghmati responded to social pressures when he said in the countrys parliament last November that Algeria could decide to reapply the death penalty. The judiciary in Jordan has indicted those involved in the Zarqa boys murder, saying that they committed a terrorist attack that threatened society as a whole.



Such responses remain inadequate in curbing the violence, however, and the use of the death penalty alone is unlikely to do the job. It is perhaps more important to address the root causes of the problem in all its political, economic, cultural, and psychological aspects.



If not, the Arab region may face an explosion of accumulated pressures either in the form of protests as was the case in 2011 or in the form of more unusually brutal crimes.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 February , 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- We are proud to announce that Fox Dealer has completed all requirements to participate in the Digital Advertising Program under the GM Dealer Digital Solution.

This allows Dealers the opportunity to leverage in-Market Retail (iMR) funds to reimburse themselves for the cost of their Digital Advertising services. Please refer to the iMR Dealer Program guidelines located at www.gmlam.com for further information.

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Unions, however, largely met it with a shrug. With the right mix of safety measures in places, teachers unions generally agree the vaccines arent a condition for reopening. The problem is that many schools are far behind on ventilation updates and other important measures recommended by health officials, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Online travel major MakeMyTrip on Friday announced fund raising of $200 million (approximately Rs 1,458 crore) through zero per cent interest coupon bond.

The latest fund raise for the company comes at a time when the travel and tourism industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"While the travel industry is in the midst of very difficult times, we are pleased with the overwhelming response to our convertible bond offering," Mohit Kabra, Group Chief Financial Officer, MakeMyTrip Ltd. said in a statement.

"This raise will bolster our cash reserves allowing us to meet the working capital requirements as business recovery gathers momentum and also pursue any investment opportunities in the growing Indian market," he said.

MakeMyTrip generated revenue of $56.8 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2020, a decrease of 61.3 per cent over revenue of $146.9 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

The decrease in revenue was primarily due to the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, including lower travel demand due to travel restrictions.

However, the company's revenue in the current reported quarter increased from $21.1 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2020, an improvement of $35.7 million quarter on quarter due to the gradual recovery in travel demand.

As on December 31, 2020, the balance of cash and cash equivalents and term deposits on the company's balance sheet was $227.6 million, MakeMyTrip said.

On February 3, MakeMyTrip proposed to offer up to $175 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2028.

The Notes Offering has now been upsized from the previously announced offering of $175 million in aggregate principal amount of the Notes as the company on Friday announced the pricing of $200 million in aggregate principal amount of 0.00 per cent convertible senior notes due 2028.

"This raise at zero coupon and conversion premium of 37.5 per cent reflects the appetite of global investors to invest behind strong Indian brands and businesses," Kabra said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has commended the Indian government and its people for the gift to the world in the form of vaccines and scientific knowledge.

The President applauded India during a telephonic conversation with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on Thursday.

The telephone call follows the arrival in South Africa of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from the Serum Institute of India on Monday.

In a statement on Thursday, the Presidency said President Ramaphosa conveyed the profound gratitude expressed by the people of South Africa to India for its solidarity with South Africa in fighting the pandemic.

The leaders also shared their concern that the COVID-19 virus is mutating constantly, presenting more challenges and new waves in all countries.

"Prime Minister Modi indicated that India will be developing one or two more vaccines and that India will continue to support countries in Africa with a special package of vaccines. India will also support the COVAX facility - a joint initiative of The Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organisation - with 13 million doses by the end of February 2021.

"The two leaders noted that there is growing support internationally for the proposal submitted by South Africa and India to the World Trade Organisation's Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council for a temporary waiver of certain TRIPS obligations. The waiver will make vaccines more affordable and enable local production," the Presidency said.

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Strong bilateral relations

President Ramaphosa and Prime Minister Modi further reflected on the strong bilateral relations between South Africa and India, highlighting the importance of the strategic partnership that exists between the two countries.

The leaders acknowledged the importance of economic cooperation to address the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the global economy.

Prime Minister Modi commended the able leadership demonstrated in South Africa's containment of the pandemic in the face of a continually mutating and highly transmissible virus.

"South Africa congratulates India on assuming a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. South Africa will work with India to address peace and security issues as part of building a better world," the Presidency said.
THE Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) says the heavy rains pounding the region have led to exponential rise in Lake Kariba water levels.

ZRA said from December 22, 2020 to January 18, 2021, water levels in the world's largest man-made lake increased by 0,40 metres or 0,08%, thus pushing the lake level up by 3,21m above the minimum operating levels (MOL) of 475,50m.

This translates to 14,55 billion cubic metres of usable water storage.

In recent years, recurring droughts significantly reduced water levels, resulting in ZRA cutting water rations for electricity production.

This resulted in massive power cuts in Zimbabwe and Zambia -- the two countries which jointly manage the water body.

The power cuts had knock-on effects as companies were forced to cut production while the Zambian and Zimbabwean governments resorted to importing power from South Africa and Mozambique to avert industry collapse.

The declining water levels also posed a danger to aquatic life in the lake.

ZRA chief executive officer Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the rise in water levels would help reboot economies.

"It is very encouraging to note lake levels, which should be generally in a decreasing trend at this time of the year have recorded a steady rise due to increased rainfall activity on and around the lake leading to a level of 478,71m with 22,45m being live/usable water on 18 January 2021," Munodawafa said.

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During the same period last year, the levels were lower at 475,71m with 8,36% usable water.

Munodawafa said despite the normal-to-above-normal rainfall projections, the authority will maintain the amounts of water allocated to power generation.

"Based on the meteorological authorities' projections of normal-to-above-normal rainfall for the ongoing 2020-21 rainfall season, the authority will maintain 30BCM of water allocated for power generation at Kariba for year 2021. This will be shared equally between Kariba North Bank Power Station (Zambia) and Kariba South Bank Power Station (Zimbabwe)," he said.

Munodawafa added that ZRA would continue monitoring the inflows into Kariba.

"The authority continues to gather and record daily water readings at its 14 gauging stations located along the Kariba catchment area, with the recorded hydrological data used in informing reservoir operations at Kariba. The principal gauging station at Chavuma and Victoria Falls remain pivotal as far as gauging of the overall inflows into Lake Kariba is concerned," he said.

ZRA is a bi-national organisation mandated to manage the Zambezi River that forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

It also maintains the Kariba complex and development of any future dams or infrastructure on the same river stretch.
Adani Transmission | The company reported sharply higher consolidated profit at Rs 395.3 crore in Q3FY21 against Rs 203.7 crore in Q3FY20, revenue declined to Rs 2,597 crore from Rs 2,777.5 crore YoY.

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Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd (KPTL) on Friday said its wholly owned subsidiary in Brazil has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 51 per cent stake in Fasttel Engenharia Ltd in the South American country, for USD 8.80 million (over Rs 64 crore).

"Kalpataru Power do Brasil Participacoes Ltd has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake of 51 percent in Fasttel Engenharia Ltda,Brazil for USD 8.80 million, subject to customary adjustments," Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

Fasttel, founded in 1988, specialises in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and maintenance of power transmission lines, substation and distribution systems across various voltage range up to 750 kV, the company added.

The company mainly operates into three business areas comprising EPC of substation, transmission and distribution network services with revenue of around USD 47 million in 2020 and has a profitable track record.

"The company has a presence in Brazil with an order book of around USD 95 million as on date," it added.

KPTL said the acquisition of Fasttel is in line with its strategy to strengthen its core EPC business and have greater geographical presence in stable and growing markets.

The transaction is likely to close by the end of Q1FY22.

Sanjay Dalmia, Executive Director, KPTL said, We continue to expand our geographical reach aligned to our vision of being a local player in the global environment. This acquisition of Fasttel is of strategic fit to KPTL in order to capture local market opportunities in Brazil and expand business in Latin American market.

"Fasttel has a track record of revenue growth of more than 25 percent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) over the last 5 years along with consistent profitability".

Shares of Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd were trading 0.70 percent higher at Rs 365.45 apiece on the BSE.
PHOENIX, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- It's four in the afternoon and psychic Christopher LaPrath (christopherlaprath.com) fires up his computer and launches a zoom meeting to read his first client of the day. He knows nothing about this person except for the number he has been given. When the meeting begins, he confirms the client's randomly selected number and it is not until then that the client gives him their name and birth date. Like scores of online psychics, LaPrath helps clients to connect with dead loved ones, decide on life choices and confirm whether or not love is on the way. What makes him unique from the rest are this method and his unique backstory. All readings are booked anonymously by an outside agency. The random number is the only information shared with LaPrath. It establishes immediate trust with the client that no data mining has occurred in advance, and that this is truly an 'other worldly' experience. The results, his clients testify, are often extraordinary. From everyday people, celebrities, corporate executives and even dignitaries, they come from all over the world.

Christopher LaPrath Private Readings Conducted via Zoom

LaPrath's back story is as unique as his approach. A highly degreed academic, a published author and the survivor of an abusive childhood, exacerbated by growing up in a haunted house in rural Idaho. During the day LaPrath is a university doctoral advisor, with a Master's Degree in Human Dynamics from Western International University, and a Psychology degree from Axia University. He has lectured all over the world, to groups as large as 30,000. LaParath speaks Mandarin Chinese, having lived for several years in the Republic of China.

His book, TRESTLE CREEK: THINGS THE DEAD FEAR won the Hollywood Book Festival award for best non-fiction. It is a true story of a family terrorized by a possessed father; a mother who must awaken from denial to save her family, a house haunted with good and evil forces, and a boy who can see 'beyond' which includes the dead. The book is in the process of becoming a wide-release motion picture. The experience revealed the gift that LaPrath has to see the unseen.

Since then, LaPrath has been assisting others on their own journeys, having read for more than a thousand individuals in his lifetime.

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480-695-2039

[email protected]

SOURCE ChristopherLaPrath.com
The presentation party at last Mondays ceremony, with Andre Liverpool and Rupert Mulzac (front 2nd and 3rd from left respectively.)

Sunday 31st January, 2021 marked the 50th Anniversary of the death of Captain Hugh Nathaniel Mulzac, the Vincentian national who became the first black man to have gained a Shipping Masters Certificate in the United States of America, and to later captain the SS Booker T. Washington.





The SS Booker T. Washington was a United States Maritime Commission (MC) Liberty ship, first of 17 Liberty ships that were named after African-Americans, and which, under Capt. Mulzacs watch, made 22 round trip voyages ferrying troops and supplies to Europe and the Pacific theatre between 1942 and 1947.





To mark the anniversary of his death, a brief ceremony was held at the SVG Coast Guard Base at Calliaqua, last Monday.





In delivering brief remarks at the ceremony, Mr. Andre Liverpool, a friend of the Mulzac family and a major facilitator of the event, said that the event was inspired by Ms. Ned Myers who cared for Capt. Mulzac when he lived in Kingstown Park.





According to Mr. Liverpool, plans to mark the 50th Anniversary of the death of Capt. Mulzacs was hatched in 2020, between Ms. Myers and himself.





In addition to the ceremony at the Coast Guard base, which took shape after a meeting facilitated by Liverpool and involving Ms. Myers, Lieutenant Commander Deon Henry and , Lieutenant Eos Hamlet of the SVG Coast, Liverpool said Ms. Myers did a television interview to raise awareness about Capt. Mulzac work. Posters were also printed to commemorate the occasion.





Mr. Rupert Mulzac, a relative of Capt. Mulzac also addressed the ceremony. Mr. Mulzac, who served in the United States Navy, told the gathering that one of the things which made him very proud when he was at Sea during his years in the Navy, was knowing that the first black man to have received a Masters Licence in the United States was his relative, and that he knew him personally.





To him, the gesture to remember Capt. Mulzac at the beginning of Black History month is very significant.





Coast Guard Commander Mr. Brenton Cain, in his remarks, admitted the SVG Coast Guard had limited literature about Capt. Mulzac on hand.





He expressed delight in the Coast Guard receiving a copy of Capt. Mulzacs autobiography entitled A Star to Steer By, which was presented by Rupert Mulzac, and a quantity of Commemorative Posters, presented by Liverpool.





Commander Cain reminded the ceremony that the current Coast Guard Vessel Capt. Hugh Mulzac was the second such vessel to bear Captain Mulzacs name. This, according to him, demonstrates the high esteem in which St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the SVG Coast Guard hold the late Capt. Mulzac.





In a concluding gesture, Commander Cain handed over a replica of Coast Guard Vessel Capt. Hugh Mulzac to Mr. Rupert Mulzac, on behalf of the SVG Coast Guard. (Source: RSVGPF)




Farmers nationwide 'chakka jam' today, except in Delhi, UP, Uttarakhand

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 05: The farmers will not block roads in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand on Saturday as part of the nationwide 'chakka jam' called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the united front of farmers protesting against new farm laws.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the farmer unions protesting the three farm laws, said emergency and essential services such as ambulance and school bus will not be stopped during the ''chakka jam'' that is proposed to be held between 12 pm and 3 pm.

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said that there will no road blockade in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Saturday, but added that farmers in these two states can be called to the national capital any time and that they have been kept on standby.

Talking to reporters at the Ghazipur protest site, Tikait said that farmers in small groups will submit a memorandum to district headquarters in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three Delhi border points -- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur -- for over 70 days, demanding a complete repeal of three central farm laws.

Centre held consultations with states, farmers before bringing farm laws: Tomar

"There will be no chakka jam programme inside Delhi since all the protest sites are already in a chakka jam mode. All roads for entering into Delhi will remain open except where farmers'' protest sites are already located," the SKM said in a statement.

In a bid to avoid what happened during farmers'' tractor parade on Republic Day, the Delhi Police has taken additional measures this time, including tightening security and intensifying vigil at the city''s border points, to deal with any situation emerging out of the ''chakka jam'', officials said.

Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava also held a meeting with the senior officers of the force and reviewed the security arrangements.

After the January 26 violence that had left over 500 security personnel injured and one protestor dead, Shrivastava had accused the protesting union leaders of betrayal and breaching agreement as thousands of peasants deviated from their pre-decided routes for the tractor parade.

Tens of thousands of farmers atop tractors had broken barriers, clashed with police and entered the city from various points to lay siege to the Red Fort and climb the flagpole on Republic Day.

On Friday, Darshan Pal, a senior member of Samyukt Kisan Morcha, said that ''chakka jam'' will remain completely peaceful and non-violent, adding that protesters have been asked to not to indulge in any conflict with government officials or any citizen.

The SKM had earlier this week announced this nationwide chakka jam on Saturday, saying that farmers would block national and state highways for three hours in protest against the Internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, and other issues.

According to the SKM, the chakka jam will conclude at 3 pm by blowing vehicle horn for one minute, a move that is aimed at expressing support and solidarity with the farmers.

Security at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders has been tightened by deploying extra forces and putting up multi-layered barricades, barbed wires and nails studded on the roads.

Elaborating about the security arrangements for the proposed ''chakka jam'', Delhi Police PRO Chinmoy Biswal said in view of the violence that took place on January 26, adequate security arrangements have been put in place by the Delhi Police at the borders so that miscreants are not able enter the national capital.

"We are monitoring content on the social media to make sure rumours are not spread against the police. The protestors are camping at the borders of Delhi. We are in touch with the police force of other states also," he added.

A senior police officer said to prevent any kind of law and order situation and disruption of normal life during the ''chakka jam'', adequate forces are being deployed across the outer-north district of Delhi Police.

The Ghaziabad district administration has also taken additional measures in view of ''chakka jam''.

An official said that the district has been divided in six sectors and the magistrates and their counterpart police officials have been deployed to avoid any untoward incident.
Shmyhal to take part in meeting of EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels on Feb 11

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal will visit Brussels (Belgium) on February 11 to participate in the meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council.

"The seventh meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council will take place in Brussels on February 11, 2021. The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, and the EU side - by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of theEuropean Commission Josep Borrell. The meeting will also be attended by EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi," the governments press service said.

It is noted that at the meeting of the Association Council, it is planned to agree on a number of further joint steps for the practical implementation of the Summit agreements, many of which are quite ambitious and comprehensive.

It concerns launching a comprehensive review of the objectives of the Agreement, further progress on the digital economy, the Green Deal, the conclusion of the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products, as well as setting specific deadlines for the first meeting of the EU-Ukraine cyber dialogue in 2021.

During the meeting, the parties will also discuss progress in the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, the pursuing of a broad reform agenda in Ukraine and to determine joint steps to further develop Ukraine's political association and economic integration with the EU.

"Particular attention will be paid to countering Russia's ongoing armed aggression, as well as the security and humanitarian situation, especially in the context of the coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic, in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and eastern Ukraine," the statement said.

It is noted that on the outcomes of the meeting, the parties will adopt a joint statement.
(ANSAmed) - VALLETTA, FEBRUARY 5 - Keith Schembri, the former cabinet chief of the Muscat government, has obtained the withdrawal of a parole measure issued by police for a parallel investigation on corruption and money laundering charges that emerged from the analysis of chats between Schembri and Yorgen Fenech, the tycoon accused of ordering the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.



Schembri was arrested in September together with three associates of Nexia BT, a consulting company, for allegedly paying kickbacks to favor the sale of Maltese passports to people with questionable profiles.



Schembri's attorneys said the arrest was revoked because the investigation was closed. Police, according to the Times of Malta, instead explained that investigations into WhatsApp chats between Schembri and "clients and others", including Fenech, are still ongoing.



Meanwhile, two of the defense attorneys of Yorgen Fenech have been indicted for allegedly trying to corrupt a journalist of the Times of Malta.



The attorneys who will face corruption charges in court, Gianluca Caruana Curran and Charles Mercieca, reportedly tried to give an unspecified number of 500 euro banknotes to journalist Ivan Martin during a meeting in their office, the Times of Malta said on November 3, in a report which was also picked up by other media outlets. In a letter written to the newspaper, they admitted the fact, claiming they were induced by the journalist to believe that, if they paid him, he would have "neutralized the media's prejudice" against Fenech.



(ANSAmed).


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SEATTLE (AP)  Boeing Co. has said it will outsource a significant amount of information technology work to Dell starting in April, including support of cloud services, databases and information technology. The move is expected to eliminate 600 jobs.

Susan Doniz, vice president for information technology and data analytics for Boeing, told employees Thursday that the eliminated jobs represent about 10% of the company's IT staff, The Seattle Times reported.





. . .
CSE: VYGR

OTCQB: VYGVF

Borse Frankfurt: UCD2

- Revenue Exceeds US$8.5 Million for the Month of January 2021 and Exceeds US$2.5 Million for the period February 1 to February 4, 2021 -

- Assets Under Management Surpass US$800 Million as of February 4, 2021 -

NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Voyager Digital Ltd. ("Voyager" or the "Company") (CSE: VYGR) (OTCQB: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2), a publicly-traded, licensed crypto-asset broker that provides retail investors with mobile and desktop solutions to trade and earn interest on a wide variety of cryptocurrencies, is pleased to provide stakeholders with an update for the following key metrics for the month ended January 2021 and for the period February 1, 2021 to February 4, 2021.

Preliminary revenue from operations was approximately US$8.5 million for the month of January 2021 , up from US$1.7 million in the month of December, 2020. Preliminary revenue from operations for the period February 1, 2021 to February 4, 2021 is estimated to be at approximately US$2.5 million .

for the month of , up from in the month of December, 2020. Preliminary revenue from operations for the period to is estimated to be at approximately . Net cash deposits were approximately US$120 million for the month of January, 2021, up from approximately US$30 million for the month of December, 2020. Net cash deposits were approximately US$18 million for the period February 1, 2021 to February 4, 2021 .

for the month of January, 2021, up from approximately for the month of December, 2020. Net cash deposits were approximately for the period to . Assets Under Management (AUM) were approximately US$800 million as of February 4, 2021 , up from US$230 million at December 31, 2020 , mainly attributable to both the increased in the value of held assets and the net cash deposited on the platform for the period.

as of , up from at , mainly attributable to both the increased in the value of held assets and the net cash deposited on the platform for the period. Trades per day averaged more than 30,000 for the month ended January 31, 2021 , up from an average of approximately 6,500, in December, 2020. Trades per day for the period February 1, 2021 to February 4, 2021 averaged 60,000 trades per day.

, up from an average of approximately 6,500, in December, 2020. Trades per day for the period to averaged 60,000 trades per day. New funded accounts were 65,000 for the month of January, 2021, with total funded accounts over 106,000 as of February 4, 2021 .

. Basic Users on the platform were approximately 440,000 as of February 4, 2021 up from 150,000 as of December 31, 2020 .

up from 150,000 as of . The value of customer trades for January increased over 5x to US$840 million up from US$150 million in December, 2020. The Company has executed over US$170 million of trades for the period February 1 through February 4, 2021 .

All figures are preliminary and unaudited and subject to final adjustment. All amounts are in US dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

"While we believe our recent business metrics reflect the growing interest in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and long-term benefits of our business model, the unprecedented external events over the past week, including decisions made by competitive products, have brought significant upside to our metrics," said Steve Ehrlich, Co-founder and CEO of Voyager. "While we don't expect a repeat of the unprecedented external events of the past few weeks that have served as a catalyst for the recent growth, we anticipate continued meaningful growth in our business, including from the pipeline of approximately 80,000 customers who have signed up and that we are presently onboarding. We remain focused on executing our long-term business plan and expect Voyager will continue to grow the business in a more traditional pattern throughout the balance of 2021. To support this growth, we anticipate increased expenditures in order to materially increase our employee headcount during this period, while also increasing our technology architecture stack in the near-term to accommodate significantly more users."

For more information on Voyager Digital, please visit https://www.investvoyager.com . The Voyager app is available for Android and iPhone .

About Voyager Digital Ltd.

Voyager Digital Ltd. is a crypto-asset broker that provides retail and institutional investors with a turnkey solution to trade crypto assets. Voyager offers customers best execution and safe custody on a wide choice of popular crypto-assets. Voyager was founded by established Wall Street and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who teamed to bring a better, more transparent, and cost-efficient alternative for trading crypto-assets to the marketplace. Please visit us at https://www.investvoyager.com for more information and to review the latest Corporate Presentation.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release.

Certain information in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements regarding future growth and performance of the business, estimates regarding the results of operations, momentum in the businesses, future adoption of digital assets, the onboarding of the approximately 80,000 customers who have signed up for our service and have not yet been onboarded, increasing our technology architecture stack accommodate significantly more users, the increase in expenditures to increase head count and improve our technology architecture, the increase in human resources, and the Company's anticipated and estimated results may constitute forward looking information (collectively, forward-looking statements), which can be identified by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "to be", "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate," "intend," "continue" or "believe" (or the negatives) or other similar variations. Because of various risks and uncertainties, including those referenced below, actual events or results may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are subject to the risk that the global economy, industry, or the Company's businesses and investments do not perform as anticipated, that revenue or expenses estimates may not be met or may be materially less or more than those anticipated, that trading momentum and trends do not continue or the demand for trading solutions declines, customer acquisition does not increase as planned, product and international expansion do not occur as planned, customers waiting to be onboarded abandon their request to onboard prior to Voyager completing the onboard process, and those other risks contained in the Company's public filings, including in its Management Discussion and Analysis and its Annual Information Form (AIF). Factors that could cause actual results of the Company and its businesses to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, a decline in the digital asset market or general economic conditions; a change in the market, business and environmental the failure or delay in the adoption of digital assets and the blockchain ecosystem by institutions; a delay or failure in developing infrastructure for the trading businesses or achieving mandates and gaining traction; failure to grow assets under management, an adverse development with respect to an issuer or party to the transaction or failure to obtain a required regulatory approval. In connection with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, the Company has made assumptions that no significant events occur outside of the Company's normal course of business and that current trends in respect of digital assets continue. Forward-looking statements, past and present performance and trends are not guarantees of future performance, accordingly, you should not put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, past performance, or current trends. Information identifying assumptions, risks, and uncertainties relating to the Company are contained in its filings with the Canadian securities regulators available at www.sedar.com . The forward-looking statements in this press release are applicable only as of the date of this release or as of the date specified in the relevant forward-looking statement and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after that date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The Company assumes no obligation to provide operational updates, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned that actual and estimated past performance is not indicative of future performance and current trends in the business and related economic and social factors and demand for digital assets may not continue and readers should not put undue reliance on past performance and current trends. Readers are cautioned that the results for the month of February to date are not indicative of performance for the remainder of the month or for any other future periods and that the results for February could be materially less than the interim results presented herein.

SOURCE Voyager Digital (Canada) Ltd.
Mumbai, Feb 5 : Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan surprised Varun Sharma on his birthday, by dropping in at the latters set during the ongoing shoot of Cirkus.

Talking to IANS, Sharma tagged it as one of the "bestest" birthdays ever.

He said: "(This is) One of the bestest birthdays ever , on sets with Cirkus madcaps . It's a moment that can't be expressed, and thank you (Cirkus director) Rohit (Shetty) sir and the entire team for making this day even more special." "Moreover , Varun thank you so so much for surprising me and being a part of this celebration," said Sharma, who rose to fame with his endearing character in "Fukrey" named Choocha.

The actor, who turned 30 on Thursday, is currently busy with the shoot of Cirkus.

Varun has several films lined up this year. He will next be seen in RoohiAfza, and is gearing up to start work on the third installment of the popular Fukrey franchise post finishing "Cirkus".

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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The existence of an assessment on Jan. 3 was first reported by The Washington Post. The full document presents a mixed picture of the threat level that the police had envisioned for the rallies. The top of the document says Bottom Line Up Front and refers to the threat from white supremacists and potentially armed protesters but does not cite the Capitol as a target. Its analysis about possible violence comes at the end of the 15-page document.

Both the Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 intelligence assessments were provided to the Capitol Police leadership, according to a person familiar with their distribution.

One factor in the muddled nature of the intelligence assessments was the difficulty of knowing how seriously to take the extensive social media chatter about efforts to block ratification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.s victory in the presidential election.

The F.B.I. was aware of violent online posts before the rally, with the bureaus field office in Norfolk, Va., issuing a report that flagged one anonymous thread that warned of a looming war at the Capitol.

The F.B.I. added that it had set up 24-hour command posts at both the local Washington field office and its headquarters, not far from the Capitol. The bureau also put tactical teams on standby, which it had not done for the previous two marches by Mr. Trumps supporters  on Nov. 14 and Dec. 12  protesting the election results.

Before Jan. 6, the F.B.I. and our federal, state and local partners collected and shared available intelligence in preparation for the various planned events, the bureau said in a statement. As indicated earlier, those leads deterred some from attending the Jan. 6 protest.

Still, the mob that stormed the Capitol was filled with members of groups that the F.B.I. had identified as domestic terrorism threats, like militias, white supremacists and adherents of the QAnon conspiracy. After the siege, the F.B.I. arrested some of those same people, including charging three members of the Oath Keepers with conspiracy as evidence emerged that they had planned to attack the Capitol. The F.B.I. also arrested members of the Proud Boys, a far-right nationalist group.
Whiteout conditions on Interstate-80 west of Newton, Iowa, lead to 40 vehicle collision on Feb. 4, 2021. (Courtesy of Iowa State Patrol)

40 Vehicles Involved in Massive Pileup on Iowa Interstate

A lumbering winter storm has impacted peoples lives in multiple states across the nation throughout the week, with heavy snow in Iowa leading to dangerous travel conditions.

Troopers in the state shut down a section of Interstate 80 west of Newton on Thursday shortly before noon after roughly 40 vehicles were involved in a massive pile-up.

Authorities reported a few serious injuries while several other motorists and passengers sustained minor injuries. None of the troopers responding to the incident were injured, Iowa State Patrol officials said.

Several photos of the incident shared on social media by the agency show trucks, along with other cars, slid off the road, as well as a Carbon Express trailer turned on its side on top of another vehicle.

(2-4 3:26 PM) No Troopers were injured at the I-80 eastbound multi-vehicle crash. Authorities report a few serious injuries and several minor injuries to motorists/passengers. Check https://t.co/snjL2h7lb6 for additional closures/blockages on I-80, Hwy. 20 and other roadways. pic.twitter.com/lSJZoqgZ2Q  Iowa State Patrol (@iowastatepatrol) February 4, 2021

The I-80 remained closed for most of the day but reopened again at about 7:15 p.m., the state patrol announced.

Be safe as you travel on roadways tonight and in the days ahead, the agency warned, as patchy, blowing snow is still covering many roadways on the east side of the state, with a possibility of leading to more havoc on roads.

Officials advised drivers to stay off the road on Friday as some areas still have dangerous travel conditions. The agency also asked people to check the Iowa Department of Transportation (IOWADOT) websitean official source for traffic and traveler informationbefore driving.

The hazardous blizzard-like condition is forecasted to improve in Iowa in the coming days.

(2-5 6 am) Crews have been out all night, but patchy, blowing snow still covers many roadways in eastern Iowa. Travel is still not advised in a some areas. Conditions are expected to improve this morning, but please check Iowa 511 app or https://t.co/2XHJbG5B9b before you travel. pic.twitter.com/7bBrPE9spz  Iowa DOT (@iowadot) February 5, 2021

Iowa State Patrol troopers reported they have responded between Wednesday and Thursday alone to a total of 195 car crashes, 169 reports of property damage, 350 motorist assists, and 25 personal injuries, including one that was fatal.

The agency also shared video footage from KCCI, showing the extent of the pileup on the I-80s eastbound lanes between Colfax and Newton.

From NTD News
Now several other women have come forward to tell of similar experiences with Manson: bruises, torture, mental torment, starvation, sleep deprivation. But much of this was, clearly, no secret. Manson told Spin in 2009 that he fantasised daily about smashing [Woods] skull in with a sledgehammer. She had left him alone at Christmas, he said, so he did what any right-minded gent would do and called her 158 times in one day and cut lines into his arms and face with a razor blade. No pressure. Loading His PR team said he was just being a theatrical rock star, as though threats or dreams of murdering women were simply provocative or transgressive, not profoundly conventional, mainstream and normalising criminality. Surely misogyny as performance is both tired and dangerous. Its one thing to joust with obscenity and morality and another to pretend sexual violence is counter-cultural when its the precise opposite. Remember, the greatest indicator a woman is going to be killed by her partner is that he is controlling and threatening her. A NSW coroners review of intimate-partner homicides found 99 per cent of perpetrators had committed coercive and controlling behaviours towards the victim before killing them.

And now, looking over Mansons life, there are so many signs. So who knew? In his 1998 autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, Manson described physically and sexually assaulting a drunken woman with a friend (who denies this). The Chicago Reader said he was generally mistreating one or more women per page: burning a groupies pubic hair, peeing on another after having covered her in raw meat. Just some family fun. Loading Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland, who was part of Mansons band in 2008 and 2009, urged Manson fans to stop attacking the women, who he said were speaking the truth. Speaking on the Twitch channel Space Zebra Live, he said Manson was amazingly talented, but hes f---ed up and he needs to be put in check and he needs to get sober and he needs to come to terms with his demons. He is a bad f---ing guy, and I was there when he was with Evan Rachel Wood. I was at his house. Its not f---ing cool, and thats all Im gonna say about it. So many saw it. Guitar technician Dan Cleary said Manson broke Wood. As Mansons assistant in 2014-15, he said he saw first-hand, over and over, him being an abusive violent boyfriend  He would threaten to kill her, cut her up, bury her, embarrass her to the world. There were other witnesses, Cleary said, who stayed silent because they needed the work and because of the code, presumably the bro code. When indie rock musician Phoebe Bridges went to Mansons house as a teenager, a big-eyed admirer, she instantly stopped being a fan. He referred to a room in his house as the r*pe room, she tweeted. Without going into specifics, she then took aim at the complicity of those around Manson, reliant on his star power and income stream: The label knew, management knew, the band knew. Distancing themselves now, pretending to be shocked and horrified is f---ing pathetic.

Actor Rose McGowan, who was once engaged to Manson but said she did not experience abuse in the relationship, still stood with his accusers and pointed the finger at Hollywood cult leaders that have employed him and sanctioned him. The good thing is that Woods courage will lend courage to others, and some important discussions are being had about what coercive control looks like  and where it ends. Loading Since breaking up with Manson, Wood has self-harmed, struggled with post traumatic stress disorder and attempted suicide. So has Gabriella, the artist SourGirrrl, who says Manson repeatedly raped her, tied her up and beat her. Also suffering PTSD and a range of mental health issues are Ashley Walter, who says a frequently violent Manson used to offer her up for sex with collaborators when she was his assistant, Ashley Lindsay Morgan, who says she was trapped in Mansons house, unable to eat, leave or sleep, and former girlfriend Sarah McNeilly, who alleges Manson punished her by locking her in rooms, screaming at her and throwing her against a wall. We need to talk to teenagers about the red flags of control, too, as soon as they start dating  constant texting, attempts to isolate someone from family and friends, the monitoring and scrutiny and criticism, for example  and how to recognise when people are in unsafe relationships. We need to hold enablers and bystanders to account, especially those who profit from keeping violence hidden, or even ongoing. We need to stem the tides of trolls who will crawl into every available crevice to shout down women who tell their stories.
A hallucinogenic drug given to stroke victims as they are rushed to hospital could minimise the damage inflicted on brain cells, scientists say.

Strokes happen when the blood supply to the vital organ is cut off by a clot or burst vessel, risking death in some crucial nerve cells by starving them of oxygen.

But researchers argue their medication - called DMT or dimethyltryptamine - could ward off the worst effects by sparking the growth of new neurons, fast-tracking the healing process.

It will be tested in first-of-their-kind trials in the US, where the psychedelic drug will be administered to patients in the back of ambulances. It will be given in doses too small to trigger hallucinations - but scientists say they should still confer benefits.

Tests could start as soon as next month, if they get the go-ahead from regulators.

Previous studies on DMT have shown it improved motor-function and triggered the formation of new brain cells in rats whose organ was damaged.

More than 113,000 people suffer a stroke every year in the UK, and 795,000 face the condition annually in the US.

DMT is found in Ayahuasca - a 'psychedelic brew' made from vines and leaves in the Amazon jungle.

DMT is found in Ayahuasca - a 'psychedelic brew' made from vines and leaves in the Amazon jungle

Strokes happen when the blood supply to the brain is disrupted, which can trigger death in some nerve cells. But scientists say the drug DMT - or dimethyltryptamine - could ward off some of the worst effects of the condition (stock)

Canadian company Algernon is taking the experimental treatment to Phase 1 trials - it could take years before the drug gets approved for human use.

Chief executive Christopher Moreau hopes the drug will help the brain heal.

'Since we're dealing with stroke patients, we will be using the sub-hallucinogenic dose, which in pre-clinical studies has still shown to improve neuroplasticity,' he told Metro.co.uk.

'It will help the brain heal even though patients aren't having the psychedelic experience, and we really don't want that if your patient has just had a stroke.'

He added: 'The sooner you can start to treat post-injury the better.

'DMT may not benefit hemorrhagic (stroke victims), we don't know, but we're hoping it won't cause them any problems because then we don't have to wait for the CT scan, we can treat in the ambulance.'

He said within hours of a stroke, studies show the brain starts trying to rewire itself, which he hopes this drug can accelerate.

There is 'little' immediate treatment available for stroke victims because doctors need to know which type someone is suffering from.

Pictured above is a scan of an ischaemic stroke. This is when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked, cutting off the vital supply of oxygen and nutrients to the surrounding cells

In an ischemic stroke a blood clot has blocked a vessel in the brain, requiring treatment with a blood thinner. But in a haemorrhagic stroke a blood vessel has burst, which needs more invasive treatment.

Giving someone the wrong medication for the type of stroke they are suffering could be fatal, said Mr Moreau.

If the Phase 1 trials are successful Algernon plans to push US regulators to approve their treatment for use more widely.

Its stage 2/3 trials will involve following up stroke victims over the short and long term, to establish the benefits of the treatment.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Delhi Irrigation and Water Minister Satyendar Jain has raised concerns about the city's depleting water table, and announced plans to hire experts to improve the situation.

"DJB has been instructed to use all the defunct tube wells for groundwater recharge purposes. In addition to this, groundwater experts will be hired in DJB for handholding to improve groundwater levels," Jain, who is also Chairman of Delhi water body said in a board meeting on Thursday.

The Minister said that due to over exploitation of groundwater, the water table has alarmingly gone down in Delhi. "It is the need of the day to extensively use the rainwater to recharge the groundwater through natural and artificial water bodies and rainwater harvesting structures," he added.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had earlier asked the Delhi government, Central Ground Water Authority Delhi and the DJB to clean, maintain and restore all water bodies. Replying to this, Jain said, "The process is in exercise. Direction has been issued for the rejuvenation of the Tihar lake in Tihar Village. DJB has laid sewerage systems in 561 unauthorised out of 1799 colonies and the work is in progress in 593 colonies," Jain said.

Jain further added that the Tihar Lake project which is worth Rs 25 crore will be completed by next year. The lake will be used for groundwater recharge and will be made into a center of tourist attraction.

The minister also said the response of the people in taking sewer connections (in unauthorised colonies) has not been quite good, resulting in sewer flowing into drains and finally into the river Yamuna. He said the reasons for the people not coming forward for taking sewer connections were mainly due to development charges at Rs 469 per square meters, infrastructure charges in case of plot size more than 200 square meters and due to lack of approval from multiple agencies.

Jain claimed saying, "Consumers applying for new sewer connections in the city will not be charged for road restoration and installation charges. DJB will provide them with the sewer connection at its own cost. DJB has also approved notification of these colonies which means consumers can also avail sewer connection outside the policy."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Adam Samrov is the sports editor and part-time news reporter for the Bennington Banner. He has been at the Banner since 2008 and sports editor since 2010. He can be reached at asamrov@benningtonbanner.com
Carl Gallagher is the second youngest Gallagher child on the Showtime series Shameless. Actor Ethan Cutkosky portrays Carl in every season and consequently grew up on the set. However, his age in real life might surprise you because of the news several years ago that he was arrested for a DIU. How old is Carl from Shameless in real life?

Shameless Ethan Cutkosky as Carl Gallagher and Toks Olagundoye as Leesie Janes | Paul Sarkis/SHOWTIME

Shameless: The real Carl Gallagher was arrested for a DUI

Carl Gallagher might be posing as a straight-edge police officer on Shameless now, but Ethan Cutkosky gets pulled over by the cops in real life. On Nov. 2, 2017, Cutkosky was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. He was stopped around 10:30 p.m. for speeding, lane straddling, and unsafe turning.

When the officers approached Cutkoskys vehicle, E!Online reported that the officers smelled the distinct odor of burnt marijuana. The Shameless actor confessed to smoking marijuana earlier that evening. The police officers conducted a DUI investigation, like Carl would love to perform on Shameless. He was arrested and submitted to a blood test.

However, in true Carl Gallagher fashion, Cutkosky managed to get out of the DUI. The prosecutor dismissed the charges in exchange for a plea deal. The actor confessed to reckless driving that did not involve alcohol or drugs.

How old is Carl Gallagher in real life?

Shameless is now in its 11th season, so Carl is 19 years old but was only nine years old when the show began. Ethan Cutkosky (who portrays Carl) was born on Aug. 19, 1999, in St. Charles, Illinois. As of the writing of this article, Cutkosky is 21 years old. So, he plays a character who is only two years younger than himself. However, many fans feel that he looks much younger. He was arrested for that alleged DUI when he was only 18.

No Carl, you didnt just imagine that. pic.twitter.com/4EdfSBWsbp  Shameless on Showtime (@SHO_Shameless) February 3, 2021

He began his acting career by playing Carl in Fred Claus in 2007. Cutkosky also played Barto in the 2009 horror film, The Unborn. In 2010, he starred in Conviction with Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell. Since 2011, Cutkosky has worked on the set of Shameless.

What happens to Carl in Shameless Season 11?

While Carl had a smaller role in Shameless in the early seasons, he is one of the main storylines now. Carl begins Shameless Season 11 with a promotion to a cop on the streets, although he hasnt completed all of his cadet training yet.

However, his first day on the job is far from ideal. His new partner is non-confrontational and stays in his car or away from any danger the entire day. However, Carl gets him drunk after work, and the man has a heart attack.

Shameless Ethan Cutkosky as Carl Gallagher and Errol Foley as Saquon | Paul Sarkis/SHOWTIME

RELATED: Shameless: 2 Injuries on the Show Happened to the Actors in Real Life

His new partner is the complete opposite and takes things too far to make an arrest. Carl begins to question her methods, but instead of standing up to her, he takes matters into his own hands. The new police officer chases down a boy who robbed a store. However, instead of taking him into custody, Carl cuts a deal with the boy. He will protect him from his partner if the boy stays out of trouble.

Watch Shameless Season 11 on Showtime on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST.
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STAMFORD  As elderly residents across the state scramble to get the in-demand COVID-19 vaccine, appointments are readily available at Stamford Health to get the shot, officials said Thursday.

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, Stamford Hospital had about 700 available appointments from Feb. 5 until Feb. 7, according to a spokesperson for Stamford Health. Those appointments were being filled, the spokesperson said.

Stamford Health can accommodate about 700 appointments daily Monday through Friday, and another 900 appointments a day on weekends to administer the coronavirus vaccine.

Stamford Health can vaccinate people under Phase 1a and Phase 1b who either live or work in the state. This includes healthcare workers, medical first responders and people age 75 years old and up.

People can register for the COVID-19 vaccine at Stamford Health through the hospitals website or by calling 203-276-7300.

Those without internet access, computers or smart phones who require further assistance can call the Stamford Senior Center at 203-977-5151 to book a vaccine appointment.

Proof of eligibility is required upon registering for an appointment.

Stamford Health is offering vaccinations to the surrounding community though a partnership with the city of Stamford announced in January.

The hospital said it also accepts patients for second-dose appointments, regardless of where their first vaccine was administered.

We are trying to really serve our most vulnerable seniors, said Christina Crain, executive director of the Stamford Senior Center.

An account with the federal Vaccine Administration Management System, known as VAMS, is not required to register for a COVID-19 vaccine with Stamford Health.

During the week of Feb. 1, Stamford Health received about 3,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the state of Connecticut.

Residents and staff of select congregate settings will be phased in for vaccines throughout Phase 1b, the state said on its website.

Congregate settings include individuals and staff in halfway homes, inpatient mental health facilities, corrections facilities, homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, substance use and residential treatment facilities, according to the states official description of Phase 1b.

The next group of people eligible for vaccines will be individuals between the ages of 65 and 74, also part of Phase 1b, who are likely to be scheduled for later this month.

Scheduling information will be coming soon, likely in March, for the remainder of Phase 1b, according to the state. That will include frontline essential workers, although that final definition has not been released by the state. It is likely to include food service and restaurant workers, U.S. Postal Service workers, grocery store and pharmacy workers, public transit workers, and education and child-care workers, among others, as well as individuals with an underlying medical condition with increased risk for severe illness.
Molly Wright was feeling the pains of an empty stomach on the 13th day of her hunger strike.

But on Wednesday, when the city of San Antonio cleared a tent city under Interstate 37 downtown that was home to at least 85 people, her hunger pangs were forgotten.

The next day, Wright stood alongside eight other protesters at the historic Plaza de Armas where Mayor Ron Nirenberg had delivered his COVID-19 briefing. She had hoped that the groups objection to what occurred to the homeless camp be seen by the mayor and other officials.

Wright said she was angry that the mayor allowed the sweep of the homeless camp, particularly after Child Protective Services took a 6-week-old infant from her mother who was staying there. She said she hopes that the mother will seek legal aid to sue and get her child back.

On ExpressNews.com: City crews remove homeless tent camp near downtown San Antonio, displacing dozens of people

I forgot all about being hungry, because they just terrorized people, Wright said.

Fighting back tears, Wright held a sign that read Human sweeps not American, and Shameful evictions.

If theyre going to complain that its not the right environment for children, then house them, she said. Thats all Im asking is house them. Dont separate the babies like Donald Trump did.

Wright said she is continuing her hunger strike to remind city leaders of their promise to create an overnight parking service.

In her stage of the strike, Wright said she feels very tired and sleeps more than usual in the evenings. After walking a city block from City Hall, she said she felt short-winded. She also gets what she described as strange highs and lows of energy.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio officials eye purchase of hotel for homeless after removal of tent camp near downtown

For Wright, the ideal outcome is for the city to open VIAs park-and-ride locations throughout the city for people to park and sleep in their vehicles overnight, providing a well-lit place guarded by existing security.

Its so easy because everything is already there, she said, adding that the solution is something many people facing homelessness tell her they would like to see.

During their efforts Thursday to spread awareness about homelessness in San Antonio, Wrights group did not disrupt traffic or meetings to get their message across. Instead, volunteers prepared bags of food and masks then walked into the night, passing their care packages out to others experiencing homelessness downtown.

US President Joe Biden promised to rebuild his country's partnership with the African Union (AU) moments after he delivered his first foreign policy speech since taking office.



His predecessor, Donald Trump, sparked a row in 2018 over his alleged use of the word "shithole" to describe African nations.



Mr Trump later denied that he is racist.



On Friday the White House tweeted a video of President Biden's remarks to the continental body ahead of its 34th summit. He said:



My administration is committing to rebuilding our partnership around the world and reengaging with international institutions like the African Union. My administration is committing to rebuilding our partnership around the world and reengaging with international institutions like the African Union.



We also must confront the serious challenges we face. That includes investing more in global health, defeating Covid-19 and working to prevent, detect and respond to future health crises, and partnering with the African CDC and other institutions to advance health security."We also must confront the serious challenges we face. That includes investing more in global health, defeating Covid-19 and working to prevent, detect and respond to future health crises, and partnering with the African CDC and other institutions to advance health security."











The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to working with the African Union to advance our shared vision of a better future.



Watch President Bidens Message to African Union Summit Participants: pic.twitter.com/tXFX4Tp9PD

 The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 5, 2021

President Biden also promised to engage the AU in addressing conflicts on the continent.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Federal Parliament has held its first sitting week for the year but according to Prime Minister Scott Morrison he has no plans to keep MPs all that busy.

In a major speech on Monday he made it clear that his legislative agenda will be limited and wont involve any major economic reforms such as changes to the GST or a price on carbon. Asked what he had in mind for the year, Mr Morrison said he would not pursue things for the sake of vanity.

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It is perhaps not surprising that Mr Morrison has opted to avoid controversy. The focus this year must be on rolling out coronavirus vaccines and maintaining Australias seemingly impressive economic recovery. It is on these two fronts that Mr Morrison will want to fight the next election.

The Prime Minister went to the last election with few policies except delivering large tax cuts. He is likely to be just as cautious in the coming year, especially with speculation a federal election could be held as soon as September.
MEDFORD, Ore.  Providence Health & Services acknowledged on Thursday that some of its board members received the COVID-19 vaccine, despite Oregon's guidance prioritizing front-line healthcare workers and first responders for receiving the meager supply of doses.

Providence spokesman Gary Walker said that the healthcare provider has issued vaccine invitations to more than 27,000 people  including employees; medical staff; and members of Providence's Oregon Community Ministry Board, the provider's statewide governing entity.

Walker said that these invitations aligned with Oregon's guidance as of December 18, 2020. Among those thousands of invitations, 24 board members  18 in Medford and 6 in Seaside  were contacted about vaccine availability.

The Medford group, which included some foundation members, volunteered to be on a waiting list for any available unused doses at the end of a day. In Seaside, Walker said, six foundation and community board members accepted invitations to be vaccinated.

"As people who are registered with the county to serve as volunteer staff at vaccine clinics, these six individuals were eligible to be vaccinated under Oregons guidelines," Walker said.

Oregon Health Authority representative Jonathan Modie told NewsWatch 12 that vaccinating hospital administrators, managers, executives, board members, or other staff without potential exposure to sick patients does not align with the state's Phase 1a guidance  with the caveat that the rules in the early days of vaccine roll-out were somewhat more nebulous.

"Early on, when the only vaccine available in Oregon was Pfizers vaccine, which required ultra-cold storage, OHA did allow hospitals and other providers some flexibility in using every dose available in their inventory, recognizing there may be times when it was important that a thawed dose be used quickly rather than risk that dose going to waste," Modie said.

As Oregons COVID-19 vaccination effort has moved forward, Modie said, and without any great expansion in the supply of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, providers "must make sure" that doses go only to individuals who are eligible to receive them  meaning staff who have the greatest potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infection.

Regardless, Modie said that OHA is not pursuing sanctions against vaccine providers who inoculate people of "dubious" eligibility.

Some local vaccine providers have openly made the decision, when doses have been in danger of expiration, to vaccinate people near at hand regardless of eligiblity. Josephine County Public Health's efforts to use leftover doses on drivers stuck waiting on a snowbound Highway 199 made national headlines. Days later, Klamath County Public Health gave doses to patients at a nearby clinic after overestimating the need at the Klamath Falls Gospel Mission.

These decisions, however, provided vaccines to a relatively random sample of the population.

"Were asking people who work or volunteer in health care, or serve on health care boards, to do the right thing: If your work doesnt put you at risk of direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, you probably arent part of Phase 1a, you arent eligible, and you should wait your turn to get vaccinated," Modie said.

Providence voiced a commitment to following through on those admonishments from state officials.

"In retrospect, we understand that in our haste to vaccinate people quickly and/or avoid wasting doses, including a small number of our hospital community created the impression that some people are able to use their access to get a vaccination appointment," said Walker. "This was not in line with our organizations standard practice and we have made changes. We are making sure our processes to vaccinate people as quickly and efficiently as possible do not raise concerns about fairness or equity."
The United Nations should get involved so that the countries of the global South can have access to vaccines. Foreign debt should be eliminated to build health facilities. The issue of patents should be addressed.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  The vaccines against COVID-19 are creating new inequalities. The countries of the global North have been able to invest in research and now expect to reap the benefits, something the global South cannot do.

In view of the situation, Caritas Internationalis, the social arm of the Catholic Church, has criticised the selfishness of rich countries and is calling on the United Nations to find an equitable way to share the vaccines.

In a statement released today, the Catholic relief and development organisation, stresses that everyone should have the opportunity of getting vaccinated.

We are at a crucial moment, an opportunity to live the miracle of charity, through addressing together the present challenge.

The access to vaccines across the world has not been as equitable as it should be. It is sad to note that not all nations and those who want or need the vaccine can get it because of supply issues, while .in our interconnected world, the vaccines must be made available equitably.

Since every life is inviolable, nobody must be left out. The poor, minorities, refugees, the marginalised are the most exposed to the virus. Taking care of them is a moral priority because abandoning them puts them and the global community at risk. Our collective well-being depends on how we care for the least.

Given the fact that the pandemic has struck everyone, the emergency cannot be tackled with a national or nationalist approach.

Addressing the vaccines issue from the perspective of a narrow national strategy might lead to a moral failure in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable across the globe.

The current vaccines crisis must be seen in the wider context of the global health situation; hence, Caritas Internationalis urges national political leaders and the United Nations to:

 Call for a Security Council meeting to address the issue of access to the vaccines as a global security problem with firm political decisions based on multilateralism.

 Undertake the debt remission of the poorest countries as quickly as possible and use the funds obtained to upgrade the medical and health systems in these countries.

 Promote the local production of vaccines in different technical hubs in Africa, Latin America and Asia and make them available in the next six months by addressing the issue of patent and technical collaboration with the poorer nations.

 Allocate financial and technical support to the local Civil Society Organisations, and to Faith-Based Organisations in particular, to ensure the preparation of local communities awareness and capacity building to prepare them to have access to preventive care.

Lastly, the statement warns that if the pandemic were to get out of hand in the Global South, this could lead to a global humanitarian crisis again.
A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday dismissed a suit seeking an order compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, for alleged misappropriation of N900 billion.

Justice Okon Abang held that the ex-parte application lacks merit.

The Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development had in the application by its chairman, Sani Shinkafi requested the court to order the EFCC to act on the 15 petitions and commence an urgent investigation of the former governor.

Justice Abang also ruled that the application was filed out of time.

Justice Abang said, in line with Order 34 Rule 4 of the Federal High Court Rules, applications such as the one by the applicant should be done within three months of receiving the reports and documents on which the plaintiff based his case.

The judge maintained that in line with the rules, the court lacks jurisdiction to extend the time for hearing such a matter as it is statute-barred.

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - An American missionary and philanthropist who set up an orphanage in Kenya has been sent to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervision after his conviction for sex crime and abuse of teenage children, a US attorney said on Thursday
The cousin to one of the Media Aides to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu was on Friday killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ajowa Community ...





The cousin to one of the Media Aides to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu was on Friday killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Ajowa Community in Akoko North West Local Area of Ondo State.

The deceased identified as Dayo Ibiye, who was a farmer and cousin to the Senior Special Assistant to Akeredolu on New Media, Gani Muhammed-Ajowa, was killed in his farm in Ajowa community.

The death of Ibiye was coming barely 24 hours after a member of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, was also killed by bandits suspected to be herdsmen in Iju Community in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.

Ibiye was said to have been killed following an altercation with the herdsmen who had earlier made attempts to encroach on his farm with their herds of cattle.

According to Ajowa, his cousin was attacked by four Fulani herdsmen 24 hours after he was trailed to the farm by his assailants over his late cousins refusal to allow the Fulani herdsmen have access to his farm in order to feed their cows.

While disclosing that the herders after attacking Ibiye with machete which failed to penetrate his body, Ajowa stated that they overpowered him and twisted his neck backward to ensure that they completely snuffed life out of him.

Ajowa said, He (Late Ibiye) on Thursday was working on his farm when Fulani herdsmen were trying to enter his farm but warned them.

He told them to go to the bush but not peoples farm but the herdsmen said that they can enter anywhere including his farm which he dared not to try.

They now threatened him that they can always enter the farm when hes no longer alive and they left.

But on Friday, they trailed him to his farm and attacked him. They macheted him but didnt not penetrate. That was when they descended on him and twisted his neck to the back.

After the incident, I told those who were with him during the incident but managed to escaped not to go back to the farm alone. When I was called, I advised them to go with the police in the area to retrieve his body.

When contacted, the Police Spokesperson in the state, ASP Tee-Leo Ikoro, who confirmed the incident stated that investigation had begun into the development.
In a disturbing incident, a woman threw ink on rationalist and award-winning Kannada author KS Bhagawan while he was making his way to a court in Bengaluru.

A city-based lawyer Meera Raghavendra claimed she threw the ink on the scholar by way of punishment. The incident occurred after the BJP government in Karnataka removed his latest book, "Rama Mandira Yeke Beda" from the library list of book purchases. The incident took place on Thursday and has been going viral on social media.

Bhagawan, who was appearing for a hearing in a private case at City Civil Court Complex, has often been slammed by critics for his stance on religion.

Why did the lawyer attack KS Bhagawan?

In the video that was being shared on Twitter, Raghavendra could be heard screaming at Bhagawan and claiming that he should be "ashamed" of his actions and his stance. According to a report in The News Minute, the woman also screamed, "You are a professor and so old, yet you continue to speak trash about Hinduism and the Gods. Are you not ashamed of yourself?".

The incident occurred after his book Rama Mandira Yeke Beda was dropped from a list of titles to be purchased for state libraries.

Why was KS Bhagawan's book dropped?

The controversial book "Rama Mandira Yeke Beda", (Why We Don't Need Ram Temple) was released in 2018 and selected by the state-led Public Library Book Selection Committee in Karnataka as part of a list of book purchases for state libraries. However, the book was dropped from the list earlier in January pending approval from the government. According to a report in The New Indian Express, 5,109 books were eventually selected. The Indian Express reported that the Committee withdrew its recommendations following a campaign on social media against it.

Has the book caused controversy before?

The book and his other works on religion have caused the scholar trouble previously as well. In January 2019, Mysuru district president of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike lodged a complaint against Bhagawan regarding the same book. He was even booked by Mysuru Police under Section 295A (insulting religion and religious beliefs) for the same. In 2015, he was booked for allegedly insulting Hindu sentiments by allegedly insulting the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Who is KS Bhagawan?

Professor KS Bhagawan is an award-winning scholar, author, translator and rationalist who has been provided with security in the past few years following the assassinations of rationalists like Gauri Lankesh and MM Kalburgi. Bhagawan was also on the list of targets that the Special Investigating Team formed to probe the death of Lankesh found. He has won the awards like Rajyotsava Award, Lokayata Award and Kuvempu Award and is also credited with translating the works of Shakespeare.
The fate of Irelands Border in the renewed post-Brexit spat rests to a large degree with a former old-style East Bloc communist from Slovakia who is now a vice-president of the EU Commission.

Few Irish people will have heard of Maros Sefcovic  but its a safe bet that they will hear a great deal about him in the coming months as he sits down to do some hard negotiating with his British opposite number Michael Gove.

Already the pragmatic diplomat and politician has shown a strong practical streak in helping resolve an EU-UK legal face-off last autumn over Boris Johnsons attempts to unilaterally undo Northern Irelands special trade status, which risked the return of a hard Border.

Brussels officials say he established a good rapport with Mr Gove, the other co-chair of a special EU-UK implementation committee set up to oversee the application of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

Read More

The pair began negotiations last September which ran with far less noise and melodrama alongside the main Brexit talks.

They also produced a deal 10 days before last Christmas which restored the Norths special trade status.

The dangerous fallout from a brief and botched move by Brussels to seal the Border for Covid-19 vaccine supplies means the pair are now back in crisis talks. But ever the pragmatist, Sefcovic is already talking up the scope for practical solutions to defuse the row without changing the Norths legal position.

Brussels insiders describe the Slovakian diplomat turned politician as approachable, courteous and good natured and he is also known to have a friendly attitude to Ireland.

He is serving his third term as a European Commissioner and first got to know the Brussels machine as Slovakian ambassador.

He studied at length in Moscow in the mid-1980s and joined the Czechoslovakian Communist Party before the fall of the totalitarian regime in what was then Czechoslovakia in November 1989.

He was later active in one of the social democrat parties, Smer, which emerged in the new state and held power for several terms, though it is now in opposition.

The 54-year-old took leave of absence from Brussels in 2019 to stand as candidate for the Slovakian presidency, which is a largely ceremonial office.

There were some eyebrows raised when Commission colleagues lent support to his campaign but EU officials insisted the code of conduct was not breached. He was well beaten in a run-off vote by feminist and environmental campaigner, Zuzana Caputova, who became that countrys first woman president.

During that campaign he revealed his conservative social views, criticising same-sex adoption, civil partnership and liberal migration policies.

Against that, Irish politicians will make common cause with his insistence that taxation is a matter only for member state governments.
Attendees applaud at a ceremony at the Korea Exchange building in Seoul to celebrate the promotion of Korea to Developed Market status by FTSE Russell in this September 2009 file photo. / Yonhap



Global index provider remains silent about Seoul's short selling ban



By Park Jae-hyuk



London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has confirmed its wholly-owned subsidiary FTSE Russell did not send a warning letter to the Korean government over its decision to extend the year-long ban on short selling on the Seoul bourse for several more months.



"I've checked and there is no record of such a letter being sent by FTSE Russell to South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) as you describe," LSEG press officer Oliver Mann told The Korea Times via email. "We wanted to let you know this to ensure against inaccurate reporting."



This is the first statement from the British stock exchange company denying local reports that the global index provider sent a letter to the FSC's capital markets bureau, Wednesday, to warn that Korea might be demoted from Developed Market status if it maintains the temporary restriction of short selling.



Short selling refers to a method in which an investor sells borrowed shares in the belief that the price will fall and they will be able to buy the shares back at a discount, returning the borrowed shares and keeping the difference. The Korean government has temporarily banned the method since March last year to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the domestic stock market.



On Wednesday, FSC Chairman Eun Sung-soo announced that the government would extend the ban until May 2, 90 days beyond its scheduled expiration date of March 15. The controversial news report about the FTSE's warning was published a day after the announcement.



Though LSEG denied the reports of an official letter, some securities analysts here believe there still remains the possibility of Korea being delisted from the Developed Market index.



Korea was promoted to Developed Market status from Advanced Emerging status in September 2009, following the FTSE advisory group's approval in 2008. When managing promotions and demotions, the index provider takes into account several criteria, including permission of short sales.



"Global index providers such as MSCI and FTSE take into account the accessibility to short selling when assessing markets," DB Financial Investment analyst Seol Tae-hyun said. "Turkey was warned of possible demotion in June last year, after it maintained a short selling ban for a long time."



The LSEG spokesman did not answer whether or not FTSE is considering demoting Korea. He was also unavailable to provide comment on the index provider's view on Seoul's extension of the short-selling ban.


(Image: Moneycontrol)

The Centre will begin privatising airports by 2022 and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is examining a possibility of offloading loss- making airports along with profitable ones.

Civil Aviation ministry secretary Pradeep Kharola on February 4 said the process of award will be for around 10 airports and part of the third phase of airport privatisation, The Economic Times reported.

AAI is examining giving non-profitable airport and profit-making airports as a package. We could see six to 10 airports being taken up. The airports will be given to the private sector for 50 years, Kharola said.

Further, Kharola also addressed the issue of Air India's divestment, saying it was fairly at an "advanced stage", PTI reported.

"When we say Air India, we mean the Air India family. So Air India goes along with Air India Express and AISATS... this side is Pawan Hans. This would be completed. Air India is, fairly I would say, at an advanced stage," he said.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

He also spoke about the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN, and pointed out that the Centre's budgetary allocation for the scheme for FY 2021-22 was increased to Rs 600 crore from Rs 430 crore for the current fiscal.

"Thrust will be on the development of 100 airports. This is reflected in the increased budgetary allocation for operationalising the idle strips on small airports which lies throughout the country," he added.

Kharola also sought to clarify that airfare bands, put in place after flight services resumed after lockdown, will not be permanent.

The ministry is closely monitoring air traffic and fare bands are not going to be permanent. While flights are operating at 80 percent capacity of the pre-COVID-19 period, utilisation has only been 60-65 percent. As soon as the normal operation starts, the fare bands will go away," he added.

(With inputs from PTI)
Ivanka Trump used her status to help obtain over 140 pardons and commutations for victims of injustice as well as her fathers cronies, and she's now plotting her political reemergence by highlighting the virtues of some of the clemency grants.

Why it matters: While President Trump's eldest daughter dismisses talk she is weighing a campaign against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), criminal justice reform is a popular, bipartisan issue to associate with as she plots her future endeavors.

It would not be surprising if its among the causes she champions in her next chapter," a source close to Ivanka told Axios.

Behind the scenes: President Trump made headlines during his final days in office by issuing a raft of pardons and commutations, including a last-minute one to the former husband of Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro.

Less known is the role his eldest daughter played, especially in relation to nonpolitical actions.

Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, intensively lobbied her father on the issue, several sources said. She attended multiple Oval Office meetings and made calls from empty offices in the West Wing.

The night before Joe Biden's inauguration, she stayed at the White House until roughly 8:30 p.m., as she and other top Trump officials wrangled over controversial eleventh-hour pardons for presidential allies like Steve Bannon and Elliott Broidy.

Once the final list was released  after 1 a.m. on Inauguration Day  she spent the next two hours calling the families of those for whom she had advocated.

She continued calling on her way to Joint Base Andrews, where her father gave his last speech as president before jetting off to Florida on his final Air Force One flight.

Ivanka worked closely with a series of non-governmental organizations like #cut50, that brought specific nonpolitical cases to her attention. The sources said that some of the people she personally lobbied for include:

Kyle Kimoto, a father of six, convicted for a telemarketing scam that stole $43 million from Americans.

a father of six, convicted for a telemarketing scam that stole $43 million from Americans. Michael Harris , founder of Death Row Records, charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

, founder of Death Row Records, charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Charles Fragoso, a U.S. Navy veteran, who served more than 30 years of a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense.

a U.S. Navy veteran, who served more than 30 years of a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense. Chalana McFarland , who served 15 years of a 30-year sentence for money laundering, bank and wire fraud and other financial crimes. If she had accepted a pretrial plea bargain, she would have been imprisoned just seven years.

, who served 15 years of a 30-year sentence for money laundering, bank and wire fraud and other financial crimes. If she had accepted a pretrial plea bargain, she would have been imprisoned just seven years. April Coots, who served more than 10 years of her 20-year sentence for a nonviolent drug offense. She was described as an exemplary inmate who obtained an HVAC license and completed the PAWS apprenticeship program.

What they're saying: Ivanka has "been very much involved in the criminal justice issues for a long time, going back to the First Step Act," Mark Holden, chairman of the board of Americans for Prosperity, told Axios. "It's great if she could continue doing it.  We need all the help we can get."
Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) arrived back in Australia with her children in January.

After completely mandatory hotel quarantine, the model has been enjoying her old stomping ground of Sydney on a series of excursions.

On Friday night, the 33-year-old headed out to dinner in Bondi with friends, enjoying a meal at the upmarket eatery, Sean's.

Out and about: Lara Worthington (pictured) arrived back in Australia with her children in January. After completely mandatory hotel quarantine, the model has been enjoying her old stomping ground of Sydney on a series of excursions

Lara looked chic in an all-black ensemble consisting of off-the-shoulder jumpsuit that showed off her slim frame.

Graduating from a fitted top portion to loose pants, the outfit created a high fashion silhouette.

She added a pair of trendy, chunky creeper shoes with a wide, white portion and a black base.

Dinner time: On Friday night, the 33-year-old headed out to dinner in Bondi with friends, enjoying a meal at the upmarket eatery, Sean's

Cool: Lara looked chic in an all-black ensemble consisting of off-the-shoulder jumpsuit that showed off her slim frame

On trend: Graduating from a fitted top portion to loose pants, the outfit created a high fashion silhouette

The model opted for a muted makeup palette consisting of natural, glowing foundation and a little pink lipstick.

Lara had her blonde bob, which she recently adopted, down and straight around her famous face.

After dinner, the beauty gave her companions, which are believed to have included her brother Joshua Bingle, hugs and kisses goodbye.

Farewell! After dinner, the beauty gave her companions, which are believed to have included her brother Joshua Bingle, hugs and kisses goodbye

Cuddles! She reached in to give her friends a good squeeze before heading off

She was then was led off by a friend, believed to be Vicki Lee, who held her by the arm as they made their way out of the area and jumped in a car.

Last year, it was reported that Lara planned to move back to Australia with her husband-of-seven-years, actor Sam Worthington, and family.

Lara and Sam have been based in the US with their family for years.

According to Who magazine last year, the couple decided to relocate back to their native Australia for an 'extended stay'.

Helping hand: She was then was led off by a friend, believed to be Vicki Lee

This way! The friend held her by the arm as they made their way out of the area

Details: Lara carried her phone and a pair of sunglasses she had worn earlier

The publication reported that the pair will be temporarily moving Down Under while Sam performs in the Sydney Theatre Company's production, Appropriate.

The production will take place in March, and along with Sam's Avatar commitments in New Zealand, 'a more permanent move Down Under doesn't seem totally off the cards just yet'.

Sam and Lara share sons Rocket, four, Racer, three, and welcomed their most recent addition, a baby boy, whose name is yet to be revealed, in 2019.
New Delhi: European Union Parliamentarians have strongly backed India and South Africa's joint proposal at the World Trade Organization for a waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccine patents.

As many as 14 members of European Parliamentarians in a letter to EU leadership have called for a moratorium on the suspension of COVID-19 vaccine patents.

The two-page letter on COVID-19 vaccine highlights: "South Africa and India sent a joint proposal to the World Trade Organization requesting an exemption from patents and other intellectual property rights concerning drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, personal protective equipment, and other medical technologies throughout the pandemic and this proposal is still pending."

The letter seen by WION has asked European Union to support India and South Africa's proposal at the WTO as it aims to guarantee widespread and equitable access to vaccines on a global scale.

The WTO had met in December 2020 to take up the proposal for waiver of intellectual property (IP) over COVID-19 vaccines but failed to arrive at the decision over stiff opposition from United States, European Union and others. The proposal for waiver on IP rights for covid vaccines means affordable access to everyone even as countries try to vaccinate their population.

The letter by the EU parlimentarians has been sent to President of the European Council Charles Michel, President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen, EU high representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell, European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis and European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Honorable Stella Kyriakides.

The MEPs who have sent the letter are  Andrea Cozzolino, Maria Arena, Eva Kaili, Alex Agius Saliba, Bogusaw Liberadzki, Tiemo Woelken, Milan Brglez, Patrizia Toia, Irene Tinagli, Pierfrancesco Majorino, Pina Picierno, Giuliano Pisapia, Massimiliano Smeriglio, Franco Roberti.

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An Ohio police office was charged with murder Wednesday in the fatal shooting of Andre Hill, an unarmed Black man, in Columbus, last December, AP reports.

Why it matters: Columbus Police Officer Adam Coy's indictment by a Franklin County grand jury followed an investigation by the Ohio Attorney Generals office. Coy, who is white, also faces charges of dereliction of duty for failing to use his body camera and for not telling another officer he believed Hill presented a danger.

What they're saying: "In this case, the citizens of Franklin County, represented by the individual grand jurors, found probable cause to believe that Mr. Coy committed a crime when he killed Andre Hill by gunfire, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said at a news conference Wednesday night, according to AP.

Truth is the best friend of justice, and the grand jury here found the truth," he added.

Context: Officers received a non-emergency call from a neighbor on Dec. 22 who allegedly reported a suspicious man in an SUV turning the car on and off for an extended period of time, per the Columbus Department of Public Safety.

As officers arrived at the scene, 47-year-old Hill exited a garage with a cellphone in his left hand. His right hand was not visible, the department said.

Coy opened fire, then ordered Hill to show his hands and roll over, per AP. Coy did not administer aid, video footage shows.

Coy, a 19-year veteran of the Columbus Police Force who had a long history of complaints from citizens, was fired in December 2020.

The big picture: Coy's indictment comes less than a week after Mayor Andrew Ginther ousted Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan out of his role because he lost confidence in the police chief's ability to make the necessary changes to the department, the Columbus Dispatch notes.

After a rough period, Ankara is making overtures to Brussels. Ilke Toygur, an analyst on European Affairs at Elcano Royal Institute discusses the prospects, the need for the EU to clarify its own position, and the implications of the election of Joe Biden in the article for German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

After a year of continuous tensions, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Brussels in January to discuss the future of Turkey-EU relations. He and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have both stated that 2021 is the year to set things right with the European Union.

Many in Europe are sceptical, since the current state of democracy and rule of law in Turkey falls well short of the requirements for a candidate country. Furthermore, Turkeys recent foreign policy moves have also clashed with the interests of its Western allies. While welcoming the intention to improve the overall atmosphere, European decision-makers also want to see credible gestures and concrete actions. Whether or not Turkey continues its charm offensive, Europe should get to work on the long-neglected task of defining its common policy towards Turkey. While Washington may play a helpful role, the real strategic thinking will have to take place in Europe, Brussels and elsewhere.

The EU member states still have no real consensus on common foreign policy making. For all the talk of strategic autonomy, sovereignty and speaking the language of power  as High Representative Josep Borrell likes to call it  Europe is not united around any particular line. France and Germany, whose historic rivalry led to the creation of the European Union, also have their differences over the future of the European Common Foreign and Security Policy. French President Emmanuel Macron objects to Europes de facto dependency on the United States, arguing that the Union should be self-reliant in security and defence. German officials including Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer are not necessarily convinced, emphasising that the EU needs the protective umbrella of the United States to guarantee its own security, stability and prosperity.

These difficulties around the design and implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy are also manifest in the discussions on relations with Turkey. As an accession candidate, neighbour and strategic ally on migration management and counter-terrorism, Turkey poses a key test for the European Union. Military involvement in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh exemplifies Ankaras increasingly assertive foreign policy and regional ambitions. All these conflicts affect the Unions immediate neighbourhood. Recent tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean have again shown that Turkey does not hesitate to explicitly oppose its Western allies interests. According to both European and US officials, Turkeys actions have a direct impact on the security and sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus.

In response NATO established a bilateral military de-confliction mechanism between Greece and Turkey, and the two agreed to resume exploratory talks over territorial claims in the Eastern Mediterranean. While these are all positive developments, it will be difficult to establish a truly functioning Turkey-EU relationship as long as the member states cannot agree on the big picture. The European Council decided in December 2020 that the EU will seek to coordinate on matters relating to Turkey and the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean with the United States. This was taken as a part of the general reassessment of transatlantic relations following the election of Joe Biden, where Europe is seeking  and expecting  a more coordinated strategy on future challenges  including those posed by NATO allies. The new US president is expected to steer back to multilateralism and international organisations. On his first day in office he signed executive orders restoring US membership of the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organisation. This return to multilateralism will definitely put Brussels and Washington shoulder-to-shoulder on many issues, including the desire to increase NATOs coherence. This is bad news for all those who claim that the West is in decline, including President Erdogan of Turkey.

While there are certainly advantages to having a US president who cares about transatlantic relations, the burden of asserting conditionality on democracy and rule of law will still fall on the European Union itself. Washington has always privileged security over values  and expected the EU to play the part of propagating Western values in Turkey. Accordingly, the United States supported the establishment of a customs union, as well as Turkeys application to join the European Union. But it remains the responsibility of the European Union to find a functioning common framework with Turkey, either as a part of its enlargement policy or within its neighbourhood policy.

It is simply  and obviously  not enough to sign a new deal on managing illegal migration and call it a day. Even if any step towards dialogue is indeed very positive, the European Union should not fall for an easy reset with Turkey. The domestic political dynamics in the country leave no places for reassurance for the European Union that Turkey will keep its intentions of a positive agenda. The ultimate goal must be to reshape the relationship: to look for mutual strategic interests, the development of a cooperative and reciprocal relationship anchored in common values and principles, as Josep Borrell recently put it. While short-term interests may be better served by a transactional approach, long-term stability in Turkey-EU relations demands a well-functioning framework rooted in common principles.
The magistrate who convicted NRL star Sam Burgess of intimidating his former father-in-law Mitch Hooke had several family links to two of Mr Hooke's daughters.

Mr Hooke raised the connections in a late-night email to police less than 12 hours before magistrate Robert Rabbidge was to announce whether he had found Burgess guilty.

Burgess was convicted on Friday of intimidating Mr Hooke during a fierce confrontation at the family's home near Bowral in New South Wales' Southern Highlands on October 19, 2019.

Daily Mail Australia has seen the email and its contents are published here with the names and relationships between some of the parties removed for legal reasons.

Burgess was married to Mr Hooke's daughter Phoebe, with whom he has two young children, until their messy divorce.

Phoebe has two sisters - Harriet and Jemima.

Sam Burgess's former father-in-law Mitch Hooke sent an email to police the night before Burgess was found guilty of intimidating him. Mr Hooke raised links between his family and the magistrate who was to decide Burgess' fate

Mr Hooke said his daughter Jemima, pictured with her husband Gene Fairbanks, had once attended a birthday party at magistrate Robert Rabbidge's home

Magistrate Robert Rabbidge found Sam Burgess (pictured) had intimidated his father-in-law Mitch Hooke during a heated clash on October 19, 2019 about two weeks after he broke up with wife Phoebe

Mr Hooke alleged Jemima and her husband Gene Fairbanks had once been close to Mr Rabbidge's son Scott and his longtime partner Rachael Mannell.

He said in the email tendered in Moss Vale Local Court that Jemima had once even attended a birthday party at Mr Rabbidge's home.

'The two families were quite close friends until the relationship broke down in rather strange and regrettably acrimonious circumstances initiated by Rachael,' he wrote.

Mr Hooke also stated Ms Mannell once worked with Phoebe at Cleo magazine where their boss was editor-in-chief Sharri Markson.

Markson was the author of stories published last year in The Australian newspaper which accused Burgess of domestic violence and drug use during his marriage to Phoebe.

Mr Hooke and Phoebe have both admitted helping Markson produce those articles in October last year but denied they did so to destroy Burgess's reputation.

The intimidation charge against Burgess stemmed from a confrontation 12 months earlier at the Hooke family home in the New South Wales Southern Highlands.

The court on Friday also heard a transcript detailing a conversation between Burgess and police three hours after the 2019 confrontation with Mr Hooke.

During the exchange, Burgess denied yelling or being aggressive towards Mr Hooke, claiming 'Mitchell was the aggressor'.

Before Mr Rabbidge could deliver his verdict on Friday, prosecutor Jamie Palmer handed up the email Mr Hooke had sent police at 10.41pm the previous night.

Mr Hooke sent the email to Senior Constable Simone Houghton, the officer-in-charge of the case, at 10.41pm the night before magistrate Robert Rabbidge was to determine Burgess's fate

Mr Hooke wrote the note to Senior Constable Simone Houghton, the officer-in-charge of the case, and suggested its contents be referred to Inspector Palmer.

The email followed an earlier conversation in which he disclosed links between his family and Mr Rabbidge which he had previously not recalled.

'As has been the situation throughout the course of this case I again find myself in circumstances of which I have no legal knowledge and certainly no experience,' Mr Hooke wrote.

Mr Hooke stated that magistrate Robert Rabbidge's daughter-in-law once worked with his daughter Phoebe at Cleo magazine where their boss was Sharri Markson (pictured)

'I raised the matter with you on the basis of full disclosure such that you and if applicable Jamie would know what to do if anything.

'If I had been told this relationship existed by my family prior to me realising this a few days ago, it simply didn't register.'

Mr Hooke said he presumed it would be incumbent upon a magistrate 'to declare a connection and any perceived bias more so than a witness or victim.'

'I have no desire nor indeed any basis or motive to call into question the integrity of His Honour,' he wrote.

Mr Hooke accepted it was possible Mr Rabbidge 'does not know of or recall his son and daughter-in-law's relationship with me and members of my family.'

That was despite his daughter Jemima and other members of her family attending a birthday party in his home.

'...Whether he believed it was necessary to disclose in these proceedings is a matter for His Honour and not for me,' Mr Hooke wrote.

Mr Hooke said his daughter Jemima and her husband Gene Fairbanks had once been close to magistrate Robert Rabbidge's son Scott and his longtime partner Rachael Mannell (both pictured)

Mitchell Hooke pictured with Phoebe. He said in the email tendered in Moss Vale Local Court that Jemima had once even attended a birthday party at Mr Rabbidge's home

'From a mere layman's perspective, given that much was made of my daughter's and my credit worthiness as witnesses I'd have thought that if His Honour was in fact aware of the family connections that this might be a matter relevant to the parties.'

Burgess's solicitor Bryan Wrench described Mr Hooke's email as 'an attempt to undermine the integrity of this court.'

Mr Rabbidge acknowledged some old links between the Hooke family and his, including that Ms Mannell had once worked at Cleo.

He said his son's partner, Ms Mannell, had not worked in magazines for eight or nine years and he did not know her media friends.

Mitch Hooke and his daughter Phoebe (pictured) have both admitted helping produce newspaper articles accusing Sam Burgess of domestic violence and drug use but denied they did so to destroy his reputation

'I've lived in this region for 23 years,' Mr Rabbidge said. 'I'm well familiar with literally thousands of people.'

He said judicial officers 'do not live in a vacuum' and he was not biased, before proceeding to his decision to convict Burgess.

Mr Rabbidge found Burgess had intimidated Mr Hooke during the heated clash in October, 2019 about two weeks after he broke up with Phoebe.

He accepted the evidence of Mr Hooke that Burgess had threatened him by saying 'you're a f***king piece of s***, I'm going to get you'.

He rejected Burgess's evidence that his father-in-law had threatened to destroy him.

Burgess was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order and given a two-year apprehended violence order.

The onetime South Sydney captain said he was 'confused' by the decision to find him guilty and would be appealing against his conviction.

Mr Wrench added: 'He's innocent, we will go all the way if necessary. He's done nothing wrong.'

Mr Hooke declined to comment on the court decision when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

'No thanks,' he said. 'I think the magistrate has said it all and we're just going to leave it at that.'
Hyde follows family tradition, takes home PIAA gold in shot put

"It's awesome," Hyde said. "It really feels like a tradition, now. It will be cool to see our names next to each other in the record books."
New Delhi: As the farmers continue their agitation against Centre's farm laws at various borders of the national capital, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has said that the three-hour-long chakka jam on February 6 will not take place in Delhi, UP and Uttarakhand.

Speaking to reporters at the Ghazipur border protest site, Tikait said that the farmers would provide food and water to the people who will be stuck due to chakka jam`. "There will be a three-hour-long chakka jam on February 6. It won't take place in Delhi but everywhere outside Delhi. The people that will be stuck in it will be given food and water. We will tell them what is the Govt doing with us," Tikait said.

When asked to comment on nails fixed near barricades at the Ghazipur border (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border), Tikait said, "We were growing crops there and they (government) fixed nails."

Responding to comments by the international celebrities on farmers` protests in India, he said that there is no harm in Hollywood artists supporting farmers` movement. "There is no harm in Hollywood artists supporting farmers` movement, I don`t know them personally, but they are supporting without any expectation," he said.

The Ministry of External Affairs had also said that the government has passed the laws "after a full debate and discussion" and has "initiated a series of talks" to address the farmers` issues.

The MEA also condemned celebrities, who have drawn attention to the farmers` protest on social media. The MEA`s response came after American pop star Rihanna extended support to the farmers` protest.

"Why aren't we talking about this?!", Rihanna tweeted on Tuesday, along with the hashtag `#FarmersProtest`. Soon after Rihanna`s tweet, several other prominent international celebrities and activists including Jay Sean, Amanda Cerny, Lilly Singh, and Greta Thunberg came out in support of the farmers.

Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers` Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

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Celtic spring is here and in a way a new sense of life has come into me. Im finding myself getting out of bed that bit easier and waking to a brighter morning each day. The long winter (and boy has it been long) is coming to an end.

On the farm there are dozens of lambs running around their creep area. Calves play in the freshly bedded straw and for the first time in a long time Im breathing a contented sigh of relief.

My father has been planting holly saplings along the lane to the home place. They are still in time for planting before the sap comes up. Its my intention to buy a few extra trees for a patch of ground on the farm and get them settled in before the new growth of the year comes.

We have settled on mountain ash, picked because it is hardy and maybe because it also has a magical connection to our forbears when it was used in folk medicine. Sometimes one makes decisions on the environment driven by some greater, older force.

The earth is starting to come back to life; it is a slow thing, but then we are in slow times. Soon the flowers will return to us and I look forward to the day the daffodils litter the hedges and ditches of the neighbourhood. They are like our talisman of the good times to come.

Ive been thinking about all this creation, all this coming life. However, my mind has been heavy, too, heavy with the news of the 1,000 deaths that Covid has claimed this past January.

For those 1,000 there will never again be the beauty of a daffodil or snowdrop, there will be no talk of the lengthening of the days nor the embrace of a warm summers evening.

We must hold these people in our hearts until the day comes that we can properly say goodbye to them. Until we can carry out our old rituals of death again.

I started the month, as I so often do, cutting rushes for my mothers Montessori school, so that the children could make their Saint Brigids crosses. The fields were wet, but then I remarked to myself the rush doesnt mind the wet and when all the growth is gone in the ground the rush is the plant that seems to thrive still.

Ive been doing this ritual for about seven years since I returned back to Ireland to live and work and it is a sort of marker of my life. It never fails to amaze me where I am in my life journey as each Brigids Day rolls around.

Last year I was in the American south working in the chilli fields near El Paso, Texas, documenting worker rights and coming to know that great state and its problems. This year I am in the middle of a pandemic in rural Ireland waiting to move into a new home. Where I shall be on the next feast day I do not know.

This Imbolc festival, to give it its Celtic pagan name, marked the halfway point between the winter and spring equinox. It was the celebration day for both pagans and Christians of the figure of Brigid, who was a goddess in one faith and a saint in the other.

I have always liked this time, not least because it sees cold dark January out of the way and the year can truly begin.

Speaking earlier this week President Michael D Higgins took the occasion of the feast day to reflect on the journey we have all been on in these trying times and how Brigid was not just an innovator and strong woman in a male-dominated time, but that she can be seen as an inspiration in our present times.

We all know our own Brigid working in the front lines; our sisters, aunts, cousins, wives. They are the women working in many cases without thanks who inspire us and who are making the difference in our fight against the virus. From the nurse to the shop worker these women are the true heart of this nation.

Fine Gael's Martin Heydon has called to make her feast day a public holiday  a move that seems to have been welcomed by many.

Perhaps it can come to symbolise more than just the start of spring, perhaps it can be our day of national memory for the victims of Covid and our day of celebration for the innovation, heart and determination of Irish women.

Perhaps in this time of rebirth and renewal of the world, we can find a reinvention in ourselves.

We are still in this siege time of the third and greatest lockdown, so perhaps its to nature that we need to look to see that life will return to normal again. The birds of the air are singing and the rabbits and hares of the fields are stirring.

Soon the hibernation of nature will be over and in a way so too will ours. We shall be able to be at play in the fields of the creator once more and find that the experience we have all lived through has changed us wholly.

I am reminded of the great lines of the poem For Suffering by John ODonohue:

May memory bless and protect you

With the hard-earned light of past travail;

To remind you that you have survived before

And though the darkness now is deep,

You will soon see the approaching light.

Let us all wait for the approaching light. It will make all the difference in the world in our collective fight.

So as I plant those mountain ash trees in the ditches of the farm this week Ill think of all those battling to bring us all through this. Theres a tree in there for everyone and they shall blossom with the light of the summer days to come.
The U.S. Senate early Friday morning approved a budget resolution that will allow passage of President Joe Bidens coronavirus stimulus bill and also agreed that it would restrict high-income taxpayers from claiming the $1,400 direct payments.

Lawmakers worked through the night on a bevy of amendments to the resolution, which will trigger a procedure known as reconciliation and Democrats to pass a $1.9 trillion package by majority vote without the threat of a filibuster. The final vote was cast just after 5:30 a.m.

The resolution passed, 51-50, with every Senate Republican opposing it and Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.

Even so, adopting several amendments proposed or co-sponsored by Republicans allowed Senate Democrats to claim that the stimulus package had support on both sides of the aisle.

Many bipartisan amendments were adopted, so this was a bipartisan activity, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after the final vote. But we cannot underscore enough how much help America needs during this awful crisis, and we cannot miss the point that we still have a long way to go.

On one bipartisan proposal, senators voted, 99-1, in favor of a provision that could exclude wealthier households from any payments. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., cast the only no vote.

The amendment did not define upper income but in the first stimulus bill, individuals earning $75,000 or less and married couples earning $150,000 or less received the full $1,200, while individuals making up to $99,000 and married couples making up to $198,000 received a smaller check based on income.

I dont think a single person on this floor would disagree to target the relief to our neighbors who are struggling, said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. There are other families who have not missed a single paycheck as a result of this pandemic. It does not make sense to send a check to those individuals.

The amendment was proposed by many of the same senators, including Manchin and Maine Republican Susan Collins, who worked together on a stimulus bill that led to the $900 billion measure that became law last December.

The question before us is quite simple, Collins said. Do we want stimulus checks to go to households with family incomes of $300,000? Or do we want to target the assistance to struggling families who need the help and provide a boost for the economy?

Collins also was part of a group of 10 Senate Republicans who proposed a $618 billion stimulus bill that President Joe Biden rejected as too small. That measure included $1,000 payments that would cut off at $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Senators also passed an amendment offered by U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., to ban unauthorized immigrants from getting stimulus checks. The vote was 58-42. Both of New Jerseys U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, voted no.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

The House on Friday planned to take up the amended resolution. Once the measure passes that chamber, lawmakers in both houses will begin drafting and debating a $1.9 trillion bill.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that the price tag was right.

We want to save lives and save livelihoods; its going to cost some money to do so, she said. It is a reasonable plan. It meets the needs. It is not excessive. It is coronaviruscentric, it is in a timely fashion, and thats where we have to go.

But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who used the same parliamentary procedure in 2017 to pass a tax law that the Congressional Budget Office said would increase the deficit by the same $1.9 trillion, objected to the size of the stimulus bill.

There is no doubt that some families are still struggling, McConnell said Thursday on the Senate floor. This isnt finished. But experts agree the remaining damage to our economy does not require another multi trillion-dollar, non-targeted Band-Aid.

However, S&P Global reported that a $1.9 trillion stimulus would have the strongest impact on the economy this year, and the Brookings Institution, a Washington research organization, said a package that high would restore the economy to pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of the year.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com.

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The government is confident of achieving growth close to 11.5 per cent or even higher in FY2022, Minister of State for Finance told Business Standard in an interview. He added that while the new fiscal consolidation roadmap looked challenging, the government had a proven track record of fiscal discipline.



"The government had brought down the fiscal deficit from 5.6 per cent in 2013-14 to 3.4 per cent in five years. The pandemic has made all economies suffer. Now, we have given a new fiscal consolidation roadmap, which looks challenging, but we are known for fiscal prudence and we will achieve this," he said. The Union Budget has pegged fiscal deficit at 6.8 per cent for the coming financial year and aims to bring it back below 4.5 per cent by FY26.



Speaking on growth, he said that when the government took over in 2014, India was rated among the fragile-five economies. "From there, for the next five years, we achieved 7 percent growth. Even the IMF and other such institutions have projected India's growth close to 11.5 per cent in 2021-22. I am hopeful that we're going to achieve this or maybe better than this," he said.



The member of Parliament also said that the government is focused on a clean up exercise in the banking system and setting up a bad bank was among the steps in that direction. "We did a thorough asset quality review in 2015-16 and then we pumped close to Rs 5.5 trillion into the banking system as a capital infusion. Even now, we have allocated Rs 20,000 crore for capital infusion. We are very clear about strengthening our banking system. We are also looking at the pushing digital economy through the UPI payment, or any other options that we might have. Now whether the bad bank is a good idea or bad that has to be seen in the future. But yes, we are going ahead with that," Thakur said.



The government plans to increase infrastructure spending in the next fiscal year, which will put health and economy, upended by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, back on track. He said, "We have been listening to everyone in the society, whether it is farmers, businessmen, traders, economist, leaders, political leaders, saying government may come up with the Covid tax and wealth tax and all that. We didn't put even one rupee in new tax on anyone. No additional burden on any individual. At the same time, we are going to spend 34.5 per cent more on capital expenditure, whether it is healthcare, road, railways or even other social sector programmes such as Jal Jeevan Mission. The spending is further going to help people get more jobs, more money in their hands and enhance their spending power, which aids the economy."



On the Budget's vaccination allocation of Rs 35,000 crore, he said that if additional money will be required, the government will be able to provide that. "The prime minister made it very clear to that to fight the pandemic, India will go all out and so far India has been very successful. While the first thing is to come out with two Make in India Covid-19 vaccines, the second step is to supply it to more than 100 countries in a short span. It is about making India Aatmanirbhar and also fighting the pandemic. Last year we had provided Rs 15,000 crore to buy PPE kits, masks, ventilators and other essentials for it. We have given Rs 50 lakh insurance to the frontline warriors. Now, once the vaccine is out, we have allocated Rs 35,000 crore.



To fill the deficit gap, which has widened due to lower revenues and because of a lack of success in achieving disinvestment targets, Thakur said that the government would be able to fulfil the plans to privatise companies like Bharat Petroleum, Air India, Concor and others, as well as two public sector banks and one insurance company. "I'm very hopeful that we will not only be able to meet the target of Rs 1.75 trillion, but will achieve more than that," he said.
U.S. House Democrats have requested that former President Donald Trump testify under oath for his upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate.

Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin requested in a letter sent via email Thursday that the former president testify either before or during the trial that begins in earnest on February 9.

There was no immediate comment from Trump or his advisers, but Raskin requested that he respond by Friday at 5 p.m. EST.

If you decline this invitation, we reserve any and all rights, including the right to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions (and inaction) on January 6, 2021, Raskin said.

Trump is charged with inciting a mob of supporters that broke into the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

Minutes before the attack on the building that resulted in the deaths of five people, Trump told thousands of his supporters at rally near the White House to fight like hell as Congress was in the process of formally certifying Joe Bidens win in the 2020 presidential election.

Thousands of supporters marched to the Capitol, many of whom broke into the building, interrupting the certification of the results. A Capitol Police officer was among those who died in the rioting, and the House impeached Trump one week later, with the help of 10 Republicans who joined Democrats in support.





Under California law, a self-storage company, such as this one in Glendale, can raise rates by as much as 10% during a state of emergency. (Glendale News-Press)

Cindy Whitehead's stepfather died last March at the age of 93. The cause of death, she was told, was heart failure. But he was never tested for COVID-19, so Whitehead still wonders if he was an early victim of the pandemic.

Whitehead, 58, moved her stepfather's belongings into a self-storage facility in Hawthorne costing $165 a month. To cut costs, she switched to a smaller unit in late September costing $95 monthly.

She received a notice this week that the price of the storage unit will rise March 1 by more than 8% to $103 a month.

"This seems really unethical," the Hermosa Beach resident told me. "I own rental properties and I'm not raising rents because of COVID. But they're raising rents."

Worse, Whitehead said, the cost of her storage unit is going up only three months after she signed a new rental agreement.

"That's just crazy," she said. "Who regulates this industry?"

The answer, astonishingly, is no one.

A spokesman for the California Department of Consumer Affairs, which oversees moving companies, says it doesn't monitor the self-storage business.

He recommended I check with the state Public Utilities Commission, which until 2018 regulated movers.

A spokesman for the PUC said storage firms are beyond the commission's reach. He recommended I contact the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Which is to say, there isn't a California government agency specifically tasked with keeping tabs on storage firms or providing consumers with an outlet for complaints.

California does have a law, the Self-Service Storage Facility Act, setting rules for the industry. But its enforcement depends on lawsuits filed by consumers or the state attorney general. That's different from a government agency serving as a full-time overseer and consumer advocate.

And that's simply not good enough in light of, well, everything.

I reported last month that complaints about moving companies have soared as millions of Americans are relocating because of the pandemic.

Story continues

Like movers, self-storage companies appear to be enjoying boom times as many people seek places to stash possessions because of changes of address, downsizing or the death of a loved one.

Yardi Matrix, a commercial real estate market researcher, said in a recent report that the self-storage industry in 2020 "ended the year strong by continuing to prove its ability to fare well, even when faced with difficult economic conditions."

Average rates for non-climate-controlled storage units rose by 3.5% in December from a year earlier, the report found. That compares with a 0.4% gain in the consumer price index.

The Inland Empire, in particular, saw storage rates "hit historical highs in December" as people fled the Los Angeles metropolitan area for regions deemed safer or more affordable, according to the report.

With demand for storage space climbing, you'd think officials would be watching closely to make sure consumers aren't taken advantage of.

You'd be wrong.

Pandemic-related restrictions on rental evictions have protected apartment dwellers in recent months. But those safeguards don't apply to storage rentals.

Section 396 of the California Penal Code says that during a state of emergency, no storage service can be offered "for a price of more than 10% greater than" the pre-emergency price.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency because of the pandemic last March. It's still in effect, according to a spokeswoman for the governor. The Section 396 protections will remain in effect until at least March 4, she said.

But that 10% cap on price hikes by storage services still allows for hefty increases during these extraordinary times, as the more than 8% increase experienced by Whitehead demonstrates.

I spoke with Mike Brady, chief operating officer of Irvine's US Storage Centers, which has 140 storage facilities nationwide, including about 40 in Southern California. Whitehead's stuff is at the company's Hawthorne site.

Brady said price increases are justified by rising expenses. "We're just trying to survive as a business," he told me, "and that necessitates increases from time to time."

US Storage customers "in practice" experience one rate hike per year, Brady said. I asked if there's any rule or regulation that prevents his own or other storage companies from raising rates any time they please.

Brady declined to answer. "That could be misconstrued," he said.

I asked how his company decides when it will increase prices and for which customers. He again declined to answer.

I informed him that an employee of US Storage Centers told me the company's policy is that rates can go up at any time as long as a customer is given 10 days' notice.

"That's proprietary information," Brady said.

A website called Inside Self-Storage, which spotlights industry news and topics, this week featured a post on "defusing a tense conversation with a tenant," suggesting that more than a few storage operators have drawn the wrath of customers during the pandemic.

"Just about every self-storage operator has endured a heated discussion with an upset tenant, and the pandemic has certainly fueled the fire," it says.

"Not only are people now more impatient, the ongoing isolation and restrictions are certainly taking their toll on everyones temper. Facility managers might be caught off guard by customers who yell, spew profanities or resort to name-calling."

That's wrong under any circumstances. But it sure sounds like some customers are very unhappy, and I'm guessing rate hikes during these difficult times might have something to do with it.

My first piece of advice is for state lawmakers. Someone needs to amend the law so that the Department of Consumer Affairs has regulatory power over storage companies as well as movers. The two industries are clearly related.

My second suggestion is for people like Whitehead. If you're not happy with how a storage company is treating you, grab your stuff and take it elsewhere. A Google search will reveal dozens of choices in L.A.

Easier said than done, Whitehead responded.

"Some people are still grieving over the loss of a loved one," she told me. "They don't want the emotional pain of going through all that stuff again."

For that reason, Whitehead said, she'll pay the higher price to store her stepdad's belongings, at least until she's in a more settled frame of mind.

"But it's not fair," she said.

No, it's not. And it's nuts that state officials allow this to happen.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Fianna Fail Senator and Seanad Spokesperson on Children Erin McGreehan has expressed her disappointment that the Chair of the Commission of Investigation into the Mother and Baby Homes Report has declined to appear before the Oireachtas Childrens Committee.

Senator McGreehan commented: It is disappointing that Judge Yvonne Murphy will not come before us.

"I thought it would have been a positive opportunity to discuss the report and ask questions as to the methodology, the phraseology of certain comments and the seemingly contradictory comments in the executive summary.

I reiterate that given the importance of this report, the significance it has on so many of our citizens and the trust the witnesses placed in the hands of the Commission, I feel that it would be positive for the survivors to know that the Oireachtas believes them, trusts them and wishes to do its very best for all the women and adoptees.

As far as the next step in the matter is concerned, Senator McGreehan added: The Committee will issue another invite suggesting that Judge Murphy could provide an alternative date and/or time to appear before the Committee, or an alternative member of the Commission, the Committee are awaiting a response.

Senator McGreehan, who is a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Disability, Equality and Integration, further stated that members will have the opportunity to discuss this matter in greater at the meeting on Tuesday when the item of correspondence is considered.
Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
Bird species that live in their natural habitats can help zoos learn how to manage those in captivity, according to a new review.

Birds are the most diverse group housed by zoos around the world, but zoo-based research tends not to focus on birds.

A new article published in the journal Birds, by Dr Paul Rose of the University of Exeter, suggests zoos can improve management of birds by looking at how species live in their natural habitats.

Likewise, birds living under the care of humans can also help guide and develop conservation action for those living in the wild.

"Research into wild birds is extremely useful for furthering how birds are managed in zoos," said Dr Rose.

"For species of conservation concern, zoo professionals can be linked with field biologists to share information on how to best care for these species in captivity and how to develop and formulate conservation actions.

"We can use proxy species - those common in zoos - to develop practices for conservation that can be used for less familiar species that might be of concern and need help from information gathered through things such as captive breeding.

"Or we can promote the threats that these not-in-the-zoo species face by using the commoner species as an ambassador.

"We do this through my work at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, promoting the rarer species of flamingo that are in the wild using the commoner ones we keep in the living collection."

In the review, Dr Rose uses hornbills as an example, a species of bird that is essential to the long viability and sustainability of biodiversity in the rainforest.

The helmeted hornbill, a critically endangered species, plays an important role in the dispersal of seeds within pristine, undistributed areas of south-east Asian rainforests.

The population decline of the helmeted hornbill has been caused by poaching of the birds for their "ivory", the large casque on the bird's head and bill that can be up to 10% of its overall body mass.

Whilst the helmeted hornbill is not found in captivity, other species of large hornbill are.

By looking at the ecological role of the helmeted hornbill in its natural habitat, zoos have been able to design enclosures that will increase chances of reproduction.

For example, by identifying the temperature and humidity range of hornbill nesting sites in the wild which are more likely to hatch eggs, zoos have been able to use this data to enable them to match these environmental conditions as closely as possible.

A similar situation happened with the Guam kingfishers, a species that is extinct in the wild and reliant on captive breeding for its survival.

Data from the nesting locations of the closely related Pohnpei kingfisher, found on a neighbouring island, showed that temperatures were hotter than those sometimes provided for captive Guam kingfishers.

The findings led to zoos raising the temperature to improve nesting success amongst the species.

Zoos have also been able to guide conservation action for hornbills living in the wild by monitoring the behaviour of these birds and discovering that using nest boxes enhances the quality of habitats for hornbills to breed in, which has led to these boxes being built in areas of the helmeted hornbill's range in Borneo.

Expertise and financial support has been provided by several large zoological collections in European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and North American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) that has successfully seen wild rhinoceros hornbills, listed as vulnerable, fledge a chick from an artificial nest box in the Bornean rainforest.

"The effect of visitors on zoos can also help direct future research questions and increase understanding of birds under human care," adds Dr Rose.

"Developing zoo bird exhibits to theme them around specific conservation messages can be used to promote wider understanding of the threats faced by wild birds specifically and hopefully encourage human behaviour change that benefits ecosystem health."

###

The review article published in the Journal Birds, is entitled: "Evidence for aviculture: Identifying research needs to advance the role of ex situ bird populations in conservation initiatives and collection planning."
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Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 5 : Kerala BJP chief K Surendran on Friday accused the state government of converting the Public Service Commission (PSC) into a non-functional entity and is rampantly conducting postings through backdoor.

Citing the example of former CPI(M) MP M.B. Rajesh's wife, Ninitha Kanichery getting posted as the Assistant Professor at Sree Shankara Sanskrit University in Kalady, Surendran said that wives of several CPI(M) leaders have been getting backdoor postings in government departments across the state.

Professor Ummer Tharammal, the expert member of the interview panel which was attended by Kanichery, has alleged that the list was totally manipulated and she was given the first rank under the Muslim quota, for the post.

The Kerala BJP president also accused the state government of looting public money and said that the CPI(M) cadres have been filling up posts at the government departments.

He also attacked the former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy saying that he was the epitome of corruption.

The BJP president J.P. Nadda had chalked out several programmes including micro level management of booths and also called upon the party leaders to concentrate more on the booths rather than thrusting into the limelight.

Surendran said that the BJP with its "Mission Kerala" project is eyeing win in Kerala.

Speaking to IANS, the Kerala BJP chief said: "BJP is the only alternative in Kerala. Both the CPI (M) and Congress have no moral right to attack the saffron party in the state as these parties are in a political alliance in West Bengal while fighting each other at Kerala. This is a farce and both these parties are trying to hoodwink the people of the state."
As new, more-contagious coronavirus variants circulate, doctors say its important to improve the effectiveness of your mask practicessuch as by double masking" to wear two at once. Numerous studies have found that masks help protect the wearers as well as those around them from the virus that causes Covid-19.

Now more than ever, the next four to six months are the most critical time to really up your mask," says John Volckens, a professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo.

But how exactly do you mask better? And what other guidance on masking has changed? Heres what you need to know.

What is double masking and why are people talking about it?

Double masking is wearing one mask over another. This blocks more particles, because you have two layers and the fit is more snug, creating a tighter seal around your face with fewer gaps. Double masking is really shorthand for improving your mask," says Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech.

Whats the best way to double mask?

Most experts say a cloth mask over a surgical mask is the way to go. A cloth mask can also help when worn over a KF94 mask, which are certified in South Korea to filter at least 94% of very small particles, says Dr. Marr. KF94s can be somewhat loose on the sides, so a cloth mask can help pull it tighter to your face.

A second mask is generally not necessary when wearing an N95, which are certified to filter out at least 95% of very small particles, or a KN95, the Chinese equivalent of an N95. But it could help protect the N95s material and extend its use.

Its important to maintain breathability when double masking, says Dr. Volckens. If a mask isnt breathable, one of two things happens," he says. If theres too much resistance the mask will leak, or if its too uncomfortable you will take it off."

What about cloth masks with filters?

A large filter that fits over your nose and mouth can improve filtration, says Mark Rupp, chief of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. But if the filter is only covering a small area, its probably not very helpful. He says filters should be replaced when they are damp or soiled. Dr. Volckens recommends masks with a permanent built-in filter.

I have an N95. Should I wear it?

More experts are recommending wearing an N95 if you have one to better protect against new variants, although the CDC has said they should be reserved for medical workers. Legitimate N95s can be difficult for regular consumers to find.

The risk level of your setting is important, says Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. You probably dont need to wear an N95 if youre going on a walk with a friend or to the playground outside. But if youre working indoors in a restaurant or grocery store, or going to an indoor location with many people, its a good idea to wear one.

In hospitals, N95s are carefully fitted. So look for leaks around your face, says Rachael Mary Jones, an associate professor in the department of family and preventive medicine at the University of Utah. You have to pinch the metal tab at the top of the nose very firmly, to the point where it feels uncomfortable, to get it to conform to the shape of your face," says Dr. Jones.

But if you find tight-fitting N95s unbearably uncomfortable, avoid them, because you are more likely to take them off, says Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease physician and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Whats the difference between a N95, KN95 and KF94? Is one better than the other?

Dr. Allen says a close second to N95s are KF94s, a mask certified in South Korea that American consumers can easily find online. We can have a lot of confidence in these masks," says Dr. Allen. They capture 94% of particles and they are a lot more comfortable."

Another popular option is the KN95 masks, the Chinese equivalent of an N95. But Dr. Allen warns that there are a significant number of fake KN95s on the market. These masks concern me, because if you dont do your homework you may end up getting a mask that is worse than a cloth mask," says Dr. Allen. The. U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration warns against KN95s from China unless their manufacturer has certification from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Do I need to be worried about counterfeit N95s, KF94s or surgical masks?

In the U.S., NIOSH certifies the companies that make N95 respirators, which must have an approved label on or within the packaging. If there is no marking or TC number or NIOSH is spelled wrong, thats a red flag.

So far, experts say theyre not aware of widespread counterfeiting of KF94s or standard surgical masks, but its wise to remain vigilant about labeling.

How effective are the widely available blue surgical masks?

The filtration of blue surgical masks can vary. Look for ASTM certification on surgical mask boxes. Those are very good at filtering out aerosols of all sizes," says Dr. Marr. Level two and three are especially good.

The downside of surgical masks is they dont fit snugly on most faces. Its just a rectangle and youre trying to make it fit to your face, so there are inevitably gaps on the side so they leak like crazy," says Dr. Marr. This is where double masking can be helpful.

How can I tell if my mask has a good fit?

When you breathe in, the mask should press in or flex into your face with the air flow. You can also breathe out. There should be no gaps of air coming out of the sides of your mask.

If your glasses fog up, that means air is escaping around the top of your mask by the nose bridge, says Dr. Volckens. If you dont wear glasses, put on a pair of sunglasses to see if they fog up.

Another good test: Stand in front of a mirror and breathe out forcefully. Did you blink? If so, that means air hit your eyelids and is escaping around the mask.

Besides double masking, are there other ways to improve the fit of my mask?

Dr. Marr says mask fitters, though unsightly, can make a big difference and improve the performance of a looser-fitting mask, like a surgical mask.

Metal nose bridges also help improve fit, as do straps around the back of the head, says Dr. Marr. Mask keeperslittle clips that attach to ear loops and wrap around your headare also useful.

Many of these maskslike N95s, KN95s, KF94s and surgical masksare supposed to be for a single use, but people often reuse them. How many times can I wear them and how do I store them between uses?

Some scientists say such masks can be worn until they are visibly soiled or damaged. Dr. Jones says multiple uses wont degrade the filtration; its the fit that can degrade.

Store single-use masks that you intend to wear again somewhere dry and away from other things, like in a paper bag or open Tupperware, or hang it up somewhere, experts say.

Dont use chemical disinfectants on masks. If youre spraying chemicals on your mask youre going to be inhaling those chemicals," says Dr. Volckens. And dont wash N95s, because it will damage their electrical filtration ability, he warns.

What kind of mask should kids wear?

Dr. Gandhi says theres generally no need for children to double mask. There are smaller sized surgical masks and KF94s that are good for kids, but any well-fitting cloth mask will provide some benefit.

Avoid masks that kids have to tug down a lot. Comfort is key to this population," says Dr. Gandhi. Fit should be tight but definitely allow for natural talking."

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Second largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Friday tied up with Japan's MUFG Bank, with an eye on the business generated by companies from the eastern Asian country present in India.

Both the banks signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration towards catering to the banking requirements of Japanese corporates present in India, as per an official statement.

The statement said Japan is the fifth largest investor in India with cumulative foreign direct investment inflows of USD 34.15 billion from April 2000 to September 2020, contributing 7 per cent to India''s total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows during the period.

The agreement establishes a framework of partnership between the two banks across various domains including trade, investment, treasury, corporate and retail banking, and will result in both combining their individual strengths to take care of banking requirements.

ICICI Bank's executive director Vishakha Mulye said there are several synergies between two leading banks from Japan and India, which this partnership seeks to harness.

The domestic bank has recently launched an online platform for foreign companies looking to establish or expand business in the country, called ''Infinite India'', she added.

Junsuke Koike, the executive officer and regional executive for India and Sri Lanka for MUFG Bank said the lender''s involvement in India dates back to 1894 when an office was opened in the then Bombay.

To this very day, India continues to be a key strategic market in MUFG''s global network, and through this partnership, we look forward to further deepen our offerings for customers doing business in India, he added.
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Sacred Heart School in Troy celebrated Catholic Schools Week during the past week. Mrs. LaRosa's fourth-grade classroom created and then played games that could be safely played during the pandemic. Even the school's distance learners were kept involved.

Photos by Karen Snyder
ROCK SPRINGS (Wyoming News Exchange)  Granger Mayor Bradley McCollum pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon in District Court to using the towns bank cards for personal purchases.

McCollum, 56, who was elected mayor in 2018, is alleged to have used one of the towns bank cards for at least four separate personal purchases totaling over $1,300 during a six-month period between July and December of 2019.

According to court documents, these purchases included tires for a personally-owned vehicle, fuel, and replacement parts for a furnace at McCollums rental property in New York state...
BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia said Thursday that the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, one of the basic norms governing international relations, should be upheld.

In a phone conversation between Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the two sides also pledged to jointly preserve global and regional strategic stability.

The international situation is at an important watershed, Wang noted, adding that at such a time, it is even more important for China and Russia to strengthen strategic communication.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered speeches respectively at the World Economic Forum Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda.

The two leaders echoed each other's positions in their speeches, voicing strong determination to uphold multilateralism and jointly tackle global challenges at the beginning of the year, Wang said.

The two heads of state, he said, put forward a China-Russia plan to jointly prevail over the COVID-19 pandemic and revitalize the global economy, injecting positive energy and stability into the volatile international landscape.

The two heads of state have also agreed to celebrate this year the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, pointing out the direction for deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries, Wang said.

Both sides should take this opportunity to add new dimensions to this important treaty and send a clear message to the world that the two countries will safeguard the security of themselves and along their peripheries, he added.

Both China and Russia attach great importance to innovation, Wang noted, adding that the two countries should join hands to reinforce complementary advantages and strive for major achievements by holding the Russia-China Year of Scientific and Technological Innovation.

The two sides should earnestly promote trade and investment facilitation on the basis of mutual benefit, synergize the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union to establish regional industrial chains, supply chains and value chains, so as to lay a solid foundation for mutual benefit and win-win results, Wang said.

Wang recalled Lavrov's annual press conference in which the Russian minister said "we can talk endlessly about Russian-Chinese cooperation that embraces a very wide range of spheres," saying that China totally agrees with the remarks.

China sees no limit or restricted area for China-Russia strategic coordination that is all-weather and all-dimensional, Wang said.

The two countries have conducted efficient coordination within multilateral frameworks and safeguarded international fairness and justice as well as legitimate interests of developing countries, he added.

China firmly supports the measures Russia has taken to safeguard its national sovereignty and social stability, and is willing to work with Russia to continuously strengthen coordination on such issues as rejecting interference in internal affairs and fighting against false information, Wang said.

For his part, Lavrov said the importance of Russia-China relations has long gone beyond bilateral to gain international and regional significance. The two heads of state have maintained close exchanges, which has provided important strategic guidance for the development of bilateral relations, he said.

Lavrov said Russia is very satisfied with the anti-pandemic cooperation between the two countries.

Russia is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in vaccine research, development and production, as well as in pandemic prevention and control, so as to eliminate the impact of the pandemic on practical cooperation, he said.

Russia and China should intensify strategic coordination and steadily advance bilateral and multilateral agendas within the year, Lavrov said.

Noting Russia is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China on international and regional issues, Lavrov said the two sides should firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, jointly and staunchly defend multilateralism and safeguard international and regional stability.

The two sides also had in-depth exchanges on issues of common concern such as relations with the United States, and reached new consensus.
NEW YORK  This years winners of the Carnegie medals for fiction and nonfiction, presented by the American Library Association, have each checked out a few books in their time.

I work from libraries a lot, and my wallet is full of library cards, says Rebecca Giggs, an Australian author whose Fathoms: The World in the Whale" received the nonfiction prize Thursday.

James McBride, the fiction winner for Deacon King Kong, has library cards in four different cities and wrote parts of his novel in branches in New York City and Philadelphia.

In New York you can get anything you want but it takes longer because you can't leave the library with them. But in Philly, you can, explained McBride, whose novel last year was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club.

With a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the library association established the award in 2012, with winners in each category receiving $5,000. Previous honorees include Donna Tartt, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Colson Whitehead.

McBride and Giggs each have strong childhood memories of libraries. McBride, a longtime New Yorker, would visit them often because they were a safe space and because his family couldn't afford to buy many books. Giggs remembers her mother getting into aerobics in a big way and , a few nights a week, dropping off her and her sister at a library next door to the workout space.

Ghost stories were a favorite.

Especially true histories of the paranormal with photographs of poltergeists that were in fact only smudges, or the developers accidental thumbprints, in attic-windows and on staircases, she says Back then, as now, I was interested in the boundary-lines between fact, documentation, and belief  a theme that threads through Fathoms, which is as much about the myths whales sustain, as the science of animal-life in the oceans of the 21st century.
Daylead.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

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Pentagon says US security assistance to Pak remains suspended

Paks blueprint for ties with US based on economy not security: Report

Newly wed 22-year-old bride gangraped in front of husband by four robbers in Pakistan

India-Pakistan ceasefire first step towards normalisation of ties: Naravane

Onus on Pakistan to create environment free of terror: India

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 05: India has said that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility, days after Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa's comments that it is time to extend a "hand of peace in all directions".

"Our position is well-known. India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence," external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

Blast outside Israeli embassy may be connected to 2012 terror attack on diplomats in Delhi: Envoy

He was asked to comment on Bajwa's remarks.

"The onus is on Pakistan for creating such an environment," Srivastava said.

In an address at the graduation ceremony of Pakistan Air Force cadets, Gen Bajwa on Tuesday said Pakistan was firmly committed to the ideal of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence.

"It is time to extend a hand of peace in all directions," he said in comments largely seen as a message to India.

The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India's war planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack.

The relations further deteriorated after India in August 2019 announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

Notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic in the region, Pakistan has been resorting to unprovoked ceasefire violations along the LoC and making concerted efforts to push militants into Kashmir.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, February 5, 2021, 8:13 [IST]
Rebel Wilson sent Anheuser-Busch heir Jacob Busch a text telling him they were no longer together, in their recent split.

The Australian actress, 40, 'broke up with him via text message about two or three weeks ago,' a source told Us Weekly. 'It was very hurtful.'

The Sydney, Australia native and beer heir spent time in Colorado over the holiday season, a source told the outlet.

The latest: Rebel Wilson sent Anheuser-Busch heir Jacob Busch a text telling him they were no longer together, in their recent split. They walked the red carpet for the first time together in Monaco last fall at the Monte-Carlo Gala for Planetary Health

'They went to Aspen right before the holidays and had a blast. Then, he left for Florida to be with his family, and he invited her because he really wanted her to meet [them] but she never committed to doing that,' an insider told Us.

The source added, 'They talked all throughout the holidays and had excellent communication, but then, all of a sudden, she got really quiet.'

A source said that Busch is 'really upset,' but has 'no ill-will towards' the Les Norton star.

Busch had 'been crazy about [Wilson] ever since 2019,' and 'they would get together on and off throughout the years ... [and] maintained their friendship and then became boyfriend and girlfriend in late summer.'

The Sydney, Australia native and beer heir spent time in Colorado over the holiday season before their relationship broke down

Details: In an Instagram post earlier this week, the Pitch Perfect star posed outside of a film trailer, indicating in the caption that she's no longer in a relationship

Busch struggled seeing the social media shot, as he hopes to have 'full closure on why she decided to break up with him to begin with'

Busch and the Isn't It Romantic actress walked the red carpet for the first time together in Monaco last fall at the Monte-Carlo Gala for Planetary Health.

In an Instagram post earlier this week, the Pitch Perfect star posed outside of a film trailer, indicating in the caption that she's no longer in a relationship.

Wilson captioned the post, 'Lots on my mind...aghhhhhh...#single-girl-heading-to-Super-Bowl!'

A separate insider told the outlet that Busch struggled seeing the social media shot, as he hopes to have 'full closure on why she decided to break up with him to begin with.'

The insider noted: 'He's at a loss for words right now. He feels blindsided. He's still taking it in. He really thought she was going to be his life partner. He was trying to make amends since he received the text, and then today when he saw the post, that's he realized they were officially over.'
(Newser)  Last month, the New York Times found itself embroiled in controversy after dropping journalist Lauren Wolfe. Now a new controversy, this time involving a different reporter, has staff demanding action. It started last week when the Daily Beast reported high-profile health and science veteran Donald McNeil Jr. allegedly used racist and sexist language, including the n-word, in front of participants on a 2019 Times-sponsored student trip to Peru. Several of those on the trip said McNeil also scoffed at the concept of white privilege and pushed stereotypes of Black teens. When complaints about McNeil's behavior made their way up to management, Dean Baquet, the paper's executive editor, says he started an investigation, thinking he'd probably have to fire McNeil. But Baquet said the probe found McNeil's behavior to be "offensive" but not a fireable offense, as he didn't have "hateful or malicious" intent.

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The paper noted it disciplined McNeil internally instead of letting him go. Now, more than 150 Times staffers have written a letter to the paper's top brass, demanding they look more closely at all complaints against McNeilincluding newly surfaced allegations about "bias against people of color in his work and in interactions with colleagues over a period of years." They also want the reporter to apologize to the students, their parents, Peru tour staff, and his fellow workers at the paper, per the Guardian. "Our community is outraged and in pain," write the employees, who note one of McNeil's recent beats is COVID-19, which disproportionately affects people of color. On Wednesday, Baquet, publisher AG Sulzberger, and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien responded. "We are determined to learn the right lessons from this incident," they wrote in an email, per the Washington Post. "You will see results." As for McNeil, his curt email reply to the Post: "Don't believe everything you read." (Read more New York Times stories.)
The Ministry of Health on Friday or in the coming days will receive agreements from manufacturing companies for the supply of vaccines against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease to Ukraine in February, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during the Hour of Questions to the Government in the parliament on Friday.

"Ukraine has signed a contract for the supply of vaccines with Sinovac. I think that today or in the coming days we will receive an agreement on other supplies also in February 2021," he said.

Stepanov said that for the logistics of supplying vaccines, the Ministry of Health has calculations for updating the cold chain.

"We have generated the need for refrigerators, thermo boxes and temperature control instruments. For the ultra-cold chain, we are attracting private companies that have experience in managing pharmaceuticals in ultra-low temperatures. To update the cold chain from plus 2 to plus 8 degrees Celsius, the government will invest in medical facilities involved in routine immunization, because we have a total need to update equipment," he said.

The minister also said that next week it is planned to launch an information portal on vaccination.

"The Ministry of Health plans to create a separate information portal on vaccination, where everyone can learn about the organization of the process. There will also be dashboards with vaccination statistics, which we are working on together with colleagues from the National Security and Defense Council [NSDC]. The first version of the portal with basic information will be launched next week, the full version together with a mobile one - until the end of February," Stepanov said.
A Missouri graduate who said his professor stole his invention for a drug delivery system will share in its profits under a settlement that also gives the University of Missouri System a cut of the revenue.

Kishore Cholkar will get at least $1.4 million under the settlement for research done while he was working toward a doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Kansas City Star reported, citing a redacted copy of the agreement it obtained through an open records request.

Before the settlement, Cholkar had stood to collect nothing from his invention of nanotechnology that delivers drops to the back of the eye. It is one of the leading treatments for dry eye, a growing market segment that garnered $5 billion in sales in 2019.

The university announced the settlement in December but did not disclose the terms. The deal ended a nearly two-year court battle by the university against former professor Ashim Mitra; the drug development company, Auven Therapeutics Management; and the manufacturer that brought Cequa to market Sun Pharmaceutical Industries.

The lawsuit contended that the former professor sold the technology to a drug development company without the knowledge of Cholkar or the university, which also had an ownership interest.

Cholkars $1.4 million will come out of the $6.45 million that the university was set to receive over the next five years, after which they will share in future revenues, the newspaper reported.

The settlement also allows Mitra to share in future profits from the sale of the drug. The lawsuit said he had been paid $1.5 million for his work when it was filed in February 2019 and had the potential to earn $10 million more.

Mitra must pay some portion of his royalties to the university system, but those numbers were redacted. His attorney and the university declined to comment. An attorney for Cholkar did not respond to a request for comment.

The university claimed in its lawsuit that Mitra stole Cholkars work and put his own name on the patent application. Mitra issued a statement when the lawsuit was filed saying the invention was conceptualized and produced by himself and its rightful co-creators.

Mitra resigned from the university in 2019.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)




President Moon Jae-in said Friday his government won't spare support for a project to create the world's biggest offshore wind power generation complex in southwestern South Korea, declaring a vision for turning the nation into one of the top five powerhouses in the field.







He was attending the signing ceremony of a relevant investment deal, worth 48 trillion won (US$43 billion), in Sinan, South Jeolla Province, about 400 kilometers south of Seoul, where the facilities with a maximum capacity of 8.2 gigawatts will be built in phases over the coming decade.







"We are now moving more actively toward carbon neutrality, accelerating the transition to eco-friendly energy," Moon said in a speech there. He was referring to South Korea's stated goal of going carbon neutral by 2050.







"The government will provide every necessary support under the goal of making (South Korea) one of the world's top five offshore wind powerhouses by 2030," he added.







The president vowed administrative measures to shorten a period of preparations for breaking ground and introduction of special legislation for "one-stop support."







Several local companies, including Korea Electric Power Corp., SK ES Co. and Doosan Heavy Industries Construction Co., are participating in the project in cooperation with local residents under the so-called win-win accord, based on a "great social compromise." As many as 120,000 jobs are expected to be created.







The power capacity of 8.2 GW amounts to that of some eight nuclear reactors, which would have the effect of cutting around 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, according to Cheong Wa Dae. It's like planting roughly 71 million pine trees.







The Moon administration is campaigning for the Green New Deal aimed at fostering environment-friendly industries in tandem with a push for balanced national development. (Yonhap)


Abuja  A House of Representatives member, Hon, Sani Dan-Galadima, is likely to forfeit his house worth N60 million to the federal government over a failed surety he entered for Faisal Maina, the son of former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, who is now at large.

The lawmaker risks losing the house following an order of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which yesterday held that the bail bond signed for the release of Faisal on bail be forfeited since the defendant has jumped bail.

According to the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, in a committal proceeding ruling, the federal lawmaker representing Kaura-Namoda federal constituency of Zamfara State, must forfeit the property having freely elected to do so while standing as surety for the defendant in the criminal matter.

Faisal, who is standing trial on alleged money laundering and fraud charges, was granted bail in the sum of N60 million with a surety in like sum, who must be a serving member of the House of Representatives, after he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His father, Abdulrasheed Maina, who is standing trial in a N2 billion corruption charges, was also admitted to bail in the sum of N500 million by the same court, and later escaped to Niger Republic to avoid trial but was extradited to the country by the International Police (Interpol).

At yesterday proceedings, Faisal was reported to have fled to the United States of America.

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel, Mohammed Abubakar, told Justice Abang that from the information at the disposal of the anti-graft agency, Faisal sneaked to the USA through the Republic of Niger.

The counsel applied that the surety be made to forfeit his bond since he has failed to produce the defendant in court for trial as required by law.

Earlier, the EFCC counsel and the defendant's counsel, Mr. Anayo Adibo, had given conflicting information about the whereabouts of the defendant.

According to the commission, Faisal was not in the custody of the police or the Department of State Service (DSS) as claimed in some quarters.

EFCC said: "We have a bench warrant to arrest the defendant and bring him before the court; we have been making serious effort to implement the bench warrant up till now.

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"The defendant has absconded to the United States of America, and the fact that he was arrested in Sokoto by the police was in the realm of a rumour... It is on record that the Nigerian and American passport of the defendant are in custody of this court as part of the condition of his bail.

"However, information at our disposal indicates that the defendant was able to sneak out of Nigeria to the Republic of Niger from where he was able to proceed to the USA."

But Adibo objected to Abubakar's assertion, adding that his client spoke to him on phone while being taken into police custody in Sokoto.

He argued that Faisal could not have flown to the US when his international passports are in court's custody.

"On the last adjourned date, I did inform the court that the defendant was taken into custody by men of the Nigerian Police. My Lord, the following day, a media report as well as the statement issued by the police command in Sokoto State confirmed this particular fact," he stated.

Reacting to their conflicting arguments, Justice Abang said: "I don't even know who to believe," saying he would work with the facts before him.

Adibo further prayed the court to grant his application which sought the defendant to enter defence in his trial.

But the prosecution urged the court to dismiss the application due to the continued absence of the defendant from court proceedings.

Justice Abang, therefore, adjourned the matter to March 31, 2021, "for ruling of the defendant's application."
The United States has reaffirmed its support for Taiwan in the face of threatening activity from the Chinese military.

On January 23 and 24, the Peoples Republic of China, the PRC, sent multiple warplanes near Taiwan and into the islands air defense identification zone.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement, The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing [Peoples Republic of China] attempts to intimidate neighbors, including Taiwan. We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwans democratically elected representatives.

The PRC has increasingly been conducting sorties near Taiwan this past year, but rarely with so many planes or with so much fire power. According to Taiwans Defense Ministry, the PRC group included fighter jets and bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

In another provocative move, the PRC recently passed a law explicitly permitting its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. China claims much of the South China Sea to be under its jurisdiction. On January 27, the Government of the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against the law.

On January 23, the U.S. aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt entered the South China Sea to conduct routine operations, promoting freedom of the seas. Rear Admiral Doug Verissimo, Commander of the Carrier Strike Group 9 said, With two-thirds of the worlds trade travelling through this very important region, it is vital that we maintain our presence and continue to promote the rules-based order which has allowed us all to prosper.

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price declared in his statement, We will stand with friends and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values in the Indo-Pacific region  and that includes deepening our ties with democratic Taiwan. The United States will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues, consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people on Taiwan.

The United States, he said, maintains its longstanding commitments as outlined in the Three Communiques, the Taiwan Relations Act, and the Six Assurances. We will continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability. Our Commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region.
Myanmar attorney Khin Maung Zaw has been assigned by the leadership of the now-deposed National League for Democracy (NLD) to represent state counselor and de facto national leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, now both being held under house arrest, in their trial on charges brought by Myanmars new military leaders. Here, Khin Maung Zaw speaks with RFAs Myanmar Service in an exclusive interview:

RFA: We have learned that you are going to represent the detained NLD leaders, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint. Can you tell us how you became involved in this case?

Khin Maung Zaw: I was asked by the NLDs Central Executive Committee to take up these cases, and I now have a written request from them to represent Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint. Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged under Section 8 of the Import and Export Law with the ownership of illegal walkie-talkies, and President Win Myint under Section 25 of the Natural Disaster Prevention Law. These are two separate cases.

RFA: Will you be their only attorney? Have you been able to meet with them?

Khin Maung Zaw: I will be assisted by Supreme Court lawyer Daw Min Min Soe and High Court lawyer U Rashid in the proceedings, and we are now preparing all relevant documents. Normally when a case is assigned to us we have to take the general power agreement [General Power of Attorney] to the accused for them to sign.

So with the letter from the NLD, we went to the houses of Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint yesterday, as they are both under house arrest, but we couldnt get in, and so we went to the township police officer who made the arrests to ask him to let us see the leaders. He said he didnt have the authority to do this and told us to ask the District Police Chief.

But the latter told us he was too busy and didnt have time to see us. We tried again today, but without success. We hope to see him soon.

RFA: Do you think that the authorities will allow you to meet with your clients?

Khin Maung Zaw: The accused has the right to meet with their legal representative, according to the Prisons Manual. We had this same experience in the case of Reuters correspondent Wa Lone, whom we were able to meet only at the end of the remand period. We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

What we really want is an acquittal. We believe that they have done nothing illegal, as the charges against them now say. And look at the case of the president. Even though Myint Swe is now the acting president, Win Myint is legally still the president because he was not impeached, and only an impeachment can remove a president from his position.

Under Section 215 of the Constitution, the president does not have to answer to any criminal charges. The remand period will end on Feb. 17, and they will have to be in court by then. I dont know whether the accused will appear in a virtual court or not, but I have the right to see them.

Reported by RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / February 5, 2021 / Business Media Group, Inc., will be producing The Israel Summit 2021 International Virtual Conference and broadcasting it to over one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) college students globally over five consecutive days during the second week of February 2021.

The Israel Summit is an international movement dedicated to shifting the conversation surrounding Israel on college campuses across the globe. This is accomplished through high-impact conferences targeted towards the unaffected, unaffiliated students on campus. Conceived by Harvard University students, The Israel Summit has become one of the largest college-centric events in the world. Through its internationally renowned speakers and career and special opportunities fairs, The Israel Summit seeks to broaden all students' horizons on the Jewish State of Israel.

The list of keynote speakers to appear during the 2021 conference is very impressive with notables including United States Senators Mitt Romney and Cory Booker; Moderna Chief Media Officer, Tal Zaks; Actor and Producer, Lior Raz; Waze Chief Executive Officer, Noam Bardin; Rap Icon, Nissim Black; and Former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper to name just a few.

The Israel Summit student-lead executive team reached out to nationally recognized corporate event agency Business Media Group, Inc. (BMG) late in 2020 to help with the 2021 conference. BMG has been successful with producing live and pre-recorded virtual events and was recommended to the summit team by one of BMG's close business partners, Expo Pass.

Once the pandemic hit, the live event industry had to shut down. BMG knew that while live in-person meetings and events were on hold, the need to mass communicate to company sales channels and organization members was still very important and going to be in high demand. BMG was one of the first major event companies to build a virtual platform to serve their clients quickly. "The switch to virtual has been amazing," says BMG Vice President, Patrick Sechrist. "Not only have we been able to support our current clients, but we have had the opportunity to support several more companies and organizations from all over the country."

Sechrist continues, "Because of the extremely large number of potential attendees for The Israel Summit 2021 conference, we will be broadcasting on several different platforms simultaneously including YouTube and Facebook. We are excited to be able to take virtual meetings and events to a whole new level and The Israel Summit will be proof of that accomplishment."

BMG developed a website - TheIsraelSummit.org - promoting The Israel Summit 2021 conference. The site outlines the event, allows registration for all attendees, and serves as a gateway to the virtual broadcasts. BMG also coordinated a social media campaign advertising the conference and targeting university students throughout North America.



Images above show a quick glimpse inside the BMG Virtual Studio broadcast hub capturing The Israel Summit team members remotely interviewing keynote speakers.

About Business Media Group, Inc.

Business Media Group (BMG) is a privately held, Indiana-based, Woman Business Enterprise (WBE), Indiana S-Corporation, and has been a corporate channel marketing agency for over 24 years. BMG is dedicated to supplying its clients with creative solutions, strategic planning, and flawless production and execution of any campaign or event.

Contact:

Macayla Liford

317-705-9910

mliford@businessmediagroup.com

businessmediagroup.com

SOURCE: Business Media Group, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/628028/Indianapolis-Based-BMG-To-Produce-The-Israel-Summit-2021-International-Virtual-Conference
Panasonic AI-driven cameras empower an expanding vision of new uses

Imagine a world where video cameras are not just watching and reporting for security, but have an even wider positive impact on our lives. Imagine that cameras control street and building lights, as people come and go, that traffic jams are predicted and vehicles are automatically rerouted, and more tills are opened, just before a queue starts to form. Cameras with AI capabilities Cameras in stores can show us how we might look in the latest outfit as we browse. Thats the vision from Panasonic about current and future uses for their cameras that provide artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities at the edge. Panasonic feels that these types of intelligent camera applications are also the basis for automation and introduction of Industry 4.0, in which processes are automated, monitored and controlled by AI-driven systems. 4K network security cameras The companys i-PRO AI-capable camera line can install and run up to three AI-driven video analytic applications Panasonics 4K network security cameras have built-in AI capabilities suitable for this next generation of intelligent applications in business and society. The companys i-PRO AI-capable camera line can install and run up to three AI-driven video analytic applications. The AI engine is directly embedded into the camera, thus reducing costs and Panasonics image quality ensures the accuracy of the analytics outcome. FacePRO facial recognition technology Panasonic began advancing AI technology on the server side with FacePRO, the in-house facial recognition application, which uses AI deep learning capabilities. Moving ahead, they transitioned their knowledge of AI from the server side to the edge, introducing i-PRO security cameras with built-in AI capabilities last summer, alongside their own in-house analytics. Moreover, in line with the Panasonic approach to focus more on collaboration with specialist AI software developers, a partnership with Italian software company, A.I. Tech followed in September, with a range of intelligent applications, partially based on deep learning. Additional collaborations are already in place with more than 10 other developers, across the European Union, working on more future applications. i-PRO AI-capable security cameras Open systems are an important part of Panasonics current approach. The companys i-PRO AI-capable cameras are an open platform and designed for third-party application development, therefore, applications can be built or tailored to the needs of an individual customer. Panasonic use to be a company that developed everything in-house, including all the analytics and applications. However, now we have turned around our strategy by making our i-PRO security cameras open to integrate applications and analytics from third-party companies, says Gerard Figols, Head of Security Solutions at Panasonic Business Europe. Flexible and adapting to specific customer needs This new approach allows the company to be more flexible and adaptable to customers needs. At the same time, we can be quicker and much more tailored to the market trend, said Gerard Figols. He adds, For example, in the retail space, enabling retailers to enhance the customer experience, in smart cities for traffic monitoring and smart parking, and by event organisers and transport hubs to monitor and ensure safety. Edge-based analytics offer multiple benefits over server-based systems Edge-based analytics Edge-based analytics offer multiple benefits over server-based systems. On one hand, there are monetary benefits - a cost reduction results from the decreased amount of more powerful hardware required on the server side to process the data, on top of reduction in the infrastructure costs, as not all the full video stream needs to be sent for analysis, we can work solely with the metadata. On the other hand, there are also advantages of flexibility, as well as reliability. Each camera can have its own individual analytic setup and in case of any issue on the communication or server side, the camera can keep running the analysis at the edge, thereby making sure the CCTV system is still fully operational. Most importantly, systems can keep the same high level of accuracy. Explosion of AI camera applications We can compare the explosion of AI camera applications to the way we experienced it for smartphone applications" We can compare the explosion of AI camera applications to the way we experienced it for smartphone applications, said Gerard Figols, adding However, it doesnt mean the hardware is not important anymore, as I believe its more important than ever. Working with poor picture quality or if the hardware is not reliable, and works 24/7, software cannot run or deliver the outcome it has been designed for. As hardware specialists, Figols believes that Panasonic seeks to focus on what they do best - Building long-lasting, open network cameras, which are capable of capturing the highest quality images that are required for the latest AI applications, while software developers can concentrate on bringing specialist applications to the market. Same as for smartphones, AI applications will proliferate based on market demand and succeed or fail, based on the value that they deliver. Facial recognition, privacy protection and cross line technologies Panasonic has been in the forefront in developing essential AI applications for CCTV, such as facial recognition, privacy protection and cross line. However, with the market developing so rapidly and the potential applications of AI-driven camera systems being so varied and widespread, Panasonic quickly realised that the future of their network cameras was going to be in open systems, which allow specialist developers and their customers to use their sector expertise to develop their own applications for specific vertical market applications, while using i-PRO hardware. Metadata for detection and recognition Regarding privacy, consider that the use of AI in cameras is about generating metadata for the detection and recognition of patterns, rather than identifying individual identities. However, there are legitimate privacy concerns, but I firmly believe that attitudes will change quickly when people see the incredible benefits that this technology can deliver, said Gerard Figols, adding I hope that we will be able to redefine our view of cameras and AI, not just as insurance, but as life advancing and enhancing. i-PRO AI Privacy Guard One of the AI applications that Panasonic developed was i-PRO AI Privacy Guard Seeking to understand and appreciate privacy concerns, one of the AI applications that Panasonic developed was i-PRO AI Privacy Guard that generates data without capturing individual identities, following European privacy regulations that are among the strictest in the world. Gerard Fogils said, The combination of artificial intelligence and the latest generation open camera technology will change the worlds perceptions from Big Brother to Big Benefits. New applications will emerge as the existing generation of cameras is updated to the new open and intelligent next generation devices, and the existing role of the security camera will also continue. Future scope of AI and cameras He adds, Not just relying on the security cameras for evidence when things have gone wrong, end users will increasingly be able to use AI and the cameras with much higher accuracy to prevent false alarms and in a proactive way to prevent incidents." Gerard Figols concludes, That could be monitoring and alerting when health and safety guidelines are being breached or spotting and flagging patterns of suspicious behaviour before incidents occur.

Classrooms in a school in Vijayanagar Colony near Masab Tank, were found to have been let out by its management to bachelors during the shutdown period.

Hyderabad: The reopening of schools has opened a can of worms. In some cases, managements are asking their nursery and primary students to return to school, which is against the rules. Besides, some schools are being run as lodges.

In one instance, classrooms in a school in Vijayanagar Colony near Masab Tank, were found to have been let out by its management to bachelors during the shutdown period. In another instance, parents, desperate over their kids losing out on learning, decided to drop their children at school.

The unhygienic conditions at Madarath International, a co-ed school in Vijayanagar Colony, were compounded by the discovery of abandoned bottles full of tobacco spittle, empty gutka packets, and used and discarded face masks.

The despicable conditions in the school premises, where the management opened the classes for nursery and Class I students, were enough to warrant prompt action by the school education department. Physical classes are allowed by government only for upwards of Class 9.

The school authorities were found conducting offline classes for Nursery to Class 1 students amidst such conditions, resulting in the issue of a show cause notice to the headmaster and management of the Madarath School by the Deputy Inspector of Schools, Asifnagar Mandal on Thursday.

"In spite of receiving the instructions and knowing the seriousness of Covid-19, the management/headmaster of the school is conducting offline/physical classes for primary school also. It is noticed that a part of the classrooms was let out to bachelors to stay in. The entire premises of the school are in unhygienic conditions," the notice said.

The education department has issued a show cause notice to the school management to explain why action should not be initiated against the school for such irresponsible actions.

Elsewhere in the city, in Saidabad, another primary school that offers classes from nursery to Class I has found itself in a piquant situation with parents dropping off their kids at the school, urging the teachers to hold classes. Almost all these parents are poor, cannot afford to have digital devices such as smart phones or tablets or computers, for their children to attend online classes.

"There is little we could do. It is heartbreaking for us too and we could not turn away the children. We are trying to do the best we can for them," a school staffer said.
drnadig/iStockBy MEREDITH DELISO, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) -- House Democrats called to "get to the bottom" of last month's U.S. Capitol riot and hold those accountable as they recounted their experience during the siege.



Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has been vocal about the trauma she experienced during the attack, organized Thursday's special hour of speeches on the House floor, where, one month earlier, congress members fled from rioters who had breached the Capitol building.



"Twenty-nine days ago our nation's Capitol was attacked. That is the big story," the congresswoman said, shortly after 7 p.m. ET. "And in that big story resides thousands of individual accounts, just as valid and important as the other. Tonight, for this special order, we will begin to hear and commit to the congressional record just some of those many stories."



Over the next hour, Ocasio-Cortez was joined by eight of her Democratic colleagues as they shared their shock and horror at what happened on Jan. 6.



Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., recalled the "mob" he encountered while walking to the U.S. Capitol that day to certify the results of the November presidential election that were "using horrible epithets I can't mention here directed at [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi."



"It never, ever occurred to me that this building would be inundated," he said, calling the attack a "trauma to our democracy." "I took it for granted that that just couldn't happen. Of course, it did."



Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., recalled a "horrifying" scene in the Capitol building during the deadly siege, during which a U.S. Capitol Police officer fatally shot a rioter.



"Furniture stuck up against the wall, and bloodstains right outside where someone was shot," he said. "This is a traumatic experience for all of us, on both sides of the aisle and for our nation."



Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was in tears as she began her speech, during which Ocasio-Cortez approached several times to put a hand on her shoulder. Tlaib was not at the Capitol during the siege, but said it struck very close to home considering the hate she gets on a daily basis.



"This is so personal, this is so hard," she said, as she recounted receiving a death threat on her first day of orientation. "I didn't even get sworn in yet, and somebody wanted me dead for just existing."



She said she worries "every day" for the lives of her diverse staff.



"I urge my colleagues to please take what happened on Jan. 6 seriously," she said. "We can do better. We must do better."



Some rioters displayed extremist symbols of white supremacy and anarchy. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. called the insurrection a "white supremacist attack."



"Let me say this, this was not a protest," said the freshman Democrat -- the first Black woman and first woman of color in Congress from Missouri -- urging her Republican colleagues to "do right by the Black and brown people you represent."



Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., offered an emotional apology to his colleagues, after calling on fellow Democrats to follow him to the Republican side of the chamber during the attack "so that we could blend in."



"But within moments I recognized that blending in was not an option available to my colleagues of color," he said. "I'm here tonight to say to my brothers and sisters in Congress, and all around the country, I'm sorry."



"I have never understood, really understood what privilege really means," he continued. "It took a violent mob of insurrectionists and a lightning bolt moment in this very room, but now I know."



Several of the representatives demanded that they determine how the attack occurred and find the "truth."



"It cannot be swept under the rug," Espaillat said. "We must find out if there were members of this body who aided and abetted that angry mob."



"I think the importance of this, reliving what we went through, is as I've heard from my colleagues, we must get to the bottom of this," Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said. "We cannot let white supremacy ... dominate the goodness of what this democracy and this Constitution stands for."



Others took the opportunity to call on the Senate to convict former President Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection in his upcoming impeachment trial.



"The only way to make this right, and help heal our nation, is for the Senate to do the right thing and hold Trump accountable for the insurrection," Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said.



The special session occurred after the House voted Thursday evening to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments.



Ocasio-Cortez had previously recounted her experience during the Capitol attack in two widely viewed livestreams on Instagram.



During the first on Jan. 12, the congresswoman revealed that she "had a very close encounter where I thought I was going to die," though she didn't detail the incident, citing security reasons.



"All of these thoughts come rushing to you," she said during the passionate, hourlong Instagram live. "I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of the day -- and not just in a general sense but also in a very, very specific sense."



She also said she didn't "feel safe" joining other members of Congress in a secure location because "QAnon and white supremacist sympathizers, and frankly white supremacist members of Congress in that extraction point, who I know, and who I had felt would disclose my location ... who would create opportunities to allow me to be hurt, kidnapped."



In a 90-minute video livestream Monday night, she again recalled fearing for her life as she and others were forced to take shelter when a violent mob stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. At one point, when she was hiding in the bathroom of her office, she said someone banged on the door and entered the room, repeatedly yelling, "Where is she?"



"This was the moment I thought everything was over," Ocasio-Cortez said. "I mean, I thought I was going to die."



Ocasio-Cortez said the person entering her office ended up being a police officer, but she was unaware of that as it happened.



"I felt that if this was the journey that my life was taking, that, I felt that things were going to be OK and that, you know, I had fulfilled my purpose," she said, wiping away tears from her eyes.



Ocasio-Cortez said she felt "completely unsafe" later that day when she was barricaded in the office of Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif.



The Capitol siege occurred after a rally held by former President Donald Trump and his allies in Washington, D.C., urging Congress not to certify the results of the November presidential election. Trump urged his supporters "to fight" as he continued to push baseless claims of election fraud.



Crowds of people then made their way to the Capitol steps, pushing through barricades, officers in riot gear and other security measures. An angry mob breached the Capitol building, forcing a lockdown with members of Congress and their staff holed up inside. It took hours for law enforcement to clear the building. Five people, including a police officer, died as a result of the siege.



As of Jan. 26, the Department of Justice has identified 400 suspects and have arrested 135 in connection with the attack on the Capitol.



Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
According to information published on the Twitter account of the French Defense Staff on February 2, 2021, the French Navy has deployed during four months a Breguet Atlantic ATL2 long-range maritime patrol aircraft for Operation Barkhane, in the Sahelo-Saharan strip.

According to information published on the Twitter account of the French Defense Staff on February 2, 2021, the French Navy has deployed during four months a Breguet Atlantic ATL2 long-range maritime patrol aircraft for Operation Barkhane, in the Sahelo-Saharan strip.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Breguet Br 1150 Atlantic (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft (Picture source: Twitter account of the French Defense Staff)

The ATL2 is a long range maritime patrol aircraft, dedicated primarily to the control of the air-sea environment through anti-submarine warfare and against surface ships, from the littoral zone to the open sea.

ATL2 crews successfully performed:

- Intelligence missions (more than 1,000 interception of electronic signals)

- Bombing missions against enemy targets

The Atlantic has been operated by a number of countries, commonly performing maritime roles such as reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare. This aircraft is also capable of carrying air-to-ground munitions to perform ground-attack missions; a small number of aircraft were also equipped to perform ELINT operations. An updated version, the Atlantique 2 (ATL2), was produced by Dassault Aviation for the French Navy in the 1980s. A further improved model, the Atlantique 3, was proposed during the 1990s but ultimately unbuilt. Other operators of the Atlantic have included the German Navy, the Italian Air Force, the Pakistanese Navy, and the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Operation Barkhane is an ongoing anti-insurgent operation started on August 1, 2014 which is led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's Sahel region. It consists of a roughly 5,000-strong French force, which is permanently headquartered in NDjamena, the capital city of Chad. The operation is led in cooperation with five countries, all former French colonies, that span the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. These countries are collectively referred to as the "G5 Sahel". The operation is named after a crescent-shaped dune in the Sahara desert.
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Not known to be a protege of any big political dynasty in Oyo State as such, suddenly, Seyi Makinde manifested prior 2015 governorship election. He began by handing out scholarships and other forms of empowerment to indigent people of Oyo State. From Ibadan, the reach extended inwards into other parts of the state. Branded vehicles ran everywhere announcing Makinde. Oyo people familiarized by the day.

For the rest of us not resident in Oyo State, the billboards probably did the magic. We were curious and sought to know more. The private radio stations for which Ibadan has since come to offer a supportive nursery bed of some sort, complemented the billboards. The people reckoned, and properly too. The then Ajimobi government knew clearly the people were reckoning. It could not pretend too. Indeed, the government attack against the radio station owned by the Tungba dance maestro, Yinka Ayefele, earned Makinde more sympathy, among other repercussions. Whatever was the reductionist disposition of the constituted authority folks in Oyo State finally fizzled out. Seyi Makinde swept them off. Seyi Makinde forces of the fringes have mainstreamed. Media of all sorts, online and offline, coalesced in favour of Seyi. Seyi needs no further conviction on the power of the media. Media made him and filled his cup of joy, as they say. But for how long will this ecstasy endure? Will they wait till they pay double the price of their predecessors as warned by historian?

When he assumed the governorship position of Oyo State, many, including yours sincerely, was excited about Seyi Makinde in a way. I quickly moderated it knowing the usual ways of Nigerian politicians. Maybe I should be particularistic with the politicians of the Southwest. Be it known to them all: the people, and I mean their voters now have several derogatory names for them. And the labels are registering fast with us all. We shall come back to these labels in due course. The Ibarapa crises have probably given the highest decibel to the discomfort deriving misgovernance and even lack of governance.

Unluckily for the political class, the internet technology, has liberalized peoples access to information. So what? A lot, really. Till date I havent encountered that story anywhere else. It was the story of a young agripreneur in Ibarapa area of the state. She recounted her tragedy to a an Ibadan based broadcaster who was farsighted enough to upload the video online. It goes thus: The female agricscience graduate of the University of Ibadan still resident in Ibadan with the retired parents had set up a farm in Ibarapa area. On a particular weekend the boyfriend joined her in Ibadan and they both travelled down to the farm. When they were done in the evening, they set out to return. The journey ended abruptly with some marauders violent intervention. The Fulani herdsmen signaled a violent stop order. But who would heed such? Trying to speed away, the daring devils dashed forth and hauled bullets on the couples car. The driver was the target and they got him. He fell leaving the car to drift uncontrollably. The guy had died. The killers moved in and dragged the lady out of the car. Thus began her kidnapping experience. It didnt matter to the Fulani herdsmen that this poor lady had just lost her partner who could probably have been saved. Her confessed malaria condition notwithstanding, the ultimate ransom was their concern. She received beatings of her life as she was marched through forest thickets and rivers with her hands chained to avert any possible escape attempt. This self-motivated farmer spent days before the daredevils struck a deal with the father who had to personally bring the ransom in exchange for his dear daughter. The follow-up burdens are better imagined: How will the tragic news of her boyfriend be broken? Will she go back to the farm? Who can guarantee future safety?

So deeply, the tragedy sank into me. It did so much as I ruminated over my recent trip through some section of Ibarapa stretch some months back. I needed to see a friend in both Oyo and Okeho same day. Fate can hand out life and death challenges sometimes, just believe it. I had my share that weekend. I therefore left Lagos for Oyo and later headed for Okeho from Oyo. Returning to Lagos was inevitably via Igbo Ora to Abeokuta from where I could easily connect Lagos. If you plan to be in Abeokuta from Okeho and you dont make up your mind by 4.00 pm. you may as well forgo it. The road from Okeho to Abeokuta through Igbo Ora is afairly good road even as it had been built by the government of the Awolowo premiership days. On both sides of the road were cultivated lands brimming largely with food crops like plantain, yams, cassava and assorted vegetables and fruits. Once in a while, we encountered Fulani ladies selling wara. Their sight did not portend any fear or danger then. But the thought of those encounters these days

How can you be emotionally strong after reading the supposed tribute written by one of the sons of Dr Fatai Aborode, an American returnee farmer, to the father after Dr Aborodes gruesome murder, allegedly by the Fulani herdsmen. I got the said tribute after watching the video of Team Sunday Igbohos threatening visit to the Seriki Fulani of Igangan. Dr Aborodes son was painfully declarative asserting Nigeria is not homeNigeria cut your life short, Nigeria ruined your dreams and didnt let you reap the fruit of your labour! Nigeria wouldnt find your killers; Nigeria is not home!

Any more damning or worse, hell remains to be let loose in Ibarapa, after the two tragedies cited here? Surely, Oyo State government officials couldnt have missed all these. And if they did and chose to ignore it, their conscience must be out of this world. How can anyone predict who may be the next victim of the raging disturbance with its unpredictable space and time manifestations?

The submissions and subsequent interpretations including locally contextualized versions of the scholars who asserted the centrality of media and communications in the multi-track diplomacy are not far-fetched. No stronger evidence of this was the timely public argument of a foremost peace and conflict resolution scholar, Prof Isaac Olawale Albert, published by Cable, an online newspaper. The timely, multistakeholderist approach prescribed by Albert, perhaps, did not seem to bear any strong appeal for the Seyi Makinde government. The cost of the crises thus ballooned freely. Apparently preferring the populist option, the governor took his time to devise his own mitigation design.

But which crisis allows for vacuum? A parallel leader has since emerged in the person of Sunday Igboho. Igboho, unlike Makinde of the government house, has been feasting on the incidence of media abundance of this age, even with seeming territorial influence extending beyond Oyo, that they both belong.

Makinde cant be luckier with Ibadan being home to Nigerias foremost conflict resolution scholars and practitioners well appreciated continent-wide and beyond. His reckoning for experts in his neighbourhood unmistakably needs immediate reinforcement.

Tunde Akanni, PhD, is a media and conflict expert based at the School of Communication of the Lagos State University. Follow him via: @AkintundeAkanni
7 Things Musicians Ought To Be Investing Money In

Like with running any small time business, being a musician full time means you need to be smart about where you sink your money. Here, we look at seven of the most important things every artist should be investing their money in.

Guest post by Randi Zimmerman of the Symphonic Blog

Your music is your business, and every great business owner invests in their craft. To make music a full-time gig, artists need to take advantage of every revenue stream available. Learning to make smart investments will not only help you secure a stable income, but also increase your chances of making it in this industry and give you more time to focus on what really matters making great music.

7 Things Musicians Should Be Investing Money In

Great Branding

Branding is everything. Aside from your actual music, your brand is what makes you unique. Its what sets you apart from a landscape that is oversaturated with talent and jam-packed with artisans just like you.

Your branding is what connects you to your audience and secures your space in whatever niche you fall into. Great branding can get you press coverage, sell concert tickets, increase engagement on social media, and really make a name for yourself in this crazy industry.

Not sure where to start? Ask yourself:

Why do you do what you do?

What makes you unique?

What do you represent as an artist?

Whether youre a British Death-Metal group or a Folk-Funk duo from Tennessee, your branding should not only represent you, but strengthen what your sound already does.

Mastering

Mixing isnt the last step of the production process! Proper mastering is a crucial step artists tend to skip all too often. Quality mastering ensures your music will sound the best it possibly can wherever it gets played.  Think of mastering as the icing on the cake.

We understand the need for great quality mastering at a low cost. So, weve started offering professional mastering services through Symphonic. Our engineers have over 10 years of production experience in recording, mixing, and mastering. Our team has worked as producers and engineers in the EDM, Latin, and Hip-Hop fields and have mixed and mastered Rock, Alternative, and many other genres, ensuring that you get the perfect sound for your project.

Mastering services with Symphonic includes:

Cost-effective packages.

Discounted pricing in bulk.

Necessary mid-side EQ application.

perfected imaging to sound great on any system.

No muddiness. Brightening the mix.

Optional 48-hour rush delivery, and so much more.

Are you a producer looking to make more money? Check out, Useful Tools to Generate More Income As A Producer in the meantime.



Feed your brain

8 Ways Musicians Can Make More Money in 2021

Artist Checklist for a Kickass Year in 2021

How to Trademark Your Artist Name

5 Ways To Make More Money Off Your Songs



High Quality Imagery

As weve all heard a hundred times before, first impressions are everything. When promoters, booking agents, managers, fans, etc. see a picture of you online, you want that photo to accurately represent you. Having great quality photos (and videos) of you and/or your band could be what makes or breaks your chance of being booked at that amazing venue or signing a deal with that perfect indie label.

Dont limit your chances of getting that next amazing opportunity by having a low quality online presence. Make sure your photos and videography are professional quality to ensure your first impression is a good one.

Hiring a professional to help you with this is a great start, but you should always make sure their vision aligns with yours beforehand. Your authenticity is what makes you stand out. When the time comes, you want to already be prepared with ideas and ready to collaborate to create something uniquely yours.

This imagery is what the industry will look to when considering you for bigger opportunities.  Put your best foot (and face) forward!

Advertising

From social media ads on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to ads on platforms like Spotify or YouTube, youve got numerous opportunities to take advantage of. What it boils down to is where your audience currently consumes your content and where you want them to be.

Need some help? Check out these helpful resources to get you started:

Education

Youre never too old or too good to learn something new. Even the best of the best are constantly learning how to be better. Whether its personal or professional, theres always room for improvement. Thats where virtual conferences and online courses come in handy.

At our Virtual Music Industry Sessions, we featured an impressive lineup of panelists from Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, SiriusX, Beatport, FeatureFM, Songtrust, and ASCAP. From marketing, playlisting, and financing to distribution, data, and women in the music business, we covered it all. (For FREE, by the way.)

Virtual conferences arent the only source of information to soak up. There are countless online courses you can take to improve your skills in any area.  6 Courses To Level Up Your Social Media Game is a great place to start.

Live Streaming Equipment

In an age of COVID-19, live streaming has taken over the music scene. With live streaming from home serving as the new age of concerts, its important to invest in good quality equipment. From choosing the right kind of microphone to the best streaming software, How to Improve Your Live Streaming Audio breaks down everything you need to know.

A Dedicated Team That Has Your Back.

Here at Symphonic, we dedicate every day to making sure artists like you have everything they need to succeed in this industry. From music distribution, marketing and playlisting to monetization and rights management, we offer a plethora of tools at your disposal with a team that has your back.

Our biggest priority is to empower the independent music community by providing access to personalized support, powerful technology, revenue channels, marketing, and the knowledge to help artists realize their fullest potential. // Click here to learn about our services and how we can help you reach the next level of your career.

You got this!

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America Saves Week 2021, taking place from Feb. 22 to Feb. 26, is an opportunity to encourage employees to start saving through their workplace retirement plan as early as possible and, if they can, to increase savings each yeareven if only by a small amount. The website has social media graphics to download and share with employees.

Increasing their savings rate is a way for workers to pay themselves more during their retirement years. Younger workers will benefit the most by saving more sooner, given the number of years those added dollars will compound and grow, retirement advisors say.

America Saves Week is sponsored by America Saves, an initiative of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), a nonprofit organization of over 270 consumer, education, advocacy and cooperative members.

Each day of America Saves Week has its own theme, along with daily theme graphics that can be shared in employee communications, such as:

Save automatically.





Save for the unexpected.







Save to retire.







Save by reducing debt.







Save as a family.





America Saves recommends that employers:

Share social media content to promote greater savings.



Feature savings-oriented messages on their employee websites using logos and web graphics.



Encourage employees to assess their savings plan annually.

Small Steps Make a Big Difference

According to 3,011 U.S. adults surveyed by Fidelity Investments in October 2020, more than two-thirds experienced financial setbacks last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With many workers put on furlough or facing reduced work hours, nearly one-third of respondents said they were in a worse financial situation compared with the previous year.

The findings are from Fidelity Investments 2021 Financial Resolutions Study.

A good message for plan participants is that "increasing your contribution rate, even by 1 percent, can make a big difference in your long-term retirement savings," said Kevin Barry, president of workplace investing at Fidelity. "What may seem like a small amount today can have a significant impact on your account balance in 10 or 20 years."

For example, if a 25-year-old employee making $40,000 annually increases her 401(k) salary deferral by 1 percent each yearperhaps during America Saves Weekthen, after 12 years, she is likely to have boosted her retirement income by $1,930 per month, research by Fidelity Investments shows.

Adding Automatic Investing Features

For employers, America Saves Week also is a time to consider adding automatic enrollment for new hires to the 401(k) or similar plans, or adding an annual contribution-escalation feature to their plan.

"Overall, the amount people are saving is starting to ratchet up," David Reich, national president of retirement services for insurance brokerage HUB International, said last year. "But for people to be better positioned for retirement, it really needs to be 10 percent [of one's wages] at a minimum and closer to 15 percent" on average throughout an employee's career.

"Getting people there is the issue," he added.

Thanks to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, signed into law at the end of 2019, employers offering a safe harbor 401(k) plan with an annual participant-contribution increase (or "auto-escalation") feature can raise plan participants' savings rates up to 15 percent of pay, unless participants opt out of these increases. Before the SECURE Act was passed, the cap on default contributions under an auto-escalation program was 10 percent for safe harbor plans.

Many plan sponsors with auto-escalation plans, however, haven't amended their plans to take advantage of the higher cap.

A 10 percent cap may "sound like it's going to be sufficient when you're bringing employees in at a very young age," said Jack VanDerhei, director of research at the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute. However, "when you've got midcareer hires who unfortunately may not have had any coverage previously, or who may have cashed out those amounts, then having the ability to get those people escalated up to 15 percent is going to be extremely important."





Related SHRM Articles:

Take Steps to Measureand EnhanceFinancial Wellness Success, SHRM Online, February 2021

For 2021, 401(k) Contribution Limit Unchanged for Employees, Up for Employers, SHRM Online, October 2020



[SHRM members-only toolkit: Designing and Administering Defined Contribution Retirement Plans]
Monrovia  The newly-accredited U S Ambassador to Liberia, Michael A. McCarthy, has renewed his governments' continuous support to the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) in making the force more relevant to the people of Liberia.

Ambassador McCarthy said his government will continue to partner with Ministry of National Defense and the AFL, stressing that, "It is a pleasure to work along with a partner like you because it makes the work easier."

"It is an inspiration that Liberia has come so far in the understanding of peacekeeping that Liberia is today a contributing nation to United Nations Peacekeeping Operations around Africa," he further indicated.

The Ambassador made the statement on Monday, February 1, 2021, when he paid a courtesy call on Liberia's Defense Boss, Major General Daniel D. Ziankahn, Jr., (Rtd.), at the Barclay Training Center.

For his part, Minister Ziankahn assured the U S Government of enhanced partnership in sustaining Liberia's Defense sector.

The Defense Boss appreciated the United States Government for her increased support to the Armed Forces of Liberia peacekeeping operations. He particularly praised the leadership role being demonstrated by the U.S. leadership, emphasizing that, "We will do everything possible to get to where we are to get as partners."

The Defense Minister indicated that the US Government continues to play a vital role in training, equipping and mentoring personnel of the Armed Forces of Liberia and staffers of the Ministry of National Defense.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Arms and Armies U.S., Canada and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

He said, "We are committed partners based on a deeper root with the United States of America. The U S Government has been working on lots of projects that have rejuvenated the Armed Forces of Liberia to a 'force for good'."

At the same time the Government of the United States of America has stepped up its budget support by 25% to the AFL, which will now enable the AFL to send 40-45 soldiers to the United States for military studies under the International Military Training Program.

Several personnel of the Armed Forces of Liberia and Defense staff have benefited from U S training programs at various U S Military institutions in the United States of America and other training programs around the world.

The United States Government has been very supportive in the growth and development of the new Liberian army by the provision of specialized training opportunities for the new military.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of Liberia has been admitted into the ElsieFund. The ElsieFund is geared towards supporting more women's participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and is in support.
CAIRO - In a single day this week, the United States' involvement in Yemen's catastrophic six-year-long war was transformed. On Thursday, President Joe Biden ended support for a Saudi-led coalition's offensive operations in the conflict, pledged to use diplomacy to halt the fighting and named a highly regarded new special envoy to the country.

Now comes the really hard part.

Since 2015, when the U.S.-backed regional coalition headed by Saudi Arabia entered the war and propelled it into overdrive, Yemen has become the scene of a complex and intractable conflict that has killed tens of thousands and brought millions to the brink of starvation.

Today, it is an arena for multiple, overlapping tussles over power, influence and ideology, fueled by regional players seeking to enhance their own strategic and security interests.

Even as it grapples with a severe humanitarian crisis, the Middle East's poorest country is more fractured than ever along political, tribal, regional and religious lines. It also remains a haven for an al-Qaida affiliate that has targeted the United States and Europe several times and capitalized on the instability generated by the conflict.

"Ending U.S. support won't automatically mean an end to the war, at all," tweeted Peter Salisbury, senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group. "There is a really fine balance to be struck here, in finding a way to end the war that armed, political factions, local groups and civil society can buy into. Not easy at all."

Yemen's primary war pits northern Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, against Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other regional Sunni powers that are ostensibly seeking to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government. The conflict is also a regional one, in which the Saudis and Emirates are seeking to prevent Iran, which is aligned with the Houthis, from expanding its influence.

Then there is the U.S.-led counterterrorism war against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, as the affiliate is known, and a smaller Islamic State presence. Here, the UAE and local proxies are helping the Pentagon but are also embroiled in other localized conflicts. To make it more confusing, the Houthis are also battling al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

There are also deep divisions within the coalition. Rifts between southern separatists, backed by the UAE, and forces aligned with Yemen's government, backed by Saudi Arabia, have led to fierce clashes over the past few years.

The separatists, who seek to split Yemen's south from its north, have long been suspicious of the Yemeni government, ruled for decades by northerners, although recently they have appeared to be cooperating again. The separatists, and the UAE, disapprove of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's alliance with Islah, an influential Islamist party with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Emirati leadership views as a domestic threat and a radical force in the Arab world.

Numerous diplomatic efforts by the United Nations and regional powers have failed, including U.N.-sponsored peace talks held in Kuwait in 2016. Since then, more armed groups have emerged and the Houthis have consolidated their power in the north, where most of Yemen's roughly 30 million people live.

"Yemen no longer functions as single country," said Gregory Johnsen, a former U.N. investigator, in a tweet Thursday. "Yemen is Humpty Dumpty and it is not at all clear that it can be put back together again."

Johnsen, who is also the author of "The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda and America's War in Arabia," added, "No armed group in Yemen has enough guys or guns to impose its will on the rest of the country, but nearly every armed group has enough of both to act as a spoiler if they believe their desires aren't being met."

The Biden administration has appointed Tim Lenderking, a career diplomat well regarded by the United Nations, analysts and aid groups, as its new special envoy to Yemen.

"Our primary objective is to bring the parties together for a negotiated settlement that will end the war and the suffering of the Yemeni people," a White House spokesman said in a statement. "This will be challenging, but we have to make it our priority."

Thursday's announcement appeared to be largely political and symbolic, elevating the importance of ending Yemen's war as a U.S. foreign policy priority and, in another departure from the Trump administration, potentially signaling the intent to invest major diplomatic weight in the effort to clinch a peace deal.

It also indicates a different approach to future arms sales to the Gulf kingdom, in which officials will evaluate proposed deals using the war in Yemen as a primary lens. Immediately, that means that two arms sales that the Trump administration notified Congress about in December, which included up to 3,000 GBU-39 bombs and more than 7,000 Paveway munitions from the U.S. arms firm Raytheon, are no longer expected to proceed.

U.S. and Western aid groups working in Yemen are urging the administration to swiftly overturn two Trump presidency decisions: the partial suspension of aid last year in Houthi-controlled areas and the designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, which could improve delivery of assistance to millions.

"The Biden Administration can make a dramatic impact on the humanitarian nightmare in Yemen by reversing this aid suspension immediately," David Miliband, the head of the International Rescue Committee, said in a statement.

"The shift from a failed war strategy toward a comprehensive diplomatic approach cannot come a moment too soon," he added.

Aid groups say recently issued licenses have allowed aid activity to continue for now but point to more worrying signs in Yemen's finance sector and vital imports including fuel and medicine. "President Biden's moves so far are welcomed and encouraging, but every day the designations remain in place is another day of uncertainty and adds to the risk that an already devastating crisis will dramatically worsen," said Scott Paul, humanitarian policy lead for Oxfam America.

A key question is whether Yemen's warring parties will accept the sharp turn in U.S. policy and view Washington as a neutral and trustworthy diplomatic broker.

U.S. bombs sold to Saudi Arabia and its allies have killed or injured thousands of Yemenis, according to human rights groups and eyewitnesses. In Houthi-controlled areas, the United States is viewed as a main instigator of the war. In Sanaa, Hodeidah and other cities, walls are covered in graffiti depicting U.S. bombs and fighter jets killing Yemenis, among other unflattering images.

The United States will remain involved in counterterrorism operations against AQAP, which is likely to deepen anti-American sentiment among many Yemenis.

A big issue, analysts say, is the extent of the U.S. cutoff of support to Saudi Arabia.

The announcement is expected to have little practical effect on U.S. military operations related to the coalition's war in Yemen, the bulk of which have already been scrapped. In 2018, amid a bipartisan congressional outcry over civilian casualties and Saudi operatives' killing of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, the Trump administration halted aerial refueling of Saudi and Emirati jets.

While the White House spokeswoman said the shift would include "restricting our intelligence sharing arrangements with Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led Coalition," that sharing was already limited to providing Saudi officials information about direct threats against them, according to military officials.

It was not immediately clear what would happen with U.S. contracts to maintain American-made military equipment in Yemen, which includes F-15 and F-16 jets.

The Biden administration will presumably continue to assist the Saudis with their border defense systems along the Yemeni border and air defenses against Houthi missile and drone assaults, said Gerald Feierstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen.

"The impact of the decision is really more in terms of U.S. posture and signaling than it is in terms of actually impeding Saudi capabilities in Yemen," Feierstein said in an email. "The President will make clear that the U.S. will emphasize a political strategy to end the conflict and wants Saudi support for achieving that."

"In my view, the Saudis support an end to the conflict as well, as long as the resolution reflects their core security requirements," he added.

But other analysts warned against replicating previous attempts at peace that were widely criticized for leaving out the southerners and other Yemeni populations with grievances.

"The Biden Administration needs to understand that #Yemen was is much more complex & won't be resolved through a political settlement between Houthis & Hadi govt," tweeted Nadwa Dawsari, a nonresident scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

"A political settlement under current conditions will be a quick win for western diplomacy," she said in another tweet. "But it will reinforce the power dynamics that gave rise to the conflict, empower war criminals at the expense of Yemenis, & undermine opportunities to build genuine & sustainable peace."

- - -

Ryan reported from Washington, D.C.



SALEM, Ore.  Despite ongoing struggles with the relative scarcity of coronavirus vaccine doses, Governor Kate Brown and Oregon health officials expressed optimism on Friday that three-quarters of all eligible groups  including the large population of seniors  would be able to get their first doses by early April.

Friday's estimate marked a leap from the previous approximation of early May, in the face of accusations that Oregon has been "overpromising" its vaccine supply line. State officials cautioned that any projection hinges on the federal government's ability to deliver the promised shipments.

"By early April, everyone [eligible] who wants a vaccine should be able to get one . . . it's just going to take some time," said Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen in a Friday press conference.

The first group of independent seniors, those 80 and older, ostensibly become eligible for vaccination under Oregon's plan on Monday, just two weeks after educators and childcare workers. At the same time, a federal court ruling earlier this week mandated that inmates of Oregon's prison system become eligible as part of the early Phase 1a group, requiring that prisoners begin receiving the vaccine as well.

Allen admitted that there will be "some degree of chaos" beginning next week due to the rapid increase in eligible people. There are more than 150,000 Oregonians in the 80 and older group, and more than 750,000 seniors in total who will become eligible over the course of February.

"I want to thank our seniors for their patience thus far, and for their continued patience in the coming days and weeks," said Governor Brown. "We are still managing a scarce resource. There will be hiccups in this process, but we are going to get through them. Signing up for an appointment will look different based on your community and your health care provider."

By late February, an estimated 1.3 million Oregonians will have become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine under Oregon's current plan, up from 550,000 at present.

RELATED: Providence promises changes after Medford board members vaccinated ahead of other groups

Allen said that state officials are asking older Oregonians for patience, promising that every senior who wants the vaccine will eventually receive it.

"Many seniors and their family members will be frustrated in trying to secure a vaccination appointment next week," Allen said.

Adults in custody represent another 12,000 people, not including inmates currently incarcerated in county jails or young people in youth correctional facilities. Inmates will begin receiving their first doses this week, starting with a batch of 5,000 doses. Governor Brown indicated that correctional facilities across the state would receive 5,000 doses each week until all inmates are vaccinated.

Both Brown and Allen said that the Biden administration has promised a surge in vaccine shipments over the next few weeks, including a more than 20 percent increase in the number of vaccine doses distributed to the state, plus those that are heading to retail pharmacies participating in the federal program.

The federal surge gives officials confidence in the projection that 75 percent of current eligible groups, in addition to the full population of seniors, will be able to receive at least their first dose of the vaccine by early April. Allen said that he anticipated those same groups would receive their second doses by late May.

Governor Brown on Friday marked the "grim milestone" of Oregon surpassing 2,000 deaths attributed to coronavirus since the pandemic began. But both Brown and Allen underlined Oregon's relatively strong position in the U.S. in regards to COVID-19, with some of the lowest infection and mortality rates in the nation.

Oregon has also shot up from near the bottom of states in percentage of population vaccinated as of early January, up to 12th in the country as of early February.

Allen directed people with questions about getting vaccinated to OHA's COVID-19 vaccine page, and encouraged seniors to call 211 or text ORCOVID to 898211 for questions. However, Allen said, there is still not statewide hotline for people with questions about making vaccine appointments due to the variety of different circumstances in each individual county.

Beginning on Monday, Brown said that the OHA vaccine page will include a new tool called "Get Vaccinated Oregon"  developed with Google's help  that can help people figure out their eligibility and sign up for email or text alerts when they become eligible.

The difference in vaccine availability county-by-county will likely be stark in the week's ahead. While Klamath County has already begun setting up clinics for seniors 80 and older beginning this weekend  before official eligibility begins on February 8  there is no indication yet that providers in counties like Jackson or Josephine will be able to begin vaccinating seniors early next week.
A 14-year-old boy was stripped naked and tortured with a stun gun in an hour-long ordeal after being kidnapped by a drugs gang because he refused to sell cannabis, a court has heard.

Cameron Wynne, 18, Clinton Prowell, 21, and Hamzah Ahmed, 26, appeared at Hull Crown Court after admitting kidnap and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against their young, defenceless victim.

The boy had been roped into selling cannabis for a gang for a few days before deciding he no longer wanted to be involved.

Before 7pm on October 5, 2019, the victim was walking alone near some shops when a small black car with tinted windows screeched to a halt next to him.

Wynne was driving the vehicle and told the victim to get in and 'feeling compelled through fear' he jumped into the backseat.

'The vehicle was driven around Hull at speed and after five minutes both Wynne and Prowell turned to the backseat and punched the victim several times,' said prosecuting barrister Ian Cook.

Hamzah Ahmed, pictured right, is one of three gang members to admit kidnap and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against their young, defenceless victim

'They continued until they came to a stop in Holland Street when both got out of the car and started kicking the victim through the open back door.'

Wynne and Prowell got back into the vehicle and took a short drive before stopping to pick up Ahmed and an unknown male.

Both got in the back of the car and sat either side of the victim before Ahmed started kicking and punching him.

'While in the back of the car the unknown male pulled out a stun gun and used it upon the victim several times.

'The victim was told he would be taken to a forest and be thrown into a river.

Prowell told him he was going to 'poke him up' to which the victim thought that he was going to be stabbed.'

The four men took the 14-year-old boy to a park in Burnham Road where they dragged him out of the car and assaulted him further and continued to use the stun gun.

The victim was told his clothes would be set on fire and that if he screamed he would strangled.

They also threatened to go to his house and stab his mother and newborn baby sister if he 'snitched' on them.

'He was then told to strip naked,' said Mr Cook, 'to which he did.

'The defendants then saw that he was bleeding and let him run away. The total length of duration was in the region of one hour.'

The naked victim ran to nearby houses and tried to flag down cars for help but no-one came to his aid.

He then stopped and cowered down by a road sign and started crying when a woman found him huddled up in some distress.

She took him into her own home and gave him some clothes before calling the police and an ambulance which took him to Hull Royal Infirmary.

He told the police what had happened in his first interview but didn't name those responsible due to 'fear for his safety'.

In a second interview, the victim bravely gave police the names of those who kidnapped and assaulted him, leading to the arrest of Wynne, Prowell and Ahmed.

The men took the 14-year-old boy to a park in Burnham Road, pictured, where they dragged him out of the car and assaulted him further and continued to use the stun gun

Police are said to know the identity of the fourth male involved but it is believed that he has fled the area.

'The victim told police that he knew the three men well and was asked to supply drugs for them,' said Mr Cook.

'He had been dealing drugs for three or four days with a gang that included these defendants.'

Police found that the vehicle used to kidnap the victim belonged to Ahmed's brother which led them to a Sicilian takeaway in Hull, a business run by Ahmed's family.

The victim's phone was recovered from the takeaway and his blue Adidas bag was found in a bin at the rear of the premises.

Officers also managed to recover the stun gun from a drawer of a cabinet which was in full working order and fully charged for use.

The victim says he is now 'constantly looking over his shoulder' and has attempted to take his own life due to the impact of the incident.

Mr Cook said: 'He described feeling constantly paranoid that somebody is going to come and get him.

He is constantly looking over his shoulder. He now suffers from depression.

He has attempted to take his own life on three occasions because he couldn't cope with the worry and stress he was feeling.

'He did on one occasion run away and said he wanted to disappear and never go back home.

'He thought the defendants were going to kill him and he cannot get the fear out of his head.'

All three defendants gave no comment when they were interviewed by police but appeared at Hull Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to kidnapping and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The court heard that Prowell was also to be sentenced for an offence of threats with a bladed article committed in Leeds on June 26, 2019.

It was heard that Prowell pulled out a machete from the waistband of his trousers and threatened his victim shouting 'I'm going to f****** kill you, you p********'.

The 21-year-old, of no fixed abode, has five convictions for eleven offences on his record including assaulting a police constable and a robbery where he threatened his victim with a brick.

Mitigating barrister Daniel Walker told the court that Ahmed, pictured, 'has foundations when his sentence is completed to begin to live a lawful life'

During the sentencing hearing at Hull Crown Court, Prowell had written a letter which he read out to the court expressing his sincere remorse for his involvement in the kidnap of the 14-year-old boy.

'I would like to say how truly sorry I am,' he said.

'Nobody on this earth should have to go through what this young boy went through.

'It makes me feel so little and so bad about what happened. I want to make it right.

I want to apologise to his family and his mum. I cannot imagine what he and his mum went through.'

Prowell revealed to the court that his own mother had passed away in December last year and that he would be missing her funeral, which takes place today, due to him being locked up in Doncaster Prison.

'I feel like I have let everybody down,' he added. 'I should have been there with my family when she took her last breath.

'I'm sorry for what I have done. I am sorry for not being there for my mum. I just want to make everything right.

'I wish none of this ever happened. There is not a day that goes by where I do not beat myself up about what has gone on.'

Cameron Wynne, of Stonebridge Avenue, east Hull, has one conviction to his name after he was caught in possession of knuckleduster, receiving a nine month referral order for that offence.

His barrister, Nigel Clive, told the court that Wynne 'would have made different choices than when he was 16' and is now focusing more on his education and trying to obtain a trade.

Hamzah Ahmed, 26, of no fixed abode, has four convictions on his record, most notably receiving a two-year sentence suspended for two years for dealing Class A drugs.

Mitigating barrister Daniel Walker told the court that Ahmed 'has foundations when his sentence is completed to begin to live a lawful life'.

The three defendants will return to Hull Crown Court on Wednesday to be sentenced.
The presidents of Holyoke Community College, Greenfield Community College and Elms College of Chicopee have been recognized for leadership in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion by the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the education technology company Cengage.

Thirteen college presidents nationwide received the AAC&U-Centage Inclusion Scholarship. Three were within 40 miles of each other in Western Massachusetts.

HCC President Christina Royal, GCC President Yves Salomon-Fernandez and Elms President Harry E. Dumay were recognized for leadership to reduce equity gaps, improve inclusion and belonging for minority students, and reform hiring practices to promote diversity.

The criteria for consideration included improving degree completion or transfer for students from underrepresented groups; closing equity gaps in student success; improving diversity in hiring practices and creating more equitable hiring policies; and increasing the sense of belonging, well-being, and inclusion among students from historically underserved populations. Those include racial and ethnic minorities, religious minorities and LGBT students.

The AAC&U-Cengage Inclusion Scholarship recipients will each receive a one-year membership in the AAC&U Presidents Trust. The trust is a diverse network of CEOs committed to advancing the vision, values and practices that connect liberal education with the needs of an increasingly diverse student body, a global workforce and thriving communities.

Growing up as a first-generation, low-income, multi-racial college student, I understand some of the challenges todays students face and the importance of having an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, said Royal.

These are very important issues to me personally and professionally, as well as to our college community, Royal said.
A woman, 29, has drowned and a British man is feared dead after the pair went missing in rough seas after a late night swim at a popular beach on the Gold Coast.

The man, understood to have gone skinny dipping, was seen entering the surf with the woman at Kurrawa Beach in Broadbeach around 9.20pm on Thursday night.

But just an hour later, locals spotted the body of the woman, believed to be a Victorian on holiday, near Kurrawa Surf Club and called an ambulance.

Horrified walkers spotted her body, which was in a swimsuit in the water and dragged her to shore.

Witnesses and paramedics desperately tried to revive the woman but she died at the scene.

The British man, who lives locally and whose car was found at the scene with a 'Get Naked Australia' sticker on it, is yet to be found.

His clothes were also found on the beach.

A sign warning beachgoers not to swim was seen at Kurrawa Beach on the Gold Coast on Friday (pictured) with a woman, 29, dead and a British man also feared to have drowned

Rescuers are seen searching the area on Friday morning (pictured) after the two swimmers went missing in 'horrendous' conditions. The woman's body later washed up on the sand

CCTV cameras at the surf club showed the woman and a man earlier entering the water together for a late-night swim.

'We dont expect to find anyone alive,' Acting Inspector John Diggle told the Courier Mail.

'Because weve got Rescue 500 and water police in the area, they do a great job.

'Theyll find it (the body).'

He said the conditions were 'appalling' with huge swells of up to 1.8 metres.

The search for the missing man resumed on Friday morning with aerial assistance and personnel scouring the beach.

The woman's unresponsive body was found near Kurrawa surf club (pictured)

A report will be prepared for the coroner in relation to the woman's death.

A hazardous surf warning remains in place for much of Queensland's south-east, including the Gold Coast.

'Surf and swell conditions expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, boating, swimming & surfing for Fraser Island Coast, Sunshine Coast Waters & Gold Coast Waters,' the Bureau of Meteorology tweeted.

The search (pictured) continued on Friday morning for a man - now presumed dead - who went missing in the surf on the Gold Coast

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As the federal government prepares shipments of COVID vaccines for pharmacies, these businesses are prepared for an expanded role administering the doses as states attempt to reach vulnerable communities.

Following an announcement from the federal government that 1 million doses of the Moderna vaccine will ship directly to pharmacies next week, leaders with the National Chain Drug Store Association said its members, operating 40,000 stores, are ready to use their trusted role in communities to quickly get people immunized.

All of the entities are ready to go and have really been investing in their infrastructure and their systems the last six months or so, Kathleen Jaeger, a drugstore association senior vice president, said during a Friday conference call with media, referencing those pharmacy chains selected for initial distributions.

Amid increased vaccination efforts, hospitalizations for COVID-19 continued their downward trend on Friday, with a net drop of 10 patients bringing the total hospitalized around the state to 827.

The daily positivity rate hovered just above 3 percent, with 1,431 new cases reported out of 47,026 tests for a positivity rate of 3.04 percent.

Another 29 deaths attributed to the virus were reported, bringing the states death toll to 7,214, according to statistics from the state.

State officials said Connecticuts vaccine hotline will expand hours starting Monday. More than 125 trained specialists will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through the week to help people book appointments.

Starting Feb. 11, CVS will start administering 6,800 vaccine through 11 stores, including in Avon, Bristol, Coventry, Glastonbury, Guilford, Hamden, Middletown, North Haven and Uncasville.

Walgreen will administer 4,400 doses through 50 stores, but has not released the locations of the pharmacies. CVS and Walgreens will require online appointments. The stores are among 6,500 nationwide involved in the early round of direct-to-pharmacy vaccination distribution.

Officials with the drug store association said they could ramp up vaccination even more, but supply from Moderna and Pfizer that is regulated by the federal government, remains the bottleneck.

Steven C. Anderson, the drugstore association president, said its members could meet President Joe Bidens 100 million vaccine goal within a month.

It is important to understand that the supply of vaccines remains the rate-limiting factor in the vaccination effort, Anderson said.

Anderson and others stressed the reach of pharmacies as a key factor in speeding up the vaccination process with stores operating within 5 miles of 90 percent of the countrys population.

Whether pharmacies will play a key role in Connecticuts vaccine distribution efforts remains unclear, but state officials this week acknowledged disparities in the vaccination rate of people age 75 and older in some urban communities.

The drugstore association said its membership, which includes CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Stop & Shop pharmacies, has previously played a critical role in providing vaccinations to undeserved communities.

As COVID vaccine supply increases, it is important to ensure efficient and effective distribution in those communities that are most widely effected. The Biden Administration has expressed this is a priority and pharmacies are part of the solution, said Christie Boutte, a senior vice president at the National Chain Drug Store Association.

Staff writer Emilie Munson contributed to this story.
Jubilee nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura is today (Thursday) appearing before the party's disciplinary committee this morning following a summons issued against him over alleged "disloyalty."

The senator told the Nation that he will honour the invitation, but went ahead to accuse two party officials of predetermining his fate.

Mr Mwaura confirmed that he will appear before the committee at 9am on Thursday, but accused the party's vice chairman, Mr David Murathe, and Chairman Nelson Dzuya, of "declaring his expulsion even before trial".

The disciplinary committee had summoned the senator to appear before it for violating the party's constitution by "pledging allegiance to another party, acting in a manner that is disloyal to Jubilee party and contravening the Jubilee party code of conduct."

"I will honour the Jubilee Party summons tomorrow (Thursday) at 9am despite non-provision of particulars and evidence of six charges. Murathe and Chairman Dzuya have already declared my expulsion even before the trial is done. I will demonstrate to the whole world how this party is run undemocratically," Mr Mwaura said on Wednesday.

ODM complaint

The ODM party has also written a formal complaint to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) over Mr Mwaura's utterances, which it says border on incitement to violence.

"Just a week ago, nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura was captured on video inciting violence ahead of a visit by the Rt Hon Raila Odinga to Githurai.

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"He had both a tribal and class message; that people of Hon Odinga's tribe were not welcome to Githurai and that the so-called hustlers should rise up and defeat the dynasties," states the letter authored by the ODM Disability League chairperson, Mr Nickson Kakiri, and dated February 1.

Githurai violence

But Mr Mwaura insisted that the Githurai violence was a choreographed scheme by ODM to portray "those supporting the Deputy President (William Ruto) as violent in order to twist the 'Hustler Nation' narrative and ideology."

"Githurai people are very peaceful and closed their businesses because they knew of the party's consistent behaviour of violence. Every Kenyan knows that. You cannot fool all people all the time," Mr Mwaura said.

But ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna told off Mr Mwaura, accusing him of attempting to apply "reverse psychology".

Cars stoned

"What evidence does he have yet he was caught on video inciting people to violence? My own photographer was injured and taken to hospital and our vehicles stoned. How could we attack ourselves?" asked Mr Sifuna.

Mr Murathe also rubbished Mr Mwaura's claims that he is planning to ensure the nominated senator is expelled from the party.

"We are following due process. Who told him what the outcome of the disciplinary committee will be before the fact?" asked Mr Murathe.
The Syrian Negotiation Commission has praised its efforts to make breakthroughs in the fifth round of Constitutional Committee meetings, writes Baladi News.

Representatives of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) in the expanded Constitutional Committee held their periodic meeting on Wednesday to evaluate the work of the fifth round of Constitutional Committee meetings and to discuss the work plan for the coming period.

Co-chair of the Constitutional Committee, Hadi al-Bahra, and members of the small body (or a mini-committee) gave a comprehensive briefing on the fifth round of the drafting committee meetings, which were held from January 25 through January 29, to discuss constitutional principles.

Bahra praised the commitment of the negotiating bodys representatives in the Constitutional Committee and their hard work to discuss the items on the agenda and present proposals for formulations on the basic constitutional principles. Meanwhile the regime representatives kept on implementing the same policies of obstruction and procrastination and evading serious and constructive involvement in the constitutional process.

Bahra underlined the necessity of an effective international commitment and international consensus to ensure the full and strict implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 of 2015 in order to reach a comprehensive, sustainable political solution.

The representatives of the negotiating body had the following demands for United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen: firstly, to keep the Security Council in the loop with regards to the facts pertaining to the proceedings of the meetings of the Constitutional Committee especially with regard to the details of the last fifth round. Pederson is expected to be present during the briefing on February 9, as he explained in his closing speech to the committee and his press statements.

Secondly, the need to agree on a timetable for the work of the Constitutional Committee and a methodology to manage the debate and make sure it is fruitful. This is in addition to reemphasizing the request of the SNC to find binding mechanisms to implement what was mentioned in Resolution 2254 regarding confidence-building steps, starting with the release of the detainees and revealing the fate of the forcibly disappeared, as well as the completion of the implementation of Resolution 2254s pledge to establishment a credible, comprehensive resolution for all, such as a transitional governing body.

The representatives of the negotiating committee in the expanded Constitutional Committee agreed to wait for the outcome of the international efforts this month. This will bring greater clarity as to the decision of the Syrian negotiating committee on the next steps. The representatives stressed their readiness to assume their national responsibilities in reaching a new draft constitution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people, and the revolutions goals to achieve freedom, dignity, justice, democracy, and a state of equal citizenship for all.

They stressed that the only way to stop the suffering of Syria and reunify the Syrian territories is the full and strict implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2264. They also reaffirmed that the drafting of the new constitution is part of the integrated political process, which provides for the formation of a transitional governing body and the achievement of a safe and neutral environment to ensure the voluntary, dignified, and safe return of the displaced and refugees to their homes, and to conduct free and fair elections in accordance with the highest standards of international transparency, based on the new constitution.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The triggering of Article 16 by the European Commission last weekend, if only for a short period, is now being capitalised upon by the extremes in unionism/loyalism, not helped by Jim Allister of the TUV and others.

This was their excuse to portray the EU as the big bad wolf in sheeps clothing who crudely attempted to cut off Northern Ireland from Great Britain in relation to life-saving vaccines, and further the cause for Irish unity for republicans. The threats against staff at Northern ports by loyalists highlights the very delicate and fraught position that is Northern Ireland.

That graffiti and possible intelligence gathering by loyalist supporters against port workers is now seen as another threat, in an often delicate peace process, is truly worrying.

All moderate politicians in Ireland, London and Brussels must assuage those fears before a return to possible violence and the collapse of the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Assembly.

Sinn Fein too must realise that while they continuously push the all-Ireland agenda and a Border poll for Irish unity, they will be seen as the instigators of further division and the possible return to further conflict  something unacceptable to all but a few.

Cool heads must prevail and the commission must consult with Ireland and the UK before any further decisions are made in order to negate the threats of extremism.

Christy Galligan

Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Lets all step out and join the Jerusalema dance challenge

Austriann Airlines have done it. Tambo International Airport Airlink has done it. As have Lizt Alfonso Dance Club Cuba and many others in the last four months.

More groups will do it as each inspires the other to bring some cheer to people who are feeling the blues in these Covid-19 times.

An Garda Siochana earlier this week stepped up to the challenge from the Swiss Police who did their synchronised dance video of a popular, rhythmic song which is one of those surprise worldwide hits. The Garda version has since been unofficially called, Irish style, the Siochana Shuffle.

I thought their video was very good. It showed great camaraderie, including the two police horses.

It shows how doing the unexpected gives an emotional lift and spreads some cheer as we wait around the world to be vaccinated to protect us from Covid-19.

Jerusalema is by South African DJ and record producer Master KG. It was first released in South Africa in November 2019 and as a music video that December  its described as an upbeat, gospel, house song. It topped the South African charts in December 2019.

Maybe the Irish Independent and the Sunday Independent might do theirs... They could do a joint video... and join the #jerusalemachallenge.

Mary Sullivan

College Road, Cork

Fatal attack raises serious questions about Dublin city

The death of Mongolian native Urantsetseg Tserendorj fills me with both sadness and anger (Mother of two (48) stabbed on way home after work dies from injuries, Irish Independent, February 4).

In my previous job in Dublin, two of the cleaners were young women from Mongolia. I have never come across more hard-working and decent people.

This lady was allegedly fatally attacked as she left her cleaning job in Dublins prestigious IFSC.

Why is it that people dont feel safe walking in Dublin city centre? Yet I can, for instance, walk around Tel Aviv in Israel in perfect safety at any hour of the day or night?

Karl Martin

Dublin 13

Climbing to 5,000m carries greater risk than hurling

I think K McEvoy is missing the point in his criticism of Davy Fitzgeralds mantra in the new RTE series Davys Toughest Team (Failure not an option? Only if you never want to learn, Letters, February 2).

Fitzgerald and the young men he is working with have taken on a big challenge. Will he succeed in moulding the youngsters into a team that can work together so they can climb to base camp of Mount Everest at more than 5,000m? These lads will not be picking a sliotar round a hurling pitch, where failure means losing a game. Fitzgerald is responsible for their lives, they need strict discipline and to adhere to rules.

Tommy Roddy

Ballybane, Galway

Location of Covid tragedies would help us to understand

Would there be any chance that when delivering the daily numbers, the HSE gives us some real data as to where the deaths are occurring? We seem to be yo-yoing between relatively low and shockingly high numbers. Every number is a tragedy but trying to make sense of it is very difficult.

Eamon Kearney

Dublin 13
A former Massachusetts special education teacher fired last summer for allegedly posting political and racist comments on social media is suing the city and her teachers union in federal court.

Former Kuss Middle School teacher Taryn Camara filed the lawsuit on Jan. 22 amid accusations that Fall River Superintendent Matthew Malone harassed and abused subordinate school staff, the Herald News reported.

Camara alleges the union breached its duty of fair representation and Fall River violated a collective bargaining agreement.

Camaras attorney, Mark Gagliardi, argues that his client had a 22-year unblemished career and that the union gave no reason why it refused to represent Camara after she was fired.

Gagliardi said that Camara would like to reinstated.

Corporation Counsel Alan Rumsey, whose office will represent the school and city, declined to comment.

There is one supreme race and gender and that is the white man  I also cant help but notice that race and gender were the ones leading most of the riots! Lastly if you look at the stats more black men have died from other black men than white men  so there lies two problems! But there are far more inequalities that will never change! Camaras post read.

Camara made the post last year during protests and unrest following the police killing of George Floyd.

The lawsuit argues that Camara attempted to clarify her posts when she was questioned on Facebook.

According to the complaint, she was not expressing the opinion that the white man is the supreme race and gender, but rather, that the white man merely believes he is the supreme race and gender. Camaras explanation is supported by her statement: I also cant help but notice that race and gender were the ones leading most of the riots!, (emphasis added) meaning if white men are so superior, why are they the ones behind all the rioting?

Malone was never placed on administrative leave for claims that he verbally demeaned a disabled staff member and harassed female employees.

Following a $25,000 investigation, Malones pay was docked $16,000 and terms were added to his contract including that he can be terminated without cause if accused of bullying.
WASHINGTON - A fiery Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., declared Friday that the House's decision to remove her from her committee assignments has liberated her to build a political network aimed at supporting former president Donald Trump and pushing the GOP further to the right.

Greene's comments during a 20-minute news conference outside the Capitol demonstrated that - far from being cowed by the uproar over the various extremist remarks she made in the years leading up to her election in November - she has only been emboldened in her social-media-fueled campaign against Democrats, cultural elites and the media.

"Going forward, I've been freed," she said. "I have a lot of free time on my hands, which means I can talk to a whole lot more people all over this country and . . . make connections and build a huge amount of support that I've already got started with."

Asked about how she saw her role, Greene said she planned to "vote very conservative" and use her influence to cement Trump's imprint on the GOP: "I'm going to be holding the Republican Party accountable and pushing them to the right."

The House voted 230 to 199 Thursday to remove Greene from the Budget Committee and the Education and Labor Committee. Eleven of 211 Republicans voted with every Democrat to sideline Greene in a rebuke of her embrace of extremist ideology.

As recently as late last year, Greene had been an open adherent of the QAnon ideology - a sprawling web of false claims that have incited violence and that played a role in inspiring the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. In addition, she made comments on social media suggesting that some mass shootings were staged by supporters of gun control, that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were orchestrated by government forces and that a Jewish cabal had sparked a deadly wildfire with a laser beam from space.

Ahead of the vote Thursday, Greene renounced some of her most outrageous claims in a House floor speech. But she also lashed out at Democrats and the media - equating their reporting with QAnon's falsehoods - while sidestepping many of her most troubling actions, including social media postings endorsing the assassinations of prominent Democrats and her harassment of a well-known gun-control advocate.

Many Democrats, and some Republicans, said they did not believe Greene was sufficiently contrite and had avoided a straightforward apology for her actions - including her promulgation of QAnon falsehoods, which she explained Thursday as, "I was allowed to believe things that weren't true."

At the news conference Thursday, a reporter asked her if she was truly sorry.

"I'm sorry for saying all those things that are wrong and offensive, and I sincerely mean that," she said, before declining to tender an apology to the young gun-control activist, David Hogg, who had survived the 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school. Greene in 2019 shot a cellphone video of her peppering Hogg with questions as he walked around the Capitol grounds amid a lobbying push for new gun laws,

"I'm very opposed to those policies," Greene said Friday. "My voice matters, too. And so, no, I'm not sorry for telling him he shouldn't push for gun control."

Stripped of her committees, Greene's most important role inside Congress may be to serve as an avatar for a purely pro-Trump strain of conservatism that shows no sign of retreating after Trump's November loss.

Greene is part of a growing strain of Republican lawmakers who view legislating as a less important task than communications, focused their messages on right-wing media while largely ignoring the more traditional local media outlets most new members of Congress have tended to in the past.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., also first elected in November, recently told lawmakers that he "built my staff around comms rather than legislation," according to a Time magazine report last month. Just one month into office, Cawthorn's communications focus has made him a regular on Fox News.

They are following a path blazed by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., first elected in 2016, who has focused his energy on political theatrics that command attention on cable news and social media. Last week, as conservatives erupted following Rep. Liz Cheney's vote to impeach Trump, Gaetz flew to her state of Wyoming to attend a rally of her opponents.

This focus has left centrist lawmakers bewildered.

"We live in a political environment in which theatrics and division and hate are what elevates stars," said Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., a second-term member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group focused on legislating.

"I don't want to give oxygen to someone who is not worthy of it," Phillips said, frustrated by the attention Greene continues to consume. "And it saddens that any member that would want to come here and say that committee work doesn't matter - then what are you doing here?"

These GOP theatrical stars are in part mimicking their political idol, Trump.

The former president has publicly praised Greene in the past, and Greene has suggested she intends to meet with Trump in the near future. On Friday, Greene offered Trump extensive praise and noted that "a record number of Republicans" voted for him.

"It's because they loved his policies. They loved his fight. They love the fact that, for once, we had a president that stood up for America, stood up for American businesses and remembered the forgotten man," she said, adding, "Republican voters support him still. The party is his, it doesn't belong to anybody else."

That proposition is debatable. While only 11 Republicans broke with party leaders and voted to marginalize Greene, Cheney survived another proxy battle to hold onto her position as the GOP conference chairwoman, No. 3 in leadership.

A push from Trump loyalists to remove Cheney from her leadership position failed in a secret-ballot vote where more than two-thirds of Republicans voted to keep her in place - heeding a call by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for unity ahead of the 2022 midterms.

After Greene posted on Twitter Friday morning that Democrats were a "bunch of morons . . . for giving some one like me free time," one of her sharpest GOP critics, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., responded that the sentiment proved her contrition was a facade: "There is no remorse here for her past comments. Just a huge desire to be famous."

Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., who co-founded Problem Solvers, said Friday that he just met Greene this week for the first time and recently met Cawthorn, encouraging them to delve into more policy-focused practices.

"You need to have that substance upon which the communication is delivered," he said. "I hope maybe we can show that you need to be able to do both and I encourage them to explore those options."

Later on Friday, Greene accused her GOP critics of being the true traitors to the party, citing McCarthy's efforts to retake the majority. "When you have Republicans in the ranks voting against one of their own . . . that really is a big betrayal," she said.

But her sharpest comments were reserved for Democrats and the media, accusing them of operating in tandem to attack conservatives and sideline their views.

At one point she accused journalists of "addicting our nation to hate" and suggested conservatives were equally culpable for attacking figures such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. - just moments after Greene herself accused Ocasio-Cortez of orchestrating a "hoax" in describing her experience during the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.

She concluded her anti-media broadside with a nod to a new political reality, where a politician with fringe views from a politically homogenous part of the country can reach a national audience and quickly build a financial and ideological base of support. Greene claimed she had raised upward of $330,000 from 13,000 small donors over 48 hours this week.

"My district is thrilled with me. People are all over the country are thankful and supporting me," she said. "And, for that, I'm grateful to them."
Danny Zaragoza / Laredo Morning Times

A man said he was tasked with delivering cocaine at a local Walmart in Laredo, according to an arrest affidavit filed on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Ramiro Alvarado Jr. arrived at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge in a 2008 Jeep Cherokee. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers referred Alvarado to secondary inspection.
The coronavirus pandemic will drag on for another seven years at the current rate of vaccinations worldwide, new calculations predict.

It will take that long to reach Dr Anthony Fauci's estimate for the herd immunity threshold of 75 percent of people inoculated globally, according to Bloomberg's vaccination calculator.

More than 4.5 million vaccines are being administered a day, for a total of 119.8 million shots given worldwide.

The US has vaccinated 8.7 percent of its population thus far, at a rate of 1.3 million shot given a day. After a slow start, the rollout is picking up steam and saw a record 1.7 million people vaccinated Thursday.

Despite ranking sixth in the world for the pace of its vaccinations, the US is predicted to reach herd immunity just in time for New Year's 2022.

But all of this depends on whether the vaccines are effective against variants like those that emerged in South Africa and Brazil, which appear to dull the potency of shots.

Countries like the US and UK will reach herd immunity within a year at their current vaccination paces, while countries like China and Canada could take up to six years

Meanwhile, Israel is shaming the world with the speed of its rollout.

It has already vaccinated 58.5 percent of its population and is on track to reach herd immunity within two months at its current pace of 135,778 shots a day, Bloomberg predicts.

The tiny island of Seychelles, off the eastern coast of Africa, currently ranks second in the vaccination race, with 38.6 percent of its population having gotten one or more doses of vaccines.

The United Arab Emirates, the UK, and Bahrain are also beating the US with vaccinations given to 11.8 percent or more of their populations - although the US is closing the gap.

The UK in particular has sped ahead, with an earlier start, a better synchronized program and three vaccines already authorized there.

It has given at least one vaccine dose of vaccine to 15.7 percent of its population.

At its current rate of 438,421 shots given a day, the UK will reach herd immunity well before the end of the year.

Despite ranking sixth in the world for the pace of its vaccinations, the US is predicted to reach herd immunity just in time for New Year's 2022

But the pandemic is a global affair by definition, and if a country doesn't reach herd immunity the virus could take hold there as well as be exported to other nations, risking an international resurgence.

Costa Rica, for example, has given one o more doses to just 0.9 percent of its population, and vaccinated only 1.14 out of every 100 people.

And another threat has emerged: 'super-covid' variants.

Nine vaccines are authorized worldwide, and at least two variants - those that emerged in South Africa and Brazil - might evade them.

While those made by Novavax, AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson are each about 60 percent effective in South Africa and Brazil, where variants have taken hold.

Test tube studies suggest that both Modena's and Pfizer's vaccines are likely 'protective' against variants, but the efficacy of each was diminished.

It likely means that their protection won't last as long. How they really work against variants in the wild remains unknown.

Variants add immense urgency to the global vaccine campaign.

If herd immunity is reached, the variants' spread will be limited and new ones won't have a chance to arise.

But if the vaccine campaign moves to slowly, variants that don't respond as well to vaccines could become dominant, new ones could arise, and the end of the pandemic could stretch even further out of reach.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  A revised proposal that would require New Mexico employers to offer paid sick leave to their workforce is moving forward in the House after clearing its first committee.

The legislation, House Bill 20, was amended Thursday to incorporate some ideas from a competing bill, and it passed 5-3 with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed.

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Employees would accrue at least one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked. They could use up to 64 hours of earned leave in a 12-month period, unless the employer offers a higher limit.

The requirement would apply regardless of the size of the business.

Democratic Reps. Christine Chandler of Los Alamos and Angelica Rubio of Las Cruces  who sponsored and presented the bill Thursday  said the proposal would help protect employers and employees alike, by limiting the chances for illness to spread within a workplace.

This is the one thing that workers need right now, Rubio said, particularly because of what theyre exposed to on the front lines.

The measure drew opposition from a variety of business owners and business groups during a three-hour hearing. They said the amended bill didnt address their concerns about the cost and paperwork burden on small businesses.

We provided the committee with several reasonable ways to limit the financial impact this onerous mandatory leave bill will otherwise have on small businesses and their workers, Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, said after the hearing. While this one committee chose to ignore the input of the business community, we cant imagine the governor, House leaders, and Senate leaders share the belief that small businesses shouldnt be accommodated and included in the conversation.

The proposed legislation passed the House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on Thursday and will head next to the House Judiciary Committee, potentially its last stop before reaching the full chamber for consideration.

Thursdays hearing was held online and included testimony from workers and advocacy groups who said the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need to ensure employees can stay home without fear of losing money. Every worker, even those at small employers, should have the option of taking sick leave, they said.

If this pandemic has taught us anything, its that staying home when youre sick is taking care of everyone, said Eric Shimamoto, a member of the advocacy group OLE New Mexico.

The proposal includes a provision for supplemental leave during a public health emergency, expanding whats otherwise called for in the law.

Sick leave could be used for medical care, caring for a family member or for absences related to domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking.

Employers who violate the act would be liable for three times the wages they should have paid the employee, or $1,000, whichever is greater.

By Maria Paez Victor

February 04, 2021 " Information Clearing House " - Since the riot at the Washington Capitol on 6 January 2021, we hear incessantly from US politicians and media that their state institutions, elections and constitution are considered sacred. There is more than a touch of hypocrisy in this given the dismissive way the USA treats similar institutions in other countries.

The insurrection in Washington was planned, instigated and celebrated by none other than their own ex-president who continues to admit that he lost the election. The unbelievably inadequate security at the Capitol and general lack of preparedness were strong indications that there was inside planning behind this attack. As the world watched, the supreme irony was that the USA was the victim of the same monsters  the lies, the denigration of the political process, the refusal to accept election results  that it visits upon the governments it wishes to replace with politicians of its choosing. As Tom Lehrer sang in the sixties about US diplomacy: Might makes right, until theyve seen the light. Theyve got to be protected, all their rights respected, til somebody we like can be elected. The sequence is: lies are spread about an election to delegitimize the government, leading to violence, leading to overthrow. In this case, the mob was unsuccessful. A coup planned by idiots would best describe it, yet it was still an attempted coup to overturn legitimate elections and perpetuate a Trump presidency.

No person of good will could have been happy to see such mayhem, violence, injuries, deaths, and the parade of terrifying neo-fascist and antisemitic symbols and slogans by rampaging white supremist extremists. The whole riot was deplorable, but as well, comically inept but not comic in its consequences.

The USA applies a policy of regime change against those nations (poorer, weaker, non-nuclear, of course) that will not kowtow to its interests. It is not so much their ideology that the USA finds offensive  though the word socialism does seem to stir the blood  but the desire of these nations to be independent, to make key decisions without the interests of USA as their foremost concern. And so are they are demonized and even stigmatized as harbouring terrorism and plans are set afoot to install a more pro-USA government. Democracy and the rule of law be hanged.

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How the USA authorities and pundits have celebrated so many freedom fighters who protest elections in countries they disliked! These were not called domestic terrorists no matter what mayhem they caused: in the colour revolutions of Eastern Europe, in the fight for democracy in Hong Kong, in overthrowing the socialist Indian Evo Morales by white supremacists, and nowhere, outside Cuba, has the USA unleashed such venom as against Venezuela, a country that has done no harm to the people of the USA.

In Venezuela, outrages were committed to state institutions, to people, to the constitution, by groups paid with hundreds of millions of dollars that Washington gifted to extremist opposition parties and paramilitaries who denied that legitimate elections had taken place. They anointed a third-rate CIA trainee, an obscure petty politician, as an alternative, unelected president. All this was driven not by a desire to restore democracy but to appropriate Venezuelan oil, gold and other resources. They set up a make-believe government with no elections, no popular standing, only the US dollar to back him. Their alternative president turned out to be no better than a gangster, cavorting with murderous narcotraffic hoods, taking whatever Venezuelan funds he could lay his hands on and thus becoming the most hated man in Venezuelan politics, a political cadaver that even opposition members realize is a crook.

The USA is now tasting the bitter fruit of its own tactics: spin turned into vicious lies, outliers considered freedom fighters, political opponents treated as enemies. Their own president swallowed the poison and decided to use lies and force to overturn an election so that he could stay in power. Is Trump not a strongman, an autocrat, an authoritarian, a wannabe dictator? It has been so easy for Washington to throw these epithets at President Maduro: who  please note  has never tried to overturn elections even when the governing party, the party to which he belongs, has lost.

EVERY countrys Constitution and laws are sacred, that is the basis of international law. You cannot pick and choose. All nations have the right to self-determination which is fundamental to maintain international peace. Why cannot the USA with its CIA, FBI, Military, State Department, realize this? How can it not understand that if you deliberately undermine democracy in another country, you are undermining your international credibility and claims that you respect democracy and the rule of law? More than that, you are violating the human rights of entire populations and threatening their very lives and livelihood. And you never know who is going to emulate you  even your own domestic white supremacists learn by example.

Let us count the ways in which the USA has desecrated the state and people of Venezuela:

LIES: Refusing to accept the elections that have taken place, despite many hundreds of international observers attesting they were transparent and orderly with no evidence of fraud. DENYING the LAW: Insisting that President Maduro step down and there be new elections even though that would violate the Venezuelan Constitution and annul the votes of the millions who voted for government and opposition candidates. THEFT: Looted Venezuelan assets worth $30 billion these last 4 years, and stolen outright its CITGO petroleum company. ALTERNATIVE FACTS: Set up a bogus alternative president, with no elections nor basis in law, in the figure of an obscure, small-time con man, Juan Guaido, giving him stolen Venezuelan assets worth millions, and getting USA ally Canada to set up a bogus ad-hoc group of Lima, an alternative OAS, of no legal standing to harass Venezuela. LAWFARE: Supported  politically and financially- a seditious National Assembly that declared itself in rebellion to the Executive and Judicial Branches of the government, in full violation of the Constitution. VIOLENCE: Backed armed mercenaries who have viciously assaulted and killed, created turmoil, and attempted twice to assassinate President Maduro. Allied itself to the lackey government of Colombia to continuously attack with paramilitaries the border with Venezuela. ECONOMIC WAR: Waged a financial war that collapsed the Venezuelan currency. This has gravely affected agriculture and consequently, the countys food and medical supply. ILLEGAL SANCTIONS: Implemented criminal, unilateral, illegal, sanctions affecting persons, shipping, planes, banking transactions, causing the loss of 95% of government income, causing thousands of deaths, as they prevent the buying food and medicine. The sanctions have been inhumanly intensified during the pandemic.

The USA today is in the midst of an undeniable domestic crisis. It is facing one of the most serious health crises in its history due to government indifference and incompetence. The pandemic has caused more than 400,000 deaths, a deep social and political divide that has laid bare racial injustices and an economic crisis with massive unemployment and inequality while enriching the very richest.

Internationally, it has insulted its traditional allies and denigrated key international organizations, especially the United Nations and World Health Organisation. If this insurrection by the USAs rogue expresident goes unpunished, the abject failure to defend their own democracy from right wing extremists and deniers will be thrown in the face of any Washington politician that tries to interfere, intervene, or bully any other nation. And that will not be a bad thing. As events of 6 Januaray 2021 have clearly shown, Washington is not an exception; it is as vulnerable as any other nation to the malign forces of fascism. However, it is time for the USA not only to look itself in the mirror, but also to examine the devious tactics it has deployed around the world to exert its influence by force and stealth. Especially it must recognize that American exceptionalism is an illusion they have maintain at their own  and the worlds peril- because other nations consider their own laws sacred also, and just as worthy as the overly-hyped US Constitution.

President Biden, in his naivite proclaims that the USA is back ready to assume world leadership. On whose say so? Why proclaim yourself an unsolicited leader when what this multipolar world needs is an honest team player not a self-appointed chief. The recent blunders and damage done by the USA to itself and to others shows not simply the corruption of its president, but more importantly, the weakness of its institutions. President Bidens rhetoric seems too close to a new Cold War mentality. It seems that conflict with China and/or Russia is on the agenda. For Latin America this brings the danger that Washington will draw the region into that Cold War. Washington has not and does not want to recognize the particularity, the cultural identity and the political independence of the Latin American nations. For the USA the region is a means to an end: to square off with China or Russia and to pillage its resources.

The hope is that President Biden can realize that he cannot go back to the Obama era, that he has to face the new Latin American realities: that the Venezuelan government is democratic, working with opposition parties, and is highly popular; that Cuba is a stable, respected nation that has heroically helped numerous countries with their health needs, that Nicaragua has suffered enough and its government deserves respect, that Bolivia and Argentina have progressive left-leaning governments soon to be joined in the next elections by those of Chile, Brazil and Ecuador. And as for Colombias lackey government, atrocities and genocides have put it in a precarious position. Their rampant violence and sheer indifference and incompetency during the pandemic makes many believe that a significant social explosion is on the horizon such that even the USA military bases in that country will not be enough to prevent the reckoning.

The destiny of Latin America is not in the hands of the USA but of Latin Americans. It will be up to President Biden to decide whether to enter into a new relationship with the region based on respect for international laws and negotiate in peace, or continue with the well-trodden gringo way of threats, illegal sanctions, demonization, blackmail, coups and violence. There is no middle way.
Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
The proposals of the Minister of Labor and Social Protection regarding the change of the law on flexible work turn the employees into puppets at the permanent disposal of the employers, argue the representatives of the National Trade Union Bloc (BNS).

The trade union organization expressed concerns about LabMin Raluca Turcan's announced plans to amend OUG No. 132/2020 so as to extend the measure indefinitely, by including the possibility for the employer to give the employee short notice as to whether he will call him to work the next day and by granting the employer the right to cut the employee's daily, weekly or monthly work schedule by up to 80 percent.

"Through these proposals, Ms. Minister Turcan undermines the very raison d'etre of OUG No. 132/2020, as described in the preamble of the ordinance. The ordinance speaks of the protection of both parties to an employment relationship, employer and employee, in the context of social and economic limitations caused by the pandemic. The amendment proposed by Ms. Minister entirely removes the interests of the employees from this instrument, both as regards the protection of their health and safety, and as regards support for their livelihoods. The interests of the employees simply don't matter to Ms. Minister in this equation, because otherwise we don't understand why she would set in place the legislative framework for turning them into 'puppets' at the permanent disposal of employers," BNS said in a release today.The trade union argues that the changes that are meant to support the employers affect the workers."Ms. Minister is actually telling us how she intends to support the employers. What Ms. Turcan does not say publicly is who will bear the costs of this measure. We do have the answer to this possible question. It's for certain that upon the enforcement of the measures planned by Ms. Turcan, the business environment will shoulder no cost and no risk, the Minister herself says this. (...) Two entities remain in the equation that will definitely bear the cost of this measure: the employee who will see their salary decrease to a greater extent than at present (they were currently receiving a salary that could not be less than 85 percent of the salary in the employment contract, but after the introduction of the proposed changes the employee's salary may be reduced by as much as 80 percent of the amount provided for in the work contract); the general public and in particular the next generations, given that the financing of this measure is provided by loans, speeding up the growth pace of the public debt," the BNS release also states.The National Trade Union Bloc considers that since they want legislation on flexible work to become permanent, the employers' organizations should put in an additional financial contribution.

AGERPRES
Salsman, a Republican, accused Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, of turning his case into a media spectacle. He also asserted that Shapiros office told him that if he resigned office, they would treat me less harshly. If I continued to maintain my innocence, they would handle things much differently. Because I committed no crimes, I refused their offer and they kept their word to publicly humiliate me and attempt to destroy my life and career.
Farmers' Protest: UN Human Rights calls for 'maximum restraint' by govt, protesters

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 05: The United Nations Human Rights office on Friday exercising 'maximum restraint' by the government and the protestors, amid renewed international attention on the two-month-long farmers' protest in India.

"We call on the authorities and protesters to exercise maximum restraint in ongoing farmers' protests. The rights to peaceful assembly and expression should be protected both offline and online. It's crucial to find equitable solutions with due respect to human rights for all," the UN Human Rights's official Twitter handle said in a tweet.

Earlier, talks between the government and 41 protesting farm unions have remained inconclusive even after multiple rounds of discussions. During the 10th round of talks, the central government had climbed down and offered a proposal to keep the new laws in abeyance for 1-1.5 years, but it was rejected by the unions.

Protesting farmers are demanding repeal of the farm laws.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha spearheading the agitation against the farm laws had said on Saturday that there was no question of closing the door on talks with the government.

Farmers at Ghazipur plant flowers in response to 'iron nails'

The farmer union''s statement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told an all-party meeting last week that his government''s offer on agri laws made to the protesting farmers "still stands" and it was a "phone call away" for talks.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi''s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh demanding the rollback of the Farmers'' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The protest took a violent turn during the farmers'' tractor rally on January 26 during Republic Day.

Enacted in September last year, the central government has presented these laws as major farm reforms aimed at increasing farmers'' income, but the protesting farmers have raised concerns that these legislations would weaken the minimum support price (MSP) and "mandi" (wholesale market) systems by leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

The government has maintained that these apprehensions are misplaced and ruled out a repeal of the laws.

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Story first published: Friday, February 5, 2021, 23:44 [IST]

Not only are we doing paid work for our communities and unpaid work in our households, Dr. Banks said. We are also doing a third layer of community work  were exhausted. Recognizing this collective activism as work reveals the extra burden Black and brown women are under, she said.

In an article published in the December issue of The Review of Black Political Economy, Dr. Banks traces this unpaid community work to the early 20th century and the creation of cooperatives and other associations to provide services governments neglected.

She argues that these activities outside the market economy  with no buying or selling of goods and services, and no paid labor  were incorrectly considered political activity. But the grass-roots organizations behind the community work improved the environment, housing and access to food. Simply put, if someone else had been paid to do it, it would have been counted as work, and a contribution to the economy.

Dr. Banks has spent years trying to right the historical record on behalf of Black women, a mostly lonely endeavor in economics. While she has been scouring archives, much of the rest of the economics profession has followed the trend toward more math- or data-based research in other topics.

Dr. Bankss interest in revisiting history is less surprising when you consider her most distinctive early memory of economics: When she was an undergraduate at Hood College in Maryland in the 1980s, an adjunct professor explained the gender and racial wage gap with theories about human capital and worker productivity, suggesting that white men are simply more productive.
When I was a boy about 11, I committed a crime that changed my life.

I stole a book. I was a book thief.

I found it in another kid's desk and began reading, hiding it behind some boring textbook, and couldn't give it up.

And when the last bell rang, I hid it furtively under my jacket as if it were some rare, precious and struggling bird, and walked home.

It's still with me. I'll never give it up.

That book that opened up the world to me.

What was it?

"Odysseus the Wanderer," written for children by the classicist Aubrey de Selincourt.

It is a version of the "Odyssey" of Homer, the greatest adventure story ever told. I've since read several translations of Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey."

The crafty Odysseus, the man of wrath, was an expert trickster. He duped the Trojans with his Trojan horse, befuddled the man-eating Cyclops and withstood the deadly song of the sirens.

Though he was clearly pre-Christian, I considered the wandering King of Ithaca as a patron saint. There was no trap he couldn't escape with his wits. His story has shaped Western literature -- as well as "Star Trek" -- for some 3,000 years.

But there is one thing Odysseus may not be able to withstand:

The woke culture.

The political left and the growing #disrupttexts movement -- fueled by critical race theory -- in American public schools wants him gone.

Classic Western literature, from Homer to Shakespeare, Mark Twain and even Harper Lee, is now being canceled, much in the same way that the Islamic State group and early Christians destroyed ancient statues that offended them.

There is something quite barbarous about it all.

Just a few days ago, zealots in San Francisco began stripping "offensive names" from public schools. Names such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and even Democratic U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, who is a living witness to her own cancellation.

The stripping of names are public events. They pit aging, worried traditional liberals against a radical leftist movement that will devour them as surely as the relentless Bolsheviks devoured the more moderate Mensheviks.

But the purging of great literature often takes place quietly, among woke teachers and librarians. If the classics aren't exactly banned outright or burned, they have another way:

To place offending literature on the back shelf, out of the reach of the young, where they're lost to gather dust in the shadows.

Author Padma Venkatraman wrote an essay titled "Weeding Out Racism's Invisible Roots: Rethinking Children's Classics" in the School Library Journal. She supports this purge.

"Challenging old classics is the literary equivalent of replacing statues of racist figures," she writes.

"... exposing young people to stories in which racism, sexism, ableism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of hate are the norm may sow seeds of bias that can grow into indifference or prejudice."

And so, the astounding complexity of great literature and great writers is now reduced, as are so many things these days, to angry zealotry and political correctness.

Shakespeare's glaring sin is his anti-Semitic treatment of Jews in the "Merchant of Venice." But isn't there value in his other works? Do I really have to ask that?

Harper Lee's sin is creating hero Atticus Finch, the white liberal savior of a Black man wrongly accused. And what is the blind poet Homer's outrage? He didn't think of himself as belonging to the West, the way we think of the West.

But when Odysseus enters the underworld and meets the vain and deadly killer Achilles, Odysseus is told this:

"I would rather be a slave of a landless barbarian than king of all the dead."

A #disrupttexts leader, Lorena German, author of "The Anti-Racist Teacher," explains her purge this way:

"So, let us be honest, the conversation really isn't about universality ... This is about an ingrained and internalized elevation of Shakespeare in a way that excludes other voices. This is about white supremacy and colonization."

If the new test for all literature, movies, statues -- anything of historic value we consume -- is 100 percent purity, all will fail. And who would grade the test?

When I was young, there were no books that couldn't be read. To deny classic literature was to brand yourself a barbarian.

But now those narrow minds deciding what books children will read are the dictators of the new "tolerant" culture. There is nothing delicious in the irony.

There is great value in diverse characters the young can identify with. I'm not arguing with that. Even Homer understood the multicultural world.

What's irksome is the way offered, as ideological catechism to politically shape the minds of the young. If it meant more kids picking up books and reading, I might understand.

But kids aren't stupid. They're not easily led farm animals, despite what the new Napoleons believe.

If children associate literature with didactic political indoctrination, whether from right or left, the smart ones will put up a wall and shut down.

And they won't develop the necessary skills of logic and critical thinking needed to grasp and wrestle with the great conflicting ideas offered in classic Western literature.

Perhaps that's the real plan. Who needs to develop critical thinking when the great books are gone?

Politics is always downstream of culture. And I'm just glad I stole that book when I could.

When books weren't placed on the back shelf, out of the reach of a child.

(C)2021 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Paul H. Haertel Named Assistant Director of the Critical Incident Response Group

Director Christopher Wray has named Paul H. Haertel as the assistant director of the Critical Incident Response Group at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mr. Haertel most recently served as the special agent in charge of the Salt Lake City Field Office.

Mr. Haertel joined the FBI as a special agent in 1995 and was assigned to the Lexington Resident Agency of the Louisville Field Office in Kentucky. He specialized in rural Appalachia investigations and worked drug and violence crime cases. He also was as a member of the offices SWAT team.

In 2003, Mr. Haertel was transferred to the Counterterrorism Division at FBI Headquarters. He became a unit chief in the division in 2005, responsible for terrorism investigations in the northeastern United States. In 2006, he moved to South Carolina to lead the Greenville Resident Agency of the Columbia Field Office, where he also led the SWAT team and targeted violent gangs.

Mr. Haertel reported to Prague as the assistant legal attache in 2010. In 2013, he was named the legal attache and oversaw a variety of investigations, including international public corruption, violent crime, and money laundering cases. He returned to the U.S. in 2015 as an assistant special agent in charge at the Salt Lake City Field Office, responsible for the criminal program in Idaho, Montana, and Utah.

He was promoted to chief of the Counterintelligence Divisions Counterespionage Section at FBI Headquarters in 2017. In 2018, he was named deputy assistant director for the FBIs Counterterrorism Division. He moved back to Salt Lake City as the special agent in charge in 2019.

The Critical Incident Response Group integrates the FBIs tactical, negotiations, behavioral analysis, and crisis management resources into one cohesive structure.

Mr. Haertel earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Middlebury College in Vermont. Prior to joining the FBI, he served as a SEAL operator in the U.S. Navy.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
New Delhi: The Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) has issued a notification for the recruitment of as many as 859 vacant posts of Sub Inspector AP, Platoon Commander, and Sub Inspector MBC in Rajasthan Police for TSP and Non-TSP areas. Interested candidates should visit the RPSC's official website - rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in to check their eligibility to submit their application.

The RPSC invited online applications for the said posts from February 9, 2021. Interested candidates should first check their eligibility and then apply for the RPSC Recruitment 2021 before March 10, 2021, which is the last date for the submission of forms.

The candidates should also check other details related to salary, age limit, educational qualification, the application process, and selection criteria below of the RPSC's official website.

Important Dates: The process for submission of an online application will commence on February 9, while the date for the submission of the online application is 10th March 2021.

Live TV

Educational qualification: The candidates should have completed graduation from a recognised university incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other Educational Institution established by an Act of Parliament or State Legislature or declared to be deemed as University Under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 or possess an equivalent qualification recognized by the Government in consultation with the Commission.

The candidates are also required to have Working knowledge of Hindi in Devnagri Script and knowledge of Rajasthani Culture.

Application Fee: The candidates belonging to the General/EWS/OBC category need to pay Rs 350, Non-Creamy Layer of OBC/BC candidates to pay Rs 250, while SC/ST candidates will have to pay Rs 150 as application fee.

Exam Pattern: The candidates will have to take written exams in two parts-General Hindi - 200 Marks; and General Knowledge & General Science - 200 Marks. The duration of each paper will be of two hours. The candidates who will obtain 36% of marks in each paper and 40% in the aggregate, shall be deemed to have passed the qualifying examination.

Rajasthan Police SI Physical Eligibility: The candidates have a height of 168 cm, chest of 81 cm (without expending), and 86 cm expanded.

Age Limit: The candidates should be in the age group of 20 to 25 years. There will be age relaxation for reserved category candidates as per government norms.

Selection criteria: The candidates will be selected on the basis of written examination followed by Physical Efficiency Test,

Aptitude Test and Interview.

For more details, the candidates can click here to find detailed information about the RPSC SI recruitment.
Im sitting in a large, shaded balcony of a lovely south Mumbai apartment, when the doorbell rings and I see something for the first time in a Head Office interview: helium balloons and a champagne bottle. No, not to congratulate me on my first in-person interview in 10 months, but to wish the home-owner, Lulu Raghavan, on her 20th anniversary with strategic design and branding consultancy Landor (now called Landor & Fitch, after its merger with retail design firm Fitch). Two decades, three continents, four offices, and ten bosses" is how the 45-year old chief executive describes her tenure with the company. Having worked in San Francisco, New York, London and Mumbai, Raghavan is one of the most global, and senior, design and branding professionals in India today. The balloons are from her colleagues.

Over the past year, Raghavan has adopted a unique work style. She likes to wander around her house during the workday, which she shares with her husband and two daughters. The long wooden dining table in the living room near a Buddha sculpture is where she spends 80% of her time, doing video calls and online brainstorming sessions, using platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Miro. The balcony, and a nook in the semi-open-plan kitchen, are great for phone calls. The library is ideal when I want to do some thinking work and for some inspiration." A basic desk, with some books, placed in the corner of the guest bedroom, is also a good place to work, although the background is less attractive than the Buddha, she says.

Her biggest saviour", however, has been the gym. A compact space near the living room, it has been meticulously planned to accommodate a Reebok stepper and an assortment of weights, including a kettle bell, yoga mats and a treadmill. I have converted my travel time to my gym time. I work out every day. From 5-6am, either I go for a walk, or I have a trainer, or do yoga now. That really energizes me for the day. Im a huge fan of Robin Sharmas The 5 AM Club, that changed my life," she says.

An Agile workday

Her workstyle leaves me with three takeaways. First, the future of work. The hybrid workplace" is a fashionable term, as companies try to establish new norms of working. What Raghavan seems to have constructed instead is a hybrid home". Her agile workday demonstrates that different spaces are conducive for different activitiessome, which require less concentration; others, more. It suggests that remote working will continue to be a way of life, post-covid-19, as the office might not be required for all activities.

She herself doesnt have a definite answer when the office might open. We are looking at March or April, and opening in a very measured way, but it wont be compulsory. Anybody whos uncomfortable can continue working from home. Personally, I think I will probably just go twice or thrice a week for meetings, or just to be there for the team physically in the space. I wouldnt not go. At the same time, I think the era of waking up early and commuting every day is gone forever, as is hopping on to early morning flights to go to Delhi or Bengaluru," she says.

The more pressing challenge for Raghavan is how do you manage an integration from the dining table, when the individual teams may not have even met each other? Especially, as in this case, when the combined entity is over three times the size of your original company in headcount? Landor employed 30 people in India before the integration, Fitch had 70. Although 100 people might seem to be a small headcount in overall terms, it is large for a creative professional services firm.

Raghavan is trying to get people together, being transparent, communicating and making them feel that ownership of okay, this is also my company. I take time to recognize individual people," she says. Structured initiatives for employees to get to know each other, such as Monday morning huddles, with all employees online, as well as smaller online group sessions, promote collaboration, she insists. Early days, but Raghavan says shes pleased with the teamwork thus far.

A shot of energy

The second lesson is even more obvious than the first: Raghavans focused energy. Not only is she physically energetic, she is thoughtful in her application of it at work. For her, it is one of five essential Es of leadership (others being, empathy, emotional quotient, equitable and execution).

Energy is hugely important because it transmits. And Ive been physically in the office, I remember, on days when I was tired or irritated, and the vibe would be different. I realized that, gosh, actually the leaders impact is there, it just transmits down the organization," she says.

Not all of us might want to wake up at 5am every day, even if we did go to bed at 9:30pm (as Raghavan does). More than her actual daily routine itself, what Raghavans discipline underlines is a central theme of this column. It is a quote by Aristotle: We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Where personal branding serves

Finally, personal branding. Branding is about seizing the opportunity to differentiate a product, a service, a space, or oneself. Raghavan has turned her Buddha sculpture into a signature motif. Clients like to see it on video calls, as a backdrop, for its peacefulness, she says. It is a visible element of her brand, and while it is a simple effect, it highlights Raghavans attention to detail in how she projects herself, and how she encourages colleagues to similarly design appealing backdrops for themselves.

Branding sounds very sexy, but its actually an incredibly hard discipline, a rigorous journey that you have to do every day. Strategy plays a minimal role. Making sure that it manifests in every touchpoint is the harder part. As former Unilever chairperson Paul Polman said, 99% of brand building is execution," she says.

She is increasingly interested in promoting personal branding. Personal branding is a way to leave an impact. Its about how you choose to be remembered." She wants to encourage others to think about their personal brands, through her own website and a weekly newsletter focused on personal growth. There can be downsides of a strong personal brand too, she acknowledges, such as being too personified with Landor in the past, making it harder to institutionalize the firm. It now has a superb team, its at a stage where anyone can run it," she says.

Very few of us have the luxury of reimagining the hybrid workplace" in our homes like Raghavan. But her work style offers lessons for all our daily work liveson how we choose to spend our days, and what our personal brands say about us, every day.

Aparna Piramal Raje meets heads of organizations every month to investigate the connections between their workspace design and working styles.

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Alec Guinness in The Ladykillers. THE LADYKILLERS (97 minutes) PG Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, this perfect 1955 black comedy from Britains famed Ealing studios has the eerie whimsy of a Dickens ghost story. Alec Guinness writhes unforgettably as the leader of a criminal gang who meet their match in a sweet little old lady (Katie Johnson); Peter Sellers has a supporting role as a spiv. Classic and Lido, Saturday, February 6, 4pm. VARIETY LIGHTS (93 minutes) Unrated Federico Fellinis 1951 first feature, co-directed with Alberto Lattuada, tells a bittersweet story about a group of travelling players. Adding an extra layer to the theme of interplay between art and life is the casting of Giulietta Masina and Carla Del Poggio, Fellini and Lattuadas respective wives, as rival members of the troupe. Screens as part of a Fellini retrospective. Lido, Sunday, February 7, 4pm.

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (138 minutes) R David Bowies first major screen role remains his best, as an enigmatic outer space visitor who comes to New Mexico to build a business empire in Nicolas Roegs woozy 1976 blend of science fiction and Americana  a film that feels like one long drug comedown, not inappropriately for the era. Lido and Cameo, Sunday, February 7, 4pm. INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (118 minutes) PG Steven Spielbergs 1984 action-comedy marks the second adventure for globetrotting archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), this time travelling to India to rescue children trapped by a cult. Made with sadistic ingenuity and a flair for the gross-out, this is among Spielbergs most juvenile films, which is to say he seems thoroughly at home. Selected. THE NEST (107 minutes) MA
The recovery mission continues on the Gold Coast after a womans body washed up on a beach on Thursday night and the man with whom she was believed to have gone swimming remains missing.

Police said they dont expect to find anybody alive. The sea conditions in the area on Friday were rough and expected to worsen, and there was a hazardous surf warning in place for the Gold Coast.

The drowning victim was a woman aged in her late 20s. She lived in Victoria, but Queensland police believe she was originally from Europe and officers were still trying to contact her next to kin.

Passers-by found the womans body washed up on Kurrawa Beach at Broadbeach about 10.15pm on Thursday. She was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken announced Friday she would resign, another indication she is gearing up to run for Sen. Rob Portmans seat next year.

Timken announced her decision, effective immediately, during an impromptu meeting of the Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee. She did not announce she would be running for Senate during the call, but that she would reveal her plans in the near future.

It has been a tremendous honor to serve as Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party and work with so many dedicated, rock-ribbed conservatives to strengthen our state and stand with President Trump to make our nation great, Timken said. Over the last four years, we have secured Ohios place as a leading conservative stronghold, expanded Republican leadership at every level and helped President Trump win a commanding second victory in the state.

Following Portmans announcement that he would not seek re-election in 2022, Timkens name was immediately brought up as a possible successor and she has said she is interested in running.

Timken took over the party in 2017 following Republican President Donald Trumps wildly successful election night in Ohio.

Her tenure saw Republicans win up and down the ballot and largely blunt the Democratic drift seen in other similar states. That included Trump repeating his 8-percentage point victory in 2020 as he lost ground elsewhere.

Republicans currently hold both chambers of the legislature, all statewide executive offices, the state Supreme Court, and a majority of the congressional delegation.

A Cincinnati native, Timken looks to be a formidable candidate if she gets into the Senate race, with connections all across the state and nationally through her work with the party. Her ties to Trump and his team only bolster her chances at building a highly credible campaign with the possibility of both an endorsement and appearances by the former president a very real prospect.

While shes never run for office before, her work with the party gives her a leg up over other first-time candidates, such as building a campaign apparatus and access to the professionals to fill those roles.

ORP Vice Chairman Bryan Williams will take over as interim chair. Per its bylaws, the Ohio Republican Party has 30 days to elect a new chair.
An arrivals screen in Terminal 2 of Dublin airport. Ireland has introduced new laws requiring people arriving in Ireland to quarantine at home (Brian Lawless/PA Wire)

Hotel quarantining measures for travellers who are coming from specific countries where there is an increased risk of the Covid-19 variant should be in place by the middle of this month, the Taoiseach has said.

Micheal Martin said the Covid-19 variants that have emerged have changed the landscape very significantly and that the country was now in a race to get people vaccinated.

Expand Close Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Julien Behal Photography/PA Wire) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Julien Behal Photography/PA Wire)

The Fianna Fail leader said the Government would like to have hotel quarantining in place for people arriving from a country where there is a variant such as Brazil and South Africa and for those who arrive in the country without a negative PCR test by mid-February.

We would hope to have it in place in a similar timeline [to the UK] and were working on that against a very serious issue in our Constitution in terms of personal liberties, he told RTEs Prime Time programme on Thursday.

The Taoiseach denied the introduction of the measure was taking too long.

I dont think it is taking so long, actually, he said.

We announced it two weeks ago we thought we would move in this direction, weve brought in a raft of measures since that government decision from police checking at airports, to increasing fines from 100 euro to 500 euro if youre in breach of level five on the way to the airport, to the home mandatory hormone quarantining, and a number of other measures as well.

The mandatory quarantining in terms of the hotel facilities, is the next stage and work is already underway in relation to that.

We do accept that the variants have changed the landscape in relation to this virus, very significantly, and we are in a race, in respect of rolling out the vaccination program, the prolonged suppression of the virus itself, and reducing all potential for its spread, he added.

The Taoiseachs remarks come as new laws came into effect on Thursday requiring people arriving in Ireland from abroad to quarantine at home.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly signed new regulations into law on Wednesday night giving effect to the Governments recent decision to introduce a system of mandatory quarantine for arrivals into the State.

Minister for Health @DonnellyStephen has signed regulations that will introduce a system of mandatory quarantine for arrivals into the State.



These regulations apply since midnight last night.



MORE INFO: https://t.co/CgC22zuIOu #StayHome #holdfirm  Department of Health (@roinnslainte) February 4, 2021

Under the regulations, passengers who arrive from any destination must quarantine for 14 days either at home or at an address specified on their Passenger Locator Form.

Failure to do so can be penalised by a fine of up to 2,500 euro or six months in prison, or both.

There are limited exemptions from the quarantine laws for essential reasons. These include workers for repair and maintenance of critical infrastructure.

But there will not be any exemptions for people arriving from high risk countries such as Brazil and South Africa.

Expand Close Health Minister Stephen Donnelly signed into a law new regulations requiring people arriving in Ireland to quarantine (Julien Behal Photography/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Health Minister Stephen Donnelly signed into a law new regulations requiring people arriving in Ireland to quarantine (Julien Behal Photography/PA)

The clear Government and public health advice is that everybody should avoid non-essential travel completely, Mr Donnelly said.

He added that the public health advice is that people subjected to mandatory quarantine should self-isolate within their homes to assist in protecting those around them.

Further work on additional legislation to implement mandatory quarantine at a designated facility for those arriving from countries with variants of concern, such as Brazil and South Africa is being progressed and will be implemented as soon as possible.

The Health Minister will have the power to designate countries from which travel represents a public health risk due to the presence of variants of concern.

Mr Donnelly also extended the mandatory requirement for all arriving passengers to have a negative PCR test.

Passengers who arrive in the state without proof of a negative PCR test may be fined 2,500 euro or receive six months in prison, or both.

There are very limited exemptions from this test requirement including for essential transport workers, Gardai and Defence Forces personnel in the course of their duties.

Anyone who arrives without a negative test will be required to take a test within 36 hours of arrival.

It is an offence not to take the test and can result in a fine of up to 2,500 euros or a prison sentence of up to six months, or both.

People who travel into Ireland via Northern Ireland will be required to have a negative PCR test result and to observe the statutory quarantine regime.
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Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu said Friday at noon that 149 settlements in Romania will conduct school class under a red COVID-19 scenario and 903 under a yellow scenario, according to AGERPRES.

"There are 149 settlements now under the red scenario. There are 903 settlements under the yellow scenario, meaning kindergarteners and 1st to 4th graders will show up in person along with the preparatory grade and also students in final grades that will take the national exams soon," Cimpeanu told a news conference.

He added that under a joint order that he signed together with the health minister regarding the re-opening of schools, an attempt was made to answer all possible questions regarding the schools that re-open, and under what scenario, considering at the same time the parent-teacher-school manager perspective.
Supporters of the armed forces carry signs that say We wish success to the military that gives and gets love from the people, during a rally to support Mondays military coup, Naypyidaw, Feb. 4, 2021.

This week's military coup in Myanmar has prompted calls for Jakarta to again take on the mantle of regional role model to help its neighbor back on the path to democracy.

Myanmar once looked to Indonesia  which navigated its own transition from dictatorship to democracy  for guidance in democratizing after decades of military rule, but those interactions waned after a change of government in Jakarta, analysts said.

The man who played a significant role in Myanmars democratic transition was Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, or SBY, Indonesias first directly elected president, and himself a former general.

Yudhoyono helped mediate conflicts between the Myanmar government and ethnic minorities, provided input on drafting democratic laws and invited officials to learn about democratic institutions, said the executive director of the Bali Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD), I Ketut Putra Erawan.

Under SBY, democracy was high on Indonesias diplomatic agenda, which in my view was a very positive thing, Ketut said.

Indonesia had been a role model for Myanmar, he said.

Indonesia now has a responsibility to help restore democracy [there].

When current President Joko Jokowi Widodo was elected in July 2014, he declared that his focus would be on domestic affairs, according to Aaron L. Connelly, a Southeast Asia expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British research institute.

Jokowi is new to foreign affairs and seemingly has little interest in diplomacy, a marked contrast with his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who sought a role as an international statesman, Connelly wrote in an article for Contemporary Southeast Asia in April 2015.

SBYs legacy

By most accounts, Yudhoyono made Indonesia a power to reckon with in international affairs by eagerly offering to share his countrys experiences in democratic transition.

For instance, as early as in 2007, he sent retired General Agus Widjojo to attend the funeral of military man Soe Win, who had been Myanmar prime minister.

In the 1990s, Widjojo had urged his erstwhile colleagues to push Indonesias military dictator General Suharto to make the transition to democracy. Suharto ruled for almost 32 years, until 1998.

But while in Myanmar, Widjojo didnt give the military brass a lecture on democracy.

Just the presence of an Indonesian military reformer was the message, according to a paper by Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian politics at Tokyo's Temple University, cited by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Dipo Alam, a cabinet secretary during the Yudhoyono administration, described how the former president told the United States how to deal with Myanmar.

The best thing I remember, Mr. SBY drove home the message to the U.S. not to dictate to and hector Myanmar and treat them as a child. SBY explained that democracy took time and asked the U.S. to respect the process, Dipo told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

Yudhoyono went on to closely advise Myanmars military, especially after General Thein Seins government unveiled a strategy for democratic reforms in 2011.

By contrast, Jokowi took almost two weeks to officially congratulate Myanmar after the 2015 general election.

Jokowi should now appoint Yudhoyono as Indonesia's envoy to Myanmar, Jakarta Post's executive editor, Kornelius Purba, suggested in an opinion piece published before Mondays military coup.

Myanmars generals need to be convinced that a coup could be suicidal for them and that it would derail the countrys path to democracy, Purba wrote.

A figure like SBY, known as one of the key figures behind the Indonesian militarys reform, is the right person to approach the generals.

A file photo of then-Myanmar President Thein Sein (left) with his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, May 5, 2011.

Indonesia does not lecture

Indonesia, too, has seen democratic backsliding under Jokowis leadership, according to a book titled Democracy in Indonesia: From Stagnation to Regression? published last year and written by various scholars from Indonesia and abroad.

The Jokowi administration has to a degree suppressed free speech and criticism and also attempted to undermine checks and balances on government power, the scholars argued in the book.

Still, it remains one of the regions most open countries and must act on Myanmar, said Damar Juniarto, executive director of the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), an NGO advocating for internet freedom.

Our freedom of expression is not perfect, it is even deteriorating, but compared to other ASEAN countries, we are still better off. We should still be able to play an extra role, Damar told BenarNews.

For instance, Malaysia has an unelected government and is under its first national emergency in more than five decades.

In Thailand, Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha became prime minister after a coup he engineered, and then retained the post in a 2019 general election widely viewed as rigged.

Opposition leaders in the Philippines say that Duterte has increased the power of the military and police since taking office in 2016. And Brunei is a sultanate.

For Eva Kusuma Sundari, a former lawmaker who chaired the ASEAN Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar, Indonesia was the only hope as other ASEAN member countries like Vietnam and Thailand have pledged not to interfere.

Non-interference in member countries domestic affairs is a foundational principle of ASEAN.

Indonesia, despite criticism at home, still has leverage because its still relatively more democratic than the others, said Eva.

We still hope that Indonesia will be at the forefront to influence other ASEAN countries to act.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said Indonesia did not wish to pontificate about democracy.

Indonesia does not lecture any country about democracy. Besides, the mainstreaming of democratic values has been a common agenda item at ASEAN, Faizasyah told BenarNews.

Still, Indonesia expressed deep concern about the military coup in Myanmar in a statement Monday that urged the country to embrace rule of law, good governance, democratic principles and a constitutional government.

Faizasyah said Indonesia was trying to forge a common stance on Myanmar at ASEAN, but he did not elaborate.

Chinese influence

Myanmar could gravitate even more toward China if pressured, said Priyambudi Sulistiyanto, a Southeast Asia expert at Flinders University in Australia.

Myanmar has close ties with China, and relies on it for investment amid international isolation over its treatment of the Rohingya ethnic minority, he said.

If pressure on this new military regime is too strong, theres a fear that they will turn to China, Priyambudi said in an online discussion on Myanmar on Thursday.

The West may take a harder line on China. But in Asia, we cannot ignore China's immense power, so there should be more creative measures.

Indonesia could propose that ASEAN send a delegation to hold talks with Myanmars military rulers, IPDs Ketut said.

Don't isolate Myanmar, because doing so will make China's influence stronger. And we must remember, for China, democracy takes a back seat to business.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Chris Yates was sounding bullish. Boastful, even. The chief executive of the medical diagnostic firm Abingdon Health was telling his audience that after a 'roller-coaster 12 months', it had been 'a real positive for us to be able to mitigate the effects of the pandemic'.

His workforce, he revealed proudly, had quadrupled to 200 but it had not been easy  his staff had worked seven days a week to develop a new Covid test for a government contract worth up to 87.5million.

Speaking at a webinar last week from his six-bedroom home just outside York, Mr Yates, 46, a Cambridge economics graduate, exuded a quiet confidence, and no wonder. It had been quite some year.

In December 2019, Abingdon Health was teetering on the brink, with losses of 1.5million.

According to its last published accounts, the firm's directors were warning that to survive, it would have to cut costs and seek new investment.

In December 2019, Abingdon Health was teetering on the brink, with losses of 1.5m. A year later, it was floating on the AIM small firms stock market, raising 22m from investors. That means the shares owned by Chris Yates (left), chief executive of the medical diagnostic firm, are worth 7.2m and those held by company chairman Chris Hand (right) 12.4m

Abingdon Health was awarded a deal first to develop and then supply a million do-it-yourself home Covid antibody tests, with an option for nine million more, worth a potential 75m. There's just one problem. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has since cancelled all further orders 'with immediate effect'

Fast forward in pandemic Britain. Exactly a year later, Abingdon was floating on the AIM small firms stock market, raising 22million from investors.

Yesterday it was valued at 106million. That means the shares owned by Mr Yates are worth 7.2million and those held by company chairman Chris Hand 12.4million.

The reason? In between had come Operation Moonshoot, Boris Johnson's multi-billion pound bid to create a world-leading test and trace system. Abingdon Health was awarded a deal first to develop and then supply a million do-it-yourself home Covid antibody tests, with an option for nine million more, worth a potential 75million.

There's just one problem. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has since cancelled all further orders 'with immediate effect'.

Public Health England requires at least 98 per cent accuracy for antibody tests and its evaluation was that Abingdon's offered less than 85 per cent. The supply deal  signed in August  was contingent on Medicines and Health Regulatory Agency clearance by Christmas Day. When it was not forthcoming, Mr Hancock pulled the plug.

The story of Abingdon Health and its antibody test, say critics, is yet another example of the Government's flawed approach to PPE and test and trace: of over-vaulting ambition, huge gambles, preferred bidders, lack of due process, big failures  and some people becoming very rich indeed.

So how did all this come about? It is an embarrassing tale, not only for Abingdon Health but for Mr Hancock, his junior minister Lord Bethell and Sir John Bell, Oxford University's regius professor of medicine and a government adviser.

The Good Law Project, the campaign group led by Jolyon Maugham QC that uses the courts to enforce government accountability, was already challenging the deals with Abingdon with a High Court judicial review. It claims the deal was not awarded after proper competition.

The story of Abingdon Health and its antibody test, say critics, is yet another example of the Government's flawed approach to PPE and test and trace: of over-vaulting ambition, huge gambles, preferred bidders, lack of due process, big failures  and some people becoming very rich. How did all this come about? It is an embarrassing tale, not only for Abingdon Health but for Mr Hancock, his junior minister Lord Bethell and Sir John Bell (above), Oxford University's regius professor of medicine and a government adviser

At a Downing Street press conference on March 18, the Prime Minister and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance (both pictured) declared that Covid antibody testing would be the 'game changer' pathway to normal life. Work on this was 'already progressing very fast'

Now, the Daily Mail can reveal, leaked government documents show critical decisions were rushed through by a group of ministers and advisers. Right from the outset, senior civil servants raised red flags.

Twice, the documents reveal, the Government was warned by its own lawyers that the deals it signed with Abingdon Health  2.5million for development, 10million for components and up to 75million for supply  were at 'high risk' of being ruled unlawful if challenged. The advice appears to have been ignored.

At a Downing Street press conference on March 18, the Prime Minister and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance declared that Covid antibody testing would be the 'game changer' pathway to normal life. Work on this was 'already progressing very fast'.

Indeed it was. Mr Yates and Mr Hand, 58, with a background in biotechnology, were approached by Sir John. Dubbed 'the fixer', the forceful Canadian has played an extraordinary behind-the-scenes role during the pandemic. His business connections include posts at pharmaceutical giants Roche and AstraZeneca  with which he helped broker the deal to make the Oxford vaccine.

Abingdon Health already made other tests, including one for HIV. Sir John asked if it would like to develop one for Covid. (File photo)

He also headed the National Covid Testing Scientific Advisory Panel. In the words of one senior industry source: 'On testing, all roads lead to Bell. There's no way round him and no way through him. Everyone defers to him in government.'

Abingdon Health already made other tests, including one for HIV. Sir John asked if it would like to develop one for Covid.

A colleague who worked closely with Sir John in the Health department's research arm co-authored a memo on April 2, presenting what appeared to be a fait accompli, advocating that the Government award the first 2.5million contract to Abingdon Health to head a new Rapid Test Consortium with three other firms as junior partners for a home-based antibody test.

It had been recommended by Sir John's scientific panel.

Other, existing tests had been tried but were not good enough, the memo said. The following week, the Government would issue a 'call to arms', asking other manufacturers for proposals.

But the deal that mattered appeared to have already been done, for the memo concluded with a draft email laying out terms for Lord Bethell, the Ministry of Sound nightclub impresario turned Minister for Innovation, to send to Abingdon.

In fact, another leaked document reveals, the previous day, April 1, Lord Bethell had already held a conference call with Mr Yates and Mr Hand, to which Mr Hancock was also invited. The decision, it seems, had effectively been made.

Almost immediately, there were concerns in Whitehall. On April 6, Mike Batley, the Department of Health and Social Care's deputy director of research, wrote to senior colleagues warning that although Lord Bethell and Mr Hancock already seemed to have approved the deal, 'this all happened over the weekend without any engagement with us'. It was, he added, 'no way to do business'.

On April 6, Mike Batley, the Department of Health and Social Care's deputy director of research, wrote to senior colleagues warning that although Lord Bethell (pictured) and Mr Hancock already seemed to have approved a deal with Abingdon, 'this all happened over the weekend without any engagement with us'. It was, he added, 'no way to do business'

The same day, Andrea Barry, responsible for partnerships with business, asked whether anyone had done 'due diligence' on Abingdon Health, citing its latest accounts.

She wrote: 'What is the basis for picking this company as opposed to others? Being clear about the criteria on which we are choosing to use public money for company X but not similar company Y is really important.'

It was to no avail. Abingdon got its research contract, followed, in May, by a further payment of 10million to buy materials to make 10million tests.

Other companies responded to the call to arms but got nowhere. Directors at two of them insisted last week they could have produced better Covid tests but never got a look in.

'Why did they give this to a company that had been on its knees, when we were a market leader?' one asked. 'This was a travesty which deprived the British people of what might have been a much better test.'

The other said he had submitted a detailed proposal but 'it seemed to vanish into a black hole'.

Whitehall's concern didn't go away. First the government legal department warned the way in which the contracts had been awarded risked a successful legal challenge. Then in August, when the Government decided it wanted to sign a new contract for Abingdon and its partners to make up to 10million tests, it sought advice from a top law firm.

Its analysis  also leaked to the Mail  said the short-circuiting of the usual procurement process would be hard to defend. Depending on how a challenge might be framed, the risk of the deals being declared unlawful in court ranged between 'medium high'  50 to 70 per cent  and 'high'  above 70 per cent. This too was ignored.

Abingdon continues to insist on its website that its test, which delivers results in 20 minutes from a pinprick blood sample, is 99 per cent accurate.

But in November, Pubic Health England published an evaluation claiming the true, 'real world' figure was less than 85 per cent. The firm disputes this. But no one was claiming now that this might be a 'game changer'.

On Christmas Eve came another blow  a report to the Government by auditors Ankura claimed manufacturing was falling behind, thanks to a 'breakdown in consortium relationships'.

It also identified accountancy errors  overcharging through mistakes in foreign exchange calculations and a 500,000 VAT claim that should not have been made.

But for further orders under the August contract to go ahead, Abingdon needed MHRA approval by Christmas Day. It was not forthcoming.

Still, the first million tests were delivered on January 8. But three days later, the DHSC sent the Good Law Project a letter, saying that because of the failure to win approval, Mr Hancock had 'exercised his contractual right to cancel with immediate effect all outstanding orders'. It might still place further orders but there would be competition.

An Abingdon spokesman denied investors might have been misled, saying the possibility this might happen had been mentioned in the share prospectus at the time of the float.

He also denied that taxpayers' cash had saved a failing business: although the antibody test 'has been the catalyst' for its growth, 'there was an underlying business which was growing'.

Abingdon said its contract remains in place until February 14, that it expects any future orders will be via an application to future DHSC tenders, that it continues to liaise with the MHRA regarding the use of its test, and that it has not seen the Ankura report.

There was no response from Oxford University to a request for a comment from Sir John.

Mr Maugham said: 'What these leaked documents seem to show is that Matt Hancock and Sir John Bell ignored basic process, and their own internal and external advice, and just took a punt.

'That punt failed. And, once again, it's the taxpayer who is left to pick up the tab.'

The DHSC said: 'We do not comment on details relating to ongoing legal proceedings, but we have been always been clear that government contracts must deliver value for taxpayer money and we will take action in instances where this does not happen.'

The plan is to fly the G1 aircraft from the port city of Bata to the island of Bioko approximately 128 miles away

The previous longest known drone flight was recorded in 2017 with a fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle by a Nevada UAS Consortium and spanned 97 miles

Alpine 4 Technologies Ltd ( ) announced today that Vayu, one of its drone subsidiaries, is making a run at the world record for drone flight distance using its autonomous delivery G1 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft.

The Vayu team will be heading to Equatorial Guinea in the coming weeks to achieve this accomplishment, the company said. The plan is to fly the G1 aircraft from the port city of Bata to the island of Bioko approximately 128 miles away. For good measure, Vayu then plans to fly the G1 from Bioko Island to Annobon Island, a roughly 364 mile-journey.

The previous longest known drone flight was recorded in 2017 with a fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by a Nevada UAS Consortium and spanned 97 miles.

"Who doesn't love a world record, Ian Kantrowitz, a member of Alpine 4's executive leadership team, said in a statement. Since the Vayu team is already going to be in Equatorial Guinea meeting with the Ministry of Health anyway, we figured we may as well go for a world record."

An application has been filed with the Guinness Book of World Records, the company said, and the Vayu team, lead by CEO Daniel Pepper, is working through the logistics of moving the G1 aircraft internationally.

This isnt Peppers first time in Africa. The CEO and his team previously partnered with USAID in Malawi to help combat Zika by testing payload capacity deliveries to remote areas. The team also partnered with the Stony Brook University Global Health Institute to deliver blood samples and vaccines in Madagascar.

Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel
SiGMA website is now available in Thai as 8th language launches

The addition of Thai to the SiGMA.world website will be followed by Korean and Japanese in the next few weeks

The Thai language will now be an official language on the SiGMA.world website, the company has announced. The language is the 8th new language for the website following the recent launch of Hindi last week and is part of a strategy to offer content in 10 key languages.

Users can now find all content, including the SiGMA News website, in Thai. The latest addition to SiGMAs portfolio of languages will run alongside the recently launched Hindi, French, Russian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Portuguese content and upcoming languages; Japanese and Korean.

The language choice reflects the growing potential for development, as Southeast Asias gaming industry continues to show long-term promises of growth. Thailands mobile market is currently at the height of popularity, making it a significant contributor as the regions fastest growing mobile games market.

With three major shows in the works, SiGMA News is designed to complement a high-growth gambling industry, as well as SiGMAs commitment to a more global and connected future.

SiGMAs upcoming event SiGMA/AIBC Asia will unite the leading minds in this sector for a discussion on regulatory frameworks, economic development and the creation of new opportunities for businesses looking to invest across the continent.

SiGMA is now present in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. It has morphed into more than just an events company, SiGMA is also a strong media company, with a team of content creators pushing out content 24/7  not only in English but in multiple, relevant languages. We believe gaming is truly becoming global, said SiGMA Group founder Eman Pulis.

In addition to the main site, the company also runs a comprehensive news website, SiGMA News. An in-house team of writers and translators provide up-to-the-minute global coverage across all 8 languages.

The SiGMA content team is made up of highly proficient native speakers, who understand the dynamics of the language and its value to the client. The quality of writing and the clarity of message remains of the highest priority. Spanning verticals from responsible gambling and eSports to Deep Tech and online gaming, the news portal offers in-depth coverage of the gaming and tech industries.

The company also has plans to launch further languages in the coming weeks, with Korean, and Japanese in the pipeline.

If you would like your brand messaging to reach our global audience across 10 languages, please contact Katy for more information about advertising and sponsorships.

Quelle: SiGMA Group

New Jersey health officials on Friday reported another 3,723 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 93 additional deaths as the vaccination effort increased to 925,000 doses administered following a setback in scheduling due to a prolonged winter storm earlier this week.

The seven-day average for confirmed positive tests dropped to 3,232, down 28% from a week ago and 30% from a month ago. Thats the lowest seven-day average for new cases since Nov. 14.

Gov. Phil Murphy provided the latest update at a coronavirus briefing in Trenton hours after signing a law to expand outdoor dining options for restaurants, bars and distilleries. In addition, the increase in indoor dining capacity from 25% to 35% took effect Friday morning. Other venues including gyms, personal care services and casinos were included in the 35% expansion.

Murphy said more than 745,000 first doses of the vaccines have been administered as the amount of daily shots increases.

They are not only growing, but the rate of growth is picking up steam, Murphy said. In the past week, the number of initial doses has increased by more than 135,400. Thats a 22% increase. And, the number of residents who have now received both doses  whether it be the Moderna or Pfizers vaccine  that number has grown by 69,258. And that is a nearly 63% increase in just the past seven days. We clearly need more doses.

Murphy said New Jerseys 71 hospitals reported 2,916 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, down 66 patients than the previous day. Murphys hospital number differed from the number reported on the state dashboard.

New Jersey has now lost 21,886 residents in the nearly 11-month outbreak - 19,699 confirmed fatalities and 2,187 considered probable. The state has reported 351 confirmed deaths in the first five days of February. The death toll for January was 2,377 confirmed fatalities, the most in any month since May.

The total number of confirmed cases is now 637,357 out of more than 9.5 million PCR tests. There have also been 75,967 positive antigen tests, which the state recently began reporting publicly. Those cases are considered probable and health officials have warned the positive antigen tests could overlap with the confirmed PCR tests because they are sometimes given in tandem.

The rate of transmission reported Friday dropped to 0.92, down from 0.94 on Thursday. Any number below 1 indicates the outbreak is slowing.

The positivity rate for tests conducted on Monday, the most recent day available, was 6.83% from the 17,884 tests administered. Testing numbers for the first half of this week, however, are likely skewed by monster snow storm that buried half of the state in more than a foot of snow with totals over 30 inches in some spots.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY NUMBERS (sorted by most new)

Bergen County: 61,778 confirmed cases (486 new), 2,231 confirmed deaths (273 probable)

Passaic County: 48,298 confirmed cases (378 new), 1,451 confirmed deaths (163 probable)

Ocean County: 46,235 confirmed cases (345 new), 1,599 confirmed deaths (104 probable)

Middlesex County: 61,269 confirmed cases (333 new), 1,747 confirmed deaths (221 probable)

Hudson County: 57,817 confirmed cases (322 new), 1,715 confirmed deaths (173 probable)

Essex County: 61,125 confirmed cases (310 new), 2,306 confirmed deaths (257 probable)

Monmouth County: 45,720 confirmed cases (242 new), 1,194 confirmed deaths (109 probable)

Morris County: 28,511 confirmed cases (203 new), 859 confirmed deaths (216 probable)

Burlington County: 28,587 confirmed cases (172 new), 645 confirmed deaths (49 probable)

Union County: 45,280 confirmed cases (165 new), 1,502 confirmed deaths (190 probable)

Atlantic County: 17,775 confirmed cases (141 new), 475 confirmed deaths (24 probable)

Camden County: 37,009 confirmed cases (139 new), 978 confirmed deaths (71 probable)

Somerset County: 16,745 confirmed cases (108 new), 658 confirmed deaths (97 probable)

Gloucester County: 19,528 confirmed cases (101 new), 486 confirmed deaths (22 probable)

Mercer County: 24,139 confirmed cases (82 new), 791 confirmed deaths (39 probable)

Cumberland County: 11,048 confirmed cases (55 new), 296 confirmed deaths (18 probable)

Sussex County: 7,070 confirmed cases (31 new), 203 confirmed deaths (57 probable)

Warren County: 5,655 confirmed cases (31 new), 185 confirmed deaths (16 probable)

Salem County: 3,986 confirmed cases (22 new), 138 confirmed deaths (12 probable)

Cape May County: 3,293 confirmed cases (21 new), 143 confirmed deaths (22 probable)

Hunterdon County: 5,487 confirmed cases (17 new), 97 confirmed deaths (54 probable)

VACCINATIONS

There have been 925,579 vaccine doses administered in New Jersey so far, according to the states dashboard. Of those, 745,552 were the first of two doses people will receive.

Thats out of more than 1.43 million doses the state has received from the federal government, according to a running tally by the federal Centers for Disease Control.

This weeks winter storm forced all six of the states mega sites, as well as likely many other facilities that give vaccinations, to close for two days.

VACCINATIONS BY COUNTY

ATLANTIC COUNTY: 28,650 doses administered

BERGEN COUNTY: 102,248 doses administered

BURLINGTON COUNTY: 46,344 doses administered

CAMDEN COUNTY: 53,393 doses administered

CAPE MAY COUNTY: 13,972 doses administered

CUMBERLAND COUNTY: 13,934 doses administered

ESSEX COUNTY: 72,856 doses administered

GLOUCESTER COUNTY: 31,958 doses administered

HUDSON COUNTY: 42,429 doses administered

HUNTERDON COUNTY: 12,429 doses administered

MERCER COUNTY: 25,450 doses administered

MIDDLESEX COUNTY: 68,625 doses administered

MONMOUTH COUNTY: 70,246 doses administered

MORRIS COUNTY: 67,385 doses administered

OCEAN COUNTY: 56,295 doses administered

PASSAIC COUNTY: 43,984 doses administered

SALEM COUNTY: 5,996 doses administered

SOMERSET COUNTY: 35,856 doses administered

SUSSEX COUNTY: 15,048 doses administered

UNION COUNTY: 45,128 doses administered

WARREN COUNTY: 9,025 doses administered

OUT OF STATE: 33,632 doses administered

UNKNOWN COUNTY: 30,696 doses administered

HOSPITALIZATIONS

There were 2,916 patients hospitalized with confirmed (2,623) or suspected (202) COVID-19 cases across New Jerseys 71 hospitals as of Thursday night.

That included 515 in critical or intensive care, with 342 on ventilators.

There were also 436 COVID-19 patients discharged Thursday while 377 patients were admitted, according to Murphy.

Hospitalizations had been slowly declining in recent weeks. Monday marked the first time in eight days the number of people hospitalized increased. The state hit a high of more than 8,000 hospitalizations in April.

SCHOOL CASES

New Jersey officials reported six new in-school outbreaks of the virus, bringing the total to 137 outbreaks and 655 cases linked among students, teachers and school staff, according to the latest numbers.

The outbreaks  defined as cases in which people were confirmed to have caught or transmitted the virus in the classroom or during academic activities  were reported in all 21 counties, according to the states COVID-19 dashboard.

Those numbers do not include students or staff believed to have been infected outside school or cases that cant be confirmed as in-school outbreaks. Though the numbers keep rising every week, Murphy has said the school outbreak statistics remain below what state officials were expecting when schools reopened for in-person classes.

New Jersey defines school outbreaks as cases where contact tracers determined two or more students or school staff caught or transmitted COVID-19 in the classroom or during academic activities at school.

AGE BREAKDOWN

Broken down by age, those 30 to 49 years old make up the largest percentage of New Jersey residents who have caught the virus (31.1%), followed by those 50-64 (23.5%), 18-29 (19.3%), 65-79 (11.1%), 5-17 (7.9%), 80 and older (5.3%), and 0-4 (1.6%).

On average, the virus has been more deadly for older residents, especially those with preexisting conditions. Nearly half the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents 80 and older (47.49%), followed by those 65-79 (32.56%), 50-64 (15.52%), 30-49 (4.05%), 18-29 (0.36%), 5-17 (0%), and 0-4 (0.02%).

At least 7,713 of the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. That number has been rising again at a steeper rate in recent months, with deaths at the states nursing homes nearly tripling in December.

There are currently active outbreaks at 435 facilities, resulting in 7,338 active cases among residents and 7,929 among staffers.

GLOBAL NUMBERS

As of Friday morning, there have been more than 104.9 million positive COVID-19 tests across the world, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University. More than 2.28 million people have died from coronavirus-related complications.

The U.S. has reported the most cases, at more than 26.68 million, and the most deaths, at more than 455,800.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
An assessment published this week in the journal The Lancet HIV provides new insight about an initiative to integrate treatment of opioid use disorder along with HIV in Vietnam.

The study marks one of the first scientifically robust assessments of a new model of treating HIV in lower or middle income countries where injection drug use is a major cause of HIV infection. It also suggests the importance of building support for peer and community connections to tackle the opioid epidemic that continues to ravage the United States in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study was led by scientists and physicians at Hanoi Medical University and Oregon Health & Science University.

Our study suggests that countries that want to expand treatment for opioid use disorder with buprenorphine should consider interventions to support retention on treatment directed at family networks, peers and community health workers." Todd Korthuis, M.D., M.P.H., co-author, leader in addiction medicine at OHSU and study's principal investigator

Korthuis, professor of medicine (general internal medicine and geriatrics) in the OHSU School of Medicine, became involved in initiating the program in Vietnam after serving as a Visiting Fulbright Scholar in 2012-13.

The new study is the first multisite randomized trial to compare HIV clinic-based buprenorphine therapy compared with simply referring HIV patients to methadone clinics for opioid use disorder treatment. The study examined outcomes for opioid use disorder and for HIV, and how well participants stuck with treatment.

Researchers found that ongoing support is critical.

"We understand that addiction is a brain disease, so people have relapses," senior author Le Minh Giang, M.D., Ph.D., chair of global health at Hanoi Medical University, said in a podcast hosted by The Lancet HIV. "In many cases, the patients left the opioid use disorder treatment and then relapsed into drug use. That's problematic for people who don't have good support from clinical staff."

Buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone, can be prescribed and used outside a specialty addiction clinic, whereas methadone must be closely monitored in part because of a higher risk of overdose in unsupervised settings. Between July of 2015 and February of 2018, a total of 281 people were enrolled in a pilot project to treat people with buprenorphine - a first in Vietnam.

"It's a more flexible treatment than methadone maintenance," Korthuis said. "You can integrate it into HIV clinics and, theoretically, in primary care clinics. Methadone has to be very carefully controlled in a specialty setting."

The new study found that access to buprenorphine is essential for countries aiming to expand access to treatment for opioid use disorder, especially among patients also being treated for HIV.

"One of the things I was impressed with, is the very tight social fabric in Vietnam," Korthuis said in the Lancet podcast. "It's impossible not to overstate the role of the family, the role of the neighborhood and the role of the community in every aspect of life, including health care."

In fact, Korthuis is already implementing a similar outreach model in several rural counties in Oregon through an initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health. Known as Oregon HIV/Hepatitis and Opioid Prevention and Engagement, or Oregon HOPE, the initiative relies on peers who have recovered from addiction to engage their neighbors in prevention and treatment services.

The program is currently active in several counties across southern and eastern Oregon.

"Community health workers who really know their neighborhoods are really good at engaging people in addiction treatment - and keeping them in treatment," Korthuis said.
My first impression is that it's quiet. Extremely quiet. The other places I've visited have been quiet, but not to this extent.

Just like it takes your eyes a while to adjust to new light, if you wait long enough, things come into focus. A Claudy Fuels lorry roars past and when it clears, there is movement.

A young boy in Banagher gear emerges from the Spar shop clutching a plastic bag. He hasn't far to go, and with a quick look either way, darts across the road and disappears into a house on Feeny Road.

At its heart, Feeny's main thoroughfare is a residential street, and the people who live there are staying at home.

Walking up the hill towards the GAA pitch, the sun briefly illuminates figures at windows.

An elderly man squints against the sun as he peers out his window. I catch glimpses of home-schooled children appearing at the windows as I make my way past.

The distinctive air brake of the bin lorry comes at regular intervals. One woman rushes from her house with a bin in tow, spinning it on the kerb before retreating back into her home.

Covid-19 messaging on the gates of Fr McNally Park.

Smoke from internal fires wafts through the air as I reach Fr McNally Park, where the sun is breaking through the haze to create a spectacular backdrop.

The pitch is the first place of note you reach when you enter Feeny. It acts almost as a gatekeeper for the village, but its own gates are open.

There don't appear to be any walkers on the grounds though, and I head back towards the centre of the village, where cars are parked around its hub; the pharmacy, supermarket and chippy.

A man stops me in the pharmacy car park, asking if I know where he can find the boy that does the tarmac  McCloskey.

It's as near to the needle in a haystack conundrum as you will find. I wish him luck.

Outside Feeny pharmacy, a makeshift shelter has been erected to facilitate a socially distanced queue, but there is none today.

Local pharmacist Declan Bateson believes people are taking things seriously.

Owner Declan Bateson tells me this lockdown has been much quieter than its predecessors.

After Christmas, it's been quieter. People are taking it seriously and have seen the surge in the hospitals, says the '93 All-Ireland winner.

In the run-up to Christmas it was very busy. Retail shops were closed for a while and with the pharmacy being allowed to stay open, it meant we were busier.

GPs have tightened up who can come and they've had a lot less people going through their doors, which means a lot more people coming through ours.

The pharmacy is at the centre of the village, both physically and metaphorically. Although he brushes off the notion of a pastoral role with modesty, it's clear this is the case.

With the elderly living alone and feeling a lot more isolated, we are one of their few points of contact, he says.

We know everybody who comes into the shop, we know their families and we can ask after them. We're part of the community.

We do try and reach out and have those chats, see if they are doing okay, or if we're delivering to them we can have a chat on the doorstep and see how they're keeping.

It's always felt that way though. It's a small village, there are a couple of pubs, a local shop with the post office, ourselves and the doctors.

The pubs have been closed and the doctors have been less available, so ourselves and the shop next door have probably been pivotal in keeping people going.

All over, this lockdown has been very different to its initial version last Spring. Covid has come creeping in to the Feeny community like many across Ireland.

We got lucky the first time round, there were no surges here, but in September and October you began to see local people testing positive. Reality dawned on people that this was serious, he says.

The lockdown before Christmas frustrated a lot of people, but in hindsight it was a mistake to let things open up again in the run-up to Christmas. It's cost lives.

We would have had the odd doubter of Covid coming in during the summer months, but we don't seem to have them coming in any more.

Wise words greet customers at Sizzles in Feeny.

Next door, in Sizzles chippy, they are cleaning in preparation for the evening's business. The door is open for ventilation when I ask if anyone is around to speak.

Grainne plays the role of gatekeeper, listening to my reasons for disrupting their Thursday afternoon, before owner Marlene appears from the kitchen, satisfied with my explanation.

There is no fortune being made, but at least we're surviving and looking forward to getting back to normal, she tells me.

You always worry, because you think 'will this week be okay?' It's stressful for anybody, but I feel sorry for people in the restaurant game.

I always want to work, but sometimes if the government says you can't, then you can't. You're always concerned about your staff and customers.

Marlene echoes Declan's analysis of how the virus has crept up on the people of the village.

At the start it didn't really sink in, until people started to get unwell. You just didn't want to see loved ones get taken to hospital and you were watching horror stories on the news of it being fatal, she says.

The summer was great because you were home early in the evenings and there was nice weather. It's tough now on people's mental health, trying to stay positive.

Since the schools closed, it's hard for childcare as well. It affects the whole community, but keeping going is important.

There is a big push to improve broadband in the area at present.

It is clear the business owners in the centre of Feeny feel a wider responsibility than simply providing a service.

Marlene says it's hard to lift people's spirits in such emotionally sanitised circumstances.

Everybody expresses they're fed up, and we're all in the one boat, but you can't spend a lot of time because we can only allow one person in at a time, she said.

It removes that bit of banter between people, but that's the times we're in. You still have people who want to come in and stand and you feel bad asking if you can bring it out to them.

If one of us went down though, that's the whole team down and it has a knock-on effect.

Birds are dancing back and forth across the Feeny Road as I make my way back towards the car.

I note the name of the pub  Sperrin View.

I take a moment to savour it, looking down Glenedra Road as the sun breaks over the Sperrins.

It's a pity no one will be able to experience it for a while.

On the way back out the road, I stop off at Banagher Glen, on the off chance any walkers want to share their lockdown experience.

I'm halfway down the narrow road when I'm waved down by two perplexed looking men standing outside a van.

Do you know if Thomas Murphy's gravel pit is anywhere round here? asks one of them.

I shake my head.

It's probably time I went home.
Months after winning praise from Connecticut legislators for straight answers on his utilitys response to Tropical Storm Isaias  but criticism from some quarters for the response itself  Tony Marone is retiring as the head of Avangrids utility businesses.

His replacement is Catherine Stempien, who most recently led the Florida territories of Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy. She brings experience in hurricane response and recovery, in addition to broader legal and regulatory background.

Based in Orange under new CEO Dennis Arriola, who came on the job last summer, Avangrid lumps United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas, and Connecticut Natural Gas under its Avangrids Networks subsidiary that Stempien will lead as of March 15, along with utilities in New York, Massachusetts and Maine.

In October, Avangrid installed Berkshire Gas chief Frank Reynolds to lead its electric and natural gas operations in Connecticut and Massachusetts, reporting to Marone.

Avangrid has been expanding a separate renewable energy business, that includes the Vineyard Wind and Park City Wind turbine farms planned for off the southern New England Coast.

Active on Twitter  where she styles herself a Yankee girl softened by the south alongside the #womeninpower hashtag  Stempien grew up in Simsbury before attending Dartmouth College and then studying law at Boston University. Before joining Duke in 2003, she worked as an attorney for AT&T in Basking Ridge, N.J. Her spouse Jim Bolin is a Charlotte attorney.

No woman is among the 10 senior-most executives Avangrid lists online. Three of its 14 board seats are held by women  including Pattie Jacobs, AT&Ts top executive in New England based in Boston.

Marone has spent his career with Avangrid and its predecessor companies, dating back to 1987 when he joined United Illuminating as an assistant engineer. The past year was the most demanding, after Isaias brought down power lines throughout the state.

That prompted the Connecticut General Assembly and the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to demand answers from Marone and his counterparts at Eversource Energy on why the electric utilities were not better prepared to handle a storm of that magnitude. The legislature subsequently crafted a take back the grid law that stiffens penalties on utilities if their storm response is deemed inadequate.

United Illuminating provides power for 17 communites in the New Haven and Bridgeport area.

Stempien had been on the Duke job for only a matter of months in 2018 when Hurricane Michael delivered a similar wallop in Florida, referencing the experience the following spring during a commencement ceremony at Lake Sumter State College.

After the devastating impact of Hurricane Michael over the panhandle last fall, our team did what many thought was impossible  they rebuilt the entire electric system ... in three weeks, she said. You assess the situation, put a plan together, and you start.

Includes prior reporting by Tara ONeill and Luther Turmelle.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
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Below is a timeline of the incidents the cheap wow classic gold youth has been charged in connection with. The theft happened sometime the previous night. The vehicle was later recovered on the 100 block of East College Avenue. There were five people inside the residence at the time. A dozen people were inside the home when the shooting happened. Residents reported hearing someone moving in the house. A suspect had taken a woman purse, which contained the keys to a 2013 Toyota Venza. The vehicle was stolen, but later recovered on June 15 in Lumsden. The vehicle was later recovered in Craik. A bullet went through the siding, into the living room and through the TV, lodging itself in a wall. The residents believed the shooting happened at night. This was the same residence that was shot at on June 9. Police found several .22 calibre shell casings at the scene. Police activated emergency equipment, but the vehicle evaded them at a high speed. Police made the decision not to pursue because of the suspect dangerous driving.

The field of astrology, which is concerned with horoscopes and the like, felt a major disruption from astronomers, who are concerned with actual stars and planets. The astronomers from the Minnesota Planetarium Society found that because of the moon gravitational pull on Earth, the alignment of the stars was pushed by about a month.

Here are a few tips to get through the inspection (and make sure you're not lumped with all the cleaning):In a share house, you'll always have someone who is less committed to cleaning. This person might be busy with work or assignment deadlines, or just absentminded and laid back. Assume their lack of assistance isn't from malice, to avoid housemate confrontations. I've been this hateful person in the past (although I'm now the tidier person) so I fully understand both sides of the story.

Last week, after visiting Britain to demand London's support for Washington against Iran, Pompeo abruptly cancelled a visit to Berlin, citing "pressing issues," and flying to Baghdad instead. There, he promoted US oil deals and demanded that the Iraqi puppet state set up after the 2003 war protect US interests from alleged Iranian threats. Germany's Sddeutsche Zeitung wrote on Pompeo's snub to Berlin that "much of that which for a long time was lauded as the German American friendship now lies in pieces."

Eventually, I returned to school for specialized training in public health, and joined organizations such as UNICEF and the International Rescue Committee, and have worked as an independent contractor on health and development projects funded by institutions such as UNAIDS, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM).

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Two Northwest grocery industry trade groups are suing Seattle over the city's new law mandating $4-an-hour pay raises for grocery stores.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, alleges the city's law interferes with the collective-bargaining process between grocery stores and unions and also "picks winners and losers" by singling out large grocery companies.

Seattle's law, passed last week, went into effect Wednesday. The Northwest Grocery Association and the Washington Food Industry Association (WFIA) filed their lawsuit the same day.

"Unfortunately, the council's unprecedented ordinance, its unilateral action, and unwillingness to work with the grocery industry has left us with no other option than to file a lawsuit against the city," Tammie Hetrick, president and CEO of WFIA, said in a prepared statement.

The law applies to large grocers, those with more than 500 employees worldwide and stores larger than 10,000 square feet, in Seattle. It mandates a $4-an-hour pay boost for all workers in retail locations. And that pay boost must remain in effect for as long as Seattle remains in a declared civil emergency.

The lawsuit claims the new law is "invalid and unconstitutional" for two reasons. First, it says, it is preempted by federal law governing collective bargaining and labor practices. And, second, the lawsuit says, the law violates the equal protection clauses of the U.S. and Washington constitutions by treating large grocers differently "without providing any reasonable justification for the exclusion of other employers or frontline retail workers."

"The Ordinance arbitrarily and improperly targets grocery store businesses in Seattle for disparate treatment while not requiring the same commitments from similarly situated businesses, or conferring any benefits on similarly situated employees," the lawsuit says.

Dan Nolte, a spokesperson for Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, said "We will absolutely defend the City's right to see essential grocery workers receive the hazard pay they so rightly deserve."

Several cities in California, including Long Beach and Berkeley, have passed similar legislation in recent weeks.

The lawsuit directs blame at the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, which pushed for the law. The law passed unanimously last week, less than a week after legislation was introduced, and it went into effect almost immediately.

"[The union] sponsored this Ordinance," the lawsuit says. "The Ordinance establishes premium pay standards that, by design or consequence, empower the UFCW or other collective bargaining units to secure a wage rate they could not otherwise have obtained from the employer at a unionized or non-union grocery store."

Anna Minard, a spokesperson for UFCW Local 21, said they were confident the mandate is legal.

"We see this kind of employer pushback every time we pass workers-rights laws, but it's especially unfortunate in the middle of a pandemic that these grocery employers are going to such great lengths to avoid paying workers," Minard said.

In response to Seattle's legislation, Trader Joe's raised pay, temporarily, for all its employees nationwide, while at the same time canceling a much-smaller scheduled midyear raise. Kroger closed two California stores in response to similar legislation there.

___

(c)2021 The Seattle Times

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
NEW DELHI (AP)  When Vinod K. Jose, executive editor of The Caravan, Indias leading investigating magazine, logged onto Twitter on Monday, he was shocked to find the magazines account blocked.

Jose was already dealing with a case of sedition and other charges against him, the magazine owners and a freelance journalist. At the heart of the allegations is the magazines coverage of the ongoing farmers protests that have gripped India for more than two months.

As the farmers camp out at the edges of the capital, protesting new agricultural laws they say will devastate their earnings, the mainstream and social media have come under unprecedented attacks from Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party. Critics say it has used the massive demonstrations to escalate a crackdown on free speech, detaining journalists and freezing Twitter accounts.

Its a very chilling development for the press, said Apar Gupta, executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group.

Jose shared a screenshot of the blocked account from his personal handle. Soon outrage ensued. Activists, journalists and media watchdogs rushed to condemn Twitter, which said it had acted upon a valid legal request issued by an Indian authority.

Hundreds of Indian Twitter accounts, including those of news websites, activists and a farmers union, were suspended on Monday. Some, including The Caravan's, have since been restored.

Offline, at least nine journalists have been charged in the last few weeks for covering the protests.

The trigger for the clampdown was the death of a protester, Navneet Singh, when the largely peaceful rallies turned violent on Jan. 26 after a group of farmers veered from an agreed protest route and stormed New Delhis 17th century Red Fort. Hundreds of police and farmers were injured in clashes.

Farmer leaders condemned the violence but refused to call off the protest.

Authorities say no shots were fired and that Singh died because his tractor overturned. His family alleged he was fatally shot. Their account has been published by several outlets, including The Caravan.

Story continues

Ministers in Modi's government accused the journalists and a prominent opposition parliamentarian of inciting hatred and endangering the nations integrity through inaccurate reporting and tweets. It led to the filing of colonial-era sedition charges, which carry a maximum five-year prison term.

The law, like its equivalent in other former British colonies, is viewed as draconian and was revoked in the United Kingdom in 2010.

Prosecutions on sedition charges are rare but their use to silence journalists, critics and dissenters in India isnt new and previous governments had resorted to it. But official data shows that Modis government has used the law more than any other  up by nearly 30%. It has also repeatedly rejected demands to repeal it.

Calls and messages seeking comment from four BJP spokespersons went unanswered. Calls to the partys media office also were unsuccessful.

Media watchdogs and rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, condemned the governments actions as censorship. The Editors Guild of India said the cases against journalists were an attempt to intimidate, harass, browbeat, and stifle the media.

Daniel Bastard, the head of Reporters Without Borders' Asia-Pacific desk, said the government was trying to impose its own narrative.

Critics say India under Modi is growing intolerant. Its ranking on the World Press Freedom Index has fallen every year, and it ranked 142nd out of 180 places in 2020.

Reporters Without Borders noted police violence against journalists and increased pressure on the media to toe the Hindu nationalist governments line as a major reason for the demotion.

But similarly, Twitters reaction of suspending accounts has also set a terrible precedent for free speech and press, said Jose.

We like Twitter to stand neutral as opposed to being vulnerable to the pressures of power," he said.

Indias Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in its notice to Twitter on Monday said that it directed the company to take down accounts that had used incendiary hashtags during the Jan. 26 violence. But Jose said The Caravan never used such hashtags and that Twitter did not notify the magazine before suspending its account.

The ministry did not respond to calls and emails but issued another statement Wednesday, accusing Twitter of unilaterally restoring the accounts despite orders to withhold them.

It said the platform had to adhere to the authorities directions and may face criminal charges for not complying with government orders.

Twitter declined to comment.

Gupta from Internet Freedom Foundation said the IT law the government invoked to freeze the Twitter accounts gives it the power to direct online intermediaries and internet service providers to block certain content without providing any explanation.

In the past, governments have blocked individual journalistic accounts, but the blocking of an account of an entire publication is a level of escalation, said Gupta.

The government's response to the farmer protests has gone beyond India's borders.

On Wednesday, India's Ministry of External Affairs condemned "vested interest groups trying to enforce their agenda after pop star Rihanna and teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted in support of the protests.

Entertainers in India havent been spared either.

On Jan. 1, Muslim comedian Munawar Faruqui was arrested for allegedly insulting Hindu sentiments while performing in Indore, a city in Madhya Pradesh state that's ruled by Modis party.

In India, intentionally hurting religious sentiments is a criminal offense. But Faruqui was arrested preemptively before his performance even began.

Before he could even make the joke, before he could even really start the show, police came and dragged him away, said Anshuman Shrivastava, Faruquis lawyer.

The show was canceled and police have since admitted they have no evidence against the comic. He was granted temporary bail by the Supreme Court on Friday, after three lower courts refused to do so.

The Associated Press reached out to five prominent comedians who didnt want to speak on record but said they were increasingly scared of making jokes against the government and Hindu religion.

What we are witnessing right now is a blatant violation of free speech in India, which the government has legitimized in full public view, said Sanjay Rajoura, a prominent Indian satirist. The government first came after Muslims because they are an easily visible minority. But now it is coming after anyone who has an informed, intelligent expression.

The ire of Hindu nationalist groups aligned with Modis party has also caught streaming platforms off guard. Many of their shows have faced boycott calls and legal cases. Recently, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Amazon Prime over its show Mirzapur after a petition claimed it hurt cultural sentiments.

Such incidents havent inspired much faith in the courts, said The Caravans Jose. He and the owners are still battling criminal charges.

I hope the courts see that the world is watching how the largest democracys judiciary defends personal liberties, Jose said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5) China is open to discuss additional coronavirus vaccine donations to the Philippines and other developing countries, Beijings ambassador to the country said Friday.

Of course, we will discuss further in the future not only through bilateral, but also through multilateral channels we are doing donation to developing countries, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said in an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines The Source, when asked if another batch of donations is in the offing.

China's Foreign Ministry earlier announced it will provide 10 million doses to COVAX, a World Health Organization-led initiative that seeks to ensure nations equitable access to coronavirus vaccines.

Huang said that as a member of the COVAX channel, the Philippines may also be a beneficiary of these Chinese vaccine donations.

The East Asian giant earlier offered to donate half a million vaccine doses to the Philippines, as announced by state councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi during his visit to the country last month.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said the products would be coming from Sinovac, but Huang noted there is no word yet regarding the brand that will be shipped out.

We are still consulting your authorities concerned. I think thats only by then when we have the opinion from your government, we can decide what kind of vaccine will be donated, Huang said, referring to the required emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

The Philippines is also expected to receive 5.6 million doses of vaccines in the first quarter of 2021 through the COVAX facility. Task Force officials expressed confidence that the country can roll out the inoculation program this February, with four referral hospitals in Metro Manila being eyed to receive the first batch of doses.

As many as 20,000 refugees are missing after two camps in Ethiopias war-torn Tigray region were destroyed, the United Nations (UN) said.



The refugees, most of whom are from neighbouring Eritrea, fled from the Hitsats and Shimelba shelters that were destroyed in fighting that erupted in Tigray in November.



In January, satellite images showed the destruction of the two refugee camps sheltering thousands of Eritreans in the region.



About 3,000 people made it to another camp in Mai-Aini, which the United Nations has access to, according to Filippo Grandi, the UNs High Commissioner for Refugees.



Many refugees were caught in crossfire, abducted and forced to return to Eritrea under duress by Eritrean forces, Grandi said, citing testimony presented to him at a visit to the camp while on a four-day trip for meetings with officials in Ethiopia.



Ethiopian federal troops entered Tigray in response to an alleged attack on November 4 and toppled a dissident ruling party that set itself in opposition to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since he came to power in April 2018.



Though the government announced victory on November 28, the regions leader has vowed to continue with the conflict.



Since fighting began, thousands of people have died and hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes. There are shortages of food, water and medicine across the region of more than five million people.



Grandi called on the Ethiopian government to do more to protect civilians in the Tigray region from the consequences of the conflict.



Whilst it is not in my place to make [a] more political judgment, I have a responsibility to tell the government to help minimise and eliminate the impact on civilians of this situation, Grandi said.



The situation in Tigray is extremely grave and urgent support is necessary to prevent the situation worsening, Grandi said. Our main priority is to gain access to deliver aid and protection.



A Mekelle-based regional caretaker administration has claimed life is returning to normal and Abiys government says it is sending aid.



Yet aid workers and some officials in Tigray have warned of a humanitarian disaster marked by widespread starvation.



Reports from all sides are difficult to verify since the government has largely sealed off Tigray from media and foreign aid workers. Telecommunications in many areas are not working.

Source: aljazeera.com









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JUDGE Catherine Staines said she would not send a drug driver to jail when she was told the man had suffered a very bad head injury in an assault after he committed the offence.

A 22-year-old from 24 Killane Drive, Edenderry, Aaron Holt, received a six-month suspended sentence at Tullamore Court, was banned from driving for 10 years and was fined 100 for offences committed in Daingean on September 26 last year.

Tullamore District Court heard he was a disqualified driver when Garda Conor Shields saw him driving towards Daingean and struggling to keep his vehicle in a straight line.

Sergeant James O'Sullivan said the vehicle was then seen swerving to the left as it entered Daingean and it had to make a sudden realignment before it went off the road.

It pulled into the footpath on Main Street, Daingean and when Mr Holt spoke to the gardai he admitted having no insurance.

Gardai noticed a strong smell of cannabis from the vehicle and following his arrest, Mr Holt gave a urine sample in Tullamore station and analysis showed that cocaine and benzocaine were present.

Donal Farrelly, defending solicitor, entered a guilty plea on his client's behalf and said the man had two young children and his partner was expecting another.

He described Mr Holt as a man who had always been in employment prior to getting into difficulties and since the incident in Daingean he had sustained a very serious injury in an assault which resulted in him needing 111 stitches in his head.

He was attending regularly at St James's Hospital and was in a very precarious health situation.

At the time of the offences he had had a bit of a breakdown and was using cocaine and cannabis.

He was no longer using the drugs and would not be doing so in future because of the injury he had suffered.

A changed man, he had also submitted urine samples to show that he was staying off drugs and Mr Farrelly asked Judge Staines not to send him to jail.

He added that Mr Holt had a number of matters before the court he has to pay compensation for, including a matter before the Circuit Court.

Mr Holt pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Edenderry Road, Daingean, and drug driving and driving without insurance at Main Street, Daingean.

Judge Staines noted eight of the man's 21 previous road traffic convictions were for having no insurance and in January 2019 he had been disqualified from driving for eight years.

In this case he was driving while disqualified and drug driving and could have killed somebody.

If you drive a vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, it's like driving a loaded gun, said the judge.

She said she had a six-month sentence in mind but noted the man's extremely serious injuries, his stitches and his health situation, which she described as very precarious.

In those circumstances she would be concerned about sending him to jail so she imposed a suspended sentence of six months in the Midlands Prison, along with the driving ban and fine.

She warned Mr Holt that he will go to prison if he drives again while disqualified.

The District Court was first informed about Mr Holt's head injury when he appeared a fortnight earlier in relation to compensation he owed for causing criminal damage in Edenderry.

At that appearance, Mr Farrelly explained that Mr Holt had been attacked and robbed of money when he was on his way to buy an engagement ring.

He owed 750 since 2018 for damaging an apartment at Francis Street, Edenderry and in a previous incident, he owed 2,000 compensation for an assault on a 21-year-old Hungarian man in Edenderry in 2016.

The victim sustained a broken nose and fractured cheekbone in the assault, and had to be treated both at Mullingar Hospital and in the Eye and Ear and St James's, Dublin.

The Circuit Court was told the prosecution of Mr Holt arose after a group of youths were seen at the harbour area in Edenderry.

Mr Holt, described at the time as a talented hurler and boxer, had been originally been ordered to pay 10,000 compensation in five instalments. At the District Court sitting on January 6 last, Judge Staines said there was no prospect of the 750 being paid for the damage to the apartment so she ordered that 500 be paid from the court poor box instead.

The Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC) has announced that it will import 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the UK in the first half of 2020.

VNVC to import 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in H1 (Source: VNVC)

A representative from VNVC told the Sai Gon Giai phong (Liberated Sai Gon) that the company has completed negotiations on the deal with AstraZeneca  a global biopharmaceutical business of the UK.

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was co-invented by University of Oxford and its spin-out company AstraZeneca. This vaccine is recommended for people aged between 18  64.

This vaccine gives high immunity, from 62  90 percent at different doses.

Research shows that 100 percent of people who were given the vaccine had the immune response to COVID-19 without noticing any problems related to the safety of the vaccine at different doses.

Supply Director of VNVC Vu Thi Thu Ha said her company has made the best necessary preparations to receive the vaccines and give injections to locals.

As of February 5 morning, Vietnam recorded 1,957 cases of COVID-19, including 1,068 locally-infected ones with 375 posted since January 27.

As many as 1,465 patients have recovered while the number of related fatalities is still kept at 35./. VNA
THE leader of a major international fraud gang was claiming Pandemic Unemployment Payments (PUP) from the State despite being locked up in jail awaiting his court outcome, the Herald can reveal.

Daniel Almajanu (35) was jailed for four years and four months on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to two counts of having custody of 53 fake bank cards and one count of making 65 fake bank cards at various locations around Dublin between January 1 and February 13 last year.

The Romanian national also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a laptop designed to make false cards.

Gardai said this week that data found on that laptop showed that he could have made up to 5m from his cloned credit card scam.

Read More

It has now emerged that detectives from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) have established that a "third party bank account" using the criminal's name and date of birth, as well as a bogus PPS number, was able to obtain 2,400 from the State between April and June last year.

During this time Almajanu was locked up in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin after his initial arrest by Pearse Street gardai on February 14 last year.

"It might seem a shocking state of affairs that this happened but the PUP scheme has been wide open to organised fraudsters ever since it was introduced," a senior source told the Herald.

The bizarre development came to light when fraud squad detectives carried out an unconnected raid in Dublin last June and learned the gangster may have been building up a potential nest-egg of tens of thousands of euro in the "third party account".

"Here you have a major criminal sitting in jail, who never worked in this country in his life, potentially getting 350 in Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payments - the payments were stopped as soon as gardai discovered what happened," the senior source said.

As part of the same investigation that revealed the Almajanu link, the GNECB has frozen 14 bank accounts and also received notification from the DPP that one male is to be charged with 76 offences in relation to PUP fraud.

Gardai are increasingly concerned about this type of fraud and have come across a number of examples of multiple fraudulent claims being paid into just one bank account.

Almajanu has four convictions in Romania and the UK for similar fraud offences and has been a long-term target for international agencies including Europol and the American Secret Service.

Read More

Gardai are investigating if he was to be a "direct beneficiary" of the PUP fraud using his details or if his associates were to pocket the cash.

When contacted about the wider issue of PUP fraud, a spokesman at the Department of Social Protection said the Government has now paid more than 5.5bn in PUP and at its peak more than 598,000 people were dependent on this income support, drawn from all employment sectors.

"The Department would like to emphasise that its Special Investigation Unit team - which includes 21 gardai on secondment from An Garda Siochana - are conducting a number of joint operations with the gardai specifically target at identity fraud cases on the PUP scheme at a number of locations across the country," the spokesman said.

"These joint operations have given rise to a number of successful prosecutions, with further investigations ongoing.

"The Department will continue to work closely with the gardai on these cases."

During 2020, around 72,000 control reviews of PUP claims were carried out by officers of the Department, resulting in more than 24,000 claims in payment being stopped, the spokesman said.

The Department said it has developed a series of controls and compliance checks to ensure that the payment of the PUP is only being made to those entitled to the income support.
CASS COUNTY, MI  An Indiana man died Thursday after losing control of his vehicle on US 12.

Douglas Vankirk, 63, of Mishawaka, lost control of his vehicle, ran off the road and struck several trees, just west of Birch Road in Porter Township, at around 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, according to a news release from the Cass County Sheriffs Office.

Deputies said Vankirk appeared to be eastbound at the time of the crash. After striking several trees, his vehicle came to a stop and caught fire, the release states.

First responders attempted to pull Vankirk from the vehicle, but he was trapped, deputies said.

The man succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

Deputies said airbags deployed during the crash but it is unknown if a seatbelt was worn.

This crash remains under investigation at this time.

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gettyimagesbank



By Park Jae-hyuk



Hahn & Company (Hahn & Co.) is accelerating investments taking into account environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria through the acquisition of companies engaging in eco-friendly businesses.



The private equity firm (PEF) took over SK Eco Prime, which was formerly SK Chemicals' biofuel operation, for 380 billion won ($340 million) in February last year, to increase its investments in renewable energy.



This decision was made amid growing calls for businesses worldwide to focus more on fulfilling their social responsibilities through sustainable investments.



The European Union proposed the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) for the promotion of energy from renewable sources in various sectors. The Ministry of Environment here also announced a plan last December to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 by 24.4 percent from the 2017 level to fight climate change.



In particular, both Europe and Korea will gradually raise the mandatory biodiesel blend level because it is considered to be an eco-friendly fuel which emits less greenhouse gases than conventional diesel. The biodegradable material is also less polluting in case of a spill in the ocean or on land.



SK Eco Prime has the largest share of the domestic biodiesel market. The company holds several patents for its unique technologies that enable the production of high-quality biodiesel without a catalyst.



Unlike other biodiesels that use ordinary soybean or palm oil, SK Eco Prime can produce high-quality biodiesel with low-quality ingredients, such as the by-products of palm oil extraction and refining. This means the company's product is more environmentally friendly and cost-effective than other products. U.K. Department of Transport data showed SK Eco Prime's biodiesel made with palm oil mill effluent can reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than other products.



Based on the technologies, the Korean firm entered the European biodiesel market and its exports rose to 25,000 tons in 2020 from 15,000 tons in 2019.



In addition, the biofuel manufacturer produces bio heavy fuel oil made of by-products from biodiesel processing, animal fats and food waste oil. It is used in thermal power plants. Given the government ordered power companies to use a certain amount of renewable energy for their production of electricity, demand for bio heavy fuel is expected to grow further.



"The acquisition of SK Eco Prime is regarded as a decision to cope with global environmental regulations and to follow the trend of ESG investing," a Hahn & Co. official said. "Amid the growing importance of carbon neutrality, governments around the world are bolstering their support for eco-friendly fuels, such as biodiesel and bio heavy fuel."



Even before the takeover of SK Eco Prime, the PEF has paid attention to the global trend of going green over the past few years.



SK D&D, a renewable energy developer acquired by Hahn & Co. in 2017, is pushing ahead with a project to develop offshore wind power generation facilities with a total capacity of 700 megawatts.



Ssangyong Cement, which was included in Hahn & Co.'s portfolio in 2016, has invested 115 billion won in constructing eco-friendly cogeneration facilities. The company is also using recycled fuel, instead of bituminous coal, to produce cement.




Limerick's folk-rock band Hermitage Green have kickstarted 2021 with a brand-new track Enough today.

With heartfelt, hauntingly beautiful vocals accompanied by an edgy, more electric sound, prepare to be swept away in a tidal wave of emotions by this breathtaking new offering from one of Irelands most successful bands of the last ten years.

Expressed from the perspective of a disappointed and discouraged lover or someone simply fed up with how life has played out, the listener will experience all the inner turmoil and frustration that comes with the end of a relationship and the resigned belief that, theres nothing left here anymore except the rain.

Written by band member Dan Murphy, the song builds to a crescendo as emotions pour over and the narrator decides enough is enough and the situation can go on no longer  they are determined to make a change and move on.

The song, now a firm favourite of the band, features on their highly anticipated album, coming later this spring 2021.

Dan Murphy said: "I wrote this song when I was going through a challenging period about three years ago. Theres kind of an arc of emotions covered throughout this song, which looking back on it, I think reflects where I was at, at that point in time. It was probably the quickest I've ever written a song - it only took me a half hour! I almost overlooked it when we were deciding on which songs to work on in studio, but the lads liked it so we decided to record it. I'm really glad we did as its now one of my favorites on the record."

Hermitage Green have been touring right across the globe for the last 10 years, entertaining fans with their epic performance and irresistible stage presence throughout the Middle East, Australia, North America, United Kingdom and Ireland. Selling out iconic music venues and performing for thousands of people at some of the biggest festivals, this five-piece folk-rock band has had the chance to share the stage with incredible artists such as Lewis Capaldi, Bastille, Two Door Cinema Club, Tom Odell, Gavin James, Sigrid, The Trews and many others.

https://www.hermitagegreen.com

https://www.facebook.com/ hermitagegreen

https://www.instagram.com/ hermitagegreen/

https://twitter.com/ hermitagegreen

http://bit.ly/HG-Spotifymain

An immigrant suspected of entering the country illegally was found in possession of a firearm, according to an arrest affidavit filed on Wednesday.

Ramon Molina-Murillo was arrested and charged with immigrant illegally present in the country in possession of a firearm.

The case unfolded on Jan. 31, when U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Laredo South Station requested assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the investigation of Molina-Murillo.

Agents said they were following a group of immigrants attempting to jump onto a Kansas City Southern train at the Kansas City Southern Railyard-Port Serrano in Laredo. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter relayed information about one person being away from the group and hiding in the brush.

Agents arrested the individual and identified him as Molina-Murillo, an immigrant from Honduras who had crossed the border illegally. Agents said he was found in possession of a firearm and ammo. The weapon was a .380 caliber Taurus. Molina-Murillo allegedly agreed to provide a post-arrest statement.

During the interview, Molina-Murillo stated to agents that he found the firearm by the railroad tracks and placed the firearm in his pocket. In a follow-up interview, he then admitted he received the firearm from an unknown person who told him to take the firearm to San Antonio, states the affidavit.

Molina-Murillo stated he knew he could not be in possession of a firearm since he is a Honduran citizen illegally present in the United States, according to court documents.

I feel so blessed. Ill be honest and tell you that, pre-COVID, if there was a line out the door, I would have had a fit, because that would mean we werent doing our jobs fast or efficient enough. But when I see the line now, theres days when I drive up and I just cry, Hart said. Someone just called me today and said We drove past your business last week, and it was cold outside. That cake must be good because people were standing in line! That type of support  where people dont pass you up just because they gotta stand in line  I dont know how you repay that.
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TSKHINVALI, Georgia -- The de facto Supreme Court in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia has sentenced a Georgian national to 12 1/2 years in prison on charges of the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and illegally crossing the border.



Judge Nana Gagieva handed down the verdict and sentencing of Zaza Gakheladze on February 5, RFE/RL correspondents reported from the separatist-controlled region's capital, Tskhinvali.



Russian troops detained Gakheladze near the administrative boundary of South Ossetia on July 11, 2020. Gakheladze sustained a gunshot wound to his leg while being detained.



According to Russian authorities in the breakaway region and South Ossetia's separatist officials, Gakheladze tried to escape arrest and shot a firearm about 10 times at Russian troops.



Georgia and European Union officials have demanded Gakheladze's release.

Since Russian military forces defeated Georgia in their brief 2008 war, Moscow has recognized South Ossetia and another breakaway region in Georgia, Abkhazia, as independent and has deployed troops there.



Russia and South Ossetia's de facto separatist government signed a deal in 2015 to integrate their security forces.



Moscows backing of the regions has drawn broad international condemnation.



Only a handful of countries have recognized the independence of the two breakaway regions, which together comprise around 20 percent of Georgian territory.
EAST HANOVER, NJ. February 5, 2021. Kessler Foundation scientists received three spinal cord injury research grants from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, to ensure that they have the capacity to complete projects delayed by the pandemic. The grants were awarded to Amanda Botticello, PhD, MPH, Denise Fyffe, PhD, and Jeanne Zanca, PhD, MPT, who conduct research in the Centers for Spinal Cord Injury Research and Outcomes and Assessment Research.

"Early during the pandemic, many of our research studies were temporarily put on hold in order to follow government stay-at-home guidelines and minimize risk to our participants," said Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD, director of the Centers for Spinal Cord Injury Research and Outcomes and Assessment Research. "Neilsen Foundation recognized these challenges and generously provided additional supplemental support to ensure that we can successfully complete these projects in spite of the delays. This is another great example of how partnering with the Neilsen Foundation has enabled us to make measurable progress toward improving the lives of people living with spinal cord injury."

Amanda Botticello, PhD, MPH, assistant director, received $43,596 in funding for her continued study titled, "Mapping Context for a Better Understanding of Community Integration and Participation after Spinal Cord Injury." People living with chronic paralysis after a spinal cord injury (SCI) often experience community integration and participation barriers. The study seeks to understand the role of the environment to address those barriers. Going forward, the project will incorporate assessments of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social isolation and identify areas to improve interventions for people with disabilities during future public health crises.

Denise Fyffe, PhD, senior research scientist, received supplemental funding of $35,000 to support her project titled, "Exploring Racial/Ethnic Contextual Factors Associated with Functional Independence in Spinal Cord Injury." Racially/ethnically diverse persons with SCI may not engage in functional independence activities due to personal, cultural, and contextual factors. This study seeks to determine the factors that impact their self-care and independence by utilizing new technologies to collect wheelchair usage data on participants' mobility at home and in the community. The goal is to develop recommendations for culturally-sensitive interventions that promote self-management and lead to community-based strategies that encourage functional independence and community participation.

Jeanne Zanca, PhD, MPT, senior research scientist received funding of $35,000 to support her project titled, "Neurofeedback to Assist Self-Regulation of Neuropathic Pain Post-Spinal Cord Injury." While medications are often the primary method of treatment, they are inadequate for controlling neuropathic pain and the negative impact it has on quality of life. Dr. Zanca's study seeks to identify novel non-pharmacologic strategies for managing pain. The study will use neuroimaging to test whether neurofeedback (a way of providing a person with information about his/her brain activity during a thinking task) can help people with SCI learn to control activity in brain areas related to pain, and learn to reduce the intensity and unpleasantness of the pain they experience.

###

Funding: Craig H. Neilsen Foundation

About the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation

The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation is the largest private funder of spinal cord injury research, rehabilitation, clinical training, and programmatic support in the United States and Canada, and draws ongoing inspiration from its founder. The Foundation partners with scientific, charitable and educational organizations conducting spinal cord injury research, training in spinal cord medicine, and supports grassroots organizations providing services to assist individuals affected by spinal cord injury. The Foundation is dedicated to a future where individuals with spinal cord injuries live full and productive lives as active participants in their communities.

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes--including employment--for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

For more information on Kessler Foundation's research, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

Facebook |http://www. facebook. com/ KesslerFoundation

Twitter | http://twitter. com/ KesslerFdn

Instagram | https:/ / www. instagram. com/ kesslerfdn

YouTube | http://www. youtube. com/ user/ KesslerFoundation

iTunes & SoundCloud | http://soundcloud. com/ kesslerfoundation

Contacts:

Carolann Murphy, PA; 973-324-8382; CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org
Sindh University organized a huge protest rally at main campus of University of Sindh, Jasmhoro on Friday to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Feb, 2021 ) :Sindh University organized a huge protest rally at main campus of University of Sindh, Jasmhoro on Friday to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day.

Vice chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Sidddique Kalhoro, led the rally in which a large number of teachers, officers, employees and students participated to show solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) and reiterated their resolve to continue their support for the freedom struggle of Kashmiris.

The really was commenced from Allama I.I Kazi Chowk which was culminated at the central library where participants carrying banners, placards inscribed with pro-Kashmir catchphrases in their hands chanted slogans in favour oppressed people of IIOJ&K.

They also raised slogans against aggression and belligerence of Indian forces on Kashmiris living in occupied valley.

Addressing the rally, the Vice Chancellor Kalhoro said Kahsmir was Pakistan's lifeline, respiratory cord and inseparable identity whereas the Indian belligerence on innocent Kashmiris was unacceptable.

"We are in utter solidarity with people of Kashmir and we gallantly believe in their irrefutable right to freedom, India must not suppress their right to self  determination", he said.

Dr. Kalhoro said people of Pakistan always saluted the sacrifices rendered by people of Kashmir in their selfless struggle for their freedom.

The Vice Chancellor said that the University of Sindh had taken out the rally to categorically express solidarity to its Kashmiri brothers and sisters, adding that the stakeholders of the varsity in particular and as a nation in general were with them. "We second and support their just struggle for what we believe is their due undeniable right", Dr. Kalhoro said.

He said Kashmir was unbreakable part of Pakistan and Kashmiris were not alone in their struggle which would be continued till its logical conclusion.

The vice chancellor appealed to the United Nations to exert pressure upon India to withdraw revocation of the special status granted to Kashmiris under Indian constituion's article 370 which, he said, had been the subject of dispute.

Registrar, pro vice chancellors of various SU campuses, deans of faculties and academic as well as administrative heads also participated in the rally.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : In an attempt to dispel the notion that the BJP does not give tickets to Muslim candidates, the saffron party's Minority Morcha has initiated the process of preparing Muslim cadres as potential contestants for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.

The national President of BJP's Minority Morcha, Haji Jamal Siddiqui, told IANS: "It's time to increase the representation of Muslims in electoral politics and the BJP is working on it." Siddiqui said the Minority Morcha has identified about 50 minority dominated assembly seats in West Bengal and he believes that some of these seats will be contested by Muslim candidates in the upcoming elections.

The BJP leader pointed out that the representation of Muslims in electoral politics has declined over a period of time, which needs to be corrected.

"From pancahayat to Parliament, Muslim representation has fallen over a period of time. People also blame us (BJP) for not giving tickets to Muslims, which is not true as tickets are given on the winnability factor of a particular candidate. We have started working to improve Muslim presence in electoral politics," he said.

Talking about his plan, Siddiqui said that the BJP is grooming its Muslim leaders at the ground level. Sharing details for the West Bengal assembly polls, Siddiqui said that due to the continuous efforts in about 50 Muslim dominated Assembly seats, the party not only found workers for the booth level committees, but also found 'panna pramukh' and some of them have great potential to perform well in electoral politics.

"We have started working on these Muslim dominated Assembly constituencies in West Bengal. We believe that some strong Muslim leaders suggested by us will get BJP ticket to contest the upcoming Assembly polls," he said.

Siddiqui also stated that besides West Bengal, Muslim dominated seats in other poll-bound states of Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been also identified.

He claimed that such an exercise is required as till now majority of the Muslim leaders were more interested in getting appointed as vice chairman of some commission or some other appointments instead of fighting electoral battle.

"We are working to change this mindset and prepare Muslim workers of the party as potential candidates. The work also helps in strengthening the organisation in future and also increases the representation of Muslims in electoral politics, from panchayat to the Parliament. It will also silence the opposition which always says that BJP doesn't give tickets to Muslims," Siddiqui said.
COVID-19 vaccinations were made available by appointment only at Soka Univerversity, in Aliso Viejo, Calif., on Jan. 26, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Orange County Works to Make Vaccination Process More Accessible and Diverse

Orange County health officials say theyre working to make the vaccination process easier for regions disabled and minority communities.

The Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) said Feb. 4 that it was adding an Americans with Disabilities Act lane at Soka University to make the inoculation process easier for disabled residents.

Rather than standing in line, those with appointments and disability vehicle placards or license plates can instead wait in a car queue at the Aliso Viejo super point of distribution (POD).

Meantime, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett told The Epoch Times during an interview that the county is working to ensure everyone can get the vaccine, including underprivileged populations.

Were going to ensure that every person, every population has access to the vaccines, Bartlett said. Were preparing a lot of materials that are multilingual, our hotline is now multilingual, we have an educational and outreach campaign that were working on that will specifically target the underserved populations and certain populations that may be reticent to get a vaccination.

She continued, Were going to do everything we can to have specific outreach and deep dives into those communities. They are critical frontline workers, food service workers, but also communities where there may be language barriers, or they just for whatever reason may be concerned or reticent about getting a vaccination.

Addressing Language Barriers

As part of Orange Countys new language access policy, it hired journalist Martin Plascencia to lead its Spanish-language communications and outreach efforts.

The pandemic has only deepened language access issues, Chairman Andrew Do said in a Feb. 4 press release announcing the hire. Now more than ever, we must reach every community and neighborhood in Orange County.

About 45 percent of Orange County adults speak a language other than English at home, according to the 2019-2020 Orange County Community Indicators Report, and about 25 percent of the population are native Spanish speakers.

Yet, according to HCA health data, the local Hispanic diaspora accounts for 11 percent of Orange Countys vaccinated population.

Orange County Supervisor Doug Chaffee said hes hopeful the newly-launched communication efforts help bridge the language barrier.

Martin Plascencia is bringing a wealth of knowledge and working experience in Spanish media to the County of Orange, Chafee said in a press release. His insights into the Latino communities and ability to act as a trusted messenger are vital assets to us.

As well, the countys Othena scheduling app is now available in Spanish. Other languages are expected to be added.

The county is also working on setting up mobile POD vaccination sites in communities that will allow the elderly to receive vaccines if they are unable to drive to the super POD sites.
The downward trend continues in Schuylkill County.

There were only 20 new cases of COVID-19 reported Thursday for the county by the state Health Department.

A day earlier, 25 cases were reported. On Tuesday, it was 40 cases.

The increase in the number of cases has been smaller over the past several weeks.

With the tally reported Thursday, Schuylkill County has recorded 11,325 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began last March.

Statewide, there were 3,370 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 856,986 for Thursday.

As of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, there were 146 new virus deaths identified by the Pennsylvania death registry. That pushes the total to 22,101 deaths attributed to COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

Two more deaths were reported for Schuylkill, increasing the total to 341.

Also Thursday, Schuylkill County has been notified that five of its employees tested positive for COVID-19, Heidi L. Zula, human resources director, said in a news release.

All five were reported to be symptomatic and in quarantine.

After contact tracing was completed, three more employees were in quarantine because of exposure, the release said.

The county also reported that 14 employees who were in quarantine have been cleared to return to work.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Having memorably dubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin the underpants poisoner this week, Alexei Navalny made headlines around the world as he was handed a jail term of nearly three years. Navalny, a Kremlin critic, has been a thorn in Putins side, surviving an attempted Novichok poisoning and forcing the president to deny owning a palace before returning to Russia, where he was promptly imprisoned. Alexei Navalny has been a strident critic of Putins Kremlin. Credit:AP Protesters took to the streets after his sentencing in the biggest demonstrations seen in Russia in years. Who is Alexei Navalny? Alexei Anatolievich Navalny was born on June 4, 1976. He is married and has two children. He grew up outside Moscow and studied law and securities and exchanges at two Russian universities.

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His rise came in 2008 via the internet, when he started blogging about corruption in state-owned companies. He did this primarily through becoming an activist shareholder, buying small amounts of shares in big firms so he could turn up at shareholder meetings to ask questions. Navalny and his wife Yulia pose for a photo in a Berlin hospital Credit:Instagram He established the Anti-Corruption Foundation, or FBK, to collect citizens reports of corrupt government practices, engaging everyday Russians in politics. In 2011, he labelled Putins political party, United Russia, a party of crooks and thieves. The moniker stuck and was hugely damaging. He grew his following online using social media, amassing 2.5 million Twitter followers. In 2017, his expose on the corruption of former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev prompted tens of thousands of young people to take to the streets, showing opposition to the Russian regime remained strong. Why is he being targeted by Putin after all this time?

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The battle between the dissident and the President became personal, and nearly deadly, when Navalny fell ill on a flight in August last year. The Germans sent a plane to bring him to Berlin, where he spent five months being treated and eventually recovered from Novichok poisoning. Alexei Navalny with wife Yulia and two children in a hospital in Berlin. Credit:Instagram Germany called on Russia to explain how the opposition politician came to be poisoned with the same military-grade nerve agent that Russian spies used to try to assassinate KGB defector Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England, in 2018. Upon recovering from his poisoning, Navalny duped a Russian FSB security service agent into revealing that theyd used a solid form of Novichok applied to the crotch of Navalnys underpants. He then chose to return to Russia on January 17, despite being encouraged to remain in exile. He was immediately arrested at passport control and accused of violating his probation conditions during the five months he was being treated, during which he nearly died and was in a coma.

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Three days before his hearing and from prison, Navalny intensified his battle with Putin, publishing a video on YouTube claiming the president owned a secret palace worth 100 billion roubles ($1.73 billion) in southern Russia. The Kremlin denies it belongs to Putin and Putins former judo sparring partner has said that it belongs to him. Putins palace Credit:Navalny life Navalny accused Putin of being Vladimir the Underpants Poisoner during an impassioned speech at his court hearing this week. The revelations and Navalnys treatment have fed into the disenchantment behind the major protests weve seen in Russia this week. Are the protests a sign his support is growing? Navalny has long organised rallies in Russia but last weekends demonstrations were the biggest against Putin in years.

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Loading The trigger was Navalnys arrest but also worsening economic conditions in Russia and the growing gap between the wealth of the billionaire oligarchs and ordinary people. Real incomes fell 3.5 per cent last year and unemployment is at its highest levels since 2011. Hit hard by a pandemic that has reduced demand for its fossil fuel exports, the Russian economy is estimated to have suffered its sharpest contraction in 11 years. Police detain a protester following the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in St Petersburg. Credit:AP Last weekend, thousands of Russians gathered to demonstrate and OVD-Info, an NGO that monitors protests in Russia, estimates around 5600 were arrested. Notably, these protests occurred in dozens of Russian cities, not just Moscow. Was Navalnys court hearing legitimate?

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Donald Rabin had scoured train after train in Chicago for four hours. He had filed a missing item with police. He had even called every Blue Line stop.

Still, the $22,000 flute Rabin had left on a Chicago Transit Authority train last Friday was nowhere to be found.

So, as a last shot, Rabin, a graduate student at Boston Conservatory at the Berklee College of Music who was visiting Chicago, took to his Facebook page.

"FLUTE EMERGENCY," Rabin, 23, wrote. "My flute was left on the train and I'm desperate to find it because it is my joy, career, and sole passion in this world. ... I just hope that a kind soul is out there with my instrument."

Against all odds, Rabin soon got a message back. A homeless man had found the silver and 18-karat gold flute, but there was a catch: He'd have to accompany him to a pawnshop and pay $550 to retrieve it.

"There was no way that was happening," Rabin told The Washington Post in an interview late Thursday.

It would take a conscientious pawnshop owner and the help of the Chicago police, but Rabin did eventually get back his prized flute, without having to pay the $550.

And now he's hoping that others will help pay along the money to Lukas Mcentee, the homeless man who found it, as he seeks a way off the streets.

"I really do empathize with the homeless couple," Rabin told The Post. "I believe in second chances and I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt."

The treasured instrument was a gift from his late grandmother, who left Rabin part of her inheritance so he could buy his first professional flute.

Last Friday, shortly after arriving at O'Hare International Airport, Rabin boarded a Blue Line train on his way to his rental place in the Wrigleyville neighborhood. As he made himself comfortable, he placed the black leather case with his flute in a crevice between his seat and the wall, making a mental note not to leave it behind, he told The Post.

But when the train got to his stop, Rabin, who struggled with gathering his luggage and laptop before the doors shut, sprinted his way out of the train. Moments later, when the train was no longer on the platform, he realized he had forgotten to grab the one item he vowed not to: Hisflute.

Panic ensued, he said, but he knew that he did not have much time.

"I realized I needed to take matters into my own hands," he said.

When his hours of searching and calling stations didn't pay off,he spent the following days contacting local news organizations and posting his last plea on his Facebook page. "My flute was left on the train," he wrote on Sunday along his contact information. "The flute is my livelihood and I'm trying every possible thing I can do to get it back."

By Tuesday, the day he was expected to fly back home to Boston, he doubted he'd ever see his flute again. "There's no call. Nobody has turned it in. I'm going to be leaving a place for the first time without my instrument," Rabin said.

Then, as Rabin sat on the plane about to take off, a man commented on his post with a picture of his flute. "Hey Donald ... I'm the one who found your flute on the blue line a few days ago," the message from Mcentee read. In another message, Rabin said, the man explained he and his wife, who are both homeless, took the instrument to a local pawnshop in exchange for a $500 loan. Rabin could get his flute back once he paid $550 (with $50 more for the interest accrued) to the pawnshop. "If you could help me out with any kind of reward [it] would be great," the man wrote.

Meanwhile, Gabe Coconate, the owner of West Town Jewelry & Loan, told the Chicago Sun-Times he had already called police on Monday after his wife recognized the flute on a news report. Mcentee returned to his shop a couple of times, Coconate told the paper, but Chicago police advised him to hold onto it.

"I go, 'Listen man, it's been all over the news. It's not your flute.'" Coconate told the Sun-Times. Police picked up the flute from the pawnshop on Wednesday, Rabin said. He flew back to Chicago on Thursday to get his instrument back, and played "Over the Rainbow" at the police station to say thank you.

Retrieving the flute had little to do with its monetary worth, he said.

"When I play, I always feel this emotion and sense of peace. I know in my heart that that's my grandmother." Rabin told The Post. "So today, when I finally got to hold the flute in my hands, I felt like it was my grandmother again."

Rabin says that although he wishes Mcentee had just given the flute to CTA's lost-and-found, he hopes the tale of his lost flute can end up helping Mcentee, who said he sleeps on the Blue Line with his wife every night. Mcentee did not immediately respond to a request from The Post as of early Friday.

Mcentee is now raising funds to secure an apartment with his wife, according to his GoFundMe page.

"I gave them $25 for their GoFundMe and I tried to give them $60 for their hotel that night," Rabin said. "I told them I would share their GoFundMe. I wanted to help them. I really sympathize with them too."
Unions representing San Francisco teachers and other employees of the citys school district announced their conditions for returning to in-person instruction Friday, a proposal they plan to submit to school officials.

Susan Solomon, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, which represents 6,500 teachers and para-educators citywide, said teachers and staff would return to in-person instruction in the states red reopening tier with vaccines  or in the orange tier if teacher and staff vaccinations are not available.

The reopening proposal was not tied to specific dates.

The announcement comes amid mounting pressure on the district and the unions representing school employees to reopen in-person learning for the districts more than 52,000 students. The issue came to the forefront when City Attorney Dennis Herrera sued the school district and board Wednesday to compel them to create a specific plan to reopen.

The next day, Mayor London Breed held a news conference with other officials to pressure the union and district to make a deal. Breed has said students learning loss and mental health make the issue urgent. The districts own research shows Black, Latino and Asian students as well as those from low-income families have lost significant academic ground compared with wealthier and white students during the pandemic.

School reopenings are guided by the states color-coded system. Under state guidelines, the red tier indicates substantial spread of the coronavirus and the orange tier indicates moderate spread of the virus. At present, San Francisco is in the purple, or widespread, tier. Schools in counties in the purple tier are allowed to open for K-6 grades if their average adjusted case rate is below 25 cases per 100,000 population and they file a safety plan.

Local, state and national health officials have said its safe for schools to reopen with proper precautions. Very few cases of transmission have been traced to schools in the Bay Area and elsewhere.

Solomon made the announcement shortly before she said she would present the unions reopening demands to San Francisco Unified School District administrators at the bargaining table.

The teachers said their offer would also require the district to make sure that virus testing, social distancing, disinfecting, protective equipment and enhanced ventilation were in place at schools. It was unclear how many of those requirements have been met. The union had previously demanded the installation of toilet lids in lavatories and air monitors in classrooms.

The majority of our (concerns) have been addressed, Solomon said. There are a few other areas where we would like to see movement, including testing and vaccine availability.

At present, all counties are vaccinating essential health care workers and long-term care residents and employees. The state also allows counties to give shots to people over 65, education and child care workers, emergency services workers and those working in food and agriculture, if vaccine is available. Some counties had begun vaccinating teachers but pulled back in the face of vaccine shortages.

Solomon said the union and the district were not very far apart in their proposals for reopening and pointed out that the two sides are meeting daily.

The school district did not respond to requests for comment.

The pressure on the district and the unions increased Thursday when a tearful Breed stood with schoolchildren holding signs that said I Miss My Friends and urged all sides to work together to get schools open.

The organizers of the event  Decrease the Distance  announced the creation of a citywide petition, and pressed for the school board and teachers union to reach an agreement by Feb. 18 on the conditions required to reopen schools.

Breed was joined by state Sen. Scott Wiener, who said he was upset that the day after the school board voted to rename 44 schools, the district announced that middle and high schools would likely not reopen this school year.

I have always been a big supporter and fan of this school district, he said. My frustration is what I see is a defeatist attitude.

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, a statewide childrens advocacy group, has been paying attention to whats been happening in San Francisco as well as other places around California and believes the building pressure - from parents and politicians  may finally stop the gridlock thats kept most California public schools closed.

Ive been involved in education policy and advocacy for a long time, and Ive never seen parents this energized about a policy anytime or anywhere, he said. It is having an impact. Ideally the focus wouldnt be on blaming this politician or that school official but on getting schools open. But clearly the pressure is having an impact.

Lempert said schools are reopening safely elsewhere in the country while many California districts seem to be going nowhere.

District officials had said they were ready to reopen to the youngest and most at-risk students at the end of January, but couldnt reach an agreement with the union.

San Francisco public schools have been closed since mid-March, but more than 15,000 private school students are back in class. Parents of public school students who have spent nearly a year with their children camped in the living room said they are frustrated.

Private and parochial schools have opened safely, said Jonathan Alloy, who has two children  Samuel, 9, and Rebecca, 8  at Commodore Sloat Elementary School. The children of families with the money for private school are getting a good education.

Alloy said the unions offer to return to the classroom when pandemic tier color improves has got lots of caveats and no sense of timing.

While he spoke, Rebecca was jumping rope with her virtual classmates in front of the living room computer, as part of her physical education class, and Samuel was pounding out a book report.

The closures are having an enormous negative impact from a mental health and socialization standpoint, Alloy said. Its time they did something.

But parent Laurel Paul, with two sons in two San Francisco high schools, said she understood the teachers reluctance.

Were all frustrated and ready for the pandemic to be over, she said. I dont blame parents for being upset. But I dont see any good choices. The surge is scary. The variants are scary. Im glad the union is pushing for safety.

Pretending the pandemic will just go away, she said, is wishful thinking.

I wonder if some of these parents who want the schools to reopen now have found a secret door to Narnia, she said.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Jill Tucker and Michael Cabanatuan contributed to this report.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF

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Violent clashes have broken out near Hama between the Syrian Arab Army and ISIS, according to Al-Masdar.

The eastern countryside of Hama witnessed, at dawn on Wednesday, February 3, violent clashes between units of the Syrian Arab Army and cells affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization.

According to reports from the Homs Governorate, ISIS attempted to launch an attack on the sites and points of the Syrian Army around the axis of al-Fasidah, located east of an archaeological area in the eastern Hama countryside.

The reports said that fierce clashes broke out between the Syrian Arab Army and ISIS on Wednesday, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.

These clashes prompted the Russian Aerospace Forces to launch a series of airstrikes between the Hama, Homs, and Raqqa Governorates, as they attempted to disperse the terrorist cells from the area.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
[February 04, 2021] Document Security Systems, Inc. Prices $34.5 Million Upsized Public Offering of Common Stock

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Document Security Systems, Inc. (NYSE American: DSS) (the Company), a multinational company operating businesses focusing on brand protection technology, blockchain security, direct marketing, healthcare, real estate, and securitized digital assets, today announced the pricing of an upsized underwritten public offering with gross proceeds to the Company expected to be approximately $34.5 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses payable by the Company.

The public offering equates to 12,319,346 shares of the Companys common stock at a price of $2.80 per share. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with their existing cash, to fund the development and growth of new business lines, acquisition opportunities, and general corporate and working capital needs. The Company has also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of shares of common stock offered in the public offering to cover over-allotments, if any, which would increase the total gross proceeds of the offering to approximately $39.7 million, if exercised in full. Aegis Capital Corp. is acting as sole bookrunner for the offering. The shares of common stock are being offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-230740), which was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 8, 2019. A prospectus supplement relating to the shares of common stock will be filed by the Company with the SEC. Copies of the prospectus supplement relating to the offering, together with the accompanying prospectus, may be obtained when available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, or by contacting Aegis Capital Corp., Attention: Syndicate Department, 810 7th Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10019, by email at syndicate@aegiscap.com, or by telephone at (212) 813-1010.



This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of, these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. About Document Security Systems, Inc.

DSS is a multinational company operating businesses focused on brand protection technology, blockchain security, direct marketing, healthcare, real estate, and securitized digital assets. Its business model is based on a distribution sharing system in which shareholders will receive shares in its subsidiaries as DSS strategically spins them out into IPOs. Its historic business revolves around counterfeit deterrent and authentication technologies, smart packaging, and consumer product engagement. DSS is led by its Chairman and largest shareholder, Mr. Fai Chan, a highly successful global business veteran of more than 40 years specializing in corporate transformation while managing risk. He has successfully restructured more than 35 corporations with a combined value of $25 billion. Investor Contact: Dave Gentry, CEO

RedChip Companies Inc.

407-491-4498

Dave@redchip.com Safe Harbor Disclosure This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to the Company's ability to complete the financing, its intended use of proceeds and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on managements current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, include: the risk that the public offering of common stock may not close; risks relating to our growth strategy; our ability to obtain, perform under and maintain financing and strategic agreements and relationships; risks relating to the results of development activities; our ability to attract, integrate and retain key personnel; our need for substantial additional funds; patent and intellectual property matters; competition; as well as other risks described in the section entitled Risk Factors in the prospectus and in our other filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, our reports on Forms 8-K and 10-Q, all of which can be obtained on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made and reflect managements current estimates, projections, expectations and beliefs. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.



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The Biden administration has announced that it is delaying the H-1B policy of the previous Trump administration on allocation of the popular foreign work visas by continuing with the lottery system until December 31, 2021, to give the immigration agency more time to develop, test and implement the modifications to the registration system.

On January 7, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced to do away with the traditional lottery system in deciding the successful applicants for the H-1B visas.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The USCIS had said it would prioritise wages to protect the economic interests of American workers, and better ensure that the most highly skilled foreign workers benefit from the temporary employment programme.

In a statement on Thursday, the USCIS said that it is delaying the rule's effective date until December 31, 2021. The Trump-era rule was scheduled to go into effect on March 9.

"To give USCIS more time to develop, test, and implement the modifications to the H-1B registration system and selection process, DHS is delaying the effective date of this final rule from March 9, 2021, to December 31, 2021," it said.

This is because it will not have adequate time to complete system development, thoroughly test the modifications, train staff and conduct public outreach needed to ensure an effective and orderly implementation of the H1B Selection Final Rule by the time the initial registration period will be open for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap season, the USCIS said.

The delay will also provide more time for the USCIS to train staff and perform public outreach as well as give stakeholders time to adjust to the new rule. For the upcoming H-1B cap season, the USCIS will apply the current regulations (random selection) to any registration period that takes place before December 31, 2021, the statement said.

On January 7, the USCIS argued that doing away with the lottery system and replacing that with a merit-based and wage-based system will incentivise employers to either offer higher salaries or petition for higher-skilled position or both. This will further establish a more certain plan for businesses to get personnel and remain globally competitive. A formal federal notification was issued on January 8.

The current H-1B random selection process makes it difficult for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the programme to compete for the best and brightest workforce, and has predominantly resulted in the annual influx of foreign labour placed in low-wage positions at the expense of US workers, Joseph Edlow, the USCIS Deputy Director for Policy, had said.

The USCIS can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas in a year. It can also issue another 20,000 H-1B visas to foreign students who have completed higher studies from a US university in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

A formal notification is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on February 8.

During the delay, while USCIS works through the issues associated with implementation, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership will also evaluate the January 8th rule and its associated policies, as is typical of agencies at the beginning of a new administration, said the federal notification to be published on February 8.

The DHS wants to ensure the orderly and efficient administration of the H-1B numerical allocations and wants to avoid disruption to the regulated public by affording itself sufficient time to fully modify and thoroughly test the changes to the H-1B registration system, minimise technical risks that result from a compressed testing schedule, and provide the regulated public enough time to become familiar with those changes to facilitate full compliance with the new regulatory requirements.

The DHS said it believes that a longer delay is needed to avoid the confusion and disparate treatment of registrants that would result if a new rule took effect during the initial registration period, or a subsequent registration and selection period, for the FY 2022 numerical allocations, particularly if the USCIS needs to open a subsequent registration period later this year to ensure full utilisation of the FY 2022 numerical allocations.

On December 31 last year, then president extended a freeze on the most sought-after H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas by three months to March 31, affecting a large number of Indian IT professionals who were issued visas by the US government for the fiscal year 2021.

had promised to lift the suspension on H-1B visas, saying Trump's immigration policies are cruel.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 22:46:17|Editor: huaxia

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A damaged car is seen at the site of a bomb explosion in Quetta, Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, on Feb. 5, 2021. Two people were killed and three others injured when a bomb went off near a rally in Quetta on Friday, Balochistan province's spokesman confirmed. (Photo by Irfan/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and three others injured when a bomb went off near a rally in Quetta city of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Friday, the province's spokesman confirmed.

The blast happened when the rally was passing by the office building of the city's deputy commissioner, spokesman Liaquat Shahwani told Xinhua.

He said that no group has claimed the attack yet, but the attack seemed to be carried out by the proxies of hostile agencies, active in the province to deteriorate its law and order situation.

Police sources from Quetta told Xinhua that the political leader who was heading the rally had been receiving threats from militants, adding that the leader remained safe in the attack, and the victims of the blast were the people who were attending the rally.

Police cordoned off the area after the blast, and started investigations.

It was the second blast in the province on Friday. Earlier, 16 people were injured when a blast went off near another rally in Sibi district, according to police sources. Enditem
Navy Shifts One of Its Newest & Most Advanced Destroyers to 7th Fleet

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan  The guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta arrived at its new homeport here Thursday, bringing with it some of the Navys most advanced capabilities, according to Naval Forces Japan.

Commissioned in San Diego in July 2017, the Rafael Peralta is one of the Navys newest destroyers and is outfitted with the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system. It can deploy with two MH-60 Seahawk helicopters and has improved ballistic missile defense, anti-air and surface warfare capabilities, according to a statement from Naval Forces Japan.
opinion

The law must deal with Jacob Zuma and his blatant disregard of a ruling by the Constitutional Court when he elects to make himself unavailable at the Zondo Commission.

It is a ludicrous notion to even imagine that the African National Congress -- a governing party that is riddled with factional battles, self-interest and greed -- would be able to confront the delinquent that is former president Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Mhlanganyelwa Zuma.

It's not surprising that the party's Secretary-General Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule would be perplexed by why South Africans would want Zuma to be held accountable. We can all remember how this very political party mobilised every resource available to intimidate, threaten and silence anyone who dared question whether Zuma was upholding his constitutional obligations.

With Friends Like These: Ace Magashule and the coalition of the wounded defending Jacob Zuma

Zuma has never taken his oath of office seriously, and in his period out of office, he has been quite happy to continue parading his doublespeak version on reality, fuelling factional battles, shoring up his position to avoid accountability and to continue to lie to the people of South Africa. After all, Zuma has always been an oathbreaker and so...
Michigan is not yet providing data regarding the racial and ethnic breakdowns of COVID-19 vaccinations, which makes it difficult to assess efforts to provide doses equitably among communities hardest hit by the pandemic.

However, the difference between vaccinations in Detroit, a predominately Black city, and the Upper Peninsula, could provide a glimpse of the disparity. As of Feb. 3, the U.P. had administered 197 shots per 1,000 residents, compared to Detroits 52 shots per 1,000 residents.

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former head of the Detroit Health Department, found the difference in vaccinations between the states largest city and the largely rural U.P. alarming.

I am concerned and I think every public health officer in Michigan should be concerned and we should be constantly asking how can we do better, El-Sayed said. Structurally, it should be easier to get more vaccines in Detroit than any rural community based on the nature of (population) density.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services provides daily updates on COVID-19 vaccinations through its online dashboard. It includes age and gender breakdowns of vaccinations, but does not offer racial and ethnic demographic data.

We need to be seeing that data by race, El Sayed said. Thats been true throughout this pandemic. We need to be stratifying every piece of data by all demographics to understand if there are systemic differences. This is a responsibility that officials have to share this information and to be completely transparent and up front about it.

MLive requested the data breakdown by race from the state on Jan. 19, and made subsequent requests each of the next two weeks. State officials have said the state doesnt yet have the ability to report that data, but its coming in the near future.

An MDHHS development team is making modifications to the states immunization records system to allow for manual entry of race and ethnicity data, according to Lynn Sutfin, spokesperson for the department. As it stands, that data is automatically pulled from electronic medical records, and some providers arent making use of their electronic medical records when doing mass vaccination clinics, according to MDHHS.

Sutfin said initial reports indicate Michigans data will be similar to other states across the nation. She said the city of Detroit, as well as Genesee County, have vaccination rates per 100,000 residents that are below the state rate, which is due in part to a disparity that exists among African Americans in the health care field.

This is why the state is using an equity lens in allocation strategy, including providing additional doses outside the allocation strategy to enable areas at disadvantage to catch up in vaccination, Sutfin said.

Related: COVID-19 vaccination waiting list swells to 40,000 in Genesee County

In the fall, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist called Michigan a leader for its efforts to collect and report COVID-19 cases and deaths by race and ethnicity in order to showcase the disparities and take steps to improve on them. At the time, he quoted the axiom, what gets measured gets managed.

Asked how hed assess the states efforts to provide vaccines to communities of color, Gilchrist said, I think that we are certainly trying to put forth the biggest effort we can. That includes working with the Biden-Harris administration to increase the number of doses coming to Michigan, and working in individual communities to reduce vaccine hesitancy.

When we talk about our plan we talk about having equity at the center of distribution, Gilchrist said. I think people have appreciated that thats our commitment and as we get more vaccines, well continue to work to get more into those communities.

In its first review of national vaccination data, the CDC found that 5.4% of coronavirus vaccine recipients whose race/ethnicity was known identified as Black. Thats lower than the demographic groups representation in health care (16%) and long-term care facilities (14%), which make up the 1A priority group.

However, the CDC warns that its data from the first month of vaccinations is incomplete. Race/ethnicity data wasnt known for nearly half of the almost 13 million initial recipients.

Because persons who are Black, AI/AN (non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native), or Hispanic have been found to have more severe outcomes from COVID-19 than persons who are white, careful monitoring of vaccination by race/ethnicity is critical, reads a CDC vaccination report.

One thing that is clear -- COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color.

In the early weeks of the pandemic, African Americans represented 33% of Michigans confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 40% of deaths caused by the novel virus, despite making up 14% of the states population.

Related: The coronavirus was tailor made to devastate densely populated black Michigan communities

Racial disparities in cases and deaths have narrowed since then, but Black/African American residents still have the highest rate of cases per million (43,721) based on their representation in the population. For comparison:

White residents make up 40,507 cases per million residents;

American Indian/Alaska Natives make up 30,767 cases per million people;

Asian/Pacific Islanders make up 24,339 cases per million people.

The disparity is even more obvious in looking at COVID-19 death data. Black residents account for at least 22.7% of confirmed deaths, despite making up 14% of the population. That doesnt include 761 deaths with race categorized as unknown.

Black residents account for 2,219 deaths per million people. For comparison:

White residents make up 1,217 deaths per million people;

American Indian/Alaska Natives make up 723 deaths per million people;

Asian/Pacific Islanders make up 410 deaths per million people.

We have centered the experiences of hard hit communities of color from the beginning, Gilchrist said. As we have measured those disparities in test results and mortality rates, it has informed all of our thinking throughout the pandemic. Now as we work to get more supply here in Michigan, that has continued to inform our thinking.

As of Wednesday, Feb. 3, Michigan had administered more than 1.12 million doses, including at least one dose for 871,820 residents. Almost 256,000 residents have gotten their second of two recommended doses.

Related: Michigan adjusts how it allocates COVID-19 vaccines to communities

Two weeks ago, the state health department adjusted how it allocates COVID-19 vaccines to its communities. Allocations of shots for local health departments each week will depend on the communitys eligible population, which includes residents 65 years and older, police officers and first responders, state and federal workers, jail and prison staff, workers in homeless shelter systems and congregate care institutions, preK-12 staff and childcare providers.

Hospital systems will receive allotments based on the percent of in-patient population they serve in the state, according to MDHHS.

The allocation formula also uses the CDCs social vulnerability index, which combines 15 U.S. census variables into a tool that helps local officials identify communities that may need support before, during, or after disasters. Its made up of indicators including socioeconomic status, household composition and disability, minority status and language spoken, and housing type and transportation.

Its not clear how the new system has affected vaccine shipments thus far, but Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said the change would result in the city tripling its weekly doses.

El-Sayed said he applauds the states use of the social vulnerability index. Beyond pinpointing communities at heightened risk he said it is just as important to invest in having conversations in those communities to inspire trust.

Part of the work here isnt just about logistics, about moving vaccine from one place to another, he said. A lot of its about engagement with communities that have been traumatized by biomedical establishments. Folks in the Black communities have had their trust in science betrayed in the past, so its not enough to just say trust the science.

Once the state is able to break down vaccination data by race and ethnicity, El-Sayed said itll be important to adjust its approach if the data shows continued disparity in who is and isnt getting shots in arms.

Equity has to wrap itself around every piece of the COVID-19 response, he said. The data we collect, the resources we allocate, the on-the-ground decisions we make and the people we empower to carry the message. All of it.

Read more on MLive:

Loopholes in COVID-19 vaccine rollout creates haves and have nots scenario in Michigan

Friday, Feb. 5, coronavirus data by Michigan county: Majority of counties below 5% positivity rate

Upper Peninsula leads the way in coronavirus vaccinations

11% of Michigan adults have gotten at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose; see numbers in your county
Good Morning Britain's Charlotte Hawkins revealed her daughter Ella-Rose begged to 'throw away' her birthday this year amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The TV presenter's five-year-old daughter with husband Mark Herbert is set to turn six this weekend.

Despite the excitement of turning another year older, Charlotte's only child heartbreakingly asked to swap her birthday for a holiday amidst the UK's third lockdown in 12 months.

Heartbreak: GMB's Charlotte Hawkins revealed her daughter Ella-Rose begged to 'throw away' her birthday this year

Charlotte shared her daughter's emotional birthday wish as she and her co-host Ben Shephard discussed Bottle Moments Project, a project where key workers had their post-lockdown wishes turned into a cartoon, depicted in a bottle.

Ben, 46, explained: 'Here's something for you, the aim was to raise spirits of frontline workers using cartoons. Since then, Bottle Moments Project has gone from strength to strength.'

Charlotte, 45, continued: 'Cartoonist Rob Murray and psychologist Dr Kevin Dutton asked workers to tell them about something they couldn't wait to do once restrictions were eased.'

Sharing his Bottle Moment, Ben said: 'Well, my Bottle Moment was being reunited with my family down in Port Isaac in Cornwall where we all think of as home, that's us on the breakwater looking back at the village, we all get together usually as a family.

Birthday girl: The TV presenter's five-year-old daughter with husband Mark Herbert is set to turn six this weekend

Moment in time: Charlotte shared her daughter's emotional birthday wish as she and her co-host Ben Shephard discussed Bottle Moments Project

'That's us sharing that hug we are desperately missing, although none of my family will claim to be the bald man at the front, my brother certainly won't have that one!

'But every member of my family now has this picture in a prominent place and we can't wait to recreate it.'

In response, Charlotte revealed her dream post-lockdown and explained her daughter's heartbreaking plea.

The host replied: 'Well, mine is going on a beach holiday with Ella-Rose, sandcastles and all.

Message in a bottle: The Bottle Moments Project sees key workers have their post-lockdown wishes turned into a cartoon, depicted inside a bottle by cartoonist Rob Murray

'She has got a birthday coming up this weekend, and I asked her what she wanted for her birthday.

'And she said, "Mummy, can I throw away my birthday and have a holiday instead?"," she continued.

'I was like, "Oh noo, you don't have to throw away your birthday! You'll have your birthday and then we will go on holiday as soon as we can." That will be a really special one.'

Recently, Charlotte spoke of how tough self-isolation has been for her over the past 10 days, after she had a Covid scare and was forced to isolate from her daughter and partner.

Back at work: Charlotte spoke of how tough self-isolation has been for her over the past 10 days, after she had a Covid scare

Update: The presenter returned to Good Morning Britain on Monday and chatted to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid about the experience

The presenter returned to Good Morning Britain on Monday and chatted to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid about the experience.

Charlotte was told to isolate after after ITV's own test and trace system informed her she had been in contact with someone who'd had the virus.

Discussing the time apart from her family, she said: 'To not be able to hug my daughter Ella Rose for ten days, was so hard, it was absolutely heart-breaking.

'To try to keep my distance, to double mask, I had convinced myself that I did have it.

'I am delighted to be here and emerge from that isolation having had two negative test results to reassure myself it was okay.'
Afterpay chief executive Anthony Eisen is pushing for the Reserve Bank to be stripped of its powers to unilaterally regulate payment firms such as buy now, pay later (BNPL) entrants, saying the system could present risks for fintech challengers.

As investors weigh the potential danger to Afterpays business from regulation, Mr Eisen has backed an overhaul that would result in the RBA losing its ability to impose surcharging rules on the BNPL sector.

Afterpay CEO Anthony Eisen Credit:Elke Meitzel

Instead, he called for Treasury to be given a greater role in setting policies for payments, a sector which is also being disrupted by the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Uber.

The RBA, meanwhile, said there could be a case for potentially regulating all firms with a major role in facilitating payments, including BNPL operators, if it was in the public interest.
A Baton Rouge woman whose murder conviction in the 2017 killing of her boyfriend was thrown out last year after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed non-unanimous jury verdicts pleaded no contest to manslaughter Thursday.

Jimeelah Crockett, who faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison if her second-degree murder conviction had stood, now faces a prison term in the range of 15 to 30 years under an agreement among prosecutors and her attorneys.

Manslaughter typically carries a sentence of up to 40 years behind bars.

Crockett, 30, claims she shot Joseph Bunch III, 38, in self-defense.

State District Judge Eboni Johnson-Rose will sentence her June 16.

"We are proud of the strength she has shown as we work towards a better future for her and her children. We look forward to presenting her story, Kathryn Jakuback Burke, one of Crockett's lawyers, said after court.

Manslaughter in Louisiana is defined as a killing "committed in sudden passion or heat of blood immediately caused by provocation sufficient to deprive an average person of his self-control and cool reflection."

Crockett was found guilty by an 11-1 vote in October 2019, three days before the Supreme Court heard arguments in a New Orleans case over the legality of split-jury criminal verdicts in state court.

In a ruling last April in that case, the high court outlawed split-jury verdicts, prompting Crockett's attorneys to file a motion for a new trial. Now-retired state District Judge Bonnie Jackson granted the motion in June.

Baton Rouge woman convicted of murder by split jury granted new trial Two months after the nation's top court outlawed split-jury criminal verdicts in state court, a Baton Rouge woman found guilty of murder by a 

An East Baton Rouge Parish jury had rejected Crockett's claim that she shot Bunch in self-defense in the parking lot of the Ardendale Oaks apartment complex on North Lobdell Boulevard, where they lived.

Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Prosecutors had said her claim was contradicted by surveillance video that showed Bunch moving backward with his hands up and then turning to walk away as Crockett fired a single fatal shot on Aug. 20, 2017.

Bunch was shot in his back left shoulder. The bullet perforated his windpipe and left lung, according to trial testimony.

Prosecutor Louise Hines said in court Thursday that Crockett "shot him in the back while he was walking away from her."

East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III was unavailable for comment after court.

In her videotaped statement played at her trial, Crockett told Baton Rouge police detectives that Bunch had been physical with her inside their apartment that night and that she shot him outside after he came at her with a raised hand as if he meant to hit her.

Prosecutor calls Baton Rouge woman's 2017 killing of boyfriend murder; defense says self-defense A Baton Rouge woman told detectives she feared for her life when she fatally shot her boyfriend in self-defense in 2017, but one of those dete

Crockett had a busted lip and minor scratches on her body when police arrived at the scene. The gun, a 9 mm pistol, was found at the scene.

Crockett and Bunch shared a child.

A no contest plea carries the same weight as a guilty plea in criminal court but cannot be used against the person in a civil proceeding.

Crockett remains free on bond.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday promised a new era after the scattershot foreign policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, declaring "America is back" on the global stage in his first diplomatic address as president.

In his speech, Biden signaled aggressive approaches to China and Russia, urged Myanmar's military leaders to halt their coup , and declared an end to U.S. support for a Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

"American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy. We must meet the new moment ... accelerating global challenges from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation," said Biden.

Trump angered European and Asian leaders with tariffs, fracturing of global alliances, and threats to withdraw U.S. troops. He did little to push back against a wave of authoritarianism in some countries.

After a Trump-inspired mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, protesting Biden's election win, foreign allies and rivals alike expressed doubts about the health of American democracy.

Biden's speech on Thursday was a full-throated attempt to vanquish those doubts, and convince Americans of the value of a forceful international approach.

"Investing in our diplomacy isn't something we do just because it's the right thing to do for the world," he said. "We do it in order to live in peace, security and prosperity. We do it because it's in our own naked self-interest."

Biden's choice of the State Department as venue for his first big diplomatic address was an important symbol of the value he places in career diplomats, who Trump largely saw as opponents.

"American alliances are our greatest asset. And leading with diplomacy means standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies and key partners once again," Biden said.

Biden in his early days has attempted to repair what he has called the damage to America's standing around the world, rolling back Trump policies. He is working to revive the Iran deal, and renewed U.S. membership in the Paris accord and the World Health Organization.

He challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions, interfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens, are over," he said.

Trump had initially sought a warm relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping but differences over trade, Hong Kong and what the U.S. military calls Beijing's destabilizing and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea prompted a rift.

China, which is expanding its military and working to grow its influence around the world, is perhaps Biden's biggest international challenge as he begins his presidency. He called Beijing "our most serious competitor."

"We'll confront China's economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive action to push back on China's attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance. But we're ready to work with Beijing when it's in America's interest to do so," he said.

Not all U.S. allies may be happy at the sharp turn in U.S. foreign policy, including Poland, where Trump once pledged to deploy U.S. troops, or a host of nations that have criticized heavy-handed intervention by Washington in the past.

"We are a country that does big things. American diplomacy makes it happen and our administration is ready to take up the mantle and lead once again," said Biden. (Reporting by Steve Holland, Alexandra Alper, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Heather Timmons and Daniel Wallis)

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(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 4 - Prosecutors on Thursday requested the indictment of a Rome road maintenance company in the death of a man who hit a pothole on his scooter and crashed into a wall dying instantly in the Italian capital December 2018.

Luca Tosi Brandi, 20, was riding his scooter back from a nursing training course at the Sant'Andrea Hospital on the night of December 12 2018 when he ran over one of Rome's many potholes, lost control of the scooter, and lost his life in the crash.

The owners and managers of the firm that was supposed to have kept the stretch of road in good shape now risk being tried for negligent manslaughter, judicial sources said Thursday.

The case will come before preliminary hearings judge Paola Della Monica on May 10.

Successive Rome city governments have launched campaigns to fill in the potholes that dot the capital. (ANSA).


Police arrest a male at a property in the Oldpark area of North Belfast in relation to the murder of Danny McClean on February 4th 2021 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Police arrest a male at a property in the Oldpark area of North Belfast in relation to the murder of Danny McClean on February 4th 2021 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Police arrest a male at a property in the Newlodge Road area of North Belfast in relation to the murder of Danny McClean on February 4th 2021 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Police arrest a male at a property in the Newlodge Road area of North Belfast in relation to the murder of Danny McClean on February 4th 2021 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Two men aged 46 and 39 have been arrested by detectives investigating the murder of Daniel Danny McClean in north Belfast on Tuesday.

Both men have been taken to Musgrave PSNI Station for questioning.

Officers made arrests in the New Lodge area and in the Old Park area on Thursday evening.

McClean was shot a number of times at point blank range while sitting in a parked car in the driveway of a guesthouse on the Cliftonville Road earlier this week.

The shooting was reported to police shortly after 8pm and McClean was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 54-year-old had links to dissident republican group ONH (Oglaigh na hEireann) and previously served in the British Army. McClean, who was on bail facing arms charges, was expelled from the gang two years ago amid informant allegations. He had been staying in a nearby bail hostel.

Police spent hours combing the area for evidence on Wednesday.

PSNI Superintendent Jason Murphy, who is leading the investigation into McCleans killing, described the shooting as callous and said his thoughts were with the victims family. He said police will work tirelessly to seek justice.

I have no doubt that local people will have been left extremely traumatised by this ruthless murder.

He called for anyone with information to share it with police and for footage to be shared with detectives.

Politicians have spoken out against the murder.

First Minister Arlene Foster described the shooting as terrible news for people in the area and expressed her sympathies with the family of the man who died.

Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill said the murder was not something that is acceptable at any level in our society and I think that anyone with information should come forward to the PSNI and assist with the investigation.

Justice Minister Naomi Long branded it senseless and added: Those responsible have left a family grieving and a community in shock.

This appalling crime places additional pressures on our first responders, at a time when they are already dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and all of the additional challenges that brings with it. There is no place in society for the gun and it is time to stop these attacks.
He has unveiled a major proposal to provide $350 per month ($4,200 per year) to every child in America up to the age of 6, as well as $250 per month ($3,000 per year) to every child age 6 to 17. Each family would be limited to a maximum of $1,250 per month ($15,000 per year). The program would be a model of simplicity, with the Social Security Administration mailing out checks every month. Thats a big difference from the Earned Income Tax Credit, which typically provides cash only in one lump sum after the tax year ends.
Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
They say every cloud has a silver lining, without doubt the silver lining of 2020 for Backstage Theatre was their Activate Residency.

Activate offers theatre practitioners and artists the opportunity to start making work again, to explore and develop work or just the time and space needed to dream and play.

Throughout the Autumn, where government guidelines permitted, Backstage welcomed artists from across Ireland for a series of residencies. Artists were given access to studio with limited additional access to the main stage, technical, admin and financial support to aid with the development of work.

Such has been the impact of this initiative, supporting artists when they need it most, that the Arts Council have featured Backstage in the latest instalment of their Arts Centres Sessions series, highlighting inspirational work within the arts industry.

... it gave us the chance to dip our toe in the water...

In their latest interview they feature Mona Considine, Director of Backstage Theatre, and choreographer Roisin Whelan to chat about their experience with the Backstages Activate Residency Programme.

Interview in full here.

Upcoming residencies for January and February have been rescheduled in accordance with guidelines and the Backstage team look forward to welcoming the rest of the successful Activate artist when restrictions are lifted.


By Moses Ndhaye

Civil society organization have revealed that their suspended funder DGF has given them a go head to continue with their operations until a final communication is made.

This week, President Museveni suspended the operations of Democratic Governance Facility (DGF), which is a principal funder of about 74 civil society organizations across the country citing subversion and its structure which is exclusively foreign headed.

The President also ordered the Inspector General of Government (IGG), police and State House Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate how the Ministry of Finance authorised the multi billion dollar fund group to operate in Uganda without involving him or cabinet well knowing the consequences it creates.

The Action Aid country Director Xavier Ejoyi says they were informed by DGF to continue implementing their funded projects.

Ejoyi meanwhile says government needs to appreciate the work of this funding group and civil society groups.

The DGF is financed by governments of Denmark, Ireland, Austria, UK, Sweden, Norway and the European Union, with an aim of ensuring equitable growth, poverty eradication, rule of law and long term stability in Uganda.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of the unlawful killing of a woman found in a burnt-out car in Doneraile, North Cork on Thursday.

The man, who is aged in his 60s, is currently detained at Fermoy Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

A post mortem on the body of the female recovered from the car is currently ongoing at Cork University Hospital.

Gardai are appealing for anyone who was in the Doneraile area between 3pm and 5pm on Thursday, particularly anyone with mobile phone or dashcam footage, to contact Fermoy Garda Station on 025-82100 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800-666-111.

Earlier: 'She had a heart of gold': North Cork village in shock over death of widowed mother-of-three Mary OKeeffe

Dromahane is today a small rural community reeling in shock at the news of the death of one of their own.

Although few were out and about in the small rain-soaked north Cork village, those who did talk seemed to genuinely struggle with their emotions following the discovery on Thursday of the body of Mary O'Keeffe.

Although she kept herself pretty much to herself and was considered a private, softly spoken woman, the mother of three was well respected by those had got to know her in the 50 or so years that she had lived in the village.

A mother to three boys, two of whom are twins, she was also a devoted grandmother, according to neighbours.

Other than being shocked at the apparent circumstances of her death, villagers also remain baffled as to who could possibly have harmed a woman who is affectionately described as a gem, and a "gas ticket".

One woman who knew her well is Ann O'Shea. Herself and her husband Denis had known the 72-year-old for 48 years.

They had also known her husband Donal, who died about 25 years ago.

Their own children were friends with Mary's oldest son Ger and their twins, Christie and Donal.

I was only talking to Mary literally about two days ago," said Anne.

As usual she was very chatty, very cheerful and we asked each other how we were.

She is in the backyard of her house, which backs onto my own backyard.

"She was always a very friendly, lovely woman.

She paused briefly, taking a deep breath and repeated: She was such a lovely warm woman.

Tears glistened in her eyes as she smiled, recalling how Mary loved the dancing.

She had also been a keen card player, with '45' being one of her favourite games.

Although she kept pretty much to herself, she was a fun-loving woman with a great sense of humour.

She was a gas ticket.

She added: She also had a heart of gold and had nursed her brother-in-law Dennis after he contracted cancer.

"She was very kind.

To be honest, you couldn't find a nicer person.

The home of Mary O'Keeffe in Dromahane.

Other residents who knew Mary said that she used to dance at the Hazel Tree club near Mallow.

While two of her sons are said to live in nearby Banteer, another of them lives in Dublin.

She was often seen in the village walking her two dogs, one of which is described as being a purebred collie.

One of her twins, Christie, lived with her for a while when he used to run a garage at the house before it eventually closed.

Mary worked as a cook in a sheltered housing project in Mallow  she used to leave her house each day at around 7am to work there.

Mary is believed to have been on a day off on Thursday, the day her body was found.

None of the neighbours the Irish Examiner spoke to today had seen her at all on Thursday.

It is not clear when the white SUV she was later found in left her house.

The vehicle itself was the subject of a joke between herself and Ann OShea, who lived round the corner from her.

When she came back with the new 202-reg car, we joked she must be rich, Ann recalled.

She laughed and said, Well, Im broke now.

Ann looks genuinely bewildered when asked about what she thinks may have happened.

I am just dumbfounded about what happened.

Equally shocked is another friend and close neighbour, 86-year-old former teacher John Joe Kavanagh.

"I have known her for more than 40 years and I taught her lads.

"She was just a kind, sociable woman and a very good neighbour.

My sincerest sympathies go to her family, her friends and anyone who knew her.

What has happened is just a terrible thing to see.

It is just so shocking in every way and to be honest, I think it damages the fabric of a small community such as ours.

He said the last time he saw her was at the weekend.

We said hello as usual and, as always, she was very cheerful.

The only movement at the house, where she lived alone, was the arrival around noon of what appeared to be a female Garda liaison officer in an unmarked car and another woman arriving in a separate, Cork-registered car.

They let themselves in through the immaculate brown PVC door of the cream pebble-dashed corner property.

There were no barking sounds to great them.

It may seem strange to say this but those dogs were a great comfort to me, John Joe added.

To hear them barking was always very reassuring to me at night.

Its the little things that can sometimes mean so much.

A backcountry skier has died in an avalanche near a remote peak in Californias rural, mountainous north.

A skier and a snowboarder from Ashland, Ore., trekked up to a ridge on a snowy flank of Etna Mountain in Siskiyou County on Wednesday to an elevation of about 6,650 feet. As they prepared to strap into their gear for the ride down, they were caught in an avalanche and carried down the mountain, according to an incident report from the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center.

The skier, identified as 35-year-old Brook Golling, was quickly pinned and buried against a tree nearby. The snowboarder, 37-year-old Ben Koerber, was swept through the trees and partially buried farther down.

Koerber immediately grabbed his avalanche beacon to prepare to search, but it malfunctioned, the report reads. He climbed back up the slope and began digging into a tree well where he thought Golling was buried and miraculously exposed a ski pole, which led to the buried victim.

By then, about a half hour had passed since the initial slide. Koerber attempted to revive Golling for more than an hour using CPR, but Golling was unresponsive.

Koerber rode down the mountain and drove to the nearby town of Etna to call authorities. A multi-agency team led by the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office Search and Rescue Team recovered Gollings body Thursday.

Both men had many years of backcountry experience, were carrying the requisite backcountry gear  beacons, shovels and probes  and conducted a successful beacon check before setting out, according to the avalanche center. After the incident, Koerber discovered a corroded battery compartment in the beacon which likely led to the malfunction, the avalanche center report concluded.

Mount Shasta Avalanche Center

The incident occurred in the Klamath Mountains in Russian Wilderness, south of Klamath National Forest. The area, known locally as Etna Summit, is frequented by local backcountry skiers but is not a popular destination, according to Nick Meyers, lead climbing ranger and director of the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center. Meyers helped with the recovery and wrote the centers incident report.

The ridge had received several feet of new snow over the last two weeks. The slide was estimated to be about 70 feet wide and 200 feet long.

While avalanches are common in the backcountry, Meyers said ski fatalities are extremely rare in Californias far north, the massive geographic area encompassing Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen.

This is the first avalanche fatality in the area since the late 1980s, to my knowledge, Meyers said.

Correction: This story has been amended to correctly identify the mountain range where the avalanche incident took place. The Chronicle regrets the error.

Gregory Thomas is The San Francisco Chronicles editor of lifestyle and outdoors. Email: gthomas@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @GregRThomas
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Through rain or snow, sleet or hail, mail carriers never stop doing their job, even in a global pandemic. One Terre Haute neighborhood shares their appreciation for their local mailman, Dale Marshall.

"It is amazing to me that they would think of a mail carrier like that," Marshall said.

Day in and day out Marshall does his job with a smile on his face, bringing joy to his neighborhood. This why the community knew he deserved something special.

"Through snow and sleet and all of that, it is true it is really what they do," Andrew Brandt, local resident, said. They're in the weather every day and we just want to show that we appreciate them."

The residents of Lincolnshire and Woodshire in Terre Haute came together on a community Facebook page to find a special way to honor Marshall's hard work. The residents gave him several gift cards to local businesses in the area.

"It is always a good feeling to know that people look at you and appreciate you," Marshall said. "And it just motivates you to do your best."

Especially with the pandemic, many people are relying on their mail carriers now more than ever. The United States Postal Service recorded an increase of over one billion packages in the last year. Many postmen and women, like Dale, are working extra hours to keep up.

"They have just been swamped and I know they are working very long hours," Brandt said.

Taking the time to honor Marshall's hard work, is priceless. He says it is one of his favorite memories from nearly 30 years of work.


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Stating that hoisting a religious flag at the Red Fort was "treason", BJP leader and former Union minister K J Alphons on Friday said in Rajya Sabha that farmer leader Rakesh Tikait cannot get away by shedding tears after the violence during their tractor parade seeking the repeal of new farm laws.

Defending the three farm laws, Alphons said there was nothing wrong in them.

Farmers protesting against the laws at border points of Delhi faced criticism after the violence during their January 26 tractor rally. However, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Tikait's emotional outburst provided a fresh momentum to the agitation.

"If you are leading an agitation Mr Tikait, and you tell people take rods with you and then you finally shed tears and say sorry 'I didn't know'. Have a backbone," Alphons said during a discussion on Motion of Thanks on Presidential Address.

Read: Not the India Gandhi envisaged: Opposition compares barricades at farmers' protest with Berlin Wall

He also accused the Opposition of sowing the seeds of dissent and hatred against the government.

"When you sow the seeds of hatred against the government...you are sowing the deep seeds of extremism. What happened at Red Fort is treason. If not treason, tell me what was it?" he told the House.

Interjecting on this issue, Congress leader Digvijay Singh challenged the BJP leader for a debate on the issue of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Defending the new Agri laws strongly, BJP leader Neeraj Shekar asked the protesting farmers to recognise people who have boycotted the presidential address and now participating in the debate to give a speech on the injustice meted out to farmers.

Also read: Tikait says 'chakka jam' to be pan-India except Delhi

"I want farmers to recognise these people. Some say they want their party to come to power in Punjab and Haryana, that's why they are giving speeches here. They don't have empathy towards you (farmers). They are talking because they want to come to power," he said targeting the Opposition.

In an apparent swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Shekar advised Congress MPs to "listen to your senior party leaders" and added "if you take decision based on Yuvraj, then the party which...has come down to 40 seats will next reach a low of 5".

Read more: FIR against deceased farmer's family for insulting national flag

Tikait is one of the 41 farmer leaders negotiating with the government on the farm laws. Eleven rounds of formal talks between the Centre and farm leaders have failed to produce any concrete results. The government has offered concession including suspension of laws for 18 months, which the unions have rejected.

BJD leader Sasmit Patra attacked the government for not properly implementing the Swaminathan Committee report on MSP.

Subhash Chandra Bose Pilli of YSRCP raised state issues such as special status to Andhra Pradesh and approval of revised cost estimate of the Polavaram Irrigation project.
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 59F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 59F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Man accused of National Guard bus arson at illegal Moscow rally detained until April

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

10:59 05/02/2021

MOSCOW, February 5 (RAPSI)  Moscows Tagansky District Court has detained Sergey Vasilenko accused of setting fire on a minibus of the National Guard during an unauthorized rally on January 31, RAPSI has learnt in the courts press service.

He is ordered to stay in detention until March 31 on charges of intentional destruction or damage to property.

Vasilenko was arrested on Wednesday. Investigators believe he set fire on a wheel of the National Guards service vehicle in central Moscow on January 31. The fire was immediately contained; no one was hurt.




Rotunda Rumblings

Doctor, doctor, give me the news: Former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton confirmed the speculation that she is considering running for Senate, Seth Richardson reports. Acton, a Democrat, stepped down from her job at The Columbus Foundation as well, an indication that she is leaning toward getting into the race.

Family tradition: Lordstown Motors, the electric vehicle startup thats redeveloping the former Lordstown GM plant, has hired Gov. Mike DeWines 22-year-old grandson as a lobbyist as they look for help from the state government in launching their business. As Andrew Tobias reports, Matt DeWine is lobbying the legislature, not the executive branch, which the company says insulates against any appearance of favoritism. Lordstown Motors hired the younger DeWine as an intern last June, the same month DeWine held a public event outside the plant.

Lessons learned: Laura Hancock looked at the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program, in which pharmacy companies vaccinated residents and workers in Ohio nursing homes in a month, in contrast to the pace of the rest of Ohios coronavirus vaccination effort. She found that the federal government and pharmacies were responsible for the effort, whose success DeWine continues to celebrate, crediting the state being involved early. She talked to experts in Ohio, at Harvard University and at Johns Hopkins about what the state can learn from the program.

Executive assistance: At least 16 executives from the banking and insurance industries are being loaned to help the states beleaguered unemployment benefits program, DeWine announced Thursday. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, the execs intend to provide guidance with processing claims, combating fraud, and operating call centers.

Ship comes in: Shipments of the Pfizer vaccine to Ohio are expected to increase by 40% in mid-February. Moderna shipments are expected to increase next week. Hancock also reports that Ohios curfew may be on track to be lifted next week.

Thursday figures: The number of new Ohio coronavirus cases on Thursday was 4,120, and the seven-day rolling average for cases was 4,931. It was the first time its come in under 5,000 since Nov. 15, when the average was 4,761, Hancock reports.

K-12 numbers: Coronavirus numbers continue to tick slightly down in schools, according to weekly data released Thursday. Emily Bamforth reports more schools are heading back to buildings as vaccines are distributed to school staff, and cases are slowing in Ohio, generally.

Why Ohio is so red: Ohios weekly coronavirus alert map, originally designed to educate the public on county-level concerns for spread based on a variety of seven criteria, has evolved into a single test for nearly every Ohio county. Rich Exner reports that it now really comes down to the number of new cases per capita. But, even so, the weekly reports are worse for some orange counties than they are for red counties.

Room for more: The Cleveland Cavaliers got a second variance from the state that will allow them to host up to 2,720 spectators at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse  14% of the arenas capacity, Chris Fedor reports. The limit had been 2,000.

Greenbacks for Greene: Champaign County Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan backed controversial Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes election to Congress with campaign cash and an endorsement calling her exactly the kind of fighter needed in Washington to stand with me against the radical left, Sabrina Eaton reports. Jordan also vocally opposed Democrats vote to remove her from the committees that Republicans assigned to her upon her arrival in Congress. Jordan and all other Ohio members voted against removal.

Defending Trump: After leading President Donald Trumps defense during last months U.S. House impeachment vote over Trumps role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Jordans role during his Senate impeachment trial will be to make the case to acquit President Trump across numerous local and national media appearances, Eaton reports.

Committee approves Fudge: Members of the U.S. Senates Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Thursday approved Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudges nomination to be President Joe Bidens Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in a bipartisan 17 to 7 vote, writes Eaton. The committees chairman, Ohios Sherrod Brown, said he will ask Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to bring Fudges nomination before the full Senate as soon as possible, but said it could be delayed by the upcoming impeachment trial.

Another opioid settlement: Ohio will receive more than $24 million out of $600 million settlement reached between 49 states and a consultant for opioid companies accused of contributing to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths. As Eric Heisig reports, McKinsey & Company advised OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and other drugmakers on how to market and sell more addictive painkillers while the U.S. saw record-high overdose death rates.

Claims adjustment: New unemployment benefits claims fell about 4.4% in Ohio last week, though ongoing claims were up by nearly 5.7%, Pelzer writes. Its the first time in a month that new jobless claims havent gone up in Ohio, though both new and continued claims are still far higher than they were at this time last year.

Left the Barnes door open: Former state Rep. John Barnes Jr. became the fifth candidate to enter the race for the 11th Congressional District to succeed Fudge, Richardson writes. Barnes served two stints in the Ohio statehouse and unsuccessfully challenged Ohio Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko in 2018.

Housing help: Toledo Democratic Rep. U.S. Marcy Kaptur introduced a bill Thursday with Michigans Rashida Tlaib to establish a $5 billion grant program to remedy blight by providing dedicated federal money for local community development and rehabilitation efforts. Kaptur said money from their Restoring Communities Left Behind Act could be used for homeowner rehabilitation assistance, weatherization, improved housing accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities, housing counseling, refinancing, property tax relief and more. To improve our housing stock and benefit our neighborhoods would make us all Lorain Proud! said a statement from Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley.

Money for deceased: Exner has advice in his personal finance column for people who lost loved ones last year: make sure both rounds of stimulus money were collected for the deceased person. If payments werent received, they can be claimed in completing their 2020 tax forms, something often handled by family members after a person dies, the IRS confirms. This is a reversal from the position the government held last summer. This, however, is not the case for people who died before 2020.

Buckeye Brain Tease

Question: One of the first Cesarean sections in the U.S. was performed in Newtown, Ohio, near Cincinnati, in 1827. Name the physician who performed it.

Email your response to capitolletter@cleveland.com. The first correct respondent will be mentioned in next weeks newsletter.

Thanks for responding to last weeks trivia question:

What famous Ohio archeological site was first acquired from a local landowner by Harvard University in 1887, studied and restored and later deeded to what was then the Ohio State Archeological and Historical Society?

Answer: Serpent Mound

Capitol Letter readers Katie Eagan of Cincinnati and Michael Eshleman, Otero County Attorney from Alamogordo, New Mexico, were the first to send in the correct answer.

On The Move

Justin Barasky is joining the strategy firm Left Hook as a partner. Barasky, who managed U.S. Sen. Sherrod Browns 2018 re-election campaign, most recently served as a senior adviser at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Democratic operative Spencer Dirrig has been hired as political director for the Ohio Environmental Council. Dirrig managed state Senate campaigns for Crystal Lett in 2020 and Louise Valentine in 2018.

Ryan Burgess has been hired as the new president and CEO of Goodwill Columbus. He previously was cabinet secretary for Gov. Mike DeWine.

Birthdays

Friday 2/5: State Rep. Janine Boyd

Sunday 2/7: Devin Bilski, deputy director of boards and commissions, Gov. Mike DeWines office

Jo Ingles, Ohio Public Radio

Rachel Massoud, policy analyst for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio

Lauren Payne, legislative aide to state Rep. Tim Ginter

Angie Phifer, legislative aide to state Rep. Monique Smith

Straight from the Source

If its wrong to honor a President who presided over the strongest economy in history and created jobs for Ohioans Not sure I want to be right.

- Ohio Republican Party Chair and potential U.S. Senate candidate Jane Timken, tweeting Thursday in support of an Ohio House GOP resolution declaring June 14 President Donald J. Trump Day.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
Its a rare legal move.

The U.S. Attorneys Office has requested permission from a federal judge to share secret grand jury testimony related to charges against six men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The motion says the testimony would be given to state Attorney General Dana Nessels office for the prosecution of eight more alleged kidnap plotters who are separately facing state charges in Jackson and Antrim counties.

The case involves the prosecution of 14 men, eight in state court and six in federal court, with ties to Michigan militias, including the Michigan Liberty Militia and Wolverine Watchmen. The suspects are accused of conducting military-style training sessions and performing surveillance on Whitmers vacation home with the intent of kidnapping the governor or committing other acts of domestic terrorism against Michigan government.

During the grand jury investigation in this case, the government has taken testimony from one or more witnesses, and expects to examine additional witnesses, the Jan. 22 federal court motion to release grand jury testimony said. These witnesses have, and are expected to, describe their roles within militia groups and their participation in components of the plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer, including their presence at key training, planning, and reconnaissance meetings.

The request to release testimony of informants to the state Attorney Generals Office is an indication those witnesses may also testify for prosecutors in state court trial. Its not clear from the motion filed by U.S. Attorney on Jan. 22 if the request is to share only portions or the entirety of the testimony.

Criminal defense attorney Anastase Markou of the Levine and Levine law firm, whos practiced federal criminal defense for 27 years, said hes not sure why the federal government wants to provide the information to state prosecutors, since the state has multiple other ways it could obtain the same information, including subpoenaing witnesses.

This is an unusual process that is going on right now, Markou said. Ive never had this experience where theres been a request from the federal government to release grand jury testimony to a state prosecutor -- never seen it.

A photo exhibit released by the U.S. Attorneys office in Grand Rapids that was shown during a two-day hearing for federally charged suspects in an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Courtesy: U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Michigan)

Grand juries are used in federal court to obtain felony indictments against suspects. They are non-public hearings at which assistant U.S. attorneys call witnesses and present evidence of the alleged crimes to prove there is a likelihood a crime was committed. The prosecution must obtain a vote to indict from 12 of 16 to 23 people assigned to the grand jury.

The suspect has no right to be present, there is no cross-examination and testimony or evidence remains secret once the hearing has concluded.

The U.S. Constitution does, however, require the prosecution to release to the defense testimony of any witnesses slated to testify at trial, Markou said.

The prosecution is under no obligation to provide each and every statement made, he added, just the ones that pertain to the clients guilt or innocence, particularly with the witnesses who are going to testify at trial.

Markou believes the prosecutions ability under court rules to avoid full disclosure of grand jury proceedings severely hampers the defenses ability to understand the entire case.

While attorneys for the defendants may file a brief arguing that the testimony remain secret, Markou said release might benefit the defense.

As a defense attorney, I want to know everything because I dont want to be surprised, he said, and I want to be the one deciding what I want to use and what I dont want to use; I dont want somebody else deciding that.

One of the federal defendants, Ty Garbin, 25, on Jan. 27 pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to commit kidnapping and faces up to life in prison. The remaining federal defendants -- Brandon Caserta, 33, of Canton; Barry Croft Jr., 44, of Bear, Delaware; Adam Fox, 37, of Wyoming; Kaleb Franks, 26, of Waterford; and Daniel Harris, 23, of Lake Orion -- are scheduled to go to trial March 23 in Grand Rapids U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Four suspects being prosecuted in Antrim County -- Shawn Fix, 38, of Belleville; Eric Molitor, 36, of Cadillac; Michael Null, 38, of Plainwell; and William Null, 38, of Shelbyville -- were scheduled for a Feb. 17 preliminary examination, but received a 60-day adjournment on Thursday, Feb. 5, with the new preliminary examination date pending.

Defense attorneys said they need more time to review evidence thats yet to be turned over by the Attorney Generals Office. The awaited information is expected to be turned over to the defense within two weeks.

An exhibit released by the U.S. Attorneys office following a two-day hearing for several men charged in a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Courtesy: U.S. Attorneys Office)

Brian Higgins, 52, is another suspect charged in Antrim County, but he is currently fighting extradition from his home in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

The remaining state defendants, Paul Bellar, 21, of Milford and roommates Pete Musico, 42, and Joseph Morrison, 26, of Munith, are charged in Jackson County and scheduled for a preliminary examination on March 3.

According to state and FBI court filings, investigators had secured informants within the militia at the center of the kidnapping plot even before the plans took shape. The alleged conspiracy was intended to spark civil war.

There was talk of putting Whitmer on trial and leaving her in the middle of Lake Michigan in a disabled boat, according to FBI testimony. The suspects also considered blowing up a bridge by Whitmers house to slow police response  and engaging in firefights with police.

Upset by coronavirus lockdown orders in place in Michigan and Virginia, the men are also accused of discussing the kidnapping of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.

More on MLive:

He cant believe he got involved

Ghost guns seized during searches

Citizens arrest defense probably wont fly

The ties that bind the suspects in alleged plot

Alleged kidnapping plot photos, video released

Liberate Michigan, Trump tweets

Whitmer said Trump is inciting domestic terrorism

Town alarmed by presence of militia plot

Men trained with guns, explosives, neighbors say

"


KYODO NEWS - Feb 6, 2021 - 06:08 | All, World

The U.N. special envoy on Myanmar has strongly denounced the country's military over its coup earlier this week and called for the release of government officials, the spokesman of the U.N. chief said Friday.

Telephone talks between Christine Schraner Burgener and the Myanmar military's deputy commander-in-chief So Win were held from Wednesday night into Thursday, becoming the first contact between the United Nations and the country's military since Monday's coup, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said at a press conference.

The U.N. envoy "reiterated the secretary general's strong condemnation of the military's action that disrupted the democratic reforms that were taking place in the country," the spokesman said, adding that she also "emphasized the need to advance progress on key areas in regard to a safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya refugees."

While noting it was "quite a long" conversation and characterizing the dialogue as "very important," the spokesman did not reveal how the military side responded during talks with the envoy.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's National League for Democracy party released a statement Friday addressed to the U.N. chief, calling for cooperation toward the release of detained officials including Aung San Suu Kyi and ousted President Win Myint.

The statement also urged Guterres not to recognize the military junta which seized power in the coup, reversing the democratization process of the Southeast Asian country.

Noting that the military came to power illegally, with the baseless claim that the results of the November general election were fraudulent, the NLD asked the United Nations to work together with the international community for the release of the detainees and to take collective steps toward ensuring democracy and freedom for the people of Myanmar.

The U.N. Security Council on Thursday expressed "deep concern" over the declaration of a state of emergency by the military following the coup and the detention of government leaders.

In a press statement, the Security Council also called for the "immediate release" of the detainees.
FREDERICTON - The head of a group representing New Brunswick farmers wants temporary foreign workers included high on the COVID-19 vaccination list as a way to protect the province's food supply.

A farmer works a potato field in North Tryon, P.E.I., in this July 13, 2000, photo. The head of a group representing New Brunswick farmers wants temporary foreign workers included high on the list for COVID-19 vaccinations as a way to help protect the security of food supply. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

FREDERICTON - The head of a group representing New Brunswick farmers wants temporary foreign workers included high on the COVID-19 vaccination list as a way to protect the province's food supply.

New Brunswick Agriculture Alliance president Lisa Ashworth says seasonal workers in agriculture and seafood processing should be included in the second round of vaccinations after health-care workers and residents of long-term care homes.

"A health-care worker needs that vaccine to keep us healthy, and our agricultural workers need that vaccine to get to work everyday to make sure we have food to eat," Ashworth said in an interview Thursday.

The 200 foreign agriculture workers who travel to New Brunswick each year help feed several hundred thousand people in the province, she said. "It would be comforting if New Brunswick health officials would do this prioritization. They have stated many times that self-sufficiency in food production is one of the province's economic goals."

Health Minister Dorothy Shephard, however, said the government doesn't plan to make temporary foreign workers a priority for COVID vaccinations.

"At this time I'm not going to assume we have temporary foreign workers on any priority list within the first two quarters," she said Thursday. "And with the availability of the vaccine, I don't see us altering that right now."

She said the best way to protect against the arrival of COVID-19 is with a 14-day isolation period, adding that the health order worked well with foreign workers last year. "They isolated and any COVID cases were found while the isolation was happening and there was no spread," she said.

The issue of vaccination is just one of many questions facing food producers in the region who rely on temporary foreign workers. Canadian airlines last week agreed to suspend commercial flights from Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30 to prevent the circulation of COVID-19 variants. All international passenger flights to Canada must land at one of four airports  but none are east of Montreal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.
If you are planning to wear your running shoes again and dust off your passport to tour the world, brace yourself! It may be that the long-haul travel may not get going until 2023 or 2024. If you wonder why even after the coronavirus vaccines? It is because it still isnt clear if the vaccines will actually stop travelers from spreading the disease, even if they are less likely to catch it themselves. What is more concerning among the governments worldwide is the new, more-infectious mutant strains that are forcing governments to seal their borders. The fear is more as the vaccines are not tested for the new mutant strains.

This means that we will have to wait for a safer travel till every citizen of every country is immunized from any mutant strains of coronavirus. This also means that the sky has to wait for international flight till 2023 or beyond. But can the international flights be kept in isolation for long? As Bloomberg quotes Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson in Geneva, Its very important for people to understand that at the moment, all we know about the vaccines is that they will very effectively reduce your risk of severe disease. We havent seen any evidence yet indicating whether or not they stop transmission.

The governments globally have noted that international travel was the biggest driver of COVID deaths and hence no government seems to be in a hurry to open their sky for international flights and borders for international travelers. However, if you are vaccinated, you can travel to countries like Seychelles, Phuket, Georgia, and Iceland.

As WTTC tweeted, Travel & Tourism businesses and destinations may still need to adapt and reinvent themselves for this next normal, ultimately transforming the sector as well know it; adjusting but ultimately coming out stronger through the process.

It is important that before the government opens it door for international travelers, it invests in the mental wellbeing of this sector. Hence it is important the industry develops a supportive system, create safe spaces, support an agile system and exemplifying support for good mental health. World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) mentions these guidelines on its website as the four pillars.

However as India is inching closer to lesser COVID-19 cases, the domestic tourism is opening up. Cities like Jaipur, Spiti Valley is witnessing good footfalls; Puri police has revived the tourist helpline number. And with the vaccine drive picking pace in the country, states will start witnessing more tourists and better revenue growth, though not like earlier, but at least not in slump.
A group of Kazakh citizens returned home from Syria. The operation to bring back the people was carried by the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and with the support of the US and other international partners on Thursday.

According to a Kazakh government release, The National Security Committee carried out an operation to return a group of Kazakhstan citizens from Syria to their homeland. The group consisted of four men, one woman and seven children, including two orphans. Orphans are transferred to the care of close relatives and the government will ensure all the necessary assistance to them. In accordance with the national legislation and international commitments, persons involved in terrorist activities will be prosecuted, stated the release.

This operation was sanctioned by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, is a continuation of Operation Zhusan, launched at the initiative of the First President, Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Also Read:

France to start rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine on weekend

Philippines to ease travel rules for foreigners

MP: Ratlam creates world record for online pledge of deaddiction
WASHINGTON: Freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, was likely to be stripped of her committee assignments by the House Democratic majority Thursday over racist remarks, her embrace of conspiracy theories and her past endorsement of violence against leading Democratic officials.

Greene, 46, is a newcomer to politics, and previously worked for her familys construction business in Georgia. She was labeled a future Republican Star by former President Donald Trump, whose political style she emulates.

Heres a look at some of Greenes past statements and social media posts, many of which were deleted after the liberal group Media Matters unearthed them online.

LAS VEGAS MASS SHOOTING

In 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire from a hotel room window overlooking an outdoor country music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 people. Afterward, Greene suggested that the shooting might have been staged.

How do you get avid gun owners and people that support the Second Amendment to give up their guns and go along with anti-gun legislation? Greene asked in an online video. You make them scared, you make them victims and you change their mindset and then possibly you can pass anti-gun legislation. Is that what happened in Las Vegas?

I dont believe (Paddock) pulled this off all by himself, and I know most of you dont either, Greene said.

SPACE LASERS

In 2018, a poorly maintained electrical grid sparked a California wildfire that killed 84 people. In a Facebook post in November of that year, Greene falsely speculated that darker forces were at work.

Connecting a series of scattershot points, Greene suggested a bank controlled by the Rothschild family, who are Jewish, a utility company responsible for the fire and then-Gov. Jerry Brown had a compelling motive to spark the blaze: clearing the path for a high speed rail project Brown wanted. She also floated the possibility that the fires could have been started by lasers or blue beams of light shot down from space by allies of Brown who were said to be in the solar energy industry.

There are too many coincidences to ignore, she wrote.

OMAR AND TLAIB

In February 2019, Greene appeared in an online video filmed at the U.S. Capitol, arguing that Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan werent really official members of Congress because they didnt take the oath of office on the Bible. Both women are Muslim.

I really want to go talk to these ladies and ask them what they are thinking, and why they are serving in our American government," Greene said. They really should go back to the Middle East.

Tlaib was born in Detroit. Omar was born in Somalia and came to the U.S. when she was 12, becoming a U.S. citizen five years later.

HILLARY CLINTON

In May 2018, a Facebook user purporting to be the mother of a New York police officer falsely claimed that the officer had seen a video taken from the laptop of disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner that showed Hillary Clinton and a top aide cutting off a childs face. Greene liked the comment and replied, Most people honestly dont know so much. The (mainstream media) disinformation warfare has won for too long!

NANCY PELOSI

Greene once suggested in an online video that Pelosi could be executed for treason.

Shes a traitor to our country, shes guilty of treason, Greene says in the video, which CNN first reported. And its, uh, its a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason.

She also liked a January 2019 Facebook post that called for a bullet to the head of Pelosi.

9/11 ATTACKS

In November 2018, Greene shot a video in which she talked about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, referring to a so-called plane that crashed into the Pentagon. She added, Its odd, theres never any evidence shown for a plane in the Pentagon.

She also liked a comment posted by a Facebook user in 2018 who falsely argued that 9/11 was done by our own Gov. Greene responded: That is all true.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
The daughter of a senior who died in a COVID-19 outbreak at the Maples care home, in which 56 lives were lost, said she doesn't trust the review that probed the crisis.

The daughter of a senior who died in a COVID-19 outbreak at the Maples care home, in which 56 lives were lost, said she doesn't trust the review that probed the crisis.

Minutes after the province released the external probe, Eddie Calisto-Tavares called for the resignation of the chief health operations officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Gina Trinidad. She also wants the provincial government to take responsibility for its failure to prepare care homes for the second wave of the pandemic last fall.

Her father, 88-year-old Manuel dos Santos de Sousa Calisto, died on Nov. 11, days after paramedics rushed to the care home after it was reported a number of residents had been found dead or near-death in their beds. In a 48-hour period, eight seniors died.

The review found that the care home was poorly equipped to care for the extremely ill seniors due to a severe shortage of staff and lack of preparation. It made 17 recommendations related to staffing, care and infection prevention, and control procedures at the home at 500 Mandalay Dr., and management of the province's long-term care facilities.

Calisto-Tavares said Trinidad, who went to the home the night paramedics found two dead seniors in their beds, was wrong when she told the public hours later that the level of care there was satisfactory. At the time, Calisto-Tavares was in the home caring for her dad.

"(Trinidad), along with Revera (the owner of the home), knew there was no staff at that home," Calisto-Tavares said at a news conference organized by the Manitoba Liberal party.

"On the night of the nightmare, we all know what happened: there was one nurse for 100 residents."

Calisto-Tavares said she's upset the author of the report, Lynn Stevenson, didn't listen to families when they told her during a virtual meeting they were unsatisfied with information given out.

"To have Stevenson today not hold this government responsible for that disaster... Stevenson's report, I do not trust it," Calisto-Tavares said.

Eddie Calisto-Tavares, whose father passed away in the Maples Care Home from COVID-19, and Manitoba Liberal leader Dougald Lamont speak following the release of an external review about the COVID-19 outbreak at Maples Care Home. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

"She sent out an agenda saying she was going to look at planning and preparedness. And she never addressed that in my call with eight other people. And I called her on that and said you did not ask any of us.

"How did Revera, how did the Maples, how did the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, how did the government of Manitoba, plan for the second wave?

"Instead of spending money on reopening Manitoba and taking a vacation, we should have been spending money on hiring staff, not just for the Maples, but for all the care homes that needed it."

The outbreak was declared on Oct. 20 and by the time it was declared over on Jan. 12, 74 staff members and 157 residents had been infected. Fifty-six people had died.

Jean Gissen, whose 87-year-old mother, Betty Hutchinson, died on Nov. 6, said she agrees with recommendations for more nurses and health care aides when care homes need it, but they should have been in place before the second wave of the pandemic.

"She died the same day the paramedics were called," Gissen said. "She was a strong woman and was fighting really hard. She really wanted to stay alive.

"They weren't prepared for this... it is a little too late for my mother and a lot of other people. She should have been in hospital.

"If she had been there, she might be around."

Joann Kubas, whose mother-in-law, Rose Kubas, 77, survived the outbreak in Maples, said she hasn't seen the report yet, but is interested to see what changes are implemented at the home because her mother still lives there.

Kubas said the care home and the provincial government had plenty of time to get ready for the second wave of COVID.

"It's easy for them to say they didn't know what the ramifications would be of not having enough staff there, but seeing everything unfold in Ontario should have given them ample opportunity to know what would happen."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, checks the supply of goods for the Spring Festival holiday and their prices at a supermarket in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

GUIYANG, Feb. 4 (Xinhua)  Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province.

At the supermarket, Xi checked the supply of goods for the Spring Festival holiday and their prices.

He later went to Jinyuan Community, where he visited local residents and learned about issues including primary-level Party building and public service.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, checks the supply of goods for the Spring Festival holiday and their prices at a supermarket in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, checks the supply of goods for the Spring Festival holiday and their prices at a supermarket in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, checks the supply of goods for the Spring Festival holiday and their prices at a supermarket in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, checks the supply of goods for the Spring Festival holiday and their prices at a supermarket in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits local residents and learns about issues including primary-level Party building and public service at Jinyuan Community in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits local residents and learns about issues including primary-level Party building and public service at Jinyuan Community in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, waves to local residents while visiting Jinyuan Community in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to local residents at Jinyuan Community in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Ding Haitao]

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to local residents at Jinyuan Community in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. Xi on Thursday visited a supermarket and a residential community in Guiyang. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

(Source: Xinhua)
A shop worker has been accused of getting into bed with a colleague and raping her while she was passed out drunk at his leaving party.

The man (29) allegedly forced the "blackout drunk" co-worker to perform a sex act on him at a house party in Dublin last weekend.

The woman (21) woke up naked from the waist down and with a black eye the next morning, but had no memory of what happened until she had a flashback later, a court heard.

The accused appeared in Dublin District Court charged with orally raping the woman. He was granted bail despite Garda objections after his defence said he would be fighting the charge and it could be two years before a trial can be held.

Outlining the prosecution's case, Detective Sergeant Bryan Hunt said the alleged victim had been at a gathering that was a leaving do for the accused and another man. She got extremely intoxicated, went to a bedroom and passed out in the bed, fully clothed.

The woman woke to find herself in bed with the accused the next morning; she was naked from the waist down and had a black eye, Det-Sgt Hunt said. The court heard the woman initially remembered nothing.

However, in a conversation later that day, she had a flashback in which she remembered engaging in oral sex but she had been blackout drunk and did not consent to it.

She also believed there had been non-consensual vaginal sex, but there was no charge in relation to this. She contacted gardai and the accused was located and arrested.

The case involved a young woman being allegedly taken advantage of by a work colleague who betrayed her trust, Det-Sgt Hunt said.

The accused had previously booked a flight to return to Brazil, had no ties to this jurisdiction and told gardai he was going to return home for good. Det-Sgt Hunt believed if bailed, the accused would not return to answer any charge.

Applying for bail, the accuseds barrister said his client had worked in a well-known store for two years and had saved more than 7,000 which he could put up as bail. He had told gardai about his pre-booked flight before the gravity of the situation was explained to him, he said.

After the party, the next morning the accused and alleged victim appeared at breakfast and there was no indication of her being upset, the barrister said.

She had no recollection of anything untoward happening with the exception of one flashback, after which she said she might have performed oral sex on my client, he said.

At work later, another man spoke to her, which brought back the memory, Det-Sgt Hunt said. This caused her to be distressed and leave work.

The barrister said according to a statement, this man had come into the bedroom during the night to retrieve his glasses and saw the accused and woman kissing on the bed. He had not wanted to interrupt and left.

The accused told the court he had a degree and if he had to stay in Ireland for two years waiting for trial, he would study for a Masters. He was absolutely emphatic he would be fighting the case, his barrister said.

Judge Bryan Smyth granted bail in the accuseds own cash bond of 7,500.
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New Delhi: The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) will release notification for recruitment of Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) Exam 2020 on Friday (February 5, 2021). The notification was earlier expected on February 2 but it was delayed.

The notification was released at 10:00 am on February 5, 2021. The time for the release, however, is not confirmed. All candidates interested in applying for the examination are advised to keep a check on the official website for updates.

Once released, the notification would be available on the official website's home page. Interested candidates are required to apply online on ssc.nic.in.

Check basic eligibility criteria and age limit for SSC MTS Examination 2020:

Basic requirement for SSC MTS is a matriculation certificate. All candidates who have completed 18-years-of-age and have a minimum Class 10 certificate are eligible to apply for the SSC MTS 2020 examination.

Those who are scheduled to appear for their Class 10 examination are also eligible to apply for the examination, provided they would be completing the same before the cut off date.

Candidates are advised to go through the official notification once released to confirm the cut off date for calculating the age.

Details like the important dates, vacancies and other information would be released in the official notification. Candidates are usually given a month to apply online for the examination.

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Its time for SBC leaders to take racial turmoil to God, Illinois pastors say

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A group of black and white pastors from the Illinois Baptist State Association are calling for a return to the Bible and the setting aside of politics to help heal the racial divide in the Southern Baptist Convention that has erupted over politics and theology in recent months.

I think the Southern Baptist Convention says a whole lot and has great statements out and has strong theology. I think the Convention needs to work more on what we call doalogy  living out our faith, living out the great commandment. And the more we live out the great commandment, the more well be conformed to the image of Christ and the more we will break down the man-made barriers and the demonic barriers that are between us, said Adron Robinson, senior pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Country Club Hills at a virtual town hall Thursday, moderated by IBSA Executive Director Nate Adams.

Robinson who is black, was one of three former presidents of the association, along with current leader, Pastor Sammy Simmons of Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton, who met to discuss ways in which Americas largest Protestant denomination could overcome the ongoing divide over race and critical race theory.

Simmons agreed that instead of creating more problems with resolutions, perhaps SBC leaders could focus more on practically working together.

Ive never liked resolutions. Maybe instead of statements, I just think we need substance. We need to work together, he said. Not only do we need minorities at the table, we need minorities to help us make the table, he continued, referencing a comment made by another fellow Southern Baptist.

Along with tensions triggered by mass protests against racial injustice and police brutality in 2020, a decision made last year by the Council of Seminary Presidents, which is comprised of the SBCs six seminaries, has sparked an exodus of black leaders from the denomination after they voted to reject critical race theory and deemed it as incompatible with their faith while condemning racism in any form.

There now appears to be an impasse over the issue that could likely contribute to more black pastors and their congregations cutting ties with the SBC if Resolution 9, which describes critical race theory as an analytical tool that can aid in evaluating a variety of human experiences, is rescinded at the SBCs annual meeting this summer.

The pastors, whose churches are part of the IBSA partnership of nearly 1,000 SBC-affiliated churches, church plants and mission congregations working together to advance the Gospel in Illinois and around the world, all raised concern over the ongoing tensions.

This sort of national cultural discussion thats already so grieved and volatile have also entered the controversial subjects of critical race theory and intersectionality, and I wrote in my column, a year ago I couldnt have told you what those were and I suspect most church members and even pastors would need to look them up to have their first orientation to them, and yet theyre becoming more common in our conversation and for some, these theories risk becoming an ideological wedge which can threaten our larger unity and cooperation and the priorities of our common ground, said Adams.

The Rev. Donald Sharp of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicago, who was the first African American elected as the president of the IBSA in 1983, stressed that the SBC is not a monolithic group, no more than the black church is not a monolithic group, and everybody is not moving in lockstep with each other.

He also suggested that politics, and not Christ, has been a big driver behind some of the tensions.

Weve got to deal with some very hard, hard issues. The reality is that much of the politics has bled over into the pews of our churches, and its also mitigated and created a lot of problems that otherwise have gotten in the way of us being able to communicate with each other more openly, because of the politics of the country over the last four years, he said.

Robinson lamented that black churches have felt abandoned by their white brothers and sisters in the struggle against racism.

The New Testament writers constantly tell us we are to have compassion for one another, bear one anothers burdens, love one another, be gracious to one another. And oftentimes, the black church doesnt feel like the rest of the church community in America helps to or at least share our burden and have compassion for our brothers and sisters, he said.

The pastors shared a variety of reactions to the protests over police brutality and systemic racism last summer, and Kevin Carrothers, associational mission strategist for the Salem South Association since 2017, said he sometimes feels helpless even though he agrees that white Christians need to show more empathy.

I appreciate what brother Adron said about the one anothers. And I was thinking about when Paul talks about in that letter to the Corinthians, one member of the family grieves, we all should grieve. And we share that burden together. Ill just speak personally. I think sometimes when those issues arise and were confronted, there is a sense of helplessness from my perspective because I dont know what to do, he said. I dont know how to influence change. I dont have that role to . [make] changes [to] the systems and the organizations or structures.

Simmons, who said his community is predominantly white, admitted that there are things members of his church community also dont understand.

My town is 96% white and less than 1% African American, and so it raises lots of questions. For us, that was individual conversations, but we dont understand the same things because we live in totally different contexts. I guess its a little bit quite different in Benton than it is in Chicago, he said.

Pastor Sharp said the George Floyd protests triggered anger in his Chicago congregation.

Well of course, the first word is anger. Anger frustration, and when its gonna ever end, he said. What it does for our congregation, it just reinforces history, past pains, past histories. I grew up in Chicago. I remember as a boy going down to Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ on a hot August day and seeing the body of Emmett Till. And it just raised even more pain and raising the question, when its gonna ever end?

On Aug. 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, was brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman four days earlier while visiting family in Money, Mississippi.

I think it hit different congregations differently. Like Pastor Sharp said, the long line of historic events in this vein has caused us to get angry that its still going on, Robinson said. Here it is in 2020 or even 2021, and black lives are still devalued on a regular basis in America. It causes frustration but also causes us to focus in on God because we know that God is where justice comes from. God is where our value comes from. God is where our love comes from. And so we look to the Kingdom to do what our government does not do. So theres always pain, theres always hurt. But within that pain and hurt we always take it to God, Robinson said.

And Robinson believes now is the time for Southern Baptists to come together and take things to God.

Pastors have to be intentional to disciple out racism. Racism is a sin like any other sin. The Gospel is the only cure for sin, and so pastors have to be intentional about discipling out racism. Teaching people what the Bible says  that theres only one race the human race, that all humans are created in the image of God. And then not letting the cultural influences bleed into the church and not be challenged by the truth of the Gospel," Robinson said.

"Its OK for them to come in with those ideas because they come from the world. You should come with worldly ideas. The churches got to disciple them into the truth with a relationship with God, he added.

The Note lineup normally launched around September/October so we generally believed this was when wed expect the new foldables to arrive. If a rumor is to be believed, Samsung may be planning to launch its new foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3, in July this year - months earlier than the Z Fold2, which arrived last September.

We may have to wait 5 months to see Flip 3 and Fold 3.  Ice universe (@UniverseIce) February 4, 2021

If Samsung is now making a shift to its release strategy and its H1 flagship (the S21 seires) already released in January, then this new timeline makes sense. If the company should stagger two major calendar releases per year, they may be six months apart. This means new foldables would be expected six months after the Galaxy S21 lineup in July.

Its still too early to tell whether theres truth to this rumor. Perhaps the company might be on track to release foldables in July but its never known if it will run into some kind of manufacturing delay. Who knows, maybe Samsungs figured everything out with folding devices for the third iteration. After all, it already went through a major recall with the first-generation Galaxy Fold.

The Galaxy Z Fold3 is expected to make a change from the UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) composition of the second-generation of foldables and may switch back to plastic. The Fold3s display is rumored to measure 7.55-inches on its internal display with a 6.21-inch cover display. Another rumor said that the Galaxy Z Fold3 may be priced the same as the Z Fold2 when it launched: $2,000. A supposed render of the Z Fold3 looks like parts of the S21 Ultra were mashed up with a folding form factor and an S Pen. We are yet to see Samsung offer a folding device that supports the S Pen. Previous models have displays that are too delicate and mark easily.



Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 alleged render

For the Z Flip3, the inner display may grow to 6.7-inches diagonally and it is rumored to have feature a 120Hz refresh rate. The Z Flip3s cover display is also expected to grow from the original Z Flips. Its also rumored that there will be a cheaper Z Flip3 model, perhaps one powered by a midrange chipset.

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MP welcomes Mondelezs Bournville investment as excellent news for Chirk Cadbury factory

This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 5th, 2021

Clwyd Souths MP Simon Baynes has welcomed the announcement that Mondelez International, makers of Cadbury Dairy Milk, Belvita, Maynards Bassetts and OREO is set to invest 15 million into the UK, at its Bournville site, which is supported by its factory in Chirk, where cocoa beans are processed and fresh milk is added.

The investment will include 11 million to create a new, line of the future for Cadbury Dairy Milk tablets as the company consolidates the majority of its tablet production at the site. The new, highly efficient line will enable 125 million more of the iconic large sharing bars to be made at its UK factory in Bournville annually, with additional capacity for any future growth.

Alongside the new line, Mondelez is also planning to invest a further 4 million at the site to increase its chocolate making capacity, to ensure sufficient chocolate mass to meet current demand and anticipate future needs.

Louise Stigant, UK Managing Director, Mondelez International said: At a time when manufacturing in the UK is facing significant challenges, it has never been more vital to secure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of our business. We now have an opportunity at Bournville to further invest in its future as the home and heart of Cadbury by bringing more Cadbury Dairy Milk production to Bournville.





Simon Baynes MP, said: The news that Mondelez International plans to consolidate the majority of Cadbury Dairy Milk tablet production to the UK is excellent news for Chirk in Clwyd South, where cocoa beans are processed and fresh milk is added. Investment in the new production line will see 12,000 tonnes more Cadbury Dairy Milk tablets  equivalent to 125 million bars  made in the UK each year.

I welcome this investment with open arms and Im proud to see Chirk and Clwyd South contributing to the success of a much-loved British brand and the production of the nations favourite chocolate bar.

Top pic: Photo of Simon Baynes MP and David Mills (Head of External Affairs at Mondelez UK and Ireland) taken at a Parliamentary reception taken on 25th March 2020  before social distancing guidelines came into effect.
Popular Ghanaian reggae/dancehall artiste Stonebwoy has been nominated in four categories at the maiden edition of the annual Global Music Awards Africa (GMAA).



Stonebwoy obtained nominations in the following categories  Global artiste of the year, Global reggae/dancehall song of the year, Global reggae/dancehall artiste of the year, and Global most popular song of the year.



Stonebwoy is competing with the likes of Starr Zee (Sierra Leone) Buffalo Souljah (Zimbabwe), Burna Boy (Nigeria), Shatta Wale (Ghana) and Heph B (Nigeria) for the Global reggae/dancehall song of the year category.



He will also be competing with acts such as Shatta Wale (Ghana), Star Zee (Sierra Leone), Heph B (Nigeria), Burna Boy (Nigeria) and Buffalo Souljah (Zimbabwe) for the Global reggae/dancehall artiste of the year category.



Sarkodie was nominated for Global artiste of the year and Global collaboration of the year categories whilst Medikal and Kwasi Arthur were nominated in the Global hip-hop song of the year category.



Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) artiste of the year, Kuami Eugene also had nomination in the following categories; Global male act of the year, Global most popular song of the year, Album of the year and Global artiste of the year.



Some of the performing Ghanaian artistes such as Yaa Pono, Fantana, Mr. Drew, Amerado, Fameye, Maccasio, Epixode, Strongman and a host of others received nominations in various categories.



The awards ceremony is being organised by Smart Focus Media to celebrate outstanding musical achievements in Africa and beyond while promoting the continents artistes to global audiences.



Although there have been various kinds of awards in Africa, Global Music Awards is set to be the top notch of its all in Africa.



According to the organisers, the event will be held in Ghana on March 6, 2021 in Ghana at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC), adding that it will be one of the most talked about events on the African continent.



Our mission is to unite Africa through music. The scheme will also honour the hard work and dedication of various stakeholders in the music industry, GMAAs CEO Daniel Adofo told Music In Africa.

Source: Daily Guide









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Former President Donald Trump's legal team called Democrats' impeachment trial a "public relations stunt" in a letter responding to their request for impeachment testimony on Thursday, Feb. 4.

The Blaze reported that Trump's legal team retorted the Democratic impeachment managers after formally requesting the former president to testify under oath during the Senate impeachment trial on Feb. 8 in line with the answers he sent on Feb. 2.

New York Times Correspondent Nicholas Fandos, on the other hand, tweeted Trump's legal team's actual response to the said impeachment managers, which is a letter sent by David Schoen's Office to Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin who happens to be the Lead Impeachment Manager of the trial. The letter was signed both by Schoen and Bruce Castor, Jr., who are officially standing as Trump's legal counsel for the impeachment.

"@maggieNYT got a copy of the prompt reply from Trump lawyers, who calls the invitation to testify a 'public relations stunt.' They do not explicitly say 'no' tho," Fandos said before quoting the last sentence from the letter. Fandos was speaking to New York Times Washington Correspondent Maggie Haberman.

In the letter dated Feb. 4, Trump's lawyers acknowledged receiving Raskin's letter that came earlier that day and decried its intentions to make use of the constitution as a "game" against the president.

"We are in receipt of your latest public relations stunt. As you certainly know, there is no such thing as a negative inference in this unconstitutional proceeding," the lawyers said sternly.

By inference, the lawyers were refer to the threat posed by Raskin in the event that Trump declines the invitation to testify, saying that "If you decline this invitation, we reserve any and all rights, including the right to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions (and inaction) on January 6, 2021".

"Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you can not prove your allegations against the 45th President of the United States, who is now a private citizen," Castor and Schoen continued in their letter.

Castor and Schoen ended with, "The use of our Constitution to bring a purported impeachment proceeding is much too serious to try to play these games."

The Blaze cited a tweet from The Daily Beast Senior Political Reporter Asawin Suebsaeng that backed up the former president's lawyers' letter to Raskin against the latter's request from the President to testify in the trial next week.

"Senior Trump adviser Jason Miller goes a step more definitive, telling @thedailybeast earlier this hour: 'The president will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding'," Suebsaeng announced on Friday.

Miller, who served as Trump's Transition Team Communications Director, called the impeachment trial a "ridiculous sideshow" that must be put to a stop. Miller tweeted about the impeachment as "unconstitutional" and referred to it as a "ridiculous sideshow perpetuated by the left" with link to his op-ed article in Fox News.

In his article, Miller denounced the impeachment trial as unconstitutional such that the "Senate must dismiss it." He praised Trump's legal counsel for outlining a "rock-solid defense" of the former president by asserting that he is "now a private citizen" making "impeachment proceedings" filed against him as "rendered null and void." He also took to the defense of Trump, denouncing allegations that he incited the violence that took place in the U.S. Capitol last Jan. 6.

"The current impeachment effort flies in the face of the fundamental protections for passionate political speech in America and threatens to chill the First Amendment rights of all Americans," Miller undermined, "Despite a false narrative perpetuated by Democrats and some in the media, President Trump did not encourage violence that day, in fact, he demanded that protests stay peaceful and denounced the rioters who broke into the Capitol."

The Blaze pointed out that the impeachment trial will come to no avail especially since the "Democrats would need at least 17 Republican senators to vote in support of the impeachment to convict Trump" when 45 out of the 50 Republican senators have already voted against the impeachment.
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MOSCOW  The video, shot by a man detained in a Moscow protest, shows a group of people jammed into a police minibus. One of them says on the recording that they had already been held there for nine hours, with some forced to stand because of overcrowding and no access to food, water or bathrooms.

Another video taken in a dingy holding cell intended for eight inmates shows 28 men crammed inside awaiting transfer, with no mattresses on the cots and a filthy pit latrine-like toilet.

Detainees are recounting their miserable experiences as Moscow jails were overwhelmed following mass arrests from protests in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny this week. They described long waits to be processed through the legal system and crowded conditions with few coronavirus precautions.

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We were detained on Jan. 31 during a peaceful protest, and we ask for help and public attention to the inhumane conditions were forced to be in, pleads the man in the police minibus video. The video was first posted Tuesday on the messaging app Telegram by Sasha Fishman, who received it from her friend Dmitry Yepishin, one of the detainees in the vehicle.

More than 11,000 protesters were reported detained across Russia in the pro-Navalny rallies on two straight weekends last month and in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Tuesday, after he was ordered by court to serve nearly three years in prison.

Some of the protesters were beaten on the streets by riot police or subjected to other abuse. Human rights advocates said many police precincts refused to let lawyers in to help detainees, citing what is known as the Fortress protocol.

Many violations (of detainees rights) weve seen before.  But probably the scale we see now is much scarier than before, Alexandra Bayeva, coordinator with the OVD-Info rights group that monitors political arrests, told The Associated Press.

While it accounted for less than half of the detentions, the capitals jails quickly filled up as scores of people were sentenced by the courts.

The news outlet Meduza on Friday cited court data saying that 972 people have been handed jail terms in Moscow on misdemeanor charges in connection with the protests, and the number is likely to grow. Moscow courts have so far adjudicated less than half of 4,908 protest-related misdemeanor cases filed between Jan. 23 and Feb. 2.

Many misdemeanor charges resulted in jail terms of five to 15 days.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Thursday there were more detainees than detention centers in Moscow could swiftly process, but he blamed the problem on the protesters themselves.

This situation wasnt provoked by law enforcement; it was provoked by participants of unauthorized rallies, Peskov said.

Marina Litvinovich, member of the Public Monitoring Commission that observes the treatment of prisoners and detainees, said Moscow simply could not handle such an influx of protesters convicted of misdemeanor offenses and needing to be jailed for more than several days.

The first crisis occurred when police vans and buses (with detainees) were driving around Moscow anxiously and jails didnt let them in. They didnt know where to put people, Litvinovich told the AP. Some people were brought back to police precincts. Some were standing the whole day inside police vans near the jails. Some got lucky and they were given food and taken to toilets. Some didnt have luck and they had to pee in a bottle.

Filipp Kuznetsov was arrested Jan. 23 and sentenced to 10 days in jail but didnt get into his jail cell until Jan. 27. Kuznetsov told AP he spent the first night in a holding cell, and the second night in a police bus waiting for the detention center to accommodate him and about a dozen others.

It was a very unpleasant situation, Kuznetsov said.

Gleb Maryasov, also detained Jan. 23, had to wait for a bed in a cell to free up for him for 25 hours, spending that time on the back seat of a police car, said his lawyer, Dmitry Zakhvatov.

As jails in Moscow filled, authorities moved people to detention centers outside the capital. Lines of police buses were reported in Sakharovo, 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of the city. By Thursday evening, the Sakharovo facility housed over 800 people, around 90% of whom were detained during protests, Litvinovich said told Russias Tass news agency.

Dmitry Shelomentsev was among those who had to wait in a police bus for several hours in Sakharavo before being taken inside. Sentenced to 15 days in jail for participating in Tuesdays protest, Shelomentsev sent AP the short video Thursday morning from the cell where 28 people were being held, awaiting transfers.

There were not enough beds, which had no mattresses, and policemen dropped off two five-liter bottles of water to share among all the inmates, with no cups, he said. In the video, some of the inmates stood leaning on the short walls that surrounded the dirty toilet.

After nearly five hours in the cell, Shelomentsev said he was transferred to a smaller one  for four people.

Moscow police said Thursday those awaiting transfer were allocated cells in accordance with regulations, and there was enough space in the Sakharovo facility.

When asked whether there were any virus-related precautions at the detention center, Shelomentsev wrote: What (coronavirus) measures if there were 28 of us in one cell and  people drank from the same jug?

Other detained protesters described riding or waiting all night in police buses before they were taken to their cells, according to their friends.

Getting food parcels and other basics to them required lining up outside the detention facilities for hours in subfreezing temperatures. Anna Chumakova, who spent all day in line Thursday, said about 150 people lined up by midday, but only fewer than 40 were able to get their packages in by sundown.

Lawyer Zakhvatov also pointed to reports that dozens of people slept on the floors of police precincts. These highlight the absurdity of prosecuting some Navalny allies for inciting violations of coronavirus protocols by organizing street protests, he said.

Besides Sakharovo, there were at least four more detention centers outside Moscow where protesters were taken, according to Litvinovich of the Public Monitoring Commission. Each facility could hold about 30 people and all were filled.

She called the situation absolutely unprecedented.

Its the beginning, its not just the first time. Its the beginning of the process when these jails will be always full. I think people will keep protesting and authorities will remain brutal, she said.



Associated Press journalists Kostya Manenkov and Tanya Titova contributed.
Gardai pictured near the scene where a woman was pronounced dead in a burned out car outside Doneraile in north Cork. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

Gardai have arrested a man on suspicion of unlawful killing after the body of a woman was found in a blazing car in north Cork yesterday.

The man aged aged in 60s is currently detained at Fermoy Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

Gardai are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a widowed mother of three who was found in a blazing car near an isolated woodland.

A 62 year old man was rescued from a north Cork river, just a few kilometres from the scene of the burning car, at the same time as the pensioner's body was discovered at Dromdeer outside Doneraile.

The man - who was known to the deceased woman, Mary O'Keeffe (75) - was brought to Cork University Hospital (CUH) having been rescued from the River Awbeg outside Castletownroche on Thursday afternoon.

He was being treated for hypothermia.

The injured man has an address in south Limerick and has worked in the forestry industry.

The deceased was named locally as Mary O'Keeffe (75) of Dromahane, Mallow, Co Cork.

A mother of three, Mrs O'Keeffe was a widow whose husband Donal died over 20 years ago.

Gardai stressed that the nature of their investigation will now be determined by the results of a post mortem examination commenced at CUH yesterday by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.

Dr Bolster examined the body at the Dromdeer scene before it was transferred to CUH after forensic experts from the Garda Technical Bureau had completed their work.

Gardai sealed off an area surrounding both the burned out car and a second vehicle which was found parked nearby.

The Dacia Duster was gutted back to the shell of its metal chassis.

Gardai are now investigating the precise cause of the blaze - and whether it was deliberate or may have been accidental through the inadvertent triggering of accelerants in the vehicle.

Central to their inquiry will be the precise cause of death involved.

However, given the damage to the remains, this may take some time to establish.

Gardai are also examining phone records as part of their inquiry.

North Cork locals admitted they were stunned by the tragedy.

Dromahane resident Ann O'Shea said she couldn't believe the news of Mrs O'Keeffe's death.

"I was only talking to her two days ago. She was such a lovely woman - she lived around the corner from me and I've known her and her family for 48 years. She lived alone but that didn't bother her - she had her (beloved) dog."

"She loved dancing and I know she used to travel locally to listen to music and to dance - travelling to the Hazel Tree (hall) and the like. Years ago I used to also meet her playing cards up in Dromahane hall."

Mrs O'Shea extended her sympathies to Mrs O'Keeffe's three sons - Christy, Donal and Ger - and the extended O'Keeffe family.

The pensioner was noted as a very hard working person - regularly helping out with the cooking at a north Cork sheltered housing complex.

Mrs O'Keeffe's next door neighbour, John Cavanagh, described her as "a lovely lady and a great neighbour."

"I have known her for 40 years here in Dromahane. She was a wonderful woman and she raised a great family. She was a very private person but always had a smile for you when you'd meet her."

Dromahane Parish Priest Fr Gerard Coleman said the entire community was in shock over the tragedy.

"People are feeling very shocked. No one envisaged anything like this. She was a quiet, hard working woman who lived in the community for many years. We are behind the family to support them with all our prayers and be there for them."
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An interim analysis of the Phase III clinical trial of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in the Lancet, early this week, had shown that the vaccine has an impressive efficacy of 91.6 percent. The publication of the data in the Lancet - a peer reviewed British medical journal of international reputation - has been a validation of sorts for Russia's COVID-19 vaccine. Sputnik V has already been approved for emergency use in a dozen countries.

Back in India, shares of Dr Reddy's, which has a tie-up with Russian sovereign fund RDIF to manufacture and distribute the Sputnik V vaccine, rose over 5 percent in the last three trading days, in anticipation of an early approval and a potential windfall.

As per the terms of its contract with RDIF, Dr Reddy's can supply 125 million patient doses for India over a 12-month period, enough for inoculating 9 percent of Indias population.

Dr Reddy's post earnings media briefing on January 29 revealed that the company is planning to apply for emergency-use approval (EUA) of the Sputnik V vaccine by March, and expects to launch it in India before the end of March.

A spokesperson for Dr Reddy's told Moneycontrol that the timelines stated in the media briefing haven't changed.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

If EUA is granted, Sputnik V will become the third vaccine available to the government. India has already rolled out Serum Institute of Indias Covishield and Bharat Biotechs Covaxin. The government plans to vaccinate 3 crore healthcare and frontline workers in the initial phase of the vaccination drive.

Dr Reddys is currently conducting Phase-3 trials on 1,500 volunteers. Sputnik V has to be given in two doses, with a gap of 21 days between each dose.

To be sure, Dr Reddy's isn't the only company that will be manufacturing and distributing Sputnik V in India. RDIF has also tied up with Hetero for 100 million doses, and has an additional marketing and distribution partnership with Mankind. In total, RDIF has set a target of 300 million doses to be produced out of India in 2021.

RDIF has similar arrangements with its partners in South Korea, China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for production of the Sputnik V vaccine.

Initially some portion of the doses of vaccine will be supplied from Russia, before the Indian partners can scale up production, RDIF said.

The announcement by the government in the Union Budget 2021, to spend Rs 35,000 crore on vaccination also said it would be enough to vaccinate at least 50 crore people, and generated interest among investors.

But will Dr Reddy's reap the benefit?

Analysts tracking the company believe so.

"DRL (Dr Reddy's) is likely to benefit from the approval of the investigational Sputnik V vaccine. We expect an incremental revenue of $450 million and 15 percent EBITDA which translates to an NPV (net present value) of 20/share," said Bernstein analysts in their December report.

"Assuming similar prices and margins (Rs 200/dosages and 25 percent EBITDA margin), this could be a $70 million EBITDA opportunity for Dr Reddys," Citi Research said in its report.

Citi Research factors the NPV of Rs 23 per share. Net present value (NPV) is the difference between the present value of cash inflows and the present value of cash outflows over a period of time.

The vaccine windfall is expected to be a one-time opportunity, depending on the speed at which Dr Reddy's will be able to bring the vaccine to the market, analysts said.

Challenges ahead

The success of Dr Reddy's COVID-19 vaccine plans would depend on several factors.

The first round of the vaccine race in India has been won by Serum Institute of India (SII), and to a lesser extent by Bharat Biotech. While Dr Reddy's relies on contract manufacturing partners to make the COVID-19 vaccine who also get a cut, SII and Bharat Biotech make it themselves, giving them control over costs and pricing.

Another challenge for Sputnik V is pricing. RDIF has indicated that the cost of Sputnik V vaccine will be less than $10 per dose, but analysts say anything above $4-$5 per dose may not encourage the government to buy. Currently SII is offering its vaccine at Rs 200 per dose, which is less than $3, making it the cheapest procurement prices for a COVID-19 vaccine anywhere in the world.

Dr Reddys said it hasn't yet initiated any discussion on vaccine pricing with the government.

We are looking at working closely with the government of India. In addition to that, we are also looking at the open market, so that we can maximise the availability of vaccines, Deepak Sapra, Chief Executive Officer, API and Pharmaceutical Services, told the media.

The success of Dr Reddy's will hinge on the opening up of a private market. But at the moment the private market looks out of bounds, as the government has taken up the mantle to inoculate during the initial phases.

The other less-discussed challenge would be the requirement of cold chain infrastructure for Sputnik V.

The Sputnik V that's being tested in the Indian clinical trial is the solution formulation which needs to be stored at -18C. It is the lyophilized formulation, which can be stored at 2-8C, that is more convenient for Indian cold storage conditions.

Bernstein report says that in Phase I the solution formulation showed slightly higher antibody levels and it appears that this formulation is being tested in the Phase III clinical trials.

There are cost implications, too, if the solution formulation is used for rollout.

"The last mile however can be expensive compared to other vaccines that can be stored at 2-8C. Phase Change Material or PCM-based passive packaging that can maintain -20C cost up to Rs 5,000 to transport 1,000 vials compared to Rs 1,500 for a dry ice pack box that can maintain 2-8C," Bernstein report said.

The report adds that logistics is more complicated, but not unsurmountable.

"India's cold chain can handle -18C based on prior experience with polio vaccines which also require storage at -20C," the report said.
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The Bank of Namibia has donated medical equipment valued at N$1 million to the Erongo region. The donation was made through the office of the regional governor Neville Andre this week.

The central bank had donated medical equipment worth N$3 million to the health ministry to assist in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The national handover of this equipment was done by Bank of Namibia governor Johannes !Gawaxab last month and was received by the health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula.

Of the donated equipment, Erongo is due to receive N$1 million and is to be utilised in state hospitals. "As the Bank of Namibia, we stand in solidarity with the Namibian nation in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the years, the bank has been playing a vital role in the socio-economic wellbeing and continuous empowerment of our people in Namibia," deputy governor of central bank Ebson Uanguta said at the handover in Swakopmund.

The donated equipment includes oxygen machines with accessories and incubation kits and patient monitors.

"The donation is tailored to assist the various needs in our hospitals. Chief among them is the urgent need to protect our health workers who are at the forefront of this pandemic. Their role is to relieve suffering and save lives. The recent data, however, indicated that Covid-19 in patients among health workers is far greater than the general population. Without the equipment needed or their proper use, they too are increasingly susceptible to infections, for this reason, we need to do everything in our power to ensure adequate quantities and quality of PPE (personal protective equipment) for our health workers," Uanguta said.

He added with the spike in infections and hospitalisations, part of the donation is for equipment needed for clinical case management.

These medical devices are essential for the management of patients with severe acute respiratory infections experiencing breathing difficulties.

Speaking at the same handover, Andre said the donation could not have come at a better time.

"Covid-19 will still be in our midst for some time to come and every support and assistance will be welcomed in our effort to reduce the spread of Covid-19 and also other diseases that might come in our society," he said.
A medical worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) walks in front of the entrance to the red zone at an infectious diseases department of the Kiev city clinical hospital, where patients suffering from the coronavirus disease are treated, in Kiev on January 14, 2021. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine Hospital Fire Kills 3 COVID-19 Patients, Doctor

KYIV, UkraineThree coronavirus patients and a doctor died in a fire at a hospital in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Shinkarenko, the head doctor at the hospital in Zaporizhzhia, was quoted by Ukrainian news media as saying Thursday that the fire broke out in medical equipment.

The patients were all on ventilators, but it wasnt clear if that was the equipment that caught on fire.

The patients ages were 91, 76 and 64, and the doctor was 26. The cause of death for all is believed to be carbon monoxide poisoning.

Zaporizhzhia is about 450 kilometers (280 miles) southeast of the capital, Kyiv.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said its operatives have arrested a fake medical doctor, Edidiong Inyang, for alleged N13m employment fraud.

EFCCs spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement on Friday that Mr Inyang was arrested along Ritman University Road, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State on February 3.

It stated that the suspect was arrested following a petition by his brother-in-law, Charles Udonde.

According to the commission, Mr Udonde alleged that the suspect defrauded him and his friends of N10million under the pretext of helping them to secure non-existent jobs at an international oil company.

He also alleged that Mr Inyang took N2.6million from him for Health and Safety Environment 1, 2 and 3 Certificate, Police clearance, Governors Recommendation Letter, Basic Diploma in Occupation Safety, Job Processing Fee, among others

READ FULL STATEMENT

EFCC Press Release

EFCC Nabs Fake Medical Doctor for Alleged N13m Employment Scam in Uyo

Operatives of the Uyo zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on February 3, 2021 arrested one Edidiong Emmanuel Inyang, a fake medical doctor who specialises in employment scam. He was arrested along Ritman University Road, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.

Inyang ran into trouble when his brother-in-law, one Charles Bassey Udonde, whom he had offered to help secure employment with an International Oil Company, petitioned the Commission.

According to the petitioner, in 2016, the suspect collected N2.6million from him for Health and Safety Environment 1, 2 and 3 Certificate, Police clearance, Governors Recommendation Letter, Basic Diploma in Occupation Safety, Job Processing Fee, amongst others.

Narrating further, the complainant alleged that the suspect asked him to bring in more people as he had slots and wanted to help more people secure employment.

Convinced, the petitioner involved more people including his girlfriend, Idongesit Effiong Ekanem. The suspect successfully defrauded his friends over N10million for non-existent jobs.

Investigations into the matter reveal that the petitioners ordeal started in 2015 when the suspect met his wife (the complainants sister).

He had presented himself as a medical doctor and staffer of University of Uyo who recently got employed in an International Oil Company and wanted to settle down.

In 2016, they got married and the suspect informed his wife about the employment opportunity in the oil company.

The suspect asked his wife to inform her brother (the complainant) about the opportunity as his uncle who is a director in the oil company, had slots.

Believing her husband, the wife informed the brother and assisted with part of the money the husband requested for.

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It dawned on them that the suspect is a serial fraudster when he was arrested by one of the security agencies (The Nigeria Police Force) in 2017, for scamming other people, using same method. The matter is still in court.

The suspect, who has been confirmed as an impostor, was arrested with a Stethoscope and a Samsung S6 tablet.

He will be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.

Wilson Uwujaren

Head, Media & Publicity

5 February, 2021
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It is one year after Moi's death, but his larger-than-life political stature in the Rift Valley still looms large.

His backyard for decades, the former president bestrode the region like a colossus, wielding power and determining who survived the cut-throat politics.

Today, even in death, Moi's political shadow of influence, which he cast on Kenya's political landscape, still reigns and now hangs on his youngest son, Gideon Moi, and the young recruit that he once supported, William Ruto.

Less than two years into the 2022 General Election, the supremacy battle between Gideon and Ruto is shaping Rift Valley politics. Politically, both have excelled. While Ruto is Deputy President, Gideon is the Baringo Senator and both harbour presidential ambitions.

Mr Jesse Karanja, a former Youth for Kanu '92 operative, said the Moi factor is unsettling for DP Ruto: "Gideon Moi's political might, due to his late father's name cannot be wished away. Even in his death, the name of the late President will play a key role in the 2022 General Election. You cannot outrightly dismiss Gideon's prowess. DP Ruto has everything to worry about the candidacy of the younger Moi."

Political greenhorn

Mr Karanja notes that the Baringo Senator, despite being viewed by DP Ruto's allies as a political greenhorn, is a key player in a bigger game, who enjoys great support from "the big boys" -- President Uhuru Kenyatta, Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga and Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi, among others.

But the DP, who is keen on inheriting Uhuru's mantle, wants to retain a firm grip of the region he believes is his political stronghold. In the last three elections, he has managed to sway the voters to his side.

The death of senior Moi, who had cast a long political shadow over the Rift Valley since the 1950s, left a leadership void -- and whether DP Ruto will inherit that position will be known in 2022, when the ultimate test is due.

Before Moi's death last year, several political bigwigs, most of them key contenders in the 2022 presidential race, went to Kabarak to pay homage to a man who had led Kenya for over two decades. An Ruto's attempt to visit Moi was thwarted by Gideon, an indicator of the soiled relationship between the two.

But even after fading away from the political psyche of the nation, Moi's name still remains a powerful totem in the region, especially among the older generation, a situation the Baringo senator has often exploited to boost his political clout ahead of 2022.

Nominated MP and Ruto ally Gideon Keter says Senator Moi is a "political novice" who lacks charisma to unite and draw voters to his side. "The Rift Valley is fully behind DP Ruto and any person opposing him is wasting time," he said.

"Ruto is just a stone's throw away from the highest office. We will vote for him overwhelmingly in 2022 and support him to take over power after President Kenyatta," Mr Keter told the Nation.

But whether the DP is going to rely on the previous relationship with Moi depends on who you ask.

"Ruto is his own man and will not depend on any endorsement from political bigwigs to clinch the presidency. He was the man behind President Uhuru Kenyatta's campaign in the 2013 and 2017 elections. The same applied to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the 2007 General Election," Mr Keter said.

Mr John Koech, a political commentator, doubts that Gideon will make any significant political impact in popularising Kanu and at the same time taming Ruto's surging popularity in the Rift Valley.

"Ruto still remains the man to beat in Rift Valley in spite of the vain efforts by his foes to cut him down to size. DP Ruto defied senior Moi previously and still made it to his current position. He's a self-made politician, who has made his name unlike Senator Moi, " Mr Koech argues.

However, Ainabkoi MP William Chepkut believes Moi left an enviable development record in the Rift Valley and therefore his son Gideon should be handed the political mantle.

"Moi initiated several development projects during his tenure as president. He was our political father and we must reward his equally hardworking son with the presidency," Mr Chepkut said.

National politics

After the death of his father last February, the Baringo Senator was handed the mantle to succeed Moi in national politics and was handed a replica of the baton that was synonymous with his father's 24-year rule. While Gideon inherited Kanu leadership, he's facing an uphill struggle to control the Kalenjin politics where DP Ruto has entrenched himself.

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The biggest test facing Gideon and Ruto is on the fate of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), which will test the political waters ahead of the 2022 race. While Mr Moi has led a series of pro-BBI sensitisation meetings, the DP has stated repeatedly that the push to change the Constitution is not a priority at the moment.

Reconciliation talks

The rivalry between the two has also upset the Rift Valley Council of Elders, which has, on several occasions, offered to steer reconciliation talks.

According to the elders' patron Gilbert Kabage, the political divisions threaten to cost the region the presidency in 2022.

"They must unite and if they don't reconcile and go the direction we want, then it will be very unfortunate. They risk losing the 2022 presidential election. Unity of the two is for the good of the Rift Valley region," Mr Kabage said.
Cedella Marley joined the weeklong lampooning of Louis Vuitton on Wednesday, after the French luxury fashion brand unveiled a new US$1350 mens pullover in the Ethiopian flag colors, and erroneously labeled the garments Jamaican Stripe Sweater.

In the apparent jab at the fashion house, which appears to have pirated the sweater design from images of her father Bob Marley, who was the first star to rock the Ethiopian colors in his trademark tracksuits and sweaters, Cedella, tagged the fashion house in a post she made featuring a photo of The Gong, clad in a red, gold and green sweater, juxtaposed with that of the Louis Vuitton sweater faux pas.

Bob says thats the Ethiopian flag @louisvuitton , she captioned the post.

Cedellas post come on the heels of an article published by BET a few days ago which ripped into the fashion houses designers for making fools of themselves. According to the BET, whether it was a case of good intentions gone wrong or something far more malicious, there is no question that this advertisement is cringe-worthy and displayed a blatant lack of research.

The BET headlined their article A Fail!: Louis Vuitton Designs A Sweater Inspired By The Jamaican Flag, And The Colors Are Completely Wrong and said that the fashion company had completely missed the mark.

The brand states that the below pullover sweater in green, yellow, and red is inspired by the Caribbean islands national flag. Understandably we are speechless, primarily since this so-called tribute does not feature the same colors as the Jamaican flag, the BET writers noted.

FYI: The Jamaican flag is black, gold, and green. Each color with its own symbolism: Black depicting the strength and creativity of the people; Gold representing the natural beauty of the sunlight and the wealth of the country; and Green signifying hope and agricultural resources, they added.

The faux pas did not escape the eyes of Wayne Chen, co-author of the book Reggae Routes who shared a post by The Daily Beast on Twitter which said: Louis Vuittons Jamaican Stripe pullover, advertised as inspired by the Caribbean islands national flag, does not actually feature the same colors as the Jamaican flag.

Louis Vuittons Jamaican Stripe pullover, advertised as inspired by the Caribbean island's national flag, does not actually feature the same colors as the Jamaican flag https://t.co/aZ1dwVBVOU  The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) February 2, 2021

In an April 2011 article published on the World Intellectual Property office website titled Exploring Ras Tafari Culture, which introduced the Rastafari culture and explored the communitys steps to protect and preserve its cultural identity Jamaican attorney, Marcus Goffe, who was Legal Advisor to the Ethio-Africa Diaspora Union Millennium Council, noted that the Rastafari culture was being infringed upon and exploited by outsiders, with impunity.

With the broad appeal of the Ras Tafari worldview and the global standing of reggae music, traditional Ras Tafari symbols and imagery have been popularized and used extensively in commercial products ranging from T-shirts, jewelry, arts and crafts items, smoking paraphernalia, hats, clothes, bags and shoes. Very few of these products are made by Rastafarians, and none of the monies accrued from their sale benefits the Ras Tafari community, he said.

On Cedellas Instagram page, those of her fans who were aware of the missteps made by Louis Vuitton, also slammed the fashion house just as hard as the BET did.

Bob also says he dont want the Babylon System profiting off of RASTAFARI seen, thegothicrasta wrote, while jah3608 noted: Its only when they want to make money they remember Rastafari but ask them what do they know of his Majesty and Ethiopia This makes me laugh .This is an Italian design using Ethiopian colors very disrespectful. David still a beat Goliath.

Other followers said the designers were out of touch with current ad international affairs and lacked knowledge of geography.

Babylon doesnt know the difference between Jamaica and Ethiopia. 12,539km! crispinmusundi said, while dbrown_the_barber declared: Its goes to show money before education for the brands its a pity as if they had any sense the education would generate them more.. its laughable that they quote Jamaica, but disrespectful that at the same time they insult!!!

Others said Louis Vuitton was exploiting the popularity of Brand Jamaica to make sales.

Jamaica sells. LV is not stupid, ah_who_yuh said while yvonnebrown4 noted: @cedellamarley..ole pirates cum to rob I.

Some followers like biancayurose questioned whether Louis Vuitton was paying royalties to the Rastafarian community for the use of the colours.

Wowwww!!!! What a SHAME @louisvuitton. Im sure Bob wouldnt even encourage anybody to pay whatever price this is gonna cost. I wonder if Rastafarian or even Jamaican communities are benefitting off of this?

An upset negusmawon demanded that the French company desist from its cultural appropriation.

Those are the flag of Ethiopia colors not Jamaica. At the least they could do is know the difference.. Stop the appropriation of a culture and a people!!! @louisvuitton, she ordered.
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Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to isolated thunderstorms overnight. Low near 75F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to isolated thunderstorms overnight. Low near 75F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Gordon Ramsay is swapping the kitchen for the classroom as he opens his first cookery school.

The TV chef, 54, will offer successful pupils finishing the course a guaranteed job within his restaurant empire.

The Gordon Ramsay Academy, opening later this year at his new burger restaurant in Woking, Surrey, is available to aspiring cooks of all ages.

Gordon Ramsay is swapping the kitchen for the classroom as he opens his first cookery school

The TV chef, 54, pictured in the kitchen on Australian Masterchef last year, will offer successful pupils finishing the course a guaranteed job within his restaurant empire

Foul-mouthed Hell's Kitchen star Ramsay said: 'I am beyond excited to finally confirm The Gordon Ramsay Academy will be opening in Woking later this year.

'I know how important mentors are, how important it is as a professional chef to sharpen your skills.

'To be guided in your training and to gain valuable work-place experience in a professional kitchen environment.

'Through my network of restaurants and the incredible teams who work with me, I have the ability to offer hands-on, practical, career-changing opportunities that will hopefully inspire, motivate and develop a new generation of talented chefs for the future.'

The prestigious academy, located above the chef's first Street Burger chain outside London, on the site of the former Tante Marie Culinary Academy, will offer those looking to enter the hospitality industry a place to hone their skills and gain real work experience within Ramsay's restaurant portfolio.

It will sell seven different sorts of trendy burgers - including the Lake District Beef patty and veggie Butternut Bhaji will be on sale.

His spokesman said: 'The restaurant space will be super inviting, casual and relaxed.

'The vibe will be kitsch, cool and quirky, with distinctive neon tube lighting and street art feature walls.'

The prestigious academy, located above the chef's first Street Burger chain outside London, will offer those looking to enter the hospitality industry a place to hone their skills and gain real work experience within Ramsay's restaurant portfolio

The academy and restaurant will be based on the site of the former Tante Marie Culinary Academy in Woking, pictured left

Cllr Ayesha Azad, Leader of Woking Borough Council, said: 'This is a major coup for the borough.

'Gordon Ramsay has world renowned restaurants all over the globe, so we're absolutely delighted he has chosen Woking as the place for his next big venture.

'Not only is it enormously exciting for everyone, it's also hugely positive for everything we're doing to make Woking Town Centre a vibrant and interesting regional destination. We look forward to welcoming him and his team.'

Ramsay is one of the world's most famous chefs, owning 18 restaurants in the capital alone, on top of 17 others internationally, including in France, Dubai, Singapore and the US.

A 'completely unliveable' house that has been abandoned for 30 years could sell for $1.6million as it hits the property market for the first time in eight decades.

The three-bedroom terrace house is full of rotting wood, rusting metal and peeling paint on 31 George Street in the inner-city suburb Redfern in Sydney.

Pictures show the home is an eye-sore from the street with rusty metal gates and rust stains across the frontage.

A three-bedroom terrace house (pictured) full of rotting wood, rusting metal and peeling paint could sell for $1.6million on 31 George Street in the inner-city suburb Redfern in Sydney

Inside, the staircase railing is made of rotting wood while paint and cladding have peeled to give way to exposed concrete underneath.

The cluttered kitchen is full of peeling paint, old appliances and general litter that has gathered dust over the years.

Bedrooms tell a similar story with more peeling paint, old furniture and general mess - although Victorian features remain, like a fireplace that has been boarded up.

'This extremely dilapidated Victorian terrace represents a truly breathtaking opportunity for those with creative vision,' the property description reads.

'The property sits on a deep block and is completely unliveable as is yet promises extraordinary prospects for a major transformation.'

Inside, the staircase railing is made of rotting wood while paint and cladding have peeled to give way to exposed concrete underneath

The cluttered kitchen is full of peeling paint, old appliances and general litter that has gathered dust over the years

Belle Property agent Ted Pye said the owner is an elderly man who is in aged care.

'His (the elderly man's) family is selling the property. He hasn't actually lived there since 1989 when his wife died, so just over 30 years,' Mr Pye told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's been with one family for the last 80 years, they paid 13,000 pounds for it at the time, which is the equivalent to $190,000.'

Mr Pye said he has had 'a lot of inquiries' about the property despite it being 'in desperate need of renovation'.

'It's literally falling to bits in every direction. It's going to need to be rebuilt from the ground up,' he said.

Bedrooms tell a similar story with more peeling paint, old furniture and general mess - although Victorian features remain, like a fireplace that has been boarded up

He expects an owner builder or family to buy the home but said its 'very early' to estimate a price.

'The land value itself is valued at $1million. At the end of the day, this comes down to what a buyer is willing to pay for it,' he said.

'There is no guide price, we'll let the buyers decide that at auction.'

Domain's property report estimates the house will sell for $1.58 million at auction while the median price for a three-bedroom house in Redfern is $1.6 million.

The property is due to go to auction on February 20.
CEO wants 'one or two' Alpine wins in 2022

The newly-rebranded Alpine team must start appearing regularly on the podium by 2022.

That is the goal set by Renault CEO Luca de Meo, who decided to drop the Renault name from Formula 1 and instead promote Alpine as a brand that he says will be "a mixture of a mini Ferrari and a mini Tesla".

Hopes are being kept modest for 2021, when Fernando Alonso will return to Formula 1 and Enstone, but the Spanish driver is also signed up for 2022 - when de Meo's expectations are higher.

"From 2022 at the latest, we must be seen as often as possible on television and in the newspapers with regular podium finishes and one or two wins," de Meo told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  As chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, U.S. Rep. Richard. E. Neal, D- Springfield, and other House leaders met Friday with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the Oval Office.

The topic was the Biden administrations push for a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan.

In an Associated Press video of Bidens remarks, the new president urged lawmakers not to think of the numbers in the abstract.

Its not just the macroeconomic impact on the economy and our ability to compete internationally. Its people lives. Real live people are hurting and we can fix it, Biden told legislators. Weve got the chance to so something big here.

The Senate approved Bidens plan overnight, with Harris casting the tie breaking vote at 2:30 a.m. The bill provides for a third stimulus check of $1,400, but restricts high earners from getting the payments.

The 51-to-50 Senate vote sent the package back to the House for approval of Senate changes.

Earlier this week, Neal spoke on the House floor urging the Congress to go big on COVID-19 relief.

Accomplishing these goals requires we go big. Economists and experts agree that not doing enough to address the crisis is far riskier than doing too much, Neal said. The Ways and Means Committee is ready to meet this challenge and beat the virus while putting money in peoples pockets, extending unemployment assistance, combating child poverty, and supporting hard-hit families.

Fridays meeting came following disappointing news about the labor market.

The economy added 49,000 jobs in January after losing 227,000 jobs in December, the White House said, describing the three-month trend as weak.

After downward revisions to the data for both November and December totaling around 160,000, the economy has added an average of only 29,000 per month.

Related Content:


Guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain transits through the South China Sea in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, Feb. 5, 2021.

The U.S. Navy completed on Friday its first freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) in the South China Sea since President Joe Biden took office, a move criticized by the Chinese military as seriously violating Chinas sovereignty and security.

According to a news release from the U.S. 7th Fleet, the USS John S. McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, an area in the northern South China Sea contested by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

China claims straight baselines around the Paracel Islands, a position widely seen as inconsistent with international maritime law. In January, Japan joined a growing list of countries that have recently submitted diplomatic notes to the United Nations to formally challenge these claims.

The United States has conducted regular FONOPS in the South China Sea since 2015. These operations are designed to be conducted in accordance with international law and demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows  regardless of the location of excessive maritime claims and regardless of current events, the news release stated.

The operation upheld the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging the unlawful restrictions on innocent passage imposed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and also by challenging Chinas claim to straight baselines enclosing the Paracel Islands, the news release said.

A spokesperson for the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command criticized the FONOP, stating that the USS John S. McCain intruded into Chinas Xisha [Paracels] territorial sea without permission. The spokesperson accused the U.S. military of seriously damaging regional peace and stability and seriously violating Chinas sovereignty and security.

According to the spokesperson, the Southern Theater Command organized naval and air assets to track the U.S. warship and warn it away from the area.

Cmdr. Joseph Gunta, the executive officer of the USS John S. McCain, observes from the vessel as it sails in the South China Sea, Feb. 5, 2021. [U.S. Navy]

China claims virtually all of the South China Sea and its assertive behavior in these disputed waters have been a source of tension with the U.S. Fridays FONOP was the latest indication from the Biden administration that it is sustaining U.S. policies that challenge Chinas claims and promote what Washington calls a free and open Indo-Pacific.

In a call Thursday with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that stance. Vietnam is the most assertive among the Southeast Asian nations that challenge Chinas South China Sea claims.

Blinken and Minh reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership and discussed our shared commitment to peace and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific region and protecting and preserving a rules-based South China Sea, the State Department said.

Also Friday, the U.S. Nimitz Carrier Strike Group navigated through the Strait of Malacca into the South China Sea, USNI News reported. Its the second foray into those waters by a U.S. aircraft carrier since Biden took office last month. In January, the United States sailed the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group into the South China Sea for routine operations including maritime strike exercises and coordinated tactical training between surface and air units.

In a reminder of the day-to-day tensions in the South China Sea, particularly in waters where there are overlapping claims, a Malaysian coastguard vessel appears to have sailed up to a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship at South Luconia Shoals in the past week, about 100 nautical miles off Malaysias coast.

Publicly available automatic identification system (AIS) data shows that the HJ5202, which belongs to the CCG, has been operating around the South Luconia Shoals since Jan. 17. The area is within Malaysia exclusive economic zone but is also claimed by China.

The Coast Guard 3902, a Malaysian vessel, sailed up to the South Luconia Shoals from Tanjung Kidurong on Feb. 2 and returned to port on Feb. 4. The AIS data indicates that the HJ5202 may have sailed within 1.5 to 2 nautical miles of the Coast Guard 3902 at one point on Feb. 4.
Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy said here on Friday that the territorial government was ready to support investors from Taiwan for industrial development in the Union Territory. After holding discussions with the Director-General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC), Chennai, Ben Wang, the Chief Minister told reporters that he had informed the foreign official that land for industries was already available in Karaikal, an enclave of Puducherry.

Narayanasamy said the visiting Taiwanese team was interested in collaborating with Puducherry for promoting industrial enterprises.

The expertise Taiwan has in producing e-vehicles, semiconductors, IC chips, manufacture of computers, mobile phones, and also fish processing activities could be of help for promoting industrial activities here, the Chief Minister said.

Skilled manpower, serene environment in the Union Territory and the support of the government would facilitate Taiwanese investments, he said.Industries Minister Shah Jahan, who was present during the discussions, said the six-member team headed by Wang had held talks with government officials over promotion of industries.



Wang said he had meaningful, fruitful and successful discussions with the Chief Minister, Industries Minister and officials of the Puducherry government.He said he had invited the Chief Minister to visit Taiwan.Wang further said the location of Puducherry gave good scope to his country and there was also abundant labour of high-quality in the Union Territory.Secretary to Labour Department of Puducherry government E Vallavan and Director of Industries Priyadharshini were among those present during the talks.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)



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(Natural News) A 60-year-old man in California died after getting the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Wuhan coronavirus vaccine. Orange County resident Tim Zook received the second dose of the COVID-19 jab Jan. 5 at the Santa Ana hospital where he worked. Zook was admitted to his workplaces emergency room hours after his vaccination. He was then transferred to a different hospital, where he died Jan. 9.

The 60-year-old worked as a radiologic technician at Santa Anas South Coast Global Medical Center. His wife Rochelle Zook said Tim was overweight and had suffered from hypertension since he was 19. He had been receiving treatment for the condition until his untimely death.

A staunch supporter of vaccination, Tim posted his excitement about receiving his second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Facebook. But two and a half hours later, he started complaining of abdominal pain and breathing difficulty. Tims colleagues had already escorted him to South Coast Globals emergency room.

Rochelle said tests did not show congestive heart failure, artery blockage or valve issues. Even COVID-19 tests on Tim came back negative. It was presenting as COVID but the test [kept] coming back negative. They tested him again: No congestive heart failure, she remarked. His breathing worsened nevertheless, which led to his intubation.

He just couldnt breathe on his own: He had stomach problems, he just wasnt feeling good, Tims son Kyle Zook said. He told doctors: Put me on the ventilator, I want to live. Those were his last words, Kyle added.

Tim was put into a medically induced coma on Jan. 7. A sudden blood pressure drop prompted his transfer to UC Irvine Medical Center, where he passed away two days later. Investigators are now examining if the vaccination had a role in Tims demise. Meanwhile, the Zook family is awaiting a toxicology report to learn more about the cause of Tims death. (Related: Miami doctor dies after receiving first dose of Pfizer vaccine.)

The Zook family is still supportive of vaccination despite Tim dying from it

Rochelle asked her husband if the vaccine had something to do with the stomach pain and breathing problem he experienced, to which Tim replied in the negative. She continued: We dont know whether it was the vaccine or  other underlying conditions that none of us knew about.

Despite what happened to her husband, Rochelle said Tim believed firmly in vaccines and advocated that others get immunized too. She defended Tims stance, saying: My husband will be the first one to tell you that he wouldve done this all over again. He would take the vaccine and would want all of us  to do it. Kyle shared his parents sentiments, urging people to get vaccinated. Take the vaccine, please. My dad would want people to get the vaccine. He doesnt want people to go through [COVID-19].

The Zook family has no intention of attributing Tims death to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 jab for now.

Rochelle said she is not putting any blame on Pfizer or any pharmaceutical company, as she only wanted to know the truth. Once we know what happened, if its not the vaccine, then so be it. We need answers. If it is, then [further] research needs to be done, she commented.

Meanwhile, Pfizer said it is reviewing the incident. It insisted that the BNT162b2 vaccine given to Tim was safe.

The firms spokeswoman Sharon Castillo told Los Angeles news outlet KTLA 5 in an email that they have been informed of what happened and are thoroughly reviewing the matter.

Medical workers had been supportive of vaccines for the longest time now. This was until they saw first-hand the risks of getting the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. As a result, vaccine hesitancy has been high among medical workers. Incidentally, some countries have reserved the initial doses of their COVID-19 vaccines for medical front-liners.

But despite the risks, some health workers, such as Tennessee nurse Tiffany Dover have remained adamant about getting inoculated. The nurse manager at CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga was excited to receive the COVID-19 jab alongside her colleagues.

She did get the COVID-19 jab Dec. 17, but felt dizzy and fainted moments later. Dover regained consciousness and told News Channel 9 that she had a condition wherein she would faint whenever she felt pain. Doctors at CHI Memorial insisted that the Pfizer/BioNTech jab had nothing to do with Dovers fainting.

VaccineDeaths.com has more regarding the deaths of Tim Zook and other medical workers due to Wuhan coronavirus vaccines.

Sources include:

LosAngeles.CBSLocal.com

ABC7.com

KTLA.com

NewsChannel9.com
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The Florida father-of-two who shot dead two FBI agents as they closed in on him during a dawn raid was 'an unstable man living alone with weapons', a new report claims.

David Lee Huber, 55, killed Special Agent Daniel Alfin, 36, and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, on Tuesday as they tried to execute a search warrant at his Sunrise apartment as part of a child pornography investigation.

Huber - who was suspected of exchanging pornographic images of underage children engaging in sex acts - shot Alfin and Schwartzenberger with a rifle, before turning the gun on himself and ending his own life.

The Miami Herald claims that police had been called to Huber's address twice in the past year for domestic disturbances.

On one occasion, cops came to Huber's home responding to a report that 'a man was screaming at a neighbor and making a throat-slashing gesture.' The second call related to a report about a man 'hallucinating'.

Meanwhile, the publication quotes two people as saying that Huber had weapons stashed at his home, while another former neighbor claimed he 'once pulled a gun on an exterminator hired by his apartment complex to spray for pests.'

David Lee Huber (pictured) killed Special Agent Daniel Alfin, 36, and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, on Tuesday as they tried to execute a search warrant at his Sunrise apartment as part of a child pornography investigation

Huber shot dead Special Agent Daniel Alfin, 36, and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, on Tuesday as they tried to execute a search warrant to seize his computer as part of their case

A former co-worker told The Miami Herald that Huber 'once told him he was bipolar and he feared Huber might shoot up the office after being fired over an angry outburst.'

Elsewhere, another man who once worked with Huber at a computer company told WTVJ Channel 6 that Huber was on medication.

'He did talk about some days when he really needed to get his meds. He told me he had some mental issues with bipolar, manic depressive [disorders]. He was really anxious about getting his meds that would keep him cool,' the ex-colleague, Christian Suarez, stated.

The FBI has not released any details about what Huber was being investigated for and the federal court-approved search warrant for the raid is still sealed.

Law enforcement sources, however, told the Miami Herald that it was a 'run of the mill' investigation.

The FBI is still examining the contents of Huber's computer for evidence. In addition, agents are also now investigating how their routine raid ended in bloodshed.

Huber, who ran computer consulting businesses, is believed to have used a doorbell camera to monitor the agents before opening fire on them through his closed door as they arrived to execute the search warrant early Tuesday.

Huber, who ran computer consulting businesses, is believed to have used a doorbell camera to monitor the agents before opening fire on them through his closed door as they arrived to execute the search warrant early Tuesday

The FBI has not released any details about what Huber was being investigated for and the federal court-approved search warrant for the raid is still sealed

It is understood that Schwartzenberger was killed instantly but Alfin, who had been shot multiple times, returned fire before he died.

Three other agents were also injured in the shooting. Two of the agents who had to be hospitalized were released Wednesday. The third agent was treated at the scene.

The FBI confirmed Huber's identify on Wednesday. He was not listed as a sex offender and had no Florida prison record with only minor traffic violations on his record.

Broward County records show he was married for 16 years before divorcing in 2016 and was the father of two children.

Records show he owned and ran computer consulting businesses from 2008 until last year. Prior to Tuesday's events, he had also worked as a temporary technology contractor for Florida Blue, an affiliate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance firms, in 2020. He had also held a job at employment agency Modis.

The shooting unfolded around 6am on Tuesday in the middle-class neighborhood of single family homes, duplexes and apartment buildings. A heavy law enforcement presence was spotted in the area in the hours after the shooting

The FBI has so far released very few details about the deadly shooting and a number of questions remain unanswered as to how a search warrant, which agents carry out regularly, went so awry.

The agents who were killed devoted their careers to capturing criminals who sexually abuse youngsters.

Alfin, 36, and an agent for almost 13 years, made headlines seven years ago when he led a team that took down a Naples, Florida, man who was the lead administrator of Playpen, the world's largest-known child pornography website.

He was married with one young child.

Schwartzenberger, 43, and an agent for 15 years, was part of Rockway Middle School's law studies magnet program, teaching children about the internet's dangers, including sexual exploitation and cyberbullying.

She was married with two children.

The Miami Herald reports that agents also will be honored at separate events at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami this weekend.

Schwartzenberger's memorial is due to take place at 2 pm on Saturday, while Alfin will be fareweleld at a service at the same time the following day.

The services are expected to be attended by FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Dustin Diamond passed away without having the chance to see his two dying wishes come to reality, his close friend revealed.

A few days after Diamond's untimely death, one of his close friends unveiled what the actor wanted to do before he passed away.

In a report by TMZ, the actor's pal, Dan Block, disclosed that the "Saved By The Bell" star had two dying wishes.

First, he wanted to take his girlfriend to Disney World to see the "Star Wars" attractions together.

Diamond also wished to see Justin Chancellor, the bassist of the progressive metal band Tool.

Regrettably, none of those wishes happened.

He died at the age of 44 in a hospital in Florida on February 1, 2021. His agent, Roger Paul, confirmed that Dustin Diamond's cause of death was due to his cancer, cell carcinoma.

"In that time, it managed to spread rapidly throughout his system; the only mercy it exhibited was its sharp and swift execution. Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful," Paul said in a statement, per Variety.

Dustin Diamond Cremated?

Block added that Diamond's family was still able to fulfill the actor's another wish, though.

According to Block, the actor will be cremated. His remains will also be placed in two separate urns for his father and girlfriend.

Although he failed to grant his two wishes, his representative revealed that Diamond did not want his body buried under a tombstone. The rep explained that the actor was scared people might only visit his grave to deface it.

The exact date of his cremation is yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, his family wants all donations to be given to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. This is to honor Diamond's mother, who died due to breast cancer.

Dustin Diamond's Movies: Screech's Comeback

In a separate post by the news outlet, it has been revealed that Diamond was actually working on a "Saved By The Bell" reboot before his death.

The Disney Channel sitcom, which was initially called "Good Morning, Miss Bliss," began conquering the small screen in 1988.

During that time, Diamond famously started playing the role of Samuel "Screech" Powers.

Per Block, he and the actor have been working on building their own Kevin--Screech's A.I. project on the original series--since last year.

Even after Diamond's death, Block plans to complete the robot by next week.

Kevin will then be given to the producers of the show to use it in a reboot.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
Cooper, Cheryl

Cheryl Bridges Cooper, JD,MSN,APRN-BC, age, 73, of New Concord, KY passed away on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at Alive Hospice in Nashville, TN. She was born in Paducah, KY on January 4, 1948 to the late Conrad Herschel Bridges and Annie Opal Calhoun Bridges. Cheryl was a retired Nurse Practitioner. She graduated from Murray State University in 1989 with a Bachelors Degree in Nursing, graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1994 with a Masters Degree in Nursing and graduated from Nashville School of Law in 2006 with a Juris Doctorate Degree. She was a member of the James Thomas Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Cadiz but attended the Paducah Chapter. Cheryl enjoyed traveling and had traveled abroad to several countries and was of the Baptist faith.

She is survived by her daughter, Leslie Wylie and husband, Fraser of Livonia, MI; son, Robert Cooper of Atlanta, GA; grandson, Connor Patrick Wylie of Livonia, MI; brother, Don Bridges of Paducah, KY; nephews, Mark Gillihan and Scott Bridges; niece, Rayla Bridges Trigg.

Cheryl was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Lee Cooper; sister, Betty Gillihan; niece, Donna Sue Bridges Armond and her parents.

Private graveside services will be held at Clarks River Cemetery with Rev. Jewell Barrett officiating.

Memorial services will be held at a later date.

Milner & Orr Funeral Home of Paducah is in charge of arrangements.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to,The Assistance Fund, 4700 Millenia Blvd., Suite 410, Orlando, FL 32839 or tafcares.org.

We appreciate your help in maintaining state mandated Covid restrictions. This includes wearing a mask and maintaining the minimum six feet of distancing within our facility at all times.

During this difficult time of Covid, you may show your support by joining the Hugs from Home program where your message will be attached to a balloon in the chapel to remind the family of your love and support. Please go to www.milnerandorr.com to send a hug.

You may leave a message of sympathy and light a candle at www.milnerandorr.com.

Giving out the details of the number of vaccines already procured by the government, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said the total cost of procurement of above mentioned doses of vaccines is Rs 350.25 crore

New Delhi: A total of 165 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines  Covishield and Covaxin  have been procured so far at a cost of Rs 350.25 crore, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told Lok Sabha on Friday.

Giving out the details of the number of vaccines already procured by the government, Choubey, in a written reply, said only two vaccines namely Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Limited have so far been granted permission for restricted use in emergency situation by the Drugs Controller General of India.

"Therefore, only these two vaccines have been procured for COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country. A total of 165 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been procured so far, of which 110 lakh doses are of Covishield and 55 lakh doses are of Covaxin vaccine.

"The total cost of procurement of above mentioned doses of vaccines is Rs 350.25 crore," he said. No pre-procurement agreements have been entered into, Choubey clarified.

In response to a question on the logistical hurdles in deployment of these vaccines, including storage and transportation, the minister said there are no logistical hurdles in the deployment of these vaccines, including storage and transportation.

The existing infrastructure under Universal Immunization Programme is being used and simultaneously strengthened for deployment of vaccines, including storage and transportation.

A National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) has been established, which provides guidance on all aspects of COVID-19 vaccination, including prioritisation of population groups, procurement and inventory management, vaccine selection, vaccine delivery and tracking mechanism.

Responding to a separate question in the Lok Sabha, Choubey also explained that fewer than planned beneficiaries attended the coronavirus vaccination sessions at the start due to transient technical issues in CoWIN portal and vaccine hesitancy, among others.

A total of 7,580 adverse events following immunisation have been reported till 31 January under the rollout. None of the 12 deaths of vaccinated persons have been causally attributed to the vaccination as per the current evidence, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey told the Lok Sabha.

Responding to a question on the urgency on part of the government to go ahead with the vaccination when the cases are declining, Choubey said a second or third peak was experienced in other countries during the later part of the pandemic.

"Therefore, a declining trend of cases in the country does not necessarily promise a continued and steady decrease in cases," he said. "Hence, it is necessary to provide prompt protection to the vulnerable and at risk population and maintain low case count through COVID-19 vaccination."

As per the fact sheet of the vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech, one should not get Covaxin if the person has any allergies, fever, bleeding disorder or are on blood thinner, immune-compromised individuals or on medicines that affect immune system, pregnant, breastfeeding, received another coronavirus vaccine or any serious health-related issues, Choubey said in a written reply.

As per the fact sheet of Serum Institute, one should not get Covishield if a person had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose of this vaccine and had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient of this vaccine, he said.

The healthcare provider needs to be consulted about medical conditions, including severe allergic reaction after any drug, food, any vaccine or any ingredients of Covishield; fever; bleeding disorder; immunocompromised; pregnant; breastfeeding or received another COVID-19 vaccine, the minister said.

The introduction of the vaccine is being taken up in a phased manner starting with priority groups of healthcare workers and frontline workers, subsequent to this, NEGVAC recommends covering prioritised groups of persons aged 50 years and above and those aged less than 50 years with comorbidities.

A 'Task Force on Focused Research on Corona Vaccine and other Science and Technology Issues' chaired by Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) is facilitating research and development of vaccines, drugs, diagnostics and other related issues.

The Central Drugs Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) has granted permission to manufacture both Covishield and Covaxin as per the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

As far as Covaxin is concerned, Bharat Biotech had submitted interim safety and immunogenicity data of phase I and II clinical trials carried out in the country along with safety data, including Serious Adverse Event (SAE) data, of the ongoing phase III clinical trial in the country.

The data was reviewed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in consultation with Subject Expert Committee (SEC) comprising domain knowledge experts.

The committee noted that this vaccine is inactivated whole virion coronavirus vaccine having potential to target mutated coronavirus strains.

The data demonstrated a strong immune response (both antibody as well as T cell) and in-vitro viral neutralisation.

The ongoing clinical trial is a large trial on 25,800 Indian subjects in which all the subjects have already been enrolled. Moreover, the firm presented the safety and efficacy data from non-human primate challenge study also to CDSCO, where the vaccine has been found to be safe and effective.

"After detailed deliberations, SEC recommended grant of permission for restricted use in emergency situation in public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode, to have more options for vaccinations, especially in case of infection by mutant strains," Choubey said in response to another question.

Based on the recommendations of SEC, CDSCO has granted permission to Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad to manufacture Covaxin vaccine for restricted use in emergency situation in public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode with various conditions/restrictions.

The Serum Institute of India, Pune has submitted safety immunogenicity and efficacy data of phase II/III clinical trials of AstraZeneca vaccine carried out in the UK, Brazil and South Africa along with the safety and immunogenicity data from the ongoing phase II/III clinical trial in the country.

The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of CDSCO reviewed the proposal of restricted emergency use along with above details and the data received.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approval for AstraZeneca vaccine on December 30 last year along with its conditions/restrictions was also reviewed by the committee.

The committee noted that the safety and immunogenicity data presented by the firm from the Indian study is comparable with that of the overseas clinical trial data.

Based on the recommendations of SEC, CDSCO granted permission to Serum Institute of India to manufacture Covisheild vaccine for restricted use in emergency situation with various conditions/restrictions.

Furthermore, CDSCO has granted permission to conduct clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines either manufactured in the country or outside the country.

So far, as Serious Adverse Events (SAE) are concerned, 51 SAEs have been received by CDSCO from various clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine.
Estimated increase in the local number of bat species due to shifts in their geographical ranges driven by climate change since 1901. The zoomed-in area represents the likely spatial origin of the bat-borne ancestor of SARS-CoV-2. Credit: Dr Robert Beyer

Global greenhouse gas emissions over the last century have made southern China a hotspot for bat-borne coronaviruses, by driving growth of forest habitat favoured by bats.

A new study published today in the journal Science of the Total Environment provides the first evidence of a mechanism by which climate change could have played a direct role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study has revealed large-scale changes in the type of vegetation in the southern Chinese Yunnan province, and adjacent regions in Myanmar and Laos, over the last century. Climatic changes including increases in temperature, sunlight, and atmospheric carbon dioxidewhich affect the growth of plants and treeshave changed natural habitats from tropical shrubland to tropical savannah and deciduous woodland. This created a suitable environment for many bat species that predominantly live in forests.

The number of coronaviruses in an area is closely linked to the number of different bat species present. The study found that an additional 40 bat species have moved into the southern Chinese Yunnan province in the past century, harbouring around 100 more types of bat-borne coronavirus. This 'global hotspot' is the region where genetic data suggests SARS-CoV-2 may have arisen.

"Climate change over the last century has made the habitat in the southern Chinese Yunnan province suitable for more bat species," said Dr. Robert Beyer, a researcher in the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and first author of the study, who has recently taken up a European research fellowship at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany.

He added: "Understanding how the global distribution of bat species has shifted as a result of climate change may be an important step in reconstructing the origin of the COVID-19 outbreak."

To get their results, the researchers created a map of the world's vegetation as it was a century ago, using records of temperature, precipitation, and cloud cover. Then they used information on the vegetation requirements of the world's bat species to work out the global distribution of each species in the early 1900s. Comparing this to current distributions allowed them to see how bat 'species richness', the number of different species, has changed across the globe over the last century due to climate change.

"As climate change altered habitats, species left some areas and moved into otherstaking their viruses with them. This not only altered the regions where viruses are present, but most likely allowed for new interactions between animals and viruses, causing more harmful viruses to be transmitted or evolve," said Beyer.

The world's bat population carries around 3,000 different types of coronavirus, with each bat species harbouring an average of 2.7 coronavirusesmost without showing symptoms. An increase in the number of bat species in a particular region, driven by climate change, may increase the likelihood that a coronavirus harmful to humans is present, transmitted, or evolves there.

Most coronaviruses carried by bats cannot jump into humans. But several coronaviruses known to infect humans are very likely to have originated in bats, including three that can cause human fatalities: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) CoV, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) CoV-1 and CoV-2.

The region identified by the study as a hotspot for a climate-driven increase in bat species richness is also home to pangolins, which are suggested to have acted as intermediate hosts to SARS-CoV-2. The virus is likely to have jumped from bats to these animals, which were then sold at a wildlife market in Wuhanwhere the initial human outbreak occurred.

The researchers echo calls from previous studies that urge policy-makers to acknowledge the role of climate change in outbreaks of viral diseases, and to address climate change as part of COVID-19 economic recovery programmes.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremendous social and economic damage. Governments must seize the opportunity to reduce health risks from infectious diseases by taking decisive action to mitigate climate change," said Professor Andrea Manica in the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology, who was involved in the study.

"The fact that climate change can accelerate the transmission of wildlife pathogens to humans should be an urgent wake-up call to reduce global emissions," added Professor Camilo Mora at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, who initiated the project.

The researchers emphasised the need to limit the expansion of urban areas, farmland, and hunting grounds into natural habitat to reduce contact between humans and disease-carrying animals.

The study showed that over the last century, climate change has also driven increases in the number of bat species in regions around Central Africa, and scattered patches in Central and South America.

Explore further Climate change and food demand could shrink species' habitats by almost a quarter by 2100

More information: Robert M. Beyer et al, TEMPORARY REMOVAL: Shifts in global bat diversity suggest a possible role of climate change in the emergence of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2, Science of The Total Environment (2021). Journal information: Science of the Total Environment Robert M. Beyer et al, TEMPORARY REMOVAL: Shifts in global bat diversity suggest a possible role of climate change in the emergence of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145413
[February 05, 2021] Ontario Engineers Urge Government to Address Air Quality Issues Before Students Return to School

As students prepare to return to classrooms across the province, the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) is calling on the provincial government to immediately address the airborne transmission of COVID-19. It is widely understood by health experts that aerosol transmission of the virus is possible, particularly in indoor settings where people gather for long periods of time. OSPE believes the need for proper ventilation to stop the spread of infected aerosol particles is not being properly addressed. "Ontario engineers are concerned about the health and well-being of students, and the lack of attention to air quality by the provincial government," said Sandro Perruzza, CEO of OSPE. "While investments like the Ontario Together Fund to develop new technologies are welcome, we need a transparent plan to prioritize and conduct upgrades to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in schools now." OSPE is calling on the Ontario government to take the following immediate actions: Determine which schools require priority HVAC systems assessments Commit more funding to ventilation improvements Hire professional engineers to do this work now OSPE's President & Chair, Rejeanne Aimey, P.Eng., says government must take steps now to prevent future outbreaks. "As engineers, we have always known there is a connection between ventilation systems and our health, but it has taken a global pandemic to shine light on this issue. We are urging government to properly invest in protecting our children - allocating $50 million of federal support is inadequate," she said. With frigid winter temperatures, many HVAC systems in public and commercial spaces re-circulate air instead of funneling fresh air in. As a result, HVAC systems recycle the same potentially infected air. Engineers believe that this could be contributing to airborne transmission of COVID-19 in buildings such as warehouss and long-term care facilities, as well as other indoor spaces.



"This is bigger than COVID-19 - Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) affects how many sick days we take off of work, how happy we are, and how long we live," said Brian Fleck, professional engineer and professor at the University of Alberta who, along with a team of medical scientists and engineers, is studying ventilation and how it impacts the transmission of the virus. "We have the opportunity now to make the air in the buildings where we live and work cleaner than the air outside. We just have to make that investment; the costs are small compared to the benefits we will reap in finance, health and wellness." OSPE is calling on the Ontario government to consult with engineers, scientists, HVAC specialists and other experts immediately to adequately address this issue before more outbreaks occur.

About the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) OSPE is the advocacy body and voice of the Ontario engineering profession. Ontario has more than 85,000 professional engineers and 293,600 engineering students and graduates. OSPE provides strategic engineering input to the government, industry, and academia, often through work undertaken by its committees and task forces. Most recently, OSPE has showcased how the engineering community will assist Ontario and Canada with economic recovery post-COVID-19. As a member-driven professional association, OSPE welcomes the entire engineering community to contribute knowledge, skills, and leadership to help create a better future for the profession and society. For more information about OSPE, please visit www.ospe.on.ca. Resources OSPE endorses the work of our colleagues at the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), who have released extensive resources detailing how to conduct overall improvements to HVAC systems to properly mitigate virus transmission. ASHRAE's Building Readiness Guide includes checklists for re-occupancy of schools, including a recommendation to "consider consulting with a local professional engineer to determine the appropriate minimum RH levels based on local climate conditions, type of construction and age of the building under consideration." View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005041/en/

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11:06 | Chicago (U.S.), Feb. 5.

The notes will rank pari passu with the company's currently outstanding senior unsecured obligations. Proceeds from the proposed offering will be used to complete the construction of the Talara Refinery Modernization Project (PMRT). The rating outlook is negative.





Fitch expects Petroperu will complete PMRT by YE 2021, as the construction has been delayed due to government measures that required the company to halt construction activities. PMRT is 92.3% completed as of YE 2020.





With the proposed offering, Fitch expects Petroperu will secure the funding to complete the project, without incurring additional debt.





As a State-owned company, Petroperu's ratings are equalized with Peru's Sovereign Rating. The ratings reflect its close linkage with Peru's ratings due to its strong government ownership and control, and the very strong incentives to support the company, as it is one of the country's largest liquids fuels suppliers, and its strategic importance to maintaining the country's energy supply.





Petroperu's rating is strongly linked with the credit profile of the Peruvian sovereign, and reflects the sovereign's incentive to provide financial support to the company, given its strategic importance for the country. The company is 100% owned by the Peruvian State.





Government support has been evidenced by multiple actions including the capital injection of US$325 million for PMRT, transferring all of the company's pension liabilities to the State, and recovering some value-added taxes.





Additionally, government support can be seen in the Republic of Peru's approval of a financial guarantee of up to US$1.0 billion to support the financing of PMRT, the precise mechanism by which this guarantee would be activated has not been yet committed, pursuant to Law No. 30130.





Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the government enacted Decree 033/2020 through which Banco de la Nacion (Bank of Nation) is allowed to provide financial assistance to Petroperu and other State-owned companies.




A Birmingham mother and her young son were wounded when shots were fired into a residence on the citys west side.

The shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday in the Kimbrough Homes public housing complex in the Wenonah Community. Sgt. Rod Mauldin said police were notified of a double shooting int he 2900 block of John Bryant Road. They arrived to find the mother and 2-year-old boy wounded.

Police radio traffic indicated the child was struck in the neck and taken to Childrens of Alabama with critical injuries. The mother was also hospitalized but her injuries didnt initially appear to be life-threatening.

Mauldin said the victims were inside their apartment when someone from the outside opened fire. Neighbors reported hearing at least eight to 10 shots, with a pause in between some of them.

No suspects were in custody as of 11 p.m.

Any time you have anyone thats shot, its concerning but tonight we had a 2-year-old along with the mother wounded by gunfire,' Mauldin said. Were not sure if anyone was outside, but this is a close-knit community so we know people know something.

It wasnt immediately clear whether the apartment or the victims were specifically targeted. We dont know if it was an ongoing dispute or not but we know somebody knows something so were urging people to come forward with information,' Mauldin said. Stand up for your community and come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
WASHINGTON  On Thursday, 90 U.S. senators voted in favor of bailing out restaurants, struggling due to the pandemic, with a targeted relief program.

The vote showed the overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress for helping the restaurant industry, as Democratic leaders move to include $25 billion in aid for food and drink establishments in the COVID-19 bill theyre racing to pass. But some Democratic and Republican lawmakers are pushing for a grant restaurant program five times the size.

Restaurateurs and industry advocates are grateful for the forthcoming relief  though its likely to be less than they lobbied for  and they have lots of questions about the proposed grant program will work.

Im certainly not going to knock anything thats going to help the restaurant industry recover, said Matt Storch, chef and owner of Match in Norwalk and Match Burger Lobster in Westport, said of the $25 billion proposal. We just have to fine-tune it a little bit so that every restaurant gets help.

Around the country, more than 110,000 restaurants have closed around the country and others are just scraping by. In Connecticut, over 600 restaurants have permanently closed, according to the Connecticut Restaurant Association. Others have temporarily shut for the winter and may not be able to reopen their doors come spring.

Across the board the restaurant is down across the board maybe more than any other, said Victor Mathieu, co-owner of the Fiesta Group of Restaurants, with four locations in Stamford and Norwalk. Were nowhere near normal.

The new $25 billion program crafted by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and others is intended to lift the restaurant industry with grants tied to revenue declines. The program run by the Small Business Administration would be available to food or drinking establishments that are not part of a chain or franchise operating more than 20 locations doing business under the same name, according to an aide. The grants would cover the difference between a restaurant's revenues in 2019 and revenues in 2020. A cap on the size of the grants has not yet been set.

Restaurants could use the grants to cover payroll, mortgages or rent, to set up outdoor seating, provide personal protective equipment, employee paid leave, food and other supplies, or cover debt and other expenses, the aide said. Businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans are expected to be eligible. Details of the program are still being finalized.

Schumer has called passage of this program one of his very highest priorities.

In June, Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, R-Ore., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a $120 billion restaurant revitalization fund, a proposal strongly backed by national restaurant industry groups. Wicker is not backing off the his effort to boost the industry in a big way.

I will continue to advance proposals to provide the targeted relief necessary to help keep local restaurants open as our nation works to finish the fight against COVID-19, he tweeted Thursday afternoon, after a budget amendment for restaurant relief from Wicker and Sinema sailed through the Senate.

Restaurant aid could be one front of the many congressional battles over coronavirus relief in the coming days.

Any additional dollars on a federal level to help our industry survive is great news, said Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, before launching into a list of questions and concerns about how the $25 billion program might work. Multiple restaurants that opened in 2020 will be calling me because theyre not eligible for this.

Dolch also wondered if businesses would have to demonstate a loss to be eligible and why a comparison of revenues would be used to determine grant size, when expenses increased during the pandemic for many.

Storch said his revenues are down 40 to 50 percent in Norwalk and 10 to 20 percent in Westport. Meanwhile expenses have climbed. Hes paying $90 for a case of 1000 gloves, he said, and made other investments in technology and marketing to reach customers at home and change his operations during the pandemic, meaning he had to spend a lot more for every dollar of revenue earned.

Thats the giant hole that theyre missing, he said.

During the pandemic, the hardest-hit businesses have been the leisure and hospitality sector as well as low-wage and less-educated workers and people of color, the New York Federal Reserve reported in December. Across the region, leisure and hospitality businesses  like restaurants, bars and hotels  lost the most jobs  more than 750,000  from February to April. About 50 percent of those jobs had returned as of October.

About half the 160,000 restaurant workers in Connecticut were unemployed in the first weeks of March and April, Dolch said. Many were hired back for outdoor dining over the summer, but with limited indoor dining in the winter months employment dropped again.

Restaurants already received some special consideration from Congress, which allowed restaurants to get larger second-draw forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans than other business types in a new round of loans that launched in January.

Mathieu said that relief was helpful, but would have been better for businesses and employees before Christmas.

It teetered on too late, he said.

Congress previously approved a similar $15 billion grant program to support performing arts venues, museums and cultural institutions in its December coronavirus bill.

The House and Senate have already taken steps to pass Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief proposal through a budget process called reconciliation, which would not require Republican votes. Passing the $1.9 trillion plan is a top priority for President Joe Biden and Democrats are moving to pass the plan through Congress soon.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
Canada has seen nearly a 30 per cent drop in active COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, but the country's chief public health officer says strict measures should remain in place as more contagious variants of the virus threaten to derail this downward trend.

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller responds to a question during a news conference Thursday, February 4, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Canada has seen nearly a 30 per cent drop in active COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, but the country's chief public health officer says strict measures should remain in place as more contagious variants of the virus threaten to derail this downward trend.

In a daily update Thursday, Dr. Theresa Tam said there are 48,221 active COVID-19 cases in Canada, down from more than 68,400 cases two weeks ago.

Tam said the daily federal tally has also been trending downwards, with an average of 4,061 new infections reported per day over the past week.

She said this slowdown has led to a gradual decline in severe COVID-19 outcomes. Over the past seven days, an average of 3,711 patients were treated in hospitals each day, including 792 in intensive care.

Even with this decline, Tam said the current caseload continues to burden local health-care resources, particularly in regions with high infection rates.

"The risk remains that trends could reverse quickly," Tam said in a statement, noting that the spread of the virus is accelerating in some parts of the country and outbreaks continue to occur in high-risk communities.

"These factors underscore the importance of sustaining public health measures and individual practices and not easing restrictions too fast or too soon.

"This is particularly important in light of the emergence of new virus variants of concern that could rapidly accelerate transmission of COVID-19 in Canada."

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller echoed this call for continued vigilance Thursday as his department reported that the number of people with COVID-19 in First Nations communities has declined to the lowest point since Dec. 6, with 1,869 active cases reported as of Wednesday.

Miller said more than 64,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to First Nations on reserve, Inuit and in the territories as of Feb. 3. But as authorities wait to see how Canada-wide delays in vaccine shipments will impact the rollout, Miller warned this isn't the time to let down our guards.

Moderna was to deliver 230,000 doses to Canada this week, but 180,000 arrived Thursday morning instead.

A spokeswoman for the company says it will still deliver two million doses total by the end of March. The company has delivered about half a million thus far, leaving 1.5 million for the only two shipments planned after this week before that deadline.

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander managing logistics of vaccine deliveries for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Canada doesn't expect to get the 249,600 doses it was initially allocated for the Feb. 22 shipment either.

As federal authorities urge restraint, Manitoba is considering loosening restrictions to allow restaurants, lounges, gyms and churches to reopen at a reduced capacity.

Current measures expire next week and the province is seeking public feedback about changes moving forward.

Non-essential businesses were forced to close in November as COVID-19 infections and deaths surged.

Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, said while numbers have significantly dropped, any steps to reopen must be taken cautiously.

Meanwhile, Ontario is considering cancelling March break as it moves to reopen schools that remain shuttered in southern parts of the province.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said he's waiting on the opinion of the province's chief medical officer of health before making a final call, stressing the importance of preventing travel as COVID-19 variants run rampant abroad.

Public Health Ontario released data Thursday indicating that mutations were found in 5.5 per cent of COVID-19 cases screened on a single day in January, most of them linked to a deadly outbreak at a nursing home in Simcoe-Muskoka.

Officials say more will be revealed about the prevalence of variants in the province as testing ramps up.

In Quebec, junior college and university students will be gradually welcomed back to campus starting next week, offering an alternative to the online education they've received since last March.

Students will be allowed to attend in-person classes at least once a week, and eventually, up to several times a month, Higher Education Minister Danielle McCann told reporters Thursday. Classrooms will be capped at 50 per cent capacity.

British Columbia also announced that it's expanding its mask mandate in schools, requiring students in middle and secondary school and staff for kindergarten through Grade 12 to wear face coverings in all indoor areas.

For elementary school students, wearing masks indoors remains a personal choice, said Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside.

The B.C. Teachers Federation welcomed the change, but said more could be done.

"Today's changes will make schools safer and that is welcome news. However, the changes do not include improvements to school density, ventilation or the ongoing inadequacy of contact tracing," union president Teri Mooring said in a statement.

In Alberta, the province said it has 68 variant cases of COVID-19, up 11 from the day before. Seven of the cases have no known link to travel.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the chief medical officer of health, said the higher numbers are concerning but noted, We are currently able to test almost every single positive COVID case for variant strain, so that does help us detect more that are out there so we can contain them.

And in Saskatchewan, the head of a nurses union urged the provincial government to outline plans to deal with a more infectious strain of COVID-19 after a third variant case was reported.

We need to be  much more vigilant and much more transparent on ... figuring out if we have the variants, where they are, and how people should protect themselves," said Tracy Zambory, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses.

The Ministry of Health said earlier this week that officials will consider variants when deciding what to do about public health orders set to expire on Feb. 19.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2021.

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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. UNESCO says it hopes it will soon send a preliminary mission to Nagorno Karabakh and the territories that have come under Azerbaijani control.

Discussions [on the visit] continue. We hope that it will happen soon, a UNESCO spokesperson told TASS.

Earlier, UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay vowed to send experts of the organization to Nagorno Karabakh to help preserve its historic heritage.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
The administration of President Joe Biden has expressed intent to reopen a Texas detention center to accommodate an increase in unoccupied foreign children at the southern U.S. border.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it plans to reopen a detention center in Carrizo Springs, Texas for the potential influx of unaccompanied foreign children as necessary.

If the plan pushes through, the detention center will be able to accommodate about 700 migrant children, but Fox News noted that capacity could be adjusted if necessary.

Prior to the Biden administration's plans on occupying the said space, it had been vacant since July 2019. Reopening it as an overflow facility for foreign children grew to become a controversial topic for the Biden administration.

Overflow Detention Center to House Foreign Children 13 Years Old and Older

HHS said that foreign children over the age of 13, who were cleared of COVID-19 quarantine protocols, can be housed in the facility, reported USA Today.

"HHS is mindful of these children's vulnerability, and our priority is the safety and wellbeing of each child in our care. HHS anticipates the need to start placing children at Carrizo Springs in 15 days or soon after," the department said.

Read also: Alejandro Mayorkas Makes History as First-Ever Latino DHS Chief

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the Influx Care Facilities could be one way to move migrant children out of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities. It is believed that once they are moved, they will be given access to services like medical care and education.

The government will work to assign children to appropriate care provider facilities and pass them on to suitable sponsors as their immigration processes move forward.

With the large influx of people from the south, The Federalist noted that immigrants are "anticipating Democrats will reward their intent to break U.S. laws."

During this time, DHS and CBP are scrambling to keep up with the capacity of people rushing into the U.S. and evaluate the influx of incoming migrants amid the global pandemic.

At this pace, The Federalist noted that both agencies would be reopening, renovating, and even creating new holding centers to keep up with migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

"The situation remains extremely fluid and can change rapidly," the Office of Refugee Resettlement said in a statement.

Critics Point Detention Center's Similarity to 'Kids in Cages'

The Biden administration's move comes after a slew of executive orders that sought to unwind the Trump administration's hardline policies against immigration.

"We're going to work to undo the moral and national shame of the previous administration that literally, not figuratively, ripped children from the arms of their families," he said as he signed a task force reuniting foreign citizens and their children.

However, the campaign threw immediate obstacles on the Biden administration's way with the influx of migrants.

Related story: Republican Senators Introduce Bill to Stop States Giving Driver's Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

Some pointed out that the reopening of the overflow facilities seemed similar to the "kids in cages" argument in media and the left when former President Donald Trump was in office.

The administration also sidestepped questions about Title 42, a law invoked by Trump that allowed border officials to expel illegal migrants without due process.

Press Release

February 5, 2021 Creation of DOFil will help protect Filipinos abroad, says Bong Go as he demanded justice for murdered OFW in Abu Dhabi and offered help to the family Senator Christopher "Bong" Go expressed that his proposed measure creating the Department of Overseas Filipinos will be acted upon by the Senate soon to provide better services, and further protect the rights and promote the welfare of Filipinos abroad. "I'm not losing hope," Go said in an interview done after he provided assistance to Batasan TODA Members in Quezon City on Wednesday, February 3. The Senator explained that the Senate Bill No. 1949, otherwise known as the Department of Overseas Filipinos (DOFil) Act of 2020, has been referred back to the Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development after the Senate Committee on Rules gave the green light for committee deliberations. "Ni-refer na po pabalik sa Committee on Labor at uumpisahan na po ang pagdinig dito," he said. The Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development has scheduled a hearing on the proposed measure on February 15. Go filed the bill in early December and has been certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte. It has also been identified as one of the top twenty priority legislations by both houses of Congress this year. The proposed creation of DOFil will be initially comprised of the Office of the Secretary and four Offices of the Undersecretaries for Administration and Finance; Foreign Employment; Assistance to Overseas Filipinos in Distress; and Policy and International Cooperation and Special Overseas Filipino Concerns. The department shall also subsume the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Social Welfare Attaches Office under the Department of Social Welfare and Development, International Labor Affairs Bureau under the Department of Labor and Employment, and Commission on Overseas Filipinos. Additionally, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration will serve as attached agencies of DOFil. The bill also aims to implement a one country-team approach of government offices and personnel posted abroad. This means that it will require all officials in Philippine diplomatic posts to act together as one team, per country of assignment, in protecting the rights and advancing the welfare of Filipino migrant workers there, with guidance from the DFA and the Philippine Foreign Service Posts. As principal author of the bill, Go emphasized that the establishment of the DOFil is also aligned with the objectives of rightsizing the bureaucracy by streamlining and rationalizing the organization and functions of all government agencies related to overseas employment and migration into one department. "Mayroon tayong ten million Filipinos abroad. Sinasabi nating heroes sila kaya bigyan natin sila ng importansya, bigyan natin sila ng departamento na para sa kanila," he highlighted. SBN 1949 is the third iteration of a measure filed by Go in 2019. The latest version of the bill represents the unified position of the entire Executive branch of the government. It will include agencies which will be affected by the reorganization. Meanwhile, Go has also expressed concern on the recently reported death of an overseas Filipino worker, reported missing since March 6, 6, 2020, and whose remains were recently found in the hotel in Abu Dhabi where she was working as receptionist. Mary Anne Daynolo's remains arrived on January 30 and were immediately autopsied by the National Bureau of Investigation. "Ako po, bilang isang mambabatas at malapit kay Pangulong Duterte, sisiguraduhin natin na mabibigyan ng hustiya ang pagkamatay ni Mary Anne," Go said. The Senator added that the suspect must answer to the crime he committed. According to news, the suspect is a Ugandan national identified only as "Paul", who admitted to the crime and led the investigators to the place where Daynolo was buried. "Ako naman po ay handang tumulong sa kanyang pamilya na naiwan niya rito. Handa po akong tumulong sa kanya at sisiguraduhin natin na mabigyan siya ng hustisya kaya isinusulong ko ang DOFil bill," Go said. "Hindi po ako titigil para po meron na tayong departamento na Cabinet secretary-level na nakatutok sa mga OFWs na minsan ay inaapi. Para po ito sa tinatawag nating mga modern day heroes," he added. As of this time, the Office of the President, together with the DSWD, OWWA, and the Office of Senator Bong Go have already reached out to the family of Mary Anne Daynolo to provide assistance. Through her mother, the government provided financial, legal and memorial service assistance as well as other forms of aid for the family's immediate needs.
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Vials with AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine are seen at the vaccination center in the Newcastle Eagles Community Arena, Britain, January 30, 2021. Photo by Reuters/Lee Smith.

Vietnam would receive around 4.886 million doses of AstraZenecas Covid-19 vaccine via the Covax program within the first half of 2021, according to a distribution forecast.

The supplied doses for Vietnam would mean around 2.5 million people would be vaccinated against Covid-19, the U.K. Embassy in Vietnam said Thursday. AstraZeneca, responsible for producing the vaccine, is a BritishSwedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England.

The doses of the original Covid-19 vaccine of AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford would be distributed via Global Covid-19 Vaccine Facility (Covax), a global mechanism in the development, manufacturing and procurement of Covid-19 vaccine candidates, facilitating and supporting member countries to access vaccines as they become available.

The deal would be an addition to the doses sourced via another agreement between the Vietnamese government and AstraZeneca on Monday, in which AstraZeneca would supply the nation 30 million doses in the first half of this year for domestic inoculation.

Globally, 96 to 153 million doses of the vaccine will be distributed through Covax.

For Covax's first interim distribution forecast, the provided doses would be able to cover 3.3 percent of the total population of the 145 member nations of the facility on average, including Vietnam.

Vietnam is currently aiming at mass Covid-19 vaccination for its nearly 100 million population. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Jan. 31 requested the Health Ministry and Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam to present a plan toward buying Covid-19 vaccines within the first quarter, using the national budget and other sources.

Besides the deal with AstraZeneca, Vietnam is also stepping up negotiations with the U.S.s Pfizer and Moderna, along with other vaccine manufacturers in Russia and China.

It is also developing its own Covid-19 vaccines, with four currently in the works. Human trials for Nanocovax, produced by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, began last December, while Covivac, produced by the health ministrys Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, is expected to begin human trials after the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.

Since late last month, Vietnam has been experiencing a new coronavirus outbreak with 375 community cases confirmed in 10 cities and provinces so far. The total coronavirus tally stands at 1,957.
WASSERBILLIG, Luxembourgpjur Lubricants has created a campaign whose aim is to normalize the use of personal lubricants. As part of the campaign, pjur advises that women should explore their own desires, listen to what their bodies are saying and communicate their needs more openly, because then the use of lubricant would be a more normal part of their lives and psyches. pjur offers premium personal lubricants in part with the mission to support people on their way to more fulfilling sex lives. The campaign's slogan is, "#normalizelubeIt's in your hands: Prioritize your own pleasure."

"As women, we often find that we take a back seat when it comes to sex and talking about sex," noted a campaign spokeswoman. "Or we wait and somehow expect our partners to figure out what it is we want. Therefore, empowering women to explore their own bodies and sexual desires is an important aspect of the campaign. Only those who know what is good for them can confidently take responsibility for their own pleasure."

"Listen to your body," the campaign advises, noting that 67 percent of women have experienced dryness in their intimate areas.

Dryness during or before sex can be caused by a wide range of factors, pjur has noted. It can be linked to the menstrual cycle or it could be that the person's mind is not getting turned on "quickly" enough. It can also be caused by stress or hormones (due to pregnancy, childbirth or menopause, for example). Even so, personal lubricant is often still considered a taboo. This stems from the stigma that women must have physical or emotional issues if their bodies do not produce enough natural lubricant.

No one likes talking about problems, but pjur urges women to speak openly about their desires and needs, and when it comes to intimate subjects such as sex, dryness (and any related discomfort) or problems with people's sex lives, they often feel ashamed to. An open conversation about the woman's (physical) needs with her partner, a good friend, or even with a doctor she trusts, can help to address uncertainties with her own body.

Personal lubricant can help support the woman's wellbeing by taking away the pressure to produce natural lubrication and allowing women to stop worrying about dryness. Through its campaign, pjur wants to encourage all women to feel confident enough to use personal lubricant whenever they want to.

In that vein, pjur has several product recommendations to deal with dryness:

 pjur WOMAN: Smooth, silicone-based personal lubricant that provides long-lasting lubrication, pleasant consistency, and leaves the skin feeling smooth, not sticky. Also suitable for erotic massages and masturbation.

 pjur WOMAN Nude: Natural water-based personal lubricant without glycerin that is free from preservatives and parabens. Suitable for sensitive skin.

 pjur WOMAN Aloe: Moisturizing, water-based personal lubricant with aloe vera. Compatible with sex toys. Easy to wipe off, does not leave behind marks.

(Note: Each formulation may not be available in all markets.)

For more on pjur's campaign, click here.

To learn more about pjur, click here.
US Warship Transits Through Taiwan Strait for First Time Under Biden

A U.S. warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 4, marking the first such operation during the Biden administration.

The USS McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, made a routine transit in the narrow waterway between Taiwan and China in accordance with international law, the U.S. Seventh Fleet said in a statement.

The ships transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows, it said.

The maneuver came as the Chinese regime escalated its rhetoric and military pressure toward Taiwan in the days after President Joe Biden took office.

On the first weekend of Bidens presidency, China made its largest-scale military incursions into the islands air defense zone13 military aircraft flew over Taiwans southwest waters on Jan. 23, and another 15 military aircraft made a similar incursion the next day.

The United States, in response, criticized Beijings military activities and reaffirmed its commitment to Taiwan, which it described as rock solid.

The United States, like most countries, has no official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but is the islands most important international backer and supplier of weapons.

Chinese aircraft incursions near Taiwan have since been seen almost on a daily basis for the past few months, according to the islands defense ministry.

The Chinese regime considers Taiwan a part of its territory, even though the island has been governed as a distinct entity for more than seven decades.

Beijing has also vowed to retake Taiwan by military force if necessary. It views U.S. military transits of the Taiwan Strait as provocations, despite the waterway being deemed as open to all countries for transit under international law.

The last U.S. transit occurred on New Years Eve when the McCain and a second destroyer, the USS Curtis Wilbur, went through the strait, according to U.S. Navy statements.

U.S. warships transited the waterway 13 times in 2020, according to the U.S. Seventh Fleet, the most since 12 such transits in 2016, the final year of former President Barack Obamas administration.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, at a regular briefing on Feb. 4, said the regime closely monitored the warship and would continue to be on high alert.

Beijing was ready to respond to all threats and provocations at any time, and will resolutely safeguard our national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Wang added.

During the incursions on the weekend of Jan. 23, Chinese bombers and fighter jets simulated missile attacks on a U.S. aircraft carrier that was in nearby waterways, according to a recent Financial Times report, citing people familiar with U.S. intelligence.

On Jan. 23, a U.S. carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt entered the disputed South China Sea to promote freedom of the seas. The U.S. military has steadily increased its activities there in recent years as China asserts its territorial claims in the area in conflict with neighboring countries including Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, and Taiwan.

The U.S. military criticized the Chinese military flights as destabilizing and aggressive, but said they posed no threat to the aircraft carrier group.

The Chinese military later announced it would conduct military drills in the South China Sea between Jan. 27 to Jan. 30.

Chinese state-run Global Times reported on Jan. 24 that Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, guided-missile destroyer Shenzhen, destroyer Wuhan, and guided-missile frigate Hengyang were to perform exercises in the South China Sea.

Frank Fang, Reuters, and CNN Wire contributed to this report.
Romantic: But NI home deliveries for Valentines Day have proved to be impossible for one restaurant chain

Romance may not be dead in Northern Ireland but Brexit has dealt a crushing blow to Valentine's night love-in plans for scores of amorous couples here.

A major restaurant chain has had to scrap its home deliveries to Northern Ireland on the big night, blaming the new import regulations surrounding Brexit.

Couples who had been looking forward to receiving Six by Nico's pre-prepared food boxes from its Scottish base to finish off at home on Valentine's Day have now been sent a message from the Home-X delivery platform breaking the bad news.

And, in a further twist, there is also bad news for budding romantics aiming to woo their dates with roses.

While Brexit is not the problem here - roses all come in from Holland via Dublin - some florists have been reporting getting just half their normal amount due to lockdown and are trying to increase delivery drivers to get bouquets out.

With Six by Nico - whose owner Nico Simeone opened a hugely popular 500,000 restaurant in Belfast's Waring Street in March 2019 - Brexit is the main issue. It cannot get its food across the water to Northern Ireland.

The email from Home-X, which was launched by the team behind Six by Nico and represents a number of other food outlets as well, said: "Due to Brexit and some of the new regulations on imports to Northern Ireland, we are currently unable to ship orders to Northern Ireland which has left us extremely disappointed."

The note apologised for the situation, adding: "These circumstances are sadly out of our control and our team have been working relentlessly to provide a solution."

The email added: "To give you some insight, we ship all of our Home-X orders from Glasgow and the solution we are working towards is to hopefully set up a temporary production from the Six by Nico restaurant in Belfast. However this, with restricting timescales and some packaging obstacles to overcome, may not be as quick as we hope."

One Belfast woman, who did not want to be named, said she and her husband were gutted by the development.

"We've had great food from Nico before and so for Valentine's night we had ordered the 'Hebrides' menu, which for 60 was giving us a feast from the islands of smoked salmon from Harris followed by black pudding and pork from Stornoway and then a 'Tipsy Laird' trifle and cheese from Mull.

"We are extremely disappointed. It's bad enough not being able to go out for a Valentine's meal to somewhere like Six by Nico because of the pandemic lockdown but when your home delivery is scuppered by Brexit too it's even more frustrating.

"It's been difficult to arrange an alternative but we are determined to find another delivery to make our Valentine's Day complete."
The COVID-19 vaccination campaign is to start in Ukraine in February.

Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister, Chief Medical Officer Viktor Liashko has said the U.S.-based Pfizer company will soon submit documents for the registration of a vaccine against COVID-19 in Ukraine.

The Health Ministry on February 4 had a phone call with the Pfizer headquarters, he said.

"We've received assurances that all documents for the registration of the Pfizer vaccine in Ukraine will be submitted in the near future. The vaccine will be used in Ukraine when it is properly registered," Liashko said during an online briefing on Friday, an UNIAN correspondent reported.

"The COVID-19 vaccination campaign will start in Ukraine in February. It will be voluntary and free [for the at-risk groups]. In February, Ukraine will receive the first tranche of the vaccine under the COVAX Facility, which is 117,000 doses of an mRNA vaccine from the U.S. producer Pfizer. This vaccine will be immediately distributed for the vaccination of healthcare workers, as well as employees of healthcare institutions working with coronavirus patients," he said.

Liashko reiterated a law allowing the fast-track registration of a COVID-19 vaccine was passed by lawmakers and enacted by the president.

UNIAN memo

COVAX is a global initiative created by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) to accelerate the development, production, and equal access to tests, treatment and vaccines against COVID-19.

Read alsoSeveral EU countries agree to sell surplus COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine  Deputy PMUkraine joined the COVAX initiative under the GAVI Advance Market Commitment for COVID-19 Vaccines. The first part of the application to GAVI was submitted on December 7, 2020, and was verified on December 11. Thanks to this, Ukraine will be able to receive at least 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for 4 million Ukrainians.

COVID-19 vaccine for Ukraine

On January 30, 2021, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister, Chief Medical Officer Viktor Liashko said Ukraine would receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine within the COVAX (the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility) in February.

From the middle of February to the end of June 2021, Ukraine will obtain 2.2 million to 3.7 million doses of an AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine.

First to get vaccinated will be healthcare workers, the elderly, and seriously ill patients.

In December 2020, the Health Ministry's coronavirus task force approved a COVID-19 immunization plan under which at least 50% of Ukrainians (20 million people) are to be vaccinated during 2021-2022.

On January 29, the National Commission for technology-related and environmental safety and emergencies approved a schedule for vaccination against the coronavirus in Ukraine in 2021.

Reporting by UNIAN
A sign is seen at the entrance to Facebook's corporate headquarters location in Menlo Park, Calif., on March 21, 2018. (Joseh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)

Facebook Bans Second Amendment Group for Unknown Reason

Facebook this week banned a Second Amendment group without providing notice or a clear explanation, the groups president said.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) Facebook page was taken offline on Tuesday.

We were banned without notice or exact reason, Philip Van Cleave, president of the group, told The Epoch Times via email.

Facebook didnt respond to a request for comment. A Facebook spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon: This was correctly actioned and we will not be republishing.

An attempt to view the page brought a message that this content isnt available right now.

When this happens, its usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or its been deleted, the message from Facebook stated.

The group was used to keep gun owners informed on legislative proposals and new laws and stories relating to gun rights in Virginia, Van Cleave said. The group has also organized peaceful rallies at the states General Assembly for 18 years.

The page and group were helping to coordinate the equivalent this year  which, due to COVID, was a rolling caravan with over 1,000 vehicles driving through Richmond, decked out in with gun-rights messages, signs, flags, etc. We have never had a single violent event in our history and not one arrest, he wrote.

Gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 20, 2020. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

He believes the ban is politically motivated.

We were careful and had many moderators to stay in compliance. At the end of the day, we believe they just wanted to shut us up, he said.

Facebook ramped up bans on people and groups last year ahead of the 2020 election and has continued a wave of bans since. Last month, the California-based company removed more than 78,000 users from Facebook and Instagram over alleged policy violations. It also banned former President Donald Trump for an indefinite period of time, a decision being reviewed by its Oversight Board.

In the wake of the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. capitol, Facebook said it was monitoring the website for threats and signals of violence.

Facing pressure from Democrat lawmakers, Facebook is working on scaling back the amount of political content on the social media platform. It has also announced plans to stop recommending political and civic groups to users.

The bans and other actions have not only led to users abandoning Facebook, but legal action.

Conservative host Steven Crowder this week sued Facebook over alleged unfair competition and fraud. The company is also subject to an antitrust lawsuit from a West Virginia media business.

Infosys has utilised only 95 acres, after nearly 15 years of the allotment of land. Another 352 acres is lying vacant. (Representational Photo:DC)

Hyderabad: Is the TRS government firming up its mind to take back unutilised land from Infosys? It seems so because the land allotted to software major Infosys for a second campus by the previous Congress government located on the outskirts of Hyderabad has come under the scanner of the Telangana state government.

The previous Congress government of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, under the chief ministership of Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, had sanctioned 447 acres to Infosys in Pocharam in Ghatkesar mandal in 2007 to set up an IT park.

However, the company has utilised only 95 acres, after nearly 15 years of the allotment of land. Another 352 acres is lying vacant. The land was then allotted at a price of Rs 12 lakh per acre. The land price has now shot up to few crores of rupees per acre.

The Telangana state government is facing a land crunch on the city outskirts for allotment to IT industries and other industries. After the introduction of TS-iPASS online approval system through self-certification for industries within 21 days, demand for setting up industries, especially IT and IT-enabled services companies on the city outskirts, has shot up.

Software firms are now concentrated towards the western part of the city, popularly known as the Gachibowli IT corridor. There are no major government land parcels left in the western part of the city at present.

As a consequence, the state government had introduced a look east policy last year to encourage the setting up of IT industries in the eastern part of the city, towards the Warangal highway. The land allotted to Infosys at Pocharam is towards the eastern corridor.

Several IT firms have already submitted applications to the industries department seeking land towards the eastern part, under the look east policy, to claim various exemptions announced by the state government. Subsequently, the state government has focussed on the unused land parcels allotted to IT firms by previous governments.

The TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC), the nodal agency for allotment of lands, had submitted a proposal to the state government to take back the unused land allotted to Infosys.

Official sources in the TSIIC, said, following the TSIIC proposal, the government has appointed a committee to look into the issue. The committee was asked to visit the Infosys campus in Pocharam soon to inspect land utilisation and hold consultations with Infosys management over the handing over of unused land back to the government.

However, the Infosys management is learnt to have written to the TSIIC expressing reservations over the moves to take back the land. The Infosys management urged the TSIIC not to compare Infosys with other companies, which failed to utilise lands on the ground that Infosys has slew of future expansion plans for which it needs land, and that all unused land would be kept for utilisation in future.

Official sources in the industries department responded, saying, The state government will take a call based on the report submitted by the inspection committee, which was asked to visit the Infosys campus in a week or two.

Similar attempts to resume unused land from Infosys was made during the Congress government under the chief ministership of Kiran Kumar Reddy in 2011. Then, the APIIC had issued notices to Infosys to cancel the land allotment, but later backtracked.

In its reply to the notice served by APIIC then, Infosys explained the reasons for its delay by saying the government had notified an SEZ in October 2007 and phase-1 was to be completed by 2008. However, environmental clearance got delayed until May 2009 and the state government could provide water connection to the site only in November 2010. All these factors contributed to the delay, it said.
Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) has partnered with IKEA to bring gaming furniture of all kinds to gamers who want to DIY build a gaming corner as part of their home setup, with over 30 types of products available. The gaming range of IKEA was manufactured in IKEA China and would first be available on IKEA Japan by May, and October for the rest of the world.

Gaming chairs, tables, side tables, mounts, etc., you name it, IKEA has got them all and the collaboration with Asus ROG makes it better as it focuses on the needs and wants of every starting gamers on a budget. The collaboration between the two is making gaming equipment available to everyone, despite starting and wants to build their setups.

IKEA is popular for its do-it-yourself and self-assembly home furniture, which has been popular across the world, from its home country of Sweden. The Swedish furniture retail company has been in the business for almost 80 years now, and it has transitioned to the easily known language of the 21st century and the new generation, gaming.

Read Also: 'Cyberpunk 2077' Johnny Silverhand Relationship: How to Raise Friendship to 70 Percent and Chippin' In Side Job Secret Ending!

ASUS ROG, IKEA Collaboration: Gaming Furniture of 2021

According to IKEA, the new furniture that would soon be released by the company aims to put "gaming first" because home gaming rigs have been overlooked by the industry and were not given many options. Moreover, the gaming furniture line of the company would be addressing the 2.5 billion gamers across the world, which has officially launched in IKEA China last January 29.

IKEA has also announced its collaboration with Taiwanese computer electronics manufacturing company, ASUS, particularly its subsidiary division that focuses on gaming and e-sports, the Republic of Gamers (ROG). The Swedish company considers gaming as more than a "past-time" and more of a lifestyle that takes people to another world.

Moreover, IKEA regards gaming as another form of social experience and connection from people worldwide, saying that gaming should also be considered to be fitted with the right equipment and furniture. The ASUS ROG and IKEA collaboration would bring "the best of both worlds," with gaming and home furniture use combined into one.

ASUS ROG IKEA Collaboration: Gaming Furniture Variants

According to Furniture Today, IKEA would be collaborating with ASUS ROG with the UPPSPEL variant of the gaming furniture that would be available by October 2021 in the rest of the world. It would also include accessories like mug holders, neck pillows, ring lights mouse bungee, headset stands, etc.

IKEA aims to delight home gamers with affordable and easy-to-use gaming equipment for all their needs and comforts with setups at the comforts of one's house. The Swedish company would also want to diversify gaming equipment which is said to be viewed as a "masculine" design, which in reality, is composed of 46 percent women.

The gaming equipment and furniture of IKEA are distributed into six different variants namely HUVUDSPELARE, UTESPELARE, MATCHSPEL, GRUPPSPEL, UPPSPEL, and LANESPELARE.

Related Article: Snowstorm Mount 'WoW' Arrives with BlizzCon 2021 Celebration Packs

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On Jan. 5 the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) signed a "solidarity and stability" agreement during the annual GCC summit in Saudi Arabia. In short order, the GCC member states that had taken part in the blockade of Qatar took several important steps to implement the new agreement, inspiring confidence that the arrangement would resolve the dispute. Saudi Arabia lead the way, with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt lifting their three-year illegal boycott of Qatar in exchange for Doha agreeing to freeze legal actions against them. But there still is a very long way to go.

While official details of the agreement have not been released, it appears the quartet may have dropped or at least suspended for now its initial 13 demands that included Qatar having to shut down Al Jazeera, end its relations with Iran, close Turkeys military base in Doha and end its military cooperation with Ankara. These early steps seem promising, but only time will tell if the bargain reflects a possible true reconciliation that settles long-standing disagreements among these GCC states  or if the agreement is simply a face-saving measure allowing all parties to return to the occasionally tense state of affairs prior to the embargo and the threat of an invasion of Qatar.

Relations between Qatar and the sponsor of the new agreement, Saudi Arabia, appear to be recovering fastest. Indeed, rumors of shared economic and financial interests may spur the two countries to new forms of cooperation. The ties between Qatar and the UAE and Egypt, however, will likely take longer to improve. Due to long-standing mistrust and disagreements, particularly as relates to Qatars support to the Muslim Brotherhood, relations with both the UAE and Egypt can be fairly characterized by wariness and skepticism.

Arguably the biggest obstacle to Gulf reconciliation  to the extent the countries were ever united in the past on core foreign policy objectives  is Qatars unwillingness to compromise on its relations with Tehran and Ankara. Only one day after the deal was signed, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani reminded observers that Qatars bilateral relations will remain its own sovereign decision. He later urged Gulf nations to enter into a dialogue with Iran and offered to broker negotiations between the GCC and Tehran. Unsurprisingly, Qatars bilateral relations and economic ties with both Turkey and Iran improved after the blockade was imposed. One reason for the increased contacts with Iran was because Qatar was forced to fly through Iranian airspace after Qatar's other neighbors had blocked use of theirs; this essentially forced Qatar to negotiate with Iran over Qatar's right to fly from its own airports.

Its unlikely Doha will abandon those who stood by it in exchange for an uncertain reconciliation with its GCC neighbors. Moreover, given the Biden administrations publicly declared interest in returning to some sort of agreement with Iran on its nuclear weapons development, if not its missile programs and regional aggression, one might conclude that Qatar could be positioning itself to play an intermediary role in US-Iran negotiations in the coming months. Such a role would certainly be viewed by some as not entirely inconsistent with the Saudi crown princes desire that the recent accord reflect unity among the parties in countering Iran as a regional threat; others, however, will view Dohas involvement as confirmation that Qatar remains too close to the Iranian ruling regime.

Sadly, tensions between Doha and Manama have increased since the initial enthusiasm after the agreement was signed, largely over claims that Bahraini sailors and jets have violated Qatari territory. Two weeks after reconciliation, Manama confiscated properties in Bahrain belonging to a Qatari royal. Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani said Jan. 21 that since signing the agreement in Al Ula, Qatari authorities have shown no interest in resolving outstanding issues with Bahrain or other Gulf states.

As for the United States, recent Defense Department statements appear to indicate that at least one element of the military is taking another look at where the United States keeps its Gulf region forces, although its doubtful that Pentagon policymakers or Congress are keen to put all the US military assets in one basket or spend the billions required to relocate. Clarifications were quickly issued that articles about possible military expansion in the kingdom reflected preliminary discussions that were exploratory only. Still, the Saudis are much better at playing chess in terms of vying for military attention.

Without knowing the actual terms of the agreement and the expectations of each party, it's difficult to say whether the accord reconciling the Gulf rift will be successful, but the disagreements that already have emerged are concerning. As the United States moves to focus on great power competition and a second attempt at an agreement that would stifle Irans hegemonic aspirations, unity among our allies in the Middle East on core security issues is critical to stability in the region and securing US national security interests there. There are plenty of ideological and foreign policy issues to grapple with, but it is still possible that the GCC will uphold the agreement  if only to start off on the right foot with the new US administration  while each of the parties freely conducts its own foreign policies. The trick will be ensuring that disagreements do not bubble over into another rupture and adversaries dont gain ground by exploiting the fissures.
Last year, SARS CoV-2 changed our life like nothing we could have ever imagined. With the first case surfacing in Chinas Wuhan to the over 2 million lives the novel coronavirus has claimed, it has truly shaken our world in unforeseen ways.

Reuters

Initial studies revealed that the novel coronavirus actually came from bats. And now, researchers have revealed that climate change could have been responsible for the transmission of SARS CoV-2 to humans, as it might have driven several species of pathogen-carrying bats closer to human habitats.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge looked at temperature and rainfall data in the past century to model populations of several species of bats depending on their habitat requirements.

They discover that in the last 100 years, 40 species of bats had made southern China, Laos and Myanmar their new home -- areas where genetic analysis hints SARS CoV-2 originated from.

Since each bat species is known to hold 2.7 coronaviruses in its body, researchers are of the belief that 100 strains of the novel coronavirus are now concentrated in this hotspot area.

Robert Meyer of Cambridge's zoology department said in a statement to AFP, "Our paper is a long way away from saying the pandemic would not have happened without climate change. But I find it difficult to see that this climate-driven increase in bats and bat-borne coronaviruses make something like this less likely to happen."

Researchers state that even though they dont know the exact chain of transmission that ended up infecting humans, climate change and habitat loss in Asia has forced virus-carrying species to come in closer contact with humans, It's two sides of a similar coin: we penetrate deeper into their habitat but at the same time climate change can have the effect that it pushes the pathogen in our direction."

Getty Images

The study asks governments to take measures to limit urbanisation and expansion into natural habitats to help manage the risk of another pandemic. Camilo Mora at the University of Hawaii, who contributed to the research added, The fact that climate change can accelerate the transmission of wildlife pathogens to humans should be an urgent wake-up call to reduce global emissions."
Scanning tunneling microscopy image of a Si-Ge alloy with a composition of Si5.67Ge0.33. Tall protrusions correspond to Ge atoms and short ones to Si atoms. The distance between protrusions is only 0.64 nm.

Semiconducting 2D alloys could be key to overcoming the technical limitations of modern electronics. Although 2D Si-Ge alloys would have interesting properties for this purpose, they were only predicted theoretically. Now, scientists from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have realized the first experimental demonstration. They have also shown that the Si to Ge ratio can be adjusted to fine tune the electronic properties of the alloys, paving the way for novel applications.

Alloys--materials composed of a combination of different elements or compounds--have played a crucial role in the technological development of humans since the Bronze Age. Today, alloying materials with similar structures and compatible elements is essential because it enables us to fine tune the properties of the final alloy to match our needs.

The versatility provided by alloying naturally extends to the field of electronics. Semiconductor alloys are an area of active research because new materials will be needed to redesign the building blocks of electronic devices (transistors); in this regard, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor alloys are seen as a promising option to go past the technical limitations of modern electronics. Unfortunately, graphene, the carbon-based poster child for 2D materials, does not lend itself easily to alloying, which leaves it out of the equation.

However, there is an attractive alternative: silicene. This material is composed entirely of silicon (Si) atoms arranged in a 2D honeycomb-like structure reminiscent of graphene. If the properties of silicene could be tuned as needed, the field of 2D silicon-based nanoelectronics would take off. Although alloying silicene with germanium (Ge) was theoretically predicted to yield stable 2D structures with properties tunable by the Si to Ge ratio, this was never realized in practice.

Now, a team of scientists from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) have experimentally demonstrated a new way to grow a silicene layer and stably replace a portion of its atoms with Ge, allowing them to fine tune some of its electrical properties.

Their study is published in Physical Review Materials.

First, the scientists grew a single layer of 2D silicene onto a zirconium diboride (ZrB2) thin film grown on a silicon substrate through the surface segregation of Si atoms which crystallize in a 2D honeycomb-like structure. However, this silicene layer was not perfectly flat; one sixth of all Si atoms were a bit higher than the rest, forming periodic bumps or 'protrusions.'

Then, Ge atoms were deposited onto the silicene layer in ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Interestingly, both theoretical calculations and experimental observations through microscopy and spectroscopy revealed that Ge atoms could only replace the protruding Si atoms. By adjusting the number of Ge atoms deposited, a Si-Ge alloy with a desired Si to Ge ratio could be produced. The composition of the final material would thus be Si 6-x Ge x , where x can be any number between 0 and 1.

The team then studied the effects of this adjustable Si to Ge ratio on the electronic properties of the Si-Ge alloy. They found that its electronic band structure, one of the most important characteristics of a semiconductor, could be adjusted within a specific range by manipulating the composition of the material. Excited about the results, Senior Lecturer Antoine Fleurence from JAIST, lead author of the study, remarks, "Silicon and germanium are elements commonly used in the semiconductor industry, and we showed that it is possible to engineer the band structure of 2D Si-Ge alloys in a way reminiscent of that for bulk (3D) Si-Ge alloys used in various applications."

The implications of this study are important for multiple reasons. First, the ultimate thinness and flexibility of 2D materials is appealing for many applications because it means they could be more easily integrated in devices for daily life. Second, the results could pave the way to a breakthrough in electronics. Co-author of the study, Professor Yukiko Yamada-Takamura from JAIST, explains, "Semiconducting 2D materials made of silicon and germanium with atomically-precise thickness could further decrease the dimensions of the elemental bricks of electronic devices. This would represent a technological milestone for silicon-based nanotechnologies."

Overall, this study showcases but a few of the advantages of alloying as a way to produce materials with more desirable properties than those made from a single element or compound. Let us hope semiconducting 2D alloys are further refined so that they can take the spotlight in next-generation electronic devices.
WILLIAMSPORT  Two Lycoming County residents are the latest Pennsylvanians to be charged with breaking into the Capitol in Washington during the Jan. 6 riot following a Trump rally.

Tammy A. Bronsburg, 49, of Williamsport and Mark R. Aungst, 45, of South Williamsport, were arrested Thursday on charges of trespassing in a restricted building and violent entry or disorderly conduct.

Without objection from the government, both were released with conditions by U.S. Middle District Magistrate Judge William I. Arbuckle III.

Their next court appearances are scheduled by Zoom next Tuesday in the District of Columbia where they are expected to be prosecuted.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey MacArthur said the two were among those on a bus trip to Washington to protest Trump losing the election. There is no evidence they caused any damage inside the Capitol, he said.

The affidavit in support of their charges was not available because it had been under seal in the District of Columbia until the two appeared before Arbuckle.

Bronsburg said she is unemployed because she is considered disabled. Aungst said he works in the natural gas industry.

While free on bail, they may not go to Washington except for court appearances, contact any witnesses including members of Congress or travel outside the Middle District without permission.
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When Emma Mhic Mhathuna succumbed to cervical cancer in 2018, leaving five children behind, her funeral cortege wound its way by the Dail, Government Buildings and the Department of Health.

In a statement, her family said the 37-year-old had deliberately requested that route not as a protest, but to encourage those within to hold a mirror up to the organisations and agencies that they preside over politically and practically.

Even in death, Ms Mhic Mhathuna wanted to send a message. That the State should do everything in its power to ensure her tragic situation will never happen to another Irish mother or Irish woman again.

One wonders how Ms Mhic Mhathuna would feel today knowing that women, affected by the CervicalCheck scandal, are still fighting their way through an adversarial legal process more than two years after she died.

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This week another young mother, Lynsey Bennett, wept outside the High Court after her case finally settled, saying she hoped she has done enough to secure [her daughters] a future free of financial worries.

Ms Bennett, who is terminally ill, had to spend precious time away from her daughters fighting her legal case during a pandemic which further endangers her health. The level of stress and anxiety she must have experienced throughout this time is unimaginable.

At what point do we say, enough is enough? How many more seriously ill women do we want to see making tearful statements on the steps of the Four Courts? Is there any room for nuance or humanity?

When Gabriel Scally published his review into CervicalCheck, one of the most striking things was his determination to listen to every single woman who came forward. More than 150 women contacted him and he personally responded to every single one. Some were satisfied with an email, but many preferred to speak to him on the phone.

These were rarely, if ever, short conversations; and some were emotional and harrowing for the women concerned, or for the relatives, usually the husband of the deceased, he wrote.

Many of these women felt Dr Scally was the first person in a position of authority who was interested in what they had to say  in their trauma, their feelings of powerlessness and their anger at medics failure to inform them of their own medical information, after there was an audit of their smear tests.

They told their stories hoping there would be meaningful change. They wanted their experiences to be documented for the public record. They wanted to ensure the paternalism and misogyny they had endured  with one womans family told by a consultant nuns dont get cervical cancer  to be stamped out forever.

It was supposed to be a watershed moment. Then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stood up in the Dail and offered the women a comprehensive State apology.

Today we say sorry to those whose lives were shattered, those whose lives were destroyed, and those whose lives could have been different.

We are sorry for: failures of clinical governance; failures of leadership and management; failure to tell the whole truth and do so in a timely manner; the humiliation, disrespect and deceit; the false reassurance; and the attempts to downplay the seriousness of this debacle, he said.

Fine words, but what was their impact? Very little. The whole approach to these women, from the outset, has been to view them as threats to the State coffers. An accounting anomaly to be minimised.

They were not told about an audit of their smears because there is no statutory duty of candour in Irish law. Medics were under no obligation to give them this information, so they decided not to. A duty of candour is still absent. A Patient Safety Bill, which includes a statutory duty of candour, was published in 2019 but has yet to be enacted.

Leo Varadkar infamously promised none of the women would be forced to fight legal battles in court, but there are nearly 200 cases pending. The State Claims Agency, which handles these cases for the HSE, has a statutory duty to act in the best interest of the taxpayer. But the interests of the taxpayer extend further than mere financial interests.

There is a public interest in ensuring terminally ill women do not spend their final days embroiled in adversarial legal battles, fearful their families will be left in a financial hole when they lose their cancer battle.

Crucially, for those women who are terminally ill, there is an additional worry. If they die before a settlement or an adjudication is reached, the compensation their families receive will be greatly reduced.

Too often in our history, individual women have had to take on the might of the State to force change. May McGee fought for reproductive rights in the 1970s; Brigid McCole was subjected to a virulent attack when she took a case in the 1990s over the Hepatitis C scandal and Vicky Phelans refusal to sign a confidentiality agreement in 2018 revealed the extent of the CervicalCheck crisis.

After their seismic legal victories, attention has turned to the political system to institute reforms to ensure no other woman should suffer as they did. On each occasion, the political system has failed.

Speaking last year, Vicky Phelan asked a very simple question: Why is it so hard to do what is right by women who have already been failed by the State? It remains unanswered.
NEW YORK CITY, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Rainbow Railroad applauds the Biden administration's release of a comprehensive memorandum yesterday which reinstates America's leadership on the promotion of LGBTQI+ rights internationally.

"This action is historic," said Rainbow Railroad Executive Director Dr. Kimahli Powell. "It is a repudiation of a politics of fear and hatred promoted by the Trump administration about refugees and asylum seekers which prevented the United States from being deemed a safe sanctuary. We applaud this sea change in the U.S. approach, and are hopeful for the rights not just of LGBTQI+ people everywhere, but all those impacted by the global refugee crisis."

A centrepiece of the memorandum is a commitment to restore the United States refugee administration program (USRAP), which was gutted by the Trump administration. The memorandum commits to increase the agency's resettlement targets to 125,000 people in the first year and improve the capacity of the organization to identify and process LGBTQI+ asylum seekers.

The United States is re-asserting a leadership role on global LGBTQI+ rights at a perilous time. In recent years, progress on LGBTQI+ rights internationally has been mixed, as some states have stalled in their rescinding of homophobic or transphobic laws, or even written new ones. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated underlying homophobic and transphobic prejudice in some states, resulting in crackdowns and mass arrests .

This memorandum is a powerful signal by the Biden administration that they intend to make the promotion of LGBTQI+ rights internationally a priority at a time when it is sorely needed. Rainbow Railroad welcomes this development and stands ready to work as a key civil society partner to ensure better outcomes for LGBTQI+ people globally.

About Rainbow Railroad:

Rainbow Railroad is an international non-profit organization that helps LGBTQI people seek safe haven from state-led violence and persecution in countries where homosexuality is criminalized. To date, the organization has moved over 1000 people to safer countries.

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Dr. Kimahli Powell is a leading voice in the international movement for global LGBTQI+ rights. In 2019, Dr. Powell was honoured by Out Magazine as amongst the 100 most influential LGBTQI+ individuals in the world.

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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP)  Shamar Wright recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds to lift Southern Illinois-Edwardsville to a 68-60 win over Tennessee State on Thursday.

Carlos Curtis had 16 points and eight rebounds for SIUE (7-8, 5-4 Ohio Valley Conference). Courtney Carter added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Mike Adewunmi had 11 points.

Shakem Johnson scored a career-high 30 points and had nine rebounds for the Tigers (3-13, 2-11). Mark Freeman added 12 points.

The Cougars improve to 2-0 against the Tigers on the season. SlUE defeated Tennessee State 67-65 on Jan. 21.

___

For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

___

This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, who has become the face of the anti-farm law protests, said the chakka jam will not take place in Delhi, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, but will be done in other parts of NCR and the rest of the country, including the southern states. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Defying a ban, thousands of people attended a mahapanchayat at Shamli in western Uttar Pradesh in solidarity with the farmers who have been protesting for over two months against the three agricultural laws at the borders of Delhi. Security, meanwhile, has been beefed up all across the Delhi-NCR area in the wake of the farmers unions calling a nationwide Chakka Jam (blockading of roads) protest on Saturday.

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, who has become the face of the anti-farm law protests, said the chakka jam will not take place in Delhi, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, but will be done in other parts of NCR and the rest of the country, including the southern states.

Dilli mein hum nahi kar rahe, wahan to raja ne khud qile-bandi kar li hai humare jaam karne ki zaroorat hi nahi hai (We are not going to do anything in Delhi, the king there has already fortified it, there is no need for us to do a blockade now), he said, in a veiled jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over the fortification of the protest sites at the Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu borders.

Tikait, however, did not attend the mahapanchayat in Shamli, saying his outfit had nothing to do with the meeting. But his brother Narendra Tikait attended it in his personal capacity. The state government had not given permission for the mahapanchayat, organised by the Rashtriya Lok Dal and Samajwadi Party, on the ground of the unruly behaviour of the farmers during the Republic Day tractor rally and violation of Covid guidelines by protesters. The administration even imposed Section 144 CrPC prohibiting the gathering of more than four persons from February 4 till April 3.

Despite the ban, a large number of people joined the mahapanchayat, where songs imploring the Prime Minister to listen to the voice of farmers played in the background. Chants of Inquilab Zindabad were also raised by farmers who walked or drove to the venue on tractors.

We are saying in one voice, if anyone raises a lathi to the farmer, we will crush that finger. Lets take a decision today, if this government is not hearing you out, you do the same in next years election, RLD leader Jayant Chaudhary said.

After Section 144 was imposed to ban large gatherings, Mr Chaudhary tweeted on Thursday: 144 reasons why I will go to Shamli tomorrow!

Addressing the gathering, Mr Chaudhary accused the BJP of hatching a conspiracy for the Republic Day violence. The Delhi police chose to remain a mute spectator to the acts of vandalism by rowdy elements on January 26 in Delhi.

Chaudhary also accused the Centre of treading the path of rigidity and arrogance. He advised the Narendra Modi government not to make it a prestige issue and repeal the laws.

At another mahapanchayat in Dausa, a resolution seeking repeal of the three farm laws and withdrawal of cases filed against farmers for the Republic Day was passed. The resolution also sought compensation for the families of farmers who died during the protests which started in November last year.

Addressing the mahapanchayat, former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said: While making these laws, none of the state governments or farmers organisations were consulted. The Government of India claims these farm laws are in the interest of the farmers but they are being opposed across the country. The farmers are protesting in a Gandhian manner, but the way barricades were put up and electricity and water supply discontinued, it is unjustified.

Yet another mahapanchayat was held at Sirsa in Haryana, where Indian National Lok Dals Abhay Chautala, who recently quit as an MLA in support of the farmers, addressed the meeting.

Several mahapanchayats have been held over the past few weeks across UP and Haryana in support of the farmers agitation against the new farm laws. The recent mahapanchayats in UPs Bhagpat and Haryanas Jind were also attended by thousands of farmers.

Tikait, who has planned a series of meetings across UP till February 18, is scheduled to address a mahapanchayat in Dadris Charkhi village on Sunday. The three khaps of Dadri district -- Sangwan, Phogat and Sheoran  have socially boycotted Haryana deputy CM Dushyant Chautala, Bhiwani-Mahendergarh MP Dharambir Singh and former Dadri MLA Rajdeep Phogat.
LONDON, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Reach Food Service ("Reach"), the leading supplier of premium ingredients to London's gourmet restaurants, has been recognised as one of the Capital's top businesses, winning two awards at the West London Business Awards.

The awards, which celebrate London's most talented, entrepreneurial and resilient businesses, saw Reach named Food & Drink Business of the Year, while its CEO Abbas Lalljee was named Business Leader of the Year.

Despite unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic, Reach - which supplies premium-ingredients to some of London's top restaurants including Novikov, Zuma, Hakkasan and Sexy Fish - was able to act swiftly as restaurants closed their doors in March last year.

Within ten days of lockdown being announced the business had rapidly pivoted to focus on consumers with the launch of 'Reach My Kitchen'. The new direct-to-consumer channel made 650 deliveries per day in the initial days.

Commenting on the award, CEO Abbas Lalljee, said: "2020 was a year like no other but we have come a long way as a business, learning from the challenges of the pandemic and quickly adapting our business to reflect the realities of the new world we are living in. Given the year that has been, we are thrilled to be recognised by the West London Business judges. It is a testament to the dedication of our team, and I'd like to thank all of them for their work and support."

Reach has also received praise for its continued support for charities throughout the pandemic, with donations to The Caring Foundation, The Felix Project, City Harvest and Hospitality Action. In the first three months of the pandemic alone, in the midst of a hunger crisis in the Capital, Reach donated 500,000 worth of vegetables, meat and seafood to The Felix Project and The Caring Foundation for redistribution across London.

Reach also provided support by way of packaging, cold storage, warehousing and logistics support to help its partners keep food supplies moving during the pandemic.

Murtaza Lakhani, Group CEO and Owner of Reach Food Services, said: "The food crisis isn't going to go away, and food redistribution plays a huge role in tackling food hunger across London while also helping to reduce unnecessary waste."

The West London Business awards are hosted annually by West London Business, one of London's premier business groups representing over 800 businesses. The awards were supported by a range of prominent sponsors and supporters including: Heathrow, HSBC, PwC, Segro, Westfield London, Brunel University.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Reach Food Service

Reach Food Services sources and supplies premium raw ingredients to the world's most creative chefs across London, Dubai and the South of France. Founded by a team of professionals with a passion for world cuisine, the company has grown rapidly to 70 talented and entrepreneurial staff with a renowned reputation for category knowledge, customer experience and sustainability. With an eye for quality and a sense of adventure, the team's passion has taken them beyond the frontiers of England to create a portfolio of seafood from the Far East and icy Antarctic seas, to fine pastry ingredients and artisanal cheeses.

The fast growth start-up received a 10 million investment from the Mercantile & Maritime Group in 2018, enabling the company to expand its global presence. High-end restaurants that they supply within London include ROKA, Park Chinois, Zuma, Hakkasan, The Arts Club, Novikov, C London and La Petite Maison.

More information:

To learn more about Reach's charitable initiatives, please visit: https://reachmykitchen.com/pages/csr-charity

You can find feedback and testimonials from Reach's customers and clients here: https://reachmykitchen.com/pages/testimonials

For more information, visit: https://www.reach-food.com or https://reachmykitchen.com/

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A former Hells Angels bikie has opened up about the stabbing death of his teenage brother in a warning about the dark side of the gangster lifestyle.

Heavily-tattooed Ben 'Notorious' Geppert warned gangs have ruined his life in an emotional video for the Queensland government's OMCG Exit program.

The video is part of a series that aims to send a warning to bikies and wannabe gangsters to avoid or leave a life of crime before its too late.

'You're either in a jail cell or a grave': Ben 'Notorious' Greppert (pictured) is candid about the reality of gang life in a video where he opens up about the stabbing death of his brother

The video begins with Geppert, a convicted criminal who has made headlines in the last few years for airing his feuds with other bikies on social media, opening up about being bullied at school for being small.

'I lost a lot of confidence, and then that turned me to the person I've become,' he said.

I always hated the world and hated people, so I wanted to rebel.'

Ben's mother Lisa Geppert said everything changed for Ben when he witnessed his father collapse while having a heart attack.

While his father recuperated, Ben said he had to step up and work for the family business, and entered a life of crime after having arguments with family members.

'The criminal life has taken my son': Lisa Geppert (pictured) said she doesn't blame Ben, but said his gangster lifestyle 'opened up a lot more to the family than should have been'

The now-27-year-old started spending time with bikies and criminals and distanced himself from his parents and eight siblings.

'It's an attractive lifestyle when your growing up and everyone's got it in them,' Geppert said.

'They see the money, they see the gold, they see the women, but there's a lot more deep, dark things that underlie that lifestyle.

'You're just there to make money for them. And if you don't make money you don't make sense', he said.

Mr Geppert said his life entered a downward spiral after he began experimenting with cocaine and said the bikie lifestyle has affected all of his relationships.

Ben Geppert (pictured with former girlfriend Allaina Vader) said being in a gang has affected all his relationships

'I have a five-year-old daughter who I don't get to see at all, because of the path I chose', he said.

The ex-gangster was sent to jail for a spate of alleged violent incidents during a trip with his ex-partner Allaina Vader in November 2019.

Since the death of his 17-year-old brother and his most recent jail stint, the ex-bikie has vowed to change his ways, quitting the Hells Angels and reconciling with his family.

'Once the relationships ended, the friendships ended, you've only got your family.

'You grow up and you realise life's too short, I've lost my 17-year-old brother'.

Geppert said his younger brother Harrison saw the attention he got being part of the a gang and wanted his own part in it.

He said he feels partly to blame for his brother's death because he exposed him to the gangster lifestyle.

'I was in no state to take him under my wing because I was doing stupid things too, I never reached out and told him to pull up,' Geppert said.

Harrison Geppert (pictured) idolised his older brother, gangster Ben 'Notorious' Geppert

Harrison Geppert was stabbed to death in a Varsity Lakes park in September, 2019.

Emergency crews rushed to the park after receiving reports of a knife attack, but the teenager was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hundreds of people gathered for the funeral at St Monica's Catholic Church in Tugun wearing red, Harrison's favourite colour.

In the days following the murder, Geppert vowed to avenge his brother's death on Instagram, telling his followers he was 'crushed and heartbroken'.

'You're still my blood and I promise I won't rest until I have made this person pay', the former bikie posted.

18-year-old Jarvis Farrier was arrested and charged with Harrison's murder after he turned himself into police.

Geppert said he continues to experience the stigma surrounding his affiliation with the Hells Angels gang and said his tear drop and gun tattoos make it difficult for him to secure a normal job.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Indias point person on Iran, J.P. Singh has just concluded an important visit to Tehran, signalling that New Delhi is getting set to reboot ties with Iran, riding on the change of guard in Washington.

India is already picking signals that the Trump-era opposition to New Delhi's robust engagement with Iran, may recede, following the arrival of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the US.

During his visit to Tehran, Singh met with key officials in the Hassan Rouhani administration, including Rasoul Mousavi, assistant to Iran's Foreign Minister and Director-General for West Asia in the Foreign Ministry.

During this meeting, Singh reviewed the development of the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar Port. Besides, he called on Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, an ace diplomat who was also majorly involved in negotiation for the Iran nuclear deal, to take stock of the regional and international situation.

Following Singh's visit, Iran's Defence Minister Amir Hatami arrived in India for talks and has already concluded talks with his counterpart, Rajnath Singh, IRNA reported.

The Chahbahar Port development is a key joint strategic project of India and Iran. It not only extends India's outreach to Afghanistan and Central Asia, it can also serve as a counterweight to the Sino-Pak power projection in the Indian Ocean, via the nearby Gwadar Port, the starting point of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). By opening the Chabahar option, India and Iran wish to persuade Afghanistan and Central Asia not to over-rely on China backed Pakistani ports.

New Delhi would have already smelled an opportunity in Iran-a pivotal state- by scouring names of key individuals who have been posted by the Americans in their dealings with Iran and the broader West Asian region.

Washington is already emitting signals that a radical shift from Trump's hostility towards Iran may not be far away.

Biden has sealed the appointment of Robert Malley, a specialist in conflict resolution and the lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as US Envoy to Iran. Wendy Sherman, appointed as the Deputy Secretary of State, has also been a key negotiator on Iran in the Obama years.

A possible rapprochement between the US and Iran is good news for India. Deeper Washington-Tehran ties can dilute the influence in Iran of China, India's arch-foe. Hemmed in by US-led sanctions in the Trump era, Iran had signed an estimated $400 billion deal with China, which included a 25-year oil purchasing contract. More importantly, China was eyeing the strategic Iranian port on Jask close to the Strait of Hormuz as part of the deal. Given Washington's animosity towards China, it is likely that the US would urge Iran to review the deal as a price for better ties with Washington. In turn that would mean Beijing's lighter footprint in the oil rich Gulf.

Viscerally opposed to CPEC, it is in India's interest to work together with Iran in its Sistan-Balochistan province to keep an eye on the corridor, which passes through neighbouring Pakistan's Balochistan area.

Iran is likely to cooperate with India in view of the deep hostility between Tehran and Islamabad. The blaring animosity between Pakistan and Iran was revealed recently by a serving Pakistani General in Balochistan who contemplated an invasion of Iran, once pressure on Pakistan imposed by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was lifted. "If the threat of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is averted, we will go inside Iran and take action. Iran is the biggest enemy of Pakistan which has a direct hand in the instability of Balochistan," the Major General Ayman Bilal was quoted as saying. The FATF is investigating material links between the Pakistani state with home-based international terror groups.

On Tuesday Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have freed two soldiers during a surgical strike deep inside Pakistani territory, Turkey's state run Anadolu news agency said quoting an official Iranian statement.

"A successful operation was carried out last Tuesday night to rescue two kidnapped border guards who were taken as hostages by Jaish ul-Adl organization two and a half years ago," the IRGC said in a statement.

According to the statement, the soldiers were successfully transferred back to Iran.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text




New Delhi:

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory in the liberated city of Mosul on Sunday, his office said, after a gruelling nearly nine-month battle against the Islamic state group.



Abadi arrives in the liberated city of Mosul and congratulates the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory, his office said in a statement.



On Saturday, the militarised Federal Police announced that they had cleared their assigned sector, while the regular army and special forces continued to battle the extremists. Some units remain up to 150 meters (yards) from the river.



The operation to retake Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city, began in October. The battle for the Old City, with its narrow alleyways and dense population, has been among the most brutal of the offensive.



IS seized Mosul in the summer of 2014 when it swept across northern and central Iraq. That summer the groups leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, made his first and only public appearance at the al-Nuri mosque in Mosuls Old City. The militants destroyed the mosque and its famed minaret as Iraqi forces closed in last month.

Also read:



Up to 20,000 civilians trapped in IS-held areas of Mosul: UN official

ISIS militants destroy 12th-century al-Nuri mosque in Iraq's Mosul

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UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2021) UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener said during a closed Security Council consultations that she strongly condemns the steps taken by the country's military and called their actions shocking, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday.

"This morning, the Security Council held close consultations on Myanmar. In her briefing to Council members, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy Christina Schraner Burgener strongly condemned the recent steps taken by the military," Dujarric said. "The Special Envoy said... this turn of events was surprising and shocking. She said she'd been in contact with the military leadership as recently as one day before the takeover."

Myanmar's military launched the coup on Monday morning and detained State Counsellor Aun Sang Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and other National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders.

The military announced a one-year state of emergency and vowed to "take action" against alleged voter fraud during the November 8 general election. Suu Kyi's NLD party won the election.

Schraner Burgener called for the immediate release of the detained officials and said the emergency declaration should be revoked.

"The declaration should be repealed, the detained leaders should be released immediately, and the post-election litigation process should resume with full commitment from all sides," she said.

Schraner Burgener also said the suspension of all flights, including UN relief flights, is particularly worrying given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the implications this could have on the delivery of vaccines to Myanmar.

All actors must refrain from violence and the UN Security Council must send a "clear signal" warning against a "full backsliding" since Myanmar's opening in 2011, she added.
The pharmaceutical company Pfizer will soon provide documents for registration of a vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease in Ukraine, Deputy Minister of Health, Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Viktor Liashko said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

"Yesterday we had a telephone conversation with Pfizer headquarters. We were assured that all documents for vaccine registration in Ukraine will be submitted in the near future. The vaccine will be used only after registration," he said.

Liashko recalled that vaccination in Ukraine would be free and voluntary.

"Vaccinations will be carried out by mobile teams, consisting of two nurses, a doctor, a registrar and a driver. They will provide organized professional teams [medical institutions, social institutions, and military units] with vaccinations at the first stage [...] From February 5, we start medical trainings for doctors and regional coordinators to ensure logistical and coordination cooperation between the national, regional and vaccination rooms," the deputy minister said.

At the same time, he said that the country had the necessary capacities for storing vaccines.

"We have capacities for storing vaccines with a temperature regime of minus 80 degrees Celsius and a temperature regime of plus 2 degrees Celsius. As for the latter, the state-owned enterprise Ukrvaktsyna can store about 30 million doses of vaccines. There are 25 warehouses at the regional level where it is possible to store the three-month need for vaccine. In addition, there are 490 district storage points and refrigeration equipment at vaccination points. We will closely monitor that the cold chain is observed," Liashko said.

"At the same time, we have submitted an application to the European Investment Bank and we want to update all the refrigeration equipment in the vaccination rooms - even the one used for routine immunization," he said.

Liashko said that citizens of Ukraine who are in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea will also be provided with access to free and voluntary vaccination at vaccination points, which will be located in the territory controlled by Ukraine.

WASHINGTON -- The General Services Administration is embarking on yet another phase of the long-stalled effort to relocate the FBI headquarters from its 45-year home in downtown Washington D.C., teeing off a complex lobbying battle over the jobs and financial investment the project would entail.

The omnibus spending bill recently approved by Congress requires the GSA, whose Public Building Service operates as a sort of centralized landlord for the federal government, to come up with a plan for a new headquarters within 90 days. The bill also specifies that the headquarters should remain in the National Capital Region.

The GSA under President Donald Trump canceled a decade-long plan to relocate the headquarters,leaving the intelligence agency stuck with a crumbling building that doesn't meet its security requirements.

With new leadership settling in at the GSA, it is too early for the agency to have made significant progress on the plan. But officials from the District, Maryland and Virginia are already jockeying for the honor of hosting whatever is ultimately built.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D, said Thursday that the federal government's premier law enforcement body should remain in the nation's capital -albeit at a new address. Possible sites in the city include Poplar Point or Buzzard Point, or the abandoned St. Elizabeths Hospital campus in Congress Heights.

"We believe that there's a better use for the current FBI building on Pennsylvania Avenue. We also believe that the FBI wants to remain in Washington," Bowser said.

Redeveloping the J. Edgar Hoover building would return a piece of valuable real estate to the District, while offering an opportunity to create a retail, commercial, residential or mixed-used project that would draw people downtown as the city tries to recover from the coronavirus pandemic-triggered economic slowdown.

At the same time, the District doesn't want to lose the thousands of law enforcement personnel who currently work out of the Hoover Building to either the Maryland or Northern Virginia suburbs.

Maryland's congressional delegation, on the other hand, sees the headquarters project as an opportunity to revitalize a section of Prince George's County, at a time when job creation and investment in the suburbs that border Washington have lagged.

The state is home to a number of large corporations, including Marriott International, as well as several sizable federal government agencies. But job growth has been far stronger in Northern Virginia, which in recent years has attracted headquarters projects for companies like Nestle and Amazon.

"A new modern headquarters with enhanced security standards, which we can offer in Maryland, will allow the FBI to best meet its law enforcement mission today and decades into the future. We also welcome the thousands of jobs and economic benefits that this opportunity would bring," Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, said in a statement earlier this week.

Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., said Trump's loss to President Joe Biden cleared the way to relaunch the FBI relocation project, which Trump had sidelined days before a new site was announced. The top contenders were believed to be Landover or Greenbelt, Md., Springfield, Va., or the District.

"Let's just get it back on track," Brown said in an interview Friday. "That's not a difficult lift, with Trump out of the way."

Brown said once the GSA analysis is complete, "Team Maryland" will launch a full lobbying effort to secure the headquarters, involving the congressional delegation - led by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. - Hogan and state lawmakers.

The proposed Landover site, which is in Brown's district, provides easy transportation ties to the Interstate 495 portion of the Capital Beltway and a Metro stop, Brown said. Unlike the Springfield location, he said, Landover's 86 acres do not require razing buildings or relocating people.

"You could even do a firing range on that site," he said.

In Virginia, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D, said Maryland could "compete fair and square" for the project, but insisted that Springfield would be the most desirable site.

He described its transportation access - the Metro, the confluence of I-495, I-95 and I-395, and the remade "mixing bowl" - as "unrivaled by any competitor," while also noting that the FBI's archives and training academy, as well as the CIA headquarters and the Pentagon, are all in Virginia.

"Only the site in Virginia offers synergies with the FBI itself," Connolly said. "At the end of the day, this is not about whose turn is it, or who benefits economically. This is about the functionality of the FBI."

- - -

The Washington Post's Julie Zauzmer and Meagan Flynn contributed to this report.
Covid is on the retreat in South Dakota, not long ago the virus's epicenter in the U.S. There's a grim reason for that progress, as Harold Frazier, leader of the state's Cheyenne River Sioux reservation, knows too well.

As many as 2 in 5 residents of the state have been infected, turning it into an unwitting experiment in herd immunity as Gov. Kristi Noem refused to mandate safety precautions. The numbers are that bad or worse on the reservation, and its residents' painful experience shows the steep cost of building up antibodies through laissez-faire policies.

"We were in dire straits," said Frazier, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux, who set up highway checkpoints and instituted lockdowns to protect a community whose health was already challenged by poverty, obesity and diabetes. Ultimately, he couldn't keep the roiling pandemic at bay. "We knew it was just a matter of time before that virus got here."

South Dakota reported its first few virus cases in March, before a major outbreak at a meat-processing plant. For months, the pandemic carved channels through the state's population while Noem refused to require masks or limit large gatherings. In August, she allowed a massive motorcycle rally to proceed in Sturgis, about 140 miles from the reservation's main town. And in September, she put federal relief funds toward a $5 million tourism ad to attract visitors. Within weeks, cases were beginning to soar.

Noem said she wasn't imposing her views, but rather respecting personal freedom, and her stance made her an instant celebrity on conservative media-catapulting her into the conversation for the 2024 presidential race. In the end, the predictable thing happened: Given a long leash, South Dakotans used masks sparingly and most made few changes to their daily lives, surveys and mobility data show. Even those who tried to follow experts' guidance were engulfed in an epic surge.

Now, the state is still far from herd immunity as epidemiologists understand it-somewhere above 70% immunity, maybe higher-but the virus is suddenly finding much less kindling through which to burn. Independent data scientist Youyang Gu estimates that about 42% of the state had been infected as of mid-January, an extrapolation based on the 108,315 confirmed cases. Antibody testing has shown that official tallies give a significant undercount.

In an interview this week with the Fox News show "The Ingraham Angle," Noem acknowledged she took a "unique approach," but that it allowed South Dakotans to keep putting "food on the table."

"We did have tragedies and we did have losses, but we also got through it better than virtually every other state," she said.

On Frazier's reservation, the benefits of that approach are less apparent. Of about 8,000 people, more than 1,700 have tested positive and 33 have died, rocking the relatively poor cattle farming community-filled with multi-generational households-and hastening the demise of the native Lakota language, whose native speakers tend to be in their 70s or older.

"This pandemic is killing them off," said Beth Lone Eagle, a community advocate, mother and grandmother who lost three brothers-in-law in quick succession.

Frazier set up the roadblocks early in the pandemic and escalated his efforts when things got worse. He turned the reservation's motel into a quarantine site and eventually ordered two communities into lockdowns. The tribe pooled cattle so everyone could have food as they isolated.

It wasn't enough to prevent several brutal months that have ended with South Dakota having the sixth-lowest number of cases per capita in the U.S. in the past week, according to Covid Tracking Project data. The rate of 18.3 daily cases per 100,000 residents is well under half the national average.

Julie Fischer, a former Georgetown University microbiologist now with global health non-profit CRDF Global, said human behavior drives the ebbs and flows of pandemics. People take risks more seriously after family and neighbors get sick, so the reaction itself can precipitate a drop in cases.

"One plausible explanation is the people who were at the highest risk because of their behavior-either because they are risk-takers or because they had no other option-have already been exposed and been infected," said Fischer. "That's not the same as herd immunity, but it does reduce the number of susceptible people in the population."

As epidemiologists often note, it's not just government policies that matter, but whether people observe them, and relaxed policies haven't always spelled disaster. For instance, Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, received widespread criticism for not issuing a mask mandate, but in survey responses compiled by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, about 73% of Floridians claim to always wear masks, not far below the national average of 77%.

South Dakota was another story altogether. Mobility analytics from Google show South Dakotans made almost no reductions in their movement from pre-pandemic times. Traffic at retail and recreation areas registered at normal levels in September when the outbreak was seeded, and it dropped about 10% below typical levels when the virus was at its worst in November.

As of Sept. 1, fewer than 30% reported always wearing a mask when going out. The figures climbed to about 58%, but it's still the lowest in the country, according to the data provided by IHME.

Lone Eagle, who lives on the Cheyenne River reservation, said it was unconscionable that so many South Dakotans ignored basic public-health guidance.

"We need to isolate ourselves and our families, we need to be following all of these things, because people spread the virus," she said. "It's not like it's traveling from one place to another on its own."

She said her son was a checkpoint deputy and that she saw the instinct to protect the vulnerable as something passed down genetically in the tribe.

Some opponents of strict covid measures argued that society would have attained herd immunity faster if the virus was just allowed to run its course. Ultimately, South Dakota's strategy translated into about 1 in 500 residents dead, plus many more hospitalized or living with long-term effects.

Four Northeastern states and Mississippi still have worse per capita deaths over the course of the pandemic. But the Northeastern deaths unfolded in dense urban settings in March and April when little was known of the virus and there was little testing; South Dakota's peak occurred a half year later when masks had been proven effective and testing was widely available.

The Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker shows that the state now ranks fifth in using its vaccine doses, a measure of efficiency. But it's far from clear that the devastation is over. New variants introduce new questions about immunity, and only 69% of South Dakotans say they are open to getting the vaccine, according to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology survey, provided via IHME.

Moreover, knowledge about immunity from covid-19 is still evolving. One recent study from Public Health England found that past infection provides protection against reinfection for at least five months. Importantly, the researchers said people who developed antibodies may still be able to pass on the virus.

For Frazier, the challenge now is to hurry vaccines to the community's most vulnerable before the virus returns-no easy feat on a reservation with some communities that are hours apart. But as of Monday, about 1,978 people had received at least one shot, around a quarter of the population.

For all the suffering, he's convinced that the toll would have been much worse if he hadn't instituted the lockdowns starting in November.

"We were able to keep on moving forward," Frazier said. "I believe that it could've been a lot worse."

The fire, which began about 10:15 a.m. Jan. 27 at the home in the 700 block of West Oakton Street, is still under investigation by the Des Plaines Fire Department. Fire officials have said the family was likely trapped because the fire started near their apartments only exit. The department is investigating whether a space heater was the cause of a fire.
Posted Wednesday, February 3, 2021 4:44 pm

Twin Transit announced in a recent press release that it will begin construction on its Mellen Street e-Transit Station soon. The transportation hub will provide zero-emissions transit between Centralia and Tumwater and will connect travelers with Olympias Intercity Transit.

The Mellen Street e-Transit Station will feature electric car charging, electric bus wave induction charging, ample parking for commuters and vanpools, bicycle and pedestrian access and visual enhancements, according to Twin Transit.

The project is a result of a partnership between Twin Transit and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to better serve the residents of the Twin Cities and travelers along the I-5 corridor.

The project is funded by a 2020 Green Transportation Grant, DERA Funds and Volkswagen settlement dollars. Together, we are maximizing technological advancements to better serve our community, stated a press release from Twin Transit.

A portion of the Mellen Street Park and Ride will remain open during the construction of the Mellen Street e-Transit Station. Project updates and additional information can be found at TwinTransit.org.
In the summer of 2001, while talking with Christopher Plummer in the bar at the Goring Hotel in London, he recalled his triumphs on stage, his work in film, and his optimism for the roles he would get to play in the coming years.

As the exchange came to an end, he said, thank you for not bringing up The Sound of Music. Everyone wants to talk about The Sound of Music. I replied, well, I was getting to that. And he smiled.

Of the many reasons that we cherish the work of Christopher Plummer, who died Feb. 5 in, and starred in The Sound of Music as Captain von Trapp is we believe every moment, gesture and expression the actor brought to his masterful interpretation of this deceptively complex character. And his prediction that evening was correct: the later years in his career did bring a rich collection of opportunities.

Plummer died at age 91 in his Connecticut home, and while I remember many chances to see Plummer on stage, here are seven of his screen performances (in addition to Captain von Trapp) that will live on.

The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969)

Four years after The Sound of Music, Plummer recreates his Broadway performance as Atahualpa in Peter Shaffers powerful look at the Spanish conquest of Peru. In a brave performance filled with deliberate moments of exaggeration, the actor demonstrates his classical roots and unique ability to simplify a writers intent.

The Shadow Box (1980)

After winning a Tony on Broadway for Cyrano, and making us laugh on stage in Neil Simons The Good Doctor, Plummer joins Joanne Woodward and director Paul Newman on television for this heartfelt exploration of the impact of terminal illness. As Brian, Plummer is touching and terse, warm and wistful in a performance that makes us think about what matters with living and dying.

The Insider (1999)

Following Broadway triumphs in Othello, No Mans Land and winning another Tony for Barrymore, Plummer makes an indelible film impression as Mike Wallace in this study of 60 Minutes efforts to expose big tobacco companies. In just a few scenes, with minimal dialogue, the actor perfectly conveys the arrogance and defiance that mark this legendary television journalist.

On Golden Pond (2001)

Returning to television, Plummer stars with Julie Andrews for a live production of Ernest Thompsons play. Working against type, and confronting audience memory of Henry Fondas performance in the film version, Plummer creates a unique interpretation of Norman Thayer, the elderly man trying to adjust to the realities of age.

The Last Station (2009)

After two more Tony nominations for Broadway roles - King Lear in 2004 and Inherit the Wind in 2007 - Plummer returns to film to explore the aging mind of author Leo Tolstoy. He wins his first Oscar nomination for his detailed portrayal of the writers last year, a period defined by struggles with the realities of age, relationships and disappointments.

Beginners (2010)

As a senior citizen who comes out of the closet, Plummer delights with a captivating sense of mischief and an endearing dose of humanity. He expands what could have been a cardboard character into a compelling look at how authenticity can change someones life at any age. And, finally, Plummer wins that long overdue Oscar.

All the Money in the World (2017)

In a most unusual assignment, Plummer is asked - a few weeks before the film is scheduled to be released - to reshoot the scenes that feature Kevin Spacey as J. Paul Getty in this recreation of the billionaires grandson. With little time to prepare, and only nine days to film, Plummer creates a masterful interpretation that wins one more Oscar nomination.

Thank you, Christopher Plummer, for moments on stage we will never forget and performances on film we will forever remember. And for being Captain von Trapp.
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  This probably wasnt the payoff he expected.

A New Springville man has been sentenced to three years behind bars for peddling cocaine to an undercover cop.

Joseph Smith-Davis sold the drugs on three occasions between late July and September of 2019, said an indictment.

The defendant was charged with multiple felony counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance.

He was also accused of felony and misdemeanor counts of criminal drug possession.

Last July, Smith-Davis, then 44, pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance to resolve the case.

Besides prison time, he was sentenced on Thursday to 18 months post-release supervision.

After the defendants plea hearing, his lawyer Mario F. Gallucci said: Mr. Smith-Davis took responsibility for his actions, and the district attorney took into consideration his employment and otherwise lawful life in crafting this disposition.
The man had declared he had some merchandise when he arrived at Customs  sometimes, travelers must pay duties on what they bring across international borders  so he was sent to a secondary inspection, Bansbach said. There, officers checked his bags and found the boxes of pills.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atico Mining Corporation (the Company or Atico) (TSX.V: ATY | OTC: ATCMF) is pleased to report of an updated NI 43-101 mineral resource and reserve estimate as on September 30th, 2020 for the El Roble Mine located in Colombia.



Our infill and mine vicinity exploration drilling at El Roble mine has partially replenished some of the mined resources since the previous reserve and resource update in 2018. The updated reserve report shows the operations ability to continue delivering robust cashflow for the Company in the years to come, especially in the current metal price environment, said Fernando E. Ganoza, CEO. We will continue looking for opportunities to further extend the life of mine at El Roble while also aggressively drilling for additional massive sulphide deposits on the contiguous 6,300 hectare land package we control.

Resource and Reserve Estimate Highlights

Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are estimated at 1.17 million tonnes averaging 3.26% Cu, and 2.33 g/t Au.





Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves are estimated at 1.00 million tonnes averaging 3.02 % Cu, and 1.76 g/t Au.





A conversion rate of 87% of Measured and Indicated resources to Proven and Probable reserve categories over the current resource estimate.



El Roble Resource and Reserve Estimate

The updated mineral resource and reserve estimate for El Roble was prepared by staff and consultants of Miner SA, an Atico Mining operating subsidiary. Mr. Thomas Kelly (SME Registered Member 1696580) has reviewed the resource and reserve estimate and acted as the independent qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101. The Mineral Resources and Reserves reported herein were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council. This resource and reserve estimate is based on all data available through September 30, 2020.

Category Tonnes



(000) Cu



(%) Au



(g/t) Proven 950.2 3.05 1.78 Probable 51.3 2.51 1.45 Proven + Probable Reserves 1,002 3.02 1.76





Category Tonnes



(000) Cu



(%) Au



(g/t) Measured Resources 1,039 3.31 2.29 Indicated Resources 135 2.89 2.62 Measured + Indicated Resources 1,174 3.26 2.33





Category Tonnes



(000) Cu



(%) Au



(g/t) Inferred Resources 17 0.49 3.41

Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves are as defined by CIM definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves 2014. Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves are estimated as of September 30th 2020. Mineral Reserves are reported using an NSR breakeven cut-off value of US$104.44/t (cost basis October 2019 to September 2020) for the Zeus body. Mineral Resources are reported based on an NSR cut-off grade of US$54.39/t (cost basis October 2019 through September 2020), Metal prices used were US$1,543.13/troy ounce Au and US$ 3.01/t Cu. Metallurgical recoveries are based in the historical recovery (El Roble process plant results October 2019 through September 2020): Au is 57.94% and Cu is 92.13%. Metal payable recovery used 90.67% for gold and 94.87% for copper (basis October 2019 through September 2020). Reserves are based on break-even cut-off grade of 1.80 percent copper equivalent, which is based on actual El Roble operating costs from October 2019  September 2020 along with other factors Density was estimated for each ore-body (Goliath = 3.34t/m3, Maximus = 3.50t/m3, Maximus Sur = 3.26t/m3, Zeus = 3.53t/m3). Mineral Resources, as reported, are undiluted. Mineral Resources are reported to 0.89% CuEq cut-off. CuEq for each block was calculated by multiplying one tonne of mass of each block by block grade for both Au and Cu by their average recovery, metal payable recovery and metal price. If the block is higher that CuEq cut-off, the block is included in the estimate (resource or reserve estimate as appropriate). Mineral Resources are Inclusive of Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral Reserves. There are no known legal, political, environmental or other risks that could materially affect the development and mining of the Mineral Reserves in the Zeus deposit; Mineral Reserves were reviewed by Mr. Thomas Kelly, RM-SME, president of Andes Colorado Corp., who is a Qualified Person for the estimate and independent of Atico Mining and its subsidiaries; Figures in the table are rounded to reflect estimate precision; small differences are not regarded as material to the estimate; Reserves are estimated based on mining material that will be mined, processed and smelted.



Resource and Reserve Estimation Methodology

The Mineral Resource estimation considers channel and core samples, in addition to the underground mine mapping for the construction of three-dimensional wireframes of the lithology and mineralized bodies. Estimation of grades in the block models only considers samples located inside the mineralized bodies solid, which are applied to anomalous grade or top cut treatment and a further compositing process. The model was constructed using 2m x 2m x 2m blocks, which represents the selective mining unit (SMU). The orebodies estimation is conducted separately body by body and element by element (Cu and Au). The methods used for grade estimation are cubic inverse distance (Goliat, Maximus and Maximus Sur Orebodies) and Ordinary Kriging (Zeus Orebody).

A density factor specific for each ore-body was assumed for conversion of block volumes to tonnes (Goliat = 3.34t/m3, Maximus = 3.50t/m3, Maximus Sur = 3.26t/m3, Zeus = 3.53t/m3). Mineral Resources are reported to 0.88% CuEq cut-off. For each block, the CuEq value was calculated by multiplying one tonne of mass of each by block grade by its average recovery, metal payable recovery and metal price. Blocks with CuEq grade higher than the CuEq cut-off were included in the resource estimate.

Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves were derived from the Measured and Indicated Resources by applying modifying factors related to mining methods, mining dilution and historical operating costs detailed as follows: mining (US $56.94/t), processing (US $15.95/t), general services (US $7.89/t), on-site administration and indirect (US $14.03/t), selling and concentrate shipping (US $9.63/t). Operating costs total US $104.44/t and comprise the lower NSR value for reserve reporting purposes. Mining dilution was estimated at variable percentages depending on the mining activity and labour, and ranges from 3.5% for breasting within the ore-body to 13.5% for crown pillar recovery.

The resource and reserve models have been validated by reconciliation against actual mined production continuously for several years with reconciliation results being acceptable for all ore bodies that have experienced a significant amount of production.

A full NI43-101 report authored by Mr. Thomas Kelly will be available on www.sedar.com within 45 days of this news release.

El Roble Mine

The El Roble mine is a high grade, underground copper and gold mine with nominal processing plant capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day, located in the Department of Choco in Colombia. Its commercial product is a copper-gold concentrate.

Since obtaining control of the mine on November 22, 2013, Atico has upgraded the operation from a historical nominal capacity of 400 tonnes per day.

El Roble has Proven and Probable reserves of 1.00 million tonnes grading 3.02% copper and 1.76 g/t gold, at a cut-off grade of 1.3% copper equivalent as of September 30th, 2020. Mineralization is open at depth and along strike and the Company plans to further test the limits of the deposit.

On the larger land package, the Company has identified a prospective stratigraphic contact between volcanic rocks and black and grey pelagic sediments and cherts that has been traced by Atico geologists for ten kilometers. This contact has been determined to be an important control on VMS mineralization on which Atico has identified numerous target areas prospective for VMS type mineralization occurrence, which is the focus of the current surface drill program at El Roble.

Qualified Person

Mr. Thomas Kelly (SME Registered Member 1696580), advisor to the Company and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 standards, is responsible for ensuring that the technical information contained in this news release is an accurate summary of the original reports and data provided to or developed by Atico.

About Atico Mining Corporation

Atico is a growth-oriented Company, focused on exploring, developing and mining copper and gold projects in Latin America. The Company operates the El Roble mine and is pursuing additional acquisition opportunities. For more information, please visit www.aticomining.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Fernando E. Ganoza

CEO

Atico Mining Corporation

Trading symbols: TSX.V: ATY | OTC: ATCMF

Investor Relations

Igor Dutina

Tel: +1.604.633.9022

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The securities being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act) unless pursuant to an exemption therefrom. This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This announcement includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation the use of net proceeds, are forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations include uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs; the need to obtain additional financing to maintain its interest in and/or explore and develop the Companys mineral projects; uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones for the Companys mineral projects; the world-wide economic and social impact of COVID-19 is managed and the duration and extent of the coronavirus pandemic is minimized or not long-term; disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic or other health and safety issues, or the responses of governments, communities, the Company and others to such pandemic or other issues; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading Risk Factors in the prospectus of the Company dated March 2, 2012 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com
The Kentucky Harness Association (KHA) is asking for the harness racing industry to show its support for the Historical Horse Racing in the Bluegrass State.

"The time is now to help our efforts by contacting your representatives in the Kentucky legislature and urging them to pass SB 120," said KHA President Bob Brady in a statement on Thursday (Feb. 4). "If you are not a resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, we need your help as well. Your voice is critical to ensure historical horse racing continues in Kentucky and to protect much-needed jobs and investment."

The full letter from the KHA appears below.

Dear All:

We need your support of Historical Horse Racing in Kentucky. On Tuesday of this week, Senate Bill 120, which protects historical horse racing (HHR) in Kentucky, was introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly.

Historical horse racing fuels Kentuckys signature horse industry, strengthens purse money for racing, provides valuable jobs and generates millions in tax revenue to benefit investments across the Commonwealth. A recent ruling by the Kentucky Supreme Court has put historical horse racing and Kentuckys equine industry in jeopardy.

The time is now to help our efforts by contacting your representatives in the Kentucky legislature and urging them to pass SB 120. If you are not a resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, we need your help as well. Your voice is critical to ensure historical horse racing continues in Kentucky and to protect much-needed jobs and investment.

HERE'S HOW TO HELP

1. Contact your Kentucky legislative representatives by clicking this link. Be sure to follow the proper path if you live outside of Kentucky.

2. Let them know how important HHR is to Kentucky and to protecting valuable jobs and our signature horse industry.

3. Ask them to pass SB 120 to allow HHR facilities to continue operations.

The KHA appreciates your support and action in saving historical horse racing.

Robert M. Brady

President

(KHA)
As Wanderlust Creamery has discovered, a love for Filipino flavors can definitely go the distance. Since the onset of the pandemic, the Los Angeles ice cream chain has seen flavors like their bibingka and brazo de mercedes find their way into homes across the U.S. It was surprising to see how many of our followers were so far from the West Coast, says Wanderlusts co-founder Adrienne Borlongan, estimating 55,000 pints shipped since April when they began selling nationwide. From as far down as Florida up eastbound through Connecticut, customers have found a cool escape through the Filipino desserts Wanderlust has turned into frozen delights  more so in lockdown.

The flavors reminded me of my childhood, growing up and eating these wonderful desserts, says Mafel Lopez, a Dallas-based data analyst who recently ordered Wanderlusts Pilipino Pint Pack  a set of six pints including her favorite sapin sapin. She would have added Food for the Gods if there werent a cap of seven on the number of pints one could order. Now that Im on my own in Texas, where cooking from my mom, Lola, and titas are too far away, having Filipino food is even more special.

Wanderlust Creamery's bibngka flavor. Photos by MAX MILLA/Courtesy of WANDERLUST CREAMERY

When Borlongan opened Wanderlust in 2015, a flavor as familiar to her as ube was the furthest from her mind. With a diploma in food science and a penchant for travel, ice cream for the first-generation Filipino-American was about departing from whats expected.

Many people were like, How come you dont make ube, hello? Thats so obvious! Borlongan says of customer demand in their second year. Instead, she looked everywhere else for inspiration. A hike through an Irish national forest led to a flavor of elderflower and wild berries. Another, infused fig leaves, sparked after a fish dinner in Croatia. A pint of egg coffee was a passport stamp to Vietnam; a cactus sorbet, to Mexico. But with its rising ubiquity in the U.S., from violet-hued horchata in San Francisco to pop-tarts in Pasadena, ube felt too much like a cop-out. Not to mention that her late grandfather, a food chemist for Magnolia, worked on the very pillars of Pinoy ice cream, classic ube included. What could she possibly contribute?

Adrienne Borlongan's Lolo Eli was a food chemist for Magnolia and worked on the very pillars of Pinoy ice cream, classic ube included. Photo courtesy of WANDERLUST CREAMERY

Thinking of a tourist-free version of ube, one less burdened by the buzz Filipino cuisine was getting in the U.S., Borlongan found a way to tell her own story through the pervasive flavor. She added malted milk, a tribute to the Chocolate Malted Crunch of her childhood. As a kid, she ordered it when visiting her older brother at his job scooping ice cream at Thrifty, a landmark of California youth. The malt gives this wheaty flavor, which makes it taste like ube cake, she says of Wanderlusts Ube Malted Crunch. As soon as we put that on the menu, it became a hit. People were discovering us just because of that.

Creating ice cream off the beaten palate has paid off for Borlongan and her partner JP Lopez. Within their opening week, Lopez saw enough potential in the business to quit a career in law and devote his days to steering operations and expansion.

Ube malted crunch by Wanderlust Creamery. Photo by LUIS GIOVANNI/Courtesy of WANDERLUST CREAMERY

Today, Wanderlust has six locations across L.A., from Fairfax to suburban Tarzana, the first location they opened and less than 10 minutes from the couples home in the San Fernando Valley. Yet no matter how far their flavors have traveled, there was no shaking cravings that are closer to home.

Borlongan has found other ways to express Filipino identity truer to how she experiences it. Wanderlusts Kapampangan Halo-Halo winks at all the Filipino-Americans who grew up wishing there were less beans and more milk in the dessert. Theres also an ode to chocolate via an Abuelita Malted Crunch. Borlongan remembers pleading for hot cocoa as a kid, in powder form a la Swiss Miss. Thats not hot chocolate, her mom would say, preparing instead the closest thing to native tsokolate she could get  Abuelita, a brand of tablet-style chocolate sold at Mexican bodegas.

The ice cream shop at Venice, L.A. Photos by MAX MILLA/Courtesy of WANDERLUST CREAMERY

Unlike in their first year, when they labeled a latik flavor Coconut Beurre Noisette, Wanderlust no longer bothers dressing native flavors in European frippery. Theyve since offered a straightforward tour through some homegrown staples, from sans rival to a pandan tres leches that suggests the Portos cakes reminiscent of Filipino-American family gatherings. And we train our staff to pronounce flavors the correct way, says Borlongan. Five years ago, that wouldnt fly. Sapin sapin would probably be called, uh, Filipino Neapolitan.

When youve attracted a certain segment of people, words gonna spread, says Foodbeast managing editor Reach Guinto of the Filipino market the ice cream chain has captivated, himself included. After Wanderlust released limited edition flavors for Filipino-American History Month in 2018, Guintos pride in their flavors became even more personal. Sentimental for the candy he ate as a kid before moving to California with his family in the 90s, he suggested Borlongan make a White Rabbit flavor. A few months later, the flavor debuted packing gobs of the iconic Chinese milk candy in each scoop. The flavor went viral. A competitor even bought out nearby wholesalers of White Rabbit, while Asian ice cream chains began releasing their own versions.

The Filipino flavors arent the only reason for their success, says Guinto. If you go on their Instagram, the photos are vibrant, magazine-worthy, and they look fucking yummy! Also, people are now more curious Whats sapin sapin? Thats a great chance at getting your own voice and story behind your food.

On Wanderlusts Instagram, a photo of a parol formed from pandan-flavored cones or of fruit salad ice cream in an old plastic container (its name scribbled on the lid with a marker, as your tita would do), receives the sort of mania due to Pinoy celebrities. Many Filipino-Americans announce their tribal devotion to a limited edition flavor, demanding its return (Bring back biko!). Some like Evangelina Woo, a Chinese-American lawyer in San Diego, gush about the ube shes loved since she was a kid. Others, commenting on an Armenian-inspired flavor of chorek and apricot jam, thank Wanderlust for sharing our culture along with other beautiful creatures and nations.

It was never part of Wanderlusts itinerary but translating travel into ice cream has widened its reach, especially to immigrant communities homesick and hungry for a little nostalgia. Their Asian Jet Set Pint Pack, including one of their first flavors  a Thai-inspired sticky rice and mango, remains a bestseller. A Lunar New Year pack offering an Oolong Pineapple Tart, a Taiwanese favorite, sold out on its first day. Finding that 50% of their online orders were from repeat customers, Wanderlust began offering subscriptions. The Passport Program ships four new flavors a month.

As L.A. stews in lockdown, any travel plans for Lopez and Borlongan are grounded for now. Their ice cream can travel, however. Takeaway keeps the pints moving. And if it werent for the pandemic nudging them toward nationwide shipping, they wouldnt have discovered how much further they could take their business. As much as the countrys production of carbon dioxide will allow, at least. CO2 is a component of dry ice, which is crucial in keeping their ice cream frigid while in transit. Because of vaccine distribution in December, their access to the cooling agent was limited drastically. Our dry ice supplier would give us quotas on exactly how much they could actually supply, which was about 40% less than normal, says Borlongan. We just had to take the hit to our sales.

Wanderlust Creamery's JP Lopez and Adrienne Borlongan. Photo from WANDERLUST CREAMERY

Still, with many restaurants closed  some, like Filipino food darling Maam Sir, for good  Wanderlust is still taking flight.

We thought that our online store would replace our in-store sales regionally but it actually grew our business regionally as well as nationally, says Lopez, who is grateful all locations of Wanderlust have stayed open with all staff still onboard. He now sees store expansion across the US as a possibility, their 600-square-foot commissary in Tarzana persevering. If anything, their online fulfillment team  assembled from staff who handled catering and events previously  would have to keep up with volume. With newborn twins and a toddler to raise, Borlongan and Lopez would have to as well.

Green mango sorbet in a pandan-flavored cone. Photos by MAX MILLA/Courtesy of WANDERLUST CREAMERY

Of course, widening their reach worldwide would be on-brand, but so is achieving greater and more meaningful visibility. The longer were in business, the more our brand takes shape. I really like how its highlighting different ethnicities, cultures. It gives people a spotlight.

Ice cream as an unlikely tour guide? Few would complain. By offering a menu that changes monthly, Borlongan is only eager to keep being a Fodors to frozen delights, especially when detours into Asian ingredients lead to discovering what makes her heritage delicious. I really want to try carabao milk, she says, curious about how it compares to Californias buffalo milk. I dont know, I would probably fall in love with [Philippine] flavors and be disappointed that they cant be exported here. Thats the story of my life with Wanderlust.

***

Visit Wanderlust Creamery's official website or check out their Instagram.
Joella's guests can order the seasonal North Atlantic Wild-Caught Cod that is double beer-battered and fried beginning Feb. 17 through April 4. The Crispy Cod Sammie and Plate can be prepared with any of Joella's six famous heat levels including Southern (no heat), Spiked Honey, Ella's Fav, Tweener, Hot, and Fire-In Da-Hole (so hot you need to sign a waiver!).

The Crispy Cod Sammie is topped with Sweet Vinegar Slaw, pickles, and Bama White Dippin' Sauce. For $9.50, guests will get the Sammie with their choice of one Southern side. And new this year, Joella's will also offer the Crispy Cod Plate, which includes two pieces of Crispy Cod with Bama White Dippin' Sauce on the side. The Crispy Cod Plate can be ordered with one Southern side for $10.50, or two sides for $11.50. If guests choose to order their Crispy Cod Plate spiced with a heat level, it will be served on top of a piece of white bread in traditional hot chicken plating.

The Crispy Cod Sammie and Plate are available Wednesday through Friday, Feb. 17 to April 4. Florida locations will serve the limited-time menu items every day of the week.

"Joella's is excited to offer this seasonal favorite to our customers who are already in love with our award-winning hot chicken and Southern-style sides  and this year add the Crispy Cod Plate to our Lenten menu offerings," said Christina Happel, Regional Vice President of Operations for Joella's Hot Chicken. "The Crispy Cod Sammie and Plate are the best of both worlds: full of Joella's signature flavor yet paired with the fixin's associated with a traditional fish sandwich or meal."

Joella's Hot Chicken currently has 19 locations nationwide: three in Florida (Largo, Melbourne, and Seminole); four in Georgia (Atlanta, Kennesaw, Newnan, and Woodstock); four in Central Indiana (Indianapolis/96th Street, Indianapolis/Broad Ripple, Carmel/Westfield, and Bloomington); three in the Louisville, Ky. area (Louisville/St. Matthews, Louisville/Middletown, and Clarksville, Ind.), two in Lexington (Lexington/UK and Lexington/Hamburg) and three in the Cincinnati area (Downtown Cincinnati, Mason, Oh., and Crescent Springs, Ky).

For more information on Joella's Crispy Cod Sammie and Plate, visit Joellas.com or follow the brand on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. A link to photos of the Crispy Cod Sammie and Crispy Cod Plate can be found here.

About Joella's Hot Chicken

Joella's Hot Chicken is a Louisville-based fast casual restaurant serving hot chicken and a variety of made-from-scratch Southern sides. Joella's menu features fresh, all-natural chicken brined and spiced with six unique heat levels. Favorite menu items include Jumbo Tenders, Big Wings, and Chicken and Waffles, paired perfectly with Southern sides including Creamy Mac & Cheese, Green Beans with Bacon, Collard Greens with Bacon, Sweet Vinegar Slaw, and Kale Crunch Salad.

Founded in 2015, the company now includes 19 locations throughout Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. It offers dine-in, pick-up and delivery, and select locations offer a drive thru. Joella's has won numerous awards including the 2020 QSR Magazine 40/40 List of Hottest Startup Fast Casuals, #10 in Restaurant Business Magazine's 2020 "The Future 50" list, the 2018 Best of Louisville Reader's Choice Award for Best Fried Chicken Restaurant, and Best Chicken in the Bluegrass State. For more information visit us at www.joellas.com. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/joellashotchicken, Instagram @JoellasHotChicken, and Twitter @Joellaschicken.

SOURCE Joellas Hot Chicken
The Orthodox Church is facing growing pressure to change baptism rituals in Romania after a baby died following a ceremony, which involves immersing infants three times in holy water.

The six-week-old suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to hospital on Monday but he died a few hours later, the autopsy revealing liquid in his lungs.

Prosecutors have opened a manslaughter probe against the priest in the northeastern city of Suceava.

An online petition calling for changes to the ritual had gathered more than 56,000 signatures by Thursday evening.

A Romanian Orthodox priest sinks a child during a baptism at a church in Bucharest in May 2014. (File photo)

The petition said: 'the death of a newborn baby because of this practice is a huge tragedy,

'This risk must be ruled out for the joy of baptism to triumph.'

One internet user denounced the 'brutality' of the ritual and another criticised the 'stubbornness of those who think that it is the will of God' to maintain it.

Local media has reported several similar incidents in recent years.

Church spokesman Vasile Banescu suggested priests could pour or sprinkle a little water on the baby's forehead instead of full immersion.

But Archbishop Teodosie, leader of the Church's traditionalist wing, insisted the ritual would not change.

Romanian Orthodox priests sprinkle holy water over believers to bless them at the end of the Epiphany mass held on January 6 every year

In a Romanian Orthodox church baptism, the baby is completely submersed in water three times in a row while the priest is meant to hold their nose to make sure they do not breathe in any water.

Baptisms in Romania are large events, sometimes compared to weddings, often with hundreds of guests and a big party.

More than 80 percent of Romanians are Orthodox and the Church is one of the most trusted institutions, according to recent opinion polls.


The National Unity Platform (NUP) leadership has asked the European Union leadership in Uganda to engage President Museveni to end the continued acts of human rights abuse and security violence in the country.

After a two-hour meeting held at the NUP leader, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi's home in Magere, Wakiso District, the party spokesperson, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi told journalists that they hoped Mr Museveni would listen to the EU leaders and end what he described as continued human rights abuses committed by the army and police against Ugandans, especially supporters of the opposition.

"They were here on behalf of their countries and they are very concerned about the human rights violations in Uganda. We have asked them not to be silent about what is going on in Uganda but we are not asking them to run the country because Ugandans can manage their own country," Mr Ssenyonyi said.

Among the matters that NUP discussed with the EU leadership include arbitrary arrests, abductions and highhandedness of security operatives against civilians.

"Met with the EU delegation. Appreciated the EU for its role in fostering democracy and reiterated our non-violent approach, even in the face of extreme provocation. We hope the friends of Uganda will support the citizens' call for accountability after a rigged election," Mr Kyagulanyi tweeted after the meeting.

The EU team was led by the EU head of Delegation in Uganda Mr Attilio Pacifici along ambassadors representing 9 European countries in Uganda.

EU's head of delegation to Uganda, Mr Attilio Pacifici, said they met NUP leaders to exchange views and hear their concerns following the elections.

"Together with EU colleagues I met with NUP leaders today to exchange views and hear their concerns following the elections. We value and encourage dialogue with and between all political actors. I look forward to meetings also with other political parties in the near future," Mr Pacifici tweeted.

The delegation included representatives of countries such as Germany, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Ireland and Denmark.
Ms. Seema Chaturvedi, Founder & Managing Partner of AWE (Achieving Women Equity) Funds  a major Gender Lens focused equity fund platform, based in the USA and India and investing in innovative enterprises to promote gender equity, has been accepted into Forbes Finance Council, an invitation-only community for senior executives in accounting, financial planning, wealth and asset management, and investment firms.

Ms. Chaturvedi was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of her experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.

We are honored to welcome Seema into the community, said Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Finance Council. Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world.

Welcoming this recognition, Ms. Chaturvedi noted, I am very excited to join this stellar group of leaders and grateful for the recognition that comes with being part of this very elite group of peers. Participating as an invited member to the prestigious Forbes Finance Council offers me a very valuable platform to further the mission of our early growth equity fund of Achieving Women Equity and also further the goal of Achieving Women Enterprise though our AWE Foundation.

Ms. Seema Chaturvedi's Social Media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seema-chaturvedi-8a12348/

Twitter: SeemaC_AGroup

ABOUT FORBES COUNCILS

Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive.

For more information about Forbes Finance Council, visit forbesfinancecouncil.com.

ABOUT AWE FUNDS

AWE Funds is a Gender Lens focused fund investing in innovative enterprises to promote gender equity, by investing in women owned, led, influenced businesses. It is based in the USA with an additional flagship fund investing in India.

For more information about AWE Funds, visit http://www.awefunds.com

For more information about AWE Foundation, visit http://www.awefoundation.org
Not convinced. Real Housewives of Orange County alum Tamra Judge isnt positive that Kelly Dodd will face consequences following her recent controversies despite speculation that shes been fired from the show.

Read article

I will believe that when I see that, Judge, 53, told Us Weekly exclusively on Thursday, February 4. I am very confused [about] what Bravo is thinking nowadays and what they think is good TV and who they think is a good cast member. I certainly know that she has rocked the boat many times when I was on the show  but I kind of feel like Kellys a tough one and everything just slides off of her. Theres never really been any real punishment for the things that she has done.

Gregory Pace/Shutterstock; Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Last month, Dodd, 45, dismissed stories that she was axed from the reality series and blamed former costar Vicki Gunvalson for starting up the rumor mill. No I am not fired !!! Contacts [sic] havent come out yet ! Vicki stop being a hater, Dodd tweeted at the time.

Days later, Dodd fired back at critics after joking that she was a COVID-19 superspreader when she went to a restaurant in California without wearing a mask. Her controversial comments resulted in her being dropped by Positive Beverage, a company which she supports as a stakeholder.

While she remains a minority shareholder in the company, we made the decision today to formally sever ties with her endorsement and likeness with our brand, so that we can continue our charge to spread good vibes and healthy hydration to everyone! the brands founder and CEO Zach Muchnick said in a statement to Us, adding that Dodds comments werent aligned with our tone and priorities as a company.

Following the news of her firing from the drink brand, the Bravo star tweeted, Im glad I could help put Positive Beverage on the map and wish them well. Im also really excited about my next venture in the beauty industry, which is my real passion. Stay tuned!

Read article

Before being let go from Positive Beverage, Dodd also made snide remarks about costar Braunwyn Windham-Burke, who recently came out as a lesbian, and threatened to leave the show if her fellow cast member returned for the next season.

I know I cannot film with Braunwyn, Dodd said in an Instagram Live in January. I know for a fact that I cannot film with her. Theres just no way, and if she comes back then Im out because I know for a fact that I cannot. Shes dangerous and calling people racists and homophobic.

Judge, for her part, joined the RHOC cast for season 3 and walked away in January 2020 after 12 years. After leaving the series on a bad note with Dodd, the former costars arent friends.

Theres a very sweet, nice side [to Kelly] that I really like that I think sometimes she just lets her mouth move too much, Judge told Us on Thursday. We dont hang in the same circle, we dont talk.  If I was on [the show], we probably wouldve made up. The one thing about Kelly and myself is we move on fairly easy. Its not like we harbor bad feelings and hate and things like that.

Dodd added more fuel to the rumors that she was fired earlier this month when her Instagram bio was changed to read Proud veteran castmember of #RHOC. A source later explained that her husband, Rick Leventhal, was responsible for the update and wanted to reflect Kellys longtime tenure on the show.

Read article

As Dodd has continued to face backlash for her opinions, some fans have called for RHOC to be canceled entirely. But Judge, founder of VENA Wellness CBD products, hopes the show doesnt disappear.

I dont want to see Orange County get canceled, she told Us. I was a big part of that show being successful and Im hoping that they can carry that on, whatever that means.

Executive producer Andy Cohen, for his part, chimed in via Twitter after Meghan McCain supported calls for RHOC to go off the air. I think you mean reBOOT, he wrote in January.

With reporting by Diana Cooper
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
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On Dec. 1, Tomas Vallejo let out one of the longest exhales of his life. The stressful decision of making a college choice was done. Best of all, he learned that day, it was to be a debt-free choice, because hed just been given a full academic scholarship to the University of Chicago, a ride worth about $200,000.

A senior at Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Bensalem, Vallejo is as modest as his grades are excellent. He credits his academic prowess to Inn Dwelling of Philadelphia, a nonprofit that supports gifted, low-income students in the region with everything they need to help them succeed: after-school tutoring, test prep and strategies, training in public speaking, Saturday and summer enrichment activities, community service and leadership-development opportunities, plus mentoring and advocacy.

Being part of Inn Dwelling has been one of the biggest blessings in my life, said Vallejo. I felt I had the gift and talent to do well academically, but a program like Inn Dwelling gave me the tools to go further and expand my potential.

The original mission of the organization, founded in 1981, was to help people in need to secure housing. It expanded its focus in 1997, creating the Comprehensive Youth Initiative to provide social services to students ages 11 to 18. By 2015, Inn Dwelling had pivoted solely to educational support through its after-school programs.

Throughout the years, one of the programs driving forces has been Sister Rosemarie Jefferson, MSBT, Inn Dwellings former program director who remains very much involved in the nonprofits mission, serving as the assistant program director.

In 2004, Sister Rosemarie visited various colleges to learn what it would take for Inn Dwellings students to be accepted at the schools. High ACT or SAT scores, admissions counselors told her, and a high GPA.

So the goal of Inn Dwelling, said Sister Rosemarie, became to get youngsters into select area high schools that offer a wide range of advanced-placement courses.

To help prepare them for high school placement tests, Inn Dwelling offers English and math programs to students in sixth through eighth grade as well as a comprehensive after-school program to older students. If they score high, they could get help with their tuition.

Inn Dwellings high school students attend after-school sessions twice a week (if their GPA falls below a B average, weekly attendance is increased to three times).

Currently, 55 students from area high schools are involved with Inn Dwelling; each receives $3,000 per year to help with tuition (if they attend private school). Holy Ghost Prep president Greg Geruson, whose school has 10 students enrolled with Inn Dwelling program, sings the nonprofits praises.

Sister Rosemary has a wonderful program, Geruson said. Shes just building on what the elementary schools are doing.

And she now has an Inn Dwelling graduate heading the organization. New program director Charles Arroyave, 38, began his involvement with the nonprofit while a student at West Catholic High School, which he attended on an academic scholarship.

That was due to the assistance and mentorship I received at the Inn Dwelling program, Arroyave said. Then they helped me get to college.

He began his college career at La Salle University, but when his mother had a stroke, he transferred to Chestnut Hill College, which was closer to home, so he could more easily attend to his familys needs. At Chestnut Hill, he earned an undergraduate degree as well as a masters in educational leadership.

Inn Dwelling, he said, allowed him to reach his potential.

The support system was great  people believed in me and wouldnt allow me to give up on myself, Arroyave said. They held me accountable and pushed me to be the best student I could possibly be.

Scholarship winner Vallejo, who lives in Mayfair, joined Inn Dwelling in seventh grade; the next year, he earned a full, four-year scholarship to Holy Ghost Prep.

His family never would have been able to afford the schools $24,000 annual tuition without the financial assistance, he said. (His parents are from Colombia; he was born in the U.S. and has an older brother who also was involved with Inn Dwelling.)

When students are juniors, Inn Dwelling staff take them on college visits (although the pandemic prevented trips in 2020) and help them explore financial aid for higher education.

Through Sister Rosemarie, Vallejo learned about QuestBridge, a California-based nonprofit that connects exceptional, financially needy, high-achieving youth with leading colleges and opportunities.

Through the organization, he earned his scholarship to the University of Chicago.

The only reason I found out about QuestBridge was that Sister Rosemarie recommended me, said Vallejo, who plans to major in political science and hopes to attend law school.

I feel very happy, especially since all the sacrifices my parents have made that led to this moment, he said. And without the support of Inn Dwelling, None of this would have been possible.
A 20-year-old woman from Quincy was arrested in Coventry, Rhode Island Thursday night after police said she led authorities on a low-speed chase in stolen a Boston Fire Department pick up truck, according to WPRI.

Alina Dunham was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, reckless driving, eluding police, obstructing an officer and operating on a suspended license, according to the Rhode Island news station. Dunham was also also charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest following an incident at Coventry Police Headquarters, the report said.

BREAKING: One person has been just taken into custody after leading Coventry Police on a multi-town pursuit in a pickup truck labeled with @BostonFire emblems and emergency lights. Vehicle was driving on a rim at one point. pic.twitter.com/V208YuCqgV  Ryan (@ryanpick) February 5, 2021

Coventry police received several calls Thursday evening about a pickup truck being driven down Tiogue Avenue with one of its tires missing, the report said.

Photos from NBC 10, show the right passenger side of the truck is without a wheel.

Once police responded, authorities said Dunham refused to stop and continued driving through several communities including West Warwick and ending in East Greenwich. The chase never eclipsing the speed limit, according to the report.

Police said the truck had been reported stolen by the Boston Fire Department Training Academy earlier in the day, the report said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 22:33:36|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The British government should avoid "setting dates" for when to lift lockdown despite hopes that the coronavirus infection levels are falling due to vaccine rollout, a government advisory scientist said Friday.

Graham Medley, a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said leaders should not be "driven by a calendar".

The pandemic could still go in two directions, up or down, and "it's up to the government to decide which of those paths it takes", Medley told the BBC.

The scientist suggested a strategy of "adaptive management so you actually change the control of the epidemic as it goes along rather than setting dates."

"To actually make decisions dependent on the circumstances, rather than being driven by a calendar of wanting to do things," Medley said.

On Thursday, British vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi told lawmakers that almost nine in 10 over 80s and over 75s, and over half of people in their 70s, had been vaccinated in Britain.

Zahawi said Britain is "getting safer every day" as more people get coronavirus vaccines, but the infection level is still "alarmingly high".

Nearly 10.5 million people in Britain have been given the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that Britain remains "on track" to complete the vaccination of the top priority groups, which cover 15 million people, by mid-February. Britain aims to offer all adults their first dose by autumn.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem

[February 05, 2021] Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Announces Proposed Settlement in the Precision Castparts Corp. Securities Settlement

The following statement is being issued by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP regarding the Precision Castparts Corp. Securities Settlement: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF OREGON

PORTLAND DIVISION







NECA-IBEW PENSION TRUST FUND (The No. 3:16-cv-01756-YY Decatur Plan), and ANN F. LYNCH, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE ANGELA LOHMANN CLASS ACTION REVOCABLE TRUST, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, SUMMARY NOTICE Plaintiffs, vs. PRECISION CASTPARTS CORP., MARK DONEGAN, DON R. GRABER, LESTER L. LYLES, DANIEL J. MURPHY, VERNON E. OECHSLE, ULRICH SCHMIDT, RICHARD L. WAMBOLD and TIMOTHY A. WICKS, Defendants.

TO: ALL PERSONS WHO PURCHASED, SOLD, OR HELD PRECISION CASTPARTS CORP. ("PRECISION") COMMON STOCK DURING THE PERIOD FROM AND INCLUDING OCTOBER 9, 2015, THE RECORD DATE FOR PRECISION'S SPECIAL MEETING REGARDING THE SALE OF PRECISION TO BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. (THE "MERGER"), THROUGH AND INCLUDING THE CONSUMMATION OF THE MERGER ON (News - Alert) JANUARY 29, 2016 (THE "CLASS"). YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to an Order of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, Portland Division, that a hearing will be held on May 7, 2021, at 1:00 p.m., before the Honorable Youlee Yim You at the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, Portland Division, United States Federal Building and Courthouse, 1000 S.W. Third Ave., Portland, Oregon 97204, for the purpose of determining: (1) whether the proposed Settlement1 of the Litigation for $21 million should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) whether a Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal with Prejudice should be entered by the Court dismissing the Litigation with prejudice and releasing the Released Claims; (3) whether the Plan of Allocation for the Net Settlement Fund is fair, reasonable, and adequate and should be approved; and (4) whether the application of Lead Counsel for the payment of attorneys' fees and expenses and any award to Lead Plaintiffs pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 78u-4(a)(4) should be approved.2 IF YOU PURCHASED, SOLD OR HELD PRECISION COMMON STOCK DURING THE PERIOD FROM AND INCLUDING OCTOBER 9, 2015 THROUGH AND INCLUDING JANUARY 29, 2016, YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF THIS LITIGATION, INCLUDING THE RELEASE AND EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS YOU MAY POSSESS RELATING TO YOUR OWNERSHIP OF PRECISION COMMON STOCK DURING THE CLASS PERIOD. If you have not received a detailed Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action ("Notice") and a copy of the Proof of Claim and Release form, you may obtain copies by writing to Precision Shareholder Litigation, c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC, Claims Administrator, P.O. Box (News - Alert) 43365, Providence, RI 02940-3365, or on the Internet at www.PrecisionShareholderLitigation.com. If you are a Class Member, in order to share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, you must submit a Proof of Claim and Release by mail (postmarked no later than May 6, 2021), or online at www.PrecisionShareholderLitigation.com no later than May 6, 2021, establishing that you are entitled to recovery. If you purchased or acquired Precision common stock during the Class Period, and you desire to be excluded from the Class, you must submit a request for exclusion so that it is postmarked no later than April 16, 2021, in the manner and form explained in the detailed Notice referred to above. All Members of the Class who do not timely and validly request exclusion from the Class will be bound by any judgment entered in the Litigation pursuant to the Stipulation of Settlement. Any objection to the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, Lead Counsel's request for attorneys' fees and expenses, or Lead Counsel's request for time and expenses must be received by each of the following recipients no later than April 16, 2021: CLERK OF THE COURT

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF OREGON

PORTLAND DIVISION

United States Federal Building and Courthouse

1000 S.W. Third Avenue

Portland, OR 97204 Lead Counsel: ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP

A. Rick Atwood Jr.

Esther Lee Bylsma

655 West Broadway, Suite 1900

San Diego, CA (News - Alert) 92101 BERGER MONTAGUE PC

Lawrence Deutsch

1818 Market Street, Suite 3600

Philadelphia, PA 19103 Counsel for Defendants: CRAVATH, SWAINE & MOORE, LLP

Justin C. Clarke

825 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10019-7475 PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE. If you have any questions about the Settlement, you may contact Lead Counsel at the address listed above. DATED: January 15, 2021 BY ORDER OF THE COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF OREGON 1 Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein have the meaning given to them in the Stipulation of Settlement. 2 In light of the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Court may decide to conduct the Final Approval Hearing by video or telephone conference, or otherwise allow Class Members to appear at the hearing by telephone or video without further notice to the Class. No further notice of such decision will be provided to the Class. In order to determine whether the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing have changed, or whether Class Members must or may participate by phone or video, it is important that you monitor the Settlement website, www.PrecisionShareholderLitigation.com, before making any plans to attend the Final Approval Hearing. Any updates will be posted to the Settlement website. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005003/en/

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MSU Plans Several Black History Month Activities

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MURRAY - Murray State University is hosting a variety of programs, resources and opportunities for the campus and greater community throughout Black History Month.The university says events began on Wednesday with a Black History Month welcome on the Quad by Black Student Council.Programs include a Black Student Council Scribes & Vibes Poetry Contest, Poster Contest, Black History Trivia Night, and much more.A variety of speaker programs and virtual events will have discussions and provide a platform for speakers and others to share their wisdom and expertise on topics related to Black heritage.Speakers include Dr. Eddie Glaude, Mr. Steve Stephens, II, Ms. Corrine Witherspoon, Dr. D. Akil Houston, Dr. Kelvin King, Odell A. Bizzell, II and others.Murray State University Libraries is sharing a variety of resources on African-American history including access to many scholarly journals, e-books and more.Click the link below to learn more about the various events and resources celebrating Black History Month and how to participate in both virtual and in-person session.On the Net:
Parents, teachers and members of the Beaumont ISD administration are expressing confusion and outrage at a decision by district officials to remove elements of a Black History Month mural deemed too political.

Photos of the Olympic Power Salute at Vincent Middle School were taken down but returned after feedback from the parents; however, a collection of clenched fists decorated by students were not replaced.

The students have covered that spot with construction paper that spells out Insert Black Fist Here!

They came through and made the principals take down the fists and the 1968 Olympic Power Salute. They said it was political, Mikelle Patillo, a long-term substitute teacher who worked on the mural with students, said. Prior to that, there was a complaint received to BISD stating that the wall was inciting violence, so the chief of police came and he had to check the wall.

In a statement, BISD spokesperson Denise McLean said Beaumont ISD administrators received a complaint through email last Friday about the Black History Month bulletin board at the middle school.

Upon review, the administration determined that the majority of the art displayed celebrated historical figures and achievements in the African-American community, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Michael Jackson, Olympians, and others, McLean said in the statement. However, a small portion of the art included emblems that are perceived as politically controversial and not pedagogically related to Black history.

Patillo, and a growing chorus of voices, disagree.

How can I incorporate as much new Black history information for these children as possible? Patillo asked when starting the design. The theme came into my head  soul train into Black history. The train tracks at the top, which is history in itself, and then the mural is a timeline through different aspects of Black history.

The 1968 Olympic Black Power Salute was a seminal moment in civil rights history, where Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two top-performing athletes, used their moment on the international stage to stand in solidarity with the Black Power movement.

I told them, excuse me?, Black History is more than Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and slavery, Patillo told The Enterprise. We are more than that. And (the students) need to know that.

Another part of the display that included the names of Black people killed by police and events that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement were also taken down.

Beaumont ISD Board President Thomas Sigee told The Enterprise the move could be seen as a lesson for students.

We are trying to raise these students, and engage them in their education, Sigee said. What is history to one student is not history to another. I dont know how many people were offended by it.

Sigee also said that students dont understand the Black Lives Matter movement.

I dont think they actually understand the Black Lives movement right now, he said.

One parent emailed Patillo after their children said the art they created had been taken down.

We all have freedom of speech and it is Black History Month, the parent said. It is concerning that my children have to go to school and be concerned about the color of their skin.

The part of the mural that was removed was a collection of clenched fists, associated over the years with fighting back against oppression and authority. It was the symbol of the Black Panther Party, and raised by Nelson Mandela after he was released from prison in 1990.

Most recently, the fist has been associated with Black Lives Matter, a grassroots response to police brutality that has grown in recent years into a global movement.

Patillo said it was hard to explain the move to her students, who were dismayed and confused about the administrations decision.

I tell them theres some people who are above in BISD that werent comfortable with the fists and we had to take it down, she said.

Amanda Mitchell, who has one student in the district but not in the class, also expressed concern.

We cannot pick and choose what parts of history to teach our children. Some parts of history is offensive but that doesnt mean we shouldnt teach our children, she said. Being offended and thus removing parts of this mural is the first step in drastically changing how Black history is taught in schools.

An administrator, who spoke to BISD on the condition of anonymity due to districts policy against speaking to the media, said it was one of the most egregious actions she has seen in her time at the district.

The truth is, coming into the schoolhouse, telling them to take it down is brutal. It is hurtful, and the damage is already done. This is going to be a forever memory.

McLean said the district only removed the items unrelated to the educational purpose of Black History Month.

The district has a rich history of celebrating Black History including, district-wide participation in the city Martin Luther King, Jr. parade, Black History wax museums, choir programs, and fine arts parades, Know Your History contests, dress-up days, and soul food luncheons; and we will continue the tradition in ways that are educationally appropriate, she said.

Sigee said that he would welcome discussion of the matter at the board of trustees, adding that he doesnt want the incident to be overblown.

I dont want this incident to grow into a mountain, because it doesnt need to be there, he said. I hope the children learn something from this. This is Black History Month, and I feel they need to be able to express themselves in this particular situation. We dont want to suppress Black History Month, but we need to make sure that what we do is appropriate.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
[February 05, 2021] At Williams-Sonoma, Inc., Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is an Ongoing Commitment

In honor of Black History Month, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM), the world's largest digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer, has deepened our commitment to our Equity Action Plan, established in June 2020. The plan outlines a set of actions that we are committed to in the fight for racial justice and equity, including: Philanthropic support and long-term partnerships with non-profit organizations that advocate for racial justice and equity; Increasing Black representation across our company, and among our vendors, partners and collaborators; and Reinforcing an internal culture of inclusion and belonging. "Diversity, equity and inclusion are values core to Williams-Sonoma, Inc. We, as a company, made the commitment to work toward racial equity, recognizing that our actions ultimately matter most. Together with our associates, our Equity Action non-profit partners and our business partners, we will continue to use our collective power to drive and advocate for positive change," said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer. Since the launch of this Equity Action Plan, we have dedicated time, talent and financial support to carry out its commitments. "We acted quickly to deliver on the commitments in a short time through the passion and dedication of our associates and partners, and we know our work has just begun. There is so much more we can do, together," said Karalyn Smith, Chief Talent Officer. Philanthropic support expands beyond national organizations to local non-profits in the communities we serve We formed ongoing partnerships with three national non-profit leaders: NAACP, National Urban League and Jackie Robinson Foundation, launching efforts to support their missions. In honor of Black History Month, we launched a donation campaign across our brands where we invite our customers to get involved by supporting these three organizations and the work they do. At a local level, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has committed $1 million to match employee donations to qualified racial justice and equity non-profits, to support the positive impact of these non-profits in our communities. We now have local community partnerships with over 20 non-profits across the country, like CAMBA in Brooklyn and the Hidden Genius (News - Alert) Project in the Bay Area, focused on improving education and supporting community development projects fighting for racial equity. Representation of Black talent hs increased, diversifying our workforce, partners and product offerings, with clear goals established to grow representation at all levels of leadership



We are proud of our progress in increasing our representation of Black talent across levels and workforces. We broadened our talent pipeline for both full-time and intern positions by partnering with over 150 organizations, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, BRAG and blackjobs.com. All open jobs since launching our Equity Action Plan have a diverse slate of candidates, and we incorporated unconscious bias training into the hiring processes. In addition to these talent initiatives, our brands are consciously increasing Black representation among our vendors, partners and collaborators. We are excited to share our new initiatives and continue to forge new partnerships to increase the diversity of our offerings:

West Elm has taken the 15% Pledge to increase its representation of Black-owned businesses and is featuring Black artists, designers and makers in its assortment, found in stores and online. You can meet these innovative makers in the weekly Instagram "Meet the Maker" series.

Pottery Barn has launched its partnership with the Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG) to work with its community of creators, artists, and design professionals to bring Black Excellence in design and artistry to our customers.

Pottery Barn Kids has launched a partnership with Conscious Kid to offer curated book bundles that celebrate diversity and help promote healthy racial identity development in youth.

Williams Sonoma is highlighting the important work Black chefs are doing by featuring an online collection of cookbooks written by Black authors filled with recipes, stories and the diversity of the Black experience in the food industry and Black culture in America. Reinforcing an internal culture of inclusion and belonging remains a core value and focus We introduced new forums to deepen our associates' learning about diversity, equity, race and bias while intentionally reinforcing our culture of inclusion. These events have brought together individuals across teams in dialogue, opening up sometimes difficult, and always valuable, conversations. Our Black Associate Network continues to play an impactful role in creating a culture of belonging, alongside our other associate networks and our Equity Action Committee, comprised of a diverse group of leaders across teams. For more information on Williams-Sonoma, Inc.'s continued efforts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as all of our other sustainability initiatives, visit https://sustainability.williams-sonomainc.com/. ABOUT WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the world's largest digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer. The company's products, representing distinct merchandise strategies - Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham - are marketed through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs and retail stores. These brands are also part of The Key Rewards, our free-to-join loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits across the Williams-Sonoma family of brands. We operate in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offer international shipping to customers worldwide, and have unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico and South Korea, as well as e-commerce websites in certain locations. WSM-PR View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005473/en/

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Topic 1: SMCC: NV GEBE discriminates among customers

Topic 2: SMCC: When fuel clause GEBE will be corrected?

Topic 3: SMCC: Snail pace of NRPB rebuilding back better stronger homes

Topic 4: SMAPP: Cuts in (semi)public remuneration now in legislation violating human rights

Topic 5: SMAPP: Unlawful proceedings of PM Silveria Jacobs and COM to please the Dutch

Topic 1: SMCC: NV GEBE discriminates among its customers.

NO RELIEF: PAYMENT PLAN OR DISCONNECTION. NV GEBE announced in a press release published on Tuesday Feb. 2, 2021, that after months of suspended disconnection of its electricity and water services, the company will be resuming its monthly standard course of action to collect outstanding funds. During the early part of 2020, and several times thereafter, NV GEBE halted the disconnection of services to allow the financial recovery of its customers who were experiencing economic difficulties due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We fully recognize that the pandemic continues to be a time of hardship for many of us, however, there are many customers who had not made any attempt to take advantage of the opportunity to set up a payment plan or to make any payments. Is not there any relief possible for these consumers with hardship?

RELIEF FOR CERTAIN SENIORS. In a press statement from January 25, 2021 Dr. Sharine Daniel, Interim Manager of NV GEBE confirmed and we quote her to have said: "A lot of people are struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of all consumers in the more than 13.000 poor and needy households in St Maarten the Interim Manager of GEBE said: Seniors are an especially vulnerable group; we are pleased to at least be able to provide some financial relief. She said so on the occasion of the launch of GEBEs yearly Senior Citizens temporarily relief 62+ program, to assist seniors with their monthly utility bills. As Consumers Coalition we agree that a lot of seniors need financial relief. Because not even their recent old age pension increase took them out of poverty! But what about GEBE relief for other persons in households struggling with hardship?

ONLY CERTAIN SENIORS. This program is geared towards certain eligible Senior Citizens and its aim is to reduce the electricity costs for those individuals that qualify for this program. Why does not GEBE come with a relief for all the consumers of electricity? Not only in this time of the pandemic, but for years the poor and needy households in St Maarten are struggling every month to survive! Why not a relief for all the more than 13.000 poor and needy households, who are also vulnerable and are struggling in this time of the pandemic to pay their electricity bills?

WHY NO RELIEF FOR ALL CONSUMERS? From March to August last year GEBE gave a relief in the fuel clause amount to all consumers. The average fuel clause before COVID 19 was between 0.23 to 0.29 cents per Kwh. Since the COVID-19 GEBE has granted a relief in the form of a flat fuel clause rate of NAF. 0.18 cents per KWh. This reduced price of fuel clause went into effect from April 1, 2020, for 6 months. Which consumers are entitled to financial relief? Why are seniors the only consumers entitled to financial relief with their monthly utility bills? Should nt all consumers be treated equal? Why cannot GEBE provide all consumers with a relief in their monthly electricity bill?

TARIFFS. According to article 12 sub 4 of the electricity concession ordinance, the tariffs GEBE may charge are regulated in a national decree of general measures. The tariffs are based on the cost of investments and operational company activities. Based on social considerations tariffs might be different.[1] The fuel clause is not included in the operational costs of the company, but is being charged separately of the decreed tariffs.

FUEL CLAUSE. For quite some years now GEBE has been charging the consumers apart from tariffs approved by government, a fuel clause which determines more than half of the monthly electricity bill! The fuel clause is a fluctuating monthly cost that is calculated based on the fuel prices *locally* which NV GEBE then charges to the customer based on the consumed electricity during one billing period. While worldwide the prices of oil dropped hitting last year a 30 year low,[2] still GEBE is charging us the consumers a fuel clause which has not dropped! Why cannot the fuel clause drop or be eliminated?

NON-DISCRIMINATION. According to article 12 sub 3 of the same electricity concession ordinance, GEBE has to deliver electricity to all consumers under the same conditions[3]. In other words, GEBE is not allowed to discriminate among its consumers. If GEBE is not allowed to discriminate among its consumers, we have the following question for the interim manager of GEBE and the Minister of VROMI responsible for GEBE: based on which article in the electricity concession, GEBE is allowed to provide certain senior citizens a relief in their monthly bill to pay? Based on which article in the ordinance other consumers cannot get a relief in their monthly electricity bill?

Seniors relief is money of the company which is provided to certain seniors, who according to GEBE criteria qualify, to cover some part or the entire monthly electricity bill. Based on art 12 sub 5 GEBE has to reinvest money generated by the company (with the exception of the profit) in its entirety to cover investment or the cost of operational activities.[4] So the relief cannot be based on art 12 sub 5. Based on which article in the concession GEBE can provide only certain seniors with a relief, and not all the consumers of GEBE electricity? We appeal hereby publicly to GEBEs Interim Manager and to the Minister of VROMI to answer the questions raised.

Topic 2: SMCC: When fuel clause GEBE will be corrected?

NV GEBE explains on its website in one of its Frequently Asked Questions What the fuel clause is: Fuel oil (diesel) is used to generate electricity in Sint Maarten. The cost of fuel oil greatly outweighs the cost of other things necessary to provide our customers with electricity. Some of this cost is recovered in the basic electricity rate structure, while customers pay the remainder as a Fuel Clause. The Fuel Clause allows both increases and decreases in fuel costs to be passed on to customers automatically. Oil prices worldwide in the last 30 years have dropped! Why the fuel costs decreased is not being passed on to the consumers?

The ST Maarten based advisors of Mango Green Energy have on many occasions in the past offered GEBE advice and presentations. They even invited them to their presentation in Brazil in 2011 at the Smart Electricity Symposium. Many countries around the world are making use of their concept, which was endorsed by the UNDP as sustainable energy for all. What is their concept? They present solutions on how to Integrate a multi-functional infrastructure of energy distribution systems to reduce cost of services to the clients.

Transition to a digital distribution infrastructure, gives utility companies many new tools to help their customers save energy or water.

GEBE customers are still waiting on GEBE to deliver the benefits of the new systems like other utilities have delivered many cost reduction options for their customers. When will the fuel costs be decreased and being passed on to the consumers?

Topic 3: SMCC: Silence about the NRPB program building back better stronger homes

We are 5 months away from the hurricane season of 2021. What is the status of the home repair since Irma. What is the status of the building back better and stronger program of the NRPB?

In July 2018, almost 3 years ago, the former Ombudsman of Sint Maarten, Dr. Nilda Arduin and the National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen, called on their governments to hurry to rebuild Sint Maarten in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

In the report Home Repair. A revelation of a social crisis of October 2019, of more than 16 months ago, the current ombudsman of Sint Maarten, Gwendolien Mossel, described how residents - and in particular the most vulnerable - experience the delayed reconstruction. The conclusion was that reconstruction is now a social crisis. That is why she presented a number of recommendations and has made a film that shows the harrowing stories of the affected residents.

What happened since then with the home repair? How many of the 13.000 to 15.000 homes that had to be build back better and stronger have been rebuild? What happened with the persons who registered for the home repair program after hurricane Irma? How many of these registered residents got their homes repaired? How many new registrations for home repair the 2020 campaign of the Ministry of VSA has received? How many homes the Red Cross have repaired?

Are these homes now more resilient than before? The new hospital construction was redesigned to resist a CAT 5+ hurricane. How the social homes for the people have to be constructed to be hurricane and earthquake proof? When this new hurricane and earthquake resistant building code has been approved?

On the campaign trail we heard one politician speaking about construction of 1000 new homes? The minister of VROMI wants to develop Philipsburg and build some homes or apartments above some commercial spaces. Until today the Minister of VROMI did not present one proposal to rebuild homes in the neighborhoods of the people. He gave instructions to repair some roads going to these neighborhoods. When will we hear his project to rebuild the homes in the districts were the people live?

Is there an update of the report of the Ombudsman about how many homes have been repaired?

What is the quality of the home repair that took place? Everyone who has a complaint about the quality of the home repair can contact our Consumer Coalition or whose home is not rebuild back better and stronger can contact our lawyer Cor Merx who will address your individual complaint.

Those that still need home repair but for whatever reason did not get help yet, please contact our Consumer Coalition.

Topic 4: SMAPP: Cuts in (semi)public remuneration now in legislation violating human rights

With the adoption of the three legislations in Parliament yesterday the Dutch imposed 12.5% cuts in remunerations of civil servants and semi-public workers benefits, as well as the 25% cut in remunerations of elected and appointed public officials, and the introduction of the Jacobs norm and the 130% maximum on remunerations of higher ranking employees in public and semi-public sector, the human rights of the persons who will be affected by the cuts will be legally violated. This is a gross violation of article 81 of the constitution of St Maarten which all citizens, appointed (ministers) as well as elected public officials (parliamentarians) have to respect!

Last week we illustrated how International Labor Conventions (the Equal remunerations Convention and the Collective Bargaining Convention) were violated. Contrary to art 2 of the ILO Equal Remuneration Convention C100, and contrary to art 3 of the same ILO Convention which stipulates that remuneration must be based on an objective job classification or evaluation[5], the legislation to cut the remunerations in Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten is not based on an objective job classification evaluation.

Today we will explain how two United Nation treaties are being violated. The cost-cutting measures imposed by the Kingdom government to get COVID 19 liquidity support, which our Council of Ministers and now also our parliament agreed to implement, as conditions to get the liquidity support tranches, affect the public and semi-public workers regressively in their acquired economic social and cultural rights. This is in violation of art 2.1 of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights[6]. This article states:

Article 2.1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps, individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures

As these regressive solidarity measures are only imposed on workers in the three Caribbean countries of the Kingdom, this is in violation of the non-discrimination principle anchored in art 2.2. of the same covenant. This article reads as follows:

Article 2.2The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

This is what we call geopolitical discrimination within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Why we say so? Because these cuts were not imposed on the workers in the Netherlands nor in the BES-islands!

Furthermore this discrimination is an act of social and racial discrimination within the Kingdom, according to art 1 and 2 of the International Convention on Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination[7].

Article 1.1. In this Convention, the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

Article 2.1. States Parties condemn racial discrimination and undertake to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms and promoting understanding among all races, and, to this end: (a) Each State Party undertakes to engage in no act or practice of racial discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions and to ensure that all public authorities and public institutions, national and local, shall act in conformity with this obligation;

By not promoting equal remunerations, but by implementing cuts only in Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten, even our local public authorities and public institutions such as the Council of Ministers and Parliament are not complying with this article in the treaty. This violation is worsening the inequality between the remunerations of workers in the European part and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands!!

The mandate from the members of all the seven unions in the WICLU represented clearly instructed the WICLU to get all these discriminatory regressive measures off the table! Therefore, as unions we will address these violations of workers rights and human rights with the Ombudsman and internationally with the International labor Organization and the United Nations human rights bodies, now that the government of the Netherlands (as Kingdom government), the government of ST Maarten and the parliament of ST Maarten have joined Knopsy and Co in violating the workers rights and the human rights, we have no other recourse than to denounce these violations internationally!!

Topic 5: SMAPP: Unlawful proceedings of PM Silveria Jacobs and COM to please the Dutch government.

In our press conference of last week Thursday we informed the public about incorrect statements made in two draft ordinances to cut in remunerations of workers in the public sector and in the semi-public sector to explain why the government sidelined the unions of the Windward Island Chamber of Labor Unions. Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs in response to our information went a step further in a live Facebook Prime Minister talks program of January 30th. In her topic of Communication she called our trusted sources as providing misinformation. Well here are the facts Prime Minister SIlveria Jacobs she did not bring in her 10 minutes talk to explain why the Dutch conditions were accepted. The Prime Minister did not follow the laws. When did the Prime Minister presented the draft ordinances to the unions to be negotiated? Never. When the negotiation with the unions took place on the proposed content of the draft ordinances? Never. Where in which law meeting with civil servants instead of with the unions is allowed to replace negotiations government has to held with the unions? Prime Minister did not tell you. In other words, based on what letter of the law sidelining unions and not negotiating with the unions was allowed? Stating that the unions did not want to meet with the Council of Ministers is a blatant lie: here are the facts and judge for yourself. We will file a formal complaint with the Ombudsman and present all these facts also.

After the January 2020 elections a new governing coalition was formed and a new Council of Ministers was sworn in on March 28, 2020. The Windward Islands Chamber of Labor Unions as the most representative organization of workers in Sint with Maarten requested a dialogue with the new Council of Ministers on the status of workers rights in letters to the Council of Ministers (COM) of March 31, 2020. This dialogue became more urgent when in the local newspapers was reported that the Council of Ministers on May 20th, 2020 unconditionally agreed with the Dutch conditions for the 2nd tranche of liquidity support.

On May 28th, 2020 the Chamber of Labor Unions repeated our request to have a dialogue with the Council of Ministers, since our request from March 28th was not honored yet!

On the website from the Second Chamber we found letters from State Secretary Knops informing the 2nd chamber of the conditions which were unconditionally accepted by the Council of Ministers of St Maarten! The unions started to mobilize their members for informative meetings in the Jose Lake ball park (Little League stadium) and received a clear mandate not to accept any cuts in the remunerations of the workers based on international UN human rights treaties and ILO labor conventions.

On June the 9th the first meeting between the Council of Ministers and the Chamber of Labor Unions was held. Did the Chamber of Labor Unions receive the conditions unconditionally accepted by the Council of Ministers? No. The unions were informed that the correspondence with the Kingdom Council of Ministers was confidential and could not be shared. To continue the dialogue government requested the WICLU unions to put their position on the conditions in writing.

By letter of June 12th the WICLU informed the COM of her position on the workers and human rights violations in the liquidity support conditions, which the COM wanted to implement.

It was after manifestations in the street and after a meeting with members of the parliament of St Maarten on June 24th that on June 25th, 2020 parties were called to continue the dialogue at the table. No consensus was reached on the issues tabled by the WICLU. In other words, since the request of the Chamber of Labor Unions for a dialogue of March 28th, only two meetings between parties to dialogue were held (on June 9th, 2020 and on June 25th, 2020). The Council of Ministers promised to answer the letters of March 31, May 28, and June 12 of the WICLU, which answers are still not forthcoming!

On July 14th, 2020 the Council of Ministers called a meeting with stakeholders among which the Chamber of Labor Unions to inform them about the Dutch governments proposal of a consensus Kingdom law to establish a Caribbean Reform Entity and the position of the Council of Ministers which would be presented in the Kingdom Council of Ministers of July 15nd. Again no documentation was presented as this was confidential!

Until today no dialogue, no negotiation was concluded between the Council of Ministers and the Chamber of Labor Unions on the Dutch conditions imposed on the governments of Curacao, Aruba and St Maarten to get COVID 19 liquidity support.

Until today the three draft laws were not presented discussed in the Social Economic Council.

Until today the three draft laws discussed in Parliament last week and this week were not presented to the unions of the Chamber of Labor Unions, neither to the Committee of Civil Servants Unions.

Separate meetings with the Committee of Civil Servants Unions (CCSU) Government as employer from the workers in government started to discuss her proposals on implementing the 12.5% cut in remunerations of the workers in government. The CCSU meetings should not be confused with the dialogue and the negotiations the Chamber of Labor Unions has requested with the Council of Ministers! The CCSU had representatives of only two civil servant unions: WICSU and WITU. Two other civil servant unions ABVO-SXM and NAPB were not part of the CCSU. SMCU and WIFOL representing semi-public workers, SMCU and WIFOL were also not represented in the CCSU. In other words, four of the six unions in the Chamber of Labor Unions of which governments intention was to legislate changes in their labor conditions of their workers, were not represented in the CCSU. ABVO-SXM in September was admitted to the CCSU, the three other unions NAPB, SMCU and WIFOL representing public and semipublic workers were still not at the table to negotiate the proposal of government (imposed by the Dutch government) to change the labor conditions of workers and semipublic workers!

According to the ILO Convention on Collective Bargaining we illustrated last week how the government violated this international treaty ratified by the Kingdom applicable in St Maarten. Therefore, the Council of Ministers is unlawful and violating article 81b of the Constitution of St Maarten. Until today there is no agreement with the Windward Islands Chamber of Labor Unions. Until today the Prime Minister has not negotiated a consensus with the unions.

Even a Memorandum of Understanding drafted by the Windward Island Chamber of Labor Unions and a request of the Unions to discuss this with the Council of Ministers until today the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers has not addressed with the unions.

Parliament invited the Windward Island Chamber of Labor Unions to a meeting in Parliament on September 30th were members of parliament were informed by the WICLU about the facts about the development of the dialogue with government and the negotiation status.

So when did the Prime Minister had negotiations with the WICLU-unions on the cuts legislation adopted yesterday in Parliament? When did the Council of Ministers reached to an agreement with the unions as a basis for the legislation discussed in Parliament? When parties signed an agreement which formed the basis for the legislation presented to advisory bodies the GOA, the SER, the Advisory Council? Union representatives in the GOA and in the SER have not seen any draft legislation which was adopted yesterday in parliament! This is in violation of the procedure to establish national legislations and therefore unlawful!

Next week the unions will denounce these unlawful proceedings formally to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has six weeks to review the adopted legislation. The WICLU will request the Ombudsman to present the adopted laws to the Constitutional Court!

[1] National Ordinance Electricity concession. Art 12 sub 4 De tarieven die de concessiehouder voor de aansluiting op het distributienet en de levering van elektriciteit aan de gebruiker in rekening mag brengen, worden vastgesteld bij landsbesluit, houdende algemene maatregelen. De vaststelling vindt plaats op basis van kostenorientatie ter zake van investeringen en operationele bedrijfsactiviteiten van de concessiehouder inzake de opwekking, distributie en levering van elektriciteit, voor zover de concessie daarop betrekking heeft. Op grond van sociale overwegingen kan hiervan voor bepaalde categorieen gebruikers worden afgeweken.

[2] Oil hit $0.01 a barrel before falling to as low as negative $40 and eventually settling at negative $37.63, the lowest level recorded since the New York Mercantile Exchange began trading oil futures in 1983. https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/493688-oil-trades-below-8-a-barrel-hitting-30-year-low

[3] National Ordinance Electricity concession. Art 12 sub 3. De aansluiting op het distributienet en de levering van elektriciteit aan een gebruiker vinden plaats op grond van redelijke, objectieve en non-discriminatoire voorwaarden overeenkomstig hetgeen terzake in de concessie is bepaald.

[4] National Ordinance Electricity concession. Art 12 sub 5.Inkomsten uit de levering van elektriciteit aan gebruikers in Sint Maarten, met uitzondering van de daarmee gerealiseerde winst, worden volledig aangewend ter dekking van de kosten van investeringen en operationele bedrijfsactiviteiten van de concessiehouder ten behoeve van de natuurlijke personen en rechtspersonen die in Sint Maarten woonachtig of gevestigd zijn.

[5] https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C100

[6] https://www.ohchr.org/EN/professionalinterest/pages/cescr.aspx

[7] https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cerd.aspx
ANA Holdings Inc. plans to reduce its workforce in the aviation business by roughly 20 percent over the next five years through natural attrition to cut costs and cope with the COVID-19 crisis that has depressed travel demand, sources familiar with the matter said Friday.

The parent of All Nippon Airways Co. expects the number of employees in the business to fall to 30,000 by March 2026 from 38,000 estimated at the end of March this year by reducing new hires and with retirement, the sources said.

The plan is the latest effort by the major Japanese airline to meet a goal of slashing costs by 100 billion yen ($950 million) over the five-year period. ANA Holdings estimates a record net loss of 510 billion yen ($4.8 billion) in the current business year ending in March, as it is struggling to deal with a slump in air travelers with no immediate end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic. - Kyodo
Last Tuesday, as India celebrated a national holiday commemorating its democratic constitution, thousands of farmers marched and drove their tractors through New Delhi. It was the latest in a series of protests against agricultural reforms that many farmers fear will allow large corporations to crush them. Police tear-gassed the demonstrators and charged at the crowd with batons; as Vidya Krishnan wrote in The Atlantic, the dueling imagesa celebration of Indias democracy on the one hand, the crushing of dissent on the otherwere carried on a split screen by many news channels, inadvertently offering the perfect visual metaphor for modern India. A twenty-five-year-old farmer named Navreet Singh was killed during the protest; officials claimed that he died in a tractor accident, but witnesses said that police shot Singh in the headan account supported by photographic evidence. Singhs family has alleged a cover-up. One doctor told me that my grandson was hit by a gunshot, Hardip Singh Dibdiba, Singhs grandfather, told The Guardian, but said they could not write that a bullet killed him.

Indian authorities have since filed sedition and other charges against at least nine journalists who reported on, or merely tweeted about, Singhs death and the protests; some members of the press have been subjected to extrajudicial harassment and threats. Under Indian law, sedition carries a possible penalty of life imprisonment. The editors of two prominent independent news outletsVinod K. Jose, of the magazine The Caravan, and Siddharth Varadarajan, of the news website The Wirewere among those charged. On Saturday, police detained two more reportersMandeep Punia, a Caravan contributor, and Dharmender Singh, of Online News Indiaas they covered ongoing farmers protests in New Delhi. Kanwardeep Singh, a reporter with the Times of India, told The Guardian that his phone is under surveillance. The government, he believes, is trying to send him a message: Either I stop writing and stay safe or be ready to live my remaining life behind the bars.

Related: The killing of Gauri Lankesh

Its not just news organizations: in recent days, authorities have cracked down on social media, too. On Monday, Indias IT ministry ordered Twitter to take down accounts and tweets that criticized Narendra Modi, the prime minister, or that used the hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmersGenocide. The Caravans account was blocked, as were accounts belonging to Shashi Shekhar Vempanti, the CEO of a state broadcaster, and to a range of activists, commentators, and celebrities. A few hours later, Twitterwhich has said that it is compelled to respond to any properly scoped request from an authorized entity in countries where it operatesrestored the accounts, telling Modis government that they contained legitimate speech. The next day, officials restated their demands, and threatened Twitter employees in India with fines and lengthy jail terms should they refuse to comply. As the days went by, Modi also imposed repeated blocks on internet access in Delhi and swathes of Haryana state. Soon, Rihanna noticed, and managed to draw wide attention to the blackouts by tweeting a link to a CNN story with the question: Why arent we talking about this? Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist, also tweeted it, as well as a link to a toolkit offering resources for Indian protesters. New Delhi police are now investigating the origins of the toolkit. Yesterday, Modi supporters went into the streets and set fire to images of Rihanna, Thunberg, and other international critics, including Meena Harris, Kamalas niece.

Blocking the internet is not a new tactic in India, where Modi, a Hindu nationalist, has transformed the country from a secular democracy to a nation bent on repressing minorities, especially Muslims. Journalists, too, have been tyrannized. Modi and his allies have squeezed, bullied, and smothered the press into endorsing what they call the New India, as Dexter Filkins wrote for The New Yorker; Ashis Nandy, a psychologist who interviewed Modi in the nineties, told Filkins that he is a fascist in every sense. I dont mean this as a term of abuse. Its a diagnostic category. The Filkins piece was published at the end of 2019; that year, Indian officials shut off web access more than a hundred times, including a blanket five-month blockage in Kashmir that was the longest ever imposed in a democracy. The Kashmir blackout obstructed independent journalism at a crucial moment, as Rozina Ali wrote for CJR: it is a Muslim-majority territory, and Modis government had just revoked its automomy. The same year, the government revoked the dual citizenship of Aatish Taseer, a British-Indian journalist who wrote a critical profile of Modi for Time. Last year, as Lewis Page reported for CJR, government-aligned mobs terrorized journalists during yet another burst of anti-Muslim violence, and Indias Supreme Court ordered news organizations to publish official messaging about the pandemic. In October, police beat and detained Ahan Penkar, a correspondent for The Caravan, while he was covering a protest about sexual violence. All the while, Modis government found other ways to hinder independent reporting, including by withholding government advertising money for TV stations.

As the repression of Indias free press has intensified, female reporters, in particular, have faced increasingly dire threats. In 2017, assassins in Karnataka state gunned down Gauri Lankesh, a journalist who had investigated Hindu nationalism and violence against women. In 2018, Annie Gowen wrote for CJR about Modis contempt for the press, and described her own experience as a target of social media attacks, which escalated when I immersed myself in a project chronicling the rise of Hindu extremism under Modi. Last week, someone attempted to break into the home of Neha Dixit, a reporter who has covered Modis Bharatiya Janata Party; in recent months, shes received intimidating phone calls and death threats linked to her work, as often as five or six times a day. Rana Ayyub, a journalist who was central to Filkinss story in The New Yorker, has received relentless abuse, though she tweeted yesterday that she has never experienced anything like her treatment online in the past few days. If this is not intimidation, she wrote, I dont know what is. Even from a horrible baseline, as Indias latest press crackdown shows, things can always get worse.

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Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
Slaughter Beach, Dog

At the Moonbase

(Lame-O ***)

The last song on the fourth album by Slaughter Beach, Dog is called Notes From A Brief Engagement (At The Boot & Saddle).

Yes, the song is in part an ode to the South Philly club that became the most prominent Philadelphia venue lost amid COVID-19 shutdowns when it closed permanently in November.

But the poignant spoken-word-with-beats piece by Jake Ewald evokes more than just the Broad Street rock room the songwriter played so often in Lame-O Records showcases.

The song also captures the nervous energy at a hometown gig as it circles back on itself. Its hard to sing when Im holding my breath, Ewald talk-sings on the track. I look at the drums, I look at the crowd, adjust my frames and they slide back down. Its hard to sing when Im holding my breath.

It conjures the vibe of being out among friends, too  a simple pleasure long taken for granted and now so distant.

At the Moonbase is the best Slaughter Beach, Dog album yet, with closely observed songs of quarantine couplings like My Girl and Are You There. Theres also a nod to another Philly dive bar, in Song For Oscars.

Ewald plays most of the instruments himself, but the arrangements are more filled out and self confident, with saxophone player Will Schade classing up the proceedings and providing wistful grace notes that make the songs stick.

 Dan DeLuca

Slaughter Beach, Dog will celebrate this release of At the Moonbase with livestream performances at 9 p.m. Feb. 13 and 14, details at noonchorus.com/slaughter-beach-dog.

Gillian Welch

Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs

(Acony *** 1/2)

When Gillian Welch debuted with the aptly titled Revival, her sepia-toned narratives drawing deeply from bluegrass and Appalachian folk exerted a hypnotic pull. She and partner David Rawlings eventually expanded their musical palette, but they remain at their best when theyre performing by themselves and making the old sound astoundingly fresh.

Thats what you get on The Lost Songs, a three-CD feast of 48 previously unreleased recordings, all but one of them by Welch or Welch-Rawlings, and all performed by just the two of them.

They touch on folk, country, bluegrass, gospel, and blues, with Rawlings guitar, dobro, and other instruments punctuating Welchs acoustic strum and enhancing the emotional punch of the songs, whether theyre happy, or, as is the case most often, sad.

More hard times than I can endure, Welch confesses on Johnny Dear, the forlorn ballad that opens the set.

While the characters can be ancient archetypes  ramblers, convicts, cowboys, dreamers, jilted lovers  the duo invest them with universal resonance. It seems a lot of people are getting bad news, Welch sings on the relatively jaunty Hows About You. Well I used to have a dollar / Im gonna have a dime someday.

Resilience and optimism also course under these plainspoken but incisive songs, as in One Little Song, the finale: Theres gotta be a song left to sing / Cause everybody cantve thought of everything / One little song that aint been sung.

 Nick Cristiano

The Notwist

Vertigo Days

(Morr Music ***)

The Notwist perfected the blend of indie-rock guitars and glitchy electronics on their influential Neon Golden, which occupies a similar place in the German bands discography that Kid A does in Radioheads. They continue to explore the possibilities of synthesis on Vertigo Days, their eighth studio album (several soundtracks and other experiments notwithstanding).

Its the most collaborative album yet from the band fronted by brothers Markus and Micha Acher, with a globe-hopping array of guest vocalists (Japans Saya, Argentinas Juana Molina, Chicagos Ben Lamar Gay) plus American jazz clarinetist Angel Bat Dawida. Still, Markus Achers resigned, understated vocals anchor most tracks.

As on 2016s superb live set Superheroes, Ghostvillains & Stuff, songs flow into one another. The two-part Into Love / Stars, which moves from placid introspection to propulsive cacophony, is one example. But all the tracks could have a slash mark between them.

Its immersive stuff, and stronger as a whole than in its individual parts. Some tracks work best as bridges or abstractions before the next one snaps into focus with a lovely melody (Sans Soleil) or a sharp, motoric beat (Exit Strategy to Myself.) Its a shape-shifting album, with an underlying tone of foreboding anxiety.

 Steve Klinge
Asbestos: Ires said hazardous material had to be removed from the site. Stock photo

The countrys biggest private landlord, Ires Reit, has successfully appealed a demand from Dublin City Council for a 155,000 payment under vacant sites legislation.

And the listed property giant has criticised the council for registering the site at the centre of the dispute as being vacant in the first place.

Dublin City Council entered the site on the citys North Circular Road onto the vacant sites register in 2017. That was appealed by Ires Reit the same year, but the appeal was rejected.

The vacant sites register was established to encourage property owners to develop such sites and to discourage land hoarding.

Sites entered on the register attract a levy equivalent to 7pc of the value of the site. The rate was raised from 3pc in January 2020.

In May 2018, Dublin City Council valued the former motor showroom site on North Circular Road at just over 2.2m.

Ires Reit was hit with a 66,000 demand for the payment of a levy in relation to the site in February 2019 in respect of 2018. The second notice, for a levy of 155,000 in respect of 2019, was received in February last year.

The property investment group told An Bord Pleanala in its appeals against the levies, that it applied for planning permission for the site in 2017, which was granted in 2018.

That planning permission is for a mixed-use development, including three retail units and 61 apartments.

Ires Reit said work commenced in 2018, but asbestos at the location required specialised removal.

That wasnt fully done until the third quarter of 2019, it said. Further ground studies at the site detected hazardous contaminates. Final removal of those elements was undertaken in 2019 and construction began in February 2020.

The investment firm said that given the existence of so many contaminants at the location, the site should not have been considered vacant in the first place.

It said that the site at the time was not suitable for housing due to the presence of those contaminants, rendering it unfit for human habitation.

During 2018 and 2019, significant construction-related activity was taking place, according to Ires Reit.

An Bord Pleanala found that in respect of 2019, the appeal by Ires Reit is valid and that the site was not vacant. It cancelled the 155,000 levy.

However, it said that Ires had not submitted its appeal in relation to the levy demand in respect of 2018 in time.
" " Rong Bridge over the Han river in Da Nang is the longest bridge in Vietnam, offering a nightly display of lights and a weekly fire and water show. Mythungoc Photography/Getty Images

If you've never seen a fire breathing dragon bridge, then you've never seen the Rong Bridge in Da Nang, Vietnam.

The 2,185-foot-long (666-meter-long), six-lane bridge is the longest suspension bridge in Vietnam. Da Nang is one of the biggest port cities in Vietnam, and the Rong Bridge spans the Han River just before it empties into Da Nang Bay. This is all well and good, but the most exciting thing about the Rong Bridge is that it's shaped like a sinuous, sparkly golden dragon, modeled after the stylized dragons from the Ly Dynasty that ruled over Vietnam in the 11th and 12th centuries. The Rong Dragon also breathes fire on weekends after 9 p.m. and on special occasions.

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After a design contest in 2005 and a six-year construction period, the Rong Bridge opened in 2013, commemorating the 38th anniversary of the city's liberation in 1975 during the Vietnam War (which, in Vietnam, is called the American War). It cost $US85 million to build and it is currently the world's largest dragon-shaped steel bridge.

The bridge is spectacular any time of day, but at night it's lit up with 2,500 color-changing LED lights and on weekends and holidays the head of the dragon breathes fire or sometimes spits water out of its mouth. Not only has the bridge eased traffic congestion in the city, it has generated tourist income, linking the city with the eastern sea front, the airport and the UNESCO heritage town of Hoi An, an important port for the spice trade starting in the 15th century.

" " The Dragon Bridge in Da Nang, the third largest city of Vietnam, as it appears during the day. Jethuynh/Getty Images

Now That's Interesting The length and width of the 2,185-foot-long (666-meter-long), six-lane Rong Bridge was not an accident  the number 6 is considered lucky in Vietnam.
Someone once said, "The nice thing about telling the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said." I mention that quote because the definition of truth is getting a lot of attention recently. Yesterday, for example, a writer from The New York Times suggested that the Biden administration needs a truth czar.

The folks in Silicon Valley have taken an interest in the truth. On platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, they have opted for censorship over free speech. This, they say, is the only way to ensure that only the truth enters the marketplace of ideas. To this end, they have embraced censorship to eliminate non-conforming ideas from the marketplace of ideas.

With all the Silicon Valley money and influence in Washington, few are challenging this blatant censorship. Ordinary Americans reminisce about the good old days of free speech; they reminisce about the good old days of Pravda (ironically, the Russian word for "truth"). They think that, with a few good algorithms, they can move the North Star and reset the Plumb line. Such is the arrogance of the left and their swamp.

Do we deplorables claim to know the truth? Not fully. The Apostle Paul once wrote, "We see through a glass darkly." That means that we humans, with all our limitations and sin, cannot really see the truth. Jesus said, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life." We don't fully know the truth, but we know Who can lead us there.

One of our former leaders who recently had his statute removed from Boston because it was "racist" said, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."

The battle for truth continues, and the gang in Silicon Valley think they can censor their way to the truth. The irony is that the lies they are bulldozing over are growing into a mountain. They would help themselves and make their lives a lot easier if they would listen to a famous black leader, Booker T. Washington, who once said, "A lie doesn't become truth, wrong doesn't become right, and evil doesn't become good, just because it's accepted by a majority."

Unfortunately, Washington's comments will fall on deaf ears because leftists distrust lessons from the past, especially lessons from America's past. They can try to censor their way to the truth, but I'll stick with the North Star and the Creator who put it where it is.

Image: The worst thing about censorship by Tyler Menezes. CC BY-SA 2.0.



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A dog adopted from an animal shelter recently saved her owners life after he suffered a stroke.

Sadie, a 6-year-old German Shepherd, was adopted by a New Jersey man named Brian a few months ago after she was surrendered to the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in Oakland when her owner moved, the shelter said in a Facebook post.

Though her bio noted that she was especially nervous with men, Brian felt a special bond with Sadie, as he valued her intelligence, hesitancy to trust and fierce loyalty once she did form that trust, the shelter said. Brian gave Sadie a second chance at life, adopting Sadie and welcoming her home.

Last week, Brian suffered a stroke while home alone with Sadie, but after he collapsed, his loyal canine companion never left his side, the post stated.

Sadie licked his face to keep him awake and helped drag him across the room to his cellphone so he could call for help, the shelter said.

Sadie was the only reason that Brian was able to call for help, shelter officials said. This time, Sadie gave Brian a second chance at life.

Sadie was staying with family this week while Brian recovered from his stroke in a rehab center, but the pair FaceTime every night, and were counting down the days until their reunion, the shelter said.

Additional details were not immediately available.
OTTAWA  Manitobas vaccination officials are in the dark as they try to plan for the distribution of Moderna doses.

OTTAWA  Manitobas vaccination officials are in the dark as they try to plan for the distribution of Moderna doses.

Ottawa has given the province no idea about to the arrival of three-quarters of the Moderna doses it promised this winter, a vaccine task force member told the Free Press.

The federal government continues to tell Manitoba it can expect 90,000 doses of Moderna before the end of March, but it can only provide delivery dates for 22,800 doses.

The shipment that arrived in Canada on Thursday came up short, meaning Manitoba will get 300 fewer doses than it was promised.

Weekly planning tables sent to the provinces by Ottawa had shown confirmed allocations for February and shipment estimates for March. Now, they are blank.

The internal document contains no figures for the eight weeks from Feb. 8 to April 4. "All quantities to be determined, pending direction from the manufacturer," the latest version of the document says.

The lack of data underscores the difficulty provinces face as they try to staff super sites, plan for second doses and determine allocations for remote communities.

Already, the data Manitoba received could only account for 53 per cent of adults being vaccinated by Sept. 30, and 74 per cent by Dec. 31. The federal government continues to insist all adults will be able to be vaccinated by Sept. 30.

Canadas only other approved vaccine is made by Pfizer, which cut back deliveries as it expands its European production lines.

On Thursday, Canadian officials failed to explain the Moderna delay, but the company told The Canadian Press its facing the same problem as it expands one of its facilities, in Switzerland.

Moderna was to deliver 230,000 doses to Canada this week, but only 180,000 arrived on Thursday.

A Moderna spokeswoman said it will still deliver its promised two million doses to Canada by the end of March. The company has delivered about half a million thus far, meaning 1.5 million is outstanding.

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander who is managing the logistics of vaccine deliveries for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Thursday Canada doesn't expect to get the 249,600 doses it was initially allocated for the Feb. 22 shipment, either.

The bad news was revealed after a month of smaller shipments from Pfizer-BioNTech, which was supposed to deliver more than 1.1 million doses from Jan. 18 to Feb. 14. Instead, it will deliver fewer than 340,000 doses.

Fortin said Pfizer will resume more normal shipments on Feb. 15, with 335,000 doses expected that week, and almost 400,000 a week later.

Provincial governments have expressing their frustration with the vaccine shortages and the lack of precise information from Ottawa.

"I have advocated for both a consistent supply of vaccines and a consistent supply of information," Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said

"Unfortunately, we continue to get neither."

He said he would push Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do better during the weekly phone call between Trudeau and premiers Thursday night.

Canada's reliance on the foreign production of vaccines came to the forefront in the last week when Europe  where all of Canada's vaccines are made  imposed export controls to protect their own supply. Europe has assured Canada it won't affect Canada's shipments and Ottawa said, so far, that has proven to be true.

Canada's shipments from Pfizer and Moderna this week were allowed to proceed, and next week's Pfizer shipment has been approved.

Canada will get fewer than 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine this winter, after believing just two days ago it could be more than twice that number. Those doses will come from the global vaccine initiative known as the COVAX Facility, but they can't be sent until the World Health Organization approves AstraZeneca's vaccine.

Dr. Seth Berkley, the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is one of the COVAX's co-ordinators, said some doses will not be sent out until the summer because of the approval delay.

Canada should get about 475,000 doses before the end of March, and another 1.4 million by the end of June, pending approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine by WHO and Health Canada. Both are expected imminently.

Canada has also ordered 20 million doses from AstraZeneca directly, but Fortin was tight-lipped about when any of those doses will arrive in Canada.

"We are planning a number of contingencies," he said.

 with files from The Canadian Press

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

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Ford plans to accelerate investments in electric cars, but said its 2021 results could be pinched by the shortage of semiconductors

Ford announced Thursday a dramatic acceleration of its investment push into electric autos and signaled deepening collaborations with technology giants on the increased digitization of driving.

The US auto giant, released fourth-quarter and annual results, and said it plans $22 billion in electric car investment through 2025, nearly twice the earlier plan.

The announcement is the latest big bet on electric autos by a legacy automaker in the wake of upstart Tesla's growth and in anticipation of Biden administration initiatives to encourage emission-free vehicles.

Last week, Ford's rival General Motors set a target of having most of its fleet emissions-free by 2035.

"It's stunning how fast the industry is changing," said Chief Executive Jim Farley who pointed to surging electric auto sales in Europe.

Farley reported strong early interest in Ford's Mustang Mach-E, its electric sport utility vehicle which hit showrooms in December. The automaker plans a range of all-electric vehicles, including for its best-selling F-150 pickup truck.

"The costs are coming down quickly, but for me and the team, the move to electric is not about batteries and motors," Farley said on a conference call with analysts. "It's about a digital vehicle and a new customers experience."

The revamped plan came as Ford reported a fourth-quarter loss of $2.8 billion, compared with a loss of $1.7 billion in the year-ago period.

Revenues fell 9.3 percent to $36 billion.

Ford projected 2021 operating profits of $8 to $9 billion, much above $2.8 billion in 2020, when the company suffered a big drop in auto sales amid the disruption from COVID-19.

Hit from semiconductor crunch

Ford on Monday unveiled an alliance with Google to employ its cloud computing platform.

Farley said the Google venture is not "exclusive" and that Ford's vehicles would also employ Amazon's voice program and other programs by Apple and Microsoft.

"The technology partners are becoming more and more important for us to deliver the digital experience," he said.

Farley said the auto giant planned to take steps to lock in capacity of electric battery cells, recognizing that supplies could be challenged as more rivals build electric cars.

The auto industry is today facing a shortage of semiconductors following a surging demand for chips over the last year from customer electronics.

Ford projected annual operating profits could be dented by $1 to $2.5 billion due to lost auto sales connected to the semiconductor shortage.

Earlier Thursday, Ford said it was trimming output of its F-150 because of the supply issue, following on the heels of other automakers, including GM that announced Tuesday it was shutting productions at three plants, and slashing output in half at another due to chip supply.

"We want to lock it up," Farley said of battery cell capacity. "We cannot afford to be in the situation we are with the semiconductors right now."

Ford shares rose 1.2 percent in after-hours trading to $11.51.

Explore further Ford to cut back F-150 production due to chip shortage

 2021 AFP
Emotet Botnet Disrupted in International Cyber Operation

The Justice Department today announced its participation in a multinational operation involving actions in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to disrupt and take down the infrastructure of the malware and botnet known as Emotet. Additionally, officials in Lithuania, Sweden, and Ukraine assisted in this major cyber investigative action.

The Emotet malware and botnet infected hundreds of thousands of computers throughout the United States, including our critical infrastructure, and caused millions of dollars in damage to victims worldwide, said Acting Deputy Attorney General John Carlin. Cyber criminals will not escape justice regardless of where they operate. Working with public and private partners around the world we will relentlessly pursue them while using the full arsenal of tools at our disposal to disrupt their threats and prosecute those responsible.

According to an unsealed search warrant affidavit, Emotet is a family of malware that targets critical industries worldwide, including banking, ecommerce, healthcare, academia, government, and technology. Emotet malware primarily infects victim computers through spam email messages containing malicious attachments or hyperlinks. Emails were designed to appear to come from a legitimate source or someone in the recipients contact list. Once it has infected a victim computer, Emotet can deliver additional malware to the infected computer, such as ransomware or malware that steals financial credentials. Ransomware, in particular, has increased in scope and severity in the past year, harming businesses, healthcare providers, and government agencies even as the country has struggled to respond to the pandemic.

The coordinated disruption of Emotet was a great success for the FBI and our international partners, said FBI Director Christopher Wray. The FBI utilized sophisticated techniques, our unique legal authorities, and most importantly, our worldwide partnerships to significantly disrupt the malware. The operation is an example of how much we can achieve when we work with our international law enforcement partners to combat the cyber threat. The FBI remains committed, now more than ever, to imposing risk and consequences on cyber criminals to put an end to this type of criminal activity.

The computers infected with Emotet malware are part of a botnet (i.e., a network of compromised computers), meaning the perpetrators can remotely control all the infected computers in a coordinated manner. The owners and operators of the victim computers are typically unaware of the infection.

Cybercrime transcends physical and political boundaries and costs U.S. citizens and businesses billions each year, said U.S. Attorney Matt Martin of the Middle District of North Carolina. That was certainly true with Emotet. Now, more than ever, international collaboration is an imperative as we employ a technically and legally sophisticated approach to thwart cybercriminals in whatever corner of the globe they are found. This investigation will be a paradigm for effective international law enforcement cooperation directed at global cybercrime, and we applaud the FBI and the international law enforcement partners who contributed to the effort to take down this global threat.

According to the affidavit, in 2017, for example, the computer network of a school district in the Middle District of North Carolina was infected with the Emotet malware. The Emotet infection caused damage to the schools computers, including but not limited to the schools network, which was disabled for approximately two weeks. In addition, the infection caused more than $1.4 million in losses, including but not limited to the cost of virus mitigation services and replacement computers. From 2017 to the present, there have been numerous other victims throughout North Carolina and the United States, to include computer networks of local, state, tribal, and federal governmental units, corporations, and networks related to critical infrastructure.

The Emotet malware quickly elevated to one of the top cyber threats in the world, said Special Agent in Charge Robert R. Wells of the FBI Charlotte Field Office. The strong relationships with international law enforcement partners were critical to the success of this FBI investigation which began with a small North Carolina school system that did the right thing and quickly contacted their local FBI office for help.

According to the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Emotet infections have cost local, state, tribal, and territorial governments up to $1 million per incident to remediate. More information about the malware, including technical information for organizations about how to mitigate its effects, is available from CISA here: https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/alerts/TA18-201A.

According to the affidavit, foreign law enforcement agents, working in coordination with the FBI, gained lawful access to Emotet servers located overseas and identified the Internet Protocol addresses of approximately 1.6 million computers worldwide that appear to have been infected with Emotet malware between April 1, 2020, and Jan. 17, 2021. Of those, over 45,000 infected computers appear to have been located in the United States.

Foreign law enforcement, working in collaboration with the FBI, replaced Emotet malware on servers located in their jurisdiction with a file created by law enforcement, according to the affidavit. This was done with the intent that computers in the United States and elsewhere that were infected by the Emotet malware would download the law enforcement file during an already-programmed Emotet update. The law enforcement file prevents the administrators of the Emotet botnet from further communicating with infected computers. The law enforcement file does not remediate other malware that was already installed on the infected computer through Emotet; instead, it is designed to prevent additional malware from being installed on the infected computer by untethering the victim computer from the botnet.

The scope of this law enforcement action was limited to the information installed on infected computers by the Emotet operators and did not extend to the information of the owners and users of the computers.

According to the affidavit, in coordination with foreign law enforcement officials, FBI personnel also gained lawful access to an Emotet distribution server located overseas and identified several servers worldwide that were used to distribute the Emotet malware. These servers were typically compromised web servers belonging to what appear to be unknowing third parties. The perpetrators uploaded the Emotet malware to the servers through unauthorized software applications. Victims who clicked on spam email messages containing malicious attachments or hyperlinks would then download the initial Emotet malware file from a distribution server.

In addition, according to the affidavit, FBI personnel notified more than 20 U.S.-based hosting providers that they hosted more than 45 IP addresses that had been compromised by the perpetrators associated with the Emotet malware and botnet. FBI Legal Attaches further notified authorities in more than 50 countries that hosting providers in their respective jurisdictions hosted hundreds of IP addresses that were compromised by Emotet.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of North Carolina, the FBI Charlotte Division, and the Criminal Divisions Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) conducted the operation in close cooperation with Europol and Eurojust who were an integral part of coordination and messaging, and investigators and prosecutors from several jurisdictions, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Frances National Police and Judicial Court of Paris, Germanys Federal Criminal Police and General Public Prosecutors Office Frankfurt/Main, Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, Netherlands National Police and National Public Prosecution Office, Swedish Police Authority, National Police of Ukraine and Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, and the United Kingdoms National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service. The Justice Departments Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) also provided significant assistance. CCIPS Senior Counsel Ryan K.J. Dickey and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Iverson and Anand Ramaswamy of the Middle District of North Carolina led the U.S. efforts.

More information about the operation is available by clicking: Eurojust/Europol. In addition, the Dutch National Police have created the following website to check whether your email address has been compromised by the administrators of Emotet: https://www.politie.nl/emocheck.

In September 2020, FBI Director Christopher Wray announced the FBIs new strategy for countering cyber threats. The strategy focuses on imposing risk and consequences on cyber adversaries through the FBIs unique authorities, world-class capabilities, and enduring partnerships. Victims are encouraged to report the incident online with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) www.ic3.gov. For more information on ransomware prevention, visit: https://www.ic3.gov/Home/Ransomware.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

The ECOWAS Court of Justice, Abuja, on Friday, fixed April 22 for judgment in a suit by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Federal Government for alleged failure to action concerning violence and criminalities attributable to herdsmen in the country.

There has been a spike in the cases of violent crimes such as kidnapping attributed to herdsmen in different parts of the country in recent times.

This has led to notices of eviction being issued to herders in some parts of the country to curb the increasing spate of attacks allegedly carried out by them.

SERAP filed its suit at the ECOWAS Court in 2016 asking for, among others, an order compelling the Nigerian government to protect Nigerians from the violent activities of the herders and bring the culprits among them to book.

READ THE FULL STATEMENT

ECOWAS Court to give judgment in SERAPs case on killings by herdsmen, others

The ECOWAS Court of Justice, Abuja, has this morning heard arguments in the case brought by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the Federal Government seeking justice and accountability for the authorities failure to prevent, account for and investigate killings, raping, maiming of Nigerians and other residents, and destruction of property across the country by herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators.

The Court adjourned the suit to 22 April, 2021 for judgment after hearing arguments from Solicitor to SERAP, Femi Falana SAN, and the government lawyer Mr Adedayo Ogundele.

In the suit No ECW/CCJ/APP/15/16, SERAP is arguing that, the continuing attacks, killings, raping, maiming of Nigerians and other residents, and destruction of property by the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators across the country amount to serious violations of human rights of the rights to life, to the security and dignity of the human person, and to property.

Femi Falana, arguing the case, said: The government has not denied the serious averments by SERAP. The government is responsible for the unlawful killings by herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators, which have not been adequately prevented, investigated or prosecuted by the authorities. These responsibilities are heightened when an observable pattern has been overlooked or ignored, such as is the case in this suit.

Falana also argued: The government has a responsibility to protect and ensure the security of life and property of everyone in Nigeria. It is not enough for the government to say that civil cases have been brought by some of the victims. The government has a responsibility to investigate, fish out the perpetrators and prosecute them, and to compensate the victims.

The suit, reads in part: SERAP also contends that the obligation to secure the right to life is not confined to cases where it has been established that the killings were caused by an agent of the State. Nor is it decisive whether those affected or their families have lodged a formal complaint about the killings with the competent investigatory authority.

It is contended that the mere knowledge of the killings by the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators on the part of the authorities have ipso facto given rise to an obligation under Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights to carry out an effective investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killings and to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, and to provide reparations to victims.

Moreover, the Defendant has a responsibility for those killings, raping maiming and destruction of property where authorities knew or ought to have known of an immediate threat and failed to take measures that might have been expected to avoid those attacks and killings.

SERAP further contends that the Defendant has positive obligations to provide a framework of security for the protection of life, and to protect the lives of those individuals at risk from unlawful attacks by the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators. The lack of accountability for the attacks by the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators across the country has continued to create a culture of impunity which clearly is not compatible with the rule of law in a democratic society.

SERAP contends that the Defendant has a positive obligation to take measures to secure the right to life, right to security and dignity of the human person and right to property, and to prevent attacks and killings by the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators across Nigeria.

Human life has a special value and dignity which requires legal protection. It should be pointed out that those affected in the present case include the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of society.

A fundamental notion of contemporary human rights law is that victims of violations enjoy an independent right to effective remedies. This idea is itself founded on another longstanding legal principle: ubi ius ibi remedium (there is no right without a remedy).

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SERAP therefore is asking the ECOWAS Court of Justice for the following reliefs:

A DECLARATION that the attacks, killings, raping and maiming of citizens and other residents and destruction of property and other serious human rights violations and abuses across the country by the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators amount to failure by the Defendant to exercise due diligence to prevent the attacks and killings and cannot be justified under any circumstances, and therefore constitutes a serious breach of Nigerias international human rights obligations and commitments to ensure and secure the rights to life, to dignity and security of the human person, and to property, guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, and the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

A DECLARATION that the failure of the Defendant to exercise due diligence and to take steps to prevent attacks, killings, raping, and maiming of hundreds of Nigerians and other residents and destruction of property and other serious human rights violations and abuses by the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators, and to conduct prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigations and to hold those responsible to account, is unlawful as it amounts to breaches of obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the human rights guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

A DECLARATION that the failure of the Defendant to provide for an effective remedy and reparation for the victims, is unlawful as it amounts to breaches of obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the human rights guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

A DECLARATION that the failure of the Defendant to provide an environment necessary for securing and promoting the enjoyment of the human rights to life, dignity and security of the person, and to property, is unlawful as it amounts to breaches of obligations to promote and fulfil the human rights guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

AN ORDER directing the Defendant and/or its agents individually and/or collectively to respect, protect, promote, and fulfil the human rights of Nigerians and residents and communities across the country that have suffered attacks and human rights violations abuses by the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators.

AN ORDER directing the Defendant to investigate all cases of

unlawful killings noted herein and pay adequate money compensation of N50 million to each of the dependents.

AN ORDER directing the Defendant and/or its agents individually and/or collectively to provide effective remedies and reparation, including adequate compensation, restitution, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition that the Honourable Court may deem fit to grant to the victims of attacks by the military, police, herdsmen and other unknown perpetrators.
The family of an Air Force veteran who died after he suffered fire ant bites all over his body while at at a Department of Veterans Affairs long-term care facility near Atlanta are to sue the U.S. government along with a pest control company.

Joel Marrable, 74, died in September 2019 as a result of more than 100 fire ant bites while he was a resident at the Eagles Nest Community Living Center, a long-term residence facility for veterans near Atlanta.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Atlanta, the family claim officials from the VA and Orkin and its parent company Rollins Inc. 'failed to respond appropriately or reasonably to the fire ant infestation in Mr. Marrable's room.'

Marrable was already bedridden as a result of his cancer.

Joel Marrable was swollen with red bumps all over his body at the nursing home in Atlanta last week

Marrable was moved to another room initially but as soon as he returned, he was attacked again

He was 'bitten over one hundred times despite' the facility 'being aware of prior ant infestation issues at Eagle Nest CLC, the ineffectiveness of prior investigative efforts into the origins of the infestations, the failure of prior treatment or remediation efforts, the improper and inadequate use of certain chemicals, inadequate training and the risks, hazards and foreseeable harm from fire ant bites to patients, including Mr. Marrable' according to the lawsuit.

The suit was filed by Marrable's children Laquna Ross, Jamal Ratchford and Raquel Reed are are seeking $10 million each in compensation from both the U.S. government and pest control company Orkin.

Marrable had served in the Air Force from December 1962 until his honorable discharge in July 1968 according to the New York Times.

The family claim how Eagles Nest officials were aware of infestation of fire ants as early as February 2019 with 'multiple' residents having suffered fire ant bites or infestations by June 2019.

Joel Marrable, who was covered with ant bites at a VA facility in Atlanta before his death in September 2019

Marrable was bitten by the fire ants on September 2, 2019. He was washed off and moved to another room.

After returning to his room three days later, he 'was again attacked by another wave of fire ants, which again crawled across his room, into his bed and over and across his body, where again he was bitten dozens and dozens of times.'

Marrable's family say that before the ant bits, Marrable was 'lucid and alert' and 'planning to live out his remaining months in peace, surrounded by loving friends and family.'

After the bites, everything seemed to change.

'The ant bite attack significantly weakened Mr. Marrable's resolve and caused extreme pain, suffering, discomfort and anxiety. The second wave of fire ants that bit Mr. Marrable again over his arms, legs, trunk and groin proved too much for his weakened body and spirit to bear. Due to the effects of over a hundred insidious fire ant bites on his already cancer-weakened body, Mr. Marrable passed away prematurely on September 7, 2019.'

The lawsuit charges Eagle Nest staff with negligence in their failure to: prevent the fire ant infestation; remove insect-attracting food from patient rooms; and keep the rooms clean. Orkin officials were negligent in failing to provide 'appropriate and adequate pest control services' at the time.

He was bitten more than 100 times by ants at government veterans' home, the Eagle's Nest Community Living Center. The facility has since been decommissioned

VA officials have declined comment on the lawsuit.

'The Atlanta VA Health Care System continues to mourn the loss of Joel Marrable. We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends. However, we do not comment on pending litigation.'

Orkin officials say they are looking into the issues raised in the lawsuit.

'We only became aware of this lawsuit yesterday afternoon, and we are reviewing the case. Based upon our initial review, our records indicate we were only hired to perform limited exterior pest control services for some of the campus during 2019 and were not hired to perform interior pest control services. We will continue our review, and most importantly, our thoughts remain with this Veteran's family.'

'This patient, at the end of his life, was clearly not being monitored closely enough,' then-Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said at the time. 'I am so sad for his family who had to discover his insect-infested conditions before anything was reportedly done.'

VA officials determined 'the building is no longer suitable for residential patient care,' according to a statement issued in December

After Marrable's death, the director of the regional network was placed on immediate administrative leave, a new director was named and all personnel involved in reporting urgent issues were retrained.

VA officials have since decided to decommission the Eagles Nest facility and move patients to another one.

VA officials determined 'the building is no longer suitable for residential patient care,' according to a statement issued in December.

'There is no excuse for what happened to this veteran,' said Brewster S. Rawls, an Army veteran and one of the attorneys representing Marrable's family. 'Not only was his life  and his family's time with him shortened, but the misery of his last days is beyond description.'
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday had his first phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss Russia's military aggression in Ukraine and Georgia, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of State.

"The Secretary raised Russian interference in the 2020 United States election, its military aggression in Ukraine and Georgia, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and the SolarWinds incident, among other issues," the statement reads.

The foreign ministers discussed the extension of the New START nuclear treaty and the need for new arms control that addresses all of Russia's nuclear weapons and the growing threat from China.

The Secretary reiterated U.S. President Joe Biden's resolve to protect American citizens and act firmly in defense of U.S. interests "in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies."

In late January, Biden had his first phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among other important issues, Biden stressed that the United States strongly supports Ukraine's sovereignty.

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Roland Busch, new president and CEO of Siemens AG

As long planned, leadership of the Munich-based technology company was transferred from Kaeser to his successor, Roland Busch  a step marking the successful completion of Siemens leadership succession process.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the shareholders meeting was held in a virtual format, with neither shareholders nor their proxies being present in person.

Today, Siemens is bidding farewell to one of its greatest leaders. Joe Kaeser has shaped the company like few others and left behind a strong foundation for future generations, said Jim Hagemann Snabe, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG at the shareholders meeting. Its certainly no exaggeration to say: Joe Kaesers departure marks the end of an era. At the same time, the next phase in Siemens transformation is beginning.

As long planned, leadership of the Munich-based technology company was transferred from Kaeser to his successor, Roland Busch  a step marking the successful completion of Siemens leadership succession process.

Snabe also praised Kaesers successor, who has worked for the Siemens Group since 1994, most recently as chief operating officer, chief technology officer, and deputy CEO.

In all his roles, Roland Busch has delivered impressive performance characterised by strategic wisdom and operating successes. Roland Busch is the ideal choice to further drive the transformation of Siemens AG, said Snabe.

It is with a great sense of responsibility and humility that I take on this role  and Im very much looking forward to leading Siemens into the future with an outstanding team at my side, said Roland Busch.

Together with our customers, we want to lead industry, infrastructure, transportation, and healthcare into the digital age  and thereby transform the everyday for billions of people. By pursuing clear strategic priorities, well transform Siemens into a focused technology company that delivers sustainable growth, Busch noted.

Joe Kaeser has worked for Siemens for more than 40 years and headed the company as president and CEO for the past seven years.

During this period, Kaeser has renewed and shaped the company from the ground up. His first major strategic step was Vision 2020. By executing this strategy concept, Siemens strengthened its competitiveness and returned to a position of market leadership.

With Vision 2020+, Kaeser and his team then radically transformed the Siemens conglomerate into three powerful and focused companies. Today, the Siemens ecosystem comprises Siemens AG, Siemens Healthineers, and Siemens Energy.

Busch, Kaesers successor, has gained international experience in a variety of key positions.

Among other things, he has served as head of Siemens Strategy and as a member of the Managing Board with responsibility for businesses such as rail systems and building technology and for markets such as Asia and the Middle East.

The new annual shareholders meeting had also voted on the dividend for fiscal 2020. Accordingly, the Managing and Supervisory boards proposed that a dividend of 3.50 ($4.2) per share be distributed for the 2020 year. Adjusted by 10 per cent to account for the market value of the spin-off of Siemens Energy, this amount is at the same level as the 3.90 ($4.69) distributed for the previous fiscal year.
Health Minister of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov told President Volodymyr Zelensky that today Ukraine received confirmation for the supply of 12 million doses of vaccines produced by AstraZeneca and Novavax, the presidential press service said.

"The sooner we receive vaccines, the faster we will overcome pandemics in Ukraine. I know that the Cabinet of Ministers is carefully working on the development of a website that will help Ukrainians to easily and conveniently register for vaccination. Like every Ukrainian, I look forward to the start of the vaccination process. Some 12 million doses is a good signal from our partners, and this will be enough to ensure vaccinations within the first months after the start of supplies," Zelensky said.

It is noted that deliveries will take place from February 2021.

Thus, during a meeting with the president, Stepanov said an agreement had been reached on the supply of vaccines developed with the participation of AstraZeneca (Great Britain and Oxford University) and Novavax (the United States), which are produced under license agreements at the facilities of Serum Institute (India).

The confirmation received will be implemented through a contract between the Serum Institute and Crown Agents.

Later, the Health Minister said the Facebook page that now the contracts are already at the final stage of agreement on the technical details of the supply, and they will be signed in the coming days.

"In addition, we have received approval for emergency medical use of vaccines, so the admission will start this month," he said.
Mary Lou Ziegler Lyons, 94, went to be with her Savior on February 2, 2021.

She was born in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, October 31, 1926, to the late Ed and Esther Ziegler. At nine years of age, her parents moved to Frankfort, Kentucky, where she became a Christian at the age of 12. She graduated from high school, having received the Bausch and Lomb three-year science award and the Valedictory award. She was a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences. She taught school for three years, having previously married her high school sweetheart. Following several transfers as her husband was employed with the Bell Telephone System, they made Chattanooga their permanent home.

She was an active member of Red Bank Baptist Church. Her greatest delight there was teaching the J.O.Y. Ladies Sunday School Class for many years. In past years, she had been a long-time member of the Caring Hands Ministry and had helped lead in the Womens Missionary Union Call to Prayer. She was a true prayer warrior and a loving hostess who enjoyed preparing many meals for her class, her neighbors, her family, and anyone who needed some good home cooking.

Her extended family members were her pride and joy. She was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Tommy Lyons, in 2014.

She is survived by Tommy (Marcia) Lyons of Springfield, TN, Mary Leslie Tipps (Steve) of Signal Mountain, TN, and Peggy (Alan) Mynatt of Cleveland, TN. Also surviving are grandchildren Cayce Broker, Leslie Spuler, Joshua Lyons, Jonathan Lyons, Jarrod Lyons, Beth Tipps, Katelyn Dowlen, Amanda Huyser, and Logan Mynatt, and many great-grandchildren.

In recent years, Mary Lou made her home at The Terrace in Red Bank where she enjoyed visiting with her neighbors, participating in a jewelry-making class, reading, and teaching a Bible study. She was very fond of the sweet friends she made while living there and looked forward to phone conversations with them.

For the safety of everyone, a graveside time of reflection for family members only will be held at the National Cemetery with The Rev. Beth Tipps officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Red Bank Baptist Church Library.

Arrangements are by Chattanooga Funeral Home, North Chapel.
Buddhist monks walk past Sule pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar February 1. (Image: Reuters)

This week, the military upended years of quasi-democratic rule in Myanmar, with soldiers taking control of the country in a carefully orchestrated coup.

The military said the seizure of power was necessary because the government had failed to act on its unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in November elections, which the party of the countrys de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, won in a landslide. It claims the takeover was constitutional.

But where exactly did the coup happen? Was it in Myanmar, as the the country is officially called? Or was it in Burma, the name Washington continues to use?

The answer is complicated. Because when it comes to Myanmar, pretty much everything is political. Including language.

WHY ARE THERE TWO NAMES FOR ONE COUNTRY?

For generations, the country was called Burma, after the dominant Burman ethnic group. But in 1989, one year after the ruling junta brutally suppressed a pro-democracy uprising, military leaders suddenly changed its name to Myanmar.

By then, Burma was an international pariah, desperate for any way to improve its image. Hoping for a sliver of international legitimacy, it said it was discarding a name handed down from its colonial past and to foster ethnic unity. The old name, officials said, excluded the countrys many ethnic minorities.

At home, though, it changed nothing. In the Burmese language, Myanmar is simply the more formal version of Burma. The countrys name was changed only in English.

It was linguistic sleight-of-hand. But few people were fooled. Much of the world showed defiance of the junta by refusing to use the new name.

WHEN DID THINGS CHANGE?

A little over a decade ago, the country began a stumbling semi-democratic transition. The military retained extensive political power, but opposition leaders were freed from prison and house arrest, and elections were allowed. Longtime pro-democracy activist Suu Kyi became the countrys civilian leader.

Over the years, many countries and news outlets, including The Associated Press, had begun using the countrys official name. As repression eased and international opposition to the military became less vocal, Myanmar became increasingly common. Inside the country, opposition leaders made clear it didnt matter much anymore.

Unlike most of the world, the U.S. government still officially uses Burma. But even Washington has mellowed its stance.

In 2012, during a visit to the country, then-President Barack Obama used both Burma and Myanmar. An adviser to Myanmars president called that very positive and said it was an acknowledgement of Myanmars government.

WHAT NOW?

Washingtons response to the coup seemed designed to highlight old criticisms, with both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden pointedly avoiding the countrys legal name.

The United States removed sanctions on Burma over the past decade based on progress toward democracy, Biden said in a statement. The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws.

Most other countries, though, continued to call it Myanmar.
RYE, N.H., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To mark National Cancer Prevention Day on Feb. 4, the National Cancer Prevention Workshop welcomed more than 70 speakers for a virtual workshop that was viewed by students, legislators, physicians, nurse and public health professionals.

To mark the day, state flags were flown at the capitols of Virginia, Michigan and New Hampshire and at the U.S. Capitol.

"When we founded National Cancer Prevention Day in 2013, we had no way of understanding how many would embrace it," said Less Cancer Founder Bill Couzens. "Our workshop has grown to include global participants from over 10 countries. The impact lasts all year as thousands of students register for the training on Coursera."

Continuing education credits are provided for healthcare and public health professionals by the University of Virginia School of Medicine and School of Nursing and American University.

"We've all been reminded over the past year how fundamental our health is to everything we do, and how critical it is that we work together to protect our public health," said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "Everyone has a role to play in this effort, from business leaders and the medical community to state government and academia, and everywhere in between. I look forward to the progress we will make together in one day understanding and preventing cancer once and for all."

"Having been touched by cancer on both sides of my family, I am glad we have organizations like Less Cancer to provide leadership and be a unifier in the fight against this deadly disease," said Michael Webert, Virginia House of Delegates, 18th District. "I thank them for their hard work and diligence."

Former New Hampshire State Representative Mindi Messmer was the driving force for having cancer clusters identified in New Hampshire. She said "I am proud of New Hampshire's collaborative efforts to get behind prevention cancer and glad to see the state government recognize the effort by having the flag flown over the Capitol in honor of Less Cancer's national cancer prevention workshop. "

Michigan Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich (D-Flint) added: "Cancer doesn't care about race, religion, age, or political affiliation. All of us have been impacted by the ugliness of cancer, but we have hope knowing that, together, we can decrease cases and increase rates of remission with a goal of eradicating it once and for all. Less Cancer continues to be a leading voice in the fight against this disease, and all of us benefit from the important work they do for public health."

Accolades for the 2021 Cancer Prevention Workshop content were shared by Dean and Warwick Professor of Nursing and Less Cancer Board Member Janie Heath, PhD, APRN-BC, FAAN, FNAP, FAANP, "I believe this was our best ever workshop with exceptional panelists and speakers."

For more information, visit www.lesscancer.org.

About Less Cancer

Founded in 2004, the Next Generation Choices Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity known more widely as "Less Cancer." The organization works to educate the public, create proactive public policies, and offer continuing education credit to physicians, nurses, and public health professionals regarding cancer, over 50 percent of which are preventable. Less Cancer signifies a new paradigm for addressing cancer, one focused on prevention. This is a departure from previous treatment-focused approaches, which focus on beating, conquering, or curing cancer.

MEDIA CONTACT: Colleen Robar, 313-207-5960, [email protected]

SOURCE Less Cancer

The federal government on Friday appointed visitation panels to 25 Federal Polytechnics and 21 Colleges of Education in the country.

A statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, said the constitution of the panels was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The statement said the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, had during his 2020 Annual Ministerial Press Briefing on January 21, 2021, promised to release the visitation panels in two weeks.

It said the panels, which would have five members and a secretary each, would have the following as their terms of reference:

-Examine the relationship between the institution and the various statutory bodies it interacts with, according to its law, for the purposes of supervision, planning, finance, discipline, guidance etc. Such bodies include the Governing Board, the supervising Agency and the Federal Ministry of Education.

-Examine the quality of the leadership of the institution in terms of the role of the Governing Board, the Head of institution and other principal officers.

-Examine the financial management of the institution over the recommended period and determine whether it was in compliance with appropriate regulations.

-Investigate the application of funds, particularly the special grants and loans meant for particular projects in order to determine the status of such projects and their relevance for further funding.

-Examine all academic programmes, policies and practices as well as the total academic and physical development, performance and direction of the institution and advise as to whether the desired targets have been met and how modifications may be made to achieve maximum academic productivity, excellence and service to the nation.

-Study the general atmosphere of the institution over the period in question. In particular the general conduct and comportment of all personnel of the institution especially staff, students and managers and advice as to whether the correct training is being given and how necessary corrections may be made. This should include the relationship between the institution and the host community over the period.

-Study in detail the management structure and performance of the institution including fiscal, administrative, personnel and welfare policies and advise on ways to cut cost, reduce waste and continue to develop, if necessary by adaptation, rather than expansion in the face of attenuated resources.

-Examine the Law establishing the institution and consider in what ways the law has been observed in all ramifications by the competent authorities and suggest any necessary modifications to the law in order to enable the institution achieve its objectives better.

-Advise on any and all other aspects of the institution that you may consider of interest to both the Visitor and the public; and to the attainment of the objectives for which the institution was set up.

The statement said the Panels have six weeks from the date of commencement of sittings to submit their reports to government.

Below is the Full List of members of the Visitation Panels

1. Federal Polytechnic Kaduna  Prof. S.O Abdurraheem  Chairman

2.   Kazaure  Mrs. Hindatu Abdullahi  

3.   Kaura Namoda Prof. Remy Uche  

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4.   Birnin Kebbi  Sen. Dr. Ugochukwu Uba  

5.   Bali  Hon. Usani. U Usani  

6.   Bauchi   Alh. Bawa Buwari  

7.   Damaturu  Prof. Aliyu Buba Ardo  

8.   Mubi  Prof. William. B. Qurix  

9.   Bida  Alh. Bappah Toro  

10.    Idah  Amb. Aminu Moddibo  

11.    Nasarawa  Prof. Francis Egbokhare  

12.    Offa  Prof. Duro Oni  

13.    Nekede  Prof. Stephen Ocheni  

14.    Oko  Prof. Abiodun O. Olotuah  

15.    Unwana  Prof. Joseph Ajienka  

16.    Auchi  Sen. Ayo Arise  

17.    Bonny  Prof. Ben Angwe  

18.    Ukana  Prof. A.T. Abdullahi  

19.    Ekowe   Prof. Y.A. Quadri  

20. Institute of Construction Technology Uromi, Engr. Chris Okpechi  Chairman

21. Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti  Prof. Fidelis Ogah  Chairman

22. Federal Polytechnic Ede  Dr. Nuru Yakubu  Chairman

23. Federal Polytechnic Ilaro  Prof. Essiet.U. Essiet- Chairman

24. Federal Polytechnic Ile-Oluji  Ibrahim Dasuki Nakande Chairman

25. Yaba College of Technology Yaba- Dr. Amina Shamaki  Chairman

Chairmen of Visitation Panels to the 21 Colleges of Education include:-

1. Federal College of Education Abeokuta  Prof. Charles Uche  Chairman

2. Federal College of Education Zaria  Engr. Kazim Mahmood  Chairman

3. Alvan Ukoku College of Education, Owerri- Prof. Michael Omolewa  Chairman

4. Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo -Prof. Pai Obayan  Chairman

5. Federal College of Education, Kano -Prof. Chijioke Nwozuzu  Chairman

6. Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka-Mrs Olufunke Agagu- Chairman

7. Federal College of Education, Okene -Prof. Kabiru Isyaku  Chairman

8. Federal College of Education Pankshin- Prof. Francis Obafemi  Chairman

9. Federal College of Education,Yola  Dr. Fatima.M. Jibril   Chairman

10. Federal College of Education, Katsina  Prof. Joe Assor   Chairman

11. Federal College of Education (Special)- Oyo, Hon. Shehu Haruna Lambu- Chairman

12. Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu-Prof. (Sir) Onwuri Abraham Georgewill  Chairman

13. Federal College of Education (Technical) Gusau, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja Chairman

14. Federal College of Education, Kontagora, Prof. Yakubu Umaru Kwagyany -Chairman

15. Federal College of Education, Obudu, Prof. Armstrong Adejo,  Chairman

16. Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku, Prof. Rahila Gowon  Chairman

17. Federal College of Education, (Technical) Potiskum, Alh. Sani Abubakar Danladi, Chairman

18. Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze, Prof. Shehu Dalhatu  Chairman

19. Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba, Dr. Ibrahim Garba Zurmi-Chairman

20. Federal College of Education (Technical) Bichi, Prof. Rasheed Aderinoye- Chairman

21. Federal College of Education (Technical0 Gombe, Chief Sunday Ogbonna Chairman

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 01:27:35|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Normality could be within reach when all those over 50 years old have been vaccinated in Britain, a British government's advisory scientist said Thursday.

Andrew Hayward, a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said: "Once the most vulnerable people, particularly those over 50 and those with chronic illnesses, are vaccinated then yes I think we can see a significant return to normality."

"That, in addition to the fact coronavirus is a seasonal disease, I think will make a big difference and allow us to open up," he told the BBC.

"I think what we'll see is a phased opening up as the vaccination levels increase, and then we will be more or less back to normal for the summer, I would imagine."

Earlier Thursday, vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi told lawmakers that almost nine in 10 over 80s and over 75s, and over half of people in their 70s, have now been vaccinated in Britain.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that Britain remains "on track" to complete the vaccination of the top priority groups, which cover 15 million people, by mid-February.

Meanwhile, one in five of all adults in Britain have already received a jab, according to Hancock. Britain aims to offer all adults their first dose by autumn.

Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Whitty said Wednesday at a Downing Street press briefing that it looks as if Britain is "past the peak" of its current wave, but he warned of another peak if restriction is relaxed too soon.

Meanwhile, other experts have warned that some restrictions, such as border control, would still be in place as Britain is still threatened by virus variants from abroad, even if the whole British population is vaccinated.

Another 20,634 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,892,459, according to official figures released Thursday.

The country also reported another 915 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 110,250. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem
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VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI-TV) - Temperatures will be cold over the next few days, and it's tough on our neighbors who don't have a home. There's information you can share with them.

The Homeless Council of the Wabash Valley Region 7 is offering help to those who don't have a way to stay warm during extreme cold events.

Reach Services in partnership with the HCWV is offering shelter at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church at 215 N. 7th street in downtown Terre Haute.

As of Friday evening, the doors will open at 5:00 PM Sat. February 6th to 8:00 AM Sun. February 7th.

Local leaders will be monitoring the forecast every day after Saturday to see if the shelter will remain open each night throughout the next week.

Evening meals and breakfasts will be provided as well as certain hygiene items that may be needed.

If you have any questions or need more information, call Reach Services at 812.232.6305.

For transportation services to the warming center, call Jesica with Reach Services at 812.269.5423 or call Travis with Reach services at 812.546.1458.
Turmeric is being cultivated in Nizamabad, Jagitial and Nirmal districts and farmers brought it to the Nizamabad market yard.  DC Image

NIZAMABAD: Commencement of sale of turmeric in Sangli market yard is having its impact on turmeric prices in Telangana state. Sangli is the biggest turmeric market yard in India and it dictates the price structure in markets where turmeric sales are high.

As a result, turmeric arrivals doubled in Nizamabad yard on Friday with farmers hoping better prices brought the produce.

Sangli market is considered as a cluster for turmeric exports. Major exporters are headquartered in Mumbai and they purchase stock from Sangli. Citing inferior quality and moisture content in turmeric, the traders offered merely Rs 4,500 per quintal in the Nizamabad market yard in the current season.

At Sangli, traders offered Rs 7,500 per quintal on Thursday and the maximum price touched Rs 7,086 in Nizamabad market yard. The average price of turmeric stands at Rs 5,750 per quintal. Turmeric is being cultivated in Nizamabad, Jagitial and Nirmal districts and farmers brought it to the Nizamabad market yard.

In the 2018-19 season, 10.75 lakh quintals was brought to Nizamabad and the maximum price was Rs 8,681 and the minimum Rs 3,005 per quintal. The average price was Rs 6,000. In 2019-20, 10.78 lakh quintals were sold at a maximum price of Rs 7,678 and minimum of Rs 4,000 per quintal with the average being Rs 5,500.

In the present 2020-21 season, 3.27 lakh quintals turmeric reached Nizamabad market yard till Friday. The highest price of Rs 7,086 was recorded on Thursday with the minimum price being Rs 4,500 and the average standing at Rs 5,750.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Kole Bhumanna, a farmer from Pachchalanadkuda in Velpur mandal, said that they incurred losses in turmeric sales. Rs 10,000 per quintal is the remunerative price for farmers, he opined.

We have traditionally cultivated turmeric and not calculated the price with expenses. Since my childhood, I have been visiting Nizamabad market along with my father Kole Narsimloo, said the 65-year-old farmer.

Commission agent D. Radhakishan said that turmeric price is decided based on international demand. If farmers bring dried and processed turmeric, they will definitely get remunerative price, he opined. Traders prefer to purchase turmeric based on its quality and demand from exporters, he explained. There is no syndicate of traders in Nizamabad, he said.

Nizamabad agriculture market yard secretary K. Vijay Kishore said that turmeric arrivals had doubled in the last two days.

We received 5,000 quintals on Thursday, following the hike in price it touched 10,000 quintals on Friday, he explained.

For last fortnight, turmeric price is gradually increasing by Rs 100 per day, he added.

Curcumin percentage in Nizamabad turmeric is merely two and high at seven per cent in Rajpuri variety in Sangli, he said. Exporters offer high prices for curcumin, which has medicinal properties, he explained.
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The appointment of an honorary consul of Nicaragua in Russian-occupied Crimea has grossly violated Ukrainian law and international law, and sanctions have been imposed in response, according to Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko.

He wrote this on Twitter, commenting on Russia's statements about Ukraine's sanctions against Nicaragua.

"The 'act of despair' is Russia's constant attempts to convince at least someone in the world that Crimea and Sevastopol are allegedly part of the Russian Federation. The appointment of an honorary consul of Nicaragua has grossly violated Ukrainian law and international law," Nikolenko said.

Earlier, at a briefing on February 4, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called Ukraine's decision to impose sanctions on Nicaragua "an act of despair" and said it "looks ridiculous."

On February 2, the Verkhovna Rada adopted draft resolution No. 4689 "On approval of the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of February 1, 2021 'On the application of sectoral special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) to the Republic of Nicaragua'."

On November 10, 2020, Ukraine launched a sanctions process against Nicaragua due to the opening of its honorary consulate in Russian-occupied Crimea. Oleg Belaventsev, a participant in Russia's annexation of Crimea, received the post of honorary consul. According to media reports, he was sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison in Ukraine for participating in the annexation of the peninsula.

In August, Kyiv sent a note of protest to Nicaragua over the opening of the consulate. The country was then warned of possible sanctions.

Nicaragua is one of the countries that regularly do not vote for UN resolutions initiated by Ukraine to recognize Russia as an occupying power due to its annexation of Crimea.

The Verkhovna Rada officially declared February 20, 2014 the date when Russia started its temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol.

op
A man accused of making explosives and owning extremist handbooks has today appeared at the Old Bailey on a string of terror charges.

Asad Bhatti, 47, was arrested after counter-terrorism police raided his home and storage unit in Redhill, Surrey, on January 8.

He is accused of being in possession of chemicals found in a storage unit that were capable of producing the explosive substance nitroglycerin.

Three remote detonators, including an improvised detonator that contained traces of an explosive substance, were allegedly found at his home address and the unit.

Asad Bhatti, 47, appeared at the Old Bailey in London (pictured) today via video link from Wandsworth jail

A collection of terrorist material was also allegedly uncovered from Bhattis possession, including weapons manuals on improvised explosives.

Bhatti was charged with three counts of making or possessing an explosive, and two counts of possessing an article for the purpose of terrorism.

The defendant, of Holland Close, Redhill, Surrey, appeared at the Old Bailey today by video link from Wandsworth jail.

Bhatti spoke only to confirm his identity and was remanded into custody.

The defendant, of Holland Close, Redhill, Surrey, (general view of the street pictured) appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday by video link from Wandsworth jail

Mr Justice Sweeney set a plea hearing for June 4 and a provisional trial on November 22.

The case will be heard by Judge Philip Katz QC at the Old Bailey.

Kathryn Selby prosecuting said: This matter has been listed for a preliminary hearing today having been sent from the lower court on 22 January.

The defendant is charged with indictable only offences under the explosive act and terrorism offences which are either way.
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Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Maldives' HPA submits guidelines for elections

Male, Jan 21 (UNI) The Health Protection Agency (HPA) of the Maldives has submitted guidelines on health and safety ahead of the local council elections scheduled for later this year, local media reported on Thursday.

The HPA submitted the guidelines to the Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) following parliamentary approval of an amendment that will allow elections to take place despite an ongoing state of public health emergency.

ECM President Ahmed Shareef was quoted by state-owned PSM News as saying that the guidelines will be discussed in a meeting of the electoral advisory meeting on Thursday.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Nigeria's central bank on Friday ordered banks and financial institutions to close down accounts involved in the transfer or exchange of cryptocurrencies, warning of sanctions it they did not comply.

Africa's largest economy has become a huge market for cryptocurrency trade, but the central bank has warned for several years that the currencies are not regulated or legal tender in Nigeria.

Cryptocurrencies are seen by some Nigerians as a safe haven in a petroleum-reliant economy battered by swings in oil prices damaging shutdowns last year to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

"The bank hereby wishes to remind regulated financial institutions that dealing with cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchanges is prohibited," it said in a statement posted on its website.

It said all banks and financial institutions were directed to identify persons and/or entities involved in cryptocurrency exchanges and close their accounts immediately.

"Breaches of this directive will attract severe regulatory sanctions," it said.

A spokesman at the bank did not respond to calls seeking more details on the decision.

Digital currencies are popular in Nigeria, where they are seen as ways of easing business in a country known for corruption, currency fluctuations and often sidelined in the past by the global financial system.

Africa's most populous country is also home to a thriving start-up tech sector which often uses cryptocurrencies.

During #EndSARS protests in October against police brutality, activists turned to social media to call for donations though digital currencies to help support the demonstrations.

Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey even supported the call for bitcoin donations for the Nigerian rallies.

Weeks of protests by thousands of young people shocked the country and forced the government to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad or SARS police unit at the heart of the demonstrations.

The protests swelled into an expression of long-standing frustrations over bad governance, with a prolific social media campaign winning support from high-profile celebrities.

Story continues

But the demonstrations ended weeks later when security forces shot at demonstrators in Lagos -- killing at least 12 people, according to Amnesty International. The army denied using live rounds.

Friday's warning to banks was the latest missive from the central bank on cryptocurrencies.

The central bank has warned since 2017 that digital currencies are not authorised, and that traders and investors in them were at risk as they were not protected by law.

pma/rl

To enforce the law on violence against women and in essence, put an end to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) against women in Oyo State, the state chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) is currently campaigning for more support.

This was its submission at an advocacy visit to the state Head of Service (HoS), Mrs. Amidat Agboola, recently.

In her address, the chairperson of the state FIDA, Mrs. Oluyemisi Collins, noted that prior to the creation of the law in the state, there was a surge in the spate of violence and abuse against women.

She added: "The situation has not changed as expected since the law was put in place. Certain factors such as culture of case withdrawal by victims' families and dearth of data often stand in the way of justice."

According to the chairperson, their visit is in line with the directive from the United Nations to engage stakeholders on the level that SGBV against women has been.

She added that it is also to educate people on the usage of the extant law prohibiting it.

"The fact remains that despite the efforts by the state government, the spate of this particular crime is on the increase here partly because there is no data.

"Many women will be asked to quit their job in a bid to face the family squarely. But after some years, you see these women start begging for survival."

She however listed key stakeholders in their SGBV campaign, the governor's wife office, Medical Women's Association of Nigeria (MWAN), National Council of Women Societies/NGOS, and Association of Women with Disability among others.

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Meanwhile, she bemoaned that despite the stakeholders' efforts, justice often eludes most women because the evidence needed to prosecute issues are not always there.

The chairperson emphasised: "When a woman is beaten a lot of times, she will be busy taking care of herself. When we even want to go to court, the women try to stop us."

In her reaction, the HoS commended FIDA for taking their time to sensitise women on their rights and what can be done.

While noting that most women go through a lot in their marriages, Agboola called for more sensitisation in markets, religious centres, and associations.

"We should let every woman know that she has a right to prosecute anyone when she is being violated and abused," she urged.

She, therefore, called on women across the state to speak out when abused. "In fact, the EndSARS 'Sorosoke' tag is for us, women."

What is common between a technology for storing energy in a solar cell and that for water purification? They both rely on the use of porous materials, or more specifically, "nanoporous" materials that can trap gas molecules within narrow spaces on their surface, called "pores", which are only nanometers (one-billionth of a meter) in size! In chemistry parlance, the phenomenon is known as "adsorption" and has played an important role in the synthesis of porous materials of different compositions, pore sizes, and even pore geometries.

Traditionally, activated carbon (AC, or a porous form of carbon) has been a popular adsorbent for practical applications owing to its higher capacity of adsorption than that of other porous materials. Lately, however, porous boron nitride (p-BN) has emerged as a promising alternative because of its impressive performance, as highlighted by a recent study claiming that p-BN can adsorb a relatively large amount of carbon dioxide at room temperature.

Now, a group of scientists from Okayama University and Nagasaki University, Japan, has put this claim to the test in their latest study, where they examined the adsorbing characteristics of p-BN in detail. "A BN unit and two carbon atoms (i.e., CC) both have the same number of electrons and similar structures, but their interaction with gas molecules are different due to the atomically heterogeneous nature of BN. Despite this, there has been very little research on BN materials. In our study, we wanted to see if BN has specific adsorption properties that cannot be observed in carbon materials," explains Dr. Takahiro Ohkubo from Okayama University, who led this study published in the journal RSC Advances.

To begin with, the scientists synthesized p-BN samples at high temperature conditions under presence of nitrogen and investigated their structure using X-ray diffraction, infrared (IR) spectra analysis, and high-resolution electron microscopy. The samples only differed from one another with respect to the temperatures at which they were synthesized. While X-ray diffraction data and IR revealed an "amorphous" phase (lacking well-defined structure) BN comprising "hexagonal phase" BN (h-BN) microcrystals for all samples, the one treated at 1673 K (1400C), called p-BN-1673, showed the most ordered structure. After examining it under the electron microscope, the scientists found that this sample was composed of stacked layers of curved sheets with nanometer-size pores formed in between.

The scientists next looked at thermogravimetric curves of the samples to estimate their stability against oxidation and discovered that it was directly linked to the synthesis temperature, with higher temperatures entailing higher stability. Moreover, some additional species of carbon and oxygen were introduced into the h-BN crystal framework especially in p-BN-1473, giving rise to chemically active sites for nitrogen adsorption. While these species ordinarily reduce oxidation stability, the crystallinity of h-BN helped preserve it up to 973 K under normal conditions--a property not present in carbon-based adsorbents!

Finally, upon comparing the gas adsorption ability of p-BN and AC with nitrogen and argon as adsorbates, scientists observed that p-BN pores adsorbed nitrogen more strongly than argon and in relatively much larger amount (~ 150%-200%) than did AC. They attributed this observation to an additional physical interaction between nitrogen and p-BN pores that was absent for argon, and the creation of adsorption sites in p-BN by the impregnated carbon and oxygen species.

With these results, the Dr. Ohkubo and team are confident about the emergence of p-BN as a next-generation adsorbent material. "Given its superior oxidation stability and nature of adsorption, we are looking forward to the applications of porous BN as a novel adsorbent and catalyst support material, especially in cases where the use of carbon adsorbents is not feasible," comments Dr. Ohkubo.

Looks like carbon is about to go out of fashion on yet another front!

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Statistics have shown that the number of women accessing health facilities for Antenatal Care (ANC) has increased in Kwami LGA of Gombe State, following an intervention from China South-South Cooperation Assistant Fund (SSCAF).

North East Trust gathered that at a Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Dukul community of Kwami LGA, number of women visiting the facility for ANC have risen from 100 to more than 500 in one month.

The increase in the number of pregnant women accessing the services, to save mothers and their unborn children, was linked to a $1 million supports fund provided by the SSCAF.

Assistant Facility Manager at Dukul PHC, Ruth Musa, said the intervention had turnaround the health services and coverage in the area.

She said the intervention, which is still ongoing, was impressive, adding that workers are still on-site to conclude the facelift.

Ruth added that the facility had improved from almost nothing to a full-fledged PHC that is ready to deliver health services.

"We have enough drugs, especially in the ANC section, routine drugs, testing instruments are all available. It has made women to be more interested in coming for ANC as well as for delivery," she said.

The Assistant Facility Manager commended the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (GSPHCDA) for the intervention, which was implemented by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Also, at the PHC in Malleri community about 20 kilometres from Dukul village, the health facility has been improved from its previous decayed condition.

A staff at the facility, Mohammed Adamu, said the intervention had changed the lives of the people, calling for more support from the state government in the area of laboratories and manpower.
Hero MotoCorp's consolidated net profit rose 13.01% to Rs 1,019.18 crore on 37.73% rise in total income to Rs 10,032.61 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.

Vedanta said its sub-committee of board of directors of the company approved the expansion of Lanjigarh Alumina Refinery from existing capacity of 2 MTPA to 5 MTPA at a cost of Rs 3,779 crore approx. Completion of this project will place Lanjigarh Alumina Refinery as one of the world's largest single-location alumina refinery complex.

Stove Kraft will make its debut on the bourses today, 5 February 2021. The IPO of the company was sold between January 25 and 28. The issue price is Rs 385 per share.

Biocon's subsidiary Biocon Biologics has signed an agreement with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to expand access to lifesaving cancer biosimilars in over 30 countries in Africa and Asia as a part of the Cancer Access Partnership (CAP). The partnership is a significant step in delivering advanced cancer therapies to patients who need them the most and ensuring equitable access to high-quality biosimilars in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Bharat Electronics entered into an Offset Contract under invest in kind with Joint Stock Company Rosoboronexport, Russia, for setting up industrial facilities for the manufacture of a wide range of aviation hoses at BEL Optronic Devices Limited, Pune, a subsidiary of BEL.

Tata Power Company's consolidated net profit rose 28.39% to Rs 248.21 crore on 8.77% rise in total income to Rs 8,082.55 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.

Godrej Agrovet's consolidated net profit rose 19.38% to Rs 61.60 crore on 13.84% fall in total income to Rs 1,549.12 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.

PSP Projects said it has received an additional work order worth Rs 236 crore (induding GST) for an Institutional project at Gujarat. The company has been ranked the L1 bidder (Lowest Bidder) by a regulatory authority for projects totalling to Rs. 420.89 crores (including GST) for construction of medical colleges at multiple locations at Uttar Pradesh.

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River Gee County Senator Conmany Wesseh has written the plenary of the Liberian Senate requesting that the senate made President George Manneh Weah and the Executive Branch of government to make available copies of this year's Annual Message.

President Weah on January 24, this year, made his fourth Annual Message to both members of the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate in a joint special session in the William Richard Tolbert Joint Chambers at the Capitol Building in Monrovia.

According to a communication read in the senate plenary Thursday February 04, signed by Sen. Wesseh "it has been a week since the President George Weah presented to the Liberian Legislature his administration's legislative agenda in line with article 58 of the 1986 Constitution, which state, The President shall, on the fourth working Monday in January of each year, present the administration's legislative program for the ensuing session, and shall once a year report to the Legislature on the state of the Republic. In presenting the economic condition of the Republic the report shall cover expenditure as well as income."

Sen. Wesseh, a stalwart of the former ruling Unity Party noted that the senate and his colleagues are aware, the report was verbally presented thereby making it impossible for legislators to do justice to what the framers of the constitution envisaged.

"Accordingly, I am appealing to plenary to request the president of Liberia to present to the senate written copies of the report in order for us to open up his legislative program for discussion and approval where necessary. We also need to see in clear terms, the expenditure as well as our national income," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Gbarpolu County Senator Daniel Naatehn made motion that the leadership of the senate mandates its secretariat for communication to be sent to the Executive Mansion to request copies of the president's 2020/21 Annual Message.
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U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the United States is freezing troop withdrawal from Germany and ending its support for offensive operations in the Yemen conflict.

In his first major foreign policy speech since taking office, Biden outlined his foreign policy vision focused on diplomacy, alliance, multilateralism, and values, standing in contrast with his predecessor Donald Trump's "America First" approach.

Biden in the speech also unveiled several policy changes regarding the Yemen conflict, U.S. forces posture in Germany, and refugee issues.

He said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would initiate a global forces posture review to ensure that U.S. military footprint is appropriately aligned with foreign policy and national security priorities.

"And while this review is taking place, we'll be stopping any planned troop withdrawal from Germany," he said.

The former Trump administration announced a repositioning plan for nearly 12,000 U.S. troops stationed in Germany last summer, a controversial move that drew criticism from home and abroad.

Biden also reversed the previous administration's position on the Yemen conflict.

"We are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales," Biden said.

He noted that the United States would step up diplomacy and support UN-led initiative to end the war, which he called a "humanitarian and strategic catastrophe."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier in the day had appointed Timothy Lenderking, a veteran diplomat with long experience in regional affairs, as U.S. special envoy to Yemen, according to Biden.

Biden in his remarks also said he would restore the U.S. refugee admission program to accept 125,000 refugees during the first full fiscal year of his administration, a significant increase compared to the number in the Trump era.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemen conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

U.S. lawmakers from both parties previously introduced several measures to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition's war in Yemen, but those attempts were thwarted by then President Trump.
A psychologist has revealed how she was forced to quit her job to home school her children because her employer refused to furlough her.

Analise La-Band, a chartered occupational psychologist and mother-of-two, had to quit her job last summer in order to teach her children at home as schools closed during lockdown.

Her story comes as it emerged more than 2,000 mothers have had their requests to be furloughed refused amid the lockdown this year.

Employers are now being warned they face an imminent 'mental health crisis' and could be guilty of sex discrimination if they refuse to furlough parents.

Analise La-Band (left) a chartered occupational psychologist and mother-of-two, had to quit her job last summer in order to teach her children at home as schools closed during lockdown. Right, Joeli Brearley, who set up the organisation 'Pregnant Then Screwed', which fights for parents' rights

Seven in 10 requests for furlough turned down for working mothers According to a study by the Trade Union Congress union, nearly three-quarters of working mothers who have applied for furlough following the latest school closures have had their requests turned down. Of those 3,100 who requested furlough, around 2,200 (71%) had their request turned down. It also found that some 78 per cent hadnt been offered furlough by their employers. And 2 in 5 (40%) of all mothers who replied were unaware that the furlough scheme was available to parents affected by school or nursery closures. Nearly all (90%) of those who replied said that their anxiety and stress levels had increased during this latest lockdown. And almost half (48%) were worried about being treated negatively by their employers because of their childcare responsibilities. Around half (44%) of mums told the TUC they were worried about the impact having to take time off work would have on their household finances. A quarter (25%) of mums were using annual leave to manage their childcare  but nearly 1 in 5 (18%) had been forced to reduce their working hours and around 1 in 14 (7%) were taking unpaid leave from work and receiving no income. Source: TUC Advertisement

Ms La-Band told Radio 4's Today programme that she was forced to resign due to the pressures of home schooling.

The mother-of-two said: 'Unfortunately I was forced to resign last summer as a result of the difficulty of trying to balance work and home school.

'My request for furlough was rejected and I didn't see any other option so I've not been working since.

'I'm obviously very concerned with how I can maintain my career and get into the workforce again at some point, having had to make a very difficult decision to withdraw from it when i really wouldn't have had i had any other choice at the time.'

The job retention scheme currently allows bosses to furlough parents who can't work due to a lack of childcare.

But the Trade Union Congress revealed that more than 2,000 working mothers, or 70 per cent, have had furlough requests turned down following the recent school closures.

Joeli Brearley, who set up the organisation 'Pregnant Then Screwed', which fights for parents' rights.

She told the BBC that bosses who are rejecting furlough requests could be guilty of 'indirect sex discrimination' if they refuse to furlough working mothers.

She also warned of a mental health crisis as burnt out parents are being forced to work 17-hour days, incorporating six hours of tuition into their working day.

She said couples are taking it in turns to do home schooling, beginning work at 5am then rotating child care and working late into the night.

She told MailOnline: 'Women are now just walking out of their jobs because they just can't keep doing it, and their mental health is so bad. They're walking away.

'Our analysis from ONS data shows that women aged between 25 and 34 have the highest per cent of redundancies and between August and October last year, women were 60 per cent more likely to be unemployed than men.

'It's so concerning having mothers out of the workforce because it's so dificult to get them back in.

'We should be deeply concerned about it, because it is about child poverty at the end of the day it - it affects whole families.'

Rishi Sunak's job retention scheme currently allows bosses to furlough parents who can't work due to a lack of childcare

She told Radio 4: 'Many are not getting any break whatsoever...you've got six hours of unpaid work you now need to cram in to you job.

'The average day has increase from 9 hours to 11 hours under lockdown  that's already 17 hours of work you have to do before you consider cooking or cleaning or shopping or sleeping, or doing anything for yourself whatsoever.

'We're hearing from frantic mothers who are completely burnt out and their mental health is rapidly deteriorating.

'They can request to be furloughed and we would hope that their employer would consider that - but 70 per cent of mothers who've requested to be furloughed have had that request rejected.

'That could be indirect sex discrimination, because the caring responsibilities usually fall to women.

'And so if [employers] say you can't be furloughed, that could be perceived as sex discrimination.

'We would really ask them to seriously consider that and if they don't, they're they're going to have a mental health crisis on their hands.

'Over the summer between a third and 40 per cent of employers made redundancies so many are surviving on skeletal staff and desperately trying to rebuild their business.

'Of course they need their employees, and they need them on full productivity, but sadly we're seeing mothers being pushed out of their jobs because they're unable to work on full productivity.'

According to a study by the Trade Union Congress union, nearly three-quarters of working mothers who have applied for furlough following the latest school closures have had their requests turned down (file photo)

Founder of the blog Mother Pukka, Anna Whitehouse added: 'What working parents have been tasked with in lockdown is not humanly possible.

'You're looking at an average eight hour working day, six hour school day, 12 hours of parenting wrapped around that - that's 26 hours in a 24 hour day. And I'm hearing daily from women who are stepping back, standing down and logging off because they're burning out.

'Some are quitting out of choice, many not. Because who looks after kids home-schooling? Who looks after pandemic patients when out of hospital? Who takes a Tesco shop to elderly neighbours? Who runs community What's App groups making sure everyone has everything they need?'

Have you quit your job in order to home school your children? Email amie.gordon@mailonline.co.uk

Now Wales says it will join Scotland in reopening schools 'straight after the half-term break' on February 22 - after Boris Johnson completely ruled out sending children back in England before March 8 at the EARLIEST

By Jason Groves Political Editor for MailOnline

Boris Johnson was coming under increasing pressure to speed up the reopening of English schools today as Wales confirmed its intention to restart some primary classes after the February half term.

Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething confirmed that some of the youngest age groups would go back to school from February 22 under a similar plan to that underway in Scotland.

In contrast, English schools are not due to reopen until March 8, and the Prime Minister last night was resisting mounting pressure to accelerate.

Tory MPs called for the move after new research showed that as well as saving lives, the Oxford vaccine will cut transmission of the virus by two-thirds.

There was also concern that with English pupils risk falling further behind their counterparts.

Mr Gething told Times Radio that the 'first priority' for the Welsh Government is to start a return to face-to-face teaching in some schools, despite coronavirus cases being 'quite high'.

'We've got to go in small steps and schools are the first priority and hopefully, straight after the half-term break, we'll be able to see our youngest children return to face-to-face learning in primary schools,' he said.

Wales currently has a Covid infection rate of between 127 and 135 people per 100,000, broadly similar to that in Scotland. England's rate is around 269 per 100,000.

The Prime Minister last night insisted that schools cannot reopen before March 8 at the earliest.

He said he shared the 'urgency' of those wanting children back in the classroom, but warned that an earlier return could spark another upsurge in the virus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson (pictured at the Downing Street briefing yesterday) is resisting mounting pressure to accelerate the reopening of schools across England

Mr Johnson said: 'To people who understandably want to go faster  I share that anxiety and urgency. That is why we fought to keep schools open.

'What we don't want to do now that we are making progress with the vaccine rollout and we have got a timetable for the way ahead, we don't want to be forced into reverse.

'We think this is the prudent and cautious approach. I think it is much better to stick to that.'

But Robert Halfon, Tory chairman of the Commons education committee, urged ministers to 'think again' about the decision to set March 8 as the earliest possible date for a return to the classroom.

Young pupils arrive at Manor Park School and Nursery in Knutsford, Cheshire, last month

Mr Halfon pointed out that a Public Health England study last week found there was a 'strong case' for the return of primary schools, where outbreaks have been low.

'If the health experts say it's safe and Scotland can do it, why can't we?' he said. 'We have got the four horsemen of the education apocalypse coming down the track  attainment, mental health, safeguarding and loss of future prospects and wages.

'We need to think again because the damage is growing by the day.'

Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of Conservative MPs, said the encouraging news on vaccines meant it was time for ministers to start addressing 'the harms caused by the measures we're putting in place to control Covid, as well as the harms caused by Covid itself'.

Oscar Mumby, 10, and Harriet Mumby, 8, are helped with their online schoolwork by their mother Jo Mumby in Cuckfield, West Sussex, last week as schools continue to be closed

Mr Harper said Scotland's decision to press ahead with the reopening of schools meant 'there needs to be a very good reason for keeping English schools shut for so much longer'.

He added: 'Every hour of classroom learning lost is a tragedy for the nation's children and the schools shutdown is having a huge impact on children's health and welfare.'

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: 'The Government needs to be flexible about schools going back. If the evidence supports it, then we should be getting children back to school earlier than expected.'

Ministers are nervous about the public reaction later this month if children in Scotland and Wales are allowed back to the classroom while those in England are forced to endure more weeks of home learning.

A Downing Street source denied the Government was dragging its feet, saying the case rate in England was double that in Scotland. 'Opening schools is our top priority, but it is still too early,' the source said.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty also warned about rushing the return to school.

He said there was 'no doubt' that schools were safe, with the risk to children 'incredibly low', but he warned that allowing them to return too soon risked sparking another surge in the virus.

The Government has appointed a 'catch-up' tsar to oversee a huge programme designed to help children make up for their lost education.

Education expert Sir Kevan Collins will lead a taskforce devising catch-up plans, which are expected to include summer schools and an expansion of one-to-one tuition to help those who have fallen behind.

Hundreds of teachers in London 'book Covid vaccine through NHS booking link sent on Whatsapp' - as parts of the country begin jabbing over-60s

By Luke Andrews for MailOnline

Hundreds of teachers in London are booking coronavirus vaccinations using an NHS link, it has been suggested, while other areas are rolling out jabs to over-60s.

A staff member at a school in the capital, who has not been named, claimed today he had secured an appointment after receiving access to the system via Whatsapp.

'A friend of ours at another school had received an email from their friend,' said the teacher, who has no underlying health conditions and is not over 70 years old.

'She quoted the email the person had received apparently from a senior leader at their school. The quote was that Barts Health Authority was vaccinating teachers with their leftover vaccines and then it went on to give a link from the Barts booking system and a password to use.'

It comes amid reports over-60s are also now receiving their first doses in Greater Manchester, despite over-80s in the area still waiting for their shots.

NHS England figures show 86.5 per cent of over-80s in the area have been vaccinated, alongside 88.1 per cent of 75 to 79-year-olds and 56 per cent of those aged 70 to 74 years old.

Labour has repeatedly called for teachers to be bumped up the jabs priority list, arguing it could get children back behind their desks earlier.

Hundreds of teachers in London have been securing vaccine appointments via an NHS link. There is no suggestion that the teacher pictured has booked a Covid-19 vaccination early

But Boris Johnson has said even with a successful vaccines rollout classrooms in England will remain empty until March 8 at the earliest, when ministers hope high infection rates will have plummeted to much lower levels.

Labour won a majority of seats in the capital during the last general election, managing to cling on to 49 of 73 while its support collapsed in the North.

The Prime Minister is aiming to get 13.9million of the most vulnerable - over-70s, care home residents, NHS staff and the vulnerable - jabbed by mid-February.

But moves by health officials to give shots to those outside the top groups will raise fears over a vaccines postcode lottery, as some areas steam ahead.

NHS data show the rollout is going almost four times faster in South East London for those aged 70 to 74, compared to Devon which is trailing behind.

And it suggests there are almost 300,000 over-80s still waiting for their first dose in England, as the drive steams through its ninth week.

Ministers have so far resisted calls to bump teachers up the vaccination list, saying they will follow the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommendations.

Speaking in an anonymous capacity to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the teacher revealed he had been able to book an appointment through the Barts Health system.

I was sceptical that it would accept the appointment right up to the point it was confirmed,' he said.

'I thought during the booking process, if it wasnt something I was entitled to, I thought there would be something that would close it down or would refuse the appointment.

'But I went through the booking system and entered my details, my school details, my job details and then received a confirmation of the appointment itself.'

The chair of the Royal College of GPs, Professor Martin Marshall, warned there was 'certainly a risk' of this happening during complicated vaccine rollouts.

'I think the problem that has arisen is one that has arisen for a number of reasons,' he said.

'Most likely it was a genuine mistake that a link code an password that was sent out for Barts Health staff inadvertently found its way into the hands of teachers who were confused as to whether they were really in the priority group or not.'

He added: 'There is an issue of the importance of not wasting the vaccine. So all clinics, including GP clinics, who are currently bring about 75 per cent of all the vaccinations in the country, at the end of the day or at the end of a batch, which can last for only about five days, you often have some vaccinations left over and then youll search around to make sure you can give them to somebody as high priority as possible rather than wasting them.'

It was revealed in The Times today that over-60s are being offered Covid-19 vaccinations in Greater Manchester.

The Prime Minister's spokesman told the paper they would not stand in the way of areas picking up the pace to rollout vaccines to other groups.

'It's for individual areas to ensure the rollout of the vaccination programme and there are some areas that have done a higher proportion of the top four groups,' they said.

'We want to build on the momentum of the vaccine programme so for those in the cohorts just below the top four groups, we will ensure that we roll the vaccination programme out to them as soon as possible.'

An MP in the area, who has not been named, said over-65s in their constituency and other parts of the North West had already been vaccinated after receiving letters last week.

Barts Health has been contacted for comment.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his Kyrgyz counterpart, Ulukbek Maripov discussed bilateral trade and economic relations during a meeting in Almaty, the press service of the Armenian Cabinet of Ministers said on Friday

YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his Kyrgyz counterpart, Ulukbek Maripov discussed bilateral trade and economic relations during a meeting in Almaty, the press service of the Armenian Cabinet of Ministers said on Friday.

"Pashinyan and Maripov exchanged views on the development of trade and economic cooperation," the statement said.

The sides exchanged information on measures to combat the coronavirus infection and agreed to enhance their mutual contacts in parallel with the stabilization of the epidemic situation.
Google contract workers were banned from discussing their pay, and one was suspended for her labor activism, according to a complaint from the Alphabet Workers Union.

In a Thursday filing with the National Labor Relations Board, the union accused the Google vendor Adecco of violating U.S. labor law by trying to silence employees. Management forbid employees at a data center in South Carolina from discussing their pay, according to the complaint. The managers also suspended a data technician because of a pro-union Facebook post, according to the union.

The union filed the complaint against Google parent Alphabet Inc., as well as units of Adecco, claiming that the internet giant is a joint employer -- a company with sufficient control over a group of workers to be legally liable for their treatment. Google and Adecco Group AG did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The technician, Shannon Wait, said in an interview that her Facebook post explained she had joined the union to take on the demeaning treatment of subcontracted staff, such as the refusal to replace lost water bottles. Googles direct employees are provided new ones when they need them, she said.

Wait said shes been working full-time throughout the pandemic doing physically taxing tasks to keep servers running that Google relies on. We are the backbone of Google, she said. We are doing the hard work. The day after she posted her message, she said, she was called into a virtual meeting with management and told that she was being suspended and investigated as a security risk.

Waits Labor Board complaint is the first filed by the Alphabet Workers Union since the organization launched publicly last month. AWU, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America, has so far signed up around 800 Google employees and contract workers as members. The group isnt seeking collective bargaining with Alphabet management, which under U.S. labor laws would be difficult for contract workers to secure. Instead, it plans to use collective action and protests to force changes at the company, which in recent years has been roiled by worker revolts over issues including military contracts and sexual harassment. The treatment of subcontracted workers and independent contractors, who in 2018 became the majority of Alphabets global workforce, has been another long-running topic of controversy.

Google software engineer Parul Koul, the unions executive chair, said Waits experience reflects a massive double standard between the treatment of Alphabets direct employees and the contract staff who work side-by-side with them. They do have a responsibility to make sure that folks who are doing really mission-critical work for the company are treated fairly, she said.
A civilian member of the Greater Manchester Police force resigned after she was found to have attended an illegal lockdown rave.

The staff member was caught defying Covid restrictions by attending an illegal rave with 4,000 others at Daisy Nook Country Park in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, on June 13.

A disciplinary hearing for 'gross misconduct' was brought against the unnamed employee, who resigned before it could take place on December 15.

The rave saw thousands descended on the Park, in the biggest of three illegal 'lockdown raves' held that weekend in Greater Manchester and Leeds.

Joe Robinson, 20, collapsed and died the following day of a suspected drug overdose after attending the Daisy Nook rave, Greater Manchester Police said.

Three people were stabbed and one young woman was raped at another lockdown rave at Carrington, Trafford, Greater Manchester, on the same night - an event attended by up to 2,000 and described as 'wild' by senior police.

The following week about 200 people attended another lockdown event in a car park in Moss Side, south Manchester, which ended with two people being shot dead.

Cheriff Tall, 21, and Abayomi Ajose, 36, were both shot in the head from close range.

Crowds pack together at the rave at Daisy Nook Country Park in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, on June 13

The rave saw thousands descended on the Park, in the biggest of three illegal 'lockdown raves' held that weekend

Later in the evening an unknown member of the public is seen wearing a balaclava at the rave

Police put significant resources into stamping out a series of illegal lockdown raves during the summer, and the biggest was at Daisy Nook Country Park.

A disciplinary panel decided the Greater Manchester Police employee who attended it - a civilian worker and not a police officer - who would have been allowed to stay in the force with a 'final written warning' had they still been employed.

Brief details of the case emerged on a recently-published list of 'disciplinary outcomes' posted on the force's website.

Neither the name nor the sex of the member of staff were revealed in the document although the Manchester Evening News reports it was a female employee and the breach was uncovered some time later.

The force said it was too busy to provide more details about the case and a number of other disciplinary cases referred to in the document when asked.

The document reveals details of other disciplinary 'outcomes'.

The gathering was one of three illegal raves to take place in Greater Manchester and Leeds on June 13 and 14

The aftermath of an illegal 'quarantine rave' in Daisy Nook Country Park, Oldham. Joe Robinson, 20, collapsed at the rave on June 13 and died the following day

The aftermath shows the park ground covered with laughing gas cylinders and balloons

A constable was dismissed without notice for sending 'sexualised messages' to a female colleague on WhatsApp. The messages 'amounted to sexual harassment', according to the document.

An inspector found to have used 'inappropriate sexualised language' towards a junior female officer was handed a final written warning.

Another member of police staff was given a final written warning after receiving a caution for a section 39 assault committed whilst off duty.

A sergeant escaped with a final written warning for spitting at a male suspect who was being detained.

A civilian worker was dismissed without notice for 'inappropriate' contact with a child aged 13 on Instagram and Snapchat.

A constable was handed a final written warning after they 'failed to take appropriate action to address positive lines of enquiry in a criminal investigation'.

Stills from the a video taken at the rave show enthusiastic party-goers defying social distancing and all Covid restrictions

Ravers are seen in close contact with no regard for the spread of Covid at the rave

Another constable was given 'management advice' for pushing a youth to the floor.

Disciplinary proceedings against another constable, accused of using excessive force while handcuffing a motorist for having no insurance, were stayed because of delays in bringing the case, according to the document.

A member of police staff was handed a final written warning after they had received a caution for taking a colleague's pedal bike without their consent.

Another civilian worker was given a final written warning after they tested positive steroids, a class C drug.

A constable was given a final written warning following allegations the officer used excessive force at three separate incidents.

A civilian member of staff who failed to accurately log their working hours 'for financial gain' was given a final written warning.

Asked why some officers were dismissed and others given warnings, a statement from GMP said: 'GMP follows national guidance on police misconduct procedures set by the College of Policing.

'The college published the guidance in 2017 to increase fairness and proportionality in cases.

'GMP follows this guidance to inform the approach taken by panels and chairpersons to determine outcomes in police misconduct proceedings.'
The lawmaker picked to oversee voting legislation in the Texas House helped former President Donald Trump try to overturn the election results in November. The member who will take the lead on redrawing state and congressional districts for the next decade was accused last time of trying to disenfranchise Latino voters.

On Thursday, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced his picks for committee chairs, coveted roles that will help decide what bills live and die this year in the state Legislature. Two of the selections, Rep. Briscoe Cain for the Elections Committee and Rep. Todd Hunter in the Redistricting Committee, are already raising concerns among voting rights advocates for their past political stances.

Cain, R-Deer Park, was one of several lawyers who volunteered for the Trump campaigns failed effort to throw out the election results in Pennsylvania, traveling to Philadelphia and interviewing poll workers and watchers. He declined Thursday to say whether he believes the federal election results were legitimate, or that the Pennsylvania lawsuits were adequately vetted.

For me, the process is what matters, Cain told a local television news station in November. This is not about ensuring that Trump wins; its about ensuring that we have a fair election, because I believe the people do not trust in their elections or the systems.

Since then, the Houston-area lawmaker has filed three election-related bills in the House, two aimed at rooting out non-citizen voters and one proposing to increase criminal penalties on voters who list an incorrect home address.

Voting rights advocates say the efforts are veiled attempts to suppress turnout, especially within minority communities that are more likely to have limited access to primary forms of identification and resources to navigate the states already-complex voting process. Texas has among the most restrictive voting processes in the country.

Texas already makes it harder to vote than any other state. Rep. Briscoe being put in charge of the Elections Committee is a clear signal that the politicians in charge intend to make it even harder, Anthony Gutierrez, the head of Common Cause Texas, a non-partisan public-interest group, said in a statement. Well be fighting to stop them at every step.

In 2019, then-Texas Secretary of State David Whitley was forced to resign after his office attempted to purge tens of thousands of voters, few of whom were confirmed to be ineligible, and the Senate did not confirm his nomination. Under Cains proposed legislation, gathering data for similar purges would be required.

Cain, a third-term House member, served on the Elections Committee in 2019. This is his first committee chairmanship.

Im looking forward to getting input from Texans, members and policy experts in order to better gauge what needs to be done, Cain said Thursday, adding, Texans deserve to have trust and confidence in the process and outcome of our elections.

A spokesman for Phelan said the speaker met with more than 140 members to discuss the House assignments and repeatedly stressed the need to work together and fairly.

"Speaker Phelan has full confidence that each chair will preside over their committees in an impartial manner befitting the gravity of these important positions."

The appointment comes just days after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott made election integrity an emergency item this session, without saying what type of legislation he supports. Republicans have often raised voter fraud as a chief concern in crafting election laws, without evidence, including from the 2020 election.

A poll released this week by the University of Houston showed 83 percent Republicans in Texas believe there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, compared to 45 percent for the electorate overall.

As of Thursday, all of Cains Twitter activity before Dec. 21 appeared to have been scrubbed, including a widely shared post from November sent on his way to Philadelphia. Asked about the apparently deleted tweets, he said, News to me.

Debate within the Elections ommittee is likely to be especially intense this session. Serving alongside Cain as vice chair will be Rep. Jessica Gonzalez, D-Dallas, a second-term Democrat who worked as a voting rights lawyer for former President Barack Obamas reelection campaign in 2012.

I look forward to working with our partners in county government, as well as voter rights advocacy organizations, to protect and enhance the right to vote for every Texan, Gonzalez said in a statement.

Hunter, an eleven-term Republican and civil litigation attorney from Corpus Christi, has previously served three times on the House redistricting committee. He was accused in a 2011 federal lawsuit of illegally gerrymandering the districts in and around Corpus Christi  HD32 and HD34  to undermine Latino voting strength.

Staffers for Hunter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Federal judges ruled in 2017 that the states map drawers, and specifically Hunter, had diluted the vote of minority residents in violation of the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.

They intentionally packed Hispanic voters into HD32 to minimize their number and influence in HD34 and protect Hunter, the judges wrote. There is also evidence that they targeted low-turnout minority areas for inclusion in HD34 and intentionally drew out potential Hispanic rivals (both Republican and Democrat), again to protect the Anglo incumbent.

The ruling was eventually overturned by a 5-4 decision in the U.S. Supreme Court, with the courts conservative majority saying broadly that there was not enough evidence to prove the discrimination had been intentional.

The choice of Rep. Hunter as Chair of the House Redistricting Committee is everything wrong with our current Republican leadership and sends a clear signal that Republicans will attempt to draw maps that silence the voices of Black and Brown voters, Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.

Note: This story has been updated to reflect comments from House Speaker Phelan's spokesman.
The Taoiseach has said hotel quarantining measure for travellers who don't have a PCR test and are coming from specific countries should be in place by the middle of this month.

Micheal Martin said the country was "in a race" to get people vaccinated as "the variants have changed the landscape in relation to the virus very significantly".

He added that there "will come a stage when we have a surplus of vaccines, all going well".

"This is an unprecedented crisis and the Government has responded in an unprecedented way," Mr Martin told RTE's PrimeTime , programme adding that the vaccination programme provides hope.

"We have vaccines now which we didn't have last year and they do offer hope for the country and people do need hope to get through this."

He said people with illnesses that compromise their immunity and non-frontline healthcare workers will be bumped up the list and will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine ahead of schedule.

Earlier this afternoon, gardai were given enhanced powers to call to the homes of people to ensure they are quarantining after arriving from abroad.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly signed new regulations which will introduce a system of mandatory quarantine for arrivals into the State.

Under these regulations, passengers who arrive from any destination must quarantine for 14 days at the address specified on their Passenger Locator Form, with penalties for non-compliance.

Deputy CMO warns of 'worrying pattern' of people with symptoms delaying Covid tests

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, and Deputy CMO, Dr Ronan Glynn arriving at Thursday's public health briefing. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

A further 1,318 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed by Department of Health officials this evening, bringing the total number of cases seen in Ireland to 200,744.

75 further deaths from Covid-19 have been confirmed this evening by the Department of Health.

46 of the deaths occurred in February, 27 occurred in January, and the remaining two were from earlier reporting periods.

The median age of those who died is 84 years and the age range is 34-100 years.

The newest figures bring the total number of Covid-19-related deaths here to 3,586.

Speaking this evening, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn said "a worrying pattern" of people with symptoms delaying making contact with their GP had emerged.

Dr Glynn urged people to act quickly if they noticed they had symptoms, and to isolate and contact their GP immediately.

The Deputy CMO said this was the only way to prevent the spread of the virus and protect vulnerable loved ones.

Echoing Dr Glynn's remarks Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, Professor Philip Nolan said the next few weeks would be "difficult for all of us."

He said that as daily case levels decreased below the 1,000 mark, progress would "seem to slow down."

Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, Professort Philip Nolan. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

However, Prof Nolan said it was now more important than ever to drive the case numbers back to the low levels seen in June and July of last year.

Prof Nolan said the virus reproduction or 'R' number was now in the region of 0.5  0.8, which was "good news."

I noted last week that the testing of close contacts will impact on case numbers in the coming days," Prof Nolan said.

"We shouldnt be disappointed by this, it shows that we have moved from the mitigation phase of the last few weeks, back to the containment phase where we are tracking down every possible chain of transmission."

Of the cases notified today;

622 are men;

688 are women;

58% are under 45 years of age;

The median age is 40 years old;

428 are located in Dublin;

122 are in Cork;

93 are in Galway;

78 are in Kildare;

77 are in Limerick;

and the remaining 520 cases are spread across all other counties.

As of 2pm today, 1,284 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised, of which 188 were in ICU.

74 additional hospitalisations have been reported in the past 24 hours

The national 14-day incidence rate of the virus here is now 397.1 per 100,000 population.

Vaccines

As regards vaccinations, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said that while those over the age of 70 have "suffered the greatest burden" in terms or mortality and serious illness, the country was now in the position to offer "effective and safe vaccines" to this cohort.

The superior efficacy demonstrated by the mRNA vaccines authorised for use in Ireland, Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna mean that the mRNA vaccines are the right vaccine to provide the highest level of protection available to those over 70."

The CMO said that the vaccinations that will be seen over the coming weeks would give the country "great hope."

"However, even if you have received your Covid-19 vaccine, you must continue to wash your hands, wear a face covering, maintain a social distance and keep your close contacts to a minimum.

Until we have all been vaccinated, we must act as though none of us have been vaccinated.

Earlier, Paul Reid admitted that the HSE were now facing a significant challenge to re-focus the vaccine roll-out, but insisted that the over-70s programme will be on target.

Mr Reid insisted at a briefing today they are still aiming for the 480,000 over-70s to receive their vaccines by the end of March.

According to the latest figures, 219,200 vaccines have now been administered.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has earned a lot of praise for the recent Netflix release titled, The White Tiger. The actress has reportedly also earned a spot on the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) longlist for its 2021 Awards, for the Supporting Actress category.

Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra, recently shared the BAFTA longlist on Twitter to celebrate the nod to Priyanka's performance as supporting actress. Parineeti tweeted, "Ladies and gentlemen MEET MY BAFTA LONGLIST SISTER! Can't wait for this to happen!"

Soon after, PeeCee shared her sister's post and wrote, "You're a cutie tishuuuu! love u @ParineetiChopra" Take a look at the tweet,

Apart from Priyanka, the film's lead and debutante Adarsh Gourav made it to the longlist for the Leading Actor category. The film has also been listed in other categories like Best Film, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and Editing.

According to reports, the final list of nominations will be unveiled on March 9, 2021. A month later, the BAFTA Awards ceremony will take place on April 11.

Last month, The White Tiger also received an honourable mention in the Best Film category in the Gold List, which honour artists from the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) in the film industry. Priyanka received honourable mention in the category of the best supporting female actor.

Notably, The White Tiger is based on Aravind Adiga's book by the same name and is directed by Ramin Bahrani. The film also stars Rajkummar Rao in a supporting role and explores India's class struggle.

It follows Balram (Adarsh), a lower-class citizen who lives a life of perpetual servanthood and poverty. After becoming a chauffeur for a rich landlord named Ashok (Rajkummar) and his wife named Pinky (Priyanka), Balram begins seeking a life in the light and aims for a life of freedom and financial prosperity.

ALSO READ: Cardi B Praises Priyanka Chopra's The White Tiger, Says 'Was Crying And Angry While Watching'

ALSO READ: Priyanka Chopra Says Her Husband Nick Jonas Believes She Will Be The First Jonas To Win An Oscar
Americans less enthusiastic about socialism after 2020 election: survey

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A new survey reveals that Americans have soured on socialism following the 2020 presidential election.

The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released a report Wednesday concluding that Americas thirst for socialism has plummeted. The report is part of the 2020 Post-Election Survey of 1,000 adults nationwide conducted between Nov. 4 and 16, 2020. As part of the survey, voters were asked whether they preferred socialism or capitalism.

Transitioning from socialism to capitalism would be a major, life-changing choice that will have dramatic consequences and far-reaching impacts on the health and well-being of our country and its people, said George Barna, director of Research at the Cultural Research Center. Yet, because they are inadequately educated on these matters, many people are easily swayed by superficial, tangential, or emotional arguments.

It is clear that today Americans are suffering from a deficit of insight into the details of governance and national economics, he added. It is in the best interests of the nation and its future to help people of all ages better understand the meaning and long-term implications of socialism before substantial systemic changes are made.

According to the survey, support for socialism among all respondents dropped from 41% to 32% since the Cultural Research Center last asked Americans for their views about socialism in 2018. Standing at 12%, support for socialism was lowest among those identified as integrated disciples with a biblical worldview and Spiritually Active Governance Engaged Conservative Christians (SAGE Cons.). Seventeen percent of integrated disciples supported socialism in 2018, along with 18% of Sage Cons.

Among born-again Christians, described as adults who believe they will go to Heaven after they die only because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, support for socialism stood at 32% in 2020 compared to 35% in 2018. Thirty percent of self-identified Christians preferred socialism to capitalism, a decrease from the 39% who said so in 2018.

Support for socialism also declined among spiritual skeptics, described as people who say they do not know, do not believe or dont care if God exists, from 47% to 35%. All age groups saw a drop in support for socialism, including those younger than 30, where the preference for socialism or capitalism dropped from 48% to 43% from 2018 to 2020.

The support for socialism dropped significantly among Americans between the ages of 30 and 49. Just 34% of people in that age group supported socialism compared to 49% two years earlier.

Only two groups saw support for socialism increase in the past two years: Non-Christians and political liberals. In 2018, 38% of non-Christians said they preferred socialism to capitalism. That number rose to 44% in 2020.

Among political liberals, who have always been the group most supportive of socialism, support increased from 53% to 54%. Throughout three recent surveys by the Cultural Research Center asking Americans for their views of socialism, political liberals were the only group to express majority support for socialism.

Those who supported socialism indicated strong support for reducing racial discrimination through legal means (62%), universal healthcare (59%), restoring financial solvency to Medicare and Social Security (55%), redistributing wealth (52%), and implementing stricter environmental regulations (50%).

Additionally, those who sympathized with socialism had divergent religious views from their capitalist counterparts. Specifically, 61% of socialism supporters believed that the Bible was ambiguous on abortion compared to 46% of capitalism supporters who said the same.

While the Democrats, who are seen as more sympathetic to socialism, gained control of the federal government following the 2020 election, concerns about socialism did manifest themselves in the election results.

According to the report, While Biden was ultimately declared the victor, the survey data show that it was not because of his determination to advance socialism as much as the fact that he was not Donald Trump.

Republicans, who have worked to portray Democrats as proponents of socialism, ended up winning 11 seats in the House of Representatives, with one race still undecided, despite the fact that most predictions showed the party losing seats. Republicans performed very well in areas with high Latino populations, such as Doral, Florida, where former President Donald Trump won nearly 51% of the vote compared to 22% four years earlier.

According to the Daily Kos, Trump only won two congressional districts carried by Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, Floridas 26th District and Texas 23rd District. Both districts have high Latino populations.

Tony Suarez, the CEO of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, attributed the surge in support for Trump and the Republicans among Latinos to fears of socialism, the economic system that caused many of them to flee their home countries in the first place. According to CNN exit polling, Trumps Latino support nationwide increased from 28% in 2016 to 32% in 2020.
A Korean organization has released a report presenting horrifying accounts of Christian persecution in North Korea.

Korea Future Initiative (KFI) conducted an investigation and documentation project that aims to "provide an accurate accounting of patterns of documented religious freedom violations perpetrated against North Korean citizens and to inform decision-making in the international community."

Entitled "Persecuting Faith: Documenting religious freedom violations in North Korea", the report contains the first phase of their project, revealing the terrifying conditions of Christians who are persecuted and sent to the country's labor camps. North Korea is in its 20th year ranking first on the World Watch List as the most dangerous country for Christians. Thus, prayers are requested for the light of God to shine in the totalitarian state, Open Doors USA reported.

The report is based on the data collected from 117 respondents, reporting 273 victims, interviewed in 2019 and 2020. It also enumerated incidents of persecution.

These include 79 refugees who were forced to return to North Korea, 244 incidents of arbitrary arrests, 36 individuals who were tortured or have sustained physical assault, 32 incidents of sexual violence and 20 persons who were executed.

The report further stated stories of Christians who were thrown into the North Korean labor camps experiencing horrifying conditions.

One is about former prisoner Hea Woo whose husband died in prison for his faith.

She said that a prison has different parts which include agriculture, construction and mining. Men and women were segregated but all seemed like they were about to faint because of hopelessness, despair and starvation. Each, she said, was only given a handful of rotten corn and something watery but not soup. The corn was their only food for the whole year. People were made to work "more than cows or animals" and prisoners die of malnutrition and accidents.

Christians who have managed to escape to China are also facing dangerous situations. Findings of the KFI report said that "the investigation documented 110 incidents where persons experienced criminal charges based on their religious activities in China that were not in accordance with due process or where the grounds for criminal proceedings were likely unlawful and at odds with fundamental human rights."

The report showed the horrific treatment of fleeing North Koreans in China and those who were sent back to the country where they are usually imprisoned.

A woman identified as "Prisoner 42" told her story.

She said that one day when she was walking on a street in China, a black car pulled up next to her and took her to a Chinese prison. She was handed over to the North Korean authorities after a few weeks. She was then brought to a detention center where she was made to strip all her clothes and the authorities searched her body for any hidden items, especially money.

In addition, the report told stories of sudden imprisonment, violent interrogations, execution and forced abortions. But even in the midst of hopelessness of North Korean prisons, God was still seen moving in the lives of the prisoners.

One respondent narrated her story when she was hit in the face, causing her skin to rupture and bleeding.

"I wept a lot when they hit me again. Blood and discharge ruptured during my next pre-trial examination. They hit me again because I wept. I do not know if it was God, but the wound healed by the next pre-trial examination."

Another respondent spoke about a prisoner who shared the gospel in a re-education camp and spoke in tongues, which she recognized as passages from the Bible.

"Other prisoners in the cell did not know what this person was doing under the blanket, but I knew," she said.

A witness also remembered how a prisoner told her, "'God sent me here for you.'"

"Eventually I listened to her [...] she was a light that came and warmed me when I was drowning in my sorrow [...] I would have killed myself if it were not for her," she said.

The stories showed God's faithfulness to his people even in the midst of hopelessness and despair.

Christians are requested to pray for the believers in North Korea, as well as the prison guards and leaders of the country, that they too would experience the redemptive love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ireland will receive 190,000 AstraZeneca shots this month with an early delivery of 21,000 doses arriving this weekend, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said.

Frontline healthcare workers who have not yet received their first dose will be first in the queue for these shots, Minister Donnelly confirmed.

Now, there arent 190,000 people [in this category] so the rest of these will be scheduled accordingly, and we will begin looking at cohorts 4,5,6 and 7, Minister Donnelly said on RTE News at One.

This includes healthcare workers who do not have direct patient contact as well as key workers and those with underlying health conditions.

Read More

Some 220,000 doses have been administered as of Wednesday, of which 133,000 went to frontline healthcare workers, as the vaccination programme continues to progress.

Most nursing home residents will be fully vaccinated with both doses by the end of February, Mr Donnelly said, adding that those over 85 will begin receiving their first dose from GPs from Monday February 15.

Roughly seven in 10 GPs will be able to administer Covid-19 vaccines in their own clinics and the other 400 GPs will be looked at to find local solutions such as vaccination centres to administer the vaccine to people in their care.

If people do not have a GP and are over the age of 85, Minister Donnelly advised them to contact the HSE Helpline at 1850 24 1850.

Family carers of people over 85 will not be allotted a higher place in the vaccination programme, the Minister said.

There are 1,258 people in hospital with Covid-19 this afternoon, of which 181 are in intensive care settings. Yesterday the total case count of Ireland surpassed the 200,000 mark as there were 1,318 new cases and 75 further deaths.
The Office of the Attorney General has announced that a criminal complaint has been filed against former Guam psychiatrist Dr. Abner Pasatiempo for seven counts of official misconduct and seven counts of harassment.

"The court will now review the complaint to decide whether the charges are supported by probable cause. If so, the court will issue a summons and schedule a hearing. Details surrounding the complaint will be released if the court decides there is probable cause," the AG's office stated.

Pasatiempo is seeking a resolution to complaints made against him to the Guam Board of Medical Examiners so that he can work in Alaska.

Six patients filed complaints against Pasatiempo in December 2019, including allegations of physical contact, such as touching a patient's buttocks, but not sex, according to GBME discussions at that time.

The AG then announced investigations into Pasatiempo in February 2020.

A psychiatrist would have to be found to act as an investigator for Pasatiempo's case by the GBME, because there isn't one on the board. But in a January 2021 meeting, board discussions indicated board members could not find a suitable psychiatrist. However, discussions also indicated legislation was being proposed to help boards under the Health Professional Licensing Office with their investigations.

Before practicing in Guam, Pasatiempo had been disciplined in Maryland for engaging in a sexual relationship with a patient.

In 2006, the Maryland Board of Physicians suspended his license for five years but the actual suspension lasted 18 months. Pasatiempo was given conditions to fulfill as part of a consent order with the board.

In 2008, the Maryland board reinstated Pasatiempo's license following the completion of the conditions, although he was still on probation.
Volunteer and donate

The new Rotary Playground at the Greenway is scheduled to be built by community members from June 22-27. Those who want to volunteer should call the Yakima Greenway office at 509-453-8280. Visit www.yakimagreenway.org for more information.

To buy and personalize a fence post for the new playground, or to donate in other ways, visit www.yakimagreenway.org.
All employees of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and four other airports have tested negative for COVID-19 in a drive to prevent viral transmission in air travel.

Staff at Tan Son Nhat, Cam Ranh International Airport in Khanh Hoa Province, Can Tho International Airport in Can Tho City, Vinh International Airport in Nghe An Province, and Lien Khuong Airport in Lam Dong Province have all got the all-clear for the novel coronavirus, the state-run Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) said on Thursday.

The ACV operates all domestic and international airports in the Southeast Asian country.

The staff members of 16 out of the remaining 17 airports will also be screened for the contagious respiratory disease, the ACV added.

Those airports include Noi Bai in Hanoi, Da Nang in the namesake city, Phu Quoc on Kien Giang Provinces Phu Quoc Island, Cat Bi in Hai Phong, Phu Bai in Thua Thien-Hue Province, Buon Ma Thuot in Dak Lak Province, Phu Cat in Binh Dinh Province, Pleiku in Gia Lai Province, Chu Lai in Quang Nam Province, Tho Xuan in Thanh Hoa Province, Dong Hoi in Quang Binh Province, Tuy Hoa in Phu Yen Province, Con Dao in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Dien Bien in Dien Bien Province, Rach Gia in Kien Giang Province, and Ca Mau in Ca Mau Province.

The testing drive is meant to ensure safety for passengers and aviation personnel during this peak travel time when the Lunar New Year festival, Vietnams biggest festive celebration, is a week away, the company explained.

Vietnam is battling a serious outbreak of coronavirus infections that began with two local cases announced on January 28, after the country had spent nearly two months detecting zero community transmissions.

A total of 375 communit-based cases have been recorded since then, according to the Ministry of Healths data.

Two hundred and seventy-eight patients were logged in Hai Duong, 44 in Quang Ninh, 22 in Hanoi, 18 in Gia Lai, three in Bac Ninh, two in Hoa Binh, five in Binh Duong and one each in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, and Bac Giang.

Most of the domestically-transmitted infections have been traced back to Hai Duong and Quang Ninh, both located in northern Vietnam.

The Southeast Asian country has officially documented 1,957 coronavirus patients, including 1,058 domestic cases, as of Friday morning, according to the Ministry of Health.

The government has announced 1,465 recoveries and virus-related 35 fatalities.

It confirmed 84 local transmissions on January 28, 62 on January 29, 61 on January 30, 31 on January 31, 32 on February 1, 31 on February 2, 28 on February 3, and 46 on February 4.

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The number of Covid-19 cases in Ireland continues to decline, but has now passed the 200,000 mark since the pandemic began.

Health officials announced a further 1,318 cases of the virus yesterday, breaking the 200,000 mark.

The country's r-rate  the rate of reproduction of the virus  has declined and is now between 0.5 and 0.8, health officials confirmed.

But, Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the epidemiological modelling group, said cases will likely rise in the coming days as testing of close contacts of confirmed cases has resumed.

He said: We will see some uptick in coming days as those tests feed into the system and if we keep up our efforts it will feed into the [downward] trend.

He predicted that to reach 500 daily cases by the middle of February would be an extraordinary performance.

Mobility data is showing clearly people are staying home, although not as confined as they were in March or April.

Responding to anecdotal fears that traffic is rising, Prof Nolan said: There was a small rise in traffic mobility. In general, I think we are hyper-sensitive [to changes]. We have forgotten what traffic was like in January [last year].

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan also stressed that the current levels of the disease still remain dangerously high.

He would not speculate on lifting restrictions or increasing numbers at events such as weddings, saying it is too early. And he repeated advice against travelling past the 5km mark, especially flying on holidays, noting the health minister has now signed into law new powers for the gardai around this.

In recent weeks the National Public Health Emergency Team had expressed concern the case decline was slowing or had plateaued.

Yesterday, it said it now seems this was a result of people not going for tests at the weekend and so it seemed the case numbers rose mid-week, when a longer overview showed a slow but steady decline.

Outside of tracking the disease, the main focus for the health system now is the vaccine roll-out.

Dr Lucy Jessop, director of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, said the decision taken in Ireland to only give the AstraZenca vaccine to younger people for now is based on the available data.

She did not wish to comment on why the UK has taken a different decision.

Dr Jessop would not speculate on whether younger people would be moved up the vaccine schedule now to make sure that supplies of AstraZeneva arriving next week will be used in a timely fashion.

The data issued yesterday shows the 14-day incidence rate of infection dropped again to 397.1 per 100,000 of population, putting Ireland among the three European countries with the fastest rate of decrease from very high levels.

This rate in Waterford is 612.9, in Limerick 374.6, and Cork 323.7 while Kerry has the lowest rate in Munster at 183.5 per 100,000 of population.

The so-called UK variant or B.1.1.7 has now been found in 75% of the samples tested by the National Virus Reference Laboratory, meaning it is now the dominant strain of the virus here.

We also saw a number of vehicles where motorists got stranded in cars in the ditch in low visibility and winds, he said.

The reason, he said, was a perfect storm of very fast-moving, deteriorating weather. The front came through on Thursday morning, affecting Northwest Iowa, and moved quickly across the state with a line of freezing rain. Temperatures dropped significantly. The rain changed to snow. Then we got a flash freeze, where all of that precipitation froze to the pavement, creating slick conditions, he said.

Then the winds picked up, making it hard to treat roads with brine or sodium chloride. The wind blows it around a lot, and it ends up in areas it is not needed, he said. It had to be ranked up there as one of the most difficult days we saw across the state in quite a while.

The fatal case took place on Highway 20 in Northern Iowa, involving eight trucks and four passenger vehicles. The man who was killed was in one of the trucks involved in the crash.

Even state troopers faced problems with the weather, said Sgt. Alex Dinkla, a spokesman for the State Patrol. Two state troopers, who were trying to help a truck driver who was pinned, had to run into a ditch to flee a chain-reaction crash that hit their patrol cars, he said.
Indias threat to take legal action against Twitter betrays thin-skinned sensitivity breached by pointed criticism of a few actions of the state in the matter of handling the farmers strike against three contentious agriculture laws. The overt attack on Twitter is illustrative of the government and the ruling partys selective outrage because certain truths may have hit home.

But Twitter is just a messenger carrying all shades of opinions of users. In raging against Twitter India is in danger of missing the wood for the trees. The issue has more to do with the perception of peaceful dissent being an active ingredient of democracy.

The opinions of celebrities may sometimes be unpalatable but only in responding is importance attached to them. There is no need for official India to have reacted like this to individual opinions unless they came from State actors as it did in the case of the Canadian Prime Minister. What Rihanna or Kangana Ranaut and Greta Thunberg or Sachin Tendulkar think of a social issue like treatment of farmers is strictly a matter of personal opinion and the public can easily see through celebrities if they are seen to offer opinions only in orchestrated campaigns stoked by jingoism or faux nationalism.

The farmers strike against Indian laws is an internal matter and if a nation like the United States feels compelled to have its say on the subject, India is free to take it up through diplomatic channels. Much the same argument arose when violent raiders landed on the US Capitol on Jan. 6 after which Indias Prime Minister felt compelled to comment. But sensitivity cannot be allowed to become such a regressive quality as to take us back to an era in which official India saw a foreign hand or a global conspiracy every time someone in authority said something in a world capital.

The right to the Internet is fundamental in a modern democratic setting but Twitter is merely one microblogging platform used by many. Its inconsistencies have been made obvious in its handling of tweets, some of them outrageous or even outright lies and which were selectively removed as offensive or promoted in the guise of free speech. The social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, have monetised hate because abusive content, which generates user engagement in millions, has become a highly marketable commodity in the Internet era. It is ridiculous if someone complains now after having cynically weaponised the same platform as a medium to sell ideologies and ideas or to canvass votes.

The handling of the farmers on the borders of Indias capital has become a perception battle more than a true search for corrections in basic issues. Official India is ill-equipped to take on the global digital media but it can listen to its own farmers and get down to addressing the problem rather than standing on prestige, even if the protests are beginning to resemble the Yellow Vests movement for economic justice in France. It is still an Indian issue, not war, and it must be solved by Indias ruling party mandarins.
A man jailed for 12 years for attacking and raping his friend in her home has failed in a bid to overturn his conviction, in what was his second appearance in the Court of Appeal over the same offence.

The 37-year-old, who can't be identified to protect the identity of the victim, had admitted assaulting the woman but denied rape.

He was tried three times as one jury could not reach a verdict and a second jury's verdict was quashed by the Court of Appeal. A third jury convicted on one rape charge but disagreed on two further charges of rape.

In his appeal, lawyers for the man said that the trial judge erred by not properly explaining to the jury that the victim's distress, as witnessed by three people after she escaped from the ordeal, could have been caused by an assault rather than rape.

The judges at the three-judge Court of Appeal found that the trial judge had adequately warned the jury of the dangers of convicting based on evidence of the woman's distress. Delivering judgement, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said the trial judge was right to tell the jury that evidence of distress can be "strong corroboration" of a complaint of rape.

Mr Justice McCarthy sat with President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham and Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly.

Trial

Following his third trial trial at the Central Criminal Court in February 2019, the man was convicted of one count of rape contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981. The offence occurred on May 4, 2012. He was sentenced on May 9, 2019 to 12 years imprisonment with six years post-release supervision.

The jury heard that the appellant and his victim met in May 2012 at a time when she was suffering from alcohol addiction and using Xanax pills. Following an argument she told him to leave her house and when he called her phone on May 3, 2012, she told him to leave her alone.

The following night she was awaiting the arrival of another friend when, at about 11pm, there was a knock on the door. When she opened it she was confronted by the appellant who, she said, was angry and abusive, both physically and verbally.

He knocked her backwards, kicked her and punched her. He drank from a bottle of vodka and continued to assault her before tearing off her clothes and raping her.

She described being dragged by the hair afterwards and said the man put her in the shower and sprayed her with water. He threatened her with a knife and attempted to burn a rug which, she said, he had ejaculated on.

The smoke from the fire set off a fire alarm and it was when he was dealing with the alarm that she escaped through the front door and out into the street.

The jury at her trial saw CCTV footage showing her fleeing into the street covered only by a towel. She was helped by passersby, who gave evidence that she was deeply distressed, and taken to a nearby house to await gardai.
The metastatic cancer of "cancel culture" that has taken root in the American sociopolitical environment features a couple of mechanisms all too common in communist regimes  purges and struggle sessions.

In the former Soviet Union, it was Stalin's practice to purge anyone he saw as a threat to his position. It didn't matter whether the person was a staunch communist or a true believer in the revolution. If he didn't bend to Stalin's will, he was removed. Many people just disappeared.

In the beginning, during the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin, Stalin, and Leon Trotsky were close, with Trotsky eventually becoming second only to Lenin, but it didn't take long for a split to form. Trotsky supported the Mensheviks, Lenin the Bolsheviks. Lenin would come to refer to Trotsky as a "Judas," a "scoundrel," and a "swine." After Lenin died, Stalin came to believe that Trotsky was a threat to his grip on the Soviet state, so he permanently exiled Trotsky.

Trotsky eventually fled to Mexico but still had a voice and following in Russia that threatened Stalin. So Stalin had Trotsky convicted of treason in absentia and sent an NKVD goon squad to Mexico  half a world away  to assassinate him. The squad first botched a machine gun attack and eventually murdered him with an ice ax.

Stalin's practice of purging spread throughout Soviet society. Anyone could be accused of being a counterrevolutionary or enemy of the state. Some were named to fill quotas. The process was also used to remove anyone out of favor or in the way of some party apparatchik's petty aspirations. Fraudulent and fictional offenses were common  all that was needed was an accusation from the right person, and "Off to Gulag!"

In America today, if you are not a Democrat or are an insufficiently progressive Democrat, you too can be a counterrevolutionary and an enemy of the state. If you do not see the similarity between the bloodlust Stalin had for Trotsky and the hate Democrats have for Donald Trump and anyone associated with him  with Trump-supporters demonized as "domestic terrorists," "white supremacists," and "insurrectionists"  you either do not know history or choose not to look.

"Struggle sessions" were China's version of the "glorious people's revolution." Mao used to subdue and control a billion people spread across China's vast landscape, most of which was rural and agrarian. They were a form of public humiliation and torture that forced the subject to admit various crimes before a crowd of people who would verbally and physically abuse the victim before, during, and after the confession. Struggle sessions, though, were not designed primarily to punish the guilty. They were used to shape public opinion, as well as to humiliate, persecute, or execute political rivals and those deemed class enemies. Struggle sessions were cancel culture on steroids.

These tactics exist in contemporary American culture. The cancel mob will persecute anyone who says the wrong word, writes the wrong paper or editorial, retweets the wrong tweet, holds the wrong opinions, or is determined to be a danger to progressive ideology or Democrats  and "wrong" is defined as anything progressive Democrats don't like.

Mao's struggle sessions were conducted up close and personal, while cancel culture is often conducted from a distance (via social or traditional media). Even that is changing, though, since the Democrats became emboldened after taking total control over the presidency and Congress.

Mao's practices are evident in the new Congress. Democrats are demanding that Republicans repeat the approved words about the election being free and fair, with Biden as the legitimate president. Anything less is branded as "disinformation" and a "conspiracy theory." Anyone not willing to recite this new progressive catechism is branded an "insurrectionist" or an "enemy of democracy," and must be shamed and/or removed. Some Democrats are calling for people to be arrested, jailed, and sent to re-education camps for nothing other than holding "harmful" perspectives.

Scary stuff.

The speed with which the "revolution" happened helps define the Democrat party. If it quacks like a Soviet, walks like a Soviet, and swims like a Soviet, Friar William of Occam would say it is reasonable to conclude that it is a Soviet.

Statistically speaking, sensible, liberty-loving Democrats exist. They need to see what their party has become. They should remember the fates of people like Trotsky, Solzhenitsyn, and Nikolay Ivanovich Yezhov (the man behind Stalin's purges who was eventually purged himself). They need to know about Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria, Stalin's director of the secret police, the man who coined the phrase "Show me the man, and I will show you the crime."

Time to open your eyes, my patriotic friends in the Democrat party. The blind, vitriolic hate of Donald J. Trump and the bloodthirsty lust for power of your party's leadership has America on the highway to Hell. The last exit is approaching fast; let's not miss it.

Security has been tightened with the deployment of extra police personnel and the strengthening of barricades due to the ongoing farmers' protest at Delhi's borders , leading to traffic congestions on many key roads in the city.

Taking to Twitter, the Additional CP Traffic, Outer Range, Delhi alerted commuters about the closure of borders and suggested alternative roads for travel in the national capital.

Also Read | The health nudge is merely a mirage

Singhu,piau Maniyari,Saboli,Auchandi borders are closed.Lampur, Safiabad,Singhu school&Palla toll tax borders are open. Pl follow alternate route.

Traffic is heavy & diverted from NH44. Pl avoid Outer Ring Road,GTK road& NH 44.@CPDelhi @SplCPTrafficDel @DelhiPolice @dtptraffic  Addl. CP Traffic, Outer Range, Delhi (@dcptrafficouter) February 4, 2021

1) Singhu, piau Maniyari, Saboli, and Auchandi borders are closed.

2) Lampur, Safiabad, Singhu school and Palla toll tax borders are open.

3) Traffic is heavy and diverted from NH44.

4) The Delhi Traffic Police have asked commuters to avoid the Outer Ring Road, GTK road and NH 44.

5) Traffic movement is closed on Raisina Road(both carriageway).

6) Traffic is affected on Aurobindo Marg due to ongoing repair work of subway by PWD.

Workers under the watch of police personnel were recently seen hooking iron rods between two rows of cement barriers on a flank of the main highway at the Singhu border to further restrict the movement of farmers protesting against the government's new farm laws at the location.

Another portion of the highway at the Delhi-Haryana border is practically blocked now as a makeshift cement wall has come up there.

Security has also been beefed up at the Delhi-Ghazipur border, where protesting farmers are also camping for over two months.

Security arrangements continue to be strengthened at the Delhi-UP border site, which is galvanising farmers from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, days after an emotional appeal by Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait.

Drones have also been deployed to monitor the protesters.

Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been camping at Delhi's borders for weeks, seeking a repeal of the three agriculture laws.

They claim that the new laws will weaken the minimum support price (MSP) system. But the Centre says the laws will only give farmers more options to sell their produce.

With agency inputs

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TOKYO, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Edgecortix Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan, CEO: Sakyasingha Dasgupta, hereinafter called "EdgeCortix") has signed a partnership with PALTEK Corporation (Headquarters: Yokohama, Japan, President: Naohide Yabuki, Securities Code: 7587, hereinafter called "PALTEK"), which sells and designs semiconductors and related products. Since its founding in 1982, PALTEK has used FPGAs to provide product development support and technical support to Japanese electronics manufacturers. The company's strength, cultivated through its semiconductor sales, lies in its ability to support customers from proposal through to mass production, and along with integrated design services.

Through this partnership, EdgeCortix will provide PALTEK, with their low-latency, energy-efficient hardware IP (intellectual property) Dynamic Neural Accelerator and MERA  compilers, to be implemented on the Xilinx Accelerator Card "Alveo  U50 Data Center Accelerator Card" *1. This enables high-throughput, real-time and low power edge AI applications in areas such as ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems), autonomous driving, robots, smart cities, drones, industry 4.0, etc.

Background and outline of this collaboration

In recent years, deep learning, which is part of a broader family of machine learning methods based on artificial neural networks, has realized dramatic improvements in accuracy in many fields such as machine vision and voice processing. However, majority of the current practical applications are based on cloud-infrastructure using GPUs. In general for edge computing, there are many use cases that cannot be processed efficiently in the cloud due to challenges arising from communication volume, load, and latency during inference, with the performance of inference processing on edge devices using streaming data becoming a critical issue.

EdgeCortix is a fabless semiconductor design company, co-designing the hardware and software for low latency artificial intelligence inference processors on embedded and telco edge devices. Through this distributor agreement, EdgeCortix's unique AI hardware IP, the Dynamic Neural Accelerator *2, can be implemented on the Xilinx Alveo U50 FPGA accelerator cards provided by PALTEK. This enables ultra-high speed and reduced power consumption (as compared to CPUs and GPUs), while processing of complicated arithmetic operations along with large amounts of data, typical in deep learning.

Against this background, by combining PALTEK's long standing experience in design and sales of electronic equipment and technical support from proposal to mass production, along with EdgeCortix's edge AI acceleration focused technology, we can rapidly bring high performance AI inference capabilities to edge devices. Additionally, this partnership will help provide easily deployable edge AI solutions to companies and system integrators without the need for deep know how on FPGA hardware or software.

Main Initiatives / Collaboration Measures

Establishing this distributor agreement, we will combine the strengths of both companies, accelerate the development and mass production of edge AI solutions that utilize FPGAs, and propose and execute efficient AI applications for meeting the needs of the market. Specifically, solutions that integrate EdgeCortix's Dynamic Neural Accelerator IP DNA-F200 & DNA-F100 (FPGA bitstreams) with Alveo  U50 FPGA accelerator cards, along with EdgeCortix's MERA  dataflow compiler will be offered.

Naohide Yabuki, President of PALTEK Corporation, had the following to say about this partnership:

"Currently, various AI services are on the market, but most of them are processed on CPUs and GPUs in the cloud. However, there is a need for low latency in fields such as robots, smart cities, and Industry 4.0, which we are targeting. Along with this, edge AI with FPGAs is increasing as many customers demand low power consumption and long-term supply. EdgeCortix focuses on edge AI and provides solutions specialized for lower latency and lower power consumption. We are very much looking forward to achieve synergistic effects by proposing such edge AI focused solutions together with the Xilinx products we handle. "

Sakyasingha Dasgupta, CEO of Edgecortix, Inc., had the following to say about this partnership:

"We are pleased to establish this partnership with PALTEK Corporation and are confident that it will enable growth in edge AI hardware acceleration business involving FPGAs. We feel very strongly that, with complete integrated solutions leveraging our unique technology, together with PALTEK Corporation, we can enhance the practical application of edge AI products and the overall customer experience. Since 1982, PALTEK Corporation has a wealth of experience in electronic product development and sales, supporting customers from proposal stages to mass production. Leveraging this experience, we will offer our AI processor IP and compiler technology for extremely fast inference on edge devices and datacenters using FPGAs, requiring very little effort for solution deployment."

About Dynamic Neural Accelerator IP DNA-F200 from Edge Cortix

DNA-F200 is the latest member of the EdgeCortix Dynamic Neural Accelerator dataflow architecture based IP family for deep neural network (DNN) inference application on FPGAs. It is designed for the latest Xilinx ALVEO U50/U50LV adaptable accelerator cards with HBM support. DNA-F200 (3.7 INT8 TOP/s at 300 MHz) and its predecessor DNA-F100 (2.3 INT8 TOP/s at 275 MHz) are a high-performance convolution neural network (CNN) inference IP optimized for ultra-low latency, energy-efficient and high throughput workloads for streaming data. Especially, designed for blazingly fast edge AI applications. DNA-F200/F100 runs with highly optimized instructions set for INT8 bit batch-size 1 inference and supports all mainstream convolutional neural networks, such as ResNet, YOLO, SSD, MobileNet, FPN, MonoDepth etc. It is supported on any Xilinx or custom board based on Xilinx FPGAs that has a Vitis platform, out of the box. This includes both MPSoC class and datacenter class ALVEO FPGAs.

EdgeCortix offers the DNA-F200 bitstream along with their proprietary MERA  compiler. This enables nearly zero effort deployment of deep neural networks designed in most popular frameworks like Pytorch and Tensorflow-lite directly on the FPGA. Developed on top of open-source machine learning compiler Apache TVM*3, MERA enables machine learning engineers to optimize and run networks designed for CPUs or GPUs, with INT8 bit quantization out of the box on the DNA IP implemented on Xilinx ALVEO FPGAs. The compiler automatically identifies which parts of the neural network can be offloaded to the accelerator and automatically offloads new or unknown operators to the host processor. The MERA compiler also comes with a built-in simulator and interpreter. After compilation, customers can use these tools for cycle-accurate performance simulation without testing on the hardware as well as to quantify the impact of INT8 bit quantization on network accuracy.

Further details of DNA-F200 and the MERA dataflow compiler is available from: https://www.edgecortix.com/

Terms used

1. Alveo  U50 Data Center Accelerator Card - An accelerator card from Xilinx that demonstrates excellent performance for high-speed processing such as DNN inference.

For more information, please visit https://www.xilinx.com/products/boards-and-kits/alveo/u50.html

2. Dynamic Neural Accelerator  An AI hardware architecture provided by EdgeCortix focusing on energy-efficient, low latency AI inference on embedded and telco edge devices. DNA-F100/F200 are specifics versions of the IP family targeting FPGAs.

3. Apache TVM is an open source, end-to-end machine learning compiler for CPUs, GPUs and accelerators. https://tvm.apache.org/

4. Vitis is an integrated software framework optimized for Xilinx FPGAs and Versal ACAP hardware platforms. https://www.xilinx.com/products/design-tools/vitis/vitis-platform.html

5. Dynamic Neural Accelerator and MERA  are registered trademarks or trademarks of EdgeCortix in Japan and other countries.

6. The Xilinx name and other brand names mentioned in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of Xilinx in the United States and other countries. All other names belong to their respective owners.

About PALTEK Corporation

Since its founding in 1982, PALTEK has been selling semiconductor products in Japan and overseas to electronics manufacturers, as well as providing contract design services for hardware and software, and as a partner in customer product development, from specification studies to trial production. They support development and mass production. PALTEK will contribute to the development of their customers by providing optimal solutions for them based on their corporate philosophy of "coexistence with diverse entities."

For more information about PALTEK, please visit https://www.paltek.co.jp/en/index.html

About Edgecortix, Inc.

EdgeCortix, Inc. was founded in 2019 with the corporate mission to "bring cloud-level performance to the embedded edge, for low latency, low cost, and energy-efficient deep neural network inference". The company's strength is in its unique artificial intelligence processor technology designed with an integrated hardware and software co-design approach. EdgeCortix has raised a total investment of 525 Million Yen till date from investors in Japan, Singapore and USA. It has a proven track record of achievements with existing partnerships with multiple companies in the electronic manufacturing industry. Taking a software centric approach to AI hardware IP creation, their Dynamic Neural Accelerator IP core and MERA compiler is designed to work with little effort across custom ASICs and FPGAs.



For more information about Edgecortix, please visit https://www.edgecortix.com

SOURCE Edgecortix, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.edgecortix.com


In the third week of the Covid-19 inoculation programme, over 9,200 healthcare workers received coronavirus vaccine shots in the national capital on Friday, with a turnout of more than 50%.

As per reports, the Covid-19 vaccination will now begin for frontline workers too from Saturday onwards. Frontline workers include, police, civil defence staff, DJB and electricity department employees, among others.

Also, the number of scheduled days, from initially being four days -- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday -- have now been extended to six days a week, Monday-Saturday, the report said.

After a sluggish start since the drive was kicked off January 16, the inoculation drive had picked up pace in the last several days.

The targeted number for vaccination on February 5 was 18,400, officials said.

"Today, 9,216 people were administered coronavirus vaccine and AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) was reported in 12 persons," a senior official of the Delhi Health Department said.

On the previous day of the vaccination drive, 9,494 healthcare workers had got the jabs with a turnout of about 51%.

Under the nationwide mega vaccination drive launched on January 16, a total of 4,319 (53%) health workers against a target of 8,117 were administered the shots at 81 centres across the city on day one.

On the second scheduled day, the figures had stood at 3,598 (44% of the target). The sharp fall had come after one severe and 50 minor adverse effect cases were reported, on the opening day of the vaccination drive.

The count on third schedule day was much higher, at 4,936 (48 per cent).

Various reasons were being attributed to the low turnout in the initial days, including some technical issues and apprehensions related to adverse events.

However, the government has maintained that no case of serious/severe AEFI is attributable to vaccination till date.

Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield is being administered at majority of the centres while Bharat Biotech-made Covaxin doses given at the remaining facilities.

The Delhi government had taken measures like counselling and formal phone calls to raise the percentage of healthcare workers turning up for being administered COVID-19 vaccine.

The district-wise distribution of total 12 AEFI cases on Friday were -- Central Delhi (0), East Delhi (0), New Delhi (1), North Delhi (3), North East Delhi (0), North West Delhi (1), Shahdara (5), South Delhi (0), South East Delhi (1), South West Delhi (1) and West Delhi (0), according to the data shared by authorities.

With low turnout of healthcare workers on the first two days of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had recently said the exercise is voluntary and a matter of "personal decision" for people whether to get a shot or not, but all efforts are being made to boost their confidence.

He had reiterated that this is a voluntary exercise and people are making their own decisions as it's the initial phase.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the finance minister has allocated 35,000 crore for vaccination in the budget and she has assured that it could be increased if required.

He said two vaccines -- Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech -- have been approved for emergency use authorisation.

Besides these, work is in progress on seven vaccines. Of the seven, three vaccines are in phase 3 clinical trial stage. Two vaccines are in phase 1 and 2 clinical trial stages and the remaining two are in advanced pre-clinical stage.

He said India has received requests for vaccines from 22 countries. These countries include Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Egypt, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Morocco, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, South Africa and the UAE. There is also request from the Pacific Island countries, he said.

Vaccines have already been given to 15 countries through grant assistance and contracted doses.

He said 56 lakh doses have been sent through grants and five lakh doses through contract.

With agency inputs

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A general view of RAF Croughton near Brackley, England, on Oct. 7, 2019. A motorcyclist, Harry Dunn, 19, was killed in a collision with a car on Aug. 27 on the B4031 near RAF Croughton. (Peter Summers/Getty Images)

US Diplomats Wife in Harry Dunn Crash Was Working for US Intelligence Agency

The U.S. diplomats wife accused of killing 19-year-old Harry Dunn in a 2019 wrong-way crash before leaving the UK under diplomatic immunity was employed by an intelligence agency in the U.S. at the time, a U.S. court was told.

Anne Sacoolas and her husband Jonathan worked for the U.S. State Department and left the UK three weeks after the accident due to issues of security, Sacoolass lawyer told the Alexandria district court of Virginia on Feb. 3, noting their employment was especially a factor in their decision to leave, according to the Press Association.

Sacoolas, 43, was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road on Aug. 27, 2019, when she hit the teenager on his motorcycle near RAF Croughton, a Royal Air Force airbase where her husband worked as a technical assistant.

The revelation that Sacoolas was working for U.S. intelligence services emerged during her application to dismiss a civil claim for damages currently being made against her by Dunns family.

Sacoolass lawyer, John McGavin, said he could not respond completely candidly when prompted by the judge as to why she fled the UK, according to the BBC.

I know the answer, but I cannot disclose it, he said.

In an interview with Sky News on Feb. 4, Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger described the hearing as potentially a gamechanger.

According to Seiger, if she was employed at the time, her diplomatic immunity would have been waived, and she would have been barred from leaving the country.

What weve just heard today, in a completely unrelated court hearing, by her lawyer in open court  he admitted that she was employed by the American intelligence services, Seiger said.

A 1995 RAF Croughton agreement between the U.S. and UK governments waived diplomatic immunity for the actions of U.S. staff beyond their duties. However, Sacoolas was considered not to be affected by the waiver as she was only the dependant of a staff member.

Sacoolas left the UK three weeks after the accident, and her lawyer later said she would not return voluntarily to face charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

A Home Office extradition request was turned down by then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo under the Trump administration on Jan. 23, 2020, which contended that Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity.

The denial was made final by the new Biden administration in a call between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Jan. 27, 2021.

Dunns family had gone to the UK High Court to challenge the determination of diplomatic immunity. They also alleged the Foreign Office broke the law in advising police that Sacoolas had immunity.

On Nov. 24, 2020, the court ruled in the governments favour, saying that Sacoolas had immunity, that it had not been expressly waived, and that advice given to police was thus correct.

In reaction to the latest news, the prime ministers official spokesman denied knowledge of Sacoolass alleged employment. She was notified to the UK government by the U.S. as a spouse with no official role, he said, according to The Times of London.

We have consistently called for her diplomatic immunity to be waived and believe that the U.S. refusal to extradite her amounts to a denial of justice.

Dunns mother, Charlotte Charles, said in an ITV News interview on Feb. 4, Weve been asking that question right from the beginning of the campaign: Was she employed at the time of the crash? Enough is enough now. I need justice for my boy.

In an international opinion poll by YouGov, posted on Seigers Twitter account, when asked whether Sacoolass immunity should be waived, 84 percent of Brits said yes, while in the United States, 63 percent said yes.

The case has been adjourned until a Feb. 17 hearing at the same court.

Simon Veazey and Reuters contributed to this report.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks were little changed on Friday as investors fretted over coronavirus lockdowns and rising bond yields. Signs of a slowing housing market also weighed on markets. U.K. house prices fell 0.3 percent in January from a month earlier as the market appeared to lose momentum following a stimulus-fueled surge last year, mortgage lender Halifax said today. The benchmark FTSE 100 was marginally higher at 6,509 after closing 0.1 percent lower on Thursday. Beazley shares soared 13 percent. After plunging to an annual loss, the insurance company said it was confident of returning to profit in 2021. Signature Aviation lost 2.4 percent. The former owner of London's Gatwick Airport has joined forces with Blackstone and Bill Gates' Cascade to bid for the aviation company. AstraZeneca was moving lower. The drug maker said that its Imfinzi (durvalumab) drug failed to meet its primary endpoint in a Phase III trial for head and neck cancers. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Leggs Speaks at Paducah Chamber Breakfast

By Tim Brockwell

PADUCAH - A Paducah native spoke to the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce Thursday about his work and passion for the preservation of historic African-American places.Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund for the National Trust for Historic Preservation Brent Leggs spoke at Thursday morning's monthly Power in Partnership Virtual Breakfast about the importance of preserving African-American heritage sites, many of which he says are under threat of being lost forever."We continue to fight against issues such as urban renewal and erasure that have decimated African-American residential and commercial neighborhoods all across the United States. You can imagine the loss of black capital and the black economy because of issues such as urban renewal and erasure." He said.Leggs said the events in Charlottesville, Virginia in the summer of 2017 formed the impetus for founding the $25 million foundation that works to preserve and protect culturally significant sites throughout the nation."We all remember this moment in 2017 when white nationalists wearing khaki pants and polo shirts, holding tiki torches, would rally around the Thomas Jefferson sculpture on the campus of the University of Virginia advocating for a modern form of Jim Crow," Leggs said. "We knew that this did not reflect our national values, and we wanted to demonstrate the power of preservation to support social innovation and to respond to a cultural crisis."Leggs said of the nearly 100,000 sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places across the United States, only two percent reflect the black experience in America."We are fighting for recognition and validation of our contribution." He said.In honor of Black History Month, Leggs pledged a $500 personal donation to the Oscar Cross Boys and Girls Club and historic Hotel Metropolitan, which offered African-American travelers a place to stay during segregation. He called on others to donate as well to help secure these historic places for future generations."Preservation of black history is a path for equity, and it is a blueprint for a social justice movement." He said.You can watch the full virtual chamber breakfast here:
GAINESVILLE, Ga., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to support the families of the six valued employees who died in the tragic January 28th, 2021 accident that occurred at The Foundation Food Group facility in Gainesville, Georgia, the Northeast Georgia Latino Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), Georgia Poultry Federation (GPF), US Poultry Foundation (USPF) and Foundation Food Group are working together to assist the families of those lost by establishing "Gainesville Relief."

The NGLCC, GPF and USPF join Foundation Food Group in extending deepest sympathies and prayers to the families and friends of our lost team members:

Saulo Suarez-Bernal

Jose De-Jesus Elias-Cabrera

Corey Alan Murphy

Nelly Perez-Rafael

Victor Vellez

Edgar Vera-Garcia

"Gainesville Relief" was created to provide financial support to those who were impacted by this terrible loss. "We are extremely grateful for the generosity and gestures of those who are contributing as well as the coordinated efforts of the NGLCC, GPF and USPF," stated Jerry Wilson, president and CEO Foundation Food Group. "This is a touching example of the Georgia community pulling together to help one another during this difficult time," Wilson continued.

Funds will be collected through the U.S. Poultry & Egg Harold E. Ford Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. Donations can be made directly to the U.S. Poultry & Egg Harold E. Ford Foundation, 1530 Cooledge Road, Tucker, Georgia 30084. Donations by check should reference "Gainesville Relief" in the memo section. Please reach out to the Georgia Poultry Federation (www.gapf.org) or the Northeast Georgia Latino Chamber of Commerce (www.neglatinochamber.com ) for more details.

Foundation Food Group is also providing counseling services for their team members from CIGNA Employee Assistance Program, Anthem Administrative EAP Services and Market Place Chaplains Service provided by bilingual representatives. The company asks for thoughts and prayers for their team members, their families, friends, and co-workers as they all cope with this terrible loss.

For more information, please contact Foundation Food Group, Inc., 2093 Industrial Dr., Gainesville, GA 30504

For additional media inquiries, please contact Paula Williams at 714-547-6383 or email [email protected].

SOURCE Foundation Food Group
Sofia Richie may have a new man in her life who isnt Matthew Morton.

On Monday, February 1, the 22-year-old model was spotted enjoying a relaxing day in Miami Beach with a mystery guy later identified as shipping heir Gil Ofer in photos obtained by the Daily Mail. She rocked a leopard-print bikini and pink bucket hat as she kissed Ofer, who was dressed in pink shorts and a red baseball cap.

The sighting comes months after Us Weekly broke the news of Richies relationship with Morton in October 2020.

Theyre trying not to make a big deal about their relationship or about how serious it is, a source exclusively told Us at the time. But they are definitely seeing each other.

MediaPunch/Shutterstock; YouTube (inset)

Shortly after the news surfaced, Us revealed that Richies famous family supported the romance.

They both run in the same circle and have known each other. So, its easy and fun for both of them, an insider said at the time. Sofias family approves of him, which is super nice for her.

The daughter of Lionel Richie was previously in a long-term relationship with Scott Disick. The pair began dating in late 2017 before calling it quits in May 2020. Though the duo reconciled shortly after, they split for good last August.

INSTAR Images

Sofia really pushed to make things work between them after they initially broke up, but Scott officially called it off recently, and they are no longer speaking, a source exclusively told Us after the second split. Friends attributed their 15-year age difference becoming an issue. Hes in a very much different place in his life, really focused on a more quiet lifestyle, his kids and his investment businesses, and Sofia  is really still trying to figure what she wants to do, which drove them apart over time.

A second source revealed to Us that Sofias family believes she is way better off without Disick and they have been advising her to do her own thing, especially during the quarantine.

The Talentless designer, 37, has moved on from Sofia as well as he stepped out with models including Bellas Banos and Megan Blake Irwin. However, in October 2020, he made headlines after being spotted with Amelia Gray Hamlin at Kendall Jenners Halloween-themed birthday bash.

After spending the spooky holiday together, the new pair enjoyed multiple dates across California. The duo also returned from a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at the start of the new year.

Disicks romance with Hamlin, 19, has the Kardashian-Jenner familys support. (He shares children Mason, 10, Penelope, 8, and Reign, 6, with ex Kourtney Kardashian.)

They really like the two of them together and think Amelia is a great influence on Scott, an insider told Us. Scott and Amelia are in a really good place. They have a lot of love and respect for each other and it shows.
Each day as I drive past a historic local pub, the Plough, on the fringes of Londons Richmond Park on my way to work, my mind turns to the real costs of lockdown.

It includes the money spent by the landlord last year to create an outdoor drinking area; the lost revenues from duties on alcohol; uncollected business rates and company taxes  and, above all, the cost to the Exchequer of keeping the excellent catering and bar staff on furlough  or, to put it another way, you and me paying for them to stay at home.

And that, of course, is just one example in one small corner of the UK.

According to the latest available data, 18 per cent of the workforce  thats some 4.5million people  are currently on the state payroll, receiving 80 per cent of their salaries, through the furlough scheme.

A deserted Oxford Street during England's third lockdown showing the true cost of covid measures

Around 1.65milllion are in the hospitality sector of accommodation, pubs, bars and food services.

Non-essential shops are the next most affected part of the economy, as shocking new figures show retail sales suffered a record 10 per cent drop in January with shopper numbers collapsing by 78 per cent. With the notable exception of those stores that we know are history  such as Debenhams and Topshop and the other Arcadia brands  shop owners are doing their best to retain experienced staff by keeping them on furlough.

So what exactly is the cost of that endeavour? Think-tank the Resolution Foundation has estimated it to be around 4.1billion for January alone  or a hit of 132million every day.

The longer employees stay on furlough, the more likely it is that the work ethic is being eroded  that people become used to being paid for not working

With the Governments income from taxation holed below the waterline by the pandemic, most of the cash has to be borrowed, creating a gaping hole in the public finances. Latest estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility, projected before the third full lockdown in January, put the cost to the Government of Covid at 280billion in the financial year ending on April 5, 2021  or around 11,200 for every household in the country. That takes Government borrowing to over 400billion.

The figures are eye-watering. And so as the vaccine rollout continues apace, with 10million people having had a jab, and the number of cases, hospitalisations and death rates starting to fall, it is unsurprising that Chancellor Rishi Sunak has begun discussions with his neighbours at No 10 about when lockdown can end and the economy can open.

He needs to know when he can start tapering down the various job support schemes, including the expensive scheme for the self-employed. But Sunak will be wary, too. Last time he sought to wean the workforce off furlough, in the autumn of 2020, he had to execute a quick U-turn when large swathes of the UK were suddenly moved into Tier 4 effectively lockdown  in response to the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases. It is fair to say that the Treasury, as the guardian of the public finances, has been amazingly agile and generous by its own standards throughout the pandemic. But there is also a growing recognition that the policy of propping up as many jobs as possible will have to end at some point.

And not just because of the cost. There is a psychological impact, too. The longer employees stay on furlough, the more likely it is that the work ethic is being eroded  that people become used to being paid for not working.

The chief executive of one of Britains biggest global companies has told me of his worries over what any further extension of furlough, as many on the Left are calling for, will do to entrepreneurship, enterprise and wealth creation. In his view, by maintaining furlough beyond the official end date of April 30, the Government risks the creation of zombie companies that make no contribution to the economy at all.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has begun discussions with his neighbours at No 10 about when lockdown can end and the economy can open

An acquaintance of mine who runs a tech company that has lost contracts during the pandemic has told his small band of employees that he will keep them in work  paid by the state  until furlough ends, but will then close the firm down. He is unlikely to be the only boss adopting that strategy.

There is absolutely no doubt that the Governments job retention measures have prevented a jobless catastrophe. Unemployment ended the year at 5 per cent of the workforce, which places it among the best performing advanced countries in keeping people off the dole queues.

And if the vaccine rollout does allow economic rebirth this spring, all expectations are that unleashing the 150billion of accumulated lockdown savings will trigger a rapid recovery to pre-Covid levels  within 12 months according to the Bank of England yesterday.

With that in mind, it may focus Sunaks attention on strategy: namely what to do about the 20 extra a week in Universal Credit he sanctioned in response to the pandemic. Together with bigger housing allowances, it will cost the Exchequer 7billion in 2020-21.

Sunak will not want to be seen as pandering to the Labour Party, which has campaigned relentlessly on making the upgrade permanent. But keeping the safety net of higher Universal Credit in place could make it much easier to bring the curtain down on furlough, a scheme that is close to passing its sell-by date.

The White House says, as has been customary with past presidents, the intelligence community will review all incoming calls for intelligence briefings from former President Donald Trump, but he has not yet made any.

White House urged to review Trump's intelligence requests

Officials usually support requests by a former President. On Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told CNN that the intelligence community supports intelligence briefings requested by former presidents and will review incoming requests.

The former president has not requested any at this time; a senior administration official told CNN. The official said several ways information can be presented should any proposal come through, something the intelligence community will create.

Critics have been worrying about Trump's future sensitivity to classified data while he is out of office. After the US Capitol protest in Washington, former Trump senior deputy director of national intelligence Sue Gordon wrote on Washington Post op-ed saying the former president "might be unusually vulnerable to bad actors with ill intent" once he's out of office.

Read also: Trump Appointee Sues Joe Biden, Urges Him to Resign Before Term Ends

Ron Klain, who is now President Joe Biden's chief of staff, did not rule out banning Trump from intelligence briefings ahead of Inauguration Day. Trump also displayed mistrust and, often, contempt for the intelligence community during his tenure in office.

After the intelligence community's inspector general, Michael Atkinson, told Congress of the unnamed informant lawsuit, Trump removed him. The lawsuit alleged that Trump sought dirt on Biden and removed U.S. security assistance from Ukraine-a complaint that contributed to Trump's impeachment. The then-President Trump had loyalists in top intel posts installed, as per CNN.

Read also: Republicans To Invite Trump To Gathering for Donors and Potential 2024 Candidates

White House considers barring Trump from receiving intelligence briefings

According to Intel News, Biden and his top advisors are "reviewing" the potential of restricting briefings containing sensitive information from being obtained by his predecessor, Donald Trump. Such an incident will mark a dramatic break from the long-standing practice of supplying recent American presidents with intelligence briefings who wish to continue to receive them after leaving office.

Even since leaving office, the rationale behind allowing former American presidents' access to confidential information is that they typically retain a visible political presence and global impact.

Many maintain a busy schedule, including frequent meetings with foreign dignitaries, where state relations are addressed. Therefore, intelligence briefings will help them communicate with confidence on different domestic and foreign policy issues.

According to several American media reports, Trump will not be given the privilege. White House press secretary Jen Psaki's response to a question raised Monday by NBC reporter Geoff Bennett ignited the topic. Bennett asked Psaki whether the Biden administration had agreed if Trump could continue having access to classified information.

Psaki replied by telling Bennett that he had asked "a good question" and added that the issue is "obviously under review." Nevertheless, "no determination" was yet made, said Psaki.

Read also: Trump's New Impeachment Lawyers to Argue Trial is 'Unconstitutional'

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Apple is working on a charging cord for its iPhones that will make frayed cables a thing of the past, a new patent suggests.

The patent, filed to the US Patent and Trademark Office and dated Thursday, suggests the new cable will have a uniform thickness but different levels of stiffness.

Both ends of the cable  which are the most prone to physical stress and becoming frayed  would be extra-stiff, while the centre of the cable would stay flexible.

Nowhere in the patent does Apple mention its proprietary power connector technology 'Lightning', suggesting it could be overhauled with the introduction of this new product.

Apple patent shows a potential cable product with higher levels of stiffness at the ends. The stiff material, which is shaded in black, would be less prominent along the rest of the cable, while the overall thickness of the cable would stay the same

The patent describes what Apple calls 'Cable With Variable Stiffness' and was first discovered by Apple Insider.

'It is well known that bending of the cable near the termination point may cause unwanted strain on the wire connections, which may lead to cable failure,' Apple says in the filing.

'A cable can include a cable core comprising one or more signal conductors (such as electrically conductive wire).

'The cable core can be surrounded by an outer sleeve having a uniform thickness and further having a central section having a first stiffness, an end section at each end having a second stiffness.'

Apple's last flagship phone release, the iPhone 12, came with a USB-C to Lightning Cable in the box.

USB-C to Lightning Cable has small 'strain relief sleeves' at either end to bolster the strength and make them less prone to fraying.

'It is common to provide a strain relief sleeve made of a stiff material around the end region of the cable,' Apple says.

'Existing strain relief sleeves are generally formed as a separate structure placed around the outer cable sleeve.

'The stiff material creates a localised increase in the bending resistance of the cable, thereby relieving strain on the wire connections.'

However, the new cable described in the patent could get rid of these small strips, which Apple says 'may not be desired', while improving on the protection they offer.

Fraying also tends to occur directly underneath these 'relief sleeves', making them practically redundant.

Frayed cables are a bugbear for Apple users. As Apple points out, cables feature a 'relief sleeve' at either ends - but the fraying just ends up occurring beneath these layers of protection

Elsewhere in the patent, Apple points out that the stiff parts could be manufactured to be anywhere along the length of the cable.

The US firm says it 'may be desirable to have one or more stiff regions disposed at other locations along the length of the cable in addition to or instead of at the ends'.

Despite the patent filing, it's still possible Apple is in the process of phasing out the charger entirely.

According to a respected Apple tipster, the iPhone maker may finally be killing off its Lightning cables in 2021 to make way for wireless-only charging.

By doing away with the Lightning connection, Apple may be able to boost sales by giving customers a 'completely wireless experience', TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said.

Apple may finally drop its Lightning cable (pictured above) in favour of wireless charging by 2021 according to top Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Stock image

Apple has already been phasing out iPhone accessories that were previously included in the box with its iPhones.

iPhone 11, released in 2019, came with a pair of wired EarPods with Lightning connector, a USB to Lightning cable and a 5W USB power adaptor.

But its successor, iPhone 12, released last October, only came with the USB to Lightning cable.

At the iPhone 12 launch, Apple said this decision was taken to cut down on the environmental impact of its hardware.

'Customers already have over 700 million Lightning headphones, and many customers have moved to a wireless experience,' said Lisa Jackson, Apple's VP of environment, policy and social initiatives.

'There are also over 2 billion Apple power adapters out there in the world, and that's not counting the billions of third-party adapters.'

'We're removing these items from the iPhone box, which reduces carbon emissions and avoids the mining and use of precious materials.'

Pictured here is Apple's breakdown of 'what's in the box' with the iPhone 11, released in 2019, and what was eliminated from the iPhone 12 box (crossed out in red)

The tech giant claimed the decision to remove the two accessories will cut over 2.2 million tons of carbon emissions a year.

Analysts are already anticipating what the iPhone 13 will look like before its expected unveiling this autumn.

Earlier this week, it was reported by the Twitter tipster Mauri QHD that Apple has created a prototype iPhone without the black 'notch'.

The rectangular black notch, which has featured on flagship iPhone models since 2017, conceals the phone's front-facing camera components and sensors.

The prototype instead puts these important components at the top of the bezel, the border between a screen and a phone's frame, which would be slightly bigger.

There's a chance that Apple's notch-less design might not be ready for the market until 2022, when the iPhone 14 would be released, Mauri QHD said.
April 30 will mark the end of the first 100 days of President Joe Bidens tenure. Thats a benchmark presidents often set for making good on high-priority campaign promises.

In early December, Biden announced that one promise would be to get 100 million covid-19 vaccines into the arms of Americans in the first 100 days, averaging about 1 million daily doses. The U.S. reached that pace around Inauguration Day but will have to maintain it for the next three months for Biden to reach his goal.

If realized, how will everyday life change? We asked the experts.

Could 100 Million Doses Achieve Herd Immunity?

First, does 100 million doses translate to 100 million people being vaccinated by April 30?

The short answer: no.

Biden has emphasized that his goal doesnt mean 100 million people will be fully vaccinated, but rather that 100 million shots will be administered. After all, both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines require two doses.

When we first reached out to Biden team members in early December to ask about this target number, they said they were aiming for 50 million people to receive both doses and become fully inoculated. Then, in early January, they said the president-elect instead favored releasing most of the vaccine supply as its produced, rather than holding back doses for peoples second shots, on the assumption that new vaccine being produced would cover those booster shots on schedule. The Trump administration, still in office, announced a similar plan. Even now, though, about two weeks into Bidens term, confusion continues to surround the implementation of that policy, which could influence the number of people who receive both vaccine doses within the first 100 days.

At a Jan. 26 press briefing, Biden said his goal of 100 million shots means somewhere between 60  maybe less, maybe more  million people will receive at least one dose of vaccine.

Some critics have said the target number should be higher. A day earlier, Biden suggested he would like to eventually increase the rate of vaccinations to 1.5 million a day.

Whether its 50 million or 60 million people who are fully inoculated by the end of April, that number is still well below the prevailing herd immunity threshold recommended by public health experts.

Remember, herd immunity is achieved when enough people in a population become resistant to a disease so that it has difficulty spreading. Epidemiologists estimate at least 70% of a population must be protected to reach herd immunity. Because its unknown how long natural immunity lasts after being infected with the coronavirus, its recommended that even those who have had covid be vaccinated to reach herd immunity. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has suggested the herd immunity benchmark could be higher, up to 90%, especially since it seems some new covid variants are more transmissible than the dominant U.S. strain.

For now, lets leave the herd immunity estimate at 70% and figure out how long it would take to reach that level.

Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, a professor of health policy and management at the City University of New York, walked KHN through the math. About 330 million people live in the U.S. Seventy percent of that figure equals about 231 million.

Currently, the U.S. has access only to the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, meaning the nation would need 462 million doses to fully vaccinate enough people to reach that 70% mark.

At a rate of 1 million doses administered per day, it would take more than 460 days. Which we would reach sometime in early 2022, said Lee.

An additional challenge: Of the estimated 330 million people in the U.S., about 70 million are children and not yet eligible to receive a vaccine, so the vast majority of adults would have to be vaccinated to achieve this level of herd immunity.

Others have sketched out how the timeline accelerates if vaccination numbers improve. For instance, KFF chief executive Drew Altman wrote in a column that if the U.S. increased vaccine administration to 1.9 million shots a day, 70% of the population could have vaccine coverage by Labor Day. If vaccinations were increased to 2.4 million a day, that threshold could be reached by July 4.

In addition, other vaccines are in the pipeline that require only one dose, such as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and could change these projections.

At the White Houses second covid response team briefing on Jan. 29, Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the team, said about 1.2 million vaccine doses per day had been administered in the past week. Vaccine trackers from Bloomberg News and The Washington Post also report about 1 million people in the U.S. receiving their first dose of vaccine every day in the past week. And the Biden administration expects this number to increase significantly in the coming weeks and months.

But roadblocks loom, including a short supply of vaccine.

Between the Trump and Biden administrations, the U.S. has agreed to purchase 600 million doses, in all, of the covid vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer. One-third, or 200 million, of that amount was supposed to be delivered by the end of March. The remaining doses arent slated to arrive until late spring and summer.

The brutal truth is its going to take months before the majority of Americans are vaccinated, Biden acknowledged during his Jan. 26 news conference announcing the United States latest vaccine acquisition.

The difficulty of reaching people who may have trouble accessing the vaccine, such as rural residents or communities of color, could also hamper vaccination efforts. And certain individuals are likely to be hesitant or refuse to get vaccinated.

When Will Life Return to Normal?

What if you become one of the lucky ones to get vaccinated during Bidens first 100 days of the vaccine rollout?

People will still not be able to return to their pre-pandemic activities, said public health experts. A sense of normalcy wont return until we approach 70% or more of Americans vaccinated.

As hard as it is to hear, if you get your second dose of the vaccine before we have vaccinated the majority of the population, we all still need you to take the same protective measures you were taking before you were vaccinated, said Dr. Rachel Vreeman, director of the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at Mount Sinais medical school in New York City.

That means, even if youre vaccinated, you should continue to wear a mask, practice physical distancing with those outside your household, stay home and regularly wash your hands. The same precautions are recommended for those who wont be inoculated by April 30.

Vreeman added that a week or two after you receive your second dose of the vaccine, you are less likely to get seriously ill from covid. But you could still get sick. And its possible you could pass on the virus to others not yet vaccinated. Clinical trials for the covid vaccines didnt evaluate whether it stopped asymptomatic transmission, only if symptoms were reduced.

Immediately at the end of April, for the average American, there wont be a dramatic change in what theyre seeing in regards to social distancing and masking, said L.J Tan, chief strategy officer for the Immunization Action Coalition, a nonprofit that works with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to distribute vaccine information.

Jeffrey Shaman, an environmental health professor at Columbia University, said states should maintain covid restrictions, such as those related to face coverings, remote work and limited travel, during the vaccine distribution process. In a recent modeling study, Shaman and his colleagues found that if such restrictions were lifted this month, 29 million additional covid infections could emerge by summer. He recommends keeping them in place through July.

The bottom line is, if we lift our restrictions and we go back to what it was like before the pandemic, the virus is going to take off again, said Shaman. Then the race to get vaccines in arms will be complicated because more people will get sick.

Experts also said that with multiple covid variants circulating in the U.S., some of which appear to be highly transmissible, taking precautions seriously is critical  especially if vaccines arent as protective against them. Plus, the fewer people who get sick, the less likely it is the virus can replicate, mutate again and create more variants.

As for when things will return to normal? That depends on the rate of vaccinations and how many Americans are willing to roll up their sleeves.

I think we will be back to life in the fall, hopefully before Thanksgiving, said Tan.

Other experts we asked said its possible there could be some semblance of a return to normalcy in the summer.

But, they all agreed, it certainly wont happen by April 30.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to isolated thunderstorms overnight. Low near 75F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to isolated thunderstorms overnight. Low near 75F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
McCann Technical School senior Stephen Perreault poses with family after being presented the Superintendent's Award on Thursday.

McCann's Stephen Perreault Receives Superintendent's Award



Superintendent James Brosnan makes a socially distanced presentation of the award at the school on Thursday to Stephen Perrault. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  McCann Technical School senior Stephen Perreault was recognized Thursday during a small socially distanced award ceremony and given the Superintendent's Award.

"It is nice to have a tribute in this room for one of our No. 1 students," Superintendent James Brosnan said. "We have a great deal of pride that we are able to present this award to you."

Each year, superintendents across the state award one student with a Certificate of Academic Excellence, sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

Principal Justin Kratz said Perreault, an advanced manufacturing technology student, has a 4.37 grade-point average and is No. 1 in his class. He has enrolled in multiple Advanced Placement and honors courses and has taken advanced courses at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

"We are so proud of your accomplishments," Kratz said. "You have been a model student here at McCann."

Kratz read some testimonials from Perreault's teachers:

"He is the portrait of the model student. He is kind, polite and diligent ... he has a knack for critical thinking that is well above his peers."

"Last year, Stephen was a rock star in a period of remote learning that was not easy for students by any stretch."

"He has always been someone who steps up to challenges ... based on his time at McCann, he will be a strong member of any college campus, enterprise, or whatever field he chooses to enter. I am sure we are not done hearing about his accomplishments."

"He will excel regardless of where he goes. He is one of the most respectful, hardworking students I have ever had. He is definitely deserving of this award."

AMT instructor Tom Matuszak, who attended the ceremony, said he was always impressed by Perreault and that he learned how to program a robot remotely.

"I am sure his future is bright," he said. "Wherever he goes they are lucky to have him."

Kratz acknowledged Perreault's family and said they surely played their part in his success.

"You have to be incredibly proud of him ... a big part of why he is standing here is because of the support he has at home and the upbringing you provided," he said. "It was a privilege to have him here for four years and we are incredibly proud of him."

Perreault said he hopes to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or Harvard.

He left some advice for other McCann students who may want to follow in his footsteps: don't be afraid to ask for help.

"If you are ever stuck on something all you have to do is say something," he said. "You just have to talk to a teacher they are all willing to help."
Kazakhstan said its draft schedule submitted earlier this year indicated how the proposed disciplines would be incorporated in its WTO commitments. In addition to playing an important role for services industries and businesses, Kazakhstan noted, the disciplines seek to create a predictable business climate and transparent procedures for trade in services. A total of 56 other participants have submitted draft schedules.

In an effort to streamline procedures required for services suppliers to operate, remove red tape and enhance transparency and predictability of regulatory frameworks, the negotiations aim to reduce the costs of doing business and facilitate businesses' participation in international services trade.

The idea of holding an information exchange on the implementation of domestic regulation disciplines was widely welcomed at the meeting. Delegations' experiences at both the national and regional levels could be explored.

A group of 63 WTO members (1)  both developing and developed countries  is currently taking part in the negotiations, accounting for over 70% of world services trade. At the meeting, participants reiterated the importance of reaching out to other WTO members to expand the number of participants and secure wider coverage for the final outcome. Some delegations also called for engaging ministers by mid- 2021 to resolve outstanding issues and for defining a clear path to help conclude the negotiations by MC12.

A far advanced negotiating text was circulated by the Chair, Jaime Coghi Arias of Costa Rica, in December, capturing the progress made in 2020 in developing disciplines applying to licensing and qualification requirements and procedures, as well as technical standards for trade in services. The text contains flexibilities to help governments implement the measures domestically and regulate according to their national policy objectives.

Watch the video message the chair delivered after the meeting here.

Background

Ministers from 59 WTO members launched negotiations at the 11th Ministerial Conference held in December 2017 in Buenos Aires. In May 2019, ministers meeting on the side lines of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development meetings confirmed their commitment to deliver a meaningful outcome by the 12th Ministerial Conference . The meetings are member-driven, transparent and open to all WTO members.

Each WTO member's schedule of commitments can be accessed here. The list of all sectors covered by the GATS can be found here.

Next meetings

The next meetings are scheduled for 4 March, 14 April and 10 May.

Notes:
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The preliminary sales revenue of the Company's oil terminals for the January 2021 comprises EUR 2.4 million and is higher by EUR 0.4 million or by 20.0 % compared to January of 2020.



The preliminary sales revenue of the Company's Klaipeda LNG terminal for January 2021 comprises EUR 3.5 million (during the same month of 2020 - EUR 4.3 million). Klaipeda LNG terminal revenue from regulated activities consists of the regasification tariff fixed part (for booked annual capacities), variable part for amount of re-gasified LNG and reloading revenue. The level of Klaipeda LNG terminal revenue (for booked annual capacities) does not depend on regasification volume. Revenue is confirmed by the National Energy Regulatory Council (NERC) based on the approved methodology of State regulated prices in the natural gas sector and is calculated for the whole upcoming year. Klaipeda LNG terminal revenue is lower due to the exceeded return in 2014-2019.

The preliminary sales revenue of the Company's Commercial LNG activity for the January 2021 comprised EUR 0.2 million and is lower by EUR 0.1 million or by 33.3 % compared to January of 2020. The preliminary sales revenue is higher due to the decrease in consultations of Business development projects compared to the same period of 2020.

Total preliminary sales revenue of the Company for the January 2021 amount to EUR 6.1 million and is lower by 7.6 % compared to the same period of 2020 - EUR 6.6 million.

Preliminary revenue of the Company, EUR million:

January 2021 2020 Change Oil terminals activity 2.4 2.0 20.0% LNG terminal activity 3.5 4.3 -18.6% Commercial LNG activity 0.2 0.3 -33.3% Total 6.1 6.6 -7.6%

Jonas Lenksas, Chief Financial Officer, +370 694 80594.
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Vaccine stories

Regarding City plans website to schedule 2nd shots, (A3, Feb. 2): The Houston Health Department deserves commendations! I was fortunate to receive two Moderna vaccines. The first was at La Nueva Casa de Amigos Health Center, and the second was at JW Peavy Senior Center. Both facilities were impeccable with social distancing mandated, and the staffs at both were cordial, professional and extremely efficient. Both Director Stephen Williams and Mayor Sylvester Turner and all the staff members deserve credit for serving the population of the Houston area during this difficult time.

Linda Kay Peterson, Cypress

Picnic plans

Regarding 93 Tils food for thought, (D1, Feb. 3): As foodies we have enjoyed Alison Cooks reviews of Houston restaurants for years, but we think shes missing an aspect in her Curbside Chronicles. While it would be preferable to enjoy these fine meals in the environment where they were designed, alas, due to the pandemic we are aligned with Cook who does only takeout. Since we live in the Clear Lake area and do not want cold takeout when we got home we adapted significantly, we are probably the only people I know that have a go bag in our car filled with picnic materials and supplies that include blankets, chairs and portable lanterns (it is winter after all). We have made it an enjoyable game to order takeout from some of our favorite restaurants and then find a previously unknown to us park in the area to go have a picnic. We have found some very enjoyable places that we never knew existed while having wonderful meals. We look forward to dining in again someday but in the meantime we have a new fun way to enjoy Houstons wonderful restaurants. Cook might like to try a picnic. We can suggest a few spots.

Robert Dempsey, Houston

Immigration questions

Regarding ID and Tax a better immigration solution, (A15, Feb. 3): Kudos to Stan Marek for suggesting a workable solution for immigrants. His well thought out opinion raised two major questions in my mind. Why have all those high school internships and programs not resulted in American native-born workers? Do they not want these good paying jobs? And just because undocumented immigrants are here, does that mean we should give them a blanket high five and roll out the welcome mat now? That still robs Americans of jobs they should be filling. And, so the argument becomes circular.

I realize undocumented immigrants have left unfortunate circumstances, so why isnt our government addressing those issues with Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, etc.? Thats where our government could effect real change.

Bonnie Likover, Houston
L.A. Metro CEO Phillip Washington To Step Down In May

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Phillip A. Washington is stepping down after six years at the helm of the transit agency, it was announced today. Washington informed the Metro board, headed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, that he does not plan to seek a new contract or extend his current contract, which expires in May.

The board will conduct a national search for the next CEO.Phil Washington has been a visionary leader, reimagining our transit network and steering our region toward an era of generational growth and lasting progress, Garcetti said. With Phil at the helm, Metro had a clear direction, strong steward and champion for Measure M. He leaves this agency much better than he found it, with an expanding public transportation system that remains a force for sustainability, equity, jobs, workforce development and shared prosperity across the L.A. area.

During his time as CEO, Washington managed Metros $7 billion budget, oversaw $18-20 billion in capital construction projects and provided oversight of the countrys third-busiest transit agency, which had about 1.2 million passengers per year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

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It has been my distinct pleasure and absolute honor to serve and lead Metros nearly 11,000 employees for the last six years, he said. I leave with great satisfaction knowing that working together we have improved mobility and increased access to opportunity for all residents of L.A. County, and weathered the most devastating health crisis of the past century. We have quickened the sense and pace of public service and left L.A. Countys mobility space better than it was.

According to Metro, Washington worked to advance equality within the transit agencys workforce as well as professional development programs for employees, including the SEED Transportation School of Los Angeles County, Metro Leadership Academy and the Women and Girls Governing Council.

Washington also worked to create opportunities for small businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans and to spur innovation at Metro, including the creation of TAP apps for Apple and Android phones, a partnership with the Transit app and the possibility of a fareless transit system in L.A. County.

Phil Washington has provided exemplary leadership for Metro throughout his tenure, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board First Vice Chair Hilda L. Solis. The past year brought a myriad of challenges for the agency in terms of budget, operations and capital projects  and Phil met the moment every time.

Washington, who has been with Metro since May 2015, played an integral role in voter-approved Measure M, which launched the nations largest public works program that will create an estimated 700,000 jobs in the region. Washington was also instrumental in securing $9 billion in grant funding by working with Metros state and federal partners. Inglewood Mayor and past Metro Board Chair James Butts had high praise for Washingtons accomplishments.

I have served the public in three different cities and on countless boards over the past 48 years. Worked with some great managers and leaders  none greater than Phil Washington, he said. Metro and Los Angeles County will sorely miss him. Thank you for your visionary leadership and service.
A 'hug tent' has been set up outside an assisted living facility in Colorado to allow lonely residents to safely hug their loved ones.

The plastic contraption was erected at Juniper Village in Denver last week, offering the opportunity for the elderly to embrace visitors after almost a year without physical touch.

The facility partnered with nonprofit health care organization TRU Community Care to build the tent earlier this week. Volunteers erected a standard 8-by-8-foot popup frame before using Velcro to attach thick construction-grade plastic.

Plastic arm sleeves were then attached with embroidery hoops so that visitors could safely slide their arms inside before wrapping them around residents.

While Juniper Village has fully vaccinated all its residents and staff, visitors from the outside could still spread the virus, and the hug tent allows for affectionate displays to take place without risk.

After more than eight months of going without touch, resident Lynda Hartman, 75, was finally able to embrace her husband, Len, 77, on Wednesday, and cameras were there to capture the heartwarming moment.

'I really needed it,' she told the Associated Press.

'It meant a lot to me, and it's been a long, long time. We've been trying to do it for a long time and it felt good.'

A 'hug tent' has been set up outside an assisted living facility in Colorado to allow lonely residents to safely hug their loved ones. Gregg MacDonald is pictured holding hands with his 84-year-old mother, Chloe MacDonald at the tent, erected outside the Juniper Village assisted living center in Denver

'Time is a precious commodity, so while we all wait to get back to more normality, in the meantime, everyone is doing what they can': Gregg MacDonald holds hands with his 84-year-old mother, Chloe MacDonald at 'the hug tent'

'I really needed it': Resident Lynda Hartman, 75, was finally able to embrace her husband, Len, 77, on Wednesday, and cameras were there to capture the heartwarming moment.

Since the pandemic hit, similar tents have popped up around the country and in places like Brazil and England, where some people call them 'cuddle curtains.'

'I think its just a huge weight off their shoulders, just being able to have that hug that they havent had in so long,' Anna Hostetter, a spokeswoman for Juniper Village, stated.

'When we were planning this and setting it up, and I saw pictures, I wasn't sure if with all the plastic and everything you could really get that human contact. But I teared up on some of them. It was really special for our families.'

For Gregg MacDonald, holding hands with his 84-year-old mother, Chloe MacDonald, was important because they hadn't touched since April. She likes to get updates on her grandson and granddaughter.

'Time is a precious commodity, so while we all wait to get back to more normality, in the meantime, everyone is doing what they can,' Gregg MacDonald told the Associated Press.

'So I appreciate any efforts that they are making to allow us to have more contact with everybody.'

'It meant a lot to me, and it's been a long, long time. We've been trying to do it for a long time and it felt good': Lynda and Len Hartman are pictured on Wednesday

Since the pandemic hit, similar tents have popped up around the country and in places like Brazil and England, where some people call them 'cuddle curtains'

TRU Community Care employee Amanda Meier, has helped set up four hug tents in Colorado and said the feedback has been positive.

'Lots of tears, but happy sort of tears, and a lot of shocked expressions of how in the world can we be doing something like this. It's so weird,' Meier said.

'You can see sort of relief in their bodies and their faces when they finally get to have that physical contact, which is really a basic human need. And in these facilities, a lot of times they're missing it anyway because they're just not with their families,' Meier said.

'I don't think it's measurable, really. You just know it when you see it and feel it when you're there.'
WASHINGTON - The House voted largely along party lines Thursday to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her two committee assignments, a precedent-shattering move by Democrats to rebuke a Republican who has espoused extremist beliefs that she publicly renounced in part just hours before the vote.

The vote against Greene reflected deep frustration in the Democratic ranks over the Republican leadership's reluctance to take its own action to marginalize Greene, R-Ga., their desire to yoke the entire GOP to her extremism, and their anger over a lack of accountability for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

As recently as last year, Greene had been an open adherent of the QAnon ideology, a sprawling and violent web of false claims that played a role in inspiring the Capitol attack. In addition, she had made comments on social media suggesting that some mass shootings were staged by supporters of gun control, that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated by government forces and that a Jewish cabal had sparked a deadly wildfire with a space beam.

"I don't understand what is complicated here," said House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., exhorting his colleagues to sideline Greene. "We know the result of these violent conspiracy theories. We saw that on Jan. 6. We know what it leads to. I don't ever want to see that again. And we all should make clear where we stand on this."

The vote was 230-199, with 11 Republicans voting with Democrats to strip Greene of her committees.

Greene had renounced some of her most egregious remarks on the House floor a few hours earlier, in a 10-minute speech that was more explanation than apology - one that doubled down on her attacks against the media and her political enemies while omitting some of her most recent behavior.

"These were words of the past, and these things do not represent me, they do not represent my district, and they do not represent my values," she said.

Greene said the 9/11 attacks "absolutely happened" and that school shootings are "absolutely real." She said she embraced QAnon in late 2017 out of her support for former president Donald Trump and her mistrust of government and of mainstream media sources.

"I was allowed to believe things that weren't true, and I would ask questions about them and talk about them, and that is absolutely what I regret," she said. "Because if it weren't for the Facebook posts and comments that I liked in 2018, I wouldn't be standing here today, and you couldn't point a finger and accuse me of anything wrong."

She went on to describe the uproar about her comments as a "cancel culture" attack on the free speech of conservatives: "Big media companies can take teeny, tiny pieces of words that I've said, that you have said, any of us, and can portray us as someone that we're not, and that is wrong."

It was enough remorse - first expressed behind closed doors in a House Republican conference meeting Wednesday evening - to mostly close the GOP ranks behind her ahead of Thursday's vote.

"Representative Greene has denounced her previous comments and expressed regret over those actions," said a whip memo sent to Republican lawmakers ahead of the vote, urging them to vote no. It also called the measure an "infringement upon minority rights which will have a lasting and damaging impact on the institution."

But Greene's comments Thursday did little to temper Democrats' outrage - particularly as they seized on comments she made last year during her House campaign where she refused to repudiate QAnon, as well as her ongoing efforts to raise money off the uproar. Greene said on Twitter late Wednesday that she had raised more than $330,000 from 13,000 small donors in 48 hours

"I'm just like millions of people in this country and millions of people around the world that are very much concerned about a deep state," she told a local TV station in August, adding, "I've only ever seen patriotic sentiment coming out of that source and other sources."

Equally infuriating to Democrats were social media postings she made approving of violence against prominent Democratic politicians including former president Barack Obama, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Green did not address those postings in her Thursday remarks.

"I believe in forgiveness but in order to benefit from forgiveness, you've got to demonstrate contrition, and she has demonstrated no contrition," said Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., who added that he saw "a correlation between that type of reckless rhetoric and what we saw on Jan. 6."

Pelosi on Thursday placed the onus on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. R-Calif., and other Republican leaders, suggesting they should have acted against Greene out of a "sense of responsibility to this institution."

One Pelosi deputy was even more stark: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., called McCarthy's refusal to act a "national security threat."

"While the behavior of one individual is deeply disturbing, her party's near unanimous capitulation is even more alarming," he said in a statement.

In one striking moment on the House floor Thursday, Hoyer hoisted a sign showing a Facebook posting her campaign made in September - one showing Greene posing with an assault rifle juxtaposed with photos of three liberal Democratic congresswomen and the caption, "The Squad's Worst Nightmare" - and walked it over to the Republican side of the chamber.

"When you take this vote, imagine your faces on this poster," he said. "Imagine it's a Democrat with an AR-15. Imagine what your response would be."

Greene was seated among fellow Republicans as Hoyer spoke. Behind him was Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., one of the women targeted in the post - and one of the Democrats that Republicans have suggested they might remove from committees in the future under the new precedent.

Omar made allegedly anti-Semitic comments in 2019. She subsequently apologized and voted for a Democratic resolution denouncing hatred, though Pelosi and other leaders did not heed GOP calls to remove her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

While Republicans have suggested this week that partisan action against Greene would create a slippery slope - endangering the rights of Democratic members in a future GOP-majority House - Pelosi said she had no such concerns: "If any of our members threaten the safety of other members, we'd be the first ones to take them off a committee. That's it."

The vote came a day after McCarthy publicly refused to strip Greene from her committees as Democrats had demanded. Instead, he told reporters, he proposed to Hoyer that Greene move from the Education and Labor Committee, which has jurisdiction over school security, to the Small Business Committee.

Democrats rejected that move, and McCarthy responded by accusing Democrats of a "partisan power grab" that upended the long-standing practice of allowing each party's leadership to determine its own committee assignments - a procedural argument that gained traction among GOP members who were uninterested in defending Greene's comments.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the top Rules Committee Republican, called the move against Greene "a dangerous mistake" that would boomerang on Democrats.

"Frankly, when the majority changes, the temptation will be overwhelming for members to say: Oh, well, there's a member I didn't like or said something or did something I didn't like . . . I think I'm just going to take that committee assignment away."

In floor remarks Thursday, McCarthy said the Democratic resolution "sets a dangerous new standard that will only deepen divisions within this House" and also suggested that turnabout would some day be fair play for Republicans.

"I would advise them to think twice," he said. "If people are held to what they said ... prior to even being in this House, if [the] majority party gets to decide who sits on what other committees, I hope you keep that standard, because we have a long list to work with."

But McCarthy's refusal to bow to the Democratic demands that she be entirely removed from her committees - as Republicans did in 2019 to former Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) after he made public comments questioning why the term "white supremacist" was offensive - stands to carry a political cost.

Democratic political operatives have signaled that they intended to use Thursday's vote as way to tie mainstream Republican lawmakers to the extremist right wing.

"The party of Lincoln, the party of Eisenhower, the party of Reagan is becoming the party of Marjorie Taylor Greene and the party of violent conspiracy theories," McGovern said.

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the vote demonstrated the GOP's inability to distance itself from extremism. The DCCC this week spent roughly $500,000 tying swing-district Republicans to QAnon, and after Thursday's vote, the Democratic super PAC House Majority Forward said it would run ads on the same theme against McCarthy.

"When we said they stood with Q, we didn't think it would be a standing ovation," Maloney said.

Still, there appeared to little hesitation in the GOP ranks on voting to support Greene. Several Republicans suggested that her speeches - inside the private GOP meeting and later on the floor - helped defuse the issue inside the party ranks.

"We've seen some people shift from just voting no for the procedure and precedent to voting because now we know the person," said Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga. "She's admitting to mistakes she's made in the past."

Some moderate Republicans voted to support keeping Greene on her committees, explaining that they were uncomfortable reprimanding a member for conduct that happened before their congressional service.

"This type of rhetoric has no standing, no place in Congress, and she knows where we stand as a conference," said Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y. "She did this before she came to Congress, and I've given her the benefit of saying, OK, you're a member of Congress now, we're all watching."

The 11 Republicans who backed removing her from committees were Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Chris Jacobs of New York, John Katko of New York, Young Kim of California, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida, Christopher Smith of New Jersey and Fred Upton of Michigan.

The Greene saga might not yet be over: Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who has introduced a resolution to expel Greene from the House, said he still intended to force a vote on that question, but said he was in talks with Democratic leaders about the timing of the move. The House is expected to take a two-week recess after it completes its business this week.

Gomez said Thursday's vote - and Greene's speech - did little to soothe Democrats' anger, which remains raw just four weeks after the deadly riot.

"If Donald Trump is Conspirator No. 1 in the insurrection, she's Conspirator No. 2," he said. "That's why I'm pursuing this, is to send a message that this kind of discourse in our politics is not acceptable - inciting political violence, threatening people, is not acceptable and a person like that should not hold a position in the House of Representatives."
That struck some in Brussels as rich, given that last September, Mr. Johnson threatened to override Britains landmark treaty with the European Union, in violation of international law, if the two sides failed to strike a trade deal.

At home, the prime minister lost no time in wielding the vaccine issue as a club against his political rivals. On Wednesday, in the House of Commons, Mr. Johnson mocked the Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, for saying he wished Britain had remained in the European Medicines Agency, which has been slower to approve vaccines than Britains health regulator.

Mr. Starmer dismissed the claim as nonsense before admitting later that he had once said Britain would be better off staying under European regulators (though he noted that this was not the position of his party).

Britain, legal experts pointed out, would have had the authority to approve vaccines just as fast even if it were still in the European Union, though it would have had less political leeway to act alone.

Still, it was a damaging retreat for Mr. Starmer, one that set off alarm bells in the Labour Partys ranks. Mr. Johnsons Conservative Party has kept a modest lead over Labour in polls, despite his governments handling of the pandemic, which has been marked by delays, reversals and mixed messages.

Britain recently passed 100,000 deaths, the highest toll of any European country. For now, though, voters appear more focused on the vaccine rollout, which reached a milestone this week of 10 million people getting first doses.

While much of the credit for the rapid distribution should go to Britains National Health Service, according to experts, it is also a tribute to the governments early investment in promising vaccines, like one produced by Oxford and AstraZeneca.
The Federal Government has rolled out N5 billion grant for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) under the MSME Survival Fund and Guaranteed off-take Stimulus Schemes.

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Yelwaji Katagum, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday.

The Minister said the General MSME Grant, which would be opened on Tuesday, is meant to give a one-off N50, 000 grant to 100,000 MSMEs who do not meet the qualification of the Payroll Support or Guaranteed Offtake Scheme.

"A one-off grant of N50, 000 will be given to each qualified MSME as direct cash injection into their business," the Minister said.

She also said the Federal Government would on Tuesday open the portal for MSMEs to apply for the Guaranteed Offtake Scheme.

"It is important to note that the purpose of Guaranteed Offtake Scheme (GOS), is to stimulate direct local production by enabling 100,000 MSMEs in the production sector with funds to produce post-COVID lockdown stimulus products," she said.

The Minister said the Scheme would give preference to products produced in reasonably sufficient volumes in each State of the Federation, which have the proven propensity to create jobs and have a multiplier effect on the surrounding economy.

The products include face masks, hand sanitisers, liquid soap, disinfectants and processed foods.

"The portal will open from 11:59 pm on Tuesday, 9th February 2021 to Thursday 18th February 2021 for the Guaranteed Offtake Scheme (GOS) and General MSME Grant Applications," she said.
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Belarus and China signed an agreement on the construction of municipal housing in Belarus, the Economy Ministry said on Thursday.

Belarusian Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov and China's ambassador to Belarus Xie Xiaoyong signed the agreement.

China intends to build 1,166 municipal apartments in 20 houses in six regions of Belarus. The building area totals approximately 66,000 square meters.

China provides technical and economic assistance for the implementation of the project.

Citizens in need of better housing conditions and who have the right to receive housing for social use will receive these apartments.
STAMFORD  A way to bring back pride.

Thats how one local activist described the flag raising ceremony to honor Black History Month at Stamford Government Center.

Prominent local activist Jere Eaton  along with Board of Education member Fritz Chery, the Rev. Dr. Tommie Jackson of Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, and others  will raise the citys Pan-African flag at 2 p.m. on Saturday. But for Eaton, the flag raising is more than an honorific ode to Stamfords Black residents.

Its to bring back the pride that we used to have in Stanford around being Black and being a resident of Stanford, Eaton said. I grew up here. I was born and raised here, went to public schools here in Stanford. When I was a kid, we always had really robust Black History Month events.

Eaton remembers Black history month concerts or speakers at The Palace Theatre, back when it only had one location. Even during a pandemic year, she wants to bring some of that fanfare back.

The flag raising piggy-backs off previous flag raising ceremonies held by longtime Stamford residents and NAACP members Cynthia Bowser and Joyce Griffith. Eaton stressed that this years flag raising is indebted to their earlier ceremonies.

Chery, who organized the event along with Eaton, said raising the Pan-African flag at the government center creates a moment of true togetherness for Black Stamford residents of all national origins.

Its always important for Black people of different backgrounds and beliefs to come together in a unified front, he said.

Chery, another Stamford native, is Haitian American. People are quick to group Black people together, he said. This event, however, might give some of the citys Black residents something to truly stand united behind, he said.

Eaton and Chery hope the event paves the way for other conversations about what Stamfords diverse Black community wants and needs. Through the Ferguson Library, they plan to hold a Zoom town hall on ways to move the black community forward within Stanford scheduled for Feb. 21.

Were focused on trying to really get the Black community to look inward to see what we can do to help us move forward, Eaton said.

Those who cannot attend the Black History Month Flag Raising Ceremony can watch the event unfold via Facebook Live or Zoom.
The Co-chairman for National Prophetic and Apostolic Churches Council (NPACC), Bishop Elisha Salifu Amoako has rebuked the leader of Alabaster International Ministry, Prophet Kofi Oduro for calling President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo hypocrite.



According to the leader and founder of the Alive Chapel International, President Nana Akufo-Addo does not deserve such comment from Prophet Kofi Oduro as the President did nothing wrong except to perform his fatherly duty of the nation to address Ghanaians about the situation with Covid-19.



In an interview with the media at his office, Bishop Elisha Salifu Amoako wondered why Prophet Oduro raised insults and curses on President Akufo-Addo when he never attacked any personality in his address to the nation on Covid-19.



He insisted that the utterance of Prophet Kofi Oduro about the President is a bad taste which must be condemned in all uncertain terms; charging the leader of Alabaster International Ministry to accord the Presidency with some respect as it is not easy for anyone to occupy that seat.



I believe that Pastor Kofi Oduro in honesty did not speak wellit is not easy for anyone to become President and so that position is a higher position that deserves reverends. It is a position that you cannot disrespect and we should thank God that we are not in the military regime, he rebuked.



He, however, advised men of God, especially Kofi Oduro to be mindful of their utterances by adopting the right approach and channel to address genuine concerns which in the end make pay attention to them in a positive way and not in a way which will further create problems.



I believe that the utterances of Kofi Oduro are in a bad taste, honestly speaking. Sometimes what you are saying maybe the truth but the approach and the package as well as the channel used to deliver the message can destroy your case, he cautioned.



He further reproached Prophet Oduro to pick up a new communication skill to deliver his message other than shouting and screaming on top of his lungs in order to make a meaningful impact; adding that genuine communication is not about shouting.



People, unfortunately, dont understand the power of communicationcommunication is key in every aspect of life and so if you are a good communicator, you can breakthrough in life but if you dont know how to talk, you always create problems for yourself, he opined.



Bishop Salifu Amoako said that Prophet Oduro should rather be grateful to the President for not including churches to other institutions have been banned from operating due to the Covid-19 infection rate which is on the rise.



He appreciated President Akufo-Addo for being a spiritually inclined leader to have known the importance of churches and therefore exclude that institution from the banned ones.



The President simply said that the coronavirus infection is on the ascendency and so we should adhere to the safety protocols. He did not say that he has closed churches and he did not ban people from going to churcheshe pays attention to spiritual movements in Ghana and I like the President because he is someone who listens, he posited.



He bemoaned the silence nature of the various leaders of the religious bodies in the country for not coming out to condemn the disrespectful character Prophet Kofi Oduro portrayed against President Nana Akufo-Addo.



If Kofi Oduro makes the address of the President his personal issue and for that matter describes the President as a hypocrite and even curses him, I think it is condemnable. It is surprising that all the men of God in the country are quiet about this. By now, all the Christian Bodies in the country should have come out to condemn Kofi Oduro and teach him how to talk to authorities, he chastised.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









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Over 4 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses to be given to states, UTs: Centre

Gratitude to PM Modi says Barbados PM as Indias COVID-19 vaccines reach millions worldwide

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 05: India's vaccine diplomacy continues in full swing and now Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 100,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZenneca anti COVID-19 vaccine.

In a letter to PM Modi, Mottley said, " on behalf of my government and people, I wish to express gratitude to you, your government and the people of the Republic of India for the most generous donation of the Covishield vaccine.

Second dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine to be administered to healthcare workers from Feb 13

PM Mottley also write, "the Minister of Health and Wellness and the Chief Medical Officer both have confirmed that the vaccine has been approved for use in Barbados and will be administered in accordance with the manufacturers' guidelines."

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

India is expected to supply at least 16 million doses to at least 60 countries by March, while Delhi has a list of nearly 152 nations asking for the coronavirus vaccine.

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Story first published: Friday, February 5, 2021, 10:54 [IST]
Persistent issues with theft and sabotage in the Niger Delta could prompt Shell to take a hard look at its operations onshore Nigeria, the supermajors chief executive Ben van Beurden said this week.

Our onshore oil position, despite all the efforts we put in against theft and sabotage, is under challenge, van Beurden told reporters, as carried by Reuters, after Shell reported another set of weak Big Oil results affected by the pandemic.

But developments like we are still seeing at the moment mean that we have to take another hard look at our position in onshore oil in Nigeria, Shells top executive added.

Shell has been flagging for years problems with crude oil theft on its pipeline network onshore Nigeria.

Last week, The Hague Court of Appeal ordered Shell to compensate Nigerian farmers for two oil spills in the country 13 years ago, in the first lawsuit in which a company has been held liable in the Netherlands for its actions abroad.

The ruling of the Dutch court is setting a precedent for future lawsuits brought against oil firms in the countries where they are based, instead of the countries where oil spills or oil pollution has allegedly taken place.

Shell, for its part, continues to say that the spills were the result of sabotage, which has been frequent in the Niger Delta in Nigeria.

We continue to believe that the spills in Oruma and Goi were the result of sabotage. We are therefore disappointed that this court has made a different finding on the cause of these spills and in its finding that the Nigerian unit of Shell is liable, the Anglo-Dutch major said in a statement, as carried by Bloomberg.

Sabotage, crude oil theft and illegal refining are a major challenge in the Niger Delta, Shell noted.

By OPC Markets

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
State House, Freetown, Thursday 4 February 2021 - His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio today received the 2019-2020 annual report from Ombudsman Leon Jenkins-Johnston Esq and assured of his support to the institution's independence and operations.

"My Government has supported the legal rights to government information, repealed obnoxious laws that proscribe free speech, and made transparency an administrative norm. These and my Government's support for the work of the Ombudsman clearly serve the public interest, strengthen our public institutions, and further consolidate a more inclusive democracy, he said.

President Bio also noted the challenges highlighted by the Ombudsman, including the issues of capacity, financial, logistical and other needs contained in the report, and assured him that government would address them because the institution was invaluable to the country's development.

He said he was further gratified at the restatement by Mr. Jenkins-Johnston Esq of their values of being independent, collaborative, accessible, fair, impartial, just, transparent, reliable, and effective in resolving disputes as well as identifying and addressing attendant structural problems in public administration.

"So, I see the Office of the Ombudsman as a key institution for strengthening and reinvigorating our democracy. Along with the other institutions like the Ministry of Justice, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Human Rights Commission (HRCSL), I see the Office of the Ombudsman as a bulwark for institutional integrity and accountability.

"Be reminded that there may be overlaps in mandate every so often. A complaint against an MDA may constitute an offence in the ACC act or an abuse of rights for the HRCSL. So, map out areas of cooperation and work closely for the good of our citizens and our democracy," he emphasised.

According to the report, from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, 484 complaints were lodged with the Office of the Ombudsman against various Ministries, Departments and Agencies, with 246 lodged at the Head Office in Freetown, 121 in Bo, 71 in Kenema, 16 in Makeni and 30 in Port Loko. 329 have been concluded so far.

The Office of the Ombudsman receives, investigates, mediates and resolves complaints laid against administrative decisions, malpractices of the public sector, institutions of higher learning set entirely or partly out of public funds.
More behind the cutQevin is a flop minority leader and liar. Crazy Margarine, while fake contrite, did not actually apologize in private House meeting, per other sources present at the closed conference. Liz Cheney still holds onto her conference leadership (145 voted for her), despite 61 lunatics voting against her because she dared to impeach TRE45ON for. Qevin then claims he didnt know about QAnon even though he spoke about QAnon on many previous occasions. The House vote was private, such cowards. Today will be a public vote to strip Crazy Margarine from both committees, so well see how much courage they have. So far, over 30,000 voters have changed parties from GOP after the insurrection. Not huge numbers, but enough to be alarming (also, cackles). Qevin had the opportunity to get rid of Crazy Margarine and move on, but hes beholden to the Cult of T45.The 369th Infantry Regiment, formerly known as the 15th New York National Guard Regiment and commonly referred to as the, was an infantry regiment of the New York Army National Guard during World War I and World War II. The Regiment consisted mainly of African Americans, though it also included several Puerto Rican Americans during World War II. With the 370th Infantry Regiment, it was known for being one of the first African American regiments to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I. The regiment was nicknamed the Black Rattlers. The nickname Men of Bronze (French: Hommes de Bronze) was given to the regiment by the French and Hell-fighters (German: Hollenkampfer) was given to them by the Germans. During WWI, the 369th spent 191 days in frontline trenches, more than any other American unit. They also suffered the most losses of any American regiment with 1,500 casualties. You can read more about the Harlem Hellfighters here Bernies Mittens are Chair of the Budget Cmte. Bernie does the covid package sell speech. Bernie talks about $15 minimum wage. Bernie says the GOP is at a crossroads (we know the two paths). More talk about Margarine and the false equivalency to a tweet from Ilhan Omar from ages ago, that she apologized for. Bernie advocates for Senate conviction, gives precedent speech, so it doesnt matter T45 is no longer in office*. Bernie talks more about $1400 checks.Brandy is promoting her album. She talks about the inspiration for the album. Shes joining John Legends team on. Gives advice for up and coming artists. She talks about being the first Black Cinderella back in 1997, and being picked by Whitney, and working with Whitney and Bernadette Peters. She talks about working with Whoopi. They show a throwback cast photo with Whoopi and Victor Garber. Talks about advice Whitney gave her. Rodgers and Hammersteins Cinderella will air on Disney+ starting 12 February.Source links are below each video or section
Health official: 'I am hopeful for the brighter days ahead'
Fashion designer Peter Nygard was denied bail on Friday by a judge in Canada on a US extradition request over charges of sex trafficking and racketeering spanning decades and involving teenage girls.

Canadian police arrested Nygard in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on December 14 at the request of US officials under the countries' extradition treaty.

Nygard faces nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering in the United States. Nygard, who appeared in court by video, has denied the allegations.

Friday's ruling means that the fashion mogul will be forced to await his extradition hearings behind bars.

Scroll down for video

A Canadian judge on Friday denied bail to fashion designer Peter Nygard, 79, who faces sex trafficking and racketeering charges in the US. Nygrad is depicted on the right in a court sketch from December 15

Justice Shawn Greenberg said she was concerned Nygard, 79, could tamper with witnesses if released from jail.

His lawyers had argued that poor health left Nygard vulnerable if he were to be infected by the coronavirus in prison. They had proposed an in-home security guard and 24-hour video surveillance to monitor Nygard if he was released.

Federal lawyers told the court that Nygard has the means to flee and that the charges he faces in the US are too serious to allow for his release.

Greenberg sided with prosecutors, saying that Nygard's health concerns did not automatically qualify him for release.

'It is not a get-out-of-jail-free card,' the judge said.

US authorities accuse Nygard of using his businesses to recruit victims in the United States, Canada and the Bahamas since 1995 to sexually gratify himself and his associates.

Born in Finland, Nygard grew up in Manitoba, eventually running his namesake clothing companies and becoming one of Canada's wealthiest people.

Recently released video shows Nygard hosting alcohol-fueled parties on his private plane as teenage girls dance around a stripped pole, pictured

Nygard, pictured in the video ogling a young woman, is accused of luring underage girls with promises of modeling jobs, and the raping them

Nygrad's former videographer released hours of footage documenting the designer's 'pamper parties' with young women on board his private jet

Nygard gave no discernible reaction to the decision.

US officials have not yet provided full evidence disclosure to Canada, and the Canadian justice ministry still must decide whether the case warrants a formal extradition hearing.

Lawyer Greg Gutzler, who represents women in a US lawsuit against Nygard, said the decision was a first step toward justice.

'We thank the court for recognizing the imminent danger that he and his myriad conspirators pose to society,' he said.

A view of Nygard's scrapped N Force Super 727 private jet sitting in an airport scrapyard in Brunswick, Georgia

The customized plane featured a bed and a stripper pole in the middle of a lit-up stage

Nygard is accused of having recruited victims at company-funded 'pamper parties' in Marina del Rey in California and the Bahamas.

The accusations span 25 years and involve up to 80 alleged victims.

According the U.S. indictment, Nygard had a group pf 'girlfriends', many of whom were victims of his abuse, and who he kept loyal through threats or through offers of modelling deals.

'Nygard maintained control over his victims through threats, promises to grant or withhold modelling opportunities and other career advancement, granting and withholding financial support and other coercive means,' the indictment said.

In late January, Nygard's personal videographer released hours of footage showing Nygard's purportedly predatory behavior toward women and teenage girls.

One recording showed the designer ogling a 17-year-old girl dancing around a stripper pole in his private jet in 2012.

Nygard's fashion company filed for bankruptcy in March 2020, no long after the FBI raided his offices. A sign bearing Nygard's likeness is displayed outside his Times Square headquarters

Stephen Feralio, the videographer who was hired by Nygrad to document his lifestyle in 2011, told CBC that the designer would dance with a gaggle of girls in his mansion, or aboard his private plane, and then pick two or three to have sex with him.

'If I don't expose him, he's going to get away with all the things that he's been doing,' Feralio told CBC of his decision to come forward with his footage of Nygard.

Last year, Nygard resigned as chairman of Nygard International after the FBI raided its New York headquarters.

The raid came after 10 women sued Nygard, saying he enticed young and impoverished women to his Bahamas estate with cash and promises of modeling jobs. Several plaintiffs in the suit, filed in New York City, said they were 14 or 15 years old when Nygard gave them alcohol or drugs and then raped them.

Nygard's fashion label filed for bankruptcy in March of last year.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was back in the Oval Office Friday after being banished from the White House for the last 15 months of former President Donald Trump's tenure.

'I'm so delighted to be at the White House, and I know I can speak for all of our colleagues when I say that, to visit with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris,' Pelosi said after she and House Democratic leadership and committee chairs emerged from the West Wing after an Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden.

Pelosi laughed for several seconds when a reporter asked her how this meeting was 'different' than some of those she had at the White House during the Trump era.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (right) was back in the White House Friday for a meeting with President Joe Biden (left) after being banished for the last 15 months of the Trump administration

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi laughed when asked by a reporter how Friday's meeting was 'different' from those of the recent past. 'Do you really have to ask?' she replied, saying she was 'delighted' to be meeting with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office

OCTOBER 2019: The last time House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) met with President Donald Trump (right) at the White House this image was produced. Trump said Pelosi had an 'unhinged meltdown,' while Pelosi used similar language to describe Trump's behavior

DECEMBER 2018: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (right) look went viral as she emerged from a meeting a month before ascending to the speakership. During her back-and-forth with Trump, she referred to the coming government shutdown as the 'Trump shutdown,' annoying him

'Do you really have to ask?' Pelosi said once she'd gained composure from her giggle.

'I mean, it was - as I said to the president at the beginning, as a figure of speech people will say, "I'm delighted to be here," but I know I speak for all of my colleagues when I say we are really delighted to be here, for what it means to the American people,' Pelosi then said.

The House speaker hadn't been on White House grounds for a meeting with a president since her October 2019 dust-up with Trump over his administration's Syria strategy.

That meeting, in the Cabinet Room, produced the image of Pelosi standing and pointing a finger at Trump, while the president looked at the Democratic leader with disgust.

Trump tweeted out the image saying it showed, 'Nervous Nancys unhinged meltdown!'

Pelosi made it her Twitter account's cover photo.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters directly afterward that Trump had been 'insulting, particularly to the speaker.'

'She kept her cool completely,' Schumer said. 'But he called her a third-rate politician. He said that there were communists involved and you guys might like that.'

'I mean this was not a dialogue, it was sort of a diatribe, nasty diatribe not focused on the facts,' Schumer added.

Pelosi said into the microphones outside the West Wing, 'What we witnessed on the part of the president was a meltdown, sad to say.'

Reports from the meeting said that Trump had yelled after the Democrats, 'See you at the polls.'

Trump never saw Pelosi at the White House again.

Another notable meeting came as Pelosi was about to ascend to the speakership after the 2018 midterms.

The White House and Congress were at an impasse over appropriations for the next year because Trump wanted his promised border wall between the United States and Mexico funded.

'I think the American people recognize that we must keep government open, that a shutdown is not worth anything, and that you should not have a Trump shutdown,' Pelosi told Trump in front of reporters.

Trump then asked, 'Did you say "Trump?" ... I was going to call it a "Pelosi shutdown."'

The two then squabbled in front of the press for several minutes.

Afterward, Pelosi came out to talk to reporters wearing a red Max Mara coat and sunglasses - an image that went viral.

She walked out to that same position after meeting with Biden Friday.

'In terms of this meeting, the president was his usual values-based, knowledge-informed and strategic thinking in his presentation,' she said. 'It was a joy to hear his commitment to meeting the needs of the America people, open, as we all are, to bipartisanship, but nonetheless interested in getting results as soon as we can in the best possible way.'

Her No. 2, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, also remarked how different the meeting with Biden was than those of the recent past.

'This was a unique meeting, we're going to have a lot more, because it was not focused on the president it was focused on the people we needed to help,' Hoyer said.
FP Trending

Oppo is likely to launch two new phones under the F19 series. Citing a report by 91Mobiles, the company could be launching its new Oppo F19 and Oppo F19 Pro in India in March. The report also suggested that the Oppo F21 series will release in the second half of 2021. Oppo F19 and Oppo F19 Pro had previously been in news since December 2018 and the devices were rumoured to be launched with a new hybrid optical 10x zoom technology. However, the phones didn't launch at that time.

The F19 series will come as the follow-up of the F17 series, which was launched last year. To recall, the Oppo F17 Pro (Review) comes with a 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 2,400 X 1,080 pixels resolution and a 90.7 per cent screen-to-body ratio.

Powering the phone is the MediaTek Helio P95 CPU that comes backed by 8GB RAM and 128GB storage that can be expandable using a microSD card. The phone runs on ColorOS 7.2 custom skin on top of the Android 10 operating system. The OPPO F17 Pro features a quad-camera setup at the back, which includes a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP wide-lens, 2MP mono lens sensor, and a 2 MP depth camera.

On the front are the 16 MP primary snapper and a 2 MP depth sensor for selfies and video chats. For security, the phone comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor and houses a 4,000 mAh battery with 30 W fast charging support.

The OPPO F17, on the other hand, comes with a 6.44-inch FHD+ display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 CPU backed with Adreno 610 GPU. The phone comes with ColorOS 7.2 custom skin on top of the Android 10 operating system and features a quad-camera setup at the back with a 16MP primary sensor, an 8 MP wide-angle camera, a 2 MP depth sensor, a 2 MP portrait lens, and a 2 MP mono B/W sensor. For selfies, the F17 comes with a 16 MP snapper. It gets a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor for security and packs a 4,000mAh battery with 30 W fast charging support.
(Natural News) On President Joe Bidens first day in office, he signed an executive order stopping the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which was intended to transport crude oil from Canada to the United States.

Americanpipeliner.com estimates that up to 11,000 jobs were lost directly because of the pipelines cancellation. The pipeline workers will now have to remain in their hometowns and compete for local jobs that pay a fraction of what they were earning before at a time when jobs are hard to come by. Complicating matters further is the fact that their skills are so specialized that they cannot be easily transferred to other positions and industries.

A 46-year-old welding foreman who was working on a pump station for the pipeline, Neal Crabtree, recounted how he broke down and cried in his truck when he heard the news. He told Fox News in an interview that this is not a time to make political statements. He said that lots of projects were canceled recently due to COVID, and some in the industry have been out of work for months and even years. The impact, he said, will be felt by lots of families and communities.

He also criticized Democratic politicians who said the workers whose livelihoods were ruined by the Biden administrations fossil fuel policies could find work in other industries.

He said: You spend a lifetime fine-tuning your skills, and if you go start another job, youre starting at the bottom. I doubt that these politicians would like it if someone told them to go start over and find a different job. Theyre killing the jobs that are here and selling a fairy tale of jobs that arent.

The Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL)s President and CEO, Andy Black, said in a statement: Killing 10,000 jobs and taking $2.2 billion in payroll out of workers pockets is not what Americans need or want right now.

Effects of pipeline cancellation will be far-reaching

Losing that many American jobs in one fell swoop is bad enough, but the economic impact will also be felt deeply in the communities that the Keystone pipeline would have gone through. In addition, a further 50,000 people were going to build the lines off the mainline toward cities and houses.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed disappointment with the move, emphasizing the importance of bilateral relations between the U.S. and Canada. Some Alberta legislators even suggested a potential trade war between the two nations in the wake of the pipelines cancellation.

Moreover, some experts have said that Canada may reduce its oil sales volume to the U.S. significantly following the cancellation, which would see energy costs rise for Americans. Americanpipeliner.com founder Tim Latter told The Epoch Times: Its naive to think that were going to use wind and solar to meet the energy demands that we require.

Meanwhile, energy expert and author Alex Epstein told the publication that green energy is a failure around the world, pushing up heating prices dramatically in the UK and causing electricity prices in Germany to double over the last two decades  and thats only with small percentages of wind and solar energy.

Bidens move seems to stem more from a desire to undo measures put in place by Trump than out of any real concern for the environment, especially when you consider the fact that experts have said that it wont do much, if anything, to reduce emissions. It wont reduce U.S. oil dependency, and Gulf Coast American refineries may become even more reliant on countries like Russia and Venezuela for oil imports  not to mention the emissions that will be created by shipping in foreign oil.

The executive order canceling the pipeline was one of 30 executive orders Biden signed on his first days on the job, ten of which directly reversed Trump policies. If Biden was willing to eliminate 11,000 American jobs on his first day in office, its scary to think what he has in mind for the next four years.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

FoxNews.com

Edition.CNN.com
Project Coordination Officer, Vientiane, Laos

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

Closing date: Wednesday, 17 February 2021

Job ID: 35122

Practice Area - Job Family: Crisis Prevention and Recovery - PROJECT COORDINATION OFFICER

Vacancy End Date: (Midnight New York, USA) 17/02/2021

Duty Station: Vientiane, Lao Peoples Democratic Rep

Education & Work Experience: G-Bachelors Level Degree - 7 year(s) experience, I-Masters Level Degree - 5 year(s) experience

Languages: English

Grade: SB4

Vacancy Type: Service Contract (SC)

Posting Type: External

Bureau: Asia & the Pacific

Contract Duration: 9months

For Lao national only

Background

Lao PDR is among the most heavily bombed countries per capita in the world, with over two million tons of munitions dropped on it during the Indochina War (1964-1973). This includes 270 million sub-munitions from cluster bombs, up to 30% of which failed to detonate.

While the number of accidents has dropped markedly from 302 in 2008 to 42 in 2015, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) contamination remains a threat for rural populations in poor and remote areas. It reduces safe access to their agricultural land and increases the amount of time, in many cases, that farmers have to spend on cultivating their land, as they are required to move more carefully and cautiously in light of the risk of accidents. Accidents often affect the main breadwinners in families and communities, which damages their families economic security and independence. In addition, UXO contamination impedes the safe use of land for socio-economic development activities, and where these activities can take place, it increases their costs. Around 80% of people in Lao PDR live in rural areas, where livelihood opportunities are often uncertain and food and nutrition security indicators are particularly poor. Many of the poorest districts in the country are also the most-contaminated, UXO contamination can lead to loss of livestock, restricted access to land, food insecurity, insufficient basic infrastructure, reduce crop production, increased transport costs, disability, employment shortages, and other negative socio-economic outcomes.

The exact total extent and location of contamination in the country is currently unknown. Although Lao PDRs ratification of the Convention of Cluster Munitions (CCM) obliges the country to clear known UXO contamination by 2020, without a clear baseline it is difficult to plan properly and to indicate timeframes for clearance throughout the country. Survey activities are underway to establish the extent of known contamination for clearance and to establish a national baseline.

The national baseline of contamination will allow the prioritisation and management of all remaining clearance tasks. The 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) includes targets for addressing the UXO issue by 2020 and the 9th NSEDP is currently in the process of being drafted. The National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector (NRA) has also approved a UXO Sector Five Year Work Plan, with targets relating to UXO survey and clearance, reduced casualties and victim assistance. These goals align with Lao PDRs Sustainable Development Goal 18 (SDG18) to remove the UXO obstacle to national development, as well as obligations contained under the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The UXO sector in Lao PDR consists of the National Regulatory Authority (NRA), UXO Lao, humanitarian NGOs, several accredited commercial companies providing UXO services, and humanitarian clearance teams within the Lao Peoples Army. The overall coordination / lead from the Government side is mandated to rest with Ministry of Labour & Social Welfare (MLSW) and the Minister is also the Chairperson of the NRA Board.

The NRA has been successful in regulating and coordinating a transition of the humanitarian operators from request-based to evidence-based land clearance, UXO Lao remains the largest clearance operator in Lao PDR and currently operates in 9 of the most heavily contaminated provinces. With the transition to evidence-based land clearance, UXO Lao has shown their ability to adapt to the change in methodology and have highlighted the need for a comprehensive review of all historical data when conducting non-technical survey. A Capacity Self-Assessment undertaken in June 2014 with the support of UNDP indicated that the NRA and UXO Lao still face capacity gaps. These include establishing adequate policy frameworks; managing information to maximise development impact and support; monitoring and communicating progress at the sector level; addressing the needs of UXO survivors; and assuring the quality of outputs in the sector. This obstructs evidence-based sector-level planning, reducing the sectors effectiveness in supporting the objectives of the 8th NSEDP. Addressing these challenges will mean that planning can be based on development criteria for maximum effectiveness. This can benefit from improved linkage across the Sector Working Groups under the Round Table Process, which can enhance the linkage of UXO action with poverty reduction and livelihoods development. This will increase the linkage between the Sector Working group level to the Round Table Process.

UNDP has been one of the leading development partners supporting the UXO sector in Lao PDR since mid-1990s. UNDP with other partners have helped create the two key state institutions in UXO sector - UXO Lao and the NRA and have been supporting the capacity development of these institutions from the beginning. UNDP serves as Co-Chair of the UXO Sector Working Group, together with the MLSW and the United States. The Government of Lao PDR and UNDP are in the process of developing and finalizing new long-term sector strategies, including the next 10-Year Sector Strategy (2021-2030) and associated implementation/work plan (two 5-year plans) and the 5-Year Victim Assistance Strategy (2021-2025).

Under the supervision of the CTA, the Project Coordination Officer will be working to directly support the CTA in the provision of policy support, technical guidance and project/programme management support necessary to ensure that the implementation of the 2017-2021 Project is a success and that a new phase of the project is developed in 2021. The Project Coordination Officer will be heavily engaged in the finalisation of the above strategies and work plans, as well as ensuring their alignment with national strategies (9th NSEDP) and Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) obligations and ensuring their effective implementation.

As a member of the project team, the Project Coordination Officer will be based within the project offices, providing support as needed to the National Programme Directors of both UXO Lao and the NRA. The Project Coordination Officer will also provide support as needed to the Country Office UXO team in areas of programmatic planning, monitoring and implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

The Project Coordination Officer will work under the guidance and supervision of the CTA under the overall direction of the UXO Portfolio Team Leader. The key responsibility of the Project Coordination Officer will be to provide support to the CTA in developing the capacity and strengthening the national ownership of both Implementing Partners (IPs), NRA and UXO Lao. The Project Coordination Officer will also play a strong coordination function, ensuring that all stakeholders within the UXO sector are engaged in the strategy and policy drafting processes, as well as ensuring continued coordination between both IPs and between the IPs and UNDP. As a core member of the technical advisory team to the IPs, the Project Coordination Officer will support the Directors to ensure effective implementation of the projects and enhance national ownership and results.

The Project Coordination Officer will provide advice and guidance and support development of the capacity of NRA and UXO Lao in the following areas:

Working closely with the CTA to provide strategic direction and guidance to the IPs

Institutional strengthening and capacity development

International cooperation and assistance

Resource Mobilization and Partnership development, including development of concept notes

Quality management

Information management, analysis and information sharing

Support to effective monitoring and evaluation

Other support to the NRA and UXO Lao as requested

Specific to the NRA:

UXO sector coordination

Support to the Director General and senior management of the NRA

Support in the development of sector strategies and work plans

Improving the National Standards

Provide advice on CCM-related issues including conferences, submission of annual reports and legislation development

National Implementation Measures and domestic legislation

This work will be undertaken with a strong emphasis on developing the overall capacity of the NRA and UXO Lao to deliver an effective UXO programme:

Strengthen UXO Sector coordination

The Project Coordination Officer will play an important role of ensuring continued and increased cooperation within the UXO sector.

The Project Coordination Officer will provide assistance to the NRA in improving their overall coordination and direction of the UXO sector,

Support the NRA to undertake the secretariat function to the UXO sector working group in close coordination with the co-chairs (NRA, UNDP and the U.S. Ambassador), and technical working groups (TWG); the implementation of monitoring mechanisms; data collection and analysis; task prioritization procedure, etc.

Ensuring close coordination between the NRA and UNDP, including the coordination of all work between the international advisors deployed within the NRA and UXO Lao.

Ensure the inputs of the UNDP technical advisory team are in harmony with the policy and aims of the overall programme and UXO project.

Support on the development of sector strategies and work plans

Provide support to the CTA on the development, implementation and monitoring of the National Strategic Plan (Safe Path Forward III) for UXO/mine action and ensuring that the plan is in line with national development objectives and priorities.

Assist the CTA and the NRA in the preparation of the Victim Assistance long-term strategy and its successful implementation

Provide research and advisory support to the CTA in the development of all other sector strategies and annual and long-term work plans.

Legal advisory support for all CCM related issues

Provide support and research on the implementation and adherence to International Treaties, especially the CCM, the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) as well as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Assist the NRA in preparation for their attendance at national CCM meetings of state parties and review conferences.

Work closely with the NRA and relevant line Ministries to ensure that national legislation is adopted as required under Article 9 of the CCM.

Liaise with the Implementation Support Unit of the CCM in Geneva to ensure that the legislation meets both international standards and the requirements of CCM Article 9.

Support the NRA in their submission of annual reports, as required under the CCM and the Convention on Chemical Weapons.

Institutional strengthening and Capacity Development

Identify areas requiring additional strengthening and capacity development support

Timely provide updates to the CTA and UNDP team on needs of the NRA and UXO Lao.

Tags access to land agricultural land capacity development chemical weapons cluster bombs continuous improvement data collection demining development planning disarmament donor relations economic security food and nutrition food insecurity gender mainstreaming information management international cooperation international relations livestock mine action monitoring and evaluation nutrition security poverty eradication poverty reduction project implementation project management quality management resource mobilization results based management rural areas rural population sdg1 social welfare sustainable development transport costs

Support the NRA in undertaking a capacity assessment and developing a detailed capacity development plan across the key operational areas of NRA.

Support the CTA in the establishment of a multi-year institutional development plan, including advising on resources required to achieve goals.

Support the continued dialogue and planning on establishing a financial sustainability plan.

Provide regular guidance to the IPs on the improvement of Regulations and National Standards.

Work closely with the CTA to ensure that the policies and procedures developed in the context of the programme are consistent with international standards for mine action (IMAS), national standards of Lao PDR and all other relevant policy statement of the United Nations.

Other Support to the CTA, as needed

Support the CTA in resource mobilization efforts for the UXO/mine action sector in Lao PDR, including the development of concept notes and detailed project proposals and maintaining a database of potential and interested donors/development partners.

Assisting the CTA in strengthening the capacities of the Quality Management team of both the NRA and UXO Lao and reviewing and updating the National Standards as necessary.

Support the overall monitoring and evaluation of the project based on the approved project document, national strategy and AWP and provide advisory support for improved gender mainstreaming efforts.

Other such support as is required by the CTA to ensure successful project implementation.

Other support to NRA, UXO Lao and UNDP CO, as requested

Support the IPs in the preparation of their annual work plans and quarterly work plans. Support the NRA in the development of the annual sector work plan, including the budget.

Provide guidance to ensure all the funds and resources for UXO Lao through UNDP are utilized in accordance with the UXO Lao Management and national staff.

Provide relevant advice and support on the further development of the NRA and UXO Lao institutional capacities, regulations and rules and procedures for the UXO sector; clarification of role and responsibilities, etc.

Provide technical guidance and capacity development support to UNDP CO on the preparation of strategic plan, results-based management work plans budgets, monitoring, proposals, task allocations progress reports publications and procedures.

Other such report as is required to ensure successful project implementation.

Impact of Results:

The Project Coordination Officer will have an impact on the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the UXO sector in Lao PDR. NRA and UXO Lao will be strengthened as national institutions and impacts of UXO in Lao PDR will be reduced through efficient and effective UXO coordination and clearance operations, community awareness activities and assistance to victims/survivors. The UXO sector will have clearer direction and future expectations. The sector strategies will closely align with national development goals and priorities and will be more effectively integrated into cross-sector strategies and associated work plans. The UXO sector will be effectively structured and the NRA will ultimately be able to take on full responsibilities as a regulator and coordination body, which will ensure greater long-term sustainability for the sector and will enhance national ownership. The efficiency and effectiveness of the UXO/Mine Action sector in Lao PDR will be increased, as all UXO/Mine Action operators will be monitored, evaluated and coordinated by the NRA in accordance with the National Strategic Plan. UXO issues will be further mainstreamed into development planning, programming and budgeting so that UXO action is addressed as an integral part of development programme and will support the development and integration of resilience building and poverty eradication into the broader agenda of the government of the Lao PDR. In addition, the UXO sector will be better placed to strengthen linkages to national and international research institutions, relevant civil society organizations and development organs in order to ensure a clear linkage with poverty and National development goals, including livelihood enhancement.

Competencies

Description of Competency at Level Required

1. Core:

Innovation

Ability to make new and useful ideas work

Level 4: Adept with complex concepts and challenges convention purposefully

Leadership

Ability to persuade others to follow

Level 4: Generates commitment, excitement and excellence in others

People Management

Ability to improve performance and satisfaction

Level 4: Models independent thinking and action

Communication

Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform

Level 4: Synthesizes information to communicate independent analysis

Delivery

Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement

Level 4: Meets goals and quality criteria for delivery of products or services

2. Technical/Functional:

Work to achieve the strategic goals of UNDP and promotes the vision, mission and value of UNDP

Focus on results and client satisfaction

Recognize and respond appropriately to the ideas, interests and concerns of others; contribute creative solutions to address challenging situations.

Seek, apply and share knowledge and information

Demonstrate strong analytical and communication (written, verbal, and interpersonal) skills

Demonstrate strong ability to work in harmony with staff members of different cultural backgrounds in a professional manner, especially in a mutually-supportive team environment.

Consistently approaches work with energy and positive, constructive attitude.

Technical/Functional are at level 4: Apply & Adapt: Contributes skills and knowledge with demonstrated ability to advance innovation and continuous improvement, in professional area of expertise

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Masters Degree or equivalent in International Relations, Development Studies, Law or related field.

Experience:

At least 5 years ( or a bachelors degree with 7 years of experience) of demonstrable project management or capacity building and development expertise, preferably in the field of UXO/Mine Action.

Experience in stakeholder engagement and coordination, donor relations and resource mobilization is required.

Understanding of strategy development and drafting processes with experience of working with national institutions to develop sector strategies preferred.

Understanding of UXO/Mine Action issues preferred, with emphasis on the policy, regulatory and treaty issues, including IMAS national standards and SOP.

Familiarity with international demining and disarmament treaty obligations, and in particular the CCM preferred.

Knowledge of legislation drafting preferable or experience working on the implementation of international legal treaties and texts preferred.

Experience within the UN and knowledge of UNDP and UN system policies, programming and operational issues, as well as UN/UNDP experience is desirable.

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WASHINGTON  The U.S. House of Representatives voted 230-199 to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who has endorsed conspiracy theories, including that the Sandy Hook school shooting was staged, of her committee memberships.

Greene spoke on House floor Thursday afternoon before the vote to publicly state she no longer believes that school shootings like those at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., or Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., were faked, nor does believe the QAnon conspiracy theory to be true. She said she regretted her words now that they have been turned on her.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., spoke with Greene this week about her past comments but decided not to remove her from her assignments on the Education and Labor and Budget committees. Democrats then forced a public vote to remove her. Eleven Republicans voted with Democrats to pull her from committees.

Rep. Jahana Hayes, whose district includes Newtown, presided over the final vote to remove Greene. Last week, she circulated a letter requesting Greene be pulled off Education and Labor for her remarks on school shootings. More than 120 Democrats signed on.

On Thursday, in her first public disavowal of her remarks, Greene said School shootings are absolutely real.

And every child that is lost, those families absolutely mourn it, she said. I understand how terrible it is because when I was 16 in 11th grade, my school was a gun-free school and one of my schoolmates brought guns to school and took our entire school hostage.

Democrats are outraged by the litany of falsehoods endorsed by Greene and some hope to paint her as the new face of the Republican party. Many Republicans have condemned Greenes remarks. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said her loony lies are a cancer on the GOP.

Representative Greene has espoused opinions that have no place in our public discourse. It is our responsibility as Republicans to address these issues inside our own conference, said Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who survived a challenge to her leadership Wednesday night. This vote today sets a dangerous precedent for this institution that Democrats may regret when Republicans regain the majority."

Some Democrats want to expel Greene from Congress for spreading and endorsing false and incendiary theories. U.S. Reps. John Larson, D-1, and Rosa DeLauro, D-3, signed onto a resolution to do so led by Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif. U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, did not and his spokesman said Himes thought removing her committees was the appropriate remedy.

Advocates have latched onto the issue.

Po Murray, the chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance, called for Greene to be expelled from Congress, with a two-thirds majority vote.

On Wednesday night, Greene addressed the House Republican Caucus behind closed doors and admitted some of her past

In her public remarks, Greene said she became interested in QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory alleging the existence of a cabal of powerful individuals engaging in sex trafficking and plotting against President Donald Trump, at the end of 2017.

I was allowed to believe things that werent true and I would ask questions about them and talk about them and that is absolutely what I regret because if it werent for the Facebook posts and comments that I liked in 2018, I wouldnt be standing here and you couldnt point a finger and accuse me of anything wrong, Greene said.

Greene, 46, is a mother and Christian conservative whose family runs a construction company, Taylor Commercial, operating in 11 states. She described herself as a very regular American, Thursday, saying she never was arrested or did drugs, but did receive a few speeding tickets. She said she didnt really trust the government before, but said she became interested in politics because of Trump, whom she strongly supports.

Greene previously liked a social media post that a bullet to the head would be quicker to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She suggested maybe Jewish space lasers started the California wildfires in 2018. One of the Facebook posts she liked alleged the Sept. 11 terror attacks never happened. She said Thursday she knows 9/11 was real.

Previously, Greene said David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland shooting was trained like a dog to make scripted remarks about shootings. She confronted him outside the U.S. Capitol in 2019, called him a coward and suggested he wanted to confiscate the firearms of gun owners but couldnt defend his policy stance, according to a video Greene posted to YouTube in January 2020.

I know the fear that David Hogg had that day. I know the fear that these kids have... I truly believe that children at school should never be left unprotected, Greene said Thursday. She endorses armed law enforcement guarding schools from attack.

Greene said Thursday her past remarks had been cherry-picked and distributed by the media to make her into something she is not.

These were words of the past and these things do not represent me, she said.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
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Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

A homeless woman was finally rescued from her van Thursday morning in Newark after being trapped inside by snowplows for five days, she told News 12 Jersey.

When I woke up around 11 oclock or 12 oclock at night, I saw I was plowed in and snow everywhere, the woman told the outlet. I was blowing the horn to tell them I was in here. But they didnt get the message, so Ive been in here ever since.

She said in the report that she called 911 multiple times, but that she was told that no one could help her as she was stuck in the van on Lincoln Avenue since Sunday night when a winter storm began burying New Jersey in several feet of snow.

On Thursday afternoon, city officials said the delay in the womans rescue came because of an error that was made in logging the address she gave dispatchers when she first called them Wednesday afternoon.

Unfortunately, this woman lives inside her vehicle and was sheltering in place during the snowstorm, Mayor Ras J. Baraka said in a statement. When she first contacted police yesterday, there was an error made with logging the correct address.

Police officers called her back for the correct address, but received no answer, the mayor continued. The next time members of the Department of Public Safety heard from her was at 9:30 this morning, when she contacted the Newark Fire Division. They responded immediately to render aid.

The statement from the city said she called the Newark Police at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday and told them she was unable to leave her van because it was stuck in the snow and gave an address of 67 Lincoln Park.

That address was incorrectly logged as 67 Lincoln Street by the public safety tele-communicator and when officers arrived, they were unable to find the navy blue minivan, and called her back but received no answer, according to the statement.

In light of the womans age and the fact that shes a resident without an address, we combed through our records to pinpoint exactly when this incident was initially reported to us, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in the statement. We regret that human error played a role in delaying our response to the correct address, although we attempted to call her for a correction. Im grateful that she reached out again today and that this incident didnt end tragically.

When she called Newark firefighters at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, they responded six minutes later, located the van, shoveled a path to her drivers side door and freed her from her icy vehicle, authorities said.

Shortly after firefighters arrived, several men from a nearby residential substance abuse program called CURA came out, helped dig her out and brought her a hot meal, News 12 reported.

We had no idea she was out hereWe brought food and the residents brought shovels to dig her out, Christina Mascuch of CURA said in the report. When someone is in need, they are in need. And no one here clearly is asking questions.

CURA representatives could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday night.

The woman refused medical attention, as well as help to find a shelter or to reach a family members home, the citys statement said. Firefighters also offered to shovel out her vehicle, but she also refused, they said.

The Newark Office of Homeless Services was able to find shelter for the woman on Thursday evening, city officials said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky canceled the decree on the publication of collections of acts of Ukrainian legislation of Ukraine, and also amended the decree on the publication of acts of legislation in the Official Gazette of Ukraine, according to which decrees and orders of the head of state, resolutions and orders of the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as acts of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

The text of relevant decree No. 48/2021 dated February 5 was released on the presidential website on Friday.

Decree No. 1207 dated 1996 on the publication of legislative acts also excludes the provision that the distribution of the Official Bulletin of Ukraine is carried out through open subscription and retail trade.

In addition to decree No. 73 on the publication of collections of legislative acts of Ukraine dated 1996, decrees on updating such collections and the editorial board for their publication for 1996-1999 are recognized as invalid.

The decree comes into force on the day of its publication.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Rep. Nicole Malliotakis was one of 11 House Republicans to vote in favor of removing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her House committee assignments, calling her statements disturbing and extraordinarily offensive.

Rep. Greene, a Republican from Georgia, shared QAnon conspiracy theories on her Facebook page in 2017, endorsed 9/11 conspiracy theories and questioned if mass shootings were real.

How do you get avid gun owners and people that support the Second Amendment to give up their guns and go along with anti-gun legislation? Greene asked in an online video. You make them scared, you make them victims and you change their mindset and then possibly you can pass anti-gun legislation. Is that what happened in Las Vegas?

I dont believe (Paddock) pulled this off all by himself, and I know most of you dont either, Greene said.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., walks back to her office after speaking on the floor of the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/AP)AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Greene engaged in anti-Semitic comments, most recently saying lasers and blue beams of light shot down from space by Jewish allies caused wildfires in California in 2018.

She also made comments about Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying shes guilty of treason, which is a crime punishable by death, among other hateful comments towards religious groups and former politicians including former President Barack Obama.

The House voted 230 to 199 to remove her from the Budget and Education Committees on Thursday.

Its not just me they want to cancel.



They want to cancel every Republican.



Dont let the mob win.  Marjorie Taylor Greene  (@mtgreenee) February 4, 2021

Its not just me they want to cancel. They want to cancel every Republican, Greene tweeted on Thursday before the vote. Dont let the mob win.

Staten Islands freshman congresswoman said that her vote reflects the offensive nature of Greenes comments to people in the district she represents.

Past comments made and endorsed by Congresswoman Greene are deeply disturbing and extraordinarily offensive and hurtful to thousands of 9/11 families and first responders, our Jewish community and many others in my district, Malliotakis said in a statement.

As Americans, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard and fully condemn such comments regardless of which side of the aisle they come from, she continued.

Malliotakis then went on to question why other House members were not stripped of their committees or suspended for previous comments they made.

Im patiently awaiting Speaker Pelosis resolution to remove Congressman Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee over his ties to a suspected Chinese Spy and Congresswoman Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for her shameful anti-Semitic comments, she said.

Malliotakis previously said former Rep. Max Rose should call for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) to resign from her committees after she said, Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and frankly, Im tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. [The Council on American-Islamic Relations] was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties, in an interview to NPR while discussing how terrorism has led to a rise in Islamophobia.

I really want to go talk to these ladies and ask them what they are thinking, and why they are serving in our American government, Greene said about Omar and Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). They really should go back to the Middle East.

-- Associated Press material was used in this report.

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A BIG 30,000 square foot facility on the southside of Limerick has been offered to the HSE as a place for mass vaccinations locally.

The chief executive of the Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP) Niall OCallaghan says the facility is ready and willing to facilitate the treatment in the region.

Mr OCallaghan pointed out in a tweet to HSE CEO Paul Reid that the facility at Roxboro has parking and many other ancillary facilities like a supermarket, coffee shops and restrooms.

Speaking to the Limerick Leader about the offer, the LEDP boss said: There has been plenty of coverage in the last week about the requirement for mass vaccination centres around the country. We have this space available currently. Its very close to the motorway network. Its ideally situated in our view in the centre of Limerick City South and could accommodate a large number of people in a socially distanced manner to come in and be vaccinated.

He also highlighted the ancilliary services around the LEDP, including office facilities if the HSE needed an administration hub.

I am not too sure if there are as many equally accessible facilities in and round Limerick that could facilitate a mass vaccination programme, he said.

Mr Reid has yet to respond to the offer.
The U.K. will require travelers from coronavirus hot spots to quarantine starting Feb. 15, the government said, adding flesh to a policy first announced last month.

Arrivals from countries on the U.K.s travel ban list will be required to isolate for 10 days after arrival in government-approved accommodation, the Department for Health and Social Care said Thursday in a statement. The government said its seeking bids from hotels near airports and ports to support the program.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

The announcement comes after days of confusion over how soon the government would implement a policy it announced last month as a key tool to stop mutations of the coronavirus that may be more resistant to vaccines from entering the country.

In the face of new variants, it is important that the government continues to take the necessary steps to protect people and save lives," the government said in the statement. With increased police presence at airports and more physical checks at addresses to make sure people are self-isolating, we are taking decisive action."

At present, 30 countries including the whole of South America, a swath of southern Africa and Portugal are on the travel ban list after new variants that emerged in Brazil and South Africa in recent weeks heightened concerns.

Too Little, Too Late

The opposition Labour Partys home affairs spokesman, Nick Thomas-Symonds, criticized the announcement as too little, too late."

It is beyond comprehension that these measures wont even start until 15 February," he said. We are in a race against time to protect our borders against new Covid strains. Yet hotel quarantine will come in to force more than 50 days after the South African strain was discovered."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hoping to use the countrys so-far successful vaccination program as a springboard to reopen the country from its third lockdown, which started last month. He has said schools will open from March 8 at the earliest, and has promised to publish a plan for easing the restrictions in the week of Feb. 22. Keeping out vaccine-resistant strains of Covid-19 is crucial to that effort.

The Times late Thursday reported that ministers are also considering a certification system for Britons, to allow them to travel to countries that may require proof of inoculation upon entry.

Australian Advice

Health officials have held a series of meetings with more than 60 companies and industry representatives in the aviation, maritime and hospitality industries. Formal contracts will be awarded to hotels, with former Vice Chief of Defence Staff, General Gordon Messenger, advising the government on the delivery of the program, according to the statement.

We are now working at pace to secure the facilities we need to roll out managed quarantine for British nationals returning home from the most high risk countries," the government said. Further details will be set out next week.

The Telegraph on Friday reported that ministers aim to secure 28,000 hotel rooms for the program.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock earlier said hed spoken with his Australian counterpart to seek advice about how to quarantine travelers in hotels. His officials are also liaising with New Zealand authorities. Both nations have had mandatory quarantine for months.

Stronger Measures

Weve strengthened measures at the border and were clear that theres more that needs to be done," Hancock told broadcasters. We will be bringing forward further measures, but weve got to get this right."

More than 110,000 people in the U.K. have died from coronavirus, compared to 909 in Australia.

Johnson said last month that ministers were exploring compulsory quarantine in hotels for all arrivals, before the government announced a plan limited to people coming from regions designated as high risk.

Arrivals in the U.K. are already required to show a negative Covid-19 test and isolate for 10 days, but theres no set location, making enforcement difficult. They face fines if they are caught not complying. Critics point out that people are allowed to use public transport to reach the place they plan to self-isolate.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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San Francisco, Feb 5 : After Apple, Google is now considering developing an anti-tracking feature for its Android ecosystem to create app transparency for the users.

Google said in a statement to The Verge on Thursday that they are "always looking for ways to work with developers to raise the bar on privacy while enabling a healthy, ad-supported app ecosystem".

The Android alternative may resemble some of the upcoming privacy controls planned for the Chrome browser and may not be as tough as the Apple's app tracking feature.

The company, however, did not directly disclose that an anti-tracking privacy measure for Android is in the works.

Apple's much contested privacy feature that will require app developers to seek permission from users to track them for ad targeting will be launched with the next iOS 14 beta, the company has said.

The iPhone maker is planning to release the feature to all sometime this spring.

While Apple has positioned the feature as a safeguard for user privacy, it has also faced criticism from others including Facebook which runs ad networks.

Besides those that run ad networks, the new policy is also expected to hurt the bottom lines of those companies paying for the ads.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has argued that the iOS 14 privacy changes will impact the growth of millions of businesses around the world.

Google has also warned that Apple's App Tracking Transparency changes will reduce visibility into key metrics that show how ads drive conversions, like app installs and sales, and will affect how advertisers' value and bid on ad impressions.

Apple has defended the new privacy measure as a way to provide iOS users more choices over their privacy.

"We believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users. Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites - and they should have the choice to allow that or not," Apple said in a statement last month.

To app developers, the company said: "You must use the App Tracking Transparency framework if your app collects data about end users and shares it with other companies for purposes of tracking across apps and websites."
Reserve Bank of India's governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday said that three bids for microlender Punjab Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank have been received and evaluation is underway.

Das' comments came post announcing RBI's bi-monthly policy review on Friday.

"I have been informed that three final offers have been received. I am given to understand that the PMC Bank itself is evaluating the offers," the RBI governor told reporters.

He said once the evaluation is done, the bank would approach the RBI.

Last month, PMC Bank administrator A K Dixit in a letter to customers and stakeholders had informed that three prospective investors were given time till February 1, 2021 for submission of their final offer.

The potential investors include the Centrum Group-BharatPe combine and the UK-based Liberty Group. These investors had submitted their Expression of Interest (EoI) last month, as per media reports.

PMC Bank was placed under Directions by the RBI with effect from the close of business on September 23, 2019 due to its poor financial position and negative net worth.

The Directions were necessitated as RBI came across a nexus between borrowers (promoters of a real estate group) and some bank officials, with the alleged fraud/ financial irregularities pegged at about 4,355 crore.

The EoI was floated to identify a suitable equity investor/ group of investors willing to take over management control so as to revive PMC Bank and commence regular day-to-day operations.

As per the EoI, subsequent to commencement of the normal day-to-day operations, it will be open for the investor(s) to convert the bank into a Small Finance Bank by making an application to RBI.

The investor(s) should ideally bring in the capital required for enabling the bank to achieve the minimum required capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of 9 per cent.

However, the investors may explore the option of restructuring a part of deposit liabilities into capital/capital instruments," the EoI said.

The bank may also approach DICGC for its support for payment up to 5 lakh (insured deposits) to depositors under the provisions of the DICGC Act, 1961, it added.

According to the EoI, PMC Bank had total deposits of 10,727.12 crore, total advances of 4,472.78 crore and gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of 3,518.89 crore as on March 31, 2020.

Further, the share capital of the bank was 292.94 crore. However, the bank registered a net loss of 6,835 crore during 2019-20 and has a negative net worth of 5,850.61 crore, as per the EoI.

In the aftermath of the Punjab Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank crisis, the government had amended the Banking Regulation Act, giving the RBI full control to regulate the UCBs.





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Taiwan on Friday accused Beijing of pressuring Guyana into terminating a deal with the island to set up a trade office, saying it highlighted the Chinese government's "evil nature".

Less than a day after Taiwanese officials announced the setting up of the office, Guyana's foreign ministry said it had been scrapped and that the South American nation remained committed to its diplomatic ties with China.

"We express strongest dissatisfaction and condemnation that the Chinese government has again bullied and suppressed Taiwan in the international space," Taipei's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The Chinese government says one thing but does another which will only highlight its evil nature and further distance the people on the two sides."

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen described Guyana's decision as "unilateral" in a Facebook post.

"Taiwanese people will not bow down their heads in adversity," she added. "Taiwan's firm determination to walk towards the world definitely won't change because of this."

Only 15 countries officially recognise Taiwan over China, which sees the democratic, self-ruled island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if needed.

Beijing has ramped up military pressure and snatched seven of Taiwan's diplomatic allies since Tsai came to power in 2016, as she refused to acknowledge its stance that the island belongs to "one China".

Taiwan had said Thursday that its representative office in Guyana had started operations provisionally in January, a step the United States called a "milestone".

But Guyana issued a statement the same day, saying it "wishes to clarify that it continues to adhere to the One China policy and its diplomatic relations remain intact with the People's Republic of China".

China's foreign ministry spokesman had warned Thursday that any attempted by Taipei "to get foreign support and engage in separatist activities is doomed to fail".

Story continues

Taipei has tried to push back against Beijing's campaign to keep it isolated and locked out of international bodies such as the World Health Organization.

As a result, any successful move to expand or protect existing diplomatic relations is seen as a major win by Taipei and its biggest unofficial ally Washington.

aw/qan
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has sounded a note of caution on the trading frenzy which saw individual investors take on Wall Street hedge funds.

Bailey said the Bank was 'watching carefully' after retail investors banded together on social media site Reddit, piling into a number of unpopular stocks to drive up their price and punish short-selling hedge funds.

Most of the action has taken place in the US, as video game chain Gamestop became the centre of attention. But UK investors were buying in too, attempting to join in on the enormous rally.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said he has been 'watching carefully' as retail investors band together on social media site Reddit to punish short-selling hedge funds

Bailey said people would be 'right to point to the risks', as many investors using trading platforms take on leverage.

This means they borrow to help them take larger bets on a stock  meaning their profits can be much larger, but so can their losses. He said: 'That puts investors at very high risk of losing their money.'

This is especially true when a stock like Gamestop is driven unnaturally high, as in recent weeks, since it is likely to come tumbling back down. Yesterday alone, Gamestop plunged by 42 per cent.

Janet Yellen, US treasury secretary, called a meeting of regulators to assess 'whether recent activities are consistent with investor protection and fair and efficient markets'.

Dodgecoin, a digital currency initially created as a joke, jumped 48 per cent yesterday after Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted that it was 'the people's crypto'.
Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning With the Myth of the Lost Cause

By Ty Seidule

St. Martin's. 291 pp. $27.99

- - -

In January 1872, Jubal Early, a former Confederate corps commander, delivered an address at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., to honor Robert E. Lee, who had recently died. Believing that Lee was one of the finest military leaders in history, Early declared, "Our beloved Chief stands, like some lofty column which rears its head among the highest, in grandeur, simple, pure and sublime, needing no borrowed lustre; and he is all our own." In subsequent years, Early and several elite ex-officers would deify Lee while creating the Lost Cause interpretation of the Civil War. According to that view, the war wasn't about slavery but rather states' rights. And the North won only because of its superior resources. An additional tenet is that Lee was the greatest soldier in the war on either side.

At the same time the Lee myth was being created, former rebels began reinforcing white supremacy all across the South. In Walton County, a rural community in Georgia, the Ku Klux Klan terrorized freedmen after the war. In 1871, Jake Daniels, an African American blacksmith from the county, was killed by 20 disguised men after refusing to repair a buggy for a White man, who still owed him money from previous jobs. The Klansmen showed up at Daniels's door in the middle of the night. Daniels went outside but quickly recognized the danger. He tried to reenter his house but was shot in the back of the head. The men then shot him five or six more times before leaving the scene.

This type of violence was not uncommon in the South in the 19th and 20th centuries. In Georgia alone, 589 people were lynched between 1877 and 1950. As Ty Seidule writes in his powerful new book, "Robert E. Lee and Me," "If Lee and Confederate worship created one side of the white supremacy coin, violent terror to enforce racial domination provided the other side."

Seidule tells the story of his transformation from a believer in the Lost Cause to a critic. Growing up in Virginia and Georgia, he worshiped Lee. It was only later, as the head of the history department at the U.S. Military Academy, that he discovered the truth about Confederate myths. Seidule writes: "I grew up with a lie, a series of lies. Now, as a historian and a retired U.S. Army officer, I must do my best to tell the truth about the Civil War, and the best way to do that is to show my own dangerous history."

Seidule has written a vital account of the destructiveness of the Lost Cause ideology throughout American history. He shows how films, textbooks and memorials promoted white supremacy by glorifying traitors and enslavers like Lee and other Confederate leaders. Perhaps the best attribute of this fine book is the author's honesty. When talking of his personal metamorphosis, he vows to "quit hiding behind the impartial, know-it-all historian and open up about the southerner, the boy who grew up on Lee idolatry, and the man who wrapped his identity around the heroes of the Confederacy. Be honest. Be vulnerable. Above all, tell the truth."

Initially, telling the truth mustn't have been easy for Seidule, who admits, "I grew up on the evil lies of the Lost Cause." His early life was shaped by white supremacy at every turn. Seidule, whose father was a teacher, lived for a while on the campus of a school in Alexandria, Va., that one historian called a "Lost Cause denominational high school." Later, he attended George Walton Academy in Monroe, Ga. - a school that had one purpose, according to Seidule: "Ensure white kids didn't have to go to school with Black kids."

It would be many years before he learned of the racial terror that persisted in Monroe after the Civil War. After a quadruple lynching in 1946, The Washington Post published an op-ed describing Monroe as "lynchtown." Eventually, Seidule attended Washington and Lee University, where Lee served as president from 1865 to 1870 (when the institution was called Washington College). Remarkably, the school still has a chapel dedicated to the former rebel chieftain, with a statue of Lee prominently displayed. As Seidule dryly notes, "My school worshipped Lee, literally."

The key to Seidule's rejection of the Lost Cause was his realization, while teaching military history at West Point, that the Confederate leadership committed treason "to protect and expand chattel slavery." As a scholar, Seidule could no longer make excuses for the violent and degrading slave culture of the South. Describing an antebellum plantation, he imagined "coffle, rape, torture" and came to believe that plantations should be called "enslaved labor farms" instead. He also points out that there were eight colonels from Virginia in the U.S. Army on the eve of the war. Seven remained loyal to their oath, while only one, Lee, betrayed his country. The common belief that Lee did what every other Southern officer did isn't true. "We must remember," Seidule reminds us, "Lee fought for perpetual slavery."

While at the U.S. Military Academy in 2006, Seidule had an "aha!" moment that revealed an important question, if not the answer: Why were there so many monuments to Lee at West Point? He headed to the archives to learn more. From his research, he gained an invaluable insight: A barracks had been named after Lee just one year after 44 Black cadets entered the academy. "I have no 'smoking gun' that academy officials named Lee Barracks because of the tenfold increase in African Americans," he writes, "but I keep finding Confederate memorialization whenever West Point increases integration."

Seidule noticed a similar process in Virginia during the 1960s and 1970s. Just as the state was being pushed toward integration, it began introducing textbooks that inculcated the Lost Cause view of the Civil War. "The Virginia textbooks formed one of the most powerful testaments to white supremacy, an insidious monument that poisoned children's minds for a generation," he writes.

It's difficult to imagine a more timely book than "Robert E. Lee and Me." At this pivotal moment, when we are debating some of the most painful aspects of our history, Seidule's unsparing assessment of the Lost Cause provides an indispensable contribution to the discussion. "We find it hard to confront our past because it's so ugly," Seidule concludes, "but the alternative to ignoring our racist history is creating a racist future."

- - -

Reeves is the author of "The Lost Indictment of Robert E. Lee" and the forthcoming "A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee."

A dozen or more officers poured in, many bearing guns and wearing the camouflage of Turkeys anti-terror force. They asked if Metseydi had participated in any movements against China and threatened to deport him and his wife. They took him to a deportation facility, where he now sits at the center of a brewing political controversy.

Opposition legislators in Turkey are accusing Ankaras leaders of secretly selling out Uighurs to China in exchange for coronavirus vaccines. Tens of millions of vials of promised Chinese vaccines have not yet been delivered. Meanwhile, in recent months, Turkish police have raided and detained around 50 Uighurs in deportation centers, lawyers say  a sharp uptick from last year.

Although no hard evidence has yet emerged for a quid pro quo, these legislators and the Uighurs fear that Beijing is using the vaccines as leverage to win passage of an extradition treaty. The treaty was signed years ago but suddenly ratified by China in December, and could come before Turkish lawmakers as soon as this month.

Uighurs say the bill, once law, could bring their ultimate life-threatening nightmare: Deportation back to a country they fled to avoid mass detention. More than a million Uighurs and other largely Muslim minorities have been swept into prisons and detention camps in China, in what China calls an anti-terrorism measure but the United States has declared a genocide.

Im terrified of being deported, said Melike, Metseydis wife, through tears, declining to give her last name for fear of retribution. Im worried for my husbands mental health.

Suspicions of a deal emerged when the first shipment of Chinese vaccines was held up for weeks in December. Officials blamed permit issues.

But even now, Yildirim Kaya, a legislator from Turkeys main opposition party, said that China has delivered only a third of the 30 million doses it promised by the end of January. Turkey is largely reliant on Chinas Sinovac vaccine to immunize its population against the virus, which has infected some 2.5 million and killed over 26,000.

Such a delay is not normal. We have paid for these vaccines, Kaya said. Is China blackmailing Turkey?

Kaya said hes formally asked the Turkish government about pressure from China but has not yet received a response.

Both Turkish and Chinese authorities insist that the extradition bill isnt meant to target Uighurs for deportation. Chinese state media called such concerns smearing, and foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denied any connection between vaccines and the treaty.

I think your speculation is unfounded, Wang said at a Thursday press briefing.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in December that the vaccine delay was not related to the issue of the Uighurs.

We do not use the Uighurs for political purposes, we defend their human rights, Cavusoglu said.

But though very few have actually been deported for now, the recent detentions have sent a chill through Turkeys estimated 50,000-strong Uighur community. And in recent weeks, the Turkish ambassador in Beijing has praised Chinas vaccines while adding that Ankara values judicial cooperation with China  code, many Uighurs fear, for a possible crackdown.

In the past, a small number of Uighurs have traveled to Syria to train with militants. But most Uighurs in Turkey shun jihadis and worry they are huring the Uighur cause.

Lawyers representing the detained Uighurs say that in most cases, the Turkish police have no evidence of links to terror groups. Ankara law professor Ilyas Dogan believes the detentions are politically motivated.

They have no concrete evidence, said Dogan, who is representing six Uighurs now in deportation centers, including Metseydi. Theyre not being serious.

Even if the bill is ratified, Dogan doubts there would be mass deportations, given widespread public sympathy for the Uighurs in Turkey. But he believes the chances of individuals being deported would go up significantly.

Because of shared cultural ties, Turkey has long been a safe haven for the Uighurs, a Turkic group native to Chinas far west Xinjiang region. Turkish President Recep Erdogan denounced Chinas treatment of the Uighurs as genocide over a decade ago.

That all changed with an attempted coup in Turkey in 2016, which prompted a mass purge and alienated Erdogan from Western governments. Waiting to fill the void was China, which is loaning and investing billions in Turkey.

Signs of strong economic ties abound, big and small: An exporter with business in China was appointed Turkeys ambassador to Beijing. A Chinese-funded $1.7 billion coal plant is rising on the banks of Turkeys Mediterranean sea. Istanbuls airport obtained the worlds first Chinese Friendly Airport certification, setting aside check-in counters to receive thousands of tourists from Shanghai and Beijing. And

President Erdogans once-fiery rhetoric has turned dull and diplomatic, praising Chinas leaders for their assistance.

China also began requesting the extradition of many more Uighurs from Turkey. In one leaked 2016 extradition request first reported by Axios and obtained independently by The Associated Press, Chinese officials asked for the extradition of a Uighur former cellphone vendor, accusing him of promoting the Islamic State terror group online. The vendor was arrested but eventually released and cleared of charges.

Abdurehim Parac, a Uighur poet detained twice in the past few years, said even detention in Turkey was hotel-like compared to the hellish conditions he was subjected to during three years in Chinese prison. Imim was eventually released after a judge cleared his name. But he has difficulty sleeping at night out of fear that the extradition bill might be ratified, and called the pressure unbearable.

Death awaits me in China, he said.

Rising fears are already prompting an influx of Uighurs moving to Germany, the Netherlands, and other European countries. Some are so desperate theyre even sneaking across borders illegally, said Ali Kutad, who fled China for Turkey in 2016.

Turkey is our second homeland, Kutad said. Were really afraid.

Abdullah Metseydi, a Uighur in Turkey, was readying for bed last month when he heard commotion, then pounding on the door. Police! Open the door! A dozen or more officers poured in, many bearing guns and wearing the camouflage of Turkeys anti-terror force. They asked if Metseydi had participated in any movements against China and threatened to deport him and his wife. They took him to a deportation facility, where he now sits at the center of a brewing political controversy. Opposition legislators in Turkey are accusing Ankaras leaders of secretly selling out Uighurs to China in exchange for coronavirus vaccines. Tens of millions of vials of promised Chinese vaccines have not yet been delivered. Meanwhile, in recent months, Turkish police have raided and detained around 50 Uighurs in deportation centers, lawyers say  a sharp uptick from last year. Although no hard evidence has yet emerged for a quid pro quo, these legislators and the Uighurs fear that Beijing is using the vaccines as leverage to win passage of an extradition treaty. The treaty was signed years ago but suddenly ratified by China in December, and could come before Turkish lawmakers as soon as this month. Uighurs say the bill, once law, could bring their ultimate life-threatening nightmare: Deportation back to a country they fled to avoid mass detention. More than a million Uighurs and other largely Muslim minorities have been swept into prisons and detention camps in China, in what China calls an anti-terrorism measure but the United States has declared a genocide. Im terrified of being deported, said Melike, Metseydis wife, through tears, declining to give her last name for fear of retribution. Im worried for my husbands mental health. Suspicions of a deal emerged when the first shipment of Chinese vaccines was held up for weeks in December. Officials blamed permit issues. But even now, Yildirim Kaya, a legislator from Turkeys main opposition party, said that China has delivered only a third of the 30 million doses it promised by the end of January. Turkey is largely reliant on Chinas Sinovac vaccine to immunize its population against the virus, which has infected some 2.5 million and killed over 26,000. Such a delay is not normal. We have paid for these vaccines, Kaya said. Is China blackmailing Turkey? Kaya said hes formally asked the Turkish government about pressure from China but has not yet received a response. Both Turkish and Chinese authorities insist that the extradition bill isnt meant to target Uighurs for deportation. Chinese state media called such concerns smearing, and foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denied any connection between vaccines and the treaty. I think your speculation is unfounded, Wang said at a Thursday press briefing. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in December that the vaccine delay was not related to the issue of the Uighurs. We do not use the Uighurs for political purposes, we defend their human rights, Cavusoglu said. But though very few have actually been deported for now, the recent detentions have sent a chill through Turkeys estimated 50,000-strong Uighur community. And in recent weeks, the Turkish ambassador in Beijing has praised Chinas vaccines while adding that Ankara values judicial cooperation with China  code, many Uighurs fear, for a possible crackdown. In the past, a small number of Uighurs have traveled to Syria to train with militants. But most Uighurs in Turkey shun jihadis and worry they are huring the Uighur cause. Lawyers representing the detained Uighurs say that in most cases, the Turkish police have no evidence of links to terror groups. Ankara law professor Ilyas Dogan believes the detentions are politically motivated. They have no concrete evidence, said Dogan, who is representing six Uighurs now in deportation centers, including Metseydi. Theyre not being serious. Even if the bill is ratified, Dogan doubts there would be mass deportations, given widespread public sympathy for the Uighurs in Turkey. But he believes the chances of individuals being deported would go up significantly. Because of shared cultural ties, Turkey has long been a safe haven for the Uighurs, a Turkic group native to Chinas far west Xinjiang region. Turkish President Recep Erdogan denounced Chinas treatment of the Uighurs as genocide over a decade ago. That all changed with an attempted coup in Turkey in 2016, which prompted a mass purge and alienated Erdogan from Western governments. Waiting to fill the void was China, which is loaning and investing billions in Turkey. Signs of strong economic ties abound, big and small: An exporter with business in China was appointed Turkeys ambassador to Beijing. A Chinese-funded $1.7 billion coal plant is rising on the banks of Turkeys Mediterranean sea. Istanbuls airport obtained the worlds first Chinese Friendly Airport certification, setting aside check-in counters to receive thousands of tourists from Shanghai and Beijing. And President Erdogans once-fiery rhetoric has turned dull and diplomatic, praising Chinas leaders for their assistance. China also began requesting the extradition of many more Uighurs from Turkey. In one leaked 2016 extradition request first reported by Axios and obtained independently by The Associated Press, Chinese officials asked for the extradition of a Uighur former cellphone vendor, accusing him of promoting the Islamic State terror group online. The vendor was arrested but eventually released and cleared of charges. Abdurehim Parac, a Uighur poet detained twice in the past few years, said even detention in Turkey was hotel-like compared to the hellish conditions he was subjected to during three years in Chinese prison. Imim was eventually released after a judge cleared his name. But he has difficulty sleeping at night out of fear that the extradition bill might be ratified, and called the pressure unbearable. Death awaits me in China, he said. Rising fears are already prompting an influx of Uighurs moving to Germany, the Netherlands, and other European countries. Some are so desperate theyre even sneaking across borders illegally, said Ali Kutad, who fled China for Turkey in 2016. Turkey is our second homeland, Kutad said. Were really afraid.

Short link:


New Delhi, Feb 5 : The most vulnerable age group of people in the country, those aged above 50 will get the first jab in March second week onwards, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan informed Parliament on Friday.

The Health Minister said since the drive for the second phase to cover over 2 crore frontline workers is under progress, it is difficult to announce any fixed date right now but it is expected that the third phase of the vaccination drive will start in the second, third or fourth week of March.

Replying to a question during Question Hour session of Lok Sabha, the Minister made the announcement saying "The third phase drive will cover the most vulnerable people over the age of 50".

Vardhan said that the first phase of the world's biggest vaccination drive, which was rolled out on January 16 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, had aimed to inoculate around 1 crore healthcare workers and the second phase targeted 2 crore frontline workers.

Currently, India is inoculating indigenously made Covid-19 vaccines Covishield and Covaxin.

The Minister further said that seven more vaccines are under process and India has so far administered vaccines to 5 million people across the country.

Vardhan also mentioned that 22 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan have so far requested India to supply Covid-19 vaccines and 15 of them have been provided 161 lakh doses.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A scientific commission under the Lebanese Health Ministry approved the use of Russian vaccine Sputnik V, Lebanese national agency NNA reported

BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) A scientific commission under the Lebanese Health Ministry approved the use of Russian vaccine Sputnik V, Lebanese national agency NNA reported.

A scientific commission formed by Health Minister Hamad Hasan has approved the registration of vaccines provided by the private sector under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Sputnik V vaccine, provided it is imported exclusively from licensed warehouses, the agency said.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe on Thursday asked the Russian government to provide 200,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine in the form of assistance, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said.

On Tuesday, peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet published an interim analysis from the phase 3 trial of the Sputnik V vaccine, showing its 91.6 percent efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19. It has been approved in Belarus, Serbia, Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Algeria, Lebanon, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, the UAE, Iran, Guinea, Tunisia and Armenia.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Mere days after the city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against its own schools for its failure to reopen, a collective of unions said they will negotiate Friday with schools over a reopening plan.

United Educators of San Francisco's Susan Solomon, which represents teachers, said in a statement that the safety standards they are proposing hew closely to "the most recent state and local standards released in the last few weeks."

A NYPD officer in Brooklyn had a malfunctioning garage gate come crashing down on her Wednesday, pinning her legs.

The victim, a community affairs officer in 78th Precinct in the Prospect Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, was headed into the station house garage at around 7.20pm.

She had been heading toward a van in the garage when the metal gate slammed down on her legs, the New York Daily News reports.

The victim, a community affairs in 78th Precinct in the Prospect Heights, was headed into the station house garage at around 7.20pm Wednesday

Video shows the shocking moment when the officer had her legs smashed by the garage as she tries to enter.

Another officer had managed to walk underneath the garage just moments before it came crashing down on the woman.

She had been heading toward a van in the garage when the metal gate slammed down on her legs

The officer was taken to New York-Presbyterian/Brooklyn Methodist Hospital

The 78th Precinct in Prospect Heights where the incident took place

Officers nearby rushed to aid the woman, lifting the garage door up off of her.

The officer was taken to New York-Presbyterian/Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

As she was headed to the hospital, the officer was conscious and spoke with her colleagues.

Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 5:10 pm

The Biden administration has approved Washington state's Major Disaster Declaration request for nine counties and two tribes in Eastern Washington that were affected by wildfires last year.

The approval comes after Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray wrote President Joe Biden asking that he do what President Donald Trump refused to do: approve federal assistance for the areas affected by the fires.

In a letter to Biden, the senators asked that he approve Gov. Jay Inslee's request for wildfire disaster aid; a request that went ignored by the Trump administration for months.

The September fires devastated the town of Malden, a rural community in Whitman County, destroying 80% of its homes and forcing the evacuation of people who are without federal aid, according to the senators. An estimated 626,982 acres burned throughout a five-day period, also ravaging Pine City.

"Our state experienced extensive damage during last year's wildfire season, particularly in Central and Eastern Washington," Inslee said in a statement Thursday. "While it has been a long wait, I'm pleased to say the Biden administration has approved our Major Disaster Declaration request for nine counties and two tribes in Eastern Washington.

"While we are still waiting on approval for our application for individual assistance in Whitman County, which would help private residents who lost homes or suffered property damage in the wildfires, today's approval for FEMA aid by the White House will help get these communities moving more swiftly toward recovery," Inslee said.

Inslee twice requested a Major Disaster Declaration from Trump after wildfires tore through parts of the state in September.

Cantwell said in a statement Thursday: "No one should play politics with disaster relief. Now it is time to help Malden rebuild with this disaster declaration, which makes FEMA resources available to individuals and public assistance to communities to help rebuild things like roads, bridges, and power lines."

___

(c)2021 The Seattle Times

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market By Component (Hardware, Software, Service), By Technology (Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Context Awareness, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Others), By Process (Signal Recognition, Image Recognition, Data Mining), By Application (HumanMachine Interface, Semi-autonomous Driving, Autonomous Driving), By Vehicle Type (Passenger Cars v/s Commercial Vehicles), By Demand Category (OEM v/s Aftermarket), By Company, By Region, Forecast & Opportunities, 2026

New York, Feb. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market By Component, By Technology, By Process, By Application, By Vehicle Type, By Demand Category, By Company, By Region, Forecast & Opportunities, 2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06020702/?utm_source=GNW



The Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market is expected to grow at a steady rate during the forecast period.The Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market is driven by the growing adoption of advanced automotive solutions such as advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), adaptive cruise control (ACC), blind sport alert, among others by different OEMs.



Additionally, government regulations to improve the safety in vehicles while assuring environmental sustainability is further expected to propel the market.Furthermore, ongoing technological advancements and new product launches by the major OEMs operating in the market is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the market growth through 2026.



However, lack of proper automotive IT infrastructure especially in the emerging countries can hamper the market growth during the forecast period. Besides, high procurement and operational costs further restricts the market growth over the next few years.



The Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market is segmented based on component, technology, process, application, vehicle type, demand category, company and region.Based on technology, the market can be categorized into deep learning, machine learning, context awareness, computer vision, natural language processing and others.



The deep learning segment is expected to register the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period on account of the increasing popularity and adoption of self-driving cars.Additionally, the major players operating in the market are also investing a lot in the development of self-driving cars.



While the computer vision segment is also expected to grow significantly on account of its use in autonomous vehicles for signal recognition, image recognition, driver monitoring, among others.Based on process, the market can be fragmented into signal recognition, image recognition and data mining.



The data mining segment is expected to dominate the market owing to the large volumes of data being generated and processed in autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. Based on application, the market can be grouped into humanmachine interface, semi-autonomous driving and autonomous driving. The human-machine interface segment is expected to dominate the market owing to the growing need for providing enhanced customer experience.



Regionally, the automotive artificial intelligence market has been segmented into various regions including Asia-Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. Among these regions, Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest growth in the overall automotive artificial intelligence market owing to the growing demand for premium vehicle and increased adoption of AI and AI based services and solutions especially among the autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles in the region.



The major players operating in the automotive artificial intelligence market are NVIDIA Corporation, Alphabet Inc., Intel Corporation, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Harman International Industries Inc., Xilinx Inc., Qualcomm Inc., Tesla Inc., Volvo Car Corporation and others. Major companies are developing advanced technologies and launching new services in order to stay competitive in the market. Other competitive strategies include mergers & acquisitions and new service developments.



Years considered for this report:



Historical Years: 2016-2019

Base Year: 2020

Estimated Year: 2021

Forecast Period: 20222026



Objective of the Study:



 To analyze and estimate the market size of the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market from 2016 to 2019.

 To estimate and forecast the market size of the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market from 2020 to 2026 and growth rate until 2026.

 To classify and forecast the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market based on component, technology, process, application, vehicle type, demand category, company and regional distribution.

 To identify dominant region or segment in the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market.

 To identify drivers and challenges for the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market.

 To examine competitive developments such as expansions, new product launches, mergers & acquisitions, etc., in the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market.

 To identify and analyze the profile of leading players operating in the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market.

 To identify key sustainable strategies adopted by market players in the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market.

The analyst performed both primary as well as exhaustive secondary research for this study.Initially, the analyst sourced a list of service providers across the globe.



Subsequently, the analyst conducted primary research surveys with the identified companies.While interviewing, the respondents were also enquired about their competitors.



Through this technique, the analyst could include the service providers which could not be identified due to the limitations of secondary research. The analyst examined the service providers, distribution channels and presence of all major players across the globe.

The analyst calculated the market size of the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market by using a bottom-up approach, wherein data for various end-user segments was recorded and forecast for the future years. The analyst sourced these values from the industry experts and company representatives and externally validated through analyzing historical data of these product types and applications for getting an appropriate, overall market size.



Various secondary sources such as company websites, news articles, press releases, company annual reports, investor presentations and financial reports were also studied by the analyst.



Key Target Audience:



 Automotive artificial intelligence service provider companies

 Market research and consulting firms

 Government bodies such as regulating authorities and policy makers

 Organizations, forums and alliances related to automotive artificial intelligence

The study is useful in providing answers to several critical questions that are important for the industry stakeholders such as service providers, suppliers and partners, end-users, etc., besides allowing them in strategizing investments and capitalizing on the market opportunities.



Report Scope:



In this report, the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market has been segmented into following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

 Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market, By Component:

o Hardware

o Software

o Service

 Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market, By Technology:

o Deep Learning

o Machine Learning

o Context Awareness

o Computer Vision

o Natural Language Processing

o Others

 Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market, By Process:

o Signal Recognition

o Image Recognition

o Data Mining

 Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market, By Application:

o HumanMachine Interface

o Semi-Autonomous Driving

o Autonomous Driving

 Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market, By Vehicle Type:

o Passenger Cars

o Commercial Vehicles

 Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market, By Demand Category:

o OEM

o Aftermarket

 Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market, By Region:

o North America

United States

Canada

Mexico

o Europe

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Italy

Spain

o Asia-Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Australia

o Middle East & Africa

South Africa

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Kuwait

o South America

Brazil

Argentina

Colombia



Competitive Landscape



Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Automotive Artificial Intelligence Market.



Available Customizations:



With the given market data, we offers customizations according to a companys specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:



Company Information



 Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06020702/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Story continues

CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Call it the Fireside Podcast.

President Biden, seeking ways to advance his agenda in a cluttered media landscape, is set to revive a presidential tradition that faded under his predecessor: the weekly radio address.

The Biden version is not exactly just a man and his microphone. White House press aides said that some installments could follow a traditional president-talks-to-the-people format, but that they were also planning to pair Mr. Biden with everyday Americans and other guests, recreating the informal style of popular podcasts.

We expect it to take on a variety of forms, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Friday.

The first installment is scheduled for this weekend, and it features Mr. Biden speaking with Michele Voelkert, a California woman who was laid off from her job at a San Francisco-based clothing company in the early months of the pandemic.
She has recently returned to her home in Los Angeles after a work trip to Mexico.

And Lottie Moss appeared in a playful mood on Thursday as she messed around with Instagram filters with her BFF Sahara Ray.

The pair passionately locked lips after using the filter: 'What kind of lesbian are you?', with Lottie, 23, annoyed that it had flashed back 'trader Joe's lesbian'.

Locking lips: Lottie Moss appeared in a playful mood on Thursday as she kissed BFF Sahara Ray while messing around with Instagram filters

Lottie and Sahara put on a racy display as they playfully kissed while wearing white lingerie.

The pair appeared to be in the midst of a photoshoot, with Lottie later showing off her sheer negligee in the mirror.

The skimpy nightdress highlighted Lottie's curves due to its plunging neckline and thigh-skimming hemline.

'Wife': The pair locked lips after using the filter: 'What kind of lesbian are you?', with Lottie, 23, annoyed that it had flashed back 'trader Joe's lesbian'

Girls just want to have fun: The pair appeared to be in the midst of a photoshoot by a pool

Lottie has moved back to her home in Beverly Hills full time to work on modelling and various campaigns for brands including PrettyLittleThing.

In January, Lottie avoided the UK's latest coronavirus lockdown by jetting to Mexico for a work trip.

Despite being abroad for work, Lottie didn't seem to be stretching herself too much as she lived it up in the sunshine with her friends on the vessel.

Prior to her trip, Lottie apologised for saying she was a 'coronavirus super-spreader' in December, calling herself 'young and dumb'.

Mwah: Lottie and Sahara put on a racy display as they playfully kissed while wearing white lingerie

Having a laugh: Lottie and Sahara giggled as they played around with the Instagram filter

She sparked controversy after filming herself kissing two female friends and claiming she was a 'coronavirus super-spreader'.

Her clip was broadcast during an Instagram Live when London was in Tier 2 and social distancing, as well as wearing masks, was very much a requirement.

The video was filmed while Lottie was out for dinner with four friends who live in the same household, a scenario justified by the model as she lives alone and can therefore join someone else's support bubble.

Sizzling display: Lottie later showed off her sheer negligee in the mirror

After reflecting on the comments made during the recording, Lottie later confessed to being 'young and dumb' and often forgetting her status as a 'public figure'.

In an apology posted to Instagram, she said: 'I just wanted to come on here and say I am so sorry for saying I was a super-spreader.

'Someone in the live popped up saying those words and I repeated them as a joke because I am not and would never condone spreading a virus as serious as this.

'I was out for dinner with four friends, three of which are in the same household and under the government guidelines  as I live alone  I am allowed a support bubble of four.

'I understand this has upset and offended a lot of people and I want to apologise for making such an insensitive joke.

'I am still young and dumb and learning. I sometimes forget that I am a public figure and during these crazy and uncertain times I should have been more careful with my words.'
Everybody assumes Keanu Reeve's John Wick's greatest skill is his ability to headshot 20 dudes in five seconds, but what if his actual greatest ability is being a super nice guy and a great friend? Carly Snowdon and Jordan Breeding dive straight into the shadowy weeds to discuss the qualifications of an expert assassin, what it means to be a good friend, and whether there will ever be a better action franchise than "The Raid."

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Writer: Jordan Breeding

Starring: Carly Snowdon, Jordan Breeding

Director: Dave Brown

Audio: Caleb Gritsko

Editing: Jordan Breeding, Dave Brown

Check out Jordan's other work, or connect on Twitter. Check out more from Dave Brown on Vimeo and connect with Caleb Gritsko on Instagram.

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A total of 1,900 personnel were vaccinated against Covid-19 on Friday with the number of cops getting the shot reaching 3,859 since the launch of the inoculation drive for frontline workers early this week.

Ludhiana Police Commissionerate remained on top with 372 cops getting vaccinated in a single day.

The senior police officers who got the anti-Covid shot on the fourth day of the drive for frontline workers included Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Ishwar Singh and Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Ajay Kumar Pandey.

They also included Punjab Vigilance Bureau's IGPs Lakshmee Kant Yadav and Vibhu Raj, besides four senior superintendents of police and four commandants.

Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta appreciated all the police personnel, voluntarily coming forward to get themselves vaccinated, an official statement said.

Among state policemen, DGP Gupta was the first to receive the anti-Covid shot as the second phase of inoculation drive for frontline workers began on Tuesday.

The second phase of the inoculation was launched by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at Police Headquarters here on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan on Friday visited Mohali Civil Hospital where frontline workers were given the ani-Covid shots.

Among senior bureaucrats, Principal Secretary (Health) Hussan Lal and Principal Secretary (Medical Education and Research) D K Tewari got themselves vaccinated against Covid-19 on Friday.

Mohali Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan too was present on the occasion.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
OTTAWA - The NDP is calling for the elimination of for-profit long-term care by 2030 in a multibillion-dollar plan presented as a potential election promise.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is seen during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Wednesday February 3, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - The NDP is calling for the elimination of for-profit long-term care by 2030 in a multibillion-dollar plan presented as a potential election promise.

New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said an NDP government would convene provincial and territorial leaders, experts and workers to set national standards for nursing homes, and tether those benchmarks to $5 billion in federal funding.

Speaking at a virtual news conference Friday, Singh said the federal government should work with provincial and territorial authorities to establish national standards for long-term care homes.

"While we respect jurisdiction, there is no excuse for the federal government not to play a leadership role," he said.

"There's no way that we can't find a way to work together with provinces to put forward the best practices to establish how we can care for seniors."

The proposal is the latest move in anticipation of a possible election campaign as parties vet candidates and rev up fundraising.

In a release Friday, Singh accused the minority Liberal government of underfunding health care and protecting the profits of large companies and shareholders.

"Justin Trudeau made a promise to long-term care workers, residents, and their families to better fund long-term care and seniors care before he was prime minister. He broke his promise," Singh said.

The NDP's pre-emptive platform plank would see a national task force charged with crafting a plan to transition all for-profit care to a not-for-profit model in less than 10 years.

It would also follow through on New Democrats' calls to immediately transform Revera from a for-profit long-term care chain owned by a Crown pension fund into a publicly managed entity.

The company runs more than 500 seniors residences in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It is owned by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, which bought it out in 2007.

Several studies over the past six months have found that for-profit care homes were likelier to see more extensive COVID-19 outbreaks and more deaths, exposing cracks in care models across the country.

Trudeau has reiterated that he respects provincial jurisdiction while seeking to protect seniors' rights through billions of dollars in extra support funds transferred to the provinces over the past year.

Ottawa asked the Canadian Red Cross to send workers into some care homes in Ontario facing outbreaks last fall, after sending in the military to help out in homes in Quebec and Ontario in the spring.

Health Canada has referred questions about ending Revera's for-profit model to the provinces, given their constitutional jurisdiction over health care.

Singh's pledge on long-term care builds on past demands to remove the profit element from the health-care system, and fits into a broader progressive push by the NDP since he took the party helm in 2017.

Singh has continued to call for a tax on the "ultra-rich," criticize how wage subsidies found their way into shareholder bank accounts and chip away at the Liberals for sluggish progress on national pharmacare and child-care programs.

He has also made a renewed push for voters under 35, advocating for cancelled interest payments on federal student loans, now part of the governments fiscal update.

Under the new NDP proposal, funding for provinces and territories would be tied to principles of accessibility and public administration in the Canada Health Act, legislation that currently does not cover long-term care.

Nursing homes, unlike hospitals, are excluded from provincial and territorial public health systems, which critics say leads to under-training of workers, substandard facilities and  particularly in some for-profit homes  overcrowding.

More than a quarter of Canada's 2,039 long-term care homes are for-profit, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Recent outbreaks at several homes have set off alarm bells after the first wave saw more than 80 per cent of COVID-19 deaths occur in long-term care facilities.

As of Thursday, 66 of the 127 residents of the private Roberta Place care home in Barrie, Ont., who were infected with a highly contagious COVID-19 variant have died, according to a spokesperson.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.
Naples lawyer asked by judge to show proof he was actually a lawyer.

Hillary Sedu arrived in Italy from Nigeria when he was only six months old, grew up in Caserta, near Naples, and over the years he obtained Italian citizenship.

Today he is a lawyer, fighting for the recognition of civil rights for migrants, and he is also a member of the Naples Bar Association, reports Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano.

On 3 February, when it was his turn to discuss a case at the Naples juvenile court, the presiding honorary judge asked him to present proof of his lawyer's credentials, Sedu writes on Facebook.

Hillary Sedu (centre) has lived in Italy since he was six months old.

However after having seen his lawyer's card, the magistrate went further, according to Sedu: "Stupified or stupid, she asks me if I am a lawyer, then she asks me if I have a degree."

Impulsive as I am, I was tempted to insult her," he wrote, but decided against it for the sake of his client and her child whose case was being heard.

Sedu's post opened up a new debate about racism in Italy, however for him the episode was "not racism, just stupidity."

Following the controversy, Sedu met again with the magistrate today - together with the presidents of the juvenile court and the bar association - and the pair made peace.

"We must learn to coexist between different ethnic groups" - Sedu told Italian newspaper La Repubblica - "and no longer be surprised by the diversity of skin or physical characteristics."

Photos Hillary Sedu Facebook profile
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 06:50:28|Editor: huaxia

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Video: Volkan Bozkir applied online for vaccination through the New York State Department of Health and waited in line to enter the Javits Center on Thursday morning. He was eligible to get vaccinated simply because he lives in New York and he is over the age of 65, said his spokesman Brenden Varma. (Xinhua)

Volkan Bozkir encouraged all people to get vaccinated when they can, saying that vaccines save lives.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, said his spokesman.

Bozkir was given a Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the Javits Center in New York, said Brenden Varma, his spokesman.

President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir (L, Front) is seen during a process to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the Javits Center in New York, the United States, on Feb. 4, 2021. (Evan Schneider/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Following the injection, Bozkir said his priority remains to advance the fair and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world. He encouraged all people to get vaccinated when they can, saying that vaccines save lives, according to the spokesman.

Bozkir applied online for vaccination through the New York State Department of Health and waited in line to enter the Javits Center on Thursday morning. He was eligible to get vaccinated simply because he lives in New York and he is over the age of 65, said Varma.

President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir (L, Front) receives the COVID-19 vaccine at the Javits Center in New York, the United States, on Feb. 4, 2021. (Evan Schneider/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 needs a second dose.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine a week ago, is not having side effects, said his spokesman on Thursday.

President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly Volkan Bozkir (R, Front) is seen during a process to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the Javits Center in New York, the United States, on Feb. 4, 2021. (Evan Schneider/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

The secretary-general is feeling very good. He has no side effects and he is looking forward to a second jab through appointment, said Stephane Dujarric, his spokesman.

Guterres is also above the age of 65, belonging to a priority group for vaccination along with essential workers and first responders according to New York rules. He was given a Moderna vaccine in a high school in Bronx on Jan. 28. 

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Electric scooter company Revel is moving into EV charging. It's building its first universal fast charging site in BedfordStuyvesant in Brooklyn, which it claims will be the largest such hub in North America with 30 chargers. The station will be open around the clock and the chargers are compatible with all electric vehicle models.

The hub will open in the spring at a former Pfizer building and it will initially have 10 chargers. Rather than making its own chargers, Revel is using Tritiums RTM75 system, which can deliver output of up to 920V and 180A DC via CCS connections and up to 500V and 125A through CHAdeMO. Revel says the chargers can provide EVs with up to 100 miles' worth of juice in 20 minutes.

Its unclear whether Revel's claim about the site becoming the largest universal fast charging station on the continent holds up. Some Tesla Supercharger locations have more chargers (though, of course, theyre not universal ones) while one site in Pasadena, California has 20 universal fast chargers and 24 Superchargers.

Revel plans to build more fast charging hubs across New York City. It's not always possible for people to have a charger at home, so its important to have stations like these, particularly in densely populated cities, in the effort to boost the adoption of EVs.
An anxious crowd waited hours outside a health clinic in San Pablo on Thursday for a chance to get a coveted coronavirus vaccine. None of the individuals had appointments. Some were under 65 and were not health care workers  they didnt meet the states criteria for who should receive vaccines first.

But that hasnt mattered. For days, individuals lining up outside the West County Health Center, one of Contra Costa Countys vaccine distribution sites, have been lucky enough to snag a vaccine by showing up and waiting.

On Thursday, as 5 p.m. approached, a nurse dressed in plain white scrubs emerged from the building and addressed the small crowd.

We have three spots left, she told the 16 people assembled outside the clinics sliding doors, holding up three fingers to indicate the number of extra coronavirus vaccine doses that would be given to those without appointments.

Who is the oldest? she asked the crowd. Are there any health care workers?

Contra Costa Countys website says it does not dispense leftover vaccines, known as stand-by service, in which clinics indiscriminately administer remaining doses at the end of each day. The countys website explicitly asks residents not to show up for vaccines without an appointment, stating that no extra doses are available.

But on Friday, Contra Costa officials defended the practice as a way to ensure perishable vaccines dont go to waste, appearing to walk back the language on the county website.

Vaccine providers are allowed to offer extra vaccines to people inside or outside their facilities, even if those people arent yet eligible, said Will Harper, a spokesman for the countys health department. Providers with leftover supply are encouraged to call eligible patients from a standby list, but county guidance provides some flexibility, he said.

The reasoning is that we want to maximize the benefit of this limited resource to the community, Harper said. Our ultimate goal is to immunize enough residents to achieve herd immunity so we can all return to some semblance of normalcy.

Yet, some clinics have gotten into trouble for distributing extra vaccines at the end of the day to people who dont meet the states criteria. The county stripped a Lafayette clinic of its vaccines after one such complaint.

Across California, vaccine distribution efforts have prioritized people over age 75 and health care workers, but supply shortages have created myriad problems, leading to canceled appointments, delayed second doses and long wait times for the elderly.

In San Pablo, a whisper network about the availability of extra doses has emerged among those eager to receive the coveted shots ahead of schedule.

Like many present, Maria Arenas, 23, heard about the extra shots through word-of-mouth. While not the clinics official policy, shed heard from a co-worker that staff were offering leftover vaccines to bystanders at various intervals throughout the day.

Arenas and her friend were among the 16 people who showed up at the end of the workday for the chance to be vaccinated Thursday. Both women, who described themselves as health care workers, waited about 90 minutes.

Arenas did not receive an extra vaccine. But her 25-year-old friend was ushered inside the clinic after she waved her arm to catch the attention of the nurse, who asked for essential workers to identify themselves.

I told her, You go ahead, Arenas said. With my schedule, I can come back tomorrow, but she cant.

Nearby stood Lucila, who declined to provide her last name, whose husband told her about the extra shots after he accompanied his 90-year-old father to the vaccination clinic on Wednesday. A scheduled patient hadnt shown up, and Lucilas 64-year old husband ended up getting that persons dose, she said. Now both father and son are scheduled to return in 30 days for their second doses.

Lucila, 64, a restaurant worker, asked her boss for the afternoon off Thursday so she could wait for one of the sought-after extra shots. She brought along four of her close friends and family members. None of them were chosen, but they vowed to return.

Asked if she thought shed get lucky another day, Lucila was uncertain: Maybe.

Like Lucila, stay-at-home mom Danielle, 31, who declined to provide her last name, citing privacy, knew her chances of receiving a vaccine were slim. But she was lured by the prospect of visiting her aging parents without fear. She had tried to persuade them to get vaccinated, but they were against it, so instead she tried to get inoculated herself.

After hearing about the extra doses from her mother-in-law, who had visited the clinic, Danielle showed up Thursday with her friend, a grocery store worker in his mid-30s. He was selected and received his first dose after waiting several hours, but Danielle wasnt so lucky.

Despite waiting nearly two hours, she was among the many turned away.

Im no one special right now, she said.

Nora Mishanec is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nora.mishanec@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NMishanec
Royals called Edward dont always have the best reputation north of the border.

Edward I earned the nickname Hammer of the Scots for his fondness for going to war against them, while his son Edward II was famously thrashed by the forces of Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn.

So would our present Prince Edward really be the man to send to Edinburgh to smooth modern-day tensions between the two countries?

The wheeze was dreamt up last year by Downing Street officials alarmed at the Scottish National Party surging in the polls amid growing calls for a new independence referendum.

They wanted Edward and his wife the Countess of Wessex to relocate to Scotland in an effort to save the Union.

Edward and Sophie are known in Scotland as the Earl and Countess of Forfar, titles bestowed by the Queen two years ago to mark her youngest sons 55th birthday

It came as aides working for Boris Johnson considered how the Royal Family could help bolster ties between all four nations of the UK. One mooted idea was to make Edward and Sophie the public face of the royals in Scotland.

The couple would have taken up full-time residence at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, the Queens official residence in Scotland, to lead efforts to increase the number of royal engagements there.

The UK Government is increasingly concerned about the threat to the Union as Nicola Sturgeons SNP appears to be on course for a landslide in mays Scottish parliament elections.

The First Minister has said that if the SNP wins a majority she will push forward with a referendum, regardless of whether Westminster gives her the go-ahead. Mr Johnson has repeatedly insisted he will not allow another vote, arguing that the 2014 vote was a once in a generation decision. But 20 consecutive opinion polls have now shown the Yes campaign ahead.

Amid anxiety in No 10, Mr Johnson this week drafted in trusted aide Oliver Lewis to take charge of the fight to save the Union. He was deputy to Lord Frost in the Brexit negotiating team.

The wheeze was dreamt up last year by Downing Street officials alarmed at the Scottish National Party surging in the polls

One challenge facing the Government is finding ways to make the emotional case for the Union, as well as the economic one.

Edward and Sophie are known in Scotland as the Earl and Countess of Forfar, titles bestowed by the Queen two years ago to mark her youngest sons 55th birthday.

The couple have lived at Bagshot Park, Surrey, since their 1999 wedding. Their two children are Lady Louise, 17, and James Viscount Severn, 13.

Sophie is known to be close to the Queen, with Windsor Castle a 20-minute drive from their home.

The Queen keenly avoids getting involved in political issues. But four days before the 2014 poll, she told a well-wisher she hoped Scots would think very carefully about the future.

The comments were seen as helpful to opponents of independence at a time when opinion polls pointed to a very tight result. The No side eventually won by 55 per cent to 45 per cent.

It came as aides working for Boris Johnson considered how the Royal Family could help bolster ties between all four nations of the UK

David Cameron said the Queen had purred down the line when he phoned her to tell her the result.

Each summer the Queen spends around 12 weeks at her Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire, although she did not last year because of coronavirus. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall isolated at Birkhall, their nearby Scottish home, during the first lockdown.

A Downing Street source last night said no formal request had been made to the Palace for Edward and Sophie to move to Scotland. Buckingham Palace said it was unaware of the proposal.
Jeremy Corbyns brother has denied accusations of antisemitism after he was dramatically arrested for sending out leaflets comparing the Covid-19 vaccine efforts to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

The coronavirus conspiracy theorist, 73, has been credited with the concept of the pamphlet which MPs and campaigners condemned as beyond disgusting and vile and dangerous.

But Piers Corbyn, the former Labour leaders older brother, defended himself by claiming that he was married to a Jew and had employed Jewish people, one of whom was a superb worker.

He told the Daily Mail that his arrest was an absurd attack on rights of free expression.

Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court, London, In December, after being charged with breaking coronavirus restrictions

The pamphlet made by Piers Corbyn, labelled 'beyond disgusting', and 'vile and dangerous' by MPs and campaigners

'Any suggestion that Im antisemitic is absurd given I was married to a Jewish woman for 22 years.

The leaflets also contained baseless claims, such as the conspiracy theory that some vaccines contain nanochips that will track recipients.

Mr Corbyn was arrested with Alex Heaton, 37, an artist who is credited with the drawing in the leaflet. They were bailed until a date in early March.

Scotland Yard said officers investigating reports of malicious material being circulated in south London had made two arrests.

The force added: A 73-year-old man was arrested in Southwark on Wednesday, 3 February on suspicion of malicious communications and public nuisance.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is pictured in March last year. Corbyn's legal team are applying for disclosure of documents ahead of a possible legal challenge over his suspension

A 37-year-old man was arrested earlier the same day in Bow, east London, on suspicion of a public order offence.

Both men were taken to a south London police station. They have since been bailed to return on a date in early March.

The leaflet contained material that appeared to compare the Covid-19 vaccination programme with the Holocaust.

Labours Neil Coyle, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, reported the sickening leaflets to police after they were distributed across London.

He said: No one should be delivering antivax scaremongering crank nonsense.

No one should be spreading crackpot theories to people trying to avoid the spread of covid.

No one should get away with such horrific Holocaust imagery being distorted so wildly to fit their sick agenda.
Dear Editor,

I am writing this letter in response to the article headlined, WWCC leaders to select 15 to layoff published in the January 27, 2021 edition of the Green River Star. I was misrepresented regarding my concerns about the upcoming layoffs at Western and would like to clarify what I brought up at the board meeting.

I am a former employee of more than 12 years at Western Wyoming Community College. I resigned from my position in December 2020. I had a wonderful career and loved the work we did. However, after assessing some things I realized it was time to move on.

I have a p...
Covid-19's fierce winter resurgence in California is notable not only for the explosion in overall cases and deaths in the state's sprawling urban centers. This latest surge spilled across a far greater geographic footprint, scarring remote corners of the state that went largely unscathed for much of 2020.

In the past two months, covid-related infection and death rates have jumped exponentially in California's least populated counties.

From March through November, the state's 25 least populated counties collectively reported 235 covid-related deaths, a per-capita death rate about 60% lower than that of the rest of the state. (California has 58 counties.) From Dec. 1 through Jan. 29, those same rural counties reported 427 covid deaths. That is nearly twice as many deaths in 60 days as in the preceding 250.

These 25 rural counties encompass some of the state's most dramatic and rugged terrain, spanning mountains, forests and vast grasslands in California's far north and along its eastern border. About 1.2 million people live in those counties, in small towns and agricultural outposts largely buffered from the state's big cities and suburbs by distance and topography.

In the months after covid first emerged in California in January 2020, its reach was deadly but comparatively contained. It initially surged across densely populated areas of Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, then seeped into major agricultural and industrial hubs in the Central Valley and rural Imperial County, which shares a border and close community ties with Mexico.

For months, residents of the state's remotest counties were able to move about more freely  and with less fear  than their urban peers. The covid death rate in the state's 25 least populated counties was 90% lower from March through June than the rate in the rest of the state.

That began to shift in summer and changed dramatically during a third covid surge that exploded in late fall. In December, the 25 least populous counties collectively reported about 24,600 new covid infections  a 141% increase from November. In December, the death rate in those 25 counties roughly matched the rate in the state's urban centers.

The rural death rate plateaued in January while the urban death rate continued to swell. Even so, the rural death rate in January was more than six times as high as in November.

Epidemiologists point to several reasons for the shift. While these counties are remote, they are not walled off. Many rural residents regularly drive to urban areas for goods and services. They get tourists. Several of California's rural counties are home to large state prisons, teeming facilities that have experienced some of the worst covid outbreaks in the nation. Those outbreaks infect not only inmates housed in close quarters, but also guards and other staffers who live and shop in the surrounding communities and carry the virus out with them.

Once covid arrived, it multiplied. Rural communities tend to have a few central places where many people congregate. Those places became breeding grounds for the virus.

"In very small towns, you've got Dollar General, the coffee store, Walmart, church," said Alan Morgan, chief executive officer of the National Rural Health Association. "You get the entire community going into three or four chokepoints, you're going to infect the whole town."

While covid has stressed public health agencies across the state, the challenges are brutal in rural areas, which tend to operate on tight budgets, with minimal staffing. As covid cases multiplied, rural health directors struggled to expand their response.

Dr. Gary Pace is the public health officer in Lake County, a wine-growing region and recreational mecca in north-central California that's home to about 63,000 residents. Pace recounted how, early in the pandemic, his department was able to conduct intensive contact tracing as cases emerged, keeping outbreaks contained.

"There was a farmworker outbreak in June or July, and we basically drove out to that vineyard and set up a testing site and tested 150 people that day," he said. "Same thing happened with the tribal outbreak recently. So in these high-risk communities where the spread can get out of control really fast, we were able to sort of jump on it and really try to stay on top of it."

The county reported an average of four infections a day from March through November. In December and January, the figure jumped to about 31 a day. Contract tracing became untenable. "That worked until it didn't," Pace said.

In some rural counties, the viral spread was exacerbated by politicization of basic public health safeguards like wearing masks and physical distancing. California's rural counties tend to run politically conservative, and many residents and elected leaders were indignant about state covid mandates that closed businesses and strictly limited social gatherings.

"You have two segments of people," said Valerie Lakey, executive director of community relations and business development at Mayers Memorial Hospital District in Shasta County. "You have the people that are definitely on board with doing all the things they're supposed to be doing, and then you have the rest of the people that don't want to be told what to do."

Lakey's hospital is in Fall River Mills, a short drive from the border with Lassen County, a mountainous tourist destination that's home to 29,000 people  and where covid deaths jumped to 14 in December and January from only two in the previous nine months.

Mayers Memorial normally sees three or four patients each day in its acute care hospital. In mid-January, it was seeing about 14 a day, Lakey said. Her small staff has struggled to keep up.

Lakey noted that the hospital's covid patients "have all been on the older side, like probably 70-plus," underscoring another vulnerability for rural counties. Residents of California's least populous counties tend to be older than the statewide average: about 20% are 65 or older, compared with 14% of residents statewide. Age has emerged as the No. 1 risk factor for covid-related hospitalization and death.

In rural enclaves, as in the rest of the state, the number of new covid cases reported each day has begun to subside, though case rates are still much higher than in November. The state's expansive vaccine rollout offers further hope, but in the short term it serves as another stress on resources as health officials try to vaccinate thousands of people while continuing to manage the pandemic.

"Everybody's been working seven days a week for the whole 10 months now," said Lake County's Pace, "and it's starting to show."

Phillip Reese is a data reporting specialist and an assistant professor of journalism at California State University-Sacramento.

This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
Digital Marketing Helps Your Business Grow Online. Let Jason Wood Explain What Digital Marketing Methods You Should Use.

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Three armed suspects reportedly carjacked an Uber Eats delivery driver on Friday afternoon in northwest Harris County, officials said.

Constable deputies were investigating the incident around 1 p.m. on the 4000 block of Swinden Drive, according to Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4.

The suspects shot and robbed the driver in his white Chevy Malibu, Herman said. The driver's condition was unknown.

Residents should expect a heavy police presence and avoid the area.

Check back for updates.






PSNI executed a search warrant and a quantity of suspected class A drugs seized in west Belfast on Friday. PSNI west Belfast Facebook page.

PSNI executed a search warrant today and a quantity of suspected class A drugs seized in west Belfast. PSNI west Belfast Facebook page

A quantity of suspected Class A drugs were seized during a PSNI operation carried out in west Belfast.

The PSNI said its Blackmountain Neighbourhood Policing Team executed a search warrant at a property on the Falls Road on Friday.

West Belfast PSNI said in a tweet that during the search a quantity of suspected Class A drugs were discovered.

"We will continue to act on search warrants, we will do it unannounced and without warning in order to deal with the possession and supply of drugs," it continued.

A PSNI spokesperson said: "No arrests have been made at this stage and enquiries are ongoing."

Expand Close PSNI executed a search warrant and a quantity of suspected class A drugs seized in west Belfast on Friday. PSNI west Belfast Facebook page. / Facebook

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Whatsapp PSNI executed a search warrant and a quantity of suspected class A drugs seized in west Belfast on Friday. PSNI west Belfast Facebook page.

The development comes a day after a separate operation in which officers seized drugs and cash in suspected criminality probe linked to East Belfast UVF.

Officers from the Paramilitary Crime Task (PCTF) searched the property in the east of the city on Thursday.

During the search, police seized suspected Cocaine, Cannabis and Diazepam, drug dealing paraphernalia and a quantity of cash, a spokesperson revealed.

The PSNI said the seizure is part of a continuing operation into suspected drugs criminality linked to East Belfast UVF.
A civil defence operative abducted by suspected militants was later rescued by some community people.

The Bayelsa State Government on Thursday said operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in the state were attacked by suspected militants engaged in oil theft.

The attack occurred in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state, according to a government statement.

The statement was signed by Doubara Atasi, who is an aide to Bayelsa Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.

The statement was issued after a meeting at Government House, Yenagoa, between civil defence officials, community and youth leaders from Ekeremor.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that unidentified gunmen had ambushed and attacked a team of civil defence operatives and engaged them in a gunfight, leading to loss of weapons and ammunition and the abduction of one of the operatives.

The operative was, however, said to have been rescued by "some community people".

The state government, according to the statement, said it would not hesitate to wield the big stick against any community found culpable of aiding and abetting crime and criminality in the state.

The deputy governor enjoined community leaders to work closely with security agencies to identify and expose the criminals within the community in order to improve on the prevailing peace.

Mr Ewhrudjakpo emphasised the need for effective collaboration between community leaders, security agencies and the government to safeguard lives and property.

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He said leaders, including traditional leaders, youth leaders and community development committee chairmen, have critical roles to play for any security arrangement to succeed.

Mr Ewhrudjakpo assured the civil defence officials that the government would leave no stone unturned to apprehend and prosecute their attackers.

He warned that the government would deal decisively with community leaders who provide a haven for pipeline vandals, pirates and other criminals to carry out their operations.

"Our community leaders should understand that they also have a lot of responsibilities. As a CDC chairman, you have a duty to protect government facilities in your community.

"Your duty as youth president includes identifying criminal elements in the community and reporting them to the CDC chairman, the ruler, elders of the community and even security agencies, and not to share in royalties." Mr Ewhrudjakpo said.

The statement said Akpoebi Agberebi, a security aide to governor, condemned the attack, as well as commended the community which rescued the operative.

Meanwhile, the commandant of the civil defence corps in the state, Christiana Abiakam-Omanu, thanked the community for rescuing the operative.

The community pledged to help in tracing those behind the attack.

NAN
ROCHESTER, Minn.  The public is being asked to complete a brief survey on Rochesters rapid transit project.

Rochester Rapid Transit is the first bus rapid transit project in Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities Metro area, says Project Manager Jarrett Hubbard. The service will be an entirely new experience for passengers. And because it will operate within the Rochester transit system, we are investing in an inclusive process to name and brand the service in a way that will set it apart.

The rapid transit project is a 2.6-mile bus rapid transit route along 2nd Street SW. Scheduled to begin service in 2025, organizers say it will connect downtown Rochester, the Mayo Civic Center, Mayo Clinic campuses, the Rochester-Olmsted Government Center, the Uptown neighborhood, and Cascade Lake.

Rapid transit promises to address Rochesters growing mobility needs and provide an amenity of high value which will benefit all of Rochester, says Destination Medical Center (DMC) Economic Development Agency Executive Director Patrick Seeb. A strong brand will amplify its value and increase the chances of the project catalyzing economic development in our community.

The survey is available on POLCOthe City of Rochesters community survey platformand linked to the project website at rochestermn.gov/rapidtransit. The survey will be active through February 11.
President Joe Biden's administration is reviving a proposal to send mask to American households in as many people continue to reject health guidelines that experts say could be even more effective in the short term than vaccines.

Biden has been promoting a 100 days of mask wearing in an effort to stem infections, with 7-day average infections finally trending downward but coronavirus deaths still at alarming levels similar to those over the summer.

White House chief of staff Ron Klain said an announcement was coming soon.

President Joe Biden is pushing 100 days of mask-wearing, and his administration is considering sending masks to U.S. households

'This was an idea that really came up last year in the Trump administration. The public health agencies recommended it the president vetoed it for some reason,' he told NBC.

'We want to get this back on track. We're looking at what can be done to quickly do this with the mass supplies that we have. I hope in the next few days or next week, we may be able to announce some progress on this. But, of course, this is part overall of a plan to try to get every American messed up in these first 100 days. We're going to do whatever we can to make mass more available to people to increase the supply of masks and of course to get people to wear those masks,' Klain added.

NBC reported earlier Thursday that the idea was under consideration. Back in April, with the pandemic raging, the administration scrapped a plan to send millions of cloth masks to U.S. households, instead distributing them to states and nonprofits.

The Health and Human Services Department distributed 600 million masks through other means.

White House chief of staff Ron Klain called the idea of sending masks to U.S. households 'back on track'

The Biden administration wants to revive an idea of sending masks to Americans

NBC aired a report on a Florida store with a shockingly low level of mask wearing

The store's owner called the 400,000 coronavirus death toll 'hogwash,' although his number was actually below the total

There were severe shortages of surgical and medical grade masks early in the pandemic, and the Biden Administration continues to use the Defense Production Act to secure certain medical supplies deemed critical.

Biden himself continues to mask up regularly in public, even occasionally inside the Oval Office during televised events.

It was not immediately clear how the masks would be distributed; wither it would be across-the-board or to areas hardest hit; or whether they would single out areas where people are rejecting masks.

Experts have relied on persuasion to try to convince people to put up with the inconvenience of masks, which have been found effective to prevent the spread of the virus. But it isn't just cost or access that is holding people back, as many stores now carry a variety of cloth, single-use, and pricier n-95 masks.

Not everyone is buying it, including a Florida supermarket owner who claims they don't work. Video of the store, with staff and customers unmasked, shocked viewers and drew stern comments online, amid a state whose elderly population is battling a horrific pandemic spread by the respiratory disease.
She will read the personal story of Armando Peniche and his experience with racial profiling and of the dangers that inflammatory rhetoric toward Mexican immigrants poses to him and his American-born son.
Mr. Tillerson oversaw a purge that eventually cut about 1,000 employees from the State Departments work force before he was forced out.

Mr. Pompeo had promised to restore swagger to the diplomatic corps, confounding employees who had more success in foreign affairs by being less confrontational. But he refused to support staff members who drew Mr. Trumps ire or to refute the former presidents barb of the Deep State Department.

In the week since Mr. Bidens secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, was sworn in, the department has not yet released a list of staff members who are being placed in top jobs.

In its absence, former and current State Department employees have compiled a running tally of Mr. Bidens political appointees, which was shared with The New York Times. It includes at least nine new deputy assistant secretaries of state and four senior advisers, out of dozens of posts available.

Some of them had previously worked at the department but left under Mr. Trump, only to return to more powerful positions that are also open to career diplomats.

While it is not particularly unusual for a president to install his supporters in key policy positions, Mr. Bidens hires singe a staff that was already burned by Mr. Trumps appointees, many of whom had little or no experience in diplomacy.

Ned Price, the departments spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday that the number of political appointees who had been named to jobs so far represented a very small sample size, and that career staff members would be represented in the top ranks of leadership.
Welcome to the world. Karine Martins and Paul Staehles second son, Ethan, arrived on Friday, February 5.

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Born healthy and very fast, Staehle wrote via Instagram at the time.

Courtesy Paul Staehle/Instagram

The 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days alums fell in love on season 1 of the TLC show and tied the knot in November 2017. Two years later, the reality stars welcomed their first child, Pierre.

Read article

Im very happy, very excited, the Kentucky native, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2019 of becoming a father. Im also very nervous and want to do everything the best that I can and do everything right. Everyone keeps asking how it feels to be a dad. Anyone can make a baby, but going through the day-to-day process of being a father is going to be a new experience. Im very happy, very honored and very privileged and I want to make sure I do my absolute best for Pierre.

The Brazil native chimed in at the time: I am fine, and happy, even with the hard time I have had. And I am recovering well, but I am still very weak. It was super hard, but now everything is fine because the baby is calm and he is breast-feeding well.

In July 2020, Staehle alleged that his estranged wife was missing with their toddler and had filed a full restraining order against him.

Martins subsequently shared a statement, reading, Relationships are hard and sometimes it just cant be fixed anymore. I need this time to organize my thoughts, work on myself and care for my son after everything we have been through in the last year and a half.

Courtesy of Paul Staehle/Instagram

Her estranged husband announced in May that Martins was pregnant with baby No. 2. He shared the little ones sex three months later.

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I will not see my sons for a very long time, he wrote via Instagram in August 2020. I have to cope with the fact I probably will never see my wife and son again. Or see the birth or ever see my unborn child.  I have lost my sons. That being said, I think I am mentally doing what is best staying constructive and busy.

The reality stars reunited in October 2020, posting photos together in their Kentucky home. Happy Three Year Wedding Anniversary, Staehle wrote via Instagram the following month. Its been one hell of a roller coaster ride.
Russia has declared personae non gratae an unspecified number of employees from the diplomatic missions of Sweden, Poland, and Germany, saying they participated in protests to support opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on February 5 that the Swedish ambassador, the charge d'affaires of Poland, and the German envoy were summoned to the ministry where a protest was lodged with the diplomats in connection with the "recorded participation of diplomatic employees" in the rallies on January 23.

"Diplomats participating in illegal actions were declared 'persona non grata' in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961. They were ordered to leave the territory of the Russian Federation in the near future," the statement said.
PRAGUE, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBrains, the company that created an extended family of integrated development environments (IDE) for various programming languages, today presents its fifth Annual Report. Last year JetBrains company celebrated its 20th birthday and now shares key highlights and achievements of 2020.

Over the past 20 years, JetBrains has grown from a small startup in Prague into an established software development tools company without any external funding. Founded on a single product, its portfolio now boasts 30 tools and 6k marketplace plugins. JetBrains has developed the Kotlin programming language and recently announced Ktor, a Kotlin framework for building asynchronous servers and clients in connected systems. In 2020 the team also officially released Space, an all-in-one collaboration platform for creative teams. It is the only tool that covers all business processes, from chats and PM tools to the entire software development pipeline.

JetBrains unites more than 10.1 million users from all around the world. 99 out of The Fortune 100 companies use JetBrains products. Every day 175 new organizations and 2,862 individuals become JetBrains customers. The company's revenue increased 11% in 2020 powered by 85% growth in China which became the fourth largest market by sales volume. Asia Pacific remains the fastest growing region with a 32% increase.

Rider, GoLand, DataGrip, CLion and PyCharm became the fastest growing products in 2020. The recently launched tool Space received 35,000 license requests. More than 5.8 million people edited Kotlin code last year and the language has 1,270,000 active users  those who regularly edit their code. About 4 million developers use and trust IntelliJ IDEA, one of the first JetBrains products. Price of IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate Edition for companies has remained the same for more than 15 years.

JetBrains presented 178 long-time customers with a lifetime subscription to JetBrains All Product Pack as part of its 20th Birthday. 1,341,689 students and 81,625 teachers received the JetBrains Educational Pack free of charge, while 1,709 schools and universities were granted 133,037 educational subscriptions for classroom assistance. 6,102 open source projects received 10,593 complimentary licenses for non-commercial open source development. In addition, JetBrains extended its 50% startup discount to purchase multiple products and subscriptions for up to 10 licenses to a period of 5 years. Previously, this was only possible for 3 years.

JetBrains Today is an international software company with 1,500 team members across 9 offices and remote locations. Amsterdam, Munich, and Moscow offices moved into new locations, while Prague office won the Best Employee Friendly Office category in the Kancelar roku 2019 competition. Also, and for the third time, JetBrains belongs to Kincentric Best Employers of the Czech Republic based on the feedback of our employees.

About JetBrains

JetBrains is the company that created an extended family of integrated development environments (IDE) for various programming languages and designed Kotlin, a modern programming language that became the officially preferred language for Android. Their latest product is Space, an all-in-one team collaboration environment. JetBrains has been passionate about code since 2000. The company now has 30 products and over 1500 employees. For more information, please visit https://www.jetbrains.com/ .

Media Contact:

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SOURCE JetBrains

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As of this morning, Feb. 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to bite his nails as he waits by the phone for a long-anticipated call from the White House. Just as Netanyahu took his time congratulating US President-elect Joe Biden on his election victory over President Donald Trump in November, so now-President Biden is taking his time getting back to him. This would never have happened with Trump. Phoning Netanyahu was at the top of his to-do list when he took office in 2017. Four years later, Netanyahu has been relegated to the sidelines. The cushioned, pampered Trump protege finds himself being punished, sent to stand in the corner.

This may not be deliberate, an Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The Americans are not really focused right now on Netanyahu and his business; they have other things to deal with. Maybe Biden just doesnt feel like handing Netanyahu an electoral advantage on the eve of Israels elections. After all, Biden is fully aware of who he is dealing with and knows how Netanyahus office will spin the first phone call between them.

Either way, tensions in the prime ministers office are sky high and being projected all the way to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, where newly installed Ambassador Gilad Erdan is trying to solve the mystery of the presidential silence. How come Biden picked up the phone to Jordans King Abdullah back in November and has still not called Netanyahu? Nonetheless, assuming the coveted phone call does take place in the coming days, no one has any doubt that despite the unfashionable delay, Netanyahu will leverage it for all its worth, describing to Israeli voters his intimate relationship with the former senator and vice president over some four decades.

Behind the scenes, Israels concerns are mounting. Jerusalem noted with concern Bidens failure to mention neither Israel nor the Iranian threat in his first foreign policy speech, delivered yesterday. And there are other signs as well. Some in Jerusalem are recalling that before being appointed as the Biden administrations special representative for Iran, Robert Malley expressed criticism over last years assassination of Irans nuclear program head Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, attributed by foreign media to Israel. Others are pouring over the recent conciliatory statements vis-a-vis Iran emanating from Washington in recent weeks regarding the express US desire to renegotiate with Iran on an amended nuclear agreement.

Things are not so simple, another senior Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. There are complex differences between us and the Americans over the perception of the Iranian threat. According to the source, at this point Netanyahu has accepted the recommendations of professional aides to wait patiently for the start of an intimate, clandestine dialogue with the Biden administration and avoid public criticism of the president and his people.

Nonetheless, the March 23 elections are looming, and if cornered politically, Netanyahu will presumably abandon his commitment to a calm dialogue with Washington and embark on fiery rhetoric and threatmongering against Iran. Iran has served in the past, and continues to do so, as one of Netanyahus strongest electoral cards, and he will not let any possible dialogue with Biden sway him from using it once again. Eventually, Netanyahu will do whatever he thinks will help him get elected, one of the prime ministers close associates said on condition of anonymity.

The source recalled how Netanyahu went behind President Barack Obamas back, and arranged with leading Republicans to address a joint session of Congress in a bid to scuttle the imminent nuclear deal with Iran  just two weeks before Israels March 2015 elections. The Americans are increasingly concerned now over the Zionist threat rather than the Iranian threat, the source told Al-Monitor. Their overriding goal is to calm Netanyahu down. Still, delaying a phone call from Biden may not be the best way to achieve this goal.

Trust, or rather lack thereof, is the main obstacle to establishing a credible communications channel between the White House and the prime ministers office. Netanyahu and Biden do, indeed, go back years and have enjoyed a cordial relationship. On the other hand, Netanyahu does not believe a single word the Americans are saying now, especially when it comes to Democrats.

Furthermore, Netanyahu believes most of Bidens key foreign policy appointments do not augur well for Israel. Many of them served in the Obama administration and were involved in what he regards as the disastrous nuclear agreement with Iran. Netanyahu is preparing for a worst-case scenario. Biden, too, has been fully briefed and realizes what he is taking on once he starts talking to Netanyahu and his people. None of this bodes well for the prospects of relations between the sides, especially since the moderating forces on the Israeli side  Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi  will no longer be in office once a new government is formed.

Officials in Jerusalem believe the Jan. 31 declaration by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that Iran was just months, and possibly weeks, away from obtaining sufficient fissile material for a bomb were exaggerated and deliberate. According to Israeli diplomatic and security sources, Blinken knows that the figure he mentioned was imprecise and relates only to fissile material and not to Irans ability to manufacture a nuclear warhead and install it on a delivery vehicle. They believe Blinkens declaration was intended to provide a convincing rationale for a speedy return to negotiations with Iran and perhaps even a nuclear agreement, as if to say that the new administration was saving the world and rolling back Irans ambitious nuclear program.

Netanyahus people were underwhelmed by Blinkens forecast, to put it mildly. Israeli security officials are more concerned by the gaps in perception with the Americans. Generally speaking, the Americans want to get out of the Middle East as fast as possible, an Israeli security source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. They do not view a nuclear-threshold Iran as a threat or danger; they have the capabilities of a world power and a different timetable than ours. For us, Iran as a threshold state is very dangerous and a nuclear-capable Iran is an existential threat, whereas America can handle both options. It has different capabilities, its distance from Iran is far greater and its triggers are completely different.

That's why Israeli officials are convinced that the faster Israel engages with the new US administration on the issue, the better. Preparations have begun and feelers have already been put out there, the second senior Israeli diplomatic source admitted. Our problem is that the Americans have started putting out feelers to Iran, at the same time. We are actually entering a race  and no one knows how we will emerge, given the current administration. It will not be simple, in any case.
[February 05, 2021] Endowus scores double win at Best of the Best Awards 2021

SINGAPORE, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Endowus, one of Singapore's leading MAS-licensed investment platforms, won two accolades at Asia Asset Management's Best of the Best Awards 2021: The 'Singapore Fintech Innovation in Asset Management' award and the 'Singapore Rising Star' award, showcasing the wealthtech company's steps towards becoming an industry leader in Singapore. The 'Rising Star' award honours the market participant that has become the one to watchthe one demonstrating the greatest promise within the country's fund management industry. A recent addition to the list of awards presented by Asia Asset Management, the 'Fintech Innovation in Asset Management' award recognises a firm's product or service offering that has made a significant difference to clients, deploying cutting edge technologies to offer better outcomes. The awards recognise Endowus' innovation and strategic development in the industry, which has helped fuel massive growth in the past year. "We are honoured to receive these two awards that indicate we are on the right path and taking the right approach with the industry-first initiatives we've implemented," said Endowus Chief Executive, Gregory Van. "The Endowus team has worked tirelessly to implement our vision to help Singaporeans invest better, so they can live easier today, and live better tomorrow and through retirement." As part of their innovative efforts to provide Singaporeans with new inancial solutions, Endowus launched as the first and only digital wealth platform to incorporate holistic wealth planning from Singapore's pension funds (CPF), Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS), and cash savingsproviding individual investors with more control, democratised access to products, and a clearer picture of their total wealth.



Endowus accesses institutional share classes of funds, making them available to retail investors at low costs typically only available to the industry's largest and wealthiest clients. Endowus only charges a transparent percentage-of-assets access fee, with no separate transaction, custodian, forex, nor any other hidden fees. Endowus further pursues fair and transparent fees for retail investors by setting a new standard for removing the conflicts of interest that typically plague the industry, implementing an industry-first 100 percent trailer fee rebate to its clients. This enables Endowus to remain performance-driven and fully aligned to client interests, bringing them only the best and most suitable products.

"We believe we have helped improve the investment experience for the everyday investor, by opening doors to best in class funds, and ensuring that we only act in the interest of our clients with the fees that we charge, and rebates that we return," added Van. "We started the business with the aim to make impactful change to every Singaporean's life, which is to give a better investment and advisory solution for their CPF monies, and we will continue to innovate while searching for avenues to further improve what we provide our clients and elevate what investors should expect from the industry." Helping people take ownership of their personal finances is a vital mission for Endowus, which was founded on the idea of providing affordable access to high-quality investment options to create a better and more sustainable future for investors and their families. To further promote inclusion, Endowus has also lowered its minimum account size in February. The Asia Asset Management virtual awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. About Endowus Endowus is a MAS-licensed financial technology company and the first-and-only digital investment advisor for the Central Provident Fund (CPF), Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS), and cash. Endowus offers access to superior investment products, personalised advice, and lower costs on a seamless digital investment platform for all investors. Partnered with UOB Kay Hian, Singapore's largest broker, client assets and positions are safely held in the client's own name. Named Singapore Rising Star at Asia Asset Management's Best of the Best Awards 2021, while also winning the award for Fintech Innovation in Asset Management. SOURCE Endowus

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Abuja, Lagos  Overseer of Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has thrown his weight behind the calls for a ban on open grazing of cattle and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the insecurity in the country.

Speaking yesterday on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, Bakare advocated the need for dialogue among elders on the state of the nation.

According to him, open grazing is obsolete and it should be scrapped so as to stop herdsmen and farmers' clashes in parts of the country.

He also canvassed the need for herdsmen to register in their host communities and states for proper identification.

Bakare said: "The government needs to pass laws; property laws must be respected and all these pastoralists need to register so that you can know who they are and where they are going. It is a private business and it must not generate all the kinds of heat that it has generated right now. Let's be very careful not to tear this country apart and I am appealing to men of goodwill to rise to the occasion.

"There are four issues involved in this matter that I have considered and that by the grace of God as soon as I have the opportunity, I will also bring them to the attention of Mr. President and I know his ministers and those in government will be doing the same with him.

"One of the issues is open grazing. It is obsolete and it needs to end; it needs to end because the nations of the earth had gone beyond this. I was in Glasgow; I was in Israel; there are so many things that we can do about agricultural pastoralism that would stop all the troubles in our land.

"We have lived with Fulani and Fulani have lived with us across our lands; we must separate this agricultural pastoralism from the second thing - the terrorists in the forests. The government must fish out the criminals.

"We must be careful of indiscriminate violence and separate terrorists in the forests from agricultural pastoralism.

"Those who are invading other people's farms must be stopped. If our laws do not stop them and if property rights are not respected, then the government is not doing what it should do."

Commenting on his interaction with a Yoruba activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemi, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, Bakare said he got his contact through a police officer.

He explained that he spoke to him to basically avoid shedding of innocent blood, adding that his intervention reduced the tension of the seven-day ultimatum given to herdsmen to vacate some parts of the South-west.

Bakare said he would speak to the president on the need to separate farming and pastoral agriculture soon.

He cautioned that there should not be an action that would make Yoruba in Fulani territory feel threatened.

He advised the government to do more in ensuring the security of lives and property.

Bakare called on Buhari to urgently address the insecurity and ethnic crisis in the country, stressing that the crisis is coming to a crescendo.

He said: "I said there is a drumbeat of disintegration in our nation; you have so many people saying, 'we are going, we are doing this, doing that.' Added to that is the recent Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho) issues that almost created a lot of crisis in the South-west part of the country. Over time you have seen the South-east and IPOB, different kinds of groups rising; it is about time that those issues have to be addressed directly.

"Is the president not doing anything about it? I am sure he is himself not comfortable with what is going on in our nation; any leader will be concerned about it and he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. A number of things are happening that just will shock anyone; this is not the Nigeria I grew up in as a young child. I was talking to a few friends; we will walk and even roam if you like. I lived in the North, I lived in the south; it was never as bad as this."

He called for dialogue to facilitate the peaceful resolution of the crisis and expressed hope that Buhari and security agents will be able to resolve all the issues causing insecurity.

According to Bakare: "It is my sincere desire that Mr. President, his government and his armed forces will be up to the task of not only dealing with terrorists but bringing the nation together in such a way that we can sit in brotherhood and not tear ourselves apart. We need to sit together and talk and not just talk but act and back our resolutions with actions that will unify the country rather than divide the country further."

When asked if he has been in touch with Buhari in the last week, he said he spoke to the president's aides as late as Wednesday night to express his views and his thoughts.

"I do not text the president; I get to see him whenever time permits. COVID-19 restrictions have made it near impossible now. But I saw him late last year. I have not had time to see him this year. Any friendship that ends never started; that is my belief and I will continue as well as other men of goodwill continue to seek a peaceful resolution to our crisis behind the scene more than any public declaration. As I said to you, there is nothing you have heard me say in public that has not been shared, and even more in private conversation," he stated.

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He added that Nigerians are free to feel disappointed in the president when their expectations are not met.

He, however, clarified that he did not say that he was disappointed in Buhari, saying that when expectations of the people are not met, they are entitled to express their frustrations.

He said: "The coming of President Buhari into power in 2015 was a breath of fresh air to so many people. But in the midst of all competing demands, the conflicts and everything that happened, the expectations they had, not all of them would have been met.

"And, therefore, Nigerians are entitled to say they are disappointed."

He called on the president to deal with threats to national cohesion and urged all leaders to rally behind the president by not fanning the embers of disunity.

Bakare said: "This is not the country I grew up in as a younger person. It was never that bad. We need to sit together and talk the talks that will unite us as a people and a nation."
JUPITER, Fla., Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marizyme, Inc. (OTCQB:MRZM), a publicly traded global biotechnology company developing products to reduce the burden of ischemia-reperfusion injury in tissue grafting, organ transplant, and other surgical indications, announced today that it has named veteran business executive Julie Kampf as an Independent Member of its Board of Directors.

"Ms. Kampf will provide invaluable guidance as an Independent Member of Marizyme's Board of Directors as the company accelerates clinical and commercial development and puts a concurrent emphasis on revenue generation in the year ahead," said Dr. Neil J. Campbell, Marizyme's CEO, President and Board Member. "She has a stellar reputation as a global business executive and thought leader in the life science arena."

Ms. Kampf has more than 30 years' experience as a global business executive and thought leader on talent and diversity in the life science industries and on not-for-profit Boards. She is currently CEO of JBK Associates International, a full-service executive talent solutions firm, with a specialty in life sciences, which she founded in 2003. Prior to founding JBK and moving into the life science industry, Ms. Kampf held positions of increasing responsibility that focused on product development, marketing, sales and organizational development.

Ms. Kampf has significant not-for-profit board and advisory committee experience, is deeply committed to enhancing the careers and well-being of other women and has won numerous awards. She was recognized as one of New Jersey's Best 50 Women in Business, an Enterprising Woman of The Year, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Woman and a Brava Smart CEO Winner. In 2013 and 2009, Ms. Kampf was recognized as one of PharmaVoice's 100 most inspiring people in the life science industry.

Ms. Kampf earned a BA in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island where she minored in Marketing.

Ms. Kampf commented, "I am excited to join Marizyme's board and to support the company as it builds its promising suite of therapies that address unmet needs in diseases with high mortality and costs."

About Marizyme, Inc.

Marizyme is an integrated life sciences company dedicated to the acquisition, development and commercialization of therapies that minimize mortality and costs in the acute care space. The Company's flagship product, DuraGraft, is an intra-operative vascular graft storage solution that inhibits endothelial damage and leads to improved clinical outcomes by reducing the incidence of complications associated with vein graft failure in bypass surgery. DuraGraft enhances coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgical outcomes by significantly reducing major adverse cardiac events such as repeat revascularization and myocardial infarction. DuraGraft is approved for use in the EU and several Asian countries but is not yet approved for use in the U.S. Marizyme is also focused on the development and marketing of products based on its clinically tested and previously patented protease-based therapeutic Krillase platform. Krillase is not approved for use in the U.S. For more information about Marizyme, visit www.marizyme.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements, including those relating to Marizyme's product development, clinical and regulatory timelines, market opportunity, competitive position, possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, potential growth opportunities and other statements that are predictive in nature. The Company has made every reasonable effort to ensure the information and assumptions on which these statements are based are current, reasonable, and complete. However, a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, affect the Company's operations, performance, business strategy and results and there can be no assurances that the Company's actual results will not differ materially from those indicated herein. Additional written and oral forward-looking statements may be made by the Company from time to time. Forward-looking statements may be identified using forward-looking expressions, including, but not limited to, "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These statements relate to future events or our financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, including those risks set forth in the Company's risk factor disclosure in the reports that Marizyme files with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC File No. 000-53223), uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT

Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.

Investors

Miriam Weber Miller

212-375-2694

[email protected]

Media

Ingrid Mezo

646-604-5150

[email protected]

SOURCE Marizyme, Inc.

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House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) gavels the House Judiciary Committee's markup of House Resolution 755, Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump to recess on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 11, 2019. (Shawn Thew/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Democrats Oppose Gaetz Proposal to Recite Pledge of Allegiance at House Judiciary Hearings

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 4 opposed an amendment to the committee rules that would require each meeting to start with the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Its unnecessary, Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said. The House begins every day with the Pledge of Allegiance. Were covered by that. There is no necessity to say the Pledge of Allegiance twice during the same day. Its not been our practice to do so.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) suggested the amendment. The Republicans spoke in favor of the proposal, while the Democrats argued it is unnecessary because the pledge is already recited each morning on the House floor.

I just think it would be nice, in the spirit of national unity and national pride, which I know we all aspire to do to a greater extent, that at the beginning of each meeting, the chair or one of the designees of the chair would have the opportunity to lead us in the pledge of allegiance, Gaetz said.

Were all aware that in these times, its important for the country to see members of Congress working together on some things and while I know that we can deal with divisive issues in the committee, it would be my hope that we can start every committee meeting with a great, unifying, patriotic moment.

The House Judiciary GOP Twitter account shared a video of the exchange, adding Why dont Democrats want to say the Pledge?

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) supported Gaetz, arguing that reciting the pledge in the committee wont duplicate the pledge in the House because the committees business is separate and different.

I think its a simple one. I think its important symbolism right now. We all know and its been discussed today already that our nation is divided. Many of us talk frankly about this individually. Were more divided now arguably than we have been since the era of the Civil War and there are a few things left in our culture, in our society that unite us. The Pledge of Allegiance is one of those things, Johnson said.

Its been a part of our tradition in this country since 1892. Its an important institution that we have, Johnson added. Its one of those things that verbalizes, in just 15 seconds, it wont take a lot of our time, but it verbalizes the things that unify us, the principles that make us the great flourishing Republic that we are.

Rep. Mary Scanlon (D-Pa.) opposed the amendment and said that as an exercise of unity, the Judiciary Committee could attend the recital of the pledge on the House floor. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) also said that reciting the pledge again in the committee would be duplicative.

I feel the weight of the flag no matter what committee I happen to be in, Lee said.

Johnson countered that due to the lawmakers busy schedules, the lawmakers are rarely all on the floor when the pledge is recited.

Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), and Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) also backed the amendment, saying it would send a message of unity to the nation.

That would be great but we all know the reality is that wont happen. So because of that, why not do it here? I just dont understand the opposition to it. It would be a great tradition and we might inspire other committees to do the same, Johnson said.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace has revealed she flew her children out of Washington DC ahead of the Capitol riot - as she hit out at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez again for 'exaggerating' events which she felt 'watered down' other's trauma.

The freshman Republican congresswoman told Fox News' Sean Hannity Thursday night she sent her children home from the Capitol days before the attack after 'someone threatened to shoot her' amid escalating tensions in the run-up to the certification of the electoral college votes.

Mace also launched a fresh attack on AOC dismissing her account of the riot as 'not true' and doubling down on her claims that the mob 'didn't get anywhere near us'. The representative said 'we have to separate fact from fiction' when recounting what happened during the January 6 insurrection that left five - including a Capitol cop - dead.

Her comments came after the two lawmakers traded blows on Twitter Thursday when Mace said the Cannon Building where AOC was hiding from the mob was never breached by the rioters.

AOC has spoken out to say she feared for her life during the MAGA mob riot and posted a video on social media Monday night where she described hiding in the bathroom of her office when a cop entered shouting 'where is she?'

Mace tweeted Thursday that she is 'two doors down from AOC and no insurrectionists stormed our hallway' sparking a Twitter feud where AOC blasted her 'deeply cynical and disgusting attack.'

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Republican Rep. Nancy Mace has revealed she flew her children out of Washington DC ahead of the Capitol riot after 'someone threatened to shoot her', as she hit out at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez again saying her 'exaggerating' events that day 'waters down everyone's trauma and experience'

Mace told Hannity she sent her children home from DC two days before the Capitol riot on January 6 because of the growing signs of potential violence in the days leading up to it.

'I sent my children home. I'm a single working mom with two kids in middle school,' she said.

The South Carolina congresswoman said she had received a threat that someone - a Republican - was planning to shoot her so put her kids on a flight out of the capital.

'I flew them up for my swearing in. I was excited to have them there that week but a Republican threatened to shoot me on social media in the days leading up to the events of January 6 so I sent my kids home early,' she said.

'I got them on the the first flight home Monday morning [January 4] because I was worried.'

Mace said the warning signs of potential unrest were clear in the days leading up to the certification of the electoral college votes for Joe Biden.

'If I was worried without having a lot to go on other than the rhetoric I was seeing on social media and online and coming out of different voices online, you know, I would hope that our law enforcement monitoring the situation might have better information,' she told Hannity.

Mace, who was sworn in on January 3, described the MAGA mob riot as 'a very traumatic and harrowing day' and said it was something 'you would never want to go through.'

But she doubled down on her criticism of AOC demanding she 'be truthful' about her experience and saying when she is 'dishonest' about it, it undermines 'everyone's trauma'.

'You would never want to go through what we went through and I'm not going to discount those feelings at all,' she said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke on the House floor Thursday night during a special order hour she had organized for lawmakers to share their experiences about January 6

Members of the National Guard stand outside the Cannon House Office building. The offices of AOC and Mace are both in this building

The freshman Republican congresswoman (pictured with her family) told Fox News ' Sean Hannity Thursday night she sent her children home from the Capitol days before the attack after 'someone threatened to shoot her' amid escalating tensions in the run-up to the certification of the electoral college votes

'This was a very traumatic and harrowing day. It was a dark day in our nation's history but we have to be truthful when we share our stories and experiences because we want everyone to understand what we went through and believe us when we talk about it.'

She added: 'But when you exaggerate it and are dishonest about how you represent what actually happened, it waters down everyone's trauma and experience.'

Mace slammed AOC's account of what happened as 'not true' reinforcing her previous comments on Twitter that the rioters did not reach the building they were in.

'They didn't get anywhere near us in the Cannon Office buildings,' she told Hannity, adding that it was a seven to 10 minute walk between that building and the Capitol which the rioters had overran.

'It's a seven to 10 minute walk. If you walk fast, you could probably get there in five or 6 minutes. But it is a hike,' she said.

She added: 'The facts are there was no violent mob in the hallways. The folks who were there to riot weren't in the Cannon Office building.

The two lawmakers traded blows on Twitter Thursday when Mace said the Cannon Building where AOC was hiding from the mob was never breached by the rioters

'And so we have to be very clear and not exaggerate this experience or take advantage of it and politicize it in any way, shape, or form.'

The offices of Mace and AOC are both in the Cannon building which is 0.3 miles from the Capitol and is connected by tunnels underground.

It was not breached but it was evacuated by SWAT teams.

AOC has never claimed she was in the Capitol Building when the riot took place and tweeted Thursday that 'none of us knew in the moment what areas were compromised.'

Mace told Hannity there were just 'two threats' to lawmakers that day, pointing to the pipe bombs left at the DNC and RNC headquarters.

'There were two threats - one at the Democratic headquarters and one at the Republican headquarters,' she said.

'There were two pipe bombs discovered there that day.'

She went on to describe a 'traumatic' moment that she was 'stuck under the tunnels' and could hear the rioters around.

'I remember at one point I was stuck in the tunnels under the Capitol and I read two weeks ago that there were rioters that knew that people were stuck in the tunnel under the Capitol at one point during the riot and they were trying to find a way to get down there and find us,' she recalled.

'And I remember during all of this I was standing right next to Congressman Dan Crenshaw thinking 'if anything happens, I'm going to be safe because I have this military war hero who I admire and respect. He's going to save everybody in that tunnel'.

Mace hit back and accused AOC of 'demonizing' the Capitol cops who came to save them

'This was a traumatic experience and it is not okay to exaggerate or politicize it,' she said.

Mace mocked AOC saying she 'literally lost it on her favorite social media platform, Twitter' and said she knows she is 'doing the right thing... when I've got members of the Squad coming after me all day long on Twitter.'

Her appearance on Fox came soon after AOC spoke on the House floor Thursday night during a special order hour she had organized for lawmakers to share their experiences about January 6.

'Sadly, less than 29 days later, with little to no accountability for the bloodshed and trauma of the 6th, some are already demanding that we move on,' she said.

'Or worse, attempting to minimize, discredit or belittle the accounts of survivors.'

A Twitter war broke out between the two lawmakers Thursday when Mace tweeted: 'I'm two doors down from AOC and no insurrectionists stormed our hallway'.

AOC fired back calling her comments 'a deeply cynical & disgusting attack' and linking to an interview Mace gave where she said they had all been scared.

'As the Capitol complex was stormed and people were being killed, none of us knew in the moment what areas were compromised. You previously told reporters yourself that you barricaded in your office, afraid youd be hurt.'

'This was what you were saying just a few weeks ago,' she tweeted.

AOC has spoken out to say she feared for her life during the MAGA mob riot. She posted a video (above) on social media Monday night where she described hiding in the bathroom of her office when a cop entered shouting 'where is she?'

'Now youre contradicting your own account to attack me for Fox News clicks.

'Its honestly pretty sad to see you turn around like this and throw other people under the bus. Thought youd be better,' she went on.

Mace responded saying she 'deals in facts'.

'*FACT CHECK* I have not once discounted your fear.

'We were ALL terrified that day. Im stating the fact that insurrectionists were never in our hallway... because they werent. I deal in facts. Unlike you, apparently,' she said.

AOC then accused Mace of 'minimizing' her 'terror' and that of everyone else who was in the Capitol complex that day as well as that of survivors of other traumatic experiences.

'Wild that Nancy Mace is discrediting herself less than 1 mo in office w/ such dishonest attacks. She *went on record* saying she barricaded in fear. Who elses experiences will you minimize? Capitol Police in Longworth? Custodial workers who cleaned up shards of glass?' she wrote.

'All I can think of w/ folks like her dishonestly claiming that survivors are exaggerating are the stories of veterans and survivors in my community who deny themselves care they need & deserve bc they internalize voices like hers saying what they went through 'wasnt bad enough.'

AOC posted a 90-minute video Monday describing her interaction with a Capitol cop who arrived unannounced in her office when she was hiding behind her bathroom door.

'I see this white man in a black beanie... he yells "where is she?!" I have never been quieter in my life...This man is a Capitol Police officer.

'But the story doesn't end there... there was no partner, there was no yelling "Capitol Police."

'It didn't feel right. He was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility and things weren't adding up,' she said.

The cop told them to run across the street to the Longworth House Office Building, she said.

'We can hear, the buildings were not secure yet, that we can like hear all of these rioters behind the glass of the door.

'I hear the hinges cracking... you can hear all of this screaming.

Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6 in a riot that left five dead

'The yells only get louder and louder... so we run to this member's office start knocking on the door.

'I realized I had passed by Katie Porter's office.

'I saw Katie going into her office just like holding a cup of coffee because all of these developments were happening so quickly... some people were at different urgency levels,' she said.

Porter corroborated her story and said she consoled her while AOC opened closet doors and told her how she wanted to live to become a mother.

'I just hope I get to be a mom. I hope I don't die today,' Porter recounted Ocasio-Cortez as having told her.

AOC, in her video, then went on to slam the people telling her to apologize to Ted Cruz for claiming he tried to have her murdered.

'The reason I'm getting emotional in this moment is because these folks who tell us to move on, that it's not a big deal, that we should forget what's happened, or even telling us to apologize, these are the same tactics of abusers.

'I'm a survivor of sexual assault, I haven't told many people that in my life.

'As a survivor, I struggle with the idea of being believed.'

She gave no details about the assault or when it took place.
More residents on San Antonios North Side than those in other parts of the city have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, new data shows  the latest reminder of the racial and geographic inequity long present in the city but laid bare by the pandemic.

Since the pandemic began in March, the citys poorest neighborhoods, concentrated on the citys West and South sides, parts of town that are overwhelmingly Hispanic, have suffered most at the hands of the coronavirus  outpacing every other part of town in the number of COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations. There, many generations can live under one roof, residents work in front-line jobs in retail and restaurants, and rates of heart disease, diabetes and lack of health insurance are higher than anywhere else in the city.

Nearly half of all San Antonio residents who have died of COVID-19 lived on the West and South sides.

Officials representing those parts of town warned city health leaders that their residents needed to be prioritized to receive COVID-19 vaccinations as soon as they became available.

On ExpressNews.com: Nearly half of San Antonios COVID deaths were residents on South and West sides

But so far, vaccination rates in San Antonios East, West and South sides have lagged behind the North Side, according to data presented to City Council members on Thursday. Residents in those areas havent benefited nearly as much as those in parts of the North Side from the 57,000 first doses given out at the four mass vaccination sites in the city  the Alamodome, Wonderland of the Americas and two WellMed sites.

That map proves that we have to still do better, said District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, who represents the citys Southwest Side.

Given the scarcity of medical facilities and doctors offices outside of the North Side, there was little hope that those numbers were inaccurate.

I dont think those numbers wouldve changed very much either, said District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, who represents the Southeast Side.

Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Metro Health officials have taken some steps to try to get more people outside of the North Side vaccinated. The citys community health workers have been going door to door in some of the citys poorest areas to get people signed up for hundreds of appointments every week at the Alamodome, said Assistant City Manager Colleen Bridger, the citys coronavirus czar.

Out of 32,000 vaccinations administered at the Alamodome, some 6,000 were given to residents in those areas, Bridger said.

The city plans to administer 1,000 vaccinations by the end of the week to homebound seniors through a partnership with Meals on Wheels and the San Antonio Housing Authority. Metro Health also plans to push private pharmacies set to soon receive their own doses to target poorer parts of town.

But theres only so much the city can do on that front without running afoul of the state, Bridger said. Texas officials threatened last month to take away Dallas supply of vaccines after leaders there put out a plan to prioritize people in vulnerable neighborhoods to receive the vaccine. Dallas leaders then walked back the plan.

On ExpressNews.com: The 20 San Antonio ZIP codes with the highest number of active COVID-19 cases

Well continue to slide that gauge gently, but we dont want to go too far because we saw what happened in Dallas, Bridger said.

Complicating matters is the fact that people from out-of-town  including from Austin and Corpus Christi  are traveling to San Antonio to get their vaccine, Bridger said.

Roughly 13 percent of doses given out at the citys four major vaccination sites were to people who dont live in the county, she said.

Thats because the state requires vaccine sites to be open to all Texas residents, regardless of whether they live in the city or county.

Some people have even flown to San Antonio to get a dose, Bridger said.

As of Wednesday, Bexar County had received more than 331,000 doses of the vaccine and used more than 186,000. Bridger said providers have administered every dose theyve obtained and chalked up the discrepancy between the two figures to delays in paperwork filing.

Some council members noted that anxious residents still face clogged phone lines and spotty websites when trying to schedule an appointment.

In a testy exchange, District 9 Councilman John Courage pressed Bridger on why the city hasnt created a one-stop registry where residents could theoretically sign up to receive the vaccine and be notified later when an appointment becomes available.

Courage, 69, and his wife have tried to schedule an appointment via phone to no avail, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

People are frustrated, theyre uncertain and insecure and thats why we need a citywide register, Courage said. If people are provided the security of knowing that theyre on a registry  theyll feel more secure about getting the vaccine in their due time.

Such a system, Bridger said, would do nothing to give people a sense of when they would receive the vaccine. The real problem is there simply arent enough doses, she said.

Its not a technological challenge, its a psychological challenge, Bridger said. Once people are in the registry, it doesnt relieve their anxiety. Then their anxiety turns to, Well, Im registered, when am I going to get my shot?

A visibly irritated Courage pushed back  citing online registries in Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth.

Maybe they didnt hear from the people you heard from or maybe your information is old and needs updating, Courage said.
Boris Johnson is coming under pressure to end Britain's support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen following a reversal of policy from the United States.

New US president Joe Biden on Thursday said the conflict had created a "humanitarian and strategic catastrophe" in his first foreign policy speech in office.

Adding that the war "has to end", he announced an end to "relevant" US arms sales to Saudi Arabian forces.

In common with Mr Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, the UK has been steadfast in its support of Saudi Arabia, which has been bombarding Yemen for six years.

The UK is providing technical support for the attack, has deployed troops to defend Saudi oil fields, and went as far to reinstate arms sales after a court ordered a pause on humanitarian grounds.

Recommended Biden to announce end of US support for military operations in Yemen

In a statement on Friday Labours shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said "the government's support for Saudi campaign in Yemen is not only morally wrong but increasingly leaves Britain isolated on the world stage".

President Bidens decision to end US support for operations in Yemen shows just how far global opinion has shifted and leaves the UK worryingly out of step with our allies," she added.

Ministers must now take long overdue action to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and end the UKs role in a conflict which has caused the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

David Miliband, a former foreign secretary and chief executive of International Rescue Committee, told the BBC that there was "an important role for Britain to play, frankly" in ending the war.

"It hasn't yet come out in support of the Biden position of abandoning the Saudi-led coalition's war strategy which of course Britain is in part party to," he said.

Mr Miliband called on the US and UK to reconsider the designation of the Houthi rebel group as an international terrorist organisation, and called for a "massive infusion of aid" and a ceasefire with "political and diplomatic action".

Since the bombing began in March 2015, Britain has licensed at least 5.4 billion worth of arms to the Saudi regime, mostly bombs and aircraft.

In June 2019 the Court of Appeal told the government to pause arms sales because of the possibility that they were being used to commit war crimes.

But in July last year International trade secretary Liz Truss ordered the resumptions of sales. Ms Truss said that while some credible incidents of concern related to Saudi forces conduct had been classified as possible breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL), the UK government viewed these as isolated incidents.

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Sarah Waldron of Campaign Against Arms Trade said: "The US Government is the biggest arms dealer in the world, so this could be an important step towards ending this terrible war. It also puts the spotlight firmly on to the UK government and companies that have armed, supported and enabled the brutal bombardment.

"Saudi-led forces have killed thousands of civilians and bombed schools, hospitals and homes. No matter how dire the crisis has become, they have been able to count on the uncritical political and military support of the UK government. That support must end, and so must have the arms sales that have done so much damage."

Philippe Nassif, Amnesty International UK's advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said that "all arms sales to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia should be blocked to prevent further war crimes being committed in Yemen".

A UK government spokesperson said: The UK is deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Yemen and will continue to work with the US and other allies to find a peaceful resolution.

We are actively supporting the UN Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, to reach a political solution and have pledged almost 1 billion of UK aid to the humanitarian response since the conflict began.

Decisions on arms sales are a matter for the US Government. The UK takes its arms export responsibilities seriously and we will continue to assess all export licences in accordance with strict licensing criteria.

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LONDON (dpa-AFX) - AstraZeneca Plc. (AZN.L, AZN) said that a late-stage trial of Imfinzi with or without tremelimumab in the 1st-line treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer did not meet the primary as well as secondary endpoints. As per the Kestrel Phase III trial result, the company's Imfinzi or durvalumab did not meet the primary endpoint of improving overall survival compared to the Extreme treatment regimen (chemotherapy plus cetuximab), a standard of care, in the 1st-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma whose tumours expressed high levels of PD-L1. In addition, the combination of Imfinzi plus tremelimumab did not indicate an overall survival benefit in 'all-comer' patients, a secondary endpoint. The company said it is disappointed by those results. But insights from the phase III trial will advance its understanding and application of immunotherapy across its clinical development program. The company noted that it will continue to build on the established benefits of Imfinzi in early lung cancer and small cell lung cancer, to bring immunotherapy treatment options to all patients who may benefit. The safety and tolerability profiles for Imfinzi as a monotherapy and in combination with tremelimumab were consistent with previous trials. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Members of Parliament on Tuesday clashed with the government over what they called a deliberate effort to delay the passing of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Amendment Bill, 2019.

The Bill seeks to expand social security coverage, enhance efficiency and effectiveness in investments, provide for the introduction of new employee benefits, improve governance, and streamline the appointment of statutory officers to key positions of the Fund.

Last September, Parliament stood over Sections 10, 12, 13 to 18 of the Bill to grant the ministers of Finance and that of Gender time to harmonise the outstanding issues with the joint committee on Gender and that of Finance.

However, nearly three months later, Mr Mwesigwa Rukutana, the State Minister for Labour, asked Parliament to give the government more time to consult on the contentious clauses before coming back to complete the Bill.

The clauses are about mid-term access to savings by savers, the age at which to get such money and at what percentage.

"These clauses constitute very sensitive matters which are [impactful] on the national economy. Cabinet considered these matters and asked me to come here to seek your indulgence to be able to consult," Mr Rukutana said yesterday.

However, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga said the ministers and the joint committee were given enough time for consultations.

"This is not fair to the House and it is not fair to the country because this matter has been here since September and this is February. Our instruction was that ministers and the committee consult and report to this House," Ms Kadaga said.

By the time the clauses concerning the percentage of the cumulative benefits a save can access mid-term and also the supervision of the Fund, the House had passed clauses opening up the Fund for mid-term access by the contributors.

Workers MP Sam Lyomoki wondered why the government wants to push the House back over clauses that needed harmonisation. "These matters are about supervision of the Fund and the 20 per cent mid-term access. I think what is affecting this Bill is political will. There is no need for more consultations but what remains is a decision to be taken by this House," he said.

Mr Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the Opposition Chief Whip, accused Mr Rukutana of not being "serious".

Ms Margaret Rwabushaija, the vice chairperson of the Committee on Gender, insisted that both ministers boycotted the harmonisation meeting, adding that the MPs went on to write a report and were ready to proceed.

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Efforts by Mr Rukutana and Mr David Bahati (State Minister for Planning) to convince the House to give more time were futile as the Speaker insisted that the Bill will be reflected on the Order Paper today.

"The issue of consultation cannot arise here. You consulted and finished. We are going to finish it (the Bill) and we give you tomorrow (today) to consult. On Thursday (today) this Bill will be on the order paper," Ms Kadaga said.

In September last year, Daily Monitor saw a copy of the joint committee report after the said harmonisation meeting.

It was recommended that a contributor who fails to get employed after losing his or her job will wait until they attain the age of 45 to be allowed to access at least 40 per cent of their savings.

Supervision

Under the principal Act, the NSSF has been under the supervision of the Ministry of Gender. However, the Finance ministry has since taken over the full control of the Fund.
The Ukrainian Health Ministry must ensure that all categories of citizens have access to the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.

"The Ministry of Health has been tasked with ensuring that all categories of citizens get access to the vaccine by the end of the year. Safe vaccination is our chance to return to more normal life next year, so a respective campaign remains one of the government's key priorities this year," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Shmyhal also noted that it was important not only to start mass vaccination as soon as possible but also to start it with a safe vaccine that has passed all the necessary phases of clinical trials and has been approved in other developed countries.

"In parallel with the contract within COVAX and the contract with Sinovac in the amount of 1.9 million doses, the government is holding talks with other companies, and their results will be made public soon," he added.

He also stressed that the five-stage vaccination plan had already been drafted. Mobile teams, vaccination sites and the necessary infrastructure for the delivery and distribution of the vaccine have been prepared too, he said.

Shmyhal also said that the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization had published a report on the distribution of vaccines within the COVAX initiative and that Ukraine would soon receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for physicians.

In addition, according to Shmyhal, deliveries of 2.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Ukraine will begin in late February. This vaccine has been shown to be effective and has been certified by the European Medicines Agency. The total supply of the vaccine from AstraZeneca may reach up to 3.7 million doses and could be delivered to Ukraine by the end of the second quarter of this year, Shmyhal said.

op
Artists impression of the Mars Base Camp in orbit around Mars. When missions to Mars begin, one of the greatest risks will be that posed by space radiation. Credit: Lockheed Martin

In 1972, the space race officially ended as NASA sent one last crew of astronauts to the surface of the moon (Apollo 17). This was the brass ring that both the US and the Soviets were reaching for, the "moonshot" that would determine who had supremacy in space. In the current age of renewed space exploration, the next great leap will clearly involve sending astronauts to Mars.

This will present many challenges that will need to be addressed in advance, many of which have to do with simply getting the astronauts there in one piece! These challenges were the subject of a presentation made by two Indian researchers at the SciTech Forum 2020, an annual event hosted by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), RUDN University, and the American Astronomical Society (AAS).

The study that describes their research findings recently appeared online and has been accepted for publication by Advances in Aeronautical Sciences (publication date pending). Both it and the presentation made at the SciTech Forum 2020 were conducted by Malaya Kumar Biswal and Ramesh Naidu Annavarapuaa graduate researcher and Associate Professor of Physics from Pondicherry University, India (respectively).

Their research was also the subject of a presentation made during the seventh session of the Space Biology Virtual Workshop hosted by the Lunar Planetary Institute (LPI)  which took place between Jan. 20th and 21st. As Biswal and Annavarapua indicated in their study and presentations, Mars occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of scientists and astrobiological researchers.

Next to Earth, Mars is the most habitable location in the solar system (by terrestrial standards). Multiple lines of evidence accumulated over the course of decades have also shown that it may have supported life at one time. Unfortunately, sending astronauts to Mars will inevitably entail a number of distinct challenges, which arise from logistics and technology to human factors and the distances involved.

Addressing these issues in advance is paramount if NASA and other space agencies hope to conduct the first crewed missions to Mars in the next decade and after. Based on their analysis, Biswal and Annavarapu identified 14 distinct challenges, which include (but are not limited to):

The flight trajectory for Mars and corrective maneuvers

Spacecraft and fuel management

Radiation, microgravity, and astronaut health

Isolation and psychological issues

Communications (in transit and on Mars)

The Mars approach and orbital insertion

All of these challenges experience some degree of overlap with one or more of the others listed. For instance, an obvious issue when it comes to planning missions to Mars is the sheer distance involved. Because of this, launch windows between Earth and Mars only occur every two years when our planets are at the closest in their orbits to each other (i.e., when Mars is in "opposition" relative to the sun).

During these windows, a spacecraft can make the journey from Earth to Mars in 150 to 300 days (about five to ten months). This makes resupply missions impractical since astronauts cannot wait that long to receive much-needed shipments of fuel, food, and other supplied. As Biswal told Universe Today via email, the distances involved also creates problems where astronaut safety and are power-generation are concerned:

"In case of any emergency situation, we cannot bring back astronauts from Mars [as we could] in the case of LEO or Lunar Missions Similarly, distance reduces the solar flux from Earth orbit to Mars orbit resulting in the deficit power production which is very significant to power vehicle and maintain thermal stability (As again the far distance may lead to low environment temperature causing hypothermia and frost formation (especially in mouth)."

In other words, simply getting to Mars presents multiple specific challenges that Biswal and Annavarapu included in their analysis. When talking about astronaut healthy and safety, there are several specific challenges that come into play here as well. For instance, the fact that astronauts will be spending an several months in deep-space creates all kinds of risks for their physical and mental health.

For starters, there's the psychological toll of being confined to a spacecraft cabin with other astronauts. There's also the physical toll of long-term exposure to a microgravity environment. As research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has shownparticularly, NASA's Twin Studyspending up to a year in space takes a considerable toll on the human body.

Credit: Universe Today

Beyond muscle and bone density loss, astronauts who's spent long periods aboard the ISS also experienced a loss in eyesight, genetic changes, and long-term issues with their cardiovascular and circulation systems. There have also been instances of psychological effects, where astronauts experienced high levels of anxiety, insomnia, and depression.

But as Biswal indicated, the single-greatest and most obvious challenge is all the radiation (solar and cosmic) that the astronauts will be exposed to over the course of the entire mission:

"[The] greatest dangers include the risk of prolonged cancer and its effects due to exposure to both interplanetary radiation (during Mars transit) and surface radiation (during extended surface stay). Then, the effect of radiation cause improper brain coordination function and other brain-related diseases; then the psychological effect of the crew during complete isolation. Since the crewed mission relies on the performance of astronaut, the astronaut experience more health-related issues."

In developed nations, people on Earth are exposed to an average of about 620 millirem (62 mSv) annually, or 1.7 millirems (0.17 mSv) a day. Meanwhile, NASA has conducted studies that have shown how a mission to Mars would result in a total exposure of about 1,000 mSv over a two and a half year period. This would consist of 600 mSv during a year-long round-trip, plus 400 mSv during an 18-month stay (while the planets realigned).

What that means is that astronauts will be exposed to 1.64 mSv a day while in transit and 0.73 mSv for every day that they are staying on Marsthat's over 9.5 and 4.3 times the daily average, respectively. The health risks that this entails could mean that astronauts would be suffering from radiation-related health problems before they even arrive on Mars, to say nothing of the surface operations or return trip.

Luckily, there are mitigation strategies for the transit and surface parts of the mission, some of which Biswal and Annavarapua recommend. "We are currently developing a Mars subsurface habitat that could address all the health-related issues on the extended mission or permanent settlement on Mars," said Biswal. "[T]he crewed mission should include faster production of crew necessities from in-situ resource [utilization] (ISRU)."

An illustration of a moon base that could be built using 3-D printing and ISRU, in-situ resource utilization. Credit: RegoLight, visualisation: Liquifer Systems Group, 2018

This proposal is in keeping with the many mission profiles that NASA and other space agencies are developing for future lunar and Martian exploration. There are already many existing strategies to keep crews protected from radiation while in space, but in extraterrestrial environments, all concepts incorporate the use of local resources (such as regolith or ice) to create natural shielding.

The local availability of ice is also seen as a must for the sake of ensuring a steady water supply for human consumption and irrigation (since astronauts on long-duration missions will need to grow much of their own food). Aside from all that, Biswal and Annavarapu emphasized how maintaining a fast flight and return trajectory will help reduce travel time.

There is also the possibility of leveraging advanced technologies like nuclear-thermal and nuclear-electric propulsion (NTP/NEP). NASA and other space agencies are actively researching nuclear rockets since a spacecraft equipped with NTP or NEP could make the journey to Mars in just 100 days. But as Bisawl and Annavarapu indicated, this raises the challenge of dealing with nuclear systems and more exposure to radiation.

Alas, all of these challenges can be addressed with the right combination of innovation and preparation. And when you consider the payoffs of sending crewed missions to Mars, the challenges seem a lot less daunting. As Biswal offered, these include proximity, the opportunities to study Martian soil samples in an Earth laboratory, the expanding of our horizons, and the ability to answer fundamental questions about life:

"We have always been fascinated to know where we have come from and if there is any life like us in other astronomical bodies? [W]e cannot execute a crewed mission to any other interplanetary destination due to mission risk and management.

"Mars is the only neighboring planet in our solar system we can explore, it [has] a good geologic record to answer all [of] our unsolved questions, and [we can] bring samples [back] to analyze in our terrestrial lab?" And finally, it would be interesting to execute a human mission to Mars in order to demonstrate the extent of current technology and aerospace progression."

Artists concept of a bimodal nuclear rocket making the journey to the moon, Mars, and other destinations in the solar system. Credit: NASA

Since the early 1960s, space agencies have been sending robotic missions to Mars. Since the 1970s, some of those missions have been landers that set down on the surface. With the over forty years of data and expertise that's resulted, NASA and other space agencies are now looking to apply what they've learned so they can send the first astronauts to Mars.

The first attempts may still be over a decade (or more) away, but only if significant preparations take place beforehand. Not only do a lot of mission-related components and infrastructure still need to be developed, but a lot of research still needs to be done. Thankfully, these efforts benefit from the kinds of thorough assessments we see here, where all potential risks and hazards are investigated (and counter-measures proposed).

All of this will hopefully lead to the creation of a sustainable program for Martian exploration. It might even enable the long-term human occupation of Mars and the creation of a permanent colony. Thanks to the efforts of many researchers and scientists, the day may finally come when there is such a thing as "Martians."

Explore further Books outline what it takes to put astronauts in space

More information: Interplanetary Challenges Encountered by the Crew During their Interplanetary Transit from Earth to Mars. Interplanetary Challenges Encountered by the Crew During their Interplanetary Transit from Earth to Mars. arxiv.org/abs/2101.04723
VIJAYAWADA: YSR Congress MPs will take the issue of cash for vote against TD N. Chandrababu Naidu to the notice of the President, Prime Minister and Union ministers and seek a CBI inquiry into the issue. The case refers to the alleged attempt to bribe a nominated MLC in Telangana state to vote for the TD in the Legislative Council Elections.

The MPs will also demand a thorough inquiry into the Amaravati land scam by the TD government.

Member of Parliament Vallbhaneni Bala Showry said that Telugu Desam MPs submitted a memorandum with fake details to Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the temple issue in the State. He recalled that earlier TD hurled stones on the car of Amit Shah when he came to AP and Naidu had levelled baseless allegations against Narendra Modi. He stated that BJP should forget the opportunistic politics and policies of TD.

Showry said that forensic laboratory tests had proved that the voice in the tapes of note for vote case was of Naidu but there was no action against him due to TDs colluding and lobbying tactics. He said that YSRC MPs will meet the President, Modi and Union ministers, including Amit Shah, seeking a CBI inquiry into the issue. He alleged that TD was showing old photos and portraying them as fresh attacks on temples. YSRC will expose TDs conspiracy by showing photos and videos about the involvement of TD in the temple attacks.

Meanwhile, P Subhash Chandra Bose alleged that Naidu adopted Hindutva for political gains but he does not have faith in religion. He alleged that TD cadre, also followers of AP party unit chief K. Atchannaidu and they were involved in the removal of Nandi idol from a temple in Tekkali and police arrested TD leaders. He further alleged that according to DGP, TD leaders were involved in 12 temple attacks, which the police had proved with evidence. Bose objected to the manner State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar was favouring TD in the gram panchayat elections.
Credit: Malene Thyssen/CC BY-SA 3.0

Scientists have created a new method for measuring carbon fluctuations in forests; it is expected to improve the accuracy of global carbon estimates.

Using ground, airborne, and satellite data, a diverse team of international researchersincluding NASA scientistshas created a new method to assess how the changes in forests over the past two decades have impacted carbon concentrations in the atmosphere.

In addition to better understanding the overall role of forests in the global carbon cycle, the scientists were also able to distinguish between the contributions of various forest types, confirming that among forests, tropical forests are those responsible for the largest component of global carbon fluctuationsboth absorbing more carbon than other forest types, and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere due to deforestation and degradation.

While clearing land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the primary cause of the global carbon dioxide increase over the last century is from human activities that burn fossil fuels such as coal and oil. On balance, trees and other plants pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

The forest carbon flux map from web application Global Forest Watch, and the accompanying study published in Nature Climate Change on Jan. 21, show these carbon fluctuations from forests in unprecedented detail. This was published just one day after the United States rejoined the Paris Climate Agreementan international effort to limit global temperature rise which specifically highlights reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Through photosynthesis, forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce oxygen, complementing the collective breathing of other life on Earth that breathes oxygen and expels carbon dioxide.

According to the researchers, forests collectively absorbed around 15.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from Earth's atmosphere each year between 2001 and 2019, while deforestation, fires, and other disturbances released an average of 8.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Forests around the world are estimated to absorb about 7.6 billion metric tons, acting as a net carbon sink of roughly 1.5 times the annual emissions from the entire United States.

"Forests act as a two-lane highway in the climate system," said principal investigator Nancy Harris, who serves as the research director for the World Resources Institute (WRI) Forests Program. "A detailed view of where both sides are occurringforest emissions and forest removalsadds transparency to monitoring forest-related climate policies."

This new methodology integrates datasets from numerous sources, including on-the-ground reports, aerial data, and satellite observations, to create the first consistent global framework for estimating the carbon flux specifically for forests.

World map showing forested regions that are sources of carbon emissions (purple) and where they are carbon sinks (green), or areas that absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere. Credit: Harris et al. 2021 / Global Forest Watch / World Resources Institute

This is a change from the current annual reporting of national forestry data, which still varies between countries despite standardized guidelines from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), often determined by the resources available in that region. Such a lack of uniformity in the data means that global carbon estimates can contain a sizeable degree of uncertainty.

"The good thing is that we know there is uncertainty and we can actually quantify it," says co-author Lola Fatoyinbo, a scientist from NASA Goddard's Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "All estimates come with an uncertainty around them, which is going to keep getting smaller and smaller as we get better datasets."

The biomass estimates for the study were based on data from NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), which was primarily designed to track changes in ice sheet coverage but also provides topography and vegetation data.

Going forward, NASA's Carbon Monitoring Systems Biomass Pilot, which combines satellite and field data to improve estimates of vegetation and carbon stocks, NASA's ICESat-2, and the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI)  a laser-equipped instrument aboard the International Space Station that records the three-dimensional structures of the world's temperate and tropical forestsare expected to further improve understanding of carbon removal rates across forest landscapes going forward. As part of the GEDI team, Fatoyinbo says they will be making multiple relevant data products such as tree canopy profiles and global maps of aboveground biomass that will be useful for making future carbon estimates.

"This is kind of a major shift in the paradigm of monitoring forests," says Sassan Saatchi, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and a co-author of the study. "It brought in a new picture of where the big changes are happening, in terms of both the land surface losing carbon to the atmosphere and also absorbing carbon from the atmosphere."

The new approach also helped identify which forest types have higher uncertainties, highlighting tropical forests, as well as temperate forests in the Northern Hemisphere. "Where the uncertainties are large, that's where we need to focus and get more data to quantify better," Saatchi says.

Once new data are available, it is relatively easy to crunch the new numbers.

"The way this was set up is in a cloud computing platform," says Fatoyinbo. "If there is a new dataset that comes out that is much better than was previously available, you can just go in and swap it. This used to be something that took years to do, and now you could do it in a few hours."

While the outputs aren't expected to change significantly, the uncertainties will shrink, providing scientists with a clearer picture of the global carbon cycle and helping to inform policy makers. For example, the study shows that 27% of the world's net forest carbon sinks are found within protected areas, such as national parks.

Governments looking to reduce their emissions need data that is as accurate and current as possible. Fatoyinbo says that "this is one framework that can really help with that."

Explore further Brazilian forests found to be transitioning from carbon sinks to carbon sources

More information: Nancy L. Harris et al. Global maps of twenty-first century forest carbon fluxes, Nature Climate Change (2021). Journal information: Nature Climate Change Nancy L. Harris et al. Global maps of twenty-first century forest carbon fluxes,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-00976-6
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New Delhi: Lok Sabha witnessed two adjournments on Friday as opposition MPs continued their protest in Lok Sabha against new farm laws and raised slogans for their repeal.

The House saw its first adjournment during question hour.

When the House resumed its proceedings at 6 pm, Speaker Om Birla took up the listed agenda for the day. He told opposition members to take their seats but as protests continued, he adjourned the House for the day after a few minutes. Earlier the House briefly took up question hour when it met for the day.



The Lok Sabha has witnessed repeated adjournments over the past three days against farm laws. Opposition parties are demanding a separate discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's address and on the farm laws.

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury later said there should be a separate discussion on agitation by farmers against the three farm laws.

"We have urged the government for a separate discussion in Lok Sabha over farmers' agitation. Various issues are discussed in Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. Our only demand is separate discussion over farmers' issue after discussion on Motion of Thanks. We do want a discussion but the government should say that there will be a stand-alone discussion on agriculture."
Nigerias military executes 6 Christian soldiers framed for crime, human rights leaders say Government now claims the Christian soldiers are alive, but no one has seen them

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Nigerias government executed six Christian soldiers in the city of Abuja based on false charges, according to a lawyer working for the families of one of the victims.

The soldiers were framed for a crime committed by one of their superior officers, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law Chair Emeka Umeagbalasi told The Christian Post.

A Muslim colonel stole weapons from an armory, then blamed the 12 soldiers on duty for the theft. The military then accused the six Christian soldiers who were all members of Nigerias Igbo tribe, said Umeagbalasi.

They died on Jan. 25, not because of their actions, but because they were both Igbo and Christian, he said.

The government of today detests Christianity and detests the Igbo tribe, he said. You receive serious discrimination against Igbo officers. Its terrible. This administration is running on ethnic agenda against the Igbo population.

The soldiers executed were: Prince Ukwuoma, Ebube Isaiah, Amos Azubuike, Ekene Ebere, Moses Anyim and Godwin Uchendu, Umeagbalasi said.

A lawyer working for the family of one of the men said he had petitioned Nigerias government to provide a defense, but the government denied his attempt, Umeagbalasi said.

The men were given a rigged trial with government lawyers and were executed in secret, he said. Nigerias Constitution says the military has no authority to execute people and that prisoners should be able to appeal to a higher court. They didnt get their rights.

The military now claims that the men were never executed, said Umeagbalasi. However, they have not been returned to their families or appeared in public. A letter signed by 28 groups, including Intersociety, the World Igbo Congress, Concerned Elites for Better Society Initiative, and Biafra Genocide Survivors Group demands answers from the Nigerian government.

The Coalitionmakes bold to say that uploading montage pictures of the slain soldiers with Fake News written over them or hiring a consultancy firm to write a statement signed by an anonymous senior Army officer is in no way a credible and concrete reply and ordinarily should not be taken seriously, the letter reads.

Nigerias Army has killed and arrested Christian soldiers before, said Umeagbalasi. However, it hasnt killed six soldiers at once.

This has never been a practice in the Army. Things got changed the moment this present administration came to power, he said. Things are happening before that didnt happen. Its not only about these six soldiers.

Many Nigerians now believe the Army fights for Islam, not Nigeria, he said. In the countrys predominately Christian south, people call it Boko Harams Army. Muslims hold all the most important leadership positions.

The Armys lack of action to protect Christians comes directly from its leaders in government, Umeagbalasi said. When troops go into areas controlled by radical Islamists to defend Nigerian Christians, the government orders them to retreat. Then, Islamist rebels shoot them in the back.

If this state of affairs continues, the country will fall into violent anarchy, he added.

Nigeria is becoming like Somalia and Rwanda. That was exactly how it started, with the government taking sides and backing the members of a particular ethnic group. Thats the situation. Even in the security forces, Christians are being targeted, Umeagbalasi said.
All five living former prime ministers last night joined Boris Johnson in backing Mail Forces Computers for Kids campaign.

In an unprecedented show of support, Sir John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May lauded the drive to help pupils carry on learning during lockdown.

Every inhabitant of No 10 from the past three decades has now backed the initiative  a first for any newspaper campaign.

The development came as Daily Mail readers generosity sent the total raised to an incredible 6.9million.

Sir John, who succeeded Margaret Thatcher in 1990 and led the country until 1997, described the fundraising effort as a beacon of light in the darkest of times.

I am delighted to support the Daily Mails campaign, not least since  so many years ago  I and my friends of those days would have been amongst the children in need of such equipment, he said.

Families receive tablets and keyboards for pupils at Moston Fields Primary School, Manchester

My parents would have wanted to help and been hurt and embarrassed that  since they could not  my education might suffer.

Today, no parent should be forced to feel that way and no child in the UK should be put at a disadvantage because of the financial circumstances of their family.

Tony Blair, who spent a decade in Downing Street from 1997 to 2007, said the campaign highlights a burning issue  the digital divide which is continuing to impact childrens education.

I fear that unless this becomes an absolute priority it will have a devastating impact on young peoples lives and life chances, he added.

Getting laptops to those who need them for lockdown learning is a matter of urgency. I wish this campaign every success in delivering for them.

His successor, Gordon Brown, congratulated Daily Mail readers and businesses for working together to make a success of the path-breaking crusade to deliver laptops to lockdown pupils who need them.

Every child is special, unique and precious, and in the 21st century their right to education must mean having a computer to learn from and access to the internet, he said.

Sharing his own personal experience, David Cameron said: As a parent, I know how challenging home schooling during lockdown can be  all the more so if pupils dont have the necessary computer equipment to access lessons and resources, or are having to compete with siblings and parents for time online.

For as little as 15, a laptop has its memory securely wiped and it is rebuilt for the classroom by our IT specialist partner. The Mail Force charity will also use funds to buy new devices

Mr Cameron, who was PM from 2010 to 2016, added: I commend the Mail Force Computers for Kids campaign and thank everyone who has pledged their support. This will make an invaluable difference during these most difficult times, so I urge everyone who can to support the campaign.

Theresa May expressed her belief that everyone must be given the chance in life to go as far as their talents will take them.

She added: Providing children with the education they need is a vital part of that and I congratulate the Mail on this important and collaborative campaign, working with Government to make sure our most vulnerable children have the equipment they need to help them realise their full potential.

Mr Johnson last week thanked the Daily Mail and its readers for stepping up to support the efforts to get laptops to children with what he described as another fantastic campaign.

The newspaper has been raising funds for Mail Forces Computers for Kids initiative, which aims to help prevent pupils falling further behind.

Companies are donating old laptops they no longer use. For around 15, these can be made fit for home schooling.

Last year, Mail Force donated 42million items of PPE to the NHS, care homes and charity sector front lines. The campaign won a public service award and the Mail was hailed for holding the Government to account at the same time as helping to solve the problem.

Sir John Major

I am delighted to support the Daily Mails campaign.

So many years ago, I would have been among the children in need. My parents would have wanted to help, and been hurt and embarrassed that  since they could not  my education might suffer.

Today no parent should be forced to feel that way.

One single donation could transform a young life... every child who receives this lifeline will forever remember that our nation has a generosity of spirit which provides a beacon of hope for all.

Tony Blair

The pandemic has had many terrible consequences, and this campaign highlights a burning issue  the digital divide which is impacting childrens education.

Laptops and connectivity are absolutely essential for remote learning so that no child is left behind.

Unless this becomes an absolute priority it will have a devastating impact on young peoples life chances.

Getting laptops to those who need them for lockdown learning is a matter of urgency.

I wish this campaign every success in delivering for them.

Gordon Brown

'Congratulations are owed to the Mail for this pathbreaking initiative to help

'Britains one million children who are without a computer today.

'Every child is unique and precious, and in the 21st century their right to education must mean having a computer to learn from and access to the internet.

'I want the country to come together and join with the Daily Mail in guaranteeing that in 2021 every single child will have the chance to learn online free of charge with the up-to-date computer they need.'

David Cameron

'As a parent I know how challenging home schooling during lockdown can be  all the more so if pupils dont have the computer equipment to access lessons and resources, or are having to compete with siblings and parents for time online.

'I commend the Mail Force Computers for Kids campaign and thank everyone who has pledged their support.

'This will make an invaluable difference during these most difficult times, so I urge everyone who can to support it.'

Theresa May

Ive always said that everyone must be given the chance in life to go as far as their talents will take them.

Providing children with the education they need is a vital part of that, and I congratulate the Mail on this important and collaborative campaign, working with Government to make sure our most vulnerable children have the equipment they need to help them realise their full potential.

Boris Johnson

We are doing everything we can to support children and young people to learn from home while their classrooms are closed.

Making sure they have the right technology to get online is vital, which is why weve provided over a million laptops and devices to schools across the country so far.

At this challenging time everyone can do their bit to help and Id like to thank the Mail and its readers for stepping up to support our efforts with another fantastic campaign.
SANAA, Yemen (AP)  Yemen's foreign minister said his government will work with President Joe Biden's administration to end the war in the Arab world's poorest country.

Still, Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak insisted the country's Houthi rebels and their Iranian backers remain the main obstacle to peace  an apparent defense of Saudi military involvement in Yemen.

On Thursday, Biden announced the U.S. was ending support for the grinding Saudi-led war in Yemen. The five-year conflict has killed some 130,000 people, including over 13,000 civilians, and resulted in the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

We will deal positively with the attitude of the new U.S. administration, which wants to end the conflict in Yemen, Bin Mubarak told The Associated Press late Thursday.

This has always been our goal since the war started, and we dealt positively with all U.N. initiatives in the past, but we are always faced with the intransigence of Houthi militias and Irans agenda in the region," he said.

Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdel Salam tweeted late Thursday that peace would not be achieved until the aggression was brought to a halt and the siege was lifted.

Yemens war began in September 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and began a march south to seize the entire country. Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and other countries, entered the war alongside Yemens internationally recognized government in March 2015.

Biden announced an end to relevant U.S. arms sales but gave no immediate details on what that would mean. The administration already has said it was pausing some of the billions of dollars in arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabias main partner in its Yemeni offensive. The U.S. has sold bombs and fighter jets to Saudi Arabia that the kingdom later used in strikes on Yemen killing civilians.

Biden also called for a cease-fire, an opening of humanitarian channels to allow more delivery of aid, and a return to long-stalled peace talks.

Story continues

Saudi Arabia has been conciliatory in its response to rebuffs from Biden, who as a candidate blasted the kingdoms current rulers for rights abuses and as president has made clear he intends to distance his administration from Saudi leaders.

However, the Biden administration also says it will help Saudi Arabia boost its defenses against outside attacks, as part of maintaining key security, counterterrorism and military ties. Saudi state media focused on that part of Bidens announcements Thursday.

The Yemeni government also welcomed Biden's decision to appoint Timothy Lenderking as special envoy to Yemen, hailing it as another important step attesting to the U.S. commitment to end the war, according to a statement from Yemens state-run SABA news agency.

Meanwhile, the United Nations on Friday called the U.S. decision a positive development that could create further momentum for dialogue and said U.N. special envoy Martin Griffiths looks forward to working constructively with all parties at this critical time for the Yemeni people.

The U.N. continues to call on the United States to reverse its designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, a request based purely on humanitarian grounds amidst a growing risk of famine in Yemen, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

___

Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Editors note: President Joe Biden inherits from Donald Trump a United States that was simultaneously isolated from the rest of the world and openly hostile toward parts of it. Biden  an internationally minded leader who has longstanding relationships with world leaders  has already begun to rejoin treaties and alliances abandoned by Trump.

Dire domestic crises will keep Bidens attention focused on home, at least early in his administration, but he says the U.S. is ready to lead the world. Here, experts assess the state of American relations with a world left skeptical of American leadership.

Can Joe Biden restore U.S. world leadership? Agela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Latin America

Jennifer M. Piscopo, Occidental College

Latin Americas faith in U.S. leadership, once buoyed by Obamas cooperative and collaborative approach, declined under Trump.

The Trump administration ignored authoritarian behavior across the region  except in leftist Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, where it levied sanctions and even threatened military intervention. Many saw those punishments, which evoke the United States history of interference in Latin Americas domestic affairs, as aimed more at winning anti-Communist emigre votes in Florida than helping citizens of those nations.

Nor did tightening the U.S.-Mexico border aid the regions interests.

Trump made immigration harder while cutting foreign aid to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras  none of which addressed the reasons people kept leaving Central America. Migrants were forced to wait out their U.S. asylum process in Mexico, leading refugee camps to pop up along the border. In the United States, asylum-seeking children were separated from their parents. Shoddy paperwork has so far made reunification impossible for several hundred families.

As Trump limited U.S. involvement and economic support in Latin America, China stepped up its own. Chinese money pays for the regions mines, energy projects, telecommunications, agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, ports and, most recently, access to the coronavirus vaccine. The U.S. remains Mexicos largest trading partner, but for the rest of Latin America, the honor goes to China.

Biden is expected to reinstate the humanitarian support Trump cut. And unlike Chinese foreign investment, U.S. money comes with conditions that enhance democracy like fighting corruption or keeping elections free and fair.

Still, enthusiasm for democracy in Latin America is waning. Support for democratic governance dropped from about 64% in the mid-2010s to 57% in 2019, according to polling by Vanderbilt University. From Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro  dubbed the tropical Trump  to hard-line leaders in El Salvador and Colombia, the Americas feel the allure of strong-man politics.

Africa

Julius Amin, University of Dayton

China is the United States main competitor in Africa, too.

China has forged strong economic and political ties with the continent, holding summits with African leaders and providing significant development assistance, including to Ethiopia, South Africa and Nigeria. In exchange for investment, it has exploited Africas enormous resources: oil, coffee, rubber, palm oil, diamonds, gold, uranium.

Trump often acted as if Africa was irrelevant, even crudely insulting the region. His rejection of the Paris Climate Agreement and membership in the World Health Organization translated into significant loss of money destined to help African countries. So did his slashing of foreign aid. Trump was the first U.S. president this century not to visit Africa.

But Africa plays an important role in the global war against jihadism and it has both young democracies and old autocracies  all strategic U.S. interests.

Biden can still reverse Africas drift toward China. Though promises made at the Obama administrations 2014 U.S.-Africa summit, which Biden participated in as vice president, were not fulfilled, African leaders overwhelmingly welcomed Bidens victory in November.

Appointing experienced foreign policy staff to cover the region would build on that momentum. And since a large number of State Department professionals began their foreign service careers as Peace Corps volunteers in Africa, Biden has a rich talent pool to choose from.

China

Joyce Mao, Middlebury

With China, Biden inherits the same challenges Trump faced and failed to resolve, from a massive trade deficit to Chinese misappropriation of American intellectual property.

Then there is the South China Sea, where Chinas territorial claims to strategic islands threaten U.S. access to natural resources and to shipping routes. Over the past decade the U.S. has used both military resources and heated rhetoric to counter Chinese maneuvers there, as have Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines. But the South China Sea remains a contentious issue.

Biden has promised to fight like hell to defend Americas global standing against Chinas growing power, using more collaborative rhetoric than Trump. But the new president has not yet signaled a new grand strategy that will ensure consistency, let alone the primacy of American interests.

Europe

Garret Martin, American University

Following four tumultuous years under Donald Trump, the Biden administration wants to repair fractured U.S. relations with the European Union, and fast.

Immediately after taking office, Biden rejoined the Paris climate accords and World Health Organization, endearing him to European allies. Unlike Trump, he deeply respects NATO, a decades-old transatlantic security partnership Biden has called the single most significant military alliance in the world. Americas European partners will also welcome a return to more predictable relations with the U.S. under Biden and an end to diplomacy by tweets.

But changes in tone and style will not necessarily change the substance of Americas transatlantic partnership. For all the focus on Trump, the European Union and U.S. still disagree on key matters, such as data privacy, how to deal with China and to what extent Europe can tax American tech giants.

Europeans remain wary of the United States profound polarization. Is it worth investing time in negotiating long-term deals with a country whose policies swing so dramatically from one administration to the next?

Middle East and South Asia

Muqtedar Khan, University of Delaware

Beyond the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict, Biden faces two Mideast problems that deteriorated during the Trump administrations idiosyncratic watch.

The first is an emerging tension between Arab nations and the non-Arab nations. Iran and Turkey are challenging two of Americas Arab allies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, for political and military domination of the region.

Trump tried military might and punishment to control Iran, exiting the international Iran nuclear deal and assassinating a revered general. Biden says he may rejoin the Iran deal. But American relations with Iran have rarely been worse. The Trump administration tried diplomatic appeasement to manage Turkey, a fellow NATO member. Still it continues to undermine Americas Mideast allies and upset Washington by buying weapons from Russia. Biden may be less conciliatory.

The second big problem Biden contends with in the Middle East is its many fragile and failing states, from Yemen and Libya to Syria, Iraq and Sudan. Failing states generate instability, refugees and humanitarian crises.

Historically, the U.S. has been extremely engaged in the Mideast. It has invested over US$2 trillion to bring democracy to Iraq since 2002. The U.S. negotiated with Iran and brokered more than a dozen Israel-related peace deals since 1978. Bidens foreign policy team is likely to focus on the region, too.

As Chinas global power grows, South Asia is becoming more critical to U.S. foreign policy, too.

It is home to two nuclear powers  India and Pakistan  and the worlds largest democracy, India. Trump was close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his administration recognized India  along with Australia and Japan  as key to restraining rising Chinese power in South Asia. Biden may endorse a softer China policy, which would change, and potentially weaken, U.S. relations with India.

Finally, theres Afghanistan. In February 2020 the U.S. signed a peace deal with the Taliban insurgents to end its 19-year war there. For the remaining U.S. troops to come home, however, the Taliban must also strike a deal with the Afghan government, which it has long sought to overthrow. Peace is far from guaranteed.

Muqtedar Khan is a professor of Islam and global affairs at the University of Delaware; Garret Martin is a senior professorial lecturer and co-director of the Transatlantic Policy Center at the American University School of International Service; Jennifer M. Piscopo is an associate professor of politics at Occidental College; Joyce Mao is an associate professor of history at Middlebury; and Julius A. Amin is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Dayton.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Chinese state oil and gas company CNOOC will boost its capital spending this year to the highest in seven years, thanks to a 5-percent increase in domestic output.

Reuters reports CNOOC aims to spend $13.9-15.5 billion this year, mainly on boosting domestic oil and gas exploration and production, which last year hit 528 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Most of the domestic output will come from offshore fields, CNOOC said, which will account for 68 percent of the companys production target for this year. Output from operations overseas will contribute the rest. The planned total for this year is 545-555 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Like other oil companies, CNOOC last year shrank spending and cut production of oil and gas from overseas assets, as the pandemic claimed the world. The company, like its peers, focused more of its efforts on domestic production as per Beijings plans as the country seeks to reduce its substantial dependence on imported oil and gas.

These efforts did lead to higher production for CNOOC, but China has yet to reduce its import reliance in any meaningful way. At the same time, energy demand is rising, and so are imports.

CNOOC recently launched production at a new field in the Eastern South China Sea that could become a solid contributor to Chinese domestic output. Development of the Liuhua 16-2 oilfield cluster began in September last year, and the company eyes output of 72,800 barrels daily by 2022.

The Eastern South China Sea is one of CNOOCs most important crude oil and natural gas producing areas, where crude is mostly of light to medium gravity.

As of the end of 2019, the reserves and production in Eastern South China Sea reached 633.9 million barrels of oil equivalent and 242,026 boe/day, respectively, accounting for 12.2 percent of the companys total reserves and approximately 17.4 percent of its production, CNOOC said last year.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Chinese authorities crack down on illegal fish trade

by Hu Min

February 05,2021 | Source: Shine

Shanghai's market authorities have detected 68 cases in a crackdown on sales from illegal fishing in the Yangtze River basin since August, Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation said on Thursday.



A total of 187 pieces of information related to such illegal trade had been cleared, with the campaign targeting both online channels such as e-commerce platforms and offline channels such as supermarkets, aquatic product trade markets, and catering businesses, according to the administration.



About 520,000 advertisements were screened and 11 concerning illegal fishing had been detected, the administration said.



Among the cases, Fisherboy, a restaurant at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in the Pudong New Area was found to be promoting Yangtze River fresh fish in its posters, and it is being investigated, the administration said.



In January last year, China implemented a fishing ban in 332 conservation areas in the Yangtze River basin. The ban was extended to a 10-year moratorium on all natural waterways of the river, including its major tributaries and lakes, from January 1 this year, according to Xinhua news agency.

 2021  Shanghai Daily. All Rights Reserved

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.
Editor's Note: This story about a San Antonio Sears' final day published one year ago in February 2020.

Sears at South Park Mall is nearly empty after more than 60 years of being part of San Antonio's South Side shopping experience.

Photos shared by New Republic of San Antonio show the once-bustling department store decimated to only a handful of products and racks Monday night. The South Park Mall store was the only one in Texas affected by the decision to close 96 Sears and Kmart locations. Transformco, the parent company of the two brands, announced the "difficult" decision in November 2019, citing a desire to "streamline" efforts in the face of "a difficult retail environment and other challenges."

At that point, Transformco said all of the stores would be closed by February 2020. The company declined to provide an update for a final day for the South Park Mall location when asked by mySA.com on Tuesday and referred back to the November 2019 statement.

RELATED: Sears store at South Park Mall to close by February 2020

The embattled department store chain has one remaining San Antonio location inside Rolling Oaks Mall. When asked about the status of that location in November, Transformco also declined to comment. There are also two Sears Outlets stores in San Antonio. The Sears store at Ingram Park Mall closed in October 2018, as the retailer entered bankruptcy.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. opened the first San Antonio store at 896 Broadway in 1928. The first South Side location opened in 1954, then the 735 S.W. Military Drive location moved to South Park Mall in 1996 to become one of the anchor stores, according to San Antonio Express-News archives.

Ten years ago, the department store chain operated 3,500 locations, according to Business Insider. After the wave of closings, an expected 182 remain. Business Insider called the downfall of Sears "the retail apocalypse."

Madalyn Mendoza is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @MaddySkye
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 14:27:26|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Victims of a two-decade long rebellion in northern Uganda said that justice has been done after a former Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel commander was convicted on Thursday of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Judges at the Hague-based ICC on Thursday found Dominic Ongwen guilty of 61 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in northern Uganda in a 20-year war raging until 2006.

Ongwen, a former child soldier who rose through the rank and file of the LRA, was among the five top commanders of the outfit who were indicted by the ICC. The other three are said to have died apart from rebel leader Joseph Kony who is still in hiding.

Ongwen was found guilty of alleged attacks on the civilian population, murder, torture, persecution, forced marriage, sexual slavery, enslavement, rape, pillage destruction of property and recruitment of children under the age of 15 to participate in the hostilities.

"We are happy as victims about the verdict. At least justice has been done and served," James Okello Omona, victim's mobilizer in Odek village in Omoro district, told Xinhua in a phone interview.

"We want to know how many years they are going to put Ongwen in jail. He committed a lot of atrocities. He has just been found guilty of 61 counts," said Omona.

"We are wondering when they will start compensating us," Omona said, adding that since justice has been done now, victims of the war that have left 1.9 million people homeless and tens of thousands dead, need to be compensated.

The court ruling was screened live from the Hague to villages in northern Uganda -- where the war was, and in the capital Kampala.

Brian Kalenge, a lecturer in the faculty of law at Uganda Christian University, told reporters via a livestream in Kampala that the ruling is historic.

"This is a very historic moment that finally a first verdict relating to the crimes committed by the LRA in northern Uganda has come to bear fruit," said Kalenge.

"(The) ICC indicted several LRA commanders way back in early 2000 and it has taken several years for judgment to be rendered, this being the first case," he added.

The ruling is also a step in terms of addressing psychological effects of that war, according to Kalenge.

"There can be no peace without justice. It's very important that for us to look at peace, we need to ensure justice has been served," said Kalenge.

Kalenge added that the ruling sets a precedent that can be followed when dealing with cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Court said the case has been concluded now, and a phase dedicated to the reparations to victims will be opened.

It also ruled that the verdict may be appealed by either party to the proceedings within 30 days after the notification of the judgment. Enditem
One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
Atheist group demands Maryland city stop opening meetings with Christian prayer

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A leading atheist organization is demanding that a city in Maryland stop allowing city officials to open council meetings with a prayer, which it says is most often a Christian prayer that closes with the words "in Jesus' name."

The American Humanist Association sent the letter on Wednesday to Aberdeen officials, namely Mayor Patrick McGrady and city council members, condemning the regular prayers.

AHA Legal Director Monica Miller wrote in the letter that the council members open meetings with prayers that are Christian in nature, often ending in the phrase in Jesus name.

This practice flagrantly violates binding precedent, said Miller. Fourth Circuit precedent has long prohibited local governments from opening public meetings with sectarian Christian prayers.

This letter serves as an official notice of the unconstitutional activity and a formal demand to terminate this and any similar illegal activity immediately.

Miller argued that while the United States Supreme Court had ruled in Town of Greece v. Galloway that Christian prayers were allowed at public meetings, this only applied to prayers when they are delivered by private citizens pursuant to a neutral and non-discriminatory open forum policy that allows anyone to deliver an invocation of their choosing.

Miller requested a response from the city officials within two weeks, threatening them with potential legal action if they refused to discontinue their prayer practice.

In June 2018, the Supreme Court sent mixed signals regarding whether it was constitutional for local officials to open meetings with Christian prayers when it declined to hear two cases.

The first, Bormuth v. County of Jackson, Michigan, involved the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upholding a similar invocation policy for the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.

The board's invocation practice is facially neutral regarding religion. On a rotating basis, each elected Jackson County commissioner, regardless of his religion (or lack thereof), is afforded an opportunity to open a session with a short invocation based on the dictates of his own conscience, ruled the full appeals court in 2017.

Neither other commissioners, nor the as a whole, review or approve the content of the invocations. There is no evidence that the board adopted this practice with any discriminatory intent.

Since the high court refused to hear an appeal in the case, the decision allowing for the officials to give sectarian prayers was allowed to stand.

However, in the same list from 2018, the Supreme Court also refused to hear an appeal in the case of Rowan County, North Carolina v. Lund, in which the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled against an invocation policy due to the prayers being almost exclusively Christian.

"We conclude that the Constitution does not allow what happened in Rowan County. The prayer practice served to identify the government with Christianity and risked conveying to citizens of minority faiths a message of exclusion," read the majority opinion, issued in 2017.

"Rowan County elevated one religion above all others and aligned itself with that faith. It need not be so. As the history of legislative invocations demonstrates, the desire of this good county for prayer at the opening of its public sessions can be realized in many ways that further both religious exercise and religious tolerance."
Alejandro Jaimes-Radilla, 33, was found and captured in the city of Hillsboro on Wednesday

A suspect thought he had found the perfect spot to hide from Oregon police, until a cop drone discovered him on the roof of a home.

Drone footage caught the moment Alejandro Jaimes-Radilla was found and captured in the city of Hillsboro on Wednesday.

Police were searching for the 33-year-old on an outstanding felony warrant and other unspecified charges.

Katu.com reported that Jaimes-Radilla was wanted on several counts of first-degree theft and 'other charges'.

Officers tracked him to a property in Hillsboro and, with the help of sniffer dog Blazer, were able to determine that he was likely hiding on the roof.

This was quickly confirmed by a drone from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, The Hillsboro Police Department said in a Facebook post.

The video from the drone shows Jaimes-Radilla squeezed into small space in the roof.

Police were searching for Jaimes-Radilla (pictured) on an outstanding felony warrant and other unspecified charges

Officers tracked Jaimes-Radilla (pictured) to a property in Hillsboro and, with the help of sniffer dog Blazer, were able to determine that he was likely hiding on the roof. This was quickly confirmed by a drone from the Washington County Sheriff's Office

The video from the drone shows Jaimes-Radilla squeezed into small space in the roof. Once he spotted the drone, he gave himself up to police who took him into custody once he had climbed down from the roof

The Hillsboro police said Jaimes-Radilla's (centre in light trousers) capture was: 'the result of a partnership with the Washington County Sheriff's Office and bringing various resources together to keep the community safe'

Once he spotted the drone, he gave himself up to police who took him into custody once he had climbed down from the roof.

The Hillsboro police said the suspect's capture was: 'the result of a partnership with the Washington County Sheriff's Office and bringing various resources together to keep the community safe.'

An investigation into Jaimes-Radilla is ongoing.
Suzuki Motor Corp, Toshiba Corp and Denso will make their lithium ion (Li-ion) cells manufacturing facility in Gujarat a global export hub.

The factory is expected to open in April, and will start assembling battery packs. It will later begin producing lithium ion cells around 2024-25, Mint reported.

The joint venture, TDS Lithium-ion Battery, is likely to receive sops under the government's production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, the report said.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

"The battery pack manufacturing joint venture by the three companies will realise a stable supply of Li-ion battery packs in India in the course of promoting sustainable cars in the country and will contribute to the 'Make in India' initiative by the Indian government," a Toshiba spokesperson told the newspaper.

Spokespersons of Suzuki's local unit, Maruti Suzuki India and Denso Corp had not responded when contacted by Mint.

Lithium cells are a primary component of electric vehicles and are also used in devices such as mobile phones and laptops.

 Flash

China hopes the United States will view China and China-U.S. relations in an objective and rational way, implement positive and constructive China policies, meet China halfway, focus on cooperation, and manage differences to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks when asked to comment on U.S. President Joe Biden's recent speech, in which Biden called China his country's "most serious competitor."

Underscoring China's role as a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order, Wang said China's development will further strengthen global peace and China is committed to developing friendly and cooperative relations with countries around the globe.

As two major countries, China and the United States share broad common interests and shoulder special and important responsibilities in safeguarding world peace and stability, and in promoting global prosperity and development, he said.

Just like any bilateral relationship between countries, China and the United States are bound to have some differences. However, their common interests far outweigh the differences, Wang added.

By cooperating with each other, China and the United States can accomplish many great things that benefit both countries and the world at large, said Wang.

Facing global challenges including COVID-19 and climate change, China and the United States can and must cooperate with each other, and areas for such cooperation have expanded, not narrowed, he said.

China is committed to developing relations with the United States featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, said Wang.

Meanwhile, China will continue to resolutely safeguard its national security and development interests, he said.

China hopes the U.S. side will follow the common will of the two peoples as well as the trend of the times, and join other countries and the international community to promote world peace and development, Wang said.
The first author of the study, Dr Pedram Sultanian, a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), said: "Our study clearly shows that cardiac arrest and COVID-19 is a very lethal combination.Patients with the coronavirus should be monitored intensively and measures taken to prevent cardiac arrest, for instance with the use of continuous heart monitors for patients at high risk."This is the first detailed report of characteristics and outcomes in COVID-19 patients who suffer cardiac arrest. The researchers analysed data from the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (SRCR), which is a nationwide registry that started to collect data on COVID-19 from 1 April 2020 onwards.The researchers included all cardiac arrests registered in the SRCR from 1 January to 20 July 2020, and divided them into a pre-pandemic group (before 16 March) and a pandemic group (16 March to 20 July).They found that 7.6% of pre-pandemic patients were still alive 30 days after suffering an OHCA. Once the pandemic started, 9.8% of patients without COVID-19 and 4.7% with COVID-19 survived for 30 days; 83.4% of COVID-19 patients died within 24 hours.Pre-pandemic, 36.4% of IHCA patients survived for 30 days, but once the pandemic started 39.5% of non-COVID-19 patients and 23.1% of COVID-19 patients survived for 30 days; 60.5% of COVID-19 patients died within 24 hours.The slightly improved survival for uninfected patients suffering OHCA and IHCA during the pandemic is not statistically significant, but the researchers believe that if there is an actual improvement, it might be explained in part by the 8.2% increase in cardiac arrests witnessed by bystanders and the 47% increase in bystanders using defibrillators.When they compared pre-pandemic cases with COVID-19 cases, the researchers found that the overall risk of dying following an OHCA nearly tripled; it was increased 4.5-fold for men and by a third for women. The overall risk of dying after an IHCA more than doubled; it was increased by a half in men and more than nine-fold in women.The researchers also found a 2.7-fold increase in the proportion of OHCAs caused by breathing problems, and an 8.6% increase in compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the pandemic.The percentage of people who were treated with both chest compression as well as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, fell from 33% pre-pandemic to 23% during the pandemic. In March the European Resuscitation Council and the Swedish Resuscitation Council issued guidelines recommending that bystanders who see a cardiac arrest should avoid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and concentrate on chest compressions in the case of suspected COVID-19 infection.Senior author of the study, Dr Araz Rawshani, physician and researcher at the University of Gothenburg, said: "Although previous studies have indicated that compression-only CPR delivered by bystanders may be as effective as compressions and ventilation combined, this may not apply to cases with COVID-19, since they are primarily suffering from respiratory failure.We believe this is an important finding that could possibly help authorities in handling the pandemic. Since COVID-19 transmits through droplets, bystanders should avoid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in accordance with current recommendations. There is no unanimous answer for how society and healthcare providers should adapt in the light of this issue."He added: "The study also shows that fewer patients in hospital with COVID-19 were monitored with electrocardiograms, which is potentially life-saving as it enables a cardiac arrest to be spotted immediately.We believe that COVID-19 patients should be monitored with ECGs and monitored for oxygen saturation, as this would allow for prompt recognition of irregular heartbeats and declining oxygen saturation."Limitations of the study include the fact that the county of Stockholm, where the majority of coronavirus cases have occurred, had not reported data on OHCAs at the time of the study and this reduced the number of COVID-19 patients in the study; and some cases of COVID-19 may have been misclassified, particularly for cardiac arrests occurring out of hospital.Source: Eurekalert
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Torrington Fire Department / Contributed Photo

TORRINGTON  Police are investigating the cause of a head-on collision Thursday afternoon that sent one person to the hospital by LifeStar, a helicopter ambulance service.

Firefighters were called to the 800 block of New Litchfield Street at 1:47 p.m., Deputy Chief David Tripp Jr. said.

NEW LONDON  A Norwich man was sentenced to nearly five years in prison in connection with a 2019 assault and shooting, according to federal prosecutors.

Judge Janet Bond Arterton sentenced Tremaine Dowdell to 57 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

A federal grand jury in New Haven on Oct. 3, 2019 returned an indictment charging Dowdell, 27, with possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty on July 2, 2019.

Authorities said Dowdell and three others assaulted a man outside the H&T Mart on Ocean Avenue in New London on Sept. 14, 2019. The store was open at the time of the incident, which was captured on surveillance footage, authorities said.

The footage showed Dowdell and the three others physically attack the victim outside the storefront, officials said. Officials said the footage later showed Dowdell take a gun from his pants and fire a single shot toward the victim, who was standing near the stores front door. Authorities said the bullet missed the victim.

When officers arrived, they found a single shell casing.

Authorities said after actively evading law enforcement, Dowdell was found and arrested at a Sprague residence on Nov. 5, 2019. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of a loaded gun with an obliterated serial number. Officials said investigators found about 33 grams of crack cocaine floating in a toilet tank.

He has been detained since his arrest.

Dowdells criminal history includes state felony convictions on burglary, larceny and failure to appear offenses, officials said.
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Two factions of the Maasai Council of Elders have buried the hatchet to unite the Maasai sub-tribes in Narok County, a week after elections marred by chaos at Ole Ntimama Stadium.

In the first election of officials, the two factions, one led by the Okila Oorok Council of Elders chairman Kasaine ole Esho and the Narok North Council of Elders Chair Kelena ole Nchoe, faced off, sparking clashes that escalated into an inter-clan dispute.

The elections that were marred with drama, were for the chairmanship -- earmarked for the populous Purko clan, which Mr Nchoe comes from and two other positions. Mzee Anthony ole Maki from the Uasin Gishu clan won the secretary seat, while the treasurer's post went to Mr John Letoluo from Ildamat. The two were elected unopposed.

Mr Nchoe, who is a close ally of Narok North MP Moitalel ole Kenta (ODM), won the election with 59 out of 60 votes against none for his rival, who absconded the election alleging fraud.

However, the two met on Wednesday and vowed to work together to unite the Maasai community and rally the eight clans to take a common position on politics and development issues.

Mzee Esho conceded defeat and dropped his bid to move to court to challenge the election of Mr Nchoe, saying he would support him in the unity bid and help the council in its work to lead the community.

"We met with the newly installed chairman and we agreed to bury the hatchet, and we will work together towards a common goal of uniting this community," said Mr Esho.

In the front line

They further pledged to be in the front line in fighting retrogressive cultural practices that hinder education of girls.

The immediate former Council of Elders' chairman Francis ole Nooseli called on the council to be wary of politicians with selfish interests whose aim is to lure the community to vote in their favour.

Mzee Nooseli said during his 10-year tenure in the council he has had a rich experience on how politicians try to manipulate the elders to favour them during the elections.

"We already have a ruling government in power and we should concentrate on supporting it to deliver development agenda to wananchi. Anyone who comes with a contrary opinion should be avoided," said the retired leader.

"The new chair should unite the Purko, Loita, Kikonyokei, Ildamat, Moitalek, Siria and Uasin Gishu communities living in the county first. Politicians who are interested in the votes of the Maasai people should meet a united community," he reiterated.

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He advised the council to prioritise their development needs before being lured to back any politician.

At the same time, the outgoing chairman asked the new leaders to help in fighting retrogressive cultural practices like female genital mutilation (FGM) that have derailed development in the area.

"We should support our president's vision of ending FGM by the year 2022. This is one of the key roles that the new committee should prioritise so that our girls will have a chance to advance in their studies like those from other counties," he said.

The Maasai community is spread in four counties namely: Laikipia, Baringo, Kajiado and Narok.

The council is very influential in making key decisions that affect the community, including land dispute resolution, resolving marital issues and, since they are respected elders in the community, they can easily influence the voting pattern of the people.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) displays a political ad for freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in which she is holding an AR-15 rifle pointing toward, from left, Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, members of the so-called Squad. (U.S. House of Representatives)

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican conspiracy theorist from Georgia, told her House colleagues Thursday that she came by her wacko views honestly: It was Google that led her astray.

It wasnt her fault she embraced a movement that believes Donald Trump was sent to Earth to save Americans from a cabal of child-eating, Satan-worshiping pedophiles who happen to be Democrats. Why would she have suspected those things weren't true?

It wasnt her fault she claimed mass school shootings were staged events, or that she physically harassed a teenage survivor of the Parkland shooting, once calling him #littleHitler.

It wasnt her fault she once described American Airlines Flight 77 on 9/11 as the so-called plane that crashed into the Pentagon.

It wasnt her fault she liked a social media post calling for a bullet to the head of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) in January 2019. Or that she insinuated California wildfires were ignited by a space laser controlled by Jews.

I started looking up things on the internet asking questions, like people do every day, use Google, Greene explained. The problem with that, though, is that I was allowed to believe things that werent true.

This from the breakout star of the party of personal responsibility.

I heard no apology, said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Thats because there wasn't one.

If this Congress is to tolerate members that condone riots, that have hurt American people, police officers, have occupied federal property, burned businesses in cities, but yet wants to condemn me  to crucify me in the public square for things I said and I regret a few years ago, then I think we are in a real big problem, said Greene, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she could have been describing the Trump-loving loons who stormed the Capitol last month.

She went on to condemn abortion, transgender rights and the media, which is just as guilty as QAnon of presenting truth and lies to divide us.

Story continues

Greene's fellow House members  or at least her Democratic colleagues together with 11 members of Greene's party  didn't buy her attempts to cast blame elsewhere. Despite her problems being everyone elses fault, Greene was stripped of her assignments on the Education and Budget committees.

Perhaps the Republican members who voted against her were persuaded by a months-old post taken from Greenes Facebook page that Hoyer had blown up to poster size.

It showed Greene, armed with an AR-15 pointing at the faces of three of the Democrats she now serves beside: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who, with Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, dubbed themselves The Squad when they were first elected to Congress in 2018. Greenes caption: Squads Worst Nightmare.

Here she is, armed with a deadly assault rifle, pointing it toward three Democratic members, thundered Hoyer. Indisputably, these are clear threats to incite political violence. When acquiescence to the suggestion that violence of any kind is allowed to go unchecked, it is a cancer that metastasizes on the body politic of our nation, as we saw on Jan. 6.

::

Watching the House debate Greenes fate was a bit like watching the first impeachment of former President Trump; Republicans railed against the process, Democrats stuck to the facts. Republicans engaged in world-class whataboutism. Democrats kept the focus on Greenes heinous behavior.

Floundering House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), who never should have put Greene on the Education committee given her disgusting treatment of school shooting victims and survivors, is hard to take seriously. McCarthy, you may recall, first said Trump bore responsibility for the violence of Jan. 6, then, not only backtracked, but demonstrated his fealty to Trump with a visit to Mar-a-Lago.

On Thursday, McCarthy could only hiss and spit at Democrats. He accused them of setting a dangerous new standard, of committing a partisan power grab.

He and other colleagues alluded repeatedly to statements by Democrats such as Omar, who tweeted in 2012 that Israel had hypnotized the world (she later unequivocally apologized).

Youll regret this, McCarthy threatened. And you may regret it a lot sooner than you think.

Au contraire, Kevin.

In the long run, the regret will accrue to the Republicans who have unleashed this farce on the Congress and the country. They have done it by embracing Trumps lies, by pretending Trump won, by failing to tell the American people the truth, by trying to overturn the results of a free and fair election, by trying to manipulate election officials, by engaging in the extremist rhetoric that led to the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection and by supporting the antics of their unspeakably wacky new colleague.

"Ive been freed," an unrepentant Greene told reporters Friday. Democrats, she tweeted, are "a bunch of morons ... for giving someone like me free time. Oh this is going to be fun."

Yeah, have fun out there with your wacko conspiracy friends, Ms. Greene. Better you should hang out with them than spend one single second working on issues that affect our children and their schools.

@AbcarianLAT

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The North Alabama Medical Center in Florence told WAAY 31 it's seen a huge success with the monoclonal antibody treatment for coronavirus patients.

Back in November, the monoclonal antibody treatment was given emergency usage by the FDA. Since then, the hospital has been using it on people with mild coronavirus cases. Out of the 500 people they've given it to, only 12 have had to be hospitalized.

"It's lab-produced, and what it does is it mimics the actual antibodies in the body and it doesn't allow the virus to reproduce once inside the system," said NAMC's associate administrator, Casey Willis.

The treatment is a series of lab-made proteins given together in an infusion. It's an outpatient treatment that hospitals are seeing a lot of success with, but it must be given in the first ten days of symptoms to be very effective.

"We've seen less than 3% of patients who receive this outpatient infusion come back to be admitted, and that's been critical for us right now. Just with every hospital, we've been so full and overrun with Covid," said Willis.

Willis said people with coronavirus who have underlying conditions like diabetes, heart issues or who are overweight qualify for the treatment once they are diagnosed with coronavirus.

"It's a great way to keep patients that are at a higher risk of developing complications from Covid to keep them from getting so much sicker and ending up in the hospital," said Willis.

Willis said if you get coronavirus and are over the age of 55 with an underlying health condition, your doctor can refer you to the hospital to get the treatment. She said this gives hope that Covid isn't a death sentence for those vulnerable to the virus.

"People have called us a day or two after they got the infusion therapy and said, 'I feel so much better. I'm 100 times better,' and so it's really gone a long way to give patients hope, but it's also a really good line of defense," said Willis.

Willis said a big key to the success of the monoclonal treatment is an early diagnosis of the virus and calling your doctor to get the infusion as soon as possible.
SpeakIn and Indian Banks Association in partnership with Capgemini on Friday presented a captivating session with Infosys founder N.R Narayana Murthy on Corporate Governance in Indian Banks. The 30-minute session, which witnessed the attendance of top banking leadership, was presented as a part of SpeakIns new series titled SpeakIn Expert Talk.

Chief Executive of Indian Banks Association Mr Sunil Mehta, all praises for N.R Narayana Murthy in his opening remarks, expressed, N R Narayana Murthys prominence is much echoed and vibrated in not just Indian industry but equally by the International business community. He is a man of distinct vision, fountain of illuminating ideas and an idol of knowledge, value system and inspiration to all of us.

Introducing the idea of corporate governance, especially in Indian banks, Rajkiran Rai G., Chairman of Indian Banks Association and MD & CEO of Union Bank of India said, When you talk of corporate governance, primarily, we are referring to the code and conduct of decision makers of a company. It is about set up systems, processes and principles, which ensure that a company is governed in the best interest of all stakeholders. It is about promoting fairness, transparency and accountability. It is about commitment to values, ethical business conduct and about making a distinction between personal and corporate funds in the management of a company. While these aspects are known to every management and firm, very few have been practicing it in letter and spirit.

Speaking about Covid-19 challenge, Mr Rajkiran added, Last year, in particular, a challenge was posed to all good narrative of corporate world in India with several high and mighty firms and their distinguished management violating the trust of people. Unfortunately, those entrusted to keep a vigilant eye have not covered themselves in glory either. We needed to build a systemic response in terms of legal architecture and regulatory capacities. A lot has been achieved in these years, more importantly, however, we need to discover the inherent virtues of business that values ethics, honesty and integrity over any profit and loss.

Vishal Dixit, Managing Director of Capgemini Financial Services, also shared his views and said, Last 20 years of corporate governance in banking has changed drastically. Some names that come to mind are Lemon brothers, Enron and if you look closer to home, then Satyam. This trigged action and various committees were set up to institutionalise corporate governance and transparency framework in various parts of the world. Strong policies on corporate governance of banks are essential and critical because size and complexity of financial institutions are growing by the day and these are not checked it can have serious financial instability implications. Even after so many measures, we still have instances in the banking and financial sector, which we have recently foreseen. Clearly, people are finding loopholes in the policies. Therefore, there is a need to have continuous discussions and reviews to identify areas of improvement and immediate amendments to the policy. RBI has recently released the discussion paper in June 2020 on corporate governance banking, the need to empower board of directors and set the culture of value transparency in the organisation.

In a conversation with SpeakIn Founder Deepshikha Kumar, Mr Murthy spoke about how organisations can improve corporate governance and the steps they need to follow to raise the bar of corporate governance. He said, The most important initiative that we all have to take is to change the culture of the country. Unless there is a cultural transformation in India, I dont think economic transformation will be easy to implement. I believe that the culture of a nation determines how its public institutions develop, sustain and operate. It takes long years to make the institutions strong. Even the countries where institutions are strong, one misguided individual, as we saw recently, supported by the silence of the powerful and the elite can weaken these institutions. It will take a long time to rebuild it. Countries like India, who were under the control of foreign invaders for almost 1000 years, we lost the sense of commitment to the society. This was because Indians thought that the society, or what was public, belonged to somebody who was either in Europe, or Uzbekistan or Afghanistan. Therefore, Indians focused on making their families strong and blundering commons that Indians considered as belonging to these invaders. This mindset developed over 1000 years and will take a long time to change. Therefore, wealth belonging to a corporate or deposits in a bank have been considered as a perfect gain for plundering by the rich and powerful.

He added, The problem of poor corporate governance steps from this mindset. The deficits in corporate governance in India stem from the primary problem of increasing agency cost and related transactions that benefit the owner managers and the professional management. This problem translates to using public resources illegally to make oneself richer. This problem will be reduced when there is a cultural transformation in India. When using public money for personal benefits will be punished heavily and when the society ostracises such offenders very severely.

Ms Deepshika further asked how do we get alignment of all stakeholders in building awareness, implementation and measuring the effectiveness of corporate governance. Moreover, what rules should we deploy to measure corporate governance. To which, Mr Murthy responded, First of all, the best way to eliminate such deficits or reduce the number of such deficits is for a board member to ask if such an action would enhance respect for him or her in the eyes of the society. We have to accept that respect is more important than wealth and power. Second, the board members must be made to realise that they serve to enhance the interest of every shareholder and stakeholder. Today, there is a feeling among board members in India that they operate at the pleasure of either the CEO or Chairman. Ofcourse, there is also a feeling among the bureaucrats that serve the boats of public sector banks that they are not accountable to individual stakeholders, even though they may be in minority, and that they are accountable only to their bosses sitting in Delhi or the state capital. Increasing accountability to every shareholder is important. Third, Directors should not appointed by the government for listed public sector banks but they should be appointed only by shareholders through voting. These directors must be held accountable to every shareholder. Full transparency must be provided to the report of investigation of any governance problem taken by any outside agency. Fourth, the board should recuse itself and appoint a set of respected and accomplished members of the society when any member of the board or any of the CFOs is accused. Fifth, SEBI may want to mandate the trading of every incoming board member on the basics of business and governance, give them a test and then certify if they can indeed be admitted to the board. The candidates for chairmanship must undergo additional training and certification. Sixth, Boards have to conduct annual peer survey among the board members on their performance of each member of the board. The chairman generally sits with each member of the board, discusses his or her performance, suggest remedies for weaknesses and crops him or her if the performance is not improved after two examinations. The Chairmans performance is handled by the late Independent director along with two respected and accomplished members of the society who are experts in that particular business field. Seventh, any deficits created by board members must be punished heavily by drawing back the fee received by the board member and an additional fine. In some cases, the board members may have to face criminal charges. I believe that if we implement these suggestions, there will be a deterrent for members of the board and CFOs to indulge in creating corporate governance deficits.

Watch the entire broadcast here:
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Perus Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) has announced plans to bring internet access to 3.2 million Peruvians in remote areas.

According to Peruvian news outlet El Comercio, head of the MTC Eduardo Gonzalez has explained that, as part of the countrys Todos Conectados plan, satellite internet services are being targeted as ways to ensure connectivity for remote parts of the country  specifically 860 towns in the jungle.

The fourth emergency decree, as it is known, enables the MTC to put in place a special procedure for ensuring the provision of connectivity in rural areas. The result, it is hoped, will be that over three million Peruvians who were unconnected before will have access to the internet.

TeleGeographys CommsUpdate adds that the first phase of the project will involve connecting 1,151 public institutions in 860 remote locations through satellite technology. A Wi-Fi hotspot will be installed in each of these locations to provide local residents with free access to the internet. The MTC is aiming to complete this initial phase in 2021.

Implementation of 6,531 wireless points in the squares of a large number of rural towns across six regions, including Huancavelica (pictured), is the next step. Over half of these hotspots (to which access will be free) are expected to be up and running this year. The establishment of 564 digital access centres in two regions, to contribute to the development of digital skills, is also planned to take place this year.

These ambitious plans are the latest in a number of recent MTC announcements focused on expanding connectivity in Peru where mobile penetration is an estimated 70 percent of the population and where only 40 percent of households access the fixed internet. In rural areas, however, the lack of connectivity is even greater.
New York Times bosses have vowed to 'improve our workplace culture' after more than 150 staffers wrote a letter saying they were 'outraged' that prominent reporter Donald McNeil Jr. (above) who allegedly used the N-word has not been fired

More than 150 New York Times staffers have written a letter to bosses revealing new allegations of bias against people of color by a top reporter who reportedly used the N-word and said white privilege 'does not exist'.

The letter to the executive leadership Wednesday stated that staff were 'deeply disturbed' by the paper's lack of action and demanding a full investigation into 'newly surfaced complaints' against the veteran journalist.

The company employs 4,300 people, of which some 1,600 are journalists.

The letter has not been made public but in it.

The Daily Beast reports that staff wrote in it: 'The company has a responsibility to take that experience seriously...

'Our community is outraged and in pain.'

On Thursday, the newspaper's bosses vowed to 'improve our workplace culture' but they said they'd decided not to fire McNeil Jr. because he showed 'poor judgement' in using the word but didn't use it 'with malice'.

Three top bosses - Executive Editor Dean Baquet, Publisher A.G. Sulzberger and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien - were on Wednesday forced to defend the paper's handling of complaints made against star COVID-19 journalist Donald McNeil Jr.

The execs assured rattled staff they 'largely agree' with their concerns and promised they will see 'results' over how the company handles issues.

Last week, it emerged that multiple students and parents had lodged complaints against McNeil back in 2019 after he allegedly used the N-word, said white privilege does not exist and made disparaging comments about black people during a company-sponsored school trip.

The Times said it conducted an investigation and decided not to fire him because they believed he showed 'poor judgment' but did not use the words with 'hateful or malicious' intent.

The subsequent backlash against the paper comes after it took a more heavy-handed approach to disciplining one of its other employees, when it fired an editor last month following a tweet about Joe Biden's inauguration.

The top managers sought to address the escalating tensions at the paper in an email to staff late Wednesday, writing that they 'largely agree' with staff opinion.

Baquet, Sulzberger and Levien told staff they had been discussing their concerns and promised to 'examine the way we manage behavioral problems among members of the staff'.

Three top bosses - Executive Editor Dean Baquet, Publisher A.G. Sulzberger and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien - were on Wednesday forced to defend the paper's handling of complaints made against star COVID-19 journalist McNeil

'Every member of our leadership team has been seized with the urgency of addressing the problems raised in the letter,' read the email, seen by The Washington Post.

The execs said they planned to 'take concrete actions to improve our workplace culture' and were determined to 'learn the right lessons from this incident.'

'You will see results,' they promised.

While they said they 'understand that when a distressing incident like this arises, people do not want to hear calls to 'be patient,' they emphasised that issues involving 'legal and union protections' can take time.

'We ourselves are impatient,' the bosses wrote, adding that: 'The three of us have no higher priority than getting this right.'

The email came in response to a letter sent to the execs by a group of over 150 staffers Wednesday both slamming their handling of the scandal and calling for a full investigation and an apology from McNeil, reported the Daily Beast.

'Our community is outraged and in pain,' the employees wrote adding that, as McNeil's colleagues, they 'feel disrespected by his actions.'

Employees called on the Times to fully investigate both the 2019 trip as well 'any newly surfaced complaints' that have arisen in the days since the incident came to light.

Executive Editor Dean Baquet. The execs assured rattled staff they 'largely agree' with their concerns and promised they will see 'results' over how the company handles issues

They wrote that a number of current and former colleagues have since come forward to complain of 'bias against people of color in [McNeil's] work and in interactions with colleagues over a period of years'.

The nature of these complaints is not known.

As well as hitting out at McNeil, the staff members also took aim at their employer writing that they were 'deeply disturbed' by the paper's handling of the allegations and demanding a probe into how it was initial dealt with.

The letter hit out at the paper for its 'seeming commitment to diversity and inclusion, [while they had] given a prominent platform  a critical beat covering a pandemic disproportionately affecting people of color  to someone who chose to use language that is offensive and unacceptable by any newsroom's standards.

'He did so while acting as a representative for The Times, in front of high school students.'

McNeil fast became one of the Times's top reporters covering the pandemic less than six months after the trip when he is accused of making offensive and racist comments.

'The company has a responsibility to take that experience seriously,' the staffers wrote.

'[Company guidelines] make clear that what matters is how an act makes the victims feel; [McNeil's] victims weren't shy about decrying his conduct on the trip,' the letter read.

Staff members demanded McNeil apologize to the students and parents who attended the tour in question, tour staffers, as well as his colleagues.

A group of employees signed a letter to the executive leadership Wednesday saying they were 'deeply disturbed' by the paper's lack of action and demanding a full investigation into 'newly surfaced complaints' against veteran journalist McNeil (above)

McNeil, a 45-year veteran of the paper, was accused of using the racial slur and making racist and derogatory comments while on a Times-branded student trip to Peru in 2019.

At least 26 students took part in the $5,000-a-head Times 'Student Journey' that focused on community-based health care in the country with McNeil selected by the Times to help lead the trip as an expert journalist.

At least six students or their parents complained after the trip that McNeil used racially insensitive or racist language, the Daily Beast first reported.

Two students said he used the N-word and said he didn't believe white privilege exists while three others claimed he made racist remarks and stereotypical comments about black teens.

'I expect immediate action on the actions taken by Donald, I am deeply disappointed about the New York Times because of the comments he made during our trip. I think firing him would even be appropriate,' one traveler complained after the trip.

'Not only did Donald say various racist comments on numerous occasions, but he was also disrespectful to many students during mealtimes and in other settings,' another stated in their review.

'I would change the journalist. He was a racist,' a third person wrote.

'He used the 'N' word, said horrible things about black teenagers, and said white supremacy doesn't exist.'

'He made students in the program feel uncomfortable with his remarks. I was really disappointed after hearing great things about his work,' added a fourth participant.

The Times confirmed last week it had investigated McNeil over the allegations and that he had been 'disciplined.'

'In 2019, Donald McNeil, Jr. participated in a Student Journeys as an expert. We subsequently became aware of complaints by some of the students on the trip concerning certain statements Donald had made during the trip,' the Times said.

'We conducted a thorough investigation and disciplined Donald for statements and language that had been inappropriate and inconsistent with our values.

'We found he had used bad judgment by repeating a racist slur in the context of a conversation about racist language. In addition, we apologized to the students who had participated in the trip.'

It is not clear how McNeil was disciplined.

Executive editor Dean Baquet also sent an email to staff last Thursday saying an investigation into the incident found McNeil's intentions were not 'hateful or malicious' and that the reporter should be 'given another chance.'

'When I first heard the story, I was outraged and expected I would fire him. I authorized an investigation and concluded his remarks were offensive and that he showed extremely poor judgment, but that it did not appear to me that his intentions were hateful or malicious,' Baquet wrote.

The subsequent backlash against the paper comes after it took a more heavy-handed approach to disciplining one of its other employees, when it fired editor Lauren Wolfe (above) last month following a tweet about Joe Biden's inauguration

Lauren Wolfe was axed after tweeting: 'Biden landing at Joint Base Andrews now. I have chills'

'I believe that in such cases people should be told they were wrong and given another chance. He was formally disciplined. He was not given a pass.'

Baquet and assistant managing editor Carolyn Ryan also met with Times journalists on Friday to speak about their concerns, the Beast reported.

McNeil, whose writing on the coronavirus pandemic over the last year has been submitted for a Pulitzer prize, has not published any work on the Times since before the Beast story broke on January 28.

The backlash over the Times's handling of the incident comes after the paper divided opinion over its disciplinary action against another staff member.

The week before the allegations surfaced against McNeil, it emerged the Times had ended the contract of editor Lauren Wolfe.

Wolfe, who joined the paper last May, had tweeted days earlier that she had 'chills' watching Biden's plane landing at Andrew Air Force Base shortly before his inauguration.

'Biden landing at Joint Base Andrews now. I have chills,' she posted.

Wolfe also tweeted that Trump was 'mortifying' and 'childish' for refusing to send Biden a military plane to bring him to DC.

She later deleted that tweet after learning Biden had made the choice not to take a military plane.

Wolfe's contract was ended with the paper with the editor claiming she was fired over the 'chills' tweet 'because I expressed emotion publicly on something I should not have, according to the publication.'

Meanwhile, the Times claimed her dismissal was not on the basis of the tweet alone, but did not comment any further on the reasons for letting her go.
Schools will re-open for students of Classes 1-8 in Uttar Pradesh, in a major announcement by the state government on Friday. As per the government direction, schools will re-open for students of classes 6-8 from February 10 and for students of classes 1-5 from March 1. The COVID-19 protocol will be followed, added the state government.

Education Department had sent the proposal: On Tuesday, CM Yogi reviewed the COVID-19 unlock system. After this, he instructed the re-opening of schools from class 6 to 12 in 10 days. Following the instruction of the CM, the Education Department had proposed February 15 for classes 6-8 and March 1 for classes from 1-5. The government approved the department's proposal for the children.

Schools to re-open for students of std 6-8 from 10th February and for students of std 1-5 from 1st March. #COVID19 protocol to be followed: Uttar Pradesh Government  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) February 5, 2021

COVID-19 guidelines will be followed: With the opening of the school, the management has to follow the COVID-19 protocol. Schools have to be sanitized. Proper seating will have to be arranged. Children and teachers will have to come together in masks. In March 2020, schools were closed even with the onset of an outbreak of coronavirus. Now after about a year, the children will leave their homes and step into school.

Classes from 9-12 started from November 2020: The government is gradually opening institutions. Classes from class 9-12 started operating from November 2020. After this, now on March 1, schools will start with their full strength.

With the opening of schools, parents need to take care that their children are safe. Parents should send their children with sanitiser to school and make complete preparations. They should make sure that their children have safe food and drinks with them so that they do not have to eat anything from outside.

The habit of washing hands frequently and maintaining a distance of at least two yards must be made. The school management should make sure that the COVID-19 protocol is followed completely in classrooms.

The Uttarakhand government has issued orders asking schools all over the state to resume Classes 6 to 11 offline from February 8. However, it also asked the school administrations to ensure COVID-19 appropriate behaviour on part of both students and teachers.

The order issued by Chief Secretary Om Prakash asked the schools to appoint a nodal officer to see that regular sanitising of classrooms, thermal screening of each student and teacher mask-wearing and social distancing norms are complied with. Classes 10 and 12 have been open in the state since November 2020. The decision for the physical resumption of Classes 6-11 from February 8 had been taken by the state cabinet recently.
COLUMBIA  South Carolina's public health agency got its first permanent director in eight months, as the state Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve Dr. Edward Simmer.

The Senate voted 40-1 on Feb. 4 to put Simmer over the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. Legislators critical of the agency's response to COVID-19 and rollout of the vaccines eagerly put the career military man in charge.

Asked Feb. 2 what he would've done differently, Simmer told senators that, for starters, he would've rolled out an easier way for people eligible for a shot to sign up for one. And he intends to improve communication with medical providers and the public as the rollout continues.

No one spoke against the selection before the vote. It followed a brief history lesson of DHEC by Senate Medical Affairs Chairman Danny Verdin, R-Laurens, who noted it's been decades since the public health agency was actually led by a medical doctor.

Afterward, Sen. Larry Grooms said he voted no because Simmer's experience is in running large bureaucracies, and  while that's what DHEC is  the agency needs "strong leadership now. We don't need a strong bureaucrat.

"We need someone who can make a call and be decisive," Grooms, R-Bonneau, told The Post and Courier. "I couldn't vote for him. I hope I'm proven wrong."

Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a vocal critic of DHEC throughout the pandemic, abstained from voting, saying he believes "the chances of him turning that agency around are zero." But the Columbia Democrat said he didn't want to vote against Simmer personally.

"This is a Band-Aid on a serious, serious injury," he said. "I wish him all the luck in the world."

The vote put Simmer in charge immediately. It confirmed the Dec. 22 choice of DHEC's board.

Simmer said he's proud to take the agency's helm "during this unparalleled moment in the history of our state and nation.

"From the frontlines to our living rooms, COVID-19 has challenged us all," he said in a statement following the vote. "We have made sacrifices and lost loved ones. However, together, with agency staff and our many partners, I am confident that we will get through this and come back stronger than before."

Simmer, a psychiatrist, retired Dec. 31 after three decades in the Navy.

He spent his last six years overseeing Tricare Health Plan, the military's massive health system for care outside military hospitals.

Simmer's previous roles include a stint in South Carolina, from 2010-2012, as executive officer of the Navy hospital in Beaufort. He was also head of the Navy's Special Psychiatric Rapid Intervention Team, or SPRINT, for nine years, leading responses to tragedies, including Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina, and the USS Cole bombing.

He becomes the seventh person to run the massive agency in the past decade, including three interim stints by Marshall Taylor, who's led the agency since June and goes back to being DHEC's chief attorney.

Gov. Henry McMaster, who signed off on Simmer before his selection went to senators, said he "clearly has all of the professional qualifications and leadership skills necessary" to lead DHEC through the pandemic and beyond.

"Dr. Simmer has a lifetime of experience leading large, complex medical organizations and has successfully brought positive change everywhere he has been," he said. "The people of South Carolina will be well served by his confirmation.

Simmer holds the distinction as being DHECs first director in 35 years with a medical degree. The last one, the late Dr. Robert Jackson, led the agency from 1980 to 1986.

One director since did have a degree in community health, which Simmer also holds. Doug Bryant, a lobbyist since leading the agency from 1994 to 2001, has a non-clinical master's degree in public health. Simmer would be DHEC's first director in 42 years with dual degrees of doctor of medicine and master's in public health.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 02:17:52|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday that President Joe Biden will soon announce an end to U.S. support for offensive operations in Yemen and freeze U.S. troop redeployments from Germany.

"Today, he will announce an end to American support for offensive operations in Yemen," Sullivan said in a White House briefing.

Sullivan added that the United States will freeze any troop redeployments from Germany amid a global force posture review led by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Biden will visit the Department of State on Thursday afternoon to greet staff and outline his foreign policy vision in a speech.

The former Donald Trump administration announced a repositioning plan for nearly 12,000 U.S. troops stationed in Germany last summer, a controversial move that drew criticism from both home and NATO allies.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemen conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Citing the humanitarian crisis caused by the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, U.S. lawmakers from both parties voiced opposition to U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Enditem
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AUBAGNE, France, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A. resolved at today's meeting to submit a proposal to the combined Annual General Shareholders' Meeting on March 24, 2021, to pay a dividend for fiscal 2020 of 0.68 euros per share. Under this proposal, the total distributed profit would be 62.7 million. The previous year's dividend was 0.34 euros.

This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future development of the Sartorius Stedim Biotech Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Sartorius Stedim Biotech assumes no liability for updating such statements in light of new information or future events. This is a translation of the original French-language press release. Sartorius Stedim Biotech shall not assume any liability for the correctness of this translation. The original French press release is the legally binding version.

Financial calendar February 18, 2021 Publication of the 2020 Annual Report March 24, 2021 Virtual Annual Shareholders' Meeting April 21, 2021 Publication of first-quarter figures (January to March 2021) July 21, 2021 Publication of first-half figures (January to June 2021) October 20, 2021 Publication of nine-month figures (January to September 2021)

About Sartorius Stedim Biotech

Sartorius Stedim Biotech is a leading international partner of the biopharmaceutical industry. As a total solutions provider, the company helps its customers to manufacture biotech medications safely, rapidly and economically. Headquartered in Aubagne, France, Sartorius Stedim Biotech is quoted on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris. With its own manufacturing and R&D sites in Europe, North America and Asia and an international network of sales companies, Sartorius Stedim Biotech has a global reach. The Group has been annually growing by double digits on average and has been regularly expanding its portfolio by acquisitions of complementary technologies. In 2020 the company employed approx. 7,500 people, and earned sales revenue of about 1,910 million euros according to preliminary figures. https://www.sartorius.com/en

Contact

Timo Lindemann

Corporate Communications Spokesman

+49 (0)551.308.4724

[email protected]

https://www.sartorius.com/en

Follow Sartorius on Twitter @Sartorius_Group and on LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A.

Related Links

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Macmillan Learning logo From trailblazing family histories to the stories of slave descendants to modern-day activists that inspire and far beyond, many of these stories profoundly moved the judging panel

Macmillan Learning, a privately-held, family-owned education publishing and services company, announced the winners for the companys first Black History, Black Stories contest. The contest was created by the companys college History group to elevate Black voices in education and in recognition of the fight for social justice inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

This fall, students and instructors submitted either a short essay and a picture or a brief video that answered how they were drawing inspiration from Black history, events, movements, or leaders. The submissions were judged by a cross-section of ten Macmillan Learning employees that support the creation of course materials for college students, including the companys vast portfolio of History titles.

The videos and essays were very competitive and inspiring. From trailblazing family histories to the stories of slave descendants to modern-day activists that inspire and far beyond, many of these stories profoundly moved the judging panel. It was very difficult to choose only three winners in each category from all these talented voices, said Macmillan Learning Panelist Melissa Rodriguez.

This years student winner was Charles Walker Jr., from Marymount University. Walker created a video about how he has been inspired by American activist Colin Kaepernick, and the symbolism and impact of his actions. He noted in his video It doesnt matter who you are, where you come from, what your background is, how much money you have in your pocket, you have a platform and you must use it in order to make change in this world.

Said one judge of Walkers video: I was moved by the way he told the story through video and the impact on his life  by wearing the jersey and having video in the field, the student brought Kaepernicks words, movements, and personal connection to life.

This years instructor winner was Bradley Borougerdi, from Tarrant County College spoke about how he was inspired to found the non-profit Tarrant County Coalition for Peace and Justice to teach about the history of racial terror and lynching noting that, We allow the wounds of history to fester when we neglect them.

Said one judge of Borougerdis video: His submission spoke directly to how our study of history can motivate the actions we take towards influencing change in our present and future. He demonstrated the understanding that we cannot study history as outsiders who are removed from its truths, but instead must allow it to teach us about who we were, who we are, and who we want to be.

All winners will be featured on the Macmillan Learning History Community Site and win prize money, with $1,000 going to the top student and instructor winners, $500 to second place winners and $250 for third place. The full list of winners includes:

Students

1st Place: Charles Walker, Marymount University

2nd Place: Maddison Hill, University of Mobile

3rd Place: Riell Swann, Marymount University

Honorable Mentions: Cyara Cooper and Kourtney Black

Instructors

1st Place: Dr. Bradley J. Borougerdi, Tarrant County College

2nd Place: Dr. Headley White, Bethune-Cookman University

3rd Place: Dr. Shiarnice Burns, Houston Community College

Honorable Mentions: Peter Boykin, Wayne County Community College and Robert Davis of Wallace State College

About Macmillan Learning

Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are highly effective and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or join our Macmillan Community.
Srinagar, Feb 5 : J&K police on Friday arrested three terror associates linked to proscribed terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba from Bandipora district and recovered incriminating materials from their possession, officials said.

The officials said that acting on specific inputs, the police in Bandipora in a joint operation with the army and the CRPF apprehended three terror associates linked to LeT from Rakhi Hajin in Bandipora district.

The arrested persons have been identified as Bashir Ahmed Mir, a resident of Rakhi Hajin, Irfan Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Bonikhan Mohalla Hajin, and Hilal Ahmad Parray, a resident of Parray Mohalla Hajin.

"As per police records, they were involved in providing shelter, logistic and other support to active terrorists in Sumbal and Hajin areas," the police said.

The police said that incriminating materials, including three live hand grenades, one AK-47 magazine and 21 AK rounds, were recovered from their possession.

"All the recovered materials have been taken into case record for further investigation," the police said.

Melbourne, Feb 5 : Alexander Zverev bounced back after a tough singles defeat to world number one Novak Djokovic on Friday to help Germany seal their spot in the semi-finals of the ATP Cup for the first time.

Zverev partnered Jan-Lennard Struff to register a 7-6(4), 5-7, 10-7 win in the deciding doubles rubber against Djokovic and Nikola Cacic.

Struff was Germany's hero, having earlier won the No. 2 singles against Dusan Lajovic, before teaming with Zverev to seal the tie for Germany 2-1, knocking out the defending champion.

Germany advances to face Russia, the Group D winner, in Saturday's semi-finals, with the final to be played on Sunday. Team Russia is led by the double threat of Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, who are both ranked inside the Top 10 in the ATP rankings.

In a dramatic doubles, the Germans won six straight points from 2/4 down in the match tie-break, freezing out Djokovic at every opportunity and directing as much traffic as possible to the more inexperienced Cacic. In last year's ATP Cup final, Djokovic backed up from his singles win over Rafael Nadal to partner Viktor Troicki in the deciding doubles, which earned Serbia the inaugural title.

In the No.1 singles match, Djokovic extended his record at the ATP Cup to 11 straight wins after winning a three-set thriller against Zverev 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 to keep defending Serbia alive in the tie.

"I thought we both played well," Djokovic said on court. "He definitely had a big serving match. It was so difficult to play against him today. Missiles from the other side of the court, both first and second serve. He was going for it, not too many double faults. You've got to give him credit for being courageous and trying his best... Overall it was a very enjoyable match." There was little to separate between Zverev and Djokovic throughout a tense opening set under the roof in Rod Laver Arena. There were no break-points on offer as both players leaned on big first serves to take control of the rallies. Zverev pulled away in the tie-break and closed out the set with an ace.

The Serbian adjusted his return position to deal with Zverev's powerful second serves, the German gambling with first-serve levels of speed and power. Djokovic took a step back and was rewarded with his first break of the match. He reeled off three games in a row to take a 5-2 lead with a perfectly placed lob landing plumb on the line.

Djokovic broke through late in the third set to take a 5-4 lead, but struggled to close it out the as the German saved a match point. With his back against the wall, Zverev finally earned his first break chance of the match in the third, breaking the world number one to level the score. But two double faults in the next game undid his effort, and gave Djokovic the opening to break back and claim his 11th consecutive ATP Cup victory.

Earlier in the day, Struff took Germany to the brink of its first appearance in the ATP Cup semi-finals after rallying to defeat Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
FCW Insider: Feb. 5

The U.S. Space Force has begun transferring more than a thousand cyber professionals into its ranks as of Feb. 1 with plans to start recruiting talent for multiple career fields from across the military branches this year.

The Defense Department is planning to incorporate drone training for every service member as part of its counter small unmanned aerial systems strategy.

Lawmakers are looking to President Biden's Labor Secretary nominee Marty Walsh for help on modernizing unemployment insurance delivery, worker safety and stimulating growth in STEM jobs.

Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) said today he will likely reintroduce a bipartisan bill to improve the country's fragmentary digital identity verification systems.

The process federal agencies go through to prove a system is secure may actually be making us less secure. This is a problem that we must fix today, not tomorrow.

Quick Hits

*** President Joe Biden withdrew a slate of Trump administration nominees that were active but hadn't been heard by the Senate in the current session. These include three nominees to serve on the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board: John M. Barger, Christopher Bancroft Burnham and Frank Dunleavy who was appointed to serve as FRTIB chairman. Dennis Kirk, Trump's nominee to lead the Merit Systems Protection Board, was also withdrawn as was the nomination of Jason Abend to serve as Inspector General of the Department of Defense.

*** IBM has named Steve LaFleche as the new leader of its U.S. public and federal market sector. Read more in Washington Technology.

*** Winter Casey, who served as deputy chief technology officer in the White House under Michael Kratsios has left government for the post of vice president, global government affairs at Veeva Systems, according to her LinkedIn profile.


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LAST Saturday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his team made their usual weekly briefing on the status of the coronavirus in Trinidad and Tobago.

Given the rise in cases, the addition of a state of emergency was added to the existing public health measures, setting a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
NEW HAVEN  Police have identified the man found dead in a frozen pond in Edgewood Park as an 18-year-old city resident.

Brandon Jenkins, 18, was found in the pond on Jan. 30, Capt. Anthony Duff said in an email. He had previously been reported missing by his family on Dec. 20. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed his identity Thursday.

Duff said a patrol officer had responded to the victims residence where a family member filed the missing person report on Dec. 20, starting the investigation into Jenkins whereabouts.

As is the protocol, on the day the report was filed, police immediately entered the missing person information into a national database, Duff said.

In addition to the standard missing person alert, a Silver Alert was later issued for the missing 18-year-old. NHPD officers and Special Victims Unit detectives had checked with local hospitals and shelters in their search, according to Duff.

Officers also went through places that Jenkins frequented, Duff said.

This included going door to door in the Newhallville neighborhood as well as canvassing Edgewood Park and the New Haven Green. SVU detectives followed tips and leads that included reviewing security camera footage for possible sightings of the missing man, Duff said.

However, on Jan. 30, Jenkins was found in the ice-covered pond, Duff said.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not yet supplied the cause and manner of Jenkins death, Duff said.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances of his passing, Duff said.

On behalf of detectives, he asked anyone with information to contact the New Haven Police Department at 203-946-6304.

A GoFundMe campaign, created on behalf of Jenkins family, was started while he was missing.

The post described Jenkins as active in the community, including food bank, and passionate about animal welfare.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
Former president Donald Trump has rejected the House Democrats' request for him to testify in the Senate's upcoming impeachment trial, according to his trial defense attorney Bruce Castor.

Castor simply said "no," when asked by NBC News if Donald Trump would appear in the upper chamber for the trial. Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote a letter earlier Thursday, asking Trump to testify under oath.

"Two days ago, you filed an Answer in which you denied many factual allegations set forth in the article of impeachment. You have thus attempted to put critical facts at issue notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence of your constitutional offense," Raskin said in a Breitbart report.

Raskin wrote that in light of disputing these factual allegations, he is inviting Donald Trump to give testimony under oath, either before or during the Senate impeachment trial, regarding his connection with the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. Raskin said if Trump refused to do so, it plainly establishes an adverse inference supporting his guilt.

Aside from Castor, Trump adviser Jason Miller also said that the former president would not testify in the trial, which the lawyer described as an "unconstitutional proceeding," according to The Guardian report. Trump's lawyers also dismissed the request and dubbed it as a public relations stunt.

Raskin added that if Trump refuses to appear, the impeachment manager will use his refusal against him in the trial, which is a similar argument brought by House Democrats in last year's impeachment trial. This was when Trump officials also ignored subpoenas.

However, the impeachment managers do not have the authority to subpoena witnesses now since the House already voted to impeach him. The Senate could vote to subpoena Trump or any other witnesses. But it is still unclear if the Senate would be willing to do so.

Related story: 45 Republican Senators Vote To Dismiss Trump Impeachment Trial

House Democrats' Request on Donald Trump's Appearance

House Democrats on Thursday asked Donald Trump to testify for his Senate impeachment trial, challenging him to address their charge that he incited a violent mob that breached Capitol.

Democrats will be able to use his refusal to testify against him as they argue that the former president has avoided responsibility for his actions, according to an Associated Press report.

The impeachment trial starts on Feb. 9 as Donald Trump becomes the first president to be impeached twice. Trump was charged with inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6 when his alleged supporters broke into the Capitol establishment to interrupt the electoral vote count.

The Capitol riot left five people dead. Trump had allegedly told his supporters before the riot to fight like hell to overturn his election loss.

Meanwhile, Democrats said a trial is needed to provide a final measure of accountability for the attack. If Donald Trump is found guilty, the Senate could hold a second vote to disqualify him from seeking office again.

Raskin's request included the words of Trump's own attorneys, who denied in a legal brief early this week that Trump did not incite the riot and asserted that he had also performed admirably in his role as president and doing at all times what he thought was in the best interest of the American people.

Read also: Only 8% of Republicans Support Trump Impeachment: Poll
Washington, Feb 5 : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington's special envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation, during which they "discussed the way forward" for long-lasting peace in the war-torn country.

Taking to Twitter following the meeting here on Thursday, Blinken said: "Great meeting with Ambassador Khalilzad to discuss the way forward in Afghanistan... Continuing to protect the US against the threat of terrorism, achieving a just and durable political settlement there, and cementing a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire." Also in a separate tweet, Khalilzad, who has negotiated with the Taliban for 18 months to reach an agreement, said that during the meeting, he "had the opportunity to brief Blinken on the Afghanistan peace process in the context of our continuing policy review".

Thursday's development came as no meeting has been held between the Afghan Republic and the Taliban negotiators in Doha over the last 19 days after talks resumed between the two sides on January 5 following a break.

The Afghan peace talks, which started on September 12, 2020, following the US-Taliban peace deal inked last February to end the war, paving the way for the withdrawal of thousands of US forces in Afghanistan and facilitate the intra-Afghan dialogue, has made little progress to achieve the goal.

Late last month in his first media address after taking office, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby claimed that the Taliban was jeopardising the landmark agreement.

"The Taliban have not met their commitments. Without them meeting their commitments to renounce terrorism and to stop the violent attacks on the Afghan National Security Forces, and by dint of that the Afghan people, it's very hard to see a specific way forward for the negotiated settlement," he said at the briefing on January 28.

In response, a Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told an Afghan media outlet that the group remained committed to the agreement "and we call on the other side to stay firm on its commitments".

The war in Afghanistan, which has caused about 2,400 US military deaths, is the longest one in American history.

Former President Donald Trump had sought a full withdrawal of forces from the country, but some of his senior aides from the military and the Pentagon suggested a more cautious approach.

Currently there are about 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan.
KABUL  Deputy Foreign Minister Mirwais Nab, while attending the 73rd Independence Day Reception of Sri Lanka called for the expansion of Afghanistan-Sri Lanka bilateral relations.

Touching on historical background and cultural similarities between both countries, Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized that "Afghanistan and Sri Lanka need to expand their bilateral ties."

The ambassador of Sri Lanka, Piyal De Silva, highlighted the key aspects of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka bilateral relations and expressed his government's willingness to further develop bilateral relations with Afghanistan.
A woman's past-cooking 'life-hack' has been slammed by experts and home cooks alike - after she filmed herself cooking spaghetti in tomato sauce instead of water.

Jasmin Gilgrow's viral video shows the young woman opening a jar of tomato sauce, before adding raw noodles - but she has been slammed for disrespecting the Italian dish.

Chefs commented on the post saying it is the wrong way to cook pasta because the starch is released into the sauce - which is not ideal as it thickens the sauce.

'Please don't do this, the sauce will be super starchy and the pasta won't cook well,' one woman said.

'If you can't cook pasta properly then don't cook it,' said another.

'As an Italian watching I am lost for words,' one woman said while another added 'our Nonna just had a heart attack'.

Daily Mail Australia spoke to an Italian chef of 23 years about the 'hack' and he said it is the wrong way to cook pasta, most of the time.

Jack Fana, from Fana's Italian Kitchen in Sydney said some recipes from the south of Italy call for the pasta to be cooked in the sauce - but it is not for bolognese sauces.

'Bolognese is already rich enough, it already has the creaminess,' he said.

'You also don't for it with pesto, you can do it with Napoli,' he said.

The cooking techniques is used in Italy - but for watery sauces like the one above - that rely on the starch from the pasta for creaminess

But the dishes where the pasta is cooked with the sauce are more likely to be fish dishes.

'It is for watery sauces that have no structure. The starch is released and it adds creaminess,' he said.

In these cases the pasta would be added to the pot where all the seafood has been cooking, but the actual fish would be removed and then put back in for serving.

The cooking method is called risottata - because the pasta is cooked in the sauce similar to rice in a risotto.

The original poster didn't take kindly to being slammed for her video and said she did it 'as a joke'.

Some people came to the young woman's rescue and said people should be allowed to cook however they like.

The post got more than 140 thousand likes and was viewed over two million times.
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Dominic Ongwen at his first appearance hearing at the International Criminal Court in The Hague (file photo).

The International Criminal Court on Thursday found a child soldier-turned-Lord's Resistance Army commander guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity during a reign of terror in Uganda. Victims and rights groups hailed the verdict as "historic" as it the first conviction to date at the ICC of any leader of the LRA.

Dominic Ongwen, 45, was found guilty of 61 charges including multiple murders, rape and sexual enslavement by the rebel group, plus the first ever conviction by the Netherlands-based court for the crime of forced pregnancy.

ICC judges dismissed defence claims that the Ugandan was himself a victim of the notorious LRA, led by the fugitive Joseph Kony, as he had been abducted by the group as a nine-year-old boy and turned into a fighter.

Ongwen had personally ordered attacks on refugee camps in northern Uganda in the early 2000s by the LRA, which waged a bloody campaign to set up a state based on the Bible's Ten Commandments, the judges said.

"His guilt has been established beyond any reasonable doubt," presiding judge Bertram Schmitt said as he read out the verdict in the tribunal in The Hague.

"The chamber is aware that he suffered much. However this case is about crimes committed by Dominic Ongwen as a responsible adult and a commander of the Lord's Resistance Army."

Ongwen will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Uganda: First ICC Conviction of an LRA Leader https://t.co/L4xDcWq9Vj - Human Rights Watch (@hrw) February 4, 2021

The LRA was founded three decades ago by former Catholic altar boy and self-styled prophet Kony, who launched a bloody rebellion in northern Uganda against President Yoweri Museveni.

The United Nations says the LRA killed more than 100,000 people and abducted 60,000 children in a campaign of violence that spread to Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Judges said Ongwen rose to become a senior commander who ordered his soldiers to carry out massacres of civilians at the Lukodi, Pajule, Odek, and Abok refugee camps between 2002 and 2005.

"Civilians were shot, burned and beaten to death. Children were thrown into burning houses, some were put in a polythene bag and beaten to death," Schmitt said, reading the names of the victims.

Forced pregnancies

Ongwen, as commander of Kony's infamous Sinia brigade, was responsible for the abduction of girls to serve as domestic workers and sex slaves, and boys to serve as soldiers, judges said.

Seven of these women were forced to be Ongwen's "so-called wives" and two gave birth to children, leading to the historic conviction for forced pregnancy.

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Ongwen surrendered to US special forces who were hunting Kony in the Central African Republic in early 2015 and was transferred to the ICC to face trial.

Survivors, victims and former rebel fighters from Lukodi sat under mango trees to listen to the verdict on a small radio provided by a local leader, and burst into cheers when it was announced.

"At last justice has been delivered," added Ann Maria Angwech, 43. "Because Ongwen killed, he deserves death, because with his hand he took away innocent lives and left we the survivors destitute."

Human Rights Watch said the verdict was "historic".

"One LRA leader has at last been held to account at the ICC for the terrible abuses victims suffered," said Elise Keppler, associate director of the International Justice Program at HRW.

"Would-be rights violators should take note that the law can catch up with them, even years later."

Kony remains at large despite a massive international manhunt on an ICC warrant.

(with newswires)
A bomb went off near a government office in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Friday, killing at least two people and wounding five, according to reports.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, which took place near the office of the deputy commissioner, said Abdul Ali, a local police officer. He said rescuers transported the bodies and the wounded to a nearby hospital.

Ali refused to speculate on who could be behind the bombing. Previous such attacks have been claimed by militants and separatist groups fighting in Baluchistan province, where Quetta is the capital.

The visuals shared on social media show that the blast took place on a busy street.

Quetta: Two dead, three injured in blast at Kashmir solidarity rally near Deputy Commissioner office, apparently explosive device was planted bellow a truck, which had sound system. https://t.co/Qk1hEjPbYg pic.twitter.com/IrxRGSB8ei  Asim Ahmed khan (@leokhanasim) February 5, 2021

The Quetta blast took place hours after a similar explosion hit Sibi district in the Balochistan region of Pakistan. According to Pak news website, Dawn, at least 24 people were injured in the Sibi blast.

Security forces cordoned off the area after the explosion while evidence was being collected, Dawn reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Baluchistan has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by small separatists groups demanding more autonomy and a greater share in the region's natural resources, such as gas and oil.

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An earthquake of magnitude 4.0 on the Richter scale occurred near the Nepal-India border in Sikkim today, according to the National Centre for Seismology.

"Earthquake of Magnitude: 4.0, Occurred on 05-02-2021, 03:43:10 IST, Lat: 27.86 & Long: 88.14, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Nepal - India (Sikkim) Border," NCS tweeted.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

No loss of life and property has been reported so far. Further details are awaited.

Yesterday, an earthquake of magnitude 4.8 on the Richter scale occurred near Yuksom in Sikkim, as per NCS. As per the NCS, the tremors were felt around 10:36 am at a depth of 124 kilometers.

"Earthquake of Magnitude: 4.8, Occurred on 04-02-2021, 10:36:29 IST, Lat: 28.62 & Long: 87.38, Depth: 124 Km, Location: 161km NNW of Yuksom, Sikkim, India," NCS tweeted.

This comes only two days afters an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 jolted 110 km NNE of Lobujya, Nepal at 02:31:16 GMT on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 22.15 km, was initially determined to be at 28.8024 degrees north latitude and 87.4023 degrees east longitude.

(Inputs from agencies)

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As a powerful noreaster slammed New Jersey with thick blankets of snow and ice earlier this week, the storm chewed through the states beaches and dunes.

Hour after hour of coastal flooding caused widespread beach erosion documented in photos and videos posted on social media.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection spent recent days surveying the scope of beach erosion at 81 sites along the states coast, spokesman Larry Hajna told NJ Advance Media. The results of that survey were posted online Thursday.

Of the beaches surveyed, nine experienced severe erosion, 18 saw moderate damage and 54 had minor effects from the storm. The majority of damage was seen along the Atlantic Coast, though both the Raritan and Delaware bayshores saw occurrences of significant beach erosion, too.

Much of the sand has likely washed into sandbars just off the beaches and will likely migrate back onto beaches, Hajna said. The DEP is committed to working with coastal communities to ensure timely repair of beaches.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District, which oversees beach restorations and other coastal projects on the Shore from Manasquan Inlet and south, said it will coordinate with DEP to deal with any damage to its projects. The Army Corpss New York office (which is responsible for areas north of Manasquan inlet,) deferred response to DEP.

Beach erosion is one of the most visible impacts of climate change on New Jersey, serving as an overnight reminder of the power of sea level rise and increasingly intense storms. Hajna said the state has and will continue to commit considerable resources overtime to restore and protect the dunes on Shore beaches, which in turn protect economic and ecological resources of New Jerseys coastal areas.

One city that suffered major erosion was North Wildwood. The damage was captured in social media posts on Tuesday.

JUST IN: This morning on the North Wildwood beach with a lot of erosion this morning - concrete barrier that sat atop the new dune at 13th Street now in the ocean. Photos by Susan Greenspon Posted by Watch The Tramcar Please on Tuesday, February 2, 2021

North Wildwood has long been prone to beach erosion. The busy 2020 hurricane season caused upwards of $5 million worth of damage to the citys beaches, Mayor Patrick Rosenello previously estimated. On Friday, Rosenello told NJ Advance Media this latest storm could bring a similar financial hit. He worries the town is dangerously exposed to another strong storm.

This storm did significant damage to very mature dune systems down in the middle of town, Rosenello said. We are at significant risk right now that, during the next noreaster, that dune system is probably going to collapse.

Video from Monday morning posted to Facebook shows waves pounding ashore at 7th Avenue in North Wildwood and reaching all the way to a seawall.

7th Avenue Beach Erosion & Flooding Todays storm has really beat up North Wildwood beach. Heres a look at 7th Avenue. Video courtesy of PJ Hondros Posted by Wildwood Boardwalk on Monday, February 1, 2021

The citys response to ongoing beach erosion has been to act on an emergency basis, sometimes without securing state authorization, trucking in sand from the broader beaches of neighboring Wildwood to build new bulkheads.

The DEP hit North Wildwood with a pair of violations for this illegal work last June, citing long-lasting ecological harm. It threatened to force the town to remove everything deemed illegal construction if the situation cannot be remedied.

The construction of bulkheads and other engineering solutions like those implemented without permits by North Wildwood, must be carefully studied and analyzed because, in many cases, they can exacerbate erosion by interfering with the natural distribution of sand and sediments along beaches when not done according to NJDEP standards, Hajna said.

Rosenello said the measures are necessary because the DEP and the Army Corps have not started a resilience project that was supposed to begin in 2017, leaving North Wildwood as the last town on the Shore to not have such improvements. He said if the town doesnt get emergency help from the two agencies, it will be forced to extend the steel bulkhead that has drawn DEPs ire.

Anyone with a shred of common sense can understand that without that steel bulkhead, we wouldve lost streets and buildings, Rosenello said.

The mayor added that he feels caught between two arms of DEP: The coastal engineering division, which he says is not moving fast enough to construct permanent solutions, and the enforcement division, which he called separated from reality.

Mother Nature doesnt work on DEPs timeline, Rosenello said. And Mother Nature doesnt adhere to DEPs rules and regulations.

Hajna said DEP and North Wildwood are still working to resolve the issues.

The DEP and the Army Corps are currently working with North Wildwood, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and Lower Township on a five-mile-long beach and dune construction project. Steve Rochette, a spokesman for the Army Corps Philadelphia office, said the project is still in the design phase. He added that work cant begin until the state secures real estate easements in the area.

Other moderate beach erosion was reported in Avalon and Stone Harbor, just across Hereford Inlet from North Wildwood. Ann Delaney, a Stone Harbor resident who works as a real estate agent in the area, said the damage was sporadic and expected.

The sections affected are often damaged by major winter storms, Delaney told NJ Advance Media in an email. Thankfully, the Borough does a great job with leveling the paths and Mother Nature returns most of the sand by spring!

Elsewhere in Cape May County, the stormwaters unearthed the ghost tracks of a long abandoned railroad on the beach in Cape May. The tracks served a sand mining operation in the early 20th century, but had long been reclaimed by nature. They first reappeared in 2014, and have sporadically been seen after coastal storms in the years since.

Up the Shore in Ocean County, Island Beach State Park was briefly closed on Wednesday due to beach erosion, according to a Patch report. The DEP determined the park had suffered moderate erosion.

Nearby, Harvey Cedars was harder hit, earning a major classification from DEP for the damage to its beaches. Mayor Jonathan Oldham said his borough lost dune fencing and parts of its beach to the ocean, and it will have to repair its beach access points. Oldham described Harvey Cedars as a hotspot for beach erosion because of its location on the bend of Long Beach Island. Hes hopeful the lost sand will return to shore naturally in the Spring.

Anytime we lose a piece of sand off the beach, it hurts, Oldham said.

The mayor added that Harvey Cedars saw significant back bay flooding during the storm, leaving some residents with debris in their yards and damaged basements. Oldham said the borough has been experiencing about two or three occasions of serious back bay flooding annually in recent years.

Meanwhile, Bay Head also suffered major erosion, as the stormy waters turned the boroughs dunes into cliffs.

WOW! Massive erosion in Bay Head from the Nor'easter. These dunes are two years old and half gone. We will have more on this tomorrow and speak with the mayor on what happens next... Photo credit to https://t.co/yWB9PcOAEF @News12NJ @NWS_MountHolly@DanaPerino @DaveCurren pic.twitter.com/SkNvBE8Ot7  Jim Murdoch News12NJ (@ReporterJim) February 3, 2021

William Curtis, mayor of Bay Head, described the damage as a public safety emergency, which could become an economic emergency if repairs are not done before the warmer months. Curtis said the town will soon send a letter to the DEP, the Army Corps and U.S. Rep Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., seeking urgent help.

Were in an emergency situation right now, Curtis said. Were going to have to get something.

The storm took massive chunks out of dunes installed by the Army Corps in the recent years, leaving sheer walls of sand up to 25 feet high in some places, Curtis said. He worries what could happen if a portion of the damaged dune collapses while people are walking beneath it.

Theres nothing holding it together, Curtis said. The grass hasnt taken hold, its just sand.

The mayor added that of Bay Heads 11 beach access points, 10 have been rendered unusable by the storm.

If it stays like this, itll adversely affect Bay Head and its rentals and its businesses, Curtis said.

Bay Head is one of the multiple Shore towns which resisted the states post-Sandy vision to fortify dunes and widen beaches along the coast. In a public battle with former Gov. Chris Christie, Bay Head residents argued they were better served by a massive rock sea wall. That fight went to court, where a judge ruled in favor of the state and allowed for the new dunes to be constructed.

Curtis still believes his residents were right, and he thinks the engineering work has left the boroughs beaches worse off.

I think, personally, had they left Bay Head alone and just left us with our rock wall revetment, wed be in the same position we were five years ago.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com.
A gangster's moll who earned just 5,000 a year but funded her lavish lifestyle by using a beauty salon as front for a 'dial-a-drug' racket has been jailed for five years.

Samantha Cox, 30, ran the Miami Glow salon in Salford, which had a 'modest turnover'  but was seen driving a Range Rover and later a 50,000 Porsche Macan.

She also had expensive goods including designer clothes, shoes and other items worth more than 30,000, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Her former partner Lee Worthington, 36, previously jailed for ten years for drugs offences, used illicit phones to remain involved in crime from prison. He helped to launder drug money, using associates he knew from jail.

The pair, as well as four other defendants including Worthington's brother Stephen, 33, have all been jailed for their involvement in the dealing of heroin and cocaine.

Samantha Cox, 30, pictured on holiday in Turkey, ran the Miami Glow salon in Salford, Greater Manchester, which had a 'modest turnover'. Despite this, she was seen driving flashy cars

Samantha Cox who earned just 5,000 a year but funded her lavish lifestyle by using a beauty salon as front for a 'dial-a-drug' racket has been jailed for five years

Samantha Cox pictured with her mother Barbara. Police found a Ted Baker bag which contained about 44,000 in Cox's mother's home

The court heard police recovered more than 550 wraps of heroin and 800 wraps of crack cocaine, which the prosecution said was a 'snapshot' of the drugs conspiracy.

One seizure of heroin and cocaine from another property was worth 50,000, the court heard.

Prosecutors said they accepted Miami Glow was a legitimate business, but said it had a 'modest turnover'.

Adrian Farrow, prosecuting, said: 'Samantha Cox maintained a lifestyle of some luxury, and the prosecution say that that was funded by her involvement in the supply of drugs.'

Figures showed in 2018 the salon made a profit of just over 5,000, and that Cox took a wage of about 10,000 in 2018, and 12,000 in 2019.

The court heard Cox was seen driving a Range Rover, and then a Porsche Macan, which she bought in May 2019, putting down a 25,000 cash deposit and committing to monthly payments of 550.

Cox's former partner Lee Worthington (left), 36, used illicit phones to remain involved in crime from prison. Worthington's brother Stephen (right) later took over a 'management' role

Samantha Cox, pictured with her mother Barbara. Prosecutors said they accepted Miami Glow was a legitimate business, but said it had a 'modest turnover'

Money and drugs recovered by police during the investigation into the 'dial-a-drug' racket

'The prosecution say it appears to be beyond her legitimate income,' Mr Farrow said. Prosecutors added that Cox stored cash and drugs for the conspiracy.

Mr Farrow said police also seized expensive goods including furniture, electrical items, designer clothing and shoes worth more than 30,000, from a flat above the salon.

The court heard Cox said she was 'paid' for her role in the drugs conspiracy. Mr (Lee) Worthington called the shots and she did his bidding, and was rewarded for that,' Cox's barrister Chloe Fordham said.

The court heard that Cox says some of the items were not designer and not genuine.

Police also found a Ted Baker bag which contained about 44,000 in Cox's mother's home, the court heard.

Officers began to monitor movements around the salon in March 2019, and noticed that drug dealing was taking place in a nearby alleyway.

Figures showed in 2018 the salon made a profit of just over 5,000, and that Cox (pictured) took a wage of about 10,000 in 2018, and 12,000 in 2019

Cox's Porsche Macan worth 50,000 is taken away by Greater Manchester Police

Police recovered money and drugs as part of their investigation into the ''dial-a-drug'' racket

Street dealer Joanna Zblewska, 42, was witnessed dealing from the alleyway, often concealing drugs in her bra, the court heard.

Another man, Darren Horrocks, 50, was said to have had a 'managerial' role, before being arrested.

Zblewska was arrested at the same time as Horrocks, but she continued to be involved.

After Horrocks's arrest, Lee Worthington's brother Stephen took over the 'management' role, Mr Farrow said.

Another street dealer, Christopher Corbett, 53, said he dealt to fund his own drug habit.

Despite being in prison at HMP Dovegate in Staffordshire, prosecutors said Lee Worthington was in 'close contact' with drug dealers in Salford.

The court heard Cox (pictured) was seen driving a Range Rover, and then a Porsche Macan, which she bought in May 2019, putting down a 25,000 cash deposit

The court heard Cox (pictured) said she was 'paid' for her role in the drugs conspiracy

Samantha Cox, pictured with her mother Barbara. Cox was jailed for five years and five months

They said he helped transfer the cash proceeds of drug dealing in small amounts to different people's accounts, making it 'difficult to trace'.

Police found that cash transfers worth more than 22,000 had been made to at least 36 people, who all had a connection to the prison such as being a relative or an inmate or a visitor.

Cox, of Salford; Horrocks, of Salford; Stephen Worthington, of Worsley; Zblewska, of Salford; and Corbett, of Salford; admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.

Cox also admitted converting criminal property and concealing criminal property. Her lawyer Ms Fordham said the defendant felt 'under pressure' to help her former partner, and felt a sense of 'loyalty'.

Cox ran the Miami Glow salon in Salford, Greater Manchester, which had a 'modest turnover'

Samantha Cox admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine, converting criminal property and concealing criminal property

Stephen Worthington, brother of Cox's boyfriend Lee Worthington, was jailed for six years

Lee Worthington admitted money laundering. Rob Kearney, for Stephen Worthington, said he felt 'misguided loyalty' to his brother, and said he lived on 'modest means'.

The sentences handed down were:

Cox was jailed for five years and five months.

Lee Worthington was jailed for three years and five months.

Stephen Worthington was jailed for six years and six months.

Zblewska was jailed for six years and six months.

Corbett was jailed for three years and nine months.

Horrocks was jailed for six years and ten months.

A Proceeds of Crime investigation is set to take place, with a hearing scheduled for July.
Beijing, Feb 4 (UNI) The People's Republic of China's(PRC) Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin on Thursday rejected reports of systematic rape and sexual abuse of women in so-called re-education camps of the Xinjiang autonomous region.

Reports by the BBC published on Wednesday carried statements by survivors of these detainment centres where these women claimed that systematic rape and abuse of women take place in these internment camps.

Wang said at a regular news briefing in Beijing that China is a rules-based society
Mumbai: ICICI Bank today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MUFG Bank, Japans premier bank, for collaboration towards catering to the banking requirements of Japanese corporates present in India. The MoU was signed at a virtual event by Vishakha Mulye, Executive Director, ICICI Bank and Junsuke Koike, Executive Officer and Regional Executive for India and Sri Lanka, MUFG Bank, in the presence of senior officials of both banks.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishakha Mulye, Executive Director, ICICI Bank said, We are delighted to partner with MUFG Bank. Over the years, India has emerged as a preferred destination for foreign investment, with Japan ranking consistently amongst the top countries investing in India.

We have recently launched an online platform for foreign companies looking to establish or expand business in the country, called Infinite India, which is the most comprehensive platform in India offering a wide range of banking and value-added services to meet requirements of foreign companies throughout their business lifecycle. We are confident that Infinite India will enable us to offer a more comprehensive product and service suite to the Japanese companies under this partnership."

Junsuke Koike, Executive Officer and Regional Executive for India and Sri Lanka, MUFG Bank said, MUFGs involvement in India goes back 127 years to 1894, when Yokohama Specie Bank, a forerunner of MUFG, opened an office in Mumbai (then called Bombay). To this very day, India continues to be a key strategic market in MUFGs global network, and through this partnership, we look forward to further deepen our offerings for customers doing business in India."

The MoU establishes a framework of the partnership between the banks across various domains including trade, investment, treasury, corporate and retail banking. It also paves way for the two banks to combine their individual strengths and cater holistically to the banking requirements of Japanese corporates operating in India. Japan is the fifth largest investor in Indias economy with cumulative FDI inflows of $34.15 billion from April 2000 to September 2020, contributing 7% to Indias total FDI inflows during the period.

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New Delhi:

Guru Purnima is an Indian festival,dedicated to spiritual gurus and academic teachers.As the name suggests,Guru Purnima means 'guru ki puja'.

This festival is celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Ashadha of the Shakha Samvat in the Hindu calendar. Apart from Hindus,this day holds a special importance to Buddhist also.

Lord Buddha is believed to have given his first sermon on this auspicious day. In some part of India,it is also called Ved Vyas pooja,vyasa was a sage who authored the Mahabharta and is a symbol of guru-shishya tradition.

Devotees on this day remember and pay homage to the great sage Vyasa. In Nepal,this festival is celebrated by students for honouring their teachers by offering them garlands,and traditional hat.This day is teachers day for them.

Also Read: Guru Purnima 2017: NASA's tweet adds up to the celebrations

However ,this time one particular tweet from Nasa has got everyone talking on Twitter about Guru Purnima. Nasa mentioned Guru purnima and tweeted out various names given to full moon.

Full moon this weekend - called Guru Purnima, Hay Moon, Mead Moon, Ripe Corn Moon, Buck Moon, or our favorite,  THUNDER MOON  pic.twitter.com/XLufAdoDEQ  NASA Moon (@NASAmoon) July 7, 2017

Indian Twitterati got excited about this,and thanked NASA on Twitter.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Nearly 1,000 people fleeing to Europe by boat from Libya were stopped and sent back to shore this week. People seeking to cross the Mediterranean continue to risk death if they are not stopped by Libyan authorities.

In 24 hours, more than 1,000 migrants departed from Libya, fleeing dire humanitarian conditions, the International Organization for Migration said Friday on Twitter. Over 800 of them were intercepted and returned to shore.

Libya is a common point of departure for people fleeing the African continent to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. Some of those coming are from Libya, where there is an ongoing civil war between the UN-backed Government of National Accord and the eastern-based Libyan National Army. The two entities signed a cease-fire in October. People from other African countries have also attempted to flee via Libya.

The Libyan coast guard regularly brings those fleeing back to shore. The naval force returned 80 people to Libya on Jan. 22, according to the migration organization, which is part of the United Nations.

The organization opposes forced returns to Libya and says the country is not a safe point for departure. On Jan. 19, at least 43 people died when their boats engine stopped amid poor sea conditions.

A total of 780 people died crossing the central Mediterranean, where Libya is located, in 2020. There were also 126 individuals returned to Libya that year. A total of 36,435 people successfully sailed to Italy or Malta, 15,293 of whom departed from Libya, according to the migration organization.
Mumbai: Actress Amrita Puri reveals her grandfather's brother was a prisoner of war. Her uncles, too, have fought in the Kargil War. It is a reason scripts about armymen and their families strike a personal note in her heart.

So far, Amrita has been a part of two projects that talk of the army life -- "Prisoner Of War" and the recently-released "Jeet Ki Zid". The subject draws her as an artiste, she says, besides a strong storyline.

"I have heard from my grandfather's younger brother how he was a prisoner of war during the Chinese invasion. My grandfather's brother, Colonel Tilak Puri, who is still alive today, told us how he spent six months as a prisoner of war. He was captured near the Indo Tibet border," says Amrita.

"The Army declared him missing, presumed him to be dead. However his wife did not wear the garb of a widow. They believed he was still alive and would return. He did. However there are many that don't return. It's a huge sacrifice. My bua's (aunt) husband fought in the Kargil War and I know how difficult it was for her to deal with his absence. Not knowing where or how he was, and having to stay positive and be brave for the kids," she adds.

Coming from as Army background helps Amrita understand the interest filmmakers have in stories of war.

"I totally understand why filmmaker's are drawn to portraying stories of war heroes. It requires so much courage that one is left inspired and in awe," she says.

In the recent web series "Jeet Ki Zid", Amrita plays Jaya Singh, wife of Indian Army Special Forces officer Deependra Singh Sengar (played by Amit Sadh). Her character motivates Deep to overcome physical and emotional challenges and bounce-back in life once he comes back wheelchair-bound from the Kargil War.
EDWARDSVILLE  An East Alton man has been charged with a Class X felony after allegedly setting fire to his apartment building.

Nicholas F. Gonzalez, 30, was charged Feb. 4 with aggravated arson, a Class X felony. The case was presented by the East Alton Police Department.

According to court documents, on Jan. 29 Gonzalez allegedly set a fire in an apartment complex at 200 Illinois 3, knowing there were others present.

Bail was set at $150,000.

Other felony charges filed Feb. 4 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include:

 Mickey D. Collins, 53, of Bethalto, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Bethalto Police Department. On Jan. 1 Collins allegedly was found to have a .45 caliber Springfield XDS handgun in his vehicle, and had an order of protection filed against him in Adams County within the past two years. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Daniel J. Phelps, 35, of St. Louis, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On Jan. 9 Phelps allegedly was found to be carrying a.45 caliber Essex Arms handgun in public without a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card. Bail was set at $15,000.

 John A. Bone, 52, of Granite City, was charged with unlawful use of weapons by a felon, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On Nov. 3 Bone, who has a prior 1992 conviction for forgery in Madison County, allegedly was found to be in possession of an American Arms revolver. Bail was set at $25,000.

 Starr F. Smith, 40, of Moro, was charged with unlawful possession of a stolen license plate, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On Dec. 1 Smith allegedly was found to be in possession of a stolen license plate from a 2006 Chevrolet. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Ray E.M. Barton, 33, of St. Louis, was charged with retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On Nov. 16 Barton allegedly took a computer, drone and soft drinks having a value in excess of $300 from the Godfrey Walmart, 6008 Godfrey Road. Bail was set at $25,000.

 Gerry A. Armbruster, 47, of Cottage Hills, was charged with unlawful possession of a lost or mislaid debit card, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On March 30 Armbruster allegedly was found to be in possession of a credit card belonging to another person. Bail was set at $15,000.
(Natural News) Spy Kids, an American movie featuring kids as spies, is cool. But legislation that allows the recruitment of children to spy on their parents is definitely not cool.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson drew flak for supporting the controversial Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS) bill. Brendan ONeill, online editor of Spike called Johnsons move quite Orwellian.

ONeill states that the development is pretty shocking and highlights how Boris Johnson has been a fairly disappointing prime minister especially on issues of liberty.

This is really, really dodgy, ONeill said. Everyone accepts the need for covert human intelligence, we need spies we need to break up terrorist groups. But recruiting children to watch their own families, spy on their families, theres something quite Orwellian about that. What we have now both the right and the left in different ways support children spying on their own families.

On Jan. 27, the House of Commons disagreed with the reasons for the amendments to the bill which is will now go back to the House of Lords for consideration on Feb. 9.

The amendments from the House of Lords aimed to curtail the use of children in spy activity.

In its current incarnation, the bill would allow children to spy for government agencies if their actions would prevent or detect crime  permitting even those over the age of 16 to be recruited to report their parents if the latter are suspected of involvement in criminal or even terrorist activities.

It allows state agencies such as the intelligence service, the military and the police, to use children as undercover agents, as long as there is a senior executive overseeing the operation. (Related: German government accused of spreading propaganda brochure that trained children to spy on their parents.)

Last year, the high court ruled police recruitment of children was lawful.

CHIS bill faces strong opposition

Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, and David Davis, former Brexit secretary, were among Tory Members of Parliament (MP) backing proposals to restrict the use of children as spies when the bill returned to the Commons.

Davis told the Telegraph that the government faces a major backlash if the bill pushes through.

Everyone I have spoken to has been horrified by it when it has been explained to them, he said. It will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to spy on their parents. It also authorizes them to commit crimes as well, so it needs to be extremely tightly controlled and those controls need to be greater than what the government is proposing.

Duncan Smith said: Once you start taking action like this to put spies in peoples homes whatever the purpose, this does have complications. It is very important for government to recognize that this is not something that should be easily done in a democratic state.

The government was defeated on its plans in the House of Lords by a vote of 339 to 254 last month. But with the House of Commons rejecting most of the amendments made by the Lords, a ping-pong battle is likely to ensue.

Opposition in the upper house is formidable  led by Lord Young, a former Tory chief whip and cabinet minister. Also opposing the bill were 79 crossbenchers, four bishops, the Labor Party and Liberal Democrats.

If your 16- or 17-year-old child was arrested for shoplifting, the police would have [told] you and ensure an appropriate adult was there when you spoke to them, said Labor MP Stella Creasy, who has led the parliamentary campaign against the plan. But here they are creating a loophole to recruit child spies without any such protection. The government faces strong opposition in the Lords and in the Commons too and must urgently rethink its plans.

Follow Surveillance.news for more news and information about surveillance and spying.

Sources include:

StrangeSounds.org

Parliament.uk

msn.com
Tory MP Johnny Mercer has said he stripped off to receive his Covid-19 jab because he 'couldn't get his shirt sleeves over his muscles'.

The MP for Plymouth Moor View, 39, was given the injection at Derriford Hospital this morning as part of a coronavirus vaccine trial.

He posted a tweet to thank staff at the hospital, attaching a photo of himself topless while receiving the jab.

Politicians mockingly reacted to the image, with Matt Hancock thanking Mr Mercer for 'playing his part' and Ruth Davidson simply asking: 'Would it have killed you to wear a T-shirt?'

Tory MP Johnny Mercer posted a tweet to thank staff at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, attaching a photo of himself topless while receiving the jab this morning

The MP for Plymouth Moor View explained in a further tweet that he tried getting the jab with his shirt on but 'simply couldn't get the sleeves over my muscles'

He tweeted: 'Rarely do they see such a wimp in these parts when it comes to injections, but the lovely staff at Derriford Hospital made it all as seamless as ever this morning, in the latest round of the Covid-19 vaccine trial were doing here in Plymouth'.

In a comment underneath, Mr Mercer further explained: 'We tried with the shirt on but I simply couldn't get the sleeves over my muscles, but I thought it was a bit self-indulgent to put that out in public.

'You know I'm shy.'

The Health Secretary commented: 'Thank you for playing your part, Johnny.'

Ms Davidson, the former Scottish Conservative Party leader, added with a laughing emoji: 'Absolutely. Bravo (but would it have killed you to wear a T-shirt?)'

Other social media users also reacted to the post, with one commenting: 'We don't all have to take our tops off, right? I was planning on wearing a posh frock for vaccination day...'

Another wrote: '"Roll up your sleeve please, Sir".

'"I can go one better, stand back..."'

Social media users reacted to the image, with Matt Hancock thanking Mr Mercer for 'playing his part' and Ruth Davidson simply asking: 'Would it have killed you to wear a T-shirt?'

The comments come as another study published today by Oxford found that the vaccine works just as well against the fast-spreading Kent variant B.1.1.7 which is now dominant in the UK.

It found that the vaccine was able to block 84 per cent of cases of Covid caused by the old variant compared to 75 per cent of those caused by the Kent variant.

There are still concerns over the South African strain - with some studies showing jabs are less effective against it - and the Brazilian strain.

The Oxford group say they are currently testing their jab in South Africa on the variant, and are reviewing data to see whether they have any cases of the Brazilian variant from trials carried out in the country.
HALIFAX - A public backlash has forced the Halifax Transit authority to scrap plans for a Valentine's Day contest it called "Love in Transit."

A Halifax Transit bus arrives at a terminal in Dartmouth, N.S. on Wednesday, July 17, 2019. A public backlash has forced the Halifax Transit authority to scrap its plans for a Valentine's Day contest it called "Love in Transit." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

HALIFAX - A public backlash has forced the Halifax Transit authority to scrap plans for a Valentine's Day contest it called "Love in Transit."

When the municipal agency asked the public to share stories of love on the city's buses and ferries, many responded with disturbing accounts of verbal, physical and sexual harassment and gender-based violence.

The online reaction included stories from women describing how they felt trapped when approached by threatening people while on buses or at ferry terminals or bus stops.

One woman tweeted: "Like the time I had a strange man harass me, pass me his phone number and follow me off my stop so I had to change the times I took the bus for weeks so he wouldnt know where I lived? That was so romantic."

Others online were more blunt.

"Worst. Marketing. Ever," read another post on Twitter.

And there were plenty of messages suggesting the transit authority had simply lost touch with its riders.

"I don't think their (communications) staff have taken the bus," one critic said. "Its not an NYC rom com, I'll tell ya that."

The contest, which promised to award winners $50 gift cards for dining out, was widely panned as insensitive and tone deaf.

"Have people met and fallen in love while riding transit? Undoubtedly," one online post said. "Have way more women been harassed and assaulted. Definitely. And your contest gives tacit approval to the creeps out there. Ditch the contest."

Halifax Transit pulled the campaign Wednesday and issued an apology, saying any passengers experiencing abusive behaviour should contact police. As well, the authority said it has zero tolerance for all forms of harassment and violence.

The original intent of the contest was to share positive stories to "lift passengers' spirits," but the agency said in a statement it recognized many people had taken offence to the contest.

Dee Dooley, a spokeswoman for the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre in Halifax, said she was pleased to see community members speaking up about a sensitive subject and generating positive change.

"Most progressive change comes when a collective of people advocate for that change and really fight for it," Dooley, who co-ordinates the centre's community and legal education program, said in an interview Friday.

"If feels like the community came together to really say, 'Enough is enough. We don't want to accept that sexualized violence is a normal, everyday occurrence. And that happened across the gender spectrum."

Dooley, whose work focuses on gender-based violence prevention, said she can appreciate the goodwill behind collecting "love connection" stories, but she said the transit authority should have been more sensitive to the fact that public transit can be a very unsafe public space.

"The public backlash proves the point that the intention and the impact of the contest were not in line ... The intention was not how it landed in the community."

The contest, however, was defended by some transit users.

"Maybe I'm missing something, but why do you need to apologize for running a contest focusing on love connections made on transit?" one Twitter user said. "I didn't see you guys ask for harassment stories. Keyboard warriors always changing the conversation!"

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.
Colorado legislative leaders and Gov. Jared Polis will lay out the stakes, likelihoods and possibilities for another truncated legislative session online Friday.

The town hall, to be conducted on Zoom teleconferencing software, begins at 11:30 a.m. Registration information is available by clicking here.

The event is sponsored by Colorado Politics, the Denver Gazette and 9News.

The General Assembly is expected to reconvene under the gold dome in Denver on Feb. 16, after gaveling in for three days last month and then breaking for the pandemic.

INSIGHTS | Health care price caps are a problem that can wait Joey Bunch: "As lawmakers return to Denver, health care will be on their minds in the age of COVID-19, but advocates say there are higher priorities than a public option, such as mental health services."

Senate President Leroy Garcia of Pueblo, House Speaker Alec Garnett of Denver, Senate Republican leader Chris Holbert of Parker and House GOP leader Hugh McKean of Loveland will provide their outlook and field questions from moderators and constituents.

Gov. Jared Polis is expected to forecast his State of the State address in his opening comments.

The forum with be moderated by Colorado Politics senior writer Joey Bunch and 9News political ace Marshall Zelinger. Marianne Goodland, Colorado Politics' statehouse chief, will field questions and ask what the public wants to know.

Coloradans can submit questions in advance by emailing her at marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com; the deadline is 11 a.m. Questions can also be submitted during the town hall through the chat feature.

A bipartisan panel of Colorado experts will bring their own questions.

Scott Wasserman, president of the left-leaning Bell Policy Center think tank; Jon Caldara, president of the conservative Independence Institute; Kristin Strohm, president and CEO of the Common Sense Institute think tank; and Hannah Collazo, state director of Environment Colorado, are expected to seek answers to what their constituents want most.
A TV weatherman helped pull the body of missing British gym instructor from rough surf on the Gold Coast moments after speaking live on air.

A massive search for Jake Jacobs, 32, was launched on Thursday after the body of his female friend washed up not long after they entered the water.

The pair had gone for a late-night swim at Kurrawa Beach in Broadbeach.

The woman was in her late 20s and lived in Victoria, but was originally from Europe. Police were still trying to contact her next of kin on Friday evening, and as a result, Brisbane Times has chosen not to identify her.
Thames House, the headquarters of the British Security Service (MI5) is seen in London, on Oct. 22, 2015. (Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

Report: UK Expelled 3 Chinese Spies Posing as Journalists

The UK has expelled three Chinese spies who were posing as journalists, according to a report by the Telegraph that cites an unnamed senior government official.

The report comes the day after the UK broadcast regulator Ofcom revoked the licence of a Chinese television network, which was swiftly followed by Beijing lodging an official complaint over the BBCs reporting on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus.

According to the Telegraph report, a senior government source said that the three spies worked for three different Chinese media agencies, which were not named.

They were forced to return to China after MI5 uncovered their true identities and that they were intelligence officers for Beijings Ministry of State Security, according to the Telegraph.

The Epoch Times has not been able to confirm the claims made in the report. The Home Office has not responded to a request for comment.

It is not clear when the spies were expelled.

Concerns over CCP influence and espionage in the UK have been growing in recent years, in particular among some backbench Conservative MPs.

The government is expected to update laws on espionage in the late spring.

Broadcast regulator Ofcom on Thursday revoked the licence for China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the grounds that the station is controlled by a body which is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. UK broadcasting laws do not allow licences for media controlled by political bodies.

Within hours, Beijings officials lodged a complaint with the BBC, accusing it of fake news in its reporting on how the CCP had covered-up the pandemic and the origins of the CCP virus.

And on Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin slammed the Ofcom ruling as politicising the issue on a technical point and warned that China reserves the right to make a necessary response.

According to human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders, CGTN and its Chinese-language counterpart CCTV have, on numerous occasions, aired recordings of forced confessions from individuals held by the state under duress. The NGO said that broadcasting of these materials amounts to known and intentional distortion of facts and clear lies, in violation of Ofcoms rules on impartiality and accuracy.

British ex-journalist Peter Humphrey, one of the four forced confessions victims the NGO represents, on Thursday told The Epoch Times that Ofcoms unprecedented move was a moment of triumph.

Humphrey, who ran a corporate due diligence firm in China, was held by the CCP for allegedly buying and selling personal data, allegations he denies. He said Chinese state police drugged him, tied him to a metal chair in a small cage, and forced him to read from a pre-written statement to confess.

Peter Humphrey, former journalist and consultant imprisoned in China for two years, speaks to NTD in England. (NTD/Screenshot)

Seeing the licence revoked today is a moment of triumph, not only for me, but also for all the other victims of this type of abuse, Humphrey said. Its a slap on the face for the dictatorship in Beijing.

He said that Ofcom has more actions against CGTN in the pipeline.

There are still penalties expected in relation to my personal complaint against CGTN, and the complaints of Simon Cheng and Angela Gui, which will very, very soon see the final ruling, he said.

Lily Zhou, John Smithies, and Reuters contributed to this report
Orando Brewster, Minister of Mobilisation, and Taiwanese Ambassador H.E. Calvin Ho, are dwarfed by the 1000 and more boxes of gifts from SimplyHelp Foundation.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines handed over a 40-foot container of donated goods from the SimplyHelp Foundation, to the people and the government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on February 1, 2021, through the Ministry of National Mobilisation.





As the two countries continue to share close relation, the Embassy has collaborated with the SimplyHelp Foundation, a U.S.-registered non-profit organization, for five successive years, in assisting St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





In all, some 1,089 boxes of various items, valued at US$141,180, were donated. The items included children and women clothes, shoes, school supplies, toys, eye goggles, face shields, mosquito repellent, and medical equipment, etc.

This marks the completion of a promised 3,000 boxes as promised by SimplyHelp Foundation to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





According to the Taiwan Embassy in Kingstown, the donation is "the concrete practice of public-private collaboration, which upholds the spirit of Taiwan can Help. The collaboration between our two peoples demonstrates the core value of the long-term friendship between our two countries.




The pandemic has skewed crucial data on migration, leaving the Government flying blind on the statistics, a study warns today.

Official ways of measuring how many foreigners are travelling to and from Britain have fallen apart due to Covid disruptions.

Academics at Oxford Universitys Migration Observatory conclude there is no reliable data on how many migrants arrived last year, how many emigrated, and what the impact on the overall population has been.

They even raised doubts about the accuracy of official figures, noting that an extra 1.25million people had appeared in one survey in an apparent bid to explain a discrepancy between totals of UK and foreign-born residents.

The pandemic has skewed crucial data on migration, leaving the Government flying blind on the statistics, a study warns today (pictured: Home Secretary Priti Patel)

Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory, said: There is absolutely massive uncertainty about what is going on with migration at the moment, because all the data sources we normally use have been hugely disrupted.

This has left us flying blind just as the UK is introducing a new immigration system, and will make it more difficult to understand the impacts of new policies.

The Governments most recent Labour Force Survey (LFS), a key source of data on migrant workers, said the estimated foreign-born population was 8.3million, a decline of 894,000 or 10 per cent year-on-year.

The official figures also factored in population growth of 370,000 in the year to September. The data attempted to balance the books by suggesting there were an extra 1.25million UK-born residents who were not present in earlier surveys, the report went on.

Oxford Universitys study described this as not plausible. There is enormous uncertainty about these estimates and compelling reasons to believe that they are not accurate, it added.

The experts dismissed the official numbers on population growth as surely incorrect.

Academics at Oxford Universitys Migration Observatory conclude there is no reliable data on how many migrants arrived last year, how many emigrated, and what the impact on the overall population has been (file photo)

The problems have arisen because one official source of information on migration, the International Passenger Survey, has been suspended for a year due to Covid.

Another, the LFS, is being conducted by phone rather than face-to-face, and todays report said this may mean migrants are more reluctant to take part.

A third source of data  an analysis of which nationalities applied for National Insurance numbers  has also been disrupted by coronavirus. The experts said the lack of hard data was particularly troubling because the Governments new points-based immigration system launched just weeks ago, ending free movement.

A Migration Observatory spokesman said: Covid means UK migration data has fallen apart, just as the UK is introducing a new immigration system.

The analysis shows that while there does appear to have been a decline in the UKs migrant population in 2020, it is likely to be smaller than headline figures suggest.
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Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
MARKHAM, Ontario, Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sangoma Technologies Corporation (TSX VENTURE:STC), a trusted leader in delivering cloud-based Communications as a Service (CaaS) solutions for companies of all sizes, today announced highlights of its unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the second quarter of its fiscal year 2021 ended December 31, 2020.



For the second quarter of fiscal 2021, sales were $35.32 million, 9% higher than in the same quarter last year, and EBITDA was an all-time record $6.84 million, up 32% over the same quarter last year.

Q2 FY2021 Q2 FY2020 Change Q1 FY2021 Change Sales $ 35.32 m $ 32.29 m 9 % $ 35.03 m 1 % Gross profit $ 23.46 m $ 21.32 m 10 % $ 23.18 m 1 % Operating expense $ 19.68 m $ 19.17 m 3 % $ 19.65 m 0 % Operating income1 $ 3.78 m $ 2.15 m $ 3.53 m Net income $ 2.46 m $ (1.33 ) m $ 2.24 m Net earnings/(loss) per share (fully diluted) $ 0.022 $ (0.018 ) $ 0.022 EBITDA1 $ 6.84 m $ 5.19 m 32 % $ 6.73 m 2 %

1 Operating Income and EBITDA are metrics used by the Company to monitor its performance and the definitions may be found in the accompanying MD&A posted today at www.sedar.com.



This was another strong quarter for Sangoma, with total sales up 9% from the same quarter last year and our all important Services revenue growing almost 25% over the second quarter of fiscal 2020, said Bill Wignall, President and CEO of Sangoma. The solid revenue, reliable gross margin, and expense controls undertaken during the pandemic has delivered our highest quarterly EBITDA ever. As the crisis begins to subside, we will begin to prudently open up spending slightly again, which should bring EBITDA back closer to the range expected in our fiscal 2021 guidance, of around 17%. And of course, this all follows our very exciting announcement last week, of the definitive agreement to acquire Star2Star.

Gross profit was $23.46 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, 10% higher than in fiscal 2020 and with similar gross margin at 66% of revenue.

Operating expenses were $19.68 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, up 3% from the second quarter of fiscal 2020, increasing at a rate slower than Sangomas revenue growth, as planned.

EBITDA was a record $6.84 million in the second quarter, up by almost one-third from the $5.19 million in the same quarter last year.

Net income for the second quarter ended December 31, 2020 was $2.46 million.

Sangoma continues to maintain a strong balance sheet and finished the quarter with a cash balance of $92.28 million. Working capital closed at $83.43 million as of December 31, 2020 and Adjusted Cash Flow from operations at $6.32 million for the quarter.

Outlook for fiscal year 2021

Sangoma has earlier provided guidance for 2021 of between $143 and $147 million in revenue and between $24 and $26 million in EBITDA. The company is maintaining those ranges, given second quarter results.

Cyber attack update

Since disclosing the cyber attack in December 2020, Sangoma has been working with a highly experienced group of third-party cybersecurity experts to conduct a fulsome and comprehensive investigation into the incident. The company has provided regular public updates regarding its progress and Sangoma now expects to complete the investigation and report the results this month. As stated in the companys press release of January 12, while we continue to investigate the incident, we are confident that none of our products or services were impacted, and Sangoma does not expect the cyber attack will have a material impact on sales or on opportunities in the companys pipeline.

Acquisition of StarBlue Inc. (StarBlue)

As requested by the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company wishes to clarify the leadership and governance of Sangoma after the closing of the acquisition of StarBlue. Bill Wignall will remain as President and CEO of Sangoma and, subject to Shareholder approval of a new Control Person in accordance with TSX-V policies, the resulting Sangoma board of directors (the Board) shall consist of five directors, with Norman Worthington of StarBlue becoming Chairman and with Marc Lederman of NewSpring Capital, an institutional investor in Star2Star Holdings, LLC (S2S Holdings), also joining the Board. The nomination of Norman Worthington and Marc Lederman is pursuant to a right granted to the sellers representative in the stock purchase agreement. S2S Holdings, as sellers representative, has exercised this right on behalf of the sellers. With this clarification, the TSX Venture Exchange has confirmed that trading in Sangomas common shares will resume effective at the opening on or about Monday, February 8, 2021 in accordance with the TSX Venture Exchange bulletin issued today.

Conference Call

President and CEO, Bill Wignall, Executive Vice President Corporate Development, John Tobia and CFO, David Moore will host a conference call on Friday February 5, 2021 at 11:00 am Eastern Standard Time to discuss the quarterly results. The dial-in number for the call is 1-800-319-4610 (International 1-604-638-5340). Investors are requested to dial in 5 to 10 minutes before the scheduled start time and ask to join the Sangoma call.

About Sangoma Technologies Corporation

Sangoma Technologies is a trusted leader in delivering value-based Communications as a Service (CaaS) solutions for businesses of all sizes. Sangomas cloud-based Services include Unified Communication (UCaaS) business communications, Meetings as a Service (MaaS), Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), Trunking as a Service (TaaS), Fax as a Service (FaaS), Device as a Service (DaaS), and Access Control as a Service (ACaaS). In addition, Sangoma offers a full line of communications Products, including premise-based UC systems, a full line of desk phones and headsets, and a complete connectivity suite (gateways/SBCs/telephony cards). Sangomas products and services are used in leading UC, PBX, IVR, contact center, carrier networks, office productivity, and data communication applications worldwide. Sangoma is also the primary developer and sponsor of Asterisk and FreePBX, the worlds two most widely used open source communication software projects.

Sangoma Technologies Corporation is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE: STC). Additional information on Sangoma can be found at: www.sangoma.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the future success of our business, development strategies and future opportunities.

Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning estimates of expected expenditures (including in respect of IT and security enhancements being implemented in response to the cyber attack), statements relating to expected future production and cash flows, statements relating to the ongoing investigation into and actions being undertaken in response to the cyber attack and the anticipated impact on our business, and other statements which are not historical facts. When used in this document, the words such as "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "should" and similar expressions indicate forward-looking statements.

Although Sangoma believes that its expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date that the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the outcome of our ongoing investigation into the cyber attack, costs related to our investigation and any resulting liabilities, our ability to recover any proceeds under our insurance policies, and costs related to and the effectiveness of our mitigation and remediation efforts. Sangoma undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other events contemplated by the forward-looking statements will not occur. Although Sangoma believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct as these expectations are inherently subject to business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Some of the risks and other factors which could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements contained in its management's discussion and analysis and annual information form (both available on www.sedar.com) include, but are not limited to risks and uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in exchange rate between the Canadian Dollar and other currencies, changes in technology, changes in the business climate, changes in the regulatory environment, the decline in the importance of the PSTN and new competitive pressures. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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How women in aquaculture can contribute to social stability in Kenya

by Margaret Gatonye

February 05,2021 | Source: The Fish Site

Promoting womens roles in dynamic aquaculture sectors can provide a stabilising element in post-conflict areas, particularly in Kenya.



A continued question that is asked in international relations circles is how to create stability and growth in post-conflict societies. Often solutions revolve around how to increase governance, such as strengthening a federal style of government (as in Ethiopia), or the capacity-building of governors. Likewise, womens roles in peacebuilding is an often-discussed aspect, particularly in Africa.



One area that has been overlooked, however, is how womens roles in the aquaculture sector can provide a stabilising element in post-conflict areas. This is of particular importance in Kenya, where it is a critical sector for economic development and womens decision-making. It affects security in four areas: peacebuilding, food security, human security and national security.



Women have always played a significant role in the aquaculture sector, operating in a range of activities relating to hatcheries, production, processing, trading, and marketing. However, their contribution to the sector is often under-recognised, with policy-makers often failing to realise the burden it puts on them. This comes despite the encouragement of the United Nations Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals for equal rights and opportunities for women.



Seventy-five percent of the Kenyan population involved in the agriculture sector, for example, are women. Yet, individual women in Kenya own only one percent of the land, while those in groups own about five percent. Yet, this has not discouraged women from embracing the business of fish farming. Through table-banking, such chamas (a round-robin system of saving and lending money), women have been empowered to invest in the aquaculture sector, particularly in processing and trading. The sector has had some success in improving womens economic empowerment, which can lead to overall economic recovery, strengthen governance, and assist peacebuilding, as a Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency report has explained. It is clear that gender is an important factor in encouraging the sustainable development in Kenya.



In post-conflict areas, the sector can provide an opportunity to promote not just a growing economy, but also a way for women to contribute to a sustainable peace in both the domestic and civic spheres. For example, after post-election violence in Eldoret (among other areas) in Kenya in 2007-2008, the national government sponsored the Economic Stimulus Program, which included an element of aquaculture. Similarly, the Aquaculture Business Development Programme (ABDP), partially funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and implemented by the Government of Kenya, is continuing to promote women and youths in its agenda by providing them with loans to start their own businesses. Fish farming is now a key part of the growing economy of the region. It is also a major part of some womens economic independence, which aids in their social, environmental and political participation, therefore adding to the nations overall stability.



Aquaculture also assists peacebuilding and stabilisation efforts by improving food security, as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has pointed out. Food security helps build peace by preventing further conflict over resources that may be scarce  such as occurred in the Kenyan post-election violence. Considering the level at which women work in the sector  accounting for about 70 percent of the workforce  their role in the improvement of food security is critical. This can be aided by encouraging more women to participate in the aquaculture sub-sector. Aquaculture has become one of the fastest growing food producing sectors in the world, contributing greatly to food availability and fish consumption globally. Women who were previously employed in processing can be supported in beginning their own fish outlet centres, for example through micro-loans, thus improving their nutrition, livelihoods and food security.



In many visits to Lake Victoria as part of my work in implementing projects for the Aquaculture Association of Kenya (AAK), I engaged with various women whove started cage culture farming businesses as a way to promote food security and improving economic opportunities in the area.



Cage culture farming can also be seen as a possible solution to the problem of overfishing, as increased reliance on the sector can give wild fish stocks and shared resources time to repair. This is something critically important given threats to fish stocks from both domestic and foreign fisherfolk, especially coming from Chinese fishing fleets. However, domestic fisheries and aquaculture are faced by the dual threat of the aforementioned fishing fleets, but also from Chinese traders flooding the market with frozen tilapia, making it more difficult for domestic fisherfolk and fish farmers to sell their fish and compete with the Chinese prices. This particularly harms small-scale fish farmers. The possible threat of overexploitation of the resource or a devaluation in the domestic fish market can be seen as contributing to a national and regional insecurity, in addition to the damage it can do to regional food security.



Finally, the sector can support human security as the aquaculture sub-sector expands. By growing the number of men, women, and youths working in aquaculture, a similar drop in overfishing by domestic fisherfolk can be seen. This could occur either through government programmes to encourage fishermen on Lake Victoria, for example, to shift to cage aquaculture and supporting them through the transition, or by the adoption of policies. Likewise, the growth of the sector will also lead to more women and youths employed in processing or trading.

 2021 ? Hatch Accelerator Holding Limited, 7/8 Liberty Street, Cork, T12T85H, Ireland

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
"It is a privilege to create new opportunities for those who so honorably and courageously serve our country, particularly those who enlisted after the events of 9/11 and have put their lives on the line for nearly two decades," said Robert M. Bass, founder of American Aero.

Nearly 200 Naval Special Warfare (NSW) operators transition to civilian life from their active-duty military service each year, including a growing number of retirees who entered service after the attacks of 9/11. A scholarship fund established by American Aero FTW, a fixed-base operator (FBO) at Meacham International Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, continues to provide new opportunities for these warriors as they move from active-duty military service to life in the civilian sector.

As a long-time Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF) supporter, American Aero recently surpassed the $133,000 mark for donations made in support of NSF's robust scholarship program for the NSW community. This year's gift of $17,497 will be used to help U.S. Navy SEALs and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCCs) who are seeking pilot certification.

Through its support of the Foundation, American Aero FTW has facilitated the flight training or licensure of NSW personnel, including veteran and active-duty SEALs. The scholarship has made a tremendous impact in these warriors' lives, covering related expenses for Commercial Pilot Aviation Instrumental Rating, Rotorcraft-Helicopter Private Pilot, and FAA Rotary Wing Pilot Add-on certifications along with other needed training and flight simulation costs. In 2020, NSF provided $1.8 million in scholarship funds to qualified applicants, including four SEALs who received scholarships generated by American Aero FTW and its clients who helped fund the donation.

"Since American Aero FTW's founding in 2012, they have remained committed in their support of our nation's military members, including our SEALs, by not only hiring veterans but by making significant contributions to organizations like NSF in support of meaningful programs," said Robin King, CEO of the Navy SEAL Foundation. "For many of our SEALs, the operational tempo of back-to-back combat deployments paired with extensive training has meant they could not invest the time to pursue a degree, licensure, or certification. Because of the support of American Aero FTW, SEALs seeking assistance for flight training or pilot's licensure can rest easy knowing NSF is here to help."

When asked what the scholarship has meant, one scholarship recipient shared, "I would like to thank the Navy SEAL Foundation and its donors for being so gracious to me and to many others like me who are trying to achieve so much outside of work. I have been awarded three flight scholarships and have been able to knock out my instrument rating and commercial license. I wouldn't have been able to streamline the process and knock these out so quickly without the NSF and its donors' help. Again, thank you all for helping me pursue my dream of continuing flying."

The Navy SEAL Foundation is committed to providing transitioning warriors with the tools they need to have a successful move into the civilian sector. Many SEALs who entered service after the attacks of 9/11 have endured two decades of intense training and combat with little time to pursue professional development or educational opportunities--just one more reason the support from American Aero FTW is so essential.

"It is a privilege to create new opportunities for those who so honorably and courageously serve our country, particularly those who enlisted after the events of 9/11 and have put their lives on the line for nearly two decades," said Robert M. Bass, founder of American Aero. "With this scholarship fund, the American Aero team expresses its gratitude to those heroes as they consider what they would like to do next and welcomes them to join us in our love of private aviation."

About American Aero FTW

American Aero FTW is a private aviation terminal located at Meacham International Airport (KFTW) in Fort Worth, Texas. The fixed-base operator (FBO) is focused on the refueling, ground handling, servicing, and storing of business and private aviation aircraft and provides extensive crew and passenger amenities. In 2015, American Aero FTW became the first FBO in the Western Hemisphere to achieve the International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) from the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC); it was one of the first in the world to earn Stage 2 registration in 2017 and became first in the world to be awarded Stage 3 registration in 2018. American Aero FTW offers 280,000 square feet of leasable hangar and office space and is the primary tenant and only FBO in the airport's main administration building. In April 2020, American Aero FTW ranked the #1 FBO in world in the annual Aviation International News (AIN) reader survey. AIN conducts the industry's only annual independent, online evaluation of FBOs, which includes more than 4,500 operators worldwide. More information can be found at http://www.americanaero.com

About the Navy SEAL Foundation:

The mission of the Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF) is to provide immediate and ongoing support and assistance to the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community and its families, the families of NSW fallen, and SEAL and SWCC veterans. U.S. Navy SEALs have been in sustained combat for nearly two decades, performing hazardous work in unforgiving environments at an unrelenting pace. NSW operators are currently deployed in over 30 countries worldwide and can spend up to 270 days each year in harm's way.

The Navy SEAL Foundation stands behind these warriors and their families by providing a comprehensive set of programs specifically designed to improve health and welfare, build and enhance resiliency, empower and educate families and provide critical support during times of illness, injury or loss. Like the community it serves, the Navy SEAL Foundation is a high performing organization committed to excellence. NSF has been awarded the coveted 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator since 2011 and has earned a perfect score of "100" each year since 2016 for financial health, accountability, and transparency, placing NSF in the top 1% of rated charities. Ninety-four cents of every dollar donated goes directly to programs or is retained for future mission use.

The Navy SEAL Foundation is a 501c3 national non-profit charitable organization. TAX-ID 31-1728910. NSF is a non-federal entity, and it is not a part of the Department of Defense or any of its components, and it has no governmental status. To learn more, visit https://www.navySEALfoundation.org
Nicole Kidman's sister Antonia is the proud mother of six children.

And on Friday, the 50-year-old gushed about the bond she shares with her firstborn child, daughter Lucia Hawley, 23.

Antonia posted a gorgeous picture of the pair on Instagram, and fans couldn't get over how much they look alike.

'You're the double of each other!' On Friday, Nicole Kidman's sister Antonia thrilled fans as she posed alongside lookalike daughter Lucia, 23

'You are the double of each other, Antonia,' one follower remarked underneath the image.

'You look like sisters!' another added.

Seeing double! After she posted the photo, fans couldn't get over how much they look alike

In her post, the journalist and lawyer said she shared a 'powerful connection' with her firstborn, but clarified that it wasn't favouritism in any way.

'First born. There's something powerful about the connection with a first child. It's not favoritism or anything of that nature,' Antonia said.

She added: 'Rather, I think it's because there is a period of time where there are no other beings vying for your love and attention and your focus and devotion is entirely to them.'

Candid: In her post, Antonia said she shared a 'powerful connection' with her firstborn, but clarified that it wasn't favouritism in any way

Family: Antonia and her late ex-husband Angus Hawley shared four children together: Lucia, 23, Hamish, 19, James, 17, and Sybella, 13. After their separation, Antonia married Singaporean-based businessman Craig Marran (pictured here) in April 2010, and they went on to have two children together: sons Nicholas, nine, and Alexander, seven

Close: Antonia is pictured with sister Nicole and their mother, Janelle

Antonia and her late ex-husband Angus Hawley shared four children together: Lucia, 23, Hamish, 19, James, 17, and Sybella, 13.

The former couple were married for 11 years, but split in 2007.

In April 2015, Angus died in New York from a suspected heart attack at the age of 46.

Tragic: In April 2015, Angus died in New York from a suspected heart attack at the age of 46. Pictured together in Sydney in 2006

After their separation, Antonia married Singaporean-based businessman Craig Marran in April 2010 and they went on to have two children together: sons Nicholas, nine, and Alexander, seven.

Angus was married to Prue Fisher for three years before his death in 2015.

Antonia and her family recently moved back to Sydney, after almost a decade of living in Singapore.

She said in 2017 that balancing six children with a busy career can be 'tricky'.

'There really is no secret,' she told 9Honey of motherhood. 'No matter how many kids you have, it's tricky.'
Resident of Russias Komi ordered to prison for murder of judge

 flickr.com/ meesh

16:25 05/02/2021

MOSCOW, February 5 (RAPSI)  A court in Russias Republic of Komi has sentenced a 34-year local resident to 8 years in prison for killing a magistrate judge, the Investigative Committees press service has told RAPSI.

Additionally, he has been ordered to pay 3 million rubles ($40,000) in compensation for moral harm to victims in the case.

According to the court findings, in November 2019, the defendant quarreled with the victim and shot the judge in the face.




The Governor of Nevada plans to introduce new legislation that would effectively allow tech companies to form separate local governments within the state. In a draft proposal obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Governor Steve Sisolak calls for creating what he calls Innovation Zones. Were the legislation to pass, companies with substantial amounts of money that operate in verticals like blockchain, artificial intelligence and renewables would have the option to form local governments with the same powers and responsibilities as counties. That means they would be able to collect taxes, as well as operate things like school boards and courts.

Governor Sisolak sees the idea as a way to pump the economy without the need for corporate tax breaks or other similar incentives the government has relied on in the past to attract companies like Tesla. The draft bill suggests the traditional local government model is inadequate alone to provide the flexibility and resources conducive to making the State a leader in attracting and retaining new forms and types of businesses and fostering economic development in emerging technologies and innovative industries.

Applications would be handled by the Governors Office of Economic Development and only granted to tech companies that own at least 78 square miles of land. Moreover, that land would have to be away from any existing town or city, with no one living there initially. Companies would also be obligated to invest $1 billion in their slice of Nevada. Meanwhile, governance would fall to a three-person board, with the same powers as their country commissioner counterparts. A spokesperson for the governor told the Review-Journal he will share additional details about the idea at an upcoming State of the State address.

Once you get past the tech angle, Governor Sisolaks Innovation Zones arent all that different from the company towns that were a major feature of the American landscape before the 1920s. Historically, many of those were plagued by poor governance, with local residents eventually becoming disenfranchised by what they saw. And its not like we havent seen modern iterations of the idea already. You only have to look to Alphabet, its Sidewalk Labs subsidiary and the Quayside neighborhood it had planned to build in Toronto, Canada to find a more recent example. That project stalled in part over concerns on how Sidewalk Labs would manage the data it planned to collect through the development.
In a jolt to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, the saffron party's Mumbai Vice-President and ex-legislator Krishna Hegde joined the ruling Shiv Sena in Mumbai on Friday evening.

When contacted by IANS, Hedge confirmed the development after emerging from a meeting with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence.

"I have joined the Shiv Sena. The CM has asked me to help the party's growth, especially in Vile Parle, and work for the progress of Mumbai," Hegde said briefly.

A former Congress legislator from Vile Parle, Hegde, 54, had quit the party in 2017 citing infighting to join the BJP, where he remained for four years before jumping ship to the Shiv Sena on Friday evening.

RELATED NEWS Rape Allegations Against Dhananjay Munde: BJP Leader Says Same Woman Harassed Him for Several Years

Last month, Hegde had shot into the limelight when he lodged a complaint against a woman who allegedly tried to honey-trap him for extortion purposes.

Incidentally, the same woman had accused Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde of allegedly raping her for several years, but later withdrew her police complaint.

Hegde was elected on a Congress ticket from the Vile Parle Assembly constituency in 2009, but in the 2014 elections, he was trounced by BJP's Parag Alvani.

Hegde was instrumental in securing the release of Bhavesh Parmar, a jobless IT engineer from Mumbai, who had strayed into Amritsar from where he had boarded the Samjhauta Express in 2005 and reached Pakistan.

Parmar was caught there without a passport, visa or any other documents and consequently spent seven years in a Pakistan prison before he was repatriated home in 2012.
LEASING

LIDCOMBE

Southern Cross Produce Export (Sydney) Pty Ltd has inked a lease for a 3153 sq m industrial site at 12-14 Birnie Avenue from a private investor. The property is fitted out as cold storage facility and has a large hardstand area proving great container access and office accommodation with full staffing amenities. The three-year lease was signed at a rent of $82 per sq m. JLLs Marco Chiodo, David Lidgard and Mitch Whiteley, negotiated the lease.

BOTANY

The Sydney Art Store Pty Ltd has leased a 250 sq m industrial at 10 Tenterden Road from MGJ Pty Ltd. The lease term is three years at a rent of $240 per sq m gross. Marino Rodriguez, Taylor Nicholas South Sydney.
New Delhi: Actor Priyanka Chopras latest film The White Tiger featured in the British Academy Film Awards(BAFTA) 2021. Parineeti Chopra took to social media to congratulate and celebrate the nomination by posting a picture of the announcement made on the BAFTA website.

Priyanka Chopra retweeted Parineetis post that said Ladies and gentlemen MEET MY BAFTA LONGLIST SISTER! I meaaaaan. Cant wait for this to happen! @priyankachopra #TheWhiteTiger.

With fingers crossed, the actress thanked her cousin. Youre a cutie tishuuuu! love u @ParineetiChopra, she captioned the repost.

The longlists for BAFTA 2021 were recently unveiled and Ramin Bahranis directorial The White Tiger earned a spot in several categories. Actors Priyanka Chopra and Adarsh Gourav also made it to the longlists for their powerful performances in the movie.

The film, which also stars actor Rajkummar Rao, made it to seven categories, including the Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Director. Priyanka is on the Best Supporting Actress longlist for her role in the film while Adarsh made it to the longlist for the Best Actor category, ANI reported.

The White Tiger revolves around an ambitious yet cunning Indian driver played by actor Adarsh who uses his wit to escape from poverty. It was directed by Ramin Bahrani and has been co-produced by Priyanka along with Emmy award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay.

(With inputs from ANI)
Pubs could be entitled to hundreds of millions in claims after the Commercial Court ruled that FBD's business interruption policies applied to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The judgment, which affects FBD's 1,300 pub customers, went comprehensively against the insurer, meaning the costs are likely to be at the upper end of estimates. Legal and insurance industry sources indicated the gross cost to the company could exceed 200m.

FBD said in a statement to the stock market that it will consider the effects of the judgment with its reinsurers and will revert to the market shortly on the estimated net costs of Covid-19-related business interruption claims.

Read More

The company also said it was committed to quickly paying claims to public house insurance policyholders and will issue interim payments in the short-term while awaiting final clarity on the quantum of losses.

However, insurance industry sources indicated the company could have limited its exposure by negotiating settlements with customers early in the pandemic instead of fighting them in court.

FBD shares were up 3.67pc shortly after the company issued its statement.

The Commercial Court has listed a hearing for February 17 to determine how much should be covered by FBD's policies based on how long pubs were closed and what periods the contracts cover.

The court will have to decide whether claims cover just the first lockdown or the entire indemnified period minus any sales during the period.

It is understood that FBD public house policies do not have an inner limit putting a ceiling on individual claim liabilities. Some other insurers put a maximum pay-out into the terms and conditions.

The issue for FBD is not simply the gross amount due to publicans and other commercial customers covered by business interruption policies, but the amount covered by its own reinsurance providers.

Sources speculated that a bad result in the courts could facilitate a higher degree of reinsurance coverage for the company, protecting it somewhat from a potentially large total claims amount.

The financial and commercial implications of the judgment for the rest of the insurance industry are considerable.

Hiscox and several other insurers had already begun contacting customers, saying they were now prepared to deal with coronavirus business interruption claims that until now have been denied.

The companies have said that the claims are being reviewed in light of a January 15 UK Supreme Court ruling in favour of hospitality customers. The Irish Commercial Court ruling only reinforces the case in favour of paying out.

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) issued a statement welcoming the judgment and indicating that all commercial insurers would have to take the result into consideration when dealing with their own clients making business interruption claims.

Where legal action results in an outcome that has a beneficial impact for similar customers, firms are required to take urgent action to ensure those customers benefit from the final outcome, the CBI said.

Jim Flannery, a director with Balcombes Claims Management, said any businesses with infectious disease or denial of access cover that had to close  primarily in hospitality  would now have a basis for a claim.

The Vintners Federation of Ireland, whose members make up the bulk of FBD pub customers, issued a statement calling on other insurance companies to review their business interruption claims and begin working with publicans to ensure adequate compensation.

Read More











ALMATY, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. The visit of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his delegation to Kazakhstan has launched by a bilateral meeting, Armenpress correspondent reports from Almaty.

Early morning the Armenian PM met with Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Ulukbek Maripov. The officials highlighted the high level of the political dialogue between the two countries and reaffirmed their readiness to deepen the mutual relations at bilateral and multilateral formats.

The bilateral meeting will be followed by the Almaty Digital Forum 2021 where the Armenian PM will deliver remarks. After the forum an official dinner will be served in honor of the heads of government of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Thereafter, the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will launch, initially at a narrow and then at an extended format, where the participants will discuss the macro-economic situation of the EAEU states. Proposals on the sustainable economic development of the Unions member states will be made.

Kazakhstan assumed the EAEU chairmanship on January 1, 2021.



EAEU member states are Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.



Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan


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opinion

State firms and government departments are collecting a significant amount of funds allocated at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)'s foreign currency auction system weekly, crowding out the private sector, according to Eddie Cross, a member of the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

The RBZ introduced the foreign currency auction system in June to address a dire liquidity crisis in the country.

In the final quarter of the year, several listed firms said the forex auction system had improved access to hard currencies.

Before the introduction of the auction system, companies trooped to the black market for their foreign currency requirements.

High demand on the parallel market precipitated rampaging rates of up to US$1:ZW$165 during the first quarter of 2020.

Rates have generally stabilised at about US$1:ZW$82 on the official market since June, although Cross projected last week that markets could be hit by a fresh round of exchange rate volatilities.

With allocations of about US$35 million weekly, the forex auction system presented opportunities for domestic firms to access funding for vital imports, including for raw materials and equipment.

But revelations by Cross that government agencies were crowding out private sector players could explain why industries have had to wait for up to half a month to receive their forex after allocation.

The economist also revealed this development last week.

Cross, who spoke during last week's edition of the Big Debate, said within the MPC, there has recently been a push to limit the extent to which government departments access foreign currency on the auction system.

"They are receiving quite a substantial sum in United States dollars every week and we have been arguing that some of this should be liquidated on the productive sectors, instead of being used for government purposes," Cross said in a contribution to the debate, which ran under the topic Zimbabwe 2021 Economic Prospects.

"All the critical import requirements like fuel, bulk oil, cooking oil and soya beans are all being imported now by the private sector and the auction system is providing that after a decision taken by a subcommittee of cabinet," he said.

Concerns have been rising about how State-run firms, in countries where they dominate economic activities, enjoy preferential treatment in a number of areas, including access to credit.

A 2013 African Development Bank (AfDB) paper warned against the dominance of state firms in an economy and warned about the implications of a private sector crowding out.

"State-owned firms are less credit-constrained than domestic firms and that only private firms are crowded out by higher borrowings by foreign firms," AfDB said it a report that looked at Asian economies.

"Private investment in Malaysia has been sluggish since the Asian financial crisis. One explanation is that the growing presence of government-linked corporations has been crowding out private investment," AfDB said.

Cross said the RBZ's foreign currency auction system was struggling to meet demand by the private sector, with backlogs extending to half a month.

This translated to backlogs of about US$70 million, he said.

Resources for the auction systems are being mobilised partly from the liquidation of domestic Foreign Currency Account nostros at 20% and liquidation of export proceeds retention, which is now at a mandatory 40% from the initial 30%.

"The (foreign currency auction system) arrears, which had accumulated up to the end of the year to US$70 million, about two weeks auction, we were able to clear that last week," Cross said. "We had US$34,8 million last week (the week before last) and we allocated US$35 million and this week (last week) we have been in a more or less stable situation, so for as long as we continue to meet demand on the auction system I think it will continue being the primary determinant of the official exchange rate."

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Legislator and former finance minister Tendai Biti claimed the foreign currency auction system was flawed.

As a result of this, Biti said, its result was a "rigged exchange rate, which presents problems for the economy where billions trade on the parallel market".

Biti also said corruption must be dealt with. He said the central bank must stop quasi-fiscal activities that have an effect of distorting the budget in terms of the deficit.

Economist and CEO Africa Roundtable chief executive officer, Kipson Gundani warned that a managed exchange rate would lead to some point of explosion.
The increasingly heated school reopening debate is forcing President Joe Biden to balance two priorities: getting children back into the classroom and preserving the support of powerful labor groups that helped him get elected.

Following weeks of standoff in some cities and states where teachers unions are demanding vaccines as a condition of reopening, the issue came to a head Wednesday when Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said vaccination of teachers 'is not a prerequisite for safe reopening of schools.'

But in a juggling of positions, the White House declined to back Walensky, saying she was speaking 'in her personal capacity.' Asked Friday about her earlier comments, Walensky punted.

So far, it doesn't appear that the issue is driving a wedge between Biden and the unions. Even those taking a hard line on vaccines say shots would not be required if schools were taking other steps to make buildings safe.

Walensky on Wednesday cited CDC data showing that social distancing and wearing a mask significantly reduce the spread of the virus in school settings.

Just a week earlier, the agency issued a study similarly finding that, with mask wearing and other precautions, it's generally safe to hold in-person schooling.

To many Republicans and some on the left, Walensky's comment was seen as an endorsement to reopen schools immediately. Some believed it discredited teachers unions that have demanded vaccines before returning to in-person instruction.

Biden press secretary Jen Psaki said Walensky was speaking 'in her personal capacity' and that the White House would await updated school guidance that Biden has requested from the CDC.

On Wednesday Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said vaccination of teachers 'is not a prerequisite for safe reopening of schools.'

Unions, however, largely met it with a shrug. With the right mix of safety measures in places, teachers unions generally agree the vaccines aren't a condition for reopening.

The problem is that many schools are far behind on ventilation updates and other important measures recommended by health officials, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

'Vaccinations go from a priority to essential if you can't do some of these basic mitigation strategies,' Weingarten said. 'Rather than keep these schools closed for months, why not vaccinate teachers more quickly?'

Even among state and local unions that have taken a harder line on vaccinations, Walensky's comment drew little fire.

The California Teachers Association is pushing for all teachers to be vaccinated but it's largely because many schools 'aren't anywhere close' to making buildings safe through other methods, said Claudia Briggs, a union spokesperson.

Briggs applauded the Biden administration's response, saying the president has made clear that teacher safety is of 'paramount importance.' She cited his proposal for $130 billion in additional pandemic relief to help schools reopen.

In Chicago, vaccinations have been a major sticking point between the city and the teachers union as they work to negotiate a return to the classroom. At a Friday news conference held by the Chicago Teachers Union, special education teacher Dawn Kelly said teachers want to return but feel they aren't being protected.

'We want to come back to school. I miss my babies, I want to hug my students, I want to sit on the carpet and do read-alongs, but right now it's just not safe,' she said.

Despite the seemingly definitive statement from the CDC, the White House has declined to take a firm stance on teacher vaccinations.

Asked about it on Thursday, Biden press secretary Jen Psaki said Walensky was speaking 'in her personal capacity' and that the White House would await updated school guidance that Biden has requested from the CDC.

'Obviously she's the head of the CDC, but we're going to wait for the final guidance to come out so we can use that as a guide for schools around the country,' Psaki said.

Biden has pledged to reopen most of the nation's K-8 schools within his first 100 days in office, a goal he says is possible if Congress approves his pandemic rescue plan and if states prioritize teachers in vaccine rollouts. In many states, teachers are being included early in a second wave of shots.

But the plan has drawn fire from critics who say Biden is cowing to teachers unions who see him as an ally.

In Chicago, vaccinations have been a major sticking point between the city and the teachers union as they work to negotiate a return to the classroom. At a Friday news conference held by the Chicago Teachers Union, special education teacher Dawn Kelly said teachers want to return but feel they aren't being protected.

Both of the nation's two major teachers unions endorsed Biden for president, including the National Education Association, whose 3 million members include first lady Jill Biden, who is a longtime community college professor.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said efforts to get students back in the classroom have been blocked by 'rich, powerful unions that donate huge sums to Democrats and get a stranglehold over education in many communities.'

'An administration that puts facts and science first would be conducting a full-court press to open schools,' he said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Some on the left have issued similar rebukes, including former New York Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg, who said on MSNBC that Biden must 'stand up' to teachers unions and force a return to the classroom.

In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom cited Walensky's comment as evidence that it's safe to reopen schools before all teachers get vaccines. He has been pressing schools to reopen for weeks, and so far it appears the CDC's finding has done little to persuade teachers to return.

Vaccine shortages and slow rollouts have jeopardized Biden's reopening plan as more schools delay in-person instruction. Leaders in some districts have expressed doubt that they will bring all students back for in-person instruction until next school year.

The Biden administration says it hopes to accelerate openings by boosting funding and helping schools implement virus testing. Miguel Cardona, Biden's pick for education secretary, has said he's prepared to help reopen schools safely even if teachers have not all been vaccinated.

Weingarten, of the AFT, said Biden's proposed pandemic relief would go far getting schools opened. But even if Congress approves it, she said, it could be months before schools receive it and make necessary fixes. Instead of scapegoating teachers, though, she said blame should fall to the Trump administration for failing to deliver vaccines sooner and to districts that have failed to update buildings for years.

'There's not a lot of trust for districts because we've had years and years of austerity budgets, and we know that the facilities are not what they should be,' she said. 'It shouldn't take a pandemic to fix ventilation systems.'
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Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

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Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

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Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

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Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

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15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

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HORRY COUNTY  County council has debated implementing an impact fee for decades, longer than some of its current members have been alive.

And heading into 2020, the county seemed closer than ever to issuing a charge on new development. But the pandemic and its resulting economic uncertainty will likely delay the impact fee proposal for another year as council continues to consider what is an appropriate amount to charge new development, while avoiding an economic slowdown in the construction and real estate industries that are having historic success while the tourism industry suffers.

We have a big impact from the pandemic, and until we know what that is, I don't think doing a major deal like impact fees are appropriate, Councilmember Johnny Vaught said. Now Im for impact fees, I think development ought to pay for development, but right now is not the right time to do it. And I dont know when it will be, but itll be likely once we come out from under COVID and know more about the hospitality fee.

Impact fees are a program that intends to make new construction pay for some of the strains new businesses and residents have on infrastructure like stormwater and public safety. For a fast growing county like Horry, the fees are an enticing new revenue stream as local governments struggle to pay for an ever growing population.

In 2018, more than 70 percent of Horry County voters supported implementing such a fee during a non-binding referendum placed on November midterm election ballots. The revenue could go to build new fire stations, roads, stormwater control infrastructure and a variety of other needs without an explicit tax increase on current residents.

State law, however, caps the uses of these fees. The revenue must go to benefit the community that paid it and be used within three years of collection. As prescribed by law, Horry County has already undergone arguably the hardest step of implementing these fees which the competition of a through study outlining the impact growth has on county finances.

During 2019 the county began its impact fee study and the accompanying research into how such a fee would affect affordable housing. When it was presented to council, the proposed impact fees were broken down into types of construction like residential, hotel or commercial.

According to the countys presentation in December 2019, the fee at most could cost $4,565 per home, $7,439 per 1,000 square feet of retail space and $2,587 per room for hotels. The total revenue going into the countys budget would depend on the level of year-to-year construction.

When the original study was presented, council members wanted to change the proposal to include a specific stormwater impact fee to cover new developments impact on that specific kind infrastructure, which would also increase the overall price of the impact fee per unit.

The exact costs of the fee, however, will likely be lower than the maximum amount allowed by law as outlined in the study.

While most council members support an impact fee in some shape or form, implementing a fee this year and to the maximum extent possible seems unlikely for the Fiscal Year 2022 budget cycle. Vaught said the economic volatility of the times makes it hard to know how expensive the fee should be to alleviate any potential economic slowdown.

Jason Repak, vice president of the Horry Georgetown Home Builders Association, said the pandemic has seen an increase in homebuilding in the area. While there has been historic success over the past several months, he believes the economic struggles will soon begin to impact home prices. Simply, the cost of production materials is increasing or becoming difficult to find due to market conditions and demand.

The price of wood used for many homes, walls and exteriors has increased by 30 percent, Repak said. As the price to build goes up, especially for larger track home projects, the more expensive houses will become. Tacking on an impact fee, he fears, will make it even harder for people to afford a home for retirement or first-time buyers.

Repak cited a study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders that states for every $1,000 increase in a home price, more than 300 potential buyers will no longer be able to afford the costs.

We are talking numbers in the 6,000 to 10,000 range especially for commercial, Repak said. I think if it wasnt for commercial we wouldnt be having this conversation. If the numbers they got back werent so prohibitive for building, I dont think they would have stopped implementing an impact fee two years ago.

Vice President of Governmental Affairs Madison Cooper of the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors is against impact fees outright, but especially implementing them at a time would affect Horry Countys competitive edge of low-cost living during a time when economic growth is needed.

In 2020, the CCAR presented council with its own study conducted by University of South Carolina Professor Joseph Von Nessen that outlined the burden an impact fee might place on the housing market. It found the proposed fees could lead to a 2.4 percent increase in home costs and a 25 percent increase in the cost for commercial construction.

The study argued this could lead to a 10 percent decrease in new businesses constructing buildings in the area, according to information obtained by the Post and Courier. This study was presented to council members but never made fully public. And with the hospitality businesses struggling, Cooper asked if adding another fee onto workers looking to buy a new home is a good idea.

Does the county really want to add an additional burden to workers looking to fulfill the American Dream? Cooper asked. Regardless of when a fee is implemented it will have a large impact, but certainly during COVID and the uncertainty for our areas workers.

Potential harms to new businesses is a major concern from council members moving forward, especially for those businesses looking to reopen during the pandemic with a new building. The impact fee would be steep and levied against businesses of all types looking to build in the area regardless of local or corporate ownership.

Its prudent that County Council continue to work with those in the business, development and real estate communities to determine the market effect implementation of new impact fees at this time would create Pre-COVID, said Karen Riordan, the CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. County Council expressed a strong willingness to work with and listen to these communities which contribute tens of millions in tax revenue for the county. Since COVID, the market landscape has changed significantly. Its important that Council maintain that strong dialogue before implementation of a plan that was created prior to the pandemic.

Councilmember Danny Hardee, an impact fee supporter, said deciding to move forward with an impact fee this year is a damned if we do, damned if we dont situation.

With the situation going on with the pandemic, I dont want to do anything to slow down home builders, but at the same time I support impact fees because I see it as the people moving in get to pay a little bit of what everyone else has already paid for, Hardee said.

Hardee added that with a new, potentially deadlier strain of COVID-19 detected in South Carolina, its hard to know what the future will look like and if a fee would be an undue burden on industry or not.

In addition to wanting to see when the economy settles down, council is also awaiting the result of the hospitality lawsuit that could free up funds to cover the costs of projects related to growth in the touristy area. Hypothetically, this money could help decrease the overall need of an expensive impact fee.

Even with the potential economic impact, impact fees are likely to happen at some point in the future with a majority of the council supporting their implementation. Council Member Tyler Servant said the people overwhelmingly voted for these fees and council has a mandated priority to approve the proposal but in a way that is responsible given economic concerns.

The people of Horry County spoke loud and clear when they passed a ballot referendum by a super majority in favor of impact fees. Its our duty as council members to uphold their vote and to come up with the best plan possible to implement impact fees in a way that does not hurt the economy but at the same time deliver the results that voters expect, said Servant, a realtor.
Connecticut has gotten right most parts of its medical marijuana program, but some parts are broken. Legalizing adult recreational use of cannabis can fix whats broken and can prevent from breaking whats fixed.

Whats working? Its ballooning rosters of patients, physicians and dispensaries are hallmarks of a successful program. So lets look at those numbers.

Medical marijuana, or MMJ, was legalized here in 2012. By 2015, 4,914 patients had registered. In 2017, that mushroomed fourfold to 22,279. In June 2020, that nearly doubled to 41,292. That means one of every 90 Connecticut residents was registered as a patient.

In 2012, 13 conditions qualified a patient. By 2016, the list expanded to 17. In 2020, it went to 38, when chronic pain became a qualifying condition, albeit pain of at least six months duration. Long term or short, chronic pain has opened the floodgates.

The commissioner who oversees the MMJ program predicted the June 2020 figure will quickly double to over 80,000. At this twofold rate, by 2023 every darn one of us Nutmeggers could be enrolled. So lets save ourselves the piles of paperwork. Lets legalize cannabis for adults.

The roll call of physicians who sponsor patients also has steadily increased. In 2017, it was 801. In 2018, the tally was up to 1,010. As of this past June, it was at 1,270 total doctors.

In 2018, searching for a new sponsor, I learned that hospitals here typically prohibit their hundreds of affiliated physicians from sponsoring MMJ. Their institutional bias emerged during my in-person appointments with specialists within Yale New Haven Health, at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, and at Mount Sinai Hospital in Hartford. My medical records state that my sole medication is MMJ, so cannabis does stand out. Without my asking, they volunteered the information that they do not sponsor MMJ patients. End of discussion.

I hit the same brick wall within Hartford HealthCare, but with an added twist. While supportive of my use of MMJ for my past 28 years, the physician referred me to his go-to pot doc. Doctors even outside the umbrella of hospital networks dread dealing with government red tape or risking being branded as pot docs. Thats why a cavalry of pot docs has come to the rescue to meet patient demand.

Search the internet for Connecticut medical marijuana doctors. Youll discover dozens of doctors with multiple offices and multiple websites each with dozens of doctors. Even Connecticut pot docs will get you there.

Few pot docs qualify with medical insurers, so their patients pay out of pocket, on the spot, and through the nose. The rock-bottom rates blared on the internet are $175 for initial appointments and $150 for annual renewals. Those who dont publicize their prices charge up to $300 a pop.

The wording of our MMJ law was intended to prevent reenactment of the Wild West of California where shyster doctors in shady clinics used to grant weed cards to anyone who shelled out the cash. Yet our legislators messed up when they specified a bona fide physician-patient relationship. Bona fide is a nebulous quality, and qualities elude quantifying. Long term or one year would be clearer. How to banish pot docs from Connecticut? The same way that California shut them down. By legalizing recreational.

Our MMJ law sought to boost the states economy by requiring that cannabis be grown within our borders. Initially, three of our four cultivation labs were Connecticut companies. Likewise, our six startup dispensaries were run like mom-and-pop stores because most of them were owned by mom and pops.

In just eight years, six dispensaries grew to 18, while two of the four grow labs were acquired by larger corporations. Thanks to the states puzzling choices in granting new licenses, our nations largest cannabis corporation that initially grew only cannabis here now also owns four dispensaries here. CEOs call that vertical integration. Regulators call that monopolizing. Aptly, that behemoths newest dispensary sits diagonally across the street from a Walmart.

Years ago, we patients rhapsodized in online forums and political rallies about our MMJ community. Presently, grow labs and dispensaries tabulate in spreadsheets and annual reports their MMJ industry. Community has been lost to industry. Has anything been gained?

Perhaps cannabis now costs less. But not enough to compensate for our annual license fees and, for patients forced to resort to them, pot docs renewal fees. Patients would save more if we could legally grow our own, same as patients have been doing next door in Rhode Island since 2006 and in Massachusetts since 2012.

In Massachusetts, recreational cannabis is heavily taxed, while MMJ is not. Connecticut could collect its fair share of revenue by taxing recreational consumption. Then, patients who chose to retain their permits sponsored by bona fide doctors would avoid paying both recreational taxes and pot doc fees.

A huge billboard advertising a Massachusetts pot shop greets drivers on 1-95 in Providence. Thats Massachusetts way of tacitly thumbing its nose at Rhode Island. While our legislators dally, another billboard might yet be posted to greet drivers on I-84 or I-91 in Hartford. And Massachusetts will duly be taunting Connecticut, unless legislators stop fiddling while MMJ burns and they act to legalize recreational cannabis.

Mark Braunstein gave in-person testimony in support of Connecticuts medical marijuana bills at seven of the eight public hearings held from 1997 until its passage into law in 2012.


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On February 2, Siemens Energy announced 7,800 job cuts and at the same time reported an annual profit of almost 100 million. Trade union IG Metall supports the job destruction plans in the name of cost-cutting. Together with the Siemens executive and the union-run works council, IG Metall presented its Future Agreement 2030, which provides the framework for the company to shed jobs.

The figures, presented by company CEO Christian Bruch on Tuesday, relate to the first quarter of the 20202021 financial year, the period from October 1 to December 31, 2020. Following losses the previous year, Siemens Energy now made an after-tax profit of 99 million. The companys sales also increased slightly. Bruchs simultaneous announcement to cut 7,800 jobs worldwide by 2025, including 3,000 in Germany, was met with considerable concern by Siemens total workforce of 90,000.

Siemens plant in Mulheim/Ruhr (Photo: Frank Vincentz, via Wikimedia Commons)

The plan envisages the elimination of every 12th job by 2023. Bruch justified the job cuts by arguing that costs in the companys fossil energy business (coal, gas and oil) should be reduced by at least 300 million per year. Above all, the profitability of Siemens Energy is to be increased from 6.5 percent to 8.5 percent by wiping out thousands of jobs and intensifying productivity and stress for the rest of the workforce.

Shares in the MDax-listed company reacted positively and showed significant gains following the announcement. With the job cuts due to take place mainly in the companys gas and power (fossil fuel) sector, workers in plants in Mulheim/Ruhr, Duisburg and Berlin in particular fear for their jobs.

Up to 370 jobs are expected to be cut at Siemens Energy Duisburg and at least 600 at the Mulheim/Ruhr plant. Many jobs could also be affected in the Nuremberg-Erlangen area and other regions, for example at the company factory in Gorlitz. According to the company, three quarters of the job cuts will take place in management, administration and sales. Savings are also to be made in purchasing and with the use of external service providers, as well as by optimising logistics and the companys information technology division .

The company wants to withdraw from the construction of power plants and gas turbines and invest more in technology for renewable energies. The job cuts now announced and the associated cost reductions are primarily intended to strengthen the competitiveness of Siemens Energy, according to CEO Bruch.

Siemens Energy is currently headquartered in Munich, but the corporate headquarters is soon to be moved to Berlin. The longstanding seat of the company, Erlangen, dates back to the time when Siemens Energy was still part of Siemens AG under the name Energietechnik. This division was outsourced last year and floated on the stock exchange as an independent company, Siemens Energy.

As was the case with Medical Engineering, which now operates under the name Siemens Healthineers, the outsourcing is in line with the overall plan to split Siemens into several divisions, leaving each company to fight for its survival. The main instigator of this restructuring plan was Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser, who is now stepping down from the top post at Siemens AG to become chairman of the supervisory board at Siemens Energy.

The Siemens energy sector had already been subjected to massive cost-cutting measures and job losses before its outsourcing. For example, over 6,800 jobs have been eliminated since 2018 in order to make the sector ripe for its spin-off.

All these attacks on workers were pushed through with the full support of IG Metall and the Siemens works councils and this will be no different in the newly formed company.

At the end of January, just a few days before the announcement of the huge job cuts, the Siemens Energy board, IG Metall and the company works councils signed the so-called Future Agreement 2030. According to the agreement, the restructuring of the company is to take place as much as possible without plant closures and compulsory redundancies. Necessary personnel adjustments are to be implemented as much as possible through voluntary measures such as severance agreements, internal qualification, transfers, etc.

A press release from Siemens Energy dated January 29, 2021 states: The Future Agreement 2030 provides for existing locations in Germany to be maintained in principle and no plants to be closed if possible. The parties assume that, as much as possible, no compulsory redundancies will be made as part of the transformation. The common goal is to enable necessary staff adjustments through so-called voluntary measures. These have priority over compulsory redundancies.

The text does not explicitly exclude site closures and compulsory redundancies, and the phrase if possible leaves a door open for every contingency. Also, in the majority of cases, voluntary measures are never genuinely voluntary, but rather the product of intense pressure exerted on workers by both their factory superiors and union representatives. Nevertheless, the agreement has been praised by IG Metall and works council representatives, who were most likely instrumental in drafting and formulating the deal, based on their decades of expertise in enforcing job cuts and other attacks on workers.

Robert Kensbock, chairman of the joint works council of Siemens Energy, described the agreement as a clear commitment to Germany as a location and to employees and emphasised: We agree with management that even in the case of conflicts over content, finding an amicable internal solution should always have priority.

The commitment to Germany as a location underlines the nationalist stance of the union bureaucrat. The idea that workers could lead a struggle to defend jobs across plant and national borders is furthest from his mind. In defence of their own privileges, IG Metall and the works councils are prepared to accept all attacks on workers rights. They regard and understand themselves to be co-managers and company police.

Workers therefore must regard the emphasis on finding an amicable internal solution to substantive conflicts as a warning. In the case of conflicts, i.e., failure to agree to a voluntary severance agreement, the works council finds itself on the same side as the company against the workers.

Jurgen Kerner, member of the IG Metall executive and also member of the supervisory board at Siemens Energy, is full of praise for the Future Agreement: The change in energy supply we all want presents Siemens Energy with major challenges with massive consequences not just for its products and activities, but also for sites and employment. Of particular importance for Kerner is the commitment on the part of company management to the German corporatist principle of co-determination and the safeguarding of the privileges and posts of the IG Metall and works council representatives.

A press release from IG Metall Berlin dated February 2 stated that 500 jobs could be shed at Siemens Energy in Berlin alone. The release acknowledges that the company is cutting 7,800 jobs worldwide in order to increase its profitability at the expense of the workers, but then states: IG Metall and the joint works council have been able to prevent even worse happening with an agreement on the future.

By drafting and agreeing to the Future Agreement, IG Metall and the central works council had already provided the framework before the huge job cuts at Siemens Energy were announced, thereby sabotaging any struggle to defend jobs across factory and national boundaries.

This makes it all the more urgent for the workers and employees at Siemens Energy to organise themselves independently of the trade unions into action committees to fight for the unconditional defence of all jobs and unite with their colleagues internationally. This struggle requires an international socialist programme and the building of the Socialist Equality Party. Please contact the World Socialist Web Site for support in this struggle.
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editor's pick centerpiece featured

Galveston restaurants have big hopes for extended annual event

jenniferreynolds / JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News James Clark, with Mosquito Cafe and PattyCakes Bakery and president of the Galveston chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association, holds a flyer Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, for Galvestons annual Restaurant Week, which started Monday and this year extends until the end of the month.

GALVESTON

Oktoberfest, Mardi Gras and Dickens on The Strand are a few of the big local events canceled over the past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the pandemics crippling effect didnt cancel Galvestons annual Restaurant Week  and perhaps improved it.

Galvestons 10th annual Restaurant Week began Monday and has been extended through the whole month. Event organizers Galveston.com and the Galveston chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association extended the event to discourage large gatherings and provide extra support to local restaurants that have struggled to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the event, participating restaurants offer fixed breakfast, lunch and dinner menus at discounted prices. Two- and three-course dinners will be priced between $20 and $35, for example, while two-course lunches, breakfasts and brunches will cost between $10 and $20, organizers said.

Event organizers also made some minor changes to encourage more restaurants to participate in the opportunity to attract new customers and stimulate needed business during the slower winter months.

This year, 43 restaurants are participating, which is notably more than past years, said James Clark, president of the Galveston chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association.

Organizers extended the event to a month because they dont want to overwhelm restaurants with high volumes of people or promote unsafe gatherings, said Clark, who also is the director of operations for Mosquito Cafe, 628 14th St., and PattyCakes Bakery, 704 14th St.

Most restaurants also are offering their menu selections for takeout, and participation is free to all restaurants  both of which are changes from past years, Clark said.

The latter is possible because the association and five other groups  Del Papa Distributing Co., Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Galveston County Daily News, Sysco Houston and Ben E. Keith Co.  paid the participation fees, he said.

Every little bit helps to keep our businesses afloat here on the island, Clark said, We encourage people to come out and support their small businesses.

Galveston restaurants and hotels have seen some of the lowest sales in the history of their businesses and higher expenses than ever before because of increased spending on personal protective equipment and numerous mandated single-use items, Clark said.

More than 10,000 Texas restaurants have closed during the pandemic, according to the Texas Restaurant Association.

Mike Deans restaurant, Yagas Cafe, 2314 Strand St., is surviving the pandemic and still is operating after 35 years. Yagas Cafe has participated in restaurant week eight times in the past decade, he said, adding its good the event has been extended to a month.

We need it, he said. Restaurants have borne the brunt of the shutdowns during the pandemic.

Yagas Cafes gross revenue decreased 45 percent because of the pandemic, he said, adding local restaurants miss the business from cruises, conventions and big events.

The pandemic has mostly undercut the dinner business at Shrimp N Stuff, 3901 Ave. O, manager Mariia Lisova said. Before the pandemic, the staff would serve 20 tables a night. Thats down to two or three, she said.

Shrimp N Stuff didnt lose any of its staff during the pandemic and has done well with to-go orders, Lisova said. But it still missed the summer business that usually provides the restaurant enough money to survive the rest of the year, she said.

Restaurant Week will help increase business during what is typically a slow month, Lisova said.

Gaidos Seafood Restaurant, 3828 Seawall Blvd., has participated in Restaurant Week all four years manager Chris Glenn has been there, he said.

Gaidos supports the extension to a month, he said. It gives the restaurant a chance to regain some customers who have been away for a while. The extension also helps people who usually miss out on the event, he said.

People may have things that limit their availability, he said. Restaurant Weeks extension to a month gives everyone a bit more time to participate.

Zach Magee, front of house manager at Taquilos Tex-Mex Cantina, 2101 Postoffice St., is excited to extend the restaurants reach through Restaurant Week, he said. He was unsure whether people on the mainland knew about Taquilos and hoped to serve more people from League City and Houston during the event, he said.

Restaurant Week also gives small businesses  like Taquilos  a chance to give back, he said.

A portion of proceeds from each meal is donated to a charity. Donations from 2020 Galveston Restaurant Week went to nonprofit organization Access Care of Coastal Texas, 703 23rd St., to provide meals for locals with HIV and AIDS.

Proceeds this year will go to the Galveston County Food Bank, 624 Fourth Ave. N. in Texas City, Clark said.

Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse is calling out state party members who he says are 'hacked off' that he condemned President Trump following the Jan. 6 riot.

He released a YouTube video message to the state party's central committee where he said he was 'not bending the knee to one guy' and that the Republican Party was bigger than any one person.

'Politics isn't about the weird worship of one dude,' Sasse said. 'The party can purge Trump skeptics. But I'd like to convince you that not only is that civic cancer for the nation, it's just terrible for our party.'

'Politics isn't about the weird worship of one dude,' said Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse

His appeal came after party members moved to censure him after he expressed openness to convicting Trump in his Senate impeachment trial.

Sasse cited his conservative voting record even as he let loose on the former president, saying Trump 'lied about the election results for 60 days.'

'Let's be clear: The anger in this state party has never been about me violating principle or abandoning conservative policy -- I'm one of the most conservative voters in the Senate -- the anger's always been simply about me not bending the knee to one guy,' he said.

Sasse voted to acquit Trump during his first impeachment trial last year, leaving Utah Sen. Mitt Romney as the only Republican to vote to convict on an article.

'January 6th is going to leave a scar,' Sasse said. 'For 220 years, one of the most beautiful things about America has been our peaceful transfer of power. But what Americans saw three weeks ago was ugly, shameful mob violence to disrupt a constitutionally mandated meeting of Congress to affirm that peaceful transfer of power.'

'January 6th is going to leave a scar,' Sasse said

Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump climb on walls at the U.S. Capitol during a protest against the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021

Pro-Trump rioters breach the security perimeter and penetrate the U.S. Capitol to protest against the Electoral College vote count that would certify President-elect Joe Biden as the winner in Washington, DC on Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Sasse voted against convicting Trump during his first impeachment

He said 'political addicts don't represent most Nebraska conservatives.'

The Nebraska Republican Party's State Central Committee is expected to vote Feb. 13 on a possible censure. The committee has censured Sasse once before, in March 2016, after he leveled other criticism against then-candidate Trump.

His statement came on a day when the House voted to strip away committee seats for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said Thursday she gave up her QAnon beliefs in 2018. The House GOP conference voted against a move to remove Rep. Liz Cheney, who backed impeachment, as the party's Number Three leader.

Green told reporters Friday that 'the party is his,' regarding Trump  directly contradicting Sasse's claim.

The Arizona Republican GOP voted to censure the late Sen. John McCain's widow, Cindy McCain, who endorsed Joe Biden, and former Sen. Jeff Flake (R).

'Im not going to spend any time trying to talk you out of another censure,' Sasse said in the video. 'I listen to Nebraskans every day, and very few of them are as angry about life as some of the people on this committee - not all of you, but a lot. Political addicts dont represent most Nebraska conservatives.'

Sasse said party activists are 'hacked off' that he condemned Trump's statements to a crowd just before the riot and that he isn't 'bending the knee to one guy.' He also pointed to his voting record as one of the most conservative members of the U.S. Senate.

'Let's be clear about why this is happening,' he said. 'It's because I still believe, as you used to, that politics isn't about the weird worship of one guy.'

Sasse has been openly critical of Trump, drawing criticism from some Nebraska Republicans who wanted him to be loyal to party candidates. Activists have also expressed frustration that Sasse used the GOP label and party resources when he ran for office in Nebraska, but then refused to support their chosen presidential nominee.

Sasse toned down the criticism briefly in 2019 and highlighted areas of agreement with the president when he was running for reelection against a pro-Trump primary challenger. Trump later endorsed Sasse, saying he had done a 'wonderful job' representing Nebraska. But a year later, he called on Republicans to replace the senator after Sasse criticized him again.

Nebraska Republican Party Executive Director Ryan Hamilton said the party's state central committee will decide whether to censure Sasse by a membership vote.

Hamilton said the party has received thousands of phone and email messages expressing dissatisfaction with Sasse after he said Trump 'consistently lied' and promoted conspiracy theories after he lost the presidential election. Hamilton said he was aware of at least eight different petitions from local party activists calling for Sasse to be censured again.

Asked Friday whether he would support a censure of Sasse, Gov. Pete Ricketts noted that the senator has been a consistent conservative throughout his Senate career, but acknowledged that he has 'heard a lot of frustration' from constituents about Sasse's public statements. Ricketts said he would rather see party members talk to Sasse directly about their concerns.

'I think a dialogue would be a better approach,' Ricketts said. 'That's what I would encourage people to do.'

One of the censorship motions came from Scotts Bluff County Republicans in rural, western Nebraska, one of the most pro-Trump areas of the country. Some party activists have said they're frustrated by what they see as Sasse's unwillingness to address them directly.

In an open letter to Sasse, County GOP Chairwoman Kolene Woodward said local Republicans were frustrated by his frequent criticism of the former president.

'You were elected to represent the people of Nebraska who overwhelmingly voted for President Trump,' Woodward wrote in the letter. 'Your actions are a selfish, political ploy.'
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North Korean police have launched a crackdown on tinted car windows because people use them to secretly watch South Korean media without being noticed, it has emerged.

Kim Jong-un's cronies have identified the darkened windows as the latest malign capitalist influence to be stamped out in the country, according to Radio Free Asia.

Authorities fear that young people in North Korea are consuming music and films from South Korea while riding in the back of cars and taxis.

Drivers are being ordered to replace their windows and face having their cars confiscated if they fail to do so, sources in the country say - but official vehicles are exempt.

Cars with tinted windows have been designated as malign capitalist influences in North Korea - but the crackdown does not apply to official vehicles, such as this one which was part of Kim Jong-un's motorcade on a visit to Russia in 2019

The crackdown is taking place under a Rejection of Reactionary Thought and Culture Act passed in December to eliminate foreign cultural influences.

Authorities have described the windows as part of a 'yellow wind of capitalism', a term often used in North Korea to describe creeping foreign influence.

Traffic police are handing fines of 30,000 won (35) for a first offence and confiscating cars if drivers are caught with the illegal windows a second time, sources say.

But many drivers are said to be voicing their discontent at the crackdown, having previously been pulled over only for goods or maintenance checks.

'Drivers find the crackdown ridiculous, so many argue with the police and security agents. They want to know how tinted car windows are part of capitalist yellow culture,' one source told RFA.

'The police argue that only people tainted by the yellow wind of capitalism would want to obscure the inside of their vehicles.'

Exempt from the crackdown are official vehicles marked with number plates beginning 727, referring to a July 27 national holiday.

Cars with tinted windows have previously been seen in Kim's own motorcade, including on a trip to the far east of Russia to meet Vladimir Putin in 2019.

Kim Jong-un's regime has launched the crackdown under a Rejection of Reactionary Thought and Culture Act which was passed in December to target unwanted foreign influences

The 'reactionary thought' crackdown also includes fines for people found in possession of unregistered phones, radios or televisions, it is believed.

People caught with media from South Korea can face up to 15 years in a prison camp, while parents can be punished for what their children consume.

One Japanese magazine reported last month that the new law even bans speaking or writing in South Korean styles.

The only permitted media in North Korea is made up of state-controlled outlets which glorify Kim and the ruling party.

But many people are thought to watch South Korean dramas and films in private, with some foreign media obtained via border trade with China.

Kim vowed at a recent party congress to expand North Korea's own wireless networks, which are heavily walled off from the outside.

The dictator told the gathering he would help people 'from cities to remote mountain villages to enjoy better cultural and emotional life'.
New restrictions on travel, including mandatory self-quarantine laws are unlikely be eased by the summer, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, has said.

This week, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly signed regulations that introduced a system of mandatory quarantine for all arrivals into the State.

The regulations give effect to the recent Government decision to implement mandatory quarantine at home, meaning people arriving into the country must stay at their given address for 14 days.

Gardai will be carrying out random spot checks to ensure people are quarantining at thus address.

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Anyone found to not be quarantining faces a fine of up to 2,500 and/or up to six months in prison.

Minister McEntee told Newstalk Breakfast some level of restrictions are here to stay, at least for now.

"We've introduced the PCR testing for everybody and I can't see that changing even going into the summer, she said.

"I think particularly as we're seeing variants change and adapt and new variants emerge, we need to keep these measures in place should the [Health] Minister need to identify a new country and for us to have stricter measures and quarantining measures.

"So I don't think this is something that will be here for the next month or two, unfortunately I think it will be much longer".

Read More

"I fully appreciate we all want a holiday, we'd all love to get on a plane and go somewhere warm and sunny - but given the fact that this changes so quickly I would just urge people to not so that yet.

The minister also said that we're going to have thousands of Gardai calling to the homes of every single person that comes into this country.

"There will be random checks to people's homes, ensuring that they are quarantining as they said they and as is the law to do so now, she explained.

We don't want people coming back into the country or leaving and coming back, what we're trying to say and get the message across is that you shouldn't be leaving in the first instance.

"But if you do, not only do you face a penalty of now 100 to 500 on the way out [and] potentially on the way back, but you could have a Guard calling to your door to make sure that you are actually quarantining because it is now the law to do so".

Read More

However, speaking earlier on Newstalk, Professor Sam McConkey described the regulations as a step in the right direction but...a bit too weak.

"I think we should have done this last February or March of 2020, and that would probably have limited the pain that we had, he said.

"This law as it's framed, in my view, is intrinsically leaky - we're not leaky by some dint of our character or by our personality, we're leaky because we have laws that this that allow leakiness.
Srinagar: Police in Bandipora have arrested three terrorist associates linked with proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and recovered incriminating materials from their possession.

Acting on specific inputs, Bandipora police along with 13RR and 45BN CRPF in a joint operation at Rakhi Hajin apprehended 3 terrorist associates linked with proscribed terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

They have been identified as Bashir Ahmed Mir son of Abdul Ahad Mir resident of Rakhi Hajin, Irfan Ahmad Bhat, Ifa son of Ghulam Ahmad Bhat resident of Bonikhan Mohalla Hajin and Hilal Ahmad Parray son of Ghulam Mustaffa Parray resident of Parray Mohalla Hajin.

As per police records, they were involved in providing shelter, logistic and other support to the active terrorists in Sumbal and Hajin areas.

Incriminating materials including 3 live Hand grenades, 1 AK-47 Magazine and 21 AK-rounds have been recovered from their possession. All the recovered materials have been taken into case records for further investigation.

In this connection, a case FIR No. 10/2021 under the relevant section of law stands registered in Police Station Hajin. Further investigation is in progress.

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Its very cold out, its going to be cold all weekend. If theres one thing that youre going to do, it ought to be doing something to protect yourself from this virus, to protect your family from this virus, and thats go get vaccinated, he said.
February 05 : Urmila Matondkar is an active politician today who represents the Shiv Sena Party. She has been very active since the time she has joined the party and because of her youth is actively supporting the party. The actress turned politician spoke to News Helpline on the eve of her birthday about Shiv Sena, her stand on the current Farmer Issue and much more.

Talking about the excitement amongst the youth post her joining the party, she said, "Shiv Sena has always been strong because of its people. The members and its people are our party's major strength. I am so proud that all these people have given me so much respect and have considered me one amongst them"

Talking about what special plans she has, for the next year Mumbai Mahanagar Palika elections, she said, "Shiv Sena has been serving the people of Mumbai for years now and it will continue to do that forever. I will have nothing special to do because everything is already done by the party. "

International and National Celebrities are now taking a stand on the current Farmers Law issue, talking about the same she said, "No country can be happy if the farmers of the country are not happy. Our country's motto has always been 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' so in this difficult time, we should all stand by our farmers. I stand with the farmers of our country and I pray a solution is sought out really soon on this issue."
A refugee family from Syria pictured at their home, in May 2016. They were previously resettled to the United States from Jordan.  UNHCR/Tone Stockenstrom

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, praised President Joe Bidens plan announced today to raise the cap on the number of refugees who could be admitted to the United States, saying it would send a powerful signal to other countries to continue to do the same.

The action today by President Biden will save lives. Its that simple, Grandi said after Biden announced in Washington his intention to raise the ceiling starting this year on the number of refugees who can be admitted for resettlement in the United States.

It also shows that strength is rooted in compassion. It signals that the United States will do its part, as it has historically done, to help the worlds most vulnerable people, including by welcoming them in the United States.

Bidens announcement signaled a reversal of four consecutive years of reductions in U.S. admissions.

Only last week UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warned that the world had resettled the lowest number of refugees in nearly two decades despite record levels of forced displacement. This was in large measure due to the impact of COVID-19.

We applaud the restoration of the US resettlement program, Grandi said. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we remind countries of the life-threatening circumstances that refugees face and encourage them to continue to expand their resettlement programs.

The UN Refugee Agency estimates that of the 20.4 million refugees under its mandate, 1.4 million remain in situations of extreme vulnerability and are in urgent need of resettlement.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
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A court in Belgium Thursday handed a 20-year prison jail sentence to an Iranian diplomat accused of masterminding a terror bomb attack against an Iranian opposition group back in 2018, in France.

Antwerp courthouse issued the verdict against Assadollah Assadi, a Vienna-based diplomat detained in Belgium.

Assadi has rejected the charges and refused to testify before the court using his diplomatic immunity status.

The Iranian diplomat is accused of participating in the 2018 botched bomb terror attack against leaders of Iranian opposition group in France.

Three other people, Belgian-Iranian nationals charged for terrorism in connection with case, have been also sentenced to several years in prison and stripped of their Belgian nationality.

The three reportedly during their trial accused Teheran of blackmail. The Iranian regime has denied any wrongdoing and lambasted the exiled opposition group of a false-flag plot to harm Tehrans reputation.
Polish Getin Holding S.A. (Wroclaw) on February 5 signed an agreement with a Ukrainian buyer for the sale of 100% of the shares of subsidiary Idea Bank (Lviv) and 100% of the shares of New Finance Service (Kyiv), Getin Holding S.A. has said.

According to a report on biznes.pap.pl, the parties plan to close the potential deal by September 30, 2021.

Before that the buyer will conduct due diligence the companies, and after a positive result of the due diligence the parties will proceed to agree on the terms of the potential transaction.

Getin Holding also reports that the company granted the buyer exclusive rights for negotiations until April 30, 2021.

Idea Bank (formerly Plus Bank) was founded in 1989. As of January 1, 2020, its sole shareholder was the financial group Getin Holding S.A. (Poland).

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2020, Idea Bank ranked 24th among 74 operating banks in terms of total assets (UAH 8.057 billion).
Kimberly Diei filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the University of Tennessee Pharmacy School that twice investigated her digital content.

A graduate student at the University of Tennessee has filed a lawsuit against the institution for violating her First Amendment rights after her social media content led to two investigations and an expulsion.

Read More: DOJ to drop racial discrimination suit against Yale

Kimberly Diei is a student in the doctoral program at UT and seeking her doctorate in pharmacy with an emphasis on nuclear pharmacy. She was expelled from the program after an anonymous tip led the professionalism committee in the College of Pharmacy to conduct inquires into her social media accounts. After the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education intervened, she was reinstated into the program but only after two investigations into her personal platforms.

(VIA Productions and Breezy Lucia/FIRE)

Together, Diei and FIRE have filed a lawsuit against the university after enduring two unconstitutional investigations and facing the threat of a third according to an official release.

Its just a matter of time before they come back for another investigation into my expression on social media, said Diei, according to the memo. UT spied on my social media activity  activity that has no bearing on my success as a pharmacist or my education. I can be a successful and professional pharmacist as well as a strong woman that embraces her sexuality. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Her posts were anonymously reported to the school resulting in Diei facing her colleges Professional Conduct Committee, which returned a unanimous decision that she violated university policies by creating crude and sexual posts. According to the memo, the university refused to identify the policies she violated or even the posts that lead to the inquiry. She was forced to write a letter reflecting on her behavior, although she held reservations on the legality of the procedure.

Story continues

Shortly thereafter, the University used two tweets to bring her to the conduct committee once again.

(VIA Productions and Breezy Lucia/FIRE)

Read More: Morgan State University offers Amanda Gorman job after inaugural poem

One tweet in question referenced the hit song WAP by rapper Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion during a trending discussion. Diei added her own twist to the already racy lyrics, suggesting her version be used for a remix of the polarizing single. theGrio reported the artists themselves faced backlash for the vulgar song. According to the report, the sexually explicit, self-expressive song and the accompanying video was criticized by some for the racy rhymes yet praised by others for the bold, sexy bop.

The second tweet made reference to a Beyonce song. According to the statement, the Twitter account operated under a pseudonym and do not mention or highlight Dieis identity as a student at the College of Pharmacy or reveal any association with the university. Only four days after being notified that she was once again under investigation, she still was not presented which policies she allegedly violated and the committee unanimously voted to expel Diei from the program.

She wrote a letter of appeal to the dean who reversed the decision only after being contacted by FIRE.

Its so important to me to just have my voice, because people that look like me are often told be quiet, stay in the back, and that just does not suit my personality, Diei said. Im not asking for approval. Im asking for respect.

The First Amendment protects the right of students to suggest lyrics for a Cardi B remix on Twitter and Instagram. Period, said FIRE attorney Greg H. Greubel. Kim is an authentic and successful woman, and FIRE believes that it is important to show the public that students like Kim are capable of being successful professionals while also being free to personally express themselves on social media. Kim is standing up for every American who hopes to have a personal life in addition to their professional life.

With the lawsuit, FIRE and Die hope to stop UT from further investigations into Dieis social media, eliminate the colleges overbroad professionalism policies, and win damages for Diei over the college interfering with her First Amendment and due process rights.

FIRE is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of students and faculty members at Americas colleges and universities

Im not going to go through this a third time, during my third year, Diei said. So, I wanted to send a clear message: Dont mess with me and dont do this again to anyone else.

theGrio has reached out to FIRE, Kimberly Diei and the University of Tennessee for additional comments and is awaiting response.

Have you subscribed to theGrios new podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post Black student sues university after probed for sex-positive social media posts appeared first on TheGrio.
Mercedes refusing to comment on Hamilton saga

Mercedes is still refusing to comment on raging speculation about Lewis Hamilton's 2021 seat.

It is now being rumoured that the seven time world champion may be on the cusp of agreeing a one-year contract with the same EUR 40 million salary, with permission to add two more personal sponsors to his helmet and overalls.

Ralf Schumacher on Thursday called the apparent unseemly financial dispute amid the covid crisis "embarrassing".

"Given his humanitarian streak, Hamilton has to understand that you cannot demand 100 percent in these times. Maybe he should give himself a kick now," he said.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali hinted that the situation is a little worrying for the sport he now leads.

"I really hope that we can have this announcement soon because what he's going to fight for this year is something that from a sporting perspective is incredible," said the Italian.

"So the only thing I can say is that I really hope that personally if they are still talking, it's great, I just remind them that the first race will be at the end of March."

Domenicali played down the impression that the contract dispute is about money alone.

"I think they are talking about a lot of stuff," he said. "I'm sure Lewis wants to understand a lot of points also on his own future. I don't think it is only a point related to his salary."

Mercedes is refusing to comment.

"We will speak up when we have something to say," a spokesman is quoted by the German broadcaster RTL. "As has been the case during the entire process, we will not comment on rumours and speculation."
Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue.

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French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday again suggested Saudi Arabia and Israel should be involved in renewed international engagement with Iran over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Speaking during a virtual event hosted by the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, Macron also offered his services as an honest broker to renewed talks, as the US administration of President Joe Biden seeks to reengage with Iran over its nuclear capabilities.

I will do whatever I can to support any initiative from the US side [to reengage in dialogue]," Macron said. I was here and available two years ago, and 1 [years] ago, to try to be an honest broker and a committed broker in this dialogue.

The French president previously led an unsuccessful push to get the Trump administration back into the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The Trump administration unilaterally walked away from the deal in 2018, slapping crippling economic sanctions on Tehran instead in a bid to roll back Tehrans influence in the region.

Macron last week initially said that Saudi Arabia should be involved in negotiations and any agreement with Iran about its nuclear program.

Irans government rejected that proposal, saying any nuclear negotiations will not include additional parties outside of those involved in the original 2015 agreement.

US and Iranian officials have both said in recent weeks that the other side must return to compliance with the deal first.

Earlier this week, Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested the European Unions top foreign affairs official could choreograph the two countries return to compliance with the agreement.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday that the United States is actively engaged with European countries about moving forward with Iran. The consultations will produce a unified front when it comes to our strategy, he said.

Shoppers are losing it over Aldi's $4.49 chicken, leek and Camembert pies, and calling the budget buy the 'perfect lazy dinner' solution.

Australian woman Fee posted on Facebook, where she said she stumbled upon the delicious packet of two pies in the frozen section of the supermarket, and was delighted with the resulting dish she made the following day.

'Do yourself a favour and try these pies - yummy! [They] ooze Camembert,' Fee posted.

'A packet comes with two pies and costs about $4.'

Shoppers are losing it over Aldi's $4.49 chicken, leek and Camembert pies (pictured), and calling the budget buy the 'perfect lazy dinner' solution

It wasn't long before hundreds of other commenters weighed in to share how much they love them too.

'They are delicious. I adore them (and the beef ones),' one commenter wrote.

'I absolutely love them. I tried them once and fell in love,' another added.

Others said they work very well when you want to make something quick and easy, without much cooking.

The pies (pictured), which are also sold at other supermarkets including Woolworths, boast an impressive 4.6 star rating online, and have been described as the 'best'

The pies, which are also sold at other supermarkets including Woolworths, boast an impressive 4.6 star rating online.

Many have said they have a decent amount of pastry and plenty of delicious filling too.

'Beautiful flaky pastry with rich creamy chicken and leek inside. Scrumptious,' one woman wrote.

'Best chicken pies ever. Creamy texture is great and tasty with just the right amount of chicken,' another added.

A couple has created a 'gourmet' three-course meal after spending less than $40 at Aldi - complete with a $12 bottle of French Champagne, salmon wellingtons with cheese and spinach sauce wrapped in a crispy puff pastry ($5.49) and potato gratin ($3.69)

For a dinner for two, they served up chicken and leek pies oozing with Camembert sauce

Previously, a woman from Adelaide and her husband decided to set themselves a challenge to get all their entree, main and dessert from Aldi.

For a dinner for two, they served up the chicken and leek pies oozing with Camembert sauce ($4.49) as a starter and enjoyed salmon wellingtons with cheese and spinach sauce wrapped in a crispy puff pastry ($5.49) and potato gratin ($3.69) as the main.

Complementing their date night meal with a $12 bottle of French Champagne, the pair tucked into a baked custard Danish ($3.99) with a dollop of double cream ($3.69) for dessert.

The pair tucked into custard Danish ($3.99) with a dollop of double cream ($3.69) for dessert

'A joint decision to pop to Aldi and get some gourmet and decadent tasty food to compliment the french champagne Veuve Amiot Brut on special for $12 - so the search and hunt began,' she said in a Facebook group.

'We chose for entree the chicken, leek and Camembert pies, then the Salmon wellingtons plus the spinach and ricotta gratin and then the Custard Danish, plus two bars of chilli chocolate for munching on watching NCIS.'

Their three-course meal and snack came to a total of just $39.35.

'You cant get that at a restaurant or a hotel - and all products were not below 88 per cent Australia made,' the woman added.
China has threatened to retaliate after British regulators stripped its state TV channel of its UK broadcasting licence, a decision based on technical issues but rooted in complaints about its role in persecuting critics of the ruling Communist Party.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that British media watchdog Ofcom had acted on political grounds based on ideological bias, politicising technical issues, seriously harming the survival of Chinese media and severely interfering with normal exchanges between the two countries.

We urge the UK to immediately stop political manipulation and correct its mistakes. China reserves the right to make the necessary response to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese media, Mr Wang said.

In its decision issued on Thursday, Ofcom said it had revoked the UK licence for China Global Television Network, or CGTN, an international English-language satellite news channel, because of a lack of editorial control and links to Chinas Communist Party.

We have revoked China Global Television Networkas (CGTN) licence to broadcast in the UK, after our investigation concluded that the licence was wrongfully held by Star China Media Ltd. (SCML).



Read here for more information: https://t.co/R97X1hYnkA pic.twitter.com/7lDKvEipZW  Ofcom (@Ofcom) February 4, 2021

CGTN had been available on free and pay TV in the UK. Regulators started looking into the station after receiving a complaint from human rights group Safeguard Defenders that called for an investigation into its ownership.

Ofcoms investigation concluded that Star China Media Limited (SCML), the licence-holder for the service, did not have editorial responsibility for the news channels output.

An application to transfer the licence to an entity called China Global Television Network Corporation (CGTNC) was denied.

Ofcom is continuing to investigate a number of additional complaints that the station violated rules on fairness and accuracy, including the broadcasting of alleged forced confessions by a former British Consulate employee in Hong Kong and a British corporate investigator and long-time government critic, Gui Minhai, whose whereabouts are now unknown.

In a tweet, Mr Guis daughter Angela Gui said: Finally, five years after first airing a forced confession by my father #GuiMinhai in the UK, Ofcom has revoked CGTNs licence to broadcast. Thank you @SafeguardDefend and everyone else whos filed complaints.

Ofcoms decision adds to friction between Britain and China, already strained by UK efforts to address allegations of human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in Xinjiang and widen residency rights for Hongkongers.

Big news yesterday with #China's @CGTNOfficial kicked out of #UK for knowingly breaking broadcasting rules on ownership. Here's the full story from our website. https://t.co/wkcxHj8tHc pic.twitter.com/2kyCeQ8pzT  Safeguard Defenders (aaa) (@SafeguardDefend) February 5, 2021

Mr Wang gave no details on how China would retaliate, but the BBC, which is only available in some hotels, businesses and residential compounds for foreigners in China, could become a target.

The Foreign Ministry initially responded to the loss of CGTNs licence with renewed criticism of the BBC, specifically a January 29 report on Covid-19 in China, calling it typical fake news and demanding a public apology. It said: China reserves the right to take further measures.

The BBC said it stood by its reporting and rejected the unfounded accusations.

Mr Wang said the British knew all along about CGTNs ties to Chinas ruling party and accused London of double standards in regulating the media. He said CGTN always adhered to regulations and upheld the principles of objectivity, impartiality, truthfulness and accuracy in news reporting.

China is a socialist country led by the Communist Party. The British side has been well aware of the nature of the Chinese media, Mr Wang said.

The British side knew this clearly from the first day CGTN broadcasted in the UK 18 years ago. That the UK now makes an issue of Chinese medias nature and obstructing CGTN in its broadcasting is purely political manipulation, he said.

CGTN has been at the forefront of the partys bid to seize the narrative from Western news media about human rights in China and its aggressive military and diplomatic moves amid a hardening of attitudes towards Beijing in countries from South Korea to Canada.

Its been almost two weeks since Manitoba eased COVID-19 restrictions  which is about the time it takes most people infected with the disease to show symptoms. Since then, daily case numbers have declined, infection rates have fallen, and hospitals continue to have fewer patients.

Its been almost two weeks since Manitoba eased COVID-19 restrictions  which is about the time it takes most people infected with the disease to show symptoms. Since then, daily case numbers have declined, infection rates have fallen, and hospitals continue to have fewer patients.

Nearly a year into this public health emergency, could it be that Manitobans have finally learned to live with the SARS-CoV-2 virus?

Chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin doesnt say it anymore, but Manitobans do need to learn to live with it  at least until there is widespread distribution of a vaccine, which appears unlikely before the fall. That means doing all the things public health officials have monotonously instructed us to do: social distance, stay home when sick, wash your hands, limit your contacts, quarantine when told, and wear a mask.

If we do all those things, we can live semi-normal lives; we can shop, get a haircut in a salon, host up to two designated visitors in our homes, and play mini games of shinny on outdoor rinks. Most kids can attend class, as long as schools maintain cohorts and implement rigorous safeguards. Thats what learning to live with the virus looks like.

If we follow the fundamentals, we can shop, get a haircut and host up to two designated visitors in our homes. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

So far, the numbers are encouraging: Manitobas test positivity rate has dropped nearly one-third to 6.7 per cent over the past two weeks (its down almost half to 3.6 per cent in Winnipeg). There were 216 new COVID-19 cases on Jan. 23; nearly double Thursdays tally of 110. New case numbers fell below 100 twice this week. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital is down slightly, including fewer active cases than two weeks ago.

Those are remarkable improvements, namely because they occurred while restrictions were eased. It shows how well people have adapted to the new normal.

Thats different than last summer, when the virus had still not taken a foothold in Manitoba. It was easier to keep infections low in July and August because there was virtually no community transmission. The pandemic didnt hit Manitoba in earnest until September.

The provincial government is also learning to live with the virus. The province made some egregious errors last summer when it disbanded its incident command centre and failed to ensure adequate resources were in place for testing and contact tracing. When cases began to rise in September, the province was ill-equipped to contain the growing spread. The province has since increased resources in both areas and is now far better prepared.

The province also failed to protect personal care home residents last year, including turning away requests for staffing support. That cost lives. More resources and better oversight are now in place.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Skating is a socially distanced activity people can do safely. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Manitoba has made great strides in adapting to a communicable disease that, left unchecked, has the potential to kill thousands of people.

There are rewards for that: restrictions will likely be loosened further next week. The proposed changes announced Thursday, which include opening restaurants at 25 per cent capacity, are sensible and well thought out. They are, for the most part, low-risk and include sufficient safeguards to mitigate spread.

Higher-risk activity, such as opening bars or expanding the two-visitor per household rule, were avoided, for good reason. Prolonged, indoor contact in close proximity without the use of masks is a recipe for super-spreading. That can be mitigated for restaurants by limiting groups to household members, as proposed (something that would make little sense for bars).

These are cautious, limited steps. There is no reason why infection rates cant remain low under the proposed restrictions. One of the key differences compared with last fall is that a mandatory mask rule for indoor public places was not in place in Winnipeg until late September. Failure to wear a mask was not subject to a fine until November. Households were also allowed to host up to five non-designated visitors, which was a key source of transmission.

If Manitobans have truly learned to live with this virus, this plan should work. We now have the experience and the know-how.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca
Cruz on Bidens UN Nominee: I Have No Confidence She Would Stand Up to Beijing

Nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield praised the communist regime during a 2019 speech.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reiterated his concerns about President Joe Bidens nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations over comments she made praising the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2019.

Cruz joined three of his colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to vote against advancing Linda Thomas-Greenfields nomination to the full Senate floor. In a speech during a committee hearing, he said that was concerned about Thomas-Greenfields pro-Beijing advocacy.

China, I believe, poses the single greatest geopolitical threat to the United States over the next century, Cruz said. We need a UN ambassador who will stand up to China, to Chinas pervasive influence at the United Nations. And given her record, I have no confidence that this nominee would do so.

The Lone Star State senator has long been taking a hard stance against the communist regime and has been calling for a reassessment of the U.S.-China relationship in the wake of the CCPs mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During Thomas-Greenfields confirmation hearing, Cruz and other panel members pressed her over her comments she made in 2019 at a Confucius Institute paid for by Beijing. At that 2019 event, she spoke positively about China, telling the audience that the country has invested in Africa in a number of ways, including railway projects and other infrastructure development.

Ultimately, the future is about Africa and its people. The U.S. should be focused on building a strong partnership with Africa which is based on shared values of peace, prosperity, sustained economic growth and development, and a firm commitment to good governance, gender equity, and the rule of law. I see no reason why China cannot share in those values. In fact, China is in a unique position to spread these ideals given its strong footprint on the continent, she said.

Thomas-Greenfield told senators that she has a long track record of acknowledging the regimes malign activities and expressed regret for accepting the invitation to speak at the Savannah State University Confucius Institute.

Cruz took issue with how Thomas-Greenfield did not acknowledge any of the communist governments malign activities and human rights abuses. He also raised concerns that the nominees comments were not one-off.

I would also note that her speech was not a one-off. I put out a whole series of remarks that Ms. Thomas-Greenfield has made over the decades, repeatedly apologizing for China, saying were not competing with China, which she said multiple times, Cruz said. And at other times she says that she viewed her role as, to ensure that they [African leaders] have the capacity to strike and negotiate better deals with the Chinese.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) defended Thomas-Greenfield during his opening remarks on the committee floor.

While she acknowledged regret over the speech, particularly given the involvement of the Confucius Institute, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield has a long history of expressed opposition to Chinas use of debt-trap tactics in Africa and elsewhere, and its increasingly malign presence in world governance bodies. She has also spoken plainly about Chinas authoritarian ambitions and open hostility to universal human rights and democratic values, and has committed to confronting them every step of the way, including at the United Nations, Menedez said.

Thomas-Greenfields nomination was ultimately approved in an 184 vote and has moved to the full Senate floor for consideration.

This comes on the same day Cruz placed a hold on the confirmation of Bidens pick for Commerce secretary, Gov. Gina Raimondo, in an attempt to pressure the White House and Raimondo to commit to keeping China-based company Huawei on a restricted trade list.

While the move would not cancel the floor vote, is likely to delay it by up to 30 hours.

Ill lift the hold when the Biden admin commits to keep the massive Chinese Communist Party spy operation Huawei on the Entity List, Cruz said in a statement on Twitter.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
External Article

5 February 2021

As coronavirus vaccines started rolling out late last year, there was a palpable sense of excitement. People began browsing travel websites and airlines grew optimistic about flying again. Ryanair Holdings even launched a "Jab & Go" campaign alongside images of 20-somethings on holiday, drinks in hand.

Advertisements

It's not working out that way.

For a start, it isn't clear the vaccines actually stop travellers spreading the disease, even if they're less likely to catch it themselves. Neither are the shots proven against the more-infectious mutant strains that have startled governments from Australia to Britain into closing, rather than opening, borders.

An ambitious push by carriers for digital health passports to replace the mandatory quarantines killing travel demand is also fraught with challenges and has yet to win over the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This bleak reality has pushed back expectations of any meaningful recovery in global travel to 2022. That may be too late to save the many airlines with only a few months of cash remaining. And the delay threatens to kill the careers of hundreds of thousands of pilots, flight crew and airport workers who've already been out of work for close to a year.

Rather than a return to worldwide connectivity - one of the economic miracles of the jet era - prolonged international isolation appears unavoidable.
A farmer who started hiring out her goats for Zoom meeting calls as a joke to try and cheer people up amid the coronavirus pandemic has revealed she's made 50,000 thanks to the quirky idea.

Speaking to presenters Charlotte Hawkins and Ben Shephard on Good Morning Britain, Dot McCarthy, from Lancashire, explained how people from across the globe have hired the farm animals to join in with family and work video calls.

Dot, who runs Cronkshaw Fold Farm and Study Centre, explained she used to rent her farm for weddings and glamping, but had to stop in March 2020 because of the pandemic.

Explaining she had started the venture as a joke, the goats have now helped her make up for the business she's lost because of the restrictions.

Viewers fell in love with Dot's playful goats, saying they'd love to hire them for their own meeting.

Dot McCarthy, who owns the Cronkshaw Fold Farm and Study Centre in Lancashire, revealed she's made 50,000 by renting her goats for Zoom meeting throughout the pandemic

Surrounded by her camera-loving goats, the farmer said her little quip had taken a life of its own after she offered to rent out her goats for Zoom meetings on her website.

'It was actually a joke, I didn't think people would want it. I put it on the website to cheer people up,' she laughed.

She said she woke up with an inbox 'rammed' with messages of people asking for goats for their meetings.

'I'm not on the call, just the goats, they have their own window, name at the bottom and login,' she explained.

Dot explained she used to rent her farm for weddings and that accommodation on site was rented by travelers, but she lost that income due to the coronavirus pandemic

'They can talk to you in the chat, saying "Hi," or say goodbye to a coworker that's leaving, or a new joiner or ask "how is your meeting going," she joked.

Dot said her goats, including Lola, eight, Elizabeth, Lisa and Marge, who appeared on Good Morning Britain alongside her, loved the meetings because they got more 'head scratches.'

She explained that she used to run weddings at the farm and that travellers could rent treehouses and yurts on the site before the coronavirus pandemic, but these had to be shut down.

Viewers loved seeing Dot and her goats, with many saying they'd like her animals to attend their meetings.

'What Dot forgot is that people are insane. Love this, and now want a goat in on our next Zoom meeting. Will probably make the most sense,' one said.

Dot first appeared on This Morning last summer, where she talked about what her goats got up to during the meetings.

Speaking of how the venture came to be, she said: 'It completely caught us off guard. We had no idea it'd be this popular. We thought five or 10 people may be mental enough to hire a goat to put on a Zoom or Skype call or whatever but no, it turns out people all over the world want a goat on their Zoom call.'

She continued: 'We've had calls in multiple different languages and from loads of different countries - we've had Australia, New Zealand, France, America, Germany and Canada.

'People are just falling about in hysterics because they've sneaked a goat into their meetings and not told their bosses. And their boss is like, "can anyone else see someone else on the call?"

The goat-loving farmer said the animals were very friendly and loved being on camera, and the fact they got more head scratches thanks to the Zooms

People loved Dot and her goats and some said they wanted her goats to come on their Zoom calls

Dot went on to say how there has been one goat in particular who is proving particularly popular on a Sunday - the one named 'Mary.'

'Mary - we've put her description on the farm website,' she explained. 'There's a few different ones on there to choose from. And Mary, obviously a religious name, but we didn't really think anything of that at the time.'

'We just thought it was a cool name for a goat. But every single Sunday since we started going this, about 15 different vicars book Mary for virtual church.'

And when presenter Eamonn joked whether Mary was with child too because she 'has a bit of a belly on her,' Dot replied: 'I hope you're not body shaming my goat.'

'She's just had young Simone who is climbing on her back there. That's just a bit of post-baby weight,' to which Ruth quipped: 'It happens to the best of us.'

Dot also added that some Zoom-ers have got more than they bargained for - and even witnessed a birth.

'Because of the time of year it just so happens the goats can do these types of calls because they're all in pens at the moment and the goats are kidding, which means the goats are having have their babies,' she explained.

'We've had two calls now which have just so happened to be when one of the goats was giving birth.

Dot appeared on This Morning in June last year, where she explained there was one goat in particular who proved particularly popular every Sunday - the one named 'Mary.' Pictured, with kid, Simone

Dot (pictured with the goats), from Lancashire, explained how people can now hire goats to join in with family or work Zoom calls

'Both of them were quite big business meetings - and no one was expecting it and didn't know what to do. They were amazed and mesmerised like, "wow the amazing miracle of life and nature ," at the same time they were like, "that's really gory, gooey and slimy.'

Speaking of how she manages to get the goat to look into the camera, Dot explained: 'Goats are very naturally inquisitive animals. They're really nosy and want t know what you're doing and what you're up to. They naturally want to eat stuff as well which normally involves eating the camera.
[February 04, 2021] Lost Money in GPB Capital Funds?

New York-based asset management firm GPB Capital has been charged by the SEC (News - Alert) for allegedly defrauding over 17,000 investors in a $1.7 billion Ponzi-like scheme, making misrepresentations in their offering and marketing materials, and violating whistleblower laws. The complaint charges GPB Capital Holdings, GPB officials and affiliated entities with making misrepresentations to investors about millions of dollars in fees for over four years. GPB Capital was previously charged with misleading investors in May of 2020 by the Massachusetts Securities Division. In addition, Gibbs Law Group has already filed numerous legal claims on behalf of investors of GPB Capital Funds and continues to investigate new claims on behalf of GPB investors. Our GPB Capital lawsuits involve claims against the brokerage firms that sold GPB funds to investors. To speak privately with an attorney about recovering your losses in GPB, click here.



On February 4, 2021, the SEC filed a complaint against GPB officials and affiliates for defrauding investors and against GPB Capital for retaliating against a whistleblower. The complaint alleges that David Gentile, GPC Capital's owner and CEO, and Jeffry Schneider, owner of GBP Capital's affiliate Ascendant Capital, falsely told investors that an 8% annualized distribution payment came exclusively from monies generated by CPB Capital's portfolio companies. In reality, according to the complaint, the payment was partially covered by new investors' monies. Jeffrey Lash, former managing partner of GPB Capital, was also charged with allegedly manipulating financial statements to perpetuate this falsehood. Further, GPB Capital is charged with allegedly violating whistleblower laws by including language in its contracts that impeded potential whistleblowers, as well as allegedly retaliating against a known whistleblower.

Our law firm is pursuing legal claims against the more than 60 brokerage firms that sold GPB to investors, including Sagepoint Financial, Woodbury Financial Services, FSC Securities and Advisor Group. GPB investors are encouraged to contact our firm to learn more. What Should GPB Investors Do? If you invested in a GPB fund, you may be able to recover your losses. Visit our website or contact our securities team directly at (888) 410-2925 to speak privately with a securities attorney to learn about your legal options. About Gibbs Law Group Gibbs Law Group is committed to protecting the rights of investors and consumers nationwide who have been harmed by corporate fraud and misconduct. The firm has recovered over a billion dollars for its clients against some of the world's largest corporations, and our attorneys have received numerous honors for their work, including "Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar," "Best Lawyers in America," "Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California," "California Lawyer Attorney of the Year," "Top Class Action Attorneys Under 40," "Consumer Protection MVP," and "Top Cybersecurity/ Privacy Attorneys Under 40." This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204006192/en/

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Birminghams BioGX will be pumping $5 million into Shelby County, moving its corporate headquarters to a Valleydale Road location in Shelby County, in a move that should add 30 new full-time employees.

BioGX made the announcement today through the Birmingham Business Alliance, saying the move should take place in several phases this year. The company is currently based at Birminghams Innovation Depot.

BioGX applies molecular biology to medical testing to diagnose and monitor disease, detect risk and decide what treatments work best. The new space will add research and development and manufacturing capabilities.

Michael Vickery, chief scientific officer of BioGX, said the move has been three years in the making, but the COVID-19 pandemic dictated a rapid scale up.

Paul Rogers, president of Pelham-based economic development agency 58 Inc., said the move satisfies a target industry - biotechnology.

As a homegrown biotechnology business in the region, BioGX is on the cutting edge of technology, and its rapid growth is something the entire Birmingham region can be proud of, Rogers said. The companys decision to expand into Shelby County represents another milestone in our innovative economic development strategy.

Mark Brown, vice president of business retention and expansion at the BBA, called the move a significant milestone in the companys growth, as the group has worked with BioGX for three years to find a new location.

BioGX has grown into a leading provider of molecular diagnostics, and its presence will continue to enhance our regions growth in life science and medical diagnostics, Brown said.
The government has been urged to collaborate with Digital Service provider, KGL Technology Limited to enhance its digitalization Programme.



Effective collaboration between KGL Technology Limited and the government through the Economic Management Team, Ministries of Finance, Communications and Digitalization, and other allied organizations according to the founder of Concerned Voters Movement, Razak Kojo Opoku, would further strengthen the provision of digital services, e-commerce and the overall digitalization project.



"We would like to recommend to Government and other relevant stakeholders that, one of the practical ways to further enhance the digitalization project of Government would be through the collaboration with KGL Technology Limited, a licensed online marketing company and digital service provider responsible for the operation of the digital short code *959#."



He explained that the *959# has proven to be a very robust platform capable of providing other important digital services apart from the usual business of generating revenue for the National Lottery Authority (NLA).



Mr Opoku argued in a statement that the digital short code *959# has been well marketed and that the brand has an outstanding base, with the potential for serving as a purpose vehicle for other services.



These services he said includes payment of Water Bills through collaboration with Ghana Water Company Limited; Payment of Electricity Bills through collaboration with ECG; Payment of Cocoa Farmers through collaboration with Cocobod and registration of TIN aimed at ensuring Voluntary Tax Compliance to be done with collaboration with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).



He insists that Ghana has the baseline infrastructure such as Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGs), Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), POS Switches coupled with Mobile Money Interoperability, all aimed at achieving the digitalization of the Ghanaian economy.







Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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In written response, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that of these complaints, 8,963 were resolved either by withdrawal or modification of advertisements

New Delhi: More than 12,000 complaints were received with regard to misleading advertisements on television between 2017 and 2020, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting informed Lok Sabha on Friday.

In written response to a question, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that a total of 12,187 complaints were received in the Grievance Against Misleading Advertisements (GAMA) portal during the period.

The portal where consumers can lodge complaints relating to misleading advertisements was launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs in 2015.

The minister said that out of these complaints, 8,963 were resolved either by withdrawal or modification of advertisements.

"All advertisements telecast on TV channels are regulated in accordance with the Advertising Code prescribed under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. The Advertising Code also provides that no advertisement which violates the Code of self-regulation in advertising as adopted by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), Mumbai for public exhibition in India shall be carried in the cable service,: the minister told Lok Sabha.

The Consumer Complaints Council of Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) deals with complaints received on the GAMA portal, he said.

"Out of 12,187 complaints during the three years under consideration, 8,963 were resolved, including by way of withdrawal or modification of the advertisements. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issues advisories from time to time to broadcasters for ensuring compliance to the Advertising Codes," the minister said.
File photo: President Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been re-elected as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

President Akufo-Addo was given the nod to serve another one-year term during ECOWAS's extraordinary session held on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, via virtual conference.

This was contained in a press statement issued by ECOWAS at the end of the conference.

The statement said President Akufo-Addo with the support of the Ministerial Ad hoc Committee on Institutional Reforms would lead to the implementation of institutional reforms relating to enhanced financial management and internal control of the ECOWAS.

The reforms would improve economic and social development in the sub-region, it said.

"The Heads of State and Governments express sincere appreciation to H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, for his leadership in steering the affairs of the Community," the statement said.

President Akufo-Addo was appointed ECOWAS Chair in October 2020 at an ECOWAS meeting in Niger on September 7, 2020, to take over from the President of Niger, His Excellency Mahamadou Issoufou.
Alessandra Ambrosio knows how to dress for the occasion.

The 39-year-old Victoria's Secret vet leaned into another flirty Florianopolis vacation look on Friday as she treated fans to a glimpse of her enviable abs with a series of snaps.

The Brazilian born beauty showed off her trim figure in a matching white crop top and skirt set during an impromptu rooftop photoshoot.

Flirty in Florianopolis: Alessandra Ambrosio, 39, flashes her tiny waist and incredible figure in a flirty white matching set during a rooftop photoshoot in Brazil

Alessandra was an ethereal vision as she played with her flouncy skirt that exposed her legs with its thigh-high hemline.

Adding a bit more height to the look she threw on a pair of tan heels with a chunky chain link detail over the strap.

A tortoise shell brooch snatched her cropped blouse with puffy sleeves as she looked runway ready in the photos.

Natural beauty: Sunlight illuminated her in the photos as she showed off her natural beauty

She kept her usual layering of necklaces on, throwing on some statement bakelite heels for an added touch.

A bronzed tan she had no need for heavy makeup, opting for a bit of lipstick and mascara instead to complete the effortlessly glamorous look.

Joined by her two children Anja, 12, and Noah, Alessandra escaped her home in Los Angeles a few months ago for some uninterrupted family time with her cousins and parents.

Impromptu photoshoot: A tortoise shell brooch snatched her cropped blouse with puffy sleeves as she looked runway ready in the photos

Her Italian boyfriend Nicolo Oddi was also present before heading back to gear up for his new Alanui Fall/Winter 2021 collection.

While in Brazil, Ambrosio has been seen engaging in water sports, going on luxury boat rides and soaking up some rays at the beach.

On Thursday she celebrated the second anniversary of her swimline GAL Floripa as she thanked her 10.3M followers for their support.

'Our big thank you to everyone for being part of this amazing journey with us.We truly appreciate your love and support that fulfills our hearts with joy. Wish we continue together for many years to come!'

Anniversary celebration: She posted the photos in celebration of her swimline GAL Floripa's second anniversary, opting to use a professional videographer for a dreamy lookbook video

Her business partners Gisele Corio and co-founding sister Aline Ambrosio are Brazilian based, so the ladies have had plenty of time to re-work their collection for upcoming seasons.

They gathered a group of friends to celebrate the momentous occasion that took place at the Fuso Concept Hotel.

Champagne was served and the event culminated in a beachside ceremony, as the ladies were seen gathered for meditation before throwing flowers in the ocean.

Certainly no rush to return home when she's been vacationing in paradise, it seems Ambrosio is riding out the COVID-19 pandemic in a picturesque location with those she loves the most.
Hyderabad, Feb 5 : A cyclist and mountaineer, she is out to prove to the world that girls are capable of doing anything without family support.

After losing mother when she was just nine and her father, a tailor, few years ago, P. Sameera Khan overcame all odds to come up in life and is now looking for sponsors to fulfill her ambition of scaling Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.

A solo traveller, she has already cycled her way to 20 countries. The 30-year-old from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh has already scaled four mountains, the highest being 6,858 meter high Ama Dablam in Nepal.

"I want to tell the world that a girl in India needs lot of support from her parents. I am trying to pursue my dream, earning for it, spending for it, everything on my own but now I have come to a point where I need some financial support to attain my ambition. I want to tell the world that girls are capable of doing everything despite not having family support," Sameera told IANS.

Image Source: IANS News

The backpacker's Mt Everest expedition requires Rs 30-35 lakh. "I have some money and I need sponsorship. The kind of work I do should be getting lot of support," she said.

She wants to scale Mt Everest from Tibet side and not Nepal, which she said is commercial and easy. "From Tibet side, it is tough and also very technical. Rather than doing just for the sake of doing, I want to do something which makes me feel I have done the whole thing beyond my ability," she said.

Sameera said she approached the government authorities for help but they refused as they don't consider mountaineering as a sport.

Youngest among five siblings, she lost her mother at the age of nine and was brought up by her father, a tailor.

While pursuing medical lab technology course after 10th standard, the family finances forced her to take up a job in BPO in Bengaluru.

During Srinagar floods of 2014, she travelled to Kashmir as a volunteer. She went on a solo Pahalgam valley trek for two days and soon she started learning how to survive in tough conditions.

Sameera, who lost her father in 2015, started undertaking solo travels with her savings. She cycled across South Asian and South East Asian countries. In India, she cycled for over 1,000 km covering various states.

Her trekking expedition started with Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and later extended to Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. She has already covered 550 km high altitude trekking.

She has have not done any course in mountaineering. "I was already cyclist. I cycled in 20 countries. I think that boosted my confidence to become a high-altitude trekker," said Sameera currently an entrepreneur at Kepler Home Cinema in Hyderabad.

Image Source: IANS News

Always ready to accept new challenges, Sameera started high altitude mountaineering. "Mountaineering is very down thing. It's toughest of all sports. People who are into mountaineering have to be mentally and physically tough. Only those people who are not afraid of death can survive," she said.

On November 13, 2018, she climbed 6,859 meters high Ama Dablam mountain peak in Nepal. This came barely a month after she had ascended 6,160 meters high Imja Tse (island) peak.

This further boosted her confidence and she started training for scaling Mount Everest. She has to go the UK for advance training, which alone will cost Rs 3.50 lakh.

"I want to attribute to my demised parents a legacy of my lifetime achievement by inspiring women and girls from the suburbs of South India. Then I want to publish my book and make a small documentary on my life journey. I want the world to respect women and regard them high," shared Sameera, whose all four sisters are married.

She said that she has so much to say to the world but before that wants to scale the peak. "I can be heard if only I am at the top as people listen to eminent and dynamic personalities," added the girl with Himalayan ambitions.

-- Syndicated from IANS

Former licensed insurance agent Laura Lopez, 37, of Long Beach, Calif., was arraigned on one felony count of grand theft after allegedly collecting over $97,000 in insurance premiums from clients and pocketing the premiums.

After receiving a complaint in February 2020, the California Department of Insurance launched an investigation that reportedly showed that between February 2016 and September 2019, Lopez collected and stole insurance premiums provided by clients to purchase insurance coverage.

Lopez also reportedly manipulated the billing cycles on at least 53 insurance policies by changing the due dates in order to extend the policy. She also changed the policy billing address to either her residence or office so she could receive the billing statements instead of her clients.

Lopezs insurance license expired in September 2009.

Lopez was arraigned on Jan. 27. She is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 18. The case is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office.

Topics California Agencies Fraud

The Tata Boeing JVs facility already produces aero-structures for Boeings AH-64 Apache helicopter, including fuselages, secondary structures and vertical spar boxes for customers worldwide. (Representational Photo: PTI)

Hyderabad: American aircraft maker Boeing on Friday said that its joint venture firm, Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited, would manufacture complex vertical fin structures for the 737 family of airplanes at its facility in Hyderabad.

Vertical fin, also called the vertical stabiliser, is a structure that projects upwards at the tail-end of the aircraft. It is one of the most important components of the aircraft that reduces aerodynamic side slip and provides it directional stability.

The Tata Boeing JVs facility already produces aero-structures for Boeings AH-64 Apache helicopter, including fuselages, secondary structures and vertical spar boxes for customers worldwide.

The manufacturing of the vertical fin structure marks a significant milestone for both the joint venture and for the Narendra Modi governments Make-in-India initiative.

This development would incorporate a Made-in-India component in Boeing 737 aeroplanes flying around the world and would add to the heft of Hyderabad in the aerospace and defence sectors.

Telangana industries minister K.T. Rama Rao welcomed the development, calling it a noteworthy step in the growth of Indias aerospace and defence manufacturing.

Commenting on the new production line, Tata Advanced Systems Limited managing director and chief executive officer, Sukaran Singh, said, this new production line for complex vertical fin structures is another testament for TASLs commitment towards making India self-reliant in defence manufacturing.

According to reports, Tata Advanced Systems could also manufacture C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force in partnership with European aircraft major Airbus. If the deal gets the governments approval, it would be the first time that a major military aircraft would be manufactured in India.

On Friday, Tata Advanced Systems has also teamed up with another aviation major, the American major Lockheed Martin, to bid for the Indian Navys proposed requirement of Naval Utility Helicopters.

Lockheed Martin vice-president and chief executive Bill Blair and TASL CEO Sukaran Singh signed a deal on Friday in Bengaluru, on the sidelines of biennial defence air show Aero India 2021.
What I didnt understand then was the potential threat my students felt from this unknown white man, who had yet to build a relationship with them, taking their picture. Many students at the school were from immigrant families, and their previous experience with white men demanding to take their picture may have been through Immigration and Customs Enforcement. There may have been a student who had already had an encounter with the criminal justice system. There may have been a kid who felt uncomfortable with his or her appearance. There were a million things I did wrong in those first few months  because I had never been prompted to develop the right skills to bridge those cultural divides.
Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation (Toshiba) has launched "TLP241B," a high-current photorelay in a DIP4 package for industrial equipment such as programmable logic controllers and I/O interfaces. Samples and production quantities are available now.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204005495/en/

Toshiba: TLP241B, a 100V high-current photorelay for industrial equipment (Graphic: Business Wire)

TLP241B has integrated MOSFET based on Toshibas latest generation of U-MOS process. With TLP241B, the OFF-state output terminal voltage is extended to 100V, a 150% improvement from the 40V of the current TLP241A. It is housed in a versatile DIP4 package, and is the industrys first[1] DIP4 packaged product to deliver 100V OFF-state output terminal voltage, 2A ON-state current and 5kV isolation voltage. This rating expansion covers a variety of applications.

TLP241B can replace a 1-Form-A contact mechanical relay. Unlike mechanical relays, TLP241B has no moving contacts to degrade. Its low current drive feature also improves product life. Other benefits are fast response time and PCB space saving due to smaller package size.

Since the maximum operating temperature rating is 110, temperature design margins of equipment are easier to obtain.

Applications

- Industrial equipment (Programmable logic controllers, I/O interface and various sensor control, etc.)

- Building automation systems (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning(HVAC) and thermostats, etc.)

- Replacement of mechanical relays (AC 24 to 48V system, DC 24 to 100V system)

Features

- High ON-state current rating : I ON =2A, I ONP =6A (Pulsed)

- OFF-state output terminal voltage rating : V OFF =100V

- High operating temperature rating : T opr max=110

- General-purpose DIP4 package with gull wing option (SMT) available

Main Specifications

(Unless otherwise specified, @T a =25) Part number TLP241B Package DIP4 Absolute maximum ratings OFF-state output terminal voltage V OFF (V) 100 ON-state current I ON (A) 2.0 ON-state current (pulsed) I ONP (A) 6.0 Operating temperature T opr () -40 to

110 Coupled electrical

characteristics Trigger LED current I FT max (mA) 3 ON-state resistance R ON typ. (m) 110 ON-state resistance R ON max (m) 200 Electrical characteristics Output capacitance C OFF typ. (pF) 300 Switching characteristics Turn-on time t ON max (ms) 3 Turn-off time t OFF max (ms) 0.5 Sample Check & Availability Buy Online

Note:

[1] Among DIP4 packaged photorelays, as of February 4, 2021, Toshiba survey.

Follow the link below for more.

TLP241B

https://toshiba.semicon-storage.com/info/lookup.jsp?pid=TLP241B

Follow the link below for more on Toshibas optical devices lineup.

Photorelays (MOSFET Output)

https://toshiba.semicon-storage.com/ap-en/semiconductor/product/optoelectronics/photorelay-mosfet-output.html

To check availability of the new products at online distributors, visit:

TLP241B

https://toshiba.semicon-storage.com/ap-en/semiconductor/where-to-buy/stockcheck.TLP241B.html

Customer Inquiries:

Optoelectronic Device Sales & Marketing Dept.

Tel: +81-3-3457-3431

https://toshiba.semicon-storage.com/ap-en/contact.html

*Company names, product names, and service names may be trademarks of their respective companies.

*Information in this document, including product prices and specifications, content of services and contact information, is current on the date of the announcement but is subject to change without prior notice.

About Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation

Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation combines the vigor of a new company with the wisdom of experience. Since becoming an independent company in July 2017, the company has taken its place among the leading general devices companies, and offers its customers and business partners outstanding solutions in discrete semiconductors, system LSIs and HDD.

Its 24,000 employees around the world share a determination to maximize the value of its products, and emphasize close collaboration with customers to promote co-creation of value and new markets. The company looks forward to building on annual sales now surpassing 750-billion yen (US$6.8 billion) and to contributing to a better future for people everywhere.

Find out more about Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation at https://toshiba.semicon-storage.com/ap-en/top.html

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204005495/en/
Where exactly its come from is still to be determined, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said. Were confident at the moment its not been picked up in the community but from one of the residents in the hotel. Premier Daniel Andrews addresses the media on Friday as Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton looks on. Credit:Paul Jeffers Victoria recorded no new locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Friday, after the young mans diagnosis sparked a mass testing effort across Melbourne and the tightening of mask-wearing rules and gathering limits. As well as the hotel worker, a returned traveller is suspected of also being infected with the British strain after viral particles spread from another hotel room. Epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws said the possibility that infection had spread between the rooms was extremely concerning.

If the air in the room of that family of five is so dense with virus that it can then go into the corridor to then infect somebody on the other side then we have got a serious problem, she said. With about 40,000 Australians stuck overseas and trying to get home the program is likely to continue for some time, but infections have emerged in quarantine hotels in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, NSW and South Australia. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Professor Lidia Morawska, director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at the Queensland University of Technology wants quarantine to be led from Canberra and has called for a review of every hotel providing quarantine in Australia. So, here we are again. The most important aspect is acknowledgement at the top level in Australia that airborne transmission is a main route of transmission in general. This is the golden rule: hazard, not recognised [will] never be controlled and they are stubbornly refusing to recognise this hazard, Professor Morawska said.

Loading [Airborne transmission] has been rejected, rejected and rejected, even though it is so obvious. There is no one magic solution. This needs a team of building engineers who know the system ... to investigate which way air flows, and whether there is the possibility of transferring air from one room to another room. University of South Australia biostatistics and epidemiology professor Adrian Esterman said he had been calling for a nationally driven quarantine response for months. He said the vaccine would never be a silver bullet even if every high-risk hotel quarantine staffer in Australia got immunised.

The thing about the vaccine is although it is going to be highly effective at reducing symptomatic disease, it will likely be far less effective at reducing transmission, he said. The issue here is even if youre vaccinated, theres still a chance of you being infected and even though you wont have severe symptoms you will still potentially be infectious. The Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists immediate past president Andrew Orfanos said while health authorities accepted the risk of airborne transmission in hospitals, there was reluctance to do the same in hotel quarantine. A quarantine worker at the Grand Hyatt tested positive. Credit:Paul Jeffers We have ... ensure that the ventilation systems in the hotels are effectively bringing in fresh air and not just re-circulating potentially contaminated air, he said. You have to dilute the virus by blowing lots and lots of fresh air in there. While Australian Medical Association Victorian president Julian Rait believes Victorias hotel quarantine program was among the best in Australia, he said there remained a deficiency around fit-testing of face masks.

Fit-testing  which ensures a mask seals to the face  is mandatory for workers dealing with asbestos and silica, but not for all hotel quarantine workers. In Victoria, all hotel quarantine workers must all wear high quality N95 masks. Those working at hot hotels for coronavirus positive returned travellers must have fit-tested masks. However, those working in the cold hotels with returned travellers who have yet to test positive are not required to fit their masks. Unless you ensure an airtight seal around your in N95 theres no point having one, Professor Rait said. Following a national cabinet meeting on Friday, Mr Morrison said hotel quarantine would remain the primary system for isolating returned travellers.

Loading It has been incredibly effective, he said. Over 211,000 people have gone through that process, and the number of breaches weve had  albeit, when they do occur, theyre serious  is incredibly small in comparison to that large volume. As well as expanding the capacity at the Howard Springs quarantine facility in the Northern Territory the Prime Minister confirmed he was actively considering a proposal for a 1000-bed purpose-built quarantine site in Toowoomba, 130 kilometres west of Brisbane. Victoria will lift the number of returned travellers it takes at its quarantine hotels each week to 1300, up from around 1100 now but significantly fewer than the big jump the Andrews government had flagged it would soon be taking. Section 51 of the Australian Constitution gives quarantine powers to the Commonwealth, but it is not compelled to exercise these powers. It can instead opt to allow the states public health safeguards to operate alongside it.
Geopolitical expediency has previously pushed South Korea

and Japan closer together, but a painful past keeps intruding.

The Seoul Central District Court last month delivered a verdict requiring the Japanese government to pay $US91,000 to 12 former comfort women who endured sexual slavery during the Second World War.

The courts ruling follows off the back of a similar decision by the South Korean Supreme Court in 2018 ordering Japanese companies Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy to pay compensation to victims of forced labour during the war years. This particular decision was strongly supported by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), whose variant of Korean nationalism is built upon a strong sense of grievance against Japan. The fallout from this decision also sparked a still simmering semi-official trade war between the two nations.

While Tokyo has mostly shifted away from questioning the historical truth of atrocities committed during its colonial rule over the Korean peninsula, it nonetheless denies its legal responsibility to pay compensation. This is because of the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea, which saw Tokyo provide U.S.$500 million in grants and loans to Seoul in exchange for completely and finally resolving bilateral historical claims.

To the South Korean public, this level of compensation amounted to small beer, having been signed at a time when the two countries had stark asymmetries in power and wealth. The practice of Japanese politicians  including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe  of visiting the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and promoting revisionist historical textbooks has justifiably raised clear questions about Tokyos sincerity.

Nonetheless, facing a common threat from North Korea and under U.S. pressure, both countries reached an agreement in 2015 to finally and irreversibly settle the comfort women issue. Much as it did in the early to mid-1990s, Japan again offered an apology  though not perceived as official by some victims groups because of its private nature  and compensation in the form of a $9 million donation.

Negotiated by the now-disgraced government of former president Park Geun-hye, the agreement was vocally attacked by the DPK. While Moon Jae-in refrained from fulfilling a campaign pledge before winning the presidency to renegotiate the deal, his government has undercut it through various actions, including the dissolution of the victim relief foundation funded by Tokyos donation.

From Japans perspective, both the 2018 and 2021 court rulings (with more possibly to come) blatantly violated international agreements. The recent court decision would seem to make even more unlikely a proposed solution to negotiate a deal to end the forced labour dispute along the lines of the 2015 comfort women solution. While questions can be raised about the moral adequacy of both the 1965 and 2015 agreements, Tokyo simply cannot be confident that any future agreement would truly be final and irreversible.

Despite there being plenty of sound geostrategic reasons for the two countries to find a way to manage the dispute, there is no guarantee that Moon will forcefully intervene.

Seoul allowing the forced seizure of Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavys assets  as is could plausibly occur imminently  would likely send relations into freefall. Yet, despite there being plenty of sound geostrategic reasons for the two countries to find a way to manage the dispute, there is no guarantee that Moon will forcefully intervene. The nature of Moons foreign policy priorities and their nexus with domestic policy helps explains why.

In keeping with the DPKs Korean nationalist ideology, Moons foremost foreign policy objective is essentially domestic in seeking to advance inter-Korean ties. Concrete expressions of this include his commitment to end the Korean war, removing references to North Korea as an enemy state, the Three Nos policy (no desire for the Norths collapse, no pursuit of unification by absorption and no pursuit of unification through artificial means) and the pursuit of inter-Korean economic projects  largely thwarted by international sanctions. The ultimate end goal of this process is reunification, although it must be said that North Koreas response to these overtures has been tepid at best.

To a significant extent, other foreign policy priorities are largely subordinate to this overarching goal. Though Moon has begrudgingly abided by U.S. sanctions, as analysts such as Jeffrey Robertson note, talk of abandoning the U.S. alliance is now mainstream.

Despite a plurality of South Koreans identifying China as the countrys greatest security threat, Moon has been very reluctant to poke the bear. As North Koreas sole ally and by far its largest trading partner, China will always be a pivotal player when it comes to the security and political contours of the Korean Peninsula. Accordingly, South Korea has been wary not to offend Beijing and  in contrast to Japan  has been somewhat of a lightweight in providing Indo-Pacific nations with alternatives to China. Of course, China also has its own disputes related to history in the region.

Thus, while geopolitical expediency has previously pushed South Korea and Japan closer together, Moon appears to view both China and North Korea primarily through the lens of his nationalist project. More than not being a priority, solid ties with Japan are not necessarily seen as desirable at all. Kim Jong-un has consistently rated less unfavourably than Abe in polls, while half of South Korean respondents to a survey reported they would support the North in a hypothetical war with Japan. Removing the alleged legacy of chinilpa (pro-Japanese collaborators) has been pursued by the Moon administration with great public support.

All of this has implications for what countries such the U.S., Australia and the broader region can plausibly hope for in their relationship with South Korea. At the moment, the best that can probably be hoped for is that the domestically preoccupied incoming Biden Aaministration can somehow push both Japan and South Korea to maintain the bare minimum level of cooperation.

Henry Storey holds a Master of International Relations degree from Melbourne University. Henry currently works as an analyst for a political risk consultancy in Melbourne and was formerly an editor at Foreign Brief and Young Australians in International Affairs.

This article appeared originally at Lowy Institute's the interpreter.
A TV weatherman helped pull the body of missing British gym instructor from rough surf on the Gold Coast moments after speaking live on air.

A massive search for Jake Jacobs, 32, was launched on Thursday after the body of his female friend washed up not long after they entered the water.

The pair had gone for a late-night swim at Kurrawa Beach in Broadbeach.

The woman was in her late 20s and lived in Victoria, but was originally from Europe. Police were still trying to contact her next of kin on Friday evening, and as a result, Brisbane Times has chosen not to identify her.
When businesses were forced to shut down to help slow the spread of COVID-19, grocery stores had to remain open. For nearly a year now, workers have risked their health and their family's by dealing with customers refusing to wear masks, among other things.

All their hard work doesn't seem to be paying off, because they still aren't being prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination. Many feel they've been abandoned by state government, according to the Texas Tribune's Duncan Agnew.

EQUAL DISTRIBUTION: Advocates call for improved COVID-19 vaccination process in Black, Hispanic communities

You feel like you dont matter when your own state goes against every recommendation that there is out there, said Houston-area Kroger employee Dawn Hand, as reported by Agnew. Why dont we matter? Whats your answer to that?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended states include grocery store workers in Phase 1B of vaccine allocation, but Texas decided against including such essential employees in the states current vaccine priority groups.

"Our dedicated associates have gone above and beyond to serve our customers and communities during one of the most challenging times in our nations history, and were committed to providing the resources and support to keep them and their families safe as they continue their remarkable effort," said April Martin, corporate affairs manager for the Kroger Dallas Division.

But there's only so much they can do without help from the state.

With fewer than four million vaccine doses received so far, the Department of State Health Services said they wanted to reserve the vaccine for those with the highest risk of death, per Agnew.

In a letter sent to Governor Greg Abbott's office, Democratic State Representative Vikki Goodwin came to grocery workers' defense. She asked that they be prioritized, as they are risking their health daily by interacting with people face to face.

"Those who risk COVID infection by going to work should receive the vaccine before others who are fortunate enough to hold jobs that they can perform safely from home," Goodwin said.

"This category would include, but not be limited to: grocery store employees who are and have been risking their own lives so that we can have food on our tables."
Cindy Crawford has been enjoying some quality family time over the past year, during lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic.

And the supermodel appears to have taken inspiration from a Queen's Gambit binge for their latest game night.

She matched wits with daughter Kaia Gerber, as she plotted her next move during an intense game of chess Thursday, as husband Rande Gerber posted a snap of the moment to Instagram.

Battle of wits: Cindy Crawford matched wits with daughter Kaia Gerber, as she plotted her next move during an intense game of chess Thursday, as husband Rande Gerber posted a snap of the moment to Instagram

The 54-year-old and her daughter, 19, sat on the couch with the board between them, as Rande, 58, wrote: 'Chess can be beautiful.'

Kaia posted the photo to her Instagram Story as well, writing: 'We take chess seriously in this household.'

Cindy and Rande tied the knot in May of 1998, and they share daughter Kaia Jordan and son Presley Walker, 21.

She recently told Red Magazine: 'Parenting is the hardest and most rewarding job. Rande and I made our kids feel included. If we had friends over for dinner, they sat with us and I think that's served them well.'

Game night: Kaia posted the photo to her Instagram Story as well, writing: 'We take chess seriously in this household' (pictured in December, 2018)

Happy family: Cindy, 54, and Rande, 58, tied the knot in May of 1998, and they share daughter Kaia Jordan, 19, and son Presley Walker, 21 (pictured in February, 2017)

The Fair Game actress continued: 'They've always been comfortable being around older people and asking questions. What could I do better? Probably not offer help unless it's asked for.

'You want to do everything for your kids, but when I stand back and they come to me for advice, they're more likely to listen. When I offer it unsolicited, it just annoys them.'

She also shared the secret to her successful marriage: '[It's] friendship. With my husband, I feel even if we weren't together, we'd be friends.

Parenting style: She recently told Red Magazine: 'Parenting is the hardest and most rewarding job. Rande and I made our kids feel included. If we had friends over for dinner, they sat with us and I think that's served them well'

Take a step back: The Fair Game actress continued: 'You want to do everything for your kids, but when I stand back and they come to me for advice, they're more likely to listen. When I offer it unsolicited, it just annoys them' (pictured in December, 2018)

Best friends: She also shared the secret to her successful marriage: '[It's] friendship. With my husband, I feel even if we weren't together, we'd be friends'

'Of course, you have to have sexual chemistry, but our relationship is based on friendship and mutual respect.'

Cindy took a walk down memory lane Thursday, as she took to Instagram with a throwback from 1989 of her in the bathroom at New York City nightclub MK, captured by Ricky Powell.

It came after the photographer, who captured the punk and hip hop scenes of the city, died earlier this week at 59, the cause of death still unclear.
Yolo County will be prosecuting Lai and Xiong for the Napa thefts as part of the 61 grand theft charges, he said.

The theft charges also include enhancements for allegedly committing the crimes while awaiting prosecution in other theft cases. Police officials said Lal and Xiong had already been arrested on theft-related charges and are suspected of continuing to steal catalytic converters after their release from jail.

Catalytic converter thefts have plagued Napa in recent months, with Napa Police and Sheriff's deputies participating in several arrests.

Thefts of catalytic converters are a national problem because they contain valuable metals that can be recycled and sold for a profit. The police department said California has laws that make it difficult for catalytic converters to be sold here, but the materials can be moved out of the country and sold overseas, which makes it difficult to track.

Police officials reminded residents to be vigilant and call 911 if they see or hear anything suspicious. They also urged residents to protect their vehicles by:
It is a privilege to be a part of the IBAs Law Firm Management Committee and to have been invited to serve on its Advisory Board, Ibarra said. Our firm has a long history of being involved with the IBA and supports its efforts to help the legal profession and protect the rule of law globally.

Yosbel A. Ibarra and Hector D. Sanchez Fernandez, attorneys at global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, were recently appointed to International Bar Association (IBA) committees, each to serve a two-year term from Jan. 2021 to Dec. 2022.

Ibarra, co-managing shareholder of the firms Miami office, was appointed as a member of the IBAs Law Firm Management Committee Advisory Board. The committees mission is to be a leading global forum for the exchange of best practices in law practice leadership and management, according to the organizations website.

Sanchez Fernandez, an associate in Greenberg Traurigs Mexico City office, was appointed Secretary of the Compliance Subcommittee, which was recently created to assist the organizations Anticorruption Committee with special projects related to compliance practices. The subcommittee will share best practices and provide regular communication of legal and other developments related to compliance related issues and trends.

It is a privilege to be a part of the IBAs Law Firm Management Committee and to have been invited to serve on its Advisory Board, Ibarra said. Our firm has a long history of being involved with the IBA and supports its efforts to help the legal profession and protect the rule of law globally.

Ibarra is co-managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurigs Miami office and is a member of the firms Corporate Practice. He is a member, and previously served as co-chair, of the firms Latin America Practice, which has been recognized as a leading Latin American practice by several organizations and publications, including Chambers & Partners. Fluent in Spanish, he has spent his career advising clients doing business in the United States, Spain, and across Latin America. Admitted to practice in both New York and Florida, Ibarra has led numerous important cross-border M&A transactions, as well as joint ventures and infrastructure projects, including public-private partnerships.

It is an honor to be able to contribute to the important work that the IBA does, Sanchez said. I look forward to utilizing my compliance-related experience in Latin America to help the organization achieve its goals, while also strengthening relationships between the IBA and the region.

Sanchez Fernandez is a member of Greenberg Traurigs Corporate Practice and regularly advises Mexican and foreign clients on regulatory and compliance matters regarding regulated activities in Mexico. He regularly assists clients with issues arising from Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and has experience in Mexican anti-corruption legislation. Sanchez Fernandez assists clients in designing and building anti-corruption programs, assesses existing programs, and advises on post-acquisition integration of anti-corruption programs. He also conducts risks assessments, internal investigations, anti-corruption due diligences and trainings in several countries. In addition, he represents domestic and international clients on global energy matters with an emphasis in the areas of energy and natural resources, oil and gas, mining, and electricity.

About Greenberg Traurigs Latin America Practice: Greenberg Traurigs award-winning Latin America Practice draws on resources from our offices around the world, bringing together a multidisciplinary team of more than 120 lawyers to help clients identify and capitalize on business opportunities in Latin America, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Caribbean. As the only global law firm founded in Miami, Greenberg Traurig is inextricably linked to Latin America. Since its beginning, GT has represented many of the family enterprises that are today among Latin Americas largest companies. By addressing real-world problems for clients on a regular basis, our team has developed a breadth of experience that sets us apart. Additionally, for more than 20 years we have sponsored a foreign associate program that invites Latin American lawyers to practice with us, which greatly enriches our resources and regional network.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2200 attorneys in 40 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. The firm is net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage and Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certified. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com
Nearly 60,000 oil exploration and production jobs in Texas were lost in 2020, a staggering figure that underscores the deep industry wounds caused by the global pandemic and oil crash.

Employment in Texas oil drilling and extraction sector fell by more than a quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand for crude and petroleum products, forcing oil and gas companies to cut production and lay off thousands of workers.

There are now about 150,000 upstream oil and gas workers in Texas, the fewest in more than 15 years. For comparison, the sector employed more than 228,000 workers in December 2018, just over two years ago, according to the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, a trade group.

The job loss is devastating, said Karr Ingham, the alliances petroleum economist. In addition, wages were pushed down sharply for those who remained on oil and gas company payrolls. The combined effects of lost jobs and lower industry wages only served to worsen the effects of COVID on the statewide economy, and on local and regional economies with strong ties to oil and gas production.

Nationally, the oil and gas industry lost an estimated 107,000 jobs during the pandemic, according to global consulting firm Deloitte. The job losses came amid the sharpest drop in global crude demand in the shortest amount of time on record. Texas crude oil production hit a record 5.4 million barrels per day in March before it plunged by nearly 20 percent to around 4.3 million barrels a day by May.

OIL DOWNTURN: US oil and gas industry lost 107,000 jobs in the pandemic. Most will take years to return.

The number of drilling rigs in Texas plunged by more than 60 percent in 2020, dropping to 155 in December, the lowest level since oil-field services giant Baker Hughes started tallying the weekly rig count in 1944. The Texas rig count bottomed out in August at 100 rigs.

The number of drilling permits issued by the Texas Railroad Commission fell by nearly half to 6,295 in 2020, the lowest since at least the 1960s. A record low 251 permits were issued in May 2020.

Texas oil and gas industry appears to be recovering after crude prices climbed back above $40 a barrel last summer and surged above $50 a barrel in January after the rollout of coronavirus vaccines.

Since May, oil and gas companies in Texas have added back 407,000 barrels per day of crude production, ending 2020 at around 4.8 million barrels per day of production. Texas represents about 44 percent of the U.S. crude production.

The job losses stemming from the pandemic appear to have bottomed out in August. An estimated 2,300 oil and gas jobs have been added in the last four months of 2020, according to the Alliance.

That the industry is adding jobs is encouraging, pointing to at least somewhat better times ahead in 2021, Ingham said.
Premier Mark McGowan has defended his decision to plunge two million West Australians into lockdown in response to one coronavirus case, dismissing suggestions it was an overreaction.

Ive lain awake at night worrying ... was it an overreaction? But I dont think so, he said.

Lets imagine, had we not done this and we had cases out there incubating in the community and people moving around and spreading it, and then next week we suddenly have big eruptions of cases around Perth, well then everyone would rightly be saying, Why didnt you take action earlier.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson, Chief Health Officer Dr Andrew Robertson and Premier Mark McGowan. Credit:Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

His comments follow a Perth hotel security guard testing positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, after having spent five days in the community while potentially infectious with the UK strain of the virus.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has expressed her gratitude to the Indian government and the people for "most generous" donation of COVID-19 vaccine doses.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, Mottley said: "I trust that you are well and safe. On behalf of my Government and people, I wish to express gratitude to you, your Government and the people of the Republic of India for its most generous donation of the Covishield vaccines (under the auspices of Oxford Astrazeneca)."

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

Last month, Mottley wrote to Prime Minister Modi, requesting for access to vaccines to provide immunisation coverage for the island nation.

Recently, Barbados media reported that the country will be receiving 1,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from India.

Barbados, which as a population of over 2.87 lakhs, has recorded 1,641 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 1,274 persons have recovered.

Mottley said that the country's health ministry has confirmed that the Covishield vaccine has been approved for use in Barbados and will be administered in accordance with the manufacturers' guidelines.

"The Minister of Health and Wellness and the Chief Medical Officer both have confirmed that the vaccine has been approved for use in Barbados and will be administered in accordance with the manufacturers' guidelines. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration," the letter read.

The first supply of 50,000 vaccines, comprising 100,000 doses, from India will be targeted towards frontline workers, police and security forces, essential services, hotel workers, supermarket employees as well as the elderly, Loop Cayman reported on Wednesday. (ANI)

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Two sailors died of the illness caused by the coronavirus this week, bringing the total number of U.S. troops killed by the illness to at least 20.

Chief Quartermaster Herbert Rojas, a 50-year-old staff instructor at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, Illinois, died of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Rojas was quarantining in his off-base residence after testing positive for the virus when he was found unresponsive, said Lt. Cmdr. Phil Chitty, a Naval Service Training Command spokesman

"He failed to wake up to an alarm clock. His girlfriend attempted to wake him," Chitty said. "Local police were then dispatched to the scene, and he was pronounced dead shortly after their arrival."

Read Next: 53% of Military Families Don't Want COVID-19 Vaccine, Survey Shows

Two days after Rojas' death, a sailor assigned to the ballistic-missile submarine Tennessee's Blue crew died of COVID-related complications.

Information Systems Technician (Submarines) Second Class Petty Officer Cody Andrew-Godfredson Myers, 26, was admitted to Naval Air Station Jacksonville Hospital in Florida on Jan. 30 before being transferred to the intensive care unit at the University of Florida Hospital Shands in Jacksonville the next day.

He tested positive for COVID-19 there and remained in the ICU until his death Feb. 4.

"Myers was placed on Restriction of Movement Jan. 18, as a precaution after close contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19," Navy officials said in a statement Friday. "Sailors who may have been in contact with Myers have been notified already and taken the appropriate precautions."

The statement added that chaplains, embedded mental health specialists and counselors were available at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, to support the crew of the sub.

"Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family, shipmates and friends of Petty Officer Myers during this extremely difficult time," a statement from Commander, Submarine Forces, reads.

Personnel at Great Lakes, where all new Navy recruits train to become sailors, are in a state of mourning and are focused on caring for Rojas' loved ones, Chitty said.

"Leadership has really taken Chief Rojas' death to heart because this is the first death at Recruit Training Command as a result of COVID-19," he added.

In a statement, Capt. Erik Thors, head of Recruit Training Command, said, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend and shipmate Chief Rojas, and we will continue supporting his family and friends during this time of grief."

Chitty, citing Pentagon policy, declined to provide the number of COVID-19 cases at the recruit training center. It's not known when Rojas caught the virus or whether it was the result of interacting with recruits.

As a staff instructor, Chitty added, Rojas had less interaction with new recruits than the recruit division commanders who train future sailors. The chief tested positive after routine randomized testing.

He and anyone deemed to have had close contact with Rojas was then quarantined, Chitty said.

Submarine Forces is withholding details about the other sailor's death, pending family notification.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, shipmates and friends of the Sailor during this extremely difficult time," Navy officials said in a statement Thursday.

Four sailors have now died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Abdigafar Salad Warsame, a 52-year-old Navy Reserve logistics specialist with the Navy Operational Support Center in Columbus, Ohio, died Jan. 8. Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr., a 41-year-old member of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt's crew, died in April.

The deaths of Rojas and the submariner bring the total number of military fatalities from COVID-19 up to at least 20, according to Defense Department data.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Aviano Airman's Death Was from Coronavirus, Family and Friends Say
It is no secret that alcohol is not good for us. There are people who boast consuming tons of it on a daily basis.

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But they are also the people who come across severe long-term medical issues -- whether its poor cardiac health or issues with liver etc. And now, a new study has shed light on how drastically it can reduce a persons life expectancy.

The study looked at data from over 1,158,486, Europeans has revealed that people with alcohol-use-disorder could be looking at losing not just years but in fact decades off their lives.

The study was conducted by Karolinska Institutet in Sweden which looked at individuals from Denmark, Finland and Sweden who were hospitalised due to an alcohol user disorder from the year 1987 to 2006.

After looking at the numbers, researchers discovered that individuals who were hospitalised for alcohol abuse disorder, on average saw a 24-28 year decrease in overall life expectancy -- considerably higher than the general population. The study revealed that substance use disorder was responsible for spiking the chances of mortality from all causes of death.

The average life expectancy of individuals hospitalized for substance use disorder is 53 years old, while women have an average life expectancy of 58 years old. According to the World Bank, average life expectancy for citizens in India is somewhere around 69 years, as per data from 2018.

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This is not surprising since drinking alcohol regularly has drastic effects on not just our liver, but also the heart and the cardiovascular system, resulting in medical conditions like irregular heartbeat, stroke and other complications. But looking at a considerable loss of years in a life span surely put things in an entirely different perspective.

So next time your friends force you to chug beers one after another, keep the effects in mind and drink responsibly to keep enjoying your beloved drink for years to come.
NEW DELHI (AP)  Indias agriculture minister defended new agriculture reform laws in Parliament on Friday, dampening hopes of a quick settlement with tens of thousands of farmers who have been demanding their repeal by blocking three highways connecting the capital to northern India for over two months.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar made no new offer to resume stalled talks with the farmers, who believe the legislation will devastate their earnings by ending guaranteed prices for wheat and rice and force them to sell to powerful corporations at cheaper prices.

Singh said the laws will lead to more private investment in agriculture and raise earnings by setting up warehouses where farmers can store crops and sell them when prices are favorable.

The deadlock turned violent on Jan. 26, Indias Republic Day, when thousands of farmers riding tractors stormed Indias historic Red Fort and unfurled a flag of the minority Sikh community, which is leading the protests. Clashes between the farmers and government forces left one protester dead and nearly 400 police officers injured.

On Saturday, farmers plan to blockade highways across the country for three hours to draw attention to their cause. They say they will not stop their protests until the laws are repealed.

Opposition leaders, including Anand Sharma of the Congress party and Satish Mishra of the Bahujan Samaj Party, accused the government of violating the human rights of farmers by disconnecting electricity and water supplies at protest sites and cutting internet access.

They also objected to the authorities' sharp increase in security at the three main protest sites outside New Delhis border aimed at stopping the farmers from entering the capital.

Tomar accused the opposition parties of inciting the farmers by falsely claiming that their land would be taken over by big corporations under contract farming laws.

This is not true, he said.
3D shape created in Yum's lab Credit: UT Arlington

University of Texas at Arlington researchers have developed a technique that programs 2-D materials to transform into complex 3-D shapes.

The goal of the work is to create synthetic materials that can mimic how living organisms expand and contract soft tissues and thus achieve complex 3-D movements and functions. Programming thin sheets, or 2-D materials, to morph into 3-D shapes can enable new technologies for soft robotics, deployable systems, and biomimetic manufacturing, which produces synthetic products that mimic biological processes.

Kyungsuk Yum, an associate professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department, and his team have developed the 2-D material programming technique for 3-D shaping. It allows the team to print 2-D materials encoded with spatially controlled in-plane growth or contraction that can transform to programmed 3-D structures.

Their research, supported by a National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award that Yum received in 2019, was published in January in Nature Communications.

"There are a variety of 3-D-shaped 2-D materials in biological systems, and they play diverse functions," Yum said. "Biological organisms often achieve complex 3-D morphologies and motions of soft slender tissues by spatially controlling their expansion and contraction. Such biological processes have inspired us to develop a method that programs 2-D materials with spatially controlled in-plane growth to produce 3-D shapes and motions."

With this inspiration, the researchers developed an approach that can uniquely create 3-D structures with doubly curved morphologies and motions, commonly seen in living organisms but difficult to replicate with man-made materials.

They were able to form 3-D structures shaped like automobiles, stingrays, and human faces. To physically realize the concept of 2-D material programming, they used a digital light 4-D printing method developed by Yum and shared in Nature Communications in 2018.

"Our 2-D-printing process can simultaneously print multiple 2-D materials encoded with individually customized designs and transform them on demand and in parallel to programmed 3-D structures," said Amirali Nojoomi, Yum's former graduate student and first author of the paper. "From a technological point of view, our approach is scalable, customizable, and deployable, and it can potentially complement existing 3-D-printing methods."

The researchers also introduced the concept of cone flattening, where they program 2-D materials using a cone surface to increase the accessible space of 3-D shapes. To solve a shape selection problem, they devised shape-guiding modules in 2-D material programming that steer the direction of shape morphing toward targeted 3-D shapes. Their flexible 2-D-printing process can also enable multimaterial 3-D structures.

"Dr. Yum's innovative research has many potential applications that could change the way we look at soft engineering systems," said Stathis Meletis, chair of the Materials Science and Engineering Department. "His pioneering work is truly groundbreaking."

Explore further Researcher creates hydrogels capable of complex movement

More information: Amirali Nojoomi et al. 2D material programming for 3D shaping, Nature Communications (2021). Journal information: Nature Communications Amirali Nojoomi et al. 2D material programming for 3D shaping,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-20934-w

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NEW YORK  Chadwick Boseman received two posthumous nominations from the 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Thursday, while the Korean American family drama Minari and Spike Lees Vietnam veteran drama Da 5 Bloods were among the nominees for best ensemble.

The nominees, announced on Instagram Live, differed notably from the Golden Globe nominations announced the day before. While the Hollywood Foreign Press Association spurned films with largely non-white casts in its tops awards, the actors guild nominated a strikingly more diverse slate of nominees for its top award, best ensemble.

Up for best ensemble are Regina Kings One Night in Miami, about a 1964 meeting of four Black icons; the August Wilson adaptation Ma Raineys Black Bottom; Lee Isaac Chungs Minari; Lees Da 5 Bloods and Aaron Sorkins 1960s courtroom drama The Trial of the Chicago 7.

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All of those films, except Sorkins, were overlooked Wednesday by the Globes in its top award, best dramatic film. Minari, set in Arkansas but with largely Korean dialogue, was even ruled ineligible for the category by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

But the SAG Awards, presented by SAG-AFTRA, are considered a far better barometer for the Academy Awards, where actors account for the largest percentage of the academy. Usually, the eventual Oscar best picture winner is first nominated for best ensemble by the SAG Awards, though Green Book and The Shape of Water were two recent exceptions. Last year, Bong Joon Hos Parasite won the SAGs top honor (and became the first non-English film to do so) before triumphing at the Oscars.

The Screen Actors Guilds field of ensemble nominees left out a pair of frontrunners in David Finchers golden-age Hollywood drama Mank (which led the Globes with six nominations) and Chloe Zhaos Western road movie Nomadland. The stars of each  Gary Oldman in Mank, Frances McDormand in Nomadland  were both nominated by the actors guild.

Boseman, who died last August at age 43, was nominated not just for his lead performance in Ma Raineys Black Bottom, but also his supporting role in Da 5 Bloods. With two individual nominations and two ensemble nods, Bosemans four SAG nominations in a single year tie a record  and set a new one for solely film categories.

In 2019, he memorably a ccepted the SAG ensemble award for Black Panther. We all know what its like to be told that there is not a place for you to be featured  yet you are young, gifted and Black, Boseman said then.

Aside from Boseman and Oldman, the nominees for best male actor in a lead role were Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Anthony Hopkins (The Father) and Steven Yeun (Minari).

Viola Davis, Bosemans Ma Rainey co-star, was nominated for best female actor in a leading role alongside McDormand, Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Amy Adams (Hillbilly Elegy) and Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman).

Nominated for best female actor in a supporting role were Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy), Olivia Colman (The Father), Yuh-Jung Young (Minari) and Helena Zengel (News of the World).

The other supporting nominees for male actors were Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah), Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Jared Leto (The Little Things) and Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami).

In an already recurring theme for a movie year in which many theaters were often closed due to the pandemic, Netflix led all studios. It accounted for 30 nominees in all, about triple the closest competitor.

In the television categories, The Crown, Schitts Creek and Ozark dominated. All of the female leads in a drama series nominees came from either The Crown (Gillian Anderson, Colman, Emma Corrin) or Ozark (Laura Linney, Julia Garner).

Both series were nominated for best TV drama ensemble, along with Better Call Saul, Bridgerton and Lovecraft Country.

Annie Murphy, Catherine OHara, Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy were all nominated for Schitts Creek. The other nominees for best comedy series ensemble were Dead to Me, The Flight Attendant, The Great and Ted Lasso.

The actors guild also helped atone for one of the Globes other glaring oversights, nominating Michaela Coel for her performance in the limited series I May Destroy You.

The SAG Awards will be held almost three months later this year, on April 4. After postponing due to the pandemic to March 14, the SAGs again moved when the Grammy Awards also took that date. The Oscars wont be held until April 28. Academy Award nominees, to be announced March 15, are still more than five weeks away.

In a first, the nominations Thursday were streamed on Instagram, with Daveed Diggs and Lily Collins serving as hosts. At first, Diggs had trouble joining his screen with Collins.

There are so many more comments than I thought there would be, he said.

It also meant Diggs was live when Collins announced his nomination for best male actor in a television movie or limited series, for the film version of Hamilton. He responded that the awards were clearly rigged.

This Hamilton gift, it keeps giving, said Diggs.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5) Beijings Ambassador to the Philippines on Friday expressed confidence in the safety of China-made coronavirus vaccines, assuring that his country implements rigorous policies when it comes to the doses production.

In an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines, Ambassador Huang Xilian noted that the clinical trials of their vaccines have shown quite good results in terms of safety and efficacy.

The Chinese government has a very strict and a very rigorous protocols and policies about the security of the vaccines, Huang told The Source.

The envoy added officials have yet to receive a report of a possible severe adverse impact of the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, with mass inoculation already underway in China.

Concerns were earlier raised over the China-developed vaccines, particularly Sinovac, which reported an efficacy rate of 50.38%  slightly above the World Health Organizations minimum standard but lower than those of other brands in the market.

State-owned Sinopharm, on the other hand, had announced that its vaccine is 79.34% effective.

Meanwhile, Huang admitted he had followed the Senates hearing on vaccines, but refused to comment further as it is a domestic affair of the Philippines.

What I want to say is that the security of vaccines, of course, will be always on the top of the concerns, he said.

Riot fencing and razor wire reinforce the security zone on Capitol Hill, in Washington, on Jan. 23, 2021. (Eileen Putman/AP Photo)

Republicans Call on Pelosi to Remove Military-Style Fencing Around Capitol

Forty-two House Republicans have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urging her to remove the barricades surrounding the Capitol in Washington, erected in the days after the building was stormed on Jan. 6.

Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), the primary signatory of the letter (pdf), said in a statement that the request is for Pelosi to remove what some fear is poised to become permanent military-style fencing around the Capitol.

The undersigned representatives said they are concerned about the presence of enhanced fencing surrounding the Capitol even though the presidential inauguration and related high profile events that led to its erection have since passed.

In particular, we are concerned with recent reports that the fencing surrounding the Capitol may become permanent, they wrote.

We are willing to have an honest debate about providing Capitol Hill Police with the resources they need to be better prepared without turning the Capitol into a permanent fortress, they wrote, and urged Pelosi to take down the barbed wire fencing and send the National Guard troops home.

Its time for healing and its time for the removal of the fencing so the nation may move forward, they said in the letter.

Calling the events that happened on Jan. 6 horrific, the lawmakers expressed understanding for why enhanced security was adopted in their wake.

But it is time for Congress and its representatives to stop hiding, they wrote.

Calling the Capitol a symbol of freedom both at home and abroad, the lawmakers argued the fortress-like security sends the wrong message.

At the top of the Capitol building stands the Statue of Freedom, they wrote. Much like the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the statue symbolizes why so many people from around the world come to America. They come to start anew, unshackled by tyranny and oppression, to be free from political and religious persecution, and to live in freedom and peace. The current state of the Capitol Complex fundamentally undermines that message, and we urge an end to it, they said in the letter.

In January, the Capitol police forces acting chief said permanent fences around the Capitol complex should be part of the vast improvements in security needed to protect the building and the lawmakers who work inside.

This drew the ire of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, along with local lawmakers and neighborhood residents.

DC does not support it, said Councilmember Charles Allen, whose district includes the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) said on Twitter, I believe we can keep Members, press, staff, my constituents, and all those who work here safe without walling off the symbol of our democracy. Its the Peoples Houselets keep it that way.

A petition being circulated online against making permanent the temporary fencing around the Capitol had roughly 9,000 signatures by mid-afternoon Friday. Visitors and residents of DC would be punished by a permanent fence, a permanent scar on our beautiful city, and would lose access to this beautiful beacon of democracy, the petition reads.

The grounds of the Capitol attract crowds for public events, daily exercise, as well as rest and relaxation.
Admin gears up as Hisar farmers get set to protest today

Punjab MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu hoists black flag at his residence in support of protesting farmers

Ahead of Chakka Jam, farmer unions say they will not enter Delhi

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 05: The farmer unions protesting against the farm laws announced that no protester will enter Delhi during the three hour nationwide highway blockade to be held tomorrow.

The announcement was made to avoid a repeat of the clashes that took place on Republic Day. Farmer unions have got support from farmers in Haryana and Punjab for the chakka jam, which is scheduled between 12 pm and 3 pm.

On Thursday National Security Advisor met with Union Home Minister, Amit Shah amidst the farmer protests and the propaganda by few foreign personalities.

Delhi's police commissioner, S N Srivastava was also at the meeting with the Home Minister along with the NSA.

Shah also with Intelligence Bureau chief, Arvind Kumar. The meeting takes place in the wake of the chakka jam call by the farmers on February 6.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

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Joni Ernst tried to set a trap for Democrats on the minimum wage. Bernie Sanders outfoxed her. Photo: Getty Images

One of the most popular  but, in Washington, controversial  features of Joe Bidens American Rescue Plan is a proposal to boost the federal minimum wage to $15. Republican pols predictably hate it, and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, who stands athwart the 50-50 Senate like a colossus, has expressed the opinion that its too high. So it wasnt surprising that during Thursday nights so-called vote-a-rama of amendments on the budget resolution, which will lead to a reconciliation bill implementing elements of Bidens stimulus plan, Republican senator Joni Ernst offered a nonbinding amendment authorizing the Senate Budget Committee chairman to remove any $15-minimum-wage provision from the reconciliation bill, hoping (it is assumed) to mousetrap moderate Democratic senators into taking a public stand on an issue that divides the business community from, well, the general public.

As it happens, the Senate Budget Committee chairman to whom the amendment was addressed is also Congresss most prominent advocate for a sizable minimum-wage boost, Bernie Sanders. So maybe Ernst was trying to mess with Bernies head as well. If so, it didnt work, as Business Insider explained:

[Sanders] said during the floor debate that he would do everything I can to make sure that a $15 minimum wage is included in this reconciliation bill  We need to end the crisis of starvation wages in Iowa and across the United States.

The Iowa reference was deft. But not as deft as what Sanders did next:

It was never my intent to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour immediately during the pandemic, Sanders said. My legislation gradually increases the minimum wage to $15 an hour over a five-year period, and that is what I believe we ought to do.

So he supported Ernsts amendment, which passed on a voice vote, avoiding the trap Republicans had tried to set. As one Democratic staffer observed, This isnt Bernies first rodeo. No one has to take a tough vote on a messaging amendment, and we can still try to pass minimum wage through the reconciliation bill.

The ultimate fate of minimum-wage language in the reconciliation process depends not just on politics but on numbers: Democrats are awaiting a fresh estimate by the Congressional Budget Office of the spending and revenue impact of a big minimum-wage hike. And that, in turn, may inform the Senate parliamentarians ruling on whether such language would violate the Byrd Rule against non-budget-germane provisions in budget-reconciliation bills. You can be sure Sanders will be right in the middle of every discussion.
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Fake news is a cancer that has the power to eat away at the foundations of a democracy, and bring it crashing down if its allowed to fester unchecked. Weve seen its effects in the United States, but we have evidence of its devastating power closer to home too. Two hundred years ago this month, fake news had a massive impact on Australia.

Back then, there were even fewer people prepared to stand up and call it out than there are today among the cowed, power-hungry Republicans in the US. And it demonstrates the dangers of standing by and letting those with the loudest voices and most craven ambitions prevail, and to hell with the consequences  whether theyre spreading their fetid lies around government, racism, COVID-19, asylum-seekers  anyone and anything.

Elizabeth Macquarie was determined to clear her husbands name.

By February 1821, the fledgling colony of NSW had been transformed by governor Lachlan Macquarie and his wife, Elizabeth. They had reorganised Sydney with straight streets and fine civic buildings such as the Sydney Hospital and the Hyde Park Barracks. The colonys reaches were extending ever further beyond the Blue Mountains and past Camden in the south-west. And deserving convicts were being granted pardons or, once their terms expired, were being allowed some of the same rights as the free settlers.

But not everyone was happy. Britain was uneasy at the changes and some of the landowners here were angry at losing a never-ending source of cheap, tied labour. The back-biting and white-anting began.
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Robert and his mother Terri Irwin have surprised a mother-of-two by inviting her and her family to visit Australia Zoo.

Queensland mum Angela Reilly won Sunrise's $110,000 Cash Cow prize on Thursday and said she'd be spending the money on taking her kids to the wildlife park.

She explained it had been a 'promise' to her children Frankie, 10, and Phoenix, 14, but she had been unable to due to financial difficulties.

Surprise! Robert and Terri Irwin invited a mother-of-two to Australia Zoo after she promised to take her children but was unable to due to financial difficulties

On Friday, Robert and Terri surprised Angela by sending her a private video message and inviting her to visit the zoo.

'G'day Angela, Frankie and Phoenix - it's Terri and Robert Irwin here and we wanted to say congratulations and well done winning the Cash Cow,' Robert said.

'We're so happy that you want to come here to celebrate.'

Family trip: Queensland mum Angela Reilly (pictured) won Sunrise's $110,000 Cash Cow prize on Thursday and said she'd be spending the money on taking her kids to the wildlife park

Terri added: 'That's awesome and by the way we do have a crocodile named Frankie that's really cute and small.'

She then joked that she 'expects' the family to 'arrive to the zoo either in a limousine or a helicopter.'

'You won $110,000 or something like that. First of all congratulations and second we do expect you to arrive in a limousine or a helicopter.'

'We're really excited to invite you in': Robert and Terri surprised Angela by sending her a private video message and inviting her to visit the zoo. Pictured Robert and Terri with Bindi Irwin and her husband Chandler Powell

'We're really excited to invite you in and we hope you have a wonderful day or two or ten at Australia Zoo,' she added.

Angela broke down in tears as she thanked the Irwin family for inviting her and her family.

'Thank you so much! I've already been so fortunate, you didn't have to do that.'
The exhibition of Japanese prints "Celebrities in the Floating World", opened on Friday, at the National Museum of Romanian Literature, proves once again that the interest in Japan was a part of our modernity, said Academician Razvan Theodorescu, Vice-President of the Romanian Academy.

"There is this phenomenon which proves that the interest in Japan was a part of our modernity. There are large collections, such as that of Dr. Cantacuzino, my professor George Oprescu, General Bagulescu [Gheorghe Bagulescu, writer and art collector, military attache of the Kingdom of Romania in the Japanese Empire -1935-1939 and ambassador of Romania to Japan, Manchuko and China - 1941-1945 - ed. note] who created an extremely important nucleus of Japanese art. Now, here, at the Museum of Literature, we are opening an exhibition of this kind," said Theodorescu, President of the Arts, Architecture, and Audio-Visual Section of the Academy.

Razvan Theodorescu recalled that "for modern art, the Japanese print was a remarkable impulse, starting with the Impressionists and going as far as the symbolists"."Being connected to the world of Japanese printing means being connected to a form of modernity that is very important in the history of culture. The prints of the Edo period on display at the Museum of Literature are emblematic of this age of art," said the academician.The director of the National Museum of Romanian Literature, Ioan Cristescu, appreciated that "Celebrities in the Floating World" is an exhibition event of the Capital, because "it addresses the great themes of the Japanese print, from historical personalities to nature and Kabuki theater."I think the exhibition will be a surprise for everyone who visits it, revealing the art and craftsmanship of the Japanese culture," Cristescu said.He announced that, while the exhibition is open, until April 10, the MNLR team will organize a series of events in the exhibition space."We are trying to conduct not only guided tours, but also to organize every week a workshop on Japanese culture in general," Ioan Cristescu said.The event was attended by the Japanese Ambassador to Romania, Hiroshi Ueda, who voiced his satisfaction that the exhibition, the first event in which he participates in Romania, two months after arriving in our country, is "varied and extensive".It gives me great and special pleasure to see that Japanese art has so many supporters and so many interested people in Romania and collectors like George Serban. I have just seen this exhibition and I am very happy to find that it is so varied and extensive, because it presents works by so many Japanese artists and masters of the Edo period, from Hishikawa Moronobu, Okumura Masanobu, Suzuki Harunobu, to Hokusai, Eizan and Kunisada, and with that I didn't even name them all, said the Japanese diplomat.Hiroshi Ueda said that visitors to the exhibition will discover "very picturesque landscapes, various scenes of everyday life, as well as impressive portraits of Kabuki theater actors", all these representing "a fascinating atmosphere" of seventeenth-century Japan until the 19th century, also called the Edo period, the Romanian public being able to see "what life was like in a flourishing period in the history of Japan".On this occasion, the catalog of the exhibition was launched, made by George Serban and Dr. Alexandru Constantin Chituta, the curator of the exhibition.The prints exhibited in the three rooms on the ground floor of the museum's headquarters in Calea Grivitei 64-66 are part of George Serban's private Ukiyo-e collection.A record for Romania, through the number of works exhibited, 200 Japanese prints created by the most important ukiyo-e artists, in the period 1603-1868, known as the Edo period, the exhibition presents works that cover this art's major themes: history, kabuki theater, bijin-ga or portraits of beautiful women - geishas or courtesans.The exhibition will also feature original works by Hishikawa Moronobu (1618-1694), Okumura Masanobu (1686-1764), Suzuki Harunobu (1724-1770), Isoda Koryusai (1735-1790), artists from the Torii, Katsukawa Schools or Utagawa, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Keisai Eisen (1790-1848), Kikukawa Eizan (1787-1867), as well as Hokusai, Eisen, Harunobu and Kunisada books, made in the 19th century, containing original woodblock printing.Organized by MNLR and Serban and Associates Law Firm, in partnership with the Cultural Association "Painter Octavian Smigelschi" and the Brukenthal National Museum, the exhibition "Celebrities in the Floating World" can be visited until April 10.

Agerpres

President of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee Yoshiro Mori apologized for comments he made suggesting women talk too much in meetings.

Mori, an 83-year-old former prime minister of Japan, made the remarks during an executive meeting of the Japanese Olympic Committee that was held online Wednesday. When giving his "private opinion" about the committee's goal of increasing the number of female board directors from 20% to more than 40%, Mori expressed concern about how that would affect the length of meetings, according to a report by The Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan's largest daily newspapers.

"A meeting of an executive board that includes many women would take time," Mori was quoted as saying by the newspaper. "Women are competitive. When someone raises his or her hand and speaks, they probably think they should speak too. That is why they all end up making comments."

He also referred to the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, saying it "includes about seven women, but they all know how to behave," the newspaper reported.

Mori's remarks provoked laughter from some of the committee members, according to the newspaper. But on social media, as reports of his comments surfaced, people quickly began calling for Mori to resign.

Speaking at a hastily-prepared press conference on Thursday, Mori confirmed he made the comments and offered an apology.

"It was an inappropriate remark that went against the spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics. I deeply regret it and would like to sincerely apologize to anyone whom I have offended," ABC News cited him as saying.

When asked about the calls for his resignation, Mori told reporters: "I'm not considering resigning."
ALBANY  Reporters at the state Capitol are calling on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to consider equity when picking which journalists get to ask questions during the governor's virtual news conferences, including giving more transparency and accessibility to the press.

The Legislative Correspondents Association (LCA), made up of dozens of reporters and editors from various news outlets who cover the state Capitol in Albany, sent a letter Monday requesting Cuomo allow reporters to ask at least one follow-up question; diversify which reporters are selected for questions by taking into account race, ethnicity, gender and age; and alert news outlets at least two hours in advance of his public appearances.

We trust that you, as a supporter of the free press, will recognize that our requests are reasonable and acknowledge our concerns as the primary organization of reporters responsible for transmitting information on this historic pandemic to the public, the letter reads.

When the coronavirus pandemic engulfed New York last year, the governor shifted his briefings  typically held in the Red Room at the state Capitol  to conference calls and also to the popular online platform, Zoom. But who gets picked to ask a question and their inability to ask follow-up questions for clarity have plagued Albany reporters for months, who have taken to social media channels to highlight the inequities.

Some reporters described that despite taking part in dozens of the governor's briefings, and requesting to ask a question, they are passed over for reporters who Cuomo and his executive team appear to favor.

When a Times Union reporter asked Cuomo in November how journalists are selected to ask a question in the virtual forums, the governor feigned ignorance: I have no idea. I just get the question and answer it.

Pressed further on whether his staff selects who is picked, he continued to deny knowledge of the process: What are you suggesting  that they like you, and they picked you out of a group? I have no idea.

In the letter, LCA reporters recommended Cuomo adopt a similar approach to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasios virtual press conferences, where a variety of reporters are called on and news outlets are guaranteed one question per week.

Richard Azzopardi, Cuomo's spokesman, acknowledged receipt of the LCA's letter and said officials are discussing how to respond to the concerns.

He noted the briefings are open to reporters in "10 different regional press corps in addition to the LCA and national media, many of which did not have access in the first nine months of this pandemic. Additionally, other LCA members were not given access when the Capitol was closed after a legislative COVID outbreak and some organizations made the decision to keep their reporters out of the building."

Of the 94 questions asked of Cuomo during his January briefings, 46 percent were from downstate media outlets; 28 percent from LCA reporters; and 27 percent from upstate news outlets, according to figures compiled by Azzopardi in response to the Times Union's questions. The data indicates 53 percent of questions were from male reporters while 47 percent were from female correspondents. The figures did not include a breakdown by age, race or ethnicity, but did provide a gender breakdown of those in the LCA  64 percent male and 36 percent female.

Azzopardi and others in Cuomo's office have declined to say specifically who determines which reporters are called on, other than to say "a lot of us" when asked if it is members of the governor's communications team.

"We strive to hit a balance that is diverse in every way," he said. "It's not an ideal system, but the circumstances of the pandemic call for it and sometimes the balance we seek isn't met, but we always strive for it."
All Australian states and territories are set to overhaul hotel quarantine cleaning procedures amid rising fears that more infectious variants of the coronavirus could spread locally.

National quarantine standards will be reviewed by the health committee advising national Cabinet, following the release of a report into a Brisbane hotel outbreak last month.

The report recommended improvements to PPE training among hotel quarantine staff. Credit:Getty Images

The cluster, which triggered Brisbanes January 8 lockdown, was the first time the mutant strain had been detected outside hotel quarantine in Australia, and it was Queenslands first locally acquired infection in nearly four months.

Since then similar clusters have broken out of quarantine hotels in Auckland, Perth and Melbourne.
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters.

HARRISBURG  This spring, Pennsylvania voters will be asked to weigh in on one of the most contentious battles between Gov. Tom Wolf and the GOP-controlled legislature.

The state House on Friday gave final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment that would give state lawmakers the power to unilaterally end disaster declarations. Currently, such a decision belongs to the governor.

Having already passed the state Senate, the proposal will now appear on primary ballots statewide in May.

There is no doubt the way our government in Pennsylvania is functioning right now has created a backslide of our representative republic, Sen. Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland), the measures sponsor, said in July. From at-home orders, to school closings, and business shutdowns, all of these decisions have been made unilaterally without legislative input.

Heres what you need to know about the measure, as well as the arguments for and against it:

What is a disaster declaration?

A disaster declaration is an executive order issued by a governor who believes a threat of a disaster is imminent, per state law. An initial order can last up to 90 days and can be renewed by the governor until the emergency or danger subsides.

During his time in office, Wolf has signed several disaster declarations, including one in response to the opioid epidemic, which has been renewed 12 times.

Since last March, Wolf has renewed the COVID-19 emergency order three times, most recently in November. With cases and hospitalizations increasing, we cannot afford to let down our guard, Wolf said in a statement at the time.

Who can end a disaster declaration?

This was a contentious question in 2020 and fueled support for the amendment.

A governor can end a disaster declaration at any time. And, according to state law, it can also be lifted if the General Assembly passes a concurrent resolution.

Republicans pointed to that passage when GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate, with support from a handful of Democrats, voted to force Wolf to end the states coronavirus disaster declaration in June. Wolf, in turn, said such a resolution required his approval.

The state Supreme Court sided with the governor, and Wolf formally vetoed the effort.

Under the proposed amendment, the legislature would be able to end a disaster declaration, or a portion of it, at any time through a concurrent resolution without the governors input. A governor would also have to seek approval from the General Assembly to extend any declaration past 21 days.

The measure also bans a governor from signing a new disaster declaration that is based upon the same or substantially similar facts.

What can a governor do during a disaster declaration?

Pennsylvania law tasks a governor with meeting the dangers to the state. Accordingly, a governor can issue a disaster declaration and is then empowered to limit travel, mobilize the National Guard, order evacuations, and commandeer private property.

A governor can also suspend any regulations that could delay necessary action in coping with the emergency, which Wolf has used to suspend certain training and licensure renewal requirements for workers in health and child care.

During an emergency, a governor can also suspend the sale of guns, a power that Republicans in the General Assembly unsuccessfully tried to curb via legislation. A governor can also halt the sale of alcohol.

A disaster declaration can also be beneficial to local and county governments, as well as state agencies and nonprofits.

If the U.S. president approves a governors disaster order, counties and nonprofits can apply for federal disaster loans which can be forgiven if revenues are weak in the years following the disaster.

Some procurement requirements are waived during a state of emergency, which means school districts, universities, and state and local agencies can quickly buy supplies or hire staff, said Randy Padfield, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

We have the ability to be able to do things in a very condensed manner, because obviously peoples lives hang in the balance, Padfield said. That gave us the ability throughout COVID-19 to be able to procure specific contracts for support of long-term care facilities, and staffing, and those types of things.

What would ending a disaster declaration actually do?

Wolf administration officials said that even if the legislature was able to end the disaster declaration today, doing so would not fully reopen the economy or give lawmakers a say in public health orders like those requiring people to stay home or wear masks.

Thats because Pennsylvanias health secretary is granted wide powers to safeguard human life and health throughout the commonwealth under state statutes including a 1955 disease control law. In effect, the secretary can order general control measures, including, but not limited to, closure, isolation, and quarantine, the health department wrote in November.

Instead, administration officials said, it would prevent the state from accessing certain federal programs, suspending training requirements for health-care workers, and even paying the National Guard, whose members have helped the states nursing homes manage COVID-19.

The Wolf administration in June also said ending the disaster declaration would terminate waivers on school meal eligibility, eligibility requirements for unemployment compensation, and weight limitations for commercial truckers moving food, dairy, and medicines to assist in supply chain challenges.

The state could also lose federal public and individual disaster assistance, and any additional state funding sources available through transfer of unused General Fund dollars, Wolf said at the time.

This week, Padfield, the PEMA director, said he is concerned about what such a change would mean for future disasters contained to the state and not a once-in-one-hundred-year event like COVID-19.

My concern is that, you know, were kind of in uncharted territory, he said.

Republican leadership did not respond to several requests for comment to explain what they believe ending a disaster declaration would or would not allow them to do. In public, theyve argued they need this power to serve as a check on the executive and because their constituents want businesses, schools, and restaurants to reopen.

Speaking to reporters Friday, House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R., Centre) said our goal is that the legislature be actively involved in the process.

Thats all were asking for: That after 21 days the General Assembly, who, through the constitution gives authority to the governors office, would have a seat at the table in these discussions, he said.

Rep. Seth Grove (R., York) added that, while the health secretary does have some discretion over business closures, the constitutional amendment would provide another tool that we can go and say, Is this the right path moving forward? 

Rep. Frank Ryan (R., Lebanon), a supporter of the amendment, previously told Spotlight PA it gives the ultimate constitutional authority back to the voters. It also provides the legislature with greater decision-making control and the power of the purse string.

That can have an impact on the actions of the State Police, the Department of Agriculture, and others that might decide to continue with measures that may or may not make sense, Ryan said. Both of the agencies he referenced are tasked with investigating businesses that dont comply with the administrations COVID-19 mandates.

The amendment was supported by just four Democrats in the House and one in the Senate. Many members of the party believe its a politically motivated power grab aimed at taking authority away from a Democratic governor.

This is the legislature cutting off its nose to spite its face because of the person who currently occupies the governors mansion, House Whip Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia) said.

Rep. Dan Frankel (D., Allegheny) echoed concerns from the Department of Health that the state will have less flexibility to quickly respond to the pandemic.

Without the order, pharmacists wont be able to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, Frankel said. Medical professionals from other states will be blocked from crossing into Pennsylvania to address care shortages. Trained health-care practitioners and technicians serving in the U.S. Armed Forces would be unable to assist in the COVID-19 response efforts.

The bottom line is that our health-care system is in danger of being maxed out, he continued, and we simply will not have enough doctors, nurses, medical professionals, or even facilities to take care of our residents, without the emergency order.

Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA contributed reporting.

100% ESSENTIAL: Spotlight PA relies on funding from foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. Become a member today at spotlightpa.org/donate.
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Team Pumpkin, an award-winning integrated marketing agency has successfully acquired the digital mandate for Esskay Beauty. As one of the pioneer brands to offer solutions in the field of Hair, Beauty, and Wellness, Esskay Beauty has a wide distribution network covering the most reputed premium Salons, Spas, and Wellness clinics all across India.

As a part of this digital mandate, Team Pumpkin will handle digital and performance marketing duties for two of Esskay Beauty brands, Naturica and Mr. Barber. In order to build & strengthen the brands digital presence, Team Pumpkin will focus on social media management, performance marketing, influencer outreach requirements, and digital promotional strategies. Team Pumpkins Bangalore office will handle the duties.

Esskay Beauty, headquartered in Gurgaon, offers a wide range of world-class hair, beauty and nail products, salon and spa furniture, equipment, and tools for all salon professionals. The company represents some of the leading international brands in India such as Rica (Italy), Casmara (Spain), Macadamia Beauty (USA) and also has its own labels such as Ola! Candy and Mr Barber across categories. The company also has its own state-of-the-art Academy which provides highly effective training and education about the new services that can be implemented and also a strong presence in E-Commerce space.

Speaking about this new collaboration, Ankit Virmani, Director of Esskay Beauty says, Were delighted to engage with Team Pumpkin and amplify our digital presence. We look forward to expanding our online engagement leading to extensive business growth through this new partnership.

Commenting on the partnership, Nirav Lalan, COO of Team Pumpkin, added, The beauty & wellness industry is constantly innovating and we are ecstatic to take Esskay Beauty up a notch. We plan to brew new tonality for the brands and escalate their digital growth with our creative vision combined with strategic planning.

Founded in 2012, Team Pumpkin provides digital marketing services that are not limited to digital strategy consulting, search engine optimization, social media management, mobile app development, web development, and content marketing. The companys client portfolio is vast and includes brands like Tata Steel, ITC Foods, MamyPoko Pants, Prega News, Columbia Asia Hospitals, Paytm Money, Mahindra First Choice Services, and Network18 among others.
More than 10,000 girls over 30 years. That's how many girls three women here cut in female genital mutilation rituals - almost one girl a day, every day, spanning three decades.

Now in their 70s, Chepchongil Cheleston, Kokarupe Lorwu and Methani Chepurai Lokuda are female genital mutilation survivors and former cutters who have turned their backs on the blade, fighting against the harmful practice and encouraging a younger generation to do the same.

They've gathered at Ms. Lokuda's home with area chief Christopher Adoiywan and other anti-female genital mutilation advocates. The meeting is an opportunity for the chief to work closely with the community on learning about at-risk girls, as well as fostering dialogue on changing societal norms and behaviours that perpetuate harmful practices like this and child marriage.

Ms. Lokuda, who learned the practice from her grandmother, said the girls she cut so long ago are now much older women, but her actions still weigh heavily on her conscience. Those girls did not - but should have had - a say in what happened to their bodies. At the time, she understood the practice as a mandatory rite of passage.

"All the women in my generation had been circumcised, and it is something that the community embraced as a sign of womanhood. If you did not do it, you did not belong," explained Ms. Lokuda, who performed the cut on over 5,000 girls. If she did the job during the day, she was paid in alcohol; at night, she received $5 per girl.

Luis Tato/UNFPA Former circumciser Methani Chepurai Lokuda, left, herself a survivor of FGM, says her actions weigh heavily on her conscience.

Ms. Lorwu was compensated similarly. "Every evening, young women would be gathered in a particular household, and I would be called to perform the circumcision," she said. "After a night of singing and dancing, the girls would wake up at the crack of dawn and shower. We would then proceed to the cowshed where I performed the cut. I would be paid between $5 and $10 per girl. Sometimes I would be paid in alcohol."

The three women credit their reformation to a newfound faith in God and the training and information they received from UNFPA partner World Vision Kenya on the negative effects of female genital mutilation on women's and girls' health. UNFPA supports programmes in Kenya's female genital mutilation hotspot counties, including West Pokot, Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo and Narok.

Implemented by partners, the programmes integrate dialogue, psychosocial support and livelihood options for those engaged in the practice. It was not an easy decision for any of them to put down their tools, as it was their livelihood, but through World Vision International, the women received six goats each as a means to support themselves.

Luis Tato/UNFPA Methani Chepurai Lokuda now educates girls on the harmful effects of a practice still considered by many to be a rite of passage.

The reformed cutters facilitate community dialogues on the harms of female genital mutilation. "All three have been sensitized on government legislation against female genital mutilation and equipped with information on how to advocate for better approaches such as alternative rites of passage for girls," said World Vision Gender and Development Specialist George Ndung'u.

Which is why education stressing the bodily autonomy of women and girls is crucial: it works. According to Mr. Adoiywan, reported cases in the area have dropped by 80 per cent in the past few years.

Still, anti-FGM advocate Eunice Chemwok said women and girls continue to face other challenges, including gender-based violence, child marriage and dropping out of school, all of which are thought to be exacerbated by the pandemic. She is a proponent of alternative rites of passage ceremonies, which have been halted due to lack of funding and COVID-19 restrictions.

"During these ceremonies, young girls learn so much," Ms. Chemwok noted, "including the dangers of early marriage, the importance of staying in school as well as their basic rights."
Anyone travelling to the UK from a high-risk COVID-19 country, including South Africa and South America where new variants have been a concern, will be required to quarantine in a government-approved facility for a period of 10 days from February 15, the UK government confirmed on Friday.

The policy had been announced last month and the government said it has been working "at pace" with the hospitality industry to invite proposals for the measure, to cost travellers around 80 pounds per night.

The rules affect UK residents and Irish nationals travelling from 33 countries on the so-called red list which covers much of South America, southern Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Portugal as feared regions for new coronavirus mutations.

Non-UK travellers from these locations are currently banned from entry anyway.

Follow our LIVE blog for latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

India is not on this list of high-risk countries but a limited travel regime has been in operation within the India-UK corridor since a new highly transmissible variant, called the Kent variant after the south-east England region where it was first discovered, at the end of last year.

It is expected that the enhanced measure will add to the already existing tough restrictions, with only essential travel allowed and fines in place for a breach of the rules under the lockdown rules to keep coronavirus infection rates down.

It is currently illegal to go on holiday, and passengers travelling to the UK must provide proof of a negative test before they travel, and self-isolate on arrival.

With increased police presence at airports and more physical checks at addresses to make sure people are self-isolating, we are taking decisive action, said a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

We are now working at pace to secure the facilities we need to roll out managed quarantine for British nationals returning home from the most high-risk countries, and are rightly engaging with representatives from the hospitality, maritime and aviation industry, and learning from our friends around the world.

"In the face of new variants, it is important that the government continues to take the necessary steps to protect people and save lives," the spokesperson said.

Over the past week, the DHSC said it has met with stakeholders from across the aviation, maritime, hotel and hospitality industry, and will now continue to finalise plans to enable implementation from February 15.

It comes as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock to oversee cross-government efforts through a Cabinet sub-committee to deliver mandatory quarantine and enhanced testing to help tackle the threats of new variants of COVID-19.

Hancock has held discussions with his Australian counterpart on Thursday, and officials will speak with New Zealand officials to share expertise on the new hotel quarantine measure.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here

Kareena Kapoor Khan who will soon be embracing motherhood once again this month, has surely rung in her second pregnancy in style. From shelling out major maternity style goals to completing her professional commitments, the actor has become an inspiration to all the new mommies out there. Recently, Kareena revealed how she is not going berserk during her second pregnancy.

Talking about the same with Times Now Digital, Kareena Kapoor Khan revealed how she is calmer and not going berserk during her second pregnancy, unlike her time with Taimur. She also said that she has been much more confident and prepared as she gears up to welcome her second child. This is not a surprise since the actor has been juggling all her commitments smoothly, be it her film, Laal Singh Chaddha's shoot or her radio chat show.

The actor also revealed that she does not understand the fuss around women working during their pregnancies. She said, "I do not understand the fuss about it. I have worked throughout my pregnancies and will continue to do even after delivery. In fact, it's good to remain active and on your feet as it is good for the baby's health. I have never really experienced any bias."

Also Read: Kareena Kapoor Khan Is A Visual Delight In Her Latest Video From A Photoshoot

The Jab We Met actor recently also shared some fun stills and videos along with her team from an ad shoot. Her husband and actor, Saif Ali Khan had also revealed to a publication that the couple will be welcoming their second child in February 2021. He had further revealed that the couple along with their son Taimur have also moved into a new home before the arrival of their second child.

Also Read: Saif Ali Khan Is Excited About Being A Father Again; Says 'I Am Happy To Welcome Another Tiny Tot'

On the work front, Kareena Kapoor Khan will soon be seen in the film Laal Singh Chaddha opposite Aamir Khan. The film is a remake of the Hollywood film Forrest Gump. The movie will be helmed by Advait Chandan. The actress will also be donning the cap of an author with her new book titled, 'Kareena Kapoor Khan's Pregnancy Bible.'
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Hyde follows family tradition, takes home PIAA gold in shot put

"It's awesome," Hyde said. "It really feels like a tradition, now. It will be cool to see our names next to each other in the record books."
It would have been unremarkable had the events of January 6 been called simply a lawless and disturbing spectacle  an intrusion into the chambers of Congress by a mob with violent loss of life. That, however, would not have served the political ambitions of those inwardly rejoicing at the event. They called it instead an insurrection and an attack on the "citadel of democracy." Now they use it to justify what seems to be a program of political repression, still in its incipiency.

The Antifa and BLM riots that caused many more deaths and billions in damages were not called attacks on the citadel of democracy. They decimated only the lives, homes, and businesses of inconsequential persons. No massive military contingent comparable to that which occupied Washington on Inauguration Day, and still occupies it, was dispersed to quell the carnage in the nation's other cities. It was allowed to run its course, day after day and night after night. The few law enforcement officers sent to quell it were reviled, and the few private citizens who tried to resist, if they lived, faced prosecution.

The home or business of the humblest citizen is more a citadel of democracy than the stone edifice in which the powerful make laws for him. What sustains his life and those of his loved ones is as worthy of the law's protection as what flatters the great. The domed and spired edifice in Washington where laws are written may symbolize representative democracy, but only insofar as those making the laws sustain, not symbolically, but in practice, its constitutional essence. It is not the architecture, but the fidelity to republican principle of those within that associates the place with our political creed. They are to be faithful to the prescribed purpose of government in this country  to secure the "unalienable rights" with which even those without prominence, influence, education, wealth, or power are "endowed by their Creator."

If it is in hope of securing those rights that the people give consent to be governed, then democracy has its initiating moment in their volition and exists for them, the true rulers of themselves. Their freedom and security under law are democracy. In a similar vein, if in a different context, it was said once in the British House of Commons:

The question however arises, and one may permitted to dwell on it for moment, who are the friends of democracy, and also how is the word "democracy" to be interpreted? My idea of it is that the plain, humble, common man, just the ordinary man who keeps a wife and family, who goes off to fight for his country when it is in trouble, goes to the poll at the appropriate time, and puts his cross on the ballot-paper showing the candidate he wishes to be elected to Parliament  that is the foundation of democracy. (Winston S. Churchill, Speech on British Intervention in Greece, Dec. 8, 1944)

Did those on the stage at the inauguration or others holding positions of prominence in the federal government share Churchill's view of the "foundation of democracy" (assuming they could endure his reference to "the ordinary man who keeps a wife" without canceling his Facebook account)?

The idea of an "ordinary man" who "goes to the poll at the appropriate time[] and puts his cross on the ballot paper showing the candidate he wishes to be elected to Parliament" might be found quaint or perhaps disquieting at this juncture of our history. For many still mark a ballot paper, but, it seems, not necessarily at the poll or at the appropriate time.

Beyond this, the leftists holding sway in the Democratic Party have targeted the particular "plain, humble, common man" who supported Trump and oppose them for retribution. That "common man" is not the foundation of democracy, not to them, but an aberration to be corrected. He is to be "deprogrammed."

He dare not make an utterance of protest over the 2020 election, or he will be deemed an insurrectionist, in the model of Jefferson Davis. He certainly will be thought of that ilk if he owns a firearm, even though lawfully and having led an unblemished life. If he is employed in an industry disfavored by the new oligarchy, he must lose that employment and find some that the oligarchs like better. His religion and nearly all its manifestations must be banished from the public square, the classroom, and the courthouse. At the same time, the Constitution that is said to compel such banishment is found by the Supreme Court to protect abortion, homosexual "marriage," nude dancing, and synthesized child pornography.

The Constitution thus becomes the enemy of millions of people and no longer undergirds their freedom. And when they seek to invoke those of its provisions defining the way in which presidential elections are to be conducted, the effect of marking their ballots having been vitiated by violation of those rules, they find that they lack standing to do so before the courts.

We are brought then to the present juncture, where the oligarchical party, supported by its allies in the media, "Big Tech," the academy, the learned professions, high finance, and the street bullies of Antifa and Black Lives Matter, appears everywhere ascendant. Its control of the Legislative Branch is by the narrowest of margins, and we live in hope of winning majorities in the 2022 election. But the innumerable executive orders emanating from the White House include those apparently intended to make the Democrats' majority permanent, by virtually unregulated immigration and naturalization. They may fail and 2022 be a fair election. And yet we seem to be, at the very least, in sight of the precipice, beyond which the "perpetuation of our institutions," the constitutional republic itself, is lost.

If, however, the ordinary citizen, who loves freedom and exhibits the virtues of citizenship necessary to uphold it, is the "foundation of democracy," then despite the abysmal events of this past year, the battered foundation holds still. The true citadel of democracy is not yet breached. Despite the immediate ascendancy of despotism, still soft, as these things go, but seeking every day to metastasize and then harden, it cannot dominate those who refuse to submit. They would not call us terrorists if they were not wary of us, but we need not be terrorists to give them cause for their apprehension, we common men and women. We can vote and speak against them, and should the necessity arise, we can resist, peaceably.

We face an ordeal. The mutual pledge that others in the eighteenth century made of their "Lives, [their] Fortunes, and [their] sacred Honor" now escapes the parchment and commands rehearsal in our own lives. The pledge at this moment is not to make a revolution, but to remain steadfast in defense of the Constitution and way of life that those others by revolution bequeathed us. We retain the power to stand faithful and to comport ourselves as free people, at the polls but also in the public square, to refuse to be dominated by the leftists at whatever sacrifice is necessary (there will be no "unity" with them). In that power lies the residuum of hope.

Image: Lars Di Scenza via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
New variants of coronavirus are emerging that are more infectious than the original one that started the pandemic.

The UK is stepping up testing to find and stop cases from spreading in the community.



And scientists are urgently studying the mutated versions to understand what threat they pose.



What are these new variants?



There are many thousands of different versions, or variants, of Covid circulating.



Experts' concerns focus on a few:



- A UK variant that has become dominant in much of Britain and has spread to more than 50 other countries



- A South Africa variant that has also been found in at least 20 other countries, including the UK



- A variant from Brazil



It's not unexpected that new variants have developed - all viruses mutate as they make new copies of themselves to spread and thrive.



Most of these differences are inconsequential. A few can even be harmful to the virus's survival. But some can make it more infectious or threatening.



Are the new ones more dangerous?



There is no evidence that any of them cause much more serious illness for the vast majority of people who become infected.



As with the original version, the risk is highest for people who are elderly or have significant underlying health conditions.



For the new UK variant there is some research suggesting it may be associated with a 30% higher risk of death. The evidence is not strong and the data is still uncertain though. More studies are being done.



Measures such as washing your hands, keeping your distance from other people and wearing a face covering will still help prevent infections, and because the new variants appear to spread more easily it is important to be extra vigilant.



What's happening to the virus?



The UK, South Africa and Brazil variants could be much more contagious or easy to catch than earlier versions.



All three have undergone changes to their spike protein - this is the part of the virus which attaches to human cells.

As a result, these variants seem to be better at infecting cells and spreading.



Experts think the UK or "Kent" strain emerged in September and may be up to 70% more transmissible or infectious, although latest research by Public Health England puts it between 30% and 50%. It is this variant which has driven the latest lockdowns around the UK.



The South Africa variant emerged in October, and it has more potentially important changes in the spike protein than the UK variant. However, experts have recently found a small number of cases of the UK variant that have one of these more concerning changes too.



It is a key mutation, called E484K, that may help the virus evade parts of the immune system called antibodies



Will vaccines still work?



Studies are underway to check this and some early results suggest the Pfizer vaccine protects against the new variants.



Data on two new coronavirus vaccines that could be approved soon - one from Novavax and another from Janssen - appear to offer some protection against the variant.



Current vaccines were designed around earlier versions of coronavirus, but scientists believe they should still work against the new ones, although perhaps not quite as well.



Early results from Moderna suggest its vaccine is still effective against the South Africa variant.



Vaccines train the body to attack several parts of the virus, not just these sections of the spike protein.

Variants could emerge in the future that are more different again.



Even in the worst case scenario, vaccines could be redesigned and tweaked to be a better match - in a matter or weeks or months, if necessary, say experts.



As with flu, where a new shot is given each year to account for any changes in circulating flu viruses, something similar could happen for coronavirus.



What is being done about it?



More variants will emerge.

Scientists around the world are on the look-out and any important ones will be closely studied and monitored.

Experts are already working on updating coronavirus vaccines in case they needed.



Urgent testing for the South Africa variant and other new versions of coronavirus with the E484K mutation is starting in parts of England.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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There are plenty of notable stars who took part in The Sound of Music in the 60s. Christopher Plummer played Captain George Von Trapp in The Sound of Music cast, and Julie Andrews played Maria. While the film is quite sweet and sentimental, Plummer notoriously hated it  and he noted during an interview that he had to the devil of the cast. Heres why.

Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music cast discussed the film years later

Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer along with the children from The Sound of Music cast | Bettmann/Getty Images

RELATED: The Sound of Music: Did Christopher Plummer Actually Sing Edelweiss?

Plummer and Andrews appeared to have very different experiences as being part of The Sound of Music cast. While Plummer willingly signed up for the job, he hated the musical. He reportedly referred to the story as The Sound of Mucus because it was so sickeningly sweet.

Although we worked hard enough to make him interesting, it was a bit like flogging a dead horse, Plummer said. And the subject matter is not mine. I mean it cant appeal to every person in the world. Its not my cup of tea. In a separate interview many decades later, he referred to the film as so awful and sentimental and gooey.

Back in 2000, Andrews and Plummer both appeared on Rosie ODonnells talk show to talk about The Sound of Music. While ODonnell insisted the musical was her favorite of all time, Plummer seemed unamused.

I only worked 11 days in Austria, so I had months off where Id behave very badly, Plummer admitted.

Christopher Plummer said he had to be the devil of the film

Christopher Plummer (L) and Julie Andrews attend the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival Opening Night Gala | David Livingston/Getty Images

During the interview with ODonnell, Plummer didnt hide the fact that he may have had difficult feelings toward The Sound of Music. Plummer noted he had one conversation with Andrews about their potential for fame after the movie wrapped.

I said, as long as Im given a good table in a first-class restaurant, Ill settle with that, he noted.

Andrews then noted that the actors and producers had to take as much saccharine out of the piece as possible, as the movie couldve been far too sweet. It couldve just weighed you down with sugar, she added. I think its thanks to Chris that he gave the piece the wonderful tone.

To that, Plummer added, Well, somebody had to be the devil.

ODonnell then joked that it was the Baroness Elsa von Schraeder who was the devil.

Christopher Plummer died in February 2021

Plummer wasnt just known for being on The Sound of Music cast. He was also known for plenty of other roles on film and on stage. He won an Oscar and a number of Tony awards in his lifetime. Sadly, he died in February 2021 at the age of 91.

Despite personally calling himself pampered and arrogant, he was able to make a name for himself. And he sustained a friendship with Andrews throughout his lifetime despite disliking her at first. He said being on set with her was like being hit over the head with a big Valentines Day card, every day. Personality differences aside, they grew deeply fond of one another and stayed close.

Were sure Andrews and the rest of The Sound of Music cast are remembering Plummer fondly and singing songs in his memory.

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As more people get vaccinated and states begin to roll back some of the restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic  schools, agencies and workplaces are working on a plan on how to safely return to normal.
'Screams echoed throughout the building': Women raped, tortured in China's 're-education' camps

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Women imprisoned in Chinas network of internment camps in Xinjiang are subject to horrific torture, systematic rape, and sexual abuse as the country's Communist leadership seeks to "destroy" those it sees as a threat, a graphic new report has revealed.

A report from the BBC highlights interviews from several former detainees and a guard who shared firsthand accounts of their horrific experiences in China's internment camps in the Xinjiang region.

Estimates suggest that over 1 million to as many as 3 million Uyghur Muslims and other minority groups in Western China have been subject to these internment camps, which are intended to strip Uyghurs and other minorities of their culture, language and religion, and indoctrinate them into mainstream Chinese culture.

Tursunay Ziawudun, a woman who spent nine months inside one of these camps before fleeing to the U.S., told the BBC that women were removed from the cells "every night" and raped by one or more masked Chinese men. She said she was tortured and later gang-raped on three occasions, each time by two or three men.

She also recalled how police tortured her with electric shocks and, in one instance, violently abused her when she was unsure of her husbands whereabouts, kicking her with their heavy boots.

Because of the severity of the abuse, rape, and torture, Ziawudun said that there were many people in those cells who lost their minds."

"Their goal is to destroy everyone," she said. "And everybody knows it."

Gulzira Auelkhan, a Kazakh woman from Xinjiang who was detained for 18 months in the camp system, recounted how she was forced to strip Uyghur women naked and handcuff them before leaving them alone with Chinese men.

"My job was to remove their clothes above the waist and handcuff them so they cannot move," she recalled. "Then I would leave the women in the room and a man would enter  some Chinese man from outside or policeman. I sat silently next to the door, and when the man left the room I took the woman for a shower."

The Chinese men "would pay money to have their pick of the prettiest young inmates," she said, stressing that the physical violence she witnessed amounted to rape.

Qelbinur Sedik, an Uzbek woman from Xinjiang, who was forced to give language lessons to the detainees, said the womens camp was "tightly controlled. She said there were four kinds of electric shock women would be subjected to  the chair, the glove, the helmet, and anal rape with a stick.

The screams echoed throughout the building, she told the BBC. I could hear them during lunch and sometimes when I was in class.

Sedik said that one time, she asked a Chinese camp policewoman about the rumors of rape. The women replied, "Yes, the rape has become a culture. It is gang rape and the Chinese police not only rape them but also electrocute them. They are subject to horrific torture."

Interviewees also shared how they were required to watch propaganda videos praising Chinese President Xi Jinping and sing patriotic songs. They were also forced to undergo medical tests, take pills, and were forcibly injected every 15 days with a "vaccine" that brought on nausea and numbness. Women were also forcibly injected with IUDs or sterilized.

One former prison guard shared how women were forced to memorize books about Xi Jinping. Those who failed to complete the task were punished with food deprivation and beatings.

"I entered those camps. I took detainees into those camps," he said. "I saw those sick, miserable people. They definitely experienced various types of torture. I am sure about that."

China has repeatedly denied that it is persecuting ethnic groups in Xinjiang; however, reports reveal it is actually expanding its network of detention facilities.

An earlier report documented how hospitals in Xinjiang were ordered to abort and kill all babies born in excess of Chinas mandated family planning limits  including newborns born after being carried to full term. The orders were part of strict family-planning policies intended to restrict Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities to three children.

In January, the former Trump administration officially designated China's persecution of minorities in western Xinjiang Province as "genocide" and "crimes against humanity."

I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the time, adding that the Chinese Communist Party  which he described as a Marxist-Leninist regime that exerts power over the long-suffering Chinese people through brainwashing and brute force  is "engaged in the forced assimilation and eventual erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group."

The Biden administration has not stated whether it would maintain the previous administration's declaration that China is committing genocide against its Uyghur population.

White House Press Secretary Psaki told reporters at a press briefing that Biden has "spoken before to the horrific treatment" of Uyghurs, but she will "check" what the Biden administration's policy will be, RCP previously reported.

However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he believes genocide had been committed against the Uyghurs.

Christian leaders have urged Christians in the West to care about the persecution of Uyghur Muslims and other minorities. In September, Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore said that the crimes being perpetrated against religious minorities in China and elsewhere rely on invisibility where the rest of the world doesn't pay attention and tribalism.

The way of Jesus Christ says that we pay attention to our neighbor on the side of the road who is persecuted, who is being beaten, he said. So let's pray for the Uyghur [and] for other persecuted peoples. Let's pray not just individually, but together, and pray for them by name.

Let's be the people who stand up for whoever is being made invisible, whoever is being intimidated and bullied in our own neighborhoods and in our own communities because we're the people of Jesus Christ.
Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. (KNPL), one of the leading paint companies in India is proud to present its latest groundbreaking innovation, the Nerolac Excel Multi Surface Protection Sheets. Nerolac has consistently worked towards innovations and promoting transformation and environmental sensitivity through its product portfolio and customer awareness campaigns.

The Nerolac Excel Multi Surface Protection Sheets are truly unique. With benefits ranging across anti-bacterial, anti-viral properties to odour and humidity control, these sheets can be used on a variety of surfaces inside homes such as wardrobes, study tables, shoe racks, doorknobs, milk baskets, staircases, dustbins and more. These sheets are available in two convenient sizes and price points including A4 (MRP Rs 800/-) and A2 (MRP Rs 2000/-) on the Nerolac brand store on Amazon & paint selling outlets.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Anuj Jain, Executive Director, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. said, Consumers are increasingly looking for solutions that can improve quality of life at home. Occurrence of odour, humidity and germs cause many household problems related to health & hygiene. Most of the solutions available in the market provide temporary relief and prove to be a drain on household budgets. Nerolac Excel Multi Surface Protection Sheets are designed to offer solutions for a variety of household issues and are a convenient way to improve health & hygiene of our homes for a longer period. We are confident that Indian households will appreciate this innovation and try it.

The Nerolac Excel Multi Surface Protection Sheets is yet another offering by Nerolac in its attempt to offer its consumers a healthy and germ-free environment. The company remains committed to its purpose of building environments for a healthy and beautiful future.
Taiwan: Myanmars military regime has moved to shut down Facebook, blocking one of the main social media channels being used by the nations citizens to express opposition to a coup against the democratically elected government this week.

NetBlocks, the network monitoring group, confirmed state-owned telecom MPT had blocked Facebook as well as its Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp services.

Aung San Suu Kyi last week inspecting the vaccination processes of health workers at a hospital in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Credit:AP

The Southeast Asian nations army seized power on Monday, cutting short a transition to democracy and drawing condemnation from concerned citizens and the international community.

Public anger has so far not translated into mass street protests, although a small group waved banners and chanted anti-coup slogans in Mandalay yesterday while people took part in a noise campaign on the streets of Yangon after calls to show civil disobedience went out on social media.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that protests over farm laws were limited to only one state. Addressing the Rajya Sabha session in the Parliament, Tomar also added that farmers are being instigated.

"Farmer unions, opposition parties have failed to point out a single flaw in three new farm laws," he said in the Rajya Sabha, adding that the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are committed to the welfare of farmers.

Putting up a strong defence of the new farm laws, Tomar said the government's offer to amend them to assuage farmers' sentiments did not mean they had any flaws and that none from the protesting unions or their sympathisers have been able to point out any lacuna.

His comments in Rajya Sabha referred to protests at the border points of the national capital being led by farmers from Punjab.

The government, he said, is committed to welfare of farmers and to the continuation of the mandi system of procurement of crops on minimum support price (MSP) based mechanism.

The laws give farmers alternatives to sell their produce outside 'mandis', and unlike the state government notified market places, such sale would not attract any tax.

"The agitation should have been against the tax levied (by state government) on sale made in mandis but strangely the protests are against freeing of the system from such taxes," he said, intervening during the discussion on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the start of the Budget Session.

Tomar said farmer unions and the opposition have not been able to point out any lacuna in the three laws.

"Government's offer to make amendments in the laws does not mean there are any shortcomings in them," the minister added.

Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting at three border points on the outskirts of Delhi demanding a complete repeal of the three farm laws.

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The Covid-19 pandemic situation in is "particularly fragile" due to the more infectious variants of the virus, but there was no need to impose a new nationwide lockdown at the moment, Prime Minister Jean Castex said.

With daily averages of 20,000 new infection cases, 1,600 hospital admissions and 320 deaths, "the situation remains worrying", Castex warned at a weekly press briefing on Wednesday.

However, he said "for the moment, there is no necessity to lock down", arguing that "the level of incidence is certainly high, but it is still much lower than it was last October" when the country entered a second confinement, reports Xinhua news agency.

"A new lockdown can only be considered as a very last resort. Currently, the situation does not justify such a move," Castex told reporters at the briefing.

"The objective is not to delay (the confinement) but to do everything possible to avoid it. We must hold on, act together," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that the percentage of infections by the new variants among new cases has increased from 3.3 per cent on January 8 to 14 per cent on Thursday.

has also confirmed four cases of the strain first detected in Brazil, Health Minister Olivier Veran said at the same press briefing.

"Our objective is clear: we want to limit the spread of these variants as much as possible," said Veran, noting that the country was "in a race against time" against more infectious variants.

By next week, all residents in nursing homes who want to be vaccinated will have received their first jab, while up to 4 million people would receive the first dose later this month, according to Castex.

Sticking to a three-to-four-week gap between the two injections, aims to vaccinate all the citizens aged over 65 by the end of May and all adults before September, he added.

One of the hardest hit countries in Europe, France has so far registered a total of 3,310,496 cases and 77,743 deaths.

--IANS

ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Serbia will invest as much as necessary to start domestic production of Russia's Sputnik V by the end of the year, President Aleksandar Vucic told Reuters on Friday. A group of Russian experts is expected to visit Serbia next week for talks about local production of the Sputnik V vaccine by the end of the year. Vucic said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had reached an initial agreement about the launch of the production procedure which he described as "complicated and difficult." With over 530,000 people, or around 7.5% of its population, inoculated ...
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
PM Modis niece fails to get BJP ticket to contest civic poll

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Ahmedabad, Feb 05: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's niece Sonal Modi who had sought a ticket from the BJP to contest the Ahmedabad civic polls failed to get one, with the party citing new rules for candidates.

The BJP has announced its candidates for the elections to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, but the name of Sonal Modi does not figure in the list. On Tuesday, Sonal had said that she had sought a BJP ticket from the Bodakdev ward of AMC. Sonal who is a 30 year old home maker is the daughter of PM Modi's brother Prahlad Modi, who owns a fair price shop in the city and is also the president of the Gujarat Fair Price Shops Association.

Goa city corporation elections postponed

State BJP president, C R Paatil said that the rules are the same for everybody. The Gujarat BJP recently announced that the relatives of party leaders will not be considered for tickets during the upcoming polls.

Sonal Modi however added that she had sought a ticket as a BJP worker and not as the niece of the PM.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

She said that she will remain active in the party as a worker. Prahlad Modi justified his daughter's decision and said that this is not a case of nepotism and the family never used the PM's name for any benefit.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, February 5, 2021, 12:19 [IST]
A pro-China network of fake and impostor accounts has found a global audience on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as the country continues its subtle information war with the West.

The bots mock the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the deadly Capitol riot, new research published overnight has found.

Messages posted by the network, which also praised China, reached the social media feeds of government officials, including some in China and Venezuela who retweeted posts from the fake accounts to millions of their followers.

The accounts  dubbed Spamouflage  also attack the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement and exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, while others question the safety of US-approved Covid-19 vaccines.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken a much more forceful approach to foreign relations, ramping up criticism of the US and Australia. Source: Getty

The international reach marked new territory for a pro-China social media network that has been operating for years, says Ben Nimmo, head of investigations for Graphika, the social media analysis firm that monitored the activity.

For the very first time, it started to get a little bit of audience interaction, Mr Nimmo said.

The networks messaging aligns closely with posts and comments made by Chinese state officials. But it is unclear who is behind the fake accounts, which posted more than 1400 videos in English, Mandarin or Cantonese.

The overall message is: America is doing very badly. China is doing very well, Mr Nimmo said.

Who do you want to be like?

Fake accounts amplified by real users

The network used photos of Chinese celebrities on the accounts and, in one case, hijacked the verified Twitter account of a Latin American soap opera show to post messages, according to Graphikas report.

In the past three months Spamouflage has been amplified by, among others, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, a Pakistani politician, a senior figure at Huawei Europe, UK commentator and former member of parliament George Galloway, and four YouTube channels for Chinese viewers with tens of thousands of followers, researchers wrote.

Story continues

One major fake Twitter account (seen below), along with others in the report, have since been suspended by the social media giant.

One fake Twitter account, which has since been deleted, received interaction from notable accounts. The avatar is an image from 9596.org on September 6, 2017. Source: Graphika

Tweets by He Jingrun being quoted by Chinese officials. Clockwise from the top left, the ambassador to Iran, the ambassador to the Dominican Republic, the ambassador to Panama and the French embassy. Source: Graphika

A number of fake accounts seized on the January 6 insurrection in Washington, with one video describing the US as a failed state and another saying America was running naked in front of the world in the wake of the Capitol siege.

Three videos Graphika identified described the riots as a beautiful sight to behold, mimicking the language used in Chinese state media reports, while some content referred to the US as the greatest threat to world peace.

Theres this cherry-picking of narratives and events that make the US look really bad, Mr Nimmo said.

Last month, YouTube announced that it had removed more than 3,000 YouTube channels in December that were identified as part of Graphikas investigation into influence campaigns linked to China. Other Facebook and Twitter accounts identified in Graphikas report were also removed.

Warnings over new Digital Cold War

Relations between Washington and Beijing worsened under former President Donald Trump, who launched an aggressive diplomatic and economic offensive against China. As Biden takes over, he will have to navigate the economic tug-of-war between the two global superpowers in the face of an increasingly aggressive Chinese leadership.

Much of the battle will centre around technology in whats been dubbed the new Digital Cold War  and Australia inevitably finds itself caught in the middle as China ramps up its criticism of the US-Australia alliance.

In August former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned Australia faces its most dangerous moment in the modern era as China and the US face off.

Writing on Foreign Affairs, Mr Rudd said Australia risks being caught in the middle of an ugly fight as US and China relations rapidly decline in a primal tit-for-tat.

The sabre rattling from both Beijing and Washington has become strident, uncompromising, and seemingly unending, he warned.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
The Hopewell Township Committee this week formally voted to recognize February as Black History Month using an updated version of the resolution to include local history.

Written in 2020 by Beverly Mills and Catherine Fulmer-Hogan, the resolution honors prominent local African-Americans, both current and historic, including Elaine Buck, William Stives, Friday Truehart and Frost Blackwell.

The resolution notes, among other things:

Whereas, in the beginning of our nations history, a large majority of Black Americans were enslaved; yet many, such as William Stives, a local African-American war veteran and Badge of Merit recipient, participated in the struggle for American independence with his life in order to build a society based upon the ideals of liberty, prosperity, and self-government; and

Whereas, the history of Black Americans is the story of extraordinary individuals such as Friday Truehart, Frost Blackwell and Sylvia Dubois, who were born enslaved but achieved their freedom and, along with William Stives, a free man, were among the first African-Americans to settle in the Sourland Mountain region and raise families whose descendants would remain in the area; and

Whereas, the history of African-Americans has not been accurately transcribed as the history has either been diminished, distorted or deleted. Black Americans have served in every theater of war. In the Civil War, 88,000 New Jerseyans participated with African-Americans numbering upwards of 2.900. From our region soldiers such as Ira Bergen, Raymond Bergen, George Boldin, Lewis Fisher, William Boyer, Charles Jennings, Samuel Montgomery, John Naz, Tracy Peterson, George Reasoner, William Reasoner, Samuel Ridley, James Schenk, Jonathan Stives, Aaron Truehart, George Williamson and John VanZandt enlisted in the United States Colored Troops in the 127th, 41st, 29th 24th, 14th, 11th 8th and 3rd regiments and were eyewitnesses to historical events such as President Abraham Lincolns second inauguration, Lees surrender to Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse and were survivors of the bloody Battle of Olustee which suffered some of the heaviest regimental losses recorded in the Civil War . . .

The resolution was read in its entirety by state Assembly members Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Anthony Verelli. Reynolds-Jackson thanked the committee  which, she said, celebrates contributions from African-Americans and people less privileged throughout the year, not only in February  and discussed a new bill she and Verelli sponsored, A4454, that requires schools to include education on equity and inclusion in their K-12 curriculum. It will be implemented for the 2021-2022 school year.

Reynolds-Jackson explained topics such as unconscious bias and economic disparity will be included, with the purpose of encouraging a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for all students regardless of race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental and physical disability and religious beliefs. She encouraged everyone to get involved in this effort.

Mayor Julie Blake welcomed the new law, saying it will strengthen anti-bullying and anti-harassment education in the schools.

The meeting continued with a report from Bonnie Williams, chair of the newly established Citizens Equity Advisory Committee formed on the recommendation of committee member Michael Ruger. Comprised of members representing different segments of the community, the committee began meeting in September to address equity issues and plans to systematically review township regulations and practices. It has been researching organizations that focus on inequities that could be used as a model for ideas, policies and procedures. The committee also has been reviewing police policies regarding recruitment and emergency services with township Police Director Bob Karmazin.

Ruger thanked Williams and the committee for their work and invited the public to attend its meetings, held the second Tuesday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, on Zoom.

Send community news to community@njtimes.com
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Defibrillator Market Growth & Trends

The global defibrillator market size is expected to reach USD 22.2 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2021 to 2028. Factors contributing to the growth of this market include supportive legislative reforms, rising incidences of sudden cardiac arrests in the region, presence of integrated technology, and rising awareness for cardiac conditions. Moreover, the COVID 19 pandemic further accentuated the need for defibrillators as many elderly patients suffering from COVID-19, suffered from sudden cardiac arrests, and the device was useful for the resuscitation of such patients.

The rising demand for handling sudden cardiac arrests is leading to innovation in implantable as well as external defibrillators. Innovation with regards to implantable devices includes subcutaneous and transvenous devices, that aim to increase the comfort level of patients. Swedish Transport Agency ran a program in 2017 under the test phase, which aimed to deliver AEDs using a drone. This may reduce the delivery time of an AED, increasing the chances of survival with faster treatment. Therefore, the market is anticipated to grow because of technological advancements and product delivery innovations.

Major market players are focused on launching technologically advanced products to enhance their presence. For instance, in July 2020, Zoll Medical Corporation launched a new remote view technology feature on its X Series monitor/defibrillator. This enhanced the existing product portfolio.

Request a free sample copy or view report summary: Defibrillator Market Report

Defibrillator Market Report Highlights

The implantable cardioverter defibrillator segment dominated the market in terms of revenue share in 2020 and is projected to witness a CAGR of over 7.2% from 2021 to 2028. Technological advancements by market players are expected to drive segment growth

North America held the largest revenue share in 2020, due to the supportive healthcare infrastructure and deeper penetration of the technologically advanced devices

The industry participants are focusing on investing in acquisitions, collaborations, product launches, and partnerships to gain a competitive edge

The hospital segment held the largest revenue share of more than 91.0% in 2020 owing to the high patient footfall for treatment of their cardiovascular ailments

In Asia Pacific, the market is anticipated to witness a CAGR of around 8.1% owing to the presence of emerging economies such as China and India and increasing healthcare expenditure

In January 2020, Medtronic received the CE mark for its Crome and Cobalt portfolio of defibrillators. This significantly enhanced the companys cardiac solutions offerings and allowed it to commercialize the products in the market

Defibrillator Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global defibrillator market on the basis of product, end-use, and region:

Defibrillators Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator S-ICD T-ICD Single Chamber Dual Chamber CRT-D External Defibrillator Manual ED Automated ED Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillators



Defibrillators End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Hospital

Pre Hospital

Public Access market

Alternate Care market

Home Healthcare

Defibrillators Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

North America US. Canada

Europe UK. Germany France Italy Spain

Asia Pacific Japan China India Australia South Korea

Latin America Brazil Mexico Argentina Colombia

Middle East & Africa South Africa Saudi Arabia UAE



List of Key Players of Defibrillator Market

Medtronic

Abbott

Boston Scientific Corporation

Stryker

Koninklijke Philips N.V.

Zoll Medical Corporation

Biotronik, Inc.

Nihon Kohden Corporation

Progetti Srl, Schiller

MS Westfalia GmbH

AMI Italia

Axion Ltd

Bexen Cardio

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.
Surplus for Swedish central government in January 2021

Swedish central government payments resulted in a surplus of SEK 7.7 billion in January. The Debt Office's forecast was a deficit of SEK 10.6 billion.

The primary balance was SEK 15.8 billion higher than forecasted. Tax income were approximately SEK 9 billion higher than calculated. This is partly due to higher payments than expected from municipalities to the central government in the 2019 settlement of municipal tax payments. The settlement is made between municipalities and the central government in January each year and is a final calculation of municipal tax. In addition, payments from a number of agencies, for example the universities and the Swedish National Agency for Education, were lower than expected.

The Debt Office's net lending to government agencies etc. were SEK 1.4 billion lower than forecasted.

Interest payments on central government debt were were SEK 1.1 billion lower than calculated.

For the twelve-month period up to the end of January 2021, central government payments resulted in a deficit of SEK 209.8 billion.

Central government debt amounted to SEK 1 270 billion at the end of January.

New forecasts for 2021 and 2022 will be published on 24 February at 9.30 a.m.

The outcome for February 2021 will be published on 5 March at 9.30 a.m.

Contact

Press Secretary, +46 (0)8 613 47 01

Budget balance and central government net borrowing requirement1

(SEK million) Outcome January Forecast January Deviation January Acc. Dev2 Outcome 12-month Budget balance 7 731 -10 593 18 324 53 863 -209 834 Net borrowing requirement1 -7 731 10 593 -18 324 -53 863 209 834 Primary balance3 -2 570 13 243 -15 813 -48 109 163 972 Net lending to agencies etc.4 -2 955 -1 508 -1 447 -3 427 27 511 Interest payments on central government debt -2 207 -1 143 -1 064 -2 327 18 352 - Interest on loans in SEK -2 048 -1 289 -759 -1 139 17 045 - Interest on loans in foreign currency -45 -64 19 -133 -943 - Realised currency gains and losses -114 210 -324 -1 055 2 250 1 The net borrowing requirement corresponds to the budget balance with opposite sign. 2 Sum of monthly forecast deviations since last forecast (October 2020). 3 Net of the state's primary expenditure and income. 4 The net of government agencies etc. deposits and loans in the state's internal bank. The net lending includes both current government operations and temporary occurrences which can be decided on short notice. The net lending affects the net borrowing requirement and central government debt, but are not covered by the Central government expenditure ceiling.

More data on the borrowing requirement and government debt: https://www.riksgalden.se/en/statistics/statistics-on-central-government-borrowing/

The monthly outcome of the central government net borrowing requirement is included in the official statistics of Sweden.

The Debt Office published their latest prognosis on the Swedish economy and central government borrowing on 21 October

Attachment
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

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Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

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Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

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Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

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Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

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There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

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Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

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GRIDLEY, Calif. - Cal Fire worked with a local property owner to host a live-fire training in Gridley on Thursday.

Rick Carhart, Cal Fires Spokesperson, said they planned to burn a building down but due to the wind, Cal Fire did not risk burning the building down. They will reschedule the event.

"Something like this gives us a real chance to get into an actual structure that is very similar to other structures that are still standing, said Carhart. It gives them a chance to get into a realistic environment and see what the conditions are for when they are doing a sweep to make sure nobody is inside or doing an interior attack."

Volunteers and career firefighters from across Butte County participated in the training, according to Carhart.

This was the second event in a month that Cal Fire has hosted.
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Smartmatic Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Fox, Powell, Giuliani Over Election Claims

Election software firm Smartmatic has sued Fox News Media, attorney Sidney Powell, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and others alleging that they engaged in a conspiracy to spread disinformation about Smartmatic following the 2020 presidential election.

Smartmatic is demanding at least $2.7 billion in damages for injuries caused by what they say was a disinformation campaign against the company. The firm alleges that the defendants made false claims about the companys role in the 2020 election, the nature of the company, and its connection with Venezuela.

The lawsuit (pdf) claims this disinformation helped to enrich the defendants, who gained more viewers or readers, raised money, or curried favors with the outgoing administration.

Smartmatics loss was Defendants gain, the lawsuit claims. They lied. And they did so knowingly and intentionally. Smartmatic seeks to hold them accountable for those lies and for the damage that their lies have caused.

Fox News Media and Powell have disputed the lawsuits claims. A Fox News Media spokesperson described the lawsuit as meritless in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

FOX News Media is committed to providing the full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear opinion. We are proud of our 2020 election coverage and will vigorously defend against this meritless lawsuit in court, the statement read.

In December, the broadcaster decided to air several segments challenging and exploring the claims made in its previous reports after Smartmatic alleged the reports contained false and defamatory statements and threatened litigation. The segments were shown across its shows on the Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network and invited Eddie Perez, an expert from the independent Open Source Election Technology Institute, to address several of the claims.

In those interviews, Perez told the hosts that he had not seen any evidence that Smartmatic software was used to flip votes anywhere in the United States in the November election.

Powell also responded to the lawsuit saying in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times that: The boomerang is going to hit like a ton of bricks, citing sworn affidavits from which she based her claims.

Meanwhile, Giuliani said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times: The Smartmatic lawsuit presents another golden opportunity for discovery. I look forward to litigating with them.

Smartmatic said that during the 2020 election, they had provided election technology manufacturing, systems integration, software development, and logistics only for Los Angeles County, California.

The company filed their complaint in a New York State Court in Manhattan.

The lawsuit also named Fox News anchors Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro as defendants.

This article was updated to include a statement from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Hale County businesses are now allowed to return to 75 percent capacity.

The Texas Department of State Health Services notified the county and the city of Plainview that Trauma Service Area B (which includes Hale County) has fallen under the 15 percent hospitalization rates, effectively allowing a higher capacity for businesses.

A news release from the city notes the increased capacity guidelines include 75 percent capacity for restaurants, retail stores, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, gyms, museums and libraries. It also allows 50 percent occupancy levels for bars.

The increased capacity applies to all counties under Trauma Service B, which include: Hale, Bailey, Floyd, Lamb, Borden, Castro, Cochran, Cottle, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Gaines, Garza, Hockley, Kent, King, Lubbock, Lynn, Motley, Scurry, Terry and Yoakum.

City offices will also open again on Monday. These offices include City Hall, the Finance Department, Unger Memorial Library, Main Street Office and the Plainview-Hale County Health Department. The Health Department is currently working on logistics regarding a vaccine clinic.

Trauma Service B has been under the 50 percent capacity for businesses since October. The hospitalization rate capacity refers to hospitalized patients who are COVID-19-positive.

According to the citys news release, the capacity increase for businesses has been in effect since Wednesday.

Citizens are still encouraged to wear a mask, practice social distancing and to wash their hands. Those interested in learning additional information about COVID-19 can visit www.plainviewtx.org/COVID19.
David Katzenstein, MD, professor emeritus of infectious diseases and global health at Stanford Medicine, who spurred advances in diagnosing, treating and preventing AIDS, died Jan. 25 of COVID-19 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was 69.

Katzenstein was a trained virologist, clinician and tireless advocate for global health. He was widely praised for his energetic push to bring better, cheaper methodologies to bear on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in middle- and low-income African countries, where over a 35-year period he spearheaded numerous life-saving projects.

Imbued with a passionate belief in social justice, David Katzenstein had an outsized impact on the fight against HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine. The Stanford Medicine community is grieving his untimely passing. We will miss him immensely.

Colleagues described him as a renowned laboratory scientist, brilliant thinker, stellar mentor and overall optimist.

Its hard to visualize Davids face without a smile on it, said Julie Parsonnet, MD, professor of infectious diseases and of epidemiology and population health. Parsonnet, the George DeForest Barnett Professor in Medicine, arrived at Stanford in 1989, as did Katzenstein, and worked closely with him on a number of projects dedicated to reducing HIV transmission in Zimbabwe.

He was creative, electric, Parsonnet said. Ideas would just come shooting out of his head so fast you couldnt keep up with him.

As longtime associate director of Stanfords AIDS Clinical Trial Group, Katzenstein oversaw influential clinical trials of AIDS antiviral therapeutics. He was one of the first researchers to call attention to the problem of antiviral drug resistance in Africa.

He introduced me to Zimbabwe, said Bonnie Maldonado, MD, the Taube Professor of Global Health and Infectious Diseases and professor of pediatric infectious diseases and of epidemiology and population health at Stanford. Wed travel there together, or meet up there. After accomplishing so much by way of improving HIV treatment in the United States, he wanted to rid the world of HIV. He was brilliant in the laboratory and wonderful with people.

Katzenstein trained dozens of young researchers throughout the world, said Robert Shafer, MD, professor of infectious diseases at Stanford. David was my first mentor when I arrived here as a postdoc in 1990, Shafer said. For six months I met with him every day for an hour going over published papers.

Native of Connecticut

Born Jan. 3, 1952, in Hartford, Connecticut, Katzenstein earned a bachelors degree in biology in 1973 and a medical degree in 1977, both from the University of California-San Diego. He interned in internal medicine at the University of New Mexico, where his work with indigenous tribes instilled in him a deep desire to combat infectious disease among underserved populations.

He completed his residency in internal medicine at UCSD in 1980, along with a fellowship in infectious diseases there in 1981. In 1982, he was appointed assistant clinical professor of infectious diseases at the University of California-Davis, and in 1984 he accepted an assistant professorship of infectious disease at the University of Minnesota.

In 1986, he departed for Africa, where he served as a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwes Godfrey Huggins School of Medicine.

Between 1987 and 1989, Katzenstein worked under Anthony Fauci, MD, now chief of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a senior research fellow at the Food and Drug Administrations Laboratory of Retrovirus Research Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Katzenstein began his tenure at Stanford in 1989 as a clinical assistant professor of infectious diseases, as well as the associate medical director of Stanfords AIDS Clinical Trial Group. With his colleagues, he conducted multiple studies, ultimately leading to the approval of life-saving antiretroviral drugs that greatly improved the survival of people living with HIV. From that point on, the problem of HIV drug resistance occupied a significant portion of his academic endeavors.

Davids major strength was in his scientific imagination and his sharing of it with friends and colleagues, said Thomas Merigan, MD, the George E. and Lucy Becker Professor of Medicine, emeritus, who as then-chief of the Department of Medicines infectious diseases division recruited Katzenstein to Stanford. He did this in a wonderful, warm manner, which made him a great mentor, friend and leader of our group.

Life-changing hiking accident

In a hiking accident in Big Sur in 2009, Katzenstein plunged 90 feet into a ravine, sustaining a compound leg fracture that required 17 separate surgeries. The bone became infected and never fully healed. Initially wheelchair-bound, he walked with a cane for the rest of his life.

Undaunted, he resumed his work with characteristic zeal. His desire to cure and prevent infectious disease in developing countries grew.

With the success of long-term antiviral drug treatment, AIDS was now relatively well under control in the United States, Parsonnet said. But those drugs were expensive. David was driven to find ways of bringing their benefits to less-affluent populations  and he missed Zimbabwe.

Katzenstein moved to Zimbabwe immediately upon retiring from Stanford in 2016. As director of the Biomedical Research Training Institute in Harari, he introduced state-of-the-art molecular diagnostics and disease monitoring to Zimbabwes community-based treatment programs and trained people in clinical research. He remained extremely active and continued publishing papers until he fell ill with COVID-19.

Katzenstein co-authored nearly 300 peer-reviewed papers and patents awarded to Stanford for the use of the molecular technique called polymer chain reaction, or PCR, in identifying HIV resistance variants, determining the choice of AIDS therapies and monitoring patients response to anti-retroviral drug combinations.

He served on the editorial board of the journal Current HIV Research and was an active member of the American Society for Microbiology, the Infectious Disease Society of America, the Society for General Microbiology, the International AIDS Society, the American Federation for Clinical Research and the Southern Africa Treat Research Network.

In 2000, the Doris Duke Charitable Trust awarded him its Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award, a five-year grant underwriting his efforts to foster affordable treatments for HIV-infected women in southern Africa.

Katzenstein was preceded in death by his wife, Sharon Mayes, who died in 2007. He is survived by his siblings, Rob Katzenstein of Grass Valley, California; Ruth Souza of Los Angeles, California; and Amy Harrington of Santa Cruz, California. He is also survived by his step-daughter, Melissa Sanders-Self of Santa Cruz; her sons, Dylan and Luke; and Dylans daughter, Jolene Mae.
A puppy has become the most expensive trained sheepdog in the wold after being bought for more than 27,000.

Kim was sold just days before her first birthday, in an exchange which beats the previous record sheepdog sale of 20,000.

The average price for a working dog is believed to be around 2,000.

Welsh farmer Dewi Jenkins, 28, who trained Kim, said the puppy can perform tasks on her own after a single demonstration.

Kim the sheepdog (pictured) has become the world's most expensive trained sheepdog after being sold for 27,100. She is headed to a farm in Newcastle to handle Texel sheep

The puppy, who came to live with Dewi at eight-weeks-old, is also able to gather whole herds of sheep and cattle on her own while out of her owner's sight.

Dewi said: 'She works cattle and sheep. There are some sheep dogs doing it but not many, they mostly work sheep. And she is doing all of this at a very young age.'

After being sold at an online auction for 27,100 by Farmers Marts of Dolgellau, Kim is heading off to a farm in Newcastle to control Texel sheep alongside new owner Eamonn Vaughan.

The sale of Kim trumped Dewi's previous record sale for a sheepdog of 12,000 for border collie Tyngraig Jet.

Dewi said: 'Kim is holding the two records now. She is brainy and very, very intelligent.

'When we began training, she was so clever I only had to show her how to do something once and by the second time, she knew what I wanted.

Kim, who was sold just days before her first birthday, can already control both cattle and sheep, even at her young age

'For any farmer anywhere, she would do the job for them. It's incredible.

'To top it off, she is the right colour too. Red is very fashionable at the moment.

'It still has not sunk in properly. It is a good feeling but I am just happy that Kim has found an excellent, loving home.'

Dewi grew up working with sheepdogs to manage sheep at cattle at Tynygraig Farm, a family owned business in Talybont, near Aberystwyth and is now passionate about training sheepdog in his spare time.

The Welsh speaker trains his dogs in English which means they can be sold to farmers worldwide including the UK, France, Belgium, Norway, and even the USA.

He said: 'It is a passion of mine and I enjoy it. When you see a dog getting better every day, you are looking forward to the next time to take it to the next level.'

In the near future, Dewi hopes to begin training again with one or two other dogs.

Welsh farmer Dewi Jenkins, 28, who trained Kim, said the puppy can perform tasks on her own after a single demonstration

He added: 'It is very sad to see Kim go but I'm also very happy to know she is going to an excellent home.'

It comes after an 11-week-old Border Collie puppy became the world's most expensive young sheepdog.

David Evans, 67, and his son Kevin, 40, sold Bet for 6,100, smashing the previous record for an untrained puppy of 3,700.

The Evans family have kept sheepdogs for years and always have between 20 and 30 at their farm.

And the family say lockdown has sent prices soaring for the dogs - with the record for an 'unbroken' pup set by Bet.

Kevin said: 'Prices for pet dogs have gone up during lockdown and this has had a knock on for sheepdogs too.

'We now do online auctions rather than travel - so people can see what is being offered. That has raised a lot of interst and pushed up prices.

'But we are very lucky in what we do. We are always surrounded by lovely animals and fresh air.

'That is a great thing knowing what the world is going through at the moment.'
The California vs. Texas debate continues, but this time Gabriel Iglesias has chimed in.



With a photo of the 'In-N-Out' drive-thru menu posted on Twitter, Iglesias said "Sorry Texas. I love u but this is my soul."



Although both burger companies are technically available in Texas, In-N-Out is a California based fast-food chain. The post, as expected, received mixed reviews from Twitter users.



One user posted a picture of a burger from Whataburger saying "Whataburger all day woooo!"

While another user simply stated "I agree."

FRIED GOODNESS: Is Whataburger's new chicken sandwich a challenger to the throne?



The chatter of which state is better - California or Texas - has been up for debate on social media for quite awhile. Although the trend did pick up when celebrities like Joe Rogan and James Van Der Beek moved to Texas.



But no matter what side of the aisle you're on, there will always be a debate over who has the best burger.



Scroll to see how social media reacted to Gabriel Iglesias preference of In-N-Out.
Coleen Rooney has reportedly refused to apologise to Rebekah Vardy as peace talks between the pair broke down yet again on Thursday.

Sources claimed the WAG, 34, is keen to avoid their legal battle reaching the High Court and sees it as a 'huge waste of money' after accusing the wife of Leicester City star Jamie Vardy of leaking stories about her to the press.

On Thursday Rebekah and Coleen met in an intense face-to-face mediation on Zoom as they attempted to settle their high-profile dispute, but failed to come to a resolution.

I'm not saying sorry! Coleen Rooney has reportedly refused to apologise to Rebekah Vardy as peace talks between the pair broke down yet again on Thursday

A source told The Sun: 'Coleen is refusing to apologise and is keen to settle this out of court.

'She's made it clear to her team that this is all just a huge waste of money in her eyes and that they could resolve it with a statement and a donation to charity. She wants proper mediation.

'Becky however is adamant she's not done anything wrong and wants an apology, along with the posts put on social media by Coleen deleted.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy for comment.

Drama: Sources claimed Coleen is keen to avoid their legal battle reaching the High Court after accusing Rebekah of leaking stories about her to the press

Going nowhere: On Thursday Rebekah and Coleen met in an intense face-to-face mediation on Zoom as they attempted to settle their high-profile dispute, but failed to come to a resolution

On Thursday Rebekah and Coleen met via Zoom for more meditation talks, and were accompanied by their lawyers as they attempted to find an agreement without having to go to court.

Proceedings began with both sides reading out a statement and then breaking off into separate virtual rooms as the mediator spoke to the Wags and their legal representatives independently.

However it's thought that the meeting ended at an impasse, with both sides failing to come to a resolution, meaning more talks will take place in the coming weeks.

The mediation was ordered by a High Court judge at a hearing last November, with both women given a deadline of 8 February to try and reach agreement.

Accusation: Rebekah was accused by her former friend of leaking false stories about her personal life to the media last year

If they remain in deadlock, then the matter will be settled at a full trial expected to take place later this year.

Rebekah launched a 1m High Court libel action after Coleen accused her in an October 2019 Instagram post of being the source of leaks to the media.

Going into the crunch talks, it was revealed that Coleen has handed Rebekah an 'olive branch' and made her an offer to 'agree to disagree' as they head into mediation.

The row between the high-profile Wags erupted after Coleen revealed that she had set a trap to see who was responsible for them, which earned her the nickname 'Wagatha Christie' as the row between the two Wags simmered, culminating in legal action.

In November, the High Court ruled Coleen's post 'clearly identified' Becky as being 'guilty of the serious and consistent breach of trust' - but minutes later she hit back with a statement via her representative, saying she was 'keen' to hear what her rival has to say in court.

Drama: Passions remain high between the two Wags, with Rebekah adamant that Coleen should apologise and delete her accusatory post (pictured with Jamie in 2017)

The ruling related to the wording in the final sentence of the post, with the former reality star claiming she simply referred to Becky's Instagram account.

But the judge said an ordinary reader would not take the word 'account' to 'indicate that she remains in doubt about who the wrongdoer was'.

He also disagreed with her claim that using multiple ellipses in the final line diluted the meaning.

This means the court has no doubt as to who the accusation was made against - Becky - which will be a consideration if the libel case goes to trial this year.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Warby said Coleen's message was 'a considered post, using wording composed with some care', adding: 'It would be clear to the ordinary reader from the outset that it was meant seriously and intended to convey a message of some importance.'

Ongoing: Coleen (pictured with Wayne in 2016) said she discovered the alleged betrayal by carrying out a months-long 'sting operation'

He wrote: 'Indeed, the element of suspense introduced by the multiple dots seems to me designed to raise expectations of a dramatic revelation.

'It tends to emphasise the importance of the name that is then provided. It would be a poor denouement if all that was being said was that the named individual was to be suspected of the wrongdoing but it might be someone else.

'The reader is told straight away that the message is about bad behaviour by 'someone who I trusted'. The post then takes the form of a 'whodunnit'.'

He added: 'I certainly do not think that the ordinary reader would take that single word (account), albeit repeated, to indicate that Mrs Rooney remains in doubt about who the wrongdoer was.

'There is nothing in these words, apart from the word 'account', that in any way suggests that the behaviour of which Mrs Rooney is complaining might have been carried out by anyone other than the account holder, Mrs Vardy.'
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In the past three years, about 7 151 people have been arrested in Namibia over drug-related offences.

Of this number 2 313 have been imprisoned between 2018 to 2020.

National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi says in January alone 101 people have been arrested in connection with drugs: 94 Namibians, one Angolan national, two Burundian nationals, one Congolese and three Zambian nationals.

Some 89 kg of dagga worth N$891 020 was confiscated, while 448 kg of mandrax pills worth N$53 760 were seized.

Shikwambi says the police also confiscated 28 units of crack cocaine worth N$2 800.

"The Namibian Police are the custodians of law and order, and will thus never hesitate to enforce any rules and regulations governing the country," she says.

The use or possession of and dealing in drugs are criminal offences in Namibia, she says.

"It has and continues to be a challenge for the Namibian Police to curb, because it is a secret crime whereby drugs are smuggled into the country. Despite that, the police continue to arrest offenders and confiscate these illegal substances with the assistance of the community and stakeholders."

Neither Shikwambi, nor inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga commented on the legalisation of dagga in the country.

Borro Ndungula, the secretary general of the Ganga Users of Namibia (GUN), last month told The Namibian his organisation is advocating amnesty for inmates who have been imprisoned due to dagga-related offences, as well as individuals with pending dagga-related cases.

Ndungula believes the substance poses no social or health threat.

He insisted on the acquittal of offenders preceding any discussion on the legalisation of dagga in parliament.

He said he would continue to try and convince the government to repeal the drug law of 1971.

Ndungula said the current drug laws violate Article 25 of the Namibian Constitution, which states that racial discrimination and the practice of the apartheid ideology are prohibited.

"Most of the laws that were enacted from 1945 to 1985 by the racist South African government through the National Party, especially Bantu laws, were apartheid laws meant to specifically oppress and suppress the black population of South Africa and Namibia," he said.

He believes dagga can relieve chronic pain, improve lung capacity, counter weight loss, regulate and prevent diabetes, fight cancer, and help treat depression.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

He also claims the substance shows promise in the treatment of autism and seizures.

The Namibian in November last year reported that prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila's office is chairing a task-force committee to consult on the regulation of and controlled use of dagga in Namibia. This comes after the Ministry of Health and Social Services called on the public for submissions on the matter.

Last year, minister of justice Yvonne Dausab said the matter is also receiving the attention of the Ministry of Justice.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) reported that 33 countries in the world have permitted the cultivation of dagga for medical and research purposes.

Some of these countries are members of the Southern African Development Community.
[February 04, 2021] DFI Joins Hands with German ACL to Develop Substantial Business Opportunities in the Smart Medical Market

TAIPEI, Feb. 4, 2021 /CNW/ -- DFI, a leading industrial computer manufacturer, has entered a strategic alliance with ACL, a well-known German medical IT hardware manufacturer, and will combine with DFI's 40 years of rich experience in industrial computers. ACL has been famous in the medical personal computer market since 1995. With profound expertise in medical IT hardware for ICU/IMC and digital operating rooms, both will join hands to open up tremendous business opportunities in the smart healthcare market. With over 25 years of "Made in Germany" quality, ACL's rugged and durable medical computer products are widely used in 29 out of the 37 university hospitals in Germany and deployed in many well-known medical institutions in Europe. ACL also manufactures medical-related products for many world-renowned brands such as Drager, Olympus, eSATURNUS (Sony Group), ATMOS, XION, Cascination, Zimmer Biomet, Humanscale, and HT Group. In the initial stage, DFI will support ACL in selling their medical product portfolio in America and APAC. "DFI and ACL, the leaders in the smart medical market, are cooperating to create smart healthcare solutions. It is hoped that these high-quality products will open up endless business opportunities and help the medical system overcome the difficult challenges brought about by an aging society," said Steven Tsai, DFI's President.



"For seven years, we have worked together with DFI. This strategic partnership can help us to get the latest technologies from Taiwan and faster integration into our custom-made products to the medical field," said Thomas Wollesky, ACL's CEO. The medical and health industry is entering a critical period of digital transformation. The alliance between DFI and ACL hopes to make an effort to improve the quality of healthcare in an aging society.

About DFI Founded in 1981, DFI is a leading global provider of high-performance computing technology across multiple embedded industries. Smart medical applications are critical to medical quality will also be a new field where DFI will bring more contributions to an aging society. About ACL ACL has been manufacturing specialized IT hardware solutions for medicine and hygienically critical areas such as digital operating rooms, digitalization in intensive care units, telemedicine, and mobile solutions at its headquarters in Leipzig, Germany since 1995. Faultless and durable products are both an incentive and obligation for all ACL employees. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dfi-joins-hands-with-german-acl-to-develop-substantial-business-opportunities-in-the-smart-medical-market-301221967.html SOURCE DFI Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
INDIANAPOLIS  The Indiana Department of Health today announced that 1,529 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at state and private laboratories. That brings to 635,171 the number of Indiana residents now known to have had the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous days dashboard.



A total of 11,280 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of 49 from the previous day. Another 406 probable deaths have been reported based on clinical diagnoses in patients for whom no positive test is on record.

Indiana COVID-19 Dashboard & Map

To date, 2,989,069 unique individuals have been tested in Indiana, up from 2,983,026 on Thursday. A total of 7,181,084 tests, including repeat tests for unique individuals, have been reported to the state Department of Health since Feb. 26, 2020.

To find testing sites around the state, click here.

Hoosiers age 65 and older, along with healthcare workers, long-term care residents, and first responders who are regularly called to the scene of an emergency to render medical assistance, are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

To schedule, visit https://ourshot.in.gov or call 211.

As of today, 661,033 Hoosiers have received the first dose of vaccine, and 191,247 are fully vaccinated.

The state and its partners are adding more locations for you to get vaccinated including select Meijer, Kroger, & Walmart pharmacies across the state.

Vigo Countys three Kroger locations are included.

All locations will show up on the state's vaccination website.

It's important to note Meijer and Kroger will have their own appointment sign-up areas on their websites.
Mumbai, Feb 5 : Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is currently shooting for the upcoming film Sangeen in London, and he is adapting to life in a bio bubble owing to the ongoing pandemic.

"This is the first time that I am shooting in London and I cannot visit the different places around this beautiful city. I understand the present situation and the conditions that we are shooting in, and am adhering to the necessary norms. I respect everyone who is fighting hard against this pandemic. The entire unit is working hard and we hope to wrap up the schedule in time," said Nawazuddin.

The film is directed by Jaydeep Chopra and it features Elnaaz Norouzi, too.

The cast and crew have been working long hours to finish the outdoor schedule as early as possible. Elnaaz, who earlier appeared in the web series Sacred Games, said: "working for long hours has never been an issue. I really appreciate the entire crew of 'Sangeen' for making even long working hours so much fun." Nawazuddin has multiple releases in the pipeline this year. He will be seen in Jogira Sa Ra Ra, No Land's Man and Sejal Shah's untitled next.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
Kim Kardashian teamed up with Stassie Karanikolaou for a sizzling new photo-shoot on Instagram this Thursday.

Stassie became a star on social media as the best friend of with Kim's makeup mogul younger half-sister Kylie Jenner.

'The new Kylie and Stass! #SisterSwap,' gushed Kim, 40, in her caption prompting Kylie, 23, to comment: 'whatever.'

Side by side: Kim Kardashian teamed up with Stassie Karanikolaou for a sizzling new photo-shoot on Instagram this Thursday

Kim showed off her sensational cleavage and enviably flat midriff in a flesh-flashing outfit she recently wore on holiday to Turks And Caicos.

Meanwhile Stassie slipped into an olive-green mini-dress that featured a peekaboo slit down the front to emphasize her curves.

Last Friday she returned stateside from a trip to Turks And Caicos with her North, seven, and Chicago, three, whom she shares with her third husband Kanye West.

'Kimye' also share two sons called Saint, five, and Psalm, one, but Kim wrote on Instagram over the weekend that the vacation had been a 'Girls Trip.'

Coordinated: Kim showed off her sensational cleavage and enviably flat midriff in a flesh-flashing outfit and Stassie slipped into an olive-green mini-dress

Unimpressed: 'The new Kylie and Stass! #SisterSwap,' gushed Kim, 40, in her caption prompting Kylie, 23, to comment: 'whatever'

The Turks And Caicos vacation also included all four of Kim's sisters - Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian as well as Kylie and Kendall Jenner.

Based on Kylie's Insta Stories on Saturday she seemed to have returned to the Tranquility villa where she also a family trip for her 23rd birthday last summer.

The sprawling 11-bedroom property is made for 16 guests and is currently listed on Airbnb as costing upwards of a whopping $30,000 a night.

What a duo: Stassie became a star on social media as the best friend of with Kim's makeup mogul younger half-sister Kylie Jenner

Kim went on her latest holiday with her children amid a swirl of reports that she is on the verge of divorcing Kanye whom she married in 2014.

Recently a Page Six insider alleged that the upcoming last season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians will show the 'Kimye' marriage on the rocks.

The source claimed that 'the Kardashians intend to go out with a bang. Theyve filmed Kim discussing her marriage problems. But everybody involved is on a nondisclosure agreement, because the finale wont screen until later in 2021.'
Today marks 20 years since The Weakest Link debuted on Australian television, with the inimitable Cornelia Frances.

Years before Tom Gleeson found success as a gnarly host, Cornelia Frances took great delight in sending contestants out the door.

In the US The Weakest Link is currently enjoying a revival on NBC, with host Jane Lynch.

So that got me to thinking.

Who would be the perfect host for a revival in Australia?

I vote Gretel Killeen.

Also easy to shoot with social distancing. just sayin!

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Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough 'committed to spending seven lifetimes' with her Australian husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, six years ago.

And to celebrate their wedding anniversary and Hindu ceremony in Nepal, the 31-year-old penned a tribute to honour the moment with her spouse.

'Six years ago we were in Nepal helping build a school and the people in town we were staying in heard we were engaged and wanted to throw us a Hindu wedding,' she explained in an Instagram post on Friday.

'I committed to spending seven lifetimes with you': Elvis Presley's granddaughter, Riley Keough (right), 31, penned a touching tribute on Instagram on Friday to celebrate her wedding sixth anniversary with 29-year-old Australian stuntman, Ben Smith-Petersen (left)

'We hadn't showered in a week because we were too cold to shower.

'The whole town came, we were so honored and surprised, it was so special.

'I committed to spending 7 lifetimes with you... I dunno about that... We'll see how this one goes.'

Riley, who shared a picture of the traditional Hindu ceremony, went on to thank the 29-year-old for being her 'best friend'.

'We hadn't showered in a week because we were too cold to shower. The whole town came, we were so honored and surprised, it was so special. I committed to spending 7 lifetimes with you... I dunno about that... We'll see how this one goes,' Riley wrote on Instagram on Friday

'Thank you for being you and coming to me my best friend': Riley, who shared a picture of the traditional Hindu ceremony, went on to thank Ben for being her 'best friend'

'Thank you for being you and coming to me my best friend,' the American actress, model and producer added.

Ben, who hails from New South Wales' Byron Bay, celebrated the couple's nuptials on February 4, 2015, in a separate post to his account.

The couple officially tied the knot in a vineyard in Napa Valley, California, after their travels to build houses in the Himalayas in January 2015.

'I love you beyond reason': Ben celebrated the couple's nuptials on February 4, 2015, in a separate post to his account. He shared a picture of the pair in their wedding attire from their official wedding in a vineyard in Napa Valley, California after their trip to the Himalayas

How did they meet? The couple met on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road, where Ben was working as a stuntman and Riley played one of Immortan Joe's wives

'I love you beyond reason,' he wrote, sharing a picture of the pair in their wedding attire.

The couple met on the set of Mad Max: Fury Road, where Ben was working as a stuntman and Riley played one of Immortan Joe's wives

Riley is the daughter of of Lisa Marie Presley and musician Danny Keough, and the eldest grandchild of Elvis.
CHICO, Calif. - Chico Police are searching for a gunman who fired shots from a dark SUV on West 5th and Cedar St. near Depot Park early Friday morning.

Police say they responded to reports of shots fired around 1:30 a.m. No one was injured in the shooting.

A dispatcher with Chico Police said the emergency warming center in Depot Park was not involved.
The airwaves have been awash with news about COVID-19 and vaccinations, much of it unhelpful. Amid the heat, my name has arisen as the immunologist cited by the Liberal MP Craig Kelly, whose views have been widely derided and, ultimately, shut down by the Prime Minister.

Let me state clearly from the outset: vaccines are critical; they will save lives; we should all get behind them.

Liberal MP Craig Kelly during Question Time. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Vaccines, however, do have limitations. They need to be paired with effective, safe drug treatment. I believe two candidates are safe, cheap, available and effective. They are ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Australian health authorities, however, say there is not enough evidence to support their use in the treatment of COVID-19. I disagree with them.

I do not know Craig Kelly. There is much he has said that I disagree with, but on the matter of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, he has been right to raise awareness about these drugs and their potential to be effective in the early treatment of the disease.

Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has launched the 2021 National Chocolate Week to celebrate and promote the consumption of chocolate in Ghana.



The event, which is from the 8th to the 14th of February, is packed with activities to encourage the consumption of chocolate confectionery, beverages, and chocolate-infused dishes. It is under the theme: Eat Chocolate; Stay Healthy; Grow Ghana.



Launching the celebration at the Marriott Hotel in Accra on behalf of Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Minister of Information Designate, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah acknowledged the special role that cocoa and chocolate plays in the lives of Ghanaians and its impact on national development.



Every Ghanaian, in one way or the other, derives benefit from cocoa. From foreign exchange earning to employment, food and beverages, cosmetics to the provision of social and infrastructural amenities, the cocoa business is one that can best be described as an essential and robust one with several untapped opportunities.



He stated that among all the activities within the cocoa value chain, one aspect that requires attention is local consumption. I have been told that Ghanas current per capita consumption hovers around 0.52kg whereas elsewhere on the globe, and mainly among non-cocoa producing countries, per capita consumption ranges between 3-11kg.



Fortunately for us, Hon. Oppong Nkrumah added, the popularity of chocolate and cocoa products is growing in the country. Ghanaians are beginning to understand and appreciate the health benefits of cocoa and its related products, resulting in increased demand for high-quality good flavoured cocoa products in various forms.



The Minister of Information Designate pledged the support of the government for entrepreneurs and investors interested in cocoa processing and value-addition. He also encouraged everyone to Eat chocolates to stay healthy and grow the Ghanaian economy.



Also, speaking at the launch, the Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Hon Joseph Boahen Aidoo said the National Chocolate Week is part of a bigger drive by the cocoa regulator to promote local processing of cocoa to boost cocoa consumption among Ghanaians.



He said, COCOBOD is poised to strengthen its incentive packages to help local processors and artisanal chocolate makers expand their businesses. The incentives will ensure that the processors are able to access more beans and produce more chocolates and other cocoa products for the consuming public.



It will also be crucial in ensuring that 50% of cocoa produced annually is processed locally to support the high demand and taste for cocoa products in Ghana and beyond.



Hon Boahen Aidoo further thanked cocoa farmers for their invaluable role in the worlds cocoa value chain.



We have great support from our cocoa farmers and other stakeholders within the cocoa value chain and I would like to seize this opportunity to commend our illustrious farmers in particular for their efforts at producing the best quality cocoa for the confectionery market the world over.



Two chocolate songs by sensation Ghanaian music artists, Amarado and Kofi Kinaata were also launched at the event.



The National Chocolate Week is being organised through the collaborative effort of COCOBOD, the Ghana Tourism Authority, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, cocoa processing companies and other stakeholders in the cocoa industry.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Featured Video
Tom Holland gave out the biggest "Spider-Man 3" teaser yet, which excited everyone--including the actor himself!

Holland has been so busy these past few years. Aside from landing on non-Marvel movies like "Cherry," he also keeps himself occupied with the upcoming "Spider-Man" installment.

In his new interview on Variety's Awards Circuit Podcast, the 24-year-old actor updated editor Jenelle Riley about the Marvel film.

At first, Riley teased Holland to give her information about the "Spider-Man 3" movie.

But as a grown-up man now, he tried to avoid dropping spoilers, so he chose not to say anything.

Still, the features editor tried to catch him and asked what would happen at the end instead.

Per the "Spider-Man 3" lead actor, his upcoming installment is the "most ambitious" standalone superhero movie ever created.

"You sit down, read the script, and see what they're trying to do, and they're succeeding. It's really impressive," Hollan shared.

Holland added that the events made him realize that there is no standalone superhero film comparable to the Spidey film yet.

On the other hand, the actor admitted that he is lucky to be "that Spider-Man" in the upcoming film.

For what it's worth, he hinted that they still have a lot more shooting to do.

According to the actor, they began filming some scenes before Christmas, which it lasted for seven weeks before stopping for the Christmas break.

"Spider-Man 3" Release Date

As of writing, the final release date of the third Holland-led installment is yet to be confirmed.

However, a Reddit user seemingly saw that the team has been working on it as early as October 16.

A user named u/Arsenio3 shared a photo of the alleged "Serenity Now" filming location around the Queens area.

Meanwhile, Screen Rant noted at that time that "Serenity Now" is actually a Seinfeld-themed title, which is believed to be the working title of "Spider-Man 3." In comparison, "Iron Man 3" received the working title "Caged Heat" before it garnered its final title.

The final list of "Spider-Man 3" cast has not been finalized yet, as well.

However, there have been reports that the old supervillains will return to the franchise again, including Jamie Foxx (Electro) and Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus/Dr. Otto Octavius.

Benedict Cumberbatch's character, Doctor Strange, will also join the cast as Peter Parker's new mentor.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
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Crisis-ridden Punjab and Maharashtra Bank (PMC) has received three final bids from potential acquirers and the evaluation to decide the winning bidder is underway, said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on February 5. Once the evaluation is over, the co-operative bank will approach the central bank with the proposal, said Das.

The governor's comments indicate that the resolution for the crisis-ridden co-operative bank may happen in the near future.

I have been informed that final offers have been received. Again, Im given to understand that PMC Bank is evaluating the offers. After the evaluation is over, they will approach us. It is under evaluation. (Sic), said Das at a presser that followed the RBI monetary policy announcement.

Among the potential bidders for the bank are UK-based Liberty Group, a combine of Centrum group and BharatPe. That apart, two business families from Mumbai and Hyderabad have expressed interest in buying the Mumbai-based cooperative bank, according to media reports.

The RBI on December 18 said PMC Bank has received four Expressions of Interest (EoI), but did not specify the suitors. The banking regulator also extended the restrictions on PMC Bank by another three months till March 31, 2021.

"The bank has informed Reserve Bank that in response to EoI, four proposals have been received. These proposals will be examined by the bank with regard to their viability and feasibility taking into account the best interest of the depositors. To undertake this process, the bank would need some more time," the central bank said in a statement then.

At the time of inviting EoIs, the PMC Bank had said that subsequent to the commencement of the normal day-to-day operations, it will be open for the investors to convert the bank into a Small Finance Bank by making an application to the RBI.

This, however, will be subject to compliance with the RBI guidelines on Voluntary Transition of Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) into Small Finance Banks (SFBs) dated September 27, 2018, PMC Bank said. Eligible investors could be Financial Institutions, including banks and NBFCs and individuals or Group of Individuals/ companies, societies, trusts or any other such entities having adequate net worth, the bank said.

According to the details of the proposal, the investor should bring in the capital required for enabling the bank to achieve the minimum required capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of 9 percent. The investors can later explore the option of restructuring a part of deposit liabilities into capital/capital instruments, the bank said, adding, it may also approach DICGC for its support for payment up to Rs 5 lakh to depositors.

After due evaluation, the viable proposal(s) will be forwarded to the RBI for its consideration for preparing a draft scheme of reconstruction and other consequential action under Section 45 of Banking Regulation Act, 1945, the proposal had said.

The RBI had superseded the board of PMC Bank in September 2019 after a fraud was detected. About 70 percent of its total loan book of Rs 8,383 crore as on March 31, 2019, had been taken by real estate firm HDIL. The bank had Rs 11,600 crore in deposits. The police arrested Joy Thomas, former managing director of PMC Bank, in October. The investigators have since made a few more arrests.

During investigations, it was found that the bank had been allegedly running fraudulent transactions for several years to facilitate lending to HDIL through fictitious accounts and violating single-party lending rules. The RBI imposed restrictions on deposit withdrawals and superseded its board after the fraud was detected. The central bank later withdrew the restrictions in phases. Still, a section of the PMC Bank depositors is yet to get their deposits back.
As the private sector struggles to adjust business models to the growing challenges presented by Covid-19, it has become clear that digital transformation is integral to the survival of industries.

Affordable digital transactions are needed more than ever and there is a need to harmonize facilitative policies in all Comesa Member States.

Today's financial inclusion agendas should consider the enablement of SMEs to leverage on retail digital solutions to access affordable, value-added digital financial services that also ensure appropriate safeguards for cross border transactions.

Challenges such as access to finance, access to digital e-commerce platforms and strengthening digital supply chains have never been more profound as they are today.

It is now a well-established fact that giving low-income households (and particularly women) access to formal financial services can make a critical contribution to reducing poverty and addressing inequality.

A wealth of research now proves that access to services such as secure savings, lower-cost remittances, affordable insurance and appropriate forms of credit, contributes to more inclusive growth. This helps foster domestic resource mobilization, increases productive capacity, and reduces household vulnerability.

It is against this background that the Comesa Business Council (CBC) in partnership with Eastern and Southern Africa Trade and Development Bank (TDB) hosted a Public Private Dialogue, themed, "Towards the Comesa Digital Integrated Common Payment Policy for Micro Small and Medium sized Enterprises (MSMEs)" on the 20th of January, in Kigali, Rwanda.

The one-day meeting validated a draft digital Common Payment Policy for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).

Going forward, the policy will inform the modelling process of a low cost, instant, digitally inclusive payments platform for MSMEs in the region.

The hybrid event brought together over 280 participants from central banks, ministries of finance, ICT regulators, manufacturers, mobile network operators, commercial banks, and SMEs, from across the nine pilot-study countries of the CBC Digital Financial Inclusion Program.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Two weeks after Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first woman to be vice president , her barrier-breaking career has been memorialized in a portrait that depicts her face emerging from the cracks in a massive sheet of glass.

The 6-by-6 foot (1.8 meter), 350-pound (159 kilogram) portrait, meant to symbolize Harris breaking through a glass ceiling, was unveiled Thursday at the Lincoln Memorial by groups excited by Harris' historic election as the first woman and person of color to the nation's second-highest office.

This will just be a wonderful visual emblem of this moment in time and hopefully people will reflect a little bit on all the barriers that have been broken by her election, said Holly Hotchner, president and CEO of the National Women's History Museum, a co-sponsor of the project.

Harris has notched a series of firsts during a legal and political career that has taken her from California to the office of vice president in Washington.

The 56-year-old daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants was the first woman and person of color to serve as San Francisco's district attorney, the first woman and first Black person to become California's attorney general, the first Black person to represent California in the U.S. Senate and the first woman, Black person and Asian American to be elected vice president.

She is also the first vice president with a historically Black college, Howard University, for an alma mater.

I think what makes it so moving to me is to see the tiny cracks, to see those fissures and everything they represent, said Lindsay Kaplan, a co-founder of Chief, a networking organization for female executives and portrait co-sponsor.

The idea to commission a portrait to commemorate Harris' election originated at the creative agency BBH New York. The creative team then launched a search for an artist and found Simon Berger, who lives in Switzerland and specializes in glass artistry.

Using a photo of Harris that was taken by New York photographer Celeste Sloman as a guide, Berger lightly hammered on the slab of laminated glass to create the tiny cracks and fissures that together formed Harris' one-of-a-kind likeness.

Berger said he created his first glass portrait in 2016 while experimenting.

I hit the glass directly with the hammer, so that cracks and impacts occur, he said in an email. Hard hits create abstraction and I paint with targeted fine hits.

Harris is aware of the project, but it was unclear whether she would go see it.

The project came together quickly after the November election. Working from his studio in Niederonz, Berger took about a day to hammer out the portrait. It was then shipped "very, very carefully from Switzerland, said Jackie Anzaldi, a creative director at BBH New York.

We wanted it to really be like a show-stopping piece that people are going to see and interact with and really celebrate her in the way that she should be, said Liz Loudy, another BBH New York creative director who worked on the project.

The portrait will be on public display at the Lincoln Memorial through Saturday night. It will then go to the Chief flagship office in New York, with future plans for public viewing to be determined.
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LITCHFIELD  St. Michaels Episcopal Church will offer a special event of romantic and other Valentine-related music, 3 p.m. Feb. 14 on the side lawn of the church, overlooking South Street. Ed Napier will be the featured performer, joined by choir members and others. All are welcome, and masks are required. A freewill offering will be available.

St. Michaels Parish is located at 25 South Street (Rte 63-S), a short distance from the town green. For more details, contact music@stmichaels-litchfield.org or 860-567-9465.

Workforce board joins talent pipeline effort

TORRINGTON  The Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, in partnership with lead applicant Capital Workforce Partners, EWIB, Workforce Alliance and The Workplace, recently announced its partnership in a $10 million award from the U.S. Department of Labor to focus on the development and expansion of a talent pipeline of Connecticut workers in two industry sectors: 1) tapping new talent for IT; and 2) retooling the advanced manufacturing workforce. The NRWIB has existing partnerships with IT and Manufacturing businesses throughout the Waterbury, Danbury and Torrington areas.

This program will ensure that training is demand-driven, that entry level positions will be filled, and skills-based hiring practices will be implemented. The Board will expand upon its current relationships with regional schools, including Naugatuck Valley Community College, Manufacturing Alliance Service Corp (MASC) and Northwestern Community College to train a pipeline of eligible candidates under this new grants guidelines, according to a statement.

The Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board will use innovative training strategies and training delivery methods to provide individuals in their communities with the skills necessary to succeed. Training models will include a broad range of classroom and on-the-job training, incumbent worker training, Registered Apprenticeship programs and Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship programs.

For more information about this program, go to www.nrwib.org for the latest updates.

Kent library selling raffle tickets for car

KENT - The Kent Memorial Library is selling raffle tickets for a wonderful Mini Cooper Convertible in a major fund-raising project. This British racing green convertible has very low mileage, and includes Steptronic automatic transmission, fuel injection, 1.6 liter and a four-cylinder engine. For more information, go to kentmemoriallibrary.org.

This year's car raffle is happening, and sooner than ever. Win this gorgeous car that's perfect for tooling around in the fresh air, said Sarah Marshall, Director of the Kent Memorial Library. Tickets are $20 and a drawing for the winner will be held at 1:00 p.m. the 45th Annual Kent Pumpkin Run on Sunday, October 31 at the Town Hall in Kent. Ticket holders need not be present to win.

To purchase tickets:

1. Send the Library a check with a self-addressed stamped envelope addressed to: Kent Memorial Library Car Raffle, P.O. Box 127, Kent, CT 06757, and the raffle stubs will be mailed back to you. Be sure to include your phone number. We must have it to complete the raffle ticket.

2. Purchase your tickets using PayPal in increments of $20 here. (please note that there will be no printed ticket(s) sent to you. KML will fill out your entries and include them in the official raffle drum. You will receive an email confirmation within 3 business days confirming your purchase). OR

3. To use cash, use the librarys drop box. Be sure to include a self-addressed stamped envelope addressed to: Kent Memorial Library Car Raffle, P.O. Box 127, Kent, CT 06757, and the raffle stubs will be mailed back to you. Be sure to include a phone number.

The Kent Memorial Library launched the popular car raffle many years ago. Proceeds support the operating budget and make up an important contribution, as the library is responsible for raising more than 70 percent of its annual budget.

The library is located at 32 North Main Street, Kent, Connecticut. Visit kentmemoriallibrary.org for more information.

Preschool applications now available

WINSTED  Winchester Public Schools are accepting applications, beginning February 1, 2021 and continuing through Feb. 26, for the Little Owls Preschool Program for children ages 3-4. .

For information about the Little Owls Preschool Program or assistance with this process,contact the Family Resource Center directly at 860-738-5262.

Bar foundation holding essay contest

The Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows program is holding its 21st annual Quintin Johnstone Statewide High School Essay Contest. The contest is open to high school students at all public and private schools statewide and invites students to prepare an essay on a timely topic in the law that is relevant to students. The Fellows award the contest winner and two runners-up cash prizes of $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.

This years topic, Imitation or Intimidation, asks students to consider whether similar art projects, with very different messages, involve the allowable use of imitation or if the message in one is a form of intimidation in violation of school district policy. Submissions are evaluated by panels that include state and federal judges, law school professors and practicing attorneys. Further information on the Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows Quintin Johnstone Essay Contest can be found on the Foundations website, www.ctbarfdn.org. The deadline for entries is Feb. 22, 2021.

The Essay Contest Award Ceremony is usually held at the Connecticut Supreme Court. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, special video tributes to the 2019-20 winners were recorded by Supreme Court Senior Justice Christine Vertefeuille, 2019-20 James W. Cooper Fellows Chair, Daniel A. Schwartz, of the law firm Shipman and Goodwin, and CBF Executive Director Natalie S. Wagner. The videos are available on the Connecticut Bar Foundations website at www.ctbarfdn.org/
The only upside, if you could call it that, is finally, Democrats in high-tax states are acknowledging tax flight, as weve been writing about for years in our series Illinois Exodus. They see that high taxes are driving wealthy people out of their states and they want to keep them, thus the push to lift the cap. Most Americans arent even affected by the 10,000 cap because they dont pay that much. But the well-off do.
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EBRD President Renaud-Basso pays first virtual visit to Georgia

Georgia was the setting for the first virtual visit by EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso to one of the countries where the Bank invests. The visit took place on 1st and 2nd February in an entirely virtual format over a two-day programme.

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The countrys President and Prime Minister tweeted their appreciation of the visit. Major outlets in Georgia such as Business Media, Georgia Today, Messenger and Civil also shared news of it with their readers.

Uzbekistan joins global carbon neutrality race to 2050

The EBRD and the government of Uzbekistan signed a memorandum of understanding on long-term collaboration toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In collaboration with the Bank the central Asian republic has declared its intention to significantly cut its reliance on thermal energy sources. In an interview with the Nikkei news agency EBRD First Vice President Jurgen Rigterink underlined the Banks readiness to support Uzbekistan through a combination of investment and policy engagement and thanked the Japanese government for their donor support.

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Bloomberg interview draws strong response in Turkey

An interview by EBRD Managing Director, Turkey, Arvid Turkner, to Bloomberg HRT about the Banks activities in 2020 and the plans for this year was followed by a massive response from the business community. The EBRDs programmes in support of small and medium-sized enterprises were in particularly high demand. Last year alone, the EBRD invested `1.7 billion in Turkey, with 94 per cent of its financing in the private sector.

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EBRD and UNDP to pilot social impact bond in Armenia

To improve the lives of smallholder farmers in the Shirak region of north-western Armenia, the EBRD and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a letter of intent to structure a social impact bond, an innovative financing tool linking financial success to the delivery of measured social outcomes.

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Project signings

Supporting the resilience of the Tunisian energy sector

The EBRD is providing a 300 million financing package to Societe Tunisienne de lElectricite et du Gaz (STEG) to support the stability of Tunisias energy sector during the coronavirus pandemic and help STEG to implement an ambitious corporate and climate reform roadmap that would anchor the shift towards a more sustainable and efficiently run company.

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Promoting private-to-private solar energy in Jordan with Yellow Door Energy

In Jordan, EBRD, Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Deutsche Entiwcklungsgesellschaft (DEG) are providing Yellow Door Energy,a leading sustainable energy provider for businesses, with a US$ 31.2 million loan in local currency for the development, construction and operation of a portfolio of eight solar photovoltaic plants.

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Boosting green investments in Turkey

In its first transaction with Turkeys Is Finansal Kiralama A.S. (Is Leasing), the EBRD is providing a 40 million loan for on-lending to eligible companies to finance investments in resource efficiency and small-scale renewable energy projects.

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Financing Turkish copper wire producer Mega Metal

In Turkey, the EBRD and Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi (TSKB), the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey, are jointly providing a 4 million loan to Turkeys leading producer of superfine copper rod Mega Metal San. ve Tic. A.S. to address working capital needs in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Strengthening Croatias resilience and green agenda

The EBRD is investing 9 million in bonds issued by Erste & Steiermarkische Bank d.d. in Croatia, as part of a 45 million issuance listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange and marketed mainly to local institutional investors. It is the EBRDs first purchase of a bond eligible under the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) and issued by a local financial institution in Croatia.

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Supporting rehabilitation of Albanian railway

In Albania, the first large-scale overhaul of the railway network is ready to start with the signing of a first contract for rehabilitation works between the state railways and the Italian company INC Spa, with the support of an EBRD 36.9 million loan and an investment grant of up to 35.5 million from the EU under its Connectivity Agenda for the Western Balkans. An additional 2.75 million in grants from bilateral donors have been secured through the Western Balkans Investment Framework.

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Increasing support for small businesses in Moldova

In Moldova, the EBRD is providing a 15 million loan to ProCredit Bank to support MSMEs. The new financing, supported by EU funds, will help companies to become more competitive and seize new export opportunities.

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Strengthening the resilience of the Greek banking sector

The EBRD and Intrum Holding AB are investing in an unsecured non-performing exposure (NPE) portfolio originated by Piraeus Bank, one of the leading banking groups in Greece, to help it reduce its NPLs, clean up its balance sheets and free up capacity for new lending, thus strengthening its financial resilience. The EBRDs investment is around 11 million.

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Strengthening support to small businesses in Georgia

In Georgia, backed by 1.8 million in EU funding, the EBRD will help local firms with their digital transformation to avoid interruptions to their operations because of the pandemic and rebuild their businesses with a focus on sustainable and green practices.

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Supporting microfinance in Tunisia

In Tunisia, Attijari Bank is extending a loan of up to TND 20 million to Enda Tamweel under the EBRDs Risk Sharing Framework for on-lending to local micro and small businesses. These are its core customers and need financial support to cover liquidity shortages caused by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Donors

Boosting energy efficiency in Ukraines Dnipro

In the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, patients and medical staff at clinics as well as children attending kindergartens and schools are to enjoy better heating in their buildings thanks to an E5P fund grant of 5.5 million. The grant complements an earlier 25 million loan from the EBRD to the municipal energy management company Dniprovska Municipalna Energoservisna Kompanya.

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Helping Greek tyre company Meidanis-Sofos Elastika grow

Meidanis-Sofos Elastika S.A. is one of the most prominent tyre companies in Greece and the first to benefit from the EBRDs advisory programme in the country. Supported by the European Union, through the European Investment Advisory Hub of the European Investment Bank, the Bank helped Meidanis develop a new business plan.

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Social media

Pierre Heilbronn, EBRD Vice President, Policy & Partnerships, took part in an OECD discussion on blended finance. He spoke about the importance of private sector funding in financing development.

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Barbara Rambousek, EBRD Director, Gender & Economic Inclusion, took part in a Gender Smart video conference on smart-gender green investments. Tackling gender equality is key to addressing climate change, she emphasised.

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Jim Turnbull, Deputy Director, Capital Markets Development, set out the Banks approach to additionality at an OECD event. At its core, the EBRD invests in projects where it expects to earn a market-based return (sound banking), does not crowd out private sources of finance (additionality) and has measurable impact (transition). In this respect, EBRD is the very definition of an impact investor, he said.

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The EBRD launched its 6th module of the Know How Academy focusing on trade.

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Veronica Ntuli, who has lived in Marievale since 1992, keeps the original army permit giving her permission to stay in her house next to the informal settlement. Photo: Kimberly Mutandiro

Residents of Happiness Village are dismissing recent claims that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has successfully relocated the residents it unlawfully evicted from the Marievale base in 2017.

Residents say less than half of them were relocated to Zamani informal settlement in Duduza. Those who remain in Happiness village say they continue to suffer harassment at the hands of the military.

In July 2020, GroundUp reported that the army had cut Happiness Village off from the world and placed a community leader under house arrest.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) successfully applied for a court order at the end of July following which the army reopened the area in August. However, residents say harassment from soldiers continues unabated.

Veronica Ntuli, who has lived in Marievale since 1992, keeps the original army permit giving her permission to stay in her house next to the informal settlement. She used to operate a shebeen catering to soldiers and nearby Marievale mine workers.

"This is my home. Where do the soldiers want me to go?" she said. "The soldiers harass and threaten me, saying I must leave or else. Last week on Friday they came making noises at night and they cut off my electricity."

"I am terrified to go out at night. Who knows what they can do to a poor widow like myself," she said. "Soldiers are the ones who should leave the area and leave us in peace."

Resident Ziyanda Nwazi said, "We cannot go anywhere without having soldiers ask us where we are going. They continue to patrol our area in tracksuits even after the court ordered them not to come near Happiness Village. Our kids are traumatised. When will this end?"

Community leader Chris Koitsioe said the army and the Mayco Member for Human Settlements are yet to deliver an acceptable relocation plan to provide alternative adequate accommodation.

"Claims that the army relocated us are mere propaganda," he said.

Some of the evicted residents who went to live in nearby townships say they can no longer afford to pay rent. They want to return to Happiness Village.

"I lost my job at a restaurant where l was working in Sharon Park due to the pandemic. Paying rent is now a nightmare. The soldiers will not allow us to come back and they have not yet provided us with alternative accommodation," says Ncansile Mthembu, who is renting a place at John Dube in Duduza.

She has also been struggling with school transport for her children who attend a school in Arla Park near to her old home in Happiness Village.

Some residents relocated to Zamani say the living conditions are far worse than in Happiness Village. Funeka Gumede said her home floods when it rains. She has no electricity and shares one chemical toilet with four other families. She also has to share a tap.

"We were of the impression that the army would allocate us our own place as old Marievale residents and not mix us with other people," said Gumede.

Mayco Member for Human Settlements Lesiba Mpya said Zamani is only temporary and homes would be provided in John Dube housing project. He said over 120 residents had signed consent forms for relocation.

"No one was harassed into moving. We spoke to the SANDF and arranged to move them at their own consent ... We have provided them with chemical toilets which are serviced and they have been reblocked for electricity," said Mpya.

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He said the people remaining in Marievale were doing so at their own risk.

"It does not make sense that some people want to be permanent at a military base. Explosives are tested there and it is a restricted area which civilians should be kept away from. Such a situation cannot be normalised. The people remaining there are doing so at their own risk. I have had meetings with them and they refused the relocation plan l offered them," he said.

"It is not true that the army is terrorising people," said Brigadier General M.P.M Mgobozi.

GroundUp is being sued after we exposed dodgy Lottery deals involving millions of rands. Please help fund our defence. You can support us via Givengain, Snapscan, EFT, PayPal or PayFast.
Known for her consistently strong and fearless voice, Richa Chadda has now joined a movement to celebrate the strong, resilient women of India. She has extended her support to a special edition of Oxfam India's fundraising walkathon  the Oxfam Trailwalker-virtual challenge  set to take place around International Women's Day 2021. The idea behind this edition is to make aware and empower people to fight and end all kinds of discrimination against women. The 'Masaan' actress has been a frontrunner in taking a stand for issues that matter, whether it is through her on-screen roles or her personal opinions.



Just like the previous one in 2020, this one will take place virtually keeping in mind the pandemic restrictions and social distancing guidelines. Starting from 25th Feb to 6th Mar and 8th to 17th March 2021, the edition offers three challenges to the participants to choose from. They can complete either 100 km, 50 km or 25 km in 10 days. The challenge is accessible to anyone who wants to participate and every joining contribution will help Oxfam India in their projects. This year, the walkathon is themed around #WalkForHer, with the tagline, 'Walk to end all discrimination against women'. The theme resonates greatly with Richa, given that she has been very vocal about how women are treated in the film industry across the globe and has often reiterated how important it is to end biases and discrimination.



The pandemic has been tough on everyone but women and the marginalized communities bore the real brunt of it. Statistics paint a grim picture of women suffering due to domestic, professional and health issues. The walkathon's theme this year is a response to the countless examples of gender-based violence, extreme injustice and deep rooted discrimination against women that shocked the nation in 2020. Richa emphatically states, "The way we treat our women in emergencies is a testament to how much we as a society respect the gender at large. Our fight for equal opportunities for women is consistent, and initiatives like this walkathon help bring that many more people together for a cause. It's the need of the hour, and the Trailwalker has my wholehearted support. A movement for equality, this call to #WalkForHer is a step in the direction of zero discrimination."



For Oxfam India, a non-profit organisation working to support child education, empowering women and fighting against inequality, the Oxfam Trailwalker virtual- challenge has been one way to involve citizenry in important conversations as well as fund-raising. Last year, even though the walkathon had to go virtual due to the pandemic for the very first time, the participation remained enthusiastic. Last year, the 2020 Oxfam Trailwalker virtual-challenge focussed on the plight of migrant workers who were hit the worst due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. The 2020 edition attracted almost 5,000 participants who walked in solidarity of the migrant workers and raised over Rs.50,00,000, which helped immensely in our COVID-19 response across 16 states



Participants can register here ( https://virtualtrailwalker. oxfamindia.org/ ) and make contributions easily on the Oxfam webpage.
One of Parliaments first priorities when it resumes this year will be to select a new president of the NSW upper house after John Ajaka revealed his decision to quit politics.

Mr Ajaka, 65, president of the Legislative Council since 2017, informed the Premier this week of his planned resignation, which is expected to take effect in April.

President of the NSW Legislative Council John Ajaka will retire later this year. Credit:Geoff Jones

He joined the upper house in 2007 and is a former Liberal minister in portfolios including ageing, disability services, multiculturalism and the Illawarra. A spokesman for Mr Ajaka confirmed his intention to resign.

Mr Ajaka will give a formal statement to the Legislative Council announcing his resignation when it resumes on February 16.
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The Lagos State government on Thursday condemned the brutalisation of a journalist with the Guild Press Ltd., Benjamin Anaja, by some operatives of Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI).

This was contained in a statement signed by the state commissioner for environment and water resources, Tunji Bello, in Lagos.

Mr Bello said the present administration in the state does not tolerate any form of brutalisation of members of the public by any of its staff or agents.

He said the incident would be thoroughly investigated and all the KAI operatives mentioned in the news report, which had already gone viral would be interrogated and punished if found guilty.

Mr Bello said the complainant would also be invited to substantiate his complaint and possibly identify the culprits who attacked him despite identifying himself as a journalist.

The state apologises to the victim, the management of the Guild publishing company and the Nigerian Union of Journalists, promising that such an unfortunate incident will not repeat itself, Mr Bello said.

A news story went viral on Wednesday evening about some operatives of KAI dislodging street traders at the Meiran Bus Stop on Lagos Abeokuta Expressway allegedly accosted a journalist who was recording the event.

He claimed to have produced his identity card but was allegedly dragged into the Green Maria of the KAI operatives, brutalised, detained for several hours.

He had his identity card rumpled before he was eventually released at the Ikeja Along Bus Stop. (NAN)
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by Vladimir Rozanskij

In recent times, the number of those in need has increased enormously. Wealthy families offer free lunches to people affected by the pandemic and isolation, such as pensioners, homeless people and people with limited possibilities. Wages too low for bus drivers. Bluetooth to babysit children and minors.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - For some weeks now, in the most populous city of Kazakhstan (almost two million people), Almaty, has been operating a voluntary aid service among citizens: the wealthiest have been offering free lunches to people affected by the pandemic and isolation, such as retirees, property owners and people with limited possibilities. In recent times, the number of those in need has increased enormously. the organizers of the project are confident that they will not only be able to feed all these poor people, but also to help their socialization.

Food preparation begins early in the morning in small apartment kitchens. Every day, without holidays, 150 containers are prepared with lunches to take to the stalls and counters where people come to get free food. Oatmeal soup with cooked salami, two pieces of white bread and eggs make up the standard menu, but the food varies every day according to a bi-weekly menu.

An Almaty resident, Rasima Temerbaeva (photo 1), told currentime.tv that she started helping the neediest 7 years ago, as an individual initiative. Many have since joined her. When asked why she does what she does, Rasima simply responds that since childhood she had felt compassion for the lonely elderly people in her neighbourhood, and that she had always defended her weaker acquaintances from offenses.

The project is entirely based on crowdfunding, and often has to be interrupted because of a lack of funding. In 2019, the group also received state funding for a few months, which was not renewed, and participants learned to set aside what is needed to support their humanitarian work. Temerbaeva has been awarded various honors, but she herself claims to "appreciate the gratitude of simple people much more."

The strikes

In the meantime, strikes of various categories continue in the country: on February 3, bus drivers from various cities stopped, asking for salary increases, as the oil well workers had already done in recent days. In Shymkent, a city in southern Kazakhstan of nearly one million inhabitants, the running of the municipal lines has been completely stopped; Akim (mayor) Murat Aytenov promised to resolve the matter within a day, but few drivers trusted his promises, and people were massed at stops waiting for a vehicle to pass.

The drivers also complain about the lack of washing or sanitizing of the buses, and the total absence of lunch supplies during work breaks: all at the meagre pay of around 150 euros per month. The controllers on the Kazakh buses are volunteers with no salary, who are offered at most a small reimbursement of expenses or the possibility of "staying overnight on the buses". Without inspectors, no passenger pays for the ticket.

The central government does not seem able to deal with the serious economic conditions in the country, and shows other concerns: on February 3 a project to control children and minors was presented by the interior ministry.

As Deputy Minister Saken Sarsenov explained, "we will introduce experimental measures for the protection of children, using all possible means: cell phones, watches, video cameras, applying long-term battery control tools to backpacks and clothes". The system would not even need to be connected to the internet, using only Bluetooth. Everything would be financed by private individuals in agreement with the state. The protection of minors will prevent them from being involved in public demonstrations, as is the case these days throughout Russia.
Angry herd on the street

by Raul Gallegos "Laughing Anonymous" b y Adbusters, Copyright CC BY-NC 2.0 Flickr Creative Commons





How activism will hurt Wall Street in the future. Angry herd on the street

If you're wondering what has happened in the financial markets in the past two weeks (and you should), the answer is that the politics of anger is catching up with global finance.



The story of how a little-known video game retailer GameStop touched highs of USD483 a share (almost four times the price of Apple), and then plunged erasing billions of dollars in value, is not just the usual tale of greed. A band of largely inexperienced, and self-described misfit investors (i.e. a lot of kids in their basements investing their savings), took it upon themselves to bet money on a stock partly to inflict pain on large institutional investors like hedge funds (i.e. the big money on Wall Street).



This is why the little guys are angry: Large investors often look for and bet against companies with poor management or overhyped business models and make money once the market recognizes how bad they are, and their stock price declines (a practice known as short selling). This is perfectly legitimate (some would argue necessary), even if it angers a lot of folks who don't have the time, money, or ability to do the same thing. After all, in capitalism creative destruction is how bad ideas fail, and good ones succeed (at least in theory). In fairness, some short sellers are also known for badmouthing companies and trying to make their share prices tank, hence why many people hate them.



This is what the little guys did: The worst thing that can happen to a short seller is to see the stock of its target company increase instead of fall (also known as a short squeeze). This can cause heavy losses for those betting that a company belongs in the dust bin. So instead of protesting capitalism with picket signs, the misfits in the chat group WallStreetBets on the Reddit social media platform, decided to buy GameStop shares en masse to push the price way up and punish big investors.



Has this happened before? Not quite. Wall Street has seen its share of activism, including the Occupy Wall Street movement which brought dozens of bohemian-inclined folks to camp in tents to protest inequality back in 2011. Plus, shareholder activists have for many years been putting pressure on company executives to improve bottom lines. This time is different, however, because activists successfully used Wall Street's trading activity to make a mess of things.



How can this happen? This is where trading platforms like Robinhood (I know, you can't make this up) play a role. These brokers which charge no commissions for trades (a relatively recent phenomenon) make it possible for small investors to buy shares affordably (a good thing). The downside is that it also makes it viable for well-funded activists to do their thing on the cheap. Similarly, the emergence of social media democratized free speech, but also gave us fake news.



So, what's the takeaway here? This is just the beginning. Future activist herds can buy or sell shares to disrupt mergers between companies, hurt share prices of companies they consider evil, or punish investors they believe hurt the cause of environmental, social, and good governance practices (known in corporate speak as ESG). The pandemic will make radical activists angrier, more determined, and more devoted to their cause. Take it from Evan Oosterink, a 19-year-old, newbie speculator who lost his savings, and told the Washington Post : Being part of WallStreetBets, it's like a religion you're devoted to. Where have we heard that one before?



Warning to the big guys . Established investors now have something else to worry about other than beltway politicians, taxes, and regulators. From now on they will have to map out potential activist adversaries and their intent and capability to upend their investment strategies. Understanding these rogue actors will become part of the cost of doing business.



Warning to activists. The pendulum of history can go too far on either direction. A focus on wokeness, and being good can hurt innocent people too. And if you happen to think that collateral damage is a natural result of doing what you think is right, welcome to the dark side.



Bottom line, if you think angry kids with some money and time to spare will go away, you're not understanding human nature. Political extremism, religious fanaticism, and speculative mania have a way of churning out converts by the millions, and leaving a mess in their wake What I'm (Re) Reading -------------------------------------------- There is no better read to understand how financial speculation can make people lose their minds than "A Short History of Financial Euphoria" by John Kenneth Galbraith, originally published in 1990. At 110 pages, this little gem delivers a lot of wisdom and is written as a warning that not only fools but quite a lot of other people are recurrently separated from their money in the moment of speculative euphoria.



For Galbraith, the only failsafe to protect people from themselves was not regulation but helping them identify moments of mass insanity. Galbraith takes us through such episodes as the 1637 Dutch Tulipmania - when people paid fortunes for tulip bulbs convinced their price could only go up -, the railroad stock speculation in the late 1800s, the Charles Ponzi scheme of the 1920s, all the way to the junk bonds of the 1980s. Yes the tech and housing bubble may be missing, but Galbraith shows us that there is nothing new under the sun.



Galbraith's delightful writing also leaves us with two simple lessons: 1) the "extreme brevity of financial memory" that prompts people to forget about past bubbles and fall for them again, and 2) the "specious association between money and intelligence" that makes speculators think they're smarter than everyone else. Or as he puts it: "financial genius is before the fall". Like what you've read? Sign up for our list! If you would like to help us grow please recommend this to your friends and colleagues.



Original article Raul Gallegos / Pondering Politics / February 04, 2021 / Raul-Gallegos.com



raul.gallegos@gmail.com / http://raul-gallegos.com/blog Raul is a former Caracas-based oil correspondent. Director @Control_Risks. Political risk advisor to companies. Author of Crude Nation/Cuando se jodio Venezuela? (Spanish Edition)



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Bengaluru, Feb 6 : Hours after his controversial remarks on granting reservations to Panchamsali community, Karnataka Chief Minister, B.S. Yediyurappa made 'U' turn on the issue on Friday and referred the reservation matter to Karnataka Backward Class commission in a bid to contain the growing anger of Panchamasali community.

Yediyurappa released two statements, one in connection with his order directing the referal of the reservation to backward class commission, and second is to tendering unconditional apology to seers of Panchamasali sect who are leading the agitation.

A statement released by his office in this regard directed the Panchamasali subsect of Lingayat community has demanded that their community be included in 2A category from present 3B category. "The commission must take steps to study in-detail about this demand and submit its recommendation as soon as possible," his statement read.

While in another statement, Yediyurappa tenders unconditional apology to Jaya Mritunjya Swamiji who is leading the agitation. "I didn't mean to hurt your sentiments Swamiji. I have made honest and earnest attempts to get reservation for the Panchamasali community. My statement in the assembly has been misrepresented to you. I just said as a national party we can not decide in a hurry. We have won over everyone in this," he said.

It all started when Yediyurapap's harshest critic in the BJP, Basanagouda Patil Yatna sought the CM's assurance on granting reservation to Kurba and Panchamasali community.

To this, Yediyurappa had said that such matters cannot be decided in a hurry as the BJP is a national party. "I can not take decisions on my own... We need to consult Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on such matters," he said.

As this statement was beamed on news channels, the Panchamasali seers upped their ante against the CM, calling for his resignation if he was incapable of serving the needs of his own community.

They said he must make way for some other efficient Lingaayt leader to head the State. Lingayats form the BJPs major vote bank in Karnataka.

Panchamshali seer Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamy said, "It's enough that the Centre supports Yeduiyurappa as the Chief Minister. Let the PM or Amit Shah or Nadda give him an honourable exit and place some other able Lingayat as the CM. Our demand is either you give Panchamshalis the reservation or you give your resignation." The seer added that Amit Shah is not our CM, nor is Modi nor is Nadda.

"Yediyurappa is the CM here and the state has the full powers to bring in the reservation to protect communities. He is passing the buck to the Centre, We doubt now whether he has read the Constitution at all. He has lost our trust. He has been the CM for three times, he must know he has powers on this. Otherwise let him make way for another mass Lingayat leader as CM," the seer added.

The Panchamshali sub-sect led by its Seers and community leaders has been on a padayatra for the last three weeks now covering over 250 kms of the 450 kms from Kudalasangama, a holy temple town for Lingayats Ato reach Bengaluru, with hundreds of supporters joining them along the way.
While former President Donald Trump sticks to his lie about voter fraud costing him the election, a 27-page report prepared by Trumps chief pollster details why he was defeated. Titled Post Election Exit Poll Analysis: 10 Key Target States, the report was completed in December of 2020 and given to Trumps top advisers just before Biden inauguration.

The report reveals that Trumps bumbling response to the pandemic cost him significant support.Those voters who regarded COVID-19 as our nations most important issue voted for Biden by a three-to one-margin. The report states that Racially, POTUS suffered his greatest erosion with White voters, particularly White Men. It also notes, POTUS lost ground with almost every age groupbut he lost the most with voters 18-29 and 65+ in Flipped states. Worse was the double-digit erosion with White college educated voters across the board.

Our nation will always owe a debt of gratitude to those who worked so tirelessly to get out the vote for Biden. Two extraordinary women, however, merit special recognition.

Cindy McCain, the widow of 2008 GOP presidential candidate and ex-POW John McCain, played a major role in Bidens victory in Arizona. Unlike other Republican luminaries, Cindy McCain possessed the integrity and courage to admit that Trumps presidency had been a disaster of epic proportions. The fact that Trump had publicly ridiculed her late husband because he had been captured and imprisoned during the Vietnam War certainly hadnt endeared The Donald to her, either.

On Sept. 22, 2020, McCain tweeted: My husband John lived by a code: country first. We are Republicans, yes, but Americans foremost. Theres only one candidate who stands up for our nation and that is Joe Biden. Her endorsement contributed to Bidens 10,457-vote victory over Trump in the Grand Canyon State. He became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry that state since Bill Clinton in 1996.

The Arizona Republican party angrily censured McCain for her perceived disloyalty, which bothers her not a whit. Indeed, she tweeted on Jan. 23, Ill wear this [censure] as a badge of honor.

The Trump-instigated Capitol insurrection may have unintentionally made Arizona somewhat easier for the Democratic presidential candidate to carry in 2024. According to the Arizona secretary of state, some 9,944 Republican voters have changed their party affiliation since that Jan. 6 attempted coup.

Stacey Abrams, a Democratic politician and civil rights activist in the state of Georgia, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Lars Haltbrekken, who serves in Norways parliament, praised Abrams as one whose work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for civil rights. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Abrams efforts to complete Kings work are crucial if the United States of America shall succeed in its effort to create fraternity between all its peoples and a peaceful and just society, Haltbrekken said.

Abrams and her organization Fair Fight played an integral role in increasing black voter turnout in Georgia. Biden defeated Trump by just 11,779 votes. He became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the Peach State since Bill Clinton in 1992.

Stacey Abrams learned the importance of voter turnout in 2018 when she ran as the Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia. Her Republican opponent, Brian Kemp, served as secretary of state and conducted massive voter purges while in office. By the end of 2017, Kemp had removed about 670,000 voters  ten percent of the total electorate He also flagged 53,000 voter registrations while citing a law that requires exact matches for a person based on state and Social Security records. According to Politifact, Mismatches occurred over differences as small as a hyphen. The Associated Press noted that a majority of the flagged voters were black. Kemp defeated Abrams by about 55,000 votes.

Should Abrams win the Nobel Prize, do you think Kemp and Trump will personally congratulate her?

**********

John J. Dunphy is an author, the Godfrey 15th Precinct Democratic Committeeperson and recording secretary for the Godfrey Democrats.
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Berlin, Feb 5 : If the current Covid-19 restrictions are eased, the reopening of schools and daycare facilities for children in Germany will be an absolute priority, Chancellor Angela Merkel said here.

"The first thing we will reopen will be daycare centres and primary schools," she told a group of parents during an online chat on Thursday.

Merkel was linked up via video with mothers and fathers from all over Germany, who talked about the weeks when the "balancing act between childcare and working from home was only possible with the greatest of difficulty", reports Xinhua news agency.

The Chancellor said she was well aware of the "exceptional situation", adding that she "would never have wished that I had to make such decisions".

According to Merkel, policymakers would try to ease the situation of parents by providing support benefits, such as child allowance.

Entitlement to a payment for parents who lose wages because they have to care for their sick child has also been expanded.

However, the Chancellor also asked for patience.

She said she could not yet give a timetable for when the situation in schools and daycare centers in Germany would return to normal.
A Central New York professor has launched a database of critical race theory (CRT) at colleges across America, saying he hopes to empower parents to avoid those schools.

William Jacobson, a conservative blogger and clinical professor of law at Cornell Law School, appeared on Fox News this week to promote his new website criticalrace.org. The site says its identified critical race training at more than 200 U.S. colleges and universities, including Cornell University, Syracuse University and more than 20 other higher education institutes in New York state.

The website is a resource for parents and students who no longer can assume they will be left alone ... the entire ideology of CRT and anti-racist training is that silence is violence, Jacobson told Fox News on Tuesday. As we head into college application and selection season, we need to get parents, in particular, to focus on CRT that will be forced on their kids.

The website describes CRT is an academic movement which seeks to link racism, race, and power. Jacobson says critical race theorists and anti-racist advocates argue that systemic racism has led to significantly different legal and economic outcomes between different racial groups.

He criticized colleges that, in the wake of George Floyds death and nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, have responded by changing admissions policies, implemented anti-racism and diversity training, instituted disciplinary measures for hate speech, and provided anti-racist resources, such as the books How to Be an Antiracist and White Fragility.

Cornell, for example, has offered a Diversity Entrepreneurship Program, proposed a new Antiracism Center, and requires staff to undergo training on Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

People need to understand that Higher Ed is the source of the problem, Jacobson told Fox News. It provides the ideological mothers milk for activists, and trains the people who then go onto jobs in government and primary/secondary education, and the journalists who push this coverage.

Former President Donald Trump similarly criticized CRT when he ordered all federal agencies to stop anti-bias trainings that rely on critical race theory or address white privilege.

I ended it because its racist, Trump said during the September presidential debate with now-President Joe Biden. We were paying people hundreds of thousands of dollars to teach very bad ideas and frankly, very sick ideas. And really, they were teaching people to hate our country, and Im not going to allow that to happen.

Social justice advocates, meanwhile, have applauded schools that have embraced diversity training and other initiatives as helping combat systemic racism.

Attorney M.E. Hart, who has conducted these types of training sessions, told The Washington Post that they helps live up to this nations promise  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

Priscilla Ocen, a professor at the Loyola Law School, told Time magazine that CRT is also an important step towards an egalitarian society that is just and inclusive.

In order to get there, we have to name the barriers to achieving a society that is inclusive, Ocen said in September. Our government at the moment is essentially afraid of addressing our history of inequality and if we cant address it, then we cant change it.

Since taking office, Biden has issued several executive orders aimed at racial justice, including revoking Trumps ban on diversity training and dissolving the 1776 Commission, which sought to downplay the role of slavery in American history through patriotic education programs.

Police in South Burlington have identified the suspect in a shooting inside the University Mall that injured a bystander.

Police said late Tuesday night that they were looking for 18-year-old Tyshane Smith. He fled the mall with his friends after the shooting Monday and left behind a pistol that authorities believe he used, police said.

The shooting happened during a dispute among a group of young men, police said.

A young man who was not part of the group was injured. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of a minor projectile injury, police said.
It takes a lot of bravery to keep a business going during a pandemic, but its an even tougher route to take when one decides to set up shop during these tough times. Perhaps what it takes is to do it with the right people. When interior design outfit Tanaw Studio dreamed up their company in 2019, they were hopeful and full of plans for their business. 2020 was supposed to be our big launch, says Arvin Alvarez, the companys multitasking administrative and marketing head.

By the time the ink had dried, they realized that the time could not have been worse: businesses were on the brink of shuttering, and no one was looking to hire interior designers. We regrouped after a while, Arvin recalls, We accepted that this is going to be a longer term situation, so we met about it and we decided to take the plunge. Together with Ella and Chelsea, we launched during lockdown.

It would be almost a year since Tanaw Studio opened its figurative doors, with three designers at the helm: Chelsea Magbanua, their de facto lead designer and a licensed interior designer; Ella Castaneda, an ace at realistic 3D renders; and Arvel Alvarez, who is usually in charge of sourcing and is known as the bridge of everyone on the team. With Arvel and Arvin as sisters, Magbanua and Arvel as high school friends, and Castaneda and Arvel meeting in college, its clear that familiar ties play a huge part in Tanaws identity.

Besides their junior designer, everyone on the team leads at least one project by themselves, but with everyone else pitching in to keep things moving. We wanna make sure na balanced lahat, Arvin explains. Kasi it might be too much of Ellas style or too much of Arvels style, so parang checks and balances lang to get our clients style and not too much of our personal biases.

Agility is key in Tanaw Studios workflow  while each designer helms one project, everyone pitches in to make sure that there is a good mix of creative perspectives. Photo courtesy of TANAW STUDIO

Since getting started last year, the team cites their project with content creator Rei Germar as one of their personal favorites. Germar had to move back to her family home due to the pandemic, and wanted to spruce up her childhood bedroom to reflect her current taste. Tanaw designed the room in what they considered a great marriage of midcentury modern, Germars personal style, and what they consider their own design sensibilities  including a lounge area with a custom cabinet for their clients collection of accessories.

For content creator Rei Germars bedroom reno, Tanaw Studio designed a lounge for her with a custom accessory cabinet. Photo courtesy of TANAW STUDIO

This is from my perspective [as a non-designer], so that hindi biased kasi galing sa kanila (Laughs), Arvin says. What I realized [is] that we do a lot of nooks. We specialize in that, your own space or even your own corner in your room. Thats what I notice in their design. Also, maraming Filipino accents. It doesnt matter what the main style is, nalalagyan nila ng local shops.

They go on to explain that the intention to incorporate local design pieces is more than aesthetic-driven, but as a way to support the community that they also rely on. Arvel explains: We still source from Shopee, Lazada, and bigger brands but we still try to go for indie brands na talagang alam namin produced locally. Lalo na yung mga rattan furniture and other decor pieces na handmade. Kasi we started during the pandemic, and we know how it feels to go through the pandemic as a business.

Their work setup is still far from ideal, because Tanaws temporary workspace is in a spare bedroom in the Alvarez sisters home. Castaneda lives in Bulacan, so to minimize her commute, she spends the weekdays there (Usually before working, I play with the dogs. Meron silang two dogs here. Yun na yung ritual ko, she says) while Magbanua works remotely. (I live in a house with my grandparents, so its very scary for me to go out.)

But while their dream office is still in the blueprint stages, the team says that they spend a lot of time imagining what that will look like  a space with lots of natural light, with a playroom to chill out, and even a kitchen so they can share meals with their future employees. I really want a place with a sign [with our name], Arvel says. Alam mo yung pag lalabas ka ng office mo, tapos uy! May sense of accomplishment.

A bedroom in a Tanaw Studio styling project in Makati. Photo courtesy of TANAW STUDIO

At the end of the day, what keeps Tanaw Studio going is that each one of them is working towards a common dream, while keeping in mind their own individual visions. Its the sauce that keeps them going, that pushed them to brave the world of start-ups in such a difficult time. And of course, its a chance to mix work and play with friends. We like chatting about random things we see on the internet, or this furniture that we like, or maybe something that wed like to be able to do, Magbanua says of their off-beat set up. And then we think of something na Oh, lets do this in the future! it escalates to [dreams] that are 50 years from now.

In their own words, Tanaw Studio talks about their workplace essentials, how they unwind during a long day, and their design tips on making workspaces conducive to productivity.

In our office we usually have lots of swatches for our clients, so meron kaming shelf here and we organize it. We also have a vision board for ourselves, Castaneda says.

The vision board just reminds us of what we want to achieve. We all have our own. Because before this interview, we talked to each other and apparently isa-isa meron din, says Arvin.

Each member of Tanaw Studio has a vision board. Photo by MARE COLLANTES

On how they de-stress during long work days, each member of the team has their preferences. I have a humidifier, because it actually helps me to calm down kasi ako yung laging nagpa-panic sa team. Ako yung natataranta lagi, so naglalagay ako ng essential oil dito. Castaneda says.

I have a lounge area for when I dont want to be seated on my office table, Magbanua says. I also have my piano keyboard with me, so when I need a break I just play. And then it helps me relax and get back into the zone. I also have my speakers, because I like to play music when Im working. It gets me into a different zone. I bought a pair of rollerskates. Ive been trying to find time to get better at it. So sometimes, during the workday, when I have to go from one place to another, thats when I find time to skate. So even if Im still working and I have to get something from another part of the room, thats just another way of adding joy to my day.

For a work from home set up, Tanaw Studio's Arvel Alvarez says, Have a specific place where you work and where you relax, if you have the space for it." (Right) Tanaw Studio lead designer Chelsea Magbanua purchased a pair of rollerskates to help her de-stress during busy days. Photos courtesy of MARE COLLANTES

Experts on making the most out of an existing space, Tanaw believes that a few tweaks can really make any room conducive to productivity. You have to allow yourself to make a mess, Castaneda says.

We learned that the hard way, because in the start ang gulo gulo talaga, Arvin says. We tried to organize it everyday, but it gets messy. At first it was annoying for us, siyempre kasi we work on different things. So we made space for it.

Magbanua says that because she didnt realize the quarantine would last so long, she didnt bother to invest in a proper office chair. I made a makeshift work area, I just had a table and a chair. I realized that the chair was too high for the table, after a few months I noticed that I was getting back pain. If its possible, if you can afford it to make sure that [your chair and table] are compatible in height, because its going to help your productivity as well.

Experts on making the most out of an existing space, Tanaw believes that a few tweaks can really make any room conducive to productivity. You have to allow yourself to make a mess, Ella Castaneda says.

Arvel advises, Have a specific place where you work and where you relax, if you have the space for it. If you dont, maybe just a simple change in lighting, like a yellow light would help you relax, and yung mas maputing ilaw will help with productivity. Sometimes, smells can help with calming down. So you can turn on your mood lights and your humidifier when youre ready to relax. Mahirap pag hindi defined yung work and relaxation mo.

Says Arvin, From my perspective naman, yung sinabi namin na we have a vision board of what we want to achieve and we have already done. With our temporary office at home, its hard to get away from it, but with a vision board you know where youre going and you know what your goals are. Its a good way to remind you.

In line with that, Chelsea adds, its good to fill your workspace with things that inspire you.
The NRL's gender advisor says she believes Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas shouldn't be suspended after he was given a good behaviour bond for threatening to assault a female police officer.

The 21-year-old was drinking with his pregnant girlfriend Leilani Moheno at Jack Evans Boat Harbour, in Tweed Heads, on January 16.

Three police officers approached him and asked for ID, but the young prop responded with an expletive-ridden outburst.

Haas was arrested and charged with using offensive language and two counts of intimidating police.

The NRL star was handed down a good behaviour bond on Thursday and no conviction was recorded, with the league's Catharine Lumby saying he shouldn't have to miss out on a game.

'I think that a good behaviour bond is totally appropriate because clearly he showed genuine remorse and of his own volition and apologised to the police,' she told the Daily Telegraph.

Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas (pictured outside court on Thursday) was given a two-year good behaviour order after pleading guilty to intimidating police

She said what happened was completely 'out of character' for the player but quickly found herself in hot water after bringing up cultural differences.

'While it is clear I am not suggesting that the majority of police are racist, it is true that people from some cultural backgrounds have sometimes had a history of distrust of the police which involves members of their family and their community and it can influence the way that they respond to police authority,' she said.

Dr Lumby stressed that she wasn't suggesting the encounter between Haas and the police was racially motivated but said there was a 'history' of this happening in other situations.

'But there is a history in some communities of having multiple adverse encounters with police and they may respond different to police authority than someone from an Anglo background. I do think that we need to be aware of that,' she said.

The confrontation between the police and Haas turned ugly when he was asked to show his ID, a court heard.

He first told Senior-Constable Anthony Attard to 'f**k off' and that he didn't need to provide his details.

NRL gender advisor, Catharine Lumby, said she believed Haas was genuinely remorseful and shouldn't be suspended

The officers tried to reason with Haas but he continued his rant, daring them to taser him, the court documents continued.

'You got a badge on and you think you're a tough f**king c**t. Let's get the f**k out of here. Just taser me you dumb c**t,' he said.

Officers warned Haas about his language, but he responded: 'Oh, f**k off, suck my d**k. I'll f**ken take youse all out, you're f**kwits.'

Haas then threatened to 'jab' Sen Con Attard if he came near him, before turning his attention to Constable Brittany Griffiths.

'Why you looking at me like that? Cause you're a woman you think I won't touch ya?' He said to the female officer.

Haas continued to argue with the officers until arriving at the watch house, where he calmed down and apologised, police said.

Haas (pictured, with partner Leilani Mohenoa) had been at Jack Evans Boat Harbour on Coral Street at Tweed Heads, on the New South Wales north coast when the incident with police unfolded

Police prosecutor Greg Huxtable dropped one charge of intimidating police after Haas agreed to plead guilty to the others in Tweed Heads Local Court on Thursday.

Haas said he regretted the foul-mouthed tirade and even voluntarily went to the Tweed Heads police station to apologise three days after.

In the wake of the shocking incident, Dr Lumby's comments have caused tension within the NRL and even NSW Police.

Speaking to 2GB's Ben Fordham on Friday morning, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said Dr Lumby provided advisory advice for the league on a pro bono basis, and was 'certainly not a spokesman for the NRL' or employed with them.

'This is not the views of the NRL. We will be making no excuses for any players who abuse police,' he said.

Mr Abdo said Haas will also be facing sanctions in the coming days.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller also weighed in on the matter, saying Dr Lumby had a 'shocker'.

'You'd have to be living under a rock not to know that policing in NSW and across Australia is very different to anywhere else in the world,' he told the breakfast radio show.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said no excuses would be made for players abusing police and Haas would face sanctions in the coming days

'I think that's a shocker of a comment to make.

'We won't be worried about culture, we won't be worried about gender if you break the law in NSW you will be punished.'

In response to the backlash, Dr Lumby said her comments had been taken out of context.

'I was very, very, clear that what he said was wrong and it was very offensive,' she told Mr Fordham.

She said she was 'pleased' to see how remorseful the Broncos star was but found his behaviour 'outrageous'.

'But I will stand by this, I believe people of certain cultures sometimes  have had experiences in their community which were adverse with policing.

'I am not saying police today go around being racist, I'm talking about history, so my comments were taken out of context but I stand by the broader point I was making.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  The Department of Health on Friday said hospitals and local government units will be required to come up with a list of back-up vaccine recipients to anticipate the possibility of Filipinos suddenly backing out or missing their immunization schedule.

Health Department spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said preparing the list and having an alternate on standby will prevent coronavirus vaccines from going to waste.

"Nangyayari po ito ngayon sa iba-ibang bansa na on the day itself, hindi nagsho-show up for the appointments or biglang umaatras 'yung mga recipients. So kailangan, meron silang nakatalaga na mga alternative na mga recipients kung sakaling magkakaroon tayo ng pagtanggi during the vaccination day itself," she said in a media briefing. "The government will not allow wastage for these very valuable technology or vaccine."

[Translation: In other countries, some do not show up on the day of appointment or they suddenly back out. So they should assign an alternate if the original recipients back out on the day of vaccination.

The government issued a list of sectors to be prioritized for the vaccination program. Medical frontliners, professional and non-professional health workers, senior citizens, and people with co-morbidities will be first in line to get the vaccines.

Vergeire said the assigned alternates will still follow the priority list.

"Kung tumanggi ang isang kasama sa ospital, mayroon tayong ihahanda na next in line from the community who are also healthcare workers na dapat nakaabang na sila kung sakaling may tumanggi, sila ang bibigyan," she added.

[Translation: If one hospital worker suddenly refuses to get vaccinated, we have someone in the community  who is also a healthcare worker. They should be on standby to receive the vaccines.]

The first batch of vaccine shipment is set to arrive in February through the COVAX facility led by the World Health Organization. WHO recommended using the first tranche of 117,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines on healthcare workers.

The Health Department said there are so far 116,000 healthcare workers in Metro Manila who are eligible to receive free vaccines from the government. DOH's Dr. Nikka Hao of the COVID-19 Surveillance and Quick Action Unit, said this is an initial figure as the registration is ongoing.

The government is building a COVID-19 electronic immunization registry, where it will compile all the names of people eligible to receive the jabs. The priority are frontliners in COVID-19 referral hospitals. Next are those assigned in quarantine and isolation centers, and all other workers from public and private hospitals.

Vergeire said those in Metro Manila will be vaccinated first as the capital region remains to be the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yung ating burden of disease across different regions, NCR (National Capital Region) is the topmost. Thats why NCR was identified," she said.

CNN Philippines correspondent Melissa Lopez contributed to this report.
Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP (3), Getty Images

Censorship online by Big Tech is a bad idea, in large part because its a distraction from the problem of how social media companies promote, spread and amplify harmful information, according to author Peter Pomerantsev.

Its ridiculous to think that you can regulate the billions of things people say every day, or that we should, or that its even feasible. So I dont think thats the way forward, Pomerantsev said in an interview on The Long Game, a Yahoo News podcast. Therell be a way to get out of the whole tricky thing of taking one comment down or leaving it up.

The way out, he said, is through forcing the tech companies to be transparent about how they are manipulating the spread of information, and holding them accountable to prevent public harms.

Pomerantsev is a Russian-born journalist now based in London whose parents were hounded by the KGB secret police in Soviet Russia. His book This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality argues that phrases like freedom of expression have been hacked by authoritarian leaders and governments like Vladimir Putin in Russia and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines.

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Authoritarians use freedom of speech as an excuse to spread massive amounts of disinformation at the click of a button, while employing online mobs and troll farms to drown out and intimidate critical voices and obscure truth. This constitutes a sort of censorship through noise, Pomerantsev and two others wrote in a recent article for the London School of Economics Institute of Global Affairs, where he is a visiting senior fellow.

But countering autocrats doesnt have to mean removing the posts of ordinary people or taking them off their preferred social media platforms, he said, which has become a growing concern among many Republicans.

Peter Pomerantsev delivers a speech at the NSC Olimpiyskiy in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Hennadii Minchenko/ Ukrinform/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

We thought that for a long time, the federal government is infuriating, Tucker Carlson said on Fox News Wednesday. The bigger threat to your family turned out to be huge publicly held corporations, particularly the tech monopolies.

Story continues

In fact, focus on censorship and cancel culture actually distracts from solving the problem of disinformation  and all the chaos and confusion and real-world harm it brings with it  in a way that preserves free speech, Pomerantsev said.

A lot of the virality is amplified artificially. Thats kind of how a lot of these platforms were designed, he said. That kind of artificial amplification I think really has to end.

Fake amplification  everything from gaming algorithms and search engine optimization through to amplification through coordinated inauthentic activity  I think that probably has to end if the internet is going to be a just reflection of society and not this kind of weird funhouse mirror that distorts everything, Pomerantsev said.

One of the first steps toward reducing disinformation is algorithm transparency: revealing how the social media and Big Tech companies engineer which information rises to the top and is seen by large numbers of people. Google, Facebook and TikTok have all taken some recent steps in this direction, Axios reported this week, but it was voluntary and most experts think this issue needs to be overseen by government regulators.

When Trumps people would say, Google pushes conservative views right down, liberal news up, we dont know because Google has not shown anyone its formulas that shape search results, Pomerantsev said. Thats ridiculous.

Googleplex, corporate headquarters of Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., in Mountain View, Calif. (Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Carlson addressed the same root cause on his show. Twitter refuses to release data on who it bans, he said.

Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., sent letters to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in late January urging the companies to address the fundamental design features of their social networks that facilitate the spread of extreme, radicalizing content to their users. The letters were co-signed by 38 other House Democrats.

The lawmakers drew a straight line between the focus of social media companies on maximizing user engagement and the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 by Trump supporters who believed the former presidents lies about the 2020 election.

The rioters who attacked the Capitol earlier this month were radicalized in part in digital echo chambers that these platforms designed, built, and maintained, and that the platforms are partially responsible for undermining our shared sense of objective reality, for intensifying fringe political beliefs, for facilitating connections between extremists, leading some of them to commit real-world, physical violence, Malinowski and Eshoo wrote.

The lawmakers cited a Wall Street Journal investigation from last May that revealed Facebook knew in 2018 that its algorithms sometimes radicalized its users, but did not take action to reduce this because it would reduce profits. Our algorithms exploit the human brains attraction to divisiveness, a presentation created internally said, noting that the company was serving more and more divisive content in an effort to gain user attention and increase time on the platform.

Malinowski and Eshoo have proposed a change to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act  a law targeted for reform by conservatives as well  that would hold tech companies accountable for content they proactively promote for business reasons, if doing so leads to specific offline harms.

Malinowski said in a hearing this week that this is a solution that Republicans and Democrats should be able to agree on. We can believe that the biggest problem is on the right, on the far right or on the far left  it doesnt matter. We can debate that. Whichever of those things you believe you should be for this, because the mechanism works the same way. It pushes people on the left further left. It pushes people on the right further right, until they reach an extreme.

Rep. Tom Malinowski in 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)

Pomerantsev pointed to the United Kingdoms approach, which says  in his words  that companies have to think about the harms they cause, and those harms could be around public health or some forms of personal abuse.

And the question is what are the companies doing  almost like in a health and safety kind of regime  to mitigate that? So are their algorithms making it too easy for people to bully others or to harass them? Pomerantsev said. Are the way their systems are designed making it too easy to spread this information thats dangerous to peoples health?

The British have said there needs to be a regulator thats making a judgment about whether theyre doing enough around those issues, and are working to set up a system in which Ofcom, its communications regulator, could issue fines if the companies are found at fault.

The tech companies have lobbied the British government against giving Ofcom punitive regulatory powers.

But as Pomerantsev wrote in his book and expounded on in his interview with Yahoo News, the Big Tech companies have acquired so much information about their users  which is most people  that there is a real question about whether they are infringing upon freedom of thought.

To some degree our private thoughts, creative impulses, and senses of self are shaped by information forces greater than ourselves, he wrote in This Is Not Propaganda.

Are they actually invading your freedom of thought? Are they actually crossing the line of you, and then using it against you? he said. What is that line of our unconscious that deserves to be protected?

____

Read more from Yahoo News:
Pregnant women in Alabama will be eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine, if they choose to, in Phase 1C.

This includes those 65 years old and older, individuals 16-years-old to 64-years-old with any high-risk medical conditions and pregnant women, according to Alabama's Department of Public Health.

There are limited studies on pregnant women and the coronavirus vaccine.

Dr. Jessica Grayson, with the University of Alabama Birmingham, said during FDA hearings, some women that recieved the vaccine, were pregnant.

"Moderna had about 13 people in their study who were pregnant," Dr. Delaney said. "Six of them in their vaccine group, all of which who are still pregnant, [had] no complicating side effects."

Dr. Grayson spoke with her medical provider on what to do. She said her advice to other pregnant women is to not feel guilty for questioning whether or not to take the vaccine.

She said a lot went in to her decision to get vaccinated.

"My husband can't get vaccinated," said Dr. Grayson. "My high-risk parents who will likely will come and help, when the baby is born. I'm their biggest risk, if I get them sick or loose potential help."

Dr. Grayson also looked at her risk factors as a medical professional.

"Currently, the thought is that pregnant women are at five times higher risk to have a severe COVID reaction," said Dr. Grayson.

When you're pregnant, you have a reduced lung volume, Dr. Grayson said. This means that pregnant women could be at a greater risk of being on a ventilator.

She said another thing she considered is what the vaccine could do for her unborn child.

Dr. Grayson said there's also a chance you could give your antibodies to your child while you're pregnant, if you get vaccinated.

The best way to go about the decision on getting the coronavirus vaccine or not, is to speak with your medical provider. Dr. Grayson urges expecting mothers to not turn to the internet for answers.
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan on Friday blamed Chinese "bullying" for Guyana's decision to revoke a deal for the island to open a representative office in the South American country, saying it had tried without success to get Guyana to change its mind.

Taiwan had already begun initial operations at the office, in effect a de facto embassy, last month. It had been welcomed by Washington and condemned by Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said that because of Chinese pressure Guyana had "unilaterally" decided to back out of the deal, and Taiwan expressed deep regret it was unable to get the decision reversed.

"We express our strongest dissatisfaction and condemnation of the Chinese government once again bullying and compressing Taiwan's international space and Taiwan's participation in international affairs," the ministry said.

China's continued efforts to isolate Taiwan in the international arena runs counter to declarations by its leaders that it is against bullying and that "no one with thick arms and big fists has the final say", it added.

"The Chinese government's way of saying one thing and doing another will only highlight its evil nature."

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Guyana's "timely correcting of its mistake" would benefit their relations.

"Taiwan's separatist actions and botched performances do not enjoy popular support, their ugly features laid bare, doomed to become a laughing stock," he added.

China has gradually whittled away at the number of countries which still maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and now only 14 do, almost all developing countries including Haiti, Nicaragua and tiny Nauru in the Pacific.

The United States has been particularly concerned at China's efforts to grab Taiwanese allies in Latin America and the Caribbean, a traditional area of influence for Washington, and has accused China of offering economic inducements to seek domination.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Gabriel Crossley in Beijing; Editing by Michael Perry and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
press release

Statement by USAID Acting Administrator Gloria Steele

Office of Press Relations

press@usaid.gov

As President Biden made clear in his remarks today, it is a new day for USAID, the United States, and the world.

Moral leadership must be the foundation of U.S. foreign policy. International development assistance is an instrumental tool in promoting U.S. national security interests, restoring U.S. moral leadership, and demonstrating American values. USAID is ready to lead the global response to multiple crises we face today, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and threats to democracy and human rights.

As our assistance proclaims "from the American people," USAID programming promotes American interests and advances America's role as a leader on the global stage. Our foreign assistance helps build a safer and more prosperous world, which in turn leads to a safer, more prosperous America.

USAID has the tools and the expertise to lead. Our passionate, dedicated staff is committed to doing this hard work on behalf of the American people. As we enter our 60th year in existence, we will continue our work saving lives and advocating for those facing hunger and poverty around the globe.



PEP 11 Drilling

Perth, Feb 5, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - BPH Energy Limited ( ASX:BPH ) wishes to advise that investee Advent Energy Ltd has on behalf of the PEP11 joint venture submitted to the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) an application to extend the PEP11 permit offshore NSW. (Advent, through wholly owned subsidiary Asset Energy Pty Ltd, holds an 85% interest and is operator of the permit. Bounty Oil and Gas NL ( ASX:BUY ) holds the remaining 15%).The application has been made under the COVID-19 -Work Bid Exploration Permits announcement released by the Federal Government on 20th April 2020.In that release the Government recognised the that the COVID-19 pandemic was having a significant impact on the offshore petroleum sector and that additional flexibility would be required to assist titleholders to manage the COVID -19 crisis. The Joint Authority confirmed in that release that it regarded the COVID-19 pandemic as a force majeure event.The application for a 24 month suspension of the Permit Year 4 work program commitments, with a corresponding 24 month extension of the permit term and was accepted for processing by NOPTA on 4th Feb 2021.BPH has an interest of 22.7 % in Advent Energy Ltd. MEC Resources Ltd (ASX MMR) holds an interest in Advent. Advent holds an 85% interest in the PEP11 permit.Bounty Oil and Gas NL ( ASX:BUY ) holds a 15% direct interest in PEP11 and the joint venture.About BPH Energy Limited

BPH Energy Limited (ASX:BPH) is an Australian Securities Exchange listed company developing biomedical research and technologies within Australian Universities and Hospital Institutes.

The company provides early stage funding, project management and commercialisation strategies for a direct collaboration, a spin out company or to secure a license.

BPH provides funding for commercial strategies for proof of concept, research and product development, whilst the institutional partner provides infrastructure and the core scientific expertise.

BPH currently partners with several academic institutions including The Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research and Swinburne University of Technology (SUT).


FM keeps income tax slabs intact, exempts senior citizens from filing returns

The finance minister has decided against tax exemptions and tax reliefs to individual taxpayers, but provided relief to senior citizens in filing of income tax returns, reduced time limit for income tax proceedings, announced the setting up of a Dispute Resolution Committee, a faceless ITAT, relaxation to NRIs, increase in exemption limit from audit and relief for dividend income.

She also announced steps to attract foreign investment into infrastructure, relief to affordable housing and rental housing, tax incentives to IFSC, relief to small charitable trusts, and steps for incentivising start-ups in the country.

Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, said that post-pandemic, a new world order seems to be emerging and India will have a leading role therein. In this scenario, she said, the tax system has to be transparent, efficient and should promote investment and employment in the country. At the same time, she said, it should put minimum burden on the tax payers. She said the government had introduced a series of reforms for the benefit of tax payers and the economy, including slashing of corporate tax rate, abolition of dividend distribution tax, and increasing of rebate for small tax payers. In the year 2020, the income tax return filers saw a dramatic increase to 64.8 million from 33.1 million in 2014.

The Budget seeks to reduce compliance burden on senior citizens who are of 75 years of age and above. Such senior citizens having only pension and interest income will be exempted from filing their income tax return. The paying bank will deduct the necessary tax on their income.

The budget proposes to notify rules for removing the hardship of non-resident Indians returning to India on the issue of their accrued incomes in their foreign retirement account. The Budget proposes to make dividend payment to REIT/InvIT exempt from TDS. For foreign portfolio investors, the Budget proposes deduction of tax on dividend income at lower treaty rate.

The Budget provides that advanced tax liability on dividend income shall arise only after the declaration or payment of dividend. The minister said that this was being done as the amount of dividend income cannot be estimated correctly by the shareholders for paying advance tax.

Sitaraman proposed to extend the eligibility period for claim of additional deduction for interest of Rs1.5 lakh paid on loan taken for purchase of an affordable house to 31 March 2022. In order to increase the supply of affordable houses, she also announced extension of eligibility period for claiming tax holiday for affordable housing projects by one more year to 31 March 2022. For promoting supply of affordable rental housing for the migrant workers, the minister announced a new tax exemption for the notified affordable rental housing projects.

In order to incentivise start ups in the country, Sitharaman announced extension in the eligibility for claiming tax holiday for start ups by one more year till 31 March 2022. In order to incentivise funding of start ups, she proposed extending the capital gains exemption for investment in start-ups by one more year till 31 March 2022.

The finance minister said that delay in deposit of the contribution of employees towards various welfare funds results in permanent loss of interest/income for the employees. In order to ensure timely deposit of employees contribution to these funds by the employers, she announced that late deposit of employees contribution shall never be allowed as deduction to the employer.

In order to reduce compliance burden, the Budget provides for reduction in the time-limit for reopening of income tax proceeding for three years from the present six years. In serious tax evasion cases, where there is evidence of concealment of income of Rs50 lakh or more in a year, the assessment can be reopened up to 10 years but only after the approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner.

Stating the resolve of the government to reduce litigation in the taxation system, the finance minister said that the Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Scheme announced by the government has been received well. Until 30 January 2021, over 1,10,000 tax payers have opted to settle tax dispute of over Rs85,000 crore under the scheme. To further reduce litigation of small tax payers, she proposed to constitute a Dispute Resolution Committee. Anyone with a taxable income up to Rs50 lakh and disputed income of up to Rs10 lakh shall be eligible to approach the committee. She also announced the setting up of Faceless Income Tax Appellate Tibunal Centre.

To incentivise digital transaction and to reduce the compliance burden of the person who is carrying almost all of the transactions digitally, the budget proposes to increase the limit for tax audit for persons who are undertaking 95 per cent of their transaction digitally from Rs5 crore to Rs10 crore.

To attract foreign investment into infrastructure sector, the budget proposes to relax certain conditions relating to prohibition on private funding, restriction on commercial activities and direct investment in infrastructure. In order to allow funding of infrastructure by issue of zero coupon bonds, the budget proposes to make notified infrastructure debt funds eligible to raise funds by issuing tax efficient zero coupon bonds.

In order to promote International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in GIFT City, the budget proposes more tax incentives.

The budget proposes that details of capital gains from listed securities, dividend income and interest from banks, post office etc will also be pre-filled to ease filing of returns. Details of salary income, tax payment, TDS etc already come pre-filled in returns.

In order to reduce compliance burden on the small charitable trust running educational institutions and hospitals, the budget proposes to increase the limit on annual receipts for these trusts from present Rs1 crore to Rs5 crore for non-applicability of various compliances.

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an interview with AFP called on Russia to "listen to the people" after protests over the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Tikhanovskaya, whose husband was imprisoned in Belarus last year after trying to register as a presidential candidate, also drew a parallel between her fate and that of Navalny's wife Yulia.

She urged her to "hold on, fight and have faith".

"When they imprison our husbands for their campaigning and their desire to improve life in our countries, we wives can only stand in their place and support them how we can," she said.

She said Russia's leadership should "above all listen to the people, to their demands, find out what's wrong and try to resolve this in a civilised way, without batons or stun guns".

The imprisonment of Navalny, a campaigner who has accused President Vladimir Putin of corruption, has led to a wave of protests across Russia that have been harshly put down by the authorities.

Putin is a close ally of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an authoritarian leader who was re-elected for a sixth time last year in an election that the EU considers illegitimate.

Tikhanovskaya, who also claimed victory in that vote, fled to neighbouring Lithuania amid a bloody crackdown on mass demonstrations against Lukashenko.

- 'The regime will collapse' -

Speaking ahead of the six-month anniversary of the start of the demonstrations in her own country, Tikhanovskaya said there was evidence that Belarus's political system "is shaking".

Tikhanovskaya said Russia's leadership should "above all listen to the people, to their demands, find out what's wrong and try to resolve this in a civilised way, without batons or stun guns" /  AFP/File

"The regime will collapse from within," she said, pointing in particular to a growing number of law enforcement officials leaking information about alleged human rights violations by police.

"It won't happen by magic. Belarusians have to do this step by step, constantly keep up the pressure... It is the only way," she said.

She also repeated her calls for additional "heavy and wide-ranging" EU sanctions on Belarus, saying that existing ones had been "very measured and this has disappointed many Belarusians".

Tikhanovskaya and her team have set up an online public database for recording possible human rights violations by Belarusian authorities that she hopes will eventually lead to prosecutions.

EU member Lithuania has already begun an investigation under universal jurisdiction and Tikhanovskaya said she hoped more countries would follow suit.

"You can help by showing the regime that we are watching, we are monitoring, we are exercising pressure on this lawlessness," she said.

Tikhanovskaya is calling for new elections in Belarus in which Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, would not be allowed to stand.

Lukashenko has ruled out fresh elections.

- 'He has faith in me' -

The 38-year-old mother of two, who only stood for election when her husband was prevented from doing so, has previously ruled out standing in any fresh elections, but now says it is possible.

"If I am needed at that moment, if I am useful to Belarusians as a politician, a young one, then of course I will be there.

"But if I understand that everything is in safe hands... I would go back to a normal life with a clear conscience with my children and my husband."

For now, her husband Sergei, a popular blogger, remains in prison on charges of organising unrest and the two have to communicate through a lawyer.

"We can't call or see each other, we just send each other letters" carried by the lawyer.

"It's been eight months so of course he's tired... But he's holding up. He has faith in Belarusians and he has faith in me."
1. Yes. The public must have assurances that ethical standards are met by everyone.

2. Yes. As long as an independent board hears the grievances, its a worthwhile idea.

3. No. The concept is too broad. It should be limited to the citys elected officials.

4. No. There are plenty of stipulations in place already. An ordinance is a waste of time.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say without seeing how it would be structured and applied.

Vote

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Hall County's

Chattahoochee River

University of North Georgia

Catlin "Cat" Corrales

Dale Caldwell

Gainesville

ESA

Costa Rica

(TNS)  Assessing and improving the quality ofwater resource, the, just became a little easier thanks to an app developed by astudent., who studies environmental spatial analysis, created a geographic information systems platform to help Chattahoochee Riverkeeper plot sites for its Neighborhood Water Watch and classify the location's safety., the nonprofit's headwaters director, said the program involves volunteers taking samples from local creeks and streams each week. Those water specimens are then analyzed by interns in the organization's laboratory for turbidity, conductivity, optical brighteners and E. coli. Any found threats are then addressed by Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.Although collecting samples may seem straightforward, Caldwell said oftentimes volunteers may visit a site that's unsafe, such as an area near heavy traffic.Through Corrales' app, he said volunteers and staff can drop a pin and indicate whether or not a place is ideal for taking samples. The platform also gives Caldwell a better idea of where to send volunteers."It's going to be tied to our internal map, so when staff or volunteers are out and about, they can use the app to grade the site based on safety assessment," Caldwell said. "If a new volunteer wants to be a part of the program, I can find out where they live and where it makes sense for them to sample in the watershed."Corrales said her connection with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper began when she interned last summer at the nonprofit's headwaters location in. During the fall 2020 semester, she took a data acquisition and management class, which she said equipped her with the skills to develop the GIS app for the organization.Caldwell said he expects to begin using the app immediately now that it is integrated with the nonprofit's master map."I think one of the things I'm most excited about too is furthering our (Chattahoochee Riverkeeper's) relationship with UNG's(environmental spatial analysis) department," he said.Since childhood, Corrales said she has been passionate about conservation. Growing up, her mother, who is from, taught her about the human-caused threats to the Amazon rain forest and how certain actions can harm the earth."It was something that was implanted in me," she said. "I grew up with that in my head."Corrales said she originally wanted to pursue a career in environmental studies and conservation, but suffered a spinal injury that now limits her ability to walk long distances and carry equipment. When she heard about UNG's environmental spatial analysis program, she said it seemed like the perfect fit."It's a great way for me to do the conservation work that I like without having to do the field work I could not," she said.Once she graduates from UNG with her bachelor's, Corrales said she intends to pursue a master's degree and later work at a nonprofit or conservation organization where she can contribute her GIS background.For more information about UNG's environmental spatial analysis program, visit ung.edu
L.A. County Supervisors Hear Options For Removing Sheriff

Los Angeles County supervisors were briefed today on four legal options for removing Sheriff Alex Villaneuva from his elected post, but it was not clear if the board is ready to take action. Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and former Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas first called on county attorneys in October to spell out their options for playing hardball with the sheriff.

Then last week, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced he was launching an investigation into whether there is a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. It seems that a majority of the board is now willing to wait and see how that investigation  which will certainly take many months, if not years  plays out. Villanueva will be up for reelection in 2022.

County Counsel Rodrigo Castro-Silva laid out the boards alternatives, including an amendment to the county charter, a recall, an accusation by a civil grand jury of willful or corrupt misconduct followed by a jury trial, or an action by the states attorney general challenging the sheriffs right to hold his post.

Supervisor Hilda Solis, the boards current chair, noted that to date, the board has sued the sheriff, held back funding and granted subpoena power to watchdog dog agencies to strengthen oversight.

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I welcome this investigation as a continuation of the boards continued effort to hold the department accountable for its actions and inactions against the residents of L.A. County, Solis said, referring to the AGs announcement. Solis also highlighted that voters have the power to remove the sheriff when he comes up for reelection, a point that Supervisors Janice Hahn and Kathryn Barger have stressed in previous meetings. Barger reiterated that position Tuesday.

I remove opposed to taking action to unilaterally remove the sheriff or changing policies to instead have that position be appointed, Barger said. Its not our jurisdiction to take power away from the people. Barring a community-led recall vote, Barger said she would leave it up to the AG to take swift action if the investigation warrants.

Supervisor Holly Mitchell, the newest member of the board, said it was painful to listen to the particulars of Becerras announcement and underscored what she characterized as a loss of trust in the sheriff.

Complaints from the community about the excessive use of force and deputy-involved gangs, which have plagued the department for decades, have increased in the wake of fatal shootings of several well-known names here in L.A. County, Mitchell said. For his part, the sheriff has said he also welcomes Becerras involvement.

Our department may finally have an impartial, objective assessment of our operations, and recommendations on any areas we can improve our service to the community, he said in a statement last week, promising to grant the AGs office immediate access to all information. Given three minutes to speak earlier in the board meeting, Villanueva pointed to what he called an epidemic of gun violence and a 36% increase in homicides in 2020 and a 162% jump in the first three weeks of the new year.

Thats almost one life lost every day to violence in our communities, Villanueva said. And the challenges faced in my department are unheard of in past administrations. He said hes working on new investigative protocols for critical incidents.

The well-funded and coordinated effort to de-legitimize the entire profession of law enforcement only adds to fuel to the fire of rising violence seen in our communities, the sheriff said. In spite of all the worn-out accusations of being against transparency and accountability, I can say that being sheriff is all about doing both, while preserving the rights of all.He thanked the supervisors who met with him over the past few months and Mitchell in particular for meeting with him, something he said her predecessor, Ridley-Thomas, had been unwilling to do.

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Mitchell later said no one should assume that her perspective on the sheriffs performance was changed by a single meeting and added that it is imperative that the department cooperate with the Civilian Oversight Commission and the Office of Inspector General. However, she also seemed content to let the AGs investigation proceed before reconsidering options.

I will be monitoring it closely, and hopefully, we will then have an opportunity to revisit our options for ensuring a stronger, more permanent sense of accountability once the attorney generals investigation is completed, Mitchell said. Even before Becerras announcement, the sheriff had been under legal pressure to provide more information to county agencies he has previously dismissed as tools of the board.

After being threatened with a contempt order, he appeared before the COC last week to update the group on COVID-19 in the jails. Despite the COCs earlier call for Villanueva to resign and the sheriffs acrimonious comments about the commission, that discussion was cordial.

Kuehl said she would continue to look closely at the possibilities. Two options would likely need to meet a standard of criminal action or at least legal malfeasance, while the other two would require voter approval and significant community or legislative support to even get the appropriate ballot measures in place.

Most of (the options) look like a heavy lift to me, but that doesnt mean that they wouldnt be possible, Kuehl said. Given her colleagues comments, its not clear that Kuehl could garner sufficient support for additional action.It is not possible to bring a motion right away today, she said. The board voted to receive the county counsels report. No written record of the report was provided as part of the agenda.

Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States

TORONTO, Feb. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Giyani Metals Corp. (TSXV:EMM, GR:A2DUU8) ("Giyani" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an operations and corporate update for its K.Hill Manganese Project (K.Hill) in Southern Botswana.

Robin Birchall, CEO of the Company commented:

"We are very pleased to bring the market up to date on a number of operational and corporate activities. Concurrent to the ongoing K.Hill feasibility study, which is expected later this year, we are working on a further revision to the PEA. This updated version contains a modified, simpler processing strategy to produce HPMSM, rather than HPEMM as per the current PEA. The updated strategy is an end-market driven decision, which we believe is a positive development for K.Hill.

We are also very happy with the results of the work conducted by Terravision at K.Hill and also the proof-of-concept study carried out at the Otse prospect.

Update on K.Hill Studies

Concurrent to the ongoing feasibility study (FS), expected later this year, the Company is currently undertaking an update of the K.Hill preliminary economic assessment (PEA) to produce High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate (HPMSM), rather than High Purity Electrolytic Manganese Metal (HPEMM). The updated PEA released on 28 April 2020 (2020 PEA), assumed 100% production of HPEMM. The reason for the change is following feedback from independent market research, supported by direct discussions with potential end buyers. They have indicated that as the high purity manganese market grows, due to greater electric vehicle adoption, demand growth will be heavily skewed towards HPMSM. The revised PEA will also include an updated Mineral Resource estimate, following the ongoing drilling work completed to date and the results from an enhanced ground penetrating radar (GPRplus) survey.

Ground Penetrating Radar Geophysical Survey Complete

In Q4 2020, the Company appointed Terravision Intelligent Exploration (Terravision) to conduct a GPRplus survey. The survey was used to quantify the extent of historically mined artisanal tunnels (Historical Tunnels) at K.Hill. This information is required for the K.Hill geological block model to determine the depletion factor to the Mineral Resource estimate.

In addition, Terravision conducted a proof-of-concept study on Giyanis Otse prospect, using GPRplus as a low cost, rapid-feedback exploration tool. This is because the near-surface manganese oxide mineralization at Otse, unlike that of K.Hill, occurs in high grade pods. The results from the proof-of-concept study at Otse clearly identified the density differences between the mineralisation and the lower density host rock. Following these positive results, the Company plans to initiate a GPRplus survey across the wider Otse prospect area. The results of this survey will be used to better inform the forthcoming drill program planned for Otse. The Company will update the market on this in due course.

Appointment of Hydrometallurgical Laboratory

The Company has appointed both Mintek and Vietti Slurrytec to conduct hydrometallurgical (Hydromet) laboratory work, pursuant to the FS workstreams. The samples for the Hydromet work were drilled in Q4 2020 during the K.Hill infill drilling program. All samples have been bagged and shipped to Mintek in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mintek will cover all stages of the Hydromet work, except for the solid-liquid separation analysis, which will be conducted by Vietti Slurrytec. Completion of both workstreams is expected in Q2 2021.

Dataroom Access

Pursuant to seeking project financing in due course, the Company has signed an NDA with a large global commercial lending bank institution which is currently accessing the Companys dataroom.

Update on Rock Island Sale

As previously announced in relation to the Companys disposal of its non-core gold assets in South Africa, Giyani agreed to acquire all of the shares it did not own in Lexshell 837 (Pty) Ltd. in order to consolidate 100% ownership in that company. The final installment of 832,666 common shares of Giyani was conditional on the completion of the sale of its South African gold assets to Corridor Mining Resources Proprietary Limited (CMR), which has not yet been completed. As that sale remains pending, Giyani and the Lexshell vendor have agreed to complete the Lexshell sale for a cash consideration of C$45,000 as a full and final settlement in lieu of the issuance of Giyani common shares.

Giyani continues to pursue the outstanding ZAR6,370,031 owed to the Company by CMR, of which ZAR300,000 has been received so far in staged payments.

About Giyani

Giyani Metals Corp. is a mineral resource company focused on the development of its K.Hill, Lobatse & Otse manganese oxide projects in the Kanye Basin, Botswana, Africa. The Company's flagship K.Hill Manganese Project is a near-surface deposit currently going through a feasibility study to produce high-purity electrolytic manganese metal and manganese sulphate, both key cathode ingredients for batteries in the expanding electric vehicle (EV) market.]

Additional information and corporate documents may be found on www.sedar.com and on Giyani Metals Corp. Website: https://giyanimetals.com/.

About Terravision

Terravision Intelligent Exploration is a UK based private exploration services company, who is a leader in the use of enhanced ground penetrating radar, known as GPRplus, in mineral exploration. GPRplus is a ground-scanning device, which verifies and investigates the presence of mineral resources and geological features, by detecting differences in ground density, up to a depth of 200m. For more information visit https://www.terravisionradar.com/mining

About Mintek

Mintek is South Africas national mineral research organisation and is one of the worlds leading specialists in mineral processing, extractive metallurgy, and related areas. Mintek works closely with industry and other R&D institutions and provides service testwork, process development and optimisation, consulting and innovative products to clients worldwide. For more information visit https://www.mintek.co.za

About Vietti SlurryTec

Vietti Slurrytec are metallurgical specialists in dewatering and separation of clay containing slurries. For over 25 years, the company has worked to provide suitable process design and control philosophy to improve process efficiency and lower operation costs for its clients.

For more information visit https://www.viettislurrytec.com/

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Giyani Metals Corp.

Robin Birchall, CEO

Contact:

Robin Birchall CEO, Director

+44 7711 313019

rbirchall@giyanimetals.com

Thomas Horton

VP, Business Development

+44 7866 913207

thorton@giyanimetals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

The securities described herein have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. persons," as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act ("U.S. Persons"), except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's securities to, or for the account of benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. Persons.

Forward Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Giyani expects to occur, are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "does not expect", "plans", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. Specific forward-looking statements and forward-looking information herein includes completion of receipt of TSXV approval for the private placement and completion of the private placement.

All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of the relevant management as of the date such statements are made and are subject to certain assumptions, important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Giyani's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In the case of Giyani, these facts include their anticipated operations in future periods, planned exploration and development of its properties, and plans related to its business and other matters that may occur in the future. This information relates to analyses and other information that is based on expectations of future performance and planned work programs.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation: inherent exploration hazards and risks; risks related to exploration and development of natural resource properties; uncertainty in Giyani's ability to obtain funding; commodity price fluctuations; recent market events and conditions; risks related to the uncertainty of mineral resource calculations and the inclusion of inferred mineral resources in economic estimation; risks related to governmental regulations; risks related to obtaining necessary licenses and permits; risks related to their business being subject to environmental laws and regulations; risks related to their mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers, or claims and other defects in title; risks relating to competition from larger companies with greater financial and technical resources; risks relating to the inability to meet financial obligations under agreements to which they are a party; ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; and risks related to their directors and officers becoming associated with other natural resource companies which may give rise to conflicts of interests. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect Giyani's forward-looking information. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking information or statements.

Giyani's forward-looking information is based on the reasonable beliefs, expectations and opinions of their respective management on the date the statements are made, and Giyani does not assume any obligation to update forward looking information if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions change, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. For a complete discussion with respect to Giyani and risks associated with forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, please refer to Giyani's financial statements and related MD&A, all of which are filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP)  U.S. Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama has indicated to some confidantes that he doesn't intend to run for reelection next year.

Some Republicans are urging the chamber's fourth most senior member to reconsider. Others are preparing to run for his seat.

The information comes from allies of the senator who are not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Shelby spokeswoman Blair Taylor said Shelby has not announced a decision about 2022 election but should do so in the coming weeks.
New variants of COVID-19 found in recent cases

The Manx Government has confirmed new variants of COVID-19 were found in recent cases on the Island.

Director of Public Health Dr Henrietta Ewart confirmed genomic sequencing results found five cases of the UK-Kent variant and one case of the South African case.

Dr Ewart said they were all picked up in returning travellers.
DON EMMERT

The New York Times on Friday announced the ouster of science and health reporter Donald McNeil Jr., who The Daily Beast reported had allegedly used racist language while on a 2019 trip with students to Peru.

McNeil, formerly the paper of records top reporter on COVID-19, leaves amid fallout from an incident that occurred during a Times-sponsored educational trip to Peru when he used the n-word and made other racist comments, according to complaints first reported by The Daily Beast. At least six students or their parents claimed McNeil had made racist and sexist remarks throughout the trip.

I should not have done that, McNeil confessed in a Friday email shared with Times staff. Originally, I thought the context in which I used this ugly word could be defended.

The science reporter further described the n-word incident as having occurred during a dinner discussion about the use of racial slurs, in which one student on the trip asked whether a classmate should have been suspended for using racist rhetoric in a video.

To understand what was in the video, I asked if she had called someone else the slur or whether she was rapping or quoting a book title. In asking the question, I used the slur itself, McNeil wrote.

NY Times Staffers Send Outraged Letter to Bosses Demanding Reporter Apologize for Racial Slur

Star NY Times Reporter Accused of Using N-Word, Making Other Racist Comments

He apologized for extraordinarily bad judgment to both the staff of the Times, singling out those he worked closely with, and to the students on the trip. I am sorry. I let you all down.

McNeils departure comes just days after Times staffers wrote a letter to the papers top brass expressing outrage over the allegations that McNeil had used racial slurs, and over the response from Times leadership, which the letter's signers suggested was wholly insufficient.

Times executive editor Dean Baquet had previously said McNeil should be given another chance because his comments were not hateful or malicious in intent, but in a message to staff on Friday, the top editor wrote, We do not tolerate racist language regardless of intent.

Story continues

McNeils behavior on the trip had been hotly debated among Times staffers, including some who took part in a meeting with Baquet and assistant managing editor Carolyn Ryan last Friday. At that meeting, Pulitzer Prize-winner Nikole Hannah-Jones said she planned on calling the parents and students on the trip to determine what McNeil had said and in what context, according to people familiar with the situation.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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United Kingdom (UK) regulators on Thursday stripped Chinas state TV channel of its national broadcasting license after an investigation cited lack of editorial control and links to Chinas ruling Communist Party. China Global Television Network (CGTN) is an international English-language satellite news channel controlled by the state.

'...not a lawful broadcast licensee'

"Our investigation concluded that Star China Media Limited (SCML), the licence-holder for the CGTN service, did not have editorial responsibility for CGTN's output. As such, SCML does not meet the legal requirement of having control over the licensed service, and so is not a lawful broadcast licensee," UK's media watchdog Ofcom said in a statement.

Ofcom said that SCML, the company that owns the UK licence for CGTN, does not have day-to-day control over the channel which is against its rules.

"In addition, we have been unable to grant an application to transfer the licence to an entity called China Global Television Network Corporation (CGTNC). This is because crucial information was missing from the application, and because we consider that CGTNC would be disqualified from holding a licence, as it is controlled by a body which is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party," it said.

In the UK, broadcasting laws say licensees must have control over their service and its editorial policies. The regulators also rejected a proposal by CGTN to transfer the license to a new entity after finding that it would ultimately still be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and therefore disqualified under UK law, according to the Associated Press.

'Appropriate to revoke the licence for CGTN'

"We've provided CGTN with numerous opportunities to come into compliance, but it has not done so. We now consider it appropriate to withdraw the license for CGTN to broadcast in the UK," an Ofcom spokesperson said.

"We have given CGTN significant time to come into compliance with the statutory rules. Those efforts have now been exhausted," Ofcom said in a statement.

"Following careful consideration, taking account of all the facts and the broadcaster's and audience's rights to freedom of expression, we have decided it is appropriate to revoke the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK," it added.

The channel will be removed from UK airwaves with immediate effect. CGTN has the right to request a judicial review, according to an Ofcom spokesperson, and they could apply for another license in the future

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Ofcom previously ruled that CGTN repeatedly breached impartiality standards with its coverage of protests last year in Hong Kong, a former British colony.

CGTN was launched in 2016. It says it provides "global audiences with accurate and timely news coverage as well as rich audiovisual services, promoting communication and understanding between China and the world, and enhancing cultural exchanges and mutual trust between China and other countries." Headquartered in Beijing, CGTN has three production centres in Nairobi, Kenya, Washington D.C. and London.

Ofcom's decision will come as a serious blow for CGTN, which was hoping to use an expanded presence in London as the foothold for a substantial international operation, The Guardian newspaper reported. There was no immediate response from CGTN. The UK's relationship with China has worsened in recent times. The two have fallen out over issues including Hong Kong, tech giant Huawei and alleged human rights abuses against China's Uighur ethnic group in Xinjiang.

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Playhouse launches 'Rock Solid' campaign to combat Covid damage

Flat Rock Playhouse has launched a capital campaign in response to the effects of Covid-19.

Dubbed Rock Solid, the campaign aims to preserve the legacy of the Playhouse, ignite the passion for theatre in the community and revitalize the arts in Henderson County and beyond. The campaign kicks off with a generous gift from David Leiman, matching donors contributions dollar for dollar up to $118,000.

After beginning their 2020 season in the strongest financial position in over a decade, the Playhouse was forced to go dark in mid-March because of the worldwide pandemic, government restrictions and industry health standards placed on large performing arts venues. The State Theatre of North Carolina, which relies heavily on ticket revenue, furloughed two-thirds of its staff, and for the first time in its history, was unable to invite summer apprentices and interns to the Rocka critical component of their core value to educate/mentor future professional artists going back 70+ years. Though unable to offer their intended 2020 season, the Playhouse hosted two virtual fundraisers: Apprentices Plugged-In and Nat Zegree Virtual Cabaret. They also were able to continue the yearly tradition of the Christmas show, "A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas," as a virtual production filmed throughout Hendersonville and Flat Rock.

With the pandemic and government mandates still impacting live event venues, the Playhouse remains dark for the safety of patrons and artists. With performances on hold, the Playhouse has announced a capital campaign, Rock Solid, to preserve the viability of the State Theatre of North Carolina. Donations to the campaign will help to sustain the Playhouse through:

Rebuilding the staff as the Playhouse carefully returns to producing.

Upgrades to technology.

Management of the historic facilities and grounds.

Ongoing operational needs.

A rock solid infrastructure for long-term sustainability.

The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on arts venues worldwide, and Flat Rock Playhouse is no exception, Producing Artistic Director Lisa K. Bryant said in a news release. We are proud of the fiscal management and responsible oversight that put us in a position to weather an unexpected year of closure. That said, the strain on our reserves is growing exponentially as the prolonged shutdown prevents us from returning to business as usual in an adequate time frame.

"With the Rock Solid campaign, we hope that our already generous community will see this unprecedented chapter in our history as a singular moment to rise in support of ensuring the legacy of the theatre and its robust impact economically and culturally to Henderson County, WNC, and the State for decades more to come. Without this timely support, the future of the theatre is in jeopardythrough no fault of its own. Theres really no other way to say it.

The campaign has already received commitments from 100 percent of the Board of Trustees and Campaign Committee members totaling nearly $400,000, which kicks this campaign off with great excitement. Joining Lisa in leading the Rock Solid campaign are Board of Trustees members Dale Bird Bartlett and Joseph Laughter and Board President Joseph Ippolito.

Our mission is clear," Laughter said. "I would encourage and invite everyone to become a member of the Vagabond Playhouse family. Make a pledge today to our Rock Solid 2021 Campaign.

The Rock Solid campaign will be led not only by Playhouse leadership but also by a committee of community members committed to preserving professional performing arts, theatre arts education, and the history of the Playhouse. Dr. Pete and Jan Richards are co-chairing the Campaign Committee. These community members will be sharing their stories about the importance of the arts and their connection to the Playhouse throughout the duration of the campaign. To learn more about the Rock Solid campaign, visit flatrockplayhouse.org.
Hotel systems are generally not designed to generate the kind of airflow turnover needed to minimise the risk of aerosol transmission, he says, especially in the face of the threat posed by the new, more highly infectious virus strains coming out of Britain, South Africa and Brazil. We have gone down the path of least resistance because there is great cost and inconvenience in dealing with an airborne threat Miller argues. However that is demonstrably less than the cost and inconvenience of repeated instances of quarantine breach, cross-infection and lockdown. He believes developing more quarantine facilities at greenfield sites must be on the agenda, but in the interim the stepping stone to greenfield sites is to immediately upgrade the airflow within the [existing] facilities, and the way they are administered. Sydney-based epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, who sits on a World Health Organisation advisory panel, is equally perturbed. Its not always easy to change a hotel ventilation system she says. They often cant maximise airflow change with an industrial unit thats designed for a lower rate of airflow change [than a hospital] - though older hospitals too can have ventilation problems. She says any facility being used for quarantine should have at least 10 airflow changes an hour, and would also prefer to see them located in regional areas or on the edges of CBDs.

McLaws points to Howard Springs outside Darwin, a former labour camp currently co-funded by the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory to provide up to 850 quarantine places a fortnight, as ideal. It has single-storey rooms with verandahs and open-air walkways, and proximity to top-class medical facilities. Following Fridays national cabinet meeting Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled plans to more than double Howard Springs capacity, but reiterated that hotel quarantine would remain the primary mode of dealing with returning travellers. The remote Howard Springs quarantine facility outside Darwin. Credit:Louise Radcliffe-Smith The hotel quarantine system, he declared, had been incredibly effective, processing more than 210,000 international returnees with only a handful of cases that havent been completely contained. He also left the gate open to the Toowoomba option - albeit warning there is a lot more information we are going to need - and flagged the possibility of home quarantine down the track depending on a successful vaccine rollout. Toole is not optimistic that large-scale alternatives to hotels are possible, but I think every option now needs to be examined.

Border health security is our number one priority to keep the virus out until we are vaccinated. You have to throw resources at it. Im annoyed to see in Perth that a security guard wasnt being paid enough to make a living and had to have a second job  why arent we paying these people decent salaries? Its a drop in the bucket in terms of resources. Jane Halton, one of the countrys foremost experts on quarantine who completed a report on the topic for national cabinet last year, told the Herald and The Age that the quarantine system has to continue to evolve  the pandemic is not static and neither can quarantine be. We are learning as we go, in terms of what works and what some of the risks are, so we have to take steps to mitigate those as we understand them better. Jane Halton said the quarantine system was generally working well but needed to continue to evolve. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer But she believes the hotel quarantine system is generally working well. Now chair of the global Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), Halton says a broad question remains over how to ensure best practice is well-coordinated among the states and territories. And she cautions that any facility outside a major capital needs close proximity to a major transport hub and acute-care facilities, with access to an expert workforce large enough to be rotated.

This weeks shocks have laid bare the fact that some states have been slow to shore up their defences against the virus. It has also highlighted the strikingly different policies on whether ancillary staff working in quarantine hotels should be allowed to hold down additional jobs. In NSW, for instance, the government sees no need to ban secondary employment among hotel quarantine workers. State Health Minister Brad Hazzard argues that in the real world, people including security guards and cleaners have lives. They go home to their families, they see their friends and if you tried to stop them living those lives, you wouldnt have people doing the job. He says the state has progressively adopted additional checks and balances, the most significant of which is the daily saliva test for every staff member working in hotel quarantine. National cabinet agreed on January 8 that any worker involved in quarantine should have daily COVID-19 tests. However Toole points out that while this was adopted in NSW on January 17, it didnt get implemented in WA until January 29, too late for the Perth security guards infection to be promptly picked up. Scott Morrison is sticking with hotel quarantine despite the virus leaks. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The WA government says its now working with hotel and security companies to negotiate an arrangement that prevents staff from having secondary employment. Its also testing workers for the virus daily, and requiring mask-wearing by guards in hotel corridors  which was not the case prior to this weeks reported infection in the security guard. South Australia is running five medi-hotels for returning travellers and, from Monday, its workers too will have daily saliva tests as well as a weekly nasal swab, but staff will continue to be allowed a second job outside hotel quarantine. Queensland also allows hotel staff or contractors to have multiple jobs or work across multiple sites with the same employer, justified on the basis that restricting these opportunities would have significant financial impacts. Victoria, seared by its harsh lockdown for 3 months last year triggered by breaches of security at quarantine hotels, has the toughest regime. It has set up a dedicated agency, COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria (CQV), to run the system, which directly contracts ancillary workers who are banned from holding down secondary jobs. Queensland and WA are keenest among the states to explore alternatives to quarantine in big city hotels, with WA pushing Christmas Island as one option (firmly rejected by Morrison), while the Toowoomba option holds appeal for Queensland.

But in NSW, Hazzard remains adamant that it would be impractical  indeed, downright disadvantageous  for us to be considering moving our public health hotels out of the Sydney regional area, not least because of the sheer size of the NSW quarantine workforce (3500 people daily). Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said this week he was always happy to sit down with the Prime Minister and see if there are some bespoke facilities that can be built but warned staff have lives  you can put a quarantine facility 50 kilometres from where we are standing, or 500 kilometres, but there will be people there too and the virus spreads. The fresh spotlight on hotel quarantine has renewed criticisms that the Morrison government has largely absented itself from the quarantine task. Labor has branded Morrison hands-off Harry for not picking up what it says is the Commonwealths primary constitutional responsibility for quarantine. How well-founded is that line of attack? Sydney University constitutional law expert Professor Anne Twomey writes in a forthcoming article for the Australian Law Journal that it appears that the Commonwealth Government took the view that it did not have the capacity or competence to be able to establish and run [compulsory hotel quarantine]. Instead it took the easier path of leaving it to the states to take up the financial and logistical burden of establishing an entire system from scratch within 48 hours [last March]. Twomey says while section 51 (ix) of the Constitution does vest quarantine power in the Commonwealth it is not an exclusive power, and the states public health safeguards operate alongside it. While the Commonwealth could have chosen to exclude state law under section 109, it had not done so.

In past decades, she writes, the federal government had gradually taken over quarantine stations from the states but closed them after successful immunisation campaigns, particularly against smallpox. The resulting lack of large-scale quarantine capability in capital cities [with the exception of Howard Springs] has left Australia ill-equipped to deal with a major pandemic, Twomey concludes. Melbourne University Professor Cheryl Saunders, also a constitutional expert, notes that usually the Commonwealth exercises its concurrent powers  often quite aggressively. But in this case, the federal government held back, in recognition of the fact that it doesnt have the personnel, it doesnt have the presence on the ground, it doesnt know the local scene as deeply as a state or territory government does. Last years probe into Victorias hotel quarantine failures by jurist Jennifer Coate noted there had been an opportunity for the Commonwealth to come up with a national quarantine scheme immediately after 2009, when it reviewed the countrys response to the H1N1 flu pandemic. People associated with the Australian Open line up at a testing facility at the View Hotel in Melbourne. Credit:Getty That review had recommended that the roles and responsibilities of all governments for the management of people in quarantine  during a pandemic should be clarified, with a set of nationally consistent principles to be drawn up. But that was never acted upon.

Toole and McLaws both believe the federal government should be exercising firmer leadership over how hotel quarantine is run. Asked how national standards were currently being co-ordinated, the federal health department cited a Statement on national hotel quarantine principles adopted by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC)  the body that brings together all federal, state and territory chief health officers  published on Christmas Eve. But those who want to see the Commonwealth step up further say the AHPPC is already over-burdened and the December statement is not prescriptive enough, particularly on the risks of aerosol transmission. McLaws calls for more stringent adoption of best practice around the country, including eye protection and enhanced PPE for hotel quarantine workers, and the use of CCTV instead of personnel keeping watch in corridors. Toole says its now up to the federal government to do everything in their power - and that power is considerable - to ensure that there is a national standard that is being implemented by every state.

If youre craving cookies but havent found a Girl Scout to buy from, the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas has some alternative ordering solutions.

GSNETX has launched a Girl Scout Cookie Finder that allows users to input their zip code to be connected with a scout. It shows scouts selling in-person at a booth, online or find them shipped to your door, according to an email sent to The Herald from a GSNETX representative this week.
Drama unfolded at an Accra Circuit Court when a 33-year-old cleaner, who had denied defiling a 10-year-old girl at Sabon Zongo, near Laterbiokoshie, confessed to the crime and prayed the court for forgiveness.



Kofi Amoah, who was to open his defense at the Circuit Court, admitted having defiled the victim on two occasions and that he used condoms.



The Court, presided over by Mrs Christiana Cann, convicted Amoah on his own plea and sentenced him to 15 years in prison on the charge of defilement.



Detective Chief Inspector Kofi Atimbire, prosecuting, said the complainant was the mother of the victim and a trader.



He said Amoah, complainant and victim resided in the same vicinity at Sabon Zongo near Laterbiokoshie in Accra.



The complainant sold fruits and Amoah had been buying bananas from her and through that got to know the victim.



Prosecution said a few months ago, the complainant detected that Amoah gave the victim money, an act she was not comfortable with and warned him to stop giving her daughter money and coming to where she sold the fruits.



On October 24, last year, Chief Inspector Atimbire said at about 2000 hours, the complainant asked the victim to watch over her fruits whiles she took her bath.



Prosecution said when the complainant returned, she was informed that Amoah had asked the victim to accompany him to buy something.



Chief Inspector Atimbire said the victim followed the accused to a drug store where he bought a pack of condoms.



Amoah then asked her to accompany him to his sleeping place so he could show her his laptop and a music box, which the victim obliged.



On reaching the place, a book shop, Amoah locked the shop and had sex with her.



Whiles in the act, the complainant arrived and knocked at the door, but the accused hid the victim under a table and covered it with a plywood before opening the door, prosecution said.



Amoah then informed the complainant that the victim had left for home but complainant, not convinced, decided to search the shop and found her daughter hiding under the table.



The complainant escorted Amoah to the police station where a medical report form was issued for the victim to be examined at the hospital and receive treatment.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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During a sentencing hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, it was revealed that the young mens families, both Iraqi Christians, had settled in western Sydney after fleeing violence in their home country.

Alfredo Isho, 20, was fatally stabbed in the upper torso while he was getting a haircut.

Mr Isho, who had planned to bring his mother breakfast after his haircut on the morning of January 11, 2019, would never see her again. He died in hospital later that day. After fleeing the scene, his killer sent an encrypted text saying he had [sh]anked Mr Isho in the ecknay, ha ha ha.

When 18-year-old Fredon Laith Botrus entered a Bossley Park barber shop wearing a motorbike helmet and plunged a knife into the neck of an unsuspecting Alfredo Isho, his murderous actions would shred the hopes of two families who had fled war-ravaged Iraq, seeking a life of peace and security in Australia.

Mr Isho was nine months old when his family arrived in Australia, in 1998, after fleeing the Gulf War in which his uncle was killed. Botrus spent his early childhood in Baghdad, as sectarian violence stained the streets following the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime.

Botrus father, Laith Botrus, told the court on Friday his son was abducted twice before the age of four, and on one occasion the attackers slashed his pregnant mothers stomach. The family arrived in Australia as refugees in 2007, hoping to leave the bloodshed behind.

But Mr Botrus told the court his son was troubled by drugs and fell in with the wrong crowd as a teenager. His mother had PTSD and had spent time in a psychiatric facility. His younger brother, Isho, was bullied at school, and in 2018 he took his own life while Fredon was in rehabilitation.

Its unclear why the younger Botrus stabbed Mr Isho in the barber shop the following year, but Crown prosecutor Michael Clark told the court there was a degree of planning and premeditation ahead of the murder.

Botrus had received a text message alerting him to a bitch in the barber shop before he decided to don black clothes and a face mask, and ride to the Classico Hair Salon, hiding a knife in his sleeve, which he would go on to use on his victim.
analysis

South Africa's spook agency has been dealt several blows recently, with accusations surfacing in the State Capture Commission that it was totally skewered to support Jacob Zuma and his allies. Now it has been smacked again, with a Constitutional Court ruling that several surveillance issues are unlawful.

Spying has just become much trickier for state operatives because the Constitutional Court has reiterated that several aspects of the country's act regulating the interception of communications are unlawful.

The court's ruling on Thursday, which bolsters and confirms a previous high court ruling, has several implications, including that if surveillance is conducted on someone, they must be told at some point afterwards.

Current legislation also fails to provide "adequate safeguards" when surveillance is conducted on practising lawyers or journalists, and this must change.

It has further been found that there is no law that authorises bulk surveillance - "the interception of all internet traffic that enters or leaves South Africa, including the most personal information such as emails, video calls, location, and browsing history".

In a nutshell, the ruling is that the act relating to intercepting communications fails to:

Notify the subject of surveillance that such action was conducted on them as soon...
The Supreme Court orally observed that no coercive action be taken against Sonu Sood until the BMC decides on his application for regularisation

Bollywood actor Sonu Sood Friday withdrew from the Supreme Court the plea against the Bombay High Court order dismissing his case on alleged illegal construction at his residential building in Mumbai's Juhu area.

The apex court, which permitted the withdrawal of the petition, orally observed that no coercive action be taken against Sood until the civic authorities decide on his application for regularisation.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, was informed by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, counsel for Sood, that he would withdraw the plea from the top court and seek a decision on his application for regularisation of alleged illegal construction from the civic body.

The high court had dismissed the actor's appeal against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) notice to him over alleged illegal construction at his residential building at Juhu.

At the outset, Rohatgi said he has advised the actor to withdraw the plea and would rather seek the liberty that BMC decide his plea for regularisation.

"That is good advice Mr. Rohatgi. This is absolutely correct advice which does not happen very often. The Authorities to decide the application according to law," said the bench in the proceedings conducted through video conferencing.

Sood, who was in the limelight for helping migrants reach their homes during the lockdown last year, had stated in his plea that his application for conversion has been approved by the Municipal Commissioner subject to Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) permission.

The plea had said the high court order of 13 January, 2021 has been passed without considering the provisions of Section 43 (1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, and his application for conversion of residential premises into a residential hotel was submitted in 2018 before the department concerned.

The plea had contended that their application for conversion, which has been approved by the Municipal Commissioner subject to MCZMA, be directed to be decided by authorities concerned.

The petitioners have already stopped the work of internal renovation which require no permission as per the provisions of Section 43 of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, therefore, the respondents may kindly be restrained from demolition of the renovation work already done in the building, the plea filed by Sood and his wife had said.

He further stated that if the application of the petitioners for conversion is approved, the financial loss due to demolition will not be recovered in any manner and would cause miscarriage of justice to the petitioners.

The High Court, while dismissing the actor's appeal and application, said, ''Law helps only those who are diligent.''

Sood's lawyer had sought a time of 10 weeks to comply with the notice issued by the BMC in October last year, and requested the high court to direct the civic body to not initiate demolition action.

The high court, however, refused and said the actor had ample opportunity in the past and if required, he could approach the civic body.

Sood had approached the high court earlier this month challenging an order of a city civil court at Dindoshi that had dismissed his suit against the BMC's notice issued over the alleged illegal construction carried out by him.

The actor, in the interim application in the high court, had sought an order from the high court restraining the BMC from taking any coercive action against his residential property in the Juhu area.

The petitioner (Sood) has not made any changes in the building that warrants permission from the BMC. Only those changes that are allowed under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act have been done,'' Sood's advocate had argued in HC.

As per the BMC, the Bollywood actor had carried out structural changes in the six-storey residential building Shakti Sagar, and allegedly converted it into a hotel without taking requisite permissions.

The BMC earlier this month also filed a complaint at the Juhu police station, seeking an FIR to be lodged against Sood for allegedly converting the residential building into a hotel without permission.

The complaint letter was sent to the police after the BMC inspected the building and found that Sood had allegedly not complied with the requisitions and was continuing unauthorised construction even after the notice was served to him in October last year.
A 32-year-old Philadelphia police officer was arrested Thursday on suspicion of violating a protection-from-abuse order, the department said.

Ahmad Abuali, a six-year member of the force who most recently was assigned to the 19th Police District in West Philadelphia, was charged with one count of violating the order on Saturday.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has suspended Abuali for 30 days with intent to dismiss, the department said.

No other details were released about the order or the alleged violation.

Online court records show Abuali was released late Thursday afternoon on his own recognizance and his next court appearance was scheduled for Feb. 18.

A spokesperson for the union representing city police officers said there would be no comment.
Yemen: Riyadh 'welcomes' Biden's pledge to end war FM: 'Ready to work with U.S. envoy Lenderking'

(ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 5 - Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud, has written on his Twitter profile that "Saudi Arabia welcomes with favor the US pledge, expressed in a speech by President Biden, to cooperate with the kingdom in the defense of its security and its territory".



In his firs foreign policy speech since he was sworn in as president, Joe Biden on Thursday stressed, among other issues, that the conflict in Yemen - which has caused the death of over 100,000 Yemenis and displaced eight million people - has created a "humanitarian and strategic catastrophe" and therefore "this war must end", he added. In this sense, he announced, "we are terminating all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including the relative arms sales". Biden also announced the appointment of a new US envoy for Yemen, Timothy Lenderking.



"We cannot wait to work with Tim Lenderking to reach our common objective of a global political resolution in Yemen as part of our shared vision for a peaceful and prosperous region", also said on Twitter Faisal bin Farhan al Saud. (ANSAmed).




The Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) would soon mandate the police to conduct snap checks on commercial vehicles with the view to apprehending those on board without nose masks.



It is an offence to get on board a commercial vehicle without a nose mask, Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah, the Minister-designate for the Region, cautioned.



He advised commercial drivers not to pick passengers who were not wearing their nose masks, adding that acting contrary to the directives could come with punitive measures against offenders.



We must be disciplined and adhere to the safety protocols as instituted by the government, the Minister-designate told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), in Kumasi, on the sidelines of the inauguration of some educational projects.



Additionally, he said, the citizenry also had the responsibility to observe all the other protocols such as the regular hand washing with soap, social distancing and the use of alcohol based hand sanitizers, for their own safety and wellbeing.



A total of 440 deaths and 6,086 active cases relating to COVID-19 had been recorded in the country as of February 5, this year, according to the Ghana Health Services portal on the pandemic.



The country has so far recorded 69,255 confirmed cases since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country on March 12, 2020.



Mr. Osei-Mensah indicated that with Ashanti recording the second highest confirmed cases and trailing Greater Accra, the REGSEC was leaving no stone unturned in getting the people to follow the protocols.



He further stressed the need for educational and civil society institutions to champion the campaign against the pandemic, noting that the new COVID-19 variants as identified in some countries could be deadly.



Beneficiaries of the educational projects, ranging from classroom to dormitory blocks, included T.I Ahmadiyya, Serwaa Nyarko, Kumasi Anglican and Armed Forces Senior High Schools (SHSs).

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The battle between Facebook and Apple isn't over digital advertising. It's not over small businesses finding new customers. The fight isn't even over whether apps should be able to track what you do on your iPhone and online. It's really much more simple than that.

It's about whether you should know when apps are tracking you, and be given a choice in the matter. Apple thinks you should have a choice of whether apps will track you. Facebook, apparently, doesn't.

There is, of course, a reason Facebook feels so strongly about this. As I've written before, it knows that people are likely to opt-out of tracking, which will negatively affect a portion of its business. So the company has embarked on a full-court press to try and paint Apple as attacking small businesses and the free internet.

That all seems like a PR effort to put pressure on Apple in hopes that it will change its mind. There's a problem, however. Two, actually. First, Apple isn't changing its mind. Second, it's hard to paint someone else as the bad guy when their reputation is far better than your own.

Fortune recently released its list of the World's Most Admired Companies. Apple, for the 14th year in a row, sits at the top. Facebook isn't even on the list. Seriously--there are 332 companies listed according to their reputation, and Facebook isn't one of them.

As a result, Facebook has started to take its fight directly to its users. To be honest, this is the smartest play. Facebook literally has direct access to communicate with users via its iOS app, and that's what it should have done all along.

To that end, the company is now testing a pop-up that will appear before Apple's request to track notification appears. The pop-up asks users to "Allow Facebook to use your app and website activity?" It then explains the two benefits of doing so:

Get ads that are more personalized

Support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers.

There's a problem, however. Nowhere does Facebook's pop-up use the word tracking. That might seem like a small criticism, but it's actually a big deal. I'm sure that is entirely intentional on Facebook's part--it most definitely doesn't want its users thinking about the fact that it tracks them. Still, it's a big mistake, and it shows Facebook just doesn't get it.

Look, companies always try to spin things to best reflect the narrative they want to tell. The problem is that no one believes Facebook's narrative except Facebook. As a result, people simply don't trust Facebook, and this approach reinforces all of the reasons why.

I actually have some advice--not that anyone at Facebook will be interested in what I think. If you're going to build a business model on tracking people's activity and then monetizing it, own it. Talk about it with transparency and make the case for why it provides value to the user. Also, talk about what steps you're taking to protect the information you collect, something for which you don't exactly have a stellar reputation.

Facebook should have just said:

Look, this is how we make Facebook free to use for almost 3 billion people. We track your engagement so that we can learn what is most relevant to you. Then, we show you personalized ads based on that information. That makes Facebook a better experience for you because you only get ads for things you care about, and it supports many of the local businesses that you love. We also know that you might have concerns about what information we track, so we've created a guide with more information. You can also control it within the Facebook app under Settings.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, hippies hated both corporations and the government. To them, the government was a suspect police state while the corporations were evil capitalist tools that exploited people. Now those same hippies have grown up, and they, and their physical and intellectual progeny, have all entered the government and the corporate world. And because history is always ironic, the former hippies and their heirs have made both the government and corporations as evil as the institutions those same hippies long ago feared.

What we've witnessed in the last twenty or so years is a fusion between big corporations, from Big Tech on down, and the federal government. Both institutions have complete fealty to a Democrat-run state and will do all in their power to preserve it.

The Constitution? Feh! Just a ragged old piece of paper that  as they correctly understand  has meaning only if people believe that it has meaning. Silly little things like the Fourth Amendment don't matter if the Democrat party is threatened.

You remember the Fourth Amendment, right?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

It turns out that the Fourth Amendment is as easily ignored as the First Amendment...if you get corporations to do the jobs the Constitution forbids to the government.

Once upon a time, only the government was powerful enough to censor people, and it was only the state that had the criminal laws and police power that made illegal searches an issue. Now, though, corporations have taken over the public squares in which speech once took place, and they possess every bit of private information we own.

Because the corporations and the federal government share common values (after all, they all went to the same colleges and were taught the same way of thinking), they are tag-teaming: the Democrat-run bureaucracy, White House, and Congress express an unconstitutional desire, and the corporations fill it without implicating that hoary old document.

Letter of the law? Feh!

Spirit of the law? Feh!

And that gets me to Tucker Carlson's report on Thursday night. It turns out that Bank of America voluntarily got on the computer and searched its databases  that means that it searched your private financial records  to learn whether you traveled to D.C., stayed anywhere within a vast radius of D.C., bought anything at a weapons store in D.C. (whether ammo or a can opener), and bought airline tickets to anywhere.

Bombshell report: Tucker Carlson reports that Bank of America is allegedly turning over private information about its customers to federal law enforcement officials without the knowledge or consent of its customers. pic.twitter.com/RXQrMbdB5q  (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) February 5, 2021

Stalin's head of the secret police, Lavrentiy Beria, once said, "Show me the man, and I'll show you the crime." Biden's new government/bank fusion says, "Show me the bank records of a visit to D.C., and I'll show you a radical white supremacist insurrectionist who needs to be dragged in for questioning." After all, that's what happened to this man.

If you're not terrified right now  whether or not you were anywhere near D.C.  you're not reading the situation right. What we're witnessing is the federal government's police power and the corporate world's information power coming together to perform a complete end-run around the United States Constitution.

UPDATE: On Friday's Tucker Carlson show, guest host Mark Steyn revealed that Bank of America has not denied the charge that it searched customer information without first receiving a subpoena or search warrant.

Image: Bank of America cash machine. Public Domain.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Cops in Manhattan saved a Staten Island man after he jumped into the East River while being pursued in connection with an assault, police allege.

Police were looking for Dashawn Carter, 24, of Gary Court in Bulls Head, when the NYPD Harbor Unit responded on Thursday afternoon to a call of a male suspect who jumped into the water in the vicinity of Pier 35 in Manhattan, according to a spokeswoman for the NYPD.

Officers saw Carter conscious and struggling to swim in the river. They rescued him from the water without incident, placed him in handcuffs and transported him to Pier 16 before he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, according to the police spokeswoman.

Carter was then arrested for allegedly assaulting a 29-year-old man earlier in the day in the vicinity of the LaGuardia Houses in Manhattan. The victim told police that he was walking southbound on Clinton Street behind a suspect when the culprit suddenly turned around and used a handheld speaker to hit him on the left side of the face, the police spokeswoman said.

The suspect initially fled northbound toward Madison Street.

The victim suffered a minor laceration and refused medical attention at the scene.

Carter and the victim are listed as strangers in the police report.

Carter, whose first name also has been spelled Deshawn in public records, has several prior arrests for crimes that include burglary and assault, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation and Advance/SILive.com records.

Carter is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday in Criminal Court in Manhattan.

Police charged him with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Attorney information is not yet available for the suspect.

Carter was named by police as suspect in a 2018 burglary spree at the College of Staten Island.
404

  

              

An ex-Trump official says that when negotiating, don't get hoodwinked by Chinese misleading negotiation traps. Even in negotiating, Beijing is involved in dishonest methods that made the Trump administration its bane.

When talking to Beijing, no one should trust a bit because of the unfair tactics in negotiations. Until the Trump administration, China has been getting the most of the talks.

The CCP is out to hoodwink

The Biden administration should not allow any advantage for Beijing and stop their games. These Chinese negotiators have mastered laying traps for the unprepared negotiator based on the former White House security official's observations. Chinese negotiations are about stopping tactics that work for them, reported NTD.

According to Matthew Pottinger, former deputy National Security advisor, Beijing can be a dangerous negotiator. He said that China had done this to many administrations, but Trump got the drop on them.

One of their most common tactics is to limit the U.S. in long and dragging talks that are seemingly formal. What they want is to place the U.S. in a losing position intentionally and to dominate to disadvantage. This was the content of Pottinger's last speech, before the end of the Trump era.

He was one of the keystones in dealing with China in foreign policy, making these remarks in an event hosted by the Florida International University. He addressed the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs.

According to what he learned in the Trump cabinet, China cheats by extending negotiations too long. This was seen after checking two decades of these talks; it was even done to the Obama administration.

Also read: Taiwan Getting More Accurate Missiles to Arm F-16s and Sink the PLAN

The Chinese led the U.S. into a negotiation trap with eyes wide open, and ended with America banged up and losing money, and its I.T. stole. It went on for years until the last administration stopped them. It can happen again.

Doubtable talks

After 2006, both the U.S. and China had semi-annual talks called the Strategic Economic Dialogue to fix any economic disputes. This was later called a useless exercise that had no benefit for America. Now, Communist China would be subject to the Trump Administration's hammering.

Pottinger said that the Trump era ended China, and it became America answering with actions. China tried to reverse it, but policy pushed back hard on anyone lobbying for China.

China will not change

Indications show the Chinese Communist Party wants to continue its course and intends that no one stops it, even the most powerful nation on earth. In a broad pronouncement, Yang Jiechi, China's top foreign policy diplomat, said that America should not toe the red line it sets, or there will be consequences.

The CCP warns Biden to keep hands off Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang because they are China's affairs. Another is the bullying of Taiwan that fights back with U.S. support in arms and political bolstering. Xi is intent on using the PLA to scare the small nations. Even the Biden administration does not faze the CCP with bolder moves like sending planes to the Taiwan Strait.

It goes to say that any talks will have Chinese misleading negotiation traps because of non-beneficial intentions by Beijing.

Related article: Beijing Warns Biden Administration to stick to CCP's Rules

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Khalistan, the real intent: Why demand for repeal of farm laws is just an excuse

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 05: It started out as a farmer protest against the farm laws, but over a period of time, it became a propaganda tool for pro-Khalistan elements. The tweets by the likes of Rihanna and Greta Thunberg only went on to show that foreign elements had started to comment on the internal affairs of the country and that too on a law that was passed by the Indian Parliament after due deliberations.

While the farmers have been seeking nothing less than a repeal of the farmer laws, the propaganda artists controlling the protest from abroad have made it clear that the repeal of the laws will not be a victory. They have said that the battle begins with the repeal of the laws and the protests would not end just there.

The Khalistan infiltration: What we are witnessing in Delhi is exactly what SJF planned

Mo Dhaliwal, whose role the agencies are probing following the toolkit tweeted by Thunberg is trying to hijack the protests and make it a continued affair. The founder of the Vancouver based Poetic Justice Foundation, who is accused of preparing the toolkit is clearly looking to use these protests to achieve the larger agenda of Khalistan or a separate Khalistan state.

You are not separate from the Khalistan movement. They are trying to drain your energy from this movement and let no one tell you that the battle is going to end with the repeal of the law, Dhaliwal says in a video. While the authenticity of this video is yet to be ascertained, the fact of the matter is that several pro-Khalistan groups have been trying to push their agenda and make the farmer protests an issue to further their movement.

The ISI which has nurtured the Khalistan leaders for long too has been making efforts to revive the Khalistan movement. They have met with no success as the movement is not gaining much traction, especially in Punjab.

Intelligence Bureau officials tell OneIndia that ever since the farmer protests started, the ISI has been pushing its handlers to infiltrate the protests and ensure that it turns violent. If one looks at the toolkit tweeted by Thunberg, then it becomes amply clear that the intention was only to fan violence and show the country in poor light.

There was also mention about the disruption of peace on January 26 apart from the repeal of the farm laws.

It was clearly an attempt to incite widespread violence and malign India's image.

Farmers protest: Greta Thunberg tweets 'toolkit', deletes and updates; Creates uproar

Meanwhile, India has reached out to the United States in connection with the probe against the Khalistan backed Sikhs for Justice. The SJF since the beginning of the farmer protests has been putting up posts on the social media to incite violence. The government of India issued a Mutual Legal Assistance Request to the United States for investigation into the matter of the Sikhs for Justice Referendum 2020.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/04/2021



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couple Ashley Petta and Anthony D'Amico have welcomed their second child into the world!Ashley gave birth to a daughter on Wednesday, and she and Anthony named the little one Vaeda Marie."Vaeda Marie was born at 11:11AM on 2/3/21. Weighing a whopping 6 pounds flat and 19 inches long with a full head of hair!" the couple said in a statement.Ashley shared, "This pregnancy was not easy on me and the birth was even harder but meeting the new addition to our family made it all worth it!""It was definitely love at first sight. We can't wait to get her home and introduce her to big sister," Ashley added.Ashley announced her second pregnancy on Instagram in July 2020, just hours before footage of Ashley telling her husband they were expecting Baby No. 2 aired on the first season of : Couples Cam.When Ashley was 13 weeks into her pregnancy, she and Anthony said they were "cautiously optimistic" about the future given Ashley had been experiencing some problems."I thought by this point I would be able to breathe and enjoy this pregnancy, but unfortunately that has not been the case. I've been experiencing a lot of spotting and bleeding over the last 10 days," Ashley said at the time.Ashley confirmed however, "Several ultrasounds all check out and baby looks good. There has been no explanation for the bleeding or any idea when it might stop. From what I am told, some women just bleed and everything turns out fine."Ashley and Anthony, who tied the knot on Season 5 of Lifetime's , celebrated their four-year wedding anniversary in August 2020.The couple, both residents of the Chicago area, wed in August 2016, and their wedding aired on the following year.All three of 's fifth-season couples opted to remain together on "Decision Day" at the end of the extreme experiment; however, Anthony and Ashley are the only one of the three still married today.Ashley announced her first pregnancy in August 2018, and then she and Anthony welcomed daughter Mila Rose, now 2, on January 12, 2019.Following their season, Anthony and Ashley also starred on Lifetime's : Happily Ever After spinoff along with Jephte Pierre Bobby Dodd and their pregnant wives, Shawniece Jackson and Danielle Bergman , respectively.The couple will also be starring on the second season of : Couples Cam, which premieres Thursday night at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime.Interested in more news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group or click here to view our newspage!And click here for more updates on former cast members and info on where they are now!
Chennai, Feb 5 : As Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Friday lodged a complaint with the police over use of its party flag by former leader V.K. Sasikala, her nephew T.T.V. Dhinakaran defended her, saying she is still the General Secretary of the party.

Dhinakaran, who is founder of the AMMK, said nobody can stop his aunt from using the AIADMK flag.

Talking to reporters at Panpoli near Tenkasi town after offering prayers at a temple, he said that the AIADMK's petition challenging use of late party chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's picture by the AMMK is still pending before the court.

Sasikala, a close aide of Jayalalithaa, used the AIADMK flag on her car after release from prison in Bengaluru last week.

AIADMK presidium Chairman E. Madhusudhanan on Friday complained to the Director General of Police. Ministers D. Jayakumar and C. Shanmugam, who accompanied him, said Sasikala has no moral right to use their party flag.

Dhinakaran said Sasikala will be returning to Tamil Nadu on February 8, instead of February 7. He claimed that AMMK and true loyalists of Jayalalithaa were eager to receive her. He replied in affirmative when asked if she would contest the ensuing Assembly elections.

He claimed that a "big chemical reaction" is taking place in Tamil Nadu and hoped that this will yield a good result for all. "Our goal is to establish real Amma government and stop the DMK from coming to power," he said.

Dhinakaran declined to comment when asked if he will be merging the AMMK with the AIADMK.

Parents, teachers and members of the Beaumont ISD administration are expressing confusion and outrage at a decision by district officials to remove elements of a Black History Month mural deemed too political.

Photos of the Olympic Power Salute at Vincent Middle School were taken down but returned after feedback from the parents; however, a collection of clenched fists decorated by students were not replaced.

The students have covered that spot with construction paper that spells out Insert Black Fist Here!

They came through and made the principals take down the fists and the 1968 Olympic Power Salute. They said it was political, Mikelle Patillo, a long-term substitute teacher who worked on the mural with students, said. Prior to that, there was a complaint received to BISD stating that the wall was inciting violence, so the chief of police came and he had to check the wall.

In a statement, BISD spokesperson Denise McLean said Beaumont ISD administrators received a complaint through email last Friday about the Black History Month bulletin board at the middle school.

Upon review, the administration determined that the majority of the art displayed celebrated historical figures and achievements in the African-American community, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Michael Jackson, Olympians, and others, McLean said in the statement. However, a small portion of the art included emblems that are perceived as politically controversial and not pedagogically related to Black history.

Patillo, and a growing chorus of voices, disagree.

How can I incorporate as much new Black history information for these children as possible? Patillo asked when starting the design. The theme came into my head  soul train into Black history. The train tracks at the top, which is history in itself, and then the mural is a timeline through different aspects of Black history.

The 1968 Olympic Black Power Salute was a seminal moment in civil rights history, where Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two top-performing athletes, used their moment on the international stage to stand in solidarity with the Black Power movement.

I told them, excuse me?, Black History is more than Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and slavery, Patillo told The Enterprise. We are more than that. And (the students) need to know that.

Another part of the display that included the names of Black people killed by police and events that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement were also taken down.

Beaumont ISD Board President Thomas Sigee told The Enterprise the move could be seen as a lesson for students.

We are trying to raise these students, and engage them in their education, Sigee said. What is history to one student is not history to another. I dont know how many people were offended by it.

Sigee also said that students dont understand the Black Lives Matter movement.

I dont think they actually understand the Black Lives movement right now, he said.

One parent emailed Patillo after their children said the art they created had been taken down.

We all have freedom of speech and it is Black History Month, the parent said. It is concerning that my children have to go to school and be concerned about the color of their skin.

The part of the mural that was removed was a collection of clenched fists, associated over the years with fighting back against oppression and authority. It was the symbol of the Black Panther Party, and raised by Nelson Mandela after he was released from prison in 1990.

Most recently, the fist has been associated with Black Lives Matter, a grassroots response to police brutality that has grown in recent years into a global movement.

Patillo said it was hard to explain the move to her students, who were dismayed and confused about the administrations decision.

I tell them theres some people who are above in BISD that werent comfortable with the fists and we had to take it down, she said.

Amanda Mitchell, who has one student in the district but not in the class, also expressed concern.

We cannot pick and choose what parts of history to teach our children. Some parts of history is offensive but that doesnt mean we shouldnt teach our children, she said. Being offended and thus removing parts of this mural is the first step in drastically changing how Black history is taught in schools.

An administrator, who spoke to BISD on the condition of anonymity due to districts policy against speaking to the media, said it was one of the most egregious actions she has seen in her time at the district.

The truth is, coming into the schoolhouse, telling them to take it down is brutal. It is hurtful, and the damage is already done. This is going to be a forever memory.

McLean said the district only removed the items unrelated to the educational purpose of Black History Month.

The district has a rich history of celebrating Black History including, district-wide participation in the city Martin Luther King, Jr. parade, Black History wax museums, choir programs, and fine arts parades, Know Your History contests, dress-up days, and soul food luncheons; and we will continue the tradition in ways that are educationally appropriate, she said.

Sigee said that he would welcome discussion of the matter at the board of trustees, adding that he doesnt want the incident to be overblown.

I dont want this incident to grow into a mountain, because it doesnt need to be there, he said. I hope the children learn something from this. This is Black History Month, and I feel they need to be able to express themselves in this particular situation. We dont want to suppress Black History Month, but we need to make sure that what we do is appropriate.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
A New Jersey man charged with stabbing his neighbor to death last year has surrendered to Florida authorities after his pre-trial release was revoked earlier this week.

Zachary T. Latham, 18, of Vineland, was charged with aggravated manslaughter in the May 4 killing of 51-year-old William T. Durham Sr., a state corrections officer, following a long-running feud.

Latham was freed from jail pending trial and relocated to Florida, where he was arrested last month on charges that he threatened a motorist with a weapon.

A New Jersey Superior Court judge revoked Lathams pre-trial release and issued a bench warrant for his arrest Tuesday, citing multiple violations of release orders.

Latham was booked into jail in Collier County, Florida, on Thursday on that warrant.

Its not clear if he will challenge extradition to New Jersey. Records regarding his current detention list a March 1 court date.

Latham, who has been living in Naples, Florida, was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol on Jan. 23 in Fort Myers after he allegedly threatened a motorist with a pellet gun that resembles an AK-47 assault rifle and tried to ram the victims vehicle.

He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and freed from jail on electronic monitoring after posting $40,000 bond.

In revoking his pre-trial release on the New Jersey charges, Superior Court Judge William F. Ziegler found that Latham violated conditions of his release through these new charges and by continuing to comment about his case on social media after he was ordered to stop.

Latham allegedly taunted and mocked the Durham family on TikTok after a dispute over him speeding in their Vineland neighborhood and posted videos of his run-ins with the Durhams. The disputes turned physical and culminated in a violent confrontation that ended with Latham stabbing Durham Sr. multiple times.

While Latham claimed he acted in self-defense when the Durhams came to his home, an attorney for the family said Latham instigated the showdown in an effort to gain TikTok fame.

William T. Durham Sr., a correctional officer at South Woods State Prison, was stabbed to death in a fight with a neighbor.

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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.


OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - The Canadian stock market ended on a firm note on Friday, extending gains to a fifth straight day, as continued optimism about recovery thanks to vaccine rollout and prospects of additional stimulus in the U.S. aided sentiment.



Higher crude oil and bullion prices, and encouraging earnings reports from some top name U.S. companies too contributed to market's gains.



The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which hit fresh intraday and closing highs today, ended with a gain of 93.93 points or 0.52% at 18,135.90, after advancing to 18,159.20. The index gained 4.6% in the week.



Materials, energy and technology stocks were the prominent gainers. A few stocks from the industrial section posted strong gains. Healthcare and consumer staples attracted profit taking. Financial, consumer discretionary and industrial shares closed mixed.



In the materials section, Eldorado Gold (ELD.TO) soared 12%. The company announced it has signed an amended investment agreement with the Hellenic Republic to govern the development, construction and operation of its mines and projects in Greece.



Hailed as a 'new beginning' for Eldorado and its Kassandra Mines in Greece, the agreement will pave the way for the completion of the Skouries project, the expansion of Olympias to 650 000 t/y, upgrades to the port facilities at Stratoni and further investment in exploration.



New Gold Inc. (NG.TO) gained 6.3%, while Canfor Corp (NGD.TO), Interfor Corp (IFP.TO), First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) and Torex Gold Reserves (TXG.TO) moved up 4 to 5.4%. Kinross Gold (K.TO), Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO), Methanex Corp (MX.TO), Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO), Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) and Lundin Mining Corp (LUN.TO) also rose sharply.



Energy stocks Seven Generations Energy (VII.TO), Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO), MEG Energy (MEG.TO), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) and Enerplus Corp (ERF.TO) ended sharply higher.



In the financial section, Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH.TO) surged up 2.2%. Laurentian Bank (LB.TO) and CDN Western Bank (CWB.TO) gained 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.



Among technology stocks, BlackBerry (BB.TO) ended stronger by 8.3%, gaining for a third straight session. Docebo Inc. (DCBO.TO), Photon Control (PHO.TO), Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO), Open Text Corp (OTEX.TO) and CGI Group (GIB.A.TO) and Quarterhill (QTRH.TO) gained 1 to 2.6%.



In economic news, the Canadian economy shed 213,000 jobs in January, well above market forecasts of a 47,500 decline and following 53,000 drop in the previous month. Losses were entirely in part-time work and were concentrated in Central Canada.



The unemployment rate in Canada rose 0.6 percentage points to 9.4% in January, the highest since August 2020.



Another data from Statistics Canada showed the country's trade deficit narrowed to C$ 1.7 billion in December from C$ 3.6 billion in November.



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The more than 30 candidates who have thrown their hat in the ring to become the citys next mayor will inevitably face questions about their New Yorkiness.

The candidates are starting to go after each other a bit more and distinguish themselves over policy proposals and personal narratives, said my colleague Emma Fitzsimmons, the City Hall bureau chief.

[The race to become New York Citys next mayor may be one of the most consequential political contests in a generation. Here are some of the leading candidates.]

I think there are five front-runners among Democrats at this point: Eric Adams, Ray McGuire, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley and Andrew Yang, Ms. Fitzsimmons said, naming them in alphabetical order.

My colleague Corey Kilgannon recently talked with these front-runners and several other candidates about their New York pedigrees, specifically asking them about their favorite city moments. Here are a few of their responses, accompanied by illustrations from our Metropolitan Diary artist, Agnes Lee.
Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah Friday said that the Indian authorities have imposed the longest curfew in the history of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) which was a naked violation of human rights and enough to inculcate the conscience of international community and human rights bodies

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Feb, 2021 ) :Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah Friday said that the Indian authorities have imposed the longest curfew in the history of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) which was a naked violation of human rights and enough to inculcate the conscience of international community and human rights bodies.

This he said while talking to the media persons just after leading a rally to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir organized by Commissioner Karachi from Peoples Chowrangi to Mazar-e-Quid here.

The rally was attended by provincial ministers, Saeed Ghani, Murtaza Wahab, IG Sindh, provincial secretaries, civil society, human rights activists and other others in a large number.

Syed Murad Ali shah said that the Indian government, in order to suppress people of IIOJK, has not only amended their constitution to deny the historical rights of people of the valley, but has turned the valley into a no-go-area where no person was allowed to enter to witness the plight of the people.

"In the history the curfew imposed in Kashmir is the longest ever imposed anywhere in the world," he said.

Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the conferences, walks and seminars to highlight the plight of people of Kashmir were good to further highlight the Kashmir issue.

The chief minister said that the atrocities unleashed in the valley of Kashmir was a threat to the regional peace. "If the international community is interested in the peace in the region it would have to take notice of Indian government crimes in Kashmir and force him to restore the rights of suppressed people of Kashmir by withdrawing heavy police and armed forces from the valley.

Murad urged the international community to become the voice of the voiceless people of Kashmir. He also assured people of Kashmir that the people of Pakistan were with them and would be fighting for their legitimate rights.
Assadolah Assadi, who served as an Iranian diplomat in Vienna, Austria, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a 2018 bomb plot to kill top leaders of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) during an annual conference near Paris. This historic decision recognizes Iran's role in international terrorism.

Assadi was arrested in Germany on July 1, 2018, while traveling in a rental car to Vienna, where he worked as the third adviser at the Iranian embassy. The day before, Belgian police had arrested a couple with a powerful bomb in a suitcase. It was alleged that Assadi had handed the bomb to them shortly before.

It's an open secret that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been the center for terrorism coordination for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds Force and Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security Services (VAVAK) for the past three decades. Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, and the regime's foreign ministry have always worked with the supreme leader, the IRGC, and VAVAK to export terrorism and religious fundamentalism, to acquire atomic bombs, and to produce ballistic missiles.

To this end, the Foreign Ministry uses its diplomatic facilities to carry out terrorist plots and transfer bombs through diplomatic channels and its diplomatic immunity to spy on opposition groups. Without cooperation from the Foreign Ministry, Khamenei and the IRGC's Quds Force would be limited in what they can do abroad.

To get a sense of the close relationship between the Foreign Ministry and the Quds force, Zarif said once, "Qasem Soleimani and I never felt a dichotomy. We worked closely together for more than 20 years." He also said (my translation):

When I was in charge of representing Iran in New York during the US invasion of Iraq, and I was talking to US officials on the orders of the country's top officials, and I had the most coordination with Sardar Soleimani[.] ... After that, during my ministry, Sardar Soleimani and I decided that whenever we were both in Tehran, we would meet at least once a week to review the latest developments and make the necessary coordination.

President Rouhani may be Iran's ostensible leader, but Khamenei and Quds were calling the shots.

Or, as Zarif declared on November 5, 2018: "We are not an organization to act on our own[.] ... Can we do anything in this country without reporting? It's not that we wanted to do something against the supreme leader's orders."

Assadi's conviction represents a European court's recognition that Iran's foreign ministry is involved in exporting terrorism, including transferring ammunition and weapons to terrorists, money-laundering, and providing travel documents and organized guidance for spies. Between 2016 and 2020, seven regime terrorist diplomats, including an ambassador, were expelled from Europe for their involvement in terrorist plots.

Assadi, rather than being a low-level staffer in the Vienna embassy, was, in fact, a high-ranking Iranian regime intelligence officer who, in the guise of a diplomat, led a network of spies and informants in eleven countries, including Germany, France, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy and transferring cash to spies for their wages.

When he was arrested, German police had not only discovered a black notebook with cryptographic inscriptions and code words, apparently instructions for the bombers, but also found a 200-page green notebook in the car. It contains a total of 289 handwritten notes, many of which are written in Latin and Persian scripts, most of which contain details about important European centers.

For example, the notebook contained the address of the Islamic Center of Hamburg, which is under surveillance by the Office for Protection of the Constitution and is trying to "export the Islamic Revolution." The notebook also contained details of Assadi's money deliveries, ranging from 2,500 to 5,000 euros.

The Assadi trial exposed the Iranian government's role  at the very highest levels  in exporting terrorism. That in itself is something of a victory against a regime that has been in a perpetual state of war against the West since 1979.
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Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it has asked U.S. health regulators to authorize its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, and it will apply to European authorities in coming weeks.

The drugmaker's application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) follows its Jan. 29 report in which it said the vaccine had a 66% rate of preventing infections in its large global trial.

The FDA said on Thursday evening that it has scheduled a meeting of its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on Feb. 26, to discuss the company's request for emergency use authorization.

Vaccines from Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc were authorized a day after such a meeting.

J&J's single-shot vaccine could help boost supply and simplify the U.S. immunization campaign, amid concerns of fresh surges due to the more contagious UK coronavirus variant and the potential of lower vaccine efficacy against a variant that first emerged in South Africa.

Unlike the two currently authorized vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech SE and Moderna, J&J's does not require a second shot or need to be shipped frozen.

After the company's application, regulators will need time to analyze the data and an advisory committee must meet. The company's chief scientific officer, Paul Stoffels, said last month J&J was on track to roll out the vaccine in March.

"Upon authorization of our investigational COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, we are ready to begin shipping," Stoffels said in a statement announcing the application.

J&J said it had rolling submissions with several global health agencies and would submit a Conditional Marketing Authorization Application with the European Medicines Agency in the coming weeks.

J&J's application raised hopes for fighting a pandemic that has claimed more than 451,145 American lives and over 2,271,152 worldwide.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson rose about 1% in extended trading on Thursday, while Moderna was down 0.7% and Pfizer stock was little changed.

The United States has agreed to pay $1 billion for 100 million doses, which J&J said it expected to supply in the first half of the year. The United States also has the option of purchasing an additional 200 million doses.

The company said it has doses ready for delivery upon emergency approval. It aims to deliver 1 billion doses in 2021 with production in the United States, Europe, South Africa and India.

In J&J's trial of nearly 44,000 volunteers conducted in eight countries, the level of protection against COVID-19 was 72% in the United States, 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa where variants are circulating.

Those results compare with the 95% effectiveness of the two-dose vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech SE and Moderna.

However, both those trials were conducted mainly in the United States and before the spread of new variants.

J&J's main study goal was the prevention of moderate to severe COVID-19, and the vaccine was 85% effective in stopping severe disease and preventing hospitalization across all geographies and against multiple variants 28 days after immunization.

J&J's vaccine uses a common cold virus known as adenovirus type 26 to introduce coronavirus proteins into cells in the body and trigger an immune response.

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use a new technology called messenger RNA (mRNA) that requires it to be stored in a freezer.
Now that the San Francisco school board has decreed that 44 public schools must be renamed because the figures or mythical entities they were named after do not meet our citys moral standards, the logical next step is to root out offensive street and place names.

To assist in this process, herewith is an initial list of retrograde streets and sites in San Francisco, using the boards criteria for exclusion. Those included slave-holding and participating in colonialism and genocide. To ensure that the moral quality of the names of our thoroughfares is as high as possible, figures who committed misdeeds outside the boards criteria are also included, marked with an asterisk.

Significant funds will need to be set aside for this work, because preliminary research indicates that few of the figures who have city streets named after them meet the boards standards.

Anza Street: Named for Juan Bautista de Anza, Spanish explorer who in 1776 led the colonizing California Mayflower expedition from Mexico to Monterey and then to San Francisco. This event spelled doom for the states native people.

Brannan Street*: Named for Samuel Brannan, Mormon businessperson who arrived in 1846. Brannan misused tithes he collected from his fellow Mormons and urged on a mob that lynched an accused burglar in Portsmouth Square.

Burnett Avenue: Named for Peter Burnett, first governor of California. Burnett approvingly predicted there would be a war of extermination between whites and Indians that would end when the Indian race becomes extinct.

Cabrillo Street: Named for Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the Portuguese (some say Spanish) conquistador who in 1542 became the first European to set foot in California. As a young soldier in Cuba, Cabrillo took part in the massacre of 2,000 Taino Indians.

Calhoun Terrace: Named for Sen. John C. Calhoun, the Souths most passionate defender of slavery.

Clay Street: Named for Henry Clay, the senator from Kentucky who brokered the Compromise of 1850, widely regarded as having postponed the Civil War for a decade. Clay kept slaves and favored only gradual emancipation, making him far more objectionable than the abolitionist poet James Russell Lowell, whom the school board rejected because his commitment to abolition wavered.

Columbus Avenue: The city has already removed the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus statue near Coit Tower, declaring that he did not represent the citys values. Columbus was the original European colonizer of the Western Hemisphere and had an appalling record of dealing with native peoples.

Cortes Avenue: Named for Hernan Cortes, Spanish conquistador whose victory over the Aztec empire was accompanied by mass slaughter.

Trivia time Previous trivia question: The courtyard of the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Cow Hollow boasts what unusual feature? Answer: A fountain fed by one of the last of the springs that were once commonplace in Cow Hollow. This week's trivia question: Where in San Francisco is the neighborhood called Little Hollywood? Editor's note Every corner in San Francisco has an astonishing story to tell. Gary Kamiya's Portals of the Past tells those lost stories, using a specific location to illuminate San Francisco's extraordinary history - from the days when giant mammoths wandered through what is now North Beach to the Gold Rush delirium, the dot-com madness and beyond. His column appears every other Saturday. Dig deep into Chronicle Vault Like what you're reading? Subscribe to the Chronicle Vault newsletter and get classic archive stories in your inbox twice a week. Read hundreds of historical stories, see thousands of archive photos and sort through 153 years of classic Chronicle front pages at SFChronicle.com/vault. See More Collapse

Custer Avenue: Named for Gen. George Armstrong Custer, who invaded indigenous peoples lands and was killed along with 250 troops by Sitting Bulls Sioux warriors on the Little Big Horn River.

Dewey Monument, Union Square: Erected in honor of Adm. George Deweys 1898 victory over Spanish naval forces in Manila Bay in the imperialist Spanish-American War.

Folsom Street*: Named for Capt. Joseph Folsom, a wealthy businessperson notorious for using thugs to force squatters off property.

Font Street: Named for Father Pedro Font. In addition to taking part in the colonizing Anza expedition, he was an insufferably pompous moralist who defended a wife-beater when Anza tried to intervene, telling the captain, He is doing the right thing.

Fremont Street: Named for John C. Fremont, whose provocative actions as head of a band of heavily armed American surveyors helped foment the imperialist-settler Bear Flag Revolt, and whose men gunned down three unarmed Californios in cold blood.

Geary Street and Boulevard: Named for Mayor John W. Geary, who fought in the unjust and expansionist Mexican-American War.

Grant Avenue: Named for Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, commander of Union forces in the Civil War and 18th U.S. president. Grant briefly kept slaves. After being toppled by protesters, Grants statue in Golden Gate Park, along with those of Francis Scott Key and Father Junipero Serra, was removed by the city last year, pending a review of what to do with works that venerate individuals that do not reflect the citys racial justice values.

Green Street*: Named for Talbot H. Green, a pillar of the young citys community who in 1850 was found to be an embezzler and bigamist from Pennsylvania named Paul Geddes.

Jackson Street: Named for President Andrew Jackson, whose dreadful record with Indians included leading a massacre against the Creeks and signing the Indian Removal Act.

Kearny Street: Named for Gen. Stephen Kearny, whose troops were defeated by Mexican lancers at the Battle of San Pasqual during the Mexican-American War.

More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond.

Lapham Way*: Named for Mayor Roger Lapham, who tried to get rid of San Franciscos cable cars in the 1940s.

Lawton Street: Named for Brig. Gen. Henry W. Lawton, who led an expedition that captured the Apache leader Geronimo and was a major military leader in the imperialist Philippine-American War.

Leidesdorff Street: Named for William Leidesdorff, a leading Yerba Buena businessperson of West Indian and Danish ancestry who purchased Indian slaves from John Sutter.

Mark Twain Street: Named for the author, who wrote disparagingly about Indians and used a racist slur for Black people in his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Mission Street: Named for Mission Dolores. As the school renaming committee wrote in recommending that Mission High School be renamed, All California missions are sites of slavery and colonization.

Stockton Street: Named for Commodore Robert Stockton, whose arrogant and high-handed dealings with the Californios during the Mexican-American War exacerbated their resistance to the U.S. occupation.

Sutter Street: Named for John Augustus Sutter, a Swiss immigrant who built the settlement of Sutters Fort. Sutter exploited the Indians who worked for him and sold them into slavery.

Twin Peaks*: The Spanish called these hills Los Pechos de la Choca, or The Breasts of the Indian Maiden. Twin Peaks echoes this sexist and racist name.

Vallejo Street: Named for Mariano Vallejo, the most illustrious of the Californios. As a Mexican soldier, Vallejo led an 1829 expedition near present-day Manteca against the native leader Estanislao. Vallejo set afire the thickets where Estanislao and his men were hiding, then gunned them down as they ran out. He also allegedly ordered six native captives, including women, to be hanged.

Yale Street: Named for the university named after Elihu Yale, who was a slave trader.

Gary Kamiya is the author of the best-selling book Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco, awarded the Northern California Book Award in creative nonfiction. His new book, with drawings by Paul Madonna, is Spirits of San Francisco: Voyages Through the Unknown City. All the material in Portals of the Past is original for The San Francisco Chronicle. To read earlier Portals of the Past, go to sfchronicle.com/portals. For more features from 150 years of The Chronicles archives, go to sfchronicle.com/vault. Email: metro@sfchronicle.com

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Russia that the new U.S. administration will respond "firmly" to Russian actions against the United States and its allies.



The State Department said Blinken issued the warning in a February 4 telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.



"The Secretary reiterated President [Joe] Biden's resolve to protect American citizens and act firmly in defense of U.S. interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies," the State Department said in a statement.



"This includes the release of Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed so that they are able to return home to their families in the United States," it added.



In June 2020, a Russian court sentenced Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, to 16 years on espionage charges, which he has vehemently rejected.



Reed, another former U.S. marine, was handed a nine-year prison sentence in July for allegedly assaulting two police officers, a charge that he refused to admit.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov told Blinken that Moscow was open to a normalization of bilateral relations.



The State Department said Blinken and Lavrov discussed this month's extension of the New START nuclear arms-control treaty and "the need for new arms control that addresses all of Russias nuclear weapons and the growing threat from China."



Russia and the United States formally extended New START, the last remaining arms-control pact between Washington and Moscow, for another five years -- just days before it was set to expire.



The treaty limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550, deployed strategic delivery systems at 700, and provides for a verification regime.



Former U.S. President Donald Trump had made a failed attempt to negotiate limits on other categories of nuclear weapons and to add China to the treaty.



Blinken has said the extension of the treaty provides time for Moscow and Washington to negotiate a new verifiable arms-control arrangement while ensuring that the United States can monitor and verify limits on Russian strategic nuclear arms.



The State Department statement said Blinken also raised the issue of "Russian interference" in last years presidential election that brought Biden to the White House, Moscows "military aggression" in Ukraine and Georgia, the poisoning of jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny, and the recent SolarWinds hack of U.S. government systems.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday paid glowing tribute to former President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi, remembering him as a steadfast, humble and patient statesman who mentored and raised many great leaders.

Mzee Moi was a man who had great strength of character and great patience. He had that strength that comes from humility.

I, myself, would not have reached where I am today without his guidance, President Kenyatta said.

The Head of State spoke when he joined the family, relatives, friends and close acquaintances of the former President at his Kabarak home in Nakuru County for a remembrance service to mark one year since his passing on.

President Kenyatta pointed out that former President Moi was a true and respectful father of the nation who had friends from all walks of life.

Mzee Moi respected and was in turn respected by everybody. He had friends from all levels in society, the Head of State said.

The President advised politicians angling for national leadership positions to emulate the late former President Moi by exercising the virtues of restraint, patience and humility.

He expressed concern at the way todays leaders are disrespectful, saying respect, patience and humility can earn one a leadership position but not abuse and arrogance.

The arrogance that we see in todays leadership raises many questions about the future of this country, the President said.

Political party leaders Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi (Amani National Congress), Moses Wetangula (Ford Kenya) and Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper) were among the speakers at the first anniversary event.

The party leaders said the former President, who led the country for 24 years, held the dignity of the nation high and narrated how their encounters with Kenyas second Head of State shaped their lives.

Mr Mudavadi described former President Moi as a great man and a unique gift to the people of Kenya, saying his legacy will live on for posterity.

Today is a very memorable day to us and for the country because we have come to pay respect to a home that literally held Kenya together for years. We thank God that President Moi was with us, the Amani National Congress party leader said.

On his part, Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka celebrated the achievements of the second President of Kenya terming him a peacemaker who was the beacon of unity in Eastern African and the continent.

Governors Lee Kinyanjui (Nakuru), Alex Tolgos (Elgeyo Marakwet) and Patrick Khaemba (Trans Nzoia) as well as Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina and Baringo County MP Gladwell Cheruiyot also spoke at the solemn event.
Most longtime Washingtonians know the talking points of the Districts rich cultural history  one that is deeply intertwined with Black American culture and the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, Washington, DC, was affectionately called Chocolate City for decades, an homage to the demographic majority there which at one point hit 71 percent African American in 1970.

Surprisingly, though, many DC residents are fairly unfamiliar with neighboring Charm City to the north  Marylands most populous city of Baltimore. Despite the short drive of about an hour that connects the two hubs, Baltimore remains unseen as a major tourist destination for even those a mere hop, skip and jump away. Its population has also dropped of late, dipping below 600,000 for the first time in more than a century, according to U.S. Census estimates released last year. According to the Baltimore Sun, the port city has seen their population numbers decline steadily since 2015, when Baltimore saw civil unrest following the death of Freddie Gray from injuries he suffered while in police custody.

Indeed, what is typically reported about the city is its crime rate or details of its supposed urban blight, but that should not detract from Baltimores pivotal role in the evolution of Black history and culture in America. Its the place where Frederick Douglass worked on the docks before fleeing north to freedom, where you could have seen a young Billie Holiday playing on the streets as a child, and where the nations first Black American U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, grew up.

Now, Baltimore is enjoying a new wave of diverse creatives and entrepreneurs entering the city with a tenacity to invent and create, breathing new life into Charm City. This means a bursting scene of restaurants, cafes, shops and more that visitors can patronize, as well as a street art and music scene that can duke it out with the best.

During Black History Month, Baltimores tourism bureau is making it even easier to show your support with a new pass that gives visitors discounts to a long list of Black-owned businesses and educational cultural attractions. Called the BoP pass, the name plays into the Baltimore slang term for a long walk, or a bop. The pass is free, and visitors can use it to take a journey through the streets where Frederick Douglass, Billie Holiday and Harriet Tubman once walked, learning about their contributions to history and how their fearlessness, big ideas and bold innovation informs our culture today, according to Baltimores website.

The list includes some of the citys many museums, like the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, which currently has a Black Lives Matter exhibition on view. The museum also highlights the history and accomplishments of Marylands Black Americans and features more than 400 years of history within its permanent collection. After, head over to the American Visionary Museum, where the works of self-taught artists show visitors an endless realm of artistic possibility.

Shopping in Baltimore



There are tons of boutiques worthy of a visit during your stop in Baltimore. Start your journey at the eclectic WE ARE MAUD, located right by the historic Green Mount cemetery, for home goods, bath and body products and more. Next grab a homemade, small-batch candle from Letta Moores KSM Candle Co. in Woodberry, right by Brandon Warren Designs, a local designer whose regal robes and colorful masks are inspired by African culture.

The city of Baltimore is also making it easier for Black entrepreneurs and creatives to open new spaces of their own with a just-launched program nicknamed The Downtown BOOST. The initiative seeks to pair creative Black businesses with vacant storefronts, and connect them with the technical, marketing and other expertise they need to succeed.

Eating and Drinking in Baltimore



It wont be hard to find some good eats in Baltimore, a port city known for its flavorful crab cakes, buckets of steamed seafood and pit barbecue. Another thing Baltimore does well is comfort, like at Terra Cafe, which has been serving the city for more than 10 years since its opening. There, dig into comfort food classics like shrimp and grits and fish and waffles while supporting owner Terence Dickson in his mission to give back to the community. Last year, Dickson partnered with World Central Kitchen to distribute food to those in need, and recently launched an incubator that helps Black small businesses affected by the pandemic.

If youre looking for a Baltimore showcase in one place, try out the new Whitehall Mill located in a renovated 18th-century flour mill. The space now serves as a food hall stacked with everything from the famous crab pies from Crust by Mack to freshly shucked oysters at True Chesapeake Oyster Co.

Wash it all down with the brewers of the Guinness Open Gate Brewery, where theyve combined talents with Black co-workers and allies across multiple departments at the brewery to create Station at 601, a limited-edition brew releasing on February 11. The beer is a Black IPA with tangerine available in cans, with a powerful message printed on each cans side: Named to pay homage to the local train station at 601 S. President St. in Baltimore, a key landmark in the Underground Railroad used by abolitionists who guided enslaved people to freedom. This brew is the result of a collaboration amongst Black co-workers and allies at our Maryland production site.

Quinn Collins (Collins + Co.)

All proceeds of the new brew will benefit the Job Opportunities Task Force, and is part of the Guinness Gives Back Baltimore Community Fund  a million dollar commitment to support economic justice, community empowerment and equal representation in the city.

Where to Stay



If you plan to stay the night in Charm City look no further than The Ivy Hotel, the only Relais & Chateaux property in Maryland. Owned by philanthropic couple Eddie and Sylvia Brown, the iconic hotel is set in a reimagined mansion in the neighborhood of Mount Vernon. Besides the rumor that Beyonce and Jay-Z stay there while visiting the city, the hotels luxurious appointments and award-winning restaurant Magdelena are enough of a reason to stay. The Browns themselves sweeten the deal, as visitors can feel good about patronizing a hotel whose owners have donated millions to the Baltimore Museum of Art.

The post The Best Arts, Eats and Lodging for a Long Weekend in Baltimore appeared first on InsideHook.
In this decade for commemorating events of a century ago there has been much media attention for the high-profile deaths of men in uniform at Soloheadbeg and the innocents of Bloody Sunday, but little mention of hundreds of other civilian casualties through the War of Independence.

On February 9, 1921 the IRA killed Alfred Charles Reilly, a 58-year-old prominent Cork businessman.

Just a footnote to history for some, one of 200 civilians who died in that phase of the Anglo-Irish War, but a very traumatic event for his family.

According to one of his killers, as recorded in the Bureau of Military History (see also Gerard Murphys The Year of Disappearances, Political Killings in Cork 1921-1922), they were acting on orders from brigade intelligence that an organisation had been formed by the Freemasons and YMCA to spy on IRA men in the city.

Despite Reilly not being a Freemason or a member of the YMCA, and no historian lending credence to such a conspiracy, he was a legitimate target for some.

He was English, a Methodist, had been a justice of the peace in Cork, although he stepped down six years earlier and refused on principle to perform jury service from 1920 when republicans began to appear before the courts.

A supporter of Home Rule he organised an unsuccessful petition to request the release of Terence MacSwiney.

Reilly marched behind the coffins of Tomas MacCurtain and MacSwiney. Months later Barry Egan, Sinn Fein Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork attended Reillys funeral. At the time, Sinn Fein TD Liam de Roiste, and many others could see no motive for the killing.

Reilly left work, as manager of Thompsons Bakery in what is now MacCurtain Street, where four members of the local brigade with revolvers hijacked his pony and trap and drove him to his home outside Douglas.

He was shot in the chest, abdomen, left arm and right side of his face. A card was fixed to his body with Spies and Informers, Beware written on it.

His startled pony continued up the drive and the family ran towards the gate to find him. His daughter had lost her mother 10 years earlier to pneumonia, her younger brother to a ruptured appendix, remaining brother on the Somme, and now her last family member to a brutal murder.

The family could see no motive and put it down to a personal grudge, possibly from his time as a judge, dealing with minor civil and criminal matters. His only surviving child was a strong and gentle woman, who went on to have 16 grandchildren, of which I am proud to be one.

Nigel Monaghan

Clondalkin

Dublin 22

Travel: Surely gardai can arrest?

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly says gardai do not have the power to arrest people travelling abroad for non-essential purposes. They can only fine them 500, and instruct them to go home.

As far as Im aware, there is ample precedent, both before Covid and during, of gardai using their power to arrest people who refuse to comply with the lawful instruction of a garda.

The travel fine is all well and good, but its basically putting a wealth restriction on holidays. If you can afford 500 to 1,000 additional cost (or package add-on) off you go.

Read More McEntee: Gardai will enforce mandatory quarantine of passengers arriving into Ireland

If they dont want to arrest those who can afford to be above the law, why not prosecute them in court immediately that day?

Then, when the defendant doesnt turn up in court because they are in the south of Spain, lay on additional charges.

Jack Desmond

Bandon

Cork

We made a hames of Covid modelling

Dr Phillip Nolan chose to describe the proponents of Zero Covid pandemic policy as the makers of false promises. That was a choice. The phrase had faint insinuations.

There are other ways to disagree. Drs Holohan and Nolan are doing their best and they have served the State with distinction in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

But here is an inconvenient truth. In recent months, as Dr Nolan admits himself, epidemiological events have confounded our modelling.

This is just a fancy way of saying lads, didnt we make a hames of that auld modelling.

Dr Nolans arguments on Zero Covid policy would be far more convincing if the modelling was more accurate.

Michael Deasy

Carrigart

Co Donegal

Can we all be hero and aim for zero

Everything we are seeing suggests, yet again, that the only viable strategy is zero community transmission.

If the virus cannot meet a new host it cannot learn new tricks, and it dies out. Simple enough. Complex to organise, yes. But not complicated.

Prevents death and long term chronic disease? Yes!

Reduces variants? Yes!

Expensive? Yes. (ish) Cheaper than cycles of open/lockdown? Yes!

Worth it? Yes!

Safe? Yes!

Compare New Zealand, Vietnam, Finland to UK, US, or Germany.

Can we please unite behind a workable zero community transmission stategy, now that the evidence is tragically and so shocklingly clear?

Corneilius Crowley

South Harrow

London

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A pharmaceutical helping hand

Is it possible that we could ask the many pharmaceutical companies here in Ireland for their help with a Covid-19 vaccine?

Surely in a country that is the third largest exporter of pharmaceuticals, it would be in the producers and exporters interest to protect their employees, if our government cannot do so.

Joyce Anderson

Belgooly

Co Cork

Christmas lights are hollow and empty

During a recent shopping trip to my beloved town of Rathkeale I was dismayed to see the Christmas lights are still up and illuminated.

I appreciate that there has been a national movement to leave the Christmas lights up for longer this year with the intention of lifting the mood of the people.

On approach to the town, being greeted by a large illuminated Happy Christmas at this stage of the year feels hollow and empty.

Having passed the feast day of St Brigid, marking the beginning of spring, we should be looking forward to a time of hope and optimism.

For a lot of people in Rathkeale, Christmas 2020 will be best forgotten, as we look forward to Christmas 2021 with great trepidation.

Donal O Donnabhain

Rathkeale

Co Limerick

Hold the front page for the press polka

Austrian Airlines have done it. Tambo International Airport Airlink has done it. As has Lizt Alfonso Dance Club Cuba and many others in the last four months.

Members of An Garda Siochana this week stepped up to the challenge from the Swiss police who did their synchronised dance video of a popular song which is one of those surprise hits.

The Garda version has since been unofficially called the Siochana Shuffle.

I thought their video was very good. It showed great camaraderie and including the two police horses.

It shows how doing the unexpected gives an emotional lift and spreads some cheer as we wait around the world to be vaccinated from Covid-19.

Jerusalema is by South African DJ and record producer Master KG, and was first released in South Africa in November 2019 and as a music video that December and is described as an upbeat, gospel, house song. It topped the South African charts in December 2019. Maybe The Echo or Irish Examiner might do theirs?

Mary Sullivan

College Rd

Cork

What a treat from gardai on the beat

OK now, twinkle-toed gardai.

Enough with the Riverdancing and leppin around the country.

Get back to the serious business of arresting citizens on our near deserted and crime-free streets.

Look! Theres a number of guys over there with beer cans in their hands  and others gathering suspiciously, possibly with a view to saying a few prayers at a holy statue. Go get em!

Robert Sullivan,

Bantry

Co Cork

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The Great Suspender was once a useful tool to use in Google Chrome's browser extension as it shuts down tabs that take too much memory, forcing the browser and page to slow down, now discovered to be malware. Users who suffer from slow Google Chrome browsing because of multiple opened tabs have been the focus of the extension.

However, the change of management from Dean Oemcke to an unknown developer has shifted the focus of the extension, from providing good service that helps people who run multiple tabs to being a virus in disguise. After the change, the browser extension has asked for several permissions from users to different accessibility including connecting to third-party servers.

According to Dr. Collin McMillen's public service announcement tweet, users who have been using The Great Suspender Google Chrome browser extension are in danger and should uninstall the tool now. He said that possibly, the extension has been "intentionally" running a malicious code that might be invading user privacy since November 2020.

Read Also: Snowstorm Mount 'WoW' Arrives with BlizzCon 2021 Celebration Packs

The Great Suspender Extension Alternatives: Malware-Free and Safe

First and foremost, MSN (via the Life Hacker), reported that there is one thing to do before uninstalling The Great Suspender extension tool in one's Google Chrome to fully stop it from accessing one's browser. Head to the settings of the extension and "Unsuspend" all of the open tabs, then feel free to uninstall and discard the malware extension.

The Great Suspender Pre-Malware Version (Old)

According to GitHub, there is a tracking and malicious-free old version of The Great Suspender that is still available for users to download and use. However, the existence of the Chrome extension is unknown as its current version was already removed from the Chrome web store, and might soon be blacklisted on it.

One Tab

One Tab is a Google Chrome extension that "consolidates all tabs into a list" that effectively claims to reduce 95 percent of data and memory usage while browsing the internet. The extension has more than 2 million users and has been highly rated with 4.5 stars.

Tabs Outliner

Tabs Outliner is also available in the Chrome Webstore, and it is a "Session Manager" that helps on organizing the web browser whenever a user opens or uses it. It can close and open tabs, and retain the original text that the user is currently in, for later uses with the browser.

The Great Discarder

While this tab would be fairly new and have only 20,000+ users, it is still highly rated with 4.5 stars and helps in automatically discarding tabs that are not in use. The Great Discarder selects the least used tabs and frees memory as such.

Auto Tab Discard

Like The Great Discarder, Auto Tab Discard would automatically select tabs to close for users to free up memory and boost the speed of the Google Chrome browser despite multiple open tabs.

Related Article: Sudo Bug 2021 Report: Cybersecurity Expert Says Root-Giving Bug Also Affects macOS





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Written by Isaiah Alonzo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is on a working visit to Kazakhstan, on Friday attended a regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (EIC) in Almaty.

The event was also attended by RF Premier Mikhail Mishustin, Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Ulukbek Maripov, as well as by heads of government from Eurasian Economic Union observer states: Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba Manuel Marrero Cruz and Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Aureliu Ciocoi (both via videoconference), and Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Mikhail Myasnikovich.

After a joint photo session, attended by the heads of government, the EIC meeting kicked off, first in a narrow and then in an expanded format. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered a speech at the expanded-format session, in which he stated as follows in particular.:

I would like to start my speech with a vote of thanks to Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin for the invitation and for hosting todays important event. I take this opportunity to once again congratulate Askar Uzakpayevich on being re-appointed to the post of Prime Minister. I am confident that your activities will help further strengthen relationships between our countries, as well as develop and implement the mutually agreed decisions in a multilateral format, including the development of the EAEU potential.

I would also like to congratulate Ulukbek Asamidinovich Maripov on his appointment as Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic and wish him every success in his activities.

I extend my heartfelt greetings to the representatives of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Moldova and the Republic of Cuba who are participating as observers. Your attendance comes to demonstrate once again the growing international importance of our organization. This is another good reason to reaffirm our readiness to cooperate with the observer states in the framework of joint programs and projects of mutual interest.

Among the key outcomes of the preceding period, I would highlight the final approval of the Unions development strategy by 2025. We hope that this year will be fruitful in terms of further implementation of those integration vectors reflected in the document. In this regard, I would like to highlight the measures aimed at expanding cooperation in the sphere of high technologies and digital technologies, in particular.

Armenia has traditionally actively participated in and supported the process of creating and implementing the EAEU Digital Agenda. We welcome the holding of a digital forum on the sidelines of todays meeting, in which I had the pleasure to participate. I am confident that the Forum will go a long way towards identifying the priority areas and developing effective tools for cooperation between our countries in the field of high and digital technologies.

In this context, I should state with satisfaction the successful launch of a pilot mobile application project, referred to as Traveling without COVID-19. Launched on February 1, 2021, the project allowed us to find mutually acceptable solutions to resuming passenger traffic between Armenia, Belarus and Russia, which is of paramount social and economic significance to our country. Obviously, this project is also important in terms of reducing the risk of coronavirus infection and occupies an important place among the measures taken to combat the pandemic.

Dear colleagues, coming to the agenda of todays meeting, I would like to weigh in on the following topics. There is no doubt that the improvement of mechanisms for the application of special protective, anti-dumping and countervailing measures in the EAEU can be effectively used to protect domestic producers from the negative impact of increased imports or unfair competition from third countries. Here, both a unified approach and the final result are important as reflected in the competitiveness of the goods of the Union states in relation to the goods of third countries.

The Armenian side is prepared to work closely with its integration partners to develop a common approach to the application of such measures. In the context of mechanisms aimed at protecting the Unions internal market, we should also consider the possibility of developing and implementing a retaliatory mechanism on the territory of the EAEU in accordance with existing international treaties.

We attach great importance to the assessments and generalizations provided in the report On Macroeconomic Situation in EAEU-Member States and Proposals for Ensuring Sustainable Economic Development. I am confident that they are useful for analyzing the financial and economic situation in our countries and forecasting the development scenarios.

Finally, I would like to thank you for the constructive approach shown by the EAEU countries to Armenias initiative to revise the list of countries-users of the unified system of tariff preferences. I am pleased to note that the issue of granting tariff preferences for goods and services from developing and least developed countries has already been included in the agenda of our organization and will soon be given an appropriate decision based on the criteria we have adopted.

In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm Armenias readiness to endeavor towards implementing the EAEU priority areas as identified by the Kazakh Chairmanship to further promote Eurasian integration and develop our union. Thank you.

The prime ministers of EAEU-member states discussed several agenda items. In particular, they outlined ways of improving the mechanisms for protecting the Unions internal markets and a mechanism for applying retaliatory measures in the EAEU customs territory.

The meeting approved a procedure for coordinating and providing analytical support to selection and breeding activities in the field of livestock breeding. The heads of government were presented a report on the macroeconomic situation and proposals to ensure sustainable economic development in the EAEU-member states.

A number of documents were signed on the results of the meeting.
Theres a growing demand for accountability on the part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has minimized the role his administration played in the high death toll at nursing homes during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

In March, Cuomo issued a directive ordering nursing homes to receive recovering coronavirus patients from hospitals, which many state lawmakers and health experts believe resulted in the high number of deaths among nursing home residents.

Then came state Attorney General Letitia James report from last week that alleged the state had severely undercounted nursing home deaths by as much as 50%. As the pandemic and our investigations continue, James wrote, it is imperative that we understand why the residents of nursing homes in New York unnecessarily suffered at such an alarming rate.

In response, the state Health Department shared new data that 12,743 nursing home residents had died from the virus, which was significantly higher than the 8,505 it previously said. Dr. Howard Zucker, the states health commissioner, pointed out that the states website said it does not include deaths outside of a facility.

The word undercount implies there are more total fatalities than have been reported, he said. This is factually wrong.

However, the commissioner acknowledged that the number of people transferred from a nursing home to a hospital is an important data point.

Cuomo fired back at the reports findings, suggesting that determining where nursing home patients died of the virus should be inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Who cares (if they) died in the hospital, died in a nursing home? They died, Cuomo said during a press conference, which struck some as callous and dismissive. If you look at New York state, we have a lower percentage of deaths in nursing homes than other states, he added.

To get the true numbers, the Empire Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank, filed a Freedom of Information Law request in August with the health department. After months of delays, the Empire Center sued the state to gain access to the records.

On Wednesday, a New York Supreme Court judge ordered the state Department of Health to hand over all records within five business days that provide the number of nursing home residents that died from COVID-19.

(The Department of Health) has had ample time to respond to Empire Centers FOIL request, state Supreme Court Justice Kimberly A. OConnor wrote in her decision. Its continued failure to provide petitioner a response, given the straightforward nature of the request, how the data is collected and maintained, and the fact that some of the requested data has already been made publicly available without personally identifying information, goes against FOILs broad standard of open and transparent government and is a violation of the statute.

After this story was published, Gary Holmes, a spokesperson for the state health department, provided this statement in an email: With the preliminary audit complete, we were already in the process of responding to their FOIL request, and updating DOHs website with publicly available information.

Several Republican lawmakers, including state Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt and state Sens. Jim Tedisco and Sue Serino, have called on Zucker to resign. Tedisco has even claimed that the Cuomo administration attempted to cover up the total death tally and has called for a full investigation into the states nursing home deaths, alongside Democratic lawmakers.

Democratic state Sens. Liz Krueger and Alessandra Biaggi want Cuomos emergency executive powers to be removed, following the release of James bombshell report. Just to put this into perspective as to why we need to limit and end the governors outsize power, his broad emergency power, is because in just the first six months of the governors expanded emergency powers, he used that power to issue 65 executive orders, and to suspend more than 250 laws, Biaggi said on Wednesday.

However, Rich Azzopardi, one of Cuomos senior advisers, told NY1 that the governors executive powers can be vetoed by the Legislature. The senator may not know this, but she (Biaggi) has an easily available option. The governors executive power is very limited. Any executive order by the governor can be easily overridden by a simple majority of the Legislature. That is their prerogative. Any executive order is immediately null and void with a simple majority vote.
The mother and brother of a farmer, who died in a road accident near the Ghazipur protest site, have been booked along with another person for allegedly insulting the national flag after a video of his last rites here showed the body draped in the Tricolour, police said on Friday.

According to the flag code of India, draping the Tricolour in a civilian funeral is an offence.

Farmers' protestThe farmer had gone to the farmers' protest site on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border and died in an accident near there, police said.

"Baljindra, a resident of Bari Bujhia village in Sehramau area had gone to participate in the farmers' agitation on January 23 with his friends. He died in a mishap on January 25 and his body was kept in a mortuary as that of an unidentified person. His family members came to know about the incident on February 2 and they brought the body here," Superintendent of Police, Jai Prakash Yadav, said.

"The family members covered the body with the national flag like that of a martyr and took it for last rites on Thursday. The video of the last rites went viral on social media after which an FIR was registered against Baljindra's mother Jasvir Kaur, brother Gurvinder and one unidentified," the SP said.
[February 04, 2021] #EmpowerMe

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute."  Thurgood Marshall #EmpowerMe

Who empowers you?

"We are here to recognize, respect and reward communities." Black History Month, centered on African Americans specifically, is the remembrance and recognition of achievement. As such, human history may reflect the history of all humans, a definition not defined in color. ZmBIZI, a minority owned US Mobile Tech company, honors history and celebrates achievement by all with its #EmpowerMe campaign. "ZmBIZI is not here to showcase our camera or battery functionality, that wheel's been invented," says Alpesh Patel, mobile industry veteran and Co-founder of ZmBIZI. "We are here to recognize, respect and reward communities." Throughout the month of February ZmBIZI invites everyone of all races to reflect on and share via video, shoutout or just a tag  Whether a parent, teacher, colleague or celebrity  who grants you license to be the best you? Using #EmpowerMe and also tagging ZmBIZI on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram consumers may share who empowers them and become eligible to win a ZmBIZI phone in the weekly Instagram prize drawing.



"Putting the user at the center of it all is crucially important," says Patel. "It is why we created ZmBIZI. To introduce technology curated for the consumer." #EmpowerMe is the premiere campaign for the ZmBIZI brand. February marks its first phase: empowering individuals. Following phases will focus on empowering entire communities, groups, neighborhoods, small businesses, and entrepreneurs.

The ZmBIZI Z1 Dual SIM phone is now available directly on www.zmbizi.com. About ZmBIZI

ZmBIZI is a lifestyle that empowers you. Inspired by the great African river Zambezi it is a patented mobile platform that consists of both hardware and software that operates a Super App Fintech led ecosystem, curated and aggregated to reward the person who uses it. The ZmBIZI reward points earned convert to hard currency via the ZmBIZI debit card. Contacts Jennifer Heyde

F. A. C. T. S

jennifer.heyde@factsco.org Cendy Pierre

F. A. C. T. S

cendy.pierre@factsco.org View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/empowerme-301222796.html SOURCE ZmBIZI

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Thinking about the Energy Transition Act brings Rumpelstiltskin to mind. In this Grimms classic tale, the miller told the king that his daughter could spin gold from straw.

Under threat of death, the king demanded she deliver the gold by morning. Distraught, and having no idea how to even begin, the daughter wept. Then, out of nowhere, as happens in fairy tales, an elfish man, Rumpelstiltskin, entered promising to help her deliver the gold.

But he exacted payment, and after converting rooms of straw into gold, he requested her first-born child. With no choice, she conceded to Rumpelstiltskins ultimatum. And remember, this is a fairy tale.

Our legislators passed the ETA in 2019 based on promises of the highest renewable energy portfolio standards in the country, a securitization tool to finance closure of dirty, old power plants by selling bonds and adding an additional charge on customers monthly bills, and transition funds for workers, workforce development and economic transition.

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These all provided really great news for New Mexicans, and the proposed ETA amendments will leave them intact. But also included in the ETA were provisions that violate both N.M. and federal constitutions, permitting PNM to take unlimited hundreds of millions of dollars from ratepayers outside of the regulatory process, with no opportunity for ratepayers to assert claims or defenses, and without due process. This is a nightmare, not a fairy tale.

Unlike the millers daughter, we have the regulatory compact, the agreement that has served as the bedrock of national utility regulation for almost a century. It states that PNM will be allowed to operate as a monopoly in exchange for submitting to regulation by the state through the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. The PRC is our regulatory authority charged with ensuring utility customers have just and reasonable rates, and ensuring reasonable and adequate services to the public as provided by law.

The ETA states the PRC shall not disallow  recovery of any undepreciated investments or decommissioning costs by a utility. Like the millers daughters predicament, our ratepayers rights are completely stripped by removing the PRCs ability to provide oversight of PNMs charges, and this is before decommissioning costs are included.

The ETA eliminates the PRCs authority to regulate the electric monopoly, giving PNM a blank check, and thereby leaving ratepayers without protection to pay over $2 billion for PNMs undepreciated coal, gas and nuclear investments. Regulation protects customers from unfair and unreasonable costs, and up until now, not a myth, but a guard against unjust rates.

The millers daughter also didnt have any legal remedies to pursue, but we do. The proposed ETA amendments in a Senate bill sponsored by Bill Tallman, Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Elizabeth Stefanics will restore the ratepayers rights by addressing two main unconstitutional provisions: 1) reinstate PRC authority, and 2) remove the 100% guarantee for plant abandonment.

New Mexicans deserve to have all costs evaluated, modified and most importantly decided by the regulatory agency that was created to protect us and not allow PNM to unilaterally make those decisions.

Thankfully, we have legal precedent to help protect us. The law says that if utilities invest prudently, ratepayers pay. But the inverse is also true: if utilities do not invest prudently ratepayers should be held harmless for the imprudent acts of utility management.

PNMs investment in the Four Corners coal plant was found to have been imprudent, so ratepayers should be absolved, but the ETA requires us to pay for the Four Corners Power Plant regardless. That isnt fair.

PNM is part of a disturbing national trend: utilities all over the country have been getting caught (contributing to) legislators in exchange for bailouts of uneconomic nuclear and coal investments. In the past three years, PNM Resources and PNMs political action committee have spent $556,550 to influence N.M. legislators and other government officials.

Rumpelstiltskin determined the stakes, leaving the millers daughter powerless, but we can write letters, email, text and call our N.M. legislators asking them to support the ETA amendments to guarantee our story has a happy ending.
Alexei Navalny's legal woes continued today as he was hauled into a Moscow court yet again, this time to face charges of defaming a World War II veteran.

The opposition leader is in the dock for lashing out at Putin supporters - including the 95-year-old veteran - who appeared in a pro-Kremlin video last year, describing them as 'traitors' and 'the shame of the country'.

It came as the diplomatic fallout from the Navalny case deepened today as Moscow said it was expelling diplomats from Poland, Germany and Sweden for taking part in illegal pro-Navalny protests.

The foreign envoys were declared 'persona non grata' and told to leave Russia 'in the near future', the Russian foreign ministry said.

Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron both condemned Russia's latest gambit at a joint press conference today, where the German chancellor called it 'another aspect that can be observed right now of Russia being quite far from the rule of law'.

But Merkel again rejected calls to punish Russia by cancelling the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline which the US has criticised and Macron is wary of.

Sweden also blasted back by calling the expulsions 'completely unfounded', adding that it 'reserves the right to an appropriate response', while Poland said the move would 'contribute to the further deepening of the crisis in bilateral relations

Alexei Navalny in a glass cage at Moscow's Babushkinsky District Court today where he faces charges of defaming a 95-year-old World War II veteran

Navalny's lawyer Olga Mikhailova arrives at court today, three years after the Kremlin critic was given a prison sentence relating to a 2014 fraud case

Navalny, who was earlier this week sentenced to two years and eight months in prison in a separate case, slammed the new hearing as a 'disgusting PR trial' intended to undermine the Kremlin's most prominent critic.

'This trial was conceived as some kind of PR trial, because the Kremlin needs headlines, 'Navalny slandered a veteran',' he said in the courtroom today.

Russia's investigative committee launched the defamation probe against Navalny last June after he had slammed the 'corrupt stooges', 'people without conscience' and 'traitors' who appeared in the pro-Kremlin video.

The video was a political ad for a package of constitutional reforms signed by Putin last year which could allow him to stay in power until 2036.

Authorities accuse Navalny of 'denigrating the honour and dignity' of the elderly World War II veteran who featured in the video.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison, but the court was not expected to pronounce a verdict on Friday.

Legal pressure has been mounting on Navalny and his allies since he returned from Germany three weeks ago, after spending five months there recuperating from a nerve agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin.

On Tuesday, Navalny had a suspended sentence from a 2014 fraud case converted into real jail time after he was found guilty of flouting the terms of his parole.

Navalny ridiculed the charges and said he could hardly have checked in with prison officers while he was in a coma in Berlin.

Navalny in the courtroom in Moscow today where he condemned the latest hearing as a 'disgusting PR trial' intended to undermine the Kremlin's most prominent critic

Navalny had lashed out at supporters of Vladimir Putin (pictured) who appeared in a video backing the Russian leader's constitutional reforms - which could let him rule until 2036

His jailing has triggered massive protests across Russia in one of the largest shows of discontent in years, and has also led to a wave of condemnation from the West.

President Biden issued a strong condemnation of Putin on Thursday in a symbolic turn away from Donald Trump's more ambivalent stance towards Moscow.

'The days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions - interfering with our election, cyber attacks, poisoning its citizens - are over,' said Biden.

'We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people.'

But Russian authorities, who belittle Navalny as 'the blogger' and deny involvement in his poisoning, have rejected the criticism from the US and Europe.

Thousands have been arrested during pro-Navalny protests since he returned to Moscow in January, with his wife and brother among those facing charges.

Today's hearing came hours ahead of a planned meeting between the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

Borrell said ahead of the meeting that he would raise the issue of Navalny's detention and the police crackdown on protesters.

Thousands of Navalny supporters have been arrested amid nationwide protests (pictured, one of them is detained in Moscow on Tuesday)

'Our relationship is indeed in a difficult moment,' Borrell said on the first visit to Moscow by a senior EU envoy since 2017.

'Certainly our relations are under severe strain and the Navalny case is a low point,' Borrell said.

In comments to Borrell at the start of the talks, Lavrov said Russia was 'ready to answer any questions'.

'The main problem is a lack of normalcy in relations between Russia and the EU, the two largest players in Europe,' he said.

Even before the Navalny saga, relations were strained over claims of Russian interference in Western elections and the Salisbury poison plot in 2018.

Heavy sanctions have been in place since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 in a move not recognised by most of the international community.

San Antonio College will help undocumented students reach for their dreams this month with an online workshop for immigrant students wanting to apply for college scholarships.

The pandemic-safe virtual workshop is a part of a partner program the school maintains with TheDream.US, the country's largest college access and success program for dreamers. Dreamers are those who fall under the 2012 Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act signed by President Barack Obama.
The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Salihu Danladi, has sacked his media aide, Ibrahim Sheriff, over his role in the violent clash at a meeting of All Progressives Congress (APC) members in Ilorin on Tuesday.

Mr Sheriff said he was sacked because he rescued the former chairman of the APC in the state, Bashir Bolarinwa, from the assault of a woman supporter of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, at the venue of the meeting.

This newspaper reported how violence erupted at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Ilorin, where the meeting was holding, ahead of the partys membership registration exercise.

The APC registration and revalidation committee called the meeting to appeal for a peaceful exercise amid the protracted crisis in the party in Kwara which worsened after the removal of Mr Bolarinwa as the party chairman.

Background

The development was a fallout of a rift between the governor, Mr AbdulRazaq and a group of party leaders, led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

Although the national and North-central leaders of the party have intervened in the rift, no solution has been found.

According to witnesses, Tuesdays fracas started after supporters of Mr AbdulRazaq stopped Mr Bolarinwa and his supporters from entering the hall.

A female supporter of the governor reportedly charged at Mr Bolarinwa after he managed to enter the hall.

This led to an exchange of blows and throwing of chairs between the rival sets of supporters, as seen in a viral video clip. In fact, videos and pictures obtained by PREMIUM TIMES showed some supporters of Mr Bolarinwa with injuries while the vehicle of one of them was damaged.

Sack

The news of Mr Sheriffs sack was broken by Fidelinfo.com, a local blog owned by the Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media, Olayinka Fafoluyi.

According to the report: Sheriff has been sacked because he was seen in the video as one of the people who disrupted the meeting. His principal is livid that he could take part in such a shameful thing despite previous warnings to steer clear of the party issues, the blog stated, quoting an unnamed source in the House of Assembly.

Sheriff has repeatedly gone against the rules of staying out of the crisis. He has been caught many times organising anti-government activities even when he is the spokesman of the Speaker. His cup became filled yesterday with his involvement in the violence that trailed the stakeholders meeting in which he was seen as one of those behind it.

Confirming his sack on Friday, Mr Sheriff said it was masterminded by domineering government forces but added that he was yet to be officially informed.

It has been some 24 hours after my purported sack was first broken and announced online, first by a blog owned by AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Fidelinfo.com), at around 8 a.m. of Thursday, 4th February, 2021. Ive tarried all day to be sure that I was truly sacked by my employer, Rt. Hon Salihu Yakub Danladi, but 24 hours after, yours sincerely has received no notification  verbal or written, that points to it.

But I know I have been sacked by domineering government forces, who had always been intimidated by my professional and conscientious opinion on issues, at least something in the very inside of me tells this much. For the Governors aides to have so gleefully broken my sack online, even if I was never an official employee of either the Governor or the Kwara State House of Assembly, it tells a lot.

Mr Sheriff said he accepted the dismissal in good faith, adding that he bore no grudge against anyone.

I particularly bear no grudge against the Governors aides who did not have the decency to wait an extra minute before announcing my sack. I hope they all are happy now. Now that I am moving on with my life, I pray they do too, with theirs.

On the event of Wednesday, he said it was a test of his integrity.

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Mr Sheriff said he was at the Banquet Hall on a formal invitation of John Danboi, the Chairman of the APC Membership Registration Exercise.

I was there early with the hope to pick a front seat. But despite that we arrived on schedule, the entrance to the event was under locks and keys till way after 2pm. There were a lot of people, party stakeholders who were standing in the sun to enter the hall. But they were all locked out for reasons best known to the organisers.

It was in the middle of this that the Caretaker Chairman of the APC, Bashir Omaja Bolarinwa, dashed in. How he came, where he came from, I would not know. But as he made for the door, a woman suddenly appeared from among the crowds, charged at him, grabbed his shirts and locked it. It was all obvious that the woman was on a mission, either to kill BOB or strip him naked. Every person with good conscience had to come to BOBs rescue. Everybody forgot party affiliations at that moment to do what we felt was right and moral. And we did rescue him from the firm grip of the violent woman.

He said Mr Bolarinwa would have been killed if no one had come to his rescue on that day.

This was the same cruel treatment meted on my friend and political ally, Olayiwola Karatu, upon his arrival at the venue of the meeting earlier before Hon. Bolarinwa. Karatu was attacked because of his alignment with Mall. Lukman Mustapha. It took efforts to rescue him from the miscreants.

This is the part I played at the Banquet Hall, no more, no less. This is what I would have done for anybody else. I would have done same for Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq if I found him in that sorry situation. So, it was not about BOB, it was about what was right and moral, what was decent.

He thanked his former boss for the opportunity he offered him to serve.

To our Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazak, as a young man growing up, I learnt certain values. We learn to play fair. We learn not to hit people. We learn to clean up our own mess. We learn not to take what isnt ours. And we learn to say were sorry when we hurt somebody. These are basic values that we learned as children. And we teach our own children these lessons. They are, in fact, the fundamental building blocks of a civil society. Without basic rules of common respect, we would experience chaos and anarchy, he added.

The Speaker did not respond to telephone calls put across by our correspondent to seek his official reaction.
The Democrats have released their legal brief for the upcoming impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump, falsely claiming that No president had ever refused to accept an election result or defied the lawful processes for resolving electoral disputes. Until President Trump. But their candidates sure have.

(Natural News) (Article by Raheem Kassam republished from TheNationalPulse.com)

In fact, almost every Republican victory at recent Presidential elections have seen the results challenged by Democrats. And plenty of historical U.S. elections have been privy to challenges, too.

In recent history Democrats have exclusively been the ones to challenge election victories for their political opponents.

In 1969, in 2011, in 2005, and in 2017, Democrats objected.

Now, their own legal brief claims: Since the dawn of the republic, no enemy  foreign or domestic  had ever obstructed Congresss counting of the votes No president had ever refused to accept an election result or defied the lawful processes for resolving electoral disputes. Until President Trump.

You can read the full brief here.

Here are all the times elected representatives objected to the Electoral College results, as they did last Wednesday:  1969 (Dems object)

 2001 (Dems object)

 2005 (Dems object)

 2017 (Dems object) But Republicans did it this year so it's obviously "iNcItInG a CoUp!" now.  Raheem Kassam (@RaheemKassam) January 13, 2021

The willingness of Democrat lawyers and impeachment managers to be so brazenly two-faced in their own legal brief will no doubt create an effective platform for President Trump and his lawyers to respond.

The claim will also be stunning given that Hillary Clinton publicly advised Joe Biden to reject the election results  under any circumstances  if he did not win.

Read more at: TheNationalPulse.com and Lies.news.
Press Release

February 5, 2021 Hontiveros to government:

Get WPS situation under control, protect Pinoy fishermen from Chinese bullying Senator Risa Hontiveros today called on the government to immediately get the situation at the West Philippine Sea (WPS) under control amid China's escalating belligerence in Philippine waters. The senator urged government agencies such as the Department of National Defense (DND) and Philippine Coast Guard (PGC) to do more to protect local fishermen who are being harassed and chased off from traditional fishing grounds by Chinese vessels even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hontiveros shared the recent story of Larry Hugo, a 42-year old fisherman who was blocked by several Chinese Coast Guard ships from entering fishing grounds near Pag-Asa Island, which is part of Philippine territory. Because of the threat posed by the Chinese ships, Hugo decided to leave the area without making a catch, affecting his income. "Huwag natin hayaang mawalan ng kabuhayan at maghirap ang ating mga mangingisda dahil sa lumalalang pangbabraso ng China. Dapat mga Pilipino ang makinabang sa sariling likas yaman ng Pilipinas," Hontiveros said. Apart from harassing Filipino fishermen and preventing them from making a living, Hontiveros said that China's unlawful activities in the WPS causes P33 billion worth of damages to the country's marine resources per year, based on findings by the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute. "Kung hindi agad na kikilos ang pamahalaan, dadami pa ang gaya ni Mang Larry na mawawalan ng kabuhayan at maghihirap dahil sa pagpaparaya sa Tsina," she added. Despite the encounter with the Chinese Coast Guard being videotaped by Hugo, Hontiveros noted that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command claimed that the incident is improbable. Likewise, the Chinese embassy issued a statement dismissing Hugo's evidence and account as "fabricated." "Wag naman nating balewalain ang dinaranas ng ating mga kababayan, lalo na silang mga nasa gitna ng laot ang ikinabubuhay. We can no longer turn a blind eye. It is so plain, so obvious, that our own waters are under threat," Hontiveros stressed. The senator said that the AFP, the PCG and other government agencies must scale up their protection of Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea, especially since the Chinese government has recently approved a law which authorizes the Chinese Coast Guard to use armed force against any vessel or person in areas China claims as part of its jurisdiction, including Philippine territory within the so-called "nine-dash line." "Unahin natin ang kapakanan ng ating kababayan. Tandaan natin na tungkulin ng pamahalaan na proteksyunan ang sambayanang Pilipino mula sa lahat ng panganib, mapa COVID-19 man o mapang-abusong dayuhan," she concluded.
Mayor Jim Kenneys administration has declined this week to provide many details about the citys relationship with Philly Fighting COVID, the scandal-plagued vaccine distribution group, citing the need to protect an inspector general investigation the administration itself requested.

But theres no legal requirement that officials refrain from commenting during that probe, and Inspector General Alexander DeSantis said he hasnt asked the city to keep quiet.

I wasnt aware of that, DeSantis said Thursday when asked about the administration citing his investigation in declining to answer questions from members of City Council and journalists. I have not requested or given any guidance about who may comment on this investigation.

The tightening flow of information to the public comes before a Friday Council hearing in which top administration officials will be grilled by lawmakers over how Philly Fighting COVID, a start-up run by a self-described group of college kids, was selected to run the citys first mass vaccination clinic.

The city cut ties with the group late last month after revelations about the groups privacy policy, which could have allowed it to sell personal data through a previously undisclosed for-profit arm. The debacle slowed vaccination progress in Philadelphia and garnered embarrassing national headlines.

While Fridays hearing will likely be high on political theater, it may be low on new revelations. Responding to councilmembers written questions ahead of the hearing, the administration repeatedly wrote, Due to the ongoing OIG investigation we are unable to provide further details.

 READ MORE: The city trusted a group of college kids to lead its vaccine rollout. But Philly Fighting COVID was full of red flags from the start.

The administration cited the investigation in declining a Council request for copies of contracts or agreements with Philly Fighting COVID, an inquiry about the groups leader taking vaccines home, and the following question from a lawmaker: Can you provide any information the Health Department used to properly vet the organization and their capability to safely provide services?

Councilmember Cindy Bass, who chairs the Public Health and Human Services Committee that will hold Fridays hearing, said she found the citys lack of transparency outrageous.

There is no legal reason, Bass said. They can provide information to the inspector generals office, and they can provide it to the citizens.

Kenney spokesperson Deana Gamble rejected the notion that the city hasnt been forthcoming, noting that the mayor and Public Health Commissioner Thomas Farley both answered questions at a Monday news conference.

The Administration has and will continue to accept many, many questions on the issues related to Philly Fighting COVID, Gamble said. However, many questions will remain unanswered until the Inspector Generals review is complete. We look forward to sharing that report publicly when complete, and will continue to answer what questions we can.

 READ MORE: Next up in the Philly Fighting COVID debacle: A political fight in City Hall

The public relations strategy of citing an ongoing investigation when declining to comment is a common one, used by everyone from defendants in common criminal cases to American presidents as a way to avoid transparency when under scrutiny.

But circumstances under which officials are actually prohibited from commenting are rare. The most common is when an official is part of the investigating authority itself. Other times, like with many probes by the Philadelphia Board of Ethics, investigators require people contacted during an inquiry to refrain from disclosing any information they learn as a result.

Neither is the case now. Former Inspector General Amy Kurland said shes unaware of any law that would prevent the city from publicly discussing the subject of an inspector general investigation.

Gamble said the city is declining to answer some questions to protect the investigation.

There are many unknowns to PFC and its vaccine operations. This is a part of the IGs investigation, she said. The City will not speculate on these unknowns as such responses could potentially impact/compromise the IGs investigation and public report.

Farley requested the investigation after records obtained by The Inquirer revealed a deputy health commissioner gave PFC an advantage in a city bidding process. That official, Caroline Johnson, resigned Saturday.

During the citys weekly news conference on the pandemic last week, most of the questions focused on Philly Fighting COVID. But city officials prohibited questions on the matter at the coronavirus news conference this week.

Bass this week took the unusual step of asking Kenney himself to testify at Fridays hearing. He declined but said in a Tuesday letter that he shares Bass desire to ensure all questions are answered in an expeditious manner. Several top administration officials, including chief of staff Jim Engler, Managing Director Tumar Alexander, and Farley will testify.

It is my intention to share all information possible related to the citys work with the organization Philly Fighting COVID, work that we know has negatively impacted our efforts to build public trust, Kenney said.

Patrick Christmas, policy director for the Philadelphia good-government group Committee of Seventy, said the city should answer all questions about the Philly Fighting COVID ordeal to ensure it can regain public trust in the vaccination process.

No one is going to enjoy unpacking their own mistake, Christmas said. But when public trust is of paramount importance, an examination of the chronology of these events is warranted, especially if it will help inform us in what we need to do going forward.
WASHINGTON -- Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys (RFE/RL) Board of Directors has named Jamie Fly as the companys President and CEO, effective February 16, 2021. Mr. Fly resumes his leadership of RFE/RL after serving in the role from August 2019 to June 2020.

I am excited to return as RFE/RL President to lead the organization during these challenging times, said Fly. He continued, I am proud of the journalists and staff at RFE/RL who, despite the pressures of the pandemic and challenges to RFE/RLs commitment to journalistic integrity and editorial independence, continued to focus on their mission on the front lines of media freedom to bring unbiased news and information to those who need it most. It will be an honor to be working side by side with them once again.

My colleagues and I on the RFE/RL Board of Directors are thrilled that Jamie has agreed to return to his duties in Prague, said RFE/RL Board Chairperson, Amb. Karen Kornbluh. From Belarus to Russia to Afghanistan and everywhere in between, RFE/RL journalists are playing a vital role to independently report news and offer a credible alternative to misinformation. Jamies understanding of geopolitics, his passion for democracy and human rights, and his appreciation for RFE/RLs mission are needed more than ever as RFE/RL faces challenges across its coverage area.

Fly, who was first appointed as RFE/RL President in August 2019, comes back to RFE/RL after serving as Senior Fellow and Senior Advisor to the President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), based in Berlin, Germany. A recognized foreign policy thought leader and proven manager, Fly served previously as a Senior Fellow at GMF, where he also was Director of the organizations Future of Geopolitics and Asia programs and Co-Director of its Alliance for Securing Democracy. Fly has previously worked as a senior staffer in the U.S. Congress, on the National Security Council staff, and at the U.S. Department of Defense.

About RFE/RL

RFE/RL relies on its networks of local reporters to provide accurate news and information to more than 41 million people in 27 languages and 23 countries where media freedom is restricted, or where a professional press has not fully developed. Its videos were viewed 6.5 billion times on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram/IGTV in FY2020. RFE/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

The past year, during which RFE/RL marked its seventieth anniversary of operations, has been especially eventful for the organization. Investigations into a massive money-laundering ring in Central Asia earned RFE/RL and its partners the prestigious Tom Renner Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE); live coverage on the disputed presidential election in Belarus and subsequent months of pro-democracy protests captured the attention of millions (and the anger of the Belarusian government); public service reporting on the coronavirus pandemic (and related disinformation) was valued by local audiences seeking credible information otherwise unavailable from local governments; and RFE/RL returned to Hungary with a 21st-century update of its storied Hungarian Service, Szabad Europa. Additionally, RFE/RL is facing severe pressure in Russia as authorities impose significant fines for violations of labeling rules under its foreign agent media law, and move against reporters and freelancers for exposing information and covering news that the government would like to keep hidden.

----

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Martins Zvaners in Washington (zvanersm@rferl.org, +1.202.457.6948)

Jana Hokuvova in Prague (hokuvovaj@rferl.org, +420.221.122.072)
Outraged Bank of America customers are boycotting the bank after learning it snooped through hundreds of innocent people's accounts at the request of the government as part of its investigation into the Capitol riot, using a broad criteria that meant anyone who made a transaction in DC that day came under a federal microscope.

Tucker Carlson revealed the bank's involvement in the investigation on his FOX News show on Thursday night. After being contacted by the government, Bank of America handed over the information of 211 people.

The feds asked for information including:

Customers confirmed as transacting, either through bank account debit card or credit card purchases, in Washington, D.C., between January 5 and January 6

Purchases made for hotel and Airbnb RSVPs in DC, VA, and MD after January 6

Any purchase of weapons or at a weapons-related merchant between January 7 and their upcoming suspected stay in D.C. area around Inauguration Day

Airline-related purchases since January 6

From the 211 people the bank turned over, one was interviewed by law enforcement and no one was arrested.

The bank has not confirmed how many accounts it went through to produce the 211 it turned over, nor has it confirmed whether it was compelled by a subpoena or search warrant to hand over the information.

Now, many are calling for a total boycott of the bank, calling its cooperation with the feds an 'overreach' that breaches consumer trust, and are demanding to know how other companies are cooperating.

DailyMail.com has asked Chase, Capital One, American Express, Citi, Mastercard, Airbnb, Uber and Lyft whether they, too, have handed over the information of people who were near the Capitol on January 6 to the feds. None have responded.

After being contacted by the government, Bank of America handed over the information of 211 people (file image). Anyone who made a credit card or debit card transaction on January 5th or 6th in DC fit the profile

There were some 15,000 people at the Capitol on January 6. Now, the feds are hunting for the people who breached the building with weapons. They are calling them domestic terrorists and plan to weigh the heaviest of charges against them

BoA is refusing to give details on exactly how many accounts it looked through, whether the government produced a subpoena or warrant for them, or even if it still going through them.

On Friday morning, the bank told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'We dont comment on our communications with law enforcement.

'All banks have responsibilities under federal law to cooperate with law enforcement inquiries in full compliance with the law.'

It's unclear who asked the bank to hand over the records, if it was the FBI or the Justice Department.

It's also unclear whether any banks were asked to hand over the records of rioters in the summer who descended on federal buildings in Portland, Oregon, or on the City Hall in New York City.

There is no broad, FBI or Justice Department investigation into those incidents.

Dozens of protests took place for months over the course of the summer and while collectively, thousands were involved, it's more difficult to pinpoint a single, large-scale event where there was as much violence as there was at the Capitol on January 6.

Now, many are boycotting the bank and calling its cooperation with the federal investigation an 'overreach'.

Now, many are calling for a total boycott of the bank, calling their cooperation with the feds an 'overreach' which breaches consumer trust

'If youre a Bank of America customer and you were in Washington DC on January 5 and bought a muffin, they along with the FBI, rummaged through your bank account to see if you were a domestic terrorist.

WHAT IS THE LAW? Under the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 he government can only access financial data through the following ways; Grand jury subpoena

Customer authorization giving consent

Administrative summons

Search warrant issued under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure

Judicial subpoena

Formal written request It's unclear if any of these apply in the case of Bank of America handing over the records. The bank isn't commenting on what it was given by the feds that compelled them to hand over data, if anything. All it'll say is: 'All banks have responsibilities under federal law to cooperate with law enforcement inquiries in full compliance with the law.' Advertisement

'Does it seem like overreach to you? Legal?' one person asked.

Another fumed: 'Customers at Bank of America who visited Capitol to voice their concerns should file suit FED Case against Law Enforcement and bank Overreach LAW! Civil Rights Violation!'

Others are urging the one person who was interviewed by the FBI as a result of Bank of America giving the feds their information to sue the bank.

Tucker Carlson, on Thursday night, said: 'These were the private records of Americans who had committed no crime; people who, as far as we know, had absolutely nothing to do with what happened at the Capitol.

'But at the request of federal investigators, Bank of America searched its databases looking for people who fit a specific profile,' he said.

Of the one person who was hauled in for questioning, he said: 'The FBI hauls you in for questioning in a terror investigation, not because you've done anything suspicious, but because you bought plane tickets and visited your country's capital.

'Now they're sweating you because your bank, which you trust with your most private information, has ratted you out without your knowledge.

'Because Bank of America did that, you are being treated like a member of Al Qaeda.'

The government is yet to find even half of the 800 people who stormed the Capitol building on January 6.

Despite the rioters plotting much of the stunt on social media, and even though the FBI warned field offices about it, nothing was done to prevent it.

Five people died on the day and two Capitol cops - who were woefully outnumbered - killed themselves afterwards.
A post-election survey of 1,000 American adults showed the rate of citizens supporting socialism has declined following the 2020 presidential election.

Around the time of the 2020 U.S. presidential elections, the concept of "socialism" was often thrown into the discussion, partly due to Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders being identified as a democratic socialist. But what does socialism truly mean in the American political arena?

Socialism is defined by Britannica as the "social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources." It supports the idea of a community rather than an individual living in cooperation and producing a "social product" of which everyone who contributed to its production is entitled to a share. Interestingly, The Guardian reported that in 2015, "socialism" was the most looked-up word on Merriam-Webster's site, mostly thanks to Sanders, who was then vying to be the Democratic Party's nominee for president.

However, it seems that interest in supporting socialism constructs and concepts have waned since then. According to Christian Headlines, a post-election survey found that more and more Americans are not supporting socialism after the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The Cultural Research Center of Arizona Christian University (ACU) conducted an online survey of 1,000 American adults between Nov. 4 to 16, 2020 to find out if people were still supporting socialism.

Titled "America's Thirst for Socialism Has Plummeted," the Cultural Research Center's report revealed how the post-election survey found that about two-thirds or 68% of those surveyed said they prefer capitalism to socialism. The survey also found that the steepest decline in the interest in supporting socialism was in the 30 to 49 age group, with a decline of 49% to 34%. The age group of Americans 50 and older saw an 8-point decline from 30% to 23%, making them the age group most consistent in supporting socialism.

According to the post-election survey, respondents with a Biblical worldview were also least likely to be supporting socialism, at 12%. The group of self-identified Christians also saw a 9-point decline in supporting socialism since June 2018 at 30%. This survey is indicative that as much as 80 million Americans are possibly open to the idea of or wanting to see change in the country's economic and governance systems.

Aside from concluding that Americans are now less interested in supporting socialism, the post-election survey also found some interesting key insights.

The report revealed that there has been a substantial 9-point decline from 2018 among adults who have a preference for socialism. Additionally, Americans who identify as part of non-Christian faith were most likely to opt for supporting socialism. Notably, the rate that citizens are supporting socialism is at its lowest in years, after reaching heights of 41% in 2018.

ACU President Len Munsil said in a statement that one of the key takeaways of the post-election survey on supporting socialism is that "having a biblical worldview is the best defense against embracing socialism."

He concluded that "the findings also show support for socialism among younger Americans is declining-which means minds can be changed in the cultural debate of socialism versus capitalism."
Vietnams healthcare expenditures reached around $17 billion in 2019, photo Le Toan

The second-largest pharmaceutical company in Japan, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., has entered a licence agreement with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation to register and launch edaravone brand Radicava in Vietnam. The medication treats patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and helps with recovery from a stroke.

Yukinori Tominaga, general director of Daiichi Sankyo Vietnam Co., Ltd., told VIR, We are going to provide more access to new medications in order to increase options for Vietnamese doctors to improve the quality of life in Vietnamese people.

The agreement is one of several plans by Daiichi Sankyo for Vietnam in 2021. It aims to contribute to the enrichment of quality of life in the country through the innovative pharmaceuticals from Daiichi Sankyo and external resources, as the Mitsubishi Tanabe case, in order to address diverse medical needs.

Having established a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City in 2014 to provide support activities for the sale and promotion of its pharma products, last year Daiichi Sankyo strengthened its presence in Vietnam by announcing the establishment of its Vietnamese arm as a wholly-owned subsidiary to conduct sales activities. This is to better respond to the changing business environment of the pharmaceutical industry in Vietnam and to strengthen its business operations, focusing on new products.

The Tokyo-based company researches in the field of innovative drugs, with subsidiaries operating worldwide. In fiscal year 2019, Daiichi Sankyo generated a revenue of almost 982 billion ($9.46 billion), up from approximately 930 billion ($8.96 billion) in the previous fiscal year.

Tominaga admitted that during 2020 with the global health crisis, Daiichi Sankyo has suffered some negative impacts especially in primary care, but avoided significant impacts throughout the year.

Daiichi Sankyo is one of several Japanese companies in the health sector with more presence in Vietnam, which is deemed a safe place to do business and which has growing demands for innovative medicines and high-end services, in a move to diversify their supply chains.

According to a representative from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), besides traditional investment sectors like manufacturing, Japanese investors are also grasping onto other sectors such as healthcare, clean energy, and customer services.

As demonstrated in the list of 30 Japanese companies planning to move from China to Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Laos announced last year by JETRO, half of those will shift to Vietnam, with the majority operating in the health sector. They include names like Inoue Iron Works, Able Yamauchi, Showa, Techno Global, Hashimoto Cross, and Matsuoka. They specialise in pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment, medical gloves, masks, and other medical clothing among others.

Matsuoka Corporation, which produces protective clothing for the health sector, plans to invest 3 billion ($28 million) in An Nam Matsuoka Garment Company, its Vietnamese manufacturing unit, to start production of protective wear and other items in the next few months.

Elsewhere, seeing growth potential in Vietnam, Taisho Group, one of the five largest pharmaceutical firms in Japan, increased its ownership in Hau Giang Pharmaceutical JSC, the biggest publicly-traded drugmaker in Vietnam, to 50.78 per cent in 2019 as a way to deepen its footprint there.

Similarly, Nipro Pharma Corporation  Japans biggest prescription drug contract manufacturer  is expanding its operations in Vietnam with a new project worth $300 million in Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) after investing $150 million in the first plant in the northern port city of Haiphong.

A source from SHTP told VIR that Nipro is completing procedures to enlarge its facility by increasing the investment capital by about $270 million.

Experts forecast that private domestic and foreign investment in the Vietnamese health sector will be on the rise as the state has plans to divest its stake in a number of powerful pharma firms, including leading pharma firms Vinapharm and Traphaco. The sectors existing challenges, including hospital overloads and downgrades, also bring about chances for financiers to venture further into.

According to data researchers Fitch Solutions, the countrys total health expenditure was about $17 billion in 2019, or 6.6 per cent of the countrys GDP. The company also projects that the figure will reach $23 billion in 2022 with compound annual growth rate of 10.7 per cent.

This Sunday, the BBC will be hosting an epic 100-minute concert featuring a variety of musical performances.

Taking place at 7.40pm GMT and then available for a full year on BBC iPlayer (!) the concert will feature a number of performers singing tunes from sone of the most famous musicals of recent years. You can see some glossy photos from the event here, plus find out who's in the ensemble.









We run through what audiences might expect:

- Sheridan Smith and Amanda Holden will duet on "I Know Him So Well"  from Chess

- Gavin Spokes, from the West End production of Hamilton, will perform hit number "You'll Be Back"

- Michael Ball will perform showstopper "You Can't Stop The Beat" from Hairspray

- Smith will also return to her lauded turn as Fanny Brice to give a rendition of "Don't Rain On My Parade" from Funny Girl

- Soon-to-be West End leading light Ivano Turco performs "Only You, Lonely You" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's upcoming mucsical Cinderella

- From Los Angeles, Nicole Scherzinger performs "Never Enough" from movie musical The Greatest Showman

Nicole Raquel Dennis singing Dreamgirls

 BBC/Guy Levy

- Because they're the crown jewels of the West End, the Queens of Six will perform "Six"

- Stage star Ramin Karimloo sings "The Music Of The Night" from The Phantom Of The Opera, a show he's appeared in on a plethora of occasions

- Tight-knit trio Mazz Murray, Kate Graham and Jo Napthine of MAMMA MIA! perform "Dancing Queen"

- Simply the best  Aisha Jawando of the West End production of TINA, The Tina Turner Musical will perform, well, "The Best"

- Lea Salonga performs "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables  with her performance recorded in Manila

- Former star of the West End show and current lead on the tour, Layton Williams of Everybody's Talking About Jamie performs "The Wall In My Head"

- WhatsOnStage Award-winner Sam Tutty sings "You Will Be Found" from Dear Evan Hansen, alongside members of the West End cast

- Announced as leading the upcoming tour of the show, Nicole Raquel Dennis of "Dreamgirls" with And I Am Telling You

- Former Elphaba Kerry Ellis sings "Defying Gravity" from Wicked

- Jac Yarrow, with the public, performing "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat

Ramin Karimloo

 BBC/Guy Levy

The following shows will not be broadcast, but can be listened to now on BBC Sounds:

- Josh Groban sings "The Impossible Dream" from Man Of La Mancha (on Radio 2 only)

- Elaine Paige will return to the part of Norma Desmond with Sunset Boulevard's "As If We Never Said Goodbye" (on Radio 2 only)

- Part of the original West End cast, Christine Allado and Alexia Khadime perform "When You Believe" from The Prince Of Egypt (on Radio 2 only)
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The mutations in the coronavirus indicate that the virus is working hard to survive, with transmissible COVID-19 variants being detected around the world. These mutations have increased the urgency of vaccinating hundreds of millions of people within a matter of months. While that work has been stymied by governmental missteps, vaccine resistance could ultimately be the biggest hurdle to reaching herd immunity.

And yet, we find hope in a rubber duckor at least in the way a squeezed duck returns to its normal state. We have found that changing people's beliefs about vaccines is going to take time, the way a deflated rubber duck springs back slowly after being squeezed. However much we'd love to cast Harry Potter's "Reparo" charm and make vaccine hesitancy flick away instantly, we need to work hard at it.

Our research in the Fu lab at Dartmouth College focuses on the principles that govern dynamics of evolving systems across different domains and at different scales. Our current research combines game theory models of vaccination behavior with an epidemiological process to provide insight into the vaccination compliance problem. We have found that the same effect that causes the delayed recovery of a squeezed rubber duckthe hysteresis effectcan appear as an unforeseen roadblock for the recovery of vaccination rates. While vaccination has long met resistance, some experts point to a 1982 television documentary about vaccination for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus that led to the deep skepticism about vaccines today.

How a physical property can also apply to social factors

The term "hysteresis" is derived from , an ancient Greek word meaning "lagging behind." It was coined by Sir James Alfred Ewing to describe the behavior of magnetic materials. Iron maintains some magnetization after it has been exposed to and removed from a magnetic field.

The phenomenon also occurs in other systems that have memory. In economics, it refers to economic events that persist into the future, even after the triggers have been removed. It is why unemployment rates may continue to climb despite a recovering economy following a recession.

Such history dependence can be caused by the physical properties of an object or the biological functions of an organism, and in other cases it is due to social or psychological factors.

A more endearing example is the rubber duck. When a child squeezes a rubber duck, it will change shape. Even after the child releases the duck, it will not spring back quickly.

Whether in the science lab, business hub or bathtub, the effects of hysteresis are easy to see. And it is the same force coming into play around vaccination campaigns.

Hysteresis in public health

We discovered for the first time the hysteresis effect and the existence of a hysteresis loop in the context of public health and vaccine behavior in a 2019 research paper. The hysteresis loop can be caused by concerns related to the effectiveness and perceived risk of vaccines. Negative experiences or perceptions related to vaccination affect the trend of uptake and cause the "vaccination trajectory" to get stuck in a hysteresis loop.

Imagine, again, our squeezed rubber duck. Mistrust in vaccinesno matter how unfoundedcauses an increase in the perceived risk of vaccination. This hinders the growth of the vaccine uptake rateas the duck is deformed. People may still resist vaccination even after misinformation has been corrected. The rubber duck will not spring back instantly, no matter how demanding the child.

The result is clear: Not only are vaccination rates impaired by rumors in the immediate term, but recovering public confidence takes an extended time.

Many materials display hysteresis, a lagging behind in returning to an original state.

Vaccine compliance

Our results have practical implications for improving vaccine compliance by overcoming the hysteresis effect.

The data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that over 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed in the U.S., whereas merely 6 million people have completed the vaccination process.

Although not the only reason for the sluggish vaccination drive, mistrust is slowing the process. Questions about mRNA vaccines make people skeptical of getting them. Some health care personnel and front-line essential workers themselves are declining to be vaccinated.

Indecision and hesitancy are the tight fist that squeezes the rubber duck. Publicizing vaccine knowledge and accelerating the distribution process is more vital than ever if we want to loosen the grip that is complicating vaccination efforts.

For fact-checked information on the COVID-19 vaccines, public health officials should continue to promote reliable sources including the website of the CDC and the World Health Organization. Social media-ready vaccine content, too, is being leveraged to effectively communicate with the audience and combat misinformation across platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

For residents waiting anxiously for their turn, a user-friendly registration portal and an easy appointment are needed to accelerate the distribution process. A leftover dose should be given to anyone who wants it, regardless of his or her priority, to prevent vaccines from expiring and going wasted.

Herd immunity and altruistic behavior

Vaccination hesitance is just one example of human cooperation problems in the real world. To avoid the tragedy of the commons, which says, essentially, that people pursue their own needs at the expense of others," the U.S. needs cooperative and collective action. An individual's vaccination contributes to herd immunity, where people who are not immune are indirectly protected if most of the population is immune to an infectious disease.

To improve vaccine compliance and achieve herd immunity with COVID-19 expeditiously, the U.S. should overcome the hysteresis effect by reducing the resistance to vaccination. In particular, vaccination campaigns should promote vaccination as an altruistic behavior that has tremendous societal benefit. By getting vaccinated, we protect not only family members, friends and colleagues, but also strangers, including those who cannot be vaccinated, like newborns.

To embrace a quick "back to normal," the U.S. cannot help but rely on a prompt and effective mass vaccination before it is too late to control new virus variants. It has already taken a herculean effort to develop, distribute and administer the vaccines. Now it is time to help the rubber duck return to form.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The finance ministry may temporarily abandon targeting government debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio as the medium-term anchor for fiscal policy, limiting its focus on the glide path for fiscal deficit at least till FY26.

The government is of the view that it may be difficult to project a public debt-to-GDP ratio because there is no certainty about the growth trajectory given the pandemics economic impact.

The FY22 budget omits any talk about the government debt-to-GDP ratio even in the Medium Term Fiscal Policy Cum Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement, though the finance ministry, through an amendment to the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act in FY19, had included it as the key fiscal target, promising to bring it down to 60% of GDP by FY25.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her budget speech, gave a new fiscal consolidation path, but only to bring down fiscal deficit below 4.5% of GDP by FY26 from 6.8% budgeted for FY22.

We hope to achieve the consolidation by, first, increasing the buoyancy of tax revenue through improved compliance and, second, by increased receipts from monetization of assets, including public sector enterprises and land," she said.

The 15th Finance Commission (FFC), chaired by N.K. Singh, has recommended bringing the public debt-to-GDP ratio down from 89.8% of GDP in FY21 to 85.7% of GDP in FY26. The commission has recommended the setting up of a high-powered inter-governmental group for crafting a new FRBM framework and overseeing its implementation.

What should be the new structure of fiscal targeting is a matter to be discussed separately. The government will be coming with a proposal. We will either set up a small committee to draft the FRBM or do it internally. I doubt the amendments will happen in the current budget session," a senior finance ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

Under the current circumstances, when projecting GDP has become tough, it is very difficult to make a projection for debt-to-GDP ratio when you have a state and central component in it. No reliable figure can be quoted," he said.

An email sent to a spokesperson for the finance ministry remained unanswered till press time.

The FFC said the debt-to-GDP ratio of the Union government is projected to increase substantially in 2020-21 on account of two factors--the estimated contraction of nominal GDP by 6% and the increase in the fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio because of a sharp contraction in revenues amid heightened expenditure needs.

As GDP growth and revenues pick up in subsequent years, relieving the pressure on fiscal deficit, the debt-to-GDP ratio of the Union would gradually decline, it said.

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday projected median general government debt for all rated 135 sovereigns to rise by end-2021 to a record 62.6% of GDP from 49% at end-2019, reflecting increased public spending to deal with the covid-19 crisis.

As economies rebound and the crisis abates, we forecast that by 2023, two-thirds of rated sovereigns will manage to at least stabilize government debt to GDP," S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Frank Gill said.

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Police shelve investigation into death of woman, suspected migrant worker

PHUKET: Police have shelved an investigation into the body of a woman found lodged in a pipe at a waterway behind Tha Reua Shrine just south of the Heroines Monument nearly a year ago due to lack of leads.

deathmurdercrimepolice

By Chutharat Plerin

Friday 5 February 2021, 01:25PM

Police and rescue workers at the site where the womans body was found, lodged in a water pipe, in March last year. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Police were called to the scene at about 11am on Mar 8 last year to be shown the body of the woman, which was stuck in a water pipe in Klong Huatha along the shrimp ponds.

Capt Kraisorn Boonprasob of Thalang Police reported that, on initial examination, it appeared the body had been there for around 15 days. The body was bloated and had partially disintegrated.

A black bra was tied to the neck and the shirt worn had been torn apart.

The body was taken to Thalang Hospital where doctors discovered that the bodys skull was broken. Initial estimates suggested that the woman may have been 40 years-old and just over five feet tall.

The body was later transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital for in-depth examination in order to find the cause of death.

Police still have not yet been able to identify the woman whose body was found, Capt Kraisorn Boonprasob of Thalang Police told The Phuket News today (Feb 5).

In addition to checking the missing persons database through the polices notification system, we coordinated with local community leaders in the Thalang area to enquire if anyone may have known the woman, he said.

But officers have not received any information that could identify the woman, he added.

Police believe that the woman was an alien [migrant worker], Capt Kraisorn said.

With no further leads, police have had no choice but to stop the investigation into this case until more information about the deceased comes to light, he said.
A new study has helped Russia's leading coronavirus vaccine bounce back from criticism of a premature rollout just as many countries are confronting a growing array of logistical and political challenges to delivering vaccines.

The interim analysis of the Sputnik V's Phase 3 trial results, which were published on February 2 in the international medical journal The Lancet, found that Sputnik V is 91.6 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 and effective against severe and moderate disease.

That is roughly comparable to the protection conferred by the leading Western-made vaccines so far.

While the research published is unclear over whether the Russian injection can stop transmission of the virus, the new study is already tempering some concerns over a lack of transparency and a hasty initial rollout before clinical trials were completed.

There are issues about the speed and how it was pushed out that caused some concern, but this new dataset from The Lancet should neutralize those concerns, Julian Tang, a clinical virologist at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, told RFE/RL. Russia bet on its vaccine and that bet seems to have paid off.

The new study comes as the race to produce effective and easy-to-distribute vaccines against COVID-19 enters a new stage.

Western vaccines from AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer/BioNTech, along with Chinas Sinovac and Sinopharm and Russias Sputnik V, have all emerged as early winners.

But national governments' fresh jockeying for limited supplies has brought on a host of mostly foreseeable problems -- from production and delivery delays to distribution challenges -- that appear to be encouraging a higher tolerance for opacity and risk.

This has carved out a greater global foothold for the Russian and Chinese vaccines despite some remaining questions over the injections.

China and Russia put their feet on the gas with [domestic] approval of their vaccines prematurely, Judy Twigg, a global-public-health expert at Virginia Commonwealth University, told RFE/RL. One of the things theyre hoping to do is take advantage of the void that has been created by the vaccine nationalism that weve seen in the West.

Bureaucratic infighting appears to have slowed the European Union's rollout, and Brussels and AstraZeneca are locked in a dispute after the pharmaceutical giant said it would have to scale back deliveries because of a manufacturing issue. The European Union has insisted that the drugmaker honor its contract and has since enacted export controls on vaccines produced within the bloc.

Meanwhile, there is little sign that developing countries will get comparable access anytime soon. While countries in parts of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia prepare their vaccination programs, rollouts are expected to be slow, with a lack of access to injections a major issue.

Many of those nations are participating in a World Health Organization (WHO)-led program aimed at equitable access, called COVAX, that has raised $2 billion to buy vaccines for poorer countries.

But getting access to enough doses for their populations could take years. A paper published in late January by the Economist Intelligence Unit said those regions were unlikely to see widespread vaccine coverage until 2023.

Theres a vaccine vacuum, both in terms of public health, but also politically, and its one that Russia and China are more than happy to try and fill, said Twigg.

Filling The Vacuum

Despite overriding questions early on, demand for Sputnik V is increasing.

The Russian vaccine has so far been approved by dozens of countries around the world for direct purchase or through licensing deals to their production.

Russia certainly didn't do itself any favors in the credibility department by having approved the vaccine before they had even launched Phase-3 trials. It's their own action that has created the skepticism around the vaccine that we've seen for months, said Twigg. But it's hard to imagine that they've just blatantly falsified the data that they sent to The Lancet. Results don't make it into The Lancet without careful peer review by international teams of specialists."

Countries like Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Turkey have already signed up to manufacture and develop Sputnik V, with Iran, which has banned Western vaccines, also agreeing to join. India, South Korea, Brazil, and China will also produce it, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which funded the vaccine and is responsible for selling it globally.

WATCH: More Countries Look To Produce Russia's Sputnik Vaccine As U.K. Journal Deems It Safe, Effective

When Russia granted the vaccine the regulatory go-ahead six months ago and launched mass vaccinations before data from Phase 3 trials was unveiled, scientists expressed concerns and lamented the lack of transparency. But the latest Phase 3 dataset for Sputnik V, along with the vaccines relatively low cost and simpler storage requirements is sure to boost its appeal across Eurasia.

Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Sputnik V and the two leading Chinese vaccines do not need to be stored and transported in extreme cold, giving them a logistical advantage for poorer countries that often lack facilities.

The Russian and Chinese injections may be the earliest options for nations at the back of the line for other vaccines.

Some Central Asian governments are counting on the COVAX program to inoculate a critical mass of their citizens, but the program limits itself to vaccinating 20 percent of any participating countrys population.

In order to bridge the gap, both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have asked Russia for assistance in procuring Sputnik V doses; Turkmenistan, which claims to be coronavirus-free, has already begun to purchase Russian vaccines, according to RFE/RLs Turkmen Service.

In addition to relying on COVAX, Uzbekistan began Phase 3 clinical trials in December 2020 for another Chinese vaccine developed by the company Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical.

Pakistan, meanwhile, has received a donation of 500,000 Sinopharm vaccines from Beijing for a country of around 220 million. In addition to Sinopharm, Islamabad has already granted emergency-use authorization to the AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines.

The Russian and Chinese vaccines are also gaining traction in Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Sputnik V could be used in the European Union if it got regulatory approval. German Health Minister Jens Spahn has hinted that coronavirus vaccines from China and Russia could be used to overcome Europes current deficit of doses.

EU member Hungary has already approved the Sinopharm vaccine and received its first shipment of Sputnik V -- 40,000 doses -- on February 2. On the EUs periphery, Serbia has managed to vaccinate the first of its 7 million residents at Europes second-fastest rate, trailing the United Kingdom, by relying heavily on Russian and Chinese vaccines in addition to some Western doses.

Final Concerns In Vaccine Push

While The Lancet's endorsement has calmed some concerns about Sputnik V's quick approval process, an absence of similar studies of Chinese-made vaccines invites questions about such inoculations value. A study based on Sinovac data was published in The Lancet, but it only included information for Phase 1 and 2 trials.

Neither Sinovac nor Sinopharm has made its Phase 3 data public or published results, although both have submitted data to the WHO for review and received regulatory approval in other countries, as well as within China, based on their trials.

So far, Sinovac seems to be on track, although it has yielded varying levels of effectiveness in late-stage trials. Interim data from Turkey and Indonesia showed that the vaccine was 91.25 percent and 65.3 percent effective, respectively. Researchers in Brazil initially said it was 78 percent effective in their clinical trials, but revised that figure to 50.4 percent in January after including more data.

There is still a lack of data for the Chinese vaccines, said Twigg. As much as there has been a lack of transparency from Russia with its vaccine initially, there has been even less transparency from China.

In late December 2020, Sinopharm said that interim Phase 3 trials of the vaccine showed that it was 79 percent effective -- lower than the Pfizer and Moderna shots but still considered above a strong threshold. But no complete dataset similar to that cited by The Lancet for Sputnik V has emerged for either of the Chinese vaccines.

While many experts note that the speed and lack of transparency around the test data of the Chinese vaccines have fueled skepticism over its effectiveness, preliminary trial results have so far given no cause for alarm.

Its difficult to separate the vaccine from the country it came from, said the University of Leicesters Tang. But take a step back and look purely at the science and there are no significant adverse effects that I can see.
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The PSNI has been monitoring public comments on republican funerals during the Covid-19 pandemic as part of its wide-ranging internal reports on social media activity.

Other monitoring reports included pint delivery services, posts by republican groups, racist intimidation in the Village area of south Belfast and concerns over social distancing during clap for carers.

Police have monitored social media activity from the public, politicians and journalists.

The information was obtained through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request by investigative website The Detail.

In a statement to the website, the PSNI admitted that if people knew the police were treating their social media activity in this way, it could negatively affect their mental and physical health.

The PSNIs Strategic Communication and Engagement Department was asked to produce all social media monitoring reports they had compiled in a one-year period.

Hundreds of pages with heavily redacted material was provided - but many were entirely blacked out.

Police redacted all posts made by members of the public on social media. The only posts shown were either made by official PSNI social media accounts and occasionally by media outlets or public bodies.

The PSNI said it engages in the practice of monitoring and reporting on the publics social media activity to measure sentiment in the community.

However, the service also acknowledged that when people made social media posts which are either critical or supportive of policing they would not expect their social media posts to be gathered as discussion points on PSNI social media reports.

Some examples of the polices commentary on social media posts included a photojournalist complaining about the number of times he was stopped by police each day for questions, graffiti about Prime Minister Boris Johnson and a tweet from a youth claiming he was attending to attend a bonfire.

There were also reports on tweets regarding an incident in the Markets area of Belfast which claimed that police were ignoring certain areas during the pandemic and reaction to a republican activist being stopped and searched by an officer.

However, none of the documents included any social media reaction to high profile cases involving the PSNI, such as the death of Noah Donohoe, the funeral of Bobby Storey and the arrests of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey over their No Stone Unturned Loughinisland documentary.

Very few references were made to the PSNIs handling of the Black Lives Matters protests.

The PSNI said in its FoI response that the reason for redacting a large amount of material was that the service has a duty of care to ensure that the physical and mental health of those individuals are safeguarded by not releasing any material that could point to the originator of the post.

They added that some of the information could endanger individuals.

The PSNI said it has been monitoring and internally reporting on social media posts since 2013.

A PSNI spokesperson stated the purpose of the services social media monitoring and internal reporting is to gain better understanding of community feeling in relation to policing and police activity so that the service can identify issues, concerns and successes to inform, enhance and improve their service.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 07:19:54|Editor: huaxia

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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The 27th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, given out by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), announced its nominations in 15 film and TV categories on Thursday.

Korean-American comedy drama "Minari" and the movie adaptation of the late American playwright August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" tied for the most film nominations with three each.

War drama "Da 5 Bloods" and historical legal drama "The Trial of the Chicago 7" also earned three nominations, but one of the nods was in the stunt ensemble category.

"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "Da 5 Bloods" and "The Trial of the Chicago 7" are Netflix releases.

"Da 5 Bloods," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "Minari," "One Night in Miami" and "The Trial of the Chicago 7" will compete for the top prize of SAG Awards - the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand, who plays a woman who loses everything in a recession and embarks on a journey through the American West in Chinese female director Chloe Zhao's feature film "Nomadland," will compete against Amy Adams ("Hillbilly Elegy"), Viola Davis ("Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"), Vanessa Kirby ("Pieces of a Woman") and Carey Mulligan ("Promising Young Woman") for the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.

Maria Bakalova ("Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"), Glenn Close ("Hillbilly Elegy"), Olivia Colman ("The Father"), Youn Yuh-Jung ("Minari") and Helena Zengel ("News of the World") are nominees for the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

The late African American actor Chadwick Boseman received two posthumous nominations for his lead performance in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and his supporting role in "Da 5 Bloods." Boseman died of cancer at 43 in last August.

Boseman, Riz Ahmed ("Sound of Metal"), Anthony Hopkins ("The Father"), Gary Oldman ("Mank") and Steven Yeun ("Minari") were nominated for the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. In the race for the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, he will compete with Sacha Baron Cohen ("The Trial of the Chicago 7"), Daniel Kaluuya ("Judas and the Black Messiah"), Jared Leto ("The Little Things") and Leslie Odom, Jr. ("One Night in Miami").

This year's nominations for the Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture include "Da 5 Bloods," "News of the World," "The Trial of the Chicago 7" "Wonder Woman 1984" and Disney's China-set live-action film "Mulan."

Netflix dominates the SAG Awards nominations on both the film and TV sides this year with the most 13 and 17 honors respectively.

Netflix's "The Crown" and POP TV's "Schitt's Creek" led the nominations on the TV side with five nods each, followed by Netflix's "Dead to Me" with three.

"The Crown" and the other two Netflix's TV series, "Bridgerton" and "Ozark," will compete for the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series against AMC series "Better Call Saul" and HBO Max's "Lovecraft Country."

"Dead to me," HBO Max's "The Flight Attendant," Hulu's "The Great," "Schitt's Creek" and Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso" will stand out for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Last year, South Korean black comedy thriller "Parasite" nabbed top film award while top TV awards went to "The Crown" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

After being delayed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 27th SAG Awards is scheduled to take place on April 4. The event had been pushed back to March 14 initially, but the SAG-AFTRA announced last month to postpone it to April to avoid a conflict with the rescheduled Grammy Awards.

Of the top industry honors presented to actors, only the SAG Awards are selected entirely by performers' peers in SAG-AFTRA, which represents approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, artists and other media professionals.

The SAG awards, which made its debut in 1995, focus on both individual performances as well as ensemble works in films and TV series. Generally considered a strong predictor of who will pick up Oscar nominations for performing, the SAG awards has become one of Hollywood awards season's premier events. Enditem

Minister Coveney and Minister of State Byrne Mark Day of Solidarity With Belarus

Press release

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has proclaimed Sunday, 7 February as the Day of Solidarity with Belarus. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney T.D., and Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne T.D., are making a joint statement to mark this important international event.

Ireland is proud to join the many countries who will participate in expressing their solidarity with the Belarusian people, who continue to maintain their peaceful and determined defence of democratic principles since the fraudulent Presidential elections last August.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney T.D. reiterated Irelands condemnation of the violence seen in Belarus and highlighted the deep personal connections between the Irish people and the people of Belarus.

Irelands support for the democratic rights and human rights of the people of Belarus is unequivocal and unwavering. We stand united with our EU and international partners in condemning the violence of the Lukashenko regime, which seeks to cling to power through an atmosphere of intimidation and fear.

Many Belarusian people have made Ireland their home over the years and have made welcome contributions to our society and our economy. I want to acknowledge the important role the Belarusian diaspora continues to play in keeping international attention on the appalling situation in the country of their birth. I also want to acknowledge the many Irish families who have opened their hearts and their homes over the decades to Belarusian children affected by the Chernobyl disaster. Building on these connections, Ireland stands firmly with the people of Belarus as they seek to defend their democratic rights.

A prosperous and free Belarus can only be achieved through a meaningful and inclusive national dialogue that leads to fresh elections that are free and fair. The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office has maintained the offer to facilitate such a dialogue and I again urge the authorities to grasp this opportunity.

Minister of State Byrne drew attention to the appalling human rights situation in Belarus and called on the Belarusian authorities to reverse their course.

Ahead of this day of solidarity, it is important we acknowledge that we are bound together through our mutual concern for the human rights of the Belarusian people. Despite daily harassment, indiscriminate detentions, curtailments of freedoms, internet shutdowns and heavy crackdowns on independent media, the Belarusian people have shown remarkable resilience and have rightly earned the admiration of all those who cherish democratic values.

I again call on the Belarusian authorities to stop the violence, repression and harassment of their people and to immediately, and unconditionally, release all those unjustly detained, including political prisoners. The credible allegations of human rights violations that have been made against members of the Belarusian security forces must be properly investigated and the authorities must take action to end the impunity they currently enjoy.

Ireland has been clear that the people of Belarus are the only ones with the right to determine the future direction of their country and we will continue to stand with them in realising this right.

Minister Coveney and Minister of State Byrne have both spoken with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was one of those children affected by the Chernobyl disaster who spent time in Ireland for respite and recuperation, and look forward to welcoming her back when public health conditions allow.

ENDS

PRESS OFFICE

5 FEBRUARY 2021

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The government is completing consultations on their redistribution.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna says several European countries have agreed to sell part of their surplus COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine.

The official said the government was completing consultations on the redistribution of part of the EU's surplus vaccines.

"There are several EU countries, one of them is very friendly towards us, which have agreed to sell some of the vaccines as part of [their] surpluses. Ukraine is buying them. But I would also like to thank more EU countries that, without having such surpluses, have still promoted Ukraine's interests, the need to ensure Ukraine's access to vaccines," she told Ukraine's TSN TV news service in an interview.

Stefanishyna stressed over 13 EU countries had backed Ukraine in this issue.

"This is a great sign of solidarity. I am sure this joint work has yielded results," she added.

Read also COVID-19 vaccination to kick off on Feb 15  health minister COVID-19 vaccine for Ukraine

On December 30, Ukraine signed a contract with China's Sinovac for the supply of 1.9 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine.

On January 30, 2021, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister, Chief Medical Officer Viktor Liashko said Ukraine would receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine within the COVAX (the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility) in February.

From the middle of February to the end of June 2021, Ukraine will obtain 2.2 million to 3.7 million doses of an AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine.

First to get vaccinated will be healthcare workers, the elderly, and seriously ill patients.

In December 2020, the Health Ministry's coronavirus task force approved a COVID-19 immunization plan under which at least 50% of Ukrainians (20 million people) are to be vaccinated during 2021-2022.

On January 29, the National Commission for technology-related and environmental safety and emergencies approved a schedule for vaccination against the coronavirus in Ukraine in 2021.

Reporting by UNIAN
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene a cancer for the Republican Party.

Wednesday, while Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, over half of House Republicans stood in dishonor to give Greene a standing ovation in a closed door meeting.

Thursday, only 11 House Republicans voted to remove Greene from two House Committees. Yet 60 House Republicans voted to remove Rep Liz Cheney from her No. 3 leadership position for voting to impeach Traitor Trump.

Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country. Somebody whos suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.s is not living in reality, McConnell said in a statement.

Greene also responded to someone on social media that the " stage is being set for the lynching of Barack Obama; gave the thumbs up to putting a bullet in the head of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; said Jewish lasers from space started fires in California to clear land for private development; heckled and harassed a Parkland school shooting survivor as he walked down a sidewalk, informing him she was carrying a gun; during her campaIgn, Greene posted a photo of her pointing an assault rifle at three Democrat members of Congress.

Because House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy refused to properly do his job and remove the Greene cancer mess, when he easily could and should have, it was left to the Democrats to vote to remove Greene from the Congressional Committees, which they did, with the 11 Republicans joining them.

Ahead of the vote, a flushed faced McCarthy tried to make the case for Greene, falsely claiming she had shown contrition, apologized and that he couldnt properly pronounce QAnon because he knew little of it. Greene feigned regret for her comments, beliefs and posts. She proceeded to lie about her lies and spout more.

As one of the four top leaders of Congress, McCarthy gets the same routine, extensive intelligence briefings that House Speaker Pelosi, MeConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer get. Like them, McCarthy knows full well how to properly pronounce QAnon, and has done it before. He also knows full well about the crackpot conspiracy theories it spreads. His comments were the latest in a string of his bad acts.

Greenes claim of regret was disingenuous and totally lacking in credibility. Greene tried to portray herself as a passive, innocent victim of Q entrapment and manipulation. In fact, despite her attempts to erase her social media record, there is still ample evidence of her actively perpetuating crackpot conspiracy theories from Q, and herself, in extensive, in depth, long social media posts dating back to 2017.

Contrary to Greenes and McCarthys claims, shes continued to make outlandish comments during her campaign and after her election.

Even during her phony act of contrition on the House floor, the Greene cancer continued to spread, equating QAnon and the media, demonstrating how insincere, gullible and ignorant she is.

Greene will care little that shes not on House Committees. She never had any interest or intention of doing her job as the founding fathers intended it. Greene is just using Congress as a stage to raise money and click bait to spread her conspiracy cancer.

She is a nightmare for Congress, the GOP and the Country, but a dream come true for Democrat campaigns in 2022 and 2024.

Just as Greene is unfit to serve, so is McCarthy as Minority Leader or any kind of leader. The only good argument for his remaining in his position is that he would be replaced by even worse Rep. Jim Jordan, who attempted to take his place before. Aspirations to be House Speaker, is likely another reason Jordan isnt seeking the opening Ohio Senate seat.
JD Greear urges pastors not to call VP Kamala Harris Jezebel,' but to pray for her

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Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear is urging pastors in the denomination to refrain from calling Vice President Kamala Harris Jezebel due to the racist connotations of the moniker. He is calling on them to honor and pray for her as an elected leader instead.

Greears guidance comes in the wake of SBCs pastors, including SBC Executive Committee member Steve Swofford, referring to the vice president by the term.

I realize that some pastors are likely unaware of the history of certain racial stereotypes in calling or comparing our Vice President to Jezebel, but that doesnt make such statements any less unwise, Greear, who pastors the multi-campus Summit Church in North Carolina, wrote in a Twitter thread Tuesday.

There are times we will critique policies, but that should not include personal attacks on a newly elected official God has told us to honor and pray for. Let us speak clearly and boldly for righteousness, but in a way that honors what the Scriptures say about honoring our leaders. We dont correct one sin through another.

Swofford, who pastors First Baptist Church of Rockwall, Texas, called President Joe Biden cognitively dysfunctional in a recent message stating: What if something happens to him? Jezebel has to take over  Jezebel Harris; isnt that her name?

Tom Buck, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas, also referred to Harris as Jezebel on Twitter two days after her inauguration.

I cant imagine any truly God-fearing Israelite who wouldve wanted their daughters to view Jezebel as an inspirational role model because she was a woman in power, Buck tweeted.

He further noted that: I most identify with those who exclusively bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ with both their lips and lives - irrespective of their ethnicity or biological gender.

Jezebel is denounced in the Bible as a murderer, prostitute and enemy of God. But the name is also a racist trope in American history.

Pastor Steve Swofford of Rockwall First Baptist Church in Texas calls Joe Biden "cognitively dysfunctional" and Kamala Harris "Jezebel Harris." h/t @LilyBorahae@watchkeeppic.twitter.com/kV7Eq3cFt2  Christian Nightmares (@ChristnNitemare) January 28, 2021

According to Ferris State University in Michigan, the home of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, the portrayal of black women as Jezebel whores began in slavery, extended through the Jim Crow period and continues today.

Although the Mammy caricature was the dominant popular cultural image of black women from slavery to the 1950s, the depiction of black women as Jezebels was common in American material culture, the museums website details.

Everyday items such as ashtrays, postcards, sheet music, fishing lures, drinking glasses, and so forth  depicted naked or scantily dressed black women, lacking modesty and sexual restraint.

In some of the earliest racist definitions of Jezebel, the name was used to refer to slavery era mulatto women, many of whom were often sold into prostitution.

Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican-born father and India-born mother, is biracial and has been accused of using sex to advance her career.

Her relationship with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown has been the subject of many headlines in recent months.

Harris and Brown, who is 30 years her senior, dated in 1994 and 1995, before they split after his election as mayor. Although Brown was still legally married at the time, he had reportedly been estranged from his wife, Blanche Brown, since 1981.

Pastor Buck, however, insists that his use of Jezebel to describe Harris isnt about her race.

For those torn up over my tweet, I stand by it 100%, he tweeted on Jan. 23. My problem is her godless character. She not only is the most radical pro-abortion VP ever, but also most radical LGBT advocate. She performed one of the first Lesbian marriages. Pray for her, but dont praise her!

He also pointed out that there is a liberal magazine called Jezebel and people dont seem to have an issue with that.
The family foundations in Midland have ensured Medicaid eligible adults wont have to leave the community to seek professional dental services anytime soon. Helping Hands Dental Center has received three large donations recently that will help keep the doors open for their patients.

The Charles J. Strosacker Foundation provided the first gift with $125,000 for 2020 in May.

Our trustees realize the value in helping non-profit organizations that are meeting human service needs in a real way, said Kimberlee Baczewski, executive vice president. This often means helping groups where the profit motive isnt available in the normal marketplace, so HHDC is a natural fit for our type of gifting.

The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation provided the second major gift with $100,000 for 2020 in June.

We are delighted to support Helping Hands Dental Center provide quality dental care to families in Midland, said Lisa J. Gerstacker, board president and Bill Schutte, executive vice president. We are also pleased to learn of the careful and thoughtful safety measures that Helping Hands has implemented for the health of both patients and staff."

The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation provided two years of support with gifts of $100,000 for 2020 and $100,000 for 2021.

We are pleased to continue our partnership with Helping Hands Dental Center which began with the inception of HHDC 16 years ago and has included funding for operating support and a facility expansion. Trustees are honored to continue to support those serving our communitys most vulnerable residents, especially now, as we work through the global coronavirus pandemic said Dr. Ruth A. Doan, president.

COVID-19 has permanently changed the way dental practices operate, said Kay Gable, dentist and board president of HHDC. This ringing endorsement, in the form of these large philanthropic gifts, inspires all HHDC volunteers, staff, and patients to have confidence in the future, and focus on the task at hand."

HHDC is located at 1509 Washington St., Suite D in the Midland Towne Center right next to Department of Health and Human Services. Medicaid eligible patrons are encouraged to call 989-837-9740.

Geely's Volvo Cars reported record second half profit and sales volume in 2020, illustrating, it said, "the company's success in mitigating and recovering from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic earlier in the year".

The company reported revenue of SEK151bn SEK and an operating profit of SEK9.5bn for the second half of 2020. Profit increased 8.2% during the period, while revenues were up by 4.9%. Profit margin was 6.3%.

Volvo sold 391,751 cars in the second six months of 2020, an increase of 7.4% year on year, taking market share in most markets.

For full year 2020, revenue was SEK263bn and operating profit SEK8.5bn. The automaker said it managed to reduce fixed costs in combination with growth, which had a positive influence on cash flow and liquidity.

"We acted decisively to limit the impact of the pandemic," said Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive. "After a safe restart of our operations, we recovered strongly and reported the best second half in the company's history."

The share of Recharge cars of total sales more than doubled in 2020. In Europe, sales of plug-in hybrids accounted for 30% of total volume, and Volvo is claiming to be the leading plug-in premium brand measured as a share of its total sales volume.

In China and the United States, its two largest individual markets, the company reported growing sales for the full year as it managed to recover a pandemic-related sales drop in the first half during the second half of the year. In Europe it reported a small second-half decline due to a sluggish overall market.

During 2020, Volvo also saw an accelerated move towards online sales as a result of the pandemic, a development that the company expects to continue in 2021. In 2020, It more than doubled its number of subscriptions sold online versus 2019. Conquest rates via this channel continued to be high, supporting the increases in market share.

For 2021, the company anticipates continued growth in sales volume and revenue, due to a strong product offering and further increases in online sales. Assuming market conditions continue to normalize, this growth, as well as continued cost management is anticipated to improve profitability to pre-corona levels.

With ongoing investments in new technologies and new products, the company foresees a similar level of capital expenditure as in 2020. Cash flow is expected to remain strong. It also expects a continued reduction in its overall CO2 emissions per car, in line with the company's ambition to reduce these by 40% by 2025.
The government is all set to start the third round of the airport privatisation in April this year, Pradeep Singh Kharola, the civil aviation secretary, said on Thursday, adding it could see six-ten airports taken.

In this round, the government will adopt a fresh approach, that of clubbing a non-profit-making airport with a profit-making one and offering it in the form of a package. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is examining the feasibility of giving a non-profitable airport and a profit-making airport as a package. We could see six to 10 airports being taken up," Kharola said.

In her budget speech on the floor of the Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman, too, had said that this year the government will privatize airports operated by AAI from tier II and III cities.

According to a report in Mint, the AAI is raising Rs 2,100 crore from banks for its capital expenditure requirements in 2021-22.

In the first round of divestment, which started in 2018, the airports of Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, Jaipur and Mangalore were awarded to the Adani group.

Besides this, Kharola said the government was constantly monitoring the air traffic levels and would "ensure there was enough supply in the market to match the demand". Currently, he said, of the allowed 80% limit in domestic flights, there was 60-65% utilisation.

Following the Covornavirus pandemic, the government had suspended domestic and international flights. On May 25, after two months of suspension, domestic flights resumed with capped fares.

Kharola said the decision on fare cap will be taking into account the demand in the market, adding it was supposed to be "temporary". Apart from this, the government is also keen on opening up international passenger flights, currently operating under air-travel bubble arrangements, Mint reported.

Separately, the civil aviation secretary added the government will float the preliminary information memorandum for Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL) to commence its divestment process once again, reports CNBCTV18.

AIATSL, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, is involved in the handling of cargo, passenger, and ramp for aircraft.
Nairobi  Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai on Thursday released 902 police graduate constables to various police colleges, where their will undergo training ahead of being promoted.

Police Spokesperson Charles Owino said the officers will undergo an intense 9-month training.

"After the training, they will all be promoted to the rank of Inspector of Police," Owino told Capital News.

The move is part of efforts to boost morale within the National Police Service, and more so among the graduate officers.

The exercise will commence ahead of a recruitment drive targeting 300 cadet officers from specialized professions like law, ballistics, education and forensic science, who will also undergo training for nine months.

Further, the police service will later in the month recruit 4,700 police officers at the constituency level across the country.

The exercise will be carried out countrywide and will commence on Monday, February 22.

The recruited officers will be deployed to the Administration Police Service and the General Service Unit.

Applicants must present themselves at the recruitment centres with the duly completed form indicating the service of preference on the day of the recruitment exercise.

"Applicants recruited for the training into the service shall be bonded to serve in the National Police Service for a minimum period of 10 years," the Inspector General said in an advertisement published on local dailies this week.
New Jersey is expecting to receive nearly 250,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccines next week including 111,000 set aside for second shots to help meet the overwhelming demand imbalance making it difficult for residents to find appointments, the states top health official said Friday.

Next week should be a good week, Department of Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said during a briefing to provide an update on the COVID-19 outbreak. New Jersey had previously been getting about 130,000 doses a week.

Persichilli said a big uptick (of) Moderna vaccines getting sent to the state helps to contribute to the increased number of doses. There will be a total of 248,150 doses sent to the state, she said.

The state will get 55,575 Pfizer and 80,900 Moderna first doses, as well as 55,575 Pfizer second doses and 56,100 Moderna second doses.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

There have been 925,579 vaccine doses administered in New Jersey so far, according to the states dashboard. Thats out of more than 1.43 million doses the state has received from the federal government, according to a running tally by the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Murphy said more than 745,000 first doses of the vaccines have been administered.

They are not only growing, but the rate of growth is picking up steam, Murphy said. In the past week, the number of initial doses has increased by more than 135,400. Thats a 22% increase. And, the number of residents who have now received both doses  whether it be the Moderna or Pfizers vaccine  that number has grown by 69,258. And that is a nearly 63% increase in just the past seven days. We clearly need more doses.

This weeks winter storm forced all six of the states mega sites, as well as likely many other facilities that give vaccinations, to close for two days. But the state has been catching up with scheduled appointments. The mega-sites have been operating under capacity due to lack of doses.

Officials on Friday reported another 3,723 confirmed cases and 93 additional deaths.

The total number of confirmed cases is now 637,357 out of more than 9.5 million PCR tests. There have also been 75,967 positive antigen tests, which the state recently began reporting publicly. Those cases are considered probable and health officials have warned the positive antigen tests could overlap with the confirmed PCR tests because they are sometimes given in tandem.

VACCINATIONS BY COUNTY

ATLANTIC COUNTY: 28,650 doses administered

BERGEN COUNTY: 102,248 doses administered

BURLINGTON COUNTY: 46,344 doses administered

CAMDEN COUNTY: 53,393 doses administered

CAPE MAY COUNTY: 13,972 doses administered

CUMBERLAND COUNTY: 13,934 doses administered

ESSEX COUNTY: 72,856 doses administered

GLOUCESTER COUNTY: 31,958 doses administered

HUDSON COUNTY: 42,429 doses administered

HUNTERDON COUNTY: 12,429 doses administered

MERCER COUNTY: 25,450 doses administered

MIDDLESEX COUNTY: 68,625 doses administered

MONMOUTH COUNTY: 70,246 doses administered

MORRIS COUNTY: 67,385 doses administered

OCEAN COUNTY: 56,295 doses administered

PASSAIC COUNTY: 43,984 doses administered

SALEM COUNTY: 5,996 doses administered

SOMERSET COUNTY: 35,856 doses administered

SUSSEX COUNTY: 15,048 doses administered

UNION COUNTY: 45,128 doses administered

WARREN COUNTY: 9,025 doses administered

OUT OF STATE: 33,632 doses administered

UNKNOWN COUNTY: 30,696 doses administered

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
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Sen. John Blake, D-22, Archbald

So the problem  is that the (state) Department of Health has given all of these vaccination providers instructions not to waste anything. ... And so what happened, at least insofar as I can determine ... is there might have been a clinic and there might have been an independent pharmacist who had extra doses and he was calling around because he didnt want to throw them out. So then all of the sudden theres no definition or prescription or regulatory kind of standards for that, which means it becomes a little bit like the Wild West and then you have some people getting it, some teachers getting it, and other people calling saying why cant I? Thats a big problem.

To address the challenges, We need to be honest with people about what to expect, and our providers need to have sufficient guidance to provide encouraging and responsible feedback to the people who are eligible for a dose. I think we need a little bit more transparency and a little bit more coordination. ... What really has to happen is the federal government needs to allocate more doses. And those doses need to go out in a way that makes sense relative to risk and threat, and also as it relates to the density of demand.

State Rep. Bridget Malloy Kosierowski, D-114, Waverly Twp.Kosierowski, who worked as a nurse for 24 years before entering politics, called for increased federal funding to assist with vaccine distribution and said the state should create a portal page for eligible Pennsylvanians to register for the vaccine.

Theyre frustrated that they cant get an appointment. Theyre frustrated that the vaccine isnt available, but for the most part ... they are extremely patient and they understand. And most important, they want those that are in the certain groups to receive (the vaccine) first. Most of these people are calling on behalf of others. ... Theyre advocating for others. Weve got a lot of  I call them the sandwich generation, like me. I mean Ive got my own kids but I have my elderly parents, right? So I get a lot of those kinds of calls asking: How can I help my neighbor? How can I help my aunt?

My goal is to try to get my providers that I know ... expedited to get their license to get the vaccine. Weve got offices that have staff that are willing to work Saturdays and Sundays; three-hour shifts; use all their exam rooms to give the vaccine; have the people wait the 15 minutes post (vaccination) to check for any kind of side effects and keep them moving. Weve got the people that are willing and able and ready to help, its just we need the vaccine.

State Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-112, Blakely

Expanding the pool of Pennsylvanians eligible to receive the vaccine in the 1A phase without enough doses available to meet that demand was a major logistical failure, Mullins said.

If youre pointing a now-expanded population of people toward a lifesaving vaccine  if youre pointing people toward the lifeboats  you better make sure theyre there. ... Were hearing from eligible individuals, those now 65 and older but also 16 to 64 with certain health conditions. Some have had luck in getting on many of the clinics being held around the region, but I know those spots fill up very quickly. So weve also received calls ... (from) individuals not able to get on those lists or participate in those clinics.

State Rep. Marty Flynn, D-113, Scranton

Given the circumstances, Flynn said he believes the state has done a decent job handling the vaccine rollout. Pennsylvania has been receiving just about 140,000 doses of vaccine per week from the federal government amid much higher demand, he noted earlier this week.

Youre going to have problems no matter what. ... Its just a big cluster mess, but youre going to have that when you have such a demand and so low a supply. ... Theres 13 million people in Pennsylvania. Were getting 140,000 (doses) a week here. Its not adding up. ... I would just push the (Wolf) administration, getting (doses) to our local pharmacies, our local mom and pops, so that its accessible on Main Street. ... Thats the biggest thing to me.

State Rep. Karen Boback, R-117, Harveys Lake

In the General Assembly, we have been working on passing comprehensive legislation that would assist in the administering of the vaccines. Working alongside my colleagues in the House and in the Senate, we need to make sure that Pennsylvanians are taken care of. Our focus is on supporting local health officials to achieve the goal of getting people across the Commonwealth safely and effectively vaccinated as soon as possible. I am also committed to the work being done by the Wyoming County Recovery Task Force as well as governmental and business entities located throughout my district. These focus groups concentrate their efforts on area stakeholders which allows me to determine how to better help individuals who may be struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout my district and the state, Pennsylvanians are dedicated to getting each other through these difficult times.

State Rep. Mike Carroll, D-118, Avoca

As with nearly everything associated with a public response to a pandemic, there isnt a playbook to offer a guide with steps to take and its very easy to second guess actions taken by the Department of Health or the governor on vaccines or other decisions with life-and-death consequences. I know everyone is doing their best to save lives, keep people safe and attempt to do all this while limiting societal impacts. I would have preferred a less aggressive expansion of the individuals included in the first group eligible for the vaccine before expansion and likely would have included other professions as being eligible in the first group, including corrections officers, teachers and others who directly interact with the public. I communicate these concerns to both the governor and the Department of Health frequently. Mostly, my constituents are eager to receive the vaccine and often struggle in their efforts to connect with providers. Sadly, the availability of the vaccine from the federal government has been woefully inadequate since December and the frustration is felt by both providers and our citizens. Additional vaccines combined with a more streamlined distribution process should be a shared goal of all elected officials and health care providers.

 JEFF HORVATH
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Corks Adam King made a special appearance on The Ryan Tubridy Show ahead of the launch of his very own virtual hug Valentines Day cards.

The six-year-old aspiring CapCom has recently announced the launch of Valentines Day cards which are inspired by his famous hand-made virtual hug.

Adams virtual hug first appeared on The Late Late Toy Show last year and over Christmas, the special hug was also turned into an An Post postmark which was applied to millions of Christmas post.

Speaking on The Ryan Tubridy Show on RTE Radio One, Adams Dad, David King said that their experience since Adam appeared on The Late Late Toy Show has been amazing.

Its been amazing. The word I keep coming back to is humbling, its very, very humbling but I suppose, now that we have had a few months from it, [The Late Late Toy Show] its been great to take stock of the impact that Adam, and I suppose just the character that he is and his virtual hugs, have had on people, he said.

I think whats brilliant is its not lost on him.

All proceeds from the Valentines Day cards, which are decorated with Adams homemade 'virtual hug', will go to CHI Temple Street and Cork University Hospital Charity.

The wait is over..we are DELIGHTED to announce the launch of #adamsvirtualhug card! Available @DonnybrookFair & @SuperValuIRL @CentraIRL stores nationwide! Proceeds will support two charities v close to Adam's ,@CUHCharity & @Temple_Street.



Buy in store now & share the love! pic.twitter.com/WqjdZjvrsq  Adam King Adventures (@AdamKingIRL) February 3, 2021

Having spent a lot of time at Temple Street and CUH, David King praised the staff at both hospitals and said that they have helped make hospitals fun for Adam, describing the staff as family.

He gave a special thanks to the staff and the support they provided which he said has "continued from the moment he was born".

The two hospitals have just been amazing to our family, they have been amazing to Adam and were just so proud and Adam is so delighted as well to be able to support them, he said.

Adams 'virtual hug' cards will be available from SuperValu and selected Centra stores from today.
Former Okahandja regional councillor and ex-parliamentarian Steve Biko Booys has been transferred to the Seeis police station holding cells following his maiden appearance in the Okahandja Magistrate's Court on sex crime charges.

Booys, who is also a former National Council member, is accused of raping a relative last month. Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Kauna Shikwambi confirmed Booys succeeded in convincing authorities that his life was in danger at the Okahandja police cells where he was initially detained following his arrest early this week. The former councillor is facing four charges, two counts of rape and incest.

"The suspect has been remanded in custody and he is expected to make his next court appearance on 8 April for further investigations," said Shikwambi. During his appearance in court, Booys' defence lawyer Trevor Brockerhoff indicated his client should be detained at Seeis outside Windhoek, rather than at Okahandja, as Booys is "a politically exposed person" and it is feared that his life might be endangered at his hometown.

The State is alleging Booys raped a 21-year-old woman at Okahandja on 16 and 17 January this year. It is also alleged that the complainant was raped while she was under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a substance that mentally incapacitated her.

The magistrate ordered that Booys should remain in custody after public prosecutor Veruka Njembo opposed the granting of bail, due to fear that Booys would interfere with the investigation of his case if released. Njembo also said it would not be in the public interest or the interest of the administration of justice to have Booys released on bail, as that may send a wrong message to society, taking into account the scale of violence against women in Namibia.
Health official: 'I am hopeful for the brighter days ahead'
The U.S. Navy sends warship into Taiwan Strait to sail international waters, despite Chinese opposition to American ships plying the Strait. China claims in this body of water is denied, and assert the right to sail.

Taiwan Straits is one possible flashpoint in the South China Sea; the Biden administration has chosen to continue the past administration's policy.

U.S. Navy sailed through the contested Strait

Last Thursday, the United States Navy conducted a navigation operation freedom as an escalation in Chinese threats through diplomatic channels and media. Sailing through the Strait in a fully armed guided-missile destroyer is one of the Biden administration's way of continuing what the former administration policy set, reported NTD.

China has repeatedly sent planes and even their naval ships to intimidate the Island republic of Taiwan. These operations' objective is to push back against China's claims that the island is part of their territory. China regards the activities of the U.S. as meddling into its internal affairs.

It is international waters, not China's exclusive territory

Sources report the passing of the Taiwan Strait done by the Japan-based USS John S McCain has not violated international law because anyone can pass. The statement of Joe Kelley, a spokesperson for the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet, affirming nothing is illegal. He added Beijing's claim is not legal.

He added the USS McCain transit through the Taiwan Strait shows commitment to a "free and open Indo-Pacific." Adding the U.S. military will fly and sail where international law permits it. Kelly said the statement as a counter to China's protests.

Also read: U.S. Navy Destroyer Sails Through Taiwan Strait to Let Beijing Know US Will Support Taiwan

Freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS) have been conducted by Australia, which China did not take lightly. This region in the Indo-Pacific has seen several nations acting against China's usurping territories by passing through them.

Biden's foreign policy mettle is tested by the commitment of the U.S. to Taiwan. It is the second run-in of his administration as the navy sends warship into Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan belongs to China.

Beijing says the small self-proclaimed independent state will be reclaimed because it is China's territory. The 24 million-strong democracy off the mainland is Chinese subjects who have been independent for a long time.

Beijing is incensed at any nation recognizing Taiwan with the One-China-Policy. Any dealing with them is prohibited, but the U.S. actions show otherwise.

The new administration's first week showed an unusual boldness by the CCP, with a large squadron of fighters flying too close for comfort. Taipei sent up F-16s that were far more capable than J-11s to stay aloft and keep watch.

The U.S. declares support for the embattled island

Freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS) is done regularly by the U.S. Navy to patrol the waters close to the East China Sea. All China's claims are subject to the regular passing of U.S. naval ships to push back against.

One of the last FONOPS conducted in the previous administration was on New Year's Eve with John McCain, and the Curtiss Wilbur sailed into the straits.

First FONOPS was in 2016 and then in 2020, with 13 times sailed through according to the 7th Fleet. Operations like them are vital to keeping morale high with the U.S. and allies. The U.S. Navy sends warship into Taiwan Strait to show U.S. support and commitment as China looms.

Related article: Guided-Missile Destroyer USS Russell Crosses Taiwan Strait After Chinese Aircraft Carrier Went for Sea Trials

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Alliance Air will induct two 228 aircraft to focus on North East routes.

Alliance Air, which is Air India's regional arm, signed a memorandum of understanding with plane manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to dry lease the 19-seater planes.

The agreement was signed at Aero India event in Bengaluru today. Alliance Air will be first airline to use 228 planes for passenger flights, it said in a statement. Currently the Dorniers are being flown by Indian armed forces.

ALSO READ: Isro to launch Brazil's Amazonia-1 and 20 co-passenger satellites on Feb 28

The airline's chief executive officer Harpreet A De Singh said it will hire pilots from Indian Air Force and Coast Guard for the planes and will depend on HAL and Air India's engineering division for their maintenance. "Our focus will be to connect North East region," she said and added the aircraft would be based in Guwahati or Dibrugarh.

"The 19-seater non-pressurised 228 has a lavatory with an air-conditioned cabin capable of day & night operations. The light transport aircraft will facilitate regional connectivity and cater to solve the challenges of connecting hinterland areas of the country. The commercial passenger operations are expected to commence in Arunachal Pradesh by March," the airline said.
Saudi Arabia said on Friday that President Joe Bidens speech recommitting the United States to global alliances, during which Biden also announced an end to US involvement in Yemen's war, showed Americas commitment to working with allies.

President Biden's speech was historic, tweeted Adel Al-Jubeir, the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs. He confirmed America's commitment to work with friends & allies to resolve conflicts and deal with challenges."

Al-Jubeir concluded, We look forward to working with our friends in the US to end conflicts and confront challenges, as we have for over seven decades.

During a speech delivered at the State Department on Thursday, Biden pledged to reclaim US credibility abroad and rebuild alliances fractured in during the previous administration's "America First" approach to foreign policy.

He announced an end to US support for offensive operations in Yemen, as well as the appointment of a special envoy to push for a diplomatic resolution to the six-year civil war. The United States has provided logistical assistance and intelligence to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which has been fighting the countrys Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on behalf of the internationally recognized government since 2015.

Were going to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people, added Biden, referencing missile attacks, UAV strikes and other threats from Iran and its regional proxies.

In a tweet posted shortly after Bidens announcement, Emirati Minister of State Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash praised Timothy Lenderkings special envoy appointment as one that would bring new and needed energy" to help end the six-year conflict. The United Arab Emirates has scaled back its military involvement in Yemen but continues to support the separatist Southern Transitional Council.

Billions of dollars in arms sales to the UAE as well as Saudi Arabia have been put on hold by the Biden administration pending review. The Donald Trump administration had pushed through a last-minute deal with the UAE for the sale of as many as 50 F-35 jets, 18 armed drones and other equipment in a deal valued at $23 billion.
Premier Brian Pallister said he's not worried about a possible rash of resignations by government appointees in light of Monday's edict forbidding out-of-province travel.

Premier Brian Pallister said he's not worried about a possible rash of resignations by government appointees in light of Monday's edict forbidding out-of-province travel.

At a news conference Thursday, Pallister called travel for pleasure by senior government officials, political staff and appointees to provincial agencies, boards and commissions "a career-limiting move."

Responding to a question at a news conference as to why he failed to take action immediately when he learned that Winnipeg Regional Health Authority board chairman Wayne McWhirter travelled to Arizona last month, the premier suggested he needed time to consider his decision.

"I tend to think about things... before I act," he said. "I think that's the appropriate way to lead and to govern."

Pallister said he and chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin have made their opposition to unnecessary travel "eminently clear" for some time.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Premier Brian Pallister said he's not worried about a possible rash of resignations by government appointees in light of Monday's edict forbidding out-of-province travel.

"The directive I put out this week was designed to give additional clarity to that, and that there would be consequences for people who do travel beyond the restrictions," he said.

Pallister initially urged leniency for McWhirter because of his largely "volunteer" position with the WRHA, but by Monday evening he announced that the health board chair would be stepping down. At the same time, he announced that all those appointed to their positions by cabinet would be terminated if they flouted provincial health advice by travelling out of province.

The directive angered some Progressive Conservative board appointees, and a few who were out of the country or had travelled abroad over their holidays have tendered their resignations, sources said.

One longtime PC supporter who serves as a government appointee and was out of province this week said the premier's threat against board members will hasten demands within the party that Pallister resign.

On Tuesday, a member of the Brandon University board of governors announced he would be stepping down because of the edict.

Kerry Auriat

Kerry Auriat told the Brandon Sun he travels frequently and didn't want to bring "embarrassment or dishonour" to his alma mater by being removed from his position if he travels in the future.

Monday's directive came after reports that the province's top bureaucrat worked from his Ottawa home over the Christmas holidays, a senior political staffer vacationed in Eastern Canada over the same period and a backbench government MLA and his family took a holiday driving trip to British Columbia.

MLA James Teitsma was removed from one legislative committee, but that was the extent of the consequences for those in government who disregarded health advice.

"The fact that the premier is unwilling to hold accountable those who work most closely with him shows you that this is more about spin and damage control than actually asking his insiders to live up to the same standards that every Manitoban has been abiding by," NDP Leader Wab Kinew said of the premier's directive.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said the directive was a ploy by Pallister to get himself out of a political mess created by the WRHA board chairman's travels.

"He tried to cook up an excuse to get rid of a political embarrassment... without having to do anything to punish his staff, who did exactly the same thing but worse," he said of the premier.

Meanwhile, Pallister suggested Thursday that his travel directive was government-wide, although he did not spell out what consequences there may be for unionized civil servants who travel out of province for leisure.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Pallister said he and chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin have made their opposition to unnecessary travel "eminently clear" for some time.

"This directive went out to everyone in government  top to bottom, everybody, all of us," he said at one point in his news conference.

Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union, said she agreed that public health rules and penalties should apply to everyone.

"Instead of singling out and threatening particular groups of workers, the province should focus on providing clear rules and penalties that apply to all Manitobans, regardless of where they work. We are all in this together," she said in a statement.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
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South Korean Trade Minister and candidate for the World Trade Organisations top job, Yoo Myung-hee, has withdrawn her bid to lead the global trade body.

Her decision leaves former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the only remaining candidate for the top job.

Ms Yoo made the decision after discussions with the United States and other major nations, a statement from Koreas trade ministry said on Friday.

She also took various issues into account comprehensively including the need to revitalise the multilateral organization, reports said Friday.

The World Trade Organisation members has last October selected Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and Ms Yoo to advance to the final round in the race to lead the Geneva-based trade body.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala is, however, largely considered the shoo-in among experts and influential figures within the WTO.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala was Nigerias finance minister during the tenures of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan. She has experience working at international governance bodies as a former managing director of the World Bank and as a chairman at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.

With the coast now almost clear for Mrs Okonjo-Iwealas emergence, the WTO is poised to have its first female director-general in its 25-year history.
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CEO Alain Ghiai said its SekurMessenger was seeing a "surge in demand" with privacy becoming a global concern, and the new WhatsApp rules to share all users' data with Facebook

Ltd ( ) ( ), the cybersecurity and privacy solutions provider, revealed on Tuesday that it has completed all testing related to SekurMessenger as it gears up for its commercial launch in January in Latin America.

The advanced technology company will launch SekurMessenger, its Swiss-hosted encrypted instant messaging, secure voice recording transfer and secure file transfer application, with Telcel, telecom heavyweight America Movil SABs Mexico mobile division.

The secure messaging service has been fully integrated with Telcels billing and provisioning platform and the commercial launch is expected to start later this month, said the company. The launch will start in Mexico and expand to other countries where America Movil operates through its Claro brand, such as Colombia and other Latin American countries.

READ: GlobeX Data provides Sekur.com in Spanish as it gears up for launch in Latin America and Spain in early 2021

In addition, GlobeX which has offices in Toronto and New York said that through its partnership with distributor Micronet, it will first launch in Colombia and Panama and possibly in Spain. Micronet, headquartered in Spain, manages a network of 3,000 resellers in 11 countries through Central and Latin America.

and America Movi are looking at offering a secure and private alternative to other non-secure messaging applications. America Movil is the seventh-largest global telecom operator with over 277 million mobile subscribers in 20 countries in Latin America and Europe.

One of the many security features of SekurMessenger is that users dont register for the service using their phone numbers, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. It also does not social engineer a users phone or computer contact list  this poses the risk of infecting the contacts by default. Instead, SekurMessenger issues each user a username and a SM number. The SM number is the contact ID a user would disclose for other SM users to be added.

The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, such as GlobeXs proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all the data stored in Swiss-hosted encrypted servers.

In a statement, GlobeX Data CEO Alain Ghiai said: With the news that WhatsApp is finally officially admitting that all users data are shared with Facebook automatically, and with the new policy stating that a user will lose their privilege if they do not accept the Terms of Use after February 8 2021 ... We are happy to announce the offering of our highly private and secure messaging and email solution bundle Sekur for all business users and privacy enthusiasts.

For our Latin America launch, we have completed our Spanish language platform for Sekur and SekurMessenger. As we are not connected, and never have been connected, to AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud platforms, commonly referred to as Big Tech, we can offer a truly independent, private and secure means of communications through secure messaging, secure voice record transfer and secure email through our proprietary technology and our secure servers based in Switzerland.

The GlobeX Data boss said that launching in Spanish marks a milestone for the launch of its Sekur and SekurMessenger solutions. We plan to expand to several countries in Central and Latin America in the coming years, added Ghiai.

The company cited statista.com, saying there are over 580 million Spanish speakers in Latin America alone.

With security and privacy becoming a global concern, and the new WhatsApp rules to share all users data with Facebook, we have seen a surge in demand and inquiries for our secure and private communications solutions, said Ghiai.

GlobeXs data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users data from any outside data intrusion requests.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
Connecticut residents 65 and older could begin registering for COVID-19 vaccines as early as next week, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday.

On average, just under half of the states 75 and older population have already received the vaccine, according to the Lamont administrations data. That population is the only group eligible to receive the vaccine in Phase 1B of the states rollout. Medical first responders, health care workers and staff and residents of longterm care facilities are also being vaccinated under Phase 1A.

Id like to think that well be able to give you a green light on 65 and over in a week or 10 days. Very soon thereafter people start getting their first shots, maybe itll take another week to get that done, the governor said.

Johnson and Johnson announced Thursday it submitted an application for an emergency use authorization for its one-shot vaccine candidate to the Food and Drug Administration.

The company estimates its vaccine can be stored for up to three months in a standard refrigerator. Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines already in use, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine uses a modified adenovirus as a vector, or carrier, of the virus genetic code to help a patients body develop antibodies.

As Connecticuts COVID hospitalizations reached their lowest point since before Thanksgiving and the states daily positivity rate was the lowest since Halloween, Lamont on Thursday warned of Super Bowl gatherings on Sunday.

Weve got to make sure its also an event we handle cautiously and make sure it doesnt create a spike-up, he said. The trendlines are so positive right now.

There were 37 fewer hospitalizations recorded Thursday, dropping the statewide total to 837.

The daily positivity rate declined as well. A total of 937 new infections were recorded out of 29,864 tests, for a positivity rate of 3.14 percent  down from 3.77 percent the previous day.

There were 28 more deaths were reported, bringing the states death toll to 7,185, a figure Lamont called tragically too much.

That comes as the states allocation of vaccine from the federal government has received a boost of about 5 percent. The Biden administration also announced this week that it would begin shipping vaccines directly to some pharmacy locations, including in Connecticut. Those additional doses, on top of the states increased allocation, puts the total number flowing into the state over 60,000 each week, according to the governors office.

Josh Geballe, the states chief operating officer, said the number of vaccines the state receives next week  when the 5 percent boost is supposed to start  should be the new minimum the state can expect to receive each week.

Thats very helpful in terms of us being able to provide better headlights for our providers about what they can expect, Geballe said.

Vaccine appointments that were canceled this week due to the winter storm are on track to be completed by the end of the weekend, according to Geballe.

Its unclear exactly when the state will begin vaccinating those with underlying health conditions and frontline essential workers, a group that includes teachers. The states vaccine website still lists likely March for both those categories.

Also unclear is exactly which health conditions will be included. The states website provides a link to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions lists of conditions that put people at greater risk of the virus.

But Lamont said the state is still working with the CDC to identify the list of co-morbidities. They had lists that included smoking and a whole variety of things, we want to narrow that list to make sure it really deals with people who are most at risk.

But Lamont said he would prefer to rely on the guidance of the CDC when asked about narrowing that list.

We want to be clear, we understand people are very anxious for information about who will be eligible that has an underlying chronic condition, said Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner of the states Department of Public Health. Its obviously complicated ... we need to rely on the CDC data and the list that they published.

Gifford said the states health care providers will be a key part of the effort, since they house the medical records needed to confirm a persons medical condition. For those who are not affiliated with one of those providers, the state will provide a way for people to raise their hand and be included, she said.

Later Thursday evening, Lamont announced he had signed his 89th executive order since the pandemic began. The order contained a broad swath of extensions, but also ensures residents stimulus checks will not be counted toward calculations on what benefits theyre able to receive.

Lamont also announced Thursday the state will allocate an extra $40 million to acute care hospitals through money Connecticut received through the Coronavirus Relief Fund.

That money was set aside for Connecticut as part of the CARES Act last April. The money will be sent to non-governmental, short-term general hospitals, that meet certain requirements for pandemic-related expenses, Lamonts office said in a statement.

The governor said the money, which comes on top of $980 million already dispersed to hospitals from the federal government, recognizes the front-line role the states hospitals played in the pandemic.

It is not an overstatement to say that this role has been heroic and continues to be indispensable as we all work together to defeat the virus, a statement from Lamont said. Our hospitals have needed to adapt to new protocols and infection control measures, while also ceasing elective procedures during the crest of the first wave of COVID-19, which had the effect of increasing costs and decreasing revenues, not to mention the physical, mental, and emotional toll this pandemic has taken on their staff.
Safety and health have become the most important keywords in Chinas efforts to coordinate epidemic prevention and control measures and various public services during the upcoming Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese Lunar New Year, amid sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks and cluster infections in some areas.

This years Spring Festival, the grandest festival in China and the most significant occasion for family reunions, falls on Feb. 12. In an effort to make sure Chinese people enjoy the holiday while keeping them safe, the Chinese government is advancing the implementation of differentiated and precise epidemic prevention and control strategies across the country.

At present, COVID-19 risks are generally controllable in China. Thanks to prompt responses and decisive measures, the numbers of new daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in areas that have reported cluster infections earlier this year have started to drop.

Peoples health is regarded as the top priority of governments at various levels during the Spring Festival.

Recently, the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council of China issued a circular that requires all localities in China to do a good job in guaranteeing considerate and adequate services for the growing number of people who choose to stay where they live and work for this year's Spring Festival for the sake of security amid the pandemic.

Local governments across the country should lose no time in making arrangements for tasks including guaranteeing a stable supply of basic necessities, convenient and smooth transportation and logistics services, as well as protection of legal rights and interests of people who stay where they work during the holiday, according to the circular.

China has granted conditional marketing authorization for its first self-developed COVID-19 vaccine, and cities across the country have used the vaccine on some key groups.

However, the epidemic situation remains grim and complex, especially when the Spring Festival travel rush has kicked off, which has certainly brought about increasing gatherings.

Against such backdrop, strict implementation of epidemic prevention and control measures is rather significant and challenging.

In order to prevent further spread of the virus, the Chinese government has requested that all residents in high-risk areas for COVID-19 shall stay at their current residing localities during the Spring Festival holiday, called on people in medium-risk areas to do the same in principle, and encouraged residents in low-risk areas to try their best to stay put for the holiday and avoid travel for the sake of security.

Employees with government organs, public institutions and state-owned enterprises have been asked to take the lead in following the policy.

Responding actively to the call of the central government, various regions in China have rolled out initiatives to encourage enterprises, institutions and individuals to properly arrange activities during the Spring Festival in a bid to reduce population flows and public gatherings to lower the risk of further spread of the virus.

Chinas capital city Beijing encouraged citizens to stay in the city for the holiday; Huainan, east Chinas Anhui province, issued a public letter to mobilize migrant workers to try to stay in the city during the Spring Festival; Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, suggested that citizens plan their trips properly.

By taking measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic, the Chinese government aims to ensure the security of Chinese people while bringing them a sense of happiness.

Nationwide efforts to balance epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development have shown the wisdom of local governments and reflected their governance philosophies.

Ningbo, east Chinas Zhejiang province, has improved services to support companies in enhancing investment and securing growth while mobilizing employees to stay put during the Spring Festival holiday through heartwarming activities.

Quanzhou in southeast Chinas Fujian province has provided generous gifts for migrant workers who decide to stay in the city during the Spring Festival, and offered to mail their purchases for the holiday to their homes for free.

The China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. has allowed passengers to cancel their tickets without charging fees, in a bid to encourage them to change their plan to return home for the festival.

While encouraging people to stay put during the holiday to prevent spreading the epidemic, these thoughtful measures have brought warmth to people.

By formulating epidemic prevention and control policy during the Spring Festival travel season in accordance with the law, China strives to reduce the risk of virus spread as much as possible, rather than setting up unnecessary barriers for family reunion during the Spring Festival.

Epidemic prevention and control efforts during the Spring Festival should be targeted and effective, according to relevant authorities, which criticized certain areas for adopting the one-size-fits-all approach in implementing relevant policy.

A spokesperson with the National Health Commission of China stressed that Chinese cities, except for Beijing, should never forbid residents from returning to their hometowns for the Spring Festival out of no good reason or keep those who get back home in quarantine.

Local governments and relevant departments of China have been asked to release information in a timely manner and roll out targeted and differentiated policies based on their actual conditions, and make full use of good practices and experience in protecting peoples livelihood while containing the epidemic last year so as to try their best to ensure normal functioning of society and guarantee another safe and happy Spring Festival holiday for the people.
File image: Sharad Pawar

Calling the Centre "insensitive" over the handling of farmers' protests, NCP President Sharad Pawar said if farmers leave peaceful means of agitation it would lead to a major crisis in the country and the BJP government will be responsible for it.

Slamming the government for erecting multi-layered barricades, concertina wires with iron nails studded on roads, Pawar said this did not happen even during the British rule.

Pawar, who was Union Agriculture Minister from 2004-2014, accused the government of not willing to solve the farmers' protest issue.

"They don't want to solve the problem. I am worried that today, if the farmers, who are peacefully agitating, take some other path, then this would lead to a major crisis. And the BJP government has to take responsibility for this. There are many issues but today those who are in power are not sensitive," he said.

He warned that the end of the government which is not sensitive is near sooner or later.

Pawar also attacked the government for not allowing Opposition MPs to visit the protesting farmers at Ghazipur. Pawar's daughter and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule was among the Opposition lawmakers.

"They (the opposition MPs) had gone there peacefully just to check the well-being of farmers but even they were not allowed to go. If this is the case in democracy then they (the government) have to pay a heavy price today or tomorrow," he said.

Sule also took to twitter and slammed the government. In her tweet in Marathi, she said the government should shed arrogance and engage in talks with the farmers and address the issue.

Pawar was among the Opposition leaders to visit President Ram Nath Kovind in December to seek repeal of the three contentious farm laws.
Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 6:10 pm

Anyone who has found themselves waiting  and waiting, and waiting, and waiting  for unemployment benefits might be puzzled to learn that the woman in charge of them in Washington has been scooped up for a job in the Biden administration.

Suzi LeVine's record as commissioner of the Employment Security Department would not have made you bet on a call-up to the big leagues.

Yes, her agency was handed a possibly impossible task at the front end of the pandemic. But nine months on, it's hard to ignore the fact that in several crucial areas  from the molasses-like payment of benefits to failures of public accountability  Levine has stood at the helm of a disastrous year.

Yet she is now off to the other Washington, nominated to oversee billions of dollars in programs as interim assistant secretary of the Employment and Training Administration. Three Washington House members  Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrara Beutler  have urged President Biden to reconsider, citing her "dismal track record" and "gross mismanagement of state taxpayer dollars," and it's hard to argue with their characterization.

There was, recall, the coordinated fraud ring out of Nigeria discovered preying upon the agency in the spring  called "Scattered Canary" by investigators. It cost the state more than $650 million and left unknown numbers of jobless Washingtonians paying the price in subsequent delays, as the agency struggled to sort out legitimate claims from fraudulent ones.

That was the headline disaster, but far from the only one. At a time of great personal crisis, thousands of Washingtonians who lose their paychecks to the pandemic find themselves waiting for weeks and weeks for benefits to arrive. For many of those people, these delays are disasters.

In December, according to U.S. Department of Labor, just 56% of claims filed were paid within 21 days. This is an improvement over the dismal summer  when that "first-time payment rate" was 38%  and yet it lags far behind the national average of 74%.

Almost a third of claims were unpaid after 70 days.

Jobless workers whose claims have been reevaluated  or who are seeking backdated benefits or who have particularly complicated cases in a system riddled with complications  can wait weeks with no word about their status. When word arrives, it can be indecipherable for all but the most expert in the coded argot of the benefits system.

Getting someone on the phone to answer a question is like winning the lottery; a recent update about upcoming COVID-19 relief on the agency website came with this warning: "Please do not call our unemployment claims center with questions as call volume remains high."

New motto: Don't call us, we'll  actually, just don't call us.

The state has been sued over allegations that it improperly denied benefits to thousands of people, and the number of those appealing a denial of benefits piled up to more than 20,000 at one point.

A nonprofit group that advocates for workers, Working Washington, issued a report in October, blasting the ESD for systemic, built-in delays that left thousands of the poorest people in the state in a double bind  without benefits or any meaningful explanation for what's happening.

"Over six months into the crisis, ESD claims they've corrected course and cleared their backlog of applicants, releasing weekly progress reports that appear to prove they've reined in delays," Working Washington wrote in its report. "But the reality is that many workers who applied as early as March still haven't received a single payment, or even a meaningful response from ESD."

I've had a personal window on this issue for months now: My wife, who lost her job for pandemic-related reasons, received benefits for months before being asked to reconfirm her identity  leading to an interruption in benefits that has lasted for 10 weeks, so far. That's just the latest in a 10-month experience with ESD that would have tested the patience of Sisyphus, on top of the challenge of trying to find work.

It's been an unending source of frustration and discouragement  and we're lucky! We can still buy groceries and keep the roof over our head. So many others left waiting by the ESD are not so fortunate.

Working Washington surveyed 1,000 claimants about their experiences, and found that almost half had less than $100 in the bank at the time and 42% had been unable to afford groceries or basic household items.

Imagine waiting 10 weeks for your benefits with less than $100 in the bank and no realistic idea of when help might arrive.

The ESD did not respond to messages seeking an interview this week. In a December news conference, LeVine said the agency had fixed many problems and pointed to improvements in the payment of benefits.

She said, according to news accounts, that the Department of Labor numbers reflect the fact that many claims are complicated by requirements of federal emergency benefits or by complications involving retroactive benefits  though of course this would be true for other states as well.

"It's hard to acknowledge or recognize the progress that's been made, given the fact that there are people who are still in deep need," she said.

The massive fraud scheme was particularly costly and destructive, in that it led to a slowdown and interruption in benefits for many legitimate recipients  people who lost their jobs and needed the money urgently.

Our state was one of six targeted by scammers, and it suffered the biggest losses. It came at a time when agency officials found themselves deluged with a unprecedented number of claims. ESD typically deals with 5,000 to 7,000 new claims a week; in the first week of March it received more than 180,000.

It was an incredibly difficult task, with pressure on all sides, and criminals exploited it. The imperative to deliver benefits quickly conflicted with the need to process claims rigorously. But the continued problems throughout the year have seemed less and less explicable.

On top of that, LeVine's agency has turned up its nose at the accountability it owes the public. In October, State Auditor Pat McCarthy took the extraordinary step of complaining that LeVine had placed "significant constraints" on auditors looking into several aspects of ESD's performance, and threatened to report that "management interference" was preventing the completion of audits.

And when Jim Brunner of the Seattle Times filed a public records request for LeVine's calendar in June, he was rebuffed and stonewalled for months. This was an ordinary request, easy to fulfill  "the kind of thing state agencies typically turn around within days," as Brunner wrote.

He finally received the information Friday, 219 days after his request, and hasn't yet reported on what it contained.

It was a miserable addition to a resume that you wouldn't think would carry someone to a White House appointment.
A congressional hearing on domestic terrorism turned tense when a freshman congressman likened screening military personnel for extremist ties to the "Thought Police" who ferret out unapproved beliefs in George Orwell's famous dystopian novel "1984."

Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Georgia Republican and retired Navy commander, told experts Thursday that he's concerned about the push to screen troops, law enforcement members, or those in political office following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot.

"This smacks of the 'Thought Police,'" Clyde said during a Committee on Homeland Security hearing. "We are Americans. We respect every person's right to their own opinions, especially those with which we do not agree. We all raised our hand and swore to the same oath of office."

Read Next: 'Beijing Biden Is Not My President:' Troops' Social Media Posts in Spotlight After Capitol Riots

Clyde's comments follow Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's order to the Joint Chiefs that each of the military branches hold a stand-down in the next 60 days to address the problem of extremism in the ranks. Stand-downs are typically daylong pauses from training and other requirements in which leaders address safety concerns or other problems.

Recruiters screen prospective service members for possible extremist ties, but tens of thousands of National Guard members recently got a second look by the FBI ahead of a massive domestic military operation in which they were tasked with safeguarding President Joe Biden's inauguration after the assault on the Capitol. A dozen were removed from the mission as a result, two of whom were flagged for making inappropriate comments.

Clyde, who along with other freshman lawmakers was sworn in last month just days before the riot, said people can have differing opinions and ideologies without it affecting their ability to carry out their duties.

"Comments about screening the members of the military ... are very concerning to me," he said.

Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive officer of the Anti-Defamation League -- a nonprofit that monitors extremist groups, told Clyde that right-wing militias and white-supremacist groups "have made it a point to try to be recruited into the military and law enforcement," driving the need for better screening.

"It's not 'Thought Police' to make sure that our police don't subscribe to white supremacist ideals," Greenblatt said. "It's not 'Thought Police' to make sure that our politicians don't subscribe to conspiracy theories and want to overthrow the government."

During the hearing, House members were debating whether to strip another Georgia Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of her committee assignments after past comments surfaced in which she indicated support for executing Democrats. Green has also shared false theories about a school shooting and the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon.

Senior defense officials have warned that domestic extremists are actively seeking to recruit service members for their tactical skills. More than two dozen of the people arrested after the violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol have military ties.

Experts echoed warnings about extremism and the military during Thursday's hearing. Elizabeth Neumann, who served at the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration, said it has been known for decades that white supremacist and militia groups target former military and law enforcement personnel.

They also encourage young people recruited into the movements to "stay clean," she said, so they can join the military or police departments without getting caught up by screening policies.

"This is primarily because they're looking for people to have had the training associated with being in the military and law enforcement," Neumann said.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Extremist Groups Are Actively Trying to Recruit Military Members, Defense Officials Say
William Barber says conservatives have hijacked Christianity (Getty Images)

When the Reverend William Barber prayed for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, he asked for them to be blessed with courage.

The challenges they were inheriting from Donald Trump, he said, called for bold and progressive solutions. They needed to act with speed. Most of all, they should give up on securing change by pursuing simplistic calls for unity.

We are in a jam today. Trouble is real, and whether we like it or not, we are in this mess together as a nation, said Rev. Barber, who also quoted from the Book of Issiah. If we want to come out of this jam and move forward together, we cannot accept the racial disparities, violence, and breaches that impact Black, brown, native and Asian Americans while offering collateral damage to our poor white brothers and sisters and ultimately our entire democracy.

If his words sounded as much a political rallying cry as a homily, that is because they were; since establishing in 2017 the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival, Rev. Barber has combined scripture with unambiguously liberal politics.

Yet, what may have been startling, after having for four years watched President Trump seek to marshal the levers of religion to benefit those on the right, was to hear such progressive language delivered from the pulpit as part of the presidential inauguration service broadcast from the Washington National Cathedral.

Liberation theology, theology that says the primary work of faith is to challenge lies with truth, challenge hate with love, challenge injustice with justice, is actually orthodox Christianity, Rev. Barber, 57, tells The Independent.

What we have seen is an aberration. We have a lot of theological malpractice, that borders on heresy.

He adds: When people try to suggest being Christian is a private state, that has nothing to do with public realities, or when people try to use Christianity to justify greed, to justify racism, to justify hate, or to justify xenophobia, that's not Christianity, that's heresy.

Story continues

Rev. Barbers comments come as Mr Biden seeks to deliver on a campaign promise to work with both parties. He says he needs cooperation from Republicans and Democrats alike, not only on a Covid-relief package, but for other parts of his agenda. This week, 10 Republican senators met Mr Biden in the Oval Office where they sought to reduce his proposal of $1.9 trillion to around $618 billion.

Rev. Barber says Mr Biden must remember unity is not the same as unanimous. In short, he says, they already have the numbers to get busy.

There's a difference between unity and unanimous. If the idea of unity means everybody together, everybody going in the same direction, that is certainly one of our hopes, he says.

Yet he says at key moments in the nations history when people sought to press forward, such as Franklin D Roosevelts fight to pass the New Deal, or during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, there was a staunch push-back from those opposed to change.

What we mean by unity is enough of us. Enough people who will go forward in this moment, he says. Fifty-five per cent of poor and low wealth people in this last election voted wanting to go forward, they voted for Biden-Harris, they voted for living wages, they voted to address systemic racism, they voted to expand healthcare.

He says politics is a game of 50 plus one, a point similarly made by the likes of senator Bernie Sanders who has said by making use of so-called the so-called reconciliation process  which is not quite what it sounds like  Democrats can pass budgetary bills without the need to secure the 60 votes needed to overcome any filibuster.

We need enough of us, and there are enough of us  Black, white, brown, Asian, native, young, old, gay, straight, says Rev. Barber.

If it's enough Democrats, well do it. If its Democrats and Republicans, you do it together. But what you don't do is  you don't sacrifice living wages, healthcare, expanding voting rights, addressing climate realities. You don't sacrifice those things for some false sense, or simplistic idea about total unity.

It still the very earliest of days in the Biden administration. The prayer service a day after inauguration in which Rev. Barber spoke, was barely two weeks ago. How does he judge the presidents performance so far?

First of all, we have to remember its just one week, after four years of intense regression under Trump, and 50 years of regression under the Republicans, he says.

Getty Images

Rev. Barber, whose organisation has highlighted 14 policies Biden ought to introduce immediately, says he is encouraged by some of the steps he and Harris have taken. In the past, he says, Democrats often pursued neoliberal ideas aimed at helping the middle class, while the pandemic has underscored how the nation needs to be lifted from the bottom up.

He says the executive orders signed on issues ranging from countering racism, to climate change and boosting the minimum wage for contractors, are a start but are not the same as real legislation, which is more difficult to overturn. Also, he is concerned that the wage increases are not immediate, and may not apply to all federally contracted workers.

We have a $1.9 trillion bill he has put on the table for Covid relief. Well, we gave $4 trillion dollars to corporations. So while we are happy at about the $1.9 trillion, we are not satisfied with the $1.9 trillion, he says.

Regarding the orders President Biden has signed to address some challenges of systematic racism, Barber says such moves cannot only focus on prisons and the criminal justice system.

We have to look at what is means when it comes to housing, when it comes to wages, when it comes to disparities in healthcare, when it comes to the disparities in economic development in poor and low-wealth communities and Black and brown communities, he says

What is he going to do about indigenous people? For us, racism is not just a Black-white issue. Systemic racism is never just about prisons and police reform. It's about looking at the way throughout the system that racial disparities play, and having a racial lens, and making sure in every policy that there is a consideration.

Rev. Barber, who has been a pastor at the Greenleaf Christian Church, in Goldsboro, North Carolina, since 1993, has authored several books. Among the most influential was The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of a New Justice Movement. In it, he argues the United States must commit to a third reconstruction.

Getty Images

The first so-called reconstruction followed the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, a 12-year period that allowed many to think the nation was moving towards equality. It ended in 1877 in a deal that saw Republican Rutherford Hayes elected president, on the condition federal troops be removed from three key southern states. Their removal permitted what became known as the Jim Crow system in the South, one of intense violence and discrimination against African Americans, that many likened to slavery.

The second reconstruction is sometimes used to described the civil rights movement headed by Dr Martin Luther King and others, that resulted in  among other achievements  the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Like the later focus of Dr King, who was assassinated in 1968, much of Rev. Barbers work has sought to bring together poor white communities and people of colour.

Last year, he backed Kevin Booker as the Democratic candidate in the senate primary in Kentucky. His campaign similarly sought to connect poor rural communities with those in the inner cities, and came within a few thousand votes of defeating the vastly better funded campaign of Amy McGrath.

Why have elites always been afraid of such an alliance?

If Black people, white people, brown people and native people come together, they are an unstoppable force. Poor people represent one third almost of the entire electorate now, over 64 million votes, says Rev. Barber.

The south of this country  which is the home grown place of racism and the ancestors of slavery and Jim Crow  one-third of all poor people live in the south, and one third of all white people live in the south, he says.

And the majority of African Americans live in the south. So building relationships is the key to transforming the South. If you change the South you change the country. There are 170 electoral college votes in the south.

He says the political establishment, or Bourbon class, has always been aware of the threat of such an alliance and sought to undermine it.

Every time theres the possibility of the masses of Black people and white people to come together and change society and make it a loving community, that aristocracy has sown division, he says.

You have to see the intersection between race and greed and racism, and the need to hold power. And those who want the power, and the money, they cannot have the political power to do it unless they divide the masses of Black and white people, which is why our campaign is so intent on organising and building those, because we have now gotten behind the veil.

What does Rev. Barber make of the events of Jan 6 2021, when hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol?

He says we cannot live in an innocence that this was the first time America had witnessed political violence. It may have been the second time in history the legislature was ransacked, but people of colour and the poor have suffered violence all their lives, whether it was lynching, or the violence of poverty.

What happened on the 6th, he says. Was the whole world got to see what happened. On the 6th, the legislators and the people in the Congress, they felt what marginalised and poor people and others have felt in this country down through its history.

In his inaugural prayer, Rev. Barber quoted from Isaiah 58, a passage from the Old Testament of the Bible, that talks of repairing the breach. He has taken the phrase for a non-profit group he heads and that seeks to build a moral agenda rooted in a framework that uplifts our deepest moral and constitutional values to redeem the heart and soul of our country.

The passage he says is sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims.

There are over 2000 scriptures in the Bible, more than any other subject in the Bible, has to do with how we treat the poor, and those on the margins. The greatest sin in the Bible is idolatry  self-worship. The second greatest is when that self-worship leads to the kind of political injustices that create poverty and hurt, he says.

Isaiah he says, is speaking out against a nation that would attempt to use religiosity  While they leave the structures of injustice in place.

Issiah is saying we can reveal, we can renew, we can revive, if  and the if is  if we loose the bands of wickedness, which translated out of Hebrew literally means if we pay people what they deserve, if we stop unjust practices, if we lift the poor and if we stopped blaming people for their poverty and we actually started looking at that systems that created it.

He adds: That is why Issiah 58 is such an important text.

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HONG KONG: Kuaishou Technology surged three-fold in its Hong Kong stock market debut on Friday to become the fifth-largest listed company in the city, driven by massive demand from mom-and-pop investors for the Chinese online video service operator.

The first-day pop, while among the largest, is one of many strong recent debuts in the Asian financial hub - an encouraging sign for others looking to tap into the market while also adding to global concerns about an asset bubble and risks retail investors are taking.

Kuaishou shares opened at HK$338 ($43.60) and rose to as much as HK$345, versus HK$115 apiece in the $5.4 billion initial public offering (IPO). At the days high, Kuaishous valuation stood at just over $180 billion.

The float is the biggest in Hong Kong since Budweisers Asia unit raised $5.75 billion in 2019. Retail investors bid for 1,204 times the amount of Kuaishou shares on offer for them in the IPO, mostly backed by borrowed money.

The Friday spike in Kuaishou shares was driven by demand from customers from mainland China, who cannot invest in IPOs in Hong Kong but can buy in the secondary market if they have brokerage accounts in the city, said Louis Tse, managing director of brokerage Wealthy Securities.

Retail investors in Hong Kong who failed to get shares in the IPO also piled in, Tse said, adding there was a lot of pent-up demand after the last-minute suspension of Ant Groups blockbuster $37 billion dual-listing in November.

This bodes well for other Hong Kong IPOs, if the companies are well known on the mainland," Tse said.

TikTok-owner Bytedance has been considering listing its onshore Chinese short video app Douyin in Hong Kong, Reuters reported last year.

Douyin and Kuaishou are rivals.

Kuaishou was the worlds No.2 short video platform in the first nine months last year, its IPO prospectus said.

It had an average of 275.9 million daily active users over the period, the prospectus adds, citing iResearch, as the pandemic forced people to spend more time online.

While access to Kuaishou is free, the company makes money through selling virtual items which users gift to the creators of the videos, online marketing and commissions from e-commerce sales on the platform.

The company plans to use the proceeds of the IPO to grow its ecosystem, strengthen research and for selective acquisitions, it said in an exchange filing.

BUBBLE WORRIES

Kuaishous sharp spike on debut, however, comes against the backdrop of growing fears about an asset bubble, with amateur investors boosting the price of assets ranging from cryptocurrencies to new market listings.

Im not very familiar with the app to be honest. But Ive heard good things about the company, and I know it is backed by Tencent," 67-year-old taxi driver Mars Lau, who bid for shares in the Kuaishou IPO, told Reuters ahead of the listing.

Among other recent floats where shares surged on debut are Smoore International that gained 150% in July last year after it raised $1.1 billion at its IPO.

JD Health International Inc gained 56% when it debuted in December after raising about $3.48 billion, and toy maker Pop Mart International Group closed nearly 80% higher on its first day.

The recent sharp rise and fall in U.S. videogame retailer GameStop and some other stocks have put investors on edge and prompted some brokerages globally to raise margin requirements or stop offering leverage for buying securities.

Kuaishou is definitely a bubble if you look at its forward P/E," said Dickie Wong, executive director of research at Kingston Securities, referring to the price to earnings ratio.

However, I dont think it will burst like GameStop, there is so much demand," Wong, who owns Kuaishou shares said, citing interest from mainland China and the likelihood of the company being included in Hong Kong indices.

($1 = 7.7523 Hong Kong dollars)

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Myanmars capital Friday in the largest protests since Mondays military coup, as the military expanded its dragnet against ousted officials.

Protestors at Myanmar University and Yangon University, both in the city of Yangon, demanded that the military hand power back to Myanmars elected officials.

They chanted Long live Mother Suu, a reference to deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and We dont want military dictatorship.

Suu Kyi was detained Monday and faces charges of illegally importing and using six unregistered walkie-talkie radios found in a search of her home in the capital of Naypyidaw.

Envoy tells VOA takeover is 'illegitimate' and a 'total injustice that I cant stand.

There was also at least one protest in Naypyidaw, where Win Htein, a senior member of Suu Kyis deposed National League for Democracy party, was arrested. Party spokesman Kyi said he was taken from his home on Friday before the university protests began.

Government officials from various agencies joined the protest in Naypyitaw, including those from the ministry of electricity and energy, and the ministry of ethnic affairs and social welfare.

Like many other protestors, they donned red ribbons and raised a three-finger salute, a sign of resistance against tyranny in the Hunger Games movie.

Health care workers at Naypyitaws largest hospital also participated in the rally, gathering behind a large banner denouncing the takeover.

Protests, sometimes led by people from Myanmar, were also held Friday in India, Indonesia and South Korea.

The military takeover began with the detention of Suu Kyi, who was the country's de facto leader, and other senior government officials. Suu Kyi is healthy as she remains under house arrest at her official residence in Naypyitaw, according to party spokesman Kyi Toe.

The Myanmar military said its state of emergency, set to last one year, was necessary because the government had not acted on claims of voter fraud in November elections that were overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyis NLD party.

The coup has been condemned by U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders, who called for the elected government to be restored to power.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has long struggled between civilian and military rule but until the coup had been enjoying a hopeful transition to democracy.

A British colony until 1948, Myanmar was ruled by military-dictators from 1962 to 2010.
President Joe Biden emphasized that the United States will no longer support Saudi Arabia's offensive operations in the Saudi-Yemen conflict.

Biden made this emphasis following the Biden administration's announcement regarding the reversal of a policy initially established by the Obama administration and continued by the Trump administration.

Amid the accusations of Saudi war crimes, Biden expressed that the war has to end during his first foreign policy address.

He also named a veteran diplomat, Tim Lenderking, as a special envoy for Yemen, in pursuing a diplomatic solution to the war.

According to NPR, the United Nations mentioned that the said policy reversal comes after years of Saudi-Yemen conflict that has left the country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula as the world's worst humanitarian disaster.

The U.N. also mentioned that the initial internal power struggle rapidly turned into a proxy war between Iran and other Gulf states, which involved the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as they are fighting for dominance in the region.

In 2014, Houthi rebels captured the capital Sanaa, which led to the expulsion of Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi's unpopular administration to the south of Yemen.

Based on a report, the Houthi rebels, named after Zaidi Shia Houthis, the founder of the movement, are followers of a branch of Shiite Islam and receiving their weapons and support from Iran.

The coalition of Gulf States started their airstrike launches in 2015 and landed ground forces in August of that year after gaining the support of the U.S. and France and the U.K, France24 reported.

The fighting has been outstanding for not less than five years, with periodic ceasefires.

Even the Yemeni forces fighting the Houthis have split into at least two factions, but Hadi has spent most of the war in Saudi Arabia.

On the other hand, the Gulf states' forces have been widely accused of attacks on non-military targets or civilians, such as hospitals and even weddings.

In 2019, the UAE withdrew its troops on the field due to international criticism of their conduct.

The support of the United States to the coalition has included the inflight refueling of Saudi warplanes, and in 2018 an anonymous U.S. official spilled that the country is also selling precision bombs to Saudi to be dropped on their targets in the Saudi-Yemen conflict, Reuters reported.

The source added that the U.S. is only offering limited intel for Saudi Arabia's defense and training regarding civilian casualty avoidance.

Cost of conflict

The war had a devastating impact on its people as one of the world's poorest nations also had a record of 233,000 individuals, based on the United Nations' information, and most of them were from indirect causes.

Saudi and Houthi maritime embargos of Yemen have also prevented the delivery or the shipments of food, medicines, and other supplies to survive the conflict.

In addition, the United Nations also stated that the coronavirus pandemic is out of control in the country as the health care institutions there have already collapsed due to the Saudi-Yemen conflict.



Related article: White House Lets Intel Community Review Intelligence Requests from Trump but He Has Not Made Any

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I had lunch this past week with two civic leaders in their handsome small city in central Illinois. Both had moved to their present town for family reasons, after careers in other states. They are both concerned about the averageness of their local high school.

One is a successful, retired school man, from a Florida district that has sent more graduates to US service academies than maybe any other school in the nation. He recently made a proposal to the local high school that I figured couldnt be refused.

The educator offered to fund the creation of an International Baccalaureate Curriculum (IBC) at the high school. This really rigorous program for talented high schoolers puts them on a path to success in our best universities.

Nah, said the school board and superintendent about the offer. Were doin just fine.

But our average downstate high schools arent doin just fine. If you took Chicago kids scores out of the state averages, most downstate schools would be below average, some significantly so.

We have to step up our game, or we will lose the hot Cold War competition we are in with China for technological and economic primacy. Nothing wrong with competition, especially when you win it.

Yet, I fear most Americans are blithely unaware of what is going on. If they were, I would hope they would get about shaping up our nation, which has lost its edge.

As I reported in an earlier column, I still recall my first day in Shanghai, now 15 years ago, for one of three teaching stints at a prominent university in that city of 25-30 million. I was stretching my legs on that Saturday morning, after the grueling flight, outside my foreign expert guest quarters.

I noted several clutches of darling youngsters, in uniforms, heading down the neighborhood street toward what looked like a school building. Later, I asked my host professor what I was seeing. Oh, they were going to school. We have school every Saturday until noon (and one hour more of instruction each weekday than in the US).

Ill bet that if the parents of those kids were told their kids couldnt go to school on Saturdays, there would be riots in the streets. I fear that, if parents here were told their children had to go to school on Saturdays, there would also be riots in the streets.

We have to look beyond our understandable preoccupation with the pandemic and political turmoil, to the larger, even more important challenge of intensifying a commitment to education at all levels, and to firming up the growing, soft underbelly of low-achieving American society.

Otherwise, we will wake up one day in 15 years, or sooner, and find that we are dependent on China for rare earth metals, high-tech products and the software to run our world.

America and European nations, plus Japan, colonized and humiliated China and much of Asia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The proud Chinese havent forgotten. Over thousands of years of history, a century ago to them is but yesterday. The Chinese are not evil in wanting to once again become the Central Empire of the world, any more than the West was when it tried to take over the world in the past couple of centuries. Its called competition, and its brutal right now.

With four times as many people as in the US, they may have more honor students than we have students, and their people are clever (their English word for smart), but they arent necessarily world beaters. The Chinese are experiencing ever more oppressive state control, which appears to be stifling some innovation. So, their best and brightest may well want to create and innovate in the West.

And their earlier one-child program has resulted in leaving China with a high and growing ratio of elderly-to-producer population.

The US has to become more strategic in how it spends its limited money. (We cant print it forever, as we seem to be doing, without dire consequences for our grandkids).

For example, most Americans can do without the additional $1,400 in pandemic largesse that will apparently be splashed onto us soon. That kind of money should instead go toward our research laboratories and into more IBC and AP (Advance Placement) programs in our high schools. Our students can handle the challenge of rigorous education.

The kids need to be challenged. Just as all of us need to step up our competitiveness game.

For many years, Jim Nowlan was a senior fellow and political science professor at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He has worked for three unindicted governors and published a weekly newspaper in central Illinois.

EDWARDSVILLE  One person was injured by gunfire Thursday night in Edwardsville.

Illinois State Police report that, at about 7:08 p.m. Thursday, troopers responded to a shooting at the bottom of the ramp from Illinois 255 northbound at New Poag Road. State police said a female victim was airlifted to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries sustained from a gunshot wound while she was in her vehicle.

Police did not release any other information on the victim.

According to state police, the suspect vehicle in the incident is unidentified. The Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 6 is continuing the investigation.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 866-371-8477 or Zone 6 Investigations at 618-571-4124.
Another queen is coming to Starz. The premium cable network is working on a new TV series about a real-life historical royal, it has announced. But unlike previous hits The White Queen, The White Princess, and The Spanish Princess, this one wont be based on a book by Philippa Gregory. Instead, the new series The Serpent Queen is based on a biography of famed Renaissance ruler Catherine de Medici.

The Serpent Queen: What we know so far

Starz | Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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So far, we dont know too much about what to expect from The Serpent Queen. But Starz says that the new historical drama will explore the dark legend of Catherine de Medici.

The Serpent Queen may be the most cunning account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown that Starz has told, said Christina Davis, Starzs president of original programming said in a statement. She added that the series will have a modern voice among a sensational historical backdrop.

Eight episodes are planned for the series, which will be based on Leonie Friedas biography Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France. Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road) will write the scripts and serve as an executive producer. Stacie Passion will direct multiple episodes, including the premiere.

Writing Catherine and her story has been truly exciting as she is a very complex leading character who becomes a skilled ruler, battling extraordinary political and personal odds throughout her reign, said Haythe. She is a queen who defies convention, as she relies upon her intellect, her unusual entourage and a ready supply of black magic inspiring, centuries later, the evil queen of fairy tales.

Who was Catherine de Medici?

Catherine de Medici | Apic/Getty Images

Catherine de Medici was a member of Italys powerful Medici family who later became queen consort of France. She married Henry, Duke of Orleans in 1533. He became King of France in 1547 after the death of his father, Francis I. When her husband died in 1559, she became regent for her sons, first Francis II, who died less than a year later, and then Charles IX.

Charles was just 10 years old when he was crowned, and his mother took an active role in politics as a result. During this time, France was in the midst of a civil war between Catholics and the Protestant Huguenots. Catherines identity as an evil queen stems in part from her role in the St. Bartholomews Day Massacre of 1572, when thousands of French Protestants were murdered.

Catherine de Medici was a character in Reign

Fans of the CW series Reign will remember Catherine de Medici well. In that show  a highly fictionalized story about Mary, Queen of Scots, who married Francis II  she was played by Megan Follows.

In the 1994 movie Queen Margot, Catherine is played by Italian actress Virna Lisi. The movie focused on Catherines daughter Margaret of Valois and her marriage to Henry of Navarre. Katherine Kath played Catherine in the 1971 movie Mary, Queen of Scots, which stars Vanessa Redgrave in the title role.

Sources: BBC; Brittanica.

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Clinics that waste COVID-19 vaccination doses could be stripped of their accreditation to administer them as one of the countrys top health officials warned immunisers lack of experience with multi-dose vials was a serious concern.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is also one step closer to approval, with Australias medical regulator now waiting on final answers from the pharmaceutical company before registering the overseas vaccine.

Department of Health Secretary Professor Brendan Murphy said the multi-dose vials required extra training for all vaccine providers. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Appearing before a parliamentary committee on Friday afternoon, Department of Health secretary Professor Brendan Murphy said he has complete confidence in both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has not yet made a decision on what age range the AstraZeneca vaccine will be approved for, but it is likely it will include those aged over 65.
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Critically ill Covid-19 patients with weak immune systems who spend months battling the disease are likely sources of mutant variants, a new study confirms,

Experts have previously been unable to pin down the exact way in which new strains emerge but thought them may evolve in immunocompromised patients.

It was thought protracted infection applies a survival pressure to the virus which forces it to mutate in order to evade the immune system.

Cambridge researchers have today published details of a case in which one long-suffering patient with an immune system weakened by cancer and chemotherapy was infected with the original form of the virus before it mutated to become more infectious and able to avoid antibodies.

It is believed the convalescent plasma he was receiving as treatment was the driving factor forcing the virus to adapt.

Convalescent therapy has since been proved to be ineffective at preventing death from Covid-19 and has been dropped from the RECOVERY trial.

Scroll down for video

Long-suffering Covid-19 patients who are chronically ill are likely sources of mutated variants, a new study has confirmed

University of Cambridge scientists report the case of a patient on chemotherapy in his 70s who spent three months fighting Covid-19 in summer 2020 before dying.

At the time the patient got sick, the highly-infectious strains that are are around today had not yet emerged.

As a result of his condition his immune system was far from at full strength, which meant he was unable to combat the infection.

Through the course of his treatment with experimental drugs and convalescent plasma  blood of recovered Covid patients filled with antibodies  his condition improved before worsening again.

During the patient's stay, 23 viral samples were taken via swabs to the nose and throat which allowed for tracking of the virus's genetic code.

This analysis revealed the virus mutated rapidly after the patient received his two bouts of convalescent sera.

The scientists believe the antibodies in the blood being injected into the patient forced it to evolve in order to survive.

The patient was not catching different strains of the coronavirus from external sources, instead the virus itself was regularly changing guise.

'What we were seeing was essentially a competition between different variants of the virus, and we think it was driven by the convalescent plasma therapy,' said lead author Professor Ravi Gupta.

Cambridge researchers have today published details of a case in which one long-suffering patient with a weakened immune system due to cancer and chemotherapy was infected with the original form of the virus before it mutated to become more infectiou and able to avoid antibodies

UK signs deal for 50million doses of Covid vaccines to target potentially jab-resistant variants The UK today rubber-stamped a deal for 50million doses of tweaked coronavirus vaccines, as it steps up efforts to fight off jab-resistant variants. Newly-emerged strains have sparked concerns across the world, after tests revealed some may be able to dodge immunity triggered by the current crop of vaccines. But the deal signed between No10 and German biotech firm CureVac today seeks to bolster the UK's arsenal against these emerging threats, and keep the nation one step ahead of the virus. Officials are yet to confirm which strains they are targeting, but it is thought likely to include the South African variant which scientific tests show may make jabs slightly less effective. The vaccines will be based on mRNA, the same technology used by Pfizer/BioNTech for their shots which were more than 90 per cent effective in trials. Matt Hancock heralded the agreement as ensuring the UK can continue to 'provide everyone with a high level of protection against the virus and save lives'. Advertisement

Some of the viral changes seen in the patient were ineffective, but one, which had two notable mutations, led to a deadly combination.

One of the genetic changes, called 69-70del, is found in the now dominant B.1.1.7 lineage, also referred to as the Kent strain.

It is a deletion of two amino acids and the Cambridge team recreated this in a lab to see what impact the mutation had on the virus's behaviour.

They found this mutation made the virus twice as infectious to human cells.

The other mutation was on the spike protein and called D796H. The mutation caused the virus's spike to change shape and this alteration made it impossible for it to be detected by antibodies.

However, this single tweak on its own made the virus less infectious and therefore not particularly dangerous.

But when the two mutations teamed up in one strain it created a potent form of the virus which was able to avoid antibodies and also infect more cells, leading to the patient's death.

'The virus that eventually won out  which had the D796H mutation and DeltaH69/DeltaV70 deletions  initially gained the upper hand during convalescent plasma therapy before being overtaken by other strains, but re-emerged when the therapy was resumed,' said Professor Gupta.

'One of the mutations is in the new UK variant, though there is no suggestion that our patient was where they first arose.'

Viruses mutate all the time, and they occur when an error has been made when it replicates its own genetic material in order to multiply.

Most are harmless, but some alter the shape and function of the virus. In the wild this has led to several variants emerging which allow the virus to spread more easily, such as the Kent strain and the South African strain.

Professor Lawrence Young from the University of Warwick says this study is 'confirmation that an inadequate immune response drives development of virus variants'.

The full findings are published in Nature.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) began voting on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland, on the lists of candidates for the positions of the Presidential Council and the Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA), the two institutions forming the Interim Unified Executive Authority
Campaigning for the 14 February Catalan elections began on a predictable note last week, with secessionists reaffirming their intention to split from the rest of Spain. Laura Borras, the candidate for the pro-independence party Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), even promised to renew the unilateral declaration of independence made in late 2017 by the region's then-president, Carles Puigdemont.

As always, the details of how exactly this historic split is to be achieved aren't part of the message. Yet you can't help wondering what costs - both literal and figurative - Catalonia would have to bear in order to divorce the motherland.

A brand new report tries to answer precisely this question, without bias in either direction. Released this week by Epicentre, a conglomeration of think tanks from nine EU countries, it makes several conclusions about the cost to Catalonia - both economically and institutionally - of jettisoning the rest of Spain. Among these are the predictions that a Catalan Republic would start life with a public debt of up to 126% of GDP, that its government would incur "set-up" costs of between 37.9 and 39.8 billion, and that substantial decreases in tourism, exports and investment would result from overall instability.

It's striking how little attention such issues receive from the politicians actually involved in the Catalan issue, especially those in the pro-independence camp. Perhaps their apparent lack of interest shows that the conflict is not really about economics, or at least not primarily. There is, after all, something rather hackneyed and half-hearted about Barcelona's repeated complaint that it pays more to Madrid in tax than it receives back in public expenditure: that, one senses, is not the driving force behind Catalonia's independence movement. Questions of cultural, linguistic and historical identity seem more potent for separatists, as does the desire to reject a power viewed as inimical to the prosperity of an aspiring sovereignty (in this sense, Madrid is to secessionists what Brussels is to Brexiteers).

But for an independent Catalonia to be anything more than a fantasy, the realities of survival outside of Spain, and potentially also the EU, can't be ignored. A Catalan Republic - as its would-be architects often fail to point out - would automatically be expelled from the EU and the eurozone; and re-entry, as the report's author states, "will not be up to the Catalans, but rather up to the unanimous acceptance of all EU countries, something that may take many years, or never be achieved".

Borras can urge secessionists to renew their 2017 declaration of independence all she wants, but it's hard to see what, if anything, this would mean in practical terms. If Catalan secessionists want to present a serious, viable case for prospering as a Republic, they might need to look harder at the realities of cutting ties with Madrid and Brussels.

By Rod Nickel

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard was denied bail on Friday by a judge in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on a U.S. extradition request over charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.

Canadian police arrested Nygard in Winnipeg on Dec. 14 at the request of U.S. officials under the countries' extradition treaty.

Nygard faces nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering in the United States. Nygard, who appeared in court by video, has denied the allegations.

Justice Shawn Greenberg said she was concerned Nygard, 79, could tamper with witnesses if released from jail.

His lawyers had argued that poor health left Nygard vulnerable if he were to be infected by the new coronavirus in prison, but Greenberg said that did not automatically qualify him for release.

"It is not a get-out-of-jail-free card," the judge said.

U.S. authorities accuse Nygard of using his businesses to recruit victims in the United States, Canada and the Bahamas since 1995 to sexually gratify himself and his associates.

Born in Finland, Nygard grew up in Manitoba, eventually running his namesake clothing companies and becoming one of Canada's wealthiest people.

Nygard gave no discernible reaction to the decision.

Prosecutors had argued the charges were too serious to release Nygard.

U.S. officials have not yet provided full evidence disclosure to Canada, and the Canadian justice ministry still must decide whether the case warrants a formal extradition hearing.

Lawyer Greg Gutzler, who represents women in a U.S. lawsuit against Nygard, said the decision was a first step toward justice.

"We thank the court for recognizing the imminent danger that he and his myriad conspirators pose to society."

Nygard is accused of having recruited victims at company-funded "pamper parties" in Marina del Rey in California and the Bahamas.

Last year, Nygard resigned as chairman of Nygard International after the FBI raided its New York headquarters.

The company filed for bankruptcy in March.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Grant McCool)
Myanmar is a huge investment for China. Were talking about billions of dollars in infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines, mines, and a deepwater port--not to mention a massive amount of trade.

Those billions of dollars in projects are now under threat, with a coup on Monday that saw the countrys military overthrow leader Aung San Suu Kyi and place her under house arrest, and then proceed to take control of the internet, most notably by blocking Facebook.

Now, the military is in control under the protection of a one-year state of emergency.

The coup was timed to coincide with the convening of a new Parliament that came out of November elections in which the military party suffered severe losses but claimed voter fraud (with no evidence).

The coup is not in Chinas interests, but Beijing will certainly seek to make it so. Yes, China and Russia have blocked the UN from issuing a joint condemnation, but now its about damage control. China wants stability for its billions of dollars in projects. It doesnt want to rock the boat now. The specter of U.S. sanctions would indeed rock that boat. China is non-interventionist. Its not bothered by democracy vs. military junta. Its bothered by its inability to implement its soft power and watch its projects be derailed. So, whatever ensures the smooth completion and operation of those projects is the path China will pursue.

Nor is it just China that has an interest in Myanmar from an oil and gas perspective. French Total SA, Australias Woodside Petroleum, and Posco International are all leading exploration projects here. There is no indication yet that these companies will pull up stakes or halt projects, but it will be difficult for their reputations to handle it. There will certainly be pressure on them. The massive growing trend of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing is no joke. Not even close. These days, the reputational damage can inflict severe pain, and no doubt these Western companies are quietly waiting to hear what the global jury comes back with.

WesternU Physician Assistant Instructor O. Norman watches MSPA students Danielle Poth, left, Gary Rivas and Sean Perez. (Jeff Malet, WesternU) "At WesternU we are interested in taking care of the whole person. We are able to demonstrate where health care is going, and where it is going is a collaborative, interprofessional way," said WesternU Provost David Baron. "At other schools you can read about it. At WesternU, you get to live it.

Western University of Health Sciences offers pathways to six of the top 10 jobs in the U.S., as ranked by U.S. News and World Report (https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs).

The jobs are: No. 1 physician assistant, No. 3 nurse practitioner, No. 4 medical and health services manager, No. 5 physician, No. 9 dentist, and No. 10 veterinarian. The Top 100 Best Jobs of 2021 are rankings of all jobs across all disciplines and careers.

WesternU has nine graduate health colleges that integrate and work together interprofessionally, said WesternU Senior Vice President and Provost David Baron, DO, MSEd. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how critical it is for different disciplines to coordinate their efforts in caring for patients and maintaining public health.

Interprofessional education is not something we do in the abstract, we do it as part of our curriculum. Students learn to be respectful and appreciative of what other professions provide. That is the future of health care delivery, Baron said. All of our deans work very closely together. They problem solve together. At WesternU we are interested in taking care of the whole person. We are able to demonstrate where health care is going, and where it is going is a collaborative, interprofessional way. At other schools you can read about it. At WesternU, you get to live it.

Topping the list of best jobs is physician assistant. PAs diagnose illnesses, develop and carry out treatment plans, assist in surgeries, perform procedures and guide patients. A 2015 AAPA study found that more than 96 percent would recommend their physician assistant career to others. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 31.3 percent employment growth for physician assistants between 2019 and 2029. In that period, an estimated 39,300 jobs should open up, according to the report.

WesternU offers a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPA) degree through the College of Health Sciences (CHS), which has several highly-ranked programs in the Best Jobs list.

The PA profession is still very young and for it to be No. 1 for jobs validates the need for the profession, said CHS Department of Physician Assistant Education Chair Roy Guizado, MS, PA-C. As a PA educator, this type of news provides motivation for the students currently in PA programs who are undertaking a very challenging curriculum so that they can be providing health care in the very near future. As a practicing PA, this news is rewarding in that the profession is being acknowledged from many different angles to come up with the same conclusion I have always had: PAs do meet a need in health care, PAs provide excellent health care, and PAs are happy to be PAs.

CHS also has the Master of Science in Health Sciences (MSHS) program, a pathway to the No. 4 ranked job, medical and health services manager.

Health Sciences is important in helping the community to navigate the health care system, maintain quality of life and support clinicians, said CHS Department of Health Sciences Education Chair Gail Evans Grayson, EdD, MA. Health Sciences is creating leaders who serve as the pillars of the community that deal with and address social determinants of health, locally in the U.S. and internationally.

CHS has a Doctor of Physical Therapy program (PT ranked No. 21) in Pomona and will welcome its first DPT students in Lebanon, Oregon in July 2021. CHS will also open a Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program (OT ranked No. 19) in Lebanon in 2022.

PTs ranking acknowledges the continued increasing demand and the professions critical role in providing a positive alternative to pharmaceuticals or surgery, and occupational therapys ranking confirms that this is the perfect time to add OT in Lebanon to the CHS family, said CHS Dean Dee Schilling, PT, PhD, FNAP.

The projected job growth exceeds that of other health care professions. OTs enhance the quality of life of patients/clients both physically and mentally utilizing a holistic approach to assist the individual, family and environment, Schilling said. We have so much to be proud of and thankful for in CHS. Our programs are the future of health care and create the leaders of tomorrow.

Nurse practitioners (No. 3) are registered nurses with additional education. Extra schooling allows these professionals to take patient histories, perform physical exams, order labs, analyze lab results, prescribe medicines, authorize treatments and educate patients and families on continued care. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 52.4 percent employment growth for nurse practitioners between 2019 and 2029. In that period, an estimated 110,700 jobs should open up.

Nurse practitioners develop assessment and treatment plans that emphasize the well-being of the whole person. Nurse practitioners not only address the patients problem but guide the patient toward a healthy lifestyle with health education and counseling, said College of Graduate Nursing Dean Mary M. Lopez, RN, MSN, PhD.

The College of Graduate Nursing is a leader in educating the next generation of nurse practitioners. All of the NP faculty are doctorly prepared and many are Fellows in the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Lopez said. The CGN faculty make outstanding contributions to nursing education, policy, clinical practice, and evidence-based practice year after year. CGN is furthering the profession of nursing by developing nurse clinical leaders of the future.

The College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific and COMP-Northwest provide opportunities for prospective students to become osteopathic physicians. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 4.3 percent employment growth for physicians (No. 5) between 2019 and 2029. In that period, an estimated 18,500 jobs should open up.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 2.8 percent employment growth for dentists (No. 9) between 2019 and 2029. In that period, an estimated 3,700 jobs should open up.

It is gratifying to not only see dentistry in the Top 10, but also several dental specialties and allied positions throughout the top 100, said College of Dental Medicine Dean Steven Friedrichsen, DDS. The resilience of the dental profession, including dental education has been especially evident this year. Even in the midst of the pandemic, the rewards of caring for patients oral health needs combined with an appealing work-life balance and variety of practice settings continues to be highly appealing. The College of Dental Medicines curriculum and unique culture prepares our graduates not only for contemporary dentistry, but also for leadership within the profession and their communities.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 15.9 percent employment growth for veterinarians (No. 10) between 2019 and 2029. In that period, an estimated 14,200 jobs should open up.

Veterinarians are in high demand, and over time the profession has proven to be recession proof  even during the last great recession, said WesternU College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Phillip Nelson, DVM, PhD.

Veterinarians serve in the unique nexus between animals and man by managing health care benefits and threats that arise between the various species, including humans, Nelson said. As such, the role of the veterinarian in assuring the well-being of the public health is the underlying basis of the value of the profession to society.

If you are interested in pursuing a degree at WesternU, please visit our website: https://prospective.westernu.edu/

In this file photo taken on January 4, 2021 US President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in support of Republican incumbent senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue ahead of Senate runoff in Dalton, Georgia. AFP-Yonhap



House Democrats asked Donald Trump to testify under oath for his Senate impeachment trial, challenging him to respond to their charge that he incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol. A Trump adviser said the former president won't testify.



Although Democrats might not have the power to force Trump's testimony, the request from House impeachment managers is part of their overall effort to put the violent events of Jan. 6 on the record for history and hold him accountable for his words. Democrats will look to use his refusal to testify against him as they argue that the ex-president has avoided responsibility for his actions.



Hours after the Democrats' Thursday request was revealed, Trump adviser Jason Miller dismissed the trial as ''an unconstitutional proceeding'' and said the former president would not testify. Separately, Trump's lawyers denounced the request as a ''public relations stunt.''



The impeachment trial starts Feb. 9. Trump, the first president to be impeached twice, is charged with inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6, when a mob of his supporters broke into the Capitol to interrupt the electoral vote count. Five people died. Before the riot, Trump had told his supporters to ''fight like hell'' to overturn his election defeat.



Democrats have said a trial is necessary to provide a final measure of accountability for the attack. If Trump is convicted, the Senate could hold a second vote to disqualify him from seeking office again.



In the letter to the former president and his attorneys, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, one of the impeachment managers, asked that Trump explain why he and his team have disputed key factual allegations at the center of their case. He asked that Trump provide testimony about his conduct ''either before or during the Senate impeachment trial,'' and under cross-examination, as early as Monday, Feb. 8, and not later than Thursday, Feb. 11.





In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of President Donald Trump, including Jacob Chansley, right with fur hat, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol in Washington. A judge ordered corrections authorities to provide organic food to an Arizona man who is accused of participating in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns. AP



The request from Raskin cites the words of Trump's own attorneys, who in a legal brief earlier this week not only denied that Trump had incited the riot but also asserted that he had ''performed admirably in his role as president, at all times doing what he thought was in the best interests of the American people.''



With that argument, Raskin said, Trump had questioned critical facts in the case ''notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence of your constitutional offense.'' He said Trump should be able to testify now that he is no longer president.



Trump attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen responded hours later that the letter proves that Democrats ''cannot prove your allegations'' and that an impeachment trial is too serious ''to try to play these games.''



The back-and-forth continued Thursday evening when Raskin said Trump's refusal to testify ''speaks volumes and plainly establishes an adverse inference supporting his guilt.''



''Any official accused of inciting armed violence against the government of the United States should welcome the chance to testify openly and honestly  that is, if the official had a defense,'' he said in a statement.



Defense lawyers, and many Senate Republicans, have argued that the trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office, even though he was impeached while he was still president. In a test vote in the Senate last week, 45 Republicans voted for an effort to dismiss the trial on those grounds.





Democratic Senator from Vermont Patrick Leahy, left, participates in a ceremonial swearing-in as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, with his spouse Marcelle Leahy, and attended by U.S, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Thursday, February 4, 2021. Leahy will preside over the Impeachment trial of Donald Trump next week. UPI-Yonhap
Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. She can be reached at jmaschino@berkshireeagle.com.
The Small Firms Association (SFA) yesterday announced details of its flagship event Business Connect 2021. The event is taking place this year as an online event from a live studio on February 11th.

This is the fourth consecutive Business Connect event which last year attracted over 400 delegates to Aviva Stadium. A mix of delegates representing small and large organisations will attend Business Connect, including 50 of Irelands best in small business who are finalists in the SFA National Small Business Awards 2021.

These companies will showcase in a virtual exhibition space along with awards supporters Bord Bia, Cisco, Enterprise Ireland, PermanentTSB, Microsoft, NSAI, .IE, One4All, DeCare, SBCI and Skillnet Ireland.



Business Connect will start at 8.00am with networking and the Conference will start at 9.00am sharp until 1.30pm. As well as learning lots of ideas from the excellent panel of speakers, there will be plenty of time for networking throughout the event.



Hosted by renowned business broadcaster and journalist Richard Curran, this event hopes to promote Irelands unique ecosystem where small and large firms often compete for contracts, talent, government and media attention. Delegates will hear from large organisations on what they look for in partners; small companies will get insights on how to win big contracts, and from organisations and agencies that can provide support for collaboration.



Speaking this week, Director of SFA, Sven Spollen Behrens said, "Due to Covid restrictions, Business Connect 2021 will be a virtual event. However, tour event will include every element from previous years. We have a wonderful list of speakers and panellists and plenty of opportunity to network and visit many exhibiting companies at their virtual stands. Business Connect is free of charge to attend for the first time. Delegates wishing to attend should register at www.sfa.ie."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
People have become immune to what he says on climate change; its just Craig being Craig, but his comments on the Capitol riots [in Washington, DC] shocked people. His comments on COVID-19 are really damaging. Its like having [celebrity chef] Pete Evans in the party room. For many readers, the message was clear: Kellys views were dangerous and it was time for him to be forced out of politics. philt: Shut him down ScoMo. He is harming the party.

Loading WS Jevons: Craig Kelly  another failed provincial politician who has no moral sense of the balance between the right to freedom of speech versus the responsibility for ensuring evidence-based policy. The sooner he is thrown from office the better for Australian society and the public institutions that are the pillars of our nation. Cgaw: Diverse, informed opinions can bring enlightened discussion. Uninformed, bigoted, ill-considered rants will empower the deplorables  we have seen that just recently. Prof Antiantihoon: This is not about a difference of opinion: if Mr Kelly was a climatologist or an immunologist, his opinions would be worthwhile. But he is not. He is manifestly unqualified to proffer opinions on either of these matters. BuckStopsHere: If you repeatedly deny proven science, then you should be disqualified from having a seat in Parliament. Australia needs representatives that will look after them.

Ajfwelch: Its like having Pete Evans in the party room. Best put-down of Kelly this year. Chazza: Craig Kelly truly has the support of the Liberal party then it says a lot about the Liberal party (and none of it good). We need politicians who have the capacity to tell truth from fiction, and the character to provide real leadership. However, the MP has some support among readers. Rob: A brilliant member of parliament. Chad: Kelly is a legend. He knows his subject matter and wont be silenced by the Left. They hate that.

Booker T: Craig Kelly is a true Liberal. Telling it as it is without fear of consequences from Head Office. A role model local member! Hot2Trot: I respect and support Craig Kelly in putting forward the truth rather than the propaganda put forward by others in the interest of political power. We need more representatives like Mr Kelly. Random.stuff added: Perhaps hes just reflecting his electorate. Replying to Random.stuff however, Matt wrote: If the majority of his electorate truly believe the misinformation (which I doubt) his job is to help educate them, not exacerbate the problem. Massola said whether they loved him or hated him, clearly our readers care about how the MPs messages could impact Australians, particularly with so much at stake with a vaccine roll-out.

The last story I wrote that attracted as many emails, texts and calls was the Thai cave rescue - and that was a huge global news event, Massola, who most recently was this mastheads south-east Asia correspondent, said. I was really struck by the number of comments, like those from readers philT, AJFWelch, CGaw and Pip123, about the damage being done to the national government and the dangers posed by uninformed commentary. Speaking in question time on Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his views do not align with those of Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer/Alex Ellinghausen Theyre spot on  this isnt just an internal Liberal Party matter or a free speech issue. Kellys message damages the government and the potential for a successful vaccine roll-out across Australia  and that affects all of us.

Heading into the sitting week, readers such as Ian were asking: Why doesnt ScoMo jump on this MP? Trim the cat added: The standards you walk past are the standards you support. With Kelly, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and then Scott Morrison went out of their way to protect him and his ridiculous conspiracy theories. Also the grassroots Liberals excused these dangerous outbursts by rationalising it was just Craig being Craig...The existence of Craig Kelly is a damning indictment of the whole party. Subsequent stories about Kelly throughout the week continued to capture readers attention. A news report detailing Kellys run-in with Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek in the corridors of Parliament on Wednesday, by The Age and the Heralds chief political correspondent David Crowe, attracted more than 900 comments from readers. Later that day, Scott Morrison went on to rebuke Kelly in question time.

I think Scott Morrison has done just about enough to distance himself from Craig Kelly and to make clear his displeasure with the MP this week - though Im sure many will disagree, Massola said. Loading Not calling out Kelly would be far more damaging to the PM than the alternative. Morrison was applauded by some readers for acting, however some readers described the Prime Ministers response as laughable. Doug6: Morrison has had a lot of time to address the Kelly issue however like his lax response to the initial COVID outbreak, he doesnt take risks, even safe risks. He waits and pontificates.
ORANGE, Ohio -- In order to share the joy of Purim, Temple Emanu El of Orange will celebrate the holiday with 10 days of fun, including creative online and socially distanced events for the whole family, beginning Feb. 19.

The holiday begins at sunset on Thursday, Feb. 25, and ends at sunset the following day. Non-members can participate in most events by contacting Renee Higer at rhiger@teecleve.org for Zoom login.

Purim is a joyous holiday commemorating the events in the Book of Esther (the Megillah), wherein the Jewish Queen Esther and her cousin, Mordechai, helped foil a plot by Haman, adviser to King Ahashverosh, to kill all the Jews of Persia. As a result of Esthers and Mordecais actions, the Jews of Persia were saved.

In keeping with that happy outcome, Purim is a time of merriment, silliness and celebration. The most blatant expression of this joy is the outbreak of noise made whenever Hamans name is uttered during the storys reading.

For more information on the celebratory events, visit reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/purim.

Celebrating Purim with Fairmount Temple: Meanwhile, Beachwoods Fairmount Temple is also planning its Purim activities. At 7 p.m. Feb. 25, you can join in virtually on a creative Purim read-and-learn directly from the Megillah scroll while celebrating the beginning of the joyous holiday. For the Zoom link, contact Jenny Marmaros here.

Also, PurimSpiel will take place starting at 10:30 a.m., via live stream. About this event, the temple tells us, The Totally Rad 80s PurimSpiel is a wacky, funny and faithful take on the story of Esther, Haman, Vashti and Mordechai! This virtual experience features parodies of your favorite 80s hits, such as those from Prince and Madonna. This PurimSpiel will have you laughing and singing along! To take part, contact Cantor Vladimir Lapin here.

For more information on Fairmount Temple Purim events and other happenings, visit here.

College news: Congratulations to Cleveland Heights Gerard Daher, who achieved deans list status at the Georgia Institute of Technology -- aka Georgia Tech -- for the fall 2020 semester.

Also, good work to Faith Kim, another Cleveland Heights resident, for earning a spot on last falls deans list at Wheaton College in Illinois.

And Rose Scalish, yet another Cleveland Heights resident, made the deans list at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

State of University Heights: Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan will present his third state-of-the-city address at 7 p.m. Feb. 18. The address will be virtual this year and broadcast on the citys Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts.

Gorge cleanup: The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership will celebrate Earth Day by hosting a cleanup event from 1 to 3 p.m. April 17. Individuals, families and community groups are invited to come out and get their hands dirty by pulling trash, debris and invasive vegetation from the Doan Brook and Shaker Parklands stream corridor and surrounding trails and roadways.

Volunteers will meet at the intersection of Fairhill Road and East 127th Street along the Lake-to-Lakes Trail. Street parking will be available on East 127th and other side streets. Sign-in and registration will begin at 12:30 pm.

Gloves and trash bags will be provided. Warm clothing is recommended. For details, call Elizabeth at 216-325-7781, extension 6783, or send an email.

Dancing alone: Verb Ballets of Shaker Heights will present the virtual performance Going Solo at 7 p.m. Feb. 26. The show will feature virtual performances by each of the companys dancers in a solo role.

In addition, the company will present Jose Limons Dances for Isadora, in commemoration of the Limon companys 75th anniversary.

Tickets, at $25, can be purchased here. The performance archive will be accessible for 48 hours.

Online library events: Now, lets take a look at what the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Library has coming your way, virtually.

Creating Effective PowerPoints will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 18 (register here); Diversity through the Arts -- The Day You Begin, for school-age children, takes place from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 20 (register here); and Zoom Meditation Tuesdays happens from 6 to 7 p.m. Feb. 23 (register here).

Also, for teens, there is Friendship Bracelets, from 2 to 3 p.m. Feb. 20. Teens can join in on Discord to create friendship bracelets. Stop by the Coventry Library, 1925 Coventry Road, to pick up materials. If you need help getting on Discord, send an email to teen@heightslibrary.org.

And, those in need of food can be there -- and by there we mean the Lee Road Library branch, 2345 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights -- for a visit by the Greater Cleveland Food Bank Mobile Pantry.

The pantry will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 22. Available for pickup will be free, fresh produce for families and individuals. Eligible parties must be at least 18 years of age. Bring a photo ID and make sure your car trunk is clean.

Food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, so dont be late. The event will be held rain or shine. The line forms beginning at 4:30 p.m. If you have questions, call Maggie Kinney, at 216-932-3600, extension 1290.

And, dont forget, the Heights Libraries is still asking, if you have not already done so, that you fill out a Noble branch survey about what kind of changes should be planned for the building and its services. You can take the survey here.

RBG events: The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage is getting set to open its anticipated Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg exhibit on Feb 24. We told you about that here a couple of weeks ago.

But, we didnt tell you that there are several other exhibition-related program offerings also planned. They include:

-- I Dissent -- A monthly series focused on famous dissenting cases in which Justice Ginsburg was involved, led by some of Clevelands most prestigious women attorneys, presented in partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.

-- Scales of Justice -- A series exploring justice-related topics, starting with CSU Cleveland-Marshall College of Laws Doron Kalir investigating how Judaism influenced RBGs professional life.

-- Gallery Talks -- Which will take a deep dive into specific objects within the exhibition, like her famous jabot and what the statement piece represents for women and fashion, in collaboration with CWRU-Siegal Lifelong Learning.

-- Women Who Roar -- Subject matter experts will discuss trailblazing women artists, musicians and writers from diverse cultural backgrounds whose roaring voices have influenced American culture, with partners including the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards at the Cleveland Foundation and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

-- My Story -- A monthly series celebrating boundary-busting Cleveland women paving their own path and simultaneously paving the way for others, featuring community leaders like Phyllis Harris of the LGBTQ Center interviewing Exact Change author Christine Howey, in honor of International Transgender Visibility Day.

-- Readers Series -- With Literary Cleveland and Script Club with Interplay Jewish Theatre, inviting guests to read and discuss books about and plays inspired by the late Supreme Court Justice.

-- Film Screening & Talk-back -- A free screening of the 2018 documentary RBG, and a talk-back with Justices who knew her and advocates who were inspired by her, presented in partnership with Classrooms Without Borders.

-- Family Fun -- Monthly interactive online programs for young families kick off with Happy Birthday, RBG, when participants will bake her favorite party treat, muffins.

For information on these programs, visit maltzmuseum.org or call 216-593-0575.

The museum is offering special pricing for the exhibits opening week. Tickets cost $5 from Feb. 24-28 and are available for purchase over the phone or online. Maltz Museum members and children under 5 are always admitted free.

The museum is located at 2929 Richmond Road in Beachwood.

MLK Essay Contest winners: Nine Greater Cleveland students won $1,575 in scholarships in the 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest sponsored by East View United Church of Christ in Shaker Heights.

The winners were announced at a virtual MLK program streamed on Facebook and YouTube Jan. 18 -- Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Former Ohio state senator Nina Turner was the keynote speaker. The topic of her speech and the essay contest was How do we unite a divided country?

Among the winners from the Sun Press coverage area were first-place winners Jasmin Sanders-Triplett, of Monticello Middle School in Cleveland Heights, and Emmy Thomas, of Boulevard Elementary School in Shaker Heights; second-place winners Amaya Myles, of Cleveland Heights High School, and Erin Ladson, of Shaker Middle School; and third-place winners Jordan Cole, of Cleveland Heights High School, and Karis Wilson, of Roxboro Middle School in Cleveland Heights.

Since the contest began, East View Church has donated more than $44,000 in scholarships to Greater Cleveland students.

Turner will be running to replace U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, who will be leaving her office to serve in President Joe Bidens Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Rabbis contract extended: Congregation Shaarey Tikvah, a close-knit, vibrant conservative synagogue located at 26811 Fairmount Blvd. in Beachwood, has announced that it has extended the contract of Rabbi Scott B. Roland for 10 years.

Rabbi Roland has served Congregation Shaarey Tikvah since July 2016, reads a synagogue news release. Since then, his most notable achievements include community outreach and membership engagement, including innovative approaches to engaging young families, holiday enrichment and ongoing adult education.

Under Rabbi Rolands leadership, the synagogue has experienced a cantor transition, launched a new brand, forged a strategic partnership with Kol Israel to update and manage the Face to Face Holocaust Education Program, and hired Rabbi Rachel Brown to serve as director of congregational learning.

Rabbi Rolands creativity, resilience and adaptability during the pandemic have been warmly welcomed -- including the installation of livestream technology, the rollout of a full schedule of virtual programs and more.

Most notably, under his leadership, approximately 30 family units joined the congregation over the last two years.

Furniture history: Cleveland Decorative Arts is presenting this month its second Zoom program of 2021. Furniture historian Dr. Ware Petznick will discuss Shaker Furniture at North Union via Zoom at noon Feb. 16.

The lunchtime lecture is planned to last about 30 minutes, with 15 minutes set aside for Q&A. The Zoom link will be emailed to members Feb. 14 and will be posted on the groups Facebook page.

Cleveland Decorative Arts is a nonprofit organization that extends an invitation to all to take part in this free event. Membership is not required on this occasion.

Those interested in membership can visit clevelanddecorativearts.org. Cleveland Decorative Arts celebrates the rich diversity of decorative art that is made, collected and appreciated in Cleveland, Ohio.

Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week: Feb. 19-28 is the Downtown Cleveland Alliances 2021 Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week.

From fast casual to fine dining, Downtown Clevelands culinary gems will accommodate guests at their comfort levels with a variety of service options, such as #CleanCommitted dine-in experiences, family meals to-go and group lunch deliveries for professionals who have returned to the office.

After a challenging year, the 2021 Downtown Cleveland Restaurant Week will serve as an essential boost for our small businesses and downtown economy, DCA President and CEO Joe Marinucci said in a news release.

This is a great opportunity for Clevelanders to safely come together to support and celebrate our locally owned establishments when they need us most.

Downtown Cleveland Alliance continues to partner with area small businesses and provide support to many local eateries through its Recovery Response Fund.

A complete list of restaurants open in Downtown Cleveland is available at downtownnow.city/eat.

If there is an item you would like to see appear in Press Run, send me an email, at least 12 days prior to an event, at jeff.piorkowski@att.net.

Read more from the Sun Press.
All 77 BJP MLAs in Bengal to have central security cover

West Bengall Polls: Nadda to launch BJP's 'Poribartan Yatra' tomorrow

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 05: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda is all set to launch 'Parivartan Yatra' from Nadia to garner public support in the poll-bound West Bengal.



The yatra will be in five phases and cover all the 294 assembly constituencies in the state where polls are expected to be held in April-May.

Prior to its launch, he is scheduled to attend a few programmes, including joining over 3,000 farmers for lunch at Shahpur village in Malda district.

"He will then lead a grand road show at 12:30 pm in Malda from Foara Road to the statue of Shri Rabindranath Tagore," the statement said.

The BJP chief will also pay tributes to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a revered saint from the Bhakti movement.

Bengal Polls: BJP says door shut, no more mass joinings from TMC

The saffron party plans to take out five rallies criss-crossing West Bengal from this month.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh had on Thursday said the rath yatra was part of the party''s outreach programme ahead of the polls and alleged that the TMC was trying to create obstacles but will not succeed.

Ghosh also said the party will go as per law.

The Trinamool Congress on Friday accused the BJP of indulging in "malicious propaganda" over denial of permission to hold its 'rath yatra' in West Bengal, asserting that the ruling party has nothing to do with providing such clearance.

The All India Trinamool Congress said on Twitter that the state government has not denied permission to the BJP's programme in contrary to the claims of the saffron party.

"GoWB has not denied permission to any Yatra, as claimed by @BJP4Bengal. They are indulging in malicious propaganda with neither substance nor truth.

"BJP must show material evidence of GoWB denying permission to their Yatra. This is BJP's attempt to claim victimhood," the AITC said on the microblogging site.

Earlier, in 2018, the BJP had planned rath yatras across the state, but the programme was called off at the very last moment as the state government refused to give permission.
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Hunter Biden has moved his family to a stylish $5.4million canal-front home in Venice, California, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The president's son moved into the three-story property with wife Melissa and their 10-month-old son Beau toward the end of last year and the family is now under 24-hour Secret Service protection.

It's believed the father of five, who turned 51 on Thursday, is paying $25,000 a month to rent the posh property owned by Sweetgreen co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman.

Hunter has some fresh cash to help pay for the pricey rental. On Thursday it was revealed he has written a memoir titled Beautiful Things, that will be published April 6. The advance for the book is said to be as much as $2million.

Before his father took office, Hunter and his family had been keeping a low profile during the pandemic and had been cooped up in their former home, a rented luxury $3.8million three-bed pad perched on the Hollywood Hills.

It's understood Hunter was paying $12,000 a month for the mid-century modern 2,000 sq ft house with stunning views and a swimming pool. But it's likely he and his wife wanted more space to raise their son Beau and sought out something bigger.

The Hollywood Hills house was also located in a secluded community tucked away in a private lower hillside area.

The outgoing pair may have wanted to be closer to the action and the Venice pad, which is just a block from the beach and a short walk to trendy Abbot Kinney Blvd which is bustling with shops and cafes, fits the bill.

However, Hunter's arrival has certainly attracted the attention of residents in the small, quiet community just one block from the beach.

Hunter Biden and his family are now living in a $5.4million canal-front home in Venice, Los Angeles, DailyMail.com can reveal

The president's son moved to the 3,700 square feet property in recent months after he had been splitting his time between his home state of Delaware and his Hollywood Hills pad

The three-story, two-bedroom home has a private balcony which overlooks the historic Venice canal. Hunter is believed to be renting the property from Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Newman for $25,000 a month

The home also has terrace furnished with outdoor seating, a fireplace, and breath-taking views of the idyllic neighborhood

The father-of-five, who also shares three daughters with his first wife Kathleen and a toddler daughter with his stripper baby mama Lunden Roberts, was spotted in Venice last month pushing his infant son Beau in a stroller alongside wife Melissa

His Secret Service detail is staged in a parking lot not far from the home and several blacked-out SUVs and other government vehicles have been seen coming and going.

The federal agents even have their own port-a-potty so they don't get caught short. A government vehicle is also parked directly in front of the property with two agents sat inside.

One Venice local said: 'Hunter's arrival has certainly caused a stir on the canals.'

'They're driving around in these huge blacked-out GMCs, they look like they mean business.'

Ricky Otterstrom, senior vice president of Ryker Flint, a commercial real estate brokerage, has lived in Venice Beach for 15 years, tells DailyMail.com: 'I see Hunter Biden's secret service parked out front of his house every morning when I walk to the beach to surf.

'They are there 24/7 which is a plus for us here on the Venice Canals. We need the extra security considering the amount of crime we have. Interestingly the homeless people who were living up along the street he now lives on are gone.

'It could be a coincidence or the city had them removed because of Hunter. I think his presence will help clean up the area and I hope he gets involved with the community. It's a tight community with great people.'

Hunter and his family had previously been living in this $3.8million Hollywood Hills rental since the beginning of last year

Hunter's arrival to the quiet Venice neighborhood has been anything but subtle thanks to his 24-hour security detail (pictured) in an SUV

Secret Service agents (pictured in plain clothes) have been staged outside near the property and are constantly spotted coming and going

One resident told DailyMail.com: 'It's a quiet community so the Secret Service detail sticks out, they're trying to dress casual to fit in but it's not working'

Several blacked-out SUVs and other government vehicles have been spotted in the neighborhood since Hunter's arrival

New life: Hunter Biden came to Joe Biden's inauguration with his second wife, Melissa Cohen, and his baby son Beau - named for his dead brother - as well as his three daughters from his first marriage. His two-year-old daughter with stripper Lunden Roberts, 29, was not present

Darin Grant who lives a few houses away from Hunter tells DailyMail.com, 'l welcome him and his family. Having secret service in the area will keep us all safer. I appreciate anyone who is open about their story of recovery.

'I plan on listening to the audio version of his book when it's released. It's such a relief that his father is now running the country. There's finally an adult in the White House.

Long-time Venice Beach resident Mark tells DailyMail.com, 'Having him as a neighbor can only be a good thing and hopefully he will get involved with this homeless crisis that needs to be addressed. The extra security around here is a big bonus.'

The stylish 3,700 square feet home boasts 25-foot acoustic ceilings hanging over contemporary limestone white floors in the living room.

The sleek living space adjoins a center-island kitchen and an open-concept dining area.

Although the house has just two bedrooms, both are master suites and one expands to a lounge which boasts a fireplace and outdoor access that overlooks the pool, as well as a marble bathroom.

The other loft-style bedroom has a separate soaking tub and shower and opens to a private balcony which overlooks the historic Venice canal.

Modern living: The sleek and airy living space has an open floor plan ideal for entertaining as well as a skylight for natural lighting

Prior to moving to the property, Biden and his family had been living in Hollywood Hills. The family is entitled to 24-hour protection after Joe Biden took office last month

On the side of the home, there's a narrow private swimming pool that looks out to the Venice canal

The living room adjoins a center-island kitchen and an open-concept dining area. The home boasts 25-foot acoustic ceilings hanging over contemporary limestone white floors in the living room

Sleek and spacious: Although the house has just two bedrooms, both are master suites and one expands to a lounge room and a marble bathroom

The other loft-style bedroom has a separate soaking tub and shower and opens to a private balcony which overlooks the historic Venice canal

One of the bathrooms in the home is complete with double sinks and vanity as well as a spacious shower

A spiral staircase ascends to a renovated rooftop deck with a fire pit under hanging lights. On the side of the home, there's a narrow swimming pool.

Memoir: Hunter Biden's book Beautiful Things, being published in April

Homeowner Neman co-founded Sweetgreen with Nicolas Jammet and Nathanial Ru in 2007. The hip farm-to-table salad chain has 91 locations nationwide.

Hunter moved to the property in recent months after leaving his Hollywood Hills pad. The president's youngest son had been splitting his time between his home state of Delaware and California.

Earlier last month he was spotted out with his family in Venice, stopping for coffee at the Kreation organic cafe along Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice.

Hunter had been laying low after becoming embroiled in controversy during the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, when a laptop hard drive that reportedly belonged to him fell into the hands of Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

The hard drive was allegedly packed with information that many thought would jeopardize his father's chances of winning the presidency.

The contents of the laptop were handed to the New York Post - including an infamous image of Hunter with an apparent crack pipe, as well as evidence of $21,000 of payments to a 'live cam' site and tens of thousands of dollars spent at a strip club,

Hunter, who has spoken openly of his battle with drugs, was also revealed in emails to have allegedly been planning a Chinese deal which mentioned '10 [per cent] for the big guy,' which his would-be business partner said was Joe Biden.

The 51-year-old was joined by his South African wife Melissa Cohen, as Secret Service agents escorted the family as they grabbed some coffee in Los Angeles hours after the electoral college vote was certified for Joe Biden around 3am on Thursday morning

Hunter Biden was spotted on a family outing, toting his baby son around on his hip with two of his daughters in tow, hours after dad Joe's victory was finally certified, exclusive DailyMail.com photos show

Hunter was seen with his father in early November when Biden announced to the world that he had won the 2020 presidential election, inviting his family on stage with him and giving his grandson Beau a kiss on the head

Of course Hunter's dad is now in the White House and the president will ensure everything is done to protect his often errant son.

Despite the Biden presidency it's understood federal authorities are actively investigating Hunter's business dealings, however, principally with China.

Father-of-five Hunter shares three daughters with his first wife Kathleen and a toddler daughter with his baby mama, former stripper Lunden Roberts.

Hunter, 51, had son Beau Biden Jr with 34-year-old South African wife Melissa in April last year. Hunter married blond Melissa Cohen just six days after they met.
PORT ARANSAS, Texas, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On both environmental and economic grounds the Port Aransas Conservancy (PAC) has been contesting the industrialization of Harbor Island, within the city limits of Port Aransas. After receiving hundreds of complaints about the Port of Corpus Christi Authority's (PCCA) plans for a desalination plant there, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) referred the matter to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) for a contested case hearing before two administrative law judges (ALJ). The judges recommended to TCEQ that they deny PCCA's discharge permit application.

Among other favorable rulings, the ALJ concluded, "After considering the evidence and argument the Port Authority has not met its burden to prove that the proposed discharge will not adversely impact the marine environment, aquatic life, and wildlife, including spawning eggs and larval migration."

PAC President James King was understandably upbeat. "The contested case ruling today by two administrative law judges recommending the denial of the TCEQ Discharge Permit is a huge victory for the city of Port Aransas, our coastal ecosystem, and the folks who love this part of Texas. This victory was made possible by our excellent team of attorneys and by the overwhelming support of many donors, citizens, and our strong local science community. The Port Aransas Conservancy is pushing back on the Port of Corpus Christi on its plan to industrialize our backyard and PAC is fully engaged in opposing that folly."

About the Port Aransas Conservancy

The Port Aransas Conservancy is a 501(c)(4) environmental advocacy non-profit whose goal is to foster a balance of conservation and economically sustainable uses for Port Aransas and its surrounding neighborhood and waterways while recognizing that our community and economy is dependent on tourism and fisheries within a healthy barrier island coastal ecosystem.

Media Contact:

John Donovan

512-673-9585

[email protected]

SOURCE Port Aransas Conservancy

The federal government will send hundreds of active duty troops to California in the coming weeks to help bolster the administration of vaccines in the state.

Andy Slavitt, the White Houses senior adviser for coronavirus response, said Friday that the Department of Defense had approved the request for the first contingent in what could ultimately be a deployment of thousands of members of the military to staff new mass coronavirus vaccination sites across the country.

The militarys critical role in supporting sites will help vaccinate thousands of people per day and ensure that every American who wants a vaccine will receive one, Slavitt said during a press briefing.

The Biden administration announced this week that it plans to establish 100 mass vaccination sites nationwide over the next few months, with the first two expected to be running by mid-February at the Oakland Coliseum and California State University Los Angeles.

State officials expect the Coliseum site to ultimately deliver up to 6,000 doses per day, with a focus on expanding vaccine access to underserved communities.

At least one of those California sites, which will be overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is set to receive a team of 222 troops from across the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps in the next 10 days, according to the Department of Defense. The team will include 80 vaccinators, 57 clinical staff and 15 registered nurses, among other personnel.

FEMAs total request is for 10,000 troops to support the planned 100 mass vaccination sites. The Department of Defense on Thursday approved the first group of 1,100 to help staff five sites, including the team that has already been announced in California.

John Kirby, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, said during a briefing Friday that he did not know whether the Oakland or the Los Angeles vaccination site would receive the military assistance, nor where the other four teams will go.

FEMA did not respond to questions seeking clarification.

We will be partnering with the DOD for additional resources at federally supported sites throughout the country, a spokesperson said in an email.

The effort is part of a broader strategy by the Biden administration to lean on its military powers to bulk up the countrys sputtering coronavirus response.

Tim Manning, the national supply chain coordinator for coronavirus response, said Friday that the federal government was also invoking the Defense Production Act to increase manufacturing of vaccines, at-home coronavirus tests and protective gloves.

A limited supply of doses has been one of the biggest constraints to the vaccination rollout in California and across the country. Manning said the Biden administration would give Pfizer a priority rating to secure critical equipment, including filling pumps, removing a bottleneck on vaccine manufacturing.

Its actions like these that will allow Pfizer to ramp up production and hit their targets of delivering hundreds of millions of doses over the coming months, Manning said.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff

Clarification: An earlier version of this article stated that the federal government would send troops to staff mass vaccination sites in both Oakland and Los Angeles. It is unclear which California site will receive assistance.
China's Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday stressed ensuring water supplies in arid areas of the southern part of the country during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.

The country's drought conditions are much less severe than the same period in previous years, the ministry noted.

Official data showed currently 7.51 million mu (about 500,000 hectares) of arable land is affected by droughts, which is much less than the 22.96 million mu in the same period in recent years. A total of 330,000 people in rural areas currently have difficulties accessing drinking water because of droughts, compared with 1.81 million people in recent years.

According to the ministry, in Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian provinces where drought is heavier, about 2.4 million people are suffering water shortage in some urban areas.

With multiple measures taken, water for domestic use is guaranteed in arid areas, the ministry added.
In the UK, broadcasting laws state that broadcast licensees must have control over the licensed service  including editorial oversight over the programmes they show. In addition, under these laws, licence holders cannot be controlled by political bodies. Ofcom says that after an investigation of the activities of the international English-language satellite news channel, it concluded that CGTNs licence is wrongfully held by Star China Media Limited which did not meet the legal requirement of having control over the licensed service, and so was not a lawful broadcast licensee.The investigation found SCML did not have editorial responsibility for selecting or compiling CGTNs programme schedule. It was found to be the distributor of the CGTN service in the UK, rather than the provider of the service. In addition, none of the employees involved in CGTNs decision-making, or day-to-day running of the channel, appear to be employed by SCML. In response to Ofcom enquiries, CGTN accepted that SCML did not control the channel and should no longer hold the licence.In addition, Ofcom said that it was unable to grant an application to transfer the licence to an entity called China Global Television Network Corporation (CGTNC). CGTNC confirmed to Ofcom that its Global Editorial Board was the ultimate decision maker over the selection and organisation of programmes for the CGTN service and exercises editorial control. Yet given CGTNC is controlled by China Central Television (CCTV)  which, as part of the China Media Group, is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and therefore disqualified from holding a broadcast licence under UK broadcasting laws  we consider that CGTNC would be disqualified from holding a licence. Ofcom noted that CGTN had repeatedly failed to respond to important questions necessary to its assessment of the application to transfer the licence, or to offer any update on progress with its restructure.Having given CGTN what it said was significant time to come into compliance with the statutory rules, and after taking account of all the facts and the broadcasters and audiences rights to freedom of expression, it had decided it was appropriate to revoke the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK.Our investigation showed that the licence for China Global Television Network is held by an entity which has no editorial control over its programmes. We are unable to approve the application to transfer the licence to China Global Television Network Corporation because it is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which is not permitted under UK broadcasting law, said an Ofcom spokesperson commenting on the decision to revoke . Weve provided CGTN with numerous opportunities to come into compliance, but it has not done so. We now consider it appropriate to withdraw the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK.Ofcom expects to conclude separate sanctions proceedings against CGTN for due impartiality and fairness and privacy breaches shortly. In 2020 Ofcom found CGTN in breach of the Broadcasting Code for failing to preserve due impartiality in its coverage of the Hong Kong protests, and also found a serious breach of our fairness and privacy rules.
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Ben Zigterman is a reporter covering business at The News-Gazette. His email is bzigterman@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@bzigterman).
Ahead of the Bengal polls, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh got candid with The Indian Express about what victory in Bengal means for BJP and citizenship Amendment Bill among other things. When asked about the importance of the Bengal elections for BJP, the saffron party member said BJP has won almost all the states except Bengal which shares borders with Bangladesh.

The CPI(M) and the TMC want to bring infiltrators from Bangladesh to turn them into their voters and have been continuing to do so. This has resulted in a number of terrorists belonging to al-Quaeda, SIMI, etc coming into the state.

This has turned Bengal into a war zone which can adversely impact the whole nation.

Thus, he concluded that Bengal will be secure only if BJP wins. He reiterated that Prime Minister has already stated that the country is developed in the north, south, and west but the east remains underdeveloped. It is BJP's mission to develop the east also, otherwise, Indias development will be incomplete.

Talking about election violence, the party president stated that as violence was brought about by communists politics, it will see a rise as the election nears as it is the only means by which the TMC can win.

Also read:Govt Proposes Rs 1,000 Cr for Welfare of Tea Workers in Assam, West Bengal

When asked about how BJP is different from TMC and what it has to offer the leader said unlike TMC, BJP takes qualified people from different parties, different ideologies, and communities into it from every part of the country and works towards the development of the nation as a whole.

Talking about the influx of members of other parties into BJP, Ghosh taking the example of Suvendhu Adhikari stated that people like him joined the TMC to oppose the violent politics of the CPI(M), but they were left disappointed. They gave their youth to the party but Bengal has not changed.

When asked about the much-debated Bengal CM candidature, Ghosh was quoted saying, 'After the Lok Sabha elections, the party asked me if I wanted to be a minister. I said I want to be in the organization. My mission is to win West Bengal. Now, its up to party leadership, the parliamentary board to decide who will be the chief minister. Whatever responsibility the party gives me, I will do that,'.

'Her striker and defender have come to my party. More are expected to come to BJP in February. Her party is going to be finished' claimed the Bengal BJP party president when asked about his view on Mamata Banerjee contesting from Nandigram.

When asked about the impact of the campaign of the elections which is bahari v/s bangali, Ghosh emphasized that it has no impact on society, because its wrong. BJPs origin was in West Bengal but was accepted by the entire country.

'I am the party president and I am a Bengali. Every MP except one is Bangla-speaking. We got more than 2 crore voters in the Lok Sabha polls. If we were outsiders, would it have happened?'

Regarding the delay in framing the rules of CAA, Dilip Ghosh said, Home Minister Amit Shah is going to West Bengal and he will explain. The refugees, however, are confident that citizenship will be granted to them by the BJP. Syama Prasad Mookerjee had resigned from the Central government on this issue. It was the BJP that made the law after winning 18 seats from the state. People have waited for so long and they will wait one or two more years. But people are confident that the govt will make them understand.
Full results from Friday's state track meets

Get your full results from the AA, A and B boys and girls state track meets here.
South Africa: SA records 3 754 COVID-19 cases, 261 deaths

The COVID-19 second wave is showing signs of slowing down in South Africa, with 3 754 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours.

A reported 261 people succumbed to the respiratory disease, official data showed on Thursday.

Of the recent deaths, 56 were reported in KwaZulu-Natal, 53 in Gauteng, 44 in the Eastern Cape, 42 in the North West, 41 in the Western Cape, 12 in the Free State, 11 in Limpopo and two in the Northern Cape.

The total number of COVID-19 cases reported in the country now stands at 1 466 767, while the death toll has jumped to 45 605.

We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the healthcare workers who treated the deceased patients, said Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

The worst-hit regions continue to be KwaZulu-Natal with 42 016 active cases, followed by the Western Cape with 12 631.

Meanwhile, Gauteng has 9 115 patients who are currently infected, 8 771 in the Free State and 7 943 in the North West.

In addition, 1 327 186 people have recovered from COVID-19 to date, representing a recovery rate of 90.5%.

The data is based on the 8 400 319 tests conducted, 31 032 of which were done since the last report.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported 103 989 900 cases globally, including 2 260 259 deaths.

Vaccination

According to WHO, COVAX expects to start sending millions of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa this month.

The global initiative - led by the WHO, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) - aims to start shipping nearly 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the continent in February, in what will be Africas largest mass vaccination campaign.

Africa has watched other regions start COVID-19 vaccination campaigns from the sidelines for too long. This planned rollout is a critical first step to ensuring the continent gets equitable access to vaccines.

We know no one will be safe until everyone is safe, said WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti.

COVAX notified countries through letters, which were sent on 30 January 2021.

According to WHO, the final shipments will be based on the production capacities of vaccine manufacturers and the readiness of countries amid surging demand for vaccines.

In addition, around 320 000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been allocated to four African countries  Cabo Verde, Rwanda, South Africa and Tunisia.

This vaccine has received WHO Emergency Use Listing but requires countries to be able to store and distribute doses at minus 70 degrees Celsius.

Moeti has urged African nations to ramp up readiness and finalise their national vaccine deployment plans.

Regulatory processes, cold chain systems and distribution plans need to be in place to ensure vaccines are safely expedited from ports of entry to delivery. We cant afford to waste a single dose, said Moeti.

The initial phase of 90 million doses will support countries to immunise 3% of the African population most in need of protection, including health workers and other vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021.

As production capacity increases and more vaccines become available, the aim is to vaccinate at least 20% of Africans by providing up to 600 million doses by the end of 2021, said Moeti.

The African Union has secured 670 million vaccine doses for the continent, which will be distributed in 2021 and 2022 as countries secure adequate financing.

WHO said the African Export-Import Bank will facilitate payments by providing advance procurement commitment guarantees of up to US$2 billion to the manufacturers on behalf of countries.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A local couple was the inspiration behind a new Valentines Day promotion by Heinz Ireland. Thanks to an idea by Lanesboro man, Diarmuid Farrell, Heinz has launched an amorous take on one of its most iconic pasta varieties, Alphabetti, to help pasta-loving romantics propose to their partners in style this February 14.

Inspired by an amazing real-life Irish love story the special cans will only feature the pasta letters M, A, R, Y, E, in a juicy tomato sauce.

I had been racking my brains for weeks, but the only idea that kept coming back again and again was Heinz Alphabetti, Diarmuid explained.

Karen really loves having it on toast for dinner, which is why it came to mind. And, I knew it would catch her completely unaware to sit down for dinner, look down at her plate to see the words Marry Me staring back up at her. I only needed the one can to spell KAREN MENTON WILL YOU MARRY ME.

The Mullingar native explained that the couple had recently bought their first home together when Diarmuid popped the question last February.

Its our pride and joy and we love spending time at home together, she said.

He caught me completely unaware with the proposal, Im still surprised to this day that he did, without me copping on to anything.

The funny thing is, I was planning on asking him eight days later on February 29. It just shows, we were both ready for this next stage of our life together.

Emily OKane, Marketing Manager for Heinz Ireland explained that the company was contacted by an Alphabetti fan, Karen Menton from Longford with the unique story.

She told us that her partner Diarmuid had recently proposed using our much-loved pasta letters to spell out will you marry me on a piece of toast, she explained.

We just loved the idea and immediately got to work on creating this limited-edition Marry Me edition of Heinz Alphabetti, just in time for Valentines Day  or should that be ValenHeinz Day?

The new cans land in stores on February 1 and anyone wishing to share their ValenHeinz proposal can do so by using the hashtag #alphabettiproposal.
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The Palace of the Ooni of Ife, Enitan Ogunwusi, on Thursday said the monarch has forgiven a self-styled activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho for describing him as a Fulani slave.

The monarchs media aide, Moses Olafare, while hosting journalists in the palace said Mr Igboho remains a son to Mr Adeyeye despite issuing a threat to attack the palace for not supporting his agitation to evict Fulani herders in South-west states.

The palace had earlier told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Igbohos comments were irresponsible.

Mr Igboho during a virtual town hall meeting with Yorubas in Diaspora on Tuesday said Mr Adeyeye and other Yoruba leaders are Fulani slaves.

The warlord threatened that if they do not cooperate with him, he may be forced to unleash an attack on them.

But after criticism, Mr Igboho in a video on Wednesday night made U-turn, saying that his tongue misbehaved when insulting Mr Ogunwusi.

Forgiveness

Speaking with journalists on Thursday, Mr Olafare said his principal has forgiven the acclaimed activist following his apology.

Sunday Igboho still remains a son to Ooni. Baba (father) has already forgiven him because he had tendered an apology via a video clip he produced via social media yesterday evening.

Before tendering the apology, it was the Baba Olugbon of Ile-igbon that first called and informed Arole Oodua on phone that he had scolded Sunday on phone on his misdeeds and that, and that he would soon tender a public apology to him on the matter via a video release. Sunday Igboho thereafter released the video in which he tendered his apology

Even though the way and manner Sunday had behaved was sacrilegious to the Oduduwa throne but he has already apologised and I can confirm that Arole Oodua has forgiven him, because there is no perfection in humanity. Sunday is a human being like any other normal human being who could misbehave as well. No one is perfect.

As the father of all, the Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II remains his father who had even identified with him in the past two weeks he had begun with the struggle and he is still solidly behind him for the liberation of the Yorubas from criminal herdsmen who have adamantly terrorised our land. Just that he must watch his back so that people with ulterior motives will not hijack his movement, Mr Olafare said.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
NEW DELHI: Atleast 12 MPs from ten opposition parties have written a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, requesting him to take steps to protect their rights and also allow a separate discussion on the farmers' issues in the Parliament, saying Delhi's Ghazipur border seems like the 'border between India and Pakistan'.

The MPs who signed the letter to Birla included DMK's K Kanimozhi and Tiruchi Siva, Trinamool Congress' Saugata Roy, Nationalist Congress Party's Supriya Sule, Shiromani Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal, RSP's NK Premchandran, CPI's M Selvaraj, National Conference's Hasnain Masoodi, VCK's Thol Thirumavalavan and Ravi Kumar, and CPI-M's AM Ariff and S Venkateshan.

The MPs are among the parliamentarians who were stopped by the Delhi Police from meeting the agitating farmers at the Ghazipur border earlier in the day.

In the letter, the MPs requested the Speaker to take such steps which "deem fit and proper to you to protect the rights of the elected Members of Parliament and also allow a separate discussion on the farmers' issues in the Parliament".

The parliamentarians said, "Sir, you know that the issue of farmers` agitation demanding repealing of three farm laws passed by the Centre is agitating the country. Farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been doing dharna on the borders of Delhi since more than two months. We have been told that the water supply and electricity to the farmers` tents have been disconnected. Internet services stopped; portable toilets have been taken away."

The government has taken a repressive attitude towards the farmers in order to stifle their agitation, they said in the letter.

"The farmers' issue was raised in the Parliament and opposition parties have demanded a separate discussion on the farmers` agitation which the government has not agreed to so far. We have been receiving messages from the agitating farmers about their plight and pathetic condition, especially of women and children," the letter said.

"This morning at around 10 am all of us went to the Ghazipur border in a bus," said the MPs, adding, "We wanted to physically meet the farmers...The police officers who were present at the border rudely asked us to turn back, showing that there were prohibitory orders."

"We stayed on for some time, trying to persuade the police to let us go inside. But ultimately we failed and came back after an hour. The impression we got at the Delhi -Ghazipur border is like the border between India and Pakistan," it added.

The leaders informed through the letter that the condition of the farmers resembled that of the prisoners in a jail.

"Are we living in a police state where elected representatives of the people cannot meet farmers' representatives? We strongly protest the action of Delhi police in preventing us from meeting the agitating farmers on Delhi borders. We would like the farmers' issues be raised in the Parliament as also the attitude of the Delhi Police, which is under the Union Home Ministry," the MPs said in the letter.

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Session in the Rajya Sabha could only progress after the Opposition parties in the Upper House agreed to the government's proposition of raising farmers' issues as part of debate on Motion of Thanks. The Lok Sabha, however, has seen no headway

The Rajya Sabha on Friday concluded the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President's address while the Opposition parties continued to insist on the repealing of three contentious farm laws, which have spurred a massive farmers' movement along Delhi's borders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the motion on Monday when the House reconvenes at 9 am.

Lok Sabha, meanwhile, experienced another day of a near washout as even the first of speeches on the Motion of Thanks is yet to be completed because of loud, unabated protests from the Opposition. There was no legislative business either as members stormed the well and raised slogans against the Central Government. The Speaker, however, did hold a very brief Question Hour and some papers were laid on the table.

Both the government and Opposition have been blaming each other for the logjam in the Lower House. While the Centre insists that Opposition should agree to pass the Motion of Thanks as is customary and discuss farmers' issue afterwards, the Opposition parties are adamant that all other business needs to be adjourned and the farmers' issue must be taken up foremost.

Session in the Rajya Sabha could only progress after Opposition parties agreed to the government's proposition of raising farmers' issues as part of the debate on Motion of Thanks. The Lok Sabha, however, has seen no headway on that count even as the Parliamentary Affairs minister has claimed that the Opposition had agreed to let the Motion of Thanks pass in a closed-door meeting.

Rajya Sabha

Various opposition parties like the Shiv Sena, SAD, NCP, Samajwadi Party and Left parties on Friday demanded in the Rajya Sabha that the three new farm laws are repealed and fresh ones brought after wider consultations.

Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, the members of Opposition parties criticised the government for dubbing the farmers protesting against the farm laws as "anti-nationals" and for "defaming" their agitation.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut alleged that anyone speaking the truth is dubbed as a "traitor" or "anti-national" and that cases of sedition have been slapped against those criticising the government.

Participating in the debate, he said farmers fighting for their rights have been branded as "anti-nationals" or "Khalistanis".

He said the farmers, who were known as 'warriors' when they fought the Mughals and the British, are now dubbed as anti-nationals when they are fighting for their rights on Delhi's borders.

Raut said farmers from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, who are sitting on the borders of Delhi, are fighting for the peasants from across the country and demanded that their voice be heard and the farm laws are repealed.

"We heard minister Dharmendra Pradhan asking us to listen to the truth. For the last six years, we have been listening to the truth, even the untruth dubbed as truth. The atmosphere in the country today is such that anyone writing the truth is dubbed as a traitor and anti-national," he alleged.

"When the farmers are uniting and fighting for their rights, you see anti-national acts.

"They are not anti-nationals or 'Khalistanis'. Till the time this movement is alive, the nation will remain alive and this 'andolan'.

"If you would have built such barricades at the international borders, as those put up at Delhi borders, China would not have dared to come into Indian territory," the Sena member said.

Praful Patel (NCP) said the Centre and states have together fought the COVID-19 pandemic along with medical professionals and the mortality rate in the country was low as compared to other countries.

He said when the government is talking of working for the welfare of farmers, why did it not send the farm laws to the Select Committee for wider consultations to avoid the situation that has arisen now.

"On our demand, had the government sent the bills to a Select Committee for wider consultations, the scenes witnessed today around Delhi would not have been witnessed. What was the hurry to bring these laws?" he said.

Patel sought to clarify that former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's letter of 2007 is being circulated to misrepresent the facts.

"The 2007 letter he wrote to chief ministers was to seek their comments on the amendment to farm laws. The Bill was never brought in the Parliament. The government, however, is unnecessarily raising the issue to misrepresent facts," he said.

The NCP leader said if the government is ready to put these laws in abeyance for 1.5 years, why does it not repeal them and bring new ones after proper consultations.

BSP member Satish Chandra Misra demanded that the government repeal the three new farm laws and also provide a legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) on all crops, alleging that the government's intention is not clear.

Misra slammed the government for trying to stop farmers' protest and alleged that multi-layered barricades, barbed wires and iron nails studded on roads have been put up on Delhi-borders.

He said water and electricity supplies have been cut and access to toilets have also been stopped.

"This is a human rights violation," he added.

"I am not able to understand when you (the government) are ready to suspend the laws for 1.5 years, what is stopping you to withdraw these Acts," he said, urging the government to shed its ego and accept the farmers' demand.

SAD leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said the prime minister should intervene and listen to the farmers' demands.

The Akali Dal member said the government should accept the farmers' demand to repeal the three laws. He said all Opposition parties are also demanding the same.

Dhindsa said he had written to the prime minister when Ordinances were brought but did not get any reply. He said agriculture is a state subject and the Centre is weakening the federal system by bringing these farm laws.

Highlighting the sacrifice made by Sikhs during the country's Independence struggle, Dhindsa rued that Sikhs are being described as terrorists and Khalistanis.

Dhindsa also said there should be a scientific method to fix the MSP.

Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa demanded setting up a committee headed by a Supreme Court judge to conduct an impartial probe within two months into the incidents on 26 January that led to violence.

He compared the barricades set up at the farmers' protest site at Ghazipur with the Berlin Wall and concentration camps and took a strong objection to farmers being branded as anti-national and Khalistanis.

IUML member Abdul Wahab demanded the restoration of MPLADs fund.

Earlier, CPI member Binoy Viswam hit out at the government for terming the economic crisis as an act of God and said the policies of the government are squarely responsible for the situation and not the almighty.

Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha proceedings were a virtual washout on Friday as a relentless protest by Opposition members against the Centre's three farm laws continued for another day. Lok Sabha was adjourned first till 6 pm after Opposition members disrupted the proceedings demanding the repeal of the three farm laws and shouted slogans from the Well of the House.

As soon as the House convened at 4 pm, members from the Congress, Left parties and the DMK rushed to the Well raising slogans against the new laws and holding placards.

Speaker Om Birla continued with the Question Hour with Health Minister Harsh Vardhan responding to supplementary questions on COVID-19 vaccination.

As Opposition members continued to raise slogans, Birla appealed to them to participate in the Question Hour as an important issue related to vaccination was being discussed.

While Congress, DMK and Left members were in the Well, members from the TMC did not participate in raising slogans. Around 4.15 pm, Birla adjourned the House till 6 pm.

With no letup in the protests when the House reconvened in the evening, the Speaker adjourned its proceedings till Monday after his plea to opposition members to go back to their seats went unheeded.

Tomar defends farm laws, says Opposition offered no valid criticism

Defending the new farm laws, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government's offer to amend them to assuage farmers' sentiments did not mean they had any flaws and none from the protesting unions or their sympathisers have been able to point out any lacuna.

Countering the Opposition's claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three laws, he said in the Rajya Sabha that peasants of just one state are being misinformed and instigated.

In an apparent reference to a booklet released by the Congress recently, the minister slammed the party saying: "Duniya janti hai pani se kheti hoti hai. Khun se kheti sirf Congress hi kar sakti hai, BJP khun se kheti nahi kar sakti (The world knows water is required for farming. Only Congress can do farming using blood. BJP cannot do this)".

Acknowledging that the three laws are currently a burning issue, the senior minister said that Opposition parties criticised the government and even termed the three legislations as "kala kanun" (black law).

"For two months I kept asking farmer unions what is kala in the laws so that I can try to rectify. But I could not get the answer... Also, nobody (from Opposition benches) tried to point out the provisions in the laws which are against farmers," he said.

Tomar, along with two other Union ministers has held 11 meetings with farmers' representatives in wake of the ongoing protests. But the deadlock still continues.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at different borders of the National Capital demanding the repeal of The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement On Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The Supreme Court has stayed their implementation till further order.

The farmers are also demanding a legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The government, Tomar stressed, is committed to the welfare of farmers and to the continuation of the 'mandi' system of procurement of crops on MSP-based mechanism.

The laws give farmers alternatives to sell their produce outside 'mandis', and unlike the state government notified market places, such sale would not attract any tax, he said.

"The agitation should have been against the tax levied (by the state government) on sales made in mandis but strangely the protests are against freeing of the system from such taxes," he said, intervening during the discussion on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the start of the Budget Session.
Police have launched a corporate manslaughter investigation into the death of Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe.

The 14-year-olds body was recovered from a storm drain close to the M2 motorway in June, six days after he went missing.

Detectives are investigating access to the drain network.

This corporate manslaughter investigation will enquire into risk assessments of the storm drain at Premier Drive / culvert network and reporting structures within DfI/Rivers Agency.



The watercourse and storm drain are designated under the Drainage (NI) Order 1973.@MyNoah8 https://t.co/ttbAithb9k  KRW Law Human Rights (@KRWLaw) February 3, 2021

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) statement said: Police can confirm this is a corporate manslaughter investigation.

Detectives have been investigating the circumstances of the death.

Investigation material has been gathered and police are working with the Health and Safety Executive and Public Prosecution Service.

The PSNI said last year they believed Noah entered the drain in the Northwood Road area of north Belfast.

It is owned by the Department for Infrastructure.

The schoolboy had cycled from his home in south Belfast.

His disappearance prompted a major search operation, with hundreds of people from across Belfast involved.

KRW Law, which represents Noahs mother Fiona Donohoe, said: This corporate manslaughter investigation will enquire into risk assessments of the storm drain at Premier Drive / culvert network and reporting structures within DfI/Rivers Agency.

A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure said: The Department can confirm that there is no case against them.

DfI have been advised that an investigation in the offence of corporate manslaughter has been launched and the department is cooperating fully with all aspects of this investigation.

No further comment can be made while these investigations are continuing.





New Delhi, Feb 5 : In a bid to catch up with India over the latter's proactive stance in gifting coronavirus vaccines to its neighbours, China has stepped up its game. The country plans to provide 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to COVAX, the WHO alliance which is supporting developing countries in getting the vaccines.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told the media in Chinese capital Beijing that it would provide 10 million doses of the vaccine to the global COVAX initiative. Three Chinese companies, Sinovac Biotech, Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics will provide the vaccines to COVAX.

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the COVAX programme in April 2020 as a coalition with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (Gavi) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to bring equitable distribution in vaccine supply for the low-income countries. The role of COVAX has become important with the rich nations garnering most of the vaccines for themselves, leaving the more modest nations without any means of protecting their people.

Indian news agency PTI reports that China has offered to supply vaccines to COVAX even as it awaits emergency approval for its shots from the WHO. The communist government seems to be stepping up its efforts at vaccine diplomacy amid fears that India has stolen a lead with its supplies reaching Latin America and Africa shores, besides the immediate neighbourhood. India also has secured commercial orders from countries in the Arab world, South Africa as well as Brazil.

The urgency shown by China is testamount to the fact that it looks at India as a global rival and competition. The country is known as the pharmacy of the world and produces nearly 60 per cent of the world's vaccines. Indian drugs have been known to be at the forefront of the battle against HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in Africa, which found Indian anti retroviral therapy (ART) drugs considerably cheaper. India hopes to repeat the same success for the Covid-19 pandemic, which spread across the world from Wuhan, China in late 2019.

The Chinese Communist Party tabloid Global Times has been releasing a litany of articles on the progress of Indian vaccines, the country's mass immunisation programme and its efforts at gifting the vaccines in its neighbourhood. Most such articles have been disparaging and dismissive of India's successful efforts regarding the development and manufacture of vaccines as also the vaccination drive that is underway.

However, in an editorial on January 27, 'China needs to lead global vaccinations,' the communist party newspaper coaxes the country to take the lead in providing vaccines to the world. The editorial rues the fact that though China has been able to contain the pandemic on its own land, the other countries have taken the lead in vaccinations.

The editorial says: "China also needs to provide large quantities of vaccines to developing countries, and the total number of vaccines exported should be the largest. This is the role China should play as a major manufacturing country, and this is what is expected of China. To accomplish these tasks at the same time, China's vaccine production must speed up as soon as possible. We don't have time to celebrate our past achievements. We need to move forward and focus on the future." Whatever Global Times says, not all is well with the Chinese vaccines. The country reportedly arrested nearly 80 of its own people for trying to smuggle spurious vaccines to Africa. Authorities confiscated 3,000 doses that had been filled with saline water.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

PESHAWAR, Pakistan  Taliban fighters have been called out of their traditional winter break from fighting to front-line duty, three militant leaders tell NBC News, amid growing concerns in their ranks that the Biden administration will not withdraw foreign troops by an agreed May deadline.

Senior commanders and governors have been directed to return to their positions and attend special sessions and discussions to chalk out a future strategy, a Taliban commander in Helmand province said.

He said there were multiple issues that the movements leadership needed to address, including a deadlock in the peace talks with the Afghan government and doubts about the future raised by the new administration in Washington.

Image: Taliban militants (Emran Waak / Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images file)

Like other insurgents cited in this article, the commander spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

The comments come amid growing warnings about escalating violence from local and foreign officials and experts, with President Joe Biden  who assumed office just months before a deadline to withdraw all foreign troops  weighing what to do next in Americas longest war.

Going through with the drawdown would end nearly 20 years of war for America in Afghanistan, but risks emboldening the Taliban whose raison detre for decades has been to force foreign soldiers from the country.

A bipartisan report released Wednesday warned that withdrawing troops irresponsibly would likely lead to a new civil war in Afghanistan and would allow terrorist groups to re-emerge empowered.

A Taliban political leader in Doha, Qatar, said the groups plan was to try and capture strategically important provinces in case talks with the Afghan government failed, and Biden kept troops in the country beyond May  the withdrawal date agreed to by the Taliban and the Trump administration.

He said commanders of important districts had been recalled to their positions.

The militants have misled the media in the past and it remains unclear to what extent the Taliban are willing to act on their rhetoric, but the threat of violence is also echoed in a recent public statement.

Story continues

History has proven that the Afghan Mujahid nation can valiantly defend its values, soil, homeland and rights, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement earlier this week. The Arabic terms mujahed or mujahedeen refer to holy warriors  and became more widely used during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

The Biden team has said its reviewing the situation in Afghanistan and has indicated that it would be prepared to delay troop withdrawal if necessary. There are currently around 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the lowest level since 2001, and approximately 7,500 non-American NATO-led forces.

Around 2,300 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan since 2001. Between October 2001 and October 2018, some 58,000 Afghan military and police were killed in the violence, according to a study by Brown University.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

Afghanistan is also one of the deadliest places in the world to be a civilian. The United Nations documented more than 100,000 civilians killed or injured in the 10 years after 2009, when it began systematically recording the wars impact on civilians.

A wave of assassinations has also recently hit the country, mainly targeting prominent women, journalists and other progressives.

The Taliban has long denied targeting civilians.

Ashley Jackson, a researcher at the Overseas Development Institute, a London think tank, said while the Taliban was unlikely to have a grand strategy at this stage, they would be watching and waiting, and the lack of clarity from the Biden administration risked testing internal discipline among Taliban ranks.

Its incredibly hard on the Taliban in Doha who obviously have guys on the ground who have never trusted the U.S. [to]  stick to the deal, and are eager to return to the battlefield because they think they can make huge gains, if not dominate the country, she said.

The lack of clarity was also hard on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, she said, who also doesnt know whats coming next.

Fawad Aman, a deputy spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of National Defense, said since the U.S. has reduced its troops, Afghan forces had taken responsibility for all ground operations and more than 95 percent of airstrikes.

This is what we have been working for  independent forces able to conduct our own fight, Aman said. NATO has ensured they would continue to provide the funding we still require to support our operations. This is the kind of support we need now.

Aman declined to comment on the Talibans claim that some fighters were returning to their positions.

On Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the administration was reviewing the U.S.-Taliban agreement and assessing whether the Taliban are fulfilling their commitments.

The agreement specified that all foreign forces would withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban. The militants pledged to take steps to prevent any group or individual, including Al Qaeda, from using Afghan soil to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.

U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001, toppling the Taliban government that had sheltered Al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The group also agreed to enter into peace talks with an Afghan delegation  negotiations that have essentially been put on hold as the U.S. reviews its stance, negotiators on both sides of the talks confirmed.

Mushtaq Yusufzai reported from Peshawar and Saphora Smith from the U.K.
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After news reports that Louisianans were heading to Mississippi for coronavirus vaccines, the Mississippi Department of Health said Thursday that Mississippi's inoculations are only for people who live or work in that state.

The clarification on guidelines for out-of-state residents seeking vaccines came one day after NOLA.com reported that more than 5,300 Mississippi vaccines have been given to people with addresses in other states.

+12 Why a small but growing number of Louisianans are driving to Mississippi for coronavirus vaccines When people 70 or older became eligible in Louisiana for the coronavirus vaccine in January, New Orleans resident Phil Costa started calling a

"If they dont work in MS, they should not come here to get a vaccine," Health Department spokesperson Liz Sharlot responded in an email.

"We order vaccine based on population. If you dont meet the ... criteria, you are not welcome to come over here and get a vaccine that is intended for Mississippians or those who work in MS. This is not right, and folks should not be doing it."

Earlier, Sharlot had said people traveling to Mississippi for the vaccine were not a concern.

Sharlot said there are no identification requirements to receive the vaccine in Mississippi, and that verification is based on the honor system.

+2 As coronavirus variant gains ground in Louisiana, officials predict 'another spike in our future' Two additional cases of a more infectious variant of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom have been found in Louisiana and a

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

There is some debate about whether vaccines are a federal resource and whether states may forbid them to non-residents.

So far, only Florida has barred non-residents from getting the vaccine. Florida requires proof of residency in the form of a drivers license or other official document such as a deed, rental agreement or utility bill, according to a public health advisory from the Florida surgeon general's office. People who live part-time in Florida also may receive the vaccine.

In Florida, more than 57,700 people from out of state have received a vaccine out of 1.84 million people total; that's 3.1%. More than 770 of those shots occurred as recently as Wednesday.

By comparison, non-residents receiving vaccines in Mississippi make up 1.9% of the 280,838 people who have received a dose in that state. About 820 of the 5,330 non-residents listed a Louisiana address, but word is spreading. A New Orleans-based group on social media that is touting the easy process of getting inoculated in Mississippi grew by almost 1,000 members from Wednesday to Thursday.

Non-residents from surrounding states have flocked to places such as Mississippi and Florida because their eligibility guidelines included a larger group of people. In both Florida and Mississippi, anyone 65 and older qualifies. In Mississippi, anyone 16 and older with one of a number of medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity or cancer also may get a shot.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that his state also is extending the vaccine to anyone older than 65 starting Monday. The current minimum age is 70.
A plane carrying Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno was forced to make an emergency landing Saturday in Washington at the end of an official visit, the country's communications ministry announced.

Moreno and several members of his government traveling with him were "all fine," the announcement said.

"The president's plane suffered a mechanical failure a few minutes after takeoff from Washington DC and had to make an emergency landing," the ministry said.

"Moreno and all occupants of the plane are fine and will return to Ecuador in the coming hours," it added.

The statement provided no details on the nature of the mechanical defect or the circumstances surrounding the landing.

The Ecuadoran leader, whose four-year term ends on May 24, had just completed an official visit that included meetings with officials in the new administration of President Joe Biden.

He also met with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF in September had granted a $6.5 billion credit to the South American country.

France's leader says it is impossible to have peace and stability in Europe without negotiating with Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged the international community to "reengage a dialogue with Russia," being tough on the Ukraine issue.

"If we want to reengage, we need to reengage a dialogue with Russia. You asked for examples where stopping any dialogue and being stuck in some critical situations like Ukraine or Navalny, that are extremely important and where we have to be tough, in full solidarity, which is the case. But beyond these points, we do need a comprehensive dialogue," he told the Atlantic Council in an interview on February 4, 2021, posted by the Elysee Palace on February 5.

"Having said that, obviously, we have as well the Ukrainian situation with justified sanctions and a process which was designed in Minsk with a Normandy format. And we got some small progresses in December 19 here in Paris. And we are working hard to get more progresses. But in such a context, why did I decide indeed to resume parts of discussions with Russia? I advocate ongoing dialogue," Macron said.

According to the French president, it is necessary to keep a dialogue with Russia since it is part of Europe from a geographical and historical point of view.

"And I think this is very important, whatever happens, to include Russia on this part of the horizon, big part of the world. And clearly, the history of President Putin and a lot of leaders, is completely a European one. They have common values, history, literature, culture, mindset. And we have to take that into consideration," he said.

Read alsoNATO remains ready to address Russian aggressionMacron also believes "it's impossible to have peace and stability in Europe, especially at our borders today, if you are not in a situation to negotiate with Russia."

"And for different reasons, largely due to the Russian aggressivity and the NATO expansion, we created a situation where we pushed our borders to the maximum place at the east, but we didn't manage to decrease conflictuality and threat at this border," the French president said.

According to Macron, a "perspective for the coming years and decades is precisely to find a common way to discuss and build peace and security for the whole continent, which means having a dialogue on cyber aggressivity  obviously on any aggression , on how we see all the critical countries, I would say, in this very sensitive area where you have Ukraine, Belorussia (sic), and so on."

"We need a political discussion with Russia about that. Otherwise, it will be our willingness to protect and the willingness to conquer and dominate. And when I look at the outcomes of the past strategy with Ukraine, with Belorussia (sic) now, and with a lot of countries, our results are not positive. So we have to recreate a framework of discussion for these countries in this part of our continent," he said.

In addition, Macron condemned Russia's recent decision to jail opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

"I think this is a huge mistake, even for Russian stability today. So the Navalny case is a very severe situation. We decided some sanctions. And I do regret, and I do condemn this decision," he added.

Reporting by UNIAN
A care home manager has been left effectively homeless after she was sacked for hosting a Christmas Day lunch 'in breach of Covid rules' - as police threatened to fine residents who took to the streets in protest.

Pam Lewis, 55, cooked up a socially-distanced feast for the isolated residents at Regal Court, Trowbridge in Wiltshire, and set tables six feet apart and masks were worn throughout.

But she was dismissed for breaking company Covid rules and told to leave the home where she has lived for 20 months, prompting residents to gather with placards and posters with slogans such as 'Give us our manager back' and 'Money over morals'.

Pam Lewis, 55, cooked up a socially-distanced feast for the isolated residents at Regal Court, Trowbridge in Wiltshire, and set tables six feet apart and masks were worn throughout

Due to lockdown, other residents chose to protest from their rooms with signs stuck to their windows.

Police attended and told residents that, if repeated, their actions would result in a fine.

A spokesman from Wiltshire Police said: 'We were called to reports of a small gathering at Regal Court. Officers attended and, on arrival, found that most of the individuals had dispersed.

'They identified and engaged with them and they were all advised not to gather again as this is not current permitted under the Covid regulations.'

Ms Lewis was dismissed after she gave up her own Christmas Day lunch with family to provide a treat for the lonely residents who would have spent the day alone.

She said: 'There was a table of three and a table of four, and they were six foot apart. It's a 30ft by 30ft space, with no door, and the windows were open.

'The police came on two occasions, at about 9.30am, then again about 4.30pm.

'The first officer who came was absolutely gobsmacked - she put it down as a malicious report and said 'please don't let it ruin your day, you're not doing anything wrong'.

'All the residents were going to be all alone for Christmas Day, they had no-one. We even had donations to help support the meal.

'We had offered to deliver the meals to people's rooms if they preferred as well.'

Several local people joined the protest in support of Pam, who they said had a reputation for being caring

FirstPort, which manages Regal Court, said they 'cannot condone individual actions which break the rules put in place to protect our vulnerable residents.'

The company claims Ms Lewis broke Firstport's rules when she opened the closed communal lounge when she heard residents would be alone due to government restrictions.

Ms Lewis has worked for FirstPort for three years, and been at Regal Court for 20 months.

She was suspended on January 4 after an investigatory hearing and dismissed on January 15.

The GMB trade union, which is supporting Pam, had also backed the event.

On Wednesday, people lined the streets with homemade placards and signs, pleading for Firstport to reverse their decision to fire Pam.

Regal Court resident Jean Tolworthy had fashioned her display from a pair of tights and a green tea towel to spell out the words 'We Want Pam'.

Debbie, whose dad lives in the complex, said many had been aware of the dinner plans and donated to the event.

She said: 'My father was with me for Christmas, but I'd like to have thought that if he had been alone he would have had Ms Lewis and this dinner.

'Isolation among older people is a very real thing and she recognised that, this whole situation is far-fetched.'

Andy Newman, Wiltshire branch manager for GMB, said: 'We want Firstport to sit up and listen, and this is one way of making that happen. I think people power will prevail.

'FirstPort are worse than Scrooge. At least Scrooge didn't sack Bob Cratchit for organising a Christmas dinner.'

A group of young people who live next door to Regal Court also made signs.

FirstPort, which manages Regal Court, said they 'cannot condone individual actions which break the rules put in place to protect our vulnerable residents'

Cole Schwarz said: 'When we heard the news we were shocked at how she had been treated. We all know how caring Pam is so she doesn't deserve this. It's ridiculous that she got fired.'

But a spokesperson for FirstPort echoed their previous position and added: 'Regal Court is an independent retirement living development, where each apartment constitutes a separate household.

'Therefore, throughout the pandemic, the communal lounge at Regal Court - as with all similar sites managed by FirstPort - has been closed, in line with company policy and government guidance.

'Given this clear instruction of lounge closures, we were extremely concerned to hear about this incident.

'The safety of our residents is our utmost priority. We understand some residents may feel upset, but the development manager breached clear government guidelines, putting residents at risk and undermining wider efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.'

One letter Ms Lewis received thanked her 'for everything you've done' and added: 'You are one of the amazing group of people that have kept the country happy, healthy and sane this year.'

Mell Coates, whose grandmother lives there, said on Facebook: 'My Nan also lives at Regal Court and has a deteriorating health condition.

'Pam has been a tower of support for her and our family before, during and since her diagnosis!

'I cannot thank or praise Pam enough for everything she has done for my Nan and all the other residents of Regal Court. Shame on the people who reported her, and shame on First Port for their decision!!

'There are very few good and decent people in this world and Pam is most definitely one of them and first port will be hard pushed to find any one as caring and dedicated to their job as her.'

Andy Newman, branch representative for the union GMB, said: 'What Pam did was what people the length and breadth of Britain did this Christmas. They did what they could for their community and reached out to those in need.

'The employer has taken a ridiculous view and disregarded the mental wellbeing of these residents.

'The fact she has been thrown out her home and fired is completely disproportionate to what she did - which was use a lounge without asking permission first.'

Resident Mandy Jones referred to Ms Lewis as a 'Fairy Godmother' figure at Regal Court.

She added: 'She is efficient and popular and has kept all the residents in good spirits. She loses not only her job, but her home, due to an unselfish act of kindness.'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 21:04:09|Editor: huaxia

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People who finished their quarantine return to home at the Ronghui residential compound in Daxing's Tiangongyuan subdistrict, Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2021. From Friday, residents of Ronghui residential compound in Daxing are released from quarantine and return to their home in succession. The COVID-19 risk classification of the residential compound was upgraded to high-risk on Jan. 20. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 13:49:18|Editor: huaxia

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MALE, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- It would take up to two years for the Maldives to revive its pandemic-hit and tourism-dependent economy, the country's President Ibrahim Solih was quoted by local media as saying.

The president made the remarks when he delivered an address Thursday marking the reconvening of the Maldives parliament, local media reported on Friday.

Solih highlighted the continuing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way forward in his speech.

"We established a treatment system, trained a total of 362 health workers, and today, we are capable of carrying out more than 5,600 COVID-19 tests a day," Solih said.

Solih urged citizens to register for vaccinations in order to speed up the process of restarting businesses and schools. He noted the relief given to workers and businesses amid the pandemic in the form of subsidies and low-interest loans.

He said it would take up to two years to revive the tourism-dependant economy, which has been one of the most affected sectors by the pandemic.

"In order to recover as soon as possible, the government has begun working on diversifying the economy and significantly boosting our economic activity," Solih said.

The Maldives parliament will hold its first sitting for this year on Feb. 8. Enditem
arun1100 Senior - BHPian



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Pics: Ambassador Car Owners Meet, Bangalore



A group of Ambassador car owners from Bangalore had been thinking of a meet for quite some time. After they had a discussion among themselves, they decided to have a meet on Sunday, the 31st of January. I was invited into this group some time ago and was very glad that I could take part in the upcoming meet. I checked with Karthik (funkykar), he too was excited and wanted to meet up with the other Ambassadors.



Around 5 Ambassadors and a Hindustan 14 met up near Esteem Mall, near the Hebbal Flyover at around 07.30. 2 Ambassadors including my 1960 Mark 1 joined this convoy further ahead at Yelahanka. Owing to the Air show trials, the traffic was unusually high. We all were very lucky to not get into any jams. We sedately drove to hotel Nandi Upachar at Nandi cross after crossing the Bangalore International Airport. This hotel is quite packed always and serves pretty good and delicious breakfast. Undoubtedly, the best hotel in this route. One of the members had made some special arrangement with the hotel to have a dedicated space allotted for our classics. While we exchanged pleasantries, had a good breakfast and sipped some piping hot coffee, the hotel customers admired the beauties. I could see a rising smile and happiness especially with the elderly gentlemen. I was also surprised to see some school going kids know lot of facts about these Ambassadors.



After a sumptuous breakfast, the convoy continued and drove up to Chithravathi Dam, around 100 kms from Bangalore. Owing to some family commitments, funkykar and me had to return home midway. We had quite a journey ourselves. It had been a while since our 1960 Mark 1 stretched its wings. It did triple digit speeds few times and also had a flat while returning.





Participants:

Bhpian Srinand - Hindusthan 14.

Pradeep - Landmaster

Bhpian funkykar and me - Ambassador Mark1

Bhpian ARUN.V - Ambassador Mark2

Bhpian Tonrag - Ambassador Mark2

Suresh - Ambassador Mark2

Mahesh - Ambassador Mark3

Adithya - Ambassador Deluxe



All credit goes to the ones who organized the Meet brilliantly.



Here are some pics of the Ambassadors lined-up at Nandi Upachar.









































On the Hyderabad highway, en-route to Chithravathi Dam.

I've been to numerous FIAT meets and a few Jawa meets; a meet of Ambassador cars was long elusive. Somehow it never happened though I have several friends who passionately own them.A group of Ambassador car owners from Bangalore had been thinking of a meet for quite some time. After they had a discussion among themselves, they decided to have a meet on Sunday, the 31st of January. I was invited into this group some time ago and was very glad that I could take part in the upcoming meet. I checked with Karthik (funkykar), he too was excited and wanted to meet up with the other Ambassadors.Around 5 Ambassadors and a Hindustan 14 met up near Esteem Mall, near the Hebbal Flyover at around 07.30. 2 Ambassadors including my 1960 Mark 1 joined this convoy further ahead at Yelahanka. Owing to the Air show trials, the traffic was unusually high. We all were very lucky to not get into any jams. We sedately drove to hotel Nandi Upachar at Nandi cross after crossing the Bangalore International Airport. This hotel is quite packed always and serves pretty good and delicious breakfast. Undoubtedly, the best hotel in this route. One of the members had made some special arrangement with the hotel to have a dedicated space allotted for our classics. While we exchanged pleasantries, had a good breakfast and sipped some piping hot coffee, the hotel customers admired the beauties. I could see a rising smile and happiness especially with the elderly gentlemen. I was also surprised to see some school going kids know lot of facts about these Ambassadors.After a sumptuous breakfast, the convoy continued and drove up to Chithravathi Dam, around 100 kms from Bangalore. Owing to some family commitments, funkykar and me had to return home midway. We had quite a journey ourselves. It had been a while since our 1960 Mark 1 stretched its wings. It did triple digit speeds few times and also had a flat while returning.Bhpian Srinand - Hindusthan 14.Pradeep - LandmasterBhpian funkykar and me - Ambassador Mark1Bhpian ARUN.V - Ambassador Mark2Bhpian Tonrag - Ambassador Mark2Suresh - Ambassador Mark2Mahesh - Ambassador Mark3Adithya - Ambassador DeluxeAll credit goes to the ones who organized the Meet brilliantly. Last edited by arun1100 : 4th February 2021 at 12:35 .


AS the white pirogue drifted in the waters just off Belle Garden in Tobago early yesterday morning, fishermen working nearby knew something was wrong.

What they saw in the small vessel stunned them.

Fourteen bodies, all of them male, along with a skull and other skeletal remains, were piled inside the vessel as it floated four miles off Belle Garden, police confirmed.

The bodies were all clad in tracksuits and green rain jackets and were severely decomposed, police investigators said.
WHITE AND TIPPECANOE COUNTIES, Ind. (WLFI)  Opposition is gaining energy against a bill regulating wind and solar farms in Indiana.

"It's just a bad, bad bill," says White County Commissioner David Diener.

White County is home to several wind and proposed solar farms, but Diener says that choice should be up to local governments.

"It's great if no one else wants them, we'll just get more of them," he says.

But House Bill 1381 sets default standards for the installation of wind and solar farms.

"We're opposed to that because it takes away the local control," says Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh.

Tippecanoe County restricts wind farms and recently rolled out regulations on solar farms, according to a previous reports by News 18.

"We'd hate to see that all just thrown away and have to abide by a statewide mandate," Murtaugh says.

But State Representative Ed Soliday, the bill's author, says renewable energy companies are hesitant to invest in Indiana because local governments can say no.

"Local control, I believe in it," Soliday says. "But there's a limit to local control. You know what that is? When your local government's actions impact a different local government's reality."

He'd rather attract those companies instead of buying energy from other states.

"Who do we want to be as a state? What do we want to pay for electricity?" he says. "Because the renewable train is coming down the track."

The bill also regulates the permit and approval process of solar and wind farms and allows appeals to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

"If the company feels they were treated inappropriately, just willful and capricious, they can appeal to the IURC," Soliday says.

But Diener says that passes the buck to state legislature and then to a state-appointed board.

"If someone says, 'No, I don't like your permitting so I'm going to go to the state and they're going to give me a permit and we'll cut you out,'" he says. "Does that make any sense?"

The bill has been assigned to the Committee on Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications. A hearing and testimony on the bill is expected next week.
[February 05, 2021] Washington Governor Jay Inslee, alongside Congressmembers Karen Bass and Jared Huffman, to Kick Off The Marine Mammal Center's Ocean Policy Webinar Series on February 9

The Marine Mammal Center - the world's largest marine mammal hospital in the world - has announced the launch of a webinar series that will focus on what needs to be done in 2021 and beyond in order to preserve the ocean and its inhabitants for generations to come. The Ocean Policy Webinar Series will start with four high-powered webinars, and will feature experts in ocean policy, advocacy, and conservation. The first webinar will be headlined by Governor Jay Inslee, Congressmember Karen Bass, and Congressmember Jared Huffman, and will take place on February 9 at 10 AM PST. Pre-registration is required, and details can be found at www.marinemammalcenter.org/get-involved/events/ocean-policy-webinar-series/. The webinar series comes after a tumultuous year that saw ocean pollution rapidly increase and a growing focus on the fight against climate change, especially on the national stage in the 2020 presidential election. "The significant focus on the environment this past year inspired us to launch this series focused on the health of our ocean and its inhabitants," said Dr. Jeff Boehm, CEO of The Marine Mammal Center. "This series will convene the brightest minds in ocean policy and advocacy, and our goal is to spark a coast-to-coast commitment to global ocean conservation." The first webinar will focus on What the 2020 Election Means for Climate Change and Our Ocean. With the 2020 election cycle in the rearview mirror, the Center is looking forward to what the Biden/Harris administration and the new Congress will mean for the future of Federal policy on combatting climate change and helping the ocean's health. The series will kick off with Washington's Governor Jay Inslee joining as panelist. Inslee has dedicated much of his public service to battling climate change, starting in his time in Congress. As Governor of Washington, Inslee has prioritized tackling climate change, advancing clean energy and protecting ocean health. Under Inslee's leadership, Washington adopted groundbreaking climate policies and the first-ever comprehensive ocean acidification plan. Congressmember Karen Bass, who has served the Los Angeles area in Congress since 2011, will join Inslee on the panel. Bass served as the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucusin 2019 and 2020, and has served on the Judiciary Committee since 2012. In April 2020, Bass cosponsored The Environmental Just For All Act, which seeks to restore, reaffirm, and reconcile environmental justice and civil rights.



Congressmember Jared Huffman rounds out the powerhouse panel of policymakers. Since 2013, Huffman has served as the U.S. Representative from California's 2nd Congressional District, which includes The Marine Mammal Center's headquarters in Sausalito. In October 2020, Huffman introduced the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act, which would provide a boost to the climate resiliency of marine wildlife and coastal communities. "The next few years will prove to be crucial for our ocean and our climate as a whole, and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to fighting the climate crisis to protect the future of our planet," said Governor Inslee. "For the past four years, we have been in this fight without federal partners, and now that has changed. This series and conversations with both state and federal leaders are critical to identifying and accelerating solutions that will dramatically improve ocean health for generations to come."

The next three webinars in the series are: March 9: Climate Change Through the Eyes of Marine Mammals

Climate Change Through the Eyes of Marine Mammals April 13: Stop Ocean Plastic Pollution - Public and Private Strategies

Stop Ocean Plastic Pollution - Public and Private Strategies May 11: The Future of Ocean Policy on Marine Mammals The panelists for these three webinars will be announced in the coming weeks. The series will be moderated by award-winning journalist and former host of CNN Newsroom, Carol Costello. Her distinguished broadcasting career spans three decades, and has covered a broad variety of topics - from interviewing four US presidents to covering the world's most significant news stories. ABOUT THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: Headquartered on the site of a former Cold War missile base, The Marine Mammal Center is a global leader in marine mammal health, science and conservation, and is the largest marine mammal hospital in the world. The Center's teaching hospital and training programs operate globally, with its headquarters in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, part of the National Park Service. Expert teams from the Center travel around the world to work with emerging first responders and has itself rescued more than 24,000 marine mammals from 600 miles of its authorized rescue area of California coastline and the Big Island of Hawai'i. The Center's mission is to advance global ocean conservation through marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, scientific research, and education. For more information, please visit MarineMammalCenter.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005512/en/

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In April, as COVID-19 cases exploded across the U.S. and local officials scrambled for solutions, a police department in Connecticut tried a new way to monitor the spread of the virus. One morning, as masked shoppers lined up 6 feet apart outside Trader Joes in Westport, the police department flew a drone overhead to observe their social distancing and detect potential coronavirus symptoms, such as high temperature and increased heart rate.

According to internal emails, the captain flying the mission wanted to take advantage of the stores line. But the store had no heads-up about the flight, and neither did the customers on their grocery runs, even though the drone technology managed to track figures both inside and outside. The drone program was unveiled a week later when the department announced its Flatten the Curve Pilot Program in collaboration with the Canadian drone company Draganfly, which was due to last through the summer.

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But less than 48 hours later after the programs public unveiling, the police department was forced to dump it amid intense backlash from Westport residents.

To have my vitals monitored by drones without my knowledge of permission is beyond words, wrote one alarmed resident in an email to the county government. This is straight out of an Orwellian nightmare.

The Westport Police Department is one of multiple law enforcement agencies across the country to have received a freebie from a drone company in attempts to combat COVID-19. An investigation by the Documenting COVID-19 project at Columbia Universitys Brown Institute for Media Innovation in collaboration with Slate shows how police departments in multiple states were loaned surveillance technology from foreign companies Draganfly and DJI, which sought to use the pandemic as an opportunity to expand in the lucrative U.S. market. Emails obtained by FOIA requests show that agencies received drones fitted with thermal cameras and intercoms to disperse crowds, broadcast coronavirus information to homeless populations, and, in some cases, monitor health vitals. Other agencies have turned down DJIs drone technology, speculating that the data was being sent back to Chinaa concern that piqued the FBIs interest.

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In emails discussing the proposed rollout of Westports drone programwhich included missions to collect data from people outside grocery stores, commuters getting off a train, and people in the parkDraganfly and the police department agreed that distinguishing facial features would be blurred on the drone footage to make the persons unrecognizable. Even so, emails indicate that they were cautious of stating these capabilities in the press release announcing the program. A week before the partnership was announced, Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas wrote, as long as we stay away from facial recognition and stay on top of rather than away from privacy issues we should be good.

Yet despite the companys commitment to blur the drone footage, its promotional videos are shot at very low altitudes in which you can clearly see individuals features. Indeed, Draganfly briefly used footage of the Trader Joes test in a promotional video. Furthermore, as Faine Greenwood wrote for Future Tense in May, Draganflys technology had only been tested in controlled, experimental settingsnot real-world environments with moving people. There is no actual evidence that fever-detecting drones actually work. Emails indicate that the drone did pick up shoppers temperatures, though they dont say anything about confirming the accuracy. The drone also couldnt gauge heart or respiratory rates, as shoppers were wearing masks.

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This is another case in which technology is expanding police capability without full public discussion about whether we want that.  Kentaro Toyama

After the program was announced, in the face of harsh scrutiny, the company and police department rushed to remove the Trader Joes tapeparts of which were broadcast by local newsfrom the public domain. We sent it to our shareholders and some media which we are trying to get back, wrote Draganfly CEO Cameron Chell on April 21. We are working to replace it all but inevitably some will still exist.

Draganfly said the flight was conducted as an autonomous social distance measuring application only, at a time when very little was known about how the virus was transmitted. The company told Slate the software was used to understand patterns to allow officials to react quicker to ongoing or new potential health threats and did not collect individualized data. The Westport Police Department declined an interview request, citing the April 23 press release that announced that, despite its commitment to bring its community the most innovative solutions to the public safety problems it was facing, the department would no longer participate in the program due to the concerns of citizens.

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However, internal emails also suggest community outrage was not the only reason the program was ditched and that ultimately it may not have even been the police departments decision. The assistant town attorney reviewed the drones insurance coverage after the programs announcement, and CIRMA, the insurance company, expressed concerns with privacy and HIPAA, asking to review the contracts between the town of Westport and Draganfly with particular regards to the data being collected and how it is being used, stored and transmitted.

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Before CIRMAs review could even take place, and as the police department intended to modify the program to only monitor social distancing, the towns leadership did a U-turn and decided to completely withdraw. In this time when emotions are highly charged, we may need to pull back and assure people that we have your backs,  wrote Eileen Francis, the Selectmens Office manager, and we are not going to show an inkling that we may infringe upon your civil liberties. The administrations office said the drone program was ultimately not utilized and declined to further comment.

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Experts have also expressed fears of normalizing the use of increasingly enhanced surveillance systems by law enforcement. This is another case in which technology is expanding police capability without full public discussion about whether we want that, said Kentaro Toyama, professor of community information at the University of Michigan. These are slippery slope types of technology.

Draganfly wasnt the only company to donate drones to law enforcement last spring. Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), a Chinese-owned company and the largest seller of commercial drones in the U.S., launched its Disaster Relief Program in 2019 to quickly send drones to public safety agencies dealing with local emergencies such as tornadoes and floods. In April 2020, in response to the pandemic, DJI reinvented the program, inviting law enforcement agencies that were already registered with the Federal Aviation Administration to apply for additional drones to aid their coronavirus response. DJI said it received several hundred responses from police departments, as well as fire departments and state patrols, that hoped to implement COVID-19 programs to observe their countys testing sites or reach their homeless populations using speaker-equipped drones. The company ultimately offered 100 Mavic 2 Enterprise drones to 45 agencies.

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When some police departments did receive the drones, they found that they were not in fact free but instead loaned by DJI to try out and either be purchased or returned in 90 days, according to emails. DJI says some drones were loaned to departments and others were donated, depending on the agencies requirements.

However, after a select few departments made their new drone programs public and hit media headlines, community members and government officials responded with outrage. After a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee tweeted a link to an MSNBC story stating that the Chinese-made drones were used to spy on and lecture Americans about the coronavirus, DJI sent a note of encouragement to its clients.

Obviously you and other public safety agencies which received drones through the DJI Disaster Relief Program are not using drones to spy on and lecture Americans,  wrote Romeo Durscher, then director of public safety integration at DJI, on April 21. Presumably your agencies are not flying any missions which have any possible bearing on national security; instead, you are using drones in a transparent and responsible fashion, flying over areas with no geopolitical significance, in order to protect the health of your communities and yourselves.

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Slate has identified 16 police departments across the U.S. that received drones as part of the Disaster Relief Program, but the company denied a request for the full list of agencies participating. By May 1, agencies had flown 332 flights related to COVID-19 with DJI drones, according to internal emails. It remains unclear how many departments continue to use them for pandemic purposes.

However, some police departments had suspicions about data protections before even receiving their donation. After Jarrod M. Bruder, executive director of the South Carolina Sheriffs Association, learned that law enforcement agencies in the state were to receive drone donations, he sent out a mass email to the states sheriff departments. These drones are suspected to be spy drones and may be collecting/reporting information to China, Bruder wrote on April 22. Its sad to say, but donations in this day and timeeven to law enforcement agenciesmust be vetted thoroughly before we receive and implement the goods or services.

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DJI has been the subject of federal pushback for several years, and there have been multiple attempts to remove the companys drones from U.S. law enforcement agencies fleets. Classified documents obtained through FOIA include warnings and memos from the FBI and Department of Defense on the national security risks of Chinese-made drones but do not specifically name DJI.

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In early 2020, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the American Security Drone Act, which sought to ban federal departments and agencies from purchasing drones manufactured or assembled in counties named for national security concerns, including China. But in December the House and Senate rejected a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would have banned the purchase of Chinese drones by U.S. federal agencies.

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Durschers email to reassure DJIs clientele stated that photos, videos, and flight logs generated from the drones are not transferred to the company unless you deliberately choose to do so. But experts have pointed out that the potential for abuse is exacerbated by the lack of clear regulations surrounding drones in the U.S., particularly regarding the use of their surveillance capacities. There is a risk that the data that is collected will be used in a certain way beyond its stated purpose, said Jeramie Scott, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Centers Domestic Surveillance Project.

The potential for abuse is exacerbated by the lack of clear regulations surrounding drones in the U.S.

DJI says that claims it improperly handles its data are absolutely false and are narratives pushed for political reasons. Public safety agencies know to protect their data when using DJI drones, said Adam Lisberg, corporate communications director at DJI. They never have to put it on the internet or share with us. Nothing is automatically transferred to China.

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More recent emails show the FBI believed additional due diligence was needed. On April 20, a detective from the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness emailed the Elizabeth Police Department asking for further details on the DJI drone donation and if the FBI could inspect the drones. Any information regarding these drones is going to be put into a joint OHSP/FBI write up to advise various departments across the country on potential drawbacks to utilizing DJI products, the email said.

The NJOHSP said there was no case or investigation into the DJI drones by the department but that DJI has been publicly named by several government agencies as having potential vulnerabilities due to foreign ties. (The FBI does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations).

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DJI said it stopped outreach for the program early in the summer as departments started sending back the drones, finding it increasingly untenable to continue operating due to the criticism surrounding DJI and questions about the safety of its data protection. Its very unfortunate because you have proven valuable technology which could help people, Lisberg said. Its a damn shame.

For some police departments, the drones were useful, helping to disperse crowds and facilitate outreach to their communities. In April, the Chula Vista Police Department in Californiawhich has had a well-known Drone as First Responder program since 2018received three drones from DJI that were used to provide COVID-19 information to homeless encampments. Department notes on the key benefits for drone use said the police departments very limited staff would be stretched thin during the pandemic. In partnership with the county health department and homeless outreach team, the police department flew a speaker-equipped drone on two missions around encampments broadcasting announcements to direct people to hand-washing stations, social services, and shelter spaces. This is a public health advisory, the sample script read. This is the Chula Vista Police Department. We are concerned about your safety due to the current pandemic.

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In emails, members of the department said the missions received a tremendous response. According to them, the two flights resulted in a total of 28 people coming to a staging area to receive COVID-related services such as a free health screening, free masks, and sanitation kitsand the first three-hour mission would have taken two days to provide the same service without drone support.

But homeless advocates have since expressed concerns about the obtrusive and dehumanizing nature of using drones as well as the potential to create further distrust between police and citizens. The appropriate response here is not law enforcement, said Megan Hustings, deputy director of National Coalition for the Homeless. Its like flying a drone through someones window. Its very scary, very invasive and very disrespectful.

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The Chula Vista Police said homeless advocates were not consulted on the program and that it made a conscious decision to utilize the drones to provide services to a hard-to-reach population while preserving the safety of its officers. There was no intrusion into personal space, said Capt. Don Redmond, who added that the drones were approximately 100 to 150 feet up, low enough so people could hear the speaker but high enough to avoid trees. The drones have not been used for pandemic purposes since, but the police department has not ruled out using them again in collaboration with the county health department.

However, other police departments, such as Battle Creek in Michigan, never even took their drones out of the box. We initially thought it is one more tool in the toolbox if we need it, Chief Jim Blocker of Battle Creek Police Department told Slate. But throwing a drone in would be even more complicated and further disassociate us. It will be a sad day when you call 911 and a robot turns up at your door.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  Micro, small, and medium enterprises or MSMEs in the country will "indirectly" benefit from the recently ratified Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE Bill, a lawmaker said on Friday.

Marikina Second District Rep. Stella Quimbo explained many huge corporations are partnering with MSMEs in the provision of their services, thus the small businesses will also experience gains from the CREATE Bill.

"We have to understand that MSMEs are part of the ecosystem of large corporations. Many of our large corporations outsource services from small ones," Quimbo told CNN Philippines' The Final Word.

Quimbo's remark was in response to economic think tank IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa, who on Thursday said only large companies will benefit from the CREATE Bill.

"It's much better to put the same 130-billion in people's pockets that's going to be spent and make more small businesses feel that it's worthwhile to stay open. There will be a much bigger multiplier effect here than improving the balance sheets of large corporations," Africa said.

RELATED: Economic think tank: PH gov't policies not enough to keep economy afloat

Among the CREATE Bill's salient features include lowering corporate income tax from 30% to 25% for large corporations, 20% for small and medium corporations (with net taxable income below 5 million and total assets below 10 million), up to 17 years of incentives for exporters, and four to seven years income tax holiday and ten years of special corporate income tax for "critical domestic enterprises."

Quimbo, a noted economist, emphasized the CREATE Bill is an important tool for the Philippine economy's recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic since the measure's provision on rationalizing fiscal incentives will encourage more foreign direct investments in the country.

"But exactly how many (jobs), that will be quite difficult to estimate for now. Some would say an additional two million jobs and I've seen some estimates way over that. As a result of more generous incentives, we should be expecting more foreign direct investments," she said.

The Marikina lawmaker added amending the economic provisions of the Constitution, specifically on easing foreign ownership restrictions in selected business sectors in the country, will also aid the country's economic recovery amid the global health crisis.

The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments has adopted a resolution proposing to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution. Plenary debates on the amendments are expected to start next week.

As of October, the Philippines has an unemployment rate of 8.7% or around 3.8 million Filipinos, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. The National Economic and Development Authority on Thursday said the country's unemployment rate may temporarily rise in 2022 due to the influx of K-12 graduates.

The Philippine economy shrank by another 8.3% in the last three months of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cripple consumer spending and business activity. This brought the overall economic performance for the entire year to -9.5%, the sharpest since the PSA started collecting data on annual growth rates in 1946.

RELATED: PH economy plunges by record -9.5% in 2020 as Q4 GDP maintains slump
THE NEST 

Rated M, 107 minutes, in selected cinemas

Its been roughly a decade since the American indie thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene, about a young woman trapped in a cult, showed the world which of the Olsen sisters can act. Since then, weve seen a good deal of that films star Elizabeth Olsen, who can currently be found on the small screen in WandaVision. But Sean Durkin, the films Canadian writer-director, has been much less visible.

Carrie Coon and Jude Law star in The Nest.

The silver lining is that hes had a good deal of time to mull things over. Durkins long-awaited second feature, The Nest, is not adapted from a novel but it seems like it could have been, in part because he plainly knows much more about his characters than he chooses to reveal: the story is told through a series of vignettes that often end abruptly, with crucial events kept offscreen.

The backdrop is the world of commodities trading in the 1980s, on the eve of an era of deregulation that will spell doom for smaller companies and a feeding frenzy for their larger rivals. The go-getting Rory OHara (Jude Law) is a minnow in this pond, even if we accept his claim that he was once, briefly, a millionaire.

An Australian weatherman has revealed how he ran into the ocean moments after appearing on live TV to help pull a body out of the water - amid the search for a missing Briton.

Luke Bradnam, a reporter for Australia's Channel Nine, plunged into the surf off the Gold Coast, 40 miles south of Brisbane, just after finishing a live weather segment on Friday after noticing a swimmer in trouble.

But once he was out among the waves he realised the 'swimmer' was in fact a body floating in the water, which he then helped bring back to shore.

The body was discovered amid the hunt for Briton Jake Jacobs, 32, who disappeared on the same stretch of coastline on Thursday night.

British national Jake Jacobs, 32, was last seen entering the surf at Kurrawa Beach, Broadbeach - on the Gold Coast - about 9.20pm on Thursday night

Jacobs was last seen entering the water with a woman, 29, around 9.20pm on Thursday, and neither of them has been seen since.

A woman's body has also been recovered from the ocean since then, but it is unclear if the dead pair and the missing pair are one and the same.

'It was just an incredible moment,' Bradnam told Daily Mail Australia after pulling the dead man from the water.

'We'd seen this boogie board rider motioning to us from the water and he looked like he was in distress. I felt like I had to do something because there didn't look like there was anyone else around who'd be much good.'

Bradnam, a member of Northcliffe Surf club and a strong swimmer, had been reporting on the Gold Coast's treacherous surf conditions from Narrowneck all week.

Channel Nine broadcaster Luke Bradnam raced into the ocean at Narrowneck beach on the Gold Coast on Friday night moments after being asked for help by a boogie board rider

Authorities with the body pulled from the water in treacherous surf conditions at Narrowneck, on the Gold Coast

'I got out there and sure enough, there's a body face down in the water.

'The body boarder was looking like he was in shock and I've never experienced anything like that. I've never seen a dead body before.

'Because I'm a swimmer I knew how to get us of the rip. I just knew to maintain my composure and get us into a position to get back to the shore.'

'I didn't even know if I could swim out there because I tore a muscle in my shoulder at the gym during the week and my arm is meant to be in a sling.

'It held up long enough to get him back to shore.'

He said he had the body in a 'brother handshake' with the boogie boarder as they brought him back to the shore.

'Thankfully the police arrived as we got to the shore because we didn't know what to do, there were people taking their evening stroll along the beach,' he said.

'I'm just happy we might be able to give closure to a family,' said Bradnam after the ordeal. 'Experiencing this, I have even more respect for police and ambos who do this every day.'
The new structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the control system has proven effective and was praised by Ukraine's international partners, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel General Ruslan Khomchak said in connection with the anniversary of the completion of the first stage of reforming the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"The new troop structure and control system has proven effective and was highly praised by our international partners, in particular, during the strategic command and staff exercises Joint Efforts - 2020. During the Joint Forces Operation, it is being tested for strength in real combat conditions, ensuring a reliable containment of the Russian aggressor in the East of our country," Khomchak said in a statement published on Friday.

He said that on February 5, 2020, in pursuance of the joint Directive of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, new commands were created - the Joint Forces Command, the Medical Forces Command, the Support Forces Command, the Logistics Forces Command and the Command of the Communications and Cyber Security Forces. The transformed and tested structure presupposes a clear delineation of powers between military command and control bodies under the NATO principles.

"I would like to thank the personnel of the newly created commands for their willingness to change, support and stability, adherence to principles and responsibility. After all, this is only the beginning of the implementation of practical steps on the way to NATO, which I have the honor to take. I am sure that we will successfully overcome it by making our contribution to Ukraine's acquisition of full membership in the Alliance for the security and prosperity of our state," Khomchak said.
There is widespread opposition among Coles workers throughout the country to the United Workers Unions attempts to ram through a sell-out deal at the companys Smeaton Grange warehouse in southwestern Sydney.

In a significant stand for all Coles staff and the working class as a whole, Smeaton Grange employees voted down an enterprise agreement that had been pushed by the union, in an online ballot on Tuesday. The vote signals the determination of workers to fight the closure of their facility, and the scheduled destruction of most, if not all, of the 350 jobs there.

Locked-out Coles workers at the Smeaton Grange picket (WSWS Media)

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is holding an online meeting Saturday, 5 p.m. (AEDT), entitled After Smeaton Grange workers reject union sell-out: The way forward for Coles and Woolworths workers. (Click here to register and participate.)

The SEP has stressed the need for a break with the UWU, and the establishment of independent rank-and-file committees at warehouses operated by Coles and its chief competitor Woolworths throughout the country. The critical importance of this step is underscored by the fact that the attempt to close Smeaton Grange is just the first in a series of planned shutterings.

Over the next four years, Coles and Woolworths are intending to close at least eight warehouses, at the cost of at least 3,500 jobs. The SEP is calling for a unified industrial and political struggle by all employees in the sector, to defeat the mass job-cull.

The UWU has suppressed information about the more than two-month lockout of the Smeaton Grange workers, and its attempts to ram through a sell-out, from other Coles employees across the country, including at warehouses in Brisbane and Melbourne.

A Coles warehouse worker in Melbourne told the WSWS: What is happening at Smeaton Grange is unfair and unjust. The workers there are being played with, all because of money.

People have recently started discussing it at our work because they have read the article from the World Socialist Web Site. The union and management were keeping it quiet.

What is happening there is terrible. It is so void of humanity. They try to make these workers disposable. The workers rejected the agreement, now the union is trying to force them to accept what theyve already voted to reject.

The law is preventing the workers from standing up for their own rights. Forming a rank-and-file committee will take a lot of work, but I think it is definitely doable, if everyone has the same vision and compassion for other workers and for themselves. On the global scale, the working class should be able to take back the power from the people who have it.

It is quite interesting and a lot of people at work have started to discuss this. A lot of people are keen to leave the union altogether. All they do is take $12 out of our pay cheques each week.

Last August, there was an outbreak of COVID in our warehouse, and 30 people got the virus. Every one of those and their close contacts were placed in isolation. Those left behind had to do 12-hour shifts for six days a week. All you could do was go to sleep to get ready for the next day.

There was not much communication as to who was at risk or anything. It was quite stressful. The union was nowhere to be seen.

It went on for about a month. For the first two weeks we were expected to push out as many orders as we could, to make up for the missing people. Then they mass hired from another agency to make up for the ones in isolation. It was like a game of luck, how can you put a number on somebodys life?

The union doesnt come and talk to us at all. The only contact was on my induction day. Somebody did a speech and we were given some papers, to have the deduction taken from our wages. The only thing they said was if you were to lose employment, they would be able to help you find other employment.

I think you are supposed to be able to apply for permanent part time or full time after 18 months as a casual. They decide by your work rate, and your attendance, whether you are worthy to become full time. But there are people who have worked there for five years who are still casual.

The unions and the government have been shaking hands and being best buddies.

Another worker at a Melbourne warehouse said he thought that what was happening at Smeaton Grange might come to Melbourne. Ive been working for over a year as a casual and when it gets busy it is very challenging. If someone gets injured, they cant get Workcover compensation because it is so complicated if youre not permanent. When it is quiet you dont get many hours and shifts are cancelled.

Ive not seen any tangible evidence of the union defending Coles workers in Sydney, casual workers, or workers in general. Last time I spoke to the Socialist Equality Party you said that you were planning to have a new organisation. As I said the UWU are not doing what they should do for workers. The $400 that they gave to the Smeaton Grange workers, who have been locked out for ten weeks, is nothing.

Two Coles warehouses in Brisbane are also slated for closure, threatening more than a thousand jobs. A worker at one of them told the WSWS: We were sat down at a meeting to discuss our enterprise agreement, organised with the unions, which included redundancy terms. Everyone signed off on the agreement. Two weeks later the Coles management informed all the workers here that the factory will be closing

The union delegates have been leaving since the announcements were made. They understand that workers are getting done over and dont want to be a part of it.

We encourage all Coles, Woolworths and other workers to attend the SEP public meeting at 5p.m. (AEDT) tomorrow. Click here to register and participate.
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The Volta River Authority (VRA), says its health professionals are adequately equipped to handle COVID-19 cases at the Akosombo International School, and called for calm.



A statement from the Corporate Affairs and External Relations Unit of the Authority on Friday, February 05, said, following the reopening of schools, COVID-19 screening had been ongoing for staff and students.



It said all who tested positive so far were stable and without symptoms, but in isolation for further management and treatment by VRA Hospital Staff.



The statement said parents of students were duly informed and urged staff and students to continue with strict adherence to all COVID-19 safety protocols.



The Ghana Education Service (GES), ahead of the reopening of schools, issued guidelines to provide concrete steps for safe operations through prevention, early detection and control of COVID-19 in schools and other educational facilities.



The Service said the goal of the guidelines was to ensure that learners, teaching and non-teaching staff were safe in school and charged schools to enforce regular handwashing with soap under running water, use alcohol-based hand sanitiser and regularly disinfect and clean school surfaces such as door handles, tables and chairs.



It also urged them to enforce the wearing of face masks and ensure social distancing during class sessions and social events.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Now it is up to voters to decide whether Pennsylvanias General Assembly should have a say in how long a governors emergency disaster declarations should last.

The state House of Representatives on Friday cast the final vote on needed to get three proposed constitutional amendments on the May 18 primary ballot for ratification by voters. The legislation passed the chamber by a 116-86 vote. It passed the Senate by a 28-20 vote last week.

Two of the proposed amendments deal with the fight that has been brewing between Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers since last spring over the governors handling of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A third deals with enshrining in the state constitution that individuals cannot be discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity. There is broad bipartisan support for the proposed anti-discrimination amendment, although Democratic lawmakers made it clear they would have liked to see it extended to the LGBTQ community as well.

The backing of the other two amendments dealing with emergency disaster declarations fell closely to party lines in both chambers.

Specifically, one of the amendments would limit the length of an emergency disaster to 21 days, but it could be extended through passage of a concurrent resolution of the General Assembly. Currently, the constitution allows a governors emergency disaster to last up to 90 days and can be extended indefinitely.

A separate amendment would allow the General Assembly to terminate an emergency disaster without having to present it to the governor for his signature. This stems from a state Supreme Court ruling that said the General Assembly cant act unilaterally to end a governors emergency declaration. The court said it would have to win the governors approval to take effect.

Wolf has extended his COVID-19 disaster declaration three times since the first case emerged in Pennsylvania on March 6. He has renewed his January 2018 opioid disaster declaration to help the state fight the then-burgeoning opioid and heroin epidemic 12 times so far.

Lawmakers havent bemoaned the renewals of the opioid disaster declarations as much as they have the ones dealing with the pandemic.

Wolf, in trying to curb the transmission of COVID-19, ordered businesses his administration determined to be non-essential to close with little advance notice. Schools were ordered to halt in-person learning and extra-curricular activities. Restrictions that continue to be placed on restaurants and bars limiting occupancy continue to enrage that industry and caused some to close. Masking orders and crowd limits, among other decisions made without having to obtain legislative approval, also angered legislators.

In June, the GOP-controlled Legislature passed concurrent resolutions that sought to end the COVID-19 emergency. Wolfs veto of that resolution when it was presented to him led to the Supreme Court case that resulted in the court upholding the governors veto.

The high court ruled the General Assembly gave the governor expansive powers through its passage of the Emergency Services Management Code and so it must adhere to the constitutional requirement of presentment even when attempting to overturn the governors delegated putative authority to suspend laws.

Republicans lawmakers argue these proposed constitutional changes will put key decisions in responding to emergencies in the hands of elected state officials who closest to the people.

Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, said last week having one person calling all the shots in an emergency is a recipe for a constitutional crisis.

We will make this work better for Pennsylvanians, Ward said.

During Fridays House debate of the proposal, Rep. Seth Grove, R-York County, pointed out similar efforts to clip a governors emergency powers are happening in other states, including several where Republicans control both the Legislature and the governors office. He also pointed out in other states where their Legislature already has the power to end emergency declarations, they havent.

This is about us the legislative branch. This is about retaining our power within our constitutional boundaries, Grove said. He called it necessary to provide a check and balance on the executives powers. Its time this body reaffirmed itself in this crisis.

Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon County, reminded that the legislation gives the voters the final say in whether these amendments are added to the states constitution. It will give the people of our commonwealth, our bosses, the chance to reform and alter their form of government, he said, in urging support for its passage.

Talking to reporters afterward, Grove said if approved by voters, this wouldnt affect other executive powers such as the discretion the state health secretary has under the Disease Prevention and Control Act to do such things as issue mask orders but it would provide lawmakers with the opportunity to negotiate with a governor in deciding an appropriate path forward in dealing with an emergency.

Wolf and many Democratic lawmakers maintain that protection of the health and safety of the states residents is at the heart of the governors decisions made during the COVID-19 emergency. They see the proposed amendments as an attempted power grab by the Republican majorities in the legislative chambers to take over the responsibilities and duties of a governor. They also say it could endanger the speed of responding to emergencies by having to wait for legislative approval.

Given that it would limit a governors emergency declaration to 21 days, Rep. Margo Davidson, D-Delaware County, said, On Day 22 of any emergency, what will happen? She said it could leave the commonwealth woefully unprepared to deal with a disaster.

Opponents of these constitutional changes also maintain that ending the COVID-19 emergency could jeopardize the states receipt of federal funding but Republicans dispute that would be the case as it relates to the pandemic assistance coming from Washington, D.C.

Wolf, in a statement about the proposed constitutional amendments, said these emergency disaster amendments would force partisan politics into the commonwealths disaster response efforts and could slow down or halt emergency response when aid is most needed.

Further, he added: Premature termination or non-renewal of the current COVID-19 disaster emergency will be disastrous for the commonwealth. It will undo all of the progress that has been made in combatting the spread of COVID-19 and saving the lives of Pennsylvanians and put the commonwealth in a poor position to address another resurgence.

Because this legislation seeks to change the state constitution, identical legislation had to pass both the House and Senate in two consecutive legislative sessions. The same language in the bill the House passed on Friday won passage in the last session by 115-86 vote in the House on July 14 followed the next day in the Senate, by a 33-17 vote.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
A man involved in the shooting of a Balcones Heights police officer that left him critically injured was extradited Friday from Mexico to the Bexar County Jail, said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.

The mans brother, also wanted in the officers shooting, remains a fugitive and is believed to be in San Antonio, Salazar said.

On Thursday, Sijifredo Montemayor, 30, was arrested by Tamaulipas state police in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Salazar said. Montemayor was hiding out with family members on Calle Independencia, about six blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border.

He agreed to self-surrender and be extradited to Bexar County where he is facing charges of attempted capital murder of a police officer, Salazar said.

READ ALSO: BCSO releases photos of two men being sought in the shooting of a Balcones Heights police sergeant

Both he and his 27-year-old brother Wilfredo Montemayor, are accused of shooting Balcones Heights Sgt. Joe Sepulveda on Wednesday. The sheriff said Wilfredo Montemayor is believed to have changed his appearance. He advised people to ignore the hairstyle when viewing images of him.

Sepulveda was responding to calls of suspicious persons and possible vehicle burglaries around 1:30 p.m. in the 6900 block of West I-10 when he encountered the Montemayor brothers in their truck in the parking lot of the SOL apartments.

As Sepulveda was trying to question the two, Wilfredo Montemayor allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Sepulveda multiple times as the sergeant ran for cover. Sepulvedas partner, officer Edgard Ortiz, exchanged fire with the brothers.

The brothers fled and a manhunt ensued. By about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sijifredo Montemayor had already made it across the Mexican border, Salazar said.

RELATED: 'Dangerous and desperate': BCSO IDs 2 suspects wanted in shooting of a Balcones Heights officer

Thursday night, SWAT teams raided the San Antonio home they shared with their parents and siblings. Salazar said the brothers may have concocted a story, telling their family that one brother shot the other and convinced the family to take Sijifredo Montemayor to Mexico for medical help in order to avoid questions in an American hospital.

On Friday, Salazar said that several of Sijifredo Montemayors family members are now facing felony charges related to hiding him.

Salazar said it is possible that Sijifredo Montemayor was either accidentally shot by his brother or by officer Ortiz.

He said there is an entrance and exit wound right next to each other on Montemayors left shoulder blade, indicating that the bullet was traveling sideways and went in one side and came out of the other, Salazar said.

Both stories are actually feasible, and well have to look at the evidence we recovered forensically to try to prove or disprove one or the other, Salazar said.

Salazar said they are trying to determine whether the family knew the two were wanted fugitives or if they were duped into helping them.

Credible tips from the community indicate that Wilfredo Montemayor is still in San Antonio and is considered armed and dangerous, the sheriff said.

I hope that he sees the heartache that he has caused his whole family, Salazar said, encouraging the fugitive to turn himself in.

Both brothers will face charges of attempted capital murder.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for ExpressNews.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama's government is seeking 3 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 for 1.5 million people, hoping to receive them by March, a letter of intent signed by the country's Health Ministry showed.

The Central American nation has one of the highest numbers of confirmed infections in the region and said recently it had allocated $56 million to purchase a total of 5.5 million doses for about 80% of its population. It was not immediately clear if Sputnik V was part of that allocation.

"Our geographical position makes us one of the most important centers for connectivity by air, land and sea in our region, and has exposed us to greater risk than other countries," said the letter seen by Reuters.

"The government of Panama through its pharmacy and drug regulatory authority is ready to issue an emergency use license for the Sputnik V vaccine."

The letter, dated Wednesday, is signed by Health Minister Luis Francisco Sucre and addressed to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad.

A source in the ministry confirmed its authenticity.

Panama had 324,489 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 5,391 deaths as of Thursday.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno in Panama City; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Peter Cooney)
There have been rose Proseccos before, but these sparkling pink wines have now been officially blessed with their own appellation designation by the Italian and European wine authorities. So we will see a lot more of them! Here are two delicious introductions to the category, along with a tasty rose Cava from Spain and a pink bubbly from Savoie, in the French Alps. Why not a bouquet of roses for Valentine's Day? And if bubbles aren't your thing, we round out this week's list with a cabernet sauvignon from Italy's mountainous northeast, with a label from "Romeo and Juliet."

GREAT VALUE

Villa Sandi Il Fresco Rose Brut Rosato

2.5 stars (Excellent/Extraordinary)

Italy, $18

Spicy red fruit makes this delicious wine sparkle along with the bubbles. This will perk up your palate before dinner and highlight cheese or other antipasti. Alcohol by volume: 11.5%.

GREAT VALUE

Eugene Carrel Brut Rose

2.5 stars (Excellent/Extraordinary)

Savoie, France, $20

This delightful rose with flavors of red currants and raspberries hails from Savoie, nestled in the French Alps. It suggests an apres-ski celebration, but it's also appropriate for any occasion, such as a minor triumph on your Zoom call. ABV: 12.5%.

De Pro Cava Brut Rose

2 stars (Excellent)

Penedes, Spain, $15

Its bright cherry color and fun, fruity and effusive flavors make this an ideal aperitif to welcome the evening or a special occasion. ABV: 12%.

Covalli Prosecco Rose 2019

2 stars (Excellent)

Italy, $15

Pale salmon in color and slightly bitter on the finish with flavors of orange peel and clove, this refreshing wine has a lively edge to it. ABV: 11%.

Fossa Mala Amore Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

1.5 stars (Good/Excellent)

Friuli, Italy, $16

OK, here's your tacky romantic label suitable for either Valentine's Day or a marriage proposal. According to my translation app, the Italian quote from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" translates back into English as "From now on, call me Love." This seems like self-limiting marketing. The wine is actually pretty good - cabernet sauvignon is not a common grape in Italy's Friuli region, so this won't match the powerful flavor profile you may be used to from California, France or Chile. Instead, it's light-bodied, with cabernet flavors of blackberry and currant, but without the heavy oak influence from barrels. Make your point with the label, enjoy a glass, then move on to a more impressive wine to seal the deal. ABV: 13.5%.

- - -

Prices are approximate. Check Winesearcher.com to verify availability, or ask a favorite wine store to order through a distributor.
A Unite States federal judge has ordered Baltimore County to pay a Kenyan-owned Church Sh41 million ($375,000) to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit brought by the church after the county denied its plans to use a house as a place of worship.

Jesus Christ is the Answer Ministries Inc. and the Rev. Lucy Ware sued the county in 2017 after they refused to approve for them to operate a church on property she bought in 2012 with the intent of using it as a church.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, alleged that the county violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act after an administrative law judge denied Ware's petition to use a residential home as a church, and the county Board of Appeals declined to review Ware's second, modified plan to do so.

The lawsuit indicated that Ware had still to apply for variances over setback and parking issues despite the zoning classification allowing the property to be a place of worship "by right."

Neighbors in the Milford Mill area filed complaints to the county about cars parked on the grass when Ware held church services and a cookout for about 40 guests in 2012.

Federal court documents indicate that during an administrative law judge hearing regarding Ware's petition, neighbors made openly racist remarks about Ware and her congregants, who are largely of African descent.

"Since the hearing, neighbors have subjected the Church and its members to a sustained barrage of harassment, including racial slurs," reads an opinion written by Judge Albert Diaz, who presided over the case in the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The church was also burglarized and vandalized, Diaz wrote.

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Ware's petition was subsequently dismissed by the Board of Appeals, the Circuit Court of Baltimore County, and then the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

The zoning board wrote that the proposed church went against the character of the surrounding community and "does not even minimally comply with zoning requirements."

Ware later applied to use the house as a church with a different plan, but the Board of Appeals refused to review it, according to federal court documents.

She then moved to the U.S. District Court, arguing that the board's refusal to review the site plan violated federal and state religious discrimination laws.

The court ruled that Ware failed to exercise due diligence before acquiring and altering the property and that her proposed site plan disregarded the zoning requirements.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the dismissal in 2019, noting that the lower court erred when it threw out Ware's case.

Ware's zoning application returned to the county appeals board following the court decision, which then approved it.
EDWARDSVILLE  Trace on the Parkway, the areas new, $50 million mixed-use development located on Route 157 across from SIUE and near downtown Edwardsville, has built strong momentum into 2021.

Local developer, Plocher Construction, completed two buildings with 114 apartments, and the continued development of the multi-use commercial phase. Having opportunities to patronize a variety of businesses within walking distance of their homes is proving very appealing to residents and business owners.

Businesses coming soon include Cedars of Lebanon and Alliance Chiropractic and Performance. Currently open to the public are: Goshen Coffee (with a drive-through), Willow & Mohr Photography, Docs Smokehouse, Water Sweets Soap Company, Sunflower Dentistry, Kloss Furniture, American Kolache, Loverly Clothing & Textiles and Boheme Boutique.

As a family-owned small business, Water Sweets Soap Company is so happy to be a part such a vibrant living and working community, said Alex Sutterfield of Water Sweets. We love the convenience for our customers with the ample parking, the beautiful space we have for our store, a community of Trace residents that support us and all of the other great local businesses here! The Trace is the place to be!

Apartments are almost full

The first residential building of 72 apartments is 95 percent full, with several occupied units in the second building, too. Trace offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans as well as two-bedroom floorplans with dens and large laundry rooms. Apartments are furnished with high-end appliances and finishes.

The all-inclusive package is a convenient alternative to traditional monthly rental agreements because it covers all utilities and amenities, including internet, electricity, a game room, heated pool, hot tub, fire pit tables, grills, outdoor TV lounge, dog park, rooftop patio, conference room, indoor lounges and kitchenette in a single payment.

Residents also enjoy direct access to adjacent Madison County Transit (MCT) bike trails and community parks in the vicinity. Future plans for residents include additional carports and garages.

Kunkel Wittenauer Group is the professional management company managing the Trace apartments.

We are so thrilled to announce the opening of our second building at The Trace. Plocher Construction beautifully completed this project and our new residents are loving their new homes. We are truly honored to manage this breathtaking community, said Lindsay Denny, one of the resident managers at The Trace.

We had 10 families move into their brand-new homes on our opening day (Jan. 22) and they are all loving their stay so far. We still have eight more move-ins into the new building throughout the next few weeks so we are excited to get all of them settled in. We love being a part of the Trace Community and meeting all of our fantastic residents, said Lauren Davis, another resident manager.

To learn more about Trace on the Parkway and view videos sharing the Trace experience, visit www.traceedwardsville.com. Tours are available by appointment, virtually or by stopping by in-person Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Kunkel Wittenauer Group and Trace on the Parkway can be contacted at 618-224-3320 or by emailing info@traceedwardsville.com.
LONDON, ENGLAND / ACCESSWIRE / February 5, 2021 / Zain Andani, the managing director for Fatemah Nurseries, a successful nursery school based in London, England, is excited to announce expansion plans for the company are underway.

Andani is responsible for the financial side of the business, as well as the expansion of it. Fatemah Nurseries was founded by Zain Andani's parents over 30 years ago. They had decided that it is time to expand the business by opening a new nursery school.

Zain Andani graduated from Portsmouth University with a first-class Honors degree in International Finance and Banking. Through this degree, Andani gained experience in areas such as financial advisory, commercial law, economics, and accountancy. However, after graduating, Andani decided he wanted to help his parents' business prosper and to build their legacy beyond what it already was. That is where the expansion plans for Fatemah Nurseries comes in.

Currently, Fatemah Nurseries operates a successful preschool in Streatham, London, in the United Kingdom. However, managing director Zain Andani has recently acquired a property to be converted into Fatemah Nurseries' new nursery school.

The new Fatemah Nurseries nursery school is likely to be similar in style to the original location in Streatham. The original location can accommodate children from birth until eight years old, with rooms separated based on age. There are nursery rooms, a baby room, a toddler room, a preschool room, and a breakfast and after school club. This ensures that each child's needs are met.

Zain Andani is both excited and optimistic about continuing to grow the business his parents built.

About Zain Andani

Zain Andani is a businessman and entrepreneur with a background in international finance and banking. He currently serves as the managing director of Fatemah Nurseries. Andani also manages Fatemah Nurseries' two sister companies alongside his father, Fatemah Properties LTD and Fatemah Investments LTD. These companies purchase assets, make investments, and aid in expansion processes. Andani currently resides in London, United Kingdom. In his spare time, Andani is a philanthropist who is very active in volunteering and charity working, helping his local community and other communities across the United Kingdom.

Contact:

Zain Andani

07869123480

00919712225555 (international number)

nursery@fatemah.org.uk

SOURCE: Zain Andani

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/628064/Managing-Director-for-Fatemah-Nurseries-Zain-Andani-Announces-Expansion-Plans
Aspen, CO (81611)

Today

Mainly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 44F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 44F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday (February 5) expressed concern over declining standards of parliamentary debates. He said that this has also dented the image of people's representatives in the eyes of people. The Vice President appealed to elected members to remain conscious of their duties and the office.

In a social media message, Venkaiah Naidu tweeted, "The level of discussion in the House is declining, the image of leaders is falling in the eyes of people. I appeal to all the elected members to remain conscious of the dignity of the post and their duties."

Speaking at a virtual event after releasing the book titled Parliamentary Messenger in Rajasthan, the Vice President also urged parliamentarians to use MPLADS funds for Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojna to develop villages as model villages.

Live TV

He also called upon the peoples representatives and governments to ensure that the development reaches the people without any delay, dilution or diversion. He also wanted the MPs to shun populism and guide the people on their developmental needs.

The book, authored by K N Bhandari, focuses on the health and education initiatives undertaken through the MPLADS in Rajasthan from 2006 to 2018 on the recommendations of Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi as Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan.

Noting that MPLADS aims at empowering people's representatives by enabling them to serve their constituents, Naidu said since its inception in 1993, over 19.47 crore works have been completed and the scheme has helped in creating assets across the country.

Referring to some shortcomings mentioned in monitoring reports on the implementation of the scheme, he also drew attention to several positives of the scheme such as the high degree of involvement of local communities in the identification of works.

Venkaiah Naidu expressed happiness over the government's decision to put in place third-party monitoring of MPLADS works for their execution in a transparent manner.

The vice president mentioned several suggestions made by parliamentary committees to further improve the scheme including timely release and proper utilisation of funds, a mechanism to monitor the quality of projects and their timely completion and the need for effective coordination between MPs and administrative authorities.

Naidu also called upon state governments and local administrations to ensure timely execution of MPLADS projects by following the recommendations of the MPs in letter and spirit.

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Union minister and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Thawarchand Gehlot, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Abhishek Singhvi, and other MPs participated in the virtual event.

(With Agency Inputs)
Tripoli, Feb 5 : The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said that more than 400 illegal immigrants were rescued off the Libyan coast.

The "asylum seekers and migrants" were brought to Tripoli, the capital of Libya, by two coast guard vessels, Xinhua news agency quoted the UNHCR as saying in a tweet on Thursday.

It added that the UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee have provided them with life-saving assistance.

Thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean from Libya toward Europe because of the insecurity and chaos in the North African nation following the overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

In 2020, 323 migrants died and 417 others went missing on the Central Mediterranean route, while 11,891 illegal immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Judge Orders Vaccination of Inmates in Oregon Amid COVID-19 Fears

A federal judge in Oregon ruled on Feb. 2 that the state must begin vaccinating its more than 14,000 inmates across 14 prisons against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, as cases among prisoners continue to rise.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman, in a 34-page opinion (pdf), issued a preliminary injunction requiring Oregon to include prison inmates in Phase 1a, Group 2, of its ongoing vaccination rollout.

The move grants prisoners the same priority access to the vaccine as those living in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. According to the Oregon Health Authority, prior to Beckermans ruling, only correctional facility employees were included in this phase of the rollout.

Our constitutional rights are not suspended during a crisis, Beckerman wrote in her opinion. On the contrary, during difficult times we must remain the most vigilant to protect the constitutional rights of the powerless. Even when faced with limited resources, the state must fulfill its duty of protecting those in custody.

Beckermans order follows a lawsuit filed in federal court on Jan. 21 by seven state prisoners who joined an ongoing class-action lawsuit filed in April 2020, that sought to ensure Oregon vaccinates inmates statewide.

A spokesman for Oregon Gov. Kate Browns office, Charles Boyle, told The Hill that the Democratic governor will not challenge the ruling.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown speaks at the state capital building in Salem, Ore., on Feb. 20, 2015. (Steve Dipaola/Reuters)

The courts decision is clear, and the state has decided not to appeal, Boyle said Wednesday.

With the courts ruling requiring an accelerated timeline and making clear that vaccinations must be offered to adults in custody with Phase 1a prioritization, we will move ahead with a weekly approach that will integrate adults in custody into our Phase 1a distribution plans, he said.

According to nonprofit criminal justice news site The Marshall Project, which tracks COVID-19 deaths in prisons, Oregon ranks 18th in terms of virus-linked fatalities, with 42, as of Jan. 26.

Florida meanwhile has recorded the most inmate deaths of any state prison system205 as of Jan. 26and Gov. Ron DeSantis has rejected the idea of prioritizing prison inmates for COVID-19 vaccinations ahead of the states seniors.

Whose priorities are you looking out for? Were looking out for our parents and grandparents here in Florida, the Republican governor said during a press briefing on Feb. 1. Theres no way youre going to get some prisoner a vaccine over a senior citizen. And so our seniors-first promise is ironclad.

In Oregon, Phase 1b, which includes school staff and teachers, began on Jan. 25. State residents aged 80 and above will be eligible for vaccinations starting Feb. 8, while other elder groups will be able to receive the vaccine in the coming weeks.
The queen of Substack is coming to Oregon, at least virtually.

Heather Cox Richardson, who is reportedly the most successful writer on the online newsletter platform, will take part in the Oregon Historical Societys Historians and the News series on Monday, Feb. 15.

The Zoom series provides, in OHS own description, a space for some of the nations most renowned historians to discuss their insights about current events, informed by years of scholarly analysis of the past.

Which makes it a perfect fit for Richardson. The Boston College history professor has written hefty academic books such as To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party and How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America. But its her Letters From an American on the subscription service Substack over the past year that turned her into a celebrity intellectual, a species that all but disappeared from the pop-culture scene some 30 years ago.

What she did to become internet famous sounds simple: she started rehashing each days news cycle. But she did this during a unique year that included both a deadly pandemic and a contentious U.S. presidential election. Just as important: she launched her Letters at a time when, from social media to cable news to family gatherings, misinformation often dominates.

Richardsons readers are people who have been orphaned by the changes in media and the sensationalism and the meanness of so much of Twitter and Facebook, and they were surprised to find her and pleased, longtime political commentator Bill Moyers told The New York Times in December.

Richardsons daily reports offer earnest, informed insights grounded in accessible historical context. She has said she plans to continue writing her daily letters at least through President Bidens first 100 days in office -- historically, the most fruitful legislative period for any president.

Historians and the News: Unprecedented Events by Day, Historical Context by Night: A Conversation between Dr. Heather Cox Richardson and Dr. Christopher McKnight Nichols, will take place Monday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. You can register ahead of time.

-- Douglas Perry

dperry@oregonian.com

@douglasmperry
(Newser)  Johnson & Johnson asked US regulators Thursday to clear the worlds first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies, the AP reports. J&Js vaccine was safe and offered strong protection against moderate to severe COVID-19, according to preliminary results from a massive international study. It didnt appear quite as strong as two-dose competitors made by Pfizer and Modernaa finding that may be more perception than reality, given differences in how each was tested. But the FDA is asking its independent advisers to publicly debate all the data behind the single-dose shotjust like its competitors were put under the microscopebefore it decides whether to green light a third vaccine option in the US. The panel will meet Feb. 26. NBC News reports the agency is expected to greenlight the vaccine.

story continues below

Overall, the single-dose vaccine was 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, according to early findings from a study of 44,000 people in the US, Latin America, and South Africa. But it was 85% protective against the most serious symptomsand starting 28 days after their shot, researchers found no one who got the vaccine needed hospitalization or died. The one-dose option worked better in the US72% effective against moderate to severe COVID-19compared with 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa, where a more contagious mutant virus is spreading. Scientists have been looking for real-world evidence about how vaccines work as the world races to stay ahead of the rapidly mutating virus, and welcomed the news that the J&J optionwhile weakerdid still offer protection. Testing of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines was completed before the record virus surges of recent months and the appearance of the worrisome mutants, meaning such testing might not turn out the same if repeated today.

(Read more coronavirus vaccine stories.)
Local authorities would decide whether to release the names and medical conditions of the two people and the FAA will release the tail number of the aircraft after it is verified by investigators.
SHIPSHEWANA  Pajama Days, Shipshewanas light-hearted, whimsical mid-winter celebration of all things shopping, returns again Saturday, and this time, the celebration couldnt be more important.

COVID-19 knocked many town-wide events off Shipshewanas calendar last year, like its annual spring celebration, Mayfest, and its Lighted Parade, an event that kicks off the Christmas season here and which typically draws as many as 20,000 to town.

But this year Pajama Days, which encourages visitors to come to town wearing their best winter pajamas and in return, qualify for special discounts at stores throughout the town, could mean the difference for some retailers between staying in business or closing their doors for good, said Phyllis Youga, executive director of the LaGrange County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Not only did the coronavirus pandemic keep a lot of people from visiting town and shopping local stores, but it also pushed a lot of people away from retailers in Shipshewana to large online vendors.

Yeah, its a fun day, but I think it also is significant because it helps people recognize the importance of retails shops, she said. Amazon has made its dent in onsite retail stores. And then when COVID encouraged every to buy everything they could online, and stay out of public spaces, retail shopping took an even bigger hit. So I think many of our businesses are trying their best to stay in business. Events like Pajama Days is becoming a matter of survival for some of these small retail businesses and specialty shops.

Like the rest of the state, shops in Shipshewana were ordered closed by the state when the pandemic started sweeping across Indiana last spring. Those measures were enacted to slow the spread of the disease.

But even as those restrictions were slowly lifted, it was still difficult to run a successful business.

And each time it seems the virus retreated, it suddenly reappeared. After riding out a surge in new infections last month, the states COVID numbers, as well as the number of people hospitalized with serious cases of COVID-19, are now on the decline. Vaccination clinics have popped up in almost every community in the state, giving people a renewed sense of hope business owners said.

Shipshewana businesses did suffer throughout the pandemic but did fare better than more expects first suggested. While tourism and retail were down about 35 percent in the year, tourism and retail in other parts of the state suffered declines of as great as 65 percent.

Heidi Stoltzfus, the owner of the Red Wagon, a specialty toy store in the Davis Mercantile Building, said many retailers in town are grateful for the community support they received throughout the pandemic but are looking forward to good Saturday thanks to Pajama Days. Pajama Days has been part of the Shipshewana landscape for about 25 years now.

Pajama Days will kind of be the first real event weve had in the last year that looks like it could be as good as those events we had in the past, she explained. All the other events we scheduled for the past year have either been canceled or greatly reduced.

That isnt to say this years Pajama Days will be exactly like those of years before.

Hoping to reduce the number of people in town early in the morning, many retailers are offering extended hours on special deals, in the hopes of avoiding huge crowds early in the morning.

Its going to be a good, breath of fresh air for us, and a sign of life beyond the pandemic, she said. Its going to be a good thing.

Youga said events like Pajama Days helps remind people that Shipshewana and its retail shops are still here.

We are doing our best to make sure people remember that were here and that when they shop in Shipshewana, they can see the merchandise, touch and feel it before you buy something, she explained. That a real important difference between buying here and buying online.

Stoltzfus said last years Pajama Days numbers were great, and retailers are hoping for something similar this year.

We hope that its a good weekend, and we hope that its a good predictor of the rest of year, but we have learned to not assume anything, and be grateful for every day that were open, she explained.
Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 5:54 pm

The Washington State Patrol is asking the public to help identify a man they are investigating for third-degree assault in connection with the Jan. 6 breach of the Governor's Mansion grounds in Olympia.

The breach occurred the day hundreds gathered on the state Capitol Campus in support of former President Donald Trump after he lost the election to President Joe Biden. The crowd that breached the mansion grounds refused repeated dispersal orders but law enforcement eventually walked those standing around the mansion off the property.

State Patrol released a photo of the man they are trying to identify Wednesday. The photo appears to show an older man with white or light blonde hair and a beard. He also appears dressed in a light brown jacket with darker brown pants.

Anyone who can identify this person or provide tips to his whereabouts can email the State Patrol tip line at sistips@wsp.wa.gov and reference the case number 21-002110.
Trustlink Africa is a platform that aims to build more sustainable and bankable small/medium enterprises that are ready for access to funding and business opportunities made available by the government, corporates, and financial institutions.

Cheslin Denman, head of business development at Trustlink Africa Hub

Can you tell us a bit about Trustlink Africa Hub?

When, how and why did you get started?

What is the core function of Trustlink Africa Hub?

Cost of compliance



Credible guidance



Education



Time and Trust

Vetting their current compliance levels against a business goal (Funding/Business/Supply Chain/Tender ready)



Keeping them aware of their compliance levels by providing them with a Compliance Report, including compliance related events via notifications



Helping them take action on compliance events when they do happen.

Your aim is to grow businesses. Could you share any success stories?

What are some of the obstacles you've had to overcome since starting out? How did you get through it?

The hustle is real and almost everyone wants to start a business these days. What advice do you have for someone starting out?

With all the doom and gloom around us, we need to hear more success stories. What has been your proudest achievement thus far?

Almost every business had to change how they operate because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Did this have an impact on Trustlink Africa Hub? If so, how?

As an entrepreneur, what would you like to see changed in the South African startup landscape?

Lastly, what sort of trends will we see in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in 2021?

I chat to Cheslin Denman, head of business development at Trustlink Africa Hub, to find out how the company is helping small/medium enterprises.The Trustlink Africa platform addresses a challenge all SMMES face, how to remain business/industry and financial compliant without the need of hiring expensive consultants that are not focused on guiding and educating the business owner focused on a specific goal. Business/Industry and Financial Compliance enables SMMES to get access to banks, supply chains, funders and tender opportunities.While I was working at a large corporate company servicing the similar market sector, many business owners paid to get access to opportunities but never saw great results. Many buyers and procurement departments would agree that 65% of businesses applying for opportunities would not make it to the first stage as they did not meet the business compliance criteria. This was a common barrier with funding, supply chain and tenders. My partners confirmed the mistakes they and many business owners were having thus leading to Trustlink.Africa.Trustlink Africa Hub is a digital compliance platform focusing on guiding companies through common challenges faced by small and medium businesses when trying to access greater opportunities within government, private institutions and supply chains. Some of the main challenges are:We do this by focusing on three aspects of the compliance journeyDuring the early stages of Covid-19 we helped raise over R1.5million for SMES through our partner network (SEFA, DEDAT, NYDA), utilising our platform. We also helped over 200 business become business ready to access funding and business opportunities.One of our main challenges has been the impact of Covid-19 on the business we serve as many businesses went from growth to focus to survival, thus led to many customers wanting the service but putting it on hold due to budget constraints.Starting a business is the easy part, running a successful business is the challenging part. You need to have grit, perseverance and handle all the challenges that comes your way whether it be financially or mentally. Strongest lives the longest is the saying that truly applies to business. I think you have to believe in your vision and have a purpose.Our startup assisted in securing over 30 jobs that were about to be cut due to businesses being closed during lockdown, thus was done in partnership with our funding partners.Covid was a challenge for us as we had a subscription service and many businesses couldnt keep up the payments. We therefore changed our pricing structure to month-to-month payments and this kept us moving forward.Greater access/awareness of angel investors, as South Africa still lacks in early stage funding and more collaboration between everyone in the startup space, instead of each region being isolated.There is definitely a rise in more businesses needing to adopt a digital business model or at least have a digital strategy to facilitate their future aspirations. Customers have become used to doing more digitally due to Covid-19 forcing all of us to remain indoors.
South Africa: Business pledges support for Gender-Based Violence Response Fund

Business and donor communities have pledged support to a response fund aimed at supporting the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP), and the wider Gender-Based Violence and Femicide response in the country.

Various businesses and stakeholders pledged support during the launch of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) Response Fund on Thursday.

President Ramaphosa launched the fund, which is a fulfilment of a resolution of the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Declaration which followed the GBVF Summit held in 2018.

Speaking at the virtual launch, Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) CEO, Cas Coovadia, said that GBV is a critical issue which needs to be dealt with.

We need to look at GBV within the context of other gender-based injustices in our country and the world, including issues of equity for women and patriarchy that still persists, not just in South Africa but in the world, Coovadia said.

Coovadia said BUSA is committed to promote the fund initiative with its members, and to work with government and other stakeholders, to ensure that they have various methods of communications with members to raise funding for the work on GBV.

We all appreciate that we are living in a difficult time, with the COVID-19 pandemic [which] has had a significant impact on our economy, but this is an issue that we need to ensure that we promote, and BUSA is committed to work to promote it with our members, said Coovadia.

BUSA will also ensure that its members introduce measures to identify and deal with GBV in the workplace.

We need to identify, we need to deal with it, and ultimately, we need to eradicate it in the workplaces.

Impediment to economic development

Meanwhile, Black Business Council President Sandile Zungu said it cannot be that more than 50% of the countrys population is born into, and raised in an environment that does not fully appreciates them.

GBV is a tool that men cowardly use to subjugate women, it is wrong, it is evil. GBV is not just a matter for human rights, it is a major impediment to economic development. The giant economy that South Africa is, will never punch at his weight when its muscles are restrained by the scourge of GBV.

Fighting GBV is a business imperative, it must be done [and] hence we support this noble effort. We support the private sector effort at creating a fund to champion the course of women, we urge South African corporates to support the GBVF Response Fund with generous contributions, both financially and in kind, Zungu said.

Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in South, Dr Nardos Bekele-Thomas commended President Ramaphosa for his exemplary leadership in the fight against GBVF.

Harnessing the NSP

Bekele-Thomas said since the GBV Summit held in 2018, South Africa has established a comprehensive, holistic and ambitious National Strategic Plan (NSP).

However, she noted that the country is still facing enormous implementation challenges, in particular, consistency in prevention and response services and a lack of reliable and comprehensive data.

Im happy that South Africa is embarking on its first ever dedicated GBV national prevalence survey and Im proud that the United Nations is participating in this endeavour. The most critical and urgent challenge is the subject of todays event, which is harnessing the NSP.

It is in all our interest to be actively engaged in creating the future society we want, free of violence. Through the UN, the private sector already has strong partnerships to be formed. Eighty-five companies in South Africa are signatories of the women empowerment principals of the UN Global Compact, Bekele-Thomas said.

Bekele-Thomas added that the UN, together with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and business, are currently exploring the idea of establishing a gender board to finance women empowerment programmes.

As a representative of the UN Secretary-General in South Africa, I commit the support of the entire UN system towards the implementation of the NSP. We understand that this is not the business for the single agency, but the business of the entire US system, simply because we understand the nature of the problem, she said.

Ana Fasulakis from the International Womens Forum said the launch of the fund recognises that the lives of women and girls matters.

This is a response to the plight of women and children across the country who live in fear and die due to GBV. Its time for action and measurable results to end the GBV pandemic in South Africa.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A coalition of human rights advocates asks the Biden Administration to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, which is set to take place in Beijing, due to human rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party.

The human rights coalition represents the groups that were repressed by the CCP which includes members of the Tibetan, Uyghur, Inner Mongolian, and Hong Kong communities. They urged the U.S. government to join the boycott to support those who are currently suffering human rights atrocities at the hands of the Winter Olympic Games host.

Breitbart wrote that Beijing, dominated by the ethnic Han Chinese majority, is implementing policies that both the Trump and Biden administrations have deemed to be genocidal against the Uyghur people, the majority of people who live in Western Xinjiang, China.

The CCP is holding up to 1.8 million Muslim minorities in over "1,300 concentration camps" when the Coronavirus started to spread near the end of last year. The U.S. Commission declared that:

"Independent experts estimate that between 900,000 and 1.8 million Uighur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Muslims have been detained in more than 1,300 concentration camps in Xinjiang- an estimate revised upward since the previous reporting period."

The CCP also systematically sterilized women in the community and stands accused of harvesting bodies of political prisoners to get their organs and sell them.

A report by BBC News cited witnesses and victims who went on the record to describe the extremely gruesome torture by CCP against the Uyghur women, especially the implementation of the systematic gang rape inside the concentration camps with the use of electric instruments as a form of torture.

They also implemented a labor camp policy in occupied Tibet which forces over half a million rural Tibetians into forced labor camps. In addition, they are also enforcing the use of the Han Mandarin language in Tibet even though it is not their native language in order to control the leadership of the major religion there --- Tibetan Buddhism.

It is similar to what Beijing has implemented in Inner Mongolia, a policy of language and cultural erasure which sparked widespread outrage and violence from protesters.

In Hong Kong last year, the CCP illegally imposed a "national security" law that allows it to imprison political dissidents for 10 years at a minimum if they are found to be guilty of crimes such as "subversion of state power."

A human rights coalition of over 180 groups generally issued an open call on Tuesday to boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing to "ensure they are not used to embolden the Chinese government's appalling rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent."

"It now falls on governments to take a stand and demonstrate that they have the political will to push back against China's reprehensible human rights abuses."

"We, therefore, call on governments to boycott the Beijing 2022 Games - anything less will be seen as an endorsement of the Chinese Communist Party's authoritarian rule and blatant disregard for civil and human rights." they wrote.

It's also worth noting that the CCP has been persecuting Christians in different areas across China and Hong Kong.

Authorities continue harassing believers in Chengdu, unjustly blame Christians for the spread of COVID-19 in Shijiazhuang City, forcibly remove crosses from churches like those in Zhejiang, force people to report Christian gatherings to the government, break prayer networks, force Christian leaders to hide for safety even in Hong Kong, and blaspheme God's Word for its nefarious agendas.
The Biden administration is examining ways to accelerate the process of adding abolitionist Harriet Tubmans face to the $20 bill, an old initiative that was stalled during the Trump administration. Her likeness would either replace or join the one of Andrew Jackson, the nations seventh U.S. president and a slaveholder. Its important that these new notes reflect the history and diversity of our country, the White House press secretary said in a recent news conference.

The NAACP has applauded the gesture, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan seems to be on board, but as a Black woman I couldnt care less.

While President Joe Bidens move would elevate the profile of one of Maryland and the nations most heroic Black women, its a worthless act of pandering.

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Black women organized and mobilized national blocs that were game-changers in ensuring Bidens ascendancy to the White House and solidified the Democratic Party regaining control of the U.S. Senate.

For five presidential elections, Black women have shown up to the polls more than any other group, despite being underrepresented at every level of local and federal political office. About 90% of them cast votes for President Biden in the last election, demonstrating once more their role as Democrats most loyal bloc. Black women delivered the vote with the hopes of seeing meaningful changes in their own lives. Is the move to put Tubman on a $20 bill supposed to be a form of repayment?

The Moses of her people, Tubman was enslaved on a farm in Dorchester County, Maryland, escaped and risked her life to help others flee to freedom via the Underground Railroad. For Marylanders, Black women and probably many others around the nation, shes larger than life. Her image has a place on my living room gallery wall, right below Sojourner Truth and to the left of Frederick Douglass, to serve as a reminder of where Black people in this country have been and to gain inspiration from those who came before me. But Tubman doesnt need a place on my money. She already has her name and image on a museum and education center, a Maryland visitor center, a statue and an indelible mark in my heart.

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Certainly, many countries put the images of people they admire on their legal tender, but Black women  and Americans  dont need Tubman to replace Andrew Jackson. If Tubman were alive, would she even want her face on a note thats made up of 75% cotton, a product that was produced by enslaved Africans in 15 states? In a capitalistic society that traded people like her, would she want to be used as currency and capital yet again? The nation has already seen Black people on currency  the Confederates had images of enslaved people on bank notes during the Civil War. Putting Tubman on legal tender changes nothing for Black women  or African Americans.

Black women work consistently for a better nation, but this country fails to work for us.

In a pandemic thats caused the elimination of many jobs, Black women have faced the largest losses. And at $171,000, the net worth of a typical white family was nearly 10 times greater than that of a Black family ($17,150) in 2016. The ratio of white family wealth to those of Black families is higher today than at the beginning of the century.

President Biden can pay off the debt America owes African American women by investing in our schools, neighborhoods and housing. He can expand Medicaid and medical coverage, raise the minimum wage, stimulate job creation and provide economic assistance to struggling Black businesses. Black women deserve to be invested in.

Designing and releasing new currency is a lengthy  and likely expensive  process. Save the money and honor Harriett Tubmans legacy by diverting funds toward dismantling the systems that leave us on the bottom rung of the nations economic ladder.

___
On the eve of the Communist Party of Chinas centenary in July 2021, the story of the countrys first womens military brigade in the 1930s continues to find life in popular culture and the imagination of the Chinese people.

by Tings Chak

Are you a proletarian? asks the brigade commander. Receiving no response, she clarifies her question: Do you own land?

Wu Qionghua, a young woman who is dressed in red linen and has a long plaited braid, defiantly responds, I am a slave girl. I own nothing. Qionghua was orphaned and enslaved after the local landlord Nan Batian (Tyrant of the South) killed her family. As the film plot develops, we discover that Qionghua had just escaped enslavement with the help of Hong Changqing, a Communist cadre.

We turn to the other woman onscreen, Honglian, with her head slightly bowed. What about you? asks the commander.

Im not sure whether I own land, she shyly replies. I was sold at the age of 10.

You are certainly a proletarian, the commander affirms. Pass.

With that, the 121st and 122nd members are inducted into the first all-women military brigade of the Chinese Red Army. Or so it goes in this 1961 feature film iteration of the story, The Red Detachment of Women, directed by Xie Jin.

A Story Still Necessary to Tell

I pass through the park gates. A few minutes late, I quickstep past the snack vendors, gift shops and monumental light displays. The usher hand-signals for me to waitthe show has already started. I watch as the 2,400-capacity stands start shifting next to us, in sync with the epic symphony music blasting from above. Im here for the nightly show of The Red Detachment of Women () production in Sanya, the beach-lined holiday town in the island province of Hainan, China. The Red Detachment was the first all-women military brigade that became a much-mythologized part of Chinese modern history. It has been made and remade into countless socialistor red culturalproductions over the past century.

The stands stop moving, and I am ushered into my seat. Enter stage left into the coconut groves of subtropical China. The story is set in 1931 Hainan, situated in the South China Sea. It is a region long contested and exploited by colonial interests, neighbored then by British Malaya and Singapore, French-controlled Vietnam, Dutch East Indies or what is now Indonesia and the United States-occupied Philippines. That same year (1931), Manchuriain northeast Chinawas annexed by the Japanese, foreboding the fascist imperialism that would dominate the region. What is known in the Western world as World War II was in China a 14-year-long war of resistance, costing more than 35 million Chinese lives. It is in this year where we meet our protagonists Qionghua and Honglian in the founding moments of the Red Detachment brigade. Qionghua, however, is not a fictional character.

Her character is based on Pang Qionghua, who was born in 1911the year of the Xinhai Revolution that saw the last dynasty fall in China. Arranged to be married from the age of four, Pang Qionghua would escape her fate to join the Red Army in 1930. She became the commander of the 103-strong womens brigade. They were spies who safeguarded arms arsenals and earned the title of Red Detachment of Women after several successful battles against the enemy Nationalist Army. The last surviving member passed away in 2014. Since the 1930s, this story has been told and retold, adapted to the needs of a changing China.

First documented by Liu Wenshao in a 1957 news story, then transformed into a local Hainanese opera, the feature film version brought the real-life story to popular audiences. The film turned into a mass-print comic book, before becoming a national ballet led by Jiang Qingor Madame Maothe very ballet selected to be performed for former U.S. President Nixon in his rapprochement visit to China in 1972. During the years of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the wordless ballet was adopted as one of the eight model operas suitable for a nation of 800 million people. It has been performed 4,000 times over the past five-and-a-half decades. It is an important cultural milestone in establishing a post-revolutionary national identity and for bringing modern Chinese culture to the international stage. More recently, the story was made into a TV series in 2006 and restaged by the National Ballet of China in 2014. In each era, the story of Qionghua and Honglian stayed contemporary because it was still deemed a story necessary to tell.

A Red Cultural Theme Park

The massive audience stands, where I am seated, start moving again to the latest mega-production of this story being staged in Sanya. Artificial bombs rain from the sky into an artificial river. A searchlight shines a red laser hammer and sickle onto the distant mountains. A landlord is paraded into the audience with a paper cone hat. Grandmothers comment aloud as if they were watching a TV drama at home. There are acrobatics, 11 movable stages, and a 300-member cast and crew. And this happens every night, for 99 yuan a ticket ($15).

This project, which is the first of its kind in China, premiered on July 1, 2018, in the Sanya Red Detachment of Women Performing Arts theme park project, which combines arts, culture and red history on one platform. The 1.2 billion yuan (more than $185 million) project stretches across an area of 179 acres and is jointly being organized by state and private actors, including Beijing Chunguang Group and Shaanxi Tourism Group, which has been responsible for many large-scale red cultural productions across the country. It is truly a project of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics.

On May 1, 2020International Workers DayHainan celebrated 70 years since its liberation, when the end of the Battle of Hainan Island in 1950 saw its formal incorporation in the Peoples Republic of China. In June 2020, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council released the master plan to turn the entire island into a pilot free trade port. By 2050, Hainan is set to become an unparalleled international financial, tourism, technology and logistics hub. In his opening remarks of the 13th National Peoples CongressChinas highest legislative bodyPremier of the State Council Li Keqiang highlighted the importance of red culture in this strategic national project: We need to stimulate the development of the tourism industry, fully use regional tourism potential, develop rural and red tourism.

In an impressive show of post-pandemic recovery, during the October 2020 national holiday week, Sanya received a record 729,000 visitorsmore than doubling its permanent resident populationand generated more than 4 billion yuan in revenue (about $600 million), up 39 percent year-on-year. The Red Detachment theme parks attendance rivaled the citys top tourist destinations of tropical beaches, resort complexes and fantasy towns. The August 2020 Youth China Sanya Youth Culture and Art Festival drew 1,000 young people to the parkand 50,000 online participantsover three days, encouraging the countrys future generation to continually pursue the revolutionary footsteps and carry on the spirit of the Red Detachment of Women.

Socialist Selfies

As the crowds shuffle down the stands, young children scurry to take photographs with the young actors, with their parents lagging behind. This is another kind of theme park, another type of heroine story. Some come to see the spectacle, others for family time. I leave with a selfie with one of the young actor-soldiers in their gray-blue tunic suits and red-star caps and a new Red Detachment-branded notebook to write this story in. On the eve of the CPCs centenary to be celebrated in July 2021, red culture with Chinese characteristics not only is alive but also continues to reinvent itself and find new life.

This article was produced by Globetrotter.

Tings Chak is the lead designer and a researcher at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, an editor of Dongsheng, and a Globetrotter/Peoples Dispatch fellow.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Bucks County, is cosponsoring a bill reintroduced Thursday to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a vast Alaskan wilderness that former President Donald Trump sought to open to drilling.

On Trumps last day in office, his administration, under the Bureau of Land Management, formally issued leases for oil and gas exploration on nine tracts within the 19.6 million-acre refuge. Environmental organizations across the country vigorously opposed the leases on land thats prime habitat for polar bears, caribou, and other wildlife.

The new leases would still need permitting, and President Joe Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office placing a temporary moratorium on oil and gas activity in the refuge.

The House and Senate both on Thursday reintroduced versions of the Arctic Refuge Protection Act. The House version was introduced by Rep. Jared Huffman (D., Calif.), chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife. Huffman was joined by Fitzpatrick as co-lead author in the bipartisan legislation.

Environmentalists believe the bipartisan bill will have a much better chance under the new, Democratically controlled Congress that began work in January. However, it was not clear when, or if, a vote would come. And with 60 votes needed for most bills to pass the Senate, the measure might still face a difficult path in a Senate split 50-50.

The bill would protect the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain and prevent oil and gas exploration and development by designating it as wilderness  the highest level of protection. If the bill passes, it is not immediately clear what impact it would have on the last-minute leases by the Trump administration.

Regardless, local environmentalists were thrilled, as millions of birds migrate through the refuge annually.

Permanent protection for the Arctic National Refuges coastal plain is long overdue, plain and simple, said Stephanie Wein, a conservation advocate for the nonprofit organization PennEnvironment. We thank Representative Fitzpatrick and all the bills sponsors for taking the long view. We should permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Fitzpatrick, who represents a Bucks County-based swing district, has long worked to burnish his credentials as a relative moderate within the GOP, including on environmental issues where much of his party is more conservative.

As most Republicans have been wiped out in the Philadelphia suburbs, he is among the most prominent of those who have held on, in large part because he has been able to win crossover votes and show stronger suburban appeal than Trump. Fitzpatrick often stresses his work with Democrats, though liberal critics say his bills too often make for positive press releases rather than action.

Our Arctic Refuge is a national treasure, and it is imperative for us to protect it, Fitzpatrick said in a statement. I am glad to once again co-lead The Arctic Refuge Protection Act this Congress because taking care of our environment should not be a political issue.

Said Adam Kolton, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League: We applaud Reps. Jared Huffman and Brian Fitzpatrick and Senator Ed Markey for this bipartisan bill to repeal the oil leasing mandate and safeguard the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Turkish student Azelya Celik works late into the night typing up notes on molecular biology before grabbing a few hours sleep and heading into university - not to attend lectures but to support protests she says are crucial to shaping her countrys future.

Celik is one of hundreds at Istanbuls prestigious Bogazici University who have protested for a month against the appointment of a university rector by President Tayyip Erdogan, a move the students say was undemocratic.

The demonstrations at the university, which overlooks the Bosphorus on the citys European side, grew this week as crowds took to streets elsewhere in the city and the capital Ankara.

Although dwarfed by protests which swept Turkey eight years ago, the demonstrations have defied authorities for four weeks and highlight a critical obstacle to Erdogans hopes of extending his rule into a third decade at the next election - disaffected young Turks who think he has nothing to offer.

Police have detained over 600 people since Jan. 4 and the government has strongly criticised the protesters, labelling them terrorists.

Istanbul neighbourhoods have lent the students noisy support, banging pots and pans from their balconies at 9 p.m. The United States has expressed concern at the detentions, and condemned the language used by officials against demonstrators.

We are holding art exhibitions, our friends are meditating outside the (rectors) building and we are being called terrorists, 25-year-old Celik said.

The protests against the rector were about the right to be able ... to have a say in the future of the country, she added, speaking outside the campus where barricades have been set up and riot police stationed for the past month.

They want us to only study, put our heads down and not say anything about the future of the country. But thats not how it works.

Erdogan said on Friday he chose the rector from a list of nine names submitted by education officials - a process he had done twice before.

GENERATION Z DOESNT KNOW

Erdogan said there would be no repeat of the nationwide protests in 2013, when hundreds of thousands of people marched in Istanbul and elsewhere in the biggest popular challenge to then-premier Erdogan.

But after nearly two decades in power championing Islamic values and religious education aimed at raising a pious generation of Turks, the president has conceded that not everyone remains receptive to his message.

Those born after the mid-1990s, or Turkeys Generation Z who have few memories of life before Erdogan took power in 2003, dont appreciate his partys achievements, he said last week. That presents a challenge in elections due in 2023.

Those who did not live in the old Turkey, our youth who didnt suffer those troubles ... we are struggling to tell them the importance of Turkeys gains, Erdogan said in parliament, pointing to huge advances in health and infrastructure.

Generation Z doesnt know what state our patients were in at our public hospitals when (the opposition) was in charge.

Successive polls have shown a gradual erosion of support for Erdogans AK Party, partly because of economic slowdown in the last three years after a 15-year boom of 5% annual economic growth. That has left the AKP dependent on an alliance with nationalists for its parliamentary majority.

Critics say a crackdown following a 2016 coup attempt has muzzled dissent, with more than 90% of the media controlled by the government or its business allies, and new regulation putting potential constraints on social media companies.

Celik and other students say they bypass Turkeys media to get their news. Young people no longer consider information they get from TVs and mainstream media as correct, she said.

Kemal Ozkiraz, founder and chairman of Avrasya polling company, told Reuters the government was losing touch with the youth and that only around a third of some 5 million new eligible voters in 2023 would support the AK Party.

Ozkiraz was citing a survey last month based on face-to-face interviews with more than 5,000 people in some 25 cities across Turkey.

While the youth expect promises, hopes and dreams about the future, the AK Party is promising them the past, he said.

A senior AKP official said polling which suggested younger voters would lean towards other parties at the next election was not realistic and ignored the opportunities which Erdogans government had provided.

Our duty as politicians is to catch up to them mentally, show them the realities. We are doing our best to keep their hopes alive, the official said.

FUTURE ELSEWHERE

Increasingly disenchanted, more young people are looking to move abroad, Avrasyas Ozkiraz said, citing a survey of 8,000 people in September that showed 76% of people between the ages of 18-29 wanted to emigrate.

Korcan Yaksi, a masters degree holder from Bogazici University, is moving to Canada this year.

In the last five to 10 years, this country has made me feel like I dont belong here. I cannot see myself living in Turkey in the long term, nor can I dream of a future here, the 29-year-old LGBT man said.

The biggest factor for him was the discriminating and violent rhetoric used by politicians in Turkey constantly in an effort to marginalize me and people like me.

The AK Party sees the LGBT community as a threat against family values which hold society together.

According to official data, the number of people who emigrated from Turkey in 2019 increased by 2% from the previous year to 330,000. More than 40% of those who moved abroad were aged between 20 and 34.

Authorities say the number of Turks leaving is more than compensated by other 677,000 people who moved to Turkey.

Celik, the biology student, said she was also considering leaving Turkey, saying AKP governments had ruined a school system that enabled her to get into one of the countrys most prestigious universities despite her modest background.

Pointing to changes in the education system and syllabus, including a 2017 decision to remove evolution from school lessons, she said the moves looked foolish now as the government warned people about the evolving COVID-19 strains.

Were seeing now what coronavirus is doing to us, they are talking about mutations. I say: So evolution didnt exist?

As a woman and LGBTI+ person, Turkey also felt unsafe, she added.

The only place I felt safe was this school, she said of Bogazici. You cannot imagine how much it upsets us to see this school in this way ... encircled by barricades everywhere.

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Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, 20, and software engineer William LeGate have teamed up to launch a progressive pillow company to rival Trump supporter Mike Lindell after first tweeting about it as a joke.

Hogg, a gun control activist co-founder of March for Our Lives, hopes to compete against Lindell - a loyal defender of former President Donald Trump who has repeatedly shared unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about election fraud.

'@williamlegate and I are going to prove that progressives can make a better pillow, run a better business and help make the world a better place while doing it,' Hogg tweeted.

'We will have the name announced soon but we need to get through the legal process of trademarking as so on.'

David Hogg posted about the formation of a pillow company with William LeGate to rival MyPillow

William LeGate, right, and David Hogg, left, have teamed up to form a pillow company

They decided to launch the progressive pillow company to rival Trump supporter Mike Lindell (pictured with Trump at the White House in 2017)

Hogg said that the partners aim to sell $1million of product within their first year.

'Mike isn't going to know what hit him- this pillow fight is just getting started,' Hogg tweeted.

LeGate told DailyMail.com that the new company 'started two days ago as a joke.'

'We are 100% serious. Company will be officially incorporated by next week,' LeGate told DailyMail.com.

LeGate said he will be investing $100,000 of his own fortune into the company, which he said will 'have a site up this month.'

'We have had lots of interest from investors as well as many celebrities. As for manufacturing plans, they will be manufactured in the United States and union-made,' LeGate told DailyMail.com.

'We are obviously still in the process of working out the logistics.'

LeGate said on Twitter that 'a sizable portion of the treasury reserves' will be held in Bitcoin. He is the CEO of PredIQt - a 'decentralized prediction market' for shares of cryptocurrency.

'We are happy to announce that we will be the first pillow company in the world to use Bitcoin for a portion of company reserves,' LeGate tweeted.

'Someone suggested we include a free $DOGE coin with every pillow purchase and, honestly, I'm considering it.'

LeGate said that the company will keep part of its reserves in Bitcoin because 'we believe it is extremely undervalued at current prices, and I have personally been involved with Bitcoin for 8 years now.'

He added in a tweet that 'running a biz with David Hogg is fun because he is literally just a good person who also happens to be a genius.'

William LeGate took to his Instagram stories to post about the pillow company

'I don't know about you guys, but I like pillow companies that don't fund insurrections against the U.S. Government,' LeGate said in a video posted to Twitter.

LeGate said that the pillows will be similar to normal bedtime pillows 'but more comfy.'

'And they'll allow you to sleep well at night knowing your money is going to support good causes and unionized workers,' he said.

Responding to a question about tweets calling them 'meme pillows,' he said: 'The meme reference is in regards to our marketing strategy.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Hogg for additional comment.

Lindell is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, pictured, and has spread conspiracy theories about the election

Lindell is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and was pictured at the White House before he left office

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell told Axios in a text Thursday morning, 'Good for them.... nothing wrong with competition that does not infringe on someone's patent.'

MyPillow's corporate Twitter account has been banned after Lindell appeared to use it to call for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to be jailed for 'election fraud.'

The Minnesota-based company's account was 'permanently suspended' on Monday, a week after Lindell himself was barred from the platform for supporting Donald Trump's claims of election fraud.

Lindell had repeatedly pushed allegations that that Dominion Voting Systems had switched millions of votes from Trump to Joe Biden in swing states during November's presidential election.

On Wednesday, the conservative TV network Newsmax was forced to cut off the embattled 'MyPillow Guy' live on air when he started spouting election fraud conspiracy theories during a segment about the company being permanently banned from Twitter.

Bob Sellers stormed off camera Tuesday night as he tried to fact-check Lindell and stop him pushing unfounded claims about Dominion Voting Systems rigging the presidential election.

Dominion Voting Systems has sent a legal letter threatening Lindell with a lawsuit for his repeated voter fraud claims.
(Newser)  After a freewheeling 15-hour "vote-a-rama," Vice President Kamala Harris used her vote to break a 50-50 Senate tie and clear the way for President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan early Friday. The budget resolution will allow Democrats to bypass the filibuster and get the relief package through the Senate without Republican support, though completing the legislation is expected to take weeks, the Washington Post reports. During the "vote-a-rama" triggered by Senate rules, there were votes on 43 nonbinding amendments, and Republicans managed to score a few wins, reports the Hill. "Its the one time with budget vote-a-rama where anybody can ask for a vote on anything," said GOP Sen. Mike Lee.

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With the Senate evenly split, some measures failed on a 50-50 tie, but there were numerous bipartisan successes, the New York Times reports. An amendment to ensure stimulus checks aren't sent to "upper-income taxpayers" passed 99 to 1, though "upper income" was not defined. A GOP-led measure to block tax increases on small businesses passed unanimously. Eight Democrats sided with Republicans to block stimulus money from going to undocumented immigrants, though Biden's proposal had not included any such move. The Senate also narrowly approved an amendment to ban increasing the federal minimum wage during the pandemic. The failed GOP-led amendments included a measure that opposed packing the Supreme Court. (Read more Senate stories.)
Courtesy of the Zemault family.

The family of a man shot and killed by San Antonio police will view the body cam footage of the incident for the first time today and hold a vigil downtown.

Police shot and killed Darrell Zemault Sr. on Sept. 15. According to SAPD, officers showed up at Zemault's bungalow in the 100 block of Willee Drive on the West Side to serve two family violence warrants but a struggled ensued when officers attempted to arrest the 55-year-old. Police Chief William McManus said Zemault allegedly reached for an officer's gun and that is when another officer shot him in the back.
Bengaluru, Feb 6 : Hitting out at his detractors, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Friday claimed that he would continue as chief minister as long as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are backing him, In his reply to motion of thanks for the Governor's address here, Yediyurappa said few leaders are day-dreaming and almost everyday, they are saying that he will be replaced with someone in Karnataka.

"I want to use this opportunity to scotch such rumours by asserting that as long people are with me, and PM Modi and Home Minister Shah are backing me, nobody in the state will be able to ever replace me," he said.

He added that he will come out of all legal battles as long as Shah is backing him.

"I am ready to face 100s of legal cases. I am not worried at all as none other than Modi and Shah have reposed faith in me. That will not be shaken by anyone," he said.

The CM added that Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah is aware of the things, how cases are being filed falsely against politicians.

"With prejudice, people are filing cases against politicians, so no party leader will believe just because someone files cases against me or anyone. I want to remind Congress leaders who often seek resignation from me on the grounds of cases being filed against me should know that several of their national leaders are on bail and facing cases, hence, it is futile to ask resignation from me," he said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Pyramid Cos. founder Robert J. Congel, head of the shopping mall empire that includes Destiny USA, has died at age 85.

Congels son Stephen J. Congel, CEO of the company founded by his father, confirmed Thursday evening that the developer died on Wednesday at his home in Manlius.

I can confirm the passing of my father, Robert J. Congel yesterday afternoon, Stephen Congel said in a statement. He passed away very peacefully at home with his wife and 5 children at his side. Those that knew him know he was a force of nature, a visionary who saw many of his dreams realized, while challenging us constantly with many more to fulfill.

He changed many lives. Having been his son and also having the privilege of working with him for so many years, I know he was most proud of all the people he employed and whose careers he helped along the way.

He gained far more joy and pride from the people that made up our company, as well as all the Pyramid alumni, than any building he ever built. The world will not be the same without him. We deeply appreciate the expression of sympathy from friends and family, colleagues, the community and business partners during this difficult time.

Congel had been in poor health for the past few years and turned over management of his mall empire to his son Stephen.

Syracuse native Bob Congel founded Pyramid as a small construction company in 1968, at first building shopping plazas and, starting in the 1970s, malls. Over the years, he grew the company into the largest privately held shopping mall developer in the Northeast, owning, leasing and operating 15 properties.

Congel opened the Carousel Center mall on a former scrap yard on the south shore of Onondaga Lake in 1990, his first big project in his hometown.

In the early 2000s, he proposed a massive expansion of the Carousel Center, a series of additions that would make it rival and even exceed the size of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. To build it, he demanded -- and got -- a controversial 30-year property tax exemption from the city. In return, he promised the mall would help transform the Central New York economy by attracting visitors from throughout the world.

The project ran into numerous legal disputes with the city over the tax deal and with lenders over financing, and then construction delays caused by the Great Recession in 2008. But Congel, never one to take no for an answer or accept defeat, prevailed in all of the legal disputes and completed the 850,000-square-foot addition in 2012 and renamed the mall Destiny USA.

Though he dropped plans for more expansions of the mall, the addition made it the largest mall in New York and sixth largest in the United States.

The mall helped to turn a polluted former industrial neighborhood known as Oil City into a burgeoning commercial and residential center.

Congel also played a major role in turning the former New Process Gear factory and several other run-down industrial buildings in Franklin Square into attractive office, retail and residential developments.

In addition, he redeveloped the Clinton Exchange, the former federal courthouse and post office in Clinton Square, into Pyramids headquarters.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said Congel will be remembered as one of the most influential business leaders in the history of Syracuse.

His vision, tireless work ethic and determination helped transform the city of Syracuse, converting distressed and forgotten sites into valuable landmarks, he said in a statement.

He turned Oil City into Destiny USA; made the old New Process Gear plant the jewel of Franklin Square and restored the old Federal Building into the majestic Clinton Exchange. My thoughts are with his family and all of the people of the Pyramid Companies.

Rebranding celebration as the Carousel Mall becomes Destiny USA is held in the new part of the mall known as The Canyon. Developer Robert Congel speaks from the stage. David Lassman / The Post-StandardDavid Lassman | syracuse.com

Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
He nearly reinvigorated his career with a role on the long-running medical drama Grey's Anatomy before turning down the role of McDreamy.

But Rob Lowe said he didn't have any regrets about passing on the now-iconic part in an interview with Variety that was published Thursday.

'This is what longevity, experience and recovery give you. There are no accidents,' the 56-year-old actor said of turning down the part.

No regrets: Rob Lowe opened up to Variety about why it was the right move for him to turn down the role of McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy in an interview published Thursday; seen in 2019

'Whatever decision you come to, if you come to it from the right place, it's never wrong,' he continued.

Patrick Dempsey would go on to fill the role of Dr. Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd, which made him a household name at the height of Grey's Anatomy's success.

The show, which premiered on ABC in 2005 with Ellen Pompeo starring as Meredith Grey, is currently on hiatus in the midst of its 17th season.

But Lowe wasn't even convinced that Grey's Anatomy would have been as big of a hit if he played McDreamy, and the role might not have been as popular either.

What might have been: Patrick Dempsey would go on to play Dr. Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd opposite Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey, which made him a household name at the height of Grey's Anatomy's success

Not the same: 'Me in that part isn't as interesting as Patrick in that part,' Lowe explained. 'If it'd been me (the fans) wouldn't have called me 'McDreamy,' they would have called me Rob Lowe'; seen in 2019

'Me in that part isn't as interesting as Patrick in that part,' he explained. 'If it'd been me (the fans) wouldn't have called me 'McDreamy,' they would have called me Rob Lowe.'

But by turning the role down, the former Brat Pack member was free to play the comic role of Chris Traeger on NBC's Parks And Recreation.

He joined the series as the overzealous state auditor Chris Traeger, who made 'literally' a popular catch phrase.

Lowe's character was initially a recurring role in 2010's second season, but he was bumped up to the main cast for the third season and remained on the series through its penultimate season in 2014.

'Had I done Grey's, I wouldn't have been in Parks And Recreation. That alone for me is enough,' he said.

Worth it: 'Had I done Grey's, I wouldn't have been in Parks And Recreation. That alone for me is enough,' he continued; publicity still for Parks And Recreation

Laugh riot: He joined the series as the overzealous state auditor Chris Traeger, who made 'literally' a popular catch phrase; still from Parks And Recreation

The role helped Lowe expand his comedic talents after establishing himself as a strong dramatic actor.

'I'm lucky enough to be on both lists  the comedy list and the drama list, which is good. It's good not to be pigeonholed,' he said.

Lowe currently leads the Ryan Murphy series 9-1-1: Lone Star for Fox.

The show is a spin-off of the network's 9-1-1 series and focuses on firefighters, police and paramedics responding to life-threatening situations.

The St. Elmo's Fire star leads the cast as Owen Strand, a firefighter from Manhattan who relocates to Austin, Texas.

Complicating his attempts to keep up with his demanding career is a cancer battle likely brought on by his exposure to the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

New role: Lowe currently leads the Ryan Murphy series 9-1-1: Lone Star for Fox, in which he plays a New York firefighter transplanted to Austin, Texas

'The Ryan Murphy World special sauce is what makes doing a semi-procedural interesting for me as an actor,' Lowe explained of the series, which tends to feature bizarre emergency situations.

'We have all of the elements of the genre, but in this iteration there are elements of the unexpected. It can be authentic and honest and then become almost absurdist. We do wild tone swings. It keeps it fresh for me.'

He was also attracted to the show because of its focus on 'real-life heroes,' as opposed to the more fantastical superheroes currently in vogue.

'I think it's a good thing to spotlight real-life heroes,' Lowe says. 'They may not wear masks and capes, but their stories are every bit as compelling. Probably more so.'

Watch Grey's Anatomy on Stan in Australia.
Since the founding of ARCS Northern California Chapter in 1970, members have funded $22.6 million for 2,824 ARCS Scholar Awards to young scientists pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and medical research.

ARCS Foundation (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation, Inc.) Northern California Chapter (NCC) is celebrating 50 years of providing financial awards to young scientists and advancing science in America.

Since the founding of ARCS Northern California Chapter in 1970, members have funded $22.6 million for 2,824 ARCS Scholar Awards to young scientists pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and medical research. In 2020 alone, the organization provided over $1M to 79 scholars at six academic partners in Northern California: San Francisco State University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Francisco (UCSF), and UC Santa Cruz.

ARCS Northern California Chapter President MJ Whitehouse, MD says, Our goal for the coming year is to maintain support in excess of $1M, in spite of the pandemic. I call us ARCS Angels because were angel investors in young scientists, who are The Minds of the Future. Our support helps to keep the STEM pipeline full.

Since 1958 ARCS Foundation has contributed to keeping the nation globally competitive by investing in the best and brightest young scientists. We are proud to see these scholars complete their degrees, go on to start companies, make life-changing discoveries, and train the next generation of scientists, said ARCS Foundation National President Sherry Lundeen.

ARCS Northern California Chapter has made an impact on science on a national and global scale. This is evidenced by the careers of ARCS Scholars it has funded. ARCS Alumna Kim Polese, was the founding product manager of Java in 1995 and named to TIME magazines list of 25 Most Influential Americans. In 2011, Polese was selected to join then-President Barack Obamas Innovation Advisory Board. Also on the chapters success list of scholars are Barbara Jacak, PhD, Director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys Nuclear Science Division and a Distinguished Scientist Fellow with the US Department of Energys Office of Science; and Jeff Dlott, PhD, founder of SureHarvest, which has developed leading-edge software products that reshaped Californias sustainable agriculture system. In 2011, Dlott was appointed to chair the states Environmental Farming Act Science Advisory Panel.

We look forward to the next 50 yearsinvesting in young scientists, keeping the STEM pipeline full, and advancing science in America, Dr. Whitehouse stated. Our chapter is a community of women who are committed to supporting these young scientists. ARCS member Kendra Kramlich, summed it up perfectly: We need to support science as if our lives depended on itbecause they do!

ARCS Northern California Chapter plans to host the 2021 Scholar Symposium on Monday, April 26, as a virtual event. The Symposium will feature a scholar panel and research by 79 ARCS Scholars in STEM and medical research. The keynote speaker will be Jennifer Doudna, PhD, co-recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

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About ARCS Foundation: ARCS Foundation is a national nonprofit volunteer womens organization that promotes US competitiveness by providing financial awards to academically outstanding US citizens studying to complete degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and health disciplines at 49 of the nations leading research universities. The organization has awarded more than $120 million to more than 10,900 scholars since 1958. ARCS Foundation Scholars have produced thousands of research publications and patents, secured billions in grant funding, started science-related companies, and played a significant role in teaching and mentoring young people in the STEM pipeline.

#

About ARCS Foundation Northern California Chapter: ARCS Foundation Northern California Chapter is one of 15 ARCS Foundation Chapters nationwide. Founded on October 22, 1970, ARCS Northern California Chapter has awarded more than $22 million to young scientists in collaboration with six academic partners in Northern California: San Francisco State University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Francisco (UCSF), and UC Santa Cruz.

More information is available at arcsfoundation(dot)org.

For more information on the 2021 Symposium and to register for the even visit northern-california(dot)arcsfoundation(dot)org.

Media Contact: MJ Whitehouse, MD, ARCS Northern California Chapter President; mjwhitehouse(at)sbcglobal(dot)net.
Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page has said the dramas intimacy co-ordinator helped take the risk out of the sex scenes.

The actor has shot to fame as Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, in the Netflix period drama.

He said of the steamy sex scenes: There was a fair bit!

The heartthrob told The Graham Norton Show: We had an intimacy coordinator, so everything is choreographed.

Prepare for another social season. Bridgerton is returning for season two, only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/yqapEULKz4  Bridgerton (@bridgerton) January 21, 2021

It takes the risk and the embarrassment out of the scene.

Asked whether his family watched the intimate scenes, he revealed: There were some cousins missing from the family WhatsApp group and they said, We made our tactical cups of tea when you started and when we came back you were still going!

The actor, who grew up in London and Zimbabwe, said he had been working with US TV producer Shonda Rhimes for three years, in US legal drama For the People, when she was casting for Bridgerton.

She said, I want what hes doing but with a British accent. She had no idea I wasnt American, he told the BBC One chat show.

Expand Close Jessie Ware performs during filming for the Graham Norton Show (Jonathan Hordle/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jessie Ware performs during filming for the Graham Norton Show (Jonathan Hordle/PA)

She was the first person in about six years to allow me to act in my own accent, which was lovely not quite in my own accent as Im a little more common!

The star refused to discuss rumours that he could be the next James Bond, saying: Bridgerton is the only B word I am allowed to say  I am not going to talk about the other B words!

Nortons chat show also features music stars Dave Grohl and Jessie Ware, actresses Felicity Kendal and Siobhan McSweeney and comic Alan Carr.

The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One on Friday at 10.45pm and is also available on BBC iPlayer.
Ukraine and India are stepping up military, defense and technical cooperation, the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reports.

This cooperation was agreed at the Aero India 2021 international aerospace and defense exhibition held in the Indian city of Bangalore on February 3-7, 2021.

"Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andrii Taran met with Minister of Defense of India Rajnath Singh, as well as the commanders of the Land Forces and the Naval Forces of the Republic of India. The current state of bilateral cooperation and further steps of cooperation in the military and technical sector were discussed. The parties expressed mutual interest and readiness to intensify relations in a wide range of military cooperation," the report reads.

Taran stressed that an important step had been taken to deepen military and military-technical cooperation with India. "The meeting with the Indian colleague was constructive and substantive. Our presence here is both a confirmation of friendly relations between the states and a clear intention regarding the prospects for further cooperation," he said.

The interlocutors discussed, in particular, issues of training and education of servicemen under the exchange program in higher military educational institutions and units of the two states.

In addition, Taran invited the Indian side to take part in the multinational military exercises taking place on the territory of Ukraine, in particular, in the Sea Breeze 2021 multinational exercise this year.

Andrii Taran invited Rajnath Singh to pay a visit to Ukraine.

ish
Guwahati, Feb 5 : In a major breakthrough, a notorious rhino poacher and smuggler of rhino horns, wanted in Assam, was arrested from Arunachal Pradesh's Naharlagun, officials said on Friday.

Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve Director Karmashree P. Sivakumar said that the Assam Forest Department and Police personnel, in association with Arunachal Pradesh Police, arrested Jobi Gadi alias Autho Gadi, a resident of Arunachal Pradesh.

Gadi has, since 2011, been associated with poaching of rhinos in Kaziranga and selling their horns in international markets.

He is now being interrogated by Assam officials.

Sivakumar said that Gadi was also involved in recent rhino poaching at Lokhora Chapori in Kaziranga.

An Assam court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him following a series of such crimes by him.

The Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, extending across Assam's Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath and Karbi Anglong districts and along the Arunachal border, is home to more than 2,200 one-horned Indian rhinos. With an estimated rhinoceros population of 2,640, Assam has the largest number of Indian one-horned rhinos in the world.
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
The High Court has ruled that four pub owners are entitled to be compensated by Insurer FBD for the disruption their businesses suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a landmark decision, the outcome of which affects claims made by some 1,000 Irish pubs and restaurants, Mr Justice Denis McDonald found that a policy sold by FBD covered losses the pubs sustained by having to close due to the global health emergency.

In a lengthy and detailed judgement delivered on Friday the judge disagreed with FBD's interpretation of its policy and said cover is not lost where the closure is prompted by nationwide outbreaks of disease provided that there is an outbreak within the 25 mile radius and that outbreak is one of the causes of the closure

The issue of quantifying the losses, the judge said will be dealt with at a later date.

The four test actions were taken by Dublin bars Aberken, trading as Sinnotts Bar; Hyper Trust Ltd, trading as The Leopardstown Inn' and Inn on Hibernian Way Ltd trading as Lemon & Duke.

The fourth action was taken by Leinster Overview Concepts Ltd the owner of Sean's Bar, which is based in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

The publicans challenged FBD Insurance Plc's refusal to indemnify them, as well as the insurers stance that its policies of insurance did not cover the disruption caused to businesses by Covid-19.

The dispute arose after the insurer refused to provide policy holders with cover after the pandemic resulted in the first temporary closure of businesses, in mid-March 2020.

Judgment in the case, which took several weeks to hear, was due to be delivered in January.

The decision was deferred to allow the parties make submissions to the court arising out of a judgment from the UK's Supreme Court where similar issues were raised.

Each of the pub owners claimed that under their policies of insurance taken out with FBD they are entitled to have their consequential losses covered by what they claimed is an insurable risk.

They also claimed that by failing to pay out on the policy the insurer was in breach of contract.

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The publicans claimed the policies taken out with FBD contain a clause that states the pubs will be indemnified if their premises were closed by order of the local or Government Authority if there are "Outbreaks of contagious or infectious diseases on the premises or within 25 miles of same."

FBD disputed the claims and argued that the closures did not occur as a result of an outbreak of disease at the premises or areas where the pubs are located.

FBD also told the court that it has never provided cover for pandemics and no one in Ireland has ever asked for it.

The general insurance market in Ireland does not insure against events like pandemics, it claimed.

Only specialist brokers, which he said are based overseas, on a bespoke basis offer an insurance policy that cover the fall-out from something like covid19, FBD also argued.
(Reuters) - China has decided to provide the first batch of COVID-19 vaccine aid for the Himalayan nation of Nepal, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing comments by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday.

Wang made the remarks during a telephone conversation with Nepali Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, the agency reported.

With a population of more than 30 million, Nepal's tally of infections stands at 271,707, with 2,035 deaths. (https://tmsnrt.rs/3pTUNdU)

Late in January, Nepal launched its largest immunization campaign with its first coronavirus vaccinations for medical workers, following a gift of one million doses from giant neighbour India.

India said in January it would give millions of vaccine doses to its South Asian neighbours, drawing their praise in what could prove a pushback against China's activities in the region.

In recent years the mainly Hindu nation wedged between China and India has become a playground for competition over diplomatic and strategic influence between the Asian giants.

For years, India has struggled to match the pace of Chinese investment in Nepal and the Indian Ocean countries of the Maldives and Sri Lanka, where China is building ports, roads and power stations in its Belt and Road Initiative.

But the demand for vaccines in these countries, desperate to revive their tourism-dependent economies, has offered Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government a way to claw back ground, diplomats have said.

(Reporting by Vishal Vivek and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)
Its no exaggeration to say that George Orwell is one of the most influential writers the UK has ever produced. His novels, including Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, continue to be relevant today, and his non-fiction writing on truth, politics and society remain as sharply observed as ever.

Born Eric Blair in 1903 in India, Orwells father served the British Empire. While Orwells first job was as a policeman in Burma, he is well-known for being anti-imperialist. By the time he dies in 1950, Orwell was a successful and respected novelist and journalist. If you dont know where to start with his books, our handy reading guide will help.




It seems India's vaccine diplomacy is at full display. India has gifted 56 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines to a number of countries while 100 lakh doses were sent under commercial supplies, the ministry of external affairs said on Thursday.

MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Indian vaccines are scheduled to reach the Caribbean countries, Pacific Island states, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Mongolia, in the coming weeks.



PTI

Vaccine diplomacy

"We have so far supplied vaccines to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Brazil, Morocco, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Algeria, Kuwait and South Africa," he said at a media briefing.

"Supplies made under grant amount to 56 lakh doses and commercial supplies amount to over 100 lakh doses," he added. Srivastava said external supplies of vaccines are an ongoing process, depending on availability and domestic requirements.



Made in India vaccines reach Dubai. A special friend, a special relationship.#VaccineMaitri pic.twitter.com/HDrRXpoLd5  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 2, 2021

In it together.

Made in India vaccines land in Johannesburg, South Africa. #VaccineMaitri pic.twitter.com/O9kWj6qVV9  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 1, 2021

The list includes Bhutan (1.5 lakh), Maldives (1 lakh), Nepal (10 lakh), Bangladesh (20 lakh), Myanmar (15 lakh), Mauritius (1 lakh), Seychelles (50,000), Sri Lanka (5 lakhs), Bahrain (1 lakh) and Oman (1 lakh).

ANI

Who's next?

Over the next few days, New Delhi plans to gift 5 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines to CARICOM countries (Caribbean Community), and another 2 lakh doses each to Nicaragua and the Pacific Island states. "In the coming weeks, Indian vaccines are scheduled to reach CARICOM countries (the Caribbean), Pacific Island States, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Mongolia etc," he said.

ANI

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a grouping of 20 island nations which are home to approximately 16 million people.

In addition, India's commercial supply of Covid-19 vaccines is likely to make them available in Saudi Arabia, Canada and Mongolia among other nations.

India is one of the worlds largest vaccine producers.



As Pharmacy of the World, India is committed to its responsibility as a global supplier even in times of crisis. #AffordableVaccines4All pic.twitter.com/bhgL5hKp2B  Indian Diplomacy (@IndianDiplomacy) January 20, 2021





In a major announcement, India on January 19 said it will send COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to several countries, including Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius. India is one of the world's biggest drugmakers, and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring the coronavirus vaccines.



ANI

India's vaccination drive

In just 18 days after rolling out the largest vaccination drive, India has succeeded in vaccinating more than 4 million healthcare workers. Vaccination drive was started in India on January 16 this year and as of February 4, 2021, as many as 44,49,552 healthcare workers have received their first vaccine jab.

ANI

The data was shared by the Ministry of Health and family Welfare. The ministry noted that in the last 24 hours, 3,10,604 new workers have also been vaccinated. Till February 2, India touched the 4-million mark in terms of vaccination and this was achieved in just 18 days, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said in a tweet. This is the fastest vaccination done across the world.


Thousands of Indian farmers called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to lift its blackout on phone and internet services ahead of a push to block roads across the country on Saturday to escalate protests now in their fourth month.

The farmers, backed by a growing international campaign of celebrities and activists such as Rihanna and Greta Thunberg, issued a statement Friday calling for an "immediate reinstatement" of telecommunciations services that were disrupted at protest sites outside of the capital, New Delhi border. "The government's efforts to suppress the voice of disagreement continue," the farmer unions said in a statement.

India restricted internet use more than any nation in 2020 and suffered the highest economic cost as a result, according to a report by Top10VPN.com, a company that reviews virtual private networks. Authorities have resorted to internet shutdowns to stem protests in recent years, including nationwide demonstrations over a discriminatory citizenship law and after it revoked the special autonomous status of Kashmir, the country's only Muslim majority region.

"Time and again government authorities use times of political unrest to monopolize their control over information," said Allie Funk, New York-based senior research analyst at Freedom House. "That the world's largest democracy can carry out such sweeping abrogations with little or no push back from other countries has just allowed the curbs to be normalized."

India's government has toughened its stance against the protesters after violent clashes broke out last month: Authorities fortified Delhi's borders with concrete barricades, concertina wire and long metal spikes at key protest sites in addition to cutting water, phone and internet. On Wednesday, the government issued a legal notice to Twitter over its decision to restore the handles of users who tweeted the hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide on Jan. 26, saying those tweets were "designed to inflame passions, hatred and factually incorrect."

The farmers camped outside the capital are demanding a repeal of laws passed last year that they claim favor big companies over small landholders. They have rejected an offer by Modi's government to suspend the reforms for 18 months, as well as a mediation process established by the Supreme Court.

Modi's administration has defended the laws, saying they eliminated cartels that exploited farmers and would ultimately boost incomes by making the agricultural sector more competitive. The legislation passed easily in a parliament dominated by Modi's allies, which won a landslide in a national election in 2019.

The increased global attention on the farmer protests threatens to damage India's reputation as it looks to attract more investment from companies looking to diversify supply chains away from China in the wake of the pandemic and burgeoning geopolitical tensions. The country is among the world's worst hit by Covid-19 and faces an unprecedented economic recession.

The Biden administration also weighed in on the protests, backing the farmers in their call for access to the internet. "We recognize that unhindered access to information, including the internet, is fundamental to the freedom of expression and a hallmark of a thriving democracy," it said in a statement on Thursday.

India's crackdown on the internet could hurt the country's relations with democratic partners such as the U.S., U.K. and Japan, according to Raman Cheema, Asia policy director and senior international counsel at Access Now, an internet freedom advocacy group.

"It doesn't help combat violence," he said. "It only makes things worse."
New Delhi: Chinese technology giant Xiaomi is working on a 200W smartphone charger. The product is still under development, was leaked by a tipster on Chinese microblogging website Weibo.

The company might launch this extremely fast charging technology which will take just 10 minutes to charge the phone completely with its flagship smartphone this year. The exact date for its launch is not known yet.

Xiaomi recently launched Mi 10 Extreme Commemorative Edition which supports 120W fast wired charging, 55W wireless charging and 10W reverse charging speeds. Cumulatively this makes up for 185W charging speed. Xiaomi has an interesting way of doing things and 200W fast charging will be achieved through similar fashion with a combination of wired, wireless and reverse wireless charge, said the tipster.

On a contrary note, Apple has ditched the mobile charger from its smartphone boxes. Xiaomi too has followed this suite and got rid of the charger from its latest flagship smartphone Mi 11. Xiaomi has offered fast chargers as a separate accessory for its users at an additional cost.

Xiaomi has been working on the development of its charging technology and has unveiled Mi Air Charger which is capable of charging multiple devices wirelessly. This charging technology requires a person to stand in front of the charger and the device will get charged.

Mi Air Charge makes use of "self-developed isolated charging pile" while projects the energy beams at the device and it gets charged without any cables or magnets. The technology is in the primary phase and supports 5W charging speed now.

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Ugandan academic and activist Stella Nyanzi is seeking political asylum in Kenya citing persecution by President Yoweri Musevenis government.

The former research fellow at Makerere University and her three children arrived in Nairobi by bus on Saturday.

This was confirmed by her lawyer, Prof George Luchiri Wajackoyah, who said Nyanzi crossed the Uganda-Kenya border in disguise to avoid detection by security agents. Her children are also in a safe house in Nairobi.

Speaking to nation.africa, Nyanzi said she was forced to escape into Kenya after her partner was abducted by President Musevenis regime.

I am in Kenya because Ugandans in the opposition who have criticized the government of Yoweri Museveni are getting abducted every day from the streets, from their homes, from their beds. Ugandans are kidnapped from private cars and taken to detention facilities where they are tortured and interrogated about their next plans for the liberation, she explained.

Adding: The abductions and detentions of political actors were getting closer to me; my children have been targets of police trailing. I just left prison in February last year and I dont want to go back.

The academic scholar said she is happy to have made it out of Uganda alive.

The fear of not knowing who will be taken next, my friends have been abducted, my partner has been abducted, I think I am fortunate that I got out when I could, she said.

Nyanzi, who lost in her bid to become Kampala Woman MP in last months general election, said her plan now is to rest, re-strategize, learn about the system and return with the power to push for the emancipation of Uganda from the current regime which she described as authoritarian.
SPRINGFIELD  City officials are urging residents in the Mason Square area to sign up for a free tree-planting program intended to improve shade and energy efficiency.

The city is preparing to hire contractors for the Greening the Gateway Cities program, in which hundreds of trees are being planted.

Eighteen communities in Massachusetts are being provided grants under the program, which started two years ago, including Chicopee, Holyoke and Springfield. Westfield was added in 2020.

Springfield received a three-year, $1.5 million grant in 2018 for providing and planting 2,400 trees in the McKnight, Old Hill and Upper Hill neighborhoods for interested homeowners. The trees are primarily planted by city-hired contractors in yards.

The key is for people to call and sign up, City Forester Alexander Sherman said this week. We are looking for more people to sign up.

Interested homeowners from the three targeted neighborhoods should call the citys call center at 311 or 413-736-3111.

The grant was awarded by the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, through funding from the Department of Energy Resources.

Trees help reduce household energy use by increasing the shade in urban areas, and providing some buffer from wind, local and state officials said. They help with cooling in the summer and heat efficiency in the colder months, Sherman said.

There is limited monitoring of the trees and aftercare is provided by the program for the first two years after planting, Sherman said.

Various types of trees are provided, with the aim of having the right tree in the right place, he said.

Sherman expects there to be approximately 300 tree plantings in the spring, and an equal or greater number in the fall, depending on the amount of sign-ups.

McKnight, Old Hill and Upper Hill were selected after being deemed among the citys neighborhoods with the least tree canopy, officials said. The program also focuses on areas with older housing stock and larger renter populations.

Other communities that have been awarded grants are Brockton, Chelsea, Fall River, Haverhill, Lawrence, Leominster, Lynn, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Quincy and Revere. Also added in 2020 were Fitchburg, Lowell and Salem.

Various agencies are involved in assisting with the program, including state Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Urban and Community Forest Program and the Department of Housing and Community Development.

21 runners killed during mountain race in northwestern province of Gansu; Indian variant of Covid-19 found in Guangzhou; Beijing willing to arrange for vaccines to be sent to Taiwan

May 28, 2021 08:15 PM
Burundian refugee Ishimagizwe Eliana washes her hands at the entrance to the Natukobenyo health clinic, Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya, October 2020.  UNHCR/Samuel Otieno

For the worlds poorest people, COVID-19 has brought social and economic catastrophe. Up to 115 million likely fell into extreme poverty in 2020, the World Bank estimates. Most live in low- and middle-income countries, especially in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Even progress on vaccines is tempered by uncertainty about when these will reach vulnerable populations worldwide.

The vulnerable include refugees and internally displaced people uprooted by conflict. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns that their number has now passed 80 million, equal to the population of Germany. For example, in Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, COVID-19 has pushed a million Syrian refugees and 180,000 internally displaced people into poverty, along with over four million people in host communities.

Today, 85 per cent of refugees are hosted by low- and middle-income countries. The current economic contraction is compounding crises of conflict, violence, and food insecurity that were already pushing communities to the brink. These countries infrastructure, health, education, and social protection systems are not set up to cope with a shock on this scale. Short of an urgent increase in humanitarian and development support, countries risk drastic, long-term destabilisation.

The desperation among refugees is stark. UNHCR staff report more instances of self-harm, including suicides in countries as different as Uganda and Lebanon, a sign of acute anguish. Yet many refugees are able and willing to give back to host communities if they have the opportunity. In Jordan, France, and Peru, for example, refugees with a background in public health or medicine have joined frontline responders in the pandemic response.

Even last February, before the pandemic, the World Bank estimated that, in 10 years, up to two-thirds of people living in extreme poverty would be in countries affected by fragility and conflict, where progress on poverty was reversing. Amid protracted conflicts, four out of five refugees now live in host countries for five years or more.

Since the start of the pandemic, UNHCR and the World Bank have stepped up health, water, sanitation, and hygiene services to protect people forced to flee. We have worked with host country governments to ensure that the displaced are included in pandemic response and economic recovery efforts.

But the economic crisis means efforts must be stepped up further: people forced to flee need long-term help more than ever. In 2019, more than half the worlds seven million school-age refugees did not attend school. Now, with COVID-induced closures, severe learning loss risks a lost generation of refugees with few job prospects and little hope.

Refugee populations with the best access to job markets were typically in cities, but the coronavirus and recession have both hit urban areas hard, making them vulnerable to losing incomes, particularly the self-employed and informal workers. Social and economic stress could spill over into violence, triggering new waves of displacement.

Host countries can benefit by including refugees and internally displaced people in recovery efforts and ensuring their access to public health, education, and labor markets. Many are making commendable efforts. Jordan, for instance, is including Syrian refugees in its national vaccination campaign and Lebanon has just committed to doing the same. Refugees have no safety net, and even data on their socioeconomic status is often lacking. Including themin national statistics, in emergency response and long-term recoverymakes them visible, helping us understand the scope of the challenge and how we can help.

Investing in refugees cannot be the responsibility of host countries alone. In December 2018, the international community joined together on the Global Compact on Refugees, which commits donors and multilateral institutions to this shared responsibility as a global public good. We must live up to that commitment to refugees and host communities in spirit and deed.

This op-ed was first published by Thomson Reuters Foundation.
To arrive at Nunavut, turn left at the Dakotas and head north. You can't miss it--the vast tundra territory covers almost a million square miles of northern Canada. Relatively few people call this lake-scattered landscape home, but the region plays a crucial role in understanding global climate change. New research from Soren Brothers, assistant professor in the Department of Watershed Sciences and Ecology Center, details how lakes in Nunavut could have a big impact on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, and it's not all bad news--at least for now. Brothers examined 23 years of data from lakes near Rankin Inlet. He noted a peculiarity--as the lakes warmed, their carbon dioxide concentrations fell. Most lakes are natural sources of carbon dioxide, but these lakes were now mostly near equilibrium with the atmosphere.

This was odd. The expected pattern is that warmer temperatures should trigger larger releases of greenhouse gases from lakes. In places like Alaska, centuries of accumulated plant material in the permafrost release a hoard of carbon as they thaw, and are consumed by microbes. Experiments have also shown that as waters warm, carbon dioxide production by microbes increases more quickly than carbon dioxide uptake by plants, throwing the system out of balance. Together, these processes should increase atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions from waterways, in theory anyway. So why not in Nunavut? There is no question that the first step in this Rube Goldberg machine is engaged ... the climate is warming. Why then, are the lakes near Rankin Inlet not belching out carbon?

Pulling on good, thick parkas, Brothers and his team visited the lakes and came up with a few ideas as to why this is happening. First, they note that much of Nunavut is on the Canadian shield--an ancient granitic bedrock where thin soils are unlikely to contain--and thus release--the massive stores of organic matter entering waterways elsewhere in the Arctic. Second, longer ice-free seasons might be changing the water chemistry and biology in ways that actually lower carbon dioxide concentrations, including longer growing seasons for plants (which take up carbon dioxide), and potentially better growing conditions for algae on the bottom of these shallow, clear lakes.

Does this mean that nature has come to the climate rescue? Likely not--other lakes around the world may still increase carbon dioxide emissions with warming, and the lakes in Nunavut might eventually catch up with them too. More likely, Brothers suggests that the link between ice cover duration and carbon dioxide concentrations might be buying us some time, before stronger positive feedbacks are unleashed between the planet's warming and its ecosystems. It may be a complicated process, but understanding this complexity helps scientists predict variations in how lakes are responding to--and influencing--climate change. It's a view under the hood, making planetary feedbacks and tipping points a little more predictable. While the long-term trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions from lakes is not settled, these results are an important piece of the puzzle in climate change science.

###

London: The COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford protects people against a new, more contagious coronavirus variant at similar levels to the protection it offered against other lineages of the virus, Oxford researchers said in a paper released on Friday (Saturday AEDT).

The paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, said that the vaccine had 74.6 per cent efficacy against the new variant, which was first detected in Britain and is known as B.1.1.7. That was similar to, though potentially slightly lower than, its efficacy against other lineages of the virus.

The encouraging, albeit preliminary, findings suggest that all five of the leading vaccines may offer at least some protection against new variants of the virus spreading around the globe. Still, the mounting evidence suggests that mutant viruses can diminish the efficacy of vaccines, increasing the pressure on countries to quickly vaccinate their populations and outrace the variants taking hold across the globe.

The vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca has also been shown to substantially slows the transmission of the virus. Credit:AP

In clinical trials, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine protected all participants against severe illness or death.
Vietnam has reiterated its commitment to high economic growth following the conclusion of the National Party Congress in Hanoi where it chose its leaders for the next five years.

Vietnams ruling Communist Party approved plans to raise growth to 6.5 to 7 percent for the 2021-2025 period as it aggressively pushes for reforms and high-tech growth.

Vietnam is set to become more selective in attracting FDI as it wants to move up the value chain from a low-cost labor destination to a center for hi-tech industry keeping the environment in mind.

The government also aims to diversify its export markets taking advantage of its several signed free trade agreements.

Vietnams 13th Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee reelected Nguyen Phu Trong as the General Secretary. Trong is known for his anti-corruption stance and has endorsed Vietnams continued integration into the global economy. These policies are expected to continue and as such underlines Vietnams stable political environment which businesses have been drawn to.

Economic blueprint calls for high growth, doubling of per capita GDP

The National Party Congress approved a 10-year socio-economic plan that calls for private companies to account for more than half of the economy by 2025 up from 42 percent at present. The plan also calls for doubling per capita GDP to US$4,000-5,000 by 2025 from US$2,750 at the end of 2020.

Vietnam has benefitted from the US-China trade war, ramping up manufacturing, attracting foreign investors, and increasing exports to the US. The countrys GDP remained robust at 7 percent, the highest in Southeast Asia in 2019, and in 2020 was one of the few countries to record net positive growth at 2.9 percent after Taiwan but beating China despite the pandemic.

While this type of growth would be the envy of other governments, it was one of the worst years in decades for Vietnam as it attempted to control the pandemic.

Nevertheless, Vietnams successful containment of the pandemic made foreign investors notice. Several suppliers have moved production to Vietnam with companies like Intel further expanding investment.

The pandemic has speeded this up, with manufacturers not wanting to rely on just one singular market. Rather, Vietnam has been on the minds of most investors such as Apple, LG, and Panasonic diversifying their manufacturing operations to the country. This, however, has resulted in increased costs at industrial zones and office space rents.

Digital economy and manufacturing priority for government

In its socio-economic plan, the government has prioritized the growth of the digital economy and manufacturing. These two industries have shown continued growth and present the future pillars of the economy. We highlight them below:

Digital economy

The pandemic is pushing digital transformation in Vietnam. Vietnams digital economy is expected to reach US$52 billion in 2025. This rapid growth is underpinned by a broader digital transformation in the country. Vietnams National Programme for Digital Transformation is aimed at ensuring more than 80 percent of households have access to fiber-optic infrastructure by 2025.

The program also entails that the digital economy forms 10 percent of every sector which could result in annual productivity increases of 7 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped this transformation through a permanent and significant digital adoption spurt, with more than one in three Southeast Asian digital service consumers (36 percent of digital consumption in Southeast Asia) new to the service. Sub-sectors likely to achieve significant growth include e-commerce, digital financial services, and online gaming.

Manufacturing and processing

The pandemic forced 15 percent of manufacturing companies to cut production, with garment and textile industries hit the hardest, directly impacting 2.8 million workers. Nevertheless, it also forced companies to diversify their input sources and look at new business lines. For example, several garment factories realigned their business to produce face masks, which remain in demand. In September 2020, the government issued an action plan implementing Resolution No 23/NQ/TW with six main goals.

Those goals include plans that manufacturing and processing will account for 30 percent by 2030 with the value proportion of high-tech production from the manufacturing and processing industries reaching at least 45 percent. In addition, as Vietnam is part of several free trade agreements it has to ensure that any product it manufactures is sufficiently processed within its border to qualify for tariffs. While Vietnams PMI has fluctuated in recent months, the government remains committed to the industry and remains keen on high-tech manufacturing becoming a hub for big businesses.

Vietnams development plan promising but implementation is key

Having controlled the pandemic so far, despite an outbreak recently, the government seems on course to maintain growth and recover economically from the pandemic. With the National Party Congress approving the economic plan for the next 10 years, Vietnam is expected to further improve its business and investment climate. While this will require effort from the government to implement plans and speed up the divestment of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Vietnam has the tools and resources to do so.

Nevertheless, before sizing up Vietnam as a potential investment destination, investors must do their due diligence and consider several factors such as location, raw materials, and sourcing partners. For now, Vietnam has enough push factors to encourage businesses to relocate.
SUB: President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (Rtd), Former Chief Of Army Staff, as a non-career ambassador, subject to the confirmation of...

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (Rtd), Former Chief Of Army Staff, as a non-career ambassador, subject to the confirmation of the senate.

The President also appointed all the ex-Service Chiefs who served alongside Buratai and were replaced last week.

They are: Gen Abayomi G. Olonisakin (Rtd ), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (Rtd), and Air Vice Marshal Mohammed S. Usman (Rtd).

Special Adviser To The President On Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, confirmed the appointments in a statement.

"In accordance with section 171 (1), (2) (c) & sub-section (4) of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, I have the honour to forward for confirmation by the Senate, the under-listed five (5) names of nominees as Non-Career Ambassadors-Designate," read a letter the president sent to Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, President of the Senate.

The president appointed the Ex-Service Chiefs in 2015 and refused to bow to the pressure of relieving them of their duties until they "voluntarily resigned".

Due to the rising insecurity across the country, different stakeholders had asked the president to inject fresh hands into the war against insecurity.

Last week, the President finally announced Maj Gen LEO Irabor as Chief of Defence Staff; Maj Gen I Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Adm AZ Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and AVM IO Amao as Chief of Air Staff.
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A former Ugandan warlord whose forces attacked camps for the internally displaced across the country, has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, judges ruled on Thursday.

The Court based in The Hague, Netherlands, found that Dominic Ongwen was "fully responsible" for multiple grave violations in northern Uganda in the early 2000s, as part of a longstanding armed insurgency dating back to the 1980s.

Murder, sexual slavery

As a brigade commander of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Mr. Ongwen sanctioned the murder of large numbers of civilians, forced marriage, sexual slavery and the recruitment of child soldiers "to participate actively in hostilities", among other grave crimes.

Attacks against civilians were justified by the reasoning that they were associated with the Government and were therefore the "enemy" of the insurgents, the ICC said in a statement, noting also that LRA soldiers were "under orders to shoot civilians in the chest and head to ensure that they died".

According to the ICC verdict summary, "in response to the question whether shooting a civilian during the course of an attack would constitute an offence, Witness P-0142, an LRA fighter, stated that 'nobody would see it as a crime if a civilian is injured or if a civilian is shot at'."

Civilian targets

Those targeted "in particular" were those who lived in the many government-established camps for internally displaced people (IDP), according to the court, which examined evidence of attacks on four IDP sites: Pajule, on 10 October 2003, Odek (29 April 2004), Lukodi (on or about 19 May 2004) and Abok (8 June 2004).

Although the court noted that Mr. Ongwen suffered greatly after being abducted by the LRA as a nine-year-old child, it noted that he was being put on trial for crimes committed as a "fully responsible adult and as a commander of the LRA in his mid to late twenties".

It was during the three-year period under review by the court from July 2002 until December 2005 that Mr. Ongwen rose from LRA battalion commander to head of the Sinia Brigade with the rank of brigadier, overseeing several hundred soldiers.

"The Chamber found that Dominic Ongwen is fully responsible for all these crimes," the Court said. "The Chamber did not find evidence that supported the claim that he suffered from any mental disease or disorder during the period relevant to the charges, or that he committed these crimes under duress or under any threats."

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'Systematic' enrollment

Testimony from a LRA soldier identified as "Witness P0307" underscored the systematic practice of enrolling child soldiers: "Each time we came across young people, we would abduct them and take them to the bush. We had to do this as we had to increase our numbers in the bush. So, abducting new recruits was part of routine activities during attacks so that there was no need for any commander to order you to abduct because this was part of the job."

In total, Mr. Ongwen, who is 45, was found guilty of a total of 61 crimes against humanity and war crimes between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005.

He faces up to 30 years in prison, although a life sentence can be handed down in exceptional circumstances. The ICC noted that following sentencing, discussions would begin on reparations for victims.

Over the course of 234 hearings from December 2016 to March 2020, the trial judges heard 109 witnesses and experts for the prosecution and 63 for the defence; representatives of victims called seven witnesses and experts.

An astonishing total of 4,095 victims were also represented in court.

A woman who found her murdered mother's bloody body when she was just four years old has recalled how she enlisted a high school friend to solve the brutal crime more than 40 years later.

Loretta Jones, 23, had been repeatedly stabbed and sexually assaulted in her Price, Utah home but managed to write her killer's name in blood before her daughter Heidi Jones-Asay woke up and discovered her dead on July 30, 1970.

'When I got up, I looked through the keyhole into the front room and when I opened the door, there was blood everywhere. It was my mom's lifeless body,' Jones-Asay recalled on a recent episode of the Oxygen true-crime series Exhumed.

Scroll down for video

Looking back: Heidi Jones-Asay detailed how she found her mother Loretta Jones' dead body on July 30, 1970 during her appearance on the Oxygen true-crime series Exhumed

Horrific: Jones had been stabbed 17 times and sexually assaulted in her Price, Utah home when her four-year-old daughter discovered her lifeless body

A neighbor called the police, and when they arrived on the scene, they noted that there were no signs of forced entry, suggesting that Jones had known her attacker.

'Jones had 17 stab wounds,' Sgt. David Brewer with the Carbon County Sheriff's Office told producers. 'A lot of rage went in on this one.'

Despite the gruesome attack, Jones-Asay told police officers that she didn't hear her mother screaming or struggling the night of the murder. Investigators also noticed that Jones hardly had any defensive wounds.

'I believe Loretta stayed quiet to protect her own child because she was afraid her daughter would run out and get hurt as well,' Brewer explained.

A medical examiner concluded that Jones was killed with a small, narrow knife. There was also semen on her, but DNA testing was still in its early stages at the time, and they couldn't find a match.

Clue: Police noted that there were no signs of forced entry, suggesting that Jones had known her killer

Huh? Jones-Asay told police officers that she didn't hear her mother screaming or struggling the night of the murder. Investigators also noticed that Jones hardly had any defensive wounds

Doting mom: It is believed that Jones stayed quiet during the attack to protect her daughter from running out and getting hurt

Without any viable evidence at the crime scene, the only lead they had at the time was that a man tried to kidnap 10-year-old Lori Kulow Fennel on the same day as the murder.

Kulow Fennel, who lived by Jones, was playing outside when a man grabbed her and tried to abduct her, but her loud screams scared him away.

Jones-Asay also started talking about the night of the murder more and told her grandmother that she heard a man in their house threatening to kill her mother. She thought the voice belonged to her mom's friend 'Tom.'

When trying to figure out who 'Tom' was, investigators went through Jones' diaries. They found one Tom  Tom Egley  whom she dated for about two months.

Egley told police that he spent the day of Jones' murder in town, saying he had drinks, ate a hamburger, and went window shopping. While a bar owner confirmed she saw him that night, she noted that he had red spots all over his shirt.

Kulow Fennel also identified Egley out of a lineup as the man who tried to abduct her that fateful day.

Lead: Jones-Asay heard a man threaten to kill her mom that night and thought it was Jones' friend Tom Egley, who also tried to kidnap a 10-year-old girl on the day of the murder

Hope: The case went unsolved for decades until Jones-Asay enlisted the help of her high school friend David Brewer who works with the Carbon County Sheriff

'They said, "Is this the guy?" I felt like was about throw up,' Kulow Fennel recalled on the show.

Egley was charged with the attempted kidnapping, but there was no evidence in his home or the crime scene connecting him to Jones' murder. He spent just 90 days in prison and Jones' case went unsolved.

Decades went by without any new leads, but Jones-Asay never stopped trying to find her mother's killer.

'If I could keep the conversation alive about my mom, then maybe I could help get her case solved,' she said.

In 2009, Jones-Asay reconnected with Brewer on social media and learned her former high school friend was working with the Carbon County Sheriff. She purposely ran into him at a local arts festival to talk to him about her mom's cold case.

'I was kind of taken aback because knowing her in high school, I never knew that story,' Brewer recalled. 'I was a fairly fresh detective at the time. I had never worked a cold case, and I had never actually done a homicide yet.

Suspicious: Brewer decided to exhume Jones' body to look for evident after an interview with Egley convinced him that he was the killer

Doing it: 'If theres just a one per cent chance that we find physical evidence, it would be worth the effort,' Wally Hendricks, a detective with Carbon County Sheriffs Office

'Heidi came in and she told me the details that she was aware of in the case. Heidi, her passion behind it and still crying after 39 years... She wanted her mom's case solved, and I owed it to her to do it.'

However, the odds were stacked against him. The crime files had been lost, leaving him with only past media coverage, Jones-Asay's memory of that night, and a photo of her at the crime scene that showed a blood-soaked carpet.

'That picture kind of set me back a little because why are they taking a picture of her where her mom died?' he said. 'But this picture is the only crime scene photo we have.'

Brewer managed to track down Egley's then-girlfriend who revealed that he had come home late the night of the murder and immediately took a bath with all of his clothes on. He went to the laundromat the next day and was missing several clothing items when returned.

The officer found Egley living Rocky Ford, Colorado. The case's only suspect strangely claimed he couldn't remember the name of his old girlfriend who had been murdered. However, he was able to tell Brewer what he did and even ate that day.

Decades: Jones' body was exhumed in July 2016  46 years after it was buried

Disappointment: Investigators discovered that Jones' coffin had collapsed while underground and there was too much water damage to swab for evidence

Working an angle: However, they had heavily publicized the exhumation and claimed they were excited about the results as an attempt to scare Egley into giving himself away

Brewer was convinced that Egley was the killer, but he didn't have any concrete evidence that would convict him.

In July 2016, he asked Jones-Asay if they could exhume her mother's body to see if there was any evidence that was left behind.

'I said, "Get me a shovel. I'll help dig,"' Jones-Asay recalled. 'I was willing to do whatever needed to be done to get my mom's case solved.'

After more than 40 years, investigators hoped Jones' remains were well-enough preserved that they could swab underneath her fingernails for forensic evidence.

'If theres just a one per cent chance that we find physical evidence, it would be worth the effort,' Wally Hendricks, a detective with Carbon County Sheriffs Office, told producers.

However, much to their dismay, the coffin had collapsed while underground and there was too much water damage to swab for evidence.

Investigators had heavily publicized the exhumation and claimed they were excited about the results as an attempt to scare Egley into giving himself away.

Big break: Egley's neighbor Lisa Carter offered to wear a wire and spent weeks talking to him

Incredible: Carter not only got Egley to confess, but she also convinced him to go to the police. Egley was arrested on August 2016, more than four decades after the murder

Justice: Egley was found guilty of murder in October 2016 and sentenced to 10 years to life in prison

They got their first big lead when a woman named Linda who had lived with Jones' parents as a college student came forward and told the police that Jones had written her murderer's name in blood at the crime scene.

While reexamining their only crime scene photo, Brewer said he could see a 'T' and an 'O' in the bloodstain. Once again, all signs pointed to Egley, but the case might have remained cold if it wasn't for the killer's neighbor Lisa Carter.

Carter contacted the police and offered to wear a wire while trying to get a confession out of Egley. She spent weeks talking to him, telling him that police had found evidence from the exhumation.

The unlikely strategy worked and Egley confessed to the murder. He claimed they had consensual sex but snapped when they got into a fight. Carter convinced him to turn himself in to the police, and he did.

Egley was arrested on August 2016  46 years after he had murdered Jones. He took a plea deal and plead guilty to Jones' murder in exchange for the rape charge being dropped.

He was found guilty in October 2016 and was sentenced to 10 years to life in prison, but Jones-Asay has vowed that she will make sure he is never freed.

'If Tom is ever eligible for parole, I will be at the parole hearing to make sure he never walks as a free man again,' she said at the hearing, Deseret News reported at the time.


[February 05, 2021] Central Logic Saw Record-Breaking Growth, Awareness and Momentum in 2020 as Health Systems Increase Focus on 'Operating as One'

ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite a global pandemic and massive economic disruption, Central Logic , the leading healthcare access and orchestration company, concluded 2020 with record-breaking, triple-digit revenue growth and client acquisition in a year when operating as one system of care to unite processes, resources and information became more important than ever before. "The extremely challenging circumstances of the past year have helped health system leaders realize how crucial it is to have real-time visibility across their enterprise into available beds, providers, transport and scarce resources such as ventilators so patients receive the critical care they need," said Angie Franks, CEO of Central Logic. "Even beyond COVID-19, the importance of fully aligning as a single integrated system that seamlessly shares data and resources with a centralized, real-time view of operations for better clinical and financial outcomes is a lesson that will resonate with many health systems for years to come." This industry-wide evolution toward "operating as one" is evidenced by Central Logic's unprecedented growth in 2020. Hundreds more hospitals and health systems requested information about Central Logic's solution and expertise last year than in any other year in the company's history. And, a record number of those inquiries resulted in new client relationships (details below). "Delivering on our clients' need for access and orchestration across the care continuum remains our core focus," Franks said. "In 2020, more health systems recognized the importance of this aspect of patient care and have shown they are eager to partner with a proven and established leader in the industry." Client Growth and Acquisitions

In 2020, Central Logic saw record client growth, including forging agreements with two of the largest for-profit health systems in the United States. To date, four of the five largest for-profit health systems in the country are Central Logic clients. Central Logic also made two strategic acquisitions in 2020 that will further support health systems' ability to operate as one system of care. The first announced acquisition was of Omaha-based Ensocare, which closed in October. Ensocare's technology, which will be incorporated into Central Logic's platform, automates the inpatient referral process to post-acute care (PAC). The acquisition expands Central Logic's solution to include successful transitions beyond hospitals to post-acute care settingsincluding skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities and long-term acute care centersby tapping into an active, curated network of more than 50,000 PAC providers nationwide. Placement confirmations are secured on average within 30 minutes. This efficient orchestration and navigation creates bed availability and access for incoming patients, creates more time for clinicians to operate at the top of their license, elevates revenue capture, and reduces system leakage. With the acquisition, Central Logic expanded its footprint to 800 hospitals and health systems, 150,000 providers, and more than 5 million patients, touching a total of 14% of U.S. hospital patients each year. Central Logic's second acquisition, announced in January 2021, was of Acuity Link, a leading provider of transportation communications and logistics management software. Acuity Link's technology powers Central Logic's new Intelligent Transport capability, which decreases bed cycle times and expedites bed availability with timely emergent and non-emergent transport to, from and between sites of care. Intelligent Transport transforms and unites ealth systems' transportation coordination process from one that is disparate, manual, time-consuming, and susceptible to human error to one that is standardized, automated, intelligent and efficientsubstantially reducing the time it takes to get patients access to the care they need and further enabling the health system to operate as one.



This growth was fueled by private equity firm Rubicon Technology Partners' strategic majority investment in Central Logic, announced in July. Rubicon, based in Boulder, Colo., is focused exclusively on enterprise software companies. The investment continues to accelerate Central Logic's growth through new product innovation, faster solution delivery and customer support. Surge Line Supports COVID-19 Response

One of the most significant accomplishments for Central Logic in 2020 was its support in the establishment of the Arizona Surge Line, which ensures all COVID-19 patients across the state receive appropriate placement and care even with the high caseload and surges the state has experienced.

Successfully implemented in less than two weeks, the Arizona Surge Line was created after discussions between the Arizona Department of Health Services and Banner Health, the largest health system in the state and a super user of Central Logic's technology platform. Months before the state faced its first major surge of cases, Banner and all of the other health systems from throughout the state agreed to participate in a statewide access center powered by Central Logic for load-balancing patients with COVID-19. The Surge Line provides referring hospitals anywhere in Arizona with one phone number to request the efficient transfer of patients to the appropriate level of care, including transport coordination and real-time patient tracking. Utilizing Central Logic's Microsoft Azure-based platform and integrating data from dozens of EHRs and other information systems, the solution delivers real-time visibility into available and staffed ICU beds, specialists, ventilators and other resourcesguaranteeing faster access to care for patients. In short, the Surge Line has enabled health systems across the entire state to operate as one, uniting more than 130 hospitals so they can efficiently orchestrate and navigate patient transitions across regionsor across the state. As of late January, the Arizona Surge Line had transferred more than 6,200 patients and prevented hospitals from needing to turn away anyone with COVID-19 by ensuring patient caseloads are evenly distributed across Arizona. Groundbreaking Leakage Report

With intensive care units bursting at the seams in many parts of the country and providers scrambling to find hospitals to admit their critically ill patients, COVID-19 has placed a national spotlight on healthcare access and orchestration. Faced with first and second surges of cases, some health systems recognized they had few enterprise-wide, standardized processes for how patients navigate into and out of their organizations. And few health systems have processes in place to ensure that patients return to providers affiliated with their network of physicians and facilitiesa concept referred to as repatriationafter they leave for outside care. Months before the pandemic, Central Logic began studying this topic of network "leakage" and commissioned an independent market research firm to survey health system leaders about this pressing topic. The resulting report, "The Patient Keepage & Leakage Report," was based on responses from a random sample of 138 double-verified senior health system and hospital executives responsible for patient care, hospital administration, finance or operations. Results showed that nearly all (96%) of these healthcare executives said patient leakage is a priority, but only 31% had a plan to keep patients within their health system networks. As highlighted in the report, patient leakage has taken on greater importance during COVID-19, as hospitals' and health systems' operating margins have dropped precipitously. While CARES Act funding has offered some financial relief, these organizations lost hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue in 2020 due in large part to restrictions on elective procedures and patients canceling or deferring care. The report re-emphasized the importance of improving "systemness" in order to decrease leakage and increase keepage. Through more efficient care access and orchestration and comprehensive visibility across all phases of care, healthcare organizations can regain revenue lost during the historic drop in elective care in 2020 due to COVID-19. "COVID-19 has forced health system leaders to re-examine how patients navigate into and out of their organization and where they go afterward," Franks said. "The significant gap in this knowledge will likely lead many of these leaders to prioritize healthcare access and orchestration in 2021." Events Go Virtual

Lisa Villarroel, MD, MPH, who serves as the medical director for the Division of Public Health Preparedness at the Arizona Department of Health Services and works closely with Central Logic on the Arizona Surge Line, was one of the featured panelists at Central Logic's first annual AO2 Summit, which was virtual in 2020. The summitwhose name stands for access and orchestrationis a reimagined annual conference focused on offering exclusive insights to healthcare leaders on best practices to orchestrate patients safely and effectively through the patient care continuum. The conference continues the momentum of Central Logic's previous Patient Flow Summit, which took place for the 10th year running last year. Along with Dr. Villarroel, the conference included presentations and roundtable discussions with other public and private healthcare experts, including Mike Leavitt, former Secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, former governor of Utah, and founder of Leavitt Partners; former Federal Emergency Management Administration administrator Craig Fugate; Alan Levine, CEO of Ballad Health, an integrated health system with 21 hospitals serving 29 counties in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky; Wayne Brackin, president and CEO of KIDZ Medical Services Inc., and former COO of Baptist Health South Florida. Also participating in the event were Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association; Renee DeSilva, CEO at The Health Management Academy; and attorney Alexis Gilroy, who advises on complex transactional and health regulatory issues with an emphasis on virtual health. The AO2 Summit served as the kick-off for an extended series of weekly "AO2uesday" virtual presentations, which took place on several Tuesdays following the conference. The weekly events featured a new thought leader or industry expert for each interactive session. With this unprecedented year of unique challenges in the rearview mirror, Franks looks with optimism to the year that is just beginning. "In the face of immense challenges, I am amazed and humbled by the hard work, resiliency and sheer will demonstrated by our health system clients," Franks said. "They are the true heroes of 2020and beyond." She adds: "We are hopeful that the new year will be one where health systems in their recovery enhance their ability to orchestrate and navigate patient transitions across their facilities and through the continuum of care, including post-acute care. This focus on creating an 'operating as one' mindset will not only help health systems recover from 2020 losses, it will foster sustainable and long-term growth in 2021 and well into the future." About Central Logic

For health systems and hospitals, healthcare access and orchestration are life-saving endeavors. Central Logic is a pioneer in the space and was founded solely to support this mission. Our flexible, purpose-built access and orchestration solutions ensure efficient patient navigation across health systems and through the continuum of care, and deliver the necessary controls to elevate revenue capture, clinician effectiveness, and patient outcomes. Clients count on Central Logic to deliver superior real-time visibility across their networks while offering operational, clinical and technical best practices to drive strong growth, reduce length of stay and minimize avoidable delays, today and into the future. Based in St. Paul, Minn., Central Logic has a 93% customer retention rate and has been named a "fastest growing private company" by both Inc. 500 and Utah Business Magazine. For more information, visit www.centrallogic.com. Media Contact

Tara Stultz

Amendola Communications for Central Logic

440-225-9595

tstultz@acmarketingpr.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/central-logic-saw-record-breaking-growth-awareness-and-momentum-in-2020-as-health-systems-increase-focus-on-operating-as-one-301223109.html SOURCE Central Logic

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Dion Diamond grew up in Petersburg, Va.  a totally segregated town  for the first 18 years of his life.

But he refused to be limited by that world view, and in 1959 took matters into his own hands, staging his own personal sit-in.

I would go into the local five and dime store, go to the white-only lunch counter, only to be told I couldnt be served, and I would sit, Diamond said at an event Thursday sponsored by Easton, Weston and Redding organizations to kick off their Black History Month programming.

And while hes seen progress with desegregation throughout the country, and noted that Black politicians and police chiefs now serve in places where he was once arrested for protesting and more integrated families are on television, he cautioned there remained work to do.

If you look at racial issues today, dont think that we have made it to the promised land, he said. Youve got to carry the torch again and take it down the road a wee bit more.

Diamond was one of three early civil rights activists  known as Freedom Riders  who spoke at Thursdays event. The other panelists were Charles Person, who was on the first Freedom Ride, and Joan Browning, who was expelled from her white womens college for attending a Black church and was on one of the last Freedom Rides.

The Freedom Riders were civil activists who rode interstate buses throughout the South during the spring and summer of 1961 to show that a 1960 Supreme Court ruling that made it illegal to segregate public buses, bus terminals and restaurants serving interstate buses wasnt being enforced.

The rides began in May 1961 and lasted seven months. The Interstate Commerce Commission ultimately issued new regulations with fines of up to $500 that eventually ended segregated bus facilities.

The Freedom Rides were important, Person said. It was one of the first major campaigns where, in the end when the edict was passed, it affected every state in the union. That was a good thing because you didnt have to replicate it in each state like we had to do in the sit-ins.

Person got involved while he was studying at Morehouse College, a historically Black college in Atlanta. Before the rides, he was involved in the sit-ins, marches and boycotts. He was arrested in February 1961 and spent 10 days in solitary confinement for singing too loud, he said.

Person said he was trained in nonviolence tactics and so readily applied for the Freedom Rides when the Congress of Racial Equality, or CORE, asked for student volunteers.

At that time, I would have volunteered to go anywhere, any time, to fight segregation, he said.

He was beaten during the first ride in Alabama; the damage included a lump the size of his fist at the base of his skull he carried until it was surgically removed in 1996.

He also said he soon learned the other bus on the ride had been stopped by white protesters and Ku Klux Klan members who smashed the windows, beat the riders and threw a firebomb into the bus.

Diamond was also among the first Freedom Riders. He continued fighting segregation while attending Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., which itself wasnt segregated so the students focused on civil rights activities across the river in Virginia. After successful sit-ins and protests, Diamond said he signed up for the Freedom Rides.

On May 24th of 1961, I left school thinking I was going to be gone on a long weekend, he said. That long weekend lasted two years and three months. That was the bus that went into Jackson, Mississippi, from Montgomery.

He was arrested in Jackson.

Once he was released, he stayed to register voters in Mississippi and did sit-ins in Maryland. He was arrested again in Louisiana and charged with seven different crimes as he tried to recruit students to help with voter registration.

I was charged with criminal anarchy. They said that I was trying to overthrow the government of the state of Louisiana, Diamond said. In fact, now that I think about it, I was guilty of that. That state had laws that said segregation was legal and thats what I was trying to overthrow.

All three speakers said activism is built on the work of those who came before, both for them in the 1960s and with Black Lives Matter today.

We didnt come out of nowhere, Browning said. We came out of a long history of resistance.

They said it was important to know the history and build on that.

Dont forget where the history of our country is, Diamond said. Please keep trying to get equal rights for all of us.

They also offered advice for young people organizing Black Lives Matter events: marching designated routes that return to the starting point so participants can return home safely; not having events at night, and making sure there is a clear mission so people know what you stand for. They also cautioned against people trying to hijack the movement.

They said there was a strong sense of community among the Freedom Riders that was fostered from their training and time together  which, they said, isnt apparent in some movements around the world today where people organize online.

I would have died for the other Freedom Riders and they would have died for me, Browning said.

Within Connecticut, they said its important for affluent communities to address disparities, especially in terms of schools where they can ensure students have access to the same quality of resources and technology.

Wiley Mullins, one of the events leaders, said the Freedom Riders visited Darien and Bridgeports high schools on their last visit to Connecticut in 2017.

Theres an absolute stark difference, yet all of those kids are asked to compete in the same room, Mullins said.

Browning said her answer for why she, as a white woman, decided to join the Freedom Rides, makes the same point.

Were all limited by not taking advantage of all the skills and all the resources and developing the children to the best they can be, she said. Its not doing something for the less advantageous, its doing something thats good for all of us.

kkoerting@newstimes.com
Less than three weeks before Myanmars military overthrew its elected government, Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi, made a hastily scheduled visit to the country and heaped praise on its generals.

During a meeting with Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the army chief now in charge, the Chinese official expressed support for the militarys deserved role in the course of national transformation and development.

The coup detat this week has thrust China back into the uncomfortable position it held for years with Myanmar: as the principal defender of a military dictatorship facing an international firestorm of criticism.

The coup has complicated a geopolitical struggle over a country that had only recently emerged from diplomatic isolation. China has sought to make it a pliant neighbor, while the United States has searched for the right mixture of pressure and encouragement to nurture a transition to democratic rule. It is also unclear how much any outside influence, from east or west, will sway the generals, whose bunkered mentality cut Myanmar off from the world for half a century.
On Feb. 1, Gilbert and Conway talked over the phone, and Conway said she hadnt been paying the water bill and he paid $640 in overdue water bills for the property because she hadnt put the bill in her name. Gilbert said she thought landlords paid the water bill, as is the case in Chicago, so she didnt think to check on that.
New York, US (PANA) - The United Nations has called for collaboration at all levels, and across all sectors of society, to protect millions of girls and women at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) every year
A glacier supports the large landmass of the Barry Arm fjord. Credit: Frank Kovalchek/Creative Commons

The retreat of an Alaskan glacier in the Barry Arm fjord, caused by rising temperatures, has left a steep and hefty land mass without structural support. If the hillside collapses in a landslide, millions of tons of rock and soil will plummet into the waters below, generating a wave of water hundreds of feet tall, endangering nearby coastal towns. Perhaps even more troubling, scientists cannot predict the timing of the collapse and resulting tsunami with certainty, making preparation difficult.

Centering its focus on this example, a recent study discusses how studying past trends and using simulations can help to manage the unfamiliar and unpredictable impacts of climate change. Authored by Miriam Matejova and Chad M. Briggs, the paper was published in Global Environmental Politics.

One of the key tools that the authors discuss is scenario analysis, which involves studying past trends in order to extrapolate possible futures. For example, scenario analysis can be used to predict population growth, increases in temperature, or future levels of CO 2 emissions. However, studying past trends can only help so much as climate change will bring new risks. In order for scenario analysis to be effective in predicting environmental risks before they become hazards, they must incorporate a higher level of complexity. In many instances, simple models that rely on only one or two variables will not provide accurate predictions of how complicated social and environmental systems will react to change. As an example of how adding complexity helps, the authors highlight an enhanced scenario analysis conducted in Hawaii to look for systemic vulnerabilities to tropical storms or tsunamis on the island of Oahu. New risks related to food and energy infrastructure were identified for which the island in question would be otherwise unprepared.

In addition to scenario analysis, the authors suggest simulations as another way to prepare for impending risks. Simulations are defined as realistic situations which allow participants to train and practice responding to certain circumstances. With their origins in military settings, simulations, also known as wargaming, have been used to design environments that test, measure and improve behavior and decision-making in complex and uncertain situations. For example, military officers often participate in simulations, learning how to implement certain strategies and tactics while under pressure. For natural disasters, simulations might involve political actors learning how to mobilize large groups of people, institutions learning how to provide proper aid and relief, or communities learning how to make decisions while managing risk.

Whittier, Alaska. A city well within range of the potential Barry Arm tsunami. Credit: Valerian Guillot/Creative Commons

Humans have, to an extent, learned to adapt their behavior based on past experiences and to make plans for disasters based on typical trends. But the Barry Arm tsunami risk highlights a crucial implication of climate change. As the environments and ecosystems surrounding human communities shift, being prepared becomes far more difficult. Beyond just fjords and glaciers, other ecosystems may also develop new, perhaps unnoticeable risks as a result of climate change. How effective will current measures for preparation and response be in the face of unfamiliar and unexpected risks?

In an interview with GlacierHub, Sue Perry, a former disaster scientist for the United States Geological Survey, spoke of her experience with a risk familiar to many today: "In my universe, everyone who ever went near an ocean would know that tsunamis are rare but can happen at any time, and thatdepending on how far away the tsunami startsthey could have hours or a scant few minutes to take action. They'd know the warning signs that a tsunami is imminent, how to get to safety, that a tsunami can move a mile or more up rivers, and that tsunamis can send more than one damaging wave ashore." But as circumstances change, communities that were once unaffected will need to learn to manage new disaster threats. Even communities that have had experience with natural disasters may need to adjust as well.

The authors suggest that scenario analysis and simulations should play a key role in identifying weak signals, such as the change in the Barry Arm Fjord, that have been overlooked. They define weak signals as "pieces of information that may seem random but reveal important patterns if interpreted in a new context." Such signals are often ignored, whether it's due to misinterpretations or the psychological avoidance of unfavorable outcomes.

Perry remarked, "We'd make a lot more progress if we (first-world) humans stopped seeing ourselves as the managers and rulers of this planet. And of course the U.S. might educate its youngsters so that upcoming generations could leave today's ignorance behind." While there are systems in place that help people prepare for natural disasters, many of them may soon be obsolete as natural disasters change in quantity, ferocity and location because of climate change. Through scenario analysis, key weak points can be identified, and through simulations, the necessary political actors, institutions and stakeholders can learn just how to respond to future risks.

Scenario analysis and simulations will always face some limitations. As the authors note, 2020 demonstrated repeatedly that we cannot always predict what's to come. There exists, however, a growing opportunity to attempt to understand emerging risks and to bring together diverse actors and stakeholders in order to manage such risks. Whether it's pursuing research that once seemed unnecessary or connecting communities that were previously unlinked, there are plenty of discoveries to be made. As we barrel into unprecedented times, we cannot rely solely on the precedents of past experience.

Explore further Natural hazard events and national risk reduction measures unconnected

More information: Miriam Matejova et al. Embracing the Darkness: Methods for Tackling Uncertainty and Complexity in Environmental Disaster Risks, Global Environmental Politics (2020). Miriam Matejova et al. Embracing the Darkness: Methods for Tackling Uncertainty and Complexity in Environmental Disaster Risks,(2020). DOI: 10.1162/glep_a_00591

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu.
AstraZeneca Plcs Covid vaccine is just as effective against the new strain of the virus that emerged in the U.K. as against the initial version, according to a study by the shots co-developer, the University of Oxford.

Protection against symptomatic infection was similar for the new variant as well as the earlier strain, according to the study, which analyzed swabs taken from volunteers from October through mid-January. The findings are disclosed in a preprint of the study, which has not been peer-reviewed.

The results should ease concerns about the effectiveness of existing vaccines against that particular mutant form of the virus, which health officials have said may be more infectious than the initial one. Other vaccine makers have said their shots appear to be effective against the strain identified in the U.K. -- though theyve cautioned that booster shots or next-generation vaccines may eventually be needed as the virus evolves.

There are indications that other variants of the virus linked to Brazil and South Africa may be more problematic for vaccines. A team of researchers should soon have data from South Africa to show how well the vaccine works there, Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of the Oxford Covid vaccine trials, said Friday in a briefing.

Were not going to be surprised to see reduced efficacy against the South African variant, said Mene Pangalos, Astras executive vice president for biopharmaceutical research. Its to be expected that there will be reduced activity.

AstraZeneca fell as much as 1.9% as of 3:30 p.m. in London.

A large U.S. study of the AstraZeneca shot will also include data on virus variants, as well as showing more definitively how well the vaccine works in people age 65 and over, Pangalos said. Results from that study are due in the next four to six weeks, he said.

BioNTech SE, developer of another coronavirus vaccine with Pfizer Inc., has also said its shot appears to maintain effectiveness against the new U.K. strain.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Despite the agitating farmers assurance that the proposed 'chakka jam' (creating a traffic jam as a mark of protest) would not be carried out in Delhi, as a precautionary measure, the Delhi Police have intensified security arrangements with a special focus on bordering areas where the protesting farmers are sitting since November last year.

"Though we have got to know that the farmers have no plans to do chakka jam in the Capital but in the wake of them flouting the agreement on January 26, we are taking no chances and have made elaborate arrangements especially in border areas," said Delhi Police PRO Chinmoy Biswal.

Security has been beefed up at strategic locations and the Delhi Police would be keeping an eye on the protest build up in the bordering states and protest sites close to the border such as Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur. The Delhi Police are also in touch with the police in bordering states such as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and collecting intelligence inputs in close coordination with the state police.

"We are in constant touch with the police of bordering states since the protest started. In the wake of the chakka jam we would keep an eye on the borders too," the officer added.

The Delhi Police would also be monitoring certain social media handles during the proposed chakka jam for three hours on February 6.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Police commissioner S.N. Shrivastava held a meeting with senior police officers and reviewed security arrangements.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait earlier said the nationwide protest will be peaceful and added that there will be no 'chakka jam' in Delhi.

"Farmers will not block roads in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Saturday as part of the nationwide 'chakka jam' called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha," Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said on Friday.
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The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday ordered the deployment of ceasefire monitors in Libya to observe the implementation of the truce agreed to last year. According to media reports, the UNSC called on the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to deploy a ceasefire monitor team in Libya to ensure the truce agreement is being implemented. On October 23, 2020, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the warring sides in Libya.

Read: Libya's Future In Balance In UN-backed Leadership Vote

The internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) have been fighting a civil war in Libya since 2014, three years after the fall of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Last year, both sides signed an UN-brokered ceasefire agreement in Geneva following a failed military offensive by the LNA, which was launched in 2019 with an intention to seize the capital Tripoli from GNA-backed forces.

Read: Libya Conflict: Foreign Mercenaries Ignore UN's Libya Exit Deadline Under Fragile Truce

The announcement to deploy a ceasefire monitor team in Libya comes on the day when the seventh round of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee (JMC) convened in Sirte to finalise the plan for the implementation of the truce agreement. "The JMC will also finalize discussions with UNSMIL on the necessary requirements for the deployment of UN monitors in support of the Libyan ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism," a press release by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya read.

Read: UN Says Breakthrough Achieved In Libya Transition Talks

JMC meeting

The seventh round of the JMC meeting that convened on February 4, will focus on expediting the opening of coastal roads to enable the safe passage of citizens and goods. The meeting will take place until February 7 and will be attended by representatives of both sides, including UNSMIL staff. The meeting will also discuss the way forward to clear mines and other war remnants from areas currently under the control of each party.

Read: UN Chief Recommends Libya Cease-fire Monitors Based In Sirte

(Image Credit: AP)


Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh had talks over the phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on February 5.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Photo: VNA)

Congratulating Blinken on his appointment as US Secretary of State, Minh expressed his readiness to cooperate closely with Blinken to further promote the Vietnam - US comprehensive partnership for the sake of the two peoples, thereby contributing to peace, security, development, and prosperity in the Asia - Pacific region and the world as a whole.

Sharing the view that the two countries relations have enjoyed strides in all aspects over the last 25 years, the officials agreed to work together to develop bilateral ties more comprehensively and intensively in the time ahead, with focus on economy - trade - investment, settlement of war consequences, improvement of maritime capacity, science - technology, education - training, COVID-19 prevention and control, and climate change response.

The US Secretary of State offered congratulations on the success of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, affirming his countrys continued attachment of importance to relations with the Southeast Asian nation.

He also congratulated Vietnam on its successful performance in the 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship and the first half of its two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The US respects and supports ASEANs centrality in the region and wishes stronger cooperation between the two sides in regional and international mechanisms on issues of common concern, Blinken added./.VNA
The awards ceremony was still streaming online, but Shannon Squires-Toews had stopped watching. She was talking to friends on the phone, saying how overwhelmed she felt by winning some top prizes in the Professional Photographers of Americas international print competition, often referred to as the Oscars of photography.

She almost missed them announcing her name again, this time as the prestigious competitions award overall winner. She beat out more than 5,000 entries.

Squires-Toews burst into tears. Everyone around her, the friends and family gathered at her studio for a small watch party, started screaming.

ALSO:

Colorado Springs playwright, director of Fine Arts Center receives prestigious national award

I was beside myself, Squires-Toews, 37, said. That wasnt at all on my radar of possibilities at this point in my career.

As the mother of three wrote to her 6,500 followers on Instagram, she woke up the next day with an adrenaline hangover and unsure how to explain the surreal honor.

Someone pinch me when I get back from school drop off, Squires-Toews wrote.

That award is the latest example of the Colorado Springs-based photographers growing success and star power in the field. Also, that mid-January day served as another sign she chose the right path.

She wasnt always so sure.

Art was always part of life for Squires-Toews, who grew up in a small mining town in Nevada. She found inspiration from her father, a pencil artist, and would spend hours drawing in her bedroom. High school photography classes showed her another passion and helped her get a scholarship to the Art Institute of Seattle. But after two and a half years of intense classes and getting her degree, Squires-Toews needed a break.

I was just drained, she says. I didnt want to pick up a camera.

She moved back to Nevada and spent a summer fighting wildland fires and waiting tables.

And then I made another crazy transition, she said.

She got a job as a makeup artist, which she saw as another form of art. Six years later, Squires-Toews went on a six-month mission trip to Romania. Taking in the beautiful sights there, she couldnt help but want to take photos. It resparked her passion.

When she returned home in 2010, Squires-Toews decided to jump back into photography. She took jobs photographing weddings and babies and anything that came her way. By 2014, she had a full-time photography business focusing on children and family portraits.

Her photos dont have the smiley look of what you might find on a family Christmas card. Her moody, fine-art style often shows warm tones and pops of rich color. Instead of, say, a Facebook profile photo, shes going for a timeless heirloom for the family.

Im focused on getting you a classic piece of artwork that youre going to hang on your walls, she said. I picture my work as something thats passed on for generations.

That could mean more straightforward, yet still dreamy, portraits of kids sitting in fields or smelling flowers or riding a vintage bicycle. To create that moody look, Squires-Toews often lets clients (shannonsquiresphotography.com) choose their outfits from an extensive wardrobe collection, ranging from baby clothes to ball gowns.

Then theres her imaginative sessions, where she makes her client part of a scene from Where the Wild Things Are or Aladdin. Basically, she can make them part of any story theyd like.

I always say, The sky is never the limit, Squires-Toews said. I can give you the sky.

She creates those scenes by hand-drawing on a tablet in Photoshop, magically turning digital strokes into realistic butterflies or clouds or a scene from outer space.

Its a skill enjoyed by her three kids, who are 7, 5 and 2, who ask Mom to make it look like theyre riding a unicorn or in the middle of a movie scene.

During the beginning of the pandemic, when Squires-Toews couldnt work much, her kids were her only subjects. She created a print of her 7-year-old daughter sitting on a tree stump holding a clump of dirt with a flower blooming out of it. And one of her 5-year-old son resembling an old-timey pilot standing on a runway.

More than anything, I hope they treasure the art I create for them, she said.

Just like other families treasure her work. These days, Squires-Toews cant go long without taking photos. She cant imagine giving it up, like she almost did as a younger woman.

If I havent held my camera for a while, I get anxious, she said. Yes its my job, but its also my passion. Its what I truly love to do.

Her favorite part, she says, is the thrill of the next great idea or photo.

Theres that little bit of magic every time you do a shoot, she said. You can feel it when you have magic in front of you.
The Chertoff Group, a global security advisory firm that enables clients to navigate changes in security risk, technology and policy, today announced the appointment of The Honorable Ellen Lord as a Senior Advisor. Until recently, Lord served as the first Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S), leading the Department of Defenses personnel, policies and processes involved in Pentagon acquisition, contracts, logistics, and the defense industrial base. At The Chertoff Group she will provide counsel regarding defense programs, homeland security and the protection of critical infrastructure.

We are excited to welcome Ellen to our team of Senior Advisors, said Michael Chertoff, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of The Chertoff Group. This network provides critical analysis and perspective on the ever-changing landscape of risk management. Ellens deep background in aerospace and defense, both in the government and private sectors, coupled with her business acumen will add immense value to our clients."

Lords career, spanning more than 30 years, includes serving as President and CEO of Textron Systems, a subsidiary of the Textron Company. She is a former Vice Chairman of the National Defense Industrial Association and served as the Director of the U.S.  India Business Council. Lord also served as a Trustee on the Board of the U.S. Naval Institute Foundation.

I am honored to join The Chertoff Group said Lord. I look forward to enabling the partnership between government and industry to further our national and economic security.

An internationally recognized leader in security and risk management advisory services, The Chertoff Group applies unmatched industry insights around security technology, global threats, strategy and public policy to enable a more secure world. To learn more about The Chertoff Group, visit https://www.chertoffgroup.com/
Rallying oil prices are testing once again the U.S. shale patchs resolve to spend within their means and prioritize profitability over production growth.

U.S oil prices above $55 a barrel are also testing the patience of investors with American oil producers, and investor hopes that this time around shale firms will keep, for a change, their promises to stay disciplined in spending for drilling. The higher the price of oil, the greater the temptation to plow more cash into new wells.

The fact that U.S. oil companies are a motley bunch of large publicly traded corporations and small privately held firms is not making the industrys pitch to regain investor confidence easier, either. The bigger listed firms continue to vow discipline and sustainable production growth, while some private companies are set to continue outspending cash flows to boost production at these higher oil prices.

Considering that U.S. producers are not a coordinated bunch of market players like OPEC, investors are only cautiously optimistic that the 2020 downturn may have resulted in a lasting strategic reset of priorities for the shale patch. Investors want to believe that this time profitability, not production, will inform spending decisions at most companies.

The industry, for its part, wants to convince the market that it has finally learned its lesson and has a way to win investors over again.

Investors and the market havent rewarded U.S. shale for its record production growth in recent years, and they will punish the stocks again if they do not see the money.

Disillusioned Investors Punish Oil Stocks

At the end of last year, the energy sector represented just 2.28 percent of the S&P 500 indexa new historic low, especially if compared to 12.03 percent of the index in 2010 and 4.35 percent as of the end of 2019. The rise of information technology and financials over the past decade has something to do with this, but so do disappointed investors who have been waiting for years for U.S. shale firms to show them the money, and prove they can turn in profits and return investments.

Related: Shells Profits Plunge 87% In 2020



Over the past three months, the energy sector has been on a tear, helped by the oil price rally on the back of vaccine rollouts and the prospect of a tighter market courtesy of the OPEC+ production cuts and expectations of economic and oil demand growth this year.

Yet, investors wait to see the money from U.S. shale and are cautiously choosing to believe, for now, in the promised capital discipline.

Some listed companies now look very attractive after the energy stocks plunged last year, but cautiousness prevails about spending-within-means pledges.

I see attractive fundamentals that I havent seen for 20 years, Aaron DeCoste, an equity analyst at institutional investor Boston Partners, told Financial Times Derek Brower and Myles McCormick.

Yet, the analyst is still cautious about the shale patchs renewed commitment to rein in spending.

Large Firms Continue To Vow Discipline

The pandemic-driven collapse in oil demand and prices accelerated the shift to capital discipline in the biggest U.S. shale basin, the Permian.

Last year, for the first time ever, Permian operators as a whole did not outspend their upstream cash from operations, Rystad Energy has estimated. In 2020, the reinvestment rate  that is the percentage of upstream cash from operations going into capital expenditures  dropped to below 100 percent for the first time ever, to 84 percent, compared to 121 percent in 2019, according to Rystad Energy.

This year, big listed firms such as Occidental, Pioneer Natural Resources, and Devon Energy continue to promise discipline in spending and no reckless races to record production. Pioneer and Devon Energy are also working to distribute variable dividends on top of the base dividend to fulfill promises for increased shareholder returns.

This is a sector that is trying to regain favor with investors. And it hasnt earned its cost of capital. And the way out of that isnt by investing more capital, Chevrons chief financial officer Pierre Breber said on the U.S. supermajors Q4 earnings call last week.

Consolidation Could Help Restore Wall Streets Confidence In Shale

It was Chevron that first announced a major acquisition since the pandemic started, effectively launching a wave of a long-awaited consolidation in the shale patch.

Investors seem to like the increased scale of operations, lower costs, and quality assets in the deals made at the end of last year.

Industry executives and analysts believe that the consolidation is not over, and it will likely leave a financially healthier bunch of operators with lower costs and increased synergies and efficiencies.

Wall Street appears supportive of E&P deals, but with very specific expectations on deal structure and the quality of the merger target, Andrew Dittmar, M&A Analyst at oil and gas data analytics company Enverus, said last month.

Most industry executives said in the latest Dallas Fed Energy Survey in December that they expect the number of publicly listed independent E&P firms in the U.S. to shrink to fewer than 48 by the end of 2022 from around 60 currently.

I dont think M&A is done in this business. I think you got to continue to drive down cost of supply, you want the best resource in the business, and you got to be the most sustainable company from an ESG perspective, ConocoPhillipss CEO Ryan Lance said on the Q4 earnings call this week.

Capital discipline, higher shareholder returns, and lower costs could be the incentives that could attract investors back to U.S. shale. But investors will want to see the money first.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

Renowned Kilkenny goldsmiths will feature in Samhlu, a new cultural partnership between TG4 and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Medias Creative Ireland Programme. Samhlu - Croi Cruthaitheach.

This season of twelve commissioned abstract short-films featuring artists and creatives is the second phase of the cultural project is available to watch on the TG4 player.

The short films are a visual and audio experience depicting the artistic process of some of Ireland's hidden creatives. These are our unique and vibrant artists, makers and doers, based in our towns, our villages throughout Ireland. Through these films, the viewer will gain a new and detailed perspective on how the artist prepares and develops their work in an intimate stylised form. Among the creatives featured are Kilkenny goldsmiths James Mary and Neill Kelly. From their forge in the shadow of Kilkenny Castle these specialist Goldsmiths are at work creating bespoke custom-made jewellery by cold forged hand fabrication. James Marys interest was sparked after a school trip to Kilkenny Design where he was very impressed with the metal works on site. After approaching the workshop manager to ask for a job James Mary was successful. He was later offered a goldsmith scholarship to Germany which James Mary says was invaluable.

With the closure of Kilkenny Design Workshops in 1988 James Kelly and Des Byrne were involved in a management buyout of the metal workshop, with a view to establishing two independent workshops within the complex DAB and JMK. They have both been very successful since and the businesses have prospered. Among their creations are the Liam McCarthy cup made by James Mary, which has had many a trip back to Kilkenny since, and the Sam Maguire Cup made by Desmond. Other works have included gifts for Popes and one work in particular that stands out for James Mary was the Tabernacle he made for Armagh Cathedral. James Mary recalls Cardinal O Fiaich being very impressed with the creation. Neill Kelly decided to follow in his fathers footsteps after studying a Grennan Mill craftcourse in 91 and has worked and studied under some of the best Goldsmiths since. They have seen a shift in the markets over the decades and James Mary says that they are required to keep diversifying their products to satisfy the market demand.

To view see https://www.tg4.ie/Samhlu

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
A vial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and UK-based drugmaker AstraZeneca is checked as they arrive at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, England, on Jan. 2, 2021. (Gareth Fuller/Pool via AP)

Experts Warn Against Sharing COVID-19 Vaccination Cards on Social Media

Officials and experts are warning against sharing COVID-19 vaccination cards on social media, saying it may lead to identity theft.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said Wednesday that doing so gives scammers the opportunity to steal identities or hack financial accounts, because of the information it contains.

Its exciting to see so many people eager to share news that they are vaccinated against the coronavirus, Moody said. While the vaccine helps protect against the virus, posting your vaccine card on social media opens you up to another type of plaguethe epidemic of scammers scouring the internet for personal information they can use to steal your identity or hack financial accounts.

Moody added that photos of the vaccination cards may also aid scammers in creating counterfeit COVID-19 vaccine documents that appear authentic.

Similarly, Sandra Guile of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, a nonprofit organization, told Good Morning America this week that sharing images of the vaccination cards online may make the posters vulnerable to being targeted by scammers.

When you release a photo of that card, it has your personal, identifiable information. Its got your date of birth and your first and last name, Guile said. With that information, there are some unsavory individuals out there that [will] try to open up credit cards, buy cell phones, go shopping.

Guile said people should instead, if they wish, share photos of vaccine stickers, such as the one released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year that states, I got my COVID-19 vaccine! or a simple thumbs-up photo.

Weve all been isolated for the last year-plus and told to stay home. Were eager and itching to get back to normal life, and thats all well and good and this is the first step towards that, but the facts still remain that you need to protect your personal information, she said. The best thing for people to do right now is to treat their personal information like cash, protect it.

Guile also urged people to be wary about fraudulent text, phone, and social media messages asking for personal information in exchange for a COVID-19 vaccine.

Sadly this is the type of situation that scammers look for, she said. Were in the middle of a pandemic, theres a lot of information going out right now from a lot of different sources, people are kind of wary on where they find the correct information and how they get the vaccine.

Anyone asking for personal information or money unprompted is most likely a scammer, Guile said.

If someone were to approach you, and you havent reached out to them in the first place, theyre phishing for information that they should not get from you, she said. If you see a phone number pop up on your cell phone or landline that is not familiar, dont answer it. Let it go to your voicemail.
by Nirmala Carvalho

Father Babu Joseph, SVD, talks about the arrest of nine people who attended a service in Madhya Pradesh. In a democratic country, citizens should have right to exercise their freedom of worship, but sadly, he laments, this seems to be on the decline in India.

Mumbai (AsiaNews)  Nine people who took part in a meeting organised by the Sat Prakashan Sanchar Kendra, a Catholic non-profit, were arrested after people affiliated with the Bajrang Da, the youth wing of the Hindu nationalist Vishva Hindu Parishad, stormed its headquarters in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on 26 January.

Arresting a group of people who were peacefully participating in a public prayer meeting based on an unsubstantiated complaint by certain hardcore organisations is nothing short of travesty of justice, said Sat Prakashan Sanchar Kendras director, Father Babu Joseph, SVD.

In his view, As a matter of justice and fairness those who trespassed the property and created a ruckus should have been booked but then they are protected because of their political patronage. Instead, innocent people are incarcerated for no crime they have committed.

Is participating in a public prayer a crime in this country? asks Fr Joseph. If so, a satsang (spiritual discourse) organised by a sadhu or a sant should also come under a cloud of suspicion. In a democratic country, citizens should have right to exercise their freedom of worship, but sadly, this seems to be on the decline in India.

On the basis of the Madhya Pradeshs new anti-conversion law, police arrested the parents of a woman and seven other people for allegedly forcing her to embrace Christianity.

Police station in-charge Santosh Kumar Dudhi said that the 25-year-old woman's complaint says that her parents, under the pretext of taking her to her grandmother's home, took her to a Christian community centre in Indore for a prayer meeting.

Some women pulled my hands and legs and beat me up there (at the centre). I was forced to sit in a hall. I was born a Hindu and I practice the same religion ... but my mother and those present forced me to leave my religion, says the First Information Report (FIR) filed at the police by the woman, who is from Gujarkheda, a village near Indore.

Based on her complaint, police on Tuesday registered a case under the relevant provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act against her parents and the people present at the meeting held on Republic Day.

"Nine people, including the woman's parents, have been arrested and we are searching for two other accused," said the police officer.

"The Madhya Pradesh state government promulgated the Freedom of Religion Ordinance in 2020. It provides for 10 years in jail in some cases if the accused is found guilty of conversion through fraudulent means, said Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC).

The new draconian anti-conversion legislation is a tool for majority vigilante groups to make false complaints and harass the small Christian community. The law is deliberately misused by right-wing groups and vested interests to exploit existing communal tensions in which Christians are a minority, George added.
Bhubaneswar, Feb 5 : Amidst the ongoing border dispute with neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday launched several developmental projects in the Kotia region of Koraput district.

The Chief Minister launched projects worth Rs 18 crore, in addition to the ongoing projects of Rs 150 crore for the development of 21 disputed villages in Kotia gram panchayat under Potangi block.

The move comes days after Andhra Pradesh announced panchayat elections in three villages of Kotia panchayat. The dates fixed by Andhra Pradesh for the elections are February 13 and 17.

In the notification for the polls, it has included Talaganjeipadar, Phatuseneri and Phagunaseneri villages under Salur block.

Addressing on the occasion via video conferencing, Patnaik announced that Kotia would be transformed into a model panchayat.

The Chief Minister said that he would very soon visit Kotia region and meet the people there.

"The state government has already implemented developmental activities in the sectors of education, health, communication, drinking water, and electricity. Steps will be taken to transform Kotia into a model panchayat," he added.

After Andhra Pradesh government announced to hold panchayat polls in Kotia, the Odisha government on Thursday shifted Koraput Collector Madhusudan Mishra and Mohammad Abdaal Akhtar has been appointed as new Koraput Collector.

Meanwhile, opposition Congress criticised the state government for failing to take concrete steps to resolve the dispute.

"Odisha-Andhra border issue in Kotia is a long-standing controversy and a mere transfer of collector won't work. If the Chief Minister cannot ensure the safety of the state, it proves that his leadership is weak," said senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra.

Taraprasad Bahinipati, Congress MLA from Koraput district, said locals of the region are also inclining towards the neighbouring state as Odisha government has done no concrete developmental works.

The Chief Minister should visit Kotia and review the situation, he said.
An aerial Firefighting helicopter drops fire retardant in an attempt to contain a bushfire in Wooroloo in Perth, Australia on Feb. 2, 2021. (Evan Collis/Department of Fire and Emergency Services via Getty Images)

Rain Due After Tough Night for West Australian Fire Fighters

PERTH, Australia  Firefighters are hoping for weekend rain in Western Australia (WA), with the number of homes destroyed by a devastating bushfire in the Perth Hills rising to 86.

Hopes are high that forecast weekend rain will help firefighters get on top of the week-long blaze as a tropical low tracks towards the southwest.

But weary firefighters are expected to face their toughest challenge, with conditions forecast to worsen before they get better.

We are expecting incredibly strong windsstronger than weve had alreadytomorrow ahead of that tropical low, Department of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm told reporters on Friday.

DFES Commissioner Darren Klemm addresses the media at Mundaring Arena in Perth, Australia on Feb. 04, 2021. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)

At this time, were being advised that we will see rain on or about the fire ground at approximately 11 a.m. (on Saturday). But between now and then, we have still got the challenges of these really strong winds.

No further properties were lost overnight on Thursday but West Australian officials on Friday confirmed five more burnt-out homes were identified.

Emergency warnings remain in place for parts of Avon Valley National Park, Brigadoon, Bullsbrook, Gidgegannup, Upper Swan, and Walyunga National Park.

People bound by Clenton Road, OBrien Road, and Ewing Road have been warned there is still uncontained fire activity, and should leave now if they intend to do so and the means of exit are clear.

The fire has burned almost 11,000 hectares in total.

A man in a fire suit walks past an ornamental statue of a kangaroo in the yard of a razed house after bushfires in Gidgegannup, some 40 kilometres north-east of Perth on Feb. 4, 2021. (Trevor Collens/AFP)

Efforts to allow some residents to return home are continuing with areas east of Toodyay Road opening up from 4 p.m. on Friday.

Roads including the Great Northern Highway and Railway Parade have reopened, while speed restrictions on the Tonkin Highway have been removed.

Firefighters have worked overtime to clear damage from seriously affected areas, including fallen powerlines, while also dealing with flare-ups on the northern flank of the bushfire and re-establishing containment lines.

You must shelter before the fire arrives as the extreme heat will kill you well before the flames reach you, the DFES said on Friday.

Western Power says some 465 homes remain without power, with repairs to damaged electricity networks potentially continuing for weeks.

AAP
This Budget mark a clear directional change for the Indian economy and that directional change is not what the government has offered as a sudden response, but it was something that was preoccupying the Indian minds for over 30 years, said Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman while addressing the FICCI's National Executive Committee Meeting.

Sitharaman said that this budget is trying to raise resources which are non-tax resources at a time when we need a lot of money to spend. It's a budget which raises resources but not on the back of increased taxation. There is a directional change in the budget which is so distinct that it will fuel the entrepreneurial spirit which the Indians show given the right opportunities, she added.

The Finance Minister further stated, I underline that we have not burdened any section of Indian society with any additional demand for even an additional rupee. She added that we have good confidence that revenue generation will improve through this year and we are confident that we will be bringing in non-tax revenue other than just disinvestments through various other monetization of assets and so on.

Sitharaman also urged the industry to come forward to make investments. I hope the industry will understand the spirit with which the budget is placed before you and therefore also come forward to participate in this inevitable exercise. Industry, having cleared all its debts and finances, should now be in a position to invest money to expand and grow and clearly show signs that it is now ready to receive any joint ventures for the sake of technology that it prefers to have, Smt. Sitharaman emphasised.

The Finance Minister further stated that for providing immediate stimulus to the economy, the government will be spending in a big way in public infrastructure and three large areas where big ticket expenditure will happen include infrastructure, health and agriculture. Government alone, even if it brings bags full of money, cannot just meet the demand of the growing and aspirational India, Smt. Sitharaman said.

Speaking on the setting up of Development Financial Institutions (DFI), Smt. Sitharaman said that we will enable one DFI and the entire financing of long-term infrastructure will happen in a very market driven way. That itself will bring in efficiency, she added.

The government, Smt. Sitharaman said, has taken a confident, trustworthy and transparent accounting statement in our budget. There is no patching up or white washing. It has honest attempt to give honest statement of the government's finances and with the reforms announced along with the stimulus. It is clear that this government is not sitting cautiously, and it is coming forward with faith in Indian industry and business leaders, added the Finance Minister.

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ABC US logo To work for ABC and its quality fastener brands, visit Altenloh.us today. The company is actively hiring.

Altenloh, Brinck & Co. US, Inc. (ABC), manufacturer of SPAX engineered fasteners, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the TRUFAST brand in 2021.

The story of TRUFASTs early days can be found in founder Duane Spanglers book, The Journey. Its pages make clear the rich community relationships and connections that contributed to TRUFASTs initial successes and growth as a provider of high-quality fastening solutions for the commercial roofing industry. Its not surprising that as the company grew, Trusted Connections became both its mantra and philosophy of doing business.

Even after TRUFASTs 2005 acquisition by German-based Altenloh, Brinck & Co., that family-focused culture of trusted connections continues to be a hallmark of both the TRUFAST brand and parent company ABC  as well as its other, complementary brands, SPAX for the construction market and the TRUFAST WALLS brand for exterior building envelopes and facades.

The ABC acquisition of TRUFAST resulted in an immediate and ongoing infusion of capital and resources that boosted the companys growth and expansion while leaving its family-owned, people-focused culture intact. ABCs investments made possible a 33,000-square foot expansion and modernization of the Bryan, OH manufacturing facility in 2011 as well as a 50,000 square foot expansion to its state-of-the-art heat treat facility in Pioneer, OH.

From the beginning, TRUFAST was an excellent fit for our company because of similar brand traits: customer focus, persistence, high quality and reliability of both our products and people, said Nikolas Dicke, CEO of ABC and a leader at the parent company, Altenloh, Brinck & Co. Group.

Jim Winn, president of the SPAX brand, shared his take on how the TRUFAST brand origins led to the current successes of the ABC family of brands, including SPAX: TRUFAST is the foundation that the SPAX brand was built on. The family environment at our Bryan, Ohio manufacturing and office facility mean that we all take care of each other  and never has that been more evident than during the global pandemic of 2020. We make high quality, highly engineered products but the quality and longevity of our people are what set this company and its brands apart the most.

The future is bright for ABC and its family of brands. In the words of Jason Beals, president of the TRUFAST brand, The growth of TRUFAST, ABC and the SPAX brand is tremendous. We have tripled in size, added more than 200 jobs, acquired additional brands such as RODENHOUSE and others, and significantly expanded our square footage. We will make and sell more than one billion screws this year. At TRUFAST in our early days, $10 million would have been a great year. Today, ABC U.S. sees $10 million in a month! Even during the current global health crisis, we keep growing. While commercial roofing slowed down, the SPAX construction and DIY markets kept us growing.

The TRUFAST brand has accomplished a lot in 40 years, from its origins in the farm fields of rural Ohio to its acquisition by the ABC Group in Germany. Even while tripling in size, the company has stayed true to its mission: to grow lasting relationships through innovative fastening solutions.

To work for ABC and its quality fastener brands, visit SPAX.us today. The company is actively hiring.

About Altenloh, Brinck & Co. in the U.S.

Altenloh, Brinck & Co. (ABC) is proud to manufacture and distribute engineered fasteners under the SPAX brand name for the construction market, the TRUFAST brand for the commercial roofing industry and the TRUFAST WALLS brand for exterior building envelopes and facades.

ABC is headquartered in Bryan, Ohio at a 200,000 square foot complex consisting of engineering, manufacturing, administration and central warehousing. The company also operates heat treating, warehousing, R&D and distribution facilities in Pioneer, Ohio; Grand Rapids, MI; Grand Prairie, TX; Jacksonville, FL; and Chino, CA.

ABC is part of the Altenloh, Brinck & Co. Group headquartered in Ennepetal, Germany.

India is set to receive the most number of Covid-19 vaccine doses -- 97.2 million shots -- in the first tranche of distribution from the World Health Organizations Covax initiative, despite the fact that supply in the country appears to outstrip demand currently.

The Covax initiative, aimed at creating equitable global access to Covid vaccines especially for developing countries, is planning to distribute an initial 337.2 million doses starting as early as later this month, the first delivery of some 2 billion shots its ordered so far.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

According to an interim distribution forecast published on Wednesday, countries are allocated doses according to population size. The second-biggest tranche of 17.2 million shots will go to Pakistan, followed by 16 million doses to Nigeria and 13.7 million to Indonesia. North Korea will receive 2 million shots. The large allocation to India may raise eyebrows given that, unlike many places, India seems to have plenty of shots currently but few takers. Only around half of those eligible to get vaccinated in its inoculation drive have come forward, and local media reports say that India producer Serum Institute of India is sitting on over 55 million doses and has temporarily halted production.

India has the second-highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world, topping 10 million, though the daily rate of infections has eased considerably since reaching a peak in September. Some higher-income countries are also on the Covax list, with South Korea expected to get 2.6 million doses, Canada 1.9 million doses and New Zealand 250,000. The principal vaccine to be distributed by Covax is the one developed by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University. Some 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE one, which requires deep freeze conditions, will also be allocated to nations like Peru, the Philippines and Colombia.





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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi inspected on Friday the Integrated Transport Centre project which aims to reduce traffic congestion inside the capital.

The project is located north of the Suez Road intersection with the Ring Road and opposite to Cairo International Airport.

The 300 feddan centre includes an international bus station, a transport terminal between governorates, a mall, an administrative complex, recreational areas and restaurants, a hotel and the workshops of Cairo Metros fourth line.

The projects geographical location is characterised by being in the centre of link axes connecting main roads nationwide, with its proximity to Cairo airport allowing for the facilitated mobility of travelers domestically and internationally.

It will also help lower traffic congestion inside the capital, ease and save transport time as well as reduce fuel consumption rates while protecting the environment.

According to a statement by the presidency spokesperson, El-Sisi ordered that the centre includes all state-of-art services with a large occupational capacity to complement the development implemented in nearby road networks in order to accommodate traffic flow from and to the centre.

The Suez Road has been upgraded to accommodate nine lanes in each direction, the statement said, with the development of a road supporting the Ring Road with eight lanes in each direction and the construction of a new road to link the Ring Road, Suez Road and Mohamed Naguib Axis.

El-Sisi also inspected development projects of eastern Cairos roads and axes, including those connecting Nasr City with Suez Road and Ring Road, as well as roads and bridges in the area.

The projects implemented in eastern Cairos Nasr City aim to facilitate the movement of citizens and reduce traffic congestion, especially in Nasr City's Eighth district area.

El-Sisi ordered an acceleration of implementation rates to reduce the traffic congestion on the main streets, ease the movement of citizens and reduce fuel consumption.

He also gave directives to ensure close coordination between all state bodies regarding renewing the facilities within the scope of these projects, which includes drainage systems and sanitation networks.

New systems and networks shall be installed instead of the old ones, in accordance to the highest quality standards to serve the residents of those areas, the statement added.

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In mid-January, first-term Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was live-streaming herself as she walked through a hallway beneath the U.S. Capitol. Pulled down below her chin was a black mask that read "CENSORED" in white block letters. Monologuing into her phone, she walked by Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., a Black Lives Matter activist-turned-lawmaker also in her first term, who yelled at Greene for not properly wearing the mask. Greene pulled up her mask, told Bush not to yell at her, then yelled at Bush for a bit and resumed her monologue. "That's how it is, how it is now in America," she told her viewers. "You're witnessing exactly what we're having to live through." Bush ended up moving her office away from Greene's,; Greene proceeded to call her "the leader of the St. Louis Black Lives Matter terrorist mob."

Watching later, I was struck by how much the video resembled footage Greene had recorded before she ran for Congress. In 2019, she filmed herself wandering the Capitol looking for Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who are Muslim, to try to make them retake their oaths of office on a Bible instead of a Koran. The next month, she returned to Washington to stalk Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, berating him about a gun-control bill.

Seen in one light, Greene is a troll-activist success story: She leveraged her harassment of congresspeople to become a congresswoman herself. Seen in another light, she is stuck playing the same role she did before achieving any influence or notoriety. Like the dog who catches the car, she got what she wanted, and she isn't sure what to do next.

Greene is best known for her past promotion of the baroque QAnon extremist ideology, though her paranoia about establishment subversion isn't limited to fictional satanic pedophile rings. Before running for office, she pushed theories about false-flag operations, inside jobs, a mass shooting plotted by the gun-control lobby and countless other imagined plots. This probably goes without saying, but she believes that the presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump.

Barely one month into her tenure, her colleagues may have reached a breaking point. This past week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called her ideas a "cancer" for the GOP; Greene ended up recanting some of her past positions, forced-confession style. On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted along mostly partisan lines to strip Greene of her committee assignments, a move typically reserved for members charged with a crime (or those who ask why "white nationalist" and "white supremacist" are controversial terms, as Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa did). Though she retains some support from her caucus, Greene has effectively been quarantined from her colleagues, as though to prevent the further spread of her beliefs.

But this lack of legislative influence will probably wind up boosting her brand, which is built on her ability to engage her fans in speculation about the various dark energies she - and they - are up against. Passing laws was never the point.

Last fall, I reported on Greene and the dozens of other "QAnon candidates" running for Congress. Interestingly, none of the candidates I interviewed had spent much time thinking about the theoretical power they'd have, as elected officials, to dismantle the pedophile ring over which they obsessed. One candidate, from California, told me he'd be a "peacemaker" in office. Another, from Illinois, told me she might assign staffers to investigate the matter "on a part-time basis" but wasn't sure. (Neither won; only Greene emerged victorious.)

Compared with the Manichaean battleground of QAnon, in which Trump was to purge evildoers in a cleansing storm of arrests, gridlocked Washington probably seemed a little prosaic. Moreover, actually being in power - drafting bills and heading to the cafeteria with supposed child abusers - makes it harder to free-associate about the machinations of a shadowy elite. For Greene, being thwarted, or "censored," by the establishment helps resolve this tension.

Well before anyone knew who Greene was, or the Capitol was stormed by true believers, Walter Kirn wrote a perceptive essay in Harper's about his own semi-serious obsession with "Q," the self-proclaimed government agent who began posting perverse riddles on 4chan in late 2017. The collective project of solving these riddles became QAnon. All the spurious dot-connecting struck Kirn as a democratized form of storytelling. "The audience for internet narratives doesn't want to read, it wants to write. It doesn't want answers provided, it wants to search for them," he wrote. "It wants to do."

Before the Trump era, Greene appears to have been apolitical, devoting herself to the CrossFit scene in her wealthy Atlanta suburb, Alpharetta. In 2017, after discovering QAnon and adjacent conspiracy theories, she pivoted her obsessions to politics. As she told her colleagues on Thursday, "I started looking things up on the internet." She began blogging at a now-defunct website called American Truth Seekers and discovered an audience for her musings on Facebook Live. She saw subversion all around her - pedophiles, drag queens, women in hijabs - and seemed to derive meaning from trying to identify and root out the secret forces behind it. The searching was the point; finding anything might kill the fun.

In 2019, she started running for a swing seat in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, where she lived. Convinced it was unwinnable, she packed up and started running in the 14th, a far-right district outside Atlanta. On the trail, she exhibited scant interest in local issues, portraying herself as a bulwark against forces that did not plague her district: antifa, socialism. In one post, removed by Facebook, she posed with an assault-style rifle next to an image of the congresswomen known as the Squad, something Democrats would factor into their decision to punish her. After winning, she never seemed quite in her element, and she immediately got to work alleging that Joe Biden's victory - including in Georgia, where she won in the very same election - had been fraudulent.

A related dynamic was apparent during the deadly Capitol riot on Jan. 6. While some of the participants were well-organized and primed for violence, others looked like live-action role players who had stumbled into something mystifyingly real. Against considerable odds, they managed to breach the Senate chamber. Once they arrived, it became clear that they hadn't anticipated getting there. People rooted through desks, looking for whatever. One guy slumped on the floor and called his dad. Victory turned out to be an anticlimax. Without anything else to occupy their attention, many simply turned their cameras on themselves. "Q says, 'trust the plan,' " James Duesterberg wrote in an essay for the Point about the events of Jan. 6. "But there is no plan, and that's the point, like in a puzzle or a game. Everyone is livestreaming, watching themselves act."

One of the curious things about the posts that resulted in Greene's censure is that a number of them had been shared and documented before she was elected. Previous news cycles, since forgotten, also revolved around people calling for GOP leadership to condemn things she said or did. And it's not as if these were leaked comments: She had posted them publicly, using them to network with other activists and build her political following. In this way, she's better understood as a content creator than a politician. Live-streaming about conspiracies, Greene achieved a paradoxical kind of self-actualization: In dialogue with her followers, she created a realm in which people like her were constantly being manipulated by the people who really ran things. On the campaign trail, Greene promised to investigate George Soros's connection to "BLM/ANTIFA rioters" when she got to Washington. Instead, she picked an even more performative opening act: filing articles of impeachment against Biden the day after he was sworn in.

Greene nodded toward contrition as first the GOP conference (which took no action against her) and then the full House (which did) contemplated what to do about her. But now that she's been booted from her committees, it's unclear how much she'll miss the assignments. She shares with Trump a fondness for noisy inaction - attention seems to be an end for her, rather than a tool for tackling a policy agenda. (She's not alone in that: 25-year-old freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., announced, "I have built my staff around comms rather than legislation.") And Greene is proving useful for the Democratic Party, too, even as some of its members call her for expulsion. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has taken out $500,000 in ads tying eight Republican House members, more or less randomly, to Greene and QAnon.

Of course, as with many influencers these days, attention also comes with a little something extra. In December, Greene created (and tweeted a link to) a website called www.stopthebidensteal.com. It redirects to her fundraising page. This past week, I received an email from her campaign with the subject line "Expelled." Greene was soliciting donations. "Today's the day I could be removed from committees, or worse, expelled from Congress," she wrote. "I need all the support I can get so I can defend myself in the public sphere." By Thursday night, she said, she'd raised more than $330,000 from over 13,000 supporters.

Now that she's been punished, Greene doesn't seem overly bothered. "I woke up early this morning literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats (+11) are for giving some one like me free time," she tweeted on Friday, referring to the 11 Republicans who supported her censure. "In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway. Oh this is going to be fun!"

- - -

Van Zuylen-Wood writes for publications such as New York, The Atlantic and Vanity Fair. He lives in New York.
Indias point person on Iran, J.P. Singh has just concluded an important visit to Tehran, signalling that New Delhi is getting set to reboot ties with Iran, riding on the change of guard in Washington.

India is already picking signals that the Trump-era opposition to New Delhi's robust engagement with Iran, may recede, following the arrival of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the US.

During his visit to Tehran, Singh met with key officials in the Hassan Rouhani administration, including Rasoul Mousavi, assistant to Iran's Foreign Minister and Director-General for West Asia in the Foreign Ministry.

During this meeting, Singh reviewed the development of the Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar Port. Besides, he called on Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, an ace diplomat who was also majorly involved in negotiation for the nuclear deal, to take stock of the regional and international situation.

Following Singh's visit, Iran's Defence Minister Amir Hatami arrived in India for talks and has already concluded talks with his counterpart, Rajnath Singh, IRNA reported.

The Chahbahar Port development is a key joint strategic project of India and It not only extends India's outreach to Afghanistan and Central Asia, it can also serve as a counterweight to the Sino-Pak power projection in the Indian Ocean, via the nearby Gwadar Port, the starting point of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). By opening the Chabahar option, India and wish to persuade Afghanistan and Central Asia not to over-rely on China backed Pakistani ports.

New Delhi would have already smelled an opportunity in Iran-a pivotal state- by scouring names of key individuals who have been posted by the Americans in their dealings with Iran and the broader West Asian region.

Washington is already emitting signals that a radical shift from Trump's hostility towards Iran may not be far away.

Biden has sealed the appointment of Robert Malley, a specialist in conflict resolution and the lead negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, as US Envoy to Iran. Wendy Sherman, appointed as the Deputy Secretary of State, has also been a key negotiator on Iran in the Obama years.

A possible rapprochement between the US and Iran is good news for India. Deeper Washington-Tehran ties can dilute the influence in Iran of China, India's arch-foe. Hemmed in by US-led sanctions in the Trump era, Iran had signed an estimated $400 billion deal with China, which included a 25-year oil purchasing contract. More importantly, China was eyeing the strategic Iranian port on Jask close to the Strait of Hormuz as part of the deal. Given Washington's animosity towards China, it is likely that the US would urge Iran to review the deal as a price for better ties with Washington. In turn that would mean Beijing's lighter footprint in the oil rich Gulf.

Viscerally opposed to CPEC, it is in India's interest to work together with Iran in its Sistan-Balochistan province to keep an eye on the corridor, which passes through neighbouring Pakistan's Balochistan area.

Iran is likely to cooperate with India in view of the deep hostility between Tehran and Islamabad. The blaring animosity between Pakistan and Iran was revealed recently by a serving Pakistani General in Balochistan who contemplated an invasion of Iran, once pressure on Pakistan imposed by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was lifted. "If the threat of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is averted, we will go inside Iran and take action. Iran is the biggest enemy of Pakistan which has a direct hand in the instability of Balochistan," the Major General Ayman Bilal was quoted as saying. The FATF is investigating material links between the Pakistani state with home-based international terror groups.

On Tuesday Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have freed two soldiers during a surgical strike deep inside Pakistani territory, Turkey's state run Anadolu news agency said quoting an official Iranian statement.

"A successful operation was carried out last Tuesday night to rescue two kidnapped border guards who were taken as hostages by Jaish ul-Adl organization two and a half years ago," the IRGC said in a statement.

According to the statement, the soldiers were successfully transferred back to Iran.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--IANS

indianarrative/ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
press release

Tunis  1 Dead, Arrests for Facebook Posts and 'Insulting Police'

Police in several Tunisian governorates appear to have responded to social justice protests in recent weeks with excessive force at times, leaving one man dead and arresting hundreds, including many minors, Human Rights Watch said today.

The authorities should conduct an urgent and transparent investigation into the death of Haykel Rachdi, who died from a serious head injury following police intervention during a protest, on January 18, 2021, and investigate alleged beatings of protesters. They should also be sure only to use teargas in a proportionate matter and to the extent necessary, and release those held solely for peaceful assembly or expression. The authorities should also ensure access to lawyers and humane detention conditions.

"Tunisia's nationwide protests were triggered by legitimate anger and frustration at the dire economic outlook," said Eric Goldstein, acting Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The government should rein in police who have acted unlawfully and ensure the right to peaceful protest and free expression."

Protests erupted on January 15 after a video posted on Facebook appeared to show a police officer gratuitously humiliating a shepherd in the northwestern governorate of Siliana. The protests - at times violent - erupted in the central region of Kasserine, then Sidi Bouzid, and within days spread to Bizerte, Tebourba, and Sousse, as well as marginalized neighborhoods in Tunis.

These protests erupted despite a nationwide curfew, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., to stem the spread of Covid-19 and have ended as of February 4. While there is a public health interest in preventing large gatherings and in the government enforcing those measures, restrictions on freedom of expression for reasons of public health may not put in jeopardy the right itself.

The Interior Ministry has yet to publicly comment on allegations of police violence. Prime Minister- Hichem Mechichi on January 19 acknowledged that economic and social hardship underlay the protests but said that security forces acted "professionally."

Human Rights Watch spoke with seven activists, one journalist, a relative of the man who died, and a relative of a detained activist. Researchers reviewed videos and photographs posted on Facebook that appeared to show excessive use of teargas and police beating apparently peaceful protesters.

Interviews with witnesses, news reports, and footage Human Rights Watch reviewed indicate that daytime protests were largely peaceful but that there were violent encounters at night in several cities as protesters blocked roads, burned tires, and threw stones and Molotov cocktails to prevent police from entering neighborhoods. Some protesters also reportedly looted supermarkets. The police fired teargas and arrested hundreds of protesters.

While no group claims to lead the protests, several civil society groups and independent activists called on social media for protests against the economic downturn as well as what they said was rampant corruption and impunity. Some also called for the dissolution of parliament and the government, and an end to police repression. One group published on Facebook a list with demands that included the immediate release of protest-related detainees, establishment of a judicial mechanism for complaints about police violence, a range of financial benefits for disenfranchised groups, and raising of the minimum wage.

Based on interviews and social media posts by activists and corroborating footage, on January 18, 19, and 23, the police, including some in riot gear and with armoured vehicles, used what the activists said were excessive amounts of teargas to disperse peaceful protesters who had gathered in one of the capital's main streets, Avenue Habib Bourguiba. On January 19, the police, allegedly unprovoked, pepper-sprayed Noureddine Ahmed, a photojournalist, in the face while he was covering the protests.

Another journalist, an accredited member of the media covering the events on January 23, said that police harassed her and another journalist, demanding the footage she had recorded about the arrest of an activist.

Montassar Sellem, an activist, said that during the January 23 protest on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, which was peaceful with no allegations of violence, he witnessed security forces chase protesters, fire teargas, and beat many with batons. On the same day, activists posted on Facebook Live a video from the same protest of a man lying on the ground and apparently bleeding from one side of his face.

"Ever since the protests started, the police have been shooting all kinds of teargas canisters," said a relative of Rachdi, the man who died after being hit by a teargas canister. "They shoot in the neighborhoods in Kasserine, they fill the houses with smoke."

Police use of teargas in response to protesters who burned tires and hurled Molotov cocktails may have been proportionate, but its use to disperse a small group of protesters at night in the town of Tebourba on January 19, for example, appeared to be excessive as the teargas permeated residents' homes and affected families.

Since January 14, police around the country have detained hundreds of protesters, including many minors. An Interior Ministry spokesperson, Khaled Hyouni, said on January 18 that the authorities arrested at least 630 protesters countrywide on that day. He said those detained were between ages 13 and 25.

Saif Ayadi from Damj, the Tunisian Association for Justice and Equality, said that as of January 27, his organization, working with the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), had identified at least 1,540 people arrested during the protests. According to defense lawyers, he said, the authorities arrested minors without promptly informing their families. At times, he said, police rounded up dozens of protesters, harassed them at police stations, and forced them to sign pre-drafted police reports.

Police violence at protests has been a persistent issue in Tunisia. The authorities have failed to respond with credible and transparent investigations, let alone holding police officers and unit commanders responsible for use of excessive force, Human Rights Watch said.

"Tunisian police have to act decisively to maintain law and order, but they should not suppress free speech and peaceful assembly," Goldstein said.

Death of Haykel Rachdi

Human Rights Watch spoke with Keddidi Rachdi, a cousin of Haykel Rachdi, a 21-year-old student who died of head injuries after. His family said police fired a teargas canister that hit him during protests in Kasserine on January 18.

Keddidi Rachdi said:

His family first took him to Sbeitla local hospital and then to the Kasserine regional hospital. Two days after he was shot, they organized his transfer to Sahloul hospital in Sousse. He lost consciousness during the transfer. He was in a catastrophic condition. On the way he was already unconscious. He underwent surgery for around four hours. His father told me that upon completion of the surgery, one doctor said his condition was "hopeless" and that the family should not be optimistic. He died on January 25.

He said that the family plans to file a police complaint about the incident. He said the family told him that Farhat Hachad University Hospital in Sahloul, Sousse had prepared a forensic report.

He said that police used excessive teargas even during Hakyel's funeral:

Ever since the protests started, the police have been shooting all kinds of teargas canisters. They shoot in the neighborhoods in Kasserine, they fill the houses with smoke. The teargas only stopped for two nights after Haykel was shot and then it was back on. At Haykel's funeral, I saw how police shot teargas directly at people's legs and bodies to disperse the angry crowd and in anticipation of any protest taking place.

Omri Zouaoui, an activist who attended Haykel's funeral, confirmed what he said was excessive use of teargas by police:

At around 1 p.m., the family carried the body of Haykel from their house in Cite Essourour to the cemetery and passed by the main road in downtown Sbeitla. I could see at least 60 police cars in the area. Once people in the crowd that accompanied the funeral cortege started to shout and scream denouncing the death of Rachdi, I saw the police start to shoot teargas in an excessive way. I was not directly affected by the teargas.

In the evening, the police used more teargas in different neighborhoods in Sbeitla, especially in Cite Essourour, where Rachdi lived. The area seemed covered with teargas and it affected families, women, the elderly, and children. Young people there were enraged and there was a confrontation between the police and protesters.

Zouaoui said he heard that during the protests more people had bruises on their legs or other parts in their bodies after being hit by teargas canisters.

Arrest for Facebook Post

Bouthaina Louhichie said that the police arrested her son, Ahmed Ghram, a 25-year-old philosophy student, at the family home in the Tunis southern suburbs on January 17. Ghram was acquitted and released on January 28, after 11 days in pretrial detention. Louhichie said she later learned he was arrested for Facebook posts critical of police repression, the governance system, and alleged official corruption and rampant impunity.

She said that the police led her son away without showing an arrest warrant and that officials turned down the family's request to provide a lawyer to be with him during his interrogation:

Judicial police officers of Mourouj district and the head of Mourouj 3 Police Station came to my house around 4:30 p.m. on January 17. An armada of police cars accompanied them. The head of Mourouj 3 Police Station is from the area, he knows my family, and he is the one who led them to the house. They knocked on the door, and one of my other sons answered. The two officers told my other son to get his brother, who was asleep.

Meanwhile, the two officers told me to get Ahmed's phone and laptop. I was so naive and feared they would hurt my son, so I went to get them. I asked them if I should get Ahmed a lawyer and they said, "This isn't really a big deal, and he will return home in no time." The police did not say anything specific during the operation. They did not give a reason for his arrest and did not show an arrest warrant. They just told Ahmed to accompany them alone in the police car.

I followed with my own car. Ahmed was in his pajamas and house shoes and was taken like this to the police station. He was not given the time to change his clothes, the police did not permit it. I arrived at the Morouj 3 Police Station within 15 minutes after them, where I asked them again to get him a lawyer, but they went ahead and interrogated him without a lawyer. He was given one copy of the report to read and sign.

The police report that Ghram signed, which Human Rights Watch reviewed, states that "In context of the recent events in the country and the situation that we have observed, we concluded that the detainee has been inciting, on his Facebook page, actions of chaos and disorder."

The police report mentions at least 10 Facebook posts from a youth group supporting the protests and demanding a new governance system, which Ghram shared on his timeline. According to the report, one of the posts says, "When you steal because you're hungry and impoverished, they debunk you and call you a criminal, but when you steal the money of the people for years and deny them their wealth, then they call you a businessman and they defend you." Another post states, "A system that is based on stealing from marginalized classes and workers, based on favoring people and shattering others.... Do you really want people to hold pretty and nice protests?" None of the posts appeared to incite violent protests.

The police report confirms that they confiscated Ghram's phone, although Louhichie said that the police also confiscated his laptop. The report states that Ghram said he did not need to see a lawyer or have a medical exam upon arrival at the police station, but Louhichie says her son asked for both and was refused. The report lists as evidence screenshots of 9 of his 10 allegedly incriminating Facebook posts and accuses Ghram of "inciting actions of looting."

The public prosecutor of Ben Arous First Instance Court interrogated Ghram after the police did and ordered his detention. Ghram was held in Mornag Civil Prison, where his family visited him twice and where he had access to his lawyer. On January 28, the Ben Arous First Instance court acquitted Ghram of all charges, and he was released the same day.

Louhichie, who is an activist and medical consultant with the LTDH and has been visiting detained protesters in Mornag prison since the protests started, said that she observed marks of beatings on the bodies and faces of at least 16 detained protesters, between the ages of 18 and 37. She said the detainees told her the beatings occurred during the arrest phase.

Apparent Arbitrary Arrest

Montassar Sellem, a 20-year-old law student and member of the Tunisian Communist Youth, said that the National Security Police of Ariana, in northwestern Tunis, arrested him on January 17 at 2 p.m. while he was running an errand in the Hedi Nouira neighborhood:

At least six officers came in one police car and in another ordinary one. Four arrested me and another young man, also named Montassar. Police took me without a formal detention order to Ariana Judicial Police Headquarters. I gave them two numbers: the number of my mother and that of my lawyer. They only called my mother, who came and saw me briefly, but did not call the lawyer. No one told me why I was arrested. Police officers took my phone and made me disclose the password. They started to read my Facebook posts and commented on one of the hashtags I had used, which said "corrupt system."

One officer interrogated me, but at least seven others were coming in and out of the room cursing me, saying I would rot in prison and asking me all sorts of random questions such as, "What are your political affiliations? Are you a freemason? Do you work with intelligence? Are you patriotic? Are you with Israel? Did anyone from your family fight in Syria or Iraq? Do you have a passport? Did you travel before?"

Sellem said he insisted that he should have a lawyer present during his interrogation, but he was refused one. He says police cursed him during the interrogation:

The officers did not give me the final report to read but I got a sneak peek because it was on the table in front of me. Police pressured me into signing the report. My lawyer arrived at 9 p.m. when everything was over. During the investigation, they did not beat me, but interrogators beat up other protesters in front of me to intimidate me.

Sellem, who spent two nights in Bouchoucha detention center, said he was not given any preventive items to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission, such as a mask or hand sanitizer. He described overcrowding and filthy conditions in his cell:

They detained me in a room with at least 100 detainees, including people detained for protests but also others. It was horrible. The room was extremely dirty, there was no soap for washing or other hygienic items. Some detainees spent the night standing for lack of space. Neither my family nor my lawyer saw me during the two nights. The food was bad and detainees had to share dishes.

The Public Prosecutor accused Sellem of "forming an organized group for an unspecified period of time, with an unspecified number of people with the purpose of attacking persons or property which is considered a crime against public order," under article 131 of the Penal Code. He said he was first taken to the Ben Arous Public Prosecutor's Office on January 18 but did not see the prosecutor until the next day. Sellem said that the court's judge asked him what happened and then acquitted him of forming a criminal group but fined him 500 TND (around US$180) for "breaching the curfew" and "breaching the [Covid 19] sanitary protocol in place," and released him that day.

Arrested for 'Insulting' a Police Officer

Hamza Nasri Jerridi, 27, an activist and vice president of the LTDH's Tunis section, said that National Security officers arrested him for "insulting a police officer" at around 3 p.m. on January 18, during a peaceful protest on Habib Bourguiba Avenue. Jerridi said he spent three days in jail because he had raised his middle finger at police during the protest:

Police officers took me to Beb Souika police station in Tunis and interrogated me in the presence of one of my lawyers, after I insisted that one lawyer be present. Officers asked me questions like, "What's your problem with the police officers?" and "Why did you make that indecent gesture." I answered that I did not see it as inappropriate and that I consider it a form of protesting.

I ended up spending three nights at Bouchoucha detention center, where conditions were horrible: there was no clean water and no soap for detainees to wash our hands. I was in a crowded room with around 80 other detainees and was not offered a blanket or mattress and slept on the floor all three nights. I was also denied my spectacles, which I need. The detention center was extremely dirty. We were not given masks or other protective items, such as hand sanitizer.

Jerridi said that officers did not beat or mistreat him but that some threatened that he would "rot in prison."

Jerridi said that he appeared before an investigative judge of the Tunis 1 First Instance Court on January 21, accused of "insulting a police officer" and "committing an immoral act in public," both punishable with up to six months in prison, and for "offending good morals and public indecency."

The judge provisionally released Jerridi, pending trial. As of January 29, he had not been notified of a trial date.

Harassment of Journalists

Ghaya Ben Mbarek, a journalist with the English language independent reporting platform Meshkal who covered the protests in Tunis on January 23, said that police harassed her and another journalist with her to turn over footage she had taken:

When I started to film, at least 10 police officers approached me and one of them tried to snatch away the phone. They demanded to see the footage and insisted to know whether the face of one of the officers who just arrested an activist was recognizable in the footage. I refused to give them my phone and told them I was from the press and that I had accreditation. The police cornered me and the other journalist, asked for our IDs and then proceeded to film them as well as our press accreditations.

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Video Analysis

In a 38-second video posted on Facebook on the evening of January 17, 10 police officers, some in uniform and others in civilian clothing, can be seen dragging a man along on a street toward the flashing lights of a parked vehicle. The officers hit the man repeatedly with batons and kick him once while dragging him. The man appears to be immobilized and not resisting arrest. The video was filmed at night from the first or second story of a building overlooking a small street, believed to be in the town of Siliana.

The officers can be heard cursing at people who are off camera at the other end of the street and calling the man they had arrested "one of the sheep." Some officers also shout at people observing the violent scene from their balconies. It is not clear if the man had been protesting. Human Rights Watch was unable to independently verify the location or date of the incident.

In a video posted on the Facebook page of Tunisie Politique magazine on January 19, a man can be seen coughing as he leaves a house. The person filming the video enters a gas-filled room, which is clearly visible in the footage, and is then seen quickly leaving the house coughing and struggling to breathe. The title of the video said that it was taken in Tebourba, but Human Rights Watch was unable to independently verify the location or the date of this incident.

The person filming the video can be heard saying "Look what Tebourba police hit people's houses with: teargas, look!" The man filming continues to cough, and a woman can heard saying "Is the house still filled with teargas," to which he responds "Leave it [the house] at least for one hour."

Legal Standards

As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since 1969, Tunisia is obligated to guarantee the right of peaceful assembly, and that "no restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."

Tunisia is also a state party since 1983 to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which under article 11 states that "Every individual shall have the right to assemble freely with others. The exercise of this right shall be subject only to necessary restrictions provided for by law, in particular, those enacted in the interest of national security, the safety, health, ethics and rights and freedoms of others."

The Arab Charter of Human Rights adopted in 1994 guarantees to every citizen the right of freedom of peaceful assembly.

Article 37 of the Tunisian Constitution from 2014 guarantees the right to "assembly and peaceful demonstration."

International law obligations override Tunisian Law No. 69/4 on regulating assemblies that allows police to disperse an assembly and a counterterrorism law from 2015 that permits security forces to disperse assemblies on sweeping grounds.

International standards stipulate that security forces should use the minimum necessary force at all times during protests. International norms on the use of teargas projectiles say they should only be used to disperse unlawful assemblies where necessary and proportionate and that they should be fired at a high angle to avoid serious injury. Projectiles should not be fired directly at individuals or at the head or face.

Human Rights Watch opposes the use of teargas to disperse nonviolent assemblies. Long-lasting or heavy exposure to teargas can have long-term consequences for vision and respiratory health.

International human rights law, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), recognizes that in the context of a serious public health threat - such as Covid-19 - restrictions on some rights can be justified. But such restrictions must have a legal basis, be strictly necessary, neither arbitrary nor discriminatory in application, of limited duration, respectful of human dignity, subject to review, and proportionate to achieve the objective.

Broad quarantines and lockdowns of indeterminate length rarely meet these criteria and are often imposed precipitously, without ensuring the protection of those under quarantine - especially at-risk populations. Because such quarantines and lockdowns are difficult to impose and enforce uniformly, they are often arbitrary or discriminatory in application.
Galaxy S21 Ultra is the latest premium flagship offering from Samsung. Samsung is known for its flagship phone camera capabilities and the S21 ultras setup has taken it further high in expectations. The S20 Ultra on the other hand was one that came out with more hype and failed to keep up. From the initial time, we spent with S21 Ultra we can understand that Samsung was clear about their errors with S20 Ultra and came up with a solution in the name of S21 Ultra.

Camera Specifications

108MP rear camera with ISOCELL HM3 sensor, LED Flash, OIS, f/1.8 aperture

12MP 120 Ultra Wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture

10MP Telephoto lens for 3x zoom, OIS

10MP Periscope lens for 10x zoom, 100x Space Zoom

Laser autofocus sensor

With S21 Ultra, Samsung has addressed several issues that persisted on the S20 Ultra including, focus issues with a dedicated laser auto-focus sensor. As expected, the daylight shots were excellent, with a near-natural color tone to them. Focusing was quick most of the time. In the case of macro photos, The wide-angle sensor will kick in. Macro shots can be made closer than usual.

In terms of zooming capabilities, the output looks sharp and detailed till 30X, and anything beyond 70X looks kind of washed out and blurry. At max, you can go up to 100X using the buttons that appear on the sides. Most of the zoomed images are better than what we saw in the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

The 108MP mode, which for some unknown reasons kept in the aspect ratio bar, offers plenty of details. The ultra-wide camera is good as well and maintained the same color profile as other cameras.

As expected, the low-light performance was good. It manages to pick up and retain the detail, White balancing is good compared to the previous generation, color saturation is better too. The Night mode kicks in the pseudo-long exposures and brightens the darker areas, but in the right way.

The front camera, on the other hand, takes good selfies during the daytime and passable ones at night. There are options for individual and group selfies as well. The portrait photos (Live Focus mode) comes out very well most of the time but occasionally leaves focus alongside the border of the subject.

Check out the camera samples below:

Primary Sensor

Ultra Wide

Macro Samples

Macro through Ultra-Wide is way better than having 2MP or 5MP macro sensor.

Selfie Samples

Selfie Portrait Samples

Rear camera portrait

Samsungs portraits are one of the best in the smartphone industry. Back in 2017 I was very much impressed by the way Note 8 live focus outputs were. Samsung has taken it to the next level.

Animal and object portraits

even at moderate lit conditions portraits via S21 Ultra were good.

3x Telephoto Optical

10x Optical Periscope

This mode helps to create true portraits and candid shots

Zoom Capabilities

LowLight Samples

Pro Mode

For astrophotography pro mode is better than dedicated night mode.

Moon at 30x and 100x

This shows how good white balancing is based on situation

Panorama

Very good stitching and accuracy. Dynamic range was better with Ultra-wide sensors output.

Single Take photo samples

Single take is a short video mode to capture the moment in different possible outputs. This mode results in Collage, Portrait, Black and White, Gif and more

Video Samples

On the video front, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra can record 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, 1080@60fps, and 720@30fps. There is a Pro Video mode that lets you control various aspects of the device including ISO, Aperture, Focus, White Balance, and others. Samsung has added support for an external Bluetooth mic for recording audio during video shoots.

Rear FHD Auto video sample

Rear 8K24fps video sample

Front 4k60 video sample

We will bring you the complete review of the phone soon.
New Delhi: Taking a swipe at young climate activist Greta Thunberg, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said on Thursday that the Indian government should give her "child bravery award" for uploading a document providing "proof about hatching a conspiracy to destabilise" the country.

Lending her support to the farmers' agitation against the three farm reform laws, the teen activist had shared "a toolkit for those who want to help". "Here's a toolkit if you want to help," tweeted Thunberg, which takes the user to a document containing details on ways to support the protest.

In the document, various urgent actions, including creating a Twitter storm and protesting outside Indian embassies, were listed which were needed to be taken to support the farmers' protest. The toolkit has been cited by some critics as a "proof" of her conspiracy to fuel protests in India.

"I propose Greta Thunberg for Child bravery Award which Govt of India should bestow on her as she has done a huge service by uploading the document providing proof about hatching of a conspiracy to destabilise India from 1/1/ & leading up to 26/1/2021," Lekhi wrote on Twitter.

I propose Greta Thunberg for Child bravery Award which Govt of India should bestow on her as she has done a huge service by uploading the document providing proof about hatching of a conspiracy to destabilise India from 1/1/ & leading up to 26/1/2021  Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) February 4, 2021

In another tweet, the BJP MP said, "She is just a child! What I despise are the people who have proposed her name for Nobel. A child who doesn't understand sustainable farming practices, stubble burning or diversification of crops, water resource management can't even be nominated, bad for civil society & credibility."

Lekhis tweet came shortly after Thunberg reiterated her support to the ongoing farmers protests in the national capital.

The Swedish climate and environmental activist on Thursday took to the micro-blogging site Twitter saying that she still supports "their peaceful protest". Her tweet came after it emerged that the Delhi Police had registered a case against Greta. The teen activist also said that "no amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that". Greta tweeted, "I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that."

However, the Delhi Police later clarified that it has registered an FIR against the creators of the toolkit but haven't named anybody in the FIR. Earlier, it was reported that a case has been filed against Sweden's climate and environmental activist Greta Thunberg over her tweets on farmers' protests.

Live TV

Blue Shield takes over Calif. vaccine distribution Monday

March 1, 10:10 a.m.

Blue Shield is taking over California's COVID-19 distribution Monday with the goal of fully vaccinating 25 million people by this summer.

The state delivered about 1 million vaccines per week on average in January, and Blue Shield said it will increase distribution to 4 million doses per week by the end of April.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new contract with Blue Shield in January and said he wanted a more seamless statewide vaccination system that would meet equity metrics and get doses out quickly.

The no-bid, $15 million contract, which Blue Shield says it will not profit from, calls on the insurer to develop an algorithm for vaccine distribution, but critical components are unknown, such as how to measure equity and what the monthly equity target will be.

The switch has been fraught with uncertainty as counties that had developed their own methods of signing up residents will have to turn over scheduling to a new statewide appointment and data collection system called My Turn.

Paul Markovich, president and CEO of Blue Shield of California, said in a Friday call with reporters that they are talking to counties and their hope is to not make material changes to the networks in place. He said that about 30 providers have signed contracts to administer vaccines under the new system, including hospitals, federally qualified health centers and at least one pharmacy chain.

Give us a chance to make this work," he said. I think there's been a lot of speculation of all the things that could potentially go wrong. Its our job to get this to work and work for everybody."

Officials said Friday that Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego counties are among 28 in the southern and northern parts of the state that will start transitioning to the new network Monday, joining 10 other counties in central and southern parts of the state that have already started.

The remaining counties, including much of the San Francisco Bay Area, will begin the switch March 7 with Blue Shield taking full management control March 31.
Nearly 90 firearms, including an AK-47, high-powered handguns and rapid-fire shotguns, have been seized from hardcore criminals under an invasive anti-gun violence program that allows police to search organised crime figures and their associates at any time, in any place without a warrant.

Victoria Police, which has issued more than 750 Firearm Prohibition Orders against violent or high-risk targets since May 2018, believes the system is now so feared by criminals that it is disrupting the ability of dangerous offenders to readily access firearms.

Victoria Police display seized weapons in January. Credit:Simon Schluter

The orders are primarily targeted at veteran criminals with histories of violence and known members or associates of organised crime groups, such as outlaw motorcycle gangs and drug-trafficking syndicates. Orders are also being used to keep firearms out of the hands of extremists and terrorists.

The execution of at least one order was critical to solving a 2019 underworld shooting, with a surprise search of a suspect uncovering a handgun that has become a key piece of evidence in an attempted murder prosecution. The details of the case cannot be discussed because the matter is before the court.
4G internet services were restored in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, after being suspended for nearly two years. J&K administration Principal Secretary Rohit Kansal took to Twitter to announce that 4G internet services have been reinstated in the union territory.

Kansal, in a tweet, wrote, "4G mobile internet services being restored in entire J&K."

4G mobile internet services being restored in entire J&K @diprjk - Rohit Kansal (@kansalrohit69) February 5, 2021

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah congratulated people of

Jammu and Kashmir over 4G internet services returning back. In his reaction to the news on Twitter, Abdullah wrote, "4G Mubarak! For the first time since Aug 2019, all of J&K will have 4G mobile data. Better late than never".

4G Mubarak! For the first time since Aug 2019 all of J&K will have 4G mobile data. Better late than never. - Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 5, 2021

Internet services were shut down in Jammu and Kashmir before the central government had publicly announced the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, removed the special status of the state and split it into two union territories - Ladakh and J&K.

The Centre has cited separatist activities and Pakistan-based terrorism as reasons behind not allowing high-speed internet in Jammu and Kashmir. In August 2020, Centre had told Supreme Court that a special committee was working on restoring internet services in Jammu and Kashmir.

Centre told that the committee was considering permitting 4G internet access on a trial basis in J&K. Centre had stated that 4G internet access will be granted to one district in Jammu region and one district in Kashmir. 4G internet services were soon restored in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts on J&K on August 16, 2020. The rest of Jammu and Kashmir continued with access to just 2G internet services, till now.

Also read: Jammu, Srinagar to get metro rail soon; project to be completed in two years
Any investors hoping to find a Large Cap Blend fund could think about starting with AQR Large Cap Defensive Style I (AUEIX). AUEIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

AUEIX is classified in the Large Cap Blend segment by Zacks, which is an area full of potential. Targeting companies with market caps of more than $10 billion, Large Cap Blend mutual funds offer a stable investment choice; these funds are perfect for investors with a " buy and hold " mindset. Since blended funds mix large, more established firms into their portfolios, investors are exposed to both value and growth opportunities.

History of Fund/Manager

AUEIX finds itself in the AQR Funds family, based out of Denver, CO. The AQR Large Cap Defensive Style I made its debut in July of 2012 and AUEIX has managed to accumulate roughly $4.25 billion in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals.

Performance

Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 14.76%, and it sits in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 13.22%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. AUEIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 16.18% compared to the category average of 16.4%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 13.2% compared to the category average of 13.78%. This makes the fund less volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.84, so it is likely going to be less volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. The fund has produced a positive alpha over the past 5 years of 1.65, which shows that managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Story continues

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, AUEIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.40% compared to the category average of 0.97%. From a cost perspective, AUEIX is actually cheaper than its peers.

While the minimum initial investment for the product is $5 million, investors should also note that there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, AQR Large Cap Defensive Style I ( AUEIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, AQR Large Cap Defensive Style I ( AUEIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

Don't stop here for your research on Large Cap Blend funds. We also have plenty more on our site in order to help you find the best possible fund for your portfolio. Make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for more information about the world of funds, and feel free to compare AUEIX to its peers as well for additional information. For analysis of the rest of your portfolio, make sure to visit Zacks.com for our full suite of tools which will help you investigate all of your stocks and funds in one place.



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President Ram Nath Kovind has said that Aero India 2021 is living proof of the country's ever-growing strength in the defence and aerospace sectors at the global level as curtains came down on the three-day event.

President Kovind said the event will contribute significantly towards strengthening India's self-reliance in the defence sector as well as establishing India as a manufacturer for the world, and it has exhibited that the global confidence in the country's capabilities is growing steadily.

"Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, I am happy that Aero India 2021 has been organised successfully.It has been held without compromising its spirit while following the COVID-appropriate norms," Kovind stated.

Speaking at the valedictory function of the Aero India-2021 at Air Force Station Yelahanka, he praised the "courage and bravery" of the Indian Air Force pilots for displaying exemplary professionalism in protecting India's skies and strengthening the country's defence.

"Aero India 2021 has been an unprecedented success. I am told that high-level delegations from 43 countries and exhibitors from 530 companies have participated in the event," he said, adding that many more across the world got associated with the event virtually which is the world's first mega event of this kind to be held in the hybrid format.

Kovind, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces, is the first President to attend Aero India 2021.

Touted as Asia's largest military aviation exhibition, Aero India in its 13th edition, also saw a conclave of Defence Ministers of the Indian Ocean Region on the theme of "Enhanced Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean" participated by IOR countries.

Also, the Chiefs of Air Staff Conclave was held with participation from more than 24 countries attending it physically and 16 virtually.

"Startup Manthan", the annual event of defence startups also was held.

16k people attended Aero India physically & 4.5 lakh virtually

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said despite COVID constraints across the world Aero India-2021 has been immensely successful; this is evident as more than 16,000 people attended it physically and more than 4.5 lakh virtually.

The platform hosted 540 companies including 84 foreign firms from 55 nations, he said, adding, signing of 128 MoUs, 19 Transfer of Technology (ToTs), 4 Handing Overs, 18 Product Launches and 32 major announcements, totalling a grand figure of 201 feats, happened during the airshow.

Further, 45 MSMEs participating in Aero India 21 have already bagged orders worth 203 crore, the defence minister said.

President Kovind said "Our vision is to create a robust economy and infrastructure alongside developing competitive supply chains and integrate them globally." The reforms initiated in India in the last six years offer unprecedented opportunities to investors and private companies in the defence and aerospace sectors, he said.

"We have taken a number of policy initiatives aimed at placing India among the top nations in the defence sector with twin objectives of self-reliance and export promotion," he said, as he expressed happiness over Hindustan Aeronautics Limited getting the orders for 83 Tejas aircraft from Indian Air Force valued at more than 48,000 crore.

Flying display was among the key attractions during the air show.

While the indigenously developed Tejas-LCA helicopters and Surya Kiran aircraft stole the show, Sukhoi, Rafale, Hawk and the American B-1B Lancer heavy bomber grabbed attention.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited came up with 'Aatmanirbhar Formation Flight' consisting of its products such as LCA trainer (LIFT Trainer), HTT-40, IJT, Advanced Hawk Mk 132 and Civil Do-228 which flew in a special formation showcasing the spectrum of trainers and signifying self-sufficiency in the trainer segment.

There was a scintillating display of 'Dhanush' formation by the Light Combat Helicopters and 'Netra' formation showcasing the DRDO's flying display of Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C).

The jaw-dropping manoeuvres by the Surya Kiran light combat aircraft left the audience spellbound.

The 13th edition of the international event touted as the world's first-ever hybrid aero and defence show was organised by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from February 3 to 5 at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru.

Organised every two years, Aero India is a platform for aerospace enthusiasts, prospective defence industries, aspirant start-ups and other stakeholders to participate and witness the advances in global defence and aerospace fields and interact with delegations and industries from across the globe.

With agency inputs





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Bhopal, Feb 5 : Former chief minister and state Congress chief Kamal Nath on Friday met Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at his residence. During the meeting, they are believed to have discussed the new farm laws and the ongoing farmers' agitation.

According to Narendra Saluja, Kamal Nath's media coordinator, during the interaction, Nath and Chouhan discussed, the farmers' agitation, the three farm laws, development issues in the state and issues of residents' welfare, along with other issues.

Kamal Nath said that these three farm laws will destroy farmers in the country. "Irrespective of politics, every person who sympathises with farmers should oppose them. India is a predominantly agricultural country. These laws will cause damage to both farmers and the agriculture sector. Today our farmers have been sitting on an agitation for more than two months. At this time, all of us need to support them," he added.

Former CM Kamal Nath discussed these issues at length with Chief Minister Chouhan and also gave valuable feedback and suggestions on the same.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
For more than 50 years, a road overpass rising above the railway line in Euroa has been a visible marker between the towns east and west.

Most of Euroas charm lies on the east side, with historic buildings, cafes and shops, while the west has mostly industrial sites, some housing and just one pub.

The road overpass in Euroa. Credit:Joe Armao

Many residents are now hoping to seize the chance for reunification as part of a major upgrade to the rail line and do away with the unsightly bridge that was built in the 1960s.

But instead, the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is proposing to build a higher bridge so the railway line can accommodate double-stacked freight containers through the $14.5 billion Inland Rail project.
With all that is happening in the world, Christians are now urged to renounce being a 'saltless Christian" and live without being ashamed of Christ.

Greg Morse, a graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary and staff writer for Desiring God, called for the "quietly Christian" who blushes and gets embarrassed when it comes to living for Christ.

He noted that in the Book of Luke Chapter 9 verse 26, Jesus said that whoever is ashamed of Him will also be shamed when He comes back.

To quote the exact verse:

"Whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

Morse said "blushing" Christians are those who know enough what to do to follow God but do not do so. These are the type of Christians to pray loudly at night, but are afraid to openly speak about Christ in broad daylight. They are the ones who keep their convictions to themselves but would rather not confess it to others.

But this is not the way Christ meant Christians to live. As people who bear the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, the LORD Jesus Christ, to live unashamed before Him and before men is one of the things those who say they are Christians must do best.

So how must Christ followers live?

"Live like you know Christ, like you love Christ, like you are waiting unashamedly for Christ to return," Morse said.

All can fall away

Peter was one of the closest disciples of Jesus. In fact, Peter was the first who stood among the apostles as they gathered into the Upper Room to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit.

But before that great day, Peter fell away when the prophecy of the LORD came to pass that Peter will deny him three times saying "I do not know Him!"

Lo and behold, the LORD looked at Peter in Luke 22:61 and it all came rushing back to Peter that he denied the LORD Jesus Christ even when all the people have seen him walk and live with Him for three and a half years.

The look that the LORD gave Peter made him wept, Morse said. Believers can only imagine how it was. Hurt. Pity. Shame. Worst, disappointment. It's only because of Jesus praying for Peter in Luke 22:32 that his faith did not fail him, Morse noted.

Just like Peter, Jesus Himself is praying and trusting that a Christian's faith in him will not fail whatever the situation and circumstance.

No compromise

Sometimes, Christians think that doing the "little" things do not amount to the same thing as doing the "big" thing.

Believers do not talk about Christ because to do so would make them feel awkward among friends. So instead, Christians compromise: talk about all things, but not the love for Christ, His love for the children of God, or His love for souls.

Christians strive to fit in with others, instead of having others fit with Christ. At times, a Christian's family, friends and co-workers don't even know that he is a Christian because it doesn't show.

We must not be 'saltless' Christians

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said that salt without its saltiness is no good "except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."

Every day, Christians must make the choice: to be for Christ, or to be for the world.

Those who carry the name of Christ must flee from saltless Christianity, Morse urged. Those who will serve Christ, must serve Him wholeheartedly without being ashamed of Him.
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Over 464,000 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed worldwide in the past 24 hours, with the total case tally surpassing 103.98 mln, the World Health Organization (WHO) informed in its daily bulletin on Thursday. According to the WHO, the number of COVID-19 deaths has gone up by over 13,000 in the past 24 hours, with the overall death toll surpassing 2.26 mln, TASS reports.

As of 19:10 Moscow time on February 4, the WHO has documented 103,989,900 cases of COVID-19 and 2,260,259 deaths. The number of people infected has gone up by 464,613 compared to the day before, and the number of deaths has increased by 13,004.

The WHO statistics includes only officially confirmed data on COVID-19 cases and deaths provided by the states.

Over 47% of new COVID-19 cases have been reported in North and South America (218,737), with Europe coming in second with 171,969 and Southeast Asia ranking third with 27,370.

Its the second such slap on the wrist by local Republicans in a week that saw Kinzinger unveil his Country First movement  that calls on Republicans to dump Trump  and vote to remove Trump supporter and fellow GOP U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her House committee posts for her hateful and violent rhetoric. He was just one of 11 Republicans in the House who joined Democrats in the unprecedented move to strip her of committee assignments, a move that greatly diminishes her legislative sway.
Story Highlights 82% in Myanmar were confident in the honesty of their country's elections

80% said it was a bad time to find a job in their local area

40% reported that their local economy was getting worse

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- While Myanmar's military says massive voter fraud in the November elections forced it to stage a coup this week, most voters in Myanmar were highly confident in the honesty of their country's elections in 2020. More than eight in 10 adults in Myanmar (82%) surveyed between October and December -- overlapping the Nov. 8 election -- said they were confident in the honesty of elections in their country.

Line graph. Confidence in the honesty of elections by Myanmar residents remained high prior to the recent military coup, with 82% say they had confidence in the honesty of elections.

This level of confidence in Myanmar's elections is fairly typical for the levels measured over the past several years. Faith in the honesty of elections peaked at 92% in 2016, after the 2015 election that brought now-detained Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) political party into power.

Myanmar transitioned from complete military rule in 2012, though 25% of the seats in the country's Parliament are still appointed by the military. The NLD won 83% of the seats in the Nov. 8 general election, which the military alleges was the result of electoral fraud.

Military Loses Popular Support Ahead of Coup

People's confidence in their national government remained steady at the time of the survey, with 85% of Myanmar residents expressing faith in their government, unchanged from 2019. The job approval rating of then-President Win Myint, who was arrested during the coup and detained, was similarly high at 81%.

However, while still at the majority level, confidence in the military notably slipped to a low of 65% in 2020. This dip in approval may not bode well for military leadership as it continues to tighten its grip on the country, including new lockdowns on the internet and news services.

Line graph. Confidence among Myanmar residents in their national government held steady at 85% prior to the military coup. However, confidence in the military fell to 65% in 2020, down from 80% in 2019.

Public Mood Darkens on Economy

Like the rest of the globe, Myanmar's economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns to control the spread of the disease. The government has attempted to cushion the blow by providing assistance to the population. However, a high of 80% of residents in 2020 said it was a bad time to find a job in their local area.

Line graph. 80% of Myanmar residents now say it is bad time to find a job in the area where they live, up from 50% in 2019.

In their broader assessments of the trajectory of their local economy, Myanmar residents also turned more pessimistic in 2020. Four in 10 residents said their local economy was getting worse, the highest level in Gallup's trend. At the same time, the percentage saying their local economy was getting better, 41%, is the second-lowest point in the trend.

Line graph. 40% of Myanmar residents now say their local economy is getting worse, up from 25% in 2019. Alternatively, 41% say the local economy is getting better, down from 53% in 2019.

In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection in Myanmar switched from in-person interviewing to via telephone.

Bottom Line

Before the military coup, levels of confidence in elections and the national government were steady in Myanmar. However, confidence in the country's military had dropped. Residents registered substantially more concern about their economic conditions.

Controlling the pandemic in Myanmar and addressing the country's economic woes will likely prove key to any effort by the military to retain power through the "state of emergency," which it declared as part of the coup. However, the population may be particularly vulnerable to international sanctions that the U.S. is currently considering.

For complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details.

Learn more about how the Gallup World Poll works.
Berger said when he read the findings of the first probe, "it was pretty clear to me we needed to do a follow-on...

[February 05, 2021] EIP Credit Strategies Participated in Over $100 Million of Transactions in 2020

Despite a tumultuous and unpredictable 2020, Energy Impact Partners (EIP) Credit Strategies group participated in more than $100 million of transactions in five new US-based businesses, while continuing to support the firm's existing portfolio companies. Credit Strategies new portfolio companies include Williams Industrial Services Group, Derive Systems, Tenere Inc., Trekker Group, and The Eastern Specialty Company (TESCO). As a global investment platform leading the transition to a sustainable energy future, this year marked monumental growth for the Credit Strategies team. Credit Strategies serves as a leader in ESG investments and has now participated in 14 transactions across the power, renewable, software and technology, industrial, and transportation industries. EIP Credit Strategies expects continued growth in these key markets in 2021 and beyond. "Our investments in 2020 reflect our mission to provide creative capital solutions to US lower-middle market companies," said EIP Credit Strategies Managing Partner & CEO Harry Giovani. "Our fund's bespoke structuring and overall platform enables strong underwriting capabilities. We are very excited to partner with these five additional companies, while also continuing our support of existing portfolio investments such as Palmetto Clean Technologies and Volta Industries. We have been thoroughly impressed with the management teams and the vision these companies possess, and we look forward to supporting their continued future success." EIP Credit Strategies Partner Tal Sheynfeld added, "Our customized financing solutions continue to show promise as more US lower-middle market companies require capital to effectively execute their growth plans. Our differentiator is our unique platform, which creates stronger alignment between our team ad our portfolio companies, and offers strategic value beyond capital financing."



Background on Investments Agented a $50.0 million term loan facility, allowing Williams Industrial Services Group to reduce its cost of capital and providing liquidity that will support future growth initiatives. Since 1958, Williams Industrial Services Group provides specialty energy construction and maintenance services to the North American power generation industry. Recapitalized Derive System's balance sheet by providing a $20.0 million term loan facility. Derive Systems is a leading mobility software platform that enables cleaner and safer enterprise fleet management by unlocking key fuel efficiency and driver safety data. Led and agented the upsize of the existing credit facility for Tenere by providing a $22.0 million term loan. Tenere is a leading provider of custom mechanical solutions across a range of industries to include cloud infrastructure, network architecture, fiber optics, autonomous transportation, and renewable energy. Provided $13.2 million of growth capital to Trekker to capture opportunities relating to infrastructure buildouts in the Florida and Puerto Rico markets. Trekker is a third-generation family-owned business that sells, rents, and services construction equipment, parts and tools, building materials, formwork and shoring systems. Invested $7.5 million in TESCO, the trusted source for meter testing instruments and accessories since 1904. TESCO's services to the utility industry include meter shop layout, statistical sampling, equipment specifications, field services, facility relocation, quality systems, project management and custom equipment. EIP Credit Strategies was established to support U.S.-based small- and middle-market businesses with a specific focus on energy-related investments. The group offers financing solutions across the capital structure, such as first and second lien secured term loans and unsecured debt as well as equity. EIP Credit Strategies leverages EIP's existing infrastructure, deal flow, expertise in equity investing, and utility partner network to broaden the firm's financial solutions. EIP Credit Strategies has realized two successful investments thus far, Aquam and Tendril.

For more information on EIP and EIP Credit Strategies, please visit www.energyimpactpartners.com. About Energy Impact Partners: Energy Impact Partners (EIP) is a global investment platform leading the transition to a sustainable energy future. EIP brings together entrepreneurs and the world's most forward-looking energy and industrial companies to advance innovation. With over $1.5 billion in assets under management, EIP invests globally across venture, growth, credit and infrastructure - and has a team of more than 50 professionals based in its offices in New York, San Francisco, Palm Beach, London, Cologne and soon Oslo. For more information on EIP, please visit www.energyimpactpartners.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005007/en/

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Countess Alexandra Tolstoy has offered a glimpse inside her cosy Oxfordshire cottage where she is spending lockdown - months after she was 'evicted' from the London home owned by her Russian billionaire ex.

The aristocratic beauty, who shares children Aliosha, Ivan and Maria with financier Sergei Pugachev, has swapped city life for quieter days filled with country walks, baking and homeschooling.

Photos shared on Instagram, where Alexandra boasts more than 75,000 followers, reveal a rustic family kitchen, bedrooms with sloped ceilings and wrought iron beds, and a characterful living room complete with roaring fire.

Unlike some influencers, Alexandra, who descends from a long line of Russian nobility, doesn't shy away from photographing the realities of family life and happily posts photos of piles of laundry, cluttered countertops and a dining room table strewn with homework.

Alexandras title descends from her great-great grandfather, her father's great-grandfather, Pavel Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, who was titled a Count for his services as the chamberlain to the last emperor, Nicolas II of Russia just after the First World War.

Pugachev, 57, was once dubbed 'the Kremlins banker' and was close to Vladimir Putin before falling into disfavour. He is now seen as a 'traitor' by the Russian president.

After arriving in the UK in 2011, he was accused of siphoning a fortune out of his finance house Mezhprombank. State creditors in Moscow pursued him in the British courts, claiming he embezzled hundreds of millions.

The oligarch fled to France, where he remains, and was sentenced to two years in his absence by a High Court judge in 2016 for breaching court orders relating to hundreds of millions in allegedly stolen cash.

Casual in the country! Countess Alexandra Tolstoy has offered a glimpse inside the cosy Oxfordshire cottage where she is spending lockdown with her three children. Her ex is Russian billionaire Sergei Pugachev, 57, who is living in exile

The aristocratic beauty, who shares children Aliosha, Ivan and Maria with financier Sergei Pugachev, has swapped city life for quieter days filled with country walks, baking and homeschooling. Pictured, the exterior of the house

Family life: Mother-of-three Alexandra shows off a refreshingly normal kitchen, complete with cluttered countertops

Old-fashioned goodness: Alexandra's daughter Maria tucked up in bed in one of the three bedrooms upstairs in the property

Organisaed chaos: Unlike some influencers, Alexandra doesn't shy away from capturing piles of laundry in her pictures

Personal treasures: The house is decorated with dozens of ornaments and soft furnishings in an array of patterned fabrics

Alexandra has three children with Sergei Pugachev, 57, who was once dubbed 'the Kremlins banker' and was close to Vladimir Putin before falling into disfavour. He is now seen as a 'traitor' by the Russian president. Pictured, the couple together

Pugachev has cut off Alexandra and their children financially, she claims, and the family were evicted from Pugachev's 12million south London family mansion during the height of the pandemic after reportedly being given just 12 days notice by the Russian government, who had repossessed the property.

It is understood Alexandra has since moved into another home in London, but has chosen to spend lockdown in her idyllic country home, which she bought in 2004.

Who is Alexandra Tolstoy? Before she met Sergei, Alexandra was married to a penniless Cossack named Shamil Galimzyanov. The pair met whilst travelling along the Silk Road on horse in 1999. Tolstoy first met Sergei, then a Russian senator and trusted friend of Putin who had separated from his wife, when asked to give him English lessons while she was living in Moscow with Galimzyanov. A year later, they met again at an awards ceremony attended by the Russian president. Within months, Tolstoy and was pregnant with Sergei's child. They had three children together - Alexei, known as Aliosha, Ivan and Maria. Alexandra is the eldest of Anglo-Russian historian and writer Nikolai Tolstoy's four children. She grew up in Oxfordshire before going to Edinburgh University to study philosophy. She spent her gap year in Russia. Advertisement

Pugachev once owned two major shipyards, the world's biggest mine and large chunks of real estate in Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as the Mezhprombank, which he co-founded in the 1990s.

The couple met in 2008 after Sergei hired Alexandra to help improve his English while they were both living in Russia, where Sergei was once-close friends with Putin.

Speaking of their relationship in a documentary that aired last year, Alexandra said: 'When I met Sergei it was electric. It was amazing. I fell so in love with him. I've never felt such a connection to someone ever.'

Within a year of meeting, they had a baby and another on the way, and were living a life of luxury in London, Moscow and Paris.

Alexandra said: 'It was incredible, he would give me his credit card and I would go shopping, I had a private jet. I just had to pack my suitcase and I could go.'

The family moved between an array of properties including a 12million family home in Battersea, a 200-acre country estate in Hertfordshire, and a 40million beachfront villa in St Barts.

But in 2008, Sergei's bank hit problems and the Russian bank bailed it out with $1 billion loan.

Sergei, who left Russia in 2011, claims that after relations between him and Putin cooled, the Kremlin tried to seize or destroy his business empire.

The Russians then accused him of profiting from vast sums of taxpayers' money given to Mezhprombank by the Russian central bank at the height of the 2008 economic crisis.

The Russian authorities froze his assets, put him on Interpol's wanted list and obtained a court order in Britain forcing him to hand over his passports.

Countess Alexandra Tolstoy previously revealed that she cried when she was evicted from her multi-million London home with her three children (pictured)

All tucked up: Alexandra shared this photo of a TV night in her new bedroom, which is decorated with sumptuous textiles

Multi-tasking: Like many parents, Alexandra is juggling her work with homeschooling her children at the kitchen table

Cooking up a feast: Alexandra cuts a casual figure with her hair pulled up on top of her head in this Instagram snap

Quiet night in: The living room boasts a large open fire, low ceilings and is full of character

WHO IS SERGEI PUGACHEV? Sergei Pugachev once owned two major shipyards, the world's biggest mine and large chunks of real estate in Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as the Mezhprombank, which he co-founded in the 1990s. He enjoyed a close relatinship with Vladimir Putin, and in 2008 when Sergei's bank hit problems, the Russian state bailed it out with $1 billion loan. Sergei amassed enormous wealth from his companies, and lived a lavish lifestyle before becoming an enemy of the Russian state Sergei, who left Russia in 2011, claims that relations between him and Putin cooled, due to his relationship with the Russian leader calling him a 'traitor' for dating 'English woman' Alexandra, the Kremlin tried to seize or destroy his business empire. The Russians then accused him of profiting from vast sums of taxpayers' money given to Mezhprombank by the Russian central bank at the height of the 2008 economic crisis. It has since been pursuing Sergei Pugachev through the High Court claiming he illegally siphoned hundreds of millions of pounds from the government bailout of the Mezhprombank. Authorities froze his assets, put him on Interpol's wanted list and obtained a court order in Britain forcing him to hand over his passports. By 2015, he was dividing his time between France and the family home in London and reputed to be number 3 on Kremlin's hitlist. Mr Pugachev denies the allegations and claims Moscow is trying to steal 11billion of his assets, including two shipyards and the world's largest mine. He has previously been declared to be in contempt of court, with a two-year prison sentence left hanging over his head should he return to this country. He had been living in France for the past five years after being ordered to give up his passports in 2014. In Nice, he was visited by the DIA who demanded repayment of the billion dollar loan and threatened his family, saying they could 'cut off his son's finger and send it back to him.' He also claims 'credible attempts' had been made on his life in the UK. The tycoon is in another legal battle with Russia in The Hague where he is suing the Federation for 11billion. He claims he is being targeted because of his knowledge of state secrets. Sergei said he enjoyed a 'very close' friendship with Russian president Vladimir Putin before falling out, with the politician calling Sergei 'a traitor' for dating an 'English woman' Advertisement

Quilted magic: A cosy nook where daughter Maria sleeps while the family is in the Oxfordshire countryside

Keeping busy! Alexandra tries her hand at lockdown baking in one of the photos shared on her Instagram account

Pot plants: The socialite rearranges a flower in a large copper pot by a window looking out to the countryside

Rural retreat: Alexandra rugs up in sturdy footwear and outdoor clothes for a stroll through the nearby countryside

By 2015, he was dividing his time between France and the family home in London and claimed to be number 3 on Kremlin's hitlist.

State creditors in Moscow pursued him in the British courts, claiming he embezzled hundreds of millions.

Pugachev fled to France before the 2016 High Court ruling in a case brought by Russias Deposit Insurance Agency, in which he was sentenced for 12 breaches of court orders connected to a freezing order imposed on him over attempts to recover the cash.

In the February 2016 High Court judgment, no ruling was made on the allegations of embezzled cash and Pugachev told the court he had not stolen any money. In her judgment jailing him, Mrs Justice Rose noted he does have a genuine fear that his life is in danger from agents of the Russian state.

Anne-Jessica Faure, a lawyer for Mr Pugachev, said there has been no court decision establishing financial wrongdoing by him.

On the order of the High Court, the family home was put on the market and Alexandra made a deal with the Russian government to drop her claim to his fortune.

Alex previously took to Instagram to share pictures of her beloved London home being emptied by a packing company, giving a glimpse at the piles of boxes in the kitchen and sitting room

Alexandra shared this picture of the property's elegant living room, saying that she was trying to enjoy every last minute left in her home (left). The Countess at work at her desk, giving a talk to pupils at her alma mater Downe House (right)

Alexandra shared before and after pictures of her rooms being cleared and admitted it 'feels so strange'

Alexandra is seen perched in a reading corner of multi-million pound South London property wearing a personalised t-shirt

Alexandra put the upright Yamaha piano her children practice on up for sale. A snap shared to Instagram revealed walls decorated with a display of taxidermy butterflies and cute wooden figurines perched on top (left) Decluttering mode! Alexandra cleared out the playroom three weeks before having to move out, saying she was determined to have a tidy space for their last days in the home (right)
Desperate to halt the collapse of what remains of their working class support, the Australian Labor Party and its associated trade union bureaucrats are trying to portray themselves as workers champions in the face of the intensifying government-corporate assault on working conditions.

Having policed every attack on workers jobs, wages and basic rights for decades, and joined hands even more closely with the employers and the Liberal-National Coalition government since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are terrified of the prospect of rank-and-file opposition, such as that by the Coles warehouse workers at Smeaton Grange in southwest Sydney.

Anthony Albanese (Photo: WSWS Media)

This week, the Coles workers rejected a sell-out deal proposed by the United Workers Union that would close their facility and destroy the majority of their jobs. Their stand, in defying a near three-month lockout by the supermarket giant, could become a trigger for a broader revolt by workers against the government-employer exploitation of the global pandemic to further radically restructure workplace relations at workers expense.

After propping up Prime Minister Scott Morrisons government for more than a year, following the 201920 bushfire catastrophe and the onset of the pandemic, the Labor and union leaders are now attempting to distance themselves from the Coalition by proclaiming that they will oppose its omnibus industrial relations bill.

The bill contains sweeping measures to further destroy workers conditions. These include provisions for greenfields employer-union agreements on new projects, to be struck without any consultation with workers, that will lock the workforce into whatever sub-standard conditions are accepted by the unions, for up to eight years without any right to strike. They also feature the effective scrapping of the better off overall test (BOOT) that supposedly requires new union-negotiated enterprise agreements to not disadvantage workers.

Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese, whose position is increasingly under threat, is cynically hoping to use the issue to head off the growing moves within the partys parliamentary caucus to dump him. We will not vote for any legislation that cuts wages or cuts conditions such as penalty rates, he declared this week, while not ruling out accepting the governments bill with amendments.

Never mentioned by Labor, or the government, or the corporate media, is the fact the bill builds on the reactionary Fair Work legislation imposed by the last Labor government of 200713, with the full backing of all the unions. The Morrison government has retained this legislation because it outlaws all industrial action, except during narrow enterprise bargaining periods at individual workplaces, and legally protects employers who lock out workers, as Coles has done in Sydney.

Whatever the outcome of Labors leadership in-fighting, all the Labor leaders agree with these repressive measures, designed to suppress solidarity action and all unified working class struggles. They also agree with the basic program pursued by Albanese, who has appealed for the support of big business by vowing to back wealth creation and pitched Labor as the best partner for the Biden administration as its steps up Washingtons confrontation with China.

For its part, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is now running an expensive advertising campaign, dubbed for the workers. It declares that workers have carried Australia through the pandemic but millions of workers have had their jobs wrecked, wages and hours cut and been put at risk of serious illness.

A Stop the Bus ad campaign launched by the Electrical Trades Union and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union depicts a bus driven by Morrison running down a group of workers, supposedly representing the impact of the governments industrial relations bill.

This is just as fraudulent as the posturing by Albanese and the rest of the Labor leaders.

Last year, the government was so thankful for the assistance of the ACTU in enforcing cuts to wages and working conditions, ostensibly in response to the pandemic, that Morrison rang ACTU secretary Sally McManus to thank her, and Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter nominated her his BFF (Best Friend Forever).

The ACTU and its affiliated unions then spent the rest of 2020 in backroom talks with the government and employer groups, behind the backs of their members, in tripartite working groups to draft the key proposals now contained in the governments bill.

Typical of the unions hypocrisy is McManuss claim that the outrageous BOOT proposal was never raised during the more than 140 hours of negotiations to frame the bill. In reality, the ACTU struck an agreement during the talks with the Business Council of Australia, representing the largest corporates, to scrap the BOOT in return for fast-tracked approval of union enterprise agreements by the Fair Work Commission. That particular deal ultimately imploded, but it was not for want of trying by the ACTU.

More broadly, BOOT has been a fraud in any case, with the unions repeatedly imposing enterprise agreements on their members that undercut previously hard-fought-for conditions, and permitted the wholesale casualisation of workforces.

McManus has depicted the governments bill as worse than Work Choices, the workplace relations laws introduced in 2005 by Prime Minister John Howards Coalition government. These provoked massive opposition from workers and became a major factor in the 2007 election defeat of that government. Howard lost his own parliamentary seat.

The Labor and union leaders fear a greater social explosion today, amid continuing mass unemployment and underemployment and the intensifying attacks on wages and working conditions.

In the latest move, the retail employers groups last week applied to the Fair Work Commission, the industrial tribunal established by the last Labor government, to scrap weekend and after-hours wage penalty rates for low-level supervisors and managers. That would set a precedent for the broader extension of the abolition of penalty rates, on which many workers depend to live.

These moves are only possible because Labor and the unions have suppressed workers struggles for decades, especially since the ACTU Accords with the Hawke and Keating Labor governments in the 1980s and 1990s. The Accords were vehicles for destroying workers jobs and conditions, and breaking up rank-and-file organisations, such as workplace shop committees.

This vicious record, and the readiness of the Labor and union apparatus to deepen it in response to the global pandemic and economic crisis, demonstrates the necessity for workers and young people to make a decisive political break from Labor and its union accomplices. The only answer is that advanced by the Socialist Equality Party: the struggle for socialism internationally by workers and the refashioning of society on the basis of social need, not private profit.
Practitioners and stakeholders in herbal medicine have been urged to encourage and train young people to engage in the production of herbal medicine to sustain the industry.



Madam Fati Bamba, the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regional Director of the National Youth Authority (NYA) who gave the advice noted that most herbalists in the country were aging and the industry could collapse if it was not made attractive to the young people.



Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of a youth forum held in Sunyani, Mad Bamba noted that the nations herbal industry had huge potential for job creation and poverty reduction.



"Production of herbal medicine is another form of vocational training that could create employment for the youth", she added.



The forum was organised by the Sunyani Youth Development Association (SYDA) in collaboration with the Centre for Plant Medicine Research on the theme expanding the horizon of youth employment, the role of the youth in herbal medicine".



Plant medicine, Madam Bamba noted should not be produced in secrecy, and called on practitioners to open up and train interested young people to take-over and ensure the sustainability of the industry.

Source: GNA









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(Newser)  If you were expecting GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to be chastened after House Democrats doled out a rare punishment, think again. "I woke up early this morning literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats (+11) are for giving some one like me free time," she tweeted. "In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway. Oh this is going to be fun!" The defiant tweet comes a day after Democrats stripped the freshman Georgia lawmaker of her committee posts because of the conspiracy theories and threats of violence she promoted before coming to Congress. The "+11" refers to the number of Republicans who joined Democrats in the 230-199 vote.

story continues below

Greene expressed regret for her QAnon views before the vote, though she fell short of apologizing. "These were words of the past, and these things do not represent me, they do not represent my district, and they do not represent my values," she said in her House speech, per the Washington Post. Greene also plans a press conference later Friday to discuss the rebuke she received. Thursday's punishment removed Greene from two committees, but she is still able to vote as a member of the House. CNN notes that one Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California, has introduced a long-shot resolution to expel Greene from the House itself. "I'm committed to bringing it up, and I said that to leadership that there needs to be a vote sooner rather or later on this," he said. (Read more Marjorie Taylor Greene stories.)
Wyomings public schools have long been a subject of derision for many Republican state lawmakers who claim they underperform. If such scrutiny leads to the constant improvement of our K-12 system, then Im all for it.

But thats not the solution the Legislature is considering. Instead, a committee charged with determining how much the state spends on education wants to cut funding by an estimated $250 million over the next three years.

Thats like complaining of a headache and then solving the problem by cutting off your head. If the topic wasnt so serious, their response...
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Market Reports on Saudi Arabia Provides the Trending Market Research Report on Organic Beverages in the United Arab Emirates" under Food category. The Organic Beverages in the United Arab Emirates is projected to exhibit highest growth rate over report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence and industry reports.

2020 saw organic beverages remain a niche category in the United Arab Emirates. These products are rarely seen on retail shelves and on-trade distribution is limited to relatively few high-end establishments, with relatively few such products on offer on drinks menus. Generally speaking, consumer awareness of organic beverages is quite low and this has resulted in negligible sales being seen in the category in recent years.

Organic Beverages in United Arab Emirates report tracks the developments of health-associated product types and the healthy-option positioning of competing brands across different food sectors. It provides the latest retail sales data 2016-2020, allowing you to compare health and wellness categories with each other or in the context of the total market for a sector. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market- be they new product developments, legislative context or lifestyle influences. Forecasts to 2025 illustrate how the market is set to change.

Request a free sample copy of United Arab Emirates Organic Beverages Market Report @

http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/sample/reports/1083321

Product coverage:

Organic Hot Drinks, Organic Soft Drinks.

Data coverage:

market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.

Why buy this report?

* Get a detailed picture of the Organic Beverages market;

* Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;

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Table of Contents

List OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

KEY DATA FINDINGS

2020 IMPACT

Organic beverages remains a niche category

Premium prices and limited distribution major reasons for low demand

Strict regulations relating to the labelling of organic products presents barriers

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Few prospects for organic beverages to emerge strongly during the forecast period

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

COVID-19 impact on health and wellness

COVID-19 country impact

Company response

Retailing shift

Foodservice vs retail split

What next for health and wellness?

MARKET DATA

Table 1 Sales of Health and Wellness by Type: Value 2015-2020

Table 2 Sales of Health and Wellness by Type: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 3 Sales of Health and Wellness by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 4 Sales of Health and Wellness by Category: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 5 Sales of Health and Wellness by Prime Positioning: Value 2015-2020

Table 6 Sales of Health and Wellness by Prime Positioning: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 7 NBO Company Shares of Health and Wellness: % Value 2016-2020

Table 8 LBN Brand Shares of Health and Wellness: % Value 2017-2020

Table 9 Distribution of Health and Wellness by Format: % Value 2015-2020

Table 10 Distribution of Health and Wellness by Format and Category: % Value 2020

Table 11 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Type: Value 2020-2025

Table 12 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Type: % Value Growth 2020-2025

Table 13 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Category: Value 2020-2025

Table 14 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Category: % Value Growth 2020-2025

Table 15 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Prime Positioning: Value 2020-2025

Table 16 Forecast Sales of Health and Wellness by Prime Positioning: % Value Growth 2020-2025

GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

GLOBAL INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT

DISCLAIMER

SOURCES

Summary 1 Research Sources

Browse our full report with Table of Contents: http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/organic-beverages-in-the-united-arab-emirates/1083321

About Us

Market Reports on Saudi Arabia provides you with an in-depth industry reports focusing on various economic, political and operational risk environment, complemented by detailed sector analysis. We have an exhaustive coverage on variety of industries  ranging from energy and chemicals to transportation, communications, constructions and mining to Food and Beverage and education. Our collection includes over 3000 up-to-date reports all researched, analysed and published by top-notch international research firms.

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Aero India 2021 has been an unprecedented success, said President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday, adding that it is the world's first mega event of this kind to be held in a hybrid format.

"Aero India 2021 has been an unprecedented success. I'm told that high-level delegations from 43 countries and exhibitors from 530 companies participated, many more across the world got associated virtually. It's world's first mega event of this kind to be held in a hybrid format," said President Kovind at the valedictory ceremony of the event in Bengaluru.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

"The past year has been a time of unprecedented hardships due to Covid-19. Its adverse impacts have been felt in all walks of life over the world. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, I'm happy that Aero India 2021 has been organised successfully," he added.

He further said: "I have also been told that 201 new business partnerships have been developed in the form of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), agreements and collaborations among various nations and companies."

Government of India had on Wednesday formally sealed in what is being dubbed as the "Biggest Make-in-India" deal to procure 83 Tejas light combat aircraft from state-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

This deal is being deemed as the biggest ever indigenous defence procurement programme, according to officials.

The 13th edition of the Aero India international air show was organised by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from 3 to 5 February at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru.

Since its inception in 1996, Bengaluru has been hosting the event.

Held every two years, Aero India is a platform for aerospace enthusiasts, prospective defence industries, aspirant start-ups and other stakeholders to participate and witness the advances in global defence and aerospace fields and interact with delegations and industries from across the globe.

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Kolkata: The body of a nine-year-old girl was recovered on Thursday (Feb 4) from the staircase of a residential building in the city's Jorabagan area, sparking protests by locals, who claimed that the "police did not take action when the family had reported that she was missing".

The girl, who was found lying in a pool of blood on the staircase that led to the terrace of the multi-storey building, was "first sexually abused and then killed", a senior police officer said. Preliminary investigations suggest that the victim, who went missing on Wednesday evening, was sexually abused, thrashed, strangled before her throat was slit by a person or a group of persons," the officer said.

A team of officers from Jorabagan police station, and Kolkata Police Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Murlidhar Sharma rushed to the area in the northern part of the city, following the "discovery of the body" by locals, he said. "It seems that the culprits were known to the minor victim... That is why they killed her after abuse," he said.

Sleuths of the Kolkata Police spotted a couple of teeth and a few hair strands on the staircase where the minor's body was found. A blood-stained knife, suspected to be the murder weapon, was found from a drain, just beside the multi-storey building, the senior officer said.

"Going by the circumstantial evidence, we suspect that the culprit or the culprits knew the locality well. We are probing the matter. Sniffer dogs have been employed to help with the probe," he stated. Locals, alleging police inaction, took to the streets during the day, seeking justice for the girl. "The family had approached the police when the girl went missing last evening. But they did not cooperate. Had they searched the locality, the girl could have been saved. Their casual attitude is responsible for this," one of the locals alleged.

The victim, a resident of Sovabazar in the same police station area, was visiting her maternal uncle's residence in Jorabagan, the officer said. Sleuths are talking to local children, who were seen playing with her earlier on Wednesday, he stated. A team of forensic experts have collected samples from the site of the incident, the officer said, adding that the minor's body has been sent for post mortem.

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Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on February 5, 2021 in Washington. (ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Rep. Greene: Republican Party Still Belongs to Trump

In a press conference on Friday, embattled Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said the future of the Republican partya topic of much debate and infighting in recent timesstill belongs to former President Donald Trump.

A day ago, the House adopted a resolution to remove Greene from two committee posts over her past comments and actions. The vote on the Democrat-backed resolution was 230199, largely along party lines. Three lawmakers did not vote. Eleven Republicans joined Democrats in voting yes to remove Greene from the committees.

Greene defended Trump in her speech and said Republicans still largely support him to this day. She said the Republican party still belongs to Trump.

He was a president that didnt care about your skin color because God created us all equal, she told reporters on Capitol Hill. He was a president that wanted every single person to achieve and thats why we support him. Thats why Ive always supported him and I want to tell you Republican voters support him still. The party is hisit doesnt belong to anybody else.

A record number of Americans voted for Trump, including a record number of Republicans, noted Greene.

Do you want to know why? Its because they loved his policies. They loved his fight, she said. They love the fact that for once we had a president that stood up for America, stood up for American businesses, and remembered the forgotten man.

At one point during the conference Green started talking about the Republicans who broke with their party in order to vote Greene off of her committee posts. Her assignments were to the House Budget Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee.

The congresswoman said these Republicans committed a big betrayal that could cost the GOP the House majority in the 2022 election.

There were 10 that voted for impeachment against President Trump and they definitely paid the price, she said. They heard from Republican voters. There were 11 that voted against me yesterday and thats something that our leaders should be very upset about.

The Republicans who joined Democrats in their vote were Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Young Kim (R-Calif.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), and Fred Upton (R-Mich.).

Republican leadership in the House opposed the vote, saying it could set a dangerous precedent for punishing lawmakers over comments made before taking office. But Democrats said the action was necessary, alleging a failure in Republican leadership after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) did not move to remove Greene from her committee posts. McCarthy on Wednesday denounced her past comments.

Greene said on Friday that she is fine with being kicked off of her committees, saying that with the Democrat majority it would be a waste of my time.

So now I have a lot of free time on my hands, which means I can talk to a whole lot more people all over this country  I look forward to going home and seeing people in my district, she said. Im thankful and overwhelmed by their support.

Greenes comments come as Trump faces his second impeachment trial slated to begin next week. Senators from both parties said Thursday they dont want Trump to testify during the upcoming trial.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report
Federal taxpayers will shoulder construction and staffing costs of Queenslands proposed quarantine hub under Premier Annastacia Palaszczuks proposal to curb the risk of the highly contagious British variant of COVID-19.

Ms Palaszczuk and Prime Minister Scott Morrison are in negotiations to commission a new 1000-bed facility in Toowoomba, about 120 kilometres west of Brisbane.

Australians who were stranded overseas arrive in Canberra after a repatriation flight from Singapore in November. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Ms Palaszczuk said other premiers had also pitched centralised quarantine hubs to the federal government.

The Queensland Premier put forward the idea as a way to avoid mass lockdowns such as those recently imposed in Brisbane, Auckland, Perth and Melbourne.
Imcyse Enters into Research Collaboration and License Agreement for its Imotope Technology with Pfizer in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Details Category: More News Published on Friday, 05 February 2021 10:44 Hits: 1565

Imcyse, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of a new class of active, specific immunotherapies for the treatment of severe, chronic autoimmune diseases, today enters into Research Collaboration and License Agreement for its Imotope Technology with Pfizer in Rheumatoid Arthritis

 Imcyse and Pfizer to collaborate to develop Imotope candidates to potentially treat Rheumatoid Arthritis

 Pfizer to lead clinical development and commercialization activities

 Imcyse to receive upfront payment in cash and through the purchase of equity in addition to milestone up to $180 million and tiered royalty payments

LIEGE, Belgium I February 03, 2021 I Imcyse, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of a new class of active and specific immunotherapies for the treatment of severe autoimmune diseases, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) for Imcyses Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) program based on the Companys Imotope technology. Following the successful completion of a research collaboration initiated in 2017, the companies have entered into such license agreement to develop Imotopes to potentially treat RA. In the initial period, the companies will collaborate to develop existing lead candidates and further optimize potential molecules. Subsequently, Pfizer will lead clinical development and commercialization activities for the program.

Under the terms of the agreement, Imcyse will receive an up-front payment and Pfizer will purchase an equity stake in Imcyse to be executed in an upcoming financing round. In addition, Imcyse is eligible to receive up to USD 180 million in milestones in addition to tiered royalty payments. In addition, Mike Vincent, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Inflammation & Immunology Research Unit at Pfizer will join the Imcyse Scientific Advisory Board.

The initiation of the RA program was funded in part from a grant by the Wallonia Research SPW, which over a number of years and supplementary grants has supported Imcyse, enabling the Company and its programs to develop to this point of industrial partnership.

Denis Bedoret, Imcyse CEO, commented: This license agreement constitutes a great endorsement and a sign of confidence in our Imotope technology platform from one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world. We are excited to expand our successful collaboration to develop Imotopes for RA, a prevalent autoimmune disorder. It is our ultimate goal to develop curative treatments for autoimmune disorders for the benefit of patients worldwide. For diseases such as RA, this can be best accomplished with the help of partners such as Pfizer.

The Imcyse Imotope platform represents a next generation and potentially curative approach to severe autoimmune diseases. Imotopes induce cytolytic T cells, which specifically eliminate the aberrant disease pathway while leaving the rest of the immune system unaffected. The Companys lead program is entering phase 2 in Type 1 Diabetes and its Multiple Sclerosis candidate is expected to commence clinical trials by 2022.

Mike Vincent, CSO, Pfizer Inflammation & Immunology, further commented: I am very pleased to be joining the Scientific Advisory Board of Imcyse and for Pfizer to join in the development of the Imotope technology in the field of RA. Pfizer is committed to addressing the needs of patients in Rheumatology, and the Imcyse technology platform offers a unique scientific approach that we look forward to exploring further.

ABOUT IMCYSE

Imcyse is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of a new class of active specific immunotherapies for the treatment of severe chronic autoimmune diseases. The companys unique technology platform allows it to locally target immune cells involved in the destruction of the diseased organ. This platform is based on the administration of Imotopes, which are specifically modified peptides, allowing for the generation of cytolytic CD4 T-cells, that specifically eliminate antigen-presenting cells and autoantigen specific lymphocytes. Imcyses approach, sustained over time, helps to prevent and treat diseases with no current therapeutic alternative and to potentially cure patients without impairing immune defense. The company has established proof of concept in several indications and has completed its first clinical trial in type 1 diabetes with promising results. Beyond type 1 diabetes, Imcyse is developing a pipeline of Imotopes for the treatment of several autoimmune diseases. Founded as a spin-off of the Catholic University of Leuven in 2011, Imcyse subsequently relocated to Liege, Belgium.

www.imcyse.com

SOURCE: Imcyse
Satellite photo shows the North Island, part of the Paracel Islands group in the South China Sea, on September 29, 2017. Photo by Planet Labs/Handout via Reuters.

A US warship sailed near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Friday in a freedom of navigation operation, the U.S. Navy said.

It was the first such mission under President Joe Bidens new administration.

The busy waterway is one of a number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which include a trade war, U.S. sanctions, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

China has been infuriated by repeated U.S. sailings near the islands Beijing occupies and controls in the South China Sea. China says it has irrefutable sovereignty and has accused Washington of deliberately stoking tensions.

The U.S. Navys 7th Fleet said the USS John S. McCain "asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the vicinity of the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law."

China took full control of the Paracels in 1974 after a short battle with South Vietnamese forces.

Vietnam has repeatedly affirmed that it has full legal basis and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands in the South China Sea accordance with international law. The waters is known as the East Sea in Vietnam.

The same U.S. ship involved in this mission earlier this week transited the sensitive Taiwan Strait, drawing an angry response from Beijing.

Last month a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group entered the South China Sea for what the Navy said was routine operations.

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gettyimagesbank



By Park Jae-hyuk



CPP Investments, a global investment management firm that invests the assets of the Canada Pension Plan, has remained silent about a letter sent to it by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) last Friday asking the pension fund manager to review its investment in MBK Partners in terms of its commitment to responsible investment and long-term value creation.



"Unfortunately, we will not have any comment to this," CPP Investments corporate communications director Connie Ling told The Korea Times via email, Thursday.



The CLC also said it has not yet received a reply from CPP Investments.



"As you're aware, as a first step, the letter asked the fund to investigate our concerns internally and with MBK Partners as well," CLC social and economic policy director Chris Roberts told The Korea Times via email, Friday. "We're now waiting to learn the results of that investigation, and will reassess when we receive a response to our concerns."



In the letter sent to CEO Mark Machin, CLC President Hassan Yussuff said the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions had brought several complaints to his organization's attention regarding MBK Partners.



"Since 2008, the CPP Investments' Private Equity Asia group has progressively committed greater funds to MBK Partners, for an accumulated total of 1.5 billion Canadian dollars ($1.2 billion) invested in four separate MBK funds," the letter reads.



"However, the firm appears to have a history of mass layoffs and predatory behavior, and questions have been raised regarding the compliance of MBK principals with Korean tax law."



Yussuff asked Machin to investigate these concerns with CPP Investments' Private Equity Asia group and asked its investment team to inquire with MBK Partners.



"If the practice and behavior of MBK Partners indeed falls short of CPP Investments' high standards for responsible investment and long-term value creation, I ask that CPP Investments consider abandoning MBK Partners as an investment opportunity," the letter reads.



CPP Investments is one of the world's largest investors in private equity.



According to its website, it committed $200 million to MBK II in 2008, $300 million to MBK III in 2012, $450 million to MBK IV in 2016 and $500 million to MBK V in 2019.



MBK Partners declined to comment on whether it had talked with CPP Investments regarding the letter but said that the claims in it were "groundless" and "malicious."



The private equity firm has denied all allegations made against it, whenever it faced criticism from unions and civic groups here.



According to MBK Partners, its portfolio companies, including Homeplus, have guaranteed its employees job stability.


GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Demand continues to outstrip supply of COVID-19 vaccine in the county with more than 40,000 people now pre-registered for their first dose.

County Medical Health Officer Dr. Pamela Hackert said Thursday, Feb. 4, that the county is continuing to take requests for vaccination appointments, prioritizing those who meet the requirements for Phase 1A or 1B with those aged 80 or older and individuals in groups hit the hardest by COVID-19 -- African Americans, Hispanics and Flint residents -- also receiving priority.

If you qualify to put your name on (the list), put your name there, Hackert said earlier this week. Once registered, expect a wait of four to eight weeks before an appointment can be scheduled.

The website to pre-register for a vaccine is https://www.gc4me.com/. Senior citizens and those without computer access can also call local senior citizen centers or the Valley Area Agency on Aging at 810-600-0617 to register by phone.

There have been 21,060 positive cases of coronavirus reported in the county and 677 deaths as of Thursday, but the percentage of those testing positive is decreasing, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Genesee is among 42 counties in the state that are now below the 5 percent benchmark on the seven-day average for coronavirus positivity tests.

The countys vaccination rate remains among the lowest in the state with just 8 percent -- 25,192 people -- of those 16 or older having received a first dose and 6,355 having received a second dose.

County health officials have said they are distributing every dose of the vaccine they receive from the state.

Earlier this week, Hackert said the county is continue to prepare for wider vaccine distribution when supplies increase, using funding from the Greater Flint Health Coalition to hire additional people for data entry and to schedule appointments for those who are pre-registering.

The state advises the county about the expected vaccine delivery for the following week on Fridays. Those weekly doses have typically been about 2,500 doses for the county Health Department with an equal number of doses divided among the countys three hospitals.

Meijer has also distributed vaccines through a separate program with the the state.

Friday, Feb. 5, coronavirus data by Michigan county: Majority of counties below 5% positivity rate

11% of Michigan adults have gotten at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose; see numbers in your county

Genesee County gets 1,600 more COVID-19 vaccines than expected for distribution this week
Defence Minister on Friday said with an aim of encouraging the manufacture of defence related items in the country, the government's endeavour is also to bring down its defence imports by at least USD two billion by 2022.

Speaking at the Aero India-2021 here, he also said the aerospace sector has an important role to play, if India has to reach its targets of domestic defence production of USD 25 billion and exports of USD five billion by 2025.

"With an aim of encouraging the manufacture of defence related items in India, our endeavour will remain to bring down defence imports by at least USD two billion by 2022. Between 2016 and 2019, as many as 138 proposals worth over USD 37 billion for domestic manufacturing have been approved," Singh said.

The order for 83 LCA MK 1A worth over Rs 48,000 crore that has been given by the government will give a big boost to domestic manufacturing and especially to the aviation industry, he said, adding it would spawn new and resilient supply chains.

"The negative list of 101 items for import also means to provide opportunities for the domestic manufacturing sector to strengthen their base and contribute to Aatma Nirbhar Bharat," he added.

Singh said this was the 13th edition of Aero India and the event has evolved over a period of time to become one of the world's premium aero shows. Strategic ties had been forged that are poised to transform the defence and aerospace manufacturing in the country.

"We have signed 128 MoUs, 19 ToTs, 4 Handing Overs, 18 Product Launches and 32 Major Announcements, totaling a grand figure of 201 feats. Further, 45 MSMEs participating in Aero India 21 have already bagged orders worth Rs 203 crore. This is a major achievement," he said.

Noting that the fountainhead of any capability emerges from the robustness of its foundation, the Defence Minister said the country's foundation of vision rested on three pillars of Research and Development, Public and Private Defence Production and Defence Exports.

Initiatives have been taken to encourage and facilitate private sector research and development initiatives, he said.

Speaking about Defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Singh said, as part of this initiative Rs 3,700 crore and Rs 3,100 crore have already been pledged by the public and private industries.

Further the plan entails USD three billion investment in the corridors to improve the investment climate and facility, he said.

"We realise, appreciate and understand that in a highly specialised and technology driven environment, a collaborative, cooperative and collective approach to defence production and exports is the way forward."



A large number of initiatives have been taken to invite and facilitate the partnership of major companies from across the world and to become a part of Indias defence industrial initiative, he said, adding it was with this objective that FDI cap in the sector was raised to 74 per cent from 49 per cent in August last year.

A robust domestic manufacturing base relates directly to the potential for defence exports."We plan to move from a USD 11 billion defence base to USD 25 billion by 2025. Of this, we further intend to create an export component of USD five billion," the Minister said.

During the period 2015-2020, defence exports grew from Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 9,000 crore.

It was also important to note that a vast majority of our defence exports are being spearheaded by the private sector, he said.

Singh also said the Indian aerospace industry, both military and civil, stands uniquely poised today, on the threshold of catapulting itself into the global arena, adding that the aero components sector is set to grow from Rs. 30,000 crores today to Rs 60,000 crores by 2024.
TAIPEI, Taiwan - In the six years since Du Zini left home, she has never missed Lunar New Year. Du, who works at a forestry company in Nanning, more than 700 miles from her hometown in China's Jiangxi province, spends all year looking forward to those two weeks at home when she is doted on by her parents.

"I sleep until I wake up, and when I wake up, there's food to eat. When I'm done eating, I go out. Every day is carefree and easy," the 28-year-old said. "As soon as I get home, all pressure is gone."

Last week, Du canceled her plane ticket back, deterred by the myriad pandemic restrictions for those traveling home for the mid-February holiday. Her mother, worried Du will be lonely, has sent her ingredients for a traditional dish of smoked pork and luhao, a crunchy, reed-like vegetable common in southern China.

For the second year in a row, millions like Du are missing out on the most important holiday of the year - a time for family reunions, lavish meals, fireworks and catching up with friends - as authorities try to control new coronavirus outbreaks.

Residents are not only disappointed. Many are also angry at the extreme measures local authorities, determined to avoid outbreaks in their districts, have adopted to limit travel. The disruption shows how far China remains from a full return to normal, while revealing drawbacks in the highly centralized, authoritarian system that Beijing often credits for its success over the coronavirus.

China's Spring Festival, as the holiday is known, comes at a sensitive time. More than 20 million people in the north are under varying levels of lockdown after new outbreaks. A World Health Organization team is in Wuhan, the initial epicenter of the outbreak, investigating the origins of the virus in a heavily scrutinized and increasingly politicized mission.

For months, officials have discouraged travel during the festival by handing out cash subsidies, free phone data usage, and points for coveted residence permits in cities. China's State Council instructed officials to "guide the public" to celebrate "on the spot" rather than crisscross the country.

Villages in Henan province have hoisted large red banners warning people to stay away. One reads: "To bring the virus back is unfilial. Passing it to your parents is unconscionable." Another in Xiangyang in Hubei province said: "Guests at your doorstep this year will be visitors at your grave next year."

The measures appear to have worked. This year's Spring Festival travel rush is expected to be the quietest in more than a decade. Transport ministry officials expect 1.2 billion trips, compared with 3 billion in 2019 and a drop of more than 20 percent from last year, when many families were sheltering at home at the height of the outbreak in China.

On Sunday, officials said train journeys were down 75% for the first four days of the travel period, which began on Jan. 28, compared with a year earlier. Photos posted online Friday showed an empty Beijing Railway Station, one of the capital's busiest hubs.

Those who tried to go home have found themselves stymied by extra, often contradictory rules. In theory, residents traveling to rural areas only need to present a negative coronavirus test result taken within the past seven days. Unofficially, local governments have added restrictions, such as mandating centralized quarantine and sealing residents in their homes.

In Jixi, a city in the northern province of Heilongjiang, a resident returned home last week and later found her home sealed with a notice ordering her to quarantine for seven days. (On Monday, officials apologized and unsealed her home, as well as those of other residents.)

In Tianjin, a coastal city of more than 15 million people, those returning to nonurban districts of the city have been ordered to quarantine at home for 14 days. "I am so tired! The policy changes every day and every district tells you something different to decipher. In the end, no one can go home," a returnee wrote on Weibo.

"Last year we couldn't gather together. Now, the situation is so much better but we still can't. The country is going a little overboard," wrote another.

Some Internet users took to sharing mock guidelines online to illustrate how requirements become stricter the closer one gets to rural areas, under more scrutiny after recent outbreaks in villages. According to the chart, provinces require travelers to have a negative coronavirus test but towns mandate centralized quarantine plus home isolation. Upon arriving at one's village, residents will find that no returnees are allowed.

Anger over Spring Festival travel threatens to undermine hard-won public support for government measures. Screenshots of complaints on the State Council's website and WeChat page were censored on Weibo, where users urged residents to call a hotline at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention to report "policy deviations."

The hashtag "protect the rights of migrant workers subjected to more restrictions" had more than 280 million views as of Tuesday. For many migrant workers, the holiday is the only time of the year they have to see their families.

The frustration reached such a level that state media and health officials have turned on local authorities. On Sunday, Mi Feng, spokesman for the National Health Commission, ordered local governments to roll back compulsory testing and quarantine for those from low-risk areas. Mi described the added restrictions as "lazy governance" and a "waste of precious pandemic control resources."

Officials, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, have attributed their country's mostly successful containment of the virus to the ruling Communist Party's ability to quickly mobilize resources and personnel. But China's authoritarian system also makes the reverse, a relaxation of measures, difficult.

"This remarkable ability to centralize - of top-down control - also means that local governments are always uncertain as to what the center wants," said John K. Yasuda, an assistant professor in political science at Johns Hopkins University who focuses on regulation and bureaucratic politics in China.

"The central-local relationship tends to swing to extremes pre- and post-crisis," he said. "Post-crisis, the incentives are all such that being risk-averse is better for your political survival."

Blaming local officials, responsible for carrying out the unpopular Lunar New Year restrictions, gives the central government cover, some analysts say. Local authorities also bore the brunt of criticism for the outbreak last year, although reports show central officials, including Xi, were aware of the burgeoning crisis before the public was warned.

Still, some residents are grateful that their inability to go home for the holidays means they won't suffer relatives' prying about their salary or marriage prospects. Others said they were happy to avoid being pressured into heavy drinking sessions with friends and colleagues.

"For all the marriage-age men who every year search for reasons not to go home, the pandemic has given them the perfect excuse," said one Weibo user, happy to not return to Shenzhen this year. "This is great. I won't be subjected to lectures about getting married," a woman from Jilin province wrote on the microblog.

Others who have been caught in lockdowns near Beijing have seen their Lunar New Year holidays extended by weeks. Sui Ruiqiu, 33, a French translator based in Beijing, has found herself stuck in her hometown of Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province, which has barred incoming and outgoing traffic since early January, when a new cluster of cases emerged.

She spends her days reading, watching television with her mom, or playing with her 2-year-old nephew. Lanterns and lights have been strung up in the city for the Lunar New Year, but the atmosphere is not as festive as in years past. From her window, she can see that the streets are mostly empty.

"Last year, we couldn't have meals with a lot of people or really celebrate," she said.

Still, Sui is not bothered that this year is likely to be as quiet. "My parents told me, 'As long as you are home, that is celebrating the new year.' "

- - -

The Washington Post's Lyric Li in Seoul and Alicia Chen in Taipei contributed to this report.

The government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday launched an ambitious regional rice value-chain development project worth about 30 million dollars at a local hotel.

Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), BADEA and the government of The Gambia is funding the project, which seeks to address the value chain in rice and reduce rice importation.

At the launch, Amie Fabureh, minister of Agriculture said that IsDB and BADEA are providing the necessary support to help unleash the potential inherent in The Gambian agriculture sector, which she said, to a larger extent, has been acknowledged as a key growth pole for the nation's economic and social development.

"The IsDB received official request from Government of The Gambia (GoTG) under the leadership of His Excellency President Adama Barrow on 24th of December 2017 to support the development of its rice sector to realise the food self-sufficiency drive."

The project, Minister Fabureh noted, would significantly contribute to reducing high importation rate of rice, thereby enhancing economic growth through improved production, processing, and marketing, and ensuring private sector participation.

"This project would also support government's efforts to substantially increase the production and productivity of rice using the private sector value chain led approach and increase smallholder farmer's income and reduce poverty."

The agric minister indicated that the project is mainly on land development and will be implemented in Central River and Upper River Regions in both tidal and pump irrigation.

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"Four villages in Niani and three villages in Sami in CRR north will benefit from the project as well as Pacharr in Lower Fulladu in CRRsouth. Seven villages in the Upper River region will also benefit and a total of 3,265hectares will be developed."

Also speaking, Ebrima Sissaho, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture said the event signals the launch of one of the most important projects as far as the National Development Plan (NDP) is concerned.

"As a flagship project under NDP, the project is designed to address some key perennial problems in the rice value chain in order to enhance the self-sufficiency in rice and thereby reducing rice importations significantly."

PS Sissaho acknowledged that it is not secret that The Gambia is heavily dependent on rice importation, adding that the country still imports 81% of rice consumed in the country.

Similar remarks were echoed by BADEA and Islamic Development Bank's representatives at the ceremony.
With its 1.3 billion population, India has the world's second-highest number of coronavirus infections -- more than 10.8 million -- but new cases and deaths have fallen sharply in recent weeks.

This week, new daily infections were the lowest in eight months, while deaths fell below 100 -- the smallest single-day total since May.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

AFP looks at how the South Asian giant has tackled the pandemic:

- What are the official figures? -

India reported its first Covid-19 infection on January 30, 2020 and its first death in mid-March.

The number of new daily cases peaked at just over 97,000 infections in September, with deaths averaging 1,000 a day that month.

Deaths then started to decline. On Tuesday, just 94 fatalities were reported, out of 8,635 fresh infections.

India has one of the lowest case-fatality ratios among the top 20 worst-affected nations in the world.

- How many have really been infected? -

Experts say the number of people in India who have contracted the disease is probably much higher than the official figure. They are backed by various state and national surveys measuring antibodies for the virus.

An official national survey in December-January of urban and rural neighbourhoods as well as healthcare workers suggested that some 21.5 percent -- almost 280 million people -- carried antibodies.

In the capital New Delhi, one of India's worst-hit cities, serological data released this week found that more than half of the 28,000 people sampled had developed antibodies.

- How has the pandemic been handled? -

Experts had warned that the coronavirus would wreak havoc in India's densely populated cities, which are plagued by poor sanitation. There were also fears the chronically underfunded healthcare system would not be able to cope.

The government sought to clamp down early, halting international flights and imposing one of the world's strictest lockdowns in March. Masks were made compulsory in many states.

Restrictions have been gradually eased since June as the government sought to boost the pandemic-devastated economy.

The population has become more relaxed. Hundreds of thousands flocked to the Kumbh Mela Hindu festival in January, mostly without masks.

And tens of thousands of farmers have been taking part in crowded protests in Delhi since November to fight new agriculture laws.

Doctors in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh states, as well as in major cities Delhi and Mumbai -- with a combined population of more than 330 million -- told AFP they have seen a significant decline in cases at their hospitals.

In Delhi, the government said 90 percent of dedicated Covid-19 beds were unoccupied.

"Earlier there used to be a huge waiting list. Now hardly 40-50 patients are here," said Deven Juneja, a doctor AFP met at the Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital in June.

"We are now slowly limping back to normalcy in terms of offering our services in departments, which until now, were virtually paralysed due to the pressure of Covid-19 cases," said Sudhir Singh, spokesman at King George's Medical University in Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh.

- 'Herd immunity'? -

Experts said that without conclusive data, it was impossible to say why India's figures had fallen so dramatically.

There are mixed views on whether herd immunity -- when a significant proportion of a population is immune to an infectious disease -- may be present in much of India.

"My understanding is that there are enough people in India who have been exposed to the virus. And that's possibly why the numbers are going down," virologist Shahid Jameel told AFP.

"But in the absence of real numbers, it's really hard to say."

The World Health Organization's regional director, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, praised the country's mask wearing, distancing and hygiene, saying they had proved effective in curtailing transmission.

But she added: "India is a vast and diverse country and it's hard to attribute the decline in cases to herd immunity."

Meanwhile, India has rapidly rolled out vaccinations with the ambitious goal of inoculating 300 million people by July.

- Risk of resurgence? -

A study published in The Lancet last week noted that in the hard-hit city of Manaus, Brazil, there had been a resurgence of Covid-19 -- despite a high prevalence of people with antibodies.

Some of the reasons offered include waning immunity from prior infections, and a new, stronger variant.

Experts say such developments mean it is too soon for India to celebrate.

"We cannot let our guards down," Singh said.

"The longer we let the virus transmit anywhere, the higher the risk of variants. This risk is real, globally."





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Word on the street is that Covid-19 is taking only the big boys, businesspeople and politicians. No, that's a myth; it's taking everybody. But, as is usual, the big boys make the headlines while the small boys die anonymous deaths.

The big boys die in medical facilities; the small ones die in their homes. That's the worrying bit. The big boys can afford the fees the facilities demand; the small boys can't! Our society has, more than at any time in recent history, been stratified again, thanks to this marauding disease.

At the top of the pyramid are the rich and the politicians; at the bottom of the pyramid is everyone else.

This is because of the extortionist fees that medical facilities are charging. A quick survey of these facilities shows that the cheapest of them will demand US$1500 on admission and, subsequently, US$500 for each doctor's visit and this is before they send you to the pharmacy, where everything costs an arm and a leg and is charged only in hard currency.

But that's devilish! Medical facilities are cashing in on the pandemic and they wouldn't care less.

But how did we get here?

Minister of Health and Child Care Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga has reassured the nation that the country's medical facilities are not yet overwhelmed with the number of cases of people seeking medical attention. After information circulated on social media that the facilities are up to their necks with Covid-19 cases, he said in a statement last Friday:

"It would be, however, an exaggeration at this stage, to suggest that our health institutions are overwhelmed by cases of Covid-19.

"Admittedly, the recent escalation of cases of the pandemic in the country caused a high demand for health care. Nonetheless, let me reassure citizens that Zimbabwe's public and private health institutions still have adequate capacity to offer health services to all patients.

"In light of widely circulating reports alleging that there is a serious deficit of hospital beds, let me point out that these were 'embellished' social media allegations by some pen-mercenaries."

That is correct in a way but very wrong in another. The beds may be free but it's not because there are no people who need them, but because it's almost impossible for anyone to be admitted into the wards due to the stringent prerequisites for admission.

Before one is admitted one has to undergo a Covid-19 test; that would be fine if that was done free at public medical facilities. But no, the patient has to pay for it at private laboratories.

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And, Oh mum, the fees! The cheapest facility will demand US$30 for a quick test while the standard fee is pegged at US$60. Only the big boys can afford that. The beds are free Cde VP but not for the want of patients who need them, but for the buccaneering love of money that has gripped everyone with a stethoscope hanging in their neck.

But why is it so if the government is really serious about saving lives? Why is that testing is not made free for bottom of the pyramid patients, the majority of whom are now dying ignoble deaths in their homes?

The big boys are buying themselves bottles of oxygen, which, it goes without saying, is beyond the reach of the poor who cannot even afford the drips that are necessary to keep them intravenously treated and fed.

Zimbabwe is in the grip of an apocalypse, for that is what the second wave is! Our government has been caught flat footed.

In the first wave, it was the corruption that nearly scuppered efforts to control the spread, but in the new wave, it's the government's total lack of concern for the poor as medical facilities seek to profiteer from the pandemic.
She has recently been giving her beloved pet cat Clive much of the spotlight, sharing posts featuring the feline with her 4.6 million Instagram followers.

But Kate Beckinsale made her cat Willow the star of the show on Friday, when she shared video of her pet looking unimpressed as she wore new pink winter woollies.

Looking svelte in a white Nike crop top with grey jogging bottoms, the 47-year-old actress was seen dancing around her kitchen to Billy Joel's '80s hit Uptown Girl, while Willow relaxed on the floor in her ensemble barely batting an eyelid.

Purr-ty in pink! Kate Beckinsale made her cat Willow the star of the show on Friday, when she shared video of her pet looking unimpressed as she wore new pink winter woollies

Wearing her chestnut brown locks in a bun with a black headband, the star stood tall in a pair of chunky white trainers as she tried to get her adorable pet excited.

However, her efforts appeared to prove futile as Willow relaxed on a striped rug in the galley kitchen without so much as glancing at the British actress.

Captioning the brief clip, the brunette beauty wrote: 'Trying to hype Willow up about her winter woolly has been low yield so far.'

On Wednesday, the star didn't hold back when a troll accused her of trying too hard to be 'eccentric' with her quirky snap with her other cat Clive.

Unimpressed: However, her efforts appeared to prove futile as Willow relaxed on a striped rug in the galley kitchen without so much as glancing at the British actress

Uptown funk you up: Looking svelte in a white Nike crop top with grey jogging bottoms, the 47-year-old actress was seen dancing around her kitchen to Billy Joel's '80s hit Uptown Girl

Taking to Instagram, the actress shared a hilarious snap cradling her pet puss in a baby sling that she captioned: 'is Canada ready tho [sic]'.

Although the post garnered more than 148,000 likes and praise from her celebrity pals, Kate did find herself under fire from trolls.

As one commented: 'You pride yourself on being eccentric, the whole thing smacks of to much effort', Kate clapped back in reference to their profile picture, 'omg its too funny you saying that with that hair do'.

Another follower compared Kate to fictional supernatural villain Slender Man, commenting: 'U shape like a sexy slender man (sic).'

No passion for fashion: Wearing her chestnut brown locks in a bun with a black headband, the star stood tall in a pair of chunky white trainers as she tried to get her adorable pet excited

Just another day at the office: Captioning the brief clip, the brunette beauty wrote, 'Trying to hype Willow up about her winter woolly has been low yield so far'

Taking the backhanded compliment in her stride, the actress quipped: 'literally what I was aiming for' (sic).'

Much of lockdown has seen Kate tickle fans with her hilarious posts, with many starring Clive.

The Underworld star also regularly features her other cat Willow, and her Pomerian pooch Myth.

In November, Kate was left 'heartbroken' when her 11-year-old Maltese-Chihuahua Ingrid died.

Hilarious: On Wednesday, the star didn't hold back when a troll accused her of trying too hard to be 'eccentric' with her latest feline-themed post holding Clive in a baby sling

Clapping back: Although the post garnered more than 100,000 likes and praise from her celebrity pals, Kate did find herself under fire from trolls

Paying tribute to the pup, she shared a sweet picture cradling her pet, captioned: 'Ingrid 2009-2020. Heartbroken. She fought so hard for months. Fly safe our sweetest sweetest girl.'

Kate will next be seen on screens in Jolt, an action-comedy about a homicidal bouncer with an anger management problem that she controls with the help of an electrode-lined vest she uses to shock herself back to normalcy.

The Tanya Wexler directed film also stars Bobby Cannavale, Laverne Cox and Stanley Tucci and is expected to be released next year.

Kate will also star in El Tonto an upcoming comedy film written and directed by Charlie Day, that follows a silent character who becomes an accidental celebrity only to lose it all.

Fur babies: Much of lockdown has seen Kate tickle fans with her hilarious posts, with many starring Clive, her other cat Willow, and her Pomerian pooch Myth
Local author Rita Lorraine Hubbard will be the next author for Southern Lit Alliances South Bound Lecture series on March 18 at 6 p.m. on Zoom.

Ms. Hubbard will join Southern Lit Alliance to discuss her craft and the variety of books she has published, including African Americans in Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes and the childrens books The Oldest Student and Hammering for Freedom.

This event is free to the public, but donations are suggested. For more information and to register for this event, please visit southernlitalliance.org/virtual-south-bound-rita-hubbard.

About African Americans in Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes:

Chattanooga is the site of one of the first integrated police departments in the South. It's also the hometown of the first African American appointed to lead counsel on a Supreme Court case. Hubbard, in African Americans in Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes, chronicles these facts and more, showing how African Americans have shaped the history of Chattanooga as far back as the 16th century, and teaching her readers a slew of unacknowledged history.

About The Oldest Student:

The Oldest Student tells the story of Mary Walker, who was born into slavery in 1848. By age 15, she was freed, and by age 20, she married. She worked numerous jobs throughout her life to provide for herself and her family, including cooking, babysitting, and selling sandwiches for her church, but she never learned to read. At the astonishing age of 116, she was able to learn to read. The Oldest Student tells her story and teaches us that with hard work, determination, and perseverance, anyone, at any age, can achieve their dreams.

About Hammering for Freedom:

William "Bill" Lewis was born into slavery in Chattanooga. He learned the blacksmith trade as soon as he was old enough to grip a hammer and proved to be an exceptional blacksmith, earning so much money fixing old tools and creating new ones that he was able to set a daring plan in motion: he was determined to free his family. Hammering for Freedom tells his story.

Ms. Hubbard, a Chattanooga native, is a former special education teacher of 11 years, with an MS in School Psychology. Her books include educational materials and books for children, with a particular focus on the history of black Southerners. She is a member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), and AACBWI (African American Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and is the author of several unpublished children's books focusing on the challenges of children with disabilities.






Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
On January 22, Patently Apple posted a report titled "Samsung is actively searching for a new 3nm Chip Plant location in Austin Texas with a tentative plan to Spend up to $10 Billion." The report noted that the envisioned plant would be its first in the U.S. to use extreme ultraviolet lithography. Samsung is taking advantage of a concerted U.S. government effort to counter Chinas rising economic prowess and lure back home some of the advanced manufacturing that over the past decades has gravitated toward Asia. The hope is that such production bases in the U.S. will galvanize local businesses and support American industry and chip design.

Today Reuters is reporting that documents filed with Texas state officials reveal that Samsung Electronics proposed $17 billion dollar chip plant n Austin, Texas would could create up to 1,800 jobs. The cost of the plant is higher than the original $10 billion reported on last month.

The tech giant is seeking combined tax abatements of $805.5 million over 20 years from Travis County and the city of Austin, among other tax breaks, according to the documents.

Samsung said in its filings that if Austin is selected, the company would break ground on the site in the second quarter of this year and that the plant will become operational in the third quarter of 2023.

"This project is highly competitive, and the company is looking at alternative sites in the US including Arizona and New York, as well as abroad in Korea...," Samsung said in the documents, adding that it is taking into account access to talent, chip ecosystem and speed to market in its evaluation of the sites. For more details, read the full Reuters report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5) There is no need to overinterpret Chinas new Coast Guard Law, Beijing's ambassador to the Philippines said Friday, stressing that no strong measure will be carried out against any fishermen plying the contested waters.

In an exclusive interview with CNN Philippines, Ambassador Huang Xilian said the law, which authorizes the Chinese Coast Guard to fire on foreign vessels, was crafted to crack down on extremely vicious crimes only.

We dont have to see any overinterpretation of the China Coast Guard law, Huang told The Source.

The China Coast Guard will not take any strong measure against any fishermen before or after the formulation of this law. Sometimes, interpretation and reading of such domestic activities of China is not necessary," he added.

Huang also argued that there has been no such case of their Coast Guard firing at Filipino fishermen in the disputed seas.

Advocacy groups and some lawmakers earlier raised concern over the controversial new law, which also allows the Chinese Coast Guard to demolish foreign structures built on Chinese-claimed reefs and islands, as well as to set up exclusion zones to keep foreign vessels out.

The Philippine government has filed a diplomatic protest against the East Asian giant over the measure, which formally took effect on Feb. 1, saying it is a verbal threat of war to any country that defies it.

Huang again brushed aside this claim, saying the law should not be viewed as a threat as many countries have also enacted similar measures. He added that the policy is not targeted at any specific country or group of people.

Theres no change in terms of Chinas foreign policy, and no change in the the action of China Coast Guard before or after the formulation of the law, Huang said.

The Republic Act No. 9993 or the Philippine Coast Guard Law of 2009 provides power to the PCG to enforce regulations in accordance with maritime laws and treaties, but does not mention use of force similar to the East Asian giants fresh policy.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, and has repeatedly rejected the 2016 arbitral ruling that recognized Manila's sovereign rights in areas of its exclusive economic zone that Beijing contests.

Huang noted that negotiations with other claimant nations for a Code of Conduct, which will determine actions parties can take in disputed waters, are still ongoing.

Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has commenced the construction of new tarmac roads in Kibera in a bid to improve accessibility in the informal settlement.

The project, which will enable 28 kilometers of roads constructed in the area, considered as Africa's largest urban slum, is part of Sh5.8 billion plan aimed at upgrading 444 kilometres of access roads across informal settlements in Nairobi County.

NMS Director General Major General Mohamed Badi said that NMS intends to complete the 444 kilometres earmarked for informal settlements in the capital within a year.

He said that for Kibera, the new roads will connect the informal settlement to Lang'ata, Southern Bypass, and neighbouring roads.

"This project in Kibera will also involve three other major developments including installation of water pipes, water sewers lines and electricity. We will kick it off here in Sarang'ombe before going to the other wards," said Badi during the launch.

"One year from now, all access roads within the informal settlements will be tarmacked and I call upon residents to cooperate with the constructors," he added.

The NMS boss urged owners of houses and structures built on land marked for the construction of the access roads to voluntarily demolish them before his administration is forced to intervene.

"I am calling upon the owners of the houses to demolish their structures themselves because no one will be spared. No bias will be applied whether the house is built using stones, mud or iron sheets. I therefore plead with the owners to cooperate and move with speed and demolish the houses," he said.

NMS Director of Transport and Public Works Engineer Michael Ochieng said NMS will source for local labour for the road project with people living in the informal settlement the prime beneficiaries.

"We are calling upon the youths to take part in this project which will benefit generations to come," said Ochieng.

Sarang'ombe MCA Lawrence Odhiambo said the road project will be beneficial to area residents especially in times of disaster pointing out that the slum still has remote areas that lack access roads and when an emergency arises it becomes difficult for fire engines or ambulances to access the area.

Last year September, Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) Director-General Silas Kinoti said the 444km road project is aimed at improving accessibility in the informal settlements in Nairobi opening them up.

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Areas that were to benefit include Kawangware, Riruta, parts of Dagoretti North, Mathare, Kangemi, Mukuru, Kibera, parts of Githurai 44 and 45, Mwiki and Zimmermann, among others with access roads in the areas upgraded to bitumen standards.

He decried that most of the areas had for a long time suffered from poor road network making accessibility of critical services and other essentials in cases of emergencies and disasters a challenge.

Heightened development has been witnessed in Kibera ever since the area was declared a special planning area by NMS in May last year to only allow for harmonised development in the area.

Last month, the national government intensified efforts to improve sanitation levels in the area with the aim of bringing to an end the 'flying toilets' menace in the sprawling slum.

The move saw the government commence Sh500 million projects geared towards enhancing sanitation and water provision in the informal settlement including setting up of water stations, ablution blocks, an extension of sewer lines, and laying of water supply lines in various parts of the informal settlement.

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Streets great inflation trade is losing steam, judging by a slew of cross-asset signals and where all the investing billions are actually going.With reflation strategies again playing second-fiddle to the crypto volatility and meme stock mania, stable Treasury yields helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average by the most in seven weeks.Debt gauges of inflation retreated from multi-year highs, while the S&P 500 largely sat still to give the benchmark the smallest monthly move since January 2020. Even the value strategy finally stalled, after notching some of the biggest gains since the financial crisis earlier this year.Given the reopening euphoria, a cool-down is to be expected. And recent days still delivered ammo to the price-growth camp: Jobless claims delivered surprises again, while two Federal Reserve officials signaled the U.S. economic expansion may warrant a taper discussion soon enough.All that suggests the reflation rally may yet power ahead if the business cycle booms anew and renews investor conviction. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for one, estimates money-manager positioning in inflation-sensitive assets including commodities is still below post-2008 peaks.Investor expectations had caught up with the better economic data, said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services. Thats more of a pause to us instead of a trend change.As lockdowns get lifted and trillions in stimulus heats up the American economy, the biggest question in markets is whether prices are on the cusp of breaking out of their decades-long doldrums. For many, bets on bonds still make sense right now when the Fed has the markets back and the data remains uncertain. Meanwhile Chinese policy moves of late are undercutting bullish wagers on commodities.On all this, the world of exchange-traded funds is sending mixed signals: Inflation-linked bonds took in $3 billion in May even as nominal government debt and corporate securities kept drawing new money, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.Market-derived expectations of price growth are sending a clearer message as the two-year breakeven gauge further outpaced five- and 10-year levels this month -- bucking the norm.Fixed income investors have emphatically concluded that it will be transitory, Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at Reynolds Strategy LLC, wrote in a note, referring to inflation.Stocks have been taking their cue from the lack of inflation drama in the bond market of late. A long-short value strategy -- which tends to bet on more cyclical companies and benefits from higher rates -- dropped this week by the most since the middle of April.Systematic styles in quality and low-volatility names also picked up. Its a sign defensive investors are seeking visible growth in earnings rather than bidding up companies acutely linked to the economic expansion, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.Hedge funds are also in wait-and-see mode. Clients at JPMorgans prime brokerage are adding exposures to both cyclical and growth shares -- suggesting reluctance to bet on one side of the inflation debate.Yet with commodity and wage pressures, theres a growing chance the Fed will tighten monetary policy sooner than expected, according to Sushil Wadhwani, chief investment officer at QMAW, a PGIM unit. As long as financial conditions stay loose, it makes sense to go long commodities and stocks while betting on a steepening yield curve, according to the London-based systematic investor.Macroeconomic policy especially in the U.S. is incredibly expansionary by historical standards, Wadhwani said. Im increasingly concerned that 2022 inflation will not go back as low as they say.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 20:37:02|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes the extension of the New START nuclear-arms control treaty for five years, as agreed by the United States and Russia, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

"It is conducive to upholding global strategic stability and promoting international peace and security, and meets the aspirations of the international community," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing.

The treaty was set to expire on Feb. 5. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday that the U.S. had decided to extend it. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law extending the treaty for five years.

The United States and Russia are the two countries with the largest nuclear arsenals, possessing more than 90 percent of nuclear weapons in the world.

"The two sides should follow the international consensus, fulfill their special and primary responsibilities on nuclear disarmament, and further drastically and substantively reduce their nuclear stockpile in a verifiable, irreversible and legally-binding manner, so as to create the conditions for realizing general and complete nuclear disarmament," Wang said.

The spokesperson also resolutely rebuked Blinken's groundless accusation of the "dangers from China's modern and growing nuclear arsenal," saying the number of nuclear weapons in China's arsenal is not in the same order as the United States and Russia.

"China firmly upholds a nuclear strategy that is defensive in nature and always keeps nuclear strength at the lowest level required for the maintenance of national security," Wang said.

China is also committed to not using nuclear weapons first at any time or under any circumstances, and pledges unconditionally not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones.

As the only nuclear-weapon state that has made the above commitments, China has contributed greatly to the international nuclear-disarmament process, he noted.

China will continue to participate in discussions on issues related to strategic stability within such frameworks as the cooperation mechanism of the five nuclear-weapon states, the Conference on Disarmament and the UNGA First Committee, and is willing to maintain communication with all parties on issues relating to nuclear-arms control through bilateral channels, he said. Enditem
As a belligerent Opposition continued to attack the central government on the three farm Acts in Parliament, Union Agriculture Minister defended the laws in a speech in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, saying the farmers unions and Opposition parties havent been able to point out any flaws in the laws.

This came just a day before the nationwide chakka jam announced by farmer unions between 12 pm and 3 pm on Saturday.

However, the Delhi Capital Region and Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been exempted from the stir. The protesting farmers have also decided not to enter Delhi.

Due to prevailing agriculture operations in UP and Uttarakhand, the chakka jam has been withdrawn from these states and instead the protesting farmers will submit a memorandum to their respective district magistrates, read a statement by the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) faction led by Rakesh Tikait.

Meanwhile, intervening during the motion of thanks to the Presidents address to both houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, Tomar said despite the Acts not containing any flaws, the Centre has offered to amend them to respect the sentiment of the protesting farmers.

Tomar, along with two other Union ministers, has held 11 meetings with farmers representatives in the wake of the protests, but the deadlock continues.

Tomar reiterated that the NDA government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fully committed towards farmers. He said the government has held several rounds of talks while respecting their protest.

Prime Minister Modi lauded Tomars remarks, saying he has given detailed information on every aspect of the legislations. In a tweet, Modi posted a video link to Tomar's statement and said it is his humble request that people hear his speech.

Participating in the debate, the Shiv Sena, SAD, NCP, Samajwadi Party and Left parties demanded that the three laws be repealed and fresh ones brought in after wider consultations.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut alleged that anyone speaking the truth is dubbed a traitor or anti-national and that cases of sedition have been slapped against those criticising the government.

Everyone keeps saying that the government must leave its arrogance, but where is the arrogance.... We are ready for talks. We even offered to put it (the laws) in abeyance for 18 months. If we are showing so much flexibility, why dont they (protesting farmers) show similar flexibility... If people in support of the laws also sit on dharna, do we want civil war? We say it is supreme House... no one can take this House for granted, BJP member Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe said in the Rajya Sabha.
SPECT images, superimposed on a magnetic resonance atlas, of an axial slice (top row) and a sagittal slice (bottom row) of the human brain, with a quantitative artificial-color scale showing the differences in the average distribution of the radioactive compound [123I]FP-CIT in the striatum of healthy controls, Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and Parkinson's disease (from left to right). Credit: Francisco Oliveira (CCU)

American actor Robin Williams had a neurodegenerative brain disease called dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)a distressing disease with symptoms in common with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). But unlike these two conditions, DLB also entails prominent mood and cognitive swings, sleep disorders, and vivid, sometimes terrifying, visual hallucinations. It is now thought that Robin Williams, whose diagnosis was only ascertained post-mortem, was likely driven to suicide, in 2014 by the terrifying hallucinatory experiences he suffered for yearsand about which he never told anyone, including his wife. Susan Schneider Williams recounted the tragic story in an editorial published in the journal Neurology in 2016, titled "The terrorist inside my husband's brain."

DLB is a relative newcomer to the dementia landscape. It is frequently confused by doctors with Alzheimer's disease, but also with Parkinson-related dementia (PDD), which afflicts up to 80% of Parkinson's patients, on average 10 years after the onset of Parkinson's disease.

DLB was identified in 1910, when a German-born American neurologist, Frederic Henry Lewy, observed "clumps" of an unusual protein in the autopsied brains of Parkinson's and dementia patients (Alzheimer's brains also present protein clumps, but the proteins involved are different). However, only recently has dementia with Lewy bodies been recognized as a common type of dementia. "It is the second-most frequent cause of degenerative dementia in elderly people15 to 25% of cases at autopsy after Alzheimer's," writes an international teamincluding scientists from the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown (CCU) in Lisbon, Portugalin a new study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Durval Costa, lead author of the new study and head of the Radiopharmacology Lab at the Champalimaud Experimental Clinical Research Programme, says that for several years, researchers hypothesised that the use of an imaging technique called single-photon emission computed tomography combined with an intravenous radioactive compound, [123I]FP-CIT, could allow the distinction of dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer's disease.

This is due to the fact that [123I]FP-CIT binds to dopamine transporters (dopamine is a neurotransmitter) located on the membrane of dopamine-producing neurons, which are very abundant in a specific part of the brain called the striatum. Since the striatal dopamine-producing neurons are depleted in dementia with Lewy bodies (just as they are in Parkinson's disease), but not in Alzheimer's disease, it was natural to assume that the pattern of distribution of this compound in the brains of patients would then allow doctors to visually distinguish DLB from AD in a quantitatively accurate way.

The results now presented by the team have been more than 20 years in the making. "The imaging data was acquired around 1996-1999," explains Francisco Oliveira, who works in Durval Costa's Lab and is the first author of the new paper. "These patients were followed from the time of their initial clinical diagnosis to that of their deathin some cases, for about 20 years."

Part of the same team had already published preliminary results in 2002 in the same journal that has now released the new quantitative results. But at the time, the post-mortem material of the patient cohort was not yet fully available, so they had not been able to compare the in vivo diagnosis with the autopsy reports in a sufficient number of patients. "We did not have all the data then," says Durval Costa. "Now we do."

For the first time, the autopsies confirm the imaging data with very high accuracy: The images enable not only the differentiation of DLB from AD, but also of DLB from Parkinson's disease (whose corresponding [123I]FP-CIT distribution patterns are also different from one another). Considering Robin Williams's excruciating final years, it is noteworthy that his doctors eventually gave him a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, although he and his wife were certain that something else was wrong with him.

"To be able to quantitatively make these distinctions between diseases is crucial," says Francisco Oliveira. "These diseases may present overlapping symptoms, which makes the clinical diagnosis difficult in some cases, and gives rise to a considerable percentage of misdiagnoses. Studies have shown that frequently, patients with DLB are clinically diagnosed as AD." This could lead to patient mismanagement. The care of Alzheimer's disease patients is different from patients suffering from DLB. Patients with DLB are very sensitive to certain types of medications that should be avoided, as they lead to faster deterioration and death.

"Our findings may have a significant impact both for patients and caregivers," adds Francisco Oliveira. "In addition, the selection of patients for clinical trials can now be done with more accurate biomarkers." The scientists also hope that in the future, their quantitative technique may also help to differentiate PD patients with dementia (PDD) from patients with DLB, as they may benefit from different treatment strategies.

Provided by Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
Caps on overseas arrivals to Australia will be returned to higher levels later in the month, paving the way for more citizens and permanent residents to come home.

National cabinet has agreed to lift the limits on February 15, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday.

The numbers were temporarily halved after new strains of coronavirus emerged in the UK and South Africa.

Caps on overseas arrivals to Australia will be returned to higher levels later in the month, paving the way for more citizens and permanent residents to come home. Pictured: Passengers arriving at Sydney International Airport Jan 19, 2021

National cabinet has agreed to lift the limits on February 15, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday. Pictured: Australian residents returning from India at Sydney International Airport in May 2020

New South Wales will return to a cap of about 3000 people a week, while Queensland is reverting to 1000.

Victoria will increase its weekly hotel quarantine capacity to 1310 and SA has agreed to take 530 people a week.

The federal government is also investigating doubling capacity of the Howard Springs quarantine facility in the Northern Territory from its current level of 850.

Victoria will increase its weekly hotel quarantine capacity to 1310 and SA has agreed to take 530 people a week. Pictured: Charles Darwin University foreign students arriving in Darwin in November 30, 2020

Scott Morrison has also declared that Covid-19 vaccines will allow the country to return to normal.

The vaccines are extremely effective at reducing severe disease, so the number of coronavirus cases will not matter when most people are vaccinated, he said.

Mr Morrison also said when Covid-19 is made less deadly by the jabs it will be considered like the flu, which does not require restrictions to maintain.

'Once you get to that stage, the number of cases isn't the issue,' Mr Morrison told reporters after a National Cabinet meeting.

'I mean, we don't stand up every day and talk about the number of cases of any other virus, flu or others, every day.'

Mr Morrison said while other viruses are still deadly for some vulnerable people, they are managed differently to Covid because they can be vaccinated against.

'So, the point is that the vaccination program, over months, as it's rolled out, can change the nature of how Australia then manages the virus,' he explained.

'It's less then about cases as it is about presentations at ICU or seeking significant treatment.'

The numbers were temporarily halved after new strains of coronavirus emerged in the UK and South Africa. Pictured: Scott Morrison announced the caps being lifted on January 5

There are currently only nine people in hospital with Covid-19 in Australia, and no-one in intensive care.

Australia plans to roll out the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in March, and both vaccines are 100 per cent effective at reducing severe disease.

The government plans to offer everyone living in Australia a jab by October this year.

The Prime Minister said the vaccines will mean that lockdowns will not be needed if a case is identified, such as recent lockdowns in Brisbane and Perth over one case.

'Three months from now when vaccinations are occurring, where there is a downward pressure on the risk of serious illness, then the risk is different,' Mr Morrison said.

The Prime Minister said he is considering expanding the Howard Springs quarantine facility (pictured)

The Prime Minister also said he is considering expanding the Howard Springs quarantine facility in the Northern Territory and setting up another one in Toowoomba in Queensland.

He suggested his preference was to expand workers camp Howard Springs.

'There may be a lot more capacity up in Howard Springs and that may prove an effective way to do that,' he said.

'Given that you're bringing in charter flights and you're adding to an existing facility in an existing place, you're not adding new areas of health risk.'
Aero India 2021: B-1B makes its debut, here is a complete fact-sheet of the heavy bomber from US

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Bengaluru, Feb 05: The American B-1B Lancer Heavy Bomber was flown for the first time in India during the Aero India 2021.

The long range multi role bomber had flown to India last week from the Air Force Base in USA's South Dakota to perform a fly by at the defence exhibition and aero show.

The Bomber flew along with the Made in India Light Combat Aircraft Tejas during the flying display of various military aircraft at the inaugural event of the three day air show in Yelahanka.

Maj Gen Mark Weatherington, 8th Air Force and Joint-Global Strike Operations Center Commander from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana said, the U.S. Air Force bomber demonstration during Aero India 2021 is a visual representation of the United States' continued support and partnership with India. Our bomber force is truly honored to participate in this year's exhibition and we look forward to furthering our military relationships and cooperation.

Here is a complete factsheet about the B-1B Lancer:

Mission

Carrying the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the U.S. Air Force inventory, the multi-mission B-1 is the backbone of America's long-range bomber force. It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time.

Features

The B-1B's blended wing/body configuration, variable-geometry wings and turbofan afterburning engines, combine to provide long range, maneuverability and high speed while enhancing survivability.

Forward wing settings are used for takeoff, landings, air refueling and in some high-altitude weapons employment scenarios. Aft wing sweep settings - the main combat configuration -- are typically used during high subsonic and supersonic flight, enhancing the B-1B's maneuverability in the low- and high-altitude regimes. The B-1B's speed and superior handling characteristics allow it to seamlessly integrate in mixed force packages. These capabilities, when combined with its substantial payload, excellent radar targeting system, long loiter time and survivability, make the B-1B a key element of any joint/composite strike force.

The B-1 is a highly versatile, multi-mission weapon system. The B-1B's synthetic aperture radar is capable of tracking, targeting and engaging moving vehicles as well as self-targeting and terrain-following modes. In addition, an extremely accurate Global Positioning System-aided Inertial Navigation System enables aircrews to navigate without the aid of ground-based navigation aids as well as engage targets with a high level of precision. The addition of a fully integrated data link (FIDL) with Link-16 capability provides improved battlefield situation awareness and secure beyond line of sight reach back connectivity.

The B-1B's onboard self-protection electronic jamming equipment, radar warning receiver (ALQ-161) and expendable countermeasures (chaff and flare) system and a towed decoy system (ALE-50) complements its low-radar cross-section to form an integrated, robust defense system that supports penetration of hostile airspace. The ALQ-161 electronic countermeasures system detects and identifies the full spectrum of adversary threat emitters then applies the appropriate jamming technique either automatically or through operator inputs.

Background

The B-1A was initially developed in the 1970s as a replacement for the B-52. Four prototypes of this long-range, high speed (Mach 2.2) strategic bomber were developed and tested in the mid-1970s, but the program was canceled in 1977 before going into production. Flight testing continued through 1981.

The B-1B is an improved variant initiated by the Reagan administration in 1981. Major changes included and additional structure to increase payload by 74,000 pounds, an improved radar and reduction of the radar cross section by an order of magnitude. The inlet was extensively modified as part of this RCS reduction, necessitating a reduction in maximum speed to Mach 1.2.

The first production B-1 flew in October 1984, and the first B-1B was delivered to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, in June 1985. Initial operational capability was achieved on Oct. 1, 1986. The final B-1B was delivered May 2, 1988.

The United States eliminated the nuclear mission for the B-1 in 1994. Even though the Air Force expended no further funding to maintain nuclear capabilities, the B-1 was still considered a heavy bomber equipped for nuclear armament until 2007. The conversion to conventional only began in November 2007 under the original START treaty and was completed in March 2011 under the New START treaty. To make that conversion possible, two steps were taken:

During the first step a metal cylindrical sleeve was welded into the aft attachment point of each set of B-1 pylon attachments. This prevented installing B-1 Air Launched Cruise Missile pylons.

During the second step two nuclear armament-unique cable connectors in each of the B-1 weapons bays were removed. This prevented the pre-arm signal from reaching the weapons.

The B-1B holds almost 50 world records for speed, payload, range, and time of climb in its class. The National Aeronautic Association recognized the B-1B for completing one of the 10 most memorable record flights for 1994. The most recent records were made official in 2004.

The B-1B was first used in combat in support of operations against Iraq during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998. In 1999, six B-1s were used in Operation Allied Force, delivering more than 20 percent of the total ordnance while flying less than 2 percent of the combat sorties.

During the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom, eight B-1s dropped nearly 40 percent of the total tonnage delivered by coalition air forces. This included nearly 3,900 JDAMs, or 67 percent of the total. In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the aircraft flew less than 1 percent of the combat missions while delivering 43 percent of the JDAMs used. The B-1 continues to be deployed today, flying missions daily in support of continuing operations.

General Characteristics

Primary Function: Long-range, multi-role, heavy bomber

Contractor: Boeing, North America (formerly Rockwell International, North American Aircraft); Offensive avionics, Boeing Military Airplane; Defensive Avionics, EDO Corporation

Power plant: Four General Electric F101-GE-102 turbofan engine with afterburner

Thrust: 30,000-plus pounds with afterburner, per engine

Wingspan: 137 feet (41.8 meters) extended forward, 79 feet (24.1 meters) swept aft

Length: 146 feet (44.5 meters)

Height: 34 feet (10.4 meters)

Weight: approximately 190,000 pounds (86,183 kilograms)

Maximum Takeoff Weight: 477,000 pounds (216,634 kilograms)

Fuel Capacity: 265,274 pounds (120,326 kilograms)

Payload: 75,000 pounds (34,019 kilograms)

Speed: 900-plus mph (Mach 1.2 at sea level)

Range: Intercontinental

Ceiling: More than 30,000 feet (9,144 meters)

Armament: 84 500-pound Mk-82 or 24 2,000-pound Mk-84 general purpose bombs; up to 84 500-pound Mk-62 or 8 2,000-pound Mk-65 Quick Strike naval mines; 30 cluster munitions (CBU-87, -89, -97) or 30 Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispensers (CBU-103, -104, -105); up to 24 2,000-pound GBU-31 or 15 500-pound GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions; up to 24 AGM-158A Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles; 15 GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions

Crew: Four (aircraft commander, copilot, and two combat systems officers)

Unit Cost: $317 million

Initial operating capability: October 1986

Inventory: Active force, 62 (test, 2)
DUISBURG (dpa-AFX) - German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp AG (TYEKF.PK), at its 22nd Annual General Meeting, Chief Executive Officer Martina Merz said the company expects the performance measures in the current fiscal year 2021 to result in a sustained improvement in earnings in the low- to mid-three-digit million range. The company said is it seeing the first signs of an economic recovery in many areas, despite the renewed lockdown. In the first quarter, the company said it has been benefiting from the positive performance of the economy. At the same time, its structural changes are beginning to bear fruit. The company further said that it is unable to pay a dividend for the past fiscal year due to the weak fiscal 2020 results. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The number of crimes committed by right-wing extremists in Germany jumped to its highest level for at least four years in 2020, according to provisional police figures released on Thursday.

Police recorded 23,080 crimes of a far-right nature last year - around 700 more than the previous year - the figures published by left-wing lawmaker Petra Pau show.

The number is already the highest since 2016, and could yet rise to the highest level since records began in 2001 by the time the final figures are released later this year.

Crimes with links to far-right politics hit their highest level since at least 2016, figures released by a German MP today showed (pictured, a far-right demonstration in Cologne in 2016)

Pau, a vice-president of the German Bundestag whose Left party regularly requests the information from the Interior Ministry, said she was 'not surprised' by the latest figures.

'The acceptance of violence as a replacement for politics is rising,' she told Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.

She added that the coronavirus crisis had acted as a 'booster' for far-right crime in the same way that the refugee crisis had in 2015 and 2016.

German police have recorded 'politically motivated crimes' since 2001.

Those categorised as right-wing extremist range from giving a forbidden Nazi salute to murderous terror attacks.

The provisional figures for 2020 include 1,054 violent crimes, which led to at least 307 injuries.

The final figures are also expected to include the nine people who were killed in a racist terror attack in Hanau a year ago, the Tagesspiegel reported.

The provisional figure is also on course to be the highest ever recorded once final tallies are made, and was published just after far-right gunman Stephan Ernst was jailed for shooting dead pro-migrant MP Walter Luebcke

The final total, to be released in the coming months, is on course to exceed the all-time high of 23,555 recorded at the height of the refugee crisis in 2016.

The latest figures come amid growing concerns in Germany over the rise of violent right-wing extremism.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has declared far-right extremism the 'biggest security threat' facing Europe's largest economy.

Last week, German neo-Nazi Stephan Ernst was sentenced to life in prison for murdering pro-migration politician Walter Luebcke.

In October 2019, just months after Luebcke's death, Germany was rocked by a shooting at a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle that left two people dead.
Trump refuses to testify in unconstitutional impeachment trial

WORLD: Former president Donald Trump refused yesterday (Feb 4) to testify in his looming impeachment trial after being called by House prosecutors to give evidence, branding the process unconstitutional.

politics

By AFP

Friday 5 February 2021, 08:13AM

Former president Donald Trump refused yesterday to testify in his looming impeachment trial after being called by House prosecutors to give evidence, branding the process unconstitutional. Photo: AFP.

Trumps lawyers ridiculed the request in a letter by lead House prosecutor Jamie Raskin to answer questions over the January 6 attack on the US Capitol as a public relations stunt.

Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you cannot prove your allegations against Trump, attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen said in their reply.

While the attorneys did not say whether he would testify, a senior advisor to Trump, Jason Miller, said flatly that he would not.

The president will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding, Miller told AFP.

Trial opens Tuesday

The refusal came five days before the trial of the former US leader on one impeachment charge of incitement to insurrection opens in the US Senate.

In his unprecedented second impeachment trial, Trump is accused of fomenting the attack by his supporters on the US legislature one month ago, forcing a halt to proceedings to certify opponent Joe Bidens victory in the November presidential election.

Raskin had asked Trump, who has maintained without evidence that Biden won by massive fraud, to testify sometime next week, before or during the trial.

He said Trump, who now lives in his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort, had little excuse to avoid testifying, and could no longer claim he was too busy overseeing the country, as was the White House position when he was still president.

Raskin also warned that if Trump refused, it would be considered as supportive of the evidence against him.

If you decline this invitation, we reserve any and all rights, including the right to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions (and inaction) on January 6, 2021, he added.

Assault on the Capitol

Raskins letter and the response set out the battle lines for the never-seen impeachment trial of a president after he has left office.

The Democratic House prosecutors, or impeachment managers, say the Republican leader was singularly responsible for the Capitol attack, which left five dead.

In a grievous betrayal of his oath of office, President Trump incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol, they said.

But Trumps team argued in a filing Tuesday that whatever Trump said in the days and hours before the attack to encourage supporters to reject Bidens election win amounted to constitutionally protected free speech.

And they declared it unconstitutional to put a former president on trial in the Senate.

Fight like hell

The January 6 attack continues to reverberate in Washington. Prosecutors have charged some 180 people in the attacks, according to a tally by the George washington University Program on extremism, and hundreds more are under investigation.

The Justice Department has suggested they could build a case for seditious conspiracy by some Trump-supporting extreme right groups in the attack.

In a White House rally just hours before the attack, Trump encouraged supporters to reject the election results and to fight like hell.

While Democrats will make such statements the focus of their case, Trumps lawyers will hone in on the question of constitutionality.

That could bring about his acquittal. Conviction requires support of two-thirds of the 100 senators, who serve as judges and jury in the trial.

But last week 45 of 50 Republican senators made clear in a vote they think trying an ex-president is unconstitutional.
Thousands of residents have been affected, with 81 homes already lost

north-east is entering a fifth day under the threat of a major bushfire

A heartbreaking photo taken by a firefighter moments after saving a property sums up the exhaustion felt by Australia's brave emergency service men and women currently battling the blazes in Perth.

Mick Dybac captured the raw black and white shot of fellow Daglish Senior Firefighter David Ellis after the pair managed to salvage a property from the devastating Wooroloo bushfire.

The image personifies the weariness felt by firefighters who have endured the past four days of catastrophic fire, where almost 100 homes have been lost amid winds of almost 80kms per hour.

As Mr Ellis reflects on his heroic deeds, he can be seen placing his hands on his knees, with a fire hose and helmet nearby.

Firefighter David Ellis (pictured above) after battling a blaze in Perth - the moving photo was captured by his colleague Mick Dybac

The devastating fires have so far seen 81 homes destroyed (pictured a property in Gidgegannup, some 40 kilometres north-east of Perth)

The remains of a tractor (pictured above) in a barn after the bushfires in Gidgegannup

In the background stands a stationary fire truck and a Wooroloo property, both of which are covered in a layer of thick smoke, the West Australian reported.

As of Friday morning, 81 properties were destroyed, with close to 11,000 hectares of land burned.

Firefighters worked through the night in a bid to contain the bushfire raging north-east of Perth.

The ABC reported winds have been consistently blowing from Perth's east-south-east, which allowed firefighters to focus on the north-western side of the fire.

Department of Fire and Emergency Services Superintendent Peter Sutton praised the diligence of his workers.

'The great positive out of this is there has been no loss of human life, so [while it's] tragic there's been 81 houses lost and a lot of animal loss, no loss of human life is a great outcome,' he said.

'There is still is a chance around Shady Hills and Walyunga, the Avon Ridge that we could have breakouts.

The remains of a kitchen in a house (pictured above) after bushfires in Gidgegannup, some 40 kilometres north-east of Perth

Close to 11,000 hectares of land (pictured above) has been burned during the blazes this week in Perth

'We will have firefighters and machinery working to consolidate containment lines throughout those areas.'

Authorities also confirmed a separate fire, which started 10 kilometres north of the main Wooroloo fire on Thursday afternoon, was possibly deliberately lit.

'I'd like to get a message out that that fire is suspicious, so if anyone does have any information on that fire or dash-cam footage, could they please call Crimestoppers,' Superintendent Sutton said.

'It is really quite astounding that someone would possibly light a fire on a total fire ban day or any day in these conditions.'
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President Moon Jae-in finally spoke to U.S. President Joe Biden on the phone Thursday, two full weeks after Biden was inaugurated.

The two presidents agreed on the need to forge a comprehensive North Korea policy as soon as possible, Cheong Wa Dae said, but they did not get more specific than that.

Moon urged Biden to "make joint efforts to advance the establishment of denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula."

The White House in a statement said that Biden told Moon he will "stress his commitment to strengthening the United States-[South Korea] alliance, which is the linchpin for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia."

Biden also agreed to "closely coordinate" with Moon in dealing with North Korea.
The over-70s will not now be given the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to HSE chief executive, Paul Reid. Photo: Frank McGrath

Smooth political soothsayers would have it that when youre explaining, youre losing. But a national emergency is clearly an exception.

When people are told to stay in their homes for months, all aspects of life upended, they will hang on every official word.

The over-70s will not now be given the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will have significant implications, according to HSE chief executive Paul Reid.

It does not throw the plan completely up in the air, he said, by way of reassurance.

One was left with a vision of pages fluttering through the afternoon breeze as he finished.

If not completely up in the air, how far into the atmosphere has the plan ascended?

It matters because 480,000 over-70s are awaiting vaccinations. The figures on vaccinations promised on a daily basis, have yet to be published.

All agree, these are extremely tough times for the Government and the HSE.

But they are being made tougher by disjointed communications and misplaced good intentions.

At another time, allowances might be made.

But we are a year into this. At the beginning it was agreed health would take priority over the economy. You wont have an economy without a healthy population. Pandemics have the peculiarity of being both intensely public and intensely private. Everyone experiences stress and anxiety on a national and individual level.

The stark truth is that the oldest cohort of the population have suffered the highest number of fatalities, and most need protecting.

Against such a sensitive background, the presentation of conflicting information on when they are to get their vaccines needed more consideration. Many have been clinging to hopes of being able to have a little more normality in their lives. They had been given grounds for their optimism. Now they are told the issues regarding AstraZenecas treatment relate to effectiveness, not safety. Another delay amounts to another disappointment.

The horrendous loss of life in the past month is precisely why the roll-out of vaccines needs to be as swift and efficient as possible.

The transmission chains, so disastrously started in December, will take months to burn out.

The figures remain worryingly high.

Neither the Government nor HSE are helping their cause by announcing goals which they can not deliver on. The basic rule of if in doubt, leave it out should apply to all Covid communications.

The procrastination, confusion and constant revision of essential quarantine protocols is another area that became hopelessly complicated at too high a cost. The new variants are a frightening reminder we are on the back foot on contact tracing, despite having a year to get our defences in order. You dont turn a pandemic off with the flick of a switch.

This is an insidious, highly adaptable virus. But we do need to see detailed, deliverable vaccination schedules.

Timelines rooted in reality, not wishful thinking.
The UK's financial services industry should focus its energies on taking on New York and Singapore rather than the EU now that Britain has split from Brussels, according to the chief executive of Barclays.

Jes Staley, who has led the bank since December 2015, said the UK fostering co-operation and trust with the EU is important in the wake of the divorce but it should not come at the cost of being uncompetitive.

Mr Staley also said he believes Brexit is 'more than likely on the positive side than on the negative side'.

The Brexit trade deal struck between Britain and Brussels in December has very little mention of the financial services sector.

The two sides are currently negotiating a memorandum of understanding which will govern how banks and traders on the continent and in the UK access each other's markets.

Jes Staley, the chief executive of Barclays, said he believes 'Brexit is more than likely on the positive side than on the negative side'

It is hoped that the deal will be agreed and rubber-stamped in March this year.

The EU has previously said it only wants to allow euro-denominated derivatives trading, which includes buying and selling currency and bonds, to take place within the bloc or somewhere else with equivalent rules.

The EU could decide to grant equivalence to the UK's financial services sector to make it easy for British firms to access the continent.

But that would require the UK to stick very closely to rules made in Brussels.

Mr Staley told the BBC he believes that Brexit provides the UK with the 'opportunity to define its own agenda' and it should look beyond the EU.

He said: 'What the UK needs and London needs, is to make sure that the city is one of the best places, whether it was regulation or law or language, or talent that manages these flows of capital well.

'I think what London needs to be focused on is not Frankfurt or not Paris, (it) needs to be focused on New York and Singapore.

'Brexit gives the UK the opportunity to define its own agenda, and in defining that agenda around financial services, staying competitive with other markets outside of Europe is really what the Government here should be focused on, and I think that's what they're focusing on.'

He added: 'I think Brexit is more than likely on the positive side than on the negative side.'

The difficulties surrounding negotiations between the UK and the EU on financial services was recently illustrated by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.

Speaking to the Treasury Select Committee in January, he said: 'The situation we find ourselves in is that the EU wants more information from the UK on what its future intentions are on regulation.

'I think that's quite problematic frankly in terms of equivalence.'
(CNN)  The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging officials in Tanzania to follow science in the fight against the coronavirus, after the country's president said the approved vaccines are "dangerous" and that "not all vaccines are of good intentions to our nation."

"Urging #Tanzania to ramp up public health measures such as wearing masks to fight #COVID19. Science shows that #VaccinesWork and I encourage the government to prepare for a COVID vaccination campaign," WHO's Regional Africa Director Dr. Matshidiso Moeti said on January 28, following President John Magufuli's comments from the previous day. "WHO is here to support the government and people of Tanzania," Moeti added.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed Moeti's comments, saying "I join @MoetiTshidi's call for strong health measures and #COVID19 vaccine preparedness. Data-sharing by #Tanzania is also key, with cases surfacing among travelers and visitors over the months."

President Magufuli, who was reelected in a disputed October 2020 election, has been downplaying the virus and has told the health ministry not to rush to purchase vaccines.

"There are some of our fellow Tanzanians who recently did travel abroad in search of corona vaccines, they are the ones who brought back corona in our country after returning," Magufuli said at an event on January 27. "My fellow Tanzanians, let us stand firm, some of these vaccines are not good for us."

"I really urged the ministry of health to be very, very careful with all the vaccines which are imported into our country, not all vaccines are of good intentions to our nation, it is important that we Tanzanians be very careful with some of these vaccines imported to our country," he said.

"We need to put our God first but at the same time we take all the necessary measures, health precaution measures to protect ourselves against this disease, as advised by our country's health experts," Magufuli said. "We (Tanzanians) have lived for almost one year without the virus, and a good evidence is, most of us here we don't mask," he added.

During a news conference on Monday (February 1), Tanzania's Health Minister Dorothy Gwajima didn't say when the country will start receiving vaccines but instead reiterated the government's suggested hygiene practices, which include drinking plenty of water and taking local herbs, which the government claims, without evidence, can combat the virus.

Tanzania has not updated its Covid-19 data since late April, leaving the last number of reported confirmed cases at 509 and the death toll at 21. Those are also the latest numbers that Johns Hopkins University has published on its website.

Responding to a question about Tanzania's approach to handling the pandemic, Dr. John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said the continent must be united in its response to the virus in order to succeed.

"Africa operates with a strong coordination of the African Union (AU). Our position is clear, that we have to express unity of purpose to succeed as a continent," Nkengasong said.

"Tanzania is a great country, has been a great country in Africa preaching and promoting the values of unity on the continent," he said. "So great cooperation and great solidarity and great sense of unity of purpose from Tanzania is highly valued in this critical moment in our history."

The proportion of the 147 Republican lawmakers who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election who are now declining to either support or condemn the election fraud narrative that claims Trump won the election. While just two of the 147 total lawmakers still believe that the election was stolen, ten of them have said they do not believe the stolen-election claims and have cited other reasons for voting to overturn the election. ( Reuters  Feb. 4, 2021)
Signature Aviation, which provided parts for the Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft during Second World War when it was a manufacturer, has agreed to a takeover by a consortium that includes Bill Gates' investment firm.

Private equity giant Blackstone and Edinburgh Airport owner Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have joined forces with Cascade Investments to take the London-based aviation services firm private in a $4.7billion (3.5billion) deal.

Investors are being offered 411p per share, which is 53 per cent higher than Signature's share price on December 16, the day before it confirmed that it was in discussions with Blackstone and GIP over a possible acquisition.

During the Second World War, Signature Aviation provided parts for the Spitfire plane

The proposal's value is about two-thirds greater than the group's average share price of 249p in the three months to mid-December and a slight improvement on previous offers made by the three partners.

GIP and Blackstone will each hold a 35 per cent stake in the business and Cascade - currently the company's largest shareholder - will hold the remaining 30 per cent.

Signature's finances have been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic due to the implementation of travel restrictions that caused demand for air travel to plummet.

In the first six months of 2020, the group revealed its revenues declined by over a third to $702.7million, while it made a pre-tax loss of $51.7million compared to a profit of $36.3million the year before.

It also stated that flight activity in April was down by more than three-quarters year-on-year and was around a fifth lower in August. Nonetheless, it insisted that the business had 'sound fundamentals' and 'attractive medium-term growth prospects.'

Signature chairman Sir Nigel Rudd said today: 'Over recent years, the management of Signature has created a leading global private aviation support services business, whilst streamlining the group to maximise value for shareholders.

Bill Gates's investment firm is part of the group that has made an offer for Signature Aviation

'The resilient performance and strong financial position through the pandemic has enabled the Signature board to consider its future and evaluate this offer from a position of strength.'

He added that the deal 'represents an attractive and certain value,' and 'provides clear benefits to our shareholders,' and will 'ensure continued high quality, full services flight support for B&GA (Business & Generation Aviation) travel.'

Rudd, whom some critics have nicknamed 'the man who sold Britain,' has overseen the sale of numerous UK companies to foreign buyers, such as glassmaker Pilkington to Osaka-based Nippon Sheet Glass, and Invensys to French firm Schneider Electric.

Signature Aviation's finances have been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic due to the implementation of travel restrictions that caused demand for air travel to plummet

But the biggest deals of his business career began after he joined high street retailer Boots. The group merged with Alliance Unichem in 2006, and was then was sold a year later for 11billion to American private equity house KKR.

Signature Aviation started life as an industrial belting works in Scotland in 1879 before it turned its hands to supplying aeroplane and car parts and then later becoming a private jet servicing firm.

Besides its equipment's use in the Spitfire and Hurricane, it also provided carmaker Jaguar with its first car brake pads and the legendary Ford Model T vehicle with its transmission linings.

Shares in Signature were down 3 per cent to 412.5p just before trading closed.
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Weve been hearing a lot about the 1619 Project, and hearing also (somewhat less) about the 1776 Project. But what the world really needs is a 1689 Project.

The year 1689 was the key one in the birth of the Enlightenment  a marvelously successful approach to science, politics, reasoned thought, and human relations that seems dangerously at risk of ending in todays angry and increasingly irrational world.

In 1687, Isaac Newton published his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, exemplifying the evolution of science toward a system of rational laws tied to empirical observations and welcoming skeptical thought and free inquiry.

In 1689, the same sensibility entered the political realm, with Englands Glorious Revolution. King James II was bloodlessly overthrown and replaced by William and Mary, consistent with John Lockes hot new idea  the social contract  whereby the sovereign serves the people, instead of people serving the sovereign.

An English Bill of Rights was signed in 1689, laying down a rough blueprint for what would become Americas future Bill of Rights, often using similar phrases: freedom of speech, the right to bear arms (here, chiefly for the Protestants who had been denied the right of arms for defense under the Catholic James II), protections against cruel and unusual punishments, and more. The king and queen foreswore the power of arbitrary taxation.

Lockes own writings described life, liberty and the pursuit of property, which the American Framers adapted to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The spirit of John Miltons Areopagitica was still intellectually fresh; Milton argued against the book-burning and censorship that had marked the Spanish Inquisition.

Of course, the times were still primitive by todays standards: Rights were often reserved more for Parliament vs. the king, or for Protestants against Catholics. The slave trade was not outlawed in the British Empire until the early 1800s. Still, the defining principles of the Enlightenment had been laid down. They include:

-Respect for the individual

-Respect for rationality and objective truth

-Government subordinated to the people; checks and balances on government power

-Acceptance of skepticism and debate as the path towards truth

-An underlying optimism in the ability of mankind to make progress through open intellectual inquiry, effort, and discipline.

And who could be against such principles?

Why, these days, seemingly everyone.

The New York Times was against the Enlightenment when it explicitly rejected dispassionate, objective reporting of facts in the name of a higher passion against Donald Trump. The Portland protesters were against the Enlightenment when, night after night, they tore into that city, as were the Jan. 6 protesters when they tore into the Capitol. Those who paid for, spread, promoted, and profited from a dossier of false Russian-collusion attacks were, too. So was Big Techs social media when it censored the Hunter Biden story ahead of the election, and when it censors political speakers at will, potentially forever.

And so have been many others. The anonymous sources and highly placed intelligence officials who gave years of undeserved credibility to false claims and censorship. The political prosecutors who bring troops of heavily armed SWAT team officers and military vehicles to arrest a nonviolent old man in his house, as CNN films it all. The identity politicians who destroy the vision of Martin Luther King by judging all people only by the color of their skin, and never by the content of their character. The colleges designed to support free inquiry that now treat free inquiry as a form of physical assault. Those visionaries who know with absolute certainty that they are absolutely right, and that anyone who opposes them is evil for asking for evidence. Foreign governments that meet their opponents with burlap bags over the head, or chainsaws, or polonium-210 on the edge of a drinking glass.

President Biden has said repeatedly that he wants to restore the light. But you cant restore the light without the Enlightenment.

Whether our new president is for the Enlightenment or not will become clear in many ways, large and small. Does he protect the filibuster as a check and balance on government power? Does he end political trials? Does he champion free speech on the Internet and in academia? Does he allow children to go to the school where they can receive the best education? Does he classify people by their individual actions, rather than by racial identities? Does he agree that the people begin with all of societys wealth and freedom and grant some to the government, or does he think government decides how much wealth and freedom people really need or deserve to have? Does he send soldiers to die in unwise missions such as the Iraq War?

The 1689 Project  featuring Locke, Newton, Adam Smith, Jefferson, Hamilton, Lincoln  has led to the advance of civilization for billions of people around the globe. We must protect this light, or we will lose everything.

Burma Myanmar President Moved from Official Residence, Suu Kyi in Good Health

Access to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's residence in Naypyitaw was blocked and guarded by soldiers on Friday. / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Myanmars military has moved President U Win Myint from the presidential residence to a house near the parliaments gate in Naypyitaw after a few days in detention since the coup on Monday.

Under the Constitution, the president, vice-presidents and parliamentary speakers remain in office until replacements are selected. Lawyers have condemned the military coup as a violation of the Constitution. However, the coup leaders claim they have acted constitutionally.

Sources from the National League for Democracy said State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health and under house arrest in her Naypyitaw home.

The NLDs vice-president U Henry Van Thio, an ethnic chin, has been under house arrest at his government residence in Naypyitaw since Monday while both parliamentary speakers are also under house arrest. Ex-general Myint Swe, who was appointed by the military as vice-president, has been appointed as acting president.

Naypyitaw Mayor Dr. Myo Aung has been ordered to vacate his government house within two days. Some union ministers have not been allowed to leave Naypyitaw.

At least 134 officials, lawmakers and political activists have been detained by the military since it launched a coup on Monday.

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NLD Patron U Win Htein Arrested for Sedition After Condemning Coup

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The husband of a 39-year-old California mother of three who has been missing for almost a month has hired a lawyer and is no longer cooperating with law enforcement searching for his wife, the woman's sister says.

May 'Maya' Millete was last seen at her Chula Vista home by family on Jan. 7 at around 5pm, according to a Jan. 24 police report from the Chula Vista, California, Police Department.

Police were called to her family's Paseo Los Gatos home on Jan. 10 and informed that the mother was missing. They have been investigating her disappearance ever since.

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May 'Maya' Millete (left) was last seen at her Chula Vista, California, home by family on Jan. 7 at around 5pm. Her husband, Larry Milette (right), is no longer cooperating with police, according to Maya's sister

The 39-year-old mother missed her daughter's birthday, which family said was 'unusual'

Police were called to her family's Paseo Los Gatos home on Jan. 10 and informed that the mother was missing. Family noted that it was 'extremely unusual' that the mother would miss her daughter's 11th birthday

They said that all of Millete's vehicles were at the home but noted that she the last time she responded to a text was on Jan. 7.

Authorities served a search warrant to the address on Jan. 23, hoping to get insight as to Millete's whereabouts.

The mother is described as being 5'2" and 105lbs with brown hair. She is said to have a tattoos of musical notes and hummingbird

Her family has launched a number of pages dedicated to finding the mother of three - originally from the Philippines.

They've also set up numerous fliers around the local community in hopes they'll get some information as to Millete's whereabouts. The family shared that it was 'highly unusual' that Maya would miss her daughter's upcoming 11th birthday.

While the family searched the local community for Maya, Larry is said to have gone into hiding with his children and is reported as keeping them away from their mother's family

'We can't imagine him doing anything to our sister,' Drouaillet added

But they noted that the woman's husband of 21 years, Larry Millete, has been noticeably absent from the search parties.

Maricris Drouaillet, Maya's older sister, told NBC 7 that she was shocked to learn that Larry had retained a lawyer and was no longer cooperating with the police investigation. Larry is even reported as having turned off his cellphone during the search for Maya.

A pile of stickers for the missing mothe

'It's tough, because he is our family,' the concerned sister asserted.

Larry was the last person seen with Maya and the two had just had an argument, the sister shared. Drouaillet added that recently, Larry was 'distancing' himself and the couple's three children from their mother's side of the family.

'We can't imagine him doing anything to our sister,' Drouaillet added.

Drouaillet, who has not spoken with Larry, said that she would ask him to help the family find Maya if she could get a hold of him.

She pleaded: 'Show that you do care for my sister. Show that you do love her. That's all I'm asking.'

Drouaillet told DailyMail.com that the family was headed to the Chula Vista Police Department to have a peaceful protest in hopes of getting more resources directed at finding Maya.

Larry was the last person seen with Maya and the two had just had an argument, the sister said
Gurugram, Feb 5 : A 35-year-old woman has alleged that she was raped by a man on the pretext of marriage over a period of two years, the police said on Friday.

The victim, a native of Kerala, was currently residing at the Sohna Road area in Gurugram.

In her police complaint, she said that she had taken mutual divorce from her husband around 15 days ago and was working as Ayurvedic consultant in a Shop located at Galleria market in Gurugram. In September 2019, She came in contact with Dimple Bhardwaj, who was the owner of the shop.

"In December 2019 the accused reached her house on the pretext of dinner and allegedly raped her against her wishes. The accused threatened her that he will send her negative feed in the company and will fire her from the job," the woman told the police.

Thereafter, the duo decided to get married. After this, the man again indulged in sexual relations in January 2020 in a hotel by promising to marry the woman, the victim told the police.

The victim further alleged that culprit was raping her for two years on the pretext of getting married. She also alleged that the man promised her on several occasions that he would marry her soon but later refused.

"A case has been registered in this connection with the matter at Sector-29 police station," Subhash Boken, spokesperson of the Gurugram police said, adding that the matter is being investigated.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 16:57:52|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong police said on Friday that they have seized over 680 kg of suspected ketamine in the New Territories.

On Feb. 3, the police intercepted a 23-year-old man outside a private residential unit in Yuen Long in the western New Territories, and found about 2 kg of suspected ketamine in his backpack. The police then escorted the man back into the unit and found another 5 kg of suspected ketamine.

The police searched a warehouse in Kwai Chung where the man had taken the suspected ketamine from, and found 670 kg of suspected ketamine there.

The police said it was believed that the drugs were shipped from a foreign country in December last year and arrived in Hong Kong in January.

The male suspect was arrested for trafficking in dangerous drugs and will appear in a local court on Feb. 6.

Hong Kong police said there was an upward trend in seizures of ketamine in recent years. They will continue to step up law enforcement to crack down on the illegal activities.

According to Hong Kong's Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, any person who traffics in a dangerous drug shall be liable upon conviction to a fine of five million Hong Kong dollars and life imprisonment. (1 U.S. dollar = 7.75 HK dollars) Enditem
Vietnam will host rescue and sniper competitions within the 2021 International Army Games.

At the online meeting (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam will host rescue and sniper competitions within the 2021 International Army Games.



At an online meeting with the Russian side on February 3, Major General Tran Van Ba, Deputy Director of the Department of Military Training under the General Staff of the Vietnam Peoples Army, asked the Russian Ministry of Defence to soon send experts to Vietnam to study competition sites.



He also urged the Russian ministry to inform the participating countries and closely coordinate with Vietnam in the preparation work.



Representatives from the Russian ministry expressed their hope that Vietnam will successfully host the two events, contributing to promoting defence ties between the two countries.



During the 2020 International Army Games, the tank team of the Vietnam Peoples Army triumphed at the final race of tank crews of the second division in the Tank Biathlon event. VNA
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The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
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Alexei Navalny stands in a cage during a hearing on his charges of defamation (Babuskinsky District Court via AP)

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has appeared in a Moscow court for the second time this week  on a charge of insulting a Second World War veteran.

The politician, who on Tuesday was ordered to two years and eight months in prison, attacked the new hearing as a disgusting PR trial intended by the Kremlin to discredit him.

Last June, Russias Investigative Committee launched an investigation into Mr Navalny on charges of defamation after the politician criticised people featured in a video promoting the constitutional reform that allowed an extension to President Vladimir Putins rule as corrupt stooges, people without conscience and traitors.

The authorities maintained that Mr Navalnys comments denigrate (the) honour and dignity of a veteran featured in the video. If convicted, Mr Navalny faces a fine or community service.

Expand Close Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalnys lawyer Olga Mikhailova arrives at the Babuskinsky district court (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalnys lawyer Olga Mikhailova arrives at the Babuskinsky district court (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

This trial was conceived as some kind of PR trial, because the Kremlin needs headlines, Navalny slandered a veteran, the politician said in the courtroom on Friday.

Last month, the 44-year-old anti-corruption investigator and Mr Putins most prominent critic was arrested upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusations.

A Moscow court on Tuesday found that Mr Navalny violated probation terms of his suspended sentence from a 2014 money-laundering conviction, and ordered him to serve two years and eight months in prison.

The politicians arrest and jailing triggered massive protests across Russia, in which tens of thousands took to the streets to demand his release.

Many protesters also chanted slogans against Mr Putin in the largest show of discontent in years. Thousands of protesters have been detained.

Russia: Remarks by HR/VP @JosepBorrellF at the joint press conference with Foreign Minister Lavrov https://t.co/TXMm22PDOM pic.twitter.com/4Y9abuyVHi  European External Action Service - EEAS  (@eu_eeas) February 5, 2021

The European Unions top diplomat told Russias foreign minister on Friday that the treatment of Mr Navalny represents a low point in relations between Brussels and Moscow.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell met Sergey Lavrov after saying: Certainly, our relations are under a severe strain, and the Navalny case is a low point in our relations.

After the meeting, Mr Borrell said he had relayed to Mr Lavrov his concerns over Mr Navalnys jailing and the arrests of thousands of people, and communicated the blocs support for Mr Navalnys release and an investigation of the August poisoning,

Mr Lavrov again accused European officials of refusing to share evidence of the poisoning.
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0108263 License for publishing multimedia online



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EBRD providing 40 million loan to Is Leasing

Funding under EU-backed TurSEFF III to broaden local enterprises access to climate finance

Building resilience of Turkish economy by boosting resource efficiency and renewables

In its first transaction with Turkeys Is Finansal Kiralama A.S. (Is Leasing), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a 40 million loan for on-lending to eligible companies to finance investments in resource efficiency and small-scale renewable energy projects.

Greening the Turkish economy is one of the EBRDs main goals in the country. The Bank is committed to providing funds and policy support that will help Turkey cope with the coronavirus crisis and use the current situation to tilt to green decisively.

The loan will also help strengthen the financial sector in the country and contribute to a more rapid increase in the use of leasing, a viable alternative to debt financing.

The loan is extended under the Turkey Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (TurSEFF) backed by the European Union and funds from Republic of Turkey Ministry of Treasury and Finance. Launched in 2010, the credit line has provided 666 million to finance more than 1,800 projects, helping to install a total of 582 MW of renewable energy capacity in the country.

Is Leasing is the second-largest leasing company in terms of leasing receivables in Turkey and is a subsidiary of IsBank, Turkeys largest private lender.

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Turkey and to date has invested almost 13 billion in the country through 334 projects, with 95 per cent of this in the private sector. In 2020, the Bank responded to the Covid-19 pandemic by stepping up its financing in Turkey to 1.7 billion from 1 billion in 35 projects in 2020.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/05/2021



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

couple Karine Martins and Paul Staehle have welcomed their second child into the world.Karine gave birth to another son, Ethan, on Friday, February 5.Paul announced the news Friday on Instagram by sharing a 10-minute video of his baby boy. Karine was briefly featured in the video resting and recovering after Ethan's arrival."Born healthy and very fast," Paul captioned the Instagram video.Paul and Karine, who have been married for over three years , are already parents of a son Pierre, who was born in Brazil in March 2019 and turns two years old next month.In November 2020, Paul and Karine were living in Brazil and Paul disclosed Ethan's February 2021 due date "Karine's green card was stolen and the embassy is closed because of COVID-19 so we will be here indefinitely until we can get her a boarding foil, hopefully before her green card expires," Paul explained on Instagram at the time. "It is highly likely Ethan will be born in Brazil."Paul also suggested he and Karine were in a better place financially or at least on their way to being more secure."Karine inherited a farm in Tonantins. We will hopefully be able to start growing something and make it a working farm. Most of my income comes from the Internet while I am in Brazil," Paul explained.He added at the time, "Karine's family has been a God-send and been helping me with Karine."Paul updated fans on his whereabouts after getting back together with Karine following a tumultuous and dramatic summer in which they had split up and both filed -- but later dropped -- restraining orders against each other.After getting married in Fall 2017, Karine threatened to divorce Paul nearly a handful of times, but the couple reached a breaking point in July 2020 when they both accused each other of assault and abuse and filed emergency protective orders following an explosive argument with police involvement.However, speculation surfaced in late September Paul and Karine might have gotten back together after the pair dismissed three protective orders against each other on September 16, Us Weekly reported.Paul and Karine, however, did not participate in the Tell-All special for : Happily Ever After?'s fifth season, which aired in early October 2020, because the event was filmed before Karine and Paul apparently buried the hatchet and dropped their protective orders against each other.Paul from Louisville, KY, and Karine from Tonantins, Brazil, first appeared on Seasons 1 and 2 of : Before the 90 Days, followed by Season 1 of : The Other Way and the latest edition of : Happily Ever After?.When Paul and Karine had their explosive fight in July of last year, Paul said he wanted to file for full custody of Pierre after Karine allegedly cheated on him and violated a Child Protective Services case against her.Paul also claimed Karine had gone "missing" with Pierre while he was in the hospital being treated for a STD. He seemed to blame the alleged STD on Karine for allegedly cheating on him after she arrived in Kentucky.Paul and Karine's fight resulted in them both filing restraining orders against each other."I previously found glass in my food," Paul alleged in court documents obtained by Us. "I found similar glass shards from an item she broke."Paul also alleged that Karine's friends were calling him with death threats and Karine had allowed Pierre to "run in the street [and] get into the chemical cabinets.""I fear for my wife's safety and mental well-being. I fear for my son's safety," Paul concluded.And Karine publicly confirmed in early August 2020 that she had left Paul and obtained an emergency protective order against him.Karine said she never went "missing" but needed to be "rescued from an environment" that was no longer healthy for her and her child. She added on Instagram, "Relationships are hard and sometimes it just can't be fixed anymore."Karine's protective order included an array of shocking claims -- including that Paul had physically assaulted her, sexually assaulted her, monitored her phone, and prevented her doctor from prescribing birth control to her.In the emergency protection order application Paul had shared on social media, Karine claimed Paul "forcefully rapes me" and "hold[s] my Green Card and all my documents.""On multiples occasions in the past 3 weeks the respondent pushed me, grab my breast squ[ee]zing and twisting, hurting me, pushing me to the floor, covering my mouth. He force his penis into my mouth and forcefully rapes me. If I refuse he throws things, he yells, or he threat[ens] to call police," Karine wrote in the handwritten two-page application.Among other accusations, Karine wrote that Paul threatened to take Pierre away if she tried to leave and forced her to drink alcohol while pregnant so she would calm down.Karine continued, with the help of a language translator, "He is constantly on social media making videos of me against my will saying I am crazy, saying I have mental illness. Recently he called [Child Protective Services] and told [them] I was always drunk, aggressive, and abusive to him.""He post on social media [that] I have [cheated with] several [men] even knowing that he [has] cameras around the house and I can't leave. I have no access to money for my son or myself."According to her application, Karine said she was "terrified" Paul and his mother Mary might hurt her or their son, regardless of whether she flew back to Brazil with Pierre.Paul took to his Instagram Stories on August 10 to shoot down the claims Karine had made in her protective order filing."It truley [sic] breaks my heart it has come to this. I have bent over backwards. I found work. Got a new home. A new car. Let her buy anything she wanted. I did the cooking, cleaning, laundry and took care of Pierre," Paul wrote in his Instagram Stories."I have never in my life physically or sexually assaulted anyone."Paul said he was trying to get Karine "mental help" and had to "double up" on his own therapy sessions to "cope" with the "madness" of his relationship."Her motion against me with false allegations is for a 3 year restraining order against me and both my children. Alimony and child support. But I can not see her or my children at all," Paul shared.Paul subsequently took a break from social media in August 2020 but returned after three weeks of silence to reveal he was in Brazil cleaning and organizing their home while Karine was in Indiana."My life revolved around them. I have not seen my son since July.... I will not see my sons for a very long time," Paul said."So I am keeping busy and constructive. Karine is not in Brazil. I knew that when I traveled here. Now my mother is having a mental breakdown because she is also forbidden to see Pierre. I have lost my sons."Paul confirmed Karine is pregnant with a boy at the time because he wrote "sons" multiple times and also noted, "I have to accept the fact I will probably never see my wife and son again . Or see the birth or ever see my unborn child.": Happily Ever After?'s fifth season ended with Paul and Karine agreeing to take a trip to Brazil together so Karine could visit her family.Karine said her relationship with Paul was under a lot of pressure in the United States and so a trip to Brazil would be good for their relationship.Karine noted at the time she would "think" about returning to America after spending some time in Brazil, but Paul feared Karine would never want to come back to the United States with him.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
Dieppe, New Brunswick--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) - Colibri Resource Corporation (TSXV: CBI) ("Colibri" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its option partner Silver Spruce Resources Inc. ("Silver Spruce") will be completing a LiDAR survey on Colibri's Mezquite and Jackie properties, Sonora, Mexico.

Silver Spruce has retained Eagle Mapping Ltd., based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, to complete a high-resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey on the Mezquite and Jackie properties. Silver Spruce anticipates that the survey will be completed by mid-February 2021. Colour aerial photography will be orthorectified to the LiDAR base earth model with a 12 cm pixel resolution. Digital elevation (DEM) and digital surface models (DSM) with contours at 1 metre will be generated. The LiDAR products will be key data sets in the on-going exploration programs on the Mezquite and Jackie properties in-progress by Silver Spruce. Under terms of the agreements for the Mezquite and Jackie properties, Silver Spruce is the operator of exploration programs.

Exploration Update

"We are incredibly pleased with the progress being made on both the Mezquite and Jackie Gold & Silver Projects by Silver Spruce. At this time Colibri is aggressively advancing four highly promising gold & silver projects simultaneously through its option agreements with its partners and on its own. We have a very promising year ahead of us." stated Ron Goguen Company President & CEO.

Silver Spruce provides the following exploration update on the Mezquite property: Historical artisanal mining in highly altered and oxidized andesites, multiple zones of brecciation, silicification and silicate-oxide-sulphate-clay alteration, coincident high chargeability anomalies, and discrete geochemical and structural trends, containing broad areas of elevated precious metal values, are reported at El Mezquite. The Company's prospecting team has completed two field stints of two weeks duration each on the property with the completion of the planned six-week Phase 1 program expected in late February (Press release August 12, 2020). The initial exploration sample data and geochemical analyses are being compiled for interpretation and will be provided shortly.

Silver Spruce provides the following exploration update on the Jackie property The Jackie property, located 2 kilometres ("km") to the southeast of Mezquite, along the general geological strike of the belt, has seen very little structured exploration. The Company's prospecting team has been active on the property for more than three weeks of the planned one-month Phase 1 program to mid-February and initial exploration results will be provided in due course. Early prospecting reports from Jackie point to a similar alteration style to El Mezquite (Figure 1) and pristine targets for Phase 2 detailed mapping studies are being identified".

Figure 1.

Early-stage prospecting at Jackie showing extensive silicification, argillic and oxide alteration.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4269/73744_38bc3a9bc4e41905_001full.jpg

Mezquite and Jackie Property Agreements

On June 9, 2020 Colibri signed a definitive agreement with Silver Spruce for the Mezquite property. The principal terms to purchase 50% interest in the property include US$210,000 in cash payments over 12 months, specifically US$82,500 by September 1, 2020 upon Exchange approval (paid), US$127,500 by September 1, 2021 and a promissory note to the Colibri for $500,000 for a debenture due in October 2023. Minimum work expenditures total $600,000 over the four-year term, with no specific annual requirements. Upon full payment, Colibri and Silver Spruce propose to complete a 50:50 Joint Venture Agreement to own and operate the property. During the period of the Option, Silver Spruce will be responsible for 100% payment of the surface rights agreements when exploration is active, 50% of the property taxes and 50% of the interest due at 2.5% annually on the debenture. The underlying agreement with the original vendors contains a 1% percent Net Smelter Return royalty which can be purchased by Colibri at any time for $500,000.

On November 30, 2020, Colibri signed a definitive agreement with Silver Spruce whereby Silver Spruce can earn a 50% interest in the Jackie property by completing USD$100,000 in exploration and drilling expenses including a minimum of USD$50,000 within 12 months and pay to Colibri total cash payments of USD$50,000 and CAD$50,000 in common shares within 12 months. Silver Spruce will also pay 50% of the requisite property taxes and surface rights agreements due. Upon completion of these terms, the Jackie property will be held on a 50-50 basis and a Joint Venture will be formed for the direction and funding of continued property exploration and development.

Mezquite and Jackie Property Locations and Access

The Mezquite and Jackie properties are located within the western portion of the Sierra Madre Occidental Volcanic Complex and within the prominent northwest-trending "Sonora Gold Belt" of northern Mexico. The Properties are situated approximately 6 to 8 km northwest of the Nicho deposit currently being developed by Minera Alamos. Major gold mining operations in the Sonora Gold belt in the area of the Mezquite and Jackie properties include Alamos Golds' Los Mulatos Mine and Agnico Eagles' El India and Pinos Altos Mines.

The properties are located in Sonora near the town of Tepoca, approximately 175 km east of Hermosillo, on state Highway 16. The 180 hectare Mezquite property is accessed directly from Highway 16 approximately 10 km north of Tepoca. The 1,130-hectare Jackie Property is accessed from Highway 16, south of Tepoca, with vehicles and pack teams on unpaved roads and trails.

About Colibri Resource Corporation

Colibri is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V (CBI) focused on acquiring and exploring properties in Mexico. The Company currently has five active projects at various stages of exploration. The Evelyn Gold Project is 100% owned and explored by the Company and four projects Pilar, El Mezquite, Jackie, and Pitaya are currently subject to joint venture or earn agreements to arms length parties.

For more information about all Company projects please visit: www.colibriresource.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains "forward-looking statements". Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate.

For further information: Ronald J. Goguen, President, Chairperson and Director, Tel: (506) 383-4274, rongoguen@colibriresource.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73744
When Softbank arranged the 30billion sale of Britain's top technology firm, Cambridge-based Arm Holdings, to gaming chip maker Nvidia last September it was looking for a clean trade sale.

At the time, Softbank's boss Masayoshi Son was in a hurry. A number of his big bets on tech had hit the buffers and he sought to trade himself out of difficulty by making some huge bets on Wall Street.

His interventions led to the price of the technology sector whipsawing and the visionary was exposed as no more than another speculative trader.

Tech jewel: Of the many overseas takeovers of British companies in the last two decades, the sale of Cambridge-based chip maker Arm Holdings is most damaging

It was to Softbank that the Tory government sold Arm in 2016 on the grounds that the Japanese investor was a safe pair of hands, and the decision to nod it through, admittedly with some R&D and employment pledges, would show that Britain was open to business in spite of the Brexit referendum outcome.

Of the many overseas takeovers of British companies in the last two decades, the sale of Arm is most damaging.

A product of the BBC's search for digital literacy, it moved from being just another computer outfit, Acorn, to developing some of the most sophisticated technology in the world by incorporating software on the chip.

It offered the gateway to the internet of things. It was technology developed as a result of collaboration between a national broadcaster, scientists and engineers at Cambridge and the private sector.

The intellectual property was as much a triumph for the UK as the Oxford-Astrazeneca collaboration.

What has happened since the sale has surpassed worst fears. The Cambridge headquarters remains the beating heart of the company and R&D spending has been maintained.

Slowly but surely, though, Arm has been dismembered, with the China offshoot sold to Beijing-dominated interests.

The biggest betrayal has been the proposed sale to Nvidia which would draw a curtain down on Arm's model of open access to its products.

The decision of competition authorities in London and Brussels to conduct a full-scale probe into the deal means that finally Britain and the EU have woken up to the implications of allowing Silicon Valley to suck the blood out of Europe's tech.

The inquiries could take up to 18 months, which could test the patience of Son and his Nvidia counterpart Jensen Huang.

The Government is showing a willingness to intervene where necessary on overseas takeovers on national security and public interest grounds.

It should use the interregnum to persuade Softbank it has made a terrible error and to re-float all or part of Arm on the London Stock Exchange.

That would be good for Britain and good for the City.

Healthy option

Thanks to the resistance of former Dutch chief executive Paul Polman, one company which did resist a debt-fuelled overseas takeover is Unilever.

Under the guidance of his successor Alan Jope it has unified its ownership and control in London, and recognised the value of Polman's tack towards a sustainable company. It adjusted well to the pandemic lifting underlying sales in 2020.

Covid costs undermined margins, and pre-tax profits at just under 8billion took a small hit.

Jope is setting a new course and believes he can pack a five-to-10 year transformation into a much shorter timescale.

The aim is to focus on fast growing USA, China and Indian markets, recognising the changing shape of the global economy.

Jope wants to build up Unilever's brands and operations in health and nutrition, developing existing products such as Horlicks as well as new categories such as Smarty Pants vitamins. This fast growing area already represents some 4 per cent of turnover.

Armed with a simpler share structure, we should not discount the idea of Unilever being a player, should a substantial healthy nutrition or personal care opportunity arise. Instead of hiding in Rotterdam, Unilever is ready to be the predator rather than prey.

Little faith

Labour tweeters waffle on endlessly about a 'double-dip recession'. I suggest they read the minutes of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.

'They say 'GDP growth is expected to have risen a little in the final quarter of 2020'.

That means that even if the current lockdown period is deeply negative, there should be no second recession as that requires two successive quarters of downturn. QED.

Lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party hold a news conference at the National Assembly, Feb. 1, calling on the prosecution to indict former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter for admission fraud at a university and medical school after Cho's wife was convicted of forging her daughter's academic records. / Yonhap





By Jun Ji-hye







Hanil General Hospital run by the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp.'s (KEPCO) medical foundation is facing criticism for accepting former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter, Cho Min, as one of its interns.







The controversy follows the conviction and sentencing of Cho's wife to four years in prison in December for forging their daughter's academic records to get her into university and medical school. The ruling has led to growing calls for the qualifications of Cho's daughter to be revoked.







The hospital recruited three interns and notified them individually Thursday  a departure from its typical practice of disclosing the identities of successful internship candidates on its website. This has raised speculation that the hospital attempted to conceal its decision to hire Cho's daughter amid growing controversy over her qualifications.







Cho Min's selection was made public after the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) obtained relevant data and disclosed it to the media.







The recruitment is drawing criticism from those in the medical sector, members of the public and from the opposition parties.







"Everyone involved with the recruitment process, including the head of the hospital, will be held responsible for the decision," Lim Hyun-tak who heads a pediatricians' association, said. "A person who is unqualified as a doctor will treat patients from now on. This is a serious problem that will threaten the safety of patients."







The main opposition party joined the criticism, saying the hospital's "unfair" recruitment would frustrate a number of young people who have been facing difficulties finding a job.







Rep. Hwangbo Seung-hee of the PPP said the wife of Rep. Jung Chung-rae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is currently working for the hospital as head of the treatment support department, raising suspicions that Cho's daughter could have received special treatment in the recruitment process.







Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, one of the close aides to President Moon Jae-in, stepped down from the position in October 2019 amid corruption allegations involving his family.







Last month, Cho Min also applied for an internship at the state-run National Medical Center, but was rejected.






SUV

An older iteration of me got a taste for the automakers newer sedans and coupes, and Im one of those guys who like Chris Bangle-designed cars too because those Bimmers are a mixture of bold styling with traditional cues. The same cant be said about the second generation of the BMW 4 Series that introduced the pig snout to much criticism from enthusiasts and owners.After the unveiling of the all-new 4 Series, design boss Domagoj Dukec made it clear that BMW doesnt care about how we feel. You cant listen to social media reactions. It wont help you , he told Autocar last year.Criticized by Frank Stephenson and Chip Foose, the oversized kidney grille carried over to the M3, M4, and iX. The e-is the worst offender due to the  OK Boomer  message that rubbed the wrong way with the automakers core audience. You know, the boomers that actually have the money to spend on a brand-new BMW and service it when it goes kaput.Fast forward to the present day, and BMW continues to defy the people who have the power to make or break the German automaker. It is not our goal to please everyone in the world, said Domagoj in an interview for Top Gear , which is full of laugh-out-loud yet seriously worrying quotes.Not all our products get the same critics, added Domagoj. You can see that on something as polarizing like the kidneys on the 4 Series, 20 percent of people are liking it. That fits the type of customers we are targeting.But 80 percent of people, whatever people may mean in this context, gave BMW a thumbs down. How can you, the chief designer, ignore the majority when Mercedes-Benz is breathing down the Bavarian automakers neck?There is a significant difference between a forward-looking design and a poorly-executed design that appears to be infused with intentional controversy just for the hell of it. On that note, Im betting 10 bucks on BMW regretting being arrogant at a corporate level in a few years time.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lupaka Gold Corp. ("Lupaka" or the Company") (TSX-V: LPK, FRA: LQP) provides an update on progress with its international arbitration claim against the Republic of Peru.



After a number of minor delays due to the holiday period and the required sourcing of available candidates with the agreed profile, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has provided a final list of candidates for the third and final arbitrator to chair the Tribunal.

With this list complete, the parties will indicate their preferences and ICSID will then make the final decision as to the third arbitrator within the next few weeks. Please note that Lupaka and the Republic of Peru have previously appointed their respective arbitrators. Once the chair is appointed, the Tribunals initial steps will be to organize the procedural rules and calendar for the remainder of the proceedings.

For ongoing updates with respect to the arbitration, please refer to the Companys website (www.lupakagold.com/projects/arbitration).

For background on the basis for the arbitration please refer to the Companys previous news releases, also available on the website (www.lupakagold.com/news/#2020).



With respect to the arbitration proceedings, Lupaka is represented by the international law firm, LALIVE (www.lalive.law), and has the financial backing of Bench Walk Advisors (www.benchwalk.com).

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this news release.

About Lupaka Gold

Lupaka is an active Canadian-based company focused on creating shareholder value through identification and development of mining assets.

About Bench Walk Advisors

Bench Walk Advisors is a global litigation financier with over USD 250m of capital deployed across in excess of 100 commercial cases. Bench Walk and its principals have consistently been ranked as leading lawyers and litigation funders in various global directories.

About LALIVE

LALIVE is an international law firm with offices in Geneva, Zurich and London, that specializes in international dispute resolution. The firm has extensive experience in international investment arbitration in the mining sector, amongst others, and is currently representing investors and States as counsel worldwide.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Gordon Ellis, C.E.O.

gellis@lupakagold.com

Tel: (604) 985-3147

or visit the Companys profile at www.sedar.com or its website at www.lupakagold.com
United Nations, Feb 5 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to Israel's settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territory, for the resumption of peace talks.

The UN remains committed to supporting Palestinians and Israelis to resolve their conflict and bringing an end to the suffering, Xinhua news agency quoted Guterres as saying on Thursday while addressing the opening session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

"I reiterate my call on the government of Israel to immediately halt all settlement activity, which is a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution, and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace," he said.

Persistent acts of violence in occupied Palestinian territory as well as Israeli movement and access restrictions and other violations of international humanitarian and human rights law exacerbate mistrust between Israelis and Palestinians and make peace less attainable, according to the UN chief.

The committee plays an important role in mobilizing international opinion and assisting Palestinians and Israelis to re-engage in meaningful negotiations, he said.

The long-agreed goal is clear: to end the occupation and realise a two-state solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, in line with international law, relevant UN resolutions, and bilateral agreements, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states, Guterres noted.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call for an international peace conference under the auspices of the UN and an expanded Middle East Quartet provides a positive opportunity to advance peace in the region, he said.

"I call on the parties to refrain from unilateral acts that can jeopardize the possibility of restarting the peace process." The Secretary-General also welcomed the presidential decree issued by Abbas to hold legislative, presidential and Palestinian National Council elections this year.

The holding of elections in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in Gaza will be a crucial step toward Palestinian unity. It will give renewed legitimacy to national institutions, including a democratically elected parliament and government in Palestine, he said.

"Elections are a vital part of building a democratic Palestinian state founded on the rule of law with equal rights for all. The committee's support to these efforts will be crucial." Guterres also commended the committee's efforts to mobilize support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in a way that is sustainable, predictable, and long-term as Palestinian refugees need and deserve.

"Together, let us strive to uphold the values of the UN Charter as our shared framework of cooperation for the realisation of the rights of Israelis and Palestinians, the Middle East region and beyond." According to the Palestine Liberation Organization, about 124 Israeli settlement outposts have been built in the West Bank since the 1990s without any official approval.

Palestinian rights groups said about 700,000 settlers have been living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Olivia Bowen wowed in lilac underwear on Friday while displaying her psoriasis, after battling the condition since she was 17-years-old

The former Love Island star, 27, alluded to the skin condition as she said it's important to 'love yourself in all aspects' in her empowering Instagram caption.

She shrugged a checked shirt over her shoulders for the candid snap and styled her blonde tresses in a beachy wave.

Reveal all: Olivia Bowen wowed in lilac underwear on Friday while displaying her psoriasis, after battling the condition since she was 17

Olivia enhanced her visage with full coverage make-up as she wrote: 'Beautiful lingerie making me feel beautiful always. Thank you @bouxavenue 

'There is so much I could write in this caption about this photo, but instead Im just going to say - love yourself in all aspects on your journey in life, we have good days, and we have character building days. Both are as important. #Ad #myboux #bouxavenue #lovemeforme'. (sic)

In January, Olivia disclosed the impact of her battle with psoriasis in a topless Instagram post while confirming it covered 50% of her body.

The former Love Island star stripped off to show the effects of the skin condition as she reminded fans they should take her glamorous Instagram posts 'with a pinch of salt.'

Feeling confident: The former Love Island star, 27, alluded to the skin condition as she said it's important to 'love yourself in all aspects' in her empowering Instagram caption

Honest: She shrugged a check shirt over her shoulders for the candid snap and she styled her blonde tresses in a beachy wave while stating that she has 'good days' and 'character building days'

Olivia also shared the post to ask for fans' help in locating a sunbed-for-rent as the UV lights were the only thing that treated her psoriasis.

She wrote: 'I wouldn't usually ask about sun beds and I don't actually use them however, my psoriasis (which I talked about the other saying it was on my chest and scalp) has now travelled all over my back and stomach and is making its way down my arms and legs!

WHAT IS PSORIASIS? Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition that affects the skin and sometimes the joints. Around two per cent of people in the US and UK suffer from the condition. Psoriasis occurs when a person's skin replacement process takes place within days rather than the usual 21-to-28 days. The accumulation of skin cells builds up to form raised plaques, which can be flaky, scaly and itchy. Psoriasis arthritis can occur in the joints near affected skin, causing them to become tender, swollen and stiff. Anyone can suffer, but psoriasis is more common in people in their late teens-to-early 30s or those between the ages of 50 and 60. Psoriasis' cause is unclear. Flare-ups can be triggered by stress, skin injury, hormonal changes and certain medications. It is not contagious and there is no cure. Treatment focuses on managing symptoms via topical creams, gels and medication. Source: Psoriasis Association Advertisement

'The only thing that helped when I was 17 when it was all over my body was a sun bed. I've called numerous places today with no luck of renting. I wondered if anyone could recommend my a sunbed rental for home in Essex?'

Olivia then shared a topless snap showing how the psoriasis had spread all over her stomach and back, reminding fans they shouldn't take her flawless Instagram snaps as the truth.

She continued: 'It's like this over about 50% of my body now, it's actually now that bad right now in comparison to what I had at 17 - but its been spreading over my body everyday I wake up for the past week - which it'll continue to do until the patches are large around 3/5cm each and cover more like 85% of my body. It flares up after I'm ill or really stressed.

'Unless I stand in direct light and close to the camera you can't see it on photos. My skin has been like this for a week or so now and you can't tell in my normal photos.

'PLEASE this is a reminder to take photographs on Instagram with a pinch of salt. Lighting, angles - all diffuse skin blemishes.

'I really hope that seeing this makes you feel more accepted in your skin/body, because god knows when I was 17 and was covered in head to toe on my girls holiday - I could of used it.'

Olivia also posed a video of her body, and gradually turned to show the spread of the psoriasis.

She added: 'Psoriasis is normal. It's OK. I'm with you. God knows it's annoying but it's OK! Unless my photos are super clear and up close - you can't even see it.

'So let this be a reminder to you that posed pics on Insta aren't as clear as they seem! I won't let you guys think how I thought back when I had it at 17.'

Olivia then re-asked fans for help in finding a sunbed she could use at home, explaining ones with UVB lights could help ease her skin condition.

Psoriasis occurs when a person's skin replacement process takes place within days rather than the usual 21-to-28 days. The accumulation of skin cells builds up to form raised plaques, which can be flaky, scaly and itchy.

Open: In January, Olivia disclosed the impact of her battle with psoriasis in a topless Instagram post while confirming it covers 50% of her body
New Mexico State Police Officer Shot and Killed on Highway

DEMING, N.M.New Mexico was in mourning Friday over the shooting death of a State Police officer in a highway-stop confrontation linked by authorities to drug trafficking that touched off a 40-mile police chase. Officials say the attacker was killed in a shootout with police at Las Cruces, where another officer was wounded.

The officer killed Thursday was identified as Darian Jarrott, who joined the State Police in 2015 after previously working as state transportation inspector and local law enforcement officer.

The attacker was identified by authorities as Omar Felix Cueva, 39.

Jarrott, who was assisting U.S. Homeland Security Investigations on Thursday, made the traffic stop on Interstate 10 in southern Luna County between the cities of Las Cruces and Deming in New Mexico, a state police statement said.

A Homeland Security agent who arrived at the initial shooting scene notified the state police. After a state police officer spotted Cuevas pickup, officers from multiple law enforcement agencies chased it to the Las Cruces area.

Tire deflation devices and other maneuvers were used to force the fleeing vehicle off the highway, and there was a final exchange of gunfire, the statement said.

Cueva was killed. A Las Cruces police officer was shotinjuries that Las Cruces police spokesman Danny Trujillo said were not life-threatening.

Various shooting scenes extended for about 40 miles.

The state police statement did not indicate whether the traffic stop was related to Jarrotts providing assistance to Homeland Security. But New Mexico State Police Chief Robert Thornton told reporters that Cueva was on his way to Las Cruces to do a drug deal.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent assisted local and state police agencies in the highway pursuit of Cueva.

Cueva had violent criminal history, including drug trafficking charges, but not in New Mexico, Thornton said.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered all flags at state buildings lowered to half-staff from Friday to Tuesday in honor of Jarrott.

Violent crime is a scourge on New Mexico, and the men and women who step up and put on the badge to protect our communities fight it with everything theyve got every day, Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

Jarrott was from the small community of Lordsburg and was stationed in Deming.

Thornton said the officer had a reputation for always having a smile on his face.

Even when there was a situation that was tough, the guy was always smiling, Thornton said.
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
A great range of hands-on workshops, exhibitions and live entertainment are planned for the Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day Festival today.

The day begins with Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day dawn service at the base of Hopukiore - Mount Drury - to commemorate 181 years since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi.

The service will start at 6.30am with a whakatau by Tauranga Moana Tangata Whenua, followed by a community celebration, speeches and hymns. Speakers will include local elders, clergy from community church groups, civic leaders and youth speakers. An open forum will give everyone the opportunity to share thoughts on Waitangi Day and what it means to them today.

Kapa haka and musical performances will also feature during the dawn celebration.

Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day Festival.

At 10am the Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day Festival at the Tauranga Historic Village on 17th Ave begins with a welcome and flag raising ceremony.

Following the welcome will be live musical entertainment including Damo Innes, Laney Van Jaarsveld, Pow Wow, Soul Sax Plus, a Maori cultural group and DJ Chris Rapage. There will also be a Tae Kwon Do demonstration and plenty of workshops all day included a graphic artist demo, brush calligraphy, flute and poi making, using natural resources to create hairclips, bracelets and headbands. During the afternoon James Muir will speak on the Battle of Gate Pa and the Ngati Ranginui Treaty Settlement at the Village Cinema.

Four exhibitions at three galleries at Tauranga Historic Village will be open to the public all day.

The Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day Festival is a family-friendly, free event and a donation or koha is welcome. The day is organised by He Iwi Kotahi Tauranga Moana Charitable Trust and Trustee Buddy Mikaere says the annual festival will be bigger again this year.

The festival runs from 10am  4pm, Saturday, February 6, at The Historic Village.

At both the dawn service and the festival, if COVID-19 alert levels change, the event plans will be adjusted accordingly and the community advised. All attendees should scan in using the COVID tracer QR code posters that will be available at the events.

For more event details visit: www.waitangidaytauranga.co.nz or www.tauranga.govt.nz/waitangi-day

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A man accused of a terrifying series of armed robberies has been arrested while police continue their search for his alleged accomplices.

Tyrone Marr, 30, was arrested at a home in Sandy Beach on the mid-north cost of New South Wales on Friday morning.

Marr and two other men are accused of carrying out armed robberies across Sydney's south-west - including at the Canterbury Hotel, a Hurlstone Park 7-Eleven and a Wiley Park service station on January 3 and January 4 between 2am - 7am.

Tyrone Marr (pictured) was arrested in Sandy Bay on Friday over an alleged string of robberies across south west Sydney

Police allege on January 3, the trio threatened staff and patrons at the Canterbury Hotel at 4am before stealing cash from multiple poker machines and fleeing.

'Three individuals armed with knives and a gun with their faces covered entered the hotel and confronted a lady worker, who was working behind the bar,' Detective Acting Superintendent Grant Taylor said.

The next day, a second robbery occurred at a 7-Eleven at New Canterbury Rd at Hurlstone Park about 2.40am.

Marr and two other men are accused of carrying out an armed robbery at the Canterbury Hotel (pictured)

Marr and his two other alleged accomplices are accused of another armed robbery at two service stations (pictured)

Police allege a man with a gun threatened an employee before stealing cash and cigarettes.

About 7am later that morning, two men armed with knives and a firearm allegedly threatened an employee and stole cash and cigarettes at a service station on Punchbowl Rd, Wiley Park.

The men allegedly stole a 45-year-old employee's watch during their raid, but later returned the item.

Marr (pictured) was denied bail and will face Port Macquarie Bail Court on Saturday

No employees were injured during Marr's alleged string of robberies across Sydney.

Detective Acting Superintendent Grant Taylor said the robberies would have been horrifying for staff.

'Most certainly any robbery in the middle of the night where you are confronted with men with firearms and youre not sure whether you are going to be shot is something I would find very confronting', Act Supt Taylor said.

Marr was charged with three counts of robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon, three counts of acquiring a pistol subject to firearms prohibition order, take/detain person in company with intent to obtain advantage and dealing with property proceeds of a crime.

Police are still searching for the other two men accused of being connected to the string of robberies.

Marr was refused bail and will face Port Macquarie Bail Court on Saturday.


Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, say goodbye to law and order Joe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Federal investigators have arrested two more Pennsylvania residents in the Jan. 6 insurrectionist riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

That brings the total number of Pennsylvanians charged to at least nine.

The latest arrests include that of Zachary Alam, who was taken into custody Saturday in Denver, Lancaster County. He allegedly was seen on video smashing a window just before a woman was fatally shot, pennlive.com reports.

In addition, Rachel Marie Powell was taken into custody Thursday night in New Castle, about 30 miles from her home in Sandy Lake, said Margaret Philbin, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh, The Associated Press reports.

Powell is accused of helping to storm the Capitol, with federal authorities saying she is the pink-hatted person shown in video directing others through a bullhorn about how to gain further control of the building, authorities said Friday.

Zachary Alam

Charging documents state that Alam was spotted in video footage at multiple stages during the riot inside the Capitol, including a video of him smashing the window into the Speakers Lobby just before Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to climb through one of the shattered windows.

As FBI agents scoured video footage, the man they identified as Alam is first seen in a fur-lined hat with ear flaps, climbing through the window of the Senate Wing around 2:17 p.m.

He and a large crowd forced their way past Capitol Police, making their way further into the building, authorities say, noting he appeared to be agitated as he got close to a Capitol Police officer near the East Stairs.

Several videos also purport to show Alam among the group that was trying to breach the barricaded door into the Speakers Lobby, guarded by three Capitol Police officers as more officers approached to guard it from the other side.

Video screenshots attached to federal charging documents are purported to show Pennsylvania resident Zachary Alam in a fur-lined hat with ear flaps as he smashed a window to the Speaker's Lobby during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionist riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.Courtesy photos | For lehighvalleylive.com

A video showed Alam punching the glass door panels behind the officers, splintering the glass and pushing his body up against one of the officers, authorities said. The FBI says Alam was among those shouting (expletive) the blue at the officers.

Court documents state during the chaos, Alam grabbed a black helmet from another member of the crowd as he began smashing the middle glass panel, shattering the window to chants of Break it down. After he broke the glass, Babbitt was shot trying to climb through one of the shattered windows, court records state.

Days later, with the investigation underway, the FBI received an anonymous tip providing Alams name, phone number, email address and other identifying information.

Agents watched his YouTube Channel, saw his Facebook page and matched the images with his drivers license, they say.

On Jan. 19, a relative of Alams reached out to the FBI, saying they were the anonymous tipster, and they provided a phone number from which the relative had been in contact with Alam, court records state.

That relative was shown images from the videos at the Capitol and identified Alam. While the relative did not know where Alam was, they told the FBI Alam called them and said he was sorry for what he had done at the U.S. Capitol, but he was not going to turn himself in because he did not want to go to jail again, court records state.

Alam is now facing charges of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon, destruction of government property, obstruction of an official proceeding, unlawful entry on restricted building or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct.

Rachel Marie Powell

Prosecutors have asked that Powell remain in custody, asserting she might otherwise flee.

Her lawyer, Michael Engle, of Philadelphia, said Powell is not a flight risk and has neither the means nor the desire to leave her young children. A hearing was scheduled for Friday afternoon.

Engle declined to address the allegations, saying he was reviewing them ahead of a hearing scheduled for Friday afternoon.

He said Powell turned herself in once she knew charges were pending against her.

She wanted to turn herself in to face these charges and address them head-on, Engle said.

An FBI agents affidavit on a warrant issued Wednesday said that after a group inside a Capitol room stated they needed a plan, Powell told them that they should coordinate together if you are going to take this building. She also notes that they have another window to break.

She is also accused of using a large pipe to break a Capitol window.

The warrant lists charges of violent entry or disorderly conduct, obstruction, depredation of government property, entering a restricted building and being in that building with a dangerous weapon.

Powell, 40, a mother of eight children, stopped short of confirming to The New Yorker magazine this week that she had bashed in a window.

Powells mother told the magazine her family is devastated. Powell said her only regret was that her children could face repercussions.

Sandy Lake is about 70 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Previously reported arrests of Pennsylvania residents related to the Capitol riot are as follows:

Ryan Samsel

Bucks County man charged with officer assault at U.S. Capitol

Dawn Bancroft and Diana Santos-Smith

Pa. woman charged in Capitol riot allegedly said she wanted to shoot Nancy Pelosi in the friggin brain: report

Riley June Williams

Pa. woman accused of stealing Nancy Pelosis laptop during Capitol riot arrested

Craig Bingert

Lehigh Valley man part of group that pushed barricade into cops to try and get into Capitol, feds say

Robert Sanford

Pa. man accused of throwing fire extinguisher at Capitol police being held in Lehigh County Jail

Andrew Wrigley

I went inside the capitol building and got teargassed: Pa. mans Facebook posts lead to arrest, feds say

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Pennlive.com, The Associated Press and supervising reporter Kurt Bresswein contributed to this report. Reach him at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Michigan State Police has recently confirmed that it uses Signal, and app powered by end-to-end encryption on their state issued calls. However, they deny that using secured encryption violated FOIA or Freedom of Information Act.

As Fox Detroit feports, First Lt. Matt Williams explained to a Senate subcommittee that using the Signal App is currently under review by the department. However, he explains that the app is neither banned nor sanctioned during the course of their use of Signal.

End-to-End Encryption App Signal Surpasses State Server

Using end-to-end encryption raises multiple controversies since text messages sent using this system would bypass the state server. Moreover, once these messages have been deleted cannot be retrieved. On the other hand, regular text messages are still recorded even when deleted from a user's phone.

Even Signal claims on its official website that "We can't read your messages or listen to your calls, and no one else can either." Signal App owner Moxie Marlinspike admits that using end-to-end encryption could be used for different purposes, both good and bad. However, its implications are still under observation as of the moment.

Michigan State Police Initially Denies Use of Signal App, Later Confirms

The use of the app was first reported last January 22 by Detroit Free Press. According to the report, these observations happened after the state police had dealings with a civil lawsuit. Moreover, they declined to comment on the allegations of using the app. However, attorney James Fett has sent screenshots to Detroit Free Press of about 18 officials who use Signal.

Read more: UK Government Wants Access To WhatsApp: 'There Should Be No Place For Terrorists To Hide'

To make things more conspicuous, MSP first acknowledged that Col. Joseph Gasper, their department director, uses the app. However, they later denied the claim in a corrected filing to the Attorney General's office. As the claim writes, Gaspar did not have the Signal app downloaded on his phone.

Signal App Downloaded in State Police's Personal Phone, but not in State Phone

Moreover, Gaspar was reported to be unavailable to attend the hearing at the court. Recent news from Williams who told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee attempted to shed light on the confusing issue. According to him, Gaspar did not have the Signal app downloaded on a State-issued phone. However, he downloaded this app on his personal phone.

As of the moment, Williams notes that he could not give the exact number of MSP members who had been using the Signal app. However, he agreed to give information to the subcommittee once the final list is available. Williams denies that they violate the Freedom of information Act since all police officials are tasked to comply with this, among others.

According to Williams, the appropriate use of Signal in State-sanctioned duties is still under review.

Related Article: Google Duo Video Calling App Promises Easy And Reliable Video Calls With End-To-End Encryption, WebRTC And More

This article is owned by Techtimes

Written by Nikki D

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The countrys largest business network is calling on the federal government to extend powers introduced alongside its $90 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme that let struggling businesses cut staff hours as part of its proposed industrial relations overhaul.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry argues the governments IR bill, introduced to Parliament in December as a key plank of its plans to help the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic, will generally be good for jobs and businesses.

Employers and unions are trying to sway crossbench senators Pauline Hanson, Stirling Griff (left) and Rex Patrick on industrial relations. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

But it wants businesses in struggling industries and regions, such as tourist providers starved of international guests, to be allowed to maintain for the foreseeable future the ability to reduce staff hours, which is set to finish along with JobKeeper at the end of March.

And it believes the government should clarify the circumstances in which companies dealing with a short-term crisis will be allowed to strike pay agreements that leave some workers worse off to counter Labor and union claims that the provision is a major attack on worker rights.

BANJUL, 3rd February 2021: The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, on Tuesday 2nd February received the Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to The Gambia, Her Excellency Gloria Poku, who was at the Foreign Ministry to present copies of her Letters of Credence before delivering the actual Letter of Credence to the President of the Republic of The Gambia, H.E. Adama Barrow, on 3rd February 2021.

The top diplomats seized the opportunity to discuss the long standing friendly relationship between The Gambia and Ghana dating pre-independence. The discussions centered on ways and means of strengthening the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries.

In a similar diplomatic engagement, the Honourable Minister on Wednesday 3rd February received the Ambassador of Austria to The Gambia, Her Excellency Gerlinde Paschinger, in his office in Banjul. Ambassador Paschinger presented copies of her Letters of Credence to the Honourable Minister. Her actual Letters of Credence will be presented to President Barrow on Thursday 4th February at State House.

Minister Tangara and Ambassador Paschinger both laid emphasis on the sector of education, in which Austria would provide scholarships to Gambians and also provide long-term diplomatic training for junior diplomats at the Foreign Ministry at the Austrian Diplomatic Academy. These scholarships will contribute immensely to building the capacity of Gambians across the board. During this brief diplomatic engagement, other bilateral issues were also discussed.

Issued by the Communication Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad


Vaccines could blunt Britains outbreak in weeks

With more than 15 percent of its people already inoculated against the coronavirus, Britain may be able to give the first shot of a two-dose vaccine to its entire population by the end of June.

The country hopes to vaccinate its most vulnerable by Feb. 15, including people over 70, care home residents and staff, and health and social care workers. Together, these groups have accounted for 88 percent of all Covid-19 deaths in the country, which last week totaled more than 100,000 since the start of the pandemic.

But problems with the vaccine rollout could arise. A vaccine war with the European Union may jeopardize the supply, and Britains decision to deliver more first doses while delaying doses of the second shot could create a backlog of patients. If the current pace of vaccination in Britain were to slow down by 20 percent, it would then take until the end of July to inoculate everyone.

Related: In the near future, travel may require digital documentation  a kind of vaccine passport  showing that passengers have been vaccinated or tested for the coronavirus. Heres what you need to know.
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Health official: 'I am hopeful for the brighter days ahead'
NEW HAVEN  The Yale New Haven Health System potentially could distribute about 40,000 doses of COVID vaccine per week, but at this point its only getting 4,000 to 6,000 doses per week, officials said Friday.

Marna Borgstrom, CEO of Yale New Haven Health, and Dr. Thomas Balcezak, chief clinical officer of the health system, made those points as they spoke at an online media event about the vaccine rollout and the hospitals efforts to address the pandemic.

Borgstrom said the health system was treating 317 patients with coronavirus across its hospitals, including 165 in New Haven and 83 in Bridgeport, down from 369 as of Jan. 20. Of these, 86 people were in intensive care and 42 were on ventilators.

Yale New Haven Health includes Yale New Haven Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Lawrence + Memorial in New London and Westerly (R.I.) Hospital, as well as the Yale New Haven Childrens Hospital, Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital.

She said the hospital had been receiving about 4,000 to 6,000 initial doses of the vaccine in recent weeks. The hospital would like more; its unclear where, exactly, the supply chain was breaking down, she said.

Thats a problem. Thats a concern, said Borgstrom. Without a clear supply of what the supply will be  that is a problem.

Balcezak said the hospital system could scale to distribute about 40,000 doses of the vaccine each week. The effort had been stress-tested this past weekend, as a snowstorm delayed distribution of vaccines for two days. Those appointments were rolled over and the system was able to absorb them without a hitch.

They did it with ease and with grace, said Balcezak. Were hoping there (will) be an increase in doses delivered to the state and well be able to get more into the arms of our patients.

The health system currently is working to persuade more of its staff members and people of color, among others, to get vaccinated, Balcezak said.

About 66 percent of hospital staffers have received a first dose at this point, Balcezak said. Of them, the vast majority are scheduled or expected to get a second dose.

The hospital has not made the vaccination mandatory, but is striving to dispel myths and answer questions so that it can get 75 percent to 80 percent of its cohort immunized, he said.

People had reported concerns about fertility  there is no detrimental effect, he said  and about unknown long-term side effects. He noted that the vaccine had been distributed to millions worldwide without immediate issue, which means any concerns would be recognized and tracked.

We want to understand why people are afraid of it, said Balcezak, noting that about 4,000 people per day are dying of the disease in the United States. I think its the time for everyone to be vaccinated.

He said they had not had major issues with people below the eligible age trying to get the vaccine, as the health system uses an electronic system to track who receives it, although things would become more complicated as people 65 and older and first responders become increasingly eligible.

The hospital also is looking to dissuade fear among people of color and get more people vaccinated, Balcezak said.

Despite town halls, contacts among clergy and other outreach efforts, more than 75 percent of those vaccinated by Yale New Haven so far have been Caucasian, Borgstrom said.

About 15 percent had been Latino; 10 percent African American; and high single digits of Asian Americans, Balcezak said.

The goal that we all have is we would like to get beyond the requirement of wearing masks; we would like to be able to gather a little bit. And were not going to be able to do that if just Caucasian people are vaccinated, or any one particular group, said Borgstrom. Our challenge is to really try and make information available, believable, own-able, because somebody like me telling somebody in the minority community that they shouldnt be worried is not going to be particularly helpful. ... Its something that were committed to doing, because we recognize that this is going to be critical to creating a better new normal for all of us.

Balcezak advised people to take different variants of the vaccine, including a recent version by Johnson & Johnson that reportedly was 66 percent effective in tests, including 72 percent in the United States.

Any protection is better than none, and vaccination has a multiplicative effect across communities, as each persons protection helps safeguard those around them, officials said.

Variants, such as the more contagious one first seen in Britain, and another in South Africa that seems to be able to evade the vaccine to an extent, were of concern, Balcezak said. The more people that can be vaccinated in the near future, the better.

The more vaccine we have out there, the better off we are as a human population, said Balcezak.

The complete briefing is available for public viewing on Yale New Haven Hospitals Facebook page.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
She recently revealed she's moving to London to live with her girlfriend Demi Sims after just under a month of dating.

And Francesca Farago enjoyed her last bit of sun before relocating to the UK as she posed by the pool during her 'work' trip in Mexico on Thursday.

The Too Hot To Handle star, 27, caught the eye as she slipped into a tiny bikini by PrettyLittleThing, complete with animal printing throughout.

In her element: Francesca Farago enjoyed her last bit of sun before relocating to the UK as she posed by the pool during her 'work' trip in Mexico on Thursday

Ensuring all eyes were on her, the influencer left little to the imagination in the beachwear set, which featured a classic triangle top and barely-there bottoms.

The Canadian took centre stage as she styled her tresses into pretty waves, while her complexion was enhanced with neutral-toned make-up.

Last week, the blonde and her TOWIE girlfriend, 24, shocked social media as they got their names tattooed on each other's bottom and wrist, just days after going public with their relationship.

Lapping it up: The Too Hot To Handle star, 27, caught the eye as she slipped into a tiny bikini by PrettyLittleThing, complete with animal printing throughout

Striking: Ensuring all eyes were on her, the influencer left little to the imagination in the beachwear set, which featured a classic triangle top and barely-there bottoms

Smitten: The Canadian recently revealed she's moving to London to live with her girlfriend Demi Sims after just under a month of dating

The pair are among a host of reality stars who have switched their 'work' trips from Dubai to Mexico amid a ban on UAE flights.

They could well be spending an extended amount of time 'labouring' away in the sunshine, as Francesca excitedly welcomed the arrival of her dog earlier in the day.

The duo made their 'working' environment all the more pleasant with the addition of the influencer's fluffy white pooch.

'He's finally here,' she wrote as she posted footage of the dog meandering around a glistening swimming pool. This was soon followed by video of her nuzzling her pooch and calling him 'cute'.

Wow! They could well be spending an extended amount of time 'labouring' away in the sunshine, as Francesca excitedly welcomed the arrival of her dog earlier in the day

Francesca first received attention for her role in the Netflix original series Too Hot to Handle last April, when she briefly dated her co-star Harry Jowsey.

Demi has previously dated Leonie McSorley, with them last being seen out together in October, and having confirmed their romance in July.

The pair are currently in the country with Demi's sister Chloe, 38, and cousin Frankie, 33.

Celebrities and influencers have been flocking to Mexico's bars and beaches as it establishes itself as the latest COVID getaway destination.

In their element: The dynamic duo have been flaunting their loved-up status on social media during their sun-soaked 'work' trip

Wild tributes: Last week, the Essex native showed off her dainty 'F' piece on her wrist (L), while the influencer debuted her 'Demi' inking, which was placed on her bottom (R)

Cute: Days earlier, Chloe Sims' younger sister shared the moment the PrettyLittleThing model asked her to be her girlfriend as she held a surprise date on the beach

Ex files: Demi has previously dated Leonie McSorley, with them last being seen out together in October, and having confirmed their romance in July (pictured)

The country, which is not yet on the UK's travel red-list, appears to be the new destination of choice for global jet-setters and could rocket in popularity after travel from influencer magnet Dubai was banned on Friday.

Popstar Dua Lipa, and model Lottie Moss are among those that have been pictured in the Central American country in recent weeks.

Travel abroad is now banned from the UK without a legally permitted reason, Home Secretary Priti Patel announced on Wednesday, as she criticised influencers for 'showing off in sunny parts of the world'.
Nice White Parents is brought to you by Serial Productions, a New York Times Company.

chana joffe-walt

The New York City Board of Education has an archive of all of its records. Everything that goes into making thousands of schools run for years and years is sitting in boxes in the municipal building. I love the B.O.E. archive.

chana joffe-walt Good morning. How are you doing?

chana joffe-walt

First of all, to look through it, you have to go to a century-old municipal building downtown. Arched doorways, lots of marble, an echo, vaulted ceilings really makes a person feel like shes up to something important. You sit at a table, and then a librarian rolls your boxes up to you on a cart. Inside the boxes are all the dramas of a school system. Big ones, tiny ones, bureaucratic, personal, its all in there. Theres a union contract and then a zoning plan and special reports on teacher credentialing, a weird personal note from a bureaucrat to his assistant, a three-page single-spaced plea from Cindys grandmother, who would please like for her not to be held back in the second grade. An historian friend once pulled a folder out of the archive and a note fell out, something a teacher clearly made a kid write in the 1950s, that read, quote, I am a lazy boy. Miss Fitzgerald says, when I go in the army, I will be expendable. Expendable means that the country doesnt care whether I get killed or not. I do not like to be expendable. Im going to do my work and improve.

[music]

I came to the Board of Ed archive after I attended the gala thrown by the French embassy, the fundraiser for SIS organized by the new upper-class white families coming into the school. I felt like Id just watched an unveiling ceremony for a brand-new school, but I didnt really know what it was replacing. Everyone was talking as if this was the first time white parents were taking an interest in the School for International Studies. But at the archive, I found out it wasnt the first time. White parents had invested in the school before, way before, at the very beginning of the school. Before the beginning. I found a folder labeled I.S. 293, Intermediate School 293, the original name for SIS. And this folder was filled with personal letters to the president of the New York City Board of Education, a man named Max Rubin, pleading with him to please make I.S. 293 an integrated school. Dear Mr. Rubin, my husband and I were educated in public schools, and we very much want for our children to have this experience. However, we also want them to attend a school which will give them a good education, and today, that is synonymous with an integrated school. Dear Mr. Rubin, as a resident of Cobble Hill, a teacher and a parent, I want my child to attend schools which are desegregated. I do not want her to be in a situation in which she will be a member of a small, white, middle-income clique. These are letters from parents  largely white parents, as far as I could tell  written in 1963, just a few years before I.S. 293 was built. At issue was where the school was going to be built. The Board of Education was proposing to build the school right next to some housing projects. The school would be almost entirely Black and Puerto Rican. These parents, white parents, came in and said, no, no, no, dont build it there. Put it closer to the white neighborhood. That way, all our kids can go to school together. These parents wanted the school built in what was known as a fringe zone. This was a popular idea at the time, fringe schools to promote school integration. Comes up in the letters. Dear Mr. Rubin, this neighborhood is changing with the influx of a middle-class group which is very interested in public education for their children. Dear Mr. Rubin, if there is a possibility of achieving some degree of integration, it is more likely if the Board of Educations theory of fringe schools is applied. And from another letter, it is apparent from the opinion of the neighborhood groups involved that the situation is not at all hopeless. This lobbying effort was so successful that the Board of Education did move the site of the school. This is why SIS is located where it is today, on the fringe, closer to the white side of town, so that it would be integrated. I tried to imagine who these people were  young, idealistic white parents living in Brooklyn in the 1960s, feeling good about the future. They would have had their children around the time the Supreme Court ruled on Brown versus Board of Education. They probably followed the news of the Civil Rights Movement unfolding down South. Maybe they were supporters or active in the movement themselves. These were white parents saying, we understand were at a turning point and we have a choice to make right now, and we choose integration. One of my favorite letters was from a couple who left the suburbs to come to New York City for integration, the opposite of white flight. Dear Mr. Rubin, we have recently moved into the home we purchased at the above address in Cobble Hill. It was our hope in moving into the neighborhood that our children would enjoy the advantages of mixing freely with children of other classes and races, which we were not able to provide to them when we lived in a Westchester suburb.

chana joffe-walt So this is the letter. carol netzer This is the letter that I wrote? I cant believe it. OK.

chana joffe-walt

This is Carol Netzer. Most of the letter writers were not that hard to find.

carol netzer We had moved to Scarsdale for the children, because Scarsdale has the best  it probably still does  the best school system in the country, but we hated it. We found that we were bored to death with it. It was bland. It was just homogeneous. But living  I dont know if youve ever lived in a suburb. Its just boring, tedious, you know? Theres nothing going on.

chana joffe-walt

She didnt like the suburbs. So they moved to Brooklyn and wrote that letter, which I showed her, her 37-year-old self writing about her hopes for her young children, the choices she made back then.

carol netzer But it sounds as though I was fairly impassioned about it. You know, that it meant something. But I  actually, I cant think what it meant.

[music]

chana joffe-walt

I went through this box of letters and called as many parents as I could. Most of them didnt remember writing these letters, which isnt surprising, more than 50 years ago and all. What I did find surprising is that, by the time 293 opened, five years later, none of them, not a one, actually sent their kids to I.S. 293.

[music]

From Serial Productions, Im Chana Joffe-Walt. This is Nice White Parents, a series about the 60-year relationship between white parents and the public school down the block, a relationship that began with a commitment to integration. In the 1960s, much like today, white people were surrounded by a movement for the civil rights of Black Americans. White people were forced to contend with systemic racism. And here was a group of white parents who supported the movement for school integration, threw their weight behind it. What happened in those five years between 1963, when these white parents planted an impassioned pro-integration flag on the school, and 1968, when it came time to enroll their children? Why didnt they show up? These white parents who wanted an integrated I.S. 293, they didnt come to that idea on their own. They were part of a bigger story unfolding around them. I want to zoom out to that dramatic story because it takes us right up to the moment these parents wrote their letters, and then made the decision not to send their kids to the school. To begin, Id like to introduce you to our main character in this historical, tale, the recipient of the parents letters, the New York City Board of Education. Back in the 1950s, the New York City Board of Ed was not one of those boring bureaucracies that chugs along in the background, keeping its head down. It had personality. It invested in self-image. For instance, in 1954, when the Supreme Court found school segregation unconstitutional, New York City didnt just say we support that ruling, it celebrated the Brown v Board decision. And notably, it celebrated itself, calling Brown, quote, a moral reaffirmation of our fundamental educational principles. That same year, 1954, the New York City Board of Ed made a film honoring multiculturalism in its schools. [CHILDREN SINGING] The film opens with a multiracial choir of schoolchildren singing Let Us Break Bread Together. Like I said, the Board of Ed went the extra mile. The Schools Superintendent was a 66-year-old man named Dr. William Jansen, a man that newspapers described as slow and steady. And he definitely delivers on that promise here.

archived recording (william jansen) The film youre about to see tells the story of how the schools and community are working together to build brotherhood.

chana joffe-walt

A teacher addresses her classroom, filled with children of all races and ethnicities.

archived recording Who among you can give some of the reasons why people left their native lands to come to the United States of America?

chana joffe-walt

The camera cuts to a white boy, maybe 9 or 10.

archived recording Some came because they wanted to get away from the tyranny and cruelty of kings.

chana joffe-walt

Then a Black girl, around the same age.

archived recording My people are free now. They are proud to be American. But the Negroes were brought here by wicked men who traded in slaves.

chana joffe-walt

This keeps going, kid to kid.

archived recording We came a little while ago from Puerto Rico. My father wanted work. He wants to give me and my brother a good education. Japan is very overcrowded. The people have little land. So many Japanese came to this country because they wanted to farm.

chana joffe-walt

New York City was the biggest city in America, with the largest Black population in America, and it was saying in films, press releases, public speeches, Brown v Board, we agree. Separate but equal has no place in the field of public education. No problem here. It was also saying, you know who does have a problem? The South. New York City loved comparing itself to the backward South. There are plenty of examples of this in the Board archives, New Yorkers bragging about their superiority to places like Georgia or Virginia or Louisiana. This was the story the Board of Ed was telling. The South was ignorant and racist. New York City was enlightened and integrated. But here is what it was actually like to walk into a New York City school in a Black neighborhood at this time.

archived recording (mae mallory) The school had an awful smell. It was just  oh, it smelled like this county abattoir.

chana joffe-walt

This is an archival recording of a woman named Mae Mallory. In the 1950s, Mallorys two Black children were students in Harlem. And when Mallory walked into their school, she did not see children building brotherhood in interracial classrooms. She saw an all-Black and Puerto Rican school with terrible facilities, in disrepair.

archived recording (mae mallory) So my kids told me, says, well, Mommy, this is what weve been trying to tell you all along, that this place is so dirty. And this is why we run home to the bathroom every night. So I went to the bathroom. And in 1957 in New York City, they had toilets that were worse than the toilets in the schools that I went to in Macon, Georgia in the heart of the South. The toilet was a thing that looked like horse stalls. And then it had one long board with holes cut in it. And then youd have to go and use the toilet, but you couldnt flush it. The water would come down periodically and flush, you know, whatevers there. Now imagine what this is like, you know, dumping waste on top of waste thats sitting there waiting, you know, accumulating till the water comes. This was why this place smelled so bad.

chana joffe-walt

Mae Mallory says the school had two bathrooms for 1,600 children. Mallorys family fled racial violence in the South, like millions of other Black Americans, who headed to places like New York City, where everyone was supposed to be equal. Instead of welcoming these new students and spreading them out, creating interracial classrooms, the Board of Education kept Black and Puerto Rican students segregated in what were sometimes referred to as ghetto schools, schools that were often just blocks away from white schools. White schools in New York City had toilets that flushed. White children had classrooms with experienced teachers and principals, people who lived in their communities and looked like them. In Black and Puerto Rican schools, half the teachers were not certified to teach by the Board of Education. The buildings were in disrepair, and packed, sometimes more than 1,000 kids in a single hallway. The overcrowding got so bad the Board of Education decided to send kids to school in shifts. And mind you, this was not in the middle of a global pandemic. This was normal, non-crisis school for Black and Puerto Rican kids. One group of children would go to school in the morning until noon. The next group of kids would come in at noon, and stay until 3:00. The Board was literally giving Black kids half an education. In some schools in Harlem, they had triple shifts. This made it harder to learn elementary skills. Reading, for instance. Black parents complained that the schools were not teaching their kids basic literacy, that their white teachers didnt care, that the summer reading programs were only in white communities, that their children were two years behind white children in reading. This at exactly the same time the Board of Education was making a film promoting the virtues of integration. It was effectively running a dual, segregated and unequal school system.

[music]

For many Black families, the Board of Education was not to be trusted. It did not care for Black children, and it didnt respect the voices and concerns of Black parents. Mae Mallory says she visited her kids school that day because theyd come home the day before and told her a child had died at school. He was playing in the street at recess. Mallory hardly believed it, but she says when she visited the school, she learned, yes, indeed, this child was playing the street because the schoolyard was closed. He was hit by a beer truck. And she learned the schoolyard was closed because pieces of steel from the side of the building had fallen into the yard.

archived recording (mae mallory) And when I found out that this was true, I went to the principal. So this principal told me that, well, Mrs. Mallory, you really dont have anything to worry about. You see, our sunshine club went to see the mother, and we took her a bag of canned goods. So actually, shes better off, because she had so many children to feed. And I couldnt believe that here a white man is going to tell a Black woman in Harlem that a can of peaches is better than your child. I just didnt know what to do or where to go. But I know youre supposed to do something.

chana joffe-walt

It was 1957, three years after the Supreme Court declared segregation by law unconstitutional. New York City didnt have Jim Crow laws on the books, but Mae Mallory would ask, the schools are segregated. Whats the difference? She didnt care whether that segregation was codified by law or by convention. The harm was just as dire. And she wanted it addressed.

archived recording (mae mallory) This was nothing to do with wanting to sit next to white folks. But it was obvious that a whole pattern of Black retardation was the program of the Board of Education. So I filed a suit against the Board of Education. And I just fought back.

chana joffe-walt

Integration, Mae Mallory would say, was about, quote, demanding a fair share of the pie. She said, our children want to learn, and they certainly have the ability to learn. What they need is the opportunity. The Board of Education had defined integration as a multiracial choir. It was a virtue in and of itself. Mae Mallory saw integration as a remedy, a way to get the same stuff everyone else had  functioning toilets, books, certified teachers, a full school day. Integration was a means to an end.

[music]

Mae Mallory won her lawsuit. She and a few other parents were allowed to transfer their kids out of segregated schools. As for the segregation in the entire system, the judge in the lawsuit turned to the Board of Ed and said, this segregation, its your responsibility. Fix it. Now, on the question of responsibility, the Board of Education was cagey. And that caginess set the stage for the I.S. 293 parents when it came time to send their kids to the school. Heres what happened. The Schools Superintendent, William Jansen, decided school segregation was not his problem. In fact, he rejected the idea that New York City had segregated schools in the first place. After all, New York City was not barring Black children from entering white schools. This wasnt the South. Segregation, Jansen said, is such an unfortunate word. He preferred the phrase racial imbalance or racial separation. The way he saw it, racial imbalance in the schools was just a matter of housing. Neighborhoods were segregated. Again, unfortunate, but that had nothing to do with the schools. To make this argument, William Jansen had to ignore the many powerful tools available to the Board of Education. The Board of Education was responsible for where kids went to school. It decided where to build new schools. It drew zoning lines. It decided where experienced teachers teach. There were many ways the Board could have made schools less segregated. I know this because of the Boards own reports. Jansen did very little to break up school segregation, but man, did he study it. He organized commissions that led to reports that led to further study. You see a pattern emerge, starting in the late 1950s, that looks something like this. Black parents and civil rights groups would pressure the Board to act on segregation. The Board would invite its critics to join a commission to investigate the problem. The commission would study the schools, discover extreme segregation, lay out solutions. The Board of Ed would then take a tiny step toward implementing some of the recommendations until white parents started to complain about the changes, at which point the Board would back off and say it needed more evidence. Another commission, another report. For instance, theres the Report on the Committee on Integration, a Plan for Integration, the Citys Children and the Challenge of Racial Discrimination, Redoubling Efforts on Integration, the Board Commission on Integration, the Status of the Public School Education of Negro and Puerto Rican Children in New York City, and, my favorite, a bound little red book from 1960 called Toward Greater Opportunity, which summarizes the previous investigations with this groundbreaking conclusion. Quote, we must integrate as much and as quickly as we can. I want to pause for one second and step out of the past back into the world we all live in, just to point out that, over the last few years in New York City, weve been reliving this chapter of history. Its eerie. New York City schools are segregated. Theres a growing movement to do something about that. And for the first five years of his administration, the citys mayor, Mayor Bill de Blasio, responded in the following way. He refused to say the word segregation, commissioned a number of reports on school diversity. Hes pointed a finger at housing problems as a way to say this isnt our fault, and hes studying the problem deeply, which, again, is not segregation, no matter how many times reporters would ask the mayor at press conferences, why dont you use that word?

archived recording (bill de blasio) I dont get lost in terminology. I think the notion of saying we have to diversify our schools is the best way to say it.

chana joffe-walt

I heard a live call-in show on WNYC, the public radio station. A young integration advocate, an 11th grader named Tiffani Torres, asked the mayor, how much longer until you do something?

archived recording (tiffani torres) And how much more time do you need to study the issue? So to repeat my question, how much longer will it take? archived recording (bill de blasio) Tiffani, with all due respect, I really think youre not hearing what were saying to you, so Ill repeat it. There is a task force, an extraordinary task force, which Ive met with. They are coming forward with their next report in a matter of weeks. So when that diversity task force comes out with their report, I think theyre amazing. I think theyve done fantastic work. And so far, theres a high level 

chana joffe-walt

Mayor de Blasio likes to point out that this was a problem created by people long before him, which is exactly what people long before him said, too.

[music]

In the late 1950s, when Black parents and civil rights activists also asked the Board of Ed, why is it taking so long, board members complained about the, quote, extremists who wanted instant integration. Superintendent Jansen said, some people want us to build Rome in one day. While the Board of Education was building Rome in 1956, 57, 59, and in 1960, 1962, 63, Black parents found each other on PTAs, in civil rights organizations, pro-integration groups. They formed new groups, organized sit-ins, boycotts, demanded the Board provide a timetable for citywide integration. They joined forces with Puerto Rican parents, and their numbers grew. These were volunteers, mothers mostly, who left their jobs at the end of a workday and headed directly to a meeting about how to get the Board to give their kids the education white children were already receiving. Finally, in 1964, 10 years after Brown versus Board, Black and Puerto Rican parents said, enough. They were sick of waiting, sick of lawsuits, sick of asking for a remedy, sick of being ignored. So they went big, spectacularly big. They shut down the schools. They organized a civil rights demonstration that was the largest in US history, larger than the March on Washington. It was called Freedom Day, a massive school boycott.

archived recording (CHANTING) Freedom now!

chana joffe-walt

On February 3rd, 1964, parents headed out to schools in the morning before sunrise to spread the word about the boycott. It was freezing cold that day. Theres a brief TV news clip of a group of mothers picketing outside their kids school at the start of the school day. Theyre holding up signs that say, we demand a real integration timetable now, and integration means better schools for all. Theyre handing out leaflets to other parents about Freedom Day, looking spirited and cold. A white NBC news reporter in a fedora walks up to one of the women.

archived recording Maam, its a little after eight oclock now. How successful has the boycott been so far? Very effective. So far, about 10 children have gone in, and there would be ordinarily 240 children. And 10 have gone into the morning session, which begins at eight oclock. So you think youve already seen the result? Yes, I think so. The school is just empty. Does it surprise you? No, because we knew how effective  We talked with the parents. We distributed leaflets. Weve been working very hard. And we prayed that it would be effective.

chana joffe-walt

There were maps and charts and instructions with picket times and picket captains for hundreds of schools. There were volunteer shifts to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, to hand out thousands of leaflets and stencil posters. The boycott wasnt just effective  it was extraordinarily effective. Half a million kids stayed home from school that day. Half a million, close to half the school system. But the press barely covered it. After searching every major TV network, I found only one kid who was interviewed, a teenage boy, maybe around 16, on the street with some friends, protesting. A white ABC News reporter doesnt ask him why hes there. The only thing he asks him about is violence. The kid responds.

archived recording Were coming down here today for a peaceful  peaceful No comment! No, were not going to be violent. Were just teenagers and kids. And  Do you expect violence here today? No, sir, not if  look at the blue uniforms. You ask me do I expect violence.

chana joffe-walt

He gestures to the police on horseback.

archived recording None of us have any weapons, horses. And all we want is equal education. Thats all. Equal education. Thank you. You get all that?

chana joffe-walt

That was it. Every once in a while, Ill hear a politician or friend or school administrator say, yeah, integration was a good idea, but there was no political will to make it happen. 460,000 kids, half the school system. The will was there. The majority wanted integration.

[music]

After Freedom Day, the Board of Education introduced some small-scale integration plans, and white parents protested. [CHILDREN SINGING] We love our children. Oh, yes, we do. We will not transfer 

chana joffe-walt

With their own marches, they put on their own school boycott. The flipside of freedom day, a white boycott. The white parents were far fewer in number. But as far as I can tell, they got a thousand times more press coverage.

archived recording Mrs. Carcevski? speaker Yes? Are you going to send Johnny back to school now? No. She belongs here, and I want to send my child here. So nobody is going to tell me where to send my kid.

chana joffe-walt

This protest worked. The Board of Ed backed off. And in the decades since, the Board of Education has never proposed a city-wide integration plan. The schools have never been integrated. I think the fact of white moms in Queens in the 1960s yelling about zoning changes and busing, its not surprising they played a role in killing school integration efforts. But there was another group of white parents who played a quieter, but Id argue more forceful, role in killing integration. The white parents who said they supported it, parents like the ones who wrote letters asking for an integrated I.S. 293. How did their vocal support for integration turn lethal? Thats after the break. In the American South, schools were desegregated with court orders. Cities and counties mandated desegregation, and the schools desegregated. By the early 1970s, the South was the most integrated region in the country. But New York City did not want to do it that way. No mandates. The New York City Board of Education wanted to appeal to hearts and minds. They wanted to sell white people on the virtues of integration. Have it all happen, quote, naturally. Some white people were sold. The white parents who wrote letters about I.S. 293. They believed in integration. So I made a lot of calls to ask, whyd you bail? They had a lot of different reasons. One couple got divorced, and moved. Another guy told me he had political ambitions that pulled him out of the city.

speaker We loved our brownstone, but I was involved in a political race. And we needed some money for that.

chana joffe-walt

So he sold the house and moved the family to the suburbs, where he thought hed have a better chance running against Republicans. Many white people moved to the suburbs for jobs, for newly paved roads and subsidized mortgages, leaving Brooklyn behind. I understood what happened there. But some explanations made less sense. Like one guy I called, he did stay in Brooklyn. On the phone, he was telling me why he believed it was important that I.S. 293 be integrated. But then he said his own kids went to Brooklyn Friends, a Quaker private school. I said, oh, they didnt go to I.S. 293.

speaker No. As I said, Im a Quaker, and 

chana joffe-walt

But you were a Quaker when you wrote this letter, asking for an integrated 293.

speaker I believed it. I believed in it, but 

chana joffe-walt

You werent planning to send your kid there?

speaker No, no, no.

chana joffe-walt

What to make of that? When you get what you say you want and then, given the opportunity, dont take it. Maybe you never really wanted it in the first place. Then I spoke to Elaine Hencke. Of all the people I spoke with, everything about Elaine indicated someone who did believe in integration, someone who would send her kids to 293. And yet, she didnt. Elaine was a public school teacher. She taught in an integrated elementary school, until she had her own kids. She was looking forward to sending them to an integrated 293. When her daughter was old enough for junior high school, Elaine visited the school. She was the only letter writer I spoke with who actually went into the building. If this was going to work with anyone, it was going to be Elaine.

elaine hencke I didnt know quite what to make of it because the school had a nice plant. Physically, it was a nice school. But it just seemed chaotic and noisy, and kids were disruptive. And kids  [LAUGHS]  kids were doing the wrong things, you know? And kids do. I mean, it wasnt that they were nasty kids or doing  it was not drugs. It was not drugs. It was just  it just seemed too chaotic to me at the time.

chana joffe-walt

Elaine and I talked for a long time I pushed her  not to make her feel bad, but to get to what felt like a more real answer. At the time that you are visiting, was it majority Black and Hispanic kids?

elaine hencke Yes, Im sure it was.

chana joffe-walt

And did that have anything to do with the way that you saw the classroom as disruptive and chaotic?

elaine hencke I would hope not. Im not  Im not sure how well educated they were, or  you know, I dont know. I dont know why Im going into this.

chana joffe-walt

Well, did you have reason to think that they werent well educated?

elaine hencke Before 293? Well, their reading levels were way down. You know.

chana joffe-walt

Im just  when you say chaos and disruptive, Im trusting that what you saw was chaotic and disruptive. But I also know that those are words white people use  we use to express our racial fears, to express real racial fears. Do you think thats what was happening with you?

elaine hencke I dont think I would admit to that. I dont think that was true. But what I may have thought was that these kids are not expected to do so well in school, all the way from the beginning of school. And here they are, really unprepared in some way, for junior high school or  I mean, the reading levels were low.

chana joffe-walt

Elaine told me when she wrote that letter to the Board of Education, she pictured her children becoming friends with Black kids, learning side-by-side, learning that all children are equal. Thats what motivated her to write that letter. She wanted the picture of integration the Board of Ed was promoting  the picture of harmonious integration. But when she visited I.S. 293, that didnt seem possible. The reading levels were low. The kids were not entering the school on equal grounds. Her white children had received years of high quality teaching at well-resourced schools. The kids coming from segregated elementary schools had not had that experience.

elaine hencke I mean, one of the problems is that many of the white kids had higher sort of academic skills, or skills. They could read better. I think  I mean, if the white kids knew how to read in first grade and  and I guess there were Black kids who also could. But it just seemed as if most of the black kids didnt really learn  learn to read.

chana joffe-walt

But part of the  part of the vocal complaints of black parents at this period of time was that their kids were not learning how to read because schools were segregated, and their kids were kept in schools that were inferior. And that was part of the argument for integration.

elaine hencke Yes, yes.

chana joffe-walt

That their kids were not going to get the resources, and quality teaching, and good facilities unless they were in the same buildings with kids like yours.

elaine hencke Right. I dont know what to say to that. I just  I guess I just began to feel that things were really difficult for these kids. Schools were not made for them. If the schools were made for them, with their background, what would they be like? I think there was  and thats another whole thing. I dont know about it. I think there was sort of anger in the black community at the white community. A lot of the teachers were white. There were more white teachers, I suppose. People said that that was racism. And of course, it was racism. But maybe the kids were a little angry at the school. I wouldnt  I couldnt fault them for that. But on the other hand, then they dont get as much from the school. I dont know. I thought the problems were kind of enormous. And I guess I just, at one point, I just decided that my kids should go  went to Brooklyn Friends. And we could afford to pay for it. It wasnt easy, you know. It was  [LAUGHS] but 

chana joffe-walt

Did your feelings about integration change? Did you believe in it less?

elaine hencke Maybe. I think I would have said no, theoretically. But maybe they did. I guess I saw it as a more difficult project then. I sort of did back off from it. I just 

chana joffe-walt

Yeah. It felt when you guys wrote these letters like, this is  integration is this exciting ideal, and we can be part of it, and its going to be a meaningful project thats also going to be kind of easy.

elaine hencke I certainly didnt think it would be so difficult. But I  I was, I was innocent, you know? I dont know. I still believe in it. I do.

[music]

chana joffe-walt

I think what Elaine actually meant was not that she was innocent, but that she was naive. She was naive about the reality of segregation, the harm of it. And naive about what it would take to undo it. She did not know. And I think she didnt want to know. When Elaine said the word innocent, I felt a jolt of recognition. I felt like Elaine had walked me right up to the truth about her, and about me. When my own kids were old enough, I sent them to our zoned public school. It was racially mixed and economically mixed. I was excited about that. And it was nice walking to school with neighbors, people I likely never would have gotten to know otherwise. My kids first day of school was another boys first week in the country. Hed just moved from China, and his mom asked the neighbor where the school was. When she said goodbye that first morning, I think he thought I was a teacher, and he crawled into my lap. We had no words in common, so I just held him while he screamed and cried. By the holiday show three months later, I watched that same boy belt out This Pretty Planet on a stage with his classmates. He was the star. He nailed the hand motions. Every other kid up on stage was just following his lead, just trying to keep up. It was such a sweet picture, all of them up there  Black kids, and Mexican kids, and Colombian, and Asian and white kids. And all of us adults supporting all of them. Its moving, to me, this picture of integration. It is also, Im realizing right now, writing these words down, the very same picture the Board of Education put forth in 1954  a multiracial choir singing together, building brotherhood. And its dangerous, I think, this picture of integration. It seems perfectly designed to preserve my innocence, to make me comfortable, not to remedy inequality, but a way to bypass it entirely. I can sit in that assembly and feel good about the gauzy display of integration without ever being asked to think about the fact that much of the time, white kids in the school building are having a different educational experience than kids of color. A large share of the white students at the school are clustered in a gifted program. They have separate classrooms and separate teachers. We all blithely call these white children gifted and talented, G&T, starting at four years old. White children are performing better at the school than black children and Latino children. White families are the loudest and most powerful voices in the building. The advantages white kids had back in the 1950s, theyre still in place. When Elaine said she was innocent, I thought about the things we say, nice, white parents, to each other about why we wont send our kids to segregated schools  because theyre too strict, or too chaotic, or too disruptive. Because the test scores are bad, because we want more play. We want fewer worksheets. Because we dont want to ride a bus. We dont want uniforms. We dont want tests. We want innocence. We need it, to protect us from the reality that we are the ones creating the segregation, and were not sure were ready to give it up.

[music]

Elaine was not for segregation. But in the end, she wasnt really for integration, either. All of the choices she made, choices she had the luxury of making, were meant to advantage her own kids. And I understand that. Thats what parents do.

elaine I remember thinking very clearly that OK, I believe in this. But I dont sort of want to sacrifice my children to it. I have to look at what they will learn, and what they will do. And for people who sent their kids to 293, it seemed to work out well. So that made me think, well, maybe I made a mistake. Maybe they should have gone there. I know at one point it was very clear to me that I had beliefs that I thought were kind of contrary to my own childrens best interests. And I decided that I wasnt going to use them to sort of extend my own beliefs. But then I regretted that, because that wasnt really true.

chana joffe-walt

You regretted what?

elaine Well, I kind of wish I had sent them to 293 because Joans kids had a good experience there.

chana joffe-walt

Elaines friend Joan, another white mom who did send her kids to I.S. 293. Elaine still feels bad about her choice. But not everyone felt bad.

carol netzer We were not pious, kind of, oh, the kids have to go to public school. Not at all. I went to public schools, and theres nothing to write about.

chana joffe-walt

Carol is the woman who wrote the letter about how shed come to New York City from the suburbs for integration. I had a hard time reconciling her lack of piety with her letter, which I read back to her, about wanting her kids to mix freely with children of other classes and races. [READING]  which we were not able to provide for them when we lived in the Westchester suburb.

carol netzer That was all true. Yeah, yeah.

chana joffe-walt

You remember feeling that way?

carol netzer Well, I dont really remember feeling that way. And I think that we say a lot of things that are politically correct, without even realizing that we are not telling exactly how we feel. So I cant really guarantee that it was 100% the way I felt. I dont really remember. Probably close to it, but I mean, Im a liberal, you know?

chana joffe-walt

As a parent, did you  do you remember feeling like, I hope my kid has experiences outside of just people like them?

carol netzer Not especially. I mean, we rushed right away to send them to private school, right? So what was most important to us was that they get the best education. But one of the things that changed it was St. Annes School, a sort of progressive school with this man, headmaster, who was brilliant. Opened up St. Annes. And if you keep working on this, youll hear a lot about St. Annes.

chana joffe-walt

Im not going to tell you a lot about St. Annes, except to say this  its one of the most prominent private schools in Brooklyn. Upscale neighborhood, prime real estate, lots of heavy-hitters send their kids to St. Annes. I had heard of it. What I didnt know is that St. Annes opened at the very same time that Black parents were waging their strongest fight for integration in New York City, in 1965. Right when a lot of the letter writers would have been looking for schools. And it wasnt just St. Annes. New progressive private schools were opening and expanding all over the city. Brooklyn Friends School expanded into a new building, and would double its enrollment. They were opening private schools in the South, too. But down there, it was all very explicit. They became known as quote, unquote, segregation academies, schools for white people who were wholeheartedly committed to avoiding integration. In the North, private schools opened as if they were completely disconnected from everything else that was happening at that very moment. St. Annes marketed itself as a pioneer, a community of like-minded, gifted kids, no grades. Lots of talk about progressive, child-centered education, the whole child. At one point in my conversation with Carol Netzer I was talking about how integration was happening around his time. And she surprised me by saying, no, not at that time.

carol netzer I think the  I think that you may be off on the timing for me, because it was too early. They didnt start really any kind of crusade about integrating until well after I had left the neighborhood.

chana joffe-walt

No, they were integrating the schools in the 60s, though.

carol netzer Oh. It didnt make much of a splash. We werent against it. There was  it wasnt a big item.

chana joffe-walt

Thats how easy it was to walk away from integration in New York City. You could do it without even knowing youd thrown a bomb over your shoulder on the way out.

[music]
Imaging the first moments of a body plan emerging in the embryo

WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- Egg cells start out as round blobs. After fertilization, they begin transforming into people, dogs, fish, or other animals by orienting head to tail, back to belly, and left to right. Exactly what sets these body orientation directions has been guessed at but not seen. Now researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have imaged the very beginning of this cellular rearrangement, and their findings help answer a fundamental question.

"The most interesting and mysterious part of developmental biology is the origin of the body axis in animals," said researcher Tomomi Tani. An MBL scientist in the Eugene Bell Center at the time of the research, Tani is now with Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

The work by Tani and Hirokazu Ishii, reported this week in Molecular Biology of the Cell, shows that both parents contribute to the body orientation of their offspring. For the animal species studied in the research (sea squirts), input from the mother sets the back-belly axis while that of the father does so for the head-tail axis.

"Both the maternal and the paternal cues are required to establish the body plan of the developing animal embryo," stated Tani.

This research addresses fundamental questions in developmental biology and may also provide clues as to why things sometimes go wrong. Such knowledge could benefit fields as diverse as medicine and agriculture.



The prevalent theory of how the body axis is set has been that actin filaments inside the egg, which are involved in cell motion and contraction, power the rearrangement of cytoplasmic material in the egg after it has been fertilized. But seeing this happen has been a challenge because the onset of the process takes place rapidly and over very small distances within living cells.

To overcome these hurdles, Tani and Ishii used a fluorescence polarization microscope, a technology developed a few years ago at MBL by Tani, Shalin Mehta (now at Chan Zuckerberg Biohub) and MBL Senior Scientist Rudolf Oldenbourg, along with scientists at other institutions. This technology makes it possible to image events taking place at distances measured in nanometers, or thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. The methodology is also a familiar one to Tani and others.

"Using polarized light for looking at dynamics of molecular order is a tradition of MBL imaging," Tani noted, one that began with pioneering live-cell studies by Shinya Inoue in the 1950s.

When polarized, light waves oscillate either partially or completely in only one direction: up/down, left/right, clockwise/counterclockwise, and so on. That's why a filter will let polarized light through in one orientation, but block it when rotated.

Tani and Ishii attached fluorescent probe molecules, which glow when illuminated with the right light, to the actin in eggs of sea squirts (Ciona), a marine species often studied by researchers as a model for animal development. The probe-actin link was very rigid, Tani said, allowing the microscope to detect the orientation of the actin molecules by working with polarized light.



So, if the actin all pointed in one orientation, the researchers spotted it. If the actin was jumbled, they could see that too. When Tani and Ishii looked at unfertilized eggs, they saw a mostly random arrangement of actin. After fertilization, a calcium ion wave passed through the egg and the actin filaments lined up and contracted along the orientation that was at a right, or 90o, angle to the future back/belly axis. The cytoplasm then moved. This body plan formation process began just after fertilization.

The fertilized egg orientation research is being followed up with other investigations. One of the long-term goals of such imaging is to detect and understand the force in the developing embryo that shape its morphology, its form and structure.

"We hope that the molecular orders in the cytoskeleton tell us something like 'field lines' of mechanical forces that organize the morphology of multicellular organisms," Tani said in discussing future efforts.

###

By Hank Hogan

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery - exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
India has developed two vaccines against coronavirus. It is also helping other nation by supplying the vaccine. India has recently supplied vaccine to Barbados. Now, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has expressed her gratitude to the Indian government for the donation of corona vaccine doses.

PM Mia Mottley wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, which reads, "I trust that you are well and safe. On behalf of my Government and people, I wish to express gratitude to you, your Government and the people of the Republic of India for its most generous donation of the Covishield vaccines (under the auspices of Oxford Astrazeneca)."The letter further reads, "The Minister of Health and Wellness and the Chief Medical Officer both have confirmed that the vaccine has been approved for use in Barbados and will be administered in accordance with the manufacturers' guidelines. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration."

Last month, Mottley wrote to Prime Minister Modi, requesting for access to vaccines to provide immunisation coverage for the island nation. Barbados will be receiving 1,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from India.

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Pastor Donald Dermit, left, and General Jeff, a spokesman for the Skid Row Advisory Council, talk with U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on Thursday. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

"This is not what I call a sound bite day," U.S. District Judge David O. Carter observed Thursday as elected officials shuffled in and out of a tent better equipped for a wedding than a federal court hearing.

And yet here they were, at the heart of L.A.'s skid row, nearly a year into a court case seeking relief for homeless people in Los Angeles. Some offered specific remedies they'd like to see to help solve an ever-worsening homelessness crisis, while others spoke of the need for more collaboration and coordination.

Carter had called the plaintiffs, intervenors and defendants in the case here after spending much of Friday and Saturday drenched  trying to get homeless women into tents that would shield them from the rain.

People listen via loudspeakers as Judge Carter conducts the meeting on skid row. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

For a variety of reasons, that effort failed.

During the hearing, Carter  clearly frustrated by his inability to compel rapid change  fixated on this failure as endemic of something broader.

Over much of the past year, the judge has shown up at homeless encampments with tents and an entourage at all times of day. Here in his ad-hoc court, Carter laid out a broad course of action of where he'd like to see the case go.

A crowd assembled outside the locked gate to the parking lot of the Downtown Women's Center, where the unusual hearing was held, listening intently to the proceedings over loudspeakers that competed with a mix of rap and Latin music playing on the street.

The case grew out of a lawsuit that was filed last year, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began, by business owners and residents who banded together to form a group called the LA Alliance for Human Rights. It demands an end to what it maintains are unsafe and inhumane conditions in homeless encampments  especially during the pandemic .

Reading from his own court documents at the hearing, Carter talked of a "long period of inaction by local government officials" after the Supreme Court struck down school desegregation in its landmark 1954 ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education. It took robust efforts by federal authorities and the courts before the ruling could be enforced. Carter openly wondered if Los Angeles' homelessness crisis warranted similar, far-reaching action from the federal bench.

Story continues

He asked that by Feb. 16, the city tell him what he could do if politicians fail to use their powers to get people  the majority of them Black and Latino  off the streets.

District Judge Andre Birotte Jr., left, and U.S. District Judge David Carter talk before the skid row meeting on homelessness. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

In the tent, these statements were met with a range of reactions from public officials, including City Councilmembers Kevin de Leon and Mike Bonin, City Atty. Mike Feuer and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis. Most said that they'd prefer to see elected officials and not a judge supervise the response to the crisis.

Bonin offered the clearest vision of what he'd like to see. He wants the plaintiffs in the case, along with the city and county, to enter into a consent decree that Carter would supervise. The judge would oversee progress toward clear goals agreed to by all the parties.

"Our system is just not fundamentally designed to address the crisis that we were in," said Bonin. "It is urgently important for the court to assume the maximum role that it can."

Others, including Feuer, weren't as enthusiastic about the prospect of intervention by the federal court. After Solis said she'd prefer the city and county to stay in control, Carter said that what he's considering is much more far-reaching than just supervising an agreement.



"What we're exploring now is far different than that," he said.

What he's trying to think through is what he should do if local officials fail to act or come to a consensus.

A notable absence was Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who said Wednesday night he couldn't attend but had been in contact with Carter. The two text regularly, and met Tuesday to discuss the case. Garcetti's deputy chief of staff, Matt Szabo, along with Jose "Che" Ramirez, the deputy mayor for homelessness, were present but struggled at points to answer questions from Carter.

General Jeff, spokesman for the Skid Row Advisory Council, listens to the meeting conducted by Judge Carter. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

During his nightly news conference Wednesday, Garcetti said that Carter didn't have the authority to order sweeping changes in city policy "at this point."

Offering few details, he said he'd instructed city staff to try to expand Project Roomkey, a program that rents hotel rooms for homeless people. This came after the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that it would now be reimbursing all dollars that have been spent on rooms since the start of pandemic.

The number of beds available through Project Roomkey has decreased in recent months, and Carter and others said the dearth of available options for people in crisis on the streets was on display during the rainy weather last week. Carter, who had spent much of the spring focused on people living near freeways, now seemed preoccupied by the disproportionate number of people of color and women who are on the city's streets.

Few attendees who spoke at the hearing fit that demographic until Pete White of the Los Angeles Community Action Network pulled out his phone and put his colleague Monique Noel on speakerphone. She gave an impassioned speech describing how the needs and views of Black women had been neglected for far too long.

At one point, White asked her to slow down because the "court reporter's fingers are about to fall off."

"There are thousands of women on skid row.... Emergency housing has not been made available to them," Noel said through a crackling speaker amid cheers from the streets.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de Leon, whose district includes skid row, talks with Michelle Coulter, 51, who has been living on skid row since 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

As he tours encampments around the region, Carter often takes photos on his iPhone. He had some of these images enlarged on posterboard for the hearing. They showed women  some poorly clothed, some shivering and some trying to set up tents  whom he met in the rain last week.

"We're hearing [about this] in court and not seeing and feeling this," Carter said. "I think its dehumanizing to not to show the faces of real people."

One of the women he was referring to sat on a curb outside the hearing, listening. Michelle Coulter, 51, struggles to walk on legs wracked by arthritis. She normally sleeps in a tent outside the Downtown Women's Center and has been on skid row since 2013.

Last week, Carter, De Leon and other officials met her as it poured rain and tried to get her help. Hotel rooms supplied by the Los Angeles Services Authority fell through, and the Downtown Women's Center was unable to transition its parking lot into a place for people like her to get out of the rain.

With the help of a pastor who works closely with Carter, Coulter got into a nearby hotel for a night. It was a tiny salvation.

"It was a relief. I took a bath and I looked at myself in the mirror," she said. "When I got to that room it made me want to do better for myself."

After that night, Coulter returned to the streets and after the hearing finished, the pastor was trying to get her into a Project Roomkey hotel in Whittier.

Hours later she had arrived and would have a bed for the night.

For the record:

10:01 AM, Feb. 05, 2021: An earlier version of this article identified the citys deputy mayor for homelessness as Jose Che Garcia. His surname is Ramirez.



This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 05th Feb, 2021) AFRICAZINE, one of the most widespread websites in the African continent has published a detailed report on the historic mission of the Hope probe as part of the Emirates Mars Mission (the Hope Probe) to reach Mars.

The report confirmed that the Hope Probe, developed by Emirati minds to carry out the first Arab Mars mission, will provide humanity with unprecedented historical information about the Red Planet.

The report noted that as the countdown has begun for the first-ever Arab interplanetary mission to enter into the Red Planets orbit. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) said today that Hope Probe is now in its most critical stage as the spacecraft is set to capture into Mars Orbit on 9th February, 2021, at 7:42 UAE time.

The report quoted Omran Sharaf, Project Director of Emirates Mars Mission during the MBRSC's media briefing today as saying that the Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) is at the risky stage when the Hope Probe will have to slow down sufficiently to be captured into the Mars Orbit. As it approaches the Mars orbit, the spacecraft will use its thrusters to reduce its speed.

"Precision is fundamental to success to avoid, God Forbid, Hope Probe crashing on Mars or missing its orbit and getting lost in deep space," he added.

"The design, system and software that will be used for the MOI are all Emirati-made. This is in line with the directive from the UAE leadership to build and not to buy," he added.

The complex manoeuvre on 9th February will be the most critical part of the mission that will see the spacecraft rapidly reducing its speed from 121,000km/h to 18,000km/h to enter the orbit of Mars.

The report tackled in detail the journey of the Hope Probe from the launch to its arrival in the Mars orbit after travelling 493 million kilometres in a seven-month journey since its launch on 20th July, 2020, from Tanegashima Island in Japan, the probe will provide the first-ever complete picture of the Martian atmosphere.

It also mentioned that the unmanned spacecraft will explore the climactic dynamics of the Red Planet in daily and seasonal timescales for a full Martian year (687 earth days), an endeavour that has never been pursued by any previous mission.

Since its launch from Tanegashima Space Centre in southwestern Japan, on a Mitsubishi MH-IIA rocket, the Hope probe has completed the launch and early operation stages  two of the six stages of its journey. The spacecraft is approaching the end of the third and longest stage, the cruise, which saw three successful manoeuvres to keep the probe on track towards its Mars destination. On February 9, 2021, the probe will enter its fourth, and most critical stage of its journey.

The following two stages, the "transition to the Science Orbit" and the "Science Orbit" will see the probe carrying out its exploration mission to study the atmospheric dynamics and weather of the Red Planet.

Global Picture of Martian Atmosphere: Once it reaches the Mars orbit, the Hope Probe will provide the first-ever complete picture of the Martian atmosphere, monitoring weather changes throughout the day during all seasons, which has not been done by any previous mission.

The mission will provide deeper insights on the climatic dynamics of the Red Planet through observing the weather phenomena in Mars such as the massive famous dust storms that have been known to engulf the Red Planet, as compared to the short and localised dust storms on earth. It will focus on better understanding the link between weather changes in Mars lower atmosphere, with the loss of hydrogen and oxygen from the upper layers of the atmosphere. The probe, for the first time, will study the link between weather change and atmospheric loss, a process that may have caused the Red Planets surface corrosion and the loss of its upper atmosphere.

Exploring connections between todays Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet will give deeper insights into the past and future of Earth and the potential of life on Mars and other distant planets.

The report also said that the probe will gather and send back 1,000 GB of Mars data to the Science Data Centre in the UAE via different ground stations spread around the world. The data will be catalogued and analysed by the Emirates Mars Mission science team and shared for free with the international Mars science community as a service to human knowledge.

It also added that the announcement had set in motion a historic moment not just for the UAE, but the entire Arab world. It had signalled a shift in the development journey of the UAE through its entry to the global space race where the knowledge and capabilities of the UAE nationals and residents are the true wealth of the nation. The project is not only about sending a probe to Mars  it represents greater hope for the region in empowering the youth in the fields of science and technology.

The probe was 100 percent indigenously manufactured, enabling young Emirati scientists and engineers to take on a massive challenge in the new field of space. The young team was trained and prepared to take on projects in the space sector as an opportunity to build new national capabilities and build a sustainable infrastructure for space technologies in the country, in collaboration with global partners, the report said in conclusion.
The fight to prevent school reopenings in Chicago, which is the focal point of the class struggle in the United States, qualitatively deepened on Thursday evening. The Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee held a powerful meeting that gave voice to the most advanced and determined educators striving to close schools and contain the pandemic in Chicago and worldwide.

The committee meeting took place under conditions where the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) officials are continuing their secret negotiations to try to reach a deadly compromise to reopen the schools. The resumption of in-person classes in the nations third largest school district is key to the Bidens administrations plans to reopen all K-8 schools by mid-April so that the parents of school children can be sent back to work.

Teachers in Chicagos Pilsen neighborhood march against the unsafe reopening of Chicago Public Schools (Twitter/@rcoppo1)

A central theme at the committees discussion was that the only way to fight the pandemic is to expand the committee beyond CPS educators and turn to broader sections of the working class in the US and internationally. On the call were educators from throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, Georgia and other states, as well as workers from other industries, with many expressing anger over the ruling class criminal handling of the pandemic.

A Chicago elementary school teacher stated, My main concern and why I decided to participate in this meeting is that its not like anything in this bargaining dance has led to sustainable change. Ive had conversations about the 2019 strike. We did that dance for 11 days, but then not having any of our demands met. Were in that same situation now, but were bargaining for our health and our lives.

There was broad agreement among committee members that the only way to halt the spread was by closing down schools and non-essential businesses. The same teacher added, The union, I feel like theyre saying the other side is not listening. If thats the case I would rather be on the picket line. I dont think anything will change unless theres any sort of broad action.

Teachers discussed the psychological toll that school openings are taking on themselves and their students, including fear of survivors guilt in the event of the death of a classmate or teacher, as the corporate and political establishment attempts to normalize death.

In addition to reaffirming the perspective outlined in their statement published Wednesday, the committee resolved to fight for the following demands:

1) Reject any deal that reopens schools during the pandemic. We are not negotiating over lives and health. 2) Demand negotiations be opened up and live-streamed. Educators and CPS families as well as the public health of the broader community are at stake. 3) Oppose any effort to rush through an agreement. Teachers need time to read what CPS & CTU propose, without threat of discipline or intimidation. 4) Broaden the committee membership to support these calls.

While the committee met, both the CPS and CTU continued to keep Chicago residents in the dark, releasing no details whatsoever about their negotiations to reopen schools, which are clearly coming to a head. A tentative agreement is expected to be announced soon, along with an effort to ram it through over the weekend and restart schools for tens of thousands of students and educators on Monday.

At a Thursday morning press conference, Chicagos Democratic Mayor Lightfoot launched a vicious attack on teachers, stating emphatically, We are still waiting. But to be clear, not patiently, not anymore. She added, Lets get a deal done. Enough is enough, and concluded her remarks by saying, Today is the day, my patience is up.

Later on, Lightfoot bluntly stated the real purpose of the campaign to reopen schools, saying, It is important for our citys recovery to safely reopen our schools to allow our parents to return to work.

Lightfoot was followed by CPS CEO Janice Jackson, who reinforced her by falsely stating, There is a mountain of data and studies that show with the proper protocols in place, schools are safe places to be. In fact, the vast bulk of scientific studies have proven that schools are major vectors for the spread of COVID-19.

Chicagos commissioner of public health, Dr. Allison Arwady, stated pointedly that vaccination is not required for safe school reopening. In this, she was reiterating unscientific and politically-motivated claims made Wednesday by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who stated, Vaccinations of teachers is not a prerequisite for safely reopening schools.

Behind the scenes, Biden is heavily involved in the fight to reopen schools in Chicago. The new Democratic administration, which dutifully serves Wall Street, is determined to suppress the resistance of Chicago educators and the broader working class in order to set an example and curtail future struggles of workers.

The situation is highly reminiscent of the pivotal 1981 strike by 13,000 Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) workers, which was isolated by the unions and brutally suppressed through mass firings by then-President Ronald Reagan. For now, Bidens PATCO moment is being implemented through his surrogate Lightfoot, who is ruthlessly driving the campaign to reopen Chicago schools. While currently relying on the CTU to suppress opposition, the Democrats are holding in reserve more repressive measures, including punitive fines and the threat of mass firings if teachers defy their back-to-work order.

The ruling class is acutely aware of the significance of reopening schools in Chicago. If they are successful, this will pave the way for similar reopenings everywhere, enabling them to compel parents back to unsafe workplaces and ensuring the greatest possible flow of profits. If Chicago educators strike to prevent the deadly opening of schools, their militant action would quickly encourage similar walkouts across district and state lines and to other industries, creating the conditions for a general strike to close schools and nonessential workplaces everywhere.

The hostility to educatorswho speak for far broader layers of workers everywhere who strive to contain the pandemicwas expressed in the most brutish manner Thursday by former New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg. In an interview with MSNBC, Bloomberg urged Biden to stand up to teachers and tell them to suck it up and return to schools.

The CTU is seeking to wear down the resistance of rank-and-file teachers, prevent a strike, and reach a rotten deal that will allow schools to reopen. Just as took place with the suppression of the PATCO strike 40 years ago, the CTU is doing everything it can to isolate its members and prevent any broader struggle of all workers against unsafe conditions.

According to Second City Teachers, at a CTU House of Delegates meeting Wednesday, CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said she cant really call anything gained [during negotiations] a win. Instead, she will call them results. Following Gates, CTU President Jesse Sharkey said there are difficulties in holding a strike now. The weather is a factor plus we would have a hard time in determining who is a scab if they work on-line. Also, some parents are threatening to sue the CTU.

Following the internal union meeting, reports have emerged that some CTU delegates are using these talking points and telling members that a strike would be fruitless because right-wing parents groups might file lawsuits against the union.

One such parents organization, the Chicago Parents Collective, was formed in late January to demand that schools reopen. It is composed of upper middle-class entrepreneurs, small business people and academics. WBEZ reported that more than 100 of the 500 parents have students at just a single school in the affluent north side neighborhood of Lakeview.

The right-wing non-profit Liberty Justice Center has pledged to sue the CTU if there is a strike. The centers Daniel Suhr, of Thiensville, a northern suburb of Milwaukee, told Fox News on Monday, If the district says This is what we expect of our employees and the union refuses to do it, thats a strike and we will sue We are ready to pull the trigger on behalf of parents.

In the effort to serve the interests of big business, the Democratic leaders in Chicago and nationally are pursuing the same goal as the fascist elements the Trump administration mobilized in anti-lockdown protests throughout 2020, culminating in the coup attempt of January 6.

Rather than combat all these reactionary forces through the broadest unity of the working class, the CTU aims to intimidate its members to accept being sent back to unsafe schools.

Among Chicago educators and other workers, there is growing awareness of the connections between the pandemic and the promotion of far-right forces, as well as mounting opposition to the Democratic Party, which is now spearheading the reopening drive and the pursuit of herd immunity.

Over the past month, two irreconcilably opposed tendencies have developed. Teachers and the working class are fighting for science and the preservation of life. The capitalist class and all of its political representatives stand for mass death and the subordination of human life to corporate profit.

This situation is radicalizing tens of millions of workers and young people. To broaden their struggles as widely as possible, educators and all workers must form rank-and-file committees in every school, workplace and neighborhood, independently of the unions and the big business parties. These committees will be the center of opposition to the inevitable betrayals by the unions, and will fight for what workers need not what the pandemic profiteers claim they can afford.

The Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee is part of a growing network of such committees across the US and internationally, which are reaching out to workers in every industry to prepare a nationwide political general strikes to close all schools and nonessential workplaces and guarantee full income to workers and small businesses. We urge educators, parents, students and all workers to join and help build these committees today.
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OTTAWA  The federal government says it wont be bound by child-welfare funding obligations for reserves that assert their autonomy over foster care. Ottawa is instead asking First Nations to trust they will get enough cash.

OTTAWA  The federal government says it wont be bound by child-welfare funding obligations for reserves that assert their autonomy over foster care. Ottawa is instead asking First Nations to trust they will get enough cash.

The stance could imperil moves by Manitoba chiefs to form their own child and family services systems.

Its the latest development in a legal battle dating to 2007. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled in 2016 Ottawa had been racist in its underfunding of CFS on reserves, compared with spending for other Canadian children.

The tribunal has issued multiple orders, compelling Ottawa to provide adequate funding and social services to First Nations children. The case spurred legislation that took effect in January 2020 to allow First Nations to take over foster care, known as Bill C-92.

A year later, officials at Indigenous Services Canada say reserves that assert their autonomy will not be guaranteed the CFS funding arrangements compelled by the tribunal.

"Since (Bill C-92) falls outside of the scope of the CHRT orders, the CHRT orders will not apply to a First Nation that has assumed jurisdiction," reads a Jan. 29 email to Cindy Blackstock, an advocate leading the tribunal case.

In 2019, advocates testified to Parliament that Bill C-92 would not be effective if it did not promise specific funding formulas, though Ottawa insisted it was better to negotiate these with First Nations as they gain jurisdiction.

Manitoba senators nearly kiboshed the legislation over concerns it did not respond to the needs of First Nations and Metis in the province.

ISC Minister Marc Miller said that the whole idea of devolution is to ensure Indigenous leaders have the resources to look after children in care. He said the funding compelled by the tribunal is just the starting point.

"Financial supports are part and parcel of those discussions," Miller said Thursday, in response to questions from the Free Press.

Miller said the tribunal orders "have been framed around fixing a problem that shouldn't have occurred in the first place."

Valerie Gideon, a senior executive for ISC, added the government wants to move away from a system that has Ottawa reimbursing expenses bands have incurred, and instead let them set sustainable, long-term budgets and priorities.

Manitoba southern Grand Chief Jerry Daniels was skeptical, given the tribunal has ordered the Trudeau government multiple times to respect its rulings.

"Were definitely not convinced; weve waited long enough here," said Daniels, who leads the Southern Chiefs' Organization.

He was also concerned Bill C-92 is creating confusion.

The SCO has been years into a process of restructuring the CFS system it runs alongside the provincial government, while individual bands are now seeking autonomy.

Daniels feared this will mean more taxpayer dollars going to lawyers and consultants, instead of vulnerable children.

"Theyve really opened up a can of worms with this," he said.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Streets great inflation trade is losing steam, judging by a slew of cross-asset signals and where all the investing billions are actually going.With reflation strategies again playing second-fiddle to the crypto volatility and meme stock mania, stable Treasury yields helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average by the most in seven weeks.Debt gauges of inflation retreated from multi-year highs, while the S&P 500 largely sat still to give the benchmark the smallest monthly move since January 2020. Even the value strategy finally stalled, after notching some of the biggest gains since the financial crisis earlier this year.Given the reopening euphoria, a cool-down is to be expected. And recent days still delivered ammo to the price-growth camp: Jobless claims delivered surprises again, while two Federal Reserve officials signaled the U.S. economic expansion may warrant a taper discussion soon enough.All that suggests the reflation rally may yet power ahead if the business cycle booms anew and renews investor conviction. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for one, estimates money-manager positioning in inflation-sensitive assets including commodities is still below post-2008 peaks.Investor expectations had caught up with the better economic data, said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services. Thats more of a pause to us instead of a trend change.As lockdowns get lifted and trillions in stimulus heats up the American economy, the biggest question in markets is whether prices are on the cusp of breaking out of their decades-long doldrums. For many, bets on bonds still make sense right now when the Fed has the markets back and the data remains uncertain. Meanwhile Chinese policy moves of late are undercutting bullish wagers on commodities.On all this, the world of exchange-traded funds is sending mixed signals: Inflation-linked bonds took in $3 billion in May even as nominal government debt and corporate securities kept drawing new money, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.Market-derived expectations of price growth are sending a clearer message as the two-year breakeven gauge further outpaced five- and 10-year levels this month -- bucking the norm.Fixed income investors have emphatically concluded that it will be transitory, Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at Reynolds Strategy LLC, wrote in a note, referring to inflation.Stocks have been taking their cue from the lack of inflation drama in the bond market of late. A long-short value strategy -- which tends to bet on more cyclical companies and benefits from higher rates -- dropped this week by the most since the middle of April.Systematic styles in quality and low-volatility names also picked up. Its a sign defensive investors are seeking visible growth in earnings rather than bidding up companies acutely linked to the economic expansion, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.Hedge funds are also in wait-and-see mode. Clients at JPMorgans prime brokerage are adding exposures to both cyclical and growth shares -- suggesting reluctance to bet on one side of the inflation debate.Yet with commodity and wage pressures, theres a growing chance the Fed will tighten monetary policy sooner than expected, according to Sushil Wadhwani, chief investment officer at QMAW, a PGIM unit. As long as financial conditions stay loose, it makes sense to go long commodities and stocks while betting on a steepening yield curve, according to the London-based systematic investor.Macroeconomic policy especially in the U.S. is incredibly expansionary by historical standards, Wadhwani said. Im increasingly concerned that 2022 inflation will not go back as low as they say.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Patna, Feb 5 : Facing criticism over frequent liquor smuggling in Bihar, the state government has come up with a more stringent plan to curb the menace. As part of this plan, the Bihar government will take over and auction properties used for liquor storage in Bihar.

Sanjay Kumar Agrawal, the divisional commissioner of Patna directed District Magistrates (DM), Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), Superintendents of Police (SP) and Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) to act on the directive.

"If the police or excise department seize liquor from a house or godown, the police and civil authority of respective districts are entitled to take over those properties, cancel registry followed by a fresh auction," Agrawal said. He added that the idea is to strongly penalise illegal traders and mafia involved in liquor smuggling, storage and sale.

During an analysis meeting of top officials, Agrawal also directed them to speed up auction of vehicles seized during liquor smuggling in Bihar. "We have asked officials concerned of police, excise, liquor prohibition department and civil department to intensify vehicle checking, surprise raids on suspected houses or godowns and regularly in a bid to implement liquor prohibition laws in state. The top officials have been also asked to do surprise inspections of police stations, police posts and patrolling vehicles to make them efficient and accountable," he said.

Based on results, this policy will be also implemented in other divisions.

Bihar is one of the states in the country that had implemented a liquor ban in 2016 but its smuggling from other states has continued. Liquor made in Haryana as the most popular in Bihar with the prohibition department, excise department and local police seizing it on a large scale.

On Thursday, the liquor prohibition department arrested a person named Ajit Kumar from Sonepat in Haryana. The Gopalganj district police recently recovered a huge cache of liquor. During investigation, name of Ajit Kumar came up. Kumar is one of the prominent Level 1 contractors in Sonepat who allegedly supplied liquor to Bihar worth billions.

"Following the name of Ajit Kumar cropping up during the investigation, we arrested him from Sonepat on Thursday. The accused is a very influential person who even has an armed bodyguard from Haryana police," said an official of the liquor prohibition department.

Besides Haryana, the Seemanchal area connected with West Bengal is another popular route to smuggle liquor into Bihar.

One such incident appeared on February 1 when a Mahindra Bolero SUV mowed down two home guard personnel deployed at the police check post located at Dalkola area under Baryasi police station in Purnea district.

One of the personnel, Ganesh Paswan, died on the spot and another, Vidyanand Kumar was critically injured in the incident.

"During the mishap, the Bolero also collided with with a road divider. Following that the occupants left the vehicle and fled. During a search, the Purnea police recovered 182 litres of Indian Made Foreign liquor (IMFL) made in West Bengal from the SUV," said Maharana Pratap Singh, home guard unit inspector of the Purnea range.

As per data, the liquor prohibition department seized 28,91,730 litres of liquor including 20,32,667 IMFL and 8,59,063 litres of country-made liquor between January 1 and November 30, 2020.
A girl helps her mother collect a saliva sample in a test tube at a COVID-19 testing center at the Philippine Red Cross headquarters in Mandaluyong City, Feb. 4, 2021.

A COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S. and German pharmaceutical companies is expected to arrive in the Philippines in the middle of this month, the government announced Friday.

Officials noted that health workers and front-liners would be prioritized to receive shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which in January became the first COVID-19 vaccine cleared for emergency use in the Philippine by the countrys drug regulators.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque would not give a specific date for arrival, saying the first batch would be 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be available mid-February.

Preparations have been ongoing to ensure smooth and efficient vaccine distribution once the vaccines are delivered, said Duque, who visited a cold-storage facility in Manila as part of the governments preparations.

An estimated 5 million to 9 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish firm, were expected by the second quarter of this year from the COVAX facility, he said, referring to the World Health Organization-backed global initiative to ensure rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries.

Frontline health workers, followed by people age 63 or older and those with co-morbidities will be the first to be vaccinated, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

Next on the priority list are workers in essential sectors, the poor, teachers and overseas Filipino workers while the rest of the population would follow, he said.

The announcement came on the same day that the death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 11,000 in the Philippines. In addition, the health department recorded 1,894 infections, bringing the total to 533,587.

Globally, more than 105 million COVID-19 infections and more than 2.2 million deaths have been recorded, according to health experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Vaccine delay

Earlier this week, President Rodrigo Duterte defended officials from criticism that the nation had been slow to prioritize procurement of vaccines. He said the Philippines was not a wealthy nation compared to the United States European Union.

You know this problem of COVID is really not that easy, Duterte said, noting that the nation was in a fight where vaccines were going to the highest bidder.

Duterte and government officials initially pushed for Chinese-made vaccines. The president went so far as to vouch for their safety even as trials had not been completed.

Critics, meanwhile, have pointed out that other Asian nations  including Bangladesh and Indonesia  have begun their vaccination programs.

On Friday, Duque expressed concern that the first expected batch of vaccines was small.

While wastage is inevitable, it should be kept as minimal as possible especially for COVID-19 vaccines because we know that every dose of vaccine is important, he said.
 Flash

The Chinese government has donated 50,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Iraq, the Chinese embassy in Baghdad said on Thursday.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Chinese embassy said that the friendly step by the Chinese government came to "help Iraq overcome the COVID-19 pandemic as soon as possible."

"The Chinese side maintains close communication with the Iraqi side over the delivery of the vaccines," the statement said.

It also recalled the cooperation between China and Iraq to confront the pandemic in 2020, as both sides "exerted their utmost efforts to overcome difficulties together."

Iraq expressed condolences and sent support to China in various ways after the outbreak of the pandemic in China. Then, China sent in early March 2020 a team of experts to help Iraq improve its national plan to control the pandemic and share experience and ideas, the statement said.

China also helped build a PCR lab and install a CT scanner in Baghdad, in addition to donating about 50,000 COVID-19 test kits, 1.4 million masks, protective clothing, and other pandemic protective materials as humanitarian aid, according to the statement.

Moreover, the Chinese companies in Iraq "donated large quantities of medical supplies to institutions and communities in Iraq, and a few days ago, the Chinese government delivered 56 ambulances, 200 generators, and other humanitarian aid items to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior," it added.

The statement came about two weeks after the Iraqi Ministry of Health announced that the Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs had approved the emergency use of China's Sinopharm vaccine, along with the approval of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, to contain the spread of the COVID-19 in the country.
The year 2020 was a historically challenging and, for many people, devastating period where families and households coped with the loss of jobs, income, in some instances their homes, and in the worst cases the lives of loved ones. But together  as communities, as a Commonwealth and as nation  we did not lose hope. The Salvation Army Massachusetts Division is grateful for the support, compassion, volunteerism and financial assistance that the Springfield and Western Massachusetts community helped provide to those most in need during the past year.

Raising funds through The Salvation Armys traditional Red Kettle campaign was especially difficult, and in some areas impossible during the 2020 holiday season. But people in this and other communities responded to our Rescue Christmas and Toy for Joy initiative, as we found creative alternatives for raising funds between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day that will support our programming during the entire year.

People responded. Across Massachusetts, we were able to serve more than 14.5 million meals to our neighbors in need, provide shelter, utility, and other emergency assistance to individuals and families, and make sure that thousands of children had a real Christmas with gifts, decorations and a traditional holiday meal. Statewide, The Salvation Army saw requests for assistance increase by more than 150% this year and thanks to support from our communitieswe have been able to meet those needs.

But the great need is with us all year round. And, so we ask that you keep those in mind who may still need help as we begin 2021 with renewed hope and optimism. Whether you need support or want support, The Salvation Army is still here serving. Thank you.

Major Marcus Jugenheimer

General Secretary, The Salvation Army Massachusetts Division
Health official: 'I am hopeful for the brighter days ahead'
SHEPHERD, MI  An Isabella County mother is facing several criminal charges for allegedly choking her 2-month-old son.

About 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, Michigan State Police troopers responded to the 10000 block of South Mission Road in Shepherd for a report of a woman having a cord wrapped around her infant sons neck. MSP Special 1st Lt. Michelle Robinson could not say who had initially called 911.

The child was taken to an area hospital and was later released, police said. Robinson could not say into whose custody the child was released.

Troopers investigation led them to developing enough probable cause for authorities to issue a warrant for the mothers arrest. Troopers arrested the woman, identified as 21-year-old Skyler A. Warner, on Feb. 4 and the next day she appeared in Isabella County District Court for arraignment on three counts of second-degree child abuse and single counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder including strangulation and domestic violence.

Troopers were assisted by the Central Michigan University Police Department, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, MMR Ambulance, and Mid-Michigan Medical Center.

The investigation is ongoing and police could not release additional details.

Read more:

Saginaw County Commission on Aging employee charged with embezzling from vulnerable adult

Jeep Babes to lead caravan in support of Bay City girl, 9, whose parents, baby brother recently died

Michigan man accused of trying to kill police is former cop, championed 2nd Amendment sanctuary cities

Prison Fellowship to reach more prisoners than ever before with online Easter service

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Notable inmate ministry Prison Fellowship will be showing their annual Easter Hope event online in at least 20 states, making it available to more inmates than ever before.

Every year since the early days of Prison Fellowship, the late Chuck Colson, the organization's founder, held an Easter celebration event at prisons in one of the 50 states.

But due to coronavirus concerns and state lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus, Prison Fellowship had to cancel their in-person Easter Hope event, scheduled to take place in Georgia.

In response to the shutdown, the ministry produced an Easter celebration video featuring music, personal testimonies, and an altar call that will air in prisons across the nation.

James Ackerman, president of Prison Fellowship, told The Christian Post that unlike past years, when they focused on one state, Easter 2020 will have a broader reach in states ranging from California to Georgia.

It is amazing to me that the doors the Lord is opening for Prison Fellowship at a time when the gates of the prisons are closed, said Ackerman.

We want people to see that everyone has value in Gods eyes and even if you find yourself in a place like prison, even today, this weekend, Easter Sunday can be a point of new beginning for you when you step into a new beginning and step into the purpose and plan that God has always had for your life.

Ackerman also told CP that his ministry is open to continuing to do online Easter Hope events each year, in conjunction with an expected return to in-person events focused on a given state.

The means through which this was being handled was a video portal platform that Prison Fellowship launched earlier this month called Floodlight.

It provides all kinds of inspirational videos about people who have been transformed through Jesus and stepped into healthy new beginnings and are living successfully outside of prison now. It has content to celebrate recovery, he continued.

Floodlight is a really, really innovative approach that, again, the Lord has opened a door for us to be able to take content, teaching content, ministry content, inspirational content, and provide it to men and women in prison.

Ackerman gave the example of California, which is one of the states that has signed up for the recently launched Floodlight platform.

In California, all but four of Californias prisons have an internal television network. California is now able to distribute all of this content through their internal network to almost all of their prisons, explained Ackerman. And that happened only this last week.

Due to efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, large numbers of churches have had to cancel in-person worship services and offer online alternatives.

According to a study by the Barna Group, 58 percent of surveyed pastors said they plan to hold a digital service for Easter, either via livestream or a prerecorded message sent out to congregants.
Photo: Contributed

The COVID-19 global pandemic has forced changes across the world.

According to Statistics Canada, 4.7 million Canadians who don't normally work from home started to in response to the pandemic, based on a survey conducted the week of March 22, 2020.

The question now is of those who work from home, how many will be celebrating Working Naked Day on Friday.

One of my work colleagues, who shall remain nameless (I'm talking about you Kirk), who had been working from home for months, told me after returning to work this week, "this is the first time in weeks I've worn pants."

Now people could actually opt to wear nothing on February 5.

If you did work from home, you could, in theory, work naked and who would know?

Working Naked Day was founded by Lisa Kanarek, who came up with the idea 20 years ago.

The concept is to celebrate the freedom and flexibility that working from home allows for. Kanarek also says it's not just about clothing but also the feeling of being on your own when you don't have the support of the office team just steps away.

"For some, the thought of working from home leaves them feeling naked. No boss or coworkers to help if something goes awry. Sure, you might be able to track them down over the phone, but sometimes just knowing they are a few steps away can help," Kanarek says.

Castanet reached out to the Okanagan Naturist club, but they along with VanTan, a family-friendly naturist club in Vancouver, declined to comment on Working Naked Day.
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In 2010, a company called Hanson Robotics spent more than a hundred hours interviewing a woman named Bina. They collected memories of her childhood, noted her emotional reactions and mannerisms, uploaded the data into a mechanical bust that looked like the real Bina, and then programmed the robot to answer questions in real time. Robot Bina now resides in a research lab. Real-life Binas partner said the venture was a shot at immortality.

Recently, Hanson Robotics announced plans to release thousands of what theyre calling Sophia robots. Sophia is a social robot that can perform rudimentary medical tasks, like taking a persons temperature, but can also make facial expressions and utter a few phrases. According to company CEO David Hanson, Sophia is programmed to offer human warmth and is being released this year especially in order to help elderly people who are living in isolation due to the pandemic.

Back in 1984, in her provocative book The Second Self, MIT professor Sherry Turkle made a prophesy of sorts. It was an expectation that seems obvious today but was pretty bold at the time. She predicted that computers would become more than just tools of mathematical calculation and increasingly become places where we live our lives. A decade or so later, in a book entitled Life on the Screen, Turkle predicted that wed soon move beyond merely living some of our lives on the internet to creating entirely new, different, and multiple lives on the internet. So far, Turkle is two for two.

Turkles third book, titled Alone Together, wasnt written until 2011. In it, she made another prediction. She believed that a culture so accustomed to digital life and so bad at human relationships would not be able to resist replacing those relationships with artificial intelligence. Again, Turkle got it right. The difference between this book and her previous two was that Turkles optimism about where technology was taking us was gone.

Sophia the Robot is Turkles prediction plugged in and turned on, with an important clarification: Hanson Robotics didnt make Sophia just because they could. Theyre capitalizing on something in our culture that needs to be recognized. Were failing each other.

In Alone Together, Turkle predicted that a culture obsessed with convenience would grow increasingly averse to the inconvenience of love. The rise in family estrangement during 2020 is just one piece of supporting evidence. Why bear with people when a robot that looks like a person can give us everything we think we want without all the neediness? A booming market for human-like artificial intelligence isnt just a sign that were expecting too much from robots. As Turkle says in her subtitle, were also expecting too little from each other. Maybe thats because were giving too little to each other.

Also priming the global marketplace for companion robots are almost universally low birth rates. Japans plummeting birth rate means an increasing number of citizens have no extended family or even siblings. Chuck Colson talked about this all the way back in 2005, when a Japanese company began selling lifelike baby dolls to the lonely elderly. A childless society, Colson said, learns too late that its created a void no toy can fill. Neither can Sophia the robot.

Theres also a deeper moral problem with these humanoid robots. The sexual revolution separated body from soul, pretending to elevate the body but actually degrading bodies into mere objects to be used for pleasure. Christians also sometimes make a similar mistake when they treat the body as an obstacle to a truly spiritual life.

An honest reading of the Bible, however, reveals Christianity to be what author Christopher West calls an en-fleshed faith. As he says in his book Our Bodies Tell Gods Story, God created His image-bearers with bodies and souls. To try to separate the two is to reject His design.

To replace a real human-to-human relationship with an artificially intelligent robot is also to separate body and soul. Except, instead of looking for bodies without souls, were looking for souls without bodies.

No collection of charming phrases, human-like movements, injected life memories, or empathetic facial expressions will be an image-bearer. Interactions with Sophia robots may be interesting or even impressive. Sophia 2.0 and 3.0 may be even more life-like in different ways. We might find a human facsimile that never ages, is never demanding, and always there when we need it quite convenient. However, more convenient isnt the same as better.

The greatest commandments, to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves, are almost so familiar theyre boring. But, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. In the land of humanoid robots, someone who knows how to actually love another can change everything.

Originally posted at breakpoint.org
Sinn Fein will be required to give details of their political spending in Northern Ireland to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) following a new ruling by the watchdog.

Sipo is to issue new guidelines requiring parties with political operations on both sides of the border to provide financial reports on their activities in the North and the South.

The public spending watchdogs new rules were revealed in a report presented to the Seanad on the 4m donation Sinn Fein received from reclusive English millionaire William Hampton.

The report said Sipo notes differences in how parties with operations in the North and South submitted financial statement While some may elect to show their accounts for the entire organisation, north and south, others have chosen to only submit statements of account for their operations in the Republic.

Sipo said it is their view that in order for parties to adhere fully to financial reporting rules they should submit comprehensive and consolidated statements of account which reflect the full operation of the party.

The Commission intends to modify its guidelines to clarify this expectation, and will submit modified guidance to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in the New Year for approval. The current guidelines will continue to apply until such time as revised guidelines are approved, they added.

Sipo also clarified that a donation in kind still counts as a political donation under their rules. The matters referred to by the Seanad in its query, such as the conduct of research, provision of social media services or employment of staff funded in the north and employed in this jurisdiction, could potentially fall within the definition of donation.

The report was sparked by motion tabled by Fine Gael Senator Barry Ward asking that Sipo investigate the donation bequeathed to Sinn Fein in Mr Hamptons will. Mr Ward raised concerns about Sinn Fein using the 4m donation to fund political activities in the South through its offices in the North.

Im delighted Sipo recognised that Sinn Fein should make a clear statement on what their finances are and how the are spending it in both jurisdictions, Mr Ward said. However, I still have significant questions about the 4m donation left to the party, he added.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said: "Sinn Fein provides audited financial statements annually to both SIPO in the south and to the Electoral Commission in the north. We will be happy to provide a consolidated version of these to SIPO when their guidelines are updated."
Patna:

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should undergo an 'agnipariksha' (trial by fire) by acting against his deputy, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, for his alleged involvement in a corruption case, Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said on Saturday.

Kumar, who had earlier accepted the resignation letters of four of his ministers for their "involvement" in corruption cases, should now take the same step against his deputy, he told reporters here.

"This is the chief minister's agnipariksha", added Modi. The CBI on Friday conducted raids in four cities in connection with a corruption case, in which RJD chief Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi are among the accused.

"Nitish Kumar had once said he would not allow a tainted minister in his cabinet and accepted the resignations of Jitan Ram Manjhi, Awadhesh Kushwaha, Ramanand Singh and Ramadhar Singh for their alleged involvement in criminal cases", said the BJP leader.

Read more: I was not invited in GST launch, where is question of skipping: Nitish

He claimed that the central probe agency lodging an FIR in a corruption case against the deputy chief minister and conducting raids at his residence reflected a "negative image" of Bihar and added that Kumar should now act against Tejashwi.

"I am waiting for the chief minister's action in this case as he and his party have maintained a silence over the issue for three months now. This is the same chief minister who has constantly been asserting his government's zero tolerance policy towards corruption", said Modi.

Within hours of taking oath as chief minister in November 2005, Kumar had made Manjhi resign due to an old vigilance case pending against him, the BJP leader added.

Ramanand Singh put in his papers in 2008 because of another vigilance case, Ramadhar Singh quit in 2011 due to a case pending against him over the Ram Janmabhoomi issue, whereas Kushwaha resigned after he was purportedly seen taking money in a sting operation during the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls, he said.

Read more: JDU, RJD, Congress engage in war of taunts before anti-BJP rally

The case against Lalu, Rabri and Tejashwi is related to alleged manipulation in awarding a contract for the maintenance of two hotels run by the IRCTC when the RJD chief was the railway minister in the then UPA government.

Modi, the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, asked Prasad to come up with a reply to the charges against him and his family members, instead of repeating the "oft-quoted one-liner -- political vendetta".

To a question, he said, "I do not need any security. I am at god's mercy."

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Highlights BSNL has revised its Rs 18 voucher that gives 1GB daily data and unlimited calls and 100 SMS.

It will also give 100 free SMS to any network with the revised benefits of the voucher.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State in Lok Sabha said that the government has no plans to shut down BSNL and MTNL.

Government-owned telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has revised its Rs 18 prepaid voucher. The telco will now offer 1GB of data to users who purchase the Rs 18 voucher. It will also come with unlimited calling as well as 100 free SMS to any network. After 1GB is consumed, the users will get a reduced speed of 80Kbps. There is no FUP limit on the calls and users can make unlimited calls with the voucher.

Customers can get BSNL STV 18 either from retail stores and can also recharge online and can make payments through BSNL Payment Portal, My BSNL App, or any other online payment app. BSNL customers can also activate the plan via SMS or USSD shortcode. Private telcos Jio and Vi also offer data vouchers starting at Rs 11 and Rs 16.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Telecom Sanjay Dhotre told Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the government has no plans to shutdown BSNL or MTNL. "The government has no plan to close down BSNL and MTNL," Dhotre said in a written reply. The government had announced a revival package of around Rs 69,000 crore in October 2019.

The revival plan includes a reduction in employee costs through a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for the employees of age 50 years and above, administrative allotment of spectrum for 4G services with funding through budgetary allocation and debt restructuring by raising of sovereign guarantee bonds, news agency PTI reported.

BSNL, last month, started providing 4G service in Bilaspur and Korba cities of Chhattisgarh and is likely to expand the services. BSNL started operating the mobile network of MTNL as its outsourced agency from January 1, 2020, DoT in a letter had noted. However, a six-member Group of Ministers (GoM), in a meeting, recently stated that the merger of BSNL and MTNL is not feasible or beneficial for any party. The government is yet to take a final call on the matter.
Mumbai: After winning hearts in with Raat Akeli Hai and Serious Men, Nawazuddin has begun 2021 with various interesting projects. Nawazuddin recently flew to London for the shoot of his next title, Sangeen. An actor par excellence, he has always aced all his performances.

Helmed by Jaideep Chopra, Sangeen is a thriller starring Nawazuddin along with Elnaaz Norouzi. Being aware of the tough conditions in London, Nawazuddin posted a photo on his social media profile stating that the show must go on when he embarked on his journey.

He also shared how different the shooting experience in London has been for him all this while. The actor is in a sort of a bio-bubble where he leaves the Hotel for the shoot and returns to the room straight after wrapping the days schedule.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui mentioned, This is the first time that I am shooting in London and I cannot visit the different places around this beautiful city. I understand the present situation and the conditions that we are shooting in and am adhering to all the necessary norms and respect everyone who is fighting hard against this pandemic. The entire unit is working very hard and we hope to wrap up the schedule in time.

He already has three movies in the pipeline, apart from Sangeen i.e, Kushan Nandys romantic comedy- Jogira Sa Ra Ra, Mostofa Sarwar Farookis drama flick No Land's Man and Sejal Shahs untitled movie. We cant wait to see Nawaz create magic once again for all his fans!
Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram looks at his glass sculpture of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (Andrew Matthews/PA)

An artist has created a glass sculpture of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to mark 10 million vaccinations given in the UK.

Luke Jerram created the artwork, which measures 34cm across and is one million times larger than the actual nanoparticle.

The piece is created from borosilicate glass and made from the same materials and techniques used in medical scientific glassware for test tubes and distilleries.

Five limited editions of the artwork are being made, with all profits from their sale going to the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres to help communities heavily affected by the pandemic.

Mr Jerram, who has a studio in Bristol, previously created a glass sculpture of Covid-19 in March.

Expand Close Jerram created the sculpture to mark the ten millionth vaccination in the UK (Andrew Matthews/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jerram created the sculpture to mark the ten millionth vaccination in the UK (Andrew Matthews/PA)

He tested positive for the virus in November and is still feeling its effects.

When I created a sculpture of Covid-19 back in March, little did I know Id later be among those to contract the virus, Mr Jerram said.

Its an awful disease and two months on, my sense of smell is shot, I have tinnitus and still feel tired at times.

Expand Close A glass sculpture of the coronavirus (Covid-19) by Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram (Ben Birchall/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A glass sculpture of the coronavirus (Covid-19) by Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram (Ben Birchall/PA)

During my recovery, it became clear to me that my next artwork should focus on the vaccine, our way out of this global crisis, as a tribute to the scientists and medical teams who have been working collaboratively across the world to fight the virus.

Its brilliant that such effective vaccines have been created in such a short space of time and that here in the UK weve been able to role them out so quickly.

However, the fight against the disease is a global one, which is why I wanted to support Medecins Sans Frontieres, through the sale of these sculptures.

The model of the vaccine is the latest in Mr Jerrams Glass Microbiology series of virus sculptures, and was one of the most complicated to make.

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Mr Jerram spent a month completing the piece with his team at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland.

He raised more than 17,500 following the sale of coronavirus sculptures last year. Photographs of the artwork have also been used by academics and journalists around the world for science communication.

The Glass Microbiology sculptures are in museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, the Wellcome Collection in London and the Museum of Glass, Shanghai.

They have featured in The Lancet, Scientific American, British Medical Journal (BMJ) and on the front cover of Nature Magazine.

Enrollment numbers at Oregon public schools have tumbled to their lowest point in over a decade, as the coronavirus pandemic forced students out of classrooms and into at-home learning.

The Oregon Department of Educations latest Fall Membership Report, released Thursday, shows an enrollment total of 560,917 students across the state, a 3.7% decline from the 2019-2020 academic year.

This school years total is the lowest since at least 2009-2010, according to data on the departments website. Enrollment had been increasing incrementally for most of the last decade, and the last time it declined was in the 2012-2013 school year.

State education officials say the pandemic is to blame, forcing schools to shut down for the year as students shifted to the departments at-home Comprehensive Distance Learning model. More than a quarter of the decline came from kindergarten enrollment, the department said, with more than 6,000 fewer kindergarten students than the previous school year.

The Oregon Department of Education is committed to returning our students to in-person instruction as soon as this can be done safely, officials said in an announcement Thursday. We anticipate enrollment will rebound once students resume in-person learning.

Oregon funds schools mostly on a per-student basis, so districts that lost students may worry about losing state money. They will be largely insulated from losses this school year, however, as Oregon funds districts on the previous or current enrollment, whichever is more favorable for the district.

It was not immediately clear the extent to which the drop reflected a switch to homeschooling, an increase in private school enrollment or students dropping out of education altogether.

--Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB
Fujitsu 5G radio units incorporate Xilinx UltraScale+ technology for O-RAN macro site and greenfield networks

Xilinx, Inc., (NASDAQ: XLNX), the leader in adaptive computing, today announced that the company is supplying its leading UltraScale+ technology to Fujitsu Limited for its O-RAN 5G radio units (O-RUs). Fujitsu O-RUs using Xilinx technology will be deployed in the first O-RAN-compliant 5G greenfield networks in the U.S. Fujitsu is also evaluating Xilinx RFSoC technology to further reduce cost and power consumption for additional future site deployments.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204005131/en/

Xilinx UltraScale+ technology is found inside Fujitsu's O-RAN 5G radio units, which are being deployed in the first O-RAN-compliant greenfield networks in the US. (Photo: Business Wire)

Fujitsu O-RUs are ideal for a broad-range of spectrum and multi-band applications for 5G O-RAN networks. The Xilinx UltraScale+ devices used within Fujitsu O-RUs deliver the best balance of cost economies as well as the adaptability and scalability required for the evolving needs of 5G O-RAN network requirements. Additionally, Xilinx will continue to work with other O-RAN ecosystem partners to ensure continued validation of the hardware and software necessary for world-class 5G networks.

"We are proud to collaborate with Fujitsu in the development of their multi-generation 5G radio units using our industry-leading UltraScale+ solutions, which will be deployed in a major greenfield 5G network," said Liam Madden, executive vice president and general manager, Wired and Wireless Group at Xilinx. "As the market needs for 5G continue to evolve, Fujitsu also recognized the importance of integrating Xilinx adaptable RFSoCs to address the evolution of standards for next-generation radio deployments."

"Our Fujitsu design team worked closely with Xilinx on our O-RAN radio units to enable greater flexibility and cost savings while also delivering greater innovation as well as new capabilities for 5G networks," said Masaki Taniguchi, senior vice president and head of the Mobile System Business Unit at Fujitsu. "Together, Xilinxs UltraScale+ portfolio of solutions with Fujitsus leading radio platforms deliver a solid foundation for enabling the great benefits of O-RAN that are central to 5G deployments. We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts with Xilinx to integrate its RFSoC family into our next-generation solutions."

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The first greenfield 5G O-RAN systems will be deployed this year. For more information about Xilinxs wireless 5G O-RAN solutions, visit: https://www.xilinx.com/applications/wired-wireless/wireless.html

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About Xilinx

Xilinx, Inc. develops highly flexible and adaptive processing platforms that enable rapid innovation across a variety of technologies - from the cloud, to the edge, to the endpoint. Xilinx is the inventor of the FPGA and Adaptive SoCs (including our Adaptive Compute Acceleration Platform, or ACAP), designed to deliver the most dynamic computing technology in the industry. We collaborate with our customers to create scalable, differentiated and intelligent solutions that enable the adaptable, intelligent and connected world of the future. For more information, visit xilinx.com.

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 Copyright 2021 Xilinx, Inc. Xilinx, the Xilinx logo and other designated brands included herein are trademarks of Xilinx in the United States and other countries.

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Irvines New Equity Resolution Sparks Concerns About Constitutionality

The City Council of Irvine, California, has unanimously approved a resolution to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in city hiring practices, a policy that opponents say is unconstitutional and might lead to quota-based mandates.

The council voted 5-0 to approve the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) resolution on Jan. 26. The measure calls for the formation of a DEI ad hoc committee to gather information on the hiring practices of the city and its vendors.

Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan says the resolution doesnt violate the states constitutional ban on preferential treatment, as some opponents claim.

Were not implementing quotas or taking anything away from community members, Khan told The Epoch Times on Feb. 2. [The resolution] really is about providing more opportunities for those that maybe normally wouldnt apply to government entities when it comes to looking for jobs, finding careers, filing applications for contracts, and just giving them that opportunity, making sure that we are making it as accessible to everyone.

Two days after the resolution passed, a watchdog group called Californians for Equal Rights (CFER) sent a letter to the council, pointing out that the resolution potentially transgresses the states constitutional ban on preferential treatment. The letter noted that in the Nov. 3 election, more than 9.6 million Californians, or 57 percent, voted to reject Proposition 16a measure that sought to repeal Proposition 209, the states constitutional ban on quota-based affirmative-action hiring policies.

CFER President Frank Xu says groups including the University of California and the city of Irvine are undermining the spirit of the proposition by enacting policies that contradict its intent.

Nowadays, a lot of policies want to give preferential treatment to some groups over others, and that is just wrong. That will not solve any problems, but will cause new problems, he told The Epoch Times.

Equal Opportunity

Proposition 209, passed in 1996, banned affirmative action in public employment, education, and contracting policies in California. Measures that focus on bridging equity gaps or setting goals related to hiring based on race or sexual orientation are problematic, according to Xu.

Any time they say there is a goal, that is a problem, and that is a potential breach to the Constitution, he said. I firmly believe that everyone should be treated equally without regard to racial or sexual identity.

Irvine Councilwoman Tammy Kim said the new DEI resolution reaffirmed what we already believe as a city, but added the city could do more to ensure supplier diversity.

We have a very diverse city, we have an inclusive city, but we need to make sure that were doing all we can when it comes to actual equitythe equity piece, Kim said at the council meeting. We want to make sure that were looking at things such as supplier diversity when it comes to our vendors and the vendors that we select, and those that we do business with.

She said the city also wanted to ensure a slate of diverse candidates in its hiring and promotion practices.

I worked very closely in my corporate experience especially with Asian Americans, and we were hired at a high rate, but we werent promoted at a very high rate, Kim said.

CFERs letter states that the population in Irvine is 48.8 percent white, 41.2 percent Asian, 9.7 percent Hispanic, 4.9 percent multiracial, and 2.1 percent blackbut the City Council only included one group in the community roundtable discussion that led to the formation of the resolution, weakening democratic principles of civic engagement and fair representation.

Despite the diversity and multiple racial groups in the citywhite, Asian, and Latinothey only talked with black American groups, and thats just not right, said Xu.

Equality Scorecard

The DEI resolution is also based in part on a city staff report that cites a Municipal Equality Index (MEI) scorecard, which ranks cities and companies based on policies that affect the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community, including comprehensive health care benefits.

Irvine received a score of 93 percent in 2020, compared to the national average score of 64 percent. According to the city staff report, a cross-departmental group has been reviewing Irvines policies in response to the MEI.

While Irvine is better than many other cities in terms of inclusion and diversity, gaps were identified  specific to LGBTQ matter, according to the staff report.

Christina Shea, a former mayor of Irvine, told The Epoch Times she opposes the new DEI resolution. She agrees with CFER that it could contravene constitutional law.

We should be hiring people through our vendors and our contractors based on qualifications, not based on racial preference or sexual preference, she said.

Shea said that awarding contractors preferential treatment in the bidding process for offering more inclusive health care benefitssuch as mental health treatment and hormone therapycould significantly drive up labor costs for vendors. These costs could be passed along indirectly to the city and ultimately to taxpayers, she said.

Its like they are making the vendor become a psychologist, she said.

The MEI scorecard suggests one area of improvement for Irvine is to award contracts to fair-minded businesses taking steps to ensure an inclusive workplace.

You get two points if youre a fair-minded business. What does that mean? Shea asked. Irvines existing hiring policieswith a score of 93are exemplary, not discriminatory, she said.

Common sense has gone to hell in a handbag. This is not about diversity. This is about idiocy, Shea said. This is probably one of the weirdest policies Ive ever seen.

But Khan said the MEI system is being used throughout the United States.

I was just in a conference with the U.S. mayors, and a lot of other cities are doing the same thing, she said.

She said the index is used to make sure historically disadvantaged communities get a fair shake.

Are we reaching out to communities that maybe we havent reached out to before? Are we doing the same thing when it comes to our contracting? Khan asked.

Are we reaching out to minority-owned businesses, educating them on how to apply for government contracts and things like that? Its really trying to provide more to those that normally would not get involved, and kind of leveling the playing field so that everyone has an opportunity.

Khan said it is too early in the development stages of the DEI committee to talk about the costs for the city or contractors to provide benefits such as inclusive health care.

We didnt vote on providing health care, benefits, or anything like that. Our vote was very general in collecting more data and finding opportunities for improvement.

Once the new committee is formed, there will be more opportunities for community engagement, Khan said. City staff recommended that the committee meet quarterly, starting in March, with additional meetings in June, September, and December.

UCIrvine Weighs In

Douglas Haynes, a history professor at the University of CaliforniaIrvine (UCIrvine) and the schools vice chancellor of equity, diversity, and inclusion, supported the resolution at the Jan. 26 meetingprovided it encompasses the larger community of residents.

Diversity is about appreciating the broad cross-section of people, Haynes said. Its not enough to sustain an affirmative environment, or appreciate the broad cross-section of people, without a real concerted effort around inclusion, where youre actively promoting belonging and community building through communication, cooperation, and collaboration.

Haynes encouraged the City Council to analyze the data to identify opportunities and gaps in equity as it moves forward with its DEI plan.

You want to have an understanding of metrics, to inform priorities, to identify targets, and above all, to engage and share with the wider community and continually be reporting back.

The city also received a handful of public comments on the issue, including one resident who said that race shouldnt be a factor in the citys hiring practices.

Irvine has the MEI score of 93 and the national average is 64. So whats the issue here? asked one resident. I dont believe theres any issue here. Why create one when there isnt one?

Responding to the residents comment, Khan said, Equity is really leveling the playing field so that there is a chance for everyone.

She added: Ill share a simple example. You have a fence in front of you. People have different heights, and then you tell them to jump over that fence.

Of course, the shortest person isnt going to be able to jump over that fence, so you provide them with a little bit of a boost so that theyre able to be at the same height and be able to jump over the fence. This is again, not taking anything away from anyone. This is not targeting anyone. It is making sure that we have policies that level the playing field.
A victim of an IRA bomber appointed to the board of the Education Authority (EA) has told how he was stunned to learn that taxpayers were paying the wages of the man who tried to kill him.

John Radley, a member of the Irish Guards when an IRA bomb went off at Chelsea Barracks in 1981, said the appointment of Paul Kavanagh had left him angry and upset.

The convicted bomber was one of Sinn Fein's three nominations to the body.

Mr Kavanagh, who was sentenced to five life terms for his role in an IRA bombing campaign in England, took up his position on February 1.

He was convicted, alongside Thomas Quigley, of the murder of two passers-by at Chelsea Barracks and the murder of a bomb disposal officer at Oxford Street, but released from jail under the terms of the Belfast Agreement.

Mr Radley led condemnation of his appointment.

"That taxpayers are funding the life of the man who's a convicted murderer and (who) tried to kill many more is beyond belief. He did irreparable damage to me," he said.

"It's an insult to all of us who pay our taxes that a man who took to the bullet and the bomb is now in this position."

Mr Kavanagh, a former Sinn Fein special adviser who is also employed by the Martin McGuinness Peace Foundation, will receive 8,800 per year, plus travel and subsistence allowances, as part of the position.

Kenneth Howorth, the Army bomb disposal officer killed in 1981 as he dealt with another device at a restaurant on Oxford Street, was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

"That someone who set out to kill men, women and children - to destroy families - is in a role in schools... that just shouldn't happen," Mr Radley added.

Mr Kavanagh is married to Foyle Sinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson. He won compensation in 2013 after losing his role as a special adviser after a bill drafted by TUV leader Jim Allister prevented anyone with a criminal record from holding the position.

Mr Allister said the appointment sent a dreadful message to a new generation of children.

Making the appointment announcement, the Department of Education said: "Mr Kavanagh brings to the board experience of communication and influencing skills, developing and maintaining co-operative working relationships within a corporate governance framework and analytical ability and decision-making as a school Governor."

A number of parents reacted angrily after Mr Kavanagh was proposed as a member of the board of governors at Londonderry's Lumen Christi College in 2012. He has held the position for the past nine years.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell said the appointment would trigger outrage.

Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for Innocent Victims United, said victims were "annoyed and deeply hurt at this recent development, but not at all surprised".

"This is not the calibre of appointment that Northern Ireland needs within the education fraternity," he added.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said: "Paul Kavanagh has a wealth of experience in education, government and policy development."

Also nominated for EA positions by Sinn Fein were Angela Mervyn, currently employed by the West Belfast Partnership Board as an education programmes manager, and Frank Maskey, who recently retired as the principal of Corpus Christi College.

Gillian McGrath, a recently retired director of education at the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, was nominated by the NI Commission for Catholic Education to represent the interests of trustees of maintained schools.

The EA board is made up of 20 members, some nominated by political parties.

The authority is responsible for the delivery of education services across Northern Ireland.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: "Under the Education Act 2014, 12 board members are appointed directly by the Department of Education, with the remaining eight appointed directly by political parties in accordance with the d'Hondt principles.

"Under this legislation, political members are not ministerial appointments and as such the minister and the department have no role in the nomination process."
Nadine Toe Toe and her family run Kohutapu Lodge and Tribal Tours in Murupara, a northeastern village of about 2,000 people, of whom about 90 percent are Maori. Before the pandemic, about 98 percent of the companys customers came from overseas.

We wanted to create a really truthful, real, cultural experience that shows our history, but also our reality, Ms. Toe Toe, 43, said. When Covid struck and we lost all our business overnight, we were suddenly faced with the reality that the domestic market does not do cultural products  its not on the priority list.

To draw local visitors, the business had to rebrand, she said. That meant moving away from delivering an immersive experience of contemporary Maori culture, which many New Zealanders may already believe they know well.

Before Covid, it was always our culture that was at the forefront  that we can proudly stand there and tell the world who we are, where were from, why its important to be Maori, she said. We are no longer a cultural tourism experience. We are now a lakeside accommodation.

Larger businesses are also struggling. Were suffering, theres no doubt about that, said Sir John Davies, 79, a businessman who owns multiple ski fields, the guided walks at the Routeburn and Milford tracks and the Hermitage Hotel in Mount Cook National Park.

Recently, he said, the Hermitage had 20 guests, down from about 600 in a typical year. He has had to cut staff at the hotel from 230 to fewer than 50. It turned over $18,000 yesterday  the lowest Ive ever seen in 25 years, he said. Were doing everything we can to get domestic tourists. I mean, we always have.

Tourist spots around the world, from New York to the Himalayas, have struggled without sightseer dollars. In Bali, the Indonesian vacation spot, some hospitality workers have returned to farming. Some places, like Istanbul, have tried to soldier on. Others, like Hawaii, are reopening nervously.
Mumbai, Feb 5 : Lebanese-American former adult star Mia Khalifa has found herself in the line of fire after coming out in support of the farmers protest in India. On Friday, Mia tweeted to state that she is determined not to bow from her stance.

Khalifa took to Twitter to share pictures of a protest against her and environmental activist Greta Thunberg, where protesters are holding placards stating: "Mia Khalifa regains consciousness", which seems to take a dig at her porn past.

"Confirming I have in fact regained consciousness, and would like to thank you for your concern, albeit unnecessary. Still standing with the farmers, though," she wrote while sharing the images.

Earlier this week, Khalifa tweeted: "What in the human rights violations is going on?! They cut the internet around New Delhi?! #FarmersProtest." "Paid actors, huh? Quite the casting director, I hope they're not overlooked during awards season. I stand with the farmers. #FarmersProtest," she expressed in a separate tweet sharing a photograph of protesting farmers.

Mia's tweet came after posts by international pop sensation Rihanna and Greta Thunberg expressing their concern for the protesting farmers.

Rihanna on Tuesday had tweeted: "Why aren't we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest." "We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India," Greta had tweeted early on Wednesday.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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A pall of gloom hangs over the house of Adam Omar in a remote village in Sudan's South Darfur; he has lost seven family members including two sons in recent tribal clashes.

Omar, 75, belongs to the Fallata tribe, one of several African ethnic minorities who suffered the brunt of a devastating civil war against the Arab-dominated government of now-ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

Though the main conflict has waned, Omar has witnessed many clashes between his people and rival Arab tribes, often bringing back dark memories of the fighting from 2003, which left 300,000 people killed and 2.5 million displaced.

His village of Al-Twail Saadoun saw violence flare again on January 18 when heavily armed members of the rival Arab Rzeigat tribe rode motorbikes, camels and horses into the village, killing some 60 people and wounding scores.

They also burned down houses and shops in the attack, and looted farmland vital to the local people.

"I lost seven of my family members in those clashes," Omar told AFP outside his wooden, thatched shack in the village, some 85 kilometres (50 miles) south of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.

"None of the perpetrators have been arrested yet."

The attack came just two weeks after the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission UNAMID came to an end after more than a decade.

Government troops have been stationed on the edge of the village to prevent further attacks.

But when AFP visited, residents were vigilant and on edge, moving through the dusty streets in groups of three or four, with batons to hand or knives strapped to their waists.

Round patches of scorched earth showed where huts had stood before they were set alight. In one, a singed metal bedframe was all that remained.

- 'Stolen cows' -

It all started with a dispute over stolen cattle on January 4.

"Members of our tribe had gone to bring water from a nearby well when they realised several of their cows had gone missing," said Ibrahim Younes, the village's mayor, sitting in the dappled shade of his hut.

Story continues

"They followed the animals' tracks, which led them to one of the villages of the Arab Rzeigat tribe, who agreed to give back the cows."

But it did not end there.

Over the following days, Rzeigat members killed two Fallata herders and attacked a Fallata village, according to Younes.

The Rzeigat, who according to state media appeared to be avenging the Fallata's killing of one of their young men, attempted to attack Al-Twail Saadoun but government troops prevented them.

A few days later on January 18, the Rzeigat noticed that those troops were not present and pounced on the opportunity to attack, Younes said.

The fighting lasted three hours, according to witnesses.

Some villagers alleged that some of the attackers had carried heavy weapons and wore military uniforms, similar to those of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The group, led by senior member of Sudan's post-Bashir ruling body Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, is largely made up of the notorious Janjaweed militias which were drawn from nomadic Arab tribes.

Rights groups have long accused the Janjaweed of committing atrocities in the 2003 Darfur conflict.

A Rzeigat tribal leader told AFP that "we, as a tribe, did not organise this attack".

"The people who carried it out were out of control and could be from other tribes."

Neither the RSF nor the army could immediately be reached for comment.

- 'Neutral force' -

The Al-Twail Saadoun attack came just days after similar clashes between rival Arab and non-Arab tribes in the neighbouring state of West Darfur that killed nearly 160 people.

The bloodshed was the deadliest since an October peace accord between Sudan's transitional government and rebel groups that had sparked hopes for an end to decades of conflict.

The latest violence did not appear to involve any signatories to the deal. It did however coincide with the end of the UNAMID mission in Darfur on December 31.

UNAMID has since embarked on a phased withdrawal of its 8,000 uniformed and civilian staff within six months.

Darfuris have protested its departure, fearing an upsurge in violence, but Al-Twail Saadoun residents say the attack on their village may have happened even if it had been present.

"UNAMID didn't hold patrols around our village," according to Younes.

"They only visited to write fact-finding reports after attacks."

Sudan's transitional government has deployed troops to protect the village.

But after recent violence in Darfur left over 200 people dead, the village's residents remain in fear.

"Those militias want to push us out of our villages by repeatedly launching these attacks," said one, Ibrahim Eissa.

Younes said the villagers could never trust government forces.

"They include the RSF, whose members often fight with their own tribes," he said. "We want a neutral force to protect us."

ab-mz/par
Denver, Colorado--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) - CBD of Denver, Inc. (OTC Pink: CBDD), a full-line CBD and Hemp oil company ("CBDD") and a producer and distributor of Cannabis and CBD products in Switzerland, today announced a corporate update on recent developments.



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Rockflowr Exchange - CBD of Denver's Wholesale Department - has established a new distributor/reseller relationship for Rockflowr hemp flowers. This new customer is supplying small CBD retailers and large chain stores throughout the EU. An initial test purchase of approximately 50 kg was completed in November 2020 and another on 150 kg in December 2020. Strong demand among retailers resulted in order volume of 600 kg for January 2021. We anticipate that this new Swiss customer will increase its monthly order volume continuously over the next months.

Rockflowr has also established a new supplier relationship with a US producer/distributor for the importation of 3,500 lbs of cured high-grade hemp flowers.

"We have selected only premium quality indoor flowers by going with our partner Blake Becher and using a professional inspection process to guarantee the best quality for our clients," stated Pascal Siegenthaler, Director of Sales. "We already have high margin orders for the imported products."

Follow CBDD on Instagram: @SwissCBDTrading @Rockflowr @CBDofDenver_Inc @SwissGreenGrow @RockflowrRetail

CBDofDenver, Inc., Rockflowr GmbH and Swiss Industry Ventures AG are now also on LinkedIn.





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About CBD of Denver, Inc.

CBD of Denver, Inc. (OTC Pink: CBDD) a full-line CBD and Hemp oil company ("CBDD") and a producer and distributor of Cannabis and CBD products in Switzerland, Europe and the US. CBDD is focused on using equity to acquire profitable Swiss assets at attractive valuations to create value for all our shareholders and is driven by a passion to improve lives and strengthen communities by unleashing the full potential of cannabis. Through our brands, Rockflowr and BlackPearlCBD we have built a strong customer base by focusing on top quality products and meaningful customer relationships. For more information visit www.cbdofdenver.com.

CBDD offers a superior CBD product that is full spectrum without depending on THC to activate the benefits of cannabidiols. Black Pearl CBD has 0% THC, but is not an Isolate where the THC is stripped from the product rendering it ineffective. We use a proprietary technique adding terpenes as the activation ingredient, resulting in a product that is the finest in the industry and are available at www.blackpearlcbd.com.



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Information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future financial performance, involving known and unknown risks and you should not place undue reliance on these statements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events. We assume no obligation publicly about update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason.



Contact Information:



Marcel Gamma

info@cbdofdenver.com





To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73672


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Not waiting for the bar association to vet potential nominees  a process that takes about a month, according to people familiar with it  is also likely to help speed Mr. Bidens efforts to push nominations into the confirmation pipeline more quickly than President Barack Obama did. President Donald J. Trump set a record-breaking pace in appointing judges  largely white and male  during his term.

The decision by the White House was a blow to the prestige of the A.B.A., which describes itself as the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. Commenting on nominees only after their names have been put forward reduces the groups power to block potential judges it deems unqualified.

Still, the bar group  which has expressed eagerness to work with the Biden administration on various issues related to the judicial system  is not publicly objecting to the shift.

Randall D. Noel, this years chairman of the bar associations vetting committee, said he had been in contact with Senate Judiciary Committee staff members since the White House decision and was told that lawmakers still greatly value the A.B.A.s input. He said his group would continue conducting its reviews before confirmation hearings, as it did under Mr. Trump.

The Biden administrations decision was earlier reported by The Washington Post.

Paige Herwig, who focuses on judicial nominations for the White House Counsels Office, said in an interview that the administration valued the bar groups input before senators vote. But, she said, the White House also believes it will have a freer hand to consider a wide range of nominees if the group does not wield prenomination veto power.

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The coronavirus lockdown in Israel is to be extended until Sunday morning, after which the measures are to be relaxed gradually in spite persistently high infection figures.

The plan was announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office on Friday after an hour-long cabinet meeting.

Among other things, curfew restrictions are to be lifted from Sunday.

Employees, who can work without contact with customers, will be allowed to return to their workplaces. No specific details were initially given on kindergarten or school openings.

The strict lockdown  the third in the country of nine million people  would have expired on Friday without an extension. It was imposed on January 8.

In spite of this measure and a parallel mass vaccination campaign, the number of cases of infection and the number of seriously ill people have so far remained at a very high level.

The health system is close to breaking point.

According to official data, the number of deaths related to coronavirus infection has now exceeded the 5,000 mark, having reached 3,388 deaths on December 31, meaning that almost a third of the deaths have been recorded since the beginning of the year.

According to the ministry of health on Friday, 7,168 new infections were recorded within the previous 24 hours.

The second lockdown in the autumn had reduced the number of daily new infections from more than 9,000 to a few hundred.

In December, the number of 2,500 new infections per day was set as the threshold for tightening the coronavirus measures.

(NAN)
Ugandan political activist Stella Nyanzi has exclusively told Nairobi News she was forced to escape into Kenya after her partner was abducted by President Yoweri Museveni's regime.

Nyanzi and her three children are currently in Nairobi in search of political asylum.

She claims to have been politically persecuted by authorities in her home country in the aftermath of the January 14 general elections.

"I am in Kenya because Ugandans in the opposition who have criticized the government of Yoweri Museveni are getting abducted every day from the streets, from their homes, from their beds. Ugandans are kidnapped from private cars and taken to detention facilities where they are tortured and interrogated about their next plans for the liberation," explained the academic scholar.

Nyanzi, a former research fellow at Makerere University, lost in her bid to become Kampala Woman MP during the polls. She adds that she is happy to have made it out of Uganda alive.

"The fear of not knowing who will be taken next, my friends have been abducted, my partner has been abducted, I think I am fortunate that I got out when I could," she said.

For now, Dr. Nyanzi says she will rest, re-strategize, learn about the system and be back with the power to push for the emancipation of Uganda from the current regime which she described as authoritarian.

The fiery activist spent 18 months in prison for reportedly harassing President Museveni's family on social media but was released in February 2020 for lack of evidence.

This is just but one of the numerous times she has been behind bars for rubbing shoulders with the regime.

"I am an ex-prisoner, I have been in prison so many times, I do not know what freedom is. I identify myself as a prisoner, not because it is sexy, but because it speaks of the judicial failure in my country," she said.

She criticized Uganda's government for failing to provide the most basic services to its citizens and only focused on silencing the vocal who demand change.

Professor Luchiri Wajackoyah, whose law firm is representing the activist revealed that she crossed the Uganda-Kenya border "in disguise" to avoid detection by security agents.

He also added that her children too, are "in a safe house" in Nairobi.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Aivazian held a phone conversation with Jean Asselborn, Foreign Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on February 5, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia.

The Foreign Ministers exchanged views on the issues of bilateral agenda, expressing mutual readiness to undertake practical steps aimed at preserving the existing dynamics. Both sides commended the effective cooperation established in the international platforms.

In the context of the issues of regional security and stability Minister Aivazian briefed his counterpart on the humanitarian situation in Artsakh resulting from the Azerbaijani aggression. The Foreign Minister of Armenia expressed his gratitude to Jean Asselborn for Luxembourg's principled position during the war and for the humanitarian assistance provided to the Armenians of Artsakh through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, welcomed the Government of South Sudan's approval to establish transitional justice mechanisms, including the African Union Hybrid Court for South Sudan.

The Special Adviser noted that this decision is a crucial step towards establishing accountability for serious human rights violations, many of which may constitute atrocity crimes, that have taken place since violent conflict broke out in December 2013.

"The decision is an important initial step towards justice and accountability for the many victims who have suffered brutal crimes during the conflict in South Sudan, including heinous acts of sexual and gender-based violence" said the Special Adviser.

She also commended the move as positive progress in the implementation of the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) and called for swift and concrete action to operationalize the Court.

The Hybrid Court is envisioned to have jurisdiction with respect to the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious crimes, including gender-based crimes and sexual violence.

In addition to the Hybrid Court, the Special Adviser stressed the need to establish the other mechanisms under Chapter V of the R-ARCSS, including the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing and the Compensation and Reparation Authority.

All institutions should observe the 35 per cent women representation threshold in line with the peace agreement.

Special Adviser Nderitu also encouraged the Government of South Sudan and the African Union to work collaboratively with other initiatives that promote accountability, including the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan established by the Human Rights Council, which is mandated to determine and report the facts and circumstances of, collect and preserve evidence of, and clarify responsibility for alleged gross violations and abuses of human rights.
The arrival of a super vaccination site in Worcester was accompanied Thursday by City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. saying he believes the latest surge of COVID has plateaued.

Augustus reported 429 new weekly cases of COVID this week, which was about half compared to last weeks numbers.

That is a very steep decline from last weeks numbers, Augustus said. I think its clear that we have plateaued, hopefully weve begun the decline of new cases.

On Jan. 7, Augustus reported 1,376 new cases during the citys weekly COVID briefing. The following week the city reported 1,219 cases followed by 885 cases two weeks ago.

Last week, Worcester saw 815 cases before the biggest drop to 429 this week.

This surge and the decline were now seeing is, hopefully a consistent trend, is the result of the fallout of Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years and the travel and the gatherings that were related to those events, Augustus said. ...It really is critically important that we learn from those lessons as we go into Super Bowl weekend.

Augustus, Mayor Joseph Petty and Medical Director Dr. Michael Hirsh emphasized that the dip in the numbers isnt permission to host Super Bowl parties this weekend. Instead they emphasized folks celebrate the unofficial holiday with people in their households.

A full team of inspectors will be working in the city this weekend to ensure restaurants are also following COVID guidelines, Augustus said.

In normal times our bars and restaurants would be very crowded. Our social clubs would be very crowded with people hosting Super Bowl parties at those locations and enjoying food, Augustus said. This is not the year.

While the city manager advised against parties, he said the city will follow Gov. Charlie Bakers new guidelines that allow businesses to shift capacity from 25% to 40% beginning next week.

We are trying to strike that balance, Augustus said. Certainly public health and public safety is No. 1. But we also know a lot of people rely on the jobs and the business that are related to restaurants and the other facilities that are really struggling. Hopefully with these additional numbers people stay vigilant.

Despite all the positive news during Thursdays COVID briefing, Augustus also said that the citys two hospitals - Saint Vincent Hospital and UMass Memorial Health Care - reported 26 new deaths this week.

There are also 288 patients at the two hospitals, which is 20 fewer than last week. There are 44 patients in the ICU at both hospitals, which represents a decrease of four.

With the help of the vaccine, COVID cases among health workers continued to drop. Hirsh said Tuesday represented the first day since May that no new employees at UMass tested positive for the virus.

Hirsh also said hes optimistic that variants of the virus, which are more contagious, can be contained if people continue to wear masks and social distance.

If we dont see those variant strains take off and if people follow the mayor and city managers advice about Super Bowl parties, I think well continue to see the virus diminish as we get more needles in arms, Hirsh said.

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Igor Dodon, the leader of Moldova's Socialists, said Friday that the leftist party would not back the president's nominee for prime minister at a vote in the Socialist-dominated parliament

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) Igor Dodon, the leader of Moldova's Socialists, said Friday that the leftist party would not back the president's nominee for prime minister at a vote in the Socialist-dominated parliament.

President Maia Sandu nominated former finance minister Natalia Gavrilita, from her right-wing Party of Action and Solidarity, to lead the government last month.

"The Socialist Party will definitely not vote for Natalia Gavrilita. It is our final decision... Gavrilita will not become prime minister next week," Dodon said in a video address.

This decision paves the way for the parliament's dissolution and an early election. The president is allowed under the law to make one more nomination. A candidate for prime minister needs to secure 51 votes in the 101-seat parliament.
The Queen is set to reach 69 years on the throne (Jane Barlow/PA)

The Queen is set to enter the milestone 70th year of her reign, as she prepares to mark the anniversary of her accession away from Sandringham for the first time in more than 30 years.

Elizabeth II  the nations longest reigning monarch  will reach 69 years on the throne on February 6, meaning she is just one year away from her Platinum Jubilee.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced a break in the Queens long-held personal tradition of reflecting on the sad anniversary of her fathers death and the start of her reign at Sandringham House in Norfolk.

Instead, the monarch, 94, will be at Windsor Castle, where she and the 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh are spending lockdown, looked after by a reduced household of staff dubbed HMS Bubble.

It was at Sandringham that King George VI died peacefully in his sleep early on the morning of February 6, 1952, after suffering from lung cancer.

Expand Close The Queen sets foot on British soil for the first time since her accession as she lands at London Airport following the death of George VI (PA) PA / Facebook

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Princess Elizabeth, then just 25, was away in Kenya on a Commonwealth tour, and returned home as monarch.

The Queen is last believed to have been away from Sandringham for her accession anniversary 31 years ago in 1990 while on an official visit to New Zealand.

Lengthy Commonwealth tours in the 1950s and the 1960s also occasionally meant the Queen was out of the country during February.

The Queen was in Australia when she reached two years on the throne, carrying out an epic six-month Commonwealth tour from November 1953 to May 1954.

In the Silver Jubilee year of 1977, the Queen and the royal family gathered at the Royal Chapel in Windsor Great Park for a service to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her accession.

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Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said: It would seem to be 31 years since the Queen wasnt at Sandringham on Accession Day.

She likes to spend the day quietly in reflection on the passing of her father so its certainly not a day to celebrate, which is why the big Jubilee milestones take place in the summer, partly because of the weather, but also because it would not be appropriate.

Mr Little suggested: Given the passage of time and that this is now 69 years since her father died, the poignancy must have dissipated a bit.

Its less of a tug on the heartstrings than it would have been in the early years of her reign.

But clearly, it is a very important day for her and it always will be. 

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Mr Little said the Queen would usually be visited by a vicar at Sandringham for private prayers in memory of her father, and suggested the tradition might be followed at Windsor this year in the Castles private chapel.

I think whatever she does privately by way of commemoration at Sandringham will be transferred to HMS Bubble and that it will take place there, but Im sure it will be an incredibly low key thing, he said.

It might just be her and a member of the clergy saying a few prayers in memory of the King and maybe the Queen Mother as well.

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The Queen would also have the option this year of visiting her parents tomb in the King George VI Memorial Chapel within St Georges Chapel in the grounds of Windsor.

In England, churches are allowed to remain open, in a Covid-secure way, for individual prayer and public worship.

Buckingham Palace has not commented on the Queens plans.

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The Queen has been a figure of continuity as her country has changed through the 20th century, the Millennium and into the 21st century amid new technological and social advances and a succession of British governments.

She reached her Silver Jubilee in 1977, Golden one in 2002 and Diamond Jubilee in 2012, and overtook Queen Victoria as the nations longest reigning sovereign in 2015.

The public has looked to the Queen in times of tragedy  the September 11 terror attacks, the London bombings, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and more recently during the coronavirus crisis.

But even she confessed of the global Covid-19 pandemic: While we have faced challenges before, this one is different.

On how the monarch is spending her time during lockdown, Mr Little suggested that, although the head of state has her staff and the company of Philip, it is perhaps one of the most isolated periods of her reign.

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It must be quite a solitary existence because I dont imagine that she and the duke are in each others pockets all day, every day, he said.

Im sure they overlap for lunch and dinner perhaps but the rest of the time they must presumably be off doing their own things.

He added: It seems to be one of the most isolated periods of the Queens reign, or life really, because she cant see her friends, she cant see her family.

The Queens accession anniversary also comes as the monarch is mourning her former Master of the Horse Lord Vestey, who was part of her inner circle of friends, and whose death was announced on Thursday.

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The Queen, who stayed at Windsor for Christmas for the first time in decades, would usually spend her entire winter break at Sandringham.

At Sandringham, if she were still there, she would be entertaining. There would be house parties and there would be family coming and going but none of those rules can apply at the moment,  Mr Little said.

It must impact on her in the way that its impacting on so many others but to a less dramatic extent.

This year, the Queen is set to turn 95 in April, while Philips 100th birthday is in June.

Next year, the public will get an extra day off as part of a four-day weekend of Platinum Jubilee celebrations from June 2-5.
A GRHS graduate waves during the graduation parade last year at Wild Horse Canyon. A proposal in the Wyoming Legislature would consolidate the state's school districts, cutting the number from 48 to 24.

CHEYENNE - Facing massive cuts to the state's K-12 schools budget, one lawmaker has proposed a bill to study the cost-saving benefits of consolidating Wyoming's 48 school districts into 24.

"We, as a Legislature, fully understand that we have to rein in costs for education. Rather than making cuts to teacher salaries, personnel or closing down schools, I thought this was a better avenue to pursue," said Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, who is sponsoring House Bill 77.

"I spent two years chairing the Revenue Committee trying to raise some money and revenue sources, and that was a no-go," he s...

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The roof of a long-vacant Jersey City home partially collapsed Thursday, forcing the evacuation of neighboring homes.

Jersey City firefighters were on site Friday morning at 111 Wilkinson Ave., where the weight of the snow from this weeks noreaster that dumped 20 inches is being blamed.

Most likely due to the snow load, the roof collapsed, Jersey City Fire Chief Steve McGill said.

Nobody was injured in the collapse, while residents of 109 and 113 Wilkinson were evacuated due to the imminent hazard of further collapse, McGill said. Nine neighborssix adults and three children have been offered assistance by the city to stay in a hotel, a city spokeswoman said; three other neighbors went to stay with relatives.

Officials cordoned off the house with yellow caution tape and placed metal barriers in front of the building. A sign on a barrier warned of a Collapse Hazard.

Numerous windows of the home have been boarded up and a large X on the door signifies that it is unsafe to enter. The 2013 date on the marking means the home has been empty since then, McGill said.

Last year, the city notified the owner that the building has been placed on the citys list of abandoned properties and has been following the course of due process, a city spokeswoman said.

Its unclear who owns the home, but McGill said the owner had called in a demolition company to demolish the building. Property records list a limited liability corporation as the owner.
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South Korea and Georgia have signed an air services agreement that would lay the foundation for operations of direct flights traveling between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Friday.







Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Georgian Ambassador to South Korea Otar Berdzenishvili formally inked the agreement Thursday, after the two countries reached the agreement through aviation talks in July 2019.







The agreement is to take effect on the 30th day from the two countries' mutual notification of the completion of their domestic procedures required for its effectuation, the ministry said.







"We expect that this air services agreement would lay the institutional foundation for operations of flights between the two countries and for securing New Northern Policy networks," the ministry said in a press release.







The New Northern Policy is Seoul's foreign policy initiative to strengthen economic cooperation with Russia and other Eurasian countries.







The latest agreement brings to 91 the total number of air services agreements that South Korea has signed with foreign countries. (Yonhap)


Winnipeg: Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard was denied bail on Friday in a Winnipeg, Manitoba courtroom, after spending nearly two months in jail on a US extradition request.

Canadian police arrested Nygard in Winnipeg on December 14 at the request of US justice officials under the countries extradition treaty.

Nygard faces nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering in the United States. Nygard, who appeared in court by video, has denied all the allegations.

Peter Nygard with Yves Laurent, left, and Melisa Marie Jackson at a film festival in Canada in 2005. Credit:Getty Images

Justice Shawn Greenberg said she was concerned Nygard, 79, could tamper with witnesses if released.
A British human resources manager in Dubai has been told she could face a 100,000 fine in addition to a two-year jail sentence for swearing at her flatmate in a WhatsApp message.

The 31-year-old woman met with the police chief in charge of her case today in the hope of resolving the complaint filed by her Ukrainian former flatmate.

She faces charges under the UAE's strict cyber-crime laws for writing 'f*** you' when the pair rowed on WhatsApp over the use of a dining room table during lockdown.

The Briton, from Gloucestershire, was arrested leaving Dubai at the weekend when she was informed of the complaint which the flatmate has refused to withdraw.

The woman had previously lived trouble free in Dubai since 2018 but is now facing a criminal case (stock photo)

The 31-year-old, who has asked not to be named, says she is running out of money, sleeping on a friend's sofa and 'banging her head against a brick wall' over the case.

She also fears she will lose her new job back in Britain as she will be stranded for weeks until a flight ban is lifted.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she said: 'This is just a nightmare and the thought of losing my new job is too much.

'I've no apartment and no job and no money. My visa to stay here runs out on February 12th and the police just don't seem to understand.

'I'm banging my head against a brick wall. No one cares.'

The Briton, who has asked not to be named, has been told the criminal case against her will not proceed until her mobile phone has been examined by forensic teams with Dubai police.

She has admitted sending a 'f*** you' message during a row over the use of a dining room table last October.

But prosecutors have yet to bring a case as they are waiting for a forensic report into her phone.

The woman said: ' They cannot send a report until the forensics compiles the report on my phone, even though I said the word and did not deny it. The prosecutors still need the report but no one knows when that will be done. I call every day.'

'I've no idea what is going on, what is coming next and how long it could take.'

The Briton had already shipped her belongings home and was securing herself a seat on one of the limited flights when she was pulled aside by airport authorities.

She was then told she could not leave and that there was a police case against her.

Laleh Shahravesh was charged with making a defamatory statement over a Facebook post calling her husband's second wife a horse

The HR managers plight is similar to that of a mum Laleh Shahravesh who was charged with making a defamatory statement over a Facebook post calling her husband's second wife a horse.

Shahravesh, from Richmond, Surrey, had flown to Dubai after the death of her husband.

It was only when she attempted to leave she found out her ex's second wife had made a complaint over the Facebook post made two years previously.

Shahravesh was fined 625 after a court appearance and was allowed to leave Dubai in April 2019.

The HR manager has appealed to the British Embassy for help but they are unlikely to get involved and intervene in the Dubai justice system.

Detained in Dubai CEO, Radha Stirling, who is representing the woman, said: 'This is a terrifying situation for anyone to face. She had to attend several different police stations, where staff have limited English and communication is difficult.

'Every officer seemed to have a different take on what would happen to her, how long it would take and if she'd be allowed to go. Most people find this experience traumatising.

'The police confiscated her passport and her mobile phone to gather the evidence,' Stirling added.

'The police took the woman's statement which admitted the rude word, but they still feel the need to process her phone through their forensic department, a process in itself, that can take weeks or months.

'Nothing is clear and nothing is logical. If she's admitted the crime in her statement, do they really need to drag her through a lengthy evidence gathering process?

'We have approached the British consular office for assistance, and the UAE's Ambassador to Britain to investigate the matter.

'Without intervention, the woman is likely to spend months in the UAE, awaiting judgment which may or may not be a prison sentence. This is no way to treat visitors and expats in Dubai'.

The Brit discovered that her flatmate had lodged a police complaint against her over the argument, claiming she had felt offended. She now faces jail or a hefty fine as the flatmate refuses to withdraw the complaint (stock photo)

The woman told the Sun yesterday: 'I can't believe what my flatmate has done  she has been so spiteful.

'I pleaded with her to withdraw the complaint but she said, 'This is a criminal case'.'

Speaking yesterday to Detained In Dubai, she added: 'I would never have expected a European to take advantage of the UAE's strict laws.

'We shared a flat and we were all casual with one another.

'I've never been in trouble in my life, and I'm shocked that I've been criminalised over a private WhatsApp exchange with someone whom I lived with.

'What's worse, the messages were from months ago and only now, when I've shipped all of my belongings, booked a flight and when my visa is about to expire, do I even find out about this case.

'I tried to plead with her to drop the case, but she doesn't seem to care about the impact this is having.'

Her lawyer had previously criticised the UAE's 'overarching cybercrime laws'.

Stirling said: 'The UAE's overreaching cybercrime laws have been responsible for numerous arrests of foreign nationals.

'Visitors to the UAE can be arrested, detained and prosecuted over a swear word, an offensive statement or derogatory comment said in the heat of the moment, and the UAE's cybercrime laws are extraterritorial, meaning that the statement could have been made from outside of the UAE.

'The absurdity of these laws allows for husbands and wives, colleagues, friends, school kids, vindictive and spiteful individuals and provocateurs to hold jail cards over people they interact with, and they don't even need to know them.

'Complete strangers are able to report social media comments they find offensive to the authorities and under the laws, they will be prosecuted, fined and even imprisoned.'

'Legal proceedings in Dubai are lengthy, and a frivolous case like this can take months to go through the local system, causing no end of suffering.

'With hotel accommodation, legal fees and visa overstay fines, an absurd allegation can quickly escalate into tens of thousands of pounds, loss of employment and in a worst case scenario, a prison sentence.

'The human toll is often unimaginable, especially when family members are separated.'
One moment a herd of goats is milling around, casually browsing the scrubby grass. The next, their long ears twitch and their wide golden eyes stare as they trot off purposefully, picking up speed as they appear to rush intently to a specific destination. Theyre exhibiting a behavior that scientists have long watched in herding, flocking and schooling animals from baboons to fish.

It almost looks like the goats have cast their votes and decided together which way to go.

How creatures in the animal kingdom come to a decision together is a subject of perennial interest. Among some species, individuals do weigh in. Members of meerkat troops make calls and African wild dogs sneeze before the group moves, and they will only set off when enough individuals have had their say.

Its even been posited that African buffalo vote with their movements, with animals pointing themselves toward the way they want to go and the herd choosing the average of all their directions.

Its difficult, however, for a human observer to tell the difference between forays directed by silent voting and ones where animals copy whatever their closest compatriots are doing, the way schooling fish do. Using collars equipped with GPS and other sensors, biologists watched a small herd of Namibian goats to see if their behavior suggested one tactic or the other. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science, they report that the goats do not seem to be voting.
A stunning portrait of cervical cancer awareness campaigner Vicky Phelan has sold for a staggering at auction with all funds raised in aid Covid-19 frontline health workers.

The triptych portrait of the Kilkenny mum was sold for 46,500 under auction at Sheppards Irish Auction House in Durrow.

The portrait went on sale and was appropriately purchased by a Kilkenny buyer for 46,500. The famous Laois auction house included its fees to bring the total raised beyond 55,000. Sheppards say they donated fees of just over 9,600 from the sale.

The purchaser of the portrait is Mooncoin-based businessman David Brennan.

The work by Vincent Devine from Clara, which was unveiled on the Late Late Show, is expected to go on public display later this year once Covid restrictions are eased.

The Heroes Aid charity will benefit from the fund to continue its work in helping Ireland's health workers safely battle the pandemic and save lives through the purchase of PPE and other equipment. Conor McGregor is among those who have also lent their support to the charity.

They tweeted their delight at the sale the picture of Vicky who is now in America getting treatment for her cancer. MORE BELOW TWEET.

SOLD!!!!



Historic portrait of @PhelanVicky by artist @vincent_devine has just sold at auction for an amazing 46,500.



Thanks to @SheppardsDurrow for generously hosting the auction



Thanks also to all of you- your support means the funds will help frontline healthcare workers pic.twitter.com/787E6VnjvD February 4, 2021

This artwork was commissioned by Heroes Aid in honour of Vicky who is also a member of its board member in recognition of her outstanding contribution to womens health in Ireland.

The charity says it approached Vicky in 2020 to be a member of the board.

"We had been incredibly impressed by her ability to give a voice to those who needed it most and knew shed play a crucial role in helping our countrys vulnerable healthcare workers who have been placed under unrelenting pressure since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Its only fitting that she now has a portrait to tell her own story," they say.

Heros said the painting was generously donated by the Offaly artist who has worked closely with our charity since its inception and also designed our logo.

The Portrait Explained:

Straddling the boundaries of Realism, Surrealism and Expressionism, Devine has infused the portrait with a mysterious pulse that resonates beyond the canvas. Reading from left to right, Vicky Phelans narrative is conveyed as past, present and future acted out on Doonbeg beach in the west of Ireland. The left-hand panel is dominated by a powerful assemblage of flesh and bone whose forward motion is suddenly halted. The centre panel dominates.

Here the sitter engages directly with the viewer. Events, both joyful and traumatic are rendered symbolically. Her outstretched right hand supports a bird, a young crimson rosella, representative of her daughter; on her left hand, her son as a sapling oak. Beneath her left foot, a colonnade represents a legal triumph while shamrocks close to her heart are emblematic of the continuous support she has received from the people of Ireland and beyond. Within her torso, invisible cancer is made visible.

Her eyes are bright with strength and hope. In the right-hand panel a horse is looking backwards, a collage of powerfully charged symbols is placed between its hind legs and forelegs. A flickering candle reminds the viewer of the fragility of life itself. Indented into the sands beneath, Vicky Phelans footsteps then leave the canvas.
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When will the COVID-19 pandemic end? It is the question hanging over practically everything since the novel coronavirus rampaged the world last year.

At the start of the pandemic, there was hope that the coronavirus could be controlled in places it had reached, but it eventually became prevalent in all parts of the globe. Over 104 million people have been infected, and more than 2.2 million fatalities were recorded due to COVID-19 complications since then.

When Will We Return to Normal?

According to Singapore's Education Minister Lawrence Wong at the Singapore Perspectives 2021 conference hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) in Singapore on Monday, there are still numerous uncertainties to contend with in the coming few years. He shared his hopes regarding how the future could be "reset" after the pandemic.

Wong stated, "At some point of time the pandemic will pass, but it may take four to five years before we finally see the end of the pandemic and the start of a post-COVID normal. What will this new post-COVID world look like? No one can tell," reported Livemint.

2 Ways to Describe a Plague's End

Two ways to describe an "end" to a plague is elimination and eradication. Elimination is a reduction of new cases to a preferably low number (most favorably zero). Eradication is a clear, permanent, and entire wiping out of an infectious agent.

Bloomberg has built the largest database of COVID-19 shots administered across the globe, with over 119 million doses administered. United States science officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have suggested it will take 70 to 85 percent coverage of the world's population to return to normal, reported Bloomberg Quint.

Now, numerous COVID-19 vaccines are available, and vaccination drives are being disseminated aggressively in several countries. They have raised hopes, reported India Today.

Wong remarked there was still much uncertainty regarding how the virus will shape society in the coming years.

He said that acting in accordance with safe management measures, including avoiding crowds and face mask-wearing, will continue for this year and "maybe a good part of next year."

According to Wong, "Beyond that, the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations will progressively restart global travel, but getting the world vaccinated won't be quick or easy."

Much has been learned regarding COVID-19's ability to be transmitted between people, make infected people susceptible to a range of major health problems, and infect cells. Estimating its duration in a global population is conditional on how we all behave, which could be more difficult to model.

7 Years at Today's Vaccine Rates

According to a Bloomberg estimate, seven years is the duration to bring the virus to an end through immunization at the current rate. Bloomberg has quoted United States science officials indicating that vaccine coverage of 70-85 percent population would be required to return to normalcy.

Bloomberg's Vaccine Tracker displays that several countries are making far more swift progress than others. The target is 75 percent coverage with a two-dose vaccine.

Israel, the nation with the highest inoculation rate globally, is headed for 75 percent coverage in merely two months.

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

NEW IBERIA, La. --- The city of New Iberia, Bayou Teche Museum, Iberia Cultural Resources Association and TECHE Project are among the 13 recipients of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area (ANHA) fall 2020 grant cycle.

The ANHA Grant Program, funded through the National Park Service, is distributing $122,515.44 in grant funds to promote environmental, recreational, and cultural heritage assets in the area.

This grant provides matching funds assistance through reimbursement. The recipient, therefore, must provide proof of payment for 100% of eligible expenses when submitting a request for reimbursement.

In Louisiana, we celebrate our culture like nowhere else in the country," said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. "And, you can get firsthand experience of some of that culture in the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area. Through these grants, our basin communities will be able to better tell the stories of their culture, authentic and real stories that will Feed Your Soul. Through these stories we can learn of the evolution of this rich blend of cultures, traditions, and lifeways that have created this special place known as the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area.

The goal of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area is to preserve and promote the cultural, natural and recreational resources of the 14 parishes that encompass the Atchafalaya Basin. Grant awardees must prove projects meet this vision through cultural event showcases, heritage interpretation efforts, and natural or recreational improvements. Criteria include project feasibility, sustainability and creativity.

The city of New Iberia received $10,000 to develop a wayfinding sign system connecting the historic and cultural districts and tell the city's full history and story.

Bayou Teche Museum will use its $1,000 grant to include text panels telling the story of the impact enslaved labor played in the growth and expansion of the sugar industry.

Iberia Cultural Resources Association was awarded $5,000 for the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival, which honors Southern storytellers and writers who write about the South or celebrate Southern themes and places. The celebration, to be held April 9-11, 2021, will include music, food, tours and interpretive demonstrations unique to Iberia Parish and South Louisiana.

With its $465.44 allocation, TECHE Project will design handouts and marketing materials to promote the Bayou Teche National Paddle Trail, including maps and information about the trail.

"We would like to thank ANHA for helping us attract visitors to our region by providing grant funds and marketing opportunities for our tourism assets," said Fran Thibodeaux, executive director of the Iberia Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau. "The four projects awarded are located in the New Iberia National Register Historic District and align with Mayor Freddie DeCourts masterplan to make New Iberia a quintessential place of tourism growth. Iberia Travel is eager to continue supporting the efforts of the mayor and all the tourism partners awarded with strategic marketing of the district."

The ANHA will run its next grant cycle in spring 2021. To learn more about the heritage area, visit www.Atchafalaya.org. For more information and updates, visit the ANHA Grant Program webpage.
Vice President and Health Minister Constantino Chiwenga has reiterated government's position no Covid-19 vaccination shall be imposed on any citizen unwilling to be part of the world inoculation process.

Addressing guests on the commemoration of the World Cancer Day held virtually on Thursday, Chiwenga said China has pledged Covid-19 vaccines to Zimbabwe at a time the country has put in place its own initiatives to acquire the life-saving drug.

The VP's comments also sought to clarify the confusion that followed finance minister Mthuli Ncube's earlier remarks that locals who can afford would be asked to pay for the vaccines.

However, Ncube followed his statements with a Thursday announcement his "comments on payment issues regarding Covid-19 vaccines were taken out of context."

Chiwenga, in his Thursday remarks, put the issue beyond further doubt when he said no citizen shall be made to pay for the vaccines.

"My fellow Zimbabweans, let me reiterate also that the government of Zimbabwe will roll out Covid-19 vaccines for free to all our citizens who may wish to be vaccinated.

"The policy is inspired by humane morals that life should not be bought," he said.

The health minister also warned about the threat posed by non-communicable diseases (NDCs) such as cancer, diabetes, HIV (Aids), hypertension and other chronic health conditions or injuries.

"It is sad to note that patients beset with immuno-suppression (a condition caused by NCDs) are more susceptible to Covid-19," he added.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is the leading cause of worldwide deaths having claimed 9.6 million lives in 2018 and only surpassed by Covid-19.

In Zimbabwe, according to Cancer registry, 2 751 people died of the dreaded disease in 2016.

In 2020, 110 686 women were screened for Cervical Cancer. Out of the 5 883 who tested positive, 4 561 were treated.
Obama speechwriters memoir Grace to come out in 2022

The White House speechwriter who helped President Barack Obama work on his response to the Charleston church massacre in June 2015 has a book deal. Cody Keenans memoir is set around the time a white supremacist murdered nine Black parishioners in South Carolina.Grace: A President, His Speechwriter, and Ten Days in the Battle for America will be published in Fall 2022, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media announced Tuesday.

Kennan will note that the Charleston tragedy was soon followed by other historic events. Within days, protesters called for the removal of the Confederate flag that had long flown on Statehouse grounds in Columbia, a demand met that July. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court announced two historic decisions, ruling that same-sex marriage was protected under the Constitution and upholding much of Obamas Affordable Care Act.

The books title refers to a theme of Obamas response to Charleston and to one of the most emotional moments of his presidency: his singing of Amazing Grace during his eulogy at Charlestons Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church for one of the victims, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney.Grace started with a string of tweets on the second anniversary of that week, Keenan said in a statement issued through the Houghton Mifflin imprint Sugar23 Books.

At first, all I wanted to do was tell a story to show what this country can be at its best and what writing with Barack Obama is actually like when the stakes are highest. The years since have only added context to how those 10 days help make sense of the broader sweep of American progress and backlash, this clash of two fundamentally opposing visions of America _ and this feels like the right time to finally sit down and write it all up.

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Keenan began working with Obama in 2007, when the future president was a first-term senator from Illinois. Keenan served as deputy director of speechwriting during Obamas first term and as director during Obamas second term. Other presidential addresses he worked on included Obamas eulogy for Sen. Edward Kennedy in 2009 and his 2015 speech marking the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when state troopers in Selma, Alabama, beat and teargassed civil rights marchers.
San Francisco families, mayor and state elected officials formed a united front Thursday in urging school and labor leaders to listen to the health experts, come to an agreement and reopen schools as soon as possible.

At a press conference sponsored by the parent group, Decreasing the Distance, a tearful Mayor London Breed, standing before children holding signs saying I miss my friends, urged the adults to end division and finger-pointing to get schools open.

It just really breaks my heart to be here to see these kids and these families to know what theyve been going through, Breed said. Kids are struggling in our city and we all know it.

The citys schools have been closed since mid-March, even though 15,000 private school students in San Francisco are back in classrooms.

The press conference came a day after City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a lawsuit against the school district and school board, claiming they failed to create a specific and concise state-required plan to reopen.

The organizers of the event Thursday announced the creation of a citywide petition, urging the school board and teachers union to reach an agreement by Feb. 18 on the conditions required to reopen schools.

San Franciscos state Sen. Scott Wiener said he was appalled that the day after the school board voted to rename 44 schools, a letter went out to parents from the superintendent saying middle and high schools would likely not reopen this school year.

I have always been a big supporter and fan of this school district, he said. My frustration is what I see is a defeatist attitude.

School board President Gabriela Lopez did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the press conference, but posted photos on social media earlier in the day as she toured a school to see the status for reopening.

Our school administrators and our district staff have been working non-stop to make this happen, a task that is hard to do across the state, she said in the posts.

School district officials said earlier in the week that they are ready to reopen to the youngest and most at-risk students, pending an agreement with labor unions.

Negotiations have been ongoing for months, with the teachers union calling for health and safety standards that surpass what is recommended or required by local, state and national health officials  including demands for toilet lids and air monitoring in every classroom.

We know the schools can open, said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. We know the schools can open because the professional health officials tell us we can open.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
Australian Federal Trade Minister Dan Tehan at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, on Dec. 9, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

Invest in Indias Farm Industry: Trade Minister Tehan

Australia will offer to make investments in Indias agriculture industry to secure a trade deal when the two countries recommence talks next month.

Negotiations have stalled between Australia and India after protesters opposing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis proposal to deregulate the farming industry forced delays in the talks.

The government argues the proposed farming reforms to provide farmers with more autonomy to trade freely.

Despite Indias tensions, Australias new Federal Trade Minister Dan Tehan is optimistic progress can be made between the Indo-Pacific partners.

Demonstrators participate in a march organised in support of farmers protesting against the central governments recent agricultural reforms in New Delhi, India on Feb. 3, 2021. (Money SHARMA / AFP) (Photo by MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)

Tehan said it is within both nations interests, but acknowledges that India is going through an incredibly difficult circumstances with the reforms.

[A]s they deal with trade liberalisation  they want to make sure that the sectors that are dear to them, and especially their agriculture sector, that theyre able to develop and grow in a way that theyre competitive globally before they feel like theyre very confident to be able to engage with other countries, Tehan told SkyNews on Wednesday.

He said he has suggestions about how Australia can help build this confidence.

One idea that came from a conversation Tehan had with Australias grain industry leaders on Tuesday night was, he said they could support and help by getting further investment into India, into their milling capacity.

Furthermore, You might do that in ports, which would enable us to be able to get our grain in to help their milling capacity.

Tehan noted the aim is to help build Indias agriculture capability in a way that doesnt threaten their interests but enhances it.

Less Reliant on China

Tehan is hoping to secure free-trade deals with the UK and the European Union this year and grow trade with other APEC members (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

The Chinese regimes trade sanctions on a growing list of commodities including barley, beef, wine and lobster have meant Australia has become less reliant by diversifying into other markets.

On Wednesday, he revealed that Australian and Chinese trade ministers had not held an official meeting with each other for three years.

Both countries appointed new ministers around the Christmas period, and Tehan has since reached out to his counterpart with a very constructive letter, but has had no reply.
South Africa: Over R400m to assist struggling ECDs

As part of relief measures to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood development (ECD), Social Development will use R496 million to assist the sector, which is amongst the hardest hit.

In a statement on Friday, the department said the budget allocation, known as the Early Childhood Development Stimulus Relief Fund (ECD-ESRF), is part of sustaining and creating employment opportunities in the sector, in light of the high unemployment rate and job losses occasioned by the pandemic.

In response to the Presidents call, the national Department of Social Development developed and submitted a project proposal to National Treasury to access funding from the Presidential Employment Stimulus package for the ECD sector.

The proposal focused on four interrelated policy imperatives including employment protection in the ECD sector, employment creation, containing the spread of COVID-19, and registration rollout for ECD programmes, the department said.

Through the ECD-ESRF, ECDs will be better placed to survive the risk of permanent closure, and will be able to cover financial costs, including the payment of employees salaries.

The department -- supported by its provincial departments, including the South African Social Service Agency (SASSA), the National Development Agency (NDA), DG Murray Trust, GOVchat and the ECD Inter-Sectoral Forum, together with other stakeholders -- has been hard at work to develop a digital application platform and the rollout plan.

Eligibility criteria

In line with the eligibility criteria, the ECD stimulus package is intended for all types of ECD programmes, including centre and non-centre-based programmes.

Furthermore, organisations that run, manage or oversee multiple centre- and non-centre-based ECD services, may also apply, the department said.

It also noted that while the funding is aimed at subsidising the cost of employment for ECD services and ECD services that are applying, applications for support can only be made by the operator of the ECD service and not individual staff members.

In other words, ECD services will be making the application on behalf of their staff, with qualifying staff, including ECD practitioners, cooks, administrators and all other types of ECD employees. ECD services can only use the funds to subsidise the cost of employment for staff presently employed within the ECD service.

Only one application per ECD service can be made, as multiple applications may result in delays in processing applications. For ECD services that are applying and who are not currently operational (i.e. have not reopened owing to COVID-19), they will need to make a commitment to reopen within 60 days of receipts of funds, the department explained.

The value of the support provided through the stimulus package will be a maximum of up to R4 470 per staff member, made as a once-off payment, given that the allocation is R496 million.

There will be a limit of up to four staff members for ECD centres and up to one staff member for non-centre based ECD services that will be eligible for support.

If the number of applications are more or fewer than the budget available, the department said it may review the payment amounts to the ECD services accordingly.

Participants in Vangasali campaign encouraged to apply



The department has also encouraged all ECD services, who have participated in the DSD-led Vangasali campaign, to apply for this programme.

Before making an application, applicants must ensure that they have a banking account under the name of the ECD service.

ECD services that do not currently receive funding from Provincial Social Development will need to be registered on the Central Supplier Database (CSD), which can be done via the link https://secure.csd.gov.za/Account/Register.

The registration number generated from the CSD database will be required for the stimulus application.

For any enquiries and further information, ECD services may call the contact centre using the toll-free number 08000 89 666, or visit the website: www.dsd.gov.za.

The applications opened on 5 February 2021 and will close on 19 February 2021 at 11:59pm. The Department of Social Development is supported by Govchat to receive all applications online.

In order to complete an application, please follow the link https://govchat.app or copy it into your browser.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Derry Girls star Siobhan McSweeney says it was a bit of a breakdown that helped her get her new job presenting a programme on Channel Four.

McSweeney, who is from Aherla, Co Cork, hosts The Great Pottery Throw Down, which is made by the creators of the Great British Bake Off. It was her appearance on a special celebrity episode of Bake Off that caught the show creators' attention.

I was on the Bake Off with the other Derry Girls and I had a bit of a breakdown and they thought Id be good at presenting, she told The Graham Norton Show.

I wasnt angling for it and I didnt know anything about pottery  to be honest, I still dont.

The Great Pottery Throw Down follows the Bake Off format and sees 12 amateur potters battle it out to be crowned champion of the clay.

It has been praised for its wholesome content, which includes a unique trait of one of the judges. Where Paul Hollywood offers bakers handshakes when they have performed well, Keith Brymer Jones becomes overwhelmed with emotion when a potter has done something beautiful.

It is such a genuine experience, everyone is so passionate and its really sweet and emotional, Mc Sweeney said of the show.

McSweeney, who is best known for her role as Sister Michael in Derry Girls, said at first she found it difficult to be herself while presenting.

I found it weird presenting rather than acting. When you act you have another persona but its hard to know how to be yourself.

The actor, who lives in London, also shared her joy at receiving a Covid-19 vaccination on Thursday. Writing on social media, she urged other people in at-risk groups to stay hopeful, adding the vaccine is coming to everyone.

Cant tell you what relief I feel. And how grateful I am to science and human endeavour.

By Jessie Pang

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Twenty-four activists appeared in a Hong Kong court on Friday on charges related to a June 4 vigil last year marking the anniversary of China's military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Hong Kong traditionally holds the largest vigil in the world every year, although it was banned in 2020, with authorities giving the risk of spreading the coronavirus as the reason. The vigils have always been banned in mainland China.

But thousands of Hong Kong people defied the ban and took to the streets to stage candlelight rallies in the former British colony which was promised wide-ranging freedoms when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, including rights of expression and assembly.

Released from jail to attend the court hearing were media tycoon and staunch Beijing critic Jimmy Lai, 73, and prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong, 24.

Lai is being held pending a bail hearing after he became the city's most high-profile person to be charged under a controversial national security law. Wong is serving more than 13 months related to an unlawful anti-government rally in 2019.

Five of the group, including Wong, indicated they planned to plead guilty to charges related to illegal assembly and their case was adjourned to April 30. The rest were expected to plead not guilty and their case was adjourned to June 11.

Outside the court, more than a dozen supporters shouted slogans and held up placards that read, "Against political suppression" and "Innocent to mourn June 4."

Last year's June 4 anniversary came nearly four weeks before Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong that Western governments and rights groups have widely condemned as a tool to crush freedoms in the global financial hub.

Hong Kong and Chinese authorities reject that and say the legislation was necessary to restore stability after a year of sometimes violent anti-China and anti-government demonstrations.

China has never provided a full account of the 1989 violence. The death toll given by officials days later was about 300, most of them soldiers, but rights groups and witnesses say thousands of people may have perished.

(Reporting By Jessie Pang and Aleksander Solum; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Maung Maung Latt, former First Secretary at the Burmese Embassy in Washington D.C., is interviewed by RFA on Feb. 3, 2021.

In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Maung Maung LattFirst Secretary at the Burmese Embassy in Washington D.C.explains why he has resigned his position at the embassy following Mondays military coup in Myanmar, and why he is applying for political asylum in the United States. The diplomat uses the historic name for the former British colony  Burma which a previous military junta changed to Myanmar in 1989.

RFA: Can you tell us why you quit your position as First Secretary at the Burmese Embassy in Washington, D.C. following the military takeover in Burma?

Maung Maung Latt: I was very displeased and upset that the military has staged a coup and has detained the government that was freely and fairly elected by the people. That is the main reason that I left my position, so that I can stand on the side of the Burmese people.

RFA: How many years did you serve the government in the Foreign Service? In which countries did you serve? Can you tell me anything about your experiences?

Maung Maung Latt: I served for 35 years, and served in Burmese embassies in five countriesthe Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaysia, and now in the U.S. I had actively participated during the 1988 peoples uprising [in Burma].

I later had to sign pledges not to say or do anything against the government, and I was allowed to continue in the Service. No overseas assignments were given to me for some time, and my promotions were withheld for a long time.

RFA: Burmas military leaders have said they will hold on to state power for a year, and then stage free and fair elections afterwards. As a senior government official with a long experience of service, do you believe them?

Maung Maung Latt: I want to ask the military to release State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and the other legally elected leaders as soon as possible. I also want to call on the military to give up the state power that they seized illegally and hand it back over to the legally elected government.

RFA: Do you think there will be a lot of changes in the Burmese Embassy, and at the embassies in other countries?

Maung Maung Latt: Yes, Im sure there will be changes. This happened before during periods of military administration. There could be a lot of restrictions placed on the embassy staff. And if we had not left our homes earlier, our passports might have been withheld by now.

In the past, the ambassador would keep all our passports under lock and key. This happened when I was serving in the Phiippines and Thailand. Things were more relaxed after the Thein Sein period.

RFA: Do you have any worries for the future?

Maung Maung Latt: I am worried that my safety could be at risk.

RFA: So you have asked for asylum here in the U.S.?

Maung Maung Latt: Yes, I have.

RFA: Do you have anything you would like to say to your colleagues in the Foreign Service?

Maung Maung Latt: I want to call on them to reject the military dictatorship and take action in whatever way they can.

RFA: And what would you like to say to the people of Burma?

Maung Maung Latt: I would like to urge all Burmese to stand up against the military dictatorship.

Reported by Nayrein Kyaw for RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 18:30:54|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to villagers who are participating in festive activities, and extends his New Year's greetings to people of all ethnic groups across the country, on a public square in Huawu Village, Xinren Miao Township of Qianxi County, Bijie City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

GUIYANG, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has sent New Year's greetings to Chinese people of all ethnic groups, wishing happiness and good fortune for the people and prosperity for the nation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extended the greetings during an inspection trip in southwest China's Guizhou Province prior to the Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb. 12 this year.

The trip took Xi to places including the city of Bijie and the provincial capital Guiyang. He visited a village, a residential community and a supermarket from Wednesday to Friday. 
ANN ARBOR, MI  All Michigan Medicine employees  working in person or remotely  are allowed to get the COVID-19 vaccine under the first phase of vaccine distribution, according to state guidelines and Michigan Medicine officials.

Several people reached out to MLive/The Ann Arbor News, saying they dont think thats right. Theyre concerned vaccinations are going to Michigan Medicine staff working remotely with little to no risk of infection from COVID-19, instead of going to those in the community more susceptible to the virus.

However, citing the states direction and guidelines, Mary Masson, director of public relations, said all Michigan Medicine employees fall into Phase 1A of the states vaccine distribution priority list.

According to the state, this phase includes paid and unpaid persons who have direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials and are unable to work from home, as well as long-term care facilities. It also includes any staff deemed essential to the functioning of a health care system.

All Michigan Medicine employees are crucial to the functioning of our health care system, Masson said. For example, we cant fully staff our hospital if we dont have human resources personnel hiring and training new nurses or sustain operations without information technology workers making sure the servers for our electronic health records are running  even though these individuals may work remotely.

When Michigan Medicine expanded the definition of the first phase to include all its employees, the state had not yet given permission for vaccinations to move on to Phase 1B, the next phase of eligibility, which includes people age 65 and older, other frontline workers, teachers and school staff, corrections officers, workers in homeless shelters and others, Masson said.

At that time, Michigan Medicine had available vaccine that needed to be used promptly, Masson said.

Last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was asked about some people getting the vaccine ahead of others at greater risk of severe COVID-19 illness. She said part of the issue is the storage and handling requirements of the vaccine and the urgency not to waste it.

I dont think its necessarily cutting in line, Whitmer said. When a package of the vaccines is thawed and opened, you have a small window in which those need to be administered ... These are some of the real-world challenges that were confining in real time.

Loopholes in COVID-19 vaccine rollout creates haves and have nots scenario in Michigan

The vast majority of campus employees fall into later priority phases and, under current state guidance, will be eligible to receive vaccine in these phases which have not been implemented yet, according to Michigan Medicine.

When asked who is getting Michigan Medicines vaccine  people who need it or people who are allowed to get it  Masson referred to the states guidelines and said Michigan Medicine is ready to vaccinate its patients but does not have the vaccine supply now needed to do so.

Michigan Medicine employs about 26,000 workers and has administered more than 53,000 vaccinations as of Feb. 2, according to its vaccine website. All Michigan Medicine employees have been invited to be vaccinated, Masson said. About 4,500 vaccines have gone to people in Phase 1B, she said.

Michigan Medicine has administered 90% of vaccines allocated to it by the state within the week it receives them and has the capacity to deliver more than 24,000 doses each week, Masson said.

Michigan Medicine, however, has been limited by available vaccine supply, Masson said, adding only a limited number of appointments at a time can be made for patients 65 and older. Appointment invitations are sent in waves and handled by Michigan Medicines COVID-19 vaccine team, according to the website.

Masson again referred to the state guidelines related to employees essential to the functioning of health care systems when asked why Michigan Medicine employees are being vaccinated instead of patients older than 65 with higher risk of infection.

We believe every dose administered contributes to the overall safety of our community, Masson said. Our goal is to administer as many vaccines to the community as quickly and safely as possible, and to maintain alignment with the state and other health entities to respond to this public health crisis.

Many of the messages sent to MLive/The Ann Arbor News expressed frustration that Michigan Medicine employees are being vaccinated instead of some frontline workers and first responders in Washtenaw County. When asked if Michigan Medicine should prioritize county frontline workers over its own people who are working remotely, Masson again referred to the states directions and guidelines.

The State of Michigan has been focused on both highest risk populations and the preservation of critical infrastructure required to keep our populations well despite the devastating spread of COVID-19, Masson said.

Our teams continue to care for many hospitalized patients with COVID-19, while also working to meet the needs of patients with other conditions. Michigan Medicine has consistently followed the states direction and will continue to partner across the state to deliver every vaccine received as quickly and safely as possible.

READ MORE:

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Canadian-Armenian Hratch Jabrayan, who is being criminally persecuted in Armenia for his Facebook post about terrorizing and destroying traitors, is the executive director of Apage Foundation and the creator of the program for resettlement in Shushi. According to Armenian News-NEWS.am, Jabrayan returned to Canada before a criminal case was launched in regard to his Facebook post. Before that, Jabrayan was actively participating in the protests against Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and was even apprehended. Over the past few years, the Canadian-Armenian businessman has made large investments in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), particularly in Shushi, which is currently under the control of Azerbaijan. In particular, Jabrayan was implementing a large housing project that envisaged allocating free apartments to Armenians moving to Shushi in the next five years in order to resettle the Armenian city and multiply the number of its population. Due to this project, before the war, hundreds of Armenians of Artsakh were provided with jobs, but after the war, Jabrayan not only lost his belongings, but also lost his friends and most of the employees of the program in the war.

Yesterday, on Feb. 3 the Investigative Committee of Armenia issued a press release regarding the institution of a case in regard to the Facebook post by a Facebook user by the name of Hratch Jabrayan (I wrote on November 10I havent changed my opinionthe traitors need to be terrorizedDashnaktsutyun, youre very latestrike the traitor) containing calls to use force.

In response to the press release of the Investigative Committee, the Canadian-Armenian businessman posted on his Facebook page the following: As always, the Investigative Committee of Armenia is a slave to the traitor PashayevI am terribly scared Later, Jabrayan, addressing the Investigative Committee, recalled that on November 15, 2020, a Facebook user had threatened to kill him, but the law-enforcement authorities hadnt processed the case.
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Russia on Friday expelled three diplomats from Germany, Sweden and Poland for allegedly joining protests in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the foreign ministry of the eastern Europe country said Friday.

Although the ministry did not name the expelled diplomats, the Kremlin accused them of attending the January 23 illegal demonstrations that swept across Moscow and St. Petersburg, an allegation their home countries have denied.

Declaring personae non-gratae on the diplomats means they will have to leave Russia in the near future, the foreign ministry said.

The expulsions came hours after European Union foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, saying the ties between the bloc and Russia had fallen to new lows over Mr Navalnys poisoning and imprisonment, Moscow Times reported.

Sweden called the expulsion totally unfounded and denied its diplomat had participated in any demonstration, BBC said.

The German foreign ministry denounced the expulsion as being in no way justified and said it would retaliate if Russia did not reconsider, the newspaper added.

Moscow has accused the West of hysteria and double standards over the latters reaction to Mr Navalnys prosecution, and told it to stay out of its internal affairs.

Protests

Defying a heavy police presence, thousands of protesters thronged the streets of Russias capital Moscow and St. Petersburg on January 23, demanding the release of Alexey Navalny, a prominent opposition to the President Vladimir Putins regime. Thousands of the participants have since been arrested.

Mr Navalny, 44, an outspoken political activist has been the most prominent opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin since 2011, whose administration he accused of being riddled with corruption.

The anti-corruption campaigner survived an assassination attempt last August after he was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent in eastern Russia before he was flown to Germany for treatment.

Despite warnings from the Russian government that he would be arrested, he returned home in mid-January nonetheless.

In a YouTube video that was viewed by over 100 million people, upon his return to Russia, Mr Navalny alleged that an opulent Black Sea palace was a Russian billionaires gift to President Putin, an allegation denied by Mr Putin.

Russian authorities swooped on the blogger late January and a Moscow court sentenced him to three-and-a-half years jail term for violating the terms of his parole, sparking nationwide demonstrations.
Rating Action: Moody's affirms Banco del Estado de Chile's ratings, outlook remains negativeGlobal Credit Research - 04 Feb 2021New York, February 04, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has today affirmed all ratings assigned to Banco del Estado de Chile (Banco Estado) and Banco Estado, New York Branch (New York branch), including the A1 long-term deposit, senior unsecured debt and counterparty risk ratings, following the affirmation of the bank's baa3 baseline and adjusted baseline credit assessments (BCA). The bank's short-term deposit, commercial paper and counterparty risk ratings of Prime-1 were also affirmed. In addition, Moody's affirmed Banco Estado's senior unsecured MTN rating of (P)A1 and its counterparty risk assessments of A1 (cr)/Prime-1(cr).The outlook on Banco Estado and its New York branch remains negative in line with the negative outlook on the Government of Chile's debt ratings.LISTED OF AFFECTED RATINGS AND ASSESSMENTSThe following ratings and assessments were affirmed:Banco del Estado de Chile. Baseline credit assessment and adjusted baseline credit assessment of baa3. Long-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings of A1, negative outlook. Short-term local and foreign currency deposit ratings of Prime-1. Long-term foreign currency senior unsecured debt rating of A1, negative outlook. Long-term foreign currency senior unsecured MTN program rating of (P)A1. Long-term local and foreign currency counterparty risk ratings of A1. Short-term local and foreign currency counterparty risk ratings of Prime-1. Long-term counterparty risk assessment of A1(cr). Short-term counterparty risk assessment of Prime-1(cr). Short-term foreign currency commercial paper rating of Prime-1Banco Estado, New York Branch. Long-term foreign currency deposit rating of A1, negative outlook. Long-term local currency senior unsecured MTN program rating of (P)A1. Long-term local and foreign currency counterparty risk ratings of A1. Short-term local and foreign currency counterparty risk ratings of Prime-1. Long-term counterparty risk assessment of A1(cr). Short-term counterparty risk assessment of Prime-1(cr). Short-term foreign currency deposit rating of Prime-1. Short-term local currency commercial paper rating of Prime-1Outlook actions:Banco del Estado de Chile: outlook remains negativeBanco Estado, New York Branch: outlook remains negativeRATINGS RATIONALEIn affirming Banco Estado's baa3 BCA, Moody's acknowledges the benefits derived from the bank's solid risk management and adequate asset quality, and its superior access to low-cost deposit funding and ample liquidity. Banco Estado's key credit challenges are its low tangible capitalization and modest profitability relative to peers, both of which reflect its government policy mandates. Moody's rating action incorporates its assessment that Banco Estado's asset quality and profitability have proven resilient notwithstanding the weak operating conditions prevailing in Chile in 2020.Despite the affirmation of Banco Estado's BCA, the outlook for the debt and deposit ratings remains negative in line with Moody's assessment that, as government-backed, the bank is fully supported by the government of Chile (A1, negative), which results in five notches of rating uplift to the bank's A1 senior debt and deposit ratings, from its baa3 BCA.Banco Estado's unique public policy mandate to provide financing to lower income households and small and midsize enterprises results in delinquencies that are higher than those of its rated Chilean bank peers, especially in its residential mortgage portfolio. However, the bank makes a careful selection of borrowers and benefits from state guarantees by the Guarantee Fund for Small Entrepreneurs (Fogape) and the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism (Minvu) to limit expected losses in its riskiest portfolios. This is evidenced by Banco Estado's net charge-off ratio of 0.85% as of year-end 2020 being 10 basis points below peers', despite its 2.7% problem loan ratio that was 160 basis points above that of large domestic bank peers. Moreover, the bank's asset quality will benefit from Chile's economic recovery in 2021, supported by ample government aid to households and companies, and the short-term benefits of withdrawals from pensions. Banco Estado's exposure to high-risk consumer financing represents a small 7.3% of total loans, while its exposure to low-risk corporations and residential mortgages were, respectively, 53.3%, and 39.4%, as of December 2020.The bank's profitability is modest relative to local peers, derived from a large branch network and low yielding loans in line with its policy mandate, and a high tax burden. However, profitability fell less than 15 basis points since 2019 to 0.29% in 2020, because of limited deterioration in its asset quality, resilient margin and fee income, and continued cost controls. We expect provisions will decline from a peak of 62% of preprovision, pretax income in Q2 2020, as concerns about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, social unrests and higher regulatory requirements abate.Banco Estado's capitalization ratio will benefit from a $500 million contribution from the government of Chile, its sole shareholder, in the first quarter of 2021, which will add 140 basis points to the bank's 4.2% Moody's-adjusted tangible common equity (TCE) to risk-weighted assets (RWAs), as of September 2020. Subsequently, Moody's expects only a moderate decline in Banco Estado's capital ratio as RWAs grow in line with the anticipated pick-up in business volumes as the economy recovers. As per its methodology, Moody's will continue to limit deferred tax assets (DTAs) to 10% in its TCE/RWA calculation. Banco Estado tends to accumulate substantial holdings of DTAs, equivalent of 4.1% RWAs as of September 2020 because of the additional 40% tax rate that is levied as a state-owned entity.Funding is a key strength of Banco Estado, reflected in its resilient low-cost core deposit base, and low reliance on market funding, as exhibited by a loan-to-deposit ratio of 81% as of year-end 2020. The banks' ample liquidity, with high-quality liquid assets at 45% of assets as of year-end 2020, is well above local peers'.Moody's assessment of Banco Estado as government-backed is incorporated in its A1 senior debt and deposit ratings and reflects its full ownership by the Chilean government, its significant policy roles, and its importance to the banking system, as indicated by its large deposit and loan market shares. Banco Estado's negative outlook is in line with the negative outlook on the Government of Chile's ratings.FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGSThe negative outlook on Banco Estado's ratings makes a rating upgrade unlikely. However, the outlook could return to stable, in line with a change in the outlook on Chile's sovereign rating to stable. Banco Estado's BCA could be upgraded if its capitalization were to strengthen to levels more comparable to those of its large bank peers in Chile.If Chile's sovereign rating is downgraded, in line with the negative outlook, Banco Estado's deposit and debt ratings could also be downgraded. Banco Estado's baa3 BCA could be lowered if its asset quality and profitability deteriorate materially, further lowering its capitalization ratio.The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks Methodology published in November 2019 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1147865. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.REGULATORY DISCLOSURESFor further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website www.moodys.com.Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1243406.The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the UK and is endorsed by Moody's Investors Service Limited, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FA under the law applicable to credit rating agencies in the UK. Further information on the UK endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating. Felipe Carvallo VP - Senior Credit Officer Financial Institutions Group Moody's de Mexico S.A. de C.V Ave. Paseo de las Palmas No. 405 - 502 Col. 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(MSFJ) is a wholly-owned credit rating agency subsidiary of MJKK. MSFJ is not a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). Therefore, credit ratings assigned by MSFJ are Non-NRSRO Credit Ratings. Non-NRSRO Credit Ratings are assigned by an entity that is not a NRSRO and, consequently, the rated obligation will not qualify for certain types of treatment under U.S. laws. MJKK and MSFJ are credit rating agencies registered with the Japan Financial Services Agency and their registration numbers are FSA Commissioner (Ratings) No. 2 and 3 respectively.MJKK or MSFJ (as applicable) hereby disclose that most issuers of debt securities (including corporate and municipal bonds, debentures, notes and commercial paper) and preferred stock rated by MJKK or MSFJ (as applicable) have, prior to assignment of any credit rating, agreed to pay to MJKK or MSFJ (as applicable) for credit ratings opinions and services rendered by it fees ranging from JPY125,000 to approximately JPY550,000,000.MJKK and MSFJ also maintain policies and procedures to address Japanese regulatory requirements. 


One of my favorite aspects of working in the credit union industry is the unparalleled commitment to giving back to our communities. Perhaps nothing embodies that commitment more than the Credit Unions for Kids (CU4Kids) Wine Auction  a time-honored tradition that, for the last fifteen years, has helped raise more than $9.8 million for Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH) in California and Nevada. Last year COVID-19 forced the event virtual; however, that didnt stop over sixty credit unions and service organizations from raising more than $1 million for our local hospitals. With the next virtual auction taking place on March 12th  were hoping we can surpass that goal.

In addition to CO-OP serving as the Presenting Sponsor, I decided to get more involved in the cause this year as a Co-Chairman for the event because I believe the work we are doing is more important than ever. With hospitals around the country continuing to battle and keep us safe against the pandemic, I believe it is incumbent on all of us to help support them in any way we can.

CO-OP has had a long-standing relationship with CMNH through our Miracle Match Network. The name is fitting because the work they do for our local communities, and particularly sick children, is nothing short of miraculous, especially in times like these. Events like the CU4Kids Wine Auction are a unique opportunity to recognize and celebrate that important work  and to have some fun in the process.
On December 14, Dynamicweb officially launched the Dynamicweb Marketplace, a place where customers can easily order add-ons to complement their Dynamicweb implementation for even more effective digital experiences, and a place where Dynamicweb partners can easily publish their add-ons to fully serve customers.

Supplementing an ecommerce implementation with add-ons such as lead tools, marketing and sales tools, and performance tools, but also with complementary services to, for example, publish products very easily and quickly on another channel. That's what the reasoning was behind the brand new Dynamicweb Marketplace.

Here you will not only find all suitable add-ons per category, but also per solution. This way you immediately see which add-ons fit well with a PIM system or the Marketing module, for example. With the Marketplace, we try to expand our ecommerce solutions with add-ons to add powerful functionalities and fully support the customer's online business.

"The great thing about this marketplace is that we help both customers as well as partners with successful additions. We can't develop everything ourselves, but together with our customers and partners we can now help other customers and partners and learn from each other" says Harry van Rossum, Country Manager Dynamicweb Benelux.

Featured add-ons

1. Channable

Channable integrates with more than 2500 comparison sites and marketplaces such as Amazon, Google Shopping and Facebook Shopping. Without complex integrations, Channable makes it easy to publish products on different channels. From Dynamicweb PIM you create product feeds that automatically transform data into a format that Channable understands, to publish on your chosen online channel in a few clicks.

2. Leadfeeder

Leadfeeder is a tool with which you can generate more leads by keeping track of which companies visit your website. It shows exactly who visits your site, how they came to you, which pages they viewed and for how long. You can send this to your CRM with one click so that the right salesperson can follow up immediately.

3. Klarna

Klarna Checkout is a service that brings all payment options together in one agreement with a seamless and mobile optimized solution for the best user experience. In your webshop, this is displayed via an iframe in which all popular payment methods are included.

About Dynamicweb

Dynamicweb offers a cloud-based Digital Experience Platform. We enable customers to deliver better digital customer experiences and to scale ecommerce success through our Content Management, Digital Marketing, Ecommerce, and Product Information Management solutions.

Dynamicwebs 300+ partners, 200+ employees in offices all around the globe are proud to support well over 4.000 brands, which includes leading brands like Lego Wear, Vredestein, Unilever, Winnebago, LOreal, Flying Tiger, Toyota, Europcar and Skanska. Built on Dynamicweb, these customers are empowered to gain lifelong customer relations, increase revenue and grow their brands.

Learn more at Dynamicweb.com.
Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

A Katy man was sentenced Thursday to federal prison after he admitted to embezzling more than $2 million from a Houston oil services company, where he worked as an executive, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Southern District of Texas.

Robert Andrew Bishop, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison to 41 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
Derick Botha, Chief Commercial Officer, GameChange Solar, expressed excitement about the latest milestone in the company's evolution: "Having started my career in solar in South Africa over 20 years ago, it has been a long-time goal to become active in the southern African market once more. I am thrilled to be able to offer my 'home' market a product that we believe will significantly impact the renewable energy procurement programmes running in the region and one that offers cutting edge technology with low installation and maintenance cost. This makes the solution a cost-effective one."



Russ Bowden brings a wealth of experience, know-how, and understanding of renewable solar projects and solar tracking systems to the company, and his understanding of the Southern African region's challenges and dynamics is invaluable. "Our timing is crucial in terms of the government's revived drive for renewable energy procurement, both in the current Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) and the expected launch of round 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Procurement Programme (REIPPP). These projects provide the ability to fast track new energy generation and pave the way for increased energy security to mitigate the impact of load shedding, a major inhibitor of the country's economic growth," Bowden commented. He added that GameChange Solar is currently holding discussions with South African partners to manufacture its product locally. "We believe that we are in a strong position to meet the local content requirements of both the [Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) and future rounds of the REIPPP at pricing that remains competitive. We believe that GameChange Solar's single-axis tracking systems will offer local solar PV power plant developers an opportunity to increase their returns while still providing a winning bid price.



For more information, contact Russell Bowden at [email protected] (cell) +27 (0) 82 880 1449, or visit gamechangesolar.com

Contact and media inquiries can be directed to Derick Botha +1 (302) 528-2125

email: [email protected]

SOURCE GameChange Solar

Related Links

https://www.gamechangesolar.com


Budget 2021 has triggered a record rally in the stock market. From the low of 46,285 on January 29, Sensex has surged 4,788 points or 10.34% to 51,073 in just five sessions. Similarly, Nifty has gained 1,380 points or 10.12% to 15,014 during the period. It closed at 13,634 on January 29. In early trade today, Sensex hit all-time high of 51,073 amid positive global cues. Nifty too scaled an all time high of 15,014 extending the Budget day rally into fifth consecutive session.

Union Budget 2021 is seen as a reformist one by markets after FM Nirmala Sitharaman outlined higher fiscal deficit limits and privatisation plans for economic recovery on February 1. Apart from the positive sentiment in broader markets, individual stocks have also zoomed up to 64% in five sessions. Here's a look at top five stocks among them.

Blueblood Ventures :The share of Blueblood Ventures has gained 64% in five sessions amid the Budget rally on benchmark indices. The share trades higher than 5 day and 20 day moving averages but lower than 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. Its share was trading at Rs 9.30, up 9.41% in afternoon trade today. In one year, the micro cap share has risen 55%. Market cap of the firm stood at Rs 2 crore. The firm is engaged in the business of equity investment and trading in equity, derivatives, currencies, futures and options and commodities.

Sensex hits 51,000 mark for first time, Nifty crosses 15K ahead of RBI policy outcome

Ind Bank Housing: The share of Ind Bank Housing, a unit of Indian Bank, has surged 52.70% in five sessions. The stock hit 52 week high of Rs 44.5 today rising 19.95% intra day. It opened with a gain of 14.96%. In afternoon session, the stock was trading 18.06% higher at Rs 43.80. The stock has risen 66.35% since the beginning of this year and gained 59.09% in one month. The firm is engaged in the business of providing housing loans.

MSTC Ltd: The stock has gained 46.62% in the last five sessions. The share hit all-time high of Rs 300.80 today. The share rose 6.61% intra day. In one year, the stock has gained 126% and risen 75.88% since the beginning of this year. In a month, the stock has climbed 67.88%.Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 2,027 crore. The share was trading 11.62% higher at Rs 295.75 on BSE. MSTC Limited is a mini ratna category-I PSU under the administrative control of the ministry of steel. Government of India has 64.75% stake in the company.

SBI share rises 25% in 2 days; check new target price post Q3 earnings

Chandra Bhagat Pharma: The pharma share has risen 43.14% in five sessions. The stock opened with a gain of 15.03% and touched an intraday high of Rs 56.55, rising 15.64% on BSE. Chandra Bhagat Pharma share is trading higher than 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. Market cap of the micro cap firm rose to Rs 41 crore.

SBI: State Bank of India (SBI) share hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 408.35 apiece on BSE, clocking a 25% jump in two days after the company announced its December quarter earnings. Stock has gained 40.06% in last five sessions. The stock opened with a gain of 8.7% today. The share has gained 27.38% in one year and risen 44% since the beginning of this year. Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 3.52 lakh crore. The share was trading 11.33% or 40.25 points higher at Rs 395.35 today.
[February 05, 2021] BYT Holdings Announces Strategic Investment

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 5, 2021 /CNW/ - BYT Holdings Ltd. (CSE: BYT) ("BYT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive share purchase agreement (the "Agreement") in connection with the acquisition of 35% of the issued share capital ("Equity Stake") of Xi'an Triumph Electronic Technology Co., Ltd ("Xian Tech") through its wholly-owned subsidiary BYT Singapore Pte. Ltd. (the "Transaction"). In consideration for the acquisition of the Equity Stake, the Company will pay an aggregate purchase of SGD 1,750,000 to certain shareholders of Xian Tech. Closing of the Transaction is subject to customary closing conditions which include, among other things, compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements and receipt of all necessary regulatory, corporate, third-party, board and shareholder approvals (if required). There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed, or at all. The Transaction is an arms-length transaction and no change in management, or the board of directors of the Company is being contemplated at this time. "The team at Xian Tech has built a technology driven company, that is addressing the need for high quality data analytics in the all-importantinfrastructure construction sector in China. This is evident from their premium customer base and wide adoption of its solutions. This is a strategic and synergistic acquisition for BYT, which will strengthen our existing EPCM and waste management offerings," said Vincent Lim, Chief Executive Officer of the Company.



About Xi'an Triumph Electronic Technology Co., Ltd Xi'an Triumph Electronic Technology Co., Ltd was founded in founded in Xi'an, China in 2001. Since 2015, its core business is the provision of industrial big data analytics solutions through its proprietary platform systems.

Xian Tech's solutions enjoy a strong reputation and are widely adopted by large construction companies in China. Its customers include state owned enterprises operating in the railway, communications and water conservancy industries. Since inception, the company has deployed its products and services to more than 500 large scale infrastructure construction projects in China and other countries. Its flagship product "CFDT-2019", an industrial big data platform, has access to more than 600 out of around 2500 tunnel boring machines that are in use in China today. Xian Tech will continue to service four key industry segments: urban rail transit construction, water conservancy projects, railway engineering, and integrated pipeline network construction. These pillar industries all enjoy long term sustainable growth, which will underpin the company's growth in the future. About BYT Holdings BYT's operations are based out of Singapore, with its primary business being to provide one-stop turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction management solutions that range from consultancy and design, to the construction of projects involving high technology production facilities, primarily in Singapore and mainland China. BYT is also developing its waste management services division in Shanghai, China, which focuses on converting waste into organic compost. ON BEHALF OF BYT HOLDINGS "Vincent Lim" Vincent Lim

Chief Executive Officer Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE BYT Holdings Ltd.

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ANN ARBOR, MI  After lots of drama and bickering over the last year, with City Council meetings regularly lasting into the early morning hours, Ann Arbor has adopted new rules aimed at having shorter, more civil meetings.

They also aim to hold council members accountable when they attack each other at meetings and on social media.

Council members debated the issue into the early morning hours Tuesday, Feb. 2, casting a series of split votes on amendments before ultimately adopting the rules.

In order to ensure accessibility of council meetings to the general public, council aims to end meetings no later than 11 p.m., state the new rules, adopted at 1 a.m.

Council Member Ali Ramlawi, D-5th Ward, objected to new protocols for how to handle instances of council members making personal attacks against each other.

If a council members integrity, character or motives are characterized, assailed, questioned or impugned by another member at a meeting, the new rules state the person being attacked can request permission from the mayor to publicly address the matter and defend themself for up to two minutes, with the mayor having discretion over that.

That borders on infringing on council members First Amendment rights, Ramlawi said, questioning the discretion it gives the mayor and arguing it could be abused to the detriment of democracy.

As a person who finds himself in the political minority right now, I really fear that this could be weaponized in ways to silence the political minority, he said.

City Attorney Stephen Postema and Council Member Jen Eyer, D-4th Ward, noted Roberts Rules of Order already allow council members to rise to defend themselves as a matter of personal privilege. The new rules just put a two-minute time limit on it.

Council Member Elizabeth Nelson, D-4th Ward, shared some of Ramlawis concerns.

I have tried in our meetings not to wave the flag of victimhood and accuse others of speaking badly of me, and I know that things have gotten heated at this table and Ive been on different ends of it, she said, expressing concern the two-minute defense rule could just waste more time on grievances.

Council Member Erica Briggs, D-5th Ward, said she viewed it as an attempt to solve issues council is facing, though she also worries there could be disagreement going forward over what constitutes a personal attack warranting a defense.

Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, sided with Ramlawi and Nelson on wanting to delete the two-minute defense rule, but in an 8-3 vote they were outnumbered.

Mayor Christopher Taylor said the new rules wont be a problem if council members just treat each other with respect rather than questioning each others integrity and motives.

Its not complicated, he said.

Council Member Julie Grand, D-3rd Ward, said shes faced false accusations, and when that happens, there now will be a designated space to respond and move on.

Hayner pushed for striking another new rule that states if a council member is personally attacked during a council meeting or in another public venue, including social media, they can seek redress through the Council Administration Committee, which is made up of the mayor and four council members.

Under ethics rules, council members can face counseling by the committee or reprimand for misconduct.

Its a hostile work environment. Ann Arbor council meetings regularly run late, turn ugly

Hayner, who has faced heavy criticism for remarks hes made on social media over the years, said he doesnt think council has authority to impose consequences for things council members say outside of meetings as private citizens.

Ramlawi shared Hayners concerns and offered some words for the mayor and his allies on council.

Enjoy being in the majority, folks, because it doesnt last forever, he said.

Ramlawi said he doesnt think council can regulate what members say on social media. Its an overreach and he may have to hire an attorney, he said, adding he didnt think hed be giving up his personal rights when he ran for office.

Other council members said theyre not taking away anyones right to free speech, just creating a process with potential consequences for egregious behavior.

Council does have some ability to regulate itself as a body, Postema said.

Council Member Travis Radina, D-3rd Ward, compared it to the U.S. House having ability to strip Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of committee assignments for false and extremist remarks shes made on social media.

Council members are still representatives of the city outside of meetings and there shouldnt be an expectation they wont be held accountable for things they say and do, Radina said, arguing its normal to be able to censure an official or strip them of committee assignments if theyve acted badly.

Council members cant expect to say whatever they want about others without consequences, Grand agreed.

And if you have a problem because you cant control your behavior on social (media), fix it, she told colleagues.

Briggs supported striking the rule about council members conduct outside of meetings, though she said, I see a really serious problem from some members of this body on social media and sometimes in other ways that they communicate in the public. Its really concerning and the conduct of some is degrading trust in government, she said.

Council members should be aware their words speak volumes to the community, Briggs said, though she thinks voters should be the ones to hold them accountable.

Council Member Lisa Disch, D-1st Ward, disagreed with Briggs on that. By the time someone is voted out of office for bad conduct, theyve already damaged the institution and compromised public trust and the dignity of council, she said.

I think weve lived with and we are going to have to be repairing the damage to our basic democratic institutions, she said. Lets, on a local level, steward and protect our own.

Ann Arbor officials aim to address City Councils bad reputation in community

In a 9-2 vote, only Hayner and Ramlawi were against the new rule about redress of grievances.

Under the rule, the only person who can initiate a grievance action against another council member would be a council member who felt personally attacked, so its not a matter of council members broadly policing each other, officials said.

After the failed attempt to eliminate the redress of grievances section, Ramlawi proposed striking just the part about speech outside of meetings. That was voted down 8-3, with only Briggs, Hayner and Ramlawi in support of the deletion.

Council members also were divided on new speaking time limits for themselves.

For the communications from council period at the beginning and end of each meeting, when council members make announcements or respond to public speakers, each member is now limited to no more than two minutes each time.

In an 8-3 vote, only Hayner, Nelson and Ramlawi were in favor of upping that to three minutes.

During council deliberations, each member can speak twice on any given issue, three minutes the first time and two minutes the second time. Time council members spend asking questions of staff now counts against their speaking times.

Ramlawi pushed back on the idea of trying to end meetings by 11 p.m., saying he doubts two four-hour meetings each month will be enough to handle council business. He suggested midnight or 1 a.m. should be the cutoff.

Ramlawi said people accuse him of being longwinded and ranting, but his style is appreciated by people who want to hear a robust public discussion at meetings.

Hell still try to live within the new rules, he said.

In a final 10-1 vote, only Hayner objected to the ultimate adoption of the rules.

Council members said there still could be more changes coming. Council has yet to make any new rules for the public, and some council members have expressed concerns about the speech of public speakers at meetings recently.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

Ann Arbor council discusses free speech rights, then hears parade of F-bombs

Developer aims to save Ann Arbor oak forest from becoming a subdivision

Ann Arbor spending $1.5M to add 3.8-acre wooded area to city park network

Judge finds some of polluters arguments in Ann Arbor dioxane case significantly valid

Ann Arbor OKs largest greenbelt purchase in history, preserving 375-acre farm
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United Nations-facilitated talks on Libya have wrapped up with a new interim government for the war-ravaged country, with Abdulhamid Dbeibeh selected as prime minister and Mohammed al-Menfi as head of a three-member presidential council.

I am pleased to witness this historic moment, UN acting Libya envoy Stephanie Williams told the delegates on Friday. The decision that you have taken today will grow with the passage of time in the collective memory of the Libyan people.

The selection of an interim government is the latest attempt at unifying the North African country after six years of civil war and an uprising that overthrew and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. An October cease-fire brokered by the UN Mission in Libya paused the fighting between the internationally recognized Government of National Accord and Khalifa Hifters Libyan National Army. Both sides called for nationwide presidential and parliamentary elections.

Dozens of delegates from across Libya gathered this week near Geneva, Switzerland, to hear presentations from candidates running for interim prime minister and a three-member presidential council. As part of the UN-supported process, known as the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, candidates pledged to hold general elections Dec. 24 and to appoint women to 30% of all senior government positions.

The vote went to a runoff Feb. 5 after none of the four slates of candidates secured enough votes to meet the necessary 60% threshold. Menfi, Libyas former ambassador to Greece, will serve as the presidential councils head and Dbeibeh, a Misrata-based businessman, will serve as prime minister in the interim goverment.

Menfi and Dbeibeh beat out the list featuring eastern-based parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh and western-based Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha as council head and premier, respectively. In the final round of voting, 39 of 73 votes went to Dbeibahs list, and 34 for Bashaghas.

Bashagha tweeted his congratulations Friday to the winners of the UN-led Libyan dialogue, which he described as the full embodiment of democracy.
The Pentagon said Friday it would send 1,100 active-duty troops across the country to administer coronavirus vaccines, the first team being in place in about 10 days.

A statement issued by military officials didnt say where all of those troops would work or when they would start. Theyll be made up of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Friday afternoon the first team would go to a site in California and was expected to be in place around mid-February.

Thats just one team of this initial tranche of 1,100 personnel, he told reporters. Were still working with FEMA to determine what sites those other teams will go to and in what order - in other words, what the timeline is.

Five teams, each containing 222 troops, will be dispatched to give shots to civilians, with 80 personnel acting as vaccinators. Of those, 15 will be registered nurses, with another 57 acting as clinical staff and 55 as general purpose personnel.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Defense Department will jointly determine when troops are no longer needed to administer vaccines. In the meantime, FEMA has asked for a total of 10,000 military personnel to support 100 vaccination sites.

U.S. Army North anticipates overseeing the deployment of the service members for the federal vaccine response, but a spokeswoman for the command, Nicole Wieman, said she had no details  or timeline  for how it would unfold.

California is listed as one of the locations, but FEMA has not identified that or made the specifics known, Wieman said.

The command, based at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, has spent much of the past year directing medical personnel to parts of the country that have been hard hit by coronavirus.

The National Guard has been involved in vaccinations for some time, assigning 24,000 personnel spread out over the United States and its territories.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio-based Army North's medical teams heading to three Texas cities

So far, guardsmen have given 56,000 shots a day to civilians in 29 states and territories, with another 10 states providing administrative and logistical support, said Darla Torres, a National Guard Bureau spokeswoman.

The shots have been given in a combination of static sites and mobile testing teams targeting rural areas.

The Texas National Guard hosted a COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Cuero on Jan. 29 after Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order to help underserved populations. It will continue the work at sites across the Lone State State.

sigc@express-news.net
A 96-year-old Holocaust survivor has been given her coronavirus vaccination in the same arm that was tattooed with a serial number when she was in Auschwitz.

Evelyn Lipmann, who received her Pfizer jab last month, arrived in Britain 73 years ago as a refugee and has lived in Walton-On-Thames since 1957.

Mrs Lipmann's son Anthony praised the vaccine rollout as 'impressive' and said: 'My mum couldn't stop telling us about the efficiency of it.'

The great-grandmother's story struck a chord with thousands of people after her son posted a tweet which was liked more than 80,000 times.

Evelyn Lipmann (pictured), who received her Pfizer jab last month, arrived in Britain 73 years ago as a refugee and has lived in Walton-On-Thames since 1957

Mrs Lipmann's son Anthony praised the vaccine rollout as 'impressive' and said: 'My mum couldn't stop telling us about the efficiency of it.' Pictured, Mrs Lipmann with her children Anthony and Kate in 1958

It said: 'My mother, 96, survivor of Leopoldstadt, Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Belsen, Salzwedel, who received sanctuary in Britain in 1947, just received the Pfizer vaccine in Walton town centre. Thank you Britain.'

Mr Lipmann said his mother was happy the tweet raised awareness of her story because she 'had been silent for most of her life on this matter', and recently realised she was one of the few remaining survivors.

'We've been shown a lot of love and good wishes.' he added.

Mrs Lipmann has lived in the same house for more than 60 years and counts Odette Hallowes - an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive in Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War - as one of her neighbours.

Mrs Lipmann's son Anthony praised the vaccine rollout as 'impressive' and said: 'My mum couldn't stop telling us about the efficiency of it.' Pictured, the Auschwitz tattoo

In her 50s the mother-of-two managed to complete her degree with the Open University - receiving a bachelor of arts with honours. Pictured with her certificate

Mrs Lipmann with her son, Anthony. The great-grandmother's story struck a chord with thousands of people after her son posted a tweet which was liked more than 80,000 times

Mr Lipmann said the two were never acquainted. 'She didn't fit in in some ways. She had no small talk left. People wouldn't have understood either. That's another reason for being quiet, nearly all of her life, until now,' he added.

Mrs Lipmann is pictured months after her liberation in 1945

'She's getting towards the end, and thinking "I do need to let people know that this ordinary person, an ordinary housewife in Walton-On-Thames, in an ordinary street, needs to speak".'

Mr Lipmann said his mother's faith in humanity was slowly restored after coming to Britain. 'My mum didn't used to like humanity a lot,' he said.

'But as she got older and started to use a stick, a marvellous change came over her because suddenly she found that people would open doors for her, or people would stop if she was crossing the road, or people would give her a seat.'

'We're talking about someone who has taken many years to heal and has not fully healed,' he added.

As a young girl, Mrs Lipmann had 'loved' attending art classes in Vienna, where she grew up, but she was cruelly 'outed' as a Jew by a classmate, forcing the teacher to stop the lessons.

Jewish families were placed under house arrest in Austria in 1938, and Viennese Jews were moved to the ghetto of Leopoldstadt by the early 1940's.

Mrs Lipmann will welcome her next great-grandchild later this month. Pictured with a children's book she will gift the baby

Evelyn Lipmann with her great-grandson, Leo. Mrs Lipmann has lived in the same house for more than 60 years

Picture of Evelyn's Liberation card. Mr Lipmann said his mother was happy the tweet raised awareness of her story because she 'had been silent for most of her life on this matter', and recently realised she was one of the few remaining survivors

In her 50s, the mother-of-two managed to complete her degree with the Open University - receiving a bachelor of arts with honours.

Mr Lipmann said: 'She reached these blessed shores having suffered almost the worst that mankind can do to people.

'She has loved living where she is, thanks to this country she is still there. And she has now been given a vaccination which means life to her, means she might live long enough to see her next great-grandchild, who is to be produced later this month by my niece, Georgina. She feels very lucky, very grateful and thankful.'

'She's very tough, it's what made her survive and I'm an admirer.'

'Mum doesn't have a reason as to why she survived, she said it was luck, but she also said whenever there was an opportunity, they volunteered. She kept moving and kept working.'
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Fort Myers, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) -WhereverTV Broadcasting Corp. (OTC Pink: TVTV), which endeavors to deliver Over The Top (OTT), prepaid, no-contract, subscription television services to a variety of devices including smartphones, TabletPCs, streaming media players, computers and connected TVs, announced today that it has received $1.5 million in funding from an investor, which is non-dilutive to the shareholders and cannot be converted to equity. The investor's returns are based on the potential recoveries, if any, relating to the Company's IP enforcement campaign. The terms of the investment are confidential.

Contact:

Ph: (239) 319-2692

Email: info@Wherever.TV

This news release contains forward-looking statements, which may not be based on historical facts. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments.

SOURCE: WhereverTV Broadcasting Corp.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73702
A bacterium has been killing chimpanzees in Sierra Leone. Scientists are worried that the said bacterium could eventually spread to humans.

Researchers led by a team at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, published a study on Wednesday, announcing their findings in the journal "Nature Communications."

The study showed that fifty-six (56) chimpanzees died from a similarly mysterious illness at the Tacugama Chimpanzee sanctuary and wildlife reserve. They covered the deaths between 2005 and 2018. The disease causes both gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms that are "not subtle," lead researcher Tony Goldberg said.

"The chimpanzees would stagger and stumble, vomit, and have diarrhea," he said. "Sometimes they'd go to bed healthy and be dead in the morning."

After analyzing and screening DNAs and other bodily fluids for years, Goldberg's student Leah A. Owens isolated a bacterium in 68% of the samples from sick chimpanzees. Under a microscope, what she found on her slide was something that looked like that of the genus Sarcina, which, at the time, only included two other known species.

The bacterium Owens found is now called Sarcina troglodyte after the chimpanzee species it infected, Pan troglodytes.

The new disease named "epizootic neurologic and gastroenteric syndrome" (ENGS) is characterized by neurologic and gastrointestinal signs and results in the animals' death, even after medical treatment. Using a case-control study design, we show that ENGS is strongly associated with Sarcina infection. It has a fatality rate of 100%.

There are still a lot of unknown variables. For example, while it is known that the bacterium can live in soil, it is not understood how the Tacugama chimpanzees ingested it, why there is a prevalence in March, and whether or not the bacterium alone causes the illness.

In the hopes of saving the lives of these endangered animals, Tacugama veterinarians are treating sick chimpanzees with antacids, anticonvulsive, and antibiotics. Unfortunately, the animals never recovered.

Related Article: Scientists Double Effort to Find Possible Next Pandemic, Caused by Other Zoonotic Diseases

Epizootic Disease

An epizootic disease is an event in a nonhuman animal population analogous to an epidemic in humans. An epizootic may be restricted to a specific locale (an "outbreak"), general (an "epizootic"), or widespread ("panzootic").

High population density is a major contributing factor to epizootics. Aquaculture is sometimes plagued by disease because of the large number of fish confined to a small area. Scientists are worried that epizootic outbreaks can lead to the spread of zoonotic diseases.

Zoonotic Diseases

A zoonosis (plural zoonoses, or zoonotic diseases) is an infectious disease caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a bacterium, virus, parasite, or prion) that has jumped from an animal (usually a vertebrate) to a human. Typically, the first infected human transmits the infectious agent to at least one other human, who, in turn, infects others.

Recently, there has been a rise in the frequency of appearance of new zoonotic diseases.

According to a report from the United Nations Environment Programme and International Livestock Research Institute named: "Preventing the next pandemic - Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission," the causes are mostly environmental.

ALSO READ: Rabies: The Deadliest Disease in the World Kills 160 People Every Day

For more health related news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
(Newser)  When a snowstorm hit a month ago, a Rhode Island 10-year-old decided to give nurses battling the coronavirus a hand when it snowed next. "I was thinking they've been helping us a lot through this whole pandemic," Christian Stone said, "and I figured why don't we help them, you know?" He reasoned that after their shift at Westerly Hospital they "want to get home from work, so we thought we would make it a tiny bit easier for them by cleaning off their cars for them." So on Monday afternoon, Christian and his friend's mother, Abbey Meeker, suited up and headed for the hospital's parking lot, WJAR reports. She would've preferred showing their appreciation another way. "It sucked. I hate the snow," Meeker said, adding that she did it "because this is what he's passionate about. I did it because he wanted to do it. It's a good feeling."

story continues below

The parking lot was being plowed, but the cars in it were covered. It kept snowing as the two worked, per WXIX, and it was windy.They worked from 2pm until evening. "Honestly, we've probably done at least 80 cars," Meeker said. "It's been cold but extremely fun seeing how happy they get," Christian said. "Some of them say, 'Thank you so much,' and I'm just really happy to see them happy." A few of the hospital employees offered to pay for the service. "We just said, 'We're doing this for you guys cause you're here for us,'" Meeker said. Christian said, "We want them to be able go home and see their family after a long day of work." He agreed with Meeker: "It's a good feeling." (A new appreciation of front-line health care workers was one of the best things to come out of 2020, the Washington Post decided.)
a - A +

Por ADN.CL

Jueves 04 de Feb, 2021 - 23:49
Singha Estates SAii Laguna Phuket opens, Phi Phi resort to follow

PHUKET: SAii, the fun and free-spirited upper-upscale lifestyle brand from Thai hotel group S Hotels and Resorts PCL, has arrived in its spiritual home with the opening of its first resort SAii Laguna Phuket.

tourism

By The Phuket News

Friday 5 February 2021, 12:48PM

SAii, which derives from the Thai word for sand, was first unveiled in 2019 at SAii Lagoon Maldives, the island resort at CROSSROADS Maldives, Singha Estates integrated destination in the Indian Ocean. Now, S Hotels & Resorts is celebrating the launch of its next SAii resort, nestled on the shores of Thailands serene southern islands.

SAii Laguna Phuket has undergone an extensive renovation including the creation of a new events hall, a seafront restaurant and an enhanced beachfront bar to integrate SAii wellness and culinary brand signatures. An integral part of Laguna Phuket, the world-class integrated resort at Bang Tao Bay, overlooking the Andaman Sea, the retreat is perfectly suited to light-hearted couples, families, groups of friends, and one-of-a-kind weddings and events.

The new SAii resort in Thailand will attract "InSAiiders"  the brands term for experience-seeking explorers who value personal freedom, authentic encounters, and a sense of discovery. These millennially-minded guests are tech-savvy, but also have a desire to look beyond the screen and engage in new adventures, explained a release announcing the opening.

With SAii, the guest journey follows a series of intuitive touchpoints, from Hello, a warm Thai welcome, to Hub, the social heart of the resort where guests can mix their own bedroom amenities in the M.I.Y Aroma Lab, and Sleep, the comforting guest room concepts. Play reflects each resorts activities on land and at sea, including sustainable enterprises, Treat showcases its culinary offerings, and Live helps to deliver exceptional weddings and events, before "SAii For Now" provides a heartfelt goodbye, the release added.

S Hotels & Resorts Public Company Limited, the flagship hospitality arm of Singha Estate PCL, is gearing up for a defining year in 2021, as it completes a series of milestone rebrands, smart refurbishments and expansion projects that keeps the company firmly on track to reach its targets.

These objectives are aligned with six goals S Hotels & Resorts is committed to from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals initiative through actions concerning sustainable consumption, marine debris pollution, low carbon, children knowledge and conservation programme, green procurement and local sourcing, local gastronomy and human rights.

At the heart of S Hotels & Resorts growth strategy are its new lifestyle brands: SAii, a fun and free-spirited upper-upscale concept for experience-seeking travellers, and nabor, an all-new luxury-midscale brand designed for smart explorers with digitally-driven lives. With at least six new and repositioned properties scheduled to be added in the next 12 months, 2021 will play a pivotal role in the companys five-year development strategy, through which it plans to double its global portfolio from 39 hotels totalling 4,647 rooms today, to 82 properties with 9,000 keys by 2025.

S Hotels & Resorts late last year announced the next two SAii resorts in Thailand in the first quarter of 2021: SAii Laguna Phuket and SAii Phi Phi Island Village.

SAii Phi Phi Island Village is an eco-friendly retreat nestled on 70 acres of beachfront land on Koh Phi Phi Don. Currently known as Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort, it will undergo an extensive refurbishment and repositioning before reopening under the SAii brand. The resorts lobby, freeform pool, spa and sea-facing restaurants are among the elements being upgraded, along with its premium room category, the Hillside Pool Villas, which overlook the sea. Like its sister property in the Maldives, SAii Phi Phi Island Village encourages eco-conscious travellers to preserve the environment with offshore excursions and regular activities at its onsite Marine Discovery Centre.

Both new SAii resorts will showcase innovative wellness and F&B concepts, including Mr Tomyam, Miss Olive Oyl and Len Be Well. Mr Tomyam, which made its debut at SAii Lagoon Maldives, focuses on Thai-inspired dishes with live kitchens and alfresco seating; while Miss Olive Oyl, is a vibrant Mediterranean-style seafood grill and bar. Len Be Well is to provide a personalised approach to wellbeing through five core pillars: Romance, Relax, Culture, Adventure and Family. Blending bespoke leisure activities, body treatments, gastronomic offerings and more, the customised concept is already offered to guests at Santiburi Koh Samui, which will focus on health and wellness. Guests can expect an enhanced selection of spa journeys, immersive excursions and culinary specials such as floating breakfast in the pool villas.

New for 2021, S Hotels & Resorts is expected to unveil nabor (pronounced neighbour), an alternative collection of locally-inspired luxury-midscale resorts and hotels, in April 2021 with its first property in Bophut, Koh Samui.

2021 will be a pivotal year for S Hotels & Resorts, as we accelerate the expansion of our lifestyle brands, said Dirk De Cuyper, Chief Executive Officer, S Hotels & Resorts.

Extensive upgrades to our resorts in Thailand have laid the foundations for our rebrandings, and we are very excited to be introducing our original concepts to stunning locations across Asia. Luxury is no longer defined by unnecessary bells and whistles; todays savvy travellers demand seamless stays, immersive experiences and the ability to uncover the essence of their locale. With SAii and nabor, we will create deeply personal journeys in a choice of highly-desirable destinations. We look forward to bringing our intuitive and inviting brands to all guests next year and beyond, he added.

At present, S Hotels & Resorts global collection comprises 39 hotels and resorts in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the UK  totalling 4,647 keys. The company is aiming to double its portfolio over the next five years, driven by a mix of mergers and acquisitions, resort purchases and hotel management agreements, and focusing on the roll-out of SAii and nabor hotels across the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean regions.

Despite the global downturn, 2020 has been a successful year for S Hotels & Resorts as it won a series of major awards for the quality of its hotels and its environmental efforts. These include a corporate award for Green Leadership in the Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards, Santiburi Koh Samui signing UNESCOs Sustainable Tourism Pledge and Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort who won the Marine and Nature category for its Marine Discovery Centre out of over 600 Thai tourism businesses nominated in the Tourism Authority of Thailands 12th annual Responsible Thailand Awards in the UK, recognising Thailands champions of sustainable tourism.

Santiburi Koh Samui, Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort, Hard Rock Hotel Maldives and SAii Lagoon Maldives also achieved TripAdvisors Travelers Choice Awards, while Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort and Hard Rock Hotel Maldives were honoured in the Conde Nast Readers Choice Awards. Hard Rock Hotel Maldives and SAii Lagoon Maldives both featured in the World Luxury Hotel Awards, and SAii Lagoon Maldives was a winner in the World MICE Awards.
TAT to press for charges on We Travel Together offenders

THAILAND: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will call on police to file charges against those accused of defrauding the Rao Tiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together) tourism stimulus package next week, says national police chief Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk.

CoronavirusCOVID-19crime

By Bangkok Post

Friday 5 February 2021, 10:30AM

The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) said that many hotels, especially ones in Chaiyaphum and Phuket, were exploiting the Rao Tiew Duay Kan scheme. Photo: Bangkok Post.

He said more fraudsters were still being identified and so far at least 800 hotels and shops across a number of provinces were suspected of being complicit in the fraud.

The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) said earlier that many hotels, especially ones in Chaiyaphum and Phuket, were exploiting the Rao Tiew Duay Kan scheme.

Division investigators were looking into fraud cases at 55 hotels in these provinces alone, according to a police source.

Fifty suspects working at these hotels had been arrested and the CSD is preparing charges against the individuals who worked together to make false claims. One case in Chaiyaphum allegedly involved about 9,000 accomplices who used social media to defraud people.

Yesterday (Feb 4), Pol Gen Suwat said the TAT was preparing evidence to be presented to the CSD next week. The agency will also seek the prosecution of the fraudsters and their accomplices.

The CSD has asked police at 1,400 stations across the country to help investigate subsidy scheme fraud cases. The stations cover 900 areas where the suspects are located, according to the Royal Thai Police.

Those targeted are hotels, fraudsters and the scheme beneficiaries who knowingly colluded in exploiting the co-payment scheme subsidies.

Participants in the scheme pay only 60% of normal hotel room rates, with the government responsible for the rest.

Tourists also receive an e-voucher for other spending valued at B600 from Friday to Sunday and B900 from Monday to Thursday. The government also helps pay 40% of the price of air tickets, up to B3,000 per person.

Police said many people were paid to sign up for the scheme so cheaters could take full advantage of the privileges.
The World Economic Forum Special Annual Meeting 2021 in Singapore will convene from August 17 to 20.

The meeting follows the success of the Forums virtual Davos Agenda in January, which brought together world leaders from government, business and society.

The Special Annual Meeting 2021 was scheduled for May 25-28. Although the World Economic Forum and Government of Singapore remain confident of the measures in place to ensure a safe and effective meeting, and local transmission of Covid-19 in Singapore remains at negligible levels, the change to the meetings timing reflects the international challenges in containing the pandemic.

Current global travel restrictions have made planning difficult for an in-person meeting in the first half of the year. Furthermore, differing quarantine and air transport regulations have increased the lead time necessary to ensure that participants globally can make arrangements to join.

The Special Annual Meeting 2021 in Singapore in August will be the first global leadership summit to address the challenges of recovering from the pandemic and laying the basis for a more inclusive and sustainable world.

It will bring leaders face-to-face to focus on shaping solutions to the most pressing challenges of our times.

A global leadership summit needs the participation of all global stakeholders, said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. The Special Annual Meeting in Singapore in August will provide the place for leaders from business, government and civil society to come together to address the steps for global recovery.
A British couple who ended up having the ultimate holiday nightmare after they were locked in their room for two weeks on board a cruise ship in the Far East at the start of the pandemic say they 'can't wait' to get back on board another liner.

David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, hit the headlines as some of the first Britons to catch Covid, after it spread quickly among the 700 passengers on board the Diamond Princess, on which they were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at the time.

The couple were eventually treated in a Japanese hospital, which they told the media at the time was 'prison-like' due to the strict measures to contain the spread, before they recovered and were allowed to travel back to Britain.

Scroll down for video

We can't wait to get back on the high seas! David, 75, and Sally Abel, 72, from Northamptonshire were forced to stay quarantined in their rooms for two weeks on the Diamond Princess last year after the virus struck the liner - but say they've booked five more cruise holidays for this year and next

The Diamond Princess, which David and Sally were on, was locked down for more than two weeks off the coast of Japan in February 2020, with 700 passengers confined to their rooms

However, one year on, the couple are determined to get find their sea legs again, with their first trip - of five they say they've booked - set to be to northern Europe and Russia to the see the Northern Lights.

Speaking to ITV News, David, 75, said they were busy planning future holidays despite him suffering from a stroke in September last year - and neither of them yet having the vaccine.

He said: 'We have to plan for the future. We've got five cruises booked already.'

He added: 'In April, we were supposed to be flying to Canada, but I don't think that will happen... we've got five booked between 2021 and March 2022.'

The couple haven't been put off despite being confined to their rooms for two weeks when the outbreak hit the Diamond Princess on February 4th while sailing close to Japan.

The couple kept the British media updated on their locked down cruise ship experience and subsequent hospital stay via photos and videos.

British cruise ship passenger David Abel and his wife Sally (pictured in their cabin on the Diamond Princess in February 2020) tested positive for coronavirus and had to be treated at a hospital in Japan

David Abel, pictured following his cruise ship nightmare, told ITV news the couple's first stop would be a trip to northern Europe and Russia

Sally, pictured during her stay in a Japanese hospital, said she loves cruises and 'it hasn't put us off at all'

A total of 705 of the ship's 3,711 passengers and crew were found to be infected during the lockdown, sparking severe criticism of how Japanese authorities had handled the case.

Passengers were confined to their cabins on board the ship in what scientists described as an ideal breeding ground for the virus, with tourists also voicing concerns about the conditions on board.

The UK government eventually chartered a flight to airlift 32 people home from the cruise ship, but dozens of Britons remained in Japan.
HTMLCountry6 UN Human Rights in English Speaking Caribbean and Suriname

HTMLCountry11 Profile

Under the leadership of the OHCHR Regional Representative for Central America and the Caribbean based in Panama, Human Rights Advisors are deployed to the United Nations Country Teams (UNCT) in Barbados/Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Together, they cover Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Human Rights Advisors provide thematic support to the UNCTs, Offices of the Resident Coordinator and national counterparts in incorporating human rights into their programmes and activities. This includes providing human rights expertise to national authorities, civil society and UN partners, mainstreaming human rights in the UN approach, advocating for implementation of international human rights treaties and reporting to their monitoring mechanisms, and providing advisory services for the promotion and protection of human rights in the region.

Type of engagement Human Rights Adviser Year established Field offices Kingston, Bridgetown, Georgetown, Port of Spain, Belize City Number of staff 5 Annual budget needs US$



Achievements Following OHCHR advocacy, in 2019 Dominica ratified the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; Antigua and Barbuda acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and St. Kitts and Nevis ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Effective implementation through legislative and institutional reforms call for further technical assistance and advisory services to continue. For example, in 2019 OHCHR provided capacity building to government officials in Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines on reporting to the CRPD Committee.

OHCHR has started working with the Trinidad and Tobago Equal Opportunity Commission (TT EOC) on transitioning into a NHRI in compliance with the Paris Principles. OHCHR partnered with the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty to raise awareness among young people in Barbados and strengthen human rights advocacy. In 2019 the UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity and IACHR Rapporteur on rights of LGBTI persons, held a Caribbean Joint Consultation on the socio-economic and cultural inclusion of LGBTI persons in the region.

In 2019, OHCHR in Jamaica worked closely with UNCT and the human rights and Gender Working Group and provided capcity building, training and technical advice on UN SDG operational guidelines on leaving noone behind, gender and migration as well as in regard to legislative reform and harmonisation of national laws with international legal framework.

In collaboration with the National Police College of Jamaica, OHCHR developed a Pocket Guide on Human Rights in Law Enforcement to prevent human rights violations and to ensure accountability on violations committed by the police force. The guide also sensitizes the police on issues relating to women's rights and gender-based violence.

In 2019, OHCHR took the lead on 4 reports by UN Country Teams to human rights mechanisms (Grenada: UPR; Guyana: UPR; Jamaica UPR and CRPD) and contributed to building the reporting capacity of relevant authorities in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Jamaica, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. OHCHR also provided support to civil society to further engage with human rights mechanisms, in particular in Barbados, Jamaica, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

In 2019 and 2020 OHCHR played a leading role in addressing protection and human rights concerns post Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas and organised several missions and deployed surge capacity to monitor the situation of vulnerable groups and advocate for a human rights-based approach in the emergency response and recovery efforts. In 2020 OHCHR monitored human rights in the context of elections in Guyana, emphasizing the importance of human rights for peaceful, inclusive and credible elections. Partners and Donors

Partners: UN agencies, International and regional organizations, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), States, Law enforcement and judiciary and civil society organisations. Donors: Funded through United Nations Sustainable Development Group. UN Human Rights Focus Areas

Thematic pillars Mechanisms: Increasing implementation of the international human rights mechanisms outcomes

Increasing implementation of the international human rights mechanisms outcomes Development: Integrating human rights in sustainable development

Integrating human rights in sustainable development Accountability: Strengthening rule of law and accountability for human rights violations

Strengthening rule of law and accountability for human rights violations Non-discrimination: Enhancing equality and countering discrimination Shifts Prevention

Global constituency

Civic space

Climate change

Inequalities

People on the move

Corruption Spotlight populations Women

Young people

Persons with disabilities Last reviewed: March 2021



HTMLCountry7 HTMLCountry9

HTMLCountry10 HTMLCountry12 HTMLCountry13


After international pop star Rihanna, teenage activist Greta Thunberg and other international celebrities drew global attention to the ongoing farmers' protest on the borders of New Delhi against the three new farm laws with their tweets, a host of Bollywood celebrities like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Karan Johar and others posted similar statements about the farmers' protest with the hashtag 'India against propaganda' and 'India Together' on their respective Twitter pages.

On the other hand, others like Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker and others extended their support to Rihanna's tweet and criticized the show of solidarity by top stars towards the government.

Today, Abhay Deol took to his Instagram page to laud Tapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker and jewellery designer, Farah Khan Ali for voicing their support towards the farmers' protest. The Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara actor shared screenshots of the three ladies' tweets and even suggested that they all should star in the next Rihanna video.

Abhay's post read, "The popular expression, 'having the b@!!$' means to say 'having the courage.' Looking at these lovely ladies' media feed and I think we should replace 'b@!!$' with 'V@!/@' @taapsee, @farahkhanali @reallyswara ya'll should be in the next @badgalriri video! Right wing trolls in 3, 2, 1."

Have a look at his Instagram post.

Earlier, Taapsee had taken an indirect jibe at the social media outcry post Rihanna's tweet and written, "If one tweet rattles your unity, one joke rattles your faith or one show rattles your religious belief then it's you who has to work on strengthening your value system not become 'propaganda teacher' for others."

Farah Ali Khan had expressed her disappointment with the 'fraternity' and tweeted, "Disappointed with the fraternity tweeting identical tweets that make it more like a marketing gimmick. Whatever their reasons & I'm no one to judge at least u could have tried to make it more original. Now you have given yourselves away. Reel Life Heroes VS Real Life Heroes".

The events which followed after Rihanna and other international celebrities' tweets on the ongoing farmers' protest has left Bollywood divided.

ALSO READ: Hema Malini On International Celebrities' Take On Farmers' Protest: Whom Are They Trying To Please?

ALSO READ: Salman Khan On Farmers' Protest: The Most Correct Thing Should Be Done
As they sought to strip her of her committee appointments, Democrats in the House of Representatives tried to make clear that Marjorie Taylor Greene was not being attacked for any single speech, act, or comment but, rather, for a lengthy pattern of espousing and endorsing dangerous conspiracy theories, for her anti-Semitic and Islamophobic remarks, and for numerous acts of either condoning or inciting violence against public figures. And yet, as she has done since her social media posts, videos, and speeches have begun to dog her, Greene pitched herself once again as an American free speech martyr. Casting herself Thursday as being crucified  in the public square for words that I said, she failed to even mention the harms that could be caused by her words. Acutely aware of her persecution at the hands of the media, she failed to understand that she has herself used the media to persecute others. Her real objection, she revealed, is to the press, because apparently it was the press that caused her to say those words before reporting on her truthfully.

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This stuff is all ripped straight from the Trump playbook. And much like Trumps sundry censorship protests, its a beef not with censorship but with truth. Even as Greene renounced in her remarks on Thursday some of her more shocking claimsthat mass shootings are staged and 9/11 didnt happenshe described herself as the victim of misinformation, not its purveyor and amplifier. And her word choice with respect to the handful of claims she did rescind was purposive: It was unfailingly the media that was to blame. Greene first explained that in 2017 she had been upset about thingsthe Russia collusion investigation, for exampleand she increasingly believed the media (she name-checked CNN and Fox News) was lying. So, she started looking up things on the internet, asking questions like most people do every day, us[ing] Google. It was that initial failure on the part of the media, and the lies she then discovered on Google, that allowed her to stumble across something  called QAnon. In this strange Encyclopedia Brown telling, she was just an innocent truth sleuth, following where the internet led her. It was her good-faith search for fact that led her astray. It was all that untrustworthy stuff external to herand not herselfthat ultimately meant that I was allowed to believe things that werent true.

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That was her word: allowed. She didnt just come to believe these conspiracies. The internet allowed it, rewarded and dragged her to it. And it was the same internet that unreasonably tagged her for it after. Because Greene made it plain that it was the Facebook posts that led her to be condemned. As she put it, if it werent for the Facebook post and comments that I liked in 2018, I wouldnt be standing here today. Its because of Facebook that she was caught. Not her own actions. Facebook and Google and CNN and Fox News and the do-nothing Congress of 2018 did this wrong to her. There is no acceptance of responsibility here; there is simply the deft reallocation of it, and in so doing, shes fanning the flames of the deeply damaging claim that the press itself is the reason for mistrust in the press.

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Greenes capstone to the nonapology apology was the good old nihilist chestnut that any source of information that is a mix of truth and a mix of lies is dangerous, no matter what it is saying, what party it is helping, anything or any country it is about. Its dangerous. And in the event that you missed it, her ultimate conclusion remained that the real malefactor here is the press: Will we allow the media that is just as guilty as QAnon of presenting truth and lies to divide us?

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Shes fanning the flames of the deeply damaging claim that the press is the reason for mistrust in the press.

By limiting her regrettable past words to a handful of statements on Facebook about 9/11 and false flag shootings that she claimed all stopped in late 2018, Greene was also careful to hive off the many, many things she has said in other fora, about other issues, as recently as December of 2020. She made no mention of her actual calls for violence and lawlessness in the list of things she regrets. No mention of her 2019 video claiming that no Muslim should be allowed to serve in government, her 2018 claim that the Rothschilds started the California wildfires, or her September 2020 Facebook post featuring herself with an AR-15 and Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib that was captioned Squads Worst Nightmare. No regrets were expressed for supporting executions of prominent Democrats in 201819. No remorse or accounting for her 2018 response to a commenter asking if they could hang Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama that said, We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off. No remorse or accountability for sharing, in 2018, a notorious white nationalist video in which a Holocaust denier claimed that Zionist supremacists have schemed to promote immigration and miscegenation.

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And so here we are. The garbage old apology for hurtful speech used to be Im sorry you were offended, but in Greenes able hands, it has morphed this week into some version of I am sorry that, because the press is so unreliable, Fox News is so unbelievable, Google is so QAnon-promoting, and Facebook is so hard to delete, I said racist, bigoted, incendiary, and violent things, like so many of you (and now I am angry that I got caught for it). She appears to be unrepentant for most of the hurtful speech but chiefly just regretful that her altogether-reasonable initial mistrust of the press led her there. Greene also used her remarks to fault Media Matters, CNN, MSNBC, and the rest of the mainstream media for the ways in which they portray her. In her press conference on Friday, she addressed the media directly, because it is the media, as she put it, that is addicting the country to hate. This was part of her far-ranging and hate-filled attack on Nancy Pelosi, AOC, Black Lives Matter, socialists, and Democrats. Journalists, in this telling, lie when they lie, and journalists also lie when they tell the truth. This is all just win-win blame-shifting for those who seek to discredit honest journalism.

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This entire episode has reinforced the very same circular critique on which right-wing media has relied for decades: Its not our fault if we parrot and reinforce slander and lies; we do it because our viewers want to hear it. We allow them to make their own truth. Its the jumped-up version of Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz laying claim to their obligation to give voice to the big lie about a stolen 2020 election: Who are we to dismiss lies and liars if millions of people wish to believe them? People should be allowed to believe what they want, and who are we to correct them is the new definition of freedom. Its doesnt matter if its also the definition of where Greene concedes she went astray when she started sharing dangerous conspiracies.

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The Marjorie Taylor Greenes of the world arent trying to fix whatever it is they think ails Fox News and CNN and Facebook and Google and MSNBC and even QAnon. She is pointing to their flaws because she wants to be exculpated for having chosen to disbelieve all of them. The net effect of her performance this week has more to do with fundraising and the monopolizing of scarce public attention than with any meaningful claim about the nexus between speech and facts. Which is why, given a chance to talk to reporters again on Thursday, she walked away on high principle. As she has done all week, Greene refused to answer reporters questions after her speech on the floor on Thursday, at which point an aide rebuked CNNs Daniella Diaz, Fox News Jason Donner, and Bloomberg Governments Emily Wilkins with the claim that She doesnt answer to you.  She answers to the people of the 14th District. When one journalist replied that we report to the people of the 14th District, another aide replied, We report to the people of America. The question is how they would do that reliably if the press is inherently full of lying liars.

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Blaming journalism for tearing the country apart while you yourself are tearing the country apart is pure, undistilled Trumpism. Yawn. But Greene goes one better than Trump did, because shes not just blaming the media for the worlds problemsshe is actually blaming the media for herself. Its part of her larger defense that holds that she is a good person, an unblemished parent, and that she has been forgiven by God, so only bad people still seek accountability. The press made me a dangerous person, she contends, and the press is reporting on my dangerousness, and that is really dangerous too. Its quite a message, insofar as it burns everything in its path without replacing it with anything trustworthy at all. But whatever else it is, this is not a free speech message or a claim about the nature of truth. And you can be sure, because shes now told you as much, that whatever atrocity Greene spits out next, it wont be her fault.
Senior police officers of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda Commissionerates dealing with instant loan app frauds on Friday held a meeting with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed working group for devising modalities to regulate the space of Image Source: IANS News

Senior police officers of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda Commissionerates dealing with instant loan app frauds on Friday held a meeting with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed working group for devising modalities to regulate the space of Image Source: IANS News

Hyderabad, Feb 5 : Senior police officers of Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda Commissionerates dealing with instant loan app frauds on Friday held a meeting with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed working group for devising modalities to regulate the space of digital money lending in the country.

During the virtual meeting, the police officers apprised the RBI officials on the entire situation arising out of the operation of unscrupulous money lending apps and their predatory approach towards public in lending and recovering the loans.

They suggested to the panel devise guidelines to streamline digital lending by authorised NBFCs using various platforms. "Public must be able to identify the genuine and legally authorised money lending agencies and their lending process should be transparent and adherent to all the legal provisions," they said.

The police suggested that the banks whose accounts are being used for money transactions by these fraudulent money lending apps must have a stringent mechanism for KYC and also periodical review of the activities to alert the law enforcement agencies of any suspicious transactions.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar, IG, Intelligence, Rajesh Kumar, Hyderabad CCS Joint Commissioner of Police Avinash Mohanty, Shamshabad Deputy Commissioner of Police N. Prakash Reddy, Traffic DCP S.M. Vijay Kumar, Rachakonda Cyber Crimes ACP Harinath and Cybercrime Inspector Sanjay Kumar participated in the meeting.

More than 30 accused including four Chinese nationals have been arrested by Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda police during the last one month. The crackdown began after at least five people committed suicide due to harassment by lending apps.

The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed police to ensure that all illegal instant loan apps are removed from Play Store and take firm action against the companies and people behind these apps.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Hima Kohli directed the state government and police chief to leave no stone unturned in nabbing the criminals running the loan scam.

The court gave the direction to police on a public interest litigation.
North Carolina Passes K-12 Social Studies Standards Focusing on Race

A politically divided North Carolina Board of Education on Thursday narrowly approved the states K-12 social studies standards, which has been criticized for implementing elements of critical race theory.

In a vote largely split along party lines, the boards Democratic majority voted 7-5 to pass the revised standards. In the wake of the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, the board voted in July to delay the adoption of the standards (pdf) to include diverse histories, experiences, and perspectives of racial, ethnic, gender, and identity minority groups, as well as marginalized, undervalued, and underrepresented groups.

Under the newly-passed standards, which will be put in place this fall, North Carolinas second-graders are required to learn how various indigenous, religious, gender, and racial groups advocate for freedom and equality. Fourth-grader are asked to explain how revolution, reform, and resistance shaped their state. Eighth-grade teachers are asked to teach how slavery segregation, voter suppression, reconcentration, and other discriminatory practices have been used to suppress and exploit certain groups within North Carolina and the nation over time.

The proposed standards were met with immediate opposition from the boards Republican members, including Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the first black person to hold his office. Robinson launched an online campaign to stop its adoption, which he declared would indoctrinate our students against our great country and our founders.

I dont think theyre for the benefit of the students. I think theyre for the benefit of those who have a political agenda, said Robinson during a board discussion, reported Carolina Journal. They are politically charged, divisive, and they smack of a lot of leftist talk.

I know all of the code words, and I know what they lead to. I dont like where they will lead our students, Robinson said. As of Thursday, his online petition had gathered nearly 30,000 supporting signatures.

The standards come with a preamble written by State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, the Republican board member who joined the Democrats to cast the tie-breaking vote. She wrote in the document that students should learn about both the hard truths and accomplishments in the nations history.

Let us study the past such that all students can celebrate our achievements towards a more perfect union while acknowledging that the sins of our past still linger in the everyday lives of many, the preamble reads. Let us study the past so we can understand where it might lead us today.

In a statement released after Thursdays vote, Robinson said he would continue to fight against what he considered leftist indoctrination.

Let me be clear, Robinson said. This is not over. I will continue to lead the fight to ensure that our students are educated, not indoctrinated.

If theres one thing that President Biden has made abundantly clear, its that he will grant an amnesty to an unknown number of illegal immigrants.

Not a single individual knows what the exact illegal immigrant population is, and thats the first problem that the new Biden administration faces. Nevertheless, Biden has made immigration his chief legislative priority.

Biden has repeatedly referred to the alien population as 11 million, a total thats plenty big enough. But others, perhaps closer to the ground than the new president, have put the alien total at more than 20 million.

From an administrative perspective, a 9 million difference is huge. To qualify for Bidens amnesty, which The Washington Post reported as an eight-year path to citizenship that begins with a five-year temporary legal status, followed by Green Card issuance pending background check and tax reviews, aliens must have resided in the U.S. by Jan. 1.

Millions of background checks and tax reviews will be an insurmountable task for immigration officials, and ones from which theyll quickly seek relief, i.e., an expedited approval process. President Ronald Reagans 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which then-Sen. Biden voted against, covered a comparatively modest 2.7 million aliens.

Many amnesty hopefuls wont have official government identification. Bidens final legislation may end up designating (in cautiously worded language) rent receipts, utility bills, school enrollment forms or even library cards as adequate residency proof. But if more substantive IDs are mandated, the applicants might end up paying underground counterfeiters to obtain high quality, but still phony, documents to confirm their amnesty eligibility.

Bidens plan offers much more to migrants - expanded refugee resettlement, looser asylum guidelines and more immediate citizenship to Temporary Protected Status holders. For aliens and other migrants who may not have had employment authorization before, Bidens plan will include it. Millions of new workers will enter a workforce that has about 25 million unemployed or underemployed Americans.

Conspicuously missing from Bidens expansive immigration plan is an olive branch for congressional Republicans and the millions of Americans opposed to an outright amnesty gift. Biden could learn something from Reagans Immigration Reform and Control Act, which offered a bone to its detractors.

First, employers had to attest to the legality of their workforce. Hiring or recruiting illegal aliens, allowed pre-1986, was barred and should have weaned employers off cheap labor. And to ensure that employers followed the new law, Congress promised stronger interior and border enforcement. Within just a few years, those promises were broken, and Reagans act was on its way to becoming the amnesty thats remembered as a failure: Congress delivered amnesty, but reneged on enforcement.

Few who favor commonsense immigration  that is, a policy that works for native-born and immigrants alike  are swayed by Bidens commitment to study the causes of migration and work to solve them. Those are familiar, but empty, words. In 2015, President Barack Obama sent Biden to Central America to resolve what The Associated Press described as a migrant crisis. Today, nearly six years later, Central Americans migrants continue to head north.

Biden has more than amnesty on his immediate agenda. He hopes to reinstate a program that grants temporary legal residence to Central American minors. He also wants to set up a reunification program for Central American relatives of U.S. citizens that would expedite their admission.

If Bidens immigration dreams become a reality, Americans workers will have millions more to compete with in a tough labor market.

Joe Guzzardi is a Progressives for Immigration Reform analyst who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. He can be reached at jguzzardi@pfirdc.org.
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Bern, 05.02.2021 - Between 1 and 5 February Switzerland hosted the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, culminating in the appointment of a unified executive authority tasked with preparing the national elections set for 24 December 2021. Switzerland hosted the forum as part of its commitment to supporting the UN-backed Libyan peace process and to fulfil the peace and security objectives set out in its Foreign Policy Strategy 202023.

The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, convened in Switzerland under the auspices of the UN, brought together 75 delegates who elected a unified executive authority. The authority is tasked with promoting reconciliation within the country and leading Libya to national elections scheduled for 24 December 2021.

Switzerland welcomes this crucial step towards achieving stability and lasting peace in Libya and supports the work of the UN and Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General Stephanie Williams. It also stands ready to host any further meetings that may be required by the parties in order to advance the peace process.

Switzerland has been active in Libya since 2009 through its peacebuilding and humanitarian aid efforts and projects based on its foreign policy on migration. It supports the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Food Programme and other humanitarian organisations operating in various parts of the country. Furthermore, Switzerland plays host to the Libyan peace talks under the auspices of the UN and since 2020, has taken an active role in the Berlin Process on Libya. Switzerland co-chairs the working group on international humanitarian law and human rights, which deals with issues such as protecting the civilian population, securing humanitarian access and promoting international law.

Peace and security are key priorities in Switzerland's Foreign Policy Strategy 202023 and in the Federal Council's Middle East and North Africa Strategy 202124. This work involves contributing to conflict resolution and strengthening human rights. Peaceful conflict resolution also addresses the root causes of forced displacement, such as armed conflict and human rights violations, and thus contributes to reducing irregular migration.

Address for enquiries

FDFA Communication

Federal Palace West Wing

CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland

Tel. Communication service: +41 58 462 31 53

Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55

E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch

Twitter: @SwissMFA

Publisher

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html




Pakistan National Assembly (NA) on Thursday witnessed chaos and mayhem when members from the government and Opposition benches confronted each other with shoving matches and slogans, reported Geo News.

The confrontation started when the federal minister for power Omar Ayub challenged opposition members to stand against him in an election, saying that he had gotten elected by beating a PML-N rival candidate by a margin of 40,000 votes.

This created a ruckus, the Opposition stood up and tore copies of the agenda, shouting slogans of "Go Imran Go" and "Ata mehnga, roti mehngi" while surrounding the speaker's dais, reported Geo News.

A shoving match started between members of the government and treasury benches due to which a few parliamentarians fell on the floor.

The deputy Speaker postponed the session after opposition and government members started entering into scuffles.

A day earlier, the NA had turned noisy as well when the government presented a bill to hold open balloting in the upcoming Senate elections.

The members of parliament belonging to the Opposition benches had chanted slogans, blew whistles, banged the desks and had stood up from their seats in protest against the move and in a bid to prevent Minister for Law Farogh Naseem from reading out the contents of the bill, reported Geo News.

Members of both the Treasury and Opposition benches chanted "go" against one another.

Earlier, former Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf delivered a fiery speech during the National Assembly speech, saying that it was committing fraud by introducing the bill for the open ballot in the Upper House.

"The government members of the parliament do not want to vote for the amendment as they themselves have received money [bribes] against it," he said.

He said that the government was introducing the amendment to sully the opposition's image, adding that a committee should be formed on the bill which should take suggestions from all members.

An anti-government movement, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was started last year against Imran Khan over the issue of corruption.

The opposition had given an ultimatum to Khan to resign by January 31. The deadline given by the opposition has expired and Khan has not yielded. The repercussions are visible throughout Pakistan as well as in its Parliament.

(ANI)

Also Read: India a major player in the Indian Ocean Region: Madagascar Defence Minister
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BATON ROUGE, La.  The Louisiana Office of Cultural Developments Division of the Arts (LDOA) is announcing a second round of grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) through the CARES Act. This grant funding is intended to help save jobs in the arts sector and keep doors open to organizations that add value to Louisianas economy and the creative life of our communities.

The importance of our artists and arts communities in Louisiana is not limited to just our larger cities and areas. A big part of the Louisiana culture that will Feed Your Soul can be found throughout the state, in small towns and cities near and far, said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. As we work our way through this pandemic, it will be easier to bounce back if we do it together, helping our neighbors who are in need as well. Thats the determination found in our state that keeps us all Louisiana Strong.

In May 2020, the first round of grants helped 72 non-profit 501(c)3 arts organizations in Louisiana. Round two of these grants are expected to help an additional 60 non-profit, small arts organizations with grants in the amount of $1,500. Eligibility requirements for this second round of grant funding include:

Must be arts based nonprofit organization with 501(c)3 designation.

Must have advancing/supporting the arts as a main component in the organizations mission statement.

Priority given to small organizations with an operating budget of $30,000 or less.

Priority given to organizations who have not received any other CARES Act funding from the LDOA or other sources.

Once received, allowable uses of the grant funds includes salaries, fees for artists and other contracted personnel, and facilities costs such as rent and utilities.

To apply, small arts organizations must create an account in our online grant platform Submittable. Once an account is created, the application and guidelines can be accessed through the LDOA Small Arts Organizations Relief Grant applications manager. The deadline to apply is Friday, February 26, 2021.

Information and resources for the arts sector during the crisis are available at the Louisiana Division of the Arts Creative Relief webpage. For more information on Louisiana Division of the Arts grants programs and other services, visit the agencys website at www.louisianaarts.org.
This is one in a series of articles looking at the issues being tackled by the new Biden administration, from the perspective of the average American. Our focus here is immigration, one of the central themes of Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016 and the focus of high-profile policy actions taken throughout his four years in office. Within hours of Joe Biden's inauguration, however, the newly elected president began the process of reversing a number of those policies with executive orders of his own.

Interestingly, despite Biden's focus on immigration, the data make it clear that the issue of immigration is no longer nearly as top of mind for Americans as it has been at other times in recent history. My colleague Jeff Jones did an excellent job in July 2019 reviewing the data which at that point showed a record-high 27% of Americans mentioning immigration as the nation's most important problem. This was only the fourth time in Gallup history that immigration topped the list, propelled to the forefront of public consciousness that year by concerns over reports of large numbers of refugees moving up from Central America toward the U.S.

Now, almost no Americans think first of immigration when asked to name the nation's top problem, reflecting the overriding impact of the pandemic, problems with the nation's governance in this time of transition and the pending second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. This is a continuation of what we have seen now for a number of months; only 1% or 2% of Americans have mentioned immigration as the top problem since last April. I don't think this means immigration has ceased to be a concern for the average American, but rather that it is an issue whose salience waxes and wanes depending on how much it is in the news and on how much other issues dominate the news landscape.

Clearly, the issue is in a "wane" phase at this point, even when Americans are asked about it explicitly. Pew Research recently rated the importance of immigration policy as part of a list of concerns, with immigration coming in 14th out of the 19 issues tested in terms of Americans saying it should be a top priority for the president and Congress to address this year -- so designated by just 39% of Americans. That is far below the 80% and 78% priority ratings given to strengthening the economy and dealing with the coronavirus situation, respectively.

Nevertheless, despite immigration's lack of status as a front-burner issue for Americans, Biden has moved ahead with rapidity in operationalizing his plans to countermand Trump's immigration-related policies. So far, most of what Biden has done seems to fit well with majority public opinion, highlighting the evident fact that much of what Trump did in relationship to immigration -- while appealing to parts of his political base -- was out of sync with the attitudes of the average American.

The Border Wall. Biden, on the day he was inaugurated, ordered a pause in border wall construction, rescinding the national emergency declaration Trump used to divert billions from the Department of Defense for the wall's construction. Biden has ordered a review to decide what to do going forward relating to barriers along the nation's border with Mexico. This came just days after Trump himself made a gesture of support for his wall project, taking his last official trip as president (except for his final flight to Florida on Jan. 20) to the Texas-Mexico border to applaud and reinforce the wall's construction. American public opinion is clearly on Biden's side on this issue; Gallup and a wide variety of surveys done by other organizations have consistently shown opposition to building the wall.

Muslim Travel Ban. Biden also quickly issued a proclamation revoking the ban on travelers from several majority-Muslim countries, put in place by Trump as one of his first official actions four years earlier. Again, Biden ordered a review to determine what should come next in terms of adjusting the country's visa policies. There hasn't been a lot of public opinion surveying about the ban in recent years, but attitudes, while mixed, tilted negative when the ban was first announced by Trump.

DACA. Biden also issued an executive memorandum calling on the Department of Homeland Security to "preserve and fortify" DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) -- the Obama-era policy that deferred the deportation of certain undocumented immigrants who were brought into the U.S. as children. Biden also urged Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for the so-called "Dreamers" and others living in the country illegally. These actions too fit with the views of the average American. One of the consistent findings from Gallup and other polling organizations over the years has been support for allowing children brought into the United States illegally to become legal residents and citizens. The majority of Americans also more generally support a pathway to citizenship for those living here without legal documentation.

Illegal Immigration. All of this is not to say that Americans are indifferent to illegal immigration. They are not. Americans evince strong support for such things as increased Border Patrol funding and increased security along the border with Mexico (but as noted, not building a wall).

Legal Immigration. We also know that the average American is positive about the general idea of legal immigration into this country. Last summer, Gallup noted that for the first time since we began asking about immigration levels in 1965, more Americans said that immigration should be increased rather than decreased, while a very slight plurality said it should remain the same. In the same poll, 77% said that immigration is a good thing for the country today -- by one percentage point, the highest in this trend. Plus, new Gallup polling shows the percentage of Americans who are both dissatisfied with the level of immigration into this country and want less immigration is at its lowest point in Gallup's 20-year history of asking the question. These data suggest that Americans want their elected representatives to take into account the positive impact of immigration on the nation as well as its downsides and negatives.

Clearly, if the views of the average American held sway, the president and Congress would figure out how to develop the type of comprehensive immigration plan that has for so long been a topic of legislative discussion, dealing simultaneously with all of the disparate pieces of the immigration puzzle. This is, in my way of thinking, similar to discussions on infrastructure -- a concept widely accepted as a priority focus for new legislation, but one about which our elected representatives can't seem to get anything done.

Biden's call to review the context for immigration policies before rushing to recommend legislation seems to fit well with this focus on a comprehensive plan. Immigration is a very complex issue -- encompassing policies on legal entry into the country, efforts to stop illegal entry, and the great challenge of dealing with those who are already here but who are undocumented. The idea of pausing to look at all of this together and developing a way forward that takes it all into account in some type of rational way, rather than enacting scattershot policies in isolation, seems to be well in line with the sentiments of the average American.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : The Central government has informed the Rajya Sabha about the number of Indian citizens jailed in foreign countries for various criminal offences.

Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan, in response to an unstarred question asked in the Upper House, said a total of 7,139 Indian citizens are lodged in foreign jails. The government is providing them with legal options and other assistance through its embassies.

Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan, Kirori Lal Meena, had sought information about the Indian citizens lodged in jails in Pakistan, Gulf countries and other countries. He also asked a question about what kind of assistance is being provided to the Indian prisoners by the Central government.

Muraleedharan said that as of December 31, 2020, the number of Indian prisoners languishing in foreign jails is 7,139. The maximum number, 1,599, are serving jail terms in Saudi Arabia. Similarly, 265 people are jailed in the US, 898 in the United Arab Emirates, 411 in Qatar, 886 in Nepal, 536 in Kuwait and 221 in Italy. There are 62 Indians serving jail terms in Pakistan.

The Minister said that due to the strong privacy rules in many countries, no information is being given regarding the prisoners until the person concerned gives his consent. He said Indian missions abroad are vigilant and monitor Indian citizens in foreign jails.

The Indian prisoners are provided with legal aid. Apart from this, the Central government also tries to get their sentences reduced.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Quincy police received a disturbing 911 call Wednesday. A woman, witnesses say, was outside screaming for help when a man approached her from behind, covered her mouth and dragged her into an apartment.

What had transpired, police allege, was a desperate attempt on the part of the woman to escape a man with whom she had a relationship, who is accused of holding her against her will in his apartment for roughly a week.

Officers arrived within minutes after the 911 call. All was quiet at the scene, police noted.

One of the witnesses pointed to the locked door of the apartment, and Quincy Police Sgt. Sean Duggan, along with Officers Stephen Cleary, Christian Donovan and Andrew Minton, forced their way into the home, authorities said.

Inside the apartment, the four officers discovered the woman lying motionless, unresponsive. Her boyfriend was also in the home, according to a statement from the Quincy Police Department.

Police immediately started giving medical aid to the woman, who was struggling to breathe and had red marks on her throat. It was later determined she had been strangled, the department said. Medics soon arrived and took her to Boston Medical Center.

Detectives accuse the man, 32-year-old Matthew McAuliffe, of keep her captive for the past week in his Quincy apartment. Fearing for her safety, she jumped from the second-story window of the building to escape, according to the department.

The neighbors of the man who called police, coupled with the immediate actions of the four officers, may very well have saved womans life, the department noted.

While we will not discuss any further details of the incident  so as to protect victim privacy and investigation integrity  we want to publicly commend the neighbors for getting involved, the department said. They did exactly what we would hope: they contacted 9-1-1 and observed from a safe location. They were able to provide us with information needed to quickly locate the victim.

McAuliffe was arrested and taken to the citys police station after the woman was found. He was arraigned in Quincy District Court early Thursday on the following charges: assault to murder, aggravated assault and battery, strangulation, assault and battery on an intimate partner and kidnapping.

The man is being held pending a dangerousness hearing, authorities said.

In its statement, the Quincy Police Department noted it has a domestic violence advocate, who works directly with victims of domestic abuse. DOVE also has a crisis hotline that is available 24/7, where staff offer confidential, empathetic, nonjudgmental support and information on available resources.

If you, or a loved one, are in an abusive relationship, there are resources to help, the department said.
The on Friday cut circle rates by 20 per cent, a move that will bring down the exorbitant property prices in the capital city.

The new order includes all types of properties across the city. According to sources, it is aimed at boosting property transaction in the market that has been subdued for the past few years. Moreover, its timing is crucial, given the fact that the elections for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is due next year and it is currently being governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, said a senior industry leader and political activist.

developers and industry stakeholders welcomed the Aam Aadmi Party-led governments move. They said the reduced circle rates would translate into lower valuation of real estates and help interested buyers, who were otherwise left out due to the high property prices in the capital.

The decision comes at the right time when the industry is recovering from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. The reduction in circle rates will make properties more affordable and should increase the number of transactions. It may also lead other states to take a similar step in near future as a booster to the sector, said Achal Raina, chief operating officer, Raheja Developers.

According to Akshay Taneja, managing director (MD) of TDI Infratech, the sector is facing problems in containing the prices of units because of increasing raw material cost. In this scenario, lower circle rates would be beneficial. The secondary market will go in for more registries as stamp duty and registration charges will come down, he said.

We have already seen positive impact of reduction of stamp duty in Mumbai and this will help in faster recovery of the local market, said Ankit Kansal, founder and MD, 360 Realtors.

Apart from the primary market, the move has a far fetching impact for the secondary market, said experts. With a large number of restrictions against developing new residential projects, including high-rise apartments, the market in Delhi is highly dependent on secondary purchases. Over 90 per cent of the transactions take place in the resell market.

A series of hikes in circle rates since late-2000s have pushed the rates beyond purchasing power of most buyers. Now with a steep cut, people willing to buy pre-owned properties will surely benefit, said senior executive from a leading realtor.
National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Friday welcomed the move to restore high-speed 4G mobile internet services in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was better late than never. The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday announced restoration of high-speed mobile internet services in the entire union territory, 18 months after they were snapped in the erstwhile state following the Centre's abrogation of its special Constitutional status.

ALSO READ: After 18 Months, 4G Mobile Internet Services Being Restored in Entire Jammu and Kashmir

The announcement about restoration of high-speed mobile internet came from Jammu and Kashmir administration spokesperson and Principal Secretary Rohit Kansal who said on twitter "4G mobile internet services being restored in entire JK". "4G Mubarak! For the first time since Aug 2019 all of J&K will have 4G mobile data. Better late than never," Omar wrote on Twitter.

Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) chief Altaf Bukhari also welcomed the move, terming it as a positive development. Bukhari expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for restoring the high-speed mobile internet services in the 18 districts of the UT. The 4G services were already working in two districts Ganderbal and Udhampur.

"Terming it as a positive development for students and the youth of J-K, Bukhari thanked the PM for fulfilling this demand of people of UT," a KJAP spokesperson said.


Hours after the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu announced the waiver of Rs 12,110 crore farm loans availed by 16.43 lakh farmers from cooperative banks, the Opposition DMK accused it of hijacking its agenda.

Making the announcement in the state assembly earlier in the day, Chief Minister K Palaniswami had said the scheme would come into immediate effect soon and the required financial allocation would be made by his government.

He said the AIADMK was the only party that fulfills promises and also comes up with fresh welfare measures.

Targeting the opposition DMK, he said the party had promised two acres of land, but failed to implement.

DMK MP Kanimozhi tweeted: "Thank you to Palanisamy for carrying out all the commands of Stalin. This is yet another victory for our leader who coined the slogan and set the tone for waiving the loans (sic)."
As African nations wait for hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses to arrive, health officials are concerned about a general rise in coronavirus cases and deaths, especially in Southern Africa.



The stories, reported in local media and highlighted by aid groups, are chilling. In the tiny kingdom of eSwatini, medical aid group Doctors Without Borders says health facilities are seeing 200 new cases per day and a death rate four times higher than they saw in the first wave.



In the coastal nation of Mozambique, case numbers are nearly seven times higher than they were at the peak of the first wave in 2020.



And in the landlocked nation of Malawi, the poorest country in Southern Africa, new cases are doubling every four to five days, and the nations main COVID-19 facility is nearly full.



Dr. John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tried to break down the continents trajectory as many nations enter a second wave without enough vaccine supplies.



He said one indicator worth noting is that for about a third of the continents countries, the death rate has risen above the global average.



It used to be the reverse, he told reporters via teleconference on Thursday. During the first wave, the case fatality rate was about 2.2%, and now we are seeing 2.6%. In terms of the number of countries experiencing the second wave, 41 of them are currently experiencing the second wave on the continent. That is 41 of the 55 member states. Five countries accounted for about 70%.



Those countries are South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Ethiopia.

Africa escaped the worst of the pandemic last year. But health experts point out the continent now has many factors complicating the situation. Testing has lagged behind the rest of the world. Vaccine rollout has been slower, with just a handful of countries only recently launching vaccination campaigns.



And the continents chronic problems with infrastructure and capacity mean that health systems, social safety nets, transportation networks and economies are struggling to meet the challenge posed by this pandemic.



This, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization's (WHO) regional director for Africa, is exactly what African health officials have been talking about when they warned against letting vaccine acquisition play out in the open market, a situation that gives wealthier nations advantages like having more power to negotiate for cheaper vaccines in larger quantities.



Moeti told journalists Thursday she was still optimistic.



Clearly, global solidarity is still a work in progress, she said. It was our ambition. It was our hope. It has not delivered to the extent that we had hoped, but it is still a work in progress. We are still doing our advocacy for donations from countries that have secured more vaccine to cover the entire population.



Moeti said once African nations secure vaccine doses, they face another challenge: convincing people to take them. She emphasized that the vaccines approved by WHO are safe and effective, and said the organization is being proactive about dispelling the growing tide of false information about vaccines.

What encourages me is that we know in the African region that in general, people have been positive about having their children vaccinated, she said. It is only lately that some of the anti-vaccine sentiments, messaging, initiatives and campaigns have started to land here. We need to build on African people's belief in vaccines for their children to help them to understand that something extraordinary was done to develop these vaccines. And of course, to be very factual about the fact that we are learning about the vaccines as we go along, but we know enough about their efficaciousness.



Moeti advised people who can take a WHO-approved vaccine to do it. She and other experts reiterated their best advice on containing the coronavirus  stay at home, if possible, wear a mask, wash hands and keep a safe distance.


Jim Stitt stands in the beer aisle of the grocery store, his russet-colored jacket keeping him just warm enough a couple feet from the icy open fridge.

A 30-something guy standing next to him darts his eyes from beer label to beer label, before spotting what hes looking for: A cream-colored label with an elegantly drawn Christmas tree on it that simply reads,

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year

Anchor Brewing

Stitt knows it well because he drew the label. In fact, hes illustrated 44 of the 45 labels for Anchor Christmas Ale, a beloved annual holiday offering from the 123-year-old brewery that features both a new recipe and unique hand drawn tree every year.

:::

That grocery store scene is one the 92-year-old San Rafael resident has experienced plenty of times over the last 45 years, he recalls while sitting alongside Anchor historian David Burkhart at a large oak table inside of Anchors Potrero Hill brewery in San Francisco.

I ask him if hes ever stopped someone in the grocery store and said something like hey, I drew that.

I never say anything about it. But its fun to see. You see a guy carrying out a six-pack of Anchor Christmas Ale  Not a bad beer, huh?

Blair Heagerty / SFGate

Stitt thumbs through a dozen of his original illustrations for past Christmas Ale labels as he takes stock of his place in Anchor Brewing lore.

Its been an honor, he says, first to work with Fritz of course, and then being able to [draw the labels for Anchor]. Its just been a wonderful honor, thats really all I can say about it.

Except its not  Stitt ends up having plenty more to say about a job hes held for almost half his life, later calling it possibly his greatest accomplishment.

I feel that its a piece of history, he adds, and its still around, and gee, everyone knows about the fact that Ive been involved in all of the work.

And when he says all he means all.

Blair Heagerty / SFGate

Stitt designed Anchor Porters iconic artwork in 1974 and proudly wears the label on the front of a worn brown ball cap as he recounts his Anchor resume.

In 1975, he was asked back to do the label for Liberty Ale.

And then came the Christmas Ale the same year. Since then, hes designed every one of Anchors Christmas Ale labels (and all of the lettering, which he does using typefaces he invents) except for the 1976 edition. Owner Fritz Maytag had the wild idea of commissioning a new artist to design the label each year, then abandoned that a year later and returned the honor to Jim.

He soon realized the folly in that, Burkhart says with a laugh.

:::

Every tree over the last 45 years (you can check out all 45 in the gallery below) has a tie to something, and none of them are repeats of the same type of tree (save the 40th anniversary, when Burkhart suggested Stitt re-draw the giant sequoia featured on the one label he wasnt responsible for).

Two dozen of the trees used on labels were native to Maytags ranch in Napa Valley, two trees were pulled from Golden Gate Park (I drove Jim into the park to go sketch them, Burkhart says), and one tree thats around the corner from the brewery that Burkhart found while looking for parking (that tree sort of spoke to me, I guess).

Theres also one label with two trees on it  a Douglas Fir and a Redwood  in honor of Maytags marriage, and even one commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition with a neck label featuring Meriweather Lewis actual drawing of a botanical used in the beer.

A brewer suggested one, a botanist wrote in and suggested another, and Maytag came up with one while on vacation in Hawaii.

Blair Heagerty / SFGate

We needed a tree and we hadn't heard from (Maytag) and he was on vacation in Hawaii, Burkhart recounts. And he said, Well, I don't know what to do. Here's a tree. And just literally snapped a picture of a tree while he was poolside. It was a coconut palm tree, which actually ended up being one of my favorites.

Mine too, Stitt says.

Christmas Ale tree discussions have taken place everywhere from the very table were all seated at, to Stitts classic wooden yacht, to the Spinnaker restaurant on the Sausalito waterfront.

There were a couple of desperation trees, Burkhart says. We never missed a deadline though. Jim was often in those meetings and as Fritz was talking, he was sketching. So there was often a rough label done by the time Fritz finished.

Stitt continued to work with Maytag until the brewery was sold in 2010 and Maytag retired from the company, and now reports to Burkhart and the rest of the Christmas Ale committee.

Fritz, he was a very eloquent guy, he would paint a word picture and describe the tree at length, you know, how he felt about that particular tree, if it meant something to him for a particular occasion, and you know, if it brought up certain memories for him, Stitt says.

:::

And while the Christmas Ale labels might define Stitt for beer drinkers, he lived an entire life (and then some) before he ever started drawing trees.

Stitt was born and raised in Seattle, served in two different wars and armed forces  the Navy in WWII and the Marines in the Korean War  attended two different art schools on the G.I. Bill (including the prestigious ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena), worked as a technical illustrator for Boeing, and spent 30 years as an art director for an advertising agency in Los Angeles.

I didnt care for LA, he says. So I came to San Francisco.

Blair Heagerty / SFGate

Soon after arriving in the 1970s, he was introduced to Maytag, showed him his portfolio, and four months later he got a call.

He came up, and we talked and he painted a word picture of what Anchor Porter was going to be like. And he gave me the assignment, he says.

And now, almost a half century later, he makes his way through the brewery underneath an array of banners showing off his lifes work.

Just before we part ways, Burkhart recalls the Maytag slogan that forever tied Stitt to the Anchor brand.

Handmade beers require handmade labels, Burkhart says.

Handmade beers require handmade labels, Stitt repeats.

Grant Marek is the Editorial Director of SFGATE. Email: grant.marek@sfgate.com | Twitter: @grant_marek
Two men charged with taking part in a gang rape at Swakopmund about five years ago were acquitted on most of the charges they faced in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.

In a ruling delivered after the state closed its case in the trial of the 26-year-old Chris van Wyk and a co-accused, Desmond !Owos-oab (23), judge Claudia Claasen concluded there was no evidence before the court that implicated !Owos-oab on any of the four charges he faced.

The judge discharged Van Wyk on four of the five counts on which he was prosecuted, but placed him on his defence on one charge of rape.

Van Wyk and !Owos-oab were accused of taking part in the alleged gang rape of a 30-year-old woman at Swakopmund on 1 November 2015. Van Wyk was charged with three counts of rape, while !Owos-oab faced two counts of rape. Both men were also charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and theft. They denied guilt on all charges.

The prosecution faced difficulties after the woman alleged to have been gang-raped died before the two men's trial, which started in October last year.

Claasen recounted that two police officers found Van Wyk at the alleged crime scene, where he was lying on top of a naked woman on the ground, while three other men were holding the woman down.

The three men fled from the scene, leaving Van Wyk and the complainant behind.

Van Wyk's defence lawyer, Mbanga Siyomunji, informed the judge his client decided not to testify in his own defence following the court's ruling.

Claasen is scheduled to hear closing arguments from deputy prosecutor general Dominic Lisulo and Siyomunji on 19 March.

Van Wyk is being held in custody in the meantime.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 5 : Bharatiya Janata Party state president K Surendran has charged that the arrest of Hindu Aikya Vedi state general secretary RV Babu on non-bailable charges for speaking against Halal food certification is to appease Islamic fundamentalists.

Hindu Aikya Vedi Kerala state general secretary RV Babu was arrested by the Ernakulam police on Friday on non-bailable charges. The Hindu Aikya Vedi and the RSS have been on a major campaign in the state against Halal certification. There are several instances of Halal certification being made compulsory in food joints and provision shops by a section of the populace and the Hindu Aikya Vedi had come out against this with a counter campaign.

K Surendran while speaking to IANS over telephone said, "Is Kerala an Islamic state to foist police case against those who speak against 'Halal'. The CPM and the Kerala Chief Minister are trying to appease Islamic fundamentalists and this has been continuing in the state for several years." He added that the move to muzzle the voice of those speaking the truth has to be opposed at any cost.

Surendran said "The CPM is aiming at the ensuing assembly elections and this is blatant appeasement of the Islamic fundamentalists." RV Babu has been charged under Section 153 A which is a non-bailable offence. The Hindu Aikya Vedi and the RSS is taking out protest marches across the state against the arrest of RV Babu who is a former pracharak of the RSS and a vocal commentator of the Hindu Aikya Vedi in all public platforms and debates.
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ILION  Strike? What strike? Thats what officials of the union representing laid-off employees of the Remington Outdoor gun factory here are saying after the companys new owner raised the prospect of a labor stoppage and subsequent exit from New York State  before the assembly line has even been re-started.

I was surprised and saddened to see news reports about statements Mr. Richmond Italia apparently made regarding the workforce at the former Remington Arms plant in Ilion, New York. I can only believe that he is unaware of the long and deep commitment people in Central New York have to the jobs at that facility and the communities those jobs support, Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, said in a prepared statement Thursday regarding remarks by the new owner.

No one wants to see that plant reopen, and reopen as fast as possible, more than the UMWA and the people we represent, said Roberts.

Roberts remarks came after Richmond Italia, who is spearheading the Roundhill Groups purchase of the gun factory out of bankruptcy court, raised the prospect of a strike by the former workers.

Italia raised the issue in an interview saying think about it, what is a unions strength? A unions strength is to go on strike, he said.

Thats really all a union can do. And if they choose to go on strike, thats the end of New York. We shut the doors, we never open it again, Italia was quoted as saying in a CNY/Eyewitness News website story.

Italia said they are trying to reopen the plant, which was idled late last year after the prior owners went into bankruptcy.

Since then, Italia and the UMWA have tussled over re-hiring many of the 585 workers who lost their jobs, but there has been no talk of a strike or standstill in talks. In December, Italia had sent letters to many of the former workers laying out terms for coming back to work as the plant re-opens.

That prompted a protest from the UMWA, which contends the terms for re-hiring and re-opening should go through them. But there was no mention of a strike, which couldnt occur anyway since the plant is currently idled.

More for you Business Union claims Remington's new owners trying to box them out

I have no idea where Mr. Italia is getting the notion that the UMWA intends to strike at that facility. We have certainly not said that to him or his representatives, Roberts said.

The terms of the sale agreement that was approved in the Bankruptcy Court require that there be a modified collective bargaining agreement in place when the plant is reopened.

The best way to do that is not for Roundhill to threaten to take these jobs away from the people who built this company and the communities surrounding it, but for the new owners to come to the bargaining table and hammer out the agreement envisioned in the sale agreement. Raising the issue of a strike while the union is attempting to bargain a fair and equitable agreement in good faith helps no one, said Roberts.

Neither the Roundhill Group no Italia responded to an email and phone call seeking comment on Thursday.

Roberts added that the union sent Roundhill a proposal for a modified labor contract but they havent received a response.

The new owners have said they would like to begin producing their rifles by March. Some workers such as office staff have already come back to work, but they are not all union members.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has urged the Namibian government not to approve additional environmental impact assessments (EIAs) around Reconnaissance Energy Africa's exploration of the Okavango Basin until a holistic strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has been conducted and the full implications of exploration have been assessed.

The organisation announced this in a statement published in newspapers yesterday.

ReconAfrica plans to drill oil and gas wells in an environmentally sensitive, protected area that supplies the Okavango Delta with water.

The drilling location sits on the banks of the Okavango River in the newly proclaimed Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (Kaza).

The WWF says ReconAfrica's follow-up consultation process was flawed and failed to reach key stakeholders, including communities.

The fund insisted that ReconAfrica's approach to assessing potential impacts is not satisfactory, because of the potential scale of the drilling operation and the complex hydrology of the basin.

The organisation is also concerned about possible fracking.

"Major economic and political difficulties could ensue if, for example, it is discovered late in the process - when considerable resources and political capital have already been committed - that there are potential serious risks to biodiversity, water security quality and the welfare of local rural communities," the WWF said.

It said ReconAfrica's assessment of the potential impact does not comply with best or international practices.

The organisation has asked the government to first conduct an SEA carried out according to international standards, which should also be subject to independent review.

It suggests that a comprehensive assessment would protect the government from being drawn into a situation which could be increasingly difficult to reverse should extreme adverse impacts emerge.

"Such an assessment would provide much more certainty on points of concern . . ," the fund said.

The WWF suggested that this type of assessment would provide clarity for the company on constraints such as no-go buffer zones and restrictions on certain drilling and extraction methods, as well as mitigation and management options for potential impacts of the proposed exploration.

They said the assessment should be of a transboundary nature between Namibia and Botswana, as ReconAfrica plans to explore in the entire basin, which extends to both countries.

This comes after much protest from environmental activists and concerned stakeholders who are apprehensive about ReconAfrica's transparency on its exploration methods, future plans in the ecologically sensitive basin and the potential effects thereof.

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The apprehension stems from a lack of clarity on ReconAfrica's side about potential fracking, among other things.

The oil company insists its drilling project in the basin will not utilise fracking, despite the mention of "modern frac stimulations" in its investor presentations in 2019 and 2020.

"ReconAfrica is not fracking. ReconAfrica's focus is conventional oil. There is no fracking with stratigraphic wells. There is no fracking with conventional oil projects," the company's spokesperson, Claire Preece, told The Namibian.

She said conventional oil and gas production uses vertical wells, no fracking and very little water.

A public consultation held in Windhoek earlier this week for ReconAfrica's 2D seismic survey currently underway saw tensions rise further, as ReconAfrica tried to stress that their endeavours complied with local regulations.

Stakeholders and concerned members of the public in attendance said ReconAfrica's public consultation method did not follow due process - specifically because their EIA was not comprehensive enough.

The need for a strategic environmental assessment was also raised.

The consultant representing ReconAfrica at the meeting indicated the company would consider the development of the strategic environmental assessment for the area in question.
President calls for unity to defeat divisive forces

President Ramnath Kovid has called for unity and dedication to overcome multiple adversities facing the country and to defeat divisive forces that are trying to pull the country apart.

It is only the unity and dedication of Indians that have enabled the country to face every crisis with fortitude, be it the Coronavirus pandemic, floods, earthquakes or major cyclones in several states, locust attack or the bird flu.

The recent past also saw an unprecedented escalation in tension along the border. The nation stood together, battled crises on multiple fronts and surmounted every challenge. During this period, we all have also witnessed the unparalleled courage, endurance, discipline and spirit of service of our countrymen, he said.

Citing a sloka from the Shastras, Kritam me dakshine haste jayo me savya aahitah,  the President said, success comes only to those who persevere.

He cited the case of the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected millions of people and almost every country in the world, but India has emerged on the global stage with renewed vigor.

Today, there is a rapid decline in the number of new cases of coronavirus and at the same time there is a significant increase in the number of recoveries, he pointed out.

He said the pandemic has in a way helped India emerge stronger. During this period, India has demonstrated its scientific capabilities, technical expertise and strength of its start-up ecosystem by developing a network of over 2,200 laboratories in a short time span, manufacturing thousands of ventilators, PPE kits and test kits thereby, attaining self-reliance. It has also started the worlds largest vaccination programme and both the vaccines rolled out under this programme are produced indigenously.

He said, self-reliance in agriculture will further help the country move towards the goal of an Atmanirbhar Bharat. With this idea, the government has, over the last 6 years, attempted to bring positive transformation in the Seed to Market system so that Indian agriculture is modernised and also sees growth.

The government, he said, has decided to implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee report and increased the minimum support price (MSP) for agriculture produce to at least 1.5 times of the cost of production. Government agencies have not only procured record quantities at the MSP, but also increased the number of procurement centres, he pointed out.

The government, he said, has laid great emphasis on building agriculture infrastructure like improving irrigation facilities and delivering modern irrigation techniques to farmers. The are under irrigation has gone up from 4.2 million hectares in 2013-14 to 5.6 million hectare at present.

Food grain production in the country reached levels around 296 million tonnes in the year 2019-20 from 234 million tonnes in 2008-09 while the production of fruits and vegetables has increased from 215 million tonnes to 320 million tonnes at present.

I am happy to say that through their hard work, our farmers are augmenting the efforts of the government. Today, food grain availability in the country is at a record high. In 2008-09, the food grain production in the country was 234 million tonnes, whereas in 2019-20, the production has increased to 296 million tonnes. During the same period, the production of fruits and vegetables has also increased from 215 million tonnes to 320 million tonnes. I congratulate the farmers of the country for these achievements.

Also, with more than 80 per cent of the farmers in the country numbering over 100 million, falling under the category of small and marginal farmers, owning just 1 or 2 hectares or even less land, due to fragmentation of agricultural land holdings over the years, the President said the government has the responsibility of ensuring adequate returns to such farmers as well.

Being mostly unorganised, these farmers are subjected to exploitation by traders and middle who usurp profits from the sale of farm produce. It is with a view to help such farmers that the government supported the setting up of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) across the country.

The target is to set up 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations by bringing together small farmers of the country. This will ensure access of small farmers to better technology, additional credit, post-harvesting processing and marketing facilities and insurance coverage during natural calamities, on a par with the rich farmers. This also provides an alternative to farmers for securing remunerative prices for their produce and generating greater savings.

In order to provide investment support to these farmers, he said, the government has provided almost Rs1,13,000 crore directly through their bank accounts under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana has also benefitted small farmers of this country. Under this scheme in the last 5 years, about Rs90,000 crore has been paid as compensation to the farmers against a premium of Rs17,000 crore.

The three important farm bills enacted by the government in September last year, after extensive consultation, including the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill are important farm reforms and the benefits of these three important Acts have already reached more than 100 million small farmers, the President said.

Appreciating the advantages that these reforms would bring to the small farmers, several political parties too had, from time to time, expressed their support. The discussions over these farm reforms in every part of the country for over 2 decades and the demand for these reforms at different fora were also reflected during the deliberations in the House, he pointed out.

At present, the Supreme Court has stayed the implementation of these and the government, he said, is bound to respect the decision of the apex court.

At the same time, he decried the wanton acts of dishonouring the national flag and showing disrespect to the auspicious occasion of the Republic Day. While the Constitution gives us the right to freedom of expression it is also expected that we abide by the laws and rules with equal sincerity.

However, the President said, the Acts have not taken away the rights and facilities available under the system prevailing before the enactment of the three new laws. Rather, through these agricultural reforms, the government has provided new facilities to the farmers and has empowered them.

In order to enhance the profitability of agriculture, he said, the government is also placing emphasis on creating modern agricultural infrastructure. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund for Rs1,00,000 crore has also been started for this purpose.

The Kisan Rail, started throughout the country, is helping chart a new course by increasing the access of Indian farmers to new markets. This rail is like a mobile cold storage. So far, over 100 Kisan Rails have been started which have enabled the farmers to transport over 38,000 tonnes of food grains and fruits and vegetables from one region to the other.

In order to increase the income of farmers, the government has also focused on development of livestock. As a result, the livestock of the country has been increasing at an annual rate of 8.2 per cent over the past 5 years, he said.

The government has also set up a Rs15,000 crore Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund for creating basic infrastructure and encouraging investment in dairy sector.

Besides, the Kissan Credit Card facility has been extended to animal husbandry and fishery sectors. Efforts have been undertaken to increase the income of fishermen through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. In this sector, an investment of about Rs20,000 crore has been planned over the next 5 years, he added.

To ease the burden on the national electricity grid, the government has launched a campaign to turn the Annadata into Urjadata. Two million solar pumps are being provided to farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kusum Yojana.

Government is also encouraging production of ethanol from sugarcane, maize and paddy. Due to the affirmative policies. Over the past 6 years, the annual ethanol production has increased from 380 million litres to 1,900 million litres. The production is expected to reach 3,200 million litres this year. Ethanol is emerging as a major source for augmenting the income of farmers.

He said the government has been working relentlessly for multi-faceted development of villages and raising the standard of living of the villagers. Nearly 20 million houses have been built since 2014 for the poor families living in villages. The implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has also been expedited to ensure a pucca roof for every poor person by 2022.

The government has also made commendable progress in expanding the network of rural roads. Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, construction of 6.42 lakh km of road network has been completed in rural areas of the country, he said.

Government, he said, is also giving support to small scale industries, cottage industries and MSMEs spread across the villages and small towns. These small scale industries accounts for about 50 per cent of Indias total exports and have immense potential of making India self-reliant, he said.

For modernising the country's infrastructure, he said, the government is also working on the National Infrastructure Pipeline worth over Rs110 lakh crore. Along with this, work on 6 new expressways and 18 new access controlled corridors under the Bharatmala Pariyojana is in progress.

Besides the setting up of the Emergency Credit Guarantee Scheme for Rs3,00,000 crore, special scheme of Rs 20,000 crore for MSMEs in distress and Fund of Funds, the government is facikitqting direct purchases by government departments through the GeM portal, also ushering in greater transparency in government procurement.

Considering the vital role of women entrepreneurs in building a self-reliant India, the President said, the government has taken several steps to provide new opportunities for self-employment to women. Under the MUDRA scheme, more than 250 million loans have been sanctioned so far, of which nearly 70 per cent have been given to women entrepreneurs.

Under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - Rashtriya Grameen Ajeevika Mission - more than 70 million women entrepreneurs have become part of the network of nearly 6.6 million Self Help Groups in the country. These women groups have been provided bank loans worth Rs3,40,000 crore in the last 6 years, he said.

The country has also started emerging from the economic setback suffered in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic when the focus was primarily on saving the life of each Indian citizen. This is evident from several indicators. Even in these difficult times, India has emerged as an attractive destination for foreign investors. Between April and August, 2020, a record foreign direct investment of $36 billion has been made in India, he added.

Thanks to the governments policy of inclusion, the poor are now able to avail the benefits of healthcare facilities with ease and their expenditure on treatment of diseases is progressively reducing. Under the Ayushman Bharat  Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, 15 million poor people in the country have received free treatment of up to Rs5 lakh. As a result, the poor have been able to save over Rs30,000 crore. Today, benefits of Ayushman Bharat Yojana can be availed at more than 24,000 hospitals across the country. Similarly, under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Yojana, the poor are getting medicines at extremely affordable rates from 7000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country. Lakhs of patients are purchasing medicines from these Kendras daily and due to their reasonable prices, are able to save Rs3,600 crore annually, the President pointed out.

Sadly, the Budget Session of Parliament got off to a stormy start with some opposition parties boycotting President Ram Nath Kovinds address to the joint session in support of agitating farm groups.

Sixteen of the 37-odd political parties with representation in Parliament led by the Congress, boycotted Presidents address in solidarity with the protesting farm groups.

File image of BJP supporters during a political rally in January 2020 (Image: PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's niece Sonal Modi, who had sought BJP nomination to contest the Ahmedabad civic body polls, on Thursday failed to get a ticket with the party citing new rules for candidates.

The BJP announced its candidates for the upcoming elections to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), but Sonal Modi's name does not figure in the list.

Talking to reporters on Tuesday, Sonal Modi had said she has sought BJP ticket to contest from Bodakdev ward of the AMC.

Sonal Modi, a homemaker in her late 30s, is the daughter of PM Modi's brother Prahlad Modi, who owns a fair price shop in the city and is also the president of Gujarat Fair Price Shops Association.

The BJP list released late in the evening on Thursday does not have the name of Sonal Modi as the candidate from Bodakdev or any other ward of the AMC.

Rules are same for everybody, state BJP president C R Paatil said when asked about denial of ticket to Sonal Modi.

The Gujarat BJP recently announced that relatives of party leaders will not be considered for ticket allocation for the upcoming polls.

Sonal Modi had, however, claimed she had sought election ticket as a BJP worker, not as the niece of the PM.

'I have sought the ticket in my capacity as a BJP worker not as a relative of the PM. Even if I am not given the ticket, I will remain active in the party as a dedicated worker, Sonal Modi had told reporters.

Prahlad Modi had justified his daughter's decision, saying all his family members are free to take their own decisions.

'This is not a case of nepotism. My family never used Narendra Modi's name for our benefit. We all earn our own bread and butter.

'Even I run a ration shop. I have not visited Narendra Modi's bungalow after he became the PM, let alone my children,' Prahlad Modi had said.

The BJP's state parliamentary board on Thursday finalised candidates for the six municipal corporations.

A list of 576 BJP candidates for the poll-bound corporations Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar was released.

On February 1, the BJP had said it will not give tickets to relatives of ruling party leaders.

Also, the BJP had said it will not consider party workers who are above the age of 60 and those who have finished three terms as councillors for tickets.

Elections to the half-a-dozen municipal corporations will take place on February 21, while voting for 81 municipalities, 31 district panchayats and 231 taluka panchayats will be held on February 28.
Forestry Workshops: A new forest  getting started

Connect with your local Teagasc forestry advisor by registering for three informal online workshops to learn about starting a new forest.

Forestry Workshops: A new forest  getting started

Registration is required: www.teagasc.ie/forestryworkshops

During February and March, landowners can join three, one-hour online workshops organised by Teagascs Forestry Development Department, to gain an understanding of what a new forest can offer, learn whats involved, and how to get started in the planting process. These sessions will be held through Zoom.

We encourage landowners to attend all three sessions as different areas will be covered. The first sessions will be held between 15 and 24 February.

Dr Nuala Ni Fhlatharta, Head of Teagascs Forestry Development Department said; Landowners consider forestry for many reasons. That is why a land use change to forestry, like any new farm enterprise, will raise many questions.

She added, It is also a great opportunity for farmers to understand the requirements of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and other farm schemes before establishing a forest. These upcoming online Forestry Workshops are a great opportunity during the current lockdown to flesh out the details of how forestry might work for you.

In the first session, the multiple benefits of forestry will be discussed. Landowners hear about the various and wide-ranging benefits that establishing a forest on the farm can bring. This will allow people to set their own objectives by considering and discussing what they want or need from their forest.

The forestry advisor will look at a local case study during the second session. During this session, attendees are brought step-by-step through the process of deciding what forest type might suit a particular site keeping the particular geographical area, priorities and limitations in mind. Soil types will also be discussed.

The focus of the final third session will be on the practical steps involved. Grant eligibility, grant structures and rates, interaction with other farm schemes and engaging a forester will be looked at.

Liam Kelly, Forestry Advisor with Teagasc concluded, There are different forestry support measures available fulfilling different purposes. It is essential that an owner knows and understands their own objectives of what they want from their forest or woodland.

It is recommended to attend your 'local' virtual workshops, as discussions regarding locations, possibilities and potential restrictions in the area are more relevant.

People can register at www.teagasc.ie/forestryworkshops . Following registration, people will receive a link by email a few days prior to the first session to access the workshop sessions via zoom.

Online Teagasc Forestry Workshops
The cupola reliquary, part of the Guelph Treasure, at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin on Feb. 24, 2015. (TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Supreme Court: Descendants May Not Sue in US for Property Seized by Nazis

The heirs of art dealers whose property was taken in Nazi-era Germany cant pursue lawsuits seeking compensation from the government of that country in the courts of the United States, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Feb. 3.

The ruling was a victory for the Trump administration, now out of office, which had opposed that legal stance, arguing that the claims for damages should be pursued overseas and that letting the litigation proceed in the United States threatened to entangle the judiciary in sensitive foreign policy questions best left to the executive branch.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion in the case known as Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, vacating a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. At the same time, the court also dealt with a companion case, also vacating a decision by the D.C. Circuit in Republic of Hungary v. Simon.

Before World War II ended, Germany and Hungary maintained brutal anti-Semitic policies that culminated in the systematic persecution, deportation, and murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) presumes that foreign nations are immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts but carves out exceptions, including in cases in which rights in property taken in violation of international law are in issue, the opinion states.

The case here dealt with whether Germanys taking of property, consisting of several dozen medieval relics and devotional objects known as the Welfenschatz, from its own nationals falls within this exception.

The treasure, or schatz, of the German Welf dynasty, dates back to the early days of the Holy Roman Empire and occupies a unique position in German history and culture. It was accumulated within Germanys Brunswick Cathedral over the course of several centuries, before being moved to a Hanoverian chapel in 1671 and later to Switzerland for safekeeping in the wake of World War I.

During oral arguments on Dec. 7, 2020, Trump administration attorney Edwin Kneedler said the U.S. government deplores the atrocities committed against victims of the Nazi regime and has long had a policy of encouraging Germany and other countries to provide mechanisms to afford a measure of justice.

But the litigants took the wrong path when they sued Germany in U.S. courts, he said, because the exception to sovereign immunity on which they rely is limited to violations of the international law of takings or expropriations, which has long prohibited only the taking of a foreign nationals property if done without compensation.

To interpret the expropriation exception as opening U.S. courts to suits based on human rights violations would constitute a major  departure from the FSIAs text, structure, and context, and require U.S. courts to make sensitive judgments about a foreign states treatment of the persons within its territory, Kneedler said.

Roberts explains in the court opinion that before the Nazi takeover of Germany, a consortium of three art firms owned by Jewish residents of Frankfurt purchased the Welfenschatz. By 1931, the consortium had sold about half of the collections pieces to museums and individuals in Europe and the United States. After the Nazis took power, Hermann Goering, Adolph Hitlers deputy and the prime minister of Prussia, allegedly strong-armed the consortium into selling the remaining treasure to Prussia in 1935 for about one-third of its value.

The United States took possession of the treasure when it occupied Germany, eventually turning the collection over to the Federal Republic of Germany. A German agency maintains the treasure, which is displayed at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin. Two U.S. citizens and a UK citizen descended from the three owners of the consortium claimed the sale of the treasure to the Prussian government was unlawful. The agency investigated and ruled against them but agreed to submit the dispute to a commission that upheld the ruling. The descendants then sued in the U.S. courts.

Germany argued in the U.S. courts that the sale of the treasure couldnt have been unlawful because a sovereigns taking of its own nationals property isnt unlawful under the international law of expropriation. The heirs countered that the exception did apply because Germanys purchase was an act of genocide and the taking, therefore, violated the international law of genocide. The U.S. District Court ruled against Germany and the D.C. Circuit affirmed.

The Supreme Court ruled FSIA provides the carefully constructed framework necessary for addressing claims of international concern.

The heirs have not shown that the FSIA allows them to bring their claims against Germany, Roberts writes. We cannot permit them to bypass its design.

We need not decide whether the sale of the consortiums property was an act of genocide, because the expropriation exception is best read as referencing the international law of expropriation rather than of human rights, the chief justice writes.

We do not look to the law of genocide to determine if we have jurisdiction over the heirs common law property claims. We look to the law of property.

Besides, adjudicating claims from abroad could backfire on the United States, Roberts writes.

As a nation, we would be surprisedand might even initiate reciprocal actionif a court in Germany adjudicated claims by Americans that they were entitled to hundreds of millions of dollars because of human rights violations committed by the United States government years ago, he writes.

There is no reason to anticipate that Germanys reaction would be any different were American courts to exercise the jurisdiction claimed in this case.
The pressures of perfectionism and the concerns children and teens face in todays world are unlike the experiences many adults had during their childhood. A recent analysis by researchers highlights another concerning issue  the number of children and teens who have visited emergency rooms for suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts doubled between 2007 and 2015, according to data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

Within the military community, these challenges can be amplified, especially for our children, who can sometimes face different psychological and social challenges in light of their close family connection to Americas heroes.

Military children have had life experiences and made sacrifices that their peers and many adults cannot relate to. However, their distinctive experiences do not diminish their need for our support. Here are some ways we can help military children and teens:

Get to Know Them

Dont miss the opportunity to get to know a military child.

As a military spouse and parent, says Dr. Jodie Robison, Executive Director for Military Services at Centerstone, I know first-hand how the experiences of military children shape them into some of the most exemplary people.

When getting to know a military child, pay attention to their interests so that you can offer connections to applicable groups. It is helpful to try and understand their learning style to give you more direction as to what kind of group you should connect them with.

Public expressions of gratitude for our nations veterans and active military members are rightfully common across our country. However, let us not forget the bravery and service of our military family members  especially children  and build strong connections with them.

Listen to Their Feelings

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, children of deployed military personnel have more school-, family-, and peer-related emotional difficulties, compared with national samples. Military children have watched mom or dad leave time and again. They may experience anxiety and depression when a parent is gone. When the entire family is back home together, theyre worried about the next deployment.

It is important that military children have a way to explore their feelings, discuss their concerns and develop healthy coping skills. If there is a military child in your life, offer yourself as someone whos always ready to listen, and connect them with others who can listen to and guide them.

Support Them

The fundamental principle to put others before ourselves is within the fabric of every military community. However, the same selfless traits admired about our service members and veterans can contribute to the challenges that make it difficult for them and their loved ones to ask for help when they need it. We believe that seeking help does not make a person weak  in many cases, its the first step to healing.

Military children in the United States deserve our ongoing thanks and support for what they give our country by giving up certain family and social norms. We owe them and our service members more than just a debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they have made. We need to provide them with the support and resources they need to lead healthy lives.

John Markley serves as Regional CEO in Illinois, serving residents in eastern and southern Illinois through more than 30 locations that provide treatment, support and educational programs and services to individuals who have mental health and addiction disorders and specialized services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Centerstone employs over 525 staff in Illinois and serves more than 17,000 individuals annually.
A new survey conducted by Kantar Public highlights that a quarter of people in France, Germany and the US may refuse from taking the COVID-19 vaccine. According to the survey, close to four out of ten people in France, more than 25 per cent people in the US and nearly 23 per cent people in Germany say that they will not get vaccinated, posing a great challenge for the government in their respective nations. Italy, Netherlands and the UK showed a little less hesitancy among the people.

Hesitance among people

The survey further said that only 11 per cent of the US citizens and 13 per cent of the French citizens trust their government. However, in the Netherlands and Britain the toll increases to 30 per cent. According to the reports by The Guardian, Emmanuel Riviere, Kantars director of international polling, said that the study revealed the communication effort that various governments need to put in if they want to make their vaccination campaign work. She further added that the people trust their family doctors more than the government. This is what the government needs to change and it needs to reflect. As per the study, men are more likely to accept vaccination with a 74 per cent, saying they would definitely get vaccinated. Women, however, are 69 per cent.

Recently, the Secretary-General of the United Nations blasted wealthier nations for hoarding vaccines. More than 70 million #COVID19 vaccine doses have been administered so far and less than 20,000 of these were on the African continent, said UN chief Antonio Guterres in a tweet. He raised concerns about vaccine disparity between rich and poor countries.

Several concerns have been raised to address the vaccine gap between the rich and poor. A Guardian analysis revealed Canada is among a few other countries to have the highest number of vaccine doses relative to their populations. The country has procured enough supplies to give each person at least four doses, the analytical report stated.

Read: US, France Call On Lebanese Leaders To Urgently Form 'credible' Government

"Nine out of ten people in poor countries are set to miss out on COVID-19 vaccine even next year, Amnesty International said, issuing a similar warning. Rich countries have hoarded enough doses to vaccinate their entire populations nearly 3 times over, it alleged. Wealthier nations have bought up enough doses to vaccinate their entire populations nearly three times over by the end of 2021 if those currently in clinical trials are all approved for use," Amnesty report said, earlier.

Read: COVID-19: France Restricts AstraZeneca's Vaccine To People Under 65 Years

Also Read: Germany Welcomes Talks Between Greece & Turkey, Eyes Mediation Role

(Image Credits: AP)
Because most doctors generally prefer to work in urban centres where the population is dense, patients living in remote, rural areas continue to face very limited access to healthcare.

Most patients would rather travel for kilometres on end to seek medical attention.

Dr Tanvi Shah, a medical practitioner working in the UK, US and Kenya, says the reason disadvantaged groups continue to experience poor access to medical care is because many African countries have lagged behind in integrating new technologies into their healthcare systems.

"While more advanced nations had adopted concepts such as telemedicine even before Covid19, many public and missionary hospitals in Kenya still favoured walk-ins over online booking appointment systems or tele-consultation systems, at least until Covid19 arrived," Dr Shah told HealthyNation.

She says Covid19 has acted as a catalyst to the integration of digital technologies into healthcare. This is after measures such as social distancing and restriction of movement brought to the fore the need for innovative ways of ensuring people still could access healthcare.

Doctor to patient ratio

Dr Shah has invented a digital health tool called 'The Daktari' which offers four different modules: an online booking appointment system, a patient management system, a tele-consult programme and an e-prescription module.

The online booking appointment system works to help finetune appointments in public hospitals in such a manner that once a patient books an appointment on their mobile phone, they immediately get a text message informing them when and at what time they can see a doctor.

"People used to wake up very early to be seen early. You have 10 people arrive at the hospital at 7am, whereas the first is seen at 9am because that is when the doctor arrives," she adds.

Dr Shah says this feature is not only useful for healthcare facilities in rural Kenya, but also in facilities located in urban centres where the doctor to patient ratio still does not meet the stipulated threshold.
A man was stabbed in the face in Newry. Pic Newraypics.com

Police are appealing for information after a man was stabbed several times in the face in Co Down.

The victim was found in the Stream Street area of Newry on Friday morning.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) notified police just before 5.45am of a report that the male aged in his 20s had been attacked.

A spokesperson for the NIAS said they received a 999 call and dispatched one emergency crew to the scene.

Following assessment and initial treatment, the male was taken to Daisy Hill Hospital.

Inspector Alastair Macdonald described it as a particularly vicious attack.

He had sustained several stab wounds to his face and was taken to hospital by colleagues from the ambulance service, where he is currently receiving treatment to injuries, he said.

Our enquiries are ongoing, and I am appealing to witnesses, or anyone with information, to contact us on 101 quoting reference 200 of 05/02/21.

A report can also be made using the online reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport

Alternatively, information can be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Texas pregnancy center celebrates saving 90,000 babies from abortion

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A Texas pregnancy center is celebrating the lives of 90,000 children who've been saved from abortion in its first 30 years of operation.

Leanne Jamieson, the executive director of Prestonwood Pregnancy Center, which has multiple locations in Dallas and surrounding suburbs, appeared on CBN News The Prayer Link program Tuesday, where she said the organization had a divine appointment to save as many lives as possible by convincing women to choose life.

When that young woman or couple walks through the door of our center, we see it as a divine appointment and in our experience, they also are often broken and looking for hope, she said. Theyve found themselves in this circumstance and it really often reveals other areas of their life that theyre struggling in.

Jamieson described her staff as really good listeners, adding, Were really there to help them problem-solve and navigate their situation. And I tell our volunteers and our staff, If youre a good listener, then God is going to open that door.

I think pregnancy resource centers are a very special mission field, so we exist to help those that find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy, and we provide so much for them, she added. We provide pregnancy tests and sonograms, we provide resources and those things that we need to do to help invest in that woman or that couple to help them become the parents that we believe God has called them to be.

Addressing the importance of adoption referrals, Jamieson maintained that We believe every baby is meant to be born, but not every birth mama is supposed to parent.

Shortly after moving to North Texas, Pastor Jack Graham, the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, founded Prestonwood Pregnancy Center in 1991. Graham had previously founded a pregnancy center in Florida after delivering a sermon about Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

According to Jamieson, He felt like when he got out of the pulpit, the Lord said to him, Thats great, but what are you going to do about it? Graham elaborated further on his founding of Prestonwood Pregnancy Center and its impact in a 2018 Christian Post op-ed published on the 45th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.

I cant help but think what would happen if every woman pressed to get an abortion had access to the support and resources of a center like ours. Abortion might remain legal, but fewer women would turn to it as a solution, he concluded.

In addition to helping women facing unplanned pregnancies, Prestonwood Pregnancy Center works to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who seek care there. According to Jamieson, We have thousands upon thousands of Gospel conversations every year and  well over 400 women chose Jesus as their Savior, helping us make not just an earthly difference but making that eternal difference as well.

Last year, Prestonwood Pregnancy Center opened up a new office in Dallas directly across the street from a Planned Parenthood surgical abortion facility.

God pointed us there, Jamieson said to CP in an earlier interview. We believe that were just called to be a light in the darkness, that we want women to know that before they turn into the parking lot directly across the street from ours, that they have an option, that they can come and they can take a deep breath and experience guidance thats wrapped in love and grace, she told CBN.

Additionally, Jamieson stressed that her employees seek to make sure that women are aware of the choice they are about to make.

We have women every single day that come to us, or that the sidewalk counselors stop and engage them, and prayerfully say to them, Theres a place across the street that will see you at no cost, you have nothing to lose but to go see them.

Jamieson recalled that last week, a woman got out of her car crying as she was prepared to head into the Planned Parenthood across the street and officials with Prestonwood Pregnancy Center convinced her to seek assistance at Prestonwood instead. Officials there offered to help her navigate through the reasons that caused her to seek the abortion in the first place.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The NYPD and the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) signed an agreement Thursday pledging to follow the departments new disciplinary matrix outlining the way officers will be punished for misconduct.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and CCRB Chairman Frederick Davie joined the mayor at a press conference to announce the signing, hailed by de Blasio as a historic step forward for accountability, for trust, for transparency.

The 57-page document, which took effect last month, took nearly two years to create and establishes penalties for a long list of potential infractions, including the use of deadly force and the application of a chokehold.

The matrix lays out presumptive penalties for acts of misconduct or violations of the NYPDs policy that serve as a starting point for the analysis of a specific act. However, aggravating or mitigating factors could harshen or lessen the penalty, based on the circumstances of each case.

For example, the use of excessive deadly physical force that results in no physical injuries carries a presumptive penalty of termination; however, a mitigated penalty lessens to 30 suspension days, 30 penalty days and dismissal probation.

Shea said Thursdays signing was one he could not be more proud of, adding that he views the matrix as a living document that will bring greater transparency and oversight to the NYPDs disciplinary process.

I view it as an important step in the ongoing journey  and the keyword is ongoing here  to build strong public trust, said Shea.

Davie said the matrix and the newly-signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) shift the way our city deals with police accountability and police discipline. The NYPDs application of discipline, particularly the discipline recommended by the CCRB, has long been inconsistent and inconsequential, said Davie.

He said the establishment of the NYPDs matrix, which is unprecedented, is critical to turning the page on the NYPDs downgrading or reversing of the CCRBs disciplinary recommendations, plea agreements, and guilty verdicts, and he said the MOU makes that extremely clear and explicit.

The agreement comes a week after de Blasio announced new reforms that expanded the CCRBs role by enabling the agency to launch investigations without a specific complaint, guaranteeing the CCRB timely access to body-worn camera footage and opening the door for the oversight group to audit the NYPDs internal disciplinary measures.

This is going to be the strongest the CCRB has ever been in its history, he said Thursday.

De Blasio said the disciplinary matrix could serve as a model for law enforcement across the country to build a deeper relationship between police and the community.

PBA President Patrick Lynch blasted the agreement as a political prop Thursday.

Police officers want to see fairness and consistency in the NYPD disciplinary process, said Lynch. Mayor de Blasios use of the NYPD disciplinary matrix as a political prop is the direct opposite of that goal. Rather than allowing police discipline to follow the facts, he is chasing the news cycle and, once again, making it harder for cops to do our job.

Critics have called the matrix long overdue, but also had significant concerns over the true power of the document to alter the culture of discipline within the department.

At the end of the day, this is just a policy on paper, and it does nothing to address the core issue, which is that the police commissioner has complete, total control over the process, Michael Sisitzky, senior policy counsel to the New York Civil Liberties Union, previously told the Advance/SILive.com.

However, Davie said the disciplinary matrix is the best step the city can take and he looks forward to analyzing its impact on the CCRB recommendations in NYPD discipline.

Clearly, the key to increasing trust and improving the relationship between the Police Department and the community is for people to really believe that they have a civilian oversight agency that can address consistently and with consequence the issues of police misconduct, Davie said. And the steps that this mayor has taken, the work that were doing with the police commissioner, with the input, again, of the City Council, advocates, and others, really help to advance that trust in the Civilian Complaint Review Board and its work.'
Gardai near the scene where the woman was found dead in a car outside Doneraile in north Cork. Photo: Daragh McSweeney/Provision

GARDAI are investigating the horrific discovery of the body of a woman in a burning car in a remote Cork woodland and the rescue of a man from a nearby river.

The woman has been named locally as Mary OKeeffe, a 75-year-old from Dromahane outside Mallow.

Ms OKeeffe was pronounced dead at the scene outside Doneraile in north Cork.

Formal identification will only take place when the post mortem examination is conducted at Cork University Hospital (CUH).

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster is currently conducting a preliminary examination of the scene.

The man, who is in his 60s, has been transferred to Cork University Hospital (CUH).

He is understood to be in a serious but stable condition.

The tragedy unfolded shortly after lunch when gardai were alerted to reports of a car being on fire at woodland near Dromdeer shortly after 4pm.

A person out walking had spotted the blazing Dacia Duster  located in a woodland not far from Doneraile Park on the Castletownroche Road  and raised the alarm.

Gardai attended the scene with a unit of Cork Fire Brigade and were horrified to realise a person was in the burning car.

Despite the fire being extinguished within a matter of minutes, the pensioner was pronounced dead at the

scene.

The vehicle was effectively gutted such was the extent of the blaze and the heat generated.

Gardai believe they know the identity of the elderly woman, who is understood to be a resident outside Dromahane, a village near Mallow.

However, formal identification may take some time and, because of the condition of the remains, may ultimately require the use of dental records.

A key focus of the Garda investigation will be whether the woman died before or during the vehicle fire.

Gardai are satisfied the elderly woman did not drive the vehicle to the remote woodland.

The woman's body remained at the scene last night pending an examination of the area by members of the Garda Technical Bureau and the State Pathologist.

The area was cordoned off to facilitate the work of the emergency services.

Acting on information, gardai began a careful search of the surrounding fields by the parked car and stream located a few hundred metres away.

Minutes later, officers discovered a man in his 60s struggling in the River Awbeg, several kilometres away.

The man was located in the river just outside the north Cork village of Castletownroche. He was dragged from the water and given immediate medical assistance.

Paramedics assisted with the treatment of the man, who was suffering from severe hypothermia and had apparent breathing difficulties.

The man, who was fully clothed, was subsequently rushed to CUH by ambulance where he is in a serious but stable condition.

The man, who has an address in south Limerick, is understood to be known to the deceased woman.

However, he is not believed to be related to her.

A key element of the Garda investigation will now be to determine precisely how the man got to the area where he was rescued.

Gardai have requested the assistance of the State Pathologist Office.

One garda source said the nature of their investigation would be determined by the results of a full post-mortem examination expected to be conducted at CUH today.

Detectives hope to speak with the man about the precise circumstances of the tragedy as soon as he is medically fit to be interviewed.

However, this may not be for several days.

Gardai are now appealing for anyone who was in the Doneraile area between 3pm and 5pm yesterday  particularly anyone with mobile phone footage or dashcam footage, to contact Fermoy Garda Station on (025) 82100 or the Garda Confidential Line on (1800) 666111.

Dromdeer is located close to Doneraile Park which is popular with walkers and dog owners  with gardai hopeful someone may have seen the vehicle involved in the minutes before the tragedy.

Officers will also examine CCTV security camera footage from business premises in north Cork areas surrounding the location where the burning car was found including Doneraile, Castletownroche and Mallow in a bid to determine the exact movements of the vehicle in the minutes before the tragedy.

Gardai hope such footage may also clarify the precise number of occupants in the car as it passed the cameras and travelled to Dromdeer.

Forensic experts are also working to determine whether accelerants were used to initiate the fire in the SUV.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster will conduct a preliminary examination of the scene where the burned car and the woman's body was found.

The remains will then be transferred to Cork University Hospital (CUH) for a full post mortem examination.

That is expected to prove lengthy given the significant nature of the fire damage involved.

Gardai indicated that it is possible identification of the 75 year old woman may hinge on dental records or possibly even DNA.

A second vehicle was also being examined outside Doneraile.

It was found parked a short distance from where the burned out Dacia was discovered.

Both vehicles will now be examined by forensic experts from the Garda Technical Bureau.
Supporters of the armed forces carry signs that say We wish success to the military that gives and gets love from the people, during a rally to support Mondays military coup, Naypyidaw, Feb. 4, 2021.

This week's military coup in Myanmar has prompted calls for Jakarta to again take on the mantle of regional role model to help its neighbor back on the path to democracy.

Myanmar once looked to Indonesia  which navigated its own transition from dictatorship to democracy  for guidance in democratizing after decades of military rule, but those interactions waned after a change of government in Jakarta, analysts said.

The man who played a significant role in Myanmars democratic transition was Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, or SBY, Indonesias first directly elected president, and himself a former general.

Yudhoyono helped mediate conflicts between the Myanmar government and ethnic minorities, provided input on drafting democratic laws and invited officials to learn about democratic institutions, said the executive director of the Bali Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD), I Ketut Putra Erawan.

Under SBY, democracy was high on Indonesias diplomatic agenda, which in my view was a very positive thing, Ketut said.

Indonesia had been a role model for Myanmar, he said.

Indonesia now has a responsibility to help restore democracy [there].

When current President Joko Jokowi Widodo was elected in July 2014, he declared that his focus would be on domestic affairs, according to Aaron L. Connelly, a Southeast Asia expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British research institute.

Jokowi is new to foreign affairs and seemingly has little interest in diplomacy, a marked contrast with his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who sought a role as an international statesman, Connelly wrote in an article for Contemporary Southeast Asia in April 2015.

SBYs legacy

By most accounts, Yudhoyono made Indonesia a power to reckon with in international affairs by eagerly offering to share his countrys experiences in democratic transition.

For instance, as early as in 2007, he sent retired General Agus Widjojo to attend the funeral of military man Soe Win, who had been Myanmar prime minister.

In the 1990s, Widjojo had urged his erstwhile colleagues to push Indonesias military dictator General Suharto to make the transition to democracy. Suharto ruled for almost 32 years, until 1998.

But while in Myanmar, Widjojo didnt give the military brass a lecture on democracy.

Just the presence of an Indonesian military reformer was the message, according to a paper by Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian politics at Tokyo's Temple University, cited by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Dipo Alam, a cabinet secretary during the Yudhoyono administration, described how the former president told the United States how to deal with Myanmar.

The best thing I remember, Mr. SBY drove home the message to the U.S. not to dictate to and hector Myanmar and treat them as a child. SBY explained that democracy took time and asked the U.S. to respect the process, Dipo told BenarNews.

Yudhoyono went on to closely advise Myanmars military, especially after General Thein Seins government unveiled a strategy for democratic reforms in 2011.

By contrast, Jokowi took almost two weeks to officially congratulate Myanmar after the 2015 general election.

Jokowi should now appoint Yudhoyono as Indonesia's envoy to Myanmar, Jakarta Post's executive editor, Kornelius Purba, suggested in an opinion piece published before Mondays military coup.

Myanmars generals need to be convinced that a coup could be suicidal for them and that it would derail the countrys path to democracy, Purba wrote.

A figure like SBY, known as one of the key figures behind the Indonesian militarys reform, is the right person to approach the generals.

A file photo of then-Myanmar President Thein Sein (left) with his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, May 5, 2011.

Indonesia does not lecture

Indonesia, too, has seen democratic backsliding under Jokowis leadership, according to a book titled Democracy in Indonesia: From Stagnation to Regression? published last year and written by various scholars from Indonesia and abroad.

The Jokowi administration has to a degree suppressed free speech and criticism and also attempted to undermine checks and balances on government power, the scholars argued in the book.

Still, it remains one of the regions most open countries and must act on Myanmar, said Damar Juniarto, executive director of the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), an NGO advocating for internet freedom.

Our freedom of expression is not perfect, it is even deteriorating, but compared to other ASEAN countries, we are still better off. We should still be able to play an extra role, Damar told BenarNews.

For instance, Malaysia has an unelected government and is under its first national emergency in more than five decades.

In Thailand, Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha became prime minister after a coup he engineered, and then retained the post in a 2019 general election widely viewed as rigged.

Opposition leaders in the Philippines say that Duterte has increased the power of the military and police since taking office in 2016. And Brunei is a sultanate.

For Eva Kusuma Sundari, a former lawmaker who chaired the ASEAN Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar, Indonesia was the only hope as other ASEAN member countries like Vietnam and Thailand have pledged not to interfere.

Non-interference in member countries domestic affairs is a foundational principle of ASEAN.

Indonesia, despite criticism at home, still has leverage because its still relatively more democratic than the others, said Eva.

We still hope that Indonesia will be at the forefront to influence other ASEAN countries to act.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said Indonesia did not wish to pontificate about democracy.

Indonesia does not lecture any country about democracy. Besides, the mainstreaming of democratic values has been a common agenda item at ASEAN, Faizasyah told BenarNews.

Still, Indonesia expressed deep concern about the military coup in Myanmar in a statement Monday that urged the country to embrace rule of law, good governance, democratic principles and a constitutional government.

Faizasyah said Indonesia was trying to forge a common stance on Myanmar at ASEAN, but he did not elaborate.

Chinese influence

Myanmar could gravitate even more toward China if pressured, said Priyambudi Sulistiyanto, a Southeast Asia expert at Flinders University in Australia.

Myanmar has close ties with China, and relies on it for investment amid international isolation over its treatment of the Rohingya ethnic minority, he said.

If pressure on this new military regime is too strong, theres a fear that they will turn to China, Priyambudi said in an online discussion on Myanmar on Thursday.

The West may take a harder line on China. But in Asia, we cannot ignore China's immense power, so there should be more creative measures.

Indonesia could propose that ASEAN send a delegation to hold talks with Myanmars military rulers, IPDs Ketut said.

Don't isolate Myanmar, because doing so will make China's influence stronger. And we must remember, for China, democracy takes a back seat to business.
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The Lafayette parish sheriff's office has launched an investigation into possible sexual abuse within the ranks of the boy scouts. One person under investigation is attorney Barry Rozas of Lafayette, Louisiana.

I spoke with attorney Gary Mcgoffin who's a volunteer on the council of the board of directors for BSA (Boy Scouts of America) and he says Rozas hasn't been active with a youth organization for some time.

Rozas was charged with first degree rape. Investigators are looking into 28 possible cases over the span of 57 years from 1955 to 2012.


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Where is Kyle Rittenhouse?

The 18-year-old, who said he killed two men in Kenosha in self-defense, is free on $2 million cash bail.

But prosecutors said he keeps giving phony addresses.

Sister station WISN found out it could land him back in jail.

Even though Rittenhouse was recently seen on surveillance video drinking at a bar, flashing white power signs and taking pictures with fans, where he's living remains a mystery.

It could be considered bail jumping.

His defense attorney only said he's at "an undisclosed 'safe house'" due to threats.

During an exclusive interview in December with one of Rittenhouse's former attorneys and his mom, they, too, kept quiet about their location.

"We're generally speaking in the Midwest at an undisclosed location," former attorney John Pierce said.

Prosecutors said they recently discovered Rittenhouse was no longer living at the Antioch, Illinois, address he listed on bail paperwork.

He didn't notify the courts of a new address within 48 hours, prosecutors said, therefore violating his bond.

They want Rittenhouse back in custody and his bond increased by $200,000.

Defense Attorney Mark Richards said he'll reveal the address to prosecutors on the condition they keep it private.

Court records showed Rittenhouse's attorney did file an address change Wednesday.

For now, it's sealed until a judge makes a ruling.

When asked Thursday if the District Attorney's office knew where Rittenhouse was living, they replied, "no comment."

As they continue to fight for higher bail, in a response filed Thursday, prosecutors said the public has a right to know where he lives.

"An accused murderer, Kyle Rittenhouse, apparently believes the rules do not apply to him, and has once again refused to inform the court where he resides," the filing read. "The new address provided by the defendant is actually just a post office box, not a residence."

Joe DeCecco served as Sheboygan County District Attorney for 14 years.

He said, as a prosecutor, is it important you know where a suspect in a criminal case lives.

"Most of them are on some type of bond, so you want to ensure that they're complying with conditions of their bond and it's just important to have a finger on how to contact that person, you may want to check on them," DeCecco said. "There are all sorts of reasons for a prosecutor to know the actual residence or their actual living place of a person charged with a crime and released on bond."

He added it was concerning because knowing where a suspect lives is a condition of bond.



The Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth told WISN his deputies were not actively looking for Rittenhouse.

Kenosha police did not respond to questions about a possible search for him.

A warrant has not been issued yet for his arrest.

It will be up to a judge to decide whether Rittenhouse violated the terms of his released.

As of Thursday afternoon, a hearing to consider the prosecutor's motion to amend his bond has not yet been scheduled.

Rittenhouse was next scheduled to be in court on March 10.

He has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.

If convicted, he faces life in prison.
A British woman has been detained and jailed for two years in Dubai for sending 'F*** You' to her Ukrainian flatmate over private Whatsapp chat during lockdown. The argument was over who would use the dining table while working from home in October during the lockdown last year.

The 31-year-old woman, a human resources manager from Gloucestershire, who has been living in Dubai since 2018, was moving back to the UK permanently last week and planned to join her partner and start a new job back home. However, she wasn't allowed to catch her flight and was pulled aside by airport authorities who informed her that she is barred from leaving the country due to a police case against her. The woman now faces up to two years in jail or would have to pay thousands of pounds as fine. She has already shipped her belongings to the UK and was taking one of the limited flights home when she was apprehended by airport authorities.

The Sun reports that the woman has no cash and nowhere to live while on bail awaiting trial. She is currently staying with a friend and waiting for her court date, which may be months off. Her visa also expires in eight days.

After several trips to police stations, she found out that her flatmate had lodged a police complaint against her over the heated argument stating that she felt offended. The flatmate refused to drop the case even after the British woman begged her to do so.According to the report, the woman said its a shock to her that she has been criminalized for a private exchange.

Daily Mail reports that Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai and Due Process International, is representing the woman now and hascautioned other visitors that UAEs overreaching cybercrime laws have been responsible for numerous arrests of foreign nationals.

In her statement, Stirling said that visitors to UAE can be arrested, detained and prosecuted over a swear word, an offensive statement or derogatory comment said in the heat of a moment.

U.N. Peacekeepers from Bangladesh attend a memorial ceremony at the MINUSMA base in Bamako, Mali for comrades who were killed by an explosive device, Sept. 27, 2017.

The United Nations on Thursday called for an investigation into allegations made in a news documentary that linked Bangladeshs army chief to corrupt deals, including the purported purchase of Israeli-made spying equipment.

Officials in Dhaka have rejected as false and defamatory the one-hour documentary by Al Jazeera since it was first aired on Monday. But they have not publically addressed specific allegations made against Gen. Aziz Ahmed and his brothers in the news report.

We are in fact aware of the reporting done by Al Jazeera Investigations concerning allegations of corruption against senior officials in Bangladesh, and the press release issued by the Ministry of Defense in Bangladesh, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General, told reporters during a press briefing at the United Nations in New York.

The allegations of corruption is a serious matter that should be investigated by the relevant authorities, Dujarric said.

He was responding to a question about the Al Jazeera report and a subsequent claim by military officials in Bangladesh that cellphone surveillance equipment described in the documentary was purchased for U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Dujarric noted that Bangladesh is the worlds largest contributor of uniformed personnel to U.N. peacekeeping operations, and that every operation in which Dhaka participates is governed by an agreement laying out the world bodys specific requirements for it.

The U.N. has not identified in any of these agreements a requirement for the capability provided by the operation of electronic equipment in the nature described by Al Jazeera in its documentary, he added. And such equipment has not been deployed with Bangladeshi contingents in U.N. peacekeeping operations.

In his response, the spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres did not refer to any of the senior officials in Bangladesh by name.

The U.N.s call for an investigation came as Gen. Aziz was visiting the United States on an official trip, including a stop at the United Nations Headquarters.

The Bangladeshi army chief of staff departed on Jan. 29 for a visit scheduled to go until Feb. 12, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) directorate at the Ministry of Defense said in a statement last week.

The general was due to meet with officials at the Pentagon in Washington as well as with United Nations officials in New York.

His visit is expected to play an important role in increasing the number of Bangladeshi U.N. peacekeepers, conducting peacekeeping missions properly and ensuring the countrys participation at the policymaking level of the missions, the ISPR had said.

The Feb. 1 investigative report by Qatar-based Al Jazeera alleged that Gen. Aziz maintained close links with his two foreign-based brothers who are fugitives from justice after being convicted of the 1996 murder of a rival political leader.

The Al Jazeera documentary linked the general to corrupt deals with at least one of his brothers, who the report said had been able to travel to Bangladesh to meet with the army chief despite being a fugitive.

It said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had previously hired Azizs brothers Haris and Anis Ahmed as bodyguards when she was opposition leader. It alleged that the Ahmed clans fortunes have been long intertwined with that of Hasina.

The report also claimed that the military had secretly purchased surveillance equipment manufactured by an Israeli company, even though Bangladesh does not recognize Israel and forbids nationals from traveling there or engaging in commerce with Israelis.

Al Jazeera alleged that Bangladeshi officers were trained by Israeli experts to use the equipment that can monitor hundreds of mobile phones at one time.

The Bangladesh foreign ministry slammed the report as a misleading series of innuendos and insinuations in what is apparently a politically motivated smear campaign by notorious individuals.

Separately, the Bangladesh Army rejected the spyware claim, saying it was based on false information.

The truth is the equipment was procured from Hungary for one of the army contingents due to be deployed in the U.N. Peacekeeping Mission, said Rashadul Alam Khan, assistant director of the ISPR.

Nowhere in the equipment was mentioned/written that these were of Israeli origin. There is no scope of defense co-operation/procurement from Israel since Bangladesh does not have any formal diplomatic relation with the country.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WLFI)  An Indiana lawmaker wants retailers to be held accountable for underage tobacco sales.

Senate Bill 142 would require age verification for tobacco and vaping sales. That includes tobacco, e-liquid, or electronic cigarettes.

Retailers would have to use ID scanning technology, and violating the law would result in a fine of up to 500 dollars.

Bill author State Senator Jon Ford said the system also tracks large purchases of tobacco products.

For example, you can only buy four vape cartridges at a time. He said it would discourage someone from buying large amounts to give or sell to underage users.

"If we have to scan the ID each time, we can keep track of that," he explained. "So, it will help us to identify where there may be some bad actors."

Ford said it takes a burden off retailers and their employees.

"Let's say you're at a convenience store, you go through a transaction and there's a soda, then there's a product that gets scanned and that requires age verification," he said. "The transaction would stop until an ID was scanned."

The bill is set to have its second reading. If passed it will then go to the Senate floor.
Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 5:46 pm

A Seattle teenager who was trapped inside his family's house in Rainier Beach when fire tore through the residence early on Jan. 22 died at Harborview Medical Center four days later, according to Seattle police.

On Tuesday, a week after the boy's death, Seattle police arrested his 38-year-old father in Shoreline and booked him into jail on investigation of domestic-violence homicide, accusing him of intentionally setting two fires inside the house, says the probable cause statement outlining the police case against him.

The man waived his first appearance hearing in court Wednesday, when a King County District Court judge found probable cause to hold the man on investigation of homicide and arson, said Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson for Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. A bail hearing is scheduled for Thursday and prosecutors are expected to file criminal charges on Friday, he said.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office identified the boy as 14-year-old Jabriel Isaq. His cause of death is pending further investigation.

The Seattle Times is not naming the boy's father because he has not yet been criminally charged. He and his son have different last names.

According to the probable cause statement:

Just before 4 a.m. on Jan. 22, Seattle firefighters responded to a house fire in the 9300 block of 39th Avenue South and found the residence fully engulfed in flames. Five of the house's seven residents were outside the house in their nightclothes when firefighters arrived. The family told firefighters a 14-year-old boy was trapped inside.

Firefighters found the boy in the master bathroom on the house's second floor and carried him outside. The seventh member of the household  the teen's father  was nowhere to be found.

Investigators found evidence that an accelerant was used to start fires in two spots on the house's first floor, and two partially melted gas cans were found on the patio outside a sliding-glass door.

One of the relatives told investigators he had seen the boy's father, who lived in the attached garage, inside the house around 1 a.m. on the morning of the fire, the statement says.

Police obtained video-surveillance footage from the neighborhood that showed the man walking north on Carkeek Drive South, just southeast of the house, less than two minutes before the first Seattle Fire Department trucks arrived.

Inside the garage, investigators found a cap to a gas can. One of the residents pointed out that a gas can stored in the garage was missing and told investigators that one of the gas cans found on the patio hadn't been there earlier in the day.

Police say family members repeatedly tried to contact the boy's father to alert him about his son's condition at Harborview but got no response. The family told police it was unusual for him to disappear like that, the statement says.

In a search of Seattle police reports, investigators located a July 2018 case in which the man allegedly threatened to burn down the family's house with everyone inside, the probable cause statement says.

During the arson investigation, the family told police the man had been behaving erratically and they suspected he was using drugs and may have mental health issues.

Following his arrest, detectives informed the man his son had died.

"He showed no reaction and did not respond to investigators' questions except to ask for water, a cigarette and a Coke," a Seattle police detective wrote in the probable cause statement.
While there has been ongoing reference to and speculation about the number of businesses here that have closed because of the economic/commercial downturn occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, that figure has now been given some meaning.





Responding to a question tabled by Fitzgerald Bramble, Member of Parliament for East Kingstown, Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves told a sitting of Parliament on Tuesday 29th January, that that figure was 420, representing a wide variety of sectors of the economy.





The closure of 420 businesses had accounted for 2,754 being displaced to the breadline, the Minister added.





The data as disclosed by the Finance Minister was, according to him, attributed to the National Insurance Services.





"There are other employees who have not been laid off but put on reduced time schedules, particularly in the hospitality sector  reduced hours and the like, Gonsalves said, and assured that they were, like those who have been laid off, receiving compensation/support through various income support measures introduced by the Government.
Eromosele Abiodun writes that the draft National Maritime Transport Policy will transform the industry.

Maritime transport is essential for sustainable trade and development. It is a central part of the "Blue Economy", which has enormous potential to promote economic growth and improve peoples' lives - while addressing many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Maritime transport is essential to the proper operation of any country's economy and a vital part of a nation's transport infrastructure.

As a matter of fact, without maritime transport, Nigeria would have been landlocked and its economy will not move forward but remain stagnant in different areas and as such maritime transport is of significant importance to and greatly influences the development and growth of the Nigerian economy in several ways.

Maritime transport is of significant importance to the Nigerian economy because it generates a lot of revenue for the federal and state governments which revenue is channeled towards the development of maritime infrastructure and the other areas including health and education.

The revenue comes from fees for the registration of ships and their mortgages, Customs duties, port charges and tariffs realised by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for the use of its facilities by the vessels that berth at Nigerian ports, corporate taxes paid by shipping companies, fees for licensing clearing and forwarding agents or freight forwarders and the registration of shipping companies.

The Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) collects three per cent statutory charge on gross earnings of shipping companies on imports and exports, whilst all payments for services offered and rendered to foreign vessels at Nigerian ports are payable in foreign currency.

However, because of the lack of policy guiding activities in the sector, Nigeria and many countries are not able to take advantage of the potential of the industry.

Transport policies are standards, principles, and rules formulated or adopted by the government to accomplish its long-term goals of efficient public transport system. The public transport policies also serve as regulatory framework, which guides all activities in the sector. The need to develop a national transport policy that is responsible to the needs of the country and its people is essential in developing countries like Nigeria. A transport policy therefore provides the guidelines for planning, development, co-ordination, management, supervision and regulation of the transport sector with its fundamental goal of developing an adequate, safe, environmentally sound, efficient and affordable integrated transport system within the framework of a progressive and competitive market economy.

This will involve public private partnership (PPP) in public transport sector projects with goals of economic, social and environmental growth. Also, there is need for ports and inland waterways development, management and reforms.

Rarity of Policy

Nigeria is currently ranked 127th among 144 nations of the world in global competitiveness of their transport systems. According to experts, government policies have dependably been exceptionally rare and where and when they exist, two noteworthy issues would negatively impact them which are policy somersault as a result of changing government/administrators and the lack of articulation of these policies with virtually all the agencies charged with implementing the policy doing things haphazardly with several policies coming from different agencies on the same issue due to lack of coordination. Transport policy, experts admonished, should be developed to give a satisfactory, moderate, safe, environmentally sound and efficient transport system with regards to a dynamic and aggressive market economy.

To accomplish the goals of such policy, a specific institutional framework, which incorporates the Federal Ministry of Transport with its varieties of offices and parastatals with comparative must be set up at the state levels and local government levels.

Recognising the need for a policy as a guiding principle in the industry, the federal government brought stakeholders to deliberate on a draft National Maritime Transport Policy before a final document is released.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, said the National Maritime Transport Policy being developed by Nigeria would lead to improved Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow and enhance the ability of the Nigerian maritime sector to compete internationally.

The minister's address was delivered by Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani.

Saraki said the transport policy would give Nigeria pride of place in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. The free trade area, the world's largest, was founded in 2018, and came into effect from January 1, 2021.

The meeting was organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation to get stakeholders' buy-in and input, as the policy document was being fine-tuned. The transport policy is expected to usher in a regime of robust maritime transport system in the country in line with international best practice.

She underscored the strategic economic importance of maritime transportation, saying adoption of the transport policy would mark a paradigm shift in Nigeria's economic competitiveness.

Guiding framework

According to her, "The National Maritime Transport Policy is a framework that will guide and sharpen the activities, actors and modus operandi in the maritime sector. It is an all-encompassing document that will skyrocket the sector to compete favourably in the global market. That is why this document is extremely important and crucial to the development of the sector."

She said the National Maritime Transport Policy, which industry stakeholders had clamoured for since nearly two decades, "Will change the narrative in the maritime sector of our dear country and result in a paradigm shift that is generational."

Saraki added: "It is encouraging to know that the maritime policy is coming up at a time when Nigeria has ratified the AfCTA Agreement and deposited it with the AU Secretariat. This is an agreement that will place Nigeria in place of leadership if we adequately prepare for the protocols.

"Therefore, it is expedient for us to make the maritime sector ready for the AfCFTA Transit Protocols and other international protocols for us to compete favourably in the regional and global market."

Nigeria deposited its instrument of ratification of the AfCFTA agreement on December 5, 2020, becoming the 34th member state to formally ratify the treaty. The free trade area was created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement among 54 of the African Union (AU) 55 member states.

It is the world's largest free trade area since the World Trade Organisation, and a game-changer in African and world trade, with a market of more than 1.2 billion people, about $3 trillion combined gross domestic products (GDP), and the potential of growing intra-African trade by over 50 per cent, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Bedrock of development

In her own speech, the permanent secretary said policy was the bedrock of development and the condition of the maritime sector of a nation determined its future development.

Ajani said: "Nigeria, like other nations, has recognised the integral role policies play in developmental process and, as such, engendered different processes to drive her quest for a sustainable, feasible and generic National Maritime Transport Policy. This will boost the maritime sector and widen the horizon to enable it serve the domestic market and have comparative advantage globally."

On his part, Chairman of the Technical Committee, National Maritime Transport Policy, Dr. Paul Adalikwu, revealed that the move by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to carry out an audit exercise of the Nigerian maritime sub-sector prompted the government of Nigeria to revamp the document that has been on the shelf at the Federal Ministry of Transport for over twenty years.

In a summary of the report of the inter-ministerial Committee on the Development of a National Maritime Transport Policy, Adalikwu said that though the process of producing a sustainable policy document is currently on going, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), has considered the document and referred it to a Ministerial Committee for review.

Akalikwu disclosed that the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), Committee was scheduled to visit Nigeria to conduct an audit exercise of the nation's maritime sector and aware of the absence of a policy document, the Ministry of transport quickly set up a Committee to develop the National Maritime Transport Policy, to meet with the visiting Audit Committee's requirement.

This, according to Adalikwu, was the genesis of the effort to formulate a NMTP, a development that led to the constitution of the Technical Committee and work done during the visit of the IMO team.

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He said: "It is pertinent to note that the objective of IMSAS is to determine to what extent IMO member State such as Nigeria are implementing and enforcing the applicable IMO instruments.

"The inter-Ministerial Committee after its constitution deemed it fit to create a Technical Committee to formulate and deliver the framework of the draft policy which was completed in 2016. The Technical Committee executed the national assignment diligently to deliver its mandate within a very short time in the same year.

"Indeed, it is on record that IMSAS Committee did not only commend the principles on which the draft policy was built on, but also applauded Nigeria for articulating the draft policy within such a short time."

He added: "It is pertinent to state that Nigeria has been an independent maritime nation for over 60 years, there is therefore no gainsaying the fact that a National Maritime Transport Policy is long overdue. We therefore call on all stakeholders and approving authorities to all in their power to ensure that the finalised document is approved without delay.

"This will no doubt serve as notice to the world that Nigeria is a serious maritime member State. It will also aid in sharpening our administrative processes and ensure that our practices in the maritime transport sub-sector is of international standard."

He added that the focus for the committee in carrying out its mandate was to produce a Marine Transport Policy that would ensure a safe, secure, clean, cost effective and efficient maritime transport service for the movement of goods and persons.

The committee, he added, also focused on promoting harmony in spatial parcels of activities that lead to marine utilisation such as navigation, mining, fishing, exploration, recreation and riparian rights.

"In drawing up the draft policy, the committee made reference to the African Union Maritime Chapter, Africa's integrated Maritime strategy 2050, the ECOWAS integrated Maritime Strategy, Draft National Transport policy 2013, Merchant Shipping Act, 2007, the Coastal and Inland Shipping Cabotage Act 2003, maritime policies of some countries around the world and the four pillars of the IMO, namely maritime safety, marine environmental protection, maritime security and human element in shipping among others," he stated.
In an undated image provided by NOAA Vents Program, squat lobsters on Seamont X, a submarine volcano in the Philippine Sea. (NOAA Vents Program via The New York Times)

Sabrina Imbler

Although clown fish are conceived on coral reefs, they spend the first part of their lives as larvae drifting in the open ocean. The fish are not yet orange, striped or even capable of swimming. They are still plankton, a term that comes from the Greek word for wanderer, and wander they do, drifting at the mercy of the currents in an oceanic rumspringa.

When the baby clown fish grow big enough to swim against the tide, they high-tail it home. The fish cant see the reef, but they can hear its snapping, grunting, gurgling, popping and croaking. These noises make up the soundscape of a healthy reef, and larval fish rely on these soundscapes to find their way back to the reefs, where they will spend the rest of their lives  that is, if they can hear them.

But humans  and their ships, seismic surveys, air guns, pile drivers, dynamite fishing, drilling platforms, speedboats and even surfing  have made the ocean an unbearably noisy place for marine life, according to a sweeping review of the prevalence and intensity of the impacts of anthropogenic ocean noise published on Thursday in the journal Science. The paper, a collaboration among 25 authors from across the globe and various fields of marine acoustics, is the largest synthesis of evidence on the effects of oceanic noise pollution.

They hit the nail on the head, said Kerri Seger, a senior scientist at Applied Ocean Sciences who was not involved with the research. By the third page, I was like, Im going to send this to my students.

Anthropogenic noise often drowns out the natural soundscapes, putting marine life under immense stress. In the case of baby clown fish, the noise can even doom them to wander the seas without direction, unable to find their way home.

The cycle is broken, said Carlos Duarte, a marine ecologist at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia and the lead author on the paper. The soundtrack of home is now hard to hear, and in many cases has disappeared.

Drowning Out the Signals

In the ocean, visual cues disappear after tens of yards, and chemical cues dissipate after hundreds of yards. But sound can travel thousands of miles and link animals across oceanic basins and in darkness, Duarte said. As a result, many marine species are impeccably adapted to detect and communicate with sound. Dolphins call one another by unique names. Toadfish hum. Bearded seals trill. Whales sing.

Scientists have been aware of underwater anthropogenic noise, and how far it propagates, for around a century, according to Christine Erbe, the director of the Center for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, and an author on the paper. But early research on how noise might affect marine life focused on how individual large animals responded to temporary noise sources, such as a whale taking a detour around oil rigs during its migration.

The new study maps out how underwater noise affects countless groups of marine life, including zooplankton and jellyfish. The extent of the problem of noise pollution has only recently dawned on us, Erbe wrote in an email.

The idea for the paper came to Duarte seven years ago. He had been aware of the importance of ocean sound for much of his long career as an ecologist, but he felt that the issue was not recognized on a global scale. Duarte found that the scientific community that focused on ocean soundscapes was relatively small and siloed, with marine mammal vocalizations in one corner, and underwater seismic activity, acoustic tomography and policymakers in other, distant corners.

Weve all been on our little gold rushes, said Steve Simpson, a marine biologist at the University of Exeter in England and an author on the paper.

Duarte wanted to bring together the various corners to synthesize all the evidence they had gathered into a single conversation; maybe something this grand would finally result in policy changes.

The authors screened more than 10,000 papers to ensure they captured every tendril of marine acoustics research from the past few decades, according to Simpson. Patterns quickly emerged demonstrating the detrimental effects that noise has on almost all marine life.

With all that research, you realize you know more than you think you know, he said.

Simpson has studied underwater bioacoustics  how fish and marine invertebrates perceive their environment and communicate through sound  for 20 years. Out in the field, he became accustomed to waiting for a passing ship to rumble by before going back to work studying the fish.

I realized, Oh wait, these fish experience ships coming by every day, he said.

Marine life can adapt to noise pollution by swimming, crawling or oozing away from it, which means some animals are more successful than others. Whales can learn to skirt busy shipping lanes and fish can dodge the thrum of an approaching fishing vessel, but benthic creatures like slow-moving sea cucumbers have little recourse.

If the noise settles in more permanently, some animals simply leave for good. When acoustic harassment devices were installed to deter seals from preying on salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago in British Columbia, killer whale populations declined significantly until the devices were removed, according to a 2002 study.

These forced evacuations reduce population sizes as more animals give up territory and compete for the same pools of resources. And certain species that are bound to limited biogeographic ranges, such as the endangered Maui dolphin, have nowhere else to go.

Animals cant avoid the sound because its everywhere, Duarte said.

Even temporary sounds can cause chronic hearing damage in the sea creatures unlucky enough to be caught in the acoustic wake. Both fish and marine mammals have hair cells, sensory receptors for hearing. Fish can regrow these cells, but marine mammals probably cannot.

Luckily, unlike greenhouse gases or chemicals, sound is a relatively controllable pollutant.

Noise is about the easiest problem to solve in the ocean, Simpson said. We know exactly what causes noise, we know where it is, and we know how to stop it.

In Search of Quiet

Many solutions to anthropogenic noise pollution already exist, and are even quite simple: Slow down, move the shipping lane, avoid sensitive areas, change propellers, Simpson said.

Many ships rely on propellers that cause a great deal of cavitation: Tiny bubbles form around the propeller blade and produce a horrible screeching noise. But quieter designs exist, or are in the works.

Propeller design is a very fast-moving technological space, Simpson said. Other innovations include bubble curtains, which can wrap around a pile driver and insulate the sound.

The researchers also flagged deep-sea mining as an emergent industry that could become a major source of underwater noise, and suggested that new technologies could be designed to minimize sound before commercial mining starts.

The authors hope the review connects with policymakers, who have historically ignored noise as a significant anthropogenic stressor on marine life. The United Nations Law of the Sea BBNJ agreement, a document that manages biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, does not mention noise among its list of cumulative impacts.

The U.N.s 14th sustainable development goal, which focuses on underwater life, does not explicitly mention noise, according to Seger of Applied Ocean Sciences. The U.N. had an ocean noise week where they sat down and listened to it and then went on to another topic, she said.

The paper in Science went through three rounds of editing, the last of which occurred after COVID-19 had created many unplanned experiments: Shipping activity slowed down, the oceans fell relatively silent, and marine mammals and sharks returned to previously noisy waterways where they were rarely seen.

Recovery can be almost immediate, Duarte said.

Alive With Sound

A healthy ocean is not a silent ocean  hail crackling into white-crested waves, glaciers thudding into water, gases burbling from hydrothermal vents, and countless creatures chittering, rasping and singing are all signs of a healthy environment. One of the 20 authors on the paper is multimedia artist Jana Winderen, who created a six-minute audio track that shifts from a healthy ocean  the calls of bearded seals, snapping crustaceans and rain  to a disturbed ocean, with motorboats and pile driving.

A year ago, while studying invasive species in sea grass meadows in waters near Greece, Duarte was just about to come up for air when he heard a horrendous rumble above him: a huge warship on top of me, going at full speed. He stayed glued to the seafloor until the navy vessel passed, careful to slow down his breathing and not deplete his tank. Around 10 minutes after, the sound ebbed and Duarte was able to come up safely for air.

I have sympathy for these creatures, he said.

When warships and other anthropogenic noises cease, sea grass meadows have a soundscape entirely their own. In the daytime, the photosynthesizing meadows generate tiny bubbles of oxygen that wobble up the water column, growing until they burst. All together, the bubble blasts make a scintillating sound like many little bells, beckoning larval fish to come home.

c.2021 The New York Times Company
Few relationships feature one party that freely gives and another party that only takes as blatantly as the relationship between the West and Islam. Thus, according to a Feb. 1, 2021 report, The British taxpayer has shelled out over 15,000 to the widow of the mastermind behind the 2017 London Bridge terror attack, while the families of victims were denied similar financial support.

During that attack, Zahrah Rehmans husband, Khuram Butt, and two other Muslims, killed eight people and injured another 48, by running over them with a van and stabbing them with knives. If police had not managed to shoot and kill the three terrorists, many more passersby would likely have been killed.

The distaste felt by some Brits at learning that their taxes are going to the wife of a savage terrorist is further soured by the fact that -- and despite her claims otherwise -- evidence suggests she knew and may even have shared in his ISIS worldview: I knew it was a possibility that he wanted to go to Syria, she confessed, but he never told me that he hates this country and wanted to attack this country. Such a defense is beyond silly: wanting to go and fight for the Islamic State in Syria is synonymous with hating Britain and any infidel nation. Moreover,

In video evidence provided to the hearing, Ms Rehman is seen talking with her extremist husband about naming British airports after radical Islamists. Another video presented before the inquiry showed the couple on their honeymoon in Pakistan and her husband hailing Dawlat al-Islamiyah  a monicker for Islamic State. Rehman denied that she understood what Butt was saying, claiming she could not understand Arabic.

At one point in the video, she even suggested renaming a London airport after Britains most notorious hate-preacher, Anjem Choudary, a man who helped radicalize her murderous husband and who spent five years in prison for his ties to ISIS. When confronted about her suggestion, Rehman shrugged it off as just a stupid joke.

It is further ironic -- or rather telling -- that she mentioned Anjem Choudary (whom I once debated here). He is the same man who -- while holding all of the usual beliefs currently styled as extremist -- also encourages Muslims to receive welfare at the hands of their hated enemies, the infidels, just as Rehman is benefiting.

In 2013 Choudary was secretly videotaped telling a Muslim audience to follow his example and get Jihad Seekers Allowance from the government (a pun on Job Seekers Allowance). The father of four, who was then annually receiving more than 25,000 pounds in welfare benefits, referred to British taxpayers as slaves, adding,

We take the jizya, which is our haq [Arabic for right], anyway. The normal situation by the way is to take money from the kafir [infidel], isnt it? So this is the normal situation. They give us the money -- you work, give us the money, Allahu Akhbar! We take the money.

According to Koran 9:29, jizya is monetary tribute subjugated non-Muslims (dhimmis) are required to pay to Muslims as the price for not killing them. This practice was only (and formally) abolished in the nineteenth century, thanks entirely to European intervention.

Choudarys position on accepting infidel money -- and Rehmans acceptance of it -- is not out of the Islamic mainstream. Sometime back, for instance, I watched a roundtable discussion on U.S. foreign aid to Egypt on Al Hafiz TV, an Arabic-language Islamic station. At one point, one of the guests, a cleric, insisted that the U.S. must be treated contemptuously, like a lowly and downtrodden dhimmi; that Egypt must make the U.S. conform to its own demands; and that, then, all the money the U.S. offers to Egypt in foreign aid can be taken as rightfully earned jizya.

The Muslim cleric further recommended that Egypt be less cooperative with the U.S. -- while simultaneously demanding more monetary aid. Then, America will accept; it will kiss our hands; and it will also increase its aid. And we will consider its aid as jizya, not as aid. But first we must make impositions on it.

When the host asked the learned cleric, Do the Americans owe us jizya? he responded, Yes -- that is the price Americans have to pay so we can leave them alone!

At any rate, here, then, is yet another way that the liberal Left and the illiberal Islam complement one another: the one stupidly gives, while the other selfishly takes -- all while despising and plotting the destruction of its benefactor.

Britain, especially, thrives on conforming to this model. According to a recent report, a ban preventing Anjem Choudary from preaching -- he had radicalized several other Muslim murderers aside from Butt -- is set to be lifted in May, 2021, and now security sources fear that Choudary will immediately resume his campaign to radicalise young Muslims.

Duh.

Raymond Ibrahim, author of Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.

Image: David Holt
US President Joe Biden demanded on Thursday that the Myanmarese military relinquish the power it has seized in a coup. In a military coup, the Myanmarese armed forces have seized power and arrested its elected civilian leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi. The whereabouts of her are still not clear.

The Burmese military should relinquish power they have seized, release the advocates and activists and officials they have detained, lift the restrictions on telecommunications and refrain from violence, Biden said in his remarks at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department. As I said earlier this week, we will work with our partners to support restoration of democracy and the rule of law and impose consequences on those responsible, he added.

Biden said in the last few days, his administration has been in close cooperation with allies and partners to bring together the international community to address the military coup in Myanmar. I have also been in touch with (Republican) Leader (Mitch) McConnell to discuss our shared concerns about the situation in Burma and we are united in our resolve. There can be no doubt in a democracy, force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election, he said.

According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, there is genuine bipartisan agreement on Myanmar. We believe we can work with Congress on a package of sanctions to impose consequences in  in response to this coup. We will also be working with allies and partners around the world, he said. A day earlier, a senior State Department official told reporters that they have been talking to India and Japan in the region on the issue of Myanmar.

Among others, the US is reviewing the possibility of a new executive order and also looking at specific targeted sanctions both on individuals and on entities that enrich the military. So we believe we have plenty of space to be able to find the types of sanctions targets necessary to sharpen the choice for the Burmese military, Sullivan said.

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi called for sanctions on Myanmar. I myself have been a supporter of sanctions of Burma at the time, going way back, I still call it Burma as a matter of fact, she said. McConnell has also called for sanctions against Myanmar. We already have sanctions in place against key military officials. And Congress has already given the executive branch the authorities it needs to swiftly apply even more sanctions to the military and its infiltration into Burmas economy, he said.

But we will also need the help of our friends and allies to effectively pressure the junta. It is time for freedom-loving nations to stand up for democracy and impose their own meaningful costs on the military junta, he said. McConnell slammed the Chinese Communist Partys state news organ dismissively calling the events in Myanmar a major cabinet reshuffle.

Also Read: In pics: Aung San Suu Kyi detained in Myanmar as military seizes control
The nation has been plunged into mourning with confirmation yesterday that 22-year-old kidnap victim Andrea Bharatt was found dead.

Bharatt, a law clerk at the Arima Magistrates Court was kidnapped last Friday.

For the past week the people of Trinidad and Tobago have been praying for her safe return. The confirmation of her death after a body was discovered along the roadway in the Heights of Aripo sent many into grief, shock and anger.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 10:09:22|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) Commission on Thursday said that the African continent added 16,066 km of roads through the first Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).

The AU Commission said in its End of Term Report for 2017 to 2021 published on Thursday that the AU pursued the implementation of the PIDA Priority Action Plan (2012-2020) that resulted in an increase of 16,066 km of roads, 4,077 km of railways, as well as 3,506 km of power transmission lines.

According to the AU, the initiative has also led to 17 more member states connected with regional fiber optic cables.

Through constructed and operational PIDA projects, 112,900 jobs were created directly, while another 49,400 jobs were created indirectly, it said.

In addition to physical infrastructure development projects, the AU also emphasized the launch of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) in January 2018 as "a significant milestone."

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic's huge impact on the African air transport sector and the operationalization of SAATM in particular, the 55-member pan African bloc said that the full implementation of SAATM "is one of the most important strategies for the restart and recovery of the African air transport sector." Enditem
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Ethiopian opposition leader and political change activist, Jawar Mohammed, and 22 others, held in pre-trial detention since June 2020, have been on hunger strike since 27 January, a state-run rights body said on Friday
After American pop star Rihanna, environmental activist Greta Thunberg and others lent their support to the ongong farmers' protest in India, several Bollywood celebrities like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Karan Johar, Suniel Shetty, Ekta Kapoor and others took to Twitter asking people not to "fall for any propaganda."

On the other hand, celebrities like Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker, Sayani Gupta, Anubhav Sinha and others slammed their Bollywood counterparts for criticizing western celebrities for tweeting on farmers' protest.

Amid this divided opinion in Bollywood on the ongoing agitation, Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha expressed her opinion on Rihanna's tweet and the subsequent reactions from Bollywood. She also slammed those calling it propaganda.

Sonakshi reshared a post on her Instagram story which talked about the farmers' protest and opinion of artists on it.

The post read, "The voices raised are about the violation of human rights, suppressions of free internet and expression, state propaganda, hate speech and abuse of power."

"While news and media will have you think that these are outside forces trying to control the functioning of our country, you must remember that these are not alien species but fellow humans who are speaking up for the rights of other humans," it further read.

The post went on to say that the harassment of journalists, internet bans hate speech and slandering of protestors through state and media propaganda are the issues that are being highlighted on a global stage.

"It's the same narrative oppressors weave all the time. Domestic violence at home is 'ghar ki baat'. 'Tum kaun hote ho hamare andar ke maamlo mein bolene waala.' (Who are you to speak in our family matters) Because the oppressor fears a free thinking mind that is not dependent on them and will always try to paint their influence as interference," it further read.

The Dabangg 3 actress concluded the post by writing, 'Wake up.'

Meanwhile, netizens hailed Sonakshi as real 'Dabangg' and 'asli sona' for highlighting the difference between humanitarianism and political activism. Here's what some of them had to say.

Dabangg was clearly about Sonakshi Sinha not Salman Khan pic.twitter.com/LxNaVBL4X0  Shreemi Verma (@shreemiverma) February 4, 2021

Thank you Sonakshi Sinha . Looks like womanhood is showing the strength and standing up for #FarmersProtest in Bollywood. https://t.co/uvIcTkDDGr  #__ (@atwal1_rosey) February 4, 2021

Sonakshi Sinha showing her peers what a spine looks like. https://t.co/ltYdcw6A4X  Vijay Venkataramanan (@7th_Samurai) February 4, 2021

Sonakshi is Real Gold like her name pic.twitter.com/s3ELXRZyaW  Mohammad Salman Sam () (@imsalmansam) February 4, 2021

ALSO READ: Salman Khan On Farmers' Protest: The Most Correct Thing Should Be Done

ALSO READ: Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn And Others Promote 'India Together' After Rihanna's Tweet On Farmers' Protests
The UNDP is looking forward to continuing to work with Vietnams National Assembly towards closing the gender gap, both qualitatively and quantitatively, UNDP Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen noted.

UNDP Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen (Photo: UNDP)

The effort not only aims to get more women in elected positions, but also supports them to be effective when they get elected, she added.

Wiesen made the pledge on February 4 while addressing the launch of the research findings of a study titled Roles of Women Representatives in Vietnams Development during the 2016-2021 Term held by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) under Vietnam National University-Hanoi and the UNDP.

Womens equal representation in leadership and decision-making at all levels, in both public and private sectors, is essential for realising Vietnams socio-economic development vision and key to equitable development that leaves no one behind, she said.

The study showed that during the 2016-2021 term, the NA has its first female chairperson and 26.7 percent female representation.

UNDPs global Human Development Report 2020 ranked Vietnam 65th out of 162 countries and among the top one-third of countries globally for womens share of seats in parliament.

The study provides empirical evidence of how women have contributed socially, economically and politically to the countrys progress over the past five years. This is an important foundation for society and voters to have stronger confidence in women candidates in the upcoming National Elections.

It also recommends creating favourable conditions for NA delegates of all genders to proactively engage with voters via all channels, making use of social networking channels; and giving women delegates equal representation in all fields by promoting gender parity in all committees of the legislative body.

There is no significant difference between women and men delegates in the amount of time they spend on performing their delegates roles and mandates nor in the response rates in handling petitions and proposals from voters during this term, the study found.

For her part, Deputy Head of Mission/Head of Development, the Embassy of Ireland Elisa Cavacece said that the Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) has been a powerful tool for the Vietnamese Government to capture feedback on how policy and public services have been delivered and benefited its citizens.

The soft launch of the research findings is a useful platform for the Embassy of Ireland to support and engage, in order to promote gender equality and womens empowerment, she added.

The study was carried out with funding from the Australian Governments Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Irish Embassy Vietnam and UNDP Vietnam, through the Provincial Governance and PAPI research framework./.VNA

UNDP vows to accompany Vietnam in development process Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen promised to closely coordinate and contribute to the building and implementation of socio-economic development strategies and plans of Vietnam.
Compton School District, Health Group Partner for Mass Vaccination Sites

Compton Unified School District and St. Johns Well Child & Family Center, the largest health care provider in South Los Angeles and Compton, have reached an agreement to operate mass community vaccination sites at schools throughout the city, it was announced today.

The partnership is the first of its kind in Los Angeles County, and will result in the ability to vaccinate tens of thousands of Compton residents once community vaccination begins. Compton Unified is the first school district in the state to establish schools as mass vaccination venues, according to the district.

St. Johns will provide nurses and frontline staff to provide thousands of vaccinations per day. Compton Unified  which has more than 30 campuses and serves over 20,000 students  will provide school gymnasium and auditorium sites as well as staff to support the effort.

We realized that we have the space, and in ideal locations throughout the community to help health officials reach many in our Compton community, said Micah Ali, president of the school district. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to lock arms with St. Johns Well Child and Family Center to ensure that Compton residents receive the vaccine as soon as possible once it becomes available.

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The agreement comes after almost a year-long partnership between St. Johns and Compton Unified to provide COVID-19 testing to students, staff and residents of Compton.

We are honored and excited to have put into place this agreement that will eliminate health disparities and inequities in COVID-19 vaccine administration, said Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. Johns. With thousands of low-income African American and Latino residents of Compton being vaccinated every day, we will ensure that we eliminate the health disparities

that have plagued Compton for far too long. St. Johns operates four community health centers in Compton and one school-based health center. It provides services for more than 450,000 patient visits each year in South Los Angeles and Compton.
The Indian aviation sector is showing positive signs after being completely shut down during the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year but remains in the "eye of the storm", Remi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia has said.

Indian airlines are currently carrying 60 per cent of the total pre-COVID domestic passengers and this is better than most countries in the world, he said in an interview.

"This is better, but this is far from being a sustainable situation. We are not out of the woods yet. We are still in the eye of the storm," he added.

Airbus has been observing positive signs such as the pent-up demand for leisure travel in India, he noted.

"I think there is a desire in people to fly again...Business travellers have started to come back. It is essential for your business to meet your business stakeholders or partners and for that, you need to travel," Maillard mentioned.

"I would say in a nutshell that we are still facing a lot of headwinds with the virus and the complexity of the situation. But in the midterm, I think there will be an upswing," he said.

Airbus and Boeing are two of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world.

Scheduled domestic flights in India were completely suspended for a period of two months between March 25 and May 24, 2020, due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Maillard said international passenger traffic is still weak in India, and it is difficult to predict how and when it would recover.

Scheduled international flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 last year.

However, special international flights have been permitted since May last year under the Vande Bharat Mission and air bubble arrangements formed with around 24 countries.

Maillard said: "I think international traffic is also an opportunity for the Indian carriers. The market share of Indian carriers in the country's international traffic is about 34 per cent. It means two-third of the international traffic for the time being or before was with foreign carriers."

"I think it is time for Indian carriers to scale up their operations and gain control of the international traffic as well. Also, we observe that air travellers have adapted to COVID-19 with a preference to point-to-point non-stop travel to avoid connections. Again, that is the opportunity to develop long haul travel from India," he stated.

Indian airlines have been badly hit by the coronavirus-induced economic crisis. Majority of them last year took drastic measures like pay cuts and firing of employees to cut costs.

Asked about Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's announcement that aircraft leasing companies based out of GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec) city in Gujarat's Gandhinagar would get a tax holiday on capital gains and rental income earned, Maillard said, it was a "big step".

"It is a very important step. In India, large majority of the aircraft with the airlines are leased. This is valid today, and this is going to be valid tomorrow," he said.

At present, no major aircraft leasing companies are based in India. Majority of the aircraft fleet with Indian carriers have been leased from foreign companies such as Avolon, GECAS, BBAM, BOC Aviation and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Capital.

Therefore, domestic airlines end up paying their lease rental in US dollars instead of rupees, which significantly affects their profitability.

However, Maillard said "more support" is needed from the government.

"Given the current status of the Indian civil aviation industry, we would need more support from the government in terms of tax exemptions on the air turbine fuel (ATF), imported aircraft parts, and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) industry," he noted.

"Also, we need to continue investing in infrastructure and this is something that we have been discussing with the Ministry of Civil Aviation," he mentioned.

Asked about aircraft deliveries, he said Airbus handed over 566 planes to airlines globally but it was 34 per cent lower than 2019.

"I think this is an outstanding performance given the COVID-19 context," he said.

"Out of the 566 aircraft, a bit more than 10 per cent went to Indian carriers, including 44 to IndiGo. Indigo has become a top customer in terms of delivery last year," he stated.

Also Read: Budget 2021: Aviation sector gives thumbs up to leasing tax sops
Hazleton police say a 52-year-old man tried to sway two witnesses in the shooting case against his nephew.

Harold Murray of Nanticoke faces felonies for intimidating a witness or victim and criminal attempt at intimidation. He was also charged with two felony counts of criminal use of a communication facility and brought to jail Jan. 26 after failing to post $50,000 bail.

Hazleton police arrested Murrays nephew, Dashaun M. Murray, 24, Freeland, and a teenager in relation to a Jan. 8 shooting and armed robbery in the area of Second and Alter streets. Dashaun Murray remains in jail without bail since his Jan. 11 arrest.

After the arrest, Harold Murray, identifying himself as H, attempted to contact the shooting victim and a witness on Facebook, police said. Harold Murray questioned the victim about the witness and indicated that he had money for her, arrest papers state.

He told the victim, if something happens to you its not on me.

I got money. I got people, I got goons on standby, and claimed that he didnt care what happened to the teen arrested with his nephew and that he and his nephew were going on the run, according to court papers filed against him Jan. 24.

Hazleton police, in the affidavit against Harold Murray, said they believed Harold Murray tried to intimidate the victim into changing his story and into being less cooperative in the investigation while also trying to find out where the witness could be located, in order to influence the prosecution of his nephew.

 Amanda Christman
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 21:28:40|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Fighting in Afghanistan has increased as over 90 militants and soldiers have been killed over the past 24 hours amid the stalled peace talks in Doha.

In the latest wave of violent incident, Taliban militants stormed a base of pro-government militiamen in Khanabad district of northern Kunduz province on Friday, killing 16 fighters and injuring four others, deputy to district chief Qudratullah Safi said.

In the fighting involving hundreds of Taliban militants and lasted for three hours, 10 armed insurgents were killed and five others injured, he added.

Similarly, the militant group attacked a police checkpoint in Sanjadak area of Muqar district in western Badghis province early Friday and fled away after killing seven policemen, a member of provincial council, Khan Jan Zafar said.

Provincial governor Hasamudin Shams has confirmed the incident by saying, "both sides suffered casualties."

To check Taliban activities, the government forces backed by fighting planes struck Taliban hideouts and positions in Arghandab, Panjway and Dand districts of southern Kandahar province, the birthplace of Taliban on Thursday, killing 62 militants and injuring 23 others, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Fighting has increased amid stalled peace talks between negotiating teams of the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar capital of Doha.

The second round of intra-Afghan dialogue resumed on January 6, but no significant progress has been reported. Enditem
Actor Christopher Plummer died in February 2021. He is survived by his wife, Elaine Taylor, to whom he was married for more than 50 years. But Plummer was married before that, most notably to actor Tammy Grimes. Learn what led to Plummer and Grimes divorce, as well as his relationship with his other surviving relative.

Christopher Plummer met Tammy Grimes while working in theater

L: Christopher Plummer | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images, R: Tammy Grimes | David Mcgough/DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images

Plummer was a rising star in the 1950s. He starred in a handful of Broadway productions during this time, including The Lark and J.B., the latter of which earned him his first Tony Award nomination. It was during this time that he met Tammy Grimes, herself an up-and-comer on the stage.

How did Plummer and Grimes meet? According to Grimes herself, their introduction occurred in the presence of another renowned star. She and Marlon Brando saw Plummer in the Broadway production of The Dark Is Light Enough. According to the Christian Science Monitor, she described her future husband as a thin, keen sword edge that catches the light.

Plummer and Grimes married in 1956 and divorced in 1960

(L-R): Tammy Grimes and Amanda Plummer | Bettmann / Contributor

Grimes and Plummer began a relationship. They married in 1956, months before their daughter, Amanda Plummer, was born. Grimes reportedly ended their marriage quite abruptly, sending his clothes to a hotel and passing along the message that it was over via his stage manager.

Plummer reflected on this time in his memoir In Spite of Myself. We were two fans observing and admiring each other at 40 paces  hardly the stuff to secure a union; we were having too much fun enjoying our separate ascendancies  much too immature to take on the twin responsibilities of marriage and raising a child, he wrote (via The New York Times.)

What was Plummers relationship like with his daughter, Amanda?

Christopher Plummer and Amanda Plummer | Lucy Nicholson/AFP via Getty Images

RELATED: Christopher Plummer Fans Are Realizing This Pulp Fiction & Hunger Games Star Is His Daughter

While both Grimes and Plummer went on to each marry twice more, neither had another child. Plummer didnt maintain a relationship with her. He wrote that he only saw her once over 21 years before reconnecting in 1981 when she was an adult.

Grimes explained that she brought Amanda up in a kind of formal, traditional manner. My daughter was brought up in a very disciplined household because I was an actress, and to be a good actress you have to be very disciplined, she explained to CSM.

I thought that because I wasnt going to be there so much of the time that she had to have a very strong structure and routine which would make her feel secure, Grimes elaborated. Up until the time she went away to college [Middlebury, in Vermont], she had led a very sheltered life.

Grimes and her daughter maintained a close relationship throughout her life. Grimes died in 2016 from natural causes. As for Plummer, he and Amanda stayed in touch, though he referred to her as more of a friend in his memoir. Amanda attended some of her fathers movie premieres and theatrical productions.
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As far as the 66 Chevelle SS is concerned, it was sold in Canada as Malibu SS, coming in pretty much the same configuration (both powertrain and equipment) as it non-SS sibling built in America.Needless to say, not a lot of Chevelle SS models were assembled in Canada, and the seller of the example we have here claims only a little over 5,000 units actually got to see the daylight.This particular car obviously wears the Malibu SS nameplate but still comes with the original numbers-matching 283 engine. Unfortunately, the transmission is no longer with the car, but eBay seller boothe817 guarantees everything else is original and unmolested.As you can clearly see in the photo gallery, the body no longer has the shiny Regal Red finish. At the same time, it looks like rust might also be a critical problem that needs to be urgently dealt with. That's the impression we get at least judging from the images we have here, so you should definitely inspect it in person thoroughly should you be interested in a purchase.The seats and the console are also missing, but on the other hand, everything else is supposed to be there. And the buyer also gets the Canadian documents, so youll be sure this isnt a Chevelle assembled in the United States. The original sales brochure offered by Chevrolet is also part of the package.No other specifics have been shared on the engine, so we dont know if its working or not, and the mileage hasnt been disclosed either.As for the price of this Chevelle, it might be a rare find, but at first glance, it looks a bit too expensive as well. The seller expects to get $15,500 for the car in its current condition.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (second from left) and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin review an honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Feb. 5, 2021.

The leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia jointly called on Friday for a special meeting of Southeast Asian nations to discuss this weeks military coup in Myanmar, saying this was a matter of concern for the region.

Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said they had instructed their foreign ministers to speak with the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations about convening a meeting of the blocs top diplomats. Their joint statement was the strongest to date on the situation in Myanmar from top government leaders of ASEAN states.

We are concerned about political developments in Myanmar and we hope that political differences can be resolved in accordance with applicable laws, the two leaders said after they held talks in Jakarta, where Muhyiddin was making his first trip as PM since his unelected government came to power nearly a year ago.

We have asked the two Foreign Ministers to speak with the chair of ASEAN to discuss the possibility of convening a special meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers on the developments in Myanmar.

Brunei this year holds the chair of the 10-member regional bloc, which includes Myanmar.

Muhyiddin said that the situation in Myanmar warranted a special ASEAN meeting.

In this regard, I strongly agree with the proposal that the two Foreign Ministers be given the mandate to seek an agreement so that a special ASEAN meeting is held to discuss this matter in more depth, the Malaysian PM said during a post-meeting press conference alongside Jokowi.

On Feb. 1, Myanmars generals seized power from the elected government, arrested civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others. The military then declared a one-year state of emergency to deal with allegations of voting fraud tied to the general election, which Suu Kyis party handily won in November.

The call for a special ASEAN meeting was unusual because one of ASEANs founding principles is non-interference in the domestic affairs of the blocs member-states.

Still, Muhyiddin, who was on a 24-hour visit to Indonesia, plainly stated on Friday that the democratic process in Myanmar had regressed and this could affect the whole of Southeast Asia.

His government has been ruling Malaysia under a national state of emergency declared last month over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like Indonesia, Malaysia also takes seriously the current political situation in Myanmar, which is a step backwards in the democratic process in that country, Muhyiddin said in a statement he read out at the press conference.

It is feared that political unrest in Myanmar could affect peace and stability in the region.

Muhyiddin didnt elaborate on how the Myanmar situation would affect Southeast Asia, but political analysts and an association of ASEAN MPs said earlier this week that the coup could lead to another influx of refugees from the countrys persecuted Rohingya community.

Political disputes in a country should be solved through legal means and not by force, Jokowi said for his part.

It is important that we respect the principles enshrined in the ASEAN charter, including the rule of law, good governance, democracy and human rights, and constitutional government, Jokowi said.

Malaysia, Indonesia have influential standing in ASEAN

Political analysts in the region welcomed the joint effort by Malaysia and Indonesia on Myanmar.

Cecep Hidayat, a Malaysia expert at the University of Indonesia, said Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur could play an active role as regional leaders on the issue.

If the Myanmar issue is not handled properly, it will have a huge impact on the region, Cecep told BenarNews.

Doing nothing could undermine international confidence in ASEAN resulting from an inability to create regional peace.

It is particularly important that Malaysia and Indonesia step up, because several ASEAN member countries had described the Myanmar coup as an internal matter, said Azmi Hassan, a political analyst in Malaysia.

He indicated that those nations that refrained from commenting were worried about potential fallout in their relations with Beijing.

The problem is that whats happening for the last few days is that a number of ASEAN members are with China by saying that this is an internal matter, Azmi told BenarNews.

So, I think it is very important for Malaysia and Indonesia, which have very influential standing in ASEAN itself to pursue, or I would say, force, Brunei as the chairman to call a special meeting regarding Myanmar.

Cambodia, Thailand, and, initially, the Philippines  all three of whom have a history of coups  took the internal affairs line.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore expressed serious concern about the situation in Myanmar and the sultanate of Brunei urged a return to normalcy in accordance with the will and interests of Myanmars people.

Manila later changed its tune and also expressed worries about the military coup in Myanmar.

Azmi also said that the plight of Myanmars ethnic Rohingya minority in Rakhine state should be the driving force in addressing the backsliding of democracy in Myanmar.

Malaysia and Indonesia are the target destination [for Rohingya] if things get worse in Rakhine which [they] probably will, since communication to the outside world from Myanmar is at a bare minimum, he said.

Extremely concerned

Meanwhile, Singaporean and Thai representatives on the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) joined their Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts on Friday in calling the military coup in Myanmar a transfer of power to the military.

We have been closely following events in Myanmar which have led to the declaration of emergency and transfer of power to the military after the general election on 8 November, 2020, the four countries AICHR representatives said in a joint statement.

They said they were extremely concerned and urged Myanmar to legally settle any political disputes there.

We look forward to a democratic and peaceful outcome that is in accordance with the will and interests of the people in Myanmar, their statement said.

Palm oil discrimination

Apart from Myanmar, Jokowi and Muhyiddin also discussed bilateral areas of concern.

They agreed that their countries would jointly fight what they called negative campaigns against palm oil in Europe and other countries.

Indonesia and Malaysia together supply about 85 percent of the worlds palm oil, and plantations in both countries have come under scrutiny for alleged labor violations.

Muhyiddin singled out the European Union, Australia and Oceania countries for discrimination against palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia.

This anti-palm oil campaign is unfounded and does not reflect the sustainability of the world palm industry and contradicts the EU's commitment to the WTO on free trade practices, he said, referring to the World Trade Organization.

Malaysia would continue to work with Indonesia on the issue and to empower the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries, the Malaysian leader said.

This is to ensure that we can protect the palm oil industry, especially smallholders who depend entirely on the palm oil industry in Malaysia and Indonesia, Muhyiddin said.

Jokowi said a joint campaign with Malaysia would be more effective.

Indonesia continues to fight against discrimination against palm oil and this endeavor will yield better outcomes if done together.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Association has regularly blamed palm oils competitors, such as canola and rapeseed manufacturers, and their financial might, for incessant attacks on the industry, despite the fact that palm oil plantations are far more sustainably managed today.

Jokowi also said he was seeking a new agreement to protect Indonesian workers in Malaysia.

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians work in the neighboring country, with many entering illegally and working as laborers.

The two countries also need to build a one-channel system so that labor recruitment can be done better to prevent workers from becoming victims of human trafficking, Jokowi said.

Hadi Azmi in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this article.
The BBC came under renewed fire from Chinese officials on Friday in a diplomatic dispute a day after Britains media regulator revoked the TV licence of Chinese state media outlet CGTN.

Britain and China have exchanged barbs for months over Chinas crackdown on dissent in the former British colony of Hong Kong, concern over the security of Huawei technology, and the treatment of ethnic Uighur Muslims in Chinas Xinjiang region.

On Thursday, Britains Ofcom revoked the licence of CGTN, the English-language sister channel of state broadcaster CCTV, after concluding that Chinas ruling Communist Party had ultimate editorial responsibility for the channel.

Minutes later, Chinas foreign ministry accused the British Broadcasting Corp of pushing fake news in its COVID-19 reporting, demanding an apology and saying that the broadcaster had politicized the pandemic and rehashed theories about covering up by China.

The BBC said its reporting is fair and unbiased.

On Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin criticised the Ofcom ruling as politicising the issue on a technical point and warned that China reserves the right to make a necessary response.

Britains Daily Telegraph newspaper separately reported on Thursday that Britain had in the past year expelled three Chinese spies who were there on journalism visas.

Chinas state media has ramped up attacks on the British public broadcaster in recent weeks.

I highly suspect that the BBC has been closely instigated by the intelligence agencies of the US and the UK. It has become a bastion of the Western public opinion war against China, Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Communist Party-backed tabloid the Global Times, said on Twitter.

The foreign ministrys criticism of the BBC was among the top trends on Chinas Weibo social media platform on Friday.

BBC shall not become Bad-mouthing Broadcasting Corporation, ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Twitter.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnsons spokesman declined to comment directly when asked if it was appropriate for the Chinese government to criticise the BBC.

The UK is committed to the promotion of media freedom internationally, and to championing democracy and human rights, around the world, the spokesman said.

BBC broadcasts, like those of most major Western news outlets, are blocked in China.

Some people called for the BBC to be expelled in response to CGTNs licence being revoked.

The BBC has long been stationed in Beijing, yet has always held ideological prejudice and broadcast fake news from its platform, deliberately defaming China. After so many years, its past time that we took action, one Weibo user said.

The BBCs coverage of Xinjiang came under heavy criticism after it reported on Wednesday that women in internment camps for ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in the region were subject to rape and torture.

Chinas foreign ministry said the report had no factual basis. The Global Times said in an editorial on Friday that the BBC had seriously violated journalistic ethics.

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Global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. has reached a $573 million settlement with a 47-state coalition, including Connecticut, resolving their investigations that the firm allegedly contributed to the opioid crisis by trying to boost the pain-drug sales of pharmaceutical companies, including Stamford-based OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.

Announced Thursday, the agreement was hailed by state attorneys general, including Connecticuts William Tong, as a breakthrough in the current round of litigation that will send direct payments to the states for efforts to tackle the opioid epidemic. Connecticut will receive $7.5 million, including an initial payment of $6.2 million during the next year.

3 1 of 3 Matthew Brown / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Kathy Willens / Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Its a big step forward in holding wrongdoers accountable for their role in the opioid-and-addiction crisis, Tong said in an interview. And its a big step forward to helping victims and their families in Connecticut with treatment, prevention and addiction science. It puts vital resources behind all that were trying to confront in the opioid crisis.

Despite the agreement, McKinsey is not admitting any wrongdoing or liability. The company said in its own announcement that it believes its past work was lawful and has denied allegations to the contrary.

We chose to resolve this matter in order to provide fast, meaningful support to communities across the United States, Kevin Sneader, global managing partner of McKinsey, said in a statement. We deeply regret that we did not adequately acknowledge the tragic consequences of the epidemic unfolding in our communities. With this agreement, we hope to be part of the solution to the opioid crisis in the U.S.

McKinsey issued a similar public apology in December about its work with Purdue.

Purdue declined to comment on the settlement.

Among other settlement terms, McKinsey agreed to continue investigating allegations that two of its partners tried to destroy documents in response to probes of Purdue, implement an ethics code to which all its partners must agree each year and stop advising companies on potentially dangerous Schedule II and Schedule III narcotics, according to Tongs office.

The agreement also calls for McKinsey to prepare for online public disclosure of tens of thousands of internal documents outlining its work for Purdue and other pharmaceutical firms. The firm has also agreed to adopt a document-retention plan.

Connecticut was part of a 10-state executive committee that negotiated the settlement.

We always could use more (funds), Tong said. But this is a negotiated share, and once you divide $573 million between 47 states, five territories and the District of Columbia, this is what you end up with.

Other members of the executive committee included the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts.

McKinseys cynical and calculated marketing tactics helped fuel the opioid crisis by helping Purdue Pharma target those doctors they knew would overprescribe opioids, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. They knew where the money was coming from and zeroed in on it. Under the terms of todays agreement, the company will finally end its illegal conduct, deliver more than half a billion dollars into communities across the nation and will never be able to help perpetrate this type of fraud and deception again.

Five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia are also included in the settlement. Nevada, West Virginia and Washington were the only states not listed in the announcement from Tongs office.

The agreement is separate from the approximately $8 billion settlement that Purdue reached last October with the U.S. Department of Justice. That deal also involved the company pleading guilty to criminal charges of defrauding the government and violating anti-kickback laws. At the same time, the Sackler family members who own Purdue reached their own $225 million settlement with the department.

Extensive allegations

New court filings connected to the settlement outline the states allegations that McKinsey helped to stoke the opioid crisis by selling marketing schemes and consulting services to opioid manufacturers, including Purdue, for more than a decade.

Another trove of related records was submitted last November as part of Purdues bankruptcy proceedings. Those filings built on allegations in Massachusetts lawsuit against Purdue that McKinsey urged Sackler members to decide whether to turbocharge the sales engine.

One McKinsey proposal, which was developed in 2017, suggested paying rebates to insurance companies for each patient who overdosed or developed opioid-use disorder, according to the November filings.

McKinsey also has faced strident criticism of its work with Purdue from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Blumenthal was Connecticut attorney general when the state and 25 others reached in 2007 a nearly $20 million settlement with Purdue related to allegations that the company failed to properly disclose the risks of abusing OxyContin. The same year, Purdue and three former executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to OxyContin marketing as part of a $635 million settlement with the Justice Department.

In a series of tweets Thursday, Blumenthal praised the states worthy steps against McKinsey, but also called for further action.

Our successful legal action against Purdue Pharma in 2007 failed to stop them from addicting and killing people in part because McKinsey was advising how to do it more adroitly. McKinsey has horrifying culpability for Purdues criminality, Blumenthal said. Individuals at McKinsey are not  but should be  held accountable for their deadly advice. They may have aided and abetted Purdues admitted criminal lawbreaking. Federal prosecutors must investigate.

Bankruptcy case carries on

Meanwhile, Purdue is still trying to reach through its bankruptcy a comprehensive settlement of several thousand lawsuits filed by local and state governments alleging that the company fueled the opioid crisis by fraudulently marketing OxyContin.

The company and the Sacklers have denied the allegations, but they have proposed a settlement that they value at more than $10 billion for efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.

A settlement does not appear imminent because 24 non-consenting states, including Connecticut, have rejected Purdue and the Sacklers offer because they see it as insufficient.

I dont believe that the Sacklers have reckoned with their responsibility, Tong said. As far as I can tell, they have not offered any potential settlement or resolution that meets their obligation to pay for the damage that theyve caused.

A message left for a Sackler spokesperson seeking their response to Tong was not immediately returned.

Legal experts see the McKinsey settlement as potentially strengthening the negotiating position of the non-consenting states.

It gives a kind of benchmark that the attorneys general are going to use. It shows the breadth and depth of the liability, said Robert Bird, a professor of business law at the University of Connecticut. Its yet another warning shot across the bow that Purdue Pharma is exposed to a substantial monetary liability.

Tongs office said it is also pursuing and investigating claims against some of the countrys largest pharmaceutical distributors, which it has accused of flooding the market with pain drugs far above levels needed for legitimate prescriptions.

In the past few years, opioids have been involved in more than 90 percent of fatal drug overdoses in Connecticut. In 2019, 1,127 people in the state died from opioid-involved overdoses, up 19 percent from 2018, according to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In the first six months of 2020, 635 died from opioid-involved overdoses.

The scale of the addiction crisis is massive, Tong said. Purdue is one piece of it, the Sacklers are one piece of it and McKinsey is one piece of it. But there is so much more than that.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
A Massachusetts man who suddenly woke up struggling to breathe was stunned when doctors told him he had swallowed his one of his AirPods in his sleep.

Brad Gauthier, 38, from Worcester, went to the hospital on Tuesday after he was left gagging while trying to drink a glass of water after waking up.

X-rays revealed that one of his wireless Apple headphones had become wedged in his oesophagus.

The blockage caused Gauthier's throat to fill up with water as he tried to drink and made him feel as though he was choking.

He was able to get the water out by leaning over and continued his day as normal, despite the strange sensation in his chest - evening clearing his driveway which had become covered with snow after a severe blizzard.

During the day, Gauthier noticed that one of his earbud's was missing. While his family helped look for it, they joked that, as he had a sore chest, perhaps he had swallowed it.

Massachusetts man Brad Gauthier (pictured), 38, suddenly woke up struggling to breathe was stunned when doctors told him he had swallowed one of his AirPods in his sleep

X-rays revealed that one of Gauthier's wireless Apple headphones (circled) had become wedged in his oesophagus

'My wife mentioned it when I came in and we laughed about it, but something just clicked and I got a weird sinking feeling that I'd swallowed it in my sleep.

'At that point, I putzed around for another 10 minutes thinking about it but we all determined it'd be better safer than sorry to go to hospital.'

Hospital staff first suggested that the food from Gauthier's wife Heather's birthday party the night before could be the source of his discomfort but x-rays soon uncovered the real culprit.

'It was pretty funny, when she [the hospital worker] left the room I could hear a bit of chatter outside - 'No it couldn't be?'

'She came back in, looks at me and says: 'I'll be damned, you swallowed it.'

'They were all jaws a slack, looking at this x-ray, on the screen where you could see it in such clear definition. Fortunately, she was able to get me right through an endoscopy centre they're affiliated with,' Gauthier said.

The 38-year-old believes that the AirPod somehow entered his mouth while he was sleeping after he went to bed with them in.

The 38-year-old believes that the AirPod (pictured) somehow entered his mouth while he was sleeping after he went to bed with them in [Stock image]

Pictured L-R: Gauthier with his wife Heather, six-month-old daughter Avianna, and son Owen, 15

He was extremely fortunate, however, as the position the earbud had lodged in had prevented it from causing serious damage.

'Had I inhaled it or it had gotten lodged or constricted my airway that could have certainly been a significantly more serious matter,' Gauthier said.

'You don't have a lot of runway if you obstruct your breathing and something happens, who would even think that's what it was if you wake up to something like that.'

'I'm really lucky things happened the way they did and got it resolved so quickly, along with it being wedged in the position that it was.'

The endoscopy to remove the offending AirPod was not without risks. While doctors were confident of success, they warned Gauthier that there was a possibility the device could become dislodged and enter his stomach or lung passageway.

Fortunately, the surgery was indeed a success and Gauthier was able to have a meal shortly afterwards and even return home to work.

Gauthier has thanked staff for their efforts but joked that, while the retrieved headphone is still working, its microphone function got broken on its unexpected journey.
21 runners killed during mountain race in northwestern province of Gansu; Indian variant of Covid-19 found in Guangzhou; Beijing willing to arrange for vaccines to be sent to Taiwan

May 28, 2021 08:15 PM
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden says the days of the U.S. rolling over to Russian President Vladimir Putin are gone as he called for the immediate release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

During his first visit to the State Department as president on Thursday, Biden issued his strongest condemnation of Putin as large protests have broken out throughout Russia following the jailing of Navalny. Thousands of protesters have been arrested.

The new American president was also seeking to make clear to the world that he's making a dramatic turn away from Putin following the presidency of Republican Donald Trump, who avoided direct confrontation and often sought to downplay the Russian leader's malign actions.

Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and Putins most determined political foe, was arrested Jan. 17 upon returning from a five-month convalescence in Germany from a nerve agent poisoning, which he has blamed on the Kremlin.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens as President Joe Biden delivers remarks to State Department staff, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

I made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive actions  interfering with our election, cyber attacks, poisoning its citizens are over, said Biden, who last week spoke to Putin in what White House officials called a tense first exchange. We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people.

Biden's comments on Russia came as he asserted a broad reset of American foreign policy, including reversing Trump's order to withdraw U.S. troops stationed in Germany, ending support for Saudi Arabia's military offensive in Yemen and promising to support LBGTQ rights as a cornerstone of diplomacy.

Using the visit to outline how his foreign policy would differ from that of his predecessor, Biden called for a return to the "grounding wire of our global power. He sought to buck up the diplomatic corps, many of whom were discouraged by Trump's policies and tone.

America is back. Diplomacy is back, Biden told State Department staff before delivering his foreign policy speech. "You are the center of all that I intend to do. You are the heart of it. Were going to rebuild our alliances

With Biden's most public diplomatic effort of his young presidency, White House officials said he was hoping to send an unambiguous signal to the world that the United States is ready to resume its role as a global leader after four years in which Trump pressed an America First agenda.

He offered a list of issues where he said he would reverse Trump's policies or forge different priorities, including scrapping the former president's plan to withdraw about 9,500 of the roughly 34,500 U.S. troops stationed in Germany. The European nation hosts key American military facilities like the Ramstein Air Base and the headquarters for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.

Trump announced the pullback after repeatedly accusing Germany of not paying enough for its own defense, calling the longtime NATO ally delinquent" for failing to spend 2% of its GDP on defense, the alliance benchmark.

No reductions or changes have been made to U.S. troop levels since Trump's announcement. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hinted at a likely reconsideration of the order in a conversation with his German counterpart last week, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biden also signed a presidential memorandum Thursday that addresses protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals worldwide. The memorandum, which builds off guidance the Obama administration issued in 2011, directs State Department officials and other federal officials working abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomatic and foreign assistance efforts promote and protect LGBTQ rights.

Biden also announced plans to increase the cap on the number of refugees allowed into the United States to more than eight times the level at which the Trump administration left it. Trump drastically reduced the cap to only 15,000.

Bidens plan would raise it to 125,000, surpassing the ceiling set by President Barack Obama before he left office by 15,000. Biden, through executive order, also called for rescinding Trump-era rules that resulted in excessive vetting of applicants, expanding capacity for adjudicating applications for refugee applications, and other steps.

Mark Hetfield, president of the Maryland-based refugee resettlement agency HIAS, said the announcement won't lead to overnight changes but applauded Biden's order as a head to bottom review of the program so that America can once again lead by example on protecting refugees."

Biden, by contrast, chose longtime confidant Antony Blinken to be his secretary of state, aiming to reinvigorate an American diplomatic corps that had been depleted and demoralized under four years of the Trump administration.

He was greeted by employees eager to hear that diplomacy has returned to the top of the presidential agenda and that the expertise of long-serving foreign service officers will be valued.

I promise I will have your back, Biden told the department staff. And I expect you to have the back of the American people."

Although Bidens first nominations and appointments to senior positions at State have trended heavily toward political appointees, the president and Blinken have pledged to promote career staffers.

To that end, the Biden announced he was appointing a longtime U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Tim Lenderking, as his special envoy in Yemen. The move comes as Biden is searching for a diplomatic end to the Saudi Arabia-led military campaign that has deepened humanitarian suffering in the Arabian peninsulas poorest country.

Lenderking, a career foreign service member, has served in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.

The State Department visit comes after Biden moved on Wednesday to extend the last remaining treaty limiting Russian and American stockpiles of nuclear weapons, acting just two days before the pact was set to expire. It also follows days after a coup in Myanmar that has emerged as an early proving ground of Biden's approach to multilateralism.

A Moscow court on Tuesday ordered Navalny to prison for more than two and a half years, finding that he violated the terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany. Biden again called for Navalny's release.

Mr. Navalny, like all Russian citizens, is entitled to his rights under the Russian constitution, Biden said. Hes been targeted, targeted for exposing corruption. He should be released immediately and without condition.
On Wednesday, cable news network MSNBC aired an interview with Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City. The worlds 14th richest human used the occasion to angrily denounce Chicago teachers for resisting unsafe reopenings and demand President Joe Biden crack down on their opposition.

Bloomberg arrogantly dismissed teachers concerns of being infected with COVID-19 and dying as selfish: The teachers say, Well, I dont want to go back because its dangerous. We have a lot of city and state and federal employees who run risks. Thats part of the job. You run risks to help America, to help your state, to help your city, to help your family. And theres just no reason not to have the schools open, the virtual classes are a joke, theyre worse than a joke. He concluded, The teachers are just going to have to suck it up, stand up and provide an education.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stands for the pledge of allegiance during a ceremony on Sept. 11, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Bloomberg was being given space by MSNBC as a representative of the financial aristocracy. His rant against teachers makes clear that the reopening of schools is not being done in the interest of students but of the corporate oligarchy, who see a return to classrooms, no matter the cost in human lives, as critical for sending parents back to work so that they continue pumping out profits. The fact that this class standpoint is the only one which is allowed to be expressed in the corporate press is made all the more secure by the control of the news media by super-wealthy individuals like Bloomberg himself, Jeff Bezos and others.

The 12-minute interview was part of the all-out propaganda blitz in the press, including both Democratic- and Republican-aligned outlets, falsely claiming that school openings are safe. Many publications have seized upon a limited study sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in rural Wisconsin to falsely claim that science proves schools are safe, while ignoring the overwhelming body of evidence that schools are one of the main centers of transmission for the virus.

While Bloomberg denounced Biden for his perceived timidness, the newly inaugurated president shares the same aim of overriding workers opposition and reopening schools and the economy as quickly as possible. Biden has declared that opening the nations schools by April is one of his top priorities. While he has rescinded a large number of Donald Trumps executive orders, he has kept in place his use of the Defense Production Act to force meatpacking plants to remain open. More than 56,000 meatpacking workers have contracted the disease in the US and 270 have died.

Viewers might have been wondering why MSNBC thought the public would be particularly interested in what Bloomberg had to say. After all, his Democratic presidential campaign last year, in which he attempted virtually to buy the presidency through limitless infusions of his personal cash, went down in flames as primary voters rejected the smug aristocrat, who made no attempt to conceal his contempt for the working class in his debate appearances, by a wide margin.

His MSNBC interview had all of the charm of his election campaign. Bloomberg referred to all public students as poor people who could not afford internet-connected devices and included shoe shiners and cleaners among those people who would benefit by being patronized by reopening businesses. Before his most inflammatory remarks about school teachers needing to suck it up, Bloomberg stumbled and referred to students as our most important thingsah, our most important players.

Nevertheless, the news network bent over backward to present him in the most favorable possible light. The interview, which was heavily edited, began by interviewer Stephanie Ruhle absurdly presenting him as a public health expert on the grounds that Johns Hopkins Universitys school of public health, which has published detailed daily statistics on the spread of the pandemic, bears his name because he is a major donor to the school. For good measure, MSNBC had Bloomberg appear with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, who participated via satellite. Dr. Tedros barely spoke in the aired version of the interview, and he and Bloomberg did not interact at all, indicating that the only purpose of including him was to lend credibility to Bloomberg.

I think what were doing to poor kids is a disgrace, Bloomberg claimed. They are not in school, they will never recover from this, and they had a bad education experience anyways, as though this were not the result of the monopolization of societys wealth by figures such as Bloomberg himself. Bloomberg has been a major financial backer of school privatization schemes around the country, and during his time as New York City mayor he opened a record number of for-profit charter schools.

The threadbare lie, repeatedly endlessly by figures such as Democratic mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot, that their push to reopen schools is solely motivated by concern for the welfare of children is reduced to absurdity coming from the mouth of Bloomberg. In a racist rant to fellow oligarchs at the Aspen Institute in 2015, Bloomberg described the same poor, mostly minority youth he claims now to be concerned with as the main cause of crime, and declared that police should throw em against the wall and frisk em. The revelation of his comments early last year played a major role in torpedoing his bid to win the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

The former mayor of New York City was allowed to give a lying account of the initial stages of the pandemic, claiming that no one knew how bad the virus had the potential to be. In fact, Trump had been briefed early in January on the danger of coronavirus, and the WHO declared the outbreak to be a pandemic on January 30.

The conversation then turned to the rollout of the vaccine, which has been disastrous, with the total number of vaccines delivered a tiny fraction of the benchmarks set by the federal government last year. When MSNBC reporter Ruhle asked Bloomberg how resources to fight the pandemic could be distributed equitably if the process were controlled by private companies, Bloomberg became far more animated than when he was discussing a disease which has killed 2 million people. Stephanie, you out of anybody should understand [that] capitalism really does work! he interjected. Our health and hospital system is based on capitalism. We charge, and better hospitals get donations, and they improve their healthcarewhats wrong with having experts who know how to distribute stuff?

The question elicited such a strong response because, in fact, the entire capitalist system has been thoroughly exposed by the pandemic. Time and again, the primary barrier to all rational, scientifically grounded responses to the pandemic has been blocked by the profit motive.

Now, even after 450,000 people in the United States have died, the ruling class is demanding that teachers and students return to classrooms. They are doing so as the pandemic enters a new and more deadly stage, with more virulent and lethal variants of the virus becoming more dominant. But the ruling class could not care less as long as share values on Wall Street continue to rise. This is why such widespread opposition is now erupting among teachers and other sections of workers and taking on a more and more explicitly anti-capitalist orientation.

Bloomberg, in spite of callous indifference toward the little people, is highly sensitive to the danger of a socialist movement in the working class, denunciations of which came to dominate his presidential campaign. It demonstrates, moreover, that Trumps justification for his coup attempt on the grounds that he was the last line of defense against socialism in America was not just hot air from a madman. It expressed that the overriding fear of the ruling class is the growth of revolutionary opposition within the working class.

The ties between Emory and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights will be strengthened as they share in a grant supporting efforts to uncover Atlantas racial history.

Emorys Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project will work with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights on uncovering Atlantas racial history as part of a $17 million grant announced Thursday.

Construction of a three-story expansion of the Atlanta museum will take up about $15 million of the gift from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.

The Cold Cases Project, an undergraduate course led by Pulitzer Prize-winning professor Hank Klibanoff, will share in the remaining funds to continue research into the Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906, when a white mob inflamed by sensationalized and unsubstantiated media reports of crime killed at least 25 African Americans.

The exact amount of funding was not released for the work, which will become the basis of new programming at the Center, which opened in 2014. The focus will be on creating a clearer look at the attack, especially on those who died.

Who were these people? What did they do, how did they live, how did they die? We know enough from our preliminary research to see the victims were people living on the right side of the law, but they became political pawns, expendable because of their race, says Klibanoff, a professor of practice in Emorys Creative Writing program.

Well be seeking to animate their lives to give them the historical justice that was denied them by law enforcement and the judicial system in 1906, he adds.

Klibanoff launched the cold cases course in 2011, teaching students how to conduct in-depth research into racially motivated murders that went unpunished in the Jim Crow South. The effort mixes journalism with history and African American studies, similar to Klibanoffs own work in The Race Beat, the book that won him the Pulitzer.

He hopes to assemble a team made up of researchers in the community and undergraduates and alumni who have taken the course, to capture more details of the 1906 attack, which civic leaders tried to disguise and minimize almost immediately after it occurred.

The Blank Foundation gave the Center and the Cold Cases Project $25,000 in seed money last year, to see if more could be unearthed.

Working with Sonam Vashi 15C and Katherine Dautrich 19C  who exceled in his course  and Kera Lamotte, the Centers public engagement coordinator, Klibanoff found enough in 115-year-old records to convince him they could tell victims stories, reveal details about the perpetrators and trace the descendants of both.

Atlanta should not be allowed to pass on this myth as the city too busy to hate until it sets the record straight, Klibanoff says.

Details of how the research will be done will be hammered out in the months to come, with a possible summer start.

There have been no discussions yet whether the findings will be turned into a series for Buried Truths, the Peabody Award-winning podcast that emerged from Klibanoffs course.

Other project partners include the Emblematic Group, for virtual reality storytelling, and Equitable Dinners, for community conversations, according to a press release.

The most effective way to make progress together as a community is to shine a light on the issues that exist and to then do something about them so that everyone can feel a sense of understanding and support. We believe in the power of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to educate, include and transform the whole of this community and this country so that together, we can create tangible, positive change, Blank says in a prepared statement.

The Blank Family Foundation has donated more than $20 million to the Center, including the initial $1.5 million to begin construction in 2013, to connect the Civil Rights Movement to the global struggle for human rights today.

Center CEO Jill Savitt says in a press release the latest gift allows the museum to expand that vision, something Klibanoff echoes for his part of it.

Emory has been excellent at encouraging and supporting the scholarship to uncover these stories that might otherwise be lost to time, he says. Working with the Center and Jill Savitt elevates the significance of our work, to get at the truth.
Kolkata, Feb 5 : The leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, on Friday asked the BJP-led government at the Centre as to why it is getting so much rattled with the Tweets of international celebrities supporting the farmers' agitation in India.

"Some of our nationalists pleaded in America that "Aab ki bar, Trump ki sarkar", what did it mean? When we protested in chorus against the brutality on George Floyd, nobody had questioned us. But when Rihanna and Greta Thunberg sought to express solidarity with the farmers of our country, why are we getting so much rattled," Chowdhury asked.

The Congress MP from the Berhampore Lok Sabha consituency in West Bengal further said that "we are living in a global village".

"Just introspect, why should we be afraid of any criticism? We have all grown up eating the food produced by our food-givers," he said.

Chowdhury said that the Centre should also have expressed solidarity with the farmers.

File image of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das on February 5 said the central bank is awaiting a formal proposal from the government on the proposed bad bank.

We are waiting for the formal proposal from the government, Das said in a press conference post the monetary policy announcement.

In the Union Budget 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the creation of a bad bank, in the form of an asset management company-asset reconstruction company model to absorb the stressed assets in the banking system.

Bad bank will purchase Non-performing assets (NPAs) from banks at a discount. The entity will then attempt to achieve resolution in such accounts through a professional approach.

In an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol, top government officials had later said that the government will not put money in the bad bank or take ownership of the entity. Banks, both from the private sector and public sector, will contribute capital, they said.

The government plans to bring about Rs 2 lakh crore of bad loans under the proposed bad bank.

The idea of a Bad Bank itself is not new. In 2018, the government announced a plan for PSBs called 'Project Sashakt', which had a five-point plan for bad loan resolution in public sector banks.

The government then spoke of a model, with the guiding principles of an Asset Management Company (AMC) resolution approach, under which an independent AMC would be set up to focus on asset turnaround, job creation, and protection. The functions of this new company will be aligned with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process and IBC laws, the government said.

The government did not call it a Bad Bank then and made it clear that it won't get involved in the bad asset resolution process and the process will be led by banks. The Indian Banks Association, an industry body of banks, had earlier estimated that Bad Bank will require an initial capital of Rs10,000 crore to begin operations.

(This is a developing story. Please check back for details)
The High Court has ruled that four pub owners are entitled to be compensated by Insurer FBD for the disruption their businesses suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a landmark decision, the outcome of which affects claims made by some 1,000 Irish pubs and restaurants, Mr Justice Denis McDonald found that a policy sold by FBD covered losses the pubs sustained by having to close due to the global health emergency.

In a lengthy and detailed judgement delivered on Friday the judge disagreed with FBD's interpretation of its policy and said cover is not lost where the closure is prompted by nationwide outbreaks of disease provided that there is an outbreak within the 25 mile radius and that outbreak is one of the causes of the closure.

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The issue of quantifying the losses, the judge said will be dealt with at a later date.

The four test actions were taken by Dublin bars Aberken, trading as Sinnotts Bar; Hyper Trust Ltd, trading as The Leopardstown Inn' and Inn on Hibernian Way Ltd trading as Lemon & Duke.

The fourth action was taken by Leinster Overview Concepts Ltd the owner of Sean's Bar, which is based in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

The publicans challenged FBD Insurance Plc's refusal to indemnify them, as well as the insurers stance that its policies of insurance did not cover the disruption caused to businesses by Covid-19.

The dispute arose after the insurer refused to provide policy holders with cover after the pandemic resulted in the first temporary closure of businesses, in mid-March 2020.

Judgment in the case, which took several weeks to hear, was due to be delivered in January.

The decision was deferred to allow the parties make submissions to the court arising out of a judgment from the UK's Supreme Court where similar issues were raised.

Each of the pub owners claimed that under their policies of insurance taken out with FBD they are entitled to have their consequential losses covered by what they claimed is an insurable risk.

They also claimed that by failing to pay out on the policy the insurer was in breach of contract.

The publicans claimed the policies taken out with FBD contain a clause that states the pubs will be indemnified if their premises were closed by order of the local or Government Authority if there are "Outbreaks of contagious or infectious diseases on the premises or within 25 miles of same."

FBD disputed the claims and argued that the closures did not occur as a result of an outbreak of disease at the premises or areas where the pubs are located.

FBD also told the court that it has never provided cover for pandemics and no-one in Ireland has ever asked for it.

The general insurance market in Ireland does not insure against events like pandemics, it claimed.

Only specialist brokers, which he said are based overseas, on a bespoke basis offer an insurance policy that cover the fall-out from something like covid19, FBD also argued.

Today, FBD said the judgment provides "much needed clarity" to all concerned.

A spokesperson said the insurer is committed to paying valid claims and will endeavour to process them as quickly as possible.

"We understand the significant challenges our public house insurance policyholders currently face. FBD will arrange interim payments to affected policyholders while awaiting final clarity on quantum.

"We will now consider the effects of the judgment with our reinsurers and will revert to the market in due course on the estimated net cost of Covid-19 related business interruption claims to the company. We expect the cost to be well within the range of considered financial outcomes, with FBD remaining strongly capitalised.

"FBD believes that the court process was the fairest way to reach a resolution in this matter and tried to ensure that proceedings were as quick and efficient as possible for all concerned.

On the margins of his working visit to Kazakhstan, Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday attended the Almaty Digital Forum 2021, which is held under the motto: Digital Reset: The Leap To The Next Normal. Among the participants are the heads of government from EAEU-member states, Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Mikhail Myasnikovich, CIS Executive Committee representatives.

A ceremonial video session was held prior to the plenary session, after which the Armenian Prime Minister joined the heads of government of other participating countries to get acquainted with the exhibits displayed in the Museum of Digital Projects.

Also, the PM of Armenia delivered a speech at the plenary session of the Digital Conference, in which he stated as follows in part:

I would like to start my speech by thanking Kazakhstan for hosting this digital conference. The conference has become a traditional platform for discussing issues relevant to the digital economy.

It is obvious that high technologies play a decisive role in enhancing the states competitiveness and security, as well as in raising peoples living standards. The highly technological nations are at the forefront of the international arena.

The Government of Armenia considers digitization, innovation and the latest technologies to be the most important tool for engineering an efficient and representative system of public administration, a favorable business environment and ensuring progressive economic growth.

The high-tech sector and digital technologies are the fastest growing sector of our economy. The turnover of IT companies in Armenia amounted to more than USD 400 million in 2020. It grew by about 20% as compared to the previous year. Staffing has grown by 22% in this area. More than 1200 operating IT companies are registered in our country at this point of time. Tangible tax benefits are available in accordance with the policy pursued by the Armenian government.

The pandemic posed highly challenging problems for society, businesses and the state, in general. They had to be addressed in conditions of quarantine or all-out lockdown. The need to work under such conditions led to the introduction of both a new management culture and the widespread use of digital technologies and solutions. The latter turned out to be the most important amid limited opportunities for physical contact practically along the entire chain of government and socio-economic activity.

We have been using digital technologies, electronic document management systems and e-government tools in Armenia. I would like to note that the social groups in need of support were identified with a high degree of accuracy and transactions on support measures were completed in the shortest possible time thanks to the use of appropriate technologies.

We provide for the implementation and development of government data policy, electronic services, e-government systems, coordination of digital processes, creation of common standards and digital environment. The government encourages the use of electronic tools to facilitate the introduction of digital technologies in the private sector.

The digitization process goes in tune with the common EAEU digital agenda. A platform for interaction between databases is being created, which optimizes data exchange processes between different systems and the digitization of a large number of public services.

I am pleased to state that the EAEU countries were able to use digital technologies in overcoming some of the problems caused by the pandemic. I mean the Traveling without Covid-19: digital platform, which kicked off on February 1, and actually restored the free movement of citizens between Armenia, Russia and Belarus.

Armenia supported the EDB Digital Initiatives Fund project from the very outset, and we are grateful to our colleagues from the Fund and from the governments of Russia and Belarus for the joint work done under this project.

We need to move actively towards the implementation of other joint digital projects by using the capabilities of supranational institutions and development institutions. In addition to implementing joint projects, we should also work to scale successful solutions. There are many of them in each of our countries.

We should strive to achieve full-fledged and all-encompassing digitalization of services provided to citizens by the state. To this end, we need to use the entire range of electronic services - mobile phones, network services, cloud technologies, and so on.

We should strive to ensure that the borders between the EAEU states disappear at the digital level, and that existing restrictions are minimized. We see that the opportunities opened up through digitization can be used to increase the efficiency of free labor movement. The appropriate mobile application can collect and store within a one-stop-shop all information on available jobs throughout the EAEU, enabling people to fill out and submit the necessary documents to get the job of our choice.

I am confident that our joint work and exchange of experience will help us move confidently forward in all sectors of digital technology, to achieve success and the desired results.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything. The arrival of the coronavirus has had an enormous impact on health and has affected not only people with the virus but also those with other illnesses, including cancer patients. They could be said to be facing a double pandemic, that of the coronavirus and that of their tumoural process, and that is something that has a major psychological effect.

Wednesday 4 February was World Cancer Day and different associations spoke out, demanding on one hand that despite the pandemic, there should be no delays in carrying out diagnostic tests, and also calling for more money to be invested in cancer research in Spain.

One of these groups, the Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC) is calling for there to be a major national agreement to tackle the illness. "Cancer is the same for everybody, but not everybody is equal when it comes to cancer. Work needs to be done to eliminate the inequality and that can only be done if there is an agreement on how to tackle cancer," says the AECC.

They are unmoved by statements that the delays in diagnosis are being caused by the Covid pandemic, saying that "nobody should remain undiagnosed as a result of any type of crisis".

Meanwhile, the Andalusian Society of Medical Oncology (SAOM) said this week that the incidence of new cases of cancer is continuing to grow throughout the region. It points out that in 2020 the pandemic caused delays in diagnosis in between five and seven per cent more cases, compared with 2019. In fact, during the first wave of the virus, up until May last year, there was a 20 per cent increase in delayed diagnosis of new cancer cases in Spain, and this meant that more cases went undetected and by the time people began treatment their illness was at a more advanced stage than it would otherwise have been, said the president of SAOM, Antonio Rueda.

"We are worried by this situation, because these delays in diagnosis can have a major impact on the results and possibilities of treatment, and therefore the survival of the patients," he warned.

Carlota Alexandre. / NITO SALAS

Carlota Alexandre: "I was very scared when they postponed my operation twice because of coronavirus"

Life for 48-year-old Carlota Alexandre changed in March last year when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She was due to have surgery at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic, but the operation at the Vithas Xanit hospital in Benalmadena was postponed on two occasions. This caused Carlota extra anguish on top of the fear that she was already suffering.

"I was really scared that they couldn't do the operation in time. The first time it was put off because the operating theatres were closed as a result of the pandemic. When they opened again and my surgery was scheduled, they cancelled it again because the results of one of the blood tests they did made them think I might have the coronavirus. Luckily, the test wasn't positive so I finally had the operation two weeks later, on 20 April," says Carlota, who was born in Portugal but has lived in Fuengirola for many years.

She has a message of support for others with cancer. "I have a very strong faith and I have patience. You have to remember that Spain has very good oncologists. I have been in the hands of a fantastic team," she says.

Carlota now faces an additional problem: a lack of money. She was laid off because of the pandemic and although she has applied for financial assistance she has been turned down twice. "I'm hoping the Asociacion Espanola contra el Cancer (AECC) will be able to help me get some sort of help," she says.

Ana Gonzalez. / SUR

Ana Gonzalez: "I decided not to go for my treatment because I didn't want to die alone with Covid"

Ana Gonzalez, 66, knows from experience what battling lung cancer is like. She knew all about the fear it causes, but when the coronavirus arrived it sent her into such a panic that she was at the point of giving up the immunotherapy she needs and receives at the Civil Hospital in Malaga.

"I said to myself: with my lung problem I am more at risk if I catch Covid, and as the situation is so bad I'm not going for my treatment. I'd prefer to die of cancer than Covid, because with the virus I would die alone," she says.

She was born in Venezuela because her parents had emigrated there to find work, "but all my family is from Granada. I came here with my children, and now my sister is here as well," she says.

After deciding to abandon her immunotherapy, Ana rang the Fuengirola branch of the Asociacion contra el Cancer and told Paloma Gomez that she wasn't going to go to the hospital. She was referred to one of their psychologists and her panic and anxiety gradually disappeared. Volunteers from the association also drove her for her immunotherapy sessions each day.

"If it hadn't been for that psychological help, and because they took me to the hospital and brought me back, I wouldn't have gone. In the end, I only missed one session. After that, I started going every 21 days for an injection, and that's something I'll have to do for the rest of my life," she says.

Years ago, Ana was diagnosed with a grade 4 carcinoma in both lungs. She had chemotherapy to shrink the tumour, then surgery on one lung and, some time later, on the other.

After the operations she was cancer-free for five years, but then it came back and that is why, three years ago, she began to have immunotherapy
The Senior pastor of Awaiting The Second Coming Of Christ Ministry, Adewale Giwa says no pastor will have more than a car if men of God we...





The Senior pastor of Awaiting The Second Coming Of Christ Ministry, Adewale Giwa says no pastor will have more than a car if men of God were to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Giwa, who was addressing his members in Akure on Wednesday, expressed displeasure on how many Christians had been deceived by prosperity gospel.

The cleric, however, described prosperity sermon as a false teaching from the pit of hell.

He said, The teachings of our Lord Jesus give us insights into how He wants us to live as His followers.

Many of us have deviated from these teachings today just because we want to be rich. Do you know that Nigeria has one of the richest pastors in the world?

Truth is bitter, but we must say it as it is that if all of us want to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, no pastor will have more than one car and a house.

Its unfortunate that most of us have a series of cars, private jets, houses among others. Jesus said in the book of Matthew 6:3 that if someone gives to the poor, he or she should keep it secret.

How many pastors are following this teaching today? Also, in the book of Matthew 19:21, Jesus told the rich man to go sell all his possessions and follow him.

Some of us have different possessions today and we keep saying we want to be like Jesus; we are all fooling ourselves. Let me tell you, it is not easy to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Any pastor having two, three or four cars cannot claim he is following the paths of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prosperity sermon is a false teaching from Lucifer. The devil offers riches, read Matthew 4:5-6 where Satan tempted Jesus Christ.
opinion

President Hussein Mwinyi has demonstrated a surprisingly dynamic leadership in his first 100 days in office, placing strong emphasis on unity, accountability, hardworking and transparency.

From the day he took the oath of office, Dr Mwinyi has championed unity, regularly asking wananchi to come together as a nation and focus on development programmes.

But significantly, the former Tanzania's Minister for Defence and National Service has acted boldly against corrupt practices as he seeks to put the Indian Ocean semi-autonomous archipelago in order.

The soft-spoken leader has never shied away from taking tough decisions in an effort to tame corruption and laziness in public offices.

A day after his inauguration, President Mwinyi hit the ground running, making an impromptu inspection tour of Malindi Port, a main gateway to Zanzibar Islands.

Mwinyi's surprise visit to the Isles' main port sought to address congestion caused by inefficient handling of cargo at the port.

Dr Mwinyi was vividly dismayed with the delay in cargo dispatch and congestion of containers at Malindi Port, the protracted Inland Container Depot (ICD) Terminal project at the Maruhubi area, a grand plan envisaged to decongest the port premises.

While at the port, President Mwinyi instructed the management to act efficiently by ensuring timely delivery of services, so as to stimulate business and eventually boost Zanzibar's economy.

His anti-corruption crusade would soon turn sour for some public office bearers. A month into his presidency, Dr Mwinyi suspended Zanzibar Social Security Fund (ZSSF) Director General Sabra Issa Machano over allegations of fraudulent activities in the implementation of major government projects.

Dr Mwinyi suspended the ZSSF boss when he addressed officials and executives of the Zanzibar Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Authority (Zaeca) and used the platform to warn civil servants not to engage in corrupt practices.

He insisted all those implicated would be immediately suspended to pave way for the investigations.

But one of the historic feats in the early days of Dr Mwinyi is the formation of the Zanzibar's government of national Unity, (GNU).

Keen to bury political division and build a united nation, Dr Mwinyi appointed Maalim Seif Sharrif Hamad, Chairman of the main opposition party, ACT-Wazalendo, as his First Vice-President.

President Mwinyi also appointed two senior ACT Wazalendo figures, Nassor Ahmed Mazrui and Omar Said Shabaab, as members of the House of Representatives.

Appointing the opposition figures to Zanzibar's Revolutionary Government is in keeping with its constitution, Article 9(3) that stresses national unity as the structure of the Isle govt.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, the Minister of State- Legal Affairs, Public Service, and Good Governance, Mr Haroun Ali Suleiman said President Mwinyi's 100-day in office mark great changes focusing on improving people's welfare and strengthening the Zanzibar economy.

Mr Suleiman said the 8th phase government under Dr Mwinyi has so far managed to set a road-map, which gives direction to where the country is heading.

He added that Dr Mwinyi's administration has put emphasis on accountability, discipline and observing work regulations, which altogether lead to the improved services delivery to wananchi.

The minister suggested further that the government is operating as per people's expectations and that Dr Mwinyi's first 100 days in office is a testimony that all promises and plans as stipulated in the 2020-2025 ruling party's manifesto would be implemented as required.

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"We thank God for the good start, and the achievement gained so far in public offices. We want to ensure that there is no bureaucracy and corruption practices in all government offices," said Suleiman during a press conference on 100-days of the new regime.

He said Dr Mwinyi has been tough on graft, embezzlement of public funds, laziness and on issues related to environmental degradation. He said his speed and focus has led to the admirable successes within a short period of time.

"Good governance and rule of law are pillars of our government, today every civil servant is attending his/her duties and people are served accordingly without discrimination. We want every government employee to serve people with integrity and equality," the minister said.

Talking about the gender based violence, and sexual abuse, the minister said the government is reviewing some of the laws to enable the hearing of sexual offence cases to be heard and ruled within seven days.
Burundi has become at least the second African country to say it doesnt need COVID-19 vaccines , even as doses finally begin to arrive on the continent thats seeing a deadly resurgence in cases.

The health minister of the East African nation, Thaddee Ndikumana, told reporters on Thursday evening that prevention is more important, and since more than 95% of patients are recovering, we estimate that the vaccines are not yet necessary."

The minister spoke while announcing new measures against the pandemic. The country closed its land and water borders last month. It now has well over 1,600 confirmed coronavirus cases.

Neighboring Tanzania this week said it had no plans to accept COVID-19 vaccines after President John Magufuli expressed doubt about them, without giving evidence. He insists the country has long defeated the virus with Gods help but faces growing pushback from fellow citizens, and officials with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have urged Tanzania to cooperate.

Burundis previous government under the late President Pierre Nkurunziza also had been criticized for not taking COVID-19 seriously. But current President Evariste Ndayishimiye last year described the virus as Burundis worst enemy."

Last month he told a religious meeting in the political capital, Gitega, that we are seeing new cases of COVID-19 because God is punishing us" for not respecting vows to serve the country without corruption.

When leaders dont fulfil such promises, its the whole family that has to be punished," he said.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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ROCHESTER, Minn. - A man suspected of having a knife inside Menards while shoplifting was later found hiding in a garbage can inside a garage.

Romario Luke, 26, of Rochester, was taken into custody Thursday at 2613 Elm Cross Dr. SW at 2:10 p.m.

Officers made contact with the owners of the residence, a couple in their 70s, and they said nobody should be there.

Luke was found in a garbage can and refused to get out. He had his hands tucked in a waistband.

Luke was tased twice before being handcuffed. A large knife was still near his waistband when he was taken into custody.

He's facing two felony charges, including first-degree burglary.
EMILY ST. LAWRENCE, Chariho girls lacrosse, senior: St. Lawrence tied a school record for goals in a game with nine in a win over Smithfield. St. Lawrence scored 17 goals for the week and has 32 for the season.

CARLY CONSTANTINE, Stonington softball, sophomore: Constantine singled home Shea OConnor with the winning run to hand Waterford, the states No. 2 ranked team at the time, its first loss of the season. For the week, Constantine was 5 for 15.

GREG GORMAN, Westerly baseball, junior: Gorman, a junior, hit a massive home run in a win against Barrington. The homer went over the fence in center field and landed in a nearby road. Gorman was 3 for 3 with four RBIs in the game. He is hitting .571 with 10 RBIs for the season.

BRADIN ANDERSON, Wheeler baseball, freshman: Anderson, a freshman, pitched a complete-game shutout to beat Grasso Tech. Anderson struck out three to earn the first win of his varsity career.

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JERUSALEM (AP) - The United Arab Emirates drastically reduced its funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in 2020, the year it signed a U.S.-brokered normalization accord with Israel that was heavily criticized by the Palestinian Authority.

The agency known as UNRWA provides education, health care and other vital services to some 5.7 million registered Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, mainly descendants of the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven out of Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation.

The UAE donated $51.8 million to UNRWA in 2018 and again in 2019, but in 2020 it gave the agency just $1 million, agency spokesman Sami Mshasha said Friday, after it was first reported by Israeli media.

"We really are hoping that in 2021 they will go back to the levels of the previous years," he said.

Emirati officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Saturday.

Last year the UAE normalized relations with Israel, breaking with a longstanding Arab consensus that recognition should only come in exchange for concessions in the peace process with the Palestinians, which has been moribund for more than a decade.

FILE - In this March 31, 2020 file photo, Palestinian workers load food supplies distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at the Sheikh Redwan neighborhood of Gaza City. The United Arab Emirates drastically reduced its funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in 2020, the year it signed a U.S.-brokered normalization accord with Israel that was heavily criticized by the Palestinian Authority. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco struck similar agreements shortly thereafter, in what the Trump administration touted as a historic diplomatic achievement. President Joe Biden welcomed the accords and has said he will encourage the resumption of direct peace talks.

The Palestinian Authority, however, viewed the agreements as a betrayal and harshly criticized the UAE. That may have prompted the federation of oil-rich sheikhdoms, which includes Dubai and Abu Dhabi, to slash aid.

Critics of UNRWA say it perpetuates the refugee problem created by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the Palestinians' demand of a "right of return" for the refugees and their descendants. Israel adamantly rejects the idea of a right of return, which if fully implemented would leave the country with a Palestinian majority.

The Trump administration cut off all funding to UNRWA in 2018, one of several unprecedented steps it took to support Israel and isolate the Palestinians. The U.S. had previously given the agency around $360 million a year.

The Biden administration announced last month that it would restore aid to the Palestinians, including to refugees, and says it will work to revive peace negotiations. The two sides have not held substantive peace talks since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assumed office in 2009.

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US group Chobani is said to be readying a public listing this year, although the yogurt and dairy-alternative maker has refused to be drawn on the report.

Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal said today (4 February) Chobani is laying the groundwork for an IPO.

Approached by just-food, Chobani provided a statement from founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, who said: The last ten years of Chobanis journey has been nothing but incredible. I am very proud of our people who built this amazing company and brand.

Its only the beginning. As we create the food company of the future, well look at all options carefully to fuel our ambitious plans, especially with oatmilk and plant-based products. An IPO is definitely one exciting direction but whether or not were public, well keep disrupting and making things better.

Set up in 2005, Chobani has become one of the largest yogurt makers in the US and has subsequently diversified into more categories, including oat-based products and creamers in 2019.

Private-equity firm TPG invested in Chobani in 2014 amid a period of expansion at the dairy firm, which led the growth of the Greek-style yogurt category in the US in the second half of the noughties and the early part of the 2010s.

TPG exited Chobani's shareholder roster in 2018, with the company getting a new investor the same year in the shape of Canadian pension fund Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.
Its that time in this world right now where you cant give a (expletive), Treece said, according to a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Youre gonna hear about me on the news, because Im gonna go into a shootout, bro. Im not going back to jail.

A key complicating factor in the if and when conjecture over the U.S. and Iran re-opening talks on the Join Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in light of the new incumbent at the White House, President Joe Biden, is that Iran has its own Presidential Election scheduled for 18 June this year. With current President, Hassan Rouhani, constitutionally prohibited from running due to his having already served two terms in the top job, this Presidential Election will essentially be a referendum on whether the Iranian people want to stick with a relatively more West-leaning, reformist government  exemplified initially by the Rouhani regime  or whether it wants a return to the more anti-West, hardline governments before Rouhani took power first on 3 August 2013.

In broad terms, Rouhanis Presidential Election victory in 2013 was founded on the generally young and highly-educated populations belief that by pursuing the more Western-friendly policies advocated by Rouhani and his moderates, long-standing economic sanctions against Iran would be removed and then a huge wave of Western investment would flow into the country. The practical guardians of the 1978/79 overthrow of the Shah  the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)  had no choice but to allow him to try, given the strength of his popular mandate. By 2015, it appeared that Rouhanis approach was beginning to yield results, as the JCPOA was agreed between Iran and the P5+1 group of nations (U.S., U.K., France, Russia, and China plus Germany) on 14 July of that year, with the initiative led on the Wests side by then U.S.-President, Barack Obama. This agreement was then formally implemented on 16 January 2016, whereupon a slew of high-profile, high-value deals started being agreed in principle by Western firms with Iran.

When Donald Trump won election as U.S. President on 8 November 2016, it was clear that disassembling the JCPOA would be a top priority of his new administration. Partly this was due to reports from the hawkish elements of the defence and intelligence communities that suggested that Iran was using the deal to secretly renege on key elements of its commitments and partly this was due to Trumps desire to destroy a flagship achievement of Obamas presidency out of spite, according to the highly in-the-know U.K. Ambassador to the U.S., Sir Kim Darroch in 2019. On 8 May 2018, then, the U.S. formally unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and re-imposed its own sanctions on Iran from the latter half of that year. Despite the continued support of all of the other P5+1 group of countries for the deal, plus nearly all of Europe and Asia, the U.S.s hold over business dealings and transactions done in U.S. dollars  the worlds reserve currency  meant that in practical terms, all companies that used the U.S. dollar or had any dealings with the U.S. were unwilling to go ahead with deals with Iran. Consequently, all of the big deals agreed by Western companies especially with Iran were cancelled and/or indefinitely postponed. Related: South Korea To Build Worlds Largest Offshore Wind Farm

Although Rouhani was still in office at this time  having secured re-election in 2017 on the continued promise of the JCPOA and corollary Western investments  his power amongst the people disappeared from the moment that the U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA and it was clear that other Western countries had little choice but to go along with the U.S. lead. As this was happening, so the IRGC came back to prominence, principally with the view that now that Iran could not expect economic and political support from the West it should instead look East for these, in particular to the two other big members of the original P5+1 group of nations who signed the JCPOA  China and Russia. This allegiance has subsequently been solidified with the far-reaching updates of the 25-year deal agreed in August 2019 between Irans Foreign Minister, Mohammad Zarif, and his China counterpart, Wang Li, that was, in turn, an extension to the original China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership that had been signed in 2016.

The chances of the U.S. coming back to the negotiating table with Iran to redraw the JCPOA were pushed to zero  despite occasional signs that this may well happen  when the IRGC found out that Washington was actively lobbying Rouhani to curb the power of the IRGC both by rolling it into the regular army and forcing it to give up all of its business interests. According to various sources, the IRGC at that time held significant ownership shares in 27 companies that were publicly traded on the Tehran Stock Exchange and had placed top commanders at the heart of more than 200 Iranian companies across the oil, gas, petrochemical, automotive, transportation, telecommunications, construction, and metals and mining sectors. After this revelation, the IRGC launched a fight-back against any possibility of the U.S. rejoining the JCPOA first by orchestrating the possible impeachment of Bijan Zanganeh, Rouhanis stalwart Petroleum Minister, and second by engaging in a series of high-profile testing of ballistic missiles  the very thing that it knew would incense the Americans, and third by allegedly being the key mover in the Houthi attack on U.S. ally Saudi Arabia in September 2019. Related: Trading Giant Gunvor: $60 Could Be The Ceiling For Oil Prices

The lack of deals resulting from the U.S.s re-imposed sanctions on Iran meant that there was no trickle-through of wealth to the people as Rouhani had promised and the Iranian economy remains stretched, to say the least. This apparent lack of success led to a very poor showing in last years parliamentary elections for Irans Rouhani-aligned moderates, with the swing in popularity to the hardline (Principlist) faction - comprising religious conservatives supported by the IRGC - portending a decisive shift towards the hardline state model, reinforced by Chinas intentions for Iran within the parameters of its geopolitical game-changing One Belt, One Road strategy. It is true that the specific powers of Irans 290-member parliament (Majlis) are not as extensive as those of the parliaments of many other countries but it is also true that the same hardline conservative inclination is already entrenched in the fact that all of the legislation passed by Irans parliament then needs to be approved by the Guardian Council of the Constitution. This is a 12-member body that acts in the manner of a general constitutional overseer, with half of its membership always being Shia theologians directly chosen by the Supreme Leader  currently, Ali Khamenei  himself. The other six members are lawyers selected by the head of the judiciary, who is, in turn, also directly appointed by the Supreme Leader. A clue as to what Khamenei thinks of the recent reformist agenda of Rouhani came in May 2019 when he said to a group of university students: If you, the youth  prepare the ground for the formation of a young and pious government, your griefs will be over, and these griefs are not only yours.

There is an argument that the JCPOA will be renegotiated by dint of the fact that it is in the economic and political interests of both the U.S. government and the government of Iran. Certainly it seems that Bidens new government is open to the possibility, albeit that the deal will have to be redrawn along the lines of the original draft deal drawn up by former President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State, John Kerry, as analysed in depth by OilPrice.com recently. For Irans government as well, although the exercise of the resistance economy model (the concept of generating value-added returns by leveraging intellectual capital into business development wherever possible) has mitigated against complete financial disaster, life would be undoubtedly be easier with the U.S. back in the JCPOA and no longer sanctioning the country. What this argument fails to consider, though, is that it is not down just to the two governments: the IRGC is currently dominant, and it is thoroughly supported by the Spiritual Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the countrys parliament, and China. The IRGC knows full well that any re-engagement with the U.S. will be predicated in part on the IRGCs powers being radically reduced, and probably again by the methodology of it being rolled into the regular Iranian Army and of its being divested of all of its business interests. For China, meanwhile Iran (and its sponsored state, Iraq) simply cannot be replaced geographically, politically, economically, or in terms of oil and gas resources. Given this, it comes as absolutely no surprise that the IRGC has been up to its usual tricks  seizing a tanker, threatening the Strait of Hormuz, and talking of increasing uranium enrichment  to deter the early onset of JCPOA re-engagement talks with the U.S. Given that the Iranian Presidential Election is likely to be won by someone extremely sympathetic to the IRGC (and the Supreme Leader, and China), this approach to re-energising the JCPOA is unlikely to change any time soon.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

King donates two tonnes of pet food to Soi Dog Foundation

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By Soi Dog Foundation

Friday 5 February 2021, 01:03PM

A total of 90 large bags of dog food and 10 bags of cat food  amounting to two tonnes  were gratefully received by Soi Dog whose shelter currently houses over 1,300 animals. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation

The food was presented to Soi Dog and 13 other organisations during a ceremony at the Royal Thai Volunteers Administration Center in Bangkok. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation

The food was presented to Soi Dog and 13 other organisations during a ceremony at the Royal Thai Volunteers Administration Center in Bangkok. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation

The food was presented to Soi Dog and 13 other organisations during a ceremony at the Royal Thai Volunteers Administration Center in Bangkok. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation

His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn has donated a large amount of dog and cat food to Soi Dog Foundation  as well as a number of other animal welfare organisations  to mark the birthday of Chao Khun Phrasinat Philas Kalayanee Kalayani, his royal noble consort.

The food was presented to Soi Dog and 13 other organisations during a ceremony at the Royal Thai Volunteers Administration Center in Bangkok on January 27. Soi Dogs generous share was then transported to their shelter in Mai Khao, Phuket on Tuesday (Feb 2).

A total of 90 large bags of dog food and 10 bags of cat food  amounting to two tonnes  were gratefully received by Soi Dog whose shelter currently houses over 1,300 animals.

The foundation also provides food to stray animal feeders and, where necessary, to animals displaced by disasters, such as the flooding in Nakhon Sri Thammarat late last year.

His Majesty also donated food to the nearby Phuket Stray Dog Shelter in Thalang. The shelter  often referred to as the government dog pound  is managed by Phuket livestock officials and supported by the Phuket Provincial Office and local administrative organisations.

Soi Dog has long provided assistance with the refurbishment of the pound as well as the sterilisation, vaccination and treatment of the dogs housed there.

We highly appreciate the royal food donation, said Kiranee Narabal, President of Soi Dog Foundation Thailand. Receiving the donation means that His Majesty is aware of the stray animal problem and recognises our work and the work of other rescue organisations too.

This was not the first time Soi Dog has received such a donation. His Majesty donated pet food to the foundation in July 2017 and May 2019 too.

His Majesty is sending a positive message to all of us, to follow his example, and to show compassion to all animals, in this case the stray dogs, said co-founder and president of Soi Dog Foundation International John Dalley at the time of the previous donations.

In doing so, hes following the wonderful example of his father, who did the same thing. We hope that this will continue.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Boris Johnson last night killed off the idea of a carbon tax that could have seen huge price rises for meat, cheese and gas.

The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak had asked Whitehall departments to come up with a price for carbon emissions for all sectors of the economy.

A tax could then be applied in a bid to encourage emission cuts and ensure the UK is carbon neutral by 2050.

Products such as beef, lamb and cheese, involving the use of animals that emit methane, and more fertilisers, processing and transportation, could be subjected to the tax, The Times reported.

Boris Johnson (pictured) last night killed off the idea of a carbon tax that could have seen huge price rises for meat, cheese and gas

So too could gas heating that runs off fossil fuel containing carbon.

But fears were raised the tax could be pushed on to consumers. John OConnell, of the TaxPayers Alliance, said: Eco taxes would leave slim pickings for struggling families, who rely on cheap energy and food.

Last night a Government source said ministers would not be proceeding after Mr Johnson blocked the idea, adding: We have absolutely no intention of putting a carbon tax on meat or other food products.

On Wednesday financial experts told MPs that taxes would almost certainly have to rise in the next five years thanks to the harm Covid has done to the economy.

Proposals are being drawn up for a carbon reduction blueprint to be unveiled ahead of the UN COP26 climate change summit being hosted by the UK in Glasgow in November.

Last years Energy White Paper set out plans for a national carbon trading scheme which ministers describe as the foundation on which the UK achieves net-zero emissions cost effectively.

The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) had asked Whitehall departments to come up with a price for carbon emissions for all sectors of the economy

A cap on carbon emissions would initially continue to be applied only to energy-intensive industries such as electricity generation and aviation, but would then be then expanded across the economy to encourage reductions in greenhouse gas production, the Times said.

This could include a direct carbon tax on the most carbon-intensive services, such as meat and cheese production, or a shift in climate change levies from electricity to gas.

The memo to Whitehall departments stated: The chancellor and the prime minister want a sector-by-sector view on how we could implement some form of carbon pricing and an overall roadmap to deliver (it) in the next decade.

Yesterday morning, the Prime Ministers official spokesman declined to rule out the policy. But at 6pm the plan was ditched.

He said: Any such issues on matters of tax are a matter for the Treasury and any changes would be made at fiscal events.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds (pictured) said that any tax reform to help the government meet its commitment to zero carbon emissions by 2050 must be fair

Its a longstanding policy that we dont discuss any speculation in advance of them.

Repeatedly asked to rule it out, he said: Its a longstanding policy that we dont comment on speculation on what the Chancellor may or may not do in any fiscal event.

The Treasury also refused to rule out the scheme.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said that any tax reform to help the government meet its commitment to zero carbon emissions by 2050 must be fair.

The UK is in the middle of the worst economic crisis of any major economy, she said.

Now is not the time to be hiking taxes on families across the country, yet Rishi Sunak is ploughing ahead with a triple hammer blow of council tax hikes, public sector pay freezes and cuts to Universal Credit.

We will consider any longer-term changes to the tax system carefully, bearing in mind that the UK is way off meeting its carbon-cutting targets. Any change must be fair, and go hand-in-hand with action to shore up family finances and improve living standards after over a decade of irresponsible decisions by the Conservatives.

The House voted on Thursday to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her two committee assignments over her past endorsements of violence and promotion of conspiracy theories.

With a bipartisan vote of 230-199, 11 Republicans joined with Democrats to oust Greene from the Committee on Education and Labor and the House Budget Committee, Fox News report.

House Republicans appointed Marjorie Taylor Greene to both panels last month after the Georgia freshman was sworn into Congress.

Democrats said they were forced to take action to uphold the standards of decency in Congress as GOP leadership earlier refused to penalize Marjorie Taylor Greene for the incendiary remarks she made before she was elected last November.

Rep. Jim McGovern, the chairman of the House Rules Committee, said that serving on a committee is a privilege and not a right.

"When someone encourages violence against a member, they should lose that privilege," McGovern said in the report.

McGovern noted that "the party of Lincoln" is becoming the party of violent conspiracy theories, "and apparently, the leaders of the Republican Party in the House today aren't going to do a damn thing about it."

Related story: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Keeps Promise, Files Impeachment Articles Against Biden

Marjorie Taylor Greene's Claims

Republicans earlier condemned Greene's past comments, including the QAnon conspiracies, claims that mass school shootings were staged, suggesting that a plane did not hit the Pentagon during 9/11 and endorsed violence against prominent Democratic officials.

Marjorie Taylor Greene was also known to espouse anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim views. But the 46-year-old lawmaker said Thursday these were words of the past and did not represent her and her district.

She further noted that the press is just like QAnon, saying that the media was just as divisive as the conspiracy theories promoted by QAnon supporters, according to a CBS News report.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not escape Greene's attack too, as the latter repeatedly expressed support for assassinating powerful Democrats, including her.

Business Insider reported that Marjorie Taylor Greene liked a Facebook comment in January 2019, saying Pelosi should get a "bullet to the head." She also said Pelosi would suffer "suffer death or she'll be in prison" for "treason."

Pelosi slammed House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy for his refusal to act on the matter. In a statement, the House Speaker said that McCarthy has chosen to make House Republicans the party of conspiracy theories and QAnon, adding that Greene is in the driver's seat.

USA Today reported that McGovern also said that they had hoped that the Republican leadership would have dealt with the matter but failed to do so.

"The question we all have to ask ourselves is what is the consequence of doing nothing," McGovern said in a report.

Meanwhile, McCarthy blasted the Democrats for overstepping their bounds and said that he understands that Greene's comments have caused deep wounds to many. And as a result, he claimed that he offered House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer a path to lower the temperature and address these concerns.

But instead of coming together to do that, McCarthy said the Democrats chose to raise the temperature by taking the unprecedented step to further their partisan power grab on the committee assignments of the other party.

Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, on the other hand, said Democrats were setting a dangerous precedent of punishing lawmakers for acts made years before becoming a Congress member.

Read also: Trump Impeached by House for Second Time With 10 Republican Members Voting Against Him
Theres very little to celebrate in this report, said Julia Pollak, a labor economist for the employment site ZipRecruiter. Almost every measure that I was hoping would point in the right direction disappointed.

Still, in returning to growth, even if marginal, the economy avoided a second consecutive month of job losses, a prospect that some economists had feared given the one-two punch of rising coronavirus cases and waning federal aid. Both those forces are now reversing: Coronavirus cases are falling in much of the country, and the $900 billion relief package passed by Congress in December is bringing a measure of help to households and businesses.

Indeed, despite the grim start to the new year, many forecasters predict that the economy will strengthen from here on. In addition to the December stimulus, the vaccination push, though slower than hoped, is paving the way for wider reopenings even as coronavirus mutations around the world make the rollout more urgent.

It is a positive sign that we got over those speed bumps and the wheels havent completely come off the car, said Nick Bunker, head of research for the job site Indeed.

For Hand & Stone, a national chain of massage studios and facial spas, the winter resurgence of the pandemic was a setback after a monthslong process of reopening. California and other states reimposed restrictions that shut down many spas entirely and forced others to cut back services. And the loss of foot traffic cut back on gift card sales, usually a big source of business during the holidays.

Reticence to go out and engage in the economy and be in stores was a huge negative, said Todd Leff, the companys chief executive.
The development of scanning probe microscopes in the early 1980s brought a breakthrough in imaging, throwing open a window into the world at the nanoscale. The key idea is to scan an extremely sharp tip over a substrate and to record at each location the strength of the interaction between tip and surface. In scanning force microscopy, this interaction is -- as the name implies -- the force between tip and structures on the surface. This force is typically determined by measuring how the dynamics of a vibrating tip changes as it scans over objects deposited on a substrate. A common analogy is tapping a finger across a table and sensing objects placed on the surface. A team led by Alexander Eichler, Senior Scientist in the group of Prof. Christian Degen at the Departement of Physics of ETH Zurich, turned this paradigm upside down. Writing in Physical Review Applied, they report the first scanning force microscope in which the tip is at rest while the substrate with the samples on it vibrates.

Tail wagging the dog

Doing force microscopy by 'vibrating the table under the finger' may look like making the entire procedure a whole lot more complicated. In a sense it does. But mastering the complexity of this inverted approach comes with great payoff. The new method promises to push the sensitivity of force microscopy to its fundamental limit, beyond what can be expected from further improvements of the conventional 'finger tapping' approach.

The key to the superior sensitivity is the choice of substrate. The 'table' in the experiments of Eichler, Degen and their co- workers is a perforated membrane made of silicon nitride, a mere 41 nm in thickness. Collaborators of the ETH physicists, the group of Albert Schliesser at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, have established these low- mass membranes as outstanding nanomechanical resonators with extreme 'quality factors'. That is, that once the membrane is tipped on, it vibrates millions of times, or more, before coming to rest. Given these exquisite mechanical properties, it becomes advantageous to vibrate the 'table' rather than the 'finger'. At least in principle.

New concept put to practice

Translating this theoretical promise into experimental capability is the objective of an ongoing project between the groups of Degen and Schliesser, with theory support from Dr. Ramasubramanian Chitra and Prof. Oded Zilberberg of the Institute for Theoretical Physics at ETH Zurich. As a milestone on that journey, the experimental teams have now demonstrated that the concept of membrane- based scanning force microscopy works in a real device.

In particular, they showed that neither loading the membrane with samples nor bringing the tip to within a distance of a few nanometres compromises the exceptional mechanical properties of the membrane. However, once the tip approaches the sample even closer, the frequency or amplitude of the membrane changes. To be able to measure these changes, the membrane features not only an island where tip and sample interact, but also a second one -- mechanically coupled to the first -- from where a laser beam can be partially reflected, to provide a sensitive optical interferometer.

Quantum is the limit

Putting this setup to work, the team successfully resolved gold nanoparticles and tobacco mosaic viruses. These images serve as a proof of principle for the novel microscopy concept, but they do not yet push the capabilities into new territory. But the destination is just there. The researchers plan to combine their novel approach with a technique known as magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM), to enable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a resolution of single atoms, thus providing unique insight, for example, into viruses.

Atomic-scale MRI would be another breakthrough in imaging, combining ultimate spatial resolution with highly specific physical and chemical information about the atoms imaged. For the realization of that vision, a sensitivity close to the fundamental limit given by quantum mechanics is needed. The team is confident that they can realise such a 'quantum-limited' force sensor, through further advances in both membrane engineering and measurement methodology. With the demonstration that membrane-based scanning force microscopy is possible, the ambitious goal has now come one big step closer.

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Oregons largest business lobbying group announced this week it has launched a grassroots movement to enlist people around the state to oppose any tax increases during the legislative session now underway.

Chief among the potential tax hikes: a proposed rollback of three tax breaks Oregon copied automatically from a 2020 law. One, if not cancelled, would overwhelmingly benefit just the top 1% of earners and another only applies to businesses with at least $25 million in annual revenue, The Oregonian/OregonLive has reported.

Nonetheless, the Oregon Business & Industry campaign Our Jobs Our Voice asked on its Twitter account Thursday morning, Should we end the federal #CaresAct tax assistance for small businesses?

On Wednesday afternoon, representatives from business groups were the only ones who were able to testify on a proposal to eliminate the three Oregon tax cuts that stem from the federal 2020 CARES Act. Business groups had been notified of the hearing in time to sign up, but other interested parties who wanted to testify were not notified ahead of time.

Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, said in an interview Thursday afternoon that other people who should have been notified of the hearing, such as possible supporters of canceling the tax breaks, were not informed of it due to a technical problem.

Burdick, who is chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue, said, I will definitely do at least one more hearing on it.

Once another hearing is scheduled, people who want to weigh in can submit testimony on the Legislatures website. In the meantime, people who want to contact their senator or representative can also find who represents them on the website. People will also be able to register to testify virtually on the proposals, either online or by calling 503-986-1266 or toll free (833) 698-1369.

Scott Bruun, tax and fiscal policy director for Oregon Business & Industry and a registered lobbyist for the group, said during the Wednesday hearing that some people are calling those CARES Act loss benefits a loophole  Its emphatically not a loophole, its a lifeline.

The CARES Act contained a variety of assistance for businesses, including the Paycheck Protection Program that offered potentially forgivable loans and was extended in Congress December relief package. Both of the COVID-19 relief packages Congress passed in 2020 contained a variety of tax benefits for businesses, and Oregon lawmakers decisions on whether to maintain a state version of three of the CARES Act cuts would not affect the federal tax law.

This is the first time the Oregon Legislature is considering the value of the tax breaks copied from the CARES Act and whether to keep them, since they were copied automatically into state tax code without the Legislatures review.

In August, the House Interim Committee on Revenue held an informational meeting on the tax breaks. But in two subsequent special sessions, lawmakers did not vote on whether to keep the breaks after they received numerous copycat emails from businesses and individuals pleading for the state not to take the breaks away. The group that organized the pro-tax cut form letter campaign was Brighter Oregon, a coalition of business interests including Oregon Business & Industry.

Burdick said her goal in considering the potential change is to be fair and provide help to businesses that need it. Some businesses are doing quite well, Burdick said. And some businesses are really on the ropes and need all the help we can get to them.

Together, the three new tax cuts could reduce state tax revenues by $103 million in the current two-year budget, according to an estimate from the Legislative Revenue Office in December. Thats down from $225 million projected earlier this year, largely because Oregons economy was not pummeled as badly as expected earlier this year, economists wrote.

One of the larger tax cuts comes from eliminating a previous $500,000 cap for joint filers on the amount of business losses taxpayers can deduct from other earnings, such as a spouses wages or capital gains from selling stocks. This change to the business loss limitation could save those taxpayers, who also include single filers with more than $250,000 in wages or other earnings, $47.8 million and cost the state that same amount in lost tax revenue in the current biennium, according to an estimate from the Legislative Revenue Office.

Less than 1% of Oregon income tax filers had adjusted gross incomes above $500,000 in 2017, the latest data available from the state Department of Revenue. The top 3% of Oregon tax filers had incomes of at least $250,000.

Another of the three new federal tax breaks automatically copied into Oregon law allows businesses with at least $25 million in annual revenue to deduct more interest from their tax bills.

A third provision copied from the CARES Act allows businesses to carry net operating losses back to each of the five years preceding the loss and eliminates an 80% of taxable income cap on the losses. If businesses file amended returns, that could result in refunds, The Oregonian/OregonLive has reported.

Chris Allanach wrote in an email Thursday that some businesses have already started to file those amended returns for previous tax years. The most recent figure we have is that about 100 taxpayers have filed amended returns related to the CARES Act, Allanach wrote. He said that number is an estimate from a month or two ago. Still, its less than the hundreds of thousands of amended returns Sen. Brian Boquist, a lawmaker from Dallas elected as a Republican but reported to have switched to the Independent Party, said he thought might be necessary if lawmakers cancel the tax cuts. Boquist has not responded to an email from The Oregonian/OregonLive seeking clarity on his party affiliation.

There is also a bill in the House, sponsored by Portland Democrats Rep. Khanh Pham and Sen. Michael Dembrow and Democratic Sen. Jeff Golden of Ashland, to repeal the three tax breaks: House Bill 2839.
Biden calls for expanded efforts to protect LGBTQ rights globally FILE PHOTO: LGBTQ activists and supporters block the street outside the U.S. Supreme Court as it hears arguments in a major LGBT rights case in Washington

By Alexandra Alper and Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday issued a presidential memorandum aimed at expanding protection of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people worldwide, including potentially through the use of financial sanctions.

"All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love," said the memorandum, building on a 2011 directive issued when Biden was serving as vice president.

"The United States belongs at the forefront of this struggle - speaking out and standing strong for our most dearly held values," the memorandum said.

While a presidential memorandum is largely symbolic, Biden campaigned on a pledge to pass LGBTQ rights legislation known as the Equality Act in the first 100 days of his administration and to make LGBTQ rights a top priority.

The memo directs U.S. agencies working abroad to work harder to combat the criminalization by foreign governments of LGBTQ status or conduct, and directs the State Department to include anti-LGBTQ violence, discrimination and laws in its annual human rights report.

It calls for increased efforts to ensure that LGBTQ asylum seekers have equal access to protection, expanded training for U.S. federal personnel, and potential increased use of priority referrals to expedite resettlement of vulnerable people.

And it instructs agencies to consider appropriate responses, including the full range of diplomatic tools, and potentially financial sanctions and visa restrictions, when foreign governments restricted the rights of LGBTQ people.

Biden announced the push during a forceful speech at the State Department, vowing to rebuild U.S. credibility worldwide.

"To further repair our moral leadership, Im also issuing a presidential memo to agencies to reinvigorate our leadership on the LGBTQI issues and do it internationally," he said.

"We'll ensure diplomacy and foreign assistance are working to promote the rights of those individuals, included by combating criminalization and protecting LGBTQ refugees and asylum-seekers."

Biden's campaign pledge included protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination, ensuring fair treatment in the justice system and advancing LGBTQ rights globally.

Biden has already issued an executive order that extends existing federal nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ people.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday said Biden stands by his pledge to sign the Equality Act in his first 100 days but noted that Congress would need to take action to pass a bill first.

(Reporting By Alexandra Alper, Jarrett Renshaw and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Robert Birsel)
New York money management firm GPB Capital Holdings chief David Gentile was indicted for allegedly taking part in a Ponzi-like scheme that defrauded thousands of investors across the country and that regulators say may have put more than $US1.7 billion ($2.2 billion) at risk.

Gentile and two other executives are accused of using the funds to cover shortfalls and enrich themselves instead of securing returns for their customers. Some 17,000 investors were affected, about 4000 of them seniors, according to a related complaint by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

If proved, it would be one of the largest such schemes to target individual investors since the massive frauds of Bernard Madoff and Robert Allen Stanford came to light.

Wall Street may have its next big financial scandal. Credit:AP

GPB had raised the big sum from individual investors across America, and almost all of it is still at risk, the US sharemarket regulator said, although it didnt put a dollar figure on the fraud itself. In 2018, GPB suspended redemptions and distributions, and in a recent regulatory filing its assets were described as far below its obligations to investors, according to the SECs complaint.
[February 05, 2021] ASEAN Digital Payment Adoption Market Report 2020: Voice of the Customer - Focus on Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore

DUBLIN, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Digital Payment Adoption in the ASEAN Market - Voice of Customer, 2020" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the lives of people around the world. Throughout 2020, local governments worked to restrict people's movement to contain the spread of the disease. Lockdowns greatly impacted the daily operations of several vertical industries and limited access to different types of goods and services. Moreover, as fear of the pandemic spread, people began to increasingly rely on digital channels to fulfill their needs and wants. This triggered a shift to the use of digital payments. A study (June 2020) discovered that 62% of consumers in the ASEAN region plan to increase use of online payment services after the pandemic subsides, while 60% of consumers plan to increase use of digital wallet (eWallet) services in a post-pandemic scenario. An astonishing 87% of consumers across the region plan to start or increase the use of digital payment services to avoid physical contact with other people. Convenience will remain a key driver for digital payment usage, as expressed by 89% of consumers across the ASEAN region. Another major demand-side requirement was security - 43% of consumers in Asia-Pacific expect businesses to protect their data. The use of technologies, such as artificial intelligence and biometrics, will be a key enabler for payment service providers to balance security and convenience. The shift to national and regional payment interoperability commenced before the start of the year (2020). Local governments across the ASEAN region had initiated the move to national interoperability by providing the relevant payment infrastructure and enforcing the required standards. Meanwhile, regional industry collaborations were initiated by the private sector, most notably by companies based in Thailand and Singapore.



The survey results revealed that interoperability is an important concept as 72% of consumers in the region are of he opinion that there are not enough merchants that accept digital payments. Interoperability will enable faster merchant acquisition processes and provide greater convenience for digital payment users.



This study is based on the data obtained from an online survey undertaken in June 2020. It is supported by extensive secondary research. Companies mentioned in this study include, but are not limited to, Bank of Ayudhya, Boost, Coins.ph, Dana Limited, DBS Bank Ltd (PayLah!), Fave, GCash, GoPay, Grab (GrabPay), Jenius, Kasikorn Bank, Krungthai Bank, Liquid Group, Maybank (QR Pay), OVO, PayMaya, Razorpay, Samsung Pay, Siam Commercial Bank, Touch N' Go Systems, Inc., True Money, Venmo, and VIA. The target audience includes digital payment service providers looking for growth opportunities and companies seeking to expand by leveraging payment solutions. The understanding of consumer behavior in a post-pandemic scenario will help both segments.

Countries covered include Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Strategic Imperatives Why is it Increasingly Difficult to Grow?

The Strategic Imperative

The Impact of the Top Three Strategic Imperatives on the Digital Payments Industry

Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine 2. Executive Summary Market Definitions

Survey Objectives and Methodology

Key Questions this Survey will Answer

Key Findings 3. Market Overview Market Overview - Thailand (TH)

(TH) Market Overview - Malaysia (MY)

(MY) Market Overview - Indonesia (ID)

(ID) Market Overview - The Philippines (PH)

(PH) Market Overview - Singapore (SG)

(SG) Market Overview - Regional Interoperability for Payments

Market Overview - eCommerce Channels and Payment Methods 4. Digital Payment Services - Consumer Preferences Digital Payment Services - Consumer Preferences

Digital Payment Services - Consumer Preferences: Discussion 5. Demand for Digital Payment Services Current Demand for Digital Payment Services

Demand for Digital Payment Services in a Post-Pandemic Scenario

Demand for Digital Payment Services in a Post-Pandemic Scenario - Discussion

Demand Drivers for Digital Payment Services in a Post-Pandemic Scenario

Demand Drivers for Digital Payment Services in a Post-Pandemic Scenario - Discussion 6. Respondent Demographics Age Groups

Income Groups 7. Growth Opportunity Universe - Digital Payments Industry Growth Opportunity 1: Convenient and Secure Solutions for Mass Adoption, 2020

Growth Opportunity 2: Payment Solutions for Social Commerce Transactions, 2020 8. The Last Word Companies Mentioned and VIA.

Bank of Ayudhya

Boost

Coins.ph

Dana Limited

DBS Bank Ltd (PayLah!)

Fave

GCash

GoPay

Grab (GrabPay)

Jenius

Kasikorn Bank

Krungthai Bank

Liquid Group

Maybank (QR Pay)

OVO

PayMaya

Razorpay

Samsung Pay

Siam Commercial Bank

Touch N' Go Systems Inc.

True Money

Venmo For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xje8z3



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Washington: The Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives has stripped controversial Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments for espousing conspiracy theories and supporting violence against her political opponents.

The decision came against the will of the vast majority of Greenes Republican colleagues, who said it was unfair to punish her for comments she made before entering Congress and without allowing her due process.

Marjorie Taylor Greene said Democrats were trying to crucify her for controversial past statements. Credit:AP

In recent days Democrats have sought to make Greene the face of the modern Republican Party and associate their political opponents with dangerous conspiracy theories.

Greene, a first-term representative from Georgia, will no longer serve on the House budget, education and labour committees as a result of the vote on Friday (AEDT). Eleven of the 211 Republicans in the House voted to remove Greene from the committees.
The average Cheshire Public Schools building is 70 years of age. That might not be an issue if Cheshire received the endowment of an Ivy League institution. Unfortunately, we rely on an operations budget which has been historically lean and focused on students over facilities.

You might be surprised to learn that Cheshire spends $2,400 less per student than the average Connecticut school system. To get to the Connecticut average per-pupil cost, our annual operating budget would have to increase by more than $9.4 million. Nevertheless, our students perform at the top of Connecticuts class. While our per-pupil expenditure ranks 119th of 166 Connecticut districts, our overall math and reading/writing performance is the fifth highest in the state.

Our Capital Budget is designed to address more substantial facility needs which include those major projects over $110,000 in cost. Decades of underfunding these capital expenditure needs have resulted in facility upgrade requests that are so high that the Town has only been able to appropriate an average of approximately 65% of the annual capital expenditure requests over the past 10 years. This is in spite of recent Town Council funding Capital projects at a rate higher than 90% over the past four years.

It can be easy to read about our academic success and believe that an investment is not necessary. It can be easy to drive by the newer facade at the front of Cheshire High School, completed in 2000 on South Main Street, and assume our buildings are relatively new and in great condition. Unfortunately, they are not.

The list of facility needs and concerns far exceeds the space I have been given in this column, but I can highlight a few. Our community has been working to remediate a significant list of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) deficiencies at Cheshire High School for almost a decade. Many of our buildings dont have adequate ramps or elevators, limiting access to those in wheelchairs, on crutches, or physically unable to climb stairs.

It is common for our buildings to experience wild temperature swings. It is not uncommon for our classroom temperatures to swelter in the 90s at the beginning and end of our school calendar as our schools have limited to no air conditioning. Significant temperature variations in the winter require students to dress in layers because rooms may vary by 15 degrees as they travel throughout the building. The pandemic has also raised concerns about air circulation and filtration as another component of our heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Only Highland Elementary has a comprehensive HVAC system.

To be clear, we have maintained our buildings to the highest standards possible given the allocated funding, and our schools are fundamentally safe even though they are old and deficient in many ways. Still, our school system has reached a position where it is financially upside down indicating that the cost of inaction has become greater than the cost to act. If we experience a serious facility failure in one our buildings, we will incur an incredibly high financial and academic burden.

The aforementioned issues neglect to consider facility upgrades that would address educational and societal shifts over the last 50 years. For example, we would like to update our facilities to include contemporary science spaces such as greenhouses. The one current greenhouse we have (at CHS) is inaccessible due to ADA limitations. We also believe we should improve technology access for instruction in robotics. Security is another consideration that has dramatically shifted since our schools were originally constructed.

We must act not only to improve our academic settings, but also to protect the market value of our homes and businesses. It is not a secret that many people move to Cheshire for the schools. We can and need to do better for our community. This is not my assertion alone. This is a sentiment universally adopted by every member of our Town Council and Board of Education.

In 2019, the Town Council established the School Modernization Committee (SMC) composed of members of the Town Council, Board of Education, and members of the community to address the critical issue of our school conditions. Clearly, no community has the resources to fully remediate every school building at once. The SMC is in the process of developing a long-term plan that it will propose to the Town Council. That plan will undoubtedly be expensive after decades of limited action. That plan will not result in saving millions of dollars by closing a school. What that plan will do is improve our quality of life, protect our investment in education, increase the value of our homes, and promote future interests of our community.

I implore you to be engaged in this process. You may do so by following the SMC progress on the Town of Cheshire website at http://www.cheshirect.org/school-modernization-committee/. The SMC has developed a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CheshireSchoolModernizationCommittee/ as well.

The cost of remediating our District facilities is being meticulously planned and will likely come with significant costs. Burying our head in the sand at the sight of cost will not make the problem disappear. That approach inevitably leads to higher costs down the road. So here we are. The time to act is now!
This combination of file pictures shows South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, left, in Geneva on July 16, 2020; and Nigerian former Foreign and Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Geneva on July 15, 2020, as they give press conferences as part of their application process to head the WTO as Director General. AFP-Yonhap



South Korean candidate Yoo Myung-hee on Friday withdrew her bid to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO), clearing the way for her Nigerian rival to take the post.



"Due to the prolonged vacancy of the leadership at the WTO, the future of the organization also has become uncertain," Yoo said in a press briefing in Seoul.



"To speed up the consensus building among the member countries on selecting a new director-general, I have decided to renounce my candidacy through close cooperation with the United States, our strong ally."



The U.S., under the previous Donald Trump administration, had expressed support for Yoo, whereas the European Union rooted for her rival.



"Washington, which showed strong support for my candidacy, also respects the decision to step down from the race," Yoo said, hinting that she has consulted with the new Joe Biden administration as well.



"Trade authorities of South Korea and the U.S. have been working closely under both the Trump and Biden administrations," she added, ruling out allegations that Seoul and Washington had a disagreement.



The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement that South Korea will continue to make various contributions to rebuilding and enhancing multilateralism.



The WTO said in October that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria has garnered more support than Yoo from the WTO's 164 member states.



The process to pick a new leader at the Geneva-based body is based on the consensus, not a majority vote. Accordingly, Seoul had believed that it could still have room to turn the tide.





On May 15, 2020, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee speaks during a G20 teleconference of trade ministers. Yonhap
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Denton, TX (76205)

Today

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 63F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 63F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
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JACKSON, MI  Hundreds of people received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from the comfort of their vehicles in Jackson County on Friday.

More than 400 health care providers, first responders and people age 65 and older who received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in January returned to the Jackson County Department of Transportation garage on Feb. 5, to receive their second shot.

Were fortunate here in Jackson County that we have this heated garage to do these vaccine clinics out of, said Mathew Budd, Jackson County Health Departments director of personal and preventative health.

Doing the drive-thru clinic at the open garage adds another layer of safety for the vaccinators, many of whom have already received a vaccine, as well as for the drivers who get to remain inside their vehicles, health officials said.

U.S. Army National Guard members, nurses and health department staff were on site to assist with vaccinations.

We do have a very large waiting list at this point, and theres definitely a wait to make an appointment, Budd said.

Cheryl Jacobs and her husband were among those receiving their second shots on Friday, and said they are excited for what it means.

Im just tickled to be here because I have a lot of health issues, so, Im glad to get this vaccine, Jacobs, 70, said.

Many people experience side effects like soreness, which are common and expected from the second dose, but Jackson County health officials said they are yet to experience anyone with an adverse reaction at any of the countys clinics so far.

Inside the temperature-controlled garage, several staff members stood wearing masks and gloves while guiding traffic and handing out paperwork to those receiving the vaccine in their cars.

Sgt. Christian Grow, a combat medic with the National Guard, administered doses to several residents, including Karen Zonts, who said she had a combination of feelings leading up to her appointment.

Kind of nerve-wracking and exciting, Zonts said, after receiving her second dose of the vaccine. I see my friends on Facebook talking about what their symptoms are after they got the shot, it makes me kind of nervous but I feel like its my position and my duty to get this done to protect myself and my family.

Zonts is the only person in her immediate family to receive the vaccine, she said, and is working toward getting her mother, who is 89, scheduled to get a shot in Jackson. Zonts is hopeful that once she and her family are vaccinated, they will once again be able to enjoy each others company without fear.

I see my mom all the time but we dont have the big hugs and the kisses like we used to have and it breaks my heart, Zonts said.

Jackson County has received the full amount of doses it has requested in recent weeks, which is around 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and approximately 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine, health officials said.

Friday capped off what has been the busiest week of vaccinations so far, Budd said, adding that the increased capacity was due to the health departments allotment of the vaccine. The health department is administering between 1,500 and 2,000 doses each week as a result of its state-allocated supply, Budd said.

An online survey for individuals and businesses is being offered by the health department to help those in Jackson County determine what priority group they fall in, and to submit information for pre-registering when a priority group becomes available for vaccination.

MORE FROM THE JACKSON CITIZEN PATRIOT:

COVID relief funds may be added to foreclosure prevention fund in Jackson

Vaccine supply steady, but public demand in Jackson County remains overwhelming, officials say

409 new COVID-19 cases in Jackson County as vaccination efforts continue
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Editor: I was touched by the Jan. 27 obituary of Thomas Wargo, a participant in St. Josephs Center adult day program who had a lifelong connection to St. Joes from birth to his passing.

The writer captured his unique qualities and pleasures including his generous smile when he had his head rubbed. This sweet remembrance conveyed a warmth and bond between him and his caregivers that underscores the love and acceptance he received at St. Joes. The writer concluded that it was St. Joes unique privilege to provide a safe and loving home for Tommy.

I, like many Times-Tribune readers, drive by St. Joes center on Blakely Street in Dunmore on a regular basis. Now when I pass by, I will remember Tommy and the dignity afforded to him by the St. Joes staff. Thank you, St. Josephs Center, for the compassionate services you humbly provide and my sincere condolences on the loss of your Tommy. You truly do Gods work.

BARBARA OMALLEY

SCRANTON

Editor: The popular narrative about the development of the COVID-19 vaccine is that early in the pandemic the U.S. government asked scientists to prepare a vaccine against the current coronavirus.

The scientists went to work and in only months developed vaccines that are safe and effective.

This narrative is lacking. Actually, scientists have been working for more than a decade on developing new vaccine technology against a coronavirus. Their success poised them to prepare a COVID-19 vaccine in short order. Perhaps the first significant innovation was the use of messenger RNA  referred to as mRNA  which is the injection of a small portion of the genetic code of the virus. This obviated the need to grow viruses in 50,000-liter vats or chicken eggs. The injection of particles of genetic code causes the body to start the immune response. Initially, the mRNA caused harmful inflammation in the animal experiments so it required modification.

Next, a fat coating was added to the mRNA to facilitate its entry into cells to begin protein production. It was determined to target the spike protein on the surface of the coronavirus for production. Then it was necessary to prepare the proper structure for the spike protein. All this had been accomplished by 2013 in various scientific institutions throughout the country.

When the Chinese scientists shared the genetic map of COVID-19 on Jan. 11, 2020, research scientists began to work on getting the mRNA with the proper structure spike protein. This is why it is so important to provide funding for our scientific institutions.

GEORGE J. MOTSAY, M.D.

UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., LEHIGH COUNTY

Editor: The pandemic has caused a great deal of confusion, especially with the advent of the vaccine and the ability of the nation to find some protection against its devastating effect. The problem has been in the inability of government to actually deliver on this promise.

The states plan to hasten the delivery of the vaccine, unfortunately, is like many other aspects of the attempts by government to actually deliver on it goals.

I am 79 and followed steps for scheduling an appointment. I eagerly opened up the interactive map and found several locations in my area where appointments supposedly were available. The first was a local pharmacy where a pleasant voice informed me that they did not have any vaccine and that I could not schedule an appointment since they already had a list and it was closed. I then walked in at the Wright Center, a well-established health organization with a sterling reputation. Sadly, they were only vaccinating health care workers and patients at the center.

What are we to do if we are not on the list or not already a patient? The answer may lie in establishing a true, believable system, one that plays no favorites outside of the established Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. In some areas the government has set up facilities in sporting arenas or at stadiums where large groups can be accommodated. Why not try something along these lines and then accurately publish ways in which all people can receive this important vaccine?

As for me, at this time I simply will follow the current guidelines and hope that at some point a government program that I can trust is announced.

GERALD BURNS

THROOP

Editor: There is a greater need for a third-party movement more than at any recent time.

The top national parties do not provide enough quality public officials for well-functioning government. They are too influenced by extreme ideologies to reasonably represent the greater populace.

I propose a new reform party to run candidates with platforms that address issues specific to the job. There are established third parties, but they represent specific movements that can be divisive. Reform is a concept almost universally desired at all levels of government. Reform candidates can structure platforms specific to offices without being bound to ideology associated with the major parties.

Ballot access for third parties is challenging, but it is easily overcome when necessity demands. Needless division in major parties fails to address real issues. Requirements for third-part ballot access are not that different than for major parties. The difference is organization. Major parties have well-established organizations making it easy for potential candidates. Even if candidates do not identify with major party platforms or if platforms have little to do with an offices issues, candidates choose them out of ease. Reform candidates can build platforms around issues without tying themselves to broad, irrelevant ideologies.

The seeds of change are best planted locally. With municipal elections this year and state and midterm races next year, now is the time for a new third party. Anyone disillusioned by the political environment should consider organizing or supporting a reform party candidacy. Identify the reforms you would like to see for your school board, borough council, county council or commission and research what it takes to get on the ballot as a third-party candidate. We deserve better from our public officials and a reform party can be a driving force in bringing competence and better efficiency to government.

KENNETH WEISS

EDWARDSVILLE
PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To help innovative mobile food entrepreneurs realize their dreams, Portland-based investor Huntington Hill Ventures is in search of the next great food idea. The "Five to Fifty" Mobile Food Challenge is a virtual event culminating in an online summit in which three finalists will pitch to a panel of angel investors on March, 31st for anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 dollars.

Brett Lindenberg, founder of FoodTruckEmpire.com says, "Angel investments like this are usually reserved for tech companies and not small food businesses that represent the backbone of American entrepreneurship. I'm thrilled we can help bring this opportunity to a group of deserving food entrepreneurs."

At least one finalist in The 5-50 Mobile Food Challenge will be offered a $5,000 minimum investment mentorship, and on-going support to grow their business. Best of all, anyone with access to an internet connection and great idea is eligible to participate at no cost. The challenge is accepting applications from both startups and existing businesses with a mobile component, including food trucks, trailers, caterers, and more.

Sharon Richardson Howell of Huntington Hill Ventures commented, "Huntington Hill is drawn to investments that are in and for the community. We are very excited to participate and hope The Challenge will attract a good mix of for-profit and benefit companies. There is massive opportunity in the mobile food space."

Key Dates:

February 1st - February 23rd (Applications) : Pitch decks will be accepted. Visit MobileFoodChallenge.com for details.

: Pitch decks will be accepted. Visit MobileFoodChallenge.com for details. February 25th - 30th (Semi-Finalist Interviews): Interviews with applicants who have promising business ideas will determine finalists.

Interviews with applicants who have promising business ideas will determine finalists. March 1st (Finalists Announced) : 3-5 finalists will be selected, announced, and enrolled into an 8-week online mentorship program, valued at $2,000 .

: 3-5 finalists will be selected, announced, and enrolled into an 8-week online mentorship program, valued at . March 31st (The Finals): This event culminates with a virtual pitch competition called the "Five to Fifty" Mobile Food Challenge.

About Us

FoodTruckEmpire.com and Mobile-Cusine.com helps more than 3 million readers each year start profitable mobile food businesses. Contact Brett Lindenberg at [email protected] or 218-230-5348 for more information.

Huntington Hill Ventures ( www.huntingtonhillventures.com ) has been in operation since 2004, quietly helping leaders grow, innovate, and transform via its network of executives, investors, and mentors.

Media contact:

Brett Lindenberg

[email protected]

218-230-5348

SOURCE FoodTruckEmpire.com
Scientists have long sought an indisputable link showing when humans first domesticated dogs, steering a few receptive gray wolves' descendants toward lives as lapdogs. The origins of their "domestic relationship" is one of the most hotly debated questions around dogs' undying loyalty to their masters and humankinds unparalleled reliance on dogs to get a leg up on other predators in a frequently hostile environment. Now, a team of interdisciplinary researchers has used DNA and other evidence to assert a "tandem movement" in and then beyond northeastern Siberia at a key stage of human and canid development late in the last Ice Age. Their identification of eastern Russia as a wellspring of dog-domestication tens of thousands of years ago is a major contribution to the debate over when "the first recognizably domestic dog" appeared. They say iced-in Siberians somehow teamed up with wolves more than 23,000 years ago on a relatively temperate patch that hosted prey like mammoths and steppe bison. They speculate that thousands of years of geographical confinement prevented either side from straying too far and kept canine and human interlopers from disrupting the budding relationship.

Then, the team of transatlantic researchers say, those ancient Siberians and their "dogs" mixed with what would become the first migrants to North America, and possibly Eurasia. Siberian puppies then dispersed alongside some of those travelers to become the precursors to modern dogs. In other words, the DNA trail indicates that all of today's 900 million or so dogs -- a number that excludes other canids, like wolves and foxes -- descended from Siberian domestication. "This evidence places constraints on when and where dog domestication took place," zooarchaeologist Angela Perri and six co-authors wrote in the peer-reviewed study, published in the February 9 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). "Most significantly, it suggests that dogs were domesticated in Siberia by approximately 23,000 years ago, possibly while both people and wolves were isolated during the harsh climate of the Last Glacial Maximum," they said.

The study uses newly discovered archaeological sites and human-genome work to assert connections stretching further back than archaeological, paleontological, and other biological evidence could previously establish with any certainty. "The new PNAS study is fantastic," says Audrey Lin from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Lin, who was not involved in the study, told RFE/RL "the arguments put forward by the authors about the timing and the origins of dog domestication make a lot of sense, given what we know about the archaeology and the genomics of early dogs." The authors say wolf lineages suggest that dog domestication could have occurred as long as 40,000 years ago. But crucially, they argue that it had to have taken place by the time ancient northern Siberians who lived and ate alongside the earliest dogs stopped mixing -- at least genetically -- with other groups for a period of at least a few thousand years before the ice age waned. That joint isolation prodded along the human-wolf relationship as the Siberians relied increasingly on the canids to help stalk and hunt prey, to carry or pull heavy loads, and possibly, as toothy guards.

Sometime after the climate began to warm and ice sheets began to recede -- but with an ice corridor across the Bering Strait still connecting Siberia to North America -- the northern Siberians and their dogs began to mix and move again. Wolf Vs. Dog All dogs descended from a specific population of gray wolves that is thought to be long extinct. "Dogs are essentially just wolves that have an evolved niche to scavenge human camps," David Ian Howe, an anthropologist and passionate domestication hobbyist who does a lot of public education on the human-dog relationship, told RFE/RL. Some of the "proto-dogs," or "wolf-dogs," seem to have first appeared around 33,000 years ago, he said. Then specialization began along a path toward the hundreds of breeds in the world today -- including artificial selection in favor of submissive traits that made it easier to co-exist with humans. Individual historical specimens are most frequently classified as wolf or dog along genetic lines and according to physical characteristics. In dogs, the most obvious bodily markers are tooth crowding and signs of gnawing on the kind of scraps that humans didn't want. Other signs include a smaller skull size, a shorter snout, and a more gently sloping forehead.

But despite the interdisciplinary research and molecular dating, there is still disagreement over the classification of key specimens at Pleistocene-era archaeological sites, including at Goyet in modern Belgium and Predmesti in the Czech Republic. That makes consensus difficult on when the first domestic dog appeared.

The earliest universally accepted specimen of a dog was found at Bonn-Oberkassel, in Germany. It is thought to be about 15,000 years old. The authors of the PNAS study argue that they "take a conservative approach and only include those canids whose taxonomic status is unambiguously domestic." Timing Is Everything Scientists agree that dogs were the first domesticated animals. It was one of prehistoric humans' most dramatic interventions in the natural world outside of agriculture. But some have speculated that domestication could have happened multiple times in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. One of the new PNAS paper's most important aspects is that it could explain how domesticated dogs seemingly appeared outside of East Asia in at least two of those places -- Europe and North America -- about 15,000 years ago.

"The convergence of the early genetic histories of people and dogs in Siberia and Beringia" -- the area around where Asia and North America meet -- "suggests that this may be the region where humans and wolves first entered into a domestic relationship," the PNAS paper says. The authors acknowledge, however, that further archaeological research and analyses "are necessary to test this hypothesis." Dispersing Together The PNAS study shows that the forbearers of genetic populations of people and dogs from Siberia to North America, and the area in between, were already moving in synchronous ways late in the last ice age. That, they say, suggests the humans' four-legged companions were already domesticated. "We know that ancient Siberians were isolated in Beringia -- what is now the Bering Strait -- around 20,000 years ago, when much of the region was cold and inhospitable," said Kelsey Witt, a co-author and postdoctoral researcher at Brown University. "For humans to be traveling with dogs during this period, if humans didn't domesticate dogs in Siberia, they either had to get them elsewhere in Eurasia before they became isolated -- making dog domestication occur very early -- or get dogs from elsewhere when the environmental conditions improved, Witt said. That, she said, would require a highly unlikely very rapid eastward spread of dogs."

Some of those dogs' progeny eventually joined the "basal branch of Native Americans" in northeast Asia before leaving with them for the Americas, by boat or ice corridor. Coming To America The researchers say genetic and archeological trails clearly show that humans and dogs migrated together from Siberia to North America, where they settled and then "rapidly dispersed" again in "tandem" beginning about 15,000 years ago. That conclusion is based in part on a mitochondrial DNA "signature" (A2b) that the PNAS study's authors say was shared by all ancient American dogs -- which split into four groups to populate the continent. The mitochondrial evidence, they say, is built on an even firmer foundation of nuclear DNA classification of pre-Columbian dogs in the Americas.

It's unclear precisely how the dogs abandoned one group of ancient Siberians for another. But in the eyes of Southern Methodist University (SMU) anthropologist and report co-author David Meltzer, that would have been easy enough. "Dogs moving from one group to another didn't have to be anything particularly formal by way of trade," Meltzer told RFE/RL. Meltzer said he's chased his share of puppies running off." "I can easily see dogs 'trading themselves,' as it were, he said. One group has dogs, the other doesn't, and as the two separate after a rendezvous, some of the puppies just take off after the previously dog-free group."

The earliest human inhabitants of the Americas and their canine fellow travelers left archaeological and genetic footprints virtually side-by-side as they wandered and settled in North America after their move from Siberia.

The Koster archaeological site, intermittently inundated by floodwaters of the Illinois River over thousands of years that deposited successive layers of soil, has been especially bountiful for tracking the human-dog relationship.
Landlords are more than twice as likely to file for evictions against Black renters in Philadelphia than against white renters, a rate disproportionate to the share of Black renters in the city, according to a report the Reinvestment Fund released Thursday.

In a review of residential eviction filings from 2018 through 2019, the annual filing rate for Black Philadelphia renters was nearly 9%, while the rate for white Philadelphia renters was about 3%. Although Black Philadelphians make up less than half of the citys renters  about 45%  two in three eviction cases were against Black tenants, according to the Philadelphia-based redevelopment nonprofit. White renters make up a third of the citys tenants but 17% of defendants in eviction cases.

These statistics from before the pandemic highlight the predicament of Black renters as they entered a health and economic crisis that also has disproportionately affected Black people. They are more likely to face serious complications if they contract COVID-19 and to work in jobs vulnerable to pandemic-related cuts. Based on the pre-pandemic trend, they also are more likely to be thrown out of their homes at the end of pandemic eviction moratoriums, which do not protect all renters.

Not all eviction filings result in court hearings and lockouts, but just the presence of an eviction filing in a tenants record makes finding future quality housing more challenging. From 2018 through 2019, landlords filed for evictions against more than 22,000 Black renter households and roughly 5,800 white renter households, according to researchers at Reinvestment Fund.

City Councilmember Kendra Brooks said her office is looking into sealing eviction records as a way to reform the eviction process, the intent of new measures such as the citys Eviction Diversion Program.

When 70% of eviction filings go to women of color, its clear that this is not just a housing issue, but a racial justice issue, Brooks said in a statement. Generations of housing discrimination in the form of redlining and other racist practices have robbed Black working-class communities of their wealth and contributed to the housing crisis that we are seeing across our city right now. There is no clearer illustration of structural oppression in Philadelphia than our citys high eviction rate and who it impacts.

Eviction filings tend to occur in the citys lowest-income neighborhoods, including upper North Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia, but also in middle-income, predominantly Black neighborhoods at the edges of the city, researchers found.

I dont think what we know can fully explain this phenomenon of Black renters being overrepresented in evictions, no matter what they earn, no matter where they live, said Emily Dowdall, policy director at Reinvestment Fund. This indicates that structural racism and, in some cases, individual landlords racism play a role, she said.

In previous studies, Reinvestment Fund researchers found that about a third of tenants they talked to had ongoing difficulty paying rent and another third said that one unexpected expense, such as a medical bill or car repair, permanently derailed them. Due to systemic racism that has historically limited Black wealth, Black households overall have less money in savings than white households.

Landlords have told Reinvestment Fund researchers in the past that their relationships with tenants determine their attitudes about leniency for nonpayment of rent. Differences in cultures and communication styles between landlords and tenants can lead to breakdowns in communication and then evictions, Dowdall said.

Judith Jones, vice president of the Philadelphia Tenant Support Organization, which focuses on renters of color and low-income renters, said that most of the tenants she encounters who are facing eviction are Black and that some landlords are less willing to work out agreements with Black tenants.

Even with the eviction moratorium going on, a lot of landlords, they want people out because people cant pay their rent, Jones said. Shes hearing of landlords asking for emergency court orders to evict by calling their renters nuisance tenants and claiming people are using or selling drugs when they are not.

Shes found that Black tenants also are less likely to be able to live with family or friends and so they stay as long as possible in their homes, even if they cant pay the rent, and then they get evicted.

 READ MORE: Tenants rights guide: Eviction notices and the eviction moratorium

Hopefully, the rental assistance will start up again, but that doesnt do anything for people who are unable to pay their rent right now, she said.

Dowdall said city and court officials need to make sure they reach landlords and Black tenants across the city  not only those in majority Black neighborhoods  with resources such as rental and legal assistance to prevent evictions. And city officials should look to adjust systems and laws around evictions to address disparities, she said.

Because most people live in private housing, the private market drives the disparity in eviction filing rates against Black and white tenants, according to the report. The filing rate for Black renters in this market is almost three times higher than the rate for white renters.

 READ MORE: Philadelphia City Council extends mandate that landlords use Eviction Diversion Program

In public housing, white tenants have higher eviction filing rates than Black tenants, according to researchers. But because public housing has more Black tenants than white tenants  the result of discriminatory housing practices and systems that have limited Black wealth  there were 13 times more evictions filed against Black renters than white ones.

Although Black renters were overrepresented in eviction filings throughout the city, the overrepresentation was more pronounced in more racially mixed neighborhoods.

Reinvestment Fund researchers found elevated eviction rates for Black tenants in recently gentrifying neighborhoods, such as Point Breeze and Brewerytown. Although gentrification is not driving the citys eviction crisis, evictions can hasten a pattern of demographic change.

You could see all together this heightened eviction rate, rising prices, and a decline in the Black and Hispanic populations over time, Dowdall said.

Reinvestment Funds report is one in a series on evictions funded by the William Penn Foundation and the Oak Foundation to inform efforts to mitigate the effects of eviction.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of more than 20 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the citys push toward economic justice. See all of our reporting at brokeinphilly.org.
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Manoj Bajpayee Begins Filming Despatch, Movie To Be Shot In Mumbai, Delhi And London; Read Deets

Manoj Bajpayee fans might have been a tad bit disappointed with the delay of Family Man 2's release, but there's some good news too. The web series might be releasing in Summer, but the actor has already begun shooting a new film. We are talking about Despatch, a film on crime journalism that would be directed by Kanu Behl of Titli fame.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manoj Bajpayee (@bajpayee.manoj)

A report in Pinkvilla mentions that the shoot has begun yesterday and other members of the cast- Sahana Goswami, Rii Sen and Arrchita Agarwal will join him from today. The three actresses will play a pivotal role in the film and the Mumbai schedule is most likely to be wrapped up by the 23rd of March. The film will also be shot in Delhi and London. A source revealed, The cast will travel to Delhi and London for smaller durations. However, the UK schedule will depend on the COVID-19 conditions in the country at that time.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manoj Bajpayee (@bajpayee.manoj)

The actor had announced the film back on the 29th of January and had written, Enter the world of crime journalism with #Despatch. This edge of the seat thriller will be a direct to digital release. We hope to see the film super soon.
NEW DELHI : Bharat Forge Chairman and Managing Director Babasaheb Neelkanth Kalyani is confident that India can develop its own fighter jet engine  the lack of which is seen as a reason for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft taking decades to take shape from the drawing board to the manufacture stage. Kalyanis estimate is that it could take India about a decade to develop a fighter jet engine with Indias Defence Research and Development Organisation taking the lead. Edited excerpts from an interview.

How have the measures announced for defence production under AtmanirbharBharat" helped?

We pretty much believe that there are many areas where with this entire focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat and making India self reliant in defence and creating our own technology rather than depending on outside technology, I think India is going to emerge very very strong in many sectors in the defence industry.

Which are these areas? Artillery guns? Thats something you have talked of yourself.

Many companies in India are going to emerge very strong in this sector in the next five years. As far as Indian companies are concerned and the technology ownership is Indian is largely coming out of the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) process. I think DRDO is the central pillar which is creating defence technology. And the model that the DRDO is now adopting for the last few years is getting more and more industry partners right in the beginning of every programme making them do part developments on their own. So, there is a huge change in the whole ecosystem that is coming up. We had a DRDO seminar today (Thursday) and the theme was you have one DRDO and if you have 100 companies that are working with DRDO and they have their own little R& D centres then you have 100 mini DRDOs and the result of this is exponential. It is not just a participation of 100 companies, you get exponential results and that is what you are beginning to see in India as a matter of fact.

You have said that India needs to have its own fighter jet engine, make its own fighter jet engine. Any progress on that from your side?

India needs to make a fighter engine. This is one technology which is part of the strategic technology development plan of even the DRDO. And for this you need a consortium of industry partners to be involved in this because it involves a lot of capital, it involves a lot of talent and it involves multiple technologies. I think the DRDO has already started the programme on AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft) engines, they are putting their internal teams together which is ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency), GTRE (Gas Turbine Research Establishment), HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics) all these people together. And they would obviously need industry partners to make the parts and the real metal that is required in the engine. It will happen.

Any timeline by when it could happen?

Making a brand new engine, you know, even on a pessimistic basis is a seven to 10 year programme.

You spoke about Indian owned technology. Indias own technology base is seen as weak if you go by the number patents registered for example. How does one strengthen the Innovation and R & D culture?

I think it is very necessary for a country and an economy of our size if it wants to grow to the first step  a $5 trillion economy, the dream that we all have along with our honourable prime minister  without R & D that is not going to happen. It cannot happen on foreign technology. A large of it has to happen on our own technology. We have proven this in the covid-19 pandemic. Within two months we were able to make PPEs (Personal Protection Equipment), ventilators, all kind of facilities that were required for treating patients including tests and testing centres. That shows what capability this country has inherently. It just needs to get rid of its silos and work in a unified direction. I think Atmanirbhar Bharat" is creating that unified direction. If we can get rid of the silos I think India will go miles.

When are we likely to see foreign orders for Indian made defence hardware?

Thats a difficult question. But you build the talent, you build the capability, you build an eco system, the business has to flow. Like water finds its own level, business will find its own level.

Your company was in the process of manufacturing Advanced Towed Artillery Guns (ATAGs). What is the progress on that?

The ATAG is in testing phase.

When is the order from the Indian Army expected to come through?

That's a difficult question to answer.

You also had plans to develop small arms. Any progress on that?

We are working on it. We are quite confident that with our capabilities, we can make that happen.

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The late Bomet governor Joyce Laboso's widower and his sister- in-law are tussling over her estate estimated to be worth Sh100 million.

Edwin Jacob Abonyo moved to court last year seeking letters of administration of his late wife's estate which includes prime property, cash and shares.

Two of his two sons supported the application and he was granted a temporary order by Justice Aggrey Muchelule on June 10, 2020.

Dr Laboso died on July 29, 2019 at Nairobi hospital after a long battle with cancer. It is not clear whether she left a will.

Gazette notice

A gazette notice on the grant was published on February 7, 2021-- a move that alarmed the Laboso family.

But Mr Abonyo's sister in-law, Judy Cheptoo Laboso, moved to court to challenge the grant.

The law of succession requires a publication of a notice in the Kenya Gazette, after an application has been filed. The applicant then waits for 30 days to allow for any objections.

Any person with an objection must clearly state their reservation in court for determination.

If the one month lapses without objection, the court will issue grant of letters of administration.

On January 18 Judy, sought to stop the planned confirmation, through the law firm of Sang & Sang Advocates.

She was given time to file her objection. The case is set to be mentioned on March 24.

Listed properties

Some of the properties listed by Mr Abonyo is a land in Karen, a townhouse in Kilimani, a parcel of land in Kapletundo, Kericho County and another parcel on South Sotik township.

He has also listed shares at Kenya Grain Growers Co-operative Union (KGGCU), two parcels of land in Kisumu, a land in Nakuru town and a residential plot in Bomet town.

Also on the list are KCB Bank shares, shares at Sinendet Multipurpose Co-operative Society and shares at Parliament Sacco. Others are benefits held by the Egerton University Pension Scheme -- where Dr Laboso taught before joining politics, and her accounts at KCB, Equity, Co-op bank and Absa Kenya.

Mr Abonyo said the property is estimated to be worth Sh100 million while liabilities have been placed at Sh48 million.

Plane crash case

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Other than administering the estate, Mr Abonyo also wanted to take over a case in which Joyce had sued Kenya Civil Aviation Authority for the air accident in which her sister and former Chepalungu MP Lorna Chepkemoi Laboso was killed.

During the last hearing of the accident case, the family wanted the court to compel the government to admit, as evidence in the case, a report dated September 10, 2008 on the plane crash.

But Justice Joseph Sergon dismissed the application, saying that Regulation 20(8) of the Civil Aviation (Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation) Regulations, restricts the admission of the investigation report as evidence in court.

"To do so would be to put the report in an inappropriate use since the report can only be used for aviation safety. In fact, Regulation 22(5) of the aforesaid regulations provides that a recommendation for preventive action or safety recommendation shall, in no case create a presumption of liability for an aircraft accident or incident," the Judge said.

In the accident on June 10, 2008, Lorna -- then an assistant minister for Home Affairs, died together with Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones.
CHICAGO  Despite Chicago Public Schools extending a cooling-off period through Thursday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot started the day casting blame on the Chicago Teachers Union for the lack of an agreement over reopening schools.

We are deeply disappointed to announce that we still have not reached a deal, the mayor said at a Thursday morning news conference, later adding, We are out of runway. ... Time is running out.

Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson later issued a joint update on negotiations: As of 12:30 p.m., we have yet to receive anything back from CTU leadership since yesterday.

Thursday evening, the two leaders released a terse joint statement: Late this afternoon, we received a counter proposal from CTU leadership and we are working on a response. They gave no further details or any indication of further progress.

During the morning news conference, Lightfoot said she was waiting on the CTU, and not patiently.

My patience with delays from the CTU leadership is over, Lightfoot said.

Noting its the final day of the quarter, Jackson said shes continued to hear from parents who have to support their high-needs children all day or who are essential workers and need child care, along with countless Black and Latinx families who are falling behind.

This is personal to me, said Jackson, whose daughter was supposed to return to elementary school Monday along with 60,000 other students.

Families cannot stay in limbo waiting for news about reopening, she said: Our parents want to know whats going on, and to the mayors point, we need to get a deal done today.

A statement provided by the teachers union attributes their tentative agreements to action and support from members, parents and school communities, pointing out the districts initial position that it didnt have to negotiate a reopening plan.

Our goal is, and has always been, a mutually agreed upon safe reopening plan for our schools. These decisions, however, cannot be made unilaterally in a vacuum, the union stated. They require buy-in from all stakeholders in our school communities, and we will continue to lift democracy in soliciting feedback from educators and families in bargaining for the safe return that our students deserve.

Story continues

Nearly two dozen Illinois state lawmakers signed a letter Thursday urging the mayor to further compromise, in a similar vein to a letter last month from a supermajority of aldermen. The state legislators listed five primary requests: reach an agreement with the CTU, agree not to lock anyone out of remote work platforms before reaching the agreement, accelerate a program to vaccinate staff, include parents and community partners on school health and safety committees, and improve remote learning, which still accounts for the majority of the hybrid model.

It is our belief that there should be no in-person return to learning prior to the second semesters start on February 8 and that a return to in-person learning be phased in, they wrote.

Lightfoot said her administration expects teachers back in school as soon as possible but did not give a date. Because Friday is a day off for students, the earliest they could be back is Monday.

Ratcheting up pressure on the union with sports analogies, Lightfoot said the ball is in the CTUs court and that its leaders need to get serious and meet her administration at the finish line.

Despite a series of productive exchanges Monday and Tuesday that should have absolutely led to a deal by Wednesday, Lightfoot said the union took a series of steps backward that were simply not productive.

Just before she spoke, the teachers union released an open letter to parents, saying the district could not resume in-person instruction without movement on central issues.

Based on a bargaining update provided to union delegates Wednesday evening, CTU is demanding accommodations be granted for all employees who either have medical risks, are primary caregivers or live with someone who does. The districts best offer so far is accommodations for all staff who are in a high-risk medical category and for 20% of those who have a household member in that category. CPS would also require staff members with accommodations to work in person after receiving their first vaccine dose, and these employees would be prioritized among the 1,500 weekly doses the city has earmarked for the district.

Lightfoot declined to explain the rationale behind returns after one dose, saying she was not going to bargain at a news conference.

On Wednesday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said educator vaccination is not a prerequisite for safe reopening of schools.

While the accommodations issue remains a sticking point, bargaining documents indicate the CTU has moved off its initial position of allowing all educators to get vaccines before returning and is amenable to a plan that would ensure at least 1,500 of its members receive vaccines each week.

As of late Wednesday, the districts most recent proposal on reopening metrics was to close schools if its voluntary staff surveillance testing program had a 3% positivity rate. The CTUs counteroffer was to follow CDC criteria for lower risk of transmission in schools, a positivity rate below 5% and fewer than 20 new cases per 100,000 people every two weeks.

At the mayors news conference, Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicagos health commissioner, noted the citys positivity rate has fallen to 5.4% and said the citys got roughly 539 new COVID-19 cases each day.

This is the best shape our city has been in from a COVID perspective since the beginning of October, Arwady said.

She underscored again the body of scientific evidence suggesting that, with proper virus mitigation, schools have not been shown to be a major center of COVID-19 spread when community transmission is under control.

Individual cases in schools have occurred, but the question is whether we see the spread of COVID in school settings, Arwady said, referencing the study last fall on open Chicago Archdiocese schools that showed little spread and mostly isolated cases.

We have not seen anything unexpected, she said.

CPS has reported more than 200 cases tied to schools for the month of January: 37 adults the week ending Jan. 9, when prekindergarten and special education staff were called back; 47 adults and seven children the week of Jan. 16, when more than 3,000 students returned; 40 adults and five children the week of Jan. 23, when in-person classes were canceled midway through the week in light of the CTUs remote work action; and 62 adults and three children last week, after a small percentage of elementary school staff returned despite the collective action.

For the quarter, at least 10 schools have reported five or more cases. The most common case count reported was one.

Of 7,744 rapid tests administered through a voluntary staff surveillance program, 12 have been presumed positive, according to CPS.

The unions open letter said the mayor and CPS are still threatening to lock out teachers and shut students out of all learning if we dont capitulate on critical outstanding safety issues, adding that thousands of CTU members are also CPS parents.

We love your children, the union wrote. We desperately want to be back in classrooms with them, but we are not willing to accept the inevitable illness and death a reckless reopening will inflict on our city.

But Lightfoot and Jackson insisted that schools are safe, and said the citys had three weeks of limited in-person learning that has shown that.

As the expression goes, the proof is in the pudding, Lightfoot said. CPS had three weeks of successful implementation of these mitigation plans in our schools. That was until the CTU blew up that success and created chaos that we are now enduring.

In addition to ventilation measures already in place, the district has ordered devices for each school that can be used to check air quality, Jackson said.

At this point finding a public health expert who opposes in-person learning would be like finding a scientist that doesnt believe in climate change, Jackson said.

Earlier Thursday, at a news conference hosted by the teachers union, some parents said theyve felt their voices arent being heard.

Parents Wednesday night waited until 9:30 p.m. to learn whether in-person school would resume Thursday, as children went to bed uncertain whether they were expected to wake up less than 10 hours later and go to school for the first time since March.

We only have a few more months to go and theyre making all this chaos with the kids going back, not going back, are the teachers going to be back in school tomorrow? Theyre making it more stressful than it should be because right now, its working, said Dulce Jimenez, a parent with a student at Sadlowski Elementary School, in the far southern East Side neighborhood.

But the parents who spoke Thursday morning werent directly affected by the last-minute decision. They instead said they would keep their children in remote learning even when schools do reopen. They were more concerned that dozens of CPS teachers still remain locked out of their Google classrooms in what they consider a punitive decision, even after Lightfoot said no additional teachers would be locked out this week.

Students affected by the lockouts includes Ana Avilas son, a 5-year-old kindergarten student in a special education program at Corkery Elementary in Little Village whose teacher was locked out two weeks ago, leaving students in his Google classroom without a teacher since then. Students have been working with two special education classroom assistants instead.

I dont know if CPS knows, understands that the people they are hurting the most are our children, Avila said through a Spanish language interpreter Thursday. We have tried many things to get our teacher reinstated, and CPS is not listening to us. Although the (classroom assistants) are doing the best they can, theyre not a teacher, and I think two weeks without a teacher will set (the students) back. For CPS telling us theyre doing this reopening for our students, is not true. CPS is not only punishing teachers, but it is also punishing our students.

Many other CPS families support giving parents the choice of in-person learning for their children, and many have complained that CTUs voice drowns out all others. About 19% of students eligible to return in the first wave Jan. 11 ended up doing so before CPS reverted to remote learning in light of the conflict with CTU.

When Jackson was later asked about teachers who remain locked out because they have refused to report to schools, she lamented the impact that has had on affected students and families but spoke of personal responsibility on the part of the staff members.

This is an organization, we do have rules and employees are expected to do whats expected of them, she said.

The mayor also later questioned how the CTU has time to orchestrate press conferences and letters but, she said, doesnt have a focus on getting a deal done?

Lightfoot and Jackson also have faced criticism for national media appearances on networks including MSNBC and CNN, while families and local journalists havent been given much opportunity to ask questions directly.

On Thursday, the first media availability related to school reopening since an abbreviated news conference Sunday, Lightfoot admonished a veteran WBEZ education reporter for pressing questions. Youre violating the rules here, its your first time, Lightfoot said, waving her finger in circles. City Hall only recently started allowing education reporters to participate in a pool rotation for news conferences related to CPS, following a similar move by the district.


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North Alabama is back to dry weather Friday with clear skies moving in from out of the northwest. Highs climb to near 50 this afternoon with lighter winds to finish the workweek. Clear skies continue tonight through about sunrise tomorrow. These clear skies will allow for temperatures to drop to the upper 20s Saturday morning.

Just after sunrise clouds will stream in from the southwest, helping to lock some of this dry,cold air in place heading into Saturday afternoon. This sets up the threat of rain overriding trapped cold air and switching over to snow Saturday afternoon.

There is quite a bit of disagreement with Saturday afternoon but chance is there for snow in the higher elevations east of I-65 (Jackson & Dekalb Counties). Another wave of rain arrives late Saturday that could also switch over to snow. Only light accumulations in the higher elevations appear possible.

It looks like a warmer pattern will win out and keep the frigid air to our north through Tuesday, this will keep North Alabama all rain the first half of the week but another chance for snow may set up Friday and into the following weekend. Bottom line: you'll need to watch for frequent forecast updates on next week's arctic air outbreak and snow chances.
Zimbabwe on Thursday said it will vaccinate all its citizens against Covid-19 for free after China pledged to donate vaccines to the southern African country.

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who doubles up as the Health and Child Care minister, said the government will also buy additional vaccines to complement the donation from China.

China this week announced that Zimbabwe was among African countries set to receive vaccines to stop the spread of Covid-19, but did not disclose the quantities.

"We welcome and are very grateful to the People's Republic of China for its donation. The landmark gesture will achieve a milestone in combating the pandemic," Retired General Chiwenga said.

"The government of Zimbabwe has embarked on a deliberate programme to acquire more vaccines. It will rollout vaccination for free to all citizens who may wish to be vaccinated. The policy is inspired by humane morals ... that life should not be for sale."

Previous announcement

The announcement came a day after Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said "private citizens" would pay for the Covid-19 vaccine jabs to help the government recoup costs of acquiring them.

Prof Ncube on Thursday issued a statement saying he had been misunderstood and that the vaccination would be free.

No timeliness have been given for the programme.

The government earlier said it required $100 million to buy 20 million vaccine doses to inoculate 60 percent of the population, or 10 million people, to achieve herd immunity.

Portia Mananganzira, director of epidemiology and disease control, said Zimbabwe was in talks with Russia and China on the supply of Covid-19 vaccines.

Dr Manangazira said the vaccines cost between $2.50 and $7 a shot.

Huge struggle

Zimbabwe has been struggling to contain the pandemic, with January turning out to be the worst month in terms of infections and deaths, since the first case was recorded in March last year.

Health experts say the surge in cases is being fueled by the South African variant of the coronavirus that is more infectious.

Zimbabwe reopened its borders for the Christmas holidays, a move which saw thousands of its citizens return home from South Africa.

As of February 3, the country had confirmed 33,964 Covid-19 cases, including 1,269 deaths and 27,391 recoveries.
Several people with connections to North Texas and Denton County have been arrested in connection to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2
USC researchers have developed a new method to counter emergent mutations of the coronavirus and hasten vaccine development to stop the pathogen responsible for killing thousands of people and ruining the economy.

Using artificial intelligence (AI), the research team at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering developed a method to speed the analysis of vaccines and zero in on the best potential preventive medical therapy.

The method is easily adaptable to analyze potential mutations of the virus, ensuring the best possible vaccines are quickly identified -- solutions that give humans a big advantage over the evolving contagion. Their machine-learning model can accomplish vaccine design cycles that once took months or years in a matter of seconds and minutes, the study says.

"This AI framework, applied to the specifics of this virus, can provide vaccine candidates within seconds and move them to clinical trials quickly to achieve preventive medical therapies without compromising safety," said Paul Bogdan, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at USC Viterbi and corresponding author of the study. "Moreover, this can be adapted to help us stay ahead of the coronavirus as it mutates around the world."

The findings appear today in Nature Research's Scientific Reports

When applied to SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- the computer model quickly eliminated 95% of the compounds that could've possibly treated the pathogen and pinpointed the best options, the study says.

The AI-assisted method predicted 26 potential vaccines that would work against the coronavirus. From those, the scientists identified the best 11 from which to construct a multi-epitope vaccine, which can attack the spike proteins that the coronavirus uses to bind and penetrate a host cell. Vaccines target the region -- or epitope -- of the contagion to disrupt the spike protein, neutralizing the ability of the virus to replicate.

Moreover, the engineers can construct a new multi-epitope vaccine for a new virus in less than a minute and validate its quality within an hour. By contrast, current processes to control the virus require growing the pathogen in the lab, deactivating it and injecting the virus that caused a disease. The process is time-consuming and takes more than one year; meanwhile, the disease spreads.

USC method could help counter COVID-19 mutations

The method is especially useful during this stage of the pandemic as the coronavirus begins to mutate in populations around the world. Some scientists are concerned that the mutations may minimize the effectiveness of vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna, which are now being distributed. Recent variants of the virus that have emerged in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil seem to spread more easily, which scientists say will rapidly lead to many more cases, deaths and hospitalizations.

But Bogdan said that if SARS-CoV-2 becomes uncontrollable by current vaccines, or if new vaccines are needed to deal with other emerging viruses, then USC's AI-assisted method can be used to design other preventive mechanisms quickly.

For example, the study explains that the USC scientists used only one B-cell epitope and one T-cell epitope, whereas applying a bigger dataset and more possible combinations can develop a more comprehensive and quicker vaccine design tool. The study estimates the method can perform accurate predictions with over 700,000 different proteins in the dataset.

"The proposed vaccine design framework can tackle the three most frequently observed mutations and be extended to deal with other potentially unknown mutations," Bogdan said.

The raw data for the research comes from a giant bioinformatics database called the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) in which scientists around the world have been compiling data about the coronavirus, among other diseases. IEDB contains over 600,000 known epitopes from some 3,600 different species, along with the Virus Pathogen Resource, a complementary repository of information about pathogenic viruses. The genome and spike protein sequence of SARS-CoV-2 comes from the National Center for Biotechnical Information.

COVID-19 has led to 87 million cases and more than 1.88 million deaths worldwide, including more than 400,000 fatalities in the United States. It has devastated the social, financial and political fabric of many countries.

The study authors are Bogdan, Zikun Yang and Shahin Nazarian of the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at USC Viterbi.

Support for the study comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Career Award (CPS/CNS-1453860) and NSF grants (CCF-1837131, MCB-1936775 and CNS-1932620); a U.S. Army Research Office grant (W911NF-17-1-0076); a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award and Director Award grant (N66001-17-1-4044), and a Northrop Grumman grant.

###
After two weeks of police beatings, thousands of arrests, and a wave of criminal prosecutions whose reach is only just becoming apparent, allies of imprisoned Kremlin foe Aleksei Navalny have called an end to the anti-government protests they incited over the course of three consecutive weeks.

If we continue to go out each week, well continue to get thousands arrested and hundreds beaten, Leonid Volkov, a top Navalny aide, told supporters in a YouTube video announcing the decision. Thats not what we want, and thats not what Aleksei asks of us.

The protests ended the day Navalny was sentenced to over 2 1/2 years in prison on February 2, and Volkov said his allies would continue to fight for his release -- prioritizing foreign policy methods, including pressuring Western leaders to impose sanctions, while not shirking from street rallies down the line.

We wont run out of reasons, and we wont run out of demands, he said.

Anger Over Decision

But the statement, which came as hundreds of protesters languish in squalid jails awaiting trial, immediately prompted indignation. Navalny supporters took to social media to voice their anger over what some perceived as capitulation.

These guys had no revolutionary ambitions after all, Artur Moskvin, a self-professed activist of over 30 years, wrote on Facebook. I was always ready to be a simple foot soldier. But not the type of foot soldier whom brilliant generals send to clear a minefield at the price of our corpses.

I understand the decision of Navalnys team, tweeted Russian journalist Oleg Kozyrev. But, he added, people are seething over the arrests, the beatings, and the detention camps. Theyre emotional, and they got an answer based on logic -- not one based on emotion."

Rallies for Navalnys release swept Russia on January 23 and 31, with smaller demonstrations erupting in Moscow and St Petersburg the night of Navalnys sentencing. The authorities cracked down, often using violence to disperse the largely peaceful crowds and arresting over 11,000 people.

Unnamed sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters on February 4 that authorities believe they can easily ride out further nationwide rallies and are ready to use yet more force against demonstrators if necessary.

This is just a warm-up, one source told the news agency.

In an interview with RFE/RL, Ruslan Shaveddinov, a project manager for the Anti-Corruption Foundation and one of its few employees not behind bars or under house arrest, said that Navalnys team acknowledged the disappointment among some supporters but argued that many had misconstrued Volkovs words.

People should watch the video instead of paying attention to the headlines, he said. Were not stopping our work for a second. Well be working every day to get Navalny out.

Push For Sanctions

Shaveddinov confirmed that Navalnys team would urge Western leaders to impose further sanctions on Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin and those seen as complicit in state corruption or human rights violations.

The Anti-Corruption Foundation e-mailed a letter to several top U.S. officials in January listing 35 individuals whom theyd like to see sanctioned, including billionaire businessmen Roman Abramovich, Alisher Usmanov, and Oleg Deripaska.

In the meantime, Russian lawmakers are preparing to debate legislation that would make it a crime to call for sanctions against Russian citizens.

Political analyst Abbas Gallyamov told RFE/RL the decision to put protests on hold is strategically sound but risks angering those who braved bitter cold and police batons to make their voices heard.

If they upped the tempo now, people would quickly burn out emotionally, he said. But public discontent is not going anywhere, and it will only grow, so we can expect more unrest in the summer.

Shaveddinov said Navalny, who was back in court on February 5 charged with defaming a World War II veteran who promoted a dubious national plebiscite on extending Putins rule last July, had endorsed Volkovs message in comments passed on by his lawyer. The work of his team would continue in his absence.

The first task is to help people behind bars. We need to get them all out, Shaveddinov said. Well also continue our anti-corruption investigations, and well continue what Aleksei Navalny asked us to do: preparing for the crucially important fall elections.

The parliamentary vote expected in September has long been a target for the embattled opposition, which hopes to seize on Putins falling approval rating and widespread grumbling over falling real wages to break the political stranglehold of the ruling United Russia party. Ahead of that election, Shavedinnov insists, more demonstrations are inevitable.

Theres no magic button that can start and stop protests, he said. People come out not because theyre called on by Volkov or Navalny. They come out because they see injustice, they see whats happening in our country. Reasons to protest wont go away -- the authorities actions made sure of that.

The process of consultation and arriving at a consensus on the smooth running of Lok Sabha seems to have hit a deadlock with opposition parties adamant on dedicated five hours for discussion in Parliament on farm laws and the ongoing farmers' agitation.

This demand has been communicated to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in an array of meetings with floor leaders and whips of political parties came to a naught as government cited precedents where the first discussion on motion of thanks for presidential address with a reply from the Prime minister followed by a general discussion on Union budget with a reply from the minister took place.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

Sources in the government said that a separate time for debate other than the motion of thanks on President's address cannot take place before the latter's conclusion and reply by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The opposition was asked to discuss and debate on farmers agitation and laws during part of the discussion on motion of thanks on President's address. This cannot be in the first part of the session. They can be allowed in the next part of the session that begins from March 8," the source added.

While the government is citing rules and laws and set standard procedures to back its case while allowing opposition parties to debate farmers agitation, the opposition is adamant on a separate five hours or a day on farmers issues. The government acceded to the opposition's demand to increase the 10 hours dedicated for debate to 15 hours.

After one meeting with the Speaker, Saugatha Roy of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said that the opposition wants a dedicated time frame for debate on farmers' agitation.

While there were efforts throughout the day by the government and the speaker to reach a consensus in order to run the house smoothly, meetings post-session were convened in the office of Union Home minister Amit Shah where he met Chief Union Parliamentary Affairs ministers and the Chief whip.

When asked why they do not respond and debate in the house, leaders of the opposition have said that they only want to debate on farmers issues and agitation. (ANI)

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AUSTIN, Texas  Texas longtime effort to end Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood is on hold again after a judge Wednesday blocked the state from moving ahead for now.

Planned Parenthood says more than 8,000 low-income residents would lose access to non-abortion health services at its clinics if Texas succeeds.

The temporary restraining order issued by state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble was handed down as the state planned to exclude Planned Parenthood from the program starting this week. A court hearing is now set for later this month.

Opponents of legal abortion have long sought to deny federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood clinics.

A federal appeals court ruled last year that Texas could remove Planned Parenthood from the program. Planned Parenthood now claims the state has not followed the proper procedure to do so.

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NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has filed for emergency use authorization of its single-dose Covid-19 vaccine. It could be the world's first single-dose Covid-19 vaccine.



Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which are now being distributed in the US, are administered as two doses, and the Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-cold storage.



Johnson & Johnson's application to the US Food and Drug Administration follows its January report in which it said the vaccine candidate was 66% effective overall in preventing moderate to severe Covid-19, 28 days after vaccination.



As per phase 3 ENSEMBLE clinical trial results, the vaccine candidate was 85 percent effective in preventing severe disease across all regions studied, 28 days after vaccination in all adults 18 years and older. The vaccine candidate showed complete protection against Covid-related hospitalization and death, 28 days post-vaccination.



If authorized, the company's investigational single-dose vaccine is estimated to remain stable for two years at minus 20 degree celsius, at least three months of which can be stored in most standard refrigerators at temperatures of 2 degree Celsius to 8 degree Celsius.



The company plans to distribute vaccine to the U.S. government immediately following authorization, and expects to supply 100 million doses to the U.S. in the first half of 2021.



The company noted that it has initiated rolling submissions with several health agencies outside the U.S., and will submit a Conditional Marketing Authorisation Application with the European Medicines Agency in the coming weeks.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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The McDonalds franchisee in Baytown is rolling out virus-zapping ceiling units as a way to make people feel safer inside his eateries during a pandemic thats battering restaurants.

Most concerning to Matt Kades was his location on Garth Road, across the street from Houston Methodist Hospital, where first responders and hospital staffers dine frequently. His employees were getting sick, and he wanted to show them he was taking steps to protect them.

I felt like this was something extra I could do in that area, he said. It just sort of blossomed from there.

On HoustonChronicle.com: 15 moments that shaped Houstons response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Kades said another owner-operator in Dallas tipped him off to ceiling-based air filtration devices created by UV Angel, a Michigan company. He has so far paid about $60,000 to deploy the tech in four of his eight Houston-area McDonalds franchises, starting in November with the one near Houston Methodist.

Each ceiling unit sucks air into it, where a UV light kills pathogens in a sealed chamber before pushing air back out into the room, UV Angel said. The units are spaced every 100 to 200 square feet, depending on how busy an area is, and run constantly.

This goes on every 0.7 seconds, said Linda Lee, UV Angels chief medical affairs and science officer, formerly assistant vice president for campus operations at MD Anderson.

This is like having almost like a little vacuum cleaner over your head or over your booth, she said, noting warm breath readily rises, carrying it higher where fans can capture it.

Kades has between 13 and 16 units at each location and also purchased UV Angels self-cleaning tech for high-touch surfaces, costing him around $15,000 per franchise. UV Angel said that shakes out to $450 per unit.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston researchers roll out COVID-killing machines

Kades said it seemed worthwhile given how nervous staff and customers have been about being inside his dining rooms, especially the one with a hospital  arguably the symbol of the pandemic  visible across the street.

When I saw on a newscast the reporter standing on my sidewalk, with the hospital,  he said, I said oh my goodness I gotta do something.

UV Angel, which launched in 2014, originally designed its tech for hospital and pharmacy settings, Lee said. Now, the company is piloting it in new environments during the pandemic, as businesses look for new ways to protect their environments from pathogens.

Were part of that cadre of technologies people are looking at, she said. Were right in the hurricane now with this pandemic and were going to be looking for ways we can harden the environment.

There have yet to be clinical testing of devices like this and others claiming transmission reduction, and they dont fully wipe out viruses in the air, as may be implied by the timing of their deployment.

In one recent test at a McDonalds, Lee said her companys tech reduced pathogens in the environment by 77 percent. Theres no guarantee someone wont still get sick, she said, which is why she urges people to still wear masks, wash their hands and stay distanced from one another. But it helps.

By reducing the volume of pathogens youve potentially reduced the chances of someone getting sick, she said.

amanda.drane@chron.com

Twitter.com/amandadrane
The performance medium (a video stream) matters less to Lewis than returning again and again to the instrument hes always known. I learned early on that its me and the love of the piano whether Im live streaming or whether Im playing at Carnegie Hall or whether Im playing a nightclub, he said. Of course, formalizing his new performance style took a little convincing from the people around him, specifically his wife, who first recorded Lewis playing his beloved piano as the pandemic began and sent it to his manager. Lewiss manager realized that there was something there and thus the first season of Saturday Salon began.
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Islamabad:

A 25-year-old woman cancer patient from Pakistan has requested External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help her visit India for treatment after her visa application was reportedly rejected by the Indian embassy in Islamabad.

Faiza Tanveer, 25, is suffering from a recurrent ameloblastoma, an oral tumour which is aggressive in nature.

She plans to visit the Inderprastha Dental College and Hospital (IDCH) in Ghaziabad and has paid Rs 1 million in advance for treatment, according to a Pakistani media report.

But the Indian High Commission in Islamabad rejected her medical visa application. Her mother claimed Tanveers application was rejected because of deteriorating ties between the two countries.

That forced Tanveer to take to social media to move Indian authorities.

Tanveer has in several tweets over the past couple of days urged Swaraj to intervene. She has posted her photo and a video that showed her tumour.

In one of the tweets, she said, Please help me save my life mam plz (sic), and tagged Swaraj in the tweet. In another tweet, Tanveer said, Sushma g please help me (sic).

In June, an ailing child from Pakistan and his parents were issued visa for an emergency heart treatment after the family sought Swarajs help.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
FUNDING of close to 1 million for a green energy development in Rhode will have a major positive impact on the village and surrounding area.

I have been contacted by people from abroad and from others parts of Ireland who are excited about being able to move home and get a job in that project, said Cllr Liam Quinn.

Speaking at the January meeting of Edenderry Municipal District, the Fine Gael public representative said it was great to have such a flagship project in north Offaly.

He made his comments in relation to the planned Rhode Green Energy Project which was recently allocated funding of 807,000 under the Bord na Mona Just Transition Fund.

Cllr Quinn stressed the project will benefit the entire north Offaly region.

He said the new era of investment meant the role of the North Offaly Development Board needed to be examined.

Cllr Quinn claimed the work of the board had gone a bit stale over the past few years and suggested the two groups working in this area should be amalgamated into one.

Director of Services, Sharon Kennedy said a further process had to be entered through for final compliance with the Rhode project and work still remained to be done.

She added that some of the funds for the development had come from the North Offaly Development Board and the council will continue to engage with them on the issue.

Cllr Noel Cribbin said there was bit of a sting in the tail in much of the Just Transition funding allocations in Offaly.

Those groups [that received funding] will have to come up with funds of their own before the allocations can be drawn down, he outlined.

Added Cllr Cribbin: In the case of Edenderry Tidy towns its 15,000 and no Tidy Towns committee in the county will have that sort of money.

Highlighting that Bord na Mona has received millions of euros from the Government and the European Union he said it was wrong the semi-state was asking local groups to come up with funding.

They may go back to the drawing board, suggested Cllr Cribbin.

YOU might have noticed that in a few of the articles I've written so far this calendar year, I've made mention of the fact that I have unfollowed several social media accounts and influencers that I felt either existed to make others feel inadequate or have been flaunting their fabulous lives at a time when the mood of the nation is one of discontent.

It seems I'm not alone.

In response to my articles and my podcast  The Stylin & Profilin Podcast  where I have also shared these stories and opinions, I have received hundreds of emails and DMs from people who are completely fed up of influencers. This is not something I'm welcoming for reasons I'll get to but it seems the proverbial straw that has broken the back of many a camel has been influencers hopping on planes during Lockdown for "work trips to Dubai".

Influencers boasting of sunshine holidays  sorry work trips  amid the global pandemic are now facing a furious public backlash. As they've shared photos and videos from beaches and clubs, lockdown has appeared not to apply to bloggers and models who've used 'loop-holes' to jet off to the sun under the guise of work.

As restrictions have been extended, criticism has intensified with members of the public becoming more and more disenchanted with social media personalities and tone-deaf posts.

Instagram stars such as Maura Higgins, Amber Gill, Molly-Mae Hague, Nicole O'Brien and Rob Lipsett have raised the ire of their followers by jetting off to sunny climates during the global pandemic and some have even sparked fury by claiming to be essential workers!

In the last few weeks, this ire has extended past the beaches of Dubai and the discontent has started to spread domestically with the influencer community, in general, coming under an increased level of public scrutiny.

"I'm on the PUP and can barely pay my bills at the moment, does (name withheld) really think I want to see all the free s**t she's getting? UNFOLLOW" wrote one irate Instagram user.

It would be easy for me to join the mob and condemn all influencers but the trouble is I am a person who uses Instagram to promote brands and products so if I was to completely denounce influencer marketing, I would be a bit of a hypocrite.

Influencer marketing exists for a reason. It works. It is already a billion-euro industry as more and more businesses use it as a strategy to improve their bottom lines. Influencer marketing offers many advantages to local, national and international businesses that would admit to needing the help right now.

One of the immediate benefits of using influencer marketing is an improvement in brand awareness. A target audience that uses social media will get to know your brand, story, and the offerings you have. Therefore, it is vital to create valuable content that enhances social media presence.

Influencers have also built strong relationships with their followers, establishing trust and credibility. Users respect their recommendations. For example, when a celebrity endorses a product or service, it instantly establishes credibility for the brand they are promoting. Social media influencers exert a degree of authority on the goods or services that they are supporting. Influencers that are relevant to a particular brand already have an established audience on social media. Hence, you can easily get hold of your target group when you use an influencer. There is no need to spend extra money just to test and find your market, as the influencer has already one.

Influencers have the power to direct their followers towards a product or services. Because consumers see them as trustworthy, they look up to influencers for recommendations. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations that could lead to sales.

So the concept is a solid one, the problem lies with how a certain section of the influencer market are using their 'influence'.

As we've discussed, many of the influencers who've come under fire for travelling to sunnier destinations during the pandemic have defended their actions by stating that being an influencer is their job and that these trips are "unavoidable work trips". Sheridan Mordew, a UK based fitness influencer, who has been in Dubai since the beginning of January, appeared on This Morning with Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby last week and stated that her trip was 'essential work travel' to provide sunny content for her fans and inspire them. She went on to describe herself as an essential worker.

That's an extreme case (of arrogance) but the idea that being an influencer is "a job" is not playing well to the general public right now and I can understand why. However, the reality is that for some, it is indeed a full-time job.

I personally have not translated my online presence into a full-time gig but I do know plenty of people who have and I know that a lot of work goes into their content creation. These people have registered themselves as limited companies, they make their money and they pay their taxes so in my book they are business owners whose personal brand is their business so being an influencer is indeed their job.

But like anyone who sets up a business, you have to look after your customers and concern yourself with customer satisfaction and customer services.

I'll cite two recent examples of influencers who made public faux pas' as their reactions are a perfect illustration of how to handle it and how not to handle it.

Louise Cooney, one of Ireland's biggest and most successful influencers, posted about her volunteer work on Instagram last week. Unfortunately, Louise unintentionally offended many by accompanying her charity post with an image of her sitting on a brand new sponsored Mercedes. Queue public outrage!

I may be slightly biased on this one as Louise is someone I admire greatly and a person I would consider a credit to her industry, but I have to give Louise credit for the way she handled this unfortunate situation. Louise deleted the post the very next day but not before she replied to every negative comment, admitting her mistake and apologising for the offence caused.

Contrast this with a young Dublin influencer  who I won't name except to say she's the one who popularised OnlyFans among young Irish girls  who last week when asked on an Instagram Q&A whether she was pro-life or pro-choice, responded by saying that she was pro-life but would get an abortion if she wanted one. Queue public outrage!

This young lady's response to the criticism was to screenshot any critical comments that she saw on Twitter with captions accusing these people of being sad losers and negative people who should just try to be kind and wondering why anyone would be so bothered by the opinions of a young female influencer.

Let's go back to the "it's my job/it's my business" analogy for a moment. Let's say I own a shop and you purchase a cup of soup in my shop. Now let's say the soup I put on sale is spoiled and it makes you so ill that you have to spend time in hospital. Let's say that when you recover you return to my shop and point out my mistake to me. If my response is "why are you so negative? You're such a loser  just be kind" would you accept it? I think not.

That, I think, is what's getting lost in all of this. Everyone wants that insta-rific life and get paid to post stories and get free stuff and free trips abroad. But not everyone wants the responsibility and accountability for what they are posting that comes with making social media content your "job".

Now more than ever, businesses need the help of influencer marketing but the public need influencers to be better. Trolls are gonna troll and there's never any excuse or justification for that but not all critical feedback can be written off as trolling or toxicity, some it of it is entirely justified.

The reason I've decided to write this is the number of emails and messages relating to this that I've received in the last few weeks. I mentioned on the most recent episode of my podcast that it almost feels like people want me to become the new 'Bloggers Unveiled". For the uninitiated, Bloggers Unveiled was an anonymous Instagram account that gained a lot of traction for reposting tales of bad-blogger-behaviour from followers. It very quickly became toxic and turned into a breeding ground for misinformation and personal vendettas. The identity of the person running the account became public and it disappeared. A year or so later 'ShiteBloggersSay' came along and followed the exact same path right down to a sudden disappearance when its anonymity was taken away.

These pages were/are awful and were proven to be motivated by hatred and personal grudges. In each case, the people running these accounts were doing so from the shadows. I fear that the next time one of these accounts pops up the person behind it will see no need to hide behind a veil of anonymity.

Let's avoid this by being better, being more socially responsible and more in tune with the mood of the nation when we post. I'm saying 'we' and not 'you' because I'm including myself in this. If I mess up or offend I'll own it and I'll take responsibility for it. I hope others follow suit.
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The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labour (Ministry VSA) Collective Prevention Services (CPS) this week commenced with its trajectory of informing various communities about the COVID-19 vaccine and the National Vaccination Implementation Strategy.





The first information session took place with representatives of the Haitian Community on Tuesday evening at the Government Administration Building. The session was held under strict social distancing guidelines.





The community leaders were provided with a presentation about the COVID-19 vaccine; how the rollout will take place on Sint Maarten; and there was also a Question & Answer segment at the end of the session.





Minister of VSA Richard Panneflek was also present for the information session. The presentation was provided by the Head





of CPS: Epidemiologist Eva Lista-de Weever, and assisted by Willemijn van Leeuwen also from CPS, and Dr. Raghosing. Bregje Boetekees, operational manager of the White & Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF) will also attend the coming information sessions this week.





All aforementioned stakeholders are being informed about how vaccines work; how they are developed; how the COVID-19 vaccine was developed so fast; which vaccine will the Sint Maarten population receive; safety and efficacy; what side effects can be expected; who should get the vaccine and why it is so important to get vaccinated; vaccination locations, procedures and registration.





The community leaders were provided the opportunity to ask any questions that they might still have, and lastly, the important role that the community leaders play in stopping the spread of misinformation and encouraging their communities to take the vaccine was also discussed.





Several other information sessions are planned this week with Faith-based organizations, the Indian Merchants Association (IMA), Community Councils, and the Senior Citizens Association.





The Government has established a COVID-19 Taskforce which is steering the process of making the necessary logistical preparations for when the COVID-19 vaccine arrives from the Netherlands.





The Taskforce works closely with other Kingdom partner communication groups from Curacao, Aruba, the Caribbean Netherlands (Saba, Sint Eustatius & Bonaire), and the Netherlands to ensure a consistent communications effort throughout the Kingdom of the Netherlands.





CUTLINE: Representatives of the Haitian Community on Tuesday evening at the Government Administration Building. (Photo DCOMM)




Burma Kirin Scraps Joint Venture With Myanmar Military-Owned Firm After Coup

A Kirin promotional event / Kirin Ichiban Myanmar Facebook

YANGON  Japanese beverage giant Kirin has decided to cut ties with a Myanmar military-owned conglomerate following the armed forces coup and detention of national civilian leaders State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint.

Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd. on Friday said it will end its joint-venture partnership with Myanma Economic Holdings Public Co. Ltd. (MEHL). Kirin held 51 percent of both Myanmar Brewery and Mandalay Brewery, with MEHL holding the rest.

Five days after the military takeover, Kirin said that Given the current circumstances, we have no option but to terminate our current joint-venture partnership with MEHL, which provides the service of welfare fund management for the military.

We will be taking steps as a matter of urgency to put this termination into effect, Kirin said.

Kirin said the companys president and CEO, Yoshinori Isozaki, is deeply concerned by the recent actions of the military in Myanmar, which are against our standards and human rights policy.

Kirin earlier faced international condemnation for its partnership with Myanmars military amid accusations of genocide against the Rohingya. Last year, Kirin hired Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory to conduct an independent review of the financial and governance structures of MEHL. However, its probe into MEHLs military connections ended inconclusively because access to information was denied.

Nonetheless, Kirin stopped making dividend payments to the military-owned company in November. Kirins Myanmar business recorded operating profit of US$115 million (161.84 billion kyats) in 2019, according to the company.

The company said it decided to invest in Myanmar in 2015, believing that, through its business, it could contribute positively to the people and the economy of the country as it entered an important period of democratization.

Rights group Justice for Myanmar praised Kirins decision and called on the international community to impose targeted sanctions on Myanmar military-owned businesses, their directors and significant business associates.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Military Charges Against Suu Kyi Assault Rule of Law

Myanmar Lawmakers Denied Seats by Coup Hold Their Own Swearing-in Ceremony
Activists gather outside the British Consulate-General building in Hong Kong on Aug. 21, 2019, following reports that Simon Cheng, a Hong Kong consulate employee had been detained by mainland Chinese authorities on his way back to the city. (Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images)

UK Revoking Licence for Chinese-State Media A Moment of Triumph: Forced Confession Victims

The revocation of a broadcasting licence for the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) English-language news channel in the UK has been described as a moment of triumph and historically significant, by victims of the regimes human rights abuses.

The UKs broadcasting regulator Ofcom on Thursday revoked a licence it had granted to the CCPs global TV mouthpiece China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the grounds that the station is controlled by a body which is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. UK broadcasting laws do not allow licences for media controlled by political bodies.

According to human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders, CGTN and its Chinese-language counterpart CCTV have, on numerous occasions, aired recordings of forced confessions from individuals held by the state under duress. The NGO said that broadcasting of these materials amounts to known and intentional distortion of facts and clear lies, in violation of Ofcoms rules on impartiality and accuracy.

Ex-Journalist

British ex-journalist Peter Humphrey, one of the four forced confessions victims the NGO represents, said Ofcoms unprecedented move was a moment of triumph.

Humphrey, who ran a corporate due diligence firm in China, was held by the CCP for allegedly buying and selling personal data, allegations he denies. He said Chinese state police drugged him, tied him to a metal chair in a small cage, and forced him to read from a pre-written statement to confess.

Seeing the licence revoked today is a moment of triumph, not only for me, but also for all the other victims of this type of abuse, Humphrey told The Epoch Times. Its a slap on the face for the dictatorship in Beijing.

He said that Ofcom has more actions against CGTN in the pipeline.

There are still penalties expected in relation to my personal complaint against CGTN, and the complaints of Simon Cheng and Angela Gui, which will very, very soon see the final ruling, he said.

I would expect those complaints to receive a final ruling, very similar to mine.  Mine was ruled upon in July last year.

Humphrey said Ofcom had told him on Thursday that it was proceeding with outstanding business on the other complaints, and that penalties over his treatment would be decided very shortly.

Peter Humphrey, former journalist and consultant imprisoned in China for two years, speaks to NTD in England. (NTD/Screenshot)

Humphrey and his wife, Yingzeng Yu, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen, spent two years in a Chinese prison after their company was hired by GlaxoSmithKline to investigate a security breach. They became collateral damage when the Chinese authorities announced it was investigating GSKs alleged bribery practices.

During that time, we were subjected twice to forced confession appearances on Chinese television, which were broadcast by CGTN and CCTV, and those two broadcasters are actively involved in extracting and packaging that material, Humphrey told The Epoch Times.

Humphrey said his then-18-year-old son was very, very shocked and traumatized by what he saw, and when the couple saw the video after their release, they were shocked by the way CGTN had edited the footage in a way that completely misrepresented the situation.

Harvey Humphrey (R), son of British investigator Peter Humphrey (not pictured), is seen during a break in the investigation of two investigators of pharmaceutical giant GSK, in the Shanghai Intermediate Court on Aug. 8, 2014. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)

The Chinese authorities also denied Humphrey medical attention when he was ill in prison. He was later diagnosed with cancer and has been permanently disabled after a recent surgery.

Having been working in China or with Chinese people for the last 45 years, Humphrey said: I love China, I still do, I love Chinese people.

But he said that with the ruling communist regime governing China or mis-governing China, my love for China has been rather disrupted by my experiences of recent years.

Humphrey said he hopes CGTN will be forced to leave the UK.

There should be no place for that kind of organisation here in my country, he told The Epoch Times.

[CGTN] has the biggest physical presence of any single broadcaster anywhere in the world outside its own country, Humphrey said.

The logo of CGTN Europe is pictured on a sign outside an office block that houses the offices of China Global Television Network in Chiswick Park, west London, on Feb. 4, 2021. (Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images)

There is no other broadcaster who has a presence on the same scale as CGTN in Chiswick, London, anywhere outside their own country, and theres no equivalent for us in China.

Humphrey said that CGTN is one of the main vehicles for Xi Jinpings soft power campaign.

They want to influence the global narrative about China and whats happening in China through the twist that they put on their coverage. But they do it through sheer distortion and lies, he said, citing the broadcasters coverage of the Hong Kong protests and the genocide against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang.

Former HK British Consulate Employee

Simon Cheng, a former British Consulate employee, poses for a photograph in London, Britain, on July 2, 2020. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)

Simon Cheng, the former employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong who was also a forced confession victim, praised Ofcoms move as historically significant.

It is clear that the mouthpiece of [the] CCP totalitarian regime can no longer get a foothold in the UK, he said. He said he feels closer to his goal of achieving justice and regaining his reputation.

Cheng was abducted by Chinese authorities while returning to Hong Kong from a short business trip to the Chinese border city of Shenzhen in August 2019.

CGTN on Nov. 21, 2019, aired a video showing Cheng confessing that he betrayed the motherland and solicited prostitution, one day after Cheng spoke out about being held for 15 days by Chinese authorities and tortured.

Cheng said the video had caused him great distress.

In an interview on Thursday, Cheng told The Epoch Times that the video was just one from a number of takes.

In some of the takes, they prepared the whole script for me to speak, he said. In others, they provided hints for what he should say.

Cheng said when he didnt say things that the Chinese authorities wanted to hear, they would threaten him with accusations of crimes that would result in a heavier penalty.

The take that CGTN ended up choosing for broadcast was one of the latter takes, Cheng said.

Alexander Zhang and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  The call for renewable energy shift would be futile without government assistance as infrastructure is needed to accelerate the transition, environmental activist Antoinette Taus said Friday.

Taus told CNN Philippines' Newsroom Ngayon the push for clean energy will not go at full throttle without government policies.

"Dahil pag wala po tayong mga policies... hindi rin po magkakaroon ng imprastraktura ang ating bansa para talagang ang renewable energy ay hindi lang nanggagaling sa mga donasyon," said Taus, Oxfam Pilipinas Ambassador for Resilience and Planet Cora founder.

[Translation: If there are no policies, our country will continue to rely on donation for the renewable energy's infrastructure.]

"It's important that the government will support this. It does not make sense to open up new ones (coal plants)," Taus added.

During the interview, Taus said Oxfam Pilipinas launched R.E.START campaign in 2019 to further urge the public to embrace renewable energy sources through solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass.

Taus stressed renewable energy is clean, sustainable, and does not harm the environment, unlike the Philippines' common source of power which is fossil fuels.
EU diplomat tells Russia ties are at a low over NavalnyThe European Union's top diplomat told Russian authorities on Friday that their treatment of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny represented a low point in ties as Navalny appeared in court again over a slander case.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, was jailed this week for almost three years for parole violations he called trumped up, a case that the West has condemned and which has spurred talk of sanctions.

Also read: Outcry over Navalny crackdown as US vows action against Moscow

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, began talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday. Ahead of those talks, he said he wanted to broach difficult issues like the Navalny case.

Lavrov said he was ready to engage and complained about the state of EU-Russia ties. He has previously accused the West of hysteria and double standards over the Navalny case, while the Kremlin has warned it will respond to harsh criticism from Borrell in kind.

Despite close trade ties and energy interdependence, Russia's political relations with the European Union soured after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Navalny was back in court on Friday, accused of slandering a World War Two veteran who took part in a promotional video backing reforms last year that let Putin run for two more terms in the Kremlin after 2024 if he wants.

Also read: Russia to try jailed Kremlin critic Navalny for slander amid EU talks

Navalny at the time described the people in the video as traitors and lackeys. He denies the slander charge.

"This case, in general, was intended as a kind of PR process because the Kremlin needs the headlines: Navalny slandered a veteran," he told the court.

"I find it really disgusting and unbearable... You've been using him (the veteran) as a puppet... you're making a mockery of a 95-year-old man."

Though the charge is currently punishable by up to two years in jail, his lawyers say he cannot face a custodial sentence because the alleged crime was committed before the law was changed to make it a jailable offence.

Navalny's jailing has sparked Western calls for his release and added a new irritant to strained relations between Russian and the West.
Two men hook up after meeting on the dating app Grindr. Warren and Edden choose a two-seater bench in Green Park, in Sydneys gay-friendly inner-city Darlinghurst  a safe public space to initially appraise one another in the flesh.

Warren (Steve Le Marquand) is in his late 50s. He explores his sexual fluidity while in Sydney for work, although he doesnt post a public picture of himself in his profile. He calls himself straight and thinks of himself as happily married to the woman with whom he lives in a regional area.

Warren has been beaten up in the past, and remembers the moral crusade to punish gay men at the peak of the AIDS crisis. Indeed, this park and its surrounds have been host to queer Sydney sub-cultures for decades, a site of both carnival and carnal fulfilment, paid sexual solicitation and the ever-present threat of violence.

It has also been a mourning place for too many men who died too young.
The Committee for Public Education (CFPE), a group of rank-and-file educators, school staff and academics in Australia, has issued two statements in support of Chicago teachers who are courageously opposing the Biden administrations homicidal policy of reopening schools amid the raging pandemic in the US.

The CFPE is raising the importance of the Chicago struggle widely among Australian educators, and has today published a series of supportive comments from teachers and students. This morning, educators at Footscray High, in Melbourne public school, met during recess to take a solidarity photo to send to the Chicago educators.

Footscray High School teachers

The following CFPE statements are being distributed widely via the organisations newsletter and social media pages.

This statement was adopted by the CFPEs primary and high school division:

The CFPE salutes the struggle of Chicagos teachers and educators who have refused to yield to the demands of the Biden administration and state authorities that they return to work under extremely unsafe and deadly conditions. Chicago educators are at the forefront of a rebellion that places human lives before profit, giving voice to the fight of millions of workers across the US and internationally to contain the pandemic and save lives

In refusing to return to work and demanding the right to continue remote learning, Chicago educators are protecting not only their own health and safety, but that of students, and parents in school communities.

Behind the lies and ferocious corporate media campaign claiming that schools are safe is the political establishment and the financial oligarchs of Wall Street, who oppose any obstacle to the continuous drive for profit.

Any scientists, such as the courageous whistleblower Rebekah Jones, who are committed to the truth, know schools are not safe, but are a major spreader of the virus, as are all workplaces where social distancing is impossible and protective measures cannot be put in place. A recent study in the scientific journal, Nature, found that school closures actually reduced the incidence of COVID-19 by approximately 60 percent.

Trumps homicidal policy of herd immunity has been seamlessly adopted by the Biden administration, in alliance with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the other education unions. Their homicidal aim is to herd teachers and students back into the schools, force parents back into the factories, and above all else head off a threatened teacher strike that would become a focal point of resistance for teachers and workers across the US and internationally.

An urgent warning must go out to Chicago educators. A treacherous deal is being negotiated behind closed doors between the CTU, Chicago school authorities and Democratic Mayor Lightfoot. Reopening the schools while the pandemic is raging through the population is non-negotiable.

We urge teachers, educators, parents and students to take matters into your own hands.

Join the Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committees as part of a network of independent rank-and-file committees already established in New York, Michigan, Illinois, California, Texas, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Turn to workers in the warehouses, auto plants, and other workplaces who face the same deadly conditions and begin the fight to organise a general strike to shut schools and non-essential industries.

The CFPE pledges to spread the news of your determined and critical stand and fight for the formation of rank-and-file safety committees here, putting lives before profit.

The following statement was unanimously adopted by a meeting of academics and other university workers in Australia, called by the CFPE on Wednesday:

We fully support the courageous stand taken by Chicago teachers to refuse to return to face-to-face classes while the COVID-19 pandemic continues and to defy Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoots threats of retaliation for opposing her back-to-classrooms order. Your struggle to defend your lives, and those of your students and communities, represents the interests of the entire working class, against the homicidal profit-driven policies of the corporate elite, which are now being implemented by the Biden administration.

In Australia, the pandemic is not, at present, anywhere near as severe, but could resurge at any time. No less than anywhere around the world, the public health disaster caused by the government-corporate return to work drive is being exploited here to mount an historic offensive against the jobs and conditions of educators and all workers. Up to 90,000 jobs have been eliminated in Australias public universities in one year, and worse is to come. Like you, our fight against this onslaught has pitted us directly against the trade unions, which have sought to suppress all resistance to the dictates of the ruling class, and the political establishment as a whole, including the Labor Party.

Like our fellow educators in the US and Europe, we are fighting for the formation of genuine rank-and-file committees, totally independent of the union apparatuses, that will take responsibility for reaching out to all sections of the working class for a unified struggle against the deadly capitalist order and for the socialist reorganisation of society on the basis of social need, not private profit.
She missed out on Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And Kaia Gerber was spotted enjoying some family time in Los Angeles on Thursday as she headed out for dinner with her business entrepreneur father Rande, 58, and brother Presley, 21.

The model, 19, cut a stylish figure as she left Nobu in a black tweed blazer with gold hardware.

Family meal: Kaia Gerber was spotted enjoying some family time in Los Angeles on Thursday as she headed out for dinner with her father Rande, 58, and brother Presley, 21

Kaia layered the jacket atop of of a brown ribbed jumper and teamed the look with bootcut jeans and black boots and accessorised her outfit with a tan shoulder bag.

In keeping with safety guidelines, the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford donned a black face mask.

As the family approached their car, Presley showed off his chivalrous side by opening the door for Kaia.

Fashion maven: The model, 19, cut a stylish figure in a black tweed blazer with gold hardware as she left Nobu

Evening out: While Presley and Kaia's mum Cindy Crawford didn't attend the family dinner, it appeared some of Kaia and Presley's friends joined the trio at Nobu

Gentleman: As the family approached their car, Presley showed off his chivalrous side by opening the door for Kaia

While Cindy didn't attend the family dinner, it appeared some of Kaia and Presley's friends joined the trio at Nobu.

The runway fixture has been making an effort to stay fit in anticipation of the end of the extended period of quarantine.

Before the onset of the global pandemic, Gerber was featured on the cover of numerous publications, including i-D and various international versions of Vogue.

She also walked in fashion shows for brands such as Prada, Saint Laurent and Moschino, among others.

In April of 2020, Gerber gave an interview to The Kit, during which she spoke about how she was attempting to stay consistent with her pre-pandemic habits in an effort to maintain a positive mindset.

She's got style: Kaia layered the jacket atop of of a brown ribbed jumper and teamed the look with jeans and black boots, while Presley rocked an all black outfit

'Ive tried to keep up with my routine just to feel like life isnt so out of balance. I try to work out every day because its just good for me mentally and for me, how I feel on the inside really shows through my skin,' the social media personality said.

Gerber also discussed what she was looking forward to doing again once the major restrictions on interpersonal contact and travel are lifted.

The model remarked: 'Im just excited to go on a hike or be in nature and, who knows how far down the line this will happen, but just to hug someone.

'For me, communication is done a lot through hugging and through human interaction and I definitely miss that kind of touch.'

Tight-knit family: The model missed out on Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but has been spending time with her family in LA
For Republican state Rep. Jim Gregory, the week started with a note of devastation.

Gregory has been shepherding a constitutional amendment that was poised to give victims of child sex abuse a chance at justice and had hoped voters could approve it in May. But on Monday, he learned that the ballot measure would be delayed due to a major mistake by officials at the Pennsylvania Department of State.

For a day or two it seemed that the effort was lost and lawmakers would have to go back to the starting block. Lawmakers would have to approve the measure to amend the constitution in this legislative session and in the next session, so voters wouldnt get a chance to vote on the amendment until the spring of 2023 at the earliest.

On Thursday, Gregory got a glimmer of hope that the measure he authored and shepherd through the House could still have a chance to get on the ballot this spring.

Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, on Thursday announced on the state House floor that Republican leaders in both the House and Senate were working with him to get an emergency amendment replacement on the May primary ballot. The story was first reported by The Associated Press.

In order for Rozzis emergency amendment to appear on the May 18 ballot, both chambers would have to support it with a two-thirds approval vote by April 18.

Its absolutely doable, Gregory said.

Everything is still in progress but its just amazing to see people behind the scenes, people on our legal team that have taken this personally, Gregory said. The mistake was made by the Department of State, and they are trying to find a way and a solution, but most importantly to do it the right way to keep this where we thought we were going to be three days ago.

The Blair County Republican was the sponsor of the constitutional amendment referendum, which was poised to appear on the May 18 primary ballot.

The measure would allow voters to say whether the state constitution should be amended to give victims timed out of the legal system a two-year retroactive period during which they could pursue civil suits. Advocates and lawmakers have been pushing for the measure in light of the reports of decades of sexual abuse of children in Catholic churches around the state.

The Wolf administration on Monday disclosed that officials at the Department of State had failed to advertise the amendment during the 2019-20 legislative session. Measures to amend the constitution must be approved by lawmakers in two legislative sessions - and must be advertised in both sessions.

Wolfs top elections official, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, is resigning as a result.

Gregorys bill to amend the constitution had cleared the House with an overwhelming vote of support of 185-17.

He said he has no reason to doubt the emergency measure will not garner similar support.

I usually try to avoid speculating...but I have no reason to believe that we wont experience a very similar kind of count, Gregory said. I have no reason at this moment to believe it wont get similar support than it did a week ago especially considering the gravity of the enormity of the failure to accomplish the task of advertising to put us in this position. The desire is there to get this done.

Jason Gottesman, a spokesman for House Republican leadership, signaled willingness on the part of the GOP leadership to support the emergency measure.

We committed to Representative Rozzi to get the emergency constitution amendment through the chamber, Gottesman said. Weve committed to doing it and bringing it up and getting it through the House. It passed with an overwhelming majority before so I dont see any reason why it would be any different now.

On the Senate side, some Republicans said it would be discussed but didnt offer a full commitment yet.

Our caucus has not yet discussed an emergency resolution so that will need to be done before I can comment further, Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, said. I was surprised to hear that from the House floor today but we will definitely talk about it.

In an email to PennLive, Kate Eckhart Flessner, spokeswoman for Sen. Lisa Baker, the chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said: The crisis created by the failure of Governor Wolf and his senior team is heartbreaking for victims of child sexual abuse who deserve justice. As you know, Senator Baker prioritized this issue this session, honoring the commitment she made in 2019. Unfortunately, she was informed of this catastrophe on the very day she was set to advance the Constitutional Amendment. She is now evaluating a variety of options to determine the best path or paths forward.

According to the Associated Press, Rozzi said on the House floor Thursday that the top-ranking leader of the GOP-majority Senate, President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, supports the idea of the emergency amendment process.

Rozzi last year saw his own statute of limitations reform measures enacted into law. Among some of the reforms under new state law, the statute of limitations for child sex abuse in criminal cases have been lifted going forward.

Gregorys measure would give voters the say in an argument that has long impeded progress on a retroactive window for victims timed out of the courts.

Senate Republicans in the past had blocked passage, arguing it would be unconstitutional. The constitutional amendment would have given voters the say.

Gregory, like Rozzi, was sexually abused as a child. Both have been working for several years to usher through the Legislature reform to child sex crimes, which had been one of the recommendations handed down by a number of grand jury investigations into clergy sex abuse in Pennsylvania.

Gregory on Thursday spoke of the profound importance of the reform measure.

What happens to you when those acts are perpetrated ...you never forget them, he said. The ripple effects will always stay with you. After a decade of counseling, I understand what I experienced is different from child sex abuse.. It was peer abuse but it has affected me in so many ways. Secondary trauma. It just goes on and on and on...but the blessing that exists is that my past is my greatest gift. God gave it to me so I could do something with that experience. To be able to say that being sexually abused was a blessing. Without it, I wouldnt be in this position to make this difference.
Ministers last night gave the strongest signal yet that the 30billion takeover of Arm could be blocked as the British chip designer's former boss called for it to return to the stock market in London.

As the row over the proposed acquisition by US rival Nvidia escalated, the Government said it was 'examining the deal carefully' and 'will not hesitate to investigate further and take appropriate action'.

The comments  which raised the prospect that the deal could be blocked  came as pressure mounted on competition regulators to launch a separate full-scale probe.

Support: Former Arm chief executive Warren East said he would welcome the tech firm's return to the London stock market if the takeover by Nvidia falls through

The close attention of both the Government and the Competition and Markets Authority poses twin threats to the proposed sale of Arm by owner Softbank to Nvidia.

Former Arm chief executive Warren East - now boss of engineer Rolls-Royce - said he would welcome the tech firm's return to the London stock market if the takeover by Nvidia falls through.

He said: 'I would be glad to see it under public ownership. I was always very proud to be head of a global leader listed and based in the UK.

It would be great if Britain could have more global leading tech companies, there aren't many.'

Arm was listed on the London stock market before being sold to Softbank for 24billion in 2016, a deal that drew heavy criticism for then prime minister Theresa May.

And pressure is mounting on British regulators to launch a full scale investigation into the proposed sale to Nvidia. The CMA said earlier this month that it would look at the deal and ask rivals to comment.

It is understood that since January 6 some of the UK's largest chip and semiconductor companies have written to the CMA asking for the deal to be blocked on competition as well as security grounds.

Takeover fears: As the row over the proposed acquistion by Nvidia escalated, the government said it 'will not hesitate to investigate further and take appropriate action'

There are industry fears that should the deal go through then it could lead to price hikes and make markets less competitive. There are also worries about heavy job cuts at the company's headquarters in Cambridge.

One source close to the situation said: 'There are many companies in the industry that do not like the deal and have been providing feedback.'

Fast growing chip designer Graphcore has also publicly spoken out against the deal on competition grounds.

Chief executive Nigel Toon said: 'The deal is bad for technology, it is anti-competitive and needs to be looked in depth. 'It is bad for competition and bad for the industry.'

The CMA is understood to have received views on the deal and expressions of interest. A formal investigation hasn't started yet and there is no fixed time.

The European Union is also preparing to launch its own investigation into the proposed takeover, making it the fourth regulator worldwide to eye the deal.

Others to have begun their own investigations include the US Federal Trade Commission and officials in Beijing.

Arm's largest customers are mostly based in the US, including Apple, Qualcomm and Broadcom. They rely on Arm's technology and fear that when it falls under the control of Nvidia, their competitor, they will be disadvantaged.

In October Jensen Huang, Nvidia's chief executive, rejected these concerns. He said: 'I can unequivocally state that Nvidia will maintain Arm's open licensing model. We have no intention to 'throttle' or 'deny' Arm's supply to any customer.'

Insiders believe the demanding regulatory hurdles make it more likely the deal will be scuppered amid hopes Arm could return to the London stock market.

But despite the increased scrutiny, Nvidia said it was sticking by the deal, adding that gaining regulatory approval was always likely to be a long process.

A spokesman said: 'It always takes several months to clear a major transaction. We said in September when we completed the deal it would take 18 months. We are confident we can maintain approvals.'

Samsung released the Galaxy Watch 3 six months ago, but the company is still adding features to the smartwatch. The latest update, a 74 MB download, adds support for Samsung's SmartThings platform, allowing you to use its 'Find' functionality. The smartwatch logs its location without needing LTE, so you should now be able to find the smartwatch is you ever lose it.

Additionally, the update adds a few more interesting features, including a new walking challenge in which you can compete against your friends. Samsung has added new fitness programs for a home workout, while the smartwatch should automatically detect workouts quicker than before. Moreover, the Galaxy Watch 3 now has an app that automatically starts a timer after you have finished washing your hands. For reference, Apple and Google have already added comparable handwashing features to watchOS and Wear OS.

R840XXU1BUA8 should be reaching devices in South Korea and the US now. However, we expect Samsung to expand the rollout to other countries in the coming weeks. R840XXU1BUA8 can be downloaded and installed via the Samsung Galaxy Wearable app.

Purchase the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 on Amazon
ALBANY  Four more Albany County residents died of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the county since the start of the pandemic to 328, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said Friday.

The victims include two men in their 70s, one woman in her 70s and a woman in her 80s, he said.

The county also reported 121 new cases. The five-day average for new daily positives has decreased to 105.6 from 112.8. The 7-day average positivity rate is at 4.9 percent, according to county officials.

Among the new cases, 24 had close contact with other positives, 91 did not have clear sources of infection and six are health care workers or residents of congregate settings. There are now 1,143 active cases in the county, down from 1,220 the day before, McCoy said.

There were eight new hospitalizations overnight. There are currently 112 county residents hospitalized, the lowest number Albany County has seen since Jan. 1.

Despite these positive developments, McCoy urged caution heading into Super Bowl Sunday weekend, citing the deadly spike in cases that follow Christmas holidays.

Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, I want to remind county residents how far weve come over the last few weeks. January was our deadliest month, but our percent positive rates have steadily declined down to a new seven-day average of 4.9 percent," McCoy said. "If we want to continue to move in the right direction, to prevent infections and potentially save lives, we need everyone to do the right thing and avoid Super Bowl parties with anyone outside of their households."

McCoy also pressed the state Department of Health to expand vaccine eligibility to medically vulnerable populations. He said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan told him of a 63-year-old man with stage four cancer who was turned away for the shots because he wasn't 65 years old.

"There's a population of people who have fallen through the cracks... It breaks your heart. You are sitting there and saying 'why is this happening?'" McCoy said.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced an hour later that New York would open up COVID-19 vaccination eligibility to those with serious health conditions beginning Feb. 15.

Cuomo said Tuesday gave county officials the power to add for-hire drivers and restaurant workers to the list of people eligible for the vaccine but did not expand eligibility to people with comorbidities.

On Thursday, Capital Region state Assembly members Patricia Fahy, John McDonald and Carrie Woerner sent a letter to Cuomo to "urge the release of guidance facilitating immunization of immunocompromised New Yorkers," noting that the Centers for Disease Control recommended Jan. 12 that vaccine eligibility be expanded to people who are at risk of serious illness from COVID-19.

McCoy was joined by Russell Sage College President Dr. Christopher Ames and Maria College President Dr. Thomas Gamble on Friday, who discussed their health protocols in place for testing and keeping students safe and how they are supporting the vaccination efforts.

Both colleges train students in the health care field. Maria College nursing students have been on the front lines administering vaccines while Russell Sage has been approved to set up vaccination sites in both Albany and Troy if more doses become available.

We have some of the best colleges around, and I know Presidents Ames and Gamble are taking all the necessary steps to prevent COVID-19 from spreading and give their students and their families the peace of mind they deserve. But these colleges are actually going above and beyond during the pandemic, McCoy said.

Elsewhere in the region

New daily infections and hospitalizations from COVID-19 continued to fall across the region this week.

As of Thursday, the eight-county region was averaging 407 new cases of the virus a day (when measured on a seven-day rolling average)  down from 428 the day before and a high of 1,009 observed Jan. 10.

The percentage of people testing positive also continues to fall in the region. On Thursday, the seven-day positivity rate dropped to 3.9 percent, down from 4.1 percent the day before and a high of 10.2 percent seen Jan. 7.

Similarly, hospitalizations are down, though from high levels. Capital Region hospitals reported a total of 374 coronavirus patients Thursday, down from 392 the day before and a high of 553 seen Jan. 19. The regions ICU capacity, which has been among the states lowest for months now, dropped to 15 percent Thursday.

Outside of Albany County, no other local counties had reported new deaths from the virus as of 6:30 p.m. Friday.
The day Sri Lanka backed out of the joint partnership with India and Japan for the much-hyped East Container Terminal (ECT) project at Colombo port, a move that shocked both New Delhi and Tokyo, Sri Lankas Central Bank (CBSL) also returned the USD 400 million currency swap to India, foreclosing a key debt.

Sri Lanka had availed this facility in July 2020 to meet some immediate expenses during the Covid-induced lockdown. However, both the nations kept quiet about it.

After a section of the media and opposition politicians started talking about a pissed off India asking Sri Lanka to return its money, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) put out a tweet confirming the repayment but denied any pressure or request from India for a premature settlement.

The CBSL settled its Swap facility with Reserve Bank of India as scheduled. There was no special request from India for a premature settlement as erroneously reported by certain media outlets. Discussions on future collaboration continue.  CBSL (@CBSL) February 5, 2021

However, a leading Sri Lankan economist, opposition MP and former minister Harsha de Silva put out a tweet responding to CBSLs tweet, implying that Sri Lankas foreign reserves are falling drastically and it did not have enough funds to repay the money.

Truth: USD 400m SWAP was from #India SAARC facility available to all member states. It was due this month. Rollover possible only if #SriLanka had @IMFNews agreement. So, no #IMF no renewal and no additional USD 1,000m SWAP either. Reserves falling. LKR under severe pressure. https://t.co/OxWsQOK06j  Harsha de Silva (@HarshadeSilvaMP) February 5, 2021

Later in the day, the Government of India put out a statement confirming the development that was "as scheduled". "The swap facility was drawn by CBSL on 31 July 2020 for an initial period of three months. A 3-month rollover was provided at CBSLs request till 01 February 2021. Further extension would require Sri Lanka having a successfully negotiated staff-level agreement for an IMF programme, which Sri Lanka does not have at present. CBSL settled the swap facility with RBI as scheduled and this was clarified by CBSL on 05 February 2021."

Even though Sri Lankas foreign ministry and its central bank, too, maintain that it was a routine matter and has nothing to do with the collapse of the ECT deal, some in the media and opposition see a Chinese hand behind all recent developments concerning Indo-Lanka relationships.

Sri Lankas Finance Secretary S.R. Attygalle told media that CBSL had settled the due amount, which was to mature on February 2, It was, however, due to be settled by November 2022, claim some officials. The Finance Secretary said that discussions are underway to obtain further currency swap facilities from China and India.

After a good beginning, the Indo-Lanka relationship has seen a sharp decline in the last few weeks, under the current regime in the Indian Ocean island nation.

ALSO READ | A Sea Change: Chinese Hand Behind Sri Lanka Breaking Off ECT Pact at Colombo Port With India and Japan?

According to some reliable sources, China is behind the recent developments. To checkmate two of its traditional rivals and neighbours India and Japan, Beijing allegedly put enormous pressure on the Rajapaksa brothers to go back on their words to New Delhi and Tokyo. They even allege that some of the protests against the partnership with these two nations were funded by the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka. More than 25 port trade unions had threatened industrial action against the government if it did not keep India and Japan out of the ECT project.

Against the backdrop of the development, India apparently sees a Chinese hand in orchestrating and funding the protests against the ECT deal by the trade unions in Sri Lanka.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate communities worldwide, Black Americans who face racial discrimination in hospitals and doctor's offices weather additional stresses that can exacerbate threats from COVID-19. A new University of Georgia study examines the interplay between the perceptions of coronavirus threat and psychological distress among Black Americans.

The additional stresses arise from the prevalent belief among Black Americans worried that they might not recover from how hospitals treat them if they become infected with the coronavirus.

While the notion has been floated among commentators, this is the first study that uses nationally representative data to assess whether this threat, or feeling, is real among Black adults, and then assess how it how it impacts their health." Ryon Cobb, Lead Author, Assistant Professor of Sociology, UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

The study used data from the American Trends Panel survey by the Pew Research Center collected shortly after the initial outbreak in March 2020, a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States.

Using self-reports of perceived coronavirus threat and beliefs about racism in medical settings, researchers found that the perception that the coronavirus outbreak was a major threat to one's health and the belief that Black Americans face discrimination in medical settings were positively and significantly associated with higher psychological distress levels.

The research also establishes a relationship between these two factors that multiply the risk. Cobb said the data suggest people may take preventive measures more seriously though it could also cause Black adults to engage less with the health care system.

"What we find in the data is the more people think COVID-19 outbreak is a threat to their health, it increases the likelihood of adherence, with Blacks and Latinos more likely to adhere to COVID guidelines than their white counterparts," he said.

The study identifies the additional effect of the outbreak's psychological impacts on these groups, beyond the threat of contracting the virus. "Contracting COVID-19 makes interactions with the health care system inevitable. The fear held by many people of color is that medical institutions are biased against Blacks. The stress of the outbreak and potentially unfair treatment appears to induce psychological distress," said Christy L. Erving, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Vanderbilt University.

"Discussions about dealing with the fear of just getting it or not often come down to, if you don't get it, you're fine," Cobb said. "But the outbreak itself is stressful, and the increasing stress is part of people's health, regardless of whether they have COVID."

The study presents a snapshot of some underlying aspects of how structural bias in the American health care system contributes to the outbreak's stressfulness, which continues to have a disproportionate effect on Black Americans.

"These findings highlight the complexity of how a public health crisis can influence Black community members' navigation of an already unequal health care system in increasingly difficult circumstances," W. Carson Byrd, associate professor at the University of Michigan, added.

"We need to be mindful of these perceptions, especially as they blend with the reality that, in the United States, hospitals are businesses. As such, their profits track with the severity of illness in patients. While the stories are anecdotal, they are also backed up by the data: People being turned away from hospitals or unable to see a doctor can lead to worsening health," Cobb said.

"And by the time things are critical, at least for Black Americans, the perception is that there is little hope for recovery."


More United Airlines employees may be in danger of being furloughed due to the coronavirus-fueled travel industry downturn after the airline issued 14,000 WARN notices to workers who could be affected.

Employees were notified by email on Jan. 29, advising them of the possible furlough on April 1 when federal payroll support funding runs out, said Robert Einhorn, a United spokesman.

That does not mean we will furlough 14,000 employees on April 1, we are still working on lowering that number just like we did last year when issued 36,000 WARNs in July, but then furloughed far, far fewer employees in October, he said.

The 2020 furlough affected more than 16,000 employees nationwide, 3,502 people at Newark Liberty Airport, where United employs 24,000 people in one of its largest hubs.

Passage of a second coronavirus relief act pumped $15 billion into the airline industry and allowed the airline to offer to recall 17,000 of those workers, which includes those who took voluntary furloughs, Einhorn said.

The airline blamed customer demand that has not changed much since we recalled those employees furloughed in October, despite the availability of COVID-19 vaccine, in the email to workers.

United isnt alone. The pandemic has rocked all segments of the travel industry, from airports, where the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reported traveler volume last year sank to 71 % below record 2019 numbers to other airlines which have had to make similar staff cuts.

Airlines for America, an industry trade association, reported domestic air travel was down 65% and international air travel was off by 74% from pre-pandemic levels, as of Feb. 4.

During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, metro area airports looked nothing like the busy hubs they were in 2019, despite an uptick in travel.

In both February and March, United expects to fly 49% of its overall schedule compared to February and March of 2019, Einhorn said.

We have long said recovery will not follow a linear path, however recent positive results in vaccine development and efficacy show an encouraging line of sight to the other side of the pandemic, he said. While it will take time for the vaccine to be widely distributed, Uniteds confidence is even stronger in the recovery and the trajectory of the rebound in 2021 and beyond.

The notices may be required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act or by similar state laws before workforce reductions occur. United said it is working with airline worker unions.

Receiving a WARN notice does not automatically mean you will be on furlough status after April 1, but it is a sign that we have a reasonable expectation that your job may be affected, the email said.

United officials are looking at cost reductions, and a new Voluntary Separation Leave program to reduce the number of employees ultimately furloughed, the email said.

The airline industry is hoping to receive funding in the current proposed $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package being debated in Congress.

Association of Flight Attendants Union president Sara Nelson testified before Congress on Feb. 4 that an extension of the payroll protection grants would keep employees working through Sept. 30.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene assailed the news media and a "tyrannically controlled government" run by Democrats during a press conference the morning after she was removed from her committee assignments in the House of Representatives, which debated whether to oust her for a history of antisemitic and racist remarks and support for violent conspiracy theories.

After railing against gun control, abortion and immigration during her 15-minute speech on Friday, a reporter asked whether she would publicly apologise for her past remarks. She responded that she is "sorry for saying all those things that are wrong and offensive" but did not disclose what she believes that is. When pressed to respond to her apparent support for the deaths of prominent Democrats in Facebook comments, she ended the press conference.

In her remarks, she accused Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of faking her "outrage with another hoax" following the Capitol attack and said the news media is "doing a good job of addicting our nation to hate."

The Republican congresswoman from Georgia said right-wing media is also responsible for teaching people to hate Ms Ocasio-Cortez as well as Ilhan Omar and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Ms Greene has endorsed the killings of the House Speaker in past Facebook posts, and she has repeatedly attacked the congresswomen, including a social media post that placed images of Ms Ocasio-Cortez, Ms Omar and Rashida Tlaib next to a photo of her holding a rifle with the words squads worst nightmare.

She also has repeated anti-Muslim conspiracy theories directed at the two Muslim members of Congress, including calling their elections an Islamic invasion that will impose Sharia law in the US, and challenged the legitimacy of their elections because they did not swear into office on a Bible.

Ms Greene said her removal from the House education and budget committees stripped my district of their voice.

They stripped my voters of having representation to work for them for the budget, she said.

Later, she said that serving on the committees would be a waste of my time.

She accused Democratic lawmakers who want stricter gun control measures of wanting to "leave our children defenseless" while members of Congress are protected by armed National Guard service members.

"These are the policies that disgust me. These are the policies that disgust the American people," she said.She defended former president Donald Trump and said that "the party is his  it doesn't belong to anyone else."

The House voted 230-199 on Thursday night to remove Ms Greene from her committee assignments. Eleven Republicans broke from the party to vote with Democrats.

This is about whether or not we will continue to be a peaceful and functioning democracy, Ms Omar said on the House floor on Thursday.

Republicans repeatedly threatened that her removal sets a precedent they are more than willing to follow, drawing false equivalences to Ms Greenes unapologetic bigotry to statements from Democratic members of Congress, none of whom endorsed violence against their colleagues.

You'll regret this, and you may regret this a lot sooner than you think, minority leader Kevin McCarthy said, adding that the GOP has a long list of Democratic targets.

In her 10-minute speech to the House on Thursday, Ms Greene did not apologise for her bigoted remarks and equivocated when discussing her history, blaming instead news media and cancel culture for the backlash she received after her election in 2020. On Wednesday, she reportedly apologised to a group of Republicans during a close-door conference of GOP lawmakers, who gave her a standing ovation.

Following right-wing outrage over investigations into the former president and Russia, she said that she fell into a QAnon rabbit hole on social media and was allowed to believe things that werent true and I would ask questions about them and talk about them, and that is absolutely what I regret.

On Friday morning. she called Democrats and the 11 GOP House members who voted for her removal "morons" for "giving some one like me free time."

"In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway. Oh this is going to be fun!" she said.

Several Democratic lawmakers have supported legislation for her removal from Congress.
I have done so many COVID tests I have ruined my nose and my throat, he says. This is the way Im repaying my gratitude to Australia and its people for giving me the opportunity to complete my dream of becoming a healthcare professional which I could not complete in Myanmar due to persecution against our Rohingya ethnicity. The Myanmar government and its military claim the Rohingya arrived as migrant workers in what was then British Burma, and deny them citizenship and statehood, despite evidence of their arrival in the 15th century. Over decades, religious fights have seen Buddhas removed, Muslim shops burnt and Rohingya militia attacks in retaliation. But those sectarian conflicts escalated sharply in 2017 when the Myanmar military began to evict an estimated 700,000 Rohingya out of Rakhine state in the countrys north, allegedly murdering and raping along the way. The United Nations has called the Rohingya the most persecuted minority in the world. For the displaced, the great hope of Suu Kyis victory was squandered not long after her rise to power. Daw - or Aunty, as she is dubbed in Burmese - would not say the name of the ethnic group before defending the actions of the military in driving the stateless people out of her country. That stance did little for Suu Kyis own long-term safety this week. The international democracy icon was put back under house arrest by the military on dubious claims of election fraud and importing banned walkie-talkies. After five years of quasi-democratic rule, the generals were still not satisfied with their level of power in a country they ruled for a half-century.

It is only going to get worse for the Rohingya, says Roger Lee Huang, a Myanmar political violence expert from Macquarie University. Suu Kyi, the National Democratic League and the public largely supported the actions of the military, but the military was in charge of the crimes against humanity. It now has free rein to continue to do what it says is necessary for national security. Unable to return to Myanmar for fear of persecution, these Rohingya refugees are on a Bangladesh navy vessel being moved from an overcrowded camp on the mainland to Bhasan Char island in late December. Credit:Getty Images Stuck in Myanmars cycle of reprisal is Ahmeds fiancee Omme. She asked only to be identified by her first name for safety reasons.

For three years she has been trying to get to Australia. Their wedding has been cancelled four times. She is trapped in Coxs Bazar, near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, along with hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled the 2017 violence. The worlds largest refugee camp has been plagued for years by overcrowding, poor sanitation, cholera, diphtheria and sexual assault. In December, Bangladeshi authorities began relocating Rohingyas to the remote Bhasan Char island. By January there were 3500 living on the tsunami and flood-prone outpost, three hours from the nearest port. The island, which did not even exist until the Bay of Bengals waters receded in 2011, will eventually house 100,000 Rohingya in towering blocks, forbidden to leave without permission from Bangladeshs government. Omme has been told she is on the relocation list. She is terrified it will become her new home. Shelters cover a hill in Jamtoli Camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh. Coxs Bazar is home to more 700,000 Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar during a military crackdown in August 2017. Credit:Kate Geraghty I am in constant fear of losing her, says Ahmed. She lives with perpetual fear and anxiety.

Omme is a registered Rohingya refugee with UNHCR in Bangladesh, but Australia has suspended all humanitarian migration since March due to COVID-19. After spending two years in a queue for a prospective marriage visa before the coronavirus struck, she is now being blocked by travel restrictions triggered by the disease that Ahmed is helping Australia treat. Ahmed spends his days at the hospital and his nights writing applications for Omme, an aspiring nurse, in the hope that one will get through the Department of Home Affairs. I teach her English through phone calls, WhatsApp and Viber messages, he says. The pair cannot get formally married because Myanmar and Bangladeshs authorities will not recognise Ommes nationality. The Australian government does not regard them as immediate family members because they are not married, despite Ahmed flying back multiple times to Bangladesh to see his wife-to-be. The accomodation on Bhasan Char island. Credit:AP

Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa holders are not exempt from the governments current travel ban because they are not permanent residents and have not yet been assessed as immediate family members of Australian citizens or permanent residents, the Department of Home Affairs said in response to Ahmeds claim. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke was asked when the humanitarian or prospective marriage intake might restart, or whether special exemptions were possible for frontline COVID-19 workers. He did not respond. Loading They should just be more compassionate about seeing each case on its own merit, not treating people like criminals, says Lindsay. Ahmed or Omme cannot return to Myanmar either. Ahmeds father left for Australia in 1997 on a humanitarian visa after criticising the military regime that now rules the country by decree.

When I talk to Omme over the phone, she keeps asking me with tears, when will I see you again, when will we be together?, says Ahmed. These questions really break my heart. The treatment of the Rohingya has not been the only disappointment of Suu Kyis brief reign. After what was seen as a Mandela-like 15 years in detention, the weight of expectation created an almost impossible benchmark for change in the resource-rich but productivity-poor country. The Myanmar gold rush never happened. It did not perform the way it was expected to, says Huang. It did grow quickly but then of course Western investments never matched the expectation. The situation with the Rohingya clearly put investors off further. Aaron Connelly, a South-east Asian politics expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, says the country remains beset by structural impediments, few of which were removed by Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD).

She has actually been very ineffective in managing the economy and the civil administration, he says. A robust opposition would have been able to capitalise on economic disenchantment, but the militarys political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, went backwards at the elections in November, winning just 33 seats. Aung San Suu Kyi has lost a power struggle with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, right. Credit:AP That left Suu Kyis NLD with 396 of 476 seats in the legislature, despite the military being guaranteed 25 per cent of seats as part of its negotiations to transition the country to democracy a decade ago. The Tatmadaw, as the armed forces are known, for all of its military prowess, is an incompetent political force that has failed to win seats each time there has been a genuine election.

The military thought they had a chance of winning the election, says Connelly. The result last year was embarrassing, it was humiliating. Retribution was swift. Once the election commission rejected the militarys unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and negotiations broke down with the NLD, the Tatmadaw arrested Suu Kyi and 24 other MPs. Then it went after students and declared a year-long state of emergency, shut down the internet, blocked Facebook and turned off TV stations. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video They are arresting people who are not only NLD allies but also people who could lead protests against the crackdown, says Connelly. They are going after anybody who could take part in a protest movement. Suu Kyi was charged with illegally importing communications equipment on Wednesday. Six walkie-talkie radios were found in her house in the capital, Naypyidaw. She will be detained until at least February 15.
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Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced Wednesday that the hard-right Ford government is intensifying its homicidal drive to reopen all of the provinces schools. By mid-February, students will even return to in-person classes in Toronto and the neighbouring Peel and York Regions. The Greater Toronto area has been hit especially hard by COVID-19 due to large workplace outbreaks and cramped living conditions.

Lecces announcement was the culmination of a dishonest propaganda campaign designed to convince parents and students that schools are safe.

Albert Campbell High School (Photo: Toronto District School Board)

Well aware of the widespread opposition to cramming pupils from dozens of households into small, poorly-ventilated rooms on a daily basis, the Ford government delayed school reopenings after the Christmas break.

To divide teachers and parents and feign that it was adhering to a science-based policy, the government reopened educational institutions regionally, beginning in sparsely-populated northern Ontario on January 11. Between January 25 and February 1, more than 250,000 students returned to the classroom in various parts of southern Ontario. Thirteen districts, including Hamilton and Windsor, are now set to follow on Monday, before Toronto, Peel, and York join them on February 16.

The most cynical aspect of the back-to-school drive is the governments attempt to claim that it is being driven by concerns about childrens well-being. Education Minister Lecce said in a statement last week, [The] government agrees with the growing consensus in the medical community that returning students to in-person learning is essential to the well-being, development and mental health of children.

This is a lie. The reality is that the government agrees with big business that students must return to school so that their parents can be freed up from childcare responsibilities in order to go back to work churning out profits for the capitalists. This was more or less spelled out by the chief medical officer in Renfrew County in eastern Ontario, Dr. Robert Cushman, when the local school district reopened last month, These kids need to go back to school, said Cushman. They need it for their education, they need it for their mental health, their social lives. And not only that, the parents of so many students are working parents so this is a driver of the economy.

Thousands of teachers, parents and students across the province are well aware of the fact that they are being sacrificed on the altar of corporate profit. They are troubled by the dangerous conditions they will confront in schools, as shown by last weeks walkout by special education assistants at Beverley Public School in Toronto. But the opposition to school reopenings has been smothered by the education trade unions, which have opposed worker job action as illegal and instructed school staff to put their faith in the pro-employer Ontario Labour Relations Board to ensure safe working conditions. Accepting the right-wing propaganda that we must learn to live with the virus, they are now urging the government to accept their proposals for reduced class sizes and other minimal safety measures so it never has to close schools again!

The Ford government gained ideological fodder for its push to resume in-person learning in a report from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (also known as SickKids Hospital), released in mid-January. SickKids has been advising the provincial government on children and COVID-19 throughout the pandemic.

Dr. Ronald Cohn, a contributor to the report and the CEO of SickKids, summed up the reports outlook, noting, It is our strong opinion that schools should be the last doors to close and the first to open in society.

Central to the reports argument is the adverse effects of social distancing on the health of children, particularly young children. It is critical to balance the risk of direct infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in children and youth, school staff and the community with the harms of school closure, which is impacting children and youths physical health, developmental health, mental health and learning, states the report.

The authors claimed it is possible to reopen schools with enhanced infection prevention and control strategies and a robust testing strategy. However, this enhanced strategy does not even include mass testing for asymptomatic students, a critical measure given that the vast majority of infections among children are asymptomatic.

The study also called for teachers and support staff to be prioritized for vaccination.

The report accepts the continued spread of the virus in schools as a given, writing, It is anticipated that we will continue to detect cases of symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools and it is important that public health authorities and schools be prepared to respond to cases involving both students and staff. Astonishingly, the report observed that even if positive cases were detected at a school, this should not be considered reason enough to close it.

Much of the report is a rehash of earlier recommendations given to Queens Park as the new school year approached in late summer, and many of which the government chose to ignore. However today, the nationwide seven-day average of cases is approximately ten times greater than it was then. The government has not marshalled nearly enough resources to establish an adequate testing and tracing system that could reasonably allow for the reopening of schools even in a scenario where community transmission was under control.

The same week the SickKids report was published the Pediatricians Alliance of Ontario released its own report calling for the reopening of schools as soon as possible. The doctors cited the increase in suicidal attempts, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, overdoses, eating disorders and other maladies among their patients during the course of the pandemic.

The shedding of crocodile tears by the ruling elite over the health and social impact of the pandemic on children and families should fool no one. It does not appear to have occurred to any of these medical experts that the mental health crisis and related social problems are the product of decades of savage cuts to public spending and social services by the very same political parties who now pose as protectors of the well-being of our kids. The social, educational and health disaster created by these policies has been exacerbated over the first year of the pandemic by the funnelling of hundreds of billions of dollars into the coffers of the major banks, big business and top 1 percent, while families and the public services they rely on have been starved of resources.

Despite the claims that the topic of school reopenings remains controversial, scientific studies have clearly established that children play a critical role in community transmission of COVID-19. A study of Montreal area schools found that the increase in general community rates of infection during the fall were preceded by a growth in infections among students. Our analysis suggests we can expect a further increase in COVID-19 cases once schools are reopened in person, the authors wrote. Notably, they argued that school reopenings could negate other policies aimed at restricting spread and could therefore accelerate the exceeding of hospital capacities.

Moreover, the spread of new variants of the novel coronavirus renders some recommendations made by SickKids even less effective than they once were. For example, at this point there is a large question mark over whether non-medical masks are at all effective against the British B.1.1.7 variant of the virus, which is more transmissible.

At the same time, the federal Liberal and Ontario governments have badly bungled the vaccination program, making the SickKids reports appeal to inoculate educators akin to pushing on a string. Delays in the production and distribution of the Pfizer vaccine resulted in no new doses being delivered last week. Less than 300,000 doses have been administered so far in a province of nearly 15 million residents.

In truth, the provincial government has consistently ignored its own inadequate measures on schools during the pandemic. An investigation by the Toronto Star published on January 21 uncovered internal documents dating to last summer from Lecces office that showed how the government quickly abandoned its initial plans for controlling the spread of the virus. The planned widespread surveillance testing of students was dramatically downsized; the proposal to test all teachersinitially floated by Fordwas quickly abandoned; and the government refused to cap the sizes of classes at 15, or indeed impose any class-size reductions.

Predictably, the news media has marched in lockstep with the Ford government. The Liberal-aligned Toronto Star, a strong supporter of the McGuinty-Wynne Liberal governments which gutted education budgets and attacked teachers working conditions during their 16 years in power between 2003 and 2018, published an editorial entitled Lets not fail our children, its time to open their schools. Cynically using the fact that the Ford government has allowed wide swathes of the economy to remain open throughout the pandemic, the Star demanded that it do the same for schools. Toy-making factories are open while our children rot in front of their Zoom school, it complained.

The effects of the pandemic and social distancing on childhood development and mental health are real and considerable. However, they will only be worsened by a full reopening of schools, which will result in skyrocketing infections among children and young people, who will carry the deadly virus home to their parents and other vulnerable family members.

The only way to protect child welfare and development during the pandemic is to provide billions of dollars in resources to guarantee high-quality online learning for all and full wages to parents who must remain home to look after their kids. The resources for such policies must be expropriated from the super-rich, who are wealthier than ever after a year of mass death and misery.

The WSWS calls on teachers, education workers, parents, and students to resist the Ford governments reckless reopening of schools. They must mount a struggle to shut down all nonessential production until the pandemic is brought under control, and redirect the vast wealth being hoarded by the financial oligarchy to meet critical social needs, such as education, health care, elderly care, and social services. To fight for this program, teachers and support staff should establish independent rank-and-file safety committees in every school to begin preparations for a general strike that will unite fellow educators across Canada and North America, including the teachers currently battling the drive to reopen schools in Chicago, in the fight to prioritize lives over profits.
Padmini Kolhapure's son Priyaank Sharma got married in a quiet ceremony to producer Karim Morani's daughter Shaza on Thursday. The couple had a court marriage in the morning and later threw a party for their friends and family members in Mumbai, which was attended by cousin Shraddha Kapoor, alongwith other Bollywood stars like Anil Kapoor, Boney Kapoor, Sunny Deol, Bhagyashree, Juhi Chawla, and others.

The couple posed for the paparazzi post the wedding function. Priyaank looked handsome in a white kurta with a yellow jacket over it and white pyjama while Shaza looked pretty in a golden saree.

Shraddha Kapoor arrived for the celebrations in a white sharara set, carrying a golden handbag. Her father Shakti Kapoor and mother Shivangi Kolhapure, who is Padmini's sister, were also at the bash.

Anil Kapoor was accompanied by wife Sunita Kapoor and Boney Kapoor. Actor-politician Sunny Deol also attended the party. Filmmaker Nikhil Dwivedi was seen with his wife. Other actors from the '80s and '90s and Padmini's contemporaries such as Poonam Dhillon also attended the party.

The yesteryear actress herself shared photos and videos from the wedding on Instagram.

Priyaank and Shaza know each other for almost a decade now. The couple is yet to finalise their honeymoon destination, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Judges have decided to delay the publication of new guidelines on personal injury awards after a meeting to discuss the proposals ended without agreement.

The 166-member Judicial Council met virtually on Friday morning to discuss the draft guidelines, prepared by a committee headed by High Court President Mary Irvine.

It had been widely expected the guidelines would be published after the meeting.

However, a number of judges sought more time to digest the proposals and the council will now meet again on February 20 to discuss the matter further.

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The proposals are understood to have been outlined in two documents, one of which provided a lengthy outline of proposed new award levels for various types and severity of personal injury.

It is understood that while the committee proposed reductions in award levels, these fell considerably short of the 80pc reduction campaigners have sought for whiplash awards.

Even then, a source said some judges did not agree with the level of cuts being proposed by the committee, thinking them to be too severe.

Ultimately it was agreed that judges would take more time to consider the proposals before making a decision on the adoption of the guidelines.

It is understood the Judicial Council does not plan to issue any statement on the matter at present.

A recalibration of award levels is part the Governments plan to bring down the cost of insurance premiums and it hopes new guidelines can be in force by July.

The lack of an outcome from the meeting will disappoint insurance costs campaigners, who view a reduction in awards as crucial to driving down premiums.

Insurers have promised to lower premiums if the Judicial Council moves to reduce awards for minor injuries, which make up the bulk of claims.

A Government-appointed commission, headed by former President of the High Court Nicholas Kearns, found that whiplash-type soft-tissue damage awards in Ireland are typically 4.4 times higher than in the England and Wales for broadly similar injuries.

He noted at the time that the Republic has one of the most generous compensation systems in Europe.

However, it is understood the judicial committee widened their comparison of award levels to include Northern Ireland along with England and Wales, something that was not raised by legal lobby groups in the past.

This is despite the fact that the Northern Irish market is tiny by comparison the one in England and Wales.

And award levels in England and Wales are set to fall further as new regulations are set to be implemented to reduce them again.

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has been seeking an 80pc cut in the level of personal injury awards being granted by the courts for minor injuries.

It argues that this will reduce the cost of insurance, particularly public and employers' liability cover.

A cut of this size would bring the compensation in line with that being awarded by courts in England and Wales, but still leave it above that awarded in other European countries.

Policyholders have complained that decisions in personal injuries cases are inconsistent and urgently need to reflect international norms.

A recent report by two leading neurosurgeons found that 90pc of patients with whiplash attending a Dublin pain management clinic failed to return for additional treatment once their legal action was completed.

The unpublished finding, from a study of 100 patients of the Mater Hospital pain management service, is quoted in a paper by two leading neurosurgeons as evidence Ireland is experiencing a whiplash epidemic requiring urgent reform.
Cybersecurity

NIST offers tools to defend against nation state cyber threats

While both public- and private-sector entities are still reeling from the consequences from the SolarWinds Orion hack, the National Institute of Standards and Technology this week published new tools to help organizations defend sensitive information against nation-state backed threats.

The tools are mostly aimed at non-governmental entities responsible for housing sensitive, but unclassified government information. The security controls largely fall into one of three categories: structuring systems to be resistant against malicious actors, improving an organization's ability to detect threats and mitigate potential damage and ensuring an organization can recover from an attack.

"We developed SP 800-171 in response to major cyberattacks on U.S. critical infrastructure, and its companion document SP 800-172 is designed to mitigate attacks from advanced cyber threats such as the advanced persistent threat actor," said Ron Ross, a computer scientist and a NIST fellow.

NIST cited a 2018 incident in which Chinese government hackers stole sensitive data from a contractor working with the Navy to design an anti-ship missile as the reason for its work. But the connection to the SolarWinds hack is clear.

"These tools are absolutely relevant to preventing the next SolarWinds, both for the public- and private-sector hacks," said Blake Moore, formerly chief of staff for the Pentagon's CIO and now a vice president at Wickr. "Similar to the Navy hack of 2018, the SolarWinds breach highlighted the vital importance of securing federal networks against these advanced nation-states."

Moore said that although the SolarWinds Orion hack received more attention due to its scale, the remedies needed in the aftermath of SolarWinds and the 2018 Navy breach are similar. NIST's new publications provide a "roadmap" for how agencies of any size should counter "increasingly advanced tradecraft from nation-state actors," he said.

Sarah Powazek, an analyst at the Institute for Security and Technology, said that while the report's goal is the protection of controlled unclassified information, the recommendations all target "daily security operations of federal partners, suggesting that NIST may be equally concerned about the upstream effects of poor security."

"Tightening access controls for non-federal agencies would improve confidentiality of sensitive information but can also prevent the initial access for [advanced persistent threats] targeting government agencies," she said.

Kathryn Waldron, a cybersecurity fellow at the R Street Institute, emphasized that most of SolarWinds victims were private companies, not government agencies. NIST's new publication proves "just how desperately both government agencies and private companies need to change the way they think about cybersecurity," she said.

"Private organizations -- both companies and academic institutions -- that work with the government need to realize how appealing a target they are to countries that are looking to harm the United States," Waldron said.

Waldron also noted NIST's new guidelines come a few months after the intelligence community lobbied under former President Donald Trump the White House to rescind an Obama-era executive order that established the Controlled Unclassified Information program.

A December memorandum sent to National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien by then Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said the program poses "insurmountable hurdles" and has become "unsustainable," according to a letter published by the Federation of American Scientists.

"We have yet to see if the new DNI or the Biden administration feel the same way about the CUI program," Waldron said. "But the fact that federal intelligence agencies have struggled to comply with the CUI program could potentially hinder the rollout of these new guidelines."
The FBI has used a viral image of a man with a colossal penis in a doctored photo from the Capitol siege submitted as evidence in an arrest warrant.

Brian P. McCreary was detained in Massachusetts last night after the FBI filed a criminal complaint which featured a lewd meme known as 'Wood Sitting on a Bed.'

The 33-year-old Domino's Pizza employee is pictured inside the Capitol alongside the horn-headed QAnon Shaman on January 6.

But behind the MAGA mob, hanging on the wall where a 19th century painting of Kentucky Senator Henry Clay should be, is a fully nude man well known across the internet.

The meme is often sent to unsuspecting recipients who are directed to open a link where they are greeted by the sight of the man sitting on the edge of a bed with his penis hanging down.

The edited image was sent to the FBI by one of McCreary's co-workers but it's not clear how it ended up being published in the warrant submitted on Wednesday.

Brian P. McCreary (left with an arrow over his head) was arrested in Massachusetts last night after the FBI filed a criminal complaint which featured a lewd meme known as 'Wood Sitting on a Bed.' The naked man is seen in the background where a 19th century painting of a Kentucky Senator should be

The original photograph shows a painting of Kentucky Senator Henry Clay which was pasted over by the viral internet meme

Wood Sitting on a Bed: The meme is often sent without context to unsuspecting recipients who then open a link to be greeted by the sight of a man sitting on the edge of a bed with his penis hanging down

The warrant was filed by special agent Emily Eckert and includes two photos of McCreary inside the building with an arrow identifying him.

In one of the photographs McCreary is seen filming the chaos on his phone as a band of men led by the QAnon Shaman Jake Angeli stand in the halls of the Capitol.

The original painting can be seen hanging on the wall to the left of an archway.

Further down in the arrest warrant another image is used to illustrate McCreary's presence in the Capitol which shows the same archway but the painting to the left has been replaced by 'Wood Sitting on a Bed.'

Eckert's criminal complaint says the image was sent to the FBI by one of McCreary's co-workers who reported him to law enforcement after he returned from D.C.

Seamus Hughes, deputy director of George Washington University's Program on Extremism, tweeted: 'I've studied extremism for 15 years, I've reviewed mostly every court record for decades. I can honestly say very little surprises me.

'That said, I have absolutely no idea what to say about the Internet image the FBI used in a criminal complaint of the picture hanging on the wall.'

The FBI last night said McCreary, a Domino's Pizza Delivery driver from North Adams, Massachusetts, was arrested and charged with two counts of illegal entry and three counts of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

In an ironic twist the 33-year-old was one of the first to contact the Bureau to provide evidence of those who breached the Capitol.

He claims he was more of an observer than a participant in the riot which left five people dead, including a police officer.

But many of his Domino's co-workers reached out to the FBI later when they saw photos of McCreary in the Capitol, telling the agency he was a Trump supporter.

He expressed political views, including that the presidential election was fraudulent and told a co-worker that he 'raided' the Capitol, the complaint says.

McCreary told the FBI he travelled to D.C. to attend Donald Trump's rally on the National Mall because he was upset that an audit had not been carried out into voter fraud.

He said that as the mob descended on the Capitol he was observing and recording them on his phone because it 'felt like Antifa.'

Another image from the FBI's criminal complaint against McCreary shows him standing at the side of the hallway wearing a blue surgical mask and filming on his phone. The painting to the rear has not been doctored in this image

He joined them in breaching the building and was seen standing alongside the QAnon Shaman with his phone out and wearing a blue surgical mask.

McCreary said he was present when a woman was shot trying to breach a door in the building and that he left shortly after.

He is the fourth Massachusetts resident arrested since the riot.

The FBI has identified 400 suspects since the building was stormed by hundreds of Trump supporters and has arrested more than 130 people.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 22:15:39|Editor: huaxia

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A citizen runs in front of the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, on Oct. 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

"The facts have once again proved that the one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and the consensus of the international community," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.



BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges between Taiwan and any country that has diplomatic relations with China, and Guyana's correction of its mistakes is good for the overall China-Guyana relations, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks when responding to a reporter's question about Guyana's termination of an agreement with Taiwan for the latter to establish an office in the Latin American country.

Wang told a press briefing that the government of Guyana is upholding the correct position of the one-China principle by announcing the termination of the related "agreement", reiterating that it attaches importance to developing friendly relations with China and not establishing so-called official relations with Taiwan.

"There is but one China in the world, and the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges between any country with diplomatic relations and Taiwan," Wang said.

The Democratic Progressive Party authority in Taiwan deliberately uses the guise of unofficial activities, such as economic, trade and cultural activities, to seek "Taiwan independence" and expand its "international space." This is an attempt to conceal the truth and deceive the world, said the spokesperson.

"The facts have once again proved that the one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and the consensus of the international community," Wang said, adding that the separatist actions and clumsy performances of Taiwan have proved unpopular, its ugly face has been revealed, and it is doomed to make a fool of itself.

Regarding reports that the U.S. Embassy in Guyana and the "American Institute in Taiwan" once encouraged Taiwan to establish an office in Guyana, Wang said China firmly opposes the seriously wrong statements made by relevant U.S. officials in violation of the principles of international law and international relations.

He said that the Taiwan question bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and is purely China's internal affair, which allows no interference by any external forces.

Wang said that China urges the United States to correct its mistakes, earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and exercise caution in its words and deeds. 
As the 2021 Legislative session begins in Austin, school districts across Texas are waiting to see if they will have the dollars they need to help millions of Texas children catch up from learning losses this year and beyond.

At stake are millions of dollars tied to enrollment, which has declined statewide since COVID-19 forced campuses to close last March, as well as $5 billion in federal relief dollars approved in December that are geared toward schools that serve predominately lower-income students.

Districts also face uncertainty at home. Hundreds of thousands of students, many in pre-kindergarten through third grade, have vanished from their schools rolls. Counselors and other school-based staff have canvassed neighborhoods and knocked on doors where students were last known to have lived, hoping to find them and coax them back to classes. Still, enrollments statewide remain down by about 3 percent, or more than 156,500 students.

What state and local leaders do not know is when  or whether  those students will come back.

Districts were spared financial consequences tied to lower enrollments in the fall through a hold-harmless guarantee instituted by the Texas Education Agency. The agency agreed to fund districts based on the enrollments they had projected rather than the actual number of students taking classes. That agreement expired in January. Without it during the second semester, districts with larger enrollment dips could lose out on millions of dollars.

In Alief ISD, where officials have seen enrollment drop by more than 3,000 students from last year, Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Charles Woods said the district could lose about $30 million without the hold-harmless extension. He and his staff are starting to work on a budget for the coming school year, a process made more difficult by not knowing if the district will be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in lost attendance funding.

Now is critical timing for staffing allocations and for budgeting for next year, Woods said. Its a race of time to get the numbers as accurate as we can from now until our fiscal years end.

TEA Commissioner Mike Morath told the State Board of Education he hopes lawmakers will decide whether to extend the hold harmless guarantee this month.

State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Cypress Republican who sits on the Senates Public Education Committee, told the Houston Chronicle in December he would expect some districts to dip into their fund balances, which are similar to rainy day funds, if they expect the state to pay more. State Sen. Larry Taylor, a League City Republican who chairs the Senate Education Committee, told the Texas Tribune in January he worries that extending the full hold harmless could take away the incentive for districts to find missing students.

Dax Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said some districts already have dipped into fund balances to cover COVID-19 costs. As far as finding students is concerned, he said districts have exhausted nearly all options for trying to locate missing students, short of breaking into their last known addresses and forcing them back.

Its very irksome to hear folks saying districts arent doing enough to find students and that they need an incentive, Gonzalez said. They know they need to find these kids. Theyre not taking hold harmless as a pass.

Hiring season

What happens with the missing students, and the possible extension of the hold-harmless guarantee, will impact districts finances past the 2020-21 school year.

District officials in December had to estimate for legislators how many students will be enrolled during the next couple of school years.

Goose Creek CISD Chief Financial Officer Margie Grimes said she tried to be conservative in her guess, projecting virtually flat enrollment for 2021-22 and a modest 1 percent growth the following year. In normal times, the districts enrollment grows by about 1.5 to 2 percent a year.

This year, enrollment is down about 3.5 percent, or about 700 students. It is the first time in Grimes nine years with Goose Creek that enrollment has declined.

About half of those missing students are in preK through third grade. Grimes said that may be the result of parents opting to hold their younger children back and waiting to enroll them until the pandemic is more under control.

There is no single theory, however, for where older students may have gone. Some may have moved, others may have enrolled in private schools or online-only schools.

Knowing how many students will be enrolled next year will take on extra importance later this month and in March, when school districts begin to decide how many teachers they will be able to hire or keep on staff.

If districts over-estimate how many students will return to their classrooms this fall, they could be left with more teachers than they can afford; under-estimating could leave districts stuck trying to hire teachers in the fall, well after most committed to jobs in the spring.

For now, Grimes said administrators in the Baytown district are just planning to fill vacancies and staff several key positions at the districts new junior high.

Woods in Alief likened it to playing blackjack.

Are we going to be conservative and say none are going to come back? A lot of that has to do with the state of the pandemic, where we are with vaccines and how back to normal can we get, he said. Its the perfect storm of conditions to cause this amount of chaos.

More federal relief?

At the same time, there are billions in federal funds that could be a boon for local districts. The most recent stimulus bill passed by Congress in December allocated $5 billion for Texas schools, most of it earmarked to help districts that serve a large number of students from lower income households.

TEA officials and state lawmakers have yet to dictate how that funding will be allocated. If the first round of COVID-19 relief is any indication, districts may not receive direct checks.

TEA officials kept the first round of federal relief aid  $1.27 billion  within the agency, using about 90 percent of it to create grants to reimburse school districts for such things as personal protective equipment and technology purchases to facilitate remote learning. The agency kept about 10 percent to create a statewide voluntary testing program and to help with internet connectivity issues, among other things.

Kristin McGuire, director of government relations for Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education, said districts are better positioned to spend the federal dollars on their unique needs.

I dont know if you can generalize them to say This is an issue that the state can solve because everyone is going through this, McGuire said. I think that each district should be able to prioritize what their own needs are and use the funds accordingly.

TEA officials said the Legislature will have to decide how the $5 billion will be distributed, but federal rules dictate it be spent by Dec. 31, 2021.

Houston ISD Chief Financial Officer Glenn Reed said last month that COVID costs and the potential loss of the hold harmless guarantee could cost the district $140 million. If TEA distributes the new federal funds directly to districts, however, HISD could be eligible for as much as $400 million.

Districts could receive millions more if the U.S. Congress passes a third round of COVID-related stimulus funding, which remains under debate. The current plan proposed by the Biden administration would allocate a total of $130 billion for schools, more than twice as much as was approved in December. It is unclear how much would be allocated specifically to Texas.

In the meantime, financial officials still are plotting their next steps in another year marked by uncertainty.

I dont know how many districts are going to adequately budget for this next year, and I dont know how many students are going to return, Woods with Alief ISD said. Next year is right around the corner at this point, and theres still quite a bit we dont know.

Jacob Carpenter contributed to this report.

shelby.webb@chron.com

Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 6:11 pm

Despite calling Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes views insane and dangerous, Southwest Washington Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler voted no on a measure that stripped the freshman House member of her committee assignments.

Eleven Republicans crossed party lines on Thursday to limit Greenes power to shape policy after news outlets unearthed instances of Greene spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, taunting survivors of mass shootings and promoting violence against lawmakers.

Her views were condemned by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel, who called the loony lies a cancer on the Republican Party.

In a statement Thursday, Herrera Beutler largely echoed the criticism.

Im sorry, but an airplane did really hit the Pentagon on 9/11. There is no cabal of celebrities and Democratic politicians running a satanic pedophile ring out of a pizza parlor. School shootings are not false flag events. California wildfires were not ignited by a space laser. And the presidential election was NOT stolen, Herrera Beutler wrote.

But Herrera Beutler argued that the move would set a precedent in which the majority party has control over how the minority positions its members in committees.

If we take this vote today and Republicans retake the majority next year, the temptation will be strong to kick the most controversial Democrats off their committees and we create a new way to endlessly fight with each other instead of getting things done for the American people, she wrote.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee lambasted Herrera Beutler for not joining her 11 colleagues. In a statement, DCCC called her no vote a vote to reward QAnon enthusiast and 9/11 truther Marjorie Taylor Greene with several powerful House committee assignments, including the Committee on Education and Labor, even after Greenes documented belief that Parkland and Newton shootings were hoaxes.

DCCC spokesperson Drew Godinich said the congresswoman caved to the extremist and dangerous online conspiracies that fueled the deadly storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6.
During an exclusive interview with Republic Media Network, IAF Chief Air Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on Friday said that in case of any misadventure from China or Pakistan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is fully prepared to take necessary actions. When asked if IAF has noticed any changes in the deployment at LAC (Line of Actual Control) on China's side, the Air Chief Marshal said that they have been keeping a close vigilance and there have been little changes in the deployment on China's side.

READ | Russian Envoy Hails Aero India 2021, Says Proud To Be Among Biggest Exhibitors

RKS Bhadauria: 'We are fully prepared'

While stating that as China and Pakistan have been collaborating on the military as well as on the diplomatic front, RKS Bhadauria said that India is fully prepared for all possible threats. 'Despite the fact that the possibility of a 'two-front-war' has many connotations, India is prepared for it as well', he added.

READ | IAF Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria Hails Hike In Capital Outlay For Defence Forces

Speaking about the Union Budget 2021 that was presented by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Air Chief Marshal said that despite the effect of the pandemic on the economic scenario of the country, the 20 per cent plus hike in the defence outlay is huge and meets all the requirements as well.

RKS Bhadauria said, "LCA Tejas deal will exponentially enhance the capabilities of the IAF." Informing that as of now India has 18 Rafale fighter aircrafts, he mentioned that some aircrafts are currently in France, where the IAF pilots are training but they can be brought to India even at a short notice. Pointing towards the recent capability of Rafale, Bhadauria said that these fighter jets have helped India to increase its military capabilities greatly.

READ | Aero India 2021: Check Out Aero India 2021 Virtual Registration, Timings, Tickets And More

IAF Chief RKS Bhadauria on LCA induction

During his interaction, Bhadauria also spoke about the induction of LCA aircraft in Indian Air Force. According to the Air Chief Marshal, the induction will provide a major boost to the IAF squadron and will therefore increase the number of squadrons to 30. Earlier on Wednesday, the government formally sealed the Rs 48,000 crore deal with state-run aerospace giant Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for the procurement of 83 Tejas light combat aircraft. The contract was handed over by Director General (Acquisition), Ministry of Defence, V L Kantha Rao to Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, R Madhavan, at the inaugural ceremony of Aero India-2021, the country's premier defence and aerospace show in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

READ | Boeing's F-15EX Now Available For Indian Air Force's Consideration; Biden Govt Gives Nod
Nativity scene outside Indiana courthouse is constitutional, 7th Circuit rules

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The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling that found that an annual nativity scene displayed outside a public building in Jackson County, Indiana is unconstitutional.

The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the presence of the nativity scene outside Jackson County's historic courthouse in Brownstown doesn't constitute a government endorsement of religion and doesn't violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

This decision marks one of the first federal appeals courts to apply the Supreme Courts 2019 precedent when it ruled that a 40-foot cross located on public land in Maryland is constitutional.

Applying American Legion, we hold that Jackson Countys nativity scene as displayed in 2019 does not violate the Establishment Clause, the courts majority opinion states. We make no predictions as to how American Legion might affect other types of Establishment Clause cases.

The appellate court's decision comes more than two years after the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a secular group that advocates for a strict separation of church and state, sent a letter to Jackson County commissioners arguing that the nativity scene was a "violation of the First Amendment."

Shortly thereafter, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sued on behalf of local atheist Rebecca Woodring, who said she was offended by the display.

Circuit Judge Amy St. Eve, a Trump appointee, explained in the court's decision that "the display consists of a waving Santa Claus with his sleigh, a reindeer, seven large candy-striped poles, the nativity scene (also known as a creche), and four carolers standing in front of a lamp post."

The display goes up every year at the historic Jackson County Courthouse. Even though the county courts moved to a new judicial complex, the building is still referred to as a "courthouse." The building is still used as office space for the county

treasurer, auditor and other officials.

According to Woodring, the display "celebrates Christianity" and constitutes a "religious display on government property." She contends that even the secular aspects of the display offend her because it is all "part of the Christmas and the whole, you know, Christianity thing."

St. Eve frequently referenced the Supreme Court case American Legion v. American Humanist Association. The Supreme Court ruled that a cross erected on public land in Maryland to honor local soldiers who gave their lives in World War I did not violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

St. Eve argued that the Supreme Court had developed a test known as the Lemon test to determine whether religious displays violated the Establishment Clause. For a religious display not to violate the Establishment Clause, it must "have a secular purpose," a "principal or primary effect" that "neither advances nor inhibits religion" and cannot "foster excessive government entanglement with religion."

"Although some aspects of American Legion are unclear, one unmistakable message from the opinion is that Lemonis no longer a viable framework for cases 'that involve the use, for ceremonial, celebratory, or commemorative purposes, of words or symbols with religious associations,'" she wrote.

"American Legion displaces the purpose and endorsement tests in the context of Establishment Clause challenges to nativity scenes in passive Christmas displays on government property."

In a dissenting opinion, Circuit Judge David Hamilton, an Obama appointee, argued that the majoritys opinion would invite many new challenges to Establishment Clause precedents.

[The majority opinion] shows that the Establishment Clauses core concern over religious endorsement still drives which displays end up on which sides of the constitutional line, Hamilton argued. The majority opinion simply bakes this concern into its view of what our American tradition is and is not.

Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of the Liberty Counsel, which represented Jackson County in the litigation, praised the 7th Circuit's ruling. In a statement, he argued that the Lemon test has "proven to be unworkable" and has led to "inconsistent and contradictory decisions on the constitutionality of religious displays."

"This is a great victory that affirms that the Jackson County holiday display does not violate the First Amendment," Staver said. "The Supreme Court and many federal courts have ruled such displays are constitutional, especially when the display includes other secular symbols of the holiday, and this display is no exception."

Annie Laurie Gaylor, the co-president of FFRF, condemned the ruling.

"The court is arguing that if the constitutional separation between state and church is repeatedly entangled, this 'history' of repeated entanglement somehow magically erases the violation," she said in a statement. "This is an insulting sleight of hand. Winter season after season, a courthouse display endorses Christianity. Such repeated exposure obviously makes the violation cumulatively much worse."
Deluge of foreign capital marks strong start to 2021

Intel Corporation, the US-based manufacturer of semiconductor computer circuits, last week announced injecting an additional $475 million into its plant in Vietnam, taking its total involvement in the country to $1.5 billion.

The new investment will develop complex technologies like manufacturing 5G products and the next generation of Intel Core processors.

Kim Huat Ooi, general manager of Intel Products Vietnam (IPV) said, As of the end of 2020, IPV has shipped more than two billion units to customers worldwide. We are very proud of this milestone, which shows both how important IPV is to helping Intel meet the needs of its customers all around the world and why we continue to invest in our facilities and team here in Vietnam.

The plant is IPVs single largest assembly and test plant globally, with more than 2,700 employees as well as cutting-edge technologies and machinery.

Nguyen Anh Thi, head of the management board at Saigon Hi-Tech Park where the plant is located, highlighted that Intels decision to increase investment indicates its confidence in the workforce and Vietnams reliable investment environment.

Rise of high-tech giants

A number of electronics giants in Vietnam are expanding operations as they seek to diversify their supply chains. In the middle of January, Foxconn received an investment certificate to build a $270-million Fukang Technology plant in the northern province of Bac Giangs Quang Chau Industrial Zone (IZ) to manufacture eight million laptops and tablets annually.

Foxconn Vietnam general director Harry Zhuo said as of December, the company had invested $1.5 billion in Vietnam, including $900 million in Bac Giang, creating 35,000 jobs. The company is planning to inject an additional $700 million in 2021 and create a further 10,000 jobs, added Zhuo.

In addition to Bac Giang, Foxconn is setting sights on the central provine of Thanh Hoa, and along with other tech giants such as Heesung Electronics, Goertek Technology, Mitac Computer, and Luxshare ICT Vietnam, Foxconn has met with Hanoi authorities to find investment opportunities related to high technologies thanks to favourable conditions like high-quality human resources and proximity to international airports.

Luxshare is also developing its second project in Bac Giangs Van Trung IZ with a total investment sum of $190 million, and is expanding a project in the central province of Nghe An.

In another case, Chinese acoustic components company Goertek has just visited the northern province of Thai Nguyen to look for new prospects, with a factory manufacturing headsets, microphones, speakers, AirPods, and phone components for Samsung and Apple.

Meanwhile, Capital United, an investment advisor and real estate financial services firm from the United States, met Thai Nguyen provincial leaders and proposed to develop an industrial and technology centre on 900 hectares and the total investment of $390 million to set up a location for companies in IT, high-tech, light and clean industries, and logistics.

US investors are always good at catching up on trends and seizing opportunities. They have surely seen something attractive and profitable here, along with the wave of technology companies arriving at Vietnam, said Van Duc Phu, representative of the Foreign Investment Agencys (FIA) Investment Promotion Centre for North Vietnam.

Retaining the wave

A recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit has indicated that Vietnam has emerged as an attractive foreign direct investment (FDI) destination in Asia, beating China and India to become a new hub for low-cost manufacturing in Asian supply chains.

Indeed, over the last two years, the trend of technology companies entering Vietnam has been strong. Huge investors arriving in the country in the first wave such as Samsung and LG are now expanding their investment and facilities, not only for manufacturing lines and factories but also research and development centres.

Panasonic of Japan has also decided to end the production of washing machines and refrigerators in Thailand and move it to a consolidated appliance assembly facility in Vietnam.

In addition to Foxconn and Luxshare, Pegatron has invested $500 million in Haiphong city in the north to produce electronics components (motherboards, graphic cards, laptops, netbooks, cable modems, and smartphones); while Wistron has forked out $273 million in the northern province of Ha Nam to manufacture electronics devices as well as networking and communication products.

Besides these, numerous well-known high-tech investors were already present in Vietnam like Universal Global Technology (Taiwan) which has a facility in Haiphong. In Bac Giang, three projects have just received investment certificates  Ja Solar PV Vietnam (of Hong Kongs Ja Solar Investment Ltd.), Risesun New Material Vietnam, and Vietnam Kodi New Material (by Singapores Risesun Investment Pte., Ltd.) with the combined investment of $300 million.

Such moves are always followed by billions of US dollars in projects by suppliers and supporting firms tagging along.

However, economist Tran Dinh Thien remains concerned. Although Vietnam has prepared carefully, including policies, incentives, infrastructure, energy, land, and human resources, to welcome these investments, administrative procedures still need to be simplified, human resources improved, and infrastructure modernised, said Thien.

The report from the Economist Intelligence Unit suggested that factors that place Vietnam above its peers are the available incentives for international investors to set up units to manufacture high-tech products, the pool of low-cost workers, and the proliferation of free trade agreements.

Vietnam has scored higher than both India and China in FDI-related policies, as well as higher than India in terms of their respective labour markets. The report also raises a bright outlook for Vietnam to offer generous arrangements for international corporations with incentives for investment.

Additionally, the FIA has been having discussions with Japan about a potential cooperation in training employees. This will significantly contribute to enhancing the quality of human resources, meeting more requirements of foreign investors, and improving the competitiveness of the country.

The new investment from Intel is expected to encourage more Japanese investors and suppliers to Vietnam, and Vietnam is ready in all aspects to welcome both Japanese and all other investors, as well as absorb the investment as best as possible, said Phu from the FIA.
Presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok talks about the phone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. Yonhap





By Jung Da-min







President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to draw up a comprehensive strategy to deal with the North Korea nuclear issue during phone talks held Wednesday (local time), according to Cheong Wa Dae.







The two leaders had their first phone conversation since Biden took office two weeks ago, and discussed a range of security issues in the Asia-Pacific region while reaffirming the strong alliance between their countries, the presidential office said Thursday.







"The presidents agreed that they should work together to build a comprehensive North Korea strategy as soon as possible," presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae.






Mike DeWine

Mr. DeWine

Kim Henderson

Department of Job and Family Services

Congress

Mr. DeWine

Teresa Fedor

Toledo

Lisa Sobecki

Toledo

Ohio's

Ms. Sobecki

Ohio

March 1

Pfizer

Ohio's

Mr. DeWine

Pfizer

Ohio

Ohio

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Ohio

Department of Health

Ohio's

Mr. DeWine

(TNS)  Faced with a deluge of complaints from Ohioans who've struggled to navigate the state's unemployment compensation system, Gov.on Thursday announced that private industry has lent the state 16 of its experts to help right the ship.The state's information technology system for jobless benefits has struggled to accommodate changes made by programming by the federal government and has been inundated by fraudulent claims tied to the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for self-employed, contract, and other non-traditional workers."I don't think it's any reflection on state employees than we have to go out into the private sector to help deal with a huge, huge emergency that has not occurred in most people's lifetimes...,"said. "...The state has not invested frankly in the past in the technology..."It's not just true of this department," he said. "It's true in many departments...It just so happens that this department, because of the unemployment claims [and] because of the nature of the pandemic, got hit a lot harder than other departments."He said the state could perhaps use more than the 16 people whose services are being volunteered by financial and insurance companies with expertise in information technology, customer service, and fraud., director of the, said that everyone who is eligible for additional weeks of unemployment claims as approved byin late December  as well as the $300 extra in weekly federal payments  should be receiving what they're due by the end of February."So far this week, we have paid out nearly $100 million to more than 110,000 Ohioans receiving traditional unemployment,"said. That number includes traditional benefits plus the additional $300.Sen.(D.,) and Rep.(D.,) recently sent a letter to the leaders of their respective chambers, urging them to immediately convene a recently created council to look into the problems."Ohioans are suffering and some of the problems withunemployment system are unacceptable,"said. "Not just my constituents, but all Ohioans are wondering, why the council hasn't met. They haven't even named a council chair. This hurts Ohioans across the entire state. It is unacceptable that they are dragging their feet."on Thursday reported receiving 47,786 initial claims last week, down slightly from the week before but still generally reflected the high numbers seen in recent weeks. In all, nearly 2.3 million Ohioans have sought unemployment benefits since the start of the pandemic nearly a year ago.At the moment, the state is targeting those over the age of 70 as well as employees of K-12 schools that have committed to having in-classroom instruction by. But the state's efforts have been hampered by the amounts of vaccine the state receives each week.The state will lower the age threshold to age 65 next week and is then expected to hold there for a while.The governor said manufacturerhas told him it expects to increase output by 40 percent by mid-February."This should mean thatdoses should increase by this much around the same time,"said.He also said thatexpects shipments toto double current levels by the end of March. It is currently shipping about 73,000 doses toeach week.The maker of the only other vaccine approved for use so far in, has increased doses tofrom 73,200 two weeks ago to 105,600 expected next week.reported 4,120 new coronavirus cases Thursday, dragging the 21-day average below 5,000 for the first time in weeks. The state has reached a total of 910,847 cases and 11,509 deaths, according to the. Seventy-nine of those deaths were reported Thursday, which is above the 21-day average of 72.The number of Ohioans who have been vaccinated, 935,383, now exceeds the number of people known to have contracted the disease in the state. Eight percent of the state's population has received at least one shot.The number of coronavirus patients inhospitals also continues to drop. It was at 2,252 on Thursday.If that trend continues over the next week,said he would push the state's current curfew back an hour to midnight or lift it altogether.
AKRON, Ohio, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Construction is underway on a new FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) transmission substation in Trumbull County, Ohio, to support the energy demands of the area's rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) industry. The work is also expected to help reduce the frequency and duration of power outages experienced by Ohio Edison customers in the area.

The new transmission infrastructure, which includes construction of a short, high-voltage line along with the substation, will provide electric service to Ultium Cells LLC  an EV battery-cell manufacturing plant jointly backed by General Motors and South Korea's LG Chem. The company's 3 million-square-foot facility is expected to bring approximately 1,000 jobs to the area. In addition to supporting Ultium Cells, the new substation and line will strengthen the regional transmission system and benefit more than 15,000 Ohio Edison customers in Lordstown and neighboring communities.

As part of the $19.6 million project, utility crews completed the foundation work and erected steel structures at the new substation in Lordstown. In addition, crews are completing construction of a half-mile power line to connect the new substation to an existing 138-kV line located nearby. Such ties offer a backup power feed that will help keep the lights on for customers if wires or equipment on their regular line are damaged or need to be taken out of service.

"With the EV industry bringing new employment and business development opportunities to the Mahoning Valley, FirstEnergy and Ohio Edison are keeping pace by upgrading our system to meet the growing demand for safe and reliable power," said Ed Shuttleworth, regional president of Ohio Edison and Penn Power. "This is an exciting time for EV development in our region and the entire country, and we're proud to support work to help advance this industry while strengthening our system for customers in the area."

Additional work, which includes constructing a third, new high-voltage line in Lordstown, is planned in April to accommodate Ultium Cells' projected future energy needs and provide further reliability enhancements for customers.

FirstEnergy and Ohio Edison continue to play a key role in the region's development by working to ensure the local power grid is ready to support the demands of other energy-intensive customers in the county including Lordstown Motors Corp. and a massive distribution facility owned by TJX Companies, parent of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods. Utility personnel have spent the past year making improvements to infrastructure in the area to help ensure safe and reliable electric service when the companies are ready to start production.

Ohio Edison serves more than one million customers across 34 Ohio counties. Follow Ohio Edison on Twitter @OhioEdison, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OhioEdison, and online at www.ohioedison.com.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.

Related Links

http://www.firstenergycorp.com


Sky New Zealand is pleased to confirm that the Commerce Commission has granted clearance for NEP New Zealand to purchase the assets of Outside Broadcasting Limited (OSB).

Sky Chief Executive Sophie Moloney welcomed the positive decision. Our new partnership with NEP, which includes a ten-year services agreement, ensures that Sky will continue to deliver world-class sport coverage to our customers. Working with NEP, we will be able to bring to New Zealands shores the best advancements in the Outside Broadcast (OB) technology world, without incurring those substantial costs ourselves.

The transaction involves the sale of six High Definition OB units and equipment and reflects Skys objective to become a more capital efficient business, working with partners such as NEP to ensure Sky can continue to deliver the best content experiences to its customers.

The remaining terms of the transaction, purchase price and the services agreement, are confidential between the parties. NEP and Sky will now confirm the transition process with their teams.

Please see the link below for details:

Sky welcomes Commerce Commission clearance for OSB sale

Source: Sky Network Television Limited

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Parts of the brain decline faster from age 30, researchers at the University of Oslo find. These brain changes are accelerated in people with Alzheimer's disease.

Cortical asymmetry serves a purpose

The researchers were specifically interested in the cerebral cortex because thinning in this part of the brain has been linked to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. It is the outermost layer of the brain - a thin sheet of "grey matter" - essential for higher-order cognitive functioning such as memory.

The left and right side of the cortex are not equally thick in younger brains - a phenomenon called "cortical asymmetry". Asymmetry is seemingly a good thing as it allows the brain to function optimally, as the left and right brain are specialized to do slightly different jobs.

As we age, the cortex shrinks and gradually causes cognitive decline, which is a normal part of aging.

Until now, scientists have thought that the left and right sides of the cortex thin at the same rate, but this study shows that the side of the brain that was thicker at age 20 deteriorates faster.

Thinner cortex linked to Alzheimer's disease

The research team, which is part of an international consortium of brain researchers calledLifebrain, measured the thickness of all areas of the cortex using brain scans from over 2600 healthy people across Europe and the US, and in an Australian sample with dementia.

The researchers found cortical asymmetry is lost as we age, proving that the two sides of the brain deteriorate at different rates. In the exact same brain regions as in normal aging, they found the left side of the brain shrinks faster in Alzheimer's disease.

It's too early to conclude, but cortical asymmetry could possibly be used as a marker to detect early brain changes in Alzheimer's Disease, which are thought to occur before cognitive symptoms start to show." James Roe, Study's Lead Author

Brain-thinning starts early

The asymmetry-loss emerged at a similar age in most people (around early 30's) and continued across the adult lifespan, with accelerated decline around age 60.

"Loss of cortical asymmetry is happening gradually over the lifespan. We saw this with remarkable consistency in all samples", says Roe.

"The implication is that at least some brain-changes associated with Alzheimer's disease may play out over extended periods of the lifespan, possibly on the order of decades, and may show high overlap with those occurring gradually in normal aging," Roe says.

Largest lifespan dataset in the world

The researchers, based at the Centre for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition (LCBC) at the University of Oslo, used a "longitudinal" approach, meaning they were able to analyze brain scans of people at several time points throughout their lives. The study is part of the EU-funded projectLifebrain, a collaboration between many of the largest longitudinal aging datasets in the world.

Lead author of the study, James Roe, says this is what gives the study such strength:

"The data we have thanks to Lifebrain is a treasure-trove. We were able to measure the thickness of every region of the cortex in over 2600 healthy participants from five countries, up to six times in the same person over time. Many other brain datasets only have one brain scan per person, so they cannot see changes occurring in the same person throughout life. Having follow-up scans of the same people was absolutely key to our study"

About the Lifebrain project

The Lifebrain project brings together many of the most comprehensive datasets for looking at changes in the brain across the lifespan, from 0 to 100 years of age. The major goal of the Lifebrain consortium is to ensure a fuller exploitation, harmonization and enrichment of some of the largest longitudinal studies of age differences in brain and cognition in Europe.
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As we are now three months out from the elections and almost one month removed from the storming of the Capitol, we can step back, catch our breath, and reassess where we stand. Emotions are calming down, the news cycle is less intense, and fanatical voices are being separated from reasonable voices. Yet one thing remains constant: millions of fair-minded Americans still believe there was serious election fraud. This is an issue that simply will not disappear.

These people are not wild-eyed white supremacists (or even non-wild-eyed white supremacists). To the contrary, they are as mortified as anyone over the events of January 6th.

They cannot simply be dismissed as cult-like followers of Trump, people whose reasoning powers have atrophied.

Nor can they be written off as unhinged conspiracy theorists, as many of them (most of them?) have never read a QAnon post in their lives.

Yet they still have serious concerns about the trustworthiness of our electoral process, and the more the mainstream media states that there is zero evidence of voter fraud, the more determined they become.

I stated on December 4 of last year that I am personally agnostic as to the claims of massive voter fraud. But that was not because all the claims of fraud struck me as specious. Instead, it was because I did not have the time or the expertise or the burden to analyze the claims in-depth so as to make a determination of my own.

As for the final outcome of the election, I decided early on to trust our court system and Congress and our fervent prayers, and so I recognize Joe Biden as our president.

At the same time, while I understand that it was the belief that the election was stolen which provoked the storming of the Capitol, its also very clear that plenty of rational, law-abiding, thinking Americans remain convinced that widescale fraud was undeniable.

All this came to a head during Senator Rand Pauls interview with George Stephanopoulos when Paul refused to accept the fact that the election was stolen.

Instead, Paul said, Well, what I would say is that the debate over whether or not there was fraud should occur. We never had any presentation in court. Most of the cases were thrown out for lack of standing, a procedural way of not hearing it.

Others, of course, believe that this is not true and that cases were thrown out by the courts because of lack of evidence or poor evidence. You can do the research and decide for yourself.

What is clear, though, is that Sen. Paul is neither a Trump hack nor a rightwing extremist. Yet he, too, could not agree with the mainstream medias outright dismissal of claims of fraud.

In the same way, Sen. Ted Cruz, even while calling Trumps insistence that he won by a landslide to be reckless and irresponsible, still felt it was right to call for an investigation of claims of fraud.

He explained, What Ive said is, voter fraud is real, and we need to examine the evidence and look at the actual facts. And, in particular, what is the evidence of how much voter fraud occurred, and did it occur in sufficient quantities and in sufficient states to alter the outcome of the election?" That would have been the mandate of the election commission  to assess.

Whether or not you like Cruzs politics, it cannot be denied that he is a sharp legal mind. Yet he, too, felt there were questions that needed to be answered.

More forcefully, Red State columnist Stu Cyrk opined, The election fraud drum needs to be banged until every American is aware of the MASSIVE election fraud during the 2020 elections. The implications are profound for future elections, and indeed, for every future action by federal and state governments, for if elections can be stolen with impunity, then we are no longer living in a constitutional Republic subject to the will of the people. Rather, we are living in a government-corporate oligarchy, as aptly described in a wonderful commentary by Angelo Codevilla. And the only way to resurrect our Republic is to slay the election fraud dragon!

But Cyrks article is more than CAPS and exclamation points. There are other, key links provided (most importantly this one), while Cyrks conclusion is hardly overstated: Our view is that the public needs to be much better educated regarding the election integrity issue  and having a more accurate understanding of the lawsuit component is a key part of that.

These concerns will not be swept under the rug, which is why I suggested in early December that Joe Biden should lead the way in calling for a full-scale investigation of all charges of fraud. Let the whole truth come to light. In the end, how could it hurt to do so?

For some Trump voters, including me, the question of a stolen election does not have our attention. And from my perspective, for better or worse, God has appointed Biden to be our president, whether with or without fraud.

But for millions of other Trump voters, this question will not go away, leaving a cloud over the Biden presidency as well as destroying voter confidence for future elections.

Now that the dust has settled and almost all Americans are not expecting Biden (or Harris) to be removed from office as a result of the election results being overturned, is there a way for these questions to be answered? Or, if it is too late to properly examine the details of the 2020 elections, what can be done to regain voter confidence for 2022 and 2024?

To repeat: these are questions that will not easily go away.
Congressman Kinzinger looks forward to building on that solid foundation as they all work together to navigate these next four years under a Democrat majority and through the course of this pandemic, keeping the focus on serving the community and the shared interests of the party, she said.
Seventeen dogs, including five unweaned puppies, are getting a new lease on life after their rescue from an unlicensed Lancaster County kennel this week, officials said.

Sixteen German Shepherds and one Siberian Husky were discovered Wednesday at a Bell Road property in Christiana, according to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which launched an investigation after receiving a tip from a Good Samaritan.

The tipster told the SPCAs Humane Law Enforcement team that the property owners had not been there since Sunday, according to the agencys news release. After searching the property, the officers rescued the five puppies along with their mom and 11 other adolescent or adult dogs, authorities said.

The dogs were taken to the SPCAs Philadelphia headquarters for medical examinations. According to the news release, the animals will remain in the agencys care until they are surrendered by the owners or through the courts.

The SPCA said it was not their first time visiting the property.

Representatives visited last November and discovered the property owners were running a kennel and puppy dealer without a license. Authorities said six Siberian Husky puppies were rescued that day and later adopted. (The above photos are from the November visit to the Christiana property).

The investigation into alleged animal cruelty and neglect at the property is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Pennsylvania SPCAs Cruelty Hotline at 866-601-SPCA. Tips can be anonymous.

READ MORE: I cant let them die: N.J. police chief helps rescue mom and toddler who fell into icy river

Met-Ed fined $1 million in settlement with state over Pa. mans electrocution

In race for COVID-19 vaccinations, older residents in rural Pa. face tough obstacles
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-06 06:51:34|Editor: huaxia

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SANTIAGO, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris reported on Friday that 454,155 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country so far, as part of the mass vaccination plan that kicked off on Wednesday.

"We hope this level of participation at vaccination centers continues in the next few days, which will achieve the immunization of critical groups," the official said in a statement.

Of the total number of people immunized, 91,843 are over 85 years old, since the Chilean vaccination plan began with this age group considered to be at risk.

Chile's vaccination plan is underway thanks to the almost 4 million doses which arrived in the country from Chinese firm Sinovac.

According to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, the South American country has accumulated 744,019 COVID-19 cases and 18,808 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, after reporting 3,786 infections and 77 deaths in the last 24 hours. Enditem
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP)  The owners of an Alaska supermarket that was severely damaged by a rockslide plan to permanently shutter the business.

Tatsudas Supermarket Inc. CEO Katherine Tatsuda announced the closure of the store in Ketchikan Monday, Ketchikan Daily News reported.

It is with sadness in my heart that I tell you Tatsudas IGA will not be returning but this is not the end of the Tatsuda family serving our community, Tatsuda wrote in a social media post.

Tatsude said she made the decision with her father and co-owner, Bill Tatsuda Jr.

An early morning rockslide slammed into the building Feb. 27, 2020. No one was inside, but the structural damage was extensive and the store never reopened.

The building had been remodeled in 2015 ahead of the stores 100th anniversary the following year.

There has been a Tatsuda-owned market in Ketchikan since 1916, when Bill Tatsudas grandparents opened Jimmies Grocery. The family had another store before moving to the current site in 1974.

I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for the love and support youve given my dad and I over the last year, Katherine Tatsuda wrote in the online note to Ketchikan residents.

Losing Tatsudas shook us to our core, Katherine Tatsuda said. It was like losing a loved one and a part of ourselves at the same time. The grief was tremendous. We could not have gotten through this loss without you.

She and her father made plans to revive the business following the rockslide, including the purchase of a lot next to the existing property.

The pair spoke with builders, blasters, architects, financial advisors, lawyers, she said, but they eventually came to two realizations.

One is that we dont have the resources to do what we wanted to do and more importantly, my dad and I want to do other things, Katherine Tatsuda wrote. My dad is enjoying his forced retirement and I have a higher calling to serve people in a different way.

Katherine Tatsuda said she hopes to develop an organization to support local nonprofit entities that enhance the quality of life in Ketchikan.

Never in a million years did I think that it would happen so soon, she said.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Muslims leaders from the constituency recently met Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali in Hyderabad to express their support for the TRS nominee.  By arrangement

HYDERABAD: The TRS leadership is making all efforts to win the Nagarjunasagar byelection with a huge margin.

As part of the strategy, the focus is on villages in the seven mandals. Although the party has not officially announced its candidate, former MLA Nomula Narsimaiah's son is already campaigning vigorously. He hopes to get the nod following his fathers demise.

According to party sources, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has directed the district minister G. Jagadish Reddy and senior leaders on the strategy to be followed in the byelections.

The constituency has 2,17,142 voters with a majority of them belonging to Backward Class (BC). Of these, Yadav votes are over 35,000. Apart from this, Lambada voters are around 15,000. Of the 32,000 SC voters, Madiga community boasts of over 25,000 voter. Reddy voters account for 25,000 votes while there are around 20,000 Muslim voters. TRS leaders are holding meetings with leaders of each caste group and seeking their support.

Meanwhile, Muslims leaders from the constituency recently met Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali in Hyderabad to express their support for the TRS nominee. It is learned that the party leaders are working hard to divert social groups towards the TRS.

Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, along with MLAs Jaipal Yadav, Anjan Yadav and MLC Yegga Mallesham are in-charge of mobilising Yadav voters in the respective mandals.

The party leadership is planning to appoint MLAs Ravinder Naik, Shankar Nayak and Reddy Nayak as in-charges along with minister Satyavathi Rathod and MP Malothu Kavitha, who belong to the social category, to campaign extensively among the Lambadi thandas.

Ministers and MLAs from Dalit and Reddy communities will be appointed incharges in their respective villages.

Meanwhile, party leaders said that the TRS leadership will be actively involved in electioneering as soon as the notification is issued.
By Ritah Kemigisa

Government has dismissed as wrong a claim that the ongoing matter of kidnaps is only targeting the people of Buganda region.

This is after the Dokolo Woman MP Cecilia Ogwal raised concern that the ongoing kidnaps seem to mainly take place in the central region something that has caused panic with many wondering which region will be next.

 I am very scared as to why these kidnaps are taking place in Buganda, I am worried after Buganda that the next region could be the north, said Ogwal.

In response however the internal affairs minister Gen Jeje Odongo says criminality moves in a wave adding that just like it was the case with women murders in the country, the kidnap wave unfortunately has started from the central region.

 Buganda is not being targeted, you will remember in 2017 we had the murders of women in the country, it was in a particular are of this country, What I am saying is that criminality tends to move in a wave and cycles, we need to take note of that, its not intended, the wave simply happens to be in this particular place, said Gen Odongo.

In his statement before parliament about the alleged kidnaps in the country, Gen Odongo said investigations are currently ongoing to trace the 31 people majority of whom are from Kyotera district and Kyebando in Nansana.

He however says they have managed to handle 13 cases and admits that majority were not kidnapped as alleged but rather were arrested lawfully while some have been charged and released on bail.

The minister said the following; Ronald Lumu, Kabaale Benard, Mugarura Ronald and Shafik were not kidnapped as alleged but were instead arrested for aiding and abetting terrorism.

Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, fired one of his attorneys, John Pierce, who helped raise his $2 million bail, on Monday. Pictured: A booking photo from the Antioch, Illinois, Police Department, undated

Kyle Rittenhouse has fired the California attorney who had been soliciting money for his case and helped raise bail after he objected to a trust set up to handle donations for the teenager.

Rittenhouse, 18, was arrested and charged with shooting three people - and killing two of them - during police brutality protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020.

One of his attorneys, John Pierce, from Los Angeles, had been at the forefront of his defense and helped raise money from conservatives to post Rittenhouse's $2 million bail in November.

On Thursday, Rittenhouse supporters tweeted on their FreeKyleUSA account on that the teenager had fired Pierce on Monday morning.

Pierce confirmed as much, tweeting that he had fought with 'every fiber' of his being for Rittenhouse.

The FreeKyleUSA account claims that Pierce opposed the idea of Rittenhouse's supporters setting up a trust for the teenager, although why is unclear.

'John Pierce was terminated by Kyle on Monday morning. His association with FreeKyleUSA was also terminated,' the account tweeted.

'When we begin raising funds again, John Pierce has no involvement and is not connected in any way to the funds being raised. John does not speak for Kyle anymore. '

According to the FreeKyleUSA Twitter account, Pierce objected to supporters setting a trust for the teen to handle donations for the teenager

Pierce confirmed as much, tweeting that he had fought with 'every fiber' of his being for Rittenhouse

Pierce (pictured) removed himself from Rittenhouse's criminal case, but stayed on for civil matters, in December after prosecutors alleged Pierce had 'significant financial difficulties' and shouldn't be allowed to raise money for Rittenhouse

Pierce removed himself from Rittenhouse's criminal case in December after prosecutors alleged Pierce has 'significant financial difficulties' and shouldn't be allowed to raise money for Rittenhouse.

He remained Rittenhouse's attorney on civil matters

Another tweet on FreeKyleUSA said Rittenhouse had hired another Los Angeles attorney, Robert Barnes. Barnes confirmed the hire on Twitter on Thursday evening.

'Happy to join the #KyleRittenhouse team. Kid's innocent, and everybody knows it,' Barnes tweeted.

Rittenhouse, who is white, was 17 years old when he traveled from his home in Illinois to Wisconsin, where people were protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man.

He shot and killed two protestors, 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum and 26-year-old Anthony Huber.

A third protestor, Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, lost his bicep, but reconstructive surgery allowed him to keep his arm.

Rittenhouse has argued that the men attacked him and he fired in self-defense.

He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.

It comes a judge considers whether or not to issue new arrest warrant for Rittenhouse, after prosecutors said he violated his bail conditions.

Rittenhouse is facing numerous charges after shooting three people, and killing two of them, during police brutality protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020. Pictured: Rittenhouse carries a weapon as he walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha

Rittenhouse has argued that the men attacked him and he fired in self-defense. Pictured: RIttenhouse has argued that the men he shot were attacking him and he fired in self-defense

The Kenosha County District Attorney's Office alleged he failed to inform the court of a change of address within 48 hours of moving.

When he released on bail, Rittenhouse listed his home address as being in the 200 block of Anita Terrace in Antioch.

But notice mailed to the home on December 22 was returned unclaimed on January 28, according to the motion filed by the District Attorneys Office.

When detectives visited the address on Tuesday, they said they spoke with a man who stated he moved into the apartment in mid-December and that Ritetnhouse no longer lives there.

But the motion claims te address was listed on the bond that Rittenhouse signed on January 22 and he failed to correct it.

Prosecutors asked that a warrant be issued for Rittenhouse's arrest and that his $2 million cash bond by another $200,000 and that Rittenhouse update his address in writing with the court's clerk.

Rittenhouse's Wisconsin-based attorney, Mark Richards, filed an objection to these motions.

It comes after prosecutors sought a new warrant for Rittenhouse's arrest after visiting the address provided to the court and finding out he doesn't live there. Pictured: Rittenhouse (right) pictured drinking after his release from jail

One of Rittenhouse's attorneys says he is an undisclosed 'safe house' due to numerous death threats he's received. Pictured: Rittenhouse flashing white supremacist signs at the bar following his release from jail.

He claims Rittenhouse is in an undisclosed 'safe house' due to numerous death threats he's received following the aftermath shootings.

Richards said Rittenhouse would provide his address to the court if the court can promise it will be be withheld from public record.

The Kenosha County District Attorney's Office filed a response on Thursday rejection the motion.

Rittenhouse 'apparently believes the rules do not apply to him' by refusing to provide his current address,' the office wrote.

'He is, after all, charged with murdering two people and severely injuring a third. Understandably this causes great concern in the community. The public has a right to know where he lives.

'Indeed, the defendant has already demonstrated his carefree attitude by going to a bar immediately after his arraignment on January 5, 2021 and drinking 3 beers in the company of known 'Proud Boys' while flashing white supremacist signs and wearing a 'Free as (expletive)' shirt.'

A final pre-trial hearing is scheduled to be held on March 10 and jury selection ise set to begin on March 29.
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press release

Statement by Premier Alan Winde on progress on the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination in the Western Cape

"Hope has arrived"

The Western Cape Government vaccine roll out programme will officially commence by no later than 15 February.

We anticipate delivery of the Western Cape's share of South Africa's first batch of vaccines at our Cape Medical Depot within the next 5 to 10 days and have prepared our systems to ensure that everything is in place for an effective and efficient rollout.

The vaccines will be rolled out in three separate phases, starting with healthcare workers who are on the frontline.

The aim of the vaccination programme is to ensure that we eventually achieve the population immunity that will prevent severe illness and death, reduce transmission, protect our healthcare system and thereby finally defeat this pandemic.

Without a vaccine, there is a risk that we will continue to face multiple outbreaks or waves, that would result in the loss of many more lives and jobs in our country.

We cannot afford extended and ongoing lockdowns and the Covid-19 vaccine provides us with a safe and effective route back to living our lives more normally.

It is a reason for all of us to have hope.

First phase rollout:

The National Department of Health has confirmed that the Western Cape will receive 35 000 first doses for public sector healthcare workers, and 58 584 first doses for private sector healthcare workers (including hospitals, specialists, GPs, pathologists, radiographers, pharmacists, allied health workers, dentists, and other healthcare workers).

The number of vaccines available for City health, outsourced workers, community healthcare workers, students, undertakers, and traditional healers is still being finalized by the national government, and we expect an additional allocation to our province to cover these important frontline workers.

The National Department of Health has also committed that 2nd doses are guaranteed from the same Covishield allocation.

The vaccines will be delivered to the Cape Medical Depot from where they will be picked, packed and dispatched to the various vaccination sites.

Vaccines will be dispatched with all the related consumables (such as needles and syringes), vaccine cards (which will be dispensed to those who are vaccinated) and information sheets.

A dedicated courier is in place and ready to commence the delivery process in a week's time.

I am also pleased that SAPS and law enforcement are on board to ensure safe-guarding of vaccine deliveries en route.

For the first phase:

We have identified 378 public sector facilities and 41 private facilities where vaccination will take place.

We have ordered 93 vaccine friendly fridges which are due to arrive within the next few days.

We have ordered and received consumables including needles, swabs and cooler boxes.

We have conducted an assessment of the generators in various facilities and have portable generators on standby.

Nearly 2000 vaccinators began their online training this week, with 500 more applicants to be loaded onto the system.

An ongoing staff opinion poll has to date surveyed 3027 healthcare workers on their opinions regarding vaccination. Of these, 54% have indicated that they will be taking the vaccine, 26% have indicated they would maybe take the vaccine and 20% have said they would not take it.

Vaccination is optional and will only be done once full consent has been given. We have embarked on various communication and information drives around how vaccines work, as well as the safety and regulatory processes that have gone into their development and approval. We hope that these interventions assist communities with the information they need to make the choice to vaccinate.

We encourage health care workers and members of the public who have questions around vaccination to please ask them. It is important that every person has the information they need to make an informed decision.

Next steps:

We are currently finalising the beneficiary list for all of those healthcare workers who are not on the Western Cape Government's personnel system.

We have also met with the national Business for South Africa team. A dedicated Western Cape team who will engage with the private sector, will be formalized by tomorrow.

Phases 2 and 3:

Discussions have started on the planning for phases 2 and 3. These phases will require the massive scale up of our first phase roll out strategy.

In phase 2, we anticipate having to vaccinate up to 2 million residents who meet the following criteria: essential workers, people in congregate settings and vulnerable groups, including people over 60 and anyone older than 18, with high-risk comorbidities. In phase 3, we are aiming to vaccinate a further 2.9 million residents, and anyone over the age of 18 will qualify in this round.

We have already held exploratory meetings with the City of Cape Town and the IEC in this respect, and a formal committee will commence work next week.

Provincial Contingency Vaccine Acquisition:

Last week, the cabinet approved a framework for provincial contingency vaccine acquisition (and procurement), to supplement the national acquisition plan.

The Western Cape fully supports the national vaccine acquisition efforts in line with the constitutional principles of cooperative governance.

However, we find ourselves in a situation globally where there is huge demand for vaccine supply, while suppliers are not yet producing vaccines at scale.

A single acquisition vehicle carries inherent risk in this complex global system. This is especially the case in phases 2 and 3 of our vaccine rollout where large numbers of vaccines would be required and have not yet been guaranteed through national procurement.

Centralised procurement requires a contingency plan that is complementary to the national strategy.

This does not mean that the province does not support or does not want to be part of the national strategy. We will continue to work with the national Department of Health, and we will, of course, coordinate our efforts with theirs. But we will at the same time ensure we can mitigate the risk and ensure additional pathways to source vaccines.

Doing this not only reduces the risk associated with only one supply, but would also support the national effort, as any additional vaccines sourced for the Western Cape would be in support of the national cause overall.

Any contingency acquisition must remain within the core parameters of the national and provincial vaccination programme, and must be driven by clinical and professional ethics in vaccine selection and in the roll out. It must also be subject to the necessary regulatory requirements of SAPHRA and the Medicine Control Council.

The framework has as one of its key elements, a sourcing strategy which covers demand forecasting and planning, market analysis and the appropriate procurement modality. We need to properly understand demand in our market and at the same time, determine what product is available to us, in a rapidly changing market.

Alongside this, there is a regulatory analysis underway. There are complex medical and financial regulatory issues which first need to be assessed. All of these processes are necessary before we can formally approach the market in a procurement process that can go ahead within the regulatory framework.

These are complex processes which require minute scrutiny, and which are underway by our top officials. Once they are finalized in the coming weeks, the procurement effort may commence in earnest.

I have had discussions with the Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier as to how we would fund any additional vaccines procured by the province.

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He has indicated that the provincial government has multiple sources of revenue available, including an equitable share of nationally raised revenues, conditional grants from national government, own revenue sources and provincial reserves, but reprioritisation within existing baselines is also likely to be required. Funding will be made available for our vaccination programme, including procurement, as it develops. He will announce further details when he tables the provincial budget on 10 March.

A successful vaccination programme is our number one budget priority. The cost of not procuring sufficient vaccines to achieve herd immunity, for the country and for the province, is simply too great for us not to consider contingencies for procurement.

Vaccines save lives. They also reduce the cost and burden of Covid-19 care in our healthcare system, allow us to restore access to healthcare for other serious illnesses and ailments, and would allow for the opening of local and international economies.

As a government which has been allocated a shared Constitutional mandate for the healthcare of its residents, we must be and are prepared to step in, if sufficient vaccines are not available.

Until a vaccine is widely available, we must continue to do everything possible to ensure that we minimize the risk of future waves. Infection prevention protocols such as mask wearing, hand- and surface hygiene, and social distancing remain key in protecting ourselves and others. This is a shared responsibility that we must all undertake in order to ensure that we can safely move forward.

I wish to once again thank the people of this province and our healthcare workers for everything they have done to save lives and ensure a sustained decline of the first wave. The Western Cape Government and our partners have worked hard to provide the resources-beds, staff and oxygen need to ensure that we could manage the peak of the second wave. We did not run out of any of these crucial life-saving resources. But we could not have done it without you and our brave healthcare workers.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is seeking penalties and consumer credits for what he called Eversources failure to protect public safety and communicate effectively during the August 2020 storm that left more than 100,000 customers without power for days.

Tong called for the penalties in a brief filed Friday with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority amid an ongoing probe into the electrical companies preparation for and response to the storm.

Heavy rain and fierce wind from Tropical Storm Isaias tore across the state on Aug. 4, knocking down trees and power lines. Tornado warnings popped up across the state with wind gusts up to 70 mph as first responders and utility crews raced to calls for help.

At the height of the storm, there were hundreds of thousands of Eversource customers cut off from electricity. Six days later, more than 140,000 of the utility companys customers were still without power, prompting calls from lawmakers for CEO Jim Judge to resign.

The evidence in this proceeding overwhelmingly demonstrates that Eversource yet again failed its Connecticut consumers in its major storm response, Tong wrote in the brief. PURA should find that Eversource was imprudent in its storm preparation and response  most notably for its failure to protect public safety and communicate effectively.

Tong urged PURA to levy meaningful penalties against Eversource for these failures.

PURA, which has oversight over the public utilities, has been reviewing the companys response to Tropical Storm Isias for months after Gov. Ned Lamont and other lawmakers publicly called for an investigation.

In the brief filed Friday, Tong cited what he claimed were failures in management, but made a point to praise the work of the restoration crews from out-of-state who helped get power back.

More for you News CT approved for federal funds in Tropical Storm Isaias...

The brief indicated that these perceived management failures caused severe harm.

The filing mentioned many examples including: a wastewater treatment plant left without water for nearly a week, a police station without power for at least six days, and a dead person left in a car for five hours because they were trapped by a tree tangled in electric wires.

Tong also mentioned a case of a family dog electrocuted by a live downed wire four days after the storm hit, vulnerable residents trapped in their homes without power, and those dependent on wells left without running water.

In the brief, Tong said Eversource seems incapable of learning from past mistakes, to the detriment of ratepayers. He said the companys texting platform, mobile app, website and call center were overwhelmed, something that he said was entirely foreseeable.

Tong said PURA should hold subsequent proceedings to determine the appropriate penalties against Eversource, adding that the penalties should include credits to customers for multi-million-dollar investments in the companys communication systems. He also said Eversource shareholders should refund customers for spoiled food and medications during the prolonged outages.

During the storm, Eversource deployed Make Safe crews to address power line wire, downed trees and blocked roads. Tong said in the brief that the investigation showed that Eversource failed to focus on high-priority closed roads and incidents.

Eversources liaison program failed to keep community leaders and municipal officials informed on restoration status, Tong said in the brief.

Eversource is Connecticuts largest electricity provider with more than 1.2 million customers in 149 towns, according to the company.

When it comes to United Illuminating, Tong said their response wasnt flawless, but the company acknowledged its obligations as a public service company and accepted responsibility for any setbacks and challenges in storm response.

While stress that PURA should still look at UIs failures carefully, Tong said he did not recommend any fines or penalties against the company.
The first team of scientists from the UWI Seismic Research Centre (SRC), charged with the responsibility of commencing work on monitoring activity at the La Soufriere volcano, left the state on Wednesday 27th January. The team, led by Geologist Professor Richard Robertson, also comprised Instrumentation Engineer Lloyd Lynch and Engineering Technician Ian Juman.

A second three-member team arrived that very day to continue the work started. It comprised Scientist Dr. Michal Camejo-Harry; Techician Garth Mannette; and Project Manager of the Volcano Ready Project, Monique Johnson-Lynch.





In charge of this new team will be, Dr. Thomas Christopher, Scientist from the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) based at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), who will continue to work in collaboration with UWI-SRC colleagues in Montserrat and Trinidad. He brings expertise in geochemistry (volcanic gases) and petrology which will be invaluable to allow for a better understanding of the current eruption. His experience of eruptions at Soufriere Hills, Montserrat provides great insight to the team and to NEMO.





Former team leader, Geologist Professor Richard Robertson gave a brief outline of the work expected to be undertaken by the new team. He spoke on NBC Radios Face to Face Programme on Monday 1st February.





"While they are there [Belmont], he said, "they will be putting some additional seismic and GPS instruments..monitoring instruments to gather data. One of the things they will focus on is the gas output.





Then they will move forward in becoming more operational, more routine in what theyre doing.

He indicated that the team plans to even bring in some volunteers to assist them in working 24/7 if they need to, and will work more closely with NEMO to make sure the community becomes involved and is informed and prepared for what can happen.





On Monday, 1 February, Dr. Christopher and his team climbed to the summit and worked on focusing the camera that will help to track the dome more clearly, and also installed additional reflectors on the EDM reflector, bringing the number of reflectors in place to nine. These will allow the scientists to look from the distance to ascertain whether the southern flank is moving or swelling in any way. This will be one of the concerns as the dome becomes larger.





And in keeping with what Professor Robinson shared, the team took measurements of the gas. These measurements will be used to understand what is happening deep within the volcano as gases are coming to the surface faster than magma. This can be used as an early warning system.





This new team will continue to collaborate with NEMO to ensure that regular updates are given. Even though the effusive eruption continues quietly, precautions are still to be taken. Even a quietly erupting volcano presents a dangerous risk and persons are encouraged to desist from even attempting to climb the mountain and attempting to go down into the crater. The alert level is still orange and there has been no evacuation order.
116 Drumnigh Wood, Co Dublin 625,000

When first launched by Ballymore Homes at the height of the Celtic Tiger, Drumnigh Wood instantly became one of the poshest addresses in north Dublin.

Among its rich and famous residents were Westlifes Brian McFadden and his former wife Kerry Katona of Atomic Kitten. They lived in No12, a detached six-bedroom house with a cinema room and pitch-and-putt course, which they put up for sale for 2.5m in 2005, shortly after their acrimonious split.

No116 is comparatively more modest than the pop stars former pleasure palace, but its still attracting interest among locals and outsiders alike.

The gated community is moments away from Portmarnock Strand, where dry-robers are currently out in force, taking their pandemic-permitted sea dips followed by brisk walks on the prom.

According to selling agent Andrew Corry, the last eight months have seen people flocking to the beach in Portmarnock in their droves.

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So enchanted are some that theyve dived into the local property market and decided to live there. For those who like their privacy, Drumnigh Wood is a gated community with 24/7 security and a well-maintained communal green area.

No116 was built in 2007-08, as part of the third phase of the development. With a floor area of 1,582 sq ft, the four-bedroom semi-d has an open-plan kitchen-dining area, separate lounge, sunroom, guest WC and utility room on the ground floor.

Upstairs are four bedrooms, one ensuite, and a family bathroom. A detached garage spanning 215 sq ft could be converted, subject to planning, to be used as an office or self-contained living space.

The house is in walk-in condition with Italian porcelain floor tiles downstairs, gas-fired central heating, double-glazed windows and a B3 BER.




In his first visit to the State Department since taking office, US President Joe Biden asserted a broad reset of American foreign policy and called for a return to the "grounding wire of our global power."

Biden said his administration will work with Beijing when it is beneficial for the US. "We are ready to work with Beijing when it is in America's interest to do so," he said.

He also called on the Myanmar military to give back power to democratically elected officials. "We will impose consequences on those responsible" for fighting against the democratic will of their people, Biden said.

The new president said the US will be tougher on Russia and called on the Kremlin to release Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny "immediately and without condition."

With his visit, Biden sought to buck up the diplomatic corps, many of whom were discouraged by the policies and tone of former President Donald Trump.

"America is back. Diplomacy is back," Biden said in brief remarks to the State Department staff. "You are the center of all that I intend to do. You are the heart of it. We're going to rebuild our alliances."

Biden also announced that he would halt the withdrawal of US troops stationed in Germany, end support for Saudi Arabia's military offensive in Yemen and make support for LBTGQ rights a cornerstone of diplomacy. He was due to appoint a special envoy to Yemen, which the UN says is facing the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth. AP
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Opposing the President's motion of thanks in the Rajya Sabha, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP Abdul Wahab on Friday demanded the restoration of the MPLAD fund which was scrapped during the Covid time to use funds for other purpose.

IUML said, "Earlier we could build classrooms and help other people, now that has been scrapped and nobody comes to the Rajya Sabha MP to meet or ask for any help." The IUML MP also raised the issue of arrested Kerala journalist Siddiqui Kappan, who has been booked under UAPA by the Uttar Pradesh government.

The IUML MP also raised the issue of farmers in the House and demanded that the farm laws should be withdrawn immediately.

Participating in the discussion BSP General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra asked the government to leave their ego and hear the farmers, "I request you to leave your ego and repeal the three laws".

He said, "The government has put nails near the protest sites. I think the government would not have made this kind of preparation at the Pakistan border as it is doing at Delhi borders. Farmers are being called the enemy of the nation." He alleged that "the government has dug up trenches to suppress farmers' protest. You have not dug trench for them, but this is for yourself. To cut their water and electricity supplies and you even removed toilets without thinking that women are also there. This is a human rights violation."
Section V - Curriculum

Development

The development of the T2L Science Curriculum has taken place each summer as we are working towards creating a set of three units per grade level (K-7) that will cover most of the new NGSS-aligned Massachusetts Science Standards.

We have been using a modified version the the Wiggins & McTighe Understanding by Design unit template to get the planning process started. North Adams Schools curriculum administrators put together the standards, essential understanding (drawn from the NGSS disciplinary core ideas), and write unit-level student learning objectives. Teams of Science Fellows, T2L project staff, and Classroom Teachers work together to develop curriculum during the summer months. The core of the unit development is completed by the Science Fellow in collaboration with the Classroom Teacher.

One of the first tasks of the Science Fellows and Classroom teachers in creating a new science unit is to develop the essential questions for the unit, along with a first draft of the learning plan (i.e. the sequence of lessons that will need to be developed to support the unit-level students learning objectives.) We have found the following book chapter from ASCD a helpful tool in building understanding about what makes a good essential question.

ASCD Resources on Essential Questions

We spend some of our summer professional development focus on the backward design approach to unit development, and specific components of that approach such as the development of essential questions, unpacking the science standards, and the development of student learning objectives. (See Section VI Professional Development below.)

To assist them with backward design, the Science Fellows and Classroom Teachers also have available a bank of questions related to the science standards for their unit that exemplify the types of questions students should be able to answer at the completion of the unit. North Adams Public Schools curriculum administrators put together these sample questions based on our state science exams, and an NGSS-aligned test item bank purchased by the district.

Program staff provide feedback on unit plans before the Science Fellows and Classroom Teachers begin their main work of developing lessons. We encourage them to gather lessons plans and ideas from multiple sources to assist them in their work. One of the documents below lists these resources.

Program staff use the Science Unit Review Protocol below to review the drafts of each unit both during its development and for the final phase of copy editing before publication.

Files:

Unit Formatting Template

Resources for Science Curriculum Development

Science Unit Review Criteria

Revisions

As each unit is implemented, Classroom Teachers and Science Fellows discuss how each lesson went and the Classroom Teacher completes a T2L Lesson Feedback Form (see Sections IV Logistics above). In the first year of implementation we tried gathering feedback on lessons during end-of-term meetings with the Classroom Teachers as well as written feedback questionnaires collected after the unit had been taught. We found that this retrospective approach yielded little constructive feedback except from the most conscientious teachers. We now collect the individual Lesson Feedback Forms once or twice during the semester as each unit is being taught.

Program staff review these feedback sheets and develop a detailed list of changes to be made to improve each unit. Not all changes teachers suggest are implemented. Program staff, and especially the T2L staff from the North Adams Schools, thoroughly analyze teachers suggestions to ensure that they align with the standards, maintain the integrity of the unit objectives, and would be helpful to the Science Fellows and Classroom Teachers who will implement the unit in the future (i.e. that they are not idiosyncratic to a particular classroom or teaching style).

During the summer curriculum development program, the first task for the summer Science Fellows is to revise the units taught the previous year based on the revision tasks outlined by the T2L program staff. This enables the Science Fellows, who may or may not be familiar with the T2L unit structure and expectations, to work through a completed unit and develop a sense of what they will need to do when they begin to create new units from scratch. Below is an example of one of the revision plans T2L staff provided to the summer Science Fellows to guide their revision work.

File:

T2L Grade 4 Weathering and Erosion Task List

Curriculum Units

The files below are the units we have completed thus far. We will beadding to this section each summer as we complete new units. You can access additional units that we have developed and implemented, but that have not yet undergone our revision process at the North Adams Public School Website.

It should be noted that in January of 2016 Massachusetts adopted new Science and Technology Standards which are based on, but not identical to, the NGSS standards. Any standards in the units that have an MA after them have been added to the NGSS by Massachusetts. Other standards are identical to NGSS standards, sharing the same numbering system. Not all NGSS standards are included in the Massachusetts standards. Some units may also contain italicized science standards. These are the old (pre-NGSS) Massachusetts science standards. Our state science tests have not yet transitioned to the new Massachusetts science standards, so we are advising teachers to address the old standards as well when they are related to the new NGSS-aligned standards.

The units contain references to Massachusetts Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects which are derived from the national Common Core Standards. Most of the T2L units contain science literacy lessons, and/or incorporate literacy standards into individual lesson activities. Especially for elementary generalist teachers, we have found that teaching integrated units of science and literacy makes it much more likely that science curriculum is delivered.

Finally you will see in some units references to tiered vocabulary and language objectives. We are slowing trying to build examples of these supports for building academic language skills into our T2L units. These supports benefit not only our English-language learners, but all students with significant language deficits (e.g. many of our students from low income families).
Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.

(Newser)  In his first diplomatic address since becoming president, Joe Biden on Thursday declared that "America is back" on the global stage, Reuters reports. "American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy," he said during a visit to the State Department with Vice President Kamala Harris. "We must meet the new moment ... accelerating global challenges from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation." Biden also specifically called out Myanmar, urging military leaders there to put an end to the coup, and said the US will no longer support the Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen.

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He also announced troop redeployments from Germany will be frozen, the limit on refugees allowed to enter the US will be increased, and US support for LGBTQ+ rights around the globe will be reaffirmed, CNN reports. "We are a country that does big things," he said. "American diplomacy makes it happen and our administration is ready to take up the mantle and lead once again." In a reference to former President Trump, Biden noted on Russia, "I made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive actions, interfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens, are over." The Atlantic Council offers key takeaways from the speech here. (Read more President Biden stories.)
The private sector has met only 47 per cent of the targeted figure for vaccination per day as a large number of them have abstained.  DC Image

Hyderabad: It is a wait-and-watch policy as those who are vaccinated for Covid 19 are still being observed before they go for a second shot. Effect of the first and second doses of the vaccination and their reactions will be monitored before the vaccination schedule enters the second stage.

Immediate side-effects are no more a concern now, but long-term immunogenic alterations are. This is making many wait for a while before going in for the jab.

The private sector has met only 47 per cent of the targeted figure for vaccination per day as a large number of them have abstained. Senior doctors were constantly urging them to come forward and get vaccinated, but the numbers remain low.

A senior doctor says: "We have been working closely with Covid-19 patients and remain safe. We feel we need wait for a while longer and see the effects before opting for vaccination for ourselves."

There is fear that full data about the adverse reactions is not being made public. According to sources, one doctor suffered from hypoglycemia here, and this prompted many others to back-track. The doctor has recovered, though. Others have suffered from mild reactions of pain and fever after vaccination.

A large number of those suffering from asthma, allergies and cardiovascular diseases are hesitating to come forward for vaccination.

Dr A Raghukanth, consultant pulmonologist at Medicover hospitals, says: "Vaccine-related reactions can happen for any vaccine. There is misnomer and confusion between this type of reaction and allergic reactions faced among asthmatics. Fear is the major agent. Those who are allergic need follow protocols before opting for it."

Colchicine is being recommended to increase vaccine efficiency but this has to be taken with advice from treating doctors. The medicine is an immune-modulator.

Dr P Raghavendra Reddy, interventional pulmonologist at Renova Neelima Hospital says: "There is an over-projection of side-effects. This caused fear. Also many in the healthcare sector are mindful that the vaccine has been developed within a year. These are making acceptance a challenge. Those who are immune-compromised must not miss it as this will help keep them safe."

With several colleagues, staff and others vaccinated, live examples are now available. This is expected to boost the morale of those who are yet to take the jab. A senior doctor says: "By mid-March, a lot of fears, myths and misnomers will be cleared. Data from Covaxin will be available for the scientific community to reflect upon. These will soon make the vaccine most-sought-after post March 2021."

Experts say acceptance will come slowly and once it seeps in, the demand will be high.
Bobi Wine addresses journalists at his home in Magere, Wakiso District on January 26, 2021.

Uganda opposition leader Bobi Wine's wife Barbie Itungo Kyagulanyi has reportedly left the country for the US.

Media reports in the country indicate she left to join her kids who left the country days before the January 14 general elections. She reportedly left aboard Qatar Airways, via Doha, as there are no direct flights between Kampala and the USA.

Photos of Barbie at the Entebbe airport on Tuesday have been seen on social media.

Last month, Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, claimed he had received credible reports that President Yoweri Museveni had planned to abduct his kids during the electioneering period.

Without sharing evidence, Bobi Wine said unknown people had been trailing his kids for weeks.

"I received credible information of pending physical attacks on my wife and (the) kidnap of our children," he claimed.

The kids have reportedly been staying with Barbie's sister.

Soon after, Bobi Wine and Barbie were detained at his Kampala home for 10 days by the police and army who blocked all entrances to their palatial home.

The politician and his wife only tasted freedom after the court ordered the security forces to vacate the premises.

Police argued they were locking Bobi Wine and his family at his home for his own safety and have vowed to continue monitoring him. Barbie's departure comes at a time her husband has launched a legal battle against President Museveni at the Supreme Court. Bobi Wine who finished a distant second in the polls with just over 3 million votes behind the incumbent is seeking to nullify the elections on the premise it was rigged in favour of the winner.

As for China, Biden said, "We'll work with Beijing when it's in our interest to do so."

Biden said he told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call last week that "the days of the U.S. rolling over" to Moscow "are over." The U.S. leader called on Putin to immediately release opposition leader Alexey Navalny "without condition." Navalny was sentenced to 2 years in prison this week after returning from Germany, where he had been recovering from being poisoned with a nerve agent last year by suspected Russian agents.

He said that "American alliances are our greatest assets," while warning both Russia and China of American resolve. Trump, employing an "America First" credo, had often quarreled with traditional U.S. allies while taking a softer tone with authoritarian states.

"America is back," Biden declared at the State Department in his first major foreign policy address as president. "America cannot afford to be absent on the world stage. Diplomacy is at the center of our foreign policy."

President Joe Biden promised Thursday that the United States would sharply increase its engagement around the world during his White House tenure, ending what he contended was "four years of neglect and abuse" of foreign relations by former President Donald Trump.

 War in Yemen 'Has to End'

Biden said he was ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen, calling it a "humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. This war has to end." Instead, he said, the U.S. hopes to end the five-year conflict in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country through diplomacy, with Biden naming a career diplomat, Timothy Lenderking, as a special envoy to Yemen.

Saudi Arabia began the offensive in 2015 against a Houthi faction that had seized territory in Yemen and had begun launching cross-border missiles at Saudi Arabia. Riyadh responded with an air campaign that has killed large numbers of civilians, with survivors displaying parts of weapons that showed they were made in the United States.

The conflict has added to the hunger and poverty in Yemen. Biden's ending of U.S. support for the Saudi military offensive would fulfill a promise he made during his presidential campaign.

The new president said he would keep U.S. troops in Germany, which Trump had suggested pulling out, and increase the number of refugees the U.S. would accept from the world's trouble spots to 125,000 annually, a figure Trump had cut to 18,000.

"Over the past two weeks, I've spoken with the leaders of many of our closest friends -- Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Germany, France, NATO, Japan, South Korea and Australia -- to begin reforming the habits of cooperation and rebuilding the muscles of democratic alliances" that Trump weakened, Biden said. Biden also spoke to State Department employees, telling them, "This administration is going to empower you to do your jobs, not target or politicize you. We want a rigorous debate that brings in all perspectives, and makes room for dissent. That's how we'll get the best possible policy outcomes."

 China Policy

New Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters last week that the relationship between the U.S. and China was "arguably the most important relationship that we have in the world going forward."

Biden's Thursday speech came as the U.S. ponders a new approach to China, which officials have said includes a policy of "strategic patience."

How to handle supply chain and intelligence threats from China is among the top priorities of the Biden administration. It has been reported that Biden is soon expected to sign an executive order to review U.S. supply chains, with a focus on coronavirus relief suppliers from foreign competitors.

"We know that China is engaged in a range of conduct that hurts American workers," State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week. "It blunts our technological edge, it threatens our alliances and influence in international organizations, and China is engaged in gross human rights violations that shock the conscience." "So, we will counter China's aggressive and coercive actions, sustain our key military advantages, defend democratic values, invest in advanced technologies and restore our vital security partnerships," he added.

 Calls to Counterparts

Biden has spoken by phone with several foreign leaders since taking office, including the leaders of traditional U.S. allies and Russia's Putin. During that call, the White House said, Biden raised contentious issues such as the arrest of opposition figure Navalny, as well as Moscow's cyber-espionage campaign, while seeking common ground by agreeing to extend a landmark nuclear arms deal with Russia that was about to expire.

On Wednesday, the U.S. and Russia announced they had extended the New START arms control treaty for five years, pursuing arms control between the world's two largest strategic nuclear arsenals. "We remain clear-eyed about the challenges that Russia poses to the United States and the world," Blinken said in a statement. He added that the U.S. would "work to hold Russia to account for adversarial actions as well as its human rights abuses, in close coordination with our allies and partners."


SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Savory Fund today announced that three of its brandsR&R BBQ, Mo'Bettahs, and The Crack Shackearned spots on QSR Magazine's 40/40 List for 2021. The annual list highlights restaurant brands that are leading the way through innovation, intriguing food ideas and concepts, and market growth.

Savory, a Mercato Partners Fund, delivers outsized returns through strategic investments in the food and beverage industry. It partners with high-potential, profitable, and emerging restaurant brands to deliver financial capital, industry expertise, profitability enhancements and new location development.

"There are so many emerging restaurant concepts out there that are pushing the innovation envelope and providing a brand experience that has mass appeal in the U.S. But great ideas don't always have the necessary capital to take their concept to a bigger stage," said Sam Oches, editorial director at Food News Media. "Savory Fund is working to change that, identifying brands with growth potential and giving them the necessary resources to ramp up growth. We added three of Savory's brands to our 40/40 ListR&R BBQ, Mo'Bettahs, and The Crack Shackbecause they not only have exciting menus and stories that resonate with American consumers, but also because they have a dedicated partner with a clear commitment to seeing through their potential."

The Savory team contributes directly to all aspects of growth and replication by using a proven playbook and methodology developed from over ten years of successful restaurant growth. Founder involvement in the expansion of a brand is a central theme of the Savory Fund approach, as founders carry the tribal knowledge around the uniqueness that has energized early success and is essential to future growth. Savory's partnership approach to private equity investment creates alignment between founder and investor to unlock value through improved operations and accelerated growth.

In addition to R&R BBQ, Mo'Bettahs, and The Crack Shack, Savory's portfolio of popular and fast-growing restaurant concepts includes Swig and Via 313. Throughout the life of the portfolio, the award-winning brands have earned remarkable growth, exceeding 40% year-over-year, all while staying profitable. Pursuing an aggressive growth plan, Savory brands plan to add more than 45 locations in four new markets throughout the western US in 2021.

"We're thrilled to have three of our industry-leading brands on QSR's 40/40 List," said Savory CEO, Shauna Smith. "The list truly validates the innovation taking place here at Savory as we partner with each of our portfolio companies to ensure they're adapting and thriving through all that the last year has thrown at the food and beverage industry. Because of our unique approach, we're poised for even more incredible growth in 2021 and beyond."

The full 40/40 List for 2021 can be viewed on QSR Magazine's website, here . For information about how Savory Fund helps restaurant concepts sustainably grow and thrive, contact the team at [email protected] or visit savoryfund.com.

About Savory

Savory, a Mercato Partners Fund, is focused on delivering outsized returns through strategic investments in the food and beverage industry. Savory partners with high-potential, profitable, emerging restaurant brands, to deliver financial capital, industry expertise, revenue opportunities, profitability enhancements, and new location development. The Savory team contributes directly to all aspects of growth and replication by using a proven playbook and methodology. Founder involvement in the expansion of a brand is a central theme of the Savory approach as founders carry the tribal knowledge around the uniqueness that has energized early success and is essential to future growth.

SOURCE Savory Management

Related Links

http://www.savoryfund.com


The State security machinery last evening engaged a higher gear as it activated all options at its disposal to send former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko to jail.

Whether Mr Sonko, a politician who beat all odds on his way to the top before tumbling down, has finally run out of the proverbial nine lives, will be known in coming days.

At the moment, however, the plan is to push him into a corner where he cannot speak.

Last evening, the state presented the flamboyant politician at the Kahawa West Law Court on a terror-related charge.

This happened just hours after the former city county boss appeared at the Anti-Corruption Court for a mention of a case in which he is accused of demanding Sh10 million from a private company to grant it contract to collect revenue in the county.

Located within the compound of Kamiti Maximum Prison, Kahawa Law Court is the first and largest court in Kenya dedicated to counter-terrorism and related high-risk cases.

It was officially launched in December last year and Mr Sonko is so far its highest profile guest.

Financing of terrorism

The court is today set to rule on the prosecutor's application to hold him at the Kamiti Maximum Prison for 30 days. He spent the night at the Gigiri Police Station.

"The suspect has started arming his private security agents with full military attire; namely military boots, military jungle uniform and firearms," says an affidavit by Chief Inspector Newton Thimangu of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit in support of the application by the state.

"I have intelligence information that the suspect is connected to financing of terrorism activities and is in advanced stages of procuring arms and ammunition using a wide syndicate, which is complex and sophisticated," he added.

Mr Sonko, who has of late been a thorn in the flesh of the Jubilee administration after falling out with President Kenyatta, is already facing three corruption cases.

He was at the end of last week barred by the court from uttering any defamatory words against Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho on alleged land grabbing.

He was on Monday charged at the Kiambu Law Courts with nine counts of assault, contrary to section 251 of the penal code.

He denied all the charges -- including an additional count of forcible entry contrary to section 36 of the penal code.

The charges are in relation to an incident that happened on May 25, 2019 at Buruburu Phase 4 in Nairobi. His bail application is set to be heard this morning.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations is still investigating the former governor over claims of incitement to violence and undermining authority of a public officer.

Criminal files

Additionally, the state's security machinery is hard at work looking at his past criminal files.

Top of the list is to gather files regarding Mr Sonko's sudden disappearance from Shimo La Tewa on April 16, 1998, a month after being jailed on two counts.

Although Mr Sonko's disappearance from jail without completing his term has been coming out in piecemeal, it is only now that the state security apparatus has decided to follow up on it.

Prison records previously presented to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission show that on March 12, 1998, Mr Sonko Kioko was convicted of failing to attend court in CF 675/97 and was sentenced to pay a Sh200,000 fine or serve six months in prison in default.

On the same day, Mr Sonko was also sentenced to pay Sh500,000 or in default serve six months in prison for failing to appear for previous hearings in CF 1727/96.

He was to serve both sentences concurrently for 12 months. He was admitted to Shimo la Tewa under prison number P/No. SHO/477/1998 and was scheduled to be released on March 11, 1999.

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After his disappearance from prison, he was arrested on November 15, 2000 and transferred to Kamiti Prison to complete his sentence as prisoner number KAM/1255/001. He was released on February 12, 2001.

On Monday, the prosecution opposed Mr Sonko's release on bail, claiming he was a flight risk, citing the case in Mombasa.

Since his arrest on Monday, Mr Sonko has been guarded round the clock by heavily armed officers from the Anti-Terror Police Unit and his visits have been restricted to only close family members and lawyers. Such a high level of security is only accorded to persons classified as enemies of the state such as terror suspects when being taken to court or on transit.

While appearing before the Anti-Corruption Court yesterday, Mr Sonko, who is known for his antics and bravado, was a pale shadow of himself even crying at some point as he narrated his tribulations.

"Don't cry, don't cry, comfort yourself," Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti of the Anti-Corruption Court interjected him before Mr Sonko continued: "Based on my current position you know it is very painful."
Microbiologist Marielle Bedotto-Buffet prepares samples at the University Hospital Institute for Infectious Diseases in Marseille, southern France, Wednesday Jan. 13, 2021, to study the highly contagious COVID-19 variant that has been discovered in the UK. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Daniel Cole
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI  Eli Savit promised voters hed make progressive changes in the Washtenaw County Prosecutors Office before ultimately being elected to the office.

With more than 30 days under his belt as the countys newly elected prosecutor, it would be hard to deny he isnt living up to his campaign promises.

To date, Savit has enacted 11 policy directives geared toward shifting the county to a more progressive form of criminal justice, saying he wont prosecute cases involving consensual prostitution or drugs like magic mushrooms.

I havent issued a policy change I didnt promise was coming when I ran for this office, Savit said Thursday, Feb. 4. This is change Washtenaw County has been going toward for a long time now. I reject the tough on crime/soft on crime dichotomy and am solely focused on the safety of the public and fair justice.

Savit, a 37-year-old attorney and Ann Arbor native, took office in January replacing outgoing Prosecutor Brian Mackie who retired after 28 years in office. The University of Michigan Law School graduate ran unopposed in the November general election after defeating fellow Democratic candidates Arianne Slay and Hugo Mack in the August primary.

While the wave of policy changes may appear unusual on the surface, legal experts say the issuing of policy directives is nothing new since its impossible for a prosecutor to pursue charges on every incident presented to the office.

It is impossible to prosecute every single alluded crime that comes forth, so prosecutors use their discretion to decide what to pursue and what not to, Michigan State University College of Law Professor Barbara OBrien said. What is new here is a prosecutor who is announcing what hes not going to pursue, as opposed to what has been seen in the past where prosecutors announce they will be tough on this and come down hard on that.

OBrien, who teaches classes on criminal law and procedure, said prosecutorial discretion is a feature of the criminal justice system, which leaves it up to voters to decide on how they want crimes prosecuted in their respective counties by electing their prosecutor.

Prosecutor discretion is a safety valve for the legislator, she said. For instance, lets say there is a harsh law on the books that seems great on paper, but in practice, it just doesnt make sense or is impractical. Thats when the discretion comes in. Voters elect their prosecutors for their discretion.

Though she cant say for sure if the Michigan Attorney Generals Office could one day crack down on Washtenaw County, OBrien said it is highly unlikely because a prosecutors decision not to charge a person with a crime is almost unreviewable.

The AGs office declined to comment for this story, stating it is not able to provide legal advice or opinions to the public.

Savits first policy change was directed at eliminating a zero-tolerance policy in the county, which was followed by the elimination of cash bail, calling it inherently inequitable and unjust.

Washtenaw County prosecutor rolls out new policy to end use of cash bail

His next two changes involved how the prosecutors office will handle cases involving instances of alleged officer-violence against residents, and a policy ordering cases of resisting and obstructing police to be thoroughly vetted before charges would be authorized.

Police shooting of Aura Rosser highlighted in Washtenaw prosecutors new policies

Savit then issued policy directives stating his office would not pursue charges for minor marijuana and other drug offenses or possession of addictive opioid drugs, followed by directives to not pursue charges against people engaged in consensual sex work or juveniles accused of minor crimes such as truancy and possession of alcohol.

His policy regarding truancy is preemptive as in practice the prosecutors office has no role in truancy cases.

Petitions for truancy violations are between schools and the juvenile court, according to Washtenaw County Probate Judge and presiding Juvenile Judge Julia Owdziej who recently penned a letter explaining the juvenile court process in response to a recent ProPublica story and Savits policy announcement.

We do not detain minors whose underlying offense is a status offense (school truancy, running away, incorrigibility, curfew). We do however think school truancy is a big deal, Owdziej wrote.

Michigan prosecutor will look the other way when it comes to certain kinds of prostitution

Savit currently is crafting a new policy directed at immigration issues tied to criminal justice matters in Washtenaw County.

Response to the changes has been largely positive, Savit said, adding that he has received a swath of thank-you letters from Washtenaw County residents.

I honestly did not expect to get written cards thanking me for what Im doing, but Im not a lone person doing this, Savit said. The groundwork for this was already laid before me. This is what the people of Washtenaw County have wanted and we have a sheriff who is also committed to fairness and public safety.

Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton recently announced his office, with support of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, is forgiving all inmate debts incurred since 2013 to Dec. 31 2020, forgiving more than $500,000 owed to the county.

Michigan sheriff forgives more than $500,000 in jail debt owed by past and current inmates

Historically, the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office has not aggressively pursued non-payment of jail debt through creditors or other means, Clayton said.

Without the debt, people are better positioned to meet their basic needs beyond what the jail provides, he said, adding when basic needs are met, behavior within the jail is improved.

To review all of Savits policy directives, click here.

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Detroit Cookie Company opens Ann Arbor bakery

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131-year-old Ypsilanti brick water tower is worth celebrating, local brewer says

American actor Robin Williams had a neurodegenerative brain disease called dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB): a distressing disease, with symptoms in common with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). But unlike these two conditions, DLB also entails prominent mood and cognitive swings, sleep disorders, and vivid, sometimes terrifying, visual hallucinations. It is now thought that Robin Williams, whose diagnosis was only ascertained post-mortem, was likely driven to suicide, in 2014, by the terrifying hallucinatory experiences he suffered for years - and about which he never told anyone, not even his wife. Susan Schneider Williams recounted the tragic story in an editorial published in the journal Neurology, in 2016, under the title "The terrorist inside my husband's brain".

DLB is a relative newcomer to the dementia landscape. It is frequently confused by doctors with Alzheimer's disease, but also with Parkinson-related dementia (PDD), which may afflict a significant number of Parkinson's patients, up to 80%, on average 10 years after the onset of Parkinson's disease.

DLB was identified in 1910, when a German-born American neurologist, Frederic Henry Lewy, observed in the autopsied brains of Parkinson's and dementia patients "clumps" of an unusual protein (Alzheimer's brains also present protein clumps, but the proteins involved are different). However, only recently has Dementia with Lewy bodies been recognised as a common type of dementia. "It is the second most frequent cause of degenerative dementia in elderly people (15 to 25% of cases at autopsy)" after Alzheimer's, writes an international team - including scientists from the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown (CCU) in Lisbon, Portugal - in a new study published on February 5th 2021 in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry (a publication of the British Medical Journal group).

For several years, says Durval Costa - lead author of the new study and head of the Radiopharmacology Lab at the Champalimaud Experimental Clinical Research Programme - it was hypothesised that the use of an imaging technique called SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography), combined with the intravenous injection of a radioactive compound, [123I]FP-CIT, should allow the distinction of dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer's disease. This is due to the fact that [123I]FP-CIT binds to dopamine transporters (dopamine is a neurotransmitter) located on the membrane of dopamine-producing neurons which are very abundant in a specific part of the brain called the striatum. Since the striatal dopamine-producing neurons are depleted in dementia with Lewy bodies (just as they are in Parkinson's disease), but not in Alzheimer's disease, it was natural to assume that the pattern of distribution of this compound in the brains of patients, revealed by its radioactive emissions (captured by a special camera), would then allow doctors to visually, and in a quantitatively accurate way, distinguish DLB from AD.

The results now presented by the team have been more than twenty years in the making. "The imaging data was acquired around 1996-1999," explains Francisco Oliveira, who works in Durval Costa's Lab and is the first author of the new paper. "These patients were followed from the time of their initial clinical diagnosis (and image collection) to that of their death - in some cases, for about 20 years."

Part of the same team had already published preliminary results in 2002 in the same journal that has now released the new quantitative results. But at the time, the post-mortem material of the patient cohort was not yet fully available, so they had not been able to compare the in vivo diagnosis with the autopsy reports in a sufficient number of patients. "We did not have all the data then," notes Durval Costa. "Now we do."

And, for the first time, the autopsies confirm the imaging data with very high accuracy: the images obtained enable not only the differentiation of DLB from AD, but also of DLB from Parkinson's disease (whose corresponding [123I]FP-CIT distribution patterns are also different from one another). Going back to Robin Williams' excruciating final years, it is noteworthy that his doctors eventually gave him a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, although he and his wife were certain that something else was very wrong with him.

"To be able to quantitatively make these distinctions between diseases is crucial," says Francisco Oliveira. "These diseases may present overlapping symptoms, which makes the clinical diagnosis difficult in some cases and gives rise to a considerable percentage of misdiagnoses. Studies have shown that, frequently, patients with DLB are clinically diagnosed as AD". This could lead to patient mismanagement. The care of Alzheimer's disease patients is different from patients suffering from DLB. Patients with DLB are very sensitive to certain types of medications that should be avoided as they lead to faster deterioration and death.

"Our findings may have a significant impact both for patients and caregivers," adds Francisco Oliveira. "In addition, the selection of patients for clinical trials can now be done with more accurate biomarkers." The scientists also hope that, in the future, their quantitative technique may also help to differentiate PD patients with dementia (PDD) from patients with DLB, as they may benefit from different treatment strategies.

###
Since taking office, President Joe Biden has prioritized rooting out Trump holdovers who were installed to sabotage government agencies. On Tuesday, he continued to clean house. He demanded the resignations of four people whom Donald Trump appointed to the council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a little-known but influential federal agency. One council member, Vice Chair Jennifer Dickey, resigned in accordance with the presidents request. Three othersAndrew Kloster, Roger Severino, and Daniel Z. Epsteinrefused to resign, so Biden fired them on Wednesday. All four members were far-right partisan activists who worked in another position within the Trump administration before joining ACUS. Severino, who previously led Trumps campaign to legalize anti-LGBTQ discrimination in health care, sued Biden on Wednesday evening. He alleges that Biden had no authority to fire him and demands that he be reinstated immediately.

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Severinos lawsuit betrays a foundational principle of the modern conservative legal movement. Right-wing scholars have long argued the president is unitary executive with constitutional power to fire officials within the executive branch. It is possible that Severino is simply a hypocrite who will abandon his beliefs to claw back his old job and accuse Biden of abandoning unity. But the choice to take his fight to the courts could also be an attempt to tank precedent protecting the independence of certain executive branch officials. The reality is that Biden had the authority to remove Severino, along with Dickey, Kloster, and Epsteinnot because of the unitary executive, but because a federal statute gives him that right. Severinos lawsuit may well be a bomb intended for the administrative state. His lawsuit, however, seems more likely to blow up in his face.

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ACUS might be a relatively obscure agency, but it has a significant impact on federal regulations (and, by extension, the entire country). Its tasked with recommending improvements to regulatory processes across the government. The ACUS council, which serves as a kind of board of directors, is divided between private citizens (who are not employed by the government outside of ACUS) and government officials (who also hold another position elsewhere in the administration). The council decides which projects to undertake and where to direct the agencys focus. A 101-member assembly then crafts recommendations based on projects approved by the council. When ACUS puts its stamp of approval on a certain idea, other agenciesas well as Congress and federal courtsare more likely to consider it legitimate. Thus, while ACUS exercises little to no power on its own, it has substantial sway over the regulatory rulebook. When the agency makes a recommendation, the rest of the government pays attention.

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Congress intended ACUS to be nonpartisan. Trump appointed only far-right activists.

Under Trumps appointees, those recommendations seemed designed to obstruct regulations and push partisan right-wing priorities. The projects it selects to undertake are very much right out of the Federalist Societys playbook, an individual who works closely with ACUS told me. (The individual asked to remain anonymous because he frequently works with ACUS assembly members.) Republicans have discovered that they can launder conservative ideas through this government agency, he added, giving these ideas a nonpartisan, government-approved sheen that they dont deserve. James Goodwina senior policy analyst at the Center for Progressive Reform who has worked with ACUS co-sponsoring events, participating in public meetings, and commenting on draft reportsagrees. Industry folks launder their ideas through ACUS, Goodwin told me. Under Trump, ACUS became a useful accomplice for the right wing.

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For example, in 2020, ACUS promoted a rule on rules that encourages other agencies to develop elaborate restrictions on their own ability to write new regulations. It has also urged agencies to perform cost-benefit analyses on a broad range of regulations whose benefits are intangible. The advantages of a rule barring discrimination or limiting pollution, for instance, cannot always be quantified. So if the agency performs a cost-benefit analysis (as ACUS advises), it might seem as if the rule is too expensive to justify. And if it doesnt perform a cost-benefit analysis, a federal court might block the rule, finding that the agency wrongly ignored what ACUS deems to be best practice.

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Congress intended ACUS to be nonpartisan, and in the decades after its creation in 1964, it met this requirement. Republicans defunded the agency in 1995, deeming it useless, but when Democrats revived it in 2010, they carried on its bipartisan tradition: President Barack Obama appointed both Democrats and Republicans to its council, including Federalist Society leaders Ron Kass and Ted Olson.

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Trump, by contrast, has appointed only far-right activists. While serving in the Department of Health and Human Services, for instance, Severino wrote a rule allowing health care providers to discriminate against LGBTQ patients. He justified this policy by asserting, without evidence, that thousands of people would refuse to enter the medical field if forced to serve LGBTQ people. (He exempted the rule, which was obviously illegal, from rigorous cost-benefit analysis to avoid identifying its actual impact on access to health care.) Other Trump appointees, like Matthew Morgan, lack any experience with administrative law and were appointed because they worked on the former presidents campaign.

During his final week in office, Trump tried to game the system to burrow in his ACUS appointees. Just before leaving the White House, he reappointed Jennifer Dickey and Roger Severinowho were already serving on the councilto restart their three-year terms. These reappointments were never announced publicly, and only announced internally at ACUS after Biden took office, perhaps to limit backlash.

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Severinos lawsuit seems designed to invite the Supreme Court to overrule an old precedent scorned by Republicans called Humphreys Executor. In that decision, SCOTUS allowed Congress to prevent the president from firing officials who serve on multimember boards at executive agencies and do not exercise purely executive powers. In his lawsuit, Severino cited Humphreys Executor to bolster his claim that Biden cannot sack him. He suggested that, because he is part of a multimember agency that doesnt wield substantial executive power, Humphreys Executor protects him against termination.

This argument is surprising, to put it mildly. While Severino has not explicitly disavowed the precedent, most of todays conservatives view Humphreys Executor as a betrayal of the unitary executive. Kloster, Severinos former ACUS colleagues, implied that Severino intends to use his lawsuit as a bludgeon against the precedent. Moreover, Severino is represented by Jonathan Mitchell, an adamant and litigious foe of the administrative state. By resting their case on Humphreys Executor, Severino and Mitchell may be trying to give the federal judiciary an opportunity to reverse the precedent, thereby bolstering the unitary executive. But there are good reasons to believe the judiciary will not take up this offer.

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First, Biden only fired council members who were serving in another position within the government when appointed to ACUS. He conspicuously declined to terminate members who were appointed as private citizens, including the disgraced conspiracy theorist Adrian Vermeule. Federal law states that the service of any member ends when a change in his employment status would make him ineligible for Council membership under the conditions of his original appointment. This provision strongly suggests the four fired council members terms expired with Trumps term. Supreme Court litigator Deepak Gupta told me the statute means that Trump administration officials had to go when the administration ended at noon on Jan. 20.

Gupta pointed out a second problem with Severinos lawsuit: Federal law does not protect members of the ACUS council from removal in the first place. Typically, when Congress wants to shield an official from removal at will, it explicitly limits the presidents ability to remove them. Congress did no such thing here; it merely gave members three-year terms, subject to the limitation for government members. Given the Supreme Courts skepticism toward job protections for executive officials, there is no real chance the justices would go beyond the plain text of the statute to identify some implicit shield against early termination.

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Finally, Severinos lawsuit states that ACUS does not wield any executive power because it is purely advisory. That admission takes this case out of the unitary executive danger zone. Gupta told me the case doesnt even implicate deeper questions about presidential authority: Severino isnt exercising executive power, but rather providing advice to the president, and as a general rule, the president gets to pick his own support staff.

Severino isnt the only disgruntled Trump holdover angry that Biden fired him. The new president has removed several other high-ranking Trump appointees after they refused his request for resignation. At this pace, its inevitable that Biden will get hit with more lawsuits that put conservatives in the awkward position of relying on a precedent they purport to despise. Severinos lawsuit could be the start of a grand plan to eradicate Humphreys Executor. Or it could be nothing more than the irate gripe of a Republican operative who thinks he has a constitutionally guaranteed right to subvert the new administration from within.
Carolyn Blocka does not mess around with her annual Super Bowl party.

Last year, as 15 of her friends crowded into her Toronto apartment, she assembled a spread that included chili, pulled pork, Hawaiian meatballs, chips and guacamole, pizza, chicken wings and the obligatory healthy salad. For dessert, Ms. Blocka made cookies and bought doughnuts decorated with the logos for the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.

The pandemic has canceled this years party, however. Instead, Ms. Blocka, a rabid Los Angeles Chargers fan, will watch Sundays Super Bowl with one friend, sitting on fold-up chairs in her garage, with the door open and the temperature outside expected to be around 20 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff.

Its weird, but I miss making all of the preparations for the party, said Ms. Blocka, a law clerk. She and her friend are going to order a restaurants takeout package  a Chicago-style pizza, wings and some craft beers for $50. Im still going to get some doughnuts, though.

In the interest of preventing the Super Bowl from turning into a superspreader event, public health authorities are pleading for viewers to be like Ms. Blocka and watch this years game with family or only a small group of friends. And while Sunday may be a little less lively at home without a raucous crowd, snack companies and delivery services are expecting the socially distanced circumstances to be a boon for sales.
NANOGrav finds possible 'first hints' of low-frequency gravitational wave background

In data gathered and analyzed over 13 years, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) Physics Frontiers Center (PFC) has found an intriguing low-frequency signal that may be attributable to gravitational waves.

NANOGrav researchers - including a number from West Virginia University's (WVU's) Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology - measure the times of arrival of radio pulses from exotic stars called pulsars with large radio telescopes, including the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Pulsars are small, dense stars that rapidly rotate, emitting beamed radio waves, much like a lighthouse. The results from this most recent dataset show perturbations in the arrival times from these pulsars that may indicate the effects of gravitational waves, as reported recently in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The most likely source of these gravitational waves is the combined signal from all the supermassive black hole pairs at the cores of merged, distant galaxies.

NANOGrav has been able to rule out some effects other than gravitational waves, such as interference from the matter in our own solar system or certain errors in the data collection. These newest findings set up direct detection of gravitational waves as the possible next major step for NANOGrav and other members of the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA), a collaboration of researchers using the world's largest radio telescopes.

Dustin Madison, a postdoctoral researcher at WVU, comments "We can't yet say with confidence that what we're seeing is gravitational waves, but if it is, the "signal" makes a lot of sense given what we think we know about supermassive black holes. This was always how this was going to play out...enticing hints of a signal before we would be able to definitively claim a detection. We're on the right track to make that definitive assessment in just a couple of years." Looking to the future, he thinks researchers will then be able to characterize the signal and learn more from it for years and years to come.

Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time caused by the movements of incredibly massive objects, such as black holes orbiting each other or neutron stars colliding. Astronomers cannot observe these waves with a telescope like they do stars and galaxies. Instead, they measure the effects passing gravitational waves have, namely tiny changes to the precise position of objects - including the position of the Earth itself. Gravitational waves were first detected in 2015 by NSF's Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) by a team including other researchers at WVU. Like light from distant objects, gravitational waves are a cosmic messenger signal - one that holds great potential for understanding "dark" objects, like black holes.

NANOGrav chose to study the signals from pulsars because they serve as detectable, dependable Galactic clocks. These small, dense stars spin rapidly, sending pulses of radio waves at precise intervals toward Earth. Pulsars are in fact commonly referred to as the universe's timekeepers, and this unique trait has made them useful for astronomical study.

But gravitational waves can interrupt this observed regularity, as the ripples cause space-time to undergo tiny amounts of stretching and shrinking. Those ripples result in extremely small deviations in the expected times for pulsar signals arriving on Earth. Such deviations indicate that the position of the Earth has shifted slightly. By studying the timing of the regular signals from many pulsars scattered over the sky at the same time, known as a "pulsar timing array," NANOGrav works to detect minute changes in the Earth's position due to gravitational waves stretching and shrinking space-time.

WVU Professor and NANOGrav member Sarah Burke-Spolaor explains "This signal is incredibly enticing. It could be that our orchestra is tuning up, hinting that we're about to hear the grand symphony of waves from supermassive black holes that we expect pervades the Universe," Burke-Spolaor reflects. She adds, "If this signal is indeed gravitational waves, future study will offer unique insights into how the biggest black holes and galaxies in our universe form and evolve".

"NANOGrav has been building to the first detection of low frequency gravitational waves for over a decade and today's announcement shows that they are on track to achieving this goal," said Pedro Marronetti, NSF Program Director for gravitational physics. "The insights that we will gain on cosmology and galaxy formation are truly unparalleled."

NANOGrav is a collaboration of U.S. and Canadian astrophysicists and a National Science Foundation Physics Frontiers Center (PFC). Maura McLaughlin, WVU Professor and Co-Director of the NANOGrav PFC, added "We are so grateful for the support of the NANOGrav PFC, that's allowed us to dramatically increase both the number of pulsars being timed and the number of participants working on NANOGrav research over the past six years". WVU has played a significant role in the PFC; 12 of the 63 authors on this paper are WVU faculty, postdocs, and students. And low-frequency gravitational wave detection is one of the main aims of the Center for Gravitational Waves and Cosmology, formed in 2015 along with the award of the PFC. As, Duncan Lorimer, WVU Professor and Eberly College Associate Dean for Research, notes "The long-term institutional support provided by the College and University has played a critical role in NANOGrav's success since its inception in 2007".

NANOGrav created their pulsar timing array by studying 47 of the most stably rotating "millisecond pulsars" with both the GBT and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico as reported in the January 2021 Astrophysical Journal Supplements. Not all pulsars can be used to detect the signals that NANOGrav seeks - only the most stably rotating and longest-studied pulsars will do. These pulsars spin hundreds of times a second, with incredible stability, which is necessary to obtain the precision required to detect and study gravitational waves.

Of the 47 pulsars studied, 45 had sufficiently long datasets of at least three years to use for the analysis. Researchers studying the data uncovered a spectral signature, a low-frequency noise feature, that is the same across multiple pulsars. The timing changes NANOGrav studies are so small that the evidence is not apparent when studying any individual pulsar, but in aggregate, they add up to a significant signature.

Potential Next Steps

To confirm direct detection of a signature from gravitational waves, NANOGrav's researchers will have to find a distinctive pattern in the signals between individual pulsars. At this point, the sensitivity of the experiment is not currently good enough for such a pattern to be distinguishable. Boosting the signal requires NANOGrav to expand its dataset to include more pulsars studied for even longer lengths of time, which will increase the array's sensitivity. In addition, by pooling NANOGrav's data together with those from other pulsar timing array experiments, a joint effort by the IPTA may reveal such a pattern. Students and faculty at WVU are important contributors to this effort, and in fact 24 WVU students have traveled to IPTA partner countries to undertake research abroad as part of NSF-funded programs led by WVU.

At the same time, NANOGrav is developing techniques to ensure the detected signal could not be from another source. They are producing computer simulations that help test whether the detected noise could be caused by effects other than gravitational waves, in order to avoid a false detection.

While the next several years hold a great deal of scientific promise, they are not without challenges. With the recent collapse of the Arecibo Observatory's 305-meter telescope, NANOGrav will be seeking alternate sources of data and working even more closely with their international colleagues. Although significant delays in detection are not expected, due to years of very sensitive Arecibo data already contributing to their datasets, the loss of Arecibo is a terrible blow to science in general. For NANOGrav, it may impact the ability to characterize the background and detect other types of gravitational-wave sources in the future in the absence of another instrument. The loss of the telescope also directly impacts the graduate studies of several WVU PhD students. NANOGrav members are deeply saddened by the collapse and its impact on the staff and the island of Puerto Rico.

###

Publications referenced in this article

Gravitational Wave Search:

https:/ / iopscience. iop. org/ article/ 10. 3847/ 2041-8213/ abd401

Narrowband Dataset:

https:/ / iopscience. iop. org/ article/ 10. 3847/ 1538-4365/ abc6a0

Wideband Dataset:

https:/ / iopscience. iop. org/ article/ 10. 3847/ 1538-4365/ abc6a1

For more information about NANOGrav, please visit the website at http://nanograv. org .

NANOGrav research at WVU is supported through NSF PFC award #1430284 and NSF OIA award #1458952. The Arecibo Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement (#AST-1744119) by the University of Central Florida (UCF) in alliance with Universidad Ana G. Mendez (UAGM) and Yang Enterprises (YEI), Inc. The Green Bank Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

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Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

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China and Russia said Thursday that the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, one of the basic norms governing international relations, should be upheld.

In a phone conversation between Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the two sides also pledged to jointly preserve global and regional strategic stability.

The international situation is at an important watershed, Wang noted, adding that at such a time, it is even more important for China and Russia to strengthen strategic communication.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered speeches respectively at the World Economic Forum Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda.

The two leaders echoed each other's positions in their speeches, voicing strong determination to uphold multilateralism and jointly tackle global challenges at the beginning of the year, Wang said.

The two heads of state, he said, put forward a China-Russia plan to jointly prevail over the COVID-19 pandemic and revitalize the global economy, injecting positive energy and stability into the volatile international landscape.

The two heads of state have also agreed to celebrate this year the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, pointing out the direction for deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries, Wang said.

Both sides should take this opportunity to add new dimensions to this important treaty and send a clear message to the world that the two countries will safeguard the security of themselves and along their peripheries, he added.

Both China and Russia attach great importance to innovation, Wang noted, adding that the two countries should join hands to reinforce complementary advantages and strive for major achievements by holding the Russia-China Year of Scientific and Technological Innovation.

The two sides should earnestly promote trade and investment facilitation on the basis of mutual benefit, synergize the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union to establish regional industrial chains, supply chains and value chains, so as to lay a solid foundation for mutual benefit and win-win results, Wang said.

Wang recalled Lavrov's annual press conference in which the Russian minister said "we can talk endlessly about Russian-Chinese cooperation that embraces a very wide range of spheres," saying that China totally agrees with the remarks.

China sees no limit or restricted area for China-Russia strategic coordination that is all-weather and all-dimensional, Wang said.

The two countries have conducted efficient coordination within multilateral frameworks and safeguarded international fairness and justice as well as legitimate interests of developing countries, he added.

China firmly supports the measures Russia has taken to safeguard its national sovereignty and social stability, and is willing to work with Russia to continuously strengthen coordination on such issues as rejecting interference in internal affairs and fighting against false information, Wang said.

For his part, Lavrov said the importance of Russia-China relations has long gone beyond bilateral to gain international and regional significance. The two heads of state have maintained close exchanges, which has provided important strategic guidance for the development of bilateral relations, he said.

Lavrov said Russia is very satisfied with the anti-pandemic cooperation between the two countries.

Russia is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in vaccine research, development and production, as well as in pandemic prevention and control, so as to eliminate the impact of the pandemic on practical cooperation, he said.

Russia and China should intensify strategic coordination and steadily advance bilateral and multilateral agendas within the year, Lavrov said.

Noting Russia is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China on international and regional issues, Lavrov said the two sides should firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, jointly and staunchly defend multilateralism and safeguard international and regional stability.

The two sides also had in-depth exchanges on issues of common concern such as relations with the United States, and reached new consensus.
New Delhi: Punjabi actor and one of the accused in Red Fort violence, Deep Sidhu remains absconding till date. However, in a shocking development, new information has come to the fore.

As per sources, all the videos of Deep Sidhu that have been uploaded on Facebook since he has been absconding, are uploaded by his close female friend from overseas. This is done in order to mislead the investigations, the sources added.

The Delhi Police on Wednesday had announced Rs 1 lakh reward for information leading to the actor's arrest.

Sidhu also released another video on his Facebook account the same day. He wrote in the caption, We can't fight the battle bases on lies, start accepting the truth. I just got to know they have arrested our youth, let's get them out on priority, let's stay united and fight this. UP's boy Navneet martyred, tomorrow's boy's Bhog is UP, in reality, Bhog should have been suffered in the farmer's protest by declaring this movement as martyr from the stage in Delhi, it is a request that the families who lost their only child in this protest. Stand by.

Sidhu is wanted in the Red Fort violence that occurred on Republic Day (January 26). A few protesting farmers had stormed the Red Fort, clashed with the police and hoisted a religious flag on an empty flag post.

Following the violence during the farmers' tractor rally in Delhi on January 26, the Delhi Police have, so far, arrested 122 persons in various cases of rioting and causing damage to public property, besides registering 44 cases at various police stations.
February 04, 2021 " Information Clearing House " - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Wednesday reaffirmed U.S. recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate president and ruled out negotiations anytime soon with President Nicolas Maduro, branding him a dictator and calling for free and fair elections.

In the most extensive explanation of President Joe Bidens Venezuela policy since he took office on Jan. 20, State Department spokesman Ned Price said one of the main thrusts would be targeting regime officials and their cronies involved in corruption and human rights abuses.

This suggested that the new administration could stick to former President Donald Trumps sanctions campaign in some form, despite its failure to force Maduro from power. Price made no mention, however, of the crippling oil sanctions that Trump imposed on the OPEC nation.

Seeking to draw a contrast to Trumps sometimes go-it-alone approach on Venezuela, Price told reporters the new administration would collaborate more with a number of allies and partners to bring about progress towards democracy in Venezuela.

Nicolas Maduro is a dictator, Price said. The overriding goal of the Biden-Harris administration is to support a peaceful, democratic transition in Venezuela through free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections.

But he did not explicitly call for the Socialist leaders departure or removal, in contrast to Trump officials who left little doubt that was a central objective.

The State Department did not immediately provide a clarification requested by Reuters.

Maduro has remained in power, backed by the military as well as Russia, China, Cuba and Iran.

Price made clear, however, that negotiations with Maduro  which Trump also rejected - are out of the question for now.

Pressed on the possibility of future dialogue if circumstances change, Price said: Im talking about current policy ... We certainly dont expect any contact with Maduro anytime soon.

Price said the United States would continue to recognize Guaido as interim president. Dozens of countries have backed Guaidos claim following Maduros re-election in 2018 in a vote Western governments called a sham.

But last week, European Union states said while they regarded Guaido as a privileged interlocutor they no longer considered him interim president.

This came after Guaido lost his position as head of parliament following legislative elections in December that the opposition mostly boycotted. The EU did not recognize that vote. Neither did the United States, which Price said has retained its backing for the previous Guaido-led body.
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Daniel Jones and Ranger Wiens of Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, Inc. recover $395,000 for client Denae Mendonca after jury verdict of $287,000 and prevailing party costs.

Defendant Shahrzad Shahabeddin injured Plaintiff Denae Mendonca when she rear-ended her in stop and go traffic while traveling southbound on Interstate 5 in Orange County, California. An officer with the California Highway Patrol responded to the incident and wrote a property damage only traffic collision report.

The following day, Ms. Mendonca sought medical treatment through an urgent care for neck pain. She then began a five-month course of treatment that included chiropractic care, pain management, an orthopedic consultation, and physical therapy. An MRI showed a disc extrusion and an artificial disc replacement procedure was then recommended.

Due to ongoing symptoms of neck and arm pain in the months following, Ms. Mendonca began another course of chiropractic treatment, another orthopedic evaluation, another MRI of her neck, two cervical epidural injections to her neck, and physical therapy.

After incurring medical bills for past and future treatment, as well as lost wages for the months Plaintiff was unable to work due to injuries and treatment, Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, Inc. was able to aggressively fight to win a jury verdict in favor of Plaintiff.

Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, Inc. rejected the Defense's early initial offer of $10,000 and in the end, claimed $395,000 for their client.

SOURCE Harris Personal Injury Lawyers, Inc.
La Jolla, California--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) - Tryp Therapeutics Inc. (CSE: TRYP) ("Tryp") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Placement") of 3,333,333 million units (the "Units") at a price of $0.60 per Unit, to raise gross proceeds of approximately $2.0 million. Marc Lustig, founder and former Chairman of Origin House has committed to be a lead participant in the Placement.

"Tryp is pleased to have this investment led by Marc Lustig, a well-known and respected Canadian entrepreneur, capital markets executive and investor. Having Marc as a supporter at this critical growth stage in Tryp's development is especially accretive to our vision and a significant endorsement of both our management team and our strategy," said Tryp's CEO, James Kuo.

Each Unit consists of one Common Share (each, a "Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole Common Share purchase warrant, a "Warrant". Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at a price of $0.75 per Common Share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance.

The proceeds of the Placement will be used to advance the Tryp's research and development programs and for general working capital purposes. Closing of the Placement is anticipated to occur on or about February 12, 2021, and is subject to receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

The securities issued pursuant to the Placement will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The Warrants will not be listed on any exchange.

This press release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to qualification or registration under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

About Tryp Therapeutics:

Tryp Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company focused on developing compounds with known activity and/or safety profiles for the treatment of rare diseases and other diseases with high unmet medical needs. Tryp's psilocybin-for-neuropsychiatric disorders, or PFN, program is focused on the development of synthetic psilocybin as a new class of drug for the treatment of certain neuropsychiatric-based disorders. Tryp's lead PFN drug candidate is TRP-8802 for the treatment of fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome estimated to affect more than 5 million people in the United States; and, rare over-eating disorders.

In addition to its PFN Program, Tryp is developing TRP-1001, an oral formulation of razoxane for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. Soft tissue sarcomas are a rare and diverse group of tumors that account for about 1% of all cancers in adults and 7% in children. Based on the prevalence of soft tissue sarcomas in the United States, Tryp believes it is a rare disease and that TRP-1001 should qualify for Orphan Drug status.

Contact:

For inquiries, please contact us at:

TRYP Investor Relations

T: 1-833-811-TRYP (8797)

E: investors@tryptherapeutics.com

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this news release, including statements relating to the anticipated closing date of the Placement, constitutes forward-looking information. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends", "assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Tryp as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of Tryp's final prospectus available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Tryp; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and Tryp expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73726
Selectyoursweeps.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 7 May 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the selectyoursweeps homepage on Twitter + the total number of selectyoursweeps followers (if selectyoursweeps has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the selectyoursweeps homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if selectyoursweeps has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the selectyoursweeps homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the selectyoursweeps homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the selectyoursweeps homepage on StumbleUpon.

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PAGE TITLE selectyoursweeps DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS email, select, to participate in, to participate, participate in, agree to, participate



The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title found in the head section of the homepage.

Domain and Server

DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English English DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache (PHP/5.3.6) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux

Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Type of server and offered services. The language of selectyoursweeps.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site.

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for selectyoursweeps.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

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The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The type of Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page.

Twitter account link

TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a press conference about student debt outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 4, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Democrats Pressure Biden for $50,000 Student Loan Cancellation by Executive Order

Congressional Democrats are pushing President Joe Biden to wipe out $50,000 in debt for federal student loan borrowers via executive order, but the White House suggests it should be done by with legislative means.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and other Democratic lawmakers, urged Biden to take executive action to cancel $50,000 per borrower. They argue that the move would boost the economy, reduce the racial wealth gap, and lead the country toward a long-term, equitable, and just recovery.

We have met with the president, we are pushing the president and his people and we are very hopeful that the cry from one end of America to the othertake this student-loan debt off our backswill be heard in the White House, Schumer said at a press conference.

Schumer and Warren first unveiled their proposal in September 2020, when Biden was still a White House contender. They called on whoever becomes the next president to use existing authority under the Higher Education Act to initiate broad-scale loan forgiveness without seeking congressional approval.

Now a sitting president, Biden appears to be hesitant about using the authority that he might have. Shortly after Schumer and Warren announced their renewed effort, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden believes Congress should try to pass the legislation for him to sign rather than relying on executive action.

Hes calling on Congress to draft the proposal, Psaki said. And if it is passed and sent to his desk, he will look forward to signing it.

Psaki noted that Biden has directed the Education Department to extend the Trump administrations suspension on student loan payments and interest through September 2021, and that he continues to support canceling $10,000 of federal student loan debt per person, as part of the administrations plan to ease economic burdens on Americans during the pandemic.

He already took a step through an executive action on the first day, and he would look to Congress to take the next steps, she said.

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, during her final days in office, denounced the idea of student loan debt forgiveness. She wrote in her farewell letter that two-thirds of Americans dont have student loans, and that its fundamentally unfair to require two-thirds of Americans who didnt go to college or who dont have student loans to subsidize the one-third who did.

Across-the-board forgiveness of college debts is not only unfair to most Americans, it is also the most regressive of policy proposalsrewarding the wealthiest sector of our labor force at the expense of the poorest, DeVos wrote. And its even more unfair to those who have held up their end of the bargain and paid back their student loans themselves to subsidize those who dont save, plan, and pay.
Health official: 'I am hopeful for the brighter days ahead'
MONROE, Ore. -- Many families have turned to curbside pickup during the pandemic to get their groceries, some for COVID-19 safety reasons and others for convenience.

However, one mother now has new safety concerns after she unloaded her groceries and found they were covered in blood.

"Its complete negligence what happened. I get accidents happen, but part of me is just like these accidents shouldnt happen, Delecia Lund said.

Walmart said there's never been a better time to be a customer. However, Delecia Lund, a mother of five who uses their curbside pickup service, disagrees.

"There was blood on the floor, blood on my table, blood on the wall, we stack bags, my island, we cleaned the house. It was a lot of blood," Lund said.

Lund said this service has been valuable for her family up until Tuesday. An employee at the Walmart on West 11th Avenue brought out her groceries that she ordered online ahead of time and loaded them into her trunk.

When she got home, she went inside to use the bathroom. Her husband finished unloading the groceries but panicked when he saw what was on them.

Lund said her husband thought she was hurt because there was blood everywhere.

"He comes freaking out. Hes like, 'Are you bleeding?' I was kind of confused like no," Lund said.

When Lund came out of her room, she said it looked like a murder scene. Aside from the $500 worth of groceries all covered in blood, her two sons were sitting at the kitchen table eating a Lunchable.

"I was like, 'Oh god please tell me no,'" Lund said.

Lund said she was told an employee sliced the back of his hand and he didn't notice he was bleeding or even injured until another customer pointed it out.

She said she is having a hard time believing them.

"It looks like somebody got murdered packing my groceries, I mean theres a lot of blood," Lund said.

Immediately after the discovering the blood, Lund called her sons' doctors to find out what she should do next. They allegedly told her to ask Walmart if they plan on testing their employees to see if they have any risk factors.

However, when Lund asked Walmart if they planned on testing their employee, they said no. She claims they cannot tell her anything about an associate's health because of HIPAA regulations.

Now, her family might have to wait months to get some answers. She said she doesn't need specifics, it would just help put her mind at ease.

She wants Walmart to take some accountability.

"This isnt like they sent me home with a smashed can of beans that was leaking. I mean we have a significant amount of someone elses blood on our groceries, my car, through my house. My kids ate it. They need to take it serious it's dangerous and disgusting," Lund said.

She did get a full refund from Walmart but she wants more answers. She told KEZI she doesn't plan on pressing charges.

Her message to other families is to pay attention if you are using curbside services. She said always look at your groceries before you leave the store and pay attention.
AS the white pirogue drifted in the waters just off Belle Garden in Tobago early yesterday morning, fishermen working nearby knew something was wrong.

What they saw in the small vessel stunned them.

Fourteen bodies, all of them male, along with a skull and other skeletal remains, were piled inside the vessel as it floated four miles off Belle Garden, police confirmed.

The bodies were all clad in tracksuits and green rain jackets and were severely decomposed, police investigators said.
The outgoing Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has announced that the government is working on acquiring laptops for all teachers.



The move, he explained, dovetailed into President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos National Digitisation agenda.



Dr Prempeh expressed the hope that when teachers received their laptops, they would become more comfortable in using technology as a tool in an era where blended education was the norm.



Leadership



Dr Prempeh announced this when he met with the leadership of the pre-tertiary teacher unions, the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) to bid them farewell.



Dr Prempeh, who is the Minister-designate for Energy, took the opportunity to thank the teacher unions for their cooperation with the Ministry of Education at various critical decision points during his tenure as Minister of Education.



He said in particular that the unions cooperated with him and his team during the rollout of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) programme in 2017 and its subsequent alterations, the revision of the objective-based curriculum and in bringing teachers up to speed with the new teaching techniques required for the standards-based curriculum.



Teacher reforms



Dr Prempeh also noted that the unions ensured that their members were on board during the Teacher Reforms exercise which encompassed a new curriculum, a phase-out of the diploma course and the agreement with the University of Cape Coast to upgrade diploma holders to degree holders within a relatively short period.



He stated that If he succeeded as Minister of Education, it was partly because those major stakeholders such as teachers, through constant dialogue, made it easier for the government to operate.



Dr Prempeh has been nominated by President Akufo-Addo as Minister of Energy designate, subject to vetting and approval by Parliament.







Source: Graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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British pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline and German vaccine developer CureVac announced a collaboration on Wednesday to create next generation COVID-19 vaccines to combat emerging variants of the coronavirus.

We believe that next generation vaccines will be crucial in the continued fight against COVID-19, GSK chief executive Emma Walmsley said, noting that the joint venture builds on an existing partnership between the two companies.

They plan to combine their scientific expertise in mRNA and vaccine development to advance and accelerate the development of new COVID-19 vaccine candidates, Mr Walmsley said.

In addition, GSK is to support CureVac in producing its first generation vaccines with the manufacture of 100 million doses in 2021, according to a joint statement.

CureVacs current COVID-19 vaccine is in phase 2b/3 of its clinical testing and could be submitted to regulators for approval in a matter of months.

As part of the collaboration, GSK is to make an upfront payment of 75 million euros (90 million dollars) and a further milestone payment of 75 million euros, conditional on the achievement of specific milestones, the statement said.

(NAN)
Dr. Jason Glass, the Kentucky Commissioner of Education, will speak at the November virtual Power in Partnership Breakfast, sponsored by the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce. PHOTO:Provided by Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce

Education Commissioner Plans Spring Listening Tour

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MURRAY - To gather input on long-term aspirations for the Commonwealths education system, Kentucky Commissioner of Education and Chief Learner Jason E. Glass will be conducting a virtual listening tour April 6-May 6.

Nine sessions will be held across the state, one in each cooperative region and one in Louisville. Sessions will be in the evening and will last approximately 90 minutes.

I hope to see many stakeholders engaged in these virtual meetings and I look forward to the rich dialogue that will inform our continuous improvement efforts, Glass said.

The Kentucky Department of Education is in the early planning phases of this work and more information will be released in the coming weeks.

One of the sessions will be held April 8, from 6-7:30 pm, at the West Kentucky Educational Cooperative in Murray. Sessions are also planned in Bowling Green, Richmond, Lexington, Cold Springs, Shelbyville and Hazard.
Special needs pupils will be returning first to Irish schools this Thursday February 11, but for the pupils of the biggest such school in Laois, it will again be back to an old poorly insulated building.

A multi-million new school has been in construction for St Francis Special School in Portlaoise for the past three years.

Funded by the Department of Education, the completion date on it has been pushed out several times. It was first promised to be ready in September 2018 as a Rapid Build project by the Department of Education.

Now the Chair of the Board of Management, Fr Paddy Byrne, has given what he hopes is the final date for pupils and staff of St Francis to enter the door of their new state of the art school.

"It is in the final stages now. The full building is almost complete. We are now tendering for furniture and equipment like interactive whiteboards.

"I am confident that we will receive the keys in the coming weeks. Then in the coming months the new school will open. My sense is that by May it will be open," he told the Leinster Express on Friday.

The school has almost 100 pupils aged 5 to 18, and also now has a new principal, John Moran.

The return to special needs education is welcomed by staff, parents and children Fr Byrne said.

"It has been a terribly challenging two months for their whole families. As an uncle of a niece with profound needs, they require 24 seven care, online teaching is not as effective. The school engages as best they can but many children can regress.

He notes that every ASD unit in Laois schools will also return to lessons next Thursday, with extra transport provided to ensure social distancing.

"Staff are also very happy to go back and to welcome the children back. I believe that young people have been fantastic. They have been the most restricted even though the illness does not affect them as seriously," he said.

He adds that all Covid procedures will be adhered to, and the old school is well maintained and kept warm.

The present St Francis School on the Timahoe road is a single story prefab style building (pictured below) with cramped conditions and poor insulation, with parents long campaigning for a replacement building for their children, many of whom have compromised immunity.

The new spacious building was delayed even before Covid forced work to stop 11 months ago in March 2020.

It is part of a 12.3 million contract awarded to MEIC along with Maynooth Educate Together NS in Kildare, which was prioritised after the first lockdown ended. The latest completion date for St Frances had been January 2021.

Work on the new school began with demolition of St Paul's parish school. The two-storey 12-classroom building includes staff and pupil facilities and ancillary spaces, with a floor area of 2912m3, a new entrance, 44 space carpark and safe play areas.
Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects were told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics theyre given. This week, he talks to Kiruna Stamell. The UK-based Australian actor, 39, made her debut in Moulin Rouge! and has since performed extensively on stage and screen. She is best known for her work hosting ABC TVs Play School.

Kiruna Stamell: My advice is to find things you love doing. Build your own resilience and strength. Realise what you can control. Credit:Gareth Berliner

RELIGION

Youve rolled religion. Are you religious? Good god, no! [Laughs] My dads side is Greek Orthodox, Mums side is Catholic on one side, Protestant on the other, and my husband is Jewish. But every religion can be quite ableist. Ive walked into various religious settings and immediately felt people in the room shift their prayers to me. Or theyve said things like, God will give you a perfect body when you die.

Wait, people have said that to you explicitly? Even in primary school  even though I went to a government school  they made you do religious studies in the morning. The woman assisting the priest wouldnt let me join in the religious dances because she wanted all the girls to be the same height in a chorus. Id think, You must really not know God, if youre banning me  a little girl  from joining dances. Experiences like that have really alienated me from nearly every church that Ive walked into.
Lucid Air, a luxury electric sedan, is set to hit markets this spring, with a price tag of $169,000 in what some see as a direct challenge to the currently undisputed leader in this space, Tesla.

Lucid Air, a product of Lucid Motors, was designed by Teslas former chief engineer, Peter Rawlinson, who designed the Model S. According to him, the Lucid Air will be better than the Model S, with a range of 517 miles per charge. It will be able to go from zero to 60 in just over 2 seconds, and it will charge faster.

A new luxury model for a market that is gearing up towards more affordable models in order to motivate more purchases might seem like a slightly odd idea. Even Fisker, after failing with the high-end Karma, is poised to launch the Ocean at $37,499. Yet some would argue that the luxury EV space is rather starved for competition, so a newcomer would certainly liven things up.

Yet Rowlinson does have affordable EV plans. According to a report in Forbes citing him, plans are for Lucid Motors to sell hundreds of thousands of EVs at prices in the mid-$40,000s. It will also work with other carmakers to manufacture EVs at lower prices near $25,000.

Interestingly enough, Lucid Motors is financed by Saudi Arabia. It is interesting because Teslas Elon Musk two years ago ignited shock and awe on markets when he tweeted plans to take the carmaker private, saying funding was secured from Saudi Arabia. The shock eventually dissipated, and the Saudis apparently chose to invest in Lucid Motors instead, whose chairman Andrew Liveris has deep financial ties with Riyadh, according to a Los Angeles Times report from January.

The company also seems eager to go public and get some more funding from other investors. The same report said Lucid Motors was planning to float shares through a tie-up with a special purpose acquisition companyalso called a blank check shell companyin a scheme that is becoming increasingly popular among startups across industries.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Hyde follows family tradition, takes home PIAA gold in shot put

"It's awesome," Hyde said. "It really feels like a tradition, now. It will be cool to see our names next to each other in the record books."

In addition to sunshine, beaches and duty-free shopping, Hainan Free Trade Port is also trying to develop a medical tourism form. Located in Boao Town, Hainan Province, Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone (hereafter referred to as the Pilot Zone) is built with high-end medical tourism service and international cutting-edge medical science and technology achievements. It will become an emerging destination for Asian tourist to experience high-end medical tourism.

Since last year, the Pilot Zone has set up "the Never End International Innovative Medicine Equipment Exhibition", bringing down drug costs while importing synchronously latest pharmaceutical equipment across the world. For example, the surgery cost of 1 franchised Boston Type I artificial cornea and 1 franchised Boston Type II artificial cornea operated overseas is USD 124,000, over four times higher than that in the Pilot Zone.

Moreover, patients can experience traditional Chinese medicine therapy in the Pilot Zone. For thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine has been reputed for its moderate curative effects and slight side effects. Natalia, a tourist from Ukraine, expressed: "All the Chinese traditional medicines are made from natural materials, which is significantly different from Western medicine."

Last November, the first Asia Advance International Medical Centre from Singapore has opened in the Zone. Gathering international medical experts from Singapore, Korea and the UK, the Center provides diagnosis and treatment services for patients from the Chinese mainland and other neighboring countries. Currently, tourists from 59 countries, including those in Southeast Asia, can come to Hainan for a 30-day stay without visas. By 2030, a world-class destination for medical tourism will be built in the Pilot Zone, providing all-round services such as anti-cancer, plastic surgery, anti-aging, rehabilitation, and health management.

Image Attachments Links:



Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=383767

Caption: Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone

SOURCE Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone
(Natural News) While some doctors are encouraging people to get in line for their COVID-19 vaccine, others are bravely speaking out about why rushing to get an untested shot might not be such a good idea.

Dr. Lee Merritt, a former president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, has admitted that she believes the current coronavirus vaccines are actually very dangerous bioweapons that are being deployed against the population.

Dr. Merritt knows plenty about bioweapons, having studied them while she served as an orthopedic surgeon for the United States Navy for nearly a decade. She has also published several peer-reviewed papers and was on the board of the Arizona Medical Association.

In an interview with The New America, Dr. Merritt said that she believes were living in a time of fifth-generational warfare where covert biological agents, propaganda and economic warfare are being used instead of weapons on the battlefield to turn the tide of power between nations.

She said that vaccines are most effective when they are used for deadly, untreatable viruses like polio and smallpox. However, scientists have already found some promising coronavirus treatments, such as hydroxychloroquine and intravenously delivered vitamin C, which makes one wonder why a vaccine is so urgent.

She stated: If we are at biowarfare right now as a part of this multi-dimensional warfare, if you have a treatment in your back pocket, they cannot terrorize you with viruses and thats important because [the vaccine] doesnt prevent transmission by their own admission.

Of course, the media regularly censors information about effective ways to prevent and treat the disease, leaving the masses to believe a vaccine is the only option. Social media is also doing its best to silence those who share information about natural ways to reduce your risk, and the major platforms are also working overtime to stop people from discussing the potential dangers of these vaccines.

COVID-19 vaccines are nothing like traditional vaccines

Unfortunately, as she points out, coronavirus vaccines are nothing like the vaccines we have long used. With these vaccines, messenger RNA is injected into peoples bodies, which changes their genetic code so they start producing their own modified version of the virus, which the immune system learns to fight  at least in theory.

However, not only has this particular vaccine never been tested over the long term, but this entire approach to vaccination has never undergone long-term studies to prove its safety in humans. Animal studies have shown an antibody-dependent enhancement that sees the virus making its way into the body undetected because a persons immune system sees it as being part of the body, she says, which can cause swift death.

In fact, she says that the longest they have ever followed people after getting the vaccine is two months, which is not nearly enough time to determine if there will be an antibody enhancement problem.

This, she says, is precisely how a foreign adversary would go about waging clandestine biowarfare on its enemies without the process being traced back to them.

She calls the vaccines a perfect binary weapon, saying: Theres no way I know exactly what that mRNA is programmed to and neither do you and neither do most doctors. The doctors cant get at that data. Thats for the guys at the very top of this project If I were China and I wanted to take down our military, Id just make an mRNA that I know it doesnt exist in nature so nobodys going to die from a vaccine and then two years later, I release whatever it is that I made and it causes this immune enhancement death.

When you see all the footage of people proudly rolling up their sleeves to get the coronavirus vaccine, its pretty scary to think of what might happen if Dr. Merritt is right and the masses are willingly being injected with a form of weaponized medicine.

Sources for this article include:

WakingTimes.com

DrLeeMerritt.com

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  As the Valentine's weekend approaches, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat stressed staycation hotels are best reserved for family bonding given their limited number.

"Kung gusto nila mag-hotel [If they want to go to a hotel]...we only have 14 staycation hotels, but it is really for the family," Romulo-Puyat told CNN Philippines' News.PH. "'Yung gustong mag-staycation for Valentine's, sa buong pamilya sana dapat."

[Translation: Those who want to have a staycation for Valentine's, the whole family should be invited.]

She reminded that a negative antigen test result is required for guests, otherwise, they can just move their celebration online.

"Via Zoom na lang siguro [Maybe via Zoom]," she said, referring to the video conferencing app.

The secretary reiterated that establishments accredited for staycations undergo a rigorous process to maintain safety standards. Earlier, authorities allowed hotels in Baguio City to permit leisure travelers as guests even while under general community quarantine. Romulo-Puyat said Baguio has good contact tracing procedures.

She also mentioned that the department's aim is to boost domestic tourism in an effort to offset losses from limited international travel. The country lost over 400 billion last year due to travel restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coles has set up surveillance cameras at it's self service checkouts to watch shoppers pack their groceries in an attempt to stop theft.

The supermarket giant which has over 800 stores in Australia, has now erected large signs to warn customers of the new technology, according to 7News.

Woolworths also launched a similar trial last year during May in a move that's made some Australian shoppers feel uneasy about the invasion of privacy.

But Coles and Woolworths defended the decision to film customers at self-checkouts despite outrage over the new surveillance technology.

A Coles customer noticed large screens above the self-serve checkouts while he was shopping

A man posted images of similar surveillance at Coles, but the supermarket has larger screens above the self-checkout rather than the smaller option at Woolworths

Many said they were shocked to discover they were being filmed and have raised privacy concerns.

But the supermarkets say it is to stop people from stealing billions of dollars worth of goods every year.

The Global Retail Theft Barometer reported that Coles loses an estimated $891 million per year in theft, meanwhile Woolworths loses up to $1billion per year.

'We know our customers enjoy the convenience of our assisted checkouts with more than eight million transactions completed every week,' a Coles spokesperson said.

'While the large majority of our customers do the right thing, it's not fair that a small number of people get away with doing the wrong thing.

'Like a number of retailers, we work with police to reduce shoplifting. There are also trained covert security officers in our stores nationally and they're catching hundreds of thieves every week and reporting them to police.'

A customer was shocked to discover he was being recorded (pictured above) at a Woolworths self-serve checkout in Fitzroy, central Melbourne

Branwell Travers was shopping at Fitzroy Woolworths, in central Melbourne, when he noticed a recording of himself on the screen.

'For how long has Woolworths been filming me while using self-checkouts?' he tweeted.

Woolworths said the surveillance was a new security measure aimed at keeping customers accountable.

The spokesperson previously told Daily Mail Australia: 'We know the vast majority of our customers do the right thing at our self-serve checkouts.

'This is a new security measure we're trialling for those that don't.'

Woolworths said the surveillance was a new security measure aimed at keeping customers accountable. Pictured: A self service checkout at Kingsgrove Woolworths in Sydney

The spokesperson said the vision is a digital reflection of the customer that is not recorded or stored.

The cameras cannot view the PIN pad and comply with payment and security standards and it is unclear how many stores are trialling the new system.

Another man posted images of similar surveillance at Coles, but the supermarket has larger screens above the self-checkout rather than the smaller option at Woolworths.

He shared an image of a Coles supermarket that had smaller screens displaying a live feed of the customers above the self-service checkout machines.

Twitter users quickly slammed the security initiative as an invasion of privacy.

One commenter said: 'I won't be using self-service anymore.'

Another user joked: 'Appears to be an 'anti-privacy measure.'
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Joe Biden's family and associates are back in business, making money off the family name. Sure, Biden reportedly admonished his brother to "watch yourself," but that didn't stop brother Frank getting busy advertising his ties to Joe in an ad for a Florida law firm on the day Joe was sworn in. Son Hunter reportedly never divested himself of his China holdings as had been leaked earlier. On the Kamala Harris side of things, stepdaughter Ella got a lucrative modeling contract, and niece Maya got herself a book deal and clothing range.

Now son Hunter has got himself a lucrative book deal, too, worth, as the Daily Mail reports, up to $2 million, about his dissolute life. The White House dismisses it as a nothingburger since it's a book about a "personal struggle." But as Hunter said of his lucrative board seat on Ukrainian energy company Burisma, it's a fair guess to say it "probably" would not have happened had his name not been "Biden."

The book's title is Beautiful Things, and in this case, unlike Ukrainian energy, he actually writes about something he knows about, which is his life of addiction and drugs.

So much for Old Joe's promise to voters that none of his family would cash in from his public office. They're finding a hundred ways to Sunday to get their slices. Life's beautiful when you're one way or another related to Old Joe.

An intelligent person might ask if there's anything illegal about this. In this case, probably not.

While in some cases of political book deals, fronting cash for a book is a classic dodge for bribery, in this case, it's probably not. It doesn't resemble the $65-million book deal President Obama got in his post-presidency from a publisher that he gave a huge Common Core contract to, creating at least the appearance of impropriety, as I wrote about here. That practice seems to have come from Russia, and typically happens when it's a dud book and someone is there waiting for publication to buy up the copies.

In Hunter's case, assuming he delivers the full tell-all, there likely will be buyers. The book (like the modeling contract handed out to Kamala Harris's art-student stepdaughter), is actually likely to sell.

Heck, I'd buy it. Who wouldn't want to read about a guy with a history like this, as the Daily Mail summed it?

Drugs, prostitutes, shady dealings, a quickie marriage  President Joe Biden's son Hunter is too easily depicted as sleaze in human form. Who else would have left his wife and jumped into bed with his recently departed brother's widow only for her to end the affair when he got a stripper pregnant? Is it only Hunter who could have received two special waivers to join the military and be commissioned at a special ceremony in the White House, but then blow his chance on his very first day when a blood test came back positive for cocaine? Who but Hunter who could receive a diamond from a would-be Chinese business partner whose existence would come to light in divorce papers? Now the president's son is getting to tell his side of his unsavory life  warts and all  in a book that could embarrass his father even further, less than three months into his term in the Oval Office. Beautiful Things  the as yet unexplained title of Biden's tome  promises to center on his well-publicized struggles with substance abuse according to Gallery Books, an imprint of publishers Simon & Schuster.

New York Post columnist Kyle Smith has a hilarious speculative satire about what might just be in it.

The Mail makes the mistaken assumption, though, that the book deal would undoubtedly embarrass Old Joe.

That's unlikely, given that this kind of activity has gone on around Old Joe for years  cashing out, growing rich in public office, and a back-beat of decadent behavior. Just read the books of Peter Schweizer.

Could Joe really be embarrassed about what Hunter writes, given the other stuff out there? There are Hunter's laptop pictures, showing Biden fils naked with his crack pipe and, reportedly, underage-looking girls. That's about as embarrassing as it gets. Old Joe has reportedly been fond of swimming naked for the Secret Service agents and is famously known for his groping, so the truth is, he don't embarrass easy.

Most likely, it's public relations, a bid to create a fall-and-redemption narrative, and clean up Hunter's skeezy public image. Hunter, instead of the greedy junior making a living on Dad's coattails that witnesses have described, will now be a sympathetic public figure, whose only aim is, as the White House has said, to help others.

Oh.

The backstory to this is that Hunter is facing federal investigations for tax evasion, money-laundering, and other Wall Streetstyle rich-man white-collar crime. A book to clean him up and claim he's changed and reformed and been redeemed ought to be just the thing to ensure that either federal investigators back off, given that they don't want to go after such a reformed and "beloved" and "sexy" (as Lena Dunham has put out) public figure, or at a minimum, lay the groundwork for Joe to pardon him. Redemption, rather than hookers and crack pipes, is now the new narrative for Hunter.

And just coincidentally, it also pays a lot.

It's most likely a buildup, a public relations move, Oprah-style, with sin and redemption, and a presumption that the public will eat it up. Nice work if you can get it.

Image: Acaben via Wikimedia Commons (extracted image), CC BY-SA 2.0.
The TRS annual plenary is generally held in the last week of April, which is still over three months away.  By arrangement

Hyderabad: In a sudden development, TRS president and Chief Minister

K. Chandrashekar Rao on Friday called for an emergency meeting of the partys state executive committee on February 7, triggering widespread speculations within TRS as well as in wider political circles over a likely announcement, or at least a hint of, a widely anticipated possible change of guard in the state.

The TRS state executive committee meeting will be held at Telangana Bhavan, under the leadership of Mr Chandrashekar Rao.

All party leaders, including ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs, state committee members, state-level corporation chairpersons, zilla parishad chairpersons, mayors, municipal chairpersons, DCCB chairpersons and DCMS presidents have been invited to the meeting.

Although an official release from the TRS said that the meeting will discuss issues membership renewal, appointment of party committees from village-level to state-level, election of party president, arrangements for conduct of partys annual plenary on April 27, besides other institutional issues of the party, it failed to douse speculations that CM Rao might hint at the elevation of his son and minister Rama Rao to the highest post in the state government.

The timing of the meeting being convened at such a short notice, of only two days, triggered speculations, though it is not uncommon for Mr Rao to convene the partys executive committee meetings earlier too at a short notice. Normally, such executive committee meetings were held earlier during crucial elections like Assembly, Lok Sabha, GHMC polls or during the partys annual conclave in April every year.

The TRS annual plenary is generally held in the last week of April, which is still over three months away. This left party leaders and cadre wondering about the need and urgency to convene an executive meeting to discuss arrangements for plenary in the first week of February itself. Besides, the membership drive and appointment of party committees will also be generally done only at the time of annual conclave in April.

The official release issued by the party fuelled further speculations by mentioning about election of party president and discussion on some internal institutional issues of the party. Party leaders are hoping and adding fire to the speculation that the party supremo might announce or drop hints about his stepping down from the chief ministerial post, or even as TRS chief post at the state executive committee meeting or formalise the elevation of his son as the Chief Minister and the party president.

Rumours also spread within the TRS on Friday that Chandrashekar Rao might also announce key organisational changes, such as appointing finance minister T. Harish Rao and health minister Etela Rajender as the partys working presidents, besides giving a key position to his daughter and MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha, both in the party as well as in the government.

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence participated in the International Human Fraternity Virtual Summit held under the patronage of the UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

Centre trustees board chairman Dr Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa represented Bahrain.

In his inaugural speech, Shaikh Khalid affirmed that the leaders of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the UAE have drawn up the most wonderful examples of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. He noted that their historical efforts bear witness to the greatest characteristic of "benevolence for the other". He pointed out contributions of the Gulf countries to resolving crises and tribulations afflicting humanity, activation of the principle of brotherhood and human unity.

Shaikh Khalid said the Kingdom of Bahrain, like the UAE, has set its sights on the human concern. He added the attitudes have testified over the years to the role of the leaders in inculcating the values of tolerance and coexistence as a reality between various components of the community through wise and inherited policies that accord paramount consideration to human dignity and advancement. He pointed out that this is evident in the endeavours of states and the consensus of societies in preserving rights and gains and combating all forms of racism, extremism and other things that fall under "inhumanity."

Shaikh Khaled mentioned that the countries of the region have provided great services and sacrifices to all segments of the society, in all health, social and economic fields, which reflected good intentions and purity of spirit towards others, out of the leaders belief that the destiny of humanity is based on tolerance, coexistence and acceptance of the other.

It is noteworthy that the International Human Fraternity Virtual Summit is organised by the UAE Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, on the sidelines of the Human Fraternity Festival activities, with massive international and Arab participation.

The event aims at exploring commonalities between countries and building on them for the future of humanity. It also seeks to discuss cooperation for sustainable plans where everybody plays a part.

An elite of international personalities are participating in the forum to discuss global issues related to human values and rights, in general, and the values of human fraternity, coexistence and tolerance, in particular.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 22:46:27|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN Environment Program (UNEP) on Friday urged African nations to integrate the fight against COVID-19 and climate change response.

Richard Munang, Africa regional climate change coordinator at UNEP said that the region needs to leverage on a strategic approach to climate action in order to accelerate socio-economic growth.

"This will help the nations to rebuild better, more inclusive, competitive and sustainable post-COVID-19 economies," Munang said at a virtual briefing in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

He appealed to African nations to adopt a green pandemic recovery approach by giving priority to investments that lower carbon emissions but drive the much-needed socio-economic development in the continent.

Munang said the approach is capable of unlocking income-generating opportunities, hastening post-COVID-19 recovery while cutting carbon emissions by up to 25 percent by 2030.

He called on African nations to embrace and guide the informal sector to leverage climate action as an investment opportunity, and a source of enterprising actions that unlock social, environmental and financial dividends.

"The informal sector, that forms 80 percent of work in the continent will therefore become investors friendly from the green pandemic recovery dimension," said Munang.

He said that to realize tangible development, green pandemic recovery must be premised as a source of food security, income and enterprise opportunities and expansion of macroeconomic growth.

"With the looming threat of emergencies such as COVID-19, we need to act quickly and decisively to salvage the situation by embracing green pandemic recovery reality in Africa," said Munang. Enditem
Chandigarh: Haryana police have stepped up security measures in view of the protesting farmer unions' call for a countrywide 'chakka jam' on Saturday, an official said.

Senior police officers have been asked to personally supervise security and traffic arrangements at vital junctions and roads while district police chiefs have been directed to ensure deployment of adequate personnel, according to an official communication issued to them.

Police

"In view of the January 26 incidents in Delhi, some anti-social elements and aggressive youth creating law and order problems, cannot be ruled out, as per the communication dated February 4.

It is assessed that as part of the protest programme on February 6, protesting farmers/unions may attempt road blockades of important national highways, state highways and interior roads, it said, asking the police to ensure necessary security arrangements are in place.

Farmer unions had on Monday announced that they would hold a countrywide chakka jam on February 6 and block national and state highways for three hours to protest against the internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, and other issues.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-06 00:25:49|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday it has decided to expel Swedish, German and Polish diplomats who participated in illegal actions.

The ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden, charge d'affaires of the Republic of Poland and envoy of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany were summoned to receive a protest in relation to the participation of their diplomatic employees in illegal actions on Jan. 23, the ministry said in a statement.

The employees were considered "persona non gratae" in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961, it added.

The ministry expressed the hope that in the future the diplomatic missions of the Kingdom of Sweden, the Republic of Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany and their personnel would "strictly follow the norms of international law." Enditem
Munawar Faruqui (File Photo)

The Supreme Court on February 5 granted interim bail to stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui who was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police in for allegedly insulting religious sentiments

The bench of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman and B R Gavai also stayed the production warrant of Uttar Pradesh Police against Faruqui in a separate case, according to reports.

Faruqui's bail plea was earlier rejected by a Sessions Court and then by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 28. He had challenged the Madhya Pradesh High Court order and also filed a writ petition as well as a Special Leave to Appeal (SLP)

Faruqui was arrested in Indore on January 1 following a complaint by Eklavya Singh Gaur, the son of BJP MLA Malini Singh Gaur and convenor of local outfit Hindu Rakshak. The complaint said that the comedian allegedly hurt Hindu religious sentiments during a comedy show at a popular cafe.

The apex court also stayed the production warrant of Uttar Pradesh Police against Faruqui in a separate case. The Court also issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh government.

Faruiqui's counsel has asserted in the High Court that there was no video or material to show that Faruqui has made any comment to hurt Hindu deities during his show as alleged, according to Bar and Bench website.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 15:36:50|Editor: huaxia

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by Marcela Ganea

BUCHAREST, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- In an era defined by multilateralism, cooperation between China and the European Union (EU) will have a bigger role to play and benefit both sides, experts attending a webinar on EU-China relations said on Thursday.

The online event was organized by the Middle East Political and Economic Institute, the EURISC Foundation and the Center for China Studies, all based in Romania.

Almost 100 attendees and speakers, including diplomats, scholars and researchers from seven countries, shared insights and prospects on EU-China relations during the webinar.

The recent completion of China-EU investment agreement negotiations reflected the resolution of EU and China to strengthen cooperation, and set global norms and standards together, said Viorel Isticioaia-Budura, former Romanian ambassador to China.

"We, Westerners, often underestimated and dismissed the Chinese decisions. From now on, we'll have to pay attention to China's decisions and policies because they reflect a long-term projection," said Isticioaia-Budura, adding that since the 1980s, Chinese policies have been very pragmatic.

Werner Fasslabend, former Austrian minister of defense, emphasized that China's development is not just a temporary phenomenon, saying "Europe needs this relationship with China in strategic sectors."

It is important that in December 2020 the EU concluded the investment agreement negotiations with China, "showing that it really wanted investments and intense cooperation with China," he said.

Feng Zhongping, vice-president of and a researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations from Beijing, as well as a partner of the EURISC Foundation for the last 25 years, stressed that the EU and China enjoy great opportunities to work together to reduce uncertainties and conflicts in today's world.

"The biggest challenge is the world's becoming interdependent, but global cooperation and global governance are missing, therefore, the lack of cooperation among the key global powers -- China, the EU, the U.S. and Russia -- is the biggest challenge, along with the impact of new technologies, cybercrime, or climate change," Feng said.

"All countries pursue their own interest but globalization redefines the meaning of national interest. Both China and the EU support multilateralism. The EU-China economic relations will work," the Chinese researcher said.

Catia Miriam Costa, a researcher with the Center for International Studies in Portugal, said that "the EU and China have the same goals for peace, security and partnerships. We'll have to understand the role of each country."

With the EU showing a strategic autonomy, its trade with China is considered very important by the 3,000 trade associations based in Brussels, said Dan Luca from the independent pan-European media network Euractiv, underscoring the importance of an Asia partnership for the bloc.

Francisco Jose Leandro, an expert on the Belt and Road Initiative from the University of Macao, said "there is nothing wrong with having different interests, we can make a compromise. It's important to maintain dialogue and to clarify when needed."

"The EU connectivity strategy looks at options to narrow the physical restrictions," the expert said, stressing that the EU-China investment agreement is "extremely important, we have more in common than differences." Enditem
The commerce and industry ministry is "definitely" working on a new e-commerce policy which will have various features such as those related to data and consumer rights, a senior government official said on Friday.

The other issues which need to be looked upon while formulating the policy are about the problem of counterfeit products, packaging and rules of origin, the official of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said.

DPIIT is arm of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

"Who should be accountable for counterfeit products sold through an e-commerce company. Data is an important issue. The entire data issue will be governed by what actually the data law will be, which is before Parliament. That is why we are not in a hurry to finalise it (the policy)... So, whatever will be the final outcome of that data bill, it will apply to everybody who will deal with data," the official said a regulator for the sector may come if required.

The official said that e-commerce sector is not only about foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector, as a large number of e-commerce firms are outside FDI.

"We are definitely working on the policy," the official said.

The government in 2019 had released a draft national e-commerce policy which had proposed setting up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad.

Several foreign e-commerce firms have time and again raised concerns over some points in the draft pertaining to data.
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues its grueling, destructive march, I, like many others, have taken some rare comfort in scenes of jubilant healthcare workers and fragile elders getting a vaccine that may well save their lives. These reassuring tableaus are a tonic  even if the pandemic has not yet begun to ebb, it makes it possible to begin to imagine its end.

And yet my optimism has been blunted by other distressing realities: hospitals from Maseru to Cape Town to Kampala are running out of medical oxygen, patients are being treated in parking lots for want of hospital beds. And then there are these numbers from the World Health Organization: 95% of the vaccine doses that have been administered to date have been administered in just 10 countries, and only one of them is a low-income country. Hope  like so many other valuable commodities  is unevenly distributed.

If scientists can develop vaccines and diagnostics for a disease that was unknown just a year ago, policymakers can surely devise a way to ensure equitable access to these lifesaving tools

I cant help but see the parallels to the bleak, early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis, when poor policies were paid for in human lives. Then, as now, scientists developed drugs that offered hope in the face of a new and lethal disease. And yet, myopic policy decisions meant the worlds poorest, most vulnerable people did not have immediate access to these drugs. Instead, they languished as the epidemic spiraled out of control. Many African countries, especially smaller ones like Lesotho where I am from, lost hundreds of talented young professionals, robbing these nations of desperately required skills in critical areas like education. Scores of health workers perished too, and these countries healthcare sectors still havent fully recovered. These losses are immeasurable. Now, Covid-19 is repeating this devastation, and the sequelae, particularly for the most vulnerable nations, will persist long after the pandemic ends. Have we learned nothing from these failures?

Policymakers, the global health community and the private sector must urgently rise to the gravity of this moment. We can do so much better  if scientists can develop vaccines and diagnostics for a disease that was unknown just a year ago, policymakers can surely devise a way to ensure equitable access to these lifesaving tools. At the UN Technology Bank, we launched the Technology Access Partnership in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to ensure least developed countries access to diagnostics, medical devices (ventilators, oxygen, pulse oximeters, etc.), personal protective equipment and other medical technologies they need to protect their citizens. Our platform connects manufacturers and entrepreneurs in developing countries with global innovators, universities and others who make their intellectual property and technologies available in order to serve the common good. We act as a matchmaker between those who have technologies and those who are looking to produce them, providing technical, legal and regulatory guidance throughout the process. Our intention is to get as many products to as many people as possible to tackle this pandemic.

All governments must encourage their private sectors to voluntarily share technologies that will help least developed nations protect their own populations

But our work depends on partnership, political will and a break with orthodox thinking. Least developed countries urgently need access to relevant technologies in order to rapidly undertake local production of tests, treatments and other medical equipment. The Technology Bank has the mechanisms to support that transfer, but pharmaceutical companies and governments need to step up. We at the Technology Access Partnership have been in contact with manufacturers in developing countries that want to ramp up production of diagnostics, medical devices. They stand ready and willing to support this global effort. And yet, they struggle to access the technology they need  technology that other actors in the health sector currently hold and could easily share. This would save lives. All governments must encourage their private sectors to voluntarily share technologies that will help least developed nations protect their own populations.

We cannot accept a situation where the vast majority of the worlds population has no hope of being vaccinated in the near future; where even access to oxygen, masks and testing is not assured; and the most vulnerable nations stand to suffer social and economic consequences that will take generations to overcome. The scientists who have raced to develop these lifesaving technological breakthroughs have demonstrated the power of collaboration, solidarity and innovative thinking to solve enormous problems. Policymakers must follow their example.

Joshua Setipa has been the managing director of the UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries since November 2018.
Princess Sofia of Sweden looked chic in a cream teddy bear jacket as she arrived at Sophiahemmet AB Hospital.

The royal, 36, who is expecting her third child, was arriving for the digital graduation ceremony of Sophiahemmet Hogskolas, a college of nursing and health in Stockholm, Sweden, on Friday.

Wrapped up against the snowy weather, the mother-to-be looked glowing in a monochrome outfit.

It comes as the Swedish version of Netflix's The Crown is underway, charting the life of the Swedish Royal Family, Royal Central reported.

Princess Sofia of Sweden looked chic in a cream teddy bear jacket as she arrived at Sophiahemmet AB Hospital

Princess Sofia paired the coat with a black turtleneck dress and boots as she walked in the snow.

She accessorised with a small black bag in one hand and silver circle earrings as she smiled.

Princess Sofia wore her hair in a half up, half down style, with her loose waves hanging around her shoulders.

It comes as Sweden's TV4 confirmed they're making a TV series inspired by The Crown, charting the life of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

The royal, 36, was arriving for the digital graduation ceremony of Sophiahemmet Hogskolas, a college of nursing and health in Stockholm, Sweden, on Friday and wore her hair in a half up, half down style, with her loose waves hanging around her shoulders

Princess Sofia married the King's son Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Varmland, 41, in 2015 and share two children Prince Alexander, four, and Prince Gabriel, three. They are expecting their third child together in spring.

TV4 will make the series with the streaming service C More, with the first season spanning over six episodes.

The channel's drama director Josefine Tengblad said: 'Regardless of what one might think of them, the opportunity to add new experiences and dimensions to the saga of our king is a prestigious project for us.

Princess Sofia paired the coat with a black turtleneck dress as she walked in the snow, accessorising with a small black bag in one hand and silver, circle-shaped dangling earrings

'King Carl Gustaf's life feels a bit like the movie The King's Speech where a person is taught to be something he really is not.'

According to the publication, TV4 have ambitions for several seasons beyond the first and that the royal family has been informed about the upcoming series.

The series will follow the king's life to monarchy, from his childhood and is currently under development.

Turkish airport operator TAV Airports has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uzbekistan ministry of Innovative Development to modernize the Central Asia countrys airports and to build a new airport in capital Tashkent.

TAV Airports CEO & President Sani Sener signed the agreement with Deputy Minister Oybek Norinbaev this week.

Well work towards developing and modernizing airports in Uzbekistan, cooperation in fields of adopting new technologies and advancing the human resources, Sener said.

The both sides also agreed to cooperate in the fields of joint investment and innovative projects.

TAV Airports, a member of Groupe ADP, operates 15 airports in eight countries.
[February 05, 2021] Colby Becomes First Liberal Arts College to Establish Major Academic Program in Artificial Intelligence

Colby College today announced that it has received a $30-million gift to establish the first cross-disciplinary institute for artificial intelligence (AI) at a liberal arts college. Made possible by the tremendous generosity of the Davis family and trustee of its charitable foundation Andrew Davis '85, LL.D. '15, the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence will provide new pathways for talented students and faculty to research, create, and apply AI and machine learning (ML) across disciplines while setting a precedent for how liberal arts colleges can shape the future of AI. "Andrew Davis and his family have a gift for seeing how the world is evolving and how organizations and individuals must grow and change," said President David A. Greene. "Their remarkable support has made Colby a global institution, a leading college in the sciences, and one that changes the life outcomes of its students through exceptional internship, research, and international experiences. "Their newest investment in Colby might just turn out to be the most transformative of all," he said. "Becoming a prominent center for the teaching and research of artificial intelligence and machine learning allows Colby's faculty and students to reimagine a liberal arts education for this century and beyond. Importantly, it will ensure that the next generation of leaders will have rich technical expertise, but they will not simply be technocrats. These Colby graduates will be deeply educated in the liberal arts with the powers of discernment to shape AI for the greater good. "While my gratitude to Andrew and his family is unbounded, I know the greatest thanks that Andrew can receive is to see the Davis Institute flourish and for it to forever change the life trajectory of our students and to better our world in substantive and lasting ways. That's our commitment to my friend Andrew, who challenges us to reach higher, imagine more, and never settle when it comes to Colby's relevance and impact." The Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, which will open this fall following a national search for a founding director, will prepare Colby students for a future where AI is transforming a growing array of industries, careers, and modes of discovery, creativity, and scholarship. Colby students will become and help lead the next generation of programmers and designers who will shape the capacity and influence of AI. They will also be prepared to engage with and build upon that capability through a wide range of applications an to influence policy decisions regarding the social and ethical implications of AI and its uses for the common good.



"Addressing the complex questions surrounding AI requires a holistic analysis and response that can only come from a broad liberal arts perspective," said Andrew Davis. "With its distinctive tradition of interdisciplinary scholarship, exceptional expertise in the sciences, and strong focus on engaging with the world, Colby is uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in preparing students for this incredibly important work, and we're very pleased to support this important initiative." A Novel Approach

Colby's model allows for AI to become part of the curriculum in nearly all disciplines. The Davis Institute will support the hiring of an initial cohort of six new faculty experts in artificial intelligence in different disciplines, ranging from computer science and genomics to sociology and English literature. The newly recruited faculty members will join a larger community of scholars at Colby currently using AI in their research and teaching, and the Institute-affiliated faculty will continue to grow over time. The Institute will also provide funding to support Colby faculty interested in exploring new ways to incorporate AI tools and methodologies into their teaching and research or for designing new courses to include meaningful learning opportunities with AI. "The Davis Institute will enable our faculty to transform their scholarship and teaching," said Margaret McFadden, provost and dean of faculty at Colby. "AI is driving very dramatic shifts in virtually every area of inquiry. These shifts will have profound consequences for quantitative research and teaching across the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities and ultimately offer new routes to discovery. Our educational mission must include preparing students for a future in which AI is ubiquitous, and this Institute will make that possible in a way that no other liberal arts college can do." While engineering and technical universities have invested recently in academic AI programs, the reach of AI and ML into nearly all aspects of society demands a broad approach to the subject matter that is tailor-made for the liberal arts. The future leaders of this field will be best served if they have the training to think critically about a range of issues, an appreciation of history, culture, and societies to make judicious choices about the use and impact of AI, and a humanistic lens from which to ensure that AI will be both developed and used to high ethical standards. The Davis Institute will build upon existing partnerships and develop new relationships with leading organizations and institutions to facilitate significant faculty and student research using rich datasets with real-world consequences and to provide students with broad-ranging opportunities for internships. It will also create a summer program for visiting faculty and students to work on AI projects and to develop courses and research projects that can be shared at their home institutions. In these ways, the Davis Institute will become a national center for training faculty and students in the use of AI and the creation of new systems and capabilities. Transformational Support For decades, through the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund, the Davis family has contributed generously to the evolution of the academic and cocurricular experience at Colby, and the Davis Institute builds on this tradition of leadership. With Andrew Davis's support, his family provided a $25-million gift in 2017 to create DavisConnects, Colby's innovative model for post-graduate success, as well as a $10-million lead gift in 2013 to construct the Davis Science Center on Colby's campus. In 2000 the Davis family selected Colby as one of five partner institutions to pilot the Davis United World College Scholars Program (UWC), which funded UWC graduates' attendance at Colby and continues to make a profound impact at the College. Mr. Davis is President of Davis Selected Advisors and has more than 30 years of experience in investment management. Andrew Davis's commitment to Colby has included serving on the College's Board of Trustees from 1996 to 1999 and on the Board of Visitors from 1999 to 2006. He has volunteered for Colby's admissions office, sponsored student internships, and created a scholarship fund in 2004. Colby College Founded in 1813, Colby is one of America's most selective colleges. Serving only undergraduates, Colby offers a rigorous academic program rooted in deep exploration of ideas and close interaction with world-class faculty scholars. Students pursue intellectual passions, choosing among 58 majors or developing their own. Colby's innovative and ambitious campaign, Dare Northward, is supporting deeper connections between the college and the world as well as a fully inclusive experience for all Colby students. Colby is home to a community of 2,000 dedicated and diverse students from more than 80 countries. Its Waterville, Maine, location provides unique access to world-class research institutions and civic engagement experiences. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005419/en/

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It was January 2, 2021, a week prior to the Chinese Lunar New Year. The COVID-19 pandemic has not dampened peoples enthusiasm for the once-a-year family gathering, but for 39-year-old Wang Lihua, this could be her sixth New Year of not coming home.

Toiling herself indefatigably on the frontline against COVID-19 pandemic for months, Wang, a nurse at Beijing Fangzhuang Community Health Service Center, is one of the tens of thousands of medical workers in Beijing whose daily routine is to collect COVID-19 test samples. According to statistics, as of January 24, Wang and her colleagues have completed over 17 million COVID-19 tests, with an average daily workload of 415,680 tests and the highest daily record of 1.4 million tests.

7:00 a.m. The only sound in her office was the soft tick of the clock. Feeling hesitant to call her parents to tell them her decision to not come home, Wang put down her mobile phone and started preparation for todays sample collection. Work keeps her busy, and work might be the only way to temporarily forget the guilt she feels for her family.

7:20  7:50 a.m. Verification of information (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

Wangs office hours start at 8:00 a.m., but she came to the office an hour earlier to double-check the patients information and prepare necessary equipment.

The job of collecting COVID-19 test samples is quite complicated. We need to verify and register the patients personal information, communicate with the patients and their family, as well as collect samples and send samples back to the labs. We must be very careful, careless actions may result in severe consequences, said Wang.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wangs daily work is divided into two parts: indoor sample collection in the morning and outdoor nucleic acid tests in the afternoon..

For those who are in quarantine, we will take necessary equipment and collect their test samples at their home. For those who are at low risk of getting COVID-19 or want to have an nucleic acid test, we will set up an outdoor testing site, Wang explained.

8:00 a.m. Inform the patients of indoor sample collection (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

According to Wangs work plan, this morning she was expected to visit three families who are in quarantine, offering them throat and anal swabs, as well as collecting samples from their home to determine if they are infected with COVID-19.

The newly added anal swab is more accurate than nose and throat swabs, albeit awkward for recipients. Most patients in quarantine are required to take such tests, as most of them are people returning from overseas or are close contacts of patients, which means they are among high-risk groups, said Wang.

In addition to informing the patients of the upcoming tests, Wang also needs to dismiss the patients fear of COVID-19, offering them professional advice. A male patient who was expected to take an anal swab expressed his concerns, and Wang spoke softly to reassure him that the method is painless and safe.

One of the biggest challenges of my work is to communicate with patients. Due to the lack of professional knowledge, some of them may misunderstand or even get angry with us. Some hear rumors from the Internet and refuse to cooperate, its our job to make them feel assured and comfortable, said Wang.

8:20  8:50 a.m. Inspection and preparation of equipment (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

Though working as a nurse for over 19 years, tackling the COVID-19 pandemic remains one of the most difficult tasks in Wangs career. From February to July 2020, Wang volunteered to work in a centralized quarantine center in Beijing, gathering first-hand experience in dealing with the lethal virus.

There was one time when I worked 40 days in the center without going home. Living and working with COVID-19 patients and possible virus carriers has taught me a lot about the virus, honing my skills in sample collection and nucleic acid testing, said Wang.

Usually, a COVID-19 test team requires two medical workers. Wangs partner is 26-year-old Yu Xiaoyi, a doctor who worked in Wangs hospital for less than a year. Preparing medical equipment together, Wang shared her experience in COVID-19 prevention with Yu, helping young medical professionals better understand the virus.

9:00  9:20 a.m. On the way to the first family in quarantine (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

On her way to the first household in quarantine, Wangs thoughts drifted away to Huanggang, Hubei Province, where her parents live.

Being the epidemic center of Chinas first COVID-19 outbreak, Hubei Province is Wangs hometown. When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit China, Wang was worried about her father who suffered a stroke and her mother who has respiratory issues, but her work in Beijing kept her from going back home. Considering for weeks, Wang the doctor took precedence over Wang the daughter.

When the pandemic first took place in my hometown, I felt worried and helpless. I really wanted to go home to see my parents, but my duty as a medical professional kept me working day and night in Beijing to tackle the virus, said Wang.

Weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic hit her hometown, several of Wangs colleagues were selected to form a medical team to support Hubeis pandemic control. Though Wang was not in it, she felt grateful for her colleagues efforts.

I thank every medical worker who went to my hometown when my family was in great need. The best way to pay for their effort is to work harder to help more people during the pandemic, and this is what I have been doing, said Wang.

9:25  9:35 a.m. Prevention preparation (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

The winter in Beijing is unbearably cold. Working outside in this time was a trial for the spirit and a torment for the body. To tuck themselves in protective clothing, Wang and Yu had to take off their winter clothes, enduring the freezing wind.

When changing protective gears outside the residential building, a little boy riding a toy tricycle came closer to Wang, observing them with curiosity. You two are angels in white, arent you? asked the boy.

Yes, we are, kid, arent you afraid of us? asked Wang, refraining herself from laughing.

Not at all. Well done! the boy replied.

The boys encouraging words made Wang smile. The reason why she became a medical worker is because she loves to see peoples happy faces, while helping patients regain their health is the best reward for her hard work.

9:40 a.m. Enter the house of the first quarantine family (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

The first patient Wang visited this morning was an elderly person, who expressed fear to take an anal swab. Wang spent much time in comforting him, soothing his nerves.

Most of my patients are elderly, who remind me of my parents. I understand their fear of the lethal virus, and I always try my best to comfort and help them. We are medical workers, but we are also daughters and sons, said Wang.

When entering the patients houses to take samples, we sometimes encounter hostility and even humiliation. When I was younger, I always cried, but now I try my best to understand the patients feelings, relying on my professional skills to reduce the patients pain, said Wang.

Most of the time, Wang and her partner are expected to visit three to seven patients in quarantine in the morning. She must avoid drinking water or eating food before finishing the work, as the heavy workload and the inconvenience of taking on and off the protective gears means that she cannot go to the toilet the whole morning.

1:00 p.m. Complete sample collection, sterilize samples, take samples back to lab (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

Four hours later, Wang and Yu have completed their morning task. Rigid medical procedure requires them to sterilize the samples on the spot, the disinfectant they sprayed on the sample froze within seconds, leaving grains of ice on their hands.

COVID-19 samples are highly dangerous. Wang and Yu have to go through the sterilizing procedure several times to ensure that the samples are safely dealt with, which may take them another half an hour.

The coldness outside is unbearable, but at least now we can have an hour of rest and have some decent food, said Wang.

1:40 p.m. Lunch break (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

Lunch break is Wangs favorite time of the day. For medical workers like Wang and Yu, the lunch break not only recharges their battery, but can also offer them a chance to temporarily escape from the toil of work.

Todays topic on Wang and Yus lunch table is family. Wang shared fun stories of her 13-year-old son, who is a middle school student.

My son knows that I dont have much time to take care of our family, so instead of me taking care of him, he cares about me a lot. When he was a little boy, he already learned how to cook breakfast for me, I feel so proud of him, Wang told Yu, who added that sometimes she feels that she is in great debt to her son.

Though being a medical worker is hard and tiring, I always encourage him to consider being a doctor one day. I told him helping people is one of the best life experiences, though Im not sure if he agrees with me as his mother is always absent, laughed Wang.

2:20 p.m. Start another round of indoor sample collection (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

After one hour lunch break, Wang and Yu started another round of indoor sample collection.

I always joked with my patients that they are very lucky, because they can see me more often than my parents do. For instance, by taking samples on the same patient in several weeks, I can see them several times, but it would be a blessing if I can see my parents once a year, said Wang.

Some of the patients say they want to have a daughter like me, and I always tell them, no you dont, because no parent would like to see their daughter working on the frontline to tackle a lethal virus, and no parent would like to see their daughter only once a year, said Wang.

4:50 p.m. Finish afternoon work, call parents (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

After a whole days hesitation, Wang decided to make a phone call to her parents, telling them that she is not going home for Spring Festival again.

For the past few years, Wangs parents showed full support of Wangs work, but after the pandemic ravaged both Hubei and Beijing, her parents told Wang that they would really love to see her in person during the Spring Festival this year, not through video chat.

My parents feel that my work is both tiring and dangerous. They want to make sure that the pandemic has not damaged my health, said Wang. Instead of video chat, Wang decided to call her parents. Due to the heavy workload, she lost 20 kilograms, she feared that her toil-worn face may make her parents more worried.

Mom, I cannot come home this year, because the pandemic is still here and medical workers are needed, said Wang.

Dont worry my love. Take care of yourself, and I have kept all the food you love. When you are home, I want to have a better look at you, said Wangs mother.

When the cherry flowers are in blossom, I will come home. It is my favorite time of the year, and I believe the pandemic will be under control by then, said Wang.

5:20 p.m. Additional nucleic acid testing at outdoor testing sites (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

Wangs working hours usually end at 5:00 p.m., but during the pandemic, additional daily outdoor nucleic acid tests are inevitable. For those who have been to low or medium risk areas, as well as those working in food chain, service industries who contact people more often, Wangs hospital sets up an outdoor testing site to perform nucleic acid test.

Outdoor tests usually start from 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.. It can last as long as six hours, depending on how many people are designated to our testing site, said Wang, who noted that there were many days when she worked until 11:00 p.m.

6:20 p.m. Finish outdoor testing work, sterilize samples (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

To Wangs relief, there were only several patients in the afternoon. At 6:20, Wang and Yu finally finished todays work. Her hair was soaked in sweat and tangled on her face.

Im very lucky today, because usually we cannot finish our work so early, said Wang.

7:00 p.m. Off work (Peoples Daily Online/Kou Jie)

After 12 hours of hard work, it is time to go home. Taking off her protective gear, Wang is an elegant woman who loves to follow fashion trends and takes great care of her appearance. Her hair combed up in a pony tail, her hands clutching her favorite handbag, there is no trace of a solemn medical professional on her, but a vibe of simple and unadorned beauty.

The streetlight flickered on and the city went into its evening hustle and bustle, Wang blended in a passing crowd who talked excitedly about the upcoming Spring Festival. No one realized that a warrior, who safeguarded them from the COVID-19 pandemic, was among them.

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F amously the UK's highest taxpayer, Phones 4u founder John Caudwell has turned two mansions in Mayfair into one vast property that, with an estimated value of 250 million, is thought to be Britain's most expensive private home.

Businessman and philanthropist Caudwell, 67, who sold his Phones 4u chain for just under 1.5 billion in 2006, bought Mayfair House for 87 million in 2012 and a few years later embarked on a total renovation.

Set in a Portland stone building, it's actually two houses knocked into one, with a 120-capacity ballroom, 15 bedrooms and eight floors.

The super-home spans 43,000sq ft, which is roughly the average size of 55 London flats  and more than twice the size of the Royal Albert Hall.

Channel 4

The total overhaul of this huge home was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary earlier this year, in which Caudwell revealed how a vast basement now joins the two mansions together. There's a "car stacker" that can take eight cars from street level to storage at the press of a button, plus an indoor pool with a volcanic lava installation.

Other features you might not expect to find in this historic London enclave include a Thai-themed dining room  Caudwell's favourite food  with a river flowing through its centre filled with handpicked African Cichlid fish, all set beneath a faux cherry tree with pink blossoms, while its also revealed that 20,000 sheets of gold leaf were used throughout the opulent interiors.

At a total cost of 65 million, the renovation ran over time and 55 million over budget.

See inside: Britain's most expensive home

Inside Britain's most expensive home: a 250m mega-mansion in Mayfair

Caudwell's main residence is a 12-bedroom country house in Staffordshire and, along with other homes around the world, he also owns a 73-metre yacht which he bought at auction for the bargain price of 35 million.

While the Mayfair House is protected by hi-tech security and round-the-clock staff, Caudwell has said that he hasn't owned any expensive jewellery or art since his Staffordshire home was burgled 10 years ago in a raid that saw the tycoon attacked with a metal bar.

Referring to the value of his latest project in a recent interview with The Times, Caudwell said: The value in my house is the house itself, but I dont keep any valuables. You cant steal a marble staircase.

Caudwell will not live in the property full time, it's revealed in the show, as he intends to use it primarily for his charitable foundation, Caudwell Children, which supports disabled children and their families.

Channel 4

Caudwell will throw gala evenings, charity balls and hold meetings at the newly revamped property, "because I dont need a house anything like that size", he tells the Times.

Last year, the most expensive detached home on the market was a secluded Hollywood-style mansion near Hampstead Heath, which was listed for 40 million.

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Kuala Lumpur, 3rd February 2021 - Vanilla Crepe is proud to introduce its newest member to the crepe family, Lemon Collagen Crepe. Vanilla Crepe has collaborated with Penny Essentials who endorses Malaysias 1st Collagen Drink with essential oils and came up with this limited edition crepe for Chinese New Year 2021. Vanilla Crepe maintaining to its roots of being a French crepe house has used Peptan Hydrolyzed Collagen ingredients imported from France 
WASHINGTON  The House of Representatives voted largely along party lines to approve a budget plan on Friday that will pave the way for Congress to quickly pass President Joe Bidens stimulus plan without votes from congressional Republicans.

The House voted 219-209 to approve the budget plan, which the Senate had already passed early Friday morning, beginning the process of turning Bidens stimulus proposal into legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday she aims to pass Bidens stimulus plan within two weeks.

The rapid movement by congressional Democrats came as Biden gave his strongest criticism to date of the Republican approach to the stimulus package, suggesting further negotiations with the GOP would likely represent an unacceptable delay to critical relief.

Are we going to say to millions of Americans who are out of work -- many out of work for six months or longer, who have been scared by this economic and public health crisis-- Dont worry, hang on, things are going to get better?, Biden said in remarks at the White House on Friday. Thats the Republican answer right now. I cant in good conscience do that. Too many people in the nation have already suffered for too long.

The budget plan passed by the House will direct committees to start working on the details underlying Bidens $1.9 trillion stimulus package. The Senate approved that measure in the early-morning hours Friday by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaking vote in the chamber after more than 15 hours of debate.

The stimulus package would include checks up to $1,400 for low- and moderate-income families, extended jobless benefits, and provide $160 billion to strengthen the public health response to the pandemic, improving the vaccine distribution and increased testing, among other measures.

 READ MORE: Democrat-led House, drawing a line, removes Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from committees

The Friday votes are the latest sign of a more partisan effort underway in pursuing final passage of Bidens relief package through a narrow majority.

Top Democrats in both chambers say they are moving with an increased sense of urgency, as the economic recovery from the pandemic continues to show signs of stalling. Meanwhile GOP lawmakers have called for slowing down the relief effort and substantially scaling back the $1.9 trillion effort, which conservatives have derided as unnecessarily increasing the federal deficit.

For his part, Biden, on Friday, accused Republicans of rediscovering the danger of the deficit, which rose during the Trump administration with massive tax cuts.

A new jobs report out Friday provided the latest glimpse of the faltering economy, which added just 49,000 jobs in January, an anemic amount of growth, coming a month after the labor market shed jobs. The U.S. has only recovered about half of the 22 million jobs it lost between February and April.

 READ MORE: In race for COVID-19 vaccinations, older residents in rural Pa. face tough obstacles

We now have three disappointing months in a row. We have to admit weve stalled out. Theres a danger of double-dip recession, Austan Goolsbee, who served as a senior economist in the Obama administration, said on CNBC Friday morning while talking about the January jobs report.

Indeed, Democrats have been rushing the stimulus package through, in part, because tens of millions of Americans would begin to lose federal unemployment benefits under existing law in mid-March.

Biden on Friday hosted House Democratic leaders, including Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., at the White House to make the case for swiftly passing the relief effort. He also cited increases in suicides, drug abuse and violence against women during the pandemic.

Pelosi also told House Democrats in a letter Friday that they aim to finish our work on the relief package before the end of February. Asked if she could guarantee the legislation would be passed before unemployment aid expires for millions of Americans in mid-March, Pelosi said: Absolutely. Without any question. Before then.

Hopefully in a two-week period of time, we will send something over to the Senate, Pelosi said, flanked by the Democratic committee chairs. We hope to be able to put vaccines in peoples arms; money in peoples pockets; children safely in schools; and workers in their jobs.

Earlier on Friday, the Senate passage of the budget resolution moved the budget reconciliation process along, clearing the way for the final stimulus package to pass the Senate with a simple-majority vote, instead of the 60 normally required. That allows Democrats to move forward with no GOP votes if necessary, although Democrats and Biden officials insist that they hope Republicans will join them.

The Senate spent most of Thursday afternoon and Friday morning voting on some 45 amendments on a range of issues, including passing a motion that said stimulus payments should not go to affluent Americans.

The American people deserve for the conversation about next steps to begin with them and their needs. Not partisan rush jobs. Not talking points, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor on Thursday. It will not serve Americans to pile another huge mountain of debt on our grandkids for policies that even liberal economists say are poorly targeted to current needs.

Not all Democrats have been thrilled with Bidens approach. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., the most conservative Senate Democrat, has said he would strongly prefer a bipartisan bill than one approved only with Democratic votes. On Friday, a bipartisan group of centrist House lawmakers called the Problem Solvers Caucus called for Congress to first approve legislation boosting vaccine distribution.
WeRide, a Chinese autonomous vehicle startup, is looking to provide driverless minibus services this year, company officials said on Thursday. The Guangzhou, Guangdong province-based company, which is backed by Japan's Nissan Motors, said its robobus uses Level 4 autonomous driving technologies, indicating that the vehicles are capable of self-driving in most conditions without a human safety driver. Han Xu, CEO of WeRide, said the robobus, which has been jointly developed with vehicle maker Yutong Group, comes without a steering wheel, throttle and brakes. It can ferry six to eight passengers at a time on open roads in cities. "The new self-driving mode aims to solve the transportation problems of the last three to five kilometers. It will become an important city infrastructure like water, gas and electricity," said Han. "Passenger cars with four seats and minibuses with six to eight seats will quickly become popular. The robobus market is much bigger than the shared bicycle market," he said. The autonomous driving sector gained traction in China last year with a flurry of major deals. Pony.ai, a self-driving vehicle startup based in China and the United States, completed a new $462 million funding round last year. China unveiled a blueprint in 2019 to boost autonomous driving in the country. The country will realize "scale production of vehicles capable of conditional autonomous driving and commercialization of high-level autonomous vehicles in certain scenarios by 2025". The document further stated that: "Smart vehicles have become a global strategy and China has a strategic edge in developing smart cars with the complete automobile industry and evolving information technology." In March last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched classification standards for autonomous driving in China, which has helped expedite the country's autonomous driving industry. To speed up commercialization, WeRide joined hands with Yutong Group to launch 10 unmanned robobuses this year and began to test them in Zhengzhou, Henan province. Similar projects were also started in Guangzhou and Nanjing, Jiangsu province. The company plans to further expand its presence to more cities this year and has research and development centers in Silicon Valley in the United States, and Beijing and Shanghai in China. It has set up a data markup center in Anqing, Anhui province, and will expand into Nanjing, Zhengzhou and Wuhan, Hubei province this year. "We are not blindly opening an office in a city. Each city is embedded with a strategic purpose and we will leverage local resources to accelerate the implementation of autonomous driving," Han said. WeRide, founded in 2017, raised $310 million in its series B round of fundraising, which was led by Yutong Group. It marked the largest investment from a local original equipment manufacturer in the autonomous driving firm. Li Ruigang, founding partner of CMC Capital Partners, said self-driving technology, like new energy vehicles, will become popular with stock-market investors. With an edge in core technologies and the superb performance of its robotaxi operations, the first of its kind in China, WeRide has made a great impact, he said.


The California Labor Commissioners Office has shut down a hemp seed farm in Half Moon Bay, where at least 13 of the farms full-time employees allege they have not been paid since Dec. 17.

Castillo Seed Co. acknowledged missing payments in a letter sent to its mostly low-income, Latino workforce in January that The Chronicle obtained. Employees have also complained of being sent home with checks that bounced, causing collateral financial hardship  including bank fees and missed car payments  at a time when they could scarcely afford it.

We need to work to make rent, pay bills and other things, said one employee, a single mother of four who said she hadnt been paid since mid-December. Nothing is free here.

The Labor Commissioners Bureau of Field Enforcement investigated alleged labor law violations by the company after receiving a report on Jan. 14, according to a penalty assessment letter from the Labor Commissioners Office. The bureau forced Castillo Seed to close for not having workers compensation insurance and fined it $33,000 based on the number of workers who were present when inspectors visited on Jan. 28.

The company is prevented from reopening until it shows proof of insurance, which hadnt happened as of Feb. 3, said Luke Brown, a spokesperson for the California Department of Industrial Relations. The bureau is still investigating whether the company violated additional labor laws, which could lead to more citations, Brown said.

More Information Anonymous sources: The Chronicle strives to attribute all information we report to credible, reliable, identifiable sources. Presenting information from an anonymous source occurs extremely rarely, and only when that information is considered crucially important and all other on-the-record options have been exhausted. In such cases, The Chronicle has complete knowledge of the unnamed person's identity and of how that person is in position to know the information. The Chronicle's detailed policy governing the use of such sources, including the use of pseudonyms, is available on SFChronicle.com. See More Collapse

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said his office is working with the state on its investigation. Wagstaffe said the commissioners office will decide whether to pursue administrative penalties against the company or refer the case to his office for criminal prosecution.

Generally, criminal prosecution would require proof that pay was intentionally withheld from workers, the D.A. said.

Pay stubs reviewed by The Chronicle show Castillo Seed employees were typically paid twice a month.

By writing a letter to employees saying it missed several pay cycles, the company is admitting to breaking the law, said labor lawyer Steven Tindall.

What theyre doing is basically saying, Im sorry. We just cant do it; we dont have money, he said. But thats not an excuse. They still need to pay their employees.

Management at Castillo Seed have not responded to calls, emails and text messages seeking comment. A locked metal fence blocked access to the companys grounds and a private property sign warned away visitors on Jan. 28, hours after state inspectors visited the farm. Calls to a phone number posted at the entrance went unanswered.

The hemp seed farm is housed in a 1-million-square-foot greenhouse facility on Cabrillo Highway South, previously operated by the Bay City Flower Co., which closed in late 2019 after 60 years in Half Moon Bay. Castillo Seed leases the space in partnership with Oso Vega, a Texas-based company that specializes in supplying and marketing industrial hemp.

Hemp seed farms generally supply growers who cultivate hemp for industrial purposes. The crop has become increasingly popular in recent years and can be used in a variety of food and body products, clothing, auto parts and building materials.

When state inspectors visited Castillo Seed, they found 22 employees on site. Its unclear how many people work for the company.

Less than a day after The Chronicle first reached out to company executives on Jan. 21, Castillo Seed deactivated its website  a bad sign, according to Wagstaffe, who said it shows they could disappear into thin air. Oso Vega also took down its website last month.

Castillo Seeds employees have turned to local nonprofits for help with rent, food, utilities and diapers for their children. Many felt forced to continue showing up for work because they lacked other job opportunities or feared they wouldnt get paid if they left, said Judith Guerrero, executive director of the nonprofit Coastside Hope, which assists low-income families and immigrants in San Mateo County. The organization is helping about 10 Castillo Seed employees who say they arent being paid.

I think the concern is, Where do we go? said Guerrero. Theres no work.

The current employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, told The Chronicle she had not been paid since Dec. 17. She said she was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement last fall, after the company also missed a pay date.

They made us sign a paper that said we couldnt talk about what happened within the company and that we may go to jail if we did, she said.

Guerrero said several employees told her similar stories.

The single mother of four typically earns $13.50 an hour on the farm. She lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her children in Half Moon Bay and said her car was repossessed because she could no longer keep up the payments. She managed to cover her February rent of $1,200 but is not sure how shell make next months.

Brenda Munoz, deputy chair of the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, said its important to keep the human aspect in mind.

The employer is still requiring the employees to come to work  theyre not laying them off, Munoz said. Clearly, they have a need for them. Theyre thinking about how to make their bottom line and continue to get their business to be productive. But what about on the other end? Those people who are doing the work also have to pay their bills, also have to make sure that their kids have their basic needs and nobodys looking out for them.

A former Castillo Seed employee, who asked not to be identified for fear the company wont pay him money that it owes him, told The Chronicle that he started with the company in March after losing a restaurant job of more than 20 years. He watered hemp seed crops, working from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. But he left in late November because of several late payments that caused him to overdraw his bank account, he said.

He said he is still owed a paycheck.

The others still arent being paid, he said. To me it seems unjust that people are working and working only to get nothing.

Tatiana Sanchez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TatianaYSanchez

Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

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Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

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US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

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Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

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Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

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Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

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Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

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Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Nairobi residents could be exposed to harmful fumes from open burning of solid waste.

With more than half (60 per cent) of Nairobi residents living in slums, the problem may be much bigger than what is seen.

There are more than 40 slums in the capital city and besides poor infrastructure and sanitation, solid waste is one thing that cannot go unnoticed.

Unfortunately, most of the waste ends up being burnt or dumped indiscriminately, threatening not only the environment but millions of lives through air pollution.

The Dandora dumpsite, for instance, is always smoking, besides a pungent smell felt several kilometres away.

Mutation-causing pollutants

Particulate matter remains highest in Nairobi, with current readings showing it is 70 per cent above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended maximum level.

A new review on air pollution warns that open burning of solid waste is a global threat to human health and safety which requires urgent action.

The Global Review on Safer End of Engineered Life shows that much of air pollution comes especially from open burning of solid waste and dumpsites.

Researchers examined challenges of open-air burning of waste to work and public safety. They identified ways through which people become exposed to potential harm from plastic waste, medical waste, electronic waste, construction and demolition waste, and land disposal.

They found the most common form of waste management in slums is open air burning. "Participants in the informal waste sector often cause open burning, but the informal workers and their communities, for example in informal settlements, are also most vulnerable to exposure from the associated emissions," states the report.

This is because waste is burned close to homes, within industrial or commercial premises, and in large uncontrolled dumpsites.

But a hazardous cocktail of emissions released into the atmosphere and onto land "threatens the environment and the health of those who live and work nearby," states the report.

The review found evidence of emissions from open burning classified as persistent organic pollutants, carcinogenic (cancer-causing), mutagenic (mutation-causing pollutants), those that cause immunological and developmental impairments, and those that may lead to reproductive abnormalities.

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This is evident in the number of women who have lost pregnancies in different countries. A report published by the Lancet Planetary Health showed that pregnant women in South Asia who have been exposed to air pollution face an increased risk of pregnancy loss, miscarriage and stillbirth.

Medical waste

Researchers found that an estimated 349,681 pregnancy losses each year across India, Bangladesh and Pakistan were associated with bad air quality.

According to the review, the risk from solid waste are higher in low and middle income countries like Kenya than in developed nations.

It shows that uncontrolled burning of waste was found particularly to be widespread in low- and middle-income countries where collection and disposal systems are often poor or completely absent.

The major global study found widespread use of unsafe management and disposal practices, showing that half a billion tonnes (24 per cent) of all the municipal solid waste generated on earth is not collected. A further 27 per cent is mismanaged following collection, and much of this is disposed of by open burning.

For instance, the combustion of medical waste in most places is rudimentary, which is done in brick-built incinerators.

"While these devices improve combustion temperature in comparison to open burning, they lack auxiliary fuel sources to maintain a sufficiently high temperature and do not incorporate emissions (air pollution) control technology," said the report.
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By JILL COLVIN and EMILY SWANSON, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  About half of Americans say the Senate should vote to convict former President Donald Trump at the end of his impeachment trial, even though a majority think he bears at least some blame for the Capitol insurrection.

Thats according to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that also finds many Republicans continue to believe  contrary to all evidence  that President Joe Bidens election was illegitimate.

Its the latest sign that Trumps monthslong disinformation campaign could have long-lasting ramifications for Biden as he tries to govern a fractured country and underscores the deep partisan divides that will outlast Trumps presidency. But it also shows some degree of consensus, with even many Republicans saying that Trump was at least partially responsible for his supporters deadly storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a bid to overturn the results of the November election.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that Trump bears at least a moderate amount of responsibility for the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including half who say he bears a great deal or quite a bit. Just over a third say he bears little to no responsibility.

Most Republicans absolve him of guilt, but about 3 in 10 think he bears at least a moderate amount of blame for the events.

56 Trump supporters storm U.S. Capitol

Fewer Americans, 47%, believe the Senate should vote to convict Trump after his impeachment trial, which begins next week. Another 40% say he should not be convicted, and 12% arent sure. Trump last month became the first president in the nations history to be impeached twice by the House, but it appears unlikely Democrats will have enough votes to convict him in the upper chamber.

Opinions on the trial fall along partisan lines, with more than 8 in 10 Democrats saying the Senate should convict, versus only about 1 in 10 Republicans. While those who believe he bears a large amount of responsibility generally believe he should be convicted, among those who say he is only moderately responsible, significantly more say the Senate should vote against than for conviction, 54% to 19%.

I think its kind of ridiculous. Are we going to start impeaching all the past presidents we dont like? said Bill Stokes, 67, who lives in Casper, Wyoming, and voted for Trump in November, describing him as the lesser of evils.

While Stokes allowed that Trump perhaps bore some responsibility for the events of Jan. 6, he said, I dont think it warrants impeachment. Maybe a censure, if that.

I really dont feel like he incited a riot. He asked them to go down there for a peaceful protest. Maybe he didnt understand mob psychology, but I think his responsibility there  theyre trying to put more on him than there really is, he said.

In interviews, other Republican respondents faulted Trump for egging on the crowd  and some felt he should be held accountable in some way  but didnt think impeachment was the answer given that Trump has already left office and, they said, was unlikely to ever be elected again.

At the same time, the poll finds that many Republicans agree with the idea, championed by those who stormed the Capitol, that Bidens election was illegitimate. Overall, 66% of Americans say Biden was legitimately elected president, but 65% of Republicans say he was not.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,055 adults was conducted Jan. 28-Feb. 1 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

More: Dem-led House, drawing a line, kicks Marjorie Taylor Greene off committees

DUBLIN  Irelands High Court ruled on Friday that four publicans insured by FBD were entitled to be indemnified for losses under lockdown-linked claims, in a test case that could have implications for over 1,000 similar contracts.

Irish pubs have been shut for large parts of the last 10-1/2 months due to COVID-19 restrictions that were toughest on bars that do not serve food. They were only allowed trade for a total of two weeks and not permitted to open at all in Dublin.

Related: UK Supreme Court Rules Businesses Should Be Insured for COVID-19 Claims

The court heard in October that FBD had sold the policy in question to around 1,300 publicans throughout Ireland, ranging from small rural pubs to larger urban bars. FBD estimated in July that the claims would cost 30 million euros ($36 million).

It should never have come to this, Noel Anderson, managing director of Dublins Lemon & Duke, one of the four publicans who took the case, said in a statement.

We were forced to go through 10 months of deep financial uncertainty, significant additional risk in taking this action as well as extensive stress and strain to arrive at an outcome which should have been clear from the outset.

FBD said it was committed to paying all valid claims and would arrange interim payments while awaiting clarity on the final quantum. It said it expected the cost to be well within the range of considered financial outcomes.

Irelands latest lockdown shut briefly reopened bars down again on Dec. 24 and is unlikely to be lifted until April at the earliest.

In each of the four cases, FBD declined cover on the grounds that the imposed closure did not arise in consequence of an outbreak of COVID-19 on any of the plaintiffs premises or within a 25-mile radius of the premises.

Judge Denis McDonald rejected that argument in a more than 200-page written judgment. He said the pubs may be indemnified for losses beyond the period of imposed closure until those losses cease or the indemnity period comes to an end.

The issue of quantifying the losses will be dealt with at a later date and the sides will agree on the next steps in court on Feb. 17, the judge said.

Shares in Irelands only domestically listed insurer were 1.4% lower at 6.98 euros at 1255 GMT.

The ruling follows similar decisions by Britains highest court last month and a French court last year.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who as business minister has introduced a number of state supports to keep shuttered firms afloat, said the judgment was welcome news for small businesses across Ireland.

Irelands central bank also welcomed the ruling and said it would closely examine the impact for customers of insurance firms. The regulator has estimated there are about 90,000 business interruption policies in Ireland, some of which provide pandemic cover.

Representative groups for pubs called on insurers to quickly review their policies and promptly pay all valid claims.

($1 = 0.8351 euros) (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; editing by Mark Potter)

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The United States government has announced its endorsement of former the Nigerian minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to emerge as the director general of the World Trade Organization.

The U.S. disclosed this in a statement by its office of trade representative.

It became clear earlier on Friday that Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, a former finance minister and World Bank executive, would likely clinch the coveted post after her final challenger to the position, South Korean Trade Minister and candidate, Yoo Myung-hee, announced her withdrawal.

Ms Yoo made the decision after discussions with the U.S. and other major nations, a statement from Koreas trade ministry said on Friday.

She also took various issues into account comprehensively including the need to revitalise the multilateral organization, reports said Friday.

The U.S. said in its statement as follows:

The United States takes note of todays decision by the Republic of Koreas Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee to withdraw her candidacy for Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Biden-Harris Administration is pleased to express its strong support for the candidacy of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director General of the WTO. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy from her 25 years with the World Bank and two terms as Nigerian Finance Minister. She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven experience managing a large international organization with a diverse membership.

The Biden-Harris Administration also congratulates Minister Yoo Myung-hee on her strong campaign for this position. She is a trailblazer as the Republic of Koreas first female trade minister and the first candidate from Korea to advance this far in the Director General selection process. The United States respects her decision to withdraw her candidacy from the Director General race to help facilitate a consensus decision at the WTO.

It is particularly important to underscore that two highly qualified women made it to the final round of consideration for the position of WTO Director General  the first time that any woman has made it to this stage in the history of the institution.

The United States stands ready to engage in the next phase of the WTO process for reaching a consensus decision on the WTO Director General. The Biden-Harris Administration looks forward to working with a new WTO Director General to find paths forward to achieve necessary substantive and procedural reform of the WTO.

The World Trade Organisation members last October selected Mrs Okonjo-Iweala and Ms Yoo to advance to the final round in the race to lead the Geneva-based trade body.

What seemed like a promising run for Mrs Okonjo-Iweala stalled after the former U.S. President Donald Trumps administration backed denied her support.
HOLYOKE  The City Council formally accepted several grants this week, including money toward the ongoing restoration of the City Hall stained-glass windows and tree stump removal.

A $50,000 Massachusetts Historical grant will fund Phase III of the historic stained-glass restoration at City Hall. The colorful windows rim City Halls cathedral-like ballroom on the second floor.

According to the Holyoke Community Preservation Committees website, the windows were designed by Samuel West, a 19th century Boston artist. A recent $75,000 grant helped restore two windows, which included removal, reglazing and installation.

Councilor Joseph M. McGiverin, who chairs the Finance Committee, praised City Engineer Bob Peirent efforts on the restoration project. The latest grant supplements an $80,000 Community Preservation Act award.

This would complete the High Street side of the stained-glass windows in City Hall, McGiverin said. Everyone who appreciates City Hall appreciates the beauty of these windows.

The windows honor the citys unique history, including the arts, industry and water power. The plans also call for removing one window on the east side that overlooks the parking deck. The council accepted the grant on a 12-0 vote.

The council then approved a $20,000 Greening the Gateway Cities Municipal Assistance grant. The City of Holyoke is required to make a $5,210 in-kind match. McGiverin said the funding would go toward tree stump removal and soil remediation.

I the idea is that we need more good locations to put trees in, McGiverin said. Over the years, trees around the city were knocked down in storms, ravaged by disease or became unmanageable, causing damage to sidewalks.

In partnership with the Commonwealth, the City of Holyoke operates the Free Tree Program, which provides trees to eligible homeowners and businesses. The trees expand the citys urban canopy, offer shade and reduce air pollution.

Ward 2 Councilor Terence Murphy said the new plantings cause less damage to sidewalks and ensure pedestrians access under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Murphy hoped more trees means improved air quality in the Lower Wards. Holyoke has one of the highest childhood asthma rates in Massachusetts.

Ward 3 Councilor David Bartley said, This is one of the top three or four things we normally get in phone calls, dead trees, dead stumps. There are a lot of beautiful streets in this city that tree-lined or could be but for the huge stumps taking over the tree belt.

Bartley noted stump removal will occur along Northampton and Beech Streets and points east. This is a positive start for the city, he said.
Moody's Analytics has won Buy-Side ALM Product of the Year at the 2021 Risk Markets Technology Awards for our PFaroe DB solution. RiskFirst, which Moody's acquired in 2019, won this award for the PFaroe DB offering in each of the last three years.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204006193/en/

Defined benefit (DB) pension plans and their advisers need to evaluate asset and liability risk from multiple perspectives; the PFaroe DB solution makes that possible. To enrich their holistic understanding of a plan's risk even further, stakeholders can also perform real-time scenario stress testing within the platform.

Because there are so many different parties (investment managers, trustees, actuaries, other advisers) involved in the management of DB pension plans, it is essential that they all have the same view of a plan's position. In the PFaroe DB solution, all of a plan's stakeholders share the same transparent, cross-balance sheet view. By understanding a plan's performance better, all involved are more likely to make smarter and more strategic decisions.

"For our customers, having deeper visibility into their plan's risk and overall position is of critical importance-especially as the uncertainty caused by the pandemic persists," said Matthew Seymour, Head of Buy-Side Solutions at Moody's Analytics. "We're honored to help them navigate this challenging period. We're also enormously proud that the PFaroe DB solution won Buy-Side ALM Product of the Year for the fourth straight year. It is a testament to our innovation, which will only continue as we add more capabilities from within Moody's Analytics."

This win adds to the industry recognition for Moody's Analytics. We recently won the European Pensions Innovation Award (Technology) at the 2020 European Pensions Awards.

About Moody's Analytics

Moody's Analytics provides financial intelligence and analytical tools to help business leaders make better, faster decisions. Our deep risk expertise, expansive information resources, and innovative application of technology help our clients confidently navigate an evolving marketplace. We are known for our industry-leading and award-winning solutions, made up of research, data, software, and professional services, assembled to deliver a seamless customer experience. We create confidence in thousands of organizations worldwide, with our commitment to excellence, open mindset approach, and focus on meeting customer needs. For more information about Moody's Analytics, visit our website or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Moody's Analytics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO). Moody's Corporation reported revenue of $4.8 billion in 2019, employs approximately 11,400 people worldwide and maintains a presence in more than 40 countries.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204006193/en/

Contacts:

JUSTIN BURSZTEIN

Moody's Analytics Communications

+1.212.553.1163

Moody's Analytics Media Relations

moodysanalytics.com

twitter.com/moodysanalytics

linkedin.com/company/moodysanalytics
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday (February 5, 2021) granted interim bail to stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui. He had moved the top court for bail late on Thursday.

The bench of Justices RF Nariman and BR Gavai noted that the Madhya Pradesh Police flouted the top court judgment in Arnesh Kumar versus Bihar of 2014, during Munawar`s arrest. The bench also issued notice to Madhya Pradesh government in the matter Faruqui`s counsel argued that allegations are vague.

The top court also granted Munawar Faruqui protection from being arrested by Uttar Pradesh police, who lodged a seperate case, by staying the production warrant issued against him.

Faruqui has been lodged in jail since January 2 on the allegations that he made "indecent" remarks about Hindu deities during a show at an Indore cafe.

Four others were arrested in the case, they have been identified as Edwin Anthony, Nalin Yadav, Prakhar Vyas and Priyam Vyas.

A complaint was made by a BJP MLA's son claiming that objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were made during a comedy show at a cafe in Indore on New Year's day.

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Summerville, SC (29483)

Today

Thunderstorms, some heavy this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 61F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms, some heavy this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 61F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
(Alliance News) - South32 Ltd on Friday noted an assessment report from the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission has been released recommending against approval of the Dendrobium Next Domain project at its Illawarra metallurgical coal operations in Australia.

The London and Johannesburg-listed diversified miner was seeking planning approval to extend the life of the mine until the end of 2048 and extract an additional 78 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal from two new areas near Avon and Coredaux Dams.

However, in its report the Commission highlighted significant concerns over the proposed mine design, including its significant risk of "long-term and irreversible damage to Greater Sydney and Illawarra's drinking water catchment".

"The level of risk posed by the project has not been properly quantified and based on the potential for long-term and irreversible impacts - particularly on the integrity of a vital drinking water source for the Macarthur and Illawarra regions, the Wollondilly Shire and Metropolitan Sydney - it is not in the public interest," the Commission stated in its Statement of Reasons for Decision.

This was despite of the NSW Department of Planning, Industry & Environment concluding that the project was "approvable", and that its benefits outweighed the residual costs.

South32 said it is reviewing the report's findings, and will continue to engage with the New South Wales state government and relevant agencies in relation to the project.

Shares in South32 were down 5.0% at ZAR30.89 on Friday in Johannesburg. Its London shares were down 2.0% at 150.18 pence.

By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The new congresswoman from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene, shouldnt be many things, including a member of Congress. But voters in Georgias 14h Congressional District believed otherwise.

She shouldnt be difficult for House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy to remove from committee assignments, something he did with former Congressman U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa, but she was.

She shouldnt be difficult for other Republicans to denounce and renounce, but she is  only 11 sided with Democrats in removing Greene from her committee assignments this week.

Greene, a racist, hateful promoter of violence and vile disinformation who is a threat to the institution in which she sits  along with some of her colleagues  doesnt deserve the platform of public office to spread and foment her poisonous concoction of lies  falsehoods that helped fuel the mob attack on the Capitol one month ago.

I dont understand what is complicated here, said House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who called on his colleagues to do the right thing. We know the result of these violent conspiracy theories. We saw that on Jan. 6. We know what it leads to. I dont ever want to see that again. And we all should make clear where we stand on this.

We dont understand what is complicated here, either.

Among the politicians some of the seditionists were looking to kill was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is among the Democrats Greene has shown support for executing in Facebook posts she liked before running for Congress in 2020. In a February 2019 Facebook Live video, she said that Pelosi would suffer death or shell be in prison.

Greene isnt being picked on or singled out because shes a Republican but because until recently she publicly placed her faith in QAnon, a sprawling, Donald Trump-loving web of internet conspiracies, at the heart of which is the delusion that the world is run by a cell of cannibalistic pedophiles operating a global child-sex-trafficking ring.

Greene has spewed many conspiracy theories that are unworthy of repeating. But lets dwell for a moment on the doubt, at least in the past, she has expressed about the 9/11 attacks and the school shootings in Sandy Hook and Parkland. She has said wildfires in California were caused by Jewish laser beams.

Greene has acknowledged 9/11 absolutely happened and school shootings are absolutely real. But, sorry: Too little, too late.

On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country.

Hes right, of course, but why has it taken some GOP leaders so long to say this? And why did 199 Republicans choose to look the other way?

The rationale that Greene should not be held accountable for statements made before she took office is absurd. Character is transcendent, and to look the other way is to condone, if not embrace. This is a vote that should have been unanimous. That is wasnt  not even close  is disturbing.

A better path for lawmakers is to follow the lead of Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who said, I think we should have nothing to do with Marjorie Taylor Greene, and think we should repudiate the things she said and move away from her.

Why cant more Republicans, including members of the Texas delegation, be as unequivocal? Why wont they move away from Greene?

Is it somehow better to be stuck with her? For the party? For the nation?

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NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Galien Foundation announced today an upcoming webinar series that will explore the critical role digital technologies play in today's life sciences, specifically in clinical trials and the development of the COVID-19 vaccines.

(PRNewsfoto/The Galien Foundation)

On Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 12:00pm-1:00pm EST, The Galien Foundation will host the first session, "The Impact of Digital Technologies in Transforming and Accelerating Vaccine Trials, Development and Delivery: Lessons from COVID-19." Moderated by Jessica Federer, Managing Director, Huma, Former Chief Digital Officer, Bayer, the panel includes Rachel Berria, MD, PhD, Vice President and Medical Head, US Biopharmaceuticals AstraZeneca; Marie-Pierre Hellio Le Graverand, MD, DSc, PhD, SVP, Head of Clinical Development and Operations, Pfizer; Terry Murphy, COVID-19 Clinical Development Relaunch Leader, VP, Global Head Enabling Business Information Solutions, Global Clinical Development Operations, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Nagaraja Srivatsan, Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, R&DS Technology Solutions, IQVIA; and Tal Zaks, Chief Medical Officer, Moderna. Experts on the front line of COVID-19 research will share insight into what technologies have been most helpful in vaccine development, and those that did not work well in clinical trials and production. Real-time English-French translation will be provided. Register for this session here .

"As we all continue to navigate the COVID-19 landscape, we are honored to host those leading in the development and production of vaccines that will save millions of lives," said Bruno Cohen, Chairman of the Galien Foundation. "These panelists are the epitome of determination, passion and collaboration as they worked tirelessly to develop multiple vaccines in less than a year  this is a historic monumental feat! On behalf of the Galien Foundation, we thank them for these efforts."

This series provides a preview of the discussions planned for the Galien Week of Innovation and USA Prix Galien Forum, which will kick off on Monday, October 25, and conclude on Friday, October 29. A series of webinars focused around award categories will take place in advance of the Galien Forum and Prix Galien Awards, highlighting innovators nominated in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical technology and digital health categories. On Thursday, October 28, experts from the life sciences industry will gather for the Galien Forum to continue the discussion of what role digital technologies play in the development of clinical trials and production of COVID-19 vaccines.

Postponed from last year's events, the short list for the Prix Galien Golden Jubilee will debut at the Prix Galien USA Ceremony. Of the 500 Prix Galien winners recognized by past and present Award Committee members across the globe throughout the Prix Galien's history, the top 10 have been selected as the most groundbreaking achievements in health care across the globe in over 50 years. On December 11, the winners of the Jubilee Awards will be announced in Dakar, Senegal at the first annual Prix Galien Africa. A summary of the past 50 years of Prix Galien awards can be found here .

About the Galien Foundation

The Galien Foundation fosters, recognizes and rewards excellence in scientific innovation to improve the state of human health. Our vision is to catalyze the development of the next generation of innovative treatments and technologies that will impact human health and save lives. The Foundation oversees and directs activities in the USA for the Prix Galien, an international award that recognizes outstanding achievements in improving the human condition through the development of innovative therapies. The Prix Galien was created in France in 1970 in honor of Galen, the father of medical science and modern pharmacology. Worldwide, the Prix Galien is regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in biopharmaceutical and medical technology research.

For more information, visit www.galienfoundation.org .

Follow the Foundation on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/GalienFoundation/

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Nearly three months after Kelsey Townsend gave birth to her fourth child, she finally came face-to-face with her baby.

According to the Associated Press, the 32-year-old woman from Wisconsin, USA, Kelsey, told her baby named Lucy: Hi. I love you. I love you so much. Yeah, Ive missed you."

Kelsey was in a medically-induced coma with COVID-19 when she gave birth to Lucy via cesarean section on November 4, 2020. She ended up spending 75 days on life and lung support at SSM Health St Mary's Hospital in Madison.

She finally met Lucy on Jan 27, 2021 and was discharged from University Hospital in Madison.

Also read: Taiwan Teen In Comatose State Wakes Up After His Brother Threatens To Eat His Chicken Fillet

AP

"We instantly bonded when we met. She gave me a great big smile and looked at me like she knew exactly who I was and that made me feel just so happy, Kelsey said.

Dr. Jennifer Krupp, a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist and the Womens and Newborn Health Medical Director for SSM Health Wisconsin Region, mentioned that it is rare for the hospital to delivery a baby to a mother who was so sick with COVID-19.

Kelsey's oxygen saturation was terribly low when she had arrived at the hospital; it was so low that a fetus' brain and other organs could be damaged. Even her skin was tinged grey and blue. This is why her baby was delivered as soon as possible.

Doctors also thought that Kelsey might need a double lung transplant at the end of December but luckily, she started improving so much that she was moved out of the intensive care unit. She was taken off the ventilator in mid-January and removed from the transplant waiting list.

Also read: Man Wakes Up From Coma, Implicates Two Friends Who Had Thrown Him Off A Building 10 Years Ago

AP

Kelsey's husband, Derek Townsend, described the experience as a big roller coaster.



There was many, many nights that I would get phone calls late at night and into the early morning, and the doctors kind of informed me that theyve done all that they can to support Kelsey and theyre having a hard time stabilizing, he said. So there was many times that we thought we were going to lose her.

He added that even his baby daughter seemed to notice that someone was missing.

The past three months with Lucy, you know, her head is always moving and shes always looking. And I told Kelsey that I believe shes just constantly looking for, for her, he said.



Also read: After Claims Of Kim Jong-Un In Coma, News About Older Brother Kim Jong Chul Surfaces

AP

The couple had contracted COVID-19 even after taking precautions. As Derek got better, Kelsey got worse.

Family is everything to me, Kelsey said. So I have everything to live for right here and coming home. There was no question that I wouldnt.

New Delhi, Feb 5 : Two important back-to-back strategic meetings concerning the Indian Ocean have added the much-needed seriousness to the region which was apparently being lost out to the growing popularity of Indo-Pacific as the preferred space for the current strategic discourse.

First, the Indian Ocean Dialogue (IOD) was held virtually under the chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 2-3 and focused on important security and development issues concerning the Indian Ocean. Titled "Fostering a New Era of Cooperation in the Indian Ocean", the Dialogue featured discussions on economic and trade cooperation, maritime security, public health and sustainable development, and on future trends in cooperation in the Indian Ocean.

The IOD is a stand-alone Track 1.5 event led by the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) for open and free flowing debate among the Member States on issues of maritime security and safety concerning the region. The first ever IOD was hosted by India in 2013 and it is now an important fixture in the IORA's annual calendar. Significantly, India has volunteered to host the IOD every alternate year since 2019.

The second meeting, a Conclave of Defence Ministers of the Indian Ocean rim countries, was held Thursday on the sidelines of the AeroIndia 2021 with the theme 'Enhanced Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Indian Ocean'. Defence Ministers, Ambassadors, High Commissioners and senior officials from 27 Indian Ocean Region countries attended the conclave either physically or in virtual mode.

The Conclave is followed by two seminars 'Peace, Progress and Prosperity' and "enhancing the co-operation and coordination among countries of the region for sustainable development and mutual coexistence". These seminars are led by the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, think tanks and Indian defence shipyards and industry.

The Indian Ocean Dialogue and the Conclave of Defence Ministers embed 'maritime multilateralism', which is a tool for nations who consider using sea power for cooperation. It enables states to address common security issues with a firm belief that all participants would gain better security by the actions of even single member. States also believe that a secure maritime environment can be achieved by developing mutual understanding and cooperation among all in the region and ensuring order at sea.

We are witnessing an unprecedented level of cooperation among the navies and coast guards across the globe. They are not only collaborating to preserve order at sea, but developing joint operational plans for capacity building of smaller nations. Significantly, 'maritime multilateralism' is applicable to all navies - big, medium and small.

Unlike the Asia Pacific Region where the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) took the lead and successfully weaved a web of interactions and engagements in the maritime domain through arrangements such as the ASEAN Regional forum (ARF), East Asia Summit (EAS), and the ADMM Plus, the Indian Ocean countries are latecomers in developing multilateral structures. This can be attributed to lack of interest and therefore the 'political will' to develop Indian Ocean regionalism. Consequently, issues concerning maritime security, search and rescue and disaster management were rarely discussed or debated.

Furthermore, the Indian Ocean littorals did not think in terms of providing security to smaller Indian Ocean states who were ill-equipped to protect their maritime interests. This resulted in majority of these countries preferring to engage extra regional powers such as the US, Britain, France and some European countries to help harness the potential of the seas in a safe and secure manner.

In 2007 India set up the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), a voluntary programme to enhance co-operation among the regional navies whose members has now grown to 36; and in 2018 the Information Fusion Centre- Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) was established to support the MDA needs of Indian Ocean littorals.

The Indian Ocean Dialogue and the Conclave of Defence Ministers of the Indian Ocean are a reflection of New Delhi's commitment to not only uphold Prime Minister Modi's vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) but to rev-up 'maritime multilateralism in the Indian Ocean. It is also not beyond the stretch of imagination that China, its Belt Road Initiative, and the China-Pakistan nexus certainly loom large in the Indian Strategic calculus.

(The writer is a former Director of the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
A line of Boeing 737 MAX jets sit parked on the airfield adjacent to a Boeing production plant in Renton, Wash., on April 20, 2020. (Elaine Thompson/File/AP Photo)

Boeing to Outsource IT Work to Dell, Eliminate 600 Jobs

SEATTLEBoeing Co. has said it will outsource a significant amount of information technology work to Dell starting in April, including support of cloud services, databases and information technology. The move is expected to eliminate 600 jobs.

Susan Doniz, vice president for information technology and data analytics for Boeing, told employees Thursday that the eliminated jobs represent about 10 percent of the companys IT staff, The Seattle Times reported.

Doniz said affected employees, most of whom are not unionized, must either find different work within the company, apply to work for Dell or be laid off.

The move is expected to increase the companys efficiency, simplify operations and advance our digital transformation, she said.

Boeing declined to provide a breakdown of the affected jobs by state. The Times suggested in its report that the biggest layoff hits could come at Boeings major offices in the Puget Sound region, St. Louis and Charleston, South Carolina.

This is a change we would have made even without a global pandemic, Doniz said. She added that the pandemic certainly quickened our pace.

Company officials have also announced plans to reduce factory and office space by more than 5 million square feet (465,000 square meters) over the next few years, and move toward a more remote operation.

Boeing shed 20,000 jobs companywide last year and has said it needs to cut 11,000 more this year, making it harder for the affected IT employees losing their jobs to find new work in the company.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - Two people who were arrested in connection to a shooting that left a man in critical condition are being released as the investigation continues.

Police said Friday morning that a 17-year-old male and Joshua Villasor, 19, were arrested. Police said they were both facing charges of first- and second-degree assault and failing to render aid to a shooting victim. By early Friday afternoon, police said Villasor and the other male were both being released pending further investigation.

The 17-year-old arrested was the second person who was shot and taken back to his mothers house during the incident. Villasor was the driver who dropped him off, police said.

The situation began with a 17-year-old meeting up with the 19-year-old victim to sell him a handgun.

The victim got into a vehicle with the suspects and an altercation took place. The victim was shot numerous times.

The two suspects then forced the victim out of the vehicle before driving off, police said.

More arrests are possible, police said, and the victims condition is slowly improving.
SAN RAMON (dpa-AFX) - Chevron Corp. (CVX) announced Friday that it has submitted a non-binding proposal to the Board of Directors of Noble Midstream GP LLC, the general partner of Noble Midstream Partners LP (NBLX), to acquire all of the publicly held common units representing limited partner interests in Noble Midstream Partners not already owned by Chevron and its affiliates. Chevron is proposing to acquire the Common Units through a merger transaction in exchange for shares of common stock of Chevron, at a value of $12.47 per Common Unit. Chevron expects the proposed transaction to align long term interests by efficiently combining two highly integrated businesses while streamlining governance of the Noble Midstream Partners assets, which primarily serve Chevron as its largest customer. The agreement of definitive terms is subject to negotiations and approval by the Board of Directors of Noble Midstream Partners. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.

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Director General National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation Lee Dong-hee speaks during a press conference at the headquarters of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Friday, after efficacy of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 65 has been tested. Yonhap



A South Korean panel of experts has advised that vaccines for the novel coronavirus by AstraZeneca should be administered to people aged 65 or older following further discussion, according to the country's drug safety agency Friday.



The advisory board consisting of outside experts and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety officials announced its review on the efficacy and safety of the vaccines developed by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant and Oxford University.



The panel advised the ministry to approve AstraZeneca's two full-dose regimen on condition that the pharmaceutical firm submit further data on clinical trials on adults aged over 18.



The panel also recommended another round of discussion before administering the vaccine to people aged 65 or older, citing that there is not enough data on the efficacy of the age group.



Controversies arose globally on the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 for seniors as there is not enough data to back its efficacy in older people. Last week, the European Medicines Agency's expert committee unanimously recommended the vaccine to be used in people 18 and over.




His body was found yesterday morning with four bullets to the head and one to the body. The condolences of political and institutional leaders. Fears of a new escalation of political violence. Mona Fayad: This murder "is a message and a lesson", but "we will not remain silent".

Beirut (AsiaNews) - A murder that took place "in the South, a fiefdom of Hezbollah" and "it was certainly not the first threat. This is a murder that the perpetrators will certainly not try to hide. They want to tell us: be careful, we are here! And that's just the beginning ".

This is what the Lebanese intellectual and writer Mona Fayad, one of the most prominent personalities of the Shiite cultural resistance to the "Party of God" says, commenting on the killing of Lokman Slim, whose bullet riddled body was found yesterday morning after he disappeared the previous evening.

Speaking to L Orient-Le Jour (LOJ), the woman gives vent to her anger at a death that she defines at the same time as "warning and lesson".

Lokman Slim, 58, was one of the most authoritative voices on the anti-Hezbollah front in Lebanon. His body was found yesterday morning in Touffahta, in the south of the country, in a car, with five gunshots, four of which exploded in the head and one that reached the back. The bullets were fired at close range, in the context of an actual execution.

Activists and experts fear that his execution could trigger an escalation in political violence, in a nation already gripped by economic problems and with a health system in collapse due to the new coronavirus pandemic. The victim was a fierce critic of the Lebanese radical movement led by Hassan Nasrallah and an ally of Iran and Syria in the Middle East chessboard, one of the main souls of the civil war. However, there were also those who criticized him, accusing him of fueling sedition and undermining national unity.

Already the subject of repeated threats in the past, Lokman Slim never wanted to leave his family home and the area where he grew up, considered a fief of the "Party of God". And it is precisely in an annex of his home, known as "the Hangar", where he used to organize meetings, films, debates on political reality in the presence of political, intellectual and diplomatic personalities of all kinds.

There had been no news of him since the evening of February 3, when he left a friend's house in the village of Niha shortly after 8.30 pm. The family had lost all contact and the night searches proved useless, until the tragic epilogue yesterday morning with the body found inside a Toyota Corolla and without identity documents.

His sister Rasha al-Ameer, who had founded the Dar al-Jadeed publishing house with the victim, calls for justice and has already announced a private investigation and an autopsy at a trusted facility, because she does not believe in Lebanese justice and in its inquiries that They always end up in an impasse when it comes to political killings. We know - she added - who the killers are "but the target is not so much the material perpetrators, but the principals who wanted it.

The President of the Republic Michel Aoun turned to the Attorney General of the Cassation, asking them to make every effort to bring the perpetrators to justice, without explicitly condemning the killing of the activist. Outgoing premier Hassane Diab speaks of a "hateful crime", while the one in charge Saad Hariri compares it to a "new martyr on the path of freedom and democracy" in the land of cedars. We will not be intimidated, concludes Mona Fayad, and we will not remain silent. This assassination is a warning to those who still believe that it is possible to bring Hezbollah back into the ranks of dialogue and political confrontation.
A massive super storm and damaging winds is set to batter most of Australia on Friday ahead of an incredibly wet weekend.

The intense low pressure trough is slowly making its way across the east coast bringing with it extreme weather conditions over New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

Severe weather warnings have already been issued for gale-force winds, heavy rain and dangerous storms in most states.

Parts of NSW will be drenched on Friday afternoon and Saturday thanks to a low pressure trough

Severe weather warnings have already been issued for gale-force winds, heavy rain and dangerous storms in most states (Pictured: NSW)

Storm clouds build at Point Ormond, Elwood, Victoria on Friday morning

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Dean Narramore said the trough started in South Australia on Thursday and is bringing with it extreme conditions.

'This low will bring widespread rain, severe storms and damaging winds to much of southeastern Australia in coming days,' he said, news.com.au reported.

'Severe weather warnings are current for parts of Victoria and Tasmania for heavy rain and damaging winds with falls in excess of 100mm possible in these areas and winds up to 100km/h possible for alpine areas.

'Severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall are likely on Friday, particularly for inland areas of NSW.

'The band of rain and storms will move into eastern NSW on Saturday and continue in southern Queensland as the low slowly weakens and moves away, while rain and winds slowly ease in Victoria and Tasmania.'

People are seen trying to shelter from the rain on Roma Street in Brisbane on February 2

A man is seen under an umbrella as rain falls on Roma Street in Brisbane, Tuesday, February 2, 2021

NSW enjoyed a warm Friday with temperatures reaching a top of 29C as winds slowly picked up.

There is a slight chance of a shower in the afternoon and possible thunderstorms in the evening.

Winds of up 70km/h are forecast for the South West Slopes and Snowy Mountains.

Areas above 1,900m should expect damaging winds up to 129km/h including Perisher Valley, Charlotte Pass, Thredbo, Cabramurra, Selwyn and Khancoban.

In Victoria, temperatures reached a maximum of 27C with rain and thunderstorms hitting the city.

A warning is already in place for heavy rain and strong winds in parts of the state with fears of flash flooding.

Some areas could expect rainfall of up to 60mm in the northeast, while up to 70-110mm across the ranges.

Winds are set to reach averages of 60-70km/h and gusts up to 90km/h in parts of Melbourne, central districts and the elevated areas in eastern Victoria.

The areas likely to be worst hit include Bendigo, Shepparton, Seymour, Maryborough, Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne, Wodonga, Wangaratta and Traralgon.

A jogger is seen at Dudley Page Reserve as a large storm moves over the CBD in Sydney on January 4

A person is seen walking across a street in the rain in Melbourne on November 4, 2020

Up in Brisbane, temperatures soared to 30C with a slight chance of rain expected in the evening.

Tasmania endured a wet Friday with temperatures sitting at a maximum of 26C and minimum of 20C.

Rain has hit the tiny state throughout the day and a thunderstorm is likely in the afternoon as winds pick up.

In South Australia, endured a cooler Friday at 20C as the rain and strong winds battered the state.

A severe weather warning has been issued to residents in Adelaide, Mount Lofty Ranges, West Coast, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Murraylands, Upper South East and Lower South East told to brace for gale-force winds in excess of 90km/h.

The rain is set to ease across the state on Sunday where its forecast to reach a top of 22C and cloudy.

A firefighter is seen battling the Wooroloo blaze in Perth on Wednesday

More than 250 firefighters battled an out of control bushfire in Brigadoon, Perth on February 2

Perth battled through extreme bushfires this week but are expected to have a bit of reprieve over the weekend with a 90 per cent chance of rain and cooler temperatures.

Sadly, 86 homes have been lost in the massive bushfires, the state's premier Mark McGowan confirmed.

Late showers are set to hit Canberra before residents settle in for a wet weekend in thanks to the low pressure trough.

The rain will disappear on Monday before temperatures also soar for the last month of summer.

In the Northern Territory, storms and rain are expected for an entire week as the mercury lingers in the low 30s.
A man from Long Island, New York, has been arrested for allegedly impersonating a cop and kidnapping two teenage girls in broad daylight, one of whom police say he groped in his SUV before she made a daring escape.

The Suffolk County Police Department on Thursday announced the arrest of 46-year-old Donald Cristiano, of Bay Shore, who is facing charges of kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal impersonation and luring a child.

According to the police, two girls, ages 14 and 16, were walking on Herbert Avenue at 3.35pm when a man drove up to the pair, identified himself as a police officer and asked the teens where they were going.

Donald Cristiano, 46, is pictured being led out of the First Police Precinct in West Babylon, New York, on Friday following his arrested on kidnapping and impersonation charges

Cristiano is accused of pretending to be a police officer to kidnap two teenage girls

Cristiano was said to have encountered the victims, ages 14 and 16, walking in Lindenhurst, New York, on Wednesday and offered to drive them for safety purposes

The bogus cop, later identified as Cristiano, allegedly told the girls he was investigating gang activity in the area and said they were not safe so they should get inside his white SUV.

Cristiano drove the girls to the Lindenhurst Public Library, where he told the 16-year-old to get out of his Nissan Xterra so that he could talk to the other girl.

'The man then drove the 14-year-old to Firemens Memorial Park and began to touch her before she fought him off and fled,' police said in a press release.

During a news conference on Friday, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart detailed the girl's escape, saying that after the suspect touched her waist and pants, and made inappropriate comments, the 14-year-old grabbed the car door handle, kicked the door open and jumped out, reported CBS New York.

She then ran to a nearby house and asked the homeowner to call 911.

Meanwhile, her companion who was dropped off at the library flagged a crossing guard and told her what had happened, and the woman called the police.

Cristiano dropped off the older girl at a library, then drove the younger girl to a park and allegedly groped her

The 14-year-old girl fought back, opened the door of Cristiano's white Nissan Xterra (pictured) and ran for help

Cristiano is pictured in his mugshot (left) following his arrest on Thursday on charges of kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal impersonation and luring a child. The 46-year-old has a criminal record in Florida, which includes battery and burglary counts

The 14-year-old was taken to a hospital for a checkup and was then released. Police said both girls, whom they described in the release as 'courageous young women,' were doing well.

Investigators used surveillance to track down Cristiano, and his own son reportedly confirmed his description. He was taken into custody as he was walking out of his Bay Shore home on Thursday morning.

Cristiano has no known criminal history in New York, but he has an extensive record in Florida, including arrests on charges of battery on a person 65 years or older; grand theft of motor vehicle; larceny; grand theft; burglary; loitering; dealing with stolen property and criminal mischief.
UK scientists have launched the world's first study examining whether different coronavirus vaccines can safely be used for two-dose regimens, an approach they say could give extra flexibility and even boost protection against Covid-19 if approved.

Participants in the 13-month study will be given the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in different combinations and at different intervals, the UK Department of Health and Social Care said in a news release.

"If we do show that these vaccines can be used interchangeably in the same schedule this will greatly increase the flexibility of vaccine delivery, and could provide clues as to how to increase the breadth of protection against new virus strains," said Matthew Snape, chief investigator and associate professor in pediatrics and vaccinology at the University of Oxford.

Enrollment in the UK government-funded study is currently underway and preliminary results are expected over the summer, the news release said.

The current vaccine dosing regimen for the general public will remain unchanged in the UK, it said. But should the study show promising results, the government may consider revising the recommended vaccine regimen.

The study will also seek to determine if vaccination is more effective with a four-week or 12-week gap between the two doses. More than 800 people are expected to take part in the trial and will begin receiving their shots by mid-February.

Analysis released Wednesday by Oxford scientists but not yet peer reviewed suggested there could be higher efficacy with more spaced-out doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Minister for Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Nadhim Zahawi said the new trial would provide vital evidence on the safety of the two shots when used in different ways.

"Nothing will be approved for use more widely than the study, or as part of our vaccine deployment programme, until researchers and the regulator are absolutely confident the approach is safe and effective," he said.

Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, said that given the challenges of rolling out mass vaccination of populations and "potential global supply constraints," there were advantages to having data to support a more flexible immunization program, if needed and approved by the regulator.

"It is also even possible that by combining vaccines, the immune response could be enhanced giving even higher antibody levels that last longer; unless this is evaluated in a clinical trial we just won't know," said Van-Tam.

Currently, official guidance from the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation states that the second dose should be with the same vaccine as for the first dose. "Switching between vaccines or missing the second dose is not advised as this may affect the duration of protection," it adds.

However, in certain circumstances where a patient attends a site for a second vaccination and what was given for the first dose is either unknown or unavailable, it is "reasonable to offer one dose of the locally available product to complete the schedule," guidance states, particularly if the individual is at high risk of infection or is unlikely to attend again.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization do not currently recommend interchanging coronavirus vaccines, since no data is currently available that examines whether doing so would still provide the same level of protection.

Successful vaccination rollout

The UK has been one of the world's worst-hit nations during the pandemic, with among the highest confirmed Covid-19 deaths proportionate to its population.

It has, however, shown global leadership by launching a successful vaccination program, becoming the first country to approve and administer a clinically tested vaccine. More than 10 million people in the UK, around 15% of the population, have received at least one dose to date.

The UK aims to have offered everyone in the four groups identified as most vulnerable -- including all those over 70 and frontline health and social care workers -- a first vaccine dose by mid-February. And Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this month that vaccines would be offered to every adult in the UK "by the autumn."

Meanwhile, the vaccine rollout is picking up pace in the United States, the country that has seen the highest number of cases and deaths from Covid-19 worldwide.

Nearly 34 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered so far in the US, according to data published Wednesday by the CDC. That means just over 8% of the US population -- more than 27 million people -- have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 6.4 million people have been fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.

At the current rate, every adult in the US could be fully vaccinated in about a year. Assuming 75% of US adults must be fully vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, the US could reach this threshold by around Halloween.

Israel, with a population of about nine million, has led the world with its vaccination program.

All Israelis aged 16 and over are now eligible immediately to receive a coronavirus vaccine, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Thursday. "Come in your masses. Take advantage of a situation which exists in almost no other country in the world. This is the only way we will beat corona -- together," the minister said in a statement.

Health Ministry figures show that 3.3 million people have received a first dose, of whom more than 1.9 million have also received their second shot.

Other countries are struggling to overcome problems with vaccine supply and distribution. Last week, a war of words erupted between the European Union and AstraZeneca after EU officials said they had been told by the company that it intended to supply "considerably fewer" doses in the coming weeks than had been agreed because of production problems.

And South America accounts for roughly 15% of the world's reported Covid-19 cases, but less than 3% of the global vaccine doses administered so far, according to data collected by Oxford University.

About 70% of the total coronavirus vaccine doses administrated globally have been in the 50 wealthiest countries, while only 0.1% of them have been administrated in the 50 poorest countries, according to analysis by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

The IFRC described the disparity as alarming and said it could result in "deadly and devastating" consequences, warning that if large areas across the globe remain unvaccinated, the virus will carry on circulating and mutating.

Data questions over AstraZeneca vaccine

As vaccination programs in Europe gather momentum, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, France, Austria and Germany have all decided against recommending use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for people over 65 due to a lack of data on that age group.

On Wednesday, Belgium recommended not administering the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to people over the age of 55, citing a lack of sufficient data.

On the same day, Switzerland declined to authorize the vaccine for any age group, saying data submitted by AstraZeneca was "not yet sufficient to permit authorization" of the vaccine.

In response to Switzerland's decision, an AstraZeneca spokesperson said in a statement: "AstraZeneca has now been granted a conditional marketing authorisation or emergency use in close to 50 countries, spanning four continents, including most recently in the European Union."

"We are confident that our vaccine is effective, well-tolerated, and can have a real impact on the pandemic," the statement added.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) -- the EU's regulator -- recommended authorizing the vaccine for use among the 27 member states without an age restriction.

In a statement made when granting conditional marketing authorization of the vaccine, the EMA said that in spite of a lack of data, protection was expected in older adults.

Meanwhile, Denmark plans to introduce a digital vaccine passport in an effort to reopen society, help businesses and ease travel, the government announced Wednesday in partnership with Danish businesses.

The scheme would initially apply to business travelers and could eventually enable all Danes to go to restaurants, conferences, music festivals and sporting events -- all of which have been restricted since a nationwide lockdown was imposed on December 15, a measure due to last until February 28.

The government hopes that by the end of February, citizens will be able to prove they have received a Covid-19 vaccination as it will be registered online.

Pandemic handling judged

A new poll from the Pew Research Center, conducted in November and December, finds widely differing views in the four nations surveyed -- the United States, Germany, France and the UK -- about their own country's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Just 41% of Americans approve of how their country is handling the pandemic, a new survey from the Pew Research Center finds. Asked simply whether the country is doing a bad or a good job, 58% of those polled came down in the "bad" category.

Meanwhile, Germans overwhelmingly approve of their country's handling of the pandemic, with 77% rating it as "good." In France, 54% of those polled approve of their country's handling and in the UK, 48% did.

The survey of 4,000 adults across the four countries also found that 74% of Americans say the pandemic is affecting their everyday lives a great deal or a fair amount, up from 67% in June.

"Only in Germany do fewer than half of those surveyed say the coronavirus has changed their life, while 52% say their life has not changed much or not changed at all," Pew said.

But people in all four countries are optimistic about future pandemics. In the US, 67% say they feel optimistic about the country's ability to handle future crises. In Germany, 77% do, while in the UK that figure stands at 68% and in France at 60%.
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If the waters are calm as Chicago heads into a cold snap, the pancakes might grow larger or link up with neighbors, Shen said. After the snow falls on them, you gradually lose the features of the pancake and youll just see a flat sheet of ice, she said. If more waves come, the pancakes might crack into smaller pieces.
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New Delhi, Feb 5 : : The Delhi High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on a petition seeking directions for registration of an FIR against media houses and social media organisations for allegedly disclosing the identity of the Hathras victim.

A bench of Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh granted time till March 19 to Facebook, Twitter and various media organisations to file their replies on the petition seeking direction to the Delhi Police to register a case against them.

The 19-year-old victim in the Hathras case had died at a Delhi hospital a fortnight after she was allegedly raped by four men from her village on September 14 last year. She was cremated in the middle of the night in her village.

The petition stated that following the unfortunate event, various media houses and social media giants allegedly published information relating to the victim that disclosed her identity.

"Take appropriate action so that all respondents take down or withdraw any material, news article, social media post or any such information published by them with reference to the details of the identity of the victim in a particular case or similar cases," the petitioner stated.

Besides legal action, the petitioner also sought a direction to the police to organise legal awareness camps, literacy camps, lectures, interactive workshops, newspaper advertisements, hoardings to make people aware about the provisions under the law.

Petitioner Manan Narula alluded to the inaction by Delhi Police against those committing the offence under Section 228A IPC, which makes disclosure of identity of a rape victim a criminal offence.

Section 228A prohibits printing or publishing the name or any matter which may reveal the identities of a rape accused and survivor and prescribes punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years and fine for revealing the identities.
Like Greene, he climbed aboard the juggernaut of Donald Trumps popularity, aping his views on coal and hydroxychloroquine and making excuses for Vladimir Putins outrages. Kelly continued to sing along with Trumps anti-democratic anthem even after the presidents juggernaut ran into the electoral ditch; Kelly claims that the Capitol riots were actually a false flag operation carried out by the political left just to discredit Trump. The Australian Medical Associations president, Omar Khorshid, has described Kellys COVID-related advocacy as crackpot. Loading Why does an outwardly sensible Australian politician carry on like this? For the same reason Greene and many other Trump imitators have  because it wins attention. Craig Kelly has 96,000 followers on Facebook and 10,000 followers on Twitter. Other backbenchers envy these numbers. For a 57-year-old MP whos been languishing in the wastelands of backbench irrelevance for a decade and without prospect of promotion, this sort of validation is political crack. Remember the old adage that a lie can travel half-way round the world before the truth has got its boots on, as British Prime Minister James Callaghan said in 1976? The internet  and social media in particular  has intensified this effect and made it precisely measurable. A 2018 study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tracked about 126,000 news stories tweeted by 3 million people between 2006 and 2017. It found that it took the truth about six times as long as falsehood to reach 1500 people on Twitter. Today a lie can travel six times around the world before the truth has its boots on. Why? Because of the emotional impact of fake news. Say the MIT researchers: False news was more novel than true news, which suggests that people were more likely to share novel information. Whereas false stories inspired fear, disgust, and surprise in replies, true stories inspired anticipation, sadness, joy, and trust.

Political lies, it turns out, are the gold medallists of the misinformation Olympics. False political news also diffused deeper more quickly and reached more than 20,000 people nearly three times faster than all other types of false news reached 10,000 people. Social media, in other words, turns crackpot politics into political crack. Donald Trump knew that. He built a movement on it. Thats why people like Kelly do it and keep doing it. To get attention. This suits unprincipled or desperate politicians beautifully; it disadvantages the serious or sane. As for the social media companies that are the drug runners, political polarisation is a great business model, in the words of Deb Roy of MITs social media lab. Where does it end? We know where it led on January 6 in the US with a president making a lunge to rule as a dictator and his shock troops storming the Capitol. Scott Morrison had long tolerated Craig Kellys nuttiness in the name of free speech, but this week drew a line. Where do you draw the line? poses a senior government figure. At public health. Kellys misinformation was a threat to public health. The Prime Minister, after a couple of false starts and the embarrassment of watching Kelly roundly crushed by Labors Tanya Plibersek in an impromptu corridor debate, eventually demanded that Kelly control himself.

Craig Kelly and Tanya Plibersek argue in the hallway of Parliament House on Wednesday. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer The British tech expert and journalist Jamie Bartlett opened his most recent book, The People Vs Tech, with these words: In the coming few years either tech will destroy democracy and the social order as we know it, or politics will stamp its authority over the digital world. He saw it coming. He wrote that two years ago. Loading Australia finds itself at the forefront of trying to stamp its authority over the digital world. This is happening on a number of fronts. The big issue in Canberra at the moment is the governments proposed digital media bargaining code. Morrisons government is preparing to legislate the code into place. The purpose of the code is to make the US-based multinationals pay Australian professional media outlets for using their news. Thus far, the Big Tech firms simply distribute the local media companies news to the users of Google or Facebook. So the local outfits pay the reporters and editors to produce the news which is then distributed by the American digital firms. The tech giants pay nothing for it. The Australian businesses bear all the costs; Google and Facebook bear none yet get the revenue from the online ads that the news stories attract.

The local publishers want a return on their products. The Australian news outfits have haemorrhaged ad revenue to Big Tech over the past decade and a half. The Morrison government, with Labors support in principle, agrees that the Australian publishers should share in the revenue to allow them to stay in business. Loading If Big Tech bleeds them completely dry, disinformation, conspiracy and propaganda would go from being readily available to being dominant. Google and Facebook agreed in principle and entered negotiations on a voluntary revenue-sharing formula. But their negotiations with the biggest media companies, notably News Corp and Nine, publisher of this masthead, failed. The government is now promising a mandatory code instead. This was what provoked Google into threatening to turn off its search engine for Australian users. It was a bad misjudgment. It failed to move the government and only hardened public and political opinion against Big Tech. These guys live in a bubble of their own existence and think everyone loves them, says a senior government figure. These guys are the tobacco companies of 10 or 20 years ago. Would Google really shut off its search engine for Australia and walk away from some $4 billion a year in revenue? Australias e-safety commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant, says Googles tantrum is not new: Theyve done it before. She recalls that, when the federal government planned to create her office of e-safety six years ago to protect Australian children from online harm, Google and other Big Tech firms threatened to quit Australia in protest. Of course, they did not. Well wait and see how serious they are.

Loading When Google made its threat, Microsoft took it as an opportunity. Its chief rang Morrison and offered to fill the void with its own search engine, Bing. Itd be happy to invest in Australian media businesses, Microsoft said. The threat prompted The Financial Reviews tech editor, John Davidson, to try the non-profit search engine, Duckduckgo. He found it looks a lot like Google, only without the creepy and deceptive ads. Davidson bid Google farewell: Goodbye Google. Dont let your bags of unpaid taxes slow you down on the way out. Google, realising it had overplayed its hand, phoned Morrison this week. He made the point that if the Big Tech firms simply negotiated with the Australian media companies in good faith, they could strike a voluntary deal. The compulsory code was a back-up, not the first and only course. A parliamentary inquiry is to report next week; Morrison hopes to legislate within weeks. The head of the US News Media Alliance, David Chavern, representing some 2000 American news publishers, says Australias choice was a cutting-edge move that is not only about the future of news publishing but also whether we can build communities based on facts instead of misinformation and hate.

A Florida man facing an attempted burglary charge is making headlines after flirting with the judge presiding over his case.

Demetrius Lewis appeared before Broward County Judge Tabitha Blackmon via a Zoom hearing on Thursday on allegations he tried to break into a Fort Lauderdale home as three children slept inside.

Video of Lewis hitting on Blackmon has since gone viral on social media, having been viewed more than one million times.

'How you doin', how you doin'?' Lewis asks in the clip as he appears on the Zoom call.

The accused felon then notices Blackmon on his screen and states: 'Judge, you is so gorgeous...I just have to tell you, you're gorgeous.'

Broward County Judge Tabitha Blackmon (pictured) was hit on by Demetrius Lewis when he appeared in her court via Zoom on Thursday

Demetrius Lewis appeared before Broward County Judge Tabitha Blackmon via a Zoom hearing on Thursday on allegations he tried to break into a Fort Lauderdale home as three children slept inside

Lewis continues with his compliments, telling Blackmon that he 'loves' her.

Blackmon appears somewhat amused by the remarks, before she responds: 'Alright Mr. Lewis. Flattery will get you everywhere. But maybe not here.'

Indeed, Lewis' proclamations of affection didn't do much to impress the judge, who ordered him held on a $5,000 bond.

Lewis has previously spent four years in prison, according to The New York Post.

He was reportedly released in 2019 after after serving time for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Blackmon appeared somewhat amused by the remarks, but they did little to persuade her. She ordered Lewis be held on $5,000 bond

But while Lewis' flirtation failed to grant him freedom, it left social media users amused.

'What does he have to lose at this point?' one Twitter user humorously asked beneath the video, which was shared by WSVN.

'You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!' another joked.

Meanwhile, others concurred with Lewis' assertion that Judge Blackmon was 'gorgeous'.

'I don't blame him!' one chimed in.

Last year, Blackmon was appointed to Florida's Seventeenth Judicial Circuit's County by Gov Ron DeSantis.

She previously served as a prosecutor for the State Attorney's Office, and as an attorney for the Attorney General's Office.
A further 35 deaths linked to Covid-19 and 1,047 new cases of the virus have been confirmed by the Department of Health this evening.

Twenty-nine of these deaths occurred in February, and six occurred in January.

The median age of those who died is 84 years and the age range is 63-96 years.

There has been a total of 3,621 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland and 201,763 cases of the virus.

Of the cases notified today, 292 are in Dublin, 119 in Cork, 76 in Wexford, 60 in Limerick, 47 in Kildare and the remaining 453 cases are spread across all other counties.

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, said: No single intervention is perfect at preventing the spread of COVID-19, it takes many different individual actions to slow down the spread of the disease. Every action you take is another layer of protection between you and the virus - the more layers you have the more protection you have.

As of 2pm today, 1,221 Covid-19 patients are in hospital, 181 of which are in ICU.

It comes as Justice Minister Helen McEntee said new restrictions on travel, including mandatory self-quarantine laws are unlikely be eased by the summer.

Read More

Minister McEntee told Newstalk Breakfast some level of restrictions are here to stay, at least for now.

"We've introduced the PCR testing for everybody and I can't see that changing even going into the summer, she said.

"I think particularly as we're seeing variants change and adapt and new variants emerge, we need to keep these measures in place should the [Health] Minister need to identify a new country and for us to have stricter measures and quarantining measures.

"So I don't think this is something that will be here for the next month or two, unfortunately I think it will be much longer".

Read More

"I fully appreciate we all want a holiday, we'd all love to get on a plane and go somewhere warm and sunny - but given the fact that this changes so quickly I would just urge people to not so that yet.

The minister also said that we're going to have thousands of Gardai calling to the homes of every single person that comes into this country.

"There will be random checks to people's homes, ensuring that they are quarantining as they said they and as is the law to do so now, she explained.

We don't want people coming back into the country or leaving and coming back, what we're trying to say and get the message across is that you shouldn't be leaving in the first instance.

"But if you do, not only do you face a penalty of now 100 to 500 on the way out [and] potentially on the way back, but you could have a Guard calling to your door to make sure that you are actually quarantining because it is now the law to do so".



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The Court of Appeal has begun hearing 25 election-related petitions that are more than five years old.

Some petitions were filed in 2015 and many of them have been overtaken by events since the leaders whose election the petitions sought to overturn have already served out their office terms or the actions that were being challenged have ceased to exist.

It means their disposal would be more of legal significance but with little or no political value.

The court registrar, Ms Mary Babirye, said the listing of the time-barred petitions for the hearing is aimed at reducing the case backlog in the court system.

Notable among the petitions is by the Unwanted Witness Uganda which is challenging the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC)'s decision to shut down social media during the 2016 General Election.

Government shut down the Internet ahead of the 2016 presidential polls on account that it fueled violence by spreading misinformation.

The petitioners contend that the shutdown offended the right to freedom of expression.

Other petitions include the case by Fox Odoi, who contends that regulation 20 (21) on the National Resistance Movement (NRM) primary elections is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution, and Democratic Party (DP) president Norbert Mao suing Electoral Commission for allegedly refusing to nominate him as parliamentary candidate.

The EC had argued that Mr Mao presented himself for nomination for Gulu Municipality MP but the returning officer could not nominate him because his name was not on the National Voters Register, which is a requirement for nomination under Section 4 (1) (b) of the Parliamentary Elections Act of 2005.

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The aforementioned election-related petitions will be heard in the next two weeks.

The justices to hear the appeals are: Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, Justice Kenneth Kakuru, Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, Justice Christopher Madrama and Justice Irene Mulyagonja.

Other cases

The Court of Appeal, which also sits as the Constitutional Court, when handling constitutional matters is expected to hear an appeal in which Democratic Republic of Congo government is seeking a declaration that the various orders made by the High Court which led to attachment and sale of the premises of its predecessor --Zaire government-- in Kololo and Mbuya in Kampala violated the Foreign Policy objectives outlined in the Constitution.
The people of Iviebua, Iyiakhua and five other communities in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo are to benefit from a 13.5 km rural roads in the area which would bring down the cost of transportation by 30 percent.

Speaking on behalf of the benefiting communities, Chief Kennedy Izuagbe lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for the project and said they, "Some of us never thought these roads will be constructed in our lifetime." The other communities are Iviegbepui, Ivianokpodi, Ivioghe, Ebele and Okpekpe Izuagbe, who said that the communities have long been abandoned in terms of developmental projects, noted that the road would also spur both social and economic development in the area.

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According to him, "To say that the people are happy will be under statement, we are indeed elated by this development.

"Over the years, the people had suffered untold hardship in the process of transporting goods and services from these communities to the city.

"These inconveniences have often resulted in high cost of transportation to and fro these communities.

"We have had people in government but they have not been able to do what we are witnessing today, but our son, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba, has done what Napoleon could not do.

"We want to also commend President Muhammadu Buhari who have found it fit to appoint Agba."

Izuagbe concluded by saying, "Generation unborn will never forget this gesture by the President."

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba told the people that for easy evacuation of farm produce, the seven communities would be linked with Ebele and Okpekpe to reduce the travelling time.

He said the essence of the roads is to reduce post harvest losses which he said is about 60 percent.

"To ease evacuation of farm produce, the President approved N34b for 377 rural roads in 266 communities across the country," he stated.

The Project Manager, Mr Bolaji Bakare, said the network of roads would have side drains of 5, 500 meters.

Bakare who said that the road construction have attained 50 percent completion rate, will be 100 percent completed by March.
They also worry about the even more sluggish rate at assisted-living facilities and about workers who are suspicious of vaccination.

Last fall, the Trump administration contracted with the two big pharmacy chains, which agreed to hold three clinics at each facility: first dose, second dose and one to catch any stragglers missed earlier.

The pace of vaccination has picked up substantially. Walgreens increased the number of doses it was administering, from 165,000 in December to 1.3 million last month. It has completed the first doses at all 5,529 of the nursing homes it contracted with and expects to deliver the second doses by Feb. 25 and to complete third visits by mid- to late March.

Similarly, CVS, which has the larger program, has delivered first doses to all of the 7,822 nursing homes it is serving and about 81 percent of the second doses.

Company executives emphasized that while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prioritized long-term care for vaccination, individual states determined when programs began.

We were actually planning for a national rollout on the same date, said Chris Cox, senior vice president for pharmacy business at CVS. We were ready to go. But while nearly all states activated nursing home clinics on Dec. 21 or 28, most didnt launch assisted living clinics until January, often weeks later.

The virus didnt wait. Infections in long-term care reached a peak in December, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis; so did deaths, in many states. Although long-term-care residents and staff members account for just 5 percent of the nations Covid-19 cases, they represent 37 percent of the deaths.
More than 9,200 healthcare workers received Covid-19 vaccine shots in on Friday in the third week of the inoculation drive, with a turnout of more than 50 per cent.



Sources said vaccination will now begin for frontline workers too from Saturday onwards. Frontline workers include, police, civil defence staff, DJB and electricity department employees, among others.



Also, the number of scheduled days, from initially being four days -- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday -- have now been extended to six days a week, Monday-Saturday, they said.



After a sluggish start since the exercise was kicked off January 16, the inoculation drive had picked up pace in the last several days.



The targeted number for vaccination on February 5 was 18,400, officials said.



"Today, 9,216 people were administered and AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) was reported in 12 persons," a senior official of the Health Department said.



On the previous day of the vaccination drive, 9,494 healthcare workers had got the jabs with a turnout of about 51 per cent.



Under the nationwide mega vaccination drive launched on January 16, a total of 4,319 (53 per cent) health workers against a target of 8,117 were administered the shots at 81 centres across the city on day one.





ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tests positive

On the second scheduled day, the figures had stood at 3,598 (44 per cent of the target). The sharp fall had come after one severe and 50 minor adverse effect cases were reported, on the opening day of the vaccination drive.



The count on third schedule day was much higher, at 4,936 (48 per cent).



Various reasons were being attributed to the low turnout in the initial days, including some technical issues and apprehensions related to adverse events.



However, the government has maintained that no case of serious/severe AEFI is attributable to vaccination till date.



Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield is being administered at majority of the centres while Bharat Biotech-made Covaxin doses given at the remaining facilities.



The government had taken measures like counselling and formal phone calls to raise the percentage of healthcare workers turning up for being administered COVID-19 vaccine. The district-wise distribution of total 12 AEFI cases on Friday were -- Central Delhi (0), East Delhi (0), New Delhi (1), North Delhi (3), North East Delhi (0), North West Delhi (1), Shahdara (5), South Delhi (0), South East Delhi (1), South West Delhi (1) and West Delhi (0), according to the data shared by authorities.



With low turnout of healthcare workers on the first two days of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had recently said the exercise is voluntary and a matter of "personal decision" for people whether to get a shot or not, but all efforts are being made to boost their confidence.



He had reiterated that this is a voluntary exercise and people are making their own decisions as it's the initial phase.


[February 05, 2021] Nativex expands presence in TikTok Marketing Partner Program; Integrates TopWorks for Enhanced Ad Creative Solutions

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nativex , a leading mobile-first advertising platform dedicated to driving ROI, today announced it expanded its partnership with TikTok, the world's leading destination for short-form mobile video with a mission to inspire creativity and bring joy. TopWorks Creative Studio by Nativex joined the TikTok Marketing Partner Program, bolstering the platform's global advertising creative offerings. This partnership demonstrates Nativex's status as a leader in the mobile marketing space, as it now has two unique offerings in TikTok's directory. TopWorks Creative Studio delivers high-quality, localized mobile ad creatives that drive tangible results. TopWorks ensures the highest performing assets are developed, with formats including live-action video creatives, TV commercials, interactive videos, 3D animations, VR videos, and more. Additionally, by combining its in-house performance evaluation system with Nativex's rich digital marketing expertise and big data capabilities, the studio etter optimizes all ad creatives produced. This showcases Nativex's commitment to providing unique solutions that help clients' engage new markets. Additionally, the studio has over 200 global creative partners with teams in 30 countries.



"While many consumers are staying at home, this partnership lets marketers and advertisers develop stronger creative assets and drive engagement with their most valuable customers across the globe," said Keson Su, Creative Director at Nativex. "Localized ad creative is more important than ever, especially as marketers and advertisers fight for consumers' dwindling digital attention spans. This partnership helps marketers and advertisers better engage with a desired audience though performance-driven and impactful creative." TopWorks Creative Studio by Nativex is available now. For more information, visit https://www.nativex.com/en/topworks/ or visit the TikTok Marketing Partner Portal ads.tiktok.com/marketing-partners .

About Nativex Nativex is dedicated to driving ROI and growth for all sectors of business in a digital and mobile-first world. Nativex enables marketers to create strong, sustainable growth through universal access to digital channels across China and the rest of the world. In addition to this, Nativex offers all the integrated tools needed for marketers to thrive and create a meaningful impact on their audiences. Part of Mobvista, Nativex has a global presence with 16 offices worldwide. Learn more at www.nativex.com . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nativex-expands-presence-in-tiktok-marketing-partner-program-integrates-topworks-for-enhanced-ad-creative-solutions-301223244.html SOURCE Nativex

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Canadas immigration system: Balancing challenges and continuity ANALYSIS: Historically, Canada has faced and successfully navigated through a series of significant challenges. Michael Schwartz Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Plus ca change, plus cest la meme chose. This 1849 phrase, originating in French, one of Canadas two official languages, expresses the sentiment that, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Many have observed that the Coronavirus pandemic has thrust the world, and with it, Canada, into an unprecedented difficult situation, making for an unprecedented present future.

To be sure, there is considerable truth in the foregoing conclusion. But, at the same time, we can also situate the current situation and solutions in a broader, historical context, and observe that Canada has grappled with varied and great challenges (and opportunities) before, and emerged successfully. The Canadian immigration system is a case in point.

Canada has coped before with times of worldwide convulsions that dramatically reduced its ability to accept newcomers. The First World War saw immigration to Canada drop precipitously; in 1915, the intake was only 34,000 people (compared to over 400,000 just two years before).

Levels picked up considerably in the Roaring Twenties but again dropped sharply with the advent of the Great Depression, dipping still further with World War II. So the drop in immigration to Canada resulting from the Coronavirus is far from unheralded in Canadas history.

Canada has also seen great waves of immigration, particularly as part of a response to, and recovery from, challenges. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants poured into the countrymany to the westin the decade-or so following the establishment of Saskatchewan and Alberta as provinces. Unlike many countries in Europe, which arguably had too many people and not enough landCanada had the opposite problem.

After the calamity of the Second World War, Canada, unlike many other nations, had emerged strong and stable. But it was sorely lacking in the labour force and skills necessary for the great post-War economy and recovery taking place. Between 1946 and 1953, over 750,000 souls found a home in Canada.

Considering that the total population of Canada in 1946 was less than 13 million, the size of this immigration and smoothness of its absorption are nothing short of remarkable. What followed was a considerable increase in Canadas economic output, standard of living and presence on the world stage.

Find out if you are eligible for Canadian immigration

Where are we now? Canada is in the middle of a global war, not against a military enemy but against a terrible virus. We have suffered the loss of thousands, disruption and contraction of our economy, and a decline further in our already low birth rate.

Again, however, Canada has remained robust and secure. While, like any country, Canada has challenges, it remains a beacon of peace and stability. Unlike the United States, it has never known a civil war. Protests over the past year or so have generally been very peaceful and safe, again markedly different from the situation in the USA.

It is not too soon to talk about economic and societal recovery. As it has in the past, immigration will play a key role.

The government has announced a goal of settling over 1,200,000 new permanent residents in Canada from now until 2021-2023. In considerable measure, economic and population needs are the motivation for this ambitious plan. Marco Menidicino, the incumbent Immigration Minister, expressed it well in announcing these targets:

Immigration is essential  to our short-term economic recovery and our long-term economic growth  newcomers create jobs not just by giving our businesses the skills they need to thrive, but also by starting businesses themselves.

Canada has long been a place of refuge for those who are fleeing persecution in their countries of origin. In addition to the 1947-1953 contingent, Canada welcomed thousands of Hungarians in 1956-7, and Vietnamese boat people in the late 1970s, and Syrians in the 2010s.

This trend continues. Most recently, Canada has announced special measures to ease the immigration and retention of people from Hong Kong, in the wake of increasingly repressive measures there.

Canada is even redoubling in its quest to settle more sparsely populated areas and develop its agricultural potential. The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot allows smaller and more isolated communities in Canada to nominate immigrants to work and settle in these places. The Agri-Food Immigration pilot, meanwhile, facilitates the arrival of people to work as farmers, ranchers, and other occupations in agricultural or food production.

Of course, many things have changedand for the better. Paper-based applications with long, drawn-out processes, are making way for digital and much faster processing.

A system of national and race-based preferences for economic immigration has made way for an objective, merit-based point system.

The provinces and territories have taken a lead in developing innovative streams to attract the best and brightest. Programs for business people and entrepreneurs, and for people who have studied in Canada, are particularly noteworthy developments.

Soour economic and immigration challenges and responses. Unique? Indeed. Entirely novel or unprecedented? Far from it.

Find out if you are eligible for Canadian immigration

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
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opinion

For centuries, the historiography of African history has been at the centre of a heated debate. Eurocentric scholars like Oxford University's Professor Hugh Trevor-Roper said Africa had no history before the advent of colonialism as the motherland was a "dark continent".

This imperial historiography was trashed by prominent African pundits like Walter Rodney who thoroughly examine the impact of colonialsm on Africa in his book "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa".

Renowned academics like Sabelo Nldovu-Gatsheni and Enocent Msindo, among many, have written extensively on colonialism and decoloniality. The quest to tell the continent's story from an African perspective saw the African Union (AU) commissioning Zimbabwe to write The Africa Factbook which was signed and sent out to 54 AU countries this week by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The factbook aims to "be an educational tool that enriches knowledge and the pride of Africans through tales of liberation struggles."

Those who push for the factbook -- more of revisionists -- cry foul about colonial oppression and imperial historiography as the minority white discriminated against Africans. But 40 years into independence for some countries like Zimbabwe and 58 years of freedom for Uganda concerns over oppression are widespread.

As he sought an unprecedented sixth term in last week's plebiscite, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni -- in power since 1986 -- trampled on civil liberties and shut down the internet and social media platforms. This fits well into authoritarian theory of mass communication.

Ugandan security forces dealt with opposition protestors ahead of the elections with a heavy hand resulting in the death of 54 people. Similarly, Zimbabwe has a checkered history, which lately has included shutting down the internet while dissenting voices have been ruthlessly crushed.

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On August 1, 2018, six civilians were gunned down on the streets of Harare in broad daylight. None of the culprits have been brought to book more than two years later. These incidences show how Africa still falls short of freedoms. Therefore, governments across the continent should allow democracy to flourish; of course within the confines of the law.

Apart from political problems; identity issues related to class, race, ethnicity and gender cleavages remain unresolved.

Poverty is still Africa's biggest challenge as the gap between the haves and have-nots widens. Classism cannot be denied as the ruling elite live in luxury while the ordinary man scrounges for food.

Ethnic and religious wars are rife across the motherland in Nigeria and South Sudan, among other nations. Thus, as we seek to tell the African story which was distorted by Eurocentrism, rulers must also address socio-economic and political problems to improve the livelihoods of the masses.

Africa, with countries like Democratic Republic of Congo, is indeed endowed with rich mineral resources but remains poor.

A lot still needs to be done to improve democracy and blur the class and ethnic cleavages on the motherland.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Armenia recorded highest trade turnover in 2020 with Russia, China and Switzerland, ARMEN PRESS was informed from the Statistics Committee of Armenia.

Armenias foreign trade turnover in 2020 amounted to over 7,1 billion USD, declining by 13.2% against 2019.

Russia ranked 1st among Armenias foreign trade partners, with a trade turnover over 2 billion and 155 million USD, which is a decline of 3.5% against 2019.

Armenias 2nd foreign trade partner was China, with a trade turnover over 964 million USD, which is an increase of 2% against 2019.

Switzerland comes next, which recorded 485million USD trade turnover with Armenia  a decline of 5.1%.

Armenias trade turnover with the EU amounted over 1 billion and 276 million USD, declining by 22.9% against 2019.

Armenias trade turnover with the USA in 2020 amounted to 152 million USD, declining by 54,5% against 2019.

Trade turnover with Iran amounted to over 400 million USD, declining by 2.2%, while with Georgia  129.7 million USD, a decline of 12.9% against 2019.
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This day trip will introduce you to some of the highlights of Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland. You will be picked up by your local guide in a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle and will drive from Dresden to Saxon Switzerland, with commentary about the region's history and culture along the way.

The first stop of the day will be at Bastei Bridge in Saxon Switzerland, where you can admire panoramic views of the Elbe River Canyon. Here, you can also enjoy a short walk across the bridge to the medieval castle ruins of Felsenburg Neurathen and then into the Bohemian Czech part of the National Park. You will also get the chance to see a 19th-century lookout tower, which offers a magnificent view over the countryside.

Next, you will have a lunch of local cuisine with a drink included before heading to the Tisa Walls, a spectacular natural rock formation. This labyrinth of rocks was featured in 'The Chronicles of Narnia' film and is popular with rock climbers.

Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
Putting up a strong defence of the new farm laws, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday said the government's offer to amend them to assuage farmers' sentiments did not mean they had any flaws and that none from the protesting unions or their sympathisers have been able to point out any lacuna. Countering the opposition claim that farmers across the country are agitated over the three new laws, he said that those in just one state are being misinformed and instigated.

In an apparent reference to a booklet released by the Congress, Tomar slammed the party saying: "Duniya janti hai pani se kheti hoti hai. Khun se kheti sirf Congress he kar sakte hai, BJP khun se kheti nahi kar sakti (The world knows water is required for farming. Only Congress can do farming using blood. BJP cannot do this)".

Acknowledging that the three laws are currently a burning issue, Tomar said opposition parties criticised the government and even termed the three legislations as "kala kanun" (black law).

"For two months I kept asking farmer unions what is kala in the laws so that I can try to rectify. But I could not get the answer... Also nobody (from opposition benches) tried to point out the provisions in the laws which are against farmers," he said. Tomar, along with two other union ministers has held 11 meetings with farmers' representatives in wake of the ongoing protests. But the deadlock still continues.

Tomar's comments in Rajya Sabha referred to protests at the border points of the national capital being led by farmers from Punjab. He said the government is committed to welfare of farmers and to the continuation of the mandi system of procurement of crops on minimum support price (MSP) based mechanism.

The laws give farmers alternatives to sell their produce outside 'mandis', and unlike the state government notified market places, such sale would not attract any tax.

"The agitation should have been against the tax levied (by state government) on sale made in mandis but strangely the protests are against freeing of the system from such taxes," he said, intervening during the discussion on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the start of the Budget Session.

Tomar said farmer unions and the opposition have not been able to point out any lacuna in the three laws. "Government's offer to make amendments in the laws does not mean there are any shortcomings in them," the minister added.

(With PTI inputs)
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism recorded fewer incidents of wildlife poaching and maintained a high number of arrests for wildlife crime in 2020, minister Pohamba Shifeta says.

Shifeta announced figures for 2020 at the launch of the revised national strategy on wildlife protection and law enforcement in Windhoek yesterday.

He said more resources have been allocated to fighting poaching, which includes more government agencies and non-governmental organisations, the private sector, international development partners and communities.

In 2020, Namibia recorded a total of 31 rhinos poached compared to 52 in 2019, 81 in 2018, 55 in 2017, 66 in 2016 and 97 in 2015, the minister announced.

A total of 11 elephants were poached in 2020, compared to 13 in 2019, 27 in 2018, 50 in 2017, 101 in 2016 and 49 2015.

As for pangolin, eight live animals were seized in 2020, as well as five full carcasses, 59 skins, five skin pieces and 924 scales, he said.

Namibia has in recent years strengthened its anti-poaching efforts by taking a multisectoral approach to wildlife crime, which includes the involvement of the Namibian Defence Force, the Namibian Police, the Blue Rhino task team and the Anti-Poaching Unit.

Furthermore, the Anti-Poaching Unit also has subunits such as its own intelligence services and dog unit.

ARRESTS FOR WILDLIFE CRIMES

Shifeta said 654 suspects were arrested in 2020, with 308 wildlife crime cases registered that year.

Of those, 111 cases are related to high-value species.

"Of these cases, 100 are related to pangolin poaching and trafficking, 64 to elephant poaching and trafficking, while 113 are related to rhino poaching and trafficking," he said.

The majority of the suspects, a total of 597, were Namibian, however, other Southern African Development Community nationals were also among those arrested.

Some 26 Zambians, 22 Angolans, one Botswana national and one Zimbabwean were also arrested.

Regarding peosecution, 1 595 court hearings on wildlife crime cases were recorded in 2020.

Of these, 104 were finalised in courts, with 162 suspects found guilty of wildlife-related charges.

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The minister said 16 suspects were acquitted of their charges.

"You can clearly see from the statistics that we have been hard at work to curb wildlife crime in the country and much success has been achieved," Shifeta said.

He said that many of last year's arrests included kingpins, middlemen and various aiders and abettors, rather than poachers only.

"A number of high-level perpetrators of wildlife crimes were arrested in Namibia during 2020, particularly related to rhino poaching and trafficking," he said.

The minister said Namibia is making efforts towards catching the heads of the poaching syndicates in and around the country, rather than going after the poachers.

There are plans in the works to facilitate an amnesty programme for those involved in wildlife crimes who can assist in getting to the top of these syndicates.

"I have instructed our technical team in the ministry to work out a form of amnesty for those involved in wildlife crimes, but are not yet arrested, to voluntarily come out and hand themselves over to the authorities for possible protection from prosecution . . ," he said.

A recently published study by an organisation called TRAFFIC - the wildlife trade monitoring network - detailed that most offenders incarcerated for wildlife crimes in Namibia are low-level poachers or traders rather than kingpins in organised, illegal wildlife trade (IWT).
SYDNEY, Feb. 4 (People's Daily Online) -- The Online Award Ceremony for "When Koala Meets Panda" 2020 China-Australia Short Video Contest was held on February 1, 2021. With over 1 million views on China's social media platforms, the Final Award went to Xu Ding and Kkye Hall with their video "Stereotype."

The Online Award Ceremony of When Koala Meets Panda 2020 China-Australia Short Video Contest

The contest is hosted by the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Brisbane and organized by People's Daily Online Australia. The Online Award Ceremony was hosted by Amy Lyons, the Final Award winner of "When Koala Meets Panda" 2017 China-Australia Short Video Contest and Youtuber, who creates content about traveling and Chinese culture.

This contest invites and encourages Australians and Chinese international students to make videos to show interesting cultural similarities or differences between China and Australia, aiming to deepen mutual understanding between the two countries, build up the relationship between Chinese and Australians, and promote cultural exchanges. From September 1 to Nov. 30, 2020, nearly 90 entries were received from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok. The short videos record the participants' life experiences in China or Australia and reveal the cultural differences under their personal understanding.

The Final Award go to Xu Ding and Kkye Hall with their video Stereotype

Reviewed by a professional judging panel formed with well-known Australian TV presenters, producers and academics, 11 Outstanding Awards works and four Individual Awards works were selected on Dec. 21, 2020.

"Best Story Award": 963 Days in Sydney by Yijun Lu and Jiacheng Ma

http://v.people.cn/n1/2021/0107/c239891-31992328.html

The Online Award Ceremony of When Koala Meets Panda 2020 China-Australia Short Video Contest

"Best Experience Award": Celebrate NT with Chinese Poetry by Jiawei Huang

http://v.people.cn/n1/2021/0107/c239891-31992329.html

"Best Presentation Award": This is it by Dujia Gao

http://v.people.cn/n1/2021/0107/c239891-31992330.html

"Best Editing Award": Stereopy by Xu Ding and Kkye Hall

http://v.people.cn/n1/2021/0107/c239891-31992327.html

Dr. Xu Jie, Consul-General of the Peoples Republic of China in Brisbane gives a speech at the ceremony

Videos of the four Individual Awards were released on the social media platforms in China and received more than 3 million views, with the entry "Stereotype" winning the Most Popular in China Award. At the ceremony, Xu Ding and Kkye Hall received the award, given by Dr. Xu Jie, Consul-General of the People's Republic of China in Brisbane.

Xu Ding and Kkye Hall are a Chinese-Australian couple who created the entry together. They hope to use the video to eliminate some wrong stereotypes between China and Australia, break down barriers and build a bridge of friendly exchanges between the two countries.

They will be invited to China for a week-long cultural experience trip. "We started making videos in August 2020. This award is really important to us, because it is a validation for us and gives us the confidence to make more meaningful videos in the future."

Colin Mackerras, an Australian sinologist and Emeritus Professor at Griffith University, attends the ceremony

Colin Mackerras, an Australian sinologist and Emeritus Professor at Griffith University, affirmed the positive role played by the contest, saying that the contest held for many years has become a good way for Chinese and Australian people to learn about their respective cultures. The contest is about increasing knowledge, understanding and love for one another and improving relationships between the two countries, he said.

Dr. Xu thanked the participants and judges for their active involvement and support in the competition. "Promoting people-to-people exchanges is our common expectation. I believe diversity is first in our action among civilizations, which in terms promotes mutual learning in our further development. We hope the short video contest encourages Chinese and Australian friends in strengthening communication, exchanges, and friendship by sharing more personal experiences, stories and understanding with each other", he added.
Stephen F. Berr, 84, of Blue Bell, a longtime teacher and planetarium director for the Colonial School District, died Saturday, Jan. 30, of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at home.

Known for his infectious love of the stars, planets, and science education, Mr. Berr touched students, friends, and family by challenging them to investigate the mysteries of the universe as well as those on Earth.

He made science fun, said his son, Jonathan Berr.

What an amazing man, a former student wrote of Mr. Berr on Facebook. He excited a generation about astronomy.  There were no barriers to educating his students too large to surmount.

Mr. Berr taught earth science, physics, astronomy, and advanced classes, and was planetarium director at Colonial schools for nearly 30 years. He retired in 1993, and is remembered for his enthusiasm in the classroom and the devotion of his students and others who also embraced his love of the cosmos.

In a 1988 interview with The Inquirer, Mr. Berr explained the appeal of observing meteor showers in his usual poetic manner.

First of all, its beautiful, he said. Second of all, its kind of mysterious.

His son recalls that Mr. Berr was often stopped in public by current and former students who could not help but say hello. Always gracious, he made them feel like they were his favorite even though he had no idea who they were, his son said.

On our very first date, he said, Let me show you the stars, said Barbara Berr, his wife of 56 years. He was always talking about the mysteries of the sky. With his students, he was like the Pied Piper. They followed him when he taught.

Greg Huber, a biophysicist and the director of theory at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, was a Plymouth Whitemarsh High School student in the 1970s when he became friends with Mr. Berr due largely to their shared interest in science. He recalls Mr. Berrs intuitive sense about education, a generosity with his time, and the warmth of his personality.

He wasnt just a teacher, Huber said. Because of his stature, the planetarium seemed magical, otherworldly to kids like me.

Mr. Berr was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on May 24, 1936. He graduated from Brooklyn College and got a masters degree in science education at Temple University. He started teaching earth science in New York but moved to Montgomery County when he got a job in the Colonial School District in 1966.

He also taught classes at the Community College of Philadelphia, attended many National Science Foundation activities, organized groups to watch comets and eclipses, and published writings on astronomy and astrophysics.

After his retirement, Mr. Berr sold portable planetariums to schools and museums, and trained staff in their use. He and his wife were active in Congregation Or Ami in Lafayette Hill for more than 50 years. He had a wide-ranging collection of jokes (some in Yiddish), liked puzzles and math problems, and loved to tell stories.

Mr. Berr met Barbara Solomon, also from Brooklyn, in 1964 at a concert in New Jersey. They married in 1965, and raised three children: Laura, Jonathan, and Rebecca. Mr. Berr was a writer and musician in his spare time. He took writing classes, composed stories about his childhood, and played the banjo, autoharp, concertina, and flute.

He survived a bout with cancer 20 years ago, but the aftereffects of the treatments left him vulnerable over the years to illness and breathing complications. Nevertheless, his wife said, he remained generous and determined to live as normal as possible. He didnt let anything stop him, she said.

His four grandchildren nicknamed him Grumpy because he was the exact opposite. Granddaughter Danielle Brundage wrote a Facebook tribute to Mr. Berr that included this stanza:

You are up there with the greats/Becoming your own constellation/Blinking and winking down at us.

In addition to his wife, children, and grandchildren, Mr. Berr is survived by other relatives. A sister died earlier.

A private service was held, and a public memorial is to be held later.

Donations in his name may be made to Congregation Or Ami, 708 Ridge Pike, Lafayette Hill, Pa. 19444.
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An abortion flyer in South Africa - some of these services are described as unsafe by activists.

analysis

US President Joe Biden has reversed a Trump administration policy that prohibited US funding for nongovernmental groups that provide or refer patients for abortions.

The Global Gag Rule, also known as the Mexico City Policy, was enacted in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan. Since its introduction, the policy has been instated by each Republican president and rescinded by each Democrat president.

Under President Donald Trump the policy was made more stringent on two occasions - once in 2017 when his administration passed the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance policy and again in 2019 with a further expansion of its implementation.

The Global Gag Rule requires non-governmental organisations (NGOs) based outside the US that receive US government global health assistance to certify that they will not use any funding to provide legal abortion services, referrals, or information to clients, or to advocate for the liberalisation of a country's abortion law. It also applies to non-US based NGO sub-grantees of organisations getting money - even if they don't receive US global health assistance. The policy applies to US government and non-US government funds alike.

The policy allows for limited exceptions. For example, NGOs may provide information, referrals or services for legal abortion in cases of rape, incest, or when the pregnancy threatens the life of the pregnant person. However, our research shows that these exceptions are not always understood or followed in practice.

We collaborated with the African Population Health Research Centre and L'Institut National de Sante Publique et Communautaire to study the effects of the Global Gag Rule in Kenya and Madagascar. In both countries, we found that the Global Gag Rule weakened national health systems by disrupting NGO partnerships and fragmenting service delivery. In turn, this created barriers to women's sexual and reproductive healthcare access.

Our research provides fresh evidence of the devastating effect that the Gag Rule has had on projects, particularly over the past four years. It points to the importance of the repeal, but also underscores why, to truly pave the way towards reversing the effects of the Gag Rule, the US Congress must permanently repeal it through legislation.

What we found

Research participants in Kenya described increased difficulties referring women for contraception, legal abortion, and post-abortion care. This is because some organisations chose to end sexual and reproductive health programmes that included abortion in order to receive US government funding.

Additionally, we found that some organisations unnecessarily restricted their family planning or post-abortion care services, which are permitted, due to confusion about the policy's stipulations or fear of losing US government funding opportunities.

In Madagascar, we found evidence of negative effects on women's access to family planning services. This was true even though abortion is illegal there.

The impact on one NGO illustrates how. The NGO was a major partner to Madagascar's Ministry of Health. It provides safe abortion in other countries where it's legal. But the NGO lost US government funding after declining to sign the Global Gag Rule. As a result, it stopped receiving funding and supplies from USAID. This meant that it had to reduce family planning outreach in some rural areas, and ended support to nearly 200 public and private health facilities.

Women described facing many barriers when trying to access contraceptives. These included higher fees to obtain a contraceptive method, stock-outs in many health facilities, and having to travel to multiple locations in search of their preferred method.

One woman in Madagascar mentioned that buying the method is a "problem because the money is needed to buy food for the family, but you have to take some out to buy the method."

Some women ended up with an unintended pregnancy because they could not obtain their contraceptive method.

Expansion under Trump

Under former Republican presidents the Gag Rule applied only to US government family planning assistance. This stood at $575 million in 2016.

But the changes made by Trump expanded the policy to apply to most categories of US government global health assistance - which in 2016 stood at US$9.5 billion.

This meant that a greater number of NGOs working in a variety of health areas - from HIV to nutrition to child health - were newly affected.

One huge implication was that, for the first time, the Global Gag Rule was attached to President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding. In the case of Kenya, this made up to 58% of HIV funding to Kenya.

As a result, we found that the delivery of the country's HIV and sexual and reproductive health services has been fractured.

NGO representatives said they were forced to choose between US government funding and projects related to HIV and other sexual and reproductive health services, despite USAID's own promotion of integrated services.

In addition, the policy's on-again-off-again history makes it very difficult to repair the damage it causes. Even when the policy is not in effect, some NGOs are wary of rebuilding or reinvesting in abortion-related work, for fear of its reinstatement.

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What now?

The repeal of the Global Gag Rule by President Biden is a necessary step towards improving women's sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. But it will not be enough to reverse the effects that it's had over the last four years.

Clear communication and guidance about the policy reversal from US government donors to global health implementing partners - in multiple languages - will be critical to end its implementation and mitigate against the rampant confusion and fear that it has created for civil society across countries. It will take NGOs time to re-establish relationships and services that they ended.

In addition to permanently repealing the Gag Rule, there needs to be renewed investment in comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services from the US government and national governments in order to rebuild and strengthen national health systems and contraceptive supply chains.

Sara E Casey, Assistant Professor, Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Columbia University; Emily A Maistrellis, Public Health Researcher, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, and Terry McGovern, Chair, Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Columbia University Medical Center
Australian businesses will be encouraged to invest in plug-in hybrid and electric car fleets in an attempt to increase private uptake by flooding the second-hand market with new vehicle technologies at lower prices.

The Morrison government has ruled out offering taxpayer subsidies for the private uptake of plug-in hybrids and battery electric cars, arguing in its long-awaited strategy that subsidies would not represent value for money in efforts to drive down carbon emissions.

The Morrison government has ruled out subsidies for electric vehicles, and is prioritising transition of commercial fleets. Credit:Bloomberg

Energy Minister Angus Taylor will argue a fleet first strategy for new technology passenger vehicles is the smartest way to help Australias planned and managed transition to low-emission cars, while ensuring charging infrastructure and the national energy grid can support a switch.

Low-emissions vehicles are a key plank in the governments technology road map, which it will rely on if it is to meet both its Paris emission targets and a potential commitment to net zero by 2050.
Gallery's 'Pray, Love, Eat' celebrates winter holidays

The Gallery at Flat Rock will simultaneously celebrate the Chinese New Year, Valentines Day and Mardi Gras with its Pray, Love, Eat event on Saturday, Feb. 13.

The event will combine a workshop in traditional origami technique, an exhibition of artwork from artists in the community and yummy homemade dumplings. A portion of the proceeds from sales of Pray, Love, Eat exhibition artwork will support the programs of the Arts Council of Henderson County.

It turns out that Chinese New Year, Valentines Day, and Mardi Gras are spaced two days apart this year, says Suzanne Camarata, owner of The Gallery at Flat Rock. We hope that this three-part celebration will help lighten spirits and refresh peoples energy, to make 2021 a truly Happy New Year.

For the Pray part of the project, a special workshop on Feb. 13 in making a traditional folding fan, or Sensu, will offer an opportunity to engage in a fun but cathartic meditation activity from Japan. Participants can write a wish, prayer or hope for 2021 on their fan and then hang it with dozens of others on a tree outside the gallery, creating a community art display. For those unable to attend on Feb. 13, starting on Feb. 1 anyone can come in to pick up a Sensu fan kit and follow the instructional video on the gallery website. Completed fans that are returned by Feb. 13 will hang with other fans on the tree.

The Gallery at Flat Rock Presents Pray, Love, Eat (Page 2 of 2)

"The repetitive folding motion and concentration required to make the Sensu (folding fans) encourages a Zen-like meditative state that aids the emotional release," says Ayako Abe-Miller, a Greenville-based artist that will lead the workshop. "The shape of the Sensu (the folding ribs of the fan that spread out in a pie shape) symbolize infinite happiness and peace, which would be a blessing to us all."

For the Love part of Pray, Love, Eat, sales from a display of artwork in all media, priced at $100 or less, from local artists will help to fund the Arts Council of Henderson Countys community arts programs. After the live event on Feb. 13, the items will be viewable on the gallery website for one week.

Finally, for the Eat part, the gallery will offer a take-home package of frozen homemade dumplings (vegetarian option, too) with dipping sauces and instructions for cooking, along with loose green tea. Each package is $18.88 plus tax (the number 8 is being used in repetition because its the luckiest number in Chinese culture, as the word for 8 sounds like a Chinese word that means wealth, fortune, and prosper.)

Pray, Love, Eat is designed to be experienced in person or virtually. An instructional video for making the paper fan will be available and the homemade dumplings and tea are being provided in a bag for pick up/takeaway. Artwork will be on the gallery website from Feb. 14  21 to view and purchase.

The Gallery at Flat Rock represents finely curated art and craft, and is located in Flat Rock Square at 2702-A Greenville Highway in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays; or by appointment. To learn more, please visit galleryflatrock.com or call 828-698-7000.




The lawyers of an Alabama inmate scheduled for execution next Thursday argue that new execution protocols violate the inmates constitutional rights.

The claim comes from new court documents filed by Willie B. Smiths attorneys. Smith is set to be put to death on Feb. 11, for the Oct. 1991 abduction, robbery and murder of 22-year-old Sharma Ruth Johnson. The execution is set to happen at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.

Smiths attorneys with the Federal Defenders for the Middle District of Alabama filed the lawsuit, where theyre seeking a stay of execution, in federal court on Wednesday. The Alabama Attorney Generals Office replied to the motion Thursday.

In the lawsuit, Smiths lawyers cite a number of reasons the execution should not take place, most of which are due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the main filing, Smiths lawyers note that the Alabama Department of Corrections has changed its typical execution protocol, which was first mentioned in an earlier filing to the Alabama Supreme Court. The changes include a note that Smiths visitors on execution week must wear a mask, have their temperature taken and other procedures before visiting. Smiths lawyers say the various COVID-related changes in protocol deprive him of having privileged conversations with his attorneys, having confidential discussions and private prayer time with his spiritual advisor, and having physical touch with his loved ones who come to see him before hes put to death.

In addition to these requirements, Smith also must have on a mask, face shield and have his temperature taken before each visitation. If Smith has a temperature above 100.4 F, he will still be permitted visitation so long as he is not COVID positive. His visitors will be fully informed of his symptom(s) and will be permitted to make their own decisions as to their health and safety, according to the AGs filing.

If any of Smiths visitors fail a temperature check, the ADOC will allow Smith to talk to them via telephone, records state. Smith will also be allowed to touch any of his visitors, but PPE is still required at all times.

Smiths lawyers also say that the changes made in the ADOC protocol do not help to prevent the execution from becoming a superspreader event.

During an execution, standard procedure by the ADOC requires a corrections officer to perform a consciousness check after the first drugMidzalomis administered intravenously. This consciousness check is, according to the department, meant to ensure that the inmate is unconscious before the next two drugs are administered. During this check, the officer yells the inmates name, pinches his or her arm, and flicks his or her eye.

Lawyers for Smith argued that if he was forced to wear a face mask and face shield during his execution, officials may not be able to see if he suffers from any discomfort or pain during that check. On Thursday, the Alabama Attorney Generals Office said Smith will no longer wear PPE during the execution. Officials performing the check will also be allowed to remove their PPE temporarily, the AGs office said.

Smiths lawyers said Smiths execution should be postponed until proper execution protocol can be followed safely.

The AGs office fired back in their response, stating, Over twenty-nine years ago, Smith gunned down a woman whose only crime was stopping to use the ATM. His conviction is valid, and a competent state court with jurisdiction over his case properly set his execution according to Alabama law. On February 11, 2021, the state should be permitted to carry out his sentence.

In a shift from the initial changes to the ADOC protocol the AGs office announced in an Alabama Supreme Court filing, three of Smiths family or friends will be allowed in the witness room for his execution, plus one reporter for the Associated Press and one correctional officer.

In a letter attached to Smiths attorneys court filings, Escambia County Coroner and Medical Examiner J. Daniel Raulerson said it would be ideal if everyone involved with the execution had received a coronavirus vaccine. Atmore, where the execution is set to take place, is located in Escambia County.

In this time of Covid those people in that room would be putting themselves at significant risk of Covid exposure unless several conditions are met, he wrote. The conditions, Raulerson said, are that the witness room have negative pressure so there is no recirculated air; that everyone present should wear a N95 mask; and that appropriate social distancing must occur.

When AL.com asked about the situation, Dr. Karen Landers with the Alabama Department of Public Health said: I really cant comment on anything related to the Department of Corrections. The only comment I could make, in general, would be that I always remind people about crowds and contact and closed in spaces.

So, I think measures have to be in place to reduce the proximity of people. Again, just be very, very cautious about that, but I cant comment on the Department of Corrections and their policies. But I do just remind people it is very important to try to minimize contact and also wear the mask and use mitigation standards

A lawsuit in state court has also been filed on Smiths case.
Dan Polster has been a federal judge in Ohio since 1998, when his nomination by President Bill Clinton was confirmed by the Senate. He is presiding over more than 2,700 lawsuits by local governments and Indian tribes who accuse pharmaceutical companies of contributing to drug abuse in their distribution of opioid painkillers. He has drawn praise from both of Ohios senators, Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Sherrod Brown.

Now Polster, 69, is one of more than two dozen federal judges who are taking senior status, allowing them to reduce their caseloads while creating vacancies for President Biden to fill. Those who have spoken publicly have denied any partisan motives  understandably, since they remain on the bench  but Polster alluded to the need for the judiciary to show strength in a time of turmoil.

Ive always been proud to be a judge, but never more than in the past year, when our branch stood up big time  it doesnt matter who appointed you, Democrat or Republican  under some real stresses to our democracy, he said in an interview. Asked why he was stepping back now, Polster said he plans to maintain his caseload and noted he had been eligible for senior status four years ago.

But it seems like no coincidence that, out of 24 federal judges who have taken senior status or announced intentions to do so since election day, 17 were appointed by Democratic presidents. Most of them were eligible for senior status during Donald Trumps presidency but chose to wait.

The 24 include three U.S. District Court judges in the Bay Area: Phyllis Hamilton, the districts chief judge, and William Alsup, both Clinton appointees, and Jeffrey White, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush. Including judges who had already taken senior status or retired before the election, more than 70 vacancies await Biden, most of them in district courts.

Four years earlier, after Trumps election to succeed Democrat Barack Obama, 16 of the 25 federal judges taking senior status were Republican appointees. In 2009, after Obama succeeded Bush, 14 of the 26 transferring to senior status had been appointed by Democratic presidents.

In this particular election, there were more (judges) who were waiting to see how it turned out than Ive ever seen in 40 years, because things have been so polarized, said Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge in San Francisco and now executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute at UC Berkeley Law School.

Fogel said some judges in both parties were concerned about Trumps periodic verbal attacks on the judiciary when it ruled against him. He also said he expects the current count of 24 to increase substantially when federal appeals court judges who have remained at their posts since the election start announcing their transfer to senior status.

On the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the nations largest appellate court, nine of the 29 active judges, all Clinton appointees, are eligible for senior status, as are four appointees of Republican presidents.

Trump, aided by rapid confirmations in a Republican-controlled Senate, appointed 54 appeals court judges in four years  one less than Obamas eight-year total  including 10 to the Ninth Circuit, whose once strongly liberal majority has been considerably reduced. Trumps selections have also swung majorities in three other circuits, the Second in New York, the Third in Philadelphia and the 11th in Atlanta, from Democratic to Republican appointees.

Those changes might be reversed if some veteran judges took senior status and remained on the court alongside Biden appointees confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

As one unidentified Ninth Circuit judge told the Los Angeles Times after the November election, Clinton judges across the country have just been holding on for a Democratic president who could appoint their successor.

Federal judges become eligible for senior status, at full salary, when they are 65 or older and have enough years on the bench to total 80  a 70-year-old, for example, can take senior status after 10 years on the bench. More than 600 federal judges now hold senior status and handle about 20% of the courts caseload. As lifetime judicial appointees, they can maintain that status indefinitely.

The Chronicles inquiries to judges about their reasons for taking senior status produced few responses, though there may be hints in the letters the jurists sent to Biden declaring their change of status.

Congratulations on becoming our new president, Alsup, of San Francisco, said in a letter Jan. 21, a day after Biden took office. While it has been an honor and a privilege to serve on the bench, I feel it is time now for me to go senior, said the 75-year-old judge, who was appointed by Clinton in 1999 and has been eligible for senior status since 2013.

Alsup has written noteworthy rulings, including one in 2018 that prevented Trump from abolishing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the program created by Obama that allowed young undocumented immigrants to work legally in the United States. Biden has proposed legislation that would allow DACA participants to become U.S. citizens. Alsup also has overseen Pacific Gas & Electrics probation from the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion and ordered the utility to improve its forest-management practices to avoid causing more wildfires.

The judge didnt elaborate on why this was the right time. Neither did Carlos Lucero, a 1995 Clinton appointee to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, and author of a ruling striking down Utahs ban on same-sex marriage in 2014, a year before the Supreme Court issued a similar ruling nationwide.

It seemed like the right time to take senior status, Lucero, who has been eligible since 2008, said by email.

One who discussed personal reasons for cutting back his workload was White, a federal prosecutor, Justice Department lawyer and private attorney in San Francisco before Bush appointed him to the bench in 2002. Based in Oakland, he is generally conservative in criminal cases but less so on social issues. One 2014 ruling, later overturned by the Supreme Court, upheld a state law requiring antiabortion clinics known as crisis pregnancy centers to notify their patients that the state made abortion available at little or no cost.

Ive been working full tilt for a number of decades, White, 75, said in an interview. I feel like the time has come where I can cut back a little bit, enjoy life with my family, while still carrying a substantial caseload.

I cant speak for others, he said, but theres no political implication to what I did.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
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A total of 1,07,77,284 COVID-19 cases have been reported in till February 3, the second highest in absolute numbers after the US, the government told Lok Sabha on Friday, underlining that the country is witnessing a sustained decline in the number of infections reported daily since the reported peak in mid-September 2020.

"Although high in absolute terms, has managed to restrict the morbidity to 7,801 cases per million population, which is far lower than other similarly affected countries," Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said in a written reply.

Six states- Kerala (43.37 per cent), Maharashtra (26.76), Karnataka (3.71), West Bengal (3.31), Uttar Pradesh (3.13) and Tamil Nadu (2.82 per cent) --account for 83 per cent of all active cases in the country.

"Since the reported peak in mid-September 2020, is witnessing a sustained decline in the number of cases reported daily. However, resurgence of COVID-19 cases has been reported from a number of countries in Europe and Americas, therefore continuous monitoring of the evolving situation is being undertaken at all level, to pick up on the earliest signs of resurgence and issue necessary existing SOPs/Advisories accordingly," the minister said.

Further, the government continues to focus on intensive risk communication to limit viral transmission by advocating adherence to COVID appropriate behaviours (wearing of mask/face covers; physical distancing and hand hygiene), he said.

Additionally, the government has rolled out COVID-19 vaccination since January 16 and till February 3, 41,38,918 people have been inoculated.

Responding to a question on the number of people found positive with the new UK strain of COVID-19 in the country and the effect of new Covishield and Covaxin vaccines therefor, Choubey said a surveillance system has been put in place to identify this variant among those with travel history to the UK from December 23.

Till February 1, 147 travelers and their contacts have been tested positive for UK strain in India.

"At present there is no evidence to suggest that current vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) will fail to protect against COVID-19 variants reported from the United Kingdom," Choubey underscored.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
SCHUYLER, N.Y.  A man was arrested in the town of Schuyler Wednesday after New York State Police found 400 pounds of various edibles containing marijuana in his car during a traffic stop.

State police stopped 21-year-old Lindsay L. Miranda, of Hudson, on the Thruway just before 1 p.m.

After finding cause to search the vehicle, troopers found imitation candies like 'Wonka bars,' 'Trolli' gummies and 'Gushers,' all containing THC, as well as two additional pounds of marijuana and about $8,000 in cash.

Miranda was arrested and charged with criminal possession of marijuana, a D felony.

He was arraigned and released with an appearance ticket.
Zimbabwe's milling companies have been hit by Covid-19 induced delays to wheat deliveries from the international markets, which have triggered a wave of price hikes on the commodity, according to the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ).

Millers import wheat from several countries around the world including Russia, Canada and Germany, which are all under Covid-19 induced lockdowns.

GMAZ said this week lockdowns had caused delays in the arrivals of ships ferrying wheat containers, while many shipping firms had scaled down operations.

Cargo volumes have been affected by worldwide factory closures, and industrial output has been falling.

Delays to delivering cargo come with added costs.

In addition to delays, millers said wheat prices had also increased to US$450 per tonne currently, from $415 before the pandemic hit the world at the end of 2019.

Experts say to end an impending world food crisis, governments must consider subsidies on wheat and related products.

However, GMAZ president Tafadzwa Musarara told reporters that several initiatives that are underway in Zimbabwe would help the country avoid wheat shortages.

"This predicament is with us as well but we are grateful to command agriculture which is giving us 200 000 tonnes of wheat, which is 50% of our national requirement and this is going to save forex," Musarara.

"Together with the Ministry of Agriculture, the cabinet committee on grain mobilisation and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, we are monitoring and managing the situation. What we can confidently say is that we are food secure," he said.

"We have a firm wheat supply pipeline where we are importing the cereal for two main reasons which are, to cover for the deficit arriving from local wheat production so that we meet the 400 000 tonne national requirement and the second reason being that of enhancing the quality of bread flour," said the GMAZ boss.

Zimbabwe requires 400 000 tonnes of wheat per year.

The country has been managing to produce half of its national requirements since the turn of the millennium when Harare displaced former white commercial farmers from productive land.

Since then, the country has been importing wheat and maize, which it used to export regionally and across the world.

The U.S. Department of State has rejected high-ranking Turkish officials' accusations of Washington's involvement in the coup attempt in 2016 and believes that such statements contradict the allied relations between the two countries.

"The United States had no involvement in the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey and promptly condemned it. Recent assertions to the contrary made by senior Turkish officials are wholly false," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press release.

Earlier, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu accused the United States of being the mastermind behind the 2016 failed military coup in Turkey. It was not the first time the minister spoke on US alleged role in the coup attempt, as just days after the events he talked about it on Turkish TV.

Price said claims of the United States' responsibility for events in Turkey are inconsistent with Turkey's status as a NATO ally and U.S. strategic partner.

The failed attempt to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was launched in July 2016 by a faction within the Turkish armed forces. It lasted less than two days, but left at least 250 people killed and more than 2,000 others injured. Thousands of people were arrested and tens of thousands more were dismissed from work over their alleged ties to FETO, including those among the country's military, intelligence services, and law enforcement.

White evangelicals most likely to say they've experienced online harassment because of their religion

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A recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that white evangelicals are the most likely religious group to say that they have experienced harassment online for their religious views.

The survey, released Monday, was an addendum to an earlier report published on Jan. 13 that examined the state of online harassment in the United States as a whole. The new data focuses specifically on the Americans who said they have been harassed on the internet because of their religion. The survey was conducted between Sept. 8 and Sept. 13, 2020.

According to Pew, 19% of the American adults who said they had experienced online harassment attribute such harassment to their religion. Since 41% of U.S. adults claim to be victims of online harassment, the share of Americans who have experienced online harassment due to their religion amounts to 8% of the population as a whole.

Broken down by religious denomination, 29% of white evangelical Protestants said they had been targeted online for their faith, making them the most likely group to say that they experienced faith-based harassment. While 23% of Protestants as a whole experienced harassment on the internet because of their religion, mainline Protestants were significantly less likely to experience such harassment than their evangelical counterparts.

Just 11% of white non-evangelical Protestants reported faith-based harassment online. Fifteen percent of Catholics claimed to have experienced online harassment due to their faith, along with 10% of those unaffiliated with any religion.

Within the group of Americans who identify as unaffiliated, 21% of atheists, 6% of agnostics and 8% of those who claim "nothing in particular" when asked about their religion alleged that they were victims of online harassment.

Republicans were more likely than Democrats to cite their religion as the reason for their online harassment, with 22% of voters who are Republicans or lean Republican claiming to have experienced faith-based harassment compared to 16% of voters who are Democrats or lean Democratic.

Among white voters, 21% of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters reported online faith-based harassment, as did 14% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters.

Twenty-one percent of men claim to have experienced harassment on the internet due to their faith, while 16% of women said the same. Eighteen percent of whites claimed that they had been harassed online because of their faith, along with 16% of blacks and 21% of Hispanics.

Additionally, the Pew survey asked Americans if they had experienced any online harassment. Harassment was broken down into two categories: Severe harassing behaviors such as stalking, physical threats, sustained harassment or sexual harassment and less severe behaviors. Although white evangelicals were the most likely group to claim that they had experienced faith-based harassment, religiously unaffiliated voters were more likely to say that they had experienced any form of harassment.

Among U.S. adults as a whole, 41% claim to be victims of online harassment. That number rose to 47% among religiously unaffiliated voters, with 53% of atheists and 52% of agnostics reporting online harassment.

By contrast, only 37% of white evangelicals said that they had experienced some form of online harassment. That figure dropped to 35% among white, non-evangelical Protestants and 33% among black Protestants, who are tied with white Catholics for the group with the lowest share of members who claim to have experienced online harassment.

Forty-six percent of Hispanic Catholics reported experiencing any form of online harassment, making them the most likely religious group besides the religiously unaffiliated to experience such harassment.

White evangelicals frequently find themselves as outliers regarding the issues facing the country. A poll conducted in September by the Public Religion Research Institute found that white evangelical Protestants had outlier opinions on every issue facing the country ahead of the 2020 presidential election, including abortion, same-sex marriage and their approval of former President Donald Trump.

White evangelicals, an important bloc in American politics, gave 76% of their support to the former president in the 2020 presidential election, according to CNN exit polling. Based on exit polling following the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won, 80% of white evangelicals supported him.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will have to delve deeper into spending and transaction data to understand changes in the economy and possible threats to the financial system amid private sector warnings the advent of non-banks could upend traditional central banking.

A report from global professional services and technology firm Accenture suggests the coronavirus pandemic on top of technological changes will unleash powerful forces that could leave central banks struggling to keep up with threats from online security to trade wars.

Accentures report argues that as banks, fintechs and broad companies such as Amazon and Alibaba expand their digital footprints, central banks have to follow suit. Credit:Louie Douvis

Aside from setting monetary policy through interest rate settings, the RBA oversees key elements of the financial system including managing the nations gold and foreign exchange reserves.

Accenture Australias banking lead analyst, Alex Trott, said the traditional focus of central banks would have to change in the face of the technological changes of recent years and issues revealed by the pandemic.
Manitobas faith communities see a glimmer of hope in Thursdays announcement that religious services could resume with restrictions by mid-February.

Manitobas faith communities see a glimmer of hope in Thursdays announcement that religious services could resume with restrictions by mid-February.

"We would definitely welcome that opportunity because it means we are doing better in Manitoba in getting COVID under control," said Idris Elbakri, president of the Manitoba Islamic Association, of allowing limited reopening of places of worship.

Under the proposed protocols, which would take effect Feb. 13, houses of worship could hold religious services with up to 10 per cent capacity, to a maximum of 50 people. All worshippers would have to comply with physical distancing, wearing masks, washing their hands, and staying home when sick.

Although the association offers virtual prayer services and other online activities, Elbakri said members of the Muslim community call daily to check if the mosques on Waverley Street and Hazelwood Avenue are open.

"Nothing replaces seeing someone face-to-face. Our religion is a very social one," he said.

"The spiritual value of praying in the mosque is greater than praying at home."

Worshipping in person, even with restrictions, allows congregations who dont use livestreaming technology for religious reasons to regain their sense of community in worship, said Rev. Abraham Rempel, minister at two conservative Mennonite churches in southern Manitoba.

"We are a church family and we like to be on the church yard or in the building because its Gods house," said Rempel of German Old Colony Mennonite Church, which has congregations in Hochfeld, south of Winkler, and Rosetown, near Gretna.

During the initial phase of code red, church members had no way of connecting when parking lot services were banned because the group does not allow video messaging. The congregations reluctantly moved to broadcasting on FM radio during the last two months, with church members listening to the service on their car radios from the parking lot.

"Instead of having nothing, we conceded to it," he said of setting up the FM broadcast.

Rempel said the new guidelines allow for the baptism of 17 people after Easter inside the church building, and may even make room for their parents to witness the service, instead of listening outside.

Roman Catholics welcome the opportunity to worship again in person, said Archbishop Richard Gagnon of Winnipeg, and look forward to celebrating Easter together in a limited way.

"Easter is a deeply spiritual time, maybe less social than Christmas, but it includes Holy Week as well and it comes after observing six weeks of Lent," he said.

"So, to be in community to worship, regardless of the size of the congregation, is a very important thing at Easter time."

Lent begins on Feb. 17, known as Ash Wednesday, and Easter falls on April 4.

St. Marys Roman Catholic Cathedral plans to dust off the protocols used last summer to reopen in February, said Rev. Geoffrey Angeles, who anticipates some parishioners will be eager to attend services again, while others may wait until they are vaccinated.

"Im glad we would be able to have people in the pews, but again, who gets to go and who cant?" he says of the 50-person maximum for the large downtown cathedral.

Elbakri said his organization is figuring out new system of online registration for Friday prayers, so more people can take in the service, streamlined to 15 minutes to limit contact during the pandemic. Last summer, all the seats were gone within minutes of posting.

Members of Congregation Etz Chayim are also eager to gather again, but they probably wont resume services with only a 10 per cent capacity, with possible exceptions for special events, said Rabbi Kliel Rose.

"My attention as a spiritual leader is on engagement, providing pastoral support, demonstrating how to be a community beyond the walls of our building and offering guidance on how to actively change the mood of defeat and fear," Rose wrote in an email message.

The proposed resumption of religious services in mid-February likely wont change the plans of the United Church in Meadowood, which didnt expect to worship in their building until September, said Rev. Caryn Douglas.

Her congregation has made other plans for worship if the outdoor group size increases from the current five people.

"We would start worshipping outside if that was allowed, beginning in May, and then go back in fall," she said.

brenda@suderman.com
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

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Many people are struggling to meet lifes challenges during the pandemic. But some challenges do not have to be met alone. Superheroes are available to fight homelessness, domestic violence and joblessness; to assist with child custody; and to find benefits to help in hard times. These superpowers are real, because families in need have access to free legal advice. The Second Judicial District Court Pro Bono Committee works with New Mexico Legal Aid to provide free legal advice to people in Bernalillo County every month.

The Second Judicial District Court Pro Bono teleclinics help with cases involving eviction, foreclosure, child custody, guardianship, consumer debt and restraining orders against an abusive partner.

Unlike in criminal cases, attorneys are not provided for free in civil cases. But assistance with civil matters is needed now more than ever during the pandemic. Our monthly clinics help people navigate the legal system by offering free help in family law and civil law cases. Teleclinics are now available to allow people to get civil legal advice and assistance remotely.

Heres how it works: Teleclinics are on the first Thursday of every month, starting Feb. 4. There is no charge to consult with an attorney. You must do two things. First, preregister with Legal Aid by emailing audreym@nmlegalaid.org for a registration form, or by calling 505-521-6129 if you dont have internet access. Second, fill out a registration form and return it to Legal Aid, which you must do before you can be registered and assigned a volunteer attorney. Once youre registered you will be given a time frame to receive a call from your attorney. You may be told, for example, to make sure youre free between 8 and 10 a.m. on the date of the clinic, and the volunteer attorney will call you during that time to discuss your legal problem.

The program offers assistance for the following kinds of issues: domestic violence; child custody; child support payments; landlord/tenant; foreclosure; expungement; consumer debt; Real ID; wills, estate and probate; guardianship; bankruptcy; contracts; personal injury; public benefits; employment; and immigration.

The legal system is complicated and frightening for many people. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a pressing need for civil legal services looms over our state. For example, one recent study estimates that once the eviction moratorium is lifted, up to 50,000 New Mexicans could be facing eviction in the first month. Civil legal service providers and volunteer attorneys can help keep people in their homes or make a planned move.

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These teleclinics would not exist without continued funding by our Legislature and the support of our volunteer attorneys, the superheroes among us.

Support for civil legal services is critical to ensure legal service providers have the resources they need to help stabilize our community. Legal Aid and other nonprofit civil legal service providers across the state have tirelessly worked to move from in-person to remote services, and they are among the quiet superheroes in our community. We thank them for their service.

Judges Jane Levy and Erin OConnell are co-chairs of the Second Judicial District Courts Pro Bono Committee.
A 50-year-old man was convicted in Switzerland after spending 10,000 on prostitutes using fake money he printed himself.

The money was so poorly made 'a blind man could see it wasn't real', according to the Basel County court president.

His ruse was discovered when one of the women tried to deposit the money into her bank account the day after mistakenly accepting the forgeries.

When the ATM refused to accept the cash, the woman, 39, reported the odd looking notes to the police.

The 39-year-old woman told Basel's criminal court that she had accepted the strange counterfeit notes that night because they looked real in the low light of the man's home. (File photo)

The forgeries were used twice, in June and October 2019, in payments to two women the 50-year-old paid for sex.

The man paid 1,800 in fake notes after the first encounter and over 8,000 to another woman on a second occasion.

The 39-year-old woman told Basel's criminal court that she had accepted the strange counterfeit notes that night because they looked real in the low light of the man's home, according to The Local.

The man's lawyers argued she had accepted the money willingly despite it being clear the notes were fraudulent.

The second woman also noticed the 8,000 she received in cash was fake after her encounter with the man.

The man alleged she stole the large sum from him.

Prostitution in Switzerland is legal and regulated. There are several licensed brothels across the country, primarily in Zurich. (File photo)

A police search of the man's home revealed more fake money printed on his colour inkjet printer.

The notes had no security features and, in some cases, were printed the wrong way round leaving police bemused as to why the man thought the money would be able to pass into circulation undetected.

The man was handed a three-year conditional prison sentence after being convicted of fraud, counterfeiting, and circulation of counterfeit money.

Prostitution in Switzerland is legal and regulated. There are several licensed brothels across the country, primarily in Zurich.
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Kim should step down immediately



Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-soo has come under fire for refusing to accept a resignation submitted by Senior Judge Lim Seong-geun of the Busan High Court, in order to let the National Assembly impeach him. Kim earlier denied reports on the matter, saying, "I did not refuse to accept the resignation because of the impeachment." In response, Lim's legal team disclosed a recording and transcript of a conversation between Kim and their client.



The transcript clearly proves the veracity of Lim's claim. This means the chief justice, who sits at the peak of the judiciary hierarchy, blatantly lied, despite his mission as the top justice to discern and dispel any untruthfulness. This single fact is enough reason for Kim to step down from his post immediately.



In the recording, Kim admitted that he had to consider diverse possibilities including the political situation in dealing with Lim's case. "Frankly speaking, lawmakers are rushing to impeach you. And think about how they will treat me should I accept your resignation." Accepting Lim's resignation would have denied the National Assembly a chance to impeach him.



Kim's remark is extremely inappropriate given his post and title of chief justice, who is supposed to be at the vanguard of judiciary independence. According to Kim, the impeachment of Lim was a political issue that should not be handled from a legal perspective. In other words, Kim seems to have thought Lim should be impeached regardless of his guilt or innocence.



The impeachment has now taken place. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and its allies voted for a motion to impeach Judge Lim at the National Assembly, Thursday. The ruling bloc's move deserves criticism because it targeted the judiciary, putting pressure on future rulings on politically sensitive issues. This will seriously undermine the much-touted bid for judicial independence and maintaining a balance of power.



Kim deserves strong criticism as he surrendered to pressure from the politicians while giving up his "holy" mission of safeguarding the court's independence. Amid growing calls for him to step down after the recording and transcript were revealed, Kim apologized saying, "I feel sorry for answering based on my vague memory." Yet Kim's explanation is hard to accept. Also, Lim's act of clandestinely recording the conversation with his boss is also improper.



The opposition People Power Party (PPP) is stepping up its drive calling for Kim to step down. PPP interim leader Kim Chong-in said during a press conference Friday, "It is a shame and a national disaster to have Kim as a chief justice who is a master liar. Kim should resign, which is the least he can do to show respect for the people who were hurt by his behavior." Diverse civic organizations have joined the move claiming, "Kim should resign immediately for undermining the judiciary's independence and political neutrality."


While owning a home is an ambition for many, the journey to owning one is often characterized by trials and tribulations. A stalemate in a real estate investment project, Inzozi Hills, championed by some members of the Rwandan Community Abroad, has left many uncertain of their chances of homeownership despite making an investment.

The genesis

In 2015, Rwandans living in Arusha, Tanzania, came up with an idea to work together to acquire land in Kigali to construct houses in an estate where all investing members will acquire a home.

During the subsequent months, the project attracted the interest of Rwandans living in other parts of the world, mainly because its champion, Daniel Murenzi, was the Chairperson of the Rwandan Community Abroad.

They approached the City of Kigali for facilitation in identification of suitable land for the project, which the city did, getting them land in Nyarugenge District.

The Nyarugenge District Council at the time approved land in Gasharu, Nyamirambo Sector and a letter dated November 2017 from Nyarugenge District confirmed the approval of the expropriation.

A source at the City of Kigali said that at the time, the act to allocate land to a group without legal personality was in good faith. It was taken as a positive move that will help Rwandans living abroad own property back home.

As the project gained momentum, other Rwandans living here in the country embraced it and made their investments.

At the time, members say that they were required to pay $100 for membership and administrative costs and Rwf4,800,000 for expropriation to be able to own the land.

Considering that the entity did not have legal status, the funds and property were assigned to Murenzi with funds going to his personal bank accounts.

A city-based lawyer told The New Times that ideally, the investors should have set up a company for the process as opposed to holding the property and funds under an individual.

Meanwhile, some of the shareholders in the project told The New Times that in 2019, they received communication to contribute another Rwf105,000 allegedly to process land titles which they have not received to date.

Grievances

The investors said they have separately petitioned the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) to intervene. The latest complaint was filed on Wednesday, February 3, by Dr Joseph Nkurunziza, one of the investors in the project.

According to Nkurunziza, among the concerns include continued lack of accountability considering the size of the group and the amount of money involved with requests for meetings and clarifications of pertinent issues going unanswered by Murenzi.

Nkurunziza explained that on some occasions, members raising concerns were intimidated or blackmailed.

Further grievances emerged on the revelation that while members originally paid Rwf4,800,000 for plot sizes that were meant to be 600 square meters, it later emerged that sizes had been reduced to 300Sqm, as communicated by Murenzi.

Another investor in the project working for an international humanitarian agency told The New Times that they are also accusing Murenzi of signing a sales agreement on their behalf without consultation.

This came about after a group of employees of the utilities regulator, RURA, a cooperative dubbed Real Estate Investment Cooperative (REICO) became part of the Inzozi project.

According to the cooperative, REICO reached out to Kigali City seeking land and was later advised to consider teaming up the Diaspora Community project because they had been allocated a big chunk of land.

This ended up with the cooperative paying Rwf135,675,000 to Inzozi Hill Developers Ltd, a real estate company they were not aware of. RURA has since sought involvement in all deliberations of the project in the interest of its employees who paid.

"Murenzi signed a sales agreement on behalf of Inzozi Hill Developers Ltd, he charged land title transfer fees and never delivered, put land title belonging into his names without approval of the members," Nkurunziza said.

It is estimated that about Rwf1.3bn has been raised by members said to be 143 and the funds paid include membership fees, land acquisition fees, communication fees among others.

Meanwhile, the City of Kigali, in a letter written in July 2020 and addressed to Murenzi and all investors requested the transfer of land (UPI 1/01/08/02/1923) from Murenzi to a legal entity.

The New Times also understands that there has been a caveat put on the land by the Land Centre to avoid any transactions before resolution of stalemate.

Murenzi speaks out

When contacted, Murenzi said that on concerns about transparency, the project development is communicated through the General Assembly held annually and that the project did not and still does not have an office or guidelines on the frequent communication during the year.

On why the transfer of land to a legal entity was yet to be done, he said that on receiving the letter from the City, an interim committee had been set up to establish a legal framework and are expected to soon present findings to the general assembly.

He said that they have requested additional time from the district to undertake the process.

On the ownership of the land which is technically currently considered his property, Murenzi presented to The New Times a sworn affidavit attesting that the land is not personal property but one of the Rwanda Community Arusha-Moshi.

The affidavit, which was sworn before a notary, states that the title was put in his name in trust since the group did not have legal personality.

However, lawyers who spoke to this paper said that an affidavit does not give the holder the powers to transact on behalf of other persons. Doing that required him to have a power of attorney.

Enter RIB

Speaking to The New Times, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau spokesperson said that they had received complaints from multiple members of the project and investigated the matter.

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The spokesperson, Thierry Murangira said that they had since commissioned an audit to establish if there was embezzlement of funds and if so, this will inform the next causes of action.

Asked if he was confident the audit will absolve him, Murenzi told The New Times that 'if done professionally' funds will be found to have been well used.

He however noted that considering that the project didn't have an office, not all documentation (for an audit) of expenses incurred in the various processes and steps is available.

Among the expenses incurred he said include expropriation, development of a physical plan, environmental impact assessment, beaconing and topographic surveys as well as facilitation of the process.

He said that while Rwf1.2bn had been raised for the land acquisition, the value of the land was estimated at about Rwf1.5bn and that they had to negotiate to get the land.

What members want

Members who spoke to The New Times that an ideal end to the stalemate is handing over the Unique Personal Identifier of their respective properties.

The ongoing audit will reveal how much was raised by members, how much was spent on land acquisition, value of land acquired and if any funds were embezzled.

cmwai@newtimesrwanda.com

Follow https://twitter.com/ByCollinsMwai
Days after the Nation lifted the lid on his mysterious disappearance and possible death while admitted for treatment, the Samburu County Referral Hospital has admitted that the charred remains found within its compound on January 18 belonged to missing patient John Gakuya.

Gakuya, 47, was admitted to hospital on October 15 and disappeared from the ward rooms eight days later.

His partially burnt skeleton was discovered within the compound after three months.

The hospital, in a report, said that, the patient became violent due to his malaria affliction, which led to psychosis, and could have stumbled out without anyone noticing.

However, questions abound as to how Gakuya evaded security guards to end up dead not so far away from the staff quarters.

The report that was handed over to Health executive Stephen Lekupe indicates that the hospital did not know his whereabouts even as his body lay about 70 metres from the staff quarters.

Trying to escape

"The hospital did not have a clue as to his whereabouts," said Mr Lekupe.

"But when the skeleton was discovered, we confirmed that the remains belonged to Mr Gakuya," he added.

Gakuya could have been trying to escape from the hospital, Mr Lekupe speculated.

At the time of his disappearance, Mr Lekupe explained, Gakuya's condition had significantly deteriorated.

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"He probably wanted to escape from the hospital and couldn't because he was overwhelmed. The fence was thick and this may have prevented passers-by from finding him," he explained.

However, Gakuya's family remains unconvinced, and are accusing the hospital of negligence.

His widow, Ms Hellen Naasu, said the hospital did not attend to her husband properly and had been suspiciously economical with information.

She said she was still perplexed as to how her husband remained missing for so long if the alleged searches were indeed conducted, and how hospital staff failed to detect his decomposing body metres away from their houses.

More than 10 days

She said she was dissatisfied with the hospital's explanation, noting that it took more than 10 days for the management to issue a statement.

Ms Naasu said she was shocked that the hospital took that long to reach out to her with information on her husband's death.

"It has taken too long to get the hospital to divulge any information, but their explanation is still not satisfactory. This is a nightmare," she said.
Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Burma Biden Urges Myanmar Military To Relinquish Power and Free Detainees

US President Joe Biden gives his first policy speech on Thursday. / US Embassy in Yangon / Facebook

YANGON  US President Joe Biden has pushed the military regime in Myanmar to relinquish power and release its detainees in his first foreign policy speech on Thursday, a day after the countrys civilian leaders were sued.

Biden said the US has been in close cooperation with its allies and partners to support the restoration of democracy and the rule of law and impose sanctions on those responsible.

Biden already warned of new sanctions on Myanmars military following Mondays coup. Washington said it would review its assistance programs to Myanmar to ensure they align with conditions.

There can be no doubt, in a democracy, force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election, Biden said.

The National League for Democracy won the Nov. 8 general election by a landslide. The military seized power a few hours before the new parliament was set to convene. The regime sued State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint under the Export and Import Law and Natural Disaster Management Law respectively, with both charges carrying up to three years imprisonment.

Biden also urged the military to lift restrictions on telecommunications and refrain from violence.

On Thursday, the military also ordered internet service providers to block Facebook after a civil disobedience campaign largely emerged on the platform.

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday deep concern at the declaration of the state of emergency imposed by the military and called for the release of those detained, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint.

It stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence and respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law.

You may also like these stories:

Kirin Scraps Joint Venture With Myanmar Military-Owned Firm After Coup

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Myanmar Lawmakers Denied Seats by Coup Hold Their Own Swearing-in Ceremony
Canada announced Thursday it is banning cruises until Feb. 28, 2022.

The announcement by the countrys transportation ministry is a blow to the already beleaguered cruise industry, which has been paralyzed since mid-March when COVID-19 outbreaks on multiple ships forced the industry to shut down passenger operations. In addition to banning cruises for the next year, the Canadian ministry warned citizens not to take cruises outside the countrys waters either.

As Canadians continue to do their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19, our government continues to work hard to ensure Canadas transportation system remains safe, said Minister of Transportation Omar Alghabra in a statement. Temporary prohibitions to cruise vessels and pleasure craft are essential to continue to protect the most vulnerable among our communities and avoid overwhelming our health care systems. This is the right and responsible thing to do.

The ban will eliminate cruises to Alaska, which stop in Canadian ports to comply with U.S. shipping laws.

Spokesperson for Miami-based Royal Caribbean Group Jonathon Fishman said the company is getting in touch with affected passengers.

Investigation

The Miami Herald investigated COVID-19 outbreaks on cruise ships. Explore the findings of the most comprehensive tracking system of coronavirus cases linked to the cruise industry.

We understand and appreciate the Canadian governments focus on combatting COVID-19, he said via email. The health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our top priority. Royal Caribbean Group is ready to work with health and transportation officials on a path forward to address the impact on multiple sectors of the Canadian economy.

Miami-based Carnival Corporation, the largest cruise company in the world, owns several Alaska hotels. Spokesperson Roger Frizzell said in a statement the company plans to continue to operate its hotels in Denali, Fairbanks and Kenai for the summer season, and hopes the Canadian government will rescind the cruising ban if pandemic conditions improve.

Given the unexpected length of the order, it will take us some time to assess whether there are any options to preserve a portion of the 2021 Alaska season, the statement said. We will be consulting authorities in both the U.S. and Canada before we take any additional action.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted its ban on cruises in October and replaced it with a long list of conditions cruise companies must meet in order to resume passenger operations. On Tuesday, Michael Rubin, Florida Ports Council vice president of governmental affairs, told members of the Florida Senate Transportation Committee that it could take companies more than a year to comply.
State House, Freetown, Thursday 4 February 2021 - His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has awarded the three top-performing Ministries, at the inaugural Presidential Award ceremony on 4 February 2021.

Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation with the National COVID-19 Emergency Response Centre are the best performing public institutions.

The President, however, emphasised that the exercise was meant to incentivise and encourage each MDA to go over and beyond the call of duty to provide exemplary leadership and produce the best outcomes.

"This is an annual event and I want to be able to give awards to every Ministry here next year. Your challenge is to make it impossible for me to recognise just a few outstanding performances.

"Let me also congratulate each of us and collectively as a Government for taking the bold step to self-assess. We believe it helps us identify what else we must do to accelerate our pace of development and service delivery as a nation," the President said.

President Bio noted that the awards were not personal scorecards on ministries or on individual competence, adding that every minister and ministry, by and large, had met the benchmark for performance and delivery.

"These are value-free assessments that recognise three things: That delivery is time-bound and we must each provide the leadership to deliver that accelerated change we have promised; that there is no common parameter for judging all MDAs but there are benchmarks we have promised, and we can meet and achieve; and that the slow starters can be the fastest finishers and the fast starters (those who receive the awards today) be not be the best finishers after all," he said.

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The assessment was done by Chief Minister Professor David John Francis, whose office serves as the delivery unit of the New Direction Government of President Dr Julius Maada Bio. Essentially, the OCM supports the implementation of government businesses across MDAs and ensures that they deliver results.

"2020 was a very difficult and challenging year, with the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the negative economic and financial impact on every country in the world. But the challenges of 2020 brought out the best in us as a government," he observed.

The Chief Minister further disclosed that the New Direction Government showed that they had made impressive progress with 29 out of the 38 manifesto commitments delivered or at an advanced stage of delivery.

He added that the most recent was the restart of the constitutional review process and the acceptance by President Bio of the Justice Cowan CRC recommendation to abolish the death penalty.

"So, today the Death Penalty is abolished in Sierra Leone. Your Excellency, we ended the difficult year of 2020 with Sierra Leone receiving international recognition and global accolade for the quality of your leadership and the performance of your government.

"The American Government's CDC praised Sierra Leone as 1 of 4 countries in Africa that have managed well the coronavirus pandemic response; the American Government's MCC confirmed that Sierra Leone is now eligible for the MCC Compact worth nearly a half a billion dollars," he said.
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Table of Contents: Masthead Sticky

Peloton

Peloton's new Bike+ is a big step-up from the original version, both in terms of its price and features.

It features a swiveling screen, automatically shifting resistance levels, and even syncs with an Apple Watch to monitor your heart rate.

The Bike+ delivers an effective, fun workout but its seat physically pained me, which is unfortunate for a $2,500 bike.

Product Card (small)

The biggest challenge with Peloton's new Bike+ isn't the high-energy classes but how hard it is to actually get one. Though it released several months ago, there's still a 10-week delivery wait - and that's on the good side. Thankfully, once it does arrive, setting it up is easy and its touchscreen directions are intuitive enough even for those brand new to the Peloton world.

The new Peloton Bike+, released in October of 2020, has three key differences from its popular predecessor: It comes with a bigger, rotating 24-inch touchscreen, it allows you to sync the bike with an Apple Watch to monitor heart rate activity, and now features automatically adjusted resistance. It's also quite a bit more expensive.

At $2,495, not including the $40 a month membership fee to access the classes, it's a pricey investment - and a substantial increase over the original Peloton Bike that's now just $1,895. It's worth it for serious spinners and the live classes offer that competitive adrenaline rush many of us are missing from in-person group classes.

After purchasing one myself, and spending the last several months riding it, it's been an up and down experience. It's a great exercise bike that offers a huge library of engaging, interactive classes but it does have a few drawbacks, namely the high cost and genuine, physical pain that comes from adapting to the bike seat (more on this below).

The new Peloton Bike+

Story continues

Peloton offers two interactive bikes called Bike and Bike+. The Peloton Bike+ has the same dimensions as the original, standing 4 feet high and 2 feet wide and at 140-pounds, it's not something you're going to move around very easily - it's a hefty piece of equipment, made of carbon steel and tested to handle riders up to 297 pounds. That sturdy construction also means there's never been even the slightest wobble, no matter if I was getting on or off the bike.

The machine comes with two slots for water bottles and space in the back specifically designed to hold a pair of weights. Riders will need to wear specific biking shoes with Delta-compatible cleats, too. The Peloton site offers shoes for an additional $125, as well as water bottles for $25. A selection of one- to three-pound weights are also available for $25, as is a floor mat for $59. It's convenient to get the Peloton-offered gear, though users could also look elsewhere for cheaper alternatives.

All available accessories for the Bike+ in the Family Set Peloton

A set of easy-to-use knobs make it simple to dial in the right height for both the seat and handlebars, even for someone like me who had no prior experience using it. If you do run into any trouble, the bike's home screen offers walkthrough videos on moving the seat up and down and front and back, as well as tips on lifting the handlebars.

It also offers tips for proper positioning. For instance, the seat should be about elbow to fingertip distance to the handlebar, and the walkthroughs work great for showing you how to specifically set that up.

Figuring out how to adjust the screen takes just a few minutes, as well, as it only requires a gentle push back and a tilt upright before it starts to easily swivel. This is key for any workouts that take you off your bike, as you'll want to be able to quickly move the screen as you transition to a workout mat.

Setting it up

One benefit of paying for a Peloton is the convenience of having it delivered to your door, brought into your home, and professionally set up. I was told it'd be less than 20 minutes in and out but unfortunately, there was a problem with the Peloton server the day my bike arrived - and no one told the delivery team.

They proceeded to spend over an hour, while masked, trying to connect the bike and activate it, even going so far as to try different bikes they had on-hand (to no success). Because of the pandemic, they also weren't able to adjust the bike for me and at 5'3", I'm still trying to find the right setup, but it's easy to make adjustments.

The delivery snafu was, of course, no fault of those dropping it off, though it was unfortunate the server issues weren't known. If everything had gone smoothly, I saw no reason they wouldn't have been able to meet the original, 20-minute estimation.

Navigating the Peloton app

Peloton

On the bike and off, it's fairly simple to maneuver through Peloton's class options. The home screen offers live schedules, on-demand classes, and a range of beginning to advanced levels and programs. Each requires a simple tap on the screen and you're in.

You can also follow friends on the platform by typing in their nicknames or by following specific groups - these encompass everything from groups for teachers, age-specific categories, and even an HBCU grouping. Newcomers can pick low-impact rides or short five to 10-minute rides to get used to the bike, and there are plenty of advanced options, as well.

The home screen shows what classes are happening live, what classes and programs your friends recommend, and a section for your favorite artists. If you're looking for a class featuring music by Lady Gaga, just click on her name and you'll see a dozen offerings for your inner monster.

As each class progresses, the screen monitors how fast you're pedaling, the current resistance, distance traveled, calories burned, and, most importantly, how many minutes are left. Heart monitors can also be hooked up via Bluetooth or through an Apple Watch, and users can connect their Spotify accounts. If there's a song played in class that you like, the interface lets you click the small heart reaction to quickly add it to a Spotify playlist.

If you're someone who likes to work out to music, connecting your own playlist might be the way to go. Instructors talk a lot during the rides, and if there was a drinking game involved, it'd be whenever they mention the word "Peloton," which happens several times during a 20-minute ride. There is an option in the volume menu to turn down the chatter if you want, too.

It's worth noting that non-bike classes offered on the app aren't viewable within the metrics captured by the bike. For example, I took a walking class to get some extra steps in one night but when I looked for it on the bike after a ride, it only showed that I'd done the walk as a "past workout." The workout itself wasn't accessible and a search revealed no walking offerings.

Using the Peloton app on my Roku was a different experience as an entire category of walking programs appeared, albeit with no search function to find the Barre or Cardio Dance classes. A quick Google search told me that I instead needed to use the filter option to pick what kinds of classes I wanted to see (i.e. barre is under the Strength category) and what difficulty and length I preferred.

Other options are similarly elusive; a recent Peloton ad offered an eight-week Say Yes program with legendary television producer, Shonda Rhimes, but it didn't appear for several days on the bike. More search functions on the home screen and on the app would help solve a number of problems.

What it's like to ride

Peloton

I ordered the Bike+ during a panic attack at the thought of being trapped in my house all winter with no exercise options but Zoom and YouTube. I wanted something different and challenging. Peloton's bike seemed to fit that bill.

As soon as I got it, one thing was abundantly clear: There's a wide variety of workouts that produce a ton of sweating. I also couldn't help but notice how terribly uncomfortable the seat is. Although I'm fine riding a bike, the Peloton seat was so painful that I could barely manage five minutes in the saddle. Even with the addition of a gel seat top and padded bike shorts, I'd still be in so much pain after a 20-minute ride that I'd be hobbling.

This apparently goes away over time and it's a well-known issue (I'd consider it a sort of hazing ritual). But why Peloton can't offer a seat made for beginners, wider riders, or women, I don't know. It does sort of lessen the motivation to want to jump on and ride knowing it'll be an uncomfortable experience.

One thing Peloton does make easy, though, is being able to simply jump on and ride right away. Just a minimal amount of navigation stood between me and a session. But whenever I instead wanted to look for something specific, whether it's a particular program, workout, or artist, I often had to look multiple places - on the bike, then on the app, then on my laptop - just to find it.

The live classes certainly make for a nicely interactive and competitive experience and are far more engaging than following along to a YouTube video. The variety of on- and off-bike options, be it the type of music, a certain class length, or even a specific ride difficulty, make it accessible for riders of varied ages and abilities, too.

One of the best new features I was able to take advantage of is Peloton's "Auto-Follow Resistance" which changes the resistance levels automatically based on what the instructor sets it at. Before, you had to turn the knob yourself (and you still can) but the addition of an auto function makes it so it's far easier to just focus on the ride. This is something NordicTrack's S22i Studio Cycle has had for some time, so it's nice to finally see it on a Peloton bike.

Price breakdown

Here's how the Bike+ stacks up to other interactive exercise bikes on the market:

Should you buy it?

Peloton

The answer to this question comes down to two key factors: Do you enjoy the production style of Peloton's classes and, perhaps most importantly, do you have the budget?

At $2,500, the Bike+ certainly isn't a drop in the bucket and that high price also means it's likely to be the center of your fitness routine. There's no denying the value of the bike and its effectiveness - so long as you actually use it.

What are your alternatives?

If it's an exercise bike you want, there are plenty of other alternatives to consider that I've listed above, though the bike that's most similar is NordicTrack's S22i Studio Cycle. Featuring a large built-in screen, the S22i streams classes via the iFit platform and offers rides in locations around the world, as well as high-energy in-studio classes that aren't dissimilar from what Peloton offers.

The biggest difference with the S22i is its cheaper price ($1,999 as opposed to $2,495 for the Bike+) and the fact a free year of an iFit membership is included upon purchase. That means you won't have to pony up $40 a month just to ride your brand new bike.

The bottom line

It's easy to see why Peloton's Bike+ (and standard Bike before it) are popular pieces of at-home workout equipment; they offer energetic, sweat-soaked workouts, they're incredibly convenient to use, and they do well to help people of all fitness levels keep up with some routine cardio.

For me, Bike+ filled a need I thought I had: I wanted something that could deliver a better workout than what I was used to on Zoom and YouTube. And though it took some getting used to (i.e. its incredibly uncomfortable seat), it ultimately allowed me to satisfy that need.

It's certainly not a cheap piece of equipment, and a recurring $40 per month charge for unlimited access to its wide-ranging app adds to that, but it's been a quality investment I'm glad I made.

I just hope I'm not hobbling forever.

Pros: Effective, convenient workouts, screen swivels for off-bike exercises, features automatic resistance shifting, Peloton app offers a wide variety of classes and class types

Cons: Expensive, incredibly uncomfortable seat that physically hurts

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Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed NaturalShrimp, Inc. (OTCQB: SHMP) ("the Company"), a publicly traded aqua-tech Company, headquartered in Dallas, with production facilities located near San Antonio, Texas. President and CEO of the Company, Gerald Easterling, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly.

Jolly began the interview by congratulating Easterling on the Company's ribbon cutting ceremony for the NaturalShrimp Iowa facility. "We're going to create a lot of jobs out there," shared Easterling. "The facility in hard assets is well over $40 to $50 million," said Easterling. "We have a technology that will turn the facility into a successful operation," he continued, adding that the Company was able to rehire many of the facility's former employees. "We expect about 50 people when we get it fully operational."

"We're also going to go into further processing," shared Easterling, noting due to COVID-19 restrictions the market for home delivery has become a viable target market. "We're going to install probably a 4,000 to 5,000 sq. ft. section of that building, and it will be enclosed for portion packing." Our new platform technologies will extend shelf life allowing distribution to extended markets.

"Any timeframe for when you may be producing revenue from that facility?" asked Jolly. "We're trying to stock the first PLs, which is a big aggressive push, by the 18th of this month," explained Easterling, noting that the Company expects the PLs to be stocked no later than early March.

"Where are we at with the La Coste construction?" asked Jolly. "Last week we actually stocked the first PLs, in 25% of the nursery tanks, the PLs have just started growing in our new facility," said Easterling. "It is pretty amazing what our guys have done in only 4  months."

The conversation then turned to the Company's Webster City, Iowa property. "There's about 350,000 sq. ft. of production that we will have in Webster City. It will be called, NaturalShrimp Iowa," shared Easterling. "We're excited to be putting NaturalShrimp signs up and having people come to work with us."

"How is the Ecoponex Systems relationship coming along?" asked Jolly. "It's going great. It looks like we're going to go with the final contract in Puerto Rico," said Easterling, adding that the Company is also working on an additional contract with a California-based plant. "We also just signed our joint venture agreement with Florida that will be going after a $25 million grant that has been lined up for us by our own lobbyists," said Easterling. He also shared that the Company intends to expand in La Coste, Texas with an additional facility.

Jolly then asked for an update on the Company's joint venture agreement in Florida with Hydrenesis. "NaturalShrimp Inc. has really broadened its platform technologies for other species," said Easterling, adding that the innovative technology secured through this partnership will allow the Company to conduct testing on salmon and additional species.

"Our technology allows us to grow in higher quantities," said Easterling, elaborating on the Company's growth and revenue strategy. "We know at this time that we are going to be able to go into a higher-end market because of this contract packing that COVID has made available to us," he continued. "Currently, we know we have the potential of going for over $10 per pound on wholesale on the packaged products."

"For the uplist side, we are probably about four weeks out from filing the final documents," shared Easterling, before noting the Company's skilled underwriter and legal team. "We will be filing a 14C, probably within the next week or two, and that will spell out the terms and conditions of the uplist."

To close the interview, Easterling expressed his gratitude for the Company's continued growth and success. "We have the opportunity, because of our technology platform, to be able to do something no one else has done."

To hear Gerald Easterling's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7792345-naturalshrimp-inc-discusses-its-2021-expansion-strategy-with-the-stock-day-podcast

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/

About NaturalShrimp, Inc.

NaturalShrimp, Inc. is a publicly traded aqua-tech Company, headquartered in Dallas, with production facilities located near San Antonio, Texas. The Company has developed the first commercially viable system for growing shrimp in enclosed, salt-water systems, using patented technology to produce fresh, never frozen, naturally grown shrimp, without the use of antibiotics or toxic chemicals. NaturalShrimp systems can be located anywhere in the world to produce gourmet-grade Pacific white shrimp.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give the Company's current expectations or forecasts of future events. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict and beyond the Company's control, and could cause the Company's results to differ materially from those described. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. These statements include statements regarding moving forward with executing the Company's global growth strategy. The statements are based upon current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict. The Company is providing this information as of the date of this press release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the financial condition of our business. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the Risk Factors and other information set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 21, 2019, and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

Paul Knopick

pknopick@eandecommunications.com

940.262.3584

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America. Stock Day recently launched its Video Interview Studio located in Phoenix, Arizona.

SOURCE:

Stock Day Media

(602) 821-1102

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73732
Senate Education Committee Chairman Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, on Friday asked Gov. John Bel Edwards to immediately add teachers to the list of those eligible for the coronavirus vaccine.

"I believe it is critical that our K-12 educators be prioritized in the current phase of distribution so that they may continue to focus on teaching and feel safe returning to the classroom," Fields said in a letter to the governor.

The lawmaker said over half the states have made some or all of their teachers eligible for the vaccine.

"I feel Louisiana should immediately expand eligibility to our educators," Fields said.

Louisiana teachers deserve priority for coronavirus vaccine, state education chief says State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said Tuesday he has asked top state health officials to prioritize Louisiana's roughly 166,000 

"Their service and dedication to this great state cannot be overstated and we should ensure their service does not unduly put their health, or their families' health, in a precarious situation," Fields said.

Edwards has said he is trying to balance those eligible for the shots with the number of vaccines available to Louisiana and that teachers will be in the next tier of those who qualify.

"The governor wants teachers, essential workers and all Louisianans to get vaccinated against COVID as soon as they possibly can, which is why teachers are included in the next tier," Christina Stephens, a spokeswoman for Edwards, said in an email.

"He admires teachers and educational support staff and appreciates their hard work each and every day, but especially during the many challenges of this pandemic," Stephens said.

The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

"The state is still somewhat limited in doses we are getting from the federal government and we are working to vaccinate as many people as we can as quickly as possible," she said.

+3 Louisiana expands coronavirus vaccine eligibility to people 65 and older; see details Louisiana will allow people who are 65 and older to access COVID-19 vaccines starting Monday as the state sees more doses and some slowing app

Edwards announced Thursday that he is expanding eligibility to those 65 and older effective Monday, which adds about 250,000 people to those who can get the shot.

Another 25,000 first responders, election workers and others will also go on the expanded list.

The current requirement is for those 70 and older, among others who qualify.

Larry Carter, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, echoed Fields' request.

"The best way to ensure that schools remain open and our communities can continue to function with some semblance of normalcy is to grant educators priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine," Carter said.

State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley in December asked top state health officials to give priority for the vaccine to Louisiana's 166,000 teachers and support staff.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians

It is generally understood that people carrying diplomatic passports around the world deserve special preference and courtesy of the highest esteem. But when supposed diplomats or their relatives with diplomatic passports crossed the red line and behaved very uncouth, like in the case of George Weah, Jr., son of President George Manneh Weah, Sr., they automatically lost their respect and therefore, are treated like common criminals.

George Weah, Jr., aka Champ, carrying Liberian Diplomatic Passport, has been reportedly arrested in Paris, France by French Police for contempt and rebellion, after being observed intoxicated.

According to Today 24 News, based in Paris, Champ is being scheduled to appear before French justice system next Thursday, 10 February, though he holds a Liberian diplomatic passport, bringing reproach not only to his father and President of Liberia, George Manneh Weah, Sr., but the entire Liberia that he represents in France, as son of our President.

Report from Paris details that on Tuesday, 2 February 2021 at 3:20 am, Police in Paris intervened in a nighttime noise during a clandestine party in an opulent building in the French capital specifically, avenue du President-Wilson (8th arrondissement), in the Alma-Marceau district.

Inside a rented apartment through Airbnb, French officials discovered a gang of eight, including George Weah, Jr., 33, clearly breaching COVID-19 health protocols.

Report quotes French Police as describing Weah Junior as "very alcoholic" and insulted the police and took out a diplomatic passport. He was subsequently arrested for contempt and rebellion, and taken to the 17th arrondissement police station.

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It is sad and highly regrettable that someone holding our nation's highest credential abroad, in this case, son of the President of Liberia, would have stood so low in a foreign land, fully cognizant that he is an adult and not an ordinary Liberian citizen.

What does this say about our moral rectitude as a country when a Liberian with such status would knowingly get drunk, ignore health protocols and behaved rudely to French Police? Doesn't he know that being a son of President George Manneh Weah, his wellbeing automatically becomes the concern of all Liberians?

At age 33, Champ clearly knows right and wrong, and to have allegedly insulted and defied French Police before displaying his Liberian Diplomatic Passport, brought Liberia to serious ridicule.

It is indeed sad and disgraceful that someone entrusted with our Diplomatic Passport by virtue of his dad representing the 4.5 million people of Liberia as their President, would choose to discredit such international honor thru actions and behaviors that contravene diplomatic norms.
Stem WEEK OUR PARTNERS

The Berkshire STEM Network is the product of a state-funded initiative to connect regional schools, and businesses for the improvement of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and work force development within our community.

There are 9 regional STEM Networks across Massachusetts, all aimed at strengthening their region's STEM Network. Berkshire County's STEM Network is currently based in MCLA's Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation (CSI).

Current STEM Manager: Jane Tekin, jane.tekin@mcla.edu

OUR GOALS

Support student academic achievement in STEM subjects in order to prepare them for college and/or careers in critical STEM job sectors, including healthcare, technology, and engineering. Provide accessibility to the STEM Library, housed in MCLA's Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation. This is a free library designed to support anyone interested in STEM education with a variety of materials, from textbooks to bug kits. Partner with local businesses, educational and cultural institutions, and others who are passionate about enriching the STEM network of Berkshire County.

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Berkeley -- The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year led to a devastating loss of jobs and income across the global south, threatening hundreds of millions of people with hunger and lost savings and raising an array of risks for children, according to new research co-authored at the University of California, Berkeley.

The research, to be published Friday Feb. 5, 2021, in the journal Science Advances, found "staggering" income losses after the pandemic emerged last year, with a median 70% of households across nine countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America reporting financial losses. By April last year, roughly 50% or more of those surveyed in several countries were forced to eat smaller meals or skip meals altogether, a number that reached 87% for rural households in the West African country of Sierra Leone.

"In the early months of the pandemic, the economic downturn in low- and middle-income countries was almost certainly worse than any other recent global economic crisis that we know of, whether the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, the Great Recession that started in 2008, or the more recent Ebola crisis," said UC Berkeley economist Edward Miguel, a co-author of the study. "The economic costs were just severe, absolutely severe."

The pandemic has produced some hopeful innovations, including a partnership between the government of Togo in West Africa and UC Berkeley's Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) on a system to provide relief payments via digital networks.

But such gains are, so far, isolated.

The new study -- the first of its kind globally -- reports that after two decades of growth in many low- and middle-income countries, the economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic threatens profound long-term impact: Reduced childhood nutrition could have health consequences later in life. Closed schools may lead to delayed development for some students, while others may simply drop out. When families use their savings to eat, rather than invest in fertilizer or farm improvements, crop yields can decline.

"Such effects can slow economic development in a country or a region, which can lead to political instability, diminished growth or migration," said Miguel, a co-director at CEGA.

A troubling picture of life during the pandemic

The study was launched in spring 2020, as China, Europe and the U.S. led global efforts to check spread of the virus through ambitious lockdowns of business, schools and transit. Three independent research teams, including CEGA, joined to conduct surveys in the countries where they already worked.

Between April and early July 2020, they connected with 30,000 households, including over 100,000 people, in nine countries with a combined population of 500 million: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Sierra Leone in Africa; Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines in Asia; and Colombia in South America. The surveys were conducted by telephone.

Reports early in the pandemic suggested that developing countries might be less vulnerable because their populations are so much younger than those in Europe and North America.

But the research teams found that, within weeks after governments imposed lockdowns and other measures to control the virus's spread, the pandemic was having a pervasive economic impact:

Income fell broadly. In Colombia, 87% of respondents nationwide reported lost income in the early phase of the pandemic. Such losses were reported by more than 80% of people nationwide in Rwanda and Ghana.

People struggled to find food. In the Philippines, 77% of respondents nationwide said they faced difficulty purchasing food because stores were closed, transport was shut down or food supplies were inadequate. Similar reports came from 68% of Colombians and 64% of respondents in Sierra Leone; rates were similar for some communities within other countries.

Food insecurity rose sharply. While the impact was worst in rural Sierra Leone, other communities were hard hit: In Bangladesh, 69% of landless agricultural households reported that they were forced to eat less, along with 48% of households in rural Kenya.

Children faced increased risk. With schools closed, the risk of educational setbacks rose. Many respondents reported delaying health care, including prenatal care and vaccinations. Some communities reported rising levels of domestic violence.

"The combination of a lengthy period of undernutrition, closed schools, and limited health care may be particularly damaging in the long run for children from poorer households who do not have alternative resources," the authors wrote.

Miguel's recent research has focused on economic conditions for poor people in Kenya, and he said people there scrambled to cope with the crisis.

"People moved in with relatives," he said. "People moved back to their home areas in rural places where there was food. Other people were just relying on the generosity of friends and relatives and co-workers to get by. When you're living on only a couple of dollars a day, and you don't get that money, it's a desperate situation."

Wealthier countries are also gripped by crisis, but co-author Susan Athey, an economist at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, said they're better able to cope.

"COVID-19 and its economic shock present a stark threat to residents of low- and middle-income countries -- where most of the world's population resides -- which lack the social safety nets that exist in rich countries," Athey said. "The evidence we've collected shows dire economic consequences ... which, if left unchecked, could thrust millions of vulnerable households into poverty."

A model of positive, high-impact international partnership

In fact, Miguel said, governments everywhere have struggled to address the health and economic dimensions of the pandemic. In both rich and poor nations, he said, governments have used the pandemic as a reason to crack down on political opponents.

But the crisis has also produced hopeful engagements. The CEGA initiative to support Togolese leaders in developing a system for digital relief payments could be a model for international partnerships.

Under that project, CEGA co-Director Joshua Blumenstock has worked closely with top government officials in Togo to develop an advanced data-driven system for identifying people in need and delivering financial aid. The system uses new computational technologies, with data from satellite imagery, mobile phones and traditional surveys to identify people or communities in economic distress.

CEGA and the GiveDirectly aid organization have just won a $1.2 million grant under the data.org Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge to allow further work on the project.

Already, "over 550,000 Togolese individuals have received cash transfers of roughly $20 a month," said Lauren Russell, CEGA director of operations. "The grant should allow for the project to be scaled and evaluated even further, with the hope that the methods might be well-suited for adoption by other low- and middle-income countries."

Global crises require global solutions

Still, Miguel said the disparities between rich and poor nations have been "disheartening." In North America and Europe, nations may be struggling with vaccination plans, but vaccines have barely arrived in most low-income countries, he said.

"We will not recover in the rich countries until the whole world gets the vaccine and until the crisis is dealt with globally," he said. "As long as there's active pandemic in parts of the world that's affecting travel and tourism and trade, our economy and our society is going to suffer. If we can spread the wealth in terms of pandemic relief assistance and vaccine distribution, we're all going to get out of this hole faster."

###
By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices hit its highest in a year on Friday, closing in on $60 a barrel, supported by economic revival hopes and supply curbs by producer group OPEC and its allies. Oil was also supported as U.S. stock markets hit record highs on signs of progress towards more economic stimulus, while a closely watched jobs report confirmed the labor market was stabilizing. U.S. employment growth rebounded moderately in January and job losses in the prior month were deeper than initially thought, underscoring an urgent need for additional relief ...

Soldiers from the Romanian Navy and Air Force carried out, on Friday, a joint training mission with soldiers from the US Navy in the Black Sea basin, informs the Ministry of National Defense (MApN).

Thus, Marasesti frigate from the endowment of the General Staff of the Naval Forces and five air means of the General Staff of the Air Force, respectively four F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft from the 86th "Lieutenant aviator Gheorghe Mociornita" Air Base and an IAR 330L Puma of the 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, operated together with destroyer USS Porter and the USNS Laramie oil tanker, belonging to the US Navy, in order to demonstrate the interoperability between the Romanian and US soldiers.

According to the cited source, the exercise was "this year's first joint Romanian-American training activity and was aimed at strengthening the reassurance measures of the North Atlantic Alliance in the South-East of Europe, as well as increasing the level of interoperability, demonstrating once again the US involvement in ensuring security in the Black Sea area."The Marasesti frigate, participant in the action, is the command-ship of the "Ready for Action" naval forces package of the Romanian Naval Forces, a structure that ensures the immediate reaction capacity of the Romanian Army and the management of our country's maritime space, by rapidly deploying ships, aircraft and other specialized structures in maritime districts.The air sequence of the exercise was coordinated by the Air Component of the General Staff of the Air Force and included ADEX-type missions (air defense exercises), executed with F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft from the 86th Air Base in Borcea, states MApN .The strategic partnership with the USA is "one of the pillars of Romania's defense and security. In an increasingly dynamic security environment, such as the Black Sea, cooperation between the Romanian Army and the US forces deployed in Europe contributes to strengthening the ability to react quickly and effectively, to a wide range of threats to social security on the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance," the Romanian ministry said.According to the Ministry of National Defense, "by successfully executing the joint training exercise, the allied forces involved are fully prepared to carry out their missions in all areas, demonstrating involvement and interoperability in the context of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic."

AGERPRES
Houthis-allied tribesmen holding up weapons shout slogans during a rally against the US terrorist designation of the Houthis, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 4, 2021. EPA-Yonhap



President Joe Biden announced Thursday the United States was ending support for a grinding five-year Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen that has deepened suffering in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country, calling the move part of restoring a U.S. emphasis on diplomacy, democracy and human rights.



''This war has to end,'' Biden told diplomats in his first visit to the State Department as president, saying the conflict had created a ''humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.''



The Yemen reversal is one of a series of steps Biden laid out Thursday that he said would mark a course correction for U.S. foreign policy. That's after President Donald Trump  and many Republican and Democratic administrations before his  often sided with authoritarian leaders abroad, in the name of stability.



The announcement on Yemen fulfills a campaign pledge. But it also shows Biden putting the spotlight on a major humanitarian crisis that the United States has helped aggravate. The reversal of policy also comes as a rebuke to Saudi Arabia.



Saudi Arabia has been conciliatory in its response to rebuffs from Biden, who as a candidate blasted the kingdom's current rulers for rights abuses and as president has made clear he intends to distance his administration from Saudi leaders. But the Biden administration also says it will help the kingdom boost its defenses against outside attacks, as part of maintaining key security, counterterrorism and military ties with Saudi Arabia, a strategic partner and global oil giant. Saudi state media focused on that part of Biden's announcements Thursday.



''We welcome President Biden's stated commitment to work with friends and allies to resolve conflicts, and deal with attacks from Iran its proxies in the region,'' Saudi Prince Khalid bin Salman, a son of King Salman and the kingdom's deputy defense minister, tweeted.





In this Oct. 16, 2020, file photo, Yemeni prisoners chant slogans during their arrival after being released by the Saudi-led coalition at the airport in Sanaa, Yemen. AP



Yemen, the biblical kingdom of Sheba, has one of the world's oldest constantly occupied cities  the more than 2,000-year-old Sanaa  along with mud brick skyscrapers and hauntingly beautiful landscapes of steep, arid mountains. But decades of Yemeni misgovernment have worsened factional divisions and halted development, and years of conflict have now drawn in increasing intervention by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.



The Obama administration in 2015 gave its approval to Saudi Arabia leading a cross-border air campaign targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels, who were seizing ever more territory, including Sanaa. The Houthis have launched multiple drone and missile strikes deep into Saudi Arabia. The U.S. says the Saudi-led campaign has entrenched Iran's role in the conflict, on the side of the Houthis.



U.S. targeting assistance to Saudi Arabia's command-and-control was supposed to minimize civilian casualties in the Saudi-led airstrikes. But bombing since then has killed numerous Yemeni civilians, including schoolboys on a bus and fishermen in their boats. Survivors have displayed fragments showing the bombs to be American-made.









The stalled war has failed to dislodge the Houthis and is helping deepen hunger and poverty. International rights experts say both the Gulf countries and Houthis have committed severe rights abuses.





In this July 2, 2020, file photo, workers use a water hose to put down a fire at a vehicle oil store hit by Saudi-led airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen. AP



Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman, a co-winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her role in Yemen's unsuccessful Arab Spring popular uprising, urged Biden to stay involved in Yemen peace efforts.



''Deeper U.S. engagement  and a refusal to side with dictators who have chosen bloodshed over democratic change  is vital so that the Yemeni people can return to the project of democracy'' that warring parties inside and outside of Yemen interrupted, Karman said in a statement.



U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the U.S. action will give more space and more hope ''not only to the talks but, more importantly, more hope to the people of Yemen.''



Biden called Thursday for a cease-fire, an opening of humanitarian channels to allow more delivery of aid, and a return to long-stalled peace talks.



Biden also announced an end to ''relevant'' U.S. arms sales but gave no immediate details on what that would mean. The administration already has said it was pausing some of the billions of dollars in arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia's main partner in its Yemeni offensive.





President Joe Biden makes a foreign policy speech at the State Department in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. UPI-Yonhap
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Varuzhan Nersesyan, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the United States of America, held a phone conversation with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks (D  New York), the Armenian Embassy in the US reported on Facebook.

Ambassador congratulated Congressman Meeks on his election as Chair of the Committee and wished successful and fruitful term in office.

Ambassador briefed about the post-war situation in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, followed by humanitarian crises and discussed regional security and peace issues.

Chairman Meeks stressed the importance of US active engagement within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship for lasting and sustainable resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The officials discussed the further deepening of the cooperation between legislative and executive branches of two countries.
These are not straight transcriptions, as the take on Better Get Hit in Your Soul proves. During its opening, the cello part occasionally comes close to Minguss own bass motifs, though it also diverts from the source material, with the other strings pausing to meditate before the quartet digs into Minguss theme with gusto.

Like Lake, Hemphill was apt to say that his varied pursuits were not evidence of a scattershot sensibility, but rather of a complex, integrated purpose. The liner notes for the new box set include one of his better known statements: Well, you often hear people nowadays talking about the tradition, tradition, tradition. But they have tunnel vision in this tradition. Because tradition in African-American music is wide as all outdoors.

Since his death, Hemphills influence has continued to make that vista ever wider. His most famous composition, Dogon A.D., with its addictive, loping 11/16 percussion groove, was memorably covered by the pianist Vijay Iyer on his breakout 2009 trio album, Historicity. Player-composers like Tim Berne and Marty Ehrlich, who wrote the liner notes for the new release, also swear by Hemphill.
 Close Trump: Biden is lying or 'mentally gone on vaccines

Joe Biden said the world can't return to a Cold War with Russia and China and must seek ways to cooperate on global challenges like the Covid pandemic even as the two countries pose security risks to the western alliance.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Biden reaffirmed his commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization while apologizing to European leaders for the last four years under Donald Trump.

That apology came with the Biden administration returning the US to the Paris climate accord, another reversal of Trump-era policies of the past four years.

The focus on foreign policy came as the Biden administration continued to face domestic crises in its first weeks, including unprecedented winter weather that delayed 6 million doses of Covid vaccine.

While Biden toured the Pfizer vaccine manufacturing plant in Michigan, Republican senator Ted Cruz stayed out of the spotlight after coming under intense scrutiny for fleeing Texas for the warmer climes of Cancun.

Congress continued going through its motions, with Democrat Joe Manchin announcing his opposition to the nomination of Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management & Budget, Neera Tanden.

The White House has refused to withdraw her nomination, hoping instead to convince Republicans to confirm her post.

Trump himself, meanwhile, did things that were terrible when contradicted on the coronavirus pandemic, Dr Anthony Fauci has said in an interview.

Fauci said Trump entirely lost interest in tackling Covid-19 as it became clear he had lost Novembers presidential election.
Haitian civil society and opposition leaders called on the United States Saturday to respect the island nation's sovereignty after the US State Department sided with the president's view that his term in power ends in a year, and not on Sunday as his critics assert.

"This statement has no political importance. It is perhaps a maneuver aimed at shutting down grassroots mobilization" against President Jovenel Moise, said Andre Michel, an opposition leader.

Moise has been governing without any checks on his power for the past year and says he remains president until February 7, 2022 -- in an interpretation of the constitution rejected by the opposition, which has led protests asserting his term ends Sunday.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday that the United States wants Haiti to organize free and fair legislative elections so that "parliament may resume its rightful role."

But he added that, in line with the position of the Organization of American States, the United States believes that "a new elected president should succeed President Moise when his term ends on February 7, 2022."

The dispute over when the president's term ends stems from Moise's original election: he was voted into office in a poll later cancelled on grounds of fraud, and then elected again a year later, in 2016.

After the latter disputed election, demonstrations demanding his resignation intensified in the summer of 2018.

Voting to elect deputies, senators, mayors and local officials should have been held in 2018, but the polls have been delayed, triggering the vacuum in which Moise says he is entitled to stay for another year.

In recent years, angry Haitians have demonstrated against what they call rampant government corruption and unchecked crime by gangs.

"Instead of siding with democracy, the United States had nothing to say when the elections were not held on time," said Marie-Rosy Auguste Ducena of the National Human Rights Network.

Story continues

In a letter Friday to the UN mission in Haiti, a dozen or so human rights and women's advocacy groups faulted it for providing technical and logistical support for the president's plans to hold a constitutional reform referendum in April, then presidential and legislative elections later in the year.

"The United Nations must under no circumstances support President Jovenel Moise in his anti-democratic plans," the letter stated.

amb/dw/to
Dear Editor,

It must be difficult to call a press conference and suggest that President Bidens ban on gas and oil permits is a crushing blow to Wyoming, when not so long ago, Mark Gordon was aligned with some of the most radical environmental groups in the country whose mission was to destroy fossil fuels.

Now that he is largely responsible for balancing Wyomings budget, I wonder if he has started to realize how important fossil fuels are to Wyoming and its people.

It is hard for me to discern if he is regretful of his past alliances or silently joyous that the end of fossil...

Dr. Kaliq Chang Yoga is beneficial for flexibility, strength, stress reduction and general health.

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old discipline whose popularity has grown dramatically in the last few years, by as much as 50% in the United States according to some estimates. Originally a spiritual practice focused on creating harmony between the mind and body, yoga is now practiced by tens of millions of people drawn by its benefits to health and mindfulness. Yoga is beneficial for flexibility, strength, stress reduction and general health. says Interventional Pain Management Specialist Dr. Kaliq Chang of Atlantic Spine Center. It can also improve specific conditions, especially an aching lower back, an affliction that affects almost everyone at some point.

Back pain is second only to the common cold as a cause of lost days at work and it is one of the most common reasons to visit a doctor's office. The most common causes are strains and sprains, which occur when the muscles and ligaments that support the spine are stretched or torn, often as a result of unaccustomed sudden bends or twists in sports, when shoveling snow, or when lifting a heavy object. Performed properly, yoga is a gentle practice that helps maintain back strength and flexibility and alleviates lower back pain, says Dr. Chang.

Yoga works on the muscles that support the back and spine, including the muscles that help you bend, the muscles that stabilize your vertebrae, and the abdominal muscles, which also help stabilize the spine. When these muscles are tight, they are more prone to injury. Yoga practice teaches you to stretch and strengthen the muscles, which helps reduce muscular tension, builds flexibility and strength, improves mobility, reduces the risk of injury, and soothes an already-strained back.

Proper performance is the key to successful, injury-free yoga. Dr. Chang points out that too many people think of the gentle description of yoga and think of it as a benign practice that's good for everyone, a cure-all for whatever ails you. It's important to remember that yoga is physical activity, he says, and as with any physical activity or exercise, there are right and wrong ways to do it and real risks for those who don't practice safely. Dr. Chang offers these practical tips for safe yoga practice:

Choose the yoga and instructor that are right for you

As when considering any new activity or exercise, ask your doctor if yoga is right for you and for guidance specific to your needs. As interest in yoga has exploded, the number of studios and instructors has grown along with it and they differ widely. If you are a beginner or know that you're inflexible, look for the gentler forms of yoga, such as kripalu, viniyoga, or integral yoga; avoid the more vigorous and demanding forms like bikram (hot), ashtanga and power yoga. Visit and observe several classes to decide which is right for you and whichever type you choose, start with classes targeted to beginners. Choose an instructor who is qualified, safety-conscious, and open to making the necessary adjustments to accommodate any limitations you may have.

Warm up

Remember that cold muscles are more prone to injury. Ten minutes of gentle movements before each session will improve your circulation, lubricate your joints, and get your muscles ready to stretch safely. Start with the gentlest poses before moving on to more demanding ones.

Yoga is not a competitive sport. Know your limits

Don't push yourself beyond what you can do. Don't try to keep up with others in your class; focus on your own progress. If a move doesn't feel right, don't do it; pain is a signal to stop. If you're not sure if you're doing a pose correctly, check with your instructor. Master basic poses first and move on to more difficult ones gently and only when you're confident your body is ready. Talk to your instructor about modifying poses or skipping those that you're not ready for.

Use proper form

Do not drop quickly into a pose; instead, lengthen gradually into it. Avoid sudden bends, twists, and jerks. For example, when doing a spinal twist, do not rotate too far or too fast. Before twisting your spine, activate your core muscles and feel as though your spine is lengthening; then rotate slowly, only far enough to feel resistance.

Bending, twisting, and stretching your back might sound intimidating to someone with lower back pain, says Dr. Chang, But done properly, it might be just what you need to relieve discomfort and to strengthen your muscles so you won't be a chronic sufferer. Listen to your body, don't push beyond its limits, and you may reap the benefits that millions find in yoga.

Atlantic Spine Center is a leading provider of a full range of spinal treatment, specializing in minimally invasive endoscopic procedures. http://www.atlanticspinecenter.com

Kaliq Chang, M.D. specializes in interventional pain management and is dedicated to providing individualized holistic and innovative treatments.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
A DUP petition has secured the 100,000 signatures it needed to trigger a Parliament debate on whether to use Article 16 in an effort to ease trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

DUP Leader Arlene Foster thanked on Friday all those across the UK who signed the e-petition and urged people to keep signing.

The petition was launched at 10am on Thursday and in just over 24 hours hit the threshold to require a parliamentary response.

Mrs Foster said: As one part of our five-point plan to scrap the Protocol, I applied for and secured a Parliamentary e-petition. It is a symptom of the concern, that in just over 24hrs 100k people across every constituency in the United Kingdom have called on Parliament to trigger Article 16 and deliver unfettered GB-NI trade.

"Whilst we have reached the 100k trigger, I encourage people throughout Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom to keep signing and keep registering your support for our campaign to free us from the protocol. The campaign has not finished. We need to keep going."

The First Minister continued: "We have made the case to the Prime Minister and now the people have made a very public appeal to the Government of their country to act. This is not the time for more words and drawn-out processes. This time for affirmative action to ensure that there is an unfettered flow of goods within the United Kingdom single market.

YES! WE DID IT! In less than 36 hours. People power and politics in action together. Thanks to all who signed from across our U.K. People do care. Please keep promoting and signing - it will magnify our voice in the Parliamentary debate.https://t.co/2cw17VBWFC pic.twitter.com/u9YU2fZ50P  Arlene Foster #WeWillMeetAgain (@ArleneFosterUK) February 5, 2021

"This e-petition is also a demonstration to those Protocol loyalists who believe it is written on tablets of stone, that they must face reality and accept the Protocol is flawed and must be replaced."

She added: "Thank you to people from all backgrounds across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who have taken time to add their weight to this campaign. In particular, I commend unionist colleagues from across the spectrum in Northern Ireland who embraced this initiative.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Steve Aiken has also urged everyone in Northern Ireland and beyond to sign the petition calling on the UK Government to trigger the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement clause.

Now that it has reached 100,000 signatures, the petition demanding unfettered trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, will be considered for debate in Parliament.

Article 16 allows either the EU or the UK to disregard certain measures of the Withdrawal Agreement should they feel it is causing major problems.

Expand Close UUP leader Steve Aiken (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook

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The EU was heavily criticised last week after its swift u-turn on invoking Article 16 to block Covid-19 vaccines entering Northern Ireland.

As part of the agreement, the Northern Ireland Protocol sees checks on goods coming into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, creating a de facto Irish Sea border - something which has angered unionists.

As part of the DUPs five-point plan to undermine the protocol, the party launched the petition and said it will not participate in any north-south political engagements on issues relating to the protocol.

Mr Aiken said its clear the protocol is not working and alternatives must be found.

This week the Ulster Unionist Party published our own proposals and I would ask everyone to read them, he continued. We need to find a solution.

The message from the Irish Governments Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, to Northern Ireland this week was own it, but thats not good enough.

That type of intemperate language and approach which seeks to punish all the people of Northern Ireland for the mistakes of others will get us nowhere.

If that had been the approach of unionists in 1998, there never would have been a Belfast Agreement.

It seems apparent that for Simon Coveney, the principle of consent and cross community support only applies when it suits the Irish Governments agenda.

Meanwhile, the County Armagh Grand Orange Lodge stated that the protocol was designed to placate those with aspirations for an all-island republic and will ultimately lead to a united Ireland.

We would encourage all our unionist representatives throughout the province to form a strong united unionist coalition in this the centenary year of the formation of Northern Ireland, the lodge said in a statement.

It is imperative that all party differences are set aside and that all our unionist representatives unite and pledge to work together for the abolition of this iniquitous deal which, if it remains in force, will ultimately see an all-island republic which our forefathers strongly opposed.
ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitcoin Association, the Switzerland-based global industry organisation that works to advance business with the Bitcoin SV blockchain, today announces the official launch of the world's first Bitcoin SV-focused massive open online course (MOOC), produced in partnership with Saxion University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and its dedicated Saxion Blockchain Institute in the Research Group Blockchain.

The first online course to launch, 'What is Bitcoin and why does it matter?', is available from February 5 to September 1, and offers an introduction to Bitcoin as a technology - covering its system, network, protocol, blockchain and digital currency. The courses, including all assessments, are offered free of charge and are available through Saxion University to anyone, anywhere in the world, interested in learning about Bitcoin.

'What is Bitcoin and why does it matter?' is the first of four planned MOOCs to be produced in partnership between Bitcoin Association and Saxion University, with future courses set to build on the knowledge gained in previous courses, part of a progressive curriculum that will steadily move into more technically advanced content.

Learners can progress through the lessons in their own time and at their own pace. At the conclusion of each course, participants will be invited to take an assessment to demonstrate their proficiency in the subject matter, with a Saxion University course certificate available upon successful completion.

The series of MOOCs will be taught with a focus on Bitcoin SV (Satoshi Vision), a restoration of the original Bitcoin protocol prescribed by creator Satoshi Nakamoto. As Satoshi envisioned, the Bitcoin SV network scales unbounded, facilitating high transaction throughput for minimal fees (the median cost to send a transaction on the Bitcoin SV network in 2020 was less than 1/100 of a U.S. cent) and enabling a host of enterprise data functionalities unique to its blockchain.

To find out more and enrol in 'What is Bitcoin and why does it matter?', visit: https://mooc.saxion.nl/courses/course-v1:SAXION+BC1+2021/about

Speaking on today's announcement, Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen, commented:

"Education is a core element of the work we do at Bitcoin Association. After too many years of misinformation about Bitcoin, we are committed to helping students and business professionals better understand that Bitcoin is not meant to be a digital gold store of value; it is both a more efficient systems for Internet payments and a global data protocol. The Bitcoin SV network is demonstrating what is possible with a blockchain that can scale unbounded and facilitate huge volumes of low-fee payment and data transactions, with a host of innovative business applications beginning to emerge from a cross-section of industries. With today's launch of the first online course with Saxion University, we're making learning about Bitcoin easier and more accessible than ever before, to help train the next wave of blockchain innovators and disruptors."

Also commenting, Dr Jan Veuger, Professor of Blockchain at Saxion University of Applied Sciences, said:

"At the Saxion Blockchain Institute, we aim to teach interdisciplinary skills for the advancement of blockchain technology. With the massive open online courses that we are developing, which are focused on Bitcoin's original protocol and Bitcoin SV, we want to ensure that everyone - be they students, professionals or otherwise - has access to the best blockchain education to help develop the next wave of innovation using Satoshi Nakamoto's design for Bitcoin. This collaboration is special because this is one of the elemental disruptions in the financial world."

About Bitcoin Association

Bitcoin Association is the Switzerland-based global industry organization that works to advance business on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. It brings together essential components of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem - enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others - working alongside them, as well as in a representative capacity, to drive further use of the Bitcoin SV blockchain and uptake of the BSV digital currency.

The Association works to build a regulation-friendly ecosystem that fosters lawful conduct while facilitating innovation using all aspects of Bitcoin technology. More than a digital currency and blockchain, Bitcoin is also a network protocol; just like Internet protocol, it is the foundational rule set for an entire data network. The Association supports use of the original Bitcoin protocol to operate the world's single blockchain on Bitcoin SV.

About Saxion University of Applied Sciences

Saxion University of Applied Sciences is one of the largest institutions of higher education in the Netherlands, with close to 27,000 students. The university has a rich history - tracing its roots back to 1875 - and has come to be recognised as an important centre of expertise at a regional, national and global level.

About Saxion Blockchain Institute in the Research Group Blockchain

The Saxion Blockchain Institute conducts interdisciplinary research focused on the application of blockchain technology, including issues and industries that blockchain can be applied to, the conditions required for success, as well as the impact on organisations that implement blockchain-based solutions.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1218683/Bitcoin_Association_Logo.jpg
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The charity arm of the Vatican and Roman Catholic Church urged the United Nations on Friday to hold a Security Council meeting to designate the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as a global security issue.

An appeal by two senior Vatican cardinals and the secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis (CI) said rich nations had a moral obligation to see that vaccines reach the poor, refugees and minorities.

"(We) call for a Security Council meeting to address the issue of access to the vaccines as a global security problem with firm political decisions based on multilateralism," the appeal text said.

"This pandemic is a global human security problem that threatens the whole human family. Addressing the vaccines issue from the perspective of a narrow national strategy might lead to a moral failure in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable across the globe," the appeal said.

It was signed by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who is head of the Vatican's worldwide missionary arm and also CI president, Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Vatican's Integral Human Development department, and CI Secretary General Aloysius John.

The appeal further summoned affluent nations to remit the debt of the poorest nations so that money could be diverted to improving national health systems.

It said holders of vaccine patents should set up production hubs in Africa, Asia and Latin America to speed up delivery to the poorest populations.

Rich nations that look after only their own good could face another crisis in the future if poorer nations are neglected now and the pandemic gets out of hand in the global south, it said.

On Wednesday, the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, which includes two U.N. agencies, said it had allocated at least 330 million doses of vaccines for poorer countries.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
The government on Thursday informed Delhi High Court that it has taken substantial steps in the Republic Day violence and 43 FIRs have been lodged related to the violence during tractor parade.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Chief Justices DN Patel and Jyoti Singh that police that police have registered 43 FIRs and 13 FIRs have been transferred to the Special Cell of Delhi Police, ANI reported.

Solicitor General apprised the court about the alleged involvement of Sikh for Justice, a banned organisation and Special Cell has invoked provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The response from the centre came in response to plea in High Court seeking an appropriate direction to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Delhi Police to take action against perpetrators behind Republic Day violence.

After hearing the submissions made by the solicitor general, representing the government, the High Court refused to entertain the petition and the petitioner sought to withdraw the plea or face costs. It said that a crime can happen in a fraction of seconds but the investigation takes time, while adding that it was to analyse the mindset of such petitions.

So you started typing the petition right after the incident on January 26 noon? Do you know how much time is given for investigation under the Criminal Procedure Code? You are a lawyer. How much time is given for an investigation?, the High Court said, according to Hindustan Times.

You expect the investigations to be completed within two days of the incident? Does the government have a magic wand which it will wave and everything will be done? Should we dismiss it with cost or will you withdraw, the bench reportedly asked advocate Vivek Narayan Sharma.

The plea was filed by Shubham Awasthi and two others, resident of Delhi NCR through advocate Vivek Narayan Sharma.

The plea sought to direct the government to strengthen the laws related to the insult of national flag and constitution so that, a strong sense of deterrence is brewed among mischief mongers.




By Yi Whan-woo







A South Korean-born Australian man is facing charges of breaching U.N. sanctions against North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program, Australian media outlets have reported this week.







The trial of Choi Chan-han, 62, began at the New South Wales Supreme Court, Feb. 3.







Citing Crown Prosecutor Jennifer Single, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported Choi had "extensive connections" to North Korea and faces seven charges, including being involved in brokering five transactions of coal, iron, petroleum, missiles, military equipment and other items to benefit the North.







This makes him the first person to be charged under Australia's weapons of mass destruction laws enacted in 1995.







None of the alleged transactions were successful, but the fact that Choi had "pulled the plug" before they succeeded was not relevant, Single was quoted as saying by ABC.







"What is important is the accused's role in terms of those transactions and whether you are satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, that he was involved in brokering those transactions," Single said.







According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Choi additionally told people on numerous occasions that he acted on behalf of North Korea, which he referred to as "our Motherland" and visited North Korea on at least seven occasions.







Choi was born in South Korea and arrived in Australia in 1987. He became an Australian citizen in 2000.


Originally, during his first appearance in the case, prosecutors said Regalados blood alcohol content was .457%. But Marubio, while acknowledging Regalados blood alcohol level was actually .045, which isnt legally drunk, said there was only one person in control of the gas pedal in the incredibly dangerous, reckless driving that left 12-year-old Cire Robinson dead following the Jan. 20 crash.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  One of 10 men accused of drug trafficking in the Muskegon area was released Friday, Feb. 5, after a judge said federal prosecutors failed to establish probable cause.

Daris Jefferson, 32, a.k.a. Smoove, was accused in criminal complaint of distribution of heroin.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vito Solitro questioned state police Sgt. Joseph Young, part of a federal task force, about a July 20 drug sale to an undercover investigator.

Young conceded he did not know the basis for the undercover officer determining that it was Jefferson he talked to on the phone before the alleged drug deal. The officer had not met Jefferson before the deal took place.

Defense attorney Joshua Blanchard argued the case should be dismissed.

He said that Young could not confirm that the undercover investigator could identify Jefferson as the one who sold heroin at a party-store parking lot.

Hearsay is allowed in preliminary hearings. The undercover officer was not in court.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Ray Kent in Grand Rapids dismissed the complaint. He said prosecutors had a low burden to meet.

Mr. Jefferson, you are free to go, sir, Kent said.

The dismissal does not preclude the government from later prosecuting the defendant for the same offense, according to Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Eight of the defendants were arrested on criminal complaints and would have cases heard by a grand jury for potential indictments. Two have already been indicted.

The investigation began after an October 2019 fatal drug overdose in Norton Shores, court records showed.

The investigation led to the arrests this week of 10 suspects in the Muskegon area.

Young, the investigator, said in court records that local, state and federal investigators have been investigating a network of individuals that coordinate drug trafficking activities, the movement of bulk cash, and the facilitation of street violence that frequently includes illegal firearms, assaults, and shootings in furtherance of gang violence in and around the area of Muskegon, Michigan.

He testified that police tried to stop Jeffersons vehicle before he stopped in a yard, fled on foot and was found hiding in a garage.

Young said a gun and drugs were found in Jeffersons vehicle after his arrest.

Read more:

Heroin was dropping people, alleged dealer says after fatal overdose

Essential workers, seniors have options for seeking COVID vaccine in Muskegon, Ottawa

Average Michigander had nearly 1,000 alcoholic drinks in 2020  thats a lot
The Urban Love, a Hair & Skincare brand that sprung out of an affinity towards all things natural has recently launched a campaign hair me out to bring forward a concern that many women with curly/wavy hair face even today. The essence of this campaign is to empower every woman to set their curly locks free from the never-ending standards set by society.

Tie your hair up is a phrase every woman with curly hair has heard. To break this norm and set free the insecurities that come along with it, The Urban Love is here to hair you out. The Urban Love recognizes the need for women from all over the world to partake in this outreach, and is therefore reaching out to all of them to send in their videos to be a part of the hair me out campaign which in due course will consolidate all the videos of every womans story to create an impactful video with a deep message.

Right from a young age, every little girl has been engraved with the idea to tone it down which has not only reflected on girls taming their curls but also impacted other aspects in their life. Whether at home, where girls were taught to behave in a specific manner, or at school where they were forced to braid their hair, it only left them unaware of how unfair it is. Building on the insecurities planted in their mind young girls stepping into their teenage years have begun to subdue their personality just like their voluminous curly hair.

Living in an era where gender equality is gaining momentum, the fact that women are still asked to tone it down shows that the change is merely superficial and not deep-rooted. Where nearly 60% of the population has wavy or curly hair in India, it should be in favour of all odds to free the locks.

With the hair straightener market size constantly on the rise from $591.2 million forecasted to reach $861.1 million by 2026, it is evident that women are made to believe that straight hair has become more like a necessity.

Ultimately, this gave rise to the Curly Girl Method which gained recognition after it was introduced by hairstylist Lorraine Massey. This method urged women to ditch their incessant use of shampoos, and other chemically induced hair cleansing products, and let their curls flow freely in their natural state leaving women increasingly carefree.

The Brand is reaching out to individuals through various means and methods, like Instagram, personal DMs and texts. The objective is to garner a real base of people, influencers, and patrons of the brand who want their voices to be heard. Entrants have been asked to submit their entries in a video MP4 format, voicing their opinions on their curly hair, and the manner in which they have been asked to tame their curls throughout their lives, be it from their friends, relatives, teachers and so on. The end product of the campaign will entail a combined video, where each voice will be put together and showcased on their social platforms.

Sara Khan, PR Director, after spending nearly 2 decades within the Global Public Relations domain, has mentioned this is one such campaign that wholeheartedly allows individuals to express themselves, about seemingly surface level problems, which usually have deep-seated emotional impacts.

Simran Sainani, Founder of The Urban Love mentions, The Urban Love is here to hair you out and help you break free by letting your curls loose from all tight standards of society by choosing to rule the unruly, submit your entries today!

Instagram: theurbanlove_

Website: www.theurbanlove.com


Climate change may have driven the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, a new study claims.

UK researchers say global greenhouse gas emissions over the last century have driven growth of forest habitat favoured by bats.

This has made southern China, in particular the Chinese Yunnan province, a 'global hotspot' for bat-borne coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2.

Bats act as reservoirs of numerous zoonotic viruses, including SARS-CoV, MERS CoV and the Ebola virus.

It's been thought the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated from bats, although scientists are still debating the origins of the disease, which may not ever be officially confirmed.

World Health Organisation investigators admitted this week that their research mission in Wuhan will not reach its goal of revealing how coronavirus jumped from animals to humans.

It is likely to have its ancestral origins in a bat species but may have reached humans through an intermediary species, such as pangolins  a scaly mammal often confused for a reptile.

Estimated increase in the local number of bat species due to shifts in their geographical ranges driven by climate change since 1901. The zoomed-in area represents the likely spatial origin of the bat-borne ancestor of SARS-CoV-2

Despite this, the study authors claim the first evidence of a mechanism by which climate change could have played a direct role in the development of the current pandemic.

'Climate change over the last century has made the habitat in the southern Chinese Yunnan province suitable for more bat species,' said study author Dr Robert Beyer from the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology.

'Understanding how the global distribution of bat species has shifted as a result of climate change may be an important step in reconstructing the origin of the Covid-19 outbreak.'

In the southern Chinese Yunnan province, and adjacent regions in Myanmar and Laos, there have been 'large-scale changes' in vegetation in the last century, the study found.

Did SARS-CoV-2 originate from bats? Researchers from the University of Cambridge think so, and say bats may have been allowed to proliferate due to climate change

WHO admit Wuhan research mission WILL NOT reveal how Covid jumped from animals to humans World Health Organisation (WHO) investigators have admitted their research mission in Wuhan will not reach its goal of revealing how coronavirus jumped from animals to humans. The 13-strong team of international experts began their probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic a week ago - but it was revealed today they are already dismissing some theories that the virus was leaked by a Chinese laboratory. Lead WHO investigator Peter Ben Embarek said their investigation, which is due to conclude within by the second week of February, would not lead to a 'full understanding' of the origins of coronavirus. He said: 'We're not going to come up with the ultimate full understanding of the origins of the virus, but it will be a good first step.' But Embarek insisted he and his team had a 'very frank' discussion with Chinese scientists about the source of the pandemic. Read more: WHO admit Wuhan research mission won't reveal how Covid originated Advertisement

Climate changes including increases in temperature, sunlight, and atmospheric carbon dioxide  which stimulates plant and tree growth  have changed natural habitats from tropical shrubland to tropical savannah and deciduous woodland.

This has created a suitable environment for many coronavirus-carrying bat species that predominantly live in forests to thrive.

The study found that an additional 40 bat species have moved into the southern Chinese Yunnan province in the past century, harbouring around 100 more types of bat-borne coronavirus.

This 'global hotspot' is the region where genetic data suggests SARS-CoV-2 may have arisen, and been borne by bats to the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where it was transmitted to humans just over a year ago.

To get their results, the researchers created a map of the world's vegetation as it was a century ago, using records of temperature, precipitation and cloud cover.

Then they used information on the vegetation requirements of the world's bat species to work out the global distribution of each species in the early 1900s.

Comparing this to current distributions allowed them to see how bat 'species richness'  the number of different species  has changed across the globe over the last century due to climate change.

'As climate change altered habitats, species left some areas and moved into others taking their viruses with them,' said Dr Beyer.

'This not only altered the regions where viruses are present, but most likely allowed for new interactions between animals and viruses, causing more harmful viruses to be transmitted or evolve.'

Researchers say the number of coronaviruses in an area is closely linked to the number of different bat species present.

The study has revealed large-scale changes in the type of vegetation in the southern Chinese Yunnan province. Pictured, the Jiulong waterfall, Yunnan, China

The world's bat population carries around 3,000 different types of coronavirus, with each bat species harbouring an average of 2.7 coronaviruses  most without showing symptoms.

Over the last century, climate change has also driven increases in the number of bat species in regions around Central Africa, and scattered patches in Central and South America, the study also found.

An increase in the number of bat species in a particular region, driven by climate change, may increase the likelihood that a coronavirus harmful to humans is present, transmitted, or evolves there.

Most coronaviruses carried by bats cannot jump into humans, but several coronaviruses known to infect humans are 'very likely' to have originated in bats.

This includes three than can cause human fatalities  Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) CoV, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) CoV-1 and CoV-2.

The SARS outbreak of 2002 to 2004 was caused by the SARS-CoV-1 virus strain which was first identified in Guangdong, China in 2002.

Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, China, late last year there's been much uncertainty surrounding the virus's origin.

A previous report from scientists said the virus is 96 per cent identical to one found in bats, although this is yet to be officially confirmed as the source.

While it was initially assumed that the virus passed to humans in a Wuhan wet market, other studies have pointed to an anteater-like animal called a pangolin being the intermediary animal.

Pangolins are mammals but are often confused for reptiles due to their scaly appearance. They're consumed as food in China and are also used in traditional medicine.

Yunnan, the region identified by the new study as a hotspot for a climate-driven increase in bat species richness, is also home to pangolins, however.

It's possible the virus jumped from bats to Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) and masked palm civits (Paguma larvata) in Yunnan.

They were then captured and transported more than 2,000 kilometres to Wuhan, where they were sold at a wildlife market, say the authors of the new study, which has been published today in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

SARS-CoV-2 is likely to have its ancestral origins in a bat species but may have reached humans through an intermediary species, such as pangolins  a scaly mammal often confused for a reptile (pictured)

'Captured civets and pangolins carrying these viruses are likely to have been transported to wildlife markets in Guangdong and Wuhan, respectively, where the initial outbreaks in human populations occurred.'

The researchers echo calls from previous studies that urge policy-makers to acknowledge the role of climate change in outbreaks of viral diseases.

Policy-makers should also address climate change as part of Covid-19 economic recovery programmes, they say.

'The Covid-19 pandemic has caused tremendous social and economic damage. Governments must seize the opportunity to reduce health risks from infectious diseases by taking decisive action to mitigate climate change,' said co-author of the study, Professor Andrea Manica, also at Cambridge.

'The fact that climate change can accelerate the transmission of wildlife pathogens to humans should be an urgent wake-up call to reduce global emissions,' added Professor Camilo Mora at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, who initiated the project.

Climate change 'could have played a direct role' in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 (pictured), the virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic, according to University of Cambridge research

The researchers emphasised the need to limit the expansion of urban areas, farmland, and hunting grounds into natural habitat to reduce contact between humans and disease-carrying animals.

Professor Paul Valdes at the Cabot Institute for the Environment at University of Bristol, who was not involved with the study, called the findings 'interesting' but pointed out some drawbacks.

'There are many untested aspects of their conclusions, especially since we are still debating the origins of Covid,' he said.

'They show that climate change may have had a small impact on the biodiversity of bat species in Yunnan but this is more than 2,000 kilometres away from Wuhan and the link between the two regions is not discussed.

'Moreover, habitat loss is likely to have played a much larger role in biodiversity change than any small effect from climate change and this is not incorporated into their model.

'It therefore seems premature to conclude that climate change has had a big effect on the emergence of SARS-CoV-2.'
An American flag flies on a car next to a mural at Maywood Park in Maywood, Calif., on June 23, 2010. (David McNew/Getty Images)

Former Mayor in Los Angeles County, 10 Others Charged in Corruption Scandal

A former mayor of the tiny Los Angeles County city of Maywood has been charged alongside 10 others in a pay-to-play public corruption case, District Attorney George Gascon announced Thursday.

Ramon Medina, 61, was charged in a 34-count criminal complaint that alleges widespread corruption, including soliciting and receiving bribes, misappropriation of public funds, and embezzlement over a three-year period.

Other defendants in the lawsuit include former City Manager Reuben Martinez and Planning Director David Mango.

The former mayor and councilmember was charged with soliciting bribes, conspiracy, embezzlement, failing to file campaign statements, grand theft, misappropriation of public funds, and other crimes.

Medina is accused of taking donations during his City Council campaign in 2015 from several co-defendants who wanted to gain favor and do business in the 1.1-square-mile city of about 26,000 residents.

Martinez, 57, and Mango, 48, are charged with multiple counts of theft, misuse of funds, embezzlement, and conspiracy. According to the complaint, the pair are accused of attempting to sell three properties intended for affordable housing to an individual for less than half of their fair-market value, for use as a 24/7 bingo hall.

Other allegations involve solicitation of bribes for the recall of a council member, use of public funds for construction projects on private properties, directing city staff to void parking tickets for friends, and having gamecocks and cockfighting paraphernalia.

No one is above the law. Public officials should be working to benefit the people, not their own bank accounts, Gascon said in a statement. Pay-to-play politics have no place in Los Angeles County and we are all deserving of a clean government.

Pedro Carrillo, who served as Maywood city manager between December 2015 and April 2016, said the charges are long overdue.

I think myself and a lot of good people of Maywood have been waiting for this day for a long time, for years, he said, the Los Angeles Times reported. Its disheartening for the community when five to six years have passed and they dont see the justice system is doing right by them.

You dont know how relieved I am. They put me through hell on that councilconstantly under attack by their supporters, they tried to recall me seven times, but it was all worth it, added Maywood City Councilman Eddie De La Riva. Its a victory for good government. Its a good day for Maywood and the entire southeast.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Afew weeks ago I commented on this page that 2021 had not really started well, given that it was billed as the year when everything would turn out all right again. By then the Covid-19 figures were taking off into unchartered territory on the graphs, thanks to the new 'British' strain of the virus, and snow had brought practically the entire country to a standstill.

Then though, I made the point quite frivolously, as if they were just a couple of hiccups at the start at what could still get back on track to being the year we all wished for.

Now though, at the end of January, we are at the height (hopefully) of the third wave of the pandemic, and no one dares suggest that this will be the last. The long-awaited vaccine is here, but no one outside a hospital or a care home has seen it yet (apart from a few queue-jumping officials) and to add another natural phenomenon to the list, Granada, just down the road, has been shaken by literally dozens of small earthquakes.

It's almost like a wake-up call to reality - 2021 is going to be far from plain sailing.

In fact now it almost seems that we are really seeing the pandemic for what it is. A year ago we were caught up in the novelty of it all. We were living through something that only happens once in a hundred years, something children today would telling their grandchildren about in the future. We were in a lockdown, stuck at home, but no one really knew how long it would last for; and I bet few would have suggested more than a year.

Businesses were suffering but things would soon get back to normal we said; we just had to stick it out a bit. Now though, companies are finding it harder and harder to keep hold of that weakening T for temporary in the ERTE schemes, and many are in danger of turning into EREs.

Families too are coming to the end of the financial cushion that they thought would get them through a few months of pandemic on reduced or no income.

And, as we have seen more than ever in recent weeks, charities and organisations are sending out cries for urgent help. They too managed to scrape through the unusual circumstances last year along with the rest of us, but 2021 has brought a real need.

Now the victims of the crisis are more than just distant figures. They are the neighbours we recognise in the growing queues for food hand-outs; the local businesses whose shutters have gone down for good; organisations such as Cudeca whose recent emergency campaign has been enough to keep their home visits going; and places such as Malaga's English Cemetery, which can no longer afford to open every day.

Last year's Covid victims were numbers of hospital patients; this year's victims are all around us.

Rating Action: Moody's changes Morocco's outlook to negative, affirms Ba1 ratingGlobal Credit Research - 04 Feb 2021New York, February 04, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has today changed the outlook on the Government of Morocco's issuer ratings to negative from stable. Moody's has affirmed Morocco's Ba1 issuer and senior unsecured bond ratings.Moody's decision to change the outlook to negative from stable reflects the medium term impact of the pandemic on Morocco's fiscal strength, particularly in light of the subpar economic recovery expected given the economy's concentrated exposure to sectors and trading partners that have been hard hit by the pandemic. While the impact on public debt has thus far been in line with other emerging markets, the upward step in the debt burden continues a consistent trend since 2008. Set alongside the government's exposure to contingent liabilities from state-owned enterprises' (SOE) debts and an increase in credit guarantees as part of the pandemic response it raises concerns regarding the government's ability to arrest, and ultimately to reverse, the erosion in fiscal strength.The Ba1 rating affirmation takes into account the continued affordability of the debt stock, supported by access to domestic and external funding sources at favorable terms in order to meet higher gross borrowing requirements, while persistently low energy prices and a solid foreign exchange reserve buffer contain external vulnerability risks.Morocco's country ceilings remain unchanged. The local currency ceiling remains at Baa1, reflecting a large public sector footprint in addition to predictable institutions and reduced external vulnerability risk, balanced by lingering political risk as reflected in sporadic social protests and the potential flare up of tensions related to the Western Sahara territory. The foreign currency ceiling at Baa2 reflects the existence of capital controls, consistent with the pegged exchange rate system, and takes into account the gradual foreign-exchange rate liberalization policy initiated in January 2018, although that process will proceed at a slower pace than initially envisioned.Please click on this link https://www.moodys.com/viewresearchdoc.aspx?docid=PBC_ARFTL440079 for the List of Affected Credit Ratings. This list is an integral part of this Press Release and identifies each affected issuer.RATINGS RATIONALERATIONALE FOR CHANGING THE OUTLOOK TO NEGATIVE FROM STABLEFURTHER EROSION OF FISCAL STRENGTH OVER THE OUTLOOK PERIOD WOULD UNDERMINE CREDIT SUPPORT AT Ba1 RATING LEVELIn light of a pandemic-induced real GDP contraction of 7% in 2020 and a fiscal deficit at 7.5% of GDP, Moody's expects a further deterioration in the central government debt/GDP ratio to almost 76% of GDP in 2020 from 65% in 2019, before eventually stabilizing below 80% over the next three years. On a general government basis (taking into account the consolidated debt of central and local governments and the social security funds controlled by these entities), the debt stock will approach 70% of GDP in that period. This compares with a Ba1-median (excluding Morocco) of about 60% of GDP in a post-pandemic environment. Looking forward, Moody's expects a gradual reduction in the fiscal deficit to 6.5% of GDP in 2021 and 4.5% in 2022, supported by a modest recovery in revenue.While the projected impact on public debt is broadly in line with emerging market peers, the upward step in the debt burden as percent of GDP or of revenue continues a trend over the past decade to levels that have the potential to erode the sovereign's fiscal strength over the medium term. If sustained, this dynamic would erode compatibility of Morocco's credit profile at the Ba1 rating level.Fiscal pressures are exacerbated by increasing contingent liability risks stemming from the SOE sector with external debts at 15.2% of GDP in 2019, of which about 11% of GDP were guaranteed by the government. As part of its pandemic response, the government has increased transfers to non-commercial SOEs and extended additional credit guarantees in the range of 5-6% of GDP on behalf of commercial SOEs and as financial support measures to private sector firms in order to sustain the small and medium enterprise sector (SMEs), bringing the amount of outstanding guarantees to almost 20% of GDP.The materialization of these contingent liability risks or the persistence of larger than expected transfers to SOEs would inhibit the government's fiscal consolidation and debt stabilization objectives, risking the debt trajectory further diverging from the Ba1 median.EXPOSURE TO PANDEMIC-HIT SECTORS AND TRADING PARTNERS DAMPENS RECOVERY PROSPECTS AMID REDUCED SHOCK ABSORPTION CAPACITYThe sovereign's reduced fiscal room for maneuver limits shock absorption capacity, already constrained by low wealth levels (with GDP per capita at $8,148 in 2019). Morocco faces the prospect of a subpar economic recovery given the economy's exposure to sectors and trading partners that are suffering durable effects from the pandemic. The tourism industry which accounts for about 12% of GDP as well as the industrial sector that benefits from the integration in the global value chain in the automotive and the aeronautic industries and which account for a similar share of GDP, are part of Morocco's key growth and export drivers that Moody's expects will only gradually return to pre-crisis levels over the next three years. Similarly, about 60% of exports are directed to the euro area, with Spain and France alone accounting for over 45% of total exports, followed by Italy with another 5% of the total. These are among the European economies most severely hit by the pandemic and for which Moody's expects a slow, uneven and fragile recovery, adding to downside risks for external demand.The concentrated exposure to the European trade cycle (and as a source of remittances) adds downside risks to the pace of economic recovery that Moody's projects to include a 4.5% rebound in 2021, followed by 3.2% growth in 2022 and an average of 3.5% afterwards, in line with the non-agricultural growth rate registered before the pandemic. A weaker than expected economic recovery would add to labor market constraints and to social risks, with repercussions on the pace of fiscal consolidation.RATIONALE FOR THE AFFIRMATION OF THE Ba1 RATINGThe Ba1 rating balances diminished economic and fiscal strength, with moderate event risk exposure driven by banking sector risk, and a track record of coherent macro policies and fiscal reform implementation over recent years as highlighted by the elimination of fuel subsidies and the implementation of parametric public pension reform. Morocco's institutional capacity to support SOE, health and social safety net reform implementation as part of the government's structural reform agenda supports creditworthiness.The credit profile also benefits from the sovereign's large domestic funding base in local currency, and its continued access to domestic and external funding sources at favorable terms in order to meet higher gross borrowing requirements at about 17% of GDP in 2021 (and declining gradually thereafter). Access to local currency funding sources underpins the favorable government debt structure with a foreign currency share of about 20%, while low borrowing costs contribute to the continued affordability of the debt stock as measured by interest/revenue below 12% over the next three years and close to the median of Ba1-rated peers.Meanwhile external vulnerability risks are contained given structurally lower energy prices and a solid foreign exchange reserve buffer covering over eight months of imports at the end of 2020. Moody's projects the current account deficit to have narrowed to 3.7% of GDP in 2020 from 4.1% in 2019, and to remain in the 3.5-4% of GDP range over the next three years.ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONSMorocco's ESG Credit Impact Score is moderately negative (CIS-3), reflecting its exposure to environmental and social risks but supported by a track record of policy effectiveness. Resilience to environmental and social risks is increasingly constrained by low wealth and high debt levels.Morocco's credit profile is highly exposed to environmental risks, reflected in its E-4 issuer profile score. Physical climate risk exposure is high and mainly reflects the sovereign's water scarcity that is leading to dwindling groundwater reserves and a strong dependence on rain-fed agriculture. The primary sector accounts for 10-15% of GDP and about 35% of total employment and contributes to a volatile growth pattern, increasing the issuer's sensitivity to environmental risks.Exposure to social risks is high (S-4 issuer profile score) and primarily reflects rigid labor markets that constrain employment opportunities, including for educated youth. Morocco also underperforms in terms of education performance in the international comparison, resulting in wide disparities between achievements in public and costly private schools. A high degree of gender inequality is reflected in the very low female labor participation rate at less than 25% of the female population aged 15+ which represents a structural constraint on Morocco's growth potential.Governance is broadly in line with other sovereigns and does not pose particular risk (G-2 issuer profile). Policy effectiveness reflects the government's coherent macroeconomic policies and fiscal reforms that have been implemented over the past few years, including the elimination of most fuel subsidies, the enactment of parametric public pension reform and the shift to renewable energy production. However, governance is constrained by weak voice and accountability and by the high debt ratio that reduces the government's financial capacity to address environmental and social risks.GDP per capita (PPP basis, US$): 8,148 (2019 Actual) (also known as Per Capita Income)Real GDP growth (% change): 2.5% (2019 Actual) (also known as GDP Growth)Inflation Rate (CPI, % change Dec/Dec): 1% (2019 Actual)Central Gov. Financial Balance/GDP: -4.1% (2019 Actual) (also known as Fiscal Balance)Current Account Balance/GDP: -4.1% (2019 Actual) (also known as External Balance)External debt/GDP: 45.9% (2019 Actual) Economic resiliency: baa3Default history: No default events (on bonds or loans) have been recorded since 1983.On 1 February 2021, a rating committee was called to discuss the rating of the Morocco, Government of. The main points raised during the discussion were: The issuer's economic fundamentals, including its economic strength, have not materially changed. The issuer's institutions and governance strength, have not materially changed. The issuer's fiscal or financial strength, including its debt profile, has materially decreased. The issuer's susceptibility to event risks has not materially changed.FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGSAn upgrade of Morocco's ratings is unlikely in the near to medium term given the negative outlook. A change in the outlook to stable from negative would likely relate to further policy action that ensures that the government debt ratio stabilizes and SOE contingent liabilities are contained. The continued implementation of business environment reforms that improve the economy's non-agricultural growth prospects would also be credit supportive.Continued fiscal deterioration beyond Moody's current expectations, evident in the government debt/ratio rising further or the materialization of significant contingent liabilities emanating from SOEs or from the banking sector could lead to a downgrade. Similarly, an unforeseen and sustained deterioration in the external accounts would likely be more in line with a lower rating level.The principal methodology used in these ratings was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1158631. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.The weighting of all rating factors is described in the methodology used in this credit rating action, if applicable.REGULATORY DISCLOSURESThe List of Affected Credit Ratings announced here are a mix of solicited and unsolicited credit ratings. Additionally, the List of Affected Credit Ratings includes additional disclosures that vary with regard to some of the ratings. Please click on this link https://www.moodys.com/viewresearchdoc.aspx?docid=PBC_ARFTL440079 for the List of Affected Credit Ratings. This list is an integral part of this Press Release and provides, for each of the credit ratings covered, Moody's disclosures on the following items:** Rating Solicitation** Issuer Participation** Participation: Access to Management** Participation: Access to Internal Documents ** Disclosure to Rated Entity ** Endorsement ** Lead Analyst ** Releasing Office For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1243406.Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating. Elisa Parisi-Capone Vice President - Senior Analyst Sovereign Risk Group Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007 U.S.A. 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A million people in the North West of England have been told to take a Covid test if they have a runny nose, as part of a clampdown on a mutated virus detected in the region.

Normally, Brits are told only to get tested if they develop the three most common Covid symptoms  a fever, continuous cough and loss of smell or taste.

But residents in the Liverpool city region, Preston and Lancashire, have been urged by health bosses to get swabbed if they have even the slightest suspicion they are ill.

It comes after more than 40 cases of an altered strain of the original virus, which carries a mutation experts fear makes vaccines less potent, was spotted in the three areas.

The alteration, scientifically known as E484K, is also found on the South African and Brazilian variants which have led to Britain toughening up its border controls.

Even though the mutation does not specifically cause any different symptoms to the original strain, officials are broadening the criteria for a swab as a safety net to snuff out cases that would normally go undetected.

The wider range of symptoms includes shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, a sore throat, congestion or a runny nose, and nausea or vomiting.

A million people in the North West of England have been told to take a Covid test if they have a runny nose, as part of a clampdown on a mutated virus detected in the region. It comes after more than 40 cases of an altered strain of the original virus, which carries a mutation experts fear makes vaccines less potent, was spotted in the three areas

Matthew Ashton, director of public health for Liverpool, told the i newspaper: 'We are concerned that people may not think they have Covid because they are not displaying the classic symptoms and, as a result, could be unwittingly spreading the infection to others.

'The virus is changing all the time, so it is essential that we redouble our efforts so we stay one step ahead of it, and we know some people have been testing positive with other symptoms.'

Around 40 cases of the original strain of Covid carrying the E484K mutation were spotted in Liverpool, Warrington and Lancashire.

Liverpool and Warrington find cases of mutation known as E484K Public Health England has identified cases of the original virus strain with the mutation, scientifically known as E484K, in the Liverpool City Region and Warrington. The mutation has also been found in Preston and West Lancashire, according to health officials. The E484K mutation  also found in the South African and Brazilian variants  appears to boost the virus's ability to avoid the immune system, raising the risk of reinfections or the current crop of vaccines being less effective. It has appeared separately in cases of both the Kent variant and on the original version of the virus. Neither are yet being described as new variants but represent physical differences to the virus that could change how it behaves. It comes after 32 people in Liverpool have also been struck down with the original strain of the virus with the E484K mutation. MailOnline understands the cases were spotted three weeks ago. A cluster of an initial five cases was detected on January 10 among staff at Liverpool Women's Hospital who had attended an event outside the hospital, believed to be a funeral. Warrington Council have said they will get behind enhanced contact tracing in the town. Thara Raj, Warrington's director of public health, explained how 'some residents may be concerned' but added it shouldn't 'cause any further alarm'. Ms Raj added: 'We are monitoring the situation closely and all necessary public health interventions are being undertaken.' Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health and wellbeing at Lancashire County Council, said: 'If you live in Preston or West Lancashire and you're feeling under the weather, please get a Covid test. 'Understandably, some residents may be concerned but all viruses mutate over time so this should not cause any further alarm. Advertisement

In another twist to the UK's Covid crisis, officials have also spotted 11 strains of the Kent variant which have that mutation, suggesting it is also evolving again.

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health and wellbeing at Lancashire County Council, added: 'If you live in Preston or West Lancashire and you're feeling under the weather, please get a Covid test.

'It doesn't matter if you don't have the three classic symptoms of a fever, loss of taste or smell, or a cough - even a headache could be an indication you may have this mutation.

'Understandably, some residents may be concerned but all viruses mutate over time so this should not cause any further alarm.

'Alongside our partners, please rest assured that we are monitoring the situation closely.

'It is important to stress that there is currently no evidence that this mutation alone causes more severe illness or is more transmissible.

'The best way to control the spread is for everyone to continue to abide by the lockdown rules and following the simple steps of washing your hands, using a face covering and making space from each other.

'While Covid has been here for a while now, these new variants remind us that we all need to keep doing what we can to stay safe and avoid spreading Covid to each other.'

The variant discovered in the North West is said to be less concerning because it is an altered version of the original strain so is less transmissible than the Kent one.

Officials are more worried about the mutated variant in Bristol because it poses a double threat - it is the Kent strain and therefore more transmissible but also carries the E484K mutation which opens the door to it being vaccine resistant.

Neither are yet being described as new variants but represent physical differences to the virus that could change how it behaves.

The testing blitz in the North West is separate from the door-to-door 'surge testing' being carried out in eight other postcodes in England.

On Tuesday, extra coronavirus testing was deployed into certain neighbourhoods in Woking in Surrey, Walsall in the West Midlands, as well as parts of London, Kent, Hertfordshire and Lancashire.

That programme is aimed at clamping down on cases of the South African variant. Officials have chosen those eight postcodes because they believe the strain is spreading in the communities there.

More than 80,000 adults are being targeted as part of that programme and residents have been asked to take a test regardless of whether or not they have symptoms.

Health officials have been joined by local police, councillors and firefighters to dish out the tests.
For the past six years, Jimmy Bales chaired the House Invitations and Memorial Resolutions Committee, where he served as gatekeeper for legislation proposing to rename state property after people the Legislature deems worthy of such honors.

During the 2019-20 session, he facilitated the renaming of 30 roads, bridges, intersections and interchanges for South Carolinians living and dead. Among the honorees were three former legislators: Peden McLeod, who served in the Senate in the 1980s; George Bailey, who served in the House from 1985 through 2006; and the late Rep. Ronnie Young, who had just died. (To his credit, he also played a role in stymieing a pair of mean-spirited efforts to name an interstate interchange in Greenville County after either Donald Trump or Barack and Michelle Obama  efforts that were less about honoring the namesakes than about sticking it to people who didnt like them.)

So after Mr. Bales lost his reelection bid in the June Democratic primary, his former colleagues determined that as a tribute to his many years of service, it would be fitting and proper to name a portion of highway in the Lower Richland Community in his honor. The only reason the signs arent already up is that the House and Senate are each holding up the other bodys resolution rather than risk not getting credit.

But its not fitting. Its downright disturbing, because it suggests that rather than phasing out the practice of naming roads for living people  and especially living politicians  the Legislature is doubling down, or at least backsliding.

It makes you wonder: What part of John Hardee or John Courson or Earl Morris or B.J. Gordon or Gene Carmichael or just stop it do legislators not understand? Those are all former public officials who seemed like perfectly good, decent, honest people at the time the Legislature decided to name public infrastructure after them  or at least didnt seem likely to be convicted of anything. And yet they all were convicted of crimes, after roads and intersections were named for them and their names were mounted on signs  which in the case of Mr. Gordon and Mr. Carmichael still stand.

Yes, we know: Mr. Bales was a friendly, good-natured representative, a fixture on the back row of the House chamber, who became beloved in part because his colleagues were witness to so many close calls, as his health degenerated and he collapsed multiple times on the House floor and had to be taken away on a stretcher. And no, we dont have any reason to believe that he will be convicted of any crimes.

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But like all of those other people at the time they were honored, hes still living and breathing, which means we cant know for sure that he wont be. Just like we cant know for sure that Mr. Bailey and Mr. McLeod wont be.

It used to be commonplace for the Legislature to name infrastructure after newly departed lawmakers and even current members; for a few years there, it seemed as though Charleston County legislators had formed a pact to have something named after all of them. It was an unseemly practice that feeds the public perception that our legislators believe they are somehow better than the rest of us, that they are deserving of great honors that will last beyond their lifetimes.

Over time, at least in part because of public criticism and the mounting number of former legislators convicted of crimes, the Legislature started using naming rights mostly to honor people who had died in the line of duty  soldiers serving in Iraq, police officers and state troopers killed on our highways. It still named public property for living people, even living public officials. But when it honored former legislators, it tended to be people who had been out of the Legislature for many years.

What makes Mr. Bales case particularly disturbing is that hes been out of office less than three months  which is mighty close to the way lawmakers used to do this sort of thing. Which was never a good way to do things.

Lawmakers should just let the competing Bales resolutions die. And instead of finding more former  or, heaven forbid, current  colleagues to honor, lawmakers need to prohibit naming anything for anyone who is still alive. Or at least stop naming things for people who have served in the Legislature.

Even if the honorees dont wind up on the wrong side of prison walls, the practice still gives the public one more reason to believe that legislators are more interested in what its in it for them than whats in it for the public.
Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
Nurses in Kericho have called off their strike after clinching a deal with the county government.

Services that were paralysed in public hospitals for the last three months are expected to resume immediately following the agreement in which the county promised not to victimise the health workers for taking part in the strike.

In the deal signed on Thursday afternoon, the county pledged to raise the health workers' allowances from Sh3,850 to Sh5,000, in line with a June 9, 2017 advisory by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

Mr Tarus Kipyego, the Kericho secretary of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) signed the document alongside County Public Service Board (CPSB) chair Joel Koech, County Secretary Joel Bett and Health Chief Officer David Ekuam.

"The strike has come to an end today as all parties have agreed on the issues. All health services resume immediately," said Mr Kipyego.

While noting that his administration is committed to providing universal health care for all residents, Governor Paul Chepkwony regretted that it took too long to end the strike.

"I wish the residents for the patience they showed as we negotiated with the health workers. I call upon them to immediately seek services from all public health facilities," said Prof Chepkwony.

Other promises

The county further promised to provide adequate and good quality Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all nurses as they help fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The CPSB agreed to improve the terms of service for nurses employed on contract by granting them permanent and pensionable terms in the 2021/2022 financial year.

Nurses serving on permanent and pensionable terms will also be re-designate or promoted by June 30 and resources to support specialist training set aside.

The major win for the health workers is the provision of a comprehensive medical cover, a group life cover, a funeral cover, Work Injury Benefits (Wiba) and a Group Personal Accident (GPA) cover.

Kericho County Referral Hospital, Kapkatet, Londiani and Kipkelion sub-county hospitals were among the public health facilities that had been affected by the strike, forcing residents to seek services at the more costly private hospitals.
A young Pennsylvania woman charged with driving under the influence in May 2018 did not have money to pay a new lawyer, so she turned to the man who had helped her out of a scrape in the past - her family's child custody attorney, Chad Salsman, who was also running for district attorney.

She told Salsman she did not have money to pay him because she had been out of work for six months. Salsman allegedly told her the situation was dire - she might face jail time - but he could still represent her in exchange for sex, according to state prosecutors. If he won his race to become top prosecutor in Bradford County, he allegedly told her, he could make her DUI charge go away.

"He told me once he got into the D.A.'s position that everything I owed him was no longer an issue," the woman testified, adding that she felt she had "no choice" but to comply, according to a criminal complaint.

Salsman, a 44-year-old married father of three daughters, won the top prosecutor position after running as a Republican in November 2019.

Since then, at least five women have accused Salsman of sexual harassment and assault, according to Pennsylvania Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who on Wednesday charged Salsman with more than a dozen counts, including multiple counts of sexual assault, indecent exposure and attempting to intimidate witnesses.

The attorney general accused Salsman of targeting vulnerable abuse victims and addicts, forcing them to perform sex acts on his desk while ordering his legal staff to drown out the noise with music, and then intimidating the women to keep quiet about the abuse.

"Five women, independent of one another, experienced the same pattern of advances, coercion, and assault at the hands of Mr. Salsman when he was a defense attorney," Shapiro said in a statement. "They had to rely on Salsman to be their advocate, to represent them at a time they felt powerless, and instead they were preyed upon."

Neither Salsman nor his attorney immediately returned requests for comment late Thursday. Salsman's attorney, Sam Stretton, told the Associated Press that his client denies the allegations.

"My investigation seems to support that proposition," Stretton told the outlet. "So we will vigorously try this case. This will not be a plea."

Salsman, who has been practicing law since 2001, ran for district attorney in Bradford County two years ago against an assistant district attorney after the previous top prosecutor retired.

"I want both my family and yours to feel safe living in Bradford County," he said in a questionnaire emailed to him by a local newspaper in 2019. "I will be a tough but fair district attorney who always seeks justice for crime victims while protecting our constitutional rights."

But an investigation into Salsman had already begun before he won a spot among the county's top law enforcement officials. Former Bradford County district attorney Daniel Barrett forwarded the case on to the state attorney general in late 2019 after Salsman's victory.

Salsman allegedly targeted vulnerable women he felt he could wield power over, according to the charging document.

"Salsman picked these victims because they didn't have any other choice, because he thought they would be easy to silence, and less likely to be believed if they ever came forward," Shapiro said in a statement.

The women all shared similar stories with a grand jury, according to the criminal complaint. They alleged that Salsman would grope them without their consent during one-on-one meetings in his office and even under the table during court hearings. At least two of the women said Salsman forced them to disrobe in his office and then penetrated them without consent, and he allegedly asked the women to "clean up" in his private bathroom before leaving the office.

Salsman was allegedly court-appointed to represent one woman, identified as H.H. in court documents, in a child custody matter in December 2017. According to the charging document, he allegedly told the woman that he was not being compensated to take her case.

"In reality, this assertion, intended to pressure his client into sex, was a lie," state prosecutors said in the criminal complaint. "Salsman actually was paid for his court-appointed representation with taxpayer's funds in the amount of $2,115."

According to the complaint, Salsman allegedly sent H.H. a "steady stream" of harassing messages, including unwanted nude photos and sexual videos. He allegedly pressured her to send nude photos in return. She eventually sought different counsel, but when she went to Salsman's office to retrieve her case file, he allegedly groped her breasts.

"H.H. was able to kick Salsman and leave with her file," the complaint said.

Another woman, identified as L.W., met Salsman while he was representing her boyfriend in a child custody matter. She said that she confided to Salsman that she had been the victim of a violent rape in the past. During the course of their professional relationship, Salsman hired her boyfriend to do repair work at his office and loaned L.W. money.

When she visited Salsman to make her last payment on that loan, he allegedly told her to undress while alone in his office. She complied out of fear, she testified, and Salsman allegedly penetrated her without consent. After the alleged assault, Salsman told her "not to breathe a word to anyone, or he would ruin her life," the criminal complaint said.

State prosecutors allege that Salsman took efforts to obscure his actions from his legal staff. In testimony to the grand jury, staff members said that Salsman encouraged them to play music or noise machines to "drown out anything that could be happening in his office," even though his legal secretaries fall under the scope of attorney-client privilege. Staff also testified that they saw women leave Salsman's office "in tears or distress" on multiple occasions.

As the investigation into Salsman unfolded, after he had been sworn in as district attorney, he allegedly told the women involved not to cooperate with police and tried to convince them to share details of their testimony with him.

Salsman's bail was set at bail was set at $500,000. He paid 10 percent and was released on Wednesday, his lawyer said.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, during the Monetary Policy Committee meet announcements on Friday, said that an expert committee will be formed for urban co-operative banks. The expert committee will provide a medium-term roadmap to strengthen the sector.

"The Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks are an important segment of the credit structure. The Reserve Bank has undertaken several measures in the recent past to strengthen the Urban Co-operative Banking sector and deepen financial inclusion. The recent amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 have brought near parity in regulatory and supervisory powers between Primary (Urban) Cooperative Banks and commercial banks, including those related to governance, audit and resolution. An Expert Committee (EC) will be constituted to provide a medium-term roadmap for strengthening the sector leveraging on the legislative amendments," said the RBI.

The constitution of the expert committee and its terms would be announced shortly, the apex bank said.

This is part of the additional measures announced by the RBI to revive the economy with measures relating to enhancing liquidity support to targeted sectors, regulation and supervision, deepening financial markets, upgrading payment and settlement systems and strengthening consumer protection.

"The Indian economy is poised to move in only one direction and that is upwards. It is our strong conviction, backed by forecasts, that in 2021-22, we would undo the damage that COVID-19 has inflicted on the economy. After the chaos and despair of the year gone by, through which we have sailed together and shall continue to sail ahead," said the RBI Governor.

Also read: RBI keeps repo rate unchanged, maintains accommodative stance

Also read: RBI MPC meet: GDP estimated to grow at 10.5% in FY22
Teton County Reporter

Previously the Scene editor, Billy Arnold made the switch to the county beat where he's interested in exploring Teton County as a model for the rest of the West. When he can, he still writes about art, music and whatever else suits his fancy.
Dehradun: Schools in Uttarakhand are likely to open for classes 6 to 11 from February 8, 2021. The government has issued guidelines for the same.

As the schools reopen, classes will be sanitized and after every shift. Before being allowed inside the school there are arrangements for thermal scanning, mandatory wearing of masks, maintain social distancing and first aid have been ensured.

After ten months, it is considered a challenge for the school management to start classes again.

At the same time, the students are enthusiastic about the resumption of classes, parents, too, are happy with the commencement of classes but everyine need to be on alert.

The Uttar Pradesh Education Department too is seeking permission from the state government to reopen schools for classes 6 to 8 from February 15 and for classes 1 to 5 from March 1.

The proposal has been sent to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to allow all schools in state to reopen, a final decision from him awaited, as per sources.

Earlier on February 2, the Chief Ministers Office in a tweet in Hindi wrote, which roughly translates to: According to the guidelines of the Government of India, the schools should be considered for starting classes from class 06 to class 12 in the next 10 days. These classes should be started only after a thorough assessment of the situation.

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Gunmen, who invaded the residence of a PUNCH journalist, Okechukwu Nnodim, alongside two others, have demanded N10million ransom for his release on Friday.

The journalist, according to his wife, Oluchi Nnodim, was abducted at his home in Kubwa a satellite town in Abuja, on Thursday night after firing several shots at the windows and eventually pulled down the burglary proof.

My husband asked me to stay with the children in their room. I heard the men asking him to bring out money but he told them he didnt have money in the house, Mrs Nnodim was quoted by the PUNCH, as saying.

The gunmen, who were reportedly five in total, also kidnapped two sons of Mr Nnodims neighbour.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs Nnodim said the kidnappers had made demands but that she was not at liberty to discuss it as an unnamed person was in charge of the situation.

However, another report ascribed to the victims sister in Lagos, said the assailants had demanded a sum of N10million to secure the journalist release.

As at the time of filing this report, PREMIUM TIMES could not ascertain if the money has been paid but a brief conversation with Mrs Nnodim indicated that negotiation is ongoing.

This reporter was also unable to contact the family of the other two victims.
Publicans across the country are likely to be entitled to a Covid-19 insurance payout after the High Court ruled in favour of four publicans who took a test case against FBD Insurance.

In a landmark judgement, which was handed down this Friday, Mr Justice Denis McDonald ruled the four pub owners are entitled to be compensated for the disruption caused to their businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over 1,000 pubs and bars across the country are affected by the dispute which arose after the insurer refused to provide them with cover after they were ordered to temporarily close their doors in in mid-March 2020.

The court actions were taken by Sinnotts Bar, Dublin; The Leopardstown Inn, Dublin; Lemon & Duke, Dublin and Sean's Bar in Athlone, County Westmeath.

During a hearing, last year, each of the pub owners claimed that under their policies of insurance taken out with FBD they were entitled to have their consequential losses covered by what they claim is an insurable risk.

The publicans claimed the policies taken out with FBD contain a clause that states the pubs will be indemnified if ordered to close in the event of "outbreaks of contagious or infectious diseases on the premises or within 25 miles of same."

FBD disputed the claims on the basis that the closures did not occur as a result of an outbreak of disease at the premises or in the areas where the pubs are located.

FBD also told the court that it has never provided cover for pandemics and that no one in Ireland has ever asked for it

In a written judgment, which runs to more than 200 pages, Mr Justice McDonald said he disagreed with the stance taken by FBD.

"In my view, the relevant insured peril is not confined to the imposed closure of the insured premises. The relevant peril is the imposed closure following outbreaks of infectious or contagious disease (in this case Covid-19) on or within 25 miles of the premises. I am also of the view that cover is not lost where the closure is prompted by nationwide outbreaks of disease provided that there is an outbreak within the 25 mile radius and that outbreak is one of the causes of the closure," he stated.

The judge ruled the issue of quantifying the losses suffered by each of the publicans will be dealt with at a later date.

The case was adjourned for a virtual hearing on February 17.
MET Eireann is warning of very cold temperatures in Limerick and across the country over the next week.

The forecaster has issued a national weather advisory and colour-coded warnings are expected to be issued once the trajectory of the weather system becomes clearer.

Weather Advisory for Ireland.

Valid 06:00 Sunday 07/02/2021 to 18:00 Wednesday 10/02/2021

Issued 13:00 Friday 05/02/2021.https://t.co/JAa97a0t2o  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) February 5, 2021

"Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be very cold with temperatures in low single figures by day and with sharp or severe frosts and icy patches at night," states the advisory which comes into effect at 6pm on Sunday.

"Showers of sleet or snow at times in eastern counties from Sunday evening onwards. Hazardous conditions on roads and paths," it adds.

Limerick City and County Council and other local agencies are monitoring the situation and will be ready to respond if required.
Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesBy MATT SEYLER and MORGAN WINSOR, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. Air Force is investigating an incident of an intruder at Joint Base Andrews, a military facility in Maryland's Prince George's County that houses Air Force One, the aircraft that carries the president.



"An unauthorized individual gained access to Joint Base Andrews. The incident is under investigation," a Joint Base Andrews spokesperson told ABC News in a statement late Thursday. "The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is lead on this investigation. Any requests for information related to the incident can be referred to OSI."



The OSI did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment and additional details.



It's unclear when the incident occurred or whether the individual was able to reach any aircraft on the flight line.



Joint Base Andrews is located about 14 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.



U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to depart Joint Base Andrews on Friday evening en route to Wilmington, Delaware, according to a schedule released by the White House on Thursday night.



"Technically, 'Air Force One' is used to designate any Air Force aircraft carrying the President, but it is now standard practice to use the term to refer to specific planes that are equipped to transport the Commander-in-Chief," the White House states on its website. "Today, this name refers to one of two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft, which carry the tail codes 28000 and 29000. The Air Force designation for the aircraft is VC-25A."



Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-yong speaks during a parliamentary confirmation hearing by the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap



Foreign Minister nominee Chung Eui-yong said Friday that inter-Korean ties and the COVID-19 pandemic should be taken into account in planning this year's military exercises between South Korea and the United States, though he noted the need for a "proper" level of the drills.



During a parliamentary confirmation hearing, Chung stressed "various implications" of large-scale exercises between the allies, in an apparent show of concern that such military maneuvers could provoke North Korea and derail efforts to resume stalled dialogue with it.



Seoul and Washington are currently discussing how to hold a combined command post exercise this spring, the defense ministry has said. Pyongyang has routinely slammed allied drills as a rehearsal for war against it.



"To maintain a defense posture, a proper level of combined exercises should continue," Chung, a former top security adviser to President Moon Jae-in, said.



"But as large-scale combined exercises have various implications for the Korean Peninsula situation, (South Korea) is very closely communicating with the U.S. side," he said.





South Korean Aegis destroyer, the King Sejong the Great, joins a South Korea-U.S. joint military drill on Nov. 12, 2017. Courtesy of Republic of Korea Navy



In response to a question about whether it is inevitable to scale down the springtime combined exercise due to the pandemic, Chung said, "Yes."



"Taking that (pandemic) situation into account as well, the military authorities of South Korea and the U.S. are closely consulting over how to stage the exercise," he said.



The issue of combined military exercises highlighted a policy dilemma for Seoul, which has sought to use the drills to expedite the process to retake wartime operational control from Washington while avoiding inflaming cross-border tension.



Touching on an ongoing North Korea policy review by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, Chung expected that it might not take much time.



"The U.S. has said that during the review process, it would first look into the South Korean government's views and consult (with Seoul), and I regard this as a positive signal," he said.



Chung went on to say that using its communication channels, the South has been continuing to urge the North to return to dialogue at an early date.





A handout photo made available by the United States Forces Korea shows Members of Team Osan preparing to receive the first round of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020. Yonhap
CHICAGO - Tickets are selling fast for an immersive Vincent van Gogh exhibit about to open in Chicago. Immersive van Gogh is set to open at Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago, a new venue within Chicagos recently renovated Germania Club Building.

The first block of tickets are gone for this exhibit running from Feb. 11 through Sept. 6. A new block of tickets just went on sale for the exhibits entire run. They can be purchased here at $39.99 for adults and $24.99 for those 16 and younger.

The hour-long, walk-through experience will use 50 projectors illuminating more than 14,000 square-feet of space allowing visitors to immerse themselves head-to-toe and floor-to-ceiling in the works of van Gogh.

RELATED: Van Gogh floor-to-ceiling multi-sensory experience coming to Indianapolis

Both connoisseurs and new admirers of van Goghs work are guaranteed a breathtaking perspective on the influential artists oeuvre, said Massimiliano Siccardi, Immersive van Gogh designer. Merging state-of-the-art technology, theatrical storytelling, animation and some of the finest works of art ever created, Immersive van Gogh is a uniquely mesmerizing experience that seemingly transports the viewer into the artists mind to see these timeless works as never before.

Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago is a three-story facility located at 108 W. Germania Place. The space will be dedicated to immersive art presentations utilizing the buildings Victorian Era architecture, 35-foot-tall walls and multiple levels (including balconies). The exhibitions are designed to surround people on all sides.

RELATED: First of its kind Van Gogh exhibition, coming only to Michigan, delayed 2 years

Capacity will be limited in accordance with the City of Chicagos COVID safety protocols. Face masks must be worn at all times. Additional safety measures include touchless ticket-taking, temperature checks upon arrival, hand sanitizer stations, social distancing markers, and digitally projected social distancing circles on the gallery floors.

Immersive van Gogh was designed by creative director and Italian film producer Massimiliano Siccardi, with original, mood-setting music by Italian multimedia composer Luca Longobardi, who provided a score that combines experimental electronic music with simple-seeming piano.

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MUSKEGON, MI  While the COVID-19 vaccine slowly continues to roll out in West Michigan, health officials encourage citizens to express their interest in receiving it.

That can be done by signing up on various waiting lists for the vaccine, including those provided by Meijer, local hospitals and health departments. Signups are online, and help is available for those who need it.

Those currently eligible to receive the vaccine are individuals age 65 and older and those who work in jobs that are considered essential. Some lists allow those who arent in those categories to register anyway.

Residents have been advised to sign onto multiple lists. They also are asked to alert list providers when they get the vaccine so their names can be removed.

Most lists can be accessed at one website: vaccinatewestmi.com/register. Those on the lists will be contacted when an appointment is available for them.

Employers in essential industries are also asked to register the number of employees they have who need vaccinations. Employer forms are at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EssentialEmployerVaccinationIntakeForm.

Public Health Muskegon County is focusing on those age 75 and older as well as those who are at least age 65 and have underlying health conditions, county health Director Kathy Moore said. It also is targeting essential workers currently eligible for the vaccine, she said.

Meijer is focusing on those age 65 and older, she said.

Eligible essential workers who should sign up for vaccinations include employees working in law enforcement, fire departments, jails and corrections, childcare, K-12 schools, adult and child protective services, homeless shelters and juvenile facilities.

Follows are links to specific waiting lists for the vaccine:

--Muskegon County health department and Mercy Health Muskegon, https://lfforms.healthwest.net/Forms/muskegonvaccinereq. Call 231-724-8856 for assistance.

--Ottawa County health department, https://ottawacounty.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9NX1bJKKwiiIMMl. Call 2-1-1 for help.

--North Ottawa Community Health System, https://hipaa.jotform.com/210114456466047. Call 2-1-1 for help.

--Spectrum Health, https://www.spectrumhealth.org/covid19/covid-19-vaccine. Those needing help can call 833-755-0696.

--Metro Health, https://metrohealth.net/about/covid-19-updates/vaccination/vaccine-distribution. The help number is 616-252-6161.

--Meijer, https://clinic.meijer.com. Interested individuals can also call their local Meijer pharmacy to get on a waiting list.

Also on MLive:

COVID vaccine may not come until September for many under age 65 in Muskegon County

Historic power plants survival depends on redevelopment plan Grand Haven council chooses

See whos offering COVID-19 testing in Muskegon, Grand Haven and beyond
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Vice President Kamala Harris, left, looks on as President Joe Biden delivers a speech on foreign policy, at the State Department, Thursday, February 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)

Washington: Asserting that America and its diplomacy are back, US President Joe Biden on Thursday said his administration will repair the relationship with allies and engage with the world once again.

"We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again, not to meet yesterday's challenges, but today's and tomorrow's. American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy," Biden said in his remarks to State Department employees.

The US, he said, must meet the new moment accelerating global challenges -- from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation -- challenging the will only to be solved by nations working together and in common. "We cannot do it alone," he said.

"We must start with diplomacy rooted in America's most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law and treating every person with dignity. That is the grounding wire of our global power. That is our inexhaustible source of strength. That is America's abiding advantage.

"Though many of these values have come under intense pressure in recent years, even pushed to the brink in the last few weeks, the American people are going to emerge from this moment stronger, more determined and better equipped to unite the world in fighting to defend democracy, because we have fought for it ourselves," Biden said.

In his maiden address to the employees of the State Department, the president said he has come to the building to send a clear message to the world: America is back. America is back. Diplomacy is back.

"You are the centre of all that I intend to do. You are the heart of it. We are going to rebuild our alliances. We are going to re-engage with the world and take on the enormous challenge we face dealing with a pandemic, dealing with global warming and again, standing up for democracy and human rights," he said.

Biden said his administration will work with partners to support restoration of democracy and the rule of law, and impose consequences on those responsible.

"Over the past two weeks, I have spoken with the leaders of many of our closest friends -- Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, France, NATO, Japan, South Korea, Australia -- to begin reforming the habits of cooperation and rebuilding the muscle of democratic alliances that have atrophied over the past few years of neglect and, I would argue, abuse," he said.

America's alliances, he asserted are its greatest asset and leading with diplomacy means standing shoulder-to-shoulder with US allies and key partners once again.

"By leading with diplomacy, we must also mean engaging our adversaries and our competitors diplomatically, where it is in our interest, and advance the security of the American people," he said.

On day one of his presidency, Biden said, he signed the paperwork to rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change.

"We are taking steps led by the example of integrating climate objectives across all of our diplomacy and raise the ambition of our climate targets. That way, we can challenge other nations, other major emitters, up the ante on their own commitments," he said, adding that he will be hosting a climate leaders' summit to address the climate crisis on Earth Day this year.

"America must lead in the face of this existential threat. And just as with the pandemic, it requires global cooperation. We have also re-engaged with the World Health Organization. That way, we can build better global preparedness to counter COVID-19, as well as detect and prevent future pandemics, because there will be more," he said.

Biden said he has elevated the status of cyber issues within the government, including appointing the first Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology.

"We are launching an urgent initiative to improve our capability, readiness and resilience in cyberspace," he said as he announced additional steps to course-correct foreign policy and better unite democratic values with diplomatic leadership.

To begin with, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be leading a Global Posture Review of forces so that US military footprint is appropriately aligned with foreign policy and national security priorities.

"While this review is taking place, we will be stopping any planned troop withdrawals from Germany.

"We are also stepping up our diplomacy to end the war in Yemen -- a war which has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. I have asked my Middle East team to ensure our support for the United Nations-led initiative to impose a ceasefire, open humanitarian channels and restore long-dormant peace talks," Biden said.

The US, he said is ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales. "At the same time, Saudi Arabia faces missile attacks, UAV strikes and other threats from Iran-supplied forces in multiple countries. We are going to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and people," he said.
Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) afflicts as many as two million people around the world, affecting multiple organs, including lungs, brain, skin, and kidneys. In about 80 percent of cases, it causes cysts and benign tumors to form in the kidney, eventually resulting in kidney failure.

It's known that the disease is triggered by genetic mutations, but how these mutations lead to the formation of kidney cysts has been poorly understood - until now.

Nephrologist Manoocher Soleimani, MD, a professor in The University of New Mexico Department of Internal Medicine, led a team that solved the puzzle and pointed the way toward potential treatments for this devastating condition.

In a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Soleimani and his colleagues report that unexpected changes in the composition and function of cells lining the collecting ducts that funnel fluid from the kidney into the urinary tract are to blame.

"Kidneys form cysts in this disease, which continue to expand and get bigger and bigger and bigger," Soleimani says. "There is no good treatment."

A class of medications called mTOR inhibitors can shrink the cysts in about half of the patients treated, but the other half don't respond, he says. And if the treatments are discontinued, the cysts grow back, ultimately leading to kidney failure.

In exploring how mutations cause cysts to form and grow, Soleimani and colleagues at UNM, the Albuquerque Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Harvard University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Tennessee focused on the two types of cells in the collecting ducts - principal cells and intercalated cells. In a healthy kidney, principal cells are responsible for fluid transport, while intercalated cells secrete acid.

Using a knockout strain of specially bred mice, Soleimani's team simulated the effects of the TSC gene mutation in the principal cells and examined the cysts that formed in the kidneys.

We thought the cells lining the cysts would be principal. We were completely wrong! Ninety-five percent of the cells lining the cysts were comprised of intercalated cells. This was completely unexpected, and has never been reported." Manoocher Soleimani, MD, Professor and Nephrologist, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico

Stranger still, as the cysts budded and grew into fluid-filled sacs, the genetically normal intercalated cells began behaving differently, excreting fluid, as well as acid. "They were genetically normal but functioning in an abnormal way," Soleimani says.

Looking more deeply into the problem, the team engineered double knock-out mice that lacked both the original cyst-driving mutation and a key gene driving the secretion of acid in the collecting ducts. "We found, to our pleasant surprise, that cyst size and numbers decreased by 85 to 90 percent in one double knock-out mouse model and were completely prevented in another double knock-out model," he says.

Zeroing in on the acid-secreting gene "opens new avenues" for potential treatments, Soleimani says because existing FDA-approved medications are known to suppress its function.

Soleimani, who also provides clinical care at the VA Medical Center as well as UNM Hospital, recently received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for further research on kidney cysts in TSC.

"We are proposing to try to manipulate the activity of these molecules using a medication," he says. "First we are going to do it in mice, but we are linking up with physicians that are taking care of TSC patients, and then we are going to move to try these medications in human beings."
The cloud has become increasingly fundamental to the health and success of businesses. From AI and machine learning, to the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing, the cloud is a core component in allowing businesses of all sizes to manage diversified Internet environments, enable remote work, and achieve true innovation.

Cloud will form the core of the resilience and remote working strategies for most SMEs going forward and is also critical to the transformation strategies of most businesses. With KPMG predicting that over the next two years 80 per cent of revenue growth for businesses will come from digital sources, the ability for enterprises to leverage the cloud will be critical to their competitive advantage.

However, cloud also introduces some new challenges to the IT environment. One big one is security, and the risk that sensitive data will be exposed to hackers. Penalties in Australia for data breaches are severe  as high as $2.1 million for a single offence, and $10 million for repeated offences. This could be a business-ending event for many SMEs, and yet, government research shows that only 10 per cent of SMEs consider cybercrime their main priority. They rely on the security of their partners and providers to protect them.

In addition to the security challenge, there are regulatory concerns. In many cases, sensitive data needs to remain within Australia, and with many cloud providers being based overseas, SMEs can struggle to meet this requirement in their environment.

Small businesses and the cloud

While security and compliance are challenges to SMEs, they are not the only inhibitor when it comes to engaging with the cloud. Another big issue is finding the technical skills to maintain cloud environments. Australia faces a skill shortage of IT professionals  Hays lists cloud engineers as the most in-demand job within IT, making such skills expensive to acquire and retain for small businesses.

Additionally, SMEs struggle to scale their environments. Most SMEs are growth-orientated, and aiming to add people, products and services at a rapid rate. Without the ability for IT environments to scale with their needs, the SMEs will struggle to grow at the rate they need to find success.

SMEs want to use the cloud in the same way that enterprises do; they want access to IoT, AI, data analytics and customer experience solutions, but the perception is that these capabilities are out of their resource grasp  especially while remaining secure and compliant.

It is for these businesses that OVHcloud believes in a SMART cloud.

With this local presence, our team can be close to our customers to have the best understanding of the needs of Australian businesses and focus on the development and follow up of their projects. OVHcloud general manager Asia-Pacific, Lionel Legros, said.

Additionally, our Partner Program Manager and Startup Program Manager can animate the local ecosystem and work on the onboarding and growth of them.

The SMART cloud

The SMART cloud has been designed as a solution that will specifically benefit SMEs within Australia by addressing security, regulatory, and performance concerns that they may have as they embark on their transformation and cloud journey. The SMART cloud offers several features that will be of interest to SMEs, including:

The SMART cloud is easy to use.

Multi-local. OVHcloud has 32 datacentres globally, including Australia. This presence allows it to work within local regulations, and also provides the convenience of having feet on the ground locally for support, while also billing in the local currency.

OVHclouds prices are targeted to be friendly to the SME, and highly scalable as the company grows. Additionally, there are no hidden costs, with OVHcloud being completely transparent about pricing.

OVHcloud operates on industry standards to remain open and interoperable, giving SMEs the peace of mind that they can move to and from the platform as needed.

Transparency: predictable pricing and no bill-shock.

OVHcloud has been careful to partner with the tier-1 organisations within Australia to provide best-of-breed solutions to local SMEs. For example, OVHcloud has just announced a new partnership with leading datacentre operator, NEXTDC, for the opening of its second datacentre in Australia.

This strategic partnership represents a continued commitment to a locally focused ecosystem that aligns with OVHclouds security, privacy, and innovation core values.

Meanwhile, OVHclouds own partner program features over 650 companies worldwide, including 130 Advanced Partners. These partners can build managed services on the OVHcloud and start to provide SMEs with the kind of AI, IoT and edge applications and infrastructure that will allow them to fully commit to transformation.

OVHcloud aligns its production chain in conjunction with its values, which sets it apart from other providers. This value-based management allows us with the proven ability to provide our customers cutting-edge solution at a competitive market price, which makes us a price leader by design. And, additionally, we have a strong commitment to sustainability. Legros said.

At OVHcloud we are ready to partner with customers no matter where they are in the cloud journey  We have webcloud and public cloud solutions to kick start SMBs cloud journey with us immediately. SMBs can scale and optimise their digital transformation strategy in a dedicated infrastructure with baremetal and hosted private cloud solutions, which opens the door for hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Click here for more information on how SMEs can grow and thrive in an increasingly cloud-driven work environment.
President Joe Biden announced 'America is back' and declared 'diplomacy is back at the center' of US foreign policy as he announced the US will end all support for offensive operations in Yemen and will appoint an envoy to focus on the long-standing conflict, one of several changes he announced in his first major foreign policy speech since taking office.

Biden's announcement at the State Department was just one of the significant changes he said he will make to US foreign policy, including a freeze on troop redeployments from Germany, and raising the cap for refugees allowed into the US.

Biden delivered his speech after making less formal remarks to State Department employees, telling them "we're going rebuild our alliances. We're going reengage the world and take on the enormous challenges we face dealing with the pandemic, dealing with global warming and again standing up for democracy and human rights around the world."

The President, who visited the State Department Thursday with Vice President Kamala Harris, used the speech not only to unveil policy changes, fulfill campaign promises and reverse Trump administration policies, but also to reassert US global leadership and realign foreign policy to better service the middle class.

"Everything" the Biden administration does when it comes to foreign policy will be examined as to whether it makes life "better, safer and easier for working families," National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in a briefing to preview the President's remarks.

Biden announced an end to all American support for offensive operations in Yemen and said he will appoint an envoy to focus on the long-standing conflict. Calling the conflict "a war that has created humanitarian and strategic catastrophe," Biden also made clear the US will "continue help and support to Saudi Arabia."

Biden said that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will lead a "global force posture review," and, while that review is ongoing, will "freeze any troop redeployments from Germany... so our military footprint is appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities."

Biden also announced his intention to increase the number of refugees admitted into the United States after years of historical lows under the Trump administration, and fulfill a campaign promise in doing so, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN.

The Trump administration set a refugee cap of 15,000 for this fiscal year, the lowest since 1980. It's unclear by how much the Biden administration will increase that level, though the President has pledged to set an annual admissions cap of 125,000. Whatever the refugee cap level, it must be approved by the President.

"Moral leadership on refugee issues was a point of bipartisan consensus for so many decades," Biden said.

'Restoring America's place in the world'

Biden's visit to America's oldest Cabinet agency was meant to thank a workforce repeatedly maligned under the previous administration. His remarks centered on the theme of "restoring America's place in the world," one of his central campaign promises. He and Harris repeatedly told the diplomats gathered in the auditorium and those watching online how much value the administration places in their work.

"In our administration, you're going to be trusted and empowered to do your job," Biden said. A few minutes earlier, Harris told the department that "this is the foundation on which we stand" and that "everything you do... makes a difference in the lives of everyday Americans."

The content and the symbolism of Biden and Harris' appearance are intended to send clear signals: that this administration values diplomacy and its diplomats, it will center its foreign policy around cooperation with allies, and it will work to restore its reputation as a country that leads by example.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Biden's visit, which was rescheduled from earlier this week due to weather, "is largely focused on his desire to thank the men and women who are foreign service officers, civil servants, who are the heart and soul of that institution and frankly our government."

"Many of them have had a challenging couple of years," she added.

Blinken, a longtime Biden associate and veteran of the department, has sought to start his tenure by emphasizing the importance of the State Department's career workforce, whose expertise was oftentimes shirked and viewed with suspicion by a President who once called the agency "the Deep State Department."

Donald Trump visited the department just once in his four years in office for a ceremonial event. He repeatedly and publicly disparaged one of its most well-respected diplomats, Marie Yovanovitch, during the course of his first impeachment. His secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, failed to publicly or robustly defend her, deepening the decline in morale at Foggy Bottom.

Blinken pledged to have the backs of his workforce on his first full day as secretary of state, a commitment that US diplomats said was necessary after years of being denigrated. However, they have also said that actions will speak louder than words and it will take time to see exactly how the Biden administration lives up to its promises and elevates the diplomatic corps.

Both the President, his top diplomat and their top officials have repeatedly stressed that the most daunting challenges facing the US -- from the existential threat of climate change to the transnational threat of cyberattacks and near-peer competition from an increasingly aggressive China -- require allies to work together.

The administration is now undertaking a series of reviews of foreign policy challenges as it determines its own policy. However, Biden has indicated he will seek to frame his foreign policy around shoring up alliances and returning to multilateralism after the "America First" Trump era.

Biden has spoken by phone to more than a half-dozen foreign counterparts since taking office, while Blinken has been working the phones intensely to do outreach to his counterparts around the world.

A source close to both men has said that they are aware that there is serious repair work to be done after four years of the Trump administration left allies wary and bruised -- and uncertain about how reliable an ally the US will be in future.

"There's a real sense among allies is, 'How long can we count on them?'" said this source. "We have to address that."
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State Police: Michigan Residents Reminded to Stay Safe During Cold Weather

State Police: Michigan Residents Reminded to Stay Safe During Cold Weather

Dale R. George, MSP/EMHSD Public Information Officer, 517-243-4439

With frigid temperatures expected to impact the entire state over the next week the Michigan State Police (MSP) is encouraging residents and visitors to be extra cautious when going outdoors.

"The cold temperatures can cause serious injury and be potentially life-threatening," said Capt. Kevin Sweeney, deputy state director of Emergency Management and commander of the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD). "We are asking that Michigan residents follow their local weather reports and take appropriate steps to stay safe during this cold spell."

The National Weather Service is forecasting wind chills to be at or below zero at times Friday with very cold temperatures to last into late next week. Exposure to these temperatures could potentially cause frostbite and hypothermia, as well as create hazardous driving conditions.

To stay safe during cold weather:

Limit your time outside. If you need to go outside, wear layers of warm clothing. Watch for signs of frostbite and hypothermia.

Signs of frostbite include: loss of feeling and color around the face, fingers and toes, numbness, white or grayish-yellow skin, firm or waxy skin.

Signs of hypothermia include: shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech or drowsiness.

Avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Only use generators and grills outdoors and away from windows. Never heat your home with a gas stovetop or oven.

Reduce the risk of a heart attack. Avoid overexertion when shoveling snow.

Check on neighbors. Older adults and young children are more at risk in extreme cold.

Pets are also at risk for cold weather injuries and should be kept indoors.

If travel is necessary, keep a full tank of gas and an emergency preparedness kit in your vehicle. Put warm clothing, such as gloves, blankets and hats, and a cell phone charger in your kit.

Michigan weather is unpredictable any time of year, but especially during the winter months. If you are stranded, do not leave your vehicle. Stay with the vehicle and wait for help.

Motorists are encouraged to check travel conditions and weather reports before driving at www.michigan.gov/roadconditions. Major road closures can be found at www.michigan.gov/drive. The MSP/EMHSD asks that you tune into local news and/or view these websites rather than calling your local MSP post or 911 for travel conditions.

For more information on how to prepare before, during and after an emergency or disaster, visit www.michigan.gov/miready or follow MSP/EMHSD on Twitter at @MichEMHS.

The Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division is responsible for coordinating state and federal resources to assist local government in response and relief activities in the event of an emergency or disaster, as well as coordinating homeland security initiatives and various federal grants.
India on Thursday said it will continue providing COVID-19-related medical assistance to Myanmar despite the recent military coup in the country. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that India has extended assistance to Myanmar in its fight against COVID-19 and will continue to do so in the future. Srivastava, however, added that New Delhi is closely monitoring the situation in Burma and is also engaged on the issue as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Read: Third Night Of Noisy Protest Against Myanmar Coup

India has provided Myanmar with medical kits, testing equipment, and vaccines since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in December 2019. Reiterating New Delhi's support to Myanmar, Srivastava said that India will continue to assist Burma in fighting the pandemic.

"We remain committed to continuing our humanitarian support for the people in Myanmar in mitigating health and economic impact of the pandemic. India and Myanmar are neighbours with close cultural and people-to-people ties, bolstered by trade, economic, security and defence-related exchanges. We are therefore monitoring developments in that country closely. We are also engaged on the issue as a member of the UN Security Council," Srivastava said.

Read: Beijing Official On Taiwan, Myanmar And Xinjiang

Myanmar coup

On February 1, the Burmese military began detaining the democratically elected members of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other members of the Parliament were detained by the military, who later declared an emergency for a year. After the coup, Myanmar Army's Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing took charge of the country. The coup occurred a day before Myanmar's newly elected members of Parliament were supposed to be sworn-in.

Read: Defiant Myanmar MPs In Symbolic Parliament Meeting

A military coup in Myanmar is not rare as they have taken place in the past as well. However, in 2011 a transition to democracy began with the country's first election in decades was held in 2015. Aung San Suu Kyi won the polls, but military retained 25% of the seats in the parliament as per the constitution, which they helped draft in 2011. Prior to the 2020 election, Suu Kyi had promised to amend the constitution, saying the military representation in the parliament will be substantially reduced in the coming decade.

Suu Kyi's party won the election by landslide capturing 396 out of 476 seats in parliament, a mandate much larger than in the 2015 polls. The election was monitored by international observers who certified it as "fair". A day before the new members of the parliament were supposed to take the oath, the military staged a coup to oust the government, fearing Suu Kyi would keep her promise and reduce the Army's representation. The military levelled allegations of election fraud and irregularities as their justification for the detainment of leaders.

Read: Myanmar Crisis: UN Chief Antonio Guterres Says 'unacceptable' Military Coup 'must Fail'

(Image & Inputs: ANI)


Rik Mehta, an Indian American former official with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says he wants to continue the mission to save small business and fix New Jersey. (Twitter photo/@RikMehta_NJ)
Two women from Uganda and a Nigerian man have been arrested and nine kilograms of narcotics such as heroin and cocaine seized from them as the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) bust a smuggling network, the agency said on Friday. Cousins Jascent Nakalungi, 42, and Sharifah Namaganda, 28, were intercepted by the Delhi unit of the central probe agency on January 28 after they landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The two had a medical visa for the treatment of Namaganda, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said. The two were apprehended on the basis of inputs gathered by the agency following a drugs case detected in December wherein over five kg of heroin was seized and two Indians were arrested, it said.

"A total of 8 kg of heroin and one kg of cocaine has been seized from the women. The drugs were hidden in their luggage bags that were handed to them in Uganda," NCB deputy director (operations) K P S Malhotra said.

A Nigerian national, named Kingsley, was also arrested after leads provided by the women were followed, he said. The case is a reflection of the common route employed for trafficking of cocaine, which is manufactured illegally in South American countries, the officer said.

"The seizure of heroin from this network clearly points towards the reverse route of heroin trafficking. The intensive measures by border guarding forces both at north-west frontier and the high seas have compelled drug traffickers to divert their loads towards the horn of Africa which is Mozambique," Malhotra said.

Heroin concealed in various shipments then reaches other parts of Africa, where the organised syndicates arrange the carriers. Subsequently, human couriers transport the drugs to India by adopting various ways like hiding the narcotics in body cavity and by concealing in baggage among other methods, he said.

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A few hours after a group of public defenders filed a lawsuit against Gov. Andrew Cuomo calling for people in prisons and jails to be made eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, the state announced that it would start vaccinating inmates 65 years old and older.

The announcement from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision that the state would start preparing to vaccinate that older population comes after weeks of pressure on Cuomo to make incarcerated New Yorkers eligible for the vaccine, in light of the high risk of transmission of the virus in congregate facilities such as prisons and jails.

This is just the latest lawsuit against Cuomo that has prompted an abrupt shift in his administrations pandemic policies. While the lawsuit  which was filed on behalf of inmates by groups including the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Bronx Defenders and the Legal Aid Society  is the first class action over vaccinations in prisons, its not the first suit that has argued that the states pandemic restrictions and policies are applied unfairly in some way. The state has actually faced dozens of lawsuits since the start of the pandemic. But while many have failed, a few have succeeded, with some courts finding that Cuomos policies unfairly treated some groups differently than others without sufficient justification for doing so.

Representatives for Cuomo did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuits the administration has faced over its pandemic policies.

Here are a few of the other policies that have proven vulnerable to legal challenge, and why the states unofficial policy of not yet vaccinating incarcerated New Yorkers could meet a similar fate.

Restrictions on religious gatherings

Last fall, after Cuomo introduced the states new microcluster approach to fighting the spread of the virus, areas of New York that were identified as red zones  which today is defined by certain metrics including approaching 90% hospital capacity  faced more stringent pandemic restrictions than other parts of the state, including a 25% capacity limit on houses of worship, or a maximum of 10 people. In areas classified as orange zones  where the spread of the virus was slightly less intense, but growing  houses of worship faced a 33% capacity limit or 25-person cap.

Religious organizations, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America  a grassroots Orthodox Jewish organization  quickly sued over the restrictions, arguing that they violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitutions right to the free exercise of religion. Agudath Israel also argued that Cuomo had unfairly singled out Orthodox Jews for the virus spread.

Although many pointed out that the microcluster restrictions treated houses of worship more favorably than schools or non-essential businesses  which were closed entirely in red zones  religious organizations argued that not only should they be considered essential, but the restrictions in place didnt account for things like the size of the venue. Why should a church that can seat 500 people have the same 10-person cap as a church that can seat 50?

While lower courts upheld Cuomos restrictions, the case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which in November struck down Cuomos order in a 5-4 split. The courts conservative majority found that the orders did violate the First Amendment and treated religious activities more harshly than others. The regulations cannot be viewed as neutral because they single out houses of worship for especially harsh treatment, an unsigned opinion by the court read. In a red zone, while a synagogue or church may not admit more than 10 persons, businesses categorized as essential may admit as many people as they wish. The court went on to list the kinds of businesses that are essential, including acupuncture facilities and garages.

One reason why this policy failed to hold up under the Supreme Courts scrutiny is political. Earlier that summer, the Supreme Court actually upheld similar restrictions on religious gatherings by two other states. But that was before the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the addition of conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the bench. That shift in Supreme Court personnel, I think, makes a big difference, said Scott Lemieux, a teaching professor of political science at the University of Washington.

Like many other constitutional law experts, Lemieux has raised objections to the Supreme Courts overturning of Cuomos restrictions on religious gatherings. Still, he said that Cuomos restrictions did have weak points. I will admit, as someone who would have voted the other way with respect to the religious discrimination suit, it was not an incredibly well-crafted (policy), he said. You have to make some allowance for the pandemic, but certainly I think there probably could have been some accommodations made to churches that wouldnt have threatened public health. In particular, the fact that he didnt adjust for the size of the venue, Lemieux said, referring to the fact that the 10-person capacity cap applied regardless of how large a venue was.

Indoor dining ban

More recently, the Cuomo administration has come under fire for what some argued were indiscriminate bans on indoor dining in different parts of the state. Last month, a judge blocked the states ban on indoor dining in orange zones in Erie County, where a group of over 90 restaurants sued Cuomo over the restrictions. After that ruling, the 90-plus restaurants in the lawsuit were allowed to reopen indoor dining, and soon after, the state lifted all other orange zone restrictions in the state.

The judge in that case said that he could find no evidence that the state had a rational basis to designate parts of Erie County orange zones and therefore shutter indoor dining. Despite Erie County as a whole exceeding the metrics to classify it as a red zone, the judge said, some parts of the county were under yellow zone restrictions while other parts of Western New York were under no zone restrictions at all. The judge also found that the restrictions would cause irreparable harm to the restaurants.

While courts are generally supposed to aim for deference to governors during emergency situations such as a pandemic, Lemieux said that the legal standard of a rational basis is a fairly low bar for a policy to clear. Essentially, the rational basis test asks whether there is some logical connection between the reasoning behind a policy and the goal of that policy.

Still, deference to the executive is important in these situations, Lemieux said, and its not reasonable to expect that every one of the governors orders will be perfectly crafted. In a pandemic, you cant expect these things to be airtight, he said. These decisions are being made quickly, often on the basis of uncertain evidence, and governors have to be given some leeway. For the time being, that means we should expect to see more of these kinds of lawsuits rolling in, whether they end up being successful or not.

Vaccinations in prisons

That brings us to the mounting pressure to make people in New Yorks prisons and jails eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. While corrections officers can already get the vaccine, inmates cannot  a fact this new lawsuit takes issue with. The argument is really that Gov. Cuomo and the Department of Healths refusal to include incarcerated people as a group in the current priority categories  with the people who are already authorized (including) people living in congregate facilities and correctional officers  has no rational basis, said Elizabeth Fischer, a supervising attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit on behalf of two incarcerated people held at Rikers Island. The lawsuit also argues that not vaccinating inmates  a population in which Black and Latino people are overrepresented  violates the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Fischer also said that the refusal to vaccine inmates flies in the face of public health advice which encourages both staff and inmates to be vaccinated at the same time.

The past year has been the scariest of my life. I have asthma, and every day that passes

without being vaccinated leaves me anxious that I might be the next person to get sick, or that I

may pass COVID onto other people, Alberto Frias, who is being held at Rikers Island and is one of two plaintiffs named in the suit, said in a press release. (Rikers Island) is very unsanitary and risky. It is impossible to stay six feet apart. You eat together, you use the same showers. DOC does not supply masks within the housing area, so people are walking around without masks. I am simply asking to be treated fairly and with dignity.

Lemieux said that the suit makes a reasonable argument, but it all comes down to who hears the case. In state court, where the suit was filed, it may be more likely to find a favorable ear than in federal court, which in the Trump era has shifted more conservative. Prisoners have a pretty compelling case. Theyre being held against their will and the state has an obligation to protect their health, Lemieux said. If the vaccine is available for homeless people but not for prisoners, the state is going to have to have a good justification for that different treatment.

Fischer and criminal justice advocates said that the state has given no explanation for why the vaccine would be available to people living in other congregate facilities such as homeless shelters, but not in prisons. From the very beginning of the pandemic, incarcerated New Yorkers have been treated as an afterthought. We've seen for the last 10 months that incarcerated New Yorkers were deprioritized for testing, said Alexander Horwitz, executive director of New Yorkers United for Justice, a coalition of criminal justice reform advocacy groups. Horwitz spoke to City & State before the lawsuit was made public on Thursday. Unfortunately, it is not a surprise that they've been deprioritized to receive vaccines, he said.

Khalil Cumberbatch, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice  a think tank that creates policy recommendations for federal and state governments on criminal justice  said that while New York has received praise for its handling of the pandemic, it has consistently failed incarcerated New Yorkers. What we're seeing is just a real lack of urgency and a real lack of concern, quite honestly, by DOCCS in particular, to prioritize the people that they are caring for, he said in an interview with City & State before the lawsuit was made public. A spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said they couldnt comment on pending litigation, and neither the department nor representatives for Cuomo offered an explanation for why inmates were not being vaccinated.

While DOCCS has continually said that its working to develop a plan to vaccinate incarcerated people, it appears that this lawsuit is what finally forced it to put that plan into action. "There are 1,075 people who are in the system who are 65 and older, and DOCCS is in the process of preparing to vaccinate that population consistent with statewide guidance for that age group, spokesperson Thomas Mailey said in an email statement on Thursday afternoon.

This doesnt mean the plaintiffs fight is over, as the lawsuit aims to ensure all incarcerated New Yorkers are eligible for the vaccine. The plaintiffs argue that inmates 65 and older were already eligible, but just not being vaccinated. Todays announcement that New York will begin moving toward offering the vaccine to elderly people in prison  who have been eligible for the vaccine now for weeks  has little to do with the patently illegal and immoral practice challenged in court today, a Thursday statement from the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Bronx Defenders, Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and the New York Civil Liberties Union said. Every single person incarcerated in New York needs access to the vaccine.
Sergio Aguero could be a free agent this summer and he has shown himself willing to talk to Barcelona about a possible move, but the Argentine striker has one key condition before he sits down at the negotiating table.

Aguero is good friends with Lionel Messi and, perhaps not surprisingly, his deal-breaker would be if the No.10 doesn't stay at the Camp Nou.

The 32-year-old is said to be thrilled by the prospect of teaming up with his friend and compatriot and if Messi stays at Barcelona, Aguero would be very tempted to join him.

Aguero is an icon at Manchester City but Cadena SER have revealed that some contact has already been made on behalf of one of the Catalan club's presidential candidates.

There are doubts about Aguero's physical condition, having been troubled by injury in the last year, but his expiring deal means that many of Europe's top clubs will have a keen eye on the contractual situations of two Argentine stars in the coming months.

Time will tell if the two friends will be playing together next season and if that will be in Barcelona, Manchester or elsewhere.
A private legal practitioner, Kweku Osei Asare Esq. has commended the Supreme Court Justices over their behavior towards the ongoing Presidential election petition by former President John Dramani Mahama.



Lawyer Kweku Osei Asare, speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', says the Justices have conducted themselves very well.



He explained that he has been to various courts a number of times and knows how impatient Judges can be during proceedings but has seen a different character by the Supreme Court Judges which deserves praise.



"The court has acted very well, very very well. I have been going to court and I know how impatient they [the Judges] can be with us some times. But so far, I think they have exercised great restraint with respect of the proceedings," he said.



Lawyer Osei Asare, on the other hand, slammed the lawyers for the parties involved in the petition over their utterances after the court proceedings.



He particularly lambasted the former Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong over some statements she's made about the Supreme Court Judges, quoting her to have said the court has not been fair to their petitioner.



He found such statement distasteful saying ''if it was anybody else, I wouldn't have commented but because she's been an Attorney General before, I think it wasn't appropriate and that she ought to have conducted herself better".

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A passenger wearing a Union Flag face mask waits to board one of the few flights departing at Gatwick Airport in London, on Nov. 27, 2020. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

UK to Begin Mandatory Hotel Quarantine to Fend Off CCP Virus Variants

The UK government confirmed on Friday that mandatory hotel quarantine will be introduced on Feb. 15 for all passengers arriving from hotspots of CCP virus variants.

From Feb. 15, anyone travelling to the UK from a country on the UKs travel ban list will be required to quarantine in a government-approved facility for a period of 10 days, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said in a statement.

The new quarantine rule will apply to UK and Irish nationals arriving from 33 countries on the governments red list, which include southern Africa, South America, Portugal, and the United Arab Emirates.

The travel bans had been put in place over concerns that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus variants first found in South Africa and Brazil, which scientists believe may be more transmissible and more resistant to antibodies, could reduce the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

Britains main opposition Labour party has criticised the governments announcement as too little, too late.

It is beyond comprehension that these measures wont even start until Feb. 15, said Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Labours shadow home secretary.

We are in a race against time to protect our borders against new COVID strains. Yet hotel quarantine will come in to force more than 50 days after the South African strain was discovered.

Even when these measures eventually begin, they will not go nowhere near far enough to be effective in preventing further variants. As ever with this government, it is too little, too late, he said.

A DHSC spokesperson said: Throughout the pandemic, the government has put in place proportionate measures, informed by the advice of scientists, and that has led to some of the toughest border regimes in the world.

It is currently illegal to go on holiday, and passengers travelling to the UK must provide proof of a negative test before they travel, and self-isolate on arrival. With increased police presence at airports and more physical checks at addresses to make sure people are self-isolating, we are taking decisive action.

The spokesperson said the government is now working at pace to secure the facilities needed to roll out managed quarantine for British nationals returning home from the high-risk countries.

The government said it had met with stakeholders from the aviation, maritime, hotel, and hospitality industry over the past week, and will continue to finalise plans to enable implementation from Feb. 15.

To learn from other countries experience, officials have held discussions with the governments of Australia and New Zealand, where hotel quarantine arrangements have been put in place.
WASHINGTON: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss Iran and other issues including Russia, China and Myanmar in a Friday online meeting with his British, French and German counterparts, a U.S. official said.

The high-level conversation would be the latest step by new U.S. President Joe Bidens administration to seek a way to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with world powers but was abandoned in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Reuters had reported on Thursday that Blinken could hold the meeting on Friday.

The Secretary will have an opportunity to discuss with some of his closest counterparts a number of shared challenges, including COVID, Iran, Russia, China, Burma, and climate," the U.S. official said.

The nuclear deal limited Irans uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for it to develop nuclear weapons - an ambition Iran has long denied having - in return for the easing of U.S. and other sanctions.

In abandoning the deal approved by his predecessor Barack Obama, Trump restored the U.S. sanctions which the pact had removed, and then piled more on Iran.

A source familiar with the matter said Fridays virtual meeting was unlikely to delve into great detail on Iran as it was only one topic on the agenda and was a first chance for the ministers to discuss the issues.

Its mainly to reaffirm the transatlantic partnership and to start talking substantively about a series of issues," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In another sign the Biden administration is digging into its options on Iran and other matters, the National Security Council will convene a meeting on several issues on Friday, to be attended by top U.S. officials but not Biden himself.

The meeting today is part of an ongoing policy review. It is not decisional," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Twitter.

Biden, who took office last month, has said that if Tehran returned to strict compliance with the 2015 nuclear pact, Washington would follow suit and use that as a springboard to a broader agreement that might restrict Irans missile development and regional activities.

Tehran has insisted that Washington ease sanctions before it resumed compliance, and ruled out negotiations on wider security issues. But Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hinted on Monday at a way to resolve the impasse over who goes first by saying the steps could be synchronized.

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Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and NTT Corporation (NTT) develop a novel CMOS-based transceiver for wireless communications at the 300 GHz band, enabling future beyond-5G applications. Their design addresses the challenges of operating CMOS technology at its practical limit and represents the first wideband CMOS phased-array system to operate at such elevated frequencies.

Communication at higher frequencies is a perpetually sought-after goal in electronics because of the greater data rates that would be possible and to take advantage of underutilized portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Many applications beyond 5G, as well as the IEEE802.15.3d standard for wireless communications, call for transmitters and receivers capable of operating close to or above 300 GHz.

Unfortunately, our trusty CMOS technology is not entirely suitable for such elevated frequencies. Near 300 GHz, amplification becomes considerably difficult. Although a few CMOS-based transceivers for 300 GHz have been proposed, they either lack enough output power, can only operate in direct line-of-sight conditions, or require a large circuit area to be implemented.

To address these issues, a team of scientists from Tokyo Tech, in collaboration with NTT, proposed an innovative design for a 300 GHz CMOS-based transceiver (Figure 1). Their work will be presented in the Digests of Technical Papers in the 2021 IEEE ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuits Conference), a conference where the latest advances in solid-state and integrated circuits are exposed.

One of the key features of the proposed design is that it is bidirectional; a great portion of the circuit, including the mixer, antennas, and local oscillator, is shared between the receiver and the transmitter (Figure 2). This means the overall circuit complexity and the total circuit area required are much lower than in unidirectional implementations.

Another important aspect is the use of four antennas in a phased array configuration. Existing solutions for 300 GHz CMOS transmitters use a single radiating element, which limits the antenna gain and the system's output power. An additional advantage is the beamforming capability of phased arrays, which allows the device to adjust the relative phases of the antenna signals to create a combined radiation pattern with custom directionality. The antennas used are stacked "Vivaldi antennas," which can be etched directly onto PCBs, making them easy to fabricate.

The proposed transceiver uses a subharmonic mixer, which is compatible with a bidirectional operation and requires a local oscillator with a comparatively lower frequency. However, this type of mixing results in low output power, which led the team to resort to an old yet functional technique to boost it. Professor Kenichi Okada from Tokyo Tech, who led the study, explains: "Outphasing is a method generally used to improve the efficiency of power amplifiers by enabling their operation at output powers close to the point where they no longer behave linearly--that is, without distortion. In our work, we used this approach to increase the transmitted output power by operating the mixers at their saturated output power." Another notable feature of the new transceiver is its excellent cancellation of local oscillator feedthrough (a "leakage" from the local oscillator through the mixer and onto the output) and image frequency (a common type of interference for the method of reception used).

The entire transceiver was implemented in an area as small as 4.17 mm2. It achieved maximum rates of 26 Gbaud for transmission and 18 Gbaud for reception, outclassing most state-of-the-art solutions. Excited about the results, Okada remarks: "Our work demonstrates the first implementation of a wideband CMOS phased-array system that operates at frequencies higher than 200 GHz." Let us hope this study helps us squeeze more juice out of CMOS technology for upcoming applications in wireless communications!

###

About Tokyo Institute of Technology

Tokyo Tech stands at the forefront of research and higher education as the leading university for science and technology in Japan. Tokyo Tech researchers excel in fields ranging from materials science to biology, computer science, and physics. Founded in 1881, Tokyo Tech hosts over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year, who develop into scientific leaders and some of the most sought-after engineers in industry. Embodying the Japanese philosophy of "monotsukuri," meaning "technical ingenuity and innovation," the Tokyo Tech community strives to contribute to society through high-impact research. https:/ / www. titech. ac. jp/ english/

About NTT Corporation

NTT believes in resolving social issues through our business operations by applying technology for good. We help clients accelerate growth and innovate for current and new business models. Our services include digital business consulting, technology and managed services for cybersecurity, applications, workplace, cloud, datacenter and networks all supported by our deep industry expertise and innovation.

As a top 5 global technology and business solutions provider, our diverse teams operate in 80+ countries and regions and deliver services to over 190 of them. We serve over 80% of Fortune Global 100 companies and thousands of other clients and communities around the world.
My sense is that today we have a large segment of our population that has given up on government. They are disgusted, and most of them voted for Donald Trump only to see the election stolen by corruption of the election system in key states. They now assume that there is nothing they can do to fix government. But the truth of the matter is that they can do something and it will cost no money and actually very little time. That thing is: Attend the partys precinct meetings.

Some of this may sound like old guff. However, nothing is more important to our political future than Democrats and Republicans attending their respective precinct meetings. This is how we push out the socialists and communists before we become their slaves.

Both parties have major leadership problems at all levels. Democrat pride and Republican pride are both suffering. Many people do not event want to admit they are Democrats or Republicans.

Many people believe signing petitions and attending rallies is effective. It is to some extent. The real power to make changes in the political system begins in the Democrat and Republican precinct meetings. This is where your vote counts. The precinct meetings select delegates to the county Democrat or Republican Convention. If those delegates are weak or liberal, they will elect their kind to the state convention where some of those same weak, or liberal delegates will make weak, or liberal decisions. On the other hand, if strong and conservative delegates are elected we will more likely get strong and conservative decisions made at the state convention, which is precisely what we need. Just like all government, the public gets what they elect, whether weak or strong, liberal or conservative.

You do have a say, because you registered as either a Democrat or a Republican. A lot of work, by people who want to control you goes into making sure the right people attend these meetings and the right people stay at home. The political beliefs of who shows up determines the policy.

The chances are slim and none that you will be invited to attend precinct meetings. Those who are rabid activists certainly will not invite or inform you about the meetings and how the system works. They want to keep it to themselves and members of their tribe.

The fewer Democrats and Republicans that show up at these meetings the better for those who are power hungry. You have to make the effort to participate.

Look at it like this, if 30 people show up at a precinct meeting there will be 30 different opinions. The general publics opinions will probably be represented. If three people show up there are only three opinions. There will likely be no representation of the feelings of a large segment of the general public. The radical activists will always show up. The average person usually does not participate. You, the average person, are the most important person to show up.

Another trick at these events is to make people angry or to offend them so they will take their marbles and go home. In this case the bad boys always win. Politics is not a gentlemans sport. Be on guard.

How did Beaufort County become a Republican majority county with two Democrats running the Board of Commissioners? The liberals, the yellow sheeters, showed up at the Beaufort County

Convention two years ago and elected former senator Bill Cook, a liberal, and Paul Varcoe another liberal, along with about 30 outsiders to run the Republican party during the following two years.

When Commissioner Gary Brinn passed away, the Executive Committee liberals did their liberal thing and filled Brinns seat with their liberal, John Rebholz. Rebholz had never run for office. The liberal executive committee bypassed others who had spent their time and money to run for commissioner. One of these people was Conservative Tandy Dunn. Liberals usually do not understand fairness and common decency.

This is why showing up and serving is so important. All of the about to be elected county executive committees, both Democrat and Republican, will fill the seats of elected officials who are unable to complete their terms, for whatever reason, during the next two years.

These Beaufort County liberals used the Republican Party machinery to work extremely hard for John Rebholz to be elected commissioner. They used the party machinery to work against conservative commissioner candidates.

Upon his election as Commissioner in November of 2020, Rebholz along with RINO Frankie Waters then joined with the two Democrats to elect Frankie Waters Chairman and Democrat Jerry Langley Vice Chairman. All four vote like Democrats.

This was caused by the conservative Republicans who did not show up at the precinct meetings two years ago. Liberals were elected who then elected more liberals, who then joined with the Democrats to control the Beaufort County Board of Commission.

The Beaufort County Republican precinct meetings and the county convention will be held the same morning which is Saturday March 6 at Southern Acres located at 3889 NC Highway 92, Bath, 27808. Registration begins at 9:30 AM. Any registered Republican can attend.

It is unusual to have the precinct meetings the same day as the convention. But, it serves a purpose. This makes it easier for those who rig the election of the executive committee. The bad boys only have to get their tribe out one day instead of two.

That is why those of you who are conservative and realize there is something terribly wrong in Republican and Democrat leadership need to go to your precinct meetings. Those of you who are conservative need to elect a conservative executive committee or at least a committee fairly balanced, between conservatives and liberals. The same things said about Republicans apply to Democrats.

This is how to change the shoddy, weak, political system in the entire United States. We, little people, have the power and the votes to do it. The socialists and communists will win if we do not show up.
Lufthansa planes are seen parked on the tarmac of Frankfurt Airport, Germany on June 25, 2020. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuter File Photo)

Lufthansa Raises 1.6 Billion Euros to Repay German Government Aid

LONDONGerman airline Lufthansa said it had issued a 1.6 billion euro ($1.92 billion) bond on Thursday, money that will be used to repay part of a bailout given last year by state lender KfW to help it cope with the COVID-19 crisis.

We are very grateful for the support we receive in our home markets. Todays successful bond placement allows us to repay the entire KfW loan, Lufthansa Chief Financial Officer Remco Steenbergen said in a statement.

Despite the repayment, however, it is likely that we will draw additional elements of the stabilization package which are currently unused. The extent of the utilization will depend on the further course of the pandemic, he added.

The airline was set to sell 750 million euros of four-year debt at a yield of 3 percent and 850 million euros of seven-year debt at 3.875 percent on Thursday, a lead manager on the deal said.

At the height of worries around the COVID-19 crisiss impact on the airlines sector a year ago, Lufthansas September 2024 bonds were yielding as much as 6.52 percent, so this represents a good rate for the airline, another source close to the deal said.

But he added that for bond investors, these yields looked attractive with the European Central Banks bond purchasing programme compressing yields across the board.

These are pretty alluring levels for bond investors starved of any kind of yield and prepared to invest in a fundamentally strong credit hit by the crisis; a typical fallen angel play, he said, a phrase used to describe companies that have recently lost their investment grade status.

Barclays, Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Societe Generale managed the deal.

By Abhinav Ramnarayan and Arno Schuetze



Despite the agitating farmers assurance that the proposed 'chakka jam' (creating a traffic jam as a mark of protest) would not be carried out in Delhi, as a precautionary measure, the have intensified security arrangements with a special focus on bordering areas where the protesting farmers are sitting since November last year.

"Though we have got to know that the farmers have no plans to do in the Capital but in the wake of them flouting the agreement on January 26, we are taking no chances and have made elaborate arrangements especially in border areas," said PRO Chinmoy Biswal.

Security has been beefed up at strategic locations and the would be keeping an eye on the protest build up in the bordering states and protest sites close to the border such as Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur. The Delhi Police are also in touch with the police in bordering states such as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and collecting intelligence inputs in close coordination with the state police.

"We are in constant touch with the police of bordering states since the protest started. In the wake of the we would keep an eye on the borders too," the officer added.

The Delhi Police would also be monitoring certain social media handles during the proposed for three hours on February 6.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Police commissioner S.N. Shrivastava held a meeting with senior police officers and reviewed security arrangements.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait earlier said the nationwide protest will be peaceful and added that there will be no 'chakka jam' in Delhi.

"Farmers will not block roads in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Saturday as part of the nationwide 'chakka jam' called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha," Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said on Friday.

--IANS

zaz/ash
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A part-time model who suffered a traumatic brain injury after she was struck by a car when she attempted to cross a dual carriageway has settled her High Court action for 3.2m.

Jodie Regazzoli was in a coma for weeks and given a three percent chance of survival after she was hit by the car in 2018  and later became homeless for a time and lived in a hotel.

Ms Regazzoli was a part-time model and retail assistant when the accident happened. She was thrown six feet in the air as she attempted to cross a dual carriageway in Swords, Co Dublin.

A former Miss Ireland finalist, Ms Regazzoli told the court:: Everything was taken. I was 22 years old.

For the last three years it has been hospital appointments and I still have to have more surgery in six months time. I was also homeless for a while and had to live in hotels. 

Her counsel Liam Reidy SC told the court Ms Regazzoli had been going to work in the Pavilions Shopping Centre, Swords, and was crossing the dual carriageway when the collision happened on the bus lane.

Counsel said it would appear it was a habit of people to cross from a bus stop to the centre and walk across to the island between the carriageways. He said there was a footbridge provided to cross the carriageway and it was a big issue in the case.

Counsel told Mr Justice Kevin Cross as part of the settlement it had been agreed to apportion liability as two thirds against the driver and one third against Ms Regazzoli.

He said she had suffered profound injuries and was lucky to survive, but she has since made great progress.

Ms Regazzoli (25) Forest Fields Road, Swords, Co Dublin had sued the driver of the car, Olga Maslakova , Boru Court , Swords, and the owner of the car Aleksandrs Maslakovs, of the same address, as a result of the accident on the North East bound R132 carriageway opposite the Pavilions Shopping Centre, Swords on April 17, 2018.

She was crossing the dual carriageway from a bus stop to get to a staff entrance to the shopping centre when she was hit by the car.

It was claimed the car was being driven at an allegedly excessive speed and there was a failure to observe Ms Regazzoli and others crossing the carriageway on foot and drive accordingly.

It was further claimed there was a failure to apply the brakes in time effectively or at all.

The claims were denied and it was alleged that Mr Regazzoli failed to use the pedestrian flyover to cross the carriageway

Mr Reidy said Ms Regazzoli at the time of the accident was working as a part time model but a lot of that was destroyed by the injuries.

Approving the settlement ,Mr Justice Cross said Ms Regazzolis life had been turned upside down.

He said the settlement was fair and reasonable and he wished her well for the future.
South Africa: Government brings society on board vaccine plan

Deputy President David Mabuza, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on COVID-19 Vaccines, has engaged various sectors of society on governments vaccination rollout plan.

The Deputy President held meetings on Thursday with the aim of mobilising support from social partners.

During the consultations with traditional leaders, inter-faith leaders and social partners at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), the Deputy President was joined by Ministers, who are members of the vaccines IMC.

In welcoming the consultation, traditional leaders said they were encouraged by governments initiative to meet with them early on in the process.

"With these engagements, they expressed hope that all of society will get behind governments vaccines rollout plan. They all committed to be part of the rollout and work in partnership with government in encouraging their communities and constituencies to take part in the vaccination programme," the Presidency said on Thursday.

Traditional leaders called for the implementation of stringent measures to prevent any possible acts of corruption in the rollout of the vaccines.

It was also agreed that through Government Communication and Information Systems, a communication toolkit in all official languages will be developed for communities in order to enhance social mobilisation and garner support for vaccination.

Equally so, the consultations with inter-faith leaders were positive and they were all united in their commitment to partner with government, including availing their facilities as vaccination sites should such a need arise, the Presidency said.

They further called on government to involve young people in the religious sector to counter negative sentiments and fake news about vaccines.

Social partners in Nedlac, namely organised business, labour and community constituencies, reaffirmed their commitment to continue working with government in the fight against COVID-19 and to build on existing initiatives of fighting the virus, including the rollout of vaccines.

Organised business also reaffirmed their support of the government-led and centralised vaccine procurement, and their participation in both resource and social mobilisation programme. In this regard, they expressed their full confidence in governments ability to secure the adequate amount of doses required to achieve population immunity, the Presidency said.

Organised labour encouraged government to draw on the lessons learnt in the rollout of anti-retroviral drugs and use this opportunity to build the capacity to manufacture vaccines locally.

The Community Constituency committed to partner with government to mobilise civil society to participate in the vaccination programme and stem the tide of fake news within society.

We are encouraged by the positive spirit of cooperation that we received from traditional leaders, inter-faith leaders and social partners at Nedlac. We appreciate that this process does not end here, but it is ongoing engagement and partnership, as we work together towards population immunity.

We are grateful for the commitment to partner as expressed by social partners at Nedlac, traditional leaders and inter-faith leaders, the Deputy President said.

The IMC on vaccines was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to provide political oversight of the vaccination programme, including its acquisition, distribution and rollout.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Tost defends Tsunoda's F1 test campaign

Franz Tost is unapologetic about Yuki Tsunoda's intensive pre-season of unofficial testing ahead of his 2021 Formula 1 debut.

In the past days, the 20-year-old Honda and Red Bull-backed Japanese rookie has been testing a 2019 Alpha Tauri car at Imola and Misano - and he will reportedly return to Imola next week.

"You cannot prepare a beginner well with a day and a half of testing," said team boss Tost, referring to the mere three days of official pre-season running per team next month in Bahrain.

"When Yuki received his super license, it became clear that we had to develop a normal test program for him," he is quoted by motorsport-magazin.com.

"It took a lot of effort," Tost continued. "The Honda guys arrived in Italy three weeks ago and had to spend two of them in quarantine, without which nothing would have happened."


Two Colorado College affiliated artists  Idris Goodwin, executive director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, and Basil Kincaid 10, a CC art major, multi-media artist, and recent visiting artist at the college  have been named members of the United States Artists 2021 Class of Fellows. This year 60 artists were chosen.

Goodwin, an award-winning playwright who took over as director of the FAC last year, was recognized in the theater and performance category. Kincaid, who graduated from CC with a concentration in Studio Art and an emphasis on drawing and painting, was honored in the traditional arts category. Each will receive a $50,000 unrestricted cash prize.

Goodwin and Kincaid are the second and third artists affiliated with Colorado College to be recognized by United States Artists. Stephen Scott, a CC professor of music and composer and founder of CCs Bowed Piano Ensemble, was honored in 2008.

The 2021 United States Artists (USA) Fellows were chosen for their bold artistic vision and significant impact. Each artist demonstrates generosity and care toward field-building that continues to inspire and propel their discipline, according to USA, a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. The annual awards celebrate artists and cultural practitioners who have significantly contributed to the creative landscape and arts ecosystem of the country. These awards aim to promote the work of these visionary practitioners to a broader public while allowing them to decide how to best support their lives.

This is major to me. It feels really good. Im really proud and so grateful, says Goodwin in a newspaper interview. Im entering a new chapter of being more multi-disciplinary and moving more into a space of being an advocate for the arts and other artists.

When deciding on fellows, United States Artists panelists were impressed with the diversity of Goodwins professional experience and career trajectory, noting his numerous accomplishments and the great potential for more.

Our panelists noted the strength of Idris writing and within that, his nuanced approach and understanding of hip-hop, says United States Artists Program Director Lynnette Miranda. They were excited he wasnt working in a very coastal major art city. Panelists also noted Goodwins commitment to access and community and thinking about new models and ways of working.

From 2012-18, Goodwin, a break beat poet and arts educator, taught playwriting, hip-hop aesthetics, and spoken word writing in CCs Theatre and Dance Department. He went to become the producing artistic director of StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville, Ky., before returning as executive director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.



His work has been produced across the country and recognized nationally. Hes performed his poetry on HBOs Def Poetry Jam and PBS Sesame Street, written award-winning plays, and several books of his poetry and essays have been published, including the 2011 Pushcart Prize-nominated These are the Breaks.

His solo play, A Tribe Called Tubman, commissioned by TheaterWorksUSA, a New York City-based company that creates theater for young and family audiences, puts a 21st-century spin on the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

Basil Kincaid 10

Kincaid, a multi-disciplinary artist, recently was a visiting artist in a class taught remotely by visiting professor Jody Joyner 10. Just before the pandemic, Kincaid relocated his studio from St. Louis to Ghana.

Basil Kincaids beautiful craftsmanship and commitment to community make Basil an ideal member of USAs 2021 cohort of shapemakers, Miranda says. The panelists praised Basils clear point of view and sense of innovation in utilizing sculptural quilts as a form of storytelling and healing. Basils work acknowledges the long and critical history of quilting in African culture and also finds new modes of expression within it, centering themes of interconnectedness and shared humanity.

His work can be seen in conceptual terms as an examination of two big ideas: reclamation and heritage. He achieves this by amassing donated and found materials, which he then uses as mediums to be incorporated into his assemblages, collages, and quilts. The quest to understand his own heritage is partly what inspired Kincaid to adopt quilting as an aesthetic technique. For more than 100 years his family members have quilted, and Kincaid has stated that his grandmother, who was an avid quilter, visits him in his dreams. He considers the quilts he makes to be a sort of metaphysical collaboration with his ancestors, which allows him to participate in a legacy that extends far back and infinitely forward.

Kincaid has exhibited works with Kavi Gupta Gallery in Chicago, Mindy Solomon Gallery in Miami, Kravets Wehby Gallery in New York, and Carl Kostyal in London. His work is part of the JP Morgan permanent art collection and he recently debuted The Release, his first museum performance, at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis.

United States Artists raise money and redistribute it to the countrys most compelling artists and cultural practitioners. Since its founding in 2006, the organization has awarded more than 700 individuals with over $33 million of direct support.
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The nomination of Ms Lauretta Onochie, a diehard member or supporter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), an all-purpose attack dog for the government and aide to President Muhammadu Buhari on Social Media and many more APC fundamentalists/partisan individuals to fill up sensitive and strategic positions in the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), not only underscores the total contempt the president has for democracy, it more than anything else shows a dangerous obsession to rig upcoming elections and perpetuate the calamitous reign of his evil party.

Clearly, the 2023 election is the ultimate target and the planning has long begun unknown to many Nigerians. Thankfully, Nigerians have risen in unison and rejected the partisan Onochie as a national commissioner nominee of INEC. Her nomination is still before the Senate, headed by President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, who has said he would not reject any request from the president to please critics. With utterances like that, we'll not be surprised if he sneaks that confirmation through in the middle of the night when we are sleeping. So we must remain vigilant.

That singular nomination did not help the perception of this government by Nigerians. Rather, it reinforced its unscrupulous reputation. It's a measure of the risk Buhari poses to the conduct of free and fair elections in Nigeria. The mere thought that the president considered her rabid partisanship an asset, that her exploits in attacking critics of his government made her worthy of such a sensitive position, is not only tragic but represents one of the greatest examples of insensitivity to democratic tenets and disrespect for the Nigerian people on a scale that defies explanation.

I have repeatedly stated that those who brought Buhari did this country a grave, immeasurable disservice and we must never forget them for what they have done to our country. The president by almost every action or inaction has proved his critics right. Nigeria is on the race to the bottom under a president with nepotism and ethnicity flowing through his veins, a man who is clearly hell-bent on destroying this country. As many have realised, President Buhari is clearly not interested in building or strengthening institutions, instead he is more than eager to destroy them.

Clearly, it appears the first goal of the emerging plot to kill lNEC by the APC is to seize control of it. The aim is to populate it with its members or sympathisers to ensure that whichever faction of its party that emerges as national executive of the party from the expected implosion of its forthcoming national convention would be recognised by those already implanted as commissioners in lNEC. Ultimately, the target is to secure 2023 electoral victory because the party is scared stiff of the public mood. There is no denying the fact that APC has failed Nigeria on a colossal scale. It has destroyed the scintilla of progress Nigeria had made and has become desperate to retain power at all cost. So INEC is now its surest bet of holding on to power as it did in 2019.

As part of the implementation of the Justice Mohammed Uwais's Electoral Reform Report, the Goodluck Jonathan government had set the tone for appointing the chairman and commissioners of INEC by significantly picking a crop of respected and neutral leadership for the commission. Ironically, the Buhari ruling APC benefited from this initiative because of the civil society background of a handful of the commissioners that Jonathan appointed, starting with Prof. Attahiru Jega. Most past commissioners, to a large extent, exhibited a commitment to the principles of neutrality and demonstrated courage that led to APC's victory in 2015.

If I may ask, would Buhari and those targeting the upright commissioners today be in power if these few experienced hands that stood on the part of rectitude had been compromised in 2015? Why should a national electoral management body be reconstituted in the interest and image of a ruling party that could not resolve any known crisis within its fold since 2015 but now wants to use a convention to settle all scores that they need their stooges in INEC to rubber stamp? The desire to purge INEC of its experienced and honest hands is merely aimed at achieving the obnoxious intentions for 2023. These few good hands, from the North and South, some of whom had championed electoral reforms before being appointed to INEC and have remained consistent, whose presence has given some credibility to the commission, are now targets of attacks by the APC apparatchik in their desperation to rid the system of them.

You see, by mid-2022, about six months to the 2023 general election, the tenure of 80% of Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) who were appointed by Buhari in 2017, would come to an end. This is because of their belated appointments, just like the delay in appointment of ministers by the president in 2015. The current efforts by the APC-led government to disregard universally recognised principles of professionalism and political neutrality expected of those who preside at various positions in lNEC and plant its members or sympathisers will spell doom for the 2023 elections. That appointments to INEC are now being determined by political groups within the ruling party in each of the geopolitical zones of the country, show how Nigeria's democracy under Buhari has been undermined.

Nigerians should be aware of the troubling consequences of partisan recruitment of either national commissioners or RECs. Whatever little gains recorded under Jonathan are gradually being reversed as public confidence in lNEC ahead of the 2023 election is fast eroding with dire consequences for the country already reeling from a near-total breakdown of law and order. It's even more worrisome that about 80% of the RECs will be leaving in August 2022 when the current crop of commissioners in INEC is expected to bow out.

Given the above scenario, and if we are a people with a scintilla of hope of building institutions, particularly institutions like lNEC, to serve the interest of the nation, the appointing authority ought to ensure that a healthy mix of experienced hands are moved up as national commissioners to oversee the RECs expected to be recruited in 2022.The importance of this cannot be overemphasized, given that states are under the supervision of national commissioners and the new RECs will not have sufficient time to acquaint themselves with the task of pre-election and election-day activities that could overwhelm them; especially in a year that will be dominated by transition elections at the federal and state levels.

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I sometimes wonder why experienced state resident commissioners who have served with credible records and without blemish can't rise or be elevated to national commissioners and why national commissioners can't be appointed to head the electoral body. Instead we look for fresh hands who are pliable to political pressure and deliberately recruited in the pursuit of partisan goals. Every appointment is now seen as an opportunity to push partisan ends and not an opportunity to build institutions that will serve the greater good.

Who are those to be appointed at this time as commissioners to prepare Nigeria for the 2023 election? We cannot take things for granted. We must be vigilant and keep a watchful eye on every move by this discredited government that values cows more than human life, otherwise we may not realise it until it's too late. Again, Joseph Stalin once said, "The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything." So we must keep an eagle eye on INEC and the integrity of those appointed to the commission.
Gardai will be able to fine NI motorists from Monday.

Irish police will begin issuing Northern Ireland motorists crossing over the border without a reasonable excuse for travel 100 fines from this Monday at 7am.

Garda revealed the announcement on Friday afternoon, confirming in a statement that the Republic's covid restrictions, under the Health Act 1947 have been amended to include the clause: "any other person who is not ordinarily resident in the State shall not travel within a relevant geographical location without reasonable excuse.

The police force explained that if enforcement is required, Gardai will issue a Fixed Payment Notice (FPN) of 100 to every adult present who is in breach of this regulation.

"For example, if the driver of a car has two adult passengers then each of the three adults in the car will receive a 100 fine," the statement continued.

The new rules come after Garda were given emergency powers to allow them to fine and turn back day trippers from Northern Ireland who cross the border by the Republics Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly.

It will mean that anyone who travels more than three miles over the border without good reason could be sent back, or potentially fined.

The Republics lockdown, in place until March 5, restricts travel to just 5km  or 3.1 miles  unless it is essential.

Those found in breach face fines of 100, and until this Monday, it had not applied to those travelling from Northern Ireland.

Last weekend when the new measures were first mooted, border politicians raised doubts over the enforcement of fines for Northern Ireland day trippers.

At the time Cavan Fine Gael councillor Peter McVitty said he doubted the plan would work.

This idea of policing the border is a joke, he said.

I was born and reared on the border and it could not possibly be done. No way could you do it.

Youd want thousands of Guards and PSNI  and thats not going to happen."
Not many French orientalists have attracted as much attention as Louis Massignon. A long-time professor at the College de France in Paris and a member of the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo and sometime lecturer at Cairo University, among many other honours, Massignon (1883-1962) was a main promoter of Arabic studies not only in France but also in many parts of the Arab world.



Anyone who was anyone in French or francophone Arabic studies in the middle decades of the last century seems to have been taught or influenced by Massignon. He was a frequent visitor to the region and beyond, and his interests were famously wide-ranging. Already a lecturer at Cairo University before 1914 and the author of field work in the Arab Maghreb and in what later became the modern states of Iraq and Syria, he joined the French officer corps in the First World War. He was assigned to the staff of French diplomat Francois Georges-Picot when the latter, along with British official Mark Sykes, was drafting the notorious Sykes-Picot Agreement that divided up the Arab provinces of the former Ottoman Empire among the European powers.



At first sympathetic to French colonialism in the Arab world, but later turning against it, Massignon became known to wider audiences after the Second World War because of his stands in favour of the Palestinians and support for independence movements in the countries of the Arab Maghreb that until the 1950s or 1960s were under French colonial rule. His interventions in favour of what today would be called inter-faith dialogue between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam brought his work to world attention.



As a result, Massignon has attracted the attention of biographers in a way seldom accorded to usually desk-bound academics, and a new biography has recently been published in France taking in the full range of his activities. Author Manoel Penicaud calls his book Louis Massignon, le catholique musulman, or Muslim Catholic, an appellation apparently given Massignon by Roman Catholic Pope Pius XI, and he says that his intention has been to introduce Massignon and his work to general readers, often using family papers and photographs to do so.



He has provided a version of Massignons life for a new generation, even if it seems unlikely that it will supplant the fuller treatment by Christian Destremau and Jean Moncelon published in 2005. The downside is that Penicaud, apparently not himself an Arabic-speaker, sometimes struggles to make sense of Massignons academic interests or what they have to offer later students. He has produced a monument to an intriguing figure in the development of Arabic studies in France, placing the emphasis on what he calls subjectivisation, broadly speaking the ways in which Massignon became the man he was.



The world in which Massignon moved in his formative years had something of the sepia charm of Prousts novels, and his securely upper-middle-class social background, his ease of movement between the socially exclusive French higher-education institutions of the time and government service, and his struggles with his Christian faith in the context of the fin-de-siecle Roman Catholic revival in France, have an historical interest, filling in the readers sense of parts of French society at the time.



However, that world had gone by the 1930s and probably before, and one wonders how well-adapted Massignons sensibility was in understanding either the rapidly changing Arab world or indeed his own changing profession as a teacher and researcher. By the 1950s, the progressive disappearance of many 19th-century academic hierarchies, slower in France than elsewhere, the expansion of higher education to new social classes, and the introduction of new questions and new ways of thinking from the social sciences were all forcing changes in orientalisms previously protected world.



Such changes would have been obvious to Massignons students, but it is not clear how far they really impinged upon him.



LANDMARKS

Biographers of Massignon ordinarily devote many pages to his formative years, and Penicaud is no exception.



There are the early trips to Morocco and Egypt when Massignon was just setting out on his studies, and there is a long account of his first visit to what is now Iraq, at the time made up of provinces of the former Ottoman Empire, during which he had experiences that permanently marked him and decided the course of his later career.



It was in Iraq that Massignon began work on the research for which he is most widely known. While he was apparently introduced to the 9th-century religious figure Mansour al-Hallaj while in Egypt before the First World War, it seems to have been still largely obscure experiences in Iraq, and when he was visiting sites associated with al-Hallaj, that convinced him that this controversial figure, prosecuted and then executed for heresy in Baghdad in 922 CE, should become his lifes work.



Penicaud says of Massignons discovery of al-Hallaj that it was through this 9th-century Muslim figure that he was brought back to his Christian faith. Massignon reinvented al-Hallaj in the light of his own personal experience, he says, adding that this was a dual process. On the one hand, his personal life influenced his view of al-Hallaj and on the other, his research also transformed his own with al-Hallaj playing an active role in Massignons life a thousand years after his martyrdom.



Looking up this work today, available in four volumes in French as La Passion de al-Hallaj, martyr mystique de lIslam and in a heroic English translation by Herbert Mason, it is impossible not to be struck by Massignons vast erudition. Not only do its two thousand or so pages apparently contain every scrap of information available about al-Hallaj, but they also contain a full-scale description of the society of his time.



Massignons experiences in the Arab provinces of the former Ottoman Empire before the First World War stood him in good stead for another stage of his career. Rather like the British Arabist T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), with whom he is sometimes compared, Massignon was drafted in to political work from 1916 onwards when British plans to detach the Arab provinces from the failing Ottoman Empire were raising alarm in Paris.



The French government did not want to see France pushed out of the Middle East as a result of British sponsorship, and it fought for its interests to be recognised, later establishing French protectorates in what are now Syria and Lebanon. Massignon, like Lawrence, a minor player in negotiations whose outcomes were decided on a political level, seems to have thrown himself into the role of go-between with gusto, to the discomfort of later admirers.



Returning to academia after the War, Massignon was appointed to the chair of Muslim Sociology at the College de France, retaining the position until the 1950s. Essentially a research post, but one that had, and has, the peculiarity of obliging its holder to give public lectures, this freed Massignon of regular teaching responsibilities and allowed him to pursue his interests.



These had to do with extending and revising his work on al-Hallaj, each new edition adding further pages, and developing religious interests that saw him both ordained a priest in the Middle Eastern Melkite Church and elaborating his theory of religious martyrdom in his versions of Christianity and Islam. This part of Massignons career, apparently meaning the most to him and probably occupying most of his time in his later years, may be the most difficult for outsiders to understand.



At the same time, there were public positions in favour of independence movements in the Arab Maghreb and in support of the Palestinians. Massignon, Penicaud writes, became a strong supporter of decolonisation because of his commitment against injustice in [Frances] colonies and protectorates. He became known for his newspaper articles and committee work against French colonialism in Morocco and Tunisia and against the French prosecution of the Algerian War of Independence.



At the end of this long and fascinating book, Penicaud says that there is a logic to Massignons life, revealed by the patient work of rearranging the pieces to make a whole. Key themes include the discovery of self through the other, in this case predominantly al-Hallaj, and the ideas of expiatory suffering and martyrdom that Massignon emphasised in his versions of Christianity and Islam.



Manoel Penicaud, Louis Massignon, le catholique musulman. Paris: Bayard, 2020, pp432

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 February , 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has approved the law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Accounting of Employee's Labor Activity in Electronic Form".

The relevant document, No.3623, was supported by 265 MPs at a parliaments meeting on February 5, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to the explanatory note, the law aims to introduce employee labor records in electronic form, as well as legislative regulation of the issue on automatic assignment of pensions through the personal electronic account of the person on the web portal of electronic services of the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

According to the document, the reform of accounting of employee's labor activity envisages a gradual abolition of employment record books.

The changes will also help eliminate possible risks and negative consequences of the loss of the employment record book, its physical damage, falsification and entry of inaccurate information in this document.

Keeping employment records of the employee in electronic form will ensure the required conditions for the introduction of automatic assignment of pensions and social benefits.

The law establishes a five-year transition period for the inclusion in the state register of information from paper employment records of employee's labor activity.

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Kadugli  The Joint Forces in South Kordofan have seize large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and explosives in the state capital of Kadugli, following raids carried out on several quarters of the city. The raid was carried out as implementation to the security committee's decisions and against the backdrop of the recent sabotage incidents in the state.

The Commander of Battalion 55 and Head of the Kadugli Security Committee, Brig Abdalla Abdoon, said in a statement to the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) that the joint forces also seized quantities of drugs, electronic devices, strategic commodities, and unlicensed vehicles.

He said the Armed Forces would remain the source of safety and stability and "the sole protector of the territories of the homeland".

In mid-January, the Governor of South Kordofan imposed a number of measures in Kadugli in an attempt to contain violent incidents in the town. In addition to a curfew, Governor Hamid El Bashir ordered a ban on carrying weapons in public places and markets, including members of the military.

The residents of Kadugli have been complaining about rampant insecurity in the town and its surroundings for months.

In late December 2020, a number of angry people blocked the main roads in Kadugli, in protest against the "current state of lawlessness". The protestors explained that they cannot leave their homes after 20:00 for fear of being robbed. A week later, they demonstrated again against the widespread insecurity.
February 04, 2021 " Information Clearing House " - We have have been discussing how writers, editors, commentators, and academics have embraced rising calls for censorship and speech controls, including President-elect Joe Biden and his key advisers. The erosion of free speech has been radically accelerated by the Big Tech and social media companies, including YouTube. Now YouTube has censored actual testimony given to the United States Senate by Dr. Pierre Kory, who was testifying on different drug treatment. So now these companies are going to censor what was told to the government and decide what viewers will be allowed to consider from the public debate. It is a continuation of the movement to prevent people from hearing opposing views and to control what is shared or discussed in a growing attack on free speech.

YouTube removed two videos from a December 8th hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. It featured Kory who discussed the use of Ivermectin as a potential treatment for Covid-19, particularly in the early stages. It is a drug that treats tropical diseases caused by parasites. Kory was calling for a review by National Institutes of Health on trials for the drug. Ultimately, it does appear that the NIH did change the status of the drug.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has said that the videos were blocked on his account, including Korys testimony. The Federalist maintained that YouTube removed the videos to the platforms COVID-19 Medical Misinformation Policy. That policy stipulates that anything which goes against local health authorities or the World Health Organizations (WHO) medical information about COVID-19 will be removed.

I can hardly shed light on the merits of the medical debate but this is the censoring of an actual Senate hearing that is so disturbing. YouTube is preventing citizens from watching testimony on an issue of national importance. It is an example of the slippery slope of censorship and how such speech regulation becomes an insatiable appetite for many.

For free speech advocates, the move is a raw example of corporate censorship but Democrats and many liberals applauded the action. Indeed, the Columbia journalism dean has lamented that these companies are not cracking down on free speech to a greater extent. This is why I remain an unabashed Internet originalist. I have long opposed the calls for censorship under the pretense of creating an honest Internet.

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There is ample ability of people to challenge such testimony. However, many do not want to engage in a debate. They want to silence others and control what fellow citizens are allowed to consider. In the meantime, hosts on CNN are assuring people that they do not have to call such acts censorship but harm reduction. Sen. Richard Blumenthal recently calling for robust content modification on the Internet. Those voices of censorship are only growing stronger in the United States.

Indeed, in the wake of the Capitol riot, Democratic members and others are calling for a crackdown on free speech and punitive actions for those viewed as complicit with Trump. What is striking is how censorship, blacklists, and speech controls are being repackaged as righteous and virtuous. Indeed, the failure to sign such anti-free speech screeds is a precarious choice for many as writers and publishers call for blacklists.

We are watching the most successful campaign against free speech in the history of the United States. It is being supported by many in the media and academia. If we allow companies like YouTube to succeed in such speech controls, true free speech could become a quaint historical relic in the United States.

Jonathan Turley is an American attorney, legal scholar, writer, commentator, and legal analyst in broadcast and print journalism. He is a professor at the George Washington University Law School, and has testified in United States Congressional proceedings about constitutional and statutory issues. https://jonathanturley.org/
Karl Stefanovic is known for his headline-grabbing stunts on the Today show.

And the 45-year-old gave viewers a good laugh on Friday when he went for an ocean swim live on air while broadcasting live from the Gold Coast.

He waltzed into the surf wearing his suit during a segment about the upcoming Ironman / Ironwoman Series.

No wetsuit, no problem! Today show host Karl Stefanovic gave viewers a good laugh on Friday when he went for an ocean swim live on air while broadcasting live from the Gold Coast

After the presenter boasted of his surfing skills, professional surfer Jordan Mercer challenged Karl to catch a wave while still fully clothed.

'He has really been bragging about these surf skills,' she said. 'The surf is only just big enough for Karl. I think we are going to get out there.'

An apprehensive Karl replied: 'See the thing is, I'd love to have done it, but I just didn't bring any gear!'

Need some help? He waltzed into the surf wearing his suit during a segment about the upcoming Ironman / Ironwoman Series

After some words of encouragement from fellow surfer TJ Hendy, Karl made his way into the ocean and toppled over within a few seconds.

'Good on him for having a go!' said fill-in co-host Leila McKinnon. 'Look at him there in his clothes. It's hilarious!'

In a post-surf interview, Karl admitted: 'It wasn't my best performance. The sea is pretty rough out there. I'd like to give it another go at some point.'

Fighting spirit: In a post-surf interview, Karl admitted, 'It wasn't my best performance. The sea is pretty rough out there. I'd like to give it another go at some point.' Pictured with surfer Jordan Mercer (centre) and fill-in co-host Leila McKinnon (right)

Karl's light-hearted antics came after he announced that his usual co-host, Allison Langdon, had injured herself 'badly' while filming a pre-recorded segment.

Explaining Allison's absence at the start of the program, he said the mother of two was in hospital after hurting her leg during a hydrofoiling accident on the water.

'She had a bit of an accident yesterday, she's doing fine. She hurt herself really badly,' he said. 'She's in hospital this morning. She's okay.'

Hydrofoiling, also known as foil surfing, is a relatively new watersport.

Accident: Karl's light-hearted antics came after he announced that his usual co-host, Allison Langdon, had injured herself 'badly' while filming a pre-recorded segment

Injury: The mother of two, 41, hurt her leg while hydrofoiling and was taken to hospital

The foil is attached to the bottom of a surfboard and features a wing-like design that helps lift the rider above the water.

Balance is key on the board, and riders have to place more of their weight on their back leg.

As Karl updated viewers, dramatic footage was shown on screen of Ally being pulled from the water after her accident.

Update: Karl recalled the dramatic incident to fill-in host Leila McKinnon on Friday

What is hydrofoiling? Hydrofoiling, also known as foil surfing, is a relatively new watersport.

The foil is attached to the bottom of a surfboard and features a wing-like design that helps lift the rider above the water. Balance is key on the board, and riders have to place more of their weight on their back leg. Advertisement

The reporter was put on her back while wearing a life vest and helmet and dragged back to a wharf by two male rescuers.

She then sat up by the water and composed herself as Karl helped her take off her helmet.

Leila told Karl that Ally had messaged her and seemed to be doing okay.

'She messaged me this morning at 3am asking how I liked the alarm, so she still has the same great spirit, but yeah doing it a bit tough. But she is a tough one,' she said.

Karl noted: 'We love you, Ally. We know you will be watching this morning or sleeping in.'

Later on the Today show, after Karl had taken a dip in the ocean in his suit, he said he 'was trying to make Ally laugh and she needs it. She's incredibly strong.'

Leila added: 'We're all thinking of Ally, obviously. We got a few messages from her this morning. She is doing okay. Thanks for having me this morning. I wouldn't have missed that for the world.'
For seven days, citizens held their breaths, hanging on to hope and praying that Andrea Bharatt would be found alive.

That hope dissolved in tears yesterday afternoon when her body was found down a precipice along a road in the forested Heights of Aripo, Arima.

The decomposing body of 22-year-old Andrea was identified by the clothing she was wearing on her last day at work on Friday by her father, Randolph Bharatt.
Regulators have fined the California prison system more than $400,000 for what they said were health violations  many of them coronavirus-related  at San Quentin State Prison.

The $421,880 fine against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is by far the largest penalty assessed against any entity in a single citation by Cal-OSHA during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspections in June and July found nine violations at San Quentin, six of them considered serious, the state said.

The agency will have the opportunity to appeal the fine. A spokesperson for the prison system said that San Quentin has made many improvements and already remedied several of the citations in the eight months since Cal-OSHA visited the institution.

We will continue to work with public health, health care, and workplace safety experts to improve processes throughout the pandemic, as our top priority is to keep all those who live and work in our state prisons safe, agency spokesperson Dana Sims said in a statement.

The large fine comes days after the state Office of Inspector General slammed the prison system in a blistering report, saying prison officials and medical staff sparked a public health disaster with their botched handling of the May transfers of 189 inmates from a Chino prison to San Quentin and Corcoran (Kings County) state prisons.

San Quentin received 122 inmates during the transfer. Within weeks, 91 ultimately tested positive for the virus  leading to a massive outbreak. More than 2,200 people incarcerated at San Quentin ultimately tested positive for the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic, though relatively few infections have occurred recently. San Quentin has reported 28 deaths among prisoners, and one death of a staff member.

Most of the violations cited by regulators at San Quentin were related to the prisons coronavirus-prevention protocols  or lack thereof.

Among the most serious violations that inspectors said they found:

 San Quentin allowed coronavirus-positive staff members to complete their work shifts.

 San Quentin allowed some staff members working in certain posts to circumvent coronavirus-screening stations.

 San Quentin allowed inmates with suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases to intermingle in housing units with noninfected inmates.

 San Quentin failed to train employees on coronavirus risk assessments and procedures and failed to train them on the use of N95 respirators and the limitations of face coverings as a means of slowing the spread of the virus.

 Regulators counted at least five instances when prison employees were hospitalized with COVID-19, but the prison did not report the hospitalizations as required by law, Cal-OSHA said.

Since then, San Quentin has taken steps to ensure that appropriate Cal-OSHA notifications were completed for known serious injuries and illness and that staff and incarcerated people were provided and required to use N95 masks per public health recommendations, said Sims, the prison spokesperson.

Not all of the violations Cal-OSHA said it found related to the prisons coronavirus protocols. The state said correctional officers and medical staff were found to be moving some inmates on stretchers via stairs as opposed to elevators, and the inspection also found that the prison did not provide suitable cleaning agents in the employee restroom or inmate canteen  an issue of concern whether or not the coronavirus is present.

Since the botched transfers in May, activists and people incarcerated in San Quentin have been pleading for the release of inmates at the prison.

James King, who was formerly incarcerated at San Quentin and now works for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, said both the Cal-OSHA citation and the OIG report have confirmed what he and others have been saying about conditions inside the prison for months.

The truth, King said, is that the prison has been overwhelmed from the very beginning. Now, people incarcerated are worried about a second or third wave of infections brought on by new coronavirus variants.

I wont feel vindicated, and I dont think others will, until the policy makers start holding themselves accountable by following the science, by releasing people from such obviously dangerous circumstances, King said. This is the second report that came out this week that reveals that what San Quentin and CDCR has been telling us since last May has been categorically false  that they are somehow doing everything possible to protect the people inside.

Michael Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: michael.williams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaeldamianw
MONTREAL - Representatives of Pornhub told a parliamentary committee Friday they didn't know if they had been contacted by a woman who said she struggled to have a video of her removed from the popular pornography website.

MindGeek Canada Managing Director Feras Antoon appears on a screen during a sound check as he waits to appear virtually before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

MONTREAL - Representatives of Pornhub told a parliamentary committee Friday they didn't know if they had been contacted by a woman who said she struggled to have a video of her removed from the popular pornography website.

Feras Antoon and David Tassillo of MindGeek, parent company of Pornhub, told the committee on access to information, privacy and ethics that they couldn't find records of any correspondence with Serena Fleites.

Fleites, however, told the committee on Monday that she had to ask Pornhub multiple times to remove an explicit video of her  taken when she was 14 years old  that was posted on the site without her consent.

Antoon, MindGeek part owner and CEO of the company's Canadian operations said, "We started an investigation and we do not have enough information to see if she ever contacted us at all.

"With the information we have today, we cannot find anything from what Ms. Fleites is saying."

While Antoon said he didn't want to suggest Fleites was lying, he said the first time he heard of her was when the company was contacted by a journalist. It was not the only time the executives didn't have answers for the committee.

Antoon and Tassillo were called to testify in front of MPs regarding whether they planned to make reparations for the companys failure to prohibit rape videos and other illegal content from its site, according to a committee motion in December.

The company is facing a class-action lawsuit in Quebec, alleging it profited off material showing child sexual abuse and non-consensual activity since 2007. It is also being sued by 40 women in California who claim the company continues to profit from pornographic videos of them that were published without their full consent.

Pornhub says it has removed all videos uploaded by non-verified users after the adult website faced accusations it hosted illegal content. The move came after Visa and MasterCard launched investigations and decided in December to stop allowing their cards to be used on Pornhub. Between eight and 10 million videos uploaded by unverified users were removed from the website after the change, Tassillo, MindGeek co-owner and chief operating officer, told the committee.

Asked by Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith how many times in 2020 people asked to have content removed because they didn't consent to it being posted, Antoon said the company was preparing a transparency report that would be made public soon.

When Erskine-Smith asked about previous years, Tassillo said the company has the information but that he didn't know off "the top of my head."

He also said he didn't know how many times child pornography that appeared on the site had been reported to authorities or how much the company has paid in legal settlements to people  adults or children  who did not consent to having explicit videos of them posted on the site.

"I can ensure you that number would be way below what I spend annually to protect the children and protect my site," Tassillo said.

While MindGeek  one of the world's largest producers and distributors of pornography  is legally headquartered in Luxembourg, Antoon and Tassillo live in Montreal where the company employs around 1,000 people.

Tassillo and Antoon said their company is a "world leader" in preventing the distribution of images of child sexual abuse and non-consensual pornography. If Pornhub was full of child pornography and non-consensual pornography, the four million Canadians who visit the site daily would be calling the police, Antoon said.

They said all content that appears on the website is screened using multiple software tools before being approved by human moderators. "We always instruct all our agents to err on the caution side, if you have any doubt at all, just don't let it up," Tassillo said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
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A statement released by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said that two of its border guards were freed from the terror organisation 'Jaish ul-Adl' in a successful surgical strike conducted in Pakistan. The IRGC in an official statement on Wednesday said that a successful operation was carried out last Tuesday night.

A statement released by Irans elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said that two of its border guards were freed from the terror organisation Jaish ul-Adl in a successful surgical strike conducted in Pakistan. as per media reports, these two were among the 12 soldiers kidnapped in 2018, in an intelligence operation inside Pakistans territory. The IRGC in an official statement on Wednesday said that a successful operation was carried out last Tuesday night to rescue two kidnapped border guards who were taken as hostages by Jaish ul-Adl organization two and a half years ago.

The Jaish ul-Adl organization has declared a terrorist organization by Tehran. It is aimed at waging an armed struggle against the Iranian government and says it defends the rights of Baloch Sunnis in Iran. On October 16, 2018, the terrorist outfit had kidnapped 12 IRGC guards and kept in Pakistani territory on the border between the two countries.

The military officials following the disturbing developments formed a joint committee between two countries to free the guards. Earlier Pakistani Army rescued four on March 21, 2019, and five of the 12 soldiers were released in November 2018. Jaish ul-Adl is the Pakistan-based radical Wahhabi terrorist group involved in staging cross-border attacks into southeast Iran from southwest Pakistan. In Feb 2019, the outfit also claimed responsibility for the attack on Irans paramilitary base. This deadly attack left dozens of IRGC members killed and wounded after their bus came under terrorist attack in the province.

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During the 1980s relations between Shia-majority Iran and Sunni-majority Pakistan became greatly strained due to arising sectarian tension. Pakistani Shia Muslims claimed about being systematically distrimabted and treated unequally under the Sunni-biased Islamization program being imposed throughout Pakistan during General Zia-Ul-Haq regime.
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Panasonic AI-driven cameras empower an expanding vision of new uses

Imagine a world where video cameras are not just watching and reporting for security, but have an even wider positive impact on our lives. Imagine that cameras control street and building lights, as people come and go, that traffic jams are predicted and vehicles are automatically rerouted, and more tills are opened, just before a queue starts to form. Cameras with AI capabilities Cameras in stores can show us how we might look in the latest outfit as we browse. Thats the vision from Panasonic about current and future uses for their cameras that provide artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities at the edge. Panasonic feels that these types of intelligent camera applications are also the basis for automation and introduction of Industry 4.0, in which processes are automated, monitored and controlled by AI-driven systems. 4K network security cameras The companys i-PRO AI-capable camera line can install and run up to three AI-driven video analytic applications Panasonics 4K network security cameras have built-in AI capabilities suitable for this next generation of intelligent applications in business and society. The companys i-PRO AI-capable camera line can install and run up to three AI-driven video analytic applications. The AI engine is directly embedded into the camera, thus reducing costs and Panasonics image quality ensures the accuracy of the analytics outcome. FacePRO facial recognition technology Panasonic began advancing AI technology on the server side with FacePRO, the in-house facial recognition application, which uses AI deep learning capabilities. Moving ahead, they transitioned their knowledge of AI from the server side to the edge, introducing i-PRO security cameras with built-in AI capabilities last summer, alongside their own in-house analytics. Moreover, in line with the Panasonic approach to focus more on collaboration with specialist AI software developers, a partnership with Italian software company, A.I. Tech followed in September, with a range of intelligent applications, partially based on deep learning. Additional collaborations are already in place with more than 10 other developers, across the European Union, working on more future applications. i-PRO AI-capable security cameras Open systems are an important part of Panasonics current approach. The companys i-PRO AI-capable cameras are an open platform and designed for third-party application development, therefore, applications can be built or tailored to the needs of an individual customer. Panasonic use to be a company that developed everything in-house, including all the analytics and applications. However, now we have turned around our strategy by making our i-PRO security cameras open to integrate applications and analytics from third-party companies, says Gerard Figols, Head of Security Solutions at Panasonic Business Europe. Flexible and adapting to specific customer needs This new approach allows the company to be more flexible and adaptable to customers needs. At the same time, we can be quicker and much more tailored to the market trend, said Gerard Figols. He adds, For example, in the retail space, enabling retailers to enhance the customer experience, in smart cities for traffic monitoring and smart parking, and by event organisers and transport hubs to monitor and ensure safety. Edge-based analytics offer multiple benefits over server-based systems Edge-based analytics Edge-based analytics offer multiple benefits over server-based systems. On one hand, there are monetary benefits - a cost reduction results from the decreased amount of more powerful hardware required on the server side to process the data, on top of reduction in the infrastructure costs, as not all the full video stream needs to be sent for analysis, we can work solely with the metadata. On the other hand, there are also advantages of flexibility, as well as reliability. Each camera can have its own individual analytic setup and in case of any issue on the communication or server side, the camera can keep running the analysis at the edge, thereby making sure the CCTV system is still fully operational. Most importantly, systems can keep the same high level of accuracy. Explosion of AI camera applications We can compare the explosion of AI camera applications to the way we experienced it for smartphone applications" We can compare the explosion of AI camera applications to the way we experienced it for smartphone applications, said Gerard Figols, adding However, it doesnt mean the hardware is not important anymore, as I believe its more important than ever. Working with poor picture quality or if the hardware is not reliable, and works 24/7, software cannot run or deliver the outcome it has been designed for. As hardware specialists, Figols believes that Panasonic seeks to focus on what they do best - Building long-lasting, open network cameras, which are capable of capturing the highest quality images that are required for the latest AI applications, while software developers can concentrate on bringing specialist applications to the market. Same as for smartphones, AI applications will proliferate based on market demand and succeed or fail, based on the value that they deliver. Facial recognition, privacy protection and cross line technologies Panasonic has been in the forefront in developing essential AI applications for CCTV, such as facial recognition, privacy protection and cross line. However, with the market developing so rapidly and the potential applications of AI-driven camera systems being so varied and widespread, Panasonic quickly realised that the future of their network cameras was going to be in open systems, which allow specialist developers and their customers to use their sector expertise to develop their own applications for specific vertical market applications, while using i-PRO hardware. Metadata for detection and recognition Regarding privacy, consider that the use of AI in cameras is about generating metadata for the detection and recognition of patterns, rather than identifying individual identities. However, there are legitimate privacy concerns, but I firmly believe that attitudes will change quickly when people see the incredible benefits that this technology can deliver, said Gerard Figols, adding I hope that we will be able to redefine our view of cameras and AI, not just as insurance, but as life advancing and enhancing. i-PRO AI Privacy Guard One of the AI applications that Panasonic developed was i-PRO AI Privacy Guard Seeking to understand and appreciate privacy concerns, one of the AI applications that Panasonic developed was i-PRO AI Privacy Guard that generates data without capturing individual identities, following European privacy regulations that are among the strictest in the world. Gerard Fogils said, The combination of artificial intelligence and the latest generation open camera technology will change the worlds perceptions from Big Brother to Big Benefits. New applications will emerge as the existing generation of cameras is updated to the new open and intelligent next generation devices, and the existing role of the security camera will also continue. Future scope of AI and cameras He adds, Not just relying on the security cameras for evidence when things have gone wrong, end users will increasingly be able to use AI and the cameras with much higher accuracy to prevent false alarms and in a proactive way to prevent incidents." Gerard Figols concludes, That could be monitoring and alerting when health and safety guidelines are being breached or spotting and flagging patterns of suspicious behaviour before incidents occur.


Oil prices climbed on Friday to their highest levels in a year, extending a run of strong gains this week, boosted by the continued commitment of producers to hold back crude supply and positive signs of economic growth in the United States.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures jumped 51 cents, or 0.9%, to $56.73 a barrel by 0210 GMT, after touching a high of $56.75, the most since Jan. 22 last year. The benchmark contract is on track for a weekly gain of nearly 9%, which would be its biggest weekly gain since October

Brent crude futures climbed 45 cents, or 0.8%, to $59.28 a barrel, after hitting a high of $59.32, its highest since Feb. 20 last year. Brent is on track to rise 6% this week.

Markets were encouraged by stronger-than-expected orders for U.S. goods in December, pointing to strength in manufacturing, and hopes for swift approval by lawmakers of President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid plan.

"OPEC+ discipline has been a real positive," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, referring to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, together called OPEC+. The alliance this week reaffirmed its support for deep supply cuts which have helped to bring down swollen global crude stockpiles.

"And then when we have signs of better economic growth, then it's up and away (for prices)," said McCarthy.

Chinese demand for crude oil is also helping support the market, as shown by industry tracking two tankers of North Sea crude oil heading to China for March 22 and March 24, said Axi global market strategis Stephen Innes.

"When demand drives commodity prices, it has a more bullish impact and leaves a more lasting reflection on price action," Innes said in a note.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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A Pennsylvania District Attorney has been accused of sexually assaulting at least five female clients and trading legal services for sex while they were his clients.

Chad Michael Salsman, 44, a prosecutor in Bradford County, was charged on Wednesday with numerous crimes relating to the accusations.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement that charges included three counts of sexual assault, five counts of indecent assault, witness intimidation, obstruction of justice and promoting prostitution.

Salsman, elected in November 2019, manipulated several women into unwanted sexual acts and sexually assaulted them, prosecutors allege.

Witnesses have also claimed that he would use music or a noise cancelling machine to drown out the sounds coming from his office.

After the Republican DA forced them into unwanted sex acts, he then directed them into his private bathroom to 'clean up', according to a criminal complaint.

Complaints says once they had done so with paper towels and wet wipes, he is accused of threatening the woman into silence over the incidents.

Chad Michael Salsman, 44, a prosecutor in Bradford County, was charged on Wednesday with numerous crimes relating to the accusations. Pictured: Salsman is escorted into Magisterial District Court, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021

Salsman (pictured) elected in November 2019, manipulated several women into unwanted sexual acts and sexually assaulted them, prosecutors allege

Several of Salsman's staff testified to seeing women leaving his office in distress, and that their boss went to great lengths to hide the abuse during his time working for the private sector.

A grand jury heard women say he groped them, sought nude photos and pressured or forced them into sexual acts, sometimes on his office desk.

'Many of Salsman's clients struggled with addictions, had a history of being sexually abused, or suffered from other vulnerabilities which Salsman exploited,' the jurors wrote in a report issued Friday.

'He used his knowledge of their vulnerabilities to overcome their lack of consent and sexually assault them.'

His lawyer, Sam Stretton, said Salsman denies all the allegations.

'And my investigation seems to support that proposition,' Stretton said. 'So we will vigorously try this case. This will not be a plea.'

Stretton said he has found no evidence of forced sex.

'There was never any grabbing, improper touching,' Stretton said. 'There was never anything of that nature. Never any intimidation.'

Authorities alleged Salsman stopped charging a client in a custody case after she began having sex with him.

White Noise machines Witnesses claimed that Chad Michael Salsman would use a noise cancelling machine to drown out the sounds coming from his office. These work by playing white noise - which is when sound waves of a broad spectrum of frequencies are emitted. This forms a sound similar to the constant hum of a fan, that drowns out other noise in the background. White noise machines are often used by people who have trouble sleeping in loud environments, to drown out the sound traffic, for example. The sound emitted by a white noise machine, in many cases, sounds similar to wind blowing through trees or a rushing waterfall - background noises that are not intrusive. Advertisement

They said a woman told Salsman she had been raped, and he subsequently directed her to enter his office in Towanda through a back door and undress.

'He picked these victims because they didn't have another choice,' state Attorney General Josh Shapiro told reporters at the Bradford courthouse.

'Because he thought they would be easy to silence. And likely they would be less believed if they ever came forward.'

Salsman was in custody at the nearby state police station and being processed Wednesday afternoon, Shapiro said.

He waived a preliminary hearing Wednesday, and bail was set at $500,000. Salsman expected to post 10 percent of it and be released later in the day, Stretton said.

Salsman's status as district attorney has not changed, and his political fate will be up to residents of Bradford County and the board that investigates allegations of wrongdoing against lawyers, Shapiro said.

'We're going to try to get an early trial,' said Stretton, Salsman's lawyer. 'If we win, we win. If we lose, of course there's not much we can do to save his position.'

Salsman, a 44-year-old Republican, has been the top prosecutor in the rural county along the New York line since early 2020.

The attorney general's office said one of the assault allegations dates to the period between Salsman's November 2019 election and his swearing-in as district attorney.

The witness tampering charges are for actions that allegedly occurred during Salsman's tenure as district attorney.

'He has compromised the sacred public trust, and he is not fit to serve as district attorney,' Shapiro said.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (pictured in 2019, file photo) said in a statement that charges included three counts of sexual assault, five counts of indecent assault, witness intimidation, obstruction of justice and promoting prostitution

'He is not fit to serve as the chief law enforcement official in this county. And believe he can no longer perform his duties.'

The grand jury said there were other women who recounted similar attacks, but those cases occurred too long ago for criminal charges. Salsman began practicing law in 2001.

The case was referred to the attorney general's office in late 2019 by a former Bradford County district attorney, the grand jury wrote.
China has threatened to retaliate after British regulators stripped China's state TV channel of its UK broadcasting licence amid mounting tensions between London and Beijing.

British regulator Ofcom yesterday revoked the licence of CGTN, the international channel of China's state broadcaster CCTV, after finding its state-backed ownership structure broke UK law.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the UK of 'political oppression' and 'double standards', and demanded Britain 'correct its mistakes' on Friday.

The UK has stripped China's state-owned TV channel CGTN of its broadcasting licence after an investigation found the licence holder lacked editorial control and had links to China's ruling Communist Party. CGTN is the international arm of Beijing state broadcaster CCTV (pictured)

Wang Wenbin (pictured in November), a spokesperson of China's foreign ministry, accused the UK of ignoring freedom of the press and having double standards. He told reporters on Friday that British regulator Ofcom had acted on 'political grounds based on ideological bias'

Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson of the foreign ministry, told reporters that Ofcom had acted on 'political grounds based on ideological bias'.

Mr Wang condemned Ofcom for 'politicising technical issues, seriously harming the survival of Chinese media and severely interfering with normal exchanges between the two countries'.

He also accused the 'British side' of ignoring freedom of the press, holding 'double standards' and launching 'political oppression'.

'We urge the UK to immediately stop political manipulation and correct its mistakes. China reserves the right to make the necessary response to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese media,' Mr Wang said at a daily briefing.

In its decision issued on Thursday, Ofcom said it revoked the UK licence for China Global Television Network, or CGTN, an international English-language satellite news channel, because of a lack of editorial control and links to China's Communist Party.

President Xi Jinping of China is seen on a CGTN archive programme as it plays on a computer monitor on February 04, 2021, in London. British media watchdog Ofcom said it revoked CGTN's UK licence because of a lack of editorial control and links to China's Communist Party

CGTN had been available on free and pay TV in the UK. Regulators started looking into the station after receiving a complaint from human rights group Safeguard Defenders that called for an investigation into its ownership.

Ofcom is also continuing to investigate several additional complaints that the station violated rules on fairness and accuracy.

Those complaints include the broadcasting of alleged forced confessions by a former British Consulate employee in Hong Kong and a British corporate investigator and longtime government critic, Gui Minhai, whose whereabouts are now unknown.

In a tweet, Gui's daughter Angela Gui said, 'Finally, five years after first airing a forced confession by my father #GuiMinhai in the UK, Ofcom has revoked CGTN's licence to broadcast. Thank you @SafeguardDefend and everyone else who's filed complaints.'

Finally, five years after first airing a forced confession by my father #GuiMinhai in the UK, Ofcom has revoked CGTNs license to broadcast. Thank you @SafeguardDefend and everyone else whos filed complaints. https://t.co/mI8qmTFjiB  Angela Gui (@angelagui_) February 4, 2021

Ofcom's decision adds to friction between Britain and China, already strained by the UK's efforts to address allegations of human rights abuses against the Uighur minority in Xinjiang and widen residency rights for Hong Kongers.

Mr Wang gave no details on how China would retaliate. However, the BBC, which is only available in some hotels, businesses and residential compounds for foreigners in China, could become a target.

The Foreign Ministry initially responded to word of the loss of CGTN's licence with renewed criticism of the BBC.

The ministry called a January 29 BBC report on COVID-19 in China 'typical fake news' and demanding a public apology.

It said 'China reserves the right to take further measures.' The BBC said it stood by its reporting and rejected the 'unfounded accusations.'

China has accused the BBC of spreading 'fake news' over a January 29 report on COVID-19

In his defence of CGTN, Mr Wang said the British knew all along about its ties to China's ruling party.

Mr Wang said CGTN always adhered to regulations and upheld the principles of 'objectivity, impartiality, truthfulness and accuracy in news reporting'.

'China is a socialist country led by the Communist Party. The British side has been well aware of the nature of the Chinese media,' Mr Wang said.

'The British side knew this clearly from the first day CGTN broadcasted in the UK 18 years ago. That the UK now makes an issue of Chinese media's nature and obstructing CGTN in its broadcasting is purely political manipulation,' he said.

CGTN has been at the forefront of the party's bid to seize the narrative from Western news media about human rights in China and its aggressive military and diplomatic moves amid a hardening of attitudes toward China in countries from South Korea to Canada.
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By the mid-60s, he once told Ageless magazine, he had two failed marriages behind him and his drinking was out of control. But with the help of his third wife, former British actress Elaine Taylor, he resuscitated his career. In 1973 he conceived and directed an evening of Shakespearean love themes entitled Lovers and Madmen, appearing opposite Zoe Caldwell, and the following year picked up a Tony for the musical Cyrano. He scored as Rudyard Kipling in John Hustons film The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and as Sherlock Holmes in the 1980 film Murder by Decree. During this period he won an Emmy in NBC miniseries The Moneychangers (1976) and starred in Paul Newmans TV production of The Shadow Box in 1980. He also lent his voice to the childrens series Madeline, picking up another Emmy, and the animated feature An American Tail.
The deputy managing director of GAMTEL, Lamin Tunkara has explained the reason for the general internet outage in the country on Tuesday. He revealed that backup link (cable) that connects Gambia to the outside world was unintentionally cut by a company working for NAWEC which led to the general internet outage.

Mr. Tunkary revealed this during an interview with Kerr Fatou on Wednesday.

It could be recalled that, on Tuesday, the country experienced some hours without internet connection resulting in general disruption of services mainly dependent on the internet.

"The country was down because the backup link that connects us with the outside world runs through (Farato), disconnected by certain workers that are working with NAWEC, through the Gambia government contract, were digging some poles and they happened to cut through our cables," said Lamin Tunkara

According to him, the country's main cable Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), which runs from Portugal to South Africa, which The Gambia is a partner went down couple of weeks ago, because fishing boats that are in the sea happened to knock the cable and cut it.

"When things like this happen what we do is we link through the backup link which is Sonatel which runs from Serekunda through Saleti, Cassamance to Dakar because that's where their main landing station is"

He added that that backup also happened to go through the same cut by the same people.

Mr Tunkara recalled that this is the third time such thing is occurring due to NAWEC operations, while describing it as the most serious of the previous outrages the country ever experienced.

"We had a cable cut. We do experience things like this. But this particular one is of a higher magnitude, and has hugely impacted the entire country."
Mardi Gras and the weekend leading up to it will look quite different in New Orleans this year amid the lingering coronavirus pandemic.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced new restrictions starting next Friday, Feb. 12, and lasting through the Mardi Gras holiday on Feb. 16 as part of a citywide plan to crack down on crowds to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The biggest new restriction? The closing of all bars in the city. Also included were guidelines on where people can and cannot gather during the time the rules are in effect.

All New Orleans bars closed for Mardi Gras, access restricted to major streets under new rules Bars will be closed, people will have to pass through checkpoints to get to major Carnival gathering spots like Bourbon and Frenchman streets,

Here's a list of where revelers will not be allowed to access and when:

CITYWIDE : All bars will be closed for indoor and outdoor service; the sale of to-go drinks is not allowed.

: All bars will be closed for indoor and outdoor service; the sale of to-go drinks is not allowed. FRENCH QUARTER : The sale of packaged liquor will be prohibited.

: The sale of packaged liquor will be prohibited. BOURBON STREET* : Bourbon Street will be closed at night from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. to both vehicles and pedestrians. Loitering is not allowed.

: Bourbon Street will be closed at night from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. to both vehicles and pedestrians. Loitering is not allowed. FRENCHMEN STREET* : Frenchmen Street will be closed at night from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. to both vehicles and pedestrians. Loitering is not allowed.

: Frenchmen Street will be closed at night from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. to both vehicles and pedestrians. Loitering is not allowed. DECATUR STREET* : Decatur Street will be closed at night from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. to both vehicles and pedestrian with no loitering allowed.

: Decatur Street will be closed at night from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. to both vehicles and pedestrian with no loitering allowed. CLAIBORNE CORRIDOR : The Claiborne Underpass will be fenced off from St. Louis Street to St. Bernard Avenue and loitering is not allowed. Large gatherings are banned including things that encourage people to congregate, like street performances.

: The Claiborne Underpass will be fenced off from St. Louis Street to St. Bernard Avenue and loitering is not allowed. Large gatherings are banned including things that encourage people to congregate, like street performances. OTHER: NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said there will be an increased police presence at the above locations, along with Magazine Street and St. Charles Avenue.

*  Residents, employees, hotel guests and restaurant and retail goers will be allowed in these areas

There will be additional restrictions in place in #NOLA to prevent the spread of #COVID19 during the final weekend of Carnival. Details at https://t.co/AJeXJbJuKc. pic.twitter.com/ICtIRrt9xB  NOLA Ready (@nolaready) February 5, 2021

+2 Replay: LaToya Cantrell announces Bourbon Street checkpoints, bar closures for Mardi Gras Mayor LaToya Cantrell is scheduled to discuss Mardi Gras public safety rules on Friday morning after recent reports of large, maskless gatheri

Ahead of Mardi Gras, NOPD encourages people to report large gatherings As city officials devise a crowd-control plan to prevent further spread of the coronavirus during Carnival, the New Orleans Police Department 

The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate staff writers Jessica Williams and Jeff Adelson contributed to this report.
Burma Anti-NLD Ethnic Politicians Picked by Military Regime for Governing Council

Soldiers continue to block a main road in Naypyitaw on Friday, following Mondays coup. / The Irrawaddy

Three ethnic politicians from parties politically opposed to the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government toppled by the armed forces on Monday have been appointed to the military regimes governing body, the State Administrative Council (SAC).

The move came two days after the military (or Tatmadaw) staged a coup and arrested President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The SAC, which was formed a day after the military takeover with coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as chairman, has a total of 16 members so far.

One of the new SAC members is Daw Aye Nu Sein, a lawyer-cum-politician and the spokesperson for the Arakan National Party (ANP). As one of the ANPs policy board members, she was a critic of both the ousted NLD government and the military regarding civilian casualties and the treatment of civilians arrested by the Tatmadaw in Rakhine State over the past few years.

Fierce fighting between the military (or Tatmadaw) and the Arakan Army in Rakhine State between November 2018 and November 2020 left more than 200,000 civilians displaced. The two sides agreed to a pause in the fighting after the Nov. 8 polls.

As recently as last week, Daw Aye Nu Sein urged the military to put the peoples interests and the countrys image first after a Tatmadaw spokesman refused to rule out a coup over the militarys claims of election fraud.

It is an unwanted comment [on the possibility of staging a coup]. This kind of threat should not be raised  because the military is already entitled to a share of administrative power under the Constitution, she said during a political talk show hosted by the Democratic Voice of Burma last Friday.

The Irrawaddy could not reach Daw Aye Nu Sein for comment on her decision to participate in the SAC and the fact that it is led by the military, an institution she has frequently criticized.

The ANP said in a statement on Thursday that it would cooperate with the military regime as necessary for Rakhines national interest. The party avoided direct references to a military takeover of power on Monday, and merely criticized the NLD and the military for failing to settle their political disputes, which led to the militarys declaration of a state of emergency that we dont want.

Many ethnic Rakhine netizens have criticized the ANPs collaboration with the military.

You do not denounce the military coup, but use Rakhine state to assert your authority and kneel down before the army. Shame on you! read one comment under an ANP Facebook post.

Others commented that the party was putting pride first, after feeling ignored by the NLD while it was in charge of the country. Relations between the two parties soured after the NLD took power five years ago and declined to appoint an ANP member as the Rakhine State chief minister.

ANP secretary U Tun Aung Kyaw, who won an Upper House seat in last years election, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that, We were ignored by the ruling party [the NLD] for the past five years [from 2015 to 2020], and they never invited us to hold negotiations.

He blamed the NLD for the Union Election Commissions decision to cancel voting for security reasons a week before the Nov. 8 polls in nine Rakhine State townships affected by the armed conflict, and its failure to re-run the election in the affected areas before Jan. 31, the last day of the parliamentary session. Rakhine politicians insisted that rescheduled voting in those areas be held before the start of the new Parliament session on Feb. 1, while the existing law only allows for by-elections to be held within a year of the polls.

Our state has many problems to solve, including the issues of internally displaced people and the hundreds of civilians arrested under the terrorism act. We strongly believe the ANP has a duty to resolve these issues and we will accept any collaboration to help the people, he said.

Another new SAC appointee, Saw Daniel, was until Thursday the vice chairman of the Kayah State Democratic Party (KySDP), a rival of the NLD in the state.

However, on Thursday, the KySDP said in a statement that it had dismissed Saw Daniel as vice chairman for his participation in the military-led SAC. The party said his decision to join the council was made independently, adding that he is no longer affiliated with the party.

The KySDP condemned the military takeover and called on the immediate release of all detained politicians and for the election results to be respected.

Also appointed to the SAC was Sai Lone Hseng, a former Shan State speaker representing the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the NLDs main rival and the militarys proxy party.

Two other ethnic people appointed to the SAC earlier are Jeng Phang Naw Taung and U Moung Har, the former manager of Myanmar Economic Bank.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Lawmakers Denied Seats by Coup Hold Their Own Swearing-in Ceremony

Myanmar Military Charges Against Suu Kyi Assault Rule of Law

Kirin Scraps Joint Venture With Myanmar Military-Owned Firm After Coup
Sojourner Truth

President Biden wants to speed the process of putting abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the face of the $20 bill, replacing Andrew Jackson, who was responsible for the Trail of Tears forced evacuation of Native Americans from the southeast.

President Trump threw cold water on replacing Jackson, saying it is pure political correctness to put Tubman on the bill.

But what goes around comes around.

More than 201K people have signed a petition on Change.org, supporting the renaming of the 465-acre Donald J. Trump Park in New Yorks Westchester and Putnam Counties to Sojourner Truth Park.

Trumps real estate company bought the land for $2M but when it was thwarted in developing the property it donated the parcel to the state for a tax write-up.

Born an enslaved person outside Kingston, NY in 1797, Truth, who gained her freedom in 1827 when NYS banned slavery, went on to be a leading advocate of emancipation and womens suffrage.

The petition notes that the names given to public property have significance in how we choose to reflect the character and values of who we are as a nation and people.

Truth represents the Empire States commitment to freedom and diversity. It seems only fitting that a park stripped of the name of a man who incited insurrection should be replaced with that of a woman who fought against and helped defeat insurrectionists, states the petition.

Sign me up.

The sky's the limit for the New York Times, according to CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, who has targeted the worlds 100M people willing to pay for online news in English. Thats 10 percent of the 1B global digital news readers.

Kopit Levien sees an opportunity to increase the NYTs 6.7M digital subscriber base three or four fold over time.

She is getting a little ahead of herself. Her bullishness comes as the New York Times Co. reported flat Q4 revenues of $509.4M and 3.3 percent uptick in operating profit to $80.5M. Net income plummeted 84.3M to $10.8M.

That lackluster financial performance occurred despite a frenzied news period, which featured Trumps nonsensical stolen election claims, global COVID-19 pandemic and the shaky rollout of vaccines.

The NYT did scoop up 627K new digital subscribers during Q4, but 202K of them were for cooking, games and audio products.

Conservatives like to rail against cancel culture but the idea of withholding support for companies and public figures after theyve done something deemed objectionable does have its fans.

More than a one-third (34 percent) of Americans says cancel culture is good for society, according to a survey by Porter Novelli. That easily tops the 20 percent who say cancel culture is bad. Three-in ten believe cancel culture is effective, but overused.

PNs Business of Cancel Culture Study does put a positive spin on cancel culture, concluding that cancellation is not the end but a beginning of creative a positive public discourse.

A good PR firm can get companies back into the good graces of their detractors.
Teaching unions have demanded ministers reject proposals to extend the school day, claiming there are 'better methods' to help pupils catch up on lost time in the classroom.

The idea of extending school hours is being pushed by some Tory MPs and the Government is said to be receptive to the suggestion as it tries to remedy the damage done by lockdown.

But the NAHT school leaders' union has urged ministers to dismiss the 'superficially attractive' policy.

Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: 'Research evidence shows that there are better methods to help pupils than lengthening the school day.

'The Government must filter out loud calls for superficially attractive schemes and listen to the experts instead.'

Should teaching unions try to stand in the way of the move if the Government adopts the proposals, volunteers could cover the extended lessons, according to The Times.

Downing Street said at lunchtime that the Government is working with teachers and parents on catch-up plans, adding: 'The PM acknowledges that extended schools closures have had a huge impact on pupils' learning which will clearly take time to make up.'

It came as Government scientific advisers claimed that Boris Johnson is being 'overcautious' by sticking to his plan to reopen schools in England on March 8 at the earliest.

Some of the experts advising ministers believe 'there really isn't a case for keeping all kids off until March 8' due to the success of the vaccination drive and falling case numbers.

They believe the large-scale roll-out of coronavirus jabs means there is no risk of a return to classrooms triggering a massive third wave of infections.

However, scientific opinion is split on the issue with other experts arguing that even March 8 could be too soon for pupils to return.

Boris Johnson is under growing pressure to bring forward the reopening of schools in England

Ministers are said to be considering extending the school day when pupils return to classrooms in order to boost learning

Hundreds of teachers in London 'book Covid vaccine through NHS booking link sent on WhatsApp' Hundreds of teachers in London have been able to book coronavirus vaccinations after being forwarded links intended for NHS workers, it was claimed today. A booking link and password reserved for staff at Barts Health NHS Trust were circulated among school staff groups via WhatsApp, according to the BBC. Several teachers were able to bypass the vaccines priority list - which says over-70s and frontline healthcare staff should be first - and have already received their jabs. The exploit was distributed to local school staff in the Labour-run boroughs of Hackney and Camden, as well as in Barnet. Teachers said the messages had been sent via school management and were spreading in private WhatsApp groups with dozens of members. Labour has repeatedly called for classroom staff to be prioritised for Covid vaccines, arguing it could get children back in education sooner. The Barts trust said it was investigating the reports and promised to make its booking system more secure. It said anyone skipping the queue would be turned away from their appointment, but the BBC reports 'some' teachers have already been jabbed. Advertisement

Mr Johnson is under growing political pressure to bring forward the date for reopening schools after studies suggested that vaccines do reduce the risk of transmission.

Tory MPs are pushing the PM to follow Nicola Sturgeon's lead after she announced that pupils in Scotland will start to go back to school after half-term from February 22.

The PM has said he intends to stick to his March 8 date because that will be the point at which millions of the most vulnerable people who have been given the jab will have built up their immunity.



But Professor Robert Dingwall, a member of the Department of Health's NERVTAG committee on respiratory viruses, told The Telegraph he believes the vaccine roll-out would allow an earlier return for schools.

Speaking in a personal capacity, he said: 'Many people looking at this think it's a tolerable risk to get the kids back, as the Scots are doing.

'We could start getting primary school children back after half term and there really isn't a case for keeping all kids off until March 8.

'The Scottish advisers tend to be more conservative than the English ones, so it's very hard to resist the conclusion that the English are being a little overcautious this time.

'If you have the first three years of primary coming back immediately after half term that is not now going to create an explosive third wave.'

Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) which advises the Government, said: 'The latest Sage data on the contribution of reopening schools on the R-number is between 0.2 and 0.5.

'That's a huge range and my reading of the evidence is that it is at the lower end, which would suggest you could reopen primary schools after the February half term.'

However, other scientific experts believe returning to classrooms too soon will result in a spike in infections and that case numbers still need to fall a lot further before schools can reopen.

Mr Johnson insisted earlier this week that his March 8 date is the 'prudent and cautious approach' and that he does not intend to deviate from it.

He told a Downing Street press conference: 'We have got to make a judgement about the effectiveness of the vaccines in bringing down the death rate and bringing down serious illness.

'That judgement we are going to make in the week of the [February] 15th. We are going to look at all the data, we have seen some promising stuff from Israel but to the best of my knowledge we are not yet seeing the kind of conclusive data that we need on that key point.

'Then we want to be waiting to ensure that after February 15 we leave three weeks for all the JCVI cohorts one to four, all those most vulnerable groups... have allowed their vaccination immunity to be acquired and as you know it takes about three weeks for it to properly set in.

'That speaks to a date of about March 8. Then of course you need to give the schools two weeks notice to open.

'For all those reasons we think that's the sensible date. I just would say to people who understandably want to go faster, I share that anxiety and that urgency because we fought so hard and for so long to try to keep schools open, I think that was a reasonable thing to do, but what we don't want to do now that we are making progress with the vaccine roll-out and we have got a timetable for the way ahead, we don't want to be forced into reverse.

'So we think this is the prudent and cautious approach and I think it much better to stick to that.'

Psychologist mother-of-two says she was forced to quit work to home-school her children after her boss refused to furlough her  as employers are accused of 'sex discrimination' against working mums

By Amie Gordon for MailOnline

A psychologist has revealed how she was forced to quit her job to home school her children because her employer refused to furlough her.

Analise La-Band, a chartered occupational psychologist and mother-of-two, had to quit her job last summer in order to teach her children at home as schools closed during lockdown.

Her story comes as it emerged more than 2,000 mothers have had their requests to be furloughed refused amid the lockdown this year.

Employers are now being warned they face an imminent 'mental health crisis' and could be guilty of sex discrimination if they refuse to furlough parents.

Analise La-Band (left) a chartered occupational psychologist and mother-of-two, had to quit her job last summer in order to teach her children at home as schools closed during lockdown. Right, Joeli Brearley, who set up the organisation 'Pregnant Then Screwed', which fights for parents' rights

Seven in 10 requests for furlough turned down for working mothers According to a study by the Trade Union Congress union, nearly three-quarters of working mothers who have applied for furlough following the latest school closures have had their requests turned down. Of those 3,100 who requested furlough, around 2,200 (71%) had their request turned down. It also found that some 78 per cent hadn't been offered furlough by their employers. And 2 in 5 (40%) of all mothers who replied were unaware that the furlough scheme was available to parents affected by school or nursery closures. Nearly all (90%) of those who replied said that their anxiety and stress levels had increased during this latest lockdown. And almost half (48%) were worried about being treated negatively by their employers because of their childcare responsibilities. Around half (44%) of mums told the TUC they were worried about the impact having to take time off work would have on their household finances. A quarter (25%) of mums were using annual leave to manage their childcare  but nearly 1 in 5 (18%) had been forced to reduce their working hours and around 1 in 14 (7%) were taking unpaid leave from work and receiving no income. Source: TUC Advertisement

Ms La-Band told Radio 4's Today programme that she was forced to resign due to the pressures of home schooling.

The mother-of-two said: 'Unfortunately I was forced to resign last summer as a result of the difficulty of trying to balance work and home school.

'My request for furlough was rejected and I didn't see any other option so I've not been working since.

'I'm obviously very concerned with how I can maintain my career and get into the workforce again at some point, having had to make a very difficult decision to withdraw from it when i really wouldn't have had i had any other choice at the time.'

The job retention scheme currently allows bosses to furlough parents who can't work due to a lack of childcare.

But the Trade Union Congress revealed that more than 2,000 working mothers, or 70 per cent, have had furlough requests turned down following the recent school closures.

Joeli Brearley, who set up the organisation 'Pregnant Then Screwed', which fights for parents' rights.

She told the BBC that bosses who are rejecting furlough requests could be guilty of 'indirect sex discrimination' if they refuse to furlough working mothers.

She also warned of a mental health crisis as burnt out parents are being forced to work 17-hour days, incorporating six hours of tuition into their working day.

She said couples are taking it in turns to do home schooling, beginning work at 5am then rotating child care and working late into the night.

She told MailOnline: 'Women are now just walking out of their jobs because they just can't keep doing it, and their mental health is so bad. They're walking away.

'Our analysis from ONS data shows that women aged between 25 and 34 have the highest per cent of redundancies and between August and October last year, women were 60 per cent more likely to be unemployed than men.

'It's so concerning having mothers out of the workforce because it's so dificult to get them back in.

'We should be deeply concerned about it, because it is about child poverty at the end of the day it - it affects whole families.'

Rishi Sunak's job retention scheme currently allows bosses to furlough parents who can't work due to a lack of childcare

She told Radio 4: 'Many are not getting any break whatsoever...you've got six hours of unpaid work you now need to cram in to you job.

'The average day has increase from 9 hours to 11 hours under lockdown  that's already 17 hours of work you have to do before you consider cooking or cleaning or shopping or sleeping, or doing anything for yourself whatsoever.

'We're hearing from frantic mothers who are completely burnt out and their mental health is rapidly deteriorating.

'They can request to be furloughed and we would hope that their employer would consider that - but 70 per cent of mothers who've requested to be furloughed have had that request rejected.

'That could be indirect sex discrimination, because the caring responsibilities usually fall to women.

'And so if [employers] say you can't be furloughed, that could be perceived as sex discrimination.

'We would really ask them to seriously consider that and if they don't, they're they're going to have a mental health crisis on their hands.

'Over the summer between a third and 40 per cent of employers made redundancies so many are surviving on skeletal staff and desperately trying to rebuild their business.

'Of course they need their employees, and they need them on full productivity, but sadly we're seeing mothers being pushed out of their jobs because they're unable to work on full productivity.'

According to a study by the Trade Union Congress union, nearly three-quarters of working mothers who have applied for furlough following the latest school closures have had their requests turned down (file photo)

Founder of the blog Mother Pukka, Anna Whitehouse added: 'What working parents have been tasked with in lockdown is not humanly possible.

'You're looking at an average eight hour working day, six hour school day, 12 hours of parenting wrapped around that - that's 26 hours in a 24 hour day. And I'm hearing daily from women who are stepping back, standing down and logging off because they're burning out.

'Some are quitting out of choice, many not. Because who looks after kids home-schooling? Who looks after pandemic patients when out of hospital? Who takes a Tesco shop to elderly neighbours? Who runs community What's App groups making sure everyone has everything they need?'
A YOUNG motorist caught driving without insurance for the fourth time is likely to get prison next time, Kilmallock Court heard.

Michael Jordan, aged 22, of Mullally Grove, Cappamore did not attend the court sitting. A plea of guilty to not having a driving licence or insurance was entered on his behalf by his legal representative.

Garda John Ryan said he was on mobile patrol in Cappamore on May 19, 2019.

I was on my way to a call when I observed Mr Jordan driving on Main Street. I was aware he was disqualified at the time. I was not in a position to stop at the time because I was going to a call. I called to his house where I asked him to produce his driving licence and certificate of insurance. They were not produced. He has three previous convictions for no insurance, said Garda Ryan.

Michael ODonnell, solicitor for Mr Jordan, asked Garda Ryan why he didnt stop his client when he observed him driving?

I was on my way to another call. He was coming against me, said Garda Ryan.

Mr ODonnell asked if he was certain it was Mr Jordan behind the wheel?

Positive. I dealt with him earlier in relation to a different incident, said Garda Ryan.

The solicitor raised the issue of the garda asking for Mr Jordans documentation at his private house. It is normally done on public property, said Mr ODonnell.

Judge Alan Mitchell said Mr Jordan engaged with Garda Ryan.

If he told the garda, Get out of my property there might be a difficulty but there is no evidence of that, said Judge Mitchell.

Mr ODonnell said his client is 22-years-old and doesnt have any means of transport.

He works part-time in building and gets lifts there, said Mr ODonnell.

Judge Mitchell disqualified Mr Jordan from driving for four years and fined him 400 for no insurance. He was put off the road for one year and fined 100 for driving without a licence.
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Andrew Lloyd Webber (Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA)

Andrew Lloyd Webber is reportedly calling on the government to trial a chemical he claims could potentially be a game-changer when it comes to getting theatres open.

The composer has been vocal about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the theatre world, which has been badly hit, with venues closed and live performances put on hold.

And according to a report in the Daily Mail, he now wants ministers to look at trialling triethylene glycol (TEG), with the idea being that a chemical spray could be pumped into indoor venues to help sanitise them.

Watch: Theatre Companies Turning To Broadway On Demand As Pandemic Shutdown Continues

The theatre impresario, 72, apparently offered to test whether the substance could be used safely at his London Palladium theatre.

Read more: Andrew Lloyd Webber signs up for coronavirus vaccine in bid to help save theatre

However, his proposal has not got off the ground so far.

Andrew Lloyd Webber (PA)

The Mail quoted Lloyd Webber as saying: All we are is saying is, Look, you should trial this.

Because if it is safe it could be a game-changer for schools and any form of indoor public space.

He went on: To be absolutely fair, the government side is really quite interested. But it seems it has hit (a wall) with the health people once again.

The publication quoted a Health and Safety Executive spokesperson as saying that according to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), there was currently limited evidence that the use of chemical sprays such as TEG will be effective to clean the air and reduce airborne virus transmission risks in occupied spaces.

Read more: Andrew Lloyd Webber says the Cats movie was 'ridiculous'

Lloyd Webber, whose production of Cinderella is due to open in the spring, has previously said the theatre world needs to remain positive.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella is due to open in April (Dave Rushen / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)

Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Today programme in June, he said it had been absolutely awful to see everything that Ive loved in my life gone.

I really believe that we in theatre must be positive and use everything we can to demonstrate we can open, he said. If having done that we fail, at least weve tried.

Watch: Andrew Lloyd Webber feels safe after trialling COVID vaccine
Companies and individuals that were beneficiaries of flawed Covid-19 procurement at Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) will be made to return the excess cash received, Solicitor-General Kennedy Ogeto has said.

Appearing before the National Assembly Public Investment Committee yesterday, Mr Ogeto said entities that supplied items at inflated prices and have not been paid will only get their money based on current rates.

He told the team chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, which is looking into the Sh7.8 billion procurement at Kemsa, that illegal contracts are not enforceable.

"If anyone was paid in a flawed and illegal contract, we have the right to recover the difference and prefer criminal action on parties involved," Mr Ogeto said.

Before the investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) started and all payments to suppliers stopped, Kemsa had paid about Sh4 billion.

Special report

While agreeing with the findings of the special report by the Auditor-General, which said Kemsa broke procurement laws in the purchase of Covid-19 related materials, Mr Ogeto said those who broke the law would be held criminally liable.

In her special report, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu said Kemsa chief executive Jonah Manjari ignored the discount offer of Sh4,500 a pack as had been agreed between a supplier and the agency's tender evaluation committee and instead allowed companies to supply at Sh9,000.

Dr Manjari remains suspended alongside directors Eliud Muriithi (Commercial) and Charles Jume (Procurement) as investigations into the scandal continue.

With the decision likely to attract legal suits from the suppliers and individuals, Mr Ogeto told the committee that his office would resort to a doctrine known in law as "quantum meirut" or reasonable payment for work done.

Citing a 2019 High Court ruling in the case of Multi-Line Motors (K) Ltd and Migori county government, the Solicitor-General said illegal contracts are never enforceable.

"Having not followed the law, the plaintiff willingly and in full knowledge engaged into illegal contracts. In such a scenario, the law is clear that such contracts are unenforceable," the court said.

The court added that it is the duty of contractors and the procuring entities to observe the law.

Mr Ogeto appealed to the committee to make recommendation in its final report for the formation of a team - comprising representatives of the Auditor-General, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, Treasury and other State entities - to devise ways of fair pay.

"Instead of going round the issue, we need to look at it with objectivity. I suggest the formation of a multi-agency team to help us determine a fair price for the suppliers," Mr Ogeto told the lawmakers.

However, Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala said it will amount to an illegality on the side of the government since the two entities-- suppliers and Kemsa-- entered into an agreement and signed before supplying.

"Who will in this case be held criminally liable, is it the suppliers or Kemsa because the two entities agreed on the prices jointly," asked Mr Wanjala.

According to Mr Wanjala, the suppliers whose products have not been used should be given back their products since they supplied at a higher price.

Covid-19 procurements

"The best way to deal with this issue is to tell the suppliers to go and pick up their goods at Kemsa stores," Mr Wanjala said.

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The Solicitor-General also informed the committee that the Attorney-General was not consulted by Kemsa to give an advisory opinion on any of the Covid-19 procurements.

Mr Ogeto shocked the lawmakers that up to date, the office of the Attorney General has not seen any of the 102 contracts signed by individuals or firms with the authority to confirm whether they are legal or irregular.

"We wish to advise that any recommendations in respect of irregular or illegal contracts entered by Kemsa in the context of Covid-19 related procurements will depend on the facts and circumstances of each specific contract," Mr Ogeto said.

"Therefore, in order to advise in this regard, there is need for the office of the Attorney General to be provided with the specific contracts for review and analysis before informed and considered recommendations may be made to this committee."
Africa: Why the African Union's Decision On a Top Post Is Being Seen As a Litmus Test The Conversation Africa, 6 February 2021 The 34th summit of the African Union (AU) which is currently underway has a particularly significant job to do: it will be electing six commissioners to the AU's secretariat, which Read more 

Africa: African Union Needs to Listen to the Continent's Citizens ISS, 4 February 2021 To be effective, the African Union (AU) needs to become more accessible, responsive and relevant to the average African citizen. This means we need more information about and Read more 
Single-vineyard Cabernets may be a dime a dozen in Napa Valley, but Brion, a bucolic winery in Yountville is taking an unconventional approach. Founder Brion Wise has pushed the regions hyper-focus on terroir-driven wines one step further by hiring the best winemaker for each site. Thats why he has not one, but three prominent winemaking consultants on his roster, each bringing their AVA-specific expertise to the table.

With Napa County getting the greenlight to reopen for outdoor wine tastings, these unique expressions from the 2016 vintage can now be experienced inside a historic bank barn that was one small earthquake from falling down until until Wise came along and insisted on restoring it. The result is a hybrid of old and modern-day Napa, of history versus luxury.

From apples to grapes

Like many, Wises romance with wine began via travel, his favorite place being Italy. And like many, he dreamed of being a part of it. I fell in love with living in a wine area and actually being involved. I wanted that flavor of what goes on in the bigger picture. I wanted to be close to the best of the best but feel a little bit farm-like, said Wise. The intent always was to be in Napa.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- As COVID-19 vaccine supplies remain low, frustrations continue for many waiting for an appointment.

Vaccination eligibility continues to be for only healthcare workers, staff and residents at long-term care facilities, essential workers and first responders, and residents who are 65 or older.

As of Thursday, Feb. 4, Kent County has received 101,875 total doses of vaccine since distribution began in December, according to state data. There are about 655,000 people living in Kent County.

Related: Frustration high among West Michigan seniors waiting for COVID-19 vaccine appointment

Residents have several ways to register online and be notified when appointments open up.

Residents can visit https://www.spectrumhealth.org/wmvaccineclinic to schedule an appointment at the large-scale clinic at DeVos Place, 303 Monroe Ave.

Those not able to use the internet to register can call 833-755-0696.

The clinic is a partnership between the Kent County Health Department, Spectrum Health and Mercy Health, and officials aim to administer up to 20,000 doses a day there when vaccine supplies increase.

For vaccinations by the Kent County Health Department, residents can take an eligibility survey at this web page, https://accesskent.com/Health/covid-19-vaccine-registration.htm.

Following the survey, health department staff will call as soon as an appointment is available. However, this could take several weeks.

Those needing help with the survey can call 616-326-6992.

For Spectrum Health, residents can complete a vaccination eligibility questionnaire online via MyChart and be notified when appointments become available.

Spectrum has a web page detailing that process here: https://www.spectrumhealth.org/covid19/covid-19-vaccine.

For Metro Health  University of Michigan Health, residents can schedule appointments online via MyChart or by calling Metro Healths call center at 616-252-6161.

This web page details the MyChart process: https://metrohealth.net/about/covid-19-updates/vaccination/vaccine-distribution/. People can also phone the call center for assistance.

Mercy Health in Grand Rapids currently does not have any available appointments nor a way to register online.

In Ottawa County, people can register for vaccination at this web page: https://ottawacounty.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9NX1bJKKwiiIMMl. The page also includes a form for businesses considered essential to request vaccination clinics.

For North Ottawa Community Health System, access details at https://hipaa.jotform.com/210114456466047.

Those needing help can call 2-1-1.

Meijer stores also are beginning to administer vaccines. For details, visit https://clinic.meijer.com. Interested individuals can also call their local Meijer pharmacy to get on a waiting list.

Read more:

High school sports return, Republicans reject more Whitmer appointees: This week in Michigan politics

Michigan isnt reporting COVID-19 vaccination data by race, but initial reports suggest disparity

Arena authority approves option to buy riverfront property for amphitheater in Grand Rapids
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

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Argentina has an advanced telecom infrastructure though considerable investment is still required to update services in rural areas. To meet pent up demand for telecom services the government has embarked on a large-scale National Broadband Plan.

By late 2019 this ARS4.53 billion program to extend broadband services to rural communities, managed by the state-owned infrastructure operator ARSAT, was mostly complete.

Although there are numerous operators licensed to provide services, there remains insufficient competition. The provision of both broadband and mobile services is dominated by a few key players, including Movistar, Telecom Argentina and Claro. The broadband sector is dominated by Movistar and Telecom Argentina, a subsidiary of Cablevision.

Argentina has one of the most dynamic mobile markets in Latin America, being the third largest in the region after Brazil and Mexico. Mobile penetration has fallen in recent years in line with a reduction in the number of subscribers following a long period of steady growth. This is partly due to pricing competition among operators which has reduced the incentive for multiple-SIM card ownership. The regulator has encouraged the market entry of additional MVNOs to increase competition, though collectively the MVNOs only have a very small share of the market. Market changes are anticipated into 2021 as Telefonica Group moves its Latin American businesses (with the exception of Brazil) into a single unit.

Operators have trialled 5G though given the continued capacity of LTE infrastructure it is unlikely that commercial 5G services will be available before 2021.

Argentina also has one of the highest broadband penetration rates in Latin America, supported by investment among operators as well as a number of government programs aimed at extending the reach of services. Although the countrys economic and political difficulties during the last decade have impacted on sector investments there have been steady improvements in recent quarters, with a considerable proportion of investment being earmarked for expanding fibre networks beyond areas of the principal cities.

This report provides an overview of Argentinas telecom market and regulatory environment, including statistical data and analyses on recent market developments. The report also reviews the fixed and fixed-wireless broadband markets and as well as the mobile voice and data segments, with profiles of the major operators and analyses on technologies deployed and market dynamics. The report in addition provides a number of subscriber forecasts to 2024.

BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus is having a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.

On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.

Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.

The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.

Key developments:

Government announces the launch of ARS37.9 billion Plan Conectar, aiming to boost fixed broadband coverage nationally;

Mobile roaming charges between Argentina and Chile are abolished;

Government declares TV, cable and mobile services as essential public services;

Malbec submarine system linking Sao Paolo, Rio De Janeiro with Buenos Aires operational;

Telecom Argentina intending to increase investment in Uruguay;

Nokia and Metrotel deploy software-defined fibre network;

Lumen Technologies extends Argentina fibre network;

Regulator approves passive infrastructure sharing regulations to lower deployment costs;

Catels MVNO Imowi to launch services later in 2021;

Report update includes the regulator's market data to September 2020, telcos' operating and financial data to Q3 2020, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of COVID-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.

Get a Full Copy of this Report

Developing Telecoms market report summaries are produced in partnership with BuddeCom, the worlds largest continually updated online telecommunications research service.

The above article is a summary of the following BuddeCom report:

Report title: Argentina - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Edition: December 2020

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

Number of pages: 194

Companies mentioned in this report: Movistar (Telefonica de Argentina), Telecom Argentina, Grupo Clarin, Claro (Telmex Argentina), Telecom Personal, Nextel Argentina, DirecTV, IPLAN, IP-TEL, Fecotel, Fecosur, COTEL, Cotecal, ARSAT, INVAP, Nuestro Movil, Libre.ar, Virgin Mobile, Tesacom, Cablevision, VeloCom, Netizen, Phonevision/Omnivision, Telpin, Supercanal, Telecentro, Red Intercable, MercadoLibre.

Single User PDF Licence Price: US$1150

For more information or to purchase a copy of the full report please use the following link: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Argentina-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?r=83
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.



GRAND RAPIDS, MI  The public authority that owns Van Andel Arena is moving forward with a proposed plan to build a 14,000-seat amphitheater in downtown Grand Rapids.

The Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention Arena/Authority (CAA) approved an option agreement with the city to purchase part of a 17-acre stretch of property along the Grand River.

This is the second step in a process of securing the city-owned land at 201 Market Ave. SW, said Dick Wendt, an attorney for the arena authority, during the CAAs Friday, Feb. 5 meeting.

The agreement will now go to the Grand Rapids City Commission for approval on Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Related: Convention/Arena Authority to consider option to buy land for 14,000-seat Grand Rapids amphitheater

The CAA estimates the amphitheater would require at least 11.6 acres of the land. The estimated cost of the property is $24.3 million with the site valued at $48.12 per square foot.

The agreement does not require the entire property to be purchased, and further development could occupy the remaining space.

Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, a CAA board member, said the approved option agreement is an exciting step forward in the dream of building an amphitheater.

The city and the CAA already reached a cost-sharing agreement for $18.6 million in pre-development infrastructure work that must be completed prior to any construction in and around the proposed amphitheater site, which includes a mix of public and private properties along Market Avenue SW between Fulton and Wealthy streets to prep the site for development by relocating a sewer line.

Related: Public-private partnership clears hurdle to redevelop land eyed for 14,000-seat Grand Rapids amphitheater

The CAA has until Dec. 31 to close on the property.

The concept of building an amphitheater in Grand Rapids is also being eyed by Grand Action 2.0, an economic development group.

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NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of CoreLogic, Inc. ("CoreLogic" or the "Company") (NYSE: CLGX) in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by funds managed by Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company's shareholders will receive $80.00 in cash for each share of CoreLogic common stock that they own.

If you own CoreLogic shares and wish to discuss this investigation or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, visit our website:

https://www.weisslawllp.com/clgx/

Or please contact:

Joshua Rubin, Esq.

WeissLaw LLP

1500 Broadway, 16th Floor

New York, NY 10036

(212) 682-3025

(888) 593-4771

[email protected]

WeissLaw LLP is investigating whether (i) CoreLogic's board of directors acted in the best interests of Company shareholders in agreeing to the proposed transaction, (ii) the $80.00 per-share merger consideration adequately compensates CoreLogic's shareholders; and (iii) all information regarding the sales process and valuation of the transaction will be fully and fairly disclosed. Notably, at least one analyst set a target price of $82.00 per CoreLogic share, or $2.00 above the per-share merger consideration.

WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected]

SOURCE WeissLaw LLP

Related Links

http://weisslawllp.com


West Australian students will head back to their classrooms on Monday, with masks mandatory for secondary students, parents and teachers in the Peel and Perth region.

Primary school students are not required to wear a mask.

Parents can drop children off on the school grounds but must be wearing a mask. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Education Minister Sue Ellery said schools had been supplied with masks, however she expected secondary school students would use their own as they must wear one to get to school anyway.

Students and staff will be wearing masks  those who are required  to get themselves to school anyway, but in the event a student or staff member doesnt have one or it breaks, there are masks provided to private and public schools, she said.

6 million capital raise priced at market with warrants subscribed by two existing shareholders,

5 million convertible bonds issued to European investors,

European investors have also provided written indication of strong interest for the potential of additional 25 million in similar convertible bonds, depending on future market conditions

PARIS, FRANCE / ACCESSWIRE / February 4, 2021 / Pharnext SA (FR0011191287 - ALPHA) (the "Company"), an advanced late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company pioneering new approaches to developing innovative drug combinations based on big genomics data and artificial intelligence using its PLEOTHERAPY platform, today announced a financing of 11 million through the combination of a 6 million capital raise subscribed by two existing shareholders by way of issuance of new ordinary shares (the "New Shares") with one warrant attached (together with the New Shares, the "ABSA") and 5.0 million of convertible bonds (the "Convertible Bonds") subscribed by European investors, who have expressed strong written interest for a potential additional 25 million in similar convertible bonds over the next 30 months, depending on future market conditions.

"We are pleased to announce this capital raise which demonstrates the strong continued support of our existing shareholders", said David Horn Solomon, Chief Executive Officer. "This funding will extend our cash runway to advance PXT3003 into the pivotal phase III trial in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease Type 1A".

"We have structured the financing to include a convertible bond in order to manage dilution for existing shareholders and still provide funding for Pharnext to get through important near-term milestones, while preserving the flexibility to increase the size of the convertible bonds facility later if needed, given the strong interest received from European investors", said Peter Collum, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Pharnext.

This capital raise did not and will not require the publication of a prospectus subject to the approval of the Autorite des marches financiers ("AMF").

Use of Proceeds

The proceeds from the financing will fund operations through several key milestones expected within the first half of 2021, including the initiation of the pivotal phase III clinical trial for PXT3003 in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease Type 1A in Q1 2021 as well as top-line data from the interim analysis of our ongoing long-term extension study from the first phase III clinical trial for PXT3003 in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease Type 1A.

Terms of the ABSA

The ABSA have been issued by the Company's board of directors on February 3, 2021, in accordance with the 19th resolution of the General Shareholders' Meeting as of July 17th, 2020 (the "General Meeting"), without shareholders' preferential subscription rights, to CB Lux and Lohas, two of the main shareholders of the Company and whose representative or person controlling are represented on the Board of Directors.

The issue price of one ABSA is  3.42, issue premium included (the "Issue Price"), with New Share priced at no discount and representing the volume weighted-average price of the Company's shares over the last three trading days (the "3-day VWAP"). The Issue Price of an ABSA, including the theoretical value of the warrant attached thereto ("BSA"), represents a total 14.74% discount to the 3-day VWAP, consistent with the 19th resolution of the General Meeting.

Terms of the BSA

One BSA is attached to each New Share.

Two BSAs entitle their holder to subscribe to one new ordinary share of the Company, at a price of  4.45 representing a 30% premium to the Issue Price.

The BSAs may be exercised at any time within 60 months of their issuance. In the event all BSAs are exercised a total number of 877,193 additional ordinary shares of the Company will be issued, generating total proceeds of approximately  3.9 million.

The theoretical value of each BSA, assuming a volatility of 45% and based on Issue Price, is equal to  0.50 under Black & Scholes model, representing a 14.74% discount to the 3-day VWAP.

The BSAs will be immediately detached from the New Shares upon issuance and will not be listed.

Terms of the Convertible Bonds

The issuance of the Convertible Bonds has been approved by the Company's board of directors on February 3, 2021, in accordance with the 19th resolution of the General Meeting, without shareholders' preferential subscription rights, to Vester Finance and two other European investors.

The Convertible Bonds were issued at a price equal to 95% of their nominal value. The total nominal amount of the Convertible Bonds is  5,473,685 and the net proceeds for the Company  5,00,000.75 after deduction of the 5% discount on the nominal value and the commission fees. The Convertible Bonds will bear no interest and will mature on February 4th, 2024. The Convertible Bonds will be converted into ordinary shares at any time at a subscription price per share (the "Conversion Price") equal to the lowest of (i) 4.25 and (ii) 93% of a lowest daily VWAP over the 15 trading-day period preceding such conversion, providing that the Conversion Price may in no event be lower than the 3-day VWAP prior to the conversion date discounted by 30%.

New shares resulting from the conversion of Convertible Bonds will be fully fungible with existing ordinary shares and will enjoy the same rights.

In connection with the issuance of the Convertible Bonds, the Company has entered into a standstill agreement, which restricts the issuance of additional instruments giving access to new shares with a variable subscription price as long as any Convertible Bonds are still outstanding and unless the subscribers of such instruments accept to enter into a lock up agreement for the duration of the Convertible Bonds.

The Convertible Bonds will not be the subject of an application for admission to trading on Euronext Growth. The issue will not give rise to a prospectus submitted for approval to the AMF.

The transaction was advised and structured by Vester Finance, which also subscribed for Convertible Bonds.

Potential additional 25 million in similar Convertible Bonds

The Convertible Bonds subscribers have provided written indication of strong interest for a potential additional 25 million in similar convertible bonds over the next 30 months, upon terms to be mutually agreed, depending on future market conditions, including liquidity factors, but not-milestones based.

The Company's shareholding structure after the Capital Raise and the Convertible Bonds

Following the issuance of the ABSA, the Company's total share capital will be  213,986.82 composed of 21,398,682 ordinary shares with a par value of 0.01, representing 108.93% of the total current share capital of the Company.

Lohas S.a.r.l, a company controlled by Mr. Pierre Bastid, himself a member of the Board of Directors of the Company, and CB LUX S.a.r.l, a company represented by Mr. Alexandre Berda, himself a member of the Board of Directors of the Company, holding respectively 12.02% and 21.09% of Pharnext's share capital prior to the Capital Raise, have subscribed the Capital Raise for an aggregate amount of  6,000,000. Following completion of the Capital Raise, they will own 14.45% and 24.14% respectively of the share capital of the Company.



On an illustrative basis, a shareholder holding 1% of the Company's share capital (on a non-diluted basis) before the Capital Raise will hold:

0.92% of the Company's shares after the Capital Raise; and

0.88% of the Company's shares after the Capital Raise and the exercise of the BSA; and

0.81% of the Company's shares after the Capital Raise, the exercise of the BSA and the conversion of all of the  5,473,685 Convertible Bonds on the Conversion Price by using the lowest of the last 15 daily VWAP as of today of 3.06, resulting in the illustrative issuance of 1,919,727 shares

Before Capital Raise After Capital Raise After the Capital Raise and the exercise of the BSA After the Capital Raise and the exercise of the BSA and the conversion of the Convertible Bonds Shareholders Number of shares Percent of share capital Number of shares Percent of share capital Number of shares Percent of share capital Number of shares Percent of share capital CB Lux 4 142 521 21.09% 5 165 913 24.14% 5 677 609 25.49% 5 677 609 23.47% Tasly (Hong-Kong) Pharmaceutical Ltd 2 396 220 12.20% 2 396 220 11.20% 2 396 220 10.76% 2 396 220 9.90% LOHAS 2 360 972 12.02% 3 091 966 14.45% 3 457 463 15.52% 3 457 463 14.29% Founders and Employees 973 260 4.95% 973 260 4.55% 973 260 4.37% 973 260 4.02% Truffle Capital funds 969 410 4.93% 969 410 4.53% 969 410 4.35% 969 410 4.01% Industrials (Dassault Merieux, IPSEN) 439 863 2.24% 439 863 2.06% 439 863 1.97% 439 863 1.82% Other shareholders (including retail) 8 362 050 42.57% 8 362 050 39.08% 8 362 050 37.54% 10 281 777(1) 42.49% Total 19 644 296 100.00% 21 398 682 100.00% 22 275 875 100.00% 24 195 602 100.00%

(1) including the hypothesis of the illustrative issuance of 1,919,727 shares, including the applicable structuring commission.

Risk Factors

The Company draws the public's attention to the risk factors related to the Company and its activities presented in section 3 of the universal registration document approved with the AMF under number R. 20. 029 on November 9, 2020 as well as in its annual periodic management reports and press releases, copies of which are available free of charge on the website of the Company (www.pharnext.com).

In addition, investors are invited to consider the following risks: (i) the market price for the Company's shares may fluctuate and fall below the subscription price of the shares issued pursuant to the Capital Raise, (ii) the volatility and liquidity of the Company's shares may fluctuate significantly, (iii) sales of Company's shares may occur on the market and have a negative impact on the market price of the shares, and (iv) the Company's shareholders could undergo a potentially material dilution resulting from any future capital increases that are needed to finance the Company.

About Pharnext

Pharnext is an advanced clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for orphan and common neurodegenerative diseases that currently lack curative and/or disease-modifying treatments. Pharnext has two lead products in clinical development. PXT3003 completed an international Phase III trial with positive topline results for the treatment of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A and benefits from orphan drug status in Europe and the United States. PXT864 has generated encouraging Phase II results in Alzheimer's disease and will be advanced through partnerships. Pharnext has developed a new drug discovery paradigm based on big genomics data and artificial intelligence: PLEOTHERAPY. Pharnext identifies and develops synergic combinations of drugs called PLEODRUG. More information can be found at www.pharnext.com.

Pharnext is listed on the Euronext Growth Stock Exchange in Paris (ISIN code: FR0011191287).

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Pharnext and its business, including in respect of timing of and prospects for clinical trials and regulatory submissions of the Company's product candidates as well as a potential financing transaction, the use of proceeds therefrom and cash runway. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Pharnext considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that the estimates contained in such forward-looking statements will be verified, which estimates are subject to numerous risks including the risks set forth in Pharnext's URD approved by the AMF on November 9, 2020 under number N R. 20-029 as well as in its annual periodic management reports and press releases (copies of which are available on www.pharnext.com) and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Pharnext operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Pharnext or not currently considered material by Pharnext. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Pharnext to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. Pharnext disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.]

This press release and the information that it contains do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe for, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, Pharnext shares in any country, including the United States. The Company's securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration; any public offering of securities to be made in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from the issuer that will contain detailed information about the Company and management, as well as financial statements.

Contacts

David Horn Solomon

Chief Executive Officer

contact@pharnext.com

+33 (0)1 41 09 22 30

Media Relations (International)

Consilium Strategic Communications

Mary-Jane Elliott

Sukaina Virji

Alexandra Harrison

pharnext@consilium-comms.com

Media Relations (U.S.)

Rooney Partners LLC

Jeffrey Freedman

jfreedman@rooneyco.com

+1 646 432 0191

Media Relations (France)

Ulysse Communication

Bruno Arabian

+33 (0)6 87 88 47 26

barabian@ulysse-communication.com

Pierre-Louis Germain

+33 (0)6 64 79 97 51

plgermain@ulysse-communication.com

+33 (0)1 81 70 96 30

Financial Communication (Europe)

Actifin

Stephane Ruiz

sruiz@actifin.fr

+33 (0)1 56 88 11 15

SOURCE: Pharnext

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/628017/Pharnext-Announces-Financing-of-11-Million-Through-a-Capital-Raise-Subscribed-by-Existing-Shareholders-and-a-Convertible-Bonds-Issued-to-European-Investors
Hollywood star Michael Douglas shared an image to Instagram with his father Kirk Douglas on Friday.

The Wall Street actor was marking the one year passing of the Spartacus star at age 103.

In his caption, the Emmy winner made a comment about how his father was lucky to exit when he did as 2020 was an awful year. Not only did COVID-19 spread across the globe but there were deadly BLM protests and lives were lost at the Capitol riots in Washington DC.

A sweet tribute: Hollywood star Michael Douglas shared an image to Instagram with his father Kirk Douglas on Friday. The Wall Street actor was marking the one year passing of the Spartacus star at age 103.

'Cant believe its been a year since you left us. At 103, you picked a good time to check out. I love you with all my heart! #KirkDouglas,' wrote the Streets of San Francisco actor.

Kirk was born in 1916 in New York and went on to have a very active film career with his most notable film 1960's Spartacus.

He also appeared in 1956's Lust For Life and 1962's Lonely Are The Brave.

At the time of his death he was wed to Anne Buydens. He had four sons: Michael, Eric (who passed in 2004), Joel and Peter.

A hero to many: Kirk was born in 1916 in New York and went on to have a very active film career with his most notable film 1960's Spartacus

Another hit for this vet: In the 1949 movie Champion directed by Mark Robson

In December, Michael shared a rare photo of his son Cameron and his growing family.

The actor posted to Instagram after Cameron, 42, and his girlfriend of four years, Viviane Thibes, welcomed their newborn baby boy Ryder T Douglas into the world earlier this week.

Sharing the sweet family snap that also featured the couple's three-year-old daughter Lua, Douglas wrote: Congratulations Cameron and Viviane! Welcome to the world Ryder T. Douglas! #ProudGrandpa.'

Close family: Michael with his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones and dad Kirk in 2006

All together now: Kirk, far left, seen with Michael, Catherine, their two kids and extended family in a rare group photo from 2019

Wife of twenty years Catherine Zeta-Jones, 51, also congratulated Cameron and Viviane as she wrote, 'And a new Douglas is born!!!!! Welcome to the world Ryder T. Douglas,' while sharing the photo to her Instastory.

In the photo which was originally posted by Cameron to Instagram, the beaming family stood by a window as Vivian cradled the baby while Cameron looked at the camera with his arm around his partner.

Lua who sat in a princess dress had a priceless emotion on her face and looked wholly unamused to no longer be the only child in the family, as Michael joked, 'Don't think Lua is sure about this yet! What a holiday present.'

Catherine also could not but help take notice of the her unhappy face as she wrote, 'Lua's Face! like.....'whatever..........' Hilarious! Congrats!!'

New addition: Douglas shares a rare photo of son Cameron, 42, and his girlfriend Viviane with their family after welcoming their newborn son Ryder

Grandparents: Though Michael shares his eldest son Cameron with former partner Diandra Luker, wife of twenty years Zeta-Jones loves his children's kids like her own; pictured January 2020

Father-son duo: Cameron led a very troubled life of addiction in his early teens and twenties that landed him in jail in 2009 for possession and the selling of crystal meth; pictured 2018

The Basic Instinct actor's eldest son who he shares with former partner Diandra Luker, Douglas seemed over the moon to be welcoming another grandchild into his life (he also shares son Dylan, 20, and daughter Carys, 17, with Zeta-Jones).

Despite being born into Hollywood royalty, Cameron had a longtime struggle with addiction to cocaine and heroin through his teens and early adulthood which eventually landed him in prison.

In 2009 he was arrested in an NYC hotel room with crystal meth and served out seven years in prison (two of which were in solitary confinement) for selling and possession of drugs.

Speaking about his troubled past in his 2019 memoir Long Way Home - which Michael encouraged him to write - he said:

Troubled teen: Despite being born into Hollywood royalty, Douglas' drug use at an early age had lasting consequences and he served 7 years in prison (two of which were in solitary confinement) and he was released in 2016

'I cant go back and change a lot of my decisions and the pain and the wreckage that some of those decisions have caused. What I did endeavor to do was to take those experiences and turn them into something useful.'

Also crediting the birth of Lua and his girlfriend with keeping him clean and leading a better life for his family, he told People in 2019:

'Having my daughter gives me a whole new perspective on life. My daughter is a source of inspiration. Hopefully she will see her father has accomplished a lot and is doing good things and maybe shell be proud of my journey.'

Now that he has a good head on his shoulders and a family to care for - including Ryder - he and his father have become a lot closer.
The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation Launches Enhanced Website

The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation (TOI) today launched a new website with enhanced search functionality and resources for patients, caregivers, referring physicians, health plans, and employment candidates.

ROBUST CLINICAL TRIAL DATABASE

TOI maintains one of the largest community-based clinical trial programs in the US. The new website enables users to search for cutting-edge clinical trials treating their disease.

IMPROVES ACCESSIBILITY

To better serve TOI's diverse patient population, the website is offered in 5 different languages and is ADA compliant with features like text readers, magnifiers, and image descriptions.

ENABLES PATIENTS TO FIND A DOCTOR WHO SPEAKS THEIR LANGUAGE

TOI delivers high-quality cancer care to an extremely diverse population. To mee the needs of these communities, TOI clinicians speak more than 20 languages. The new website allows patients and caregivers to search for a provider who speaks their language and practices in their community.







MAKES SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS ONLINE CONVENIENT

The website allows patients to conveniently request appointments online. Patients are also given the opportunity to complete and submit all forms online rather than filling them out in a clinic lobby.

Brad Hively, TOI's CEO, states, "The mission of The Oncology Institute is to provide world-class cancer care close to home. Now, with our new website, we make access to the highest quality cancer information and care more convenient than ever before."

About The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation

Founded in 2007, The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation (TOI) is one of the largest community oncology practices in the US as well as our nation's leading value-based oncology services platform. TOI employs 75 physicians and mid-level practitioners in 42 clinic locations, with more than 500 total employees helping to offer leading-edge, evidence-based cancer care to a population of more than 1.5 million patients. TOI brings comprehensive, integrated cancer care into community settings, including clinical trials, palliative care programs, stem cell transplants, transfusions, and other care delivery models traditionally associated with the most advanced tertiary care settings. For more information visit www.theoncologyinstitute.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005503/en/
Ghislaine Maxwell blames her arrest on ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epsteins death, claiming US prosecutors are targeting her as a substitute, newly unsealed court papers reveal.

She is being prosecuted on sex abuse charges that could put her in prison for life.

Her lawyers challenged the case brought against their client last July on multiple grounds in papers filed last week and unsealed Thursday with some redactions.

'One does not need to engage in complex analysis to understand what has happened here,' her lawyers wrote in the Manhattan federal court documents.

'The government has sought to substitute our client for Jeffrey Epstein, even if it means stretching - and ultimately exceeding - the bounds of the law.'

The 59-year-old British socialite (pictured in a court sketch last year) was arrested last July on child sex trafficking charges and has remained jailed on grounds she might flee

They added: 'The government's sudden zeal to prosecute Ms. Maxwell for alleged conduct with Epstein in the 1990s - conduct for which the government never even charged Epstein - follows a history that is both highly unusual and deeply troubling.'

Maxwell, 59, is scheduled for a July trial on charges that she recruited three teenage girls from 1994 to 1997 for Epstein to sexually abuse. Sometimes, prosecutors alleged, Maxwell joined in.

The charges against Maxwell came exactly a year after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges in Manhattan. He killed himself in a federal jail a month later.

Maxwell, who has citizenship in the U.S., the United Kingdom and France, has been held without bail after a judge rejected a $28.5 million bail proposal on the grounds that she had not been fully forthcoming about her finances and other matters and that she remained a threat to flee.

As part of the bail proposal, Maxwell disclosed that she has set aside more than $7 million to be spent on lawyers out of $22.5 million in assets belonging to herself and her husband.

In documents released publicly last week and Thursday, Maxwell's lawyers attacked the government's case on multiple grounds, including that a grand jury seated in suburban Westchester County deprived her of nonwhite grand jurors who would otherwise have decided her fate.

Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers challenged the case brought against their client last July on multiple grounds in papers filed last week and unsealed on Thursday with some redactions. She is set for July trial over claims she procured girls for Jeffry Epstein

They also said perjury charges stemming from her testimony in two depositions in 2016 in a since-settled civil case must be tossed out because the questions posed were ambiguous and the answers given were true.

Another of her unique challenges to the indictment pertained to a non-prosecution agreement Epstein signed with federal prosecutors in Florida a dozen years ago that spared him from charges as he pleaded guilty to a Florida state charge and served 13 months in prison.

Her lawyers say Epstein intended for the document to protect any alleged co-conspirators, including Maxwell.

Maxwell, 59, has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) since July 2020 when she was arrested for allegedly procuring girls as young as 14. She has denied all charges

'The government is bound by the agreement it negotiated and executed,' the lawyers wrote, adding that the wording of the document was 'clear, explicit, and unambiguous.'

The lawyers alleged that attorneys representing plaintiffs in civil litigation against Maxwell in 2016 met with a supervisor in the Manhattan federal prosecutor's office and pitched the idea that Maxwell could be charged criminally.

'The section chief appropriately declined,' the lawyers wrote.

They noted that prosecutors charged Epstein in 2019 months after a Miami Herald story drew new attention to the long running sexual attack claims against him by women, some of whom described being assaulted when they were as young as 14.

Again, the lawyers noted, Maxwell was not arrested.

Executors for Jeffrey Epstein's estate informed program officials Wednesday that it did not have enough cash to 'fully satisfy' requests and it couldn't predict when additional funds would be secured

They said prosecutors only went after Maxwell after Epstein's death and what then-Attorney General William Barr characterized as 'a perfect storm of screw-ups' left the government embarrassed.

The lawyers wrote that the death caused media attention to shift from Epstein to Ms. Maxwell.

'She was portrayed as Epstein's equal - if not his superior - and baselessly caricatured as a villain of near-mythical proportions,' the lawyers said.

'In short, the government's response to the media frenzy was not to adhere to its earlier objective analysis and consideration of the facts, but to feed the frenzy and substitute Ms. Maxwell for Epstein.'

Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment by AFP.
By Abdulrahman al-Ansi

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemenis greeted a pledge by President Joe Biden to halt U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen with a mixture of optimism and scepticism amid deep concerns about the extent of the damage caused by the six-year war.

Biden also named veteran U.S. diplomat Timothy Lenderking as the U.S. special envoy for Yemen as part of efforts to step up American diplomacy "to end the war in Yemen, a war which has created humanitarian and strategic catastrophe".

The United Nations describes Yemen as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, with 80% of its people in need and millions on the verge of a large-scale famine.

"This is a good announcement and we are hopeful that the war will stop and that they (Americans) will deliver on their promises... We hope that... Yemen can have... a better (future)," said Ibrahim Mohammed al-Hababi, a Sanaa resident.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates formed a coalition that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to try and restore the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which was ousted in late 2014 in the capital Sanaa by the Iran-aligned Houthis.

Weapons provided by Western powers and by Iran to the warring sides have fuelled the conflict and caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians.

Saudi Arabia said on Friday it was looking forward to working with Biden's office and the U.S. envoy to Yemen, the United Nations and with all Yemeni parties to reach an all-inclusive political solution in Yemen.

LACK OF TRUST

Biden's move marks a reversal of the policy of his two immediate predecessors, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Biden served as vice president in the Obama administration.

"We don't trust what the Americans say at all because they were part of the war... If they want us to trust them, they should stop the war directly and immediately," said Khalid al-Qadadi, another Sanaa resident.

Story continues

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of the Houthis' Supreme Revolutionary Committee, said the group would not be deceived by mere "statements".

"Any move that does not achieve results on the ground by ending the blockade and the aggression remains a formality," al-Houthi said in a Twitter post.

Yemeni activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkol Karman welcomed Biden's announcement.

"I ... urge President Biden and his new envoy to prioritize putting Yemenis at the center of any negotiation, and holding those who committed war crimes accountable for their actions," Karman said in a statement.

(Writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Gareth Jones)
She was forced to withdraw from Dancing On Ice in January after fracturing her shoulder during training.

And now Denise Van Outen plans to release a new song, for the first time in nearly two decades, it was revealed on Wednesday after planning to sing the song on the skating show before her untimely departure.

The West End star, 46, hopes to become a chart-topper with a cover of On My Own, from the musical Les Miserables, in hopes of raising money for the theatre charity, Make A Difference Trust.

Natural performer: Denise Van Outen plans to release a new song, for the first time in nearly two decades, it was revealed on Wednesday

The upcoming release marks her first solo track since her album, Tell Me On A Sunday, in 2003.

Speaking about her new song, Denise said in a press release: 'This is what I was going to sing live on Dancing On Ice on musicals week.

'When I had to drop out I decided to release my own version to raise money for theatre professionals out of work and highlight how difficult it has been for the industry in the pandemic.

'Les Miserables is the first West End musical I performed in when I was just 11-years-old, so this song has always been very special to me.'

New project: The star, 46, hopes to become a chart-topper with a cover of the song, On My Own, from the musical Les Miserables after quitting Dancing On Ice due to a fractured shoulder

Her record was produced by musician Steve Anderson who has previously worked with Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears and Westlife, to name a few. She also confirmed her plans to release an album in the future.

It comes after Denise revealed she has finally ended her 20-year feud with her former Big Breakfast co-star Johnny Vaughan.

In a new interview, the TV presenter admitted that while she had a 'rocky relationship' with the broadcaster, 54, in the past, the pair managed to brush aside their issues and reconciled during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

Tensions between the hosts - who fronted the Channel 4 programme from September 1997 until January 2001 - grew as the TOWIE narrator claimed he went behind her back to renegotiate his contract.

Centre stage: The upcoming release- to raise money for the charity, Make A Difference Trust - marks her first solo track since her album, Tell Me On A Sunday, in 2003 (pictured in 2007)

On mending their differences, the actress told The Mirror: 'Johnny and I have had a bit of a rocky relationship over the years for various reasons and, funnily enough, weve messaged a lot in lockdown.

'These situations make you reflect and realise some of the silly niggles and arguments you have are just not worth it.'

The media personality also enthused 'it would be nice' to reunite with the Radio X star to mark the show's 30th anniversary next year.

MailOnline has contacted Johnny's representatives for further comment.

Matchless chemistry: It comes after Denise revealed she has finally ended her 20-year feud with her former Big Breakfast co-star Johnny Vaughan (pictured in 1997)

The mother-of-one spoke candidly about their much publicised fallout for the first time on Loose Women in 2017.

Denise revealed at the time: 'I had a big fallout with Johnny Vaughan when we worked on The Big Breakfast and at that time we were like brother and sister. We were best friends, unbreakable.

'The whole relationship fell apart when we started to renegotiate our contracts because I always felt we worked together as a team and thats how it should be. We created it together.

'Not just us but the rest of the team working on the show. I always had that mentality that it was about all of us. But Johnny and I know there are other influences involved, and agents and everything  but he was negotiating separately from me.

'I found out and obviously confronted him and I realised then at that point that our friendship had gone in two different directions and for me it was tarnished. Thats why I left the show because I knew at that point that it would never be the same.'

Grilled further by the panellists about the reason behind their dispute, the Chicago star confirmed they parted ways due to money.

Denise said: 'It was mainly to do with pay and a few other things. I think the view was that I had money coming in from acting on the side.

'I loved him so much and I still do. When I see him now, he makes me laugh so much. I forget about it. But I don't know if it would ever be the same...'
South Africa: Government ready to start vaccination rollout: Mkhize

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, believes that South Africa is right on track to roll out its vaccination campaign, which is due to start in a few days.

Addressing Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Health on Friday, Mkhize said the country is ready to give the first COVID-19 jabs to healthcare workers once the vaccines have undergone quality assurance checks.

He has described Monday, 1 February, as an exciting day after the country received its first consignment of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from India.

We have indicated that one of the major forms of prevention is the provision of vaccines in order to create immunity amongst our people, he said.

However, the Minister admitted that is has been a challenging exercise to manage the issue of vaccines, as many nations scrambled to get their hands on them.

The global demand is the same for every country throughout the whole world. Everything is happening at the same time for every country, so that creates its own dynamics.

The Minister said the State has had to contend with the fact that not all vaccines have their efficacy results out.

However, Mkhize has assured the committee that government is on course for the vaccination programme.

He told the members that government is still committed to immunising 40 million people in the country.

Mkhize said government is working with everyone including the private sector and labour to ensure that their response is coordinated.

He said the vaccines are currently stored at Biovac and also at centres across the country where cold chain conditions are observed.

Security and training

Meanwhile, the State has beefed up security, while hundreds of healthcare workers have been trained to administer the jab.

Government has also roped in religious, traditional and civil society leaders for support.

Mkhize acknowledged that there will be hurdles as the country prepares for its largest inoculation drive, citing other countries where there have been breakages of vehicles or freezers.

We must say that its not going to be a smooth process and that there will be mistakes, stop-start issues, and issues of new lessons and challenges. All of that it will be taken in our stride.

Phased approach



He said government will continue with its phased approach, which will see healthcare workers being first in line to receive the life-saving vaccines.

Phase one, which is expected to be concluded after three months, includes everyone who deals with the sick in hospitals, clinics, universities, research bodies and traditional healers.

Mkhize encouraged frontline workers to register online for vaccination.

The second phase will include essential workers such as teachers, the police, the elderly and those living with underlying health conditions.

Government hopes to reach 16.5 million people after the first two phase of vaccination and the rest of the population will be vaccinated in the third phase.

Mkhize announced that the State is expecting to receive nine million jabs from Johnson & Johnson, 20 million from Pfizer, 12 million from COVAX.

Meanwhile, government is also engaging with China, the Gamaleya Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology in Russia and Moderna.

They are also finalising more deals and will be announced in due course, he said.

Part of government's work to produce its own vaccines is also underway.

Meanwhile, the State is working around the clock to limit risk and prevent fraud and corruption by working with different arms of government.

In the issue of theft, government and medical aids will pay for [the vaccine]  there should be no one paying for it.

If theres no payment, it limits the black market, the Minister said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
MARQUETTE COUNTY, MICH. -- The public is getting some rare, up-close looks at the most remote lighthouse in the contiguous United States.

Stannard Rock Lighthouse sits surrounded by Lake Superiors frigid waters some 25 miles off the coast of the Upper Peninsula, which is how it came to be given the nickname The Loneliest Place in the World.

But this week, the lonesome lighthouse got to enjoy some visitors, when Stannard Rock became the subject of a U.S. Coast Guard mission to fix a window that had been blown in by a winter storm.

RELATED: Coast Guard flies out to fix remote Michigan lighthouse known as the Loneliest Place in the World

With the broken window posing a threat to the lighthouses electronics, U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City partnered with Aids to Navigation Team Duluth to board up the broken window until a more permanent repair can be made in the spring.

During the mission, team members snapped photos overhead, alongside of and inside the historic lighthouse, which were shared on U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse Citys Facebook page.

Read on to see these rare images of Stannard Rock Lighthouse. Photos courtesy of BM1 Campomizzi and EM2 Ziemba, ANT Duluth.

Gazing down at the Stannard Rock Light. Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

An MH-60T from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City lands at Sawyer International Airport in Gwinn, Mich. to pick up members of Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) Duluth. | Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

The broken window is boarded up at Stannard Rock Lighthouse until more permanent repairs can be made in the spring. | Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

Gear to board up the window is lowered down. | Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

The stairwell leading up to the light. | Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

An MH-60T comes in to land at Sawyer International Airport in Gwinn, Mich. | Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City

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Lighthouse mystery: Air Force pilot crashes, leaves heartbreaking note before vanishing

Fate of crumbling Lake Michigan lighthouse uncertain after its nonprofit dissolves

Three educational institutions, a College of Education and two Senior High Schools in the Bono Region, have recorded nine COVID-19 cases among students since the re-opening of schools.



Dr John Ekow Otoo, a Deputy Bono Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in-charge of Public Health, confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Thursday in Sunyani.



He said eight of those affected students were in schools in the Dormaa West and Dormaa East Districts while the remaining one is in a school in the Sunyani Municipality.



Dr Otoo said all the students were in a stable condition, adding that the boarding students among them were quarantined within the school environment and the day students at their homes.



He said contacts were identified among students and staff of the schools and samples taken for testing.



Dr Otoo said the situation was being managed tactfully in those schools to prevent anxiety and stigmatization among the students and staff.



He said only the school authorities and parents of the affected students were aware of the conditions, explaining that samples were taken in a very professional manner, so some of the students and staff did not even know that they were contacts.



Dr Otoo said the schools had sick bays being managed by health personnel and assured that the Regional Health Directorate through the district health directorates were keeping surveillance in schools in the region with a lot of follow ups.

Source: GNA









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Featured Video

Marjorie Taylor Greene is the QAnon congresswoman, a far-right influencer and gun fanatic who dabbles in anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bigotry. She endorsed violence against congressional leaders, claimed that the Parkland and Sandy Hook shootings were faked and once shared an anti-refugee video in which a Holocaust denier says that Zionist supremacists have schemed to promote immigration and miscegenation.

She showed a little contrition on Wednesday with a qualified apology to her Republican colleagues. For this, she received a standing ovation. On Thursday, after an afternoon of deliberation, the House of Representatives voted to strip Greene of her committee assignments. Or rather, Democrats voted to strip her of her committee assignments. All but 11 Republicans voted in her favor.

Although it is tempting to make this episode another parable exemplifying the Trumpification of the Republican Party, its better understood as yet another chapter in an ongoing story: the two-step between the far right and the Republican Party and the degree to which the former is never actually that far from the latter.

Theres a story conservatives tell about themselves and their movement. It goes like this: In the mid-1960s, William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of National Review, made a decisive break with the John Birch Society, an ultra-right-wing advocacy organization whose popular co-founder, Robert Welch, believed that the United States was threatened by a far-reaching Communist conspiracy whose agents included former President Dwight Eisenhower and Chief Justice Earl Warren.
The recent news of the Academy Awards also known as the Oscars, confirming the eligibility of 'The Milkmaid', Nigeria's submission for the 2021 awards was like having a sweet bowl of ice cream after a long and tiring day. The Academy officially released a list of eligible films from 93 countries in the International Feature Film (IFF) category on Thursday, January 28. The category recognises films from other climes with a predominantly non-English dialogue.

The dream to have a Nigerian film on the Academy spotlight has been pursued fervently by the Chairperson of the Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) Chineze Anyaene-Abonyi since 2010 when she first walked into the office of the Academy with hopes of submitting her film 'Ije' to compete in the awards. The unexpected letdown fired up Anyaene-Abonyi to take up the challenge and have a Nigerian film listed in the Oscars. She spent the next two years trying to set up a selection committee and by 2014, the NOSC was officially inaugurated.

"It has been frustrating from the beginning. The committee members stood with me throughout, filing document after document, carrying out research after research for two years. At a point, they asked me what I was pursuing as it seemed we were not making headway. I told them I didn't know what it was but I didn't want any filmmaker to cry the way I cried," she said in a 2019 interview with THISDAY.

A glimmer of hope came in 2019 when she submitted Genevieve Nnaji's 'Lionheart' movie for consideration. But the hope turned to a mirage as the film was disqualified for not meeting the awards language requirements.

Still bent on achieving her lifelong dream, Anyaene-Abonyi rolled up her sleeves, went back to the drawing board, evaluated her actions and came out with more determination.

It eventually paid off with 'The Milkmaid', an Hausa language-based thriller on insurgency, especially as it affects women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The film, written, produced and directed by Desmond Ovbiagele is now the first Nigerian film to be successfully submitted to the Oscars for a chance to compete at the IFF category.

"It is heart-warming that the decision of the NOSC has been ratified by the Executive Committee of the IFF", said a delighted Anyaene-Abonyi. "The feat underscores our strict adherence to the rules of the biggest film awards scheme in the world."

Having sailed through the eligibility stage in the IFF's selection process, Anyaene-Abonyi added that there is no room for her and her team to relent, commending the committee for their dedication and commitment to the cause.

"While we wish 'The Milkmaid' and indeed our country further success in the remaining journey towards the 93rd Academy Awards in April, we look further into the years ahead with greater determination to continue to play on this global stage. If we have done anything to get Nigeria to the present feat, rest assured that the NOSC will do even more in the coming years of the Oscars."

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Credence must also be given to the convener of the Africa Movie Academy Awards Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, who was among those who saw the potential in Ovbiagele's film before its current spotlight. She had invited journalists back in 2019 to interact with the filmmaker at a restaurant in Ikeja. Ovbiagele described his film like a searchlight that illuminates the toll of the insurgency on other northern girls.

"There are other victims of insurgency. What is most commonly reported are the students who are denied their right to go to school because of civic ideas against Western education which is unfair. But what the masses don't know is that a lot of victims are also affected because they are uneducated. These are the ones you see on the streets hawking their wares. Their fate is no different from that of the Chibok girls but nobody is fighting or advocating for them."

The icing on the cake for 'The Milkmaid' will be clinching a spot on the Academy IFF's shortlist when it is released in March.
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America recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic yet on Thursday, with a staggering 5,077 fatalities in 24 hours, dwarfing the previous record of 4,466 deaths on January 12 by 611.

It comes despite encouraging and sustained declines in daily coronavirus infections. At 121,645, the average number of new daily infections is half what it was at the peak of the pandemic, on January 12, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.

But the trend in fatalities consistently lags weeks behind trends in cases and hospitalizations, which have both been falling for the past three weeks, with fewer than 90,000 people getting inpatient treatment for COVID-19 for the first time since Thanksgiving, COVID Tracking Project data shows.

Hospitalizations fall after cases, and deaths are expected to follow hospitalizations, despite yesterday's record-high fatalities.

CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky said earlier in the week that 'the pace of deaths appears to be slowing.'

On Friday she said: 'Early data suggest now we're starting to see this, with the 7-day average of deaths declining 6.7 percent to slightly more than 3,00 deaths a day from jan 28 to feb 3.'

Meanwhile, experts are encouraged, but perplexed by the decline in infections. Vanderbilt University infectious diseases professor Dr William Shaffner told DailyMail.com he is 'bumfuzzled' by what's driving the trend.

It's too soon for vaccines to be a significant driver of the downturn; just 8.7 percent of the US population has had one or more shots, according to Bloomberg data, and the US is nowhere near herd immunity yet.

And while CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky called this week's encouraging downward trend in cases 'consistent,' Dr Shaffner echoed her warnings that the trend could be reversed by the arrival of variants and potential super-spreader events, like Super Bowl Sunday.

Already, there are at least 645 cases of the UK's 'super-covid' variant in 33 states, at least five cases of the South African variant and two of the Brazilian variant in the US, in addition to several homegrown variants.

More than 5,077 people died of COVID-19 on Thursday, shattering the previous record of 4,466 fatalities on January 12

The average number of new infections a day has declined consistently over the past three weeks, with just 122,473 recorded on Thursday

Hospitalizations have also falled below 90,000 for the first time since November 27, as pictured above

Holidays led to the last surge of infections that followed the triple-threat of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve.

With the lags between infections, hospitalizations and deaths, yesterday's record fatalities likely still reflect patients infected in that period.

At least 645 cases of 'super COVID' variants from the UK, Brazil and South Africa have been reported in 33 states At least 645 cases of coronavirus variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported across 33states. Of that number, at least 626 have been linked to the UK variant known as B 1.1.7. a DailyMail.com analysis of state and federal data reveals. More than half of those cases have been reported in Florida and California, and there are two deaths linked to the strain, one in New Jersey and one in Alabama. Experts have warned that this variant is expected to become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March. There are currently five cases of the B.1.351 variant, which was first detected in South Africa, three of which are in Maryland and two in South Carolina. In addition, two cases of the P.1 strain that originated Brazil have been identified in Minnesota. Advertisement

'Just as we are smiling,' about the downturn in cases 'there are a couple of three countervailing factors,' Dr Shaffner told DailyMail.com.

'The arrival of variants could create more cases, more illnesses and hospitalizations down the road.

'The second factor is Super Bowl Sunday. We expect anticipate many families parties where people gather together for prolonged periods, cheering lustily or groaning mightily, depending on which team is doing what, and those are ideal circumstances for spreading [the virus].

'Super Bowl Sunday may become a super-spreader event all over the country.'

The last massive surge of infections in January may mean slightly fewer people are vulnerable now because they were previously infected, the US is long way off from herd immunity.

Scientists estimate that as many as 100 million Americans, or about a third of the population, have had COVID-19. At least 70 percent of the population needs to have protection from prior infection or vaccines to reach herd immunity.

Daily COVID-19 cases have been falling steadily over the past three weeks with only 123,907 new infections reported on Thursday.

The seven-day average has dropped to 130,569, as hospitalizations have also fallen to 88,668.

Nationwide, there have been more than 26.6million American infected with COVID-19 and 455,735 deaths.

The drop in new cases and hospitalizations comes as the vaccine rollout continues and as many states maintain mask mandates and social distancing requirements in public spaces. It also comes as the U.S. gets one step closer to having a single-dose coronavirus vaccine.

According to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project, between the peak on January 12 and February 4, the the seven-day average for cases has fallen nationwide by 47.5 percent.

The number of tests being taken has fallen also, but only by 12.7 percent, not enough to quantify the drop in cases.

The effects of the decrease in cases is being felt across the country, with no state recording a seven-day average of more than 20,000 on Thursday.

This is the first time in weeks that the average remained under the 20,000 threshold in every state.

The state that came the closest is Texas which has a seven-day average of 19,637 new cases.

California was second with an average of 15,405. In mid-January, an average of 42,000 new cases a day was being reported in the state.

For the first time in weeks, the seven-day average is below 20,000 in all states. Texas has the highest average at 19,634

The drop in new cases and hospitalizations comes as the vaccine rollout continues. Pictured, a first responder vaccinates a woman in her car in New Hampshire on Thursday as 121,645 new infections were reported nationwide

Florida, Georgia, New York, and North Carolina on Thursday all reported an average between 5,000 and 10,000 new cases.

The average is between 1,000 and 5,000 in 24 states, between 500 and 1,000 in nine states, and between 1 and 500 in the remaining 12 states.

Hawaii has the lowest seven-day average at 98 cases.

Last week, there were fewer than one million infections recorded in the U.S in a week for the first time in two months.

Over the last seven days, from January 28 to February 3, 934,661 COVID-19 cases were reported in the U.S., a DailyMail.com analysis shows.

This is the first time that the weekly total has been six figures since early November, when a total of 962,560 cases were recorded between November 7 and November 14.

Forty-four states are seeing a decline in cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

While the death toll in the U.S. from COVID-19 still remains high, new models from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also predict that February could see 38,000 fewer deaths than last month.

The CDC published new 'ensemble' forecasts, which combines 37 independent forecasts of coronavirus deaths over the next four weeks into one projection.

On the low end of the projection, the forecast suggests that 496,000 deaths could be reported by February 27, which is 38,679 fewer COVID-19 deaths than the 93,435 fatalities that were reported in January.

Case and hospitalizations are both on the decrease, with fewer than 90,000 people hospitalized on Thursday

But on the high end of the projection, the death toll could rise of as many as 534,000 deaths, which would mean February would record just 679 fewer deaths than were recorded in January.

The forecast also predicts that between 11,300 and 22,600 deaths from the virus will be reported each week for the next four weeks.

If the death toll reaches 534,000, it means more people in the U.S. will have died from COVID-19 than the number of people who live in Atlanta.

The figure will also be greater than the number of lives lost in the U.S. to Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, the flu, pneumonia, and strokes combined.

America's death toll is the highest in the world despite the country accounting for less than five percent of the global population.

The decline in cases is coming as the U.S. gets one step closer to having a single-dose coronavirus vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize its vaccine on Thursday night.

Now that it has submitted its application for emergency use authorization, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine could be greenlit within weeks.

The US has an agreement, signed last year under the Trump administration, for 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, which the company says it can deliver by June, pending authorization.

People arrive for their Covid-19 vaccine at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, on Tuesday

Sergeant Jennifer Callender (pictured left) of the Illinois Air National Guard administers a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Virginia Persha at a vaccination center established at the Triton College in River Grove, Illinois, on Wednesday

The drug makers application to the FDA follows its January 29 report in which it said the vaccine had a 66 percent rate of preventing infections in its large global trial.

The shot is also 57 percent effective in South Africa, where a variant of the virus that dulls vaccine effectiveness is spreading.

If regulators approve the vaccine, it would be the third shot made available to the American public after vaccines from Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc were approved in December.

J&J's single-shot vaccine could help boost supply and simplify the U.S. immunization campaign - and bring President Joe Biden closer to his goal of 150 million shots in arms in the first 100 days of his term.

It emerged on Thursday that Biden may also be considering sending masks to every single household in the U.S.

Officials told NBC News that the White House's COVID-19 Response Team is currently assessing different ways of mailing face coverings to 328 million Americans.

It is currently unclear how much the plan will cost, how many masks would be sent to each household, what types of masks would be included in the package and if people are required to receive them.

Although the plan has been discussed by the administration's top public health experts, no final proposal has been sent to Biden for approval.

Officials have called for better - or double - masks to be warn as COVID variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil continue to spread across the country.


The United States supports the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to impose sanctions on TV channels that are tools of Russian propaganda.

Charge dAffaires of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE Courtney Austrian said this at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, February 4, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Moscow would have you believe that media freedom means it is acceptable to manipulate the media in another sovereign country. Let me be clear: Media freedom does not include the right to spread malicious propaganda and disinformation. We support Ukraines decision to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity by countering Russias blatant and malign influence," she emphasized.

The American diplomat reminded those present, in particular the Russian ambassador to the OSCE, that those media entities "are controlled by Victor Medvedchuk, who has direct personal ties to Vladimir Putin and was sanctioned by the United States in 2014 for actions that threatened the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

"Medvedchuk has a long history of using media entities to promote pro-Kremlin positions that undermine Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity," she said.

The diplomat added that the media outlets shut down by Ukraine "are well-known tools of Russian propaganda aimed at destabilizing Ukraine."

As Ukrinform reported, on February 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to impose sanctions against the NewsOne, ZIK and 112 Ukraine TV channels, as well as their owner, MP from the Opposition Platform  For Life party, Taras Kozak. The sanctions, among other things, provide for the revocation of licenses of these pro-Russian TV channels. As of the morning of February 3, the broadcasting of NewsOne, ZIK and 112 Ukraine was blocked.

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Apprentice Nursing's Associate Ellie Bull administers the Astra Zeneca vaccine to a homeless person at the Wellcome Centre in Ilford, east London, Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. The British health service NHS England have started to vaccinate homeless vulnerable people. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

The U.K. government announced Friday that it plans to work with a German biopharmaceutical company to develop vaccines targeting emerging variants of COVID-19 as public health officials call for new tools to keep the virus in check as it mutates.

As part of the deal, Tuebingen, Germany-based CureVac said it would supply the U.K. with 50 million doses of the vaccines if they are approved by regulators and that it would manufacture the shots in Britain. The government didn't say how much it was investing in the project.

The announcement comes as public health officials around the world raise concerns about new virus variants that are more contagious or resistant to existing vaccines. While viruses mutate constantly, most of the changes cause little concern. But scientists are closely tracking these mutations to make sure they quickly identify variants of concern.

"While the vaccines currently being deployed in the U.K. appear to work well against the COVID-19 variants currently dominant in the UK, the virus continues to mutate and it is likely that our vaccines will have to adapt to continue to offer the best possible protection, said Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer.

"Being able to create these new vaccines at speed will allow our scientists to keep ahead of the virus as they do every year with the influenza vaccine."

Earlier this week, drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said it planned to invest 150 million euros ($181 million) in CureVac's effort to target new variants of COVID-19 using its messenger RNA technology. CureVac said Friday that its collaboration with the U.K. will support both its work with GSK and the vaccine candidate it is developing with Bayer that is already in human trials.

The U.K. has aggressively supported the development of potential vaccines as it battles Europe's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak. The government has invested over 300 million pounds ($410 million) in vaccine development and acquired 407 million doses of seven different vaccines.

CureVac said its collaboration with the British government will help the company quickly identify new variants and design vaccines to combat them. The U.K. is a leader in identifying and tracking new variants, sequencing the genetic code of 10% of positive COVID-19 specimens, compared with about 1% in the U.S.

"One of the biggest challenges we continue to face in combatting COVID-19 is the emergence of multiple variants, each of which poses a potentially significant threat to public health," Dr. Antony Blanc, CureVac's chief commercial officer, said in a statement.

"The U.K. government and it's Vaccines Taskforce has been at the forefront of surveillance, vaccine development and delivery of vaccines for deployment during this pandemic."

Authorities in England this week launched house-to-house coronavirus testing in eight communities in a bid to snuff out a COVID-19 variant first discovered in South Africa before it spreads widely and undermines a nationwide vaccination program.

Public health officials are concerned because the variant contains a mutation of the virus' characteristic spike protein targeted by existing vaccines. The mutation may mean the vaccines offer less protection against the variant.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 16:12:48|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

NEW DELHI -- India's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,802,591 on Friday as 12,408 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the health ministry.

According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 154,823 as 120 COVID-19 patients died since Thursday morning.

There are still 151,460 active cases in the country, while 10,496,308 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment.

- - - -

ULAN BATOR -- Mongolia registered 38 new COVID-19 cases, raising its national caseload to 1,928, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Friday.

The latest cases were detected in the country's capital Ulan Bator, Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's surveillance department, said at a daily press conference, urging citizens to stay at home, maintain good personal hygiene habits and keep social distance.

- - - -

BOGOTA -- Colombia reported 254 more deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, taking the country's death toll to 55,131, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection said Thursday.

The ministry said that 9,790 new COVID-19 cases were registered, bringing the national count to 2,135,412.

- - - -

BUENOS AIRES -- Argentina registered 8,891 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the national tally to 1,961,635, the health ministry said.

The ministry also reported 162 more deaths from the disease, bringing the nationwide death toll to 48,700. Enditem
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Texas A&M International Universitys Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services has earned nine national awards at the recent 8th annual Educational Digital Marketing Awards competition  placing it among top peer national winners.

The Education Digital Marketing Award competition recognizes the best in educational websites, digital content, electronic communications, mobile media and social media. A national panel of industry specialists reviews and judges the competition, considering creativity, marketing execution, message impact, technology application and content innovation.

There were 37 entry categories and 14 different educational groups competing. TAMIUs nine awards elevated it into the top national winners group including Arkansas Tech University, University of Nebraska-Omaha; Syracuse University; University of Missouri and the University of California, Davis. Of the five Texas public and private universities competing, TAMIU was the top Texas award recipient.

TAMIU earned Gold awards for new media content supporting social media campaigns; for its main website update; for a dedicated website explainer on TAMIUFlex, the Universitys course delivery platform; and for a stand-alone website for the universitys Dustdevil Diversity and Inclusion initiatives.

TAMIUs Silver awards included a Social Media Campaign showcasing pet Study Buddies, digital content tracing the Universitys brand identity evolution, a video documentary for the We Are TAMIU Together campaign and for website content and design for the universitys dedicated COVID-19 Response Center. A special Merit Award was presented for a digital video sharing the universitys 50th anniversary theme and celebration.

TAMIUs PRMIS director Steve Harmon said the awards are a testament to PRMIS strong creativity, drive, passion and teamwork.

The creativity, drive and passion of our entire PRMIS staff is inspired by our campus and the leadership of our president, Dr. Pablo Arenaz, Harmon said. The PRMIS team is incredibly bright, dedicated and energetic in advancing the universitys mission and story across multiple platforms. They are focused on finding engaging, innovative and strategic ways to tell TAMIUs ever-expanding story. They help drive multiple initiatives focused on engagement, recruitment, retention and community perception. This past pandemic-dominated year has been especially challenging for TAMIU and all universities, but we strive to deliver our essential mission daily.

The PRMIS team includes Mika Akikuni, associate director of marketing; Laura Bogue, former administrative associate; Ana P. Clamont, design and brand manager; Rory King, director of web; Ana M. Vargas, associate director of web; Christine Rojas, social media manager; Rolando Santos, photographer and videographer; Andrea Martinez, designer; and Edelmiro Santos, web specialist.

For additional information, contact the TAMIU Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu or by calling 956-326-2180 or clicking on tamiu.edu. Follow the universitys story on its social channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, or visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, Room 268.

CG Power & Industrial Solutions | Representative Image

CG Power and Industrial Solutions on Friday said its consolidated net loss has widened to 534.59 crore in the December 2020 quarter. The company's consolidated net loss had stood at Rs 210.07 crore in the quarter ended on December 31, 2019, according to a BSE filing.

Its total income during October-December 2020 dipped to Rs 828.29 crore, compared with Rs 1,190.47 crore in the year-ago period. The board in its meeting on Friday approved the proposal for voluntary liquidation of its step-down subsidiary CG  GANZ GENERATOR- ES MOTORGYARTO Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Budapest, Hungary, subject to statutory and regulatory approvals.

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The board also considered and approved the proposal for termination of the GDR (global depositary receipt) programme and delisting of the GORs, which are outstanding and listed on the the LSE, subject to compliance with the applicable laws. The company will take necessary steps in this regard, it added.

The board also approved the appointment of Susheel Tedi as the chief financial officer and key managerial personnel of CG Power and Industrial Solutions from February 5, 2021. It also approved appointment of K R Viswanarayan as company secretary and compliance officer and key managerial personnel of the company from February 6, 2021.

About the impact of the pandemic, it said, "The company has considered the possible effect in the preparation of these financial results from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's operations in India were impacted primarily in March and April 2020, due to suspension of production across all plants and closure of offices following nationwide lockdown." The national lockdown continued until early June and was followed by further state-level lockdowns and subsequently, the company has ramped up the production, sales and allied activities, the company added.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Faisal Maina, who is facing trial for money laundering, has escaped to the United States of America.

21-year-old Faisal is the son of former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, Abulrasheed Maina, who is equally answering to separate money laundering charge.

Faisal had since June 24, 2020, failed to appear before the court for his trial, a development that led to the revocation of his bail.

Trial Justice Okon Abang had in a ruling on November 24, 2020, also issued a bench warrant for security agencies to arrest him wherever he is found.

Aside initiating a commital proceeding against his surety, the court gave EFCC the nod to conduct the trial in the absence of the Defendant.

Meanwhile, at the resumed sitting yesterday, counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar told the court that information at the disposal of the Commission was that the Defendant absconded to the US.

The Prosecution counsel told the court that Faisal sneaked out of Nigeria to the Republic of Niger, from where he was able to escape to USA.

Abubakar said there was no truth in a previous information that Police arrested the Defendant in Sokoto State.

He wondered how the Defendant was able to escape to the US, when both his Nigerian and American passports, which he surrendered as part of his bail conditions, are still in the custody of the court.

"We have been making serious efforts to execute the bench warrant, but up to now we have not succeeded," Abubakar added.

In the circumstance, he urged the court to allow the Prosecution to adopt its final written address in the matter.

Responding, the defence lawyer, Mr. Anayo Adibe urged the court to order an enquiry into the whereabouts of his client.

Adibe told the court that the Sokoto Police Command had earlier issued a press statement that Faisal was in its custody.

He told the court that he also received a call from Faisal who confirmed to him that he was arrested by the police.

"My lord, since then, the police has been scanty with information, even when we demanded to see the Defendant.

"Travelling documents of the Defendant are in custody of this court, it is therefore speculative for the Prosecution to state that the Defendant is in US.

"How could he enter USA without his travelling documents? The Defendant personally called me the day he was taken into custody in Sokoto. Every effort made thereafter to reach him have been abortive.

"Of a truth, we are afraid for his life. We urge this court to call for an enquiry into the whereabouts of the Defendant," Adibe added.

He equally prayed the court to, in the interest of justice and fair hearing, vacate its order forclosing his client from either cross-examining the witnesses that testified in the matter or entering his defence to the charge.

EFCC, however, countered the application, insisting that the court had pursuant to section 352(4) of ACJA, 2015, ordered trial of the Defendant in absentia.

It argued that the Defendant was never denied fair hearing by the court.

"He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. In the instant application, the Defendant is coming to equity with soiled hands. We therefore urge the court to refuse the application," the Prosecution counsel added.

After he had listened to both sides, Justice Abang adjourned the matter till March 31 to rule on the application.

He held that should the application succeed, EFCC, would re-open its case against the Defendant.

"If dismissed, the Prosecution will be allowed to adopt its final written address and the matter will be adjourned for judgement," Justice Abang held.

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Earlier in the proceeding, the court, ordered a member of the House of Representatives for Kaura-Namoda Federal Constituency, Umar Dan-Galadima, who stood surety for Faisal, to forfeit a property used as the bail bond.

EFCC had in the charge before the court, alleged that Maina's son had sometimes between 2013 and 2019, received the sum of N58.11 million, being proceeds of a corrupt act by his father.

He was also accused of failing to properly declare his assets before the EFCC.

Faisal had reportedly pulled a gun to challenge operatives of the Department of State Service, DSS that arrested his father at a hotel in Abuja on September 30, 2019.

It will be recalled that his father, Maina also jumped bail and was later arrested in Niger Republic and extradited to the country by the Interpol.
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China on Friday accused Britain of "ideological prejudice" in revoking the licence of Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, as tensions mount between London and Beijing.

British regulator Ofcom revoked CGTN's licence on Thursday after finding its state-backed ownership structure broke UK law.

The move means UK broadcast providers must stop offering the channel to British audiences or face an unlimited fine.

Beijing hit out at the ruling on Friday, saying it was "based on ideological prejudice and political reasons."

"China urges the UK to immediately cease political manipulation and correct its mistakes," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, adding that China "reserves the right to make the necessary responses."

He said the news channel had played a role in "enhancing understanding and communication" between the two countries.

Ofcom said CGTN's licence holder, Star China Media Ltd, had failed to show it had editorial oversight over the network and that a proposed transfer to another media group would still keep it tied to the Chinese Communist Party.

According to British law, broadcasters must not be controlled by political bodies.

"We have given CGTN significant time to come into compliance with the statutory rules. Those efforts have now been exhausted," Ofcom said.

The regulator added that an investigation into alleged breaches by CGTN of impartiality, fairness and privacy requirements would be completed "shortly".

CGTN opened its European headquarters in London in 2019, but the English-language satellite broadcaster has long faced criticism for parroting the Communist Party line in its global broadcasts.

CGTN blamed "the manipulation of far-right groups and anti-China forces" for the Ofcom ruling in a statement posted to the Twitter-like platform Weibo.

In the United States, CGTN is one of seven Chinese media outlets that have been designated as state-sponsored actors rather than as independent media.

Story continues

Beijing routinely threatens retaliation against Western countries for acting against its media operations, which have grown in sophistication and reach through the years.

On Thursday, the Daily Telegraph reported that Britain had expelled three Chinese spies posing as journalists.

The move was expected to further exacerbate UK-China relations, which have soured over Beijing's crackdown in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and Britain's decision to bar Huawei from its domestic 5G networks over security concerns.

This week, the Chinese government also ramped up criticism of the BBC, saying on Thursday it had lodged "stern representations" to the British broadcaster for what it called "fake news" in its coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Britain, the BBC has been airing a hard-hitting documentary that accuses China of covering up the origins of the pandemic around the city of Wuhan in late 2019.

tjx-rox/lb/mtp
Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.

South Koreas top trade official is dropping her bid to become the next director-general of the World Trade Organization, making it likely the job will go to former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She would become the first woman to lead the organization.

South Koreas Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a news release Friday that its minister for trade, Yoo Myung-hee, will soon tell the WTO she is withdrawing her candidacy.

The WTO, which makes world trade rules, announced in October that Yoo and Okonjo-Iweala were the two finalists to become its next director-general, ensuring a woman will fill the top job for the first time. The WTO had ben expected to announce a winner before the end of 2020, but the process dragged on because of disagreements between member states over the candidates, the South Korean ministry said.

While it appeared Okonjo-Iweala had broader support, the WTO, which operates by consensus, which means that any single member country can block decisions.

The South Korean ministry said Yoo discussed her candidacy with officials from the United States and other WTO member states before deciding to withdraw over comprehensive considerations.

The previous WTO director-general, Roberto Azevedo of Brazil, made a surprise announcement in May last year that he would leave the job a year early, citing a personal decision. He left without a successor at the end of August.

The Geneva-based WTO, which was created in 1995 out of the former General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, has never had a woman director-general or national from Africa as its leader.

Progressive vision loss, and eventually blindness, are the hallmarks of juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL) or CLN3-Batten disease. New research shows how the mutation associated with the disease could potentially lead to degeneration of light sensing photoreceptor cells in the retina, and subsequent vision loss.

"The prominence and early onset of retinal degeneration in JNCL makes it likely that cellular processes that are compromised in JNCL are critical for health and function of the retina," said Ruchira Signh, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Center for Visual Science and lead author of the study which appears in the journal Communications Biology. "It is important to understand how vision loss is triggered in this disease, what is primary and what is secondary, and this will allow us to develop new therapeutic strategies."

Batten disease is caused by a mutation in the CLN3 gene, which is found on chromosome 16. Most children suffering from JNCL have a missing part in the gene which inhibits the production of certain proteins. Rapidly progressive vision loss can start in children as young as 4 and eventually develop learning and behavior problems, slow cognitive decline, seizures, and loss of motor control. Most patients with the disease die between the ages of 15 and 30.

It has been well established that vision loss in JNCL is due to degeneration of the light-sensing tissue in the retina. The vision loss associated with JNCL can precede other neurological symptoms by many years in some instances, which often leads to patients being misdiagnosed with other more common retinal degenerations. However, one of the barriers to studying vision loss in Batten disease is that mouse models of CLN3 gene mutation do not produce the retinal degeneration or vision loss found in humans. Additionally, examination of eye tissue after death reveals extensive degeneration of retinal cells which does not allow researchers to understand the precise mechanisms that lead to vision loss.

URMC is a hub for Batten disease research. The Medical Center is home to the University of Rochester Batten Center (URBC), one of the nation's premier centers dedicated to the study and treatment of this condition. The URBC is led by pediatric neurologist Jonathon Mink, M.D., Ph.D., who is a co-author of the study. Batten disease is also one of the key research projects that will be undertaken by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-supported University of Rochester Intellectual and Development Diseases Research Center.

To study Batten disease in patient's own cells, the research team reengineered skin cells from patients and unaffected family members to create human-induced pluripotent stem cells. These cells, in turn, were used to create retinal cells which possessed the CLN3 mutation. Using this new human cell model of the disease, the new study shows for the first time that proper function of CLN3 is necessary for retinal pigment epithelium cell structure, the cell layer in the retina that nourishes light sensing photoreceptor cells in the retina and is critical for their survival and function and thereby vision.

Singh points out that understanding how RPE cell dysfunction contributes to photoreceptor cell loss in Batten disease is important first step, and it will enable researchers to target specific cell type in the eye using potential future gene therapies, cell transplantation, and drug-based interventions.

###

Additional co-authors of the study include Cynthia Tang, Jimin Han, Sonal Dalvi, Kannan Marian, Lauren Winschel, Celia Soto, Chad Galloway, Whitney Spencer, Michael Roll, Lisa Latchney, Erika Augustine, Vamsi Gullapalli, and Mina Chung with URMC, David Williams and Stephanie Volland with the University of California, Los Angeles, Vera Boniha with the Cleveland Clinic, and Tyler Johnson with Sanford Research. The research was supported with funding from the National Eye Institute BrightFocus Foundation, the David Bryant Trust, the Foundation of Fighting Blindness, the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, the Retina Research Foundation, and Research to Prevent Blindness.

Companies Offer Incentives for Vaccinated Workers

Sixty percent of workers polled by Perceptyx said they would get the COVID-19 vaccine if given a $100 incentive.

A poll by Perceptyx reported that monetary incentives are the best way to encourage workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to The Business Journals.

There are many people that are hesitant about getting the vaccine, so employers can help ease those concerns and make the workplace safer overall by motivating their employees to get vaccinated. According to the Perceptyx poll, six out of 10 workers would get vaccinated if their employers gave a $100 incentive. Employees are also more likely to get the vaccine if they think their employers care about them as a person.

Some employers who were polled38 percentsaid that their jobs are requiring them to be vaccinated in order to return to working in-person. Additionally, 53 percent of respondents would get the vaccine on their own accord, while 56 percent would do so if advised by their employer. It has been said by legal experts that it is best that employers dont mandate that workers get the vaccine because that could lead to them pursuing legal exemptions.

Corporations like Dollar General, Trader Joes, Instacard and Aldi are offering incentives to workers who get vaccinated. Some of those incentives include more flexible work schedules, bonuses and paid time off.

Respondents said that if they had to choose three mitigation efforts for going back to the office, they would be social distancing, frequent sanitation and wearing masks.
A lawyer for on Friday told the that the e-commerce giant is constantly committed to helping Limited (FRL) and it doesnt want the company to go down. The lawyer argued that was in touch for the purpose of resolving the matter even till the time the Future-Reliance deal was made public.

The is hearing the appeal filed by Limited (FRL) against the Court's order passed earlier this week. It had asked FRL to maintain the status quo with respect to its $3.4 billion (about Rs 24,700 crore) deal with Reliance Retail. The court had said it was satisfied that an immediate interim order was required to be passed to protect the rights of e-commerce firm



Earlier, Senior Advocate who appeared for FRL had highlighted the disruption caused due to the Covid-19 pandemic on Future's business and had informed the court that the retail firm may go bust and thousands may lose jobs due to Amazon's interference. He had argued how the deal with Reliance would take all the liabilities and save thousands of jobs and provide security to the banks and shareholders of Future. Salve had told the court that Amazon is opposing the deal as Reliance is a competitor.



We are not acting out of any other motive. We are constantly committed to helping the company. It's not that we can't find a solution for FRL. We don't want the company to go down, Senior Advocate Gopal Subramanium, who appeared for Amazon told the court, according to law platform Bar & Bench. We are committed to our stand that we are willing to help. I want FRL to survive.



In August 2020, the struck a $3.4-billion asset sale deal with RIL. Amazon then sent a legal notice to Future, alleging the retailers deal breached an agreement with the American e-commerce firm. In 2019, Amazon had acquired a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons (FCPL), the promoter entity of Future Retail, for about Rs 1,500 crore. The deal specified any disputes would be arbitrated under Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) rules.



Last year in October, Amazon won a favourable ruling for its plea in Singapore against striking a deal with Future has been told not to proceed with its sale of shares to RIL till the outcome of the arbitration process.



In December, the Delhi High Court, prima facie, found that the suit filed by was maintainable, the Emergency Award was valid, and that Future Retail's resolution approving the transaction with Reliance was also valid. This year in January, The (HC) served a notice on Future Retail (FRL), Reliance Retail, and the Biyanis, seeking their views on a plea by Amazon against some of the observations by a single judge Bench in a December 21, 2020, interim order.



On Friday in the court, Subramanium argued that Emergency Arbitrator (EA) was an institution agreed to by the parties and the promoters are part of the Arbitration agreement. He mentioned that Delhi High Court has been a leading court in Arbitration and many of the old judgements are as good as gold.



Arbitration laws are integral. They (Future) must follow it for rule of law, said Subramanium. Contracts are by and large to be honoured. Parties must give primacy to the remedy that they have chosen.



The matter is being heard before Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh. The hearing has been adjourned till February 8.



The President of Liberia, H.E. Dr. George Manneh Weah, has told members of the cabinet that the year 2021 is a year of performance, commitment and diligence, urging all cabinet members to strictly execute his agenda.

Addressing the cabinet at its first sitting for the year on Thursday, February 4, 2021, Dr. Weah warned that there will be zero tolerance for non-performing cabinet members and other government officials.

"This year and onwards, you must implement my agenda to stay on", President Weah warns. This buttressed and confirmed the President's position in his address to the nation on January 25, 2021 to dismiss any minister or official of government who fails to perform.

The Liberian Chief Executive said agriculture, the second flagship program of the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD), remains a priority as his government embarks on making Liberia food secure and improving the livelihood of Liberians.

President Weah, who is expected to attend this year's agriculture fair in Gbarnga on February 12, 2021, mandated the Minister of Agriculture, Jeanine Cooper, to ensure all government farms are cultivated.

"Madam Minister, please make sure we develop and cultivate our farm lands throughout the country this year. Let's begin with the 5,000 acres in Grand Cape Mount. I will lead the entire cabinet to plant rice and crops by April this year", Dr. Weah said.

Commending Min. Cooper, the Liberian President said: "I was told you are the best in terms of changing the dynamics of agriculture in the Country, and that you can help make my dreams of "made in Liberia" come true. You have so far exhibited that. I want you to do more".

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The Liberian Chief Executive urged all members of the cabinet to get involved in agriculture saying: "Living by example is cardinal. If we are to achieve our goals in transforming the agriculture sector, we need to participate in it fully."

President Weah then commended members of the cabinet for submitting detailed reports on their various achievements, he promised to peruse them before acting on a way forward insisting people who don't perform will take the bench as there would be no sacred cow.

The cabinet also discussed and approved the President's tour which begins on February 12, 2021 in Bong County. The first phase of the tour will take him to Bong, Nimba, Grand Gedeh, River Gee, Maryland and Grand Kru Counties.

President Weah is expected to hold town hall meetings with locals, county caucuses and administration, as well as commission projects including roads, administrative buildings and housing units.

Also during the tour, Dr. Weah is expected to become the first ever President of Liberia to visit and interact with residents of Gbi and Doru where one of his farms is located.

Additionally, the cabinet received and discussed recommendations from the universal periodic human rights report.

Following cabinet's review, the Minister of Justice and other line ministries including Gender, were mandated to accept and make recommendations to the international body in cognizance with Liberia's laws and traditions.
New Delhi:

With respect to raids conducted on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family, the Bihar government on Saturday denied reports that it was intimated prior to conduct of raids

Bihar Government's press release stated that the reports circulating about information of the raids being given to the senior officials of the state government, Bihar Chief Secretary and Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) are 'baseless'.

"The information regarding the same was given to the Bihar Director General of Police after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raids has begun, following which necessary arrangements were made," the press release stated.

Earlier on Saturday, reports of the Bihar Government already aware of the raids conducted at Lalu and family's premises were circulated.

Earlier on Friday, the CBI registered a corruption case against Lalu Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejaswi Yadav; former Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Managing Director P.K. Goyal; and the wife of Lalu's confidante Prem Chand Gupta, Sujata on allegations of awarding the tender for development, maintenance and operation of hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006.

The CBI later questioned Rabri Devi and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav.

ALSO READ: ED raids Misa Bharti at 3 locations including farmhouse in Delhi

ALSO READ: CBI registers case against Lalu, his family; searches conducted



For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New US Covid-19 cases have declined by 61 percent compared to the peak level on January 8, officials said Friday, as they announced troops were being deployed to support the national vaccine campaign.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky said that latest official data from February 3 showed new infections were down to approximately 121,000, while hospitalizations were down nearly 42 percent and the pace of deaths appears to be slowing.

"While the data are moving in the right direction, context is important because cases, hospital admissions, and deaths, all remain high and well above the levels that we saw in the summer and early fall," Walensky said during a briefing by the White House's Covid-19 Response Team.

The Department of Defense meanwhile announced it had approved 1,110 active duty members to assist at five federal Covid-19 vaccination centers. That number could eventually rise to 10,000.

The new administration of President Joe Biden has set its sights on delivering 150 million doses of Covid shots in the first 100 days of office -- a challenge made all the more pressing by the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus that are more transmissible and reduce the efficacy of vaccines.

To this end, Tim Manning, the national supply chain manager for the Covid response, said the government was invoking emergency legislation called the Defense Production Act to give Pfizer priority access to the raw ingredients for its vaccine.

The legislation is also being used to help deliver 60 million more point-of-care or at-home tests by summer, and to increase the domestic manufacture of surgical gloves.

The US Food and Drug Administration is meanwhile examining vaccine data submitted to it by Johnson & Johnson, ahead of a meeting by an independent advisory panel on February 26.

The panel is likely to advise in favor of emergency use authorization (EUA) given the positive data announced from J&J's multi continent trial, which found the single-shot vaccine overall 66 percent effective, but highly protective against severe Covid.

An EUA would follow soon after, bringing a third vaccine into the picture, with vaccines by AstraZeneca and Novavax on the horizon.

ia/cl
The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo plans to kick off its annual 14-day event on Thursday.

Organizers are moving ahead with the rodeo despite receiving a letter from Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff that suggested postponing the event amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Wolff noted that Austin and Fort Worth have already canceled their rodeos for 2021.

Lauren Sides, a spokesperson for the rodeo, said safety measures planned for the scaled-down San Antonio celebration "not only adhere to, but also exceed state and local guidelines."

READ ALSO: Texas beef company offering Brady's semen for free if Buccaneers win Super Bowl

An online petition calling for the rodeo to be canceled had received over 500 signatures as of Friday afternoon. The petition labeled the decision to move forward with the event "reckless, irresponsible, and unethical." Sides said organizers were aware of the petition.

The rodeo will look very different to past years, beginning with the venue. Rodeo competitions and concerts are going to be held at the county-owned Freeman Coliseum instead of the AT&T Center. Tickets were sold in spaced-out blocks to allow for social distancing.

The county expects 4,000 people to attend each night for a total of 56,000 attendees over the two week event. Acts scheduled to perform include several country artists and an AC/DC tribute band. There will be no fairgrounds or carnival.

Face masks will be required for anyone over the age of four. Guests will be screened for high temperatures at the entrances, according to the rodeo's safety guidelines, which also mention purifiers in HVAC units, a biodefense system and disinfectant spray.

"The decision to move forward is your decision; just realize the difficult situation you will face in enforcing compliance and the risk that doing so presents," Wolff wrote in his letter.

Rodeo organizers appear ready to take the risk.
The Air Force launched an investigation Thursday after an unauthorized individual made it onto the Maryland base housing the president's special transport planes.

A spokesperson for Joint Base Andrews confirmed the event to Military.com, and said that the Air Force Office of Special Investigations was leading the investigation. An AFOSI spokesperson could not be reached for further comment.

Read Next: Face Masks Now Mandatory Almost Everywhere on Military Bases

Officials did not answer questions about whether the individual was in custody, how far they had made it onto the base or if they gained access to any aircraft.

Joint Base Andrews is best known for its special airlift mission to transport VIPs such as the president and vice president. It's home to the VC-25A aircraft known as "Air Force One" when the commander in chief is onboard.

Breach attempts on U.S. military bases are not uncommon, but are rarely successful.

In 2018, several military installations across the U.S. faced threatening breach attempts, including Fort Meade, Maryland; Naval Base Kitsap in Washington; and Peterson Air Force in Colorado, according to a report from Task & Purpose.

Security Forces units, known as base defenders, were forced to look at their safety and security protocols after an individual drove his car all the way into the flight line at RAF Mildenhall, UK, in 2017.

In that incident, the Air Force said a "disturbed" man attempted to drive up the ramp of a parked CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft on base, according to an Air Force Times report. Officials said the gaps in response was partially due to Mildenhall's Installation Defense Plan, which wasn't in line with current security protocols, according to the publication.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at Oriana.Pawlyk@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @oriana0214.

Related: Ohio Military Base Security Breach Prompts Calls for Change
A skyline of Seoul's business area on Yeouido / Gettyimagesbank



Stricter regulations endangering foreign investment here



By Kim Bo-eun



Foreign firms in Korea are voicing concerns over an increasingly deteriorating business environment, with the government seeking to introduce a "profit-sharing system," which would force companies to share their earnings with others that have been more seriously damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. This proposal comes after a law punishing CEOs for major accidents at workplaces was passed, and is waiting to go into effect.



Militant unions, a rigid labor market and high corporate tax are some of the factors foreign businesses have continued to state undermine Korea's attractiveness as an investment destination. These factors have not improved but rather worsened under the Moon Jae-in administration given his policies prioritize the protection of workers' rights.





GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem

GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem in a recent forum on attracting foreign investment said the strikes that frequently occur in Korea makes it difficult to make investments.



He said it is easier in Korea for workers to launch collective action, and that union-management negotiations take place every year in Korea, while these are held every four years in the U.S.



Kazem added that the terms leaders of unions serve are too short  making it hard for management to establish stable relations with them.



But concern is growing further over the government's plan to introduce a system under which companies that have reaped large profits are required to share these with others that are suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic.



The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is seeking to set up the legal grounds for the initiative. Details have yet to be laid out as discussions are ongoing regarding which firms will be expected to share their profits, and with which entities.





AMCHAM Board of Governors Chairman Jeffrey Jones

While the initiative is well-intended, it is being criticized as an anti-business measure that further dampens foreign companies' willingness to invest here.



"It will depend on how the policy is operated, but companies will most likely view this as another form of tax, and more tax is not welcome," American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Board of Governors Chairman Jeffery Jones told The Korea Times, Friday.



"There are a lot of complaints about taxes from the foreign business community. Korea's tax rate for foreign firms is not competitive to that of Hong Kong or Singapore. The tax regime makes it difficult to attract good people to come to Korea," he said.



Korea's corporate tax rate stood at 27.5 percent in 2019, which compares with 25.9 percent in the U.S., 17 percent in Singapore and 16.5 percent in Hong Kong.



CEO risks have also been consistently cited by foreign firms as an issue.





AMCHAM CEO James Kim
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

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Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

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Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

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"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

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Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

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OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

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Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

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France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

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Learn4Life Hosts Virtual HBCU Campus Tours and Explores Black Family Culture

Learn4Life honors Black History Month with the belief that Black history is American history and fostering its understanding can benefit the 47,000 students it serves each year. In that spirit, Learn4Life has planned a month of activities, conversations and competitions to engage students, staff and the public.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005433/en/

Black History Virtual Summit (Feb. 23-25, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. PST) (Graphic: Business Wire)

Ever wonder what it would be like to attend a Historically Black College and University (HBCU)? Eleven HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions will provide a glimpse into their school, college life and admission requirements at a Virtual College Week (Feb. 8-11) highlighting Central State in Ohio, Florida A&M and Winston-Salem State in North Carolina and more. Visit www.learn4life.org/college-week for the complete schedule. Learn4Life students benefit from increased access to HBCUs thanks to a one-of-a-kind partnership with 1890 Foundation.







Explore The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity, a presentation from the Learn4Life Black Leadership Alliance. This three-day Black History Virtual Summit (Feb. 23-25, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. PST) will feature student presentations of art, mixed media, poetry and discussion that depict the experience and history of Black family culture. The summit is open to the public and can be accessed at https://learn4life.org/blackhistory/.

About Learn4Life

Learn4Life is a network of nonprofit public schools that provides students personalized learning, career training and life skills. Each school is locally controlled, tuition-free and gives students the flexibility and one-on-one attention they need to succeed. Serving more than 47,000 students - including full-time and intersession students - we help them prepare for a future beyond high school. For more information, please visit www.learn4life.org.

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As parents, we start nagging our kids in elementary school: Youve got to go to college. Middle-school counselors push college marketing brochures into their hands. High school is a weary whirl of college admissions tests and campus tours.

The message we send: You cant succeed without a four-year university degree.

But that is not true. While born of the best intentions, the Big Lie of higher education is a disservice to American youth who need to know there is another path to success in the 21st-century economy. Nothing is one-size-fits-all. A singular focus on four-year institutions limits the horizons of millions of Americans.

The same is true for adults ages 18 to 80 and beyond. For many, the best path is community college, where a high school graduate can experiment with career paths; where a handy young adult can learn a high-demand, high-paying skilled trade like plumbing; where a small-business owner can polish her marketing chops; and where a retiree can rekindle his old intellectual and social interests.

After years of neglect, community colleges now have a champion in the White House: the first lady, Dr. Jill Biden, a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College. In 2015, I had the opportunity to attend an event with Dr. Biden and President Obama, who visited Michigan to unveil a $175M grant to boost apprenticeships. They stressed the importance of investing in community colleges and professional trades. At that time, the nation was still recovering from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Community colleges played a key role in educating and retraining displaced workers, many of whom spent decades with the same company and looked to their local community colleges to forge a new career path.

Today, the country is facing a global pandemic, rising unemployment, and a future of work that changes so quickly that constant training and retraining is the norm.

In this way, community colleges are local treasures. They lift up individuals with affordable opportunities to build skills necessary to work in todays economy  from high-skilled trades to healthcare positions to law enforcement. They grow local economies with increased tax bases and related development. They add art, culture, and a buzzing social scene to local areas.

Yet despite this clear impact, community colleges are often overlooked as assets. To the detriment of the communities, people, and economies they serve, they receive far less investment support than four-year institutions.

This creates a massive and inexcusable revenue gap between four-year institutions and community colleges. According to the Center for American Progress, community colleges receive $8,800 less in education revenue per student enrolled than four-year institutions. That translates to a total gap of $78 billion between the two sectors.

Community colleges need our help. We must stop taking two-year colleges for granted.

There are many factors that contribute to the revenue gap. In Michigan, for example, community colleges are funded with property taxes and tuition, which enables schools to provide necessary services like classes and labs. But its far less than four-year institutions receive. So, community colleges have to get creative to provide services above and beyond that.

At Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan, weve been able to identify new revenue sources through community-building partnerships, but even that is not enough. Thats where local support can play a big role. Throughout my years working here, Ive seen firsthand the great impact philanthropy has on our school and students. Typically, donor-dollars go further at community colleges. For example, a $500 scholarship may not be enough to fund one class credit at a university. At Schoolcraft, the same amount of money covers a three-credit class, plus books.

All of a sudden, what would be a minor donation at a four-year university becomes life-changing for individuals at a two-year college. For the single mom of three getting her degree. For the high school graduate not sure where they want to go in life. For the 60-year-old small business owner looking to get a new certification.

Community Colleges need more government support, but they also need to become a much higher priority for private philanthropists. If you want your donor-dollars to have a big impact, consider a donation to your local community college, where rather than having a traditional four-year college path forced upon them, people chose their best path.
on Friday said it has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to onboard 300 food on its platform.

The online restaurant guide and food ordering platform said it will onboard 300 across six cities - Bhopal, Raipur, Patna, Vadodara, Nagpur, and Ludhiana - in the first phase.

Considering the popularity of street food in these cities, there is an immense growth potential for these vendors in the online food delivery sphere, it added.

"With this, these will not just be able to serve their loyal customers within the safety of their own homes but will also reach a much larger customer base using Zomato's technology and last-mile delivery services," the statement said.

said it is looking to create a more sustainable and abreast ecosystem for food street vendors and facilitate greater earning opportunities for them.

The street vendors will be helped with PAN and FSSAI registration, training on technology/partner app usage, menu digitisation and pricing, hygiene and packaging best practices. Upon successful completion of the pilot, MoHUA and plan to expand the initiative across the country in phases.

MoHUA had entered into a similar arrangement with Swiggy in October last year. The initiative with Swiggy covered Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Indore and Varanasi.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON, D.C.  Oregon's two U.S. Senators on Thursday joined many of their Democratic colleagues in calling for President Joe Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in American student loan debt.

Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined other Democrats in reintroducing a resolution calling on the President to use his executive authority under the Higher Education Act and cancel loan debt  also ensuring there is no tax liability for Federal student loan borrowers resulting from administrative debt cancellation.

I was proud to be with @ChuckSchumer, @AyannaPressley, and others today to lay out a bold plan for how Joe Biden can use executive authority to deliver meaningful relief to struggling Americans by canceling up to $50,000 in student loan debt. We can get this done and we must.  Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 4, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic took a wrecking ball to our economy, making the burden of student debt even more crushing for the millions who bear it, Wyden said. While President Biden has ensured payments on federal student debt are paused until the fall, he has the authority to step in and automatically forgive $50,000 in student debt for folks in Oregon and nationwide who are struggling to make ends meet. This move would not only help bolster the economy by virtually putting money back in peoples pockets, it would make a tangible difference in the lives of millions by alleviating a substantial threat to their financial security.

The Senators cited data that more than 43 million people in the U.S. currently carry roughly $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. They argue that forgiveness of some of this debt would provide "immediate relief" to millions of Americans during the pandemic, and help to narrow the racial wealth gap.

An affordable, high-quality education should be within reach for every American who wants one, said Merkley. Its ridiculous that so many students are forced to take on back-breaking amounts of debt to go to school  especially as the coronavirus continues to upend our economy. Its time to cancel student loan debts so we can free up Americans burdened by student debt to chase their dreams, contribute to their communities, and help us pave the way to economic recovery.

The ability to relieve student loan debt was granted to the Secretary of Education by Congress in 1965, the lawmakers said, though past use of this power has been much more narrow in scope. That power is currently being used to freeze student loan repayment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The resolution introduced on Thursday calls on President Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in debt through the Department of Education, prevent any consequent tax liability, and continue the pause on loan repayments and interest through the remainder of the pandemic.
Gold Terra Provides Update on Newmont Option Drilling Program Adjacent to the Past-producing 5 M ozs. Con Mine, Yellowknife City Gold Project, NWT

Posted by Publisher Internet

Gold Terra Resource Corp. (TSX-V: YGT; Frankfurt: TX0; OTC QX: YGTFF) (?Gold Terra? or the ?Company?  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/gold-terra-resource-corp/) is pleased to provide an update on the ongoing drilling at the Company?s optioned property from Newmont Ventures Limited and Miramar Northern Mining Limited (the ?Newmont Option?) adjacent to its 100% owned Yellowknife City Gold Project (?YCG?), NWT.? The fully funded drilling program is targeting the immediate southern extension of the Campbell Shear, which hosted approximately 5 of the 6 million ounces of gold produced at the former Con Mine and is currently one of the highest priority targets to add additional high-grade ounces to the current YCG mineral resource.

The Company has completed the first 2 holes of the current winter 2021 program. While assays are pending, images of the core are shown further along in this press release illustrating the mineralization, alteration, and quartz veining of the Campbell Shear zone.

David Suda, President and CEO, stated, ?We are very pleased to have hit the Campbell Shear Structure with our first two holes on the Newmont Option which is now our highest priority target area where we believe there is the potential to make a new discovery. The Campbell Shear structure extends over a minimum of 20 kilometres south of the Con Mine. The Campbell Shear is an extensive plumbing system for potential gold mineralization, and we have only started to drill a small portion of it immediately south of the former Con Mine.?

?Drilling Program Highlights

The first two holes (GTCM21-001 and 002)? are completed, approximately 300m below surface, and approximately 125 metres apart. The Campbell shear was intersected in both holes:

Hole GTCM21-001:

Intersected 67 m of Campbell Shear from 368-473 metres, strongly sheared and cross-cut by multi-generational quartz-carbonate veins. The zone includes ?3.0 metres (412-415 metres) of strong arsenopyrite-pyrite mineralization and sericite alteration associated with quartz-carbonate veins (see attached image 1 and 2)

Also intersected a 9.5 m footwall shear from 627-636.5 metres with strong multi-generational quartz-carbonate veining with pyrite mineralization.

Hole GTCM21-002:

Located approximately 125 metres south of GTCM21-001.

Intersected 65.5 m of Campbell Shear from 288.5-354 metres, similar to GTCM21-001, but with multiple arsenopyrite-pyrite zones, including a 4.5 metres zone of intense quartz-carbonate veining and sericite alteration.

The drill rig is currently moving to the next location to drill approximately 200m below hole GTCM21-002.

A second drill has been mobilized to begin drilling in the Yellowrex area located approximately 500m north of GTCM21-001 along strike on Campbell Shear.

Images of the core

Photos of the core can be found on the Company website at www.goldterracorp.com.

At the former Con Mine, the Campbell Shear hosted approximately 5 of the 6 million ounces of gold produced between 1946-2005.? The Campbell Shear zone is within secondary and tertiary structures associated with a large district-scale structure, the Yellowknife River Fault Zone (?YRFZ?), that straddles the YCG property over 67 kilometres of strike length on the southern and northern extensions. The YRFZ is thought to be the extent equivalent of other prolific gold camps in the Abitibi, such as the Destor-Porcupine and the Larder Lake-Cadillac Fault zones. The Campbell Shear zone and associated structures such as the Con Shear are exceptional due to the high-grade nature of the lode deposits (approximately 20 g/t Au at the Con Shear, and 15 g/t Au at the Campbell Shear).

Resource Update

The company is currently completing a resource update that will include the results from the 2020 drilling. The update will include additional data from 10,000 meters of drilling at Sam Otto and 8,000 meters at the Crestaurum deposit (see Company press releases Aug. 17, 2020, Oct. 27, 2020, and Dec.9, 2020).

About Gold Terra?s Yellowknife City Gold Project

The YCG project encompasses 800 sq. km of contiguous land immediately north, south and east of the City of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Through a series of acquisitions, Gold Terra controls one of the six major high-grade gold camps in Canada. Being within 10 kilometers of the City of Yellowknife, the YCG is close to vital infrastructure, including all-season roads, air transportation, service providers, hydro-electric power and skilled tradespeople.

The YCG lies on the prolific Yellowknife greenstone belt, covering nearly 70 kilometers of strike length along the main mineralized shear system that host the former-producing high-grade Con and Giant gold mines. The Company\-\-s exploration programs have successfully identified significant zones of gold mineralization and multiple targets that remain to be tested which reinforces the Company\-\-s objective of re-establishing Yellowknife as one of the premier gold mining districts in Canada.

Visit our website at www.goldterracorp.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements made and information contained in this news release constitute \forward-looking information\ within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (\forward-looking information\). Generally, this forward-looking information can, but not always, be identified by use of forward-looking terminology such as \plans\, \expects\ or \does not expect\, \is expected\, \budget\, \scheduled\, \estimates\, \forecasts\, \intends\, \anticipates\ or \does not anticipate\, or \believes\, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events, conditions or results \will\, \may\, \could\, \would\, \might\ or \will be taken\, \occur\ or \be achieved\ or the negative connotations thereof.

All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information regarding the current drilling on the Campbell Shear on the Newmont Option potentially adding high grade ounces to the Company?s current YCG mineral resource, future planned drilling on the Newmont Option area and the Company\-\-s objective of re-establishing Yellowknife as one of the premier gold mining districts in Canada.

There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as the Company\-\-s actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of the factors discussed in the \Risk Factors\ section in the Company\-\-s most recent MD&A and annual information form available under the Company\-\-s profile at www.sedar.com.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that would cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this news release. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. All of the forward-looking information contained in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. Except as required under applicable securities legislation and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information.
Four Winnipeg firefighters implicated in a 2020 racist incident in which they refused to help treat an Indigenous woman and delayed her transportation to hospital have been removed from active duty.

Four Winnipeg firefighters implicated in a 2020 racist incident in which they refused to help treat an Indigenous woman and delayed her transportation to hospital have been removed from active duty.

The firefighters at the centre of the controversy  which sparked a third-party investigation and outrage from Indigenous leaders  were placed on administrative leave Thursday evening, three sources with knowledge of the situation told the Free Press.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service Chief John Lane.

The move came one day after Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman and Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief John Lane held a joint news conference to address the findings of a damning external report leaked this week to media.

An independent probe concluded there was a failure to provide proper medical care to a 23-year-old Indigenous woman who had stabbed herself in the throat, and ensure timely transportation to the hospital, during an Oct. 7, 2020 call in the North End.

The investigator concluded the firefighters were guilty of ignoring the instructions of a WFPS paramedic, who was the chief medical authority at the scene. They failed to prioritize patient care, delayed transportation to the hospital, and then colluded to obstruct the probe into their conduct, the report said.

Those actions, the investigator said, were likely motivated by a combination of "implicit racial bias" against the patient and "racial animus" against the paramedic, who is also a person of colour.

In addition, the report said, the firefighters were likely retaliating against the paramedic, who was known to have filed prior complaints about racism within the WFPS, including against one of the firefighters attending the Oct. 7 call.

The details of the incident first came to light after the paramedic sent an email complaint to Lane. The City of Winnipeg then hired an outside consulting firm, Equitable Solutions, to investigate the matter.

The paramedic in question is currently off work. The third-party report found him guilty of breaching respectful workplace policies on the call, after he swore at and insulted one of the firefighters.

During the joint news conference Wednesday, neither Bowman nor Lane would say what disciplinary action, if any, would be taken against the firefighters.

Lane said such details were "not a matter for public discussion."

The Free Press later reported the firefighters continued to be dispatched on medical calls, even after the final report into the case was finalized and its findings were brought to the attention of top department brass.

The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, which represents Winnipeg paramedics, has said the findings of the independent investigation should serve as a "wake-up call" for the city, about the need to address deep-rooted issues within the WFPS.

The United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg union has yet to publicly address the findings of the investigation into its members. One of the implicated firefighters sits on the executive of the UFFW.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Amid speculations that Chief



Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao might step down and make way for his son K T Rama Rao to the state's top post, the executive committee of the ruling would meet here on February 7 to discuss various organisational matters.

The meeting would deliberate on matters including appointment of party committees from village level to the state level and election of its president, a release said on Friday.

State ministers, MLAs, MPs, MLCs, chairpersons of Zilla Parishads, Mayors and others have been invited for the meeting which would be held on February 7 afternoon, it said.

"Party membership renewal, appointments of the party committees from village level to the state level, election of the party president, party's annual day meeting on April 27 and other institutional issues will be discussed at length," the release said.

The announcement on the Sunday meeting has triggered speculation of a possible change of guard as some party MLAs and other senior leaders have openly batted from Rama Rao taking over as chief minister from his father.

Speaking at a function on January 21, in the presence of Rama Rao, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly T Padmarao Goud addressed him as "the probable would-be Chief Minister of the state" and requested him to solve the issues of railway workers.

"On behalf of the Assembly, on behalf of all of us here, and on behalf of railway workers, I am conveying my congratulations to the would-be Chief Minister," Goud had said on January 21, amid applause during a programme of South Central Railway Employees Sangh.

However, Rama Rao, popularly known as KTR, who was on the stage did not react to the deputy speaker's comments.

Earlier, state Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav asked what was wrong in KTR leading the state, when his attention was drawn to the comments made by a few MLAs on the issue.

Party MLAs Shakil Aamir Mohammed and Bajireddy Goverdhan had also spoken in favour of Rama Rao's possible elevation to the top post.

Rama Rao, who is the Working President of TRS, is minister for industries, municipal administration and IT in the state.

Though there was some talk in the past about the 44-year-old taking over the reins from his father, he had dismissed it and it was, probably, the first time that some leaders had spoken in public about making him the CM.

The suave Rama Rao is known for his development-oriented politics, especially in promoting investments in the growth of Hyderabad and other urban areas.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Among more than 150 readers who told the Tribune in an informal online survey about their experiences trying to get the vaccine, Dyra-Hamel was among the earliest to get it. Most of those who responded said the hardest part was trying to sign up for an opening, while actually getting the shot was easy. Many said they spent a long time scrambling to sign up online, and lucked out to get a slot.
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police is going to take Googles help to trace the IP address of the authors who uploaded the toolkit on the ongoing farmers protest in the national capital. According to news agency ANI, Delhi Police will write a letter to the internet search giant Google to get the IP address or the location from where the doc was made and uploaded on the social media platform.

This is being done to identify the authors of the toolkit which was shared on the Google Doc, ANI said quoting Delhi Police sources.

Delhi Police are going to write to Google to get the IP address or the location from where the doc was made and uploaded on social media platform. This is being done to identify the authors of the toolkit which was shared on the Google Doc: Police sources  ANI (@ANI) February 5, 2021

It may be recalled that the teen Swedish climate and environmental activist had shared the toolkit on Twitter, advising people on how to show support for the farmers protests. Her tweet evoked a strong response from the international celebrities and activists like Rihanna, who also voiced support for the farmers agitation. It was reported on Thursday that the Delhi Police had registered an FIR against Thunberg over her tweets on farmers protest.

However, the Delhi Police later clarified that it has registered an FIR against the creators of the toolkit but haven't named anybody in the FIR. On February 3, the teen activist took to micro-blogging website, Twitter, to express her concerns over farmers agitation and shared a post stating solidarity with the farmers.

"We haven't named anybody in the FIR, it's only against the creators of the toolkit which is a matter of investigation and Delhi Police will be investigating that case," said Special Commissioner of Police (CP) Praveer Ranjan when asked if Police has named Thunberg in the FIR.

He further said, "Sections in FIR are 124 A IPC-spreading disaffection against Government of India, it's regarding sedition, 153 A-promoting hatred amongst various communities on social/cultural/religious grounds, same is 153 & 120 B for criminal conspiracy to give shape to such a plan."

The Delhi Police said that more than 300 social media accounts, which were seen spreading malicious content on farmers protest, have been identified. The role of the Poetic Justice Foundation involved in a massive campaign against India`s farm laws is under the scanner.

The police registered an FIR with its Cyber Cell to investigate an "international conspiracy" to defame the country, in the garb of support of the farmers` protest.

Special Commissioner of Police Praveer Ranjan said that the FIR has been registered for "criminal conspiracy" and an attempt to "promote enmity between groups" under various sections of the IPC. He claimed that the violence on January 26 looks scripted as mentioned in a toolkit shared on social media.

Late on Thursday, Greta Thunberg took to the micro-blogging site Twitter, saying that she still supports "their peaceful protest".

Reacting to it, the Ministry of External Affairs also issued a statement, saying, "Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken. The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible."

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When an Armenian shopkeeper tells our TV crew she would serve Azerbaijani customers, her husband threatens to kill her. The new border drawn by the peace deal signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan has split the village of Shurnukh and brought new tensions.
Mumbai, Feb 5 : The government's recapitalisation support of Rs 20,000 crore to state-run banks, announced in the budget along with the decision to form a bad bank, have been a major support for the investors having put their money in the banking shares.

A recent report by Moody's Investors Service said that the proposed asset reconstruction company (ARC), described as a bad bank in common parlance, will resolve legacy problem loans and will be credit positive for banking system.

The allocation of a modest Rs 20,000 crore capital infusion for public sector banks will help the banks to meet Basel capital requirements, but will not boost credit growth, it added.

"We expect that the government will continue to support public sector banks' capital needs as it has done over the past few years," it said.

The BSE Banking index has surged 16 per cent in this week since the Union Budget for FY22 was presented on Monday.

On Friday, the index rose 360.63 points, or 0.90 per cent, to close at 40,301.81 points.

Shares of banking giant State Bank of India (SBI) closed at Rs 393.05, higher by Rs 37.95, or 10.69 per cent, from its previous close.

"The government's plan to set up an asset reconstruction company (ARC) to take over the banking system's stressed loans is credit positive for the banks as it will help them to offload legacy nonperforming loans (NPLs), freeing up resources to focus on new business," said the Moody's report.

Speaking to IANS, the Finance Ministry's Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian had said India's growth is set to further accelerate on the back of the path breaking plan to set up a 'Bad Bank', which is expected to absorb Rs 2 lakh crore worth of non-performing assets (NPA).

The Moody's report added that while the government is yet to detail the structure of the ARC, including its shareholders, capitalisation, and risk and return sharing with the banks, that transferring legacy NPLs to the ARC would not result in a material capital hit to the banks as they have largely provided for those loans.

The pooling of stressed assets can lead to faster resolutions, leading to better recovery rates, a credit positive for the lenders, the report said.

However, the government's plan to divest stakes in two public sector banks and IDBI Bank Ltd is credit negative for the banks involved, as it will reduce ongoing government support. Privatisation is likely to make the banks more market oriented, which will be positive for the industry as a whole.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 22:28:46|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two women and a man died in a series of linked incidents in Kilmarnock, Scotland, on Thursday night, Police Scotland said Friday.

A 39-year-old woman was attacked and killed on the car park area of University Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, Sky News reported.

Minutes later a second woman, aged 24, was stabbed in an incident just over three km from the hospital. Paramedics rushed her to the university hospital but she died from her injuries.

Just about 45 minutes after the first killing, a 40-year-old man was killed in a road crash on the outskirts of the town in a minor road leading to a national route A-road.

Enquiries carried out so far have indicated that the incidents were linked and an investigation is under way to establish the exact circumstances of what happened, according to the Sky News.

Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain said a number of locations remain cordoned off in the town as police officers continue to conduct inquiries.

He called on anyone with information about the incidents to contact the police. Enditem
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Corporate Counsel Business Journal, published by Law Business Media, today announced the publication of the 6th Annual Buyers Guide to In-House Tech, an essential resource for corporate law departments and legal professionals. The Guide includes insightful articles from, and in-depth interviews with, leading legal, business and technology executives and experts focused on collaborating with in-house counsel. The Guide is designed as a resource for legal professionals in their ongoing efforts to heighten efficiency, lower costs and otherwise drive operational effectiveness and meet regulatory challenges in areas such as privacy and data security.

Participants in the Guide include such well-known players as Computershare, FTI Consulting, H5, iDS, Nuix, OpenText, Relativity and Wolters Kluwer ELM.

The legal technology landscape has been instrumental in providing productive solutions, allowing legal leaders and their teams to work efficiently in any scenario, whether in an office format or work-from-home, said Kristin Calve, editor & publisher of Corporate Counsel Business Journal. Law departments continuously look to streamline resources in staffing, departmental budgeting and prepare for upcoming changes in e-discovery and privacy process management. This is a fast-moving area, and we must all keep up with the pace of change.

Among the topics addressed by contributors to the Guide are:



Corporate Law Departments Spend on Tech

Early Case Assessment Processes

Evolving Tech Brings Challenges

Investigations with Database Discovery Tactics

General Counsel Report 2021

Minimizing Compliance Risks

Selecting the Right Service Provider

AI Tools to Address Business Challenges

To read the full version of the 6th Annual Buyers Guide to In-House Tech, please download at: https://ccbjournal.com/assets/features/CCBJ-2021-Tech-Guide.pdf.

About Law Business Media

Law Business Media is an integrated digital and print media platform, publishing Corporate Counsel Business Journal, InHouseLegalTech.com and InHouseOps.com. Corporate Counsel Business Journal (formerly Metropolitan Corporate Counsel) has been providing cutting-edge news and analysis to corporate law departments, executives and board members for 25 years. Law Business Media's suite of products are an indispensable resource for leading in-house counsel and executives.

About Corporate Counsel Business Journal

Corporate Counsel Business Journal was founded more than 25 years ago as Metropolitan Corporate Counsel by Al Driver, the esteemed longtime General Counsel of JC Penney. Al, with his wife Martha Driver, a senior finance executive with TIAA-CREF, developed, launched and operated MCC for 20 years following their retirements from their very successful corporate careers. Law Business Media acquired MCC in 2014 and rebranded as Corporate Counsel Business Journal in 2018.

About Kristin and Joe Calve

Kristin and Joe Calve are the co-founders of Law Business Media. Kristin, a serial entrepreneur with experience in startups, M&A, joint ventures and new product development, serves as publisher and editor of LBMs flagship publication, Corporate Counsel Business Journal. A former publisher with ALM Media and business analyst with A&E Television Networks, she is the founder of Topstone Angels, a private investment group, and the former VP, Revenue, for LiftMetrix, a SaaS platform designed to enable brand marketers to maximize ROI across social media channels. (LiftMetrix was acquired by Hootsuite in 2017.) Kristin has an B.A. in English from Fordham University and an MBA in Finance & Marketing from Fordham Gabelli School of Business. Joe, a former practicing lawyer on Wall Street, has served as Chief Marketing & Business Development for four Am Law 50 law firms. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at ALM Media as an editor, publisher, director of business development and vice president. Joe, along with his J.D. from Western New England College School of Law, has a B.A. in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Masters Degree in Literature from New York University.

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AUSTIN, Texas  A Texas appeals court has delayed a second execution this year to review claims that an inmate is intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for the death penalty.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday granted a request by attorneys for Edward Lee Busby to stay his execution, which had been scheduled for Feb. 10.

Busbys attorneys have argued he has shown significant limitations in intellectual functioning.

The U.S, Supreme Court in 2002 barred the execution of intellectually disabled people, but it has given states some discretion to decide how to determine such disabilities.

Busbys execution would have been the first in the state this year after the appeals court last month delayed the Jan. 21 lethal injection of Blaine Milam to review his intellectual disability claims.

Busby, 48, was condemned for the 2004 suffocation of a retired 77-year-old college professor abducted in Fort Worth and whose body was later recovered in Oklahoma.

Texas first execution of 2021 is now set for March 4, with Ramiro Ibarra set to receive a lethal injection for the 1987 sexual assault and strangulation of a 16-year-old girl in Waco.

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Describing an "aggressive" China as the "most serious competitor" to the US, President has said that his administration will take on the challenges posed by Beijing directly, but will not hesitate to work with it when it is in America's interest to do so.

Realising that a rising and more assertive China as one of his biggest foreign policy challenges, Biden on Thursday stressed the importance of allies in responding to the strategic competition posed by Beijing.

"We will confront China's economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive action to push back on China's attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance," Biden said in his address to State Department employees at its Foggy Bottom headquarters here.

"We will also take on directly the challenges posed by our prosperity, security, and democratic values by our most serious competitor, China," he said.

The China-US relationship is crucial to both sides, and the world. Tensions have soared in recent times, over trade, espionage and the coronavirus pandemic.

Washington and Beijing have also sparred over espionage, China's military build-up in the South China Sea and the mass detention of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

Biden, a Democrat, said his administration is ready to work with China when it is in America's interest to do so.

"But we are ready to work with Beijing when it is in America's interest to do so. We will compete from a position of strength by building back better at home, working with our allies and partners, renewing our role in institutions, and reclaiming our credibility and moral authority, much of which has been lost," he said, giving the glimpse of his administration's policies on China.

"That is why we have moved quickly to begin restoring American engagement internationally and earn back our leadership position to catalyse global action on shared challenges," Biden said.

In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman gave a muted response Biden's twin policy approach of confrontation with China on challenges it posed and cooperation to further American interests, saying both countries can achieve "big things" together and their common interests far outweigh their differences.

"As two major countries China and the US share broad common interests and special major responsibilities for upholding world peace stability and prosperity," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing on Friday.

"It is natural that we have differences but our common interests far outweigh our differences. Our cooperation can do big things conducive to the two countries and the world, Wang said.

Meanwhile, in Washington, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that his priority is not to get access for Goldman Sachs in China.

"Our priority is to make sure that we are dealing with China's trade abuses that are harming American jobs and American workers in the United States," he said.

The Biden administration believes that once the US establishes its position of strength, it will be able to compete more effectively with its competitors across the board and especially with China in every domain, including economic, diplomatic, technological and security.

In a letter to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Senator Rick Scott underscored that the threat of communist China must be a top priority for Pentagon.

"As the United States faces increasingly frequent and dangerous threats from adversaries across the globe -- namely communist China, Iran, Russia and North Korea -- there has never been a more important time to ensure that our men and women in uniform have every resource they need to stand strong and combat threats to our freedoms and interests," he said.

"Communist China is undoubtedly our greatest enemy and must be treated as such. The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) policy of genocide against the Uyghurs, theft of American technology and dangerous actions to build its military presence and threaten the security of the United States and its allies cannot be tolerated," Scott wrote to Austin.

Encouraged by the defence secretary's candour regarding the threat communist China poses to nations around the world, Scott urged Austin to take the strongest possible position to ensure that the Biden administration places accountability and strength at the top of its policy agenda.

"We cannot forget, when the reckless actions of communist China adversely impact our allies, especially those in the Indo-Pacific region including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, India or Taiwan, they also threaten the safety and security of the United States," he said.

In another development, Congressman Brad Wenstrup led 45 lawmakers in writing to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Sullivan regarding the CCP's coercive population control efforts and grave human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

"There is little doubt that China poses one of the most significant challenges to the United States going forward. As part of the administration's effort to confront this challenge, we urge you to prioritise holding the Chinese government accountable for the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang and stand up for the rights to life, human dignity and religious freedom for all people," the members wrote.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi: Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan took to social media on Friday morning to send wishes to actor Abhishek Bachchan on his birthday. Sharing two images in a collage, he penned a heartfelt note for his son.

Amitabh Bachchan has been very active on social media and keeps his fans updated with posts on a regular basis. To celebrate his sons birthday, he uploaded a new post from his verified Instagram account first thing in the morning.

He captioned the adorable post and said, I lead him once .. holding his hand .. he leads me now holding my hand.

Take a look at Big Bs post below:

The actor's latest post was a throwback to his film Black which completed 16 years of release on Thursday. He praised the movie and said its was a film way ahead of its time.

On the work front, Big B is currently shooting for the Ajay Devgn directorial film 'MayDay'. The actor also has upcoming films like the Emraan Hashmi co-starrer 'Chehre', Nagraj Manjule's 'Jhund', Ayan Mukerji's 'Brahmastra' with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, and a yet untitled film co-starring Prabhas and Deepika Padukone
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Today show host Allison Langdon has been hospitalised following a mishap whilst filming a stunt yesterday afternoon on the Gold Coast.

Langdon was using a hydrofoil, assisted by professionals, but injured her knee and was pulled from the water.

This morning Karl Stefanovic said: She had a bit of an accident yesterday  shes doing fineshe hurt herself really badly. Shes in hospital this morning. Shes okay.

Leila McKinnon, who co-hosted this morning, said, She messaged me this morning at 3am asking how I liked the alarm? So she still has the same great spirit, but yeah doing it a bit tough. But she is a tough one.

Karl added: We love you, Ally. We know you will be watching this morning or sleeping in.

A Nine spokesperson told news.com.au: Ally hurt her leg after landing awkwardly during filming a story yesterday and was sent to hospital.

She is expected to return home to Sydney over the weekend. We wish her well and a speedy recovery.

We thank Leila McKinnon for taking a late night call to join Karl for the Today OB at Burleigh Heads.

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President Joe Biden said his administration is working to rebuild "the muscles of democratic alliances that have atrophied from four years of neglect and abuse" following Donald Trump's term in office.

In his first visit to the US Department of State on Thursday, the president pledged to stand "shoulder to shoulder with our allies and key partners once more", while stressing that "leading with diplomacy must also mean engaging our adversaries and our competitors diplomatically where it is in our interest and advances the security of the American people".

He said that he "made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days the United States rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive action"  pointing to cyber attacks from the SolarWinds breach, election interference and the poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny  "are over."

The US president said Mr Navalny "has been targeted for exposing corruption" and "should be released immediately and without condition".

Read more: Follow live updates from the Biden administration

"We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people," he said.

President Biden outlined a series of foreign policy initiatives, including a global review of US armed forces, and end to US military support for the Saudi-led offensive in Yemen, and an executive order on the US refugee admissions programme undermined by the Trump administration.

"America is back. Diplomacy is back," he said in his first major foreign policy speech since taking office.

"We must meet this new moment of accelerating global challenges  from a pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation  that will only be solved by nations working together in common cause," he said in prepared remarks. "That must start with diplomacy, rooted in Americas most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, treating every person with dignity."

The president said he will appoint an envoy to focus on the war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabian military operations supported by the US have created a humanitarian crisis and led to the deaths of thousands of people during a "war that has created humanitarian and strategic catastrophe," he said.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will lead a "global force posture review" of the state of US armed forces, including a freeze on "any troop redeployments from Germany ... so our military footprint is appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities."

The administration will also plan to increase the number of refugees admitted into the US, which the Trump administration capped at 15,000 per year, the lowest in decades.

"Moral leadership on refugee issues was a point of bipartisan consensus for so many decades," the president said.

The president's message to State Department staff on Thursday sought to rebuild trust between the White House and an agency that his predecessor referred to as "the deep state department".

"In our administration, youre going to be trusted and youre going to be empowered," the president told State Department employees ahead of his remarks on Thursday.

The former president visited the state department only one time during his four-year term, while he repeatedly attacked career diplomats and other officials.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (second from left) and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin review an honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Feb. 2, 2021.

The leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia jointly called on Friday for a special meeting of Southeast Asian nations to discuss this weeks military coup in Myanmar, saying this was a matter of concern for the region.

Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said they had instructed their foreign ministers to speak with the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations about convening a meeting of the blocs top diplomats. Their joint statement was the strongest to date on the situation in Myanmar from top government leaders of ASEAN states.

We are concerned about political developments in Myanmar and we hope that political differences can be resolved in accordance with applicable laws, the two leaders said after they held talks in Jakarta, where Muhyiddin was making his first trip as PM since his unelected government came to power nearly a year ago.

We have asked the two Foreign Ministers to speak with the chair of ASEAN to discuss the possibility of convening a special meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers on the developments in Myanmar.

Brunei this year holds the chair of the 10-member regional bloc, which includes Myanmar.

Muhyiddin said that the situation in Myanmar warranted a special ASEAN meeting.

In this regard, I strongly agree with the proposal that the two Foreign Ministers be given the mandate to seek an agreement so that a special ASEAN meeting is held to discuss this matter in more depth, the Malaysian PM said during a post-meeting press conference alongside Jokowi.

On Feb. 1, Myanmars generals seized power from the elected government, and arrested civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others. The military then declared a one-year state of emergency to deal with allegations of voting fraud tied to the general election, which Suu Kyis party handily won in November.

The call for a special ASEAN meeting was unusual because one of ASEANs founding principles is non-interference in the domestic affairs of the blocs member-states.

Still, Muhyiddin, who was on a 24-hour visit to Indonesia, plainly stated on Friday that the democratic process in Myanmar had regressed and this could affect the whole of Southeast Asia.

His government has been ruling Malaysia under a national state of emergency declared last month over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like Indonesia, Malaysia also takes seriously the current political situation in Myanmar, which is a step backwards in the democratic process in that country, Muhyiddin said in a statement he read out at the press conference.

It is feared that political unrest in Myanmar could affect peace and stability in the region.

Muhyiddin didnt elaborate on how the Myanmar situation would affect Southeast Asia, but political analysts and an association of ASEAN MPs said earlier this week that the coup could lead to another influx of refugees from the countrys persecuted Rohingya community.

Political disputes in a country should be solved through legal means and not by force, Jokowi said for his part.

It is important that we respect the principles enshrined in the ASEAN charter, including the rule of law, good governance, democracy and human rights, and constitutional government, Jokowi said.

Malaysia, Indonesia have influential standing in ASEAN

Political analysts in the region welcomed the joint effort by Malaysia and Indonesia on Myanmar.

Cecep Hidayat, a Malaysia expert at the University of Indonesia, said Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur could play an active role as regional leaders on the issue.

If the Myanmar issue is not handled properly, it will have a huge impact on the region, Cecep told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

Doing nothing could undermine international confidence in ASEAN resulting from an inability to create regional peace.

It is particularly important that Malaysia and Indonesia step up, because several ASEAN member countries had described the Myanmar coup as an internal matter, said Azmi Hassan, a political analyst in Malaysia.

He indicated that those nations that refrained from commenting were worried about potential fallout in their relations with Beijing.

The problem is that whats happening for the last few days is that a number of ASEAN members are with China by saying that this is an internal matter, Azmi told BenarNews.

So, I think it is very important for Malaysia and Indonesia, which have very influential standing in ASEAN itself to pursue, or I would say, force, Brunei as the chairman to call a special meeting regarding Myanmar.

Cambodia, Thailand, and, initially, the Philippines  all three of whom have a history of coups  took the internal affairs line.

Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore expressed serious concern about the situation in Myanmar, and the sultanate of Brunei urged a return to normalcy in accordance with the will and interests of Myanmars people.

Manila later changed its tune and also expressed worries about the military coup in Myanmar.

Azmi also said that the plight of Myanmars ethnic Rohingya minority in Rakhine state should be the driving force in addressing the backsliding of democracy in Myanmar.

Malaysia and Indonesia are the target destination [for Rohingya] if things get worse in Rakhine which [they] probably will, since communication to the outside world from Myanmar is at a bare minimum, he said.

Extremely concerned

Meanwhile, Singaporean and Thai representatives on the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) joined their Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts on Friday in calling the military coup in Myanmar a transfer of power to the military.

We have been closely following events in Myanmar which have led to the declaration of emergency and transfer of power to the military after the general election on 8 November, 2020, the four countries AICHR representatives said in a joint statement.

They said they were extremely concerned and urged Myanmar to legally settle any political disputes there.

We look forward to a democratic and peaceful outcome that is in accordance with the will and interests of the people in Myanmar, their statement said.

Palm oil discrimination

Apart from Myanmar, Jokowi and Muhyiddin also discussed bilateral areas of concern.

They agreed that their countries would jointly fight what they called negative campaigns against palm oil in Europe and other countries.

Indonesia and Malaysia together supply about 85 percent of the worlds palm oil, and plantations in both countries have come under scrutiny for alleged labor violations.

Muhyiddin singled out the European Union, Australia, and Oceania countries for discrimination against palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia.

This anti-palm oil campaign is unfounded and does not reflect the sustainability of the world palm industry and contradicts the EU's commitment to the WTO on free trade practices, he said, referring to the World Trade Organization.

Malaysia would continue to work with Indonesia on the issue and to empower the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries, the Malaysian leader said.

This is to ensure that we can protect the palm oil industry, especially smallholders who depend entirely on the palm oil industry in Malaysia and Indonesia, Muhyiddin said.

Jokowi said a joint campaign with Malaysia would be more effective.

Indonesia continues to fight against discrimination against palm oil and this endeavor will yield better outcomes if done together.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Association has regularly blamed palm oils competitors, such as canola and rapeseed manufacturers, and their financial might, for incessant attacks on the industry, despite the fact that palm oil plantations are far more sustainably managed today.

Jokowi also said he was seeking a new agreement to protect Indonesian workers in Malaysia.

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians work in the neighboring country, with many entering illegally and working as laborers.

The two countries also need to build a one-channel system so that labor recruitment can be done better to prevent workers from becoming victims of human trafficking, Jokowi said.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Nay Pyi Taw, Feb 5 : U Win Htein, patron of former Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has been arrested in the wake of the military coup in the South Asian country, a top official said on Friday.

The 80-year-old patron, who is believed to be one of Suu Kyi's trusted confidants, was taken to a district police station in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday night, Xinhua news agency quoted Kyi Toe, a member of the party's information committee, as saying in a social media report.

Meanwhile, former President U Win Myint and Suu Kyi have been remanded in custody for violating the National Disaster Management Law and Import-Export Law until February 15, according to a senior military official.

The Oresident and the State counsellor were detained by the military, along with other NLD officials early Monday morning just ahead of declaring the coup.

The NLD had posted a statement on its social media page demanding the release of the detained leaders, acknowledge the results of 2020 general elections and stop any disturbances which are hindering the process of convening the third parliamentary session.

After the military seized control of the country, the President's Office declared a one-year state of emergency and the state power was handed over to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing.

The coup was staged over the disputed results of the November 8, 2020 parliamentary polls in which the NLD obtained more than 80 per cent of the seats and increased its parliamentary majority.

The military or the Tatmadaw had called for an investigation into voting lists, alleging fraud and discrepancies.

But the Union Election Commission rejected the allegations of election fraud on January 29.

Monday's actions reversed a 10-year period of democratic transition following 50 years of military rule.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text

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Southern Cross Produce Export (Sydney) Pty Ltd has inked a lease for a 3153 sq m industrial site at 12-14 Birnie Avenue from a private investor. The property is fitted out as cold storage facility and has a large hardstand area proving great container access and office accommodation with full staffing amenities. The three-year lease was signed at a rent of $82 per sq m. JLLs Marco Chiodo, David Lidgard and Mitch Whiteley, negotiated the lease.

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The Sydney Art Store Pty Ltd has leased a 250 sq m industrial at 10 Tenterden Road from MGJ Pty Ltd. The lease term is three years at a rent of $240 per sq m gross. Marino Rodriguez, Taylor Nicholas South Sydney.
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By Wendell Young IV and Sen. Christine Tina Tartaglione

It is rare that you will find the president of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, union leaders, advocates, and members of the General Assembly all on the same page. But after a three-hour long hearing hosted by chair of the Democratic Policy Committee Senator Katie Muth at the request of Senators Tartaglione, Haywood and Kane, it seems there might be one issue we could all agree upon: eliminating local government pre-emption for minimum wage laws.

Gene Barr, President of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, spent an hour defending the chambers position against a minimum wage increase citing the impact on businesses and job loss it would create. He claimed that a statewide minimum wage increase is not what was needed but instead more investment in resources such as job training and childcare.

While we agree that investment in job training education and resources for working families are important, it does not override the fact that 1.9 million Pennsylvanians will get a raise if we increase the minimum wage.

Pennsylvanias minimum wage has not been raised since 2009 when the federal government increased the wage to $7.25. As Alissa Barron-Menza, Vice President of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage stated during this hearing, research shows that raising the minimum wage does the exact opposite of Mr. Barrs claims. In fact, raising the minimum wage actually leads to additional economic growth by putting spending power back into the hands of the workers and building a shared economic recovery.

Moreover, much of the job loss that Mr. Barr referred to in his testimony is often workers leaving their second and third jobs because they can now afford to live off of one. It is clear that raising the minimum wage is not just an economic issue, but a moral one.

The chambers stance against a minimum wage increase and misinformation regarding the effects of an increased wage werent even the most egregious statements made. Instead, it was Mr. Barrs claim that many of the businesses in the chamber already pay above the $7.25 minimum wage, especially in Philadelphia where he claimed not once, but three times that the minimum wage was effectively $15.00.

Pennsylvania is one of only 25 states that have pre-emptive minimum wage laws prohibiting cities like Philadelphia from raising the minimum wage to $15.00. Mr. Barr was likely confusing the minimum wage for the overwhelming support of Philadelphias ballot measure 3 in 2019 which called for an increase in the minimum wage to $15.00 and passed with 82% of the vote. In any event, we are encouraged to hear the Chambers statement that this is the going minimum wage rate in Philadelphia, and therefore, we would suspect no resistance if all employers were required to pay $15 in the city.

A report by Pew Research in April 2020 showed that Philadelphias share of city households living below the poverty line, at 24.5 percent, was the highest of the 10 largest cities in the United States. With nearly 380,000 Philadelphians living in poverty, a $15 minimum wage in the city is needed  lawmakers in Harrisburg must allow city officials to enact their own minimum wage.

Indeed, Mr. Barrs statements have made it abundantly clear that when we allow municipalities to increase the minimum wage when the state fails to do so, we ensure that no full-time worker is living in poverty.

We look forward to the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerces full support in removing minimum wage preemption laws in Pennsylvania to benefit both the workers and businesses in the Commonwealth.

Wendell Young IV, is president of UFCW Local 1776.

Sen. Christine Tina Tartaglione (D) represents Pennsylvanias Second Senatorial District.
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Interra Credit Union chief executive officer Amy Sink and chief operating officer Andy Marshall are flanked by members of the credit unions Hometown Giving service project committee. The big check represents more than $40,000 donated to nonprofit agencies throughout the credit unions footprint.
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The first thing to say is that a war with China probably wont happen.

Yet if it does, it might begin in an obscure place like Pratas or Kinmen Islands. Both are controlled by Taiwan but are closer to China, and some Chinese and Americans alike worry that Chinese President Xi Jinping might invade one to pressure Taiwan.

Or Xi might send a submarine to snip cables that carry the internet to Taiwan, or he might order a cyberattack to bring down Taiwans banking system.

And what began on Pratas or Kinmen wouldnt end there: The United States most likely would be drawn into perhaps the most dangerous confrontation with another nuclear power since the Cuban missile crisis.

So lets work harder to prevent an actual international shooting war in Asia. The coming years represent the greatest risks since I began covering U.S.-China relations in the 1980s, partly because Xi is an overconfident, risk-taking bully who believes that the United States is in decline.

I think its unlikely that therell be a military confrontation there, but I dont rule it out, said Bonnie Glaser of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

I worry that were wrong. Few expected Xi to pick fights with India on their shared border, as he has, and heaven help us if he is similarly reckless toward Taiwan and sparks a war with the United States.

Dealing with Mitch McConnell will be a piece of cake for President Joe Biden compared with dealing with Xi. Bidens challenge will be to constrain a Chinese leader who has been oppressive in Hong Kong, genocidal in the Xinjiang region, obdurate on trade, ruthless on human rights and insincere on everything, while still cooperating with China on issues like climate change, fentanyl and North Korea.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has, rightly, signaled that he will continue what he called Donald Trumps tougher approach toward China, albeit adding human rights concerns and working with allies. Still, Republicans see China policy as a vulnerability for this administration, with Sen. Ted Cruz denouncing Team Bidens embrace of the Chinese Communist Party.

Thats nonsense, for Biden has recruited a tough-minded team of Asia experts, but the criticisms reflect a hardening toward Beijing across the political spectrum that leaves little room for diplomacy.

I was in Tiananmen Square when Chinese troops opened fire on protesters in 1989, and I have had more Chinese friends imprisoned than I can count. I have no illusions about Beijing. But I worry that two trains are rushing toward each other, for several reasons:

 Americans have a pattern of exaggerating threats. We fixated at various times on Nasserism, Southeast Asian dominoes and Japan as No. 1. In retrospect, these fears were too simplistic; lets not repeat that mistake in the case of China.

 We should bring a dose of humility to our discussions of China. Criticisms of Xi are deserved, but its also true that an infant born in Beijing has a longer life expectancy (82 years) than a baby born in Washington (78). China badly bungled its initial handling of the coronavirus outbreak but then moved heaven and earth to halt the virus and save hundreds of thousands of lives. China is a complex and contradictory place, not a caricature.

 Lets distinguish between Xi and China. Senior Chinese officials privately denounce Xi in scathing terms (one told me Xi is a crazy person). So we should avoid insulting the country and forcing officials to rally around their leader.

 Biden needs to manage Xi and reduce the risk of war without pulling punches: Biden should denounce cultural genocide in Xinjiang but not seek a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Olympics, and he should strengthen ties with Taiwan but not poke Xi in the eye. We can send Army Green Berets to train with Taiwan armed forces without releasing video of the training, as the Trump administration did. We can also work with China to reduce the risk of accidents and escalation.

We learned with the Soviet Union how to keep the Cold War cold, noted David Shambaugh, a George Washington University scholar and author of several excellent books on U.S.-China relations.

He suggests dusting off the Cold War toolbox to see whether arms control agreements, hotlines and consultations can lower temperatures.

Were in really dangerous waters now, Shambaugh noted.

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF writes for The New York Times.
Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
Lucknow, Feb 5 : Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL) chief Shivpal Yadav has said that his party is ready to forge an alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) for the upcoming Assembly elections to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Shivpal said, "We are also in touch with other small parties in the state to forge an alliance. Those who made these black farm laws against the farmers' interest should not be given any chance to win the elections." The PSPL chief said that his party had established its base in all districts of the state, and alliances would help opposition parties in taking on the BJP.

"We are with the farmers and if required, we will start a 'Jail Bharo' movement. These laws have been made only to help corporate houses. In fact, all decisions taken by the central government, including demonetisation, GST, labour migration during the Covid-19 lockdown, among others, were not in favour of the nation or the public," he said.

He further said, "It was promised to double the income of farmers, but the income has actually come down. If farmers do not want these new laws, then why is the government is adamant to go ahead with the laws?" Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party has not commented on Shivpal's statement but sources said that the party was willing to forge alliances with 'smaller' parties.

SP President Akhilesh Yadav had earlier said that his party would leave the Jaswantnagar Assembly seat for Shivpal Yadav.
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At 1:19am ET Thursday, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket to space and along the flight path, the craft past the moon for a stunning display that is out of this world.

Trevor Mahlmann captured the rear moment on film, which shows the 207-foot rocket with a stream of fire coming from the engines that is propelling it past our natural satellite and into orbit.

The Elon Musk-owned rocket was on a mission to deliver 60 more Starlink devices to the internet satellite constellation  there are now 1,095 satellites in orbit.

Mahlman told DailyMail.com that he shot the video with a Canon EOS R5 padre camera while standing on Merrit Island, which is 17.9 miles north of Kennedy Space Center where the Falcon 9 took off for the mission dubbed Starlink-18.

The photographer said that he had plans to capture footage of the Falcon 9, but it was a last minute decision, as he had just returned home to Florida after watching SpaceX launch its Starship SN9 rocket Tuesday  which ended with the massive rocket exploding in an attempt to land.

Scroll down for video

At 1:19am ET Thursday, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket to space and along the flight path, the craft past the moon for a stunning display that is out of this world

Luckily for SpaceX, it was able to stick the landing with its Falcon 9.

The craft made a successful landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which sat waiting in Port Canaveral  a cruise, cargo and naval port in Florida.

This mission marks the 18th batch of Starlink satellites to be sent into orbit.

Starlink 17 was set to take off Monday, but was scrubbed due to poor weather in the recovery area and SpaceX determined more pre-flight checks were needed.

Trevor Mahlmann captured the rear moment on film, which shows the 207-foot rocket with a stream of fire coming from the engines that is propelling it past our natural satellite and into orbit

Mahlman told DailyMail.com that he shot the video with a Canon EOS R5 padre camera while standing on Merrit Island, which is 17.9 miles north of Kennedy Space Center where the Falcon 9 took off for the mission dubbed Starlink-18'

This mission has now been set for Friday.

Falcon 9s successful mission follows a SpaceX failure this week, as the firms latest prototype did not survive its first high-altitude flight test.

Starship SN9 took around 3:24pm ET Tuesday from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas, testing facility and appeared to have met all the marks for a successful flight as it climbed through the sky - from venting to turning off its Raptor engines one-by-one and performing a 'belly flop.'

It soared out over the Gulf of Mexico and after about five minutes, it flipped sideways as planned and descended in a free-fall back to the southeastern tip of Texas near the Mexican border.

SpaceX shared its own images of the Falcon 9 rocket soaring past the moon

The Elon Musk-owned rocket was on a mission to deliver 60 more Starlink devices to the internet satellite constellation  there are now 1,095 satellites in orbit

Falcon 9s successful mission follows a SpaceX failure this week, as the firms latest prototype did not survive its first high-altitude flight test. The rocket was unable to stick the landing and exploded on the launch pad

The sideways flip, dubbed a 'belly flop' maneuver by Musk, was designed to mimic the technique Starship will use when returning through Earth's atmosphere from space - presenting the 'belly' as it enters the atmosphere reduces the speed of descent as it approaches the ground.

However, the rocket is suppose to twist to reorient itself so it can land in the position it took off, but it seemed as if SN9 was unable to make the maneuver in time and exploded upon reading the launch pad - leaving nothing behind but a thick cloud of smoke and debris.

'We had, again, another great flight up ... we've just got to work on that landing a little bit,' SpaceX principal integration engineer John Insprucker said on the company's webcast of the flight.

'We demonstrated the ability to transition the engines to the landing propellant tanks.'

'We had, again, another great flight up ... we've just got to work on that landing a little bit,' SpaceX principal integration engineer John Insprucker said on the company's webcast of the flight.

'We demonstrated the ability to transition the engines to the landing propellant tanks.'

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A new study has unraveled a mutation that gives clues on how ancient sea vertebrates transitioned to land.





Limbs are incredibly useful. They have been adapted for different functions in different ecosystems through the course of evolution.

The earliest limbs found date back to roughly 375 million years ago. Fossil records document how fleshy fins of prehistoric fish became more limb like that allowed amphibious ancestors ashore.

These creatures are known as tetrapods or four limbs. Now, a new study on modern-day fish provides new insight into the genetic underpinning that paved the way for evolutionary change.

How Fish Grew Limbs

Life began on in the water. Animals slowly moved onto land and switched from fins to limbs. But how exactly it happened millions of years ago has been an evolutionary mystery for scientists until today.

A new study published in the journal Cell by researchers from Boston Children's Hospital demonstrates mutations of either of two zebrafish genes that can create limb-like fins in these fish.

By using the latest gene-editing techniques, researchers were able to replay the mutation in the lab, and scientists were able to pinpoint how zebrafish grow fins that resemble human arms.

Brent Hawkins, co-author and a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University says, "Most surprising to me is that such a dramatic change to the fin skeleton and musculature is possible with just a single mutation.

Hawkins adds that previously fin-to-limb transitions were presumed to involve myriads of gene changes.

ALSO READ: Geneticists Continue to Search for Height Genes





Studying Fish Mutations

Researchers screened over 10,000 mutated animals for skeletal defects in order to find the relevant genes that triggered the mutation in fish. Among those were zebrafish that had developed extra bones in their fins.

Much like fruit flies and mice, zebrafish are classic study animals for understanding development and genetics.

Classified as teleosts, or bony fish that support their fins on pointed rays. Some of the mutant zebrafish had fish with extra bones. The bones were attached to muscled and even formed joints just like human limbs.

Hawkins says, "Finding a fish with extra fin bones that should never be there was quite the Eureka!' moment."

The most striking observation was how the new bones required other changes with the fish's anatomy. Researchers explain that the development of the mutation brings changes in musculature.

With a single mutation, the fish's fins became more like human arms. With that Hawkins and his colleagues set out to find what could have been responsible for the change.

Ancient fish had the potential to make human-like limbs before the event happened, with a bit of luck ancient mutants pioneered a new way of life that brought them ashore. But the mutation isn't exclusive to fish since humans have also evolved to form limbs.

RELATED ARTICLE: Scientists Developing Ways To Store Data in Living Bacteria





Check out more news and information on Genetics on Science Times.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Xpeng Motors said its second batch of Xpeng G3 SUVs to be sold in Norway has departed from Guangzhou. This came after the successful customer delivery of its first batch of G3s for the Norwegian market in December 2020, marking another step in the companys global market offensive.

Xpeng G3; photo credit: Xpeng Motors



We are dedicated to long-term brand and reputation building for global market, and work on offering users innovative and localized features and better experience, said the EV manufacturer.

Xpeng Motors' monthly deliveries hit a record high of 6,015 EVs in January 2021, rocketing 470% from the previous year and marking the third straight month of record-breaking delivery volume. The total January deliveries consisted of 3,710 P7s and 2,305 G3s.

The company noted the first G3s exported to Europe are about to receive its first-time operating system upgrade with some functions to be improved, such as the security alerts of ACC (adaptive cruise control) and LCC (lane centering control), and new functions, like the voice command for mapping system, to be added.

Moreover, Xpeng Motors has optimized its XPILOT advanced driver assistance system and Xmart OS in-car intelligent system of the G3s exported based on local users driving behaviors.

The European markets, particularly those with higher EV consumer awareness and sound EV infrastructures, are showing great chances and demands for smart EVs. A local media channel reported in last November NIO had set up an overseas business unit in a bid to start selling products in European markets in 2021. Under the project code-named Marco Polo, NIO had allocated many staff members for its export business unit, aiming to sell 7,000 ES8 and ES6 SUVs in Europe within two years.

Gasgoo not only offers timely news and profound insight about China auto industry, but also help with business connection and expansion for suppliers and purchasers via multiple channels and methods. Buyer service: buyer-support@gasgoo.com Seller Service: seller-support@gasgoo.com

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Panic! At The Disco's original bassist Brent Wilson is facing multiple felonies for drugs and possession of a gun, according to reports.

After allegedly crossing three lanes of traffic 'without a turn signal, cutting off oncoming traffic,' the 33-year-old musician was pulled over by an officer from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on January 22, TMZ reports.

During the stop, a cop reported that he saw 'a bag with a white substance inside sitting out in the open in Wilson's center console.'

Big trouble: Panic! At The Disco's original bassist Brent Wilson is facing multiple felonies for drugs and possession of a gun, according to TMZ on Thursday

This led to the retired star's vehicle being searched and the discovery of 'substances consistent with coke and heroin in his pockets and in the car,' according to the outlet.

Additionally, a loaded handgun and 'a scale and a lot of little baggies' were found, which led to him being taken to jail.

Since he was already on probation, he was charged with 'possession of a gun by a prohibited person' and 'possession with intent to sell.'

Facing felonies: After reportedly crossing three lanes of traffic 'without a turn signal, cutting off oncoming traffic,' the 33-year-old musician was pulled over on January 22 by an officer from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

His attorney, Dustin Marcello, told TMZ 'it's too early to make a forecast on the case based on its merits.'

While he was a founding member of Panic! At The Disco, which formed in 2004 with Brendon Urie, Ryan Ross and Spencer Smith, he was fired in 2006.

'I was kicked out of the band,' Wilson told MTV, at the time. 'It was 100 percent a surprise to me. We were about to leave for a show in California, and they called me the night before and told me I was out of the band. The only reason they gave was that it was for 'musical purposes.'

Messy depature: While he was a founding member of Panic! At The Disco, which formed in 2004 with Brendon Urie, Ryan Ross and Spencer Smith, he was fired in 2006; seen with the group 2006

He continued: 'Everything was good and fine, we had just gotten back from a tour in Europe, and there had been no previous conversations about anyone leaving the band.'

Smith, who performed with the pop rock band until 2015, however said Wilson's termination came because his 'lack of responsibility and the fact that he wasn't progressing musically with the band.'

Wilson was replaced by Jon Walker, who ended up leaving the group in 2009 with guitarist Ryan Ross to 'embark on a musical excursion of their own.'
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The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
Egypt has welcomed the outcome of a UN-sponsored voting that led to the selection of a Libyan interim government with the hope of ending a decade-long civil-war in the North African country through planned national elections later this year.

In an official statement, Egypts Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said Cairo welcomed the outcome of the vote on selecting the executive power by Libyan delegates during the UN-hosted process, the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, in Geneva.

Hafez said Cairo was looking forward to working with the interim government in the coming period and until the transfer of power to an elected government after planned elections slated on 24 December.

The spokesman also praised efforts by the UN in sponsoring the political process in Libya, calling on all Libyans to continue upholding their countrys best interest.

Oil-rich Libya has been torn apart by civil war since the NATO-backed uprising that ousted long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with an array of militias filling the vacuum and civilian bodies struggling to impose their authority.

Since 2015, Libya has been torn between warring administrations, one in the east and one in the west, both backed by different foreign powers. A fragile ceasefire between the two sides, agreed in Geneva last October, has largely held.

We call on regional and international parties to support the peaceful path towards a reconciliation of the crisis to contribute in restoring stability in Libya, curb foreign interferences in [domestic] affairs and the exit of foreign fighters, Hafez said.

The statement comes hours after Libyan delegates from rival factions selected four leaders to guide the country until the elections in December.

The 74 delegates chose a list of candidates during the Geneva hosted talks, with Mohammad Younes Menfi, a Libyan diplomat backed by the countrys east, chosen to head the three-member Presidential Council.

Meanwhile, Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, an influential businessman supported by tribes in the west, was chosen as interim prime minister.

Menfis list selection came following a runoff after none of the four lists initially proposed were able to secure the 60% of votes from delegates in the first round.

The election of Menfi comes a few weeks after Libyan envoys at UN-backed talks in Egypts Red Sea city of Hurghada agreed to hold a constitutional referendum before the elections in December.

New talks will be held in Egypt in February with a view to settling the "road map for the referendum and elections," according to an earlier statement by Egypts foreign ministry.

Egypt has been pushing for a political settlement in Libya for years, calling for a ceasefire, a complete disarming of militias, an end to foreign intervention in the country, as well as a fair distribution of wealth betwen various regions in the country.

In June, Egypt proposed a peace initiative dubbed the Cairo Declaration, which was based on the conclusion of an earlier Berlin conference. The Cairo Declaration proposed a ceasefire as well as the election of a new leadership council.

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An armed gang were caught on video ransacking Chanel store in New York's upmarket SoHo neighborhood, making off with bundles of bags and wallets worth $160,000.

The NYPD said that four men, who are believed to have raided at least 23 other stores since September, entered the store around 2pm on Tuesday.

The gang were filmed brazenly snatching bags and high end goods off the shelves.

When confronted by the store's 61-year-old female security guard, one of the men allegedly lifted his shirt to flash the butt of a pistol tucked into his waistband.

The security guard, who the New York Daily News reported is a retired officer with the NYPD, told the man that she was also armed.

The bandits made off with handbags and purses estimated to cost more than $160,000 total

Video shows the security guard putting her hands up as the men loot a Chanel store in SoHo

'What are you going to do, shoot me?' the man allegedly responded.

The armed man then allegedly directed his friends to snatch whatever they could and video shows them grabbing the goods while witnesses watch horrified.

The robbers then ran out the door and fled in an Audi with no license plates, officials told the Daily News.

The bandits got away with 32 handbags and 12 wallets worth around $160,000, WABC-TV reported.

At another date, they were caught on another high end SoHo store, Moncler's surveillance cameras; fleeing while carrying arms full with jackets. Some jackets on the store's website fetch prices well over $2,000.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said the men in the video are behind at least 20 robberies high end retail stores in Manhattan since September 1.

'These criminals are capitalizing off of wearing these face masks, so it's extremely difficult to identify who these individuals are.' Harrison said.

The NYPD is asking for help looking identifying the suspects of a string of robberies in Manhattan

Videos show the bandits rush into the store before snatching arms full of goods from the shelves

The men are still on the loose and cops said they've avoided detection by using rented cars

'Unfortunately, we have not been able to identify these perpetrators. But we do have persons of interest we are looking at.'

The suspects have shown a pattern of rushing the store then fleeing in rental cars, sometimes with the license plates switched or removed, that are not easily tracked.

'They go into the store, snatch things off the shelves and speed off with a blatant disregard for everyone around them,' Harrison said.

'The monetary value is a very big range, and sometimes they go and snatch and grab when the stores are closed.'

The thieves then poach the stolen goods on various social media sites, Harrison said.

'Anyone caught with these items will be part of the investigation,' Harrison said.

In October, the New York Post reported that the SoHo bandits were even threatening security guards with being labelled racist.

Videos also show the group robbing a Moncler of thousands of dollars worth of jackets

The crew were seen leaving the Moncler into a hallway at the store's location in SoHo

The group who robbed Moncler appeared to have been accompanied my a woman

'If they [store personnel] stop them and say anything in the store before they've left the building then it often gets turned into a racial accusation,' a source told the outlet.

'The brands  tell their employees to walk away. They don't want to be the next Instagram video claiming they are a racist brand.'

Other stores victimized in the nieghborhood include Adidas, Fendi and Burberry.

NYPD Sgt. Joseph Imperatric told The Post that investigators are aware that 'mobs of young, transient groups' have 'bulldozed through aisles grabbing as much as their arms can hold.'
Cosmo Pharmaceuticals will receive a 4m upfront payment Alfasigma plus double digit royalties

Lumeblue was recently approved by EMA for the detection of lesions during colonoscopy

Alfasigma will distribute Lumeblue in EU, Switzerland, UK, European Economic Area countries, Russia and Mexico

BOLOGNA, Italy, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Alfasigma Spa has finalized a licensing agreement to distribute Lumeblue in the EU (plus Switzerland, UK, European Economic Area countries, Russia and Mexico) with Cosmo Pharmaceuticals. Lumeble was recently approved by EMA for the detection of lesions during colonoscopy.

Alfasigma, a private company, is one of the top 5 pharmaceutical players in Italy and has a large worldwide operations with more than 3000 employees, 16 direct branches and a presence, direct or through distributors, in more than 80 countries. Alfasigma's growth strategy is based on a strong focus on research & development (internally developed molecules represent more than 50% of global sales), the acquisition of other companies and assets, and the license of innovative pharmaceutical products such as Lumeblue. Alfasigma has a strong focus in gastro-intestinal diseases, with both prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Cosmo Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat selected gastrointestinal disorders and improve endoscopy quality measures through aiding the detection of colonic lesions. Cosmo, which also developed medical devices for endoscopy, was founded in Italy in 1997 and is listed in Switzerland on the Zurich Stock Exchange.

Pier Vincenzo Colli, CEO di Alfasigma, declares: "This agreement is another important milestone in our journey to establish Alfasigma as an international specialty company strongly focused on gastro-intestinal disorders. With the addition of Lumeble to Alfasigma's strong GI portfolio we will be able to offer better support for our customers to improve diagnosis and save patients' lives."

Cosmo will receive a 4m upfront payment from Alfasigma, plus double-digit royalties and commercial milestones. Cosmo will be the exclusive supplier of Lumeblue.

Alessandro Della Cha, CEO of Cosmo, said: "We are honored to license Lumeblue to Alfasigma, a highly respected company with a history of success in the development and marketing GI drugs. The unique focus of Alfasigma in GI from the treatment of colonic diseases to preparation for colonoscopy makes Alfasigma the perfect partner to tackle the large European colonoscopy market with Lumeblue."

Pier Vincenzo Colli closes: "In this difficult period due to the global pandemic, Alfasigma confirms its support to healthcare operators. Our goal is to improve their works and the quality of life of millions of patients that utilize our drugs all around the world."

About Alfasigma

Privately owned, Alfasigma is an Italy based multinational pharmaceutical company, present in over 90 countries, through distributors and subsidiaries. The company employs a workforce of around 3,000 people, has in-house R&D capabilities, and several production plants. Alfasigma is known for the strong focus on Gastroenterology and Vascular.

More information is available at the corporate website https://www.alfasigma.com

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Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
The government is planning a major disarmament in the Northern Kenya counties of Marsabit, Wajir and Isiolo to mop up illegal guns and tame runaway cases of banditry and cattle rustling.

Violent cases of cattle theft in the vast region, which have left a trail of death and destruction over the past few months, have been linked to supremacy battles and jostling for power among local leaders and politicians.

"Possession of illegal firearms among the communities has been a major contributory factor to the frequent inter-communal conflicts in Marsabit and the neighbouring counties and we have plans to launch an immediate disarmament in those regions," said Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i in a statement on Wednesday.

Dr Matiang'i stated that proliferation of illegal firearms among the communities is one of the biggest security challenges facing the region.

The CS noted the police were pursuing illegal gun owners and the politicians behind the lawlessness in the expansive region.

He further revealed 342 firearms were surrendered during a voluntary disarmament undertaken in the region last year. Political battles for the control of power and devolved resources have also been blamed for the escalating ethnic tensions in the Northern region.

More police stations

The government has also unveiled plans to set up police stations and posts in vast areas where government presence has in the past not been felt.

Under the plans, police officers born in the region will be delocalised (transferred to other places) to defuse tensions, alongside a crackdown on and monitoring of social media users and vernacular FM Stations.

Separately, Community Initiative and Facilitation Assistance (CIFA Kenya) Chief Executive Officer Adan Waqo has blamed insecurity in the region on entrenched selfish political and economic interests.

"There are many cartels benefitting from the conflicts in Marsabit and disarmament alone can't restore peace," Mr Waqo said.

Marsabit County Police Commander Samuel Mutunga accused the local communities of shielding criminals.

In efforts to tame terror attacks, CS Matiang'i also met the leadership of Mandera County to strategise on how to curb al-Shabaab attacks.
Washington: The Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives has stripped controversial Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments for espousing conspiracy theories and supporting violence against her political opponents.

The decision came against the will of the vast majority of Greenes Republican colleagues, who said it was unfair to punish her for comments she made before entering Congress and without allowing her due process.

Marjorie Taylor Greene said Democrats were trying to crucify her for controversial past statements. Credit:AP

In recent days Democrats have sought to make Greene the face of the modern Republican Party and associate their political opponents with dangerous conspiracy theories.

Greene, a first-term representative from Georgia, will no longer serve on the House budget, education and labour committees as a result of the vote on Friday (AEDT). Eleven of the 211 Republicans in the House voted to remove Greene from the committees.
The Federal Government has commenced discussions with representatives of the organised labour on how to raise the freight rate of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) petrol from N7.51 per litre to N9.11 per litre, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalisation (Management) Board (PEF), Alhaji Ahmed Bobboi, has disclosed.

The plan will amount to 21.30 per cent hike in freight that is a Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) component of the total cost of the petrol, Daily Trust reports.

Bobboi disclosed this at the 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) that held at the Zuma Rock Resort, Abuja-Kaduna expressway in Niger State on Thursday.

In his virtual goodwill message, the Executive Secretary of PEF said the agency was waiting for the Federal Government's approval before it would begin the implementation of the new freight rate of N9.11 per litre.

Besides, he revealed that the Federal Government was expecting the labour unions to revert to it on the agreement it has taken from the joint committee set by the government on the hike in the price of petrol and electricity.

FG to announce effective day

Asked to comment on the implementation of freight increase, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)'s Group Managing Director (GMD), Malam Mele Kyari, said upon the conclusion of the deliberations with labour, the Federal Government will announce the effective date in line with the pricing template.

Represented by the corporation's Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, he told reporters at the ceremony that: "The Executive Secretary of PEF made a statement that there is an on-going engagement between the Federal Government and the labour, and at the end of that process, the government will make adequate pronouncement as to the effective date of that figure as contained in the pricing template".

Earlier in his goodwill message, Kyari commended the association for its operations despite the daunting challenges in the country.

He said; "we are not unaware of the conditions of our roads, the insecurity, the highways, and also a number extortions do take place along these highways."

He urged the association to ensure that its trucks and drivers comply with safety standards at all time which has been put in place by the regulator towards ensuring hitch free operation at the depot and on the highway.

He promised that the NNPC will continue to cooperate with the association to resolve all the challenges impacting in the distribution of products in the country.

Kyari noted that: "We will continue to make payment to PEF for deductions of dues due to you so that PEF will continue to pay your members as at when due."

The GMD urged the transport owners to ensure that their tankers and drivers meet the safety standards set by government regulators for the industry to curb accidents involving petrol tankers.

Improved services for transfer owners

Speaking, NARTO's National President, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal Othman, urged the government to implement the new N9.11 freight rate to enable the transport owners improve their services and increase the wages of their staff including the truck drivers.

Othman assured that NARTO would continue to work to improve the safety of their truck and drivers.

He told reporters that: "With the promise of the increase in freight rate there will be more income that will allow more investments in the facilities and at the same time, our drivers will be happy because there is clamour from them to increase their package and allowances from now to next month.

"I believe if that freight cost is reviewed, we are going to assent to their clamour and things will be fine by the grace of God."

Earlier in his welcome address, he said the association has made significant contributions to the national economy.

He noted that apart from accounting for a large percentage of revenue to government through taxes, rate and levies of all kinds, NARTO is the biggest employer of labour next to the federal government.

The National President said for every truck loaded, about 20 people derive their livelihood in clouding their defendants from origin destination.

He described the association as the mouthpiece for the projection and articulation of transporters' problems to the extent that it was able to set up machinery for periodic review of freight rate with the Federal Government for the interest of all transport in Nigeria.

According to him, NARTO provides statistics for the Federal Government, its agencies and parastatals on vehicle costs, operation and data numbers of vehicles in circulation in the country from time to time.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has revealed its plans for the association be the sole transporter of the outputs of all its programmes, including the petroleum products from the Dangote Refineries.

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The representative Development Finance Department of the bank, Babatunde Zaccheus, said the NARTO members will transiting the dry season farming outputs and products from the Dangote Refinery that is coming on stream very soon.

He commended the association for coming to the apex bank's rescue when it needed to transport the fertilizers for dry season farming during the COVID-19 lockdown.

His words: "NARTO came in at a time when we were having difficulty during the COVID lockdown. We wanted to have vehicles to move a lot of fertilizer and NARTO came on across the country.

"And NARTO came in and delivered. We look forward to a working relationships a more harmonious one. Dangote Refinery is coming on stream. We are going to be using NARTO for all the programme that we run.

"For the dry season farming this year, CBN is going to be funding quite a lot of players, we are doing the largest during season and farming Programme across the country. And NARTO is going to play a key role both the logistic movement of the inputs and also the outputs that has been cultivated this numerous time."

There were also representatives from other ministries, parastatals and agencies at the meeting.
opinion

What the world needs now is a leader who can connect the dots between Indigenous rights and climate action

Last month, climate change advocates heaved a sigh of relief as President Joe Biden recommitted the United States to the Paris Agreement on climate change, fulfilling one of the major promises of his campaign within hours of his inauguration. The return to the Paris Agreement is an important, if largely symbolic, milestone for the Biden administration's climate policy agenda and for efforts to rein in emissions globally.

On the same day that he returned the United States to the Paris climate accords, President Biden also signed an executive order halting construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project. Crossing Indigenous and tribal lands in the U.S. and Canada, the fossil fuel pipeline, which would have contributed a staggering 1.37 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over its 50-year lifespan, has become a cause celebre for activists at the intersection of climate change and Indigenous rights. And indeed, the hard-fought victory comes after more than a decade of protest from environmentalists and Indigenous groups, including those whose lands would have been consumed by the project.

Environmental defenders applauded the Keystone XL news before pressing for further action, including a shut-down of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the now-finished project that sparked a wave of protests at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation beginning in April 2016.

While pipeline supporters argue that such projects create employment opportunities for these communities, it is the renewable energy sector that's exhibiting rapid job growth. If the U.S. is to fulfill its commitments under the Paris Agreement to cut emissions to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, it will need to employ millions to overhaul America's energy sector. Among the first to access educational opportunities for new green jobs should be the Indigenous Peoples whose lands and lives are deeply impacted by the environmental devastation caused by the U.S. fossil fuel obsession.

Dipti Bhatnagar of Friends of the Earth International noted that the zeal for high-carbon lifestyles in the U.S. has created "untold suffering" for families in rural areas. The same communities whose lands, livelihoods, and culture are being threatened by severe weather, drought, and desertification also bear the least responsibility for the perpetuation of climate change.

While much of the Biden administration's work will be centered on cutting emissions at home, the U.S. is in a unique position to drive progress abroad. President Biden oversees billions in foreign assistance- dollars that can be leveraged to help low- or middle-income nations meet their climate targets while building climate resilience for millions of people.

A rights-based approach to conservation is the only way to ensure that climate change solutions protect people and the planet; and indeed, human rights, biodiversity and healthy ecosystems often go hand-in-hand.

One sobering statistic bears witness to the urgency: an average of four land and environmental defenders have been killed every week since the Paris Agreement was ratified in Dec. 2015, according to data collected by Global Witness, and a disproportionate number of those killed belong to Indigenous communities.

Even well-intentioned efforts like the establishment of national parks and nature preserves can do more harm than good if they exclude the Indigenous communities who live within the proposed boundaries.

Instead of marginalizing or overlooking these communities, our solutions to climate change should put Indigenous Peoples' rights and expertise at the forefront. Though they comprise just 5 percent of the global population, Indigenous Peoples safeguard approximately 80 percent of the planet's biodiversity. News that the Amazon basin lost 2 million hectares of primary forest in 2020 - an area the size of Israel - is the latest indicator that the time to act on deforestation is now.

The foundation for action is beneath our feet. By investing in programs to map, record, and recognize land rights for Indigenous and local communities, Biden can activate powerful allies. These communities occupy as much as one-quarter of the world's land, including millions of hectares of carbon-rich forests and soils in the tropics and subtropics.

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Research shows rates of deforestation and land degradation are lower in lands managed by Indigenous Peoples. Guaranteeing community land rights can trap vast deposits of carbon while better ensuring the livelihoods and cultural identity of millions who rely on these lands for their survival.

In rejoining the Paris Agreement, President Biden has signaled to the world that the United States is once again ready to act on climate change. In shuttering the Keystone XL pipeline project, he's shown a willingness to listen to the voices of Indigenous Peoples.

By centering U.S. foreign assistance on programs that protect the rights of Indigenous and local communities, President Biden can demonstrate to the world that his government is once again ready to take the lead on climate solutions that favor both people and planet.

Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Rachel McMonagle, Climate Change and Land Tenure Specialist at Landesa, a global land rights organization.
Hindalco Industries Ltd is quoting at Rs 264.7, up 1.09% on the day as on 12:44 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 36.44% in last one year as compared to a 23.2% jump in NIFTY and a 28.13% jump in the Nifty Metal.

Hindalco Industries Ltd is up for a fifth straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 264.7, up 1.09% on the day as on 12:44 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.39% on the day, quoting at 14953.95. The Sensex is at 50893.05, up 0.55%. Hindalco Industries Ltd has gained around 2.18% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Metal index of which Hindalco Industries Ltd is a constituent, has gained around 0.74% in last one month and is currently quoting at 3409.55, up 1.04% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 89.43 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 152.03 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark February futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 265.25, up 0.76% on the day. Hindalco Industries Ltd is up 36.44% in last one year as compared to a 23.2% jump in NIFTY and a 28.13% jump in the Nifty Metal index.

The PE of the stock is 88.48 based on TTM earnings ending September 20.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)



Hilaria Baldwin has apologized for faking her Spanish heritage, saying in an Instagram post on Friday that she 'should have been more clear'.

The influencer and wife of SNL star Alec Baldwin finally said 'sorry' for the saga and said she had 'spent the last month listening, reflecting, and asking myself how I can learn and grow'.

She stopped short of confessing she had misled people about her Spanish roots instead doubling down on her previous claims that she was raised 'with two cultures, American and Spanish' and that she feels 'a true sense of belonging to both'.

Hilaria had been laying low with her husband and their five children following the storm that erupted in December when she was exposed online over her fake heritage claims.

The 37-year-old was forced to confess she had been born in Boston and went by the name Hillary after she had spent years claiming Majorca was her birthplace and that she only arrived into the US at the age of 19.

In a caption alongside a photo of her with her husband Alec and their five children, she said: 'I've spent the last month listening, reflecting, and asking myself how I can learn and grow

Hilaria Baldwin apologized for faking her Spanish heritage in an Instagram post on Friday

In a caption alongside a photo of her with her husband Alec and their five children, she wrote in the Instagram post: 'I've spent the last month listening, reflecting, and asking myself how I can learn and grow.

'My parents raised my brother and me with two cultures, American and Spanish, and I feel a true sense of belonging to both.

'The way I've spoken about myself and my deep connection to two cultures could have been better explained - I should have been more clear and I'm sorry.

'I'm proud of the way I was raised, and we're raising our children to share the same love and respect for both.

'Being vulnerable and pushing ourselves to learn and grow is what we've built our community on, and I hope to get back to the supportive and kind environment we've built together,' she said.

At the end of December, it emerged that Hilaria - who in the past claimed to have grown up in Majorca and spoke with a Spanish accent - actually spent her childhood in Beacon Hill, Boston, and went by Hillary.

It started with a single tweet on December 21 which read: 'You have to admire Hilaria Baldwin's commitment to her decade long grift where she impersonates a Spanish person'.

The woman then continued to post videos and proof of how Hilaria's accent has changed over the years.

Several former classmates came forward to confirm that Hilaria was in fact raised in Weston, Massachusetts, by American parents without a hint of a foreign accent.

The influencer and wife of SNL star Alec Baldwin (pictured together) finally said 'sorry' for the saga and said she had 'spent the last month listening, reflecting, and asking myself how I can learn and grow'

The 37-year-old was forced to confess she had been born in Boston after she spent years claiming Majorca was her birthplace and that she only arrived into the US at the age of 19

'I went to high school with her. Genuinely lovely person, I recall, but fully a white girl from Cambridge,' one wrote.

Another added: 'I went to high school with her. She was perfectly nice and serious about ballroom dancing. Her name was indeed Hillary Hayward-Thomas and she did not have her current accent.'

The woman who first exposed the fraud, later told The New York Times that it was an 'open secret' in Manhattan that Hilaria had faked her heritage, and that she and her friends, 'bored' from the pandemic, decided finally to expose the secret.

In the next few days several videos of Hilaria's past TV appearances resurfaced showing her commitment to a Spanish accent.

In one now infamous Today Show video that surfaced, Hilaria appeared to forget the English word for cucumber.

Hilaria had long described her mother as Spanish and, in a November 2012 interview, said her family couldn't understand how to pronounce her new surname Baldwin.

She said: 'I had to repeat it to my family three times: Baldddwinnn. And the third time they said Oh, we already know who it is! Why didn't you pronounce it right the first time?'

Hilaria claimed she was born in Majorca and didn't come to the US until she was 19 to attend New York University.

'I came for school and I never, ever left,' she said in an April 2020 interview.

A newly resurfaced tax form also revealed Hilaria took two attempts to get her name right as she toyed between her birth name and the adopted Spanish version.

The document shows she crossed out both the first name and last name of the 2009 W-4 document before finally decided on Hillary L. Hayward-Thomas - the name she was born with - on her second attempt.

But records surfaced revealing that Hilaria's parents, Dr Kathryn Hayward and David Thomas, were also both Massachusetts' natives and had lived and worked in the US for years only moving to Majorca in 2011 when they retired.

Hayward is not Spanish and is in fact a fourth-generation Massachusetts resident who spent most of her career practicing medicine in Longmeadow, records show.

Hayward gave birth to Hillary in January 1984 in Boston.

Hilaria's parents, Dr Kathryn Hayward and David Thomas, pictured, are both Boston natives who worked in the US for years before retiring to Majorca in 2011

DailyMail.com revealed she grew up in this 100-year-old $4million house in the heart of the most desirable district in Boston called Beacon Hill

Hilaria's parents now own apartments in Inca in Majorca but only moved there in 2011

DailyMail.com discovered records showing Hilaria's parents bought a 100-year-old $4million house in the heart of the most desirable district in Boston called Beacon Hill when their daughter was just three years old.

They didn't move out till she had turned 28.

DailyMail.com also discovered the only property her parents currently own on the island of Majorca in their names are two apartments in the center of Inca which they purchased last summer.

Meanwhile, Baldwin's family 'friends' in Majorca told DailyMail.com they'd never met her, and that her parents spoke with American accents.

One restaurant owner where Hilaria's dad David Thomas and her mom own property, said 'to the best of my knowledge Hilaria's never been here.'

'Jeremy's [Hilaria's brother] parents understand Spanish and speak it but with a foreign accent and Jeremy is fairly fluent,' he said.

'But when they're together here, they speak to each other in English.'

A neighbor said she knew Hilaria's brother had gone to Majorca on a school exchange trip and that is when the family started to fall in love with the island.

Hilaria hit back over the scandal in a cringe-worthy New York Times interview in December where she pinned the blame for the deception on the media for 'misrepresenting me' which had caused people to be 'confused' about her heritage.

But the interview itself was full of contradictions from her previous accounts.

In an Instagram video in early January she tried to defend her actions again claiming she spent 'some of' her childhood in Spain and 'some' of it in Massachusetts

She claimed that she told husband Alec from their first meeting that she was from Boston'.

'I walked by him,' Hilaria told the Times of meeting Alec in a vegan restaurant in 2011.

'He said, "Where are you from?" And I said, "Im from Boston." That was the first thing I said, that has always been my narrative.'

This contradicted Alec's now infamous 2013 Letterman interview in which he said 'my wife is from Spain.'

The couple also gave their five children Spanish names and incorporated several elements of Spanish culture into their wedding with readings in both Spanish and English, Hilaria waving a flamenco hand fan in pictures.

She put forgetting the word cucumber down to a 'brain fart' because she was nervous about being on live TV.

And she also blamed the bio on her agency's website - which said she was Spanish - on her reps, claiming they must have taken 'unverified information from the internet to write a sloppy bio.'

Hillary Thomas-Hayward officially became Hilaria Baldwin at her wedding to Alec, complete with tributes to her claimed Spanish roots, with the bride cooling herself with a flamenco hand fan and nuptial readings in both English and Spanish

'The things I have shared about myself are very clear,' she said. 'I was born in Boston. I spent time in Boston and in Spain. My family now lives in Spain. I moved to New York when I was 19 years old and I have lived here ever since.

'For me, I feel like I have spent 10 years sharing that story over and over again. And now it seems like it's not enough.'

She added that Spain 'was part of my father's childhood,' and that her family had 'created these deep, deep, deep bonds' with the country.

'Who is to say what you're allowed to absorb and not absorb growing up?' she said.

In an Instagram video in early January she tried to defend her actions again claiming she spent 'some of' her childhood in Spain and 'some' of it in Massachusetts.

'There was a lot of back and forth my entire life,' she said.

'And I'm really lucky that I grew up speaking two different languages and I'm trying to raise my kids, so they speak two languages too. And that's something very important to me especially having my family abroad.'

She said: 'Let's be very clear that Europe has a lot of white people in there and my family is white. Ethnically, I am a mix of many, many, many things. Culturally, I grew up with two cultures so it's really as simple as that.'

Hilaria added: 'Yeah I'm a different kind of Bostonian but that's who I am, and you kind of can't change your background - nor would I want to - I'm really, really proud of who I am.'

In her 2009 tax return, Hilaria first wrote her name as Hilaria, then as Hillary

She also said that '44 people from Spain' attended her 2012 wedding to Alec Baldwin.

'My whole family call me Hilaria. It always kind of bothered me that neither name sounds good in the other language. So I would use one or the other one,' she said.

Alec also defended his wife over the scandal telling a social media critic to 'Go f**k yourself' and posting a video where he slammed Twitter as 'a lot of s**t'.

Hilarias sister-in-law singer Chynna Phillips - who is married to Alec's brother William 'Billy' Baldwin - also defended her in a Page Six interview last month saying: 'Shes a good woman and none of us are perfect.'

The fall-out from the scandal resulted in major endorsement deals between Hilaria and two brands coming to an end.

Baby brand Cuties Baby Care and doll brand American Girl both revealed in January that they will no longer be working with Hilaria.

Cuties Baby Care confirmed she is no longer serving as a spokesperson after her six-month contract 'expired'.

'Hilaria's partnership with Cuties Baby Care was a six month contract that ran from July through December,' a spokesperson told DailyMail.com in January.

'The agreement expired at the end of December after all contractual obligations were filled.

'We thank Hilaria for the support she provided in 2020 and wish her, and her family, continued health and happiness in the New Year.

Her deal with the company was first announced in July of last year.

The news comes days after Mattel toy company American Girl confirmed that it is also no longer working with Hilaria.

Alec Baldwin defended his wife in an Instagram video in December calling Twitter 'a lot of s**t'

It is not yet known whether the yoga teacher's other brand partners including Mattel toy label Fisher-Price, vacuum brand Bissell, and sparkling water company Spindrift. will attempt to distance themselves from her.

Her apology - six weeks on from when the scandal first broke - comes just days after Hollywood actor Salma Hayek also waded into the drama to say she had also been 'fooled' by Baldwin's claims but defended her saying 'we all lie a little bit.'

Hayek, who is good friends with Hilaria's husband Alec and does have Spanish roots, told SiriusXM's 'Andy Cohen Live' she felt 'honored' that the fitness instructor wanted to emulate someone of her background.

'We all lie a little bit. She makes my friend happy. She fooled me because she's such a good mother. She has five [kids] and you know, I don't care,' she said.

'It makes me feel proud that people are inspired. I think she's smart to want to be Spanish. We're cool, you know?'

Hayek admitted she found the situation 'bizarre' but insisted Baldwin is 'not a bad person'.

Chennai, Feb 5 : Ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah on Friday scalped his first Test wicket on the Indian soil when he got the wicket of Dominic Sibley as England reached 67/2 at Lunch on Day One of the first Test here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Lawrence, who came into bat after opener Rory Burns' dismissal, went back to the dressing room without troubling the scorers as he got out lbw against Bumrah. Before the ongoing first Test, Bumrah, 27, had played 17 Tests, all overseas, in which he had picked 79 wickets.

Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat, Burns and Sibley provided England with a solid start as they brilliantly tackled the two Indian pacers -- Ishant Sharma and Bumrah.

The duo batted cautiously at the start but once they got settled, they collected runs at a decent rate and put pressure on the Indian bowlers. They stitched a 63-run stand and frustrated the Indian bowlers before Burns gifted away his wicket, attempting a reverse sweep against Ravichandran Ashwin and eventually got caught by wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant. Burns scored 33 runs, with the help of two fours, in the 60 deliveries he faced during the course of his innings.

England skipper Joe Root -- playing his 100 Test -- came after Lawrence's dismissal and survived some nervy moments, including a close run-out call. However, he made sure the visitors didn't lose any more wickets going into the break.

At Lunch, Sibley and Root remained unbeaten on 26 and 4 respectively.

India have gone on with three spinners in Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar and two pacers -- Bumrah and Ishant.

Brief scores: England 67/2 at Lunch (Rory Burns 33, Dominic Sibley 26*; Jasprit Bumrah 1/17)
Sri Lanka on February 5 repaid the $400 million currency swap to India, thereby closing a key debt. The move came on the same day Lanka pulled out of the East Container Terminal (ECT) project, which was in partnership with India and Japan.

Sri Lanka had entered into a currency swap agreement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) back in July 2020, during the coronavirus lockdown. The currency swap facility under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) framework was meant to help the island nation boost its foreign reserves and ensure its financial stability.

After the RBI clearance, the Indian mission had tweeted: Reserve Bank of India signs document for USD 400 million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka till Nov 2022 After debt repayment rescheduling discussions yesterday, this development is another example of Indias strong commitment to work with #lka in post-COVID-19 SL economic recovery.



The CBSL settled its Swap facility with Reserve Bank of India as scheduled. There was no special request from India for a premature settlement as erroneously reported by certain media outlets. Discussions on future collaboration continue.

 CBSL (@CBSL) February 5, 2021

After the hurried debt repayment on February 5, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) put out a tweet confirming the development and clarified that there was no undue pressure from India for a premature settlement in view of the collapse of the ECT deal.

However, Sri Lankan economist and opposition MP Harsha de Silva tweeted saying Sri Lankas foreign reserves are falling drastically and the country barely had enough funds to clear the amount to India.

Against the backdrop of the development, India apparently sees a Chinese hand in orchestrating and funding the protests against the ECT deal by the trade unions in Sri Lanka.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) meets with President Donald Trump and bipartisan members of Congress to discuss school and community safety in the Cabinet Room of the White House, on Feb. 28, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Blackburn Introduces Amendments to Counter China and Iran

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Feb. 3 introduced a number of amendments in opposition to the Democrat budget agenda focused on restricting certain activities of China and Iran.

This occurred while senators continue to debate on the 2021 budget resolution using the budget reconciliation process, which allows congressional Democrats to pass tax and spending bills by a simple majority vote.

Blackburn said her amendments counteract the liberal agenda that is putting our nation on the wrong path.

In a lengthy list of amendments, Blackburn called for a deficit-neutral reserve fund related to preventing the support or implementation of the civil-military fusion strategy of the communist party of China.

The senator wrote that this may include investigation of students, professors, researchers, or programs with declared or undeclared ties to the Communist Party of China.

Another of Blackburns amendments targeted China-based company Huawei, and called for the U.S. government to prohibit the acquisition of telecommunications equipment produced by the company.

A Huawei logo is seen at the entrance of the Huawei Cyber Security Lab at a Huawei production base during a media tour in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China, on March 6, 2019. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)

The senators final amendment related to any agreement between the United States and Iran and its nuclear or missile capabilities, and recommended any such agreements not move forward without formal consideration by congress.

Blackburn noted that this may include a requirement that Congress formally approve such an agreement.

In a tweet on Thursday, Blackburn said she was fighting back against radical left policies by introducing 13 different amendments to counteract the liberal agenda that is putting our nation on the wrong path.

Weve got a bakers dozen of good ideas to help clean up this bad process, the senator said.

One amendment would restrict China and another would prevent us from going back into the Iran nuclear deal, another would make sure that the Democrats have to get sixty votes on this budget, not do it with the simple majority.

Earlier this week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) placed a hold on the confirmation of President Joe Bidens choice for Commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, saying she has not yet clarified whether she backs keeping China-based company Huawei on a restricted trade list.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to media in the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

The day prior, Cruz voted against approving Raimondo as Commerce secretary, saying that her ethics issues and soft stance on China, which included her refusal to commit to keeping Huawei on the Entity List, was deeply troubling.

The Trump administration previously placed Huawei on the Commerce Departments Entity Lista trade blacklistdue to national security concerns.

Almost two dozen House Republicans, led by Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also released a statement earlier this week outlining the threat they say the Chinese telecom equipment giant poses to national security.

The Biden administration has yet to clarify its intentions for Huawei.
Federal taxpayers will shoulder construction and staffing costs of Queenslands proposed quarantine hub under Premier Annastacia Palaszczuks proposal to curb the risk of the highly contagious British variant of COVID-19.

Ms Palaszczuk and Prime Minister Scott Morrison are in negotiations to commission a new 1000-bed facility in Toowoomba, about 120 kilometres west of Brisbane.

Australians who were stranded overseas arrive in Canberra after a repatriation flight from Singapore in November. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Ms Palaszczuk said other premiers had also pitched centralised quarantine hubs to the federal government.

The Queensland Premier put forward the idea as a way to avoid mass lockdowns such as those recently imposed in Brisbane, Auckland, Perth and Melbourne.
Posting the matter for 18 March, the court also directed the police to file a status report on the sanction of loans by instant loan apps and the cases registered

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the state police to initiate immediate and necessary action against the instant app-based money lenders, accused of harassing borrowers overrepayment of loans with higher rate of interest.

When a petition by Kalyan Dileep Sunkara, a lawyer, seeking to ban all illegal online loan applications came up, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli directed the state DGP to ensure that such apps were blocked or deleted from Google Playstore.

The bench also ordered the police to nab those running such apps and issuing instant loans.

The petitioner had sought a court direction to the state government to ban all illegal online loan apps available on Google Play store.

Posting the matter to 18 March, the court also directed the police to file a status report on the sanction of loans by instant loan apps, cases registered and on the investigation.

The police submitted that the lending companies, through instant loan apps offer loans to people and levy huge interest and processing charges, among others.

They then resort to systematic abusing, harassing and threatening the defaulters through call centres operating from across the country.

Six cases of suicides due to harassment by such companies were reported in Telangana since December 2020.

Over 50 cases have been registered and over 30 people, including four Chinese nationals arrested so far even as the Enforcement Directorate is probing these FIRs.

Police said they have also engaged experts for data analysis for studying the voluminous data as a preliminary probe into the financial transactions of the online loan app firms revealed 1.4 crore transactions worth nearly Rs 21,000 crore.

Cases were registered in various police stations in the state based on several complaints alleging that the firms obtained sensitive data such as contacts, photographs from the mobile phones of the customers and using them to defame or blackmail to get the loan repayment.
On the morning of February 4, the press conference themed "Foreseeing the Future in Longhua, Shenzhen" was held in Shenzhen Citizen Center. Longhua District will launch the all-round future city scene experiment, make every effort to build a future city development experimental field and ideal society showcase window, and take the lead in exploring the system and path to adapt to the future development of high-density urban areas.

This year is the opening year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. On the new starting point, Longhua District is launching the all-round future city scene experiment, which is another important innovation to build Shenzhen into a socialism pilot demonstration area and global benchmark city.

Longhua District will promote the application and integration of future city scenes in a comprehensive and systematic manner based on the following "five strategic positioning": firstly, it will focus on the positioning of a leading area with high-quality development and build a new scene of digital economic empowerment; secondly, it will focus on the positioning of law-based demonstration city and build a new scene of advanced grassroots rule of law; thirdly, it will focus on the positioning of an urban civilization model and build a new scene of digital culture and innovation; fourthly, it will focus on the positioning of a benchmark for people's livelihood and happiness and build a new scene of intelligent public service; fifthly, it will focus on the positioning of a pioneer for sustainable development and build a new scene of integration of "ecology, production and living".

Longhua District has announced a global launch of its eight themed clusters of application scenes for the experimental scenes of the future city: the overall "smart" governance scene of the North Station International Business District, the public life scene of the Heron Lake Central City, the future industrial innovation scene of the Jiulongshan Digital City, the future ecological scene of the Guanlan River Basin, the future traffic scene of Longhua Avenue, the digital fashion scene in the Dalang Fashion Town, the talent service scene in the Talent District, and the digital culture scene in the Guanlan Culture Town.

Lei Weihua, Chief Executive of Longhua District, indicated that Longhua will carry out the all-round future city scene experiment with stronger confidence and greater determination, and also sincerely invite all entrepreneurs and friends to actively participate in and make contributions to the building of the "twin districts" and the implementation of comprehensive reform pilot in Shenzhen.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005271/en/

Contacts:

The Longhua District Government

ZhangXu

86-15976870510

shenzhenzhangxu@sina.com
Sofia Richie was spotted leaving a dinner date with a mystery man on Thursday night, three days after she was seen kissing another man on a beach in Miami.

The 22-year-old model, who is the youngest daughter of legendary musician Lionel Richie, looked glam as she exited Malibu, California's Nobu with the man in tow.

Catching the eye in a bronze ensemble with a high neckline, the petite beauty sat in the passenger seat of the man's luxury black Ferrari as they prepared to drive off.

Out and about: Sofia Richie was spotted leaving a dinner date with a mystery man on Thursday night, three days after she was seen kissing another man on a beach in Miami

Going casually cool in a dark ensemble, her bespectacled companion was seen chatting and laughing with Sofia before they headed off together.

Her dinner date came three days after she was seen looking sensational in a barely-there leopard print bikini as she put on an affectionate display with billionaire shipping heir Gil Ofer at the luxurious Faena Hotel in Miami Beach on Monday.

Sofia looked smitten, while soaking up the sun and kissing her new flame, who was not her most recent boyfriend Matthew Morton.

Looking completely healed from her heartbreaking split with Scott Disick six months after ending their three-year romance last August, the model was seen packing on the PDA with Gil as they hit the beach.

All smiles: On Monday, she was seen wearing a barely-there leopard print bikini as she put on a very affectionate display with billionaire shipping heir Gil Ofer in Miami

The duo were both were enjoying the boutique hotel's close proximity to the ocean as they sunbathed on lounge chairs and chatted away not far from a few of their pals.

Sofia hung onto the man's every word, while he gently stroked her shoulder and they gazed lovingly at each other amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to spending quality time with the man and drinking out of a coconut, she arrived to the beach holding hands with a female pal, who wore a pink tracksuit.

In December, reports surface that Sofia and Matthew Morton's relationship had 'cooled down' and she was single again after their two-month fling.

Fine dining: The 22-year-old model, who is the youngest daughter of legendary musician Lionel Richie, looked glam as she exited Malibu, California's Nobu with the man in tow

Lap of luxury: Catching the eye in a bronze ensemble with a high neckline, the petite beauty sat in the passenger seat of the man's luxury black Ferrari as they prepared to drive off

'They weren't seriously dating and were only casually seeing each other, but the relationship has definitely simmered,' a source told E! News at the time. 'Nothing in particular happened, they just both aren't ready for something serious.'

Additionally, the insider noted she was ' having fun going on dates' and 'enjoying being single.'

He other ex Scott Disick, 37, is currently dating Amelia Hamlin, 19, who is the daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin.

Since splitting from Scott 'for good' in August, Sofia has been seemingly enjoying her new freedom and spending a ton of time with her tight knit family.

Companion: Going casually cool in a dark ensemble, her bespectacled companion was seen chatting and laughing with Sofia before they headed off together

Sofia and Scott, who began dating in 2017, first called it quits in May, following Scott's brief rehab stint in Colorado.

They reconnected less than two months later on the Fourth Of July, where they were spotted attending a mutual pal's beach gathering in Malibu.

After a slew of secret hangouts and suggestive Instagram posts, the pair officially put their relationship to rest in late August.

Sofia was briefly linked to Cha Cha Matcha cofounder Matthew Morton, but their fling quickly fizzled out sometime in October.

Florida Photo: Sofia appeared to be fresh back from Florida, as just hours before the dinner date she took to Instagram to share a snapshot of Miami Beach

Scott eagerly got back into the dating game, as well, but he did not find a constant companion until he met Amelia, who is 18-years his junior, in late October.

The pair have been virtually inseparable and looked more loved up than ever during their recent Cabo San Lucas trip, where they were spotted lounging in the sun together.

Despite their whirlwind trips together, insiders told E! News in December that neither of the stars were 'looking for anything serious'.

'She doesn't spend time with the kids at all and Scott only sees her on his days off from his kids,' the source said of Amelia and Disick's relationship dynamics.

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STRONGSVILLE, Ohio  Hot Chicken Takeover is scheduled to open in Strongsville, its second location in Northeast Ohio, as well as a delivery-only site in downtown Cleveland.

Both are slated to open this spring. The new location will be located in the Royalton Collection development near Condado Tacos and City Barbeque, at 17830 Royalton Road, just west of Interstate 71.

Joe DeLoss, founder and CEO, said in news release that the restaurant has a growth strategy plan for Northeast Ohio that includes suburban and city center opportunities.

The seven-year-old company has six locations including Strongsville. Its other restaurant in Northeast Ohio is in Crocker Park in Westlake.

A rep for the company said the delivery-only spots address has not been released.

I am on cleveland.coms life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, heres a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. And tune in at 8:05 a.m. Fridays for Beer with Bona and Much, Much More with Munch Bishop on 1350-AM The Gambler.

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Joseph Corky Coker has been named the Grand Marshal for the 2021 Chattanooga Motorcar Festival. At the inaugural event, in 2019, Mr. Coker was recognized as the Festivals Honored Collector.

Racing legend Brian Redman, the inaugural 2019 grand marshal, returns to this years Festival as grand ambassador of the Festival.

The 2020 Festival, originally scheduled for Oct. 16-18, was postponed until Oct. 15-17, 2021, due to pandemic restrictions. The Festival will return this year with an even more dynamic schedule of fun events for car fans and families alike.

Born in Athens, Tn., Mr. Coker worked for his father Harold, who opened the Coker Tire Company in Chattanooga in 1958, sweeping floors and cleaning wide whitewalls. Having grown up on the family farm, Mr. Coker originally planned to become a veterinarian but soon discovered that he actually enjoyed working at the tire store.



I suddenly realized that selling hot-rod and Model A tires to these guys made them very happy, he said. I really got my head into it and started developing some ideas and goals of my own.

In 1974 he assumed the leadership role in the Coker Familys BFGoodrich tire dealership.

Although he couldnt possibly have known it then, much of what he would do over the next 45 years would help define the collector-car hobby for decades, said Ken Gross, award-winning journalist and the Concours chairman. Finding tires for vintage cars was a problem until Coker began having them made in nearly every size.

Coker Tire grew into the largest supplier of collector-vehicle tires and wheels in the world. With distribution in over 50 countries and huge stocks of collector tires and wheels, the business became a collector hobby powerhouse, adding locations in other U.S. cities.

Mr. Coker sold the Coker Group in late 2018, but retained the Honest Charley Speed Shop, located in downtown Chattanooga.

Mr. Coker personally has received countless awards in the automotive and hobby world, is a leader in humanitarian efforts, and is an expert on car collecting, restoration and appraisals. He owns more than 180 vintage cars and motorcycles.

Active in the Chattanooga community, he serves on the board of directors of a number of local businesses and is the recipient of the 1995 Chattanooga Area Chamber Small Business Person of the Year award. He enjoys playing his five-string banjo and, most recently, studying blacksmithing. He and his wife Theresa have two children and two grandsons.

If theres one person who personifies the passion and goals of the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival, its Corky Coker, said Mr. Gross. Hes been a positive force in the local community as well as in the car collector world. Hes a perfect choice to lead this years second Chattanooga Motorcar Festival.

I am very honored to have been selected to be the grand marshal of this fabulous event in our great city of Chattanooga, said Mr. Coker. Im humbled to be following in the footsteps of a racing legend, Brian Redman. I look forward to working with Brian and the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival team to help elevate this second Festival in the hearts and minds of car fans and families alike.

For more information on Cokers Honest Charley Speed Shop, please go to https://honestcharley.com/
State Bank of India (SBI) surged 13.04% to Rs 401.40, extending recent gains after the bank declared Q3 results during market hours yesterday, 4 February 2021.

Shares of SBI soared 42.31% in five trading sessions from a recent closing low of Rs 282.05 on Friday, 29 January 2021. The stock climbed 5.73% to end at Rs 355.10 on Thursday, 4 February 2021.

SBI's net profit fell 6.9% to Rs 5,196.22 crore on 1.1% decrease in total income to Rs 75,980.65 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.

The net profit rose 13.60% sequentially. Bank registered an operating profit of Rs 17,333 crore in Q3FY21 compared with Rs 16,460 crore in Q2FY21, an increase of 5.31% sequentially.

Profit before tax (PBT) dropped 36.3% to Rs 6,990.77 crore in Q3 FY21 as against Rs 10,969.66 crore in Q3 FY20. Provision for taxes tumbled 66.7% to Rs 1,794.55 crore in Q3 FY21 compared with Rs 5,386.30 crore in Q3 FY20.

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 1,17,244.23 crore as on 31 December 2020 as against Rs 1,25,862.99 crore as on 30 September 2020 and Rs 1,59,661.19 crore as on 31 December 2019.

The ratio of gross NPAs (GNPA) to gross advances stood at 4.77% as on 31 December 2020 as against 5.28% as on 30 September 2020 and 6.94% as on 31 December 2019. The ratio of net NPAs (NNPA) to net advances stood at 1.23% as on 31 December 2020 as against 1.59% as on 30 September 2020 and 2.65% as on 31 December 2019. On proforma basis, GNPA stood at 5.44% and NNPA stood at 1.81%.

The bank's provisions and contingencies soared 42.59% to Rs 10,342.39 crore in Q3 FY21 over Rs 7,252.90 crore in Q3 FY20. Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) has improved to 90.21%, rising 848 bps Y-o-Y and 202 bps Q-o-Q (quarter-on-quarter).

Net Interest Income (NII) for Q3 FY21 rose 2.27% sequentially and 3.75% Y-o-Y (year-on-year). Domestic NIM for the quarter was at 3.34%, has remained stable sequentially. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) has improved by 77 bps Y-o-Y to 14.50% as on December 2020.

Total deposits grew at 13.64% YoY, out of which current account deposit grew by 11.33% YoY, while saving bank deposits grew by 15.99% YoY.

Credit Growth stood at 6.73% YoY, mainly driven by Retail (Personal) Advances (15.47% YoY), SME (5.62% YoY) and Corporate Advances (2.23% YoY). Home loan, which constitutes 23% of Bank's domestic advances, has grown by 9.99% YoY.

Slippage ratio as on 31 December 2020 at 1.27% (including proforma slippages) while collection efficiency at 96.5%.

SBI is an Indian multinational, public sector banking and financial services statutory body. As of 31 December 2020, the Government of India held 56.92% stake while Life Insuarnce Corporation of India held 9.61% stake in the bank.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
She's been proudly flaunting her physique in a slew of scantily-clad snaps.

And Love Island's Jess Gale could barely contain her ample assets in racy black lingerie as she posed for yet another sizzling Instagram post on Thursday,

The reality star, 21, flaunted her incredible curves in the revealing two-piece as she posed on her balcony during her 'work trip' to Dubai.

Wow! Love Island's Jess Gale, 21, could barely contain her ample assets in racy black lingerie as she posed for yet another sizzling Instagram post on Thursday

Jess proudly displayed every inch of her amazing physique in the plunging black lace bra and matching thong.

The star flaunted her peachy posterior in the trio of snaps as she posed overlooking the incredible Dubai skyline.

Jess has been eagerly documenting her 'work trip' with her sister Eve through a slew of scantily-clad social media snaps.

Amazing: The reality star flaunted her incredible curves in the revealing two-piece as she posed on her balcony during her 'work trip' to Dubai

Eye-popping: Jess proudly displayed every inch of her amazing physique in the plunging black lace bra and matching thong

On Tuesday Eve also displayed her hourglass physique in pink lace lingerie while perched on her kitchen countertop.

In one snap, Eve draped a white shirt over her arms which complemented her white manicure.

Her blonde tresses were swept over to the side in a chic plait as she sported stunning make-up.

Last month, the influencer wowed fans by sharing a busty snap alongside twin sister Jess during their Dubai 'work' vacation.

The ladies pouted into the camera as they left little to the imagination in their plunging swimsuits.

Set pulses racing! Jess has been eagerly documenting her 'work trip' with her sister Eve (pictured) through a slew of scantily-clad social media snaps

Pretty in pink: On Tuesday Eve also displayed her hourglass physique in pink lace lingerie while perched on her kitchen countertop

She also flaunted her sensational physique in a pastel pink cut-out swimming costume which boasted a criss-cross detail over her taut midriff.

She posed with one arm in the air and the other resting on the edge of the boat, with the UAE cityscape behind her.

Eve and her sister Jess are just two of many celebrities who have jetted to Dubai in recent weeks, joining many other Love Islanders including Joanna Chimonides, Hayley Hughes and Francesca Allen.

Eye-popping display: Last month, the influencers wowed fans by sharing a busty snap during their Dubai 'work' vacation

Many stars have insisted their trips are for work purposes as the government currently asks UK residents living in high-risk areas to avoid unnecessary travel.

However several Love Island stars have been forced to hit back at angry fans after they were criticised for jetting off on holiday during the global pandemic.

Kym Marsh has also hit out at influencers travelling to Dubai amid the coronavirus restrictions in the UK and thinks the government should close the borders.

The TV presenter admitted she was unimpressed by photos on social media of reality stars living it up in the UAE while Britain is in the midst of its third lockdown.

At the end of last month, the government banned direct passenger flights from the UAE as they introduced new travel restrictions on Brits returning to the UK in a bid to reduce Covid cases.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians

To Kimberly Diei, a pharmacy graduate student at the University of Tennessee, her posts on Twitter and Instagram were well within the bounds of propriety. She was just having fun. Sex positive, she called them.

Posting under a pseudonym, kimmykasi, she exposed her cleavage in a tight dress and stuck out her tongue. In homage to the rapper Cardi B, one of her idols, she made up some raunchy rap lyrics. By this week, she had gained more than 19,500 Instagram followers and 2,000 on Twitter.

But to the university, her social media messages were more than just a bit racy. After an anonymous source reported them for a second time, a disciplinary panel declared Ms. Dieis posts vulgar, crude and not in keeping with the mores of her chosen profession. In September, it ordered her expelled.

I was sick to my stomach, Ms. Diei, 27, recalled.

She was given two days to appeal, and she scrambled to find a lawyer. With the threat of a lawsuit looming, the dean of the college reversed the decision to expel her. But the experience was so jarring, Ms. Diei says, that on Wednesday she filed a federal lawsuit with the help of a pro bono lawyer, arguing that the public university had violated her constitutional right of free expression for no legitimate pedagogical reason.
Clinics that waste COVID-19 vaccination doses could be stripped of their accreditation to administer them as one of the countrys top health officials warned immunisers lack of experience with multi-dose vials was a serious concern.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is also one step closer to approval, with Australias medical regulator now waiting on final answers from the pharmaceutical company before registering the overseas vaccine.

Department of Health Secretary Professor Brendan Murphy said the multi-dose vials required extra training for all vaccine providers. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Appearing before a parliamentary committee on Friday afternoon, Department of Health secretary Professor Brendan Murphy said he has complete confidence in both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has not yet made a decision on what age range the AstraZeneca vaccine will be approved for, but it is likely it will include those aged over 65.
Maha Vikas Aghadi failed to present its case on Maratha reservation: Mahajan 30 May 2021 | 3:42 AM Jalgaon, May 29 (UNI) Maratha reservation was sanctioned by our government. However, the reservation was later rejected as the Maha Vikas Aghadi failed to present its case. This is being discussed now and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje Bhosale belongs to our (BJP) party, let's see what role he will play on Maratha reservation on June 7, said former minister Girish Mahajan. At the same time, Mahajan has made a big allegation that half of the ministers in the Mahavikas Aghadi government are opposed to Maratha reservation. see more..

Two killed in accident 30 May 2021 | 3:35 AM Nashik, May 29 (UNI) Two persons including a woman were killed and ne was injured whren three vehicle truck, tempo and bike collided on the Mumbai-Agra highway at Pawarwadi Shivar in Malegaon tehsil in wee hours today. see more..

530 COVID-19 cured patients discharged in Aurangabad 30 May 2021 | 3:31 AM Aurangabad, May 29 (UNI) As many as 23 patients succumbed to COVID-19 while 228 others were tested as positive here on Saturday in the district, Official sources said. see more..

Oil leaks from boat stuck in cyclone in Palghar 30 May 2021 | 3:27 AM Palghar, May 29 (UNI) An oil leakage was today noticed from the boat from which the fishermen were rescued during the recent cyclone in Palghar the district authorities said. see more..
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Britain recorded another 19,114 cases and 1,014 deaths from Covid today, as Number 10's top scientific advisers revealed England's R rate has definitely dipped below one for the first time since July and a catalogue of official data showed the second wave is shrinking.

Today's infection number marks a drop of more than a third on last Friday (34 per cent), continuing the downward trend that began in January when draconian restrictions were re-introduced. The death count, which included a 15-year-old and was still in four figures, was 19 per cent lower than a week ago.

And in yet another glimmer of hope, the NHS's vaccination programme had another hugely successful day with nearly half a million people immunised yesterday. Almost 11million Britons have now had at least one dose of a potentially life-saving Covid vaccine.

The Office for National Statistics today also estimated the total number of people infected in England dropped by almost 200,000 in a week, while the Covid Symptom Study claimed daily infections across Britain have plunged 29 per cent over the same time frame to 20,000 a day.

SAGE experts said they believe the R rate - the number of people each person with Covid infects - is between 0.7-0.9 in England, making it the first time since last summer that the panel is certain the outbreak is shrinking. The rate was between 0.7-1.0 across the whole UK.

Both measures are down on last week - even though the highly=infectious Kent variant is now the most dominant strain in every region. But the SAGE panel warned: 'It remains important that everyone continues to stay at home in order to keep the R value down, protect the NHS and help save lives.'

With the winter wave of coronavirus now firmly in retreat and the vaccine rollout picking up pace, pressure is now mounting on Boris Johnson to speed up the easing of lockdown after No10 officials accidentally revealed that the top nine groups on the jab priority list - around 32million people - should be covered by May 6.

The Prime Minister is now facing a battle royale on lockdown, as Tories demands all curbs are dropped when over-50s are vaccinated - but SAGE modelling suggested even a slower easing could mean 130,000 more deaths. Ex-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt today urged Number 10 not to ease restrictions before getting infections to 1,000 a day  and SAGE advisers resisted calls to relax measures prematurely.



King's College London 's Covid Symptom Study estimates there were 20,360 Brits falling unwell with the disease every day last week, down 29 per cent on the 28,645 the seven days prior

The Office for National Statistics today estimated 846,900 people had the virus during the last week of January in England - the equivalent of one in 65. This is the first time the figure has dipped below 1million since Christmas, falling 16 per cent in a week

WHAT DOES REGIONAL DATA TELL US? Region R rate Covid cases per day Rate of infection East of Eng. London Midlands North East North West South East South West 0.7 - 0.9 0.6 - 0.8 0.7 - 0.9 0.8 - 1.0 0.7 - 1.0 0.6 - 0.9 0.7 - 0.9 1,651 3,609 3,530 2,491 2,019 2,601 1,271 1 in 55 1 in 55 1 in ~63 1 in 95 1 in 70 1 in 105 1 in 115 Advertisement

In its weekly release of the R rate predictions, SAGE said: 'Estimates of the R value are below 1 in all NHS regions of England, although the upper limit of these ranges are at 1.0 for the North East and Yorkshire, and the North West.

'Although R is at or below 1 in all regions, there may be more variation in transmission within each region.'

The number must stay below one for an outbreak to shrink and this is the first time since the summer of 2020 that the upper limit of the possible range has been below one, at 0.9.

This means it has taken a month for the experts to be certain that the national lockdown is working. Although it has been possible that the R was below one since the estimate on January 22, the upper limits of the estimates were still at 1 or higher until today.

Explaining how they work out the rates, SAGE said: 'These estimates are based on the latest data, available up to 1 February, including hospitalisations and deaths as well as symptomatic testing and prevalence studies.

'These estimates represent the transmission of Covid-19 over the past few weeks. However, as R is a lagging indicator, these estimates cannot account for the most recent policy changes, nor changes in transmission that have not yet been reflected in epidemiological data.'

The R rate came down in every region except one in the most recent data, with it remaining flat - but still below one at 0.7-0.9 - in the East of England. It is lowest in London, where it's between 0.6 and 0.8. The capital has been in lockdown the longest, since going into Tier 4 rules the weekend before Christmas.

While it is clearly good news that Covid infections are falling in England, they still have a long way to go.

The Office for National Statistics today estimated 846,900 people had the virus during the last week of January in England - the equivalent of one in 65. This is the first time the figure has dipped below 1million since Christmas, falling 16 per cent in a week.

This means if the R were allowed to creep back above one there is a high risk the outbreak would quickly spiral out of control again.

However, as the lockdown rules are set to continue for at least another month and millions of people are getting vaccinated against Covid-19 every week, the disease should continue to fade so that social distancing restrictions can be loosened in the spring.

Sports and outdoor mixing set to be first to return after schools from March 8 The government today revealed it expects to have vaccinated all over-50s before May 6 as Boris Johnson plots a route to freedom. The Cabinet Office disclosed the schedule as it confirmed that elections in England will take place on that date - citing the fact that the top nine groups will have received jabs as a reason it can 'go ahead with these polls with confidence'. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi repeatedly refused to give a timetable for completing the first phase of the rollout - totalling 32million people - in interviews yesterday. But the government said today: 'The UK's vaccination programme is planned to have reached all nine priority cohorts by May, meaning that the Government can commit to go ahead with these polls with confidence - and maintain the choice for voters between voting in person or remotely.' However, the news is likely to fuel pressure from Tories to speed up easing of lockdown. The head of the 70-strong Covid Recovery Group has called for restrictions to be lifted altogether once all over-50s have been offered doses. As optimism rises about the vaccination programme, the PM is preparing to bring back outdoor mixing and sport once children are back in school from March 8, with hopes of a 'quick return to normal' in April and May. One Whitehall source said: 'If the vaccine programme goes the way we think it will go, then you will start to see quite a quick return to normal in April and May.' According to the Times, both team and solo sports could be given the green light to resume within weeks of March 8 - the day pupils are supposed to go back to the classroom. Outdoor socialising could also be allowed around the same time, reflecting scientific consensus that coronavirus finds it harder to spread in the fresh air. The Prime Minister's blueprint - due to be unveiled formally on February 22 - will also earmark dates for non-essential shops and pubs, which have been shut since the third national lockdown came into force in January, to finally reopen. Advertisement

Professor Spector, an epidemiologist at King's and the lead scientist on the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app, said: 'We are making good progress against this virus, with 10million vaccinations done and cases down by 70 per cent since the peak at the beginning of the year.

'On top of that, we are also seeing hospital admissions from COVID drop too.

'But it's not the time for hesitancy. We're now at the same levels of new cases we were when we came out of lockdown at the end of November, with the difference being our NHS is overstretched and death rates are still high.

'Importantly, we still need to give the vaccines a few more weeks to take effect and drive cases lower. If as hoped these trends continue, I believe we should now be looking at getting children back into the classrooms sooner, so vaccinating teachers would be my next priority.'

Broken down, there are thought to be almost 17,000 new symptomatic cases in England every day, 1,827 in Scotland, 1,594 in Wales and 182 in Northern Ireland, according to the King's' study.

Within England, London is still seeing the highest volume of infections, with 3,609 new daily cases, followed by the South East at 2,601. Both regions were first to be hit with outbreaks of the highly-infectious Kent variant.

Meanwhile, the government today revealed it expects to have vaccinated all over-50s before May 6 as Boris Johnson plots a route to freedom.

The Cabinet Office disclosed the schedule as it confirmed that elections in England will take place on that date - citing the fact that the top nine groups will have received jabs as a reason it can 'go ahead with these polls with confidence'.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi repeatedly refused to give a timetable for completing the first phase of the rollout - totalling 32million people - in interviews yesterday.

But the government said today: 'The UK's vaccination programme is planned to have reached all nine priority cohorts by May, meaning that the Government can commit to go ahead with these polls with confidence - and maintain the choice for voters between voting in person or remotely.'

However, the news is likely to fuel pressure from Tories to speed up easing of lockdown. The head of the 70-strong Covid Recovery Group has called for restrictions to be lifted altogether once all over-50s have been offered doses.

As optimism rises about the vaccination programme, the PM is preparing to bring back outdoor mixing and sport once children are back in school from March 8, with hopes of a 'quick return to normal' in April and May.

One Whitehall source said: 'If the vaccine programme goes the way we think it will go, then you will start to see quite a quick return to normal in April and May.'

According to the Times, both team and solo sports could be given the green light to resume within weeks of March 8 - the day pupils are supposed to go back to the classroom.

Outdoor socialising could also be allowed around the same time, reflecting scientific consensus that coronavirus finds it harder to spread in the fresh air.

The Prime Minister's blueprint - due to be unveiled formally on February 22 - will also earmark dates for non-essential shops and pubs, which have been shut since the third national lockdown came into force in January, to finally reopen.

Mr Johnson is also understood to be eager to overhaul complex rules that had required pub-goers in some areas to order a 'substantial meal' with alcohol, drawing scorn when ministers were forced to clarify that a scotch egg counted.

The latest NHS Test and Trace report published today showed coronavirus infections fell by 40 per cent in the last two weeks, in another sign the crisis is firmly in retreat. The programme reported 196,257 positive tests in the week up to January 27, down from 333,802 in the seven days to January 13. Infections hit a record-high 389,946 in the week ending January 13

It comes after Jeremy Hunt said No10 should not lift brutal lockdown restrictions until England is recording fewer than 1,000 coronavirus cases each day.

The Ex-Health Secretary urged ministers to take a cautious approach, adding the new variants have 'changed the game' from before Christmas.

Department of Health data show 18,500 cases were posted in England yesterday, in yet more proof the second wave has already peaked.

A Sage adviser backed Mr Hunt this morning, warning leaders should 'not be driven by a calendar' but be mindful of the situation on the ground.

Professor Graham Medley, an infectious disease expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, called for 'adaptive management so you actually change the control of the epidemic as it goes along rather than setting dates'.

Mr Hunt, who also heads Parliament's Health and Social Care Committee, spoke in a personal capacity when he said ministers should wait until they get below 1,000 cases a day.

'I think we have to recognise that the game has changed massively over Christmas with these new variants,' he told The Guardian.

'And that we mustn't make the mistake that we made last year of thinking that we're not going to have another resurgence of the virus.'

He added: 'I think we need to listen very carefully to scientific advice. I never saw this as economy versus health.

'The Koreans and the Taiwanese have kept their economy open. Their restaurants are open, because they've kept case transmission low, and we just need to do what it takes to get to that point.

'And for me, where I'm at on that is that you just need to get it down to 1,000 new infections a day or less.'

Ministers have refused to set a figure for a level of infections that would allow England to start throwing off the shackles of lockdown.
COVID-19 patients who suffer a cardiac arrest either in or out of hospital are far more likely to die than patients who are not infected with the coronavirus. In particular, women have the highest risk of dying: they are nine times more likely to die after suffering a cardiac arrest in hospital, according to research published today (Friday) in the European Heart Journal [1] [2].

The study from Sweden included 1946 people who suffered a cardiac arrest out of hospital (OHCA) and 1080 who suffered one in hospital (IHCA) between 1 January and 20 July. During the pandemic phase of the study, COVID-19 was involved in at least 10% of all OHCAs and 16% of IHCAs. Coronavirus patients who had an OHCA had a 3.4-fold increased risk of dying within 30 days, while IHCA patients had a 2.3-fold increased risk of dying within 30 days. None of these patients had been discharged alive from hospital by the time the study was written in October 2020. Many had died and the rest were still being treated in hospital.

The first author of the study, Dr Pedram Sultanian, a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), said: "Our study clearly shows that cardiac arrest and COVID-19 is a very lethal combination. Patients with the coronavirus should be monitored intensively and measures taken to prevent cardiac arrest, for instance with the use of continuous heart monitors for patients at high risk."

This is the first detailed report of characteristics and outcomes in COVID-19 patients who suffer cardiac arrest. The researchers analysed data from the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (SRCR), which is a nationwide registry that started to collect data on COVID-19 from 1 April 2020 onwards. The researchers included all cardiac arrests registered in the SRCR from 1 January to 20 July 2020, and divided them into a pre-pandemic group (before 16 March) and a pandemic group (16 March to 20 July).

They found that 7.6% of pre-pandemic patients were still alive 30 days after suffering an OHCA. Once the pandemic started, 9.8% of patients without COVID-19 and 4.7% with COVID-19 survived for 30 days; 83.4% of COVID-19 patients died within 24 hours.

Pre-pandemic, 36.4% of IHCA patients survived for 30 days, but once the pandemic started 39.5% of non-COVID-19 patients and 23.1% of COVID-19 patients survived for 30 days; 60.5% of COVID-19 patients died within 24 hours.

The slightly improved survival for uninfected patients suffering OHCA and IHCA during the pandemic is not statistically significant, but the researchers believe that if there is an actual improvement, it might be explained in part by the 8.2% increase in cardiac arrests witnessed by bystanders and the 47% increase in bystanders using defibrillators.

When they compared pre-pandemic cases with COVID-19 cases, the researchers found that the overall risk of dying following an OHCA nearly tripled; it was increased 4.5-fold for men and by a third for women. The overall risk of dying after an IHCA more than doubled; it was increased by a half in men and more than nine-fold in women.

The researchers also found a 2.7-fold increase in the proportion of OHCAs caused by breathing problems, and an 8.6% increase in compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the pandemic. The percentage of people who were treated with both chest compression as well as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, fell from 33% pre-pandemic to 23% during the pandemic. In March the European Resuscitation Council and the Swedish Resuscitation Council issued guidelines recommending that bystanders who see a cardiac arrest should avoid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and concentrate on chest compressions in the case of suspected COVID-19 infection.

Senior author of the study, Dr Araz Rawshani, physician and researcher at the University of Gothenburg, said: "Although previous studies have indicated that compression-only CPR delivered by bystanders may be as effective as compressions and ventilation combined, this may not apply to cases with COVID-19, since they are primarily suffering from respiratory failure. We believe this is an important finding that could possibly help authorities in handling the pandemic. Since COVID-19 transmits through droplets, bystanders should avoid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in accordance with current recommendations. There is no unanimous answer for how society and healthcare providers should adapt in the light of this issue."

He added: "The study also shows that fewer patients in hospital with COVID-19 were monitored with electrocardiograms, which is potentially life-saving as it enables a cardiac arrest to be spotted immediately. We believe that COVID-19 patients should be monitored with ECGs and monitored for oxygen saturation, as this would allow for prompt recognition of irregular heartbeats and declining oxygen saturation."

Limitations of the study include the fact that the county of Stockholm, where the majority of coronavirus cases have occurred, had not reported data on OHCAs at the time of the study and this reduced the number of COVID-19 patients in the study; and some cases of COVID-19 may have been misclassified, particularly for cardiac arrests occurring out of hospital.

###

Notes:

[1] "Cardiac arrest in COVID-19: characteristics and outcomes of in- and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. A report from the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation", by Pedram Sultanian et al. European Heart Journal. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa1067

[2] A cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood, leading to the patient collapsing unconscious and either stop breathing or gasp for air. It is different to a heart attack, which occurs when the blood supply to the heart is cut off, often because of a clot in one of the coronary arteries. The heart will still be pumping blood round the body and the patient will be conscious and breathing. A heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest.
MONTREAL - Politicians and civil rights groups said Thursday an independent investigation is needed to determine how a Montreal man ended up in jail for almost a week before allegations that he tried to kill a police officer were suddenly dropped.

The Montreal Police logo is seen on a police car in Montreal on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

MONTREAL - Politicians and civil rights groups said Thursday an independent investigation is needed to determine how a Montreal man ended up in jail for almost a week before allegations that he tried to kill a police officer were suddenly dropped.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante called for a probe into the actions of police and prosecutors in the case of Mamadi III Fara Camara, who was detained for six days before his name was cleared.

"The fact that an innocent man was put into jail for no reason, I care, I feel for this person and I do feel for his family as well, and Im sorry for what he had to go through," Plante told reporters outside city hall.

Plante denounced the situation as "unacceptable," and said she was speaking with the province regarding the format of an eventual independent inquiry. Among other elements, she said the probe should examine whether racial profiling played a part in the incident.

Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped all charges against Camara, who is Black, after evidence surfaced exonerating him.

Camara was arrested Jan. 28 after a police officer was allegedly disarmed and attacked following a traffic stop in Montreal's Parc-Extension borough. Camara was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault of a peace officer, disarming a peace officer and illegally discharging a firearm.

Police canvas area where an officer was injured during a traffic stop Thursday, January 28, 2021 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Quebec's public security minister suggested on Twitter that an investigation was forthcoming.

"The circumstances that led to the indictment of Mr. Mamadi Fara Camara must be examined," Genevieve Guilbault wrote. She said the province would work with the City of Montreal to determine the "optimal formula" for the probe, while still respecting the ongoing Montreal police investigation into the alleged attack.

Montreal police Chief Sylvain Caron described the situation as "unfortunate" and said he sympathized with Camara, but he offered no apology.

"For the moment, Mr. Camara is free and remains an important witness," he told reporters outside police headquarters.

"As I said earlier, if at an appropriate moment the (Montreal police) need to apologize, we will apologize when we have all the necessary elements to do so."

Caron defended the actions of the officers who investigated the case, which he described earlier in the day as "exceptionally complex," adding that he was not opposed to an independent observer verifying their work.

Police said earlier Thursday in a statement that an analysis of the evidence, including a video, suggests the presence of an additional person at the crime scene. "The continuous work of the investigators allowed, yesterday, for a new analysis of the evidence no longer supporting charges towards the suspect initially apprehended," the statement read.

Joanie Chainey, one of Camaras lawyers, said her client was "relieved" to be home but still in shock over what happened.

She said Camara had received a ticket from the police officer on the day of the incident and was on the scene when the altercation took place, but he did not commit the crime. She said the evidence against Camara, who has no criminal record, was clearly and only circumstantial," and she echoed the call for a deeper investigation.

Theres so many questions that need to be answered, she said.

We have a man who had no priors who was arrested based on circumstantial evidence, he remained detained for six days before being released because of the fact that the evidence wasn't strong enough.

She said her client was considering the option of legal action against the city.

Earlier, Quebec's opposition political parties, municipal politicians and a civil rights organization joined the calls for an independent investigation into how Camara came to be arrested and detained for so long.

The provincial Liberals said the situation was "terrible" for Camara, his pregnant wife and for the police officer who was attacked. "The work of the police during the altercation and the arrest of Mr. Camara, as well as the work of the prosecutors who have laid charges, must be fully analyzed," three of its critics said in a joint statement.

A civil rights group said in a statement that the arrest of Camara, a 31-year-old doctoral student, "raises serious questions" about the conduct of police and judicial authorities, including the possibility of racial profiling.

"Despite all promises and endlessly repeated commitments by the Montreal administration to eliminate racial profiling by the (Montreal police), we are always back to the same point: being Black is a risk when facing police in Montreal," the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2021
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey, attends the opening of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in 2019. In the background is Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey.

analysis

Ankara's strategy to increase its influence in sub-Saharan Africa seems to be working as it enjoys a positive image among many Africans. However, its power shouldn't be overestimated, experts say.

Over the past 15 years, Turkey has gradually intensified its political and economic ties with African countries. Its involvement has become more visible in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in East Africa.

Recently, Turkey has started to define itself as an "Afro-Eurasian state" instead of a "Eurasian state." Ankara exerts its influence on the continent in a multifaceted manner by engaging in trade, military cooperation, education, diplomacy, infrastructure, civil society, and political relations with African nations.

According to the Foreign Ministry, its "relations with Africa constitutes is one of Turkey's key foreign policy objective." In the past 10 years, Turkish diplomatic presence in the continent has almost quadrupled. Whereas only 12 Turkish embassies were scattered across the continent in 2009, that number had increased to 42 by 2019. Ankara is set to open two new embassies in Togo and Guinea-Bissau.

Turkey's trading volume with sub-Saharan Africa has grown from $1 billion (834,000 million) in 2002 to $7.6 billion in 2019. Ankara's largest overseas military base is located in Somalia, where the Turkish armed forces train Somali soldiers. According to the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, TIKA, Somalia was among the countries that benefited the most from Turkey's bilateral assistance in 2019. Others are Sudan, Niger, Djibouti, Chad, and Guinea.

Seeking to become a bigger player

Since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power about 20 years ago, Turkey has openly sought to become a bigger player in world affairs and expand its sphere of influence. Ankara started to position itself beyond its immediate neighborhood.

"In 2004-2005, Erdogan's AKP government wanted to create a new Turkey role in the international context. They wanted to feed the image of Turkey as an emerging power, " Federico Donelli, a scholar at the University of Genoa specializing in Turkey's Africa policy, told DW.

Turkey's claim of being the voice of oppressed peoples -- and President Erdogan's 'the world is bigger than five' motto, which is based on the argument that the UN Security Council's permanent membership system is deficient -- has become a core pillar of Turkish foreign policy in recent years.

Turkey has situated itself as a power that claims to speak up for "forgotten groups around the world," Elif Comoglu Ulgen, Turkish ambassador to South Africa, said. "Turkey's attitude in global politics, particularly at the UN, the speeches of the Turkish president at the UN, where he fearlessly talks in favor of the oppressed, make the Turkish leadership a looked-up-on leadership," Ulgen told DW.

Taking advantage of Africa's colonial history

Ankara has presented itself as the benevolent, brotherly alternative to the European powers who once colonized the continent. "Turkey has some benefit from its past. There's no colonial past in Turkey's history," Donelli said. "Even though the Ottoman Empire had many relations and contacts in Africa, we cannot consider that period as a colonial period. On the other hand, all Western countries have colonial pasts, all of them have this kind of label."

For Ali Bilgic, who researches Turkish foreign policy at Loughborough University in the UK, "Turkey doesn't have that negative colonial history, and the way it presents itself is benevolent."

According to Ambassador Ulgen, Turkey, as a country "without any colonial baggage," puts it in an easy position. "The notion of colonialism is still very much alive in this part of the continent. The colonial background is still haunting the people of Africa."

Turkey's 'brotherly' Africa relations strategy

In 2011, then Prime Minister Erdogan became the first non-African leader to visit Mogadishu in 20 years. "The tragedy going on here is a test for civilization and contemporary values," he said during his visit.

During the same visit, the former foreign minister and current political opponent Ahmet Davutoglu said: "We came to Somalia to show our solidarity with the brothers and sisters of Somalia, but this is not just for one day, we will continue to work for our brothers and sisters, and we will never leave them alone." According to Bilgic, that visit "actually put Somalia back on the world map."

Turkey's news agency Anadolu reports that since 2011, Turkey has spent over $1 billion on aid and infrastructure in Somalia. Turkey also has its largest embassy in Mogadishu.

In 2020, during his meeting with Senegal's President Macky Sall, Erdogan said: "We see the people of Africa as our brothers, with whom we share a common fate. We approach their pain not with political, strategic, and interest-based goals, but completely humanely and conscientiously."

Mission accomplished?

Turkey's Africa policy seems to be finding resonance among Africans. Analysts Bilgic and Donelli argue that generally, Turkey enjoys a positive image in Africa. "The way that Turkey conducts itself seems to be working for now," Bilgic added.

"If you talk to Somalis about Turkish people, they will tell you that they're brothers and sisters. That they are here for us, they are not here for themselves," DW correspondent in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, said.

It is not only Africa's perception of Turkey that has undergone a positive transition over time, but vice versa, too. "The perception of Africa, especially of sub-Saharan, started to change. In the beginning, the region was considered a backward part of the continent without any opportunities", Donelli said, adding that it's no longer the case.

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Not comparable to superpowers

Though Turkey has become an emerging power in Africa, experts warn that there is a discrepancy between Turkey's capabilities and that of superpowers.

Ulf Engel, Professor of Africa politics at Leipzig University, said Turkey is not among the biggest players in Africa. "Turkey is somewhat in the same league as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia or Iran. They're projecting power into a limited region, which is underscored by Neo-Ottomanist rhetoric and really focusing on several countries," Engel, who once worked with the African Union, told DW.

"The real capacity of Turkey cannot be overestimated. Even though some Turkish policymakers and their rhetoric want to present Turkey as a kind of competitor power to China or France in the African continent, I don't think so", Donelli said.

According to Bilgic, Turkey is a major power in humanitarian aid but not in other realms. "We have to acknowledge that Turkey is a new actor there," Bilgic said. "10 years is nothing. Bigger states have been in Africa for a while now."

Turkey has recently become quite active in polar regions as well. Particularly Antarctica. "Turkish foreign policy is right now in the stage of extending its geopolitical influence into the world. They are there to stay. It's not something that will disappear quickly because of economic problems," Bilgic said.
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Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Despite reopening to tourism in mid-October by allowing visitors to bypass lengthy mandatory quarantines through negative COVID-19 tests, recovery for Hawaiis tourism industry is moving at a sluggish pace.

Stay-at-home orders, post-travel quarantines and surging COVID-19 infections in core markets for the islands, like the Bay Area and Los Angeles, are keeping many visitors away. There's also the fact that residents of Hawaii really arent eager to see visitors come back.
Ill readily admit that the face gracing the $20 bill is not our most urgent issue  not with 420,000 people needlessly dead and 45 Republican senators saying that their insurrectionist-in-exile should get a pass.

But we can all agree that symbols are important, define who we are as a people and help us craft our national narrative.

So, in that sense, it surely matters whether the face on the $20 bill depicts a racist genocidal white guy who enslaved human beings or a Black woman who repeatedly risked her life to successfully free human beings. The good news is that the Biden administration intends to right a wrong by putting Harriet Tubman where she belongs.

As press secretary Jen Psaki said, The Treasury Department is taking steps to resume efforts to put (Tubman) on the front of the new $20 notes. Its important that our money reflect the history and diversity of our country.

Well, yeah. White men werent the only people who built this nation. Black women have never appeared on American currency. Tubman, a fugitive slave and heroine of the Underground Railroad, rescued hundreds of African-Americans from servitude. She was a Union spy during the Civil War, recruited ex-slaves for a Union regiment, and led an assault that freed 700 more. In her late 70s, she delivered speeches for womens suffrage, but died seven years before women won the right to vote.

Wait, let me back up a bit. Did Jen Psaki say that the Biden administration wants to resume the process to put Tubman on the $20 bill? When did that process start  and why did it stop?

Take a wild guess why it stopped.

Back in 2016, President Obamas Treasury secretary announced a plan to replace facial incumbent Andrew Jackson starting in 2020. But that plan was quickly shelved during the MAGA occupation. As the MAGA candidate had signaled during the 2016 campaign, when asked about replacing Jackson with Tubman, I dont like seeing it. I think its pure political correctness.

In his mind, the reality of racial diversity  and the truth of our national narrative  was political correctness. And he was reportedly blunter in conversation with White House aides. According to Omarosa Manigault Newman, the ex-aide who last year wrote the book Unhinged, her racist boss told her what he really thought about Tubman: You want me to put that face on the $20 bill?

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was thus tasked with telling Congress that the switch to Tubman was unfeasible because of security concerns, something to do with unspecified counterfeiting issues. And so the woman who once said that slavery is the next thing to well was thereby consigned to the back of the bus.

Besides, the insurrectionist-in-chief loved Andrew Jackson and put the guys picture on the Oval Office wall. In his words, Andrew Jackson had a history of tremendous success for the country. If living as a member of the landed gentry with slave labor and ethnic-cleansing Native Americans is what constitutes success, then, yes, Jackson was boffo.

As the recent excellent book Jacksonland chronicles in great detail, Jacksons style of negotiating (with Native Americans) was frank and coercive. In talk after talk over the years, he told native leaders he was their friend, and that he wanted to pay for their land  but that if they failed to sell, white settlers would take their land for nothing.

Jackson, his family members, and his closest business associates, ultimately stole more than 45,000 acres. Having thus enriched himself prior to becoming president, he worked with his postmaster general to suppress anti-slavery mail from northern abolitionists.

Yes, were only talking here about faces on currency. But its high time we honored people like Tubman who truly made American great. This was a woman who in her last years preached hope to people of color during the worst of Jim Crow. She once said: Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

And she was right on the money, where she belongs.

Dick Polman, a veteran national political columnist, can be reached at dickpolman7@gmail.com.

FLINT, MI  Over the course of more than two decades, Michael Thompson survived life in prison.

However, in the days that became weeks, months, and years spent behind prison walls, he grappled with the obstacles that came with having no freedom.

Its now been a week since Thompson was released from prison.

The sun shined through the windows and glass doors Thursday, Feb. 4 at his temporary home in Genesee County -- a stark contrast to the pitch black skies that greeted the 69-year-old a week earlier as he walked out of the Charles Egeler Reception And Guidance Center in Jackson and into a new world.

Thompson was calm, but passionate when he shared whats happened to him and what he missed while serving 25 years on the inside -- including his family.

On the day of his release, the Flint native met one of his granddaughters for the first time. He has eight other grandchildren hes since had the chance to meet since hes become a free man.

Related: Man who served 20 years in marijuana case has sentenced commuted by governor

Part of the reasoning behind the first-time introductions was Thompsons mindset following his incarceration.

I shut my visitors off for 20 years. I didnt receive a visitor for 20 years. I hadnt seen anybody, he said. I shut it down because Im the type of person -- I just dont like people lying to me and I was really bitter about people lying to me. So I didnt want to see anybody. Ill wait until its over and Ill see you again.

Thompson was sent to prison to serve a 42- to 62-year sentence after he was convicted in 1996 on five felony counts related to selling marijuana to an undercover law enforcement officer in 1994.

The charges included three drug charges: possession with intent to sell, conspiracy to possess with intent to sell and selling marijuana, and two weapons charges.

Thompsons advocates say the weapons charges were unrelated to the drug deal but there were guns found in his home after he had been detained for dealing -- one was registered to his wife, and the others were antiques.

If he had waited until his sentence was over to see loved ones again, the earliest possible release date would have been 2038, and Thompson would have been 87.

Rashawnda Littles, 48, said she can attest to not seeing her father for those two decades.

Related: Daughter rejoices: I feel like a million bucks

Littles, who was 19 years old when her father went to prison, recounted her trek to visit him at the Chippewa Correctional Facility, located in the states Upper Peninsula.

When she got there, prison officials told her that her father didnt want to see her or anyone else.

I said, Why would he stop my visit? We talk all the time so hes not mad at me. I was so upset and left out in tears, Littles recalled.

It took some time for Littles to understand her fathers decision. At the time though, she was heartbroken.

His dignity is one thing, Littles explained. He doesnt want to have to go through what he had to go through just for a visit -- having to be strip-searched before the visit. Having to be strip-searched after the visit. Who wants to go through all that? He doesnt have to validate his love to me off of a visit.

Thompson said the requirements of the visits made him feel degraded and like a slave.

It made me feel like Kunta Kinte or somebody, Thompson said. I had developed things over the telephone. People would come and say one thing and on the phone say another. Maybe it might be my pride and being an honorable man may have played a big part of that and it should have never interfered with my daughter.

Thompson expressed some regret for cutting his daughter off.

I didnt want my daughter to see me in prison. I didnt want to see her take her shoes off and they pat her any kind of way like shes some kind of slave coming through the slave ship. I felt disrespected already and (then) let them disrespect my daughter? Thompson asked. I couldnt handle both of them. No.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer commuted Thompsons sentence in late December.

To get to that point, it took many cannabis advocates such as California-based Deedee Kirkwood, celebrities and writers like Shaun King and Kim Kardashian and a letter from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to Whitmer asking her to exercise her executive power and commute the remainder of Thompsons sentence.

Before organizations such as the Last Prisoner Project and others caught wind of Thompsons hefty punishment, he endured some difficult times.

In 2003, Thompsons only son, who shared his name, died. The father was told about his sons death in a less than tactful way, by his brother in a phone conversation.

Thompson was taken aback at the news because his son was planning to see him the day after he died, he explained.

That was my best friend, Thompson said.

The younger Thompson was 29 years old when he died from a seizure, according to Littles.

This is what (prison officials) did, Thompson said. I filled out all the papers that it takes for me to go to the funeral, and everything was approved, and then they waited until the last minute and said, They couldnt find anybody to take me. 

He still tries to forget about the way things played out involving his son. Littles has her brothers birth and death dates tattooed on her arm.

I think thats one of the reasons I shut my visitors off, Thompson said. I didnt want to see nobody.

He was also one of the many prisoners who contracted COVID-19 while in prison at the Muskegon Correctional Facility. In late July, he was transferred to Duane L. Waters Hospital, inside the Michigan State Prison, in Jackson.

Related: Sick with COVID-19, inmate cant get out of prison even with AG, prosecutor backing him

Thompson was one of the more than 150 inmates at the facility to have contracted the illness around the same time.

I aint never been to hell, but thats the closest thing to it, he explained. COVID is the baddest thing that ever hit earth. Thats not no joke.

The virus affected his mobility by attacking his knees and feet, Thompson said. At some point during the prolonged battle he endured with the virus, he required the use of a wheelchair.

Thompson contracted the virus months after advocates filed a clemency petition on his behalf, arguing that his punishment outweighed his crime, especially after Michigan legalized the substance that he was convicted of dealing.

It took him nearly three months to recover from the damage of the virus, but its repercussions have left him with knee issues to this day.

That COVID affects you and messes with your head, Thompson said.

In a matter of days after his release, strangers, advocates for individuals, families disproportionately affected by the war on cannabis and others have raised nearly $270,000 for Thompson to buy his new dream home, a car and other essentials.

Related: Michigan man commuted by Gov. Whitmer gets $266K for dream home via GoFundMe

The Prisoner Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis criminal justice reform, will furnish Thompsons new Genesee County home, he said.

The house is obviously a great need, but Thompson said its also significant because he was born in a house in Mississippi because Black people werent allowed to be born in the local hospital.

Also on the horizon for Thompson are plans to continue mentoring those who are still imprisoned for crimes that dont fit the punishment, as well as starting a prison reform initiative.

I speak for the ones that cant nobody hear, he said. " I speak for the voiceless people. The ones I left back.

Read more on MLive:

Michigan prisoner seeks clemency in marijuana case after serving more than 20 years in prison

Michigan AG horrified by Michael Thompsons 42-to-62 year sentence for 1994 marijuana case

Sick with COVID-19, inmate cant get out of prison even with AG, prosecutor backing him

Muskegon inmate with coronavirus receives meeting with parole board after AG support

Thompson contacts COVID-19

Thompson receive meeting with Parole Board
Nairobi  A World Cancer Day virtual meeting to discuss the killer disease in Kenya ended prematurely on Thursday, after multiple intruders took over the meeting.

The intruders disrupted the meeting as oncologist David Makumi from Kenya was addressing the meeting, posting obscene images and videos which included pornographic content.

One of the intruders revealed himself and could be seen eating potato crisps, while the rest engaged the audience in derogatory posts.

The meeting was attended by Ministry of Health officials, cancer survivors and doctors and other health experts.

Just before the meeting was interrupted, Makumi shared shocking statistics of how the cancer pandemic continues to affect Kenyans, as a result straining families and government resources.

The meeting was disrupted for more than 20 minutes.

In Kenya, he said 130 people are confirmed to have cancer on a daily basis while 100 succumb to the disease every day.

"It is not fair that cancer patients are plunged into poverty due to high cost of treatment. Cancer treatment should be made a primary healthcare service with centres accessible in all our counties because as we speak, 100 people die daily due to late diagnosis among other factors," Makumi said.

The disruption which is yet to be confirmed as a hacking incident comes at a time global firms like Google and Microsoft are currently investing on security measures, to curb one of the global menaces in every revolving cyber security world.

In South Africa, a parliamentary session to discuss serious national programmes was hacked in May 2020.

In April, an African American student group was hacked with racist images and hurtful slurs.
Lucknow, Feb 5 : The Budget presentation in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly on February 19 will be read out by the state's Finance Minister Suresh Khanna from his tablet and not paper.

This will be the first time that the state Budget will go digital, like the Union Budget.

The legislators will not get printed booklets of the Budget but can view it on their tablets and phones on the given link.

A training session for legislators in the use of devices will be held from February 11 to 13 by officials of the National Informatics Centre.

The state government is also conducting a training workshop for Ministers and senior officials for seamless transition to the e-cabinet system with an emphasis on security protocols.

Ministers were advised to undertake training at home to achieve hands-on comfort with the new system.

The first e-cabinet meeting was held on Tuesday through several minister struggled with the new technology.

"Following the mantra of 'Minimum Government and Maximum Governance', the Chief Minister decided to implement paperless cabinet meetings, paperless Budget presentation and paperless proceedings of the legislature. He has already set rolling a digital policy to push governance in the country's most populous state from direct beneficiary transfer to accounts and use of e-POS machines," a state government spokesperson said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that MLAs and MLCs would be provided with the tablets before the Assembly session to enable members to work online and curb use of paper.

However, most of the legislators are not yet comfortable with the digitalisation of the assembly proceedings.

"I am not a very tech-savvy person and the government should give us at least six months to fully adopt e-governance. Elections are just a year away and a breakdown of communication at this stage with the bureaucracy could prove detrimental," said a senior MLA of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

A number of legislators said that they were not conversant with Hindi/English typing and will have to first learn this before learning how to operate the devices.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Caracas on Wednesday announced the release of the crew of two Guyana fishing boats that the Venezuelan military had seized last month in waters contested by both countries.

"Yesterday, the 12 Guyanese citizens detained on January 23 were released," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said in a statement.

He did not specify whether the boats would be returned.

The boats' seizure is the latest episode in a century-old territorial dispute between the two South American countries that has heated up since US oil giant ExxonMobil discovered crude oil in the region in 2015.

Caracas said its navy caught the vessels "red handed" fishing illegally in Venezuelan waters, a claim rejected by its smaller neighbor Guyana, which maintained the boats were unlawfully seized in its own Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

In December, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro decreed "a new marine territory" that, according to Guyana, extends into its marine and land territory west of the Essequibo River.

Guyana condemned the decree as a violation of its sovereignty and of the fundamental rules of international law, and maintains valid borders were set in 1899 -- while Venezuela says a 1966 treaty nullified that earlier agreement.

Guyana has asked the International Court of Justice to rule on the matter, but Venezuela has said the ICJ has no jurisdiction and will not participate.
Still, if youre willing to shell out that kind of money in the first place, why not add another 18,780 ($25,695) plus VAT and have the most extreme Hilux available at Toyotas local retailers?Thats exactly the Japanese automakers proposition with the newly introduced Hilux Arctic Trucks AT35. The new model combines the expertise of the renowned extreme engineering specialists with the stylish all-terrain qualities of the newly released 2.8-liter Invincible X.As per tradition, the Double Cab truck will be subjected to massive upgrades touching important areas such as the chassis, suspension, handling, and even the pickups design. And we can bet the company is going to deliver since Toyota and Arctic Trucks already have a long-standing relationship  remember that Top Gear journey to the Magnetic North Pole in a Hilux?With the Hilux AT35 already present in the Arctic Trucks offer page , we can imagine not all the features are new. Still, Toyota promises all the upgrades have led to even better off-road capabilities, including a 65-mm (2.55-in) ground clearance increase, as well as better approach and departure angles (+9 and +3 degrees, respectively).Noted highlights encompass a reworked frame, modified arches, and bodywork, as well as the addition of 17-inch Arctic Trucks alloys shod with 35-inch BFGoodrich KO2 All-Terrain tires. The Arctic Trucks Bilstein performance suspension system now comes with its own updates, providing extra front and back travel: 40 and 20 mm (1.57 and 0.78 in), respectively.Arctic Trucks own design touches are also present in the form of beefier flared fenders, extended side steps, AT35 logos, and a 30th-anniversary decal. On the other hand, Toyotas Hilux doesnt undergo any powertrain changes, so the AT35 carries over the Invincible X 2.8-liter diesel engine thats capable of sending 201 horsepower to the wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission.
algoWatt: 2020 industrial results reviewed. Strong growth in the three business units in the energy, mobility and smart cities sectors

algoWatt S.p.A. , a GreenTech Solutions Company listed on the Italian Stock Exchange's electronic share market (MTA), after examining the separate preliminary results (announced on 16 December 2020), also analysed the industrial results achieved during the 2020 financial year.

The results indicate a consistent advancement of the business, which reflects the preliminary figure of growth in the value of production (equal to Euro 18.9 million approximately +9%) achieved in full pandemic, compared to the corresponding value of the previous year. In particular, alongside the consolidation of economic and technological results achieved thanks to the improved and updated guidance with the merger between TerniEnergia and Softeco, algoWatt has laid the foundations of the pillars that will support the growth assumed in the business plan 2021-2024, currently being defined and approved.

Business Unit Breakdown

The Green Energy Utility BU consolidated its technological leadership in the remote control segment for the transmission and distribution networks of the main operators in the sector, improving the backlog of orders and the customer portfolio and increasing the contribution to the EBITDA margin. Tangible results were achieved with the new strategic and technological consulting service applied to the main innovative trends in the sector. Significant acceleration was given to the acquisition of skills and the activation of partnerships on energy storage, one of the key components for innovative projects aimed at the Smart Grid, the innovative Fast Reserve service (in which AlgoWatt has developed original and competitive support solutions for utilities), passing through the Capacity Market and the Energy Communities, and finally the Vehicle 2 Grid. Finally, the company has enhanced and innovated its historic position as a technological leader in renewable energy production, generating advanced asset management solutions in particular for the photovoltaic and hydroelectric sectors and for plant O&M.

The Green Enterprise & City BU has extended the scope of its solutions component to include leading and well-established customers in industry and the tertiary sector. It has begun to apply the proprietary solutions of the AI-Green line, based on the implementation of artificial intelligence technologies to environmental and industrial processes. algoWatt has made significant investments in training for the development of new solutions aimed at remote control of the railway sector, the most energy-intensive of all, which will begin to bear fruit in 2021. The pooling of the decades of expertise of Softeco and TerniErnergia has enabled the construction of a complete, modular and replicable proposal for the residential, tertiary, industrial and public administration sectors. To this end, a new consultancy service has been developed to identify the most suitable incentive tool to optimise the return on investment in energy efficiency and sustainability.

The Green Mobility BU has improved the margins of its products on its main customers, particularly in electric mobility and in the management of road fleets and port terminals and hubs. The optimisation of the offer aimed at local public transport has enabled the internationalisation of the proprietary, modular and scalable solution for on-call public services, for which algoWatt remains the leader in Italy. In addition, a complete commercial proposal has been prepared for the engineering and implementation of corporate electric mobility solutions. After the success of the Villa San Giovanni terminal for Caronte&Tourist, algoWatt is ready to replicate its experience in port ticketing and boarding, complementing it with the new requirements of "green" and sustainable ports. Finally, the BU is completing the definition of an offer for the innovative management of separate waste collection ("per use") by vehicle fleets, according to the new European regulations and for the application of the punctual tariff.

The establishment of a specialised division to launch an offer dedicated to the emerging segment of energy and seismic upgrading of real estate, envisaged under the 110% Superbonus legislation, has enabled the development of a substantial pipeline of projects to be carried out over the next few years. algoWatt is confident that this new line of business will generate a significant contribution in terms of turnover and therefore margins for the Group, also thanks to the extension of the instrument until 2022 envisaged by the 2021 Budget Law.

The new Product Development unit launched a major overhaul of the product portfolio, with the implementation of a new cross-product and cross-market architecture, based on the most modern principles of modularity and reuse and, therefore, on the most innovative microservices technologies.

Thanks to the creation of dedicated task forces across the three BUs, they will be able to count on the skills and processes necessary to relaunch their System Integration and General Contractor activities in order to achieve the growth envisaged in the 2021-2024 plan.

Research & Innovation R&I activity is the driving force behind the company's competitiveness and the enhancement of the creative capital of the business units, contributing to the realisation of the exponential technologies that make algoWatt's proposition unique. Thanks to its consolidated ability to obtain funding for research projects through national and European calls for proposals, algoWatt is involved as a coordinator or partner in 18 multi-year projects with contributions of around 5 million euros.

In 2020, the contribution of technology transfer activities to the operating result was further consolidated through the signing of Technology Transfer Agreements, which made it possible to exploit internally developed know-how and expand the company's range of products and services. Lastly, expertise in the virtuous use of subsidised finance has led to the creation of a task force capable of providing specialist consultancy services for the implementation of strategic projects for large-scale investments in energy, mobility and automation.

This press release is available on the Company's website www.algowatt.com

algoWatt (ALW), greentech solutions company, designs, develops and integrates solutions for energy and natural resource management in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. The Company provides management and control systems that integrate devices, networks, software and services with a clear sector focus: digital energy and utilities, smart cities & enterprises and green mobility. algoWatt is the result of the merger of TerniEnergia, a leading company in the renewable energy and environmental industry, and Softeco, an ICT solutions provider with over 40 years of experience for customers operating in the energy, industry and transport sectors. The company, with more than 200 employees located in 7 locations in Italy and investments in research and innovation for more than 12% of turnover, operates with an efficient corporate organization, focused on the following markets: Green Energy Utility: renewable energy, digital energy, smart grids; Green Enterprise&City: IoT, data analysis, energy efficiency, building and process automation; Green Mobility: electric, shared and on demand. Different markets, a single focus: sustainability. algoWatt is listed on the Mercato Telematico Azionario (MTA) of Borsa Italiana S.p.A..

For further info:

Investor Relations Press Office Investor & Media Relations algoWatt SpA algoWatt SpA Domenico Gentile, Pietro Autelitano Filippo Calisti (CFO) Federico Zacaglioni Via Bigli, 19 - 20121 Milano Tel. +39 0744 7581 Tel. +39 0744 7581 Tel. +39 02 4547 3883/4 filippo.calisti@algowatt.com (mailto:filippo.calisti@algowatt.com) Mobile +39 340 5822368 ir@irtop.com (mailto:ir@irtop.com) federico.zacaglioni@algowatt.com ufficiostampa@irtop.com (mailto:ufficiostampa@irtop.com)

Attachment
British and South African strains of coronavirus (COVID-19) have not yet been identified in Ukraine, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during a meeting organized by the European Business Association (EBA) on Friday.

"We have not yet registered the British and South African strains," he said.

At the same time, the minister said it is expensive to conduct a study to identify these strains.

"We do it [study] periodically, but not in such a large number as other countries," Stepanov said.
WASHINGTON - A hunter and fisherman from the south, and a regulator who has upset environmentalists by giving industry a place at the table in rule making, Michael Regan might have seemed an unusual choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency in a Biden administration stacked with progressives.

But if Wednesdays confirmation hearing was any indication, it was a calculated one. News coverage that evening extolled Regans bipartisan bonadfides and talents as a listener and consensus builder, at a time Biden has made clear he intends to begin the contentious process of shifting the country away from oil and other fossil fuels.

Regan, the top environmental regulator in North Carolina, was not only introduced by his states two GOP senators but spent much of the first half hour of his confirmation hearing exchanging grins with Republicans as he promised his door would be open to everyone.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Goodbye, gas? The era of electric cars is coming faster than anyone thought

I think were going to have a lot of good discussions, said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., a fierce protector of his states oil and gas industry.

It seemed a long way from the testy relationship between the GOP and EPA administrators during the Obama administration. Even four years after Gina McCarthy stepped down as head of the agency, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., was still complaining Wednesday how McCarthy never visited her state.

It really stung, she said.

But before anyone takes Wednesdays pleasantries as signs of a grand bipartisan deal on climate change in the works, new administrations and opposition parties have a habit of getting along at the outset.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who in 2015 famously brought a snow ball to the Senate floor as evidence global warming wasnt happening, recounted Wednesday his fond memories of Obamas first EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, saying she keeps one of his Christmas cards on the wall of her office.

But those niceties have a habit of being pushed aside fairly quickly once political battles begin. Within four months of Jacksons confirmation, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., was grilling her about a White House memo on the economic consequences of the administrations decision to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.

You are mentioned on every page, he said. It seems to that decision was based more on political calculations than scientific ones.

More: Read the latest oil and gas news from HoustonChronicle.com

And Regans confirmation hearing was not without tension, as Republicans lambasted Biden executive orders canceling the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and putting a one-year moratorium on fossil fuel leasing on federal lands and waters.

Following one such speech, Regan tried to diffuse the tension, explaining, We are facing a dire situation with climate change and (its) impacts. But I don't think that's to negate the fact that we all understand the anxiety and the fear as we make this transition that folks in your states have.

That seemed to assuage some Republicans, with Capito telling Regan, I want to be your partner on this, even as she lambasted former Obama officials like McCarthy, whom Biden appointed his climate tsar.

Not you. Youre a fresh face, very transparent, very ready to work, Capito said.

After Wednesday's hearing, Regan is expected to sail through the rest of the confirmation process swiftly. But the real test will come in the months and years ahead, as he gets beyond the listening stage to deciding how to go about the massive undertaking of getting the United States on the path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.

In that task, it will take more than empathy for the plight of the fossil fuel workers if he is to win over Republicans.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter.com/@osborneja
Samuel Kasumu reportedly retracted his resignation letter

Number 10's adviser on ethnic minorities tried to quit his job over fears the Conservative Party was pursuing a 'politics steeped in division' - before retracting his resignation.

Samuel Kasumu, 33, reportedly withdrew his resignation letter to Boris Johnson - in which he said tensions in Government were at times 'unbearable' - after talks with vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi.

In a letter, seen by the BBC, he wrote: 'I fear for what may become of the party in the future by choosing to pursue a politics steeped in division.'

The former Conservative activist and councillor who grew up in Barnet, north London, said 'the damage that is often caused by our actions is not much considered', adding: 'As someone that has spent his whole adult life serving others, that tension has been at times unbearable.'

In the letter he also said described the actions of equalities minister Kemi Badenoch, who had a public spat with a journalist last week, as 'concerning'.

Ms Badenoch accused HuffPost reporter Nadine White of 'creepy and bizarre' behaviour after the journalist contacted her requesting a comment for a story.

The minister then posted screenshots of Ms White's emails online sparking a backlash against the reporter.

Mr Kasumu, who has been a contributor to the HuffPost in the past, suggested Ms Badenoch may have broken the ministerial code in doing so - which the BBC said the Cabinet Office was looking into.

But No 10 said during a Westminster briefing there is 'no Cabinet Office investigation ongoing'.

The BBC said he also described the actions of equalities minister Kemi Badenoch (left), who launched an online tirade against HuffPost reporter Nadine White (right) last week, as 'concerning'

Mr Kasumu, who has been a contributor for the Huffpost, is said to have suggested Ms Badenoch may have broken the ministerial code - which the BBC said the Cabinet Office was looking into. No 10 denied this

Mr Kasumu wife Barbara is a former advisor to the Cabinet Office, together they ran a social enterprise to help young minorities achieve more in the job market

Samuel Kasumu: From Tory activist and HuffPost writer to advising the PM on ethnic minorities Samuel Kasumu, originally from Barnet but now living in St Albans, studied business and management accounting at Brunel University - where he was student President and Vice President and left with a 2:1 - and a postgraduate degree in Ethnicity, Migration, & Policy from Birkbeck, University of London. While at Brunel, in 2006, he was also the President of the largest African and Caribbean Society on a university campus in the country, the HuffPost says. Samuel Kasumu: From Tory activist and HuffPost writer to advising the PM on ethnic minorities He is married to Barbara Kasumu, who held an advisory position at the Cabinet Office in 2018. The couple ran Elevation Networks until 2018, which was setup to help young and under-represented people in the job market. Mrs Kasumu has worked for similar social enterprises including The Kids Network and The Foyer Federation. During the 2011 London riots he acted as a community representative calling for peace, particularly in the Tottenham area in the north of the capital. That same year the political adviser also featured in a campaign called Operation Black Vote, where he was presented as a leading entrepreneur and future political figure. Since leaving university the Liverpool football fan has worked as a councillor, with faith groups and started out in politics at a local level. He was a contributor for the HuffPost and is still described on its website as a 'young political commentator'. He has also written for the Guardian, New Statesman and was a columnist for Nigerian Watch. In 2012 he wrote his first book called Winning the Race, which criticised what he saw as a lack of action by the Tories in appealing to ethnic minorities. But he was best known for being the founder of Elevation Networks - a student level social enterprise in Euston which tries to give underrepresented young people a more competitive stance in the labour market. During the 2010 general election he campaigned for Theresa Villiars MP, David Borrowes MP, and Philipa Stroud. He has worked as a special adviser in Downing Street for the past year and a half. Advertisement

In his resignation letter, Mr Kasumu wrote that 'more concerning than the act, was the lack of response internally'.

'It was not OK or justifiable, but somehow nothing was said. I waited, and waited, for something from the senior leadership team to even point to an expected standard, but it did not materialise.'

Mr Kasumu, originally from Barnet but who now lives in St Albans, was born into a poor family and has dyslexia and dyspraxia.

He married Barbara Kasumu in the US and together they ran Elevation Networks, which they founded to help young graduates and minorities become more competitive in the job market.

Mrs Kasumu has worked with other social enterprises helping young and under-represented people, including The Kids Network, The Foyer Federation.

She also spent eight months working with the Cabinet Office as an advisory council member in 2018.

He studied business and management accounting at Brunel University - where he was student President and Vice President and left with a 2:1 - and a postgraduate degree in Ethnicity, Migration, & Policy from Birkbeck, University of London.

While at Brunel, in 2006, he was also the President of the largest African and Caribbean Society on a university campus in the country, the HuffPost says.

During the 2011 London riots he acted as a community representative calling for peace, particularly in the Tottenham area in the north of the capital.

That same year the political adviser also featured in a campaign called Operation Black Vote, where he was presented as a leading entrepreneur and future political figure.

Since leaving university the Liverpool football fan has worked with faith groups and started out in politics at a local level.

He was a contributor for the HuffPost and is still described on its website as a 'young political commentator'.

He has also written for the Guardian, New Statesman and was a columnist for Nigerian Watch.

In 2012 he wrote his first book called Winning the Race, which criticised what he saw as a lack of action by the Tories in appealing to ethnic minorities.

But he was best known for being the founder of Elevation Networks - a student level social enterprise in Euston which tries to give underrepresented young people a more competitive stance in the labour market.

This was launched during his degree with some friends and it has blown up to an 8,000-strong workforce.

Meanwhile, during the 2010 general election he campaigned for Theresa Villiars MP, David Borrowes MP, and Philipa Stroud.

He has worked as a special adviser in Downing Street for the past year and a half.

Aside from politics Mr Kasumu also sat on the No Barriers board at the British Fashion Council, where he worked to diversify the industry.

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'It would not be appropriate to comment on individual staff members.

'This Government is committed to inclusion and bringing communities together, and is the most ethnically diverse in this country's history.

'Last year we established a commission on race and ethnic disparities to examine and tackle inequality and discrimination wherever it is found. It is due to report shortly.'

Mr Kasumu on Thursday retracted the letter after talks with vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi (pictured)

Leviathan receives the proceeds from the upsized $12.9 million subscription receipt financing

drill permits in place to allow for immediate exploration

trading expected to commence February 10, 2021 with symbol LVX

VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Leviathan Gold Ltd. ("Leviathan") is pleased to announce that further to the press release issued on December 9, 2020 in respect of the upsized subscription receipt financing of $12.9 million (the "Offering"), the escrow release conditions under the Offering have been satisfied. The total net proceeds to Leviathan under the Offering, after deducting the commission and expenses of the agents, was $12.1 million, of which $387,000 was released on the closing of the Offering and the remaining net proceeds of the Offering, in the amount of $11.68 million, have now been released to Leviathan.

Leviathan is also pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of the Avoca and Timor projects from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fosterville South Exploration Ltd. ("FSX") and the "three cornered" amalgamation of a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leviathan with Leviathan Gold Finance has been completed.

As previously announced on February 1, 2020, Leviathan has received conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") to list its common shares on the TSXV under the symbol "LVX". Final approval of the listing is subject to Leviathan meeting certain standard requirements of the TSXV. Leviathan expects to satisfy all of the requirements and will make a further announcement once the TSXV has issued a bulletin confirming the date on which trading on the TSXV will commence.

Leviathan Gold Chief Executive Officer, Luke Norman, states, "As I have stated previously, we are all excited with what we have managed to put together; asset, capital and teamwise. We look forward to updating our shareholders in the coming days of our interpretations of the historical workings and their host environment, and how we believe they are merely symptomatic of a very large mineral system that could host multiple deposits analogous to some of the famed orebodies in the region."

Avoca Project

The Avoca project is centred on mesothermal quartz-vein-hosted gold and related placer-style "deep lead" gold mineralization. There is a considerable local history of mining both kinds of deposit. The term "deep lead" refers to buried auriferous river bed deposits. The Avoca goldfield produced approximately 750,000 ounces of gold largely from alluvial gold deposits.

The Avoca project is located approximately 183 kilometres west northwest of the Victorian state capital Melbourne, with good road access. Geologically, the Avoca project occurs within the Stawell zone, west of the Bendigo and Melbourne zones of the Lachlan Fold Belt.

Having previously been mined with a significant amount of gold production from both alluvial and hardrock high-grade sources, Fosterville South considers the Avoca project is highly prospective for hardrock structurally controlled gold deposits. A number of major fault zones have been recognized with strike lengths of ten or more kilometres. Gold mineralization within the Stawell zone is generally base metal sulphide related, which Fosterville South sees as an opportunity for disseminated or fine-grained gold mineralization.

The significant hard rock historic mines within the Avoca licence include the high-grade:

Pyrenees reefs -- 16,199 tons mined for 16,602 ounces of gold to 130 metres at an average recovered grade of 32 g/t gold, worked from 1860 to 1912;

Excelsior reef -- 13,200 tons mined for 9,260 ounces of gold to 100 metres at an average recovered grade of 22 g/t gold, worked from 1909 to 1915;

Vale's reefs -- 1,444 tons mined for 1,388 ounces of gold to 52 metres at an average recovered grade of 29.4 g/t gold, worked from 1865 to 1883; and

Monte Christo reefs -- 2,795 tons mined for 937 ounces of gold to 30 metres at an average recovered grade of 10.3 g/t gold, worked from 1872 to 1877.

The production noted above was obtained from State of Victoria Mining Surveyors and Registrar's quarterly reports from 1860 to 1891 and annual reports issued thereafter. All the production from these reefs occurred within the Avoca licence.

Defined mineralization shoots are present at both the Pyrenees reef and Excelsior reef, as shown from the underground mine plans held for both deposits.

In terms of alluvial gold deposit potential, the Avoca subbasin, located within the Avoca project, is also projected to contain one of the largest unmined deep lead alluvial gold deposits within Victoria.

Timor project

The Timor project occurs immediately east of the Avoca project and occurs within the Bendigo zone of the Lachlan fold belt.

The Timor project area contains numerous hardrock and alluvial gold deposits evidenced by significant historical workings. Historical alluvial production within the Timor project area is in the region of 640,000 ounces of gold.

Around 20 hardrock workings can be considered to have been significant producers. These include the Leviathan group of mines, with recorded gold production of 56,474 ounces of gold from 189,085 tonnes, equating to a recovered grade of approximately 9.14 g/t gold. The Leviathan structural corridor hosts several parallel quartz veins with most of the production coming from one mine active in the early 1900s. Significant potential occurs within the various other veins and faults within the corridor to the north.

In addition, Shaw's reef produced 16,881 tons mined for 12,623 ounces of gold to 130 metres at an average recovered grade of 22.9 g/t gold, worked from 1883 to 1891. Along strike of this fault zone arsenopyrite and stibnite mineralization is recorded in association with the gold mineralization indicating possible epizonal Fosterville-style gold mineralization.

Both these former mines lie on separate large regional north-south structures known to occur for tens of kilometres with a number of hardrock workings over their length. Neither of these two major structures have had significant drilling within the tenement. Only one diamond drill hole and one traverse of RC drilling has been carried out across the Leviathan structure. No drilling has occurred on the Shaw's reef fault zone and numerous other prospective areas within the tenement. These two mineralized structures are a primary focus for exploration within the project.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed, verified and approved by Keith Whitehouse, AusIMM (CP), of Leviathan Gold (Australia) Pty. Ltd., a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101.

On behalf of the Company,

Luke Norman, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No securities regulatory authority has either approval or disapproved of the contents of this press release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release, including with respect to the timing of the listing of the Leviathan common shares on the TSXV and the geological prospects of Leviathan's and FSX's mineral projects. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Leviathan cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by many material factors, many of which are beyond their respective control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to corporate transactions, purchasing the Avoca and Timor properties and listing a new vehicle on the TSXV. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Leviathan does not undertake to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

SOURCE Leviathan Gold Ltd
ANN ARBOR, MI  Twenty-three cases of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant, all of which are associated with the University of Michigan, have now been identified by the Washtenaw County Health Department.

The initial case of the more contagious variant was identified on Jan. 16 in the UM community, according to health officials, but not all the subsequent cases are connected to the first case.

The health department, university and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services are working to implement additional containment strategies to slow the spread of the variant, according to a health department news release.

As part of the response, the health department and local partners have offered no-cost testing each weekend since the variant was identified in Washtenaw County. Positive COVID-19 tests from those events are being sequenced for the variant, officials said, adding that no cases of the variant have been identified among positive results from the Jan. 24 testing event.

The next no-cost testing event is noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at Pioneer High School, 601 W. Stadium Blvd.

Free drive-thru COVID-19 testing available at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School

We remain concerned about the identification of the B.1.1.7 variant locally, said Juan Luis Marquez, Washtenaw County Health Department medical director. We are working to contain the known cluster of cases, and we ask everyone to step up their use of effective prevention strategies and seek testing if needed.

UM students are currently under a stay-in-place recommendation by the health department due to the spread of the variant. Students are asked to stay at their campus-area residences through Feb. 7, but more stringent actions may be necessary if the outbreak continues to grow and additional variant clusters are identified, health department officials previously stated.

University of Michigan students told to stay home as virus variant cases climb

The health department is still learning about the variant, but current vaccinations are believed to be effective, officials said. Prevention strategies are more important now than ever, health officials said, adding the public should do the following:

Wear a face mask around others. Cloth masks with multiple layers of fabric are still recommended.

Keep at least six feet apart from others

Clean hands frequently

Avoid crowded areas or gatherings

Ventilate indoor spaces if around others

Seek testing if ill, exposed or after travel

Follow isolation or quarantine guidance if ill, exposed, or waiting on test results

Get vaccinated when vaccine becomes available

READ MORE:

Saline talks teacher vaccinations, progress toward more in-person classes

Thursday, Feb. 4, coronavirus data by Michigan county: Statewide positivity rate drops to 3.8%

COVID concerns prompt another virtual spring graduation at University of Michigan
ROCHESTER, Minn.  A mass vaccination clinic will take place Friday and Saturday in Rochester.

Olmsted County Public Health Services (OCPHS) says it will work with Olmsted Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, several additional Olmsted County Departments, the City of Rochester, Rochester Police Department, Olmsted County Sheriffs Office, and Rochester Community and Technical College to vaccinate up to 2,200 individuals.

This will be the first mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic offered by OCPHS and it is only for individuals who have been invited and pre-registered for a time slot. Anyone showing up who has not registered will be turned away due to the limited amount of vaccine.

We appreciate the State allocating a significant amount of vaccine allowing us to reach more people in the 1A priority group says OCPHS Operations Chief for COVID-19 Response Daniel Jensen. That 1A group includes home health, adult foster care, group homes, E-12 school staff, clergy making community visits, childcare providers and health professional students.
South Africa: Four suspects nabbed for hijacked truck

Four suspects are expected to appear before the Polokwane Magistrates' Court on Monday for possession of an allegedly hijacked truck.

The four, aged between 27 and 33 years, were arrested on Thursday in Nirvana, outside Polokwane, for possession of suspected stolen properties, including the truck.

The arrest was made after members of the Crime Prevention Unit received information about suspected stolen groceries at a supermarket in Nirvana.

Four suspects were arrested on the spot and a large amount of an assortment of groceries, with the estimated value of over R1 million, were recovered inside the truck trailer, some of which were already offloaded and were found inside the shop.

The preliminary investigations established that a truck loaded with groceries was allegedly hijacked in Delmas and the groceries were then delivered to the supermarket.

The truck, with the estimated value of over R900 000, was later recovered in the Bela-Bela policing area without the trailer, said the police.

The Limpopo Commissioner of the South African Police Service, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba, has commended the members for their swift action in apprehending the suspects. - SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the ambassadorial appointment of former Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement by the Spokesman of the Party, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP described the appointment as a plot to shield the ex-Service Chiefs from investigation over the "killing of innocent Nigerians and crimes against humanity" under their inglorious watch.

PDP also charged the Senate to eschew all partisan considerations and stand on the side of the people.

"It is indeed sacrilegious and a horrible assault on the sensibility of Nigerians that the APC government is seeking to use ambassadorial appointments as a desperate measure to secure diplomatic immunity for the former commanders and protect them from investigation, arrest and possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the atrocities committed against innocent Nigerians under their command.

"The PDP asserts that appointing the former service chiefs as ambassadors would confer diplomatic immunity on them and provide them with a route for escape.

"The party further stated that taking such actions at a time the ICC has declared its readiness to commence full investigation on their alleged involvement in the crime against humanity in our country, appears to further validate the allegations against them.

"Moreover, the frenzy by officials of the Buhari Presidency in mounting pressure on the Senate to confirm such abominable ambassadorial nominations has further raised public apprehensions of a desperate attempt to cover the culpability of some other individuals connected to the APC administration".

According to the statement: "It is shocking that instead of allowing the former service chiefs to answer for the alleged crime against humanity under their command including reported cases of extra-judicial execution, killing of unarmed protesters at Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos, rape, illegal arrest as well as detention and torture of innocent Nigerians, the APC administration is rather plotting their escape.

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"The accused service chiefs must not be allowed to use diplomatic immunity to escape investigation and possible prosecution for the killing of unarmed EndSARS protester at Lekki Toll gate and other parts of the country as well as the hundreds of civilians reportedly killed by soldiers in the Zaria massacre.

"This is in addition to series of reported military invasions and the mass shooting in communities in Borno, Yobe, Rivers, Abia, Anambra among other states across the six geo-political zones of our country, where soldiers reportedly razed communities and massacred unarmed civilians under the command of the ex-service chiefs.

"Our party, therefore, calls on Nigerians, across the board, to unite in rejecting these ambassadorial nominations for the accused former commanders and demand that President Buhari should immediately withdraw their nominations from the Senate.

"The least that is expected of President Buhari is to direct the former service chiefs to answer for the alleged crimes," the statement read.
Sheikh Abduljabbar Nasiru Kabara, the Kano-based Islamic cleric barred from preaching, has accused the State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, of issuing the order because he worked against him during the 2019 general election.

The election, which was keenly contested, led to a runoff before Ganduje, who ran under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defeated Abba Kabir Yusuf, his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rival.

Speaking with Daily Trust hours after the government clamped down on him, the cleric said the action is more of political than religious.

"The reasons are very obvious. The person who took the decision (Ganduje) has said it times without number that he never forgives. I fought him during the last election and he promised to retaliate. Only that he is taking the wrong decision at the wrong time. So this ban is purely political, it has nothing to do with religion or incitement.

"I have told my followers to prepare their votes ahead of the next election and do the needful. Alhamdulillah for everything, I am fighting scholars, not Government, but at the end, Government took over on their behalf.

"This clearly shows that they don't have answers to all my questions. How does the government know that I'm inciting the public on religious issues? Did they go through the books I have been making reference to before jumping to the conclusion? Are they even knowledgeable about them?

"They should at least checked the books I made reference to but without doing so, they have been unfair to me.

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"This decision is sheer injustice. And, whosoever wants to understand the situation should look for what the Kano State Commissioner for Education said last night (Wednesday) wherein he explained that the government has deliberately succumbed to the pressure of these scholars who used their political ideologies to alter religious issues to their taste," he said.

On whether he will abide by the government's order on the ban, the Islamic cleric said he has always been law abiding.

"I am appealing to my followers to exercise patience with this decision and never revolt against it. Injustice will never remain forever. Let us continue to pray and it shall come to pass soon Insha Allah," he added.

Kano state government has not responded to the latest accusation but in an earlier statement, the government said the ban became necessary because of "his mode of teachings considered too incendiary."

Restaurants, bars, breweries and distilleries struggling amid the coronavirus will be able to expand their outdoor dining footprints under a new measure Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law Friday.

Businesses will be able to extend their footprints and serve patrons in parking lots, yards, patios, decks and public sidewalks. It goes into effect immediately and was signed the same day restaurants are allowed to expand indoor dining capacity from 25% to 35%.

This new law will help strengthen our restaurants as they help recover from the pandemic, Murphy said Friday while signing the legislation into law during a virtual event. Its not tomorrow but the light on the horizon is growing.

Businesses would have to apply to their local zoning office to expand their operations outdoors. The bill gives zoning officers more flexibility to reject applications than the bill Murphy vetoed.

It also allows the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control to offer breweries, distilleries and wineries permits to sell their drinks at farmers markets.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

The bill was hastily pushed through both chambers of the Legislature last month after Murphy vetoed a similar proposal lawmakers sent to him in November.

Business lobbyists had criticized Murphys veto, which they said would cost businesses opportunities to expand and outlast the pandemic. But Murphy had argued in his veto message that the previous version would have stripped the state of some of its policing authority.

The original outdoor dining bill similarly would have permitted expansions into businesses neighboring outdoor spaces, though Murphy took issue with aspects he said encroach on the authority of both the (the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control) and municipal governments to protect the publics health and safety.

That includes shifting enforcement and oversight from state Alcohol Beverage Control fully to local governments while also forcing municipalities to approve any applicant that submits proper documentation and overriding their ability to limit hours of operation, he said.

In his veto message, the governor noted the state already has taken steps to allow these businesses to bring their operations outdoors through the end of March without compromising the publics health and safety, and has approved more than 2,300 permits since June.

Rather than try and override the governors veto, lawmakers introduced a new version of the bill last month.

It passed 34-0 in the Senate and then cleared the Assembly in a 75-0 vote.

NJ Advance Media Staff Writer Samantha Marcus contributed to this report.

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
The analysis removed the effect of occupation to try to isolate the impact of child care, which can be more precarious when incomes are lower and support networks are sparse. An interesting finding was that Hispanic mothers suffered the largest declines in the labor force in the spring but by fall were seeing job gains, raising questions about how communities have stepped in to fill the child care void.
By Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News (TNS)

Parkland shooting survivor and gun-control advocate David Hogg is offering an alternative to sleeping on the right side of the bed.

The 20-year-old activist announced on Twitter that he and his business partner William LeGate are starting a pillow company to compete with MyPillow, which is run by Donald Trump crony and Fox News advertiser Mike Lindell.

@williamlegate and I are going to prove that progressives can make a better pillow, run a better business and help make the world a better place while doing it, Hogg tweeted Thursday morning.

He also opened the virtual floor for company name suggestions, one of which was the inclusive sounding Our Pillow.

Today we started a pillow company, tomorrow we change the world  David Hogg (@davidhogg111) February 5, 2021

Hogg followed with a series of tweets in which he said it was his plan to employ veterans, convicts who have paid their debt to society and workers from MyPillow, which he hopes to put out of business. According to Hogg, his pillow company will launch around summertime.

The activist, who was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when 17 people were fatally shot and 17 others were wounded on Feb. 14, 2018, also threw down the gauntlet for Lindell.

Mike isnt going to know what hit him, Hogg tweeted. This pillow fight is just getting started.

David Hogg, who survived the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, 2019)AP

Lindell may not lose much sleep over Hoggs challenge just yet. The 59-year-old entrepreneur, whose estimated worth is $300 million, finds himself at the heart of an intensifying showdown between right-wing media agencies and voting systems technology companies that seems bound for the courtroom.

Lindell has repeatedly championed Trumps unsubstantiated claims that rigged ballot counting systems are to blame for the former presidents decisive 2020 electoral loss.

Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic  the voting technology companies allegedly being maligned  have either filed suits or threatened to do so against right-wing outlets including Fox News. That network was hit with what it calls a meritless $2.7 billion lawsuit from Smartmatic Thursday.

Smartmatic is also suing Trump surrogates Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell for their roles in disseminating damaging rhetoric about the company.

Lindell was cut off by conservative media brand Newsmax earlier this week when he tried pushing his conspiracy theories on that network. Newsmax, along with cable channels Fox News and OAN, were reportedly sent legal warning by Smartmatic lawyers in December warning those outlets that there could be consequences for false reporting that defames the company.

Refusing to give it a rest, Lindell, whose nickname is The MyPillow Guy, told radio station WZFG that he would reveal the results of his research on alleged election rigging Friday.

More:

Dem-led House, drawing a line, kicks Marjorie Taylor Greene off committees

End of Trump era wont halt extremisms rise, experts say
The nation has been plunged into mourning with confirmation yesterday that 22-year-old kidnap victim Andrea Bharatt was found dead.

Bharatt, a law clerk at the Arima Magistrates Court was kidnapped last Friday.

For the past week the people of Trinidad and Tobago have been praying for her safe return. The confirmation of her death after a body was discovered along the roadway in the Heights of Aripo sent many into grief, shock and anger.
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YANGON, Myanmar  Hundreds of members of Myanmars deposed ruling party declared themselves Friday to be the sole legitimate representatives of the people and asked for international recognition as the countrys government, as protests against the military takeover swelled.

Nearly 300 politicians from ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyis party announced they had named a committee to carry out the functions of Parliament, according to a National League for Democracy party Facebook page. In a letter to the United Nations and the international community posted on social media, the party also asked for targeted sanctions and for businesses to cut ties with the military, which has vast lucrative holdings.

The party promised to act in the best interests of our people and in the very essence of democracy.

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The lawmakers had been set to take their seats Monday in a new session of Parliament, when the military announced it was taking power for a year and detained them, though most have since been released. It was not clear what, if any, practical effect the lawmakers declaration would have. Several countries have already denounced the coup, and the U.S. has threatened new sanctions.

Resistance has been gathering steam ever since the takeover  seen internationally as a shocking setback in the Southeast Asian country, which had been making significant, if uneven progress, toward democracy after decades of military rule. Military pushback is ramping up as well, and the latest politician detained was Win Htein, a senior member of Suu Kyis party. Suu Kyi and President Win Myint are also under house arrest  and have been charged with minor offenses, seen by many as merely providing a legal veneer for their detention.

In the largest rallies since the takeover, hundreds of students and teachers took to Myanmars streets Friday to demand the military hand power back to elected politicians. Demonstrations spread to several parts of the country, even in the tightly controlled capital.

Opposition to the coup began initially with people banging pots and pans outside their windows in Yangon, the countrys largest city  under the cover of darkness each evening to avoid being targeted. But now people are being more vocal and visible, and students and medical workers have led the charge.

About 400 protesters in total rallied at two universities in Yangon, some flashing a three-fingered salute, a sign of resistance borrowed from The Hunger Games movies, that they adopted from anti-government protesters in neighboring Thailand. They chanted Long live Mother Suu  a reference to Suu Kyi  and We dont want military dictatorship.

We will never be together with them, lecturer Dr. Nwe Thazin said of the military at a protest at the Yangon University of Education. We want that kind of government to collapse as soon as possible.

At the citys Dagon University, meanwhile, many carried papers printed with images of red ribbons  the symbol of the civil disobedience campaign that activists and Suu Kyis party has called for.

I believe we will have to lead this movement, said student Min Han Htet. All the people, including the students, will have to bring down the military junta. We will have to make sure that juntas never appear again in the next generation.

There was also at least one demonstration Friday in Naypyitaw  highly unusual for the city, which was purpose-built under the previous military government, has a heavy military presence and lacks the tradition of protest of the former capital, Yangon. Medical staff at the citys biggest hospital gathered behind a big banner condemning the coup. Medical personnel have been at the forefront of the resistance.

Another protest was held in Myanmars southern Tanintharyi Region, where about 50 chanting people marched, reported the online news agency Dawei Watch.

The military has tried to quash the opposition with selective arrests and by attempting to block Facebook to prevent users from organizing demonstrations. The blocking of Facebook has been only partially successful but is still a blow in a country where it is the primary tool for accessing information on the internet for most people since traditional media is state-controlled or self-censored.

The militarys takeover Monday began with the detention of senior government officials, including Suu Kyi. She is healthy and remains under house arrest at her official residence in the capital, Naypyitaw, party spokesman Kyi Toe said.

Win Htein, Suu Kyis longtime confidant, meanwhile, was taken from his home in Yangon to Naypyitaw, on Friday, according to Kyi Toe.

The 79-year-old had publicly called for civil disobedience to oppose the coup. He told Britains BBC radio in a phone call early Friday that he was being arrested for sedition, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

According to Myanmars Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 134 officials or lawmakers and 18 civil society activists were detained by the military in connection with its takeover, though some have already been released.

The takeover has been criticized by U.S. President Joe Biden and others internationally who pushed for the elected government to be restored.

The U.N. Security Council, in its first statement on the matter, stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence, and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. While the U.S. and others have described the militarys actions as a coup, the Security Councils unanimous statement did not.

Protests against the coup were also held Friday in India, Indonesia and South Korea, sometimes led by people from Myanmar.

The military seized power shortly before a new session of Parliament was to convene, accusing Suu Kyis government of refusing to address allegations of voting irregularities in the election her party won in a landslide. The state election commission has said it found not evidence of fraud.

Myanmar was under military rule for five decades after a 1962 coup, and Suu Kyis five years as leader had been its most democratic period, despite continued use of repressive colonial-era laws.
Opposition parties on Thursday tore into the government's handling of the farmer protest against three contentious farm reform laws, saying ministers believe in monologue and trenches have been dug, barbed wires put up and spikes installed when bridges should have been built to win over farmers.

Opening the second day of discussion on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session, Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD said the government has lost the patience to hear and any criticism is painted as anti-national.

"With folded hands, I request you to please understand the pain of farmers. In harsh winter you stopped water supply and toilet facilities, dug trenches, put barbed wires, and installed spikes," he said. "Such aggressive approach wasn't even heard of towards the neighbouring nations who came inside (the Indian territory)."

To the response to a tweet by pop star Rihanna on the farmer protest, he said the democracy will not be weakened by a tweet but by the approach of the government.

Read: Opposition MPs stopped from meeting protesting farmers at Delhi's Ghazipur

In a veiled reference to cold storage chain and godowns built by private corporates such as Adani Group, he said, "Your backbone is the farmer. 303 (seats won in last general elections) did not come from cold storage or godowns but from these very people."

"We will support you but every world against you is not anti-national. Patriotism is not be worn on sleeves but carried in heart," he said in his speech loaded with poetry and sarcasm.

Stating that protests and agitations are the lifeblood of democracy, he contested the government statement of 11 rounds of dialogue have concluded with agitating farmers, saying its ministers "believe in monologue and not dialogue."

"They talk of having given this and that to farmers, but there is no place for language of charity in a democracy. The monologues should be ended," he said.

Jha said critics and agitating farmers have been painted as 'Khalistani', 'Naxals' and Pakistani agents and its citizens pitted against each other just like the agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

"You have lost the patience of hearing, you only dictate," he said. "The governments are formed to build bridges but you have built walls."

Referring to the over two-month-long agitation by farmers on the border entry points to the national capital, he said trenches have been dug, barbed wires erected and spikes installed to cut off farmers.

Read: Farmers' protests: Rescind internet ban on Delhis borders

"I haven't been to a border but pictures I have seen don't resemble anything close to what has been done around farmer agitation sites," he said, adding water supply as been snapped and toilets facilities taken away.

"Who are you fighting? They are your own farmers," he said. "The country is not made up of police, arm, Jan gan man and Vande Mataram. The country is made of relations and you have soiled those relations."

Bihar, he said, ended minimum support price (MSP) based crop procurement in 2006 and it now has only contractual labourers and not farmers.

"Bihar has been turned into a labour-supply state. You want Bihar model in Punjab and Haryana?" he asked.

He wondered what would have been the reaction if the JP movement would have happened during the present regime.

Participating in the debate, Digvijaya Singh of the Congress lashed out at the BJP government, saying right from demonetisation to the CAA were blunders that hit the people hard.

Quoting former PM Manmohan Singh, he said demonetisation was a monumental mismanagement, organised loot and legalised blunder.

Almost 50 lakh people were rendered jobless and micro, small and medium enterprises were destroyed, he said.

Read: Looks like international border', farmers on unprecedented barricading at Delhi entry points

Singh said the void between the Modi government's promises and implementation was big and it could not win the hearts of people, whether the poor, farmers or labourers.

The senior Congress leader also accused the government of mismanaging the Covid-19 pandemic and fuelling corruption.

Terming the three farm laws "anti-farmers", he said the prime minister had lost their trust and even the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh was opposed to some of the government's moves and took a jibe at him asking whether he wants to keep relations with RSS.

In democracy, he said, if people's sentiments are seen as revolution than it is autocracy.

"You have got majority but dissent is essence of democracy," Singh said.

Former prime minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda called farmers the backbone of the country and said miscreants and anti-social elements were behind the events of Republic Day and all political parties have condemned their actions and agree that they need to be punished. But the farmers' issue should not be mixed with it, he said and added that the issue should be dealt with amicably.

Delhi witnessed violence on Republic Day during the farmers' tractor rally called to highlight their demand for repeal of the Centre's three farm laws.

Deviating from the designated route for the tractor parade, some protesting farmers clashed with police and reached the historic Red Fort and hoisted flags from some domes as well as the flagpole there.


Paris, Feb 5 : The Covid-19 pandemic situation in France is "particularly fragile" due to the more infectious variants of the virus, but there was no need to impose a new nationwide lockdown at the moment, Prime Minister Jean Castex said.

With daily averages of 20,000 new infection cases, 1,600 hospital admissions and 320 deaths, "the situation remains worrying", Castex warned at a weekly press briefing on Wednesday.

However, he said "for the moment, there is no necessity to lock down", arguing that "the level of incidence is certainly high, but it is still much lower than it was last October" when the country entered a second confinement, reports Xinhua news agency.

"A new lockdown can only be considered as a very last resort. Currently, the situation does not justify such a move," Castex told reporters at the briefing.

"The objective is not to delay (the confinement) but to do everything possible to avoid it. We must hold on, act together," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that the percentage of infections by the new variants among new cases has increased from 3.3 per cent on January 8 to 14 per cent on Thursday.

France has also confirmed four cases of the coronavirus strain first detected in Brazil, Health Minister Olivier Veran said at the same press briefing.

"Our objective is clear: we want to limit the spread of these variants as much as possible," said Veran, noting that the country was "in a race against time" against more infectious variants.

By next week, all residents in nursing homes who want to be vaccinated will have received their first jab, while up to 4 million people would receive the first dose later this month, according to Castex.

Sticking to a three-to-four-week gap between the two injections, France aims to vaccinate all the citizens aged over 65 by the end of May and all adults before September, he added.

One of the hardest hit countries in Europe, France has so far registered a total of 3,310,496 coronavirus cases and 77,743 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Missouri state representative Patricia "Tricia" Derges has been removed from the House committees she was involved in after a grand jury indicted her on fraud charges for falsely marketing a treatment containing stem cells that could allegedly treat various diseases, including COVID-19.

Patricia Derges, who is also a licensed assistant physician, was removed from the Health and Mental Health Policy Committee, Professional Registration and Licensing Committee, and Special Committee on Small Business on Monday, according to an Ozarksfirst report.

The 63-year-old Nixa legislator operates three Ozark Valley Medical Clinic sites in Ozark, Branson, and Springfield. She was elected as a Missouri state representative in District 140 last November.

According to prosecutors, Derges administered amniotic fluid, which she claimed contained stem cells, to treat patients suffering from various diseases, including COVID-19, kidney disease, Lyme disease, erectile dysfunction, and urinary incontinence.

Prosecutors also said Patricia Derges advertised her treatment during consultations, media interviews, seminars, and social media, touting it as an "amazing treatment" to "provide a potential cure for COVID-19 patients that is safe and natural."

Related story: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Ousted From Committees by House Vote

U.S. Attorney for Missouri's Western District Tim Garrison said Derges was telling people that the amniotic fluid she used was a "stem cell shot" and that it contained "mesenchymal stem cells."

But according to Garrison, Patricia Derges was using "acellular" amniotic fluid that does not contain "cells, stem cells or any other type of cells."

"Her claims regarding her ability to treat COVID-19 were part of a broader pattern of misleading and deceiving patients and potential patients about treating them with stem cells," Garrison said in a USA Today report.

Garrison added that the lawmaker abused her privileged position to enrich herself through deception. A National Institutes of Health panel does not recommend stem cells use for COVID-19 outside of clinical trials.

Other Charges Patricia Derges are Facing Apart From Alleged Stem Cell Scheme

Aside from falsely promoting a treatment as having stem cells, Patricia Derges was also accused of illegally providing prescription drugs and making false statements to federal agents investigating the case, CBS News reported.

She was also facing eight counts of wire fraud related to five specific victims, who lost a total of nearly $200,000 in the fraud scheme between December 2018 and May 2020.

According to a People report, the investigation stemmed from the false statements made by Derges in a television interview on April 2020 "regarding her potential use of stem cells to treat COVID-19."

Derges' attorney, Stacie Bilyeu, said the lawmaker pleaded "not guilty" to all charges in her initial court appearance Monday afternoon and was released without bond.

Derges' case is set for jury trial on March 22. The felony charges that Patricia Derges are facing carry a possible sentence of hundreds of years in jail and millions of dollars in fines. A conviction could also force her from office and bar her from ever seeking federal office again in Missouri.

Read also: COVID-19 Study: Immunity From Antibodies Could Wear off Over Time
Nearly a quarter of Americans in a new Monmouth University Poll released Wednesday said they wont take the COVID vaccine under any circumstances.

It will be hard, if not impossible, to reach herd immunity any time soon in New Jersey or elsewhere if that many people resist taking the vaccine, four experts told NJ Advance Media. The speed and success of the vaccination program is key to slowing down the virus and getting life back to normal, they said.

We need to get as many people vaccinated as soon as possible, said Stanley Weiss, an epidemiologist and professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health. With rapid pandemic spread, the opportunity for new viral variants to arise increases, which can further complicate our ability to emerge from the current crisis.

Earlier in the pandemic, experts said wed reach herd immunity when 65 to 70% of the population was vaccinated. But now, Weiss said the estimate is closer to 75 to 80%.

As of Thursday, there have been 876,529 vaccine doses administered out of nearly nine million people in New Jersey, according to the states dashboard. Of those, 715,226 were the first of two doses people will receive.

When we get to the 75 to 80% level, a person who is infected is less likely to find another person whom they can infect, and therefore the epidemic starts to quiet down quite rapidly, Weiss said.

However, the number will remain a moving target, especially with the new, more infectious variants, he said.

The level of protection needed in society is in part related to how transmissible the specific agent is, Weiss said. We have the issue that some of the variants appear to be more transmissible and some of them are better able to evade our immune system, and to some extent, can evade the immune protection conveyed by the current crop of vaccines.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Until we can increase the number of doses of all the vaccines that are available, the only option is to redouble our non-pharmaceutical interventions, said Sandra Adams, a virologist and biology professor at Montclair State University.

The good news is that early evidence seems to indicate that the vaccines are still effective against these new variants, Adams said. The virus, however, will continue to mutate as long as it has hosts within which to replicate. This means that while we wait for widespread availability of the vaccine, we need to need to do our best to starve the virus of susceptible hosts.

Then theres the question of whether people who have already had the virus  more than 600,000 people have tested positive for the virus in New Jersey and the number of those who have been infected is probably higher because of asymptomatic people who never had a test  should be counted as part of the herd immunity percentage.

I wouldnt count on the folks that have already had COVID-19, said Henry Raymond, an epidemiologist and associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health. The research isnt clear on whether previously having COVID-19 confers long lasting immunity.

Anne Hewitt, acting chair and professor at the Department of Interprofessional Health Sciences and Health Administration at Seton Hall University, noted that Dr. Anthony Fauci said if 75 to 80% of Americans are vaccinated by the fall, the U.S. could reach herd immunity by the end of the year.

As experts have not definitively ruled out that those who have been vaccinated cannot continue to transmit the disease, it would be sensible to consider that these individuals may change the timeline equation, she said.

Experts also said herd immunity in New Jersey depends on how well neighboring states like New York and Pennsylvania fare in vaccinating their populations.

Only islands are islands, Raymond said. We are not (an island) in New Jersey so the movement of people from state to state is an important factor in ongoing spread.

The states residents are highly mobile across state borders, but we are also an international travel hub, Adams said.

So while reaching a level of herd immunity in New Jersey is an important goal, it isnt the only benchmark we need to be concerned about, she said. With this in mind, we need to continue to practice the public health measures that we know will reduce our risk, which includes correct and consistent mask wearing, avoiding crowds and indoor gatherings, and maintaining physical spacing.

Tell us your COVID-19 vaccination stories, send us a news tip or questions about the vaccination process on our tip form.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.

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MOSCOW  Russia said Friday it was expelling diplomats from Sweden, Poland and Germany, accusing them of attending a rally in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as international tensions grew over the jailing of the Kremlins most prominent foe.

The announcement came as the European Unions foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the treatment of Navalny represents a low point in relations between Brussels and Moscow.

The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Swedish and Polish diplomats in St. Petersburg and a German diplomat in Moscow of taking part in what it called unlawful rallies on Jan. 23. Tens of thousands of people across Russia took to the streets that day to protest Navalnys arrest.

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The diplomats were declared persona non grata and were required to leave Russia shortly, a ministry statement said.

European officials strongly denounced the move.

Germany said its diplomat was fulfilling his duty by following the developments, and it warned Moscow that its action wont go unanswered, summoning the Russian ambassador.

We consider this expulsion unjustified and think it is another facet of the things that can be seen in Russia at the moment that are pretty far from the rule of law, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin after a videoconference with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron expressed solidarity with Germany, Poland and Sweden and condemned in the stronger terms the expulsions and what happened to Navalny from the beginning to the end.

Sweden said it considers this entirely unjustified, which we have also conveyed to the Russian side, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mats Samuelsson said in a statement to The Associated Press. Stockholm strongly rejects Russian claims that the diplomat took part in a demonstration in Russia and reserves the right to take appropriate measures in response, he said.

Poland also warned Moscow the move will further worsen relations.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the expulsion, tweeting: This arbitrary and unjustified act is Russias latest departure from its international obligations. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also said on Twitter that expelling diplomats for simply doing their jobs is a crude attempt to distract from Russias targeting of opposition leaders, protesters and journalists.

Speaking at the start of his talks with Lavrov, Borrell said our relations are under a severe strain, and the Navalny case is a low point in our relations.

Afterward, Borell said he had relayed his concerns over Navalnys jailing and the arrests of thousands of who had rallied on his behalf. The EU official said he also communicated the blocs support for Navalnys release and for an investigation of the August poisoning but added that there were no proposals of additional sanctions against Russia from the EU at this point.

Merkel said that we reserve the right to continue the sanctions but noted the Navalny situation shouldnt affect the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under construction to deliver more Russian natural gas to Germany.

Lavrov again accused European officials of refusing to share evidence of the poisoning. The Kremlin has said it wont listen to Western criticism of Navalnys sentencing and police action against his supporters.

Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption investigator and Russian President Vladimir Putins most prominent critic, was arrested Jan. 17 upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.

On Tuesday, a Moscow court ruled that while in Germany, Navalny violated probation terms of his suspended sentence from a 2014 money-laundering conviction and ordered him to serve two years and eight months in prison. The ruling prompted international outrage.

In the mass protests across Russias 11 time zones for two weekends in a row, many people chanted slogans against Putin in the largest show of discontent in years. Thousands were detained. Several of Navalnys close allies face criminal charges and are under house arrest, and many of his associates were handed short jail terms.

Top Navalny strategist Leonid Volkov argued Thursday that trying to maintain rallies every weekend would only lead to many more arrests and wear out the participants and said that protests should pause until spring after reaching a peak.

Instead, he urged supporters to focus on challenging Kremlin-backed candidates in Septembers parliamentary elections and securing new Western sanctions against Russia to press for Navalnys release. He said Navalnys team would try to ensure that every world leader would discuss nothing but Navalnys release with Putin.

On Friday, however, another Navalny ally, Vladimir Milov, expressed disappointment with Borrells visit to Moscow. He called it a disastrously weak visit and said Lavrov used him as a decoration to lecture Europe on international law.'

Maybe hell bring back some Sputink V vaccines as a reward, Milov tweeted, referencing Borrells praise of Russias domestically developed coronavirus vaccine.

Navalny, meanwhile, was back in court Friday for yet another trial  this time on a charge of defaming a World War II veteran featured in a pro-Kremlin video that Navalny denounced on social media last year.

A criminal probe was opened after Navalny slammed people featured in a video promoting constitutional amendments last year that allowed an extension to Putins rule. Navalny called the people in the video corrupt stooges, people without conscience and traitors.

Russian authorities maintained that Navalnys comments denigrate (the) honor and dignity of Ignat Artemenko, the veteran featured in the video.

If convicted, Navalny faces a fine or community service. He has denied the charge and refused to enter a plea on Friday, calling the trial a PR process aimed at disparaging him.

The Kremlin needs headlines (saying that) Navalny slandered a veteran, he said.

Artemenko, 94, took part in the hearing via teleconference, saying he was distressed by Navalnys comments and demanding a public apology.

Navalny accused Artemenkos family of exploiting the frail man for their own gain, alleging the case was fabricated and the evidence falsified.

The judge should burn in hell, and youre selling your grandfather out, Navalny said, as Artemenkos grandson testified.

The hearing was eventually adjourned until Feb. 12.

___

Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Matthew Lee in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed.

The federal governments decision to suspend the sales of new SIM cards has left many Nigerians without livelihoods, as it has forced small businesses that worked as agents for big telecom firms to either shut down or scale back on their activities.

Business owners and traders who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said the decision has affected their revenue badly over the last two months and has made them cut their staff strength.

The federal government had last December ordered the suspension of the sales and activation of new SIM cards across all phone networks in the country as it directed Nigerians to quickly connect their phone lines to their National Identification Numbers (NIN).

The suspension was expected to last till the completion of the NIN registration, initially scheduled for early January. But with the deadlines repeatedly shifted as many Nigerians criticised the government for not making adequate provisions to handle crowds seeking physical registration at a time of a pandemic, small businesses that serve as intermediaries for telecom firms have taken the hit.

Last week, the government extended the deadline for linking the two ID numbers to April. In the meantime, the continued suspension of SIM sales has prevented connect stores and all affiliated retail and trade outlets of telecommunications companies from doing business.

A government spokesperson told PREMIUM TIMES the negative impact on businesses was a sacrifice not too big for small businesses to make for the country.

Business owners lament

Kalu Chukwu, the managing director of K.C and Sons International at Wuse market, Abuja, who has been in the business of selling and registering SIM cards for several years, said his revenue fell after the suspension order came into effect in December 2020.

Before, on a monthly basis, they normally give us some stipend as an incentive for doing that work. At the same time some of the SIM we sell, we make small, small profits from selling those SIMs. Today we are no longer doing it anymore, Mr Chukwu told PREMIUM TIMES.

Some of us have 10 to 15 staffs; we just give them the SIM cards they go out to do registration, but at the moment, they are not doing that again, they are at home, they cant come out; if they come out, what are they coming to do?

The whole thing came all of a sudden, and they (staff) dont have any place to go anymore, some of us were kind enough to even extend their stay till January. We were able to pay the December salary.

Even when we did not do any work in December to keep them going but the whole thing came to a point that we cannot continue and they were laid off, he said.

Ugo Tochukwu, another agent at Wuse market, narrated his experience.

Like before I used to make up to N4,000 to N5,000 a day and when you minus your expenses and your staff eat at the end of the day you must hold up to N3,000 but now even N100 I dont get, he said.

He urged the government to help remedy the situation.

We are pleading on them, although they are doing the right thing at the wrong time, he said. If they want to do it, they should have given a provision of how to get all those things done and people will still be in business.

Inosha Endurance, another trader in the same market said, it has been difficult for me and my family since this suspension order because thats what I used in feeding my family.

Since this suspension order, life has not been very easy for me, I dont know for others. I have nothing now.

Before I know how much I make daily, I can boldly tell you, I make up to N6,000.

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He added: This stoppage of SIM registration took us unawares; I woke up in the morning and I came out to arrange my table, as usual, all of a sudden I just heard an announcement that we have to stop SIM registration for now and there is no fixed date, no signal, nothing at all and since then I have been out of a job.

I am also appealing to the government that instead of this suspension, they should find a way to do it so that when we are registering the new SIM cards for customers we can also be helping link the SIM with their NIN so that we can also return to business.

The manager of MTN office Lugbe connect, Abuja, who gave his name as Mr Kingsley, said it was unfortunate that the decision affected small businesses.

I think what the government is trying to achieve in terms of the SIM suspension is that they want to take us back to the era of BVN whereby we can use our national ID card to link basically everything in terms of security-wise, tracking any criminal act.

But as for the business, the truth is that it has affected those small scale businesses, their devices have been retrieved from them so that it can be upgraded.

The devices will be returned to them but pending the time the upgrade is done and that is when they will return to business, he added.

David Osunko at Banex Plaza, Wuse II, Abuja, said: Before now, I usually make like N2,000 to N5,000 a day on SIM registration but now nothing at all.

We need the government to do something about it, I want them to just help us out, lift this ban so that if somebody wants to buy SIM card the person will come with their national ID cards, we can register the person and link it but stopping us doing our business is affecting us, he said.

Another agent at the market, Magi Monday, a university graduate, said Over the month that this has been stopped, surviving is very difficult for me because thats the only way I earn little money and the way I survive is by when I register SIM I get paid. But ever since they stopped registration feeding is becoming difficult.

I get paid at the end of the month and in a day I have daily earnings of probably N1500 to N2000; sometimes it depends though.

I entered into this business for like three years now but since the government stopped the registration, there has been no other source of income again.

When you accumulate the money I get from other networks I get roughly N30,000 at the end of the month, but ever since the stoppage nothing is coming in, he lamented.

Also speaking, Idris Abu, another agent, who does SIM registration and installs apps on phones, said before the suspension, he could raise up to N3000 a day but now it is difficult to raise N1000.

2 million out of jobs

In December last year, Hassan Yakubu, the president of Arewa Telecom Operators Agents and SIM card Dealers Association, said that about 2 million Nigerian youth have been rendered jobless by the recent suspension of sales, registration and activation of SIM cards.

We were aware of the federal governments intention to address security challenges through linkages of National Identity Number (NIN) with mobile numbers and suspension of new SIM cards registration, he was quoted by The Nation as saying. Rendering 2 million youth jobless might worsen the security challenges in the country.

On Tuesday, the publisher of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, tweeted on the same subject, expressing his concerns.

How can a country shut down economic activities for months by banning the sale of new sim cards for voice and data because of a mere NIN registration!! Why are we so unreasonably cruel in a country with an army of unemployed youths.we need deliverance, he queried.

Reached by PREMIUM TIMES, Ikechukwu Adindu, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, said, You understand that this NIN SIM linking is a major national project, so those of them you just mentioned are not the only ones who have been affected.

There are people who also came into the country they desire to have a SIM, there are people who have never had a SIM before, they also desire to have a SIM. All of that is pending until this exercise is over then a framework will be released for new SIM registration, he said.

The whole idea is we want to conclude this process and be able to achieve the desired objective, we do not think that is too much of a sacrifice. Some of these sacrifices are important because of how crucial the project is to our national interest.

It has a deadline, not something that will continue indefinitely. The sacrifices are necessary because of the overriding importance of this SIM registration project, he added.
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Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

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Gardai have been given the power to call to the homes of people to ensure they are quarantining after arriving from abroad.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly signed regulations that will introduce a system of mandatory quarantine for arrivals into the State.

Under these regulations, passengers who arrive from any destination must quarantine for 14 days at the address specified on their Passenger Locator Form, with penalties for non-compliance.

These penalties are a fine of up to 2,500 or 6 months in prison, or both.

Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, said: All travellers into the country must now adhere to staying at home and enforcement will be a matter for An Garda Siochana.

Further work on additional legislation to implement mandatory quarantine at a designated facility for those arriving from countries with variants of concern, such as Brazil and South Africa is being progressed and will be implemented as soon as possible.

The Minister for Health will now also have the power to designate countries from which travel represents a public health risk due to the presence of variants of concern.

These states are classified as "category 2" states and additional travel restrictions will apply on travellers arriving from them.

There are no exemptions for arrivals from category 2 states to break quarantine, except for emergency reasons - for example, a person who travels to the State for unavoidable, imperative and time-sensitive medical reasons.

Currently, only Brazil and South Africa are categorised as such.

Travellers from these areas must observe the full period of isolation.

Meanwhile, 75 further deaths from Covid-19 were confirmed this evening by the Department of Health.

1,318 new cases of the virus were also confirmed bringing the total number of cases her seen since the pandemic began to 200,744.
Apple Glasses could have new amazing features such as LiDAR, which is currently offered by the company's latest iPhone 12 flagships, as well as an 8K display and eye-tracking.

This new wearable tech could also be considered the tech giant manufacturer's first AR and VR headset, bringing the company's augmented reality ambitions into a reality.

Also Read: Blood Sugar Monitors on Smartwatches: Apple Watch Series 7, Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Leaks New Feature!

According to Toms Guide, a Chinese source leaked that the upcoming Apple wearable gadget could arrive in the first quarter of 2022. This means that the tech giant company could officially release it this coming March. But, since it is only a rumor, the possible date could be changed depending on the company's decisions.

Apple Glasses' specs and price

Computer World reported that some features of the upcoming Apple Glasses could attract a huge number of consumers. Why? Because it is expected to deliver an eye-tracking feature, UHD 8K displays, and more.

Rumors stated that the new device could have more than 12 cameras for tracking hand movement and for showing videos of the surroundings, making the user's experience even better. On the other hand, it is expected to costs around $3,000, which is quite reasonable since it has advanced specs that came from the latest Apple devices.

Meanwhile, there are some speculations that opposed the possible date. They claimed that it will not arrive this year of 2021 and will be released the next year of 2022 instead.

Six LiDAR sensors?

There are six LiDAR sensors that are expected to be integrated into the upcoming Apple wearable device. This will allow the new Apple Glasses to efficiently provide a full 360-degree view of the user's surroundings.

On the other hand, it may have a curved visor that uses some sort of mesh, as well as swappable headbands. These external features would make it easier for you to wear it in any environment and experience some kind of on-screen video feed. It is also expected to have the Digital Crown device, allowing you to focus it according to your vision's needs.

For more news updates about Apple Glasses and other upcoming wearable gadgets, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Xiaomi Smart Glasses Light Therapy: Brain Diseases and Eye Fatigue Would Soon Be Alleviated with New Patent!

This article is owned by TechTimes.

Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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Last March, days after returning home from a family trip to Spain, Paloma Munozs 4-year-old son started to cough.

He spiked a fever overnight and began feeling short of breath. Alarmed, Munoz found a hospital with drive-up COVID testing and took her son to get swabbed.

When the results came back negative, she was relieved. Then a bill for $270 arrived in the mail.

I was just speechless, she recalled.

Her husband had changed jobs a few months earlier, forcing her family to shop for new health insurance. Unable to afford a policy through their employers or elsewhere, Munoz found an advertisement online for a cheaper, non-traditional type of coverage. For $500 a month, she joined Alliance for Shared Health, a religious health care sharing ministry that pools its members premiums to pay out some of their medical bills.

Alliance for Shared Health members share a common set of deep-seated ethical and religious beliefs, the companys marketing materials say. Members place supreme importance on the pursuit of sharing in each others health care needs and the sharing of those expenses as it relates to those needs.

But Munoz said her sons coronavirus test was denied because it was considered an outpatient service - something her ministry doesnt cover. COVID tests are free to those who dont have health insurance and those that do. But Munoz was caught in an unusual situation: she gave the hospital her Alliance card, and the hospital billed the ministry for the test. When the ministry refused to cover it, Munoz was stuck with the bill.

She reluctantly paid.

We just feel helpless, she said. We feel like nobodys looking out for us. But what can we do? At this point, I signed that contract.

Alliance for Shared Health did not return a call seeking comment.

Munoz, who brought her concerns to a state legislator, is not the only person dissatisfied with a health care sharing ministry. Complaints against the companies were already on the rise in Connecticut, but they have accelerated since the pandemic hit. In a 10-month period from March to December 2020, the state Department of Insurance recorded 10 complaints of its own - nearly the same number it received over a two-year stretch before the pandemic.

Between January 2018 and February 2020, the insurance department fielded 11 grievances against ministries that market to Connecticut residents. That amount nearly doubled after COVID-19 spread through the state.

These [groups] have always been a concern, said Gerard OSullivan, director of consumer affairs for the insurance department. I work with my counterparts in other states and when we see these entities, we try our best to advise consumers that theyre not insurance. There is no protection under state law for people who sign up for these programs.

In recent years, more people have turned to health sharing ministries as the cost of medical care continues to increase. A representative for the ministries estimated that 1.5 million people nationwide have signed up for their coverage. Many of the plans market themselves as lower-priced alternatives to policies that must meet tougher mandates under the Affordable Care Act, such as coverage for pre-existing conditions.

The ministries offer cheaper rates because they are not considered to be insurance and are not required to pay claims. Members make monthly contributions, with the assumption that the money will be pooled and shared as medical bills are submitted.

Because they are unregulated, there is no way to tell how many people in Connecticut have joined the ministries. Last year, industry officials estimated that more than 5,000 state residents belonged to these organizations. But as the pandemic caused hundreds of thousands here to lose their jobs - and for many, their health insurance - that number could now be far higher.

In October, state Insurance Commissioner Andrew Mais put out an alert warning consumers of the risk of buying coverage through a health sharing ministry. His office had previously issued a cease and desist order against two of these groups - Aliera Healthcare and a company it marketed, Trinity HealthShare - saying they illegally advertised their plans as health insurance. Mais accused them of misleading consumers and trying to avoid insurance regulation.

In his October alert, he urged residents to do their research before signing up with a ministry.

These offerings are either not health insurance plans, or they are unauthorized insurance products, he said. The group may pay part of a health care bill by sharing funds from other members. However, they are not legally required to do so.

Ted Doolittle, Connecticuts health care advocate, said as the pandemic wears on, he worries more people are choosing this coverage believing it is insurance. In complaints to state agencies, some residents have reported being duped into buying the policies. Others said they were aware that it wasnt traditional insurance, but still expected that all of their medical bills would be paid - only to find out they were not.

We tell people: only get this if youre very healthy and have plenty of cash saved up to pay the out of pocket expenses, Doolittle said. Its hard because insurance is so expensive that maybe its better than nothing to have a health care sharing ministry. It probably is for some people. But at the same time, youre on your own.

Ministries that have been the target of criticism defended their practices. David White, a spokesman for Aliera Healthcare, one of the groups Connecticut residents have complained about, said the companies provide a vital alternative to more expensive, traditional health insurance plans.

As health insurance premiums continue to rise and make traditional insurance too expensive for millions of Americans, its deeply disappointing to see state regulators working to deny their residents access to more affordable alternatives offered by health care sharing ministries, White said in an emailed statement.

For Munoz, though, the coverage has been anything but affordable. Stung by the surprise bill, she has avoided getting herself tested for COVID, even though she works as a dental assistant and is regularly in close contact with patients. She worries about catching and spreading the virus, but said she cant afford all the out-of-pocket costs.

Unfortunately, I have to be a bad citizen, she said. Unless we have shortness of breath, Im not taking anybody to get tested. I cant be paying $300 weekly.

Complaints accelerate

Many of the complaints received by Connecticuts insurance department during the pandemic are for denial of coverage and unpaid medical bills.

In one case, a woman went to the emergency room at Bridgeport Hospital and needed to have her appendix removed. Her ministry, OneShare Health, deemed her appendectomy a pre-existing condition and would not pay the more than $24,000 she owed in medical bills, records show.

[I] have continued to request medical records to support this was not pre-existing, the woman wrote in a complaint obtained by The CT Mirror. [I] and the provider/hospital continue to send this information to their offices, but they dont acknowledge it as received.

No one has a real answer as to what is going on. It appears this is a scam.

Another complainant reported having more than $200,000 in medical bills from Yale New Haven Health and a $663 invoice for lab work at Middlesex Hospital that Aliera Healthcare wouldnt cover.

I cannot file for financial aid until these bills are processed through the insurance company, the person wrote. The insurance department later noted that the ministry paid $29,137 toward the bills.

In a November complaint, a man said his wife had wrist surgery a year earlier and that Trinity HealthShare still hadnt paid the $29,000 in medical expenses. Over time, the ministry gave different reasons for the delay, he said, including continuing to request hospital records that had already been provided, and saying the payment was held up by paperwork. At one point last spring, he said, the reason for not paying was that the company changed their name.

The man noted other unusual interactions.

I have gone for office visits and submitted my cards; later received bills from the [doctors] office with notes that the insurance company is saying this person was not insured with us at time of visit, he wrote. When I call, Im told there is certainly coverage and the [doctors] office has made a filing error.

When I get prescriptions, Im told that my card is not active. Have not missed a payment since enrolling in this program over two years ago. This has adversely affected our credit.

In a December complaint, a woman said she was left with a $3,438 medical bill after Aliera incorrectly classified her hospital visit as a wellness and preventative care service. She had gone to the emergency department at Saint Francis Hospital for a puncture wound in her right foot.

The infection was becoming systemic and life threatening, she wrote.

The insurance department redacted the names associated with the complaints.

Officials at OneShare could not be reached. A representative for Trinity referred calls to another phone number - the main line for Aliera.

White, the Aliera spokesman, did not comment directly on the complaints, but said the company, through its subsidiaries, has successfully processed more than 1.2 million share requests, totaling more than $250 million shared to help its clients members meet their health care needs.

Were proud of the work we do to help ministries provide a more flexible method for securing affordable high-quality health care, and we will continue to vigorously defend against the false claims about our company, just as we expect the health care sharing ministries we serve to defend their members right to exercise their religious convictions in making health care choices, he said.

Since the pandemic began, at least four complaints against Aliera have been filed with the state attorney generals office, and one has been filed with the health care advocates office against another ministry, Liberty HealthShare. Both offices have fielded grievances in recent years against the ministries.

Scrutiny over these groups intensified during the last year. Aliera and Trinity face lawsuits in four states, accused of making false or misleading claims about plans they offered consumers and of denying coverage when it should have been approved.

Insurance officials in Washington ordered Aliera to pay a $1 million fine for illegally selling health insurance in that state.

Multiple news outlets, including The Houston Chronicle, a Hearst publication, have reported that the FBI is investigating Aliera. One of the complainants in Connecticut reported turning records over to the FBI.

I became seriously ill and was hospitalized. Aliera Healthcare initially denied the claim, saying it was not life threatening, the person wrote to insurance officials here. I also filed a complaint with the Georgia state attorney general. Their representative  informed me Aliera companies are being investigated by the FBI, who will now handle my complaint. She encouraged me to file a complaint with CT as well.

Aliera is based in Georgia.

In November, officials in New York filed civil charges against Aliera and Trinity, alleging the companies deceived consumers while operating an illegal health insurance business, according to the states department of financial services.

Aliera and Trinity aggressively marketed these products  preying on uninsured New Yorkers, department leaders said in a statement. A substantial portion of customer premiums were diverted to so-called administrative costs, rather than retained for reimbursement of members medical claims. As a result, New York consumers were short-changed when requesting reimbursement for valid medical expenses.

Residents were left with substantial medical debt, they said, including a leukemia patient whose emergency hospital admission in 2019 was not covered by the ministries. In another case, a man was denied coverage for a surgery he needed to correct nerve damage in his hand.

Cease and desist orders have been issued against Aliera and Trinity in at least four states, including Connecticut. The companies contested the order here, though an administrative hearing on the appeal is on hold. Insurance officials say they have reached out to Aliera and Trinity about scheduling the hearing and have not received a response. White said the two sides are in the process of negotiating procedures for the hearing.

In the meantime, he said, Aliera and Trinity have abided by the terms of the cease and desist order.

Legislative action

Troubled by growing reports of problems with health care sharing ministries, Connecticut lawmakers are drafting a bill that would require groups selling plans here to comply with all provisions of the Affordable Care Act, meaning they would have to provide guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions.

A similar measure was raised last year and advanced out of the legislatures Insurance Committee. But the regular session was suspended amid the pandemic, and the bill never came to a vote in the House or Senate.

Sen. Matthew Lesser, a co-chair of the Insurance Committee, said he has plans to revive the legislation this year. He has heard from constituents who signed up for coverage through a ministry and were stuck with medical bills.

I get it, health insurance is way too expensive. And thats why consumers are searching around for affordable alternatives, said Lesser, a Democrat from Middletown. But this isnt an alternative. Its not something that provides what insurance is supposed to, which is give assurance that when you get sick, somebodys going to pick up the cost of your care.

Some of the ministries have hired lobbyists as the issue reaches legislatures in multiple states. Lawmakers in at least one other state - Texas - have introduced a bill to regulate these groups and require greater transparency of their membership and finances, The Houston Chronicle reported. Under that proposal, ministries would have to register annually with the state and could not market themselves as traditional insurance. Members would not lose eligibility if they develop a medical condition, the paper reported.

Katy Talento, executive director of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, a policy advocacy group, said her organization condemns fraudulent tactics used by some of the ministries to mislead consumers.

Legitimate health care sharing ministries are upfront with consumers and transparently describe how they differ from insurance, she said in an emailed statement to The Mirror. In recent years, for-profit companies entered the marketplace and have been using the good name of health care sharing ministries, which have been around for decades, to confuse consumers.

The Alliances website lists a series of standards for the health ministries that include making clear in marketing materials that the company is not insurance. Ministries should also establish regular payment amounts for their members, the group noted, and accept only individuals and families who share a common set of religious beliefs.

Health care sharing is not for everyone, but it should be a choice for the people of Connecticut as it is for people across the country; 1.5 million Americans choose [the ministries] as a values-based alternative to the health insurance model for their medical expense needs, sharing more than $1 billion in medical expenses every year, Talento said.

Still, Lesser said that in Connecticut, reform is needed.

These guys are preying on people who are desperate, he said. Scam artists shouldnt be operating in Connecticut. This is a major problem, and we need to solve it.
On August 20, 1940, Leon Trotsky was assassinated by Stalinist agent Ramon Mercader in the Mexico City suburb of Coyoacan. Mercaders access to the great revolutionary was made possible through his relationship with Sylvia Ageloff, a member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). In the aftermath of the assassination, Ageloff presented herself as an innocent victim of Mercaders duplicity, a claim that was never challenged by the SWP.

This series of articles constitutes the first systematic investigation by the Trotskyist movement of Ageloffs role and continues the work of the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals Security and the Fourth International investigation. It will be published in four parts, beginning February 6.
Jarchem has received certification to include RSPO-certified Mass Balance palm products in its supply chain to support the production of sustainable palm oil.

Related: Kao, Apical and Asian Agri Launch Palm Oil Program: SMILE

According to the company, palm oil is a versatile product that is used worldwide and across several different industries but only 19% of the worlds palm oil is certified by the RSPO. By using responsibly sourced palm oil, the company can positively impact the environment by protecting biodiverse regions. Supply chains names that could benefit from the RSPO MB products include alkyl polyglucoside, sarcosinate, glutamates, taurates, specialty alcohols, alkanes, specialty emollients and other oleochemicals.

Jarchem stated that even though not all of its products offer RSPO-certified palm oil, this provides a clearer path to change the companys product portfolio. The company hopes to expand the certification across several product lines in upcoming years.

Aside from the RSPO membership, Jarchem highlighted its nature-based alternatives to traditional ingredients, such as the companys Jarxotic brand natural clays. These clays are extracted from natural quarries and offer toxin-elimination benefits in product applications to improve the appearance of skin.

Additionally, the company notes it is a member of the Global Shea Alliance (GSA), which supports sustainable practices for supplying shea to the personal care industry. Finally, as of 2020, Jarchem has offered products that are CleanGredient-certified, i.e., approved by the U.S. EPAs Safer Choice Standard.

For more information, contact Jarchem Industries Inc.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 22:10:37|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extends his New Year's greetings to people of all ethnic groups across the country, on a public square of Huawu Village, Xinren Miao Township of Qianxi County, Bijie, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 3, 2021.(Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

-- Xi sends his Chinese New Year greetings in an inspection in SW China.

-- Xi says the country will secure the great victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects this year.

-- The Chinese leader highlights common prosperity as an important goal of socialist modernization.

-- Xi also underlines the special importance of Guizhou in the Long March in the Party's revolutionary history.

GUIYANG, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has sent New Year's greetings to Chinese people of all ethnic groups, wishing happiness and good fortune for the people and prosperity for the nation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extended the greetings during an inspection trip in southwest China's Guizhou Province prior to the Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb. 12 this year.

The trip took Xi to places including the city of Bijie and the provincial capital Guiyang. He visited a village, a residential community and a supermarket from Wednesday to Friday.

On Wednesday, Xi arrived in Bijie, once a typical poverty-stricken area. After over 30 years of effort, the city completed the poverty alleviation task in 2020.

Xi visited a section of the Wujiang River, one of the biggest tributaries of the upper Yangtze River. Checking the ecological environment and water quality of the river, he emphasized blazing a new path that prioritizes ecological conservation and green development.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspects the ecological environment of a major tributary of Wujiang River in Qianxi County, Bijie City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Xi later went to Huawu Village in Xinren Miao Township. The once extremely impoverished village has eliminated poverty through crop and animal husbandry as well as tourism. Xi visited the home of a villager and a Miao embroidery workshop, urging efforts to promote ethnic and traditional cultures.

"This year, we will secure the great victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, achieving the first centenary goal," Xi told villagers at a public square. "No ethnic group should be left behind."

On Thursday, Xi paid a visit to a supermarket in Guiyang, checking the supply of goods for the Spring Festival holiday and demanding strengthened COVID-19 response measures and food safety supervision.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, checks the supply of goods for the Spring Festival holiday and their prices at a supermarket in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

While visiting the Jinyuan community, Xi learned about issues including primary-level Party building and public service and required building communities into the safest havens for the residents.

Xi also warned that epidemic control remains a formidable task, urging local authorities to improve services for residents since people are encouraged to stay put for the holiday this year.

"The past year was an extraordinary one. Faced with a violent storm, we fought it with courage and triumphed. Each and everyone of us has experienced it together, and each and everyone of us is remarkable," Xi told local residents at the community's public square.

On Friday morning, Xi met with the project leaders and core scientists of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope.

Stressing the importance of science and technology in China's pursuit of building a modern socialist country, Xi called on scientists to scale the heights of global science, and make new and greater contributions to the construction of China's scientific and technological strength at a faster pace, and realizing the country's self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology.

Also on Friday morning, after hearing the provincial Party committee and the provincial government report their work, Xi stressed efforts to further integrate big data with the real economy, foster and strengthen strategic emerging industries, and accelerate the development of a system of modern industries.

More should be done to stimulate consumption demand and develop new consumption models, so as to unleash the consumption potential to the full, Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits local residents and learns about issues including primary-level Party building and public service at Jinyuan community in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

He also demanded an effective transition from consolidating poverty alleviation achievements to promoting rural vitalization.

An excellent ecological environment is Guizhou's biggest development strength and competitive edge, Xi said, emphasizing that priority should be given to ecological conservation and green development.

Highlighting common prosperity as an important goal of socialist modernization, Xi urged active efforts to resolve issues including the regional development gap, the urban-rural gap and the income gap to ensure tangible changes and benefits for the people.

Xi underlined the special importance of Guizhou in the Long March in the Party's revolutionary history.

Of all the places the Red Army reached, it spent the longest time and had the most extensive presence in Guizhou, leaving later generations an enduring spiritual legacy, Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to local residents at Jinyuan community in Guanshanhu District of Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

He also noted that while in Guizhou, the CPC convened the Zunyi Meeting, which established Comrade Mao Zedong as the leader of the CPC Central Committee and the Red Army.

"The Party, the Red Army and China's revolution were saved at the most perilous moment," Xi said, adding that the Zunyi Meeting's distinct features, including the establishment of the correct leadership of the CPC Central Committee as well as innovative formulation and implementation of strategies that suited the Chinese revolution's characteristics, still have significance today.

Xi called on Party members to develop a deeper understanding of the Party's original aspiration and founding mission from the spirit of the Long March and the spirit of the Zunyi Meeting, consider people's improved lives as their greatest accomplishment, and resolutely fight undesirable conduct and corruption to continuously purify the political ecosystem. 
The UK today rubber-stamped a deal for 50million doses of tweaked coronavirus vaccines, as it steps up efforts to fight off jab-resistant variants.

Newly-emerged strains have sparked concerns across the world, after tests revealed some may be able to dodge immunity triggered by the current crop of vaccines.

But the deal signed between No10 and German biotech firm CureVac today seeks to bolster the UK's arsenal against these emerging threats, and keep the nation one step ahead of the virus.

Officials are yet to confirm which strains they are targeting, but it is thought likely to include the South African variant which scientific tests show may make jabs slightly less effective.

The vaccines will be based on mRNA, the same technology used by Pfizer/BioNTech for their shots which were more than 90 per cent effective in trials.

Matt Hancock heralded the agreement as ensuring the UK can continue to 'provide everyone with a high level of protection against the virus and save lives'.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, said new jabs will be needed to 'offer the best protection possible' as the virus continues to mutate.

'Being able to create these new vaccines at speed will allow our scientists to keep ahead of the virus as they do every year with the influenza vaccine,' he said.

CureVac has been working on an mRNA vaccine - using a protein from the virus - which is currently in stage three trials.

The European Union signed a deal for up to 405million doses of their jab in November, following five months of talks. But the UK did not have any previous purchase commitments with the company.

It comes as research today found the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is just as effective at fighting the UK variant as it is the original virus.

Officials haven't said which variants they are targeting, but it is thought likely to include the South African variant which has sparked door-to-door testing in parts of the UK. Pictured, a policeman delivers a coronavirus testing kit in Maidstone, Kent

The three Covid variants causing international alarm emerged in Britain, South Africa and Brazil

GOVERNMENT SAYS IT WILL VACCINATE ALL OVER-50S BY MAY 6 The government today revealed it expects to have vaccinated all over-50s before May 6 as Boris Johnson plots a route to freedom. The Cabinet Office disclosed the schedule as it confirmed that elections in England will take place on that date - citing the fact that the top nine groups will have received jabs as a reason it can 'go ahead with these polls with confidence'. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi repeatedly refused to give a timetable for completing the first phase of the rollout - totalling 32million people - in interviews yesterday. But the government said today: 'The UK's vaccination programme is planned to have reached all nine priority cohorts by May, meaning that the Government can commit to go ahead with these polls with confidence - and maintain the choice for voters between voting in person or remotely.' However, the news is likely to fuel pressure from Tories to speed up easing of lockdown. The head of the 70-strong Covid Recovery Group has called for restrictions to be lifted altogether once all over-50s have been offered doses. As optimism rises about the vaccination programme, the PM is preparing to bring back outdoor mixing and sport once children are back in school from March 8, with hopes of a 'quick return to normal' in April and May. Advertisement

Officials at the Department of Business said an expert advisory group will be established to identify variants for CureVac to target.

They added that the agreement means any tweaked vaccines can quickly be manufactured at scale in the UK and rushed to vaccination centres.

The Health Secretary said: 'The vaccines we are deploying now are safe and effective, with the latest evidence suggesting they provide protection against new strains of Covid.

'But we must be prepared for all eventualities and bolster onshore UK manufacturing capacity to develop vaccines to combat new variants of the disease, taking advantage of our world-leading genomics expertise.

'This will help ensure we can continue to provide everyone with a high level of protection against the virus and save lives.'

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi praised the deal as 'exactly the kind of work that will stand us in good stead as we continue our monumental national effort to end this pandemic and return to normality'.

'Of course we urge people to continue to take up the chance to have a vaccine when they are invited to  all of which are safe and have been proven to be effective against the virus.'

The price tag of the new partnership has not been revealed.

There are three main variants of concern at present, with two - the Kent and South African variants - already identified in the UK.

The Kent strain, which is more infectious, has become the dominant one in the country, while 150 cases of the South African one have been identified.

Whole postcodes are currently locked down as officials conduct door-to-door swabbing in an effort to track down any cases of the South African variant to snuff it out before it triggers an outbreak.

Ministers say they believe the Kent variant is susceptible to the current vaccines, but they are concerned the South African one may be able to dodge it in some cases.

There is also a Brazilian variant, which has sparked further concern among ministers after a large outbreak in Manaus state, where it was thought levels of protection against the old strain were already high.

The partnership was signed with German biotech company CureVac. Above is a sign to a Covid-19 testing centre in Walsall, Staffordshire

It comes as research today found the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is just as effective at fighting the UK variant as it is the original virus.

Oxford University researchers who developed the vaccine say it has a similar efficacy against the variant, compared with the original strain of Covid-19 against which it was tested.

Experts had been concerned about whether or not the vaccines currently being administered throughout the UK would be effective against the strain that emerged after trials had been conducted.

The preprint also describes analysis which suggests vaccination with the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab results in a reduction in the duration of shedding and viral load, which may translate into a reduced transmission of the disease.

Professor Andrew Pollard, chief investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, said: 'Data from our trials of the ChAdOx1 vaccine in the United Kingdom indicate that the vaccine not only protects against the original pandemic virus, but also protects against the novel variant, B117, which caused the surge in disease from the end of 2020 across the UK.'

The pre-print from Oxford, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, found that vaccine efficacy against symptomatic positive infection was similar for the new UK variant and the previous strain, at 74.6 per cent and 84 per cent respectively.

Professor Pollard said it was not possible to say whether the efficacy levels were the same or different because of overlapping confidence intervals.

He added: 'The important issue is that it's in a very similar ballpark to the previously reported efficacy and they're very similar to each other.

'We can't actually say statistically whether those numbers are actually different. If they were, it's a relatively small percentage  it's still in the high 70s or 80s for both.'
People like Samantha have been working from their bedrooms and living rooms helping to plot millions of buildings on previously blank areas of Tanzania (William Boles/PA)

Volunteer mappers in the UK have described their incredible and rewarding experiences in lockdown helping to fight female genital mutilation (FGM) thousands of miles away in east Africa.

The Crowd2Map project has gained almost 3,000 new mappers since the beginning of March last year, bringing the total number to around 16,000 from across the globe.

Almost a third of the people working from their bedrooms and living rooms helping to plot millions of buildings on previously blank areas of Tanzania on OpenStreetMap are from the UK, said London-based project founder Janet Chapman.

Expand Close Krishna Pavan Challa is one of thousands of people who have been mapping from their homes during the pandemic (Krishna Pavan Challa/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Krishna Pavan Challa is one of thousands of people who have been mapping from their homes during the pandemic (Krishna Pavan Challa/PA)

Their work is used to help guide activists on the ground to girls at risk, and is thought to have helped save more than 3,000 girls there from FGM since Crowd2Map was set up in 2015.

FGM, the intentional altering or injuring of the female genitals for non-medical reasons, is against the law on under-18s in Tanzania but still happens in many villages.

Speaking ahead of this years International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM on Saturday, Ms Chapman said it was amazing to see an upsurge in volunteers during the first lockdown.

Ms Chapman, who is also chairwoman of the Tanzania Development Trust (TDT), said many told her they were glad to have something meaningful to do during the pandemic.

She told the PA news agency: Its been amazing to see so many new mappers during lockdown.

Many have told me that they are grateful for the opportunity to do something useful in these difficult times.

Others have said they relish the chance to learn a new skill, and some find mapping soothing, even meditative.

Expand Close Catherine OFarrell said the first volunteer mapping sessions truly are incredible (CatherineOFarrell/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Catherine OFarrell said the first volunteer mapping sessions truly are incredible (CatherineOFarrell/PA)

Catherine OFarrell, 26, said she needed more purpose in lockdown while she was shielding with epilepsy and severe asthma.

The psychology graduate from Flintshire in North Wales said her volunteer efforts made her realise a pandemic that shuts us away in our houses over here doesnt end FGM.

She said: The first mapping sessions you do truly are incredible  taking a section on the map, finding and mapping all of the roads and buildings in a part of the world thats so far away.

Then you start to think about the people living in the buildings you map, the girls you will be helping.

When youre mapping a building, to know that thats going to help someone...its just super rewarding. Samantha Connolly-Boles

Samantha Connolly-Boles got back into mapping early in the lockdown last year after having her first child.

The 34-year-old from Lanarkshire in Scotland, who previously worked in victim support for the British Transport Police, described it as an accessible and rewarding activity.

She said: I can dip in and out when I want to.

When youre mapping a building, to know that thats going to help someone find one of the girls that needs help, its just super rewarding.

The sociable side in speaking to fellow volunteers online is an added bonus, she said.

Im going onto the forums more and having a chat with the other volunteers more than I wouldve done before (lockdown) I think, she said.

With being in the house all the time you do crave that communication and that connection.

This Saturday marks International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM.



With @wearesfgh we are running a virtual mapathon on Saturday - you can register to take part here: https://t.co/uab35mLeyC pic.twitter.com/SYL5fSfIVP  Crowd2Map Tanzania (@Crowd2Map) February 2, 2021

IT consultant Krishna Pavan Challa said the aim of his volunteer work is to bring things to life on the maps on the computer.

The 39-year-old father-of-two, who lives in Dartford, Kent, said: We try to plot things on OpenStreetMap and bring them to life and then the real action, the tangible action happens with the field volunteers (in Tanzania).

He said his seven-year-old daughter, Anika, had even got involved after asking what he was doing and saying she wanted to help.

He added: I said its not a game, its something important that I am doing.

She quickly picked it up on her own.

She said she wanted to do it.

Crowd2Map is holding an online mapathon on Saturday suitable for beginners as well as more experienced volunteers.
Researchers at NUI Galway have identified genomic signatures in women developing the most common type of breast cancer that can be associated with long-term survival. The NUI Galway team analyzed the genomes of breast cancer patients to look for associations with survival rates using advanced statistical techniques.

Carried out by Lydia King during her studies in NUI Galway's MSc in Biomedical Genomics programme, the research has been published in the international journal PLOS ONE.

Early detection by national screening programmes and timely treatment for patients diagnosed with "luminal" types of breast cancer have resulted in excellent prognoses with survival rates of over 80% within five years of treatment. The challenge of long-term survival however is not as well understood and studies have shown that more than half of all recurrences for luminal breast cancers takes place after this time point. Identifying patients most likely to suffer relapses would therefore be invaluable to patient monitoring and choice of therapies.

Genomes are the collection of all DNA in the chromosomes of cells containing all of our inherited genetic information. Cancer is often described as a disease of the genome because it is a consequence of alterations in the instructions encoded within some of our cell's DNA that lead to them proliferating without restraint. These alterations are a hallmark of a tumor and can range from single base-pair errors in the DNA code to the duplication or deletion of entire chromosome arms. The level of alterations in the genome of a cancer cell is known as 'genome instability'.

The NUI Galway team focused on whether an overall measurement of genome instability in cancer cells from luminal breast cancer patients, observed at diagnosis and before treatment started, could provide additional information in predicting their long-term survival. To test this hypothesis, they analyzed data from the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC) led by Cambridge University.

METABRIC is one of the first multi-center studies aimed at uncovering links between the clinical and genomic properties of biopsies taken from over 2000 patients suffering from primary breast carcinoma enrolled between 1977 and 2005. The richness of having both high quality genomic data and the up-to-date clinical data makes the METABRIC database a very powerful resource for researching breast cancer.

Lydia and her colleagues calculated the level of genome instability across all 2,000 patient genomes, then used multivariable statistical modelling to identify distinct long term survival outcomes for luminal subtype breast cancer patients. This enabled them to confirm the significantly worse prognoses for luminal A patients suffering from the most extreme levels of genome instability in their tumour biopsies.

Importantly, the NUI Galway researchers were able to stratify the patients into groups and link the genome instability score with clinical classifications. This provided clear evidence that patients diagnosed with Luminal A breast cancer that had high levels of genome instability exhibited similar patterns of reduced survival commonly seen in patients suffering from the more aggressive Luminal B subtype.

Since patients identified as either Luminal A or B subtypes normally receive different treatments, the result suggests that incorporating genomic analysis into clinical care could improve diagnosis and allow oncologists to tailor treatments for individual patients. This approach of using genomic analysis is known as "precision (or genomic) medicine" and is helping to define a new standard of care in many areas of clinical practice.

This is an excellent example of how interdisciplinary research is supposed to work in the genomics data sciences. This started out as a speculative idea between myself, a physicist, and my colleague Dr Andrew Flaus, who is a biochemist from the School of Natural Sciences, and was taken by Lydia for her MSc dissertation project. We then received the invaluable assistance of our statistician colleague Dr Emma Holian and through Lydia's phenomenally hard work we could demonstrate the promise of precision genomics in cancer treatment." Dr Aaron Golden Senior Author, NUI Galway's School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics

Commenting on this result, Dr Pilib O Broin, Programme Director of NUI Galway's MSc in Biomedical Genomics, added: "This is a fantastic result for Lydia and her supervisors and highlights the enormous benefits of training interdisciplinary scientists like Lydia who possess both the statistical and computational skills as well as the domain knowledge necessary to generate new biological insights from genomics data with the potential to improve patient care."

Lydia has since graduated with her Masters and has taken up a place as a PhD student in the Science Foundation Ireland funded Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science led by NUI Galway where she is continuing her work on the analysis of cancer genomes.
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

Joe Biden on Thursday shared the outlines of US's foreign policy under his presidency. In his first diplomatic speech after becoming the 46th president of United States, Biden had a word of caution for Russia and China.

US president Joe Biden on Thursday laid the outlines of his governments foreign policy declaring, America Is Back. In what is touted as his first diplomatic speech after becoming the 46th president of United States, Biden said that American leadership must challenge advancing authoritarianism, including growing ambitions of China to rival US and Russias determination to damage and disrupt democracy. He expressed that America must meet the new moment and deal with the accelerating global challenges posed by the pandemic, climate change and nuclear proliferation.

Addressing China as its most serious competitor, Biden said that US would confront Chinas economic abuses, counter its aggressive and coercive action, and push back its attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance. But, US would also be ready to work with China when it is in Americas interest to do so.

He added that US will compete with China from a position of strength by building back better at home, working with allies, renewing their role in international institutions and reclaiming their credibility and moral authority, which had been lost.

Speaking about the bilateral relations between US and Russia, Biden said that he has made it very clear to Putin that he is very different from his predecessor (Trump) and the days of US rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive action, interference in elections, cyber attacks and poisoning its citizens are over.
Human rights groups have urged Angolan authorities to probe the weekend killing of separatists in the town of Cafunfo in Lunda Norte province, 750 kilometres east of the capital Luanda.

The sentiments were expressed by Amnesty International (AI) and OMUNGA, an Angolan non-governmental organisation on Tuesday.

On Saturday, a crackdown by Angolan security forces led to the killing of more than 10 protesters in the mining town of Cafunfo in Cuango municipality.

Protesters said it was a peaceful march to the government to engage in talks over the autonomy of their region, but police, in a statement, said they foiled an armed rebellion organised by 300 members of the Lunda Tchokwe Protectorate Movement (LTPM).

Meanwhile, LTPM head Mr Jose Mateus Zecamutchima has been indicted, the country's interior minister, Eugenio Laborinho, said Tuesday in Luanda.

"He will justify the reason [for] creating embarrassment in the east region namely in Lunda Norte province. What are the objectives? Who is behind it?"

On Monday Human Rights Watch (HRW) which also expressed concern over the killings put the death toll at 12 but sources on the ground believe it is likely to be much higher.

HRW was in the process of verifying a video circulating on social media filmed on January 30, 2021 morning that shows several bodies on the ground, as one police officer kicks and steps on the head of a wounded person.

"Angolan authorities must launch a prompt, thorough, independent, effective, and transparent investigation into the killings and bring suspected perpetrators to justice in fair trials that meet international standards," AI and OMUNGA said in a joint statement Tuesday.

"Victims and their families must be granted access to justice and effective remedies."

Maos Livre (Free Hands in Portuguese), another human rights group in Angola, questioned whether the police would hold an independent probe on the killings. This was after police general commander Paulo de Almeida on Sunday justified the killings, saying they happened following criminal acts and added that the security forces on the ground were targeted by an armed rebellion aiming to take over the police station.

"Whenever there is assassination by police officers the Commander defends his personnel," said Salvador Freire, Maos Livre's head.
A plan to force aged care providers to report a broader range of serious incidents of alleged abuse or neglect to the sectors watchdog has been criticised by Labor for excluding vulnerable Australians receiving home care services.

The government has proposed amendments to aged care legislation to introduce a serious incident response scheme that would require providers to report more incidents to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, including those committed by a resident with a cognitive or mental impairment.

Changes to the Aged Care Act will give the safety commission more teeth, but Labor says it leaves out many vulnerable older Australians. Credit:Virginia Star

The bill, currently before the Senate, would also give the commission more scope to ensure compliance. The scheme is expected to come into effect from April 1 provided the legislation passes through Parliament.

Currently, suspected assaults by a resident with a cognitive or mental impairment do not need to be reported.
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Are we still living in America? One wonders. But wed better recognize the source of the problem and confront it before they cancel John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart.

America was once a proud country, a gracious one, and an accomplished one. Thats no longer true, but there is one American institution that bears the responsibility for this fall and that can still be reformed.

Once there was a country that could magnanimously reconcile its most profound differences. The victorious general of a civil war returned to the losing general his sword. The policy in the aftermath of strife was Reconstruction not Retaliation. Hands were shaken, each side saluting its former enemies for their fortitude and valor.

Once there was a country where the legislative leaders of opposing factions, a southerner and a northerner, Senators Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas and Everett M. Dirksen of Illinois, could bicker and haggle by day and dine together and enjoy one anothers company by night.

Once there was a country that knew how to deal with violent offenders. A child was raped and murdered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on December 22, 1921, the perpetrator pretending to be Santa Claus. The police quickly identified a suspect with a prior arrest for child molestation and apprehended him on Christmas Eve in a shack in the woods 12 miles from the crime scene. Blood-stained garments were found. Eyewitnesses testified to having watched the suspect lure the child away.

The trial was held on January 3, 1922, and the defendant convicted of first-degree murder. The case was open and shut, the defense attorney saw no reason to file an appeal. The prisoner expired in the electric chair on February 7, 1922, 48 days after the murder.

It so happened that the reporter covering the story for the New York Times was Merian C. Cooper, the future creator of King Kong. Before working the metro beat for the Times, Cooper, a World War I aviator, had organized the Kosciuszko Squadron, a group of ten veteran American airmen who fought for Poland in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-20.

With Cooper and his squadron mates scattering the Bolshevik cavalry, the Poles turned back the Soviet infantry at the gates of Warsaw, preventing the Russian Revolution from being exported to Western Europe. Shot down, captured, nearly starved to death, Cooper escaped from a Soviet prison camp in Moscow and was awarded Polands highest military honor upon returning to Warsaw. His story was told here.

Countries with the strength to enforce their laws breed strong people. Once there was a country that believed so passionately in its traditions that, when its president, Woodrow Wilson, asked Congress for a declaration of war to bring the Government of the German Empire to terms, stating that the world must be made safe for democracy, practically the entire nation mobilized to assist in the enterprise. Bankers and financiers left Wall Street to help the American Red Cross increase its capacity to staff and equip field hospitals and an ambulance corps. Clubwomen learned to prepare surgical dressings for the Red Cross. The wives of Wilsons cabinet secretaries organized the women in their husbands departments to knit stockings and wool caps for American doughboys. Set designers from Hollywood and Broadway joined sculptors, painters, architects, and illustrators in the Camouflage Corps, a new unit of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Homemakers were enjoined to conserve food for the troops by observing Meatless Tuesdays, Wheatless Wednesdays, and other economic measures. The war was financed in part by promoting the sale of Liberty Bonds to average citizens.

When the need arose two decades later, American industrialists turned their factories to producing war materiel, becoming an arsenal of democracy, their countrys secret weapon.

Once there was a country whose men in uniform knew the whole nation had their back.

Once there was a country whose flag inspired pride, sacrifice, courage, and determination.

One hundred years ago, it was widely believed that a new continent would be found in the Arctic Ocean in the vicinity of the North Pole. Scientific treatises were written proving its existence. As aviation developed, the mythical land became endowed with strategic importance and commercial value.

A volunteer ground crew of 50 civilians sailed north with pioneer aviator Richard E. Byrd, Lieutenant Commander, USN, to help him locate that lost continent before the greatest polar explorer in the world, Roald Amundsen, could find and claim it for Norway. They were Wall Street executives and street toughs, Harvard men and garage attendants. When a Norwegian gunboat blocked the sole pier at Kings Bay, Spitsbergen, preventing Byrd from offloading his experimental aircraft, the civilian volunteers built a raft at sea, in a raging blizzard, to ferry the plane to shore.

The Norwegians radioed a warning. Its too risky, you cant possibly succeed, they insisted. Some three hundred yards of water swelled between Byrds freighter and the snowbound shore. The sea was thickly caked with drifting ice. If the winds rose, the ice floes would surge forward, sweep down on and destroy the makeshift raft.

Byrds men grabbed the oars, undeterred. They were fighting mad by this time, Byrd said, ready to carry the plane ashore on their backs. This had become more than an expedition. It was a patriotic American undertaking.

Once there was a country that, when challenged to do the impossible, did the impossible. Once there was a country one of whose leading liberal journalists one hundred years ago, Ray Stannard Baker, said, that If a city produces good and noble and beautiful human beings, then it is a good city. Good and noble and beautiful, not whiners, decadents, and nihilists.

If we want that kind of country and those kinds of cities back again, we have to understand where and how we lost them. We lost our country in the universities, as an entire generation was taught grievances, obsessions, and panaceas. They became ideologues. They became commentators. They became elected officials and corporate managers. They howl in the streets, topple statues, elevate criminals to the status of victims, and refuse to prosecute them. They posit a social good, such as justice, and demand it, and have the arrogance to imagine they also possess the wisdom and capacity to bring it aboutinstantly.

They seek to silence anyone deviating from the party line.

If we want back the country we once had, the country that united its factions, enforced its laws. preserved its principles and traditions, and accomplished great undertakings, we will have to confront the universities before new generations can be so corrupted.

We will need in leadership roles men and women of character and integrity. We will need national leaders who understand that a university is a failure if it does not emphasize history and classical literature, humility in studies, and flexible thinking, and cannot get a passing grade from organizations that monitor life on campus, such as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). In that case,

Its faculty should not receive a dime of federal research funding;

Its students should not be eligible for federal loans;

And its current graduates should not be hired by any agency of the federal government.

Do not expect such heroism and resolve from the Great Mediocrity, Joe Biden, and his administration. But a new president will be elected in a free and hopefully fair election within four years.

Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Nikki Haley, Tom Cotton, Ben Sasse, Mike Pompeo, Dan Crenshaw, Josh Hawley -- do you have it in you to wage this battle? And win?

Sheldon Bart, Acting Vice President of the American Polar Society and author of Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole (Regnery History), is also a trustee of the Foundation to Illuminate Americas Heroes (www.illuminateamericasheroes.com). He is currently writing a book about American intelligence in Bolshevik Russia.

IMAGE: Richard E. Byrds expedition in the German Federal Archives. CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Belfast City Airport chief executive Brian Ambrose is retiring from the post after 16 years.

The process of finding a successor to Mr Ambrose, who will leave over the summer, has already begun.

The airport said that under his leadership, the airport had drawn new airlines and routes, and had also invested in improving facilities.

Mr Ambrose was also praised for helping oversee the replacement of routes which had been operated by Flybe before its collapse in March last year.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a crippling effect on air travel, with all airports experiencing a dramatic slump in passenger numbers and a drastic reduction in flights..

Mr Ambrose said: "Serving Belfast City Airport as chief executive has been a genuine privilege.

"I have seen huge changes within the industry over the last 40 years but never more so than within the last year as we navigated the collapse of Flybe and a global pandemic.

"The achievements of these last few months are certainly some of the proudest of my career and Belfast City Airport is now on stable ground with a core network of 17 routes to UK and European destinations served by five partner airlines."

Belfast City Airport chairman Declan Collier said: "Under Brian's leadership, Belfast City Airport has developed into Northern Ireland's airport of choice.

"His strategic guidance over all these years has been exceptional, and he will leave having ensured the airport is well-placed and ready to meet an increasing demand for travel later this year and into the future."
Here's what to know about your risk of getting or transmitting COVID-19 after you've been vaccinated (and the reasoning behind the CDC's new guidelines).

1. Once you are vaccinated, you have virtually no risk of getting a serious case of COVID-19.

The three vaccines currently in use in the U.S. are 100 percent effective in preventing hospitalization and death due to COVID-19. Not even one person who got the vaccine [during trials] snuck through and got very sick, says Monica Gandhi, M.D., a professor and infectious disease expert at University of California, San Francisco. Not even one."

That means if you've gone through your full vaccine schedule  waiting two weeks after your second dose to allow your body time to build protection  you are more likely to get seriously ill from the regular flu than from COVID-19. These vaccines are amazing, Gandhi says. If you do get the virus, she adds, it'll be a mild cold."

Some people are concerned that the vaccine won't protect them against new and more transmissible variants of the coronavirus, first identified in the U.K., Brazil and South Africa. While public health officials are concerned and are studying these strains closely, the vaccines being given in the U.S. appear to be remarkably effective against all variants, Gandhi says. The confusion about the issue may stem from the news that the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine was less effective at preventing more moderate COVID-19 infection in South Africa; even so, it was still able to prevent 100 percent of hospitalizations.

2. Even if you're vaccinated, you may infect someone who is unvaccinated.

This is where the waters get muddy. There is a chance that even if you have been vaccinated, you could be an asymptomatic carrier of the coronavirus and infect someone who is unvaccinated.

But the CDC now says a growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection and potentially less likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others. A recent preliminary study from Oxford University, codeveloper of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine (authorized for emergency use in the U.K.), found that it cut the risk of transmission by about two-thirds. We don't know exactly how much the reduction in transmission will be [if a fully vaccinated person is infected with COVID-19], says Aaron Richterman, M.D., a fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, but it is likely to be large, based on the available data.

The uncertainty is why the CDC suggests that vaccinated people avoid visiting an unvaccinated person who's at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease.

3. If both you and your loved one are vaccinated, your risk of infecting each other is near zero.

According to the CDC's new guidance, fully vaccinated people can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or maintaining a physical distance.

In general, says Richterman, two vaccinated people together is going to be about as safe as you can get.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect new guidelines from the CDC.

Christina Ianzito is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who joined AARP in 2010. She's the travel and books editor for aarp.org and AARP The Magazine, and also edits and writes health, entertainment and other stories for aarp.org. She received a 2020 Lowell Thomas Award for travel writing.

Skyworks Aeronautics Also Strengthens Executive Team with Recent New Hires and Adds to Electric Aircraft Partnership

The Company envisages going public via SPAC merger or traditional IPO

Skyworks Aeronautics Corp. today announced a $100 million investment commitment from GEM Global Yield LLC SCS ("GEM"), the Luxembourg based private alternative investment group. Under the agreement, GEM will provide Skyworks Aeronautics with a Share Subscription Facility of up to $100 million for a 36-month term following a public listing of the Skyworks Aeronautics common stock. Skyworks Aeronautics will control the timing and maximum amount of drawdowns under this facility and has no minimum drawdown obligation. Concurrent with a public listing of Skyworks Aeronautics shares, Skyworks Aeronautics will issue warrants to GEM to purchase up to 3% of the common stock of the company.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005052/en/

Skyworks Aeronautics VertiJet (Photo: Business Wire)

"Skyworks Aeronautics looks forward to working with GEM as we continue to work to bring our cutting-edge aircraft to market," stated Mr. Steve Stevanovich, Skyworks Aeronautics Co-Executive Director. "We think that GEM is an excellent partner that believes in our vision and understands the promise and potential of our technology."

Skyworks Aeronautics will use the funds to move forward with the commercialization of its cutting-edge gyroplane aircraft, including the eGyro electric air taxi geared towards urban air mobility and the 400 mph VertiJet VTOL aircraft that competes directly with helicopters, but at a much higher speed, longer range and lower operating cost.

Brig. General (Ret.) John Michel, Skyworks Aeronautics Co-Executive Director added, "With our highly experienced leadership and technical team and strong intellectual property portfolio, this commitment by GEM positions Skyworks Aeronautics to become the first company in the world to commercialize gyrocraft at scale. Be it providing affordable vertical lift alternatives to developing nations, progressive electric aircraft capabilities for air carriers, or game-changing vertical takeoff and landing platforms, Skyworks Aeronautics is now poised to be a transformative force in the rapidly evolving air mobility industry."

This agreement comes on the heels of Skyworks Aeronautics recent announcement of its electric aircraft collaboration with Mobius.energy to produce the state-of-the-art electric gyroplane, the eGyro. The Skyworks Aeronautics eGyro has been designed to leverage the fundamental safety and exceptional performance advantages of a gyroplane to create an eVTOL system that provides an unparalleled practical, affordable, and scalable approach to intra and inter-city passenger and air cargo transport. With a proprietary autorotating main rotor design delivering exceptional performance and unprecedented safety, the eGyro overcomes a key limitation of many of today's existing eVTOL system concepts. Mobius.energy developed an advanced battery module architecture optimized for electric aircraft.

Amongst other senior and technical staff, Skyworks Aeronautics has also recently added Mr. Barry Jones as its Director of Aviation Operations and Chief Pilot. Mr. Jones, a retired British Army Air Corps Captain, is a highly decorated aviator and instructor in numerous aircraft. He has also served as the Chairman of the British Rotorcraft Association (the organization that governs Gyro flying in the UK), has successfully worked with aviation regulators across Europe on certification matters, and has spent the last decade working in the field of Gyro Research Development, successfully developing and launching several significant gyroplane enhancing concepts. He is leading Skyworks Aeronautics certification efforts. The full senior leadership team can be viewed on the following link: https://www.skyworks-aero.com/section-teamone

About Skyworks Aeronautics

Skyworks Aeronautics is the world leader in gyronautics, the study and design of sustained autorotative flight represented by the company's gyroplane technology. Skyworks Aeronautics has more than 40 patents with several more underway, all obtained in an effort to radically change not only the way gyroplanes are perceived, but also the way they are utilized. From mass personnel transportation, agriculture, defense, and border protection to literally changing the economies of developing nations, Skyworks Aeronautics' goal is to change the nature of vertical flight. For more information about the company, its products, and individual members of the Skyworks Aeronautics team, visit www.Skyworks-Aero.com

About GEM

Global Emerging Markets ("GEM") is a $3.4 billion, alternative investment group with offices in Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. GEM manages a diverse set of investment vehicles focused on emerging markets and has completed over 400 transactions in 70 countries. Each investment vehicle has a different degree of operational control, risk-adjusted return, and liquidity profile. The family of funds and investment vehicles provide GEM and its partners with exposure to: Small-Mid Cap Management Buyouts, Private Investments in Public Equities and select venture investments. For more information: http://www.gemny.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005052/en/

Contacts:

Steve G. Stevanovich

steve@skyworks-aero.com

+1 312 809 1076
sa.global, the winner of the 2017 Microsoft Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Worldwide Partner of the Year Award, was one of the main sponsors of the Microsoft Digital Intelligence Conference, held on December 13, 2017 in Morocco. Mourad Jbiha, General Manager sa.global MEA presented how IoT (Internet of Things) devices and Artificial Intelligence can be brought together in Microsoft Dynamics Business Intelligence to drive decisions that enable companies to digitally transform their business.

The Digital Intelligence Conference was organized by Microsoft for its customers to illustrate and inform them on the latest trends, tools and products based on Microsofts cloud platform that help drive Digital Transformation in leading organizations across the world. Mourad Jbiha and Hicham Hizebry, Director and Head of Digital Transformation at sa.global Morocco held sessions on Business Intelligence & Analysis in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Mourad also presented a live demonstration on how Internet of Things (IoT) devices work together with Microsoft technology and solutions such as Dynamics CRM Field Services.



Mourad Jbiha, General Manager

SAGlobal Morocco

Hicham Hizebry, Director and Head of Digital Transformation

sa.global Morocco

The Digital Intelligence Conference was organized by Microsoft to help customers explore new opportunities to make their business more productive using Microsoft Cloud and Business Intelligence solutions and to help customers:

Learn how to make DevOps easy, fast and cost-effective with Open Source resources and tools on Azure

Equip their organizations for the future of analytics by exploring advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a new class of Business Intelligence (BI)

Understand how to get support for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) on Linux and Java, the PHP Web Application Platforms with OSS on Azure

The conference was a big success in providing a platform for customers to enhance their knowledge on the latest technology solutions, network and meet with domain experts such as sa.global.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-06 02:37:51|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for efforts toward the elimination of female genital mutilation (FGM) by 2030.

Female genital mutilation is a terrible human rights violation that affects the health and well-being of millions of women and girls around the world, he said in a message for the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, which falls on Feb. 6.

Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the numbers of girls at risk of this horrific practice. Lockdowns and school closures have left girls highly vulnerable to harm of all kinds, and have hindered efforts to end harmful practices, including FGM. Without urgent action, 2 million more girls could be at risk of FGM between now and 2030 -- in addition to the 4 million girls already at risk each year, he said.

"I urge all governments, policy-makers, civil society organizations and others to prioritize addressing female genital mutilation in their national COVID-19 responses. FGM is both a form of gender-based violence and a child protection issue," he said. "If we are to meet our global target of eliminating FGM by 2030, we need to increase the rate of progress ten-fold. This will require some 2.4 billion U.S. dollars over the next decade."

The cost of inaction is far higher. Ending FGM is essential to ending violence of all kinds against women and girls and achieving gender equality, he said.

"On the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, we raise our voices to say, 'Enough!' We have no time to waste. Let's UNITE, FUND and ACT to end female genital mutilation by 2030." Enditem
Press Release

February 5, 2021 De Lima expresses gratitude to US Sen. Durbin for steadfast support for her Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has thanked US Sen. Richard Durbin for his steadfast support for her as she nears her fourth year in unjust detention under the vindictive Duterte regime. In her letter to Durbin dated Feb. 1, De Lima also thanked the US Senator for his unwavering effort to condemn and speak out against the worsening human rights abuses in the country. "As I approach my fourth year in unjust detention, I would like to express my profound gratitude for your steadfast support and demand for accountability in the Philippines," she wrote. "May you and your family always be in good health and high spirits as you prevail in all your pursuits," she added. As early as 2019, Durbin already expressed concern about De Lima's situation through a letter personally sent to her office, saying, "I am troubled that you remain unjustly jailed and admire your steadfast courage and adherence to your [principles]. Durbin further stressed that "it is more important than ever that we stand by our human rights and democratic values amid times of political turbulence or upheaval." Meanwhile, aside from thanking Durbin, De Lima wrote the letter to personally congratulate the former for being designated Senate Majority Whip, the third-highest ranking member of the majority party in the US Senate, as well as head of the Senate Judiciary committee. "Befitting your honor and character is the serious responsibility of your position during this pivotal period in the United States government," she said. "Your democratic leadership, alongside Senator Patrick Leahy as Senate President Pro Tempore, gives tremendous upswing of optimism in our unwavering commitment to justice and human rights," she added. Prior to sending the letter, De Lima also congratulated Durbin through a Twitter post last Jan. 26 where she also wrote, "may you continue to champion human rights as you embark in the next chapter of your country's journey." In retort, Durbin vowed continued support for De Lima via a Twitter post last Jan. 30, saying, "I want to assure you that I will never stop supporting your fight for human rights in the Philippines." It may be recalled that Durbin is among the five US Senators who wrote to then US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo last July 2020 informing the latter about the ongoing human rights abuses in the Philippines. The concerns they raised include De Lima's situation, particularly her unjust detention. Durbin is also among those who supported the bipartisan resolution, logged as Senate Resolution (SR) 142, calling for her immediate release from wrongful imprisonment and invoking Global Magnitsky sanctions against her persecutors. It was unanimously approved at the US Senate last year. De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime who remains detained over trumped-up drug charges fabricated by the government, will mark her 4th year in unjust detention on Feb. 24.
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Mr. Simeon Freeman, Political Leader, Movement for Progressive Change (MPC)

The political leader of the opposition Movement for Progressive Change (MPC), Simeon Freeman has called on President George M. Weah led-government to privatize the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) and Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) in order to achieve the anticipated outcome.

Mr. Freeman made the assertion on Friday, January 29, 2021 in response to President George M. Weah's 3rd State of the National Address where he (Weah) indicated that these institutions continue to receive huge funds but with low results or no anticipated outcome for the Liberian people.

The two public corporations are essential in the provision of basic utilities, but their activities over the years have met public disappointment. LEC's power has not reached many in Monrovia and, where it is accessible, power theft is rampant. Furthermore, people who want to access power legitimately can hardly have as receiving meters, wires and poles from LEC is a difficult task. In fact, many have complained over the years that registering with the LEC brings no light to them except the field workers who charge and receive money separately for all the materials and equipment.

LWSC's water line is a challenge as most of the transmission pipes are old and ruptured. Often times the pipes burst and leak water out, and since the country returned to normalcy this public entity has not been able to supply water to all parts of Monrovia.

"Last year, the President's Executive Order on the Liberia Electricity Corporation granted exclusion for GST on generation, transmission, distribution, materials, equipment and fuel. This did not translate to availability of electricity, neither did it translate to drop in the price. Ultimately, as of the last administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, up to US$120 million dollars has been spent from direct tax revenue," Mr. Freeman said.

Freeman said the return on investment is arguable and therefore he wants to advise strongly that the LEC, LWSC and Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) be privatized.

The privatization, Mr. Freeman said, should not be turned over wholly to foreigners, but the government should set a framework for a successful public-private partnership in which it is only an equitable holder but with no say in the day-to-day running of the organization, or a 100 percent private-partnership in which Liberian businesses have competing equity and GOL will receive taxation and asset liquidation repayment over a period.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Privatization By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"To achieve this in the interest of the Liberian people, the MPC avails itself and its services free or charge to enable the anticipated outcome of these institutions," Mr. Freeman said.

Commenting on the President's request to the National Legislature for an Act to create Liberia Standard Authority, Mr. Freeman said the MPC does not see the need for the creation of such an entity now.

"There are about 100 public institutions in Liberia, and revenue is already limited. We don't see the need for the creation of another public institution which will significantly impact revenue sources," Mr. Freeman said.

Mr. Freeman urged the Legislature not to adhere to call made by President Weah in the creation of additional public institution, which he believes will burden the already limited resources.

Instead, he called on the Legislature to strengthen existing institutions including the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to enable the outcome anticipated by the establishment of the standard authority.

On the whistleblower Act, Mr. Freeman said those who in good faith had availed themselves to expose corrupt practices had died mysteriously and investigation about circumstances leading to their deaths had not fully taken place.

"We urge the Legislature to encourage the justice system to reexamine the available pieces of evidence to identify the true culprits in several mysterious deaths that had taken place here. Ultimately, we would have strengthened confidence in our commitment to fight inappropriateness in Liberia if our justice system were fair and up to the task," Mr. Freeman said.
What the F is up with that Bradley Cooper pic??? He looks like a frozen potato thumb.

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His picture reminds me of the Madame Tussaud figures that were obviously made with less care than others and just end up looking goofy.

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So I would say the odds are low, lol. And actually winning would be pretty close to impossible.

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so thank tom hardy's terrible existence for that hardy's is the one i'll remember (and bradley cooper's legit last-second random nom) because his piggyback nomination not only stole idris elba of his for 'beasts of no nation' (i mean he won a fucking SAG for it wtf), but because idris didn't get the nod he was 100% expected to get, we had 20 all white acting nominees that year, and that was what kicked off #oscarssowhite so thank tom hardy's terrible existence for that

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google, how does one adblock a human from existence

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It's the lips, the lipzsz, the lipsssszzzz!!

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Lesley Manville as Cyril always makes me 

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Yeah sometimes you get a surprise nom in there.

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House of Sand Fog was so upsetting and disturbing, it's one of those movies I could only watch once. Same with Amore, actually.

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Same. Id tear up every time I thought about it for days after I watched it.

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I cant watch anything with Alzheimers or dementia..I lived through it my gran.

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Phantom Thread was a movie I thought was infuriating while watching and kind of hated it, but have since completely changed my mind and think its actually fucking hilarious and incredible. I cannot explain why or how I saw the light. All hail Lesley Manville (I highly recommend Mum if you havent seen)

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i could only sit through it because vicky krieps ate up and destroyed the great daniel day lewis on screen and it was an unexpected joy to see

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Still pressed she wasnt nominated

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I feel the same lol. Like I sort of hated it in the moment but then I started making memes out of it like a week later.

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This better apply to Delroy Lindo so help me. FUCK Gary Oldman!



Zendaya's performance is better than anyone else who would be taking that 5th spot in place of her but I don't see it happening for her.

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Zendaya has lots of time to get nominated, so her stans shouldn't be worried.

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I just caught up with Kim's Convenience. Took me a week and a half. When will it get the Schitt's Creek treatment??? It deserves all the nominations.

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Does it air anywhere in the States? (Im Canadian so have no clue what its international reach is)

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netflix

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I watched it all on Netflix

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I hope more interest spikes whenever Marvel starts promoting Shang Chi and more people look up Simu Liu.

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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

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Don't forget Marina de Tavira! Didn't get a Golden Globe nod nor a SAG nod and yet, ended up getting nominated for Best Supprting Actress at the Oscars. Well deserved, but damn, did it shock me, lol.

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I was so happy. She made the film for me, that parking!

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Same!! Her and Yalitza, tbh. The film works as well as it does because of them, imo.

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*supporting shdjfhjk

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ugh The House of Sand and Fog was absolutely devastating. It was so good but I'll never watch it again

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Jonah freaking Hill for Wolf of Wall Street LMAO. I only remember because that year I was really hoping Daniel Bruhl would be nominated for Rush, and he got nominated in all the pre-cursors, but then snubbed at the Oscars while the opposite happened with Hill, lol.

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I feel like Im the only one that didnt enjoy Zendayas performance and I hated the film. I actually wanted to stop it but reluctantly carried on.

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Its sooo bad

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on February 5 that retail investors can directly participate in government securities.

Called, the RBI Direct, the scheme will let the retail investors have direct access to G-Sec market both in primary and secondary markets, governor Shaktikanta Das said, announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy.

This will broaden the investor base and provide retail investors with enhanced access to participate in the government securities market. This is a major structural reform placing india among select few countries which have similar facilities, the governor said, adding details will be announced later.

The Centre and the Reserve Bank have taken several measures to encourage retail investment in government securities. These include the introduction of non-competitive bidding in primary auctions, permitting stock exchanges to route primary purchases and allowing a specific retail segment in the secondary market, Das said.

Also read: Growth coming back, says RBI governor: Key highlights from RBI MPC

The central bank proposed to provide retail investors with online access to the government securities marketboth primary and secondarydirectly through the Reserve Bank, Das said.

The decision along with with HTM relaxation will facilitate smooth completion of the government borrowing programme in 2021- 22, Das added.

The RBI retained the key rates and said the stance with respect to monetary policy and liqudiity management would continue to be accommodative to support growth.

A damning timeline of the EU's vaccine shambles has revealed how smug satisfaction in Brussels turned to panic, a witch-hunt and ultimately two humiliating climbdowns within only a matter of days.

Diplomatic notes and briefings by those in the room as the bloc's vaccine roll-out fell apart show how officials were warned as far back as December that initial vaccine shipments would be smaller than expected - but pushed ahead and announced targets that many thought were over-ambitious.

Then, when further cuts made it plain that those targets could not be hit, Commission officials went in search of a scape-goat - first drug-maker AstraZeneca and then, when that didn't work, Brexit Britain which had managed to secure its own vaccine supplies months earlier.

But after a week of very public fighting that enraged members of the 27-nation alliance, ministers were forced to back off threats to block vaccine shipments to the UK after almost causing chaos in Ireland and drop their legal dispute with AstraZeneca after a contract which they published failed to back their claims.

The only tangible gain after a week of pain was a modest promise from AstraZeneca that it would deliver nine million vaccine doses a week earlier than originally planned - while not increasing the overall number of doses.

Still, Ursula von der Leyen attempted to claim victory in a tweet that said the bloc had achieved a 'step forward on vaccines.'

Here is how Brussels' week from hell unfolded...

Ursula von der Leyen was forced into two humiliating climbdowns last week after it emerged the EU's already-slow vaccines roll-out was going to be hit by further delays

In a meeting last week in the Europa building in Brussels, home of the European Union's political leadership, diplomats for the 27 member states were desperate.

The EU had paid billions of euros toward shots to curb a pandemic that was killing thousands of Europeans every day. Now vaccine-makers had cut back deliveries, and the EU was trapped in a public fight.

'This is a catastrophe,' French ambassador Philippe Leglise-Costa told the Jan. 27 meeting, according to a diplomatic note seen by Reuters.

It was a crucial moment in nearly two weeks of confusion and anger over the EU's vaccine supply, which were to plunge the bloc into its deepest crisis since Ursula von der Leyen took over the executive European Commission just over a year ago.

A week earlier, the EU had set a target to vaccinate 70% of adults against COVID-19 by the end of summer, a potential ticket out of lockdowns that have cost countries billions. As the impact of the vaccine shortfall became clear, the bloc embarked on a campaign to shame drugmakers hit by production delays into releasing more supply.

But the tactic wasn't working and details of confidential deals were leaking out, casting doubt on the EU's ability to enforce contracts it had agreed on behalf of its members.

Reuters has obtained exclusive details of internal EU talks over the past month in diplomatic notes, and interviewed four people present at key meetings to verify them. The notes reveal how the EU's top executives lurched from satisfaction about the vaccination programme to panic.

Some EU officials were already aware in December of delays in vaccine production, the notes show, but the Commission announced ambitious targets nonetheless. The EU initially kept no track of companies' vaccine doses leaving the bloc, only realising after its own supplies were delayed it could not trace the millions of doses that had already been exported. And as its attempts to win ground by legal means failed, the Commission faced sharp attacks from EU governments on its public communication strategy.

In a pandemic that has killed over 700,000 people in Europe alone, the delays announced by the companies producing coronavirus vaccines - AstraZeneca PLC and Pfizer Inc. - risked leaving millions in Europe unprotected deep in the winter, just as new, more transmissible, variants were circulating and hospitals were being overwhelmed. Vaccination centres from Madrid to Paris had closed for lack of supply.

The UK has stormed ahead in the race to vaccinate its population, having jabbed more than 14 per cent of people compared to the EU average of just 2.3 per cent

The EU Commission declined comment for this story. So did AstraZeneca, which has said it is focused on boosting supplies to the bloc after the manufacturing glitches.

The Commission has often said it expects an exponential increase in the availability of vaccines from April. Pfizer's Chief Executive Albert Bourla told Reuters production is back on track in Europe after the company made changes at its Belgian manufacturing site to increase supply.

The vaccine squeeze was not just a public health nightmare. It was also a political crisis.

Britain, freshly divorced from the EU's single market after five years of bitter negotiations, was inoculating people at a much faster pace than any EU country, public data shows.

Diplomats feared the Commission was losing the battle against a 'narrative of ... big failure,' a senior EU diplomat who was present at the Jan. 27 meeting told Reuters. They urged the Commission to cool a row with British company AstraZeneca for the sake of getting drugs as soon as possible, the notes show and people present said.

The Commission's dilemma underscores the power of big drugmakers as governments scramble to vaccinate their citizens, and the geopolitical tensions that can result.

Eventually, the notes show EU diplomats recognised the bloc may not benefit from arguing about contracts with AstraZeneca.

Instead, the Commission turned up the heat on the United Kingdom - which AstraZeneca said was preventing British-made vaccines from reaching Europe - only to swiftly step back after realising it risked disrupting a border agreement in the Brexit accord which London and Dublin said could have serious consequences for security in Northern Ireland.

AstraZeneca has acknowledged that Britain has priority on supplies because it signed a contract three weeks earlier than the EU, while both the EU and UK have denied 'blocking' supplies.

A spokesman for the French ambassador said he had urged the EU 'to communicate in an orderly and strategic manner.'

A British government spokesperson said: 'We are in constant contact with the vaccine manufacturers and remain confident that the supply of vaccine to the UK will not be disrupted.'

The UK government declined to comment on AstraZeneca's claim it was preventing vaccines from reaching Europe, but said it does not prohibit any export of COVID-19 vaccines.

'GLITCH-FREE'

The month started calmly for member states, who had agreed at the start of the pandemic to form a steering group with the EU executive to negotiate with drugmakers, to support smaller states and prevent internal squabbling.

Sandra Gallina (left), was assuring European diplomats on January 8 that vaccine deliveries were being made 'glitch free', before health minister Stella Kyriakides (right) led attacks against AstraZeneca when it emerged supplies would fall short

EU Commission officials and diplomats involved met in the Europa Building's S7 Room, a windowless chamber where delegates assembled at a round table beneath a ceiling decorated with dozens of squares in pastel colours. The Commission was represented by the EU's top vaccine negotiator, Sandra Gallina, an Italian national who started working for the EU Commission more than three decades ago as an interpreter. She declined to comment for this story.

The EU was about three weeks behind Britain in launching a vaccine - largely because it opted against issuing emergency regulatory approval as Britain had done. But the EU had announced deals with six vaccine-makers to secure nearly 2.3 billion doses for its population of 450 million.

Pfizer, working with German partner BioNTech, was one of only two firms whose shots had approval. It was the only one supplying the EU, which had announced deals for up to 600 million Pfizer doses. The roll-out began immediately after Christmas.

'Deliveries are so far mostly glitch-free,' Gallina told diplomats in a Jan. 8 briefing, according to a note from the meeting.

Gallina told the briefing the EU was receiving 3.5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine a week. She underscored that the UK, by contrast, had reserved only 4 million doses of the Pfizer shot until February. Pfizer declined to comment, saying delivery schedules are confidential.

Von Der Leyen then became embroiled in public spats with both AstraZeneca and the UK, only to be forced into retreat

Gallina told diplomats some countries were passing on their share of Pfizer doses in anticipation of securing drugs from AstraZeneca, which was due to launch deliveries to the EU once its vaccine won regulatory approval there in late January. Both companies' vaccines are made and exported from plants a short drive from Brussels. AstraZeneca also makes vaccines for the EU at factories in Germany and Britain, according to the EU Commission.

Gallina told the meeting member states saw AstraZeneca as a 'star' for its low prices and big numbers.

The companies have declined to comment on prices; AstraZeneca's vaccine costs about 2.5 euros ($3) per dose, against 15.5 euros for Pfizer's, two EU negotiators directly involved in talks with vaccine makers told Reuters. AstraZeneca committed to deliver at least 80 million doses through March, or up to 120 million, an official involved in the talks told Reuters.

EU negotiators were aware AstraZeneca was scaling back its planned supply because of production problems. The company had told the EU's steering group on Dec. 4 that it would reduce its targets for the first quarter to two-thirds of the 120 million maximum, according to a diplomatic note.

At a public hearing on Jan. 12 in the European Parliament, Gallina told EU lawmakers that she had heard only three instances of 'relatively minor' complaints about deliveries.

REALITY CHECK

Three days later, on Jan. 15, Pfizer too said it had trimmed production and would temporarily cut supplies to the EU from its Belgian plant. There was an immediate public outcry across Europe. Italy's special commissioner for COVID-19, Domenico Arcuri, said Italy was considering legal action against Pfizer.

Despite these delays, the EU Commission went ahead and announced an ambitious vaccination goal.

On Jan. 19, when just over 5 million vaccines had been administered in the EU, the Commission published targets to inoculate at least 80% of health workers and the elderly above the age of 80 by March, and 70% of the EU's adult population by the end of the summer. It also proposed a way to donate excess doses to poorer countries.

AstraZeneca pledged to deliver 9million doses to the EU a week earlier than first promised to try to quell anger, but has been unable to increase the overall number of jabs available

The next day in the S7 Room briefing, EU diplomats told Commission officials those goals were too bold.

'We have only about 2% vaccinated. How did you come up with the 70% target?' a representative from Lithuania asked. 'We prefer to under-promise and over-deliver,' the Dutch delegate said. A spokesman for the Dutch ambassador confirmed the Netherlands had raised concerns about the ambition in the Commission proposal. A spokeswoman for the Lithuanian ambassador declined to comment.

Von der Leyen accidentally supports Brexit during apology Ursula von der Leyen accidentally made the case for Brexit while apologising to Europe for the slow pace of her vaccine roll-out today - admitting that solo countries will be quicker at getting things done. Attempting to justify why the EU signed deals for Covid vaccines weeks or months after the UK, she said on Friday that countries acting alone are 'like a speedboat' while the EU 'is more of a tanker.' After a week which saw von der Leyen threaten drug-maker AstraZeneca over deliveries of its jab, she was also forced to admit 'underestimating' problems in how the vaccines would be produced and rolled out. Von der Leyen also said she 'regretted' threatening to block vaccine exports to Britain by imposing a hard border in Ireland, saying: 'We shouldn't even have thought about [it]'. The 64-year-old also conceded that she had made a mistake when promising that 70 per cent of Europeans would be vaccinated by the end of summer, a target that now looks all-but impossible to achieve. Speaking to Suddeutsche Zeitung and other European outlets in a group interview published Friday, she addded: 'We should have explained that things are moving forward, but slowly, and that there will be problems and delays with these completely new procedures.' But she continued to insist that having the EU negotiate on behalf of the 27-member bloc was still the right thing to do. 'I can't even imagine what it would have meant for Europe, in terms of unity, if one or more Member States had access to vaccines and not the others,' she said. Advertisement

Three days later, the notes showed Gallina telling diplomats that Pfizer's sudden cut had 'savaged' member states' vaccination plans. But she reassured them shipments would resume the following week.

'SHOCKED'

Worse was to come. On Friday Jan. 22, AstraZeneca, due to start EU deliveries on Feb. 15, said it would cut supplies further over the first three months. A senior official involved in the talks told Reuters this would mean a roughly 60% fall - to 31 million doses instead of 80 million.

The European Commission went on the offensive. A few hours after the announcement, Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides tweeted about her 'deep dissatisfaction.' The following Monday the Commission summoned AstraZeneca's executives to meetings to pressure the company to lift deliveries.

The Commission won concessions - AstraZeneca sweetened its offer to add 8 million doses from an earlier date of Feb. 7 .

It was not enough. Aware of production problems at AstraZeneca's Belgian site, the EU Commission asked for drugs from Germany and Britain. But AstraZeneca offered no clarity on whether doses could be diverted from Britain, an EU official who attended the meeting said.

The next day, the company's Chief Executive Pascal Soriot told European newspapers AstraZeneca was not legally required to deliver doses to the EU on a precise timeline, because its contract only stated it would make its 'best efforts' to deliver.

He also said Britain had signed up for its vaccine earlier than the EU and had asked to be served first from UK-based plants. The UK government declined to comment.

Soriot's remarks infuriated the EU Commission. On Jan. 27, according to the notes, Gallina told diplomats she was 'shocked' by 'the level of incorrect statements' that she said Soriot had made about AstraZeneca's commitments. AstraZeneca declined to comment.

The Commission, saying it was confident of the strength of its legal arguments, publicly demanded AstraZeneca publish the contract they had agreed. A heavily redacted version was eventually made public on Jan. 29.

'BACK AGAINST THE WALL'

At the Jan. 27 meeting, Gallina told delegates around the S7 Room table that some of the problems with AstraZeneca had already been known, but the new cut was 'a big blow.'

She also said the EU had no breakdown of who was exporting vaccines where. 'We have some information but we need more,' she said.

Rough customs data showed millions of COVID-19 vaccines had been exported in past weeks from the EU to Britain, Canada, Israel and China, she said. The EU Commission did not respond to a request for export data. Britain, Israel and Canada have said they received Pfizer's vaccines from the EU; Britain has also said it received AstraZeneca's vaccine from the EU. Fosun, the China-based company which has exclusive rights to sell Pfizer's vaccine in China and Hong Kong, had no comment.

Arlene Foster, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, accused the EU of 'hostility' after it threatened to reimpose a hard border, while Boris Johnson demanded the bloc 'clarify its intentions' before Brussels backed down

Gallina added the EU would set up a new mechanism to track and licence exports. The EU's lawyers could use several legal arguments to pressure AstraZeneca into releasing more doses, she added.

The briefing did not go well. At least five diplomats told the meeting the Commission had pushed too far in its public fight and urged it to calm the dispute, at least privately. Legal action would not produce more vaccines quickly, they said.

'The Commission has its back against the wall,' French ambassador Leglise-Costa told the meeting, according to the notes. He urged an immediate change in the communication strategy.

Later that day, on another call with the Commission, Soriot told the EU not to expect doses from AstraZeneca's factories in Britain because London was using a clause in its contract that gave it priority over doses made in the United Kingdom, two EU officials told Reuters.

'ACT OF HOSTILITY'

Seeing that diplomats wanted to tone down the fight with AstraZeneca, the Commission set its sights on Britain's government.

The next day, EU officials publicly threatened to block vaccine exports - a move likely to hit Britain's imports of vaccines from Pfizer's Belgian plant. And the Commission said it wanted to set up a mechanism that would require companies to seek authorisation before exporting vaccine doses.

On Friday Jan. 30, it took a further step, threatening to trigger a clause that would block vaccines from reaching Northern Ireland - a British-run province that remained part of the EU internal market after the Brexit divorce.

Imposing restrictions on that border was potentially explosive: The Brexit talks had agreed to keep it open, to preserve the central plank of a 1998 peace deal ending 30 years of armed conflict in the province.

Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster called the EU proposal 'an incredible act of hostility,' and EU officials soon admitted it was excessive.

By Sunday, the Commission had retreated on both fronts.

Commission President Von der Leyen announced in a tweet the bloc had achieved a 'step forward on vaccines.' AstraZeneca had offered to increase deliveries, she said.

After a week of fighting and diplomatic confusion, the EU had secured just 1 million doses more than the firm's initial sweetened offer, her tweet revealed.
President Muhammadu Buharis surprise nomination on Thursday of his immediate past service chiefs as non-career ambassadors may have been to shield them from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for atrocities and rights abuses committed by the Nigerian military under their watch.

This is the view of some Nigerian lawyers who spoke with Premium Times on the development.

There have been calls since their retirement last week for the prosecution of especially Mr Buratai who led the Nigerian Army for about five and a half years.

But Thursday evening, a statement by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said the president had forwarded the names of the former service chiefs to the Senate for confirmation as non-career ambassadors.

They include former Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olonisakin; former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai; former Chief of Air Staff, Ibok Ibas; and former Chief of Naval Staff, Abubakar Sadique.

Their nominations come a week after they resigned from service and their replacements were inaugurated.

Their confirmation as ambassadors will confer on them diplomatic immunity.

Article 29 of the Vienna Convention protects diplomats from arrest and grants them immunity against civil and criminal prosecution.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported some of the human rights abuses carried out under the watch of the retired Army Chief, Mr Buratai. His tenure of over five years was characterised by the extrajudicial killings of hundreds of Nigerians by soldiers.

These ranged from the killing of hundreds of Shiites in Zaria, the shooting of innocent civilians who were protesting at the Lekki Toll Gate to the extrajudicial killings in Oyigbo, an Igbo settlement in Rivers State.

The soldiers and officers involved in the killings were never prosecuted or punished, an indication the atrocities were committed with the approval of the army leadership.

Calls for prosecution

Mr Buratai, a lieutenant-general, was appointed by President Buhari in July 2015.

Nigerias main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), just last week asked the ICC, INTERPOL and other world bodies to institute investigations into Mr Buratais tenure as army chief.

The PDP, in a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, alleged that Mr Buratai and the other former military chiefs committed crimes against humanity.

Also, the Concerned Nigerians Group said it had instituted a case against the former COAS at the ICC over what it described as human rights violations and crimes against humanity by the army during his tenure.

In a letter last Thursday by its Convener, Deji Adeyanju, the group asked the ICC to investigate, arrest and prosecute Mr Buratai to serve as a deterrent to others.

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The ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had said last year that the court had received sufficient information to investigate Mr Buratai and his colleagues for alleged war crimes in the war against the Boko Haram insurgents in the Nigerias North-east.

But Mr Buratai had dismissed the statement, saying he was not afraid of being charged for war crimes.

Immunity

Going by the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, Mr Buratai will enjoy diplomatic immunity while he remains an ambassador.

The convention grants privileges to member nations like Nigeria that enable their diplomats to perform their duties without the fear of arrest or prosecution.

Article 29 of the convention states:

Diplomats must not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. They are immune from civil or criminal prosecution, though the sending country may waive this right under Article 32.

Other articles which protect diplomats include Article 22 which protects diplomatic premises such as embassies. It states that such embassies must not be entered by host countries except with permission.

The host country must never search the premises, nor seize its documents or property. Article 30 extends this provision to the private residence of the diplomats, another provision of the law reads.

Also, Article 24 establishes that the archives and documents of a diplomatic mission are inviolable. The receiving country shall not seize or open such documents.

It further states that a diplomatic bag must not be opened even on suspicion.

Angry lawyers

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Afam Osigwe, expressing disappointment at the nomination of the former service chiefs as diplomats.

He said the government should have waited for the outcome of their investigation before their nomination.

Mr Osigwe said the manner of the nomination suggests it was done solely for the sake of conferring immunity on the former service chiefs.

I would have thought the government should have been circumspect in nominating any person who has charges pending against him or her before the ICC for crimes against humanity.

I thought it would have been better for any responsible government to have waited for the outcome of such investigation before appointing such persons.

The manner the five former service chiefs are being nominated for ambassadorial posting makes it look as if the whole idea is to give them diplomatic immunity from prosecution and that should worry all of us about the image of the country and what message we are sending across to the entire world.

But then, the appointment is still subject to confirmation by the Senate. Going by what we have seen from the Senate, I do not expect to see the Senate reject any of those nominations.

But then again, the countries to which these individuals may be posted reserve the right to accept their letters of credence, accepting them as Ambassadors of their countries.

We watch and see but I do not think this goes well for Nigeria, for human rights and also accountability in governance, he said.

Another lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, described the appointment as an immoral attempt to convey diplomatic immunity on them so that they can evade the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the ICC.

He urged the Senate to reject the nominations.

President Buhari has by this ignoble appointments reminded Nigerians that he is deaf to their cries and blind to their suffering. No leader in this country in my lifetime has exceeded Buharis parochialism and provocative indifference to public opinion.

These former service chiefs were supposed to be fired long ago, but because we have a president who has an unbreakable covenant with failure, they were retained in defiance of the resolutions of the National Assembly and the opinion of most Nigerians.

After removing them belatedly, this president has now rewarded them for superintending over the mass murder(s) of citizens by the Armed Forces and non-state actors such as Boko Haram and the so-called bandits. In other words, Buhari is telling them thank you for keeping to my covenant with failure.

The appointments appears to be an immoral attempt to convey diplomatic immunity on them so that they can evade the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

If the Senate has an iota of self-respect and decency, they should reject these abominable nominations. If they are confirmed, it will reinforce the belief that the current National Assembly is working against the interest of the citizens, Mr Effiong said.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
More than 100m a year is being spent on illegal dumping by local authorities, according to new figures.

Research by Fianna Fail senator Malcolm Byrne shows city and county councils are spending millions fighting against fly-tippers who leaving rubbish on roadsides.

Mr Byrne has drafted new legislation to give local authorities the power to use CCTV to prosecute people illegally dumping their waste.

The Wexford senator said he believes illegal dumping has increased during the pandemic and should be addressed urgently.

He has surveyed the countrys local authorities to establish how much they are spending annually on illegal dumping and said the figures show around 100m a year is being spent on addressing the issue.

I am as frustrated and angry as everybody else by the tiny minority who engage in illegal dumping, he said.

It is just awful to see bags of rubbish dumped indiscriminately. Our beauty spots are being destroyed and the waste poses a hazard to animals.

I just cannot get how some people have such a lack of civic responsibility.

"I know this annoyance is shared by councillors across the country, he added.

The Fianna Fail parliamentary party supported Mr Byrnes bill at a meeting on Wednesday and he hopes the legislation can be introduced as an amendment to the Garda Siochana Act.

GDPR is often cited as the reason as to why councils cannot use CCTV but I figured that would be a perverse interpretation of GDPR, he said.

I raised it with the Data Protection Commission and my engagement with them on the issue is that we dont have the legislation in place underpinning the use of CCTV to catch those who dump, he added.

We need to start catching those responsible and fining them and in my view, jailing them. It is unacceptable behaviour.

One of the best weapons that we can give to local authorities is the ability to catch those responsible on camera.
A-Rod hopes his latest venture isnt a bust.

Retired Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez hopes Slam Corp can raise $500 million in its initial public offering. Rodriguez is the primary backer of the firm, alongside hedge fund Antara Capital.

From Reuters:

Slam Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), said it would sell 50 million units, comprising shares and warrants, priced at $10 apiece in the IPO.

A SPAC is a shell company that raises money in an IPO to merge with a privately held company, turning it into a publicly traded firm.

Slam Corp is backed by Rodriguezs A-Rod Corp, which invests in startups and other companies. ...

SPACs have emerged as a popular IPO alternative for companies, providing a path to going public with less regulatory scrutiny and more certainty over the valuation that will be attained and funds that will be raised.

Rodriguez is currently battling his former brother-in-law in court over allegations that Rodriguez owes him millions of dollars after cutting him out the real estate company they formed together. Constantine Scurtis said the relationship went sour after Rodriguez allegedly cheated on his then-wife, Cynthia Scurtis.

Rodriguez has slammed the suit in court, calling it scandalous.

Rodriguez made $441 million over 22 big-league seasons. He helped the Yankees win a World Series in 2009 and hit 696 career home runs  the fourth most in history. He was also twice suspended amid steroid allegations.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com.
Photo: The Canadian Press Metis and Cree mother Cindy Gladue is shown in a photo presented as a court exhibit in this undated handout photo. The Metis and Cree woman was 36 when she was found dead in a bloody bathtub at an Edmonton hotel in June 2011. Bradley Barton of Mississauga, Ont., is charged with manslaughter. A Crown prosecutor argues that Barton never asked for Gladue's consent to perform a sexual act that caused her fatal wound. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO  Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta

A Crown prosecutor has accused a man of forcing violent sex on a woman who was too drunk to consent and of letting her bleed to death in the bathtub of his hotel room.

Bradley Barton repeatedly took sips of water as prosecutor Julie Snowdon challenged him on the witness stand Thursday during his manslaughter trial.

The 52-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., has pleaded not guilty to killing Cindy Gladue, a 36-year-old Metis and Cree mother, at Edmonton's Yellowhead Inn in June 2011.

Jurors have already heard from medical experts that Gladue suffered from a severe and fatal wound to her vagina and that she had four times the legal limit of alcohol in her system when she bled to death.

Snowdon challenged Barton during his fourth and final day of testimony on whether he asked Gladue for consent to perform a sexual act on her.

"Mr. Barton, were you being careful to not hurt or offend and careful to not exceed the bounds of consent for the entire evening that you (were) with Ms. Gladue?" Snowdon asked.

"I would say yes, I was," Barton responded.

Snowdon suggested Barton didn't ask Gladue what she wanted to do when he invited her to his hotel room. She also said Gladue was too intoxicated to consent.

"That's incorrect," Barton said.

This is the second trial for Barton in relation to Gladue's death. His first trial in 2015 sparked rallies and calls for justice for Indigenous women. The case ended up before the Supreme Court of Canada. The high court ordered in 2019 that Barton be retried.

Barton previously told the jury that he was working as a long-distance truck driver when he checked into the hotel. He said he paid Gladue $60 to have sex with him one night and invited her back the next night. He said they had drinks in the hotel lounge before going to his room.

GRAPHIC WARNING: The following details may disturb some readers.

Barton testified he and Gladue may have had another drink in the room, then she started giving him oral sex.

She was "halfway passed out"  but not drunk  he said, when he put all five of his fingers into her vagina, up to his knuckles, and began thrusting.

Barton testified he noticed blood on his fingers, told Gladue he was no longer interested in having sex and refused to pay her.

"You violently sexually assaulted her and, when you did that, you injured her and she started bleeding," Snowdon said.

"That's incorrect," Barton replied.

The prosecutor suggested Barton carried Gladue into the bathroom in a comforter, because there was very little blood found on the floor.

"You carried her over to the bathroom, and you dumped her in the bathtub," Snowdon said.

"No, I did not," Barton responded.

"You let her die. You could not call the police at that point because you didn't want them to know what you had done," Snowdon said.

"That's incorrect," Barton replied.

Barton told court that Gladue went to the bathroom and he fell asleep. He said he woke the next morning to find her dead.

He said he met a colleague and told him that he'd found the woman's body. The colleague told Barton to call police. Barton said he lied to hotel staff about forgetting papers so he could get back into his room, where he called 911.

The trial is scheduled to continue until the beginning of March.
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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- BYD Company Limited (BYD) announced its new vehicle sales reached 42,401 units in January 2021, shooting up 68.44% year on year, while falling 24.72% month on month.



New energy vehicle (NEV) sales in Jan. zoomed up 182.88% from a year earlier to 20,178 units, including 14,463 all-electric PVs (+181.16% YoY) and 5,408 plug-in electric PVs (+188.27%).

The company also sold 22,223 oil-fueled vehicles last month, a year-over-year growth of 23.19%. Both sedan and SUV segments scored double-digit increase.

BYD Han EV; photo credit: BYD



According to local media reports, BYD aims to sell 400,000 NEVs in 2021, which are split on a fifty-fifty basis by BEVs and PHEVs (DM). If the goal was officially announced, the company needs to sell nearly 380,000 NEVs in the following 11 months to fulfill the target.



BYD Song PLUS DM-i; photo credit: BYD



The planning seen by local media outlets also reveals BYD intends to roll out 5 to 6 new NEV models in 2021, embracing the Qin PLUS and the Song PLUS powered by the DM-i hybrid technology, as well as the Song MAX and the Song Pro, which all come with two powertrain choicesDM and EV.

After launching the BEV-focused e platform in 2018, BYD is about to release the EV 2.0 full electric platform this year that adopts many new technologies like SiC power module and heat pump. The first car model based on the EV 2.0 is said to be named Dolphin and targets younger consumers.

The automaker recently announced it divided its automobile business into four business groups, which focus on the sales businesses of the Dynasty and the e series, the branding & public relations, and after-sales services.

Zhao Changjiang, general manager of BYD Auto Sales Co.,Ltd., will be transferred to the premium brand that is on the drawing board.

BYD said the revamp would help the company improve its brand construction, production planning and marketing business, and offer users better experience.
Turkey invests almost US$3 bln in Ukraine  Finance Minister Marchenko

Turkey is the world's fourth-largest market for Ukrainian exports.

Reporting by UNIAN

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Homers The Iliad serves as the foundation of literature now under siege. It is neither sentimental nor simplistic. Whats often ignored or passed over in this great Greek epic, remarkably, is the treatment of the Greeks themselves. The best, most virtuous, most noble, most civilized, even the most human, are the Trojans. Thats what makes it all so complicated and why it and The Odyssey are so revealing about human nature.
A number of 39,300 doses of vaccine from Moderna are distributed on Friday to the regional centres in the country, informs the National Coordinating Committee of the Vaccination Activities against COVID-19, according to AGERPRES.

According to this source, the doses are part of the third tranche of vaccines that arrived on Friday morning at the National Institute for Medical-Military Research-Development "Cantacuzino."

"Both doses received by Romania in the current tranche and in the previous tranche will be used in the vaccination centres, based on requests sent to the National Centre and regional storage centres, through the county and Bucharest public health directorates. In Romania , the allocation of vaccine doses is made according to the delivery schedule provided by the manufacturing company, meaning that, periodically, our country receives the vaccine tranches necessary to immunize the population. As the new tranches arrive in Romania, the programming application is updated and allows continuing the programming process for the population categories in the current stage," says CNCAV.


Omaheke education director Pecka Semba has urged educators in the region to direct all efforts towards ensuring good teaching and learning practices. Semba made the statement while officiating at a regional cluster meeting with principals, heads of departments, life skill teachers and chairpersons of school boards at Gobabis this week.

The purpose of the meeting was to build and strengthen the capacity of the participants and their respective schools and hostels in the domain of effective service delivery and the full implementation of ministerial policies and guidelines. The meeting also sought to provide the participants with an opportunity to further develop and strengthen monitoring and evaluation in all aspects of education.

"It is disturbing when we encounter quite big challenges that have absolutely nothing to do with our core business, and they are for that matter pushed conveniently to the front of our priorities," Semba said.

Semba appealed to principals, heads of departments and phase heads to constantly monitor, guide and evaluate the work of the teachers to remedy poor outputs timeously and in the best interest of learners.

The director went on to call on all teachers to put in maximum efforts and respond in the best possible way to the national call of imparting quality knowledge to the learners, display the necessary patience and bring back the necessary nobility into the teaching profession despite the scourge of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We have a mammoth task on our shoulders of not only ensuring that our learners receive the best possible education services, but we are equally duty bound to ensure that we retain our learners in the education system," he said.

"Despite the heavy toll that the pandemic has taken on our teaching-learning situation, the best response is to impart our knowledge and skills for a better tomorrow. We cannot compromise on this principle.

"To this effect, our ministry developed a well-crafted document called 'Resilience Plan for Formal Education' to be a road map of our approach in these trying times."
By this point, tens of thousands of Bay Area residents have received or already scheduled their second COVID-19 vaccine doses.

But communication and procedures for scheduling those second doses can vary widely in the region, due to Californias chaotic vaccine rollout, unpredictable supplies and complex system of providers.

The Chronicle surveyed health officers and infectious disease experts in the Bay Area to answer some of the most pressing questions about second vaccine shots: how and when people are receiving them, and how the timing of shots affects protection from the virus.

How do I get my second vaccine dose in the Bay Area?

Eligible people in the Bay Area have been receiving their vaccinations from several sources  typically their own health providers (such as Kaiser or Sutter Health), county health departments, or pharmacies (such as CVS or Safeway).

Generally the distribution site or health provider where you received your first dose should either allow you to make a second dose appointment during your first appointment, or provide a way afterward to schedule. The provider may contact you by email or phone to schedule an appointment directly, or provide you with an avenue to schedule your next appointment on your own.

If youre going through your county and still experiencing difficulty, here are the steps recommended by officials:

Alameda: According to county spokesperson Neetu Balram, anyone who received the first dose at an Alameda County Point of Dispensing site on or after Jan. 11 has the opportunity to schedule the next appointment onsite. Patients receive a QR code to scan with a smartphone, taking them to an online scheduler. Those who cannot access the QR code will receive an email.

Contra Costa: Contra Costa Countys vaccine appointment phone line (833-829-2626) allows residents to book both their first and second dose appointments at the same time, according to spokesperson Will Harper. The county is now upgrading its online appointment system.

Marin: Residents can schedule their second appointments while receiving their first doses, said county spokesperson Laine Hendricks. Anyone who leaves without scheduling their next appointment will receive an email one week prior to the due date for the second dose, and be provided several appointment options.

Napa: In Napa County, residents fill out a vaccine interest form to schedule initial appointments. After receiving the first dose, patients schedule their second dose through a follow-up email from the county, and anyone who doesnt use email is given a number for the countys bilingual call center to schedule a second appointment, according to county spokeswoman Janet Upton. The county reported Thursday that because of limited supply, residents who have already received their first doses may have to delay getting their second doses by at least two weeks, with priority given to health care workers and those who are 75.

San Francisco: All who have received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine have a second of the two-dose regimen waiting with their name on it, or have received the second dose already, health director Dr. Grant Colfax said Thursday.

San Mateo: Residents should call their health care provider. If they cant schedule the second dose with their provider, they can email County Health at covidvax@smcgov.org.

Santa Clara: Residents can contact their provider, using contact information found at www.sccfreevax.org. County of Santa Clara Health System clients can call Valley Connections at 408-970-2000.

Solano: If you need help scheduling your second shot, the countys vaccine website says you should contact the location that set up your initial appointment for assistance. Your CDC vaccine card will also include information about the follow-up vaccination.

Sonoma: The countys clinics are now focusing on those 75 and older, prioritizing seniors who do not have primary care physicians and/or who do not have insurance. Anyone eligible who has not heard from their primary care physician can go to one of the sites listed at socoemergency.org/vaccine.

What is the current recommended time frame for a second vaccine?

Both available vaccines  made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna  involve a two-dose regimen determined by the manufacturers, with schedules authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. The recommendation for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 21 days between the first and second dose for patients 16 and older. For Moderna, the recommended interval is 28 days for people 18 and older. Neither vaccine is approved for children below those ages.

George Rutherford, an infectious disease expert with UCSF, said the dosing schedules are not to show how long you can go between two doses, but to show the minimum time frame between them to ensure protection.

When they put the trials together they wanted to vaccinate as many people as possible ... and get them protected as rapidly as possible, he said.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Experts say there is some leeway for the timing of the second dose. The CDC recently updated its guidance to allow administration of the second dose up to six weeks (42 days) after the first dose, but the CDC does not advocate a delay.

Some experts have suggested postponing second doses so as many people as possible can get their first dose. Britain has done this with its rollout of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, and an analysis released this week suggests that one dose offers strong protection even after several months.

The United States top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on ABC this week that delaying the second dose by a week or two is not a major issue.

But Id be concerned about delaying it for three months or so, he said. Youve got to be careful because youre dealing with different vaccine platforms.

How much protection does the first dose give me against the coronavirus?

Data so far shows that vaccine efficacy beginning 12 days after the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was about 52%, including the participants who may have been infected right before or just after the vaccine.

According to data in the FDA filing, the Moderna vaccine may give up to 92% protection 14 days after the first dose.

The CDC says experts are still studying how long protection from vaccines against coronavirus lasts.

What happens if I miss the proper time frame for my second dose?

The CDC has already extended the time frame for receiving your second dose to six weeks. But if you miss that time frame by a few weeks, experts say not to worry too much. Particularly in this crisis, Im all for giving as many people one shot as possible, and making sure everyone can get the second, but not stressing out if people cant get it exactly within the interval period, Chin-Hong said.

Stretching beyond the three-month mark, Chin-Hong said, might be cause for concern because of how long immunity generally lasts. But even if you only get the first shot, you still have some degree of protection for at least several months.

What happens if I fail to get the second dose at all?

Experts say this scenario is unlikely to happen on a mass scale. Im going to guess that a second dose will be available for everybody, said Dr. Robert Siegel, a professor of immunology at Stanford. The question is, will it be delayed? The answer is yes, theres a good chance now.

If for any reason you receive only one dose, experts say you should make sure to get in touch with your health care provider for more specific protocol and information  because missing the second dose could mean youre less protected. Its important to stay vigilant and adhere to public health guidelines which include wearing masks, social distancing and washing your hands, because you could still be infected or infect others.

About 20% to 30% of people dont respond to the first dose of the vaccine  the second shot just ensures the chance that people will respond to the vaccine, Chin-Hong said. No matter what, experts say you should still try to get your second shot whenever you can, even if its beyond six weeks.

If you are still not able, there is still the possibility that herd immunity will aid in some degree of protection, Chin-Hong said. But variants are floating around that are more able to evade the current vaccines, and the fewer people get vaccinated, the more variants can take over in the epidemiological ecosystem.

The second shot also may give you more durable immunity, meaning it would last longer, but Chin-Hong said the CDC and other agencies will spell out that duration when more is known.

We do not know how long protection from vaccination lasts, but we can reasonably assume that the protection from two doses will last much longer, Siegel said. This is due to the way priming works in the immune system, and due to the fact that you would be starting at a higher level of protection, which would take longer to diminish.

Kellie Hwang and Annie Vainshtein are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com, avainshtein@sfchronicle.com
As a result, asking whether President Trump was engaged in lawful First Amendment activity misses the point entirely, they wrote. Regardless of whether President Trumps conduct on and around January 6 was lawful, he may be constitutionally convicted in an impeachment trial if the Senate determines that his behavior was a sufficiently egregious violation of his oath of office to constitute a high crime or misdemeanor under the Constitution.

What is more, they argued, even if the First Amendment did apply to an impeachment trial, it would do nothing to bar conviction, which has to do with whether Mr. Trump violated his oath, not whether he should be allowed to say what he said.

No reasonable scholar or jurist could conclude that President Trump had a First Amendment right to incite a violent attack on the seat of the legislative branch, or then to sit back and watch on television as Congress was terrorized and the Capitol sacked, they wrote.

Finally, they contended that there was an extraordinarily strong argument that the defense would even fail in a criminal trial because the evidence against Mr. Trump is most likely strong enough to meet the Supreme Courts high bar for punishing someone for inciting others to engage in unlawful conduct.

Many of the signatories to Fridays letter had signed on to a previous one pushing back on another key argument in Mr. Trumps defense: the assertion that the Senate does not have jurisdiction to try a former president because the Constitution does not explicitly grant it that power.

The letter emerged as Mr. Trumps legal team, which was hastily pulled together in recent days after he dismissed his original impeachment lawyers, worked feverishly on Friday to get up to speed on the case and prepare for the trial.

Mr. Schoen said that he and Mr. Castor had yet to learn anything about how the trial would operate  including its schedule, how much time the defense would have to present its arguments and the rules for entering evidence.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, in a letter sent Thursday, denied New York Citys request to more rapidly use second coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine doses.

Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to use those doses in an effort to get more people their first injections, but Zucker pointed to guidance from the federal government advising against that practice.

I am in regular contact with the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), including as recently as this morning, on this topic when they affirmed their opposition to using second doses as first doses now, he wrote in the letter.

However, during a Thursday press briefing, de Blasio pointed to other CDC guidance that leaves up to six weeks for administration of the second dose despite ideal timelines of three weeks for the Pfizer vaccine and four weeks for the Moderna vaccine  the only two currently approved versions.

A third COVID vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is currently awaiting emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That version only requires one dose.

De Blasio has advocated for using second doses as first doses for at least two weeks calling for the freedom to vaccinate.

With more supply expected to come under President Biden, the mayor wants to get a level of protection to as many people as possible as opposed to waiting for 100% protection offered from both doses of the vaccine.

I think it is morally crucial that everyone who needs a first dose get a first dose, and if someone needing a second dose waits a little longer but still within those CDC guidelines  I think that is absolutely the right thing to do, the mayor said Thursday.

If the CDC does eventually advise using second doses for first shots, Zucker wrote in his letter that the state would set the national model.

De Blasio has consistently advocated for increased vaccine usage calling for expansions to eligibility, which have usually been granted by the state.

On Wednesday, de Blasio approved eligibility for cabbies, restaurant workers, and residents in facilities for the developmentally disabled. Cuomo approved the option for localities on Tuesday after the mayor called for it.

Those folks deserve to be vaccinated, de Blasio said Wednesday. The important point is that right to be vaccinated, as we add supply, well be able to reach more and more people.
Still, the episode laid bare deep divisions among Republicans about how to move forward as a party. In the days leading up to the vote on Ms. Greene, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the most powerful Republican in Washington, had denounced her statements, which he called loony lies, saying such conspiracy theories were a cancer on the party. Several other top Republican senators had joined him in denouncing Ms. Greene and saying she could not become the face of the party.

In an effort to warn Democrats about the move, House Republicans introduced their own proposal to remove Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, from the Foreign Affairs Committee, citing comments she made, including that Israel had hypnotized the world from ignoring their evil doings. Ms. Omar has publicly apologized for those comments, which drew charges of anti-Semitism.

If this is the new standard, I look forward to continuing out the standard, Mr. McCarthy said, adding that Republicans had a long list of Democrats they would want to remove from their committees.

On Wednesday, after Democrats had announced they would press forward to rebuke Ms. Greene, Mr. McCarthy issued a lengthy, tortured statement condemning her comments and saying that they had no place among House Republicans, but arguing that she did not deserve to be punished for them. He went further on Wednesday night after Republicans contentious, hourslong meeting, telling reporters that Ms. Greene had privately apologized for her previous remarks and suggesting that it was time to move on.

She said she knew nothing about lasers or all the different things that have been brought up about her, Mr. McCarthy said, apparently referring to a Facebook post Ms. Greene wrote in 2018 suggesting that devastating wildfires in California had been caused by a space laser controlled by a prominent Jewish banking family with ties to powerful Democrats.

If we are now going to start judging what other members have said before they are members of Congress, I think it will be a hard time for the Democrats to place anybody on committee, he added.

Removal from committees is usually reserved for lawmakers who are facing indictments or criminal investigations or who have otherwise broken with their party in a particularly egregious way, according to Eleanor Neff Powell, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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So you wont be downing a plate of too-hot jalapeno poppers in a crowded bar during the Super Bowl. But you can delight in a spicy, cheesy treat from the comfort (and safety!) of your home.

This year, make a couple of snacks for you and your family or your Chiefs-loving roommate, and call it the worlds tiniest tailgate. To help you channel those game-day vibes, here are some NYT Cooking recipes that are as easy to scale down as they are delicious.
A few of her favorite things. Julie Andrews paid tribute to Sound of Music costar Christopher Plummer following his death on Friday, February 5.

The world has lost a consummate actor today, Andrews, 85, said in a statement to ABC News. And I have lost a cherished friend.

The English actress continued: I treasure the memories of our work together and all the humor and fun we shared through the years. My heart and condolences go out to his lovely wife Elaine, and his daughter Amanda.

Read article

The 91-year-old actor died on Friday at his home in Connecticut with his wife of 50 years, Elaine Taylor, by his side, Deadline reported.

Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self-deprecating humor and the music of words, Plummers manager of 46 years, Lou Pitt, told Us Weekly in a statement. He was a National Treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come.

Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock

Andrews friendship with the late actor spanned more than 55 years, having met while working on 1965s The Sound of Music, where they played love interests Maria and Captain von Trapp, respectively.

The Mary Poppins star reunited with the Departure alum in March 2015 to talk about their long-lasting friendship and the 50th anniversary of their film.

Well, I never knock it, Andrews told Vanity Fair at the time, reflecting on playing the nun-turned-baroness. Because it was the moment in my career where everything exploded. That and Poppins.

Read article

Plummer, who was vocal about his reluctance to play the role of the Austrian captain, revealed he had some fondness for the film.

As cynical as I always was about The Sound of Music, I do respect that it is a bit of relief from all the gunfire and car chases you see these days. Its sort of wonderfully, old-fashionedly universal, he explained. Its got the bad guys and the Alps; its got Julie and sentiment in bucketloads. Our director, dear old Bob Wise, did keep it from falling over the edge into a sea of treacle. Nice man. God, what a gent. There are very few of those around anymore in our business.

When asked to talk about their 50-year-long bond, the duo looked at each other before Plummer joked, She cant think of anything to say.

Andrews then sang her former costars praises, saying, He was such a hugely great actor that when he was cast in Sound of Music all I could think was, How will I ever live up to that? But we had a very good time. We never had a cross word, nothing.

The Cliffs of Freedom actor agreed with the Bridgerton narrator, adding, She may be a terrible martinet, but shes not an unpleasant one.

20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

Plummer noted he only spent something like 11 days in Austria filming with Andrews, but the two grew close.

I do know that you and I bonded a couple of times. Once was when I was soaking wet, after the boat I was in with the children turned over. Its one of my favorite moments in the film, Andrews recalled. Ive never told you this  it was just before we go into the gazebo and youve said good-bye to the Baroness. You were trying to say that you were glad Maria was back. And like a child, you said that it was all wrong when I went away and it would be all wrong if I went again. It was so endearing.

Read article

The pals revealed the same month that they had crushes on one another while working on The Sound of Music, with Plummer telling ABC News Diane Sawyer that they should have ended up together.

The Canadian actor, who married Taylor in 1970, added, But there was no time because she had her children with her, which was most inconvenient.

The Princess Diaries actress, who was married to her first husband when she met Plummer, weighed in on the possibility of an offscreen romance with him, saying, We were never an item, as they say. But now we are the best of friends. We became the best of friends, and thats lovely  probably because we werent an item.
The Ministry of Health has promised that it will undertake all necessary precautionary measures to ensure that people are safe while being vaccinated for Covid-19.

Rwanda is edging closer to getting its first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, after the COVAX facility named it among the four first African countries that will get the Pfizer vaccine.

The first consignment of the doses, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, is expected in the country "in a matter of days".

In a virtual press conference held on Thursday, February 4, Richard Mihigo, the Coordinator of Vaccine Preventable Diseases Unit at WHO African Region Office told media that Rwanda, along with South Africa, Cape Verde and Tunisia are on the verge of getting the Pfizer vaccine, having received an indicative allocation of doses from the COVAX initiative this week.

"We expect that these countries are going to introduce the vaccine in the next couple of days pending final regulatory agreements finalized between them and the vaccine manufacturers," he said.

Other African countries that subscribe to the COVAX facility received indicative allocations for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet got WHO's Emergency Use Listing (EUL), and this means that they may need to wait a little longer until clearance is obtained.

The EUL is a risk-based procedure for assessing and listing unlicensed vaccines, therapeutics and in vitro diagnostics with an aim of expediting the availability of these products to people affected by a public health emergency.

The Pfizer vaccine has already been given the EUL by the WHO.

Within this month, Rwanda is expected to receive 102,960 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

Speaking about the development, Health Minister Daniel Ngamije could not hide his pleasure for the upcoming reception of the doses, as he also issued assurance to citizens concerning safety.

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"We are extremely glad," he said.

"This is an indicator of the performance of our health sector, because we were able to meet all the tough requirements (to qualify for the vaccine). These include planning and mobilization of resources, existing of regulatory framework, service delivery, monitoring of the system," he said.

He said the country, through the Food and Drug Authority is taking necessary steps in examining the vaccines based on different international documentation reviews.

He added that Rwanda has a strong pharmacovigilance system to monitor and report any side effects from vaccines and drugs.

He also said that efforts are will be in place to sensitize people about the Covid-19 vaccine. This is in addition to the work being done to talk to medics about the vaccine.

"We also engage health personnel. Like yesterday, we had a webinar with all doctors in the country and we had chance to hear from an investigator of the Pfizer vaccine in Yale University (USA). He gave a good presentation to these medical personnel, so they can communicate to the rest of their counterparts about how the vaccine works, and so on," he said.

When the vaccine comes, the first doses of the vaccination will benefit people at high risk of the virus, for example, front-line workers in healthcare and people above 65.

Others to benefit are those whose immunity can be easily compromised like those with cancer, diabetes, HIV and other serious diseases.
At least 645 cases of coronavirus variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported across 33states.

Of that number, at least 626 have been linked to the UK variant known as B 1.1.7. a DailyMail.com analysis of state and federal data reveals.

More than half of those cases have been reported in Florida and California, and there are two deaths linked to the strain, one in New Jersey and one in Alabama.

Experts have warned that this variant is expected to become the dominant strain in the U.S. by March.

There are currently five cases of the B.1.351 variant, which was first detected in South Africa, three of which are in Maryland and two in South Carolina.

In addition, two cases of the P.1 strain that originated Brazil have been identified in Minnesota.

It comes as cases across the U.S. decline by more than 50 percent but deaths continue to rise with more than 5,000 fatalities - the highest single day total ever - recorded yesterday.

A total of 645 cases of coronavirus variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported in 33 states

All the variants have mutations in their spike protein (circled in yellow) that makes it more contagious, capable of reinfection and potentially more immune to vaccines

Because of the rise of new variants, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Thursday that it is developing guidelines to help manufacturers of vaccines, drugs and test adapt.

Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock said that while all three may work now, there is a possibility they will not in the future.

'We must prepare for all eventualities,' she said in a call with reporters.

Within the next few weeks, Woodcock said the FDA will being providing draft recommendations to help products be modified as needed.

Concerns have arisen in the past few weeks over variants of the virus, which appear to be more infectious.

The UK variant was first discovered in the county of Kent, and now accounts for at least 61 cases in Britain.

New Jersey records its first death from UK 'Super COVID' variant New Jersey has recorded its first death from the highly-contagious U.K. variant of COVID-19. The unidentified resident succumbed to the virus on Wednesday, State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli confirmed at a press conference. The victim had 'significant underlying health conditions' but had no international travel history. Their age was not released. The UK variant of the coronavirus, known as B 1.1.7 and dubbed 'Super-COVID', is feared to be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the general coronavirus strain. On Wednesday, six new cases of the Super-COVID were confirmed in New Jersey, with the ages of those testing positive ranging from 10 to 65. Only one has recently traveled overseas. The New Jersey Health Department did not disclose which country the person had traveled to. Initially, the mutation was simply feared to be more contagious than the common COVID-19 infection. However, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week it is now feared that it may also be 30 percent more deadly. Advertisement

Most estimates put it at about 70 percent more infectious, but some studies suggest it could be twice as infectious.

More moderate projections say its transmissibility is only about 56 percent higher.

Officials in the UK says that variant may be 30 to 40 percent more deadly, and so far there have been two deaths in the US linked to the variant.

The South African variant was also first announced in December, and shares mutation with the UK variants, as well as several others.

President Joe Biden invoked a travel ban on people coming from South Africa in an effort to stop importation of the new variant.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, says that the South African variant is the most concerning one because it might render vaccines less effective due to mutations that help it 'hide' from antibodies developed after vaccination or a previous bout of COVID-19.

The variant first caught international attention when four travelers arriving to Tokyo from Manaus, Brazil, tested positive on January 2.

The variant has the same spike protein mutation as the highly transmissible versions found in Kent and South Africa  named N501Y  which makes the spike better able to bind to receptors inside the body.

Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon, has been devastated by COVID-19. Hospitals are running out of oxygen and Brazilian officials have said it is in a state of crisis.

Preliminary findings suggest that all five of the leading vaccine candidates offer some protection against the variants, but the degree has varied.

Two weeks ago, Moderna announced that while it's vaccine still works well enough to be protective against the South African variant, lab tests suggest the antibodies triggered by the shot may be 60 percent less potent against the virus in vitro (in a cell culture, not a live animal or person).

Last week, results from Novavax's late-stage study in the UK showed 95.6 percent efficacy against the originally circulating variant and 85.6 percent against B 1.1.7.

But in South Africa's mid-stage study of about 4,000 participants, the Novavax shot was not as protective and was found to be just 49.4% effective its variant, 501Y.V2.

In a paper released on Friday, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford was found to be 74 percent effective against B 1.1.7.

However, the findings ddid not address whether or not that protectiveness extends to B.1.351.

Last week, at a press briefing, Dr Fauci, said the variants are projected to become more dominant in the U.S. by the spring,

At the same briefing, Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said every COVID-19 case in the U.S. should be treated as if it were a case of the variant.
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There is a principle often found in the Bible wherein God gives people over to their sins and delusions if they refuse to humble themselves and repent. Consequently, the more we reject the truth, the more deluded we become, and the more we reject the Lords moral standards, the more perverse we become.

We find this principle in Romans 1, which describes the spiritual and moral declension of the human race. In sum, because we rejected God, He gave us over to foolish idolatry. Then, as we persisted in sin, He gave us over to sexual immorality, then to sexual perversion, then to every kind of moral evil.

We find this same principle in 2 Thessalonians 2, but this time in terms of delusional beliefs, as those who reject Gods truth will end up following the Antichrist.

As Paul wrote, The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Notice carefully: God Himself sends these persistent unbelievers a powerful delusion. They are hardened in their sin, just as Pharaoh was in Exodus. (For a detailed treatment of the Hebrew verbs involved in the biblical account, see here.)

In some cases, we simply reap what we sow, meaning that, the more we walk in error, the further we get into error. The more we walk in disobedience, the more we disobey. (See Galatians 6:7-8.)

In other cases, as with the texts just referenced, God actively gives people over to delusion and deception. This is the judgment they experience for refusing to yield.

Today, we are witnessing a similar phenomenon, be it with people reaping what they have sown or with God giving them over to delusion. Either way, it is frightening to watch this unfold here and now, right in front of our own eyes.

For example, those who continue to believe in the QAnon conspiratorial myths are now espousing even more extreme and bizarre theories.

There can be no reality check because reality no longer has any meaning.

It was one thing when, in the days before Joe Bidens inauguration, the conspiracy theorists told us that the thousands of National Guard troops that flooded the Capital were there to install Donald Trump, not protect Biden.

Yes, we were assured, both Biden, Mike Pence, and others would be arrested, and Trump himself, the rightful president, would be inaugurated.

The theory was bizarre and preposterous, without any foundation in fact, yet the inauguration had not yet taken place. But for those given over to delusion, the events of January 20th presented no problem at all.

Biden, we were told, was not actually installed as our 46th president. It appeared to be him but was not. Trump is still in control. Soon enough the whole world will see. (For a variation of this, actually fact-checked by USA Today, see here.)

This is the madness of delusion. There are no facts. There is no reality. There is only perception.

Thankfully, many QAnon followers did wake up. They had their reality check, with many commenting, Weve all been played.

As Forbes reported, As Joe Biden was sworn in as president, QAnon followers finally saw their hope for the stormwhen President Donald Trump would bring down the deep state and expose a far-reaching child-sex-trafficking ringdisappear, leaving followers of the unhinged conspiracy theory in despair and searching for answers, while one of the most prominent adherents gave up.

On the Christian charismatic, spiritual front, were witnessing a similar phenomenon when it comes to the failed Trump prophecies.

Some leaders have apologized for their wrong words, however well-intentioned the prophecies may have been. And many believers have recognized that these prophetic leaders have erred, calling for honesty and accountability without throwing them under the bus.

But many others have dug in their heels.

Some of those claiming the mantle of prophet have told us that Trump has actually been inaugurated by God, and that it is he, not Biden, who is currently the legitimate, even governing president.

Others are insisting that the big turnaround is still to come, with new dates set for March or April or sometime in the next four years (!). Yet these very same voices guaranteed us that Trump would be inaugurated on January 20th, reaffirming their words in the days leading up to that date. Why the need to shift the dates now? Did God lose track of the time?

As for those of us who would call for accountability, based on clear New Testament principles (see 1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21; 1 John 4:1), we are accused of attacking the prophets, or criticizing the prophets, or shaming the prophets. Dont touch Gods anointed, we are told with threatening intonation. God will strike us if we do.

Still, its one thing for those who made the failed predictions to defend themselves. Its another thing for their followers to do so as well, castigating anyone who would dare point to reality. As one of my colleagues noted, it is a bizarre fulfillment of what God said through the prophet Jeremiah over 2,500 years ago: A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and My people love it this way. But what will you do in the end? (Jeremiah 5:30-31, my emphasis)

The path to delusion has many roadblocks along the way. One of those is called reality. Once we deny that, we are well on our way to dangerous deception.

So, to one and all I say: it is high time for a serious reality check. Those who truly love God will never be hurt by the truth.
Hartford Police / Contributed Photo

HARTFORD  The suspected shooter in a January homicide was taken into custody in Massachusetts and awaits extradition, police said Thursday.

Jordon Register, 28, was found in Springfield and taken into custody by the Massachusetts State Police Fugitive Unit and Springfield police without incident, Lt. Aaron Boisvert said.
The Vlasov-Poisson equations describe many important physical phenomena such as the distribution of gravitating particles in the interstellar space, high-temperature plasma kinetics, and the Landau damping effect. A joint team of scientists from the Mathematical Institute of RUDN University and the Mathematical Institute of the University of Munich suggested a new method to obtain stationary solutions for a system of Vlasov-Poisson equations in a three-dimensional case. The obtained solutions describe the phenomena of stellar dynamics. The results of the study were published in the Doklady Mathematics journal.

Modern-day physics distinguishes between four main types of interactions. Elementary particle physics covers strong and weak interactions, electromagnetism is studied by electrodynamics, and systems with gravitational interaction fall into the scope of a special branch of physics called gravidynamics. On the space scale, gravitational fields play a key role. One domain of study within gravidynamics is called stellar dynamics.

"We have considered a three-dimensional stationary system of the Vlasov-Poisson equations concerning the distribution function of gravitating matter, local density, and Newtonian potential, and developed a new method for obtaining spherically symmetric stationary solutions. This was the result of our fruitful collaboration with renowned German scientists J. Batt and E. Joern," said Alexander Skubachevskii, a D Sc in Physics and Mathematics, and the Head of the Nikolskii Mathematical Institute of RUDN University.

The movement and interaction of multiple particles in gravitational, electric, and electromagnetic fields are described using the equations that were developed by the eminent Soviet physicist Anatoly Vlasov. They model the dynamics and stationary distribution of a system of particles in view of the influence of a self-consistent field. The Vlasov-Poisson equation for a system of gravitating particles consists of the Poisson equation covering the gravitational potential and the Vlasov equation covering the function of density distribution in interconnected particles. Vlasov's model was initially supposed to describe electron gas dynamics. The model views processes in plasma not as a series of collisions between individual particles but as a simplified system in which particles interact through a field, and the field, in turn, correlates with the particle density distribution function. Therefore, the Vlasov equations are sometimes called equations with a self-consistent field. Together with his German colleagues, the mathematician from RUDN University established the theorem of expandability, i.e. demonstrated how the local density function should look like in order for it to be supplemented to a stationary spherically symmetric solution of the Vlasov-Poisson system.

###
Montreal's police chief publicly apologized Friday to the man wrongfully arrested, charged and detained for almost a week in connection with an attack on a city police officer.

Police cordon off the area where an officer was injured during a traffic stop Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Montreal. Montreal police say theyve found a vehicle today believed to have been used by a suspect in an assault on a police officer last week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Montreal's police chief publicly apologized Friday to the man wrongfully arrested, charged and detained for almost a week in connection with an attack on a city police officer.

Chief Sylvain Caron said results from DNA analyses "allow us to exonerate" Mamadi III Fara Camara, who was arrested Jan. 28 after a police officer was allegedly disarmed and attacked following a traffic stop in Montreal's Parc Extension borough.

Caron said he spoke with Camara Friday. "We agreed to meet in the coming days so I can offer our most sincere apologies to him and his family for all the inconveniences tied to the unfortunate events of the last few days," he told reporters, reading from prepared statements.

"We are human, we sympathize with them," Caron said, about Camara's family. "My apologies, I offer them publicly."

Camara spent almost a week in detention when prosecutors on Wednesday dropped all the charges  including attempted murder of a police officer  after they said evidence had surfaced absolving him. The case prompted politicians and civil rights groups to demand an independent investigation.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "concerned" about the arrest and described the case as "troubling," adding that he had confidence Quebec authorities will do what is needed to figure out what happened.

"I know the responsible authorities are very aware of the pressure that will be on them to figure out exactly what went wrong and to fully answer the questions of friends and family and citizens who are extremely worried about this troubling incident," he told reporters.

About 100 people gathered Friday evening in front of a subway station in the neighbourhood where Camara was arrested last week. Protesters condemned the arrest and called for an end to systemic racism, with many saying they didn't believe Camara would have been arrested if he was white.

Cassandra Williams, one of the protesters, said police need to be held accountable for their actions. The mother of two Black boys said she worries what would happen if her older son, a teenager, is confronted by a police officer.

"Hold them accountable like children, you do something wrong, youre going to get punished," Williams said. "Hold the police accountable, hold their bosses accountable."

Montreal police said Friday the investigation into the assault is continuing and that they had found a vehicle they said they believe was driven by a suspect in the case. Const. Caroline Chevrefils said the red Hyundai Elantra was found in the citys southwestern LaSalle borough and that detectives were interviewing witnesses in the area and checking if neighbourhood cameras captured images of the car or its driver.

In a statement issued Friday morning, the office of the director of prosecutions said prosecutors "in principle" are required to have a complete case before charges are laid. But, it added, it's "not exceptional" for charges to be laid early in the interest of public safety.

Audrey Roy-Cloutier, spokeswoman for the director of prosecutions, wrote that police arrested Camara based on information provided by the officer who was attacked and from circumstantial evidence. She said the charges were filed at the request of police.

Roy-Cloutier said prosecutors received new evidence Feb. 3 and that after reviewing it, came to the conclusion it was no longer possible to support the charges against Camara.

Mayor Valerie Plante on Thursday denounced the detention of Camara  who is Black  as "unacceptable" and said any eventual independent investigation should examine whether racial profiling played a part.

Yves Francoeur, head of the Montreal police brotherhood, accused the mayor of "political interference" in the ongoing police investigation. In a letter to Plante Friday, the union head said her decision to discuss racial profiling in connection with the case was "extremely deplorable."

"In doing so, you throw oil on the fire, undermine the social climate and complicate even more the task of those responsible for ensuring the safety of Montrealers," Francoeur wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.



This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- Local high school sophomores, parents and prospective adult education students are invited to take an in-person guided tour of Polaris Career Center during Tuesday Tours.

These one-on-one tour opportunities give prospective students and parents an opportunity to explore Polaris newly renovated Middleburg Heights campus and get specific high school and adult education enrollment questions answered.

Tuesday Tours will run every 30 minutes from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 9 through March 30. Please note that Polaris will limit the number of students visiting each program and maintain strict social distancing protocols.

To make a reservation for the high school tour, contact Cindy Crisler at 440-891-7732 or ccrisler@polaris.edu. For a reservation for adult education, contact Theresa Liska at 440-891-7697 or tliska@polaris.edu.

Polaris offers a wide variety of career-technical programs for middle school, high school and adult students. Middle and high school programs serve students from the Berea, Brooklyn, Fairview Park, North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls and Strongsville school districts. Adult education students come from all over Northeast Ohio.

If interested in enrolling now for next school year, sophomores can apply online at www.polaris.edu/register. Interested adult students are encouraged to visit www.polaris.edu/jobtraining or call 440-891-7697.

World premieres: Beck Center for the Arts announces its 10th collaboration with the Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program, in the form of virtual world premieres of five 15-minute, brand-new musicals chosen by the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) created the 15-Minute Musical Challenge during the spring of 2020 to celebrate the power of musical theater. Executive Director Betsy King Militello shares, In all times, but especially challenging times, we believe that musical theater has the power to elevate the human experience and uplift each other.

The 15-Minute Musical Challenge, inspired and supported by the Alhadaff Family Charitable Foundation, was developed to inspire creativity during the early days of social distancing. We are thrilled to see five of the winning musicals see further development with Beck Center for the Arts and Baldwin Wallace University.

Scott Spence, now in his 30th season as artistic director of Beck Center for the Arts, said, Pandemic or no, we were determined that this 10th anniversary of the Beck Center/Baldwin Wallace collaboration must go on.

With the addition of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre as a partner, we could not be more excited to offer the World Premieres of five brand-new musicals. Composers and lyricists from around the country have been working with us since August 2020, and its thrilling to put all of this collaboration to work on a national level.

Beck Center continues its collaboration with the Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program (BWMT) with Victoria Bussert leading the program.

Also a director of one of the winning pieces, Perpetual Sunshine and the Ghost Girls, Victoria says: I was very honored to be asked to read a large number of the 15-minute musicals for NAMT and to serve on the final selection committee. The creativity of these pieces is truly inspiring; its thrilling for our BWMT students to have the unique opportunity to work with our guest directors and these fantastic writing teams.

The creative teams behind the music, lyrics and performances of these virtual productions are award-winning, talented,and diverse individuals. Go to www.beckcenter.org to learn more about these very gifted artists.

Perpetual Sunshine and the Ghost Girls is an all-woman musical theater piece about the capitalist exploitation of workers bodies and rights in the face of a national public health crisis. The show is based on the true story of the women who fought United States Radium Corp. in the 1920s for knowingly poisoning them and subsequently changed United States labor laws forever.

Holo, set in 2189 in a holograph museum, finds curator and holographic Kyle entering into a unique relationship that recounts the year 2020 and the pandemic that came with it on an ever-repeating loop.

Rodeo Clowns is a queer Western epic about two eccentric outcasts who save the heart of their disintegrating town. This whip-crack comedy act features a colorful country music score.

Monster on the Lawn centers around Ricky, a 6-year-old boy with a growing imagination, who wakes up to see a whale-like creature on his front lawn. When an incoming hurricane threatens to separate Ricky from his family and his home, he seeks comfort in the presence of this strange and seemingly quiet monster.

White Mans Burden is an irreverently funny and powerful mini-rock musical that takes place inside the world of sideshow freaks who have been killed because of the color of their skin. They are led by an emcee who is part ringmaster/part infomercial host. He spotlights the oppression and suffering of African-Americans during 400 years through a musical kaleidoscope of songs.

This limited virtual engagement runs Feb. 12-28 on any device in the comfort of your home, as part of Beck Center for the Arts 87th Professional Theater Season. For more information on this world premiere musical theater project, visit beckcenter.org.

Tickets -- priced at $20 for one viewer, $30 for two or more viewers and $40 for arts lovers who want to support the Beck Center -- can be purchased at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/44593.

Beck Center is located at 17801 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood.

Let the Strongsville community know what is going on with your organization, church, school, business or family. Email me at shirleymac48@att.net.

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The men then ran away down Albion Avenue where police say they encountered a 30-year-old woman who was exiting a 2009 Subaru Impreza and demanded the keys to her car. The men then got inside the car and drove away, abandoning it on the 4900 block of North McVicker Avenue in Chicagos Jefferson Park neighborhood, police said.
(Natural News) A conservative media watchdog found products promoting hate or violence being sold on Amazon. The Media Research Center (MRC) found more than 200 items promoting violence against President Donald Trump, Republicans and law enforcement officers. A black shirt with the slogan Kill All Republicans printed in front  which was even a sponsored listing on the online shopping platform  was part of the MRCs discoveries.

The MRC found that Amazon carried other shirts with violent messages on them. One T-shirt had the slogan Hospitalize Your Local Fascist, with a knife with a drop of blood being part of its design. Another shirt featured a guillotine as its main design, with an expletive printed on it. Meanwhile, another vendor sold shirts encouraging violence against trans-exclusionary radical feminists and members of the alt-right.

Other items showed the president being harmed or killed. One flag showed Trump shooting himself in a gory manner, with the words Municipal Waste on top of the graphic. A steak knife rack designed like Trumps head was advertised as the perfect gift.

MRC also found that Amazon carried merchandise with anti-police slogans and graphics. More than 130 products had the slogan ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards), which was a popular phrase used in Antifa circles. One such item was a sticker of a cat throwing a Molotov cocktail  with ACAB written on the improvised bomb. A refrigerator magnet had a dead pigs head on top of a trench knife: The pig head wore a police cap.

Aside from these anti-police merchandise, Amazon also carried riot gear such as tasers, brass knuckles and stun sticks. Antifa rioters used these items against police officers during Black Lives Matter riots last year.

Amazon ironically banned Parler for violent content, yet its electronic marketplace sold items promoting violence

BBC reported on Jan. 11 that the Big Tech firm banned free speech platform Parler from hosting its site on Amazon Web Services. The technology giant accused Parler of refusing to remove content that encourages or incites violence against others. Amazon added that it had found 98 posts containing violent content on the website.

In response, Parler sued Amazon over the Big Tech firms de-platforming. Parler accused the Jeff Bezos-helmed company of engaging in antitrust violations and interfering with the social media platforms business relationship with its users. The suit also alleged that Amazon breached its contract by not providing a 30-day notice before terminating Parlers hosting contract. (Related: Fighting back: Parler, Rumble file suits against Amazon and Google respectively.)

Prior to banning Parler from Amazon Web Services, Amazon removed products featuring the QAnon movement from its marketplace platform. An NBC News report said the technology firm warned vendors who sold products that promote, incite or glorify hate and violence toward any person or group that they could be banned from selling there.

Ironically, Amazon itself carries merchandise featuring violent content and hate speech based on MRCs findings. Items that call for the death of Republicans and the president remain on the platform.

Contrary to what it claims, Amazon censors products that go against the narrative

According to the Amazon Terms of Service, products that promote, incite or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views are prohibited. The terms of service also outlines specific categories for prohibited products, including those targeted [toward] any person or group and those containing violent or offensive material that has no historical significance.

In addition, the platforms guidelines for sponsored products prohibit content that advocates for or against a politician or a political party, or that personally attacks a political figure. Based on these guidelines, the merchandise calling for the death of Republicans and Trump should have been banned.

MRC said the terms of service do not apply to media such as music, books, television or movies. However, Amazon has been found to censor a number of books that go against the narrative.

In August 2020, the platform banned a book criticizing Canadas response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rebel News founder Ezra Levant, the books author, said his work is purely a discussion of Canada-China politics. Amazon initially refused to list it on its marketplace, but eventually relented.

Months later, former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson called out Amazon for banning his book that criticized mask-wearing mandates. Both the print and digital version of Berensons book were blocked from the e-commerce platform. The tech giant eventually reinstated the book after Berenson called it out on social media.

Find out more about Amazons double standards on censorship at JeffBezosWatch.com.

Sources include:

NewsBusters.org

BBC.com

VOANews.com

NBCNews.com

SellerCentral.Amazon.com
Salma Hayek has found herself grappling with repressed emotions over the trauma she faced from Harvey Weinstein.

The Academy Award nominee was one of several women in Hollywood who accused the producer of sexual misconduct back in 2017.

She recently opened up in an interview with the Evening Standard about attempting to heal from the emotional turmoil, almost a year after Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Repressed emotions: Salma Hayek has found herself grappling with repressed emotions over the trauma she faced from Harvey Weinstein (pictured in January, 2020)

#MeToo: The Academy Award nominee was one of several women in Hollywood who accused the producer of sexual misconduct back in 2017 (pictured in February, 2020)

The 54-year-old said: 'The amazing thing is that I thought I had healed. And then everything came out again and I realized I didn't heal, I repressed and I coped, I adjusted, I went on, so there was a layer of healing because it didn't stop me from growing.'

Last week, a judge approved a liquidation plan to provide a $17.1million fund for Weinstein's accusers, nearly three years after the Weinstein Co filed bankruptcy.

The fund will be divided among more than 50 claimants, with some of the most serious accusations resulting in a payout of $500K or more.

Hayek added: 'But it was very painful for a long time. I didn't know there were so many other women affected and that it went so deep. It was very shocking. But the fact that we [took action] together made it really healing.'

Learning to heal: The 54-year-old said: 'The amazing thing is that I thought I had healed. And then everything came out again and I realized I didn't heal, I repressed and I coped, I adjusted, I went on, so there was a layer of healing because it didn't stop me from growing' (pictured in September, 2018)

Women supporting women: Hayek added: 'But it was very painful for a long time. I didn't know there were so many other women affected and that it went so deep. It was very shocking. But the fact that we [took action] together made it really healing' (pictured in March, 2020)

Moving on: The Like a Boss actress said that she's 'moved on,' adding: 'I lived with that for long enough and I detach myself from it now' (pictured in February, 2020)

The Like a Boss actress said that she's 'moved on,' adding: 'I lived with that for long enough and I detach myself from it now.'

She previously opened up in an essay for The New York Times about the abuse she faced from Weinstein while making her 2002 film Frida, for which she earned an Oscar nomination.

Hayek alleged in the December, 2017 piece that he propositioned her to take a shower with him, also offering her oral sex.

She said: 'The range of his persuasion tactics went from sweet-talking me to that one time when, in an attack of fury, he said the terrifying words, "I will kill you, don't think I can't."'

Behind-the-scenes abuse: She previously opened up in an essay for The New York Times about the abuse she faced from Weinstein while making her 2002 film Frida, for which she earned an Oscar nomination

Attack of fury: She said: 'The range of his persuasion tactics went from sweet-talking me to that one time when, in an attack of fury, he said the terrifying words, "I will kill you, don't think I can't"' (pictured in May, 2010)

The Desperado star's essay came after a first wave of more than a dozen women accused Weinstein of similar incidents that October in The Times and The New Yorker, which ultimately lit the fuse igniting the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein was convicted on February 24, 2020 of two of five criminal charges: one count of criminal sexual assault in the first degree and one count of rape in the third degree.

He was sentenced to 23 years in prison on March 11, and he's serving his sentence at Wende Correctional Facility in Western New York, while awaiting a criminal trial in Los Angeles.

It was reported last month that Weinstein plans to appeal his Manhattan conviction within three months.
Asserting that America and its diplomacy are back, US President on Thursday said his administration will repair the relationship with allies and engage with the world once again.

"We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again, not to meet yesterday's challenges, but today's and tomorrow's. American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy," Biden said in his remarks to State Department employees.

The US, he said, must meet the new moment accelerating global challenges -- from the pandemic to the climate crisis to nuclear proliferation -- challenging the will only to be solved by nations working together and in common. "We cannot do it alone," he said.

"We must start with diplomacy rooted in America's most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law and treating every person with dignity. That is the grounding wire of our global power. That is our inexhaustible source of strength. That is America's abiding advantage.

"Though many of these values have come under intense pressure in recent years, even pushed to the brink in the last few weeks, the American people are going to emerge from this moment stronger, more determined and better equipped to unite the world in fighting to defend democracy, because we have fought for it ourselves," Biden said.

In his maiden address to the employees of the State Department, the president said he has come to the building to send a clear message to the world: America is back. America is back. Diplomacy is back.

"You are the centre of all that I intend to do. You are the heart of it. We are going to rebuild our alliances. We are going to re-engage with the world and take on the enormous challenge we face dealing with a pandemic, dealing with global warming and again, standing up for democracy and human rights," he said.

Biden said his administration will work with partners to support restoration of democracy and the rule of law, and impose consequences on those responsible.

"Over the past two weeks, I have spoken with the leaders of many of our closest friends -- Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, France, NATO, Japan, South Korea, Australia -- to begin reforming the habits of cooperation and rebuilding the muscle of democratic alliances that have atrophied over the past few years of neglect and, I would argue, abuse," he said.

America's alliances, he asserted are its greatest asset and leading with diplomacy means standing shoulder-to-shoulder with US allies and key partners once again.

"By leading with diplomacy, we must also mean engaging our adversaries and our competitors diplomatically, where it is in our interest, and advance the security of the American people," he said.

On day one of his presidency, Biden said, he signed the paperwork to rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change.

"We are taking steps led by the example of integrating climate objectives across all of our diplomacy and raise the ambition of our climate targets. That way, we can challenge other nations, other major emitters, up the ante on their own commitments," he said, adding that he will be hosting a climate leaders' summit to address the climate crisis on Earth Day this year.

"America must lead in the face of this existential threat. And just as with the pandemic, it requires global cooperation. We have also re-engaged with the World Health Organization. That way, we can build better global preparedness to counter COVID-19, as well as detect and prevent future pandemics, because there will be more," he said.

Biden said he has elevated the status of cyber issues within the government, including appointing the first Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology.

"We are launching an urgent initiative to improve our capability, readiness and resilience in cyberspace," he said as he announced additional steps to course-correct foreign policy and better unite democratic values with diplomatic leadership.

To begin with, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be leading a Global Posture Review of forces so that US military footprint is appropriately aligned with foreign policy and national security priorities.

"While this review is taking place, we will be stopping any planned troop withdrawals from Germany.

"We are also stepping up our diplomacy to end the war in Yemen -- a war which has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe. I have asked my Middle East team to ensure our support for the United Nations-led initiative to impose a ceasefire, open humanitarian channels and restore long-dormant peace talks," Biden said.

The US, he said is ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales. "At the same time, Saudi Arabia faces missile attacks, UAV strikes and other threats from Iran-supplied forces in multiple countries. We are going to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and people," he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Alabama Department of Public Health will launch mass vaccination clinics for COVID-19 in eight cities around the state as it ramps up its efforts to distribute shots to more than a million people.

Drive-through vaccine clinics opened this week in Mobile, Auburn and Birmingham. New locations in Anniston, Dothan, Montgomery, Selma, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville will open next week.

On Feb. 8, the eligibility criteria for COVID-19 vaccination in Alabama will widen to include people age 65 and older and some essential workers, including teachers, food and agricultural workers, correctional officers and several other categories. The department of public health has created an online portal to check eligibility and register for vaccines.

Although the states allotment of vaccines has increased in recent weeks, patients in the newly expanded categories may still have difficulty getting appointments in the coming weeks, said Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris.

Generally our health departments are booked through April and they are mostly focused on second shots, so that makes it hard to get new people in right now, Harris said.

In addition to the new mass vaccination clinics, a pilot program to distribute vaccines at selected Walmart locations could begin in about ten days, Harris said. People will have to remain patient in coming months. Even if they become eligible, limited supply may prevent everyone who wants a shot from getting one, Harris said.

The real challenge is managing the expectations of the public, Harris said.

Most of the sites require appointments for vaccines, but clinics in Montgomery and Selma will offer shots on a first-come, first-served basis. Here is some additional information about the new vaccination clinics:

Anniston:

All appointments have been filled

Regional Medical Center: 256-235-5600 or visit www.rmccares.org to be placed on waiting list.

February 8-9, Oxford Civic Center, 401 McCullars Lane, Oxford

February 10, Anniston City Meeting Center, 1615 Noble Street, Anniston

February 11-12, Jacksonville Community Center, 501 Alexandria Road SW, #A, Jacksonville

Auburn:

Vaccines by appointment only through East Alabama Medical Center.

1716 Opelika Road in Auburn; it is next door to Big Lots in the old Tuesday Morning building in the Market Square Shopping Center.

Birmingham:

Jefferson County Vaccine Call Center and UAB at uabmedicinevaccine.org

Drive-through locations at UAB Hospital Highlands, Hoover Met and A.H. Parker High School

Dothan:

All appointments have been filled

Southeast Health at https://www.southeasthealth.org/covid19vaccine/

Huntsville:

All appointments have been filled

Huntsville Hospital at huntsvillehospital.org/covid-19-vaccination

Clinics held February 8-12, Jaycee Building, John Hunt Park, 2180 Airport Rd SW

Mobile:

Dayspring Baptist Church, 2200 Cody Road, Mobile-- By appointment only, no walkups-- getprovidencemobilecare.com -- February 8-9 (8:00am  2:00pm)-- February 10 (8:00am  12:00pm)

ProHealth Fitness Center, 166 Mobile Infirmary Blvd.-- By appointment only, no walkups-- Call (251) 341-2819 to make an appointment-- February 8-10 (7:00am-11:00am and 1:00pm-5:00pm

Mobile Civic Center, 401 Civic Center Drive-- By appointment only, no walkups-- c19vaccine.southalabama.edu -- February 13 (8:00am  6:00pm)

Springhill Medical Center-- By appointment only, no walkups-- springhillmedicalcenter.com

Montgomery:

No appointment necessary. Registration available through baptistfirst.org

February 8-12, South/Central Police & Fire/Rescue Precinct, 3003 East South Blvd (formerly Montgomery Mall)

Selma:

No appointment necessary, but please complete registration form beforehand, available at vaughanregional.com/coronavirus-covid-19

February 8-12, Bloch Park, 108 Dallas Avenue

Tuscaloosa:

All appointments have been filled

February 8-12 (6:30am  8:30pm) at parking lot west of DCH Regional Medical Center
CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Superintendent Robert Hunt has asked the Chagrin Falls Board of Education to consider approving additional staffing that may be needed to allow students who attend Gurney Elementary School virtually to return to in-person learning.

At the board meeting Wednesday (Feb. 3), held via Zoom video, Hunt said some parents in the district have indicated an interest in moving their children from Chagrin Falls Virtual Academy to full-day, in-person instruction for the start of the next trimester March 1.

The virtual academy, which is entirely remote, has been available to all students since the school year began. But families who chose that option for their children were asked to make a commitment for the entire school year, mainly to allow the district to plan for staffing needs.

In grades four through 12, weve pretty much been able to adapt and make that (transition) happen due to the level of live-streaming that were doing, Hunt said. The model will be very different at K-3.

Gurney Elementary School houses the districts students in kindergarten through third grade.

Students in kindergarten through grade six have been in full-day, in-person instruction since Jan. 11.

Hunt said allowing the K-3 students whose parents wish to shift them from virtual to in-person learning for the rest of the school year would have staffing implications.

We would likely have to add an additional full-time teacher at Gurney for the rest of the school year, in addition to an (educational) aide, he said. Thats really dependent on how many students would want to cross over.

Hunt estimated that filling those two positions, assuming they have full benefits, would cost about $56,000.

If that is something that we want to move forward with, I think we need to make a decision sooner rather than later so we can begin to prepare, he said.

The downside is some students will have a brand-new teacher, but I think parents will understand that thats part of this. We would keep the virtual teacher the same based on enrollment and shift if we have to.

Hunt said if the board is OK with the additional staffing to allow K-3 students to make this transition, he would get the exact figures, then come back to the board with a final recommendation.

Board member Sharon Broz said she was contacted by a parent whose children have been in fully remote learning since the start of the school year.

With the change in the environment and with people getting vaccinated (for COVID-19), everything feels like its shifting, she said. When they made the decision in the beginning of the year, it was the right thing to keep their students home, but now they feel like it would be safe enough for them to return.

Broz said she agrees with Hunt that allowing these students to transition back to in-person learning makes sense.

We all know that any time in front of the teachers in the classroom is what serves our students best, she said. And I think in preparation for next year, any student that is interested in getting back in the classroom, its probably going to be a big step forward for them, both educationally and from a social-emotional standpoint.

So, even though theres an extra expense, I support it, Broz said. We oftentimes spend money on things that are in the best interest of the student, even though it wasnt in our initial budget.

Board Vice President Kathryn Garvey and President Phil Rankin said they agree with Broz.

I think this is definitely in the best interest of students, especially at those grade levels, getting them back in front of a teacher if they want it, Garvey said.

She told Hunt, I also applaud that youre being really creative, and I know that all the staff and Dr. (Rachel) Jones are being really creative about how to maintain (social) distancing and masking and keep all of our students safe, even as additional ones are rejoining the community of the in-person learning.

So youve got my support for sure.

Jones is principal of Gurney Elementary School.

I think the more that we can get into that in-person learning model, were going to see ourselves accelerating even more so than we have been, Rankin said.

Board member Mary Kay OToole asked Hunt if he had any indications yet about the number of parents seeking to make this transition for their children.

I certainly know there are some that are very interested in this, he said. I think if we make it an option, a few more will come.

I also know there are people who are just not interested and will remain in the virtual environment.

Hunt said the districts administration is also discussing whether it would offer a virtual option entering the next school year.

With the status of the vaccine, I believe the lowest age that I have seen is 16, he said. Hopefully, (a vaccine) comes out before the beginning of next year thats more appropriate for children, but I think were likely going to be in an environment where there will still be parents that are going to want that option.

So weve started to have those conversations, and more information will come to the board on that.

Hunts resignation accepted

With regret, the board accepted the resignation of Hunt, effective on a date to be determined.

Hunt recently was named superintendent of the Barrington 220 Community Unit School District in Chicago and will start there July 1. He has agreed to remain with Chagrin Falls Schools through the end of this school year to support the transition to the next superintendent.

Hes going to be greatly missed from Chagrin Falls, Rankin said.

Garvey told Hunt, I really appreciate in your letter (of resignation) your recommitting to helping us find your replacement and that your departure will be contingent on when well be able to bring somebody in and schedule an effective transition.

So thank you for that. Thats really important.

New assistant hired

In other action, the board approved the hiring of Sheila Pacsi as administrative assistant to the director of curriculum, effective Thursday (Feb. 11).

Pacsi, whose salary will be $46,000, replaces Angel James, who resigned in January to become the districts high school guidance secretary.

Board donates pay

The board also approved the donation of its combined net pay of $7,846 -- earned by the five members in 2020 -- back to the district.

The board had agreed to make that commitment as a way of pitching in to help the district save money after a lower millage amount was chosen for the operating levy on the November ballot, Treasurer Ashley Brudno said.

The 3.85-mill levy passed by better than a two-to-one margin.

The boards next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 17.

Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.
Lagos  The Chief Executive Officer of Century Power Generation Ltd, Dr. Chukwueloka Umeh, has called for the empowerment of local meter manufacturers to ensure the success of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).

The programme flagged off by President Muhammadu Buhari targets providing 6.5 million meters for power consumers beginning from October 2020.

The current metering gap comprising unmetered customers and customers with obsolete meters is over 10m, according to the framework for financing the programme released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, Umeh called for the creation of an enabling environment where Nigerian manufacturers can grow.

Umeh said that instead of the government procuring the meters, they should let private companies drive the process for efficiency and retain capital in the country.

Umeh, who is also the Chief Operating Officer of the Nestoil Group, equally spoke on the tariff increment as he urged electricity consumers to be patient.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari promised that all power users would get meters before the end of his administration while ending and that estimated billing methodology.

The free distribution of meters was also part of the agreement reached between the federal government and the organised labour after the disputed increase in electricity tariff in September 2020.
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Bars will be closed, people will have to pass through checkpoints to get to major Carnival gathering spots like Bourbon and Frenchman streets, and there will be a heavy police presence patrolling the city as part of a sweeping plan unveiled Friday for the days leading up to Mardi Gras.

With city officials focused on preventing another surge in coronavirus cases, some of the most quintessential elements of Mardi Gras, and the city itself, will be off limits. Go cups are banned, as is mass revelry in the French Quarter. The North Claiborne Avenue median under Interstate 10 will be fenced in to prevent crowds and street parties as well.

The restrictions, announced by Mayor LaToya Cantrell, mark a dramatic turn for an administration that has largely used scolding and appeals to prevent violations of coronavirus rules.

Carnival parades and balls were canceled in December. Since then, requests that residents and tourists use their best judgement to stay safe have generally prevailed. But in recent weeks, amid growing outrage over large  and largely maskless  crowds, the tone from public officials began to shift.

The strict new rules were met with a mix of resignation and anger by bar and restaurant staff, who said they felt the rug had been pulled out from under them less than two weeks before Fat Tuesday.

But reflecting back on last years Mardi Gras, a superspreader event that contributed to the virus heavy toll in New Orleans, Cantrell said she would rather be accused of doing too much than doing too little.

I think we were all hopeful that we could strike the necessary balance of having a safe Mardi Gras and a fun Mardi Gras as well, but given these new variants, recent large crowds in the Quarter and the potential for even larger crowds this weekend and the weekend as we move into Mardi Gras, it has become very apparent that it is hard to do, Cantrell said.

The citys plan will begin with stepped-up enforcement of its existing rules, which place limits on occupancy and prohibit bars from serving patrons indoors.

The added restrictions will kick in on Friday, Feb. 12 and run through Fat Tuesday on Feb. 16. They require all of the citys bars, including those with a conditional restaurant permit, to shut down completely. Retail liquor sales in the French Quarter will be banned and restaurants will be prohibited from serving go cups.

Pedestrians will be prohibited from hanging out on Bourbon, Frenchmen, Decatur and North Claiborne  all traditional Carnival hotspots  with police setting up checkpoints and barricades at intersections. Only people heading to or from their homes, hotels, restaurants or shops will be allowed through, according to New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.

To further block off Claiborne, a fence will be erected under Interstate 10.

Police will be instructed to break up crowds, issuing tickets or making arrests if necessary. Businesses flouting the rules will be shut down on the spot, according to officials.

City Hall has done little over the course of the pandemic to enforce rules on bars and gatherings, issuing a handful of temporary closures to businesses that have flouted the regulations and rarely breaking up groups of revelers.

But on Friday, permitting and code enforcement chief Peter Bowen warned that the city was aware of businesses that were in violation and would be cracking down if they didnt change their ways.

Your selfishness continues to threaten the delicate ecosystem that is our hospitality industry. You are directly responsible for the deaths of New Orleanians, Bowen said.

The last minute nature of the new rules caused problems for some businesses. Beaux Church, director of Cafe Lafitte in Exile, Good Friends, Rawhide and Clover Grill, said food and drink supplies had already been purchased for his establishments.

On Friday, the businesses replaced the Pride, Mardi Gras and American flags hanging from their balconies with white flags indicating they surrendered to the mayor, he said.

Local 718, a restaurant and bar that opened on Bourbon Street late last year, plans to be open but was ratcheting down expectations on Friday, General Manager Melissa Harrigan said.

"The mayor even said, 'Hey, come to New Orleans," Harrigan said. "How can you say that and then say 'Stay in your hotel room?'"

Not all were opposed, however.

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Im glad that we are not going to be putting beads over bodies, said Mark Schettler, general manager of Bar Tonique on North Rampart Street. We are talking about five days of closure to prevent 14 to 28 days of closure if there was another spike Neither option is great, but we are in a global pandemic.

The restrictions amount to a never-before attempted shutdown of Carnival-related revelry. Parades have been canceled in years past, notably during the 1979 police strike and during major wars, but celebrations through the French Quarter and at the citys watering holes could still continue, Carnival historian Arthur Hardy said.

Theres no model for this and enforcement is going to be a challenge, Hardy said. Were asking for restraint in a celebration thats built on excess.

Similarly  short of political demonstrations and public safety issues  there appears to be no precedent for the plans to set up barricades and checkpoints to limit crowds on Bourbon Street, said Tulane geographer Richard Campanella, author of "Bourbon Street: A History."

But they do fit in with other proposals on controlling Bourbon Street in recent years, dating back to plans by former Mayor Mitch Landrieus administration to install security checkpoints in the wake of shootings along the stretch.

While the current plan is unprecedented, it does seem to me weve been taking little steps in that direction  that is, in the direction of controlling access and managing crowd behavior on Bourbon Street, Campanella said.

Even as they shut down parades and instituted restrictions in recent weeks, officials also continued to promote the city as a safe spot for tourists. Far from warning them against coming, Cantrell and others had hewed to the line that they were welcome as long as they behaved.

Councilmember Jay H. Banks came the closest to fully warning tourists to stay away on Friday.

If by chance you have an aversion to wearing a mask, stay where yat. If youve got a problem with social distancing, dont come. If your expectation is to come to the city that care forgot and forget we care about our residents, you are going to be sorely disappointed, Banks said. I would suggest that if your expectation is the Mardi Gras of the past, dont waste your money.

Trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, who operates the Treme Mother-in-Law Lounge on North Claiborne Avenue, was planning to cook 20 pounds of red beans and rice and mix go-drinks on Mardi Gras as he watched Mardi Gras Indians parade on the street, as they have for generations.

Now, with Claiborne set to be fenced off and no bars allowed open, Ruffins and his band, the Barbecue Swingers, will play live at the bar for several hours on Fat Tuesday  but for an online audience only.

"I will put a pan of chicken in the oven, and make some pork and beans and rice for my band, and we will smoke some reefer and have fun," he said. "Unfortunately, anybody thats knocking at the door trying to get in, there is nothing we can do."

New Orleans Mardi Gras restrictions: Here's where you can't gather under new city rules Mardi Gras and the weekend leading up to it will look quite different in New Orleans this year amid the lingering coronavirus pandemic.

+2 Replay: LaToya Cantrell announces Bourbon Street checkpoints, bar closures for Mardi Gras Mayor LaToya Cantrell is scheduled to discuss Mardi Gras public safety rules on Friday morning after recent reports of large, maskless gatheri

+2 Bourbon Street checkpoints, bar closures to be considered for final days of Mardi Gras, sources say Mayor LaToya Cantrell is considering closing all of the city's bars and creating checkpoints that would limit access to Bourbon Street in the 

New Orleans' Carnival crowd control plan to be announced Friday, LaToya Cantrell says New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell will announce on Friday a crowd-control plan for the 2021 Carnival season in an effort to slow the spread of

+9 New Orleans hotels see a small jump in Mardi Gras guests, but how does it compare to past years? New Orleans hotel operators are expecting a modest increase in guests for the final weekend of the Carnival season, but with parades canceled 

Will New Orleans control Mardi Gras crowds? Some residents want 'punitive measures' Once again, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrells administration found itself castigating revelers partying on Bourbon Street in violation of co

After crowded Carnival weekend, New Orleans considers options for discouraging gatherings New Orleans is looking at all options for discouraging gatherings during Mardi Gras, and not ruling out restrictions on the French Quarter, bu
Every morning when I rang Zara, her nose was in a bag, Ms. Moran said. She just thought it was her birthday every day.

When the Facebook group began in March, organizers assumed that the pandemic, and thus the group, would last a few months at most. The border was closed to tourists, so the group focused on helping Hong Kong residents with their quarantine once they came home; about 600,000 people arriving from mainland China and overseas have quarantined in the city since the pandemic began, according to the Health Department.

But traveling to Hong Kong grew only more complicated as the pandemic dragged on and the government added layer upon layer of rules. The most recent changes include abruptly extending the hotel quarantine requirement to three weeks, as well as barring entry to all travelers from Brazil, Britain, Ireland and South Africa amid concerns about new variants of the virus.

The group now has almost 30,000 members, with its organizers envisioning it as a refuge of positivity and compassion.

So far, more than 100 quarantine buddies have been matched with people who have needed help with things like getting follow-up tests and running errands.

We were dropping off their saliva samples, we were bringing them groceries, we were walking their dogs, said Tess Lyons, one of 11 volunteer moderators of the community.

Sometimes what people in quarantine needed most was someone to listen.

Just because you know something is for the best doesnt make it easy to endure, Ms. Lyons said. We wanted to combine practical help with emotional support.
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Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 5:22 pm

OLYMPIA  A state bill that would expand the prison system's graduated reentry program to allow for more eligibility passed the Senate on Wednesday after a lengthy floor debate.

The bill, requested by the Department of Corrections, would create two participation tracks for the program, which was established in 2018 and allows for inmates to complete the last portion of their sentence in partial confinement with electronic home monitoring. The two new tracks for the program include the following:

* After six months at a state correctional facility, inmates who are not subject to a deportation order, civil commitment or interstate compact for adult offender supervision can become eligible to serve up to the final five months of their sentence in partial confinement at home

* After four months at a state correctional facility, inmates who are not serving a sentence for a sex, violent or crime against a person offense would be eligible to serve the remaining portion of their term at home

"We know this program works for this population," prime sponsor Sen. Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, said, adding the recidivism rate is less than 1% for those in this program.

Those in the program work with case managers and programmers who help them reenter the community, Darneille said.

The bill is an expansion of the 2018 law that created the program but required those in it to spend at least 12 months in total confinement before being allowed to spend no more than the final six months in partial confinement.

"This is not some new concept," Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, said. "This is something that's working well."

Sixteen amendments were debated on the floor, most from Republicans who wanted to tighten the restrictions on who would be eligible for the program. Some amendments would have increased the amount of time someone would need to spend in a correctional facility before applying for partial confinement. Others would have exempted certain groups from being able to apply, such as those with vehicle offenses or property offenses.

"I hardly think that six months is enough to make sure they do not recidivate," Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said.

Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, said the program might be a good idea for both those incarcerated as well as the state, which would house less people in correctional facilities. However, he wasn't sure if it would be worth "the risk of our communities around the state to take such a big leap."

He said this program could save the state money "on the backs of our communities around the state."

"There are no guarantees here," he said. "Nothing of this scale has been envisioned."
An unexpected surge of advertising in the final months of last year lifted Googles revenues far above Wall Street forecasts and boosted shares in parent company Alphabet 8 per cent in after-market trading on Tuesday.

A holiday shopping season dominated by pandemic-fuelled ecommerce, along with a partial return by advertisers who were hit hardest during the health crisis, led to one of the companys strongest quarters in years, with revenue jumping 23 per cent.

Ruth Porat, chief financial officer, said the rebound was reminiscent of the sharp recovery after the 2008 financial crisis. It reflected a broad-based reengagement . . . across industries, she said, with advertisers putting even more of their budgets into digital media as they searched for more effective ways to reach an audience during the pandemic.

The rebound capped a volatile year when Googles internet business  which makes up more than 99 per cent of Alphabets revenue  suffered its first ever quarterly decline, before a recovery that defied even the most optimistic expectations.

Alphabets revenue grew 13 per cent for the year as a whole, even as non-digital sectors of the global advertising industry contracted about 20 per cent.

The figures showed there is still a massive shift to online advertising under way, said Christopher Rossbach, chief investment officer of J Stern & Co, an Alphabet investor. They also highlighted the strength of Googles business model and its resilience in a time of crisis, he added.

A new dependence on ecommerce by retailers lay behind the recovery, with advertisers forced to lean heavily on digital forms of advertising to reach consumers and drive sales. But the final quarter also featured companies in hard-hit sectors such as travel start to advertise more actively again after a drought over the preceding six months.

Google executives also pointed to an acceleration in the shift of TV advertising budgets towards YouTube as consumer brands looked for ways to connect with an increasingly fragmented audience.

As traditional TV ratings continue to decline, TV advertisers are turning to streaming platforms like YouTube to reach people who are no longer watching TV, said Philipp Schindler, chief business officer. More than 100m people in the US now watch YouTube on their TV screens, he added.

The rebound fuelled a 22 per cent increase in Googles advertising revenue in the final quarter. That was a big jump from the 10 per cent of last years third quarter, and the 8 per cent contraction in the second. It also comfortably topped the 16 per cent growth rate seen in the whole of 2019, before the pandemic hit.

Overall, Alphabet reported revenue of $56.9bn, or about $3.8bn more than most analysts had expected in the quarter. Earnings per share reached $22.30, compared with the $15.90 that had been expected. Earnings came to $15.35 a share a year before, when profits were buoyed by the lack of a tax charge after Alphabet resolved an unspecified tax audit.

The company also revealed the performance of its cloud division for the first time, showing an operating loss of $1.24bn in the latest quarter and $5.6bn for the year as a whole.

Most analysts had expected the division to record a profit, but took the loss in stride as Google claimed a massive jump in business from its investments in the business. The backlog of cloud business at the end of the year stood at nearly $30bn, nearly three times what it had been a year earlier, Ms Porat said.

Youssef Squali, an analyst at Truist, said he was a bit surprised to see the level of investments still at cloud, but added that it remained a very important long-term initiative for them.

Along with a $4.5bn loss from the companys other bets  which include what it calls moonshot projects, such as driverless cars  Alphabet incurred more than $10bn in red ink in its newer businesses last year, compared with a $54.6bn operating profit in search and YouTube.

Growth in the cloud division accelerated two percentage points in the latest quarter, with revenue increasing 47 per cent, to $3.8bn. That was nearly matched by the growth rate of YouTube advertising, which rose 46 per cent to $6.9bn, well ahead of the 32 per cent growth in the preceding three months.

Financial Times
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Cladding victims hailed a major breakthrough last night  after Barratt became the first housebuilder to back calls for a developer levy to help pay for the crisis.

The construction giant acknowledged that the industry had a collective responsibility to cover the costs of the scandal, which has left leaseholders facing average bills of 40,000 each to fix fire-trap flats.

Barratts statement came after it set aside 77million in dividends to shareholders and announced record sales thanks to taxpayer subsidies.

Cladding victims hailed a major breakthrough last night  after Barratt became the first housebuilder to back calls for a developer levy to help pay for the crisis. Pictured: Accountant Dave Richards, 58, who faces costs of 33,000 to repair his flat in Woolwich, south London

MPs and campaigners welcomed the move and called on others to follow suit, but they warned that developers must not be allowed to get away with token gestures.

Leaseholders living in Barratt homes also said they had already paid tens of thousands of pounds for stop-gap safety measures while they wait for repairs to begin.

More than a million homeowners have been left unable to sell or remortgage their flats since the Grenfell Tower inferno, which killed 72 people in west London in June 2017.

The Daily Mail is calling on ministers to make homes safe within 18 months and spare leaseholders the cost.

This newspaper also says that the firms responsible for the crisis should be made to pay their fair share.

More than a million homeowners have been left unable to sell or remortgage their flats since the Grenfell Tower inferno, which killed 72 people in west London in June 2017. Pictured: Grenfell Tower stands covered in banners on June 8, 2018

Although the Government has set aside 1.6billion to fund repairs, MPs estimate the total cost could be closer to 15billion.

Meanwhile, the housing ministry is understood to be lobbying the Treasury for a 10billion pot, including a levy on developers. An announcement is expected within weeks.

Barratt chief executive David Thomas said last night: We recognise how distressing this situation is for affected homeowners and we do not think they should have to pay for cladding to be removed from their buildings.

While this is a hugely complex situation with many parties involved, we believe that housebuilders and the broader industry have a collective responsibility to be a part of the solution. This is a decision for government, but we would support a fair, prospective levy as part of any way of easing the burden on homeowners without threatening the future supply of much-needed new homes.

Clive Betts (pictured), chairman of the housing select committee, said Barratt may have worked out that a levy is coming and want to be getting good public relations in advance

Repair bill that may leave me bankrupt An accountant fears bankruptcy as he faces a 100,000 bill to fix fire safety defects in his Barratt home. Dave Richards, 58, has been told he could have to pay around 33,000 to repair his flat in Woolwich, south London, but the total bill could hit six figures. Royal Artillery Quays was built by Barratt in 2003, but has since been found to have insulation made with expanded polystyrene that fuels any fire when alight. Barratt, who agreed to pay half of a 1million bill for a fire patrol, insists it met regulations at the time so is no longer liable. Now 418 leaseholders face paying at least 13million to replace the insulation. Mr Richards said: I think a levy on the industry is the right way forward to make them pay for their part... Dave Richards, 58, (pictured) fears bankruptcy as he faces a 100,000 bill to fix fire safety defects in his Barratt home Advertisement

Mr Thomas, who was paid 3.6million in 2019, spoke out after his firm announced pre-tax profits of 430million in the second half of last year  up 1.7 per cent on the same period. Barratt sold a record 9,077 new homes, up 9.2 per cent, with 44 per cent of sales made through the taxpayer-subsidised Help to Buy scheme.

It means Barratt made around 1.2billion in sales thanks to the scheme, based on the average price of a Help to Buy property being 299,000.

And its total revenue for the six months to December was 2.5billion. Barratt has spent 82million on fixing building safety defects in its properties as of the end of last year. Overall, building firms linked to Britains unsafe housing crisis have made more than 15billion in profit since the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Emma Byrne, of the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign, said: It is encouraging that Barratt has recognised publicly that the construction industry has a responsibility to address its part in what is an enormous building safety scandal. It is gravely unfair that, at a time when developers are declaring record sales and huge profits, usually boosted by taxpayer-backed schemes, leaseholders the only truly innocent party in this crisis  are being hit with bills running into the tens of thousands of pounds  bills they cannot even begin to afford. However, the devil, as always, is in the detail. A levy is long overdue and must reflect the decades of malpractice.

Builders and developers must not be allowed to get away with token gestures. They must contribute properly and fairly to the projected 15billion-plus costs of fixing serious building safety defects. Leaseholders should not pay a penny.

Clive Betts, chairman of the housing select committee, said Barratt may have worked out that a levy is coming and want to be getting good public relations in advance.

The Labour MP added: But I hope the rest of the industry welcomes something along similar lines. The principle of a levy is one thing, but it must raise sufficient funds so that theres a real contribution from the industry to reduce the cost to the taxpayer and ensure that leaseholders pay nothing.

cladding@dailymail.co.uk
Energy's consolidated net loss has narrowed to Rs 118.06 crore in the December quarter on the back of higher revenues.

The consolidated net loss of the company was Rs 742.91 crore in the quarter ended on December 31, 2019, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Total income from operations rose to Rs 959.52 crore in the quarter under review, from Rs 672.99 crore in the same period a year ago.

"The theme of the Q3 of FY21 has been ramping up of operations and getting business back on track. This quarter, we were able to increase our pace of turbine supply to service our order book. The improvement in revenues quarter-on-quarter are encouraging and a sign that we are moving in the right direction," Group CEO Ashwani Kumar said.

Kumar further said the demand for renewable energy has risen all over the world and the next decade looks extremely promising for the sector. "We are encouraged by the continuous support of the government to renewable energy as reflected in the recent Union Budget," he noted.

Swapnil Jain, CFO, Group said "in the we maintain a clear improvement in EBITDA over last year. As is evident from the results, our initiatives of cost optimization, organizational realignment and ramping up execution are yielding the desired outcomes.

"Our manufacturing operations have resumed in line with all precautions of the COVID 19 pandemic and our service business continues to do well with wind farms under our service functioning without interruption."



The company, however, said that the Group's ability to generate sufficient cash flows to meet its financial obligations in the foreseeable future could be impacted by the undetermined circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the board in its meeting on Thursday approved the proposal to merge its arm Suzlon Power Infrastructure Ltd (SPIL) into another wholly-owned subsidiary Suzlon Global Services Ltd (SGSL).

The board has also approved the proposal to transfer and vesting of Project Execution Business and Power Evacuation Business of Suzlon Gujarat Wind Park Ltd (SGWPL), a step down wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, into the SGSL.

Pursuant to this, the remaining business of the SGWPL will continue in the same company, the filing said.

The board has also approved the proposal for liquidation of AE-Rotor Holding B V, the Netherlands, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the past week, Winchester reported 25 student COVID-19 cases, the largest number among Massachusetts schools. The district is among more than 100 schools and districts that are preparing to start weekly pooled coronavirus testing through a state program.

In total, 894 coronavirus cases split between 571 students and 323 staff members were reported from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, according to a weekly report from the state Department of Elementary Education. The report, issued each Thursday, includes cases among students or staff members who tested positive within seven days of being inside a school building. Remote learners are not included.

There were 540 student cases and 273 staff cases reported at local school districts, two student cases and nine staff cases at education collaboratives, and 29 student cases and 41 staff cases at approved special education schools, according to the report.

This weeks report shows a decrease from last week, when the state reported 969 coronavirus cases, among 624 students and 345 staff members.

Student cases at approved special education schools were highest in the last week at Boston Higashi School with 18. The school also reported 17 staff cases.

DESE estimates there are 450,000 students and 75,000 staff members in public school buildings during the pandemic.

Find numbers for your district or school in this searchable database. If youre having trouble accessing the database, click here.

As close to Feb. 8 as possible, a pooled COVID testing program is slated to begin at 120 schools and districts. With pooled testing, several nose swabs will be tested at the lab at once. If a pooled test sample comes back positive, each individual will be tested for the virus.

Gov. Charlie Baker and education officials, who have pushed for in-person learning during the pandemic, hope this kind of surveillance testing will help bring children back into classrooms.

Related Content:
Despite what appears to be a steady decline in coronavirus transmission, officials say the virus is still circulating at high levels and poses a risk to residents.

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District reported 860 new coronavirus cases Thursday  152 fewer than the previous day. The seven-day rolling average decreased slightly to 1,335 from 1,463 on Wednesday.

On Thursday, 1,081 people were hospitalized in Bexar County for COVID-19, a decrease from 1,127 the day before.

Within the last 24 hours, 128 COVID-19 patients were admitted to area hospitals for treatment.

On ExpressNews.com: School districts in San Antonio reject Metro Health's plea to halt contact sports

Of those hospitalized with the coronavirus, 374 were in intensive care  20 fewer than the previous day  and 223 were on ventilators to help them breathe, 13 fewer than Wednesday.

Five new deaths were reported, bringing Bexar Countys COVID-19 death toll to 2,181.

The deceased included a Hispanic man in his 40s who was being treated at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, a Hispanic woman in her 60s at University Hospital, a Hispanic man and woman in their 70s at the Methodist Texsan Hospital, and a white man in his 70s at Stone Oak Methodist Hospital.

January was particularly deadly with officials reporting about 600 COVID-19 deaths, which represents more than a quarter of all deaths since the pandemic began in March.

On ExpressNews.com: Texas doctors call for laws backing telemedicine, expansion of Medicaid and funding for public health departments

Friday is the last day at the AT&T Center for free COVID-19 testing for asymptomatic people by Community Labs, the local nonprofit. Community Labs is moving from the center because of scheduling conflicts with the upcoming San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo and Spurs games.

Community Labs will begin next week to provide free testing for asymptomatic people at two new sites: the Barshop Jewish Community Center and Rackspace Technology Headquarters.

Barshop, at 12500 N.W. Military Hwy., will open Monday. The hours will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

At Rackspace, located at 1 Fanatical Place in Windcrest, testing will begin Tuesday. The hours will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The city also offers free COVID-19 testing at Cuellar Community Center, 5626 San Fernando St., and at Ramirez Community Center, 1011 Gillette Blvd. Community Labs is set up at both centers to provide tests for people without symptoms.

No appointments or insurance are required.

laura.garcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @Reporter_Laura
As the calendar turned to 2021, it dawned on me that I have now been working with the American Library Association on e-book and digital content issues for a decade. My work with ALA began in 2011, when then-president Molly Raphael asked me to co-chair the associations inaugural Digital Content and Libraries Working Group (DCWG) with Columbia University Libraries Robert Wolven.

Throughout my work on these issues, Alan Inouye, senior director, public policy and government relations at the ALAs Public Policy and Advocacy Office, has been my liaison. Ive come to greatly admire Alans steady, excellent work on policy, issues, including library e-books. Alan is an unsung hero of libraries. And Im proud to continue my work alongside him as an ALA policy fellow.

As organizations, libraries consistently demonstrate the kind of sound environmental practices, innovation, and resilience that would be the envy of any private sector business. And nowhere has this been more evident than in the digital space.

In the early days of the DCWG, ALAs efforts saw gains for libraries in terms of getting basic access to trade e-books, and in opening new paths of communication with publishers. And today, some 10 years later and facing new challenges, the library communitys work to advocate for the digital future of libraries remains an ongoing and increasingly important effort.

State of the Market

As with virtually every aspect of library activity today, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the digital content market. A year ago, tensions were flaring as many of the major publishers imposed new restrictions on library e-book lendingmost prominently, Macmillans controversial embargo on new release e-books in libraries.

But when the pandemic hit last March, things changed. Macmillan abruptly rescinded its embargo, a welcome move, and many more publishers moved to increase flexibility in licensing to help library budget dollars go further. For example, Penguin Random House now offers one-year licenses for e-books and digital audio at a 50% prorated price, and HarperCollins has added more titles to its cost-per-circulation model as well as price discounts on an additional selection of frontlist and backlist titles.

Publishers have also helped libraries respond to the extraordinary increase in demand for digital programming by offering extended blanket permissions to record and host online readings. These permissions have enabled more read-aloud story times and live reader services for children in schools and public libraries. They have also served to highlight the importance of these vital programs and reinforced the librarys role as a vital learning institution.

 In 2021, libraries will almost certainly require more flexibility from publishers. 

Sharing digital collections between schools and public libraries has also taken on greater importance during the pandemic. In 2020, as students across the country were forced to switch to remote learning, it became clear just how many school districts lack access to the kind of rich, curated digital collections students need to succeed. In response, a number of vendorsFollett/Baker & Taylor and OverDrive among themhave expanded the ability of students to access e-books and other digital resources from their local public librarys digital collection without compromising student privacy. These service models are creating powerful new community learning partnerships. And, they are highlighting the importance of having trained school librarians to select, manage, and promote these collections to teachers, students, and families.

Still, the future for library e-books and digital content remains uncertain. The accommodations made by many publishers during the pandemic have helped, but the fundamental challenge for libraries in the e-book and digital content market remains: the library community and the major publishers still do not agree on what constitutes fair license terms for digital content. And because digital content must be licensed, libraries lack the kind of baseline rights to purchase and lend digital content that they enjoy with physical items under copyright law.

In 2021, libraries will almost certainly require more flexibility from publishers. The pandemic has had a serious impact on local budgets. And with many schools and public libraries remaining closed or offering only limited services, demand for digital resources will remain high.

Policy and Legal Issues

The library community is also monitoring several legal actions and public policy initiatives in the digital market.

Three states (Maryland, New York, and Rhode Island) have introduced legislation that aims to give libraries the ability to license digital content on terms in line with offerings to the general public. Meanwhile, state officials in Connecticut recently confirmed a live antitrust probe into Amazons e-book distribution agreements, joining California and Washington, which are also said to have active investigations.

At the federal level, a House subcommittee released a long-awaited report on competition in the digital market last October, setting the stage for potential legislation or regulatory action. And already, Seattle-based law firm Hagens Berman has filed a federal antitrust suit against Amazon based in large part on information contained in the congressional report. Filed on January 14, it alleges an e-book price fixing conspiracy with the Big Five publishers.

Also on the antitrust front, Penguin Random House parent company Bertelsmann made headlines in November with its bid to acquire Simon & Schuster. The deal now awaits regulatory approval. If approved, it would turn the Big Five into the Big Four and would give the Penguin Random House an even larger market share in trade publishing market. Despite antitrust concerns voiced by many stakeholders (most recently the Authors Guild and a host of other groups) my prediction is that the deal will go through.

Libraries have long complained about Amazons refusal to license its digital content to libraries, but there may soon be a positive first step on that front. Amazon is currently in talks with the Digital Public Library of America to provide library access to e-books from Amazon Publishing. Alan Inouye calls the news a promising startbut, he emphasizes, it is still just a start. The library community must continue to focus and advocate for full access to Amazon published e-books and digital audio works, he says.

On the copyright front, North Carolina senator Thom Tillis recently released a draft bill seeking to update the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. And the library community is closely watching a lawsuit filed by a group of major publishers against the Internet Archive over its scanning and lending of PDF versions of library books under a theory known as controlled digital lending.

Staying Engaged

No question, 2021 is setting up be an eventful year. The work of libraries figures to be permanently changed by the pandemic and its aftermath. And ALA and other library advocacy organizations will continue to engage publishers, distributors, and legislators on issues critical to our digital future.

This includes the reconstituted ALA Working Group on Libraries and Digital Content, cochaired by Leah M. Dunn and Kelvin Watson, as well as ALAs E-books Interest Group, chaired by Stephen Spohn. With Daniel Albohn as its new project lead, I expect the Panorama Project to continue to contribute to an understanding of how libraries fit into the overall reading landscape. And a new nonprofit organization, Library Futures, has launched to promote digital-forward policies for libraries.

These initiatives represent a strong collective of voices and perspectives committed to a singular goal: finding digital solutions that work for libraries, publishers, and the communities we serve. And in the year ahead, the library community must come together, harness the energy around these issues, and deliver progress in our quest for equitable access to digital content.
Prosecutors accuse Navalny of slandering a World War II veteran in social media posts last year. The posts criticised people who supported constitutional amendments that allowed Putin to remain in power until 2036

Moscow: Alexei Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, faced a new criminal trial Friday  this time on charges of slandering a war veteran  while his supporters geared up for what they expect to be a yearslong battle against the Kremlin.

The start of the new trial came three days after a different court sentenced Navalny to two years and eight months in prison for violating his parole on a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Europes top human rights court later ruled was politically motivated.

The trial, in which Navalny is not expected to face more prison time, appeared to be a vehicle for the Kremlin to tie his team up further in the courts while also giving the state news media a fresh opportunity to tar the opposition leaders image.

Prosecutors accuse Navalny of slandering a World War II veteran in social media posts last year. The posts criticized people who support President Vladimir Putins constitutional amendments approved in July that allow him to remain in power until 2036.

The Kremlin needs headlines that say, Navalny slandered a veteran!  Navalny said in court Friday, according to the Dozhd television channel.

Navalny survived a nerve-agent poisoning in Siberia in the summer and recovered in Germany, accusing Putin of having tried to kill him. Then he returned to Moscow last month despite facing near-certain arrest.

His arrival set off the biggest nationwide anti-Kremlin protests of recent years and brought an enormous crackdown on the opposition, with more than 10,000 arrests in the last three weeks. The Kremlins show of force suggests that Putin sees the longtime gadfly as a significant threat  and that the president will not shy away from bringing the governments vast resources to bear on stifling dissent.

The Kremlin denies any involvement in Navalnys poisoning and says that detentions at unauthorized protests are justified and lawful.

Navalny can still appeal his prison sentence in the previous trial, and his allies are working to prepare their supporters for a long fight ahead.

One of Navalnys top aides, Leonid Volkov, said his camp would not be calling for more street protests in the coming weeks because it needed to regroup before nationwide parliamentary elections that are scheduled for September.

This is a path that could take several years, but this is our plan, Volkov said. We need to preserve our candidates for the election, and we need to preserve our campaign offices.

The Navalny camps strategy is to build up pressure on the Kremlin and chip away at Putins legitimacy, with the expectation that sooner or later, his authority will collapse amid discontent in the general public and in the ruling elite.

Navalnys allies abroad, including Volkov, are also increasingly engaging with Western governments in the hopes of persuading them to impose sanctions on people close to Putin.

If we keep going out every week, well get thousands more arrested and hundreds more beaten up, and the work of the campaign offices will be paralyzed, Volkov said. We will get Alexei out of prison, first and foremost, using foreign-policy methods.

The European Unions foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell Fontelles, was in Moscow to meet with Russias foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, on Friday. Borrell has called Navalnys prison term politically motivated and against Russias international human rights obligations.

Russia counters that Western countries are interfering in Russias domestic affairs by calling for Navalnys freedom.

Navalny, in a letter from jail that his team published late Thursday, called on his supporters to keep up the fight.

The iron doors slam shut behind me with a deafening clang, but I feel like a free man, Navalny wrote. They can hold onto power, using it for personal gain, only by relying on our fear. But we, having overcome fear, can free our homeland from a little bunch of thieving occupiers.

Anton Troianovski c.2021 The New York Times Company
The voting machine company Smartmatic opened a legal battle against Fox News, its stars and well-known conspiracy theorist guests, and Rudy Giuliani with a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit.

"The Earth is round. Two plus two equals four. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 election for President and Vice President of the United States. The election was not stolen, rigged, or fixed. These are facts. They are demonstrable and irrefutable," the 276-page lawsuit reads as reported by Law & Crime.

Fox News' Alleged Disinformation Campaign

Named defendants under the lawsuit were Fox personalities Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro, and former President Donald Trump's lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani.

Smartmatic's CEO Antonio Mugica said that the company's lawsuit is a blow in the fight against disinformation, reiterating what Dominion Voting Systems' lawyers said about the purpose of the said lawsuit.

Mugica added that Fox is irresponsible for this disinformation campaign, which has damaged democracy worldwide. The company's CEO added that it irreparably harmed Smartmatic and other stakeholders who contribyte to modern elections.

J. Erik Connolly, the company's attorney, said that Fox lied and that they did so knowingly and intentionally.

Meanwhile, Fox News indicated in their statement that it would fight the lawsuit from the voting machine company, saying that they are committed to providing the full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear opinion.

"We are proud of our 2020 election coverage and will vigorously defend this meritless lawsuit in court," Fox News Media was quoted on a report.

Read also: Trump Can Divert Military Funds for Mexican Border Wall, Court Rules

Election Rigged Claims

Fox News knowingly broadcast the falsehood that Smartmatic somehow stole the election 13 times in November and December 2020, according to the complaint. The claim was also repeated in articles and on social media.

Conspiracy theorists have also made allegation against Smartmatic without evidence, which includes that the company somehow altered votes in favor of Biden while working in cahoots with the voting system manufacturer Dominion Voting Systems, according to a Huff Post report.

Both companies have flatly denied the claim. Dominion was reported to have filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Giuliani last week.

Smartmatic previously sent retraction demands to Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News Network on Dec. 15, with a warning stating that noncompliance could lead to defamation lawsuit.

The complaint added that the story turned neighbor against neighbor and led a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol, according to The New York Times report.

The talk of election fraud has not fully died down even after the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6 by a mob of Trump supporters.

The lawsuit also cites exchanges on Fox programs that it says helped spread the claim that it was the owner of Dominion and that it had provided its services to districts in contested states. In addition, the lawsuit noted that Fox helped promote the false notion that the company had sent votes to other countries to be manipulated.

Smartmatic added in its complaint that Fox broadcasting of false claims has jeopardized its business, damaged its election technology and software business, and made it difficult for the company to get new businesses in the U.S.

Read also: Trump Presses Grievances Over Presidential Election in Rally for Runoff Candidates in Georgia
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Following the latest arrest of a registered sex offender who authorities allege used Instagram to try to lure a 12-year-old girl to a mall meet-up, questions began to arise regarding the inner-workings of the registry process and the restrictions placed on those convicted.

Readers expressed confusion over why Ryan Behar, 42, of New Springville, who was first arrested in 2018 on charges he tried to coax a 13-year-old child to his apartment for sex, was not on the states online sexual-offender registry (he was a level-one offender, and thus not listed). Some asked questions about how offender levels are determined and what that means for the convicted and their neighbors.

The Advance/SILive.com interviewed multiple law enforcement officials to break-down the process of determining the level of a sex offender, what some of the restrictions placed on convicted individuals look like and how the states registry operates.

A common misconception of the public is that once somebody who is on the sex offender registry is on there that many, many restrictions would apply to them, but thats not necessarily true, said Assistant District Attorney Tuesday Muller-Mondi, the executive chief of the Richmond County District Attorneys Special Victims Division.

That seems to be a common misconception, that there are rules that apply across the board, Muller-Mondi said. There are some, but there are very individualized rules as well.

THREE LEVELS OF SEX OFFENDERS

There are three levels of sex offenders  level one is reserved for those with low risk of repeat offense; level two offenders have a moderate risk of repeat offense; and those who fall under level three have high risk of repeat offense and are a threat to public safety, according to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).

The Sex Offender Registration Act outlines the court process and how those levels of risk can be determined, according to a spokeswoman for the DCJS  the agency that simply maintains the registry.

Determining those levels is a complex process that ends up being made in court, but reaching a recommendation to put before a judge requires the use of a risk assessment instrument, or RIA.

If an individual is incarcerated, an outside Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders will use this tool and make a recommendation to prosecutors based on a sliding point-based scale. For those who are not incarcerated (and receive probation, instead), that outside board does not use the RIA  rather, prosecutors then use it for making a recommendation.

If you score between zero and 70 points, youre a level one; if you score between 75 and 105, youre a level two; if you score between 110 and 300, youre a level three, said Assistant District Attorney Rhiannon La Tour, the deputy chief of the Special Victims Bureau.

These point systems are already in place and these are guidelines that we must use, said Muller-Mondi. At the end of the day, we add up those points ... but then there are certain factors that allow us to make an argument to the court that this person should be adjudicated at a higher level based on other factors that are not taken into account by that risk assessment instrument.

Assistant District Attorney Jevet Johnson, the chief of the Richmond County District Attorneys Special Victims Bureau, said recommendations made by the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders can sometimes be perceived as flawed, adding, weve gone back and forth with them before.

However, if prosecutors look for outside factors to propose raising an individuals risk level, a legal battle ensues that allows the alleged perpetrators lawyer to make arguments against the increase.

They want the least amount of points scored as possible for their clients, said Muller-Mondi. Higher levels have further-reaching implications and could mean more restrictions, she explained.

But what it all comes down to, said Johnson, is it is all within the sound discretion of the judge what to assess on the defendant.

It is not clear what recommendation was made in Behars first case in 2018; however, Muller-Mondi said with anyone convicted of a new crime that is not a registerable offense, there would be more factors that exist that would allow us to assess more points in most situations.

So, as long as theyre not already a level-three sex offender, we can go back and ask the court to re-adjudicate this person and level them up, Muller-Mondi added.

RESTRICTIONS AT EACH LEVEL

Restrictions placed on convicted sex offenders are not universal and depend greatly on the circumstances of each case and the sex offender level passed down by a judge.

Generally, level-one and level-two sex offenders are required to annually verify their address with the registry after the DCJS sends out a letter requesting the information. Level-three offenders generally have to update every three months.

Offenders have 10 days to respond to the letter, said a DCJS spokeswoman, and it is the responsibility of local law enforcement to move forward with prosecution if these requirements are violated.

Failure to comply with any registration obligation is an E felony for a first offense and a D felony for a second or subsequent offense.

As outlined in law, the New York State registry does not list level-one offenders and their photos are not disseminated; however, residents with an identifying piece of information (an address or name, for example), can call 800-262-3257 during normal business hours to receive information about these offenders.

Among the most significant limitations placed on offenders are residency restrictions, which disallow certain offenders from living in areas that violate the terms of their offender status.

Residency restrictions are most commonly in effect for level-three offenders. Level threes cannot live in public housing, said Johnson, and cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school.

These restrictions can also apply to any level offender  one, two or three  if the victim in his or her case was under the age of 18, a DCJS spokeswoman added.

Enforcing these restrictions also falls on local law enforcement  in New York City, the NYPD  which can access the full registry through a secure online portal.

In 2020, the DCJS registrys staff processed 25,676 annual address verifications from registered offenders; processed another 39,612 changes to registry information; and processed 22,304 photographs, according to a spokeswoman for the agency.

STATEN ISLAND CASE

In his most recent arrest, Behar used an Instagram account to speak to the 12-year-old victim  suggesting that she should lift up her shirt and requesting that the two meet at the mall, according to allegations in the criminal complaint.

The remarks were made after the victim told him she was 12 years old, the complaint alleges.

The Instagram account listed in the complaint, slimvectra2025, has a bio that says, Hi girls I am single and has over 300 followers as of Wednesday. The account, which is private, follows over 3,000 users.

The account in question has the photo of what appears to be a teenage boy as its profile image  and the mother of the victim, who requested anonymity for this story for fear of retaliation, said the person who ran the account identified himself as a teenager.

The mother of the victim said the account followed her daughter and made some of the alleged comments during an Instagram live video. Her child then blocked the account, the woman said.

Police arrested Behar Jan. 25 at the Staten Island Mall, according to police, after the activity was reported.

He was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, according to the criminal complaint.

He was released on his own recognizance with the provision that he does not use the internet.

His lawyer did not respond for a request to comment.

In 2018, Behar was charged with pretending to be a 14-year-old boy on social media in an attempt to lure a 13-year-old girl to his Vassar Street apartment for sex, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

I invited her to my home to cook her dinner and eventually have sex with her, he told authorities, according to the complaint in the case.

Following that case, he was required to register as a level-one sex offender and was sentenced to three years probation; however, he violated that probation in 2019 and was re-sentenced to jail for 364 days.

The New York City Department of Probation (DOP) filed a Violation of Probation (VOP) against Ryan Behar after routine searches of his digital devices uncovered sexually explicit material, the use of an alias to have sexual conversations with minors, and the failure to inform DOP of all screen names and social media accounts, said the agency in a statement.

This conduct was in violation of Behars Conditions of Probation. Mr. Behar pled guilty to the violations and was sentenced to one year in jail.

Behars next court date is April 27, according to online records.

District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said his office takes the allegations very seriously, adding that his office is investigating all evidence in regard to this incident.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE

McMahon urged parents to speak to their children about not talking to strangers and never agreeing to meet up with someone who reaches out to them over the internet.

He added that the Special Victims Bureau is a resource for parents who have questions and encouraged residents to reach out to his office directly for information, as well as the police department if an incident happens that raises concerns.

Monitoring a childs internet usage is probably the most effective way to prevent this from happening, said Muller-Mondi. I know its hard because kids are kids and theyre on all the time, but we recommend talking to your children all the time about who theyre talking to and whether or not they know this person.

Asking children if a person on the internet has ever asked to meet them, or has met them, is a big deal, she added.

Many predators will target the pre-teenage kids who are a little more vulnerable, and its important for parents to have that open-line of communication with their children and and talk to them about who theyre talking to on the internet and understand that not everybody is who they say they are, said Muller-Mondi.
A shootout and almost seven-hour standoff between a Lower 9th Ward man and police last week stemmed from an argument over how long the man was taking to fix his neighbors car, according to court records.

Michael Clark, 25, had accepted money for the car repairs, but the neighbor grew impatient and called Clark to demand the return of both the money and the vehicle, police wrote in Criminal District Court records released Thursday. The neighbor, a 24-year-old man, said he got a knock on his door Wednesday evening, answered it and was punched in the face by Clark.

The neighbor fought back when three of Clarks cousins jumped into the melee, according to court records. Clark allegedly then walked to his home in the 400 block of Tricou Street, grabbed an AR-15 rifle and told the neighbor, You a b****. Ill get you killed.

The neighbor replied, Theres no need for that, and rode away with a relative in a car. He called police at 4:40 p.m. to report the threat.

Officers said they tried to arrest Clark. He allegedly ran into his house, fired at officers and refused to come out. Police returned fire.

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A patrol cruiser was hit, and an officer suffered a cut to a leg. No one was wounded by bullets, police said.

Officers tried to persuade Clark to surrender. He refused, so police sent out members of their Special Operations Division, also known as the SWAT Team. SWAT officers surrounded the home and cordoned off the area while negotiations for Clark's surrender continued. Clark came out of the home and was arrested at 11:20 p.m.

A nearby resident recorded video of Clark surrendering. In the recording, someone using a bullhorn can be heard saying, Keep your hands up, Mike. Come on, youre good.  Walk towards me.

+2 NOPD's SWAT team at Lower 9th Ward home where man is barricaded, agency says A man who was confronted by New Orleans police responding to a 911 call about him late Wednesday afternoon fired a gun at officers and then ba

Clark can be seen instinctively recoiling when officers carrying rifles rush up to handcuff him. Theyre good, Mike, theyre good, the voice says. Theyre my people. Theyre with me.

Police said they jailed Clark on counts of attempted murder of police, resisting arrest, illegally shooting a gun, criminal damage to property, aggravated assault with a gun and illegal possession of a Xanax pill. Bail was set at $62,500, records show.

Clark could face 10 to 50 years in prison if convicted of attempting to murder police.
Now more than ever, says Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, there isnt much space in life to let go and see what happens. To abandon control, to take a risk. Denmark is a pretty chaste country in some ways, he says. Very rational. We like to think of ourselves as happy people: its a bit of a shire, really, with hobbits! But then there is this need to go crazy, which I find very interesting.

And, as we all know  whether were in Denmark, supposedly the happiest country on Earth, or sequestered in Australias suburbs  you can take the fast-track to crazy just by opening the liquor cabinet. Theres your ticket to abandonment.

Another Round is Vinterbergs cinematic equivalent of a Scandinavian drinking song, celebratory and winter-dark at the same time. You dont know, as you sink the punch ladle, which way it will ultimately go.

Drinking is a contract, somehow, with the uncontrollable, Vinterberg says. You put the bottle to your mouth and you allow yourself into a different space where you might get laid, fall in love, get beaten up or end up in a lake, whatever. It may just make you more fun: Let me ask how many couples do you know who found each other sober? Not that many. Or it may kill you.

Amtrak officials have been crisscrossing the United States in recent months, meeting with state transportation officials in places like Tennessee, Texas and Nevada as they seek to bring train service to some of the nation's fastest growing population centers.

While most of the focus is on new routes in the South and West, New York state and the Capital Region likely would benefit from the effort as well.

Amtrak is focusing on developing new "corridors," routes tying together population centers that are several hundred miles apart and offer frequent train service. Some of the changes would be extensions of existing routes.

For example, Empire Corridor trains heading west from Albany to Buffalo could continue on to Cleveland. Some could also continue to Detroit via Toledo.

Other services would be new. Ohio officials, for example, are looking at restoring service between Cleveland and Cincinnati via Columbus and Dayton.

Steve Strauss, executive director of the Empire State Passengers Association, said another route under discussion is Detroit to New York City. It wasn't clear whether the Wolverine, which now travels between Chicago and Detroit, would be expanded. The Wolverine last served New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Detroit and Chicago in 1967.

The extension would provide another alternative from Albany to Midwestern cities.

Meanwhile, Amtrak is looking at restoring the corridor from New York City to Scranton, Pa., and possibly north to Binghamton, accessing New York's Southern Tier.

Ray Lang, Amtraks senior director for national state relations, briefed the Rail Passengers Association, a Washington-based advocacy group, on the corridor expansion plan in a presentation in the fall. Since then, passenger rail supporters have been encouraged by the election of Joseph Biden and by plans to invest heavily in the nation's infrastructure as the economy recovers from the pandemic.

Lang, in his presentation, said the "price of admission for new corridor service has gotten to be really, really expensive." Amtrak is proposing a five-year, $25 billion spending plan that would pay for trains and other equipment, as well as covering startup and other operating costs, with the operating support gradually shifting over a period of years to the state in which the trains are operating.

Also in Lang's presentation was the construction of new customs and immigration facilities shared by U.S. and Canadian officers in Montreal, eliminating the sometimes lengthy border stop for the Adirondack. The plan also has the Vermonter being extended to Montreal, and the Ethan Allen Express to Burlington. The Ethan Allen, which serves Albany, now terminates at Rutland, Vt.

Completely new corridors would connect Chattanooga and Nashville with Atlanta; Atlanta and Charlotte; Jacksonville with Orlando, Tampa and Miami; Los Angeles with Las Vegas; Los Angeles with Phoenix and Tucson; and Denver with communities along the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

Other corridors would see additional service. On the West Coast, the Coast Daylight would be added to the route of the Coast Starlight.

Lang emphasized that this is a long-term plan, and individual states "would have the ability to do what they want."

Nevertheless, Amtrak would like to work on some areas "really fast." Those include the Nashville to Atlanta route and the front range of the Rockies in Colorado.

Congress still has to approve the plans. And Amtrak may get some resistance from the freight railroads over whose tracks most of its trains operate. In November testimony to Congress, Amtrak officials described the delays that Amtrak trains face from slow-moving freight traffic, sometimes making them fall hours behind schedule.

And building out the system could take decades. The map Lang displayed in his talk was entitled "The Amtrak System 2035."

But Amtrak officials say they're eager to get started.
Illustrative photo (Source: VNA/Reuters)

Singapore - Singapore has become the first country in Asia to approve Modernas COVID-19 vaccine as it begins rolling out its immunisation programme to the wider population.

In a statement on February 3, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said its review of the available clinical data found that the vaccine demonstrated a high efficacy of 94 percent, with the benefits outweighing the risks.

This means that there is a 94 percent reduction of symptomatic COVID-19 disease in a vaccinated group of people, compared with a similarly sized group of unvaccinated people, it said.

The figure is based on a Phase 3 clinical trial in the US which involved over 30,000 people aged 18 to 95.

Singapore expects to receive the first shipment of the Moderna shots around March. The Moderna vaccine is the second COVID-19 vaccine to be authorised for use by the HSA, after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine approved in December 2020.

More than 175,000 people have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, including health workers and airline staff, while vaccination centres have been set up in recent weeks to start inoculating the elderly, authorities have said.

Singapore expects to have vaccinated its entire population by the third quarter, although last month the government said it was expecting shipment delays of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines due to upgrades in Pfizers manufacturing plant.
A new study, led by professors at the University of Chicago and Duke University, found that COVID-19 cases in the southern state of Karnataka, India, are nearly 95 times greater than reported.

The study  led by Prof. Anup Malani from the University of Chicago's Law School and Pritzker School of Medicine, and Prof. Manoj Mohanan from Duke University  suggests that 44.1 percent of the population in rural areas and 53.8 percent in urban areas in the southern state of Karnataka tested positive for antibodies to COVID-19 by the end of August 2020.

The findings, published today in JAMA, are based on data collected from a representative sample of households in 20 districts in the state, suggest that Karnataka alone had approximately 31.5 million cases of COVID-19 by then, relative to 8 million reported nationally in India until now.

Funded by ACT Grants in India and supported by IDFC Institute, the study collected data on antibodies for recent and past COVID-19 infection using a test that targets the RBD spike protein and better identifies exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus rather than other coronaviruses.

A unique feature of the study is that it also tested the same individuals for current infections using the RT-PCR test. This pairing allows the study to both report current levels of immunity and forecast future immunity because most of today's infected population will, in a few weeks, join tomorrow's immune population.

Our data shows evidence of high levels of active infections and transmission, especially in urban areas of Mysore and coastal districts during our study period  where 9.7 percent to 10.5 percent of individuals tested positive for current infection." Prof. Anup Malani, University of Chicago's Law School

The study found that rural areas had nearly the same level of exposure to COVID-19 as urban areas. Although cities were more densely populated, rural area face additional risk because agriculture is an essential sector and exempt from many lockdown restrictions.

The study also demonstrated the feasibility, in resource-constrained settings, of conducting pooled sample RT-PCR testing where multiple samples are tested simultaneously and individual samples are further tested if a 'pool' tests positive. It also demonstrated the feasibility of simultaneously measuring current and past infection in a population-representative sample even in rural areas of a lower-middle income country.
US Senator John Thune (R-SD) has re-introduced two bills intended to speed the adoption of biofuels. The first, with co-sponsor Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) would approve certain advanced biofuel registrations that have gone without approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) despite the fuels already being successfully used in at least one state.

Under the bill, EPA would also be required to render a decision within 90 days on any registration application that has been pending for at least 180 days, as well as take action within 180 days for completed pathways petitions pending for at least 180 days.

The Renewable Fuel Standard has been a driver of American energy innovation, but regulatory inaction has stifled the advancement of promising technologies like ethanol derived from corn kernel fiber. This bill will permit biofuel producers to capitalize on the research and facility investments they have made to bring this technology to scale, improve their operating margins, and further lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. This will strengthen the biofuel industry, which continues to provide an essential market for South Dakota farmers. Senator Thune

We must constantly look for innovative ways to fuel our transportation sector so the United States leads the next chapter of energy efficiency and renewable technology, especially as we confront the intensifying climate crisis. Im proud to reintroduce this bill along with Senator Thune to tackle the backlog of advanced biofuel registrations, empowering producers to utilize the latest technology and research in fuel production. I have long worked to level the playing field for our biomass producers to participate in the Renewable Fuel Standard, and Ill continue to fight for investments that strengthen our energy industry to build a more sustainable future. Senator Shaheen

In addition to approving certain biofuel registrations and requiring EPA action on pending registration applications and pathway petitions, the bill would provide $2 million for EPA to carry out the functions of the bill.

Pathways are the feedstock method through which certain renewable fuels may be created, while registrations are individual facility certifications for producers affirming that their renewable fuel meets the standard required by the pathway. For example, corn kernel fiber was approved as a pathway in 2014, but EPA has not advanced numerous registration applications despite applicants meeting stringent peer review requirements and being approved for sale in at least one state.

EPA has also been slow to act on numerous pathway petitions, which seek to advance innovative and clean fuels made from renewable feedstock. Under the Thune-Shaheen bill, EPA will have to render a final decision within a total of one year after a pathway petition is deemed completed. A list of pending petitions for renewable fuel pathways can be found here.

The second, with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is the reintroduced Adopt GREET Act, legislation that would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update its greenhouse gas modeling for ethanol and biodiesel.

Specifically, the bill would require EPA to adopt the Argonne National Labs Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) Model for both fuels. EPA would then be required to update its modeling every five years or report to Congress to affirm its modeling is current or otherwise explain why no updates were made.
A British gym manager is feared dead in a suspected double drowning after going for a late-night swim with a woman, whose body was found on a Gold Coast beach.

Jake Jacobs, 32, was last seen entering the surf with the woman, 29, at Kurrawa Beach in Broadbeach about 9.20pm on Thursday night.

Locals found the body of the woman, believed to be a Victorian on holiday, near Kurrawa Surf Club and called an ambulance at 10.20pm.

The British national though has yet to be found.

The pair had reportedly gone skinny dipping - with the 32-year-old local's car found at the scene decorated with a 'Get Naked Australia' sticker.

British national Jake Jacobs, 32, was last seen entering the surf at Kurrawa Beach, Broadbeach - on the Gold Coast - about 9.20pm on Thursday night

A sign warning beachgoers not to swim was seen at Kurrawa Beach on the Gold Coast on Friday (pictured) with a woman, 29, dead and a British man also feared to have drowned

Walkers discovered the woman's body in a swimsuit in the water and dragged her to shore.

Witnesses and paramedics desperately tried to revive the woman but she died at the scene.

The man's clothes were also found on the beach.

CCTV cameras at the surf club showed the woman and a man earlier on Thursday evening outside the Kurrawa Surf Club before entering the water together for a late-night swim.

'We dont expect to find anyone alive,' Acting Inspector John Diggle told the Courier Mail.

Rescuers are seen searching the area on Friday morning (pictured) after the two swimmers went missing in 'horrendous' conditions. The woman's body later washed up on the sand

The woman's unresponsive body was found near Kurrawa surf club (pictured)

'Because weve got Rescue 500 and water police in the area, they do a great job.

'Theyll find it (the body).'

He said the conditions were 'appalling' with huge swells of up to 1.8 metres.

The search for the missing man resumed on Friday morning with aerial assistance and personnel scouring the beach.

During the search, two officers suffered multiple injuries after they were thrown from the rescue boat.

One of the officers in his 30s suffered rib, facial and back injuries, and an officer in his 40s sustained rib and facial injuries.

The search (pictured) continued on Friday morning for a man - now presumed dead - who went missing in the surf on the Gold Coast

The woman is understood to have been visiting the Gold Coast while on holiday from Victoria (pictured)

The officers were taken to Gold Coast University Hospital and Pindara Private Hospital.

The Gold Coast City Council lifeguards have closed all beaches from North Burleigh to The Spit due to dangerous conditions brought on by a heavy easterly swell.

A hazardous surf warning remains in place for much of Queensland's south-east, including the Gold Coast.

'Surf and swell conditions expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, boating, swimming & surfing for Fraser Island Coast, Sunshine Coast Waters & Gold Coast Waters,' the Bureau of Meteorology tweeted.

A report will be prepared for the coroner in relation to the woman's death.

On Wednesday, a Wisconsin Assistant District Attorney (ADA) filed a motion in Kenosha County Circuit Court seeking a new warrant for the rearrest of the teenage fascist shooter Kyle Rittenhouse and an increase in his bail by $200,000.

The motion by ADA Thomas Binger stated that Rittenhouse has violated the conditions of his bond by failing to update his address in writing with the Court within 48 hours of moving, thereby preventing the Court from monitoring his whereabouts.

Undated booking photo from the Antioch, Ill., Police Department shows Kyle Rittenhouse. (Photo credit: Antioch Police Department/Chicago Tribune via AP, File)

Eighteen-year-old Rittenhouse has been charged with six offenses, including first degree intentional homicide, after he shot three anti-police violence protesters with an AR-15-style assault riflekilling two of themin Kenosha on August 25.

Rittenhouse, a supporter of Donald Trump and the reactionary Blue Lives Matter movement, traveled from his home in Antioch, Illinois to volunteer as an armed vigilante during anti-police violence protests sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake two days earlier by Kenosha officer Rusten Sheskey.

Significantly, in response to the prosecutors filing, Rittenhouses lawyer Mark D. Richards submitted a counter motion stating that a Kenosha Police captain advised him to provide a false address for Rittenhouse, in violation of the terms of his release.

In an accompanying affidavit dated February 3, John M. Piercewho was the shooters attorney who posted his $2 million bailstates, After arriving at the Public Safety building, I reported to Joint Services and tendered the ordered bond amount for Kyle. I was instructed to fill out a form and provide Kyles personal information, including his address and social security number.

Pierce then states, While I was completing this form, I was approached by a Kenosha Police Department Captain, who offered his assistance.  The Kenosha Police Captain told me that I absolutely should not provide the address of the physical location of the Rittenhouse Safe House on the form, but instead to provide his home address in Antioch, Illinois. Pierce said the reason he concealed the address was due to the number of threats made against Kyle and his family.

Pierce concluded his statement by saying, To the best of my knowledge and recollection, I believe the Kenosha Police Captain who assisted me in completing the form on November 20, 2020 to have been Captain Tim Schaal. The city website identifies Tim Schaal as the Third Shift Commander of the Patrol Division of the Kenosha Police Department (KPD).

In other words, according to Rittenhouses lawyers, a top-ranking police official in Kenosha sympathetic to the fascist shooter advised his legal representative to intentionally falsify his whereabouts and violate the terms of the bond agreement.

In response to the extraordinary declaration by Rittenhouses lawyers, the KPD issued a statement on Thursday that said Schaal had been misidentified by Pierce and was a lieutenant at the time and that he was on a regularly scheduled day off and had no contact with Mr. Pierce.

The KPD went on to push responsibility for concealing Rittenhouses whereabouts back onto the shooters legal representatives, A Kenosha Police captain did have a brief conversation with Mr. Pierce, regarding security concerns raised by Mr. Pierce, surrounding the Kyle Rittenhouse release from custody. The conversation did not include instructions about how to fill out paperwork. It is the responsibility of the defendant and his/her representation to complete bond paperwork completely and accurately. It is the further responsibility of the defendant to comply with conditions of bond.

Whatever the truth of what happened at the Kenosha Public Safety building when Rittenhouse was released on bail in November, it is known that his legal team was financed and supported by the far-right. This included the fund-raising support of pro-Trump attorney and QAnon proponent Lin Wood, who was instrumental in collecting the $2 million needed to post bail.

Meanwhile, it is known that there is supportas was demonstrated by the stand-down of the Capitol Police and National Guard and composition of the mob during the assault on Congress on January 6within law enforcement agencies and the US military for fascist politics. It has also been documented that federal law enforcement officials, including Department of Homeland Security agents, were directed to make public statements that were sympathetic to Rittenhouse.

From the day that Rittenhouse carried out the shootings in Kenosha, he was lauded as a hero by the far right. Less than a week after he shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, Trump promoted the claim that the shooter acted in self-defense.

The fact that Rittenhouse was not residing at the address provided by attorney Richards at the time of his release was discovered when prosecutors attempted to deliver a hearing notice which quickly came back to the court due to a lack of a forwarding address.

In his filing, ADA Binger wrote, In a criminal case as serious as this one, it is critically important that the court be able to monitor the defendants whereabouts at all times. After all, it is extremely unusual for a defendant facing a charge of first-degree intentional homicide in Kenosha County to post cash bond and be released from custody pending trial. Rarely does our community see accused murderers roaming about freely.

Kenosha prosecutors were also alerted to the ongoing relationship between Rittenhouse and the fascist right when surveillance video and still photos surfaced showing the shooter and his mother at a bar in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin shortly after he pled not guilty in a virtual hearing on January 5. Rittenhouse posed for photos with members of the Proud Boys organization, was loudly serenaded by the members and then flashed the OK white-power hand gesture while wearing a t-shirt that said Free as F*ck.

The Kenosha District Attorneys office filed a motion at that time to modify his bond conditions that would prohibit Rittenhouse from consuming alcohol or having any contact with militia members or any violent white power/white supremacist groups or organizations including the Proud Boys.

Rittenhouse is scheduled for an appearance in court on March 10 and jury selection is set to begin on March 29.

Gov. Ned Lamont signed his 89th executive order since the pandemic began Thursday, extending a number of previous executive orders and issuing a broad swath of directives.

Most notably, Thursdays nights order excludes federal stimulus payments from calculations that determine whether someone is eligible to receive state benefits.

The order also requires school districts to continue providing two weeks of paid leave to teachers and other school staff for COVID-19-related absences, after a federal mandate expired at the end of last year.

Those two provisions almost immediately drew support from leading democrats Thursday night.

House Democrats had real concerns about families losing out on assistance because federal stimulus payments might be counted as income, Speaker of the House Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) said in a statement issued that night. We also wanted to ensure school employees had the protections they need to ensure schools are as safe as possible as we reopen. The Governor listened and took action.

The educational workforce has been majorly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to face challenges that are completely out of the control of those affected, House Chair of the Education Committee, state Rep. Bobby Sanchez, D-New Britain, said. I am in full support of extending paid leave for school district employees that have to miss work and am pleased this is moving forward.

The order also will allow voters in special elections or municipal primaries to vote by absentee ballot and cite the pandemic as a reason for doing so.

And, as the governor said he would do, the executive order also does away with a numerical cap on religious gatherings, now permitting houses of worship to run at 50 percent occupancy.

The executive order also suspends a state statute on commuter lots, allowing them to be used for COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites.

Todays group of emergency orders from Governor Lamont confirms what everyone in Connecticut understands except Republicans in the General Assembly: our state remains in a state of public health emergency, Senate President Martin Looney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff said in a joint statement. Connecticut needs to remain ready to act nimbly in anticipation of challenges and to protect the publics health. This pandemic is not over and we cannot let our guard down.

But House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora said Thursdays order was nothing new and noted the relaxation on rules around religious gatherings was something that the house Republicans had asked for already.

While he didnt raise any particular issues with Thursdays executive order, Candelora said he was concerned about the transparency of how the governors orders have been delivered. He noted that if the General Assembly is meeting, they should discuss issues involving the pandemic, including setting a minimum standard for remote schooling.

He likened the executive order process to a light switch, where Lamonts orders are either in effect or not. I think we need to install a dimmer switch, Candelora said, and the legislature needs to turn up that dimmer and turn the light back on government.

Other provisions included in Thursdays executive order suspend a filing requirement for veterans who were granted tax relief benefits. Similarly, the order also allows those who are eligible for the elderly and disabled circuit breaker and freeze tax relief programs to not have to submit documents normally required every two years.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is searched by U.S. Capitol Police after setting off the metal detector outside the doors to the House of Representatives Chamber in Washington on Jan. 12, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Republicans Call Double Standard on Greenes Committee Removals, Point to Omar Remarks

Several Republican lawmakers alleged a double standard in the Democrat push to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from two committee posts over her past comments and actions, while Democrat lawmaker Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) faced no such censure for her past incendiary remarks.

The House on Thursday adopted a resolution along largely partisan lines to remove Greene from the House Budget Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee, with eleven Republicans joining Democrats in voting to punish the Georgia firebrand for past comments, like saying that the 9/11 terror attacks and some school shootings were false flag operations.

Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) filed an amendment late Tuesday (pdf) that would instead eject Omar from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, rather than Greene from the Committee on the Budget. In advancing the amendment, Babin cited anti-Semitic remarks Omar had made.

If the Democrat Majority wants to go down this road, they should start by dealing with their own members who have been at this before and AFTER their election to Congress, he wrote on Twitter, suggesting Democrats were employing a double standard by punishing Greene while downplaying misconduct within their own ranks.

Omar was accused of anti-Semitism after she made remarks critical of Israel and alleged the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was paying off politicians to take pro-Israel positions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reprimanded Omar, who later apologized for her remarks, although she retained her committee assignments.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) called Babins effort to oust Omar instead of Greene unbelievable and criticized him for false equivalence.

Omar called Babins bid to cut her committee assignments a ridiculous distraction. Obviously, we can see it is a racist, Islamophobic-fueled smear.

Babins amendment failed, and the House voted 230199 to adopt the Democratic-backed resolution to censure Greene.

One of the handful of Republicans who voted to strip Greene of her committee assignments, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) noted that he had previously called for similar action against Omar.

Diaz-Balart said on Twitter that, while he viewed Greenes remarks as unacceptable, he said there were also members Ive consistently said should be removed from committee assignments for their irresponsible, inflammatory speech.

When Ilhan Omar continuously made anti-Semitic comments about Israel, Nancy Pelosi swept it under the rug and suggested that they move forward. Why wasnt she removed from her role on a committee that helps set U.S. policy toward Israel? Diaz-Balart wrote.

Republican leadership in the House opposed the vote to strip Greene of her assignments, and similarly called out Democrats for a double standard.

I would remind the majority that several of their own members have engaged in activities or made comments that Republican members find offensive and inappropriate, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said on the House floor Thursday.

If the majority changes hands in the future, as it surely will at some point, how would the current majority feel if these members are stripped of their committee assignments with no due process? he asked.

Cole also objected to the fact that Greene was not given the courtesy of a referral to the Ethics Committee, which is the Congressional body empowered to investigate misconduct by representatives.

Shes not being given the same due process that was given to others before facing punishment by the House, he said, adding that punishing lawmakers for comments made before they assumed office could set a dangerous precedent.

My friends run the risk of setting off a tit-for-tat exchange for partisan punishment that could cripple the operation of the House now and well into the future, Cole said, adding, I truly believe that the majority claiming a new right to be able to exercise a veto over minority committee assignments will ultimately be dangerous for this institution.

McGovern responded to Coles remarks by saying that in the past, members were removed from committees due to the wishes of party leaders, but in this case, it seems very obvious to us the Republican leadership chose not to act.

Republicans met on Wednesday to consider whether Greene should be removed from the committees, but opted not to. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) condemned Greenes comments but declined to take further steps.

Past comments from and endorsed by Marjorie Taylor Greene on school shootings, political violence, and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories do not represent the values or beliefs of the House Republican Conference, McCarthy said after the meeting, adding that Greene had apologized for her comments.

McGovern also addressed the matter of an Ethics Committee referral, saying that, since Republicans have not yet appointed members to it in this session of Congress, it doesnt function at this particular point.

Greene, a first-term lawmaker who supports former President Donald Trump, hours before the vote took time to clarify some of her past comments and actions. She said that her statements about school shootings and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks do not reflect her views today.

Media outlets and Democrats have also accused Greene of being a supporter of QAnon. Its proponents, who follow clues from cryptic messages posted to anonymous imageboards, allege that some of the most powerful people in the world are part of a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles and cannibals who have engaged in child sex trafficking and ritual abuse.

Reports also claimed that Greene had liked a Facebook comment suggesting that a bullet to the head of Pelosi would be quicker.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is seen in Washington on Jan. 15, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Greene, in her speech on the House floor, said that the statements she made were words of the past.

I was allowed to believe things that werent true, and I would ask questions about them and I would talk about them, and that is absolutely what I regret, Greene said, adding that she stopped supporting QAnon in 2018. Greene added that she is a very regular American who entered politics after Trump ran for office in 2016.

On Wednesday, Greene said on Twitter that Democrats were engaged in a mob cancel campaign and that mainstream media outlets were refusing to air her rebuttals.

They are only set out to destroy Republicans, your jobs, our economy, your childrens education and lives, steal our freedoms, and erase Gods creation, she wrote.

Greene called for election integrity in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. After the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Joe Biden, Greene filed articles of impeachment against him.

The last congressperson to be stripped of their committee assignment was Republican congressman Steve King in 2019 after he was questioned during a media interview why white supremacy is considered offensive. He is no longer in Congress.

Jack Phillips, Mimi Nguyen-Ly, and Reuters contributed to this report.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Inaugurating the year-long 'Chauri Chaura' centenary celebrations through video conference, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi stressed on achieving Atmanirbharta through a national movement. Drawing a parallel, he said like the Independence movement, which witnessed a united stand by the Indians, the same sense of cooperation is required to make India global leader. He added that the present Union Budget has been drafted to facilitate this leap forward.

Talking about the freedom fighters' struggle against the British colonial power to gain Independence, the Prime Minister said on Thursday that "it is their collective strength that that broke the shackles of slavery" and the same "will also make India the world's greatest power". "This power of collectivity is the basis of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Campaign. During the period of Corona, India sent essential medicines to help the citizens of more than 150 countries. India is giving vaccines to the several countries keeping in mind to save human lives. All this will definitely make our freedom fighters proud of India for whose Independence they sacrificed their lives." Delving on the Covid-19, Modi said that the recent Budget will give a new push to the efforts to meet the challenges, thrown by the pandemic. "The Budget belied the apprehensions of many experts that there will be a burden of new taxes on the common citizens. Contrary to this, the Government decided to spend more for the country's rapid growth. This expenditure will be for infrastructure like roads, widening existing roadways, bridges, railway lines, new trains and buses and connecting our villages with markets, mandis and cities. It also will entail spending on better education and new opportunities." He clarified such expenditure will generate employment and new income sources, which will put India back on rails.

Taking a dig at past dispensations, the Prime Minister remarked that "the Budget was turned into the bahi-khata (ledger) of the vote-bank calculations. Now the nation has turned a new leaf and has changed the approach".

Making a specific mention about the large outlay for healthcare (Rs 2,23,846 crore as against this year's Rs 94,452 crore, a 137 per cent increase), Modi said, "advanced testing and check-up facilities are being developed district level itself". He added that Gorakhpur is getting All India Institute of Medical Services while new medical colleges will come up at Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti Maharajnagar and Sidhdharth Nagar.

Without directly touching upon the ongoing farmers' protest, Modi termed farmers as the basis of national progress. Praising them he observed, "despite difficulties of the pandemic, they have achieved record production. The Budget has taken many steps for their empowerment. One thousand mandis are being linked to e-NAM to ease the selling of the crops by the farmers". He went on to add that the Rural Infrastructure Fund enhanced to 40 thousand crore will make farmers self-reliant. "The Swamitva Scheme providing ownership documents of land and residential property to the people of the villages will lead to better price of the property and help the families with the bank credit also and make the land safe from the encroachers." Describing the historic 'Chauri Chaura' incident which led to hanging of 19 freedom fighters, and imprisonment of hundreds, Modi said that "the incident which happened 100 years ago was not just an arson incident. Under what circumstances arson happened, what were the reasons are equally important". Lamenting at the lack of discussion about these martyrs he said the nation must use this occasion to remember not just them but also thousand others who remain unsung.

A postal stamp dedicated to the Chauri Chaura was also released at the event, which was attended by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Johnson & Johnson asked U.S. regulators Thursday to clear the worlds first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies.

J&Js vaccine was safe and offered strong protection against moderate to severe COVID-19, according to preliminary results from a massive international study.

It didnt appear quite as strong as two-dose competitors made by Pfizer and Moderna -- a finding that may be more perception than reality, given differences in how each was tested.

But the Food and Drug Administration is asking its independent advisers to publicly debate all the data behind the single-dose shot -- just like its competitors were put under the microscope -- before it decides whether to green light a third vaccine option in the U.S.

Dr. Peter Marks, FDAs vaccine chief, has cautioned against making comparisons before the evidence is all in.

With so much need to get this pandemic under control, I think we cant ignore any tool in the tool chest, he told the American Medical Association last week. We will have to do our best to try to make sure that we find the populations that benefit the most from each of these vaccines and deploy them in a very thoughtful manner.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Mrs. Elizabeth Knowles Trimble passed away Monday following a brief illness. She was born on Aug. 31, 1927 in Menlo Ga. She was the oldest of seven children born to John David Knowles Sr. and Tessie Mae Mack Knowles.



She graduated as salutatorian of Hill High School in LaFayette in 1948 and was joined in holy matrimony with Samuel Trimble on Sept. 30, 1950. The couple relocated to Chattanooga in 1955, where she worked on both Lookout and Signal Mountains until the late 1960s.

Mrs. Trimble worked with the Community Action Program from 1966 until 1969. She joined the TN Department of Human Services in 1970 where she served with acumen and alacrity quickly earning the respect and admiration of colleagues and superiors for the quality of her work; she retired in 1989 and focused on the dress shop (R&T Enterprise) she and her daughter Rita had opened in 1982. The dress shop was renamed Smart Girl" in 1983 and remained open until 1992.

Always an advocate for children, Mrs. Trimble served as president of the Parent Teachers Association for several years at Chattanooga Avenue Elementary School, Howard Elementary School, and Howard Junior High School. While her children were of school age, she served as a homeroom mother and as a leader of the Girl Scouts; she also worked with the Boy Scouts of America where she was a den mother. She was actively involved in youth ministry for more than 60 years. She has not only ministered to young people within the church but also in the community and has been a tremendous influence in the lives of people who are now doctors, lawyers, ministers, police officers, teachers, administrators, and laborers.

A faithful member of the Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church since 1958 she was involved in numerous church committees, ministries and auxiliaries, she was a member of the first Board of Directors of Union Hill and an instrumental figure in its relocation to its present location. She was a member of the Someone-to-Care Ministry, she sang in the Senior and Combined Choirs and worked with various youth ministries within the church, including supervisor of the Youth Choir and the Youth Usher Board, the Red Circle, and the Sunshine Band. She supervised the arts and crafts program during Vacation Bible School for several years until her health prevented her from doing so.

She outlived four brothers, John D., Hardy T., and Jose A. Knowles and Nathan C. Jones; one sister Eliza Ella Sanford, two grandsons, Justin L. and Shawn E. Trimble; and a beloved aunt, Jerrell D. Hudgins.

She left four daughters, Rita M. Trimble Turner, Janice F. Trimble (J.T.) McDaniel, Sandra L Trimble, of Chattanooga TN, and Alva G. Trimble (Lee) Barrett of Hampton VA; three sons, Minister Steve P. Trimble of Ringgold GA; Rodney M. (Sonya), and Stephon K. Trimble of Chattanooga; 25 grandchildren, Norquitta Trimble, Stephanie Trimble (Tim) Baker, Tiffanie Monique Trimble, Jerphon Trimble, Gabriel Chafee Owens Dunn, Tia Cherrelle Reed, Cadarius (Porchia) and Ladarius Trimble, and Quincy Trimble, all of Chattanooga; Torrey Trimble, Sandy Springs GA, Lea Barrett, Hampton VA, Toi (Kenneth) Smith, Atlanta, Alphonso Trimble, Ringgold GA, Ebony McKenzie, Knoxville TN, Kimberly Johnson Shelling, Groveland FL, and Jamichael Trimble, Houston TX; one sister, Jerrel Dean Knowles, Atlanta GA; one brother-in-law Harmon (JP) Wooten, Atlanta; a daughter-in-law, Lynne Johnson Trimble; and special friends Janie McDuffie, Minnie Blanks, Justine Bush Jones.

She had 29 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren and a multitude of other relatives and friends.

She was called Grannie not only by her grandchildren, but by many of the adults who were raised in the Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church as well as those in the South Chattanooga area where she lived for many years.

Final arrangements are Friday, Feb. 12. She will lie in state from 9 a.m. until the home going service at noon at Taylor Funeral Home with Pastor Samuel Jackson, officiating. Service will be broadcast live via Taylor Funeral Home Facebook.
Patna, Feb 5 : Opposition parties' leaders in Bihar have organised human chains, tractor rallies, Raj Bhavan march, dharnas and protests in support of the farmers' agitation at the Delhi borders, but have failed to enthuse the farmers here to join the stir. They are still maintaining a distance from the protests.

Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, has appealed to the state's farmers to join the farmers' agitation. Apart from Tejashwi, Gurnam Singh Chaduni, a senior leader of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), who is involved in the farmers' agitation at Delhi's borders, came to Bihar and urged the farmers here to join the movement, but they are not enthusiastic about it. Many farmers in the region are not even aware of this movement.

Ramadhar Singh, All India Kisan Sabha Secretary, says that there is a lack of consciousness among the farmers in Bihar. He said even today the farmers here are selling their produce at throwaway prices, but due to lack of awareness, they are not joining the farmers' movement. He said the people of his farmers organisation will visit every village from February 10 to March 10 to set up panchayats and create awareness among the farmers.

On January 30 this year, all the opposition parties united and organised a human chain in the state to demand the repeal of the three new farm laws on the call of the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Even in this human chain, farmers were nowhere to be seen.

Anand Murari, a farmer from Tal region and Coordinator of the Tal Development Committee, which is known for pulses production in Bihar says that the farmers here mainly do traditional farming and are not concerned with Union farm laws.

Ram Pravesh Rai, a farmer from Bihata near Patna, asks who will be the farmer marching on the streets for the movement. He said if the farmers here do not work in the fields, what will they eat throughout the year? Expressing anger, he said everyone wants to indulge in politics.

The APMC Act in Bihar was abolished in 2006.

In Bihar, the leaders of the ruling party have been saying that the farmers of Bihar are with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). They know what used to happen to farmers earlier.

BJP Spokesperson Nikhil Anand says that the Central government is committed to doubling the income of farmers and efforts are being made continuously to achieve this. Bihar's agricultural model has been garnering praise from all corners. Today, climate-friendly farming is being done here in view of climate change.

Full results from Friday's state track meets

Get your full results from the AA, A and B boys and girls state track meets here.
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People

Sen. Peters takes over HSGAC

Sen. Peters at a 2019 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (DOD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber I Smith)

As the new chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) faces the immediate, ongoing crises of the pandemic and the SolarWinds hack and its fallout on government agencies as well as the long-term task of oversight of the new administration's efforts to undo four years of Trump administration federal workforce policies.

As chairman, Peters has the power to direct the committee's legislative priorities and call hearings to conduct oversight of government operations, including federal contracting and the civil service. In the last Congress, he was the ranking member of the committee.

"From cyber-attacks and the rise of domestic terrorism to a deadly pandemic  there is no question that the American people continue to face persistent and pernicious threats," Peters said in a statement about his new position. "I'll continue my efforts to ensure the federal government is fulfilling its top mission to keep Americans safe."

Oversight on federal response to the pandemic has been on Peter's agenda since the outbreak began. The senator has been vocal about how agencies handled the pandemic, asking for their re-opening plans to be made public and sponsoring legislation that would have created labor-management task forces for pandemic policies in the federal workforce.

Last December, he sent letters to the White House and several departments asking for information about the federal government's pandemic response.

Peters has also been active on the cybersecurity front as a critic of former President Donald Trump's cybersecurity policies, warning that not enough was being done to protect the security of health care systems from state sponsored adversaries.

After the SolarWinds Orion hack was exposed last year, Peters and Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) issued a joint statement about their intentions to hold hearings and work on cybersecurity legislation.

"These types of sophisticated attacks are going to continue, and we must work across the federal government, as well as with our private sector and state and local partners, to learn from this and strengthen our cyber defenses," they wrote.

Peters also co-sponsored a bill that would have nullified the Schedule F executive order that was designed to reclassify thousands of competitive service positions to at-will employment. He was also among Democrats pushing to block the measure via the appropriations process, although those efforts did not succeed.

Federal employee unions told FCW that they are optimistic about the change in committee leadership.

Peters "understands, supports and respects the contributions of the federal workforce," said Tony Reardon, the National President of the National Treasury Employees Union. "As a senator, he has built strong relationships with the federal employees NTEU represents in the state of Michigan."

As a chairman of the committee, Peters will bring the same approach to agencies, Reardon said.

Peters follows Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who has been chair of the committee since 2015. A supporter of former President Donald Trump, his loyalty was reflected in his actions as chairman, such as the use of his role on the committee during the first impeachment of the former president and a hearing he held on "irregularities in the 2020 election," despite the lack of evidence for significant election fraud.

Johnson generally gave a "muted response" to the issues that federal labor and affinity groups raised, although his presence was felt in the Senate confirmation process for positions on independent agencies like the Federal Labor Relations Authority and Merit Systems Protection Board, said Steve Lenkart, the executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees.

"We expect a 100% wholesale change," he said. "We're looking forward to and certainly expect [Peters'] support to get good nominees into those tribunals, to get them up and running again."

Lenkart also hopes that Peters takes action to "repair the civil service" and "gap some of those holes" that came up over the past four years by doing things like strengthening whistleblower protections.

"Senator Peters is going to have a lot on his plate," he said.
Delegates from Libya's warring factions on Friday selected four leaders to guide the North African country through to national elections in December, seen as a major - if uncertain - step toward unifying a nation with two separate governments in the east and west.

In what could become a landmark achievement to end one of the intractable conflicts left behind by the Arab Spring a decade ago, the 74 delegates chose a list of candidates in a U.N.-hosted process aimed to give balance to regional powers and various political and economic interests.

Mohammad Younes Menfi, a Libyan diplomat with a support base in the country's east, was chosen to head the three-person Presidential Council. Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, a powerful businessman backed by western tribes, was chosen as interim prime minister.

The U.N. process, known as the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, was aimed at choosing an interim authority that will oversee Libya as part of an effort to rebuild state institutions and lead to national elections on Dec. 24.

Menfi's list was elected in a runoff as none of four lists initially proposed secured the required 60% of votes from the delegates in the first round.

The voting was taking place under the mediation of the U.N. secretary-general's acting special representative for Libya, Stephanie Williams, in hopes of bringing stability to a country that has been largely lawless since Moammar Gadhafi' was toppled and killed in 2011.

Since 2015, Libya has been divided between two governments, one in the east and another in the west of the country, each backed by a vast array of militias.

In April 2019, Khalifa Hifter, a military commander of the National Libyan Army allied with the eastern government, launched an offensive to capture the capital, Tripoli.

His campaign failed after 14 months of fighting. In October, the U.N. convinced both parties to sign a cease-fire agreement and embark on a political dialogue.

Each of the two final lists has candidates for the three-member Presidency Council and the post of prime minister.

The list that ultimately lost in the second round of voting was the one that got the highest number of votes in the first round earlier Friday. It included Aguila Saleh, the politically savvy speaker of Libya's eastern parliament who ran for president of the Presidential Council.

The same list included Fathi Bashagha, the powerful interior minister in the western government who hopes to seize the premiership.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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The approval of COVID-19 vaccines raised hopes, but their arrival dashed them  at least for now.

An uneven rollout of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines allowed some local teachers, police officers and firefighters to jump the line for vaccinations while many others among them still await their turn.

The federal governments and Pennsylvanias expansion of the top priority vaccination list without enough vaccines to meet the new demand only created a scramble that added to the rollouts free-for-all feel.

Weve never been through this on such a scale. And so theres lots of challenges, and lots of individuals and organizations are going to make mistakes along the way, said Teri Ooms, executive director of The Institute, a research organization at Wilkes University whose advisory committee has called for a cooperative vaccination strategy. I think what could have mitigated some of this is ... collaboration and communication across sectors, across states, with the federal government, with the manufacturers ... Now we need to do a course correction from here. Its easy to lay blame.

The state Department of Health reported 1,110,783 vaccines administered statewide through Wednesday. That translates to 880,861 people with at least one vaccination, including 229,922 with both. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the only ones approved so far, require two shots. The state has held back on using available vaccines to ensure second shots for the once-vaccinated. That has contributed to the state ranking seventh from the bottom in percentage of available vaccine used, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Preventions COVID Data Tracker. The states ranking has dropped even as its rate of vaccine usage jumped by almost 10 percentage points in the last couple of weeks.

Pennsylvania has more than four million people eligible for vaccines on the current top priority list, which translates to about one in five vaccinated so far.

The state Department of Health vaccination plan, amended several times, originally called for vaccinating health care providers medical and other staff, nursing home employees and their guests and staff and residents of other long-term care centers. That was going slowly but mostly smoothly.

Even by then, some groups got vaccines early. By early January, dozens of Scranton police officers and firefighters had received vaccinations, though even the states amended vaccination plan still says theyre supposed to wait until the next priority groups gets their turn, which hasnt happened. Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said the city asked for and received Department of Health permission for the vaccinations because the officers and firefighters could encounter medical emergencies in their work.

By comparison, Archbald Police Chief Tim Trently said only he and three other of his seven full-time officers have secured vaccinations. He and the three who got vaccinated double as ambulance emergency medical technicians, who are in the top priority group.

The others are still trying to get vaccinated, Trently said.

Eric Pusey, a Mid Valley pharmacist who vaccinated teachers in several local school district, said he had vaccines left over and only followed former state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levines advice against letting unused vaccines go to waste.

Levine and health department spokesmen have repeated that advice over and over. The department hasnt punished anyone who violated the priority list.

Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, chief executive officer and president of The Wright Center, which has administered more than 13,000 vaccines, called Levine a very courageous and fearless leader, but said her decision to rely on an honor system in the rollout may have contributed to the problems.

And you know, when you dont micromanage people, and you just encourage them to follow the rules, for whatever reason, maybe they didnt understand. There might have been some people ... going outside the guidance, Thomas said.

Then, about two weeks ago, Gov. Tom Wolf, following new CDC guidelines, expanded the top priority vaccination list to include people 65 and older and people 16 to 64 years old with medical conditions that put them at greater risk. Thousands of eager callers overwhelmed state-listed local vaccinations sites that had either zero or too few vaccines.

Wolf blames the federal government for expanding the pool of eligible without providing enough vaccines, but state Rep. Mike Carroll prefers Wolf had waited and expanded the top priority group to include teachers and first responders instead because they deal directly with the public.

I think that the following along with the CDC recommendation was probably a mistake and a more targeted approach, Pennsylvania specific, would have been a better way to go, Carroll, D-118, Avoca, said.

Acknowledging the rollouts shortcomings, Thomas preaches patience and consideration for a system that produced vaccines in record time in the middle of a pandemic with everyone stressed out.

It got away from us in terms of as a nation, Thomas said. I dont think the plan was as disciplined as it could have been, right? But, you know, I think there was a plan and people are getting vaccinated. And theres a light at the end of the tunnel. And I think that we need the media to bring a sense (that) its really exciting that we have a vaccine. This is America, and everyone whos eligible is going to get it.
The child soldier turned "Lord's Resistance Army" commander had been accused of crimes against humanity during a brutal campaign of terror in northern Uganda.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Netherlands, convicted former Ugandan warlord Dominic Ongwen on Thursday of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In reading out detailed descriptions of atrocities committed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) -- which had been one of Africa's most brutal rebel groups -- an ICC judge said that Ongwen had ordered the killings and abductions of civilians, including children.

"There exists no ground excluding Dominic Ongwen's criminal responsibility. His guilt has been established beyond any reasonable doubt," said the presiding ICC judge, Bertram Schmitt.

Ongwen was accused of 70 counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, torture, sexual slavery and using child soldiers, between 2002 and 2004 in northern Uganda when he led a brigade of the LRA.

He was found guilty of 61 out of 70 counts.

Child soldier turned warlord

For more than 20 years, LRA fighters subjected northern Uganda to a reign of terror before withdrawing to neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.

Ongwen himself was abducted by the rebels as a child while on the way to school and was forced to serve as a child soldier.

His case is the first at the ICC to involve an alleged perpetrator and victim of the same war crimes.

He pleaded not guilty when the proceedings began in 2016, and has denied the charges. He will be sentenced at a later date, and could face life behind bars.

(dpa, AFP)
With a combined capacity of 30 MW, Okanagan Wind commenced commercial operations in 2017. Okanagan Wind is the first wind generation platform in the Okanagan region and consists of the Pennask Wind Farm and the Shinish Creek Wind Farm. All of the electricity generated by Okanagan Wind is sold under an inflation-linked Electricity Purchase Agreement with British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority with 37 years remaining.

"We are excited to be acquiring CK Group's first renewable energy project in Canada, and look forward to finding other such opportunities for the Group as we work to expand our footprint," said Mr. Derek Goodmanson, Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Power. "We look forward to working with the team at Okanagan Wind, as well as the community and First Nations partners."

Canadian Power will honour Okanagan Wind's Impact Benefit Agreements with local First Nation communities. These agreements provide access to job opportunities, annual benefit payments to the community, funds to support scholarships and continuing roles such as environmental monitoring of the projects.

The CK Group possesses extensive experience in renewable energy in Australia, Continental Europe, China and the United Kingdom. These projects include wind power, solar, municipal waste, and hydrogen.

In Canada, through Canadian Power, the CK Group owns a 100% interest in the highly-efficient Meridian Cogeneration Plant located in Saskatchewan, as well as stakes in four power generation plants located in Alberta and Ontario through its 49.99% interest in TA Cogen Limited Partnership.

CIBC Capital Markets is acting as financial advisor and Stikeman Elliott LLP is acting as legal advisor to Canadian Power.

About Canadian Power

Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Canadian Power provides stable returns from generating assets in the electricity sector in North America for its shareholders and reliable, economic energy for its customers. Canadian Power intends to expand its renewable generation footprint. Canadian Power is held by CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited and Power Assets Holdings Limited of the CK Group.

SOURCE Canadian Power

For further information: Tel: (403) 512 - 5730, Email: [email protected]
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 21:21:35|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writer Ma Qian

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- From a self-serving trade war to brazen sanctions against Chinese firms, Washington's willful bullying and containment of China has plunged the bilateral ties into a serious plight over the past four years.

However, the constructive economic interactions between the two sides have maintained much vitality and resilience, offering hope for a return of the China-U.S. relations to the right track.

Over the past four decades, China-U.S. trade and economic cooperation has served as a stabilizer for the bilateral ties.

Before the U.S. trade war against China, the two countries, with a decade of joint work under the mechanism of Strategic and Economic Dialogue, had maintained effective communication, properly managed differences and promoted mutual trust on trade and economic issues.

Such an economic bond has benefited both sides. The two countries have been major trading partners and key investment sources for each other for years.

Back in 2017, the China-U.S. trade relationship supported roughly 2.6 million jobs in the United States across a range of industries, including jobs that Chinese companies created on the U.S. soil, according to the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC).

However, the situation turned sour during the term of former President Donald Trump's administration, as it wielded the banner of protectionism under the self-centered slogan of "America First," accused China of ripping off the United States and launched a trade war against China.

What's behind the whine that "America suffered losses" is a sheer ignorance of the "interests surplus" Uncle Sam has obtained from China, and of each other's different industrial structures and resources.

In contrast to "making America great again," the unilateral act of starting a trade war against China and stoking decoupling with China has made U.S. companies and ordinary citizens pay a high price, and also spoiled the potential of U.S. economic growth.

The trade war has caused a peak loss of 245,000 U.S. jobs, and a significant decoupling of two countries could cut down U.S. Gross Domestic Product by 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars over the next five years, according to a recent study released by the USCBC.

It is conspicuous that the world's two largest economies are closely interdependent with complementarities in many areas. Although those China hawks in Washington could roll out bellicose policies to bash the Asian country, they could, in no way, cut off the bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Such interaction between the two sides has sustained its constructive role and thwarted, to some extent, the political will to decouple the two countries.

Despite COVID-19 impacts, the China-U.S. two-way trade in goods grew by more than 8 percent to over 580 billion dollars in 2020.

In the business field, U.S. enterprises have generally remained bullish on the Chinese market, many of which increased investment in China and cooperation with their Chinese counterparts, such as Tesla, Walmart and Exxon Mobil.

The Wall Street Journal reported last year that China became "a vital refuge" for U.S. companies as the country's "rebounding consumer economy helped offset the damage from tumbling sales back home."

A similar close bond exists in the financial sector as well. As a growing number of Chinese companies went public in the U.S. capital market, more Wall Street giants decided to build up their presence in China.

BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, received greenlight for a partnership with a Chinese state-owned bank. Fitch Ratings was approved to enter China's credit rating market, thanks to the country's further opening up of its financial market.

As the world's two largest economies, the United States and China are obligated to promote bilateral ties, which is in the interest of not only themselves, but also the rest of the world.

To date, the China-U.S. relations have come to a new crossroads. By sticking to constructive economic interactions between the two sides, any efforts to bring the China-U.S. relations back to the normal and healthy track can be reasonably expected in the foreseeable future. Enditem
FBI

A Pennsylvania mother of eight on the run from authorities for her role in the Capitol riot has been arrested by the FBI, according to federal prosecutors.

Rachel Marie Powell of Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, is in custody, Margaret Philbin, a spokesperson for the Pittsburgh U.S. Attorneys Office, told The Daily Beast.

Powell, 40, was apprehended Thursday night in New Castle, according to Philbin. She could not immediately be reached for comment.

Heres What a Ton of Capitol Rioters Had in Common

The cheese and yogurt purveyordubbed the bullhorn lady after video emerged of Powell appearing to shout orders through a bullhorn during the Jan. 6 sacking of the Capitolwas apparently not home when the FBI raided her house Thursday afternoon. Neighbors told local news reporters that Powell and her family had lived there for several years but mostly kept to themselves.

According to a complaint filed Friday in federal court, Powell is facing charges of obstruction, depredation of government property, entering a restricted building with a dangerous weapon, and violent entry/disorderly conduct.

The filing says Powell used a pipe to smash a window at the Capitol, causing more than $1,000 in damages. An anonymous tipster first outed Powell to the FBI, it explains, and gave agents the link to Powells Facebook profile. There, agents were able to match photos of Powell wearing a distinctive set of earmuffs with those she was seen wearing at the Capitol.

At a preliminary hearing held Friday afternoon via Zoom, Powell dialed in from jail, dressed in a yellow detainee uniform. Her lawyer, Michael Engle, told Judge Patricia Dodge that he hadnt yet been able to contact Powell at the detention center where she will remain locked up pending her next court appearance on Feb. 9. Addressing Powell directly, Engle said he would try to speak with her this weekend but promised to be in touch no later than Monday.

Powell, who did not speak and remained expressionless during the hearing, faces decades behind bars, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, if convicted on all counts.

Story continues

After being seen on video during the Jan. 6 riot in a pink hat and sunglasses, Powell gained her signature moniker, though she was also known as Pink Hat Lady.

via FBI

People should probably coordinate together if youre going to take this building, Powell shouted through a shattered window to a group of insurrectionists inside the Capitol. We got another window to break to make in-and-out easy.

Powell, who became the subject of her own FBI Wanted poster, agreed to an interview with Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker before she was charged.

Originally from Anaheim, California, Powell told Farrow that she acted spontaneously on Jan. 6, and was not part of a plot.

I have no military background.... Im a mom with eight kids, she said. Thats it. I work. And I garden. And raise chickens. And sell cheese at a farmers market.... Listen, if somebody doesnt help and direct people, then do more people die? Thats all Im going to say about that. I cant say anymore. I need to talk to an attorney.

Powell apparently became radicalized during the past year or so: When she wasnt manning a table at local farmers markets, Powell used Facebook to post about topics such as yoga and organic food. However, she recently began expressing increasingly extreme political views that included various conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and unfounded doubts about the validity of the 2020 presidential election.

It isnt to [sic] late to wake up, say no, and restore freedoms, she wrote on Facebook last May.

Powell was reportedly influenced by Infowars founder Alex Jones, who has claimed the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has made countless false claims while serving as Donald Trumps personal attorney.

via FBI

Deborah Lemons, Powells mother, told Farrow that Powell was held at gunpoint during a carjacking when she was a child. She said it amazed her that her daughterwith whom Lemons has had a strained relationship for the past several yearswould participate in the Capitol riot having been on the wrong end of violence in the past.

She well knows what its like to wonder if shes gonna lose her life, said Lemons.

Two other alleged insurrectionists were arrested Thursday, after being identified by investigators as having participated in the Jan. 6 riot.

Kyle Fitzsimons of Lebanon, Maine was picked up for his alleged role in the siege, according to the FBIs Boston Division. Fitzsimonswho was seen wearing rubber boots and a fur pelt around his neckwas at the front of a pack of rioters and was seen grabbing at officers trying to hold back the crowd, says a criminal complaint charging the 37-year-old with assault, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder, and entering or remaining in a restricted building.

After being struck by officers batons, Fitzsimons got up and moved towards the middle of the archway; he lowered his shoulder and charged at the line of officers, the filing says.

In a subsequent interview with The Rochester Voice, Fitzsimons claimed he had been forced up to the front of the crowd, and said his wounds from the clubbing required six stitches. He told the paper that he worked as a butcher, and was wearing his butcher jacket during the Capitol siege. The Capitol siege was a peaceful protest gone wrong, Fitzsimons said during a Lebanon, Maine, town meeting on Jan. 7, suggesting falsely that the violence was a set-up to cast blame on Trump supporters.

A public defender listed as representing Fitzsimons did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brian McCreary of North Adams, Massachusetts, was also arrested Thursday in connection with the Capitol riot. He is now facing federal disorderly conduct and trespassing charges, and it was not clear if he had an attorney.

The FBI interviewed four co-workersMcCreary works as a Dominos delivery driveraccording to a statement of facts in the case.

Additionally, multiple co-workers of McCreary stated that he has expressed political beliefs on multiple occasions while at work, to include the belief that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election, it says. After returning home from the U.S. Capitol McCreary told a co-worker that he raided the Capitol and sent this co-worker multiple videos depicting rioters inside the Capitol attempting to breach a door, confronting police officers, and towards the end of one video, a gunshot can be heard.

In a follow-up interview with the FBI, McCreary told agents he directed people inside the building not to harm police officers or commit any acts of violence. McCreary further stated that he understood going into the building might not have been legal but he made a personal choice at that point.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):

The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times Eastern):

5:45 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 582 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths due to the virus.

The province says hospitalizations continue to decline, with 517 people in hospital and 93 of those in intensive care.

Chief medical health officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw says 11 new infections are COVID-19 variants, bringing that total in the province to 68.

Hinshaw says seven of the new variant cases have no known link to travel.

3:35 p.m.

Saskatchewan says it has detected its third case of a COVID-19 variant.

Officials say the individual who tested positive for the U.K. strain of the virus had travelled from southeast Asia.

The Ministry of Health says the resident is from the Saskatoon area and followed the proper quarantine measures.

Another 250 new COVID-19 cases were also announced, along with the deaths of seven more residents.

3:10 p.m.

Prince Edward Island is reporting one new case of COVID-19.

Health officials say the case involves a man in his 20 who had travelled outside Atlantic Canada.

There are now three active reported cases of COVID-19 on the Island.

P.E.I. has reported a total of 113 infections and zero deaths linked to the virus.

2:55 p.m.

A report looking at how COVID-19 spread in a Winnipeg care home has found a significant loss of staff over a short period of time contributed to the rapid spread of the deadly outbreak.

The outbreak was declared on Oct. 20 and wasnt over until Jan. 12.

In that time, 74 staff and 157 residents tested positive, and 56 residents died.

Lynn Stevenson, who conducted the external review, offered 17 recommendations, including better pandemic plans and clear communication about staffing needs.

Health Minister Heather Stefanson says the government is committed to meeting all the recommendations.

Manitoba reported 110 new infections of COVID-19 and two more deaths Thursday.

2:05 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting 16 new cases of COVID-19.

Health officials say the province has 256 active reported cases and that five people are hospitalized with the disease, including two in intensive care.

Health Minister Dorothy Shephard says there are positive signs coming from the Moncton and Edmundston regions, which are under higher alert levels than the rest of the province.

She says restrictions on those two regions will be reassessed Monday.

2 p.m.

Nunavut is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 today.

The two new cases are in Arviat, a community of about 2,800 and the centre of Nunavut's largest outbreak.

Chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson says anyone who travelled from Arviat since Jan. 12 is asked to limit contacts, self-monitor for symptoms and contact their local health centre.

Arviat remains the only community in Nunavut still under a full lockdown, with non-essential businesses and schools closed.

There are 14 active cases of COVID-19 in Nunavut, all in Arviat.

12:55 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19 that health officials say is connected to a cluster of cases whose origin is unknown.

Officials say the new case involves a female under the age of 19 in the eastern health region who is a contact of a previously reported case.

The case is part of a cluster of six cases whose origin cannot be identified by contact tracers.

The province says it has 15 active reported cases of COVID-19.

12:35 p.m.

Manitoba is considering loosening restrictions to allow restaurants, lounges, gyms and churches to reopen at a reduced capacity.

Current public health orders expire next week and the province is seeking public feedback about changes moving forward.

Non-essential businesses were forced to close in November as COVID-19 infections and deaths surged.

Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin says while numbers have significantly dropped, any steps to reopen must be taken cautiously.

12:30 p.m.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says there's been nearly a 30-per-cent drop in active COVID-19 cases across the country over the past two weeks.

The agency says there are currently 48,221 active cases in Canada, down from more than 68,400 cases two weeks ago.

National data suggest there's also been a downward trend in daily case counts, with an average of 4,061 new infections reported per day over the past week.

Authorities say the slowdown has led to a gradual decline in severe COVID-19 outcomes, as provincial and territorial data show a seven-day average of 3,711 patients being treated in hospital each day.

11:30 a.m.

Quebec is reporting 1,093 new COVID-19 infections and 42 more deaths attributed to the virus, including 15 in the previous 24 hours.

Health officials say hospitalizations have dipped by 36 to 1,070.

They say 175 people were in intensive care, a drop of two.

The province says it administered 2,300 doses of vaccine since the last update for a total of 243,955.

11 a.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting one new travel-related case of COVID-19 today.

Health officials say the case was identified in the central zone and involves travel outside the Atlantic region.

Officials say one more person is recovered from COVID-19 and the province has 10 active cases.

Nova Scotia says it has administered about 16,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses, more than 4,000 of which were second doses.

10:45 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 1,563 new cases of COVID-19 today and 88 more deaths linked to the virus.

Case numbers have been fluctuating sharply throughout the week, with officials attributing the swings to provincial database updates.

The pace of vaccinations in the province slowed to just over 6,724 in the past 24 hours.

More than 355,000 vaccine doses have been administered in Ontario so far.

---

10:35 a.m.

Indigenous Services Canada says the number of active COVID-19 cases in First Nations communities has declined to the lowest point since Dec. 6.

The government says there were currently 1,869 such cases active as of Wednesday.

The department issued a news release saying COVID-19 recoveries have now outpaced new infections for two weeks in a row.

The department says more than 64,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered as of Wednesday.

10:15 a.m.

Conservative Leader Erin OToole is calling for more transparency in Canadas procurement of vaccines because he says the Liberals didnt do enough to guard against shortfalls in vaccine deliveries.

OToole says deliveries to Canada have been cut to only 15 per cent of what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised weeks ago.

Canada is facing shortfalls in the deliveries of promised doses from global pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Moderna, and O'Toole says the government should have kickstarted domestic vaccine production last year.

OToole says the Liberals should have foreseen the vaccine nationalism that has taken hold given the fact that Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said last spring that buying personal protective equipment in the global marketplace as like the wild west.

OToole says the fact Canada is accepting vaccines from the COVAX Facility, which is primarily aimed at helping developing countries, is evidence of more poor planning by the Liberals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2021.
Multiple countries have advised against administering the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to the elderly population.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine significantly reduces virus transmission and is highly protective after a single dose, according to an Oxford University study, which the British government said Wednesday vindicated its inoculation strategy. "It does show the world that the Oxford jab works, it works well," Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Radio, hailing the study's findings as "good news". "It slows transmission by around two-thirds, so it categorically supports the strategy that we're undertaking," Hancock said.

The study's findings came amid much debate over the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca jab among the elderly.

Although the European Medicines Agency recommended it for adults of all ages last week, several countries have advised against administering the AstraZeneca jab to older people.

Germany has already said it will not advise over 65s to get it.

Italy's medicines agency on Saturday approved the vaccine for all adults but recommended alternatives for people aged over 55.

And French President Emmanuel Macron last week said the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was "quasi-ineffective" for those over 65.

The UK has been under lockdown since December with schools closed and no definite end-date, although a review of the situation is expected in mid-February. The country has had 3.8 million cases and 1,08,013 deaths.

The Oxford study, which is awaiting peer review, found that those who had been vaccinated with a single dose of the vaccine were 67 percent less likely to test positive with a PCR test, "suggesting the potential for a substantial reduction in transmission".

Dosing schedule

It also provided backing for the UK's strategy of administering as many first doses of vaccine to high-risk groups as possible and allowing a 12-week interval before the second dose, which has been criticised by some experts.

The other vaccine already being rolled out in the UK, the Pfizer-BioNTech, was designed to be administered with a shorter interval.

"We are confident that the 12-week dosing schedule is the right one for both of the vaccines that we're using in the UK," Hancock said Wednesday.

Researchers found that a single dose was 76 percent effective in preventing virus symptoms after 22 days and for up to 90 days, while it did not prevent asymptomatic illness.

It was more effective to wait 90 days than to administer the second dose, researchers found "providing further support for current policy".

The vaccine is cheap to produce and is being sold at cost price. It can also be stored at fridge temperature, while the Pfizer vaccine requires extremely cold storage.

The survey had 17,177 participants in Britain, Brazil and South Africa. The data covers the period up to December 7, 2020. None of those studied were hospitalised.

The vaccine invented by scientists at the University of Oxford is being developed and manufactured by AstraZeneca.
Missouri senators on Feb. 3 advanced a bill that would shield hospitals, manufacturers and other businesses from lawsuits over alleged wrongdoing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Senators gave the measure initial approval after hours of debate and negotiations.

The bill would prevent lawsuits against businesses unless someone can prove they were exposed there and sickened by the coronavirus and that the business was acting recklessly or committed willful misconduct.

Hospitals also would be shielded from lawsuits unless doctors commit recklessness or willful misconduct, which is a legal standard thats more difficult to prove in court than the current liability standard they face.

The bill also would shield churches and other religious organizations from any lawsuits over exposure to COVID-19 unless the person who got sick can prove the organization committed intentional misconduct.

People hurt by defective masks or other virus-related products couldnt sue unless they prove the manufacturer acted with recklessness or committed willful misconduct that injured them.

Lawsuits for potential COVID-19 exposure or poor products would have to be filed within two years after someone is injured.

Proponents said hospitals overrun with sick patients and manufacturers that stepped up to make masks shouldnt be penalized for doing their best to help during a crisis.

This bill ensures these businesses are protected, not punished, for their role in helping us weather this pandemic, said bill sponsor Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican.

But bipartisan critics said the measure is aimed at helping big business owners and would hinder peoples access to the courts if they were hurt by poorly made masks or other pandemic-related issues.

Weve got to make sure that we not create any law that prohibits someones right to be heard in court, said Republican Sen. Bill Eigel, of Weldon Spring.

The measure needs another vote of approval in the Senate to advance to the House.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Missouri Politics
A police chief in Bergen County braved the icy waters of the Passaic River on Thursday to help rescue a woman and her 2-year-old child after they apparently fell through the ice.

Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno joined police officers and first-responders from the borough, Little Falls and Paterson to pull the woman and young girl from the water.

Foligno was working at his desk when he heard a call for help at river, less than a half-mile away. He said he raced to the marina and saw the woman holding a baby in one hand and clinging to the ice with the other.

They were about 100 yards away. I told myself I cant sit here and watch people die in front of me, Foligno said in an interview Friday. Im either going to help them or die trying. I cant let them die.

Foligno said he grabbed a red, plastic kayak and tossed it into the river. He climbed on face down  almost like he was swimming  and used a shovel as an oar.

But that didnt work too well so I just started using my hands, he said. Foligno said it took several minutes to get to the woman, who by now was in full panic mode.

The mother was clinging to ice and screaming that she couldnt hold on to her baby any longer, Foligno said.

An Elmwood Park firefighter in a wet suit was able to get to the kayak and pull the victims and the police chief to shore using a sled and ropes, Foligno said.

First-responders on the shore of the Passaic River in Bergen County after the rescue of a mother and her 2-year-old.Boyd A. Loving

The woman and child, who lived a few blocks from the river, were taken to a local hospital and admitted Thursday evening. Their conditions were not immediately available Friday morning.

Foligno said police had determined the mother and child were walking on the ice and playing when they fell through. There were no other people on the ice when the incident occurred, he said.

In a statement, the police department also thanked the people who provided the chief with the kayak rather than record the incident with their cellphones.

Without the prompt notification to 911 by our Good Samaritans this incident couldve had a tragic outcome, police said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
United Nations, Feb 5 : The president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, received his first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday, said his spokesman.

Bozkir was given a Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the Javits Center in New York, said Brenden Varma, his spokesman, Xinhua news agency reported.

Following the injection, Bozkir said his priority remains to advance the fair and equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines around the world. He encouraged all people to get vaccinated when they can, saying that vaccines save lives, according to the spokesman.

Bozkir applied online for vaccination through the New York State Department of Health and waited in line to enter the Javits Center on Thursday morning. He was eligible to get vaccinated simply because he lives in New York and he is over the age of 65, said Varma.

The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19 needs a second dose.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who received his first dose of Covid-19 vaccine a week ago, is not having side effects, said his spokesman on Thursday.

The secretary-general is feeling very good. He has no side effects and he is looking forward to a second jab through appointment, said Stephane Dujarric, his spokesman.

Guterres is also above the age of 65, belonging to a priority group for vaccination along with essential workers and first responders according to New York rules. He was given a Moderna vaccine in a high school in Bronx on January 28.
Is FAW sensing an opportunity to add scale and value and would Beijing approve?

It has been reported that China's First Automotive Works (FAW) is in talks to acquire Brilliance China Automotive Holdings (Brilliance) for $7.2bn. The deal is raised as a prospect with Brilliance's major shareholder, Huachen Automotive Group, on the brink of bankruptcy.

Brilliance itself, outside of its joint ventures with BMW, has struggled of late. Group production has declined from a high of 568,0000 in 2013 to 234,000 in 2020. The 2020 production level was a fall of 9.7%, comparing unfavourably with a total industry decline of 3.8%. Recent performance, combined with a set-up capable of producing some 650,000 light vehicles a year, is unsustainable. Brilliance's current travails are far removed from its position a decade ago when it seemed set to emerge from the pack and become one of China's leading domestic OEMs. A succession of models have failed to capture the imagination, while its attempt to move upmarket with the SWM brand  bought in 2014 and with a design centre in Italy  has not met expectation.

The apparent move by state-owned FAW to acquire the privately held Brilliance may signal the Chinese state's backdoor approach to the auto sector consolidation and reinforcement of one of its pillar industries.

In a failure to compete in its home market Brilliance is not alone; Hyundai and Kia's recent troubles attest to that. However, it is one of numerous local groups competing for a share of the China automotive pie. Domestic OEM groups commanded a 41.2% share of Chinese light vehicle production in 2020. Not too bad on the surface. But that 41% share was dispersed among 62 manufacturer groupings. Of the overseas OEMs there were just 19 competing for 58% of the market amounting to 13.7m light vehicles.

For an industry considered a pillar of the Beijing government's industrial policy such oversupply, any weakness among its cohort is a far from desirable competitive situation. The situation is exacerbated by many of the players being seen as local 'champions' and protected by regional governments due to the employment prospects and economic multiplier effects that the auto sector offers. In many ways this mirrors the historic competitive situation in Europe, where national champions were protected from consolidation or predators by state-led protectionism. Furthermore, just as in Europe, such protectionism brings excess capacity as an unwanted by-product and a drag on profitability. GlobalData estimates that the Chinese light vehicle sector has capacity to manufacture some 45m units a year, giving a utilisation rate of under 53% in 2020.

The apparent move by state-owned FAW to acquire the privately held Brilliance may signal the Chinese state's backdoor approach to auto sector consolidation and reinforcement of one of its pillar industries. The move by FAW may be the first step on the path to the long-mooted consolidation of the state-held FAW, Changan and Dongfeng into a single entity. If that's correct it would be expected that Changan and Dongfeng follow FAW's lead in swallowing smaller players until the long tail of companies is tidied up and allows for the creation of the FAW-Dongfeng-Changan supergroup.

The end-game for the Chinese light vehicle manufacturing sector would then entail six large OEMs: three state-owned (BAIC, SAIC and the FAW supergroup) and three or four private groups (BYD, Chery, Geely and Great Wall). That would go close to the industry meeting the government's on record objective, published in 2009, of there being a group of 10 major players that would survive a wave of consolidation it foresaw.

Until now, market growth and investments to position China at the forefront of electric vehicle development have forestalled such a development. With FAW's rumoured move the day of reckoning may have moved ever closer.

This article first appeared in GlobalData's Automotive Intelligence Center.

See also: FAW mulling Brilliance buy - report

DUBLIN, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Filgrastim Biosimilars Global Market Report 2020-30: COVID-19 Growth and Change" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Major players in the filgrastim biosimilars market are Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Intas Biopharmaceuticals, Sandoz, Amgen Inc., Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, Intas Pharmaceuticals, Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Biocon and Aryogen Biopharma.



The global filgrastim biosimilars market is expected to decline from $511.15 million in 2019 to $445.04 million in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -12.93%. The decline is mainly due to the COVID-19 outbreak that has led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of industries and other commercial activities resulting in operational challenges. The entire supply chain has been disrupted, impacting the market negatively. The market is then expected to recover and reach $751.96 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 19.11%.



The filgrastim biosimilars market consists of sales of filgrastim biosimilars and related services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that manufacture filgrastim biosimilars. Filgrastim biosimilar treatment is used to stimulate the bone marrow to produce more neutrophils (white blood cells) to fight infection in patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancer treatment. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.



In January 2019, Kashiv Pharma, a US-based biopharmaceuticals research company, acquired Adello biologics for an undisclosed amount. The new company will be known as Kashiv Biosciences. The deal will help Kashiv BioSciences in expanding its business offering in several areas including drug delivery platforms consolidating delayed-release technology and gastric retention systems that improve the efficacy and safety of known drugs, the pipeline of seven development products targeting unmet clinical needs. Adello Biologics was founded in 2012 and is a biotechnology company that works on developing biosimilars including filgrastims.



The filgrastim biosimilars market covered in this report is segmented by application into oncology; chronic and autoimmune diseases; blood disorders; growth hormone deficiency; infectious diseases; others and by distribution channels into hospital pharmacy; retail pharmacy; online pharmacy.



Stringent regulations imposed on approvals of biosimilars is anticipated to hinder the growth of the filgrastim biosimilar market in the forecast period. The governments of different regions impose different rules regarding the production and use of biologics and biosimilars. Further, issues such as patent infringement or agreement issues restrict the manufacturers of biosimilars from commercializing the government-approved biosimilars.



The US Food and Drug Administration requires a double regulatory approval for biosimilars, restricting the use of biosimilars as an interchangeable drug to biologics, whereas, in Europe, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approves biosimilars as interchangeable products for biologics.



For instance, Sandoz got a USFDA approval for its 1st biosimilar ZarxioTM (Filgrastim-Sndz) of original biologic Neupogen. The consent depended on a comprehensive package of analytical, nonclinical, and clinical information, which verified that Zarxio is highly similar to the US-licensed reference product. To get this approval Sandoz even had to fight a legal battle with Amgen who claims that Sandoz has infringed its manufacturing process.



Companies in the filgrastim biosimilar market are increasing their product innovation through strategic collaborations. To sustain in the increasingly competitive market, companies are developing innovative products as well as sharing skills and expertise with other companies. While companies have long collaborated with each other and with academic and research institutions in this market by way of partnerships, in- or out-licensing deals, this trend has been increasing over recent years.



Government initiatives for the development of biosimilars are expected to drive the filgrastim biosimilars market. Governments worldwide are focusing on the development of biosimilars attributing to their cost-effective nature. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a Biosimilar Action Plan in July 2018 to increase treatment options.



The Australian government is committed to the Biosimilar Awareness Initiative and in 2018, it improved its commitment by supporting the Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association through a grant of $5 million to accept increased general biosimilar education and activities that promote the suitable dispensing, prescription and use of biosimilar medicines. Hence, the government initiatives for the development of biosimilars aids in the increased production and awareness which in turn supports the growth of the filgrastim biosimilars market.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Filgrastim Biosimilars Market Characteristics



3. Filgrastim Biosimilars Market Size and Growth

3.1. Global Filgrastim Biosimilars Historic Market, 2015 - 2019, $ Billion

3.1.1. Drivers of the Market

3.1.2. Restraints on the Market

3.2. Global Filgrastim Biosimilars Forecast Market, 2019 - 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

3.2.1. Drivers of the Market

3.2.2. Restraints on the Market



4. Filgrastim Biosimilars Market Segmentation

4.1. Global Filgrastim Biosimilars Market, Segmentation by Application, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

Oncology

Chronic and Autoimmune Diseases

Blood Disorders

Growth Hormone Deficiency

Infectious Diseases

Others

4.2. Global Filgrastim Biosimilars Market, Segmentation by Distribution Channels, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

Hospital Pharmacy

Retail Pharmacy

Online Pharmacy

5. Filgrastim Biosimilars Market Regional and Country Analysis

5.1. Global Filgrastim Biosimilars Market, Split by Region, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion

5.2. Global Filgrastim Biosimilars Market, Split by Country, Historic and Forecast, 2015-2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, $ Billion



Companies Mentioned

Cadila Pharmaceuticals

Intas Biopharmaceuticals

Sandoz

Amgen Inc.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd

Intas Pharmaceuticals

Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Biocon

Aryogen Biopharma

Claris Life Sciences

Adello Biologics

Hospira (Pfizer)

Gennova Biopharmaceuticals

Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

Lupin Limited

Abbott Laboratories Inc.

Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd.

Novartis AG

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ew95k0



Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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Researchers at UC Berkeley are leading one of the country's more rigorous genome sequencing operations to identify new variants of COVID-19. Their most recent effort uncovered some worrisome cases, as the university experiences a surge forcing all students in dorms to self-sequester to contain the spread, according to a news release.

Two students tested positive for a more transmissible variant of the coronavirus first detected in the United Kingdom.

What's more, a significant number of the COVID-positive tests revealed a relatively new California variant called CAL.20C.

Perhaps most troubling, one person who tested positive for CAL.20C in January of this year had previously been infected with a different variant of SARS-CoV-2, in July 2020, according to the university.

Less than 1% of positive specimens in the U.S. are being sequenced to determine whether they have worrisome mutations. U.S. scientists have detected more than 500 cases of a variant first identified in Britain and expect it to become the cause of most of this countrys new infections in a matter of weeks. Another troubling variant tied to Brazil and a third discovered in South Africa were detected last week in the U.S. and also are expected to spread.

Based on scientific study, researchers believe the UK variant can spread up to about 50% more easily than the original strain of COVID-19 and may be deadlier, but more studies are needed to confirm this. The UK saw a spike in this variant in the fall and it was first detected in the United States at the end of December 2020. Currently authorized vaccines are believed to be effective against the strain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials said the emergence of new variants underscores the importance of wearing masks and taking precautions to avoid getting infected.

Researchers at the university identified the B.1.1.7 variant in the two students who were tested on Jan. 19 and 21 respectively.

The two students are among six identified B.1.1.7 cases in Alameda County and 133 new cases across California.

University Health Services contract tracers found both students had recently arrived in the U.S. from abroad, and the two cases were connected, according to a statement.

It is unfortunately no surprise that this and other variants are being detected locally, given the extent of viral spread happening currently regionally, nationally and internationally, said Dr. Anna Harte, medical director at University Health Services (UHS). With more viruses circulating, emerging strains that are more transmissible will tend to dominate. What is more concerning is whether they may become resistant to our vaccines, and how lethal they are. The more efficiently we can contain the spread, the better chance we have of nipping this in the bud. It is absolutely critical that people be even more careful than they have been before during this pandemic so that we can vaccinate and protect those who are most at risk of becoming seriously ill.

UC Berkeley administrators have asked all students living in campus dorms to stay in their rooms as much as possible and wear face coverings in common areas to help contain the virus.

UC Berkeley has reconstructed 750 viral samples during the pandemic, according to a statement. In one set of 95 viral genomes, collected between Nov. 4, 2020, and Jan. 21, 2021, "nearly one-quarter  26%  were a relatively new California variant called CAL.20C," according to the university.

This variant is quickly multiplying across state, and as of Feb. 2, California had reported more than 1,000 cases of this variant, with it making uo one-quarter to one third of all new COVID-19 cases in the Los Angeles area, the university said.

"In the Los Angeles area, the variant makes up between one-quarter and one-third of all COVID-19 cases," the university said. "Characteristics of this new variant are still unknown, but there is some concern that it, too, could be more infectious."

The reinfection case is very rare, said Stacia Wyman, a specialist in medical genomics who leads the sequencing effort within UC Berkeleys Innovative Genomics Institute.

It is really significant that the CAL.20C variant that seems to be taking over at least a third of the cases was able to reinfect someone, Wyman said. That persons viral load was very high.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
(@FahadShabbir)

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday said Indian authorities have imposed the longest curfew in the history of Kashmir which was a sheer violation of human rights (HR) and a solid proof of their inhuman behaviour for international human rights bodies

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Feb, 2021 ) :Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday said Indian authorities have imposed the longest curfew in the history of Kashmir which was a sheer violation of human rights (HR) and a solid proof of their inhuman behaviour for international human rights bodies.

He stated this while talking to media after leading a rally to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir organized by Commissioner Karachi from Peoples Chowrangi to Mazar-e-Quid.

The rally was attended by provincial ministers, Saeed Ghani, Murtaza Wahab, IGP Sindh, provincial secretaries, civil society, human rights activists and others in a large number. Murad Ali Shah said the Indian government, to suppress people of Kashmir, had not only amended their constitution to deny the historical rights of people of the valley, but had turned the valley into a no-go-area where no person was allowed to enter for witnessing the plight of the people. "In the history, the curfew imposed in Kashmir is the longest ever imposed anywhere in the world," he said. The CM said the conferences, walks and seminars to highlight the plight of people of Kashmir were good but they would have to make some tangible efforts on diplomatic forums to force India for restoring status of Kashmir, lift curfew from the valley and allow plebiscite as was decided by the United Nations.

He said, "Setting aside all political difference, we as a nation would have to unite on a single agenda to liberate the people of Kashmir from the clutches of Indian government". The Chief Minister said the atrocities unleashed in the valley of Kashmir was a threat to the regional peace. "If the international community is interested in the peace in the region it would have to take notice of Modi government's crimes in Kashmir and force him to restore the rights of suppressed people of Kashmir by withdrawing heavy police and armed forces from the valley."Murad Ali Shah urged the international community to become the voice of the voiceless people of Kashmir.

He also assured people of Kashmir that the people of Pakistan were with them and would be fighting for their legitimate rights.
The Bigg Boss star is currently in Kashmir, shooting with rapper Badshah for his next music video. (Image: Instagram)
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Birmingham City Schools began distributing a survey Thursday to gather parent and employee thoughts about starting the next school year earlier than usual.

No school districts in Alabama currently have a year-round calendar, though several districts have briefly offered them in the past. Birminghams proposed calendar would bring students back on July 19 and offer the first break on Sept. 20, as well as full weeks off for Thanksgiving and Spring Break.

We must develop different strategies to meet students needs and make strategic interventions, said Birmingham Superintendent Mark Sullivan, in a released video. We must also find ways to avoid long periods of time when scholars are not receiving instruction or intervention.

Other options include additional days during the summer break to offer student support and address learning and knowledge gaps.

Schools across the state are weighing a variety of options to address so-called pandemic learning loss. Many are considering a voluntary summer learning program where students can catch up on missed classes or take various math, reading or science enrichment courses.

Alabama mandates 180 days of instruction for all districts; Birminghams proposed shift to a year-round calendar would have the same amount of school days, but offer longer and more frequent breaks.

There is no national consensus about whether or not year-round school is better for all students, but experts have said it likely does help low-income students, who can be most affected by the so-called summer slide during the long break.

READ NOW: Johnson: Year-round school? Time to seriously consider it.

Birmingham is asking parents and employees to complete an online survey about potential calendar changes by noon Feb. 18.

The School Board will discuss the proposal March 9.
Zach Burton in the lab with collaborator Merve Yesilbas, where they performed experiments for the Mars study.

The biggest clues for the team that Mars might contain secret stores of briny water were these mysterious landslides that have been observed from afar on the planet's arid surface.

Scientists have long been puzzled by this seasonal phenomenon, known as recurring slope lineae, or RSL, which is most common on sun-facing slopes in the equatorial zone of the red planet. Some have suggested the RSLs are caused by flows of grainy debris, dust, or sand.

But others thought differently. These "long-enigmatic" geological events on Mars "have been of particular interest and contention," Burton explained, as they present "possible evidence for liquid water on present-day Mars, which naturally is of central interest to questions of lifepast or present."

Because no robotic explorer or orbiting spacecraft has managed to record RSL up close, scientists have had to adopt Earth-bound methods to study them.

Now, after years of investigation inside labs and at remote sites around the world, Burton's teamled by Janice Bishop of NASA's SETI Institutehas published a paper in Science Advances on a new explanation for the Martian landslides. (The article has stirred up a flurry of media attention from CNN, Popular Science, New Scientist, and others.)

In the article, "Martian Subsurface Cryosalt Expansion and Collapse as Trigger for Landslides," the researchers argue that thin layers of melting icecaused by interactions between underground frozen water with chlorine salts and sulfatesform an unstable, flowing slush that instigates sinkholes, ground collapse, and surface flows and upheaves.
A crazed estranged husband who stabbed his ex-wife and her daughter to death before dying in a crash made a chilling last Facebook post before the suspected double-murder suicide.

Steven Robertson, 40, murdered Emma Robertson Coupland, 39, and Nicole Anderson, 24, in Kilmarnock last night.

NHS worker Ms Coupland was knifed outside Crosshouse Hospital in the Scottish town at 7.45pm.

Her daughter Ms Anderson was attacked 20 minutes later near a takeaway shop she worked at and died in hospital.

Robertson crashed a car near a viaduct 12 miles away and police said he died at the scene at around 8.30pm.

Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon have lead tributes to the mother and daughter, while Ms Anderson's fiancee said she has been left 'completely broken'.

Prior to their death's Robertson left a rambling message on Facebook describing his ex as 'sick, evil woman,' who 'made my kids turn their backs on me'.

Robertson (left, with Ms Anderson and Ms Coupland) crashed a car near a viaduct 12 miles away and police said he died at the scene at around 8.30pm

Steven Robertson (left), 40, murdered Emma Robertson Coupland (right), 39, and Nicole Anderson, 24, in Kilmarnock last night

The two women have been named locally as Nicole Anderson (left) and her mother, Emma Robertson Coupland (right)

In an accusatory final post before deleting his account, Robertston wrote: 'You pushed me away and made my kids turn there backs on me.'

It added: 'Keep saying (what) you won't (sic) coz a don't a care anymore the right people (know) the truth that's all that matters.'

Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain said: 'A number of locations remain cordoned off as officers continue to conduct enquiries.

'We are working to confirm the full circumstances of what has happened. If anyone has any information which could assist our enquiries, please do contact us.

'Understandably, people will be shocked by what has happened. We are still in the process of establishing the full circumstances.

'I would like to reassure people there is no wider threat to the community. Officers will be on patrol and anyone with any concerns can approach these officers.'

Ms Anderson's fiancee took to social media to pay an emotional tribute as she said she's been left 'completely broken'.

Nurse Emma Robertson Coupland (left) was knifed outside Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, Scotland, at 7.45pm. Right, Her daughter Nicole Anderson, 24, was attacked 20 minutes later near a takeaway shop she worked at and died in hospital

Emma Robertson Coupland pictured with her daughter Nicole as a baby

A crash then occurred on the C50 - a minor road between the B7036 and the A76 on the outskirts of Kilmarnock - at around 8.30pm. The 40-year-old male driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Pictured, police at the scene today

Police forensics officers at the scene of a fatal stabbing in Portland Street, Kilmarnock, in west Scotland

Minutes later officers rushed to another incident under a viaduct (pictured this morning) on Portland Street in the centre of Kilmarnock. This incident reportedly also involved a stabbing

Dozens of floral tributes have been left outside the hospital where Emma worked

It is unclear if the incidents are connected, however they are not being treated as 'terrorist-related'

She said: 'My beautiful wee angel I will love you forever hoping I could wake up and this all be a dream can't take it in I'm completely broken.

'So glad I have all these memories with you. You'll never know how much you mean to me I will love you till the end of time my darling.

'I will miss that beautiful smile that wee gorgeous person inside and out you made me the happiest person on this planet daily until we meet again baby I love you.'

As tributes poured in for the pair, one male family member posted: 'Honestly can't even put into words how I'm feeling.

'Absolutely devastated to say the least got the worst news of my life yesterday I just can't take it in.

'I've lost wee cousin, my childhood best friend, my wee sister and my saviour all in one!!

'She was the most loving caring person in this world, and never had a smile off her face! You're gonna be one missed girl Nicole.

'Best lassie to walk this planet without a doubt, my wee go too is gone I'll make sure your memory is never forgotten and look after your little sisters for you and your mum, love you forever and a day beautiful.'

Robertson is pictured with Ms Coupland during a holiday

Mother Emma Robertson was found injured in the car park of University Hospital Crosshouse, near Kilmarnock but she died at the scene. Her daughter, left, died a short time later

In a second incident 20 minutes later in Kilmarnock, Ms Anderson, 24, was stabbed

The pair were killed on the same evening in what is believed to be a murder suicide

Police said inquiries so far suggest the incidents are linked and officers are not looking for anyone else as part of their investigation

Tributes have been paid to the 'amazing' hospital worker and her daughter who died after a horror stabbing attack

Friends have been left heartbroken by the tragedy and have shared tributes on social media

Pictured: Forensic officers remain at the scene today

A friend wrote: 'I'm so sorry. She was the most amazing lassie I knew, thoughts to all your family I'm heartbroken.'

Another said: 'Thinking of you, my heart is broken for you all. RIP Nicole, she was smiling.'

One posted: 'Nicole was a great girl and she will be sorely missed.'

And one added: 'I've known Nicole for years, such a beautiful girl. I'm so in shock. I'm sending all my love and hugs. Thinking of you and your family at this sad time.'

NHS Ayrshire and Arran said last night ambulances had been diverted to University Hospital Ayr.

A witness at the hospital told the Daily Record: 'I was picking someone up when a member of medical staff was stabbed. The whole place is on lockdown.

'Armed police are there and they're sending everyone away from the area.'

Another witness told Ayrshire Live: 'There are between 10 and 15 police vans sitting on the edge of the Moorfield Estate which is about half-a-mile away from the hospital.

'It looks like an officer is standing guard outside the A&E department at the hospital. I've lived round here for a while and never seen anything like this.'

Dozens of police cars and ambulances from other hospitals rushed to the scene following reports of a nurse being stabbed in the grounds of the hospital

Dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles surrounded University Hospital Crosshouse near Kilmarnock

The relatives of those involved have been informed.

A statement on Thursday night from police said the incidents are not being treated as terrorist-related.

The hospital was locked down following the first incident, but that was lifted at around 10.30pm when police declared it safe to do so.

On Friday morning, the hospital's A&E department and main entrance were open and running as normal while two police vans full of officers remained outside with police tape around part of the car park.

Ahead of the daily Scottish Government coronavirus briefing at Friday lunchtime, Deputy First Minister John Swinney spoke about the 'dreadful' events.

He said: 'A tragedy like this would be impossible to understand at any time, but after the events of the past year it is particularly shocking that such an incident has taken place at an NHS hospital.

'An investigation is of course ongoing, however Police Scotland have confirmed that the site at Crosshouse Hospital is secure and it is safe for patients and staff to go there.

'For now I simply want to thank the police officers and all of the medical staff who were involved in the response to this incident for all that they contributed and to express my sympathy to the staff of the hospital for the trauma to which they are having to come to terms.

'And again I want to send my deepest condolences to the family and the friends of those who have been killed.'

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: 'Dreadful news. My thoughts are with the bereaved.

'Thinking too of everyone at Crosshouse Hospital, already dealing with the tough circumstances of Covid. I'm also grateful to our emergency services. Please continue to follow ?@policescotland? advice.'

Downing Street said Boris Johnson's thoughts are with those involved.

A Number 10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister's thoughts are with all those involved and he thanks the police and the healthcare staff for their response.'

The scene on Portland Street in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, where 24-year-old Nicole was stabbed and later died in hospital

Several roads in Kilmarnock town centre remain closed - including Portland Street, West George Street and Garden Street via Hill Street - as well as where the crash occurred, with diversions in place.

An East Ayrshire Council statement said: 'Following on from the tragic incidents in and around Kilmarnock last night, our thoughts are with all the families and individuals affected by these events.

'We know our communities will be shocked and saddened by these events, but we wish to reassure them that there is no risk to the general public at this time and we are supporting our colleagues in NHS Ayrshire & Arran and Police Scotland wherever we can.

'As this is an ongoing police matter, we need to keep a number of roads in Kilmarnock town centre closed and diversions are in place here, and on the A76, to allow the investigation to continue, and we thank you for your patience and understanding.'

NHS Ayrshire and Arran chief executive, John Burns said: 'The terrible events of Thursday 4 February 2021 on the grounds of University Hospital Crosshouse and in the town of Kilmarnock will no doubt have had a massive impact on all those involved.

'Our thoughts and condolences are with all those involved.

'We have increased the staff care support available to our staff, and we are encouraging any members of our staff who have been affected to take advantage of the support available - whether that is by calling our helplines and speaking to a member of the staff care team, or attending the staff wellbeing hub.

'I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the professionalism of the staff who were involved in the incident.

'This was a particularly challenging incident, and our staff reacted with care and compassion.

'In terms of the incident, we are assisting Police Scotland with their investigations.

'As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide any further information at this time.

'Visitors to the hospital should note that the car park at the physiotherapy Department will remain closed until Police Scotland have concluded their investigations.'
There is widespread and growing opposition among educators in France to the Macron governments policy of permitting the coronavirus to spread unhindered through schools among teachers, students, and their families.

Last night, Prime Minister Jean Castex delivered a press conference to announce that the government was continuing to reject any lock-down measures. The seven-day rolling average for daily cases is over 20,000, and for daily deaths, 427. More than 64 percent of emergency care beds nationally are occupied, with 3,277 coronavirus patients now in intensive care units. Yet Castex declared that the situation does not justify a lock-down.

Students leave their school in Cambo les Bains, southwest France, Thursday November 5, 2020 (AP Photo / Bob Edme)

His statements directly contradict the warnings of scientists and medical professionals, who have denounced Macrons announcement last week rejecting a national lock-down. Macron is openly pursuing a policy of allowing the virus to spread in order to prevent any impact of a lock-down on the profits of French corporations. The Journal de Dimanche cited Geoffrey Roux de Bezieux, the head of the national employers association, confirming that it was in continuous exchange with the government, and that businessmen would be indignant at the return of a solution identical to that of March, when a full lock-down was implemented.

The school system is the sharpest point of the policy of sacrificing lives for profits. The French government has boasted that it has kept schools open throughout the pandemic for more days than any other country. As across Europe and in the US, children and teachers are being herded into classrooms so that their parents can be forced into workplaces.

Among teachers and students internationally, however, opposition to this policy is growing. In Chicago, over 20,000 educators voted to reject the resumption of in-person classes demanded by the Democratic mayor and the Biden administration. Educators in the UK forced the closure of schools in January.

French teachers who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site described non-existent social-distancing measures, being kept in the dark as their students contract the virus, and a systematic policy of keeping schools in classrooms even as cases are confirmed.

Stephanie, who has taught for 21 years and currently teachers second-year primary school, told the WSWS she was more than upset by the current situation. Today my school learned that a student tested positive for the virus. This student ate in the canteen (therefore without a mask), and no one is considered as a contact case. In my own class I have had students with the virus. One stayed home for a week, returned without any explanation, and no one was considered a contact case because everyone wears a mask. You can imagine how seven-year-olds wear a mask.

The social-distancing policy is that we open the window, she said. The rules for contact tracing are different at school than elsewhere: There is [supposedly] never any contact in schools. No social distancing because we have all the students there.

The governments policy is that the schools must absolutely remain open to protect the economy while putting the workers directly in danger.

Emmeline, an English teacher with three years experience as a substitute teacher in middle and high school, described similar conditions.

There is no social distancing at my school. I have six classes in total and I have up to 33 students per class A lot of the students dont wear their masks properly or the mask is too big for them so it just slips off their face all day long. One was coughing and sneezing in class today and pulled his mask down each time so theres bound to be sick children in that class in the days to come. Several of my students have had Covid but recovered from it. Tons of kids at my school have had it but the school hasnt been closed despite all the contaminations.

She said she thought schools needed to be closed and online learning organized, with large investments in resources for both students, parents and teachers in order to facilitate this. The government needs to start investing in real solutions, she said. What happened during the first lockdown was just an absolute joke: we had nothing to work with. Just our books, our computers, our wifi, our mobile phones it was absolutely terrible. I honestly think that if they have the correct online resources per class/per level, wed be able to do online teaching and it would be a heck of a lot easier for everyone. No commuting, no overcrowded classrooms, not having to wear the mask and potentially contaminate your classmates.

I really feel like were the sacrificed ones, she added. She said she had not previously heard about the ongoing struggle by Chicago teachers against the school openings, but supported it. Wow, I didnt know [about it]! Good for them! She added that she thought there should be a united struggle by teachers in Europe and the United States. I completely agree with it, she said. Im beyond tired of being exploited Its like were not important. Underpaid, invisible: just go to work and shut up.

Claire, a middle-school teacher with 17 years experience, said that the government is protecting the large fortunes and shareholders, which is why schools are kept open. The worst is that they camouflage it all by saying that closing schools would be a disaster for the children.

I think the children are being put in danger, but the education ministry has insisted since the beginning that the school setting is safe and that children are not contagious In October, we had a dozen confirmed cases but some parents with the virus have continued to send their children to school, and other students have never been tested. For the last three weeks, we have had cases. In October, 5 teachers were contaminated, two of them definitely at school.

The Macron government has only been able to keep schools open because of the complete support it has received from the trade unions for its criminal policy. The national education unions call for keeping schools open. They maintain the Macron governments lying claim that it would be impossible to organize effective at-distance learning, and that teachers must therefore continue to keep schools open.

In November, strikes broke out at dozens of schools across the country. The unions responded by calling a one-day warning strike, which they made clear was not aimed at closing schools, but to let off steam and smother demands for the closure of schools.

If a struggle is to be organized against the Macron governments policy of herd immunity, it must be organized by educators and students themselves. Educators should form their own action committees at schools, independent of the trade union apparatuses, and reach out to other teachers online in France and across Europe. This would provide the means for the preparation of a European-wide strike to enforce the closure of schools and non-essential workplaces, so that the vaccine can be safely administered to the population. Vast resources must be expended to provide all the required resources to students and teachers for remote learning, and to provide an income to parents to remain home and care for their children.
This week was a sad day for SpaceX as the test for SN9 rocket on Tuesday ended with a bang with the landing of the rocket not going as planned.

However, this didnt SpaceX lose hope and on Thursday it launched its Falcon 9 rocket to space, to deploy Starlink satellites.

Trevor Mahlman

And the rocket was flying into space, a videographer managed to capture the Falcon 9 rocket pass the lunar orbit with the moon in the background in a rather beautiful and majestic video.

The video was captured by one Trevor Mahlmann, who managed to point his camera at the right angle, capturing the massive 207-foot rocket. The video also shows the long stream of fire leaving a trail as the rocket is blazing fast towards its destination.

ALSO READ: After Auto And Space, Elon Musk Aims To Disrupt Telecom Sector With Starlink Satellite Internet

Over 1,000 satellites in space

Falcon 9 was on a mission -- Starlink-18 -- to deploy 60 additional Starlink satellites to its constellation, bringing the total count to 1,095.

In a conversation with Daily Mail, Mahlman revealed that he used Canon EOS R5 camera while picking Merrit Island as the vantage point for this breathtaking video. Merrit Island is roughly 17.9 miles away from the Kennedy Space Centre -- the launchpad for Falcon 9.

He revealed how he initially had plans to shoot the Falcon 9 but it wasnt really planned, in fact, it was more of a last-minute decision as he had just come home after witnessing the SN9 rocket launch from SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas.

Reuters

Unlike the SN9, however, the rocket managed to successfully land as well, on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship which was waiting for it at Port Canaveral in Florida.

ALSO READ: SpaceX Starlink: Sign Up Open For Elon Musk's Internet Offering 1 Gbps Speed

While Starlink 18 blasted off last night, Starlink 17 was scheduled to head on Monday, but it got scrubbed due to bad weather conditions. Moreover, SpaceX felt they needed more pre-flight checks.

Check out the video below:
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Delivery man holding paper bag with food on white entrance of house background , food delivery man in protective mask.

Early in the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, telecom company AT&T graciously opted to remove its broadband caps in response to the fact that a great many Americans were stuck at home for the foreseeable future. However, for some, the fact that AT&T and other wireless providers had broadband caps at all was pretty ungracious in the first place. In that sense, its part and parcel to an age-old process wherein a business practice thats utterly absurd goes by largely unnoticed until a disaster calls attention to it.

Related: Fox News and 25 More Companies That Faced Public Backlash

Throughout American history, sometimes the only silver lining behind a tragedy is that it helps to expose a fault in the system. As Warren Buffett once said: Only when the tide goes out do you discover whos been swimming naked.

So, as the economy is rocked by the extended slowdown needed to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus, its worth taking a look at how other major crises jarred society into making important changes. These are occasions where certain business practices were exposed to be unethical or even deadly.

Heres how some of those past business practices were altered after a serious emergency exposed them as nonsense.

Last updated: Feb. 5, 2021

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory interior, destroyed sewing machines, gutted by a fire that killed 146 on March 25, 1911.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: What It Was

Labor laws in the late 19th century were, well, largely nonexistent. This was long before things such as a minimum wage or the eight-hour workday were established, so low-skill, low-wage workers routinely were forced into menial positions for 12 or more hours a day, six days a week, with no vacation, sick leave or other benefits  all for wages that left most of them barely surviving in crowded tenements. And if the grinding hours for low pay alone werent enough, safety standards in industrial workplaces were similarly absent, leaving millions of workers to put their lives on the line, day after day.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Company was one such employer, cramping more than 100 seamstresses into a workspace located on the eighth, ninth and 10th floors of a building in lower Manhattan. Women here struggled to organize and secure better working conditions, hours and wages, and ultimately never got the chance.

Read: These Billion-Dollar Companies Changed the Way We Live

Pictured: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory interior, destroyed sewing machines, gutted by a fire that killed 146 on March 25, 1911.

Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire reported on the front page of The New York World newspaper for March 26, 1911.

What Happened

On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out in the workshop for the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. In the dirty conditions, with rags and other materials strewn about, the fire spread rapidly. Whats more, the doors to the shop had been locked as part of an effort to combat theft.

What followed was a horrifying tragedy in which about 150 women burned to death while others perished after trying to jump to safety. Pictures of the women who plunged to their death rather than be burned alive shocked the conscience of New York City and the nation, leaving many to begin questioning whether the laissez-faire approach to government regulation of business was morally defensible.

Take a Look: 22 Everyday Things Wiped Out by COVID

Pictured: Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire reported on the front page of The World newspaper for March 26, 1911.

Survivors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire at a commemoration ceremony organized by New York City and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union on the 50th anniversary of the fire, 1961.

What Changed

While it took decades, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire played a crucial role in calling attention to the way millions of Americans were being exploited for their labor. What followed was the Progressive Era that helped push for significant changes, including child labor laws and new regulations dictating a standard for workplace safety. It culminated with a raft of new legislation in the New Deal that enshrined many essential aspects of our labor market today  including the 40-hour work week and a minimum wage  into law.

Discover: 25 Companies Making the Most Money From Coronavirus

Pictured: Survivors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire at a commemoration ceremony organized by New York City and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union on the 50th anniversary of the fire in 1961.

Debris at Pennsylvania Railroad stone bridge, after the Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889.

Johnstown Flood: What It Was

Pennsylvanias South Fork Dam was constructed in 1852 as part of the Western Reservoir to support the canal between Johnstown and Pittsburgh, but the canal system went out of use soon after. The dam sat for years  without undergoing important maintenance  until it was purchased by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. The clubs membership included a number of wealthy, prominent Pittsburgh elites, such as Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon and Henry Clay Frick, who were looking for a country playground to escape the city life. The lake created by the dam proved to be just what they were looking for. Johnstown, a steel town with largely working-class inhabitants, remained distantly removed from these wealthy industrialists.

Meanwhile, the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club made a series of modifications to the dam that made it less stable  such as lowering it so that a road could be built on top  and made no efforts to further repair or upgrade the structure.

Pictured: Debris at Pennsylvania Railroad stone bridge, after the Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889.

Military post on Kernville Hill, after the Johnstown Flood, May 31, 1889.

What Happened

When a severe rainstorm hit the region on May 31, 1889, it dumped tons of excess water into the reservoir. The dam, long neglected and damaged by the changes made by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, broke, dumping 20 million tons of water down into the valley below. The flash flood consumed Johnstown, drowning some 2,209 innocent people.

The grieving survivors ultimately continued to suffer as they tried to find some recourse in the courts for what had happened. Despite the astonishing negligence on the part of the members of the club that led to the disaster, the structure of their organization meant it was impossible for the survivors to hold the elites liable for their fatal mistakes.

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Pictured: Military post on Kernville Hill, after the Johnstown Flood, May 31, 1889.

General view of Johnstown from high ground after the flood of May 31st, 1889.

What Changed

The way that the incredibly rich people who were responsible for so much death and destruction managed to get off without so much as a slap on the wrist led to some serious thinking about the structure of the legal system. What followed was a fundamental shift when it came to liability. Since then, generations of Americans have been able to seek redress in the courts when theyve been seriously wronged.

Pictured: General view of Johnstown from high ground after the flood of May 31, 1889.

Traders in the Wheat pit of the Board of Trade in Chicago 1920.

1920s Stock Markets: What It Was

As volatile as the world of trading stocks is today, it was far more chaotic in its early days. Before modern-day regulations on Wall Street, the market essentially operated as the Wild West. The biggest players routinely engaged in a variety of bad acts. The Wall Street insiders banded together to perpetrate schemes, such as the pump and dump (buying up a certain stock, using buzz to drive up the price and as other buyers poured in, selling at a profit) or outright price manipulations.

On the whole, it meant the basics of the stock market were tilted against the average investor in the worst way. The major brokers and financiers essentially could abuse the system however they might like, and as long as the roaring market kept rising, not a lot of people saw much reason to do anything about it. If anything, plenty of average investors started running up debt to play the market  whats known as buying on margin  thinking that they might someday achieve the riches of those men at the top of the pyramid, even as those men were exploiting them for those profits.

Pictured: Traders in the wheat pit of the Board of Trade in Chicago, 1920.

Santa Ana Register front page headline that reads BILLIONS LOST AS STOCKS CRASH

What Happened

The Roaring 20s were a time of excess, free spending and easy credit that helped paper over the worst abuses. However, when the fundamentally weak economy finally caught up with America, markets crashed hard, leading to a massive deep freeze known as the Great Depression. Suddenly, the conduct of wealthy investors  or rather, con artists who called themselves investors  was under the microscope and Americans didnt like what they saw.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

What Changed

The market crash of 1929 helped make one fact explicitly clear: A stock market that can protect the average investors and make it relatively safe for them to put money in stocks is one that goes much further to support a growing economy. While the Hoover administration steadfastly refused to take serious action, the incoming Roosevelt administration wasted little time in making some major reforms. The Securities Act of 1933 included major legal changes to prevent the worst operators from continuing to exploit the broader public. This included stricter regulation of the issuance of securities and tighter rules about trading stocks to prevent price manipulation.

potato field in the U.S. in 1916-17

Overharvesting in the Plains States: What It Was

Its long been stated that when the early pioneers started plowing Americas great plains, it sounded like a zipper as the plow cut through networks of grass roots that had grown into land that never before had been cultivated. For decades, it had been assumed that the fertile land of Americas interior was a virtually unlimited resource. That included the period during World War I when Herbert Hoover, the future president, pushed hard to get farmers to boost yields to help provide food to American allies overseas. It worked in the short term, as farmers responded positively and had a series of bumper crops. However, their approach to getting the most out of their land would prove catastrophically shortsighted.

Pictured: Potato field in USA 1916-17.

Farmer stands in a dust storm in New Mexico, Spring 1935.

What Happened

What farmers didnt realize in the 1920s was that the top soil that made the plains so fertile had been held in place over the centuries by those wild grasses and their network of roots. Once it was being regularly tilled, that fertile top soil started to get blown away by the wind. It culminated in a massive, ongoing natural disaster known as the Dust Bowl  a tragedy made all the worse by striking in the midst of the Great Depression.

An untimely drought sparked off a massive disaster, including crop failures, farm foreclosures and dust storms that could get so bad they would reduce visibility to a foot or less in broad daylight. A generation of farmers was left moving around the country desperately searching for work. Known as Okies because many were from Oklahoma, their plight was detailed in the classic novel The Grapes of Wrath.

Pictured: Farmer stands in a dust storm in New Mexico, spring 1935.

A center-pivot sprinkler irrigates wheat fields in drought-stricken western Kansas in.

What Changed

The wet period that eventually ended the Dust Bowl didnt last long, and another drought hit in the 1950s, producing similar problems. However, the farmers and the government had made important changes to help mitigate the issue and keep the soil healthy and where it belonged. That included rotating crops and planting cover crops that arent harvested but protect the land. Whats more, the four million or so acres of land claimed by the U.S. government during the Dust Bowl so it could be returned to its natural grassland ecology played a significant role in mitigating the problem. And finally, new technology helped farmers tap into the enormous Ogallala Aquifer so that they werent entirely dependent on rainfall for the water they needed to grow crops. In the decades that followed, American agriculture learned enough of a lesson to avoid making those same mistakes that prompted this disaster.

Enron headquarters

Enron: What It Was

Since the 1930s and the passage of the Securities Act, there has been an assumption that the average investor could make about public companies. If a company is going to be able to make shares available for the general public to purchase, it must engage in a number of practices that make company financials more transparent. Companies submit quarterly updates on their accounting to the Securities Exchange Commission, and anyone  whether an investor or not  can access those public filings to ensure that the company is financially healthy and structurally stable.

In turn, the largest American public companies  the blue-chip stocks  came to be seen as institutions that brought with them a promise of reliability. These are the sort of companies that financial advisors confidently recommend as part of a safe retirement plan.

Related: Enron and the 24 Other Most Epic Corporate Downfalls of All Time

Arthur Anderson executives testify on shredding of Enron documents

What Happened

Unfortunately, just because a company submits quarterly reports about its finances doesnt mean the updates are truthful. In the 1990s, Enron and its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, engaged in wholesale criminal fraud that hid risky business practices and gave the impression of a very stable energy company experiencing rapid growth. This allowed it to become a mainstay among the retirement accounts of a great many Americans, people who thought they were investing in the sort of solid, large-cap company that would experience the occasional hiccup  like any other stock  but not the sort of drastic drops you see from smaller, riskier stocks.

Unfortunately, when the massive fraud was discovered and made public in late 2001, the ripple effect was dramatic and swift. The sudden collapse of the company meant a massive hit to investor portfolios and the market as a whole as peoples trust in public markets was severely shaken.

Pictured: Arthur Andersen executives testify on the shredding of Enron documents.

OXLEY Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

What Changed

You might have never heard of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, but that bill ended up being one of the most impactful legislation in the securities industry since the 1930s. The bill led to a number of major changes to the way public companies were audited and regulated to ensure the sort of accounting shenanigans that allowed Enron to grow as large as it did wouldnt happen again. The regulations installed onerous new standards that made defrauding the public much more difficult and helped return confidence to markets and protect investors.

Pictured: Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, standing, talks to Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, prior to the first meeting of the House-Senate conferences on compromise legislation aimed at fighting business fraud on Capitol Hill. Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, is at left and Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Maryland, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is seated in the center.

Home For Sale Real Estate Sign and Beautiful New House.

The Housing Crisis: What It Was

Mortgage-backed securities actually had a long, prosperous history  the first was issued in 1968. It was a win-win. By pooling together thousands of mortgages into a single investment product, investors had an easy way to invest in the U.S. housing market. The additional demand created by investors helped make mortgages cheaper for everyone, and the investors got an excellent, safe investment with a long track record of success. Housing prices were on a steady, decades-long climb, and Americans typically were responsible about paying their mortgages.

That led to a spike in demand for these mortgage-backed securities, as investors clamored for a chance at what appeared to be safe returns. Investment banks borrowed massive sums, leveraging themselves so that they could invest even more. Dangerous as that might seem, the same investors and banks felt confident  both because the housing market was traditionally so stable and because they had used various complex instruments such as derivatives and credit default swaps to hedge their positions.

American International Group AIG

What Happened

The demand for more mortgage-backed securities meant investment banks needed more mortgages. Unfortunately, that demand led investment banks to push lenders for more mortgages, which in turn led mortgage lenders to start lowering their standards and take on more sub-prime borrowers. That meant the newer products were far riskier than the ones in the past, but the banks packaging them also put pressure on credit rating agencies not to reflect that. And those derivatives and swaps? Without regulation ensuring that the people issuing them had the money to back them up, there wasnt any actual money backing them up.

It all came to a head  as you probably remember well  with the financial crisis of 2008. It slowly became clear that the entire system was a house of cards, prompting a collapse that was global in scope and required a massive bailout of both the banks and insurer AIG.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks and signs the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, July 21, 2010.

What Changed

The biggest change made to protect the economy from the sort of abuses that led to the financial crisis was the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The bill included requirements for the largest banks to maintain larger stockpiles of cash to protect them from abuses. There was also a rule to prevent the largest banks from engaging in any sort of speculation on their own. And while its still unclear just how successful these changes will be in the long term, they at least have forced banks to limit how much risk they take, given the important role they play in the broader economy.

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Pictured: President Barack Obama delivers remarks and signs the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, July 21, 2010.

Instacart

Instacart Worker Relations: What It Is

The gig economy has changed a lot about how many Americans make a living, with part-time or on-demand work connected to an app on a smartphone becoming a way of life for a lot of people. That level of flexibility has been a boon for many, allowing them to fit their livelihood around other aspects of their life  be that a budding career as an actress or a need to care for a sick relative.

However, with that flexibility also comes a lack of stability and consistency that many typically associate with a job. The legal wrangling over just what these companies owe their workers beyond their wages has been bouncing from state to state for years as many gig workers increasingly find themselves working harder for less  usually without benefits or sick leave. That can leave many in vulnerable situations where having to miss work means losing income they probably cant afford to miss.

One such company is the grocery delivery company Instacart, which pairs users with a shopper who will fill their order at the grocery store of their choice and deliver it to their door.

Fairfax, USA - December 5, 2019: Wegmans grocery store interior with Instacart man worker and sign on shirt for same-day delivery.

What Is Happening

The new coronavirus pandemic is tailor-made to help customers see the value of a service such as Instacart, and it can be a lifesaver  literally  for many people who are especially vulnerable and cant chance a trip to the store. However, the crisis has exposed just how little support the company appears to offer its front-line employees.

Instacart shoppers organized a strike on March 30 in an effort to make the company shell out for some basic protections for its workers, with thousands of its 200,000 shoppers refusing to show up for work. Their objections? They insist that the two weeks of sick pay promised to any shoppers who contract the virus isnt being honored and the qualifications currently required arent realistic. They also claim the company hasnt provided them with basic safety and cleaning equipment to stay healthy, isnt offering them hazard pay in spite of the critical state of affairs and wont give sick leave to those shoppers with pre-existing conditions that make them especially vulnerable.

Teenage boy is delivering some groceries to an elderly woman.

What Might Change

In this case, this is a speculative exercise. Theres no knowing yet just how Instacart leaders will respond to the strike, but it does remain possible that the coronavirus pandemic ultimately will shine a light on a great many employers who rely heavily on low-wage, contract workers for their business model. The sudden freezing of much of the American economy has hit hourly workers the hardest. They are people who often live from paycheck to paycheck and scarcely can afford to take time off. They also are among the least likely to have been able to build up an emergency fund prior to the pandemic.

While its going to be months  if not longer  before things return to normal, the odds are good that theres going to be more support for redefining that normal to include basic protections for gig workers. Not to mention, the support for a long-overdue increase in the minimum wage likely will continue to build as the vulnerability of the lives of low-wage workers and their families have been on clear display in recent weeks.

Radio waves escaping from gsm tower visualisation at sunset in rural area.

Data Caps: What They Are

Its hard to remember, given how theyve come to dominate our everyday lives, but things like smartphones and even the internet are still relatively young. However, a majority of Americans didnt have access to either just 30 years ago. The rapid growth in these services over the years has meant that internet service providers have needed to work hard to expand infrastructure to support the ever-increasing demand from streaming video services and other activities that use a lot of data.

To help them cope with the rapid increase, some ISPs put in place caps on data to limit how much users could stream or download in a month. The companies contend that it was a necessity for them to be able to offer everyone quality service at affordable prices without overtaxing the basic infrastructure they need to deliver that.

Mishawaka, Indiana, United States, March 23rd, 2019.

What Is Happening

Some ISPs, such as AT&T, have lifted their data caps during the coronavirus pandemic, acknowledging that people are going to be using significantly more data while theyre stuck at home and staying safe. However, thats also calling attention to whether those data caps are necessary  or defensible  in this day and age. While the cost of providing data used to be relatively high, advances in technology and a more robust underlying infrastructure mean that data caps are largely arbitrary limits that dont serve any particular purpose. With the basic cost of providing data reduced to almost nothing, ISPs are making enormous profits for these services  all while keeping those data caps in place.

And while its clearly the right move to relax them during this crisis, its also drawing some unwanted attention for the ISPs to their existence in the first place.

Bonding, day in the life, generations, suburban, togetherness

What Might Change

Clearly, not getting more internet data is a big step down from the human tragedies that claimed thousands of lives, and its an especially easy issue to address for the ISPs. At the very least, its not hard to see how enough public pressure would lead these consumer-facing companies to do away with this outdated policy. After all, the additional cost to them would be negligible, if anything.

The better question is whether or not this issue  not to mention, having so many Americans at home and using their internet so frequently  will lead to bigger questions about how ISPs operate. Namely, the nature of the marketplace that allows ISPs to operate as monopolies. As long as each company is the only game in town, theres very little pressure for them to cater to customers wishes. Will Americans emerge from their coronavirus-induced semi-hibernation to demand that they have some actual choice in their ISP? Only time will tell.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Emergencies Like Coronavirus Expose Nonsense Business Practices

Some suspected armed robbers on Thursday attacked an ambulance that was transporting a pregnant woman who was in labour in the Eastern Region.



The attack left the driver of the ambulance badly injured with a gunshot wound. The bullet is said to have hit his head and affected the eye.



It took the intervention of one other passenger in another vehicle, which had earlier been also attacked by the robbers, to drive the ambulance to the Tetteh Quarshie Hospital at Akuapim Mampong for the driver to be resuscitated and later referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra for further management.



The pregnant woman with the assistance of the EMT on board gave birth in the ambulance whilst the "good samaritan" was driving the ambulance towards the Tetteh Quarshie Hospital.



She was later transferred to the Koforidua Government Hospital.



The incident traumatised the EMT on board the ambulance. She later received counselling at Korle Bu and has since been discharged.



What happened initially



The driver and the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) were transferring the pregnant woman who was in labour and her relative from the Akuse Government Hospital to the Koforidua Regional Hospital Thursday dawn.



The incident happened at about 1:30 am.



The team were said to have run into the suspected armed robbers near the Aseseeso mountains.



The Deputy Eastern Regional Administrator of the Ghana National Ambulance Service, Mr Felix Owusu confirmed the incident in a radio interview with Accra based Citi FM monitored by Graphic Online.



He said the driver is currently at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital receiving treatment.



"Our men were dispatched to a maternal case from Akuse to Koforidua Regional Hospital. Whilst heading towards Aseseeso mountains, they realised about two cars were parked in front so they slowed down... not knowing it was armed robbers staging the operation over there. So upon seeing the beacon lights of the ambulance, they (robbers) thought our men were police officers who are coming to the scene to salvage the situation," Mr Owusu said in the radio interview.



"But we [ambulance staff] are not armed, we only care for patients or clients. So the driver upon seeing them coming, that these people are armed, he decided to retreat and they fired from a range and it passed through the windscreen and off they went. Then, the car just stopped and the people started attacking our crew on board and after seeing that the patient is a pregnant woman in the ambulance, where our non driver, which is the EMT attending to her at the patient compartment, these people did not look at that and they started asking for money, where is your money, where is your phone and a whole lot. So the EMT who is taking care of the patient was having GH11 or so with her, she just gave it to them, they took it and then they took her phone as well."



"They were not satisfied, they were just asking, where is your money..., another car was behind them coming and they just vanished. So the passengers in front realised that the ambulance, the driver had been shot, so they came there and one of them just drove the ambulance with our driver and the patient [pregnant woman] to the Tetteh Quarshie Hospital [at Akuapim Mampong] where our driver was resuscitated and then later referred to Korle Bu for futther management."



"And the pregnant woman was also referred to Koforidua, that is our regional hospital. So basically that is what happened," he added.

Mr Owusu said from the narration of the EMT, the robbers were suspected to be Fulani herdsmen who were about eight in number. One of them was a woman according to the EMT.









Source: Graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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2 UB professors named SUNY Online Teaching Ambassadors for 2021

BUFFALO, N.Y.  University at Buffalo faculty members Dianna Cichocki and Jessica Kruger have been selected as SUNY Online Teaching Ambassadors for 2021.

The designation, according to UBs Educational Design Collaborative, which nominated the pair, recognizes enthusiastic and effective online teaching faculty from SUNY institutions who are positive and strong advocates for online teaching in the SUNY community.

It is a pleasure for us to be able to join SUNY in recognizing Jessica and Dianna as the 2021 SUNY Online Teaching Ambassadors, Cheryl Oyer and Steve Sturman, co-chairs of the UB Educational Design Collaborative, said in a joint statement.

As part of the UB and SUNY instructional communities, the enthusiasm and effectiveness of these two professors is a testament to UBs commitment to online education. The criteria (include) the recognition of faculty who are positive and strong advocates for online teaching in our SUNY community. They undeniably meet (these) criteria in their innovative pedagogy!

Cichocki and Kruger will be recognized during a ceremony to be held in conjunction with the SUNY Online Summit, which will take place virtually Feb. 22-26.

Cichocki, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Management Science and Systems in the School of Management, says shes honored to have been named a SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador.

The prominence of online education has increased exponentially in the past year, and educators have been catapulted into the online space, she says. Effective online teaching is an art that develops over time and is not accomplished alone. I am blessed to work alongside an amazing team of educators who encourage one another to continually improve and ensure the best possible experience for our students.

Cichocki earned an MS from Oswego State University, and a bachelors degree from St. John Fisher College. She is known for her contributions in the research areas of statistics and computing, business analytics and data science, and data modeling.

Kruger, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions, also is very excited about the designation and looks forward to promoting online learning at UB.

Her research focuses on behaviors in eating and addiction, decision-making and behaviors that impact public health, and the science of teaching public health-related information. A health educator, she works with a diverse array of community-based organizations in Buffalo.

She earned a PhD from the University of Toledo, and an MS from the University of Michigan-Flint.

The SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador designation is particularly important now, proponents say, as colleges and universities across the nation have been forced to adapt to hybrid, in-person/online models of education or completely online learning in order to reduce density on campus and protect their students, instructors and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, despite having to make extensive shifts, online instructors remain dedicated to the success of their students.

Kruger notes that an important component of her online teaching successes is finding ways to support students. She says she does that by creating connections, adding that an online community is key to supporting students, especially during this challenging time.

She promotes student engagement by utilizing a bichronous online learning model, mixing synchronous and asynchronous learning into her courses.

As we all reflect and continually improve, I encourage everyone to consider the balance between course quality and course engagement, Cichocki adds.

While quality content is a critical component of an effective online course, establishing a welcoming atmosphere that encourages and motivates students is equally as important and should not be overlooked. The most successful online courses are those that engage students and create a sense of community.

David Schwinger, a retired teacher; has completed his new book Murder Hits the Campaign Trail: a mind-boggling thriller where we follow a case that challenges Detective Amy Bells wit and ability to solve a mystery that seemingly leads her nowhere.

Schwinger writes, In October of 2016, Allen Parkman was a charismatic Republican candidate for committeeman in Corville Township, New Jersey. Right in the middle of the campaign season, he was lured to the porch of a house in a run-down section of town, where he was shot and killed. A note was left under the dead body condemning both Allen and Trump. The police were getting nowhere, so the mayor of the township convinced supersleuth Amy Bell to take the case.

Amy realized that there were many different motives for various people to kill Allen. His ex-wife and two children were refusing all contact with Allen after she divorced him due to multiple episodes of cheating. A local Democrat politician might have wanted to get rid of the Republicans most electable candidate, who might also carry other Republican candidates to victory. A local Republican might have believed that killing Allen and leaving the note would create a big sympathy vote for Republican candidates.

Then there were the married women whom Allen had propositioned, as well as their husbands. There were also hundreds of investors who had lost money due to the stock-touting scams perpetrated by Allens company. And Allen had two partners in his company who might have had issues with him.

Amy was not confident that any of these people would have killed Allen based on those motives. She was also uncomfortable about the note left under the body but couldnt pinpoint exactly why. Would the beautiful and vivacious detective be able to find the key to solving a case that seemed unsolvable? And if she did succeed, could she produce the evidence to bring the killer or killers to justice?

Author David Schwinger, when not writing Amy Bell mysteriesthere are now twelveenjoys composing songs, playing pickleball, and traveling the world with his wife, Sherryl. He first met Sherryl when she was his student in a mathematics class he taught at City College of New York. Their secret romance became the inspiration for his first Amy Bell mystery, The Teachers Pet Murders.

Published by Page Publishing, David Schwingers bewildering criminal tale will definitely give the readers another much-awaited adventure in his series of books.

Readers who wish to experience this thrilling work can purchase Murder Hits the Campaign Trail at bookstores everywhere or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov has said that a special information portal on the issues of vaccination against COVID-19 in Ukraine will be launched next week.

The minister said this during an hour of questions to the Government held in the Verkhovna Rada on February 5, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The Ministry of Health has initiated the creation of a special information portal on vaccination, where everyone will be able to learn about the roadmap of vaccination, its stages, organization of the process, staff trainings and vaccines. There will be dashboards with vaccination statistics. A test version of the portal with basic information will be launched next week. The full version and mobile version will be launched by the end of February, Stepanov said.

According to him, the formation of lists and records for vaccination will involve two approaches. The first approach is the creation of lists through employers, which is workplace vaccination. The second approach involves open records for coronavirus vaccination for target groups of population that are not linked to a certain workplace, for example, the elderly.

As reported by Ukrinform, a total of 1,237,169 coronavirus cases were recorded in Ukraine on February 5, including 4,923 new COVID-19 cases registered in the past 24 hours.

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Hyde follows family tradition, takes home PIAA gold in shot put

"It's awesome," Hyde said. "It really feels like a tradition, now. It will be cool to see our names next to each other in the record books."
The Chattanooga Tourism Co. has hired Allison Wolfe as partnership director, who will work closely with Chattanoogas attractions, restaurants, hotels and tourism-related businesses to help enhance collaboration and the local tourism economy. Ms. Wolfe comes to the Chattanooga Tourism Co. from theCO, an entrepreneur center serving 60 rural counties across Tennessee.Before that, she was part of the founding team of CO.LAB, and during her nine years there, Ms. Wolfe helped lead the organization to serve over 1,000 entrepreneurs and host more than 500 public events.She is a founder of Startup Week Chattanooga, a board member of The UNFoundation, and the 2018 inaugural winner of the Charlie Brock Ecosystem Impact Award.Ms. Wolfe was born and raised in Chattanooga. After graduating cum laude with a degree in finance from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she was named a CreateHere fellow and focused on entrepreneurial, arts and nonprofit support. Outside of the office, Ms. Wolfe is based in the Southside with her husband, Sam, and their rescue dogs, Maggie and Birdie.For more information about the Chattanooga Tourism Co. and partnership information, go to www.visitchattanooga.com/partnership.
The admit card for the Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) 01/2021 cycle will be released on Friday, February 5 on the official website,https://afcat.cdac.in/AFCAT/. AFCAT 01/2021 will be conducted on February 20 and 21 through the online mode. It is mandatory for allthe AFCAT 01/2021 candidates to carry their admit cards to the examination centre. Entry without AFCAT 01/2021 call letter is not allowed for any candidate. The AFCAT 01/2021 candidates can take the following steps to download their admit cards:

Step 1: Visit the official website at https://afcat.cdac.in/AFCAT/

Step 2: On the homepage, there is an option of 'Candidate Login'.Click on it

Step 3: A new page will open. Enter your details like email address, password and security key to login

Step 4: Once you log in, the AFCAT 01/2021 admit cards will be available on screen

Step 5: Download your AFCAT 01/2021 admit card and save it for future refernce

Step 6: Take a print out of your AFCAT 01/2021 admit card for the test

You can also click on this direct link and enter your login details to access the AFCAT 01/2021admit card.

The AFCAT 01/2021 Recruitment is for both Flying and Ground Duty. The registration process for AFCAT 01/2021 took place from December 1 to 30, 2020.

Question paper of AFCAT 01/2021 will carry a weightage of 300 marks. The time given to the candidates for the test is 2 hours. They will be responding to 100 multiple choice questions in only English language.

The syllabus for AFCAT 01/2021 includes General Awareness, Verbal Ability in English, Numerical Ability and Reasoning andMilitary Aptitude Test. AFCAT 01/2021 candidates will have to be careful while responding to the questions as every incorrect response will cost them one mark. They will be awarded three marks for every correct response.
The second season of Manoj Bajpayee's Amazon Prime Video India series was earlier scheduled to debut on 12 February

Filmmaker duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK on Friday announced that the second season of their critically-acclaimed Amazon series The Family Man has been delayed.

The streamer had previously revealed that the sophomore chapter of the spy drama would bow out on 12 February this year.

In a statement on Instagram, the creators said that the new season will premiere in "summer".

"We know you have been eagerly waiting for the new season of The Family Man. We are truly grateful and humbled by all the love!" they said in a statement.

"We have an update for you. The Family Man Season 2 will premiere on Amazon Prime Video this summer! We have been working super hard to get you a kicka** season. And we are pretty sure you will love it. Can't wait to bring it to you!" they added.

Check out the statement here

A source close to the show had previously told Press Trust of India that its second season may get pushed due to controversy around the streaming platform's shows Tandav and Mirzapur.

"The streaming platform is talking, debating about delaying the release of the show," the source had said.

Another insider told PTI, "The show has been postponed as the platform appears to be cautious. There's nothing in season two of The Family Man that would hurt anybody but given the current scenario, to be on a safer note it has been decided to push ahead the release of the show."

The makers of The Family Man are yet to release the official trailer for the second season.

Amazon Prime India has landed into a pool of controversies after several complaints were filed against Saif Ali Khan-starrer show Tandav, days later a case was also registered against the makers of Mirzapur at Uttar Pradeshs Mirzapur district for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments.

Recently, the Supreme Court declined to grant interim protection from any coercive action to Tandav director Ali Abbas Zafar, actor Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub and others facing multiple FIRs for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court last week stayed the arrest of producers of Mirzapur web series  Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani  in connection with a First Information Report that accused them of improper and indecent portrayal of the town Mirzapur and outraging religious belief.

The Family Man season one premiered on 20 September, 2019, and received rave reviews.

In the show, Bajpayee plays an intelligence officer Srikant Tiwari.

The second season will see the actor's character taking on a bigger and deadlier mission, along with keeping up with a high-pressure job and keeping his country safe, at the same time juggling with his responsibility towards the family.

Actors Sharib Hashmi, Priyamani, Sharad Kelkar, and Shreya Dhanwanthary are reprising their roles from season one.

The second season of The Family Man will mark the digital debut of south star Samantha Akkineni.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)

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Market Reports on Saudi Arabia Provides the Trending Market Research Report on "Sugar and Sweeteners in the United Arab Emirates" under Food category. The Sugar and Sweeteners in the United Arab Emirates is projected to exhibit highest growth rate over report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence and industry reports.

At the end of last year, a sugar tax was applied on sweetened drinks across the United Arab Emirates, aligning with the governments initiative towards decreasing sugar intake across all ages of the population. The United Arab Emirates has suffered from obesity for a long time, and this is impacted the nations performance on many levels, resulting in government taking active measures to implement change. As such, the country has become far more health conscious over the late review period.

Sugar and Sweeteners in United Arab Emirates report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data in volume terms 2016-2020, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market  be they new product developments, consumption patterns and distribution data. Forecasts to 2025 illustrate how the market is set to change.

Data coverage:

market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.

Request a free sample copy of United Arab Emirates Sugar and Sweeteners Market Report @

http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/sample/reports/522371

Why buy this report?

* Get a detailed picture of the Sugar and Sweeteners market;

* Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;

* Understand the competitive environment, the markets major players and leading brands;

* Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.

Table of Contents

List OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

KEY DATA FINDINGS

2020 IMPACT

Government health initiatives have limited impact in 2020 as consumers indulge to manage the stress of the pandemic

Hypermarkets and supermarkets remain leading channels for sugar and sweeteners

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Hotel and travel related sales to take longer to recover due to international travel restrictions

Government initiatives likely to slow growth of sugar consumption

Summary 1 Major Processors of Sugar and Sweeteners 2020

CATEGORY DATA

Table 1 Total Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners: Total Volume 2015-2020

Table 2 Total Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners:% Total Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 3 Retail Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners: Volume 2015-2020

Table 4 Retail Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners:% Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 5 Retail Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners: Value 2015-2020

Table 6 Retail Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 7 Retail Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners by Packaged vs Unpackaged:% Volume 2015-2020

Table 8 Forecast Total Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners: Total Volume 2020-2025

Table 9 Forecast Total Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners:% Total Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 10 Forecast Retail Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners: Volume 2020-2025

Table 11 Forecast Retail Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners:% Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 12 Forecast Retail Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners: Value 2020-2025

Table 13 Forecast Retail Sales of Sugar and Sweeteners:% Value Growth 2020-2025

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

COVID-19 impact on fresh food

COVID-19 country impact

Retailing shift

What next for fresh food?

MARKET DATA

Table 14 Total Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Total Volume 2015-2020

Table 15 Total Sales of Fresh Food by Category:% Total Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 16 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Volume 2015-2020

Table 17 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category:% Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 18 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 19 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category:% Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 20 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Packaged vs Unpackaged:% Volume 2015-2020

Table 21 Retail Distribution of Fresh Food by Format:% Volume 2015-2020

Table 22 Forecast Total Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Total Volume 2020-2025

Table 23 Forecast Total Sales of Fresh Food by Category:% Total Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 24 Forecast Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Volume 2020-2025

Table 25 Forecast Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category:% Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 26 Forecast Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Value 2020-2025

Table 27 Forecast Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category:% Value Growth 2020-2025

GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

GLOBAL INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT

DISCLAIMER

SOURCES

Summary 2 Research Sources

Browse our full report with Table of Contents: http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/sugar-and-sweeteners-in-the-united-arab-emirates/522371

About Us

Market Reports on Saudi Arabia provides you with an in-depth industry reports focusing on various economic, political and operational risk environment, complemented by detailed sector analysis. We have an exhaustive coverage on variety of industries - ranging from energy and chemicals to transportation, communications, constructions and mining to Food and Beverage and education. Our collection includes over 3000 up-to-date reports all researched, analyzed and published by top-notch international research firms.

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Mr Abdul Rashid Nkinga aka Jjaja Katikanyonyi, a supporter of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and aspirant for Buwama Town Council chairperson seat, is said to have been kidnapped on January 01, 2021 by unknown gunmen.

His colleague, Mr Baker Kalyango aka Engo ya Firebase was arrested in Kalangala District in December last year when former presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu campaigned in the islands of Ssese.

Ms Flavia Mujurizi, Electoral Commission registrar in Mpigi district declared Mr Nkinga as chairman-elect for Buwama Town Council and Mr Kalyango as directly-elected councilor for Konkoma ward in Mpigi Town Council.

The duo didn't campaign in their respective areas but victory found them wherever they are being detained.

Mr Nkinga who garnered 2,778 votes was contesting against other nine candidates; Denis Kiyimba (NRM) who got 790 votes, Ismail Mukago (FDC) who got 44 votes, incumbent Gregory Muwanga (independent) who gannered 1,010 votes and Emmanuel Sseruuma (independent) who got172 votes.

Other contestants were John Wokulira (independent) who got 20 votes, Edward Bakka (independent) who garnered 676 votes, Patrick Bakulumpagi (independent) with 25 votes, David Masagazi (independent) and a journalist Joseph Kinobe (independent) with 713 votes.

Ms Mujurizi also declared DP's Musa Kakembo as chairman-elect for Muduuma Sub-County, NRM's Francis Bbuye for Nkozi Sub-County, Pastor Sam Akol Ssonko (NRM) for Kammengo Sub-County, NUPs David Mutebi aka Mutex for Mpigi Town Council, Jimmy Kasozi (NUP) for Kiringente Sub-County, Frank Kasule (NRM) for Buwama Sub-County, Zed Kasule (independent) for Kayabwe Town Council and Godfrey Naalima (NUP) for Kituntu Sub-County.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Missing Ugandans

Over the past few months, hordes of Ugandans, especially the youth, have been rounded up by unidentified people who relatives of the victims suspect to be security operatives.

Many of those who have been picked up have not been in contact with their loved ones since. It has taken months for some, and the crackdown seems to continue.

The different accounts this publication has gathered about many of those arrests - in fact almost all - show that they are supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party and their loved ones suspect that the arrests are politically motivated.

NUP party and its leader, Mr Kyagulanyi, have on many occasions cried out about what they say is the continued harassment and illegal detention of their supporters and members.
Challenger Middle School in Huntsville is temporarily transitioning to remote learning beginning Thursday.

Students doing traditional learning will return to campus on Tuesday, Feb. 16 after the Presidents Day holiday.

An announcement Wednesday night from Huntsville City Schools said The districts Preventative Measures Team worked collaboratively with the schools leadership team to assess several factors before making the decision to transition to remote learning, including the number of positive COVID-19 cases, the number of students and staff members in quarantine, and staffing availability.

The middle school will serve curbside meals for students on weekdays.

You can find the Huntsville City Schools coronavirus dashboard here.

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Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
When twin suicide bombs rocked a busy market in central Baghdad on 21 January, killing at least 32 people and injuring 110 others, many Iraqis went on TV talk shows or online chats to blame the ruling Iraqi groups for the horrific attacks.

It was a show of their deep anger and frustration over the failure of the Iraqi security forces to stop the atrocities, which ended a three-year hiatus in suicide bombings in the Iraqi capital and not an exoneration of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, better known as Daesh.

The risk with taking such reactions for granted, however, is that it could mix up disgruntlement and resentment with sound judgement and distort the reality of the conflicts in Iraq. It could also justify the horrific crimes carried out by the IS terror group.

The vicious terrorist attacks displayed some of the sophistication and signatures of past IS operations, and the uncertainty soon cleared when the terror group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings that targeted Shia shoppers in the second-hand clothes market in Baghdad following the easing of almost a year of Covid-19-related restrictions.

Many Iraqis considered the blasts, which sent a shockwave through a capital already reeling from political turmoil, as only the latest and most dangerous manifestations of the incompetence and corruption of the countrys ruling elites.

The nature of the blasts heightened concerns about the ability of the Iraqi security forces to secure the capital amid a recent dramatic escalation of attacks by IS that should have raised red flags for law-enforcers and the intelligence community.

What raised the anger to a new level was videos of the bombers walking easily to the mass casualty site that went viral and showed the inefficiency with which Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, also head of the nations intelligence services, had handled the situation.

Iraq declared victory over IS in December 2017, announcing the end of more than three years of battles to regain control over the nearly one-third of the country that had been under the caliphate declared by the terror group. The last deadly suicide attack in Baghdad was in January 2018, when 35 people were killed.

The most-recent Baghdad suicide attacks came as the country as a whole remained embroiled in multiple conflicts spanning political, security, economic and health issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Iraq is also mired in a prolonged power struggle involving the government and Shia militias backed by Iran.

Two days before the attacks, Iraqs cabinet decided to postpone this years elections for four months after political groups failed to agree on a roadmap for the balloting, including enacting a law for the Supreme Federal Court that is required to ratify the results.

Iraqs political parties have been wrangling over setting an election date, underlining the fierce jockeying for power among the political and sectarian factions that have monopolised power since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003.

Deeply entrenched parties whose popular support has been diminishing because of their greed and inefficiency fear that Shia militias functioning under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilisation Force (PMF) are contending to take over.

Last year, Al-Kadhimi called early general elections for June 2021, a year ahead of the original date. The decision came in response to demands from protesters who since 2019 had been staging months of mass demonstrations to press for change in Iraqs dysfunctional politics.

Any early elections should be preceded by the dissolution of the Iraqi parliament at the request of a third of its members and with the support of the majority, something which remains doubtful without the consent of the main Shia political groups that control the assembly.

The parliament also remains deadlocked over the 2021 national budget, with these groups objecting to the austerity measures and fiscal restructuring proposed by Al-Kadhimi. The dispute also boiled over into a brawl involving Shia and Kurdish MPs over allocations to the Kurdish autonomous enclave in northern Iraq.

Meanwhile, the adverse impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in Iraq, including increasing unemployment and poverty, have made a bad situation worse, pushing the country to breaking point.

The new attacks and fears of IS making a comeback have challenged the sectarian formula of governance that embeds ethnic and religious identities in politics in Iraq.

Some Shia MPs blamed the attacks on what they saw as impunity rooted in the governments handling of IS members who have been arrested or convicted but have escaped punishment by giving bribes.

They have accused Kurdish President Barham Saleh of not approving death sentences for militants convicted of terrorist crimes. In response, Salehs office said more than 340 execution orders for terrorism or criminal acts were ready to be carried out.

Salehs response was met with condemnation by Sunni politicians, who accused the Shia-led government in Baghdad of trying to use the suicide bombings to unleash a spree of executions of convicted terrorists for political and sectarian reasons.

Underscoring their sectarian interests, some Shia politicians voiced concerns that IS militants were returning to Sunni-populated areas in Iraq to seek shelter and to use them as launching pads for their attacks.

In response, Sunni MPs have been urging the Shia-led government to compensate Sunnis whose towns and villages were destroyed or damaged in the war against IS and to make retribution to those who are returning from displacement camps.

The Baghdad attacks also came as the US-led Coalition in Iraq forges ahead with plans to withdraw troops from the country. US troops have gradually been withdrawn from bases across Iraq in order to consolidate in a few bases in Iraqi Kurdistan and Anbar Province.

Iraq has been filled with uncertainty, especially at times like these when there is lack of clarity on the direction the country is taking amid lingering political, economic, security and social crises.

Though the mess Iraq faces is bigger than he is and much remains outside of his control, Al-Kadhimi is trying to present himself as a strong leader who can stand up to the challenges.

A day after the attacks, he promised that the intelligence failure would not be repeated and reshuffled the Baghdad security command.

On 28 January, a week after the twin suicide bombings, Al-Kadhimi announced that the Iraqi security forces had killed a senior IS commander responsible for the Baghdad sector within the terror group.

I gave my word to pursue the Daesh terrorists. We gave them a thunderous response, Al-Kadhimi tweeted in a show of strength and self-confidence.

But a spokesman for the US-led International Coalition fighting IS, Wayne Marotto, said Iraqi counter-terrorism forces had led the operation to kill Jabbar Al-Issawi with coalition air, intelligence and surveillance support.

Three years after its territorial caliphate in Iraq was declared defeated, it is clear that IS is beginning to resurge in the country. The group has dramatically escalated the scale of its insurgency in Iraq over recent months after sustaining a low level of operations throughout 2017-2020.

With Iraq facing the danger of an escalation in IS operations, the presence of confusion and distorted information in the mainstream media could become a tool in the hands of the terror group and its supporters.

Iraqs sectarian experience over the last 18 years tells us that it is difficult to see logical patterns in the midst of fog- separating the signal from the noise.

It is tempting to heap scorn and blame on the Iraqi government for its dysfunctions and security failures, but failing to pinpoint the enemy in the war also allows for incremental damage, similar to that carried out by IS.

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( ) is aiming to upgrade the current inferred resource to indicated at the McDermitt Lithium Project in the southeast of Oregon, USA following having completed 15 drill-holes to date with remaining assays expected in mid-February.

The inauguration of President-elect Biden has focused investor attention on his election commitment for the United States to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the development of large, strategic lithium projects are a core element of this strategy.

Several battery factory developments have been announced or proposed in the US and McDermitt is well-placed to emerge as a future source of lithium for those projects.

McDermitt currently has a maiden inferred mineral resource of 155 million tonnes at 2,000 ppm lithium  one of the largest lithium deposits in the US.

With around 34 square kilometres of claims, the project has the potential for a long-life, low-cost mining operations and further development of the resource could make the US self-sufficient in lithium.

Recent drilling results

The company recently received the first assay results from 10 of 15 drill holes completed in December 2020, which intersected substantial thickness of the flat-lying sediments hosting lithium mineralisation.

Most of the holes were mineralised over the entire sedimentary package encountered, returning 126.5 metres at 1,397 ppm lithium and 120.4 metres at 1,440 ppm lithium.

Other notable results include 9.2 metres at 2,243 ppm lithium, including 15.3 metres at 2,459 ppm, 18.3 metres at 1,192 from 58 metres and 30.5 metres at 1,939 from 397 metres, including 29 metres at 2164 from 97.6 metres.

Hole MDRC004, around 1.1 kilometres north of the inferred resource intersected 9.2 metres at 2,243 ppm lithium from 140.3 metres and 15.3 metres at 2,459 ppm lithium from 155.6 metres, suggesting excellent potential to add substantial tonnages in this part of the project area.

Forward planning

Additional metallurgical optimisation work at the project continues with an updated resource targeted for March.

A scoping study is underway and set for completion in March  April with plans to submit a 2021 drilling program for permitting by April.

Engagement with US investors and potential partners is also ongoing.

Lithium outlook

There is a global, focused attention on reducing carbon emissions through renewables, with EVs and energy storage the key drivers.

Lithium demand is expected to increase significantly to meet emissions targets with the uptake of lithium-ion batteries for both EVs and energy storage.

The US alone is planning for the new energy revolution and is set to spend US$2 trillion on EV infrastructure and other carbon reduction projects by 2040.
Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
Just because YSRC has no manifesto of its own, it should not mean other parties should not release the same, Narendra said.  Representational image

VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam on Friday announced that the party is withdrawing its panchayat election manifesto titled Palle Pragathi Pancha Sutralu in accordance with instructions of the State Election Commission (SEC).

At the same time, senior TD leader and former MLA Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar maintained that the party is exploring legal options in this regard.

Addressing a press conference here, Dhulipalla Narendra asserted that it is the right of any political party to declare its people-friendly policies during the times of elections. The TD would explore all legal and other options available to it for protecting this right.

It may be recalled that the SEC, on complaint of ruling YSRC, cancelled TDs manifesto for gram panchayat polls.

The senior TD leader claimed that many parties had released their manifestoes in Karnataka, Sikkim and other states. Manifestoes are a natural part of elections, wherein parties state their policies. He said it is still beyond anybody's guess why the YSRC complained to SEC against the TD manifesto.

Just because YSRC has no manifesto of its own, it should not mean other parties should not release the same. The ruling party complained to SEC only out of fear that TD manifesto will receive a positive response from people, Dhulipalla Narendra remarked.

He accused the Jagan Mohan Reddy government of resorting to unconstitutional measures. This is clear from how TD AP president Atchannaidu has been jailed without any prima facie charges against him. He alleged that YSRC leader Duvvada Srinivas came from a faraway place and created terror in Atchannaidu's Nimmada village, but no action was taken against him.

The senior TD leader charged DGP Gautam Sawang with being a silent spectator while democracy is being murdered in every possible way in broad daylight in the middle of the road. He alleged that YSRC activists in guise of grama volunteers are threatening voters that they would lose their pensions if they did not vote for YSRC-supported candidates.
AG Nessel, UIA Alert Residents to Tax Form for Victims of Identity Theft in Unemployment Claims

AG Nessel, UIA Alert Residents to Tax Form for Victims of Identity Theft in Unemployment Claims

Ryan Jarvi 517-599-2746 Attorney General

February 5, 2021

LANSING  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency are letting individuals know of important tax documents for people who may be victims of identity theft as a result of widespread fraudulent unemployment claims in 2020.

With tax season underway, the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) has begun issuing 1099-G tax forms to all claimants who received unemployment benefits. If someone receives a UIA 1099 form but did not receive unemployment benefits, that person is likely a victim of identity theft and should report it immediately. The envelope containing the 1099 form from the UIA will include instructions on what should be done by victims of identity theft. Please follow those instructions closely.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the employment status of many Michiganders and allowed scammers to find new ways to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals, Nessel said. I urge anyone who may be a victim of identity theft to take action and report it immediately. This is also a good time to remind everyone to be cautious about sharing your personal and financial information with others.

Well continue to work to root out the imposter fraud that is impacting so many Michiganders, said UIA Acting Director Liza Estlund Olson. We urge everyone to follow the guidance on our website and from the Attorney General and IRS on protecting yourself and reporting identity theft.

The law requires that the UIA issue a 1099 form to every claimant who received unemployment benefits, even those who reported identity theft. Once the UIA has fully investigated the identity theft claims, it will issue an amended 1099 form to those determined to be victims of identity theft.

To report fraud specifically related to unemployment benefits, please visit the UIA's website and select the Report Fraud or Report Identity Theft button. You will be prompted to submit an online claim. The UIA strongly encourages anyone who suspects identity theft to also fill out the Statement of Identity Theft Form to attach to your online claim. The UIA Customer Service Hotline can be reached by calling 866-500-0017. To file a general consumer complaint, contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection team. Filing a complaint online is the best way to make Your Connection to Consumer Protection and provide a comprehensive report to the Attorney Generals office to ensure investigators have the information they need. If a consumer is unable to fill out an online complaint, they can call the toll-free Consumer Protection hotline at 877-765-8388 and staff will provide a hard copy form to fill out and return.

Forms may be returned via fax (517-241-3771) or via U.S. mail, by sending to:

Consumer Protection

P.O. Box 30213

Lansing, MI 48909
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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted in favor of President Joe Bidens nominee for ambassador to the United Nations. Linda Thomas-Greenfield received praise and criticism from committee leadership on her Middle East views.

The committee voted in favor of the career diplomat by 18 votes to four. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who became committee chair following the Democrats Senate victories in Georgia, said he was satisfied with Thomas-Greenfields vision for Iran and Israel at the UN.

Menendez said he trusted her to be clear-eyed  about re-engaging our allies and holding Iran accountable and about standing up when Israel is subject to biased attacks.

Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the committee, also voted in her favor but said he had reservations about her carrying out the Biden administrations Iran policy.

We have very little daylight between us on issues such as Turkey and those kinds of things, with the exception, of course, of Iran, he said on her nomination.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas led the opposition to the nomination. He focused on comments Thomas-Greenfield made in 2019 to the Chinese state-funded Confucius Institute. Thomas-Greenfield later said she regretted the speech.

Thomas-Greenfield discussed her views on the region at length during her appearance before the committee last month. On Iran, she said she would work with the UN Security Council to bring Iran back into compliance with the nuclear agreement. The deal removed UN and US sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran scaling back its nuclear program. Iran is currently not complying with the agreement, and President Donald Trump removed the United States from it in 2018.

She also discussed Israel at the hearing. She called the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, which promotes boycotts of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians, unacceptable, adding that it verges on anti-Semitism. She also said she would push countries that recognized Israel as part of the Abraham Accords to also recognize Israels rights at the UN.

Menendezs comments on Thomas-Greenfield and Iran are notable because he was one of relatively few Democrats to vote against the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. The Biden administration is now seeking to get Iran to return to compliance before rejoining. Most Republicans oppose the deal.

Rischs remarks on Turkey may refer to the more critical approach Biden has taken toward the NATO ally.

Thomas-Greenfield would bring considerable diplomatic experience to the position, much of it related to the African continent. She served as ambassador to Liberia from 2008 to 2012 and assistant secretary of state for African affairs from 2013 to 2017.

The nomination will now be put up for a vote in the full Senate next week.
A four-foot-long checkered keelback, commonly known as Asiatic water snake, entered a bank in Delhi's New Friends Colony on Thursday, triggering panic among staff.

The snake was found curled around the handrail of the staircase leading to the basement, a bank official said.

The authorities immediately contacted NGO Wildlife SOS which rushed two trained snake rescuers to the location.

The snake has been released back into the wild.

"Though non-venomous, keelbacks turn aggressive when threatened, and may bite in retaliation or self-defence. Caution needs to be maintained while carrying out such rescue operations," Wildlife SOS co-founder and CEO, Kartick Satyanarayan said.

The checkered keelback is one of the most frequently encountered semi-aquatic snakes in India. Their preferred habitat is or near freshwater lakes and rivers. They feed mainly on small fish and water frogs.

Recently, two pythons were found entangled in a JCB in Odisha. The deadly reptiles were rescued with the help of locals and snake rescue experts. They were later released in a nearby forest around the area. This was done in the presence of forest officials.

According to reports, the incident happened during a beautification project that was underway at the water reservoir in Paligumula village of Berhampur.

The driver of the JCB machine revealed that they spotted the big snakes while they were digging the soil in the canal. He anticipates that the snakes would have been hibernating there as the temperature has dipped significantly in the state.

He also revealed that one of the snakes became aggressive and made attempts to attack the people present at the spot. Eventually, snake rescue experts were called. With the help from locals and experts, both the pythons were removed from the machine.

In another shocking incident that was reported recently, a person in Mumbai put a used condom on a snake's mouth causing it extreme discomfort.

According to reports, the incident was reported on Saturday, January 2 near Green Meadows housing society in Kandivali East area of Mumbai. The irregular movement of the snake was observed around 8:30 am IST. A person had informed a snake rescuer after he spotted the reptile.

Mita Malvankar, a snake rescuer informed the daily that she was called to the spot in Kandivali East by Vaishali Tanha, a local resident. She was informed by the local that the snake was moving in an erratic manner. It was only after she reached the spot and went near the snake that she realised that the thing being referred to as a plastic bag was actually a used condom. The snake on which the disgusting act was performed has been identified as Checkered Keelback.

(With inputs from PTI)
Syria has shot down Israeli missiles near the administrative border between the Suweida and Damascus Governorates, reports Al-Masdar.

The Syrian Arab Army announced this evening that its air defense units confronted several missiles that were fired by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) from the occupied Golan Heights region.

According to the army, as cited by SANA, the Israeli enemy carried out, at exactly 10:42 pm on Wednesday, an air aggression from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan with bursts of air-to-surface and ground-to-ground missiles, targeting some sites in the southern region.

The source clarified that the Syrian air defenses confronted the enemy missiles and shot down most of them, while some still managed to hit their intended targets. The source added that there were only material losses, however the Syrian Arab Army has yet to announce the total number of casualties.

A source from the Syrian Arab Army told Al-Masdar that the explosions mostly occurred near the administrative border of the Suweida and Damascus Governorates, which is the same area that was targeted by the IDF earlier this year.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

Ten thousand years ago or more, people started painting the walls of caves near Bhopal, India. Over the millenniums they made thousands of images in what are now called the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters: men, women, a couple having sex, dancers, children, hunts, battles, about 29 different animal species and mythical beasts like a part-boar part-ox part-elephant.

Over time, art styles shifted. Human figures donned clothes. Horses and elephants sprouted riders. Wars danced across sandstone faces. Today, many of the cave walls are now palimpsests, with medieval warriors covering Chalcolithic art on top of even older Mesolithic drawings.

Still, an overlooked pattern spotted by a tour group of scientists in March 2020 seemed so, so, so much older. Older than representational art or humans or primates or fish or horseshoe crabs. Eleven feet up on the wall of an area called Auditorium Cave, the visitors had identified something that looked an awful lot like an imprint of Dickinsonia, an iconic 550 million year-old fossil from the first bloom of complex life on Earth.

The gaggle of geologists had traveled to India for last springs International Geological Congress, which was then canceled because of the pandemic. But the pre-conference field trips went ahead, including a visit to the caves led by Ranjit Khangar and Merajuddin Khan from the Geological Survey of India.
The idea makes sense, so much so that at least two governors, a national union leader and President Biden are behind it: extend this school year into the summer to help students make up for some of the learning they lost during a year of mostly remote school.

By summer, more teachers will be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Transmission rates might be significantly lower. And it will be easier in warm weather for students and educators to spend time in the open air, which is safer than being indoors.

Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia promoted the idea on Friday, saying that schools should make summer classes an option for families. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California and Randi Weingarten, the powerful president of the American Federation of Teachers, have offered similar endorsements. Boston teachers and the district have started talking about summer options. And Mr. Biden is expected to ask Congress to approve $29 billion to fund summer programs and tutoring as part of his pandemic stimulus package.

But if parents and students have learned anything during this crisis, it is that even simple, intuitive ideas are hard to pull off in a public education system that is simultaneously decentralized and highly bureaucratic.
UPDATE: 9:16 p.m. Feb. 4, 2021 - Shawn Murray was brought into custody and booked into the Shasta County Jail for charges of burglary and obstructing and delaying a peace officer, according to Redding Police Department.

Shortly after the Redding Police Department posted about Murray Thursday morning, Anderson Police Department located Murray and brought him into custody.

--

REDDING, Calif. - Redding Police Department's Investigation Division is seeking the public's help in locating a man wanted for multiple burglaries of an elderly person's home.

Anyone with information on the suspect, Shawn Murray, and his location, is asked to contact the Redding Police Department.
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[February 05, 2021] WAAREE emerges as EPC Company of the Year: Industrial & Commercial-2020-21

MUMBAI, India, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- WAAREE Energies, India's largest solar module manufacturer and a leader in the EPC segment, has emerged as the EPC Company of the Year: Industrial & Commercial, 2020-21, in the annual edition of Rooftop Solar Congress 2021 Awards. WAAREE was chosen on the basis of excellence in EPC service and project execution quality maintained over the years. WAAREE has emerged as the most preferred brand for Industrial and commercial Rooftop Solar solutions. WAAREE has already executed more than 10000 Rooftop solar projects till date, and commissioned over 600 MW of solar EPC projects in India. WAAREE solar modules have been shipped to 6 continents, across 68 countries. WAAREE has highly experienced and skilled team for desig and execution of solar projects in timely manner.



Speaking on this event Dr. Hitesh Doshi, CMD, WAAREE Group said, "We are committed to provide End to end solar solutions to our stake holders while we maintain the highest order of Quality and service. Our customer firth approach has been the catalyst in our growth and being a preferred solutions provider. These recognitions push us to continuously innovate and improve." WAAREE was recently recognized as 'India's Greatest Brand' in Solar Industry by AsiaOne for FY. 2019-20. WAAREE has maintained its position as the Bloomberg Tier 1 manufacturer for the last 23 quarters. WAAREE serves over 5000 customers globally which illustrates the trust gained by the company over a period of 30 years of its existence. WAAREE has record of executing a 50MW solar project in Vietnam in 100 working Days, becoming the first Indian solar company to achieve this feat.

Taking cue from the initiative of #vocalforlocal, WAAREE has launched a campaign to promote prosumerism, with tagline 'solar lagao, Apni Bijli Swayam Bano - Atmanirbhar ban jao!' WAAREE Energies currently has over 350 franchises and is planning to further expand its footprint globally. WAAREE aims to bridge the ever growing demand - supply gap of electricity, by making solar accessible to all and inch towards a viable indigenous ecosystem. About WAAREE Energies WAAREE Energies Ltd. is the flagship company of WAAREE Group, and has the country's largest Solar PV Module manufacturing capacity of 2 GW. In addition, it is one of leading players in India in EPC services, project development, rooftop solutions, solar water pumps, and as an Independent Power Producer. WAAREE has its presence in over 350+ locations nationally and 68 countries globally. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1197503/Waaree_Logo.jpg

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The number of migrants caught last year trying to cross the border to Hungary illegally, through Arad County, is 2.5 times higher than in 2019, half of them being hidden in cargo trucks.

The representatives of the Arad Border Police transmitted, at the request of AGERPRES, that in 2020, 2,011 people were caught trying to cross the border to Hungary illegally, in order to reach countries in Western Europe. Of these, only 27 are citizens of the European Union, the rest being from outside the European space, the vast majority from Asian countries.

Half of the migrants were caught hidden in means of transport, especially cargo trucks that were to arrive in the Schengen area. The rest were caught with false documents or belonging to other people or were caught trying to cross the green border on foot.

Most migrants were detected in 2020 at the Nadlac II Border Checkpoint, respectively 945.

Compared to 2019, the increase in the number of people who tried to cross the border to Hungary illegally, through Arad County, is twice and a half. According to the Arad Border Police, in 2019 764 people were caught in this situation, of whom only 21 were from the European Union.

The comparison made only for Nadlac II Checkpoint reveals an even greater increase in attempts to cross illegally, three times compared to 2019, when 292 people were caught.

Most of the migrants caught are from Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq and Morocco.
Calvert City Council Appoints Colburn as New Mayor

By West Kentucky Star Staff

CALVERT CITY - During a special called meeting on Thursday, the Calvert City Council appointed a new mayor.Gene Colburn was unanimously approved to finish the term of Mayor Lynn Jones, who passed away last week.Colburn has served the last 12 years on the city council. He currently works as the director of operations for Estron Chemical in Calvert City.The council will appoint someone from the community to fill Colburn's vacant council seat within the next 30 days.During the meeting, council members left Mayor Jones' seat open as a tribute for his 22 years of service.

Prabhu said that several leaders sacrificed their lives for establishment of the steel plant in Vizag and it would continue to remain there.  By arrangement

HYDERABAD: Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu, a Rajya Sabha member, clarified that the steel plant would remain in Vizag and privatisation meant that the government will transfer shares to private stakeholders, as had happened earlier also.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP state office here on Friday, he said that several leaders sacrificed their lives for establishment of the steel plant in Vizag and it would continue to remain there.

He said that he was like a cousin to Telugu people as he was sent to the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. The Union government has announced Vizag as an administration zone and MPs were looking at it.

He praised the Union Budget 2021-22 and expressed hope that this would help accomplish double-digit growth rate.

He recalled the trouble caused by Covid-19. He said the Coronavirus pandemic had an impact on the economies of the EU, Germany, UK and France. The growth rate has also slowed down. He hopes that this budget will bring a new wave.

A decision has been taken to double the earnings of farmers, he said and added that Rs 16.57 lakh crore has been earmarked for agriculture. For micro-farming, it was revealed that market facilities have been increased by e-Nam.

The former minister said that the Modi government is according priority to the defence sector from the day one. It was made clear that the farmer's problems would be solved only through negotiations. He declared that a single market would benefit farmers in the country and that the government was ready to negotiate with them.
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - More than 1,127 tonnes of rice from the national reserve will be handed over to the central province of Quang Binh between February 3 and 7, to help local people during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.



The province will also receive relief aid of over 1,029 tonnes of rice to ease hunger during the period between crops.



According to the General Department of State Reserves, the Prime Minister has issued three decisions approving aid of more than 11,580 tonnes of rice in total for 16 provinces.



Tet aid will be distributed among the central provinces of Nghe An (over 727.8 tonnes), Quang Nam (975 tonnes), Ninh Thuan (over 530.2 tonnes), Quang Binh, Quang Ngai (over 1,240 tonnes), and Dak Lak (over 810.9 tonnes), among others.



Beneficiaries of between-crop aid packages include Quang Binh, Dak Nong (284.28 tonnes), and Lang Son (212.43 tonnes).
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Thermochromic pigments are classified under high-performance pigment that has the property of changing color with a change in temperature. Both the markets of thermochromic pigment and high-performance pigment can be related to economic development, disposable income, and our quality of life.

More insightful information | Request a sample copy @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/9810

Research Methodology

The thermochromic pigment market has been analyzed by utilizing the optimum combination of secondary sources and in-house methodology along with an irreplaceable blend of primary insights. The real-time assessment of the market is an integral part of our market sizing and forecasting methodology, wherein our industry experts and panel of primary participants helped in compiling the best quality with realistic parametric estimations. Further, the participation share of different categories of primary participants is given below



Key Market Insights

The thermochromic pigments are used in paint & coating, ink printing, and plastic products to either show the temperature change or to increase aesthetics of the product. The usage of thermochromic pigment based ink can be usually seen in beer wrappers indicating the coldness of beer or sticker on the pizza delivery boxes indicating hotness of the pizza.

Globally, the demand for thermochromic pigment is growing consistently, especially in Europe and North America markets. This growth is supported by increasing automotive coating & printing industries in these regions.

Currently, North America is the global leader in the thermochromic pigment market. The US has built an advantage of having most of the ink printing market thus providing the maximum contribution in the global thermochromic pigment market. After the US, Canada is the major consumer of global thermochromic pigment market in North America. Asia Pacific will show high growth rate during the forecast period due to growing industrialization and increasing per capita income of people.

Reversible thermochromic pigments are extensively popular for their reversible color changing property and make it usable for aesthetics in decorative products.

Irreversible thermochromic pigment has relatively lower cost in comparison to reversible thermochromic pigment and only once it can change the color with a change in temperature. It has larger market share in volume in comparison with reversible, although relatively low market share in value.

Both reversible and irreversible thermochromic pigments have unique color changing property, which makes them useful in various applications. Reversible thermochromic pigment has high cost and is the leading market used in thermochromic pigment in terms of value.

The study of the global thermochromic pigment market provides the market size information and market trends along with the factors and parameters impacting it in both short and long term. The study ensures a 360 view, bringing out the complete key insights of the industry. These insights help the key decision makers to make better business plans and informed decisions for the future. In addition, the study helps the venture capitalist in understanding the companies better and take informed decisions.

According to Infoholic Research, the global thermochromic pigment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% during the forecast period 20162022 to reach $2,612.9 million by 2022. Ink printing application segment is expected to maintain global dominance in application segments, whereas China and Japan driven Asia Pacific is expected to contribute the highest growth in global thermochromic pigment. Some of the key players in thermochromic pigment are RPM International, DuPont, OliKrom, CTI and Flint Group.

Do you have any questions or specific requirements for Report ? Ask industry experts @ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/checkout/9810/Single

Report Scope:

Applications Paint & Coating Ink printing Plastic Others (such as Cosmetics)

Types Reversible thermochromic pigment Irreversible thermochromic pigment

Regions Asia Pacific Europe North America Rest of the World



Talk to our Analyst / Ask for a discount on Market and Get More Information Related to This Report@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/9810
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Stove Kraft shares closed strong though they failed to hold on to their opening level on their stock market debut on February 5. The stock rallied 15.83 percent to close at Rs 445.95 on the BSE as well as National Stock Exchange after opening at Rs 467 and Rs 498 (which was also an intraday high), respectively.

The share price touched an intraday high of Rs 495.55 and a low of Rs 435.05 on the BSE, while the intraday low was Rs 435 on the NSE.

In terms of volumes, Stove Kraft traded with 9,60,564 equity shares on the BSE and 1,07,55,080 equity shares on the NSE.

"We are cautious about its valuation. The company's brand value, margins and return on capital are lower than its peers. Any increase in raw material prices will have a significant impact on the bottomline," Keshav Lahoti, Associate Equity Analyst at Angel Broking said.

Stove Kraft share price climbs 29% intraday on listing day: What should investors do?

"The company also did not have a good track record of profitability. Cost reduced in the first half of FY21 due to COVID-19 such as travelling, advertisement is going to come back once business comes back to normalcy. So the first half of FY21 margins are not sustainable," he added.

Stove Kraft, which manufactures and sells kitchen solutions under the brand names Pigeon and Gilma and is planning to manufacture value, premium, and semi-premium kitchen supplies under the Black + Decker brand, mopped up Rs 413 crore through public issue. The fresh issue proceeds will be utilised for debt repayment.

Stove Kraft has two backward integrated manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru and Baddi, with dedicated plants for each of their core product categories - LPG cooktops, aluminium pressure cookers, non-stick cookware, induction cooktops and mixer grinders.
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New research led by the University of Birmingham has revealed for the first time the extent to which frailty increases the risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients.

The clinical observational study, involving 5,711 patients with COVID-19 at 55 hospitals across 12 countries, found that very severely frail individuals with COVID-19 are three times more likely to die than those who were not frail, even taking into account their age. It also found that those with severe frailty who survived the virus were seven times more likely to go on to need increased care at home or in care homes.

The Geriatric Medicine Research Collaborative (GeMRC) - the group of experts behind the study - are now calling for improved global public health policy after their research showed that frailty, independently of older age, increases the risk of death from COVID-19.

Frailty is a state where the body becomes more vulnerable to the effects of illness. It is identified by clinicians using a holistic assessment that considers how much support the person needs from others in their daily living before becoming unwell - not just their medical problems, but the person as a whole. The risk of frailty increases as we get older, but it can develop at different ages.

Senior author Dr Carly Welch, clinical research fellow in geriatric medicine at the University of Birmingham's Institute of Inflammation & Ageing, and Chair and Co-Founder of GeMRC, said: "It was identified very early in the pandemic that older age was a significant risk factor for a higher chance of death with Covid-19.

"However, not all older people are the same, we all age differently - some people can live well into their 90s without developing frailty, and it can develop even without the presence of other long-term conditions.

"Our findings are important as we have been able to demonstrate that not only older age but also frailty, independently from one another, increase the risk of death from COVID-19 and also a subsequent increased need in care for survivors."

Dr Daisy Wilson, clinical research fellow at the University of Birmingham, added: "We now have evidence to show that those most at risk from COVID-19 are those who are older, or living with frailty, or have underlying health conditions."

GeMRC hopes the research findings will influence public health policy, including advice on shielding and recommendations for prioritisation on vaccination for those with frailty.

Dr Mary Ni Lochlainn, of King's College London, added: "We hope that this research will help to enable increased understanding of frailty as occurring separately to age and that frailty can be considered alongside age in policies both in and outside of hospital.

"Increased understanding of frailty within the general public will enable improved communication between clinicians, patients, and their relatives or carers, and can be used in thinking about how we ensure that the right treatment is given for all patients in line with their wishes."

The research, published today (Feb 5th) in Age and Ageing and supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), is the largest international study of its kind to date.

The results also showed that delirium - a state of clouding of the mind and extremely prevalent in patients with COVID-19 - is not itself independently associated with increased risk of mortality.

Meanwhile, the findings also showed an increased likelihood of transition to a higher level of care on discharge from hospital for those COVID-19 patients with increasing age, frailty, delirium, dementia, and mental health problems.

Further research is encouraged to understand what factors affect recovery of physical function and quality of life with COVID-19, and the inclusion of older adults with frailty in such research is paramount.

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For more information, please contact Emma McKinney, Communications Manager, University of Birmingham, on +44 7815607157. Alternatively, contact the Press Office out of hours on +44 (0)7789 921165.

Notes to Editors

Wilson et al (Feb, 2021). 'Age and frailty are independently associated with increased COVID-19 mortality and increased care needs in survivors: results of an international multi-centre study'. Age and Ageing. DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afab026

The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world's top 100 institutions, and its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 6,500 international students from nearly 150 countries.

The Geriatric Medicine Research Collaborative (GeMRC) was established in 2017 as a trainee-led network for audit, research, and quality improvement. Find out more at:

https:/ / www. gemresearchuk. com/

King's College London is one of the top 10 UK universities in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2018/19) and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 31,000 students (including more than 12,800 postgraduates) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 8,500 staff. King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), eighty-four per cent of research at King's was deemed 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' (3* and 4*). Since its foundation, King's students and staff have dedicated themselves in the service of society. King's will continue to focus on world-leading education, research and service, and will have an increasingly proactive role to play in a more interconnected, complex world. Visit its website to find out more about Vision 2029, King's strategic vision for the next 12 years to 2029, which will be the 200th anniversary of the founding of the university. World-changing ideas. Life-changing impact: https:/ / www. kcl. ac. uk/ news/ headlines. aspx
Astronomers have for the first time used distant galaxies as 'scintillating pins' to locate and identify a piece of the Milky Way's missing matter.

For decades, scientists have been puzzled as to why they couldn't account for all the matter in the universe as predicted by theory. While most of the universe's mass is thought to be mysterious dark matter and dark energy, 5 percent is 'normal matter' that makes up stars, planets, asteroids, peanut butter and butterflies. This is known as baryonic matter.

However, direct measurement has only accounted for about half the expected baryonic matter.

Yuanming Wang, a doctoral candidate in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, has developed an ingenious method to help track down the missing matter. She has applied her technique to pinpoint a hitherto undetected stream of cold gas in the Milky Way about 10 light years from Earth. The cloud is about a trillion kilometres long and 10 billion kilometres wide but only weighing about the mass of our Moon.

The results, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, offer a promising way for scientists to track down the Milky Way's missing matter.

"We suspect that much of the 'missing' baryonic matter is in the form of cold gas clouds either in galaxies or between galaxies," said Ms Wang, who is pursuing her PhD at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy.

"This gas is undetectable using conventional methods, as it emits no visible light of its own and is just too cold for detection via radio astronomy," she said.

What the astronomers did is look for radio sources in the distant background to see how they 'shimmered'.

"We found five twinkling radio sources on a giant line in the sky. Our analysis shows their light must have passed through the same cold clump of gas," Ms Wang said.

Just as visible light is distorted as it passes through our atmosphere to give stars their twinkle, when radio waves pass through matter, it also affects their brightness. It was this 'scintillation' that Ms Wang and her colleagues detected.

Dr Artem Tuntsov, a co-author from Manly Astrophysics, said: "We aren't quite sure what the strange cloud is, but one possibility is that it could be a hydrogen 'snow cloud' disrupted by a nearby star to form a long, thin clump of gas."

Hydrogen freezes at about minus 260 degrees and theorists have proposed that some of the universe's missing baryonic matter could be locked up in these hydrogen 'snow clouds'. They are almost impossible to detect directly.

"However, we have now developed a method to identify such clumps of 'invisible' cold gas using background galaxies as pins," Ms Wang said.

Ms Wang's supervisor, Professor Tara Murphy, said: "This is a brilliant result for a young astronomer. We hope the methods trailblazed by Yuanming will allow us to detect more missing matter."

The data to find the gas cloud was taken using the CSIRO's Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in Western Australia.

Dr Keith Bannister, Principal Research Engineer at CSIRO, said: "It is ASKAP's wide field of view, seeing tens of thousands of galaxies in a single observation that allowed us to measure the shape of the gas cloud."

Professor Murphy said: "This is the first time that multiple 'scintillators' have been detected behind the same cloud of cold gas. In the next few years, we should be able to use similar methods with ASKAP to detect a large number of such gas structures in our galaxy."

Ms Wang's discovery adds to a growing suite of tools for astronomers in their hunt for the universe's missing baryonic matter. This includes a method published last year by the late Jean-Pierre Macquart from Curtin University who used CSIRO's ASKAP telescope to estimate a portion of matter in the intergalactic medium using fast radio bursts as 'cosmic weigh stations'.

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Ms Wang and Professor Murphy's research was done in collaboration with CSIRO, Manly Astrophysics, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery, OzGrav.

DOWNLOAD the illustration, photos and a copy of the research at this link.

INTERVIEWS

Ms Yuanming Wang | ywan3191@uni.sydney.edu.au (English and Chinese)

Professor Tara Murphy | tara.murphy@sydney.edu.au (English)

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Marcus Strom | marcus.strom@sydney.edu.au | +61 423 982 485

DECLARATION

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility which is managed by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency. ASKAP uses the resources of the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre. Establishment of ASKAP, the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory and the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre are initiatives of the Australian Government, with support from the Government of Western Australia and the Science and Industry Endowment Fund.

Yuanming Wang is supported by the China Scholarship Council. Tara Murphy acknowledges the support of the Australian Research Council. David Kaplan is supported by a US National Science Foundation grant. This work used resources of China SKA Regional Centre prototype funded by the National Key R&D Programme of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The researchers acknowledge the Wajarri Yamatji as the traditional owners of the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory site.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday refused to hear a racial discrimination case brought by Qatar against the United Arab Emirates in 2018, a year after Arab countries cut ties with Doha. The Hague-based UN court has rejected to entertain the case saying it does not have any jurisdiction in the matter. After Arab nations, led by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt severed ties with Qatar and expelled its citizens, Doha took Abu Dhabi to the ICJ, where it cited the breach of the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

Read: Arab Countries Agree To Restore Ties With Qatar; Sign Declaration Ending 3-year Feud

Emirati lawyers had argued that the UN court does not have any jurisdiction in the case because the convention does not cover the dispute between Qatar and the UAE. The court on Thursday ruled in favour of the United Arab Emirates. The Arab nations had jointly boycotted Qatar over its close relations with Iran and Turkey, claiming Doha supports "terrorism" in the region. Qatar categorically denied the claims and refused to bow down to demands, which included the closure of its state-run Al Jazeera news channel.

Read: First Qatar To Saudi Flight Takes Off After More Than 3 Years As Nations Normalise Ties

Qatar vs Arab states

The blockade, which came into force on June 5, 2017, barred Qatar from using the airspace and sea routes of the countries which joined hands with the above-mentioned four Arab states in severing ties with Doha. The blockade also prohibited Qatar from accessing the only land crossing it had with Saudi Arabia. In August of the same year, Qatar announced that it would restore full diplomatic relations with Iran. Turkey and Iran helped Qatar with aides and allowed it to use their airspace. Qatar urged the members of the UN Security Council to resolve the issue.

Read: Easing Dispute, UAE Announces Reopening Of Borders To Qatar

Earlier last month, Saudi Arabia and Qatar agreed to normalise ties, which were severed in mid-2017. Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries also agreed to open their borders and allow Qatar to use their airspace. The reconciliation process was reportedly brokered by the United States and Kuwait. The resolution was signed on January 5 following a GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia.

Read: India Welcomes 'positive Developments' As Qatar & Arab Countries Restore Ties At GCC

(Image Credit: AP)
The internet was at its worst when a few women decided to tweet in support of the ongoing farmers' protests in India.

On Tuesday, Pop star Rihanna raised a question on the shutdown of internet services at protest sites around Delhi following a clash between the police and some fringe elements in the tractor rally by farmers on Republic Day.

Her tweet instantly put a spotlight on government tactics to quell the protests, which have largely remained peaceful.

It was an eye-opener on a global scale.

Soon, climate activist Greta Thunberg, Mia Khalifa and Amanda Cerny tweeted in support of the farmers' protests.

However, all things right-wing were immediately offended at the tweets, which they believe were coming from "clueless" women, who lack intelligence to understand the contentious farm laws.

And they resorted to what they excel at -- slut-shaming, name-calling and glorifying abuse.

The internet hit an all-time low when people first tried to find links between Rihanna and Muslims, Khalistan and Pakistan and even raised questions of paid tweets.

Clearly, none of the claims hold any merit but the desi social media once again exposed the deep-rooted misogyny in India coming from men and women alike.

The discourse took the ugliest turn when right-wing trolls congratulated Chris Brown for abusing Rihanna, bringing up victimisation by an abuser as a justified way to get back at her.

'Chris Brown' continues to trend on Twitter India hours after Rihanna tweeted in support of India's #FarmersProtest, as pro Modi, BJP supporters troll Rihanna, glorify her assault, flood her mentions with tweets justifying assault on her pic.twitter.com/LJRPLM3oQ1  Hindutva Watch (@Hindutva__watch) February 2, 2021

Kangana Ranaut, Bollywood actor and a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), called Rihanna a "fool" and asked her to "sit down" for supporting the protesters, claiming that they are not not farmers but "terrorists".

No one is talking about it because they are not farmers they are terrorists who are trying to divide India, so that China can take over our vulnerable broken nation and make it a Chinese colony much like USA...

Sit down you fool, we are not selling our nation like you dummies. https://t.co/OIAD5Pa61a  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 2, 2021

When climate activist Greta Thunberg also shared the CNN article and wrote, "We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India," on her Twitter.

We stand in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India.

https://t.co/tqvR0oHgo0  Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) February 2, 2021

Many resorted to former US President Donald Trump's icky tweet asking Greta to work on her anger management problems and chill.

"So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!", the former US president had tweeted from a now suspended account.

The 18-year-old activist was called a "kid", a "racist colonial stooge" and was advised to keep her nose outside India's internal matters. Some questioned Greta's support to farmers since their stubble burning practices in winter season is a massive cause of air pollution in north India.

All hell broke loose when former adult film actor Mia Khalifa tweeted in support of protesting farmers. Calling the suspension of the internet at the main protest sites a human rights violation, Khalifa said she stands with the farmers.

She tweeted "What in the human rights violations is going on?! They cut the internet around New Delhi?! #FarmersProtest"

What in the human rights violations is going on?! They cut the internet around New Delhi?! #FarmersProtest pic.twitter.com/a5ml1P2ikU  Mia K. (@miakhalifa) February 3, 2021

Twitter ran amok with abusive tweets directed at her for speaking out and bringing up her past work as a method to retort.

In one of the tweets, Kangana Ranaut shared a collage of herself in traditional attire and Rihanna performing on stage, labelling herself as a "Right Wing role model" as against the "left wing role model", adding "I rest my case" to the tweet.

Right Wing role model VS Left Wing role model ...

I rest my case.#Indiatogether #IndiaAgainstPropoganda pic.twitter.com/LkQM0MHD7B  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) February 3, 2021

While Kangana's tweet was a clear example of virtue signaling, character assassination and a holier than thou approach, people on Twitter did not spare her and reminded her of "sanskaars" while sharing semi-naked pictures of her from movies and photoshoots. They perhaps believed misogyny and abuse must be countered with misogyny and abuse.

Another woman who faced trolls was former BJP MLA from Bihar and Bihar BJP vice president Baby Kumari, who retweeted Rihanna's tweet and asked who she is.

No, I don't.

Infact, I don't want to know them who just tweet for money without even knowing a single point about the matter.



  ...   ... https://t.co/eamruVdDCZ  Baby Kumari BJP (@babykumaribjp) February 3, 2021

People made fun of her name, trolled her for having phenomenally fewer followers than Rihanna and some just asked her to shut up.

I have received trolling, death threats, rape threats, threats of sexual violence, misogyny, anti-black racism, outright lies, gaslighting, false allegations, malicious reporting, smear campaigns, everything really -I stand for human rights #IStandWithFarmers #FarmersProtest  Claudia Webbe MP (@ClaudiaWebbe) February 1, 2021

Clearly, desi Twitter has become a toxic space where women who speak out are believed to lack intellect and asked to shut up when they express their views on a subject, especially at a time when women are increasingly dominating dissent spaces and registering their voices and presence at protests sites across the world.




This summers coronavirus restrictions could be the same as last summers 'low level' rules, Sage advisers have said. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images)

This summers coronavirus restrictions could be the same as last summers low level rules, Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) advisers have said.

In a paper to Sage on 13 January, which was made public on Friday, University of Warwick scientists warned against a full relaxation of the lockdown before September.

The government aims to have offered a vaccine to every single adult in the UK by September, but the scientists warned this alone wont be enough to prevent significant further severe disease.

However, they said it should still be possible to reduce restrictions to the lowest level seen last summer.

Watch: Matt Hancock says all over-50s should be offered COVID vaccine by May

That lowest level was from 4 July when, for example, pubs and restaurants reopened and limited household mixing, including overnight stays in other peoples homes, was allowed.

From 14 September onwards, though, Boris Johnson gradually increased restrictions  starting with the rule of six and moving to the tier system of local lockdowns  as COVID-19 infections started to increase again.

Many have argued Johnson acted too slowly and the government ultimately lost control of the virus, culminating in the third national lockdown which England remains in to this day.

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The difference this summer will be the rollout of a vaccine  but the Warwick scientists warned what may happen if there is a full lifting of restrictions before September.

With the new aggressive COVID strain, they said in the paper, likely transmission efficacies prove insufficient to prevent further infection outbreaks across the population.

This means that the proportion of individuals that do not accept the vaccine together with the proportion for whom it is ineffective in protecting, may still account for significant further severe disease even after the program is completed.

We see that even with the highest possible uptake and fastest vaccination program, full relaxation by the time schools return in September would still result in significant further disease.

Story continues

Relaxation to much reduced measures allowing schools to operate by then seems realistic however.

The scientists modelled a scenario where if restrictions are reduced to the lowest level we have seen so far in the outbreak, as seen in late summer last year, it will still be possible to emerge in September with very minimal further disease burden.

Boris Johnson has repeatedly said 8 March is the earliest date Englands lockdown restrictions may start to be eased. (Stefan Rousseau/pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Boris Johnson has repeatedly said 8 March is the earliest date Englands lockdown restrictions may start to be eased  including the top priority of reopening schools  but he hasnt said when it could be fully lifted.

Earlier this week, health secretary Matt Hancock outlined four factors which will decide when the lockdown ends: deaths, hospitalisations, new variants of the virus and the vaccine rollout.

Englands chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty, meanwhile, is known for regularly urging extreme caution, and has previously stated restrictions should be lifted gradually, and that curbs wont just suddenly stop.

Read more:

How infections could fall in the next two weeks, according to experts

How strict are the UK's border controls compared to everyone else?

According to reports on Friday, outdoor socialising and sport could return within weeks of schools reopening.

A roadmap detailing the stages of easing lockdown is set to be published on 22 February.

Watch: What you can and can't do during England's third national lockdown
Northern Correctional Institutions use of solitary confinement and in-cell shackling amounts to discrimination against prisoners with mental illnesses, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday that seeks to end those practices.

The federal lawsuit  filed by Disability Rights Connecticut against the state Department of Correction, Acting Commissioner Angel Quiros and Northern Warden Roger Bowles  claims the state discriminates against prisoners with mental illnesses by failing to modify DOC procedures so inmates with mental health conditions can access programs, services and opportunities that other incarcerated people have.

The lawsuit seeks a court order prohibiting people with mental illnesses from being admitted to Northern and a barring of the DOCs use of solitary confinement and in-cell shackling of people with mental illnesses who are held at the Somers supermax.

And it highlights the experiences of three inmates who have spent years in Northern under conditions that the plantiffs attorneys describe as horrific.

One of the inmates named in the lawsuit is Kyle Lamar Paschal-Barros, a 26-year-old suffering from a number of mental health conditions including bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Sometimes, when the isolation proves overwhelming or when Paschal-Barros encounters situations over which he has little control, he expresses his distress by covering the four-inch wide window in his cell at Northern, the lawsuit states.

Prison officials have responded by placing Barros in shackled restraints on more than 10 occasions, one of which was after a suicide attempt Department of Correction staff claimed was nonlethal.

Each time he was shackled, Barros was stripped of his clothes except for a safety gown, locked and bound in a cell he described as a cold cement doghouse. He had to place his food onto wax paper on the floor and eat like an animal. During the confinement, he would sometimes experience flashbacks, a traumatic memory playing in his head while staff played continuous bell sounds over the intercom in the cell where he lay chained, his legs and wrists bound with a tether chain and fastened to another chain around his waist.

There has been a long standing practice by DOC to impose really horrific conditions on prisoners who go to Northern, said Deborah Dorffman, executive director of Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT), the plaintiff in the case. And those horrific practices include the routine, often indefinite subjecting of these individuals to solitary confinement, sometimes for days on end, and also shackling them in cells and restricting their movement, causing them physical and mental anguish and harm and humiliation.

DRCT is represented by the ACLU of Connecticut, Yale Law Schools Lowenstein International Human Rights Law Clinic, and Morrison & Foerster LLP.

Northern is notoriously cruel, punitive, unhealthy for everybody. But this suit is a disability rights case, said Elana Bildner, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Connecticut. So, people with mental illness are going to Northern, theyre being placed in this prolonged isolation. Theyre being placed in this in-cell shackling. No one should have to endure that. But the constituency of DRCT is particularly harmed, arguably, by these practices.

In his confirmation hearing last week, Quiros pledged to reform the DOCs restrictive status program, to reduce unnecessary restrictions, while providing more rehabilitative programming in a matter that continues to prioritize the safety and security of our staff and the incarcerated population once the pandemic is over.

Northern was opened in 1995, when the states prison population was much greater and officials were having a hard time managing behavioral infractions occurring throughout the prison system. Advocates have called for its closure for years. Its declining population and symbolic status as a relic to a bygone tough-on-crime era make it one of the leading candidates for closure as Quiros decides which correctional facilities to shutter as the incarcerated population statewide has hit historic lows during the pandemic.

In a previous interview, Quiros, who served as warden at Northern between 2009 and 2011, said that prison had served its purpose. With the criminal justice reform thats going on, the agency will have to take a look at what additional changes we need to make, as far as the programs that are housed at Northern, and then were still keeping staff safety, and offender safety, in mind.

The lawsuit makes note of Northerns disorienting and isolating architecture. In an interview for a documentary about Northern, the prisons architect John Kessler said the layout  the rows of barbed wire outside, the gray interior that gives the feeling of descent  was designed at the request of state officials

There is nothing soft. Its hard, and they wanted that, he said.
Beijing blasts Washington over US warship's action

Washington says it will not tolerate any expansionist moves by Beijing, which was angered after a US warship, sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea. Image: Shutterstock

China on Friday warned off a US warship sailing near contested islands in the South China Sea, Beijing said, the first such encounter made public since the inauguration of President Joe Biden.



The USS John S. McCain "broke into China's Xisha territorial waters without the permission of the Chinese government," Beijing's military said in a statement, referring to the disputed Paracel Islands.



The People's Liberation Army "organized naval and air forces to track, monitor and warn off" the warship, the Chinese military said, blasting the US for "seriously violating China's sovereignty" and "harming regional peace."



The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer on Thursday also conducted a routine transit through the waterway separating the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, which Beijing says constitutes part of its territory.



Washington has argued that such exercises are in line with international law and help defend right of passage through the region amid competing claims by China and other governments.



China lays claim to nearly all of the South China Sea, including the Paracel Islands.



Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all also claim parts of the region, believed to hold valuable oil and gas deposits.



Further angering those countries, and the US, Beijing has moved to build reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.



The US navy in late January sent an aircraft carrier group into the South China Sea on a so-called "freedom of navigation exercise," its first routine operation in the region under the Biden administration.



China has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taiwan since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who refuses to accept Beijing's stance that the island is part of "one China".



The new US administration has said its commitment to Taiwan is "rock-solid," with officials in Washington signalling that they will not tolerate any expansionist moves by Beijing. (AFP)
MRC-The Gambia London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in collaboration with the government of The Gambia on Wednesday organized an open day forum on ETVAX study project dubbed 'a vaccine trial study focus on diarrhoea diseases to see the safety and efficacy of the ETEC vaccine.'

The program is aimed at building a stronger partnership between MRCG and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Community and the Government of The Gambia. The event was held in Farafenni in the North Bank Region.

At the forum, AbdolieJarju, regional health director for North Bank East Health Region in Farafenni, thankedMRCG for complementing the efforts of the Ministry of Health in the attainment of quality health care, recalling that the past results demonstrated MRCG's invaluable support to the health sector.

He equally called on communities and health facilities to closely work as a team to ensure proper health care needs of the population and most importantly children under5 years.

Dr. Jahangir Hossain of MRCG gave an overview of the ETVAX trail project, saying it is aimed at protecting children from disease and improved health of children between 6 and 18 months.

"Diarrhoea contributes to 9% of death among children under 5 years registered in The Gambia. The program was earlier conducted in Upper River and Central River Regions and the rolling up of program. High burden and mortality among children and said the vaccine has been found to be safe and protected and would help to protect children 6 months to 18 months."

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The study of ETVAX vaccine, he said, is examining the efficacy of oral inactivated ETVAX vaccine to prevent enterotoxigenic E.Coli associated diarrhoea in Gambia children ages 6 to 18 months.

"The study intends to enroll 4,936 children aged 6 to18 months in four vaccination sites of Kerewan, Ngain Sanjal, Noo Kunda and Farafenni.

Musa Kanteh, deputy governor of North Bank Region, expressed his office resolve in providing the much-needed support on the implementation of the vaccine trial.

He challenged people of his region to support the noble crusade, while equally calling on parents to ensure compliance of the project to protect children from diarrhoea.

Bakary Jammeh, a representative of the Chief of Upper Badibou lauded the community engagement strategies adopted by MRCG, by engaging key stakeholders at regional and district levels in a bid to attain success of the project.

He assured of his district authority's fullest support in the full execution of vaccine trial to prevent diarrhoea among the children.

Alh. Bakary Darboe and Nyima Trawally, a nurse at ETVAX vaccine trail, both expressed similar sentiments.

The duo underscored the importance of community involvement and field activities to map out strategies by the study teams to ensure community compliance.

Lamin Bondi, principal Nursing Officer at Farafenni General Hospital said the involvement of the community would contribute to effective health care services and help reduce the burden.

Other speakers include wereDr. Fatou Secka, Abdoulie Cham, head of Communication at MRCG, who described the open day as important for the project and the communities.
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Presently, the GHMC is the only urban local body in Telangana which is raising funds through bonds. Rama Rao is trying to get ratings for 12 other municipal corporations and eight municipalities in Telangana. (Photo: twitter @MinisterKTR)

Hyderabad: It is not just the state government, but even local bodies are now vying to issue bonds to raise funds from capital markets for taking up development works in municipalities and municipal corporations. The need to raise funds through bonds arose for local bodies after the state government imposed cuts in budgetary allocations due to fund crunch.

Local bodies are struggling to take up development works due to paucity of funds, as most funds accrued through various tax collections, user charges and grants from the state government and Finance Commission fail to meet even salaries and operational expenditure of local bodies. The long-pending problems of poor roads, drainage systems and flooding in urban areas could not be resolved due to fund crunch, causing severe hardships to people.

To overcome fund crunch for urban local bodies, minister for municipal administration and urban development K. T. Rama Rao is on a mission to raise funds from capital markets by issuing bonds. Rama Rao has been vigorously pursuing the issue with independent rating agencies like Crisil, ICRA and Fitch, among others.

These ratings are mandatory to issue bonds because investors will not come forward to purchase bonds unless they are rated by these independent agencies. Higher the rating, better the chances of investors competing to purchase bonds.

However, rating agencies have a stringent set of parameters to give ratings to local bodies. They take into account the financial discipline of local bodies, percentage of tax collections vis-a-vis targets, administrative reforms, long-term plans for development, revenue estimates, economic development, funds utilisation, and infrastructure creation, among others.

Presently, the GHMC is the only urban local body in Telangana which is raising funds through bonds. Rama Rao is trying to get ratings for 12 other municipal corporations and eight municipalities in Telangana.

The 12 corporations are Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Warangal, Khammam, Ramagundam, Badangpet, Bandlaguda jagir, Meerpet-Jillelaguda, Boduppal, Peerjadiguda, Jawaharngar and Nizampet. The eight municipalities are Mahabubnagar, Suryapet, Jagtyal, Siddipet, Kamareddy, Adilabad, Nalgonda and Miryalaguda.
Now that President Joe Biden has been elected to steer America back to normalcy, first lady Jill Biden stands at the cusp of making community colleges her major advocacy. She will continue teaching English composition to many working-class students.

There are 1,167 community colleges in the United States with the responsibility of educating more than 12.4 million students, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. Before COVID-19, the average annual tuition was $9,674, incredibly lower than that of public four-year universities, $23,705, and private institutions, $48,865.

Things have changed. The pandemic has democratized teaching with Zoom and online courses at colleges and universities, and parents are asking whether it is worth spending thousands of dollars at a university when students can get the same quality learning at a local community college.

Community colleges have long been mislabeled as vocational institutions or worse  extensions of high school. What the general public does not understand is that community college courses are taught by experienced instructors with masters and doctorate degrees. They are not inexperienced teaching associates pursuing graduate degrees and teaching introductory courses as a sideline. One would be hard-pressed to find teaching associates at community colleges.

Community college instructors also use the same college textbooks and teach the students who transfer to four-year universities and assume their place alongside other students who probably went straight to university from high school.

At Columbia University, for instance, 47 percent of students enrolled at the Columbia Universitys General Studies transferred after attending a community college. Even Yale University admits community college transfers with certain requirements.

In a 2014 commencement ceremony available on YouTube, then-University of Texas Austin President William Powers Jr. singles out Joseph Gallardo, a community college transfer student who earned a 3.87 GPA despite being a high school dropout. Gallardo re-enrolled and graduated from high school with a ranking of 428 out of 429. Despite his low standing, Gallardo redeemed himself at a community college, graduated from UT-Austin and later finished his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.

Can his success be replicated?

Commentary: A doctor is a doctor is a doctor is ...

Of course. Community colleges are ripe for research to analyze how unprepared students develop intricate, cognitive skills. Quality instruction exists at hundreds of community colleges across America. Large numbers of community college professors are publishing academic books, doing pedagogical research and presenting their findings at symposia and MLA conventions.

Many sit on academic boards, edit journals and do writing workshops at prestigious universities. Also, community colleges provide faculty for student mentoring, have small classes and include a vast network of student support centers not found in research universities. In short, community college instructors do hold epistemic authority and have gravitas in the field of knowledge production.

When asked why I teach at a community college, I probably give the same reason as Jill Biden. This is where most of the hard work is done. Preparing students for the challenges of expounding on the virtues of Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics  even where others have failed  is our calling. Community college teachers have long answered the call.

Community colleges are not the handmaidens of universities but equal partners with a vested interest in providing the best learning experience. Bidens participation as first lady will put the spotlight on community colleges with the promise of equity and parity for all 1,167 colleges across America.

Rafael C. Castillo teaches writing and humanities at Palo Alto College. He is a member of PEN America, National Book Critics Circle and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.


South Carolina is changing its approach to testing for new variants of the coronavirus after finding two of the worlds most concerning strains had already arrived here.

In recent months, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control had been scouring a backlog of coronavirus samples suspected of containing a new variant that first emerged in the United Kingdom. The departments aim was to see if the U.K. strain had made it to the Palmetto State at any point.

Now, scientists know it has. And so has another, which was first found in South Africa.

Those revelations led DHEC to scuttle its earlier approach toward sequencing the genetic code of virus samples and focus instead on what forms of the virus are circulating around the state. The agency is now analyzing samples closer to real time rather than looking at older ones. And its no longer focused on just one variant.

DHEC said its developing a process to get samples from around the state, with special attention paid to areas where new variants have already been found.

The new strategy comes as DHEC also ramps up its efforts to monitor for new variants. Officials said they hope to be able to analyze more than 100 samples per week, up from two dozen per week in January.

The variants from the U.K. and South Africa are two of the three virus strains designated as variants of concern by public health officials. They have raised alarms because they appear to spread more easily than earlier versions of the virus. The South Africa variant also appears to diminish the effectiveness of vaccines for COVID-19, though the shots are still thought to prevent severe cases of COVID-19.

The change in DHECs testing strategy came swiftly after health officials identified two people infected with the South Africa variant, formally known as B.1.351. DHEC announced those cases on Jan. 28. The next day, lab staff talked to DHEC epidemiologists and staff from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a new approach.

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Days later, South Carolina found its first case of the U.K. variant, B.1.1.7.

The cases of the B.1.351 variant were particularly alarming: The strain hadnt yet been found anywhere else in the country, but somehow it had infected two people who lived in different parts of the state, didnt know each other and hadnt traveled recently.

We may never know where these folks got it, DHECs interim public health director, Dr. Brannon Traxler, said in January.

Those signs pointed to a variant that had been spreading within the community. Worse still, by the time the cases were announced, it had been here for a while: Nearly three weeks had passed since these two people got swabbed, according to information listed in a virus-sequencing database run by the GISAID Initiative.

DHEC said it began sequencing virus samples in-house in June, using equipment that reads the viruss genetic code and converts it into a long string of letters. Each virus is represented by nearly 30,000 As, Ts, Cs and Gs  the pieces that tell cells how to make new copies. Scientists said that analysis, while more cumbersome and time-intensive than standard coronavirus testing, is important because it sheds light on how the virus is changing and whether it is adapting to our defenses.

A Post and Courier analysis of the GISAID database shows that DHEC, the CDC and private labs are sequencing more samples of the virus from South Carolina. A total of 363 test results have been made public, about eight for every 10,000 cases the state has seen since the start of the pandemic.

That lags the national average of roughly 36 per 10,000 cases. And it pales in comparison to the U.K., where experts credit a robust sequencing effort for identifying B.1.1.7 in the first place. The U.K. has analyzed 529 samples for every 10,000 cases.



The Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 still opened on Thursday in the Phu My Hung New Urban Area, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Ho Chi Minh City, but on a smaller scale than previous years after it had been planned for cancelation over COVID-19 concerns.

The festival, which has been organized annually for the Lunar New Year celebrations since 2012, is finally able to welcome visitors thanks to the last-minute change in organizers plan.

It is themed Sac Xuan Hoi Ngo (Spring Colors Reunion) this year, showcasing the settings of Vietnamese and different Asian cultures.

Its concept is divided into two sections of a spring road and a spring market, instead of four parts like previous years.

Visitors walk past the iconic Ben Thanh Market model at the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, February 4, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

The Vietnamese settings include such landmarks of the countrys northern, central, and southern regions as three-compartment houses, Hoi An Ancient Town in Quang Nam Province, and Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City.

The spring road also has space for the typical cultural features of South Korea, Japan, and China to give local visitors new experiences and expats, who live in the area, a little sense of their homeland as they cannot return to their countries for the traditional holiday this year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The festival will last until February 16.

Visitors walk past the South Korean setting at the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, February 4, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

The 2021 Lunar New Year will fall on February 12. Unlike previous years, Vietnamese people have been more cautious about enjoying the traditional holiday as a new COVID-19 wave has hit the country since January 28.

The organizers of the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 thus decided to apply multiple safety measures so this years event could take place.

Phu My Hung, around eight kilometers from the city center, houses a large expat community in Ho Chi Minh City thanks to its diverse amenities and fresh air.

A board displaying COVID-19 prevention and control rules is set up at the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, February 4, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

People visit the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, February 4, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

People visit the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, February 4, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

A family pose for a photo at the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, February 4, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

People visit the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, February 4, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

A woman poses for a photo at the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, February 4, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

People visit the Phu My Hung Spring Flower Festival 2021 in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, February 4, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

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They may look like harmless wannabe gangsters, but eshays can be dangerous.

At least that's according to radio host Kyle Sandilands, who warned listeners on Friday that the despised teenage sub-culture is more than just a passing fad.

'They are not to be mucked around with these eshays,' the 49-year-old said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

Worrying sub-culture: Sydney radio host Kyle Sandilands has warned 'eshays are not to be messed with' - and insists the designer-clad wannabe gangsters are a danger to society

He added that the average eshay 'looks like a 10-year-old boy' - but looks can be deceiving.

'You can be getting smacked on in the train by one of these,' he said. 'You've got to be careful.'

An eshay is Australian slang for a lad who purchases 'fresh gear' in an attempt to achieve a 'gangster' appearance.

Warning: 'They are not to be mucked around with these eshays,' Kyle told his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured). 'You can be getting smacked on in the train by one of these'

Favoured labels for the fashionable eshay include Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Lacoste, paired with Nautica, Adidas, Under Armour and Ellesse.

Some eshays scramble words and put 'ay' on the end in a form of pig Latin. For example, 'eetswa' means 'sweet' and 'chill' becomes 'illchay'.

Eshays are said to have spread from Sydney's inner-city graffiti scene in the 1980s through Housing Commission estates and out into the suburbs.

What is an eshay? An eshay is Australian slang for a lad who purchases 'fresh gear' in an attempt to achieve a 'gangster' appearance

Parents on Sydney's Northern Beaches have recently expressed concerns about anti-social behaviour of teens they describe as dressing like eshays.

The term eshay is similar to the UK phrase 'chav' and can be interchangeable with 'lad', which in turn sometimes becomes 'adlay'.

'Eshay' may have started as 'eshay adlay' - pig Latin for 'he's lad' - or it could be related to 'sesh', which means a prolonged period of drug consumption.
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Once in the brain, synthetic opioids trigger the body to slow down breathing. When too much of the drugs are consumed, which is easy to do, breathing can stop altogether.In a series of experiments involving mice, Janda's vaccines "sequestered" the potent drug molecules to keep them from interacting with the brain and body, thus thwarting dangerous respiratory symptoms.Findings appear in, published by the American Chemical Society.Janda envisions the vaccine being used in a number of scenarios, including emergency situations to treat overdoses, as a therapy for those with substance abuse disorder, and as a means to protect military personnel who may be exposed to opioids as chemical weapons. They may even be helpful for police dogs that are trained seek out these deadly drugs."The respiratory depression data we show is phenomenal for both fentanyl and carfentanil, which brings us hope that this approach will work to treat a number of opioid-related maladies," Janda says.Opioids are a diverse class of drugs that have been used to relieve pain for more than 200 years, although the landscape has taken a stark turn in recent decades. The pain drug morphine, isolated from opium, was heralded as a miracle drug in the early 1800s.Not long after, drug makers created a synthetic form, heroin, as a supposedly non-addictive morphine substitute. (The problematic nature of the drug became clear in the 1920s, prompting regulation.)However, it wasn't until the late 1990s that opioids began to trigger a public health emergency marked by widespread overuse of opioid medications, both from prescriptions and illegal sale of the drugs.Today, the problem has reached a new crescendo. In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, with synthetic opioids--primarily fentanyl, created in illegal labs--as the main source.Fentanyl is much stronger than most other opioids, up to 100 times stronger than morphine. Carfentanil, meanwhile, is up to 10,000 times more potent than morphine, Janda says, making it the deadliest of all. It is often used in veterinary medicine to sedate large animals such as elephants.Although carfentanil is not as well-known as a street drug, it is an increasingly used as an adulterant in heroin and cocaine, leading to unexpected drug overdoses. It can also lead to overdose deaths from accidental exposure, such as in veterinary or police settings. Having an emergency vaccine on hand can thwart those risks.Janda says synthetic opioids also are considered a terrorist weapon; they can be made in large quantities and in several forms, including tablets, powder and spray. They are readily absorbed through the skin or through inhalation. A single terrorist attack using carfentanil could be deadly for large numbers of people, he says."Unfortunately, the rise in carfentanil and fentanyl overdose incidents is placing further strain on already overwhelmed public health systems currently battling a pandemic," Janda says."We look forward to continuing our vaccine research and translating it to the clinic, where we can begin to make an impact on the opioid crisis."Source: Eurekalert
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Friday announced the expulsion of diplomats from Sweden, Germany and Poland, accusing them of taking part in illegal protests last month against the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The foreign ministry said in a statement that Moscow considered the actions of the diplomats unacceptable.

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber and Maria Bobrova; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by John Stonestreet)
Google is exploring an alternative to Apple Inc.s new anti-tracking feature, the latest sign that the internet industry is slowly embracing user privacy, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Internally, the search giant is discussing how it can limit data collection and cross-app tracking on the Android operating system in a way that is less stringent than Apples solution, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private plans.

Google is trying to balance the rising demands of privacy-conscious consumers with the financial needs of developers and advertisers. The Alphabet Inc. unit is seeking input from these stakeholders, similar to how its slowly developing a new privacy standard for web browsing called the Privacy Sandbox.

With more than $100 billion in annual digital ad sales, Google has a vested interest in helping partners to continue generating revenue by targeting ads to Android device users and measuring the performance of those marketing spots.

Were always looking for ways to work with developers to raise the bar on privacy while enabling a healthy, ad-supported app ecosystem, a Google spokesman said in a statement.

In a forthcoming software update for iPhones and iPads, called iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, Apple is adding a new feature called App Tracking Transparency. The tool lets consumers choose whether apps can collect data about them across other apps and websites. The imminent move has shaken the digital advertising industry. Facebook Inc. and other companies have complained the feature will limit their ability to effectively serve personalized ads and generate revenue.

A Google solution is likely to be less strict and wont require a prompt to opt in to data tracking like Apples, the people said. The exploration into an Android alternative to Apples feature is still in the early stages, and Google hasnt decided when, or if, it will go ahead with the changes.

On the iPhone, Google offers developers a framework so they can monetize their apps using Google ads. In a recent blog post, Google said Apples ad-tracking update means developers may see a significant impact on their ad revenue.

To keep advertisers happy while improving privacy, the discussions around Googles Android solution indicate that it could be similar to its planned Chrome web browser changes, the people said. The company said in 2020 that it intended to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome within two years. Google reaffirmed that plan earlier this year. Cookies are a way for websites to track users around the web to serve them more personalized ads.

Googles web alternative, known as the Privacy Sandbox, allows some ad targeting with less-specific data collection. As part of that solution, the company has developed a technology called Federated Learning of Cohorts that lets advertisers target groups of people with similar interests rather than individuals. Google is likely to take a similar approach with Android.
In a packed Senate chamber with stenographers and colleagues just feet away from him, @RandPaul refuses to put on a mask - and puts the health of everyone around him at risk.



This isnt political. WEAR. A. MASK. pic.twitter.com/WJG0xj21Sc  Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) February 5, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mask maven Sherrod Brown is none too pleased with Republican colleagues who decline to wear facial coverings as a coronavirus precaution on the Senate floor.

After clashing with Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan over his failure to wear a mask while presiding over a Senate legislative session in November, the Ohio Democrat chided Kentucky Republican Rand Paul on Thursday for going maskless on the Senate floor during a series of votes on the Senates budget resolution.

After Paul approached a microphone to ask that the upcoming votes be limited to 10 minutes, Brown said he wanted to ask Senator Paul in front of everybody to start wearing a mask on the Senate floor like the entire staff does all the time.

I wish Senator Paul would show the respect to his colleagues to wear a mask when hes on the Senate floor, walking around and speaking, said Brown, who subsequently posted the exchange on his Twitter feed, with the message: In a packed Senate chamber with stenographers and colleagues just feet away from him, @RandPaul refuses to put on a mask - and puts the health of everyone around him at risk. This isnt political. WEAR. A. MASK.

Paul, who is a physician, did not respond to Browns comment. Paul has already had the coronavirus. He maintains he is now immune and does not need to wear a mask. Experts, however, recommend that those who have recovered from the virus still wear masks.

Last year, Brown urged Sullivan to wear a mask to protect the staffers who were sitting in his vicinity, while acknowledging I cant tell you what to do.

I dont wear a mask when Im speaking, like most senators, Sullivan retorted. I dont need your instruction.

I know you dont need my instruction, but clearly there isnt much interest in this body in public health, Brown continued in an exchange that went viral on the internet.

Several Democrats in the Senate publicly backed Brown in that spat, while Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said Brown was being a complete ass, as Sullivan was far away enough away from colleagues to avoid infecting anyone if he had the coronavirus. Brown pointed out that Senate staffers were closer to Sullivan.

He wears a mask to speak - when nobody is remotely near him - as an ostentatious sign of fake virtue, Cruz said of Brown.

Read more:

Ohio Republicans vote against removing former QAnon adherent Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments

Senate Banking Committee approves Rep. Marcia Fudges nomination to be Housing and Urban Development Secretary

Ohios Jim Jordan endorsed QAnon-linked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and continues to defend her

Rep. Jim Jordan will cheer on former President Trump from the sidelines during his Senate impeachment trial

Rep. Bob Gibbs gives thumbs up to border fence, thumbs down to Capitol Hill security fence

Rocky River Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez gets flak for voting to impeach President Donald Trump but doesnt regret taking a stand

Sen. Rob Portman hopes for coronavirus compromise with Biden administration

Nina Turner takes big fundraising lead in congressional race to succeed Marcia Fudge; her donors include actress Susan Sarandon and entrepreneur Andrew Yang

Sherrod Brown hopes Senate can pass $15 hourly minimum wage and coronavirus aid for local governments with or without Republican support

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan wont run for U.S. Senate next year

Senators grill Ohios Rep. Marcia Fudge at her confirmation hearing to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Sen. Rob Portman backs measure to question constitutionality of impeaching former President Donald Trump

Rob Portman talks about his future plans and whats ahead for the Republican Party

Sen. Rob Portman announces he wont seek re-election

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 16:40:18|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese employee Ma Liang inspects the ship repair work at the Ship Repair Zone in the Piraeus port, Greece, Feb. 3, 2021. While the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, is around the corner, Chinese staff members working overseas still stick to their posts at the Piraeus port. China's COSCO Shipping Group acquired the majority of Piraeus Port Authority S.A. (PPA) shares in 2016 after an international tender, while the Chinese company's subsidiary, Piraeus Container Terminal S.A. (PCT), has managed the port's container terminal since 2009. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

Five Hong Kong democracy activists have said they plan to plead guilty to charges of "illegal assembly" after they attended a vigil in Victoria Park marking the 1989 Tiananmen massacre in June 2020.



Former lawmaker Eddie Chu, jailed activist Joshua Wong, and district councilors Lester Shum, Tiffany Yuen, and Jannelle Leung made their pleas known to the judge ahead of a court hearing on Friday.



A small group of supporters gathered outside West Kowloon Magistrate's Court, chanting: "Protest political persecution! Mourn the innocent dead of June 4th!"



The five defendants face charges related to "illegal assembly" along with 19 others, including former Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai, Lee Cheuk-yan of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, and jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai.



Lester Shum told reporters after the hearing that the guilty plea was a bid to speed up legal proceedings, which could otherwise drag out for much longer.



"Our lawyers were instructed to enter guilty pleas today," Shum said. "We want to get this over with as soon as possible, and have more time for other things."



Joshua Wong is currently serving jail time for a separate offense, while Jimmy Lai and Wu Chi-wai have been remanded in custody to await trial.



The socially distanced candlelight vigil went ahead last year, defying a police ban, ostensibly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Lighting candles not a crime'



Defendant Lee Cheuk-yan said charges of illegal assembly were themselves in breach of Hong Kong people's right to freedom of association.



"The Hong Kong Alliance [in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China] and many other people lit candles in Victoria Park, to remember the innocent dead of June 4, 1989 once again," Lee told reporters.



"The act of lighting candles is not a crime, and people have an absolute right to commemorate the Tiananmen massacre," he said.



Lee added: "Everyone knows that the human rights situation in Hong Kong has been deteriorating. A total of 97 people have been arbitrarily arrested since the national security law took effect [on July 1, 2020]."



His comments came as the Hong Kong government announced plans to hold the city's primary and secondary schools responsible for any acts deemed to be in breach of the draconian national security law by their students.

Schools may be held responsible



Education secretary Kevin Yeung said schools that fail to act or report obvious breaches of the national security law on their premises could themselves be held responsible under new guidelines on national security education.



"We do not wish to see political propaganda in our schools, because it undermines the peaceful and stable environment that students need in order to learn," Yeung said. "It has nothing to do with freedom of speech."



"There are many topics that can be discussed in school, but freedom of speech doesn't exist without some boundaries," he said.



The Education Bureau this week issued guidelines to all schools in Hong Kong on "national security education," which will start with children as young as six.



The guidelines ban activities like chanting slogans and forming human chains, which were a feature of the 2019 protest movement and included schoolchildren, and calls on schools to call the police if they see such things occurring.



Yeung also warned that the protest slogan "Free Hong Kong! Revolution now!" is banned in schools, saying teachers should be trained to understand what actions breach the law, which criminalizes peaceful protest criticism of the city government, as well as of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).



The government is also planning to replace Liberal Studies, a secondary-school critical thinking program blamed by the CCP for fueling recent protest movements, with a "national education" program teaching children to appreciate China's achievements under CCP rule.



Reported by Lau Siu Fung and Cheng Yut Yiu for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
India distributed nearly 112 million hydroxychloroquine pills despite scepticism

The Central Government has distributed millions of pills of an anti-malarial drug called hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as part of its Covid-19 relief programme, according to a report in the Quartz.

The Centre has distributed nearly 112 million tables of HCQ which is used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases or malaria. While there were claims in the early days of the pandemic that the drug was effective against coronavirus, by mid-2020 the WHO and several countries had quashed these claims. In June, the WHO halted HCQ trials and said the existing data showed the drug neither reduced fatalities, nor helped patients with moderate forms of the disease.

However, the Indian government continued to send HCQ pills to the states, the report said. Read more here

IN NUMBERS: Active caseload declines further

Some 12,408 fresh infections were reported in India on Friday, taking the cumulative caseload to 10,802,591. There were 120 deaths, taking the death toll to 154,823, according to a report in the Scroll. There have been 10,496,308 recoveries so far. The active caseload has declined to 151,460. India's infection rate has slowed significantly since September. The country has inoculated 4.9 million health workers so far. Read more here

Gavi to supply 2 billion doses in 2021

Vaccine alliance Gavi is projecting to deliver two billion doses in 2021 through the COVAX facility to many countries around the world, the alliance's deputy chief executive officer Anuradha Gupta, told IndiaSpend. The doses could start to enter countries as early as later this month. Efforts will be ramped up in the second half of the year. The alliance expects 40-50 per cent of the population to be vaccinated in richer countries in 2021, and at least 20 per cent across the globe.

Gavi has helped inoculate more than 800 million children in over 70 low-income countries. The vaccinations span various diseases that have prevented 14 million fatalities. To fight the Covid-19 pandemic, Gavi is helping co-ordinate the COVAX initiative which aims to distribute two billion vaccine doses by end of 2021, the report said. Read more here

Wealthy countries block proposal to temporarily lift IP waiver on Covid vaccines, treatments

Talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) about a proposal by India and South Africa to temporarily lift intellectual property (IP) rules related to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments have hit a hurdle owing to opposition by wealthier countries, according to a report in Deutsche Welle. The proposal says a waiver on intellectual property will allow vaccine makers in poor countries to produce effective inoculants sooner. Wealthier nations such as the US and Britain opposed the proposal as they claim a waiver would stifle innovation at pharmaceutical companies. Read more here

Covid-19 personality types: 'Harmers', 'hoarders', and more

A paper published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communication says people developed various "personalities" during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report in The Indian Express. The paper highlights the consequences of the different personalities and groups that have been created. From "harmers" who actively try to spread the virus to "hoarders" who panic-buy essentials, the paper identifies over a dozen such personalities. Read more here

The House voted Thursday night to strip freshman Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of both of her committee assignments. Eleven Republicans joined all Democrats in the 230 to 199 vote.

The debate over whether to boot Greene, the QAnon-curious conspiracy theorist with a lengthy history of transgressions, ate up a days worth of business in the House. The most memorable moment came early on, though, when Greene defended herself in a floor speech. While she didnt apologize, she expressed regret for some of the kookery or hostility in which she engaged.

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I was allowed to believe things that werent true, and I would ask questions about them and talk about them, she said, speaking about her prior support for QAnon. And that is absolutely what I regret. Who, exactly, had allowed her to believe those things went unspecified.

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Among her other observations: She acknowledged 9/11 absolutely happened, she described the proceedings as seeking to condemn me and crucify me in the public square and she accused the media of being just as guilty as QAnon in presenting lies. It was not the sort of speech that you see every day on the floor of the House of Representatives. Yet.

The Democratic side would go on to point out that Greene had kept on posting inflammatory things and harassing people long after the date she said she had stopped believing in QAnon. But House Republicans werent focusing on the particulars of her behavior. The minority caucus leaders had been successful in keeping their party mostly united against the maneuver by complaining about the process. Their main argument was against the precedent the move sets, in which a majority moves to strip a minority member of their committee assignments, when tradition holds that such decisions are typically up to the respective parties.

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It was the argument that some members who voted to impeach president Trump like Reps. Liz Cheney, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Tom Rice, David Valadao, Dan Newhouse, and Peter Meijermade in deciding not to strip Greene of her committees. Republicans warned that when the shoe is on the other foot, they wont hesitate to act on the precedent and strip certain of their Democratic nemeses from committees.

The weakness in that warning was that there isnt any obvious Democratic equivalent to Greenes paranoid fantasies about powerful Jewish banking interests attacking California with a space laser. While some Democrats acknowledged turnabout was a reasonable concern, they also felt as though a person who likes Facebook comments about putting a bullet in the head of Nancy Pelosi doesnt deserve the privilege of committee membership.

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And the bipartisan vote helps defend Democrats against charges that they set a new unilateral precedent. Of the 11 Republicans who voted against GreeneReps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Brian Fitzpatrick, Carlos Gimenez, Chris Jacobs, John Katko, Young Kim, Adam Kinzinger, Nicole Malliotakis, Maria Salazar, Chris Smith, and Fred Uptontwo particular Greene controversies appeared to serve as motivators to cross the aisle. Three south Florida Republicans (Diaz-Balart, Salazar, and Gimenez) and four members of the New York and New Jersey (Jacobs, Katko, Malliotakis, and Smith) delegations voted to strip Greene of her committees. Greenes dabbling in 9/11 trutherism and conspiracies over the Parkland, Florida school shooting apparently overrode any concerns about dangerous precedent for these members.

Democratic leaders and their campaign committees now have an on-the-record vote tying 199 House Republicans to Greene. A press release from Speaker Nancy Pelosis office released shortly after the voteheadlined GOP Rapidly Morphing Into GQP With Strong Support for Greenesaid that in the past 24 hours, House Republicans made it abundantly clear where their allegiances lie: with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, conspiracy theorists and QAnon believers. The release put Republicans in scare-quotes two more times, then abruptly ended that practice in subsequent references.

Greene, meanwhile, announced that she would hold a press conference outside the Capitol Friday morning. Its not like she has anything else to do.
The early prognosis of high-risk older adults for amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), using noninvasive and sensitive neuromarkers, is key for early prevention of Alzheimer's disease. A recent study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, by researchers at the University of Kentucky establishes what they believe is a new way to predict the risk years before a clinical diagnosis. Their work shows that direct measures of brain signatures during mental activity are more sensitive and accurate predictors of memory decline than current standard behavioral testing.

"Many studies have measured electrophysiological rhythms during resting and sleep to predict Alzheimer's risk. This study demonstrates that better predictions of a person's cognitive risk can be made when the brain is challenged with a task. Additionally, we learned that out of thousands of possible brain oscillation measures, left-frontal brainwaves during so-called working memory tasks are good predictors for dementia risk," explained lead investigator Yang Jiang, associate professor of behavioral sciences and an affiliated faculty member at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

When looking for a specific car in a large parking lot, older persons increasingly make more mistakes and take more time than young people due to brain and cognitive aging. Jiang says it has already been reported that brain waves associated with that type of daily memory task differ in cognitively normal older people and those of patients with memory loss and dementia. For this new study, researchers followed healthy older adults for 10 years. They reported that a specific pattern of frontal brainwaves during an everyday memory task predicts a person's risk of cognitive impairment roughly five years before clinical diagnosis. This pattern was not observed in older people who remained cognitively normal over the next 10 years.

Jiang says predicting and preventing cognitive decline is very important to allow preventive measures, such as life-style changes, and for researchers to help achieve a greater quality of life for the rapidly growing aging population. "Compared to current methods using neuroimaging as biomarkers, this method of measuring can be easily set up in clinics, is non-invasive, fast and affordable. Also, reliably predicting the risk of cognitive decline in an individual is new. Our older participants will soon be able to have better version of brainwave tests here at UK."

The clinical and translation work of this study was a team science effort with multiple investigators from UK's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging serving as coauthors including Erin Abner, Richard Kryscio, Greg Jicha, Fred Schmitt, Charles Smith, and collaborators from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee, and the Institute of Psychology, Beijing China.

This project was brought to SBCoA by scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory co-author Nancy Munro to David Wekstein and Drs. William Markesbery and Charles Smith nearly 15 years ago with funding from the Department of Energy. The research team received funding from NIH in recent years to expand this work in large-scale and diverse populations. Jiang says their longitudinal study underscores the importance of having a successful Alzheimer's research center at UK.

Linda Van Eldik, director of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, said, "This further emphasizes the long-standing national and international reputation of UK's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the high quality of our investigators and the research they do."

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Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers K01AG00986, R56AG060608-01, and P30AG028383. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. This material is based upon work supported by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and UT-Battelle LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy under Award Number DE-AC05-00OR22725. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Energy or Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Al-Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein has been released on 5 February after spending four years in prison on allegations of spreading false news. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes Hussein's release which puts an end to his 1500 days ordeal and urges Egyptian authorities to release all imprisoned journalists in Egypt.

A Qatar-based journalist and an Egyptian national, Mahmoud Hussein was initially arrested on 23rd December 2016, while on vacation with his family. Since then he has been detained facing accusations of incitement against state institutions and broadcasting false news with the aim of spreading chaos. He never faced formal charges or a trial.

In May 2019, a court ordered his release under precautionary measures. However, he was sent back to jail the following day after the authorities launched new investigations against him.

Mahmoud remained in custody since then and, in total, he has spent over 1500 days in prison without formal charges, a trial or conviction.

His arrest was widely condemned by international rights groups and media freedom organisations, including the IFJ and the United Nations.

Egypt is one of the countries known for their practice of jailing journalists for simply doing their job. According to the IFJ records, Egypt is the second biggest jailer of journalists in the world with 24 media workers currently behind bars, just behind Turkey (67).

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: We welcome Mahmouds release and his return to his home to be reunited with his family after such a long separation due to his arbitrary detention. Egypts record on attacks on journalists and press freedom is shameful and must be condemned by the whole international community without exception. Dozens of journalists are still in jail for simply doing their job and the IFJ will continue working for their immediate and unconditional release.
This is what some of the worlds corporate leaders have said recently on issues ranging from Covid-19 to the evolution of tech.

POST-PANDEMIC

Clorox Co. CEO Linda Rendle:

Simplification is our mantra, and were seeing the benefit of focusing on fewer [stock-keeping units], which we expect to continue beyond the pandemic.

Weve taken the opportunity to simplify our portfolio to help us run faster in many of our businesses, and thats panned out really well for usactually, really well for retailers. And so theyre going to continue to drive simplification." (Feb. 4)

Peloton Interactive Inc. President William Lynch:

Whats clear is the shift into the home is not a Covid-led phenomenon. It has accelerated it. But we see, if anything, as we emerge to whatever the new normal is that the norms havent changed. There is a secular shift into fitness in the home." (Feb. 4)

United Parcel Service Inc. CEO Carol Tome:

We dont think e-commerce sales as a percentage of retail sales will decline, which means continued supply and demand imbalances.

[Retailers are] hoping that their stores will reopen because theyve got a huge investment in that real estate, of course. But from a demand perspective, theres no one out there that thinks that the demand is going to change. We were in a new normal. Even my relatives who are older are shopping online, before they would never do that." (Feb. 2)

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. CEO Brian Niccol:

Theres still a lot of unknown. Luckily every day seems to be better with the whole Covid issue, both vaccine rates seem to be going up and Covid cases seem to be going down, and luckily less and less people are ending up in the hospital so Im optimistic." (Feb. 2)

Chevron Corp. CEO Mike Wirth:

Energy is the lifeblood of the global economy, and reliable, affordable energy will be fundamental to the recovery from the pandemic in the short term. And in the longer term, it will be fundamental to lifting people out of poverty around the world, and we have to remember that. And todays energy system is not the enemy. Lower emissions are what we should be focused on. And thats what we as a company are focused on." (Jan. 29)

United Airlines Holdings Inc. chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella:

Demand will increase sharply at the point where vaccines have been widely distributed, and border restrictions are eased, and not prior. Expect that in the second half of 2021, possibly sooner, if vaccine distribution improves. Leisure demand will recover quickly, likely in a few months, driven by pent-up demand following the vaccine. Business demand will take 18 to 24 months to recover." (Jan. 21)

Starbucks Corp. CEO Kevin Johnson:

As markets around the world work tirelessly to vaccinate billions of people, we are prepared for what can only be described as the great human reconnection." (Jan. 26)

Boeing CEO David Calhoun:

Were encouraged by the speed of vaccine development and efficacy rates. These trends bolster our medium-term outlook and support our belief in the long-term trend.We expect it will take around three years for travel to return to the 2019 levels and a few years beyond that to return to our long-term growth trends." (Jan. 27)

ECONOMY

Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Darren Woods:

My expectation is the second half of the year will look a lot better than the first half. But exactly where we end up on that bar [of how quickly fuel demand recovers], I think its tough to tell. I think eventually, well get back there, if not back into this year, sometime into next year and potentially see an overcorrection.

Its not a question of if thats going to happen but whenand our view is, we should recognize its coming but not build a plan based on the hope that it does. (Feb. 2)

Caterpillar Inc. CEO Jim Umpleby:

We do expect 2021 to be a better year than 2020 for us. We expect higher sales, but just given the uncertainty around the pandemic, the rollout of the vaccine, the resulting impact on the global economyalthough we expect it to be a better yearits difficult for us to quantify how much better it will be just based on the pandemic.

It isnt so much a concern about downside as it is uncertainty as to how much better things will get this year." (Jan. 29)

McDonalds Corp. CEO Chris Kempczinski:

Concern for economic uncertainty is by far the single-most, single-biggest concern that exists with our consumers, which again gets back to why we think affordability is going to be one of the things that all of us need to stay focused on in a prudent way in 2021." (Jan. 28)

Mondelez International Inc. CEO Dirk Van de Put:

We are in a category like McDonalds, where when people have more disposable income, our categories benefit. We see it in our sales almost exactly when consumers get their stimulus checks." (Jan. 28)

Boeing Co. Chief Executive David Calhoun:

In the commercial market, while many of our key long-term fundamentals remain intact, we continue to see near-term market pressure due to Covid-19.

Despite solid progress on the vaccine front, the next six to nine months will remain very challenging for our airline customers and the entire industry. Covid-19 case rates continue to be high, and travel restrictions remain in place, putting significant pressure on passenger traffic." (Jan. 27)

FUTURE OF WORK

Kilroy Realty Corp. executive vice president Rob Paratte:

The conversations were having with our tech clients and other large tech companies are: Some have advanced plans to begin opening inmid-2021, when they were actually looking at the end of 2021. So I think there is a lot thats going to unfold here in the next three months to four months.

But I personally just think you cant make a film at home. You cant collaborate on software or a complex problem solving from home. And so, as we said, there are going to be various times people are working from home, but youre going to have large teams needing to be in office space using the technology that office provides. (Feb. 1)

Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella:

There will be more flexibility in terms of time, where they work, even the sites people work because I think the expectations have changed. Were obviously not going to have the same constraints going forward, so Im not at all assuming that we just remain as is all the way going forward. But at the same time, theres no return to January of 2020. So, therefore, what I think is key for us is to really maintain flexibility.

We have laid out our policies, which give more flexibility. And it will be different by function, different by geography, different in time. So thats how we expect essentially work to evolve." (Jan. 26)

W.R. Berkley Corp. CEO W. Robert Berkley Jr.:

We are actively looking at what does return-to-work look like for us. We certainly expect that people will be back in the office, but will the travel be the same? Or will there be opportunities to learn through this period of time where maybe travel will not have to return to what it once was? (Jan. 26)

BankUnited Inc. CEO Rajinder Singh:

We still are working remotely, and we expect to do that for at least the next two or three months, and then make a decision beyond that at that time.The strategy going forward, again, were waiting very anxiously for economic activity to pick up and for us to start participating in the next business cycle, which as we speak is beginning right about now. (Jan. 21)

EVOLUTION OF TECH

Match Group Inc. CEO Sharmistha Dubey:

One thing I do see that 2020 has done, in particular, is a real step-change in user behavior, not the least of which is how much of our lives and activity has moved online. And while I do think as the world gets back to normal, some of this online/offline behavior will rebalance, but parts of this online shift is definitely here to stay. (Feb. 2)

Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel:

We see a tremendous opportunity to innovate in e-commerce, which to-date has been largely driven by utilitarian benefits such as price, selection and convenience. As we have learned from our progress in providing new ways for people to try on and interact with products using augmented reality, improvements in the shopping experience to make it more entertaining and immersive can lead to powerful downstream results in terms of conversion. (Feb. 4)

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. CEO Lisa Su:

In the last year, we have all seen firsthand the essential role high-performance computing now plays in our daily lives, and we expect adoption to accelerate over the coming years as we enter a high-performance computing megacycle, driven by the growing adoption of cloud-computing services, accelerating digital transformation of industries and experiences, the transition to exascale supercomputing, and the mainstream adoption of AI." (Jan. 26)

Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella:

What we are witnessing is the dawn of a second wave of digital transformation sweeping every company and every industry. Digital capability is key to both resilience and growth. Its no longer enough to just adopt technology. Businesses need to build their own technology to compete and grow." (Jan. 26)

LEADERSHIP

Merck & Co. CEO Kenneth Frazier:

The problem with large transactionsand I think if you look at the history of this industryis that they are really difficult for our research organizations to respond to and recover from. And so thats the main reason I oppose those mergers is because I think theyre highly disruptive.

And then at the end of the day, when you get through your cost synergy, you still either have a pipeline or you dont. And what were focusing on right now is developing that pipeline. (Feb. 4)

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk:

I expect to be CEO of Tesla for several years, so I think theres still a lot that Im super excited about doing, and I think it would be hard to leave a lot of these great projects halfway or part way done. So I do expect to be running the company for several years into the future. Nobody is or should be CEO forever. So I dont expect to be." (Jan. 27)

International Business Machines Corp. CEO Arvind Krishna:

Since I became CEO, Ive talked at great length about the importance of culture and the need to instill a growth and entrepreneurial mind-set. As part of that, we are encouraging more business risk-taking and ensuring a higher tolerance for failure across the business. This should allow us to more quickly respond to clients, seize more opportunities, and drive better business outcomes." (Jan. 21)

PRESIDENT BIDEN

Mondelez International Inc. CEO Dirk Van de Put:

The business friendly tax measures we hope will remainWe want to be careful with the requirement of most countries to pay for their stimulus, will they try to pay for it with higher taxes? Thats our biggest worry." (Jan. 28)

American Express Co. CEO Stephen Squeri:

[On the possibility of increased banking regulation under President Biden] Well, its kind of hard to figure out at this point what they will do, what will be done from a consumer regulation perspective.

We will comply, and we will do what we need to do. And I dont think its going to be a major deterrent to us running our business in any way. I mean, look, have we added more compliance people over the years? Yes. Do we spend more time with regulators? Yes. Could that be more? Yeah, it could probably be more. But when you think about the underlying economics of our business, I really dont think its going to impact our spend." (Jan. 26)

Steel Dynamics Inc. CEO Mark Millett:

I dont see the Biden administration changing the trade environment materially, at least not in the near term. They recognize that China is a massive threat. Their approach [to China] might be different than the Trump administration. They will likely ally with our friends in Europe and in other places. But I think they will be very cognizant that there needs to be trade controls. And there are underlying legislated trade constraints in place that arent just an executive order. Theyre going to be there for years to come." (Jan. 25)

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Auto component maker Talbros on Friday reported a whopping 144 per cent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 10.6 crore for the quarter ended in December.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 4.3 crore in the third quarter of the financial year 2019-20, Talbros Automotive Components Ltd (TACL) said in a release. Total Income from operations rose 35.6 per cent to Rs 132.1 crore in the third quarter of financial year 2020-21 as compared to Rs 97.4 crore revenue in October-December period of the previous fiscal year.

Sundaram Finance reports 45% rise in Q3 net profit at Rs 242 crore

"We had started off the year at lower pace amid pandemic, while in the third quarter, we have achieved highest-ever revenue numbers with over 35 per cent growth Year-over-Year and remarkable EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) margins despite the rollback of certain costs. We have grown faster than the Industry," said Anuj Talwar, Jt. Managing Director, TACL. The company reported EBITDA of Rs 21.1 crore in the quarter under review as against Rs. 11.7 crores in the third quarter of 2019-20.

Despite partial rollback of cost saving initiatives, EBITDA margins grew 399 basis points Y-o-Y on account of higher utilisation of capacities and better product mix, Talbros said. "We are moving towards the road of evolution gradually. From 20 per cent exports in the previous fiscal, we have reached 24 per cent level in the current financial year. We aim to increase export to 30 per cent in the next five years," Talwar said.

He said the company appreciates the government's measures to support the industry, adding that the Productivity-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme will add to the margins with increased exports. "Long-awaited scrapping policy for government and PSUs and addition of voluntary scrapping of vehicles for the private sector will boost up the demand of automobiles. We have vast experience in exports, and our technological partnerships are adding up marquee clientele to our portfolio. We remain positive on our path to recovery with the addition of multiyear orders to our company," he added.

During the quarter, Talbros 50 per cent JV Marelli Talbros Chassis Systems Pvt. Ltd signed a multiyear order with a large European car manufacturer with the supplies to begin the first quarter of the next fiscal, it said. The company also entered in a Technical Assistance Agreement with its Japanese partner 'Sanwa Packing Industry Co. Ltd for light-weight aluminium heat shields for Indian markets, the company said in the release.

TACL, together with JV alliances, has eight manufacturing facilities at Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra along with one materials division in Gurgaon and R&D technology center at Faridabad. The company has technical collaborations with Nippon Leakless Corporation Japan and Sanwa Packaging Japan. The company has technical collaborations with Nippon Leakless Corporation Japan and Sanwa Packaging Japan.
About 60 per cent of students in primary and secondary schools drink alcohol and more than a third have consumed marijuana, cocaine, and other prohibited drugs and substances, a new report by Makerere University School of Psychology has revealed.

Marijuana, cocaine, shisha, heroin, khat (mairungi), cigarettes, and alcohol are among the most abused drugs and substances by school-going children, according to the research report.

While presenting the report at the university yesterday, Dr Leon Matagi, the lead researcher of the study, said 2,392 pupils and 2,765 students participated in the survey as respondents across the country between January and February 2020 before closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said up to three in every five children and one in every three who were interviewed reported that they had ever taken local alcoholic drinks or bottled alcohol respectively.

"Those who ever used or tried marijuana/weed/njaga (nine per cent), shisha (seven per cent), cocaine (eight per cent), heroin (six per cent), inhalants such as petrol and jet fuel (11 per cent), khat/mairungi (eight per cent) and cigarettes (12 per cent)," Dr Matagi said.

Gender influence

The report states that drug and substance use was high among both female and male children, contrary to the assumption that drug and substance use among girls is low.

"10.6 per cent of males and eight per cent of females had ever tried using marijuana. 13.4 per cent of males and 11.5 per cent of females had used cigarettes," the report reads in part.

Dr Florence Nansubuga, a psychologist at Makerere University, said drug and substance use among children is sometimes caused by influence of the adolescent development stage which is characterised by an urge to explore.

Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, said: "Drug abuse is a big problem in Makerere University and we are fighting it."

Education level.

"29.9 per cent of secondary school students and 26.4 per cent of primary school pupils had ever taken alcohol. 9.5 per cent of secondary students and 9.2 per cent of primary pupils had ever tried marijuana," the report states.

However, the use of cigarettes was higher among primary school pupils than in secondary schools.

Dr Matagi said drug and substance use start at primary level of education and children carry these habits as they progress to higher levels.

He said peer pressure, family and religious backgrounds, and strict rules in schools and homes were the key factors influencing drug use among children.

Private versus government schools

The research found that abuse of drugs and substances was also higher in government schools than in private schools.

Dr Matagi explained that this could be because private schools are stricter on pupils and students which limits the chance of smuggling or using these harmful drugs and substances into the schools.

Drug use was also found to be higher in rural schools than urban ones. This, according to Dr Matagi, could be because majority of government schools are in rural areas.

Regions

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In the report, the level of drug and substance use was highest in northern region followed by western region, South-western and central regions.

Eastern region reported the least abuse of harmful drugs and substances.

Dr Simon Nantamu, a member of the research team, suggested the low rate of drug abuse in eastern region could be because of the high poverty levels that children cannot afford the prices.

Recommendations

"In order for pupils and students to always receive guidance and counselling, government should create an established position of a school counsellor for continued guidance and counselling of school-going children," the report reads.

Dr Matagi said parents and teachers should emphasise to children that any drug is a poison and has many negative side effects.
With increased time being spent in front of cameras for Zoom calls on work or for social activities, the aspiration for perfect looks has grown manifold, and even become an obsession for many. Experts analyse this disturbing trend (Representative Image)

Imperfection is beauty. Or is it? Probably this concept is being challenged on a daily basis in todays world. Since work-from-home has become the norm, Zoom video meets have become commonplace. This has created a new phenomenon being called Zoom dysmorphia. Experts describe this as a disorder involving obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in appearance.

Lockdown Face has become an issue. We tend to frequently look at ourselves during a video call, becoming increasingly conscious of our facial expressions and perceived flaws. Earlier, in face-to-face set-ups, this element was missing, and we were free to imagine the way we looked,  says Chaitanya Nallan, co-founder & CEO, SkinKraft.

This virtual ecosystem has triggered a self-critical and comparative response on our mien, whether true or imagined. We have observed people turning off their cameras because of reasons such as acne outbreak, dull skin and skin tone. They see cosmetologists as they want to be confident, says Dr Jaishree Sharad, celebrity cosmetic dermatologist.

Of late, many plastic surgeons are being inundated by questions like, Is one of my eyebrows higher than the other? and Did my nose suddenly get bigger? says Dr Shilpi Bhadani, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgeon, and founder SB Aesthetics.

This new trend among young individuals could be because of more obsessiveness about oneself. We have been looking at ourselves far more critically than we ever did in the past, she says.

There has been a spike in interest in cosmetic surgeries worldwide, adds Chaitanya. India ranks amongst the top 10 countries with the most successful cosmetic surgeons. We have also witnessed a shift in consumer behaviour, as it has become more inclined towards result-oriented, customised skin-and hair-care rather than mass-produced products, he adds.

What is it about video calls that have us scrutinising our every feature  and just how rational is it? While the desire to attain unattainable beauty standards is nothing new, as a plastic surgeon I feel that the number of individuals seeking this change has surged. The challenge is to set limits to expectations, Dr Shilpi says.

Mental illness

Renee Engeln, psychology professor and author of Beauty Sick: How the Cultural Obsession with Appearance Hurts Girls and Women, says knowing that an image has been modified or edited does not stop the brain from engaging in comparisons.

Body dysmorphic disorder is recognised as a mental illness, where there is focus on very small flaws in the body. Such people may repeatedly seek help from cosmetic surgeons to remove the flaw. Even after it is removed, they have a lot of negative thoughts about themselves, notes Dr Purnima Nagaraja, mental health professional, Dhrithi Wellness Clinic.

Very poor body image results in a lot of anxiety. Even on social media people suffering from this issue keep working on filters to look better, she says.

Sculpting these young minds and setting their expectations right is important because if these individuals get into the unattainable zone, they will keep looking for changes one after another. The various picture editing apps and social media platforms have led to a surge of people reporting to us with photographs of celebrities or their own edited photos, seeking matching physical attributes. The number of minimally invasive procedures have increased manifold over the last decade as people are getting more selfie conscious, says Dr Shilpi.

The most beautiful faces dont have symmetry and the most beautiful things come with baggage. So, whats perfection? Deborah Doris Fell, supermodel, says, No matter what we go through in life, we must always be confident of ourselves. Thats when nothing can touch us. When you love yourself, you slowly learn to accept your flaws and imperfections.

India ranks amongst the top 10 countries with the most successful cosmetic surgeons. We have also witnessed a shift in consumer behaviour, as it has become more inclined towards result-oriented, customized skin-and hair-care rather than mass-produced products

 Chaitanya Nallan, co-founder & CEO, SkinKraft

We have observed people turning off their cameras because of reasons such as acne outbreak, dull skin and skin tone. They see cosmetologists as they want to be confident,

 Dr Jaishree Sharad, celebrity cosmetic dermatologist

This new trend among young individuals could be because of more obsessiveness about oneself. We have been looking at ourselves far more critically than we ever did in the past

 Dr Shilpi Bhadani, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgeon, and founder SB Aesthetics

Body dysmorphic disorder is recognised as a mental illness, where there is focus on very small flaws in the body. Such people may repeatedly seek help from cosmetic surgeons to remove the flaw. Even after it is removed, they have a lot of negative thoughts about themselves

 Dr Purnima Nagaraja, mental health professional, Dhrithi Wellness Clinic

No matter what we go through in life, we must always be confident of ourselves. Thats when nothing can touch us. When you love yourself, you slowly learn to accept your flaws and imperfections

 Deborah Doris Fell, supermodel
Former US president Donald Trump will not testify in next weeks Senate impeachment trial, his spokesman said in a statement last night.

The President will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding, spokesman Jason Miller said.

The statement from Mr Miller came shortly after Mr Trumps defence team responded to Democrat Jamie R askins call for the former president to testify, accusing Democrats of waging a public relations stunt.

As you certainly know, there is no such thing as a negative interference in this unconstitutional proceeding, Mr Trumps attorney Bruce Castor said in a letter to Mr Raskin.

Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you cannot prove your allegations against the 45th President of the United States, who is now a private citizen.

Mr Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager, asked Mr Trump yesterday to provide testimony under oath either before or during his Senate trial scheduled for next week.

The demand suggests the House impeachment managers  who will prosecute the case  intend to pursue an aggressive case against Mr Trump despite the fact that he has left office.

Democrats said they had made the request because Mr Trump disputed critical facts in the case. They accused Mr Trump of inciting an insurrection with his call to supporters to fight like hell against his election defeat shortly before they stormed the Capitol on January 6 in a riot that left five people dead.

Read More

In their filing on Tuesday, Mr Trumps legal team denied that the president incited the attack or intended to disrupt the certification of results by Congress when he urged his followers to march on the Capitol. They also argued that Mr Trumps claims of election fraud were protected under his right to free speech.

In a letter, Mr Raskin asked for testimony about Mr Trumps conduct on January 6 when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in a deadly assault.

The letter, which Mr Raskin sent to Mr Trumps lawyers yesterday, comes two days after the presidents legal team filed papers with the Senate disputing many of the factual allegations in the House managers case.

It invites Mr Trump to testify either before or during his actual impeachment trial, which is set to begin in the Senate on Tuesday  with the recommendation he do so between Monday and February 11.

If you decline this invitation, we reserve any and all rights, including the right to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions (and inaction) on January 6, 2021, Mr Raskin warned in his letter, asking for a response by 5pm today.

The House managers do not have independent authority to subpoena Mr Trump if he denies the request.

In the letter, Mr Raskin pointed out that former presidents Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton had testified to Congress while in office.

Mr Raskin pointed out that since Mr Trump is no longer in off ice, and the Supreme Court has ruled he is not immune to legal proceedings for decisions he made during his tenure in office, he has no excuse to decline.

Meanwhile, Republican conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene told the House she regretted some words of the past ahead of a vote to strip her of her committee assignments. However, she stopped short of an outright apology, with a decision on her position due today.
Ursula von der Leyen accidentally made the case for Brexit while apologising to Europe for the slow pace of her vaccine roll-out today - admitting that solo countries will be quicker at getting things done.

Attempting to justify why the EU signed deals for Covid vaccines weeks or months after the UK, she said on Friday that countries acting alone are 'like a speedboat' while the EU 'is more of a tanker.'

After a week which saw von der Leyen threaten drug-maker AstraZeneca over deliveries of its jab, she was also forced to admit 'underestimating' problems in how the vaccines would be produced and rolled out.

Von der Leyen also said she 'regretted' threatening to block vaccine exports to Britain by imposing a hard border in Ireland, saying: 'We shouldn't even have thought about [it]'.

Ursula von der Leyen accidentally made the argument for Brexit as she apologised for the EU's slow vaccine roll-out today, admitting solo countries will be faster at getting things done

The UK has far outpaced EU countries with its vaccine roll-out, which has seen 14 per cent of the total population jabbed compared to just over 2 per cent on average in Europe

The 64-year-old also conceded that she had made a mistake when promising that 70 per cent of Europeans would be vaccinated by the end of summer, a target that now looks all-but impossible to achieve.

Speaking to Suddeutsche Zeitung and other European outlets in a group interview published Friday, she addded: 'We should have explained that things are moving forward, but slowly, and that there will be problems and delays with these completely new procedures.'

But she continued to insist that having the EU negotiate on behalf of the 27-member bloc was still the right thing to do.

'I can't even imagine what it would have meant for Europe, in terms of unity, if one or more Member States had access to vaccines and not the others,' she said.

Europe's vaccine roll-out has been plagued by delays and delivery problems that has seen the continent vaccinate just over 2 per cent of its population so far, compared to more than 14 per cent in the UK and 8 per cent in the US.

Von der Leyen was also forced to admit 'regret' over an extraordinary spat with the UK and drug-maker AstraZeneca last week, saying she bares responsibility

Late vaccine orders and slow approval for jabs by the continent's medicine agency as well as red tape in member states has all contributed to slow down the process.

But it was thrown into complete disarray last week when AstraZeneca, one of the bloc's main suppliers, cut initial deliveries of its jab by 60 per cent.

That followed an announcement from Pfizer that supplies of its jabs would also be temporarily cut.

That has forced leaders to look elsewhere for jabs, with China and Russia's vaccines both being considered for approval in the bloc in what would be a major PR coup for both regimes.

Scientists voiced alarm after Moscow registered the Sputnik vaccine last summer before Phase III trials had even been completed.

But those doubts were eased on Tuesday after The Lancet published results of trials involving 20,000 volunteers showing an overall 91.6 per cent efficacy rate.

'There are no arguments left for critics of this vaccine, the article in The Lancet is a checkmate,' said Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Von der Leyen (centre) admitted the EU should have told people there would likely be delays and problems with the vaccine roll-out, instead of pushing ahead with amibitious targets

Merkel said this week that 'all vaccines are welcome' in the EU, adding that she had spoken to Vladimir Putin about the Russian-made jab - whose developers have already approached a German firm about joint production.

The chancellor has previously offered Putin the help of Germany's official Paul Ehrlich Institute in assisting Russia with the application process for EU regulators.

In addition, EU leaders themselves have been accused of sowing unjustified doubts about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.

Von der Leyen's European People's Party is today holding an event to promote vaccine use called 'A Jab To Fake News'.

But earlier this week, von der Leyen herself said that the EU had started later because it 'agreed not to compromise' on safety - implying that the UK had done so.

Emmanuel Macron was also criticised for questioning the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been approved by EU regulators.

Separately, Germany and France have both restricted the AstraZeneca jab to under-65s - further limiting their ability to protect the most vulnerable groups.

German regulators pointed to the small sample size of elderly patients in the Oxford/AstraZeneca trial, meaning any effectiveness figure would be meaningless.

But Britain is using the jab for all age groups, with AstraZeneca pointing to trial results showing that 100 per cent of seniors generated antibodies.
Amyris, Inc. announced the results of an e arly clinical study evaluating its 'clean' and fermentation-based topical acne treatment.

Featured: Attacking Acne: OTC Topical Treatments

Conducted by Princeton Consumer Research Corp. (PCR), the study analyzed Amyris's acne formulation, which consists of two of the company's clean, fermentation-based ingredients. The formulation reportedly demonstrated higher efficacy than 10 other standard acne treatments currently available in the United States, measured in terms of magnitude and duration of acne reduction. Additional details are as-yet undisclosed.

Amyris underlined its focus on developing and producing naturally sourced ingredientsin contrast with current acne treatments, which the company notes are formulated with synthetics. As such, this particular formulation provides a new market offering and fits with the clean beauty movement.

"We are pleased with the early clinical results demonstrating the power of our science to address the most common skin care issues," said John Melo, president and chief executive officer of Amyris. "We are working on finalizing our proprietary acne formulation, advancing intellectual property protection and preparing for an accelerated consumer launch. This formulation will further expand Amyris's clean beauty brand leadership, combining our science with high performing products to be sold directly to the consumer."

Previously: Amyris to Acquire Terasana for Cannabinoid Products
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Businesswomen Joanne Russell followed her instincts when she closed her dry-cleaning business to focus on farm and family life. Apart from running the dry-cleaners, she was also working as a florist and says the long hours just were not working for her.

"I knew I needed to make a change. I wanted something more family-friendly and I knew our farm had the potential to be my solution," says Joanne.

Joanne and her husband David decided to dedicate three to four acres of their 97 acre holding to a new agri-tourism business at White Strand near Doonbeg in west Clare.

"Some years back, my father Michael bought land, which was adjoining our land. There was an old farmhouse and two cottages on it, which he renovated and then put up for rent through an agent. In 2017, I took over running the cottages myself. I knew there was also potential for another form of self-catering or glamping accommodation because of the interest we were getting in the cottages," says Joanne.

Wanting something unique and quirky, David came up with the idea of 'camping pods'. These are small, half-moon shaped, wooden structures for guest accommodation.

There was an old orchard on the farm and they reckoned it would be the perfect space for the pods. However, sourcing the materials they needed was not easy.

"We did our research and realised that we couldn't source any of the materials for the pods in Ireland," says Joanne.

Expand Close Joanne and David are now planning to grow the business and build an additional three pods. Photo: Eamon Ward / Facebook

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Whatsapp Joanne and David are now planning to grow the business and build an additional three pods. Photo: Eamon Ward

But with their hearts set on the pod business, they kept looking and eventually located the right materials in the UK.

David prepared the area for the pods and also put in a large shared bathroom, which would be used by both pods. "The bathroom is huge and well equipped. It was actually a bathroom which was due to be fitted in a hotel that never went ahead. We got lucky with it," says Joanne.

When the pod materials arrived, David, along with Michael and Joanne's brother Michael Jnr, built them. "As well as being a beef farmer, David is an electrician by trade, so he wired the pods, which was great," says Joanne.

Joanne and David then got a local kitchen fitter to fit a small kitchen unit in each pod. They sourced a double bed and a sofa bed for each pod from local suppliers and kitted out each pod.

"With the pods having a double bed and a sofa bed each, they can each sleep two adults and two children," says Joanne.

The nearby cottages are fitted with a solid fuel stove, TV and compact kitchen and each has its own courtyard.

"In times gone by, the cottages were actually stables, however by the time Dad bought the land, they had been converted to cottages.

"They were badly run down and there was a lot of work to be done. We have continued to improve them. They had traditional floors, which we had to level out and we also dry-lined each of the cottages," says Joanne.

Staycations

The area surrounding the pods and cottages is securely enclosed, making it ideal for young families. It is also situated just 300m from a Blue Flag beach, making Doonbeg Pods and Cottages an ideal coastal staycation destination.

When Joanne and David got the business ready for the public, they faced a new challenge - getting bookings.

"When we opened up initially, we didn't have a website or a definite way to get our name out there. We started using Booking.com, which we thought was great in the beginning, but they actually take 15pc commission from every booking.

"When you have to pay your tax and VAT, and maintain and clean the pods, cottages and surrounding area, that 15pc makes a big difference," says Joanne.

Her solution was to set up her own website with a direct booking engine.

"Setting up the website was essential, but it didn't generate as much awareness or bookings as we had hoped," she says.

"What really boosted our business and got us bookings was social media. I decided to run a Facebook competition whereby people had to like, comment and share our post for a chance to win a two-night stay in two pods for themselves and their family. It really took off and got our name out there and before I knew it, we were booking out."

She estimates that 90pc of her bookings now come from social media.

"It's a great tool, but you also can spend a lot of time replying to people that might never actually be interested," says Joanne. "The pros outweigh the cons though."

Joanne and David have recently built a camper's kitchen for those staying in the pods.

"It was the one recommendation we kept getting from our customers when we asked for feedback. They would often say if there was one thing we could do with, it was a kitchen facility, so we built one. It has all the essentials, like a stove and toasters, and it can seat eight people. This is our first season with it and it has proven to be a good idea," says Joanne.

Expansion is now on the cards for Doonbeg Pods and Cottages with Joanne planning to add three more pods in the near future.

"Expanding will require a bit of work because we need to get planning permission, a whole new ESB connection and a new septic tank," says Joanne.

"We are also planning on renovating an old shed on the land, which we plan to turn into a space which we can use for retreats and events in the near future.

"We hope it will attract the likes of wellness retreats and/or art classes and retreats."

With summer 2020 proving to be the year for staycations, Joanne and David's business is now fully booked until September.





'We are constantly developing the business - it's not something that happened overnight'

Expand Close Support: Joanne Russell was approved for the ACORNS (Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups) Programme, which is designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural areas / Facebook

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Whatsapp Support: Joanne Russell was approved for the ACORNS (Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups) Programme, which is designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural areas

What level of start-up costs did you incur in setting up the business?

Sourcing the materials for the pods and getting them kitted out and getting the grounds ready for them came to about 25,000, and then the refurbishments we did to the cottages cost around 15,000. In total, we spent about 35,000 getting the place up and running and ready for business.

Was financing readily available from the banks for this type of business?

We didn't apply for anything and it's a regret I have.

Was planning permission required?

Yes, we need to get planning now for our expansion. We are going to erect three more pods and we are going to convert an unused shed into a space, which we hope to use for things such as retreats and events. We need a new septic tank and a new ESB connection.

Did you need a licence or permission from any other Government body?

No, our business is private and we didn't need to register with any bodies.

What grant aid or other assistance was available?

I applied to the BMI FLAGS (Fisheries Local Area Group Development Scheme) for grant aid towards the kitchen we installed, but we haven't heard back from them as of yet. The first round was in April, but I know there were delays due to Covid-19.

What supports bodies/agencies were available to help?

I was approved for the ACORNS (Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-ups) Programme, which is designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland. It's facilitated by lead female entrepreneurs, who have successfully established and grown their businesses in rural Ireland and you get to meet and learn from other Irish female entrepreneurs. It's advice rather than funding. I've met some great people and have become aware of so many other rural businesses through it. I also went to LEADER for advice - they were good when I was starting up.

Was insurance required?

Yes, and it was expensive. I had to get public liability insurance and what is called 'holiday park insurance'. It covers the cottages and the other buildings on the land.

How much time was needed to get your farm business off the ground?

Getting this business off the ground has been slow. This is our third season operating and we are still constantly developing and making improvements. It's not something that happened overnight.

What has been your biggest challenge to date?

When we started, getting the bookings was our biggest challenge and, as I explained, social media really helped with that.

Now business is going great. It sounds ironic, but the weather is probably one of the biggest challenges we face.

It's not something you initially think about, but the weather plays a huge role in this type of business. We currently only open the pods during the summer months as I just don't think they would be as appealing during wetter, colder seasons.

When the weather is wet, it also makes everything harder to clean, especially the pods. It takes a lot longer to get ready for the next arrival.

Is there anything you would do differently if you could go back?

I would have applied for grant aid to assist in starting up the business and I would have put up more than two pods in the beginning.

Senator Bill Hagerty on Thursday, in reaction to President Joe Bidens remarks on foreign policy at the State Department, hit what he calls the Biden "America Last" policy.

Senator Hagerty said, In a major speech today, President Biden outlined a vision for a foreign policy bent on resuming the Obama-Biden Administrations failed approach of multilateralism and appeasement, which ultimately subjugates Americas best interests to those of others. Contrary to President Bidens false assertions, America never stopped leading the world over the last four years. In the Middle East, Israel and our Arab allies are more secure and stable as a result of the Abraham Accords.

"The Trump Administration awakened the world to Communist Chinas predatory diplomatic, economic, technological, military, and moral challenge. And when I served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan, I saw every day the Trump Administration do more than predecessors to strengthen and expand the Quad strategic partnership with Japan, India, and Australia.

As Senator, I will always put America First and never support an America Last foreign policy.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that the situation in Donbas has been aggravated over the past week, and this topic was discussed at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) regarding sanctions against TV channels.

"What happened the day before? What was discussed at the same meeting of the NSDC [regarding sanctions against TV channels] in the president's office? The president had to immediately send Khomchak to the East, to the front line. Because we have a sharp aggravation of the situation over the past week. There is no longer any truce process. Mortars are in action, sniper fire is in action. The war is on," Avakov said on the air of the Right to Power (Pravo na Vladu) program on 1 + 1 TV channel on Thursday evening.

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, the minister said this on the air of the Right to Power (Pravo na Vladu) program on 1 + 1 TV channel.

The Minister of Internal Affairs recommended looking at the decision to impose sanctions against the TV channels TV channels 112 Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK through the prism of the aggravation of the situation in Donbas.

By Catarina Demony and Victoria Waldersee

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's devastating surge in coronavirus infections has finally slowed, to the relief of its overwhelmed health service - but for nurse Marcio Vidal the fight is far from over.

"The problem goes beyond the virus. It is people's behaviour. In the first wave there was fear but now that's gone," said Vidal, 26, who works at a hospital in the southern Algarve and has been on the frontline since March last year.

Portugal, with 13,482 COVID-19 deaths and 748,858 cases, has had the world's highest seven-day rolling average of new cases and deaths per million people for the past fortnight, according to tracker www.ourworldindata.org.

But on Thursday, just 7,914 new cases were detected, less than half of the record 16,432 a week ago. Deaths and hospitalisations also fell for the fourth day in a row.

"Things are a little better, but that doesn't make me feel better. If we unlock like we did before, it'll go back to the same," said Graca Fonseca, 60, on a morning walk in Lisbon.

"We should be doing this bit-by-bit."

(For a graphic on how Portugal is struggling with the virus, click https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/DEATHS/ygdvzazjopw/)

The number of people in intensive care units (ICUs) remains worryingly high. Over 20 military doctors and nurses arrived from Germany on Wednesday to staff a unit fully equipped but with noone to run it. Austria has offered to take in five ICU patients and five with severe illnesses.

'WAITING FOR A BED'

The help is sorely needed.

Vidal's hospital in the Algarve is under-staffed and under-resourced, with ICUs too full for some patients, he said.

"Their health could improve but because we are at maximum capacity people despair ... waiting for a vacant bed or waiting to die," he told Reuters by phone.

"Going to work is agonising. We work 12 hours shifts but it's never 12 hours. It's always more ... Up until mid-last year, things were under control, it was going well, but then it completely collapsed."

Story continues

Nearly 380,000 of Portugal's 10 million people have received one vaccine dose so far, 100,000 of them both, Prime Minister Antonio Costa told reporters on Friday outside a private hospital in Lisbon.

"They called my house, asked if I wanted it, sent me a text about the time - it couldn't have gone better," said Maria do Jesus, 73, as she arrived at a Lisbon health centre.

"I've read up on it and I think having COVID-related problems sounds worse than vaccine-related problems - if I have any, though I hope I don't," she said with a shrug.

Others are still anxiously waiting, discouraged by reports of some people jumping the queue.

"I'm asthmatic, and I don't know when I'll get vaccinated," said Antonio Santiago, 54. "It's a mess. People are getting it who don't have conditions and shouldn't be a priority. But as soon as I'm called, I'm getting it."

(Reporting by Catarina Demony, Victoria Waldersee, and Sergio Goncalves in Lisbon; Francois Murphy in Vienna; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Gaborone  Bazibi Toteng aka Zibos has released her maiden gospel album titled Dithabeng le dithoteng.

In an interview, Toteng said the eight track album was recorded and produced by Kitso Mauchaza at Nice Cut Production Studios in Gaborone and that it was released last month.

She said the album consist of songs such as Thuso e tla tswa kwa go Jehofa, Jona Jona, Yo a fodisang and A re mmineleng among others

Zibos said she regarded the gospel music as a therapy that consoled when things were down. Moreover, she said it was a genre that could be played under and any given circumstance.

"I have always been engaged in music at church and other different social gatherings and whenever I performed, the audience got fascinated. Since the world is now battling with challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt the need to administer prayer through music so as to soothe troubled minds," she said.

Zibos said the track Thuso e tla tswa kwa go Jehofa sends out a message that in any situation either good or bad, people should have faith that God sees them through it all and he would give out the best possible solution.

She also said A re mmineleng was intended to encourage people not to question God, but to give praise in any challenges they encountered.

"People have a tendency to question God, and this shows that some people still have doubts about his capabilities. Through this song I wished to discourage that tendency," she said.

Zibos said recording her album was almost an easy task since her daughter took care of all the monetary charges and other related logistics.

Zibos further said she was aware of the challenges ahead, especially that the music industry was almost saturated with young vibrant artists and other challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I will always strive to be relevant, composing songs that will bring positive changes. At the same time I will always look up to seasoned gospel artists to help me out whenever I am challenged," she said.

Zibos said although she could not engage in any performance due to COVID-19 challenges, she was hopeful that advertising through social media and word of mouth would help to bring in the desired momentum.

Source : BOPA
Uncle Ernies Pub n Grub and The Max Canada  the two adjoining businesses at 235 and 243 W. Washington Street  officially closed their doors early this January. Both businesses were managed by father-son duo, Ernie and Daniel Battinelli.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

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4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

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Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

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There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

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Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

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US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

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Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

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Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

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Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

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We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

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OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

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Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

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France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Vance arrives for a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 20, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Military Police Investigating Misconduct Allegations Against Vance, Defence Department Confirms

The military police have started their investigation into allegations of misconduct against former chief of the defence staff Jonathan Vance, the Defence Department has confirmed.

Vance is alleged to have engaged in inappropriate behaviour with two female subordinates. One is a relationship he had with a woman he significantly outranked. The other is a sexual comment made to a much younger woman in 2012 before he was appointed defence chief, according to a report by Global News on Feb. 2.

The report said Vance acknowledged dating the first woman nearly 20 years ago, but their relationship was never sexual. He said he had no recollection of making the sexual comment to the woman in the second instance, but if he had done so it would have been intended as a joke and he was willing to apologize.

The allegations against Vance come less than a month after he turned over command of the Canadian Armed Forces to Admiral Art McDonald following more than five years in the position.

The former chief could not be reached for comment, and so the allegations against him could not be independently verified.

We can confirm the CFNIS [Canadian Forces National Investigation Service] is investigating this matter, Daniel Le Bouthillier, spokesman of Department of National Defence, said in a statement.

CFNIS is the investigative arm of the Canadian Forces Military Police Group.

In order to preserve the integrity of the investigative process, no additional information can be provided at this time, he added.

Le Bouthillier also said CFNISs investigation is separate from an independent examination that has been ordered by top military officials.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan was asked during question period on Feb. 4 if he was aware of the allegations against Vance, who took over as Canadas defence chief in July 2015.

I have always ensured that any allegations that were brought to my attention were reported to the appropriate authorities to begin an investigation, regardless of rank or position, Sajjan said.

I have always followed all of the appropriate processes in pursuing issues related to workplace harassment whenever allegations have arisen.

We will ensure that a full, thorough and independent investigation is conducted, he added.

With files from The Canadian Press
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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Impact investing firm, i(x) investments, is pleased to acknowledge the exciting milestone of one of its platform companies, WasteFuel, as announced in a February 4, 2021press release. This newly launched partnership between WasteFuel and the worldwide leader in private aviation, NetJets, is a significant leap forward in creating a more sustainable aviation industry.

WasteFuel is a next-generation waste to fuel company that uses proven technology to convert municipal waste into renewable fuels that burn at an 80% reduction in carbon to fossil fuel-based aviation fuel. NetJets has made a significant investment in the company and will purchase 100 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from WasteFuel over the next ten years. The two companies in partnership with leading infrastructure developer Prime Infra are developing a biorefinery in Manila, Philippines which will convert 1 million tons of municipal waste into 30 million gallons of SAF annually. They also have plans to develop additional plants around the world.

"We express our congratulations to Trevor Neilson, Chairman and CEO, and the entire WasteFuel team. Their efforts will have a meaningful, positive outcome in addressing climate change. These WasteFuel biorefineries will decrease carbon emissions while solving the ever-growing global environmental issue of municipal landfills and methane missions," said i(x) investments CEO, Steve Oyer. "This is exactly the type of outcome we envision for our shareholders as we deploy capital into companies like WasteFuel to deliver on our mission of Profit with Purpose."

About i(x) investments

Founded in 2015, i(x) investments is a permanently capitalized holding company for investors who want to create long-term economic growth in combination with positive, measurable social impact. i(x) believes the world's biggest problems are also the biggest market opportunities and invests in areas of human need: Renewable Energy, Green Commercial Real Estate, Gender Equality, Media, Education, Workforce Housing, Technology, Water, Food and Health. The company uses a multi-strategy investment approach throughout the entire capital structure. For more, please visit https://www.ix-investments.com/.

About WasteFuel

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Michelle Keegan was back with a bang as filming for series three of Brassic continued in Manchester on Thursday, after shooting had to be postponed late last year due to a Covid-19 outbreak.

The actress, 33, who plays Erin Croft on the Sky One series, suffered a horror crash as she ran over a drunken reveller in the latest scenes shot by the cast.

Michelle was pictured having an angry fight with the suited man on her friend's hen do, before he flew over the bonnet of her car and smashed her windscreen.

Smash! Michelle Keegan was back with a bang as filming for series three of Brassic continued on Thursday, after shooting had to be postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak

Michelle and the drunken man first shot scenes having a fist fight in the street, and the actress cowered as he swung a punch at her head.

The dramatic sequence of events appeared to reach its height when Michelle got into her car, only to run over the reveller who rolled across her windscreen and the bonnet of her car.

The former Coronation Street star was pictured screaming behind the wheel, while the man's lifeless body lay mere metres away.

Going, going, gone: The actress, 33, who plays Erin Croft on the Sky One series, suffered a horror crash as she ran over a drunken reveller in the latest scenes shot by the cast

Dramatic: Michelle was pictured having an angry fight with the suited man on her friend's hen do, before he flew over the bonnet of her car and smashed her windscreen

Unresponsive: Michelle and her co-star inspected the man who lay lifeless on the stress

Her character was helped out of the car by her two female pals, and the three of them stood at the reveller lying bruised and bloodied and seemingly dead on the ground.

Michelle looked amazing in her leopard miniskirt with a padded coat, yet it was not her looks that stole the show and was instead her epic acting skills amid the brawl.

Filming on Brassic had only just resumed following a Christmas break, but members of the cast and crew were believed to have tested positive for the virus. MailOnline contacted representatives for Sky One for comment at the time.

Fight: The dramatic scenes began with Michelle and the drunken man having a fist fight in the street, with the character cowering in fright as he swung a punch at her head

There he goes: The dramatic sequence of events appeared to reach its height when Michelle got into her car -only to run over the reveller who was pictured rolling across her windscreen and the bonnet of her car

Walk on the wild side: Michelle caught the eye in her tiny mini-skirt which she teamed with black suede thigh-high boots

Preparation: Michelle was spotted chatting to her stunt double in-between takes

Michelle was forced to stop filming last year to isolate as she was exposed to COVID.

While she had come into contact with the virus, she had not contracted it. A source told MailOnline: 'Michelle had to take time away from the Brassic set once again and has been laying low in Essex with her husband Mark Wright.

'She only missed one day of filming. But she needed to isolate after she came into contact with someone in Manchester who had it.

'Luckily it all happened very quickly and Michelle did not return to the Brassic set before isolating. So it didn't affect filming too much.

'She has spent last two weeks in total isolation. She will go back to filming at the end of this week.'

Oh dear: Her character was helped out of the car by her two female pals, and they stood looking at the reveller lying bruised and bloodied and seemingly dead on the ground

Cameras rolling: The scenes are the latest ones to be filmed for series three of the Sky One comedy

Meanwhile, her husband Mark Wright, 33, recently revealed his father Mark Snr is still 'not completely better' and that his family were 'worried for his life' while he was in hospital battling coronavirus.

The former TOWIE star's parents Mark. Snr, 64, and Carol, 60, announced on New Year's Eve they had been struck down by Covid-19.

Mark also revealed that two of his uncles are currently in hospital due to the virus, with his uncle Eddie, 65, the father of his reality star cousin Elliott, in a coma and intensive care unit (ICU).

Brassic follows the story of Lancashire native Vinnie, played by Joe, who suffers from bipolar disorder and his best pal Dylan, played by Damien Molony, who he has been inseparable from since childhood.

Story: Veering between hilarious comedy and heartfelt emotion, Brassic is about irreplaceable, lifelong friends, loyalty and the things that come between them

Comedy: Brassic follows the story of Lancashire native Vinnie, played by Joe, who suffers from bipolar disorder and his best pal Dylan, played by Damien Molony, who he has been inseparable from since childhood

Character: Michelle plays Erin, a single mum seeking a better life for herself and son, Tyler, while navigating complicated relationships with show leads Dylan and Vinnie

The boys have dealt, scammed, bribed and conned their way through adolescence, but now, on the brink of adulthood, their dealing and stealing is catching up with them, with the repercussions of their crimes heading their way.

Michelle plays Erin, a single mum seeking a better life for herself and son, Tyler, while navigating complicated relationships with show leads Dylan and Vinnie.

Veering between hilarious comedy and heartfelt emotion, Brassic is about irreplaceable, lifelong friends, loyalty and the things that come between them.

And despite working with a predominantly male cast, Michelle has insisted that she doesn't mind as she's the 'blokiest one'.

The brunette beauty previously shared: 'The lads invited me in, I never felt like an outsider. I've always got on with everyone.

'It never felt different for me - I literally am the blokiest one. I never felt like I was the only girl. We gelled straight away.'
On Sunday, Olympia police forcibly evicted 45 homeless activists from the Red Lion Hotel, and 12 people were arrested on burglary and trespassing charges. According to the police, the homeless activists had forcibly occupied and attempted to take over the hotel and an employee was said to have been assaulted when they tried to close the door.

The activist group Oly Housing Now (OHN) had booked 17 rooms for the homeless and said they would stay there until Thurston County arranged for permanent housing. The activist group demanded that Thurston County Health Department apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to shelter the countys homeless.

Olympia police on site at occupied hotel in Olympia (Twitter / Jason Rantz)

Police raided the Red Lion Hotel as it was getting dark on Sunday evening. Freelance reporter Shauna Sowersby reported as the arrests were being made, One person [was] brought out in cuffs as police continue to evict people. For reference, there are MANY more police officers here than the day far-right rioters stormed the WA state Governors mansion, just blocks up the road.

Sowesby was referring to the events at Democratic Governor Jay Inslees mansion on January 6, the date of Trumps attempted coup in Washington D.C., in which far-right militia forces jumped the fence and occupied his lawn.

A statement put out by OHN explained, FEMA provides counties 100% funding for houseless people who are over 65 years old or at high risk of contracting COVID to stay in non-congregate shelter. Not only would this save lives by getting people off the streets, but it would also support local businesses by giving hotels money during challenging economic times. They added, Failing to use this money would be irresponsible for both public health and the local economy.

Thurston Countys Homeless Coordinator, Keylee Marineau, went to the Red Lion hotel on Sunday and talked with the activists. She said afterwards, Were actively pursuing avenues to understand how the homeless-specific funds for FEMA work.

Before calling the activists methods unproductive, Democratic Mayor Cheryl Selby said, Making sure our unhoused residents have access to safe and affordable housing has been Olympias priority for more than a decade. Olympia has led on responding to homelessness, on coordinating shelter and other basic needs.

Contrary to the claims of Democratic Party politicians, the housing crisis and homelessness have only worsened over the past decade. The homeless population in Olympia has increased every year, and as of February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic began growing out of control, the per-capita rate of homeless people was 15 out of every 1,000 residents. The severity of the homelessness crisis has dramatically escalated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other activist groups in the state, such as Tacoma Housing Now (THN), are also protesting the handling of the housing crisis. THN undertook a similar occupation-style protest on December 25, 2020, in which the group occupied the Port of Tacoma Travelodge to demand emergency pandemic housing.

THN noted at the time: While the City of Tacoma claims to provide hotel vouchers for houseless people, nobody weve talked to has ever seen these mysterious vouchers. Since the City is failing to house everyone in the middle of a world-historical pandemic, were housing people instead.

On January 30, the organization gathered trash from homeless encampments and dumped over two hundred bags of it in front of an unelected city managers house, issuing demands for trash collective services and housing for the homeless population.

Upon learning about the Oly Housing Now arrests, THN expressed solidarity, stating, We are sorry to report that the Red Lion is being raided right now. Houseless people are being evicted into the rain in the name of profit. Capitalism is the problem and the end of capitalism (and the police who protect it) is the only solution.

Similar actions are being launched throughout the US in response to the indifference of the ruling class to the growing homelessness crisis triggered by the pandemic. On January 27, protesters in San Jose, California surrounded the courthouse and blocked eviction hearings at Santa Clara County Superior Court. Nine demonstrators were arrested by sheriffs deputies while protesters chanted, Fight, fight, fight! Housing is a human right! The protest was organized by the Regional Tenant Organizing Network which demands better protections for tenants with lost wages and unemployment. Tony Samara, the program director at Urban Habitat, told the Mercury News, The fact that evictions are occurring during a pandemic is unconscionable.

In Kansas City, Missouri on January 28, protestors blocked the doorways of the Jackson County Courthouse and claimed to have disruptors inside the building to block eviction hearings. Evictions were being resumed after having been paused by Presiding Judge J. Dale Youngs after sheriffs deputies shot and injured a man while serving an eviction order in Blue Springs in early January.

The protestors demanded a suspension of all evictions while the COVID-19 pandemic continues. One of the protesters, Jenay Manley told Fox4KC, People are getting evicted in the middle of the pandemic. People cant afford the rent right now. And assistance is not doing nearly enough. And tenants are constantly being evicted during a pandemic, making the numbers higher and literally killing people. We know every eviction is an act of violence.

In Detroit, the Detroit Eviction Defense and Detroit Will Breathe protest groups held a demonstration on Saturday, January 16 in defense of Whitney Burney whom they said was illegally evicted after spurning her landlords advances. The mother of four children was evicted in December with the help of Detroit police officers.

In Portland, Oregon, the Kinney family was forcibly evicted from their Red House by Multnomah County sheriffs in September of 2020. Activists have gathered at the home since the eviction to protest predatory lending and gentrification development, as well as the eviction during the pandemic of a family who owned the home since 1995 when William Kinney, Jr. bought it from his parents. In December, the police and sheriffs evicted residents and confronted protesters at the Red House on Mississippi Ave. while arresting seven people. The conflict escalated and saw police retreat and 200 activists reoccupied the property. On December 8, Mayor Ted Wheeler told the police to use all lawful means to end the illegal occupation and stated, there will be no autonomous zone in Portland.

With almost 3.7 million global COVID-19 cases reported in the last week, the pandemic shows no signs of letting up. The pandemic has deepened the social crisis, contributing to a staggering rise in income inequality, poverty, and death amongst the working class. While the wealthy have added hundreds of billions of dollars to their coffers, millions of workers have been laid off or lost their jobs after their employers shutdown and are unable to pay their rent or bills. Evicting people in the middle of winter during this pandemic is not just unconscionable, it is homicidal.

The pandemic has exposed the nature of capitalism which places protecting profits over protecting human lives. The Democratic and Republican parties defend this system, whatever their tactical differences may be. They will continue to respond to rising social opposition not by granting concessions, but with repression.

We call on workers and the unemployed, including those who have been evicted from their homes, to form neighborhood safety committees to fight against evictions and for housing as a basic human right. These committees must be independent of and hostile to the Democrats, Republicans, and all their political satellites. Rather than turning to the ruling class, these committees must turn to the masses of educators, healthcare workers, logistics and manufacturing workers, and beyond, as part of the fight to meet the needs of the working class and end this pandemic. Safe housing is a basic social right and a scientific necessity for bringing the pandemic under control. The fight against evictions is the fight for socialism.
A former caseworker for New Jerseys child protection agency - who was fired from an Atlantic City elementary school teaching job after allegations of inappropriate conduct with students before being hired by the state - admitted Thursday to creating images of child sexual abuse, according to court papers and prosecutors.

Kayan Frazier pleaded guilty via video conference in Camden federal court to one count of producing images of child pornography, New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said in a statement. Frazier has remained in custody since his arrest July 12, 2019.

Based on a report that child pornography was uploaded via microblogging site Tumblr, authorities traced the files to Frazier, who was at the time employed as a case worker for the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency, an agency within the Department of Children and Families, court documents show.

Atlantic County Prosecutors Office investigators served a search warrant at Fraziers Somers Point residence in April 2019 and found him with an underage boy, who he falsely claimed was his son, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. Law enforcement officers recovered thousands of images of children being sexually abused on his cell phone and other devices, officials said.

Some of the files included images Frazier took of a boy in his apartment and he admitted he took the pictures with his phone, according to court documents.

Frazier faces a possible mandatory minimum 15 years in prison and maximum 30-year term when he is sentenced in June, officials said.

The federal charges came after Frazier was charged by Atlantic County prosecutors. He was also investigated by the same state child protection agency that later hired him, according to court papers.

Frazier was fired in March 2017 from a full-time substitute teaching job at an unnamed elementary school in Atlantic City after allegations that he allowed a young minor male student to visit his home and sleep in his bed, an FBI special agent wrote in a 2019 complaint. He was also accused of texting with a 9-year-old student after hours, which violated the schools policy.

Officials with the state Department of Children and Families Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit investigated, but Frazier denied any inappropriate conduct and said he was mentoring the boy, according to the complaint. There were no allegations of sexual abuse at the time.

Still, the school fired Frazier based on the state investigation, according to the agents account. Records show he was hired as a child welfare caseworker in September 2017 after being fired from his teaching job.

A Department of Children and Families spokesman previously told NJ Advance Media that confidentiality laws prevent the agency from discussing specific investigations, but all employees are subject to background checks and screenings for abuse cases.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com.
The brutal deportation of three Austrian-born minors last week clearly shows that the parties involved in the Austrian coalition governmentincluding, above all the Greenshave fully adopted the policies of the far-right Freedom Party.

Last Thursday, a group of people, including three minors, were taken from a deportation centre in Vienna-Simmering and flown to Georgia and Armenia. Around 160 people protested against the deportations.

Police drag away a protester (video clip)

The deportation of women and children was carried out with precision and extreme brutality by a large contingent of police. According to several observers at the scene, special police units were present wearing masks and accompanied by police dogs. Witnesses compared the police action to an anti-terrorist operation. According to several participants in the protests, the security forces made fun of their victims, making clearly audible, derogatory remarks aimed at provoking resistance.

When sit-ins were organised in front of the deportation centre to prevent the group from being forced to travel to the airport, police brutally attacked the peaceful protesters. According to a report in the German weekly Der Freitag, shortly before 5 a.m. police declared that this assembly had assumed a character threatening public order and would be dispersed.

Shortly afterwards, according to the report, everything happened very quickly. Someone shouted an incomprehensible command. then there were kicks, blows and screams. The police forcefully dragged people away, along the asphalt. Individual policemen beat peaceful demonstrators who fell to the ground or were only just caught from hitting the ground by bystanders. Some young people fought back, but only briefly. Then the vehicles left for the airport.

The deportations have been sharply criticised and on the same day, around 1,000 people gathered in the centre of Vienna to demonstrate against this inhumane policy.

Among those grabbed for deportation were two girls, Tina (12) and Lea (5), as well as their mother. They were flown to Georgia, their mothers home country. Both children were born and raised in Austria. Numerous classmates, teachers and friends campaigned for the family to be able to stay in Vienna. Just one day before the deportations, several classmates came to the deportation prison to say goodbye to Tina through barred windows. Many expressed their bewilderment, anger and sadness in interviews.

The family lacks any prospects for the future in Georgiaa country which is completely foreign to the children. The former Soviet republic, ruled by rival cliques of oligarchs, is plagued by disastrous political, economic and social conditions. Although the Georgian authorities regularly and brutally suppress all forms of opposition, the country was classified as a safe country of origin by Austria in 2016.

Half of all workers are employed in agriculture, working largely under precarious conditions. Unemployment and poverty are rampant, and the coronavirus pandemic has merely exacerbated the situation. According to the World Bank, Georgias gross domestic product fell by about 6 percent last year and according to official figures, the coronavirus has claimed more than 3,000 lives in the country.

The situation is even worse in Armenia, where another child was deported. The Austrian Foreign Ministry has currently issued a level 6 travel warning for the country. Even after the end of recent hostilities with neighbouring Azerbaijan, the situation remains highly unstable. Tens of thousands who fled the contested areas have still not returned, and the war has further aggravated an already dire social and economic situation. The pandemic rages unchecked, and in January, hundreds of sick people could no longer be treated in the countrys clinics.

Undeterred, the governing coalition in Austria of the conservative Peoples Party (OVP) and the Greens justified the deportations. The notoriously right-wing interior minister, Karl Nehammer (OVP), blamed the family for the deportation, brazenly declaring it was a case of asylum abuse.

As they have done many times before, the Greens tried to hide their involvement in right-wing government policies with a few crocodile tears. Green Federal President Alexander van der Bellen declared in a video on Twitter: I cannot and will not believe that we live in a country where this is really necessary in this form. Other Greens, such as Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler, also joined the chorus of hypocrisy, declaring that the deportation had been inhumane.

This posturing, however, cannot hide the fact that the Greens have taken over the role of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which quit the government in 2019. From the start of their period in government, the OVP and the Greens agreed to continue the right-wing programme of the FPO with regard to immigration and asylum policy. Like other OVP ministers, Nehammer explicitly emphasised at the beginning of the coalition that he would not change course.

At the same time, Kogler has left no doubt that he plans to continue the coalition despite the deportations. In the past, the existing asylum laws had been passed without his partys consent, the vice-chancellor said. Other parliamentary majorities would be needed to change the laws.

The Green minister of health, Rudolf Anschober, argued in similar fashion. In an interview with Puls 24, he said, My God, we are in government so we can contribute to making things better. That succeeds on many days, on some days unfortunately not.

In 2020, the OVP and the Greens gave their consent to around 900 deportations. The fact that fewer people were deported in 2020 than in previous years was only due to the pandemic. Apparently, however, the OVP and the Greens want to increase the number of deportations again this year, as the opposition FPO recently demanded. Last year, the Greens, together with the OVP and FPO, voted against accepting refugees from the Greek refugee camp Moria.

The transparent attempt by Austrian Socialist Party (SPO) leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner to make political capital out of the deportations is doomed to fail. As a mother, I am stunned that well-integrated children are torn away and deported to a foreign country, Rendi-Wagner wrote on Twitter.

In fact, the Social Democrats together with the OVP have constantly tightened asylum legislation in recent years and laid the groundwork for the deportations. In 2016, the SPO and OVP agreed to the so-called emergency regulation to limit asylum applications. This means that only a few groups of refugees are now given an opportunity to apply for asylum if the government sees a threat to public order and internal security in Austria due to an increased number of asylum seekers.

Viennas SPO mayor Michael Ludwig also spoke out against the deportations. In fact, Ludwig has long been an advocate of a strict asylum and immigration policy. Last spring, together with his party colleague and right-wing hardliner, Hans Peter Doskozil, head of the Burgenland provincial government, Ludwig spoke out against accepting asylum seekers from the Greek islands. Ludwig said at the time that, although there were free capacities in Austria, he saw no reason for such a step.

JACKSON COUNTY, Mississippi -- The body of a Latimer man was found inside a burned mobile home Thursday morning.

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said firefighters and deputies responded to a call of a residential fire on Dantzler Road in the Latimer community about 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

When they arrived, the trailer was completely engulfed in flames. After firefighters extinguished the flames, a male body was found inside the trailer.

Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd said Friday the body has been sent to the state medical examiners office for identification.
Vijay Sethupathi, the talented actor is all set to join hands with National award-winning filmmaker Vetrimaaran, for his upcoming Soori starrer. The untitled project marks the first collaboration of the actor-director duo. In a recent interview given to the media, Vetrimaaran revealed some exciting details about Vijay Sethupathi's role in the highly anticipated project.

According to Vetrimaaran, the character played by Vijay Sethupathi is the film's hero, while Soori's character is the story's hero. "The narrative progresses through the character played by Soori, while Vijay Sethupathi's essays a very important role," explained the talented filmmaker who is all excited to join hands with the Makkal Selvan.

The Master actor, on the other hand, confirmed that Soori is indeed playing the protagonist of the film. According to Vijay Sethupathi, it was his long-time dream to team up with Vetrimaaran for a project, and things fell in place this time. The Makkal Selvan also stated that he is extremely happy and proud to be a part of this venture.

During his media interaction, Vetrimaaran also revealed that the team has finished the first schedule shooting of the Soori starrer. Ilaiyaraaja, the veteran musician has been roped in to compose the songs and original score for the highly anticipated project. The untitled Vetrimaaran directorial is bankrolled by the banner Grassroot Company.

Coming to Vijay Sethupathi's acting career, the talented actor is on a signing spree, and has some highly promising projects in the pipeline. The Makkal Selvan will be next seen in the upcoming satirical comedy Tughlaq Durbar. He is also playing a pivotal role in the upcoming Netflix web series Navarasa, which is produced by Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies.

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A kitten from Corpus Christi has made it to the pros  well sort of.

'Princess Cecily' will be participating in the Hallmark Kitten Bowl VIII on Super Bowl Sunday.



Many of her followers on social media will be cheering on the kitty-cat some even are asking for her 'pawograph' after.



Going hand in hand with her name, Princess Cecily is one feline fashionista. From tutus to crowns, her Instagram is filled with sassy outfits she models for the camera.
I have done so many COVID tests I have ruined my nose and my throat, he says. This is the way Im repaying my gratitude to Australia and its people for giving me the opportunity to complete my dream of becoming a healthcare professional which I could not complete in Myanmar due to persecution against our Rohingya ethnicity. The Myanmar government and its military claim the Rohingya arrived as migrant workers in what was then British Burma, and deny them citizenship and statehood, despite evidence of their arrival in the 15th century. Over decades, religious fights have seen Buddhas removed, Muslim shops burnt and Rohingya militia attacks in retaliation. But those sectarian conflicts escalated sharply in 2017 when the Myanmar military began to evict an estimated 700,000 Rohingya out of Rakhine state in the countrys north, allegedly murdering and raping along the way. The United Nations has called the Rohingya the most persecuted minority in the world. For the displaced, the great hope of Suu Kyis victory was squandered not long after her rise to power. Daw - or Aunty, as she is dubbed in Burmese - would not say the name of the ethnic group before defending the actions of the military in driving the stateless people out of her country. That stance did little for Suu Kyis own long-term safety this week. The international democracy icon was put back under house arrest by the military on dubious claims of election fraud and importing banned walkie-talkies. After five years of quasi-democratic rule, the generals were still not satisfied with their level of power in a country they ruled for a half-century.

It is only going to get worse for the Rohingya, says Roger Lee Huang, a Myanmar political violence expert from Macquarie University. Suu Kyi, the National Democratic League and the public largely supported the actions of the military, but the military was in charge of the crimes against humanity. It now has free rein to continue to do what it says is necessary for national security. Unable to return to Myanmar for fear of persecution, these Rohingya refugees are on a Bangladesh navy vessel being moved from an overcrowded camp on the mainland to Bhasan Char island in late December. Credit:Getty Images Stuck in Myanmars cycle of reprisal is Ahmeds fiancee Omme. She asked only to be identified by her first name for safety reasons.

For three years she has been trying to get to Australia. Their wedding has been cancelled four times. She is trapped in Coxs Bazar, near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, along with hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled the 2017 violence. The worlds largest refugee camp has been plagued for years by overcrowding, poor sanitation, cholera, diphtheria and sexual assault. In December, Bangladeshi authorities began relocating Rohingyas to the remote Bhasan Char island. By January there were 3500 living on the tsunami and flood-prone outpost, three hours from the nearest port. The island, which did not even exist until the Bay of Bengals waters receded in 2011, will eventually house 100,000 Rohingya in towering blocks, forbidden to leave without permission from Bangladeshs government. Omme has been told she is on the relocation list. She is terrified it will become her new home. Shelters cover a hill in Jamtoli Camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh. Coxs Bazar is home to more 700,000 Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar during a military crackdown in August 2017. Credit:Kate Geraghty I am in constant fear of losing her, says Ahmed. She lives with perpetual fear and anxiety.

Omme is a registered Rohingya refugee with UNHCR in Bangladesh, but Australia has suspended all humanitarian migration since March due to COVID-19. After spending two years in a queue for a prospective marriage visa before the coronavirus struck, she is now being blocked by travel restrictions triggered by the disease that Ahmed is helping Australia treat. Ahmed spends his days at the hospital and his nights writing applications for Omme, an aspiring nurse, in the hope that one will get through the Department of Home Affairs. I teach her English through phone calls, WhatsApp and Viber messages, he says. The pair cannot get formally married because Myanmar and Bangladeshs authorities will not recognise Ommes nationality. The Australian government does not regard them as immediate family members because they are not married, despite Ahmed flying back multiple times to Bangladesh to see his wife-to-be. The accomodation on Bhasan Char island. Credit:AP

Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa holders are not exempt from the governments current travel ban because they are not permanent residents and have not yet been assessed as immediate family members of Australian citizens or permanent residents, the Department of Home Affairs said in response to Ahmeds claim. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke was asked when the humanitarian or prospective marriage intake might restart, or whether special exemptions were possible for frontline COVID-19 workers. He did not respond. Loading They should just be more compassionate about seeing each case on its own merit, not treating people like criminals, says Lindsay. Ahmed or Omme cannot return to Myanmar either. Ahmeds father left for Australia in 1997 on a humanitarian visa after criticising the military regime that now rules the country by decree.

When I talk to Omme over the phone, she keeps asking me with tears, when will I see you again, when will we be together?, says Ahmed. These questions really break my heart. The treatment of the Rohingya has not been the only disappointment of Suu Kyis brief reign. After what was seen as a Mandela-like 15 years in detention, the weight of expectation created an almost impossible benchmark for change in the resource-rich but productivity-poor country. The Myanmar gold rush never happened. It did not perform the way it was expected to, says Huang. It did grow quickly but then of course Western investments never matched the expectation. The situation with the Rohingya clearly put investors off further. Aaron Connelly, a South-east Asian politics expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, says the country remains beset by structural impediments, few of which were removed by Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD).

She has actually been very ineffective in managing the economy and the civil administration, he says. A robust opposition would have been able to capitalise on economic disenchantment, but the militarys political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, went backwards at the elections in November, winning just 33 seats. Aung San Suu Kyi has lost a power struggle with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, right. Credit:AP That left Suu Kyis NLD with 396 of 476 seats in the legislature, despite the military being guaranteed 25 per cent of seats as part of its negotiations to transition the country to democracy a decade ago. The Tatmadaw, as the armed forces are known, for all of its military prowess, is an incompetent political force that has failed to win seats each time there has been a genuine election.

The military thought they had a chance of winning the election, says Connelly. The result last year was embarrassing, it was humiliating. Retribution was swift. Once the election commission rejected the militarys unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and negotiations broke down with the NLD, the Tatmadaw arrested Suu Kyi and 24 other MPs. Then it went after students and declared a year-long state of emergency, shut down the internet, blocked Facebook and turned off TV stations. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video They are arresting people who are not only NLD allies but also people who could lead protests against the crackdown, says Connelly. They are going after anybody who could take part in a protest movement. Suu Kyi was charged with illegally importing communications equipment on Wednesday. Six walkie-talkie radios were found in her house in the capital, Naypyidaw. She will be detained until at least February 15.
Just recently, the makers of Trip unveiled a brand new poster featuring Sunaina and Yogi Babu. With the intriguing poster, the team had also announced the release date of the highly anticipated film. Well, today (February 5, 2021) the film written and directed by Dennis Manjunath has finally hit the theatres.

The film has been garnering huge applause from the audience for its story-line, action sequences and dialogues of actors especially Yogi Babu. On the other hand, Sunaina's sequence with an American Pit Bull Terrier has also received huge appreciation from the movie-goers.

Touted to be a comedy thriller, the film has been majorly shot inside a dense forest. The film revolves around a group of backpackers who are on an adventurous trip to a wild forest. Their encounter with another group results in some unexpected events, which is said to be the crux of the film.

Karunakaran, Mottai Rajendran, Praveen Kumar are the supporting cast of Trip. The breathtaking visuals of the woods have been captured by cinematographer Udayashankar G beautifully, while the music for the film is composed by Siddhu Kumar.

Backed by Viswanathan A under his home production banner Sai Film Studios, Trip was launched on September 11, 2019. The film was reportedly shot in Talakona forest and Kodaikanal.

Well, as the film garners a positive response from the audience, let us see what netizens have to say about Sunaina's Trip.

Kavin karthik@Kavinkarthik19

Dai ena padam da idhu hair mari iruku #TripFromToday

J.D @17Master_

#Trip Desent One

Prashanth Rangaswamy @itisprashanth

#Trip interval - They have tried their best to make people laugh. Glad yogi babu and karunakaran are there.

Prashanth Rangaswamy @itisprashanth

Yogi babu has used pretty much every dialogue he likes in the dubbing. From naming his josiyar to gakaching hero for acting in the very movie ! #Trip

Also Read: IT'S OFFICIAL: Silambarasan, Gautham Menon & AR Rahman To Join Hands Again!

Also Read: Maanaadu Teaser Release: Silambarasan Is On 'Rewind' Action Mode!
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(Photo : Screenshot From Android Police YouTube) Changhong H2 Special Sensors Tell Users How Sweet Their Food is and Their Body Fat Levels

A certain phone that utilizes "see-through" vision might sound like something coming out of a science-fiction, however, one device announced at CES 2017 and it comes close to exactly that. The phone uses a near-infrared spectrometer and is called the Changhong H2 which can determine how fresh a product is, if a medicine is fake, or even a person's body fat percentage.

Changhong H2 molecule sensor

According to an article by CNet, the Changhong H2 does this by simply shining a light directly onto objects like medicine, fruit, or even on skin which will penetrate the surface. The molecules coming from the object will then send back light in certain different ways and this particular information then gets beamed up to the cloud database where it is then processed and analyzed.

The technology was first seen from the very same company called Consumer Physics during last year's CES when it was still $250 using a standalone sensor called the SCiO. During that time, the sensor reportedly worked along with a certain phone app which would need users to pay a monthly subscription to use.

Chinese phone manufacturer

During this time though, the company has been able to team up with a certain Chinese phone manufacturer called Changhong to produce a phone with the sensor already fully integrated. The sensor is reportedly located at the back of the Changhong H2 handset. The phone is said to be preloaded with certain apps that will be able to analyze different things.

Scanning would only take just a few moments and the said apps also have a particular easy-to-use interface that would make using the sensor very quick and easy. The phone was also reportedly displayed with a big red exclamation point when it had scanned a counterfeit pill. Measuring a person's BMI reportedly only took just a few seconds when plugging in height, weight, and also age info.

Read Also: Huawei Mate X2 Foldable Phone Launches Feb 22: Specs, Price, and More

Counterfeit medicine sensor

While the particular scanning concept is known to be pretty cool, the phone should reportedly be taken along with a grain of salt due to no particularly perfect method that can determine body fat aside from getting an accurate medical body scan inside a lab. Counterfeit medicine is also reportedly a serious problem and users should avoid taking a certain batch of pills especially if they are suspicious regarding its authenticity regardless of what a particular sensor would say.

In addition, the pricing information for the Changhong H2 has been set at a whopping 2,999 Chinese yuan. However, other pricings have not yet been announced. This converts to a whopping $433. However, the phone might be expected to cost more than that price as the sensor in itself would already cost $250. The cost could go up especially due to the Android 6-inch HD smartphone being added. A YouTube video also includes the Changhong H2 as part of the unbelievable smartphones of 2020.

Related Article: Vivo S9 Would be First to Feature MediaTek Dimensity 1100 6nm Chips: Specs, Price, Release Date, and MORE

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian Buenconsejo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The head of the newly formed U.S. Army Europe and Africa command said he wants a new fires command to track and destroy long-range enemy targets on both continents.

A theater fires command is among the additional assets Gen. Chistopher Cavoli wants to bring to the region, even as the U.S. put a plan to withdraw about 12,000 troops from Germany on hold while the Pentagon conducts a long-term review of the move.

Since taking over the consolidated command in October, Cavoli has realized there are advantages to looking at security across the entire hemisphere rather than breaking it up by geographic boundaries, he said.

Read Next: Idaho National Guard Identifies 3 Soldiers Killed in Black Hawk Crash

As the former commander of U.S. Army Europe, "I had natural relationships with all of our European allies' armies," Cavoli said during an Association of the United States Army event.

"But when some of them would want to discuss their operations or their interests in Africa, I would have to kind of wave that off because that was not my area of responsibility," he said. "Now, it is. Now, I can have that conversation. ... It gives us the opportunity to think hemispherically and think across the entire hemisphere about security."

Creating a theater fires command -- which is in line with the Army's top modernization priority of long-range precision fires -- would "bring an enormous capability" to keep track of potential targets in the region and be ready to destroy them if a conflict arises, Cavoli said.

He did not give a timeline for when or where the new fires command would be created.

Cavoli said he is hopeful that the Army will follow its plan to create a multi-domain task force, or MDTF, in Europe this year, which should include soldiers with specialties to enhance a commander's ability to respond to threats across domains, including intelligence, information operations, electronic warfare, cyber and space.

Story continues

The Army's first MDTF -- which emerged out of a pilot program -- is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and focused on the Pacific region, Cavoli said.

"The capabilities that the multi-domain task force will bring ... and the expertise it will bring are going to be very, very important to updating where we plan to operate on the European continent and extend that to Africa continent," Cavoli said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: US Halts Plans to Move 12,000 Troops Out of Germany
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Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned the Biden Administration against the mishandling of China as it will result to grave effects in the world.

Breitbart reported that Pompeo warned President Joseph Biden, Jr. if he mishandles China since it will result to a "deeply different" world, saying that there will be an "absence of prosperity" that the United States would see in such a case.

"If we get this wrong, Maria, we will live in a world that is so deeply different. We will see these sanctions on our leaders pale in comparison to the pain and the absence of prosperity that will be here in the United States of America if we don't get this right," Pompeo told Fox Business' "Mornings With Maria" host Maria Bartiromo in an interview.

"This policy with China matters," Pompeo added, "to every one of the people who is out there seeking employment."

Pompeo raised the accomplishments he did in his time in office during the administration of former President Donald Trump where he led the protection of American jobs, businesses, and intellectual property right from China.

"It's one of the things that I'm proudest of that we did. We protected American jobs. We protected American businesses. We made sure that our intellectual property was in a better place. These are the things that will ultimately matter," he raised.

He also conveyed his hope that the Biden Administration will focus on these aspects to ensure they give importance to the China policy.

"I hope this administration will hear these voices. The American people are now aware. What happened in COVID didn't have to happen. All the millions of jobs that were lost as a result of the Wuhan virus didn't have to happen," he stated. "But the Chinese Communist Party acted in a way that created enormous risk, hundreds of thousands of lives lost here in the United States and billions of dollars in personal income for ordinary people all across America. Those are the things I really hope the administration will focus on."

Breitbart said that Pompeo's remarks come after Biden's silence to China's sanctions against 28 Americans.

Biden recently announced that his administration is willing to work with China if it is "in America's interest," Breitbart said in another report.

"We're willing to work with Beijing when it's in America's interest to do so," Biden said during a State Department speech on his approach to diplomacy.

"We'll also take on directly the challenges posed by our prosperity, security, and democratic values by our most serious competitor, China," he pointed out.

As per Breitbart, Biden focused mainly in restoring diplomatic relations with China to ensure America's influence in "global leadership" and competition but did not delve on China's suppression of democracy in Taiwan nor in failing to stop the global spread of the coronavirus during his speech. He did say that he will be leading the example on issues on climate change for the rest of the international community.
French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his call for European "strategic autonomy" at an Atlantic Council forum on Thursday, saying, Our duty, definitely, is not to put ourselves in a situation to depend on a U.S. decision.

Why it matters: It will disappoint some in Washington to hear Macron apply that framework to competition between the U.S. and China.

If Europe and its partners pursue a strategy of "join all together against China," Macron said, that will only cause China to "increase its regional strategy" and reduce its cooperation on global issues.

But Europe also can't treat China fully as a partner, on par with the U.S., because China is a systemic rival when it comes to values and geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific.

Europe, then, must team up with the U.S. on certain issues, work with China where possible and "try to be the useful player to push China not to diverge anymore."

Macron set out four priorities when it comes to China:

Working with the permanent members of the UN Security Council to seek convergence on security issues. Cooperating with China on climate change. Strengthening protections for intellectual property and equitable trade. Challenging China on human rights.

More takeaways:

On Russia, Macron reiterated his position that regular dialogue with Russia is important for Europe's security, even as some colleagues seek to isolate Vladimir Putin.

Macron reiterated his position that regular dialogue with Russia is important for Europe's security, even as some colleagues seek to isolate Vladimir Putin. On Iran, Macron said he welcomed Biden's desire for negotiations with Iran and said, "I will be here ... to try to be an honest broker and a committed broker in this dialogue." He added that Israel and Saudi Arabia should be brought in, and issues like ballistic missiles should be on the table.

Worth noting: Macron blasted social media networks for their decisions to suddenly cut the mic as soon as they were sure Donald Trump was leaving power.

Go deeper: Macron blasts social media platforms for banning Trump
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Berger Montague regarding the Precision Castparts Corp. Securities Settlement:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF OREGON

PORTLAND DIVISION NECA-IBEW PENSION TRUST FUND (The

Decatur Plan), and ANN F. LYNCH, AS

TRUSTEE FOR THE ANGELA LOHMANN

REVOCABLE TRUST, Individually and on

Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs, vs. PRECISION CASTPARTS CORP., MARK

DONEGAN, DON R. GRABER, LESTER L.

LYLES, DANIEL J. MURPHY, VERNON E.

OECHSLE, ULRICH SCHMIDT, RICHARD

L. WAMBOLD and TIMOTHY A. WICKS, Defendants. No. 3:16-cv-01756-YY CLASS ACTION SUMMARY NOTICE

TO: ALL PERSONS WHO PURCHASED, SOLD, OR HELD PRECISION CASTPARTS CORP. ("PRECISION") COMMON STOCK DURING THE PERIOD FROM AND INCLUDING OCTOBER 9, 2015, THE RECORD DATE FOR PRECISION'S SPECIAL MEETING REGARDING THE SALE OF PRECISION TO BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. (THE "MERGER"), THROUGH AND INCLUDING THE CONSUMMATION OF THE MERGER ON JANUARY 29, 2016 (THE "CLASS").

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to an Order of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, Portland Division, that a hearing will be held on May 7, 2021, at 1:00 p.m., before the Honorable Youlee Yim You at the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, Portland Division, United States Federal Building and Courthouse, 1000 S.W. Third Ave., Portland, Oregon 97204, for the purpose of determining: (1) whether the proposed Settlement[1] of the Litigation for $21 million should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) whether a Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal with Prejudice should be entered by the Court dismissing the Litigation with prejudice and releasing the Released Claims; (3) whether the Plan of Allocation for the Net Settlement Fund is fair, reasonable, and adequate and should be approved; and (4) whether the application of Lead Counsel for the payment of attorneys' fees and expenses and any award to Lead Plaintiffs pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 78u-4(a)(4) should be approved.[2]

IF YOU PURCHASED, SOLD OR HELD PRECISION COMMON STOCK DURING THE PERIOD FROM AND INCLUDING OCTOBER 9, 2015 THROUGH AND INCLUDING JANUARY 29, 2016, YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF THIS LITIGATION, INCLUDING THE RELEASE AND EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS YOU MAY POSSESS RELATING TO YOUR OWNERSHIP OF PRECISION COMMON STOCK DURING THE CLASS PERIOD. If you have not received a detailed Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action ("Notice") and a copy of the Proof of Claim and Release form, you may obtain copies by writing to Precision Shareholder Litigation, c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC, Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 43365, Providence, RI 02940-3365, or on the Internet at www.PrecisionShareholderLitigation.com. If you are a Class Member, in order to share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, you must submit a Proof of Claim and Release by mail (postmarked no later than May 6, 2021), or online at www.PrecisionShareholderLitigation.com no later than May 6, 2021, establishing that you are entitled to recovery.

If you purchased or acquired Precision common stock during the Class Period, and you desire to be excluded from the Class, you must submit a request for exclusion so that it is postmarked no later than April 16, 2021, in the manner and form explained in the detailed Notice referred to above. All Members of the Class who do not timely and validly request exclusion from the Class will be bound by any judgment entered in the Litigation pursuant to the Stipulation of Settlement.

Any objection to the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, Lead Counsel's request for attorneys' fees and expenses, or Lead Counsel's request for time and expenses must be received by each of the following recipients no later than April 16, 2021:

CLERK OF THE COURT

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF OREGON

PORTLAND DIVISION

United States Federal Building and Courthouse

1000 S.W. Third Avenue

Portland, OR 97204

Lead Counsel:

ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP

A. Rick Atwood, Jr.

Esther Lee Bylsma

655 West Broadway, Suite 1900

San Diego, CA 92101

BERGER MONTAGUE PC

Lawrence Deutsch

1818 Market Street, Suite 3600

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Counsel for Defendants:

CRAVATH, SWAINE & MOORE, LLP

Justin C. Clarke

825 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10019-7475

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE. If you have any questions about the Settlement, you may contact Lead Counsel at the address listed above.

DATED: January 15, 2021 BY ORDER OF THE COURT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF OREGON

Please contact:

Jacob M. Polakoff

Senior Counsel

Berger Montague

(215) 875-5816

[email protected]

1 Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein have the meaning given to them in the Stipulation of Settlement.

2 In light of the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Court may decide to conduct the Final Approval Hearing by video or telephone conference, or otherwise allow Class Members to appear at the hearing by telephone or video without further notice to the Class. No further notice of such decision will be provided to the Class. In order to determine whether the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing have been changed, or whether Class Members must or may participate by phone or video, it is important that you monitor the Settlement website, www.PrecisionShareholderLitigation.com, before making any plans to attend the Final Approval Hearing. Any updates will be posted to the Settlement website.

SOURCE Berger Montague

Related Links

http://www.bergermontague.com


One of Parliaments first priorities when it resumes this year will be to select a new president of the NSW upper house after John Ajaka revealed his decision to quit politics.

Mr Ajaka, 65, president of the Legislative Council since 2017, informed the Premier this week of his planned resignation, which is expected to take effect in April.

President of the NSW Legislative Council John Ajaka will retire later this year. Credit:Geoff Jones

He joined the upper house in 2007 and is a former Liberal minister in portfolios including ageing, disability services, multiculturalism and the Illawarra. A spokesman for Mr Ajaka confirmed his intention to resign.

Mr Ajaka will give a formal statement to the Legislative Council announcing his resignation when it resumes on February 16.
The decision on sanctions against the TV channels 112 Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK was not taken earlier due to lack of political will, and in the near future the materials on which the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) made a corresponding decision will be made public, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov said.

On Thursday evening, on the air of the Right to Power (Pravo na Vladu) program on 1+1 TV channel, Avakov said that he supported the decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who, by his decree, put into effect the NSDC's decision on sanctions against television channels. "I stand in solidarity with him [Zelensky], he had enough political will and enough legal grounds," the minister said.

At the same time, Avakov said that it did not concern criminal prosecution, but "the right of the state, enshrined in the Constitution, by the decision of the NSDC to impose sanctions."

"Ukraine is defending itself from the information poison. And thank God that it had enough will. As for the materials that underlie such a decision. Such materials exist, in my opinion, they are more than reasonable, they are based on two periods: one period concerns the activities since 2018 and the facts when the People's Front faction initiated this process for the first time, and the facts that have now been presented by the Security Service," the Interior Minister said.

"With the help of money earned, including on the territory of the DPR [...] This money funds a number of our media. This is an unacceptable situation. And here I ask you not to confuse freedom of speech and propaganda poison that we receive through the funding of the aggressor-state," Avakov said.

Answering a question about why such a decision had not been taken earlier, the Minister of Internal Affairs said: "There was no political will."

Commenting on the fact that Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov, as a member of the NSDC, abstained from voting for the NSDC's decision on sanctions, speaking about the sufficiency of justifications, the Minister of Internal Affairs said: "Those documents were enough for me [...] The decision that was made is legal, in the legal field."

At the same time, Avakov said that in his opinion, in the near future the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) will provide all the materials, facts that form the basis of the NSDC's decision.

Speaking about whether the sanctions may personally affect one of the leaders of the Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk, with whom the TV channels that have come under the sanctions are associated, Avakov said: "He will be responsible for his historical role, and I see that he has not been hiding lately, he talks about it very openly and very clearly."
Shares of Stove Kraft were trading at Rs 444.95 at 10:19 IST on the BSE, at a premium of 15.57% over the initial public offer price of Rs 385.

The stock was listed at Rs 467, at a premium of 21.30% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. So far the stock hit a high of Rs 495.55 and low of Rs 435.05. On the BSE, 5.46 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far.

The IPO of Stove Kraft was subscribed 18.03 times. The issue opened for subscription on Monday (25 January 2021) and closed on Thursday (28 January 2021). The price band for the IPO was set at Rs 384-385 per share.

The non-institutional investors category was subscribed 32.72 times. The retail individual investors category was subscribed 26.04 times. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 8.02 times.

The IPO comprised of fresh issue of equity shares aggregating to Rs 95 crore and an offer of sale of up to 82.50 lakh equity shares by the selling shareholders.

From the fresh issue, the company propose to use Rs 76 crore towards repayment and pre-payment, in full or part, of certain borrowings availed by the company and balance towards general corporate purposes.

Ahead of the IPO, the company on 22 January 2021 allotted 48.22 lakh shares to anchor investors at Rs 385 per share, aggregating to Rs 185.68 crore.

Stove Kraft recorded net profit of Rs 28.78 crore and sales of Rs 328.84 crore in the six months ended on 30 September 2020.

Stove Kraft is engaged in the manufacture, trade and retail of a wide and diverse suite of kitchen solutions under "Pigeon" and "Gilma" brands. The company is one of leading player in kitchen appliances in India and are one of the dominant players for pressure cookers and amongst the market leaders in the sale of free-standing hobs and cooktops.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 00:46:32|Editor: huaxia

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Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte speaks at a press conference in Rome, Italy, on Feb. 4, 2021. Giuseppe Conte on Thursday signaled his support for a government led by the prime minister-designate Mario Draghi. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

ROME, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Thursday signaled his support for a government led by the prime minister-designate Mario Draghi.

In a brief statement to the press, Conte said that he met with Draghi on Wednesday in what he described as "a very long and very open talk."

"To those who say I am an obstacle to the formation of a new government, I say that clearly they don't know me," Conte continued.

"I have always worked and will continue to work... so that a new government may be formed that can tackle the ongoing health, economic and social emergencies," he said in reference to the coronavirus pandemic.

Conte went on to call for "a political government," meaning one with a solid backing in parliament.

Conte's statement was important because the Five Star Movement (M5S), which is one of the largest forces in parliament, is split over whether or not to support Draghi.

Draghi has started consultations with Italy's political parties after President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday handed him a mandate to form a new government to steer the country through the pandemic. Enditem

Midland residents can now stream local, original content from Midland Community Television Network (MCTV) on their Roku or Apple TV streaming devices.

Users of these services can search and install the MCTV Network app on their devices to gain access to all current, community programming available live or on-demand on MCTV.
An Oregon man was banned from Crater Lake National Park, ordered to pay tens of thousands in restitution and sentenced to three years probation after he pleaded guilty to poaching a trophy bull elk in the park several years ago, prosecutors said Friday.

The guilty plea and sentence came as the result of a yearslong investigation into the activities of Adrian Wood, a 44-year-old White City resident whom the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began tracking after they received reports he was illegally hunting in the park in 2014.

Our nations environmental laws are in place to protect vulnerable wildlife populations and ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy these animals as we do today. Mr. Wood preyed on elk and deer who were unaccustomed to being hunted and thus uniquely vulnerable to poaching, U.S. Attorney for Oregon Billy Williams said in a statement.

Two people told officials that Wood had been illegally hunting in the park in July 2014, and, over the next two years, investigators obtained text messages in which he told his wife he was trying to find a bleeding elk he had shot. In another text message, Wood texted another person that he was pretty good at finding elk around here.

Ive killed 24 and get one every year, the text read, according to court documents.

In 2016, Wood was stopped by an Oregon State Police trooper near the parks boundary with blood on his hands and clothing. The next day, the trooper returned to the area and found a partially butchered elk carcass.

The trooper noted that the elks head was sawed off and some meat was removed, prosecutors said in a statement. Shortly thereafter, Wood texted photos of himself posing with the elk. (Oregon State Police) obtained the photos and matched them to the carcass.

Soon after, federal agents searched Woods residence and found several guns, ammunition and various specimens of hunted animals. A DNA analysis showed that several of the samples matched at least 12 deer, a black bear and 13 elk, including the one discovered by the trooper inside the park boundary.

Wood was indicted by a grand jury in 2019 on charges of violating the Lacey Act, which forbids hunting in national parks. He pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to a lifetime ban from the park, three years of probation and ordered to pay $42,500 in restitution.

The defendants blatant disregard for the law caused great harm to the elk herd in the park, James Ashburner, an agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a statement. Our public lands are special places for both people and wildlife.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
Pork production in Ukraine in 2021 will grow by 3.1%, poultry - by 0.1%, while beef production will decrease by 6%, milk and dairy products - by 4.2%, eggs - by 4.3%, fish catch - by 2.3%, such balances of supply and demand were announced by the Ministry of Economy.

According to the report, production of poultry in Ukraine in 2021 will amount to 1.43 million tonnes, exports will decrease by 0.9%, to 430,000 tonnes, and imports by 7.1%, to 104,000 tonnes.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the annual supply of poultry on the domestic market will exceed demand by 1.3 times, by 326,000 tonnes in absolute terms.

The agency believes that pork production in Ukraine in 2021 will grow by 3.1% compared to 2020, to 740,000 tonnes, and demand will exceed supply by 10.9%, or 90,000 tonnes. Imports of this product over the same period will decrease by 2.9%, to 100,000 tonnes, while exports will grow by 20%, to 10,000 tonnes.

According to the expectations of the Ministry of Economy, beef production in Ukraine in 2021 will decrease compared to 2020 by 6%, to 294,000 tonnes, and the domestic supply will exceed the demand by only 3.6%, or 11,000 tonnes. According to the department, in such conditions, exports will fall by 26.3%, to 28,000 tonnes, while imports will grow by 5.8%, to 17,000 tonnes.

According to the ministry, production of milk and dairy products in Ukraine in 2021 will decrease by 4.2% compared to 2020, to 9.10 million tonnes, of which 2.79 million tonnes will be produced by enterprises, and the rest - by households. At the same time, the import of this product over the same period will increase by 0.08%, to 750,000 tonnes, and exports will decrease by 10.4%, to 360,000 tonnes, which is a consequence of the excess of domestic demand over domestic supply at the level of 420,000 tonnes.

The agency expects that egg production in Ukraine in 2021 will decrease by 4.3% compared to 2020, to 896,000 tonnes. The catch and production of fish and fish products in Ukraine in 2021 will grow by 2.3% compared to 2020, to 126,000 tonnes.

The murder trial of Chauvin, 44, is set for March 8 in Minneapolis

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has highlighted a proposal for a $35million fund for extensive security plans around Derek Chauvin's trial for the death of George Floyd.

Officials are planning to bring in hundreds of officers from across the state and even the National Guard if violent protests erupt around the March 8 trail of Chauvin, 44. They are also considering building a perimeter wall around the city's courthouse and government administration building.

Authorities fear a repeat of the crime and disorder that spread through the city as protesters looted and rioted in the wake of Floyd's death.

Chauvin was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after he was caught on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 44 seconds, killing him on May 25, 2020.

'We know we can't predict every public safety challenge that may arise, but we can and must be prepared to protect Minnesotans' safety,' Walz tweeted on Wednesday.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has highlighted a proposal for a $35million fund to pay for hundreds more police officers, pictured in Minneapolis last year during George Floyd protests, to deal with civil unrest

Last year, cities like Minneapolis, pictured, saw massive protests including rioting and burning after the death of George Floyd

'That's why our budget includes aid for local governments, from Centerville to St. Paul, for expenses that arise from extraordinary events.'

Walz said in a news conference on Wednesday that $35million State Aid for Emergencies account is needed for security plans that have been made for the trial months ago.

'This is an opportunity for Minnesota to put a face forward to the world to show that we can protect First Amendment rights and we can make sure that public safety is adhered to,' Walz said.

The security plan will likely involve the National Guard and hundreds of officers from agencies across the state, Axios reported.

Exact details of the security plan were not immediately clear, but there are also talks of building a perimeter around the Hennepin County Government Center.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, pictured, said the fund would be used to reimburse agencies across the state for providing security for the trial

Rural Republicans have since resisted against the governor's plans, claiming their communities shouldn't be forced to 'bail out' Minneapolis and St. Paul.

'We are not going to bail out Minneapolis city council after they have made cuts to the public safety budget,' said GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka.

'Actions to defund the police have consequences.'

Gazelka, at a news conference on Thursday, added that 'too many communities did not get paid when they came to Minneapolis' aid throughout the summer.'

'That's wrong. Minneapolis needs to make sure that they take care of their bills,' he said.

Gazelka's spokeswoman said the city still owes other law enforcement agencies $137,000 for their assistance last summer.

Last June, the Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously passed a resolution to replace the city's police department with a community-led public safety system.

Dozens of officers quit the force in protest at a $1million budget cut and promises from city leaders to scrap the entire department.

Minneapolis then had to scramble to draft in cops from outside the city's force to help fight a wave of violent crime.

The city council the voted to 'refund the police' authorizing $500,000 in funding for the police department to hire more cops to work through the end of 2020.

Chauvin was arrested after he was caught on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 44 seconds

Left to right: Former Minneapolis police officers Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao who are also facing trials for the death of George Floyd

City officials later claimed that 'defund the police' was 'not the framework the council has ever chosen.'

Minnesota Senate Republicans offered a counter-proposal to Walz's request for security funding on Thursday.

The Republican proposal would target Minneapolis by requiring cities to pay for assistance provided by other local law enforcement agencies that send in personnel.

Under the proposal, the state would divert money a city gets from the state's local government aid program to bay the bill if a city fails to reimburse those agencies for their help.

The Republican plan contains no new money for trial-related security.

In a series of tweets on Thursday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said cities don't usually charge each other for help in a crisis, and that the city only received the two invoices for assistance last summer.

Frey also pointed out that $617 million collected by the state from Minneapolis in sales tax alone in 2017 was nearly $100 million more than the total amount of local government aid distributed by the state that same year.

'In other words, what the state collects from MPLS in sales tax - thats not including income and property taxes - is enough to cover LGA for every municipality in the state.' the mayor tweeted.

'In good times and tough times, our state works best when we all pull together.'

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo notified the council Thursday that his department is now down to about 640 available officers, 200 fewer than two years ago.

Attrition last year was about 105 officers, compared with 40 to 44 in a typical year. The departments authorized strength is 888.

'That increased rate of attrition has made planning and staffing more challenging amid a tumultuous time,' Frey said in a Facebook post.

'We've had to make hard decisions to shift available resources to patrol and investigative work.'

Those decisions have included drastic reductions in community-oriented policing initiatives, fewer officers for the SWAT team and bomb squad and fewer trainers, he said.

Minutes before the news conference, Walzs office made public a letter he received in December signed by Gazelka and six other Senate Republicans showing that they had been willing to spend state money just a few weeks ago.

It asked the governor to 'urgently consider' a $7.6 million request by the Minneapolis Police Department for costs related to preventing potential unrest when Chauvin goes on trial March 8.

'The rioting we saw this summer not only caused unnecessary injuries and loss of life, but also destroyed the livelihoods of many of our neighbors and prevented citizens from engaging in their right to peacefully protest,' the letter reads.

'It is our hope that you share with us the desire that this devastation that our community experienced will never happen again.'

On Tuesday, a Minnesota judge approved a divorce settlement between Chauvin and his wife, according to redacted court documents made public Thursday.
Afterpay chief executive Anthony Eisen is pushing for the Reserve Bank to be stripped of its powers to unilaterally regulate payment firms such as buy now, pay later (BNPL) entrants, saying the system could present risks for fintech challengers.

As investors weigh the potential danger to Afterpays business from regulation, Mr Eisen has backed an overhaul that would result in the RBA losing its ability to impose surcharging rules on the BNPL sector.

Afterpay CEO Anthony Eisen Credit:Elke Meitzel

Instead, he called for Treasury to be given a greater role in setting policies for payments, a sector which is also being disrupted by the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Uber.

The RBA, meanwhile, said there could be a case for potentially regulating all firms with a major role in facilitating payments, including BNPL operators, if it was in the public interest.
Washington: The United States will reinvigorate its alliances and again become a global leader on climate change action and promoting democracy, US President Joe Biden has declared in his first foreign policy speech since his inauguration.

Bidens speech at the State Department on Friday (AEDT) contained several major policy announcements including the end of American support for Saudi Arabias military operations in Yemen and a massive increase in the US refugee intake.

The US will also freeze a withdrawal of troops from Germany that had been announced by the Trump administration.

US President Joe Biden said that diplomacy was again at the centre of US foreign policy. Credit:AP

America cannot afford to be absent any longer on the world stage, Biden said, contrasting his approach to the more isolationist stance of predecessor Donald Trump.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has called on the government to leverage the expansive expertise of pharmacists in medicines and other health technologies, including vaccines, and their unique access to the general public.



In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency and signed by Benjamin K. Botwe, President PSGH said the professionals could be key players in the wide-scale administration of vaccines once a safe vaccine for the COVID-19 was approved by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and available to be used in Ghana.



It said Pharmacists could be advocates, educators and qualified providers of vaccinations against COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases; this will make vaccines widely available in convenient locations and in familiar settings as many people already utilize pharmacies as their first port of call for many ailments.



It said despite the commendable effort by government to control the spread of the disease, the PSGH noted with concern the upsurge of active cases over the past few weeks and the rise in number of severe cases and mortality.



The PSGH said it fully supported the restrictions placed on weddings, funerals, concerts, among other social gatherings and called on the government, as a matter of utmost urgency to further intensify the pandemic response by strengthening diseases surveillance and public health interventions.



The PSGH commended Pharmacists for adhering to all the relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs) relating to COVID-19 as well as general infection prevention and control (IPC) protocols in pharmacies.



It said just as there was a rush for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the early days of the pandemic, the general public was now fixated on procuring Ivermectin and Azithromycin tablets from community pharmacies as prophylaxis against COVID-19 sometimes on scanned prescriptions, text or WhatsApp messages from sources that cannot be immediately verified.



I encourage all Pharmacists not to dispense these to clients without a valid prescription but rather seek to offer appropriate pharmaceutical care for immediate symptoms and refer where necessary, it said.



It said the decision was to avoid possible resistance in patients who may depend on these medications to improve their quality of life as they fight off parasitic infections.



The statement encouraged Pharmacists to continue to bring their pharmaceutical knowledge and expertise to bear as they extemporaneously prepare safe and efficacious alcohol-based hand sanitizers for use by various facilities, staff, personnel and the general public.



It also called on all Pharmacists to regularly engage their patients and clients to mollify their fears regarding safety and credibility of COVID-19 vaccines, arising out of the many myths, misconceptions and unfounded conspiracy theories.



We need to reinforce beyond doubt the critical role immunization plays within a functioning health delivery system. We need to prepare a vaccine literate public who will trust the science and embrace new vaccines for COVID-19 as they become available, it said.



It assured the citizenry that pharmacies and pharmacists have the shared responsibility of storing appropriate stocks of pharmaceutical products (medicines, masks, sanitizers, etc) to supply on demand, informing and educating the public, patient counselling, medicines use review and adherence, referring of suspected cases to public health and other designated facilities, promoting disease prevention and promoting infection control.



It called on the public to call on pharmacists and pharmacies in their locality for appropriate pharmaceutical care and services.

Source: GNA









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Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Some 62.38mln new shares are being issued to the company's largest shareholder, ahead of an equity fundraise.

( ) confirmed it has executed its proposed debt-for-equity swap, for a US$22.22mln loan from its largest shareholder Labro Investments.

The transaction sees 62.38mln new shares issued to Labro.

It results in Chaarats debt being reduced to US$46.5mln and it sees Labro hold a 42% equity stake in the company.

Charrat this morning launched a US$25mln funding and at the same time a US$22mln loan is set to be converted to shares.

To raise US$25mln the company will issue 65.9mln new shares, priced at 26p each, to new institutional investors and family offices as well as existing shareholders.

The group said the cash proceeds from the equity raise are expected to meet the remainder of upfront funds for the Tulkubash project in the Kyrgyz Republic, and, brings closer project financing.

Chaarat noted that it is in ongoing talks over a US$80mln debt financing which the company expects to complete in the first half of 2021. That would leave the company fully funded for the US$100mln project construction

"We are delighted by the strong demand of new investors and our existing shareholders to support the company to fund the required remaining equity portion for the Tulkubash project financing, said Artem Volynets, Chaarat chief executive in a statement.

The Fundraise will achieve a critical milestone in the execution of our strategy to build one of the leading gold companies in the former Soviet Union by providing the equity funding required to arrange the project debt finance and start full-scale construction of our fully licensed and permitted Tulkubash project in Kyrgyz Republic.

The next key step will be to complete the project financing for the Tulkubash project, which we are well advanced on to complete in H1 of this year."

Excess funds are earmarked for growth activities at the Kyzyltash and Kapan projects.

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SALEM, Ore.  Tear gas, pepper spray and impact munitions have been deployed by police for months against protesters in Portland, Oregon, enveloping neighborhoods and even a school yard in clouds of stinging, choking chemical agents.

Now, Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Portland-area Democrat, is seeking to ban their use against crowds in one of the most sweeping measures in the country restricting tear gas and other riot-control munitions.

Bynums legislative subcommittee on equitable policing heard a parade of witnesses this week via video link describe the harm caused by the substances. One woman said she almost died when tear gas was used on a crowd.

Such munitions have been regularly deployed as Portland police and federal agents have struggled to deal with some of the most persistent protesters in the country as they seek racial justice, an end to police brutality and immigration reform. Most demonstrators have been peaceful, but some have thrown objects at police and committed vandalism.

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Under Bynums bill, local and state law enforcement could only use the munitions against an individual if physical force is justified.

Oregon State Police Superintendent Terri Davie testified that sometimes her troopers are compelled to indiscriminately use tear gas if some members of a crowd are committing crimes.

We determine, in order to maintain or even regain the order, the entire crowd needs to be dispersed, Davie said. Physically battling rioters to subdue and arrest them could result in injuries or death, she said.

Keeley Higgins, who has asthma, described being terrified after being gassed by Portland police while attending a protest for the first time. She and her partner tried to run to their car as the crowd was chased by riot police. Some protesters collapsed on lawns, vomiting or appearing to have seizures, she recalled, her voice choking with emotion.

I began to have trouble breathing as I continued to stumble down a residential street, Higgins said. At one point I could no longer breathe. I looked into my partners eyes and I thought I was going to die.

She said her partner saved her by using an emergency inhaler she had in her car.

I dont care if 5% or 90% of a crowd is deemed violent by the most violent police force in the U.S., Higgins said. Zero percent of people should ever be poisoned, let alone by their own city.

The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science has been frequently blanketed by tear gas and smoke grenades deployed by federal agents battling protesters at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, across a street from the school.

We regularly find pellets, pepper balls and munitions in our play yard, school Executive Director Amanda McAdoo told the legislative panel, adding that soil samples have been sent to a lab for testing. McAdoo urged lawmakers to vote yes on the bill.

She said in a telephone interview that she is worried about chemical munitions residue affecting children who may return after spring break as the school looks at reopening. It has conducted distance learning while being closed for 10 months amid the coronavirus pandemic.

We are concerned about being able to do so until we know that our yard is safe for them to be playing, McAdoo said.

The school was advised to circulate more outside air into the building because of the virus, but that raised concerns that surfaces and the air might be contaminated by the chemical agents.

McAdoo wrote to federal officials on Monday, asking that their personnel stop using these munitions in the neighborhood and disclose what chemicals have been released and the possible health impacts. She also requested help to assess contamination levels at the school and clean it up.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, complained to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday about the extensive use of tear gas and other chemical agents in Portland, including near Cottonwood School.

He reiterated a request for details about the munitions being used by federal agents, saying the Trump administration had not adequately responded.

If Bynums bill becomes law, authorities in Oregon would have to inform federal agents about it and attempt to enforce it.

However, federal agents couldnt be compelled to comply, said Jim Ferraris, the police chief in Woodburn who testified on behalf of associations of Oregon police chiefs and sheriffs.

Washington state and California are among other states looking at curbing the use of chemical agents.

Last year, Colorado lawmakers passed a law involving police accountability that bans officers from shooting rubber bullets indiscriminately into a crowd or targeting someones head, torso or back. Officers cannot use tear gas, pepper spray, or other chemical irritants without issuing a clear order to disperse and allowing time for people to do so.

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Associated Press writers James Anderson in Denver, Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Washington; and Don Thompson in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.

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Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2021) US Democratic Senator Ron Wyden has introduced legislation to end the embargo on Cuba, his office said in a press release on Friday.

"The US-Cuba Trade Act of 2021 would repeal the major statues that codify sanctions against Cuba, including the Helms-Burton Act and the Cuban Democracy Act, as well as other provisions that affect trade, investment and travel with Cuba. It would also establish normal trade relations with the country," Wyden said.

Wyden said in the news release that continuing the US embargo would be a failure of US leadership, adding that Congress has an obligation to improve US-Cuba relations as quickly as possible.

US-Cuba relations have long been tense and they soured under the Trump administration. President Donald Trump toughened the policy once he took office in 2016, restricting travel, boosting the economic embargo and imposing sanctions on Raul Castro, Cuba's Communist Party leader, over alleged human rights violations and for supporting the Venezuelan leadership.

Earlier in January, Cuba was restored to a list of state sponsors of terrorism after being removed from the list by President Barack Obama in 2015.
China Insider: Chinese Expats Stranded in Burma Following Military Coup

Burmas military launched a coup in the early morning of Feb. 1, and said it would impose a state of emergency for one year.
The Snyders were friendly with both families, though Dr. Snyder said her biggest influence was her parents. During the Great Depression, her father put New Deal posters in the window of their home and took in patients on welfare. Her mother brought in extra money by playing the piano for silent movies  earning 30 percent less than a man who did the same job on other nights, an instance of gender segregation that Dr. Snyder said inspired her interest in womens rights.

In high school, Peg worked summers at a settlement house in Syracuse, helping Black migrants as they arrived from the South. She attended the College of New Rochelle in Westchester County, N.Y., graduating in 1950; two years later she received a masters degree in sociology from the Catholic University of America in Washington.

While working as the womens dean at Le Moyne College, a liberal Jesuit institution in Syracuse, she became enthralled by John F. Kennedys call for young Americans to volunteer overseas. In 1961 she took a yearlong sabbatical to work with volunteer organizations in Tanganyika (which merged with Zanzibar to become Tanzania in 1964) and Uganda. Among other tasks, she arranged for African students to attend college in the United States  part of an effort known as Kennedy airlifts.

When her year ended, she quit her job at Le Moyne and stayed in Africa, but she moved home in 1965 to help run the East African Studies program at Syracuse University. She advised students from the region on their graduate work, many of whom went on to hold leadership positions in their countries  the first threads of her continentwide network. Five years later she went back to Tanzania, where she completed a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Dar es Salaam in 1971.

Image Dr. Snyder, seen here with an unidentified African woman, began her career helping women in Africa and later built the U.N. Development Fund for Women into a global powerhouse. Credit... via Snyder family

That same year she joined the U.N. as a co-founder of what would become the African Training and Research Center for Women, the organizations first major program directed specifically at improving economic opportunities for women. In 1978 she moved to New York City, where she was put in charge of a development fund focused on women that was paid for by voluntary contributions from member states.

She built the organization, later renamed the U.N. Development Fund for Women (and even later U.N. Women), from operating on a shoestring budget to a global powerhouse that served women not just in Africa but also across the developing world. By the end of the 1980s, it had created womens development commissions in 30 countries, through which the U.N. funneled millions of dollars to grass-roots womens projects.
Rajnath said the Central government is acutely conscious that startups being the latest entrants in the defence manufacturing sector require that extra push and with this aim in view, the govt has taken many steps to foster and encourage this partnership with private industry.
One of Australias top universities was told it needed to carve out its own response to Australias deteriorating relationship with China or its business interests would be put at risk.

The confidential report to the UNSW board was delivered months before the university was embroiled in controversy over its decision to remove social media posts by one of its academics about the erosion of human rights in Hong Kong.

The UNSW campus in Sydney. Credit:Brook Mitchell

The 2019 report by an external consultant was commissioned by UNSW leadership to assess its China-related activities. It recommended the university adopt a more assertive, forward-leaning approach to China engagement and position UNSW as a leading advocate for constructive engagement with China.

It accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of drawing a clumsy distinction between China as Australias most important customer and the United States as our closest friend.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Now that vaccines for the coronavirus are available, we can anticipate some sort of "new normal," including dining in restaurants rather than "streateries" or eating takeout food at home. Our enjoyment of wine in restaurants will not be the same, of course - the pandemic's effects will linger for years.

We can expect to see fewer restaurants with dedicated sommeliers overseeing beverage service. The "sommanager," a position that combines beverage and overall management duties, is likely to be more common in post-covid restaurants. We may see more wine lists on tablets, which will reduce printing costs for restaurants and make our experience more interactive, though not necessarily with a person. A remote sommelier may even engage you through a video chat from your wine list. We are probably several years away from tuxedoed holograms materializing tableside to suggest wine pairings, but when it happens, I won't be surprised.

When the pandemic sent the nation into shutdowns in March, Jillian Riley was furloughed from her job as beverage manager for NoMI, a high-end restaurant in Chicago's Park Hyatt hotel. As the shutdown continued into July, Riley's position was eliminated, and the restaurant sold off much of the extensive wine collection she had built. Today, the hotel and restaurant remain closed, their future as uncertain as Riley's.

Like sommeliers, cooks, servers and other restaurant workers, Riley found herself scrambling, or pivoting in the pandemic vernacular, in ways she never expected. "I always wanted to work a harvest, but that's difficult to do in normal times," she told me. Through a group called the SommFoundation, she arranged a harvest internship at an Oregon winery, but that was canceled when the winery decided not to harvest because of smoke taint from wildfires. Through connections, she secured a spot at Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate, a boutique winery in St. Helena, in Napa Valley. She started there a week before the Glass Fire erupted and scorched much of the northern part of the valley, including the nearby Meadowood resort. She helped a winemaker protect the fermenting wines with carbon dioxide and dry ice, while firefighters managed to save the winery. Not your typical harvest experience.

Winn Roberton also seized the opportunity to work a harvest and dabble in the production side of the industry. He took time off from his job as head somm at Bourbon Steak restaurant in D.C.'s Four Seasons Hotel to pick grapes and help make wine at Stonestreet winery near Healdsburg, in California's Sonoma County. Back in D.C., with the restaurant offering reduced service, Roberton embraced the use of tablets for his wine list, something he had resisted in the past.

"The time and money saved by not printing and changing pages on a large paper wine list has been a bit of a relief," he says. "It also will make the program a bit more dynamic in terms of easier changes and maybe even photos and other media embedded into it." But he's not a fan of the "virtual sommelier" idea.

"That's pretty scary to think about, since the sommelier is more important to in-person service than just a wine recommendation," he says. "Fingers crossed we don't get there anytime soon."

That point is echoed by Erik Segelbaum, former beverage director for the Starr Restaurant Group based in Philadelphia who formed his own consulting firm, Somlyay, in 2019. That independence helped him survive the pandemic, though last year certainly did not match his business plan. Segelbaum helped found the United Sommeliers Foundation, a nonprofit offering aid to laid-off beverage professionals, and he lobbied Congress in favor of covid-relief aid for restaurant workers and against tariffs on imported wine.

Segelbaum fears the pandemic will reinforce a misconception that sommeliers are high labor costs, even though beverage sales account for a restaurant's greatest profit margins. "It's going to be hard to convince restaurants to put their money in sommeliers right now, but that is the smartest place for them to invest, even when operating at 25 or 50% capacity," he says.

Earlier during the shutdown, Roberton used his enforced time off to hone his wine-tasting skills and post YouTube videos. Many somms have gone into wine education (podcasts are numerous). Others have entered retail, a sector that has thrived during the pandemic, or importing. Cellar liquidation - appraising a collector's treasures before an auction or during a divorce - is another job path for somms.

Today, Riley is back in Chicago, looking for work. A permanent job offer from a California winery fell through when that state went into a second shutdown. She'd prefer to find a restaurant position in the Windy City, but she is open to any opportunity. She may even join the great Sommelier Diaspora from major cities to smaller markets.

"There is a scattering of talent," Riley told me. "Sommeliers have been concentrated in major urban hubs, but I've seen friends leaving the big cities for smaller markets where covid lockdowns are more limited."

Some, of course, may leave wine and restaurants altogether. But ultimately, that scattering of talent may raise the level of professionalism in wine service, and the way we experience it, throughout the country.

- - -

UW Receives $2.4M CARES Act Grant to Support Entrepreneurs

Services and support for entrepreneurs across Wyoming will be expanded as a result of a $2.4 million CARES Act Recovery assistance grant to the University of Wyoming from the U.S. Department of Commerces Economic Development Administration (EDA).

The grant, to be matched with $600,000 in local investment, is expected to create 368 jobs and generate $1 million in private investment.

Supporting local strategies designed to create stronger and more resilient economies in response to the coronavirus pandemic is a top priority for EDA, says Dennis Alvord, acting assistant secretary of commerce for economic development. This project will broaden the University of Wyomings IMPACT 307 business incubator program to serve statewide clients through a hybrid virtual and in-person startup launch and entrepreneurial support structure.

This project will expand business incubation and launch support services offered though IMPACT 307 by providing them in digital as well as physical environments to respond to negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic -- and diversify the base of employers in the state. This is in line with the Wyoming Innovation Network (WIN), a new initiative announced last week by Gov. Mark Gordon in which UW and the states community colleges are collaborating to support and train entrepreneurs and new business startups -- part of an overall effort to support and enhance the states economy and workforce.

This funding from the EDA will allow us to respond to immediate needs in the state resulting from the pandemic, while setting the stage for future innovation and entrepreneurial efforts, UW President Ed Seidel says. The grant for IMPACT 307 dovetails nicely with the mission of the Wyoming Innovation Network, and were excited about the boost this funding will give us.

IMPACT 307, with business incubators in Casper, Laramie and Sheridan, is a business development program administered by UWs Office of Research and Economic Development.

Through dedicated startup and entrepreneurial assistance, this federal grant will help develop an environment and the necessary knowledge for startups to flourish, says Ed Synakowski, UWs vice president for research and economic development. Ultimately, it will help Wyomings economy become more resilient by increasing innovation and reducing dependence on any single industry.

David Bohling, director of IMPACT-Laramie, says the EDA grant amplifies the efforts that have been built with Laramie County Community College and Central Wyoming College -- and provides a path forward with the rest of the state.

All seven community colleges, the Community College Commission, plus the Wyoming Economic Development Association, voiced their strong support for this mission, Bohling says. We look forward to partnering with them in executing the scope of the program.

The grant is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus. EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureaus flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance program, provides a wide range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)

The mission of the EDA is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.
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He starred in the phenomenally popular Harry Potter movies.

And yet Rupert Grint hasn't seen most of the eight on screen adventures.

That might change now he's become a father, he shared with Variety in an interview published Thursday.

Not a fan: He starred in the phenomenally popular Harry Potter movies. And yet Rupert Grint hasn't seen most of the eight on screen adventures, he revealed to Variety on Thursday

The actor, who played Ron Weasley, told the outlet: 'Ive probably seen the first three at the premieres, but after that I stopped watching them.

'But now that I have a daughter, I will probably have to watch them with her.' Grint, 32, said.

It's not the first time that Grint has spoken about not watching the films that made him famous.

He told the UK's Radio Times back in December 2017: 'I think being in things ruins them for me... I can't enjoy Harry Potter any more, not as a fanit's just not the same.'

Missed five: Grint, who played Ron Weasley, told the outlet: 'Ive probably seen the first three at the premieres, but after that I stopped watching them'

Grew up on screen: Grint was 11 when he was cast as Ron in Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone released in 2001 (left). The final installment of the J. K. Rowling adventures Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows was released inn two parts in 2010 and 2011 (right)

The British star and his partner, the English actress Georgia Groome, 28, welcomed their daughter Wednesday back in May.

The couple, who have been together since 2011, are fiercely protective of their baby girl.

However, in November, Grint broke Instagram when he joined the social media platform and posted a photo of himself cradling his child with the back of her head facing the camera.

He racked up more than one million likes in just four hours.

Fatherhood changes things: In November, the actor broke Instagram when he posted the first photo of himself and daughter Wednesday, He told Variety Thursday: 'Now that I have a daughter, I will probably have to watch [the Harry Potter movies] with her'

Baby mama: Grint shares his child with his partner, English actress Georgia Groome, whom he started dating in 2011 (pictured in 2017)

And as part of his promotion for the second season of his Apple TV+ series Servant. Grint has found himself talking about becoming a dad for real even as he plays a fictional one in M. Night Shyamalan's horror tale.

He told Comicbook.com last month that fatherhood has changed everything.

'It was something I never really had much of an idea of, that kind of love. It's a very different love,' he explained.

'It's very strange. It definitely has kind of changed my perspective on things but also in a helpful way.'

Grint is doing interviews to promote the second season of Apple TV+ series Servant, created by The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable director M. Night Shyamalan (pictured together on set)

Horror: Grint has found himself talking about becoming a dad for real even as he plays a fictional one in the dark drama. Pictured with co-star Lauren Ambrose

The dark drama from the director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable centers on a couple whose baby son dies and is replaced by a lifelike doll.

And when they hire a young nanny, strange things start happening.

Grint found international fame as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise alongside Daniel Radcliffe as Harry and Emma Watson as Hermione.

The movie based on the bestselling books by J. K. Rowling premiered with Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone in 2001 and ended in 2011 with Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows  Part 2.
Facebook has made its reservations about the new incoming data privacy measures for Apple iPhones, known quite vocally. With iOS 14.5 for the iPhones, Apple will be implementing a new privacy tool that will generate a pop-up which will ask users whether they want the Facebook app on their iPhones to track their usage activities across other apps and websites. Users will have the option of not giving that access. Over the past couple of months, Facebook has been making their feeling well known to anyone and everyone willing to listen. That includes full page adverts in the US newspapers, a website where Facebook has been seen trying to champion the cause of the small businesses and social media posts by the companys top executives. But it turns out that Facebook may be exaggerating and not being entirely generous with facts when it comes to arguing their case against Apple shutting down their data tracking pipeline.

Facebook is now also rolling out new permission popups for Facebook and Instagram users in the US, highlighting the benefits of letting the social media company track their usage across other apps and websites as well. But before we get into the selective portrayal of numbers, we must understand the very core of the argument. Facebooks primary pitch is that by turning away the ability to track users, small businesses who rely on sending out personalized advertising will no longer be able to do so. And itll hurt them badly. Apple's new iOS 14 policy requires apps to show a discouraging prompt that will prohibit collecting and sharing information that's essential for personalized advertising, unless users opt in on Apple's terms. Advertisers may not be able to effectively count conversions for iOS users whove opted out, harming advertisers ability to understand the value that ads are driving for their business, is how Facebook is explaining the new iOS 14.5 security measure.

And how does it impact small businesses? Our studies show that when running ads on the Facebook family of apps to drive sales on their websites, small businesses saw a cut of over 60% of their sales, on average, for every dollar they spent when they weren't able to use their own data to find customers on Facebook, this is what Facebook says. And this is exactly the number that is being put into perspective by research firm Deloitte in the Digital Tools in Crisis and Recovery: Small and Medium Business Report from October. Simply put, Facebooks says that small businesses would suffer a 60% cut in revenues if they are not able to do personalized advertising.

The number, for sure, seems quite high. And in the larger scheme of things, quite worrying. But on their website which makes this claim, Facebook doesnt exactly say how it has reached this figure, which we assume would be based on two comparative studies. All the social network says in the explanation is we compared the aggregated results of advertising campaigns that used the advertisers own data to optimize for purchases on the advertisers websites compared to the results of only using the ad platforms data. The research analysis includes over 25,000 global advertising campaigns where advertisers were optimizing for purchases run in 2019.

The Deloitte study suggests that just 34% small and medium businesses increased targeted or personalized advertising since the coronavirus pandemic outbreak, with the largest share of that targeted advertising on social media being taken by Telecom and Technology businesses. Among the small and medium businesses around the world, of the percentage of SMBs surveyed for the report, the maximum focus was on India where 62% of such businesses focused on targeted adverts or paid marketing activities on social media. The survey included more than 4,300 SMBs across 17 countries.

What exactly is Apple doing to get Facebook all riled up? The thing is, Apple will be rolling out the already deferred (to give app developers more time) App Tracking Transparency feature that will give users more control over who tracks their data and give them the option of stopping these apps from tracking them. This will be available on iOS 14.5 on the iPhone and iPadOS 14.5 for the iPad. For instance, when you open an app on your iPhone, for the first time or after an update, you will be asked, Allow XYZ to track your activity across other companies apps and websites? The two options you will have at this stage would be Ask App not to Track or Allow. The App Tracking Transparency feature will be part of the Privacy menu in the Settings app. This is another addition to the privacy dialup that Apple has implemented with iOS 14.

Just a few days ago, Facebook started rolling out popups on the iPhone and iPad apps, albeit for users in the US just yet, trying to play up the benefits of allowing them to track user data and the benefits that personalized adverts offer. Yet again, the perceived plight of small businesses is being played up. Two larger points basically. First, get ads that are more personalised. And secondly, support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers. It is expected that these popups will be rolled out for more users globally, as we get closer to the Apple iOS 14.5 release.

Earlier, Facebooks efforts to be seen championing the cause of the small businesses was criticized by a not-for-profit digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF. Requiring trackers to request your consent before stalking you across the Internet should be an obvious baseline, and we applaud Apple for this change. But Facebook, having built a massive empire around the concept of tracking everything you do by letting applications sell and share your data across a shady set of third-party companies, would like users and policymakers to believe otherwise, they had said.

An iPhone user will now be able to choose whether they want to allow or deny an app from tracking their browsing and app usage trends. The iOS 14.5 update is expected in the coming weeks, though we do not know exactly when.
The deadline for parties to submit their final lists for the March 23 Knesset elections was 10 p.m. Feb. 4. By the time it arrived, it became clear that Netanyahu could take credit for two major tactical achievements, bringing him one step closer to victory.

The first was a decision by two groupings on the far right to join forces rather than to run separately. The Religious Zionist party, headed by former Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich, reached an agreement to run together with the coalition of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) and Noam. The Otzma Yehudit-Noam coalition is headed by Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir, an acolyte of the late nationalist-extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane. Otzma Yehudit has long been a symbol of racist extremism, and Noam is opposed to LGBT rights.

It is no secret that Netanyahu actively worked behind the scenes to ensure that this agreement would be signed. He even promised Smotrich and Ben-Gvir that he would include a candidate of their choosing in the Likud party list and ensure that their party received powerful positions in government and the Knesset committees. The one thing that Netanyahu was unable to do was to unite these two far right parties with another party on the right, the more established HaBayit HaYehudi [Jewish Home]. Yet while this party did not join forces with the Religious Zionist party and Otzma Yehudit-Noam, just the fact that these two groups decided to run together was important. If Smotrich and Ben-Gvir pass the electoral threshold, it would be a net gain of seats for Netanyahu.

The second achievement was no less dramatic, even though it occurred on the opposite side of the political spectrum. This involved the breakup of the Arab Joint List, which was made up of four smaller Arab parties. By running together under the leadership of Knesset member Ayman Odeh, the party won an impressive 15 seats in the last election, making it the third-largest party in the Knesset and a powerful force in Israeli politics. After the election, the grouping played a key role in efforts to remove Netanyahu by recommending to the president that Blue and Whites Benny Gantz be tasked with forming the next government. Netanyahu came very close to losing power because of the Joint Lists historic decision to play an active role in the political gamesmanship  a move the Arab parties had avoided for years.

In the end, their efforts failed. Gantz eventually joined Netanyahus coalition, and the Joint List assumed some of the blame for this failure in political maneuvering. Inevitably, reverberations from this had a detrimental effect within the Joint List.

After several tense weeks, the chairman of the Raam faction of the Joint List, Knesset member Mansour Abbas, announced that his party would be running separately for the Knesset. Abbas has long had a complex relationship with Netanyahu, cooperating with him on programs that benefit the Arab sector, even if he came under harsh criticism for it from the other members of the Joint List. He argues that Israeli Arabs are fed up with the sense of exclusion and alienation from government. Believing that they want to participate in Israeli society at the highest levels, he decided to change his approach and negotiate with Netanyahu on matters that concern the Arab population. In this way, he says, he has been able to increase the budgets they receive and deal with the sectors real problems such as high crime rates and inadequate infrastructure.

Despite Abbas claims of widespread support, it still remains to be seen whether his party will pass the electoral threshold. On the other hand, even if he doesnt, Netanyahu stands to benefit from the Joint List losing strength (until recently, polls indicated it would win just 10 seats, but this has declined even further as a result of the split with Abbas). And if Abbas does pass the electoral threshold, Netanyahu will likely be able to rely on him for outside support as he puts together a future coalition.

Netanyahu played an active role in the Arab Joint Lists breaking apart, even if he acted behind the scenes. He helped engineer the split by taking advantage of Abbas openness to negotiating with him, even though the other Arab parties consider Netanyahu to be the Great Demon. Abbas was willing to come out publicly in favor of cooperation with Netanyahu while attacking his colleagues in the party for allegedly abandoning the Arab public by concentrating on the Palestinian cause instead. By saying this, he granted an imprimatur of legitimacy to the prime minister among the Arab population. Netanyahu then took advantage of the support Abbas was receiving by joining him for tours of Arab towns and villages. This culminated in a highly publicized visit to Nazareth, Israels biggest Arab city, where Netanyahu was embraced publicly by Mayor Ali Salem.

Much to the dismay of his opponents, particularly Knesset members from the Joint List, Netanyahu is suddenly a serious competitor in the fight for the Arab vote. He even went so far as to announce that under his leadership, the Likud itself could win two to three seats from the sector. Though he sounded like he was exaggerating  indeed he was  Netanyahu has nonetheless benefited from these recent developments.

Netanyahu could sleep easy last night. He barely lost any votes on the right, and he managed to inflict significant damage to the Anyone but Netanyahu camp by causing it to lose a part of its electorate. By running independently, Abbas is no longer obligated to reject Netanyahu as the Arab sectors candidate for prime minister.

By collaborating with Abbas, Netanyahu crossed a series of red lines that he himself put in place. For years he warned of the danger posed by Arab Knesset members, claiming that they support terrorism. He was accused of fomenting incitement and racism, and rightfully so. Now, however, he is taking the cynical step of laying the groundwork for cooperation with them.

As sophisticated as these maneuvers are politically, they are also very controversial. There is no doubt that Netanyahu would not have taken these steps if he didnt feel like he was pressed up against a wall. He may have done so indirectly, but he has already granted an air of legitimacy to Ben-Gvir, a far right activist, who is still remembered for the role he played in delegitimizing Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in response to the Oslo Accords before Rabin was assassinated. The fact that Ben-Gvir was a disciple of Kahane, whose racist Kach party was disqualified from running for the Knesset, also contributed to his toxic image. Until now, even Netanyahu believed that it was in his best interest to distance himself from Ben-Gvir and his party.

But times have changed. There are more parties now that want to bring Netanyahu down, including two parties to the right of him: Yamina, headed by Naftali Bennett, and Gideon Saars New Hope party. Netanyahu is aware that under these circumstances, he needs to do the kinds of things that he never would have considered in the past. He knows it can be harmful to him, but having made the calculations, he seems willing to absorb any harm that might come of it.

Netanyahu will not be forgiven so easily by the parties committed to bringing him down. As soon as the deal uniting the right was signed, opposition leader Yair Lapid tweeted, Its signed. The prime minister of Israel brought a supporter of terrorism into the Knesset.

Now more than ever, Netanyahu is operating on the extremes of the political spectrum, having made the calculation that this is the only way he can avoid defeat. As recently as a year ago, he would never have considered any of this. He certainly would not have agreed to cooperate with right-wing extremists and the Arabs. However, when it comes to political maneuvering, Netanyahu has proved yet again that there is nothing he will not do to sate his ravenous hunger for power.

More than Rs 2,326 crore has been transferred to 32.91 lakh ineligible beneficiaries, including income tax payees, under the PM-KISAN scheme and state governments have registered cases against them, Agriculture Minister said on Friday.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), the government provides income support to farmers by transferring annually Rs 6,000 in three equal instalments to eligible farmers directly into their bank accounts.

Tomar said the structure of the scheme inherently comprises of mechanism for exclusion of errors on the basis of continuous verification and validation of data of beneficiaries by various authorities.

"However, during the verification process, it was found that an amount of Rs 2,326.88 crore was transferred to 32,91,152 ineligible beneficiaries, including income tax payees," Tomar said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

He also mentioned that "few instances have been reported from states where the credentials of block/ district officials have been misused to approve the applications of ineligible farmers under PM-KISAN".

Sharing state-wise data on ineligible beneficiaries, Tomar said Karnataka government has informed that 2,03,819 wrong registrations have been identified and FIRs have been lodged accordingly.

Tamil Nadu has informed that nearly 6 lakh registrations have been identified as ineligible due to wrongful activity and from these Rs 158.57 crore has been recovered till now.

On action taken against ineligible beneficiaries, the minister said Tamil Nadu has informed that around 16 FIRs have been lodged against the culprits and more than 100 arrests were made.

In Gujarat, nearly 7,000 beneficiaries have been identified as ineligible due to wrongful activities in the state, he added.

Gujarat has informed that wrong cases under the PM-KISAN scheme have been found in two districts of Gujarat and FIRs filed accordingly. In Gujarat, 55 suspected user IDs have been deactivated.

Highlighting steps taken to improve improve infrastructure under PM-KISAN, the minister said the PM-KISAN portal has been integrated with UIDAI and beneficiaries of states are Aadhaar-authenticated except for Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Meghalaya and Assam who are exempted till March 31, 2021.

Further, the PM-KISAN portal has been integrated with the Income Tax database to identify beneficiaries who are income tax payees.

All the identified income tax payees are marked as ineligible as per the scheme. Hence, are excluded from receiving the benefits under the PM-KISAN, he said.

That apart, the minister said that 'Standard Operation Guidelines' have been issued for recovering money from ineligible beneficiaries. A refund module has also been developed on the PM-KISAN portal which is used across the states for recovering money from these ineligible beneficiaries.

As per the operational guidelines, physical verification of 5 per cent beneficiaries has to be carried by states and Union Territories. The necessary instructions have been issued to states. Accordingly, a module for physical verification has also been developed on the PM-KISAN portal.

Besides, instructions have been issued to states/ UTs to carry out the 'Social Audit component' of the operational guidelines of PM-KISAN and display the list of all the beneficiaries under PM-KISAN at every gram panchayat, the minister added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the assembly election round



the corner, the government is likely to name Soumen Mitra as the new commissioner of Kolkata Police, a state government official said on Friday.

Mitra will replace Anuj Sharma who may be made the additional director general (ADG) of the state CID, he said.

Siddhinath Gupta, presently the ADG of state CID may be named as the ADG (South Bengal.

The Election Commission had named Mitra as the commissioner of the city police during the 2016 assembly poll in the state replacing the then top cop Rajeev Kumar.

The state poll is due in April-May.

The official said Jawed Shamim, who is the Kolkata Police special commissioner (II) may take over as the next ADG (Law and order) of the state, while Gyanwant Singh may be the ADG (Armed Police).

Changes are likely to be made in the rank of commissioners of police in the commissionerates of neighbouring Bidhannagar, Barrackpore and Howrah, he said.

Supratim Sarkar, the additional commissioner of police (II) of Kolkata Police may be named as the next CP of Bidhannagar Police replacing Mukesh, while Ajay Kumar may be take up the top post in Barrackpore Police in place of Manoj Verma, the official said.

C Sudhakar is likely to take charge as the chief of Howrah Police Commissionerate, he said.

"The necessary order for these postings will be issued very soon," the official added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Artist Marina DeBris starts each day combing the beaches of Sydneys eastern suburbs for rubbish that she fashions into a kind of couture called trashion. Its not hard for this trashionista to find raw materials for her creations. You wouldnt believe some of the things I find washed up on the beach, she says  the most common: cigarette butts; the strangest: a latex sex toy. Model and scientist Laura Wells wears The ones that got away, which Marina DeBris made from aluminium cans and plastic bottles. Credit:Nic Walker After her daily morning run or swim, she rides home on her bicycle with a bag that is usually full of objets trouves. At home she dons an old pair of gloves and sorts, cleans, colour codes and crafts the litter into wearable art. Her Randwick basement studio resembles the atelier of a high-end fashion house. But instead of boxes of lace and buttons, her milk crates contain sorted swimming goggles, water bottles, fishing tackle and lures that shes found on the beach or in the ocean. Rather than reams of fabric, she has rolls of fishing net and buckets filled with fish-shaped soy sauce bottles, the kind that are sold with takeaway sushi (shes collected hundreds over the years). She hand-sews the tiny plastic containers onto fishnet to create a bodice that looks like a coral reef or a bed of pearls. Marina DeBris collects rubbish at Gordons Bay. Credit:Nick Moir A mermaids tail is wired and drilled together with crushed aluminium cans and plastic bottles (pictured above). Stray items such as raffia torn from a beach umbrella are used like feather boas to provide the final flourishes of an outfit. In the corner, a rack of clothes reminiscent of the backstage at a pret-a-porter show contains a pair of pants made from chip and Twistie packets patch-worked together. No refuse is refused here.

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A new installation at the Greenwood Plaza in North Sydney Credit:Louie Douvis Some of these outfits feature in Beach Couture: A Haute Mess, her solo show at Darling Harbours Australian National Maritime Museum, along with an archaeological-style display of artefacts found at Coogee Beach, Gordons Bay and some of Sydneys northern beaches. These include false teeth and fingernails, 50s-style toys, toothbrushes and stiletto heels worn down by the waves. Museum visitors could be excused for thinking they are getting a playful sneak preview of next seasons Paris catwalk shows, but the exhibition is designed to unveil a serious subject: the hidden cost of ocean pollution. Statistics are edifying: about 8 million tonnes of plastic enters our ocean every year, adding to the estimated 150 million tonnes that now circulate the marine environment. Environmental experts say that by 2050 there will likely be more plastic in the ocean than fish. About 800 species of animals worldwide, including 77 Australian ones, are affected by marine debris. More than 75 per cent of what is removed from our beaches is made from plastic that never breaks down. Marina DeBris with some of her work, exhibited at the Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour. Credit:Louie Douvis After mask-wearing became mandatory in NSW last month due to COVID-19, DeBris said another pandemic loomed: the number of face masks washing up on beaches. Each day she collects at least five or six, as well as countless single-use coffee cups and lids. Last May, in Gordons Bay, she intercepted more than 30 packages, each comprising 50 disposable face masks, from some of the 50 shipping containers that went overboard from the APL England ship spill. Shes piecing together some of the masks she found into a sort of Jacobean-style collar, a work-in-progress on one of the mannequins in her home studio. Those were only the ones that made it to the beach that day; there were many more lost at sea, she says. These masks, with their plastic packaging and indestructible elastics, are one more unnecessary hazard to marine life. This is all just the tip of the plastic iceberg.

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These masks, with their plastic packaging and indestructible elastics, are one more unnecessary hazard to marine life. Marina DeBris Beach Couture is the Maritime Museums first exhibition in what the United Nations has deemed the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. It is also the latest in a continuum of projects over the years to explore and promote greater understanding of the ecological issues facing our oceans, including Sydney Harbour Gallery and Beautiful Whale. The museum calls them exhibitions with a purpose  you walk away feeling inspired to take action for oceans. Detroit-born DeBris, an environmentalist who calls herself an artivist (an art/activist), changed her name in about 2009 when she started to get serious about the problem of sea and beach pollution. (She prefers to go by this rather than her birth name.) Even her chosen name  Marina DeBris  is a witty way to make you think differently about the waste that washes up on our shores. Marina DeBris, inside her home studio. Credit:Matthew Abbott Ive always had this really secret desire to be a fashion designer. But I knew that I would be devoured by that industry, DeBris says. Instead she studied at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design in the United States. In the 1980s , when there was a dearth of graphic designers in Australia, she migrated from New York, finding work and a home on Bondi Beach and falling in love with the sea and the sand. She returned to California, living in Venice Beach in the 1990s, where her environmental activism began in earnest.

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Id run on the beach and immediately noticed how much rubbish washed up there. I collected and piled up all the Styrofoam cups I found and took them back to the local 7/11 and demanded to speak to the manager. I said: What are you gonna do about this? and he just looked at me like, What the hell is your problem? Its not my problem. And I knew that they would do nothing. So I knew I had to do something. She started volunteering with local environment groups such as Heal the Bay and Algalita, whose founder, oceanographer Captain Charles Moore, became a mentor. Sailing his yacht across the Pacific in 1997, Moore was the first to discover the swirling soup of plastic debris in the Pacifics northeastern gyre  known by many as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. White Trash by Marina DeBris, worn by model Hannah Kat Jones. Credit:Richard Flynn At first she began creating graphic art for these organisations, as well as the 5 Gyres Institute, which funds research expeditions to fish out plastic from oceanic gyres, the natural whirlpools where rubbish, toxic for fish and birds, circulates. Another early influence was Seattle photographer Chris Jordan, who is known for his 2017 documentary Albatross, a powerfully moving story about birds on Midway Island in the Pacific, whose bodies are filled with ocean plastics. But it was his earlier work, documenting the millions of mobile phone and computer power boards that went to landfill, that galvanised her into action for oceans. He put a visual to these massive numbers of things we dispose of to landfill, which is what led me to do the same  to put a visual face on things that we dont really see or understand  If someone runs a number by you  say we dispose of x million single-use coffee cups per minute, its hard to know what that means until you see them all piled up before you. So for me, with my visual background, the best way to express myself is with pictures, not numbers. She started using the polystyrene cups and takeaway containers washed up on the Californian coast to create a polystyrene dress she calls Takeaway Queen, which was her first piece of wearable art.

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I had no training in fashion or clothes-making; I just made the whole thing on the mannequin. And then, when I went to take it off the model, I realised I couldnt get it off the giant life-sized Barbie doll  so I had to keep going. Takeaway Queen by Marina DeBris, featuring model Hannah Kat Jones. Credit:Richard Flynn Another, called White Trash, she assembled with a rainbow of coloured cigarette lighters and plastic cutlery that washed up around Venice Beach. Her first solo exhibition of refashioned garbage was in 2009, and she hasnt stopped since. In 2013, DeBris exhibited in Sculpture by the Sea. She returned to live in Sydney soon afterwards. In 2017, she won the Sydney Water environmental sculpture subsidy and picked up both the Waverley mayor and peoples choice awards at Sculpture that year for her Inconvenience Store. That work, a spoof on a convenience store, is now on display at the Maritime Museum too, and has previously been installed at Taronga Zoo. As well as ocean debris, shes picked up a host of other art and environment awards, as well as commissions. I want the pieces to be realistic and slightly upsetting. They also smell... Marina DeBris Local governments across Sydney have been eager to enlist DeBris to use her work to help them highlight pollution in their local government areas. Many schools and teachers across the country are using recycled goods  often from the ocean  to create their own Trashion shows. Shows such as the ABCs War on Waste, she feels, helped make headway in terms of people cutting back on single-use items such as coffee cups and plastic bags. Although, the ban on reusable keep cups at cafes during the pandemic has put paid to that for now. She feels its time to refocus our energies on becoming more conscious about our consumption habits.

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Featuring Charlotte Caffey (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals), Belinda Carlisle (lead vocals), Gina Schock (drums, percussion, vocals), Kathy Valentine (bass guitar, vocals) and Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), God Bless The Go-Go's was the band's first studio album in 17 years following 1984's Talk Show and reached No. 57 on the Billboard 200 and No. 17 on the Top Internet Albums chart. The album was produced by Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade (Radiohead, Hole) and features Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong on the single "Unforgiven," Rame Jaffee (The Wallflowers and Foo Fighters) on "Here You Are," as well as Roger Manning (Jellyfish. Imperial Drag and The Moog Cookbook) on the track "Daisy Chain." Upon its original release, it was hailed by Uncut magazine for its "sheer, punchy exuberance" while Billboard was impressed with its "deliriously buoyant, unadulterated adult-made pop."

In addition, February 5 sees the release of their universally acclaimed, 2020 Critics Choice Award winning documentary THE GO-GO'S through digital download & rental services via Eagle Vision, followed by the 2-Disc set (DVD + Blu-ray) via Polygram/UMe on February 26. Pre order the DVD/Blu-ray here.

The Alison Ellwood-directed THE GO-GO'S documentary, which first premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, aired over the summer on Showtime to rave reviews, achieved a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won a 2020 Critics Choice Award for "Best Music Documentary" in addition to receiving the honor of "Most Compelling Living Subjects in a Documentary."

With their roots in the L.A. punk scene, the candid and archive-rich documentary assesses the group's place in music history this serious appraisal of their story is the first to set the record straight about their historical ascent to global stardom. A major highlight of the film focuses on their collaborative efforts in writing a new song, the female empowerment anthem "Club Zero," which became the first Go-Go's single in nearly 20 years and hit the Top 10 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart.

VINYL TRACK LISTING:

SIDE 1

La La Land Unforgiven Apology Stuck In My Car Vision Of Nowness Here You Are Automatic Rainy Day

SIDE 2

Kissing Asphalt Insincere Sonic Superslide Throw Me A Curve Talking Myself Down Daisy Chain

CD/DIGITAL TRACK LISTING

La La Land Unforgiven Apology Stuck In My Car Vision Of Nowness Here You Are Automatic Rainy Day Kissing Asphalt Insincere Sonic Superslide Throw Me A Curve Talking Myself Down Daisy Chain I Think I Need Sleep* King Of Confusion*

*Bonus Tracks

In June, The Go-Go's will perform a series of summer 2021 North American tour dates in conjunction with the documentary release. Starting at San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium, they'll perform at intimate venues across North America, giving fans a chance to see them up close and personal.

Summer 2021 North American tour dates:

Jun 18 The Masonic San Francisco, CA + Jun 23 Humphreys San Diego, CA + Jun 24 Humphreys San Diego, CA + Jun 27 Pechanga Resort Casino Temecula, CA + Jun 29 Orpheum Theater Los Angeles, CA + Jun 30 Orpheum Theater Los Angeles, CA + Jul 7 Theatre at Westbury Westbury, NY Jul 8 Parx Casino Bensalem, PA Jul 10 Foxwoods Resort Casino Mashantucket, CT Jul 11 Stone Pony Asbury Park, NJ +



+ Date changes

The Go-Go's skyrocketed to superstardom after they released one of the most successful debut albums of all time, 1981's Beauty And The Beat, a collection of hook-laden, infectious songs that stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard charts for six consecutive weeks, spawning the hits "Our Lips Are Sealed" (named one of Rolling Stone's Top 100 Pop Singles) and "We Got The Beat" and also earned them a Grammy nomination for "Best New Artist." They have the notable distinction of being the only all-female band to write their own songs and play their own instruments on a No. 1 album. Their 1982 follow-up, Vacation, hit Top Ten on the Billboard 200 and featured the Top Ten title track "Vacation." They have sold over 7 million records worldwide and continue to blaze new trails, kicking down the doors for women in particular.

SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises

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At present many airports are facing heavy losses with very few passengers passing through. Except for some major airports such as Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang, and Cam Ranh, which are still operating partially, other airports are running in the red. Despite this, many localities recently proposed the construction of new airports, raising concerns about unnecessary planning and excess waste. Saigon Investment interviewed Mr. BUI DOAN NE, Vice President of Vietnam Association of Aviation Enterprises, to discuss this issue further.

JOURNALIST: - Sir, in context of a serious decline in the aviation industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, localities such as Ha Tinh, Ninh Thuan, and Bac Lieu continue to propose the construction of new airports. What are your views on this issue?

Mr. BUI DOAN NE: - I think the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the domestic aviation industry has been heavy and long-lasting, but we will be able to overcome it in time. Once the pandemic vaccine is able to cover and protect vast numbers of the population, we will be back to reviving the travel industry once again. Difficulties caused by the pandemic are only temporary until the disease lasts, while airport planning is a long-term issue. In developed countries, the demand for air travel is huge. The growth rate of Vietnam's aviation industry in the last ten years has also been rather fast. If we do not plan now for a long-term future, we will be confronted by an overcrowded population and will have to rethink our strategy on building more airports to cope with a growing demand. We will face immense difficulties, and the aviation industry will find it hard to keep up with a fast growing economy.

- Sir, in the future, if any province has an airport, will it lead to redundancy and waste of resources?

- With a population of approximately 100 million people and travel needs increasing by the day, and in the context of Vietnam's increasing integration with the world, the number of airports currently in operation are certainly not enough. Airport planning is a long-term vision, and investments must be made very carefully. Each construction of an airport must relate to local development plans with specific requirements. Factors such as economic efficiency, social impact and the environment must be carefully considered. Previously, we only focused on three main regions of Vietnam, namely, the North, Central and Southern regions. Now the flight network can connect with each local airport, so it is not necessary to calculate the distance between places but whether the airport at that place is operational.

- Sir, are many airports in Vietnam not exploiting their full capacity?

- This is because connectivity between airports and neighboring urban areas and economic centers is weak. This restriction reduces the need for air transportation, especially for cargo. This shortcoming is due to the fact that the construction and development planning for each type of transport has not been closely connected with each other. In addition, the quality of construction of the transport network does not meet all essential requirements at present.

The above situation requires adjustment at planning stage, but lack of sufficient and comprehensive consideration requires a combination of transport systems. Therefore, in coming time, it is necessary to review and supplement traffic planning in localities that already have or are about to have airports, so as to synchronize the overall transportation network. For airport planning, this should be a mandatory criterion before investing.

- Sir, many new factors and the current aviation crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic led to changes in the market. Will it require planning to make necessary adjustments in the future?

- As I said before, planning is a long-term issue, and should be done early and adjusted as needed. In the immediate future, we need to review and evaluate current policies on airport construction and management, and improve investment processes and procedures for airports. Currently, the mobilization of non-budget capital sources for airport development is still facing many procedural issues such as in handling problems related to land, investment procedures, and incompetence of concerned agencies related to airports. Therefore, the Government must issue a new decree to replace Decree 102/2015/ND-CP on airport management and operations, so that investment in airport infrastructure can be carried out as planned and made suitable with actual needs.

- Thank you very much.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has submitted to the Ministry of Transport the final report on the master plan on development of national airports and entire airport network until 2030, with a vision till 2050. Accordingly, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam proposes that by 2030, the country will have 26 airports, including 14 international and 12 domestic airports. Three new ports will be Long Thanh in Dong Nai province, Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan province, and Quang Tri. Compared with previous plan approved by the Prime Minister, the number of airports have decreased from 28 to 26. In vision till 2050, Vietnam plans for 30 airports, with 5 international and 15 domestic airports. Four more airports are also being planned, namely, Na San, Lai Chau, Cao Bang and a second airport in Hanoi.

Minh Duy (interviewer)

New Delhi, Feb 5 : After a news report by IANS highlighted the issue of Rihanna's beauty company, a complaint has been lodged with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to investigate if the company sources mica from Jharkhand where child workers labourers work in dire conditions.

The complaint filed by Vinay Joshi of Legal Rights Observatory has asked the NCPCR Chairperson to check if the US pop star's cosmetic product company, Fenty Beauty brand which procures mica from Jharkhand's Koderma, Giridih and Nawada has Supply Chain Clearance Certification and if not, then the NCPCR should initiate action against the company.

Joshi attached the IANS report titled "Rihanna Fenty, Fenty Beauty and Blood Mica in India" in the complaint to NCPCR Chairperson and said that US pop star's beauty product brand uses "blood mica" from Jharkhand in which child labourers work in dire conditions.

In the complaint, he said that to ascertain that mica is free of child labourers, there are certification agencies. "But media reports say that Fenty Beauty doesn't have Supply Chain Clearance Certification (SCCC) from either of the two," the complaint said.

"With this letter we would like to request you to investigate whether Fenty Beauty is using uncertified mica and if true, then please start appropriate legal action against the company and its owners," it said.

Rihanna Fenty's @fentybeauty has declared that it does not conduct mandatory audits in regards to Suppliers Code of Conduct under the Californian law for human trafficking, slavery and child abuse - a clever way of saying they might be using child labour, Indian intelligence sources alleged.

They added that Rihanna's Fenty "had the guts to feign compassion for Indian farmers while knowing very well the beauty industry uses illegal child labour (mostly poor farmers' children, the very farmers that the Government is trying to empower with the farm bills 2020) in India to mine mica - the most important ingredient of her beauty prod beauty products!" Sources claimed that Fenty beauty is well aware, as all other companies, that most of this mica is mined by children of poor farmers in India, whose health and lives are endangered by their company's unethical means to earn profit.

Not only is that a huge risk to @fentybeauty in India but this cheap publicity gimmick may actually put it out of business in India, sources said. A poor oversight of facts, or in this case, an ulterior motive to stall the development of farmers in India, so that the farmers remain poor and their children can be exploited by beauty companies like Rihanna's Fenty for their gains, sources added.
Bir Lehlu (Sahrawi Republic), Feb 04, 2021 (SPS) - The President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Gali, sent a congratulatory message to his Angolan counterpart, Mr. Joao Laurenzo, in occasion of the commemoration of the historic anniversary of the armed struggle of the Angolan people against Portuguese colonialism.

"Allow me personally and on behalf of the government and the Saharawi people, to express our most sincere congratulations on this historic anniversary of February 4, the date on which the beginning of the war of independence against colonialism is commemorated, as well as to congratulate the brother people of Angola to whom we are joined by ties of friendship and solidarity , adds the letter.

The heroic battle fought by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) represented a fundamental factor that inspired the other African peoples, who still suffered from the colonialist yoke ", highlights the letter.

President Gali has also took advantage of to" express his gratitude to the Angolan president for the warm welcome to the Saharawi Foreign Minister and the fruitful discussions on issues of common interest at regional and continental level. " SPS

125/090/TRA
Condone is another blind spot, due to the somersaults the verb must perform in those weaselly doorstops that MPs give. You know the scenario. Theres the finance minister before the media, saying they dont condone the behaviour of fund managers, and youre left wondering whether that remark is a reprimand or a defence.

Schulzs lapsonym was nugatory, a synonym of jejune  my own bete noire . Sleeker than teflon, jejune never seems to stick, which feels only right for a word meaning lacking interest or significance, ie nugatory. Perhaps thats how Ill remember both words now.

And not your first check, either. Since thats the catch with lapsonyms; their definitions fail to catch, no matter how often you try. Kathryn Schulz, a writer with the New Yorker , coined the word in 2015, a neologism thats fittingly evaded mainstream traction.

Sanguine. Bathos. Anodyne. You know these words, but do you really? Just like diffident and palimpsest. Limpid and supine. Bucolic and escrow. Welcome to the slippery realm of lapsonyms, those words that demand a trip to the dictionary.

William Safire, another wordy New Yorker, saw the rife misuse of condone as only feeding the problem. Most people presume condone means to approve, as opposed to pardon, its actual definition. The fact is, you can condone Harry for slapping that whiny Hugo in The Slap, which isnt the same as supporting his action. There is a difference.

To muddy the water, condone is often couched in the negative, like our doorstop sample, the verb enforced to obey its shadow-self. You end up wondering whether the minister is pardoning but not approving. Or disapproving, but forgiving. Or neither. Ill need to look it up again.

Aver is another common lapsonym, according to my recent Twitter survey. The word means to state with confidence, despite being one letter short of waver. That accidental kinship could well embody the muddles source, just as a word for pardon (condone) is a pairing of two versions of swindle: con and done. Or enervate, a synonym of sap, is often skewed to mean animate owing to its semi-energetic opening.

Technical terms stand apart from general lapsonyms. Nobody expects you to nail the nuances of syzygy or blockchain every time such ideas are discussed. Of course, we know the terms. We see them in silhouette form, if not their granular details. We know their pigeonholes. But should you need to visit a dictionary, seeking a clearer sense, then thats only for want of specialist training. Or so runs my excuse anyway.

Contrast that with ameliorate or sinecure, lambent or eponym: words you meet in books and articles, crosswords and subtitles. Words you should know because youve checked their meaning a dozen times before, yet still they taunt, gambolling beyond your memory bank.
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The First Lady Jeannette Kagame has urged global leaders to enhance awareness that seeks to educate global communities about healthy lifestyles as part of the ways to culminate the epidemic.

Mrs Kagame said this on Thursday, February 4, as Rwanda joined the rest of the world to mark the International World Cancer.

"On this World Cancer Day let us pledge to continue educating our people the importance of living healthy lifestyles which include regular medical check-ups in order for our communities to receive necessary treatment in time," she said in a tweet.

"Let us remember that behind global #cancer statistics is a mother, a father, a sibling or a child, whose life will never be the same again after their diagnosis..." - First Lady Jeannette Kagame#WorldCancerDay pic.twitter.com/OST7X4gMvC

- First Lady of Rwanda (@FirstLadyRwanda) February 4, 2021

In Rwanda the day was observed under a three-year theme, 'I am and I will', a campaign that culminates this year with a particular focus on the importance of collective action.

The multi-year campaign seeks to highlight the power of concerted efforts and cooperation of all stakeholders, starting from individual and community actions, governments, private sector and regional and international partners.

"Let us remember that behind global cancer statistics is a mother, a father, a sibling or a child whose life will never be the same again after their diagnosis," Mrs Kagame.

Figures indicate that at least one-third of cancers globally are preventable, according to the World Health Organization.

This, experts argue, demonstrates that not enough has been done to raise public awareness about the disease and ensure that individuals take preventive strategies seriously.

Data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, indicate that in 2018, the world recorded as many as 9.5 million cancer-related deaths, while over 18 million new cases were registered in the same year.

The same research pointed to a more worrying trend, with the number of new cancer cases and deaths per year expected to rise to over 30 million and over 16 million, respectively, by 2040.
TEENAGE environmentalist and author Dara McAnulty has made a heartfelt plea for cross-border cooperation on climate change and nature.

The 17-year-old told an all-island conference: Nature doesnt settle on a boundary.

The Fermanagh native, author of the multiple award winning Diary of a Young Naturalist, gave his presentation in poem form, noting that seeds, sounds and misinformation heeded none of the invisible lines of the border.

He urged communities and leaders on both sides to focus on shared challenges.

Read More

Common ground is just that  the soil we tread on that gently holds us together, he said.

The conference was hosted by the new Shared Island Unit set up by the government to help maintain all-island relations post-Brexit.

Speakers, including scientists, regulators and environmental activists, said while there were strong links and shared projects between universities and environmental groups north and south, official policy was not always so closely aligned.

They raised concerns around the Brexit fall-out and what the implications may be for a Northern Ireland no longer bound by EU environmental directives or the biodiversity clauses in the EUs Common Agricultural Policy.

Water quality, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, illegal dumping, mining, shared seas and fish stocks, and invasive species were all transboundary issues, the contributors stressed.

Habitats spanned the border yet designations and associated protections differed; planning in border areas was not coherent, and it was unclear whether Irish citizens in the north could still avail of the rights to environmental information enshrined in the EUs Aarhus Convention.

Dr Tom Collins of the Irish Water Forum said he was particularly concerned about Northern Irelands departure from the EU Water Framework Directive given the issues around pollution of waterways by agricultural run-off and other sources.

Water does not recognise jurisdictional boundaries, he said.

Dr Eimear Cotter of the Environmental Protection Agency noted the Water Abstractions Bill soon to be enacted would cross-border implications that needed to be monitored.

Anne Marie McDevitt of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said species protections extend island-wide, noting curlews that bred in Antrim had feeding grounds in the South.

Shirley Clerkin, heritage officer with Monaghan County Council said a united approach could start with an education and information campaign.

We have all-Ireland campaigns for tourism. Why not one to explain why biodiversity and climate action matter to everyone on the island? she said.

The conference heard that greenhouse gas emissions and their sources were very similar north and south.

The Norths emissions were one-third of those from the south and as in the south, agriculture was the single biggest contributor.

Dr Vivian Gravey of Queens University Belfast said both jurisdictions also shared a history of low environmental ambition.

Climate Action Minister Eamon Ryan said climate and the environment were unique policy areas because they had global impact and required a shared response.

It follows that there is no greater and more common challenge we face as an island, than tackling the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, with the urgency, resolve and solidarity it demand, he said.
Lokman Slim speaks during an interview, in a still image taken from Reuters TV footage shot on February 2, 2009. Photo: Reuters

Lebanese activist Lokman Slim was found fatally shot in a car yesterday morning, a killing that fellow activists took as a warning from Iran-backed Hezbollah, of whom Mr Slim was a sharp critic.

Mr Slim, a political activist and commentator in his late 50s, was a Shiite Lebanese who had been vociferously against Hezbollah  originally a Shiite militant group that now, with its allies, holds the most power in government and effectively operates as a state within a state.

He also made films with his wife, Monika Borgmann, and had long been critical of Hezbollah. In a recent TV interview he blamed the group for the port blast that ripped through Beirut, killing more than 200 in the capital and injuring thousands.

Around 2am, Ms Borgmann tweeted that her husband  who was in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway  was not answering his phone and had not been seen since 8pm on Wednesday.

By noon yesterday, Lebanons state news agency had reported his body had been found in a car, without phone or identification. The coroner that examined him said he was hit by four bullets in the head and one in the back.

Lebanon has become bleakly accustomed to assassinations and assassination attempts, but Mr Slims killing was especially alarming, in that he wasnt a top political actor or a widely well-known figure.

Ayman Mhanna, executive director of the Samir Kassir Foundation, which focuses on media freedom in Lebanon, said the killing was a message to activists and a sign that assassinations are no longer necessarily bound to household names, but people who have influence in shaping public opinion. ( The Washington Post)

 Washington Post

The Louisiana Department of Health reported 734 more confirmed coronavirus cases and 29 more confirmed deaths in its noon update Friday.

The number of hospitalizations decreased by 20, and the number of patients in need of ventilators increased by five.

There are also 54,339 total "probable" coronavirus cases in Louisiana, according to the agency's dashboard.

Louisiana expands coronavirus vaccine eligibility to people 65 and older; see details Louisiana will allow people who are 65 and older to access COVID-19 vaccines starting Monday as the state sees more doses and some slowing app

These are another few key statewide statistics as of Friday:

Total confirmed cases: 409,861

Total "probable" cases: 54,339

Total confirmed deaths: 8,482

Currently hospitalized: 1,275

Currently on ventilators: 167

Vaccine series initiated: 404,007 (updated twice weekly)

Vaccine series completed: 130,978

Presumed recovered: 363,457 as of Feb. 1 (updated weekly)

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Note: The Advocate and The Times-Picayune staff calculates daily case count and confirmed death increases based on the difference between today's total and yesterday's total of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. The Louisiana Department of Health releases a daily case count on its dashboard that includes probable cases as indicated by a positive antigen test. That case count can be different than the one listed here.

You can view more graphs and charts breaking down the data by clicking here.

Louisiana began reopening for Phase 1 on May 15-16 then moved to Phase 2 on June 5. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards extended Louisiana's Phase 2 restrictions twice in August before moving the state to Phase 3 on Sept. 11. The governor then moved the state back to a modified Phase 2 near the end of November.

This is a developing story. More details and analysis to come.
Cho Hae-jin, author of "I Met Loh Kiwan" and "Simple Sincerity," poses during an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe inside the Changbi Publishers building in Mapo District, western Seoul, Feb. 1. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



By Park Han-sol



"I am a person who wishes to write about sincerity, with sincerity."



With this phrase, fiction writer Cho Hae-jin explained her literary focus based on recounting the stories of nameless figures  politically marginalized Koreans, immigrants and adoptees. She said she finds parts of herself in those voiceless people, and that her sense of solidarity forces her to keep writing their tales.



Since her literary debut with the 2004 novella, "Asking for Directions to a Woman," Cho has been the recipient of prestigious prizes, including the Shin Dong-yup Prize for Literature, Lee Hyo-seok Literature Award and Daesan Literary Award.



Cho is a prolific novelist. Almost every year, she has published either anthologies, short story collections or full-length novels, such as "City of Angels" (2008), "I Met Loh Kiwan" (2011), "Light's Escort" (2017) and "Simple Sincerity" (2019).



"From my mid- to late 30s, I must have been ranked first or second in terms of the number of stories published in literary magazines," the 45-year-old author said, smiling, during a recent Korea Times interview. For a long time, it became routine for her to write her short stories while simultaneously working on full-length novels.



She didn't always aspire to become a writer. In high school, studying under her Korean teacher whom she admired soon led her to major in education at Ewha Womans University in the vague hope of following the path of her role model. But she found no joy with the coursework and teaching.



"I'd much rather make a trip to the central library and explore the books from the literature section," she said. Some unexpected, positive feedback she received from her creative writing class also became a boost for her literary ego.



"Before graduation, one of my stories won the campus literary prize and was published in a school magazine. Seeing fellow students reading copies in classrooms and the cafeteria made my heart race. I've never really experienced that kind of feeling in my life before."



Even after her debut, for years, Cho worked as a Korean language teacher and then as a college lecturer in creative writing, while drafting her books. It was only last year when she finally decided to take the path of a full-time author.



Her biggest reason for holding different jobs was plain and simple: she wanted to finance her dream of living as a writer. But she found her jobs were more than a financial means to her career. The people she met in Korea and Poland while serving as a language instructor shaped her worldview and affected her literary world.



When she was lecturing at language schools or universities, her students, mostly international students, foreign language teachers and businesspeople, were individuals who could afford to pay the tuition. "But there were also those who are often excluded from such institutions, including migrant workers, marriage migrants and adoptees. I met them intermittently by volunteering in tutoring sessions," she continued.



"On the one hand, I may seem to be leading a settled, stable life, having received a higher education and living as an author. But at the same time, I constantly feel that I don't belong here, drifting and wandering without purpose. And as I met those people who live in this country as strangers, I saw part of myself in them."



Against this backdrop, Cho has made efforts to portray politically alienated characters, including ethnic minorities, refugees and the homeless, stuck on the margins of society.



"I believe one purpose of a novel is to represent those whose lives are upstaged and don't get to enjoy their fair share of the pie. Even when you do write about individuals with glamorous lives, the novel should be able to see through the facade and witness their hidden wounds."



But her stories don't single out and dissect one isolated individual. Instead, the main characters are surrounded by others who observe them with understanding, attempt to form bonds and testify about the life they led because ultimately, they are also not free from their own pain and loneliness.





"I Met Loh Kiwan" (2011) by Cho Hae-jin / Courtesy of Changbi Publishers

In one of her most iconic works, "I Met Loh Kiwan," which was translated into English in 2019, TV writer Kim (with no full name ever disclosed) comes across an article about Loh Kiwan, a North Korean defector who illicitly traveled to Brussels, Belgium, to gain refugee status. As if possessed, she soon goes on a search to the European nation in the vague hope of meeting Loh.



The novel centers on Loh's diary detailing his painful journey full of solitude and contempt in a foreign land as a fugitive that is reenacted via Kim's imagination.



Without resorting to sensational descriptions of life in North Korea, "I Met Loh Kiwan" portrays the the country's mass famine in the late 1990s, also known as Arduous March, the all-too-familiar poverty-stricken life and the process of defection, as well as the application process for refugee status.



For Cho, the motive for writing such a story was complex. In 1996, during the great famine in the North, she was a college student completely unaware of the neighboring country's situation as both the media and professors stayed mum. One day, she saw posters on campus describing the state of affairs, and even though she could not verify its content, it became ingrained in her memory. Years later in Poland, just like Kim, she came upon an article about the North Korean refugees drifting in Belgium and headed to the country herself. That was when she became truly aware of the North's decade-defining tragedy.



"It's true that in the 1990s, South Korea was also suffering from a debilitating financial crisis, but at least there was no widespread malnutrition or famine. It was shocking to realize that not just hundreds, but hundreds of thousands of people starved to death in a place not far from us. I wanted to let more people know about this," she explained.



As an Asian woman working in Poland at the time, Cho also sympathized with the defectors as she contemplated her identity as an outsider and the inevitable sense of alienation that came with it. "At least I was there working, had a passport and spoke basic English. But I thought about how desperate and lonely it would be for those who have no such thing, not even a home to return to," she said. She wished to write their story.



Lastly, her concerns about the ethics of writing as an author when the novel was first written were projected onto the narrator Kim, a TV writer. Through Kim, she mused on the extent that she can narrate others' misfortune and pain, the risk of unwanted objectification and the true nature of sympathy.





"Simple Sincerity" (2019) by Cho Hae-jin / Courtesy of Minumsa
Massachusetts prisoners had a special chance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The Department of Corrections (DOC) said in a memo that if they receive all doses, watch and read instructional materials and send a form for acceptance, they could shorten their sentences.

Massachusetts prisoners could shorten their sentence

A Massachusetts law states that inmates are "eligible to receive sentences deductions and completion credits if they will participate in and complete programs and activities."

In a January 28 memo addressed to prisoners, the Department of Correction Commissioner Carol A. Mici described the incentives as "earned good time" (EGT), CNN reported.

According to the memo, prisoners who complete the measures required could earn a total of seven and a half days of EGT. Mici wrote, "I have determined that receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is significantly valuable to rehabilitation and will therefore be offering Earned Good Time."

Prisons are still the hot spots for COVID-19

Massachusetts is one of only a few states in Phase One of the vaccination delivery rollouts that includes prisoners. As of January 28, more than 3,500 DOC inmates received the vaccine when the memo was sent out, Mici wrote.

Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, jails became hot sites for coronavirus infection. According to the Covid Prison Project that tracks COVID-19 in correctional institutions across the U.S., there are 368,271 COVID-19 cases and 2,256 deaths in jail to date.

Last month, the assistant professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-founder of the project, Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, told CNN, "If we just purely look at the epidemiology of COVID-19 where the outbreaks have been, it's hard to ignore prisons andd jails who have been the epicenter in many ways."

In December, over 480 health professionals signed an open letter urging the CDC advisory group to prioritize vaccines for incarcerated communities.

Read also: Teen Wakes up from Coma Unaware of the Pandemic and That He Caught It Twice

Governor Baker rescinded the announcement

However, prisoners at the Massachusetts Department of Correction will no longer be entitled to get a week off their jail term through receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, as per CBS Boston.

The announcement made by Commissioner Carol Mici in a letter to inmates was rescinded on Wednesday by Governor Charlie Baker.

A spokeswoman for Baker said in an email to WBZ-TV on Wednesday night, "When the Governor's Office knew the memo, the decision was made to rescind it as the memo was inconsistent with the Administration's policies regarding reduced prison terms."

"In densely populated settings, these facilities are prioritized because they serve vulnerable populations," Governor Baker said of prisons and other congregational care facilities.

Since December, prisoners have been given educational videos about the COVID-19 vaccine, including a dialogue with Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, Rev. Liz Walker, and Dr. Anthony Fauci discussing vaccine and healthcare sector skepticism.

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
[February 05, 2021] CrossTx Partners With Montana Hospital Association to Offer Digital Transformative Services Across the State

BOZEMAN, Mont., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CrossTx, a leading cloud-based healthcare physician and provider network technology platform simplifying and improving patient outcomes across the digital divide, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Montana Hospital Association's business solutions group, MHA Ventures, Inc. Experiencing record growth, CrossTx now works with the state's key hospital association to offer value-added technology solutions that align with the 2021 goals and objectives of Montana's hospitals. CrossTx, a native Montana venture, is committed to offering continuous value to the state's hospitals by offering (1) referral management, (2) care coordination, (3) Medicare chronic care management and (4) a value-added, strategic partnership with behavioral health tele-networks. "We are excited to support a number of important initiatives coming out of the Montana Hospital Association (MHA) in 2021," reports CrossTx CEO and co-founder Chad Nybo. "Our health and human services network platform seamlessly aligns with MHA's key initiatives. The technology improves access and simplifies behavioral telehealth, a core focus this year, while vastly improving what we refer to as digital health - fee for services and health care transformation initiatives." Nybo continued that the company is gearing up to invest at appropriate levels to support Montana's largest urban hospitals to the smallest Critical Access Hospitals across the state. Sean Becker, Vice President Shared Services with the Montana Hospital Association's MHA Ventures, is enthusiastic about the partnership's ability to improve patient access and outcomes. Mr. Becker emphasized the unique value of CrossTx to create flexible, secure collaborative and caremanagement systems that support hospitals' need for patient-centric care, as health care is rapidly transforming to include so many new tele-health solutions. Mr. Becker emphasized, "We only select a few partners to work with per year, driving engagement, rigorous quality and safety as well as the strengthening of member delivery of exceptional outcomes. I have known CrossTx for a long time and look forward to their support for our members."



Over 800 organizations around the United States use the CrossTx platform. Developed in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud for referral management, discharge planning, and care coordination for healthcare providers. CrossTx is the gold standard of referral management and fee-for-value based care management services. Among other groups, CrossTx has partnered with HealthtechS3 for value-based care management as well as Frontier Psychiatry, a Montana-based telepsychiatry service, to develop a coordinated approach to addressing the substantial, unmet need for mental health services across the state of Montana. Moreover, CrossTx has developed APIs to support various remote patient monitoring applications that can help hospitals and other providers, such as palliative care to support patients at home in a more compassionate and cost-effective manner.

CrossTx will be participating at select Montana Hospital Association events this year as well as offering exciting programs to support local hospitals and health systems. About the Montana Hospital Association, MHA Ventures, Inc. The Montana Hospital Association (MHA) is the principal advocate for the interests of the hospital members in the State of Montana. In partnership with its members and the communities they serve, MHA works tirelessly to improve the health status of Montana. For 35 years MHA Ventures, Inc., the for-profit subsidiary of MHA, has assisted Montana's health care providers by delivering business solutions that improve patient care, reduce operating costs and strengthen financial viability. Sean Becker

VP Shared Services Montana Hospital Association, MHA Ventures, Inc.

M: (406) 581-7571

sean@mtha.org Daniel O'Connor

Chief Business Officer, CrossTx

M: 925-570-7486

daniel@crosstx.com Related Images montana-background.jpg

Montana Background

Barn and the mountains of Montana View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crosstx-partners-with-montana-hospital-association-to-offer-digital-transformative-services-across-the-state-301222871.html SOURCE CrossTx, Inc

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India has received requests for supply of COVID-19 vaccines from 22 countries so far these have already been supplied to 15 countries, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday.

Replying to queries during question hour in Lok Sabha, the minister said the vaccines have been supplied both as grant assistance and contract doses.

"We have received requests for vaccine supply from 22 nations so far. Out of these, supply has already been made to 15 nations as grant assistance as well as contract doses. As of February 2, a total of 56 lakh doses has been given as grant assistance and 105 lakh as contracts doses," the minister said.

The government has given emergency use authorisation to two vaccines-- Covishield and Covaxin.

The minister gave the reply amid protest by opposition members over their demand for the repeal of three new farm laws.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Some favorite places around Laramie to access public lands have become, for a few, places of trauma and danger. Since mid-November six dogs became entangled in neck snares or held in terror by foot-hold traps. That is, six cases in an eight-week period. If we broaden the time frame to include February of 2020, less than 12 months ago, we can add another.

Except for one, all were on public land and at least half set illegally. The one case on private land occurred early December 2020 and involved a foot-hold trap that lacked an identification tag, a trapping violation. Immediately adj...
The leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia expressed concern Friday about Myanmars military coup and asked the foreign ministers of Southeast Asia countries to hold a special meeting to discuss the issue to maintain political stability in the region.

Indonesia and Malaysia take the political situation in Myanmar seriously, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said after meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta. This is a step backward in Myanmars democratic transition. We fear the political unrest in Myanmar could disturb the security and stability in this region.

Myanmar's military announced Monday that it will take power for one year, accusing leader Aung San Suu Kyis government of not investigating allegations of voter fraud in recent elections. Suu Kyis party swept that vote and the military-backed party did poorly. The State Election Commission has refuted the allegations.

Muhyiddin said he and Widodo have asked their foreign ministers to talk to the chair of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations to set up a special meeting of foreign ministers to address Myanmars political turmoil, including the issue of ethnic Rohingya Muslims who have fled from the Buddhist-majority nation to Bangladesh.

ASEAN's members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Brunei is chair of the bloc this year.

Indonesia and Malaysia, both Muslim-majority nations, expressed concern about the Rohingya following the coup.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar since August 2017, when the military launched a clearance operation in response to attacks by a rebel group. The security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands of homes.

The Rohingya issue remains our concern, Widodo said. To realize the ASEAN community vision, it is important for all of us to respect the ASEAN Charter, particularly rule of law, good governance, democracy, human rights, and constitutional government.

Muhyiddins visit is his first overseas trip since taking office last March.

Malaysia and Indonesia share many similarities in religion, language and culture.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

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Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

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Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

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France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

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California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
A hard question to answer would be, what exactly is culture? A regular dictionary might tell you that it is "the art and ideas of a set of people."

What does that really mean though? Well, its simple, sort of. See culture includes anything and everything that gives people a feeling or sense that they belong. A dictionary wont be able to tell you that anything from food to art can be a part of culture, a simple noun that allows people to stand out from those near them and still feel like they belong.

While culture as a whole can include other vague stuff like how people show respect or their politeness, it can also include how people act in relationships or how the lifestyle of the physical region they live in is. A group might see their culture as their collective identity. With the mix of attributes in regions across the world, recognizing similar characteristics gives people a sense of belonging, which is made easier with culture.

Japanese Culture - A Rich & Immersive Culture

Things in your culture might seem stranger to someone belonging to a different culture, with Japan these things are included in common sense. While there are many foreigners who get confused since they arent as natural to the common sense Japanese people possess, theres no saying that it doesnt get better. Having trouble bonding with people whove grown up in a different culture than yours can be troublesome, but not with Japanese people.

Despite the many stereotypes surrounding Japanese people, most are kind and extremely welcoming. You mightve heard that Japanese people have trouble accepting foreign points of view or opinions and never seem to let it go. However, this is false. Japanese people have a different view of common sense and behavior, but that doesnt mean theyre uptight about it.

If push came to shove and you were to interact with some foreigner in your country who lacked common sense, would you give them a chance? Would your friends and family who are surrounded by home towns culture try interacting with someone who lacks a common sense of your culture? Probably not right? This is why its important to know what youre getting yourself in for when visiting Japanese societies.

The Respect Japanese Culture Carries With It:

Japan is polite, filled with societies that are formal and welcoming to everyone. Despite there being tons of stereotypes surrounding the Japanese culture, you should understand that every society has its own rules of engagement. These rules are something one would normally pick up on while growing up, but entering a new society with a different culture means you have to learn the basics and start from scratch. You could always believe that Japan is a polite country and then continue to disregard the principles that make them polite, but thats not gonna make your experience any better. Its essential to study Japanese culture and adapt to it when interacting with Japanese people.

Every society defines being polite differently. Of course, theres barely any society that isnt polite, you should still know that their politeness is contingent on your behavior. Respect them and their culture and theyll respect you. Being curious, motivated, and passionate about engaging in the Japanese culture is a great way to learn more about Japan.

How a collectivist culture makes Japan interesting:

A collectivist culture is one that follows the rules that prioritize the love of family. People might think that a family consists of people with who you are forever bound and with whom you share blood. When it comes to Japan, this meaning is just another compelling argument. You see, for Japanese people, the rights of their group are more important than the rights of an individual. While personal freedom has its ups and downs, a collectivist culture binds people closer together while they share the same happiness and sorrow.

While both the ideologies are somewhat inconsistent, a collective one seems to be preferable to the people of Japan. You see individualists can be seen as selfish with their demeaning ideas. However, collectivists can be seen as repressive. Both these cultures are so embedded in todays world that having a sense of belonging is the least of the worries one might have when visiting a foreign country.

People go to all sorts of lengths to fit in the societal trends while they seem to forget that there are always more people out there who fall elsewhere on the spectrum. In the name of adapting people go out of their way to fit in different environments. People belonging to different cultures will always show traits that theyve adopted from the cultures theyre currently interacting with, which might just not be a good idea.

Fitting in:

Fitting in with the Japanese is made extremely easier when someone learns the Japanese language. There are many options in person and online, like a solid preply Japanese tutor who can get you off your feet easier than youd expect. Its skills like speaking Japanese and understanding more of the culture through the language that makes Japanese fall in love with foreigners. Giving people the food for thought that you belong with them is the best thing you can do when visiting a foreign country like Japan.

The Japanese language is also extremely similar to other East-Asian languages, which makes it a much more viable language to learn. Having this skill set allows many advances in ones career and can be a great initiative. In such a competitive world, having an edge is important. Now ask yourself this: How many people do you know who speak Japanese?

How hierarchy made its way into Japan:

Japan has always stood out with how they respect their seniors. Whether its people who are above them in authority at the workplace, or if its just elder citizens, Japanese people have the utmost respect for them. They value it and can go above and beyond to satisfy their seniors. Being rude or ungrateful as a foreigner in Japan, no matter how senior you might be to them is a direct insult to the moral principle Japan has stood by since Buddhism was introduced.
New Belgium donation supports St. Gerard House

St. Gerard House is grateful to acknowledge the generosity of New Belgium Brewing Company. The brewery, with locations in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Asheville, donates signature bikes to organizations in the community.

The donation was acquired through the assistance of Wild Wing Cafe, Asheville. New Belgium wanted to celebrate St. Gerard House and the amazing work the school does to help individuals with autism and support their families in the community.

The donation will be auctioned off in the Mardi Party Silent Auction ending February 16th at 8 PM. It is anticipated to raise well over its value and the entirety of the event will raise an estimated $35,000 for St. Gerard House. To bid on the bike or other items visit givebutter.com/mardiparty. For more information, visit stgerardhouse.org or contact Julia Buchanan at 693-4223, extension 1013.

The mission of St. Gerard House is to help individuals with autism and their families experience more joy and achieve meaningful life outcomes. St. Gerard House is a non-profit organization in Hendersonville, NC offering evidence-based treatment for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other behavioral health needs. St. Gerard House provides programs for individuals of all ages as well as programs for family members, guardians, caregivers, teachers, and others involved with care of the individual. Services are available to individuals, families, and professionals in WNC.

In one of his first acts as president, Joe Biden issued an executive order returning the United States to the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The Paris Agreement was adopted by a United Nations climate conference in Paris in December 2015. It entered into force on November 4, 2016, with the United Nations listing 190 Parties to the Agreement as of January 25, 2021. The Paris Agreement creates an unprecedented framework for global action to avoid potentially catastrophic planetary warming while building global resilience to the climate impacts, we are already experiencing.

The Agreement seeks to limit the rise in overall global temperature to less than two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, with a target of no more than 1.5 degrees by the end of the century, the point at which many scientists predict the consequences of climate change would ramp up, including catastrophic sea-level rise and more extreme storms, droughts, and wildfires.

President Biden has made clear he intends climate change to be a major priority for his administration. Accordingly, rejoining the Paris Agreement was one of Biden's key campaign promises. In his inaugural speech he noted, A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that cant be any more desperate or any more clear now.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said rejoining the Paris Agreement is part of President Bidens broader priority of rebuilding our partnerships and alliances around the world and regaining Americas seat at the global table. And you can see that as evidenced in his rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, rejoining the World Health Organization; his plans to engage with partners and allies and work together to address many of the threats and issues were facing around the world.

Additionally, President Biden named former Secretary of State John Kerry as the first ever Special Presidential Envoy for Climate  to ensure climate concerns are represented at every table, including in the Situation Room. He will lead the United States diplomatic efforts to reassert U.S. climate leadership and raise global ambition to meet the daunting climate challenge.

The international community is welcoming the United States back into the Paris Agreement, including French President Emanuel Macron: "We are together. We will be stronger to face the challenges of our time. Stronger to build our future. Stronger to protect our planet. He tweeted, Welcome back to the Paris Agreement!"
NIA seizes Rs 20 lakh, 130 live rounds during raids in Punjab in connection with Hizbul narco case

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 05: The National Investigation Agency has recovered Rs 20 lakh and 130 live rounds following raids conducted in Punjab in connection with the Hizbul Mujahideen narco terror case.

The case on hand relates to the arrest of Hilal Ahmad an overground worker of the Hizbul Mujahideen and a close associate of Riyaz Ahmed Naikoo, who was then the commander of the outfit.

Hilal had gone to Amritsar to collect funds and further terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Rs 29 lakh and a vehicle was seized from him on April 25 2020 by the Punjab police. The case was later handed over to the NIA.

NIA nets key naxalite involved in killing of 4 policemen at Jharkhand

During the probe, it was revealed that Manpreet Singh, a hawala operator had collected heroin and weapons and transported them in his vehicle on the directions of Ranjit Singh. Singh later delivered the proceeds to the tune of Rs 35 lakh apart from weapons to one Bikram Singh a relative of Ranjit Singh in March 2020.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

During the searches conducted by the NIA, Rs 20 lakh earned from drug proceeds, 130 live rounds of 9 mm, mobile phones, a pen drive, one bunch polythene bags used to pack the drugs, one Verna car, two wheeler documents, documents related to the properties apart from other incriminating material have been seized.

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Story first published: Friday, February 5, 2021, 8:31 [IST]
GW's Program on Extremism tracking criminal cases linked to the attack on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON (Feb. 4, 2021)--The George Washington University Program on Extremism has continued to update a project that is tracking individuals charged with crimes related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

According to the Feb. 4 analysis, 181 individuals have been charged in federal court. They are, on average, 40 years old and from 40 states and the District of Columbia. Cases have been brought against 158 men and 23 women. Based on available records, posts to individuals' social media accounts were used as prosecutorial evidence in 85% of cases. An infographic on the charges is available here.

The new data shows that the number of new individuals who have been charged has leveled off from its peak last week, with only a few additional people arrested daily. "With the recent charges against Oath Keeper and Proud Boys members, we're seeing an increased focus by law enforcement on organized groups that targeted the Capitol that day," Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism, said.

The GW Program on Extremism provides analysis on issues related to violent and non-violent extremism, both abroad and in the United States. The researchers have produced reports on ISIS, as well as the rise of white supremacist groups. After a more detailed analysis of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the team hopes to provide specific recommendations that policymakers can use to combat such attacks in the future.

###

To find out more about the tracker and get the latest results, click here.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Christina Ricci was seen for the first time since filing a restraining order against estranged husband James Heerdegen on Wednesday afternoon.

The 40-year-old Golden Globe winner stopped to fill up her car with gas in Calabasas, while wearing a bright red sweater, zebra print leggings and checkered Vans.

During her outing, she kept a low profile by wearing a pair of large black sunglasses and a surgical mask amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Pushing through: Christina Ricci was seen for the first time since filing a restraining order against estranged husband, James Heerdegen, as their bitter divorce battle continues

The mother-of-one kept her clutch handbag under her arm as she pumped gas.

Just last week, a judge has denied her ex's request for a restraining order against her, after he claimed she is a drunk, pops pills and is a danger to their six-year-old son, Freddie.

Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show a Superior Court of California judge turned down Heerdegen's request for a temporary restraining order, a change in custody of their son and a change in visitation rights.

The ruling said there was 'no basis for emergency orders before a hearing' and that the allegations made will be 'considered fully' at a hearing already scheduled for February 11 in Los Angeles.

Filling up: On Wednesday afternoon, the 40-year-old Golden Globe winner stopped to fill up her car with gas in Calabasas, while wearing a bright red sweater, zebra print leggings and checkered Vans

Quick run: During her outing, she kept a low profile by wearing a pair of large black sunglasses and a surgical mask amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Responsible: The mother-of-one kept her clutch handbag under her arm as she pumped gas

Heerdegen had filed a temporary retraining order against the actress last month making blistering claims that Ricci would get into drunken rages in front of him and their son, black out and then forget everything she did when she finally came to.

Heerdegen also claimed he had to check their son's bottles of breast milk for fear of it being contaminated with alcohol she drank the night before.

His filing came just days after Ricci accused her estranged husband of physically abusing her.

She said she had to hide knives in the house because she feared he could kill her after he allegedly said he would only feel sorry for her if she was 'dismembered into small pieces.'

Just last week, a judge has denied her ex's request for a restraining order against her, after he claimed she is a drunk, pops pills and is a danger to their six-year-old son, Freddie

A judge granted Ricci a domestic violence restraining order against Heerdegen in late January, six months after she filed for divorce.

Heerdegen's attorney Larry Bakman told DailyMail.com in a statement that, though the judge denied the request for a temporary restraining order, he believes the court is 'more concerned' by the allegations made by his client than those made by Ricci.

'Despite the Court's denial of Mr. Heerdegen's request for temporary orders, trial has been set on a far more abbreviated schedule than that provided to Ms. Ricci,' he said.

Bitter divorce: Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show a Superior Court of California judge turned down Heerdegen's request for a temporary restraining order, a change in custody of their son and a change in visitation rights

Denied: Heerdegen had filed a temporary retraining order against the actress last month making blistering claims that Ricci would get into drunken rages in front of him and their son, black out and then forget everything she did when she finally came to

'Trial on Mr. Heerdegen's request is set for February 11, 2021 wherein Ms. Ricci's is not set until March 10th.

'A reasonable inference is that the Court is far more concerned with Mr. Heerdegen's allegations particularly with respect to the best interest and safety of the couples' child.'

In Heerdegen's request filed Friday, he claims he feared his child was being fed with 'alcohol polluted breast milk'.

'On those occasions in which I found ''contaminated'' bottles, I would have to throw them out to ensure that our infant was not being fed with alcohol polluted breast milk,' he says in the filing.

Better times: A judge denied Heerdegen's request for a restraining order against his wife; seen on February 24, 2019

He also includes embarrassing photos of Ricci 'in a state of severe intoxication wherein she was ''blacked out'' and passed around by numerous third parties who seem to find humor in the situation.'

He says the photos 'severely adversely affected my emotional calm and peace of mind.

The documents include messages between Ricci and Heerdegen where she apologizes for her alleged drunken outbursts.

'I get it this time,' Ricci writes. 'This morning was a huge alert'.

In other messages he labels herself a 'monster' and says she's 'detoxing.'

Heerdegen claims at one point she was so drunk she fell over while holding their baby in her arms and says she would drive their son in a car while under the influence.

He goes on to claim that Ricci once terminated a pregnancy without his knowledge.

'I was particularly devastated upon learning of this,' he said. 'It resulted in a brief separation as I left the family house in order to contemplate whether I wanted to continue on in the marriage. Ultimately I decided to reconcile with Petitioner and moved back into the family.'

Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com (above) show a Superior Court of California judge turned down Heerdegen's request for a temporary restraining order

In court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, Heerdegen claims that Ricci would get into drunken rages in front of him and their six-year-old son Freddie. He claims he had to check baby bottles where she pumped her breastmilk for fear of being contaminated with alcohol she drank from the night before

Heerdegen also tells of a time in August 2015 when they traveled to Savannah, Georgia, while Ricci was filming a show for Amazon.

He says they threw a small party for their son who had just turned one. Heerdegen says he left the party and returned to find Ricci drunk which 'resulted in her launching into a drunken tirade in front of my son, informing me that she had slept with a producer on her show, and calling me the most vile of names and making bizarre threats.

'The following day [Ricci] claimed to have no memory of what she had said or done. When I inquired about her statement that she had slept with a producer on the show, she stated to me that she most likely said that in order to ''hurt me''.

'Prior to our separation in June of 2020, [Ricci] would drink to excess on an almost daily basis causing her to engage in emotionally abusive and offensive conduct directed towards me wherein Petitioner during her rants and raves would typically call me a 'fu**ing cu*t,' he writes in the filing.

The documents include messages between Ricci and Heerdegen where she apologizes for her alleged outbursts. 'I get it this time,' Ricci writes. 'This morning was a huge alert.' In other messages Ricci labels herself a 'monster' and says she's 'detoxing'

Heerdegen claimed Ricci would 'typically ''black out'' after drinking to excess, and upon waking, have no memory of the events and/or abusive conduct that she had engaged in'.

While Ricci claims Heerdegen has been violent with her, he says in the filing that she once attacked him while he was on the toilet.

The actress accused Heerdegen of allegedly beating her, throwing her into a fire pit and mocking her with pig noises before she filed for divorce in June last year.

Ricci's allegations were included in a request for a domestic violence restraining order against Heerdegen, which a judge approved late on Wednesday.

Photos of bruises on her hands, wrists and arms were included in the court documents, which were obtained by TMZ, as proof of Heerdegen's alleged abuse.

Heerdegen claims at one point Ricci was so drunk she fell over while holding their baby in her arms and says she would drive their son in a car while under the influence

But in Heerdegen's filing, he claims any photos she has of her own bruising was caused by her hitting him.

Ricci's attorney Samantha Spector said in a statement to DailyMail.com that Heerdegen's filing is 'nothing more than a transparently abusive attempt to silence my client. It will not work. Christina will not be intimidated by Mr. Heerdegen and his barrage of misleading claims  and she remains determined to protect her family.'

A judge ordered Heerdegen to remain at least 100 yards away from Ricci and their son Freddie. He also cannot have visitations with the boy and must stay away from the family's dog.

The couple married in 2013 after two years of dating. They met on the set of ABC's Pan Am.

Ricci filed for divorce in June 2020 citing irreconcilable differences as the reason why she wants to end the marriage.

She is asking for sole custody of their only son.
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The Rs 3,800-crore public issue of Brookfield India Real Estate Trust is subscribed 7.94 times on the final day of bidding, February 5. It is the third REIT IPO after Embassy Office Parks REIT in 2019 and Mindspace Business Parks REIT in 2020.

The public issue has received bids for 60.5 crore units against the offer size of over 7.62 crore units, the subscription data available on the exchanges showed.

The portion set aside for institutional investors witnessed subscription of 4.8 times, and that of other investors 11.7 times.

"Brookfield REITs offering is a great indicator of the strong future that commercial real estate has in India. After the successful listing of Embassy and Mindspace REITs, this rides high on the long-term investor confidence," Tushar Rane Executive Director - Capital Markets (Core Assets) at Knight Frank India said.

Brookfield India Real Estate Trust IPO: Should you subscribe?

REITs will help raise capital and improve the fund flows into the sector as well as allow greater participation from retail investors in the asset class, he added. "We expect this momentum to regain in the near future which would encourage more participants to enter the REITs market."

Brookfield REIT, which is sponsored by an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management (one of the world's largest alternative asset managers with approximately $575 billion in assets under management as of September 2020), aims to raise Rs 3,800 crore via public issue. Of which it already mopped up Rs 1,710 crore through anchor book on February 2.

Brookfield India Real Estate Trust IPO: 10 things to know about the public issue

The company will utilise these issue proceeds for repayment of debts availed by its Asset SPVs.

The initial portfolio is proposed to be acquired and held by the Brookfield REIT through their Asset SPVs. Brookfield REIT owns an initial portfolio of 4 large campus - format office parks, which are 'business critical', located in Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida and Kolkata.

Its initial portfolio totals 14.0 million square feet (msf), comprising 10.3 msf of completed area, 0.1 msf of under-construction area and 3.7 msf of future development potential.

The initial portfolio's completed area has a same store committed occupancy of 92 percent (and a 87 percent committed occupancy, which includes the recently completed 0.5 msf at Candor Techspace N1) and leased to marquee tenants with 75 percent of gross contracted rentals contracted with multi-national corporations such as Barclays, Bank of America Continuum, RBS, Accenture, Tata Consultancy Services and Cognizant.

"At Rs 275 per unit, Brookfield REIT is expected to give pre-tax yield of 7.95 percent in FY22 and 8.43 percent in FY23. However, the payout of the first year will have 85 percent interest component (taxable in hands of investor) and 15 percent dividend (tax free). The interest component will be reduced over a time as the dividend component increases," Sharekhan said.
A great range of hands-on workshops, exhibitions and live entertainment are planned for the Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day Festival on Saturday.

The day begins with a dawn service at the base of Mount Drury to commemorate 181 years since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi.

The service will start at 6.30am with a whakatau by Tauranga Moana Tangata Whenua, followed by a community celebration, speeches and hymns.

Speakers will include local elders, clergy from community church groups, civic leaders and youth speakers.

An open forum will give everyone the opportunity to share thoughts on Waitangi Day and what it means to them today.

Kapa haka and musical performances will also feature during the dawn celebration.

At 10am the Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day Festival at the Tauranga Historic Village on 17th Ave begins with a welcome and flag raising ceremony.

Following the welcome will be live musical entertainment including Damo Innes, Laney Van Jaarsveld, Pow Wow, Soul Sax Plus, a Maori cultural group and DJ Chris Rapage.

There will also be a Tae Kwon Do demonstration and plenty of workshops all day including a graphic artist demo, brush calligraphy, flute and poi making, using natural resources to create hairclips, bracelets and headbands.

During the afternoon James Muir will speak on the Battle of Gate Pa and the Ngati Ranginui Treaty Settlement at the Village Cinema.

Four exhibitions at three galleries at Tauranga Historic Village will be open to the public all day.

The Tauranga Moana Waitangi Day Festival is a family-friendly, free event and a donation or koha is welcome.

At both the dawn service and the festival, if COVID-19 alert levels change, the event plans will be adjusted accordingly and the community advised.

All attendees should scan in using the COVID tracer QR code posters that will be available at the events.

For more event details see www.tauranga.govt.nz/waitangi-day
Updated 2/5/2021 at 11:50 am EST to clarify status of the two arms sales

WASHINGTON The Biden administration has paused indefinitely two precision guided munition sales to Saudi Arabia, worth as much as $760 million, as part of a new policy aimed at curtailing violence in Yemen, Defense News has learned.

However, that policy, announced Thursday by President Joe Biden, left open the possibility for future sales that are considered vital for Saudi Arabias national defense, a fine line that would mean some munitions sales will continue.

We are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales, Biden said during a speech at the State Department. At the same time, Saudi Arabia faces missile attacks, UAV strikes, and other threats from Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries. Were going to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people. "

US ends support for Saudi-led war in Yemen

The two deals include a foreign military sales case for 3,000 Boeing-made GBU-39 small diameter bombs, which was cleared by the State Department in late December with an estimated price tag of $290 million, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The second is a direct commercial sale for Raytheon Technologies munitions, likely the reported $478 million sale of 7,000 Paveway IV smart bombs.

Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes foreshadowed the move in a Jan. 26 investor call, when he said the company was backing off the sale of an offensive weapon system to an unnamed middle eastern customer because it did not believe a license would be granted by the new administration.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It is possible that further Saudi weapon sales may be paused or outright cancelled in the future, as the Biden administration has announced a wide-ranging review of weapon sales cleared by the Trump administration. According to a White House spokesperson, arms sales to Saudi Arabia will go back to the traditional arms sale oversight process, after the Trump administration pushed multiple weapon sales through over objections by Congress.

Story continues

All arms sales to Saudi Arabia will return to standard procedures and orders including with appropriate legal reviews at the State Department, the spokesperson said. We have reestablished an interagency process for working through the details of individual cases, led by the White House and with all relevant agencies at the table, bringing expertise, discipline, and inclusivity back to our policymaking on these issues.

Added an administration official, speaking on background, we are ending all American support for offensive operations in Yemen, including relevant arms sales. Importantly, this does not apply to offensive operations against either ISIS or AQAP.

It does include both materiel and terminating our intelligence sharing arrangement with Saudi Arabia regarding the war in Yemen. Youve seen that we have already paused two arms sales with Saudi Arabia to ensure while we examine whether they meet our objectives and policies.

Since 2015, the Arab Sunni nations of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have led a coalition of states in Yemen against rebel Houthi forces, which are backed by the Shia government of Iran. Aligned with former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Houthis took over Yemens capital, Sanaa, in September 2014.

The armed conflict in Yemen has resulted in the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, according to Human Rights Watch.

Citing the Yemen Data Project, HRW says that during the Saudi-led air war in Yemen, more than 17,500 civilians have been killed and injured since 2015, and a quarter of all civilians killed in air raids were women and children. More than 20 million people in Yemen are experiencing food insecurity; 10 million of them are at risk of famine.

Howard Altman with Military Times contributed to this report.

A prominent Jewish organization is cutting ties with a longtime Massachusetts rabbi for actively promoting anti-vaccine views and strident opposition to public health efforts to rein in the coronavirus pandemic.

Central Massachusetts Chabad said Thursday it dismissed Rabbi Michoel Green as a representative of the organization, which oversees Jewish community centers in the region, on Jan. 27.

Green has run the Chabad house in Westborough, which is a suburb of Worcester, New Englands second-largest city, for nearly 20 years.

Rabbi Mendel Fogelman, director of the Central Massachusetts Chabad, said in a statement that Green has been warned multiple times that his activities, statements and other personal pursuits are contrary to the organizations mission of providing meaningful ways for Jews to learn about and celebrate their heritage.

Some of his public pronouncements were extremely reckless and potentially dangerous, and he has repeatedly been hostile and offensive to those who did not agree with him, Fogelman said. Our organization is about lovingly reaching out to every Jew.

In a lengthy statement to supporters Thursday, Green called the decision ill-advised and expected it would be reversed.

He stressed his center will continue to operate even though the Chabad Lubavitch movement has terminated his status and removed his center from its database of recognized Chabad houses.

Green said his center is incorporated as an independent, nonprofit house of worship and doesnt receive funding from any Chabad organization.

They did not fire me from my position of rabbi and director of Chabad of Westboro, nor do they have any jurisdiction over our shul altogether, he said in part. Our shul will continue to serve our community as we have faithfully for nearly two decades.

Green, who describes himself on Facebook as not just anti-vax but consistently anti-pharma, has been highly critical of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

Hes claimed the vaccines are experimental injections that could lead to death, lifelong injury and infertility. In fact, there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines result in sterilization. The vaccines approved for use in the U.S. have gone through large trials and intense scrutiny with thousands of people having received one or both shots at this point.

Green has also been critical of basic virus safety guidelines such as wearing a face mask in public. In one post, he encourages people to take off the mask. Slow the spread of tyranny. Thats also inaccurate  the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says masks are a simple but highly effective way to slow the spread of the disease.

In a follow-up statement, Green stood by his prior comments on the vaccine and virus safety.

This is not about me personally, but about censorship, suppression of dissent, and kowtowing to medical tyranny, he said in part. If your doctor or rabbi pressures you to get this experimental injection, find a new doctor or rabbi.

Some Orthodox Jewish communities in the New York City-area have bristled at government efforts to slow the pandemic, which has hit their enclaves particularly hard.

Some Jewish leaders complain the measures are discriminatory, while others have urged their faithful to heed social distancing and other public health rules.

An order by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo temporarily limiting the size of religious gatherings in certain coronavirus hot spots this past fall prompted protests and legal challenges in Brooklyn and other heavily Orthodox Jewish areas of the state.
Pune: Police in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Thursday arrested a 27-year-old woman who allegedly drugged and robbed around 16 men in the past 12 months she met via dating apps.

The police acted on a complaint made by one the victims, Ashish Kumar, he said that he met the woman at a hotel in Pune where she spiked his drink and robbed him of his valuables.

The Commissioner of Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Krishna Prakash told India Today that said the woman met these men through dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble.

The police said that the woman is a second year BCA drop-out and used to work with a mobile service provider company which she quit during the lockdown.

Police arrested the woman and recovered cash and jewellery from her possession worth Rs 15.25 lakh. So far, only four of her victims have filed complaint against the woman.

The police said that the woman had lost her job, and in the past one year she had drugged and robbed 16 men she had met on dating apps.

Live TV


Share Cafe Webinar Invitation

Perth, Feb 5, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Torian Resources Limited ( ASX:TNR ) invites shareholders and interested parties to register to attend the Share Cafe Webinar - Micro/Small Cap "Hidden Gems" Webinar to be held today, Friday 5 February 2021 from 12:30pm AEDT / 9:30am AWST.The Company will present an outline of its current projects, exploration strategy and outlook.This free webinar is able to be viewed live via Zoom and will provide viewers the opportunity to hear from, and engage with Company.To access further details of the event and to register, please copy and paste the following link into your internet browser:A recorded copy of the webinar will be made available following the event. A copy of the investor presentation to be delivered during the webinar is in the link below.To view the presentation, please visit:About Torian Resources Limited

Torian Resources Ltd (ASX:TNR) is a gold exploration and development company with an extensive and strategic land holding comprising eight projects and over 400km2 of tenure in the Goldfields Region of Western Australia.

Torian's flagship project, Zuleika, is located along the world-class Zuleika Shear. The Zuleika Shear is the fourth largest gold producing region in Australia and consistently produces some of the country's highest grade and lowest cost gold mines. Torian's Zuleika project lies north and partly along strike of several major gold deposits including Northern Star's (ASX:NST) 7.0Moz East Kundana Joint Venture and Evolutions (ASX:EVN) 1.8Moz Frogs Legs and White Foil deposits.

Torian's other projects include the strategically located Mt Stirling and Malcolm Projects in the Leonora region (near Red 5's King of the Hills Project), where it recently completed updated Mineral Resource Estimates and preliminary scoping studies, and a suite of other projects in the Kalgoorlie region including Credo Well JV Zuleika JV, Bonnie Vale, Gibraltar and Mount Monger/Wombola.
The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV.
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Jesus, of course, was not a politician. He never ran for office; he didn't live in a democracy. He did, however, speak out against both the Roman civil rulers and the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees religious leaders.

His public ministry began after the arrest of John the Baptist, who also was outspoken publicly against both religious and civil authorities. At one point, John told the area ruler Herod he had done a wicked thing by marrying his brother's wife. In other words, he embarrassed the king. So King Herod had him killed. He was ultimately executed for speaking publicly against governmental rulers.



The Sadducees and Pharisees that Jesus so often railed against were allowed by Rome to exercise limited governorship over the Jews. They were civil leaders to a degree. In other words, Jesus called out civil and religious leaders in the strongest terms possible: thieves, hypocrites, sons of the Devil, etc. He challenged the authorities in Jerusalem by violently clearing the Temple with a whip, overturning the moneychangers' tables. He railed against them for making the Temple "a den of thieves."



Jesus' message was about the coming Kingdom of God. His "Lord's Prayer" prays for God's Kingdom to be manifest on earth. Using the word, "Kingdom," is telling, in that it was a political term. Jesus didn't say, for instance, God's "people" or God's "community" or God's "Body" or God's "society" or any one of a number of non-political terms. His announcement that "The Kingdom of God is at hand," was a direct challenge to both the civil and religious authorities. And to this day, the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world often find themselves in conflict.



The Church has often been called "the conscience of the nation." Jesus said we are "the light of the world." Indeed, one of the Church's functions in society is to bear witness to what is good, and steer as many as possible  whether members or not  toward the good. Souls are at stake.



Some people say that since those engaging in evil are not members of our flock, we should keep silence. The "I can't impose my morality on others" excuse for saying nothing in the face of evil. This may soothe our consciences, but it is the polar opposite of love. If we truly love and care about our neighbor  even a heretic Samaritan  we will do what we can to help them, including sharing the scientific facts proving immoral practices are harmful.



And we speak out, not just for the sake of those engaging in evil, but for Christians weak in the faith, duped by the world (which includes those who would justify their silence by spouting the liberal creed, "We can't legislate morality in a pluralistic society"). All too often, Christians  including some of our leaders  spout whatever the mainstream media says about sex, abortion, divorce, (January sixth in DC), etc. I personally have been told by open homosexuals that ecclesial leaders say their homosexuality is innate and unchangeable. I once was told by a stranger, while in the seminary chapel following a worship service, of his sexual exploits while traveling. He smiled and boasted about it. In other words, even fellow Christians need us to clearly defend the right, and decry the wrong.



Christians speak out because we love. There are horrible consequences for the poor, the handicapped, the gender confused, those with the "intrinsic disorder" of same-sex attraction, the military, all of society. We speak out of love for our neighbor. "Love the sinner, hate the sin"  we love the sinner by sharing how harmful sin is and pointing to a better way.



In a democracy, this duty to speak up is a much greater responsibility. In a democracy, to be passive when people's lives are being ruined is to be complicit with evil. It is hating our neighbor.



We look to ourselves first, of course, always saying with St Paul that "I am the worst of sinners." So our internal approach is not that "I have the moral high ground," but "You are better than me; I am nothing but a beggar telling you where to find food, and warning you of good looking foods which contain poison."



While we are commanded to obey the authorities over us and to pray for our leaders personally, this command is not unbounded. As St Paul wrote many times, we are to "be subject" to rulers for they are appointed by God "for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good." However, when told to stop preaching by the religious governing authorities, they replied, "We must obey God rather than men."



Jesus spoke extremely harsh words to leaders. He openly criticized King Herod, even calling him a "fox." When the State goes beyond tolerating sin that harms people to celebrating and endorsing and paying for harmful evil, the Church rightly condemns such actions. For the good of all, and especially for those weak who need moral direction. Satan is the "god of this age," and he has deceived the nations, so the Church's correction is continually in need and essential for the common good.



The authorities themselves need us to criticize their harmful ideas, so as to at least reign in their misguided actions and diminish the damage to citizens.



Finally, Jesus was a political prisoner. He was crucified as an enemy of the state (including the religious "State"). It was a political execution.



If we consider Jesus to be "Lord" of our whole life, that includes our interactions with civil and religious authorities (in a democracy, that minimally includes voting). We interact with love, but that doesn't mean we're always "nice" or compliant. Jesus never went along with the status quo and often His words were the opposite of "nice." Jesus is the Personification of love. Following His example, Christians should speak out against evil in all its forms, including evil legislation, evil policies, and evil ideas.



We speak out, not to condemn people but to do just the opposite: to love people. For instance, sodomy harms people and the society that condones it. Sodomy hurts, physically, biologically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. Anyone who genuinely seeks to truly love does what they can  and usually all we can do is speak out  to discourage or stop the promotion and/or enabling of sodomy. That's just one example.



Another example is transgenderism. This lie destroys lives, and in the case of top or bottom surgery, permanently. At the Ruth Institute where I work, the very first "Dr J Show" I produced featured a journalist who worked with parents of minors who, without parental consent but with the help of school teachers and administrators, had their penises cut off, breasts cut off, etc. Minors.



There are many more examples, such as abortion and euthanasia, but the point is we warn because we care. As James Dobson puts it, love cares enough to confront.



And this speaking out sometimes works to save many. There are examples of Christians speaking out against evil who successfully persuaded the authorities and the populace. Abolition is one example, but there are many. Thank God abolitionist Christians DID interfere with the State! In its early centuries, Christianity "turned the world upside down," and in the West led to tolerance, democracy, and freedom.



It is important to note that there must be a marked difference between public pronouncements and personal, one-on-one pastoring. Christians love all, unconditionally, "as is." Like God, the Christian community takes people where they're at, and does not impose moral perfection before welcoming. At my parish for over 20 years we welcomed lesbians and those suffering from same-sex attraction. Let the wedding Banquet be full! All who are thirsty may come. As Gordon Mote sings it, "I catch 'em; God cleans 'em."



I had an unspoken rule for myself as a pastor. I would say nothing about morality to a catechumen until several months into catechism, toward the end, when we begin to discuss confession of sin. I remember one man who was not just living with his fiancee but sharing things like, "I know she's the woman I want to marry someday, because when we have sex it's a spiritual experience." I said nothing, as is my internal rule. But he didn't take very long to see the light on his own  well before our catechism tackled the subject of confession of sin, he interrupted a discussion session once to say, "The Church would say it was wrong for me and ______ to live together, wouldn't she?" My response was as brief and gentle as possible, "That's true, the Church would say that's not perfect love, but we'll get to the why later."



So with individual people, we must exercise the gentlest of care. When we meet individuals who are suffering from evil behavior, we listen to the full first, then speak encouragement, counsel, and help that person move one little step closer to Christ's healing and forgiveness.



When we speak in the public square, it's a different story. We discern evil for the sake of the many who are deceived, and I believe we must be as bold as John the Baptist, and as bold as Jesus, no matter what is politically correct.



Archbishop JOB (of blessed memory) loved the movie "Beckett." (I've always like "Man For All Seasons.") Beckett's is a good example to follow, I think. He took a stand so publicly, the king had him murdered. We, too, should care so much for our neighbor and the world that we risk all in telling the truth.
People aged 65 and older with certain high-risk medical conditions can now receive the COVID-19 vaccines according to the Wyoming Department of Health.

A new 1C group has also been added to the priority vaccination list based on a list of critical infrastructure employees created by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency through the Department of Homeland Security.

While more people are included in receiving vaccines, the supply of vaccines throughout Wyoming remains limited and people in the new 1C list may be waiting until later in the year to receive a vaccination.

Coun...

(MMT) on Friday said it raised $200 million through a zero per cent interest coupon bond.

The raise comes at a time when the travel industry is in the midst of difficult times. This raise will bolster our cash reserves allowing us to meet the working capital requirements as business recovery gathers momentum and also pursue any investment opportunities in the growing Indian market, said Group Chief Financial Officer Mohit Kabra.

The notes offering was upsized from the previously announced offering of $175 million in aggregate principal amount of the notes. MMT has granted the initial purchasers of the notes a 30-day option to buy up to an additional $30 million in aggregate principal amount of the notes. The sale of the notes to the initial purchasers is expected to settle on February 9, subject to customary closing conditions.

MMT intends to use the net proceeds for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

The company will use the notes offering as and when required, said Rajesh Magow, group chief executive of It is just to make our balance sheet stronger and have more cash reserves on our balance sheet... There is no real immediate deployment need that we have, he said.

The notes will mature on February 15, 2028, unless earlier redeemed, repurchased or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date.
They say every organisation is a technology company these days, and this is especially the case for businesses in the Australian financial services sector. In this our third industry verticals special, we talk to three finance tech experts about how the industry is progressing on its digital transformation journey.

Chris Bell, a veteran banking tech leader, now regional VP executive programs with Gartner, shares his experiences and perspectives on how banks are dealing with the pressure to move away from their legacy systems to more integrated, data driven systems capable of supporting current demands for true customer centricity.

He also ponders the extent to which banks are being spooked into action by the sudden rise of competing fintechs, whether theres a trend emerging amongst banks hiring data managers from big tech, and what that might mean for CIOs.

Andrew Walker, a banking sector veteran who is now CEO at fintech Nano Home Loans, explains how his experiences in senior technology and business roles with Westpac and others inspired him to launch his own startup.

Walker pulls no punches in assessing the true state of digital transformation amongst banks and other established finance firms, while providing a fascinating insight into how he and his team actually built their fintech.

And one of our favourite tech industry scholars, Deloitte Asia Pacific's chief transformation officer , Rob Hillard, returns to talk about how the pressure now on banks to become more like technology companies.

He says that this has created something of an identity crisis for banks that they will experience for some time yet as they continue wrestling with legacy systems and the threat of more agile fintechs looking for a piece of the action.
Small governments beware

Manage your IT properly, whether its in-house or a vendor

How to protect yourself from supply chain risks

By now, everyone on the planet has probably heard about the massive supply chain breach that occurred when network management software from SolarWinds had malware inserted into a trusted software update . This attack has exposed over 18,000 of their customers who used the affected software, which includes Federal government agencies like the Commerce Department and Homeland Security to potential breaches.The SolarWinds supply chain hack of late 2020 has rocked large government agencies and Fortune 500 companies to their core. It will be many years before all the effects of this mega-hack become known and cleaning up and securing things fully will take even longer. Many state and local governments might be hoping they were not targeted, as the Russian state hackers are generally not interested in small fish. And small cities and towns don't tend to use the more complex enterprise-grade software, like SolarWinds, to manage their networks. However, just because these organizations tend to be small and unsophisticated, IT-wise, it doesn't mean they aren't susceptible to supply chain dangers of their own.Being small does have some advantages. You don't tend to attract the attention of the serious, well-funded hacking groups like the Russian SVR intelligence group that was allegedly behind the SolarWinds hack. But they are plenty attractive to criminal hacking gangs like the ones who took down 22 Texas cities simultaneously in what has been called the first mass ransomware attack in 2019. They know that residents of even the smallest towns depend on critical government services such as law enforcement, court services, and utilities. And as evidenced by the many small towns and cities that have paid handsome ransoms to get their data and services back online after successful ransomware attacks, it can be highly profitable for hackers.And national information security standards such as the Criminal Justice Information Standard (CJIS) still apply to data handling by these local organizations, so it's not as if theyre exempt from needing good cybersecurity in place. And for good reason. Hacking into a small, local law enforcement department might allow a hacker to access sensitive federal government databases at agencies like the FBI. And even the smallest town might still have an EU citizen living in it, so international data privacy standards like GDPR would still apply to them.While they may have many of the requirements of larger governments, they do not have the staff or budgets to handle them like the big guys. Often these small entities have very small IT departments with no dedicated security personnel. Or in many cases, they may have no in-house IT staff, outsourcing it to Managed Service Providers (MSPs) . Sophisticated hacking organizations know this and have targeted MSPs in recent years as a force multiplier for their efforts. The hack once, breach many strategy has been used to great effect, notably on the Texas city hack mentioned above.Also, smaller government organizations are just as susceptible to supply chain attacks on more mainstream software that everybody uses. Microsofts source code was accessed as an offshoot of the SolarWinds attacks, and while no code was supposed tampered with, it is only a matter of time before this happens (or may have already happened and we just dont know). They also use many of the same IoT devices that big cities do, like IoT cameras, door locks, and other common IoT tech.Many millions of devices were affected in the exploits discovered in Treck IP software and smaller IT departments have a hard time keeping up with the patches that are issued for these holes. Small governments are also more likely to use smaller providers of software that do specific functions such as utility billing. These software providers are often mom and pop shops, which can include poor security practices and infrequent patching. And even when patches are available, many small towns have to rely on their service providers to stay on top of breaking developments and get their systems patched. Suffice it to say, that small government organizations are at least as at risk if not more, to supply chain attacks, given the combination of the ubiquity of vulnerable software and the lack of resources to properly secure it.So, what should smaller government entities do to protect themselves from supply chain cybersecurity risk? Well first of all, practicing good third-party risk management goes a long way. Even with limited resources, some minimal vetting and monitoring of vendors can be done. And buying from reputable technology providers who can prove their security postures protect you quite a bit even though it's no silver bullet.If you are going to use a managed services provider for some or all of your IT functions, make sure those companies have good security bonafide. Are they compliant with all the standards you have to meet? Do they have sufficient insurance to cover your costs if you are hit with ransomware as a result of a security failure on their part? A minimum of $10 million is recommended even for the smallest organization.Finally, you can leverage some of the protections that the larger governmental organizations have with their complicated purchasing requirements and more sophisticated vetting by using the same products and services that they contract with. Sometimes you can even save money by purchasing under a blanket discount program. However, sometimes these larger solutions are not designed for small government and can be price prohibitive. And as the SolarWinds debacle shows, even if a company is a large, well-known technology provider, it is not enough to ensure the security of a purchased product.Regardless, state and local governments are going to have to up their game, with partnerships, cooperatives, and information sharing along with evolving their cybersecurity programs as best they can with their limited budgets or end up as roadkill on the information superhighway. The bad guys are getting better all the time and your citizens and taxpayers will demand that you do the same.
Mumbai, Feb 5 : Bollywood actor Pulkit Samrat on Friday shared a slice of his state of mind with fans on social media, and by the look of it he is ready to take the joke on himself.

In an Instagram picture that he has posted, Pulkit wears a white T-shirt with blue and red striped pyjamas.

Written on the T-shirt is: "Duh".

"Enough said #duh #stateofmind," he captioned the image.

Pulkit is currently shooting for his upcoming film Suswagatam Khushamadeed. The film casts him opposite Katrina Kaif's younger sister Isabelle.

Directed by Dhiraj Kumar, the plot is based on social harmony, and how love is the strongest thing in the world and can conquer all. The film will be extensively shot in Delhi and Agra.

Pulkit will also feature in upcoming projects like Fukrey 3 and Bulbul Marriage Hall.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
As a child, Rosa Rodriguez-Williams didnt visit many museums with her family, who moved from Puerto Rico to Lawrence, Massachusetts, when she was 8 years old. Being from the inner city, we felt that museums werent for people like us, Rodriguez-Williams MSW99 said. A few decades later, shes now helping make one more inclusive. In September, Rodriguez-Williamswho built her career creating space for people from marginalized communitieswas named the first-ever senior director of belonging and inclusion at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where she'll work to ensure that guests of all backgrounds feel comfortable visiting the world-class collections. This is a big place for me to open doors for people that usually would not walk through, she said. Alix Hackett

THE POWER OF ART

I love peoples stories, and art brings stories and narratives alive. When people put art on a canvas, to me its like their insides are being poured out. Its a beautiful thing to be able to experience that here.

ONGOING ACTIVISM

Ive always been an activist. Its always been at the forefront for me. It might seem new to some because the cries for racial justice and social justice are more in your face, but this work has been happening for a very long time.

A REAL SHIFT

Institutions and organizationswhether its a museum, a university, or a bankrealize that theres a real shift happening. They have to look at and assess what theyre doing and move with this generation, or get left behind.
Ahhh, remember the early 90's? The days when the biggest threats to our youth, in the eyes of parents and teachers ever were video games, alternative music, and Springfield Elementary's famous troublemaking fourth-grader, Bart Simpson? A newly unearthed ABC News clip from 1990, courtesy of pop culture aggregate site, Boing Boing, highlights exactly how insane the Bart-anic panic became following The Simpsons premiere in 1989, culimiating in the iconic character being banned in classrooms across the nation.

"Spike-haired, bug-eyed Bart Simpson, age 10, is the show's star and the family brat," anchor Chris Bury says, amid clips of Homer and Marge's eldest child zipping through the streets on his skateboard, calling some poor, unwitting Springfieldian's home a dump, and snark-ily denying any wrongdoing as his mother reads a note from school. "He is rude, mischievous, and often in hot water. This time, it was Bart's wise-cracking t-shirts that are in trouble. This one has been expelled from some schools for its profanity," Bury explained, an image of a t-shirt reading "I'm Bart Simpson, who the hell are you." '"Another, 'Underachiever and proud' of it has been kicked out of classes from Orange, California to Freemont, Ohio," he explained. On the heels of revealing the offending T-Shirts, Bury then takes to the streets of local elementary schools, asking kids for their take on the fiasco -- unfortunately, through a single microphone, as opposed to several stacked megaphones.

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"It's just a cartoon, we won't act like Bart Simpson," one child told the anchor.

"If you're an underachiever, you shouldn't be proud of it," added another. Speak for yourself, pal, I'm sticking with Bartman on this one. Amid the brouhaha, Fox TV apparently issued a statement addressing the controversial character's t-shirt appearances, Bury noting that "The Simpsons' network, Fox TV will say only that Bart respects elementary school principals --even the ones who have nothing better to do than tell kids what to wear". I'm sure Principal Skinner would have some choice words about that claim right there ...

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Potential disputes from Springfield Elementary school aside, no 90's panic-provoking package on cartoon characters corrupting our impressionable youth would not be complete without an adequate counterargument, coming towards the end of the approximately two-minute package. "This is something that they can grab onto and identify with," said Dr. Barbara Kadow, sporting a gloriously '90s pre-Friends, Friends blowout. "If Bart's having problems and making it and doing ok, maybe I can make it and do alright, too." Your Friday inspiration, folks!

So, readers remember, if some fogie disses your Bart Simpson digs, do as El Barto would do -- tell 'em to eat your commemorative T-Shirt.

For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram at @HuntressThompson_, on Twitch.tv @HuntressThompson_ on Twitter @TennesAnyone.

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Turkish officer killed while dismantling an explosive device, two injured in motorcycle bomb, and pro-Turkish forces set fire to refugee house.

Local sources reported that a Turkish officer in charge of the engineering and mines department in the Turkish army was killed on Thursday in the city of al-Bab, in the eastern countryside of Aleppo. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the officer was killed while he was dismantling an explosive device that was intended to detonate at the entrance of the headquarters of the Hamza Division in the citys old agricultural building.

A motorcycle bomb exploded at a military headquarters of the government forces in the town of Muzayrib in the western countryside of the Daraa Governorate, on Wednesday. According to local media, the bomb went off in the headquarters of Hassan Ajaj, which resulted in the injury of two people, who were transferred to the Daraa National Hospital. Ajaj had previously worked as a leader within a local faction in the western region of Daraa. Currently, he is a member of the Fourth Division as well as a member of the Central Committee in the region.

Members of the pro-Turkey Hamza Division set fire to four houses belonging to displaced families in the village of al-Qasimia in the countryside of Tell Tamer, near a Turkish military base, according to a report by the Al-Etihad Press website. In a related development, the Turkish forces brought heavy weapons, including tanks, to the Turkish bases in Umm Ashba and Bab al-Khair. The Turkish forces also sent similar reinforcements last week.

Addis Abeba  The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has deployed a monitoring mission to Kaliti Correctional Facility and Kilinto Prison to monitor the situation of defendants in Jawar Mohammed et al case, who have remained on hunger strike since January 27, 2021, and other prisoners. The Commission's team visited the said prisons on February 2, 2021 to investigate the current situation of the prisoners on hunger strike and the treatment of Colonel Gemechu Ayana and Tilahun Yemi. EHRC's monitoring team also talked with the prison administration of both facilities and the prisoners.

During the Commission's visit to Kaliti Correctional Facility on February 2, 2021, Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Adane (Borena) and Shemsedin Taha had been on hunger strike since January 27, 2021. The prisoners informed EHRC that the purpose thereof is to "protest the government's suppression and violation of rights of people and their party; to ask for a stop to the harassment and ill treatment of Colonel Gemechu Ayana and to demand that the mistreatment and imprisonment of the visitors and relatives who attend their hearings and visit them in prison."

The Kaliti Correctional Facility administration on its part told EHRC that "most of the demands listed as reasons for the hunger strike are beyond the remit of the administration." Adding that the administration does not mistreat the prisoners' visitors, it explained that two of the prisoners on hunger strike are receiving close medical supervision because they have a prior health condition which requires regular medication. The Commission's team was able to confirm the provision of said medical monitoring.

EHRC has also visited Colonel Gemechu Ayana and Tilahun Yemi, the safety and security of both of whom was said to be in danger in relation with a video footage filmed from inside prison and circulated on social media. Both of the prisoners are in good health and have suffered no bodily injury. However, Colonel Gemechu Ayana expressed his dismay to the Commission with regards to the harassment he has suffered by being transferred to various holding areas (zones) several times. He also said that he was moved from the holding area (zone) he was in before "to another one that puts his safety at risk".

The prison administration says that prisoners are regularly moved from one holding area (zone) to another and that there are other prisoners in the same area (zone) as Colonel Gemechu. During the visit, the Commission found one prisoner who had indicated being moved to the area (zone) for breaking prison rules.

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Kaliti Prison Administration was preparing to move Colonel Gemechu Ayana to another holding area following EHRC's recommendations in this regard, when the Federal High Court at a hearing on February 3, 2021, ordered for the prisoner to be returned to Kilinto noting that the prisoner's transfer to Kaliti did not follow due process. The Commission has confirmed the transfer by visiting the prisoner on February 4, 2021.

EHRC has also investigated the treatment of Tilahun Yemi, detained on suspicion of assassinating musician Hachalu Hundessa. The prisoner is in good health and has told the Commission that he has not been beaten or otherwise suffered any rights violations in Kilinto. However, he told the Commission that he was mistreated during his detention in a police station.

With regards to the prisoners in Kaliti Correctional Facility who are on a hunger strike, EHRC Chief Commissioner Daniel Bekele said that "very close supervision is required to prevent any grave threat to their health and life and that reasonably justified demands of the prisoners must be addressed." He added that "during visits to prisons or attending court hearings visitors must be treated properly." EHRC Dispatch.
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The UK cannot approve Janssen's single-dose Covid jab until the drug firm sends regulators its final data, it was revealed today.

The vaccine made by the Belgian arm of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson could be given emergency authorisation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US within weeks after the company requested it last night.

But the company has yet to submit all the necessary data to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which carries out the same role in the UK.

Landmark trial results published last week showed the single-dose jab blocked 66 per cent of infections and completely prevented infected patients being admitted to hospital or dying.

The MHRA confirmed the UK is continuing to work with the company as it seeks approval.

An MHRA spokesperson said: 'As stated by Janssen, we are working with them to complete the rolling review process and we look forward to receiving more data from them as soon as possible.'

The US has an agreement to buy 100 million doses of J&J's vaccine for $1 billion, making each dose priced around $10. Pictured: Vials of the J&J vaccine in the US, December 2002

Janssen agreed in principle to supply the UK Government with its vaccine back in August, subject to its successful clinical development and regulatory approval.

Number 10 has ordered 30million doses of the jab, which could be shipped within weeks of being approved, with the option of ordering 22million more.

It can take a fortnight to approve once final data is submitted.

Britain has already struck a deal for 30million doses of the vaccine, with the option of ordering 22million more.

Unlike the two currently authorised vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, Janssen's does not require a second shot.

It also does not use new mRNA technology so does not need to be kept at sub-zero temperatures.

Instead, it combines genetic material from the new virus with the genes of the adenovirus - which causes the common cold - to induce an immune response.

It is the same technology the company used to make an experimental Ebola vaccine for people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2019.

The jab uses similar technology to the Oxford University vaccine, making it just as easy to transport and store.

HOW DOES THE J&J VACCINE WORK? Johnson and Johnson's vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus). The team have modified the adenovirus so it can enter cells but can't replicate inside them or cause illness. Researchers have already used this technology to produce vaccines against a number of pathogens including flu, Zika and Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers). After the J&J vaccine is injected into a person's arm, the adenoviruses enter human cells and travel to their nuclei, the chamber where the cell's DNA is stored. The vaccine are programmed to carry the genetic code of the coronavirus's 'spike protein', which Sars-CoV-2 uses to invade the body. Iit uses this genetic code to trick the body into mounting an immune response, priming the immune system to attack coronavirus if the real virus infects the body. Advertisement

However, it won't be clear how effective the vaccine is until its trial results are made public and submitted to the UK's medical regulator, which is expected to happen by early February.

The MHRA has been carrying out a rolling review of the vaccine to allow them to speed up its approval decision when it gets the final set of phase three data.

Sir John Bell, regius professor at Oxford University and an adviser to the UK's Vaccine Taskforce, told The Telegraph he hoped the vaccine would be available in time for a mid-February target. But with just 10 days left for the government to hit 15million people, it looks unlikely.

If approved, it would be the third vaccine in the UK's arsenal, after the Pfizer and Oxford jabs. Moderna's vaccine has also been approved but the UK will not receive doses from the company until the spring.

Johnson & Johnson asked the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorise its vaccine last night.

Now that it has submitted its application for emergency use authorisation, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine could be given the green light within weeks.

The US has an agreement, signed last year under the Trump administration, for 100 million doses of Johnson and Johnson's vaccine, which the company says it can deliver by June, pending authorisation.

The drugmaker's application to the FDA follows its January 29 report in which it said the vaccine had a 66 per cent rate of preventing infections in its large global trial.

The shot is also 57 per cent effective in South Africa, where a variant of the virus that dulls vaccine effectiveness is spreading.

J&J's chief scientific officer Dr Paul Stoffels said the submission for emergency use authorisation was 'step toward reducing the burden of disease for people globally and putting an end to the pandemic'.

He said: 'Upon authorization of our investigational COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, we are ready to begin shipping....we are working with great urgency to make our investigational vaccine available to the public as quickly as possible.'

After the J&J's application, regulators will need time to analyse the data and an advisory committee will need to meet.

Johnson & Johnson has asked the FDA to authorize its single-shot coronavirus vaccine. It is 72% effective against the dominant US variants and prevents 100% of COVID-19 deaths

Last month, Stoffels said J&J was on track to roll out the vaccine in March. Shares of J&J, Moderna and Pfizer were little changed in after-hours trade.

The US has an agreement to buy 100million doses of J&J's vaccine for 730million ($1billion), and the option of purchasing an additional 200million doses.

This prices the vaccine at around $10 (7) per dose, but the New-Jersey drugmaker has pledged not to price its inoculations for profit.

By comparison, the US is paying $19.50 (14) per dose for the Pfizer immunization and $32 (23) to $37 (27) per dose of Moderna's jab.

J&J said it aims to deliver one billion doses in 2021 with production in the United States, Europe, South Africa and India.
Contract Manufacturing | 06 May 2021 | Influencers

The APAC markets have great potential that is best cultivated from within the region : Oskar Gold

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As it turns out, they counted every bed and not every person. As you know there are facilities that are not full, he has said. In addition, they assumed that every person that would be offered, including staff, would take the vaccine. That also has not been the case.
House Puts $1.9 Trillion Stimulus on Fast Track, With No G.O.P. Votes I see enormous pain in this country, said President Biden, who is pushing forward with his plan over Republican objections. Democrats advanced with plans to begin drafting the aid package next week and speed it through the House by the end of the month.

House gives final approval to budget plan including Bidens $1.9 trillion stimulus, fast tracking the process. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:57 - 0:00 transcript Were Still in the Teeth of This Pandemic, Biden Says President Biden called on Congress to act quickly on his proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Friday, in a speech following a weak jobs report. Were still the teeth of this pandemic. In fact, January was the single-deadliest month of the whole pandemic. We lost nearly 100,000 lives. I know some in Congress think weve already done enough to deal with the crisis in the country. Others think that things are getting better, and we can afford to sit back. And either do little or do nothing at all. Thats not what I see. I see enormous pain in this country. A lot of folks out of work, a lot of folks going hungry, staring at the ceiling tonight, wondering, what am I going to do tomorrow? And I believe the American people are looking right now to their government for help, to do our job, to not let them down. So Im going to act, and Im going to act fast. Id like to be  Id like to be doing it with the support of Republicans. Ive met with Republicans and some really fine people want to get something done, but theyre just not willing to go as far as I think we have to go. Ive told both Republicans and Democrats thats my preference, to work together. But if I have to choose between getting help right now to Americans who are hurting so badly and getting bogged down in a lengthy negotiation or compromising on a bill thats up to the crisis, thats an easy choice. Im going to help the American people who are hurting now. Thats why Im so grateful to the House and the Senate for moving so fast on the American Rescue Plan. Job No. 1 of the American Rescue Plan is vaccines, vaccines. The second, the American Rescue Plan is going to keep the commitment of $2,000  $600 has already gone out, $1,400 checks to people who need it. Im not cutting the size of the checks. Theyre going to be $1,400, period. Thats what the American people were promised. President Biden called on Congress to act quickly on his proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Friday, in a speech following a weak jobs report. Credit Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times The House gave final approval on Friday to a budget blueprint that included President Bidens $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, advancing it over unanimous Republican opposition as Democrats pressed forward with plans to begin drafting the aid package next week and speed it through the House by the end of the month. Our work to crush the coronavirus and deliver relief to the American people is urgent and of the highest priority, Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote in a letter to Democrats shortly before the bill passed by a 219-to-209 margin. President Biden, speaking just before the House acted, cited a weak jobs report in justifying the use of a procedural device, called reconciliation, to ram through the measure if Senate Republicans oppose his effort to speed aid to families, businesses, health care providers and local governments. It is very clear our economy is still in trouble, Mr. Biden said during remarks at the White House  amping up the pressure on an upper chamber bracing for former President Donald J. Trumps impeachment trial next week. I know some in Congress think weve already done enough to deal with the crisis in the country, added Mr. Biden, who reiterated his commitment to fund $1,400 direct checks to low- and middle-income Americans. Thats not what I see. I see enormous pain in this country. A lot of folks out of work. A lot of folks going hungry. Mr. Bidens comments came as the Labor Departments reported on Friday that the economy added only 49,000 jobs in January, and just 6,000 in the private sector. The labor market remains 10 million jobs below its pre-pandemic levels. Hours earlier, as the sun rose over the Capitol dome, the Senate approved a fast-track budget measure, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting her first-ever tiebreaking vote after a grinding all-night session. The move, in theory, allows them to enact the package without any Republican votes. Senate leaders could begin working on their own bill in hopes of delivering a final package to Mr. Bidens desk before supplemental unemployment benefits are set to expire in mid-March. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, cited poll numbers showing bipartisan support among American voters for the plan, brushing aside criticism the White House was sacrificing bipartisan solidarity for partisan celerity. He didnt run on a promise to unite the Democratic and Republican Party into one party in Washington, she said in her Friday briefing at the White House. Still, Mr. Biden offered one olive twig on Friday, saying his plans could change to win over moderates in both parties, acknowledging that he favored restricting the direct payments to people earning less than $300,000. Im not cutting the size of the checks, he said on Friday. Theyre going to be $1,400, period. Still, there were warning signs the road ahead would not be entirely traffic-free. The Senate agreed to a proposal by Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, to prohibit any minimum wage increase during the pandemic  which could complicate Mr. Bidens plan to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. Democrats did not contest Ms. Ernsts proposal, arguing that it was never their intention to increase the wage immediately, but their reticence to record a vote on the matter was a signal that the wage increase might ultimately lack the support to pass in an evenly split Senate, where at least one Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, is on record in opposition. Jim Tankersley, Luke Broadwater and

Biden says he will bar Trump from receiving intelligence briefings, saying his erratic behavior cannot be trusted. President Joe Biden has decided not to share intelligence briefings with former President Trump, breaking from tradition. Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times President Biden said on Friday that he would bar his predecessor, former President Donald J. Trump, from receiving the intelligence briefings traditionally conducted for former presidents, saying he could not be trusted because of his erratic behavior even before the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The move marked the first time that a former president had been cut out of the briefings, which are provided partly as a courtesy and partly for the moments when a sitting president reached out for advice. Currently the briefings are offered on a regular basis to former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Mr. Biden, speaking to Norah ODonnell of CBS News, said Mr. Trumps behavior worried him unrelated to the insurrection that gave rise to the second impeachment of Mr. Trump. I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings, Mr. Biden said. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something? The White House said earlier this week that it had been reviewing whether the former president, whose impeachment trial in the Senate begins on Tuesday, should receive the briefings. The chairman of the House intelligence committee, Representative Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, said last month, just before the inauguration, that Mr. Trumps access to any classified information should be cut off.

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State Dept. lifts terrorist designation against Houthi rebels issued in Trumps final days. A Houthi militiaman keeps watch during a protest in Yemens capital, Sana, last month. Credit... Yahya Arhab/EPA, via Shutterstock The State Department on Friday said it would lift a terrorist designation against Houthi rebels in Yemen that the Trump administration had issued in its final days, revoking penalties that aides to President Biden worried would bring more pain to millions of starving people than to the rebels. Three officials familiar with the decision said the Biden administration had notified Democrats in Congress on Friday evening that it would scrap the designation, which served as President Donald J. Trumps final jab at the Houthis main patron, Iran. Caught in widespread poverty and civil war, about 80 percent of Yemens population of 30 million people live in areas under Houthi control. The United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said in November that Yemen was in imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen for decades. Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, said in a statement that removing the terrorist designation would save lives. The designation did not impact the Houthis in any practical way, but it stopped food and other critical aid from being delivered inside Yemen and would have prevented effective political negotiation, Mr. Murphy said. A State Department official said lifting the designation did not excuse the Houthis conduct, including attacks against civilians and the kidnapping of Americans. But, the official said, keeping the rebels on the State Departments list of foreign terrorist organizations would accelerate the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. The terrorist designation was in place for just under a month. It was never clear that it would inhibit the rebels who overthrew the Saudi-backed government in Yemen in 2014 and, some analysts said, pose no direct threat to the United States. But it had a chilling effect on commercial food importers and humanitarian aid workers who feared they would face criminal penalties if their goods fell into Houthi hands. The rebels control the capital, Sana, and parts of the strategic port city of Al Hudaydah, where much of the humanitarian aid from across the world is unloaded. We want to make sure that we are not doing anything to make life worse or even more miserable for the long-suffering people of Yemen, Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, said Friday afternoon before the designation was lifted. The reversal was widely expected. Last week, on his first full day in office, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said a review of the terrorist designation was the priority in my book. Officials said the terrorist designation was lifted before it could have a widespread effect. Had it remained in place, the relatively decentralized rebel movement would have been denied financial support and other material resources that are routed through U.S. banks or other American institutions. But the Houthis main patron is Iran, which has continued to send support despite being hobbled by severe U.S. economic sanctions, rendering the effect of the designation on the Houthis more symbolic than searing. Lara Jakes and

Two G.O.P. House members, Louie Gohmert and Andrew Clyde, are fined for bypassing security screening. Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas, during a news conference with members of the House Freedom Caucus in December. Credit... Al Drago for The New York Times Two Republican House members, Representatives Louie Gohmert of Texas and Andrew Clyde of Georgia, are being fined $5,000 each for bypassing security screening while entering the House chamber on Thursday, according to a senior Democratic aide. Metal detectors were installed outside the House floor in the wake of the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and the House voted Tuesday to fine members who do not comply with the security screening when entering the chamber. The fine is $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for additional offenses, and members can appeal to the House Ethics Committee. Mr. Clydes office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday night. In a statement, Mr. Gohmert said he had complied with the metal detector screening on Thursday but then left the House floor to use the restroom. At no time until yesterday did anyone mention the need to be wanded after entering the restroom directly in front of the guards, he said, adding, Unlike in the movie The Godfather, there are no toilets with tanks where one could hide a gun, so my re-entry onto the House floor should have been a nonissue. Mr. Gohmert said he would appeal the fine and take whatever action is necessary, especially considering this policy is unconstitutional.

A Lincoln Project co-founder resigns after allegations that a former colleague sent unsolicited, lurid messages to young men. Jennifer Horn, a former chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, was the only prominent woman among the original founders of the Lincoln Project. Credit... Matt Rourke/Associated Press Jennifer Horn, one of the original founders of the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project, has left the organization citing the revelations that another co-founder, John Weaver, was accused of sending unsolicited and sexually provocative messages to young men. Upon careful consideration, I have terminated my relationship with the Lincoln Project, effective immediately, Ms. Horn said in a statement to The New York Times. John Weavers grotesque and inappropriate behavior, coupled with his longstanding deceptions concerning that behavior, are sickening, she said, adding, It is clear at this point that my views about how the Lincoln Projects efforts are managed, and the best way to move the Lincoln Project forward into the future in the wake of these awful events, have diverged. Ms. Horn did not further elaborate. In a response, the Lincoln Project said that 48 hours ago, Ms. Horn requested an immediate signing bonus payment of $250,000 and a $40,000-per-month consulting contract, and claimed that in December, she had demanded a board seat on the Lincoln Project, a television show, a podcast hosting assignment and a staff to manage these endeavors. These demands were unanimously rejected by the management committee and board, the organization said. We immediately accepted Jennifer Horns resignation from the Lincoln Project. We wish her the best in her future endeavors. Ms. Horn, a former chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, was the only prominent woman among the original founders of the group, which focused on trying to oust former President Donald J. Trump and sought to thwart his stranglehold over the Republican Party. The groups original founders also included Rick Wilson, a media consultant, Steve Schmidt, a strategist, and George T. Conway III, a lawyer. The Times reported on Sunday that Mr. Weaver, a former adviser to the late Senator John McCain and to former Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, had been accused of sending unsolicited and sexually provocative messages to 21 men, one as young as 14 when the messages began. In some cases, the Times reported, Mr. Weaver offered to help them find employment in the field of politics. Mr. Weaver was said to have been on leave from the group since last summer, when he claimed to have had a heart incident. Following the story, the Lincoln Project issued a statement denouncing Mr. Weaver, saying, The totality of his deceptions are beyond anything any of us could have imagined and we are absolutely shocked and sickened by it. Like so many, we have been betrayed and deceived by John Weaver. In her own statement, Ms. Horn said, I originally joined the Lincoln Project because I recognized Donald Trump as an existential threat to our country and our way of life. She said that she brought my credibility, integrity and professionalism to the Lincoln Projects efforts every day to defeat Donald Trump and Trumpism. She said that the success experienced in fighting Mr. Trump is undeniable but also unfinished. While I end my association with the Lincoln Project today, I remain fully committed to fighting Trumpism going forward, to preserving our democratic Republic and to giving a voice to those who have none.

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Biden wont restore the American Bar Associations role in vetting judges. The decision by the White House was a blow to the prestige of the American Bar Association, which describes itself as the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times The Biden administration has told the American Bar Association that it will not restore the groups quasi-official gatekeeper role in vetting potential judges before the president decides whether to nominate them, according to the legal groups president, Patricia Lee Refo. This decision is a first for a Democratic president, but it echoes that of the last two Republican administrations. The bar associations prenomination role had dated to the Eisenhower administration, serving as an outside check on the process of selecting judges who have tenure for life. Every White House sets its own rules for judicial nominations, Ms. Refo said in an interview. Other White Houses have found it useful to get our confidential evaluation in private. This White House has made a different decision. But the evaluation work that we do will go forward without change. The bar association and the Obama administration had recurring tensions over the fact that most of the not qualified ratings the bar groups peer-review system produced were for women or people of color. Against that backdrop, liberal groups greeted the decision as a signal that the White House under President Biden was determined to diversify the federal bench. In a phone call last Friday, White House officials raised concerns that the subjective criteria by which the group gathered impressions from peers of lawyers under consideration might be vulnerable to unintentional negative assumptions and racial or gender stereotyping, according to people briefed on the call. Not waiting for the bar association to vet potential nominees  a process that takes about a month, according to people familiar with it  is also likely to help speed Mr. Bidens efforts to push nominations into the confirmation pipeline more quickly than President Barack Obama did. President Donald J. Trump set a record-breaking pace in appointing judges, largely white and male. The decision by the White House  earlier reported by The Washington Post  was a blow to the prestige of the A.B.A., which describes itself as the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. Commenting on nominees only after their names have been put forward reduces the groups power to block potential judges it deems unqualified. Still, the bar group, which has expressed eagerness to work with the Biden administration on various issues related to the judicial system, is not publicly objecting to the shift.

Greene says Democrats are morons  and accuses critics of calling any Republican with white skin a racist. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:21 - 0:00 transcript Ive Been Freed, Greene Says of Removal From Committees Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, said she was freed after the House voted to end her committee assignments over her promotions of violence and misinformation on social media. When the Democrats and 11 of my Republican colleagues decided to strip me of my committee assignments, education and labor and the budget committee, you know what they did? They actually stripped my district of their voice. They stripped my voters of having representation to work for them. I had the greatest opportunity yesterday, and Im so grateful for it. I got to say what I had done wrong. And do you know how freeing that is? Im not kidding. I seriously feel blessed by God because I got to do it on a world stage. I got to say, I said things wrong. I believe things that were wrong. Going forward, Ive been freed. I do. I feel freed because you know whats happening on these committees? You see, we have basically a tyrannically controlled government right now, the Democrats. So if I was on a committee, Id be wasting my time because my conservative values wouldnt be heard and neither would my districts. Right now, my Republican colleagues are being told that their white skin makes them inherently racist or that their service in our nations military to our country, defending our freedoms, makes them bad and a domestic terrorist. How are we at this place? Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, said she was freed after the House voted to end her committee assignments over her promotions of violence and misinformation on social media. Credit Credit... Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, lashed out at Democrats on Friday in her first comments after the House voted to strip her of her committee assignments  defiantly making a case to help lead the clamorous Trump wing of the Republican Party. I woke up early this morning literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats (+11) are for giving some one like me free time, she wrote on her personal Twitter account. In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway, she said, adding, Oh this is going to be fun! Ms. Greene is responding to her public reprimand in much the same way that former President Donald J. Trump, a role model and ally, reacted to his  by hurling insults. Unlike Mr. Trump, she pulled back the curtain to reveal her political approach, admitting that Democrats were helping to amplify her importance on social and mass media. Ms. Greene, 46, cast the saga as a battle for free speech in a news conference on Capitol Hill, lamenting that Republicans are being told that their white skin makes them inherently racist, in her first extensive remarks since she was stripped of her committees a day before. She began with a free-ranging speech in which she chastised the media for their coverage of her, declaring that the Republican Party belongs to Donald J. Trump and doesnt belong to anybody else. She complained that her loss of committee posts stripped my voters of having representation to work for them, adding that as a successful business owner, she would have been a valuable voice on the Budget Committee. A moment later, however, she claimed the decision had freed her from wasting my time with the minute details of legislating. On Thursday, Democrats warned that the unwillingness of House Republicans to punish one of their own represented a danger to their party and to the country at large. When acquiescence to the suggestion of violence of any kind is allowed to go unchecked, it is a cancer that can metastasize on the body politic of our nation, said Steny H. Hoyer, the majority leader of the House, in a speech on the House floor, as Ms. Greene sat nearby. Ms. Greenes determination to remain in the spotlight obliterated even the slim hopes of House Republican leaders that Ms. Greene, empowered by her devotion to Mr. Trump, would quiet down in the name of party unity after her rebuke. On Thursday, 11 Republicans joined all the chambers Democrats in removing her committee assignments. Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, had refused to discipline her after stripping Representative Steve King of Iowa of his assignments two years earlier. The episode laid bare deep divisions among Republicans about how to move forward as a party. In the days leading up to the vote on Ms. Greene, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the most powerful Republican in Washington, had denounced her statements, which he called loony lies, saying such conspiracy theories were a cancer on the party. Several other top Republican senators had joined him in denouncing Ms. Greene and saying she could not become the face of the party. Hours before her Friday tweet, Ms. Greene  who has allied herself with the QAnon conspiracy movement, promoted anti-Jewish tropes and suggested using violence against political opponents  sought to downplay her previous statements and cast herself as an earnest newcomer trying to represent her constituents. In emotional remarks on the House floor, Ms. Greene expressed regret for her previous comments and disavowed many of her most outlandish and repugnant pronouncements. She said she believed that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks absolutely happened and that school shootings were absolutely real after previously suggesting that aspects of both were staged. Asked by a CNN reporter on Friday if she would apologize for some of her most offensive comments made before she was elected to Congress, Ms. Greene initially stood firm and demanded that the reporter offer an apology for the networks coverage of the Trump-Russia investigation. Asked again  by a different reporter  Ms. Greene offered her first unequivocal apology to date. Of course Im sorry for saying all those things that are wrong and offensive, Ms. Greene replied. And I sincerely mean that, and Im happy to say that. I think its good to say when weve done something wrong. Catie Edmondson and

The vice president votes in the affirmative: Heres how Kamala Harris broke her first Senate tie. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 0:38 - 0:00 transcript Kamala Harris Breaks Senate Tie On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris returned to the Senate, and cast a tiebreaking vote to pass a Covid relief budget measure. Ms. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hagerty, Ms. Hassan and Mr. Hawley, and Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Hickenlooper, Ms. Hirono. Mr. Hoeven, Ms. Hyde-Smith. Mr. Inhofe. Mr. Johnson. On this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative, and the concurrent resolution as amended is adopted. On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris returned to the Senate, and cast a tiebreaking vote to pass a Covid relief budget measure. Credit Credit... Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times It was, somehow, a setting simultaneously dramatic and anticlimactic for Vice President Kamala Harriss first tiebreaking vote in the Senate: just before dawn in a sparsely filled chamber, at the end of a 15-hour session in which senators voted on dozens of amendments to one of the largest stimulus packages in American history. Minus, perhaps, the 15-hour session, it was a scene sure to be repeated many times. The stimulus may be one of their main priorities, but it is also just the first of many policies the Biden administration hopes to pass through a Senate evenly split between parties that disagree on almost everything, even when the American people dont. In the hours before her vote was needed, Ms. Harris met with several senators  including Raphael Warnock, Democrat of Georgia, and Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri  and participated in the ceremonial swearing-in of Senator Alex Padilla, who replaced her last month as the junior senator from California. She returned to her Senate office around 3:30 a.m., according to a White House aide. With C-SPAN in the background, she passed the time by writing notes to Senators Dianne Feinstein of California and Patty Murray of Washington, congratulating them on their 9,000th votes, and to Ann Berry, who was named this week as the first Black secretary of the Senate. Ms. Harris arrived on the Senate floor shortly after 5 a.m. in anticipation of the sessions final vote  on a budget blueprint that would allow Democrats to pass a $1.9 trillion stimulus package with no Republican support  and took her seat at the head of the chamber. Good morning, Senator Jon Ossoff, Democrat of Georgia, tweeted at 5:13 a.m. We are still voting in the Senate. And @KamalaHarris has just arrived in the chamber to help us advance COVID relief. At that very moment, Ms. Harris was casting what was technically her first tiebreaking vote in favor of an amendment proposed by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader. But it was at 5:34 a.m., 95 minutes before the sun rose in Washington, that she broke the tie that mattered. On this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 50, she said. The Senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative and the concurrent resolution as amended is adopted. There was no mistaking the weight of those words. They advanced a hugely impactful piece of legislation, of course. But they also signaled that for two years to come, the single most influential voice in the United States may be that of Ms. Harris declaring, in the stiltedly third-person language of Senate procedure, which way the vice president votes. As she pronounced the resolution adopted and slid her chair back from the desk, her eyes crinkled in what, behind two masks, was clearly a smile.

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Pence accepts two fellowships from conservative groups  and starts a podcast. Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, at President Bidens inauguration last month. Credit... Ruth Fremson/The New York Times Former Vice President Mike Pence, who blended an easy-listening voice and hard-right politics as a talk radio personality in the 1990s, is hosting a new podcast sponsored by the conservative Young Americas Foundation, the group announced Friday. The podcast, which will be streamed on video, is part of Mr. Pences appointment as a Ronald Reagan Presidential Scholar, which also entails delivering lectures to students around the country participating in the foundations programs, Scott Walker, the foundations president, announced on Friday. Vice President Pences energy and enthusiasm for Ronald Reagans values has and will continue to inspire a new generation of young people, wrote Mr. Walker, a former Republican governor of Wisconsin, on the groups website. It is not clear how often the podcast will air, who Mr. Pence will invite as a guest, or whether he plans to address his turbulent four years as President Donald J. Trumps faithful number two. The foundation, started in 1969, purchased the Reagan ranch, Rancho del Cielo, in California two decades ago, using a $10 million endowment from Richard and Helen DeVos, the Amway billionaires. One notable alumnus of the foundations youth programs: Stephen Miller, Mr. Trumps hard-line immigration adviser. On Thursday, the Heritage Foundation  which played a critical, under-the-radar role in shaping the Trump administrations conservative domestic agenda  announced that Mr. Pence would be serving as a distinguished visiting fellow. Neither organization provided information about Mr. Pences compensation or benefits. In recent years, Heritage has paid lesser-known fellows more than $300,000 a year, according to federal tax filings. The Young Americas Foundations annual tax filings contain no details on the compensation of fellows, but its senior staff has been generously compensated, with some executives earning more than $600,000 per year.

144 constitutional lawyers call Trumps First Amendment defense legally frivolous. Former President Donald J. Trumps impeachment trial opens on Tuesday. Credit... Oliver Contreras for The New York Times Claims by former President Donald J. Trumps lawyers that his conduct around the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is shielded by the First Amendment are legally frivolous and should do nothing to stop the Senate from convicting him, 144 leading First Amendment lawyers and constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum wrote in a new letter circulated on Friday. Taking aim at one of the key planks of Mr. Trumps impeachment defense, the lawyers argued that the constitutional protections do not apply to an impeachment proceeding, were never meant to protect conduct like Mr. Trumps anyway and would likely fail to shield him even in a criminal court. Although we differ from one another in our politics, disagree on many questions of constitutional law, and take different approaches to understanding the Constitutions text, history, and context, we all agree that any First Amendment defense raised by President Trumps attorneys would be legally frivolous, the group wrote. In other words, we all agree that the First Amendment does not prevent the Senate from convicting President Trump and disqualifying him from holding future office. Lawyers Call Trumps Defense Legally Frivolous Taking aim at a key plank of the former presidents impeachment defense, the lawyers argued that the constitutional protections do not apply to an impeachment proceeding. Read Document Among the 144 lawyers, scholars and litigants who signed the letter, a copy of which was shared with The New York Times, were Floyd Abrams, who has fought marquee First Amendment cases in court; Steven G. Calabresi, a founder of the conservative Federalist Society; Charles Fried, a solicitor general under Ronald Reagan; and pre-eminent constitutional law scholars like Laurence Tribe, Richard Primus and Martha L. Minow. The public retort came after Mr. Trumps lawyers, Bruce L. Castor Jr. and David Schoen, indicated this week that they planned to use the First Amendment as part of their defense when the trial opens on Tuesday. They argued in a written filing on Tuesday that the Houses incitement of insurrection charge violates the 45th presidents right to free speech and thought and that the First Amendment specifically protects Mr. Trump from being punished for his baseless claims about widespread election fraud. The House impeachment managers have argued that Mr. Trumps false statements claiming to have been the true winner of the election, and his exhortations to his followers to go to the Capitol and fight like hell to reverse the outcome helped incite the attack. In their letter, the constitutional law scholars laid out three counterarguments to the presidents free-speech defense that the Democrats prosecuting the case are expected to embrace at trial. First, they asserted that the First Amendment, which is meant to protect citizens from the government limiting their free speech and other rights, has no real place in an impeachment trial. Senators are not determining whether Mr. Trumps conduct was criminal, but whether it sufficiently violated his oath of office to warrant conviction and potential disqualification from holding future office. As a result, asking whether President Trump was engaged in lawful First Amendment activity misses the point entirely, they write. Regardless of whether President Trumps conduct on and around January 6 was lawful, he may be constitutionally convicted in an impeachment trial if the Senate determines that his behavior was a sufficiently egregious violation of his oath of office to constitute a high crime or misdemeanor under the Constitution. What is more, they argued, even if the First Amendment did apply to an impeachment trial, it would do nothing to bar conviction, which has to do with whether Mr. Trump violated his oath, not whether he should be allowed to say what he said. No reasonable scholar or jurist could conclude that President Trump had a First Amendment right to incite a violent attack on the seat of the legislative branch, or then to sit back and watch on television as Congress was terrorized and the Capitol sacked, they wrote. Finally, they contended that there is an extraordinarily strong argument that the defense would even fail in a criminal trial, because the evidence against Mr. Trump is most likely strong enough to meet the Supreme Courts high bar for punishing someone for inciting others to engage in unlawful conduct. Many of the signatories to Fridays letter had signed onto a previous one pushing back on another key argument in Mr. Trumps defense: the assertion that the Senate does not have jurisdiction to try a former president because the Constitution does not explicitly grant it that power.
Ambassadors of the G7 countries, during a meeting with Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov, discussed issues of a comprehensive judicial reform and strengthening of anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine.

"In their meeting with Dmytro Razumkov, G7 Ambassadors were encouraged by the Verkhovna Rada plans to support reform this year. They emphasised the importance of comprehensive judicial reform including High Council of Justice, as essential to Ukraine's development," G7 Ambassadors to Ukraine said on its Twitter page on Friday.

"Ambassadors stressed the need for strengthening of anti-corruption institutions and measures. They praised positive steps on reform of the Security Service of Ukraine, and looked forward to their completion and implementation, increasing Ukraine's resilience," the statement said.
FLINT, MI -- Flint leaders and residents are calling for unity to combat a spike in violent crime during an ongoing global pandemic.

The city of Flint reported 61 homicides in 2020, up from 46 in 2019, an increase of approximately 32%, according to figures on the police departments website.

Of the 61 homicides, 55 were labeled murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, with two listed as negligent homicide/manslaughter (involuntary), three under negligent homicide involving a vehicle, boat, or snowmobile, and one justifiable homicide.

In 2019, 39 of the 46 total homicides were labeled as murder or nonnegligent manslaughter. Most of the citys homicides in 2020 -- 49 -- involved a shooting incident, according to Michigan State Police.

An additional 215 non-fatal shootings took place in 2020, an increase of nearly 100 from 2019 when 118 non-fatal shootings were reported, per Michigan State Police figures.

Flints crime dashboard has not been updated since Jan. 24, but it shows two homicides had occurred by that date compared to no fatal shootings during the same three-plus weeks in 2020.

Since Jan. 24, a week of violence in Flint left four dead and multiple people, including an 11-month-old child who is hospitalized in critical condition.

Flint is not alone in seeing an increase in homicides in Michigan, with Saginaw and Grand Rapids having a jump from 2019 to 2020, as well as across the country.

The United States experienced a nearly 21% increase in killings nationwide in the first nine months of 2020, according to the FBI, The Washington Post reported in December.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said he knows the increase in crime is a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic as people face increased economic, physical and mental health challenges.

The city has taken multiple steps to combat crime including hiring more officers and increasing officer pay, Neeley said. The mayor also pointed out a community advisory task force he formed is working as a bridge between residents.

Officers are also taking more guns off city streets, with more than 1,000 confiscated in 2020.

Flint police officers removed 655 guns, an increase of 240 from 2019 when 415 guns were confiscated. Michigan State Police also confiscated 447 guns in 2020, an increase from 250 in 2019.

The city has also established a ban on reselling those guns at auction, which Neeley said will help create a safer city in the future. Guns taken off the streets in the city are now destroyed, he said.

To combat crime, Neeley said there needs to be a well-rounded effort of consistency amongst all.

We cant say we want guns off the street and sell guns, he said. You just cant do that. Its not consistent enough. We need strong people with a strong vision to speak up.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley consoles Mt. Morris Township resident Becky Beck, mother of Misty Kerrison-Steiber, during a vigil for her daughter on Oct. 10, 2020 at Broome Park in Flint. Multiple police agencies responded Nov. 7, 2017 to Broome Park after a man walking his dog around 10:30 a.m. in the park near Atherton and Fenton roads spotted some type of human remains. Those remains later became identified as Kerrison-Steiber and Claudia Wilson. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May | Mlive.com

Neeley said he is not exempt from seeing violence in the city. In the past year, there was a stabbing and shooting on his block.

When we talk about these things, these things are not absent from our vision or our presence, but we have to have a total effort to clean it all up. We have to work together to better the community where our families live, Neeley said. Theres no geographic area on Gods green earth thats better than another, but its the people who possess the land, the people who possess the property, who live there -- its up to us. We have to clean up our streets.

Related: Flint mayor tells residents to protect each other as city fights this cycle of violence

The city set an all-time high with 67 homicides in 2012, topping the previous benchmark of 66 set just two years earlier, according to MLive-The Flint Journal records.

Residents who have experienced gun violence know it has a lasting impact on the city.

Born and raised in Flint, Joseph Pettigrew, 26, is all too familiar with the loss of a loved one to the pull of a trigger.

Pettigrews father Sidney was shot and killed in May 2018 at the Rock Fitness Center on Flints south side.

The gunman has never been apprehended.

Related: Family seeks answers in 2018 Flint homicide, offers award for information

Being impacted by gun violence really shows you how short life is, knowing you can be here one day and gone tomorrow, said Pettigrew.

Its almost like its normal behavior, especially for Black and Brown people, to die in their own communities at no fault of their own, he lamented.

Some violence is reactionary, while other times people are caught in the crossfire, Pettigrew said.

For example, my father was at the wrong place at the wrong time, he said. Being impacted by this made me realize this can happen to anybody.

Joseph Pettigrew, a local advocate against gun violence, speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at the Flint Police Department, announcing the city will stop gun auctions, choosing to instead destroy weapons that are seized or recovered by police officers. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May | Mlive.com

After his father was killed, Pettigrew partnered with the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence to start the Flint Youth Against Gun Violence.

Patterns are learned, he said. To resolve the issue, discussions about violence and positive role models are needed in the community.

Many people speak about violence in private but wont speak out openly, Pettigrew said.

There are just not enough people saying violence is wrong. Its the same people saying it is wrong, he said. The voice isnt there like it should be.

Pettigrew has also observed the pressure to be hyper masculine playing a role in gun violence, another topic he argues those within the community must address.

Theres a narrative that you have to be a certain type of human being to get street credit and you have to carry yourself a certain way and if you dont, youre not a man, he said.

DeWaun Robinson has noticed the recent uptick in crime in the city too.

Robinson, 34, a member of Black Lives Matter Flint, recently launched an urban peace corp. within the organization.

The peace corp. was formed so residents can take ownership of their communities, Robinson said. So far, there are seven members from BLM who are involved in the initiative.

We really kind of want to form this community policing initiative and thats really taking ownership in our area, Robinson said. If you see crime or if you see something going on in the area, you want to protect it.

Robinson also said the group wants to take residents under their wing who are interested in public safety.

Through a partnership with BLM Michigan and advocates, opportunities such as conflict resolution training, gun safety training for those who have their CPL, or concealed pistol license, and other training is available to members.

We try to curb the violence taking place in our own community, Robinson said. We are taking on this initiative to curb the violence in our community to get it resolved for folks.

DeWaun Robinson, leader of the Black Lives Matter chapter in Flint, speaks to the need for justice and equality for Black people in America while marching on Martin Luther King Avenue as hundreds gather to celebrate Juneteenth on Friday, June 19, 2020 in Flint. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May | Mlive.com

A Flint native, Robinson, said he thinks the recent string of crime is a mix of several factors.

Were still in crisis mode, Robinson said. This is a carry over from the Flint water crisis, and now were in a pandemic. People have been quarantined for the better part of the year. Weve been going through a transition.

More and more people have left Flint, with a population of around 200,000 in the 1960s that U.S. Census Bureau numbers show has now fallen to less than 100,000, a decline Pettigrew attributes to many factors.

Its just the formation of a bad storm, really. With the water crisis, the housing crisis, the gun violence crisis, the economic crisis -- all those things together have caused people to lose hope in their community. Its made them lose hope all around from generation to generation, he said.

One of the ways to address the crime and the people of the city is to boost the morale within Flint, Robinson said.

Folks gotta value themselves and value one another, he said, adding, We got to find other ways on how we deal with each other.

The death of Pettigrews father wasnt his first exposure to gun violence.

Friend Sasha Bell was shot and killed during a double homicide in April 2016 at the Ridgecrest Village apartment complex in Flint.

Toron Fisher, 20, and Malek Thornton, 21, were both charged with first-degree murder and felony firearm in the slayings.

Thornton was sentenced by Judge F. Kay Behm in January to between 22 and 50 years in prison for Bells murder.

While people are always encouraged to call the police, many times residents with information about a crime are concerned about being identified if they speak out, Crime Stoppers of Flint and Genesee County Director Julie Lopez said.

Thats why the organization provides the option to anonymously report crime information. Crime Stoppers also provides rewards for information on cases in the city.

While many times a particular case is highlighted by Crime Stoppers, a tip on any homicide can come with a reward of up to $2,500.

This is just a good avenue for people who are afraid, who dont trust, or are afraid of retaliation, Lopez said.

Since 2015, nearly 3,800 tips have been processed, 239 of which helped lead to felony arrests in Flint. The division has awarded $116,000 to tipsters in the past five years.

Tips can be anonymously submitted to Crime Stoppers via CrimeStoppersofFlint.com, on the P3 Tips mobile app, or by calling 1-800-422-JAIL (5245).

Reporter Isis Simpson-Mersha contributed to this story.

Read more on MLive:

New curfew on the table as option for dealing with Flints rash of violent crime

Police identify 2 victims in fatal Flint shootings, update conditions of injured

19-year-old man charged in fatal shooting of Lapeer High School student

2 men shot in Flint, suspects in custody after vehicle pursuit

Reward offered for information in shooting death of Flint man
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On this guided day trip to the stunning Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland National Park, youll first be picked up from your hotel in Dresden for a scenic drive towards the park, while your guide shares facts about the landmarks you pass along the way.

Once you have arrived in the Saxon Switzerland German section of the park, you can admire the magnificent Bastei Bridge and the Elbe River Canyon. After exploring the ancient ruins of Neurathen Castle, your journey will take you over the border to the Bohemian Czech part of the park, where youll see the impressive Pravcicka Gate.

After an adventure-packed day, you will also get the chance to enjoy lunch at the nearby restaurant, where both traditional Czech cuisine and international dishes are available, as well as vegetarian options.

Fastmarkets daily price assessment for containerized cargoes of steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20), US material import, cfr main port Taiwan was $350-360 per tonne on Friday February 5, unchanged from a day earlier but down by $5-10 per tonne from $360-365 per tonne on January 29 This week, negotiations initially continued to center at $360-365 per tonne cfr Taiwan - the same as last Friday - due to expectations of scrap prices in Turkey rebounding, though this turned out to be unfounded.By mid-week, sentiment deteriorated after it emerged that a major mill had paid $350 per tonne cfr Taiwan for at least 5,000 tonnes of scrap.A second major steelmaker also cut its purchase price for domestic scrap by New Taiwan $300 ($10.70) per tonne this week - which weakened sentiment further - as well as lowered its selling price for rebar by NT$800 per tonne.The same mill purchased imported scrap at $355-360 per tonne cfr Taiwan this week."Some sellers are hoping to sell material quickly ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday," a Taiwanese trader told Fastmarkets on Thursday February 4.Taiwan is observing a public holiday for the festival over February 10-16. No business activity is expected in the steel and scrap markets during this period.Some buyers were heard to have submitted bids at $360 per tonne cfr Taiwan, but it was not known at the time of writing whether any transactions were concluded above that level.Sellers had attempted to support prices by raising offers for cargoes from the United States West Coast, especially with prices for Japanese scrap rebounding. Offers for US cargoes had increased to $365-370 per tonne cfr Taiwan at the start of the week, before rising further to $370 per tonne cfr by Wednesday.Optimistic sellers felt that prices had rebounded due to Chinese mills being in the spot market for high-grade scrap, though some buyers thought that recent transactions - a bulk cargo of Russian A3 scrap was sold at $391 per tonne cfr South Korea while a US cargo of heavy melting scrap 1&2 (80:20) changed hands at $398 per tonne cfr South Korea - meant that prices were still in the trough.Talk of a Turkish steelmaker purchasing a bulk cargo of shredded scrap at $395-400 per tonne cfr on Thursday also dampened sentiment, especially with market sources estimating such a price to be equivalent to around $390-395 per tonne cfr Turkey if the deal had involved HMS 1&2 (80:20).Japanese scrap was offered at $380 per tonne cfr Taiwan this week, up by more than $20 per tonne from last Friday amid a rebounding market in Japan.But offers were limited because many shippers in Japan are bullish about prices and are holding on to material."Prices are being partially supported by China being in the spot market for Japanese HS scrap. Any Japanese steel mill that wants to get material will need to raise its bid," a Japanese trader told Fastmarkets on Friday February 5.The fact that China had cleared its first shipment of ferrous scrap also improved sentiment in Japanese scrapyards."Many Japanese scrapyards are now more confident that their material can enter the Chinese market," a second Taiwanese trader told Fastmarkets on Thursday February 4.Explore the six macro-economic and steel-specific dynamics set to rebalance the Asia steel and scrap market in 2021. Please read our full report Asia Steel and Scrap: Six Key Forces Driving 2021 today.Gain critical information on the demand drivers shaping the iron ore sector, including Chinese steelmaking and production forecasts in 2021 and beyond. Click here to register for the two-day virtual event Global Iron Ore 2021 , to access all the related reports, news, and information free on demand.
Seoul, Feb 5 : Negotiators from South Korea and the US held virtual talks on Friday over sharing the upkeep cost for the US Forces Korea (USFK), the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said.

The eighth round of negotiations for the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a South Korea-US pact to share the cost for about 28,500 American troops stationed in the Asian country, was held virtually amid the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.

It is the first such meeting held since the January inauguration of the administration of new US President Joe Biden. Jeong Eun-bo was Seoul's chief negotiator, and his American counterpart was Donna Welton.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two sides held earnest discussions to address differences, and agreed to conclude the cost-sharing negotiations as early as possible and start the next round of talks in the near future.

The 10th SMA reached in March 2019 expired at the end of that year.

Under the 10th SMA, South Korea paid 1.04 trillion won ($925 million) in 2019 for the stationing of American forces, up 8.2 per cent from the previous year.

The former US administration reportedly demanded a sharp increase in contribution from South Korea for the upkeep cost.

Since 1991, South Korea has shared the upkeep cost for the US soldiers, including costs for South Korean civilians hired by the USFK, construction of military installations and logistics support.
At 5:35 a.m. on Friday, the Senate completed the grueling process it had begun at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday: Passing a budget by a 50-50, party-line vote in which Vice President Kamala Harris served as tiebreaker. The vote-a-rama process was open to any and all amendments, and of the 889(!) that were offered, 40 received roll-call votes. In a chamber that moves at the brisk pace of an embedded boulder, thats enough for a 15-hour day.

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The Senate is a confounding, ancient place that draws its strength from confusing the public. Judging by the social media clamor during certain votes Thursday night, the Senate drew a lot of strength from its all-nighter. But there are only two important takeaways from the process: (1) Passing the budget was little more than a procedural step to unlock the reconciliation process, which will allow Senate Democrats to pass a COVID relief bill without fear of a filibuster, and (2) the amendments that made their way into the resolution were essentially messaging votes, and will have no binding effect on what can and cant be included in the COVID relief bill.

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There was, for example, a bipartisan amendment brokered between centrist Democrats and Republicans saying that the next round of direct relief checks shouldnt go to upper-income taxpayers. It passed 99 to 1, but its effect on whos eligible for the final COVID relief legislation is nothing; it didnt even bother to define what upper-income meant. The best way to think of these amendments is that the Senate was being asked, casually, for its take on various issues. It wasnt making law.

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So why did they even bother voting on all of these amendments? The Republican minority took it as a rare opportunity to force votes on Democrats, and get them on the record, on difficult issues. (Democrats did the same thing when Republicans teed up reconciliation bills twice in 2017.)

Indiana Sen. Todd Young, for example, called a vote on forbidding undocumented immigrants from receiving direct relief checks. It passed, 58 to 42, with 8 mostly middle-of-the-road or vulnerable Democrats joining Republicans. Montana Sen. Steve Daines called one on improvement of relations between the United States and Canada with regard to the Keystone XL Pipeline. In other words, the vote was, is the Keystone XL Pipeline good or bad? It passed 52 to 48 with Sens. Joe Manchin and Jon Tester joining the Republicans. A similar one on fracking passed as well.

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One interesting moment, however, came when Republicans tried to pin Democrats on the $15 minimum wage, an element of the Biden relief plan that doesnt have unanimous Democratic support. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst called up an amendment prohibiting an increase in the Federal minimum wage during a global pandemic to $15 per hour. Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, who was managing the floor debate, said that he agreed with the amendment, and thats why his $15 minimum wage legislation phases the new rate in over several years. The amendment then passed by voice vote, sparing the need for senators to go on the record.

None of the amendments on Keystone XL, undocumented immigrants receiving checks, or fracking even made it into the final budget resolution when all was said and done. Near the end of the process, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer successfully passed an amendment stripping those three out, as they could have complicated efforts to pass the resolution in the House. (The House passed it on Friday, 219 to 209.)

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If there was any use to the amendment process, beyond Republicans trolling Democrats to create talking points for the 2022 campaign, it was to give hints about where the politics are on various issues. Democrats, for example, might ultimately pare back the direct relief checks in the billnot the $1,400 top amount, which President Biden has been insistent on keeping, but the thresholds at which they phase out. But they didnt officially decide that Thursday night.

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Well learn a lot more about where the politics are on various issues over the next couple of weeks, though, when Democrats actually write the COVID relief bill.

Now that Democrats have unlocked the use of reconciliation, the next step is for all of the committees tasked with developing pieces of the legislation to get to work. When thats done, the budget committees will compile everything into a single package and advance it for a full floor vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday morning that her chamber hopes to have this done in the next two weeks, while the Senate is preoccupied with an impeachment trial.

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Once the process hits the Senate, things will get more dicey. House Democrats have a narrow margin to work with, but Senate Democrats have zero margin: They will need 50 out of 50 DemocratsBernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchinto agree on a COVID relief bill. They also will have to contend with the Byrd Rule, a statute which constrains what can and cant be passed through reconciliation.

In other words, dont waste your limited stock of energy anguishing over what non-binding messaging amendments did or didnt pass in the non-binding budget resolution debate. Democrats are only just starting on the real, tedious thing.
Image of the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Credit: CDC

Madrid authorities on Friday confirmed the first case in the region of the Brazilian variant of coronavirus, which is feared to be particularly infectious, in the region.

A 44-year-old man who arrived at Madrid's airport on January 29 tested positive for the coronavirus and subsequent lab tests confirmed he had caught the new strain, the regional government of Madrid said in a statement.

The case is the first report in Spain of the variant, blamed for a disastrous surge in infections in the Brazilian city of Manaus.

The announcement came three days after Spain restricted arrivals by air from Brazil and South Africa to curb the spread of new strains.

Madrid has since the end of December also restricted arrivals from Britain because of the discovery of a new virus strain there last year.

Health authorities are concerned that new strains of the virus may spread more easily or could contain mutations which allow the virus to evade the effects of vaccines.

At least two cases of the South African variant have so far been detected in Spain and around 450 cases of the British variant.

Spain has been hard-hit by the pandemic, recording over 61,000 deaths from nearly three million cases so far.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
She returned from a sun-soaked getaway in mid-December before the UK was plunged into its third national lockdown.

And Samira Mighty was understandably longing to be back in the Maldives as she shared a number of sultry throwback snaps from her holiday on Instagram on Friday.

The Love Island star, 25, showcased her incredible figure as she posed in a blue and white tie-dye triangle bikini, which showcased plenty of underboob, outside her private villa.

Sun-seational: Samira Mighty was understandably longing to be back in the Maldives as she shared a number of sultry throwback snaps from her holiday on Instagram on Friday

In another shot, the reality TV star looked seductively down the camera as she displayed her toned midriff while resting her head on her hand.

The West End actress worked her hair into long braids and sported minimal make-up for the steamy photos.

Captioning the photos, she penned: ' only....  only .. #tb".

At the end of last year, Samira posted a fun bikini-clad throwback video from her trip as she reflected on the past year via her Instagram page.

Sizzling: In another shot, the reality TV star looked seductively down the camera as she displayed her toned midriff while resting her head on her hand

The reality star penned a message as she admitted she doesn't 'even recognise' herself while looking back at photos and videos across 2020.

Alongside the post, Samira shared a short video where she could be seen smiling and posing for the camera while on the back of a boat.

She wrote: 'Let's keep these short n sweet. No one wants 7 page essays. Ahah. Rah 2020 can be done. As I reflect on this year, and look back on pictures and videos, I don't even recognise myself.

'I have had moments of great happiness but a lot of this year, I've had a cloud over me that I have struggled to shift. I've learnt a lot about myself I will say. This year has been a struggle for so many, and it hurts so much.'

Fun in the sun: Samira posted a fun bikini-clad throwback video from her recent trip as she reflected on the past year via her Instagram page at the end of last year

Samira opted to remain hopeful for 2021, although she is sure it will still 'be difficult and different' for many.

She continued: 'However, 2021 I'm sure is still going to be difficult and different but we need to look forward. Smile more. Love more. Keep the negative energy in that s****y year.

'In any case, thank you from the bottom of my heart to my friends, family and agents, I'm aware I close into myself when things are rough for me but I'm always thankful.

'Of course everyone who supports me on here and my therapist Mandi (not sure if she will see) but for saving me as a person and pulling me out of the deepest mud. She is the light of my life. Forever grateful.'

Sun-soaked: She could be seen smiling and posing for the camera, as she admitted she doesn't 'even recognise' herself while looking back at photos and videos across 2020

The X Factor: Celebrity star is currently single, and has admitted she has no plans to jump into the dating pool anytime soon.

She recently confessed to MailOnline that her stint in the Love Island villa can be a turn-off to potential suitors.

Samira said: 'I think a lot of people could be intimidated by the whole Love Island title.'

However, she admits she feels empowered by her single status, as she focuses her attention to singing, hoping to release music in the new year.
The head of a fringe anti-European Union party, former French presidential candidate Francois Asselineau, has been charged over claims of sexual assault and harassment, a judiciary source said Friday.

Asselineau, 63, who fronts the Popular Republican Union (UPR) which has campaigned for France to leave the EU and NATO alliance, was arrested this week over the case that could bury his hopes of another stab at the presidency in 2022.

In his first run for the top job in 2017 he won just 0.92 percent of the vote.

Asselineau has been under investigation for sexual assault and harassment, both sexual and non-sexual, since May 2020, the Paris prosecutor's office told AFP.

Two former UPR employees filed complaints against Asselineau, who has dismissed the allegations as "slander".

His aides have insisted that the claims are false, and said that he will make a public statement "in the coming days".

France has been rocked by a wave of sex assault allegations against establishment figures in politics and the arts.

Other politicians to have faced accusations of sexual assault include Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and former environment minister Nicolas Hulot. Both men denied the allegations. Neither has been charged with a crime.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 22:46:17|Editor: huaxia

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A damaged car is seen at the site of a bomb explosion in Quetta, Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, on Feb. 5, 2021. Two people were killed and three others injured when a bomb went off near a rally in Quetta on Friday, Balochistan province's spokesman confirmed. (Photo by Irfan/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and three others injured when a bomb went off near a rally in Quetta city of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Friday, the province's spokesman confirmed.

The blast happened when the rally was passing by the office building of the city's deputy commissioner, spokesman Liaquat Shahwani told Xinhua.

He said that no group has claimed the attack yet, but the attack seemed to be carried out by the proxies of hostile agencies, active in the province to deteriorate its law and order situation.

Police sources from Quetta told Xinhua that the political leader who was heading the rally had been receiving threats from militants, adding that the leader remained safe in the attack, and the victims of the blast were the people who were attending the rally.

Police cordoned off the area after the blast, and started investigations.

It was the second blast in the province on Friday. Earlier, 16 people were injured when a blast went off near another rally in Sibi district, according to police sources. Enditem
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South Africa: President launches fund to respond to gender-based violence

President Cyril Ramaphosa has launched a private sector-led, multi-sectoral Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) Response Fund aimed at supporting the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP), and the wider response in the country.

The response fund is a fulfilment of a resolution of the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Declaration which followed the GBVF Summit held in 2018.

The summit brought together government, civil society and other role players in an effort to find lasting interventions to end GBVF.

The declaration endorsed President Ramaphosas call to all South Africans, including the private sector to respond to gender-based violence (GBV), and to allocate the resources required for a national strategy.

Progress made

Speaking at Thursdays virtual launch, the President noted that whilst it has been a challenging year in which many of the priorities set by government for its term of office have had to take a back seat as the country responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, government has nevertheless made progress.

Progress has been made in a number of areas relating to gender-based violence and the financial inclusion of women.

We convened a successful webinar on the ratification of [the] International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 190 on ending violence and harassment in the workplace, we joined the United Nations (UNs) Generation Equality Forum and participated in advocacy around GBV and womens financial inclusion.

We also lobbied for gender-responsive trade policies to be developed as part of the African Continental Free Trade Area. As a country, South Africa has adopted a policy of 40% preferential public procurement for women-owned enterprises, and we are promoting a minimum target of 30% for the region.

He said the launch of GBVF Response Fund is testament to the strength and power of social partnership.

It has been a long and challenging road, but we have laid the cornerstone. This is just the beginning, and we are confident that the pledging process will continue into this year, as more of our partners in the private sector and international philanthropies come on board, said President Ramaphosa.

He added that the business and donor communities have been the countrys dependable developmental partners since the advent of democracy.

I am keenly aware that you have many competing demands on your money, especially during the pandemic. This is about so much more than philanthropy or corporate social responsibility it is about making a solid investment in a South Africa that is truly egalitarian, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, prosperous and free, President Ramaphosa said.

Objectives and pledges

The fund has the following objectives:

It is a vehicle for private sector contributions;

Resources for the implementation of the NSP;

Provide the necessary programming and financial infrastructure;

Robust accountability and governance for private sector funds;

Facilitate operational and strategic cohesion between donors and government; and

Technical support for efficient and effective delivery of programme.

During the launch, business and donor communities commended President Ramaphosa for supporting effort to end GBVF. They also pledged some millions to the fund.

These included a R30 million contribution by Anglo-American, R20 million by ABSA Bank, and a R20 million contribution by the Ford Foundation.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
North Augusta, SC (29841)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the evening giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low 61F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies during the evening giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low 61F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Ukraine and the Jerusalem Patriarchate intend to study the history of relations jointly - Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Israel

Ambassador of Ukraine in the State of Israel Yevhen Korniychuk and Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem discussed the prospects of cooperation in studying the history of relations between Ukraine and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Embassy of Ukraine reported this at Facebook.

On February 4, the Ambassador met with the Patriarch of Jerusalem in the premises of the Patriarchate of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church. During the meeting were discussed the prospects of launching cooperation in the field of studying the history of relations between Ukraine and the Jerusalem Patriarchate, - the statement says.

Patriarch Theophilus III approved the idea of organizing an exhibition of religious relics, which were transferred to the Patriarchate in the late seventeenth century by Hetman Ivan Mazepa and are stored in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The exposition of relics, which were presented to the Jerusalem Patriarchate by the representatives of Ukraine at different times, is planned to be held as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence. Theophilus III and the Ambassador of Ukraine also exchanged views on the situation in world Orthodoxy and in Ukraine, in particular in the context of the development of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, - the Embassy emphasizes.
A 25-year-old Trenton man was arrested Friday morning in the slaying of another city resident, who was gunned down last year, authorities said.

Ravel Stokes was charged with murder and weapons offenses in the March 25 killing of 29-year-old Yuell Moore, according to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri.

Members of the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, joined by a county tactical team, arrested Stokes without incident at his Oakland Street residence in the states capital city, the prosecutor said in a statement.

Trenton police found Moore shot in the head in the first block of Hudson Street after officers rushed to calls of a shooting in progress last year, according to authorities. He died at the scene, they said. Authorities did not disclose a possible motive for the homicide.

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On Thursday, nearly 100 exhibitors came to the Telugu Film Chamber and said that they can't maintain the theatres with the present system of rentals. (DC Image)

Hyderabad: In a sudden move, the single theatre owners are demanding a percentage from the producers instead of rentals for their film screenings. On Thursday, nearly 100 exhibitors came to the Telugu Film Chamber and said that they can't maintain the theatres with the present system of rentals.

Some owners say they would close the theatres if the producers do not accept their demand.

All the multiplex screens are running with the percentage system. "Yes, it's good for the cinema and the industry. If you look at other states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the theatres are running with percentage and not on rentals. With rentals, the single theatres can survive and the maintenance will improve. Otherwise, there is a danger that these single theatres may convert themselves into real estate," says Suresh Babu, producer, exhibitor and distributor.

In Telangana state, there are nearly 300 single theatres. "Because of the pandemic, all the cinema theatres were closed. When they opened now, the occupancy was only half. So, it is very difficult to maintain the theatre, so they are asking the percentage. We shall sort out the issue in a few days," says Rammohan Rao, chairman of the Telangana State Film Development Corporation.

He added that many of the exhibitors are waiting for the G.O from the state government.

In November, before the municipal elections, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao announced sops to the film industry that included the concession on electricity charges to theatres. But, till now, the government has not released GO regarding these sops. "Most of the exhibitors are waiting for the GO, especially concessions on electricity charges," says Rammohan Rao.

"For the last five years, the rental charges have been fixed and there is no hike. So, the single theatres are facing some problems and we will solve it," says Sunil Narang, distributor, producer and exhibitor.

Since March last, many of the single theatres were closed due to financial problems. "The percentage system is not new. We ran the theatres with this system initially and then changed to rental. Now, they are again asking for percentage," says Suresh Babu.

The exhibitors also want a clarification from producers about the screening of big films on OTT. Recently, big films like 'Krack' and 'Master' were released on OTT platforms when they were still running in theatres. "They are asking for a six-to-seven weeks gap after release of the film in theatres," says Rammohan.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska  The bodies of three men have been located in the debris of an avalanche slide near Anchorage, Alaska State Troopers said.

Troopers identified the victims as Thomas Devine, 54, of Chugiak; Matthew Nyman, 43, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Edward Watson, 50, of Miami.

The hikers were discovered buried shallow in the snow, Austin McDaniel, a troopers spokesperson, said in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday.

Troopers did not immediately have the dimensions of the slide, he said. The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center is investigating the cause of the avalanche.

Troopers said in an online report late Wednesday that next-of-kin had been notified.

The three had indicated to friends on Tuesday they were going hiking near Bear Mountain, which rises above Mirror Lake about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of downtown Anchorage. The view from the top of the 2,000-foot (610-kilometer) mountain peak affords stunning views of the surrounding area.

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The group was last seen leaving for their hike about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. They were expected to return to a parking area about 5 p.m. but didnt show. By 10:30 p.m., they were reported overdue to the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center.

Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group began a ground search for the men Wednesday morning.

Rescuers came across what they said appeared to be a recent avalanche, troopers wrote. Troopers said the bodies of the three were found in that slide area.

None of the three had a personal locator or avalanche beacon, troopers said.

There is a potential for additional avalanche activity in the area of Bear Mountain, and Alaska State Troopers are asking hikers to avoid the area until conditions improve, the report said.
February 05, 2021 Bashing Russia When One Needs It Doesn't Work Well Russia had recently said that it would take a more assertive stand against the sanctions and Navalny nonsense the 'west' is throwing at it. Today the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited Moscow. He had a talk with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. It was showtime: Borrell said he had conveyed the EUs unhappiness about the jailing of Navalny. I have conveyed to Minister Lavrov our deep concern and reiterated our appeal for his release and the launch of an impartial investigation of his poisoning, he said. But his remarks were overshadowed by Lavrovs forceful rebuke, in which he repeated his doubts about the Wests conclusion that Navalny was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent  a conclusion that German Chancellor Angela Merkel personally announced in Berlin, where Navalny was treated. Laboratories in France and Sweden, as well as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, confirmed the German findings. Overall, it was a disastrous performance by Borrell, who acknowledged that the EU had not taken any step toward imposing new sanctions on Russia over the Navalny case. Borrell, a former foreign minister of Spain, then stood by silently and semi-smiling as Lavrov took the last word to slam the EU as unreliable and to say he hoped EU heads of state and government use a planned discussion about Russia at their March European Council summit to adopt a new path. We are getting used to the fact that the European Union are trying to impose unilateral restrictions, illegitimate restrictions and we proceed from the assumption at this stage that the European Union is an unreliable partner, Lavrov said. I hope that the strategic review that will take place soon will focus on the key interests of the European Union and that these talks will help to make our contacts more constructive. Adding an exclamation point to Borrells troubled visit, Russia expelled three EU diplomats  from Germany, Poland and Sweden  for attending demonstrations in support of Navalny, an EU diplomat said. The Politico writer above has missed the point of today's visit. Borrell could say little to defend his position as it is Europe that needs Russia. The EU, under the ever incompetent leadership of Ursula von der Leyen, has screwed up the common purchase of vaccines against Covid-19. Van der Leyen has bought too little too late. Called out for that she reacted with panic and nearly started a trade war over the issue: The EU's bulk purchase of vaccines had been agreed by member states in June last year, but press coverage in Germany had been turning hostile since late December. The knives were out for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The commission went into fight mode, wading into a highly public row with AstraZeneca, which lasted throughout last week. However, by Friday the vaccine issue took an explosive turn, when the commission triggered Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol. In the space of a few hours, the commission was on a collision course with the Irish Government. Unionists, who had already called for Article 16 to be invoked, were outraged. Brexiteers gloated that the true nature of the EU had been laid bare, and even die hard supporters of the European project were left scratching their heads. Since Friday, the commission has been trying to explain what happened. However, it appears a sizeable amount of goodwill has been burned at a time when Ms von der Leyen has been desperate to steer the EUs vaccine policy on to an even keel. And within the commission a blame game is under way. Von der Leyen has personally screwed up the vaccine purchase. She needs to get hundreds of millions of vaccine doses and she needs them fast. Otherwise she has little chance to stay in her job. Russia has developed an excellent vaccine: From 21 days after the first dose of vaccine (the day of dose 2), 16 (01%) of 14 964 participants in the vaccine group and 62 (13%) of 4902 in the placebo group were confirmed to have COVID-19; vaccine efficacy was 916% (95% CI 856952). Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is still not approved for use within the EU but that will soon happen. It could be produced relatively fast if Russia would give licenses to EU companies. Van der Leyen sent Borrell to Moscow to ask for that and to thereby save her ass. Lavrov of course took the chance to give the EU a well deserved dressing-down. Borrell could say little to counter him. He later released a rather lame statement that condemned the expulsion of the diplomats but announced no counter move. The U.S. should expect a likewise assertive treatment from Russia. Yesterday President Joe Biden gave an aggressive (and stupid) pep talk at the State Department in which he also bashed Russia: I made it clear to President Putin, in a manner very different from my predecessor, that the days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russias aggressive actions  interfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens  are over. We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people. And we will be more effective in dealing with Russia when we work in coalition and coordination with other like-minded partners. Trump did not 'roll over' with regards to Russia but constantly took very aggressive actions against it. Russia did not interfere in U.S. elections, it did not launch cyber attacks and it did not poison its citizens. Making such false claims will not help to gain Russia's help when it is needed. It will be impossible for Biden to solve issues in Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere without Russia's cooperation. It will take more than saying 'pretty please' to get that. Biden added this nonsense: The politically motivated jailing of Alexei Navalny and the Russian efforts to suppress freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are a matter of deep concern to us and the international community. Mr. Navalny, like all Russian citizens, is entitled to his rights under the Russian constitution. Hes been targeted  targeted for exposing corruption. He should be released immediately and without condition. Navalny is in jail because he has constantly violated, since April 2020, the conditions of his probation. The case goes back to a lawsuit a private company, the exclusive distributor for Yves Rocher in Russia, had brought against him ten years ago. Back than Navalny and his brother ran a transport business that bilked the company out of several hundred thousand dollar. In another case Navalny defrauded a state owned timber company he worked for by channeling it's purchases through a company he owned. Several regular courts have found him and his brother guilty. The dude is a fraudster who should serve his time. As for 'Russia's' handling of 'peaceful protests' take a look here. Russia's Foreign Ministry first reaction to Biden's talk shows that it knows what the 'west' is really attempting. Russia in RSA  @EmbassyofRussia 9:42 UTC  Feb 5, 2021



#Zakharova: We took note of the Western comments on social & political situation in Russia. It's an attempt to contain our country, interfere in its domestic affairs. Russia isn't the only one who West has its sight on: it is concerned about everyone who can compete with it. Russia will take care that these plans will end in failure. Biden should stop bashing Russia and President Putin. He can only lose by competing with him. Biden's approval rating is only at 61%. Putin latest approval rating is 64%. Time to declare a winner? Posted by b on February 5, 2021 at 19:06 UTC | Permalink Comments
US President on Thursday (local time) announced that "America is Back" and said that it will confront China, the "most serious competitor" to the United States and that Washington's leadership must meet the new challenge of Beijing's growing ambitions.

During his address at the State Department Biden said his administration "will take on directly challenges posed to our prosperity, security and democratic values by our most serious competitor, China.

"We'll also confront their economic abuses. But we're ready to work with Beijing when it's in America's interest," Biden said in his first foreign policy address.

"I want the world to hear a message today: America is back; diplomacy is back at the centre of our foreign policy. American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism including the growing ambitions of China to rival the US and the determination of Russia," he said during an address at the State Department.

Biden has still not spoken with Chinese President and the US ties with China remain tense.

President Biden reiterated that the Americas allies are among "its greatest assets adding that leading with diplomacy means "engaging our adversaries and our competitors diplomatically."

"Over the past two weeks, I've spoken with the leaders of many of our closest friends -- Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, France, NATO, Japan, South Korea, and Australia -- to begin re-forming the habits of cooperation and rebuilding the muscles of democratic alliances that have atrophied from four years of neglect and abuse," he said.

The President called the recent sentencing of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny as "deeply concerning" adding that the Russian President Vladamir Putin's critic is entitled to his rights under the Russian Constitution.

"He has been targetted for exposing corruption. He should be released immediately and without condition," he said adding that the United States can no longer afford to be absent from the world stage.

Among other announcements that Biden made on Thursday included stating that he will sign an executive order to restore US refugee resettlement programme, back to 125,000 persons.

Other announcements made by Biden include ordering a freeze on the withdrawal of US troops from Germany, issuing a memorandum protecting the rights of LGBTQ individuals around the world and that pulling back support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Referencing the January 6 riots that broke out at Capitol Hill during the certification of the electoral votes, Biden said that many of the nation's values have come under intense pressure in recent years and have "even pushed to the brink in the last few weeks and added that "the American people will emerge from this stronger, more determined, and better equipped to unite the world in fighting to defend democracy - because we have fought for it ourselves.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 09:18:03|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States has failed to develop a surveillance system that would allow researchers to watch for dangerous mutations of the novel coronavirus, a report by The Guardian said Tuesday.

To discover consequential genetic variations of the virus, like more transmissible variants first identified in Britain and in South Africa, research is essential, said the report.

However, as of Jan. 29, the United States had only plotted and shared the genetic sequences of 0.3 percent of its COVID-19 cases, ranking 30th in the world, it said.

"It's just been a head-in-the-sand approach," Diane Griffin, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health was quoted by the report as saying. "It was really a failure of leadership." Enditem
The UN human rights office on Friday called on Indian authorities and farmers protesting against the new agriculture laws to exercise maximum restraint, emphasising that it is crucial to find "equitable solutions" with due respect to human rights for all. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in a tweet said the rights to peaceful assembly and expression should be protected both offline and online.

"#India: We call on the authorities and protesters to exercise maximum restraint in ongoing #FarmersProtests. The rights to peaceful assembly & expression should be protected both offline & online. It's crucial to find equitable solutions with due respect to #HumanRights for all," it tweeted.

#India: We call on the authorities and protesters to exercise maximum restraint in ongoing #FarmersProtests. The rights to peaceful assembly & expression should be protected both offline & online. It's crucial to find equitable solutions with due respect to #HumanRights for all. UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) February 5, 2021

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at three Delhi border points  Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur  for over 70 days, demanding a complete repeal of three central farm laws.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of the farmer unions protesting the farm laws, on Friday said there would be no 'chakka jam' in Delhi on February 6 even as it asserted that peasants in other parts of the country will block national and state highways for three hours but in a peaceful way. The SKM had earlier this week announced this nationwide chakka jam on Saturday, saying that farmers would block national and state highways for three hours in protest against the Internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, and other issues.

Multiple rounds of talks between the Government and the farmer unions have remained deadlocked. The protests at the Delhi borders for repeal of the three contentious agri laws that was enacted in September last began on November 28. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said any protests must be seen in the context of India's democratic ethos and polity, and the ongoing efforts of the government and the concerned farmer groups to resolve the impasse.

"The Parliament of India, after a full debate and discussion, passed reformist legislation relating to the agricultural sector. These reforms give expanded market access and provided greater flexibility to farmers. They also pave the way for economically and ecologically sustainable farming," the MEA said in a statement on Wednesday. In a strong response to the remarks made by foreign individuals and entities, the MEA on Wednesday said the "temptation" of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments is "neither accurate nor responsible".
In the year 1969, most Americans view of the Federal Bureau of Investigation came from the TV series The FBI, in which straitlaced fed Lew Erskine (Efram Zimbalist Jr). fought crime in his by-the-book fashion, tidily arresting various psychopaths and other malefactors every week. (If you saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, you get the gist of the show.)

In the year 1969, most Americans view of the Federal Bureau of Investigation came from the TV series The FBI, in which straitlaced fed Lew Erskine (Efram Zimbalist Jr). fought crime in his by-the-book fashion, tidily arresting various psychopaths and other malefactors every week. (If you saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, you get the gist of the show.)

The truth about the FBI at that time probably hews closer to the way the agency is portrayed in Judas and the Black Messiah, which culminates in the Hoover-approved murder of Chicago Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton. Directed by Shaka King, the film continually shifts focus between the fiery, charismatic Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), new Panther recruit William ONeal (LaKeith Stanfield) and federal agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons), the FBI agent who compels the lifelong criminal ONeal to infiltrate the Panthers with such success, he actually becomes the Chicago branchs security chief.

Also an important relationship in the mix is the burgeoning relationship between Hampton and Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback), a Panther volunteer who advises the fiery Hampton on when to temper his angry rhetoric with a conciliatory touch. Hamptons ability to unite disparate communities into a "Rainbow coalition" is ultimately what made him more of a threat in the eyes of reactionary FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen), who famously focused the FBIs attention on black/student radicals instead of more salient threats such as the Mafia.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES Top, from left: Darrell Britt-Gibson as Bobby Rush, Daniel Kaluuya as Chairman Fred Hampton and Ashton Sanders as Jimmy Palmer.

In the late 1960s, its a given that the Black Panthers radicalization was an inevitable product of police brutality, the political violence of the Jim Crow laws in the South, and the ongoing assassinations of black leaders including Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. Law enforcement  then as now  was equally radicalized, especially at the FBI. Hence, corn-fed agent Mitchell comes to ONeal after the car thief has been busted for a scam in which he has impersonated an FBI agent in a bid to steal a vehicle. (Asked why he chose to impersonate an FBI agent instead of just taking a car at gunpoint, ONeal pointedly replies, "the badge is scarier than the gun.")

ONeal, facing up to eight years in prison, agrees to the infiltration and eventually earns the trust of Hampton.

The relationship between ONeal and Mitchell has a touch of Stockholm Syndrome to it: ONeal comes to covet Mitchells middle-class wife-and-three-kids prosperity and his co-operation is touched with ONeals aspirations to a good, straight life.

But at the same time, ONeal is also touched by Hamptons intelligence, charisma and his ambition to shake up Americas power structure. ONeals betrayal (which is teased in the beginning of the film as ONeal tells his story in the 1990 documentary series Eyes on the Prize II) is revealed as a series of compromises that take him deeper and deeper into true criminality. This is also true of Agent Mitchell, who is horrified to learn of the FBIs criminality in its pursuit of "Black Messiahs" (Hoovers term for black leaders) but evidently not horrified enough to risk his career. Mitchell, who says he investigated the killing of three civil rights workers in Mississippi by Ku Klux Klan members, insists the Klan and the Panthers are "all the same" without considering the possibility that the Klan and the Bureau have more in common.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES Jesse Plemons (left) as Roy Mitchell and Lakeith Stanfield as Bill O'Neal.

Director Shaka King has previously worked on TV series and a 2013 stoner comedy titled Newlyweeds, so his effort here is surprising in its detail in its production, the fluidity of the narrative and the gravitas of its themes, which are, alas, as timely as ever.

Daniel Kaluuya, a more passive presence in Jordan Peeles excellent horror film Get Out, exhibits a considerable range here: his Hampton is a force of nature on the podium, but admirably cool negotiating a treaty with a faction of Chicago gangsters. Its a hell of a good performance, though Kaluuya is obviously older than Hampton, who died at the age or 21. He has excellent support from Fishback who sensitively facilitates a look at Hamptons tender side.

LaKeith Stanfield (who was also in Get Out) provides a provocative counterpoint to Kaluuya, trapped between his self-serving aspirations and Hamptons idealism. He has a haunted quality that, it turns out, syncs with the real-life ONeal, glimpsed for a minute or two in the end of the film, delivering the films final casualty: a shock, but not a surprise.

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @FreepKing
An exclusive, nationwide survey sent to more than 3,000 election administrators in all 50 states finds they consider misinformation to be the greatest challenge to future U.S. elections and American democracy.



The broad, 35-question inquiry was sent by the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit in late December, shortly after all states certified their electoral ballots in the U.S. presidential election, and concluded Jan. 15, five days before the inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden.

The "Grading the Election" survey asked local and state election administrators  from town and parish clerks to county auditors and secretaries of state  for in-depth insights on election security, pandemic-related changes, funding, absentee ballots and postal issues, relations with state legislators and federal agencies and suggestions for permanent reforms. The number of survey responses varied by question and not all respondents completed all questions.

The results are being released on the eve of Tuesdays start of the annual winter conferences of the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors, the largest gatherings of the nations top election leaders since the general election concluded. The conferences, being held virtually this month due to the ongoing pandemic, allow administrators to compare notes, adopt policy positions, and recommend legislative changes that can affect how people vote in subsequent elections.

Read results of Hearst Television National Investigative Unit "Grading the Election" survey sent to more than 3,000 election administrators nationwide.



Set the Record Straight

Paddy McGuire, the auditor for picturesque Mason County, Wash., on the western edge of Puget Sound, wrote in his survey response that he had to combat a flood of incoming falsehoods with dry, hard facts.

He started a bi-weekly column in the local paper in 2020 to knock down misinformation in the community and make clear the stakes for voters in the small county. In his penultimate column before Election Day, he wrote, "The people that benefit from the misinformation and the outrage that follows are in Beijing, Moscow and Tehran."

His office applied for a $33,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civil Life and used it to create and mail every voter an eight-page guide; the headline on page 3 reads: "Ensuring the Integrity of Elections."

We wanted to set the record straight and let folks know that they could rely upon us for the truth, McGuire said in a recent interview from his office in Shelton.

Misinformation first responders

Being a misinformation first responder was just the latest job election leaders nationwide had to add to an overflowing, pandemic-laden workload last year, according to the survey.

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An overwhelming 76% of respondents said they had to take steps to counter misinformation or disinformation about the election in their communities. In follow-up interviews, the National Investigative Unit found that sentiment expressed by ground-level election workers in small communities to the top election officials in more than two dozen states.

Absolutely. I'm one of the 76% in that survey  and our hand was forced, said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon.

"Oh, absolutely, pretty much all day, every day, replied Michael Adams, Kentucky Secretary of State.

"It was a daily effort, agreed Kim Wyman, Washington Secretary of State.

Maggie Toulouse Oliver, secretary of state in New Mexico and the current president of the National Association of Secretaries of State said, "Yeah, we sure did need to fight disinformation. One of her predecessors leading the NASS organization, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, said, Oh, most certainly."

Among the 25 top state election leaders from both parties interviewed for this story, nearly all of them agreed countering misinformation and disinformation will be the top challenge going forward  and will be a key topic of discussion at this weeks election conferences.



The very first bill introduced this year in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 1, sponsored by Democratic lawmakers, would, in part, ban certain false statements within 60 days of an election. The bills future is highly uncertain, particularly in the evenly-divided Senate.

Destroying voters confidence

That disinformation campaign was very effective in destroying voters confidence, concluded Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who oversaw three recounts in the presidential race in his state and came under direct pressure from former President Donald Trump to find the more than 11,000 votes the former president would have needed to prevail in the state.

"We see it as a threat to the security of our elections, said Joyce Benson, Michigan Secretary of State.

Shemia Fagan, Oregons Secretary of State, concurred, calling disinformation the number one threat."

"It's going to be a permanent requirement for our elections, sadly, to actively counter misinformation, lamented Denise Merrill, Connecticut Secretary of the State. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar declared in an interview, "Enough with the lies."

Virginias Commissioner of Election, Chris Piper, felt optimistic that we're up to the challenge.

No widespread fraud

Since 2018, the National Investigative Unit has covered the semi-annual gatherings of top election leaders as they fought foreign interference and cyber security threats, then a pandemic and, now, disinformation.

When they meet again this week, top election leaders said theyre prepared to, yet again, debunk false claims about the election, including that President Trump actually won instead of losing to President Biden by more than seven million votes nationwide and by a decisive margin in the Electoral College.

Every official who oversees the administration of elections in their states and who was interviewed for this story said they found no widespread fraud that would have changed the results.

Administrators needed private funds

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Nearly half of the administrators who responded to the survey said they had to rely on private grants or funding to run the election in these cash-strapped, pandemic times. One in eight administrators said a poll worker or election staffer was diagnosed with COVID-19 after working on Election Day. And half of election administrators said they do want pandemic-related, emergency election measures to be made permanent.

But many dont feel optimistic their recommendations  on post-coronavirus changes or much of anything else  will be adopted.

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Four in 10 did not feel their state legislature listens to them and respects their suggestions on election reform. It absolutely is a problem in Michigan, said Benson, the secretary of state there.

In Arizona, another state that saw significant pressure from Trump-aligned supporters to overturn legitimate results, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said, a lot of these legislators that make our election laws are the ones propagating all of the misinformation." In Missouri, a diplomatic-sounding Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said, "We work together even though we don't always agree on everything."

No time to wait

In Mason County, Wash., Paddy McGuire's team doesn't have time to wait for broader reforms or the disinformation cavalry to arrive.

The next election he's running is just days away  Feb. 9.

It's a never-ending process, McGuire said. And we just we just want to show people that the work that we're doing is honest and fair and nonpartisan.

Mark Albert is the chief national investigative correspondent for the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit, based in Washington D.C. April Chunko and Amanda Rooker contributed to this report.

Know of waste, fraud, abuse or a safety risk that needs to be investigated? Send information and documents confidentially to the National Investigative Unit at investigate@hearst.com. You have the option to remain anonymous.

HEARST TELEVISION NATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT

ELECTION SECURITY SERIES:

-Pt 1: Gaps in Preparedness

-Pt 2: White House Response

-Pt 3: Voting Vulnerabilities

>San Francisco Chronicle (print) version

>DIGITAL EXTRA: Kid Hackers



-Pt 4: Cyber Combat

-Pt 5: Election Security Summit (Day 1; Day 2)

-Pt. 6: Troll Hunters

-SPECIAL: Election Security 30-minute Special

-Pt. 7: Paper Ballots

-Pt. 8: Lack of Funds

-Pt. 9: Operation Blackout

-Pt. 10: Digital Disinformation

-Pt. 11: Voting App Hack

-Pt. 12: Deleting the Deception

-Pt. 13: Spotting the Spin

-Pt. 14: 2020 Election Summit

-Pt. 15: Election Exposure

-Pt. 16: Election Exposure Checkup

-Pt. 17: Return to Sender

-Pt. 18: Inside the Intelligence

-Pt. 19: Grading the Election
SAGE warned only mandatory hotel quarantine for all UK travellers would 'come close' to to stop new strains entering the country, it has emerged.

In a recommendation made on January 21, Government scientists said anything other than a 'complete closure of borders' or isolating every visitor in designated facilities would be took weak.

SAGE's unusually frank verdict on variants - published today after being leaked earlier this week - was likely the driving factor behind the Government's new hotel quarantine scheme and blanket travel ban on 33 'red list' countries.

Officials are anxious not to let another Covid variant run rampant, after Britain struggled to get a grip on the Kent strain which sparked a devastating second wave that plunged England into its third lockdown at the start of January.

Strains which emerged in South Africa and Brazil have been causing international alarm because, like the Kent version, they are more infectious than the original Covid but they also appear to make vaccines less potent.

Under the new quarantine plans, UK arrivals will have to stay in hotels for 11 nights at a cost of up to 1,000 per person, with the arrangements lasting until at least March 31.

But the Government was today accused of being too slow by Labour after it emerged today that not a single hotel has signed up to the scheme, which was announced nearly three weeks ago.

SAGE said No10's earlier tactic of only banning countries which confirmed cases of the concerning variants was useless because most nations don't have the testing capabilities to pick up on them quickly.

The expert group also stressed that voluntary self-isolation, another earlier UK strategy, was not firm enough because it was too dependent on people sticking to the rules.

Crowds of arrivals pack into a queue at Heathrow Airport as thousands continue to come into the UK from abroad each day

Britain's hotel quarantine scheme will finally begin on February 15  nearly three weeks after it was first announced

The three Covid variants causing international alarm emerged in Britain, South Africa and Brazil

Officials are planning to accommodate 1,425 passengers a day from 'red list' countries when the hotel scheme finally gets up and running. Travel is already banned from the current roster of 33 hotspot countries, so primarily those affected will be Britons returning to the UK.

Minutes from SAGE's meeting on January 21 said: 'Measures to reduce importations are most important when domestic prevalence (either overall or of a particular variant of concern) is low and when importation could lead to R>1.

'No intervention, other than a complete, pre-emptive closure of borders, or the mandatory quarantine of all visitors upon arrival in designated facilities, irrespective of testing history, can get close to fully prevent the importation of cases or new variants.

'The emergence of new variants of concern around the world presents a rationale for attempting to reduce importation of even small numbers of infectious cases.

'This rationale will strengthen if new variants emerge that are capable of immune escape.'

Criticising the Government's earlier border control tactics, SAGE added said they were 'highly dependent on the level of adherence to quarantine'.

'Adherence is not binary, and different types of non-adherence will vary in terms of risk.

'There are limited data on adherence, with much based on self-reporting, and options to improve this data should be considered.'

'Measures such as monitored quarantine (e.g. at airport hotels) for international travellers could reduce risks associated with non-adherence.

Not a SINGLE hotel has signed up to government quarantine plan Ministers today defended another 10-day delay to the hotel quarantine scheme as it emerged that travellers to the UK face security guards on every floor and cleaning their own toilet - but not a single chain has yet signed up to take part. Foreign Office minister James Cleverly insisted the dramatic move was taking 'time to prepare', despite nearly three weeks having passed since it was first announced. Retired Royal Marine general Sir Gordon Messenger, a former vice chief of defence staff who led a mass community testing operation in Liverpool last year, has been drafted in to oversee the project. The Government is racing to reserve 28,000 hotel rooms across the UK in a bid to launch the scheme after it was accused of 'dithering' on the issue. Officials are planning to accommodate 1,425 passengers a day from 'red list' countries when the scheme finally gets up and running. Travel is already banned from the current roster of 33 hotspot countries, so primarily those affected will be Britons returning to the UK. Advertisement

'Hotel quarantine would also reduce the risk of onwards transmission within households.'

On only banning countries that report official cases of variants of concern, the group added: 'Reactive, geographically targeted travel bans cannot be relied upon to stop importation of new variants, due to the lag between the emergence and identification of variants of concern, as well as the potential for indirect travel via a third country.'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is due to announce more details next week on how travellers returning from coronavirus hotspots will be put into the hotels.

The taxpayer will initially foot the bill - estimated at around 50million a month - before trying to claw the money back from the arrivals.

One source told MailOnline they were confident of recouping the funds, suggesting credit card details could be taken.

The hotels are expected to have 'Government-approved' security staff on every floor to ensure people do not leave rooms, and smokers will need to be escorted outside.

Three meals a day with fruit and water will be delivered to the door, with hot and cold options available.

Tea and coffee will be available in the room, but guests are expected to clean their bathrooms and change their own sheets.

Some hotels have suggested they will provide yoga mats to help people exercise and de-stress during their detention.

Labour pointed out the measures will come nearly two months after the South African Covid strain was discovered in the UK and was 'too little too late' - repeating calls for a blanket quarantine policy on all travellers, rather than just 'red list' countries.

It accused the Government of dithering on the rollout of the scheme, which was annnounced three weeks ago and is thought to be being held back by logistical hurdles.

A Government source said today: 'It's complicated and there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle. It's not as simple as banishing people to a hotel room and saying see you later.'

Among the issues are said to be ensuring guests get meals delivered to their rooms. Major hoteliers are furious about being kept in the dark about the proposals.

A health department spokesman said: 'Throughout the pandemic, the Government has put in place proportionate measures, informed by the advice of scientists, and that has led to some of the toughest border regimes in the world.

'It is currently illegal to go on holiday and passengers travelling to the UK must provide proof of a negative test before they travel, and self-isolate on arrival.

'With increased police presence at airports and more physical checks at addresses to make sure people are self-isolating, we are taking decisive action.

'We are now working at pace to secure the facilities we need to roll out managed quarantine for British nationals returning home from the most high risk countries, and are rightly engaging with representatives from the hospitality, maritime and aviation industry, and learning from our friends around the world.

'In the face of new variants, it is important that the Government continues to take the necessary steps to protect people and save lives.'
Congress leader Sravan Dasoju said KCR is making state-run varsities die on their own for the benefit of private universities.  By arrangement

Hyderabad: AICC national spokesperson Dr Sravan Dasoju on Thursday urged Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao to immediately fill 11 Vice-Chancellor posts lying vacant with universities in the state. The Congress leader said the Chief Minister had turned universities into headless corpses and displayed an arrogant attitude and deliberate intention to finish off the government-run higher education sector in Telangana.

"It is so pathetic and very unfortunate that 11 universities in Telangana have been functioning without VCs for several years. They are running like headless corpses. No one with the head on his neck will ever allow this to happen. Every institution must be run by a leader, and VC a university, Dr Dasoju said.

However, the Chief Minister seems bent on destroying the long-running universities in Telangana. He is not appointing full-time VCs and not providing sufficient funds to universities to enable them operate well. He is making them die on their own for the benefit of private universities," Dr Dasoju alleged.

The AICC leader said he is humbled and thanked Governor Tamilisai Soundarrajan for her intervention in asking the state government for immediate filling of VC posts. He recalled that he has submitted several representations on this to the government, but they yielded no response.

Finally, the Governor has taken the lead to protect the interests of the student community and to save the universities in the state from collapse, he said.

"The CM is scuttling the higher education system by not appointing VCs for long and not releasing adequate funds. Thousands of teaching and non-teaching posts are kept vacant due to non-appointment of VCs. On the one hand, the CM is promoting private universities and destroying the government-run universities, the Congress spokesperson said.

The Congress demands the immediate appointment of VCs and protection to higher education. Congress also demands release of adequate funds to universities and recruitments to all vacant positions, Dr Dasoju said.
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Not just Africa, the cruel act persists in other parts of the world too. Like Egypt. Egypts cabinet has toughened a law banning female genital mutilation (FGM) - imposing jail terms of up to 20 years as part of efforts to stamp out the ancient practice. Nearly 90% of Egyptian women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have undergone FGM, according to a 2016 survey by the U.N. Childrens Fund (UNICEF), and the ritual is practised widely by both Muslims and Christians despite the 2008 ban. However, the act persists. One day ago, Egyptian officials arrested a man and a retired nurse for carrying out FGM on a 15-year-old girl. Photo: Reuters
International leaders and experts advocate for rights-based family planning, examine threat COVID-19 poses to reproductive health

BALTIMORE, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 7,000 people attended this week's global online forum, "Not Without FP," to champion the important role family planning plays in universal health coverage (UHC) schemes, and explore the impact of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide.

logo

The forum convened at a pivotal time -- as the international community plans to move beyond its Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) goals and UHC gains traction globally  made even more complex by the COVID-19 pandemic and growing civil unrest and inequity.

"These disruptive events, while painful, can be important opportunities to transform the way we think and do our work," said Jose G. Rimon II, director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, host of the two-day forum. "It will take a massive mindset change and more global collaboration to ensure family planning is an essential service that's accessible to all."

Sessions featured presentations on how various family planning actors  including women themselves  are responding to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Senegal, Uganda, the United States and elsewhere.

Just days after U.S. President Joe Biden repealed the Mexico City policy  also known as the "global gag rule," which severely limited funds for reproductive healthcare services abroad under the previous administration  USAID's Acting Administrator Gloria Steele addressed forum participants in her first public appearance since assuming office.

USAID is a key supporter of FP2020, a global partnership that promotes universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights. As FP2020 prepares to embark on a new decade of partnership  and transition to FP2030  Executive Director Beth Schlachter said, "Family planning is a key intervention for countries in reaching universal health coverage. Because for women and girls, access to contraception is a fundamental component of primary healthcare."

Story continues

Other speakers included Dr. Indu Bhushan, CEO of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), the world's largest government-sponsored healthcare program providing free services to more than 550 million people in India; Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, United Nations Special Rapporteur, medical doctor and syndicated sexual health columnist; and Mechai Viravaidya, an activist and leader also known as the "Condom King" for his innovative work destigmatizing condoms and promoting safe sex and family planning in Thailand.

"Not Without FP" serves as a springboard to the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2021, scheduled to be held in Pattaya City, Thailand, and co-hosted by the Gates Institute, the Kingdom of Thailand's Ministry of Public Health, The Royal Thai College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and local NGO Population and Community Development Association.

Thailand's decades of success in family planning and UHC made it a natural partner for ICFP. Anutin Charnvirakul, the Kingdom of Thailand's deputy prime minister and minister of public health, opened the virtual forum on 2 February with an overview of his country's strategies, including the critical role government plays in making healthcare services widely accessible through district hospitals and community-based programs.

The voices of community members were represented throughout the event as participants relayed first-person stories in "Real Talk, Real Voices, Real FP," discussed their roles as religious leaders and healthcare workers, and shared youth perspectives.

Session and panel recordings from "Not Without FP" are accessible online and can be found here.

About Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health

Located in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Gates Institute is dedicated to the advancement of scholarship and science for social change. The Institute conducts and facilitates cutting-edge research in family planning, adolescent and youth reproductive health and populations dynamics, and translates science into evidence-informed policies, programs and practice. For more information, please visit www.gatesinstitute.org.

About International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP)

Since 2009, the International Conference on Family Planning has served as a strategic inflection point for the global reproductive health community. In addition to being the world's largest scientific conference on family planning and reproductive health, ICFP serves as an international platform for countries, organizations, and individuals to make important commitments and celebrate achievements. Sponsored by the Gates Institute, the ICFP convenes every two years and is scheduled to meet in Pattaya City, Thailand, in 2021.

For more information, please visit www.icfp2021.org.

Media Contact:

Katherine Davis

Davis Communication Strategies

+1 303 884 6261

katherine@daviscomm.com

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SOURCE International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP)
Building Earths largest telescope on the far side of the moon CBC (IM).

How David Beats Goliath in Real Life The Reformed Broker

The money behind Robinhood is pure Sheriff of Nottingham Gillian Tett, FT

New Mexicos nuclear rush Searchlight New Mexico (AC).

#COVID19

Coronavirus confusion: Whats the difference between a variant and a strain? Los Angeles Times (nvl).

Danish scientists see tough times ahead as they watch more contagious COVID-19 virus surge Science. More on new strains:

If true, terrifying. @DrEricDing has previously been criticised for scaremongering but the thread below is tightly argued and plausible. If there is a counter-argument, lets hear it.

Otherwise, we must change policy urgently. https://t.co/DpIfPgLd64  Trisha Greenhalgh  #CovidIsAirborne (@trishgreenhalgh) February 5, 2021

How to redesign COVID vaccines so they protect against variants Nature

* * *

An observational study of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity by viral load and demographic factors and the utility lateral flow devices to prevent transmission (preprint) (PDF) Modernizing Medical Microbiology. Discussion. From the Interpretation: SARS-CoV-2 infectivity varies by case viral load, contact event type, and age. Those with high viral loads are most infectious.

Transmission of COVID-19 in 282 clusters in Catalonia, Spain: a cohort study The Lancet (nvl). From the Interpretation: In our study, the viral load of index cases was a leading driver of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The risk of symptomatic COVID-19 was strongly associated with the viral load of contacts at baseline and shortened the incubation time of COVID-19 in a dose-dependent manner. Commentary:

Why does this matter? Lots of reasons. A few key ones:

If viral loads predicts transmission, then:

-vaccines that reduce viral loads will likely reduce transmission

-individual traits that influence viral loads would also influence transmission

-we can map loads to infectiousness  A Marm Kilpatrick (@DiseaseEcology) February 4, 2021

* * *

How New Models Of Vaccine Development For COVID-19 Have Helped Address An Epic Public Health Crisis Health Affairs

Johnson & Johnson seeks US authorisation for Covid-19 vaccine FT

With a seductive number, AstraZeneca study fueled hopes that eclipsed its data STAT

The mystery of the missing vaccines Politico

The coronavirus vaccine divide: In maps and charts Al Jazeera

* * *

Why some hospitals have to scramble for oxygen to treat Covid-19 patients STAT
The driver suspected of causing a fatal eight-car collision while intoxicated and driving a stolen vehicle in San Francisco on Thursday was on supervised release from prison and facing charges in another DUI case from December, officials said.

Jerry Lyons, 31, was booked into San Francisco County jail Thursday night on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other crimes. Family has identified the victim as 26-year-old Sheria Musyoka.

Police said Lyons was driving a 2003 Ford Explorer reported stolen out of San Jose when the crash occurred before 8 a.m. Thursday near Higuera Avenue and Lake Merced Boulevard. Four people, including Lyons, were injured in the collision.

The crash was the latest and most serious of Lyons many brushes with the law this past year following his April 11 release from prison. He served about a year and a half of a four-year sentence on a 2018 grand theft conviction.

Upon his release, Lyons was placed on three years of post-release community supervision  a less restrictive alternative to parole thats overseen by the San Francisco Adult Probation Department, records show. Under community supervision, a person who violates terms of their release can be sent to county jail but not state prison.

Before Thursdays crash, Lyons had been arrested at least seven times in the Bay Area since his release from prison in April. Most of his arrests were in San Mateo County for allegedly committing crimes including car theft, petty theft, shoplifting and possession of drug paraphernalia, records show. He also had two warrants issued for failing to check in with the probation department.

San Francisco police arrested Lyons on Oct. 9 after finding him with a parked Honda Civic that had been reported stolen, they said. Police officials said that Lyons at the time was on probation in San Mateo County as well as post release community supervision out of San Francisco, which allowed police to search him without cause.

The search revealed a pouch of suspected methamphetamine as well as whats known as a master key that can start ignitions on vehicles. Lyons was booked on suspicion of auto theft, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a burglars tool and on violating community supervision.

Prosecutors referred the case to probation officials but did not file new charges because the victim, whose car was stolen, did not identify Lyons as the suspect when shown a photo lineup, according to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

The arrests and community supervision violations amounted to at least two more stints in San Francisco County Jail last year. In May, Lyons spent 10 days in jail for failing to report to probation.

In December, he spent nearly a month behind bars due to another probation violation following an arrest for another alleged DUI.

On Dec. 3, Lyons was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers in San Francisco on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle and driving under the influence, police said. After toxicology results came back on Jan. 22, San Francisco prosecutors told CHP officers that they would proceed with new charges of DUI and driving without a license.

CHP officials said that in response to San Franciscos move they sent Lyons a notice that he would be cited, which required him to report to the CHP office. If he did not do so within 14 days, officials said they would have issued a warrant. The crash came 13 days after Jan. 22.

Lyons two most recent contacts with police came last month, when he was arrested by Daly City police on Jan. 4 for public intoxication and then on Jan. 8 by San Mateo police for public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia.

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said Lyons currently has six open misdemeanor cases out of his office, but the COVID crisis has pushed all court appearances on misdemeanors back well into 2021.

In addition to vehicular manslaughter, Lyons was booked on Thursday on suspicion of reckless driving with bodily injury, unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol, violating probation, driving at an unsafe speed, failing to stop at a red light, hit-and-run and receiving stolen property.

Boudin on Friday said that Lyons latest case had not yet been formally presented to prosecutors, and that his office would likely make a charging decision next week.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com, Twitter: @meganrcassidy

Editors note: This story has been updated with the victims name and information from the California Highway Patrol.
Mitt Romney is putting forward a wildly ambitious proposal to re-orient the American welfare state toward children. The federal government transfers a hefty chunk of national income from younger people to the elderly. The Utah Republican senator wants more money to go to the parents of minor children.

His plan would create a child allowance. Nearly all U.S. children - excluding only those from the highest-earning households - would be allotted a monthly benefit worth $4,200 a year up to age 5 and $3,000 a year up to age 17.

The plan is expensive: It would cost $66 billion a year more than the existing tax credit for children. Romney would pay for it in two principal ways: by folding several government benefits designed to help children, including that tax credit, into the new child allowance; and by wholly eliminating the deduction that lets people write off their state and local taxes against their federal ones.

Just describing the plan should make obvious what some of the objections to it will be. Some progressives won't want to eliminate existing programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the main program that used to be called "welfare," or the tax credit for day care. President Joe Biden wants to expand that last credit as part of his Covid relief bill. Democrats want a bigger state-and-local deduction, too, not a smaller one.

The proposal is raising concerns even among those conservatives who have been open to expanding the tax credit for children. Republican Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah have been advocating tax relief for parents for years. Romney's plan, however, gives benefits to some households in excess of any federal taxes they pay. That's too generous for the senators.

Other Republicans are sure to attack the plan as a net tax increase. Anti-tax conservatives have supported efforts to eliminate tax breaks, including the state and local deduction, but only in return for tax cuts that are at least as big. The trade-off for higher average tax rates in this plan is more federal benefits.

Conservative welfare-policy analysts, finally, will be concerned about the impact of the plan on workforce participation and marriage. TANF, which Romney would nix, requires many of its beneficiaries to work. The child allowance would not have that condition. Giving parents larger benefits could make it easier for them to avoid paid employment.

Supporters of the Romney plan counter, however, that it would not punish people for making a paycheck or marrying someone who does. The child allowance would remain at the same level for families with no income, low income or middling income, phasing out only for the highest-earning households. (The allowance would start to shrink for single filers making more than $200,000 and joint filers making more than $400,000, just like the current child credit.) It differs in that way from the old welfare program that TANF replaced, and from many other government programs and tax breaks as well, which punish people for moving up the lowest rungs on the income ladder.

The net effect of the plan on work and marriage will require further study. But the plan has some very considerable virtues, starting with the one that Romney highlights: It would substantially reduce poverty and drastically reduce extreme poverty, especially among children.

It would simplify government programs and probably make them easier to administer. The earned-income tax credit, for example, has a high rate of improper payments that is largely a result of the way it currently tries to help parents; Romney would incorporate its pro-family features into the new allowance and leave a stripped-down EITC that aimed only to reward work.

It would also make it easier for people to start and expand their families. A lot of people, understandably, get nervous when people start talking about a role for government in countering the decline in U.S. birthrates. But a plan like Romney's is best considered not as a way of bribing people to change their preferences about how many children to have, but as a way of helping them to live out what they already want.

For decades, the family size that American women say they want, on average, has been larger than what they have. By changing economic and social conditions somewhat, a child allowance could shrink the gap between what the demographers call "ideal" and actual birthrates.

Romney's plan deserves praise for another reason. It breaks out of the increasingly sterile debate among Republicans that centers on former president Donald Trump.

There are some Republicans who want to go back to a pre-Trump conservative orthodoxy that shortchanged families in its obsession with lowering marginal tax rates and other free-market goals. There are other Republicans who in practice reduce the idea of a conservatism that works for lower-income Americans to fealty to Trump's policies or, worse, to the man himself.

Romney is the least Trumpy Republican imaginable, but he is not pushing all and only the same ideas he did when he ran for president in 2012. Maybe, just maybe, the party can find a productive way forward on social policy that isn't defined either by Trump or what came right before him.

- - -

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Ponnuru is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a senior editor at National Review, visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and contributor to CBS News.
New Castle  The Delaware Valley Chapter of the Grand Kru County Development Association in the Americas now has a new leadership.

The Chapter's new corps of officers were elected recently and installed on January 30, 2021. The induction ceremony was held in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, USA. Those inaugurated are Messrs., Jarloth Wolo, President, Jackson Bropleh, Vice President, and Kerian Pelenah. Others are Mss, Sarah Jebboe, Treasurer, and Helena Nyankun, Chaplain. Mr. Patrick Tarplah was also, inducted as Financial Secretary. Each of the officers will serve a two-year term.

The Grand Kru County Development Association was founded in April 2007 and it is headquartered in the United States. The Association's Delaware Valley Chapter brings together citizens of Grand Kru County residing in the Tristate region of America (Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey). The Association is more than 13 years old and it is dedicated to complementing the efforts of the Liberian government in improving the living conditions of the people of Grand Kru County.

Also, the Association seeks to foster peace, unity, progress, and social awareness among its members. Additionally, the Association is committed to maintaining the cultural and traditional values of the Kru ethnic group, and the encouragement of educational endeavors among its members.

Grand Kru is one of Liberia's 15 counties. The County was created in 1984 by the merger of the then Sasstown and Kru Coast territories. Grand Kru is one of Liberia's smallest counties and it has a population of less than 80 thousand people. The County is reportedly challenged in the areas of infrastructural development, health, education, among others.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Sustainable Development By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The National President emeritus of the Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA), Moses D. Sandy, served as the guest speaker and installing officer at the inaugural ceremony. In his statement, the retired US based Liberian journalist and eminent community leader underscored the roles and importance of diaspora and local based Liberian community organizations in Liberia's national development.

Former President Sandy said the foremost purpose of most Liberian community organizations is to promote peace and unity amongst its members and buttress the efforts of the Liberian government in improving the living conditions of citizens of the country in the areas of health, education, infrastructural development, rule of law, good governance, among others.

Speaking on the theme, The Role of Community Organizations in National Development, the ALJA former National President said to accomplish these goals, it is imperative for leaders of community organizations and officials of the Liberian government to co-exist in moving Liberia forward. He noted, "community organizations assist the government in mobilizing resources for upgrading the lives of the people while the government has the responsibility of creating the enabling environment."
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 09:05:43|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health on Thursday reported 749 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, taking the national count to 140,157.

The COVID-19 death toll rose to 2,126 after four new fatalities were recorded, the ministry said.

With 254 more recoveries registered, the nationwide count amounted to 124,242, it added.

Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation, is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic in Africa, after South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.

The country has so far reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the east African region.

The Ethiopian government has been urging the public to implement COVID-19 precautionary measures so as to contain the spread of the virus.

The east African nation has so far conducted 1,986,007 COVID-19 tests, including 6,002 new tests during the last 24 hours, said the ministry.

Ethiopia is one of the African countries which have conducted the most COVID-19 tests, mainly next to South Africa and Morocco, according to recent figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Enditem
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(Bloomberg) -- Wall Streets great inflation trade is losing steam, judging by a slew of cross-asset signals and where all the investing billions are actually going.With reflation strategies again playing second-fiddle to the crypto volatility and meme stock mania, stable Treasury yields helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average by the most in seven weeks.Debt gauges of inflation retreated from multi-year highs, while the S&P 500 largely sat still to give the benchmark the smallest monthly move since January 2020. Even the value strategy finally stalled, after notching some of the biggest gains since the financial crisis earlier this year.Given the reopening euphoria, a cool-down is to be expected. And recent days still delivered ammo to the price-growth camp: Jobless claims delivered surprises again, while two Federal Reserve officials signaled the U.S. economic expansion may warrant a taper discussion soon enough.All that suggests the reflation rally may yet power ahead if the business cycle booms anew and renews investor conviction. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for one, estimates money-manager positioning in inflation-sensitive assets including commodities is still below post-2008 peaks.Investor expectations had caught up with the better economic data, said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services. Thats more of a pause to us instead of a trend change.As lockdowns get lifted and trillions in stimulus heats up the American economy, the biggest question in markets is whether prices are on the cusp of breaking out of their decades-long doldrums. For many, bets on bonds still make sense right now when the Fed has the markets back and the data remains uncertain. Meanwhile Chinese policy moves of late are undercutting bullish wagers on commodities.On all this, the world of exchange-traded funds is sending mixed signals: Inflation-linked bonds took in $3 billion in May even as nominal government debt and corporate securities kept drawing new money, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.Market-derived expectations of price growth are sending a clearer message as the two-year breakeven gauge further outpaced five- and 10-year levels this month -- bucking the norm.Fixed income investors have emphatically concluded that it will be transitory, Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at Reynolds Strategy LLC, wrote in a note, referring to inflation.Stocks have been taking their cue from the lack of inflation drama in the bond market of late. A long-short value strategy -- which tends to bet on more cyclical companies and benefits from higher rates -- dropped this week by the most since the middle of April.Systematic styles in quality and low-volatility names also picked up. Its a sign defensive investors are seeking visible growth in earnings rather than bidding up companies acutely linked to the economic expansion, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.Hedge funds are also in wait-and-see mode. Clients at JPMorgans prime brokerage are adding exposures to both cyclical and growth shares -- suggesting reluctance to bet on one side of the inflation debate.Yet with commodity and wage pressures, theres a growing chance the Fed will tighten monetary policy sooner than expected, according to Sushil Wadhwani, chief investment officer at QMAW, a PGIM unit. As long as financial conditions stay loose, it makes sense to go long commodities and stocks while betting on a steepening yield curve, according to the London-based systematic investor.Macroeconomic policy especially in the U.S. is incredibly expansionary by historical standards, Wadhwani said. Im increasingly concerned that 2022 inflation will not go back as low as they say.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.


KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine has secured from the Serum Institute of India 12 million coronavirus vaccine doses developed by AstraZeneca and Novavax, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said.

The announcement is a breakthrough for Ukraine, which has found itself at the back of Europe's coronavirus vaccine queue and has called on the European Union for help in acquiring more doses for its 41 million people.

"Twelve million doses is a good signal from our partners, and this will be enough to ensure vaccination within the first months after the start of the deliveries (this month)," his office quoted Zelenskiy as saying in a statement.

Ukrainian health officials have said the country is likely to start COVID-19 vaccinations in mid-February.

Ukraine has said in January that it was in talks with Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, on supplying COVID-19 vaccines.

Ukraine, which has registered more than 1.2 million coronavirus cases and 22,707 deaths, has already agreed to buy some vaccines from China and expects to get at least 8 million doses under the global COVAX programme for poorer countries.

No vaccine has yet been formally approved for use in Ukraine yet but authorities have repeatedly said Kyiv will not approve or use vaccines from Russia, with which it is at loggerheads.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Mark Heinrich)
[MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

Im Ezra Klein, and this is The Ezra Klein Show. [MUSIC PLAYING] Theres a book Ive been thinking about a lot lately. Its by Daniel Ziblatt, whos a Harvard political scientist, and its called Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy. And what he shows in that book is that democracies live or die based on how responsible their conservative parties are. [MUSIC PLAYING] In particular, the question is whether the center right quarantines the anti-democratic far right, in which case democracies tend to live and thrive, or it allies with them, in which case, the far right often takes over and democracies often fall. We are in that kind of moment right now. There is a rising far right that has become explicitly, dangerously anti-democratic. It will not be stopped by the Democratic Party because it does not care what the Democratic Party thinks, and it does not rely on the Democratic Partys voters for its support. It will not be stopped by the mainstream media because it doesnt care what the media says about it. It will either be stopped by more sober members of the Republican Party, it be purged by them, as has happened before, or it will take over the Republican Party. And right now, right now it feels like it is taking over the Republican Party. The most important division between the parties right now is not over deficit reduction or capital gains taxation or the proper role of government in the health care system. It is about whether they will protect Americas political institutions or turn to tearing them down. But parties dont act or evolve in vacuums. They are shaped by institutions. They are shaped by their internal institutions and the broader systems in which they operate, and thats why I wanted to have Yuval Levin on the show today. Yuval is the director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute, as well as the author of a bunch of great books, but most recently, A Time to Build, which I highly recommend. Hes someone whos been trying to reform the Republican Party for a long time. Hes served in the Bush administration. Hes very influential with more traditionally conservative Republicans in Congress. And importantly, he thinks in institutions, not just candidates or messages. And so thats what I wanted to talk to him about. What is the Republican Party? What has it become? And how can the institutions that are driving that evolution be made more responsible? How can the institutions that surround not just the Republican Party, but the Democratic Party, force them to be better, help them to be healthier, make sure politics is about what is done for real people, how peoples lives are changed and not symbolic fights, not just who rules? Yuval and I have been debating some of these questions for years now. And as youll hear, theres quite a lot we disagree on, but these are the kinds of discussions that need to be had. Our current institutions, particularly our Republican institutions, are failing. We need better ones. We need them quickly. As always, my email is ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. Heres Yuval Levin. So how do you describe what the Republican Party is right now?

yuval levin

Well, thats a beautiful, broad question. I mean, a party is always a coalition, and the Republican Party is more self-consciously a coalition than it used to be. Republicans, for most of my lifetime, were able to think of themselves as a party unified by a set of views  broadly conservative, kind of Reaganite views. But I think it has always been true that the party is actually more coalitional than that. That there is a conservative segment of its electorate, and there is a populist segment of its electorate. Theres a more business-oriented and libertarian segment. And the differences between those have become much clearer over time and especially have become much clearer in the crucible of the last few years under Trump. And I think the party emerges from Trumpism much more self-consciously coalitional and really facing the question, the struggle of how now to define itself, how to find voters and expand its electorate, how to keep its base engaged  really fundamental questions that the party has to take up really fundamentally. Its allowed itself, to much too great a degree, to become a cult of personality around Donald Trump. And now Trump gets pulled out of the political arena, we hope  I hope, anyway. And the question for the party is, without that, what are we about? I think theres a conservative answer to that. Theres going to be a populist answer to that. Theres inevitably going to be a libertarian or business answer to that. And thats the next few years, but its very much a party wrestling over its own identity.

ezra klein

You mentioned that there was a post-Reagan consensus for some time. And as somebody who covers domestic policy and politics primarily, I often think of the Reagan legacy in terms of tax cuts, in terms of deregulation, in terms of its domestic policy. But of course, Reagan was also defined by this fight against the Soviet Union. That ended. Then a couple years after Reagan, you have George W. Bush and the war on terror, and that has not actually ended, given our deployments to different places. But I think, as a conceptual framework for the Republican Party, it has ended. Donald Trump runs, in many ways, against a lot of that Bush legacy. How much of the split that is growing in the Republican Party actually reflects a party that used to be held together by external enemies? And here, I mean foreign enemies. And now it doesnt have that. To the extent it has anything like that, it is liberals domestically, but not that foreign threat that requires a kind of unity that the past presidents were able to lean on.

yuval levin

Well, I think thats part of the story. I would broaden it a little to say that the threat of communism for more than half a century, and really from the beginnings of the modern conservative movement in the 1950s, say, the danger of communism organized Republican thinking about both foreign and domestic issues. Certainly, it unified the party around a fairly aggressive stance in the Cold War, especially after the Nixon years and into the Reagan years, where Republicans moved from a party of detente to a party of confrontation and rollback. But the opposition to communism also organized the domestic coalition in a variety of ways. Opposing communism meant defending religious traditionalism. It meant opposing a kind of threat that was, at the very least, secularizing, if not atheistic. And so the party became a home for Christian conservatives over the decades, gradually, slowly. Opposing communism meant making the case for capitalism, and the party became the home of the case for capitalism, gradually, of market thinking, and not just about global economic affairs, but about domestic policy. And so there were certainly a lot of ways in which understanding the American situation is fundamentally oriented by the challenge of communism. It gave a logic to the Republican coalition that helped it take shape. I think the Democratic party was much less organized around that question and much more organized around the character of American society itself, and the question of the Soviets was just never as central an organizing principle. And so the party organized itself around a different set of issues and also was much more explicitly coalitional, the Democrats were. They understood themselves as representing different factions that negotiated with each other and tried to enable one another to achieve important things. The Republican Party was a little bit more of a worldview party by the Reagan era and after, certainly. And so it at least understood itself as organized by these ideas, which certainly had their roots in Cold War thinking.

ezra klein

On the domestic side it, something I have often thought about the post-Civil-Rights-Act Republican Party is that it was a party that harnessed a lot of the energy in the politics of white resentment or white frustration with a changing society and a federal government that was, in many cases, helping those changes along. And it harnessed that energy for, strangely, tax cuts for rich people, corporate deregulation, that there was a way in which the party was very much one thing in the base and then a very much another at the elite level. And you could always see this in polling. I mean, Paul Ryan was Speaker of the House, and you would see this polling that base Republicans wanted to raise taxes on rich people. They wanted a higher minimum wage. They wanted more spending on programs for the poor. How much of what were seeing is that different structural changes in the parties, in the media ecosphere have allowed those things to be decoupled and so forces that, at one point, the party elite or structures were able to hold in check have just begun to predominate? Theyre able to get their candidates in through primaries. Theyre able to get their message out through social media. And so what were seeing now is what always was there, and its that thin layer that was restraining it or rechanneling it is what has changed?

yuval levin

Well, I think there certainly was a way in which the populism of white Southerners moved from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in the course of the mid-20th century. And that certainly played a part in the transformation of our politics that created the kind of modern arrangement of our parties as we know them so that by the 1990s, it was natural to expect that Republicans would win elections in the South and lose elections in the Northwest and the Northeast and the parties were fighting for the Midwest. American politics hasnt always been like that, but its been like that for some time, as a result of that transformation. I think its certainly not all thats going on, but what you point to is a process that happens in both parties, where there are populist energies, which have a lot to do with the base energy of the party. Theres also a kind of elite, more intellectual-minded consensus at the top that tries to, as you say, harness this in constructive ways, that tries to use it to the good but also to contain some of whats dangerous about it. The Democratic Party, obviously, has had to struggle with itself in this way over and over in the course of the second half of the 20th century. At times, it has been unable to contain that and has brought itself to the point of really dramatic electoral losses. Think about 72 or 84. These are times when the party was not able to contain the populist energies that emanated from its base. The Republican Party has had the same challenge, and were almost distracted by Reaganism. If you told a history of the Republican Party now, youd probably put Reagan at its center and sort of think about that as a rise and fall. But I think Reagan is better understood as a kind of detour from a history that is otherwise a story of a constant struggle between populism and conservatism  populism, inherently, a kind of bottom-up, democratic force. Conservatism is almost inherently elite driven, or at least elite minded. And the party has seen itself as a fight between these two for a very long time. Ronald Reagan was able to harness the energy of the Republican populist base in ways that I think were quite constructive and that were also a decent fit for what the more elite-minded conservative side of the party wanted to do. And so it was able to put this fight to the side for a little while, or at least to kind of take over its form, its shape. That also had to do, I think, with the rise of supply-side economics, which actually began as a populist response to more elite-minded, libertarian kind of fiscal consciousness. Its a little hard to remember now, but it was very much that. And Reagan, in a lot of ways, was a populist figure. Henry Olsen, my former colleague, wrote a wonderful book about this a couple of years ago. And so I think that the struggle that we see now, that weve seen in the Trump era, that well see in the post-Trump era, a struggle for the partys identity between populist forces and conservative forces is an old story. And almost all the arguments that are being had have, in some form, been had before. But the post-Reagan party imagined itself to be a little different than that and understood itself as more unified around a set of conservative principles than its electorate really was. I think that reality is much more powerfully evident in the wake of the last few years and will define the direction of the partys struggle for its own identity.

ezra klein

So if youre mostly read into the story conservatism tell us about the Republican Party, who are some of the key figures in its populist lineage?

yuval levin

Well, I think, from the very beginning, the conservative movement itself has consisted of both. For example, the struggle around McCarthyism early in the early days of modern conservatism in the 1950s really tells this story in a lot of ways, where there was a populist force that spoke to real concerns. Some of were the same concerns that more traditional conservatives had. Some of them werent. And the politics that arose out of the populist side of this became ugly politics fairly quickly and had to be kind of contained by the rest of the party. But the balance was where the party really existed so that this struggle between Nixons side and, at first, the Goldwater side then the Reagan side has always been this fight between grassroots activism, which tended to be populist, and more of a Washington-centered, increasingly over the years, conservative, intellectual coalition. And the kind of arguments that, say, Pat Buchanan made in the 1990s are very similar in tone and substance to the sorts of things that worked best for Donald Trump. I think Trump found that vein and found that he could direct it to his own benefit. And he spoke to a sense in the party that had long been there, a sense that really begins from the premise that the elites in our society are corrupt, that the elites in our society are failures. This is the way Trump often spoke about them. Its the way populists generally speak about them. But more generally, a kind of frustration with the way that our institutions function and are led, and that points you to a political outlook that comes to be defined by frustration, a sense that people with power, people with privilege in American life routinely abuse that power for their own gain and advantage. They lie to the public. They look down on everybody elses way of life. And this is populism. Theres a kind of left-wing populism. Theres a kind of right-wing populism. Its always been an intensely powerful force in American political life.

ezra klein

This is an important space, I think. I think of you as an institutional thinker, and so Id like to talk about this from the perspective of Republican Party institutions. And I dont just mean here the party structure itself and its primary rolls, but also mean allied media publications and ecosystems and interest groups. And there used to be this idea that Democrats fall in love and Republicans fall in line. And the idea was that it was a Democratic Party that was chaotic, that was unpredictable in who it would nominate, that was unpredictable in whether or not it would listen to its own governing or organizing institutions. It didnt have coherence because theres all these different groups coming together. And now, Democrats have become  not without exception, but in general  a much more predictable party. They tend to nominate the next in line  Joe Biden, and before Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton. And its Republicans where this anti-institutional force has, it seems to me, overwhelmed the institutions. When I look at the difference between the two parties, it is not that the Democratic coalition and the liberal base does not have conspiracy-minded people in it or people who take a very black-and-white view of the world. But the institutions are still quite moderating. The Democratic Party has some influence over its primaries, as we saw in the Democratic primary, when there was that rush of endorsements that ended up pushing Joe Biden over the edge. Its media ecosystems are intermixed with mainstream media that has incentives that are different than the Democratic Party, and so that ends up being somewhat restraining. It seems to be Republican institutions have been taken over and have actually lost a lot of battles. And Id be curious if, one, do you think thats true? And two, then why it is the Republican institutions are proving weaker?

yuval levin

Yeah, I do think thats true, and Im sure its a more complicated story than I can see and could get into. But I would say one important force thats played a role here, and you pointed to it, too, is the increasing capture of our core mainstream institutions by the left. The core institutions of American media, the Academy, culture are just explicitly and abjectly left-leaning institutions. That has meant that to resist the left is to resist these core institutions. And that, I think, has encouraged the kind of anti-institutional mindset that, in some ways, is always there. Populism is always anti-institutional, and theres always been a populist element of the right. But the American right, at its origins, was in the business of defending the institutions. Sometimes that meant defending the institutions from the people running them, which theres a certain irony to it, but it also made a certain amount of sense. Think about William F. Buckleys first book. He was just out of Yale, and he wrote a book called God and Man at Yale, which is basically an argument for saving the great universities from the professors. I think that when conservatives think about universities now, theyre more inclined to say, to hell with them, and to think that there is no saving these institutions. We have to attack these institutions. Not everybody thinks this way, and there are people who try to resist these lines of thinking. I do, and Im not alone. But I think that on the whole, the culture of the right has become much more hostile to the establishment. I think the right is overrepresented in American politics. Its underrepresented everywhere else in the institutions. But our attitude toward politics has also become anti-institutional. Even people who get elected to high office on the right tend to be sort of inherently anti-institutional in the way they approach their voters, and I think its a problem. Look, I dont think conservatism can do its job in a free society in opposition to the institutions of that society. I think it can only function in defense of them. And a conservatism that becomes anti-institutional looks like a mob attacking the Capitol, which I dont think is where anybody wants to end up.

ezra klein

I mean, some people do.

yuval levin

Evidently.

ezra klein

But let me go back to a couple of things in there because theres a bunch of interesting stuff in that answer, and I want to stay here on institutions for a minute. I want to express sympathy for the idea that there are a lot of key institutions that very much lean left in their personnel. I think thats true for the media. I think that is true for academia, without doubt. I could completely understand conservatives saying that they need their own counterparts that are based in places that are more conservative because where people are matters, that are filled with people who are more conservative, but that do the same kind of thing. So youre at the American Enterprise Institute. The American Enterprise Institute is, in some ways, a reaction to a sense that Brookings is a left-leaning institution, and its, I would call it, the center left. And AEI, in my view, is a really good conservative institution. I dont agree with everybody there. Some people I really disagree with. But it functions the way I would understand that kind of operation to function, which is it does the same kind of work as Brookings, but it is staffed by more conservative people. That has not happened in a lot of other places where Republicans have tried to build alternatives. Ill take the media, which I know very well, as an example here. Some years ago, Tucker Carlson mounts the stage at CPAC and says, conservatives need their own New York Times. They need a place that goes out and does that reporting and is not completely bought into the movements incentives. And if they think The New York Times is more liberal, they need to create something that is like it but conservative. And he goes on to create The Daily Caller, which I would say is not at all that kind of operation, and then he becomes, I think, a pretty scary form of right-wing nationalism now on Fox News prime time. Id say there are similar things in the movement against liberal academia. I could understand constructing alternative institutions. But in the effort to construct them, they seem to have created things that are very, very movement oriented and have very little defense against the movements incentives, whereas a lot of these institutions that do lean liberal, in terms of the personnel, they also have contrasting and crosscutting incentives. They dont want to be seen as too closely allied with the Democratic Party. They want to be understood as independent. They sometimes bend over backwards to criticize Democrats to show theyre independent. So why do you think theres been that different institutional construction path?

yuval levin

Well, I think theres this strange and amorphous thing in a free society called the mainstream culture. And the mainstream culture is that part of the culture that doesnt take itself to be explicitly on one side or another but that its just the arena in which a lot of our arguments happen and a lot of our public life happens. And I think what weve found in the last more than half century is certainly a transformation of a lot of mainstream institutions in the direction of the left. Now, thats happened in the culture, in Hollywood, music. I think you could certainly see that happening in mainstream journalism, where a lot of the core mainstream institutions are just more expressly on the left than they used to be. And creating alternatives to these is quite a challenge. Theres certainly a lively think-tank culture on the right in Washington, but its a tiny culture. I mean, the think-tank culture, in general, is quite small. And the right has always had some presence in that culture because, in some ways, think tanks have always been more on the right or more on the left. And AEI is not a new institution in response to the contemporary changes in political culture. It was created in the 1930s. And so it has been very hard to actually create alternative institutions at the core. To start a new elite university is not a simple matter. Its not unimaginable. There are people who have thought about it. Theres also a time to look to, a period of institution-building at the end of the 19th century, early 20th century in America, where actually, people started universities because they were unhappy with Harvard and Yale. And those universities, fairly quickly, became elite universities. Johns Hopkins, University of Chicago, Stanford, Duke all came around in that era and for those reasons. But it wouldnt be an easy thing to start a research university where you would actually want your own kids to go. Its just very hard to do. And so I think conservatives have found that rather than create alternative institutions, theyve created kind of critical institutions. Theyve created institutions that exist to attack the lefts institutions. And theres an audience for that, but thats not really mainstream work. Thats not a place to just get your news when you just want news. And so I think the effort to create genuinely alternative institutions generally hasnt worked. Now, I say that with some bias because I dont think thats the right approach. I think the right should want to have a presence in mainstream institutions, that it is more important that there be a diversity of views at Princeton than that there be an alternative university, which ultimately would fight with Princeton for elite students. I think its just both more practical and more important that the institutions of elite formation have greater diversity to them. But whether you think thats the right goal or not, I think the effort to really create alternative institutions has not turned out to be easy or achievable for the moment.

ezra klein

I like that distinction between critical and alternative institutions. I think that leads to this question of underrepresentation and where it comes from. So you were saying that there is a certain amount of reaction, as the right feels more of these institutions are captured by the left. And as somebody more on the left, one of the things that seems clear to me is that part of what is happening is that the right is losing some of these institutions as it becomes more right. If the past four years had been Mitt Romneys second term, I think there is a lot of corporate America that would have been very happy to be allied with Mitt Romney. It was Donald Trump they didnt like and who pushed them to make decisions and make statements and draw lines that they wouldnt otherwise have wanted to draw. I actually see this in the media, too. I dont theres any doubt that the media became more explicitly oppositional to the Donald-Trump-led Republican Party. But the Donald-Trump-led Republican Party, and specifically Donald Trump, pushed a lot of media organizations to places they did not want to go and were very uncomfortable going. I remember all of the debates among newspapers about when do you call something that the president keeps saying and is false a lie. When do you call something that is racist, racist? Because people didnt want to do that, but there was a real heightening of the contradictions. So it seems to me, there is some relationship here, some feedback loop between what is happening in the Republican Party, who is leading it, what it is espousing and then what is happening to it in its representation in these institutions. It actually seems to me that a lot of institutions would like to be sort of in the center or not that partisan or even, in some cases, particularly in business, center right have been pushed off of ground they would prefer to be holding and, at the same time, that push has made members of the right feel much more embattled and alone in the American social and power ecosystems.

yuval levin

Well, I think thats certainly true in part, but theres been another force, which I think has been a stronger force in driving these changes, which has come more from the left than from the right, it seems to me, which is a rising generation of employees in white-collar America, certainly in the media and cultural institutions, but also in corporate America, that I think, in some ways, because of the culture of the university, enter the world of work expecting their workplace to stand for what they stand for and expecting a company thats not in the business of anything political to express political views, to stand for a kind of political identity when things happen in the country that speaks to their core concerns. Often, these are well-motivated concerns about race, about justice, about other things. Sometimes, theyre more radical social views. But whatever they are, you find young workers pressing companies to become more political and to do so on the left. And I think these CEOs, which Im sure some of them would love to identify with Mitt Romney, I think most of them would love to just not be in the business of politics. Michael Jordans old line that got him in so much trouble, that he doesnt talk about politics because Republicans buy sneakers, too, thats the logic of a lot of corporate America at the end of the day. And they just dont want to be in these fights. But increasingly, the logic looks a little different to them. Some of their customers want them to be in the fight and to have something to say, whether its about Black Lives Matter or whether its about the big issue of the day. And a lot of the workers want them to. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

The dividing line, the litmus test that helps people to see if they are on the right or the left seems to be changing. When I came to Washington now probably 17 years ago, because Ive become an old man, or 15 years ago, how you felt about Grover Norquists tax pledge really told you whether or not you were a Republican or a Democrat. You really could tell everybody almost based on that. Economic issues were the locus of party competition, and social issues and views were much more mixed in between the parties. And that seems to me to have changed, not that literally Republicans are voting for a bunch of tax increases in Congress. Theyre not. But in terms of where the energy in the party is, in terms of where the energy between the party is, it seems to me, its moved much more towards the issues of civil rights, of demographic change, of LGBTQ rights, of gender issues, of what people broadly categorize as social issues. And I do think that has changed some of the elite lining up. I would say that a lot of corporate America is still quite fiscally conservative, so to speak. Theres not a lot of great statements in support of Medicare For All or some other kind of single-payer health care or cutting the child poverty rate by half, all kinds of things that I think of as very, very, very important questions within our political sphere. But there is a lot of solidarity around issues of race and policing, around immigration, around gender and LGBTQ rights. And a lot of it is hollow, particularly from corporations. But that is a place where corporations are more willing to take a stand. And as that has become more the dividing line in our politics, I think that has pushed more of this realignment. Im curious if that seems right to you.

yuval levin

Yeah, absolutely. I think it gets at a very interesting point and a very important point in this moment, when we have a new administration that, it seems to me, wants to make some cross-partisan deals. Because the point you make really can help us see where those deals are to be had, which is not quite where they would have been had 15 years ago, as you say. My first job in Washington, now more than 20 years ago, an even older man, was for a Republican member of Congress named Bob Franks, who was really a wonderful member and a great mentor. He was a pro-choice Republican. He was, in every other way, and absolutely mainstream Republican. He was in the leadership some of his career. He was on the Budget Committee. But he didnt agree with most other Republicans in the House about abortion. That kind of Republican today would have a much harder time being as central as Franks was in the Republican Party in that time. And I think its even more the case on the Democratic side that a pro-life Democrat, of which there were many in that time when I started working in the House, would have a very hard time now functioning in the party.

ezra klein

Including Joe Biden at that time.

yuval levin

Thats right, and Joe Biden was  maybe not by then, but certainly in the 80s, into the 90s. Id put it this way. I think it is now the case that each party is divided internally over economic questions. Even the core question of the role of government, which I think would have been the essential dividing question between the Republicans and Democrats 20 years ago, is now a question that divides Republicans, where there is a rising group, which have been identified kind of as populists in recent years and in some ways thats right, who have a much greater openness to aggressive government action for certain purposes, who are much more open to government spending than Republicans have tended to be. In some ways, Donald Trump was one of these people, but I think they mostly attached this to him. But if you think about where Marco Rubio is now or Josh Hawley has been, they are very much at odds with traditional Republican views about spending and taxes and the role of government. And a fair amount of the energy among younger people on the right is on their side, on the side of these more populist conservatives. And in some ways, the same is true in the left, where there are traditional neo-liberal Democrats. Maybe nobody would call themselves that anymore but people with a traditional, kind of Clinton-era sense of what government should be about. And then there are people who are willing to call themselves socialists, even, in some cases, but in any case, who have much greater ambitions for what public policy should be doing and what government should do. And both parties have some divisions along these lines. And in fact, those socialist Democrats probably agree with Josh Hawley about more than they would imagine. But the parties are very divided on social issues. And not only the traditional ones  abortion and so on  but theyve broadened the definition of social issues so that immigration is now almost entirely a social issue and questions of culture and the rest of it are really what divides the parties now. Theres much more room for compromise on economics and much less on social issues than there used to be.

ezra klein

I really wonder if that room for compromise is actually there, and I mean that in this way. I can really track the divisions on the Democratic side around policy. I can really tell you which part of the party is supporting Medicare For All and which part isnt, and its a real difference. Its going to lead them to do different things and in different ways. And the Republican Party, my background and my present, I guess, is as a policy reporter. You and I used to have lunch and argue about Medicare For All for long periods of time. I often feel, particularly through the Trump era, that when Im trying to track Republican Party policy divides, Im tracking something that both is there and isnt. It is there rhetorically, and people will talk in different ways. Youll have a Josh Hawley or a Tom Cotton or a Marco Rubio or Tucker Carlson give pretty interesting speeches  and a Donald Trump, in his own way, in 2016. And then when it comes time to govern, theres a lot less there, that the policy is much more symbolic than it is anything else and that trying to follow the Republican Party this way and trying to then assess what they might compromise on or not just doesnt end up working out because thats not the beating heart of it.

yuval levin

I think its certainly been a function of the Trump era that this has happened. The Trump era has been incredibly devoid of policy substance. And thats partly a function of the president himself having had no interest in it, and the party becoming so tied around the axle of his personality that its become just impossible to have policy conversations. You have people who just dont want to get on the wrong side of Trump. So where does that mean you ought to be on health care? I dont think any of them really knew, and they just didnt want to touch it. And its absolutely right that there just hasnt been a lot of interest in conservative policy work. Look, I work, as you say, at a conservative think tank. The work we do is public policy work. I was brought on at AEI in 2019. Id been at another think tank before that for about a dozen years. But I was brought on, really, in part to start a project that would make the health of American institutions, you might say the infrastructure of our political life, an explicit subject of inquiry of think tank work. Because we had a sense that the other work we all do, which is public policy work, just cant matter on the right until we do a better job of understanding whats gone wrong at the infrastructural level  political culture, the condition of Congress, the electoral system, these kinds of questions that seem like they are deeper than public policy and where there are just profound problems  some of them on the right, some of them in general  that make it difficult for us to have traditional policy debates. But I also think that if you stand aside from Trump for a minute, some of the differences that have emerged, really, in the last 10 years, but that have emerged with even greater force in the Trump era, do manifest themselves in some ways in policy differences and in a different level of willingness to engage in public action. Think about the $2,000 check debate, a small thing in some ways. But the pressure for more direct help to individuals came, in a lot of ways, from the Josh Hawley types on the right. The Democrats were for it. Ultimately, even Donald Trump was for it. But the argument for it on the right, the actual substantive argument, came exactly from that camp that inclines to think that, as George W. Bush once said and was endlessly attacked for saying, when people hurt, governments got to move. Thats not the traditional conservative way of thinking. I, myself, was very uncomfortable with that statement when he said it  I worked for him at the time  and would be still. But that is something like the view of a certain kind of more populist-inclined Republican politician. And its hard to know, but I think that if the Biden era is more policy inclined  look, its going to be more policy inclined  but if it is really an era of policy debates, where there are actual arguments and bargaining and negotiation, I think you will see these differences emerge with much greater force, differences among Republicans, on the role of government.

ezra klein

But is that truly possible? And heres why I ask. Take a Josh Hawley because hes come up a couple of times in this conversation. Not my favorite politician in recent weeks, in particular. But heres a guy who what he is trying to do is create simultaneously a more policy populist profile than Donald Trump really did, take some of Trumps rhetoric and make it into to actual ideas, and at the same time, be as much or even more of a fighter against liberalism, against the establishment, against the forces arrayed against the right than Trump even was, in part because I think hes not able to be as naturally celebrity-oriented and outrageous, so hes got to do much better at getting into direct fights with people. And Josh Hawley cannot come together with a Biden administration over $1,400 checks, or whatever it might be, because to do so would be to violate the other side of his politics. If youre going to combine this kind of populism with this kind of anti-establishment, and particularly anti-liberal, anti-left, anti-Democratic-Party approach, where theyre real villains who maybe even just stole the election, theres no room for compromise there. You have already ruled that kind of positive-sum negotiating out because to compromise with the Biden administration is such a breach of another part of your politics. It doesnt really matter what they think about checks or coronavirus relief or that the government should move when people hurt. You cant get over that first hump. So it may be interesting if he were in power. But as long as he is not in power, there just isnt much actual room for negotiation, whereas the people who might be more into the room for negotiation are folks like Romney and Collins and others who actually havent moved that far on the underlying economics.

yuval levin

Yeah, I think, of course, theres a lot of truth to that. And I would say Hawley is his own separate example because of his behavior in the last month, which I have had a lot to say about it and I think has been horrible and indefensible. In some ways, Hawley has been a populist longer than a lot of the people who discovered populism in the Trump era. You can find Hawley writing, even in National Affairs 10 years ago, in ways that suggested a different attitude about the role of government, about public policy. What you also find in Hawley is something thats very important to understand about populist politics, I think, which is that theres a distinction made by political scientists between a politics of who rules and a politics of the direction of policy. Both of these are part of the political life of any democracy. People care about whos in power. Do they look like me? Do they speak for me? Thats very important. And people care about, what is the government doing, and do I agree with it? Populist politics often will incline to be a politics of who rules, of we should be in charge and they have too much power. And we and the they can be defined in various ways, some of them uglier than others, more dangerous and sinister than others. I think there is an inherent tendency in a populist political culture to think in terms of who rules. And that language of who rules, of the great middle of the country exercising the power its entitled to, is very much a part of the language of the populist tradition in America. But of course, theres a politics of who rules on the left, too. It takes the form of a certain kind of identity politics, of counting minorities and women and the first this and the first that. And these things matter to people. Theyre important. I dont mean to degrade it. But I think that the question for us in the coming years is whether we can move a little more in the direction of a politics of what does government do and less of a politics of who rules on both the left and the right. I think the health of both parties depends on that being possible.

ezra klein

What a wonderful segue to something I wanted to speak to you about. So I wrote a piece, it came out in Sunday Review a week or two ago now, that is all about this question of how do you reorient politics around a politics, as you put it, of what we do. And my argument, and this was framed in the structure of advice to the Democratic Party, was that they need to get rid of the filibuster, which makes it so they cant pass really any of their agenda through the Senate, or very little of it, anyway, and just begin legislating. Do things that help people fast. Try to put things out where people can see what you did and judge you based on what you did. My underlying argument here being that the filibuster plus the weird structural imbalances in our electoral system plus the systems other veto points, divided government, checks and balances, which are all supposed to be there and will continue to be there, its created such a slow-moving form of government that symbolic politics can take over, quite often, because so little legislation happens outside the context of true emergencies, like right after, say, coronavirus hits or the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. What do you think of that argument?

yuval levin

I think that our politics has never really been intended to function as a pure majoritarian politics. One of the most important insights that are built into the constitutional system are that a functional republic, to be stable, has to not only enable enduring majorities to have their way, but also protect durable minorities, large ones. And that means that there are all kinds of structures in the system that compel accommodation, that require differing factions to work together, if theyre going to achieve anything. And I think those are enormously important. I think a politics where a narrow majority  and the Democrats have narrow majorities in both houses now, in the Senate, barely even that  where a narrow majority could just advance its agenda and then see what the public says at the next election is not a good idea for American society in this moment. I think we are much better served by a politics that compels some work across party lines in order to get anywhere. And Congress has always been designed that way. Congress was not intended to be like the European parliament, where the majority rules for as long as the public will let it. It is a place where the country works out its differences. The weakening of Congress over decades now has, not by coincidence, brought with it a weakening of our capacity to work out differences in our politics. And I think a strengthening of Congress is required for a strengthening of that capacity, but that requires these supermajority institutions. So I would create a filibuster in the House before I would get rid of the one in the Senate, and its not because my partys not in power right now. I had this view and made this argument when Republicans were in power and even pretty comfortably had majorities in both houses. I think it is very important that our system requires some cross-partisan accommodation, frustrating as it is for those of us who have policy ambitions. I think that the contribution of that to the health of our political culture is absolutely essential, especially now.

ezra klein

Well, I never get to argue with anybody who wants to create a House filibuster. This is going to be wonderful. It makes my skin crawl. Its great. So let me push on that, a couple of things. One, we would not be a pure majoritarian political structure no matter what you did with the filibuster. We have more veto-generating political institutions than any other advanced democracy, and its not even all that close. We have the Supreme Court. We have divided government, oftentimes, across the different branches. We have power distributed across the different branches. We have a system that was designed to be hard to do things in before the filibuster was ever a gleam in anybodys eye. As you know, of course, it was not a founding father idea, the filibuster, and they did not want a supermajority requirement in Congress. They thought about that and rejected it. So thats one thing. I always want to push that majoritarian thing to the side. And of course, we still have a Bill of Rights and all kinds of protections for individuals and minorities. That said, I think that one way of framing what youre saying here as a model is that a system in which you require more accommodation to get things done is going to be a system that encourages accommodation, compromise, understanding between the parties. And what I would say in response is, well, look around. We have more filibusters than ever and more polarized politics than ever. We have more filibusters than ever and less compromise than ever, more party-line votes than ever. We have more filibusters than ever and more moments of divided government. As Francis Lee has noted, this has actually been the most competitive era in American government ever, and we have less cooperation than ever. The parties are bitterly divided. And I think that my argument, which really traces back to something you were saying, is that politics is healthier when it is about what we do. Because then at least electorates can say, well, we elected the Republicans, and they did this tax bill or they got rid of Obamacare, which they promised to do, but I didnt like that because my sister had health insurance through Obamacare, and I didnt realize she was going to have health insurance anymore. So Im going to vote for the Democrats. Or you can elect the Democrats, and they pass a Green New Deal or Medicare For All or whatever it might be, and maybe you like that or maybe you dont. But what were in now, were actually just endlessly caught in the bickering phase. We are caught in unpleasant, angry political negotiations that mostly dont go anywhere. And so politics becomes less about what we do than, as you put it, who rules. I feel like if your view on this was right, politics would look better right now, and these various blockages we have would encourage compromise. But instead, the more blockage we have, the less compromise we seem to get.

yuval levin

Well, I think the cause and effect doesnt necessarily work in that direction. Were certainly in a very divided time. And we are in, as you say, a hyper-competitive political environment in a sense that control of Congress and the presidency is up for grabs in just about every election now in a way that we may have become used to over the last 30 years, but is actually pretty unusual over the range of American history. And the question is, is that going to get resolved by empowering small minorities to exercise more power, or is that going to get resolved by requiring more work across these party lines? I dont think either of those would look clean and easy and fun. I dont think we get rid of heated political debates either way. The question is, what gives us a chance to arrive at a more legitimate and a more sustainable set of political arrangements. And I think that requiring a party that has just barely a majority in the Senate to get a small portion of the other members to agree with something significant it wants to do is a good idea, if youre trying to advance public policy thats going to have a relatively broad range of public support. Now, I do think the filibuster is overused, and there are probably ways to constrain its use by making it a little harder to use. But even if you do that and I support those moves, there are all kinds of ideas on that front on the big issues, the ones that really matter to us, there are still going to be filibusters. Theres no way around that. And I think a lot of the reason why there are so many more filibusters now is also the increasing centralization of control of the Senate schedule, where the party leaders arrange things such that most votes that make it to the floor are clean and convenient kinds of party votes, where their members all know how to go. Otherwise, they wouldnt have gotten to the floor. That, in itself, ought to change, and I think there are ways to empower committee leaders to control some floor time to put some very uncomfortable votes on the floor for the minority party, whoever that happens to be. And a fair number of its members might feel like they need to vote for that bill because they believe in it or their voters want to see them support it. Senators now almost never have to take those kinds of votes. And so were in a place where, in some ways, the cause and effect of the filibuster and inaction are hard to pull apart. But I think, ultimately, it is a good thing for a very narrow majority to have to get some support from the minority for its big ideas, if those are going to endure.

ezra klein

One thing that really drives a lot of my thinking about how politics should work is that there is a question of how the public is supposed to hold leaders accountable and then how politics is supposed to change over time, right? How do people change their views? Why would you maybe move from one party to the other? What would make politics fluid, such it would have accountability? And youve read my book on this, Why Were Polarized, and you know I think that were pretty locked in place for a bunch of different reasons. So in many ways, Im, I think, quite on the pessimistic side of this argument. But when you talk about the narrow majorities, one thing that, I think, keeps those narrow majorities in place is that there is very little reason, over time, to change your opinion, unless you are a political junkie, right? So if youre reading everything and youre checking in on everything Marco Rubio and Josh Hawley and Elizabeth Warren and so on are doing, then youve got a lot of information about what people on different sides think, and you can see where you fall. But most people arent like that. Most people are pretty disengaged. Politics is unpleasant. People dont like conflict. Theyve got other stuff going on in their lives. It is not a crazy thing to not want to be following every twist and turn of Congress. And so there, I think what has traditionally happened in this country, the way narrow majorities sometimes became durable majorities, the way that a consensus changed was that big policies were passed, and those big policies changed the landscape. The Democratic majority in the 20th century comes out of the New Deal. The Republican majority before that comes out of the Civil War, so thats an ugly example that I prefer we dont have to go back to bloodshed. But I think it is healthy for there to be actually a fair amount of policy churn and then people can decide where they want to stand. And in part, I take your point actually quite seriously, that there is a concern about narrow majorities creating legislation that is profound and far reaching. But at the same time, if they create legislation people dont like, they wont be a majority anymore, and theyll hopefully learn their lesson. Or if they create legislation people love, maybe they do become a durable majority. But at some point, there has to be, it seems to me, more of a feedback loop, in which the public gets something akin to what they ask for and then they can hold leaders accountable for that. As opposed to the public repeatedly doesnt get what they ask for, its not clear who to hold accountable for that, and so then youre just in this miasma of which side seems to allied with you in some spiritual, fundamental, identitarian way.

yuval levin

Well, I agree with that, but I think the question of what the public is asking for is a more complicated question than that would suggest. So that ultimately, the fact of our division, the fact of our roughly 50-50 country on most election days  not always  is, in some ways, the beginning here. And youre suggesting the parties could change that fact by virtue of what they get through Congress. And I think the question of whether thats quite right is related to the question of how we think about durable minorities and how we think about durable majorities. We are in a time, and we have been for now three decades, where theres not a dominant majority party. Generally speaking, in our history, there has been a dominant party, and the other party basically functions by pushing off it in one way or another, by being against this or for that, in relation to what the majority is doing. Weve been living, since the 1990s, in a period where we have two minority parties, and each of them wins elections by getting the public just a little bit more frustrated with the other. And its just a little bit, and its generally in a negative way. Most people who win elections now win by not being the other person. And I dont think that the argument that therefore, we should eliminate the protections for large minorities in the rules of the Senate and allow these temporary majorities to make big changes in how we govern ourselves, it doesnt seem to me like the right way to respond to this moment of intense division. I do think that we can think about other changes in the institution, in Congress. It seems to me that, as I said, there needs to be less centralization so that more questions are on the table. I think theres room for electoral reform, for ways of expanding the electorate, and that would help both parties in ways that I think are not entirely clear right now to both parties politicians. The 2020 elections has a lot of lessons on that front. It turned out, there were 10 million more Republican voters than the Republican Party thought there were, and it was only mail-in voting that brought them out. I think there are ways of bringing more people into the system that could allow us to break the logjam, in some respects. But to focus on the fact of minority protections on the limits on majoritarianism as the key that holds us back from having a clearer set of political divisions or a dominant political majority or a clear direction for the country, I dont think thats really how the causation flows here.

ezra klein

In terms of expanding the electorate, would you support something like HR1, the For The People Act, which Democrats want to bring as the first bill in the new Congress?

yuval levin

Well, there are elements to that bill that I would support, and there are elements that I would not. Theres a lot of things dumped in there, some of which are just ways of helping Democrats, but others are, I think, ways of broadening the electorate. I would support much more experimentation with things like rank-choice voting. I think the House should allow multi-member districts, which could be done just by a small change in federal law, ways of allowing the diversity of the country to be reflected a little more, especially in the House of Representatives. I think there is room for experimentation within the boundaries of the constitutional system that reaches much further than weve allowed for, and in general, that we should think of this moment as a time to try some institutional reforms, to expand the House some, which is way overdue and could help in a lot of ways, including by rebalancing the electoral college and other things, to try some reforms to the budget process in Congress that could help break some logjams, and to try some electoral reforms. The coming decade ought to be a decade when we try a lot of these kinds of ideas out and get ourselves into a mode where we think about changing rules to improve things. I just dont happen to think that the protections against majoritarianism are the right rules to play with.

ezra klein

Ill try this one last time, although I know Im not going to fully convince you on this. But I agree with you that we need a lot of experimentation, but it seems that we are locked in a system that cannot experiment. Whether you liked all of HR1 or not, and I can understand why you might not, the truth is, with the filibuster, none of its going to pass because you cant put it in budget reconciliation. And one thing that I think is a really, really big problem in the system, we talked earlier about how a lot of the energy in politics has moved off of straightforward economics issues to things that get grouped into social issues, I would also say to things that should be understood is democracy issues, practically on the Democratic side, a lot of energy around voting rights issues. As you know, but Ill say for those in the audience who dont, the filibuster imposes a 60-vote requirement on almost everything, but there is a pathway called budget reconciliation, which can only be used a couple of times during a presidency and has a lot of very weird strictures on it. But one of them is you can get some things in there and protect it from the filibuster, as long as it is primarily related to spending and taxing, as long as it is primarily budgetary. And one problem with that is that it pushes Congresses towards just doing these weird budget reconciliation bills because they can get them done, even with a narrow majority, and away from trying to figure out how to actually do things about these other issues that people really want to see change and experimentation on. So I always think that social conservatives should be much more upset about the filibuster than they are because their issues are consistently down-weighted because they cant clear a filibuster from Democrats in the Senate. And so instead, its like the Club For Growth side of the party that gets tried out because at least I can go through budget reconciliation. On the Democratic side, you could potentially do things like $1,400 checks, a big expansion of the child tax credits  all really, really important  but you cant do democracy reform. Theres a lot of things on green energy you cant do. And so there is also this warping away from experimentation but also away from whole issue areas that probably, at this point, really, really need to be pushed out of the realm of symbolic argumentation and into the realm of, well, do you actually have an idea, Josh Hawley and the Republican Party, about how you want to regulate tech companies? Do you actually want to get rid of Section 230? Do you want to do any of these things? Do you want to change something about moral regulations in this country? But you dont actually get there because so long as the filibuster is in place, youre never really playing with live ammunition. Youre just talking on Twitter, as opposed to actually trying to figure out, OK, how does this become a bill? And if it became a bill that passed, would people actually like it in practice, which I think is a usefully disciplining system.

yuval levin

Well, I think the filibuster can be disciplining in a different way. I dont think its true that nothing in HR1 couldnt get through the filibuster. Its certainly true that HR1 couldnt get through the filibuster, and what that calls for is some negotiation, is breaking it apart into pieces. I think youd see the same thing about the immigration reform that the Biden team seems ready to propose. These things, if they were broken down into smaller pieces that could be negotiated as legislation in a more traditional way, some of them could get through. Whether they could get time on the floor, I dont know. Thats a separate problem. But I dont think its the case that the argument for social change has to be that these ideas that only the narrow majority party can get through and you cant even get one in five members of the other party to agree to them have to be pushed through for there to be any movement on any issue, I think that suggests to us something about how were thinking about packaging these issues and how were thinking about putting debates on the floor. I do expect the Democrats to expand the bounds of the reconciliation process. I think they will do that, even if they dont get rid of the filibuster, which they probably wont. And so to push a little more through that path, and social conservatives do hate the filibuster, generally speaking. At least when the Republicans are in power, you certainly hear a lot of criticism of the filibuster. I think theyre wrong. I think theyre wrong because, ultimately, were all likely, sooner or later, especially in an era where power shifts back and forth, to find ourselves in that large minority facing that narrow majority. And I think it is important that narrow majorities cant make big changes in how our government does what it does. Thats not a reason for us being unable to make any changes in how our system works. I think that is the result of a different problem, of a sense that we are passive in the face of the structure of the system. I talk to a lot of members of Congress. For my sins, I spent a lot of time with congressional Republicans. And I would say, they all have complaints about how Congress works. They all even have complaints about how the budget process works. When you say to them, well, you could just change it, its up to you, that feels like news. And its not the way theyve ever really thought about the role they have. I think changing that and helping people see that the structure, the rules of the system  within the bounds of the Constitution, which are pretty broad bounds, in most respects  that system can be changed, and we should think about how it should be changed. And we should think about how it could better serve us in a time when we are divided, in a time when power does shift back and forth. There are a lot of ways that Congress could work better. There are a lot of ways to think about how to change the electoral system and other things. And I dont think that requires empowering narrow minorities to get their way and then after the next election, the next narrow minority reverses what theyve done. I think we want more durable policy change, and I do think its achievable. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

I think theres a question that gets asked a lot today, which is, where does the Republican Party go from here? And I dont want to ask that specific question. I think it is a axiomatically important, that America needs a responsible right-wing party. It needs a party on the right that governs, that is, in some way or another, committed to the system itself. I think this is how political systems work, and they dont work well if the right-wing party goes off the rails. So I think you have views about where the Republican Party should go. It would be, ideologically, not the right party for me, but I think Id probably be happier if you were in charge over there. So how does the Republican Party change? When you think about whats going to happen to it, as an institution, what are the levers? What are the pathways? Who are the leaders? When you think about a good future for the Republican Party, one that moves in a direction youll be happier with, what are the points of pressure and power that can be leveraged there?

yuval levin

Yeah. I think its an enormously important question, obviously, a very challenging one. But I think that when you think about it in those terms, there is a terribly important role for elected leaders in the party who need to see themselves in more active terms and less passive terms, as people with something to say about where the party goes and not just as conduits for public sentiment. Obviously, thats part of what our elected officials need to do. But people who make politics their profession, their life have a particular role in shaping the direction of our political institutions. Part of what weve seen in the Trump era, as opposed to, say, the Reagan era, is that a leader who wants to take the energy of the party and turn it in a destructive direction can do that all too easily. I think you can also see, if you look at the Reagan era, if you look at others, that a leader that wants to take some of those same energies and turn them in more practical, constructive directions can achieve that, too. And that means that Republican leaders have to think about, what of the things theyre hearing from voters do they take to be constructive and productive and they want to make something of? And focus on those. A party has to be united by what its for together and not just by who its against together. And the Republican Party has come to be defined far too much by its opposition to the left or to some idea of the left. And so I think Republican politicians have not had to think about what theyre for and what they want to offer their voters enough. And the doing that would not only allow them to approach the public in a much more constructive way, it would also allow them to broaden their coalition beyond getting out every last base voter and by appealing to voters who are winnable, who might be persuadable in other ways. Theres nothing insightful about this. I mean, thats just an obvious description of what a politician in a democracy ought to be doing. But I think the party needs to hear that and think about it. And in these years, when it is mostly out of power at the national level, needs to be thinking about the agenda that it needs to put before the public going forward, a future-oriented agenda that is not about who won or lost the fights that are the sources of the grudges weve had for decades, that are not about finishing to-do list of the early 1980s, but that are about what 21st century America needs. And I think there are some people in the party who see that and who are inclined in that direction, but there are a lot of people in the party who dont. And there needs to be a set of internal arguments and fights and struggles for the character of the party. And my hope is that the side that thinks about how to use politics to advance good ideas and use government to help people live better lives is the side that wins.

ezra klein

I would say that, in 2016, Donald Trump managed to stomp a lot of Republican politicians in that primary, who, even if theyre a little bit more stuck in an older version of Republican Party orthodoxy, did approach politics more in that way. They did have policy ideas. They wanted to be constructive. Marco Rubio, even then, was trying to begin breaking with some parts of Republican Party orthodoxy or conservative orthodoxy to try to come up with a slightly more working-class agenda. And Trump just won. And there were a lot of tributaries to that victory, and some of them were the media coverage hes able to command and so on. But he was also right that much of the Republican base wanted to have this fight over who rules and wanted to have more of a fight over what kind of country America is. So when I look now at the Republican Party in Congress, I see a lot more learning of that lesson than I do of any policy lesson. I was very, very disturbed that such a large majority of the House Republican conference voted against certifying the electoral college results, even after all that happened on that day. You had these stories of Republicans down there in the safe space not putting on masks. There is a real re-centering of this politics of pure fight than you had before. So I want to push on this just a little bit, which is what would make it go differently next time? What lessons need to be learned by the kinds of politicians you would like to see triumph from their more recent losses?

yuval levin

Yeah, look, thats right. Now, Trump won with more difficulty than we now tend to remember. In 2016, there were 17 candidates, and he won a plurality. And he won by first appearing to be the candidate of the moderate lane of the party and then becoming also the voice of a kind of angry populism in the party. But he did win the nomination and then narrowly, the election. What happened in 2020 was different. I think the party lost an election that it could have won because it went the way of Donald Trump, and then it lost two more in Georgia that it could have won because it followed in the path of Donald Trump. And ultimately, the experience of electoral wins and losses is the way that politicians learn lessons. Theres no way around that. And for the kind of agenda that Im describing, thats both good and bad because there is a lot to be gained by taking the path of a kind of angry populism that is largely empty of policy direction and that is hostile to the institutions. Republicans, in recent years, have done reasonably well doing that. And my argument for why they shouldnt do that is that its wrong and that its bad for the country. But I dont have to win elections, and so its easy for me to say. I do think, though, that ultimately, they wont win elections in this way, that the combination of a kind of bizarre personal charisma with a way of harnessing the anger of some of the base with a sort of grasp on how to get the kind of attention that puts you at the center of every conversation helped Trump to do this very narrowly. I dont think there are other politicians right now in the Republican Party who could pull that off. And so at the very least, if they ask themselves, how do we get anywhere? They should consider that getting somewhere might mean offering voters something they want. And I do think there are politicians in the party who do see that and who want to get to that place. You mentioned Marco Rubio. And there are others who have been more hostile to Trump who, I think, can see their way to that, too. There are others in the middle on the Trump question, people like Ben Sasse or Mike Lee or Ted Cruz, who represent very different views of Donald Trump, but who, in different ways, try to be attuned to what voters want. And I think, ultimately, the model of Trumpism is not a durable model for how the party can function. But thats as much a hope as it is a fact. And so I hope its true.

ezra klein

What does it mean for the Republican Party and for Republican Party politicians that in the most recent Pew poll I saw, 64 percent of Republicans think Donald Trump actually won the election, that in a fair vote count, he won? Almost two-thirds of Republicans believe that.

yuval levin

Its very hard, in part, to know what to do with these kinds of polls, where a lot of people take the question to be, are you a Republican or a Democrat, and whatever the specific question is, they answer it that way. But it also points to a real rot in the culture of the Republican Party. And I think weve seen, in the wake of the election, although it was evident before, of course, a kind of turn to the fantasy and escapism and conspiracism that is extremely dangerous for the country. And when a party veers in these directions, it finds itself in tremendous trouble. So the lessons are red flags. Theyre blaring warnings. And I think it is absolutely incumbent upon leaders of the Republican Party to help their voters separate fact from fiction and reality from fantasy and conspiracy. Thats always necessary in a populist era. Its always necessary on the left and the right in populist times. And there have been times when the left has fallen into conspiracy in similar ways. But I think, at this point, the challenge on this front is for the right, and it is absolutely necessary for elected officials on the right to avoid pretending that false things are true. Thats what happened with Hawley and Cruz and others in the wake of the election. And they tried to do it as carefully as they could and in ways that let them say, well, were just asking questions. But what they were doing was affirming fantasies and conspiracies that are dangerous to the American civic order and deadly and destructive to a functional politics. We saw that result in a mob attacking the Capitol. I think even if that had not happened, it would have been absolutely inexcusable. And its necessary for Republican leaders to take a different path on that front.

ezra klein

One thing I am struck by over the past however many days its been, the banning of Trump from Twitter and Facebook really silenced him. There are other ways he could have gotten more attention. He could be calling into more shows. He could have, when he was still president, walked out in the briefing room. So there may be a part of him that is licking wounds, too. But he is quiet in a way that I think if he were still particularly on Twitter, he would not be. And so that worked. And at the same time, in part because it worked, you have to be a little unnerved by it. You have to be a little unnerved at that power being held by Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg. Theres certainly a lot of fury on the right about that, certainly a lot of fury on the right about Parler and the way that was taken out of a lot of different kinds of web providers, from app stores to cloud hosting, given their moderation structure, because these places did not want to provide infrastructure for another insurrection to be planned. How do you think about that power of tech, on the one hand, to regulate access to what I think is best understood not as free speech, but a public square? And on the other hand, it has responsibilities as a company. It wants to keep people. It wants to keep staff. It doesnt want to be a place where violent insurrections are planned. Where do you come down on that?

yuval levin

Yeah, I think its an enormously complicated question, and I worry about it a lot. I would say, it is amazing how being off Twitter has meant that Trump has just said nothing, not only since the inauguration of Joe Biden, but in some ways, before that, too, when he lived in the White House, theres a room in that house where you can get the press together and be heard everywhere. He didnt do that. And its not hard to understand why Twitter did what it did in the wake of January 6. But I think that the power that that proved they had is a power that we should be very, very worried about. I actually think the bigger problem is not so much the platforms, which at least have a greater claim to say, what were doing is providing you with this platform, with this access to the public and were going to withdraw it if you abuse it, but the companies that really provide access to the internet itself, what Amazon did, what, in some ways, Apple did, and this kind of taking of Parler off of its platforms. Whatever you think of Parler, and I dont have a high opinion of it, it seems to me that having that kind of power in the hands of corporations is very, very troubling. I think we are only beginning to come to terms with how to think about the nature of that power. What is that power? Is it economic power? Is it cultural power? Is it political information power? What does that really mean? Something like the process by which American politics came to get its arms around an industrializing economy at the end of the 19th century is going to be necessary for us to get our arms around the digital economy and the tech giants, and I think were only at the very beginning of that process. Its reasonably clear that theres going to be interest in doing some of that on both the left and the right in different ways for different reasons, and I think thats good. Its necessary. It doesnt seem to me that a pure laissez-faire approach to this is going to work because the power involved is enormous power over, as you say, the public square. And theres no solution that Ive seen that strikes me as a comfortable path forward, so far.

ezra klein

There really, I think, is also just a language problem here, something Ive been reflecting on in this debate, because Im uncomfortable with it. On the one hand, I support a lot of the decisions that were made. And I wrote a Twitter thread about this because everything is recursively eating its own tail in this conversation. Trump left people with no good choices. Hard cases make bad law, and Trump was a very, very hard case, as was Parler, by the way, in the way it was positioning itself in that aftermath moment. And for societies and systems to work well, you need people to abide by certain norms and disciplines and restraints, and they didnt. And so everybody was put in a position where there were no good options. But one thing I kept seeing in this is how much I think the free speech language ends up confusing both sides. So youll see people on the right say, theyre stifling free speech. And then somebody on left will say, this is not a First Amendment issue. Its not free speech. The First Amendment does not give you access to algorithmic lift on Facebook, and then kind of think theyve rebutted the argument. But it was never a free speech issue, but it is an issue. Its a corporate power issue. To some degree, it got turned into a corporate social responsibility issue and an employee retention issue inside the companies themselves, if you look at their decision-making process. But we need, it seems to me, better language for what were dealing with here because I think we keep having and then rebutting arguments that dont actually get at what is worth being concerned about, which is simply that these groups have too much power. At the same time, Ill often hear on the left, well, just break them up. But if you actually look at the ways people would do that, if you split up Amazon Web Services from Amazon and you split Instagram off of Facebook, I dont think the situation would actually change in any significant way or people would be any less concerned about it. So I think theres some conversation that needs to be had, but Im actually struck by how insufficient our current vocabulary is at least in politics. Im sure there are people in academia and elsewhere debating this at a much higher level of sophistication.

yuval levin

In some ways, the development of the right vocabulary for this is the first challenge, and it is the kind of work that some people like us might do. And we, at AEI, have been trying to do this for a while. People can find on the AEI website a project over the past year that has tried to define the nature of the power being exercised. And it is extremely difficult to do. I think that it challenges us to think about the nature of the public square, to think about the nature of access to information. But were going to have to find that vocabulary in a way that rings plausible to a majority of the American public, and were pretty far away from that. It is certainly true that bad cases make bad law in this situation. Those bad cases often involve failures of restraint and self-control, which in some ways, these platforms invite, but which, nonetheless, theyre not exactly responsible for. I think it is imperative for people who exercise power or who want to be taken seriously to be off these platforms, to not be on Twitter. I dont think journalists should be on Twitter. I dont think Joe Biden should be on Twitter. He should discourage any politician from being on Twitter. You lose something by that. You could lose a lot by that in the media. But a platform that simply encourages the worst possible behavior from someone in your position is the platform that you should just not have anything to do with, and that has to be part of our response to this by helping us avoid those bad cases that make bad law. But were also going to need to think about what good law looks like in this situation. The internets not going away, and thats a good thing. Social media is not going away, and thats a good thing. We have to learn how to live with it more constructively, and were at the very beginning, I think, of a long process toward doing that.

ezra klein

You should send me the link to that AEI project, and Ill put it in the show notes here. But now that Ive got you recommending AEI projects, I think its a good time to move to the final section here, Recommendation Engine. So Im going to throw a couple recommendation questions at you. You can always skip, but Im interested to hear what you come up with. So Ill start with this. What is your favorite conservative movie?

yuval levin

Well, thats a hard question. Im inclined, at first, to riff a little bit on The Lord of the Rings, but thats better as a book, really, than a movie. I think my answer, oddly enough, would be Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day is an incredibly rich movie. Its not just a conservative movie. But it makes an argument that, ultimately, we find our fulfillment not by expressing ourselves and drawing our true meaning out of our own will, but by meeting higher external standards of virtue. And I think thats a profound case for what conservatism stands for, from my point of view. Its a beautiful way to make that argument without being off-putting. Its a wonderful movie.

ezra klein

What institution in America still does the best job molding character?

yuval levin

I would have to say the answer to that is probably the military, and its not a coincidence that the military is also the one national institution that Americans say they trust in large numbers. I dont think thats just because the military is good at what it does, but because it takes men and women and turns them into soldiers and Marines and airmen and so forth. And we have a sense that they come out better than they came in. When somebody tells you that they went to Harvard, you might think, well, thats a smart person. She got into Harvard. When somebody tells you they went to the Naval Academy, you think, thats a serious person. And its not because they got in but because the Navy somehow made them that way. I think we have a very strong sense that the military is in the business of forming people. And if more institutions thought about how they look in this respect  are we approaching the country in a way that says, we take people and make them better or our people or people you can trust  I think wed be in better shape.

ezra klein

You wrote a book arguing that the left-right divide is all there, or at least a version of it is all there, in the debates between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine. So if someone has never read any primary sources from either person, where should they start?

yuval levin

I think if youre trying to understand those roots of the left and right and if youre trying to understand Burke and Paine that way, there are some great collections of the two of them. The challenge with Edmund Burke, who I think is just really essential to read for understanding modern conservatism in the West, is that he was a politician. He ran for office every two or three years, the entire time that he was writing everything that he wrote, so everything he wrote is directed to some dispute of the moment and requires a lot of context. But I think the collections of Burkes writings, put together, for example, by The Liberty Fund or put together in various readers  Yale Press has a great one  really do give you a sense of the nature of the arguments that he made. You should start by reading some of his speeches about America, which are really exceptionally interesting and profound and still tell us something about ourselves. And you should end up reading the Reflections on the Revolution in France, which was his deepest and fullest expression of his political views and is an extraordinarily powerful piece of writing.

ezra klein

And how about Paine?

yuval levin

Paine was easier, in a sense, because he always wrote for a popular audience. And there are two phases to Paine. Theres the American Paine, where you could read Common Sense. Id say start from The American Crisis, which is much more of a general reader, popular piece, series of essays written, really, as pep talks to soldiers, more or less, in the course of the Revolutionary War. But theres a lot of political philosophy in them and a very profound case for human liberty. And then theres Paine of the French Revolutionary period, where the thing to read is really The Rights of Man, which is a two-volume book that Paine wrote. You should read The Rights of Man after you read Burkes reflections on the revolution in France because The Rights of Man is actually a direct response to Burke, answers him in some wonderfully interesting ways, and engages, really, with some of the deepest questions of our political tradition.

ezra klein

What book would you give a democratic socialist to read about conservatism?

yuval levin

There are a couple of places to start, but I think that a nice place to go first is one of Roger Scrutons books about conservatism. He wrote a couple of books, all of which are basically called conservatism, more or less. Theyre short. Theyre accessible. And Scruton, because he, himself, had traveled from the left to the right, really had a sense that the concerns that people on the left have about the right are serious concerns and needed to be spoken to in a serious way. And I think he does it wonderfully. Hes a wonderful writer. Scruton is probably underappreciated in America. Hes an English conservative. He just died last year. And theres a lot of work of his its worth reading, but I think his several short books about conservatism are a great place to begin.

ezra klein

What book would you give a conservative to read about democratic socialism?

yuval levin

Well, thats a hard question. I dont know the answer to that. Im sure theres a range. Ive been reading Mike Konczals Freedom from the Market, which Im finding very interesting. I disagree with it, but its learned and thoughtful and smart. But I bet you could recommend some books to me that I wouldnt think of.

ezra klein

Well, I thought you were going to recommend Lane Kenworthys book, actually.

yuval levin

Is that a book about socialism? I dont know if it is.

ezra klein

Democratic socialism.

yuval levin

Yeah, democratic socialism. Its a case for a certain kind of welfare state. And its a very smart book and one that every conservative should contend with and should think through.

ezra klein

And then finally, whats the last book you read that actually changed your mind about anything?

yuval levin

Im not sure what Id say. I think, in some ways, Bob Putnams book The Upswing, which was just published last year, offers a picture of early progressivism that was eye-opening, in some respects that was a little fuller than what I had focused on before, and that I think is worth reading for anybody on the right or the left. I think thats probably the latest book Ive read thats really changed my mind about something. It changed my mind about the nature of the case that the early progressives were making and changed for the better, in some ways.

ezra klein

Yuval Levin, thank you very much.

yuval levin

Thank you. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein
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re: Pet-friendly travel escape to tranquil Stanthorpe (Australia) in a Pajero DAY 4



Today we were return back to Brisbane, bringing with it a close to a short yet memorable trip. While looking out from the patio in the early morning to soak in the views, may daughter spotted some of the locals out to check out the vineyard.



QC in process













Packing done, we completed the checkout process and decided to enjoy the view of the vineyards for one last time before we head off.



Enjoying the ambience for the last time, for this trip





Owing to the tourist crowd, you see signs like these at various places.



When in Australia..





The drive back to Brisbane would take us no longer than 4 hours. However, does anyone else get that feeling where you decide you want to further prolong that trip back home? We felt just that. Along the way, we saw a sign for Queen Mary Falls, which was a detour from our trip back to Brisbane. Google Maps indicated the distance to be about 40 kms away. Yes, we are going to visit Queen Mary Falls.



Killarney and surroundings are really beautiful





Taking this detour was definitely a welcome decision.







The beauty of the route was just amazing. Sadly, i didn't get the chance to click any pics of this route, as i was driving and it was a single laned highway.



We got to the first spot where the route showed the various falls we could cover along the drive.



The Falls route





First stop was Browns Falls. Got to know that the route to the falls is not exactly a paved path, but a true trekker's paradise. A sign at the entry clearly stated that this should only be attempted by able-bodied people. A few steps in, and we knew why. One had to clamber up and down rocks and trails to get to the falls. We reached the first water crossing, and tried to find ways to get across without wetting our feet. Soon, a family returning from the falls with a newborn baby informed us that don't bother trying not to get wet, as this is just the first of many!



We decided now was the best time to actually go back to the car, and change away from shoes and socks into slippers. Conventional wisdom would advise to wear shoes to avoid injuries, however in the absence of wet shoes, this was the safer approach. This turned out to be a good decision, as there were many water crossings to get through, not to forget clambering up rocks where there was no clear path defined.



Make your own way!









I believe it took us about 20 mins to get to the waterfall, navigating our way through foliage, as well as water crossings. The end result was trult worth it. Would have been great if i had my DSLR along, but thinking of the effort it took to get here, it may not have survived.



Majestic Browns Falls - worth it!





Guess who else was enjoying some sun along with his little adventure?!



Alfie on the rocks





After spending some time taking in the ambience, we made our way back to the car park, had some cold drinks from the mini fridge, and then set out to the next falls - Daggs Falls. Today we were return back to Brisbane, bringing with it a close to a short yet memorable trip. While looking out from the patio in the early morning to soak in the views, may daughter spotted some of the locals out to check out the vineyard.Packing done, we completed the checkout process and decided to enjoy the view of the vineyards for one last time before we head off.Owing to the tourist crowd, you see signs like these at various places.The drive back to Brisbane would take us no longer than 4 hours. However, does anyone else get that feeling where you decide you want to further prolong that trip back home? We felt just that. Along the way, we saw a sign for Queen Mary Falls, which was a detour from our trip back to Brisbane. Google Maps indicated the distance to be about 40 kms away. Yes, we are going to visit Queen Mary Falls.Taking this detour was definitely a welcome decision.The beauty of the route was just amazing. Sadly, i didn't get the chance to click any pics of this route, as i was driving and it was a single laned highway.We got to the first spot where the route showed the various falls we could cover along the drive.First stop was Browns Falls. Got to know that the route to the falls is not exactly a paved path, but a true trekker's paradise. A sign at the entry clearly stated that this should only be attempted by able-bodied people. A few steps in, and we knew why. One had to clamber up and down rocks and trails to get to the falls. We reached the first water crossing, and tried to find ways to get across without wetting our feet. Soon, a family returning from the falls with a newborn baby informed us that don't bother trying not to get wet, as this is just the first of many!We decided now was the best time to actually go back to the car, and change away from shoes and socks into slippers. Conventional wisdom would advise to wear shoes to avoid injuries, however in the absence of wet shoes, this was the safer approach. This turned out to be a good decision, as there were many water crossings to get through, not to forget clambering up rocks where there was no clear path defined.I believe it took us about 20 mins to get to the waterfall, navigating our way through foliage, as well as water crossings. The end result was trult worth it. Would have been great if i had my DSLR along, but thinking of the effort it took to get here, it may not have survived.Guess who else was enjoying some sun along with his little adventure?!After spending some time taking in the ambience, we made our way back to the car park, had some cold drinks from the mini fridge, and then set out to the next falls - Daggs Falls. Last edited by benbsb29 : 4th February 2021 at 03:57 .

OAKLAND (BCN)

A group representing California grocers filed suit Wednesday against Oakland for mandating hazard pay for grocery workers earlier this week.

The California Grocers Association filed suit in federal court in the Northern District of California claiming the $5 per hour pay increase is unconstitutional under U.S. and California law.

Lawyers for the association also filed suit Wednesday against the city of Montebello in Los Angeles County and about two weeks ago against Long Beach after those two cities passed ordinances like Oakland's.

Grocers are seeking to immediately block the Oakland ordinance, which the City Council approved Tuesday, through a preliminary injunction.

"In addition to clearly violating federal and state law, the extra pay mandates will harm customers and workers," said Ron Fong, president and CEO of the California Grocers Association.

Oakland and Montebello allegedly violated the Equal Protection Clause in the U.S. and California constitutions, which the association argues requires not just grocery workers, but all essential workers, to get hazard pay.

Oakland's ordinance also allegedly violates the National Labor Relations Act because it "undermines the collective bargaining process and disrupts the process of union organizing," according to the complaint.

Specifically, the ordinance regulates or interferes "with the then-existing balance of economic power between labor and management with respect to zones of activity that, under federal law, are intended to be left to the free play of economic forces," the complaint said.

But Catherine Fisk, University of California at Berkeley labor and employment law professor, doesn't think either argument has merit.

The "Equal Protection Clause does not prohibit a legislature from regulating wages including by deciding one group of workers are entitled to higher minimum wages than another group," Fisk said.

"Uber and Lyft just persuaded California voters to enact Proposition 22, which carves out their workforces from minimum wage protection," Fisk said.

"Congress has long had a provision in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which provides a lower minimum wage for employees who earn tips," she said.

"And so, there is simply nothing illegal about deciding that a group of workers who face extra hazards should be entitled to hazard pay," Fisk added.

As for violations of the National Labor Relations Act, the act "has never preempted state or local laws regulating minimum standards," Fisk said.

Oakland's ordinance mandates the hazard pay for workers at stores over 15,000 square feet in size and with 500 or more employees nationwide. An employee is entitled to the hazard pay if they are entitled to minimum wage and work part-time or full-time.

The ordinance will sunset when Alameda County reaches the least restrictive tier in California's Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

City Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas, who's co-sponsoring Oakland's ordinance said, "We believe our emergency ordinance is legally solid and will stand."

She added, "It's unfortunate that these huge grocery corporations, the largest in the nation, would rather file lawsuits against cities than share some of the incredible wealth they've accumulated during this pandemic with their frontline workers who so desperately need relief."

But Fong added, "A $5/hour mandate amounts to a 28 percent average increase in labor costs for grocery stores.

"That is too big a cost increase for any grocery retailer to absorb without consequence," he said.

Grocers can "either pass the costs to customers, cut employee or store hours, or close," Fong said.

Two hundred workers lost their jobs in Long Beach when two stores closed following the city's passage of hazard pay, Fong said.

Grocers believe their workers are heroes and that's why grocers have made massive efforts to make stores safer during the pandemic, he said.

A court date has not been set for the case against Oakland.

Copyright  2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
NEW DELHI: Zee News, which is one of the countrys largest media houses, was the first to report that the violence unleashed during the farmers tractor rally on the Republic Day was part of a sinister international conspiracy to defame India.

The Zee News fearless reporting to unmask the real culprits behind the Republic Day violence got vindicated when evidence suggesting Canada link to the tractor rally violence in Delhi emerged on Friday.

It may be recalled that Zee News had earlier reported that the farmers' movement has been hijacked by the Khalistanis and the anti-national elements were helping them with their vested interest. Zee News was also the first channel that reported Khalistanis' infiltration into the farmers' stir. The report talked about the Khalistanis who were misusing the farmers' movement to serve the malicious interests of Pakistan by remote controlling the agitation from countries like Britain, America, and Canada.

The channel, however, reiterated that the genuine farmers of the country were not angry with Zee News as the truth came forward. The Centre also, meanwhile, accepted the fact that Khalistan supporters have infiltrated the farmers' protest. Attorney General KK Venugopal had told the Supreme Court that the Khalistan supporters have infiltrated the farmers' protests.

Lending credence to Zee News report, it emerged on Friday that the authors of the controversial toolkit on the ongoing farmers protest that was tweeted and later deleted by teen Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg were from Canada.

Sources on Friday said that the Canada-based Poetic Justice Foundation, a group founded by MO Dhaliwal, had created the toolkit on the farmers' protest for Greta Thunberg. According to the sources, the toolkit was created to garner support for the ongoing farmers protest and was allegedly provided to Greta Thunberg as part of a larger conspiracy to create disharmony.

Dhaliwal, who is under the scanner of the Indian security agencies, is a known sympathiser of the Khalistani activists and has been part of several anti-India demonstrations abroad.

Canada-based Dhaliwal is a self-proclaimed Sikh separatist and also close to top Khalistani activists. Several other organisations, including a PR agency, are currently under the scanner of the Indian security establishment in connection with the controversial toolkit on farmers protest, which is being seen as a part of a "larger sinister conspiracy" to defame the Narendra Modi government at the centre.

It also emerged that Dhaliwal had taken part in a demonstration outside the Indian Consulate in Canada on January 26 - the day India celebrated its 72nd Republic day.

Addressing a gathering there, Dhaliwal said that their real goal is to break India into several parts. It may be recalled that Dhaliwals uncle, who was eliminated by the Indian security forces during Operation Blue Star in 1984, was a top Khalistani terrorist.

Delhi Police on Friday said that it will write to Google to get the IP (internet protocol) address or the location from where the toolkit document was created and uploaded on the social media platform and shared by Greta Thunberg.

According to Delhi Police sources, this inquiry is being done to identify the authors of the toolkit which was shared on Google Docs. "Delhi Police is going to write to Google to get the IP address or the location from where the doc was made and uploaded on the social media platform. This is being done to identify the authors of the toolkit which was shared on the Google Doc," Delhi Police sources said.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Police Special Commissioner Praveer Ranjan had on Thursday said they had registered a case against creators of `Toolkit` and no one had been named in the FIR.

"We have not named anybody in the FIR. It is only against the creators of the `toolkit` which is a matter of investigation. Delhi Police will be investigating that case," he said. Ranjan said protests by farmers at Delhi borders have been going on for days and Delhi Police has been closely monitoring several social media accounts.

"We have identified some 300 accounts spreading dissatisfaction and disharmony towards the Government of India. Toolkit account was being run by a group of Khalistanis. They had decided to conduct a digital strike post the Republic Day incident," he said.

"We have recovered a document about the planned execution. We have found out it is a copycat execution. As of now, we have registered cases against the authors of that account. The case has been handed over to the cyber cell. Investigations are underway," he added.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg had posted the toolkit in a tweet on Wednesday which she later deleted. She had also extended support to protest by farmer unions on the borders of Delhi against the new farm laws."We stand in solidarity with the Farmers Protest in India," she had said in a tweet.

Reacting to it, the External Affairs Ministry had said on Wednesday that protests by farmer unions against new farm laws must be seen in the context of India`s democratic ethos and polity, and the efforts of the government and the concerned farmer groups to resolve the impasse.

Live TV

Tuesday

Introduction To QuickBooks:

Webinar hosted by SCORE Houston. 10 a.m.-noon. Information: www.houston.score.org.

How to Hit the Ground Running in the Current Job Search Market:

Free online class hosted by JS101. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Registration: JS101.org/workshops.

Wednesday

Worldwide Employee Benefits Network:

Houston Chapter webinar. 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Topic: COVID-19 and vaccinations in the workplace. Speaker: Tony Stergio, Andrews Myers Attorneys at Law. Information: www.webnetwork.org.

Data Axle & Reference USA:

Webinar hosted by SCORE Houston.10 a.m.-noon. Learn about a free online business resource available through the Houston Public Library. Information: www.houston.score.org.

Job Search in the Time of COVID:

Free online class hosted by JS101. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Registration: JS101.org/workshops.

Dealing with In-House Recruiters: Best Practices:

Free online class hosted by JS101. 1:30-3:30 p.m. Registration: JS101.org/workshops.

Thursday

Greater Houston Port Bureau:

Webinar. 11-11:45 a.m. Speaker: Dr. H. Dirk Sostman, Chairman, Houston Methodist Vaccine Scientific Advisory Committee. Topic: COVID-19 Vaccines: Technology, early research study results, safety follow-up and vaccination of the U.S. population. Cost: Free. Registration: txgulf.org/events.

LinkedIn, Keywords:

Free online class hosted by JS101. 10 a.m.-noon. Registration: JS101.org/workshops.

The Future of Work: Online Resumes and Job Search Savvy:

Free online class hosted by JS101. 2-4 p.m. Registration: JS101.org/workshops.

Introduction to Westlaw:

Online class hosted by Fort Bend County Law Library. 10-11 a.m. Free. Registration: fortbend.lib.tx.us or call 281-341-3718.

Local Business Digital Marketing:

Webinar hosted by the UH Bauer College SBDC. 9:30-10:30 a.m. Information: www.sbdc.uh.edu.

Friday

The 7 Habits of Job Search:

Free online class hosted by JS101. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Registration: JS101.org/workshops.

Future of Texas:

Webinar hosted by the Greater Houston Partnership. Noon-12:30 p.m. Partnership Vice President Lindsay Munoz will host a fireside chat with Speaker of the Texas House Dade Phelan. Information: www.houston.org.

katherine.feser@chron.com

twitter.com/kfeser
Among more than 150 readers who told the Tribune in an informal online survey about their experiences trying to get the vaccine, Dyra-Hamel was among the earliest to get it. Most of those who responded said the hardest part was trying to sign up for an opening, while actually getting the shot was easy. Many said they spent a long time scrambling to sign up online, and lucked out to get a slot.
An economics incentives bill won approval in the Alabama House over the objections of a Muscle Shoals lawmaker.

The proposal to renew economic incentives used to attract businesses in Alabama won by a vote of 94-1.

Republican Andrew Sorrell was the lone no vote.

Sorrell says he felt the bill unintentionally picks winners and losers among small businesses.

State senators will now debate the bill.
Romantic: But NI home deliveries for Valentines Day have proved to be impossible for one restaurant chain

Romance may not be dead in Northern Ireland but Brexit has dealt a crushing blow to Valentine's night love-in plans for scores of amorous couples here.

A major restaurant chain has had to scrap its home deliveries to Northern Ireland on the big night, blaming the new import regulations surrounding Brexit.

Couples who had been looking forward to receiving Six by Nico's pre-prepared food boxes from its Scottish base to finish off at home on Valentine's Day have now been sent a message from the Home-X delivery platform breaking the bad news.

And, in a further twist, there is also bad news for budding romantics aiming to woo their dates with roses.

While Brexit is not the problem here - roses all come in from Holland via Dublin - some florists have been reporting getting just half their normal amount due to lockdown and are trying to increase delivery drivers to get bouquets out.

With Six by Nico - whose owner Nico Simeone opened a hugely popular 500,000 restaurant in Belfast's Waring Street in March 2019 - Brexit is the main issue. It cannot get its food across the water to Northern Ireland.

The email from Home-X, which was launched by the team behind Six by Nico and represents a number of other food outlets as well, said: "Due to Brexit and some of the new regulations on imports to Northern Ireland, we are currently unable to ship orders to Northern Ireland which has left us extremely disappointed."

The note apologised for the situation, adding: "These circumstances are sadly out of our control and our team have been working relentlessly to provide a solution."

The email added: "To give you some insight, we ship all of our Home-X orders from Glasgow and the solution we are working towards is to hopefully set up a temporary production from the Six by Nico restaurant in Belfast. However this, with restricting timescales and some packaging obstacles to overcome, may not be as quick as we hope."

One Belfast woman, who did not want to be named, said she and her husband were gutted by the development.

"We've had great food from Nico before and so for Valentine's night we had ordered the 'Hebrides' menu, which for 60 was giving us a feast from the islands of smoked salmon from Harris followed by black pudding and pork from Stornoway and then a 'Tipsy Laird' trifle and cheese from Mull.

"We are extremely disappointed. It's bad enough not being able to go out for a Valentine's meal to somewhere like Six by Nico because of the pandemic lockdown but when your home delivery is scuppered by Brexit too it's even more frustrating.

"It's been difficult to arrange an alternative but we are determined to find another delivery to make our Valentine's Day complete."

NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against GTT Communications, Inc. ("GTT" or the "Company") (NYSE: GTT) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California, and docketed under 21-cv-00839, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired GTT publicly traded securities from May 5, 2016 through November 9, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). Plaintiff alleges that Defendants violated the Exchange Act by publishing false and misleading statements to artificially inflate the Company's stock price.

If you are a shareholder who purchased GTT securities during the Class Period, you have until March 15, 2021 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

GTT operates a global communications network, providing telecommunications services to large, multinational enterprises, carriers, and governments across five continents.

Throughout the Class Period, GTT stated that its internal controls over financial reporting were "effective" and provided "reasonable assurance" that all required information was being disclosed.

In truth, GTT's internal controls over financial reporting were inadequate, which led to years of inaccurate financial reporting, including failing to make adequate adjustments to the Company's Cost of Telecommunication Services and failing to recognize certain expenses.

As a result of GTT's inadequate internal controls, the Company announced after market hours on August 10, 2020 that it would delay the filing of its quarterly report for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. The Company stated it had identified "certain issues related to the recording and reporting of Cost of Telecommunications Services and related internal controls."

On this news, GTT shares fell by $0.65, or over 11%, from closing at $5.61 on August 10, 2020 to close at $4.96 on August 11, 2020.

On November 9, 2020, the Company announced its quarterly report for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 would be delayed as well. The Company stated the delay was caused by the ongoing review and "examining the accounting for Cost of Telecommunications Services and [. . .] a number of issues in connection with the Company's previously issued financial statements[.]"

On this news, GTT shares fell by $0.04, or 1%, to close at $3.96 on November 9, 2020.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

Related Links

www.pomerantzlaw.com


Multitude of fans who anticipated the grand performance of two of Gambia's rising musicians -O Boy and Gambian Child, were let down, following the non-performance the two acts at the just concluded Janjangbureh Kankurang Festival held in the historical island on Friday, 29th January, 2021.

O Boy, who was supposed to perform alongside Gambian Child quenched the kindle of the festival at the night of the official opening of the two-day festival, when he reluctantly appeared on stage at 2am Sunday morning to perform but later disappeared in less than 20 minutes of the show.

Prior to the festival, the local organising committee (LOC) and Janjangbureh Youths posted adverts of the stars at all major locationsin the community including neighboring towns and villages and bought air time on radios and TV stations for publicity of the show in the island.

More so, many tickets and their T-shirts were sold with lots of preparations.

However, the duo disappointed everyone especially those who travelled all the way from the Kombos just to watch their show and enjoy the great ambience of the festival.

Speaking to this medium on Sunday at the festival ground in Janjangbureh, Omar Jammeh who was flabbergasted with the move of O Boy and Gambian Child explained: "the Local Organising Committee met all their requirements as stated in the contract agreement, but to our surprise O Boy and his partner Gambian Child did not deliver as per the contract agreement."

He explained O Boy told them that he doesn't drink local or water from the tap but only packaged mineral/natural bottled water and that he doesn't sleep in local houses or lodge.

"So we must pay him full payment at least two days upfront before the show and lots of excuses which we fully abide with to make the show a success."

Notwithstanding all this, when it was time to come on stage, O Boy refused instead "he come up with some pile of medicines, saying he is sick.

'I'm not ready to make a show but just to honor the contract by performing for just only 30 minutes' because he is sick. Everyone at the show witnessed he reluctantly come on stage at 2am and said the musical set is not good enough for him to perform and also he doesn't perform without a stage."

Despite having the Mighty Roots Foundation Sound, which he O Boy had used as back-upin his earlier performances atvarious places in CRR including Wassu, they rising star did not live up to expectation.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Music By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Majority of the fans condemned this act of the two rising musicians. One Jarreh Mamudu, who traveled all the way from the Greater Banjul Area, described the act as an 'insult and fraud'.

"This is one of the reasons promoters will prefer working with foreign artists rather than working with some of this so called Gambians rising stars, they are too arrogant!" he charged.

Mabel, a tourist from America also had this to say; "it is awful and childish to see artist acting this way especially in their prime stage."

Claudia, a researcher on Kankurang from Germany added; "it will be very difficult for this type of artists to make it to any international festival in Europe. You should feel proud and happy as only identified artist to perform in this type of event, too bad."

MRCG holds open day on ETVAX Study on Diarrhoea on children

Foreign Minister receives ambassadors of Ghana, Austria
Existing Investment in Ethereum grows from $48,284 to over $535,654

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 5, 2021 / First Growth Funds Limited (CSE:FGFL) "(Company") is to provide an update on its investment portfolio and advisory business activities. The Company made 3 new investments in listed equities that have already increased in value by $929,582. FGFL also achieved a further $180,000 gain from its cryptocurrency investment in Ethereum, now valued at $535,654. The Company also generated $67,000 in advisory fees in January.

Magnum Mining and Exploration Limited

Magnum Mining and Exploration is an ASX listed mining company with operations in Nevada, USA. Magnum has secured major permits for the long-term production of a high-grade magnetite concentrate grading +67.5% Fe. The project is well situated to existing rail, power and port facilities.

Magnum completed a $2M Placement to accredited investors. The Placement was heavily oversubscribed and FGFL received an allocation of $700,000 as the lead investor. The investment was completed at $0.04 per share with 2 for 1 matching listed options. The shares will be issued after their shareholder meeting on 3rd March 2021. FGFL also invoiced $40,000 in advisory fees to Magnum.

Below is a summary table of the current value of shares and options.

Code Investment Placement Price Shares Last Price Holding Value Profit % MGU $700,000 $0.04 17,500,000 $0.070 $1,225,000 $525,000 75% MGUO 8,750,000 $0.031 $271,250 $271,250 TOTAL $796,250 114%

SportsHero Limited

SportsHero is an e-sports company listed on the ASX. The company has 2.7 million users, adding 586,294 new users in January. FGFL participated in their $450,000 Placement by investing $150,000 at $0.025 cents per share with 2 for 1 unlisted options. SportsHero then offered a second Placement on 4th February raising a further $2M and FGFL participated by investing $280,000 at $0.03 with a 2 for 1 unlisted options. FGF also invoiced $27,000 in advisory fees.

Below is a summary table of the current value of shares and options.

Code Investment Placement Price Shares Last Price Holding Value Profit % SHO $150,000 $0.025 6,000,000 $0.035 $210,000 $60,000 40% $280,000 $0.030 9,333,333 $0.035 $326,666 $46,666 17% Total $430,000 $106,666 25%

Jadar Resources Limited

Jadar Resources is an ASX listed mining company with a diversified portfolio of mining assets in Lithium, Gold and Silver. It completed a $1.8M Placement to accredited investors. The Placement was heavily oversubscribed and FGFL received an allocation of $160,000. Below is a summary table of the current value of shares and options.

Code Investment Placement Price Shares Last Price Holding Value Profit % JDR $160,000 $0.03 5,333,333 $0.035 $186,666 $26,666 17%

Ethereum

First Growth Funds is also pleased to announce an update on its existing investment in cryptocurrency, Ethereum. First Growth Funds holds 255.5 Ethereum tokens valued at CAD$535,654. This investment was valued at $48,289 twelve months ago.

Ethereum is the second largest digital asset by market capitalization after Bitcoin and is the largest blockchain network for creating smart contracts and new digital assets. Although Bitcoin has also increased in value by 370% over the past 12 months, FGFL has generated more superior returns by holding Ethereum as it has risen by 772% during the same period.

First Growth Funds plans to continue to hold Ethereum for the medium term.

SQID Technologies Limited

First Growth Funds holds 14.8% of SQID Technologies Limited (CSE:SQID). First Growth Funds carrying value has fluctuated over the past 6 months with the SQID share price down in the December quarter. In January, SQID announced a 50% acquisition of revenue generating esports company, ICON. SQID plans to integrate their payment engine into the ICON platform to generate additional revenue.

About First Growth Funds Limited

First Growth Funds Limited invests across a broad range of asset classes including listed equities, private equity, blockchain and digital assets. The company also operates an advisory business providing corporate advisory, capital raising and capital markets support to its portfolio. www.firstgrowthfunds.com

THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by management of the Company.

Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws or the Canadian Securities Exchange. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

SOURCE: First Growth Funds Limited

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  The country's COVID-19 task force has eased travel restrictions on more foreign nationals wanting to enter the Philippines.

Inter-Agency Task Force spokesperson Harry Roque on Friday said foreigners with valid Special Resident and Retirees Visa will be allowed to travel to the country starting Feb. 16 despite the spread of new, more transmissible COVID-19 variants globally.

The IATF also allowed the entry of foreign nationals with valid visas issued as of March 20, 2020.

The foreign travelers should have a pre-booked accommodation good for at least six nights in an accredited quarantine hotel or facility. They need to undergo an RT-PCR test on the sixth day from their arrival. The IATF added Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente has the exclusive prerogative to decide on waiver or recall of exclusion orders for all foreign nationals allowed to enter the country.

The government allowed the lapse on Jan. 31 of travel restriction on 36 territories with confirmed COVID-19 variant cases. Tourists are still not allowed to enter the country.
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We should see improvement in the employment-to-population ratio in coming months as the stimulus bills kick in and vaccines are more widely distributed," said John ONeill, PhD, director of the Center for Employment and Disability Research at Kessler Foundation.

National Trends in Disability Employment (nTIDE)  issued semi-monthly by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire

As COVID-19 outbreaks continue to affect national and local economies, the job market struggled to maintain momentum, according to todays National Trends in Disability Employment  Monthly Update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshires Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD). In the coming months, prospects for recovery may improve as vaccine availability increases and the federal government implements new public health measures and considers additional economic relief.

nTIDE COVID Update (month-to-month comparison)

In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released Friday, the employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 29.4 percent in December 2020 to 28.7 percent in January 2021 (down 2.4 percent or 0.7 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio also decreased from 70.9 percent in December 2020 to 70.5 percent in January 2021 (down 0.6 percent or 0.4 percentage points). The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100).

In January, we saw a decrease in the employment-to-population ratio as COVID-19 infections spiked across the nation following the Christmas and New Year holidays, said John ONeill, PhD, director of the Center for Employment and Disability Research at Kessler Foundation. We should see improvement in the employment-to-population ratio in coming months as the stimulus bills kick in and vaccines are more widely distributed, he added.

The labor force participation rate for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 33.2 percent in December 2020 to 32.8 percent in January 2021 (down 1.2 percent or 0.4 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also decreased from 75.7 percent in December 2020 to 75.5 percent in January 2021 (down 0.3 percent or 0.2 percentage points). The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is working, not working and on temporary layoff, or not working and actively looking for work.

The labor force participation rate for people with disabilities also declined slightly in January, noted economist Andrew Houtenville, PhD, research director of the University of New Hampshires Institute on Disability. Over the course of the pandemic, we have seen people with disabilities staying engaged in the workforce by either working, actively looking for work, or still expecting to be recalled. The decline in January may reflect the reinstatement of restrictions to stop the increasing spread of COVID-19.

Traditional nTIDE Numbers (comparison to the same time last year)

The employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 30.7 percent in January 2020 to 28.7 percent in January 2021 (down 6.5 percent or 2 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio also decreased from 74.4 percent in January 2020 to 70.5 percent in January 2021 (down 5.2 percent or 3.9 percentage points).

The labor force participation rate for working-age people with disabilities decreased from 33.6 percent in January 2020 to 32.8 percent in January 2021 (down 2.4 percent or 0.8 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also decreased from 77.4 percent in January 2020 to 75.5 percent in January 2021 (down 2.5 percent or 1.9 percentage points).

In January 2021, among workers ages 16-64, the 4,279,000 workers with disabilities represented 3.1 percent of the total 138,541,000 workers in the U.S.

nTIDE COVID Update  Friday, February 19 at 12:00 pm Eastern

Stay tuned for our mid-month update about the employment of people with disabilities as we follow the impact of COVID-19 and look at the numbers in more detail.

Ask Questions about Disability and Employment

Join our nTIDE Lunch & Learn series today, February 5, at 12:00 pm Eastern. This live broadcast, hosted via Zoom Webinar, offers attendees Q&A on the latest nTIDE findings, provides news and updates from the field, as well as invited panelists to discuss current disability-related findings and events. Today, Day Al-Mohamed, author, filmmaker, and disability policy executive, joins Dr. Houtenville, Dr. ONeill from Kessler Foundation, and Denise Rozell, Policy Strategist at AUCD. Join live or watch the recordings at: ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE.

NOTE: The statistics in the nTIDE are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers but are not identical. They are customized by UNH to combine the statistics for men and women of working age (16 to 64). nTIDE is funded, in part, by grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) (90RT5037) and Kessler Foundation.

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes -- including employment -- for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire

The Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the NIDILRR-funded Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, visit ResearchonDisability.org.

For more information, or to interview an expert, contact:

Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8382, CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 12:14:31|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. financial regulators met on Thursday to discuss recent market volatility related to stock prices of video game retailer GameStop.

"They discussed market functionality and recent trading practices in equity, commodity and related markets," the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement following a meeting between Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

"The regulators believe the core infrastructure was resilient during high volatility and heavy trading volume and agree on the importance of the SEC releasing a timely study of the events," the statement said.

In addition, the SEC and the CFTC are reviewing whether trading practices are consistent with investor protection and fair and efficient markets, according to the Treasury Department.

"Secretary Yellen believes it is imperative to uphold the integrity of these markets and ensure investor protection," the department said.

The meeting came as GameStop stock prices experienced great fluctuations in recent weeks amid a standoff between retail investors and hedge funds. The speculative frenzy later spilled into the silver futures market, which is regulated by the CFTC, raising concerns about a bubble and financial stability.

It also drew the attention of high-profile investors and plenty of lawmakers who called on regulators to intervene. The SEC said last week that it was closely monitoring and evaluating the extreme price volatility of certain stocks' trading prices over the past several days.

"Extreme stock price volatility has the potential to expose investors to rapid and severe losses and undermine market confidence," the SEC warned. Enditem
-As sanction sinks in

Members of the Liberian Senate are reportedly divided over the recent sanction and barring of their colleague, Senator Varney Sherman by the Treasury Department of the United States government. On Thursday, February 04, the chambers of the senate snowballed in to a tense atmosphere when a report emanating from the leadership of the senate hit the floor relating to the decision by the US Government sanctioning Sherman.

On December 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted corrupt actors and their networks across several countries in Africa and Asia. The, actions the US Government claimed are taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implementing the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, and targets perpetrators of corruption and serious human rights abuse.

In 2010, Harry Varney Gboto-Nambi Sherman (Sherman), now a prominent lawyer, Liberian Senator, and Chair of the Liberian Senate Judiciary Committee, was hired by a British mining company in an effort to obtain one of Liberia's last remaining mining assets, the Wologizi iron ore concession. Sherman advised the company that, in order to obtain the contract, they first had to get Liberia's concessions law changed by bribing senior officials. In 2016, Sherman was indicted by the Liberian government, along with several other government officials, for their involvement in the USD 950,000 bribery scheme.

In 2019, the presiding judge acquitted all individuals accused of being involved in the bribery scheme. Sherman offered bribes to multiple judges associated with his trial and had an undisclosed conflict of interest with the judge who ultimately returned a not guilty verdict in July 2019," the sanction regime noted.

Cllr. Sherman had earlier written the plenary of the senate for intervention on the decision of the US Government against his person and law firm.

Following the reading of the report from the leadership of the senate in plenary, Senator Steve Zargo asserted that Sherman was not given due process and that it is banding on the senate to make inquires and intervene on behalf of him (Sherman) for the way forward.

Zargo, of the Liberty Party explained that US Government is fully aware of due process under the law and that the senate is under moral obligation to seek information and detailed the information surroundings the matter.

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But he was resisted by River Gee County Senator, Mr. ConmanyWesseh who indicated that the Liberian Senate has no say into the matter and that the matter is of more personal to Senator Sherman.

According to him, former President Charles Taylor, Benoni Urey, Chief Cyril Allen, and many other Liberians were placed under sanction for various reasons, and those affected serve penalties and some later free, while others are still facing restriction.

Wesseh added that Sherman did not get sanction because of his role in the Liberian Senate. Instead in his private life and career.

Sen. Wesseh furthered that the senate has no part to play in the saga and besides, the precious time of the Liberian Senate cannot be wasted on something that is not before that august body.

Responding to Mr. Wesseh, Sinoe County Senator J. Milton Teahjay argued that Cllr. Sherman is part of the senate and anything that affects him should be a concerned to body.

For his part, Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darious Dillon suggested that the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations be engaged to use persuasive diplomatic engagement to resolve the matter.

Adding his comment to the argument, Gbarpolu Senator Daniel Naatehn noted, the fact the United States Government has not written the senate or the Liberian government, it suggest that the matter is more personal then national one.

But Margibi County Senator Emmanuel James Nuquay differed on grounds that Cllr. Sherman is a Liberian and for the fact he (Sherman) wrote the senate that gives the reason for the senate intervention.
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The Anambra State Government has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew from Monday, February 8, to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

The curfew will be between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, until further notice, according to a statement issued on Friday by the Secretary to the State Government, Solo Chukwulobelu.

Mr Chukwulobelu said the Governor Willie Obiano has directed civil servants from grade level one to 12 to work from home until further notice.

He said mobile courts would begin to try residents who flout COVID-19 safety protocols beginning from February 8.

COVID-19 Task Force in the state, including the Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Trade and Commerce have been empowered to increase their surveillance on hospitals and markets, and to shut down any that flouts the protocols, Mr Chukwulobelu said.

The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Anambra is 1,053 as of February 5, according to data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Nineteen people have so far died from the viral infection in Anambra State.
The Monrovia City Court has sent an Indian National Anil K. Karma to the Monrovia Central Prison pending the filing of his valid criminal appearance bond and commencement of trial trafficking in Person and theft of service.

Anil Karma, is the owner of a drug store known as 'Malik' on Camp Johnson Road.

According to court documents, Karma allegedly trafficked one Karmal Sharma, another Indian national under the influence of giving him job in Liberia.

This alleged unlawful and illegal act commissioned by Karma violates section 15.52 of the new penal code and trafficking law of Liberia

The documents further mentioned that in February 2020, defendant Karma also induced, influenced and Convinced the victim who was residing in India to come to Liberia for a job as a pharmacist with monthly salary of five hundred-fifty United States dollars inclusive of accommodations, feeding, and allowance.

The documents added that having arrived in Liberia and worked, the said defendant seized his passport with no pay given him and the complainant was subjected to domestic work and was often abused by the said defendant.

The defendant was taken to the Monrovia central prison (Prison) after failing to secure a valid criminal appearance bond.

At the same time, Defendant counsel Atty. Vaani Faate Kiawu disputed the allegations levied against his client Karma.

According to him, the charge lacks truth of trafficking in person and that the charge further falls short of saying how the complainant was trafficked by his client.

Atty. Kiawu thinks his client was being wrongly charged on grounds that it was a bridge of contract and not trafficking as claimed.

He noted that if a person is trafficked, he or she is being controlled and restrained by their trafficker.
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Hotel systems are generally not designed to generate the kind of airflow turnover needed to minimise the risk of aerosol transmission, he says, especially in the face of the threat posed by the new, more highly infectious virus strains coming out of Britain, South Africa and Brazil. We have gone down the path of least resistance because there is great cost and inconvenience in dealing with an airborne threat Miller argues. However that is demonstrably less than the cost and inconvenience of repeated instances of quarantine breach, cross-infection and lockdown. He believes developing more quarantine facilities at greenfield sites must be on the agenda, but in the interim the stepping stone to greenfield sites is to immediately upgrade the airflow within the [existing] facilities, and the way they are administered. Sydney-based epidemiologist Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, who sits on a World Health Organisation advisory panel, is equally perturbed. Its not always easy to change a hotel ventilation system she says. They often cant maximise airflow change with an industrial unit thats designed for a lower rate of airflow change [than a hospital] - though older hospitals too can have ventilation problems. She says any facility being used for quarantine should have at least 10 airflow changes an hour, and would also prefer to see them located in regional areas or on the edges of CBDs.

McLaws points to Howard Springs outside Darwin, a former labour camp currently co-funded by the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory to provide up to 850 quarantine places a fortnight, as ideal. It has single-storey rooms with verandahs and open-air walkways, and proximity to top-class medical facilities. Following Fridays national cabinet meeting Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled plans to more than double Howard Springs capacity, but reiterated that hotel quarantine would remain the primary mode of dealing with returning travellers. The remote Howard Springs quarantine facility outside Darwin. Credit:Louise Radcliffe-Smith The hotel quarantine system, he declared, had been incredibly effective, processing more than 210,000 international returnees with only a handful of cases that havent been completely contained. He also left the gate open to the Toowoomba option - albeit warning there is a lot more information we are going to need - and flagged the possibility of home quarantine down the track depending on a successful vaccine rollout. Toole is not optimistic that large-scale alternatives to hotels are possible, but I think every option now needs to be examined.

Border health security is our number one priority to keep the virus out until we are vaccinated. You have to throw resources at it. Im annoyed to see in Perth that a security guard wasnt being paid enough to make a living and had to have a second job  why arent we paying these people decent salaries? Its a drop in the bucket in terms of resources. Jane Halton, one of the countrys foremost experts on quarantine who completed a report on the topic for national cabinet last year, told the Herald and The Age that the quarantine system has to continue to evolve  the pandemic is not static and neither can quarantine be. We are learning as we go, in terms of what works and what some of the risks are, so we have to take steps to mitigate those as we understand them better. Jane Halton said the quarantine system was generally working well but needed to continue to evolve. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer But she believes the hotel quarantine system is generally working well. Now chair of the global Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), Halton says a broad question remains over how to ensure best practice is well-coordinated among the states and territories. And she cautions that any facility outside a major capital needs close proximity to a major transport hub and acute-care facilities, with access to an expert workforce large enough to be rotated.

This weeks shocks have laid bare the fact that some states have been slow to shore up their defences against the virus. It has also highlighted the strikingly different policies on whether ancillary staff working in quarantine hotels should be allowed to hold down additional jobs. In NSW, for instance, the government sees no need to ban secondary employment among hotel quarantine workers. State Health Minister Brad Hazzard argues that in the real world, people including security guards and cleaners have lives. They go home to their families, they see their friends and if you tried to stop them living those lives, you wouldnt have people doing the job. He says the state has progressively adopted additional checks and balances, the most significant of which is the daily saliva test for every staff member working in hotel quarantine. National cabinet agreed on January 8 that any worker involved in quarantine should have daily COVID-19 tests. However Toole points out that while this was adopted in NSW on January 17, it didnt get implemented in WA until January 29, too late for the Perth security guards infection to be promptly picked up. Scott Morrison is sticking with hotel quarantine despite the virus leaks. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The WA government says its now working with hotel and security companies to negotiate an arrangement that prevents staff from having secondary employment. Its also testing workers for the virus daily, and requiring mask-wearing by guards in hotel corridors  which was not the case prior to this weeks reported infection in the security guard. South Australia is running five medi-hotels for returning travellers and, from Monday, its workers too will have daily saliva tests as well as a weekly nasal swab, but staff will continue to be allowed a second job outside hotel quarantine. Queensland also allows hotel staff or contractors to have multiple jobs or work across multiple sites with the same employer, justified on the basis that restricting these opportunities would have significant financial impacts. Victoria, seared by its harsh lockdown for 3 months last year triggered by breaches of security at quarantine hotels, has the toughest regime. It has set up a dedicated agency, COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria (CQV), to run the system, which directly contracts ancillary workers who are banned from holding down secondary jobs. Queensland and WA are keenest among the states to explore alternatives to quarantine in big city hotels, with WA pushing Christmas Island as one option (firmly rejected by Morrison), while the Toowoomba option holds appeal for Queensland.

But in NSW, Hazzard remains adamant that it would be impractical  indeed, downright disadvantageous  for us to be considering moving our public health hotels out of the Sydney regional area, not least because of the sheer size of the NSW quarantine workforce (3500 people daily). Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said this week he was always happy to sit down with the Prime Minister and see if there are some bespoke facilities that can be built but warned staff have lives  you can put a quarantine facility 50 kilometres from where we are standing, or 500 kilometres, but there will be people there too and the virus spreads. The fresh spotlight on hotel quarantine has renewed criticisms that the Morrison government has largely absented itself from the quarantine task. Labor has branded Morrison hands-off Harry for not picking up what it says is the Commonwealths primary constitutional responsibility for quarantine. How well-founded is that line of attack? Sydney University constitutional law expert Professor Anne Twomey writes in a forthcoming article for the Australian Law Journal that it appears that the Commonwealth Government took the view that it did not have the capacity or competence to be able to establish and run [compulsory hotel quarantine]. Instead it took the easier path of leaving it to the states to take up the financial and logistical burden of establishing an entire system from scratch within 48 hours [last March]. Twomey says while section 51 (ix) of the Constitution does vest quarantine power in the Commonwealth it is not an exclusive power, and the states public health safeguards operate alongside it. While the Commonwealth could have chosen to exclude state law under section 109, it had not done so.

In past decades, she writes, the federal government had gradually taken over quarantine stations from the states but closed them after successful immunisation campaigns, particularly against smallpox. The resulting lack of large-scale quarantine capability in capital cities [with the exception of Howard Springs] has left Australia ill-equipped to deal with a major pandemic, Twomey concludes. Melbourne University Professor Cheryl Saunders, also a constitutional expert, notes that usually the Commonwealth exercises its concurrent powers  often quite aggressively. But in this case, the federal government held back, in recognition of the fact that it doesnt have the personnel, it doesnt have the presence on the ground, it doesnt know the local scene as deeply as a state or territory government does. Last years probe into Victorias hotel quarantine failures by jurist Jennifer Coate noted there had been an opportunity for the Commonwealth to come up with a national quarantine scheme immediately after 2009, when it reviewed the countrys response to the H1N1 flu pandemic. People associated with the Australian Open line up at a testing facility at the View Hotel in Melbourne. Credit:Getty That review had recommended that the roles and responsibilities of all governments for the management of people in quarantine  during a pandemic should be clarified, with a set of nationally consistent principles to be drawn up. But that was never acted upon.

Toole and McLaws both believe the federal government should be exercising firmer leadership over how hotel quarantine is run. Asked how national standards were currently being co-ordinated, the federal health department cited a Statement on national hotel quarantine principles adopted by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC)  the body that brings together all federal, state and territory chief health officers  published on Christmas Eve. But those who want to see the Commonwealth step up further say the AHPPC is already over-burdened and the December statement is not prescriptive enough, particularly on the risks of aerosol transmission. McLaws calls for more stringent adoption of best practice around the country, including eye protection and enhanced PPE for hotel quarantine workers, and the use of CCTV instead of personnel keeping watch in corridors. Toole says its now up to the federal government to do everything in their power - and that power is considerable - to ensure that there is a national standard that is being implemented by every state.
Hotel quarantine detainees in Queensland will not have to open their doors as often to receive supplies after a report found 'multiple gaps' in infection control.

A Covid-19 cluster at Brisbane's Hotel Grand Chancellor involving four guests and a cleaner, and later her partner, triggered a snap three-day lockdown of Greater Brisbane last month.

A report released on Friday has found the disease likely spread indirectly through contaminated surfaces - but it's not known how.

A Covid-19 cluster at Brisbane's Hotel Grand Chancellor involved four guests and a cleaner, and later her partner. Pictured: Police at the scene

The report has recommended that, due to the risk of infection escaping when guests open their doors, quarantine hotel staff should reduce the number of times they deliver meals, linen or cleaning supplies.

The report said guests should also be required to wear a mask when opening their doors for any reason.

There were 'multiple gaps' in infection control, including workers not having enough hand sanitiser and rooms not being properly cleaned, the report said.

The common link between the five cases was that they had all been on the hotel's seventh floor, but a joint police and health department investigation has ruled out any quarantine breaches.

'No direct breaches in quarantine or security were identified and no matters were identified that support any conclusion that offences were committed,' said a report released on Friday.

The cases include a man and his partner who arrived from the UK on December 30, a hotel cleaner and her partner, and a man and his daughter who arrived from Lebanon on January 1.

Both the first couple and the man and his daughter had flown through Doha on their way to Brisbane.

Investigators believe the first case acquired Covid-19 overseas and spread it to his partner before they spread it indirectly to the cleaner, who later directly transmitted to her partner at their home.

Ambulances are parked outside the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane

The report said it was likely the first couple, rather than the cleaner, later spread the virus to the man and his daughter indirectly.

'While overseas infection cannot be excluded they most likely acquired their infection at the hotel. The infection at the hotel is most likely to be from contact with a surface that was contaminated by virus shed by case 1 or case 2 (the couple),' the report said.

Investigators said without CCTV on level seven, police had to resort to interviewing guests and quarantine workers.

The interviewers concluded that no breach had been committed by guests or the cleaner.

'There is no evidence to suggest any of the guests from rooms 702 or 711 ever left their rooms without approval,' the report said.

'Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that any person entered rooms 702 or 711 without approval.

'Additionally, although the cleaner was allocated to clean vacant rooms on floor 7 there is no evidence to suggest the cleaner who became infected entered rooms 702 or 711.'

Investigators also found a swab taken in a room on level seven after it had been deep-cleaned tested positive for coronavirus.

Investigators said that indicated room cleaning procedures needed to be improved.

'The ongoing presence of SARS-CoV-2-RNA in environmental samples in room 711 following a deep clean of the room is an important marker,' the report said.
Critics have slammed Tesla for Model 3 quality issues for years. And now CEO Elon Musk is admitting even his harshest critic was right.

In early 2018 engineering consultant Sandy Munro, who tears apart and reverse-engineers cars to assess quality, issued a brutal appraisal of the Model 3 citing "flaws that we would see on a Kia in the '90s." He noted inconsistencies such as uneven gaps between exterior panels and paint job issues, telling Autoline, "I can't imagine how they released this."

Surprisingly Musk, who has often bristled at criticism, agrees.

"I thought your criticism was accurate," Musk told Munro in an interview that aired Tuesday on the YouTube channel and podcast "Munro Live."

In the interview Musk also admitted that it might not be a good idea to buy a Tesla during a new model's ramp-up period. Munro's "Kia" critique came when Tesla was still struggling to meet early production targets for the Model 3.

Musk's admission is quite a warning considering that the company is getting ready to start production of the Cybertruck pickup late this year, and is set to open new plants outside of Austin, Texas, and Berlin, Germany.

"Friends ask, 'When should I buy a Tesla?'" Musk said. "Well, either buy it right at the beginning or when production reaches steady state. During that production ramp, it's super hard to be in vertical climb mode and get everything right on the details."

Munro also questioned Musk about quality control problems more recently. He bought a 2021 Model 3 late last year, and compared it to a Model 3 someone else purchased a month later -- and saw significant improvement.

"At the end of the day, this guy's car was fabulous ... as good as anybody could possibly do," Munro said. "I just don't understand. Mine was built this month, his was built a month later. Mine had problems. His was perfect."

Musk said Tesla continued to make progress even as recently as December of last year, noting that the company is finding issues more quickly as the pace of production continues to speed up.

"When you go faster, you just discover these things," he said. "If we knew them in advance, we'd fix them in advance."

Musk also discussed some other challenges that the company has previously experienced. After Munro praised the seats in the Model 3 as the most comfortable he has ever experienced in a car, Musk volunteered that he used to refer to the seat in the early Model S, one of the company's first vehicles, as a "stone toadstool."

"The early Model S's probably had the worst seat of any car I ever sat in," Musk said.

Munro isn't the only one to highlight quality control problems at Tesla. Consumer Reports, which has praised the design of many Tesla models, said poor quality control -- including hair embedded in paint jobs -- meant it could not recommend its newest vehicle, the Model Y SUV. Of the four vehicles Tesla currently sells, only the Model 3 has the coveted "recommended" rating from Consumer Reports, although it briefly lost that designation in early 2019.
Kenya has formed the Sacco Fraud Investigation Unit to police the sector that has been marred by fraudulent deals and embezzlement.

Agriculture Cabinet secretary Peter Munya said the unit, which is under Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (Sasra), has so far finalised an investigation, instigated arrest and prosecution of a case where Sh1.3 million that had been embezzled was recovered.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2019 directed State Department of Cooperative, which is under CS Munya, to form an investigative fraud unit to check a sector.

"I am happy to report that the fraud unit has been established and fully operational. The unit is staffed by specialised officers seconded from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and is functionally supported by Sasra technical staff," said Mr Munya.

He said more investigations are underway and that the fraud unit has disrupted operations of a pyramid scheme-like entity, which was defrauding the public of their savings by falsely posing as a sacco.

"Fraudsters and fraudulent schemes normally styled as saccos are, therefore, put on notice that the government will soon catch up with them," warned the CS.

He cautioned wananchi to desist from dealing with unregulated and unsupervised entities and advised them to undertake due diligence on any entity purporting to be a sacco before saving with them. Non-deposit taking saccos currently holding members' deposits amounting to Sh100 million and above will now be regulated by Sasra under the new regulations aimed at streamlining the sector.

This follows the publication of the Sacco Societies (Non-Deposit Taking Business) Regulations, 2020, which took effect on January 1, 2021.

Sasra chairman John Munuve said non-deposit taking saccos are expected to comply by applying to the authority within six months of the Regulations 2020 for authorisation to operate.

He said bringing these entities under the regulatory oversight of Sasra will extend the benefits of regulated savings and loan services to more Kenyans, while improving the stability and resilience of the sub-sector.
Accuhealth honored by athenahealth, Inc. This award helps confirm Accuhealths position as an industry leader in remote patient monitoring. In a short period of time, by onboarding just under 10,000 athenahealth patients, we have reached an overwhelming demand for our services in the United States and abroad.

Accuhealth today announced that it has been honored by athenahealth, Inc. for its exemplary first-year growth and most new customers in 2020, predicated on superior service and ongoing commitment to deliver world-class remote care. The inaugural award, New Partner Growth Award, was one of three awards presented at athenahealths first Marketplace Partner Event of 2021.

Accuhealth CEO Stephen Samson commented, athenahealth is a leading electronic health record [EHR] platform, so it is a great honor to be recognized by such an important player in the healthcare space. This award helps confirm Accuhealths position as an industry leader in remote patient monitoring. In a short period of time, by onboarding just under 10,000 athenahealth patients, we have reached an overwhelming demand for our services in the United States and abroad. This award reinforces that remote patient monitoring allows physicians to not only provide better care for their patients, but also generate revenue for their clinics. Accuhealth has a very bright future, with more exciting announcements to come.

Morgan Diaz, the Executive Director of the athenahealth Marketplace program, commended Accuhealths early success with athenahealth customers: Accuhealth is an important part of the athenahealth ecosystem and we are proud of their growth as a first-year partner. Our partnership allows athenahealth customers to stay engaged with patients, even when theyre not in the office. We are excited to see what Accuhealth does in 2021 and beyond.

athenahealth and Accuhealth began their partnership mid-year in 2020. athenahealth awarded this recognition based on the number of new athenahealth customers. athenahealth partners with medical organizations across the country to drive improved clinical and financial results, with a vision of creating a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all. The athenahealth Marketplace has been a marquee program for the company since its inception in 2013.

Accuhealth is a healthcare technology company that provides clinics and enterprises a turn-key remote patient monitoring solution, including all hardware, software, and first-line 24/7 clinical monitoring. With access to real-time vital information, physicians improve outcomes, increase patient satisfaction, reduce costs for payers, and increase revenue for clinics. Accuhealth makes remote monitoring simple and easy for providers and their patients, allowing them to see vital information and better manage health outcomes. Visit http://www.accuhealth.tech for more information.
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Genres : Action and Crime



: Action and Crime Running Time : 99 min.



: 99 min. Directed by : Mark Williams



: Mark Williams Starring : Liam Neeson, Kate Walsh

Synopsis : Wanting to lead an honest life, a notorious bank robber turns himself in, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.
Referring to their personal experience, many officials and residents of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region revealed the truth and debunked rumors about Xinjiang, such as suppression of the Uygur ethnic group, and the so-called "forced labor", "forced demolition of mosques", "forced sterilization", as well as "genocide", in front of Chinese and foreign media at a press conference held in Beijing on Feb. 1.

The population of ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang, including the Uygur people, has been growing continuously, said Xu Guixiang, deputy director general of the Publicity Department of Communist Party of China (CPC) Xinjiang Committee, at the press conference.

According to data, from 2010 to 2018, the number of Xinjiang's permanent residents increased by over 3.05 million, or 13.99 percent, from about 21.82 million to nearly 24.87 million, Xu said, stressing that the region's Uygur population grew by about 2.55 million, or 25.04 percent, much higher than the growth rate of the population of Han people, the largest ethnic group in China, which stood at 2 percent.

"Is it also the result of genocide'?" Xu asked rhetorically.

Tulanisa Rehman, a 32-year-old ethnic minority woman from Xinjiang's Hotan prefecture, smashed false reports by foreign media hyping forced contraception and compulsory sterilization against Uygur people and other ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang with her own experience.

"Some foreign media's reports on the forced contraception and compulsory sterilization are sheer lies. There is no such kind of things at all. It was vicious of them to make these rumors although I have no idea why they did that," Rehman said at the press conference.

"If we were forced to have contraception and compulsory sterilization', how come there are so many lovely children in the village," Rehman said.

"The Family Planning Policy of our country is looser in Xinjiang," Rehman noted, adding that she and her husband have two sons and a daughter.

The government cares about the reproductive health of ethnic minority women very much, according to Rehman, who added that she received free health care during pregnancy and that her children have enjoyed medical insurance and free education.

"The achievements in the development and progress of human rights in Xinjiang are obvious to all," said Elijan Anayat, spokesperson of the Information Office of People's Government of Xinjiang.

The arduous fight against terrorism and extremism in Xinjiang has brought worthwhile changes to the situation in the region, with unprecedented achievements being made in socio-economic development, improvement of people's livelihood and protection of human rights, Anayat stressed at the press conference.

Since the end of 2018, more than 1,200 people of 80 groups have visited Xinjiang, including United Nations (UN) officials, foreign diplomatic envoys to China, representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, permanent representatives of relevant countries to UN's Geneva Office, media reporters and religious groups, Anayat said, adding that these people, who come from more than 100 countries and regions, generally appreciated China's achievements in fighting against terrorism and extremism and safeguarding human rights.

Recently, an article by certain Western scholar claimed that "hundreds of thousands of ethnic minority laborers in Xinjiang are being forced to pick cotton by hand through a coercive state-mandated labor transfer and poverty alleviation' scheme" and that "the U.S. government should put a Withhold Release Order on any product that contains cotton from any part of Xinjiang, not just cotton produced in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) regions."

Kakri Usur, a cotton farmer from Kuqa, county-level city of Xinjiang's Aksu prefecture, was outraged by the claim.

"Recently I've heard some media reports abroad say that Xinjiang forces farmers to work or plant cotton, which is nonsense," Usur said at the press conference.

"We grow cotton on our own land, collect our own cotton, earn our own money, get rich through our own hands and live a good life. How can it be called forced labor'? We invited relatives and friends and cotton pickers to pick cotton. Each of them could earn more than 10,000 yuan ($1,548) by picking cotton for over two months," Usur said, adding that there's no need to force anyone into the work, because many people always race to get the job.

"Some people are slandering us," Usur said, stressing that instead of protecting people's rights, those who made such claims as "forced labor" in cotton picking in Xinjiang want to let farmers' cotton rot in the field.

"They want to destroy our farmers' income sources, so that we have no work or food, and return to the previous days of poverty," Usur said, adding that people in Xinjiang would absolutely not let that happen.

At the press conference, a Uygur intellectual named Gulnar Uful told journalists that since last year, she has seen her name appear on different "lists" fabricated by external anti-China forces. They claimed that she had been "detained" or even started a rumor that she "had been persecuted to death".

"These rumors have brought confusion to my family and distractions to my work. Therefore, I have refuted these rumors on many occasions," Uful pointed out.

She wanted to send a stern warning to the "three forces" including the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), an organization that is reportedly found to be linked to terrorist groups and receives money from Western political organizations.

"Do not lie to the world in my name or with my image again, and stop hurting my family, my country and me. Or I will start legal process to defend my reputation and my country's dignity," Uful said.

As a Chinese saying goes, only the wearer knows whether the shoes fit or not, said Mamat Mamatmin, imam of Konashehar Mosque in Moyu County of Hotan prefecture, at the press conference.

The religious personnel and Muslims of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang know better than anyone else whether China's religious policies are good or not, and the real truth about religious affairs in Xinjiang, Mamatmin stressed.

Normal religious activities of Muslims of all ethnic groups are guaranteed, the religious needs of Muslims are satisfied, and Islam in Xinjiang is well inherited by professional Islamic personnel, Mamatmin said.

Xinjiang is following the right path, Xu said, adding that everything it has done was done in a perfectly open and honest manner, and there's nothing to hide in it.

"We welcome U.S. officials, including officials of the new U.S. government, to take a walk and have a look in Xinjiang, so as to understand the real situation in Xinjiang in case that they would be blinded by American politician Mike Pompeo's lies," Xu said.
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
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The Biden administration is leaning into the "devout Catholic Joe" narrative as part of a presidential rebranding in an attempt to get Christians to support him.

Brands do it all the time-update their logo, change their communications, and adapt new concepts to market their products. Just like brands, presidents can also rebrand, change their minds about certain issues or values. The same can be said for the Biden administration, whose efforts to brand Joe as "devout Catholic" has been more than indiscreet.

Since the beginning of his campaign, Biden has leaned into his "devout Catholic Joe'' persona in the effort to win over more Christians to his side of the party lines.

Joe Biden is known to many as the former Vice President of the United States during the Obama administration. But he also has several other epithets.

As per LifeSite News, Biden is known as the Scranton native, "the blue-collar guy who understands the plight of the working class," and of course Joe the father who lost his first wife and daughter to an accident a little after he was elected senator of Delaware in 1972, and his son to brain cancer in 2015.

His personal life experiences shaped his political outlook, painting him as a man who is relatable, even to the most regular people. But nothing seemed to be more relatable than devout Catholic Joe.

In September 2020 during the presidential campaign period, NPR noted how the now head of the Biden administration has always spoken using religious rhetoric. According to the report, his campaign was called the "battle for the soul of the nation," the central theme of sorts in his campaign to win the presidency, which he eventually did, but not without challenges.

Joe Biden, whose name was often prefaced with "devout Catholic," is now called the second Catholic president in American history next to John F. Kennedy.

But why is it important or possibly dangerous for the Biden presidency to lean into the devout Catholic Joe narrative? The reason behind this is that as President of the United States, devout Catholic Joe Biden is now trying to redefine what it means to be Catholic or to be Christian in order to fit a certain agenda.

It is evident that throughout his years of public service, he has not been consistent with the Catholic values that he holds so dearly, leaning to more liberal ideologies than most Christians would prefer.

For one, the Biden administration has made a commitment to "codifying Roe v. Wade." Devout Catholic Joe Biden reversed a ban on U.S. foreign aid providing support to "groups that fund abortions or provide referrals." This is commonly known as the "Mexico City Policy."

Rev. Jeffrey Kirby of the Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Indian Land, South Carolina described Biden as "someone who is now going to suffer and persecute the church for the next four years. That, on top of the fact that he supports the slaughter of the unborn."

Biden also signed executive orders forcing biological women in schools to compete with transgender women --biological males who transitioned to becoming "females"-- and for the military to accept transgender soldiers and even pay for transgender sex change procedures.

Various reports say these moves are against God and the Bible, and are anti-science. Some said he canceled women and women's sports. A Catholic Archbishop even said that his actions go against basic human life and dignity.

Finally, it's difficult to imagine a pro-abortion, pro-LGBT president as someone who is also a "devout Catholic." While Joe Biden does tick the boxes of outward signifiers of Catholicism-regularly attending mass, speaking with biblical language, aligning himself with priests-the Biden administration needs to take a closer look at how they are affecting the definition of what it means to be Catholic in this day and age when things can be easily redefined-or rebranded-to suit one's agenda.
Vietnam is expected to further improve the domestic business and investment climate with the Party setting out the countrys new Socioeconomic Development Strategy for the next 10 years,

in which full protection of business and investment activities will be ensured.

The 13th National Party Congress has adopted the Party Central Committees draft wrap-up report of the 10-year Socioeconomic Development Strategy for 2011-2020 and building of the next Socioeconomic Development Strategy until 2030, shaping the countrys future over the decade.

Under the new strategy, Vietnam is set to grow about 7 per cent a year in the 2021-2030 period, with numerous solutions to be taken for the rate to be hit. Among the solutions, the country will ensure full rights for businesses and investors to conduct business and investment, and will also effectively use all resources based on the market principles - meaning private firms will have bigger spaces to play and the state will reduce its role as a trader and increase its role as a facilitator for the market to operate.

Efforts are to be made to continue improving the quality of institution and laws in a synchronous, specific, modern, and transparent manner. There will be full and synchronous development of markets for production factors, especially the market for land use, science, and technology, the draft report stated.

Businesses rights and safety will be ensured in business, while all resources will be effectively mobilised, allocated, and used based on the market principles. Legal frameworks must be improved and piloted, firstly the law on enterprises, startups, intellectual property, trade, and investment in order to facilitate the national digital transformation and development of new products, services, economic models, and digital economy under the market principles, the draft report continued.

The state will well perform its function as the builder of strategy planning, mechanisms, and policies, and distributor of resources under the market mechanism. Businesses and peoples rights to possess legal assets and their freedom in business and contract implementation must be ensured under the law.

Ensuring freedom and safety

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently appealed to the consolidation of confidence among people and enterprises, especially privately-owned enterprises (POEs) via a healthy, fair and transparent business climate.

We will continue creating the best conditions, space, resources, and opportunities to the private sector to develop further through the key means of creating equality, being protected, being encouraged, and offering opportunities, he stressed.

According to PM Phuc, creating equality refers to the private sector being equally treated before the law and in competition and allocation of resources with other economic sectors.

POEs assets will be protected, with freedom in business given to them under the law. Those POEs with social responsibility especially are extolled and encouraged by the state, while they will also be given opportunities in access to resources, technologies, and markets with lower costs.

As per the Party Central Committee, the country will see in the time to come drastic and effective reform of administrative procedures, with the removal of all impediments against the freedom to conduct business, and healthy, fair, and transparent competition will be ensured.

It is expected that by 2030, Vietnams business climate will be ranked in the list of the worlds top 30 nations, stated the Party Central Committees draft report. Vietnams private sector will be strongly developed quantitatively and qualitatively into an important impetus for national economic development. All obstructions and prejudice must be removed to facilitate the sector.

According to the draft Political Report which the Party Central Committee adopted last week, the private economic sector is encouraged for development in all fields not banned by the law, especially in the fields of production, business, and service. It is supported in developing private-owned big companies and groups with high competitiveness.

Dinh Ngoc Lam, director of a cocoa production company and a cocoa farm in the Central Highlands region, told VIR that he hopes the government and the Partys fresh move will soon become true.

It took his company several years to get hundreds of signatures from so many state officers, from ministries, agencies, localities, districts, and communes for a plot of land used for planting cocoa trees.

Thats a waste of time and money. I had lost a lot of money before being able to put our company into operation, with our investment certificate granted after months though I could meet all necessary conditions, Lam said. Despite the governments efforts to cut down and simplify admin, enterprises like ours are still suffering from these complicated procedures.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the number of active POEs rose from 324,700 in 2011 to 477,800 in 2016 at the start of the latest 5-year development period, and then jumped again to nearly 800,000 by late last year.

Last year saw the establishment of 135,000 enterprises registered at $97.2 billion, down 2.3 per cent in the number of enterprises but up 29.2 per cent in capital, as compared to 2019. Besides that, operating enterprises increased their capital by an additional $145.3 billion. Also, over 44,000 enterprises resumed operation, up 11.9 per cent on-year.

Allocation of resources

The draft Political Report pointed out that over past years, the domestic investment and business climate has yet to become really open and transparent. No breakthrough has been made in effectively mobilising, allocating, and using development resources.

According to Nguyen Dinh Cung, member of the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Group, the main cause of the ineffectiveness of the economy is the non-market resources allocation system, which does not rely on factors of efficiency. The allocation of investment resources into sectors, fields or localities is not based on the level of development or efficiency but mainly on administrative factors.

In his view, the cornerstones of economic restructuring are to reallocate resources and encourage initiatives of the public and enterprises.

The restructuring of the economy will be successful if the market is free to allocate resources, especially manpower, capital, and land use rights, he said. How should resources be allocated? Cung wondered. We should let the market determine its demand, rather than making the distribution based on the current administrative ask-and-give mechanism.

He noted that almost all resources are being allocated under such a mechanism.

Raymond Mallon, a senior economist, told VIR, If state agencies act as both the referee and player on one team (state-owned enterprises or SOEs), it is unfair for the other competing teams (POEs).

Thus, it is important for state ownership rights in commercial enterprises to be transferred from line agencies to an institution with no line responsibilities for policy making and regulation, he stressed. The core focus of such an institution should be on exercising state ownership rights, to ensure that state investments generate the intended benefits.

According to the landmark Vietnam 2035 report, a joint Vietnam-World Bank Group study which features a path for Vietnam to reach an upper-middle-income status in two decades, Vietnams state has been strongly engaging in economic activity directly through SOEs, particularly through large state economic groups, and indirectly through close links between the state and an exclusive segment of the domestic private sector.

Currently Vietnam has about 500 SOEs operating in nearly 20 key sectors of the economy. They are also dominating many important sectors, like electricity, gas, oil, minerals, telecommunication services, domestic air transportation, credit financing, and railways. However, many of them are suffering with big losses.

Vietnam is not alone in having influential vested interests, but the degree to which relationships to the state are integral to economic success appears to be unusually high, stated the report.

According to the Central Institute for Economic Management, many SOEs are monopolising various economic sectors, with chemical fertilisers (99 per cent), coal (97 per cent) and electricity (76 per cent), telecommunications (90 per cent), finance (56 per cent) and rice production (70 per cent), while the total number of SOEs occupies less than 1 per cent of Vietnams total number of enterprises.

Beyond its costs to the economy, commercialisation of state institutions weakens the effectiveness of the state itself. It creates powerful incentives for public officials to exploit their regulatory powers and allocations of property rights to lock in long-term benefits for themselves, their families, or their networks. Such abuses of public authority undermine the legitimacy of state institutions, noted the Vietnam 2035 report.

The government could reduce its SOE portfolio to a manageable size of about 20 parent SOEs for 2035, it added, with a focus on strategic sectors, but even strategic entities should face competition.

Thanh Dat (VIR)

Vietnam takes advantage of opportunities in digital economy The government, businesses and the public are enjoying many benefits from digital transformation activities.
If your family chose to continue remote learning, you dont know when the school day will be altered by hybrid learning. We chose to continue remote learning, but my sixth-graders schedule will still change when some of his classmates return to school: Hell have no more gym, two new electives and other adjustments so the school can accommodate at-home and in-person learners simultaneously. This is not a complaint  far from it. Im beyond grateful for the teachers and administrators byzantine planning and puzzling on behalf of all students. Were just eager to know when the adjustments will kick in.
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AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's most accurate speech-to-text engine, Rev, today announced the expansion of its highly accurate speech recognition service with the addition of four new languages: French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. The new offering will expand Rev's ability to address customer needs with a global user base, allowing for English and non-English asynchronous transcription.

Rev founder and CEO Jason Chicola said, "As the leader in speech-to-text recognition, this expansion will help our customers have more inclusive conversations and do more business around the world."

At this time, the expansion does not include automatic translation (e.g., English to French), but many customers will immediately see the benefits - the hassle-free simplicity of a single automated speech recognition platform and the ability to identify "who said what" using our diarization algorithm. "Non-English transcription has been our number one customer request and we are thrilled we are able to help our customers remove barriers in trying to meet the needs of a global audience," said Miguel Jette, Director of Speech R&D at Rev.

About Rev

Rev is the largest and most popular speech-to-text service in the world with more than 170,000 customers globally. Recognized widely as the most accurate and fastest service of its kind, Rev helps anyone capture insights from voice, connect with audiences and turbocharge productivity. Powered by a large and vibrant community of freelancers, Rev uses artificial intelligence tools to turn speech into text at unparalleled low cost. The company is obsessed with making the power of voice accessible to everyone, all while creating fulfilling work-from-home jobs. Learn more at rev.ai.

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Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - The European Union (EU) has signed an agreement for 1.8 million euros with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fund technical assistance to the Gambian Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

A statement, made available to PANA in Banjul on Thursday, stated that the deal constitutes a component of EUs budget support programme (State and Resilience Building Contract) with the Gambian Government. The project aims to strengthen capacity of the African nation's Government on public financial management and revenue administration.

The focus of the project will be on fiscal reporting, design of the medium-term fiscal strategy, budget formulation and cash management," it said.

The project also aims to strengthen management and governance arrangements within the revenue administration, and to reinforce the tax administration in its core functions related to tax compliance and tax collection.

The work carried by the IMF will start in March 2021.

It will continue from and build on achievements of a previous technical assistance project, financed by the European Union and implemented by the IMF, the statement said.

Moreover, the project is closely linked to reform measures that the Gambian Government committed to under the IMFs ongoing Extended Credit Facility Programme, approved in March 2020 for a period of three years.

Since the democratic transition in January 2017, the EU has provided Gambia with around 360 million euros in development funds. The EU is committed to assist in strengthening the democratic and economic governance in The Gambia as well as its resilience capacities.

The EU supports the priorities of The Gambian Government on inclusive and sustainable growth, implementing the necessary reforms fostering human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

Budget support through a series of State and Resilience Building Contracts has been a key component of EUs cooperation with The Gambia, the statement said.

-0- PANA MSS/VAO 4Feb2021
India has become thefirstcountry in the world to reach the5 million COVID-19 vaccinationmark in just21 days, the Union said asnearly 53 lakh beneficiaries have been administered shotsunder the countrywide inoculation exercise till Friday evening.

The USA, the UK and Israel have reached 5 million vaccinations in 24, 43 and 45 simultaneous days respectively.

"The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination program was conducted successfully on the twenty-first day as well," the ministry said.

The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against COVID-19 is nearly 53 lakhs.

A total of 52,90,474 beneficiaries were vaccinated through 1,04,781 sessions, as per the provisional report comprising data collected till Friday 6 pm.

As many as "3,31,029 beneficiaries have been vaccinated till 6 pm on the 21st day of the vaccination drive,"the ministry said, adding, thefinal reportwould be completed bylatein the night.

The final report would be completed for the day by late Friday night, the ministry said.

One of the highlights of the vaccination process is a link for downloading the certificate which is also a part of the confirmatory SMS sent to the beneficiary post vaccination.

The Certificate can also be downloaded by the Vaccinator and District Immunization Officer and handed over to the beneficiary, the ministry said.

Total 27 persons have been hospitalized so far which translates to 0.0005 per centof the total vaccinations done so far. No new hospitalization has been recorded in the last 24 hours, the ministry said.

The ministry further said total 22 deaths have been recorded till date andnone of these deaths have been causally linked with COVID-19 vaccination.

"One new death was reported in the past 24 hours, of a 77-year-old male in Agra, seven days after vaccination. It was a case of shock with pre-existing diabetes. None of these deaths have been causally linked with COVID-19 vaccination," the ministry said.

Total3,31,029beneficiaries who have beenvaccinatedon Friday 6 pm include 29,229fromBihar, 12,992fromKerala,23,291fromKarnataka,1,104fromMadhya Pradesh,35,172 from Maharashtra, 6,258from Tamil Nadu,8,038 fromDelhi, 27,862 fromGujarat, 53,959from Uttar Pradeshand17,329 fromWest Bengal, according to the provisional report.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As part of 'sensitisation and capacity building on the protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) in The Gambia, four young Gambian professionals have undergone the UNESCO underwater archaeology diving training held in Dakar, Senegal.

The training is one of the activities of the culture project funded under the UNESCO Participation Programme 2020 - 2021 and is being implemented by the Gambia National Commission for UNESCO and the NCAC. The Direction du Patrimoine (DPC), Senegal, provided technical support while the lead trainer Moussa Wele is a UHC expert.

The just concluded two weeks training held between 10th and 25th January also showed the importance of South-South collaboration, especially between Senegal and Gambia, two countries with a shared maritime history.

The training was the first underwater archaeology training benefitting young Gambian professionals selected from the key entities for the protection of underwater cultural artifacts. They were selected from National Centre for Arts and Culture (2) and the Gambia Navy (2) as they were trained on the basics for the protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage (UHC).

The decision to hold this project with Senegal is justified upon its experience and advancement in the management of this lesser-known heritage.

Subsequently, the training, which took place in various sites of Dakar and Goree was accomplished with the involvement of researchers in underwater archaeology from Cheikh Anta Diop University and instructors from the Oceanium Diving Center (Dakar).

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Sunkary Jarju, one of the participants, an agent at Gambia Navy, stated: "I'm delighted to participate in the very first training as a woman. The experience has given me a better understanding of our role as a security force for the preservation of our submerged heritage."

Musa Foon, officer at the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) expressed delight, saying "I really appreciated the collaboration with our Senegalese brothers who spared no effort to share their experience with us in this totally new field."

He added that "the experience acquired will allow me as a museum agent to participate in raising awareness among the Gambian public about the promotion and preservation of our submerged heritage."

The training activity is part of the project's sensitisation and capacity building on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage in The Gambia, the very first of its kind in the country. It aims not only at building capacities for the preservation of underwater cultural heritage, but also to raise awareness on the value of underwater heritage and the importance of preserving it through the ratification of the 2001 UNESCO Convention. And the initiative is aligned with the objectives of the UNESCO Dakar Office for the protection of the submerged cultural heritage of the Atlantic coast of Africa.

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Vonex Limited ( ) chief executive officer Matt Fahey speaks to Proactive about its recent signing of a wholesale agreement with Orange Businesses Services.

Orange is a network-native digital services company and the global enterprise division of the Orange Group (EPA: ORA) with business-grade mobile broadband services throughout Australia.

Fahey said the company is particularly thrilled to see the pedigree of wholesale customers it is attracting to the group.

He said: This acquisition will focus on enterprise applications and mobile broadband applications.

The second acquisition that the company has completed in 11 months includes the Nextel acquisition, which will provide a boost to Vonexs annualised recurring revenue.

It also enhances the companys presence in Sydney and NSW markets.
South Africa: Government invests in oncology services infrastructure

The Department of Health has invested in oncology services infrastructure in order to address challenges related to cancer related services in the public sector.

The investment includes the acquisition of equipment for diagnosis and treatment at existing and new cancer treatment centres, and an increased number of new linear accelerators.

Health spokesperson, Popo Maja, said the department is finalising innovative processes to decentralise access to chemotherapy, especially in rural areas, and is also engaging private and other partners to address backlogs that existed previously, and were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The process of developing and strengthening palliative care services in provinces has commenced, and the National Cancer Registry is establishing Population Based Cancer Registries, which will inform enhanced planning and monitoring of services, Maja said.

Maja acknowledged that more work still needs to be done to create access to human rights-based cancer care to all communities on an equitable basis.

As the country kick-starts the COVID-19 vaccine rollout programme, the department urged citizens to continue to access other health services, including regular screening and testing for cancer for early detection and effective treatment.

The department reminded people about the significance of regular cancer screening and testing, together with treatment adherence, during the period of the pandemic to achieve better health outcomes.

The department acknowledged the disruptions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in accessing essential health services along the continuum of cancer care and other non-communicable diseases.

Catch-up plan to address backlogs

Maja said catch-up plans have been developed, in cooperation with provinces, to address the backlogs.

It is an undisputable fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our normal lives, including access to healthcare services, which resulted in referral pathways interruptions and delayed cancer diagnosis and treatment.

However, the public is reminded that healthcare facilities remain accessible at all times and compliance with COVID-19 prevention methods is always enforced. In this regard, we express appreciation to many cancer care teams in the public sector, who worked tirelessly to ensure the continuation of services under difficult circumstances, Maja said.

He said health service delivery, including oncology services, was significantly impacted during the early months of the pandemic, as some patients avoided crowded public spaces, including health facilities, due to fear of possible infection.

Maja urged patients with cancer, including patients with other non-communicable diseases, to maintain a healthy lifestyle and treatment adherence while complying with all preventative measures.

All our communities must be made aware that many of the leading causes of cancer, including use of tobacco and tobacco products, harmful use of alcohol, air pollution and obesity are avoidable.

World Cancer Day

Meanwhile, South Africa joined the rest of global community on Thursday to commemorate World Cancer Day.

World Cancer Day is observed annually on 4 February to raise awareness about cancer and the stigma associated with the disease.

This years World Cancer Day was commemorated under the theme 'I Am and I Will', which serves as a commitment to act and encourage everyone to rally behind government, the private sector and civil society in their efforts to reduce cancer risk factors, overcome barriers to screening, early diagnosis, effective treatment and palliative care, and rehabilitation.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices witnessed a steep rise of about 54 per cent during July-December 2020 from end-June 2020 level of Rs 36,250 per tonne on the back of a strong recovery in the domestic demand and a similar 56 percent increase in international steel prices.

While the prices increased further in January 2021 to touch a record of Rs 58,000 per tonne, resistance from the end-user industries led to a roll-back in prices, which are currently trading at Rs 56,000 per cent.

To protect the interests of the end-user industries of steel from such elevated steel prices, the Government, as a part of the Union Budget 2021-22, announced a reduction in custom duty on flat to 7.5 per cent from 12.5 per cent and on long products to 7.5 per cent from 10 per cent earlier.

Icra believes that the duty reduction on would make their imports more competitive and in turn exert near-term pricing pressures on domestic

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The reduction in duties will not affect imports from countries like South Korea and Japan, with which India has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). However, imports from and other non-FTA countries would become more cost-competitive now. Chinese export HRC prices have already witnessed a 10 per cent drop in January 2021 due to lower domestic demand during winter months of November-March, and at current prices, the landed HRC prices from at new duty rates are trading at a 10 per cent discount to domestic HRC prices. Therefore, everything else remaining the same and considering the lead time of about two months for the imports to arrive at the Indian shores, domestic HRC prices could correct by up to 10 per cent by end-March 2021 to align with the international prices and remain competitive in the domestic market, the report quoted Jayanta Roy, senior vice-president and Group Head, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA as saying.

Icra, however, expects domestic to remain favourable in the coming months on the back of several positive announcements made in the Union Budget 2021-22, related to the key end-user industries.

This in turn is likely to keep domestic steel prices buoyant unless the international prices correct significantly from the current levels.

Domestic steel consumption would receive a boost from the GoIs continued thrust on infrastructure with a 26 per cent higher capital outlay, while the secondary steel producers would benefit from the improved scrap availability and lower input costs on the back of proposed doubling of the ship-breaking capacity by FY2024 and a duty reduction on steel scrap till end-FY2022.

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The Governments Rs. 2.87-trillion allocation to the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) scheme and the addition of 100 more districts to the city gas distribution network would also provide a fillip to steel pipe sales. Additionally, domestic stand to gain from the urban infrastructure push in the form of a 175 per cent increase in capital allocation to Metro Rail infrastructure in multiple cities and launch of a new scheme to bolster public bus transport services, at a cost of Rs 18,000 crore.

Short-term reduction in steel prices is expected to be more than counterbalanced in the medium term by a sharp increase in infrastructure spending by the Government and its effect on the domestic steel demand, Roy was quoted as saying.
CCTV footage shows the moment a 20-year-old man was gunned down in a fatal drive-by shooting in Birmingham.

Dante Mullings died as he sat in a parked car on St Vincent Street West in Ladywood on Tuesday May 7, 2019.

Eight shots were fired at the vehicle from a passing VW Passat. Mr Mullings was shot three times, including in the lower back, but was able to escape before collapsing.

Two other passengers in the car with Mr Mullings were also shot, but survived.

Mr Mullings was rushed to hospital, where he later died.

The court heard that the stolen Passat, was found on fire in Nechells later that night.

Police used CCTV footage to track the Passat across Birmingham, with further footage showing Dior Jackson, 20, walk from the car into a block of flats wearing a grey hoody, re-emerging minutes later having changed clothes.

Dior Jackson, 20, Ihsaan Bernard, 21, Omarni Bernard-Sewell, 21, and Ayuub Mahamood, 19, all denied conspiring to murder and possessing a gun with an intent to endanger life.

Dante Mullings died in hospital after being fired at eight times in the drive-by shooting

Detectives also discovered that Ayuub Mahamood, 19, contacted Hockley Car Spares on the day of the attack and collected the Passat's cloned number plates from the business just after 2pm on May 7.

The site was raided on July 3 2019, where a machete, cloned number plates and laptop software to create registration plates was recovered.

The Passat pulls up alongside the car where Mr Mullings and two others were sitting

Bernard-Sewell was arrested in his home in Selly Oak on July 16, and police bodycam footage captured the moment Bernard, of Kingstanding, was arrested at Birmingham Airport arriving from Amsterdam.





Jackson, from Great Barr, surrendered the following day and Mahmood, from Lozells, was arrested during a dawn raid on August 7.

The 9mm self-loading pistol used in the attack was found in hidden in bushes in Leicester on November 4, 2019.

Detective Inspector Hannah Whitehouse, of West Midlands Police, said: 'The shooting was prompted by a stabbing the previous day.

After the attack, fearing the gunman would return, the passengers fled the scene

'The defendants were all friends or associates of the victim and made a pact to exact revenge.

'However, neither Dante Mullings nor the other two men in the car were involved in the knife attack.

'We don't think they were specifically targeted but that the defendants drove around Ladywood searching for anyone associated to the group.

'Unfortunately for Dante, they came across him and his friends first.

'We know Dior Jackson was in the VW Passat at the time alongside another man.

Eight shots were fired into the stationary car, with three shots hitting Mr Mullings

'We weren't able to prove who pulled the trigger - but we were able to show this group plotted together to carry out the shooting. And therefore they were jointly liable.'

All four men were found guilty of the charges at Birmingham Crown Court on February 4 and are due to be sentence at a later date.

A 16-year-old boy was also charged with conspiracy to murder and is set to stand trial on May 17.

Two other men, Mohammed Qadir, 20, and Wasim Hussain, 26, were cleared by a jury of involvement.
China, Russia, Turkey and Iran are some of the worlds authoritarian countries that have increasingly spread political repression abroad with little consequence, according to a report released Thursday.



Freedom House, a Washington-based democracy advocacy group, identified authoritarian nations that have resorted to tactics in recent years to murder and intimidate critics living outside their borders.



Titled Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach, the report said there have been at least 608 acts of physical repression against individuals since 2014 in 79 countries, including the United States. About 3.5 million people were affected by direct or secondary attacks in that time span, the report said.



China was the worst offender, conducting the most sophisticated, global and comprehensive campaign of transnational repression in the world, said Freedom House.



China deployed a wide range of tactics against dissidents abroad, including Uighurs, Han Chinese, Tibetans and Falun Gong adherents, according to the report. Bejing also kidnapped exiled activists such as Gui Minhai, a bookseller of Swedish nationality who was relocated back to China from Thailand in 2015.



Turkey ranked a close second in the use of transnational repression, particularly after the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The report said Turkey engaged in murders, interstate extraditions, physical threats and mobility controls such as passport cancellations and denial of consular assistance.



The report said Russia engaged in highly aggressive acts of repression abroad by heavily relying on assassinations of people deemed as threats by the Russian government.



The Kremlins repression campaign resulted in seven of 26 assassinations or assassination attempts identified worldwide by Freedom House between 2014 and 2020.

The report said Iran expanded its covert campaign of assassinations abroad and harassment of political opponents and dissidents. It linked Iran to five assassinations or assassination attempts in three countries and said at least two assassination plans were thwarted. Among Irans targets were journalists and dissidents that authorities frequently called terrorists.



In addition to Pakistan and Azerbaijan, all five Central Asian republics  Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan  also targeted their nationals abroad with tactics such as assaults and detentions, according to the report. Saudi Arabia, Rwanda and Thailand were also cited for concerted campaigns against their nationals abroad.



A dozen countries, including China, Russia and Turkey, began using criminal listings from the International Criminal Police Organization to suppress individuals. The countries placed names on Interpols criminal watch lists, while the agency had little capacity to validate them, the report said.



The report focused primarily on countries the group said methodically targeted relatively large numbers of dissidents and acted with increasing impunity due to the lack of consequences.



Freedom House did not explore U.S. treatment of its dissidents in other countries such as Edward Snowden, who was granted temporary asylum in Russia in 2013 after leaking secret U.S. intelligence. In 2020, he was granted permanent residency in Russia.



Snowden has not complained of the types of treatment other activists have received from their home countries.


Soldiers from the Indian and the US armies will participate in land exercise 'Yudh Abhyas 20' from February 8 to February 21 this year at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan.

'Yudh Abhyas 20' provides excellent opportunities for professional and cultural exchanges that strengthen our partnership through shared learning and training.

Training commences with expert academic exchanges and professional development workshops that focus on training at the corps-level and below; combat against conventional, unconventional and hybrid threats; humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

This exercise involves approximately 250 and 250 soldiers.

The 11th Battalion of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, and 2nd battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment of 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team will carry out the exercise.

This annual training exercise enhances combined interoperability capabilities through training and cultural exchange, which fosters enduring partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region through common defense objectives.

The command post exercise (CPX) will focus on the UN peacekeeping operation staff tasks in a combined military setting.

A field training exercise (FTX) will involve company-strength elements from each nation exercising combined, fundamental war-fighting skills to enhance combined operational capacity.

Both of it will run concurrently.

--IANS

sk/dpb

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
opinion

Despite an agreement with the UN to allow "unimpeded" humanitarian access, very little aid and very few relief workers have been allowed in.

It feels strange to write about a humanitarian crisis in this day and age with barely any pictures, videos or witness testimonies from the ground. But that is what the situation in Ethiopia's Tigray region has come to. Since the conflict between the federal government, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and the regional government's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), began in November 2020, access to the region has been extremely limited.

Internet and telephone connectivity was cut off as soon as the fighting began, disconnecting about 5 million people. Months later, the internet remains down and telephone communication has only been restored in a few main towns. Journalists and human rights monitors are still denied entry and cannot report to the world the full scale of the violence which has left at least hundreds of people dead and more than 470,000 displaced, according to the UN.

The conflict in Tigray is being fought in the dark, at the expense of those who are suffering and desperate for the world to hear and see their pain.

Despite the information blockade, we know enough to recognise that the situation in Tigray is dire. Many of the people displaced by the fighting into neighbouring regions and countries have shared their accounts of the violence, as well as the hunger, thirst, and lack of medical supplies for the sick and injured they left behind.

Relief agencies are ready to help, but the Ethiopian government is refusing to allow full humanitarian access to Tigray. When the region was locked down at the start of the conflict, many expected that humanitarian assistance would be an exception. They were sadly proved wrong. International humanitarian law requires that parties to armed conflict allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief for civilians in need, but humanitarian access to Tigray remained completely blocked for almost a month after the conflict began. In December, the UN announced that an agreement had been reached with the Ethiopian government to allow "unimpeded, sustained and secure access" into the areas under its control. Despite this agreement, access remains highly constrained to date.

Instead of allowing full access, the Ethiopian government introduced two separate approval processes for aid shipments and personnel. These approval processes have been slow, and many requests have been denied. So far, a majority of entry requests for relief workers have been denied too, making it incredibly difficult to distribute the very little aid that has been allowed in. An aid worker with more than 40 years of experience recently said that he had "rarely seen an aid response so impeded".

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis across Tigray is getting worse by the day. The UN recently estimated that 2.3 million people were in immediate need of life-saving assistance. There has been no trade with the region since November and the harvest season has been impacted by the conflict, with crops and equipment destroyed and farmers fleeing from their land. The situation is particularly acute in rural areas where humanitarian access has been even more difficult due to the continued fighting and where banks and markets are still closed. The healthcare system in the region has also largely collapsed.

Tigray borders Eritrea and is home to four refugee camps hosting over 96,000 Eritrean refugees - 44% of whom are children. Two of the camps, Hitsats and Shimelba, have not received any humanitarian assistance since the start of the conflict. One refugee who recently fled Hitsats told Amnesty International: "We were eating leaves from the field and drinking water from the nearby well". Many refugees have been forced to flee the camps. Some have fled to neighbouring towns, where they are begging for food and sleeping outside. Some fled to the capital Addis Ababa, far from the conflict, but were returned to Tigray against their will by the Ethiopian agency in charge of refugee affairs.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Ethiopia Conflict Aid and Assistance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The Ethiopian government declared victory at the end of November and has claimed that the situation in Tigray is back to normal. The lack of images, videos and witness testimonies from the ground makes it easier for them to make such claims and for the world to turn its focus away from Tigray. This must not be allowed to continue. People are trapped in an active conflict and suffering immeasurably - citizens and refugees, Ethiopians and Eritreans alike. The Ethiopian government must be held to account for violating international human rights law and humanitarian law by continuing to block full humanitarian access to Tigray.

You can find out more about the campaign #AllowAccessToTigray to pressure Ethiopian Prime Minister to immediately allow full humanitarian access to Tigray.

Vanessa Tsehaye is Amnesty International's campaigner for the Horn of Africa.
(Newser)  Many people get nostalgic when they reminisce about their former homes; some even go back to visit years later. Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis was no exception, except she took her trip down memory lane in secret, with an under-wraps trip to the White House eight years after her first husband, President John F. Kennedy, was gunned down in Dallas. The Guardian reports on Jackie O's private visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 50 years ago this month, during which the former first lady and her children, JFK Jr. and Caroline, then 10 and 13, received a quiet tour of their former home by then-first lady Pat Nixon and saw the official portraits of JFK and Jackie two days before they were officially unveiled. The reason for the under-the-radar visit? Onassis felt it would be too stressful for herself and the children to be under the spotlight if they attended the public unveiling in a place that held both good memories and painful ones.

story continues below

That's why Onassis wrote to Nixon before the Feb. 5, 1971, ceremony with a special request. "Could the children and I slip in unobtrusively to Washington, and come to pay our respects to you and to see the pictures privately?" she asked. Nixon obliged, not permitting any photos of the former first family as they walked through their home of yesteryear. Town and Country notes that only Nixon and her husband, President Richard Nixon; their two daughters; and a couple of White House staffers knew of the visit. Onassis penned a follow-up note to Pat Nixon afterward. "Thank you with all my heart," she wrote. "A day I dreaded turned out to be one of the most precious ones I have spent with my children." Per People, Rose Kennedy, JFK's mother, also thanked the first lady, writing: "Dear Mrs. Nixon, you brought joy to many who are near and dear to me, and I thank you from my heart." (Read more Jackie Kennedy Onassis stories.)
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This is the fourth major farmers' meeting in western Uttar Pradesh after Muzaffarnagar, Mathura and Baghpat. Similar meetings in support of the farmers' protest were also held in Haryana

Noida: Thousands of farmers turned up for a meeting in Shamli district in western Uttar Pradesh on Friday amid a growing clamour against the Centre's agri-marketing laws in the region.

People from Shamli and nearby districts started reaching Shamli's Bhainswal village on tractors, two- and four-wheelers and on foot for a 'kisan panchayat' being held there by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

The people gathered there despite the Shamli administration denying permission for the meeting and imposing prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC.

This is the fourth major farmers' meeting in western Uttar Pradesh after Muzaffarnagar, Mathura and Baghpat, besides some in Haryana, to support the ongoing stir against the farm laws.

Scores of regional khap' leaders, Bharatiya Kisan Union members and RLD vice president Jayant Chaudhary, among others, attended the event, even as security personnel were deployed in large number in the area.

RLD leader Chaudhary had on Thursday tweeted that there are "144 reasons why I will go to Shamli tomorrow, attaching to it a news article on the denial of permission for the event by the Shamli district administration.

The RLD has already extended support to the ongoing peasants' demonstrations at Delhi's borders and in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

The party's farmer outreach programmes which began Friday in Shamli are further scheduled to be held in Amroha, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Mathura, Agra, Hathras, Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and a couple of them in Rajasthan during the February month.
TWO women are to stand trial at the circuit court after they were charged in relation to an aggravated burglary during which another woman was allegedly slashed across the face.

Mary Ellen Daly, 30, of Lisheen Park, Patrickswell and Nora Harty, 53, also of Lisheen Park appeared before Newcastle West District Court earlier this week.

Both are charged with aggravated burglary relating to an incident which occurred at a house at Ballingrane, Rathkeale on December 10, 2019.

It is alleged that a woman, in her 50s, was injured and had to undergo plastic surgery following an altercation at her home which was connected to two earlier incidents in Limerick city and in Adare.

Garda Rob Sheehy told Judge Mary Larkin he arrested both women prior to this week's court sitting and that neither made any reply.

Inspector Andrew Lacey said a file has been prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions and that the matter is proceed on indictment before Limerick Circuit Court.

He said their was no garda objection to bail and he requested a lengthy adjournment of the case to facilitate preparation of the book of evidence.
Police aim to reduce crowds in Italian cities this weekend.

Rome and Milan have announced plans to try and prevent crowds from gathering on the first weekend since both cities became 'yellow zones' under Italy's covid-19 rules.

Measures to reduce people gathering together will focus on city centre areas in yellow zones, whose status allows people to move freely within their regions.

In Rome the police will limit the flow of crowds into the so-called Tridente area of the historic centre, in the streets around Via del Corso, Piazza del Popolo and Piazza di Spagna.

Also under the spotlight will be the Ostia seafront and areas associated with nightlife in the capital - reports Italian news agency ANSA - including Trastevere, EUR, S. Lorenzo, Ponte Milvio, Pigneto and Piazza Bologna.

In Milan police will have extra patrols around the Navigli, Corso Como and Corso Garibaldi, while in Florence the mayor has banned parking in areas with the greatest risks of crowding.

The move to limit crowds comes as mild weather is forecast in Rome for Saturday and follows images published of crowds in Rome and Milan last Sunday, the day before both cities turned from medium-risk 'orange' to lower-risk 'yellow.'

Photo ANSA

The big Anheuser-Busch plant near Baldwinsville, the largest brewery in New York state, is set to receive a major share of a planned $1 billion company-wide corporate investment over the next two years.

The growth of the companys hard seltzer brands is a major focus of its spending plan. Anheuser-Busch also says it want to help boost the national economy in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The $1 billion will be spread across 26 states and include A-Bs production and distribution operations. Of that, $400 million is earmarked for its 12 U.S. breweries.

The plant off Route 31 in the Radisson Business Park, a key player in A-Bs hard seltzer production, is expected to to see a big chunk of that spending. States targeted for major spending in the investment plan include New York, Georgia, California and Missouri, the company said.

The investments goals include job creation and retention, according to an A-B press release. The Baldwinsville brewery has about 500 employees.

The overall investment also include almost $100 million for what the company calls sustainability projects, including solar panel installments and water treatment. In 2019, A-B installed a 2.76 megawatt solar panel array off Kingdom Road in the town of Van Buren to generate power for the A-B plant.

Company-wide, the brewery spending plan for 2021 includes $50 million for new seltzer brewing operations, and more than $100 million for new canning lines. The company did not specify how much of the spending would take place at the Baldwinsville brewery, but said it may be able to share details at a later date.

The Baldwisville plant has been one of Anheuser-Buschs major producers of hard seltzer, the drink that took the alcoholic beverage world by storm in the past few years. In January 2020, A-B launched its Bud Light Seltzer brand exclusively at the Route 31 brewery, before adding production at other plants, like Los Angeles.

The local plant also makes other seltzers, including Bon V!V (also launched in Baldwinsville), plus Bud Light Lemonade Seltzer, Bud Light Platinum Seltzer, Natural Light (Natty) Seltzer and Social Club. A-Bs newest, Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer, billed as the first hard seltzer to be certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, does not appear to be produced at Baldwinsville yet.

Sales of hard seltzer nationwide have been doubling each year since the product debuted in 2016, led by brands like White Claw and Truly. Sales now exceed $2.7 billion per year, according to the Nielsen research company.

When they launched Bud Light Seltzer in Baldwinsville last year, A-B officials said despite the lead taken by White Claw and other brands, the company expected its resources to enable it catch up and perhaps surpass the others. Anheuser-Busch is the American division of Anheuser-Busch Inbev, the worlds largest brewer.

Even if we werent there first, we have the resources to fast-follow, Andy Goeler, an A-B executive who is Bud Lights vice president, said during a tour of the Baldwinsville brewery last January. This company has a long legacy of leading the market.

The Baldwinsville brewery opened as a Schlitz brewery in 1976 before being sold to Anheuser-Busch a few years later. It is renowned as one of the most versatile plants in the A-B system, especially in packaging.

Thats important because part of the new investment will including upgrading and expanding A-Bs packaging lines for sleek cans, the type preferred by hard seltzer fans. The upgrades also includes expansion of lines to produce variety packs.

When it launched Bud Light Seltzer last year, the Baldwinsville brewery was producing 30,000 of the slim 12-ounce seltzer cans during each 8-hour shift. That capacity, combined with expansion to other A-B plants, was expected to give Bud Light Seltzer an advantage over White Claw, which is produced by the smaller Mark Anthony Brands of Chicago.

As of last year, the Baldwinsville brewery made about 75 different beverages, totaling around 6 million barrels per year (the equivalent of 82 million cases).

Of its total volume, about 60 percent was Budweiser, Bud Light, Busch, Michelob Ultra and other classic A-B lagers. Another 10 percent are craft beers under brands purchased by A-B, and the remaining 30 percent includes flavored alcohol beverages, seltzers and other non-beer drinks.

The Baldwinsville brewery is also huge  it has four 1,000-barrel brew kettles (a barrel is 31 gallons) and many enormous fermentation and storage tanks.

MORE ON HARD SELTZER IN CNY

Inside Anheuser-Buschs CNY-based challenge to White Claw

Central New York craft brewers are joining the hard seltzer bandwagon

Uticas Saranac Brewery launches hard seltzer with a twist

Labatt joins hard seltzer craze, test markets it in Upstate NY

Bud Light Seltzer vs. White Claw: How do they compare?

Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
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Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
New Delhi, Feb 5 : The Centre on Friday told the Delhi High Court that checks and balance had been put in place for electronic surveillance by government agencies, which was only through lawful interceptions and monitoring.

The court was hearing a petition filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan that claimed that the citizens' right to privacy was endangered by surveillance systems like the Centralised Monitoring System, Network Traffic Analysis, and National Intelligence Grid.

Bhushan, appearing for NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation, told the court that the central government was tapping into people's personal information like purchases, travel, WhatsApp conversations, messages and so on.

"We have presented prima facie evidence. We need a completely new regulation for this kind of surveillance," he told a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh, which then asked him to file an affidavit by March 19.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre, told the court that generalised statements have been made in the petition.

"Specific instance and class of aggrievement are not cited," he said, assuring that the legal provisions were fully in place.

Expanding on the surveillance systems, he told the court: "There is lawful interception and monitoring. The system is designed to have in-built checks and balances vis-a-vis law enforcement agencies." "A review committee under the Cabinet and Chief Secretaries of the respective states are requested to review the cases of interception once in two months. After six months, these will be destroyed." The ASG said that it was incorrect to say that the systems allowed law enforcement agencies to bypass existing procedural safeguards, and that these were rather strengthened and safeguarded.

"The checks are introduced at the level of telegraph authority to verify that all the interception carried out by law enforcement agencies have due approvals; it strengthens the checks-and-balances mechanism," Sharma said.

The CPIL plea claimed that these surveillance systems allowed central and state law enforcement agencies to intercept and monitor all telecommunications in bulk, which was an infringement on the Fundamental Right to privacy of individuals.
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WHAT IS RACISM 101?

The country erupted into protests, unrest and a renewed dialogue about systemic racism following George Floyd's killing. We held the first round of a virtual conversation event series, Unheard LA: A Deeper Listen, with a tie-in to Race In LA. The discussion repeatedly returned to how Black and Brown people were being asked for their opinion, for resources and to answer questions on racial issues -- and how exhausting it can be.

In response, we created Racism 101 to help our audience facilitate their own thought-provoking talks around race, with a conversation "starter kit," and extensive anti-racism resource guides to inform and educate.

We also solicited questions from our audience -- awkward, silly, tough-to-ask questions -- that they've perhaps wanted to ask people unlike themselves, but have been too shy, embarrassed or afraid to ask. We assembled a panel of Angelenos willing to answer these questions so folks didn't have to ask their friends, or even strangers.

Here are several of our panelists' responses to one of the questions that we received.

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?

"When will we stop portraying racism as something that primarily happens between white and Black people?"

The answer is simple and complex all at once.

In the pre-colonial and pre-Civil War eras, Black people were largely indentured/enslaved, while wealthy white landowners built vast fortunes and white men in general were free to choose their own paths and given latitude to rise or fall on their own merits. We're still grappling with this legacy of oppression.

A recent essay by Race In LA contributor, Brandi Carter, explores reparations for Black Americans in which she examines how today's wealth gap was exacerbated by slavery's legacy. The chasm between the average white American family's net worth versus their Black peers -- 10 times more -- is just one example of how slavery has played a prominent role in Black people being discriminated against by white people in America.

Here are a few other examples.

From 1865 to the end of the 19th century, whites profited from a bevy of advancements in technology and industry: steel production which fueled the railroads, electric power and petroleum refinement, the bicycle and automobile. Meanwhile, newly freed slaves hoped to build a life despite having little to no education, no money, and at times, no full names or any documentation proving who they were. Reconstruction's policies shut Blacks out of opportunities which could have helped them establish roots to thrive. The ensuing 80-90 years was beset with Jim Crow's intimidation and violence, which continued to physically and socioeconomically distance Blacks.

The New Deal and the GI Bill were pivotal for both white and Black America, but far from in the same way. The benefits of these laws enjoyed by Black America were counterbalanced by racist policies that ensured they would not rise at the same rate and to the same level as white Americans. These laws helped create the stark wealth gap we see today.

Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis with members of an engineer fire fighting service, (from left) Corporal James Rollins and Private Cecil Parson, at their base in France, Aug. 18, 1944. (Keystone/Getty Images)

White Americans became the face of the Greatest Generation, whose economic success established the suburban middle class. With the support of the GI Bill, they went to college, built businesses, and took over the C-suite, while raising their Baby Boomer children in the wholesome, "Leave It to Beaver" 1950s, into the socially-redefining 1960s, and seeing to the rise of the second generation of successful Americans becoming the money-making powerhouses of the 1980s.

Restrictive covenants and redlining relegated Black GIs and their families to the renting class. They became the primary tenants of public housing projects that were once populated by white GIs and their families before they "moved on up" to the newly built all-white suburbs. Racist hiring policies excluded them from the sound retirement provided by the Social Security Act because the jobs that Black people were legally and socially permitted to hold weren't covered.

States rights were used to give state bureaucracies, especially in the South, the power to deny Black GIs the right to attend the colleges of their choosing or even attend college at all, putting up yet another barrier to the kind of education needed to secure a footing in middle to upper middle class America. According to scholars, only 12% of Black GIs used the GI Bill to attend college, compared with 28% of white GIs. And, Black GIs were disproportionately dishonorably discharged, which made them ineligible for GI Bill benefits. Countless others suffered the mental scars of fighting a war in a segregated military, crippling their ability to fully function as family men and contributors to their community.

Here's the bottom line:

It's so easy to default to Black and white when discussing race in America because systemic racism, which is rooted in whites' enslavement of Blacks, permeates every American institution: criminal justice system, educuation, health care. It's an ugly, brutal past that's surfacing more and more in conversation and spurring some to action in this moment of racial reckoning.

HOW OUR RACISM 101 PANELISTS RESPONDED

Carene describes herself as a proud Black Armenian Angelena. As a multiracial person herself, she's clear that Blacks aren't the only ones who suffer from discrimination. But she argues that, because our society's institutions are steeped in "systemic white supremacy" resulting from whites' enslavement of Blacks, white and Black Americans today bring a lot of historical baggage into any modern-day conversation about race.

Donna, a local artist who proudly identifies as Black and queer, breaks down race's connection to power and background and how it influences a person's perceptions of race and racism.

(Note: Our newsroom follows AP Style on the use of Black and white to describe a person's race.)

MORE FROM RACE IN LA
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(@FahadShabbir)

Ouagadougou, Feb 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Feb, 2021 ) :Burkina Faso Prime Minister Christophe Dabire on Thursday floated the idea of negotiations with jihadist groups, an idea rejected until now by President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Kabore, who began his second term as president a month ago, and Dabire are facing a bloody campaign waged by jihadist groups who entered Burkina Faso in 2015 from neighbouring Mali.

"All great wars have ended around a table," Dabire said in a speech to parliament about general government policy.

"That means that if we want to get out of this situation, sooner or later we must reflect on the possibility (...) that we may eventually undertake discussions," Dabire said.

"We are not saying that Burkina Faso is against negotiations with terrorists, because even great countries... have reached a moment or other where they sit around a table with terrorists," he said.

But he added: "The terrorists and their mentors are not always clearly identified." An extremely poor country in the Sahel, Burkina Faso is suffering its worst period since independance in 1960, caught in a five-year spiral of jihadist and sectarian violence.

This country, which shares a border with Mali and Niger, has since 2015 been the scene of regular attacks by jihadists.

At least 1,200 people have been killed and a million of Burkina's population of 20.5 million have fled their homes. Swathes of the country are out of the government's control.

The response has been a mililtary one.

An anti-jihadist militia called the the Volunteers for the Defence of the Motherland (VDP) was set up in November 2019 to buttress the country's poorly equipped and trained armed forces.

Most of the political class has backed the military approach but during the presidential election campaign in November most of the candidates made a U-turn, calling for negotiations with armed groups.

Nonetheless President Roch Marc Kabore has frequently ruled out any idea of negotiations with those he says aim to tear Burkina Faso apart and undermine unity.
This illustration picture shows social media application logo from Parler displayed on a smartphone with its website in the background in Arlington, Va., on July 2, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Parler Co-Owner: Site Could Be Back Up on Feb. 8

Things are looking good for a re-platform of the social media website Parler, a co-owner said late Thursday.

Were shooting for Monday, co-owner Dan Bongino said on Fox Newss Hannity. Monday looks good. Fingers crossed.

Bongino didnt provide any more information.

Parler, a competitor to Twitter, was deplatformed by Amazon Web Services last month. Amazon accused Parler of not properly moderating the platform.

Amazons action came after Google and Apple removed Parlers applications from their app stores.

Parler sued Amazon in court. A judge rejected a request for an immediate restoration to the servers but the overall case hasnt been ruled on.

Parler officials have been working on getting the site back online. A return was teased in mid-January by then-CEO John Matze, who said he was confident Parler would be back up by the end of the month.

Matze said Wednesday he was terminated as CEO by the companys board.

I understand that those who now control the company have made some communications to employees and other third parties that have unfortunately created confusion and prompted me to make this public statement, he said in a memo obtained by The Epoch Times.

Parler co-founder and CEO John Matze in Washington on June 11, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Over the past few months, Ive met constant resistance to my product vision, my strong belief in free speech, and my view of how the Parler site should be managed. For example, I advocated for more product stability and what I believe is a more effective approach to content moderation, Matze added.

Over the past few weeks, I have worked endless hours and fought constant battles to get the Parler site running but at this point, the future of Parler is no longer in my hands.

Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and a current Fox News contributor, disputed Matzes characterization.

Matze makes two points, that oh I was a big advocate for free speech it was my vision and I was a big advocate for product stability. That is not true. That is not true. That is false, Bongino said in a Facebook video, referring to the memo.

Bongino said that Matzes statement is an outrageous attack on people who have done nothing but work day and night to get this site back up and to fight back against these cancel culture goons. And to get knee-capped like this by someone we trusted is a disgrace.

Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of hedge-fund billionaire Robert Mercer, is another co-owner of the site. She didnt return an inquiry.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.
Updated at 12:20 p.m. ET on 2021-02-05

Methamphetamine production has quadrupled in Southeast Asias Golden Triangle region in recent years, the head of the U.N.s counter-narcotics office in Bangkok told BenarNews on Thursday, saying illegal manufacturers of synthetic drugs have changed ingredients used to start the process.

In the past, enforcement agencies tracked pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, two chemicals used to produce methamphetamine, said Jeremy Douglas, Southeast Asia and Pacific representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Now, three precursors  phenyl 2-propanone, caffeine and propionyl chloride  are being used, according to a Thai press release.

The surge that has come out of the Golden Triangle, we have never seen something like this globally, so quickly, he said.

So there are indications that there are very sophisticated criminal activities around chemicals going on inside the Golden Triangle right now, Douglas said, referring to the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar come together.

Douglas, who spoke to BenarNews on the sideline of a meeting hosted by the Office of Narcotics Control Board of Thailand, said drug enforcers were focusing on the last six or seven years, noting huge surges in chemical shipments going into Laos at the same time.

You are having four times the acceleration of meth, you are going to have four times the chemical acceleration, one type or another, Douglas said. We are not seeing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine which is extremely strange  those are the base chemicals, best chemicals for meth.

The problem is that the foundational chemicals we usually see going into meth production arent being found  pseudoephedrine and ephedrine  but the profile of the drug when seized is made from them. So again, the indication is a diversity of chemicals and special capacity to use them, he said.

The meeting was held to announce a report on drugs in the region  but officials did not release copies to the media.

Douglas expressed concern for the future, noting there were more drug seizures in January than in the same month in 2020. He said another surge in 2021 could occur unless steps are taken.

Fundamentally, if you are going to slow the flow of drugs out, you have to slow the flow of chemicals in, he said.

He said that could happen.

The hard part now can be political. On the one hand, particularly in Myanmar, where we have special regions but also specialized economic zones along the borders, Douglas said. So we have to address the political elements and we have to address the law enforcement and regulatory elements.

It is going to be a huge challenge for the region to address their industry problems and we have to get everybody at one table because what we see is organized crime.

Thai Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin said the report noted the three precursors have been released in large quantities within the Golden Triangle.

The objective is to seize these precursors. Because the precursor weighing 1 metric ton (1,000 kg) can produce 10 million tablets of methamphetamine, Somsak said. This effort to seize the new precursors and chemicals is an important indicator to demonstrate the current drug problem.

In the past fiscal year 2020 (ending September 2020), we were able to seize 67 percent of the precursors and chemicals and continued to shut down drug production sites, Somsak said.

CLARIFICATION: This report has been updated to clarify information from Jeremy Douglas, Southeast Asia and Pacific representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, at his request.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Under Biden, Green Job Lies Flow Instead of Oil; Unemployment May Soon Be the Only Gusher

Commentary

Even as they are putting people in coal, gas, and oil fields out of work, President Joe Biden and his climate policy team keep telling lies about how their policies will create enough good-paying green energy jobs for the newly unemployed.

For instance, at a Jan. 27 press conference held to announce multiple executive orders (EO) issued by the president to fight climate change, his climate envoy John Kerry said that coal, gas, and oil workers who are being forced out of their jobs because of the EOs should have made better choices concerning their field of work. Fortunately, Kerry went on to say that coal, natural gas, and oil workers can go to work to make the solar panels.

Kerrys arrogant, politically tone-deaf statement falsely implies coal miners and oil and gas workers can smoothly transition to jobs in the fast-growing wind and solar power industries. Government reports show this is untrue.

While The Washington Post has been a reliably pro-Biden voice since before the election, even it is calling out Kerrys green jobs claims. The newspaper gave Kerrys statements two Pinocchios, a rating indicating that even if Kerry wasnt outright lying, his statements represent a great example of how some facts can be misleading when taken out of context.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports there wont be nearly enough green jobs created by Bidens policies to replace those of coal miners and oil and gas field workers made unemployed due to his inane effort to prevent climate change.

The wind and solar industry have grown at a rapid rate in recent years. However, BLS estimates by 2028, 10,400 new wind turbine technician and solar panel installer jobs will be created in total. During the same time period, Bidens climate policies are expected to put more than 50,000 workers in the coal industry, and tens of thousands of more workers in the oil and gas industries, out of work. Bidens Keystone XL pipeline shutdown and his prohibition on new oil and gas leases on public lands has already resulted in layoffs of more than 1,000 workers.

Nor would the switch from jobs in the coal, oil, and gas industries to wind and solar positions be instantaneous. BLS reports solar installers require moderate-term on-the-job training, and wind turbine technicians require long-term on-the-job training.

Also, wind and solar jobs dont pay as well as jobs associated with fossil fuel production. The median wage for coal miners in 2019 was $59,000 annually. This is $8,000 above the average annual national private sector salary of $51,000. By comparison, BLS data show the median pay for solar installers in 2019 was approximately $45,000 ($6,000 below the national average), and the median wage for wind technicians was $53,000 annually.

The pay differential between solar and wind jobs and jobs in the oil and gas industry is even greater. The Department of Energy reports that oil and gas industry jobs pay $112,000 per year on averagemore than double the average salary of a wind technician, 148 percent higher than that of a solar installer.

So much for jobs in the wind and solar industry representing better choices for workers.

This leads us to Bidens other lies concerning all the new jobs his climate policies will create. Biden said one of his executive orders will harness the purchasing power of the federal government to buy clean, zero-emission vehicles that are made and sourced by union workers right here in America.  This will mean one million new jobs in the American automobile industry. One million. One million jobs is more than the total number of jobs manufacturing cars and trucks today!

The Associated Press, which is normally a reliable voice in support of climate alarmism, pointed out that Bidens claim was false. AP reported that Bidens electric vehicle job creation claims omit important context and used fuzzy math and, as a result, Bidens policies probably will mean fewer net auto-making jobs.

Why? Because as U.S. automakers shift toward making more electric vehicles, they will be making fewer gasoline-powered cars and trucks. Thus, rather than creating new manufacturing jobs, workers will simply shift from assembling vehicles with internal combustion engines to cars and trucks with large battery packs.

However, its not a one-for-one job switch. As Kristin Dziczek, vice president at the Center for Automotive Research, explained to the AP, [As] electric vehicles generally have 30 percent to 40 percent fewer parts and are simpler to build, fewer workers will be needed to assemble them.

In addition, its easier to automate battery pack construction and installation, meaning robotic machinery will replace many workers on the shop floor. And the jobs remaining after Bidens electric vehicle pipe dream comes to fruition will pay less. The AP discovered automakers pay workers who assemble batteries less than they pay those who manufacture vehicles.

To sum up, Bidens forced shift to electric vehicles from gas-powered cars and trucks, which people evidently prefer based on the numbers purchased absent government coercion in the market place, will result in fewer well-paying jobs in the auto industry, not more.

Bidens climate policies are a disaster for U.S. energy independence, which former President Donald Trumps policies brought about, and for workers. Shame on Biden and Kerry for betraying American workers and the public and for lying to them about it.

H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., is a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research center headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Paxton, IL (60957)

Today

Clear skies. Low near 40F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low near 40F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
White over-80s are almost twice as likely to have had the coronavirus vaccine than elderly black Britons, a report has found.

The research comes amid amid claims from ministers that Covid-19 vaccine refusal rates are highest among black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) Britons.

Figures showed that 48 per cent of black Britons, a total of 5,012, over-80 in England had their first dose by January 27, compared to 82 per cent, 650,664, of white elderly Britons.

The data, collated by OpenSAFELY on behalf of NHS England, also revealed that 62 per cent of South Asian over-80s, 16,814, had received the Covid jab, followed by 59 per cent, 1,645, of elderly people of mixed ethnicity.

A 66-year-old man named Delroy receives a Covid-19, vaccine at the Aldersley Leisure Village, Wolverhampton

Chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading independent race equality think tank, Halima Begum explained how the findings 'isn't about vaccine refusal' but shows a need to support BAME people to put their 'trust back in our public services'.

Speaking about hesitancy among BAME people to access NHS services, Dr Begum told The Guardian: 'That fear is often based on past experience, whether incidents of simple misunderstanding, cultural confusion or, in the case of some patients, an outright fear of perceived hostility and racism.'

It comes after Nadhim Zahawi, who was born in Iraq and moved to the UK aged nine, described how although figures suggest uptake is high, vaccine hesitancy 'is skewed heavily towards BAME communities'.

Figures showed that 48 per cent of black Britons over-80 have been vaccinated in England, up until January 27, compared to 82 per cent of white elderly Britons

Scientists believe uptake of 85 per cent would be enough to achieve herd immunity, when so many people are immune to a disease that it peters out.

Yesterday, Mr Zahawi told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'At the moment this is the highest uptake of any vaccination programme including all of the flu vaccination programmes the NHS have run.

'So currently the UK is a standout country in terms of people wanting to keep themselves safe by being vaccinated and keep their families and communities safe.'

SAGE  number 10's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies  has warned low uptake among minority groups could pose a 'significant risk' to Britain's vaccine drive if enough people turn the jab down.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said uptake was lower in BAME groups

The advisory panel has blamed years of 'structural and institutional racism and discrimination' for vaccine scepticism among BAME communities, mainly black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi people.

Boris Johnson visited a vaccination clinic at the Muslim Al-Hikmah centre in Batley, West Yorkshire, this week, in an effort to boost uptake among BAME groups.

Mr Zahawi added: 'I am spending a lot of time with the NHS to make sure we record, of course, ethnicity but also have a strategy of how we reach those hard to reach groups working with local government.'

The minister could not say whether the health service was recording when someone asked for a jab says they will not get it.

It came after an ONS survey published last month said uptake was at 85 per cent overall, a rise of seven per cent since their previous survey between December 10 to 13.

The Prime Minister urged everyone to make sure they got their jabs during a visit to a vaccination site in Yorkshire this week.

'The vaccine programme has got to continue to be successful,' he said.

The paper presented by SAGE included the results of a survey which showed a shocking 71.8 per cent of Black people said they were unlikely to get a Covid-19 vaccine if offered one

'We have got to make sure we don't get thrown off course by new variants, we have got to make sure that we continue to keep the disease under control and the level of infections come down.'

The Government is aiming to vaccinate all 15million in the top priority groups - over-70s, NHS staff, vulnerable and care home residents - by mid-February, meaning they will need to get jabs into the arms of 350,000 people a day.

Meanwhile, it emerged last month that Number 10 has hired a PR firm to boost uptake of the jab among BAME groups.

London-based Multicultural Marketing Consultancy (MMC) has been tasked with clamping down on vaccine misinformation and improving jab hesitancy among minorities.

MMC prides itself on its 'ability to connect with communities' at a 'grassroots level' through media and other channels, according to the company's website.

The firm has previously worked on No10 campaigns to increase awareness about prostate cancer in black men and female genital mutilation.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency has provided 20 additional Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and 122 hospital beds to hospitals across Lebanon to help alleviate the strain on the Lebanese healthcare system and help it cope with the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in need of urgent medical care.

The equipment was donated as part of UNHCRs overall COVID-19 support to 13 hospitals across Lebanon, with a total of 100 ICU beds (including beds, ventilators, monitors, central stations) and 800 hospital beds, in addition to 8 dialysis units for COVID-19 patients in need of renal dialysis.

For UNHCR, the COVID-19 response is about saving lives. We started responding to COVID-19 very early on, and our efforts have been centered on ensuring that all communities in Lebanon  Lebanese, refugees, and others  will have timely access to lifesaving treatment, said UNHCRs Representative in Lebanon, Mr. Ayaki Ito.

He added: This is a particularly testing time for the healthcare system in Lebanon. With the surge in COVID-19 patients requiring urgent hospital care in recent weeks, UNHCR teams rushed to provide additional lifesaving equipment to overwhelmed hospitals across the country.

Since February 2020, UNHCRs COVID-19 response in Lebanon has revolved around three pillars: prevention, containing transmission, and treatment and case management.

The recent contributions complement earlier efforts deployed by UNHCR, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), local authorities, and other partners, to support the national response. They include the establishment of isolation facilities across the country, additional resources deployed to the Ministry of Public Healths COVID-19 call centre, fuel to ensure uninterrupted power in hospitals receiving COVID-19 patients, the provision of medicine and rehabilitation and expansion works in the supported hospitals.

Mr. Ito concluded: We are far from winning the fight against COVID-19, and no one is truly safe until all communities are safe. UNHCR is committed to continuing its support to the national COVID-19 response in Lebanon and will spare no effort in providing lifesaving assistance to those in need.

UNHCR dedicated US$ 31.4 million to its COVID-19 response in Lebanon in 2020.

-END-

Notes for editors

Since February 2020, UNHCR teams worked around the clock to capacitate and empower refugees to limit infection and transmission within their families and the community.

UNHCR teams have set up and supported isolation facilities, as well as provided related guidance in over-crowded settings where individuals might not have the possibility to isolate at home. Seven isolation facilities with a capacity of 431 beds across Lebanon are currently operational and can receive any COVID-19 patient  regardless of nationality  who needs to isolate and cannot do so at home.

UNHCR also provided human resources support to the national Ministry of Public Health COVID-19 call centre. Ten additional nurses were trained by UNHCR and continue to serve as operators in the call centre.

As part of its winter assistance programme, UNHCR extended 1.2 million litres of fuel support to 17 hospitals receiving COVID-19 patients across Lebanon to ensure uninterrupted power generation.

For more information about UNHCRs COVID-19 response: www.unhcr.org/lb/corona

The hospitals that received COVID-19 equipment support from UNHCR:

Rafic Hariri University Hospital

Baadba Governmental Hospital

Halba Governmental Hospital

Tripoli Governmental Hospital

Zahle Governmental Hospital

Mashghara Governmental Hospital

Riyak Hospital

Baalbek Governmental Hospital

Saida Governmental Hospital

Nabatiyeh Governmental Hospital

Al Assi Hospital

Saydet Zgharta Hospital

Saint Georges Hospital

Media contact

Lisa Abou Khaled, [email protected], +961 71 880 070

     

Islamabad:

Pakistan on Saturday summoned Indias deputy high commissioner in Islamabad over alleged firing along the Line of Control that killed two persons and injured three others.

Earlier, Pakistan accused India of violating the ceasefire along the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in which two persons were killed and three others injured, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said in a statement.

Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh was summoned over the alleged firing by Indian forces in Chirikot and Satwal sectors, the statement said.

The firing allegedly resulted in killing two civilians, including a woman. Three other people were injured.

The Foreign Office said that Director-General (South Asia & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces.

The Director-General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC, the Foreign Office said.

Meanwhile, army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said that Pakistan Army troops responded effectively to Indian unprovoked firing.

The latest clashes erupted on the death anniversary of militant commander Burhan Wani who was killed in Kashmir last year.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Merck Foundation marked 'World Cancer Day 2021' with H. E. Madam FATOUMATTA BAH-BARROW, The First Lady of The Gambia and Ambassador of Merck More than a Mother together with the Ministry of Health of The Gambia, through providing scholarship of oncology fellowship training to build cancer care capacity with the aim to increase the limited number of trained oncologists hence improve patients' access to quality & equitable cancer care in The Gambia and rest of Africa.

Through this program, the Foundation provided scholarship of one-year Fellowship to Dr Fatoumata Jaiteh, Gambian doctor, at the Tata Memorial Centre, India, to be the first oncologist in The Gambia.

Merck Foundation has provided scholarship of oncology training for more than 70 doctors from 24 African countries, many of them becoming the first oncologists in their countries.

"We have also provided scholarships to more than 25 Gambian Doctors in different specialties including Diabetes, sexual and reproductive medicines, Biotechnology of Human Assisted Reproduction and Embryology, Respiratory medicine ones and Acute medicines and Fertility specialty training," said Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation.

Launched in 2016, the Merck Cancer Access Program provides One-, two- and three-years fellowship, master degree, and Diploma programs for African doctors in India, Egypt, Kenya, and Malaysia.

Merck Foundation also recently introduced 2 years online PG Diploma in Cancer and Clinical Oncology from the UK.

Merck Foundation through its Merck Cancer Access Program has till date trained 70 Oncology Care Specialists from 24 countries such as Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and The Gambia."
MIDDLETOWN  The Community Health Center launched its third large drive-through COVID-19 immunization location this week in Middletown, on the heels of two others  one in Stamford and a vaccine village at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.

The Middletown site opened Thursday in parking lot V of Wesleyan University, 75 Vine St., where the Pfizer shots are being given out. Organized operations were in full force Friday afternoon at the massive site.

Nurses, doctors and nurse practitioners from the Middletown-based agency inoculated about 100 qualified individuals Thursday, and 200 Friday, according to CHC Public Relations & Communications Specialist Kimberly Pena.

Members of the Connecticut National Guard are providing support.

So far, operations, which are very efficient, have gone smoothly, Community Health Center Founder and CEO Mark Masselli said. We need lots of people to do the very heavy lifting, he said. It requires an enormous amount of logistics and planning.

Opening such a large site in Middletown provides access to another regional hub, Masselli said. The idea was it could certainly serve Middletown, but it could also help along that region: Durham, Middlefield and beyond, as well, he said. We think its a great opportunity to provide a desperately needed service to our home community, and the region we serve here out of Middletown.

Municipalities across Connecticut, and the country, have been affected by a shortage of doses, including the Middletown Health Department, which, over the past two weeks, asked for 600 Moderna vaccines but only received one-third of that, Acting Health Director Kevin Elak has said.

We wish there were more vaccines in the pipeline, but when there are, it will be sites like ours, and others, that will be here for people who are eligible to get their vaccine, Masselli said. Its not the fault of the state of Connecticut. Theyre distributing very well, allocating vaccines, but the need we have far exceeds the availability of the vaccines.

The Community Health Center is also giving out Moderna vaccines by appointment on a smaller scale to eligible populations at its Grand Street location, which also provides testing.

In all, 500 CHC staff are needed to staff its testing and vaccination clinic, he said. In addition to doing that, we are also providing primary care to a very large population throughout the state of Connecticut, the CEO said.

This is our responsibility as a health care organization. Were proud of what weve done, but were also equally proud of everybody who helps us and supports our work, Masselli said.

The site is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., by appointment only, which can be scheduled through Connecticuts 211 system, by calling 211 or through its online site, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Vaccine Administration Management System, known as VAMS.

The state is in Phase 1b of the vaccination plan, offering shots to those 75 and older, although people who had been eligible in the first phase still are being inoculated, Pena said. It is expected Gov. Ned Lamonts office will give the go-ahead for those 65 and older within the next two weeks.

To learn more about the vaccine and who can receive it and when, go to portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus or call Connecticuts vaccine appointment assist line at 877-918-2224. People can access the VAMS system at cdc.gov, as well as 211 at uwc.211ct.org.
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The Verkhovna Rada adopted at second reading bill No. 3132 on improving the work of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU), which provides for the introduction of the institute of commissioners to consider complaints in the field of public procurement.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, a total of 245 MPs backed the bill with the required 226 votes.

"This bill is the first step in a comprehensive antitrust reform. It shares the functions of the Antimonopoly Committee in competition policy and as an appellate body in public procurement," Deputy Chairperson of the parliamentary committee on economic policy Roksolana Pidlasa told Interfax-Ukraine.

As indicated in an explanatory note, the bill separately defines the powers of the Committee as a body of appeal in public procurement and provides for the establishment of a commission to consider complaints about violations of legislation in the field of public procurement. It must consist of at least three state-authorized commissioners to deal with such complaints.

"In fact, instead of investigating anti-competitive collusion, Committee officials are appealing thousands of tenders and finding out who bought milk for schools and how. This is an important function for public funds to be used efficiently, but all over the world tenders are appealed by a separate chamber or a separate body, not by an authorized representative of the antimonopoly body," Pidlasa said.

Thus, after the law enters into force, the Antimonopoly Committee will receive state commissioners who will deal exclusively with appeals against tender procurement, she added.
Insurance fraud seems like it might be an easy thing to do. Insurance companies are often so huge, one wonders how they might not even notic...
Scott Morrison has tasked his most senior bureaucrat with plotting a path towards post-pandemic Australia, where localised outbreaks of the virus are managed without locking down major cities, shutting businesses or closing state borders.

Mr Morrison said Australias successful suppression of the virus and the pending rollout of the coronavirus vaccinations meant the levels of risks would shift in the coming months, absent of a third wave and the community response.

Announcing plans to lift state-based hotel quarantine caps and expand accommodation at the Howard Springs facility near Darwin, Mr Morrison said Australia would soon be in a place where governments could potentially manage the virus like other conditions that are in the community.

Changing the response to new cases means considering the risk to vulnerable Australians, who are more likely to become seriously ill or die from contracting COVID-19, if the nation moves to live with the virus during day-to-day life. Mr Morrison warned that was still some way off.
Educators, students and parents in Britain, Belgium and Germany have sent messages of solidarity to teachers in Chicago in the United States, who are refusing to return to work in unsafe conditions.

This follows the publication on the World Socialist Web Site Thursday of a resolution by the rank-and-file education safety committees in Germany and the UK in support of the Chicago educators. The resolution states, If there is to be a struggle against the reopening policy, it must be organized independently by educators, students and parents. That is why the struggle developing in Chicago is of the utmost significance. It points the way forward for workers and students internationally.

A Chicago teacher demonstrates in her car against reopening the schools. (Source: CTU Facebook)

We call on WSWS readers to spread the word and to contact us with messages of support for the Chicago teachers.

Tim, a secondary teacher in the UK, said, I fully support the action of the Chicago teachers and educators. The pandemic has triggered the action of workers internationally against the criminal herd immunity policies of the ruling class. Here in the UK, we share the same challenges and dangers and need to take independent action free of the stranglehold of the trade unions, which do nothing but endorse the criminal policies of the bourgeois government. We are following your action with anticipation for the struggle to come!

Emma, who lives in Britain has a severely disabled husband and her two young children have been kept out of school throughout the pandemic to protect the family. This is because the conditions in schools are unsafe and play a major role in spreading the virus. Her message, which she asked to be passed on to the Chicago teachers, was straightforward: The situation is dire. You must do what you need to do to protect your lives and those of your students. Stay strong.

Linda, who is clinically vulnerable and whose three school-age children have had COVID-19, said, I totally agree with the stand the Chicago teachers are taking. I dont think any schools should be going back anywhere in the world. Schools are being used as holding pens for children and for that reason I am keeping my children off school until I have had the vaccine. I dont care what they say or threaten me with. Boris Johnson is putting profit before lives.

Lisa, 35, who works in a UK lettings agency said, I firmly agree with the European rank-and-file committees resolution. There is so much evidence that schools are transmitting the virus and the unions wont do anything to protect teachers, so they have to take the safety of themselves, students and society at large into their own hands. The rank-and-file committees should be expanded throughout schools and workplaces internationally. Coronavirus is a global problem and needs a global solution.

Frankie, a teaching assistant from Lancaster, England said, I applaud the Chicago teachers fighting against school reopenings, which would cost countless lives. In every country, the capitalist class have put schoolteachers and pupils on the front line of the pandemic, to keep parents in workplaces squeezing out profits no matter the human cost.

Teachers have been under the most vicious attack in this class battle, but I am glad to see the Chicago teachers are now leading a fight back! Your fight can and will be won, because it is the fight of every worker, no matter what industry and no matter what country, and that social force is stronger than anything the Democrats or trade unions can throw in your path.

Gina, a stay-at-home parent in western Belgium, whose three children have all contracted the virus, said: I think they [Chicago teachers] are right! We are really disappointed schools are open in Belgium and we would support them if they would strike and say no! We firmly believe that school is one of the worst causes of contamination! But they keep schools open only to keep the parents at work! If they close the schools, they are going to have to find a solution for the children who have working parents. So, instead, they keep opening schools and put the children and their families at risk.

A 33-year-old teacher from Berlin and a member of the network of rank-and-file education safety committees in Germany stated: I am shocked to learn how the media and also politicians in the USA are acting against striking school staff. After all, the colleagues in Chicago are not expecting miracles, but simply and above all safety at work for the students and themselves. Thats not asking too much. Its their right. Its the least they can do.

Chicago teachers have my full respect. Dont let them force you into mortal danger. You are not alone. Its not just you. It looks like Germany has a lot to be prepared for in the coming weeks as well. Again, the federal and state governments are trying to open the schools as quickly as possible. We cant let that happen, and we need to organize ourselves into independent action committees and network internationally to assert our interests.

Anda is from Romania and works in Berlin as a primary-school teacher. She contracted the coronavirus in December. On the struggles of teachers in Chicago, she said: Of all the systemic professions, educators are the least protected. We have to bring performance in a pandemic without material and moral support. We stand with you!

Mehmet works at the stainless-steel manufacturer Outokumpu in Krefeld. The teachers in Chicago are doing it right, they should hang in there, he said. Corona is not an invention, but a serious danger. The disease can be very dangerous, even for young people. A 32-year-old colleague had such problems that his lungs had to be transplanted. He is currently undergoing rehab treatment. Another, older colleague of mine, has been weakened by his coronavirus disease for months. He now wants to quit early and retire.

And now we also have the mutations, so its becoming more and more dangerous and unpredictable. Teachers in Chicago must persevere, form networks and bundle actionspreferably internationally. Capital works globally. We workers, on the other hand, are still in the Stone Age. The WSWS and the Fourth International are the only ones working to unite workers internationally.
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If asked, most of us would admit that were fallible. But all of us are sometimes tempted to act, or think, that were not. We wrap our emotions so tightly around our convictions that we become dogmatists  unwilling to be challenged, to genuinely consider that we might be wrong about things that are important to us.

But if we are going to get anywhere in life, then we have to be humble enough to be open to the possibility that we could be wrong about any number of things. This is especially important for those of us who seek to be followers of Christ: our ultimate allegiance is to God and, thus, to the truth.

I recently participated in Pepperdine Universitys President's Speaker Series with my good friend and fellow truth-seeker, Cornel West, professor of the practice of public philosophy at Harvard University and professor emeritus at Princeton University. In our dialogue Honesty and Courage, Humility and Hope, we discussed the habits of heart and mind  the virtues  that are required to engage in thoughtful and respectful conversation that explores diverse viewpoints.

What I love about Pepperdine is that it is not only an intellectually serious, morally committed Christian university dedicated to following the teachings of Jesus Christ, but one that is open to exploration and dialogue with those of differing perspectives within the Christian community and outside of it. As an academic institution, Pepperdine has set an example for other institutions, be they religiously affiliated or non-sectarian, to follow.

If we truly desire to pursue truth, then we must honestly recognize our own fallibility. We must be willing to be made uncomfortable because truth-seeking is never a comfortable venture.

Something we all know about ourselves is that we are wrong about some things. We all hold some beliefs that are not true. And if we are honest with ourselves, we will recognize that among the things we may be wrong about are some important, morally significant things.

Its natural to wrap our emotions more or less tightly around our convictions. And its not a bad thing, in and of itself. After all, we need some emotional investment in order to make things happen, to get things done.

Yet, if we allow our emotions to get wrapped too tightly around our convictions, then we do become dogmatists. We lose the intellectual humility that is an indispensable precondition of the truth-seeking enterprise. And in a healthy culture, people should be able to muster the honesty and courage to speak truth to cultural, economic, and political power  and to face truth, and the need to embrace it ourselves, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us.

We need to have conversations with people of other faiths and of no faith because we have much to learn from them. The only way we are going to move in the direction of truth is by opening ourselves up to being challenged. We need the honesty and courage, humility and hope required to speak the truth and seek the truth, including painful truths that unsettle not only those with whom we disagree, but also our friends and ourselves.
Santa Fe, Feb 5 : A police officer was shot dead by a gunman in the US state of New Mexico, leads to a 40-mile chase and shootout, according to authorities.

The incident took place on Thursday at the eastbound interstate highway 10 near Las Cruces, reports Xinhua news agency.

After killing the victim, identified as Officer Darian Jarrott, the suspect took off down the interstate highway heading east, police said.

Then a Las Cruces police officer was shot when trying to stop the suspect, identified as Omar Felix Cueva.

The injured officer was taken to a nearby hospital and was in stable condition, authorities said.

The suspect was killed in the subsequent gunfire with the security forces, the police added.

Law enforcement from multiple departments, including officers from NMSP, US Border Patrol, Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office and Las Cruces Police Department, participated in the chase.

New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered all flags lowered to half-staff in the state from Friday to February 9 in mourning for the deceased officer.

"I am shocked, heartbroken and enraged by the loss of this public servant," the Governor said in a statement.

"I am praying for the local officer who was also shot and injured." Investigation is underway to determine the cause of the incident.
A deadly tiger snake has terrified hikers after slithering across a rock and through a stream.

The venomous viper was spotted by the bushwalkers at popular hiking spot Lobster Falls in the north of Tasmania.

The species of reptile is notorious for being extremely aggressive and having highly toxic venom, biting multiple people every year.

A deadly tiger snake (pictured) has terrified hikers after slithering across a rock and through a stream in front of them

The venomous viper (pictured) was seen by the bushwalkers at popular hiking spot Lobster Falls in the north of Tasmania

Tiger snakes are notorious for being extremely aggressive and having highly toxic venom, biting multiple Tasmanians every year. Pictured: The snake swimming away

The snake (pictured) is almost swept away by a current, but manages to escape the water and climb up a rock

The video taken by Bastiaan Kleijnendorst showed the snake slowly slithering across a rock in the warm sun.

It then leapt into the creek, flicking its tail frantically in order to resist being pulled by the gentle rapids.

It was almost swept away by the current, but managed to escape the water and climb up a rock.

Tiger snakes are a large species often seen basking in the warm sun and found near water across southern parts of Australia.

They will generally try and avoid conflict but in self defence the large serpent will act aggressively by pushing itself off the ground and hissing loudly.

Tiger snakes are a large species often seen basking in the warm sun and found near water sources across southern parts of Australia. Pictured: The shy tiger snake that slithered away from the hikers

If provoked further, the viper will then forcefully bite the attacker, unleashing its highly toxic venom.

A 78-year-old Tasmanian was killed by a 1.4 metre tiger on January 28 last year while mustering sheep on his quad bike.

A neighbour was forced to cut off the snake's head as it was wrapped around farmer Winston William Fish.

When Mr Fish was found by the neighbours, he was gripping the serpent's face with both hands, but died days after being choppered to hospital.

While multiple people are bitten by tiger snakes in Tasmania every year, Mr Fish was the state's third known death since 1948 and the risk of being bitten is low.


A highly contagious strain of coronavirus is circulating in the corridors of Australias quarantine hotels, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said.

Queenslands existing hotel quarantine systems are set to be overhauled when the report into the Grand Chancellor Hotel outbreak is made public on Friday.

A report into the Grand Chancellor outbreak will be made public on Friday. Credit:Matt Dennien

The UK strain of the virus spread between families on the seventh floor of the hotel, a cleaner and her partner, sparking Ms Palaszczuks calls to shift quarantine facilities away from major population centres.

The state government confirmed the report would rule out airconditioning and deliberate quarantine breaches as sources of the outbreak.

She loves putting on a sultry display.

And Bella Thorne was in full flirt mode while sharing a new Instagram post on Thursday.

The Chick Fight star, 23, showed off both her naughty and her nice side while taking off her button-up top to reveal a sexy black lace bra underneath.

Show off: Bella Thorne put on a sexy display while showing off a piece of lacy black lingerie on her Instagram Thursday

The star - who is said to be worth around $12million - added some opulence to her look with diamond and pearl necklaces, giant rings, and a frosty watch to match.

Thorne looked radiant as she stared at the camera, rocking a makeup minimal glow while letting her red tresses fall down in full waves.

Her tight black sweater hugged her full chest and was unbuttoned enough to reveal a hint of her cleavage along with her bare tummy.

She continued to amp up the sex appeal in the following photos, lifting her shirt up to flash her abs and leaving towards the camera to offer a peek at her top half.

Sugar and spice: The Chick Fight star, 23, showed off both her naughty and her nice side while taking off her button-up top to reveal her intimates

Lady in lace: She truly sent pulses racing after stripping off her shirt to model some lacy lingerie

But she truly sent pulses racing after stripping off her shirt to model some lacy lingerie.

'Girl next door or baddie next door,' the former Disney Channel star asked in the suggestive post.

Then, she promoted her OnlyFans account, adding: 'The rest of the photos are in that secrete link in my bio ;)'

The Assassination Nation actress faced backlash last month for claiming on her Instagram Story that she was the first celebrity to join OnlyFans.

She wrote: 'Legit everyone in my news feed following in my footsteps. But when I was getting heat y'all were scared.'

Fan club: Then, she promoted her OnlyFans account, adding: 'The rest of the photos are in that secrete link in my bio ;)'

It comes after she launched her OnlyFans back in August, charging $20 a month, $51 for a three-month subscription or $102 for six months.

Thorne was reportedly the first content creator on the platform to earn $1million in their first 24 hours, after briefly crashing the site.

She told the Los Angeles Times that she made $2million in the first week, and she's 'putting the earnings into her production company and toward charity.'

Although the site is mostly for adult entertainers to monetize their work, Thorne tweeted: 'Also nooooo Im not doing nudity!!!'

But she quickly stirred up controversy, when she charged $200 for nude photos, which weren't actually nude, prompting many users to complain and request refunds.

Breaking the internet: It comes after she launched her OnlyFans back in August, becoming the first content creator on the platform to earn $1million in their first 24 hours, after briefly crashing the site

A little controversy: But she quickly stirred up controversy, when she charged $200 for nude photos, which weren't actually nude, prompting many users to complain and request refunds (pictured in February, 2020)

The site subsequently implemented some unwelcome changes, like capping payments at $50 for pay-per-view posts, as well as a hold that would require some international users to wait 30 days for their payout.

Many sex workers who rely on the platform for their livelihood blamed Thorne for making their jobs more difficult.

She later apologized on Twitter, writing: 'I wanted to bring attention to the site, the more people on the site the more likely of a chance to normalize the stigmas, And in trying to do this I hurt you.

'I have risked my career a few times to remove the stigma behind sex work, porn, and the natural hatred people spew behind anything sex related.'

She added: 'I am a mainstream face and when you have a voice, a platform, you try to use you in helping others and advocate for something bigger than yourself. Again in this process I hurt you and for that Im truly sorry.'

Unwelcome changes: The site subsequently implemented some unwelcome changes, like capping payments at $50 for pay-per-view posts, as well as a hold that would require some international users to wait 30 days for their payout

A spokesperson for OnlyFans clarified to BBC: 'Spending limits are in place to protect all OnlyFans users and to allow them to use the platform safely.

'The newly introduced limits on tips and paid posts is a change that has been in the pipeline for a while, and has not been implemented in response to any one creator or fan.'

Bella told Paper of her reasons for joining the site: 'OnlyFans is the first platform where I can fully control my image; without censorship, without judgement, and without being bullied online for being me.'

She also retweeted a journalist who claimed she joined as research for an upcoming project with director Sean Baker.

Directorial debut: Bella previously won the Vision Award at last October's second annual Pornhub Awards, following her adult film directorial debut (pictured in October, 2019)

The Florida Project director subsequently posted a statement, revealing that the film would be in the 'far future' and nothing was concrete.

He wrote: 'I advised her team to consult with sex workers and address the way she went about this so as NOT to hurt the sex work industry. This has been the extent of my involvement.'

Bella previously won the Vision Award at last October's second annual Pornhub Awards, following her adult film directorial debut.

She released Her & Him (featuring ex Mod Sun, 33, on the soundtrack) as part of the adult streaming site's Visionaries series.
Jennifer Granholm, secretary of the Department of Energy

A two-term governor of Michigan, Granholm is an expert in the policy and politics of energy, and at Berkeleys Goldman School of Public Policy, she has taught classes in clean energy, policy innovation and communication.

Im so grateful to Berkeley and the Goldman School of Public Policy for giving me the ability to access great research talent and fabulous grad students passionate about clean energy, said Granholm. I will carry their hopes for a clean energy future with me to Washington, and if Im confirmed, will focus with zeal on deploying clean energy in every pocket of the country, with an emphasis on communities that have been hardest hit by economic, racial and environmental injustice.

Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Mayorkas, who immigrated with his family from Cuba, graduated from Berkeley in 1981 with a bachelors degree in history. He would be the first Latinx and immigrant leader of DHS, one of largest domains in the federal government.

He previously worked at DHS during the Obama administration as deputy secretary and also as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California, with a focus on white-collar crime.

Janet Yellen, secretary of the Department of the Treasury

Yellen has been a trailblazing economist and an influential teacherbased in the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.

She would be the first woman ever to serve as Treasury secretary, and in the post would play a critical role in helping Biden guide the nations economic recovery from a pandemic that has left millions unemployed and financially at risk. She was the first woman to serve as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, under President Bill Clinton, and the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve, appointed by President Barack Obama.

Adewale Wally Adeyemo, deputy treasury secretary

Adeyemo was born in Gbongan, a large town in Nigerias Osun state, and was a baby when his parents emigrated with their three children to the U.S. He graduated from Berkeley with a bachelors degree in political science in 2004, after serving as president of the Associated Students of the University of California.

Adeyemo ascended quickly to a series of influential appointments. He joined the Obama administration in 2010 as chief of staff for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Later, he would be named deputy chief of staff for the Treasury Department, assistant secretary for international markets and development at the Treasury, and deputy director of the National Economic Council. Most recently, he has been president of the Obama Foundation.

Public service is about offering hope through the dark times and making sure that our economy works not just for the wealthy, but for the hard-working people who make it run, Adeyemo wrote in a recent tweet.

Julie Chavez Rodriguez, director of Intergovernmental Affairs

Chavez Rodriguez, born in Delano, California, graduated from Berkeley in 2000 with a degree in Latin American studies. She rose through a range of high-level political management and policy positions, and in the Obama White House led engagement with leaders in the LGBTQ, Asian American Pacific Islander, Latinx, veterans, youth, labor and other communities.

Most recently, she served as national political director and traveling chief of staff for Harris presidential campaign, and then as deputy campaign manager for the Biden-Harris campaign. She is the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, the iconic labor organizer and co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association.

Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo, associate counsel in the Office of White House Counsel

Born in Nigeria, Olorunnipa Badejo graduated from Berkeley Law in 2007. During the Obama administration, she worked in the U.S. Department of Justice and served as ethics counsel at the Office of White House Counsel.

She most recently has been general counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

Caroline McKay, chief of staff to White House Counsel Dana Remus and deputy associate counsel

While at Berkeley Law, McKay served as a law clerk on the Democratic staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee. She received her law degree in 2020 and served as staff counsel for the Biden-Harris campaign. She previously was a member of the founding team of Protect Democracy and, in the Obama administration, was a legal assistant in the Office of White House Counsel.

Reema Dodin, deputy director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs

Dodin, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, graduated from Berkeley in 2002 with a degree in political science and economics. She served most recently as deputy chief of staff and floor director for the office of U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Richard Durbin.

Dodin is the co-author of Inside Congress: A Guide for Navigating the Politics of the House and Senate Floors (Brookings Institution Press, 2017).



https://news.berkeley.edu/2021/01/19/at-a-time-of-crisis-berkeley-policy-experts-join-biden-administration/

Albania on Wednesday signed a 90-million-euro ($108 million) contract with Italian I.N.C. Spa for railway infrastructure work.

The Infrastructure Ministry signed a contract with the Turin-based company to upgrade the 34.2-kilometer (21 mile) rail link between Albania's main port of Durres and the capital, Tirana. The company will also build a new 5.7-kilometer (3.4 mile) link with the Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa.

The work is planned to be completed in summer 2023, according to Minister Belinda Balluku.

The upgrade will be funded with a 36.6-million-euro ($44 million) European Union grant, a 36.8-million-euro loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is also providing a smaller grant, and the Albanian government.

Trains will make the Durres-Tirana trip in 22 minutes and from Tirana to the airport in 12 minutes with a speed of up to 100 kilometres per hour.

Albanias 420-kilometre (260-mile) rail network is in a dilapidated state using pre-1990 diesel-powered engines and wagons.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Vivian Arzu is an adult education teacher and recipient of the two local academic achievement awards for being the best trainer in the New York organization and a national academic achievement award as the best instructor across the nation. She has completed her new book Today Everyone Learns a well-conceived narrative about the essence of teaching and employing efficacious strategies that help educators reach out and provide guidance to struggling students.

Arzu writes, How often have you felt like you are not teaching but speaking to yourself and wondering why you always get the student that others have ignored?

Have you ever taught students who struggle to learn because it seems that everyones given up on them? How amazing would it be to be the one who can reach these students?

Help is on the way.

Today Everyone Learns will help you do the following:



Prove that every student can learn

Stop trying to unlock the minds of children and adults with the wrong key and provide you with the tools you need to develop new keys

Empower your students to believe in themselves and in their ability to learn

Become a world-class teacher

Published by Page Publishing, Vivian Arzus enriching book desires to enhance the teachers understanding of their profession and duty as mentors to students of all backgrounds and capabilities.

This book provides effective and straightforward lessons that can help educators achieve the holistic and progressive student-teacher relationship.

Readers who wish to experience this work can purchase Today Everyone Learns at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

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Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
[February 05, 2021] Dirk Rompf, Formerly of Deutsche Bahn, Joins Cadmus Group Leadership Team

The Cadmus Group, a leading provider of technical expertise and strategic support to governments and private sector companies worldwide, announced today that Dr. Dirk Rompf has joined its global leadership team. As a senior vice president of the Cadmus Group of companies, Dr. Rompf will focus on expanding Cadmus' support for sustainable infrastructure initiatives in the United States and internationally. In addition, Dr. Rompf joins the executive board of Cadmus Europe. Cadmus Europe works with clients in the public and private sectors to develop solutions that enhance communities, advance sustainability, protect the environment, and secure employment and jobs. Cadmus Europe brings together experts and stakeholders to achieve transformative results in the fields of energy and climate, transportation, resilience and all hazard preparedness, strategic foresight and anticipatory governance, digitalization and smart government, and international development. Dr. Rompf also joins Henning Banthien and Frank von Zukowski as a managing director of ifok, a Germany-based Cadmus Group company. "W're delighted that Dirk Rompf has joined our global leadership team," said Cadmus Group president and CEO Ian Kline. "His unparalleled technical expertise and experience in shaping sustainable transformation will be tremendous assets to our clients at this pivotal moment when governments around the world are re-imagining infrastructure for future generations. The excellent leadership and strategic insights he brings will help guide the Cadmus Group as we expand our practice within Europe, the United States, and around the world."



Dr. Rompf was most recently a member of the executive board of Deutsche Bahn Netz AG. He has been Professor of Transportation at the International School of Management in Frankfurt for over ten years. Additional milestones of his professional career include two management consultancies, where, as a senior partner, he was responsible for the topics of transportation and infrastructure, among others. "I am very much looking forward to my new role as a senior vice president of the Cadmus Group," said Dr. Rompf. "I see great potential in transferring Cadmus' analytical and technical skills to Europe and combining them with ifok's experience in major transformation programs."

About The Cadmus Group The Cadmus Group of companies includes Cadmus, ifok, Cadmus Europe, and Cadmus Korea. Our strategic and technical consultancies are compelled to help solve the world's most challenging problems. We assemble outstanding teams of leading experts who work seamlessly across disciplines to help our clients achieve extraordinary results. From energy, water, and transportation to safety, security, and resilience-together, we are strengthening society and the natural world. Cadmus' more than 600 consultants serve government, commercial, and nongovernmental organizations around the world. For more information, visit www.cadmusgroup.com. Follow Us Facebook

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Teledentist Parsia Jahanbani hands an adiministered coronavirus testing kit to medical personal in Anaheim, Calif. on 08.25.2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Orange Countys COVID-19 Hospitalizations and Cases Continue to Drop

SANTA ANAThe death toll from the holiday season COVID-19 surge continued Feb.4 with Orange County logging 50 more fatalities, but hospitalizations and case counts continued to decline.

The county also reported 602 coronavirus cases on Feb. 3, raising its cumulative totals to 235,310 cases and 3,249 deaths.

The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals in Orange County continued its downward trend, declining from 1,298 Feb.2 to 1,238 on Feb.3, with the number of patients in intensive care inching up from 363 to 365, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Hospitalizations have come down nearly 19 percent since a week ago, and the intensive care unit (ICU) rate has dipped nearly 18 percent in that period, Orange County CEO Frank Kim said

Feb. 3.

Its kind of a similar patterntheyre both coming down pretty fast, he said. Our testing volume remains strong, which is outstanding, so that gives you more confidence [in the positivity rate]. If we had lower testing volumes Id be more skeptical of the number. Were moving in the right direction. Its just going to be a while.

The Orange County Health Care Agency reported 17,063 COVID-19 tests on Feb. 4, bringing the total to 2,733,220.

Of the deaths reported Feb. 4, two were skilled nursing facility residents, hiking the total to 852. Six were assisted living facility residents, hiking that total to 356.

Since Jan. 31, the county has logged 231 coronavirus-related fatalities. Last week, the county reported 393 coronavirus deaths, up from 305 the week before. The death reports are staggered because they come from a variety of sources and are not always logged immediately.

The death toll for January stands at 712. December was the deadliest month during the pandemic, with 836 people succumbing to coronavirus.

Kim said vaccinations at the countys two super sites at Disneyland and Soka University in Aliso Viejo have been going really well.

The county is inoculating about 5,000 people daily at Disneyland and about 2,500 to 2,600 daily at the university, he said.

We could easily scale that up, but the county needs more vaccines, Kim said. Were using up all the doses that we receive.

The issues the county previously had with its Othena app and website to schedule and inform the public about vaccines have been mostly smoothed out, Kim said. But for people who have difficulty accessing technology, that will be a challenge.

The Othena app now has a Spanish-language option, part of an outreach effort the board of supervisors has pushed for. The county also announced on Feb. 4 that veteran local Telemundo journalist Martin Plascencia was hired to help with outreach among Spanish-speaking residents.

A 2019-2020 report indicates that 46 percent of Orange County adults speak a language other than English at home, officials said.

The county is also partnering with CalOptima, the countys primary insurance provider for low-income residents, to provide vaccines through mobile clinics, Kim said.

The county is responsible for distributing about 20 percent of vaccinations and hospital systems receive the rest of the states allocations.

County officials expect that Johnson & Johnson will seek emergency authorization next week for its one-dose vaccine, which could be available by mid-month, Kim said.

The outbreak in the countys jails continued to decline. The number of inmates infected dropped from 23 Feb. 3 to 22 on Feb. 4, with one inmate hospitalized. The county is awaiting the result of 205 tests.

Outbreaksdefined as two or more confirmed cases over the past two weekshave gone down in the countys nursing homes. As of Feb. 3, there were 19 outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities and 28 elderly assisted living facilities.

The countys state-adjusted ICU bed availability remains at zero, and the unadjusted figure declined from 12.2 percent Feb. 3 to 9.6 percent on Feb. 4. The state created the adjusted metric to reflect the difference in beds available for COVID-19 patients and non-coronavirus patients.

The adjusted daily case rate per 100,000 people dropped from 46.6 last week to 39 on Tuesday, and the test positivity rate on a seven-day average, with a seven-day lag, dropped from 12.9 percent to 10.9 percent. The numbers for the states color-coded tier framework are updated on Tuesdays.

The countys Health Equity Quartile Positivity Rate, which measures the cases in highly affected, needier parts of the county, declined from 16.6 percent last week to 13.9 percent.

To move to the less-restrictive red tier from the top purple tier in the states coronavirus regulatory system, the county has to improve to 4 to 7 new daily cases per 100,000 and a 5 percent to 8 percent positivity rate with a health equity quartile at 5.3 percent to 8 percent.
ORANGE, Ohio -- Residents of the Orangewood subdivision expressed strong support for the proposed extension of the villages recreational trails on Orangewood Drive at a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday (Feb. 3).

Of the 22 families whose members spoke to Village Council, 17 indicated that they were in favor of having the trails constructed on Orangewood.

All five households opposed would be impacted by having the trails go across their property.

The percentage of residents in favor was similar to that for emails that Mayor Kathy U. Mulcahy received in the weeks leading up to the special council meeting.

Mulcahy said of the 58 responses she received, 52 were in favor of the trails. One of those opposed attached a petition signed by six additional families who were also against it.

Again, all of those opposed live on Orangewood Drive and would be directly impacted.

The purpose of the meeting -- held via Zoom video and accessible through the villages website -- was to provide information about what the village is considering doing with the trails and to gather input from residents.

At its next meeting Wednesday (Feb. 10), council is expected to vote on whether to have village Engineer Brian Mader solicit bids for the construction project. Councils approval is needed for the project to move forward.

The members of council will be voting on this decision, but not until after theyve heard from everyone, Mulcahy said.

Mulcahy said the village is proposing to construct a 5-foot-wide path of trails on the east and south sides of Orangewood Drive, between Harvard and Lander roads.

This stretch covers 34 parcels, of which 12 are side yards, she said. Orangewood Drive has a total of 219 parcels.

We are not talking about a sidewalk, Mulcahy said. We are talking about a recreational trail. Its a legal distinction.

Mulcahy said a recreational trail, per village ordinance, would be the villages responsibility.

It will be our maintenance issue, our repair issue, she said. If a sidewalk cracks, (the homeowner) is responsible.

There are currently no sidewalks on Orangewood Drive.

Interest in trails not new

Mulcahy, in her 26th year as mayor, said the village has received many requests from Orangewood residents over the years to get trails or sidewalks on their street.

The other times when weve tried, those attempts failed because of financing or costs, she said. Theyve all been assessment projects the residents would have had to pay.

The funding for these trails would come from the $5 million that the developer of Pinecrest agreed to pay while that mixed-use district was being developed between 2015 and 2018.

Via an assessment, the developer provided the $5 million for recreational trails to be constructed on roads in the village.

Everyone is concerned about traffic, and that was very heightened during the Pinecrest decision, Mulcahy said. So there was a nexus between the traffic and safety concerns and a safe way to get to Pinecrest.

Total estimated cost of the trails to date is $4.59 million, Mulcahy told council members in a Jan. 12 letter. The Orangewood trail construction would be funded with the balance of that assessment -- $410,117 -- and from the villages infrastructure fund, she said in the letter.

In the preliminary design, the placement of the trails will be in the right-of-way, Mulcahy said. They will be placed about 5 feet off the back of the curbs.

That will provide plenty of room for placement of leaves, brush, trash and recycle containers, and it will avoid most of the small landscaping areas around mailboxes, she said.

We know that everybodys concerned about landscaping and sprinklers. Weve done this with a few hundred houses (in the village), and I dont hear any complaints from anyone.

In 2014, the village conducted a community survey, and 87 percent of those who responded said they wanted trails throughout the village, Mulcahy said.

When it was on their property, the response was 67 percent wanted it, she said.

Safety No. 1 issue

Ron Kluchin, of Orangewood Drive, said he and his wife, Elaine, live on the path where the trails would be constructed, and theyre very much in favor of it.

Wed like to have it connected all around the community, and this will take us completely through Orange, he said. In Orangewood, everybody is walking in the street, and the little kids are riding their trikes and scooters in the streets, which of course is not safe.

I think safety is probably the No. 1 issue, but the other is that it makes sense for a community.

Jamie Schorr, another Orangewood Drive resident, agreed that safety is a concern on the street and a key reason why the trails are needed.

Ive lived in the neighborhood for 31 years, and Ive seen an incredible number of near misses, he said. Cars jam on their brakes; bikers (get) almost hit.

To me, its not a question of if its going to save a life; its just a question of when. If they choose to put (the trails) on our side, I would be honored to give up the land to potentially save a life, improve the community and connect the trails all over, he said.

John Lewis lives on the side of Orangewood that would be affected by the trails, and he said he couldnt be more opposed to it.

When we bought this house, one of the attractions was there was no sidewalks, he said. We could landscape, and we think its beautiful.

Lewis said he was the resident who collected signatures on the petition. He said, The majority of people we talked to were against having this trail on our side of the street.

As for the safety issue, this (street) has been open for about 40 years, and there have been no pedestrian accidents, he said. Ive never seen anything close to an accident. Its a non-issue.

Elin Meyer, who lives on Beechmont Trail, said she believes the trails are needed on Orangewood because its a huge safety issue.

I walk every day with my dog, and on more than one occasion, Ive almost been hit, she said. So, when you say no accidents have happened, its because some people are just diving off the street.

While Lewis said he believes the trails would devalue his property, Meyer said she has read studies that indicate livability is a huge factor in increasing property value.

A trail through our neighborhood will, in fact, increase our property value, she said. So I cant say how much I want this trail  were fools if we turn this down.

Council President Brandon Duber, who led the meeting, said before the existing trails were constructed, he -- along with Mulcahy and other village officials -- spoke with property owners throughout the village who would be impacted by the construction.

We did this so the village could do the best they could in order to satisfy the homeowners when we put the trails on their property, even if it was a homeowner who wasnt in favor, he said.

And I can tell you that a lot of those who werent in favor previously are very satisfied, especially how the village handles it, in making sure that the village took care of the residents as best as possible.

Mulcahy closed the meeting by inviting residents to contact her if they had any further questions or concerns.

Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun.
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will acquire four modern frigates and eight submarines from its close ally China as part of the efforts to modernise and add to its offensive capabilities, its chief has said.

China on January 29 launched the second Type 054A/P multi-purpose naval missile frigate for the (PN). The guided-missile frigate is the mainstay of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, with 30 vessels in commission.

Chinese naval experts say the Type 054A, on which the Type 054A/P is based, is China's most advanced frigate with an improved radar system and long-range missiles.

The Pakistan has contracted the construction of four Type 054A/P frigates from China since 2017, and the first ship was launched in August 2020.

As part of the modernisation, the PN is replacing its existing ageing platforms with acquisitions from friendly countries along with transfer of technology for their in-country construction, Admiral M Amjad Khan Niazi told China's state-run Global Times.

The PN and PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy's historic and deep-rooted relations constitute a key element. The PN has been operating Chinese-origin platforms since the early 1970s. Cooperation between the PN and PLA Navy in various domains ranges from construction of naval platforms to bilateral exercises, training and high-level exchange visits, he said.

Naval collaboration between the two countries has been strengthened with the procurement of F-22P frigates, fast attack craft (missile), helicopters and state-of-the-art survey ship, he said.

The PN has also contracted construction of eight Hangor-class submarines, four Type 054A/P ships and medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicles from China, he said.

The contract for acquisition of eight Hangor-class submarines was signed with China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Co Ltd. Of these, four submarines will be constructed in China while the other four will be built in Pakistan. These submarines, once inducted, would substantially add to the offensive capability of the PN Fleet, he said.

With the changing threat dynamics and enhanced maritime security requirements, induction of modern and potent surface platforms like frigates, corvettes and offshore patrol vessels has assumed greater urgency, Niazi said.

We are also looking at acquisition of modern helicopters, corvettes and shallow-water attack submarines, he said.

On the changing maritime security environment in the Indian Ocean region, Niazi said, adding that Pakistan's maritime security is intertwined with the maritime environment in the Indian Ocean region which is rapidly transforming.

On our Western flank, the US-Iran standoff has vacillated, posing risks to ships plying along the international Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs). The ongoing conflicts in Yemen and Syria are also impacting regional maritime security," he said.

In the non-traditional domain and across the wider region, maritime terrorism, piracy, drugs trafficking and human smuggling are some of the major challenges being faced today. In short, the challenge to our regional maritime security is an ominous hybrid mix of traditional and non-traditional threats, he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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Jody Williams knew things had gotten out of hand early last month, when a post on the pro-Trump message board TheDonald included a detailed diagram of how to tie a "hangman's knot" on a noose.

Williams was a moderator for the board and owner of its web address, so he removed the noose instructions. But within an hour, he said, another moderator quietly restored it near the top of the site. Three days later, on Jan. 6, a real noose was hung on makeshift gallows on the National Mall, amid a violent siege on the U.S. Capitol.

The battle over the noose diagram was just one of many over a site so infested with racist, anti-Semitic and violent content that Williams, 41, an Army veteran who lost a leg in a noncombat accident, often recoiled at what his fellow Trump supporters said and did.

"You might be happy being some ethno-nationalist, but I'm not," said Williams, recalling his exchanges with a handful of particularly hardcore moderators. "I don't want anything to do with this."

The story of TheDonald, a furiously pro-Trump forum that became an online staging ground for the Capitol assault, is a cautionary tale about the Internet's dark side. What began on Reddit as an online political rally for an upstart presidential candidate turned increasingly foul as Williams fought - and often lost - against what he said were "nefarious forces" determined to advance the most extreme ideologies, including white supremacy.

Williams - who controlled the Web address where the forum moved after Reddit expelled it last year - finally took decisive action on Jan. 21, two weeks after the Capitol assault, after waking to news that a group of other moderators had started their own site and used it to attack him. Soon, Williams used his power as the Web address owner to knock TheDonald offline.

Then he defended himself publicly against his former compatriots,who had criticized him as a "rogue" and a selfish coward.Williams, who lives in Texas and has three young children, also endured death threats, online harassment and FBI questioning, he said.

Moderators at Patriots.win, where some of TheDonald community moved after it went dark, did not respond to requests for comment this week. On their new spinoff site, they have labeled Williams a "sellout" who "betrayed the community . . . [of] hundreds of thousands of loyal patriots."

The schism that fractured TheDonald offers a potent symbol of the increasingly tense battles over free speech and extremism on the Web. Online communities that frame themselves as refuges for free expression often find themselves pulled to the fringes, forcing members to either confront the shift or tolerate increasingly radical ideas.

Such dynamics have played out on Facebook and other mainstream social media sites, but they have been supercharged on niche forums such as Gab, 8kun, Parler and TheDonald, which promoted themselves as free-speech zones but ended up trafficking in the worst of the Web.

TheDonald, which Williams said generated more than a million visits a day in December, was perhaps the most popular pro-Trump stand-alone site, and it offered his supporters a gleefully uninhibited forum where followers could laugh about conservative memes and troll liberals without worrying about the content-moderation rules of mainstream social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

But as Jan. 6 approached, online discussions of potential violence alarmed FBI officials, especially on TheDonald, according to people familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter. Some of the violent and incendiary comments posted on the site were quoted in an internal FBI report issued a day before the riot, though the report, which was reviewed by The Washington Post, does not mention TheDonald by name, these people said.

One of the comments cited in the FBI memo declared Trump supporters should go to Washington and get "violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die."

Some of those watching TheDonald from afar argue that if the site had grown so obviously repugnant, Williams should have acted sooner - before the FBI came calling, before the site's domain registrar demanded it be cleaned up, before TheDonald played a role in instigating an attack that left four rioters and a police officer dead and the seat of American democracy ransacked.

"Whether or not Williams condones racism and anti-Semitism is irrelevant. His site helped incite and facilitate one of the most egregious assaults on American democracy," said Rita Katz, executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremism. "He doesn't get to pretend he wasn't part of the problem."

In response to such critiques, Williams said he wanted Trump to win and stay in the White House. He didn't want to destroy something he had spent so long growing. He didn't think, until the very end, that it was necessarily his call whether to blow it all up. He thought his actions as a moderator, part of a team that removed 3,500 problematic posts and comments on an average day, helped keep the worst stuff at bay - while also helping Trump.

"Did I compromise some of my principles to do so? Without a doubt," Williams acknowledged. "Sometimes you swallow pills you don't like to get things done. That's the world we live in. . . . That's politics."

However observers come down on how Williams handled the situation, he has troubling things to report from the front lines of the Internet.

Williams saw, up close, the QAnon extremist ideology, Holocaust denial and unalloyed racism. He witnessed repellent people spreading images of child sexual exploitation, flooding an affiliated image board so thoroughly that it had to be shut down.

And then, perhaps most unnervingly for Williams, he watched terrifyingly extreme online actors playing a very long game of grooming, seeking to recruit the disaffected to their causes.

"They're like any far-flung terrorist group," Williams said. "They think they're going to win eventually, and they just need to slowly drive a wedge in there."

- - -

Williams is no liberal, nor even a moderate.

In since-deleted tweets, he said that Democratic "communists" were screaming "for war," and he defended a post on TheDonald showing a box of bullets as a response to the "rigged ballot box." Days before Jan. 6, Williams tweeted that Trump supporters going to D.C. should "siege the corrupt Federal Apparatus that seeks to chain you all up," including the hashtag "#DCMustFall."

Williams, who deleted his Twitter account and other social media after questions about them from The Washington Post, said he was urging political action, not violence, and persistence in challenging what he saw as an entrenched, geographically concentrated ruling class.

He also has faced criticism that his recent about-face had more to do with bad blood between moderators or a self-interested business calculation. On the "no censorship" message board Ruqqus, critics called Williams an "Internet janitor" with a lust for power, adding, "You were totally happy to be hands off until they started redirecting from your personal kingdom. . . . You tried to torpedo this movement. Shame on you."

But Williams now recognizes, he says, that elements of the movement went too far. In tweets last month, he called on Trump to disown the "insane" "fringes of the 'right,' " including QAnon followers and racists. He wrote, "They are costing us more than they could ever bring to the table. Worse, they are contagious."

Williams, who said he's a Christian and a regular churchgoer, joined the Reddit group r/TheDonald in August2016, after his first choice in presidential candidates, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, got trounced by Trump in the Republican primaries. In April 2017, Williams became a volunteer moderator.

He had time on his hands and some relevant skills. Before becoming an active-duty member of the Army, he had worked in information technology. His leg injury from an accident while on active duty required about 20 surgeries, making him what he called "a professional patient." Williams spent a lot of time reading news and sharing his thoughts with others online.

As a moderator for a Reddit community notorious for its hate speech and loose talk of violence, Williams bristled at some of the casual racism but also at Reddit's enforcement actions for policy violations, he said. When the company imposed a series of penalties - eventually leading to the forum's outright banning in June - he helped plot the exodus to less-restrictive areas of the Web, buying up dozens of potential addresses, including TheDonald.win.

This version of TheDonald, while very similar in form to what had lived on Reddit, spiraled further toward more outlandish and dangerous speech.

A team of researchers last year analyzed millions of posts and comments on TheDonald, both in its earlier Reddit forum and its stand-alone site. They scanned for what they called "socially undesirable content," including sexist, racist and homophobic slurs and posts discussing targeted harassment and conspiracy theories.

What they found is not everyone left Reddit for the spinoff site - only the most hardcore users did. They also tended to be the loudest voices and the most likely to preach the most fanatical ideas. They fostered an ideological echo chamber, boosting one another's ideas and pushing new or more moderate users further into the extreme.

"After the migration, users became more toxic and more radicalized," said one of the researchers, Savvas Zannettou, of the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Germany. "These users were more active, were sharing more toxic posts, and only got more toxic over time."

The community's removal from Reddit helped draw some members together with an us-against-the-world attitude, and many of the top-voted posts pushed the boundaries with ideas on how beleaguered Trump supporters online should fight back in defense of the president and themselves.

Joshua Fisher-Birch of the Counter Extremism Project, a research group, said TheDonald's radicalization illustrated the push and pull between online communities' leaders and followers that can turn them into "hotbeds for extremist content and networking."

Site moderators set the tone for what is acceptable based on what they keep or remove. And followers incentivize certain messages, memes and behaviors based on what they upvote, comment on or celebrate. An anything-goes message board catering to an audience of anonymous trolls and partisans is destined to push the boundaries of what is permissible, fueling hate speech, sexism and white supremacy, he said.

"It's not like someone wakes up one day and, all of a sudden, their site has become this cesspool of hate speech and extremism," Fisher-Birch said. But "a site that doesn't remove content that encourages violence is really just encouraging more of the same content by those posters."

- - -

Williams has a different perspective: He found the forum's level of conversation - on both Reddit and the Web incarnation - tolerable until the coronavirus pandemic hit. With people stuck at home and angered by public-health restrictions, the tone on TheDonald further coarsened, he said. It took another, still-angrier turn as protests spread against the police killing of George Floyd, with users on this bastion of unfettered conservatism railing against Black Lives Matter, antifa and what forum commenters viewed as mainstream tolerance for mayhem and destruction.

The November election, followed by Trump's baseless claims of widespread electoral fraud, further intensified the viciousness on TheDonald.

Williams said he'd become increasingly aware of what he believed were intentional efforts by nefarious actors to push the site's boundaries. He recalled with particular horror an episode from June in which a user posted a series of nearly identical posts on several threads, each more explicitly racist than the last. A later post on 9chan - an even more extreme message board - appeared to be from the same user describing how he was probing the moderation on TheDonald, trying to figure out exactly how far he could go without getting his comments deleted.

The post on 9chan said, "I believe 'TheDonald' can be redpilled" - a term meaning gradually convinced to embrace ideas that initially would be considered repugnant - into believing a racist conspiracy theory called "white genocide." It baselessly claims there is an international plot encouraging population growth by minority groups, with the goal of replacing White people.

"He was trying to get people to act," said Williams, who called the comment "radical" and "dangerous" and shared a screenshot of it with The Post. "He's saying we need to push people to an inflection point, where they pick up their gun, find a minority person and shoot. That's what these people want."

Williams said he saw other deeply troubling things in private messages on TheDonald and on affiliated communities on Signal and Telegram, two encrypted messaging sites. He believes private channels on all three platforms hosted the most aggressive planning and instigation for the Capitol siege.

"People got together. They linked up on these back channels, and they talked about what they really wanted to talk about, without prying eyes," Williams said.

In managing the public-facing part of TheDonald, Williams said moderators were deeply split on how aggressively to enforce site policies. Battles ensued, many of which he lost, Williams said. He knew he had the power to kill the site outright as the owner of the Web domain but also felt he was part of a group project that no one person should unilaterally end, Williams said.

But even as a Trump loyalist, scenes of Trump's supporters -some of whom almost certainly met and organized themselves on TheDonald - overrunning the Capitol depressed Williams, he said.

The site soon featured in critical news reports, criminal investigations and articles of impeachment for Trump. The domain registrar, Epik, warned that the site would get kicked offline after a flood of complaints about hateful, threatening content.

Incoming queries from the FBI, Epik and journalists writing about TheDonald's role in the Capitol attack inundated Williams, for whom moderating the site already had become something of a full-time job. Williams also knew that members of TheDonald community had indeed used the site to instigate the assault.

"People definitely used the site to communicate and coordinate," he said, echoing the conclusions of independent researchers.

Asked whether he now feels regret or guilt, Williams accepts the former but rejects the latter. And he still defends Trump's advocacy for smaller government, while being uneasy with some of what he inspired in followers.

"Probably 40 to 50% of Trump supporters really believe he's sending wink-wink, nudge-nudge messages through QAnon," Williams said. "A lot of typical, reasonable Americans have fallen for it."

He now is spending his time caring for family and trying to get a new site, America.win, up and running. Unlike TheDonald, it will not offer unfettered discussion. It will be, he said, more of an aggregator of what Williams considers important content about free markets, individual liberty and other "common patriotic causes."

He has a parting message for those who might still be caught up in the roiling forums of the sort he once joined, then moderated, then killed off: Things often are not as they seem. QAnon is not real. What may look online like a magical, mystical voice of secret wisdom may just be a guy hiding behind the Internet's veil, trying to keep it all going, hoping it doesn't spin out of control.

- - -

The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.
As Rakesh Tikait-led farmers union called for a chakka jam on Saturday, NSA Ajit Doval held a security meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Delhi police commissioner SN Srivastava on Friday. On February 6, there will be a three-hour-long chakka jam, the Bharatiya Kisan Union said.

Meanwhile, Haryana Additional DGP has issued directives to senior police officials in view of farmers' proposed chakka jam. Maximum force shall be pulled out from non-operational duties. Intelligence network should be geared up and necessary preventive action may be taken, the directive read.

BKU national spokesperson Tikait on Friday said, Those who could not come here, they will do the Chakka Jam peacefully in their respective places tomorrow. This jam will not happen in Delhi, but everywhere outside of it.

The people that will be stuck in it will be given food and water. We will tell them what the government is doing with us, said Tikait.

The Delhi police have reinstalled nails on roads at Delhi borders and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has asked all units deployed in Delhi to fit their buses with wire mesh.

The CRPF has also deployed 31 companies for two more weeks in Delhi-NCR. It has also issued a notification saying that all buses available with Units, splinter companies should be fitted with wire mesh.

In view of above, you all are hereby directed that all buses available with of your Units, Splinter Coys be fitted with wire mesh. It should be done on a war footing, ANI quoted CRPF as saying.

The deployment of 31 companies of CRPF in Delhi-NCR has been extended for two more weeks. This will be also applicable for 16 Rapid Action Force (RAF) companies that are deployed in Delhi.

The Delhi Police has tightened security at the borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, where farmers have been stationed since November-end demanding the repeal of the three farm laws enacted in September last year.
The Archbishop Emeritus of the Kumasi Metropolitan Archdiocese, Most Rev. Peter Akwasi Sarpong, has commended the Minister-designate for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, for the passion he exhibited in ensuring food sufficiency in the country over the last four years.



He prayed and thanked God for enabling him to specialise in food and agricultural production on account of which this same God has given him the awesome portfolio of seeing to it that there is enough food for his compatriots to eat and even to make them export commodities to help the Ghanaian economy.



Special thanksgiving mass



Archbishop Emeritus Sarpong made the commendation at a special thanksgiving mass at the St Peter's Basilica in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital, to mark the 70th birth anniversary of Dr Akoto.



The occasion also coincided with the 25th anniversary of the enstoolment of Baffour Ohyeaman Bratuo VI as Mawerehene and the 50th birth anniversary of Rev. Sister Grace Nuamah.



The Mass was to thank God for the gift of life, good health and also for enabling him to successfully complete four years as Minister of Food and Agriculture.



Thanksgiving



"The Honourable Minister is asking us to join him in thanking God for all the blessings and graces God has given him that enabled him to go through vicissitudes over the last 70 years.



"He is asking us to join him in thanking God not only for all the blessings he showered on him, but also enabling him to specialise in food and agricultural production," the Archbishop Emeritus said.



Food sufficiency



Most Rev. Sarpong extolled Dr Akoto for using his expertise to ensure that there was enough food in the country with surplus for export to the neighbouring countries.



"Food is the third of the three things in life created by God on which our life depends, the first two, of course, being air and water. God is the author of life, yet, he has given this ability to our brother to help us maintain life through helping us to lead the country in the provision of food. In this, God the sustainer of life, has given our Honourable Minister the power to help sustain life," Most Rev. Sarpong stated.



Love



Speaking on love for neighbour, he said, if it were possible, sin should not be part of the vocabulary of any Christian, because, every Christian should know that he is a member of the church, which is built on God's love.



Sin, iniquity and unrighteousness have no place whatsoever in the church. The only moral concept that the church knows is the concept of love, charity, kindness and compassion, Most Rev. Sarpong said.



He said there was one type of love that was hard to come by, but which was everlasting, unrestricted and unconditional and mentioned it as the agape love, which did not depend on anything outside itself.



Dr Akoto described the sermon as a spiritual experience to listen to such a godsend man to be blessing him at the same location where he was baptised and confirmed.



Underprivileged



Speaking on his contribution to food sufficiency, Dr Akoto said it was by the grace of God that he was able to touch the lives of many underprivileged in the society made up of the smallholder farmers.



"It gives me the greatest of joy to practice what the Catholic faith teaches us to be of help to our neighbour," Dr Akoto said, adding that putting smiles on the faces of that category of farmers gave him satisfaction.



He also expressed gratitude to God and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for entrusting him with the responsibility.









Source: Graphiconline.com









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The issue of pay disparity has been around for several years and exists in almost every industry. Bollywood too is no exemption from this list. However, times are definitely changing in this regard. Earlier, we would never see female stars get paid equal to their male counterparts. Now, not only more of that is evident but, in some cases, female actors are even getting a bigger remuneration than our heroes.





During an interview with a leading daily, Abhishek Bachchan was asked about his take on the issue. The actor replied that it all comes down to the actors marketability and bankability. The actor stated, Theres a huge debate on gender parity in the film business and in other industries. Ive worked in nine films with my wife and in eight of those, shes got paid more than I have. The highest-paid actor in Piku was Deepika (Padukone). Its a business and if you are a saleable actor, you get paid accordingly. You cant be a new actress and demand to be paid the same as Shah Rukh Khan.





Abhishek and Aishwarya have starred together in several films, including Dhai Akshar Prem Ke, Kuch Na Kaho, Umrao Jaan, Raavan, and Guru.
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The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Romanian support measures in favour of Complexul Energetic Oltenia SA (CE Oltenia) would be in line with EU rules on state aid to companies in difficulty, according to a press statement released by the European Commission on Friday, as reported by AGERPRES.

CE Oltenia, a Romanian majority state-owned lignite-based electricity producer, has been experiencing financial difficulties.

Following a temporary rescue aid granted by Romania to the company after being approved by the Commission under EU State aid rules in February 2020, on 4 December 2020, Romania notified to the Commission a plan for the restructuring of CE Oltenia.

The restructuring plan foresees around 2 billion euros (RON 9.93 billion) of support to CE Oltenia, of which 1.33 billion euros (RON 6.48 billion) of public support by the Romanian state, in the form of grants and loans (including a 251-million- euro rescue loan that CE Oltenia did not reimburse). The remaining amount would be covered by EU funds, more specifically a grant by the Modernization Fund, that Romania would apply for.

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Moscow said it was expelling diplomats from three European Union members saying they participated in protests to support opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, a topic that the bloc's top diplomat said earlier in the day had brought bilateral relations to a "low point."

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Swedish ambassador, the charge d'affaires of Poland, and the German envoy were summoned to the ministry where a protest was lodged with the diplomats in connection with the "recorded participation of diplomatic employees of the Consulates General of the Kingdom of Sweden and the Republic of Poland in St. Petersburg and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Moscow in illegal actions on January 23."

The announcement came hours after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow, amid a deterioration of relations that has worsened in recent weeks over Navalnys detention and a crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Many of the EU's 27 members, along with the United States, have demanded the release of the 44-year-old Kremlin critic, who survived a nerve-agent poisoning in August 2020 that he accuses Putin of ordering.

Borrell "strongly condemned" Moscow's decision on the expulsions when he was informed of them during a meeting with Lavrov and "rejected the allegations that they conducted activities incompatible with their status as foreign diplomats," the EU official's spokesman said.

"The decision should be reconsidered," said the spokesman, Peter Stano.

Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that the unjustified expulsion of German diplomats was "yet another aspect that can be observed right now of Russia being quite far from the rule of law."

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement that the Russian decision is further damaging relations with Europe" and will "not go unanswered."

The Polish Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian envoy to Warsaw to protest against Moscows move and said it "expects the Russian authorities to reverse this erroneous decision."

"Otherwise, Poland leaves itself the option to take appropriate steps," the ministry said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for Swedens Foreign Ministry said that one of its diplomats was being expelled from the country and rejected "Russia's claim that the diplomat participated in the demonstration.

Strained Relations

French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned Russia's expulsion of European diplomats, saying: "With regards to the Navalny affair, I condemn with the greatest firmness from start to finish what has happened, from his poisoning...to the expulsion of German, Polish, and Swedish diplomats decided by Russia."

The first visit by a senior EU envoy to Moscow since 2017 started tensely, with Borrell noting as he headed into his first meeting with Lavrov that "our relationship is indeed in a difficult moment."

"I have conveyed to minister Lavrov our deep concern and reiterated our appeal [for] his release and the launch of an impartial investigation of his poisoning," Borrell told journalists after the morning round of talks.

Lavrov, who told reporters as he headed into the meeting with Borrell that "a fair review" of Russia-EU relations was "long overdue."



He also noted that Moscow had noticed how Brussels was increasingly behaving like the United States and imposing unilateral restrictions on countries.



"For Russia, the EU is an unreliable partner," Lavrov said as the two sides took a break.



While Russian officials have accused the West of interfering, Borrell said before arriving in Moscow that his visit was "not about meddling in internal affairs," but rather "universal principles and international commitments." He cited that Russia has signed on as a member of the Council of Europe and as a participating state of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).



Navalny was sentenced on February 2 to 3 1/2 years in jail for violating the terms of a suspended sentence while recovering in Germany from the poisoning. Because of time already served, the judge said Navalny will spend 2 years and 8 months in prison.

The sentence was tied to a 2014 embezzlement case that is widely considered politically motivated. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in October 2017 that the case was "arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable."



Navalny was back in court again on February 5 for allegedly defaming a World War II veteran who took part in a promotional video backing last year's constitutional reforms, which open a path for Putin to stay in power until 2036 if he chooses to take part in two more presidential elections.



He was charged after describing the veteran and others who appeared in the pro-Kremlin video as "the shame of the country" and "traitors" on Twitter in a June.



Navalny said last summer that the case was part of an unrelenting campaign to stifle his campaign against the Kremlin.



In his first major comments since he was sentenced, Navalny on February 4 called on Russians to overcome fear and free the country from "a bunch of thieves in power."



Navalny said in an Instagram post that "iron doors slammed behind my back with a deafening sound, but I feel like a free man because I feel confident I'm right and thanks to support from you and my family."



U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his support for Navalny later in the day, calling the jailing of the Putin critic a "matter of deep concern to us and the international community" and demanding Russia release him "immediately and without condition."

The Kremlin continues to reject Western and domestic criticism over its jailing of Navalny and a crackdown on his supporters, accusing the West of hysteria and double standards.



The detention of the popular activist upon his return to Russia in mid-January sparked some of the largest anti-government protests in a decade as hundreds of thousands assembled in more than 100 cities around the country. Police detained some 10,000 people in total during the January 23 and January 31 protests.



More than 1,400 people were also detained when demonstrators took to the streets following the court's order to send Navalny to prison. Many of Navalny's aides have been detained, fined, or put under house arrest.

The Russian Foreign Ministry alleged video of the first protest showed the diplomats participating in the event.

"They were ordered to leave Russia in the near future," the ministry said, adding that Moscow expects diplomats from the countries to "strictly follow the norms of international law" in the future.

Leonid Volkov, a close aide to Navalny, called for fresh demonstrations later in the year rather than on the weekend of February 6-7 to give the opposition more time to prepare.



"We will properly organize them and definitely hold another big one in spring and summer," he said in a YouTube live stream.



Russia will hold key parliamentary elections on September 17. Navalny and his team are encouraging citizens to vote for politicians running against candidates from the pro-Putin United Russia party.

With reporting by Reuters, dpa, Interfax, TASS, and AP
Panaji, Feb 5 : India's former Vice President M Hamid Ansari's biography merely furthers the Congress' agenda of anti-Modi hatred and he should "get himself examined" instead of writing books since he has grown old, Goa BJP spokesperson Urfan Mulla said on Friday.

"In the book 'Many a Happy Accident: Recollections of a Life', he said that the minorities in India are insecure. I condemn Ansari's statement about this secular country which has given him such an honour," Mulla told the media at state BJP headquarters here.

"Ansari is now old and does not appear to be stable. Instead of writing books, he should get himself examined," he said.

"His comment shows that people like Ansari further the Congress agenda and have taken a 'supari' (contract) from the Congress to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the BJP leader remarked.

Mulla allegedly that the issues related to the minority community have been left hanging since Independence and it would be unfair to now blame Modi.
New Delhi:

BJP supporters on Sunday observed strike in North Dinajpur, allegedly vandalized two buses and a truck in Raiganj. BJP supporter also stopped the movement of vehicles.

#WATCH BJP supporters, observing strike in North Dinajpur, allegedly vandalized two buses & a truck in Raiganj; stopped movement of vehicles pic.twitter.com/Uizeoi5lik  ANI (@ANI_news) July 9, 2017

One person was killed on Saturday when supporters of two political parties clashed in North Dinajpur district, police said.

One person was killed in a clash at Chatragach under Chopra police station of the district, the police said.

Sankar Chakraborty, North Dinajpur district BJP secretary claimed that one of their supporters named Bijoy Singh was killed when alleged Trinamool Congress activists fired at them while they were holding a meeting at Chatragach.

The BJP leader also claimed that four of their supporters were injured in the incident and of them was admitted at Chopra Health centre in serious condition.

The Trinamool Congress denied the BJP allegations.

Local TMC leader Hamidur Rehman instead alleged that BJP workers attacked the TMC activists when they were holding a meeting at Chatragach.

A bandh has been called by BJP tomorrow in the district to protest against the killing, Chakraborty said.

(With PTI Inputs)

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Mike Sonko when he appeared before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court (file photo).

Former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko will spend five more nights in police custody before he knows whether or not he will be released on bail.

This is after a Nairobi court on Thursday morning pushed ruling on his bailing application to on Tuesday next week, his lawyer Assa Nyakundi told the Nation.

The former Nairobi County boss was charged early this week in a Kiambu court.

He denied all 12 charges levelled against him.

The charges include assault, robbery with violence and destruction of property linked to alleged forced entry into a property in Buru Buru estate back in 2019.

He was accused of assaulting a Mr Alex Kioko, thereby occasioning him bodily harm. He is also accused, along with others not before court, of assaulting Mr Musyoki Kavunda and John Mungai Wanjiru at the same property.

He appeared before Kiambu senior principal magistrate Stella Ataambo.

The prosecution is sought custodial orders to:

1. Detain him to conclude investigations

2. Take him to a Mombasa court where he has warrant of arrest for a pending case

3. Prevent him from accessing and intimidating witnesses

The former governor faced more charges on Wednesday evening related to terrorism.

This happened just hours after the former city county boss appeared at the Anti-Corruption Court for a mention of a case in which he is accused of demanding Sh10 million from a private company to grant it contract to collect revenue in the county.

Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Shes still in Congress and will first have to resign, but already a dozen Republicans and Democrats and an independent have announced their bids to replace U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland.

Haaland has been nominated by President Joe Biden to be the next secretary of the interior. She will have to resign her seat representing the 1st Congressional District in the House of Representatives if she is confirmed by the Senate. That would trigger a special election that has attracted a half-dozen Democrats. Meanwhile, an equal number of Republicans are trying to flip the seat that their party hasnt held for more than 10 years.

The New Mexico Republican Party on Wednesday issued a news release identifying candidates for the seat. Some of them havent been previously identified as candidates, and party officials said any others interested in making a run should email the partys executive director in New Mexico.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

The Republicans who have so far announced their candidacies:

 Eddy Aragon, CEO of the Rock of Talk radio station;

 Peggy Muller-Aragon, an Albuquerque Public Schools board member;

 Michaela Chavez, an Albuquerque bookkeeper who recently ran for state Senate and lost to Democrat Bill ONeill;

 Michelle Garcia Holmes, who lost the CD1 race to Haaland in November;

 Ronnie Lucero, who is involved with the Lexit Strike Force, a group that rallies for conservative Latino voters; and

 Jared Vander Dussen, a candidate who lost in the Republican primary last year to Garcia Holmes.

A Republican hasnt held the seat, which represents most of Albuquerque and Torrance County, since Heather Wilson in 2009. Haaland won 58% of the vote on her way to getting reelected in November.

State Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Georgene Louis and Patricia Roybal Caballero, state Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, attorney Randi McGinn and Victor Reyes, legislative director for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, are all Democrats who have announced their candidacies.

Former state Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn is running as an independent candidate.

The states major political parties would hold central committee meetings behind closed doors to nominate their own candidates before the special election.
International party leaders have sent their congratulations to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong on his re-election as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Lao Party General Secretary and Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, and State President Bounnhang Vorachith said Trongs re-election as the Party General Secretary during the 13th National Party Congress demonstrates appreciation and trust of the whole Party, army and people in the Party chiefs outstanding role and leadership experience.

The Lao leader expressed his belief that under the sound leadership of the CPV headed by Trong, Vietnamese people would reap more achievements in realising the Resolution adopted at the 13th National Party Congress, turning Vietnam into a modernity-oriented industrial country.

In his message, President Bounnhang Vorachith shared the Lao Party General Secretary and PMs view, saying achievements by Party General Secretary and State President Trong have significantly contributed to elevating Vietnams role and position in the regional and international arena.

Under the sound leadership of the CPV and the Vietnamese State, along with Trongs experience, Vietnamese people will benefit in national construction, defence and development, the message says.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President Xi Jinping has also sent a congratulatory message.

The message says Xi is glad to hear that Trong has been elected as the General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee, and would like to extend warm congratulations to him, and through him to the new leadership of the CPV, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and in his own name.

Since its 12th National Congress, the CPV, under the strong leadership of the CPV Central Committee headed by Trong, has strengthened party building and led the Vietnamese people to many achievements in the cause of socialism construction and reform, it says, adding that the successful organisation of the 13th National Congress of the CPV has started a new journey in Vietnam's socialist modernisation.

Xi believes that under the leadership of the new CPV Central Committee headed by Trong, new, greater achievements will be made in the various causes of the CPV and Vietnam.

Xi attaches great importance to relations between the two Parties and two countries, and stands ready to work with Trong to enhance strategic communication, promote traditional friendship, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and promote the cause of socialism, the message says.

By doing so, they will jointly steer the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership along the path of healthy and stable development, bring more benefits to the people of both countries, and make positive contributions to promoting regional and global peace, development and win-win cooperation.

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and President of the Cambodian People's Party and Prime Minister Hun Sen have extended their congratulations to Trong.

The King believes that under the sound leadership of Party General Secretary and State President Trong, Vietnam will gain greater achievements, grow strongly and advance in many spheres, and continue to hold an important role and position in the region and the world at large.

He hopes Vietnam and Cambodia will have closer ties and maintain peace, stability, cooperation and development.

The King wished the Vietnamese top leader good health and more attainments while serving the nation and people.

In his message, Hun Sen said Trongs re-election mirrored the trust of the CPV Party and the people of Vietnam in his capacity and leadership in socio-economic development, as well as maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in Vietnam.

Hun Sen expressed his firm belief that under Trongs leadership, the CPV would successfully implement guidelines, policies and targets set by the 13th National Party Congress.

General Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) Kim Jong-un on the same day sent a message of congratulations.

Kim congratulated the CPV on the successful organisation of its 13th National Congress and Trong on his re-election as the Party General Secretary.

Kim affirmed that the re-election of Trong as the Party chief demonstrated the confidence and aspiration of the CPV leadership, Party members and the people of Vietnam in the Party General Secretary as well as his contributions to the construction and development cause of the Party and the State. VNS

Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong re-elected as Party General Secretary of 13th tenure General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong has been elected by the 13th Party Central Committee as the General Secretary for the new term.
By Humeyra Pamuk and Arshad Mohammed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss Iran and other issues including Russia, China and Myanmar in a Friday online meeting with his British, French and German counterparts, a U.S. official said.

The high-level conversation would be the latest step by new U.S. President Joe Bidens administration to seek a way to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with world powers but was abandoned in 2018 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Reuters had reported on Thursday that Blinken could hold the meeting on Friday.

"The Secretary will have an opportunity to discuss with some of his closest counterparts a number of shared challenges, including COVID, Iran, Russia, China, Burma, and climate," the U.S. official said.

The nuclear deal limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for it to develop nuclear weapons - an ambition Iran has long denied having - in return for the easing of U.S. and other sanctions.

In abandoning the deal approved by his predecessor Barack Obama, Trump restored the U.S. sanctions which the pact had removed, and then piled more on Iran.

A source familiar with the matter said Friday's virtual meeting was unlikely to delve into great detail on Iran as it was only one topic on the agenda and was a first chance for the ministers to discuss the issues.

"It's mainly to reaffirm the transatlantic partnership and to start talking substantively about a series of issues," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In another sign the Biden administration is digging into its options on Iran and other matters, the National Security Council will convene a meeting on several issues on Friday, to be attended by top U.S. officials but not Biden himself.

"The meeting today is part of an ongoing policy review. It is not decisional," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Twitter.

Biden, who took office last month, has said that if Tehran returned to strict compliance with the 2015 nuclear pact, Washington would follow suit and use that as a springboard to a broader agreement that might restrict Iran's missile development and regional activities.

Tehran has insisted that Washington ease sanctions before it resumed compliance, and ruled out negotiations on wider security issues. But Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hinted on Monday at a way to resolve the impasse over who goes first by saying the steps could be synchronized.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Arshad Mohammed Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Heinrich)
New items discovered near the proposed road tunnel underneath Stonehenge could shed light on the makers of the famous stone circle.

Early discoveries include various graves dating back to the Bronze Age as well as two burial pits of Beaker people, who arrived in Britain around 4,500 years ago, after Stonehenge was erected in the late Neolithic period around 5,000 years ago.

The findings have thus far not provided any insight into who may have built Stonehenge, or how they may have done it, but researchers believe ongoing excavations could help unpick some of the mystery surrounding the monument.

Small finds uncovered at the site pertain mostly to everyday life and allow experts to build a clearer image of life pre- and post-erection of Stonehenge, which could help inform future studies and theories about its origin.

Early discoveries include various graves dating back to the Bronze Age as well as two burial pits of Beaker people (pictured), who arrived in Britain around 6,500 years ago, long before Stonehenge was erected in the late Neolithic period around 5,000 years ago

The controversial 1.7billion tunnel project is designed to divert traffic away from the iconic site by removing the current stretch of the A303 which passes within a few hundred yards of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Various finds have been dug up by archaeologists clearing the area

Early discoveries from the proposed site of the Stonehenge tunnel help paint a picture of how the area has been used for millennia

What do early findings reveal about the origin of Stonehenge? Early discoveries from the proposed site of the Stonehenge tunnel help paint a picture of how the area has been used for millennia. It indicates the site was inhabited by Beaker people who first landed on British shores around 2,500BC. Beaker burials at the site, of an adult and a child, show long-term habitation of the area. Stonehenge was built around 5,000 years ago so these people would have likely lived in the shadow of the iconic monoliths. Other finds show graves and evidence of human society there as long ago as the Iron and Bronze ages. There have been no direct revelations from the current digs that reveal when, who or how the monument was erected. However, experts are confident the small finds can help build up a clearer picture of the site over centuries which could help shed more light on Stonehenge's origins. Advertisement

Wessex Archaeology is leading hundreds of trial digs around the site to ensure the construction work, due to start in 2023, does not destroy any archaeological items.

'We've found a lot  evidence about the people who lived in this landscape over millennia, traces of people's everyday lives and deaths, intimate things,' Matt Leivers, A303 Stonehenge consultant archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology told The Guardian.

'Every detail lets us work out what was happening in that landscape before during and after the building of Stonehenge. Every piece brings that picture into a little more focus.'

Objects from the Neolithic period were also found scattered around the site, including chunks of pottery, flint and red deer antlers.

It is possible these items were left by the same people who built Stonehenge, but the archaeologists are currently unavailable to prove this.

One discovery of note is a cylindrical piece of shale that was found in a 4,000 year old Beaker burial. It has been described by archaeologists as 'an oddity' and unique.

The item is thought to have sat atop a staff or mace and was inside the grave of an adult who was also interred in a crouched position with a small pot and a copper awl.

Nearby to this pit was the burial site of a young child from the same period of time.

All that remains of the youngster are the inner ear bones and the baby was buried in with a plain pot, which was likely a grave good for the deceased.

This bland Beaker pot is unusual for the culture, which are known for their ornate items. The simplicity likely reflects the age of the person who was buried there, the experts believe.

The Beaker sites were found near the Western portal of the proposed tunnel, which sits south of the Stonehenge visitor centre.

To the south of the Stonehenge visitor centre the team of archaeologists discovered an unusual arrangement of C-shaped ditches, and their use remains unknown. 'It is a strange pattern of ditches,' Matt Leivers, A303 Stonehenge consultant archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology told The Guardian . 'It's difficult to say what it was, but we know how old it is because we found a near-complete bronze age pot (pictured) in one of the ditches'

Even further south the team of archaeologists discovered an unusual arrangement of C-shaped ditches, and their use remains unknown.

'It is a strange pattern of ditches,' Mr Leivers told The Guardian.

'It's difficult to say what it was, but we know how old it is because we found a near-complete bronze age pot in one of the ditches.'

The excavation also revealed large amounts of burnt flint in the ditches, which could indicate an industrial purpose. Mr Leivers says this could be related to metal, leatherworking, pottery or crops.

Digs at the earmarked location for the Eastern portal of the tunnel have revealed fewer items, but they themselves have intrigued archaeologists.

The proposed tunnel is part of a 27billion master plan to improve the nation's roads, which was announced in March

One dig found evidence of debnitage, the waste material produced when making flint tools. Ditches in the area have also been found which date to the Iron Age and may be connected to the nearby Vespasian's Camp, a hillfort located to the south.

All items unearthed so far are being stored temporarily in nearby Salisbury and will eventually go on display at the city's museum.

The controversial 1.7billion tunnel project is designed to divert traffic away from the iconic site by removing the current stretch of the A303 which passes within a few hundred yards of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Traffic will be sent underground and into the new dual-carriageway tunnel network, which will be 164ft further away from the site than the current road, in a bid to ease congestion around the landmark. The current road will become a public footpath.

Environmentalists, archaeologists and druids have been outraged at the plans, which were first unveiled in 2017, and a legal battle was mounted last year.

Highways England says its plan for the dual carriageway tunnel, located 164ft further away from Stonehenge compared to the existing A303 route, will remove the sight and sound of traffic passing the site and cut journey times.

When the project was revealed in 2002, the tunnel was due to cost 183million. The latest proposals, approved in 20137, are set to cost around 1.7billion

The project was designed to slash travel times on the A303 in Wiltshire which is often at a standstill on bank holidays. Pictured: An artist's impression of the 2002 design

STONEHENGE'S CONSTRUCTION REQUIRED GREAT INGENUITY Stonehenge was built thousands of years before machinery was invented. The heavy rocks weigh upwards of several tonnes each. Some of the stones are believed to have originated from a quarry in Wales, some 140 miles (225km) away from the Wiltshire monument. To do this would have required a high degree of ingenuity, and experts believe the ancient engineers used a pulley system over a shifting conveyor-belt of logs. Historians now think that the ring of stones was built in several different stages, with the first completed around 5,000 years ago by Neolithic Britons who used primitive tools, possibly made from deer antlers. Modern scientists now widely believe that Stonehenge was created by several different tribes over time. After the Neolithic Britons - likely natives of the British Isles - started the construction, it was continued centuries later by their descendants. Over time, the descendants developed a more communal way of life and better tools which helped in the erection of the stones. Bones, tools and other artefacts found on the site seem to support this hypothesis. Advertisement

The area is often severely congested on the single carriageway stretch near the stones, particularly on Bank Holiday weekends.

But some environmentalists and archaeologists have voiced their opposition to the plan due to its potential impact on the area.

Modern day druids, who each year celebrate the winter and summer solstices at Stonehenge, have also hit out at the plans.

As a result, huge amounts of archaeological preparation is being conducted by Wessex, renowned leaders and experts in commercial excavations,

They have recently revealed the 'Hampton Court of Warwickshire' as well as a 19th century Victorian bath house in Bath.

The experts drafted in specialists to hand dig and sift through more than 2,000 test pits and trenches. Next, the company intends to bring in 150 archaeologists to clear a larger swath of the land later this year.

Construction work on the tunnel is expected to start in 2023, and Andy Crockett, A303 project director for Wessex Archaeology, acknowledges it is impossible to mitigate all risk to an area's archaeology when road projects are involved.

Highways England says the unprecedented amount of surveying done on the area is due to the significance of the Stonehenge site.

David Bullock, A303 project manager for Highways England, told The Guardian: 'There has been a huge amount of investigations so that this route can be threaded through so as to disturb as little as possible.'

The road tunnel is planned to be built south of the current A303, which runs within a few hundred metres of the famous UNESCO world heritage site in Wiltshire. Pictured: An artist's impression of the plans

A 1.7billion plan to build a tunnel diverting traffic away from Stonehenge has today been given the green light. Pictured: An artist's impression of the plans
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[February 05, 2021] Rejected Info Request Raises Questions About Government's Claims for School and Student Safety: CUPE

Ontario's Ministry of Education has flatly refused to give a school board-by-school board breakdown of the number of education workers hired with COVID-related funds, prompting the union that made the inquiry to cast further doubt on the Ford (News - Alert) government and its claims that it is doing everything possible to protect students in schools. In early December, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) made a freedom-of-information request as part of its investigation into conflicting reports: from the provincial government, which boasts about its "unprecedented investments" in safe schools during the pandemic; and from CUPE education workers, who say that they have seen little to no extra staffing to support the measures needed to protect students, staff and families from the spread of COVID-19 in schools.



"At every opportunity, Minister of Education Stephen Lecce touts big numbers of additional workers who are helping to deal with the fallout of COVID in schools. For instance, at a news conference this week, he told us 1,300 more school custodians had been hired, with another 400 targeted for hire in the winter and spring to assist with more rigorous cleaning protocols," said Laura Walton, president of CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions, which represents 55,000 education workers.

"CUPE simply wants to know where these workers are, because CUPE members are telling us that they don't see them. If workers haven't in fact been hired in the numbers the Minister claims, then he is putting the long-term health of students and staff at risk." CUPE will appeal the Ministry's denial of its request for information, but Walton noted that the rejection "leaves us wondering if the Minister has something to hide." MU:gb

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OTTAWA - A man accused of ramming through a gate at Rideau Hall and heading toward Justin Trudeau's home while heavily armed pleaded guilty to eight charges in court Friday.

OTTAWA - A man accused of ramming through a gate at Rideau Hall and heading toward Justin Trudeau's home while heavily armed pleaded guilty to eight charges in court Friday.

Corey Hurren, a 46-year-old Manitoba military reservist and sausage-maker, had faced 21 weapons charges and one of threatening the prime minister.

A police robot approaches a pickup truck inside the grounds of Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Thursday, July 2, 2020. nbsp; THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

However, he pleaded guilty to seven weapons charges related to possession of prohibited or restricted firearms "for a purpose contrary to the public peace" and one charge of mischief by wilfully causing $100,000 worth of damage to the Rideau Hall gate.

Hurren drove a truck onto the grounds of the Governor General's official residence on July 2 last year and rammed through the gate, which caused the vehicle to stall and its airbags to deploy.

He then set out on foot toward Rideau Cottage, where Trudeau and his family are living due to unresolved questions about costly repairs needed at the prime minister's traditional official residence at 24 Sussex Drive. Trudeau was not home at the time.

Police were able to talk Hurren down and arrested him peacefully after about 90 minutes.

He was initially accused of uttering a threat to "cause death or bodily harm" to Trudeau.

But in an agreed statement of facts read in an Ottawa courtroom, Hurren told police he didn't intend to hurt anyone, and that he wanted to arrest Trudeau to make a statement about the federal government's COVID-19 restrictions and its ban on assault-style firearms.

He had hoped to make the arrest during Trudeau's daily pandemic briefing outside Rideau Cottage.

Hurren, who told police he hadn't qualified for emergency aid benefits, was angry about losing his business and his guns. He believed Canada was turning into a communist state.

At no point did Hurren tell police he wanted to kill Trudeau, according to the statement. He also told police he didn't want to hurt them and did not point a weapon at them as officers tried to de-escalate the incident.

While police were talking Hurren down, they received a complaint from one of his friends, who reported that Hurren had sent him "a disturbing text message containing a picture of a suicide note."

"In this note, Hurren stated he could not cope with the restrictions of COVID-19, the financial loss sustained due to the closure of his business and the recent firearm ban and felt that Canada was now under a communist dictatorship," according to the statement.

"Hurren hoped his actions would be a  'wake-up call and a turning point.'"

He told police at the scene that he wanted to show Trudeau "how angry everyone was about the gun ban and the COVID-19 restrictions" and said the prime minister "is a communist who is above the law and corrupt."

He felt "betrayed by his government  (he) has nothing left."

During a police interview after his arrest, Hurren said "he's not a bad guy for doing this and he did not want to hurt anyone." He was concerned about being compared to Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the shooter who stormed Parliament Hill in 2014, and didn't want the RCMP to "think that he's a terrorist."

Asked what his plan was, he replied: "I don't think there was one."

Asked if he had any regrets, Hurren, who'd spent two days driving from Manitoba to Ottawa, said he wished he'd stopped to see the Terry Fox statue near Parliament Hill.

Hurren, who described himself as Metis, also stated during the interview that people who are "the right colour" are allowed to keep their banned firearms.

Data retrieved from his cellphone, Facebook and Instagram posts included exchanges with friends about "conspiracy theories related to the Canadian government," as well as a "sacrifice theory" related to the date of the mass shooting in Nova Scotia last April and suggestions that COVID-19 is a hoax.

Police seized five firearms from Hurren at Rideau Hall: a restricted Hi-Standard revolver, a prohibited International Arms break-open pistol, a prohibited Norinco S12 rifle, a Lakefield Mossberg shotgun, a Grizzly Arms shotgun and a prohibited high-capacity magazine.

Eleven more long guns were seized from his Manitoba residence. Hurren admitted in the statement of facts that he did not have a licence for many of his firearms.

Hurren is to be sentenced on Feb. 23.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.
The Charger Blog

Kiarra Richardson 21 and Gabriel Galeotos 22 are conducting cutting-edge research that explores medicine and space travel, and their work is being supported by a program funded as part of NASA Education. By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications

Kiarra Richardson 21 is interested in stem cell research.

Kiarra Richardson 21 became interested in conducting stem cell research while taking part in the Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Louisiana State University in the spring of 2019. During her 10 weeks of research, she became fascinated by the potential stem cells have to further treatments of everything from traumatic injuries to degenerative diseases.

Interested in learning more about the field, she began exploring the work of Shue Wang, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of New Haven, whose research interests include biosensors, single cell analysis, regenerative medicine, and tissue engineering. Dr. Wang became her faculty mentor, and they identified a specific group of individuals, astronauts, who could benefit from the research Richardson was interested in.

Kiarra Richardson 21.

Dr. Wang showed how we could apply her work to astronauts and the effects on their bodies after going into space, explains Richardson, a chemical engineering major. The important and admirable work of astronauts often leads to bone mass loss, so the research could explore stem cell therapy for these circumstances. It could also relate to degenerative bone diseases that are related to aging. Helping more people, especially those who sacrifice so much to explore, was very enticing and led us to start the research.

Richardson hopes her work will shed light on how microgravity in space can affect stem cell differentiation for bone-related therapies and believes it could provide a basis for the treatment of astronauts and increase their treatment options.

In recognition of the potential of her research, she was selected as one of only 28 undergraduate students in Connecticut to receive a Fall 2020 Connecticut Space Grant award from the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, a federally mandated grant, internship, and scholarship program that is funded as a part of NASA Education.

Receiving this award means so much to me, she said. It is amazing that the Consortium has given me such an opportunity and believes in this project, as well in as my ability to complete the research. I am extremely grateful to them and to Dr. Shue Wang. I intend to do everything possible to ensure the research is as thorough and helpful as possible.

This award grants me an amazing opportunity

Richardson is one of two University of New Haven undergraduates to receive the grant award. Her classmate, Gabriel Galeotos 22, is also conducting research involving astronauts, with a focus on heart disease. A myocarditis research assistant, he became interested in researching the causes of heart disease and in the work that Anna Kloc, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biology and environmental science, was conducting on myocarditis  inflammation of the heart muscle.

Gabriel Galeotos 22.

Galeotos, a biology major, will investigate the immune system response to virus-induced heart diseases using 75 samples of post-mortem heart biopsy samples. He endeavors to focus on astronauts because extended space travel can cause their hearts to deteriorate.

This deterioration is coupled with improper immune system responses, and a proper response is necessary to defend the heart from pathogens, he explains. I hope my research will be successful in defining baseline gene expression patterns, as they will assist in the development of preventing cardiac damage. This award grants me an amazing opportunity to assist our space program in ensuring that all astronauts can live a full life without worrying about any cardiovascular problems.

I am so grateful

Grateful for the support of his family and his classmates, Galeotos credits his professors with instilling in him a deep academic background and understanding of the research. He is particularly grateful for the support of his faculty mentor, who has enabled him to develop grant writing and research skills.

Dr. Kloc has been helping me throughout this project, and without her none of this would be possible, he said. She has taught me valuable laboratory skills and demonstrated to me how to do each part of the research. Furthermore, this award allows me to enhance my laboratory and communication skills, which are valuable skills that I will need throughout my life.

Richardson, the chemical engineering major, looks forward to working on this project during her final semester at the University. She hopes to continue to conduct research beyond her time as a Charger. She aspires to pursue her doctorate and hopes to help develop stem cell treatments.

The faculty members at the University have really worked hard to make sure I felt supported, she said. They have given me countless unique opportunities to broaden my academic and career horizons. This award really helps ease some worries over financial resources for research in my last semester, and I am so grateful to the Consortium for choosing me.
Cases of symptomatic COVID-19 were extremely low among children and staff at a network of YMCA summer camps held last year in North Carolina that took precautions like masking and physical distancing, with close to zero transmissions occurring at the camps, according to researchers at Duke Health, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

In the camps' 2020 sessions, there were 19 cases of COVID-19 among 5,344 staff and 1,486 youth, only two of which were linked to possible on-site transmission at a group of YMCA of the Triangle camps, at a time when rates in North Carolina had hit their first peak, according to a study published Feb. 3 in Pediatrics.

"This is part of the growing body of evidence demonstrating that if precautions like masking, distancing and hand washing are taken, coronavirus transmission can be avoidable in congregate settings for children during times of high community incidence," said Dr. Sallie Permar, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, pediatrician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital and a co-senior author of the study. Dr. Permar conducted the study at Duke when she was a member of its faculty; she joined Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian in December 2020.

The YMCA of the Triangle day camps are located at 31 sites across six counties in North Carolina, including the cities of Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh. The camps committed to opening for the summer of 2020 and were advised on programming and mitigation strategies by a group of pediatricians, including Dr. Permar, who at the time lived in the area."These results suggest that the benefit of in-person programming for supporting youth learning and mental health, particularly in vulnerable populations, outweighs the risk of viral spread," added Dr. Permar, who was recruited as the Nancy C. Paduano Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine. "This is true not only in a school setting, but in a camp setting where children are engaging in activities like playing outside and at the gym and doing crafts."

The camps implemented daily temperature checks, physical distancing of at least 6 feet, masks at indoor activities and outdoors where participants couldn't remain distanced, frequent hand washing and sanitizing, and site cleaning. They also split campers into cohorts of 10 youth and one staff member and trained staff in COVID-19 protocols. An internal audit in June found over 95 percent compliance with the mask mandate.

To identify potential COVID-19 cases, the camps asked about exposures outside of camp before allowing campers on site. If the camps learned of an infection, they did contact tracing to identify campers or staff who were exposed. Ten youth and 9 staff, or 0.6 percent of 3,030 people at camp sites where the exposures occurred, had infections that were linked to transmission outside the camps. The other two cases, or .07 percent, were potentially connected to exposure at the camps. Widespread testing was not available, which meant asymptomatic cases were not detected. The most common symptoms were fever and cough, and no one was hospitalized.

There was no difference in rates of transmissions between camps held outdoors, camps held indoors and those that offered a hybrid. Campers were an average of 8.5 years old; 66 percent were white and 54 percent were male.

The rate of transmission in the general North Carolina population was significantly higher, at 200 new cases per 10,000 people each a day, or a 2 percent infection rate. In Durham, positive cases among those under age 18 rose from 9 percent to 17 percent of total cases in the population from May to August, indicating increased spread in that demographic.

The low transmission rate contrasted with an overnight camp in Georgia, where 44 percent of campers had symptomatic cases. The camp was reported to lack adherence to masking practices and physical distancing, and allowed indoor singing and shouting while people were unmasked. The camp also didn't require testing immediately prior to camp attendance.

Dr. Permar said YMCA of the Triangle camps should be credited for forming an "academic-community partnership" early on to involve medical personnel and scientists, and ensure precautions were taken.

"They worked hard to stay open and keep campers as safe as possible," Dr. Permar said, "knowing how important these camps are to kids whose parents are essential workers, work multiple jobs and don't have another option for childcare."

###

Telangana govt to promulgate an ordinance to curb spurious seeds in state 29 May 2021 | 11:48 PM Hyderabad, May 29 (UNI) : Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday night instructed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to promulgate an Ordinance, if need be, to Amend the Acts to enforce strict guidelines to stop the supply of spurious Seeds. see more..

Telangana Govt's aim is to revive & revitalize agriculture sector: CM 29 May 2021 | 11:11 PM Hyderabad, May 29 (UNI) Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said that the aim of the state government is to revive and revitalize the agriculture sector in the newly formed Telangana state and thereby strengthen the rural economy and stabilize the farm sector once and for all had been realized. see more..

Lockdown extended in Pondy till June 7 29 May 2021 | 10:38 PM Puducherry, May 29 (UNI) The Puducherry Administration on Saturday extended the COVID-19 lockdown till June 7, Monday. see more..

Kerala extends lockdown till June 9 with new guidelines 29 May 2021 | 10:04 PM Thiruvananthapuram, May 29 (UNI) Kerala has extended the lockdown in the state till June 9 and the new guidelines will come into effect from May 31. see more..
Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

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This is a contributed article by Felix Marx, CEO at Truata.

If the past year taught executives anything about the decade ahead, its that digital agility is everything and data literacy is now imperative. With the economy adjusting to the new normal, more business taking place online than ever before, and data-driven organisations grappling with the complexities of data legislation, the dynamics of the workplace have been jolted into a new era.

The proliferation of data that organisations have at their disposal is rendered meaningless unless they can acclimatise to the new, privacy-focused world that consumers  and regulators  have demanded. Indeed, 2021 is set to give rise to disruptive data strategies and privacy-centric organisational shifts as businesses race to gain a competitive advantage without compromising on consumer trust. Expect these 5 shifts to garner more attention in the months ahead:

1. Privacy labels

If youve ever read a privacy policy in its entirety, you are one of few who will know the pain of wasting 18-minutes of your life (on average) trying to decipher the incomprehensible disaster. This is exactly why 36% of people have never even attempted to read a privacy policy and why tech giants are facing backlash over confusing privacy updates.

Breaking down the barriers that privacy policies wedge between brands and their customers will be crucial for businesses that want to lead the way by building trust and transparency around their data use. Apples introduction of Privacy Labels, which provide a bite-sized rundown of data use, is a big step forward in offering a consumer-friendly approach to disclosure, and we can expect to see the forward-thinking brands finding similar solutions to building trust with data use.

2. Crackdowns on non-compliance

The rapid adoption of online services has undoubtedly helped organisations to survive a tumultuous year. However, the speed of this transition to the online, data-centric world has also created potential privacy pitfalls.

While privacy laws had been struggling to keep up with the rate of data collection, the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 has had a ripple effect around the world, and this can be seen in the passing of laws such as that of Californias Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Brazils LGPD Privacy Law; it has also led to new rules of play surrounding international data transfers, where the suspension of data flows could also severely impact businesses who fail to implement change. This global trend and acceleration in data privacy legislation is forcing organisations to wake up to a new reality, a reality in which non-compliance will deliver a severe blow to brand reputation and customer loyalty, not to mention a hefty fine and long-term business implications for those failing to comply. With the likes of France, Italy, Germany and Spain leading the European crackdown on fines for GDPR infringements, its clear that not even the dominant tech powerhouses can shy away from change.

3. Data for good

In the last decade, the narratives surrounding data heavily revolved around data for commercial gain, with data being regarded as the oil of the digital era  infinite in its supply and lucrative in its value. However, with more and more awareness over how personal data has been - and continues to be - used to drive profit, and consumers becoming increasingly able to articulate their rights to own their digital selves, the data pendulum is starting to swing from data for gain to data for good far more favourably.

Big data is already instrumental in making the world better by assisting with global issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how data can be used to monitor and control the spread of a deadly virus. However, it has also flagged privacy concerns over what constitutes data for good. While the rush to deliver more social good with data is indeed progress, its important to realise that ethical and privacy concerns dont have to be left aside in order to achieve the goal. If organisations can learn from these debates around ethics, and take steps to create data-driven cultures that hinge on data being used responsibly, then the essence of data for good can actually ring true in the commercial context, too, and help to overcome the trust crisis that data has created.

4. Hyperautomation

Its no secret that COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies by several years. This, in turn, has led to masses of data being accumulated, with the human ability to analyse such vast data lakes becoming virtually impossible. With Gartner predicting that 35% of large organisations will either be sellers or buyers of data by 2022, the ROI on tech that can deliver a bite of the big data apple becomes ever more appealing.

In fact, businesses that reported the biggest revenue hits over the last few years acknowledge that they were behind their competitors in their adoption of technologies, so expect the learnings to be taken forward as the forward-thinkers look to harness hyperautomation with the goal of increasing AI-driven decision making that can provide real-time, continuous intelligence and open up significant commercial opportunities. While COVID-19 may have spurred on reactive tech adoption to resolve immediate issues, it will be hyperautomation that pushes organisations firmly into a new era of decentralisation, where the approach to work and business will change forever.

5. Data literacy

Ultimately, the organisations that will get ahead and separate themselves from the competition will be those who can adapt with agility to the new way of working with data in a privacy-focused world. It is now imperative that industry leaders develop data literacy within their organisation, and this requires a top-down data strategy that ensures that understanding data is not simply viewed as the responsibility of the data analysts, but considered important for all those who rely on insights to complete tasks or take action.

With 64.7% of businesses investing more than $50million in their data in 2020, it is critical for executives to ensure that their ability to grow and optimise data use is not hindered by poor data literacy than can lead to data waste and/or data risk. In todays world, data literacy requires organisations to understand that privacy must also sit at the core of change and learnings. This, in turn, will assist with appropriate and ethical data use that streamlines and propels businesses forward, rather than stagnating or putting them in jeopardy.

If 2020 was the year of digital transition, 2021 is the year for organisations to make quick decisions regarding technology adoption, the time to invest in data-processing infrastructures and tackle issues surrounding data privacy with the utmost attention.

Felix Marx is an experienced CEO, with more than 20 years of experience in identity management, financial services and telecommunications, leading technology companies focused on driving value for client organisations and the consumers they serve. Marxs expertise spans a range of technologies including identity and trusted service management, identification and smart cards, secure mobile transactions, mergers and acquisitions and more.

Source: Reuters

The Indian aviation sector is showing positive signs after being completely shut down during the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year but remains in the "eye of the storm", Remi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia has said.

Indian airlines are currently carrying 60 per cent of the total pre-COVID domestic passengers and this is better than most countries in the world, he said in an interview to PTI.

"This is better but this is far from being a sustainable situation. We are not out of the woods yet. We are still in the eye of the storm," he added.

Airbus has been observing positive signs such as the pent-up demand for leisure travel in India, he noted.

"I think there is a desire in people to fly again...Business travellers have started to come back. It is essential for your business to meet your business stakeholders or partners and for that, you need to travel," Maillard mentioned.

"I would say in a nutshell that we are still facing a lot of headwinds with the virus and the complexity of the situation. But in the midterm, I think there will be an upswing," he said.

Airbus and Boeing are two of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world.

Scheduled domestic flights in India were completely suspended for a period of two months between March 25 and May 24, 2020, due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Maillard said international passenger traffic is still weak in India and it is difficult to predict how and when it would recover.

Scheduled international flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 last year.

However, special international flights have been permitted since May last year under the Vande Bharat Mission and air bubble arrangements formed with around 24 countries.

Maillard said: "I think international traffic is also an opportunity for the Indian carriers. The market share of Indian carriers in the country''s international traffic is about 34 per cent. It means two-third of the international traffic for the time being or before was with foreign carriers."

"I think it is time for Indian carriers to scale up their operations and gain control of the international traffic as well. Also, we observe that air travellers have adapted to COVID-19 with a preference to point-to-point non-stop travel to avoid connections. Again, that is the opportunity to develop long haul travel from India," he stated.

Indian airlines have been badly hit by the coronavirus-induced economic crisis. Majority of them last year took drastic measures like pay cuts and firing of employees to cut costs.

Asked about Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman''s announcement that aircraft leasing companies based out of GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec) city in Gujarat''s Gandhinagar would get a tax holiday on capital gains and rental income earned, Maillard said, it was a "big step".

"It is a very important step. In India, large majority of the aircraft with the airlines are leased. This is valid today, and this is going to be valid tomorrow," he said.

At present, no major aircraft leasing companies are based in India. Majority of the aircraft fleet with Indian carriers have been leased from foreign companies such as Avolon, GECAS, BBAM, BOC Aviation and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Capital.

Therefore, domestic airlines end up paying their lease rental in US dollars instead of rupees, which significantly affects their profitability.

However, Maillard said "more support" is needed from the government.

"Given the current status of the Indian civil aviation industry, we would need more support from the government in terms of tax exemptions on the air turbine fuel (ATF), imported aircraft parts, and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) industry," he noted.

"Also, we need to continue investing in infrastructure and this is something that we have been discussing with the Ministry of Civil Aviation," he mentioned.

Asked about aircraft deliveries, he said Airbus handed over 566 planes to airlines globally but it was 34 per cent lower than 2019.

"I think this is an outstanding performance given the COVID-19 context," he said.

"Out of the 566 aircraft, a bit more than 10 per cent went to Indian carriers, including 44 to IndiGo. Indigo has become a top customer in terms of delivery last year," he stated.
[February 05, 2021] SMBC Launches Sustainability-Linked Loan for Overseas Japanese Customers

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation ("SMBC") (President and Group CEO: Makoto Takashima) announced today the launch of Sustainability-Linked Loan ("SLL") financing for its overseas Japanese customer's ESG (?1) and SDGs (?2) related activities. The objective of SLLs is to promote and support environmentally and socially beneficial economic activities by linking corporate loan terms with a customer's performance against mutually-agreed, sustainability performance targets ("SPTs") consistent with a customer's sustainability strategy. The objective of the SLL is to incentivize customers to improve their sustainability performance. SMBC arranges SLLs in accordance with the Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles ("SLLPs") published by the Loan Market Association ("LMA") (?3), Loan Syndications and Trading Association ("LSTA") (?4) and Asia Pacific Loan Market Association ("APLMA") (?5). The first SLL financing was extended to Bridgestone Americas, Inc. and closed by SMBC as sole Arranger, Administrative Agent and Sustainability Coordinator on January 31, 2021. This is the first SLL financing arranged by SMBC for an overseas Japanese customer. The loan was successfully syndicated amongst a club of banks and features a sustainability-linked pricing adjustment mechanism tied to Bridgestone Corporation's ESG evaluation scores as assessed by Sustainalytics (CEO: Michael Jantzi) (?6) and FTSE Russell (CEO: Waqas Samad) (?7). The financing was structured by SMBC in accordance with the SLLPs and pertinent market guidance. As announced on April 13, 2020, SMBC Group including SMBC has established "SMBC Group GREEN  GLOBE 2030", a ten-year plan that extends to 2030 based on the Sustainability Statement. Particularly, in order to take actions in solving environmental issues, a target of JPY 10 trillion has been set for Green Finance to be achieved by the end of FY2029. Based on the Sustainability Statement, SMBC will engage and act together with customers and other stakeholders to contribute to the global transformation into a better society. (?1) ESG

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance and indicates three key criteria for consideration to conduct business activities in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. ESG is an area of growing interest, providing standards for a companys operations that impact the environment, reflect its relationships and govern how the company manages itself.



(?2) SDGs

SDGs is an abbreviation for Sustainable Development Goals. 17 goals were adopted by 193 UN member states at the UN General Assembly in September 2015 as part of Agenda 2030; a global action plan through the year 2030. The 17 goals and 169 targets are for all countries and regions, not only emerging but also developed ones, to realize by the year 2030 a world in which no one is left behind with regards to issues such as poverty, equality, education, and the environment. (?3) LMA

Headquartered in London, the LMA was established in 1996 to promote the expansion of the loan market in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Approximately 750 financial institutions from more than 65 countries are members, including SMBC.

(?4) LSTA

Headquartered in New York, the LSTA has been the leading advocate for the U.S. syndicated loan market since 1995, fostering cooperation and coordination among all loan market participants, facilitating just and equitable market principles, and inspiring the highest degree of confidence among investors in corporate loan assets. SMBC is a member of the LSTA. (?5) APLMA

Headquartered in Hong Kong and founded in 1998, the APLMA is a professional not-for-profit trade association which represents the interests of institutions active in the syndicated loan markets in the Asia-Pacific region. SMBC is a member of the APLMA. (?6) Sustainalytics

Sustainalytics is an independent research and rating agency specializing in Responsible / ESG investment with a global research network. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Sustainalytics provide ESG-related data to more than 700 asset owners and asset managers. (?7) FTSE Russell

FTSE Russell, a wholly owned subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), as a global index provider, has calculated thousands of indicators to measure and benchmark markets and asset classes, currently targeting 70 countries. FTSE Russell covers 98% of the world's investable markets in more than one country. About SMBC Group SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group. Headquartered in Tokyo and with a 400-year history, SMBC Group offers a diverse range of financial services, including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group has more than 130 offices and 85,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is the holding company of SMBC Group, which is one of the three largest banking groups in Japan. SMFG's shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York (NYSE: SMFG) stock exchanges. As of September 30, 2020, its total assets were $2.13 trillion. In the Americas, SMBC Group has a presence in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Backed by the capital strength of SMBC Group and the value of its relationships in Asia, the Group offers a range of commercial and investment banking services to its corporate, institutional, and municipal clients. It connects a diverse client base to local markets and the organization's extensive global network. The Group's operating companies in the Americas include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., SMBC Capital Markets, Inc., SMBC Rail Services LLC, Manufacturers Bank, JRI America, Inc., SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc., Banco Sumitomo Mitsui Brasileiro S.A., and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd. About Bridgestone Americas, Inc. Nashville, Tennessee-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader providing sustainable mobility and advanced solutions. Bridgestone Americas develops, manufactures, and markets a diverse portfolio of original equipment and replacement tires, tire-centric solutions, mobility solutions, and other rubber-associated and diversified products that deliver social value and customer value. Guided by its global corporate social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve, Bridgestone is dedicated to shaping a sustainable future of mobility and improving the way people move, live, work and play. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005081/en/

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Johnson & Johnsons target is to administer one billion doses of the vaccine worldwide in 2021

Inc ( ) said last night it has filed for emergency use authorisation of its one-dose Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine with US regulator, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

The application follows the publication of trial data last month that showed the drug was 66% effective in preventing infections, though the figure was higher at 72% among US participants.

J&J said the treatment was also almost 100% effective in preventing deaths and hospitalisations among those who caught the virus.

The US company added that it is aiming to start a roll-out of the vaccine in March in what would be a huge boost to jab programmes in the US and European Union.

New US President Joe Biden has promised that 150mln vaccination shots will be administered within the first 100 days of his term in office and the fact that the J&J vaccine is only one dose and can be stored in a fridge is expected to give the prospect of achieving the target a significant lift.

The US has ordered 100mln doses of the vaccine at a cost of US$1bn with an option for further 200mln shots, while the European Union has placed an order for 200mln with an option over 200mln.

J&J said it will apply for approval in Europe in the coming weeks.

Once approved, the vaccine will be the third allowed for use in the US after /BioNTech and Moderna's alternatives.

Todays submission for Emergency Use Authorization of our investigational single-shot COVID-19 vaccine is a pivotal step toward reducing the burden of disease for people globally and putting an end to the pandemic, said Paul Stoffel, J&Js chief scientific officer in a statement.

"Upon authorization of our investigational COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, we are ready to begin shipping, he added.

s target is to administer one billion doses of the vaccine worldwide in 2021.

COVID-19 has infected over 26mln Americans and killed more than 455,000 since the pandemic began according to John Hopkins University.
The Vlasov-Poisson equations describe many important physical phenomena such as the distribution of gravitating particles in the interstellar space, high-temperature plasma kinetics, and the Landau damping effect. A joint team of scientists from the Mathematical Institute of RUDN University and the Mathematical Institute of the University of Munich suggested a new method to obtain stationary solutions for a system of Vlasov-Poisson equations in a three-dimensional case. Credit: RUDN University

The Vlasov-Poisson equations describe many important physical phenomena such as the distribution of gravitating particles in interstellar space, high-temperature plasma kinetics, and the Landau damping effect. A joint team of scientists from the Mathematical Institute of RUDN University and the Mathematical Institute of the University of Munich suggested a new method to obtain stationary solutions for a system of Vlasov-Poisson equations in a three-dimensional case. The obtained solutions describe the phenomena of stellar dynamics. The results of the study were published in the Doklady Mathematics journal.

Modern-day physics distinguishes between four main types of interactions. Elementary particle physics covers strong and weak interactions, electromagnetism is studied by electrodynamics, and systems with gravitational interaction fall into the scope of a special branch of physics called gravidynamics. On the space scale, gravitational fields play a key role. One domain of study within gravidynamics is called stellar dynamics.

"We have considered a three-dimensional stationary system of the Vlasov-Poisson equations concerning the distribution function of gravitating matter, local density, and Newtonian potential, and developed a new method for obtaining spherically symmetric stationary solutions. This was the result of our fruitful collaboration with renowned German scientists J. Batt and E. Joern," said Alexander Skubachevskii, a D Sc in Physics and Mathematics, and the Head of the Nikolskii Mathematical Institute of RUDN University.

The movement and interaction of multiple particles in gravitational, electric, and electromagnetic fields are described using the equations that were developed by the eminent Soviet physicist Anatoly Vlasov. They model the dynamics and stationary distribution of a system of particles in view of the influence of a self-consistent field. The Vlasov-Poisson equation for a system of gravitating particles consists of the Poisson equation covering the gravitational potential and the Vlasov equation covering the function of density distribution in interconnected particles. Vlasov's model was initially supposed to describe electron gas dynamics. The model views processes in plasma not as a series of collisions between individual particles but as a simplified system in which particles interact through a field, and the field, in turn, correlates with the particle density distribution function. Therefore, the Vlasov equations are sometimes called equations with a self-consistent field. Together with his German colleagues, the mathematician from RUDN University established the theorem of expandability, i.e. demonstrated how the local density function should look like in order for it to be supplemented to a stationary spherically symmetric solution of the Vlasov-Poisson system.

Explore further Next step in simulating the universe

More information: J. Batt et al, Stationary Spherically Symmetric Solutions of the VlasovPoisson System in the Three-Dimensional Case, Doklady Mathematics (2020). J. Batt et al, Stationary Spherically Symmetric Solutions of the VlasovPoisson System in the Three-Dimensional Case,(2020). DOI: 10.1134/S1064562420040237
Various opposition parties like the Shiv Sena, SAD, NCP, Samajwadi Party and Left parties on Friday demanded in that the three new farm laws be repealed and fresh ones brought after wider consultations.

Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, the members of opposition parties attacked the government for dubbing the farmers protesting against the farm laws as "anti-nationals" and for "defaming" their agitation.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut alleged that anyone speaking the truth is dubbed as a "traitor" or "anti-national" and that cases of sedition have been slapped against those criticising the government.

Participating in the debate, he said farmers fighting for their rights have been branded as anti-nationals or Khalistanis.

He said the farmers, who were known as 'warriors' when they fought the Mughals and the British, are now dubbed as anti-nationals when they are fighting for their rights on Delhi's borders.

Raut said farmers from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, who are sitting on the borders of Delhi, are fighting for the peasants from across the country and demanded that their voice be heard and the farm laws be repealed.

"We heard minister Dharmendra Pradhan asking us to listen to the truth. For the last six years, we have been listening to the truth, even the untruth dubbed as truth. The atmosphere in the country today is such that anyone writing the truth is dubbed as traitor and anti-national," he alleged.

"When the farmers are uniting and fighting for their rights, you see anti- acts. They are not anti-nationals or 'khalistanis'



"Till the time this movement is alive, the nation will remain alive and this 'andolan'," he said.

"If you would have built such barricades at the international borders, as those put up at Delhi borders, China would not have dared to come into Indian territory," the Sena member said.

Praful Patel (NCP) said the Centre and states have together fought the COVID-19 pandemic along with medical professionals and the mortality rate in the country was low as compared to other countries.

He said when the government is talking of working for the welfare of farmers, why did it not send the farm laws to the Select Committee for wider consultations to avoid the situation that has arisen now.

"On our demand, had the government sent the bills to a Select Committee for wider consultations, the scenes witnessed today around Delhi would not have been witnessed. What was the hurry to bring these laws,"he asked.

Patel sought to clarify that former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's letter of 2007 is being circulated to misrepresent the facts.

"The 2007 letter he wrote to chief ministers was to seek their comments on the amendment to farm laws. The Bill was never brought in Parliament. The government, however, is unnecessarily raising the issue to misrepresent facts," he said.

The NCP leader said if the government is ready to put these laws in abeyance for 1.5 years, why does it not repeal them and bring new ones after proper consultations.

BSP member Satish Chandra Misra demanded that the government should repeal the three new farm laws and also provide legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) on all crops, alleging that the government's intention are not clear.

Misra slammed the government for trying to stop farmers' protest and alleged that multi-layered barricades, barbed wires and iron nails studded on roads have been put up on Delhi-borders.

He said water and electricity supplies have been cut and access to toilets have also been stopped. "This is a human rights violation."



"I am not able to understand when you (the government) are ready to suspend the laws for 1.5 years, what is stopping you to withdraw these Acts," he said, urging the government to shed its ego and accept the farmers' demand.

SAD leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said the prime minister should intervene and listen to the farmers' demands.

The Akali Dal member said the government should accept the farmers' demand to repeal the three laws. He said all Opposition parties are also demanding the same.

Dhindsa said he had written to the prime minister when Ordinances were brought but did not get any reply. He said agriculture is a state-subject and the Centre is weakening the federal system by bringing these farm laws.

Highlighting the sacrifice made by Sikhs during the country's Independence struggle, Dhindsa rued that Sikhs are being described as terrorists and Khalistanis.

Dhindsa also said there should be a scientific method to fix the MSP.

Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa demanded setting up a committee headed by a Supreme Court judge to conduct an impartial probe within two months into the incidents on January 26 that led to violence.

He compared the barricades set up at the farmers' protest site at Ghazipur with the Berlin Wall and concentration camps, and took a strong objection to farmers being branded as anti- and Khalistanis.

IUML member Abdul Wahab demanded restoration of MPLADs fund.

Earlier, CPI member Binoy Viswam hit out at the government for terming the economic crisis as an act of God, and said the policies of the government are squarely responsible for the situation and not the almighty.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The late former president Robert Mugabe caps former First Lady Grace Mugabe at her graduation.

FRESH startling details have emerged indicating how the late former President Robert Mugabe and his family worked with ex-top parastatal and security bosses to ship high-grade diamonds and ivory out of the country.

Mugabe -- who died in September 2019 -- was as shrewd in underhand dealings as he was in politics, according to exclusive information obtained by the Zimbabwe Independent, this week.

This comes amid reports that his vast farming empire under Gushungo Holdings is crumbling, with workers owed salaries, while part of the estate in Mazowe -- 40km north of Harare -- is being leased to a millionaire businessman.

In private briefings this week, it emerged that Mugabe and his family could have had a close working relationship with the then Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) commissioner-general Gershem Pasi through a diamond cutting and processing company -- Gemgrade Mining Company.

This was revealed in confidential information belonging to Gushungo Holdings dated October 12, 2015, when a former Mugabe top employee at Alpha Omega stepped down from his post.

Documents which were part of a handover-takeover of confidential files included Gemgrade Mining Company papers -- "a company used by Mr G Pasi for processing the diamonds".

Other classified files included an agreement between Cafnet and Homologue Investments -- an outfit which was marked as a Russian investor "who pulled out last minute" from one of the Mugabe deals.

However, questions abound as to how the Mugabes were in possession of a Gemgrade Mining Company file at a time when the country was extracting diamonds in Chiadzwa, Marange in Manicaland.

The Mugabe-Pasi diamond relationship could have been a conduit to trade in the gems locally and internationally, the confidential papers show.

Pasi could not be reached for comment, as his mobile phone was not reachable. Questions sent via SMS went unanswered.

Mugabe's daughter Bona, who oversees family businesses, could not be reached as her two mobile numbers were inaccessible.

Further details connected to the Mugabes' mining ambitions involve an investment vehicle named Confidence Mining Private Limited domiciled in Mazowe -- the very area where the former First Family operated its core business.

In a letter seen by the Independent this week, dated August 16, 2013, Confidence Mining Limited director operations Cosmas Noah Ngwenya wrote to the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) seeking partnership in the exploration and mining of diamonds in Marange.

"We are Confidence Mining (Pvt) Ltd, a wholly owned Zimbabwe indigenous company incorporated in terms of the Zimbabwe Companies Act. Confidence Mining has huge interests in diamond mining and is thus seeking opportunities to venture into this field. We hereby apply to partner with ZMDC for this venture," reads part of the letter.

"We have both the technical and financial capacity and resources to immediately undertake exploration of the resource. Our area of interest is Marange Diamond area."

Confidence Mining's involvement in the Marange gems and the Gemgrade Mining Company exposes Mugabe's hypocrisy as he accused foreign and local companies of looting Chiadzwa diamonds.

The former president later made unsubstantiated allegations that Zimbabwe lost US$15 billion in illicit diamond trade resulting in the closure of operations as the government took over all diamond mining ventures through the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC)

Confidence Mining also has interests in gold mining in the Mazowe area as part of the Mugabes' vast business ventures.

The Zimbabwe Independent also gathered that Mugabe and his wife Grace, were once implicated in an ivory smuggling syndicate after their aide (name supplied) was caught at the Robert Mugabe International Airport after a bag mix-up.

The ivory was being spirited to China.

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Presidential luggage is not subject to airport checks but the ivory bag was carried by an aide who was intercepted by his bosses following a tip-off.

The case died a natural death.

A damning report was written by a provincial intelligence officer who has since died nailing the Mugabes over illegal ivory shipping.

The aide who was caught with the ivory has since resigned from government service and is now part of Grace's private security.

Grace was also accused of using senior managers at Zimparks to approve the export of ivory without following due processes.

The matter was once investigated in 2018 but again suffered a stillbirth.

Some of the ivory was shipped to China and other Far East countries as "donations"

Zimbabwe has been losing a significant number of elephants to poaching - a highly lucrative global business valued at around US$47 billion annually competing with human and drug trafficking.
Lebanon: Hezbollah condemns murder Loqman Slim 'Authorities must shed light on politically exploited crimes'

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 5 - Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah has condemned over the past few hours the "murder of political activist Loqman Slim", a leading Lebanese intellectual whose lifeless body was found yesterday morning in southern Lebanon with gunshot wounds.



Slim, 58, who came from a Shiite family of the southern district of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, has been publicly expressing for years critical positions against the Shiite movement and its allies. Many have wondered whether Slim's murder could be due to his political activism.



For its part, Hezbollah has urged the "judicial and security authorities with jurisdiction" over the case to "work quickly to identify the authors (of Slim's murder) and to punish them".



While the media alleged over the past few hours that the Shiite movement could have ordered Slim's killing, Hezbollah urged Lebanese authorities to "fight crimes that occur in various regions of Lebanon and that are exploited by politics and the media at the expense of internal security and stability". (ANSAmed)

Cranfield University is working with Q-Flo, Cambridge University and NHS England to record experimental airflow data from a modern NHS ambulance under different driving conditions.

Collection of the data, which is being funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, will explore the effective installation of filtration units which are able to remove virus molecules, including COVID-19 aerosols.

Professor Helen Atkinson CBE, FREng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor - Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing at Cranfield University, who is overseeing the project, said: "We're very pleased to be able to support the Royal Academy of Engineering's Engineering X Pandemic Preparedness scheme along with our project partners Q-Flo, Cambridge University and NHS England.

"There are currently nearly 30,000 paramedics in the UK and thousands of ambulances nationwide. Airflow patterns inside ambulances are complex and not well documented - mapping these flows will enable the optimized installation of filtration systems and reduce the potential exposure of NHS ambulance crews to COVID-19 aerosols in their vehicles."

SCAS, on behalf of the NSAFG, is very pleased and excited to be involved with this project and is fully committed to working with the group in an area that has been a challenge for ambulance services and the NHS for numerous years. The success of this project will be extremely positive for the patients we carry and care for as well as assisting our ambulance crews across the UK and potentially the world in delivering the highest care they can give to patients." Phil Pimlott MBE, Assistant Director Operations South Central Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) and Chair of the UK National Strategic Ambulance Fleet Group (NSAFG)

The project will provide flow maps from the ambulance interior over a range of driving conditions up to 70 mph. COVID-19 aerosol sizes, that can be inhaled, are generally less than 10 microns in diameter and particles of this size tend to follow flow patterns without settling onto surfaces.

Dr Adam Boies, Reader in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge and partnership director in the Aerosol Centre for Doctoral Training, said: "Effective filtration strategies for PM10 particles are increasingly seen to return environments to safe levels of operation following viral release whereby suspended particles that remain after droplet drying may remain indefinitely without dilution or active removal."

The flow data will facilitate the integration of an active virus filter (AVF) system - TorStranTM - developed by Q-Flo Ltd, which takes in contaminated air and captures individual virus molecules, including those contained in airborne droplets, then destroys the virus molecules and returns clean air to the environment.

Martin Pick, Chief Operating Officer of Q-Flo, said: "The collaboration with Cranfield has been positive and perfectly timed. The TorStran Activer Virus Filter will help to keep people safe, reducing the risk of infection, but it is critically important that we understand where to position the unit to ensure maximum effectiveness."

Knowledge of the flow field is key to allowing Q-Flo to effectively integrate their filtration system into NHS ambulances. The current filtration design is at an advanced phase, meaning a significant roll out of the product could occur in the next 12 months.

Work to collect the data is already underway and a flexible mounting system has been fitted inside an ambulance interior for the light source and imaging system. Calibration and testing of the flow visualisation system in a stationary and moving ambulance has already begun, enabling the acquisition of image datasets from selected regions of the vehicle.

Cranfield's Multi-User Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation (MUEAVI) - a 'smart' road test environment, which is a first of its kind in the UK, built alongside a research airport within the controlled setting of a university campus - is being used in the research for instrumentation testing and data capture at low speeds with an emergency 999 ambulance provided by SCAS.

Data from the project will be openly published, allowing other vehicle designers to improve their ventilation systems.

The project is also expected to lead to other larger projects, such as modelling of airflows in vehicles using computational fluid dynamics, leading to greater refinement of vehicle filtration systems.

The approach will also aid cabin design and provide leverage for further work to measure and model flows in other significant transport systems, such as buses, aircraft and trains, where COVID-19 infection still presents known risk. Any future pandemic will also benefit from the knowledge gained in this research.

OneBlood Our team members are our most important asset. Their thoughts, ideas and feedback play a lead role in further enhancing OneBloods culture.

The National Business Research Institute (NBRI) is pleased to welcome OneBlood, the not-for-profit blood center serving Florida, North Carolina and much of the southeastern United States, to the NBRI Circle of Excellence. The NBRI Circle of Excellence Award recognizes organizations that achieve high marks when it comes to the Employee Experience.

NBRI assists OneBlood in conducting regular team member surveys that help identify where the organization is hitting the mark and where they can do better.

"Our team members are our most important asset. Their thoughts, ideas and feedback play a lead role in further enhancing OneBloods culture," said George "Bud" Scholl, OneBlood's President and Chief Executive Officer.

OneBlood's relentless efforts to create an employee centric organization has resulted in the Employee Experience score in their most recent survey jumping an impressive nine points at the Total Company level, year over year. This is a major accomplishment and one that has landed OneBlood Best in Class in their industry.

"To earn the Circle of Excellence Award in this category, a company has to show at least a five point improvement in 12 months. The fact that OneBlood moved up nine points in a year is a major accomplishment and one NBRI is excited to recognize," said Jan G. West, Ph.D., CEO & Organizational Psychologist at NBRI.

OneBlood is benchmarked against their industry, defined as NAICS Codes 621991 - Blood and Organ Banks from within NBRIs Big Data of 10.5 billion responses. Benchmarked against millions of industry scores, OneBlood is performing at the 66th percentile of their industry. Best in Class organizations like OneBlood continually assess Employee Experience, and create action plans to further improve the variables that drive Employee Experience, including job satisfaction, management style, culture and fairness.

OneBlood demonstrates their dedication to their team members by continuously researching with Best in Class Provider NBRI and taking targeted action based upon the scientific data. From the pure psychological research to the hard, valid data, OneBlood can have high levels of confidence in their targeted responses which have proven to be highly effective.

NBRI commends the leadership of OneBlood for their commitment to the Continuous Improvement Process and recognizes their achievements with the Circle of Excellence Award.

About OneBlood

OneBlood is one of the largest not-for-profit blood centers in the United States responsible for providing safe, available and affordable blood to more than 250 hospital partners and their patients throughout Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Our mission is to enhance the health and well-being of others through our work with blood and stem cell products and by facilitating scientific research. To learn more about OneBlood, visit https://www.oneblood.org.

About NBRI

NBRI conducts psychological Employee, Customer, and Market Research for businesses, and uses this data to help organizations leverage these human factors to make improvements to operations and strategy. With its extensive experience across all industries, NBRI's research teams bring their clients a combination of deep industry knowledge and expert advice. NBRI's mission is to help their Clients set new standards of excellence in their industries. NBRI product offerings, such as Benchmarking and deep, inferential analyses like Random Forest with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, ensures their clients will focus on the most impactful issues.

National Business Research Institute, Inc.

2701 Dallas Parkway; Suite 650

Plano, TX 75093

972-612-5070

800-756-6168

https://www.nbrii.com/

OneBlood, Inc.

3000 W. Cypress Creek Rd

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309

800-936-6283

https://www.oneblood.org/
The 64th annual meeting of the Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. is scheduled for Friday, April 9.

The meeting will be held at the Overton Hotel & Conference Center in Lubbock. Breakfast is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. followed by registration at 8:30 a.m. The program will begin at 9 a.m. with the luncheon slated for noon.
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hagens Berman urges investors in Bit Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ: BTBT) with significant losses submit your losses now. A securities fraud class action has been filed and certain investors may have valuable claims.

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP

Class Period: Dec. 21, 2020  Jan. 8, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Mar. 22, 2021

Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/BTBT

Contact An Attorney Now: BTBT@hbsslaw.com

844-916-0895

Bit Digital, Inc. (BTBT) Securities Fraud Class Action:

The complaint alleges that Defendants misled investors about Bit Digital's business operations and prospects by concealing that the company exaggerated its bitcoin mining operation.

Investors allegedly began to learn the truth on Jan. 11, 2021, when market analyst J Capital Research issued a scathing report about the company, concluding that Bit Digital operates "a fake crypto currency business" "designed to steal funds from investors."

According to J Capital, "[t]he company reported at end Q3 2020 that it was operating 22,869 bitcoin miners in China," but that "is simply not possible" and "[w]e verified with local governments supposedly hosting the BTBT mining operation that there are no bitcoin miners there."

In response, the price of Bit Digital shares crashed lower.

Most recently, on Feb. 3, 2021 Bit Digital announced its chairwoman (Ping Liu) resigned, its CEO (Min Hu) was terminated, and its Chief Strategy Officer (Hong Yu) resigned.

"We're focused on investor losses and proving Bit Digital faked its business by falsely portraying itself as a player in bitcoin mining," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.

If you are a Bit Digital investor or have information that may assist our investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Bit Digital should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email BTBT@hbsslaw.com.

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About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a national law firm with nine offices in eight cities around the country and eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes is located at hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw .

Contact:

Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895

Cision

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Professionalisation in any field requires long-term experience and training. In the past decades, studies have demonstrated that the professionalisation of athletes and artists create differences in the behaviour of the brain while carrying out activities related to their area of expertise.

To detect the effects of media professionalisation in the brain, a research team from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, the Instituto Radio Televisio Espanyola and the Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville conducted a study published in Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience in which audiovisual contents were presented to a group of media professionals and a control group, with the aims of registering and analysing their brain activity. The study covers what happens to professionals in audiovisuals when they view media works, using a triple approach: eyeblink rate, electrical activity of the brain and functional connectivity.

Researchers observed that audiovisual cuts have a greater impact on media professionals, generating a decrease in their eyeblink rate, while non-professionals are not affected in the same manner when viewing these cuts. They also detected that the experience of media professionals has a greater effect on the brain's mu rhythm in the somatosensory area immediately after a cut. Non-media professionals, however, demonstrate a highly diverse Granger causality in terms of connectivity when compared to their media professional counterparts, whose connectivity is much more concise in the visual cortex, somatomotor and frontal areas.

Videos and other audiovisual contents are filled with cuts that artificially segment narrative content. Films can contain dozens or hundreds of cuts and viewers are nevertheless not conscious of them. Previous studies conducted by the same team of researchers demonstrated that scene cuts have an impact on the management of viewer's attention. In this study, researchers aimed to discover how this impact differs among media professionals. The experience acquired through years of producing and working with media contents causes a long-term impact on how professionals process these contents. Given that society produces and consumes more and more of these types of contents, there is an interest in discovering the effects the visual perception of these contents have on brain activity.

Doctor Celia Andreu-Sanchez, head researcher of this study and member of the Neuro-Com Group at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, considers that the results can be of interest for neuroscience, given that "knowing that spending many hours with media works as a professional not only affects visual perception, but also the brain rhythms such as the mu rhythm, is without a doubt of great interest to science. These results present neuroscience with a highly important work tool: audiovisuals. We know that working and consuming these contents professionally affect the brain's behaviour, therefore, it seems plausible that the design of consumption strategies for videos may be relevant in several areas of neuroscience research".

Doctor Miguel Angel Martin-Pascual, from the Instituto Radio Television Espanola and the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, also author of this research published in Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, believes that these results are of utmost importance in the professional audiovisual production field. According to Martin-Pascual, "knowing the impact audiovisual professionalisation has on its professionals is of vital importance for the development of long-term strategies related to the occupational health of this group".

Jose Maria Delgado, researcher at the Neuroscience Division of the Universidad Pablo de Olavide, highlights that "this study and other similar ones conducted by our two groups points out the enormous amount of unconscious processing taking place in the brain (particularly in the non-media profesional group) during the viewing of videos and films, especially when the material is edited to contain very short scenes. However, in some way this unconscious processing can have an effect, for example, on our emotional state: although we do not fully perceive all the shots in the video as displaying aggressive interactions, we are able to detect them from an emotional point of view".

###

This study was developed by the Neuro-Com Research Group of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, the Instituto Radio Television Espanola and the Neuroscience Division of the Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville. It was conducted under the framework of public grants from the Spanish Ministry for Economics and Competitiveness and from the Regional Government of Andalusia.
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President Joe Biden speaks about foreign policy at the State Department in Washington, on February 4, 2021. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden Says US to Focus on Diplomatic Approach, in First Major Foreign Policy Speech

President Joe Biden announced a slew of moves in his first major foreign policy speech, ranging from halting the withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in Germany to ending support for Saudi Arabias military offensive in Yemen, as he sought to lay out his vision of global governance.

During his Feb. 4 speechhis first at the State DepartmentBiden signaled a different approach from former President Donald Trumps America First agenda. He said the United States has begun rebuilding the muscles of democratic alliances that have atrophied from four years of neglect and abuse.

Biden was accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his roughly 20-minute speech. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is launching a global force posture review, he announced.

America is back, Biden said. Diplomacy is back, it is the center of our foreign policy.  We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.

To combat obstacles such as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic and what he called the climate crisis, Biden said it all must start with diplomacy, which he dubbed essential. He also noted China and Russia in his remarks.

American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States, and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy, he said.

While Biden said his administration would push back when it comes to human rights issues in China, he added that the United States is ready to work with Beijing if its in Americas interest to do so.

On Russia, he said his administration will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people.

Biden said he would reverse the Trump administrations plan to withdraw troops from Germany. Last year, Trump announced he would pull 9,500 U.S. troops from Germany after accusing the country of not paying its pledged amount for its own defense. Germany had failed to meet its obligation as a NATO member to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense.

On Feb. 3, the United States extended the New START treaty with Moscow, the last remaining nuclear weapons treaty, for five years. But the move also has drawn criticism, with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accusing the administration of losing its leverage to convince Russia to work on bringing the regime in Beijing into the nuclear pact.

Biden reversed course on a number of global issues. He noted the United States rejoining the Paris Climate Accords and his halting of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization.

Trump accused the WHO of refusing to act on reforms recommended by the United States, including providing proof of its independence from the CCP.

He also noted the military takeover situation in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

The Burmese military should relinquish the power they have seized, release the advocates and activists and officials they have detained  and refrain from violence, Biden said.

He also announced plans to increase the cap on the number of refugees allowed into the United States to more than eight times the level during the Trump administration. Trump had reduced the cap to 15,000.

Bidens speech met with some criticism from national security circles.

The United States isnt backit never left, said Benjamin H. Friedman, the policy director at Defense Priorities and adjunct lecturer at George Washington Universitys Elliott School of International Affairs.

The U.S. did not abandon any alliancesin fact, alliances grew, with new forces sent to the Middle East in service of the foolish quasi-alliance with the Saudis, and to Eastern Europe, Friedman continued. NATO, and thus U.S. defense commitments, expanded. No new wars were started, but all of them continued, albeit with an overdue drawdown in Afghanistan.
Religious student faces disciplinary hearing for skipping school sex-ed program, lawyers say

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A high school student in Illinois will face a disciplinary hearing this week over her refusal to participate in the schools gender and sexuality program after her parents requested that she be exempt from the requirement.

A national religious freedom legal nonprofit sent a demand letter to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora on Tuesday, arguing that the three-year residential public school unlawfully denied religious accommodations to Marcail McBride to excuse her from attending the schools Student Gender and Sexuality Program.

According to the letter sent by two First Liberty Institute lawyers, the McBrides have repeatedly communicated to the school that the required program violates Marcails religious beliefs.

[Y]et the school continues to pressure Marcail, demanding that she complete the program or face punishment, the letter states.

The legal group reports that the student was informed on Monday that she will have a disciplinary hearing this week.

Tami Armstrong, the head of the schools public affairs office, told CP on Tuesday that school President Jose Torres has not received the letter via email or mail. However, she clarified that the school has reached out to the student's parents and offered an "alternative solution that will resolve this matter."

"IMSA embraces an inclusive environment where all students feel supported and are extended a sense of belonging regardless of race, class, gender, religion, accessibility, and socioeconomic status identity," the school stressed in a formal statement. "We are especially committed to a community enriched and enhanced by diverse perspectives which are recognized, respected and seen as a source of strength."

In November, the family submitted a formal written request to the school's leadership, saying the program forces Marcail to participate in activities and discussions regarding human sexuality that require, pressure, or coerce her to violate her religious principles.

According to the letter, students who participate in the program use sexual language to identify sexual preferences and gender identity.

In identifying the stages of allyship, the program classifies anyone who believes homosexuality is sinful or immoral as being in the same category as those who are repulsed by it or think it is crazy, the letter, written by First Liberty Director of Litigation David Hacker and legal counsel Keisha Russell, asserts.

The program offers students the opportunity to become an ally, recording the students who agree and rewarding them for their affirmation with a SafeZone sticker and pin. The program thus does not respect differing religious beliefs about gender and sexuality and pressures students to affirmatively signal their agreement with the curriculum.

The First Liberty Institute accused school leadership of denying the familys request and going as far as to threaten to punish the student if she did not complete it.

Last week, Associate Director of Student Affairs, Chief Hearing Officer Dana Ginnett, sent an email ordering McBride to complete the program by Jan. 30 or face disciplinary action.

Ginnett reportedly cited a school policy that states: In addition to academic classes, students are expected to attend all required assemblies and meetings of a non-academic nature.

If a student does not attend required meetings and assemblies (and does not have an excused absence approved by a Student Affairs staff member), disciplinary action will be taken, the policy is quoted as saying.

On Monday, Ginnett again emailed McBride to inform her that IMSA's Student Affairs Department would conduct a disciplinary hearing this week, the lawyers noted.

The First Liberty Institute, which describes itself as the nations largest law firm dedicated exclusively to defending and restoring religious liberty, argues that Illinois law orders the state not to discriminate against people based on their religion.

The Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act requires IMSA to refrain from placing a substantial burden on the religious exercise of its students, the letter contends.

A substantial burden exists when an individual is required to act contrary to her religious beliefs to avoid facing penalties.

The lawyers also stated that the schools actions violate Illinois law. They cited a statute on sex education which states that No pupil shall be required to take or participate in any class or course in comprehensive sex education if his parent or guardian submits written objection.

The regulation goes on to state that refusal to take or participate in such course or program shall not be reason for suspension or expulsion of such pupil.

Additionally, the First Liberty Institute cited the U.S. Supreme Court case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which revolved around the Christian-owned craft store chains objection to the Obamacare birth control mandate.

Since IMSAs requirement places a substantial burden on Marcails religious exercise, she is entitled to an exemption from the requirement unless IMSA can prove that forcing Marcail to participate in the program is the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling interest, the letter explains.

By IMSAs own admission, students may miss meetings and assemblies if they have an excused absence. As IMSA can offer such an accommodation, it must offer one to Marcail.

In its statement to CP, ISMA assured that it spends "a great deal of time and effort to balance respect for all students identities."

"We take these matters seriously, and will use this as an opportunity to review all of our practices and ensure that our students feel safe and welcomed at IMSA," the statement adds. "In the spirit of valuing all voices, we have already reached out directly to the parents and offered an alternative solution that will resolve this matter. We look forward to moving ahead and working together as an IMSA community."
Whats happening in the credit union market? Everything, when it comes to ID theft and consumer monitoring. Bad actors across the globe strive to take advantage of every gap in procedures and real-world emergencies to harm your members.

We, in the credit union movement, are all impacted by the negative effects of fraud. The individual member, credit union and association all pay part of the cost of the belligerent actors. What we saw in the last full year of available data, 2019, shows us over $3 billion in out-of-pocket costs and almost $17 billion in losses. These staggering numbers mean this subject is at the top of your members minds with more than four out of every five Americans concerned about fraud.

Your members are worried and are looking to their credit unions for guidance. Almost seven out of ten consumers state they are more likely to stay with their financial institution if protection is offered. More than half of those interviewed express a willingness to pay for a service.

The fraud and account takeover problem is real, growing, and serious, with more than 13 million identity theft victims in 2019 alone. So, what is the ounce of prevention to negate the need for a pound of cure? Simply put, its leveraging data and technology in a comprehensive Identity Protection Service.

There are two key aspects for credit unions to consider when determining a solution to prevent, detect, and resolve identity fraud; understanding the technology & data in use and determining what solution set can be offered as a member benefit versus a paid service.

First, lets look at technology and data. When you are engaging with current or potential partners, ask about the following:

Monitoring  What type of monitoring solutions are in place and do they include dark web monitoring?

Alerts  How does their monitoring system work and what triggers an alert to the member? Do their alerts only trigger for credit activity, or do their alerts include DDA events as well?

Resolution Support Team  When a negative event occurs, does the partner have a resolution team in place with the proper training? This should include anything from an attempted account takeover to a lost/stolen event.

An important note, your solution above should always be on, 24/7/365.

There is a fairly standard structuring of member offerings in the credit union industry. A free-to-the-member basic solution and a premium option(s).

As an example, the basic service often includes lost & stolen assistance, insurance, and fraud resolution. Its a solid member benefit that is almost industry standard at this point.

The premium option(s) offer a wide variety of services, which require some depth of analysis. A lot of the additional services you choose to offer at a premium or include in a basic benefit package should be determined by your member profile. Although everyone is a target and, therefore, everyone needs basic protection, not everyone needs $1 million in insurance or child SSN monitoring.

While it is impossible to adequately relay both the need and technological complexity of a properly applied credit monitoring and ID theft solution, now is the time to review, adjust, and train before the next data breach costs you and your members time, money, and reputation.
The on Friday extended support to the countrywide 'chakka jam' called by farmer unions on February 6, saying party workers will stand shoulder to shoulder with farmers in their protest.

The also hit out at Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who defended the three new farm laws and criticised the Opposition while speaking in Rajya Sabha.

Whatever the agriculture minister said was "not only totally bereft of facts" but also "grossly objectionable", the party claimed.

Farmer unions on Monday had announced 'chakka jam' on February 6 when they would block and state highways for three hours in protest against the internet ban in areas near their agitation sites, harassment allegedly meted out to them by authorities, and other issues.

general secretary (organisation), K C Venugopal, said the party fully supports the farmers' movement and appeals to the government to climb down from the "high horse of false and misplaced pride", and accede to the justified demands of the farmers by repealing the three farm laws.

On February 6, when the farmer organisations will hold a three-hour nationwide 'chakka jam' from 12 pm to 3 pm in a non-violent and peaceful manner on the and state highways, the Congress will extend its full support to farmer groups, Venugopal said in a statement.

Congress workers in solidarity with the protesting farmers will stand shoulder to shoulder in this "symbolic and Gandhian" way of protest, he said.

Farmers' organisations have already exempted emergency and essential services from this protest, Venugopal noted.

"Joining in the spirit, Congress workers will take full care that the ambulance services, school bus, elderly, patients and women and children are not inconvenienced due to the bandh call," he said.

Venugopal said that this farmers' movement, which is being steadfastly supported by the poor, farm labour, SCs, STs, OBCs as well as every "right- minded Indian", is not only aimed at protecting agriculture and farming but also saving the public distribution system.

"However, the power drunk Modi government is trying every mean trick of the trade to tire out and defame the protesting millions. Even today, the Union Agriculture Minister (Narendra Singh Tomar), while speaking in the Parliament, blatantly tried to mislead the House and the nation," Venugopal alleged.

It is public knowledge that the farmers' organisations have held eleven rounds of talks with the government during which they provided point-wise detail of the deficiencies and lacunae in the three laws, "consequent to which even the government has openly agreed to bring about as many as 18 amendments to the said laws", he said.

"In the light of this, whatever the agriculture minister said today in Parliament is not only totally bereft of facts but is grossly objectionable," Venugopal said.

Intervening in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar alleged that farmers were being misled by the Opposition and the agitation was only in one state.

Hitting out at the government, Venugopal alleged, "Driven by the sole motive of benefiting its corporate cronies and steamrolling the laws by the brute force of parliamentary arithimatical majority, the government neither consulted the opposition parties nor took any farmers organisation in confidence, before enacting the laws."



Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh demanding the rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.

However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New York State Attorney General, Letitia James, speaks during a news conference in New York, N.Y., on Aug. 6, 2020. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

NY Money Manager Charged in $1.8 Billion Ponzi-Like Fraud

NEW YORKThe founder of a New York money manager and two associates were criminally charged on Thursday with running a $1.8 billion Ponzi-like fraud where thousands of victims were falsely promised steady returns on their investments.

David Gentile, the chief executive of GPB Capital Holdings LLC, was accused of cheating more than 17,000 retail investors taken in by promises of consistent 8 percent annual returns even as the firm was hemorrhaging losses.

Authorities said GPB told investors their payments would be funded by revenue from the firms holdings, including a group of car dealerships, when in fact a significant portion came from money from newer investors.

The defendants also allegedly siphoned millions of dollars for themselves, including for luxuries such as a Ferrari for Gentile and a $29,837 American Express bill covering Davids 50th Bday.

Gentile, 54, who founded GPB in 2013, lives in Manhasset, New York.

Also charged were former GPB managing partner Jeffrey Lash, 51, of Naples, Florida; and Jeffry Schneider, 52, of Austin, Texas, who owned GPBs placement agent Ascendant Capital LLC.

Each was indicted on securities fraud and conspiracy charges, and Gentile and Lash were also charged with wire fraud.

Related civil charges were filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who said victims lost more than $700 million, and several other federal and state regulators.

A complaint from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission included accusations that GPB silenced a known whistleblower and forbade former employees from speaking to the agency.

GPB had no immediate comment. Lawyers for Gentile and Schneider did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lashs lawyer Robert Gottlieb said his client will plead not guilty. Mr. Lash is a good man with a spotless record, he said.

According to court papers, GPB claimed to manage just $239 million as of December 2020, despite raising the $1.8 billion.

By Jonathan Stempel
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 09:33:42|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian Police has launched the Safer School Initiative campaign to strengthen school safety across the country, a police officer said Thursday.

The campaign is initiated under the nation's public security framework to build a safe, peaceful and secure society, Ebere Amaraizu, the national coordinator of Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), told reporters in the southeast Nigerian city of Enugu.

The center has printed information booklets for students nationwide, Amaraizu said, adding that the move will "help them not yield to pressures of manipulation of minds by their peers and any other person."

Additionally, "POCACOV fan clubs" will be built in all schools nationwide to improve education on school safety, he said. Enditem

Regulators have fined the California prison system more than $400,000 for what they said were health violations  many of them coronavirus-related  at San Quentin State Prison.

The $421,880 fine against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is by far the largest penalty assessed against any entity in a single citation by Cal-OSHA during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspections in June and July found nine violations at San Quentin, six of them considered serious, the state said.

The agency will have the opportunity to appeal the fine. A spokesperson for the prison system said that San Quentin has made many improvements and already remedied several of the citations in the eight months since Cal-OSHA visited the institution.

We will continue to work with public health, health care, and workplace safety experts to improve processes throughout the pandemic, as our top priority is to keep all those who live and work in our state prisons safe, agency spokesperson Dana Sims said in a statement.

The large fine comes days after the state Office of Inspector General slammed the prison system in a blistering report, saying prison officials and medical staff sparked a public health disaster with their botched handling of the May transfers of 189 inmates from a Chino prison to San Quentin and Corcoran (Kings County) state prisons.

San Quentin received 122 inmates during the transfer. Within weeks, 91 ultimately tested positive for the virus  leading to a massive outbreak. More than 2,200 people incarcerated at San Quentin ultimately tested positive for the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic, though relatively few infections have occurred recently. San Quentin has reported 28 deaths among prisoners, and one death of a staff member.

Most of the violations cited by regulators at San Quentin were related to the prisons coronavirus-prevention protocols  or lack thereof.

Among the most serious violations that inspectors said they found:

 San Quentin allowed coronavirus-positive staff members to complete their work shifts.

 San Quentin allowed some staff members working in certain posts to circumvent coronavirus-screening stations.

 San Quentin allowed inmates with suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases to intermingle in housing units with noninfected inmates.

 San Quentin failed to train employees on coronavirus risk assessments and procedures and failed to train them on the use of N95 respirators and the limitations of face coverings as a means of slowing the spread of the virus.

 Regulators counted at least five instances when prison employees were hospitalized with COVID-19, but the prison did not report the hospitalizations as required by law, Cal-OSHA said.

Since then, San Quentin has taken steps to ensure that appropriate Cal-OSHA notifications were completed for known serious injuries and illness and that staff and incarcerated people were provided and required to use N95 masks per public health recommendations, said Sims, the prison spokesperson.

Not all of the violations Cal-OSHA said it found related to the prisons coronavirus protocols. The state said correctional officers and medical staff were found to be moving some inmates on stretchers via stairs as opposed to elevators, and the inspection also found that the prison did not provide suitable cleaning agents in the employee restroom or inmate canteen  an issue of concern whether or not the coronavirus is present.

Since the botched transfers in May, activists and people incarcerated in San Quentin have been pleading for the release of inmates at the prison.

James King, who was formerly incarcerated at San Quentin and now works for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, said both the Cal-OSHA citation and the OIG report have confirmed what he and others have been saying about conditions inside the prison for months.

The truth, King said, is that the prison has been overwhelmed from the very beginning. Now, people incarcerated are worried about a second or third wave of infections brought on by new coronavirus variants.

I wont feel vindicated, and I dont think others will, until the policy makers start holding themselves accountable by following the science, by releasing people from such obviously dangerous circumstances, King said. This is the second report that came out this week that reveals that what San Quentin and CDCR has been telling us since last May has been categorically false  that they are somehow doing everything possible to protect the people inside.

Michael Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: michael.williams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaeldamianw
Then-President Donald Trump shakes hands with Mike Lindell (L), founder of My Pillow, during a Made in America event with manufacturers in the East Room of the White House in Washington on July 19, 2017. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Newsmax Host Said Some Confusion in Interview With MyPillow CEO on Tuesday

Newsmax host Bob Sellers, who walked away during an interview with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on Tuesday, has said that there was some confusion over what was to be discussed and that he could have handled the situation differently. He added that Lindell will still be an important guest of the network.

We were supposed to discuss Twitters decision to ban him and the impacts of cancel culture on his business, but there was some confusion, and Mike thought that we were to talk about vote fraud in the recent election, Bob Sellers told viewers during his program on Wednesday.

I was frustrated that we couldnt focus on the current, very pressing issue of free speech and cancel culture, and, in hindsight, there is no question that I could have handled the end of the interview differently, he went on and said.

Sellers and co-host Heather Childers were trying to interview Lindell, a vocal Trump supporter, on Tuesday about how cancel culture has affected his business after Twitter suspended accounts of both Lindell and his company MyPillow for good after Lindell posted about allegations of voter fraud using the accounts.

Sellers tried to focus the talk on cancel culture but to no avail, while Lindell kept talking about the allegations of fraud during the interview. Sellers then asked his producer to cut away from Lindell, and shortly after that, walked off screen.

Twitter has shut down My Pillows official account after Lindell used it to circumvent a ban on his personal account. Twitter said it had permanently suspended My Pillow for violating its policy against ban evasion. Lindell, a Minnesota businessman, was banned from Twitter a week ago over repeated claims that the presidential election was rigged.

Sellers said on Wednesday that the allegations of vote fraud Lindell was trying to discuss had been covered extensively on Newsmax, which always tries to seek out all points of view.



Lindell on Monday condemned Twitters decision during an interview with USA Today, saying that the social media giant is trying to destroy him. I cant believe theyre doing this to my company, Lindell said. Theyre out to destroy me.



He told Newsmax during another program on Tuesday that while many big retailers were no longer selling his My Pillow products, his company is still hiring more staff with customers now buying directly from this website.

Sellers on Thursday added that Lindell is a friend of the network and that Mike also made clear he thinks Newsmax is greathis wordsand I can tell you he will continue to be an important guest on Newsmax.

GQ Pan contributed to the report.
GOVERNMENT received a total of $7.37 billion from oil, gas and quarrying/mining companies in fiscal 2018, with the largest payment of $2 billion coming from majority State-owned National Gas Company (NGC).

However, for the period 2019 to 2020, unaudited figures indicate a declining trend in revenue.
on Friday said that it has withdrawn it's application for emergency use authorisation for the Covid-19 vaccine in



The US based drug major said that it would submit the additional information as it becomes available in the near future,

The company met the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on February 3.



"Based on the deliberations at the meeting and our understanding of additional information that the regulator may need, the company has decided to withdraw its application at this time. will continue to engage with the authority and resubmit its approval request with additional information as it becomes available in the near future," a company spokesperson said.



The firm had missed appearing before the SEC thrice before. It had said that short notice and time zone difference were the reasons behind it.



has not conducted any bridge trial on Indian population for its mRNA vaccine. The Indian regulator has asked foreign vaccine makers like Astrazeneca and Russia's Sputnik V to conduct safety and immunogenicity trials on Indians.



While it has withdrawn the application, the firm said it remains committed to making the vaccine available for use here.



"Pfizer remains committed to making its vaccine available for use by the government in and to pursuing the requisite pathway for emergency use authorisation that enables the availability of this vaccine for any future deployment," it said.



The vaccine requires refrigeration at minus 70 degree Celsius. The company had drawn up elaborate cold chain plans for the same.
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Donald Rabin plays the flute after Detective George Hilbring retrieved and returned it to him during a news conference at the 14th District Police Station on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Rabin was riding a Blue Line train from OHare International Airport during a layover before his return to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. When he got off, he realized hed left behind his flute. (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Anyone who has left so much as a hat on a Chicago Transit Authority train knows that whatever leaves the station without its owner is often gone forever.

Except, apparently, a gold and silver flute worth 22,000 dollars (16,000).

Donald Rabin is once again holding  and playing  the flute left to him by his grandmother that he forgot on a train seat when he hopped off last week in Logan Square.

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Whatsapp The 22,000-dollar flute (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times/AP)

Im just thankful that I have the flute in my hand, that I can make music again and I can make people smile, said Mr Rabin, 23, from Boston.

He was riding a Blue Line train from OHare International Airport during a layover before his return to Berklee College of Music in Boston, but when he got off, he realised he had left his flute behind.

He said he rode the train for hours in hopes of finding the flute, and when he came up empty he reported the missing instrument to police and took to social media to tell people what happened.

According to the Chicago Tribune, a CNN reporter told Mr Rabin as he was about to fly out of Chicago that there was a comment on Facebook about the flute showing up in a pawn shop, that a homeless man had found it and used it as collateral for a 550-dollar loan.

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Whatsapp Detective George Hilbring claps after Mr Rabin performed during a news conference (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times/AP)

The pawnshop owner, Gabe Cocanate, was holding on to the flute, trying to determine if it was as valuable as it looked, when he and his wife saw the story of the missing flute on the news.

So when the homeless man returned to the shop, I go, Listen man, its been all over the news. Its not your flute, Mr Coconate told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Police picked up the flute and contacted Mr Rabin, who flew back to Chicago this week, retrieved it and treated officers to a brief concert.

He knew the odds of seeing something so valuable ever again, but said: For some reason, I knew in my heart and soul it would be found. I knew my grandmother would never leave me.
ADLOID a B2B SaaS company has partnered with TATA Motors for the launch of its new Safari 2021 with the help of Augmented Reality. ADLOID is the only company across the globe that claims to meet the needs of enterprise customers across multiple sectors (Automotive, Lifestyle and Home Decor) without compromising on any features of the AR experience. They have created a mechanism to meet the needs of enterprise customers in terms of scale and technology requirements.

Auto manufacturer TATA Motors is one of the first brands that created a virtual experience using AR globally by giving a realistic and interactive 3D experience to its consumers. It enables customers to have a real life experience by rotating and expanding the size of the vehicle, to look closely at both its exterior and interior details, and to take pictures of the car with a high level of photorealism. It also provides performance enhancements, a more comprehensive and improved vehicle research experience for vehicle buyers.

Speaking about the association, Kanav Singla, Founder and CEO of ADLOID said, Augmented Reality is the integrated part of the future and TATA Safaris immersive AR experience will lead the auto industry towards digital transformation. We offer a rich digital experience much closer to walking around a real car than any other video or imagery could ever provide. We are looking forward to more association with TATA Motors.

Prashant Sinha, Co-founder of ADLOID added, The world has affected a lot during the pandemic and we are really happy in the times of social distancing and hygiene we made the launch of TATA Safari new model a successful one, pioneering immersive digital AR experiences for TATA Safari fans.

Nikhil Kurian (Head  Digital Marketing), TATA Motorsfurther added, TATA Motors is bringing back an icon, the Safari in a new Avatar this year. We wanted to leverage the power of digital and new technologies for our customers to experience the Safari virtually at their preferred location with AR. The AR helped us to create an unparalleled buzz even before the car is made available for display and test drives at dealerships. Our customers have adopted this new and innovative way of discovering Safari, with lakhs of users interacting with AR since launch. ADLOID has worked together with us to achieve our Marketing Objectives, to deliver an innovative and first industry experience. They have ensured the highest quality and delivered a near real- life experience of Safari with this AR offering, and we hope to create more emotional experience for car buyers in the coming future.
Health workers in Embu returned to work on Thursday, ending a strike that lasted about two months, after singing a deal with the county government.

Joseph Ngwasi, the Embu branch secretary of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) said they resolved to return to work as the government agreed to address their grievances.

"There is no longer a strike since the county has become cooperative," Mr Ngwasi said on Thursday.

Deputy Governor David Kariuki thanked the workers for agreeing to a return-to-work formula.

Mr Kariuki said the deal followed a series of meetings between workers' unions and the devolved government.

"We had several consultative meetings which brought to an end a strike that had paralysed health services in the region," said Mr Kariuki, who is also the acting Health executive.

He promised the county will honour the agreement so that medics work in a conducive environment.

Going forward

The deputy governor further said the national government promised to release funds on time, which will facilitate implementation of the agreement.

He appealed to workers to meet their end of the bargain by serving the people effectively.

"The county government is committed to providing all the necessary support," he said.

Mr Kariuki further said that to avert crises in future, the department of health will regularly hold consultative meetings with the unions' officials to address emerging issues before they get out of hand.

He said the department is investigating allegations that some private health facilities took advantage of the strike to exploit needy patients.

The workers downed their tools in a protest against poor working conditions, inadequate personal protective equipment as they fight the Covid-19 pandemic and delayed salaries.

They accused the government of failing to promote them and to remit deductions from their salaries to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and other statutory bodies.

Following their decision to return to work, residents said they were happy as they had been suffering.

A video has captured the hilarious moment a TV-obsessed cat got spooked while watching Simba threaten old nemesis Scar in The Lion King.

Six-month-old Bruce can be seen standing on his hind legs, with one paw resting against the television screen, in a video shared on Facebook.

He watches intently as character Simba confronts his old nemesis Scar.

'The choice is yours, Scar,' Simba growls menacingly.

The speech seems to spook poor Bruce, who leaps away in such a hurry that he ends up slipping and crashing head-first into the television unit below.

Six-month-old Bruce can be seen standing on his hind legs, inches away from the television screen, in a video shared on Facebook

Off-camera, he jumped back up and continued watching, unscathed.

Bruce was watching the 2019 remake of Disney's The Lion King with owner Scott Rezende, 43, a dental assistant from Florida.

The cat became part of the Rezende family by chance, having walked through the door one day.

'I was cleaning one day and had the back door open when Bruce walked into the kitchen. He decided it was his forever home and never left.

'Bruce is extremely curious about everything and sometimes jumpy at new things.'

Rezende shared the funny video on Facebook, writing: 'Bruce got so into the movie that he forgot where he was.'

The post attracted 700 likes and comments, with people calling Bruce 'adorable'.

'Now that's hilarious  he was afraid he was gonna get eaten,' one person joked.

'Omg, the best thing I've seen all day. What a sweet moment  until it's not,' another person commented.

Luckily, Bruce the cat was unharmed by the ordeal. Right, owner Scott Rezende, 43, with Bruce

Someone else said: 'I am going to hell because I am laughing at this poor baby so hard  I am truly glad to know he is OK.'

'Aww, kitto katto got scared by Simba,' another person commented.

Others couldn't get enough of the 'hilarious' video, with one person saying they had watched it 13 times and shared it with friends, and another person saying they 'can't stop laughing'.

'I can only imagine what is going on in that cute little head,' someone else wrote.

When he isn't watching movies, quirky Bruce loves to ride around on the family robot vacuum and clean his owner's hair by licking it.
Robust demand from across Asia and Africa sent Indian rice export prices to a three-year peak this week, while Vietnamese exporters struggled to ship due to high freight prices fuelled by a container shortage.

Top exporter India's 5% broken parboiled variety were quoted at $402-$408 per metric ton, its highest since May 2018.

"Along with traditional buyers, China and Vietnam are also buying from India. There's huge demand," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh will use a deepwater port to export rice for the first time in decades amid a global grain shortage, according to a government order seen by Reuters, which could raise shipments this year by a fifth.

Neighbouring Bangladesh, which has been grappling with limited supply, also bought more than 110,000 metric tons from India with more on its way, a senior Food Ministry official said.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's 5% broken rice prices rose to $510-$515 per metric ton from $505-510 last week on thin supply.

"Trade is very slow as most of us are already off for the Lunar New Year holiday, and buyers have suspended signing new contracts waiting for the new harvest," a trader based in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang said.

The harvest of the winter-spring crop, the largest of the year, will peak in late February or early March, traders said.

Shipments were also being hampered by high freight charges due to a container shortage.

"Shipments to regional ports have been facing delays, and we can't even book ships for European and African ports," a trader said.

Thailand's 5% broken rice prices jumped to their highest level since early April at $535-$564 per metric ton, amid concerns over low supplies, while exporters eyed a tender from Iraq, traders said.

Iraq's trade ministry said it intended to procure rice from international suppliers this week.
Mr. Joseph Whittal, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) Boss, on Thursday charged Members of Parliament (MPs) and government appointees to declare their assets in conformity with Act 550.



In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said that would ensure that all public institutions complied with the provisions of Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution and Public Office Holders (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act,1998 (Act 550).



The Act states: A person who holds a public office shall submit to the Auditor-General a written declaration of all properties or assets owned by, or liabilities owed by him, whether directly or indirectly, before taking office at the end of every four years; and at the end of his term of office.



It lists the President, Vice-President, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, a Member of Parliament, and Minister of State or Deputy Minister as those required to declare their assets.



Others are the Chief Justice, Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature, Chairman of a Regional Tribunal, Commissioner on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the deputies.



The rest are judicial officers including members of the regional tribunals, ambassador or high commissioner, secretary to the Cabinet; head of ministry or a government department or equivalent office in the Civil Service.



Mr Whittal explained that as the new government appointed new ministers with Parliament constituted, it was incumbent on constitutionally mandated bodies to remind the officials of their responsibilities under the Asset Declaration Act.



The CHRAJ Commissioner said: We expect that MPs, government appointees and other public office holders listed in the act must declare their assets before resumption of work, he said.



If you accept the appointment you must be ready to do what the Constitution says.



Mr Whittal called on Speaker Sumana Bagbin to ensure that MPs did what was right by declaring their assets, adding: They should have done this before the swearing in.



He said so far as they were paid from the Consolidated Fund the Constitution expected them to declare their assets and that non-declaration was against the law.



The Constitution demands that the chairman, managing director, secretary, general manager, and departmental head of a public corporation or company in which the Republic has a controlling interest, Governor of Bank of Ghana and the deputies are required to declare.



Heads of Department of the Bank of Ghana and Chancery of Ghana Embassy or Ghana High Commission, Chairman of the Electoral Commission and the deputies; and Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education and the deputies are also required to declare.



Officers in the Armed Forces seconded to civilian establishments and institutions; members of the Tender Boards of the Central, Regional and District Assemblies; officials of the Vehicle Examination and Licensing Division not below the rank of Vehicle Examiner; and Presidential Staffers and Aides among others are not left out.

Source: GNA









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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 22:56:15|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attends a high-level virtual dialogue with European business leaders in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday hosted a high-level virtual dialogue with European business leaders in Beijing.

Li started by giving an overview of the current state of the Chinese economy and its outlook, and exchanged views with participants on China-Europe trade and investment cooperation, China's business environment, COVID-19 response, climate change and other issues of mutual interest.

On China's economic situation, Li commented that facing the impacts of COVID-19 and a deep global recession, the Chinese government maintained a cool-headed approach and adopted timely, decisive and effective macro policies, which produced good results at a reasonable cost.

The Chinese economy achieved early and steady recovery, registering a year-round growth of 2.3 percent, he added.

According to Li, China's central and local governments introduced targeted relief policies to address the needs of struggling market entities. Methods such as phased, large-scale tax and fee cuts were adopted to help market entities overcome their difficulties, especially the large number of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and household businesses in various sectors that are the hardest hit by the pandemic.

"Last year, these policies saved more than 2.5 trillion yuan of business costs for market entities of all types," he said.

In the meantime, China has done much to improve the business environment and unleash market vitality, said Li, adding that China has further streamlined the business registration procedures and offered equal safeguards for all types of businesses to level the playing field.

Thanks to these steps, the number of MSMEs and household businesses rebounded in the second half of last year, with the total number of market entities reaching 130 million in China, Li said.

Li noted that the newly established businesses have shown a robust performance, contributing 2.5 trillion yuan to the tax revenue last year.

"The surviving and thriving of hundreds of millions of market entities has furnished a solid foundation for keeping employment stable, meeting people's basic needs, and stabilizing the fundamentals of the Chinese economy," he said.

The high-level dialogue was moderated by Peter Mandelson, former European trade commissioner and British first secretary of state, and attended by business leaders representing close to 30 leading European companies including VOLVO, Airbus, JCDecaux, AstraZeneca, L'Oreal, BASF, and SAP. Enditem

The Gambia government says it has come to its attention that false reports and insinuations predicting the imminent return of former President Jammeh are being amplified by some news and social media outlets.

"Significantly, these baseless reports have provoked anxiety and tension among members of the public. Equally, the misinformation has given rise to acts of deception particularly, among supporters of the former President, who have been terribly misled to believe in these fairy tales over the purported imminent return of former President Yahya Jammeh," according to the government's spokesperson, Ebrima G. Sankareh.

"The public is reminded that former President Jammeh's asylum in Equatorial Guinea is an ECOWAS/AU arrangement. Under these arranged diplomatic circumstances, the host country is obligated to ensure that the former President remains in Equatorial Guinea until agreed and decided otherwise by the parties in consultation with The Gambia Government."

"The Gambia Government hereby assures the public, members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, that Mr. Yahya Jammeh remains in Equatorial Guinea and rumors of his recent flight to Guinea Conakry as well as his planned return to The Gambia are meritless tales being peddled by detractors."

"In the same vein, The Gambia Government urges those detractors to desist from rumor mongering and spreading of false information calculated to cause public anxiety and undue alarm."

This Dec. 2, 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows vials of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. On Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, Johnson & Johnson has asked U.S. regulators to clear the world's first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies. (Johnson & Johnson via AP)

Johnson & Johnson asked U.S. regulators Thursday to clear the world's first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies.

J&J's vaccine was safe and offered strong protection against moderate to severe COVID-19, according to preliminary results from a massive international study.

It didn't appear quite as strong as two-dose competitors made by Pfizer and Modernaa finding that may be more perception than reality, given differences in how each was tested.

But the Food and Drug Administration is asking its independent advisers to publicly debate all the data behind the single-dose shotjust like its competitors were put under the microscopebefore it decides whether to green light a third vaccine option in the U.S. The panel will meet Feb. 26.

Dr. Peter Marks, FDA's vaccine chief, has cautioned against making comparisons before the evidence is all in.

"With so much need to get this pandemic under control, I think we can't ignore any tool in the tool chest," he told the American Medical Association last week. "We will have to do our best to try to make sure that we find the populations that benefit the most from each of these vaccines and deploy them in a very thoughtful manner."

This Dec. 2, 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows vials of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. On Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, Johnson & Johnson has asked U.S. regulators to clear the world's first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies. (Johnson & Johnson via AP)

WHAT THE NUMBERS SHOW

Overall, the single-dose vaccine was 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, according to early findings from a study of 44,000 people in the U.S., Latin America and South Africa.

But it was 85% protective against the most serious symptomsand starting 28 days after their shot, researchers found no one who got the vaccine needed hospitalization or died.

WEAKER BUT STILL FIGHTS MUTATING VIRUS

The one-dose option worked better in the U.S.72% effective against moderate to severe COVID-19compared with 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa, where a more contagious mutant virus is spreading.

Scientists have been looking for real-world evidence about how vaccines work as the world races to stay ahead of the rapidly mutating virus, and welcomed the news that the J&J optionwhile weakerdid still offer protection.

This July 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows a vial of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. On Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, Johnson & Johnson has asked U.S. regulators to clear the world's first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies. (Johnson & Johnson via AP)

OTHER OPTIONS

In large U.S. studies, two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines proved 95% protective against any symptomatic COVID-19.

But those studies were finished before the record virus surges of recent months and the appearance of the worrisome mutants, meaning such testing might not turn out the same if repeated today.

J&J also is studying a two-dose version of its vaccine, but results won't be available for several more months.

THE SUPPLY

J&J said it would have some vaccine ready to ship if the FDA allows emergency use of the shot, but it didn't reveal how much. The pharmaceutical giant said it expects to supply 100 million doses to the U.S. by the end of June.

It expects to file a similar application with European regulators soon.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Erratum: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Atty. Francisco Figura was among those convicted. He was acquitted of the charges. We apologize for this mistake.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  The Sandiganbayan has again convicted businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles in connection with the pork barrel scam  this time, along with former Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Constantino Jaraula.

In a 103-page decision released on Friday, the first division of the anti-graft court found Napoles, Jaraula, and three cohorts guilty beyond reasonable doubt for three counts of graft and three counts of malversation of public funds, particularly the lawmakers Priority Development Assistance Fund.

They were also ordered to return to the government a total of 28.8 million, representing the amount wrongfully or illegally disbursed.

Also convicted were Ma. Rosalinda Lacsamana and Belina Concepcion, former officials of the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center, and Mylene Encarnacion, president of the non-government organization Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic Development Foundation (CARED). Meanwhile, six others were acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt, but they still have to pay civil liabilities.

Jaraula is separately convicted of direct bribery for receiving at least 2 million in kickbacks from Napoles in exchange of choosing CARED as the partner NGO in the implementation of his PDAF-funded livelihood program for farmers in the lone district of Cagayan de Oro in 2007. Jaraula now has to pay thrice the amount he pocketed, or P6 million.

Jaraula earlier denied involvement in the scheme, saying his supposed signatures in various documents relating to his PDAF were forged. Examination into what he agrees as genuine signatures and what he claims as fake show they are very similar, if not identical, the Sandiganbayan noted.

Whistleblower Benhur Luy, the second cousin of Napoles who previously worked for her, also testified that he transacted with Jaraula, and even gave him the rebates, as evidenced by his daily disbursement reports which even matched public records of deposits made to the accounts of CARED and Jaraula.

The prosecution was able to show that the accused, through their concerted acts, with evident bad faith and manifest partiality, gave CARED, and in turn, accused Napoles, unwarranted benefits, the ruling penned by Associate Justice Edgardo Caldona read.

Detained Napoles has been tagged queen of the pork barrel scam, where funds allotted for lawmakers projects were funneled into bogus NGOs.

READ: Napoles convicted, Revilla acquitted of plunder

An estimated 10 billion in government funds were allegedly lost to the scheme, pocketed by Napoles and the lawmakers she had connived with. The Supreme Court declared the PDAF unconstitutional in 2013 following the expose on its misuse.


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Rittenhouses attorneys have countered that Rittenhouse has been receiving threats and moved into an undisclosed safe house after he got out of jail. They said in court filings that they offered to reveal the address if prosecutors would keep it secret, but Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger refused, saying the address is public record.

Highlights Poco is likely to launch smartphone with new Qualcomm chip.

Twitter users believe new phone can be Poco F2.

Poco F2 will succeed 2018's Poco F1.

When is the Poco F2 coming has been the most asked question among the smartphone enthusiasts. Even more than two years after the launch of Poco F1, there is no official word on its successor. However, we might be closer to a launch than before. The company has announced that it has partnered with Qualcomm to bring a new Poco phone. Even though it didn't reveal the name or details of the phone, Twitter users believe that this can finally be the Poco F2 they have been waiting for.

Poco's Country Director Anuj Sharma shared a video from his Twitter account where he is talking to the Qualcomm team. In the video, the two spokesperson hint at an upcoming collaboration.

"So last evening, a simple call from @qualcomm_in to wish POCO on our 1st Birthday took an interesting turn. The team at Qualcomm has promised us something special and very exciting in a few weeks. What could it be? What do you think?" Anuj tweet with the video.

As expected, the responses were filled with predictions around the Poco F2. Some users believe that it can be the first smartphone to come with Qualcomm's newly announced Snapdragon 870 platform which is an upgrade on last year's 865 series. While others said that the smartphone can be powered by Qualcomm-7 series chipsets.

To recall, Qualcomm had recently announced the Snapdragon 870 chipset for smartphone companies that are not willing to spend big on Snapdragon 888 chip but still want to provide flagship-level experience to their users. The chipset is also 5G ready. "With 5G and Wi-Fi 6 capabilities, you'll experience high speeds, increased capacity, and widespread accessibility no matter where you connect with 5G, the chipmaker claims.

Last month, company had hinted that they will be launching the phone with a powerful chip. A leak claimed that Poco might ship the F2 smartphone with the mid-range Snapdragon 732G processor. This was dismissed by Anuj in a AMA session. While answering some questions, Country Director Poco India said, "Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G would not drive the Poco F2".

The Poco F1 was launched in India back in August 2018 at a starting price of Rs 20,999. It packed Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor with LiquidCool tech. The smartphone featured a 6.18-inch display and sport a dual-camera setup at the back. It came with a 4000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support out of the box.
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A: Azaleas must have acidic soil (low soil pH). Soils in the Piney Woods area of East Texas fit that description, as will a few areas farther west. A soil test will tell you for sure.

Alkaline soils such as Texans encounter from Central Texas and westward, notably along Interstate 35 and to the west, will require extensive bed preparation. In sandy East Texas soils you would merely need to add 4 or 5 inches of organic matter (peat moss, compost, etc.) into the top foot of soil and plant your azaleas.

In the alkaline areas, however, you will need to remove 10 inches of soil and replace it with 18 or 20 inches of pure organic matter (equal amounts of sphagnum peat, for its very low pH, and finely ground pine bark mulch). Such a mounded bed would need to be out away from the house so it didnt block weep holes in stone and brick, but the positive side is that it would ensure perfect drainage.

Azaleas need morning sun and afternoon shade. Let your Texas Certified Nursery Professional recommend spacing for the variety you buy.

Q: I have approximately 800 square feet of lawn that was St. Augustine, but that now has bermudagrass encroaching. I always thought that St. Augustine was the more dominant grass and that it would prevail. I am not aware of any selective chemicals that will kill the bermudagrass and let the St. Augustine grow. What are my options?

A: You need to determine why the St. Augustine is thinning. It may be due to chinch bugs. They attack St. Augustine but seldom bother bermuda at all.

Or it could be that the lawn simply got too dry. Bermuda survives drought better than St. Augustine. St. Augustine can also be weakened greatly by take all root rot in the spring and gray leaf spot in the summer.

I really cant diagnose the problem and its solution without more information. You might do a little homework on each of those.

Q: When should I remove the freeze-damaged parts of a bottlebrush plant and a foxtail fern?

A: You can always remove dead tissue from a plant, so anytime you are sure that a branch or twig has died you can trim it away. With several weeks of potentially cold weather ahead in February, there may be more freeze damage to come, so you might want to hold off just a bit before you make all your decisions.

Courtesy photo

Q: Do I have to worry about fig ivy doing any damage to my masonry wall? Does it damage the mortar?

A: No. The hugging vines like fig ivy, English ivy and Boston ivy (curiously, all unrelated) do nothing to pull brick, stone or mortar apart. The only times Ive ever seen them do anything Id categorize as harmful were when they trapped debris behind their stems and caused brown stains on limestone walls or light-colored bricks.

Ive personally had a difficult time removing the cup-like appendages that allow Boston ivy to hold onto siding and window screens, so dont allow the vines to grow beyond their masonry boundaries.

Courtesy photo

Q: Is dwarf mondograss a good groundcover for our backyard? Its very pretty, but are there any downsides?

A: Yes! While it is a beautiful, low-growing groundcover, dwarf mondograss is ultimately slow-growing. It also is susceptible to a fast-moving, soil-borne crown rot fungus that can destroy all or part of a planting in a hurry. Therefore, it requires perfect drainage.

For those reasons, and having learned those lessons the hard way, I do grow dwarf mondograss as a groundcover, but I use it in small areas (2 or 3 feet on a side), and Im always sure to plant it where drainage is perfect. For larger spaces I use regular mondograss as my groundcover. Its ideal.

Q: What type of fertilizer is best for St. Augustine? And when should it be applied? I have pecans in my landscape and Id like to keep them productive if that affects your answer.

A: It doesnt impact the answer at all. Pecans benefit from the same nutrients as your turfgrass does.

You would want an accurate soil test from a bona fide soil testing laboratory such as the one at Texas A&M University. It will probably show that you need to add a high-nitrogen or all-nitrogen food, and that upwards of half of that nitrogen should be in slow-release form.

I fertilize my St. Augustine in early April, early June and early September. That is less often than I feed areas where I have bermuda. St. Augustine is affected by gray leaf spot, the hot-weather fungal leaf spot that is accelerated by applications of nitrogen in the heat of the summer.

Courtesy photo

Q: Ive heard you describe how to salvage a crape myrtle that has been topped. Could you please repeat it?

A: Id be proud to do so. Topping is just so senseless. Always. If you find yourself looking at a crape myrtle that has been butchered by someone who didnt understand the mistake of their ways, the quickest way to a lovely crape myrtle is to cut it off flush with the ground and let it start over (really!).

It will send up 20 or 30 shoots. Select 10 or 12 straight ones as potential new trunks and let them grow for the first summer. In September, narrow the choices down to the best looking five to seven and remove all the rest flush with the ground.

By the second summer youll be able to make your final selection of the three or five trunks that you want to use as the trunks for your reconstituted tree, and you can start nurturing it into a beautiful form. Youll be amazed at how quickly it will bounce back.

Mail questions to Neil Sperry, c/o Features Department, San Antonio Express-News, P.O. Box 2171, San Antonio, TX 78297-2171, or email him at SAENgardenQA@sperrygardens.com.

2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning --

4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS.

We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover.

We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.

Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 5:58 pm

A Thurston County Superior Court judge set bail at $500,000 for a 47-year-old woman accused of killing her mother.

Sheriff deputies arrested Christina Lynne D'Angelo on suspicion of second-degree murder on Friday, Jan. 29. D'Angelo, who goes by the name Ayeshah Ibtisam, is being held at the Thurston County jail.

Judge James Dixon set the bail amount during D'Angelo's preliminary appearance in court Monday, citing a substantial danger D'Angelo may commit a violent crime and fail to appear at court when required.

Deputy prosecuting attorney Scott Jackson said members of D'Angelo's family told him they do not want her to be released because they fear for their safety and her own.

During the hearing, D'Angelo appeared virtually via Zoom from the jail while wearing restraints. After meeting D'Angelo in the jail, her attorney Jenna Norden requested the court order D'Angelo to undergo a mental competency evaluation, according to court documents.

However, the court has yet to sign the order while charges are still pending.

The prosecutor's probable cause statement reconstructs law enforcement's investigation into the death of D'Angelo's 72-year-old mother:

Sheriff deputies said they responded to a home on the 5000 block of Sleater-Kinney Road Northeast around 12:30 p.m. Friday. The statement says D'Angelo called 911 to report her mother was either dead or dying and asked for an ambulance.

Deputies found D'Angelo just outside the home and her mother dead in the kitchen with multiple stab wounds, according to the statement.

A family member reportedly told detectives that D'Angelo was the only person in the home with D'Angelo's mother at the time the 911 call was placed, the statement read.

D'Angelo is due back in court on Feb. 16 for her arraignment.

___
ALBANY  It was at one of Albany Countys first few vaccination clinics  held at the Times Union Center in downtown Albany last month  where Dr. Jacob Reider noticed the problem.

The majority of people coming in for vaccinations against COVID-19 were white. Indeed, everyone Reider inoculated that day was white. All of them had arrived by car. And all of them had signed up using the Internet. Those who were most at risk for severe illness or death from coronavirus  the poor, the disabled, the elderly, Black and brown people  were few and far between.

New Yorkers with co-morbidities now vaccine eligible

While one might argue that the underserved members of our community had an equal opportunity to sign up for the vaccine  I would offer that they certainly didnt have equity, he wrote in a blog post the next day. "Indeed  a sobering observation one of my volunteer colleagues shared with me was that we saw nobody from the neighborhoods adjacent to the facility we were in  everyone we were vaccinating seemed to be from the suburbs.

Reider, a physician who heads the Alliance for Better Health, a regional network of organizations that provide services in marginalized communities, doesnt fault the county for the disparities he observed that day. County leaders were focused on getting as many people vaccinated as possible, he reasoned. Supply was limited, and state and federal guidance dictating who was eligible and who should be vaccinating whom was changing on a daily, sometimes hourly basis.

It did not surprise me, he told the Times Union in an interview this week. There was this mad rush to get vaccinated and you needed pretty good computer skills so who has computers? And who has the capability to open up seven browser windows and get yourself in line? Well, obviously its the people who have resources.

Such scenes have played out elsewhere in the Capital Region and around the nation, and new data is revealing stark racial and ethnic disparities in who is getting the COVID-19 vaccine and who isn't.

Take these figures released Friday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos office: Of the vaccine allotted to the states essential workers thus far, 5 percent have gone to Black workers who make up 17 percent of the eligible pool, 10 percent have gone to Hispanic and/or Latinx workers who make up 14 percent of the pool, and 74 percent have gone to white workers who make up 75 percent of the pool.

Among those 65 years and older, the disparities are again clear: 4 percent of allotted vaccine have gone to Black seniors who make up 13 percent of the eligible pool, 5 percent have gone to Hispanic and/or Latinx seniors who make up 12 percent of the pool, and 78 percent have gone to white seniors who make up 77 percent of the pool.

State and local officials are scrambling to course-correct for these disparities, which experts and community leaders say are fueled by a mix of hesitancy about the vaccine, justified distrust of government and the medical establishment, and the very structural barriers that cause people of color to face poor health outcomes in the first place.

The bigger challenge, from my perspective, is how do we get people who are hesitant and who havent made their minds up, how do we provide them with adequate information and support to help them make up their mind? said Dr. Kallana Manjunath, co-chair of the Capital District Health Equity Task Force, which is advising the regional vaccination network on equity issues with the rollout.

The role that community leaders and trusted messengers will play in bolstering vaccine acceptance in communities of color made itself clear at a vaccination clinic at a public housing site in Troy this week, Manjunath said.

Anecdotally, we heard that there were some individuals who had concerns, but volunteers were able to talk to them and provide assurance and changed their mind, he said. It came from a trusted community memberthey are the ones who are really going to help us.

As early disparities in vaccine allocation became clear, local leaders have sought out state and local partners to develop targeted plans for getting vaccine to the underserved. Proactivity is key, said Reider, whose group has worked on social determinants of health for years.

We cant just let the river flow downstream and expect everything to fall into place, he said. We have to be proactive because of the structural challenges we have in our culture, in our society, in our nation. We cant just let it be because if you let it be the underserved are going to be forgotten. Thats how it always goes.

Limited supply has been the constraining factor in a more equitable rollout early on, officials contend.

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan announced an initiative with Mohawk Ambulance early last month to reach homebound seniors who may not want to leave the house or who lack transportation, but limited supply and a state Health Department approval process kept it from getting off the ground until this week.

On Thursday, Mohawk Ambulance finally administered its first doses to seniors residing at Albanys South Mall Towers, Townsend Park Homes and Westview Homes  public housing complexes that serve low-income and disabled community members. The pop-up vaccination clinics were announced by Cuomos office the day before and were among 35 scheduled to roll out statewide in the past week. A fourth pop-up clinic in the region  at Troys Kennedy Towers public housing complex  was executed by St. Peters Health Partners on Wednesday and Thursday. And Schenectady County vaccinated over 100 seniors who reside in Schenectady Municipal Housing complexes at the Ten Eyck Apartments on Thursday.

Keith Brown, interim public health director for Schenectady County, noted that the clinic was made possible by a special allocation of vaccine from the state designed specifically for the equity-focused initiative. The state Health Department advised counties last month that they were to vaccinate essential workers only or face possible penalties.

The bottom line is that the farther away the doses get allocated from communities, the less and less equitable the distribution is bound to be, he said. So directing doses to giant state-run (sites) that people have to drive to versus giving them to local health departments and federally qualified health centers  youre already tipping the scale against equity.

Brown said he hopes the state will begin distributing larger allocations to community-level providers, including the county health department, as they have years of vaccination experience and relationships that would enable quick identification of vulnerable groups and practiced coordination at initiatives intended to meet their needs.

On Friday, Cuomo announced two major changes that are expected to increase supply to local health departments. The first was that hospitals have one more week to finish vaccinating staff. The second was that after that week is up the state would begin reallocating the majority of 1a hospital worker vaccine supply to county health departments to start vaccinating people with comorbidities. That cohort can begin receiving vaccines Feb. 15, he said.

Community leaders, along with the Capital District Vaccine Equity Task Force, are working to address a number of other equity and access issues, such as language barriers by providing translation services and bilingual staff support. Brown said Friday that the county provided translation services for Spanish-speaking residents at its most recent clinic.

Rural populations are another cohort being looked at, and counties are aiming to reach them with remote clinics as their supply increases.

Brown said Schenectady County worked to facilitate vaccinations for residents of Schenectadys domestic violence shelter and is currently working with the City Mission to ensure vaccinations for homeless residents. A clinic for clientele of Schenectady ARC and Alternative Living Group, which serve individuals with disabilities, is also in the works for next week, he said.

Theres vulnerable people that are Black and people of color and others in our communities that are not getting vaccinated at the same rate that others are, and those are the people we know have been disproportionately dying, he said. So for me, its tough to tell those folks, Im sorry, we just dont have doses for you.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Almost 53 lakh Indians have been inoculated against coronavirus amid the ongoing nationwide immunisation drive, and while there have been 22 deaths subsequently, these are not linked to the vaccination, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

"The number of people who died after taking Covid-19 vaccine shots have reportedly reached 22. None of these deaths have been causally linked with Covid-19 vaccination," the ministry said.

It said one death was reported in the last 24 hours -- a 77-year-old male, a resident of Agra, died seven days after he went for inoculation. According to officials of the ministry, it was ascribed to "shock with pre-existing diabetes".

As per government figures, to date, 52,90,474 beneficiaries have been vaccinated including 3,30,029 people who received vaccine shots on Friday.

A total of 1,04,781 sessions have been held so far.

The ministry also informed that no new event of hospitalisation has followed after vaccination in the last 24 hours while the case of hospitalisation after vaccination stands at 27, which works out to 0.0005 per cent of those vaccinated.

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken into custody two suspects linked with the SAR3.1million (Saudi Arabian Riyal) seized at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Monday.

At the official exchange rate, the seized money translates to about N315milliion cash.

PREMIUM TIMES was, on Friday, informed by sources familiar with the case but not authorised to speak on it that the suspects and the money were apprehended by Customs officers on Monday.

They were handed over to the operatives of the Foreign Exchange Malpractices Section of the EFCC on Thursday, the sources said.

The money was said to have been sealed in brown envelopes and transported in large bags commonly called Ghana must go.

The sources said the bags were intercepted at the baggage hall of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, after being freighted to Nigeria from Saudi Arabia aboard Ethiopian Airline flight.

While confirming the arrest, Wilson Uwujaren, spokesperson of the EFCC, said the suspects had made useful statements.

In brief: Qualcomm had a strong quarter following the release of Apple's iPhone 12, and the company is confident it can leverage Huawei's misfortune to expand the addressable market for its mobile chips.

Qualcomm's earnings report landed today, and it looks like the company rode the iPhone 12's wave of success and impressed investors with better than expected financial results.

For the fiscal quarter ending December 27, 2020 (Q1 of FY2021), Qualcomm made no less than $8.24 billion in revenue, a 62 percent year-over-year increase. And while that did fall short compared to the projected $8.27 billion figure thrown around by analysts, net income was $2.46 billion, almost 18 percent higher than expected and nearly two times as much as the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Outgoing CEO Steve Mollenkopf noted during an investor call, "the chip business is growing like crazy," attributing the good financial results on the insatiable demand for its Snapdragon Mobile Platform as well as strong sales of its modems. Part of that is thanks to a deal with Apple to supply 5G modems for iPhone, but the company also makes money from licensing its extensive list of patents to other companies.

Mollenkopf believes Qualcomm's outlook for the coming year looks particularly good in the light of ever-growing trade restrictions imposed on Huawei by the US. Simply put, demand for Huawei phones outside of China is slowing down, which is covered by other smartphone vendors that buy their chips from Qualcomm as fast as they can be made. The only problem left to figure out is supply shortages, as the executive acknowledged it would directly impact how much the company will capitalize on the opportunity.

In the meantime, Huawei is exploring the idea of building a chip manufacturing plant in Shanghai, but that's several years away from turning the tide for the Chinese company.
The author of the controversial toolkit on the ongoing farmers protest that was tweeted and later deleted by teen Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg has been reportedly identified as Mo Dhaliwal. According to the sources, Poetic Justice Foundation, a group founded by Dhaliwal, had created the toolkit on the farmers' protest for Greta Thunberg.

Mo Dhaliwal, founder and director of strategy at a Vancouver-based digital branding creative agency called Skyrocket. According to his social media profiles, he is also an alumnus of the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia from where he did his two-year Business Administration diploma course.

Dhaliwal is also the co-founder of Poetic Justice Foundation, the organisation that allegedly created the controversial toolkit shared by Greta on her Twitter account earlier this week. This wasnt the first time Dhaliwal made it to the news headlines. His name also popped up in Canada when he had come up with the slogan Love and courage for the 2017 New Democratic Party leadership campaign of Jagmeet Singh.

Earlier in September 2020, Dhaliwal had taken it to his FaceBook account to share a post with the caption, I am a Khalistani. You might not know this about me. Why? Because Khalistan is an idea. Khalistan is a living, breathing movement." These are the words of Mo Dhaliwal, who on 17th September 2020, urged people to sign a petition against Ottawa-based public policy think-tank Macdonald-Laurier Institute for publishing a report titled Khalistan: A Project of Pakistan."

I am a Khalistani. You might not know this about me. Why? Because Khalistan is an idea. Khalistan is a living,... Posted by Mo Dhaliwal on Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Dhaliwal grabbed the worlds attention after Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg included a controversial toolkit document, allegedly written by him, in her prom-farmers protest tweet. Moreover, a video clip surfaced in which he can be seen mobilising support for the agitation, as well as the separatist movement on the day of Republic Days violence.

Take a look at some of his pictures here:

Police at the scene of the Sean Grahams bookmakers shooting as family members and survivors lay flowers.

Police at the scene of the Sean Grahams bookmakers shooting as family members and survivors lay flowers.

Police at the scene of the Sean Graham bookmakers shooting as family members and survivors lay flowers.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill has requested an urgent meeting with the PSNI Chief Constable after police arrested a victim of a Troubles shooting during an anniversary event.

Mark Sykes was detained in the Ormeau Road area of Belfast after officers intervened at the memorial marking the 29th anniversary of a loyalist massacre at the Sean Graham's bookmakers shop, his lawyer said.

Public gatherings of more than six people are currently prevented under Covid-19 lockdown regulations in Northern Ireland.

Five people, including a 15-year-old boy, were murdered and several others injured in February 1992 when Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) opened fire at the bookies.

Footage of angry exchanges involving officers and those attending Friday's event have been posted online.

Mr Sykes was later released from Musgrave PSNI station in Belfast.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne appealed for calm following the incident and in a statement issued on Friday evening he acknowledged that it had taken place on what was a "difficult day" for the families involved.

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Mrs ONeill said in a statement on Friday evening that she requested the urgent meeting with Mr Byrne "to discuss the response to the awful scenes in Belfast today".

The man was arrested at an event to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the Massacre, in which five people including a child were killed by loyalist gunmen using weapons brought into Ireland by a British agent," she explained.

The arrest by the PSNI of this man who was at a wreath laying ceremony attended by family members of those killed has caused unprecedented anger and distress across the community."

She added: "The PSNIs response tonight is inadequate. It further adds insult to injury to the families of the victims who have been waiting almost three decades for truth about the deaths of their loved ones.

I have also contacted the families and am seeking to meet with them as soon as possible.

The Chief Constable needs to understand the damage that the actions of his officers today has had on community confidence in policing."

The Sinn Fein vice president continued: This standard of policing is not acceptable and should not be acceptable to any section of this community.

Mr Byrne said footage of the incident, including body cam footage, will be reviewed.

Outside the police station earlier Mr Sykes' lawyer Niall Murphy said: "Every year the victims and survivors gather in dignity to remember their loved ones and to say a short prayer.

"This year because of Covid restrictions it was restricted to the five families who maintained a dignified silence and left flowers down.

"The police attended, for what reason I will never know, approached victims and survivors of an atrocity and commenced to harass, push and assault man, woman and child."

Mr Murphy said his client was arrested on suspicion of disorderly behaviour.

"The only disorderly behaviour that happened on the Ormeau Road today was by the police who had no right to be there and who have wreaked havoc on community relations both in the Ormeau Road and in the wider community," he said.

Sinn Fein Policing Board member Gerry Kelly said he was "shocked and appalled" at the man's arrest.

He accused police of "heavy handed" tactics.

"The man and other relatives of the five victims of the massacre, which included a 15-year-old boy, were laying wreaths at the scene of the murders to mark the 29th anniversary of the slaying of their loved ones," he said.

Mr Kelly said family members had gathered to call for the publication of a delayed police ombudsman's report into the murders, amid allegations of state collusion.

"As the relatives were dispersing police moved in and arrested a victim of the Bookies' Massacre," he said.

Mr Kelly added: "This man should be released immediately and the police should apologise for adding insult to injury to the families of those who lost their lives in the massacre and who have waited almost 30 years for truth and justice."

Mr Byrne said in a statement on Friday evening officers from the South Belfast Local Team came across a group of "between 30 and 40 people" at the memorial event.

"As the event concluded, two officers approached a person to talk to him about a breach of the Health Protection Regulations," he explained.

"The situation quickly escalated and a man was arrested for disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest. He was taken to Musgrave Police Station and was released at 4.04pm. In the course of the incident a police officer sustained a minor injury to his face."

The senior police chief added: "We are now reviewing all footage of the incident including our officers Body Worn Video and have notified the Office of the Police Ombudsman, and we are carrying out an assessment of the conduct of the officers involved.

"I have personally spoken to the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister, the local Member for Parliament and a range of other stakeholders to brief them on what has happened."

Mr Byrne added: "I fully recognise the sensitivities of this incident and just how difficult a day this would have already been for the families who lost loved ones in the atrocity. That should not be forgotten.

"We are acutely aware that this is the latest incident to raise concerns about the enforcement of Coronavirus Regulations and illustrates there are no easy answers. I would appeal for calm at this time."

New Delhi, Feb 5 : India's drug regulatory authority has withheld approval of Pfizer's Covid vaccine after the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) said that it does not recommend granting permission for its emergency use authorisation (EUA) in the country "at this stage".

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's (CDSCO) expert committee has noted number of serious adverse events (SAE) observed post-marketing of the Pfizer vaccine in other countries as a prime reason behind its non-recommendation for EUA here, minutes of the meeting accessed by IANS said.

"The committee noted that incidents of palsy, anaphylaxis and other SAEs have been reported during post-marketing and the causality of the events with the vaccine is being investigated," the committee observed, as per the document.

Besides, the SEC noted that the firm has not proposed any plan to generate safety and immunogenicity data "in Indian population".

"After detailed deliberation, the committee has not recommended grant of permission for emergency use in the country at this stage," the directions from experts' committee in the document said.

The US-based pharmaceutical giant was the first drugmaker to apply for the EUA of its Covid vaccine in the country on December 5. The Pune-based Serum Institute of India followed it on December 6 for EUA of Covishield while Bharat Biotech sought EUA for Covaxin on December 7.

Both Covishield and Covaxin were permitted for EUA on January 3 by the Drug Controller General of India. Their administration is underway in the country's Covid immunisation programme.

Meanwhile, Pfizer has issued a statement, saying that it has withdrawn its application for now and would re-apply with the additional data in hand sought by the SEC.

"Based on the deliberations at the meeting and our understanding of additional information that the regulator may need, the company has decided to withdraw its application at this time," it said in the statement.

"Pfizer will continue to engage with the authority and re-submit its approval request with additional information as it becomes available in the near future," the company added.
Unrest has gripped Myanmar. Peaceful pro-democracy street demonstrations and work stoppages have given way to paramilitary operations in opposition to the countrys ruthless military, which seized power in a coup detat on Feb. 1.

Military leaders initially restrained response to the first waves of protests, civil disobedience and general strikes has grown more forceful over time, escalating into a brutal effort to put down the movement that has so far left thousands injured and more than 600 dead. Many of those killed have been young protesters, their lives ended with a single gunshot to the head.

The coup returned the country to full military rule after a short span of quasi-democracy that began in 2011, when the military, which had been in power since 1962, implemented parliamentary elections and other reforms. In the weeks since the coup, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the countrys ousted civilian leader, has faced charges in a secret court.
The Biden administration will adhere strictly to the Caesar Acts sanctions package without interfering with humanitarian aid, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.

A US State Department spokesperson confirmed to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that US President Joe Bidens administration will not be lenient when it comes to the implementation of the Caesar Actwhich was imposed in 2019 after the previous administrations Congress (both the House of Representatives and the Senate) enacted itwhile preserving the diplomatic facilitation of humanitarian and relief work, to reach a peaceful solution in the country that war has been tearing apart for the past 10 years.

The spokesperson said that the new administration took upon itself to not target trade lines, aid or humanitarian activities for the Syrian people, and that the law will not affect the Lebanese people or the Lebanese economy, adding that the Caesar Act certainly targets persons or entities that support the Assad regime and impede a peaceful political solution to the conflict, pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2254.

The spokesperson did not comment on the new State Department appointments or the proposed names, after it was reported in the media that the diplomat David Brownstein, who served in the US Embassy in Central Africa, will be assigned to work in the field in the US military bases in the Kurdish region as a successor to Ambassador William Roebuck. Roebuck worked in the region as US Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Syria.

The Biden administration had confirmed that it would not withdraw from Syria anytime soon, even for moral reasons.

In his first press conference on Tuesday, Ned Price, the official spokesperson for the US Department of State, said that the new US administration will reactivate its efforts to promote a political settlement in Syria. The US will pursue this policy with the aim of ending the civil war, in close consultation with Washingtons allies and partners in the UN.

Price stressed that addressing the political settlement must take into account the basic reasons that led to the continuation of nearly a decade of civil war. He added that President Bidens administration will use all tools at its disposalincluding economic pressureto hold people accountable and achieve meaningful reform in the country, while continuing to support the role of the UN in negotiating a political settlement in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

Nairobi  The government on Thursday extended the deadline for replacing the old passport with the biometric version unveilved in August 2017 to December 31.

In a statement to newsrooms, the interior ministry said the move is meant to cover the time lost since since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which triggered the scaling down of production.

The Directorate of Immigration Services had scaled down its operations since March in an effort to mitigate the spread of the virus.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this is the last extension, and Kenyans are advised to make the necessary arrangements and acquire the electronic passports at the earliest opportunity possible to avoid travelling inconveniences," the ministry said in a statement.

"For the avoidance of doubt, starting 1st January 2022, the old dark blue passport will be null and void and NO Kenyan will be able to travel internationally without a valid East African Community biometric e-passport."

Kenyans have been urged to make the necessary arrangements and acquire the electronic passports at the earliest opportunity possible to avoid travelling inconveniencies.

The ministry said the old dark blue passport will be null and void from January 1 2020, saying no Kenyan will be able to travel internationally without a valid East African Community e-passport.

This is the second time the government is extending the exercise, which was to end in March.

The synchronization of East Africa's passports is among measures meant to enhance trade and tourism among the countries within the bloc.

It will also promote the passport's competitiveness at the global stage.

The standard international e-Passport has a chip that holds the same information that is printed on the passport's data page; the holder's name, date of birth, and other biographic information.

It also contains a biometric identifier.

Further, it has a digital photograph of the holder and security features to prevent unauthorized reading or "scanning" of data stored.

The new EAC travel document comes in red, green and sky blue --the colours of the EAC flag -- but with text and national emblems, in gold to complete its face.

The colour of the passport depends on categories.

For instance, EAC diplomats will carry a passport that is red in colour, green for officials and sky blue for ordinary passport holders.

According to the government, more than 2 million Kenyans are yet to replace their old passports.
analysis

Undocumented immigrants have in the past experienced what they describe as 'medical xenophobia' - and they say it's in the best interests of South Africa that they are also immunised against the coronavirus.

While South Africans look forward to the arrival of the vaccines, the migrant community is increasingly worried whether they will have access.

On 1 February, South Africa received its first batch of Covid-19 vaccines - a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India. Another 500,000 doses are expected to arrive later this month.

Once the vaccine has been approved by the SA Health Products and Regulatory Authority it will be administered to the country's frontline health workers. This will mark the beginning of a nationwide mass vaccination campaign as part of the government's measures to combat the pandemic.

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Last week, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said only South African citizens would receive the vaccine during the roll-out, saying the government did not have the capacity to assist undocumented nationals.

"All you need when you go [for a shot] is to show that you have got an ID. That you are a South African registered voter. For...
San Quentin State Prison has been, for some time now, the site of the worst public health crisis in Californias history. As a newly released report by Californias Office of the Inspector General details, the state transferred incarcerated people from another prison into San Quentin without adequately testing them, seeding an outbreak that killed close to 30 people and infected more than 2,500 others. I was incarcerated at San Quentin until October and witnessed the horrors of this outbreak firsthand, including the deaths of beloved community members, and the infections long-term health impacts on many others.

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During normal times, the prison is presented as a symbol of the California Department of Corrections commitment to rehabilitation, even though most of its educational, self-development, and vocational programs are not available in the systems 34 other institutions. Because of its proximity to San Francisco, San Quentin is a popular place for free people to tour, with groups coming into the prison three or more times a week.

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In June 2019, I was part of a group that gave the cast of the Broadway musical Hamilton a tour of San Quentin. They had just begun their San Francisco residence and came to the prison to meet some of the incarcerated people who make up the arts community inside. I remember the phase of the tour that takes visitors into the Dungeon, a decaying rock and clay brick structure that was built by people incarcerated at the prison in 1854. Used for solitary confinement until the 1940s, the Dungeon is now framed as a relic of San Quentins punitive and barbaric past. It is a popular stop on the tour route, as it allows visitors to feel like they can crawl inside the experience of the incarcerated.

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We, the tour guides, and they, the tourists, congregated inside the dark brick chamber, with just a sliver of ambient light emanating from a distant barred window facing an opposing brick wall. The air inside felt stale, and I started to imagine all of the souls that once resided in this icy entombment. The door closed, and from the pitch black stillness there was an explosion of nervous laughter. Just as quickly as unease set in, we all rushed out of the unlocked door and back into the sunshine of the prison yard.

I could hear refrains of What a relief that were out of there, and similar sentiments emanating from the crowd. I couldnt help thinking about the clever trick that was being played on all of us in that moment where the prison yard suddenly felt like sanctuary.

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I couldnt help thinking about the clever trick that was being played on all of us in that moment where the prison yard suddenly felt like sanctuary.

The fact that the Dungeon still exists is no accident of fate. In 2009, the state built a 5-floor, $136 million hospital on the site of a crumbling brick structure that housed the prisons receiving and release (R&R), library, and then-shuttered Dungeon. The design of the new building, curiously, and without regard for aesthetics, left certain aspects of the original architecture intact, creating an unsightly hodge-podge of 19th-century brick transposed on a modern facade. Of the remnants that still stand, the Dungeon is the only structure wholly intact  the library and R&R have been replaced by new iterations.

The Dungeon, billed as a solemn memorial to San Quentins bygone cruelty, hopes to distract us from the brutality of the present. Its preservation was intentional within the design of the new structure  the hospital representing a progressive and humane shift in attitude toward the incarcerated; the Dungeon, as part of the same structure, hearkening its antithesis. We empathize with the imaginary prisoner of some distant past, while the presence of the hospital eases our fears about the present by suggesting that the institution is taking care of its residents and helping them to heal, calming our analytical inclinations and what our eyes are screaming at us.

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But as San Quentin experienced what health experts proclaimed was the second worst COVID outbreak in the nation this summer, the multi-million dollar hospital structure provided little in the way of prevention or relief for the people incarcerated at San Quentin. Numerous incarcerated people have been sent to hospitals in neighboring communities to receive emergency care, access to ventilators, and ICU beds. So one is left to wonder, what is the function of the hospital if not to deliver medical care?

At the same time that the prisons new health care facility lacks a functioning hospital that provides adequate health care for incarcerated people, San Quentins archaic housing structures  massive cell blocks packed with human beings confined in poorly ventilated, unsanitary, and squalid conditions  have, by all accounts, accelerated and exacerbated the spread of the virus throughout the prison.

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The COVID crisis makes clear that the Dungeon is not a vestige of an inhumane past, but a symbol of how little things have changed. In some ways, conditions have gotten even worse. In its time, the Dungeons fourteen 12 by 6 foot cells held 45 people; today, over 2,200 people have tested positive for COVID-19 at San Quentin while locked in cells. For the last 11 months, incarcerated people at San Quentin have been confined to living spaces measuring 4  by 10  feet for up to 23 hours a day due to the lockdown imposed because of the COVID pandemic in all California prisons. This lockdown has done little to stem the tide of the virus, which has attacked all of the states 35 institutions.

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The use of symbols to create simplistic narratives about our past seek to induce collective amnesia and skirt critical analysis. A century ago, after all, prisons were seen as the humane alternative to hangings, torture, or other forms of corporal punishment. This narrative of progress fails to recognize the parallels between public execution and death by COVID, or between the Dungeon and the SHU, or for that matter  an overreach no 18th-century reformer could have ever imagined  mass incarceration.

The arc of history is not linear, and despite our collective fantasy of progress, we are not always better tomorrow than we are today. A new era of activists is beginning to examine and call for the removal of symbols which shape and uphold harmful narratives of our nations past, and which undergird violent systems of power. Many Americans are starting to recognize that Confederate monuments serve as tools of a revisionist and sanitized history that seek to erase ongoing systemic violence. CDCR uses the Dungeon for a similar purpose, as a symbol of evolution out of the age of cruel punishment into an era of humane rehabilitation. Artists, like those at San Quentin, understand the work of narrative; that its not only your object of focus but also your vantage point that determines what becomes obscured and what becomes visible.

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In October 2019, the Hamilton cast returned to San Quentin to watch a performance by the Shakespeare Theater troupe. After the show, many of us who had been part of the tour came together with the cast and shared news and reflections on the experience that we had. I eagerly sought out the company manager, whom I had spent a lot of time with on the tour. She explained how moved she was to see the level of humanity that existed here on the inside. Can I give you a hug? she asked through moist eyes. I responded nervously, Its probably not a good idea, my eyes scanning for correctional officers on the lookout for prisoners violating the rules of overfamiliarity. My mind taking me back to the darkness, the panic and fear I felt not only in the Dungeon, but in every breath of my incarceration.
A CyberTip received by Massachusetts State Police led to the arrest of a 51-year-old Level 2 sex offender in the state who is accused of possessing child sexual abuse imagery, authorities said Thursday.

Kevin Migneault was arraigned Wednesday in Ayer District Court on charges of possession of child sex abuse imagery and failure to register as a sex offender in connection with allegedly possessing multiple videos and images of children engaging in sexual acts, according to a statement from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryans office.

The Level 2 sex offender is accused of living at a Westford home, where he was not registered, the prosecutors office noted.

Westford police began their investigation on Dec. 3 as a result of a CyberTip from the state police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Cyber Crime Unit, according to Ryans office. The tip claimed child sex abuse imagery had been uploaded using a Kik Messenger account.

The tip, which had been issued by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, was connected to an IP address at a home on Groton Road in Westford, the district attorneys office said.

Ryans office said that after obtaining subpoenas, executing a search warrant and conducting physical surveillance, authorities investigation revealed the suspect had uploaded multiple images of minor female victims with his messenger account.

Police were ultimately able to identify the defendant at the residence and determine he had been living there for over a year despite being registered in Chelmsford, the prosecutors office said.

The defendant was ordered held on $10,000 bail and told not to have any unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18, check in with probation weekly if he posts bail and not to use the internet or social media, with the exception of communicating with his attorney and making any court appearances that require he be on Zoom, according to authorities.

His next scheduled court date is Feb. 26, officials said.
In January 2021, the citizens of Kyrgyzstan voted through a referendum to change the countrys political system, opting for a presidential form of governance that stands to boost the power of its newly elected president, Sadyr Japarov. While some argue this move could bring stability to the deeply divided society, others point out that it could also mark the beginning of a shift away from the openness that earned the country its reputation as the freest in Central Asia.

Transitions reminds that the year 2020 was a particularly eventful year for Kyrgyzstan: in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the country experienced unrest that resulted in its third revolution and the fall of the Soorinbai Jeenbekov government in October 2020. A new interim government, led by Sadyr Japarov, was rapidly installed, before a regular presidential election on 10 January 2021 confirmed Japarov as president-elect.

That same day Kyrgyz voters were also asked to choose via referendum whether they wanted a presidential or a parliamentary form of governance, or neither of the above. Voter participation was low, at around 30 percent, for both the referendum and the presidential vote, of which 1,133,485 voters  or 81.3 percent  voted in favor of the presidential form of governance. Another referendum to decide on specific details of this reform is scheduled for the spring of 2021.

From a presidential to a hybrid model

Since 1993  the year Kyrgyzstan adopted its first constitution as a sovereign country following its departure from the Soviet Union in 1991 Kyrgyzstans Basic Law has been changed through nine referenda. Each time, the debate has centered on the balance of power between the president, who is elected directly, and the Jogorku Kenesh, the Kyrgyz parliament.

In almost all versions of the constitution up to the 2010 edition, the president has held more power than the parliament, controlling the courts, the prosecutors office, the security agencies, the army, and the heads of state administrations, as well as having the final say in matters of foreign and domestic policy.

The powers of the Jogorku Kenesh have always included the adoption of laws, as well as approving the presidents appointment of judges, the prosecutor general, and the chairman of the National Bank. In the entire history of Kyrgyzstan, there has never been a case of the parliament not approving appointments made by the president. The main reason for this is that political forces backed by the president have always managed to impose their decisions within the parliament.

In 2010, following the second revolution and ethnic clashes in the south of the country that led to the departure of the strongman president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, a constitutional reform sought to rebalance power between the president and the parliament, in the hope of avoiding more of the violence that marked the country that year.

Under the post-2010 system, the parliament approves and controls decisions made by the government: the president appoints judges, the prosecutor general, and the head of the National Bank only with the approval of the parliament. Meanwhile, the president still controls appointments to the security agencies, the anti-corruption service, the army, and the heads of state administrations.

A rushed process

One of the first things then-interim Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov did in October 2020 was to propose yet another constitutional reform. The changes he proposed included reducing the number of deputies from 120 to 90, switching from a proportional to a majority system, and strengthening the role of the president.

Those amendments were enshrined on 17 November 2020, when the Jogorku Kenesh submitted a new draft of the constitution that significantly expanded presidential powers: the president would be able to single-handedly appoint the government, judges, and the prosecutor general, and would adopt acts that have the force of law. In contrast, the reduced parliament would have only a legislative function. Finally, a new 750-member body called the Kurultai, or Assembly of the People, would be established as an instrument of dialogue between the people and the government. The Kurultai, whose exact role remains to be defined, would meet once a year and is a project largely driven by Saparov himself.

The very process by which the parliament hastily submitted the new draft constitution has been called into question by a number of experts as well as lawyers and civil society actors, who point out that the parliament does not have the right to propose and suggest public amendments to the constitution in its prorogation period. Regardless, voters were called to cast their ballot on 10 January 2021 in a referendum regarding the form of governance.

Impact on the future of Kyrgyzstan

While some make the claim that a strong president is best for such a young democracy and can bring stability, Kyrgyzstans recent history suggests the opposite. Erica Marat, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington, notes in a series of posts on Twitter: This [call for a presidential model] is the beginning of another yo-yo moment of top-down authoritarianism, suppression of free speech and nationalist [sic], as well as consolidation from the bottom  now by urban activists and regional politicians. It wont end well, there will be more protests, both peaceful and violent. The past decade showed that however imperfect, the parliamentary system allowed all major politicians/business interests to settle competing interests on the parliament floor, not streets  Like Trump, he [Japarov] is supported by economically disadvantaged [people] and corrupt elites. When his economic policies inevitably fail (the man doesnt even know branches of government), hell have to resort to a toxic mix of nationalism and suppression. He may lose some of his base and anger his opponents. There may be violent flair ups, unfortunately.

The pressure is definitely now on Japarov to deliver quickly and effectively before the next referendum and parliamentary elections, as the country deals with the consequences of the pandemic and the return from Russia of many labor migrants whose remittances have kept many families afloat. According to Emil Juraev, a professor of political science at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Academy in Bishkek, what will happen in 2021 was largely predetermined by the events of the end of 2020: The year 2021 begins with early presidential elections, followed by local elections, a referendum on the adoption of a new constitution, and new parliamentary elections in an as-yet-undefined sequence and time frame. This series of votes will take place against the backdrop of an extremely worrying economic situation, and the little-predicted situation with COVID-19. A number of opposite behaviors will be demanded from the citizens of Kyrgyzstan  activity in the political field, patience and restraint in the economic field, and caution in the epidemiological field. Whether all these processes will go smoothly and lead to the necessary and creative results by the end of the year is a big question that will hang over the whole of 2021.

Now that Japarov is in place, the coming months before the spring voting season are seen as a real test: how will Japarov and his team present the details of the new presidential system? Will they be able to convince more than 30 percent of the electorate to vote, unlike last time? And what will be the mindset of the 70 percent who did not vote last time?
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Magpie trainer: Paul Mander  Prominent listing in the closing credits for Penguin Bloom.

Cant remember the last time I saw a credit for a magpie trainer in a movie, but rest assured, Paul Mander deserves star billing for his behind-the-scenes work in the Netflix original movie Penguin Bloom, a three-tissue weeper based on the true story of a family fractured by a horrific accident  and the black-and-white Australian magpie that helped them heal.

In fact, this is one of those inspired by real life events movies that would have seemed completely far-fetched (or perhaps based on an illustrated childrens book) were it not that the story is adapted from the bestselling nonfiction book Penguin Bloom: The Odd Little Bird That Saved a Family, by Bradley Trevor Greive and Cameron Bloom, the latter of whom wanted to share with the world the initially heartbreaking but ultimately soaring tale of what happened to his family after his wife, Sam, was left paralyzed from the chest down after falling from a hotel balcony in Thailand in 2013.

The invaluable Naomi Watts plays Sam Bloom, and let it be noted this is the second time Naomi Watts has played a character who meets with calamity on a family vacation in Thailand, the first being the 2012 tsunami disaster film The Impossible. When we meet the Blooms, theyre enjoying an idyllic life in a beach-side suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Sam and her husband, Cameron (Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead), and their young sons, Noah (Griffin Murray-Johnston), Reuben (Felix Cameron) and Oli (Abe Clifford-Barr) are a close-knit family, with the boys still at that age where they actually love being around their parents all the time, but when Sam leans against a railing with rotted wood on that aforementioned hotel roof and falls two stories to the unforgiving ground, shes left paralyzed and deeply depressed, prone to fits of rage, lashing out at her supportive husband and retreating into herself just when the boys need her the most.

Enter one Penguin Bloom. Of course, the little magpie doesnt have a name when the eldest son, Noah (who also serves as the narrator for the story), finds him alone on the beach and takes him home. The boys name the magpie Penguin because of his black-and-white plumage, but Sam cautions them not to get attached to this bird because he needs to be outside in the world, not confined to home and unable to fly. Hmmmm, can you spot the 800-pound metaphor in the room?

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................................................................

Ive seen movie pups that dont have as much personality as Penguin, who is portrayed by eight magpies (guided by Paul Mander, magpie trainer) as he grows up and literally learns to spread his wings and fly. (A little bit of CGI magic is seamlessly sprinkled in here and there.) Director Glendyn Ivin shamelessly but effectively embraces virtually every possible comedic and dramatic possibility, whether Penguin is hopping about the house and knocking things over, getting trapped in a bin of honey (the Blooms are beekeepers, and why not?), delighting the boys with his antics or pestering Sam, who at first wants nothing to do with this silly creature but inevitably comes to bond with Penguin in remarkable ways.

Penguin Bloom follows the ups and downs of many a movie about a tragedy that nearly destroys someone before resilience and love win the day. Jacki Weaver pops in as the obligatory hovering mother, who nearly smothers Sam with all her fussing and concern but is at heart just a mom who wants her daughter not to give up on life, while Lincoln does steady work in the supportive spouse role, which always comes with that one scene where the partner who wasnt injured blows up and says this has deeply affected him too.

Watts is such a chameleon of an actress, such a pro at slipping into a vast array of roles without drawing attention to the mechanics of her work, that we almost take for granted how damn good she is  and she delivers beautiful and resonant work as Sam. Its probably not easy to have a magpie as your co-star, even a magpie as amazing as Penguin Bloom.

PENGUIN BLOOM

3 stars

RATED: No MPAA rating

WHEN: Now streaming

WHERE: Netflix
The "Contract Furniture and Furnishing Market in Europe 2020-2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The contract furniture and furnishing market in Europe is poised to grow by $2.64 bn during 2020-2024 progressing at a CAGR of 3% during the forecast period.

The market is driven by the declining preference for buying new furniture and growing number of office spaces.

This report on the contract furniture and furnishing market in Europe provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current Europe market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This study identifies the growing demand for modern furniture in educational institutions as one of the prime reasons driving the contract furniture and furnishing market in Europe growth during the next few years.

The robust vendor analysis is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading contract furniture and furnishing market in Europe vendors that include Brunner GmbH, Humanscale International Holdings Ltd., Haworth Inc., Herman Miller Inc., ITAB Group, KI, Kinnarps AB, Knoll Inc., Steelcase Inc., and Teknion Group.

Also, the contract furniture and furnishing market in Europe analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage on all forthcoming growth opportunities.

The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors.

The publisher presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers.

Story continues

The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research - both primary and secondary. The market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast an accurate market growth.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

Market Overview

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019-2024

Five Forces Analysis

Five forces summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market segments

Comparison by End-user

Hospitality and food services - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Offices and home offices - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Retail stores - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Institutions - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by End user

Customer Landscape

Overview

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Germany - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

France - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

UK - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Rest of Europe - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive Scenario

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Brunner GmbH

Humanscale International Holdings Ltd.

Haworth Inc.

Herman Miller Inc.

ITAB Group

KI

Kinnarps AB

Knoll Inc.

Steelcase Inc.

Teknion Group

Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/nqvyt7

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005372/en/

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At least four Harare City Council officials and 13 councillors are facing arrest over allegations of attempting to siphon millions of dollars in a dubious US$868 million Chinese loan deal.

The Special Anti-Corruption Unit in the Office of the President (Sacu) is probing suspended town clerk Hosea Chisango, acting chamber secretary, Charles Kandemiri, acting finance director Stanley Ndemera and acting Harare water director Mabhena Moyo.

Councillors under investigation include Kudzai Kadzombe, Stewart Mutizwa and Luckson Mukunguma.

Documents at hand show that councillors sat jointly as the Environment Management Committee and the Finance Committee to endorse an alleged fraudulent report from the town clerk's office.

"The report had false information. It stated that Sinohydro was still at a prefeasibility study yet he (town clerk) had completed detailed studies, designs and priced BOQs (and) it had inflated prices," part of the documents gleaned by the Zimbabwe Independent read.

Sacu could not immediately comment saying it was still investigating the shady water deals.

The US$868 million deals were meant to address the Harare water crisis but Chisango and officials in the water section allegedly allocated the contracts to Sino Hydro, China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC), China Geo-Engineering Company (CGEC) and China Machinery and Engineering Company (CEMC), without following proper tender procedures.

A report sent to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) showed that Harare was likely to be prejudiced of US$100 million in the US$237 million deal with a Chinese firm to refurbish Lyndhurst water plant.

"Armed with commercial contracts, the Chinese are now entitled to the US$237 million. Any cancellation will result in the employer paying huge costs," a whistleblower's report reads.

"The residents of greater Harare (Harare, Ruwa, Norton, Epworth, Chitungwiza and New City) were committed to such an exorbitant loan and the best way out is to delete institutional memory, by dismissing the some employees."

Sources said there was a problem over how Chisango engaged a Chinese firm to Lyndhurst and Crowborough Sewage Treatment Plant.

"During the negotiations with the Chinese company at a lodge to get a loan for the construction of the two sewage plants; the first conflict between the Chinese Company with council workers was the designs of the sewage treatment plants and selection of treatment process.

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"Council experts noted that Lyndhurst did not need that expensive design and process system simply because it receives predominantly domestic sewage. The second conflict was that the cost of the two sewage plants was too exorbitant with comparison to the international market rates.

"On average the two sewage plants were at a cost of US$1 million per megalitre which was a unit cost price when the technology was first introduced 40 years ago. The current unit rate has reduced to US$0,5 to US$0,7 million per megalitre due to market competition and technological improvements, thus the Chinese company was supposed to push down their bid by that margin. This means the cost of the sewage plants would be reduced from US$120 million to US$84 million."

Another conflict in the department of water, it emerged, involved the attempts by council to re-engage Sidal Engineering and ERAC (Pvt) Ltd without going to tender.

"The other major conflict prevailing is that the City of Harare wanted council officials to re-engage Sidal Engineering and ERAC (Pvt) Ltd in terms of Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15) Section 211 (10) (a) without inviting public tenders," an investigative report handed over to Zacc reads.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Liao Bing, former CEO of GAC NIO, has founded a new NEV (new energy vehicle) brand dubbed Ziyou Motor (meaning freedom), according to his personal social media platform of Sina Weibo.

The newborn brand belongs to Ziyou (Shenzhen) New Energy Technology Co.,Ltd., where Mr. Liao serves as the legal representative and general manager. According to the corporate data platform Qichacha, the company was registered on Feb. 2 and involves a registered capital of 100 million yuan ($15.477 million). Its ultimate beneficiary is also Liao Bing.

Photo credit: Ziyou Motor



The new company has a line of business including the technical services for traditional automobiles and NEVs, the R&D of auto engineering, the promotion of new material-related and energy-saving technologies, and the construction and operation of battery replacement stations, according to Qichacha.

On behalf of Ziyou Motor, Liao Bing signed a cooperation agreement with Henan Senyuan Group and Beijing Xingding Rongsheng Capital Co.,Ltd. shortly before he posted the news on his Weibo account.

Liao Bing resigned on Jan. 22 as CEO of GAC NIO and dropped all administrative duties at the company's subsidiaries. His capacity as CEO of GAC NIO would be taken over by Yang Yin, a marketing executive for GAC Motor, said GAC NIO.

Liao Bing was at the helm of GAC NIO since the company's foundation in 2018. He had engaged in R&D, quality, strategy and management in Guangzhou Automobile Honda, GAC Component, GAC FCA, and GAC R&D Center.

The resignation came after GAC NIO obtained an investment from its parent company, GAC Group. The Guangzhou-based automaker announced on Jan. 15 it agreed GAC NIO to increase registered capital and shares by introducing strategic investors. The capital was set to be raised by 2.405 billion yuan ($372.222 million), of which 482 million yuan ($74.6 million) were offered by GAC Aion, a NEV automaker wholly owned by GAC Group.
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Internal rules proposed in the Senate on Thursday include new mandatory trainings on implicit bias and bystander intervention, a few transparency measures to boost public access to information, and greater limitation on a delaying maneuver utilized during policing reform debate last year.

The three drafts filed by the Temporary Rules Committee -- Senate Rules (S 10), Joint Rules (S 11), and COVID-era Emergency Rules (S 12) -- also address the Legislatures committee structure as the branches look to set up those panels with the bill-filing deadline approaching on Feb. 19.

The Senate proposals would re-establish a Joint Committee on Bonding and do away with the Senates own Bonding Committee, a move that Temporary Senate Rules Committee Chair Joan Lovely said would give the upper chamber a greater voice on borrowing bills.

We know that joint committees are kind of a little lopsided Senate to House, just because of the numbers. But this gives, for this particular committee, more opportunity for Senate to weigh in, Lovely said.

Also included in the draft Joint Rules are three new committees jointly announced this week by Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano -- Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity; COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management; and Racial Equity, Civil Rights and Inclusion.

And as the Legislature gears up to redraw legislative and Congressional districts this year, the Senate Committee on Redistricting would gain a Democrat, increasing its membership to six Democrats and one Republican.

Were waiting for our Census numbers which are a bit delayed. But redisricting, as you know, every 10 years is a very important, critical process, Lovely told the News Service. Its a big undertaking so we want to make sure that theres enough members to kind of shoulder all the work.

The Salem Democrat said that mandatory trainings on implicit bias and anti-harassment bystander intervention were proposed partly in response to what members heard from Beacon BLOC, a coalition of Black legislative employees, as well as the Senates workplace climate survey.

Attention to diversity is also urged by another change which would require committees to make reasonable efforts to promote the diversity of expert witness panels at hearings. So that theyre not all, frankly, white ... white people, I guess I would put it, Lovely said.

In the joint rules proposal, the Senate once again aims to require joint committees to publicize their poll results on the Legislatures website, a change proposed by the Senate in 2019 that did not win favor in the House. Other transparency moves include a requirement for committees to share copies of testimony with the public upon request, a requirement that tentative agendas be posted in advance of all sessions rather than just informals, and preserving the text of amendments online even if they are withdrawn by the sponsor.

Further limitation would be imposed on the parliamentary motion to lay a matter on the table, a tactic occasionally employed by senators over the years to unilaterally postpone debate or action on a bill. A matter cannot currently be laid on the table during the last seven calendar days of formal business in a session, but the new rules package seeks to extend that window to 14 days.

We want to back that out to 14 days, give a little more of a cushion -- so that people understand that in the last days of the session we want to be able to do the business of the Senate, and not have it be inhibited by someone invoking that rule ..., Lovely said.

That motion surfaced a few times last session; Republican Sen. Ryan Fattman twice laid policing reform legislation on the table in July. Senate Democrats over the years have traditionally allowed members to lay a bill on the table three times before considering such motions dilatory and working their way around them.

In addition to the sets of Senate rules and joint rules, senators next week will also consider a package of COVID-era emergency rules, largely the same as last sessions, which Lovely said would expire in January 2022 if were there by then, if we can let them go at that point.

Revisions to the emergency rules codify the method by which remote committee hearings have been operating, provide for virtual member and staff trainings until in-person trainings can be held, and in the absence of an amendment deadline order would set automatic conditions for consideration of bills -- the legislation must have been available for amendment for at least 48 hours, and amendments can be filed until the session convenes.

Minority Leader Bruce Tarr called the proposals a starting point but said more revision is needed so senators can digest the bills theyre voting on and so that the public can stay informed.

In my humble opinion, the rules for some time have needed reform to ensure that theres more time for people to consider things that are coming before them, and that we ought to have more reasonable guidelines about when the Senate can be in session, particularly with regard to sessions that go past midnight. I think the rules need serious revision in those areas, the Gloucester Republican told the News Service. I think weve seen once again, toward the end of the session that just ended, that we had things that moved very quickly without time for their contents to be fully read and understood -- not only by us, but by the public.

The Senate met late into the night several times last session, including policing reform debate that stretched until after 4 a.m. in July, and the final day of session which ran past 4 a.m. in January while senators completed work on weighty policy matters.

Current Senate rules ban sessions from advancing beyond midnight unless two thirds of members present agree to suspend rule 38A 1/2 on a recorded vote. However, Senate Democrats bypassed that rule last session by obtaining unanimous consent from members of both parties without a recorded vote.

The House last week announced plans to delay its own internal rules debate until as late as July. Lovely said the Senate never considered a similar move.

That was not on the table in the Senate, no. No, we wanted to go through the tradition of doing the rules at the beginning of the session. It gives us stability, it gives the members opportunity to make recommendations, especially based on what weve just been through in the last 12, almost 12 months. ... We wanted to move forward.

Amendments to the trio of rules packages are due Monday at 2 p.m. ahead of debate on Thursday.
Florida is considering a bill to allow parents to have their children repeat a year of school to make up for lost learning during the pandemic.

Remote leaning introduced last spring and frequent quarantining restrictions at many schools across the state has caused kids to fall behind in class.

Democratic state Senator Lori Berman introduced her proposal 'because online learning is self-directed school work that requires discipline, many elementary and middle school students may not be thriving.'

Parents of elementary and middle school students would have until June 30 to request their child repeat a grade next year.

Students wear masks as they work in a fourth-grade classroom at Elk Ridge Elementary School in Buckley, Washington. Children across the states have faced academic setbacks over closures and quarantining measures

'We know that the COVID slide is real and troubling,' Berman told the Miami Herald.

'This would give parents the opportunity to hold their child back for one year only.'

Any students who were held back could not be moved back up during the year, the bill states.

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said last year he would back the idea, saying 'parents may, at their discretion, choose to keep their child in the same grade for the 2020-2021 school year.'

However, he never legislated the promise in any emergency or executive orders, despite pushing for schools to reopen.

Berman's bill has another two hearings in the Senate, while a companion bill is expected to pass before the House shortly.

She told Fox: 'There are indications that more students are failing as a result of the COVID slide, and hopefully they can improve. But I believe there is a real need for this bill to help our struggling students.'

There have been concerns raised by Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran over how the bill might affect student athletes who could be limited by not being able to compete in the appropriate age group.

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said last year he would back the idea, saying 'parents may, at their discretion, choose to keep their child in the same grade for the 2020-2021 school year' (pictured at a press conference in Pahokee on Wednesday)

Berman said she'd discussed those concerns with Corcoran and hoped an amended bill would be satisfactory to ease his concerns.

'One of the reasons why we amended the bill overall down to K-8 was so that we would not run into a lot of the issues that happened in high school with eligibility and things like parents wanting their child to attend prom,' Berman told the Herald.

Asked whether Corcoran would support the amended version she said wasn't 100 percent sure, 'but I am hopeful.'
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Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 47F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 47F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
Loading The arrests of Mr Lee in Thailand and Mr Tse in the Netherlands are among the most significant in the history of the federal polices efforts to counter organised crime with the help of drug enforcement agencies across Asia, Europe and North America. Official sources said they signal the determination of federal police Commissioner Reece Kershaw to revitalise the agencys attack on transnational organised crime, which generates tens of billions of dollars every year in Australia. Mr Kershaw elevated the combating of organised crime alongside countering terrorism and foreign interference in his 2020 National Press Club address. While former prime minister Kevin Rudds declaration in 2008 that organised crime was a national security priority was heralded at the time by federal and state police agency chiefs as a long overdue recognition of the damage wreaked in Australia by transnational crime syndicates, the fight against organised crime has mostly struggled to get the attention and resourcing of successive federal governments.

This is despite persistent warnings from local and international security agencies that offshore crime groups corrupt government agencies in Australia and overseas, undermine stability in nations with weak governance and engage not only in drug trafficking and money laundering, but human trafficking, cyber crime and weapons smuggling. Mr Lee has been on the radar of Australian police for almost 40 years. In the 1980s, he was arrested in NSW over a suspected heroin importation in a case that collapsed after a co-accused was found dead in jail. The federal polices drug taskforces investigated Mr Lee again in the 1990s and early 2000s, and he is also suspected to have helped set up the 14 K triad drug hub in the Netherlands that flooded Europe with heroin sourced from the Golden Triangle in south-east Asia. Mr Tse and Mr Lee are suspected to have been jointly involved in multiple billion-dollar drug importations into Australia over several decades and their pending extraditions come 25 years after the pair were arrested by the FBI for smuggling heroin into New York. Melbournes Crown casino. Credit:Scott McNaughton

Official sources involved in international drug enforcement and who are not authorised to speak publicly said both Mr Tse and Mr Lee had connections to senior officials in Asian countries, including a minister in Taiwan and powerful officials in Thailand. In December an associate of the pair, Triad boss Broken Tooth Wan Kuok Koi, was blacklisted by the US. The government, which barred him and his family from any dealings with the US financial system, alleged Wan had attached his extensive criminal operations to the Chinese governments Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The case against Mr Lee will rely on hundreds of phone conversations intercepted by the federal police as part of an operation codenamed Volante, as well as statements from federal agents about how they cracked a complex cipher code used by The Company. Macau crime boss Wan Kuok Koi, known as Broken Tooth, walks out of Coloane Prison in Macau in 2012. Credit:AP The code was allegedly used by Mr Lee while he was based in Hong Kong in 2012 to instruct Australian syndicate members about what phone numbers to call to receive money laundering or drug trafficking directions.

In the 2016 Melbourne court case of a local drug supplier, federal agents referred to a man called John  who was allegedly Mr Lee  who told his Australian associates to describe heroin as Mr A, cocaine as Mr B and ice as Mr C. It was only by cracking Lees cipher that Australian investigators, with the help of Hong Kong police, were able to conduct surveillance of a meeting at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Hong Kong in 2012 and allegedly identify John as Mr Lee. However, it is understood lawyers for Mr Lee are alleging the federal police has mistaken his identity and are fighting efforts to extradite him. While global media attention has focused on the arrest of Mr Tse due to his senior position in The Company, Mr Lees resilience, success and longevity as a suspected transnational drug trafficker is on par with many of the worlds better known drug bosses. Policing authorities say that The Company is a prime case study of the modernisation and corporatisation of organised crime. The syndicate is an amalgam of once competing Chinese Triad groups that have variously worked with Australian bikies, South American cartels and European crime bosses.

The Company mostly avoided generating media headlines and viewed violence as bad for business as it industrialised drug production via super laboratories in Myanmars lawless Shan State and accessed massive stockpiles of precursor chemicals in southern China. Loading A police intelligence report circulated among overseas agencies warned The Company had corrupted policing and security agencies across Asia. In 2019, Mr Tse even obtained the contents of a highly confidential Australian Federal Police document circulated among partner forces which alerted him to the fact that he was Target 1 of an operation created to capture him. Mr Lee was also listed on the same document as Target 6. The operations of The Company were first reported in 2019 by The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Sixty Minutes in a story documenting how triads had infiltrated Crown Resorts.
The Indian government has said that a very small section of farmers in parts of India have some reservations about the new farm laws. (Qamar Sibtain/IANS photo)
Like many other businesses faced with the uncertainty of living in a pandemic, ILMO Products Co. was monitoring the news in March as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was spreading its way across Illinois.

Extra attention was given to the possibility of the increased demand for oxygen resulting from the respiratory symptoms of the illness.

Last March was pretty crazy, said Liz Standley, branch service coordinate. The news was building every day.

ILMO, at 7 Eastgate Drive, is a single-source provider of industrial, medical and laboratory gasses in both smaller tanks and bulk  from gasses for agricultural use down to the propane tanks consumers switch out at stores.

By mid-March, ILMO realized it needed to review its strategies, not only to make sure its staff was safe but to ensure it could continue to supply much-needed products, Standley said.

We created a COVID-task force, she said.

Department heads, safety managers and human resources personnel came together to plan out actions for several months ahead and how ILMO was going to make it through this, she said.

Our first priority was making sure employees were safe, Standley said. Our second was making sure that our customers had everything they needed.

Thinking ahead, ILMO used its already stocked inventory to ensure that oxygen tanks for hospitals and nursing homes would never fall short.

We have the ability to have 50 full tanks, go to a hospital and switch them out for 50 empties, Standley said. We can pretty much do a full swap.  We havent had a big dip in service time.

Along with oxygen tanks, other gasses have been in demand, to, she said.

For example, ILMO also supplies gasses to hospital maintenance departments so welding can be performed.

Like other businesses that have felt the strain during the pandemic, ILMO has been able to maintain consistency with its products, even as the stress has been there, Standley said.

We have been holding our own and were getting through it, she said.

Brasilia, Feb 5 : The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and the Rio de Janeiro-based mining giant Vale have signed an agreement that commits the company to pay nearly $7 billion in recompense for a dam disaster in 2019 that killed more than 270 people and polluted a vast region.

The government of Minas Gerais described the Thursday's agreement as the largest reparations ever in Latin America, reports Xinhua news agency.

The company's tailings dam collapsed on January 25, 2019 in the town of Brumadinho, burying houses under toxic mud and causing at least 272 deaths, while 11 others are still unaccounted for.

"Vale is determined to fully repair and compensate for the damages caused by the Brumadinho tragedy and contribute, increasingly, to the improvement and development of the communities in which we operate," the company's CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo said.

The "unprecedented" agreement will pay for public works that will generate 360,000 jobs "over the coming months and years", Governor of Minas Gerais Romeu Zema said.

According to the agreement, 30 per cent of the funds will go to Brumadinho and its population through a cash transfer program for residents of the affected area.

About $870 million will be earmarked for the recovery of the Paraopeba River basin, and $1.2 billion for rsocio-environmental damages.

Vale was also involved in the Mariana dam disaster which occurred on November 5, 2015, in the same Minai Gerais state.

The disaster killed 19 people and the extent of the damage caused is the largest ever recorded with pollutants spread along 668 km of watercourses.
Most people from anti-Ranjan political camps and who have personal grudges against him publicly denounce Ranjan as a social evil. His personality is irrelevant to a court that hears a contempt of court case.

by Helasingha Bandara

Present tense is used for the title of this article, for a concluded trial, because the view that isexpressed here is applicable to similarcases, past, present, or future, irrespective of any individuals involved. Ramanayakas case is chosen for its symbolic value as it is still new and hotly debated. Dr. Nihal Jayawickramas Daily Financial Times article Is Ranjan Ramanayake disqualified?, dated Tuesday2nd of February 2021 is the influence for this article. Being a legal expert, Nihal Jayawickrama has logically outlined the relevant clauses of the penal code and the constitutional provisions of Sri Lanka in support of the view that Ranjan could not be indicted for the offence that he was charged for and that it is illegal to disqualify him from sitting and voting in Parliament.

My article Contempt of Court vs. Freedom of Expression, published by the FT on 21 January 2021, refers to the hitherto use of anachronistic English law and archaic English language in Sri Lanka. In England, the law has taken many strides forward. The article also dealt with different explanations of the concept contempt of court and what falls within the offence of contempt of court in different countries. Hence the repetition of the law in relation to contempt of court or of the definition of contempt of court is avoided here.

However, it is very important to point out that many people who have expressed opinions about this particular court case have so far missed the salient point that for the offence of contempt of court to be constituted the involvement of a court and court case proceedings or a pending case are absolute prerequisites. In most countries including England from whom we inherited our laws, contempt of court occurs when the administration of justice is impeded. This is to mean that the administration of justice of the said pending or proceeding court case. Even in the situation of the accusation of scandalising the court, it is not taken out of context but must be in relation to a proceeding or pending court case. Simply, when something said or done in the absence of, or not in relation to a proceeding or pending court case, contempt of court cannot occur. It is strange that Ranjans lawyers have not argued this point. Like others they may have missed this detail.

Ranjan Ramanayaka has shouted into thin airin front of the Araliyagaha Mandirayawhen he said that the majority of judges are corrupt. He did not speak in the context of any proceeding or a pending court case, nor did he mean to insult the plaintiffs. Thus, his comments have in no way impeded the administration of justice in a proceeding or pending court case. This can be further understood by comparing the cases of Ghanasara Thero and Ranjan. The Thero had barged into a court room while a case was proceeding and shouted abuse at a witness and threatened her with physical harm. It would be reasonable to consider that the witness could have refused to give further evidence for the fear of life, which would have impeded the administration of justice in that case. Despite the disproportionality of the punishment the Thero received, he clearly had committed the offence of contempt of court under the current law and definition. Ranjan, has not acted in a similar manner, nor has he spoken in relation to any particular court case. Therefore, it is not legally admissible that he committed contempt of court.

Nihal Jayawickrama states

The Sri Lanka Government was ordered to pay compensation to Dissanayake, and restore his right to vote and to be elected. The Government was also requested to make such changes to the law and practice relating to contempt of court, so as to avoid similar violations of the ICCPR in the future. Over a decade later, a law on contempt of court is yet to be enacted by Parliament .

In comparison with the Dissanayake case, if taken to international jurisdictions on freedom of expression or human rights, Sri Lanka government can be held for contempt of international law and signed covenants,( pun).

Misinterpretation

Most people from anti-Ranjan political camps and who have personal grudges against him publicly denounce Ranjan as a social evil. His personality is irrelevant to a court that hears a contempt of court case. Such critics do not fail to highlight that the judiciary as sublime and supreme, in the same manner they use hyperbolic rhetoric to address the President as his excellency the President (Athi Garu Janadhipathi Thuman). Even for an island, the use of such subservient language in the 21st century is injudicious. Ranjans critics speculate that when someone says the majority of judges are corrupt, such comments lower the dignity of judiciary and cause the public to lose faith on the judiciary. Lowering of the faith of the public in the judiciary may stop people seeking justice from such an institution but it cannot obstruct the administration of justice if judges intendto deliver justice. Lowering of the dignity of the judiciary may be caused more by the irresponsible and indecent behaviour of judges than by a comment of an individual. Besides, such a hypothesis does not become law when the law is explained clearly, although Sri Lanka has not moved on with other advanced countries in this respect. The fragmentary legal system we have, cannot be used to prosecute someone who has said something against the judges out of context or on the interpretation that vilification of a judge as an individual lowers the dignity of the judiciary. Simply there is no contempt law against that.

The opposition

The main purpose of writing this article is to express amusement and astonishment for the comments that are being made by the opposition to which Ranjan belongs, in relation to his conviction. The opposition suddenly waking up from a four-and-a-half-year slumber of reign, has begun to be indiscriminately vociferous about everything that the present government does as if none of them were in the previous government, but the entire ineffective carnival was run by Ranil or Maithree. They do not accept responsibility for any ill doing during their administration that forced people to take refuge in the Rajapaksha camp. Sajith Premadasa is now going round the villages making promises that he will not sell any national resources despite previously having done so not very long ago. Are people deaf not to hear the resonating of the same promise made by the current regime before being elected?

Regarding the Ranjan Ramanayaka case, all opposition commentators including their leader starttheir circumspect comments with a hidden apology that they are not going to talk about a court verdict. This is a baseless fear that has emanated from ignorance, lack of knowledge, and indeed cunning. The judiciary and its other apparatus can be criticised as long as the criticism does not impede the administration of justice in a proceeding or pending court case. Judges, lawyers and other officials in the criminal justice system are not saints andthey can be subjected to criticism under the freedom of expression. If the individuals do not agree with the criticism, they must resort to private remedies. When the awareness of freedom of expression, within civilised limitations, are raised, people will voice their opinion without fear of intimidation. This is a healthy practice for a civilised nation that does not want lawlessness to reign.

The State

The state on the other hand pretends that one rule for all while explicitly enforcing different rules when and where they choose to do so. Having set an evil precedent by appointing ad hoc and arbitrary commissions to overrule court verdicts, they have thrown a boomerang. No doubt the next set of politicians will make use of that precedence to their own advantage. The danger lies with the recommendation of the commission,that exonerated individuals may have legal redress against their prosecutors. Imagine, if anyone was convicted against the law by any party presumably influenced by another party, alas! both parties can be held accountable by such kangaroo commissions in the future. Disaster lies ahead.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was voted to be removed from her committee assignments by The House Thursday evening.

The decision comes after the recent unearthing of incendiary and chaotic statements from the congresswoman herself, which triggered a broad backlash from Democrats and caused Republicans to be divided.

Eleven Republican House members voted Greene to be removed from her committee assignments. The vote tallied a total of 230-199.

Democrats pushed Greene's removal because of her many statements and posts on social media supporting conspiracy theories, even bigotry, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's execution.

She also expressed skepticism over the terrorist attacks last September 11, 2001, and school shootings, including the Sandy Hook elementary school and Stoneman Douglas High School shooting incidents.

She even stated that the midterm in the 2018 elections was part of "an Islamic invasion of our government," her statement released while the candidates were Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.

Greene also tried to defend herself by distancing herself from the danger and debunking QAnon's conspiracy theory by giving her speech on the House floor while the vote is yet to happen.

Greene believed that the school shootings were "real" and that the "0/11 absolutely happened," she said during her floor speech on Thursday afternoon.

She even added on her statement that after "seeing things in the news that didn't make sense to me," Greene "stumbled" across "QAnon at the end of 2017."

In defending herself on her interactions, she posted a statement online with a message that says, "These were words of the past, and these things do not represent me. They do not represent my district, and they do not represent my values.''

Other Republicans who defended Greene to keep her committees said she had expressed her regrets and had already denounced the Democrats' action. This action on the minority party's rights is considered infringement. While the Republicans had warned them that this move could spark future retaliation.

Greene claimed she became interested in politics only when Trump ran for the presidency. Misinformation had only led her astray in those comments she made before her election had happened.

Marjorie Taylor Greene apologizes after being removed

As the House Republicans mainly condemned Greene's comments that caused her to be removed from her assignments, other members said they were reluctant to punish her for her words, considering she made them before she was elected to serve in the Congress.

In facing massive criticism, Marjorie Taylor Greene apologized to the members late Wednesday night for supporting QAnon conspiracy theories and for her comments in the past on the school shootings while on the late-night conference-wide meeting. Some members of the House appreciated her for expressing her contrition in her past positions.

According to a source from the inside, Greene as an embattled congresswoman, received a standing ovation from approximately half of the people in the conference room.

She had already previously said that she would not apologize in a tweet, "I won't back down. I'll never apologize. And I'll always keep fighting for the people."

Despite her private apology, she expressed to her colleagues that explicitly she had not apologized yet about her conduct to the public regardless of whether the bipartisan already called her to do so.

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Victorians have been urged to get tested after coronavirus fragments were found in the sewage in Mount Beauty - 350km northeast from Melbourne.

Anyone who has visited Mt Beauty, Tawonga and Tawonga South from January 26 to February 1 should get tested if they develop any symptoms.

'Weak detections of the virus in wastewater may be due to people who have recovered from Covid-19 but continue to shed the virus or from an active infectious case,' Victorian health authorities said in a statement.

There are currently no known cases of Covid-19 linked to the areas but residents have been warned to keep on high alert.

Victorians have been urged to get tested after coronavirus fragments were found in the sewage in Mount Beauty - 350km northeast from Melbourne (pictured Covid-19 drive through clinic in South Melbourne)

A pop up clinic will be open this weekend in Mount Beauty for those needing to get tested.

Wastewater systems across the state are tested weekly from around 95 different locations.

Earlier Covid-19 had been detected in the wastewater in areas around Lakes Entrance in Victoria's east.

'While viral fragments have not been detected in samples since taken from these sites, anyone who lives in or has visited Lakes Entrance from 26 to 28 January, Castlemaine, Cowes, Hamilton, Pakenham or Warrnambool from 25 to 27 January, Gisborne from 24 to 26 January, or Leongatha from 17 to 19 January, is urged to get tested if they have any symptoms,' the Department of Health said.

It comes after the state recorded zero new locally acquired infections on Friday.

It was also announced the Australian Open will begin in Melbourne on Monday as planned, despite confirmation that an infected quarantine hotel worker has the highly contagious UK strain of coronavirus.

Victoria recorded no new cases of coronavirus on Friday. Pictured are Australian Open players and officials queuing to be tested on Thursday

Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley announced on Friday morning that the results are back for almost all of the 507 players and officials tested for coronavirus on Thursday.

Everyone has tested negative so far with just 12 results pending from those tested late on Thursday night.

'Hopefully we'll get the positive outcome in the next few hours that all tests are negative,' Tiley told Melbourne radio station 3AW.

'It hasn't been an easy exercise but we're very pleased with the outcome so far.'

The tennis Grand Slam was thrown into chaos on Wednesday night after a quarantine hotel worker tested positive to what's since been confirmed as the highly contagious UK strain of the virus.

Around 520 tennis stars, officials and support staff were identified as casual contacts of the 26-year-old man who worked at the Grand Hyatt hotel.

The positive case ended Victoria's 28-day streak of zero community transmissions.

Sixteen close contacts of the man have returned negative results with another test result pending.

Test results are back for almost all of the 507 Australian Open players and officials tested for coronavirus (pictured, Croatian player Donna Vekic waiting to be tested on Thursday)
BEIRUT, Lebanon  It didnt happen in 2016, after a Saudi jet had dropped American-made bombs on a funeral in the Yemeni capital, Sana, killing more than 140 people.

It didnt happen in 2018, after a Saudi jet hit a Yemeni school bus with an American-made bomb, killing 44 boys on a field trip.

But on Thursday, nearly six years after Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a punishing military intervention in the Arab worlds poorest country, President Biden announced that he was ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, including some arms sales.

This war has to end, Mr. Biden said, calling it a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.

While Yemenis and many others welcomed the decision, many shared a sense that it had come years too late and was unlikely to exert a swift effect.
Farrell was remanded in custody until a further court hearing on 15 March 2021

e denied five counts of gross indecency with child at Wood Green Crown Court

A Great Ormond Street porter admitted to a further 12 sex attacks on young boys during his 35-year-reign of terror, when he appeared in court today.

Paul Farrell had previously pleaded guilty to 63 charges of sexual offences against children under 13 between 1985 and 2020.

But the 55-year-old from Camden, North London, admitted a further 12 crimes of indecent assault  taking his grim tally of sex crimes against children to 75, when he appeared at Wood Green Crown Court.

Farrell denied five counts of gross indecency with a child. These are in addition to 21 charges he has previously denied.

Paul Farrell, 55, from Camden, North London, admitted a further 12 crimes of indecent assault when he appeared at Wood Green Crown Court, pictured above, today (file photo)

Prosecutor Paul Douglass told the court a further four charges of sex offences against children would lay on the file and not be pursued in court.

Mr Douglass said: He worked as a porter at Great Ormond Street Hospital for twenty five years from the 90s until 2020 when he was suspended because of this investigation.

The short, pot-bellied, former porter stood next to his barrister as he listened to the 17 new indictments read out and offered his plea.

Wearing a blue navy polo shirt, light-blue sweater and black face mask, Palmer, who was wearing glasses and had greasy, greying hair, looked at the floor through much of the one-hour hearing.

Farrell held a number of positions, including working as a porter, at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in central London between 1994 and 2020.

The charges relate to eight victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, are now aged between eight and 43.

Farrell held a number of positions, including working as a porter, at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in central London between 1994 and 2020. None of the victims were patients at the London hospital (file photo)

None of the victims were patients at the London hospital. But at least two of the offences were committed at Great Ormond Street.

Met Police arrested Farrell for the first time in January last year and he appeared at Highbury Magistrates Court.

But according to the charges his offending continued until June last year, assaulting one young boy during lockdown.

Farrell was remanded in custody until a further court hearing on 15 March 2021.
Dame Julie Andrews has led tributes to her The Sound Of Music co-star Christopher Plummer, who has died aged 91.

The actor died at home on Friday in Connecticut, in the US, according to his manager.

Dame Julie, 85  who starred opposite Plummer in the 1965 hit - labelled him a 'consummate actor' and a 'cherished friend'.

Her friend: Dame Julie Andrews has led tributes to her The Sound Of Music co-star Christopher Plummer, who has died aged 91. The actor died at home on Friday in Connecticut, in the US, according to his manager. Dame Julie, 85  who starred opposite Plummer in the 1965 hit, labelled him a 'consummate actor' and a 'cherished friend'

Close friends always: Plummer and Andrews backstage at The Richard Rodgers Centennial Benefit Concert at The Juillard School, Lincoln Center, New York City in 2002

In a statement to the PA news agency, she added: 'I treasure the memories of our work together and all the humour and fun we shared through the years. My heart and condolences go out to his lovely wife Elaine and his daughter Amanda.'

Plummer, a patrician Canadian has died at 91, it was shared on Friday.

His Knives Out co-star Chris Evans was one of the first to express his condolences.

He said, 'One of my favorite memories from Knives Out was playing piano together in the Thrombey house between set ups. He was a lovely man and a legendary talent.'

Sad loss: Plummer, a patrician Canadian has died at 91, his manager said on Friday; seen in 2019 at the Knives Out premiere in Toronto

Another Knives Out co-star, actress Ana de Armas, also shared a note.

'My heart is broken, my dear Chris. I feel your loss deep inside. How lucky was I having you next to me in what's been one the best experiences of my career.

'Thank you always for your laughter, your warmth, your talent, your stories about Marilyn, the vitamins when I got sick, your patience, your partnership and your company. I will always think of you with love and admiration. Rest In Peace.'

Ridley Scott and his wife Giannina told The Hollywood Reporter, 'What a guy. What a talent. What a life. And I was fortunate enough to work with him less than 2 years ago and had a wonderful experience. My heartfelt condolences go to Elaine He will be really missed.'

His friend: His Knives Out co-star Chris Evans was one of the first to express his condolences as he said, 'One of my favorite memories from Knives Out was playing piano together in the Thrombey house between set ups. He was a lovely man and a legendary talent.' Seen in 2019

An all star cast: Chris and Ana were in KnIves Out with Plummer as well as Don Johnson and Jamie Lee Curtis

Russell Crowe, who had the honor of working with Plummer 'twice,' penned a lengthy tribute to the actor on Twitter.

'Christopher Plummer ... I worked with him twice. The Insider (1999) A Beautiful Mind (2001) Good man. Fine actor,' began Crowe, before recalling an interaction he had with Plummer on the set of A Beautiful Mind.

Towards the latter end of his tribute, Crowe gushed about how much he 'loved working with Chris on The Insider,' adding that 'he was just impressive.'

Sharon Stone 'thanked' Plummer for his 'genius,' while noting that her 'one special evening with [him]' was 'so precious' and 'burned into [her] heart and soul.'

Elijah Wood offered: 'So sad to hear that Christopher Plummer has passed. What a legend' while Diane Kruger noted: 'Rest in peace Christopher Plummer. Grateful to have known you #nationaltreasure.'

Katie Couric added, 'Rest in Peace, Christopher Plummer' as she added a broken heart emoji.

A sad loss: Another Knives Out co-star, actress Ana de Armas, also shared a note. 'My heart is broken, my dear Chris. I feel your loss deep inside. How lucky was I having you next to me in what's been one the best experiences of my career'

Curtis as Linda Drysdale, Plummer as Harlan Thrombey, Johnson as Richard Drysdale and Michael Shannon as Walt Thrombey Knives Out

Dan Rather said, 'Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever.' RIP Christopher Plummer. You lit up screen and stage over a lifetime of art. My thoughts are with your family and friends.'

Deer Hunter actor John Savage said, 'Heartbreaking news. My wonderful friend #christopherplummer you will be missed. Chris worked from his heart.

'As with his work in the Last full Measure , His devotion to the work , with compassion, and discipline , lifted the spirit of others. Love you Chris . John Savage.'

Star Trek vet George Taki shared, 'The Sound of Music is a sad one today as Christopher Plummer has left us today. He was giant of stage and screen, winner of an Academy Award for 'Beginners.' He died at age 91 with his wife of 53 years, Elaine Taylor, by his side. Rest in eternal music, Captain Von Trapp.'

Hawaii Five-O star Daniel Dae Kim wrote on Twitter, 'We watched the #SoundOfMusic so much when I was a boy that he and the Von Trapps felt like family. Rest In Peace, legend.'

Genius: Sharon Stone 'thanked' Plummer for his 'genius,' while noting that her 'one special evening with [him]' was 'so precious' and 'burned into [her] heart and soul'

Personal: Russell Crowe, who had the honor of working with Plummer 'twice,' penned a lengthy tribute to the actor on Twitter

Anne Hathaway shared a long and loving note: 'You were so kind to me when we worked on Nicolas Nickelby. I was 19, you were you; I was shaking in my Victorian boots, you were calm, steady, generous, and so, so funny.

'It felt so special when it was you who handed my my Oscar a decade later. I was still the one shaking in my shoes; somehow you were still keeping me steady just with your formidable, warm, loving presence.

'In between you played Learmy heart still pounds thinking of all the poetry you capturedand you conjured the performance of a lifetime in Beginners. Before all that, you were already a legend so many times over. I hope you felt all the love you created.

'Rest In Peace, Christopher Plummer. I love the way you lived, and the art you gaveboth have inspired me to no end. I'm so happy to have gotten to spend time with you, and am so grateful for the memories.'

On set: 'Christopher Plummer ... I worked with him twice. The Insider (1999) A Beautiful Mind (2001) Good man. Fine actor,' began Crowe, before recalling an interaction he had with Plummer on the set of A Beautiful Mind

All love: Towards the latter end of his tribute, Crowe gushed about how much he 'loved working with Chris on The Insider,' adding that 'he was just impressive'

Joseph Gordon-Levitt said, 'Christopher Plummer... one of the greats. <3.' Rosanna Arquette said 'love to Amanda,' who was his daughter.

The Sound of Music account tweeted: 'We're saddened to hear of Christopher Plummer's passing. His legacy as our Captain will live on in THE SOUND OF MUSIC forever. Our thoughts are with his loved ones during this time.'

And The Academy added: 'Christopher Plummer beguiled audiences across generations in memorable roles from Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music to Harlan Thrombey in Knives Out. He worked steadily for 60+ years, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2012 for 'Beginners.' He will be missed.'

Also among those paying tribute to the All The Money in the World star were British TV presenter Piers Morgan, and music producer Finneas O'Connell.

'Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words,' wrote Lou Pitt, Plummer's manager of 46 years, in a statement.

His co-star: Deer Hunter actor John Savage said, 'Heartbreaking news. My wonderful friend #christopherplummer you will be missed. Chris worked from his heart. 'As with his work in the Last full Measure , His devotion to the work , with compassion, and discipline , lifted the spirit of others. Love you Chris . John Savage'

From the heart: Diane Kruger noted: 'Rest in peace Christopher Plummer. Grateful to have known you #nationaltreasure'

'He was a National Treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come.'

The star passed away peacefully at his home in Connecticut with his wife Elaine Taylor at his side, Deadline Hollywood said.

Plummer, an accomplished Shakespearean actor honored for his varied stage, television and film work in a career that spanned more than six decades, was best known for his role in 'The Sound Of Music,' which at the time eclipsed 'Gone With the Wind' (1939) as the top-earning movie ever.

He flourished in a succession of meaty roles after age 70 - a time in life when most actors merely fade away. He claimed a long-awaited Academy Award at age 82 for his supporting performance in 'Beginners' as an elderly man who comes out of the closet as gay after his wife's death.

So much love shared: BAFTA, The Academy and the SAG Awards all shared statements

'You're only two years older than me, darling,' Plummer, who was born in 1929, purred to his golden statuette - first given for films made in 1927 and 1928 - at the February 2012 Oscars ceremony. 'Where have you been all my life?'

The artist became the oldest actor to win a competitive Academy Award - supplanting Jessica Tandy and George Burns, who both were 80 when they won theirs.

Plummer appeared in more than 100 films and also was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Russian author Leo Tolstoy in 2009's 'The Last Station.' He won two Tony Awards for his Broadway work, two Emmy Awards for TV work and performed for some of the world's top theater companies.

But for many fans his career was defined by his performance as an stern widower in 'The Sound Of Music' - a role he called 'a cardboard figure, humorless and one-dimensional.' In his 2008 autobiography 'In Spite Of Myself,' Plummer refers to the movie with the mischievous acronym 'S&M.'

They got along well: Dean Norris said that Plummer was a 'brilliant actor'

A fun share for fans: Pixar posted a cartoon image of the acting icon from Up

It took him four decades to change his view of the film and embrace it as a 'terrific movie' that made him proud.

Director Robert Wise's wholesome, sentimental film follows the singing von Trapp family and their 1938 escape from the Nazis. Plummer's character falls in love with Andrews, portraying a woman hired to care for his seven children. The movie won the Academy Award as best picture of 1965.

'Originally I had accepted Robert Wise's offer simply because I wanted to find out what it was like to be in a musical comedy,' Plummer wrote in his book. 'I had a secret plan to one day turn 'Cyrano de Bergerac' into a Broadway musical. 'S&M' would therefore be a perfect workout in preparation for such an event.'

He said he had never sung before in my life - 'not even in the shower' - before taking a role that included crooning the song 'Edelweiss.' He blamed his own 'vulgar streak' for the desire to star in a big, splashy Hollywood extravaganza.

With a Star Wars icon: Hanover Street with Plummer, right, and Harrison Ford, left

Bold: In the film Aces High, the story of the Royal Flying Corps, in 1975

'And yes, all right, I'll admit it, I was also a pampered, arrogant, young bastard, spoiled by too many great theater roles,' he wrote. 'Ludicrous though it may seem, I still harbored the old-fashioned stage actor's snobbism toward moviemaking.'

Plummer's late-career renaissance began with director Michael Mann's 'The Insider' (1999) in which he portrayed CBS News interviewer Mike Wallace, acting alongside Al Pacino and Russell Crowe.

That was followed by triumphs in director Ron Howard's Academy Award best picture winner 'A Beautiful Mind' (2001), director Spike Lee's 'Inside Man' (2006), 'Up' and 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' (both 2009) and 'Barrymore' and 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' (both 2011).

Plummer was born in Toronto on Dec. 13, 1929, into a privileged railroad family. He was the great-grandson of Sir John Abbott, the third prime minister of Canada.

In cement: The hand and footprints of actor Plummer are seen following a ceremony for him outside the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in 2015

Christopher confessed to a boozy lifestyle with plenty of affairs through the 1960s. He said his third wife, British actress Elaine Taylor, forced him after their 1970 marriage to stop the carousing that consumed some of his peers and friends, such as Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole.

'Yeah, I stopped,' he told Britain's Telegraph newspaper in 2010. 'Square son of a bitch that I was, coward that I was! No, Elaine did say, 'If you don't quit this stupid over-drinking I'm outta here.' And thank God. She did in a sense save my life.'

Plummer's early films included 1965's 'Inside Daisy Clover' with Natalie Wood and Robert Redford, released the same year as 'The Sound Of Music,' 'The Fall of the Roman Empire' (1964) with Sophia Loren and Alec Guinness, and 'Triple Cross' (1966).

Among his more colorful roles were as an eye-patch-wearing Klingon in 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country' (1991) and as an urbane jewel thief in 'The Return of the Pink Panther' (1975). He said he kicked himself for turning down the Gandalf role in the popular 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy.

One of his last major roles was as another patriarch, in the dark-comedy 'Knives Out' in 2019.

His TV roles included the 1983 mini-series 'The Thorn Birds.'

Plummer lived with Elaine in Connecticut. He was the father of Tony Award-winning actress Amanda Plummer.
Dominic Ongwen was accused of rape, murder, torture, enslavement and child abductions. Photo: ICC-CPI/Handout via Reuters.

A child soldier who became a commander in Ugandas notorious Lords Resistance Army (LRA) was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court yesterday in the first trial of a former boy soldier in The Hague.

Dominic Ongwen (45) was abducted by the rebel group as a schoolboy in northern Uganda and turned into a child soldier before ascending to senior leadership. He was convicted of 61 crimes including rape, murder, torture, enslavement and child abductions.

The case raised questions concerning the accountability of thousands of children turned into soldiers against their will in Uganda, who may have been victims and perpetrators of atrocities at different times.

Dominic Ongwen was, at one time, himself a victim of the LRA, abducted as a child and forced to become a child soldier. In time, however, he grew into one of the most senior military leaders, fervently committed to the LRA cause with infamous brutality, said Fatou Bensouda, the courts chief prosecutor.

Ongwens lawyers had argued his abduction had caused him psychological damage and he should be considered a victim of the rebel group.

The LRA began in Uganda as an anti-government rebellion in the Eighties, led by Joseph Kony.

Tens of thousands of people were abducted as children, turned into sex slaves, tortured and killed during the 20-year conflict that followed.

Ongwen is the first LRA leader to be convicted for crimes with the group anywhere in the world.

The trial focused on multiple attacks on camps for displaced civilians and on the abuse, enslavement and rape of the women Ongwen had forced to be his wives in the early Noughties.

In a legal first, he was also convicted for the crimes of forced marriage and forced pregnancy for atrocities committed against seven women.

Ongwen could face up to life imprisonment at a sentencing hearing in April.

Across the northern city of Gulu, which is home to thousands of people who have been abducted by the group or fought alongside the rebels, many watched the verdict live on large screens.

The victims whose family members were killed wanted him to receive a long jail sentence.

The people who knew him wanted him to get a lighter sentence because he was also abducted as a child and, as a commander, he was following orders, said Evelyn Amony, head of the Womens Advocacy Network, a war survivors group.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
A new voice for Irelands fishing and seafood sectors

by Quentin Bates

February 05,2021 | Source: FiskerForum

A new organisation established to represent all sectors of Irelands fishing, seafood and ancillary service industries has a number of agendas  and high on the list is seeking recognition by government and the Department of Marine that the seafood industry in Ireland requires their urgent intervention to redress the devastating effects of Brexit.



The Irish Fishing & Seafood Alliance (IFSA) has already been endorsed by some of the countrys largest and most prominent industry groups and is a self-funding, non-profit organisation, not constrained by any existing regional political divisions, nor is it divided by differing industry sector interests.



IFSAs chairman commented that the organisation pledges to speak for all individuals, vessels, fish companies of all sizes, fish shops, and all ancillary service companies involved in the industry nationwide.



This provides a unique platform from which to give all interested parties a voice in demanding that our government affords our industry the support we deserve to navigate our way safely through the storm that Brexit has forced upon our coastal communities, said incoming chairman Cormac Burke.



We will provide the opportunity for those who have invested and those who work in this industry to voice their frustration and demand action.



Those involved in the formation of IFSA unanimously voted for the appointment of Cormac Burke as the organisations chairman.



A former fisherman and subsequently editor of The Irish Skipper, Fishing News, and Fishing News International, he also runs fishing industry consultancy and PR company FishComm.



Coming from a fishing industry background and having spent most of my life involved in the fishing and seafood industry, in one form or another, Im pleased to now be given this opportunity to serve the industry. This sector is made up of decent, hardworking people, many of whom have made heavy private investment in vessels, processing companies and ancillary services. But the biggest majority are simply reliant on this industry for their livelihoods, he said in his first public statement.



The spiral of decline in our traditional fishing ports will be greatly accelerated if our government is not prepared to support the decent people that are proud to be part of our industry. The resilience and perseverance of these people has, in the past, helped our country to achieve what it has, against the odds. However, this latest challenge is catastrophic.



He commented that the fishing and seafood sectors are not prepared to accept being relegated to the status of a poor relation in Irish commercial life.



We cannot countenance a situation whereby vessels tie up, companies close down and once thriving coastal towns and villages will face economic collapse, he said.



Many people in the seafood and fishing sectors believe that the only hope for progress is to unite the industry  a tough task given the challenges of existing regional representation and political restraints on many of the current representative groups  but hopefully IFSA can now be that unrestricted voice that the industry so badly needs.

 FiskerForum  2004 - 2019

Theme(s): Others.
(Newser)  Two sergeants and a correctional officer at what the New York Times calls a "notorious" women's prison in New Jersey are facing charges after an inmate was allegedly repeatedly punched, leaving her with a broken eye socket and concussion. Sgts. Amir Bethea and Anthony Valvano had ordered a cell extraction at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton just after midnight on the morning of Jan. 12. More than two dozen officers "deployed pepper spray, rushed into the inmates' cell, and beat several of the victims without justification," NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Thursday in announcing the charges, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. He said six women were injured in the attack, video of which will be released. One inmate was allegedly punched 28 times as she was up against a wall, per CNN. Another was beaten while in handcuffs, leaving her in need of a wheelchair, per NJ.com.

story continues below

Correctional officer Luis Garcia submitted a false report in an attempt to cover up the incident, said Grewal, who described "a long and ugly history" at the prison, the only women's prison in the state. A Justice Department report, issued in April, found inmates' rights were being violated there: "Specifically, Edna Mahan fails to protect women prisoners from harm due to sexual abuse by staff." The prison has yet to complete corrective steps, per the Times. Gov. Phil Murphy is now demanding "a full accounting of how this incident was able to happen, so that we can put in place necessary reforms and safeguards." The three are charged with official misconduct, which comes with a five-year minimum sentence, and tampering with public records, per the Inquirer. Garcia is also charged with aggravated assault. Grewal said other officers at the 700-inmate prison are likely to be charged. Dozens of staff are suspended. (Read more inmates stories.)
Porterville, CA (93257)

Today

Mainly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Affordable housing developer Jamboree Housing Corporation recently promoted Vicky Rodriguez to the role of Vice President of Development from her previous position of Senior Director of Development. Vicky Rodriguez has a deep understanding of affordable housing, earned from her experience on dozens of successful developments. She routinely draws on that experience to go through, over, or around any obstacle in working to fulfill Jamborees mission.

Jamboree Housing Corporation recently promoted Vicky Rodriguez to the role of Vice President of Development from her previous position of Senior Director of Development. In her new role, she is responsible for overseeing the housing development department, staffing, structure and processes, and implementing Jamborees business and strategic goals, as well as cultivating and managing internal and external partnerships. To align with Jamborees continued growth and development of an expanding staff, Rodriguezs promotion positions her to leverage her expertise to mentor newer staff in key areas of the industry.

Michael Massie, Jamborees Chief Housing Development Officer, underscores Rodriguezs innate ability to consistently overcome obstacles and seek solutions, helping Jamboree to grow and expand upon its 30+ years of success. Vicky has a deep understanding of affordable housing, earned from her experience on dozens of successful developments. She routinely draws on that experience to go through, over, or around any obstacle in working to fulfill Jamborees mission, said Massie. While at Jamboree, Rodriguez has overseen the production of 950 units of affordable housing and secured more than $280 million in funding for Jamboree projects.

Rodriguezs career in the affordable housing industry spans more than 15 years, most of which is at Jamboree. Known as Vicky Ramirez at the time, shes worked her way up through the nonprofits ranks  holding the positions of Assistant Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, and Director of Policy  and garnered extensive expertise in the funding of and legislation for affordable housing. Rodriguez is the in-house expert for one of Jamborees largest funding sources  tax credits via the Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC). Additionally, she secured one of the first loans issued by the Strategic Growth Councils Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, which provided funding for Jamborees West Gateway Place.

Rodriguezs strong work ethic and commitment to community are also evident in her public service. A resident of Anaheim, she has served on the citys planning commission and currently serves on the Anaheim Public Utilities Board. Prior to launching her professional career in affordable housing, Rodriguez also interned with the Housing Authority for the City of Los Angeles. In 2009, Rodriguez was recognized by Multifamily Executive Magazine as an Up and Coming Young Leader while still in her twenties. She holds a bachelors degree in history and Chicano/a studies and a masters degree in urban planning from the University of California at Los Angeles. The drive, passion, and collaborative approach Rodriguez brings to working with a variety of partners across the public and private sectors facilitate Jamborees continued growth and ability to provide quality affordable housing to communities across California.

ABOUT JAMBOREE: Founded in 1990 and celebrating 30 years of Building for Good, Irvine, CA-headquartered Jamboree Housing Corporation is an award-winning, broad-based nonprofit housing development company that develops, acquires, renovates and manages permanently affordable rental and ownership housing throughout California for working families, seniors and people with special needs. A leading community development organization, Jamboree is committed to sustaining excellence with high quality affordable housing that benefits the environment, the economy and local communities.

It currently has $1.1 billion in affordable housing projects in its development pipeline and a portfolio value of $3.2 billion that includes the development of and/or ownership interest in 9,000+ homes in more than 96 California communities. Currently, Jamboree offers resident services that foster learning, health and wellness, and community building at 34 Jamboree communities with designated staff at each location. For more information, visit jamboreehousing.com and follow Jamboree on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @JamboreeHousing.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A new study comparing countries most severely hit by COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic has found that international travel showed the biggest impact on increases in death rates.

A research team from the University of Aberdeen, which has published findings in in BMJ Open, examined a range of factors including country-level international arrivals, population density, the percentage of people living in urban areas, age, average body mass index and smoking prevalence.

They then compared these to mortality rates across the 37 countries most severely affected by the first wave of the pandemic.

They found that once adjustments were made for these factors, as well as for the impact of socioeconomic and environmental conditions and healthcare systems, the biggest increase in death rates was associated with international arrivals.

Their work focused on the early stages of the pandemic, using international travel data for 2018 as a proxy for 2020 data before international travel restrictions were imposed. They found that an increase of a million international arrivals was associated with a 3.4% increase in the mean daily increase in COVID-19 deaths during the first wave of the pandemic.

The research was conducted by a team of medical student researchers from the University of Aberdeen supervised by Professor Phyo Myint and Dr. Sohinee Bhattacharya.

First author of the study Tiberiu Pana, a final year medical student, said: "A year on since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in China, this pandemic has unfortunately spread across the globe. Nevertheless, the initial spread of the virus in early 2020 appeared to affect different countries unequally, with the United Kingdom and other western European countries being especially affected.

"We were interested to understand the country-level factors that influence the spread of the pandemic and our team of medical students with research experience collected a wide range of publicly available data on country-level demographic, economic, environmental, population health and health system factors for the most affected countries during the first wave."

The authors analyzed the relationship between these factors and the mean increase in daily deaths recorded in each country during this time frame.

Tiberiu added: "We found that international travel was the strongest predictor of mortality increase.

"Another factor which appeared to play an important role was country-level BCG vaccination coverage, increases in which may be associated with decreases in death rates. Nevertheless, these associations were weaker and further work looking at individual patients is required to clarify these potential relationships.

"Our assessment of available data indicates that yery early restrictions on international travel might have made a difference in the spread of pandemic in western Europe, including the UK.

"These findings are particularly important as the world looks to control future waves and strains of the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent related deaths."

Professor Phyo Myint, the lead author and the Director of the Aberdeen Clinical Academic Training Scheme said: "This is important research led by University of Aberdeen Medical Students who have demonstrated robust use of publicly available data to inform future policies in preventing spread of the COVID-19."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: Tiberiu A Pana et al. Country-level determinants of the severity of the first global wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an ecological study, BMJ Open (2021). Journal information: BMJ Open Tiberiu A Pana et al. Country-level determinants of the severity of the first global wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an ecological study,(2021). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042034


This was the week when some of the biggest voices in UK business really went public on the opportunities for global Britain.

Yes, the European Union has not helped itself with its vaccine meltdown. But Britain cannot escape its close geography, trade and financial relations with the EU.

They are going to be as critical as ever for prosperity when we come out of lockdown.

Trading places: The value of being outside the EU is rebooting the corporate and Whitehall agenda

So we have a national interest in seeing the EU overcome its immunisation roadblocks, even if the only goal is a villa vacation in Tuscany or on a Greek island this summer.

The value of being outside the EU, however, is rebooting the corporate and Whitehall agenda. After nearly half a century of intense focus on Europe, government and commerce are lifting their eyes.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is on 'essential' travel to India to try to effect a new investment agreement between the two countries on route to a free trade deal.

That means ironing out older problems, including the release of nearly 900m of cash due to investors in London-quoted Cairn Energy, which has been tied up in a lengthy arbitration dispute.

India was among countries cited by Unilever chief executive Alan Jope when he laid out his three- to five-year plan for achieving higher growth for Britain's nutritious food and health and hygiene leader.

The now fully British-based Anglo-Dutch company sees India (where it has a quoted subsidiary), China and North America as big opportunities.

If it would speed things up, Jope is prepared to use the group's currency, Unilever shares, to make a transformational deal.

It could do worse than think about all or part of GSK's high-performing consumer healthcare arm  jointly owned with Pfizer  which is due to be spun off within the next two years.

Throughout the long transition to leaving the EU, we have heard endless whinging from City groups which should know better about how London risks losing out to Frankfurt, Paris and elsewhere.

The movement of some 5billion of trade in euro-denominated stocks to the Continent was seen as evidence.

It could also be an act of self-harm because the Balkanisation of dealings will raise costs to buyers and sellers.

It also goes without saying that for all the fire and brimstone in the Commons, HSBC is not about to abandon Hong Kong, China and Asia, which is its primary profits gusher and competitive advantage over other international banks.

Recognition of how the City is lifting its sights has come from two Wall Street veterans now at the heart of the Square Mile.

In an interview with this paper, the London Stock Exchange chief executive David Schwimmer was unapologetic about how completion of the 20bn deal with Refinitiv will make big differences to the LSE's global reach with foreign exchange and bond dealing platforms in Asia and North America.

Schwimmer is also pushing hard for changes in UK share listing rules so that it can better compete with New York in attracting tech public offerings to London. The demand for stock and the premiums achieved by The Hut Group, Moonpig and Dr Martens in recent times has demonstrated there is no shortage of liquidity or desire for new issues in the City, in spite of a perceived London discount.

The demand for stock and the premiums achieved by the likes of the The Hut Group in recent times has demonstrated there is no shortage of liquidity or desire for new issues in the City

He has been joined in the global chorus by Barclays boss Jes Staley. In a BBC interview the former JP Morgan investment banker turned Barclays chief executive was unequivocal.

'What London needs to be focused on,' he said, 'is not Frankfurt or Paris  it needs to be focused on New York and Singapore.'

The question I am most asked as a Brexit advocate is why couldn't we have gone global from within the EU as easily as we can outside? Staley, in many ways, answers that question. Politicians, regulators, companies and investors found it hard to lift their eyes beyond the EU.

Those financial firms who did see the future elsewhere, such as the Prudential, added enormous value by re-orientating from Europe to Asia.

Manufacturers including Dyson have seen Singapore as the best place, outside its Malmesbury home, to expand. The hero of the pandemic, Astrazeneca, earns 21 per cent of its revenues in China.
By Dhara Ranasinghe

LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's slow vaccine roll-out means its economic recovery could lag behind upturns in the United States and Asia unless it can get the programme back on track in the weeks ahead.

The International Monetary Fund last month hailed the strong China rebound and forecast that the U.S. and Japanese economies would return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, but the euro zone won't catch up until next year.

While President Joe Biden's administration aims to provide even more stimulus in a $1.9 trillion U.S. package, EU capitals are still negotiating which projects will get funding from a 750 billion-euro joint recovery fund.

Delays to the European Unions vaccine roll-out and concern about new coronavirus variants, meanwhile, make it harder for European governments to ease current pandemic restrictions.

"It remains a race between mutations of the virus and the vaccination, and euro zone countries are lagging on the vaccination process, that's for sure," said Sylvain Broyer, chief economist EMEA at S&P Global Ratings.

Graphics: G7 COVID-vaccinations - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/qzjvqmrlzvx/G7Vaccinated0402.PNG

Data this week showed the euro zone's downturn deepened in January as renewed restrictions hit the regions dominant service industry hard.

Existing lockdowns in many countries are set to last into March and beyond. A German survey on Thursday showed that companies in the zone's biggest economy expect restrictions of some kind to be in place until mid-September.

LOST OUTPUT

Much of the concern lies with the EU vaccination programme, launched with much fanfare on Dec. 27 but since struggling with slow rollouts and shortages of vaccine.

According to calculations by trade insurance group Euler Hermes, average daily vaccination rates across major EU economies stand at just 0.12% of the population - four times lower than in Britain and the United States.

Story continues

EU countries have so far given first doses to about 3% of their populations, compared with 9% for the United States and 14% for Britain, according to Our World in Data.

Euler Hermes estimated that represented a five-week lag on the vaccination front. If left uncorrected, that would cost close to 90 billion euros in output this year, equivalent to two percentage points of lost quarterly GDP growth.

"Economies that finish the race first will be rewarded with strong positive multiplier effects supercharging consumption and investment activity in H2 2021, whereas vaccination laggardswill remain stuck in crisis mode and face substantial costs - economic as well as political," it said in a note.

European Commission Chief Executive Ursula von der Leyen defended the EUs effort this week, saying the EU lagged rivals by three to four weeks because of a more rigorous approvals process. She said supply problems should start to ease but acknowledged that increasing production remained a challenge.

If Europe's recovery is slow in coming, the risk is that it suffers more so-called "scarring", or longer-term damage to its economy. A big concern is long-term and youth unemployment, which has only started improving in recent years after the 2008/09 financial crisis.

"COVID-19 threatens to undo the last decade of progress: policymakers must act to avoid Europe's youth suffering the scarring effect," Guntram Wolff at Brussels-based economic think-tank Bruegel said.

Bruegel estimates unemployment in EU countries for workers aged 15-24 increased in the second quarter of 2020 to 16.4% from 14.9% in the same period a year before. Unemployment among those aged 55-64 even fell slightly to 4.8% from 5.1% a year earlier.

Graphics: Euro zone economic growth and unemployment - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xegvbegqwpq/EZGDP0102.PNG

CENTRAL BANK DIVERGENCE?

A delayed recovery could make things harder for the European Central Bank as it seeks to keep policy ultra-loose even as a stronger U.S. economy pushes up borrowing costs globally.

Signs of a disconnect are starting to play out in markets:U.S. 10-year Treasury yields are up 20 basis points so far thisyear. In contrast, Germany's borrowing costs remaindeep in negative territory at -0.46% -- a sign thatinvestors expect aggressive ECB stimulus for some time.

"If you get this outperformance of the U.S., you get morechatter about Fed tapering, pushing rates higher in the market,and making the ECB's role harder," said Jefferies Europeaneconomist Marchel Alexandrovich.

"Right now they (central banks) are all doing the same thing, but in 2022 there will be many more questions about policy divergence with the ECB still being more accommodative."

On the plus side, some of the policy choices made in Europe mean the continent should see less of an overall lag emerging from the virus-induced recession than it saw after the 2008/09 financial crisis.

While European governments cannot match the stimulus put in place by the United States - packages already approved there provide support worth a colossal 19% of U.S. GDP - eurozone fiscal and monetary stimulus has been aggressive.

Furlough schemes have meant most euro economies ended 2020 in better shape than expected, while pent-up demand from the lock-downs could still deliver a powerful boost to growth later this year.

Graphics: Citi economic surprise index - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/bdwpkymlbpm/Citiindex0102.png

Berenberg analysts predict the euro area will take roughlynine quarters to return to pre-pandemic levels and the UnitedStates six quarters - a lesser divergence than that after 2008/09, when the euro zone economy took seven years to recover its losses and the United States bounced back in just three and a half years.

If EU capitals use resources from the EU's 750 billion-euro joint recovery fund to address weaknesses in their economies, the hope is that future divergences will be smaller. But Europe's patchy reform record means that is far from a given.

"If we manage to use this big pot of money to get somecountries to do the necessary adjustments and reforms andinvestment they need to tap long-term potential, then thisrecovery fund would have served a very good purpose," said Christian Odendahl of the Centre for European Reform think tank.

"But if the implementation of that recovery fund is weak -- and there is a risk that it might be, because spending that muchmoney quickly and well is difficult -- then we may have squandered that opportunity."

(Additional reporting by Leigh Thomas in Paris and Howard Schneider in Washington; editing by Mark John and Larry King)
Jasmine Stefanovic (nee Yarbrough) has been joined at the hip with her daughter, Harper May, since welcoming her into the world eight months ago.

And the shoe designer, 37, enjoyed quality time with her little girl on Friday as they spent the day at Crown Sydney, in Barangaroo.

The wife of TV presenter Karl Stefanovic shared a photo to Instagram of the pair admiring the waterfront view from their luxury suite.

Bonding time: Jasmine Stefanovic (nee Yarbrough) enjoyed quality time with her eight-month-old daughter, Harper May, on Friday as they spent the day at Crown Sydney, in Barangaroo

'Always with me,' the mother of one wrote in the caption.

In the picture, Jasmine gazed lovingly at Harper, who was propped up on her mother's hip and secured with one arm.

The Mara & Mine co-founder looked stylish in a Zimmermann dress and sandals from her own cult shoe brand.

Inseparable: The shoe designer, 37, has been joined at the hip with her little girl since welcoming her into the world eight months ago

She accessorised her outfit with a monochrome tote from Willow Bay, which she appeared to be using as a baby bag.

Jasmine also pulled her blonde hair away from her face into a high bun.

Meanwhile, Harper looked cute as a button in a pink frilly dress and matching shoes.

Carried away! The mother-daughter day out comes after Jasmine revealed she owns a very chic nappy bag that retails for $200

The mother-daughter day out comes after Jasmine revealed she owns a very chic nappy bag that retails for $200.

She joked on Instagram last month that the bag had helped her through a lot of 's***ty situations'.

Jasmine married Today anchor Karl in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, in December 2018 and they welcomed baby Harper in May last year.
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The United Nations Security Council expressed deep concern at the declaration of the state of emergency imposed in Myanmar by the military and called for the immediate release of Myanmars leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others who have been detained.

The members of the Security Council emphasised the need for the continued support of the democratic transition in Myanmar, the 15-member council said in a statement agreed by consensus.

The move came as the International Monetary Fund announced it will be guided by our membership in deciding whether to recognise the military regime that has seized power in Myanmar as the countrys legitimate government, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said yesterday.

The Fund, which transferred about 290m in emergency coronavirus financing to Myanmar days before the coup last week, is watching the situation closely and is very concerned about the impact of recent events and their impact on Myanmars people.

The future of the fragile peace process that has sought to end the countrys decades-long conflict between the military, armed ethnic groups and militias has become even more uncertain. Over 20 ethnic groups have been fighting the military over control of predominantly ethnic-minority borderland areas, including Shan, Kachin, Karen and Rakhine states. The groups have sought greater autonomy for their regions, which are often rich with natural resources. The military and militias aligned with it have fought for continued centralised power and control.

The military announced on Monday that it will take power for one year, accusing Ms Suu Kyis government of not investigating allegations of voter fraud in recent elections. The state Election Commission has refuted the allegations.

Ms Suu Kyi was charged on Wednesday with possessing illegally imported walkie-talkies, which gives the military legal grounds to detain her for two weeks.

Read More

Experts fear the countrys already fragile peace process could break down as a result of the coup. Myanmar has one of the longest civil conflicts in world, with fighting continuing at different times across the country since 1949.

Many of the armed groups want greater autonomy, which they feel was promised by Ms Suu Kyis father, General Aung San, via the Panglong Agreement of 1947, which called for a federal system of government, ethnic minority rights and religious freedom. He was assassinated later in 1947.

Decades of junta rule that followed resulted in a slew of human rights violations, including the use of civilians as slave labour, rapes, extrajudicial killings and the burning of entire villages.

When the Myanmar military was coming, ethnic Shan, Kachin, Mon, Karen and others would run into the jungle, said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division. Atrocities against ethnic people by the military were widespread, systematic and done with impunity.

When democratic reforms began in 2011, unilateral ceasefire agreements were signed by several groups, with others signing additional ceasefires in the years that followed. In 2015, a nationwide National Ceasefire Agreement was formed, with many ethnic leaders and government officials signing on.

Further hope for the peace process came when Ms Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party came to power after winning a 2015 general election by a landslide. In the same year, the new government helped organise a Union Peace Conference  21st Century Panglong, named after the agreement signed by Ms Suu Kyis father, making further inroads for peace. Yet even with ceasefires and peace summits, fighting has continued across the country. In 2018, a United Nations fact-finding mission released a report on Myanmar describing massive violations by the military, also called the Tatmadaw, in three states.

During their operations the Tatmadaw has systematically targeted civilians, including women and children, committed sexual violence, voiced and promoted exclusionary and discriminatory rhetoric against minorities, and established a climate of impunity for its soldiers, said Marzuki Darusman, the missions chairperson.
Day camps could be considered breeding grounds for coronavirus infection, but a new study shows that when social distancing measures are followed, few illnesses result.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 6,800 children and staff members who were at 54 YMCA day camps in the greater Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area of North Carolina from March through August 2020, when community cases of COVID-19 were on the rise.

The Duke University team identified just 10 children and nine staff members with confirmed infections. Only two patients were possibly infected at camp, while all of the other patients were infected outside of camp, according to the study published online Feb. 3 in the journal Pediatrics.

"Our study suggests that appropriate measures to reduce the spread of disease can create an environment where normal childhood activities such as day camp, school and after-school recreation can be provided with minimal risk," said study author Emily D'Agostino, an assistant professor in the department of family medicine and community health at Duke.

"The study also highlights the critical importance of academic partnerships with community organizations for promoting pediatric health," D'Agostino said in a university news release.

All staffers at the camps were trained on how to limit the spread of the coronavirus, and the camps adhered to symptom screenings for children and workers, masking, hand-washing/sanitizing, daily cleaning/disinfecting and limiting group sizes to no more than 10 children.

Last month, another Duke University team reported that transmission of the coronavirus in schools was rare. They tracked 11 school districts in North Carolina over nine weeks of in-person teaching.

There were 773 community-acquired infections among school children and staff, but only 32 infections were acquired within schools. There were no cases of child-to-adult transmission within the schools, according to that study, also published in Pediatrics.

"These data should be helpful to school systems and child care providers as they navigate this exceedingly difficult time, yet work to promote the well-being of children and primary caregivers," said co-author Dr. Ibukun Akinboyo, an assistant professor in Duke's department of pediatrics.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on children and COVID-19.

SOURCE: Duke University, news release, Feb. 3, 2021

Explore further How the pandemic is changing summer camp

Copyright  2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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A pair of Jersey City men were sentenced to prison Thursday for their involvement in a 2018 shooting that claimed a teenagers life and wounded another person, authorities said.

Omar Williams was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for first-degree manslaughter, while his co-defendant Kai Robinson received a five-year sentence, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced.

Both men must serve 85% of their prison terms before becoming eligible for parole.

Williams and Robinson, both 23, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the May 2, 2018 fatal shooting of Kamal McCord  a 19-year-old Jersey City resident who was found dead inside an apartment on Merseles Court, Suarez said.

Police officers who responded to the scene also found a 21-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to one of her extremities. She was transported to Jersey City Medical Center and treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Suarez said.

A third man, Lasaun Rose, 28, of Jersey City, also pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing. Like Robinsons plea deal, which netted a five-year sentence, Roses charge will be treated as a second-degree crime at sentencing, Suarez said.
"I am thrilled to celebrate the expansion of our footprint into Historic College Park," said Dan Forsman, President and CEO Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties. "Under Wendy's leadership, this office is sure to flourish and serve as a tremendous asset to the surrounding community."

On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties (BHHS) celebrated the opening of its GATEWAY Historic College Park Office with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included top BHHS GA executives, media, realtors, and local politicians.

"I am thrilled to celebrate the expansion of our footprint into Historic College Park," said Dan Forsman, President and CEO Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties. "Under Wendy's leadership, this office is sure to flourish and serve as a tremendous asset to the surrounding community."

We at Prosperity are passionate about increasing homeownership within this community and intend to provide products and programs to ensure successful homeownership, said Tim Wilson, CEO of Prosperity Mortgage. This has been a vision of ours for years and, with Wendy as S.V.P. and Managing Broker, we have an unbeatable team.

Guests at the event included BHHS GA President & CEO, Dan Forsman; Prosperity Mortgage CEO, Tim Wilson; BHHS GA Regional Manager & S.V.P., DeAnn Golden; College Park City Manager, Renee Coakley; and City Councilmen, Tom Carpenter, Artie Jones, and Ken Allen.

Located at 1876 Princeton Ave, College Park, GA 30337, in the heart of College Park's Historic District - the 1.5 story, 6,176-square-foot office offers a welcoming environment and industry-leading technology for agents, clients, and community members to connect.

"With its central location, many attractions, and diverse and welcoming community  College Park boasts small-town charm and comfort with the convenience of metropolitan living," says Senior Vice President and Managing Broker, Wendy Allen. "We're excited to provide home buyers and sellers in this rapidly growing community with the expertise, service, and global marketing power that only HomeServices can offer."

In the office, Senior Vice President and Managing Broker, Wendy Allen, will lead the sales strategy and enhance the BHHS brand experience for 23 agents and clients in the South Fulton area. As BHHS continues to be a top-rated real estate company in Georgia, its new College Park office's opening marks its expansion into one of the fastest-growing real estate markets in the state.

About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties has over 1,600 associates and 26 locations across the Greater Metro Atlanta and North Georgia area. The company generated over $4.4 billion in sales volume and 11,606 transaction sides in 2020. Trendgraphix reports that Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties is ranked #1 in home sales for the Greater Metro Atlanta area. Led by president and CEO Dan Forsman, the organization offers a full suite of real estate services including residential real estate, luxury real estate, new homes services, condo/ high-rise services, commercial real estate, corporate relocation, property management, mortgage lending, title and settlement services, home warranties and insurance. Equal Housing Opportunity. Visit http://www.BHHSGA.com.

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White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain testifies before the Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Subcommittee hearing on "Community Perspectives on Coronavirus Preparedness and Response" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on March 10, 2020. (Nicholas KammI/AFP via Getty Images)

White House Wants to Send Masks to Every Household and Get Every American Masked Up

The Biden administration hopes to revive a proposal brought up during the Trump administration to send protective face masks to every household nationwide.

This was an idea that really came up last year in the Trump administrationthe public health agencies recommended it, President Trump vetoed it for some reason, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said Thursday on NBC.

We want to get this back on track. I hope in the next few days, or next week, we may be able to announce some progress on this, he added.

Former President Donald Trump scrapped a similar idea to deliver 650 million masks to every American last year in April. The masks were instead sent to nonprofit organizations and state and federal agencies.

President Joe Biden made mask-wearing a pillar of his presidential campaign and signed an executive order on his first day in office mandating people to wear masks in federal buildings and on federal lands.

The president called on every U.S. citizen to wear masks for the next 100 days the moment he took office, labeling it a patriotic duty, as his administration looked for ways to slow the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly referred to as the novel coronavirus.

Biden himself is regularly seen masked up in public, even occasionally inside the Oval Office. He was, however, hours after signing his executive order mandating masks, spotted without one in federal lands in Washington.

President Joe Biden meets with lawmakers in the White House in Washington on Feb. 3, 2021. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

Certainly he signed the mask mandate because its a way to send a message to the American public about the importance of wearing masks, how it can save tens of thousands of lives, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in mid-January.

A study published last month by researchers at the University of Southern Californias Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research concluded that only half of Americans wear a mask while in contact with members outside their household.

About 90 percent of U.S. citizens in the survey said they wear a mask when they go grocery shopping. The study also reveals 83 percent of people in the survey said they think wearing a mask is an effective way to stay safe from the CCP virus, which causes the disease COVID-19.

Bidens chief of staff said he hopes with the revival of this proposal and with masks soon on the way to every household, every American will be masked up in the first 100 days of the Biden administration.

But, of course, this is part overall of a plan to try to get every American masked up in these first 100 days, Klain told the network. Were going to do whatever we can to make masks more available to people, to increase the supply of masks, and of course to get people to wear those masks.

Travelers arrive at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2020. (David McNew/Getty Images)

In October, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci forecast that mask-wearing and social distancing may remain in our world well into 2022.

Its not going to be the way it was with polio and measles, where you get a vaccine, case closed, its done, Fauci told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Its going to be public health measures that linger for months and months.

Conan Milner contributed to this report.

From NTD News
The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed banks in the country to close all cryptocurrency-related accounts.

The bank said this in a statement on Friday.

The regulator prohibited all financial institutions from facilitating crypto currency payments in the country.

This directive is contained in a letter addressed to all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs)and other financial institutions (OFIs) on Friday.

This was confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES by Osita Nwanisobi, CBN spokesman.

According to the letter, signed by Bello Hassan, director of banking supervision, and Musa Jimoh, director, payments system of management department, the apex bank directed all

DMBs, NBFIs and OFIs to identify persons and entities transacting in, or, operating crypto currency exchanges within their systems to close such accounts immediately.

In the letter, the CBN referenced a circular it issued in January 12,2017 ref FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/06/010 which cautioned Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs)and other financial institutions (OFIs) as well as members of the public on the risk associated with transactions of crypto currency.

Further to earlier regulatory directives on the subject, the Bank hereby wishes to remind regulated institutions that dealing in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency is prohibited, the statement reads.

Please note that breaches of this directive will attract severe regulatory sanctions. This letter is with immediate effect, the bank concluded.

Nigerians reacts on Twitter

Many Nigerian took to Twitter to register their complaints about the CBNs directive.

A twitter user, Oyindamola @dammiedammie35, said

How can you ban crypto transactions in 2021!! A currency thats growing our economy little by little. People are making money legitimately. Doubling their money and taking care of their families with it!They just want us to suffer! Our government hates progress!! Its saddeningBroken heart.

https://twitter.com/dammiedammie35/status/1357696951047884808

Also,Dj Switch@dj_switchaholic wrote:

If the ban on crypto If the ban on crypto by CBN is true ehn, it points yet again to the ill informed, backward, poverty promoting dinosaurs T-Rex leading us. Use your time  to investigate and close accounts sponsoring terrorists in the country if you dont know what to do!!! GAWD Man facepalming#endsars Man walking.

https://twitter.com/dj_switchaholic/status/1357698393846480897

Rinu #EndSARSFireWater pistol@SavvyRinu

ADVERTISEMENT

The Nigerian government has just legitimized a reason for security forces harassment/profiling. Finding any Crypto app or trading app on your phone. #EndSARS

https://twitter.com/SavvyRinu/status/1357701469303111681

Attah of NigeriaFlag of Nigeria@Akortainment said:

The Nigerian government is worried about BTC and the rest when they shouldve been focusing on Naira thats moving like a baby. we no even know where that one dey crypto.

The Nigerian government is worried about BTC and the rest when they should've been focusing on Naira that's moving like a baby. we no even know where that one dey crypto  Attah (@Akortainment) February 5, 2021

Bitcoin

The worlds most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin as of Friday traded at $38,083 (N 14,471, 540), according to data from coinmarketcap.com.
The Delhi Police has informed about death of two persons and one suicide case during the farmers' protest against the three farm laws, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday. To a query in Rajya Sabha whether the government would provide financial assistance from the Kisan Kalyan Fund to the families of the deceased farmers, he answered in the negative.

"There is no specific information available about the death of farmers agitating in different states of the country. However, Delhi Police has informed about death of two persons and one suicide during the farmers' protest," Tomar said in a written reply to the House. To a separate query whether the government has any data on total number of farmers' deaths and cases of suicide at the farmers' protest against the three farm laws from November 2020-January 2021, Tomar said his ministry has "no record".

"The Ministry of Home Affairs has reported that there is no specific information to provide on the issues raised in the question. However, it has been further informed by Delhi Police that two persons died and one committed suicide, during the farmers' protest," he reiterated. The minister also informed that "no expired tear gas shells were used by Delhi Police on the farmers who were marching towards Delhi to protest against the three farm laws." Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, are camping at Delhi borders for over two months now seeking repeal of the three farm laws and legal guarantee of minimum support price of crops. The 11 rounds of talks between the Centre and 41 protesting farmer unions have so far remained inconclusive even though the former has offered concessions including suspension of the legislations for 18 months which the unions have rejected. The government has said it has kept its doors open for discussion with farmers to resolve their concerns, but the protesting unions have made it clear that further talks can take place if police stops harassment of farm leaders and revokes suspension of internet at protest sites.

(Photo/CGTN)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's Anhui Province and U.S. State of Maryland on Thursday held a virtual event to launch the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of their sister relationship.

"Since the outbreak of COVID-19, sub-national governments, businesses and non-governmental organizations in both China and the United States, including Anhui and Maryland, rendered each other great support and fought the pandemic shoulder to shoulder," Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said in a video speech.

Echoing Cui's remarks, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who attended the virtual event with Maryland's first lady Yumi Hogan, said this relationship "has never been more valued" as it is now, "as our regions face the unprecedented challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic."

"Donations of medical supplies between our regions played a pivotal role in our fight against this deadly virus and served as a powerful testament to the friendship between our regions," Hogan said.

The U.S. governor noted that countless citizens of both Maryland and Anhui have had "so much to gain" from this relationship, including shared experiences in arts, economic development, education and public service.

"We look forward to 40 more years of cooperation between Maryland and Anhui, as we work to promote peace and prosperity for the people we serve," Hogan said.

At the virtual event, leaders from Anhui and Maryland reflected on the key moments and achievements in the past 40 years, and exchanged gifts to commemorate the 40th anniversary.

Anhui and Maryland established sister relationship in June 1980, making them the second pair of sister province and state between China and the United States since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1979.

During the past four decades, Anhui and Maryland maintained close communication and conducted fruitful cooperation in economy and trade, science and technology, agriculture, education, culture and beyond.

In his remarks, Li Jinbin, Communist Party chief of Anhui, said Anhui and Maryland have established friendly relations over the past 40 years, which witnessed the continuous progress in China-U.S. relations.

Anhui and Maryland reached broad consensus and achieved fruitful outcomes in their cooperation, making contributions to the development of China-U.S. relations, Li said.

"State-to-state relations are underpinned by people-to-people relations. They require the people's support and also serve the people," said Cui, noting that the friendship between the Chinese and American people "goes back a long way," and there is "strong popular support for our ties."

"To engage with each other is the shared aspiration of the two peoples. We need to follow the people's will, remove obstacles for their engagement, and build more bridges for their exchanges and cooperation," Cui said.

He's best known for getting his heartbroken by Susie Bradley on season six of Married At First Sight.

But Billy Vincent, 30, has a whole lot to celebrate as he's now dating model and professional snowboarder Rani Siregar.

According to The Wash , the personal trainer has been dating the Aussie sportswoman for 12 months - and their story of finding love is certainly one worth telling the grandchildren one day.

New love! Married At First Sight's Billy Vincent (left) has found love with model Rani Siregar (right). The pair met online - after Billy was first catfished by someone using her photos

In 2019, Rani admitted she had a crush on Billy when she watched him on the hit Channel Nine dating show.

'I remember watching the show and thinking, "If he was my boyfriend, I would be so much nicer"  and I can't believe that ended up happening,' Rani told the website.

A few months later, Rani was forced to leave her Jindabyne home, due to bushfires in the region.

Aww! In 2019, Rani admitted she had a crush on Billy when she watched him on the hit Channel Nine dating show. Pictured on Married At First Sight

As a result, she moved to the Gold Coast, which brought her one step closer to meeting the reality TV star.

As luck would have it, the two then matched on dating app, Tinder.

However, Billy told The Wash, he was previously 'catfished' by someone who used Rani's pics and pretending to be her online.

Lucky! The two then matched on dating app, Tinder. However, Billy told The Wash, he was previously 'catfished' by someone who used Rani's pics and pretending to be her online

Aww! As the two chatted, he realised Rani was the real deal and in January 2020, the two had their first date

As the two chatted, he realised Rani was the real deal and in January 2020, the two had their first date.

Shortly after hitting it off, the Coronavirus pandemic hit, so Rani was in need of a place to self-isolate.

'Billy invited me to move in with him around March due to Covid. Living together so soon [after meeting] was definitely an interesting way to develop our relationship,' Rani said.

Big fan! Although Billy is yet to announce the happy news on his Instagram, he has been an active commenting on his girlfriend's photographs, such as the one above

He commented: 'Lovely photo' and also cheekily added a love heart and fire emoji

Although Billy is yet to announce the happy news on his Instagram, he has been an actively commenting on his girlfriend's photographs.

He wrote, 'Lovely photo' on one and also cheekily added a love heart and fire emoji.

Billy is best known for his tumultuous relationship with Susie Bradley on season six of Married At First Sight.

Shortly after the show he dated 20-year-old Instagram model Lily Buhl.
General Assignment Reporter

Chris Mays is a general assignment reporter for the Brattleboro Reformer. He has been with New England Newspapers Inc. since 2012.
DARIEN The longtime Noroton Heights redevelopment project that has been on hold is expected to see a light at the end of the tunnel soon, according to First Selectman Jayme Stevenson.

Stevenson gave an update on that and other redevelopment projects, along with the status of many other town Darien-related topics at a recent State of the Town discussion coordinated by the Darien Chamber of Commerce. She said the project should resume work within the next six months.

The project will consist of remodeling the entirety of the Noroton Heights Shopping Center, as well as the Noroton Heights Train Station. The project would add residential units to the upper stories. There are three stories in the development  the first floor is all restaurants and retail and the other floors are all apartments.

Neighbors have expressed frustration with the stalled project, which broke ground in December 2019, and some have filed complaints with the towns Blight Board.

In the summer, Jim Palmer, whose family owns Palmers Market, confirmed the project is on a pause for the time being.

At that time, Steve Olvany, chairman of the Planning & Zoning Commission, said the work has stopped due to COVID-19.

Olvany added that in some cases, construction lenders can withhold funds of construction money if there is a pandemic or COVID situation. In late January, Jeremy Ginsberg, the towns Planning & Zoing Department director, said he had spoken to Palmer who said they were hoping to start late this spring.

Meanwhile, a neighboring development, the Federal Realty project, is making progress. Stevenson said the new Walgreens should be open in the spring. As part of that project, Federal Realty placed a large rainwater retention tank under the project to mitigate flooding on Heights Road. Other accompanying improvements associated with the project include sidewalks on the streets surrounding it, including West Avenue, Noroton Avenue and Height Road, as well as new signals and some crosswalks.

Also as part of the upgrades to the area, the Noroton Heights Train Station, directly across the street, is expected to have improvements and a pedestrian walkway to make it easy for train passengers to access the new developments.

The Corbin District is also proceeding on schedule, Stevenson said, as well as the redevelopment of the old Darien Playhouse on the Post Road. The Corbin District will be a mixed-use redevelopment spanning from Corbin Drive to the Bank of America building on Post Road. Stevenson said these redevelopments, plus an urge for city dwellers to relocate after the pandemic, have been a silver lining to the last years struggles. She said Darien has become an attractive location for residential and commercial real estate buyers.

The Darien Train Station is also scheduled for some new platforms proposed by the state Department of Transportation and the town is partnering to add more commuter shelters.

Right now, ridership is down 90 percent across Metro-North. I do think commuting will come back, but not entirely. I think people are enjoying working from home, she said.

Stevenson said all of the combined projects in town should be completed by 2023, which seems like a long time away, but will be here before you know it.

Stevenson was also asked about the proposed 7-Eleven at the current Duchess property. She said she has received only negative feedback from the town on it, and said Planning & Zoning still has some time before they make a decision.

However, she cautioned that Planning & Zoning cannot deny a project simply because people dont want it here.

The commission needs to make its decision based on legal reasons, such as issues of safety, which she said have been raised. However, she said if the project is denied, it is still likely it may end up in court.

Stevenson also addressed the impact of COVID-19  members of her own family struggled with the virus  and thanked the business owners for encouraging safey measures including masks and social distancing.

I know this has been super hard for you, she said.

Stevenson said that the town of Darien has ultimately fared very well through this pandemic. She mentioned efforts to help small businesses included the towns property tax deferral program for the second time.

Its been quite a year. Hopefully a once in a lifetime that we are facing a global pandemic, she said.

As of last weekend, Stevenson said out of the 22,000 Darien residents, the town has had a little over 970 cases from 650 households. She said the data shows the cases are mostly due to household and small gathering spreading versus in schools or local businesses. The town has also had 27 hospitalizations and eight deaths of residents with COVID-19.

Stevenson specified these deaths were patients with COVID-19 as it isnt clear whether the patients died of the virus, just that they tested positive for it.

Stevenson said it was a people are really struggling with isolation and a lack of socialization with their peers, she said.

Another positive she said she has seen is Darien residents are re-discovering the outdoors, whether the beaches, or parks, or just out walking. Stevenson said that inspired the Board of Selectmen to include enhancements to outdoor spaces in its current budget process.

The COVID-19 process has also strengthened community collaborations with nonprofits as well her relationship with fellow town leaders across the region and state.To that end, Stevenson said the town is looking at increased effective communications from Town Hall and encouraged all to sign up for her weekly Code Red messages.

Stevenson also addressed highlights from the upcoming legislative session that she felt might impact Darien.

A proposed legislation for a state-wide property tax by Senate President Martin Looney and another proposing an increase on the capital gains tax would both impact Darien negatively.

Its estimated that there could be an additional $5 million tax burden on Darien if that goes through. It is something to be mindful of. We need to look all in on our tax burden on residents, she said.

Stevenson also addressed proposals by Desegregate CT, which would allow the state to take control of some local zoning decisions. Some of the proposals would be multifamly housing within a certain area of commercial corridors like the Post Road or transit areas, like the towns two train stations, would be built as of right.

As of right, she said, means no public hearing process is required, as has been the previous practice.

She the housing would be two- to four-family sizes, and the policies would also eliminate minimum parking requirements which would result in more street parking.

Stevenson said shes been on a task force regarding these proposals and has had the ability to work directly with and give feedback to Sara Bronin, the head of Desegregate CT.

Ive offered ideas to help modify this proposal to make it more digestible for small towns like Darien, she said.

Stevenson said the risk is the ultimate urbanization of Darien, which she said is not why people move to the town and not why small businesses open. She said she can think of areas in town where these projects might work, and others they wouldnt.

Im trying to strike the right balance to make this appropriate for Darien, Stevenson said.
State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection together with the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine and companies producing dairy products deny the information about the detection of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease in the domestic whey powder exported to China.

According to their report, the details announced at a press conference will be made public in Kyiv on Friday.

As reported in the press announcement, it will be attended by Head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection Vladyslava Mahaletska; Chairman of the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine Vadym Chaharovsky; Deputy Head of the Institute of Food Resources of National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine Iryna Romanchuk; and General Director of Ukrprodukt Group LLC Yuriy Hordeichyk.

Three samples of a batch of ice cream produced by Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company tested positive for COVID-19 at Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a press release citing a January report from Xinhua News Agency (China).

Xinhua reported on January 15, 2021 that positive test results for coronavirus were found in whey powder imported from Ukraine for the production of ice cream, and on January 29, the Ukrainian authorities were notified by the General Administration of Customs of China that during the customs clearance of the dry whey, the virus checks were not required.

As reported in the press announcement, officials of the Ministry of Commerce of China routinely expressed concern about these publications in the Chinese media, which affect the development of Ukrainian-Chinese relations. They noted the lack of information in the said department and in Tianjin authority about any checks of Ukrainian whey and detection of COVID-19.

According to the cited words of representatives of the Ministry of Commerce of China, the department, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is investigating publications and their sources.

There is no official confirmation of positive results of whey test. Ukrainian producers and exporters of dairy products faced the need to prove their innocence and the proper quality of their products.

A former rugby league prodigy has opened up about how he went off the rails and ended up behind bars after joining the Rebels bikie gang.

Dan Kilian was still in high school when he began playing for the under-20s Gold Coast Titans in 2011, which he still describes as his favourite footy memory.

He signed a contract with the Newcastle Knights the following year before a battle with anxiety and depression saw him throw away his promising league career at the age of 19 - finding himself in jail within two years.

Kilian, now 25, has opened up about his troubled past, life behind bars and the battle to get his life back on track since in a candid interview with Queensland Police, titled The Dan Kilian Story.

Former rising rugby league star Dan Kilian (pictured leaving the Supreme Court in 2017) has opened up how his life spiralled out of control when he was younger

'I became the perfect concoction of the human monster; super greedy, manipulative, disloyal, abusive, violent,' he recalled.

'Your only end point is to make money, to get your ego fluffed up by the other members and get that stature of not-to-be-f**ked with or whose got the most money, whose got the most gold, who can get the most women, who is moving the most gear.

'There were some aspects that were enjoyable but that's the whole glorification of the whole thing behind it.'

Kilian became involved with the Rebels at the age of 19 when he returned home to Coffs Harbour on the NSW mid north coast after walking away from the sport.

He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in 2017 after being caught buying 10,000 MDMA tablets for $10 each.

Kilian sold the pills on, netting himself thousands of dollars in profit, some of which he spent on drugs.

'I used drugs and alcohol to band-aid my depression, but all it did was spiral me out of control,' Kilian recalled.

Dan Kilian pictured at the age 19 when he threw away his promising rugby league career ad joined the Rebels bikie gang

'I ran into a bloke at a pub, that I've realised was in the Rebels, we'd actually locked eyes and it was going to be a bit of a scuffle, but before you know it we were all back at the clubhouse that night on the p*ss and whatnot.

'He said I've got a mate that runs a footy club up north, would you be interested and I just thought yes sure why not never being in that realm of gangs before that I didn't see that this guy was actually getting me up here for his own purpose.'

Kilian admitted he was forced to do things he didn't want to do while he was a Rebels members

'It wasn't pleasant, some things will stay with me forever,' he said.

'I went home and out my head in a pillow many times and thought, what have I done.'

'When you hate yourself more, you learn to self-destruct more.'

Dan Kilian (pictured) spent more than two years behind bars in his early 20s, which he described as a real eyeopener

Dan Kilian's mum (left) was interviewed alongside her son in the Queensland Police video

Mr Kilian was eventually arrested in a dramatic bikie raid in 2014 and spent more than two years in prisons across New South Wales and Queensland.

'Eighteen months in NSW jails at the age of 20 was a real eyeopener,' he said.

'It was harsh reality, coming from a place of opportunities to a place like that, you sit there and really really regret and think what the f*** have I done.'

'It was massive, massive smack in the mouth.'

He used time in a Bathurst jail to better himself, spending time in the library and reading 150 books.

'I then went to Queensland prison and did the same thing,' he said.

'I trained as much as I could, three, four, times a day, sometimes more.

'I just got sick of feeling like sh*t. I got sick of my mental capacity having control over me  Im still not perfect but I try to stay as mentally strong as I can.'

Kilian cut ties with the Rebels when he was released from jail and didn't look back.

The end of the video shows Kilian one year on from filming, where he revealed getting his life back on track had been 'challenging and tiring.'

Dan Kilian (pictured in the police video) admits he's still getting his life back on track after it spiralled out of control eight years ago

Dan Kilian (pictured leaving court in 2017) has cut ties with the Rebels bikie club

'Sometimes I feel like there's a mountain in front of me but I'm determined not to give up because I realise there's a purpose to leading a positive life without crime, depression, substance abuse and broken relationships,' he explains.

'In the 12 months since filming I've come face to face with many of my demons.'

'I have withdrawn from my efforts of reform as I believed I could solve my problems on my own but I just kept knocking myself down and down and my mental health suffered because of it.'

'Eventually I realised I was the demon within myself, denying myself the help I needed because I thought I knew best.'

Kilian has since accepted his internal battles and sought professional help.

'I'm improving my relationships and once again, I'm feeling positive about the direction of my life,' he said.

The video ends with Kilian urging others in a similar situation to never give up.

If you or anyone you knows needs confidential support, call Lifeline: 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636.
Pfizer and Moderna officials say they are prepared to tweak their vaccines as needed, in as little as six weeks time.

Confronted with the possibility of coronavirus variants that may evade current vaccines, therapies and tests for the virus, the Food and Drug Administration is readying a plan for action in the next few weeks. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have so far proven to be effective against known variants of the coronavirus , but they are less potent against the variant first identified in South Africa. That variant has only been confirmed in three people in the United States so far, but the countrys surveillance is thin and may be missing other cases.

As of Thursday, all but seven of the 618 coronavirus variant cases identified in the United States so far have involved a fast-spreading variant first observed in Britain, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If variants emerge that are not prevented, that the vaccines have poor efficacy against, then we will need to rapidly change, Janet Woodcock, the agencys acting director, said in a call with reporters Thursday. New versions of the vaccine would need to be rapidly manufactured, tested and distributed.

Officials at Pfizer and Moderna have said they are prepared to tweak their vaccines as needed and that the process could be complete in as little as six weeks.

Dr Woodcock declined to reveal any details of how the FDA plans to evaluate the tweaked vaccines, but said that the agency would probably require smaller and shorter trials than in the original trials run by Pfizer and Moderna.

If the current vaccines prove ineffective against a new variant, we cant go through more 30,000 patient trials, she said. There are things short of doing full-fledged efficacy trials that we can use to shift or perhaps add components to the existing vaccines.

Dr. Woodcock said the plans will be released for comment from scientists before they are implemented. The agency may also look to an advisory committee to help guide any changes to existing vaccines.

The F.D.A. also plans to release guidance documents for monoclonal antibody treatments and for tests of the virus. The monoclonal antibody made by Eli Lilly and one of the two antibodies in the cocktail made by Regeneron are powerless against the variant circulating in South Africa, according to a recent study.

We knew from the very beginning that monoclonals were vulnerable to this type of strain shift, she said.

Laboratory tests for the coronavirus that rely on a technique called P.C.R. seem to detect the new variants accurately, but if that were to change, they could easily be altered, Dr. Woodcock said. But it would be much more complicated to determine whether antigen tests that are manufactured en masse are missing variants.

Apoorva Mandavilli. c.2021 The New York Times Company
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines February 5)  The Department of Health said the awarding for the procurement of a COVID-19 vaccine cold chain service provider may be completed before the end of February.

"Before the end of this month, maybe the award will be processed," DOH Undersecretary Carol Taino said in a briefing on Friday.

Invitations were already sent out to several companies and the deadline for the submission of requirements is on February 11, she added.

These will then go through the process of evaluation to determine which service provider is fit for the government's vaccine storage requirements.

The country is expected to receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and another 50,000 doses of Chinas Sinovac this month.

Taino said the government has existing contracts with other third-party logistics and facilities where these can be stored while they are completing their evaluation.

Prior to the briefing, government officials led by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. inspected the facilities of Royal Cargo Inc.

"We feel that it can significantly help us in our logistics requirement," Duque said when asked about his initial assessment of the company's facilities.

Royal Cargo Inc. chair and group CEO Michael Raeuber said their facility has an initial capacity of 1 million doses but may later expand to around 4-8 million. This can also handle the different requirements of different vaccines, including Pfizer and Moderna that require extremely low temperatures.

Royal Cargo Inc. President Elmer Sarmiento also said their container vans can be used for transportation of vaccines, and for storage in areas where there is no electricity.

Galvez Jr. said in January the government is negotiating with 18 companies to ensure proper storage and transportation, and that no vaccine will be wasted.
Southwest airline officially bans emotional support animals. Since last year, major airlines started placing bans on traveling with emotional support animals. Southwest is officially the 4th and the last of the "Big 4" airlines to make the move. Although trained service dogs are still allowed to travel in airline cabins.

Quite a number of animals fly every year. Delta reported that in 2017 they transported 250,000 emotional support and service dogs. The first major airline that placed the ban was Alaska, they hold the position of number 5 by market share. They announced the ban on December 29, 2020. American followed suit and made its announcement on January 5. Next was Delta, on January 7, and United quickly followed on January 8.

Southwest held back on the announcement for weeks giving hope to emotional service animal advocates. By the delay, they hoped that Southwest might follow a different route from their competitors. "Our emotional support animals policy has not changed," a spokesperson from Southwest told a reporter. Contrary to their previous statement, on January 25, they announced a ban on emotional support animals. They referred to the move as a "policy enhancement".

According to this new policy, the only animals that Southwest would classify as service animals would be trained dogs with proper documentation.

ALSO READ - Dog's are More Than Just Pets - Here's Proof

Emotional Support Animals

According to AKC, emotional support animals are dogs and pets that provide emotional support and comfort to their owners daily. For an animal to be considered an ESA legally, it must be prescribed by a health professional that tends to mental ailments like a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist.

They differ from service dogs, in the sense that service dogs perform specified tasks and follow their owner about. ESA's are not particularly trained although they are expected to be of good behavior while in public. ESAs may be barred from entering various establishments like malls, but service dogs are.

Actions That Prompted The Ban

Although this definition by AKC is clear, some individuals have taken advantage of the process and abused the rules. Emotional support animals are still allowed in some establishments but airlines began to ban them because of some incidents like a flight attendant being bitten.

So far, more than 80 organizations have agreed to ban ESA's. "Emotional support animals can be untrained, whereas service animals are not" a group claimed. According to them these untrained ESA's can include animals like ducks, pigs, and peacocks.

The press poured added more fire to the movement and released articles about fake emotional support dogs, ESA's posing a danger to the public and the likes. The airlines wanted to push the Department of Transportation to define ESA's as dogs trained to work and perform tasks for people with disabilities. This definition was coined from the Americans with Disabilities Act.

About 15,000 comments were gathered from airlines, flight attendants, people with disabilities, etc. This gained the attention of the DOT and they agreed that the information provided by the airline was persuasive. According to them, animals people labelled emotional support animals cause a significant amount of animal misbehavior while onboard.

If you're wondering how people with documented ESA's would fly, American airlines listed three choices "don't fly, leave the animal at home or pay for your pet". These pets can however travel as carry-on pets or cargo pets if they meet the requirement.

RELATED ARTICLE - Having Pets Could Make Your Children Feel Less Stressed

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RTHK: Russia kicks out three envoys from EU member states

Russia on Friday expelled diplomats from three EU member states it accused of attending illegal protests in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, and pointedly ignored a public call by the EU's top diplomat to free the opposition politician.

The expulsions, which affected diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, appear to have wrecked an EU attempt to re-engage with Moscow being spearheaded by Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, who was in Russia for talks on Friday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the move unjustified and a further step away from the rule of law in Russia, while Poland summoned the Russian ambassador over the decision.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic, was jailed this week for almost three years for parole violations he calls trumped up, a move the West condemned.

Russia announced the expulsions after Borrell used a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to call for Russia to free Navalny immediately.

Lavrov did not respond directly to the appeal but complained about what he described as human rights abuses in the EU and called the 27-nation bloc an unreliable partner.

Borrell had earlier said that the Navalny case was a low point for ties between Russia and the EU. He said there was not yet a formal proposal for new EU sanctions on Russia but that the 27-member bloc would have a discussion next month about relations with Moscow.

"I have conveyed to Minister Lavrov our deep concern and our appeal for his (Navalny's) release and for the launch of an investigation over his poisoning," Borrell told the news conference. "Over the last years our relationship has been marked by fundamental differences and a lack of trust."

Navalny was arrested on January 17 on his return from treatment in Germany, where he was flown in August after falling ill from what German officials concluded was poisoning with a military-grade nerve agent. The Kremlin has questioned whether Navalny was poisoned and denied blame for his illness.

Lavrov said it was up to Brussels if it wanted to impose sanctions on Russia, but that the EU was behaving more and more like Washington in its use of unilateral sanctions.

"We share the view that a further deterioration of ties is fraught with negative and highly unpredictable consequences," Lavrov said.

A few hours after the talks, Russia announced the expulsion of the diplomats, saying they had taken part in illegal protests last month against Navalny's jailing. The foreign ministry said Moscow considered their actions unacceptable.

Despite close trade ties and energy interdependence, Russia's political relations with the European Union soured after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Navalny was back in court on Friday for another trial, accused of slandering a World War Two veteran who took part in a promotional video backing changes last year that let Putin run for up to two more terms. Navalny at the time described those in the video as traitors and lackeys. He denies the slander charge.

In comments by video link at the trial, the veteran called on Navalny to apologise publicly.

"This case in general was intended as a kind of PR process because the Kremlin needs the headlines: Navalny slandered a veteran," Navalny told the court.

The next hearing in the case is on February 12. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

At the end of the day it was a bunch of political hacks against a former special forces captain. Wolahans win was no miracle. On the day of the vote the Sukkar forces were confidently predicting a 30-vote win. Wolahan was keeping his numbers secret but those in his inner circle were quietly confident knowing their more subtle campaign, built on dozens of personal relationships he established with local members, would pay off. Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar. Credit:Alex Ellinghauusen When the date for last Sundays preselection was announced in December, Wolahan, who had no official campaign manager, methodically worked through a list of party members. Often accompanied by wife Sarah, a lawyer and party member, he met with most of the 300 delegates who would ultimately send him to Canberra. In lunches, dinners and afternoon teas at members homes, Wolahan talked to people about their lives and concerns. By contrast, Andrews had distanced himself from local politics for several years. Two Andrews allies say the campaign became panicked in the final week as the threat of losing grew. Tony Abbott, Hunt, Tudge and Andrews numbers men made a flurry of calls asking for members votes. Wolahan did not pressure members to commit their vote, Menzies sources say.

I wanted to know them deeply and learn their stories. It was important I earned their trust, Wolahan told The Age. Undecided voters probably shifted to Wolahan on the day of the preselection, according to six people who attended it. With Frydenberg intently watching from the front row, Andrews spruiked his service as defence minister by referencing his role in the 2015 airstrikes in Syria. Wolahans speech, which he honed with his high-school drama teacher, focused on the future. Kevin Andrews (left) was defence minister in Tony Abbotts government. Credit:Andrew Meares Its pretty obvious now that delegates who told our people theyd vote for Kevin did not, said a party official loyal to Andrews. Wolahans bold act to challenge a respected party elder backed by the sitting PM and John Howard was publicly contested, but he had prepared for these attacks for months. The aggressive questioning at the preselection event reeked of factionalism and breached the golden rule of Liberal internal politics: dont tell branch members, who pick candidates on merit, how to vote.

Loading Andrews told the crowd, who skewed elderly, that Australia should be on a war footing with China. Critics were surprised by the hawkish comment given the significant number of Chinese delegates in the room. Andrews, in a written statement provided to The Age, said he was naturally disappointed by the outcome but respected the decision of local members. [Wolahan] served our nation as a member of the Australian Defence Force and I know he will bring that same sense of duty to the service he will provide in our nations Parliament, Andrews wrote. It was Wolahans military precision that may have boosted his winning margin, as a team of 25 former special forces members provided transport for locals who could not make their own way to Sundays vote. Back-up cars were stationed at landmarks, including the nearby McDonalds in case another car broke down.

A shift to the left? Yeah, right. He may have knocked off a conservative stalwart but Wolahan doesnt want anyone calling him a moderate. Factions in the Victorian Liberal Party congregate around individuals and do not always espouse an overarching ideology. Wolahan was backed by the more moderate grouping in the party, which is in a counter-intuitive alliance with Karina Okotel, a leading party figure with hardline religious views who used to sit with the right faction. Liberal Party federal vice-president Karina Okotel. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen An economic and constitutional conservative, Wolahan says economics and national security were his priorities and he would always stand up for free speech, democracy and liberal values. My dog tags say Catholic but, for me, my faith and my politics are separate, says Wolahan, in a departure from Andrews decades of public campaigning on religious touchstone issues, including euthanasia and the introduction of abortion medication RU486.

So are voters in Menzies getting a more progressive Liberal? Wolahan voted to legalise same-sex marriage in the 2017 plebiscite, but is known to have a safe, legal and rare stance on abortion and has personal reservations about Victorias euthanasia laws. He describes himself as a classical liberal in the Peter Costello mould. Monash University senior politics lecturer Dr Zareh Ghazarian says the result, in isolation, does not indicate a tectonic shift for the party. More than 10 Liberal sources from both sides of the party had a consensus view that Wolahans win was rooted in his groundwork and credentials, rather than a repudiation of Andrews. Captain Keith Wolahan in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in February 2010. This was one guy, who everyone respects, whod clearly had his time versus a bloke who has so much ahead of him  it was nothing more or less than that, said a state Liberal MP. Whether the events of the past week realign the factional balance in the party is another matter.

As one federal MP observed on Friday: There are early signs this week that Josh is sniffing the wind. Hes reflecting on the wisdom of listening to Michael Sukkar. Obviously he should listen to him, hes a close colleague, but he needs to listen to others too. It might be a party convention for federal MPs to back their colleagues in preselections, but the vigorous support by Frydenbergs close circle of Sukkar, Hunt and Tudge was seen by some critics as an inappropriate interference in grassroots party affairs. Kevin Andrews after losing preselection last week. Credit:Penny Stephens The days of big swinging dicks calling in from Canberra and leaning on regular party members is over. It wont happen to this extent again, a federal ministerial staffer said. Andrews loss will dent the power of the right-wing bloc because the Menzies electorate office was used by the faction for party political purposes. There was also speculation Sukkar would jump into Menzies if a redistribution made his neighbouring seat of Deakin more marginal.

Frydenberg is a savvy operator. He met with Wolahan in the days before the preselection and the pair respect one another. People want Frydenberg to use that canniness to rise above the internecine battle and heal the divide in the party ahead of the upcoming state and federal elections, when unity will be key to running strong campaigns. The Treasurers motives will be tested in two key upcoming internal party votes. One will be who he decides to support for a senate vacancy, and another will be whether he backs a looming challenge against president Robert Clark. If he wants all of the Victorian division of the party behind him, he cant side with one group or another, the federal MP said. Andrews first, whos next?

The Liberal Partys federal seats in Victoria are filled by either current ministers or probable future frontbenchers, such as Tim Wilson and James Patterson. In the Victorian Parliament, however, talk of clearing deadwood MPs  older members who are unlikely to serve in a future ministry  has dominated internal party discussions for years. Loading State MPs from across the factional divide predicted the Menzies result would embolden party members to overthrow sitting members. If youre a long-standing member and youve been there forever, watch out, said one right-wing powerbroker. That is the takeout from this. Upper house MP Bernie Finn is likely to be challenged by an Indian candidate in the western suburbs, where a large proportion of members are of South-Asian descent. Other state MPs who state Liberals predicted would face challenges include Beverley McArthur, Gary Blackwood, David Morris and Ryan Smith, who has sporadically told colleagues of his ambition to lead the party in recent months. A redrawing of electoral boundaries designed to ensure each seat has a similar number of people in it could result in the abolition of three seats held by the Liberals. Current MPs may need to switch seats as a result, meaning there will be jostling for seats even before considering preselections.
Winchester College has been accused of condoning underage sex after 13-year-old boys were told they would not be prosecuted for having 'consensual' intercourse.

Parents at the 41,700-a-year public school reacted with fury after the leader of a sex education class told pupils in years nine and ten that the age of consent is not meant 'to punish young people'.

Dr Eleanor Draeger, from an organisation called It Happens, told boys that in a 'happy, healthy relationship' where 'you both want to have sex and you both have sex, you are unlikely to be prosecuted from that because it's not in the public interest'.

Parents at the 41,700-a-year public school reacted with fury after the leader of a sex education class told pupils in years nine and ten that the age of consent is not meant 'to punish young people'

According to The Telegraph, Dr Draeger continued: 'It's just two 14 year olds who want to have sex with each other who are consensually having sex.'

She went on to say that if a 19-year-old teacher had sex with a child then he would be prosecuted, but: 'So the age of consent is not there to prosecute [or] punish young people for having consensual sex.'

Having sex with anyone under the age of consent is a criminal offence, even for people who are also under 16.

Dr Draeger, who describes herself as a sexual health and HIV doctor, was speaking in a virtual class to boys aged 13 and 14.

The lesson is said to have sparked several complaints to the school from parents, with one source saying: 'It was pretending to be about sexual health but it was basically advocating underage sex.'

Dr Draeger also went on to say that 'biology isn't binary' during a discussion about male and female chromosomes.

The comments prompted a source to complain that the pupils were being 'indoctrinated' with views from the 'transgender lobby' that were not age-appropriate.

It Happens provides talks and training sessions to school pupils across the UK.

The organisation describes the sessions as 'straight-talking, open and honest' and vows to create a 'safe space' to discuss sensitive topics.

Dr Eleanor Draeger, from an organisation called It Happens, told boys that in a 'happy, healthy relationship' where 'you both want to have sex and you both have sex, you are unlikely to be prosecuted from that because it's not in the public interest'

In December, Eton parents revealed how pupils as young as 13 had been given a 'creative workshop' on pornography while a child was left asking 'Is it ok to be a boy and like rugby?' after a session on 'toxic masculinity'.

One parent said children were being indoctrinated by a 'partisan, political' Woke agenda, which involves contested ideas about gender and race being presented as fact with any opposing view silenced for being politically incorrect.

A 'creative workshop' run by the Eton 'Femsoc' [feminism society] entitled 'Sex Positivity, Feminism and Pornography' was targeted at boys in years nine and ten - meaning some would have been as young as 13.

The session was run by a group called the School of Sexuality Education.

One mother, who has a son and several other relatives at the school and asked to stay anonymous to protect them, said: 'Parents are really concerned about the pushing of age-inappropriate sexual content to children below the age of consent.

'This talk was given to boys in E and F block, who are 13 and 14. This is an explicit sexual talk being put in a political, partisan way with an activist streak.

'It is unbalanced and it is absolutely wrong that it should have been open to those year groups.'

In December, Eton parents revealed how pupils as young as 13 had been given a 'creative workshop' on pornography while a child was left asking 'Is it ok to be a boy and like rugby?' after a session on 'toxic masculinity'

At the time, Eton College Femsoc said the talks had received overwhelmingly positive feedback and noted that the School of Sexuality Education had given talks in hundreds of other UK schools.

Today, both Winchester College and It Happens claimed the comments about the age of consent had been taken out of context.

Winchester said: 'It Happens are members of the PSHE Association. They advise schools on how to implement the statutory guidance for the teaching of sex education in independent schools.

'The presentations were delivered by specialist consultant Dr Draeger, who has worked in the NHS for 16 years. Their content was in line with both NHS and WHO guidance.'

Meanwhile, It Happens said the lesson had received 'positive feedback', with a spokesman adding: 'Eleanor is a hugely experienced NHS doctor who has been working in Sexual Health for 16 years and has extensive experience delivering Sex Education training to teachers and talks for pupils in school for many years'.
To contain the coronavirus pandemic, the Tanzanian president did not implement measures adopted by the majority of the countries in the world. He just told his people to trust God amidst the threat of COVID-19.

President John Pombe Magufuli did not impose lockdowns or measures and rejected the need for vaccines to fight the virus. Instead, he adopted a religious response of trusting God. The bishops, on the other hand, urged the people to adhere to mask wearing, social distancing and sanitizing, LifeSiteNews wrote.

According to VOA News, Magufuli has warned the country's health ministry over rushing to get COVID-19 vaccines, expressing his doubt on the effectiveness of the vaccines created by Western countries.

"If the white man was able to come up with vaccinations, then vaccinations for AIDS would have been brought, tuberculosis would be a thing of the past, vaccines for malaria and cancer would have been found," he said.

Instead, he instructed the Ministry of Health to adopt the vaccines only after certification from Tanzanian experts saying that the citizens of the country must not be used as guinea pigs for vaccine trials.

The report further said that Magufuli told his officials to promote herbs to cure symptoms of the virus.

In his speech in Western Tanzania on Wednesday, he told the people to continue trusting God saying that they "have lived for over one year without the virus because our God is able, and Satan will always fail."

More to LifeSiteNews' report, the president also refused to impose lockdowns believing that God will protect the people.

"We Tanzanians haven't locked ourselves in and we don't expect to lock ourselves down. I don't expect to announce any lockdown because our God is living and He will continue to protect Tanzanians," he said.

On the other hand, through a letter released by Tanzanian Episcopal Conference (TEC), signed by its president, Archbishop Gervais Nyaisonga, bishops encouraged the people to take precautions.

"Let us not stop praying, maintaining social distance, washing and sanitising our hands, taking the necessary action when we see signs of illness and avoid congestion which can be dangerous. There is a new wave of coronavirus infections and several countries have confirmed that they are going through a difficult period in the spread of the coronavirus and the occurrence of fatalities," the letter said.

"Our country is not an island ... We must defend ourselves, take precautions, and cry out to God with all our might so that this scourge will not overtake us," TEC added.

In addition, the country's Archbishop of Arusha Isaac Amani also wrote a letter to his congregation and clergy a week earlier, indicating his concern over the president's response to the pandemic.

"Many precautions such as avoiding the shaking of hands, taking offerings after communion and receiving the Body of Christ on the hand, seem to have been forgotten," Amani said.

The archbishop also suggested practicing wearing of masks, which the Tanzanian president refused to do and implement. Magufuli has reportedly even complimented a priest and congregation for not wearing masks in church.

In addition, Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa'ichi of Tanzania's Dar es Salaam Archdiocese also wrote a letter saying that the virus "is not over; COVID-19 still exists."

According to Google's COVID-19 alert, Tanzania currently has 509 recorded cases.
The Aga Khan Health Services Tanzania (AKHST) on Thursday launched 'Pigia Daktari App' as a new Tele-medicine mobile app to help Tanzanians to access quality, safe, and affordable services countrywide.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam, the Aga Khan University Associate Dean, Prof Hussein Kidanto said the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Digital Health Resource Centre developed the app in collaboration with the Aga Khan Hospital Dar es Salaam to support the government's efforts in innovating technique that uses technology to enhance access to quality healthcare for communities.

He added that the App provides a strong guide for other health providers to acquire health care information, awareness and services available and reduce burden on health systems in the country.

Prof Kidanto noted that the government supports the innovation within the private and public health and will keep on encouraging strong partnerships.

He further said the Ministry of health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children will continue to strengthen its efforts and encourage health sector players to bridge existing gaps within the health care system and access to quality healthcare through joint efforts.

On his part, the hospital's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sisawo Konteh said the Pigia Daktari App will address an emerging necessity and enable great access and utilization of safe quality health care without the patient having to visit a health facility.

He said the patients from across Tanzania will be able to have their timely consultations with different specialist consultation without visiting Dar es Salaam.

Mr Konteh added that Pigia Daktari App would be beneficial for a patient who wants to save time by not travelling too far to seek medical care from specialists, and who are unable to travel.

Pigia daktari App is an innovative digital health app platform and first launched across the global Aga Khan Health network, and a testimony of Tanzania's fastest growing socio-economic and technologies.
To my fellow judges within the 19th Judicial Circuit, I am very fortunate to be able to work with you, I am looking forward to learning from all of you, and I am ready to begin this new journey, he said. And finally, to my family, thank you for always being by my side and supporting me.

A former refugee has been named as the new rector of Edinburgh University - making her the first person of colour to take up the role since it was created in 1858.

Human rights lawyer Debora Kayembe came to the UK from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and has been living in Scotland since 2011.

Ms Kayembe, who fled her home country in 2004 for her own safety, will take up the role on March 1.

The mother-of-two will be just the third woman to hold the position, following in the footsteps of TV presenter Muriel Gray and outgoing rector Ann Henderson.

Former refugee Debora Kayembe (above) has been named as the new rector of Edinburgh University - making her the first person of colour to take up the role since it was created in 1858. She came to the UK from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2004 and has been living in Scotland since 2011

When Ms Kayembe arrived in the UK as a refugee, she was placed in northern England - but even though she had qualified in her homeland as a lawyer, she was rejected by the English bar.

She instead applied to the Law Society in Scotland and was accepted.

Ms Kayembe has served on the board of the Scottish Refugee Council and is a member of the office of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Court Bar Association.

In 2019, her portrait was hung on the wall of the Royal Society of Edinburgh - the first African to receive this honour - for her achievements and contributions.

Ms Kayembe, who is in her mid-forties, said: 'I am delighted and deeply honoured to be elected as the first person of colour to hold the position of rector of the University of Edinburgh.

'I am fully aware of the importance of my role at such a critical time.

The mother-of-two will be just the third woman to hold the position at the University of Edinburgh (pictured), following in the footsteps of TV presenter Muriel Gray and outgoing rector Ann Henderson. Ms Kayembe will take up the role on March 1

'We are facing so many challenges: from the Covid-19 pandemic to the battles for racial justice and the reckoning from the past in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the birth of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

'Respect for the values of humanity and kindness lies at the heart of all my work and I look forward to working with staff, students, and the whole university community, to ensure that everyone is valued.'

University of Edinburgh principal and vice-chancellor Professor Peter Mathieson said: 'I am delighted to welcome Ms Kayembe to the University of Edinburgh.

'The position of rector has a long and prestigious lineage, with rectors coming from a broad range of public and cultural life.

'I very much look forward to working with our new rector as we navigate our way through the Covid-19 pandemic and build a bright future for the entire University community.'
The group had been plotting subversive actions and abduction of a senior military official.

The SBU Security Service's counterintelligence department has successfully completed a sting operation to expose a network of Russian assets recruited by the FSB from among former officers with the spec-ops forces.

The group had been plotting subversive actions and abduction of a former chief of the Special Operations Forces, according to Liga.net citing the SBU press service.

The SBU went as far as revealing the names of the assets' handlers in Russia  FSB officers Vadim Daut and Denis Sobko.

The network had been operating in Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Zhytomyr, and Chernihiv regions of Ukraine.

Security officials say the Ukrainian turncoats have been tasked with creating conditions for subversive groups to illegally cross into Ukraine's Mykolaiv region from the temporarily occupied territories. Also, the assets were told to train attack groups.

Among the enemy targets were Ukraine Air Force warplanes stationed at the Kulbakino Airfield.

Besides, the investigators say, the Russian agents have been gathering intelligence on movement, personnel, and activity of Ukraine's military intelligence, Special Operations Force, Navy HQ, and the 73rd Marine Center for Special Operations, as well as their cooperation with international partners.

The assets were also trying to recruit senior military officials, the report says, adding that one of their tasks was to abduct and transfer to Russia one of the former commanders of the Special Operations Force  for a monetary reward of US$100,000.

Read alsoExposed: Russia's military intel behind "destructive" Telegram channels prominent in UkraineDuring raids, security officials seized an arsenal of weapons and ammo.

Criminal cases have been opened on treason, terrorism, and illegal arms handling charges.

At the same time, FSB officers involved are targeted in an espionage case.

Reporting by UNIAN
A British man faces life in prison after an alleged shooting spree while high on drugs on board a speedboat off a Thai island.

Benjamin Robert Simpson, 33, a wealthy cryptocurrency trader allegedly fired several rounds from a handgun towards the Four Seasons Hotel where he had been staying on Koh Samui, while he, and the boat's driver, were high on meth.

Police said the speedboat belonged to Simpson and he had hired the man arrested with him as his personal speedboat driver.

Lieutenant Colonel Chatchewin Nakmoosik, Deputy Director of the Koh Samui Police Station, said that Simpson had arrived in Thailand as a tourist but had started working as a cryptocurrency trader and was very wealthy.

He allegedly took meth with the speedboat's captain before the pair set off on a cruise around Koh Samui that ended in a 'drug-fuelled shooting spree', on Wednesday.

Witnesses said hotel staff cowered in fear during the alleged shooting spree and later contacted the police for help.

Officers rushed to the five star hotel and arrested Simpson when he returned to his room after the speedboat trip.

Benjamin Robert Simpson (centre), 33, reportedly took meth with the speedboat's captain before the pair set off on a cruise around Koh Samui together

Police said they found a 9mm Beretta pistol with 31 bullets and a revolver with 49 bullets inside his hotel room

Police said they found a 9mm Beretta pistol with 31 bullets and a revolver with 49 bullets inside his hotel room.

After further search, officers also reportedly found a plastic bag containing a white substance lying on the floor believed to be 6.85 grams of the illegal drug methamphetamine.

Several meth pipes were also confiscated.

Speedboat driver Geerati Glinubol was arrested in the hotel room together with Simpson.

Glinubol allegedly confessed to the police that he had been taking drugs with Simpson before they went on the speedboat cruise together.

Simpson and Glinubol were taken to the police station where they were questioned on suspicion of the illegal possession of firearms, prohibited drug use, and firing guns in the community

Police officers reportedly confiscated a plastic bag containing a white substance lying on the floor believed to be 6.85 grams of the illegal drug methamphetamine

Simpson then allegedly boasted about his collection of guns and fired them into the ocean, sparking panic on nearby beaches.

Officers said they found the 9mm pistol in Simpson's bag after he was searched for evidence.

The two were taken to the police station where they were questioned on suspicion of the illegal possession of firearms, prohibited drug use, and firing guns in the community.

Lieutenant Colonel Chatchewin Nakmoosik, Deputy Director of the Koh Samui Police Station and Lieutenant Colonel Phingkharat Sai Khwan, Deputy Director General of the Immigration Bureau, coordinated to organise Simpson's arrest.

Lieutenant Colonel Nakmoosik said: 'Hotel staff heard guns being fired so they called the police.

'They said the gunshots were near the hotel and they were scared.

'We arrested Benjamin Robert Simpson in the hotel room and found two guns and methamphetamine.

'We put him in handcuffs and kept him at the police station while we investigate and check CCTV.'

Simpson is facing a maximum punishment of life in prison or the death penalty, thought it is very rarely used.

Meth possession carries a term up to ten years in prison and/or a fine of between 485 and 4,850.

Using guns illegally has a maximum punishment of life in prison or the death penalty.

Thai police put Simpson in handcuffs and kept him at the police station while they opened an investigation into the alleged drug-fuelled shooting spree

[February 05, 2021] Genius School Launches Virtual Genius Camp to Help Teens Discover Their True Genius and Natural Pathway to Success

SINGAPORE, Feb. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genius School, a brand of Genius Group, a Singapore-based public limited company, today announced the launch of Genius Camp, a fun-packed, virtual event where teens will discover their true genius and natural pathway to success.

Genius Camps offer child-centered, personalized learning pathways that ignite the natural genius in young people, creating self-aware, lifelong learners. Without personalized learning pathways, learning can often be disengaging, irrelevant or redundant. It is easy for children to become disillusioned, question their own abilities or lose motivation. The Genius Campers identify their genius, recognize their unique talent dynamics for teens profile, connect with their passions and start to explore a purpose for their life. They are encouraged to think beyond what is taught in school and explore opportunities beyond traditional jobs. They look at what is possible as a leader, as an entrepreneur, and explore examples of social enterprise. Each Genius Camper is supported to build on their strengths and passions, develop life skills, and grow their confidence. Many of the jobs around today will not be around in 5-10 years time. The trainers will share some amazing stories of young entrepreneurs who have been super successful, and how theyve achieved their success. Theyll also share how you can apply their journeys to your own and establish your own goals for success. The first-ever face-to-face Genius Camps have already happened in Bali, New Zealand, Thailand, United Kingdom & USA. Now they have gone virtual!! These events were created in partnership with GeniusU, a world leading edtech platform, in response to the growing global demand to revolutionize education. GeniusU has a network of over 1,400.000 students and entrepreneurs worldwide and is passionate about reimagining education and helping to develop our young people with increased leadership, entrepreneurial and emotional intelligence skills that will lead to their success in our global society. The three-day virtual event covers three key focus areas: Show Up - This is the opportunity for the Genius Campers to learn about their path of leas resistance to success in life, how they learn best and how to use those strengths to help them achieve their goals not only in school today, but also throughout their lives.



Step Up - We dive deeper into how our Genius Campers own who they show up as in the world and as leaders in their school and communities. We will teach them how to leverage the team around them through focusing on and valuing the genius in each other camper. Give Back - We create an opportunity for the Genius Campers to work together to give back to their community in a meaningful way. We also share with the parents and caregivers what the Genius Campers have learned and how they can continue to support them through understanding their path of least resistance as a student and future leader.

"Our Genius Campers will walk away with the confidence of knowing who they are, how they can follow their flow and succeed in life, having had so much fun learning and growing all while making friends that will last a lifetime, while our families will walk away with a new language of communicating and a new way to support and get the best out of their children, commented Roger James Hamilton, founder and CEO of Genius Group. This three-day virtual Genius School Camp is scheduled for Saturday, February 13, through Monday, February 15, 2021, from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm GMT each day (London time). To learn more about Genius Camp and/or register, visit the event registration on GeniusU: https://www.geniusu.com/mentor_circles/737/events/2291 About Genius Group and Genius School: Genius Group is a $300+ million group of companies and is the worlds #1 Entrepreneur Education Group. Genius Group was founded by Roger James Hamilton, a futurist and social entrepreneur, and New Yorks Times bestselling author. The Group also owns GeniusU, Entrepreneurs Institute and Entrepreneur Resorts Limited. Genius School provides education courses for young people from 0 to 25 years old, and Entrepreneurs Institute provides training courses from 25 to 85 years old. Courses and content range from company sponsored camps for primary and secondary school students through to company funded courses, training, retreats and accelerators from start-ups to large corporations. About Roger James Hamilton Roger James Hamilton is a world-renowned futurist and social entrepreneur, and is the founder and CEO of the Genius Group of companies. Roger is the New York Times bestselling author of The Millionaire Master Plan, a practical guide to understanding how your mind works to enable you to live your most successful life. He is also the creator of Wealth Dynamics, Talent Dynamics and Impact Dynamics, tools used by over 1.4 million entrepreneurs to follow their flow. All of Rogers companies empower the Entrepreneur Movement  collectively growing our ability to create and contribute wealth. Roger studied architecture at Cambridge University before launching his first business, Free Market Media, in Singapore during his 20s. He was the founding chairman of the renowned Green School, Bali, where his three children were educated. Roger currently lives in Europe but, when permitted, travels extensively between the UK, USA, Southeast Asia and Australia. www.rogerjameshamilton.com Company Contact: Dave Gentry RedChip Companies, Inc. Phone: (407) 491-4498 dave@redchip.com



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SEATTLE, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- International guests arriving in the U.S. can streamline their required COVID-19 documents starting Feb. 5 using the third-party app VeriFLY. The free and secure app offers fliers expedited check-in and verification for their arrival to the U.S., to help give confidence that they meet the entry requirements for their arrival to the U.S.

International guests arriving in the U.S. can streamline their required COVID-19 documents starting Feb. 5 using the third-party app VeriFLY.

Why the need?

In early January, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention announced an order requiring international airline passengers entering the U.S. to have proof of a negative COVID test. The order explains that the test must be taken within three days of departure to the U.S., and that fliers must complete a health attestation form.

VeriFLY is a mobile app that acts as a digital health passport to supplement the guest travel journey as they fulfill U.S. entry requirements. Similar to Alaska Airlines' Pre-Clear program, the app allows for real-time verification of COVID-related credentials, like health questionnaires and diagnostic lab results. Guests will be able to store proof of their negative COVID test, or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19, in addition to their health attestation form in the app to help optimize the document verification process and get them on their way.

Although proof of a negative COVID test is mandatory for travelers to enter into the country, usage of VeriFLY is not. Alaska Airlines guests will have the option to use the app for faster verification but will still be obligated to present the essential health documents as required by the CDC's order regardless.

VeriFLY will be limited to one person per mobile device and requires an internet/mobile data connection to acquire/access passes and credentials. Adults must attest on behalf of those under the age of 18, so minors are not eligible for VeriFLY.

How does the app work?

Download and create a user profile

First, the guest must download VeriFLY from the App Store or Google Play at least seven hours prior to departure, preferably as early as possible prior to departure, then register a user profile with a photo. This step will also require email authentication.



Browse and add destination

Then, guests will need to browse the app to select the country of destination and add their inbound flight details.



Complete and upload documents

Once the profile is set up and the flight information has been confirmed, the app will generate a pre-travel "to-do" list with the necessary requirements for the country (in this case, the app will display all of the mandatory items needed for entry into the U.S. based on the CDC's order.) Here, the guest will upload their required health documents and complete the attestation form.



Receive travel pass verification

After all documents have been uploaded, VeriFLY may take up to six hours to validate that the guest's information is correct and confirmed. If the guest's VeriFLY information cannot be confirmed, the guest will need to follow the manual process in adherence to the CDC's rule.



Present verified profile at the airport

At the airport, the guest must present their certified VeriFLY profile to an Alaska Airlines agent (first point of contact). Once the guest's information is validated, the guest can continue normal check-in without additional test verification. Upon arrival to the country, no other VeriFLY processes will be in place. The guest will be subject to the standard U.S. port of entry's arrival procedure.

Alaska Airlines is exploring using this app in other markets that have entry requirements. Learn more about the CDC requirement at https://www.cdc.gov and VeriFLY at www.myverifly.com.

Story continues

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than 115 destinations across the United States and North America. The airline provides essential air service for our guests along with moving crucial cargo shipments, while emphasizing Next-Level Care . Alaska is known for low fares, award-winning customer service and sustainability efforts. Guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 800 destinations worldwide with Alaska and its Global Partners . On March 31, 2021, Alaska will officially become a member of the oneworld global alliance. Learn more about Alaska at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com . Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alaska-airlines-offers-international-fliers-verifly-mobile-health-passport-for-required-covid-docs-301221879.html

SOURCE Alaska Airlines
ROME, FEB 5 - The government's Special Commissioner for the Coronavirus Emergency, Domenico Arcuri, said Friday that Italy's COVID-19 vaccination plan was now going at full steam after delays in recent weeks due to reductions in supplies from Pfizer. Arcuri said the plan central government prepared with the nation's regions and provinces was "working at full pace". He said he expected seven million Italians to have been vaccinated for the virus by the end of March. The first batch of 249,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine is set to arrive in Italy on Saturday. This should make it possible to start vaccinating under-55s with the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday, sources said. (ANSA).
The course is set to help participants successfully anticipate and mitigate potential threats.

NATO's Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) eAcademy recently offered students of the National Defense University of Ukraine a pioneering two-week program focused on international security.

The online course was shaped by NATO's Counter-Terrorism Reference Curriculum (CTRC), which provides an overview of terrorist ideologies, motivations and methods, as well as contemporary counter-terrorism practices, NATO press service reports.

The course is set to help participants develop the knowledge and skills needed to understand terrorism and counterterrorism in order to successfully anticipate and mitigate potential threats.

Read alsoNATO remains ready to address Russian aggressionThirty-five students in Kyiv were taught by a team of 16 people, working across six different time zones.

The course supported the National Defense University's ongoing process of staff teaching in blended environments.

The university aims to develop and deliver new train-the-trainer courses and content on counter-terrorism.

Reporting by UNIAN
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

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US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

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"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

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Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

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Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

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Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

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Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

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France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

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Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Luzette King is said to have refused to adhere to COVID-19 protocols and made her way out of the terminal building at the AIA. (File Photo)

Social and political activist Luzette King, renowned for having spearheaded the Front Line Group which mounted a sustained protest against the results of the 2015 general elections among other related issues, was on Saturday 30th January reportedly deported from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





The report which THE VINCENTIAN received, said that the action was taken against King after she failed to adhere to incoming passenger COVID-19 related protocols, bypassed Immigration and Customs in what appeared to be an attempt to leave the Argyle International Airport. She was apprehended in the airports car park.





King, the report said, had arrived at the Argyle International Airport from Miami on an American Airlines flight, and was travelling on an American passport.





In a Facebook post since being deported, King said that she resorted to use of her American Passport because she had lost her Vincentian passport a few years ago.





She confirmed that she is a Vincentian by naturalisation, having been born in Curacao to Vincentian parents. She is also an American citizen.





In a posting on her Facebook page while it appeared she was aboard the return American Airlines flight, King said she was heading back to Baltimore from where her flight had originated.





The report as referenced, spoke of King not being able, as required, to produce evidence that she had a confirmed booking at a government designated hotel, where she would be required to quarantine for ten days.

She is reported to have told the authorities that on each attempt to make such a booking, the hotel which she contacted was inexplicably removed from the list.





And when told, according to her, that she should have requested an exemption from having to book into a hotel, she was at a loss since she had no idea that this was possible.





She has, on her own admission, begun the process of applying for an exemption since she intends to return to St, Vincent and the Grenadines.





King is reported also, to have refused to have a swab test as is stipulated for all arriving passengers, but she has countered this claim since her deportation, posting on her Facebook page that at no time did anybody tell her she had to be swabbed.





Sometime later King is said to have complained about the attitude of the nurse on duty and the absence of a doctor.





Understandably, the fact that King was able to bypass airport, security, immigration and customs personnel and exit the terminal building, has raised concern about the security at the airport.





Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, has registered his consternation with this lapse and has, reportedly, requested a full report on the matter from the Commissioner of Police.

(Natural News) Democrats are the party of make believe.

(Article by J. Peder Zane republished from RealClearPolitics.com)

Through their domination of the media, academia, Hollywood, and growing swaths of corporate America, they successfully peddle propaganda as reality. They insisted President Trump was a dictator and a treasonous ally of Vladimir Putin who refused to denounce white supremacy. They dismissed questions about the business dealings of President Bidens family as Russian disinformation that had been totally discredited.

When investigations and fact checks revealed those claims to be false, they just kept on repeating them. Tell a lie long and loud enough and many accept it as truth.

Having secured the White House and control of the Senate in the last election, Democrats and their allies are adding a strong dose of intimidation to their campaign of deceit. They are using social media to silence dissent from their views while creating blacklists to make it difficult for their opponents to find gainful employment. In a sign of how far gone they are, many journalists at influential outfits are now questioning the wisdom of the First Amendment and calling for government regulation of speech.

As cancel culture spreads, they gaslight the public by denying that it is happening. At the same time they argue that Republicans must be silenced and even deprogrammed because they are delusional liars. To conservative ears, the national discourse often boils down to this: Are you going to believe us or your lying eyes?

The caricature of conservatives certainly describes some people on the right. Sen. Mitch McConnell has spoken out against his partys lunatic fringe. But there is little evidence they enjoy meaningful support. The Jan. 6 criminal assault on the Capitol was a disgrace, but it was also widely condemned by Republicans  a stark contrast to Democrats who have largely ignored or even celebrated the repeated violence perpetrated by antifa. Casting that action as an attempted coup  pretending the mob could have gained control of the government  is deceitful propaganda aimed at smearing 74 million Trump voters.

U.S. history is full of examples of movements that many Americans considered dangerous. Usually these were progressives who fought for unions, and marched for civil rights, and demanded an end to foreign wars. Most people see those causes as worthy, even though communists were interspersed among the activists ranks. We also now see that the suppression they provoked was shameful. As future Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis noted in 1913, sunlight is the best of disinfectants; the way to defeat dangerous ideas and behaviors is to expose them to reason.

This is a foundation of our pluralistic democracy.

History reveals two main reasons why factions seek to limit speech: first, because it is an effective means to quash dissent and second because they wont or cant defend their own ideas. Todays Democrats and their allies are driven by both rationales. Their control of most communication channels has empowered them to spread narratives that delegitimize their opponents by caricaturing them as racist conspiracy theorists.

It may be impossible to change the minds of those who embrace the accuracy of that portrayal, but it is worth asking: If your view is true, why advance so many mistruths to support it? For Democrats this propaganda coup is a twofer: As it marginalizes Republicans, it keeps the focus off the ramifications of their own ideas and politics. Their argument boils down to this: Let us do what we want because otherwise those Neanderthals will be in charge. This strategy is increasingly essential for Democrats as they advance leftist ideas that are hard to support through fact-based metrics  i.e. reality instead of ideology.

Democrats are the party of activist government. Their core progressive idea  the plinth course of their Great Society programs  is that the combination of vast federal resources and elite expertise can solve most of societys problems. There have been some successes  credit progressives and libertarians for helping advance the rights of marginalized groups. But the last half-century has also seen the breakdown of the nuclear family, continuing hopelessness and blight in many cities, and the failure of public schools to raise educational achievement despite massive increases in per pupil spending.

While many African Americans have entered the middle class since the 1960s, blacks still lag behind other Americans in a wide variety of measures of health and wealth despite massive government interventions. The reasons for these failures are myriad and complex. The rise of a competitive global economy, for example, has gutted manufacturing jobs and depressed low-skill wages.

But the bottom line is that many progressive programs have not delivered on their promise of prosperity and opportunity for many of the groups they specifically aimed to help.

This is a particular problem for Democrats because African Americans remain their core voting base. The demonstrable shortcomings of their efforts help explain why they have embraced the concept of systemic racism and sound their incessant alarms about white supremacy despite Americas significant progress toward social justice. The message: Our programs would have worked but for rampant racism.

Unable to change the facts, they work to alter the definition of reality. President Biden codified this make-believe style of government on his first day in office when he signed the Modernizing Regulatory Review memorandum. As the government seeks justifications for new controls on society, it directed agencies to fully account  for regulatory benefits that are difficult or impossible to quantify.

Difficult or impossible to quantify? Translation: make em up. This is just the latest, frightening evidence that the party that claims to embrace science, facts and truth is driven by ideology. When youre running a make-believe society, its no wonder you have to silence dissent.

Read more at: RealClearPolitics.com and JusticeDemocrats.news.
Michael Sheen has discussed his regrets over not spending more time with his daughter Lily, 21, due to his work schedule when she was young.

Speaking on Rob Beckett And Josh Widdicombe's Lockdown Parenting Hell podcast, the actor admitted he has regrets over his time away from Lily, who he shares with ex Kate Beckinsale, and how lockdown has been with his baby.

The screen star, 51, has been in a romance with his Swedish actress Anna Lundberg, 26, since May 2019 and they welcomed daughter Lyra four months later - meaning much of her life has been in the pandemic, something he branded 'amazing'.

Pained: Michael Sheen has discussed his regrets over not spending more time with his daughter Lily, 21, due to his work schedule when she was young (Michael and Lily pictured in 2016)

In November last year, Michael opened up about his 2002 split from Kate, admitting he was forced to the return to Britain as she remained in the US with Lily.

The Welsh actor and London-born Kate, 47, went their separate ways after seven years together, but the split was made all the more complicated because they'd only recently settled in the US with their daughter Lily.

Speaking about the time apart, he said: 'I remember when Lily was born, I was working and going away and doing stuff and I really missed that time with her.'

On Lyra meanwhile, he said: 'I have a baby daughter Lyra coming up to 16 months old. The extraordinary thing is that for most of her life we have been going through this whole pandemic and the lockdown and stuff.

Sweet: The screen star, 51, has been in a romance with his Swedish actress Anna Lundberg, 26, since May 2019 and they welcomed daughter Lyra four months later - meaning much of her life has been in the pandemic, something he branded 'amazing'

'She was only a few months old when it kicked off. Overall it has been a strange experience. On the one hand it has been amazing because we havent been able to focus on much else. It has just been us with her...

'Because of circumstances weve been together the whole time.

On the negative side of lockdown, he said: 'It is very peculiar. A lady came to do a covid test. I am on my way to America to film. We have to quarantine for two weeks in an approved country. So we are, at the moment, in St Lucia.

An honour: Speaking on Rob Beckett And Josh Widdicombe's Lockdown Parenting Hell podcast, the actor admitted he has regrets over his time away from Lily, who he shares with ex Kate Beckinsale, and how lockdown has been with his baby (Kate, Lily and Michael, pictured)

'A lady just came to do our Covid test. She was wearing a red top, a larger lady and a white mask on it. And Lyra the whole way through it kept going: Santa, Santa. We all laughed about it...

'What a weird time for kids of their age or any age to grow up in. Shes barely played with any other kids. The adults she meets have all got these masks on.

'Under normal circumstances we would be going out, a lot. I am about half an hour from my mum and dad. There is a beach which is lovely. Before the lockdown we would go down there all the time. Its a lovely place to go to the beach.

Happy days: Michael's fears were, thankfully, never realised, as he went on to enjoy a hugely successful career on both sides of the Atlantic

Last year, during his chat about Kate, he said: 'Going through that experience of a relationship breaking down and having a young child, and then because of my daughter and her mum living in another country, having to make a life in a new place whilst going through that whole experience which is difficult enough.

'I had no work visa to stay in America, so every time I left, I had to go back to Britain. I never knew if I would be allowed to come back in again.

'So, I ended up having to get work in Britain because I wasn't really getting any work in America. It really made me question certain things about myself.'

Michael's fears were, thankfully, never realised, as he went on to enjoy a hugely successful career on both sides of the Atlantic.
(IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Friday met his counterparts from Tajikistan and Bangladesh and a delegation from France in separate meetings on the last day of 2021 in Bengaluru.

"IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria met Lt Gen Safaralizoda Rahmonali, Chief of Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan during 2021. The chiefs acknowledged strong bilateral ties and discussed enhancement of ongoing defence engagements," IAF tweeted.

IAF chief Bhadauria also held extensive talks with Bangladesh air force chief.

"CAS, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria and Air Chief Marshal Masihuzzaman Serniabat, CAS, Bangladesh Air Force during a bilateral meeting at 21. The wide range of exchanges between the two Air Forces is a reflection of strong bonds of friendship that bind India & Bangladesh," IAF said in another tweet.

Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria also met a French delegation and affirmed deep strategic partnership between India and France.

"General Thierry Carlier, Dir for Intl Development, French Defence Procurement Agency(DGA), met with the CAS at #AeroIndia21. Defence cooperation is an important pillar of a deep strategic partnership between India & France," the IAF said.

On Thursday, IAF Chief had met Lt Gen Issameldin Saeid Koko Abdalrrahman, Commander of Air Force, Sudan and discussed measures to enhance bilateral cooperation.

"CAS met with Lt Gen Issameldin Saeid Koko Abdalrrahman, Cdr of Air Force, Sudan and discussed measures to enhance bilateral cooperation and training mechanisms between the two Air Forces," tweeted IAF.

Aero India is being held from February 3 to 5 at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland high school shooting who subsequently rose to national prominence as a gun control advocate, has announced he is starting a pillow company with the express intention of driving Donald Trump supporter Mike Lindell out of business.

Mr Lindell, the eccentric entrepreneur behind MyPillow, a recovering crack addict and born-again Christian, has continued to champion the ex-presidents baseless election fraud claims, meeting with Mr Trump at the White House in his final days in office to reiterate his faith in the narrative.

He has since been permanently banned from Twitter, seen his products boycotted by major retail chains including Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohls and this week caused a Newsmax anchor, Bob Sellers, to storm off air in frustration when he refused to stop spouting unfounded accusations about election fraud.

Mr Hogg, who survived a horrific gun attack on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Florida in February 2018 that left 17 people dead and 17 more injured, is now joining in.

Having started the March for Our Lives campaign for gun reform with fellow students, Mr Hogg announced on Twitter on Thursday that he and progressive tech entrepreneur William LeGate would be teaming up for the new bedding venture challenging MyPillow.

This pillow fight just got very real, he declared.

In a series of further tweets, Mr Hogg listed his goals for the company, which include rolling out only union-made products, hiring ex-convicts and war veterans, engaging in the promotion of progressive values and not attempting a white supremacist overthrow of the United States government.

He also pledged that he and Mr LeGate will run a better business and make a better product all with more happy staff than Mike the pillow guy while creating US based Union jobs and helping people.

Mr Hogg said that the new companys website would go live in a couple of weeks and invited suggestions from his Twitter followers for a brand name while urging patience, insisting he did not want to compromise on quality by rushing out a substandard product.

He also responded to a troll who sent him an explicit homophobic meme by turning it into a business idea, asking: Anybody interested in a Pride Limited edition pillow? If we sold this pillow we could give all of the profits from its sale to LGBTQ orgs and Sex Ed. These trolls are awesome theyre free advertising and they have great ideas keep them coming guys.

Mr Lindells only response to the news so far was a short statement acquired by Axios in which he commented: Good for them... Nothing wrong with competition that does not infringe on someone's patent.

Mr Hogg has most recently been engaged in campaigning against new Republican congresswoman and QAnon believer Marjorie Taylor Greene, who remains under fire over controversial past comments and who was seen in a resurfaced video from March 2019 pursuing the young activist down the street questioning his position on red flag gun laws.

Speaking to CNNs Alisyn Camerota about the incident last week, Mr Hogg, who was unflappable in refusing to engage with Ms Taylor Greene, said he recalled the episode and had found it triggering but had deployed mindfulness techniques to block out her remarks.

As I was told growing up, its just better not to respond to bullies and just walk away, he said.

Can I just point out how ridiculous it is that its on the survivors of gun violence to stand up to gun violence and be the ones to try end to it? Why do we have elected officials if that's the case? Why cant they do their jobs? he added, pointedly.
Working creatively to help the wolfberry products win the favor with young consumers, northwest Chinas Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has turned the products into a cash cow, Chinanews.com has reported.

During the "Double 11" shopping festival in November 2020, the online marketplace Tmall opened a sales channel linking wolfberries with the ancient Chinese classic "Shan Hai Jing" (Classic of Mountains and Seas), making wolfberries and derivative products a hit among young consumers.

A wolfberry collector works in the current harvest season in Hongsipu District of Wuzhong city, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, June 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)

According to statistics, young people accounted for 70 percent of the buyers of wolfberry products on the platform.

"The Chinesestyle design and young people's increasing care about their health have contributed to the popularity of wolfberries," said Hao Xiangfeng, chairman of the wolfberry association of Ningxia and president of a wolfberry company.

"Wolfberry is an ingredient of Chinese medicine as well as a symbol of the Chinese culture and history. Therefore, it's a perfect thing to showcase the beauty of the Orient," said Hao, who always thinks about how to revitalize wolfberries.

To leave a deep impression on consumers, the company's over 100 physical stores across the country are painted in red and decorated with ink-and-wash paintings, and its online shops use similar decorations.

Last year, the sales volume of wolfberries and derivative products ranked first under the category of health products, reporting a year-on-year increase in the transaction volume of 19.4 percent, said Hao, citing Tmall statistics.

The wolfberry industrial chain has been constantly improving, represented by processed products such as primary pulp, juice and skin care products, said He Jianbo, county magistrate of Zhongning county, Zhongwei city, Ningxia, in explaining the reason why wolfberries have become a hit among young people.

According to a five-year plan of Ningxia, the region plans to increase the planting area of wolfberries to 700,000 mu, or 46,700 hectares, by 2025, lift the yield of fresh wolfberries to 700,000 tons, and achieve a comprehensive output value of 50 billion yuan ($7.75 billion).
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. 4 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Artsakh in the past 24 hours.

46 tests were conducted on February 4, the ministry of healthcare told Armenpress.

The number of active cases is 27.

The ministry of healthcare has again urged the citizens to follow all the rules to avoid new outbreaks and overcome the disease.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
The European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said during a visit to Moscow on Friday that the bloc's ties with Russia were under "severe strain".

"Our relationship is indeed in a difficult moment," Borrell said at the start of talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, adding that "certainly our relations are under severe strain and the Navalny case is a low point".

Following the talks, Lavrov said the EU and Russia were at odds over many issues, warning of "unpredictable consequences" should relations deteriorate further.

Borrell's visit  the first to Russia by a top EU envoy since 2017  has drawn criticism from some European capitals worried Moscow will spin it as evidence Brussels is keen to return to business as normal.

It is when things are not going well that you must engage, the former Spanish foreign minister said ahead of his trip.
By Lan Shunzheng

It is reported that the UK and the US recently signed an agreement to jointly deploy the British Royal Navys HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group in the spring of 2021. According to a joint declaration of the two countries, the US Navys USS The Sullivans (DDG-68) and the Marine Corps 211th fighter squadron equipped with F-35B Lightning II aircraft will join the HMS Queen Elizabeth in her first deployment.

That the two countries decided on the joint deployment soon after the UK announced in early January this year that the HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group had formed initial combat capabilities reflects their eagerness to show the world their strong military relations. It also indicates that the mil-to-mil relations between London and Washington will grow closer after the UK completed its formal exit from the European Union.

The UK has been the USs closest military partner thanks to their shared culture and ideology. Having worked side by side with each other during WWII and the Cold War, they have also shared weal and woe during several regional conflicts after the Cold War. Such cooperation is expected to intensify after the UK officially leaves the EU.

London began to think about its post-Brexit role and position on the international stage long ago. On October 2, 2016, the then British prime minister Theresa May mentioned in a speech the strategic vision of a Global Britain for the first time, vowing to surpass Europe after Brexit and assume a new role on the broader global level, with the aim for the UK to regain global influence.

However, for a country that has long fallen from the empire where the sun never sets, advancing the global Britain strategy not only requires sustained financial input, but also backing from the US. Not long ago,the American website Defense News published an article written by Ben Wallace, UK Secretary of State for Defence, saying the UK now has 21st-century carrier strike capabilities thanks to the staunch and comprehensive support and cooperation from the US in the past decade, and that the UK will continue to be the USs most reliable, capable and staunch ally.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier was launched on July 4 2014 and commissioned on December 7 2017, being the largest military ship of the British Royal Navy along with its sister ship HMS Prince of Wales, and also a new image representitive of the British military. The US Marine Corps has been helping enhance the UKs carrier aviation force to reinforce the core strike capability of the carrier strike group. On June 9, 2020, four F-35B fighters of the British Royal Navy and 10 of the US Marine Corps were deployed on HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest-scale fleet onboard the carrier since 1983.

The US also needs Britains support to advance its global hegemony. Washington has been holding its relations with London and the two sides interoperability as a key principle in its national defense strategy. In recent years, its implementation of the America first policy has disgruntled and driven away many allies, with Europe taking faster steps toward defense independence. Therefore, the US needs to rely on the UK to maintain its global hegemony and advance the Indo-Pacific strategy.

Washingtons interests in Indo-Pacific affairs are evident to all. In contrast, under the global Britain vision, Londons strategic goal in the Indo-Pacific region mainly includes returning to the east of the Suez Canal, enhancing its security presence in the region, and inking trade deals with main regional economies. The purpose is to pave the way for developing economic and trade relations with the region in the post-Brexit age to offset Londons strategic losses in Europe arising from the withdrawal from the union.

In particular, to deliver on the global Britain vision, the UK has been actively seeking to enhance its security presence in the Indo-Pacific region over recent years. It has taken an active part in the regional restructuring for power balance. The US-UK joint deployment of carrier strike group portends that the two countries may poke their fingers into Indo-Pacific affairs in the military field, which will have severe negative impacts on regional stability.

Besides, Campbell, the Indo-Pacific coordinator in the National Security Committee of the Biden administration, said Britain is the first country they need to expand the quadrilateral alliance comprising the US, Japan, India, and Australia. Regional countries should stay highly alert to these new movements.

(The author is a research fellow at ANBOUND Center for International Relations Research.)




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Millie Hughes-Fulford, first female payload specialist in space, dies



February 4, 2021  The first American woman to launch into space who was not a professional astronaut but a working scientist, Millie Hughes-Fulford has died at the age of 75.



Hughes-Fulford's death on Tuesday (Feb. 2) was confirmed on Thursday by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). The San Francisco Chronicle reported that she died at her home in San Francisco, California, after a seven-year battle with lymphoma.



"We are grateful for her research and advancements with her work in the life sciences. Please join us in expressing our sympathy to Millie's family and friends at this time," Caroline Schumacher, ASF president and chief executive officer, wrote in an email.



Originally selected by NASA in 1983 to train as a non-career astronaut for a science-dedicated space shuttle mission, Hughes-Fulford's first and only launch was delayed by the 1986 Challenger tragedy. Lifting off on the space shuttle Columbia on June 5, 1991, Hughes-Fulford became the first female payload specialist to enter orbit and a member of the first crew to include three women.



She was also the first person to fly into space to represent the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA), having been a molecular biologist at the VA medical center in San Francisco at the time.



"It was a life's dream, and not many of us get our life's dream," Hughes-Fulford said in a 2014 interview with the VA.



"I was watching Buck Rogers in 1950 when I was 5 years old, and their pilot was a woman named Wilma Deering. I wanted to be Wilma Deering because she could wear pants. At that time a little girl could not go around in pants. I would sneak off in my pair of Levi's and I would hear, 'Get out of those Levi's, put your dress on!'" she said. "And so I wanted to be Wilma Deering because she could wear anything she wanted to, she flew a spaceship and was a professional woman."



"It was a dream and it turned into reality, which was awfully nice," she said.



As member of the STS-40 crew, Hughes-Fulford was responsible for overseeing some of the experiments aboard Spacelab Life Sciences 1 (SLS-1), the fifth Spacelab mission and the first dedicated solely to biomedical research. As a cell biologist, one of her tasks was to help in the collection of her crewmates' blood.



"It wasn't like you just drew a tube of blood and put in the refrigerator. It was, you have to do a finger stick and get a hematocrit. You have to draw blood for this and spin it and separate the serum from the blood. You have to put this one in the refrigerator right away. It was like you collect six or seven things for each draw, and then you've got four people, so you've got lots of different moving parts," said Rhea Seddon, one of Hughes-Fulford's STS-40 crewmates, in a 2011 NASA oral history interview.



The STS-40 crew completed more than 18 experiments (including 10 involving humans, seven involving rodents and one with jellyfish) and returned to Earth with more medical data than any prior NASA spaceflight. "We're at 140 percent of what we expected to do," Hughes-Fulford said in a televised interview while in space.



But even after logging 9 days, 2 hours, 14 minutes and 2 seconds off the planet, Hughes-Fulford's mission was not over. Together with Seddon, mission specialist Jim Bagian and fellow payload specialist Drew Gaffney, Hughes-Fulford remained for a week at the landing site to continue providing data on how the human body readjusted to gravity.



Millie Elizabeth Hughes-Fulford was born in Mineral Wells, Texas, on Dec. 21, 1945. Entering college at the age of 16, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and biology from Tarleton State University in 1968, and then studied plasma chemistry at Texas Woman's University as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow from 1968 to 1971.



Upon completing her doctorate at Texas Women's University in 1972, Hughes-Fulford joined the faculty of Southwestern Medical School at the University of Texas, Dallas as a postdoctoral fellow, where her research focused on the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. She also served as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps from 1981 through 1995.



At first assigned to backup payload specialist Robert Phillips on the SLS-1 (STS-40) mission, Hughes-Fulford joined the prime crew after Phillips was medically disqualified from flight.



Following her spaceflight, Hughes-Fulford returned to the VA medical center in San Francisco, where she became director of the laboratory that now bears her name. She was a contributor to more than 120 papers and abstracts on T-cell activation, bone and cancer growth regulation and continued to conduct research in space as the principal investigator for experiments that flew aboard STS-76 in March 1996, STS-81 in January 1997 and STS-84 in May 1997, examining the root causes of osteoporosis that occur in astronauts while in microgravity.



She also flew experiments aboard Soyuz and SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, studying the decrease in T-cell activation  a medical problem that was first found in returning Apollo astronauts and how isolated T-cells were activated in spaceflight. (T-cells are a type of white blood cell that is of importance to the body's immune system.)



"If you think of it, we all evolved in a gravity field. When we go into spaceflight and we have microgravity, we have eliminated one variable. In mathematics, if you get rid of a variable, you can solve the equation, and we're able to look at the immune system in a whole new way that has not been possible," Hughes-Fulford said in a video interview for the ISS National Laboratory in 2015.



A recipient of the NASA Space Flight Medal in 1991, Hughes-Fulford's research on board the space station was awarded by NASA as a Top Discovery on ISS.



Hughes-Fulford was married to George Fulford, who preceded her in death. She is survived by a daughter, Tori Herzog, and two granddaughters, Shoshana and Kira Herzog.



STS-40 payload specialist Millie Hughes-Fulford poses for a photo in the tunnel connecting space shuttle Columbia's middeck to the Space Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1) Spacelab module in 1991. (NASA)







STS-40 payload specialist Millie Hughes-Fulford works inside the Space Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1) Spacelab module inside the space shuttle Columbia's payload bay in June 1991. (NASA)







Millie Hughes-Fulford at the European Space Agency's Life and Physical Sciences and Life Support Laboratory at ESTEC technical center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, in April 2013. (ESA)





STS-40 payload specialist Millie Hughes-Fulford flies through the Spacelab module in space shuttle Columbia's payload bay in June 1991. (NASA)



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The forum was founded in 1971 as a representative body for the South Pacific, then expanded in 1999 to include the North Pacific, and divisions within the 18-nation organization (now 17 and shrinking) are not uncommon. Fiji was suspended from the group after a coup in 2009, returning in 2015. Six years ago, a dispute about who would lead the group as its secretary-general was resolved only after a walk and a long talk among a handful of influential leaders.

But this year, because of the pandemic, that was not possible. Covid kept the Pacific family apart: The annual forum was conducted over Zoom, and the dozens of in-person meetings that usually precede the gathering did not happen.

Mr. Pryke said that lack of connection seemed to have contributed to the explosion of long-simmering frustrations.

In general, the countries of Micronesia in the North Pacific  with smaller populations and economies  have complained of being sidelined by the larger countries to the south, including Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.

To help manage that, the forum developed a tradition of rotating the secretary-general position among leaders from Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.
SYRACUSE, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 5, 2021 / Today, Music for the Mission, a nonprofit focused on serving homeless and hungry populations in Central New York, is announcing that applications are now open for emergency mini-grants to help fund local projects that aim to alleviate homelessness and hunger.

In a video being released with the announcement, Music for the Mission highlighted that food pantries in our communities continue to be depleted due to COVID-19 and they will be awarding emergency mini-grants of $1,000 to fund local projects that help with the efforts of homelessness and hunger.

To be eligible for funding, organizations must be a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that assists homeless and hungry populations in Central New York. Music for the Mission hopes to use these mini-grants to fund smaller, more grassroots non profit organizations that have creative and innovative projects to mitigate the effects of homelessness and hunger.

To learn more and apply for funding, visit www.musicforthemission.org and click on mini-grant. The application deadline is Monday, February 15, 2021.

Contact:

Angela Moonan, Board Member

Music for the Mission

315.474.3742

musicforthemission@gmail.com

About Music for the Mission

Founded in 2009 by Joe Stanley of Stanley Law in Syracuse, New York, Music for the Mission is a humble hon-profit organization focused on assisting the homeless and the hungry in Central New York. Music for the Mission raises money by sponsoring local musical events and redirecting proceeds to small, non-profit organizations focused on Central New York. By supporting the organization's local and regional event, participants and attendees are providing targeted assistance to those within the local community. Music for the Mission is located at 215 Burnet Ave, Syracuse, N.Y. 13203. Visit www.musicforthemission.org or email musicforthemission@gmail.com for more information.

SOURCE: Music for the Mission



View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/628158/Music-for-the-Mission-Opens-Applications-for-Local-Mini-Grants-to-Alleviate-Homelessness-and-Hunger-in-Central-New-York
Lehigh County could not open any new vaccine clinics this week. Chester and Allegheny Counties did not receive any additional first doses to administer. And after Monday, Montgomery Countys clinic could run out of the coronavirus vaccine completely.

The four counties  among Pennsylvanias most populous  each received far fewer vaccine doses than expected from the state this week, slowing distribution and reflecting a problem that plagues the vaccine rollout every week at both the state and local level: not knowing how many shots will actually arrive.

 READ MORE: When your chance for a COVID-19 shot comes, experts say dont worry about the numbers

We cant plan for the future when we dont know how much were getting, Allegheny County Health Department Director Debra L. Bogen said at a news briefing this week.

Even as the national supply of vaccine increases  starting this week, all states were expected to receive 22% more doses than they had before the Biden administration took office  the Pennsylvania Department of Health said the states vaccine supply, allocated by the federal government, is simply very limited.

That in turn constrains counties ability to plan and register appointments, creating the short scheduling window that has frustrated many residents. No one wants to offer appointments, then cancel because of a shot shortage.

The solution, said spokesperson Barry Ciccocioppo, is a larger supply of vaccine.

Still, the shortage in the affected counties was striking.

Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, received only 1,000 doses, enough to cover its scheduled second shots but not to allow the county to expand appointments, she said. (Giving the time-sensitive second dose to someone who has already received the first of the two-dose shots is a priority.)

 READ MORE: Pharmacies soon will offer COVID-19 vaccines to seniors in Philadelphia. No options yet for the homebound.

The 1,000 first doses delivered this week to Montgomery County were 3,500 fewer than last week, and some county hospitals also reported smaller deliveries, Commissioner Val Arkoosh said.

This week is a perfect example of the supply challenge that we are dealing with, Arkoosh said Wednesday. We were told yesterday that we would receive a delivery of vaccine today, but we were not told how many doses would be in that delivery.

With its reserve supply, thats enough for Montgomery Countys clinic to operate through Monday, although that includes two days of shots that would have already been given out if not for the snowstorm delaying appointments.

Chester County didnt receive any of the 5,000 first doses it requested but got the 3,200 second doses it asked for, according to a county spokesperson.

It was unclear Thursday whether other counties were experiencing the same unwelcome surprise: A state spreadsheet that normally shows how many doses each provider receives weekly had not yet been updated for the week. The Department of Health said it had not been updated due to a staff absence.

 READ MORE: Multiple websites, long lines: Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is confusing in Pa. and N.J.

Ciccocioppo, its spokesperson, said the states vaccine supply was spread more thinly this week because more providers are ready to vaccinate patients than in previous weeks. Providers across the state asked for more than 705,000 doses this week, while the state had only 166,000 to give out.

We are working to stabilize the distribution as best we can while also trying to get vaccine into more areas of the state, Ciccocioppo said.

He said he could not say whether the trend would continue next week or beyond because the state does not yet know how much vaccine will be coming from the federal government.

The weekly vaccine deliveries have been unpredictable nationwide from the start. As officials have stressed there simply arent enough doses yet for everyone to be vaccinated at once, critics have questioned the pace at which Pennsylvanias available shots are getting into peoples arms.

 READ MORE: Black Americans may have to travel farther to get a COVID-19 vaccination, Pitt researchers find

Statewide, more than 2.1 million vaccine doses will have gone to providers by Friday, and the state estimates nearly 881,000 first doses and 230,000 second doses will have been administered. That will mean 52% of the states shots have been given out, a rate that many states are outperforming and about which state lawmakers pressed the Department of Health at a hearing Thursday.

Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday that even with the federal supply issue, Pennsylvania could be doing better.

We have a system in place, he said. We need to continue to figure out how we can make it much, much better.

 READ MORE: New Pa. health secretarys goals: Improving vaccine rollout communication and pushing feds for more doses

At the hearing in the Pennsylvania Senate, lawmakers pressed acting Health Secretary Alison Beam about what they see as a lack of transparency and expressed frustration over the pace of distribution.

State Sen. Maria Collett, a Democrat representing parts of Montgomery and Bucks Counties, cited Montgomery Countys low allotment this week, telling Beam she was beyond frustrated with the rollout.

Your claims of accountability  Im sorry to say that I am having a difficult time trusting that that is actually happening, Collett said. I have not heard a lot about logistics from yourself and from the department this morning. ...What is the plan moving forward to do better?

Beam said the state was committed to getting all vaccine recipients their second doses on time, and said the Department of Health would begin meeting weekly with the legislature.

 READ MORE: RNA vaccines have never been manufactured before, so making millions of doses was bound to take time. Heres how its done.

On the county level, officials struggled to plan.

If we dont receive more in time for Tuesday, Arkoosh said, we will not be able to offer vaccines on that day.

Lehigh County received only 1,000 doses, almost all of which are for second shots, said Vicky Kistler, director of the Allentown Bureau of Health, which serves all of Lehigh County.

Its frustrating because we have the capability right now to do more, said Kistler, noting their clinic could give shots to 1,200 to 1,500 people in a single day.

Kistler said commonwealth officials have been very clear that they are distributing as much as they can, so theres not much else the health bureau can do except be patient and see what next week brings.

The hardest part, she said, is not knowing whether the trend will continue. The county has told the commonwealth they are ready and willing to take more. But, she said, we accept what we get.

Graphic artist Chris Williams contributed to this article.
Jeevan Reddy said Nizamabad MP Arvind Kumar had taken an oath and written down on bond paper during the last polls that he would work for the setting up of the Turmeric Board or resign if this was not done within 100 days after formation of the government.  DC Image

Hyderabad: MLC Jeevan Reddy has sought the setting up of a Turmeric Board and remunerative price to turmeric farmers. Jeevan Reddy wrote to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, urging him to take the initiative.

Speaking to the media here on Thursday, he said, The rate of gold per tola has risen to Rs 50,000 but the price of turmeric per quintal has fallen to Rs 6,000. It would help the farmers if a yellow board is set up. Requests on this to the Union and state governments have gone unheeded.

Jeevan Reddy said Nizamabad MP Arvind Kumar had taken an oath and written down on bond paper during the last polls that he would work for the setting up of the Turmeric Board or resign if this was not done within 100 days after formation of the government. That period is over and the board remains a mirage. Meanwhile, the government has set up centres to buy 7,000 quintals of turmeric.

Jeevan Reddy alleged that the BJP and the TRS are working in tandem while openly opposing each other. He thanked health minister Etela Rajender for his support to farmers. The only minister who speaks on behalf of the farmers is Etala Rajendar, he said.

The MLC said TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao also held the party legacy and was eligible for CM post. But there is criticism of son succeeding father. If there is going to be a change of CM, why not give the post to Rajendar, he asked.

MLAs support Etala Rajendar too, he said, adding, Etala hails from a backward community. He also served the people for the last 20 years.


For the love of God, is there no end to this purgatory.

Those were the words of a woman crouched sobbing audibly on the beach. Unfurling from the foetal position, the stranger told me that she had abandoned her husband and three children. They had travelled all day in their campervan and couldnt find anywhere to eat. Those eateries that werent decimated by lockdown, opened with considerably reduced capacity resulting in national and international tourists vying for coveted tables.

Faced with the prospect of having to cook another family meal in a van, she cracked under the strain. That was July, when reports of tourists from US hotspots not isolating generated concern in the hospitality industry. Some urged the government to take charge of quarantine measures and not leave it to businesses.

Ireland was the only EU country not to ban US flights at the time and yet put no rigorous bio-security measures in place to protect us. In August, Stephen Donnelly locked down three counties and still international holidaymakers arrived in their droves. I wrote then about the futility of local lockdowns while leaving the back door to international travel open.

Sensing the publics anger, Donnelly announced that his department would prepare a plan which would be ready as soon as possible to restrict non-essential travel from countries with high rates of coronavirus. A plan was promised in May too, but neither materialised. Six months, two more lockdowns and several variants later, theres still no plan. On Sunday, Dr Tony Holohan announced over 1,000 Covid-19 related deaths and 100,000 cases in Ireland in January alone  more than throughout all of 2020. If you listened closely enough, you could hear hearts breaking across the country.

On RTE Michael OLeary lamented the loss of his profits. Like a toddler high on too much toffee, OLeary accused people of lying about refunds and Nphet of misinformation. His insensitivity to the toll the pandemic has taken was repugnant.

On Wednesday, Micheal Martin invoked three reasons for not implementing mandatory hotel quarantine, none of which made any sense. Firstly, airline litigation. Ryanair did challenge the Governments advice for people returning from countries not on the designated green list to self-isolate for 14 days and objected to advice against non-essential travel.

Ryanair lost the case but was gifted the concession anyway. In September, Leo Varadkar removed the deterrent of non-essential travel relating to the risible green list and self-isolation remains unenforced. Why did Martin cite defeated litigation as an impediment to quarantine? Secondly, the Taoiseach claimed compelling legal reasons against hotel quarantine which directly contradicts Donnellys announcement in July that the Attorney General deemed it wasnt illegal. Yet Donnelly still resisted, claiming the WHO gave him permission not to implement quarantine, which was surprising because that contradicted the WHOs official advice which states: Quarantine is included within the legal framework of the international health regulations (2005).

Further: Member states have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to legislate and to implement legislation in pursuit of their health policies, even if this involves the restriction of movement of individuals. Thirdly, Martin cited the curtailment of personal liberties. The European Convention on Human Rights provides lawful exception to this right (Article 5) to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Equally, under Article 2 (the right to life), the Government has a duty to implement measures to safeguard lives. Where there is a known risk to life, the State must take protective steps to preserve life. Allowing the few to undertake non-essential travel without mandatory quarantine, I would argue, poses a disproportionate risk, endangering the lives of the whole population. Whether Martins contradictory quarantine messaging is down to deliberate ambiguity or incompetence, its taking too high a toll.

In January, the WHOs Dr David Nabarro said countries that were successful in controlling coronavirus, such as Australia and New Zealand, used supervised isolation or mandatory hotel quarantine, which he advised was more effective than asking people to self-isolate. Donnellys current proposal to allow returning passengers to isolate in households with non-travellers, thus defeating the point of quarantine, falls miserably short of the mark. By the way, as Transport Minister, why isnt Eamon Ryan dealing with quarantine?

Itll be weeks before the woefully inadequate quarantine legislation is passed, exposing us to the importation of mutating variants which risk compromising the efficacy of some vaccines. Nick Cammack, who leads the Covid-19 therapeutics accelerator at Wellcome warned that with the coronavirus mutating rapidly, he doesnt expect any of the current drugs to be effective for long. I think its pretty clear, weve seen South Africa, UK and Brazil variants, there will be others.

Nicola Sturgeon recognises the danger posed by new variants and indicated her intention to deviate from UK policy and introduce managed quarantine for all arrivals to safeguard her citizens. Germany has banned travel from five high risk countries, including Ireland, in order to protect the German population.

With vaccination roll-out already stymied, whether OLeary likes it or not, well be staycationing again this summer. If we close our borders to all but essential travel now and aim for zero-Covid, we can open everything else up and party like its 2019. Polls consistently show that 90pc of people want mandatory hotel quarantine so its time our Government put the protection of its people first.

The woman on the beach didnt mind holidaying in Ireland. She just needed to feel safe. Its time to end this purgatory.
In mid-January, first-term Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was live-streaming herself as she walked through a hallway beneath the U.S. Capitol. Pulled down below her chin was a black mask that read "CENSORED" in white block letters. Monologuing into her phone, she walked by Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., a Black Lives Matter activist-turned-lawmaker also in her first term, who yelled at Greene for not properly wearing the mask. Greene pulled up her mask, told Bush not to yell at her, then yelled at Bush for a bit and resumed her monologue. "That's how it is, how it is now in America," she told her viewers. "You're witnessing exactly what we're having to live through." Bush ended up moving her office away from Greene's,; Greene proceeded to call her "the leader of the St. Louis Black Lives Matter terrorist mob."

Watching later, I was struck by how much the video resembled footage Greene had recorded before she ran for Congress. In 2019, she filmed herself wandering the Capitol looking for Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who are Muslim, to try to make them retake their oaths of office on a Bible instead of a Koran. The next month, she returned to Washington to stalk Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg, berating him about a gun-control bill.

Seen in one light, Greene is a troll-activist success story: She leveraged her harassment of congresspeople to become a congresswoman herself. Seen in another light, she is stuck playing the same role she did before achieving any influence or notoriety. Like the dog who catches the car, she got what she wanted, and she isn't sure what to do next.

Greene is best known for her past promotion of the baroque QAnon extremist ideology, though her paranoia about establishment subversion isn't limited to fictional satanic pedophile rings. Before running for office, she pushed theories about false-flag operations, inside jobs, a mass shooting plotted by the gun-control lobby and countless other imagined plots. This probably goes without saying, but she believes that the presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump.

Barely one month into her tenure, her colleagues may have reached a breaking point. This past week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called her ideas a "cancer" for the GOP; Greene ended up recanting some of her past positions, forced-confession style. On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted along mostly partisan lines to strip Greene of her committee assignments, a move typically reserved for members charged with a crime (or those who ask why "white nationalist" and "white supremacist" are controversial terms, as Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa did). Though she retains some support from her caucus, Greene has effectively been quarantined from her colleagues, as though to prevent the further spread of her beliefs.

But this lack of legislative influence will probably wind up boosting her brand, which is built on her ability to engage her fans in speculation about the various dark energies she - and they - are up against. Passing laws was never the point.

Last fall, I reported on Greene and the dozens of other "QAnon candidates" running for Congress. Interestingly, none of the candidates I interviewed had spent much time thinking about the theoretical power they'd have, as elected officials, to dismantle the pedophile ring over which they obsessed. One candidate, from California, told me he'd be a "peacemaker" in office. Another, from Illinois, told me she might assign staffers to investigate the matter "on a part-time basis" but wasn't sure. (Neither won; only Greene emerged victorious.)

Compared with the Manichaean battleground of QAnon, in which Trump was to purge evildoers in a cleansing storm of arrests, gridlocked Washington probably seemed a little prosaic. Moreover, actually being in power - drafting bills and heading to the cafeteria with supposed child abusers - makes it harder to free-associate about the machinations of a shadowy elite. For Greene, being thwarted, or "censored," by the establishment helps resolve this tension.

Well before anyone knew who Greene was, or the Capitol was stormed by true believers, Walter Kirn wrote a perceptive essay in Harper's about his own semi-serious obsession with "Q," the self-proclaimed government agent who began posting perverse riddles on 4chan in late 2017. The collective project of solving these riddles became QAnon. All the spurious dot-connecting struck Kirn as a democratized form of storytelling. "The audience for internet narratives doesn't want to read, it wants to write. It doesn't want answers provided, it wants to search for them," he wrote. "It wants to do."

Before the Trump era, Greene appears to have been apolitical, devoting herself to the CrossFit scene in her wealthy Atlanta suburb, Alpharetta. In 2017, after discovering QAnon and adjacent conspiracy theories, she pivoted her obsessions to politics. As she told her colleagues on Thursday, "I started looking things up on the internet." She began blogging at a now-defunct website called American Truth Seekers and discovered an audience for her musings on Facebook Live. She saw subversion all around her - pedophiles, drag queens, women in hijabs - and seemed to derive meaning from trying to identify and root out the secret forces behind it. The searching was the point; finding anything might kill the fun.

In 2019, she started running for a swing seat in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, where she lived. Convinced it was unwinnable, she packed up and started running in the 14th, a far-right district outside Atlanta. On the trail, she exhibited scant interest in local issues, portraying herself as a bulwark against forces that did not plague her district: antifa, socialism. In one post, removed by Facebook, she posed with an assault-style rifle next to an image of the congresswomen known as the Squad, something Democrats would factor into their decision to punish her. After winning, she never seemed quite in her element, and she immediately got to work alleging that Joe Biden's victory - including in Georgia, where she won in the very same election - had been fraudulent.

A related dynamic was apparent during the deadly Capitol riot on Jan. 6. While some of the participants were well-organized and primed for violence, others looked like live-action role players who had stumbled into something mystifyingly real. Against considerable odds, they managed to breach the Senate chamber. Once they arrived, it became clear that they hadn't anticipated getting there. People rooted through desks, looking for whatever. One guy slumped on the floor and called his dad. Victory turned out to be an anticlimax. Without anything else to occupy their attention, many simply turned their cameras on themselves. "Q says, 'trust the plan,' " James Duesterberg wrote in an essay for the Point about the events of Jan. 6. "But there is no plan, and that's the point, like in a puzzle or a game. Everyone is livestreaming, watching themselves act."

One of the curious things about the posts that resulted in Greene's censure is that a number of them had been shared and documented before she was elected. Previous news cycles, since forgotten, also revolved around people calling for GOP leadership to condemn things she said or did. And it's not as if these were leaked comments: She had posted them publicly, using them to network with other activists and build her political following. In this way, she's better understood as a content creator than a politician. Live-streaming about conspiracies, Greene achieved a paradoxical kind of self-actualization: In dialogue with her followers, she created a realm in which people like her were constantly being manipulated by the people who really ran things. On the campaign trail, Greene promised to investigate George Soros's connection to "BLM/ANTIFA rioters" when she got to Washington. Instead, she picked an even more performative opening act: filing articles of impeachment against Biden the day after he was sworn in.

Greene nodded toward contrition as first the GOP conference (which took no action against her) and then the full House (which did) contemplated what to do about her. But now that she's been booted from her committees, it's unclear how much she'll miss the assignments. She shares with Trump a fondness for noisy inaction - attention seems to be an end for her, rather than a tool for tackling a policy agenda. (She's not alone in that: 25-year-old freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., announced, "I have built my staff around comms rather than legislation.") And Greene is proving useful for the Democratic Party, too, even as some of its members call her for expulsion. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has taken out $500,000 in ads tying eight Republican House members, more or less randomly, to Greene and QAnon.

Of course, as with many influencers these days, attention also comes with a little something extra. In December, Greene created (and tweeted a link to) a website called www.stopthebidensteal.com. It redirects to her fundraising page. This past week, I received an email from her campaign with the subject line "Expelled." Greene was soliciting donations. "Today's the day I could be removed from committees, or worse, expelled from Congress," she wrote. "I need all the support I can get so I can defend myself in the public sphere." By Thursday night, she said, she'd raised more than $330,000 from over 13,000 supporters.

Now that she's been punished, Greene doesn't seem overly bothered. "I woke up early this morning literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats (+11) are for giving some one like me free time," she tweeted on Friday, referring to the 11 Republicans who supported her censure. "In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway. Oh this is going to be fun!"

- - -

Van Zuylen-Wood writes for publications such as New York, The Atlantic and Vanity Fair. He lives in New York.


At least three people called Children and Youth Services in Lebanon County in recent years worried that Stephanie and Robert Duncan were mistreating their children.

They reported young children crying outside in the freezing cold without coats for hours or melting in the sun while sitting on hot concrete in the summer for long periods without water. A neighbor reported Stephanie Duncan had been yelling at one of the kids for more than 30 minutes.

All three tipsters felt the agency did nothing.

Jerry Getz, 82, said he was told: If theyre not in danger, theres nothing we can do, when he reported his concerns in the summer of 2019.

County officials on Thursday would not say whether Children and Youth Services were providing any services to the family that made the news this week after one of their sons, age 11, nearly died from hypothermia and other medical problems allegedly caused from being locked in the basement and forced to sleep on a concrete floor in a diaper with no heat, according to court records.

State officials, however, confirmed on Friday that services were not being provided to the family.

Prosecutors on Wednesday announced 20 felony charges, including aggravated assault and strangulation, against Stephanie Duncan 18 felony charges against her husband Robert Duncan. The parents also each were charged with 10 misdemeanors, including simple assault and tampering with evidence. They both remained in prison Thursday night with $250,000 cash bond each. The couple had not retained attorneys that PennLive could find Thursday.

Lebanon County Public Defender Brian Deiderick said his office had not received an application from either of them, but noted it usually takes a day or two for them to be completed at the jail.

Neighbors said they saw signs of neglect and emotional abuse dating back years and they tried to call attention to it. But neighbors did not see any physical abuse.

The physical abuse happened behind closed doors, according to court records. The children told investigators they were punched, slapped, choked, forced to eat their own vomit, monitored by video surveillance cameras in their own bedrooms and punished for infractions such as drinking water too slowly. Prosecutor Pier Hess Graf said the parents created a household of unspeakable fear, violence, torment, and abuse.

County workers took custody of the 11-year-old and his four siblings, ages 6 to 15, after the situation was revealed in mid-January by his hospitalization. All five children had been adopted in previous years by the Duncans.

But what remains unknown is how the county handled tips called in by two neighbors and a woman who drove by the house nearly daily to pick up her daughter from the babysitter.

Whats also unknown is whether the agency put the various tips together and whether the weight of three calls from different people should have triggered more attention from county social workers, even if the individual calls alone didnt seem to meet the threshold for neglect or abuse.

Under Pennsylvania law, counties dont have to keep track of prior reports that were deemed unfounded by the agency. In fact, some agency leaders, including in Lebanon County, believe the law still requires the to delete prior unfounded reports from their internal systems within a year.

The law, however, was updated in 2018 to allow county agencies to decide whether they want to keep track of prior reports deemed unfounded for their own investigations. Prior unfounded reports would not be reflected on anyones records or ability to volunteer or work with children, but they would exist to inform future investigations.

Its unclear how much this may have factored into the Duncans case. Neighbors who reported claims to childrens services didnt recall the exact dates, but said they were in the 2017 to 2019 timeframe.

Child advocates are pushing for the law to be updated because it still requires the state to delete prior unsubstantiated reports, preventing tracking of possible abuse situations in families that move among different counties. And it allows counties to make their own decisions on retention of older unfounded reports, resulting in a patchwork of 67 different policies.

Some counties might keep older records, but only on paper. Other counties might store them electronically for easier searching. A county might opt not to keep older records or might not know about the change in law allowing them to retain older records for certain purposes.

Erin Moyer, administrator of the Lebanon County, told PennLive Thursday she believed she was under the obligation to delete all unsubstantiated reports within one year by law.

But if records are deleted before being put together with other information, it can deny county workers of the cumulative picture to make better decisions.

Its possible that all three reports generated some response, said Cathleen Palm, who runs the Center for Childrens Justice in Pa. Its also possible that none of them met the mark for child abuse or neglect, so those records go away.

Moyer said she could not say anything directly related to the Duncans, but she said all reports of abuse or neglect are taken seriously.

As a community, we need to protect our children by reporting abuse and neglect concerns. We need to work together as a community to efficiently and effectively protect children, she said. The job of protecting children lies within everyone that comes into contact with children, not just one Agency, organization or individual.

The children were believed to be homeschooled, at least in recent years, so they werent regularly seen by any outside educators.

Court records filed against the Duncans revealed a missed opportunity by a medical office just weeks before the 11-year-old boy was hospitalized.

Stephanie Duncan took her 11-year-old son to the doctor in December before Christmas for a black eye, which was purple and swollen. She told medical providers the boy injured himself, according to court records.

She claimed her son had ground his fist into his eye and caused the injury, according to the medical records cited in the affidavit.

But at least one sibling told police after her parents were arrested that Stephanie Duncan had punched him in the eye.

The situation exposes the disconnect between sources of information that could help save children, child advocates say. What if the doctor had known about the prior calls of possible neglect?

It also exposes a possible lack of training for medical professionals in spotting potential child abuse. If the doctor had reported any suspicions, would county workers then have been able to launch in investigation in December preventing the boy from going into his near-death spiral?

Stephanie and Robert Duncan, of North Annville Township, are charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, simple assault, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, endangering the welfare of a child, and conspiring with one another. (Lebanon County District Attorney's Office)

Neighbors grow concerned

Jerry Getz said the Duncans moved onto the 2700 block of Cedar Run Road in North Anville about 10 or 12 years ago. They didnt have any children when they moved into the small three-bedroom home. But soon, they added foster children, who they eventually adopted.

Several of the kids went to school, at least at first, Getz said.

Two of the kids were half-siblings and three other children also were half-siblings, according to the district attorney. None of the children were believed to be biologically related to the Duncans, who were receiving payments for taking care of them.

At this point, Graf couldnt say how much money they were getting.

I can say there was a financial benefit to the defendants, she said.

Stephanie Duncan was home most of the time, leading neighbors to believe she did not work outside of the home. Robert Duncan worked as the technical editor for Fox Chapel Publishing, which publishes craft publications including on woodworking. According to the Fox Chapel website:

Bob Duncans earliest memories revolve around his fathers woodworking shop, where he attempted to chop dovetails with a flat screwdriver trying to copy what his father was doing with a sharp chisel. Since then, hes turned to woodworking whenever he has free time. Bob joined Fox Chapel Publishing in 2004.

Every year, Bob Duncan would hand turn wooden pens and give them as gifts to his neighbors, said Reuben Peck.

At night, neighbors would sometimes see Stephanie Duncan take two children at a time for a walk down the street where they would walk in a single file line, Peck said. The family went through a lot of cars, according to Peck. He bought a broken down car from Robert Duncan a few years ago, and remembered him talking about spending $3,500 in vet bills to repair the family dogs hip problem.

The memory now bothers Peck because of the deprivation of the children outlined in court records, which say they were punished for stealing water.

The alarming behavior from the Duncan home started in about 2014, Peck said. The prior year, things were calm as neighbors saw caseworkers regularly visiting the home, which may have been in connection with some of the adoptions, Peck said.

But the home visits eventually stopped. Thats when loud yelling and crying became a regular sound emanating from the Duncans home, Peck said.

Neighbors saw kids outside for hours, but they werent playing. Instead, they seemed to be in timeout, forced to sit on the concrete porch or concrete median in the driveway for hours despite freezing cold or boiling heat.

Neighbors wondered whether the three older children who lived in the basement even had access to the upstairs because they were regularly seen running outside from a basement door up to the porch to gain access to the first-floor of the house. Authorities say the 11-year-old boys siblings reported he was locked into his windowless basement room most of the time.

Weve all been concerned, Peck said. We wanted to do something. We tried. But other than calling CYS, we didnt know what to do.

When Pecks wife called Children and Youth Services two or three years ago to report the moms prolonged yelling at a child, they were told, Thats just crappy parenting, Peck said.

The kids seemed to disappear in the last year, Peck said. He had not seen any children outside in months.

We knew it was bad, but not that bad, he said of the alleged abuse detailed in court records.

Dalila Reigel said she called Children and Youth Services about two years ago after seeing a boy outside crying for hours in freezing temperatures without a coat. She was prompted to call after driving by and seeing young boys repeatedly outside, not playing but sitting or standing on a concrete block_ without coats.

I was not impressed with whoever answered the phone, Reigel said. It didnt seem like that big of a deal.

She said I got the impression that if the kids werent in the road or something, we cant do anything about it.

Adoption procedures

The allegations of abuse inside the Duncans home caused neighbors to question how the parents were vetted prior to being able to adopt the children and how putting children in a basement with concrete floors and no heat could pass a home inspection.

Court records indicated the parents had a bed frame, mattress and other items in their sons basement room at one point, but said they had removed them as punishment, leaving literally nothing in the room when the 11-year-old was found unresponsive Jan. 13.

Authorities say his siblings reported that when the boy was found unresponsive, their parents ordered them to put a mattress back into the room with a space heater . Robert Duncan also allegedly removed a hook-lock on the door and switched the door handle, which had previously locked from the outside, according to court records.

County officials wouldnt comment on the details of any adoption procedures involving the Duncans, but laid out the processes in general.

Lebanon County Children and Youth is not an adoption agency, said Moyer, and at the point when adoption is going to be pursued, a private adoption agency becomes involved with the family to facilitate the adoption process.

In order for a child to be adopted, they must have resided in the foster or pre-adoptive home for at least 6 months prior to the adoption being finalized, Moyer said.

She said prior to the adoption, both the county Children and Youth caseworker, as well as the private foster care/adoption agency workers are in the home assuring the safety of the children at least once every 30 days, but at times more frequently depending on the needs of the child or family.

Once the adoption is finalized, those monthly homes visits stop.

They are now to parent this child on their own, as they are now legally their own, said Moyer.

Generally, children remain in foster care for 15 months before the courts consider changing a goal to adoption. At that point, CYS would connect the foster family to a private adoption agency to complete the process.

If the foster parents are unwilling or unable to adopt, the agency uses the PA Adoption Exchange as well as contracted adoption affiliated agencies to locate an adoptive family.

All adoptive/foster parents go through initial and continued training, background checks, home inspections, medical appraisals and various other items needed for them to be an approved home, Moyer said.

How tips are handled

Any calls that come into the Lebanon County Children and Youth Services for any concerns related to children are written up and screened by a supervisor to determine what the next steps will be, as well as a response time to respond to the report, Moyer said.

The response time is determined by the allegations reported and the level of safety or risk concern for the child.

If the initial referral doesnt rise to the level of being considered abuse or neglect, it could be unaccepted for investigation, she said.

In the Duncans case, child advocate Cathleen Palm, said there are four scenarios that could have occurred:

The county may have deleted some or all of the prior unfounded reports and didnt know the total number of tips that had been called on the same family.

The county may have still retained the prior reports, but workers either could not locate them or did not look for them.

The county reviewed all of the prior reports and concluded that even together, the nature of the reports didnt merit an investigation.

Or the county may have looked into the family after one or all of the complaints, but the investigation didnt merit removing the children or generate an investigation.

Right now, its too early to know if Children and Youth Services responded appropriately, Palm said.

The county and state are supposed to complete an internal review when a child dies or nearly dies from suspected abuse to determine if mistakes were made or opportunities missed. Those so-called Act 33 reports often remain sealed for years, especially when there are criminal charges involved.

More attention needs to be paid to systemic problems that can be unearthed through these investigations, and they need to be made public more quickly, Palm said. But in Pennsylvania, there is no one in government who pays close attention to pushing changes based on the results of these reports, as there is in some other states.

There is a newly-appointed Child Advocate by Gov. Tom Wolf, and Palm said she sent a letter to his office last May asking if the advocate could be in charge of ensuring recommended changes to save children dont go overlooked in the dozens of reports filed every year. But she did not get a response.

How is it we keep having the same undercurrents swallowing up these kids, but no action? Palm said. We need to stop finger pointing because its not all child welfare. Its county commissioners and legislators, and other people across the state.

READ: Child services were called about toddlers family before 3-year-old died from drug overdose

READ: 2-year-old died of abuse after Children and Youth Services dismissed multiple calls for help
From the start, the pandemic - and the restrictions that went with it - were unexplored territory: something we hadn't been through before; democratic governments entered uncharted waters, implementing measures conceivable only under a state of emergency; frontiers (between towns, provinces and countries...) were closed; and boundaries (between home and work, virtual and real...) became blurry. Last spring's lockdown sparked a chain reaction of constraints (ranging from face masks to social distancing and capacity limitations). What next? Will the events I'm about to highlight be open to the public, when this review appears, and, if so... at what times?

Just the thing

How do artists do it? They always seem to zero in on what's bugging us, and to jazz it up, turning it into a point of reflection, relevant to the present.

Whether cogitating in their studios - or even more obviously so... - when setting up installations in situ, or if into street art, they mark their territory, defining their own codes, within self-imposed limits; their 'work conditions' are a metaphor for what we miss most now: the illusion of doing what we want, when we want, on our own ground.

Scheduled at the Centro de Arte Contemporaneo (CAC Malaga) till mid-March, Portuguese artist Pedro "Cabrita" Reis's curiosity cabinet-like display is a celebration of inspirational serendipity, a jazz funeral for "The Way We Were" and "Where We Once Belonged". In the coronavirus-free world, our senses were exposed to a constant stream of stimuli, at all hours... Spoilt for choice, so to speak.

Little Goat - Cabinet d'Amateur is CAC's current show-within-a-show, nestled within a major exhibition spotlighting Sevilla-born mainstreamer, Miki Leal. My tip? See Cabrita's potpourri first. This happy-go-lucky tutti-frutti of paintings, drawings and sculpture - incorporating recycled objects and materials (discarded lids of industrial paint, salvaged window frames...) - is just the thing for art-starved museumgoers in need of a receptivity-booster.

City as Labyrinth

Throughout January, a string of toned-down (no hugs, no drinks) openings attended by a handful of masked party faithfuls had (to a degree) lifted the spirits of Malaga's gallery circuit... - desperate to get back into the swing of things.

The invitation to the relatively well-frequented private view of Rafael Alvarado's La Ciudad Laberinto show - at the Ateneo (on Calle Compania, just off the Plaza de la Constitucion), until 26 February - evoked a hip Covid-era 'vanitas'; featuring self-balancing scooter riders circling past a human skull, it achieved maximum impact in a few pencil strokes.

Alvarado belongs to a current of thought that has gained momentum amongst the arty glitterati. His Ciudad Laberinto concept revolves around the idea that massive tourism -surfing on 'brand Picasso' - is ruining the 'flaneurial' atmosphere of the town, and that it's time to react.

Given the circumstances, this politico-artistic topic could have been a total turn-off. Who wants to "re-think the urban and cultural model" of their city, in the midst of a sanitary crisis? The hordes of sightseers and airline passengers Rafael Alvarado depicts are nowhere to be seen. The historic centre is eerily empty, even before the evening curfew starts; forced closures have brought the tourist sector to a standstill...

Fortunately, Alvarado has a lot going for him; a powerful draughtsman, he injects his highly contemporary expressionistic paintings - which also allude to more universal issues, such as the plight of migrant workers - with 'uncommon force'. Well worth the detour.

When in Rome

My most recent crowd-less thrills...? Two diametrically distinct offerings, each emblematic of the "Malaga Ciudad Genial" ethos, although at opposite extremes of the visual arts market. Miquel ("Best Artist Alive") Barcelo is easy to find; his mega "Metamorphosis" is the Museo Picasso's star attraction - as ever, an injection of unbridled, organic... multi-pronged energy, a la Pablo.

Galicia-raised, Malaga-based Maria Maquieira, on the other hand, proffers an unabashedly intimate, small-scale vision of something we can all identify with at the moment: a place we miss. Rome, in her case. Presented 24/24 in the shop window of the Casa Amarilla art space (Calle Santos, 7), her freehand sketches and self-portraits executed on various personal mementoes of the capital she lived in for six years were a chance discovery, landed upon during an afternoon walk.

It is my view that a top-ranking international artist like Barcelo and an emerging talent like Maria are equally essential.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration announced on Friday that 4G mobile internet services will be restored in the entire Union Territory, exactly 18 months after it was suspended in August 2019 when the Centre abrogated the special status of the erstwhile state. Principal Secretary of the Home Department Shaleen Kabra issued a notification and directed the Inspectors General of Kashmir and Jammu to "closely monitor the impact of lifting of restrictions".

Currently high-speed mobile services are available in only two districts -- Udhampur in Jammu division and Ganderbal in the Kashmir division -- where they were restored in August last year. All other 18 districts of the union territory have only 2G mobile Internet services.

"4G mobile internet services being restored in entire J&K," said J&K administration spokesperson Rohit Kansal in a tweet.

4G mobile internet services being restored in entire J&K @diprjk Rohit Kansal (@kansalrohit69) February 5, 2021

The Raj Bhavan's official Twitter handle of LG Manoj Sinha thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for "acceding to our request and restoring 4G services in the entire Jammu and Kashmir UT. The move will fulfil the aspirations of the people, especially the youth".

The two-page order said an "objective assessment of the prevailing circumstances and necessity of continuation of these restrictions" was taken by a special committee constituted on the directions of the Supreme Court order of May 11 last year.

Political parties and leaders, including former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, welcomed the decision. "4G Mubarak! For the first time since Aug 2019, all of J&K will have 4G mobile data. Better late than never," said the National Conference leader in a tweet.

4G Mubarak! For the first time since Aug 2019 all of J&K will have 4G mobile data. Better late than never. Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 5, 2021

Internet services were snapped in Jammu and Kashmir hours before the Centre abrogated its special status and bifurcated the erstwhile state into union territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir -- on August 5, 2019. However, the 2G internet facility on mobile phones was restored on January 25. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to explore the possibility of restoring 4G services in certain areas.

There has been growing demand from businesses, students and professionals for the restoration of 4G mobile internet services.

2G services were restored on January 25 last year and 4G services on mobile devices in Ganderbal and Udhampur were restarted last August. This was done after the Centre had informed the Supreme Court that a special committee looking into the matter was considering allowing the facility on a trial basis in two of the 20 districts of the union territory. The high-speed internet was restricted to only post-paid subscribers while prepaid customers could enjoy the benefit of the services only after completing the verification process.

The 2G internet facility on mobile phones was restored on January 25. The apex court is also hearing a plea by an NGO seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the Union Home Secretary and the Chief Secretary of J&K for their alleged "wilful disobedience" in complying with the court's May 11 order which had directed for constituting a committee that would go into the possibilities of restoring high-speed internet in the union territory.

While extending the last ban on mobile internet on January 21, the home department had said that restrictions have been placed "in view of well founded apprehensions about the dissemination of inflammatory and seditious propaganda material".
While overall job private sector jobs rose in January by a lower-than-expected 6,000 positions, production and non-supervisory jobs declined in the private sector by -105,000, mostly in low-wage, low-hours sectors.

Following the release of the Employment Situation Report for January 2021 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI) has been revised to a level of 79.36, up by 0.54% from its revised level one month earlier (which, for this months report, was materially impacted by annual seasonal adjustment revisions to data for the past 12 months) and reflecting a lower proportion - relative to the prior month - of U.S. production and non-supervisory (P&NS) jobs paying less than the mean weekly income of all P&NS jobs (Low Quality Jobs), relative to those jobs paying above such mean. The JQI remains heavily impacted by the extraordinary disruption in the number and composition of private sector production and non-supervisory jobs since the beginning of the U.S. impact of the COVID19 global pandemic, with regard to which the following additional special factors should be noted:



the BLS Employment Situation Report for January reflects a 6,000 increase in private sector payrolls and, with the annual seasonal factors adjustment playing a role, substantially greater declines in job formation in November and December 2020 than had been previously reported. The January reading appears to reflect the cumulative impact of the sustained historically high level of initial weekly claims for unemployment insurance benefits which itself is reflective of overall damage to employers as well as virus surges and colder weather. The restoration of federal unemployment insurance supplements in January may, however, have factored temporarily into increased claims.

Notably, while overall job private sector job growth rose in January by 6,000, production and non-supervisory jobs declined in the private sector by -105,000. Mostly in low-wage, low-hours sectors.

More workers in Low Quality jobs who were laid off during the peak crisis months, returning to their jobs starting in mid-year and through the fall, were again laid off in November 2020 through January 2021. This will stall the JQI reversion back to its pre-pandemic, lower levels to the extent that those lower quality jobs continue to be lost over the winter, as they were in January; and

the JQI may rise or fall for a period of time to the extent that such large numbers of Low Quality Jobs have been substantially eliminated or restored (temporarily or otherwise), as offset by the significantly higher benchmark mean weekly income used in computing the index since the elimination of large numbers of Low Quality Jobs.

The mean weekly wage income of all P&NS jobs as of the current reading (which reflects the level as of December 2020) decreased to 801.17, a change of -0.50% from its revised level the month prior (which, for this months report, was materially impacted by annual seasonal adjustment revisions to data for the past 12 months). This reflects the continued absence (as a result of the pandemic) of the low-wage/low-hours positions that had grown substantially in number over the course of the past four years. The JQ-Instant preliminary read of the 6,000 gain in all private sector, non-farm payrolls for January 2021 shows that 0% of such gains in private sector jobs were in industry sectors offering P&NS jobs with an average weekly income below the mean weekly income of all P&NS jobs (i.e. Low Quality Jobs). This reading was due to a very substantial loss of jobs in the leisure and hospitality, retail and healthcare and social assistance sectors, and  more generally  the -105,000 January 2021 decline in production and non-supervisory private sector jobs, which tend to be lower income than supervisory positions.

Daniel Alpert, co-creator of the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index, said

While overall job private sector jobs rose in January by a lower-than-expected 6,000 positions, production and non-supervisory jobs declined in the private sector by -105,000, mostly in low-wage, low-hours sectors.

For an explanatory video on the JQI, please see: http://www.vimeo.com/jqi.

This news release presents data from the most recent JQI reading calculated through the month immediately prior to the month covered by this release. The JQI assesses job quality in the United States by measuring desirable higher-wage/higher-hour jobs versus lower-wage/lower-hour jobs. The JQI offers a near-real time analytical tool to policymakers, researchers and financial market participants with relevance to a variety of trends in the economy at large. The JQI analyzes a representative sample of the economy using production and non-supervisory job (P&NS) data from 180 different industry groups spanning across all 20 super-sectors into which the BLS groups establishments. The principal data utilized is contained in the Current Employment Survey (CES, also often referred to as the establishment survey) P&NS data on average weekly hours, average hourly wage and total employment for each given industry group (seasonally adjusted, in all cases). The JQI is updated on a monthly basis contemporaneously with the release of new CES data from the BLS.

The JQ-Instant reading is for the month covered by this release and has implications for the likely direction of the JQI itself in future months. As the JQI is reported as a three-month rolling average of actual monthly readings, significant imbalances (readings varying from an even distribution between high and low quality jobs) in the JQ-Instant results would suggest future JQI readings moving in the direction of the dominant side of such distribution.

The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (patent pending) is a joint development of the Program on the Law and Regulation of Financial Institutions and Markets at the Jack G. Clarke Institute of Cornell Law School, the University of Missouri Kansas City Department of Economics, the Coalition for a Prosperous America, and the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity.

For more information, and to read the full report, visit https://www.jobqualityindex.com/.

2021 JQI IP Holdings LLC. Private Sector Job Quality Index and JQI are registered trademarks of JQI IP Holdings LLC. The Private Sector Job Quality Index is patent pending, application number US 62/900,923. Cornell logo and Cornell Law School and Jack G. Clarke Program names and references used with permission.
(CNN) - Denmark and Norway have joined a slew of European nations saying they won't give the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to people over 65, their national health agencies confirmed on Thursday.

Both cited a lack of data available on the use of the vaccine in older groups.

"We have reviewed the documentation, and until we have seen more data on efficacy among the elderly, it is our recommendation that the vaccine from AstraZeneca should first and foremost be an offer for people under 65," Bolette Sborg from Denmarks National Board of Health said in a statement.

We want to make sure we have the best data and background for the vaccine policy at the national level, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Institute of Public Health told CNN.

On Wednesday, Belgium recommended not administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to people over the age of 55, following similar decisions in France, Germany, Austria and Sweden which restricted its use for people under 65.

Also on Wednesday, Switzerland declined to authorize the vaccine for any age group, saying data submitted by AstraZeneca were "not yet sufficient to permit authorization" of the vaccine.

In response to Switzerlands decision, an AstraZeneca spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday: AstraZeneca has now been granted a conditional marketing authorization or emergency use in close to 50 countries, spanning 4 continents, including most recently in the European Union.

We are confident that our vaccine is effective, well-tolerated, and can have a real impact on the pandemic, the statement added.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA)  the EUs regulator -- has approved the vaccine without an age restriction.

In a statement made when granting conditional marketing authorization of the vaccine, the EMA said that in spite of a lack of data, protection was expected in older adults.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Denmark and Norway join European nations recommending against AstraZeneca vaccine for older people"
Naver said Thursday that it will stop showing real-time search rankings on its main portal page from Feb. 25. "We will discontinue the service to meet changing consumer preferences for choosing contents that appeal to their own taste rather than being spoonfed by others."

Naver started the real-time ranking service in May 2005 based on most-searched words. But both political activists and businesses have manipulated the rankings by mobilizing click farms to advertise themselves.

Naver had been reluctant to shut down the rankings even though rival Kakao shut them down in February last year ahead of the general election. Instead, Naver displayed them in a less conspicuous part of its mobile website but omitted them only for the weeks leading up to the general election.

The decision to scrap them completely comes ahead of by-elections in April and suggests Naver is wary of being implicated in yet another scandal relating to the hotly contested battle.

"It probably was hard for Naver to discontinue its real-time search rankings, which play a decisive role in jacking up visitor traffic," an industry insider said. "But at the same time Korea's leading internet search portal with annual sales of W6 trillion can't afford to find itself at the center of an opinion-rigging scandal" (US$1=W1,118).
Look up on most days here in Acadiana and youll see sunshine. Youll also be looking at one of the most promising sources of energy here in the state.

Most of the new electrical generation from now on will be in solar and wind.

And there is a reason why local experts like Terrance Chambers a professor at UL Lafayette and a member of the Governors Climate Task Force sees solar as an important part of the states future.

A 2020 report from the financial firm Lazard ranks solar power as the cheapest form of electricity to create and along with the push from both state and federal entities to reduce carbon emissions it only makes sense that solar sites will become more prominent across Louisiana.

When it comes to green energy there is always a concern for the jobs that are dependant on the oil and gas industry but Chambers says the state is in a great position to pivot to an economy based on gas and renewables.

In order to transform our economy to the new clean economy, were going to have to train a lot of people for these new types of jobs and thats where I think the University plays a role. We can play a role both in educating at higher ed for the engineers and the technologists, and partner with our community colleges for workforce development for training the technicians that would be installing solar and even the offshore wind.

That work begins with the 1.1 Megawatt UL Solar Lab which provides power to the university but also hopes to provide jobs for students by teaching them about solar technologies.

Current plans see expansion to the site this year which will provide more opportunities to students as well as possibly training Louisianans on the emerging renewables industry in the state.

From Sunny, Lafayette, Louisiana I am Storm Track 15 Meteorologist Cory Smith
Marshall County Schools teachers and staff got the chance to get their coronavirus vaccine this week.

Marshall County superintendent Dr. Cindy Wigley told WAAY 31 that around 70% of their teachers said they wanted to get the vaccine.

"I had COVID in October...And it was worse than any flu I've ever had," explained Sloman Primary School Principal Kathy Brown.

Brown, along with her husband and son, all got coronavirus last year.

"My husband ended up with double Pneumonia," said Brown.

The bookkeeper at Sloman Primary, Shirley Gunter, says she has family with health issues.

"I needed to protect myself and them," said Gunter.

Because of that, when they got the chance to get their coronavirus shot, they both signed up. Both got their vaccine at the Marshall County Health Department on Wednesday.

"I want to be able to protect the students and the faculty members as much as I can," said Brown.

The county school district isn't the only one vaccinating teachers this week. The superintendent at Arab City Schools says about 25 teachers and staff got their shot Thursday.
Actor Christopher Plummer died in February 2021 at the advanced age of 91. Throughout his life, he gained notoriety for his film, TV, and theater roles. But he also had a personal life. Who was Christopher Plummers spouse at the end of his life, and how many times did he marry?

Christopher Plummer is best known for The Sound of Music

Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in a scene from the movie The Sound of Music | Donaldson Collection/Getty Images

Plummer first began acting in theater productions in his native Canada. He debuted on Broadway in the early 1950s, earning a hit with The Lark. Plummer then began acting in movies and TV, appearing in such films as The Return of the Pink Panther. However, it was of his earliest films that remains his most famous.

The Sound of Music premiered in 1965. Plummer portrayed Captain Georg von Trapp, a widowed Austrian naval officer with seven children. The movie is based on a true story and became the highest-grossing film of all time upon its release. It also won a handful of Academy Awards.

He married Tammy Grimes in 1956

(L-R): Christopher Plummers ex-wife Tammy Grimes and his daughter, Amanda Plummer | Bettmann / Contributor

Before embarking on a film career, Plummer married American actor Tammy Grimes. Grimes is perhaps best known for originating the titular role in the famed musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown, for which she became a Tony Award winner. She also played Dorothy Brock in the hit Broadway musical 42nd Street.

Plummer and Grimes tied the knot in 1956. Their daughter, Amanda Plummer, was born in 1957. Grimes and Plummer divorced in 1960. She told the Christian Science Monitor in 1980 that she ended their relationship with a phone call to the studio, where she told his stage manager to give her husband a message.

Plummers second marriage to Patricia Lewis

Christopher Plummer with wife Patricia Lewis at London airport on 7th January 1963. | George Stroud/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

RELATED: The Sound of Music: Christopher Plummer Was Drunk While Filming This Pivotal Scene

Before he achieved his later status on the silver screen, Plummer married again. He tied the knot with Patricia Lewis, a journalist, in 1962. They divorced in 1967 after five years of marriage. While little is known about their relationship, they were reportedly having trouble when he filmed The Sound of Music in 1964.

According to a 2015 ABC News interview, Plummers solution [to his marital struggles] was to go out every night playing piano and drinking in hotels. And though he didnt have an affair with co-star Julie Andrews, he said that the only thing that stopped [them] were [Andrews] children and geography.

He finally married Elaine Taylor in 1970

Christopher Plummer (R) and spouse Elaine Taylor at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards. | Michael Buckner/WireImage

A few years after his divorce from Lewis, Plummer married for the third and final time. He met English actor Elaine Taylor while they were filming the British comedy Lock Up Your Daughters, an adaptation of a musical. At 40, Plummer was more than a decade older than 20-something Taylor.

In October 2020, Plummer and Taylor celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Shes my best friend, he told Everything Zoomer in 2019. We can part during the day and then get together for dinner and talk about it. Were not in each others pocket. [That] couldnt be more boring and kills marriages. Im very lucky.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Yes, Theyre Open is a web series highlighting local bars and restaurants that are open for takeout, delivery, pickup or dining during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Live streams from the featured restaurants are broadcast on the Advance Facebook page every weekday around 3 p.m.

On Thursday, the Advance/SILive.com visited Mona Lisa Pizzeria at 839 Annadale Road, which is open for pickup and delivery from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The pizzeria is cash only unless an order is placed online. To order, visit MonaLisaPizzeriaSI.com or call 718-967-1000.

YES, THEYRE OPEN: Mona Lisa Pizzeria offers pickup and delivery at 839 Annadale Road. The restaurant is open 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. The pizzeria is cash-only, unless an order is placed online. To order, call MonaLisaPizzeriaSI.com or call 718-967-1000. Posted by Staten Island Advance on Thursday, February 4, 2021

Staten Island restaurant owners: If you would like your establishment featured for free as part of Yes, Theyre Open, email reporter Victoria Priola at vpriola@siadvance.com.

WANT MORE YES, THEYRE OPEN?

Check out the listings below or check out all of our previous coverage here.

District Bar NYC, 2 Sneden Ave.

Pinos Pizzeria, 1026 Rossville Ave.

Sweets n Such Candy Shop, 71 New Dorp Plaza

Enzo & Tinos Bake Shop, 1949 Richmond Ave.

Lees Tavern, 60 Hancock St.

tech2 News Staff

A Italian surveillance company has reportedly made a fake WhatsApp application for iOS, which is being used to target users and gather sensitive data.According to a report by researchers from digital rights watchdog Citizen Lab (reported via Motherboard), some iPhone users were tricked into installing a fake version of WhatsApp. This app was reportedly linked to an Italian surveillance company, Cy4gate. Reportedly, the hackers did not mean to spread the fake application around, instead, it was targeted at specific users only.

In addition to this, the report reveals that this fake version of the application can get hold of information like "the UDID, or Unique Device Identifier assigned to each iOS device by Apple; and the IMEI or International Mobile Equipment Identity, another unique code that identifies cellphones".

As per the report, the page that was created to trick the users into downloading the fake version of the app looked a lot like the actual WhatsApp website and it laid out the step-by-step process to download the app. This page is currently unavailable.

According to a statement by a WhatsApp spokesperson given to Citizen Lab, "We do not ask for these user privileges and people should be very suspicious of any app trying to do so. We strongly oppose abuse from spyware companies, regardless of their clientele. Modifying WhatsApp to harm others violates our terms of service. We have and will continue to take action against such abuse, including in court". The spokesperson also advised the users to always download the app from the designated app store only.

Last week, a security company ZecOps tweeted about the attack on iOS users.

Bonus: IOCs for Whatsapp related attacks on iOS (not necessarily related to the above tweet):

IOCs

URL: config5-dati [DOT] com

Last known IP address: 185.78.64.173  ZecOps (@ZecOps) January 26, 2021

Motherboard reached out to the accused party, Cy4gate, regarding the same. As per the report, the company refused the accusation saying the "config domains" that traced back to them is are not "attributable to the company." However, the company spokesperson confirmed that "the check3[.]it domain belonged to the company".

Police are investigating the cause of an out of control car crash in Malaga city that has left one young woman seriously injured in an intensive care unit. Initial investigations point to a brake failure.

The dramatic events unfolded at about 6.45pm on Thursday (4 February) when a Guardia Civil traffic patrol spotted smoke coming from the underside of a BMW. The police signalled the driver to stop but he carried on and ended up crashing into a roundabout on Avenida Jane Bowles.

Breathalyser

The roundabout's kerb catapulted the car into the air and it landed on another vehicle that was stopped on the roundabout, just as a young woman was getting out.

A fire broke out which both the Guardia Civil and some people who were in the area tried to put out.

The 22-year-old woman, who was trapped under one of the cars, suffered serious injuries and was rushed to the intensive care unit of Malaga's Regional Hospital. Two other people were taken to hospital but have already been discharged.

Sources have confirmed to SUR that the driver of the BMW - a 57-year-old Spaniard - tested positive for alcohol in a breathalyser test.

About 30 migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq were caught in Romania in the past 24 hours trying to cross the border illegally into Hungary, hidden in lorries checked at the Nadlac II Border Crossing Point (PTF) or walking in the field.

Migrants were found in six lorries checked at PTF Nadlac II, hidden among cargo, the Arad Border Police reported on Friday.

The lorries were driven by four Turkish citizens, a Bulgarian and a Romanian, who were shipping plastic and textiles to various companies in Germany, Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands.

In all, 27 migrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan, aged between 14 and 30, were found.

Also at Nadlac II, the police found, about 100 metres from the border line, a person walking in the field, a 30 years old woman from Iraq.

In all cases, the migrants would be investigated for attempting to cross the state border illegally.

According to a report released by the Arad Border Police at the request of AGERPRES, the number of people who tried to cross the border illegally through Arad County increased 2.5 times in 2020. As many as 2,011 people were caught, compared with 945 in the previous year, half of whom were found hidden in cargo lorries bound for the EU's Schengen Area.
Press Release

5 February 2021

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced full-year global passenger traffic results for 2020 showing that demand (revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) fell by 65.9% compared to the full year of 2019, by far the sharpest traffic decline in aviation history. Furthermore, forward bookings have been falling sharply since late December.

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International passenger demand in 2020 was 75.6% below 2019 levels. Capacity, (measured in available seat kilometers or ASKs) declined 68.1% and load factor fell 19.2 percentage points to 62.8%.

Domestic demand in 2020 was down 48.8% compared to 2019. Capacity contracted by 35.7% and load factor dropped 17 percentage points to 66.6%.

December 2020 total traffic was 69.7% below the same month in 2019, little improved from the 70.4% contraction in November. Capacity was down 56.7% and load factor fell 24.6 percentage points to 57.5%.

Bookings for future travel made in January 2021 were down 70% compared to a year-ago, putting further pressure on airline cash positions and potentially impacting the timing of the expected recovery.

IATA's baseline forecast for 2021 is for a 50.4% improvement on 2020 demand that would bring the industry to 50.6% of 2019 levels. While this view remains unchanged, there is a severe downside risk if more severe travel restrictions in response to new variants persist. Should such a scenario materialize, demand improvement could be limited to just 13% over 2020 levels, leaving the industry at 38% of 2019 levels.

"Last year was a catastrophe. There is no other way to describe it. What recovery there was over the Northern hemisphere summer season stalled in autumn and the situation turned dramatically worse over the year-end holiday season, as more severe travel restrictions were imposed in the face of new outbreaks and new strains of COVID-19." said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO.

2020 calendar year world share1 rpk ask PLF (%-PT)2 PLF (LEVEL)3 Total Market 100.0% -65.9% -56.5% -17.8% 64.80% Africa 1.9% -68.8% -61.0% -14.4% 57.4% Asia Pacific 38.6% -61.9% -53.9% -14.3% 67.5% Europe 23.6% -69.9% -62.1% -17.4% 67.8% Latin America 5.7% -62.1% -58.3% -7.7% 74.9% Middle East 7.4% -72.2% -63.3% -18.5% 57.6% North America 22.7% -65.2% -50.2% -25.6% 59.2%

International Passenger Markets

Asia-Pacific airlines' full-year traffic plunged 80.3% in 2020 compared to 2019, which was the deepest decline for any region. It fell 94.7% in the month of December amid stricter lockdowns, little changed from a 95% decline in November. Full year capacity was down 74.1% compared to 2019. Load factor fell 19.5 percentage points to 61.4%.

full-year traffic plunged 80.3% in 2020 compared to 2019, which was the deepest decline for any region. It fell 94.7% in the month of December amid stricter lockdowns, little changed from a 95% decline in November. Full year capacity was down 74.1% compared to 2019. Load factor fell 19.5 percentage points to 61.4%.

European carriers saw a 73.7% traffic decline in 2020 versus 2019. Capacity fell 66.3% and load factor decreased 18.8 percentage points to 66.8%. For the month of December, traffic slid 82.3% compared to December 2019, an upturn over the 87% year-to-year decline in November reflecting pre-holiday momentum that was reversed toward the end of the month.

saw a 73.7% traffic decline in 2020 versus 2019. Capacity fell 66.3% and load factor decreased 18.8 percentage points to 66.8%. For the month of December, traffic slid 82.3% compared to December 2019, an upturn over the 87% year-to-year decline in November reflecting pre-holiday momentum that was reversed toward the end of the month. Middle Eastern airlines' annual passenger demand in 2020 was 72.9% below 2019. Annual capacity fell 63.9% and load factor plummeted 18.9 percentage points to 57.3%. December's traffic was down 82.6% compared to December 2019, improved from an 86.1% drop in November.

annual passenger demand in 2020 was 72.9% below 2019. Annual capacity fell 63.9% and load factor plummeted 18.9 percentage points to 57.3%. December's traffic was down 82.6% compared to December 2019, improved from an 86.1% drop in November. North American airlines' full year traffic fell 75.4% compared to 2019. Capacity dropped 65.5%, and load factor sank 23.9 percentage points to 60.1%. December demand was down 79.6% compared to the same month a year-ago, a pick-up over an 82.8% drop in November reflecting a holiday surge.

full year traffic fell 75.4% compared to 2019. Capacity dropped 65.5%, and load factor sank 23.9 percentage points to 60.1%. December demand was down 79.6% compared to the same month a year-ago, a pick-up over an 82.8% drop in November reflecting a holiday surge. Latin American airlines had a 71.8% full year traffic decline compared to 2019, making it the best performing region after Africa. Capacity fell 67.7% and load factor dropped 10.4 percentage points to 72.4%, by far the highest among regions. Traffic fell 76.2% for the month of December compared to December 2019, somewhat improved from a 78.7% decline in November.

had a 71.8% full year traffic decline compared to 2019, making it the best performing region after Africa. Capacity fell 67.7% and load factor dropped 10.4 percentage points to 72.4%, by far the highest among regions. Traffic fell 76.2% for the month of December compared to December 2019, somewhat improved from a 78.7% decline in November. African airlines' traffic fell 69.8% last year compared to 2019, which was the best performance among regions. Capacity dropped 61.5%, and load factor sank 15.4 percentage points to 55.9%, lowest among regions. Demand for the month of December was 68.8% below the year-ago period, well ahead of a 75.8% decline in November. Carriers in the region have benefitted from somewhat less severe international travel restrictions compared to the rest of the world.

Domestic Passenger Markets

2020 calendar year (%year-on-year) world share1 rpk ask PLF (%-PT)2 PLF (LEVEL)3 Domestic 54.3% -48.8% -35.7% -17.0% 66.6% Dom. Australia 0.7% -69.5% -62.8% -14.7% 66.1% Dom. Brazil 1.6% -49.0% -47.4% -2.4% 80.3% Dom. China P.R. 19.9% -30.8% -19.7% -11.7% 72.9% Dom India 2.1% -55.6% -48.0% -12.8% 74.6% Dom. Japan 1.4% -53.6% -32.7% -22.9% 50.9% Dom. Russian Fed. 3.4% -23.5% -12.6% -10.3% 72.9% Dom. US 16.6% -59.6% -41.4% -26.4% 58.8%

China's domestic passenger traffic fell 30.8% in 2020 compared to 2019. It was down 7.6% for the month of December versus December a year-ago period, which was a deterioration compared to a 6.3% decline in November amid new outbreaks and resulting restrictions.

Russia's domestic traffic fell 23.5% for the full year, but 12% for the month of December, much improved over a 23% decline in November. Full year results were supported by booming domestic tourism over the summer and falling fares.

The Bottom Line

"Optimism that the arrival and initial distribution of vaccines would lead to a prompt and orderly restoration in global air travel have been dashed in the face of new outbreaks and new mutations of the disease. The world is more locked down today than at virtually any point in the past 12 months and passengers face a bewildering array of rapidly changing and globally uncoordinated travel restrictions. We urge governments to work with industry to develop the standards for vaccination, testing, and validation that will enable governments to have confidence that borders can reopen and international air travel can resume once the virus threat has been neutralized. The IATA Travel Pass will help this process, by providing passengers with an App to easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. In the meantime, the airline industry will require continued financial support from governments in order to remain viable," said de Juniac.
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PHOENIX  All five Democratic members of Arizonas U.S. House delegation want Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to explain how his use of nearly $400 million in federal coronavirus relief funds met Congress intent that the money be used only for pandemic relief.

Ducey used more than 20% of the $1.86 billion the state received in federal CARES Act relief to backfill agency budgets, allowing them to return cash to the general fund.

The strategy contributed to a major state budget surplus that the governor now wants to use to cut income taxes by $600 million a year. He also plans to use $134 million in remaining federal cash to boost the state unemployment insurance fund, allowing businesses to avoid a small increase in the rate they pay to the program.

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A letter sent by Reps. Raul Grijalva, Ruben Gallego, Ann Kirkpatrick, Tom OHalleran and Greg Stanton questions whether funding agency budgets met congressional intent to provide relief to businesses, schools, renters and others when it passed the massive CARES Act last spring.

The letter recognizes that Ducey gave some of the money to local governments and spent some to support COVID-19 testing, rental assistance, schools and other virus-related needs. But it says, these programs clearly require additional support to meet Arizonans enormous need during this crisis, and it questioned his use of the $397 million when those needs remain.

The letter notes that the governors office didnt publicly disclose its use of the money, even as it has consistently touted expenditures that help the public.

Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin said Friday that the money was all used for COVID-related expenses as required by Congress.

Others have joined the House Democrats in questioning how the governor has been using the money.

Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the Tax Foundations Center for State Tax Policy, told the Arizona Capitol Times when it first reported Duceys diversions in November that Congress required states to uses CARES Act money to replace revenue lost due to the pandemic. Ducey was being particularly aggressive in how he interpreted the rules on its use, he said.

Most states have avoided what might be interpreted as directly disregarding the guidance, but many have been flexible in the interpretation of that guidance in hopes that ultimately the Treasury will be similarly flexible in the accountability standards, Walczak said. Nonetheless, whats being proposed in Arizona is a very aggressive interpretation.

Wednesdays letter from the members of Congress mentioned the possibility that the Treasury Department could force Duceys administration to repay misspent cash.

It asked whether Duceys office has talked with Treasurys inspector general to ensure the governor was correctly using the money and to prevent the severe harm that would come to the state if such money were to be recouped?
Ningo-Prampram Member of Parliament (NDC MP), Samuel Nartey George, is demanding that compensation is paid to victims of the violence that characterised the January 31, 2019, Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.



In a statement on the floor of Parliament, in Accra, on Tuesday, the MP said two years on, the eight victims recommended by the Emil Short Commission to be compensated have still not been attended to.



The victims are Theophilus Sedofu, Seidu Zaneh, James Moore, Mohammed Alhassan, Mr Ishawu Yaro, Mrs Justine and two other unnamed persons.



The violence, perpetrated by mask-wearing national security operatives led to the formation of the Commission, which recommended among other things, that compensations were paid to the victims of the assault and violence.



It is heartbreaking, Mr Speaker, for me to stand in the peoples chamber two years on and recount how none of these individuals have received any compensation or support from the State. I am heartbroken as I myself was a victim of the recklessness that characterised the action of state operatives on the day, Mr Nartey George stressed.



Expressing his disappointment in government for not implementing the recommendations of the Commission, he said our constituents deserve better. The citizens of the Republic demand action.



Mr Nartey George said we owe it as the representatives of the people and the true bastion of democracy to hold agents of state security to account for their infractions of law. We cannot fail. We must demand that justice is served the eight citizens whom government has pledged to compensate.



He said the tenets of democracy must be protected, and the rule of law, accountability and the protection of the human rights of citizens are essential in this democratic dispensation and nothing or no one must be allowed to jeopardise this.



Mr Nartey George said We represent the last ray of hope for these citizens who have elected us here.



He asked the Speaker of Parliament to use his offices to direct all relevant state institutions responsible for the payment of compensations to the affected citizens to act expeditiously on the matter.



The Chief Whip of the Majority Group and NPP MP for Nsawam-Adogyiri, Mr Frank Annoh-Dompreh, said limiting the statement to the Ayawaso West Wuogon incident was selective and intended to achieve political means.



No government, Mr Annoh-Dompreh said, has mustered the courage to investigate what led to violence in previous by-elections, but the Akufo-Addo led administration was able to so.



To him, constituting a Commission of Inquiry to probe circumstances surrounding the violence alone showed a commitment of government to the welfare of the victims.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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Is equity only financial? Thats a great question. ... The E (in equity) is for economic, money, resource (and) loans. ... The Q is for qualitative and quantitative. U for uniformity to mean justice, that whatever the law is it needs to be applied across the board. ...I meaning inclusive in that it must be inclusive of diverse voices. ... T would be for transparency, it must be something out in the open, as well as you want your equity initiative to be transformative. ... Y could be youth. I like to use the word youth, but it must be forward thinking like youth or sustainable. It needs to be generational. When you talk about equity, thats how we define it, and how we talk through it.

Wacky Camp Days is part of our Paradise with a Purpose campaign to give back to the communities we serve, said Pet Paradise President and CEO Fernando Acosta-Rua. During Wacky Camp Days, you can help pets in need while giving your beloved pet a fun day out.

Pet Paradise, a Florida-based comprehensive pet care provider offering boarding, day camp, veterinary and grooming services, is now offering Wacky Camp Days, a program to benefit local nonprofit groups.

Wacky Camp Days is part of our Paradise with a Purpose campaign to give back to the communities we serve, said Pet Paradise President and CEO Fernando Acosta-Rua. During Wacky Camp Days, you can help pets in need while giving your beloved pet a fun day out.

Pet Paradise offers Wacky Camp Days twice a year. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, camp is reduced to $25 per day. On Wednesdays, pets can pose for themed pictures for a donation of $5 with all funds going to charity. Pet Paradise will also donate $1 from each day of camp attended to organizations in need.

The following charities will benefit from Pet Paradises Wacky Camp Days by region:



Arizona

Pet Paradise Phoenix is giving to Saving Orphan Souls Rescue (https://www.savingorphansouls.org/).

Central Florida Area

Pet Paradise Orlando Airport is giving to Bully Up Rescue (https://bullyuprescuecrew.wixsite.com/bullyuprescue).

Pet Paradise Sanford is donating to Greyhound Ranch Adoptions, Inc. (https://greyhoundranch.org/).

Pet Paradise Palm Coast is giving to Hush Puppy Haven (https://hushpuppyhaven.org/).

Pet Paradise Winter Garden is donating to Husky Haven of Florida (https://www.huskyhavenfl.org/).

Pet Paradise Gainesvilles charity of choice is Second Chance Rescue and Rehoming Inc., (https://secondchancerescueandrehoming.org/).

Central Texas

Pet Paradise Georgetown is donating to Austin Pets Alive! (https://www.austinpetsalive.org/).

Central Virginia

Pet Paradise Charlottesvilles charity of choice is Fluvana County SPCA (https://fspca.org/).

Eastern North Carolina

Pet Paradise Wilmington has selected Adopt an Angel (https://www.adoptanangel.net/).

Georgia

Pet Paradise Atlanta Airport is giving to Lifeline at Fulton County Animal Services (https://www.fultonanimalservices.com/).

Pet Paradise Woodstocks charity of choice is Refuge Rescue (https://refugerescue.org/).

Pet Paradise Peachtree City is donating to Royal Animal Refuge (https://royalanimalrefuge.org/).

Louisiana

Pet Paradise New Orleans is giving to Cane Haven Rescue (https://www.canehavenrescue.com/).

New Mexico

Pet Paradise Rio Rancho is donating to Argos (https://argosdogrescue.org/).

North Texas

Pet Paradise Las Colinas charity of choice is Dallas Dogs RRR (https://www.dallasdogrrr.org/).

Pet Paradise Plano Premier and Pet Paradise Plano Custer are giving to Don't Forget to Feed Me (https://dontforgettofeedme.org/).

Northeast Florida

Pet Paradise St. Johns at World Golf Village has selected Another Chance Ranch (https://anotherchanceranch.org/).

Pet Paradise Jacksonville Airport is donating to Canine Companions for Independence (https://www.cci.org/).

Pet Paradise University is giving to Fur Sisters Furever Urs Rescue, Inc. (https://www.fursisters.org/).

Pet Paradise Bartram is donating to Florida Urgent Rescue, Inc. (https://www.floridaurgentrescue.com/).

Pet Paradise St. Augustine has selected K9s for Warriors (https://www.k9sforwarriors.org/).

Pet Paradise Oakleaf has chosen Safe Animal Shelter (https://safeanimalshelter.com/).

Northwest Florida

Pet Paradise Tallahassee is donating to Big Dog Rescue (http://www.bigdogrescue.com/).

South Carolina

Pet Paradise Greenville is giving to Blue Ridge Boxer Rescue, Inc (https://blueridgeboxerrescue.com/).

Southeast Florida

Pet Paradise Palm Beach has selected Animal Rescue Force (https://www.animalrescueforce.org/).

Pet Paradise Ft. Lauderdale is donating to Flamingo Gardens (https://www.flamingogardens.org/).

Pet Paradise Coconut Creek has chosen Sandy Paws Rescue (http://www.sandypawsmv.com/).

Southwest Florida

Pet Paradise Naples has selected Brooke's Legacy Animal Rescue (https://www.brookeslegacyanimalrescue.org/).

Pet Paradise Ormond Beach is giving to Daytona Beach German Shepherd Rescue (http://dbgsdrescue.org/).

Pet Paradise Ft. Myers is donating to Gulf Coast Humane Society (https://www.gulfcoasthumanesociety.org/).

Pet Paradise Wesley Chapel has chosen Maxx and Me (https://www.maxxandme.org/).

Pet Paradise Lakewood Ranch is giving to Plenty of Pitbulls (http://popb.org/).

Southeast Texas

Pet Paradise Houston Hobby is donating to Great Dane Rescue of Southeast Texas (https://saveadane.org/).

Pet Paradise Houston IAH South is giving to Hot Mess Pooches Rescue and Sanctuary (https://www.facebook.com/HotMessPooches/).

Pet Paradise Houston IAH North - Humble has chosen Houston K-911 Rescue (https://houstonk911rescue.org/).

Western North Carolina

Pet Paradise Mooresville and Pet Paradise Lake Norman are donating to Carolina Big Hearts Big Barks Rescue (https://www.bigheartsbigbarks.com/).

Pet Paradise Charlotte Airport is giving to Charlotte Black Dogs (https://www.charlotteblackdogs.com/).

Pet Paradise Matthews charity of choice is Humane Society of York County (https://humanesocietyofyorkcounty.org/).

Pet Paradise Ballantyne is giving to Lucky Labs Rescue (https://www.luckylabsrescue.com/).

The staff of each Pet Paradise will select the charity they would like to receive donations from Wacky Camp Days in their communities, said Acosta-Rua. This allows our dedicated team members to give back to the nonprofit organization they believe most needs help in these difficult times.

Pet Paradise has raised $247,000 for more than 100 nonprofit organizations nationally since starting this philanthropy program in 2009.

Wacky Camp Days run through Feb. 26, 2021 at the more than 40 Pet Paradise locations nationwide.

To make a reservation for Wacky Camp Days, visit https://go.petparadise.com/wacky-camp-days/.

For more information about Pet Paradises Paradise with a Purpose program, visit https://www.petparadise.com/giving-back.htm.

Editors Note: B-roll and photos of Wacky Camp Days available at https://yourpointtaken.com/pet-paradise-wacky-camp-days/

# # #

About Pet Paradise

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Pet Paradise's full-service pet care destination is dedicated to delivering all the care your dog or cat needs at every age and stage, so you can help them live their longest, happiest, healthiest life. Located in nine states with more than 50 locations in operation or under development, Pet Paradise continues to expand in the United States. For more information about Pet Paradise visit petparadise.com or visit our social media sites: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
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The Defense Department will send more than 1,000 active-duty military personnel to support mass coronavirus vaccination sites in states across the country, the White House COVID-19 response team announced on Friday.

Why it matters: The Pentagon approved a request from FEMA to provide military assistance for five vaccination centers as part of an effort to meet President Biden's goal of vaccinating 100 million people (with at least one dose) within his first 100 days in office.

Between the lines: FEMA's full request was for 10,000 troops to be deployed to 100 mass vaccination sites. It's unclear if or when this will happen.

Details: The first contingent of troops will arrive in California "within the next ten days to begin operations there around Feb. 15, with additional vaccination missions soon to follow," White House coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt announced at a press briefing.

The military will eventually seek to administer as many as 450,000 vaccines a day, according to CNN.

The DOD will provide a press briefing Friday afternoon with more details.

The big picture: Slavitt also announced that "six more companies will surge manufacturing of at-home test kits, with the goal of  by summer  having millions of Americans being able to access at-home tests."

The bottom line: The Biden administration is engaging in a "whole-of-government" campaign to curb the coronavirus pandemic and get the country on the path to normalcy.
2021-02-05

Maeci

Italy welcomes the outcome of the vote with which today, in Geneva, the 75 delegates of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) appointed the President, the two Vice Presidents of the Presidential Council and the Prime Minister. We congratulate the candidates elected at the end of a process led by the Libyans, for the Libyans.

The designation of unitary an inclusive transitional executive authoritiy is an important step on the path of stabilization and institutional consolidation of Libya, in view of the elections scheduled for 24 December 2021.

We invite all Libyan and international actors to continue to work, under the aegis of the United Nations and in the primary interest of the Libyan people, to preserve the unity and sovereignty of Libya and promote the countrys prosperity. We trust that the progress achieved in the LPDF can contribute to the advancement of cooperation between all Libyan stakeholders in the interconnected sectors of security, economy and respect for international humanitarian law in the framework of the Berlin Process, also in the perspective of national reconciliation.

With the establishment of a Presidential Council and, in the perspective of a Government of National Unity, for which we call for full inclusiveness, a new political phase begins, which is also crucial for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement of 23 October 2020 and the withdrawal from the country of all foreign fighters and mercenaries.

In this crucial step for the future of Libya, Italy remains alongside the Libyan people.

In reiterating its support for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Italy thanks the interim Special Representative for Libya of the UN Secretary General, Stephanie Williams, and confirms its full availability to collaborate with her successor, Jan Kubis.
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SANTA FE, N.M.  New Mexicos top insurance regulator is putting medical providers on notice that people cannot be charged for coronavirus testing after reports that residents have been required to pay for rapid-result tests.

Insurance Superintendent Russell Toal said Wednesday that his office is preparing an administrative bulletin to ensure testing costs are not passed directly on to consumers, as state health officials push for robust testing to track infection rates and new strains of COVID-19.

Toal said the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance has received reports and complaints of people being charged in excess of $100 for testing services that should be free. The extent of the improper billing is unclear.

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Weve got some providers out there that are charging individuals for so-called rapid tests, Toal said. The new guidance from the federal government makes it really clear that those federal tests are to be covered without a charge to the patient.

The Biden administration in February issued guidance on 2020 emergency pandemic legislation that restricts cost-sharing with patients for coronavirus testing under a broad range of circumstances.

New Mexico officials this week described steep declines in new confirmed infections, hospitalizations and deaths because of the virus. Still, state Human Services Secretary David Scrase said they are monitoring variants and stressed the importance of testing as a way to keep tracking the virus.

The seven-day rolling average for tests administered is hovering around 11,800  well above a benchmark of 5,000 per day set by the state for re-opening the economy.

New Mexico health officials say more vaccine doses are needed from suppliers if New Mexico wants to meet a new mandate for applying at least one shot to all teachers by the end of March.

Many New Mexico school districts have opted not to dramatically increase in-person learning despite approval from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Some have opened on a limited basis, allowing students to attend in-person based on the availability of teachers who volunteer.

Albuquerque Public Schools is among those that have faced pressure to reopen under a hybrid plan. Lawyers recently leveled accusations of civil rights violations by the district on behalf of thousands of students who cannot return to in-person learning.

The district on Wednesday announced a deal with the Public Education Department to resume school athletics as soon as March 22. The school board also voted to allow students who want to return to do so two days a week as long as Bernalillo County meets the states benchmarks for positivity rates and per-capita cases.

Even when we are in hybrid, I remind everyone that remote, digital instruction remains the primary mode of instruction for students both in the building and at home. Well have part of the student body at home, so the remote instruction does still occur, said APS Superintendent Scott Elder.

Education Secretary Ryan Stewart said in a statement that the department is open to innovative options and that the Albuquerque districts plan marks a first step toward getting all students back for in-person learning.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) - Spearmint Resources Inc. (CSE: SPMT) (OTC Pink: SPMTF) (FSE: A2AHL5) (the "Company) is very pleased to announce that the results from the final 5 holes drilled on this phase of drilling on its Clayton Valley, Nevada lithium clay project encountered lithium in every hole. The first 5 holes also intersected lithium in each hole, therefore this phase of drilling discovered lithium in 10 out of 10 holes, achieving a 100 percent success rate. This phase of drilling will enable Spearmint to now commence the necessary steps towards a potential resource calculation. The Company has just engaged a metallurgist to assist in this phase. The drilling resulted in (see map): Hole #11 hitting a high of 1490 parts per million lithium (ppm Li) within 235 feet averaging 817 ppm Li, including 110 feet averaging 1020 ppm Li starting at 20 feet from surface. Hole #12 hit a high of 1370 ppm Li within 105 feet averaging 1042 ppm Li, starting at 10 feet from surface. Hole #10 had a high of 1360 ppm Li. Hole #13 hit a high of 1320 ppm Li within 200 feet averaging 845 ppm Li, including 70 feet averaging 1026 ppm Li starting at 5 feet from surface. Hole #14 hit a high of 1730 ppm Li within 225 feet averaging 900 ppm Li, including 55 feet averaging 1046 ppm Li starting at 15 feet from surface.

James Nelson, President of Spearmint Resources stated, "This is game changing news for Spearmint. Having achieved drilling success in every hole on this drill program legitimizes the quality and prospectivity of this lithium project. Not only did we have strong, consistent results, the drilling showed that the lithium is very near the surface which would be optimal versus deeper projects. We are immediately starting the process to begin a potential resource calculation now that we have sufficient successful drilling completed. Clayton Valley Nevada is the premier lithium address in the USA hosting the only producing lithium deposit and where a significant global focus has been this year. Lithium prices are rising on the insatiable demand in batteries for Electric Vehicles and we see no sign of that hyper growth abating this decade, therefore causing a massive demand for ethically sourced, domestic lithium production. Spearmint is right now in the best financial shape in the company's history with zero need or expectation to raise any money in the foreseeable future. We are firing on all cylinders right now at a time when demand for lithium is approaching all-time highs. We could not be more excited about the short and long-term future of Spearmint."





Clayton Valley Ownership Map

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4360/73722_ac68e518f4656b67_002full.jpg

Mr. Greg Thomson, P.Geo., a director of Spearmint and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained within this news release. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Spearmint may not necessarily be indicative to the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties.

About Spearmint Resources

Spearmint's current projects include the 'Goose' Gold project directly bordering New Found Gold Corp. where Spearmint has sampled up to 973 ppb gold, as well as the 'Clayton Valley Lithium Prospects' in Nevada comprised of two claim blocks totaling 1,160 acres bordering Pure Energy Minerals & Cypress Development Corp. where Spearmint's drill results have intersected Lithium values as high as 1,840 ppm Li; the 'Escape Lake North' PGM Project in Ontario consisting of ~4,000 contiguous acres directly bordering Clean Air Metals Inc.; the Case Lake South Cesium Project in Ontario consisting of ~7,300 acres directly bordering Power Metals Corp.'s Case Lake Cesium Property; the River Valley East Platinum-Palladium Prospect in Ontario consisting of approximately 4,700 contiguous acres directly bordering New Age Metals flagship River Valley Platinum Group Metals (PGM) project; the Carscallen West Gold Project in Ontario consisting of a ~2500 contiguous acres in the direct vicinity to Melkior Resources Inc.; the Perron-East Gold Prospects consisting of 5 mineral claim blocks covering 11,608 acres located in the Abitibi greenstone belt of northwestern Quebec in the direct vicinity of Amex Exploration Inc.'s Perron property and past-producing Normetal mine; and the 'Chibougamau Vanadium Prospect' comprising of 15,493 contiguous acres directly bordering the vanadium deposit of BlackRock Metal's (private) Ilmenite vanadium project.

Spearmint's current projects also include a portfolio of prospects in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia; the 'Golden Triangle Gold Prospects' comprising of five separate claims blocks totaling 8,265 acres bordering GT Gold Corp, the 2,397 acre 'NEBA' Gold-Copper Prospects bordering Aben Resources Ltd, and the 'EL North' Nickel-Copper Prospect is a contiguous land package of 1,053 acres in the Eskay Creek Camp bordering Garibaldi Resources Corp, as well as the recent acquisition of the 4,980 acre 'Prickle' property bordering Brixton Metals Corp.

Spearmint's other projects in British Columbia include the 'Safari' Copper-Gold Prospect consisting of 9,007 contiguous acres located in the northern Quesnel Trough in North-Central BC, and the 'Hammernose' Gold Prospect consisting of 8,685 acres directly bordering Westhaven Gold Corp.'s Shovelnose Property in the Spences Bridge Gold Belt located in Southern British Columbia, Canada. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on properties in proximity to Spearmint may not necessarily be indicative to the presence of mineralization on the Company's properties.

If you would like to be added to Spearmint's news distribution list, please send your email address to info@spearmintresources.ca

Contact Information

Tel: 1604646-6903

www.spearmintresources.ca

"James Nelson"

President

Spearmint Resources Inc.

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73722


A top doctor at the hospital in Omsk where opposition politician Aleksei Navalny was treated immediately after his poisoning last summer has died, the hospital and regional Health Ministry said on February 4.



Sergei Maksimishin, who was the deputy chief physician for anesthesiology and resuscitation at Omsk emergency hospital No. 1, died in his ward from a heart attack, the press service of the regional Health Ministry told Open Media. He was 55.



Navalny was treated in the same intensive care unit after he was poisoned in August.



The hospital said Maksimishin suddenly passed away, according to a statement quoted by CNN. It did not provide the cause of death but there was no immediate indication of foul play.



Navalny, 44, was initially admitted to the acute poisoning unit of Omsk emergency hospital No. 1 on August 20 after he became ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow.



Navalny was put into a medically induced coma and evacuated to Germany, where he spent five months recovering from the poisoning. Tests in Europe determined that the toxin was from the Novichok family of Soviet-era nerve agents.



Maksimishin did not give any press briefings at the time of Navalny's hospitalization.



Initially, doctors publicly admitted that the cause of Navalnys illness was a poisoning, but then denied that it was.



The former chief physician of the Omsk hospital, Aleksandr Murakhovsky, was responsible for communicating with the press while Navalny was a patient there and told reporters that the reason for Navalny's grave condition was "metabolic disorders."



In November, Murakhovsky was appointed head of the Ministry of Health in the Omsk region.

Murakhovsky said in a statement that Maksimishin worked at the hospital for 28 years and saved thousands of lives.



"He brought people back to full reality. We will miss Dr. Maksimishin very much. He left too early and because of this the pain of loss is especially bitter," Murakhovsky said in the statement, which was quoted by CNN.



After returning to Russia last month, Navalny was detained and this week sentenced to nearly three years in prison for violating the terms of his probation on a previous sentence.



His jailing has sparked international condemnation, including from the European Union and the United States.

With reporting by RFE/RLs Russian Service and CNN
The Hague, Feb 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Feb, 2021 ) :The International Criminal Court has convicted a child soldier-turned-Lord's Resistance Army commander of war crimes and crimes against humanity during a reign of terror in Uganda.

Dominic Ongwen, 45, was found guilty Thursday of 61 charges including multiple murders, rape and sexual enslavement by the rebel group, plus the first ever conviction by the Hague-based court for the crime of forced pregnancy.

Judges dismissed defence claims that Ongwen -- who was abducted by the group as a nine-year-old boy -- was himself a victim of the notorious LRA, led by the fugitive Joseph Kony.

Ongwen personally ordered attacks on refugee camps in northern Uganda in the early 2000s by the LRA, which waged a bloody campaign to set up a state based on the Bible's Ten Commandments, the judges said.

"His guilt has been established beyond any reasonable doubt," presiding judge Bertram Schmitt said.

"The chamber is aware that he suffered much. However this case is about crimes committed by Dominic Ongwen as a responsible adult and a commander of the Lord's Resistance Army." Ongwen, nicknamed "White Ant", will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the conviction of Ongwen despite his own history as a child soldier showed that "perpetrators of atrocities must be and will be held accountable." "We charged him for the horrible crimes he committed as an adult and today he was convicted for those crimes," Bensouda said.

Victims and rights groups hailed the verdict as "historic" as it the first conviction to date at the ICC of any leader of the LRA.

- 'Shot, burned and beaten' - The LRA was founded three decades ago by former Catholic altar boy and self-styled prophet Kony, who launched a bloody rebellion in northern Uganda against President Yoweri Museveni.

The United Nations says the LRA killed more than 100,000 people and abducted 60,000 children in a campaign of violence that spread to Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Judges said Ongwen -- whose nom de guerre means "born at the time of the white ant" -- rose to become a senior commander and ordered his soldiers to carry out massacres of civilians at the Lukodi, Pajule, Odek, and Abok refugee camps between 2002 and 2005.

Children and mothers with babies tied to their backs were among those killed, said judge Schmitt, who read out the Names of the victims.

"Civilians were shot, burned and beaten to death. Children were thrown into burning houses, some were put in a polythene bag and beaten to death," Schmitt said.

Ongwen, as commander of Kony's infamous Sinia brigade, was responsible for the abduction of girls to serve as domestic workers and sex slaves, and boys to serve as soldiers, judges said.

Seven of these women were forced to be Ongwen's "so-called wives" and two gave birth to children, leading to the historic conviction for forced pregnancy.

Soldiers under Ongwen's command forced some mothers abducted by the group to abandon their crying babies in the bush so they could carry supplies. One two-month-old was dumped in a rubbish pit.

- 'He deserves death' - At the opening of the trial, prosecutors played gruesome videos of the scene after an LRA attack on Lukodi refugee camp, showing disemboweled children and the charred bodies of babies in shallow graves.

Kony promoted Ongwen to colonel at about the time of the attack, the judge said.

Ongwen surrendered to US special forces who were hunting Kony in the Central African Republic in early 2015 and was transferred to the ICC to face trial.

The US State Department hailed the verdict as a "significant step for justice and accountability" and said it was still offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Kony.

Survivors, victims and former rebel fighters from Lukodi sat under mango trees to listen to the verdict on a small radio provided by a local leader, and burst into cheers when it was announced.

"Good," shouted Angelina Okiror, 38, a resident of Lukodi, when the verdict was read out.

"At last justice has been delivered," added Ann Maria Angwech, 43. "Because Ongwen killed, he deserves death, because with his hand he took away innocent lives and left we the survivors destitute."Residents told AFP the horrors of the attack still lingered fresh in their memories.

"A total of 15 of my family members were killed during the attack and very many people were injured," said farmer Muhammed Olanya, 38.
In case you were wondering, this is what happens when systemic meets racism.

Opinion

In case you were wondering, this is what happens when "systemic" meets "racism."

The Free Press recently revealed the findings of an independent investigation into an October 2020 incident, involving four Winnipeg firefighters who refused to assist a paramedic in providing medical attention to an Indigenous woman who had stabbed herself in the neck.

The review determined the firefighters demonstrated "an implicit racial bias" towards the patient, and "racial animus" towards the paramedic in question, who is a person of colour and had lodged previous complaints about racism within the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

Incidents such as this resonate deeply with Indigenous people and, in fact, all people of colour. They are also the source of outrage because, as is often the case, the people who claim to be the enemies of systemic racism tend to spend more time making excuses for the incidents than punishing them.

Initially, that seemed to be exactly what WFPS Chief John Lane and Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman had in mind on this file.

In memos written by Lane before the investigators report was leaked to the Free Press, and after, at a Wednesday news conference, the WFPS chief and the mayor were prepared to explain away what had happened, with no real consequences.

That changed suddenly Thursday night, as the Free Press learned the firefighters involved, who had been allowed to continue working since the incident last October, had been removed from active duty.

That certainly wasnt the way things appeared to be heading.

After receiving the final report, Lane sent a memo Jan. 27 to WFPS members, confirming "implicit bias" was involved, but indicating it was more likely the firefighters would be subject to education rather than disciplinary action.

On other issues of possible misconduct, Lane refused to discuss what, if anything, he was prepared to do.

The fire chief also seemed to be much more concerned with the fact the report had been leaked than the behaviour of his firefighters. After the Free Press published details of the review, Lane sent another memo to all WFPS staff, expressing concern the "confidentiality" of the review process had been compromised.

It was a deliberate effort to steer attention away from the allegations of racism.

It continued Wednesday at a news conference, when Lane leaned into one of the most tried and true institutional rationalizations for racism: the one bad apple argument. The firefighters involved in this incident do not represent the "values and principles" of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, the chief asserted.

With respect, Lane is in no position to make that claim.

His insistence incidents such as this are normally "confidential" means there is no way to know how many similar events have occurred. Lane essentially admitted, even if there were other incidents, he would not tell anyone about them as a matter of policy.

Throughout this whole ugly episode, Bowman has appeared positively pedestrian.

As is his style, he looked and sounded concerned about what had happened. At the news conference, he acknowledged "racism exists in a systemic way" in every level of government, and the reports findings "are disturbing and they should offend everyone."

Yet, in a moment when the mayor needed to demonstrate some leadership, he was oddly quiet.

It should also be mentioned the same week Lane received the internal review, the mayor announced there would be mandatory anti-racism training for city councillors and senior bureaucrats. "We have to combat racism in all its forms," he said.

It is more than a little odd and disturbing Bowman could pledge himself to fighting racism "in all its forms"  with the knowledge the WFPS was in the process of excusing an incident of "implicit racial bias."

Systemic racism is, by definition, built on a foundation of implicit, sometimes unconscious but almost always deeply ingrained, attitudes and behaviours. Systemic racism is allowed to grow in institutions because implied or unconscious acts of racism are tolerated and excused as less serious forms of racism.

Initially, at least, Lane used the reviews finding of "implicit bias" as a trump card to absolve his firefighters of responsibility and give them a pass on punishment.

Its quite likely the removal from duty had nothing to do with the implicit racial bias, and more to do with some other form of misconduct. Refusing orders from the paramedic, the senior medical professional at the scene, and then refusing to provide care to a patient are grounds for severe discipline.

However, Lane and Bowman must understand the reasons why the firefighters refused to provide care to an Indigenous woman are rooted in the implicit bias.

You simply cannot separate this into two different categories of transgression.

Neither Lane nor Bowman is a true enemy of systemic racism. Rather, they are living, breathing examples of how it is allowed to thrive.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
A Chinese Zodiac culture exhibition was held both online and offline on Thursday as part of events celebrating the Chinese Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 12.

Local visitors can enjoy the exhibition hosted by the China Cultural Center in Malta on its website, or go to Pjazza Teatru Rjal, an open-air theater in Valletta, by following anti-virus restrictions.

The exhibition, featuring an array of colorful designs and installations, mainly focuses on the legends, myths and symbolism associated with the zodiac animal of the year 2021, the Ox.

Integrating online and offline forms, the exhibition becomes a highlight of the program celebrating "Happy Chinese New Year" in Malta in 2021, said Yang Xiaolong, director of the China Cultural Center in Malta.

At the site of the offline exhibition, visitors could learn basic knowledge about the unique Chinese Zodiac culture from 12 big boards presenting the characteristics of each zodiac.

The outdoor exhibition held in cooperation with Pjazza Teatru Rjal is another example of the deep cultural exchange between China and Malta, Yang told Xinhua.

In the run-up to the Chinese Spring Festival, more cooperation events will be executed between the two cultural organizations. On Feb. 7, Pjazza Teatru Rjal will use its social media to broadcast the 3D magic and acrobatic show "Golden Cudgel." On Feb. 10, it will hold the virtual exhibition of personalized zodiac design.

Furthermore, a customized version of Chinese zodiac stamps for the year of the Ox has been circulated as a result of cooperation between China Cultural Center and Malta Post Office, the first time of such collaboration in Malta.
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There are over 28,000 educators and school staff and we are receiving only about 14,000 doses of vaccine in the county each week for those remaining to be vaccinated in (phase) 1a and all 270,000 individuals eligible in 1b.
KALAMAZOO, MI  As questions swirl in Kalamazoo about City Manager Jim Ritsemas job performance amid harsh public criticism, city commissioners met behind closed doors with their attorney this week.

What exactly was discussed in the closed-door meeting is unclear. But a decision made just after the commissions closed session  without any public discussion among commissioners  suggests commissioners are grappling with questions about Ritsemas job performance and calls for him to be held accountable for withholding information about the former police chief, Karianne Thomas, being fired.

On Monday, Feb. 1, the Kalamazoo City Commission ended a long-held practice of meeting in private, small-group sessions before public meetings, holding its first public Committee of the Whole meeting. But, the same night, board also called a closed session that lasted nearly four hours, and some are questioning why the public was cut out of the discussion.

City officials confirmed with MLive this week Ritsema was not present for the closed session Monday, which is unusual for the city governments head administrator. He attended the public portion of the meeting, held virtually through the Zoom platform.

Related: Kalamazoo City Commission meets in private for hours; votes to create new evaluation tools

During the Monday, Feb. 1, City Commission meeting, Mayor David Anderson told commissioners he wanted to switch the order of two agenda items.

The change postponed until after the closed session a public agenda item proposed by Commissioner Eric Cunningham at a prior meeting  a discussion of accountability tied to an investigation of the city manager and Thomas departure as public safety chief. According to city officials, the closed session was called to discuss a written opinion from City Attorney Clyde Robinson, which the city said is exempt from public disclosure due to attorney-client privilege.

With no objections, Anderson swapped the two agenda items. Then, commissioners voted unanimously to enter closed session. The board reconvened nearly four hours later.

Commissioner Cunningham then made a motion to create new accountability tools for appointed city officials. The motion was passed unanimously, without any discussion during the public portion of the meeting.

The city commission, per the citys charter, appoints a city manager, city clerk, city attorney, city assessor and internal auditor.

Cunninghams motion creates a group made up of himself, Commissioner Jeanne Hess and Mayor Anderson, to come up with a plan for the newly proposed accountability tools.

The mayor acknowledged the nearly four-hour closed session was longer than many other closed sessions. Anderson pointed out there are certain topics boards are allowed to go into closed session to discuss, during a Feb. 3 interview with MLive.

Thats fair, Anderson said, referring to exceptions in the Open Meetings Act that allow for closed sessions. Its there for a reason.

Earlier in the meeting, Cunningham made the motion to go into closed session to discuss a document exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

The document, Anderson said on Wednesday, Feb. 3, was written by City Attorney Clyde Robinson. Anderson said he could not answer questions about what was discussed or even expand on the focus of the document commissioners reviewed.

The city attorneys office did not respond to questions from MLive.

After the lengthy closed session, commissioners reconvened the public meeting. Robinson spoke, saying commissioners asked questions about the legal issues in repairing and rebuilding trust and communication between the city manager, the city commission and the community. Efforts will be made to look for solutions to measure job performance of commission appointees, and other tools to move forward with deliberate intent, Robinson said.

Erin Knott and Patrese Griffin, who both spoke strongly about a need for accountability at prior meetings, did not comment on the issue during the public portion of the meeting, which wrapped up quickly after the closed session, ending before midnight.

The item was placed on the Feb. 1 agenda after discussion at the previous commission meeting on Jan. 19, when commissioners unanimously approved a motion from Cunningham to place it on the next meetings public agenda.

Anderson did not say why there was not substantive discussion of those issues during the public meeting.

Sometimes, we come out of closed sessions and take an action specifically related to that closed session, and sometimes we do not, Anderson said.

Anderson said it was communicated to him that the Feb. 1 public agenda item was in essence, a descriptive placeholder which set the stage then for the opportunity to go into closed session.

Anderson said on Wednesday that he could not answer some questions about what officials talked about during the closed session, because of the Open Meetings Act.

Before the closed meeting was called, Vice Mayor Patrese Griffin said that she wanted it to include commissioners, as well as City Attorney Clyde Robinson and another outside attorney. City Clerk Scott Borling also attended, city officials said.

Officials also talked about possibly calling others into the meeting. The city managers office later confirmed with MLive that City Manager Jim Ritsema did not attend the closed session on Monday.

According to Michigans Open Meetings Act, a government body can go into a closed session for discussion of an attorneys written legal opinion, but the discussion must be be kept to what is allowed under the law, said Jennifer Dukarski, legal counsel with the Michigan Press Association.

They can talk about the document, but they cant talk, for example, about the next steps they might take, Dukarski said. The discussion has to be limited, she said.

They cant just go into a closed session and say, Well, lets just kind of postulate down the road what could new rules look like, Dukarski said. They cant do that. They have to be very limited in what theyre doing. It cant be broad brush.

Elected officials should not be discussing facts outside of that scope of the document being discussed, she said.

Dukarski questioned whether the board either did no due diligence, such as having discussions, before its vote on the accountability tool proposal, or if they had those discussions outside a public meeting.

Because a motion was made after the closed session, and without any public discussion, Dukarski said it indicates there could be an OMA violation  if that issue was discussed in private when it should have been a public discussion. Without knowing exactly what officials talked about, outsiders cannot say for sure if a violation occurred, she said.

Mayor Anderson said Attorney Robinson was there to ensure the discussion did not violate the Open Meetings Act. After commissioners returned from the closed session Monday, Robinson read a statement.

The city commission acted in compliance with the Open Meetings Act and has not reached any decisions, the statement said, in part.

Dukarski went on record in 2020 to criticize the citys small-group meetings, saying they were likely a violation of the Open Meetings Act. The city later discontinued the private meetings, on a trial basis.

Instead of the small group meetings, the city is now holding Committee of the Whole public meetings. The public meetings are held before each regular city commission business meeting. The first public Committee of the Whole meeting was held Monday.

Related: City of Kalamazoo holds first public Committee of the Whole meeting

Despite the new, open meeting, commissioners still spent several hours meeting behind closed doors on Monday because of the closed session.

I think it was ironic that they had the meeting of the whole, which was brought about because they wanted to show they could have these discussions in public and promote transparency, Kalamazoo resident Benjamin Stanley said. Then they went into closed session for nearly four hours.

Once they came back, Mr. Robinson reassured us that they didnt do anything wrong, like a Jedi mind trick, because they hadnt come to any conclusions. But then finished the meeting with seemingly everybody knowing exactly how they felt, and what to say to end the meeting in no time flat.

Nobody in the public really knows what the discussion was about, Stanley said. Looking at the context around the closed session, some are saying it was about the city manager, he said, But whos to say?

A less transparent government can breed a lack of trust among members of the public trying to engage with their elected leaders, he said. Stanley ran for city commission in 2019.

Government is of the people, by the people, for the people, Stanley said. But we dont have enough information to discern for ourselves what is going on.

Other city commissioners and the city managers office did not respond to specific questions from MLive, sent by email, asking why Mondays closed session was held. Mayor Anderson responded to some questions by phone. Other city commissioners could not be reached.

The city managers office said the meeting was allowed under the Open Meetings Act, but declined to answer other questions on the topic.

To share with others the discussion that took place in the closed session is a violation of the Open Meetings Act, Deputy City Manager Jeff Chamberlain said in an email message to MLive.

The city managers office declined to answer other questions, such as how the decision was made to hold a private meeting, as well as a request to list those who attended the meeting.

Local community organizer Tamara Custard, better known as TC, said she believes the closed session was connected to the motion called for in the previous city commission meeting, to address issues of trust and accountability involving Ritsema.

For them to be in that closed session for over 3 1/2 hours, it maybe gives some hope, Custard said, glad that at least city officials are talking about addressing the issue. That shows me that something is possibly coming down the line.

While she is hopeful the discussions will lead to better accountability for city officials, Custard said there also needs to be more transparency from the city government.

I did not like the way they came back to the meeting and did not really address anything, Custard said.

Custard and others called for accountability for the city manager during the Feb. 1 public commission meeting.

Im going to be patient and see where it goes, Custard said.

Read more:

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Bronson hospital starts new COVID-19 vaccination scheduling process
[February 05, 2021] Fountain Park Place Wins Local TOBY Award

Fountain Park Place, a Class A office building in the heart of Old Town Rock Hill, has been recognized as the 2020 Local TOBY? (The Outstanding Building of the Year?) Award winner for properties of less than 100,000 square feet in the greater Charlotte area. The building's property management firm, Collett, announced the win on January 25, 2021. Fountain Park Place is represented by Amani Abdul of Collett's Charlotte office. TOBY Awards are presented annually by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and are considered the most prestigious industry awards for commercial real estate. Winners are chosen in 16 different categories to honor the premier property of a particular type or size. Criteria for selection include the quality of the building, the building's management, environmental standards and impact on the community. Local winners, including Fountain Park Place, will advance to the regional competition. Developed through a partnership between Comporium and the City of Rock Hill, Fountain Park Place's footprint includes a four-story building with 50,072 square feet of office space and a connected municipal parking garage. The project broke ground in May 2013 and welcomed its first tenants in October 2014, quickly becoming one of the area's most desirable locations for leased professional offices. In Octoer of 2015, the Charlotte Business Journal honored the project with a Heavy Hitter Award as one of the area's top office projects. Suites have access to Gigabit broadband through Comporium's Zipstream service as well as many other amenities.



At the time of its construction, the property was noteworthy for being the first major downtown building project in decades. Fountain Park Place now serves as a cornerstone of the eastern end of Rock Hill's Knowledge Park district. This corridor, stretching close to two miles from Winthrop University into downtown, is driving revitalization in areas once dominated by the textile industry. With further development anticipated on adjacent lots, Fountain Park Place will continue to be one of Rock Hill's top locations for prime office space. To learn more about Fountain Park Place or to inquire about leasing opportunities, visit https://www.collettre.com/properties/fountain-park-place-311-e-main-street-rock-hill-sc-29730 or contact Amani Abdul at 704-206-8304.

About Comporium Comporium, Inc., headquartered in Rock Hill, S.C., is a diversified, privately-held communications company that employs nearly 1,100 people and provides broadband, TV, voice, wireless, smart home systems and advertising services throughout the Carolinas. Comporium's ventures include companies providing business solutions, data storage and managed services, smart devices and connected home services, and digital signage. For more information, please visit www.comporium.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005428/en/

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Thousands of Russians have posted selfies wearing red tops to show support for jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny's wife.

Social media users shared the pictures after Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, wore a red jumper in court when her husband was handed his verdict earlier this week.

As his sentence was read, Navalny made a heart sign with his hands and smiled at Yulia, 44, from behind the glass panel of his holding cell.

He told Yulia, who was crying as the verdict was read out: 'Don't be sad, everything will be fine'.

Fashion journalist and brand consultant Katya Fedorova has now encouraged other social media users to use Navalny's words to his wife in a hashtag.

Fashion journalist and brand consultant Katya Fedorova (pictured above, wearing a red top) started the hashtag in an Instagram post that gained over 19,200 likes

As his sentence was read, Alexei Navalny, 44, made a heart sign with his hands (pictured above) and smiled at Yulia Navalnaya, 44, from behind the glass panel of his holding cell

Yulia pictured wearing a red jumper in court when her husband was handed his verdict earlier this week. She responded underneath Katya's post, commenting in Russian: 'Thank you!'

Katya shared the post, which has accumulated over 19,200 likes, to Instagram one day ago.

She captioned: 'I invite all those who care to post selfies wearing red, so Yulia and everyone else can follow the hashtag and see that we are many and we are not indifferent', reports the Moscow Times.

Yulia responded underneath Katya's post, commenting in Russian: 'Thank you!'

It came as Navalny, in a note from jail, urged Russians on Thursday to 'free' the country from a 'bunch of thieves', while the Kremlin cast the arrests of thousands of protesters as a due response to the unsanctioned rallies.

Navalny, 44, who was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, said in a statement posted on his Instagram account that 'iron doors slammed behind my back with a deafening sound, but I feel like a free man.'

He added: 'Because I feel confident I'm right. Thanks to your support. Thanks to my family's support.'

Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's best-known domestic critic, was arrested on January 17 upon returning from his five-month convalescence in Germany from a nerve agent poisoning, which he has blamed on the Kremlin.

Russian authorities deny any involvement and claim they have no proof that he was poisoned despite tests by several European labs.

One of the social media posts showing support for Navalny. Navalny, 44, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison earlier this week

Another social media user who shared the hashtag while dressed in red. It came as Navalny, in a note from jail, urged Russians on Thursday to 'free' the country from a 'bunch of thieves'

A Moscow court on Tuesday sent Navalny to prison, finding that he violated the terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany.

The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny has rejected as fabricated and the European Court of Human Rights has ruled unlawful.

He said his imprisonment was 'Putin's personal revenge' for surviving and exposing the assassination plot.

In a no-holds-barred response to the protest, police arrested over 10,000 protest participants across Russia and beat scores, according to arrest-monitoring group OVD-Info.

Speaking in a live YouTube broadcast, Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief strategist who is currently residing abroad, said the protests should pause until the spring after reaching a peak.

He said that protesters won a 'huge moral victory' and argued that trying to maintain rallies each weekend would only lead to thousands more arrests and wear participants out.

US President Joe Biden made his first public comment on the matter, saying: 'Mr Navalny, like all Russian citizens, is entitled to his rights under the Russian constitution'

Instead, he urged supporters to focus on challenging Kremlin candidates in September's parliamentary elections and securing new Western sanctions against Russia to press for Navalny's release.

He said Navalny's team would try to make sure that 'every world leader would discuss nothing but Navalny's release with Putin.'

Hours later, US President Joe Biden made his first public comment on the matter, saying: 'Mr Navalny, like all Russian citizens, is entitled to his rights under the Russian constitution. He's been targeted, targeted for exposing corruption. He should be released immediately and without condition.'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a phone call Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who raised the issue of Navalny, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. It said that Lavrov emphasized the need to respect Russian law.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia won't listen to Western criticism of Navalny's sentencing and the police action against protesters.

'We aren't going to take into account such statements regarding the enforcement of our laws on those who violate them and Russian court verdicts,' Peskov said.


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Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 19:46:07|Editor: huaxia

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Customers visit a coffee stand in Istanbul, Turkey on Feb. 4, 2021. (Photo by Serkan Senturk/Xinhua)

ISTANBUL, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Fahriye Aytun is happy that she can see her friend in front of their favorite coffeehouse, although it is now closed due to coronavirus restrictions. She misses the social interaction that she took for granted before the pandemic.

Fahriye Aytun and Gulten Erdem are sipping their takeaway coffees from the coffeehouse, located on the capital Ankara's busiest street Tunali Hilmi.

But there is a big difference between now and a year ago: coffees are sold in paper cups on the street in front of the shop which has been tightly closed since early November 2020.

"This pandemic has disrupted our social life entirely. We cannot sit anymore in a coffee shop and chat about our daily lives, our families, our problems," Aytun, who is a retired banker, told Xinhua.

"I long for the human touch, for the warm conversations that we had before with my former colleagues. We used to come here once a week regularly," she grumbled.

Turks are very fond and proud of their coffee and tea culture, and those drinks are a feat of social life in the country. The ritual is meant to be accompanied by friends and good conversation. However, the tradition has been losing its luster during the pandemic.

As the two ladies are over 65, they are only allowed to go outside three hours a day in line with the pandemic-related rules in the country, and twice a week they spend an hour on the street talking to each other wearing face masks.

"We make the most of our outdoor time," said Gulten Erdem.

Coffee shops in big cities such as Ankara and Istanbul have had to adjust to new health measures, offering takeaways in front of their shops.

Tea, coffee, or Salep, a hot wintery drink made of a special kind of orchid mixed with milk and a good sprinkle of cinnamon, are showcased on small tables with price tags.

But a proper traditional Turkish coffee that takes time to prepare, slowly-heated in copper pots, has left its place to instant or filter coffee.

Customers in Istanbul have also changed their habits, buying coffees especially from the stands of the coffee shops.

Tugce, a coffee shop employee, said business of the coffee shops has been impacted.

"Takeaways and deliveries represent less than 10 percent of our usual business. We are trying to survive here. It is really hard when you still have to pay the rent and wages of the personnel," she said.
Officials and supporters of various political parties in Isiolo County have rolled out a joint civic education programme on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) document, targeting residents in rural areas who might not have read it.

The team has also stepped up campaigns to popularise the proposed constitutional amendments in a bid to counter anti-BBI campaigns led by Isiolo Woman Representative Rehema Jaldesa, who is allied to Deputy President William Ruto, and who has vowed to rally residents to reject the report.

The officials are from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Party of National Unity (PNU), Wiper Democratic Movement, Kenya African National Union (Kanu) and National Ordinary People's Empowerment Union (NOPEU) among other parties.

Led by interim secretary of the joint political parties, Mr Abdi Shabo, the officials rubbished claims by some local leaders that Isiolo is against the proposed constitutional amendments, saying the recent collection of 19,000 signatures was a clear indication that a majority of the residents are in support of BBI.

Empower devolution

They said the proposed changes to the Constitution will empower devolution through increased equitable share to the counties to 35 per cent from 15 per cent and that the report sets the foundation for a more united country.

"We have already seen the benefits of 15 per cent allocation to the counties. The increase to 35 per cent will see Isiolo budget increase by Sh1.3 billion, which means more development for our people," said Mr Shabo.

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Addressing journalists at the recently-opened ODM offices in Isiolo town, the team also cited the proposed ward development fund that will boost development at the grassroots level and the 50:50 seats for women and men in the Senate which, they said, will help in the fulfilment of the two-thirds gender rule in the National Assembly.

Mr Tuqa Jirmo, a BBI proponent in the region, said the team will engage in a robust sensitisation effort to reverse "any propaganda and falsehoods" peddled by some local politicians.

"We are committed to ensuring the positive message about BBI reaches residents in far-flung areas," said Dr Jirmo.

'Handshake'

Ms Hellen Makena, a Kanu member, said BBI will help address rising political temperatures in the country which could tear Kenya apart ahead of the 2022 General Election.

"The 'handshake' has brought peace and we are confident BBI will end political intolerance and foster unity and development in the country," said Ms Makena.

If BBI fails, they warned, some of the constituencies, especially in the pastoralist counties, that fail to meet the required population threshold such as Isiolo South, will be scrapped. She asked residents to rally behind the initiative in order to retain the constituency.

The move is perceived by many as a charm offensive ahead of DP Ruto's expected tour of the county on February 13.
EV

Apple Car, or Project Titan, as its also known, is believed to be heading into mass production in 2024, with an estimated delivery for 2025. It will be all-electric and, by all accounts, autonomous, with Apple not even taking a human operator into consideration when designing it.As per the latest unconfirmed reports, Apple is in talks with Hyundai to build the Apple Car at the Kia facility in West Point, Georgia. Its also in negotiations with other carmakers, because it wants to make sure it will have full control over the end product, in typical Apple fashion.With so much talk about the Apple Car and how it would (hopefully, supposedly) come to steal the thunder from every other-maker (ahem, Tesla) out there and deliver a safe and reliable and perfectly road legal fully autonomous vehicle, buzz around certain independent concepts is also picking up. This is one of those concepts: the Apple Car 2076 by Turkish industrial designer Ali Cam First published in 2016, it is now getting a second chance in the spotlight thanks to the increased attention on the real Apple Car. And, while its clear that Cams design will probably have little in common with the real deal, its fun to escape everyday reality for a while with his work.At first, the Apple Car 2076 may seem a downright stupid idea. Its a car, but its shaped like a wedge (or a computer mouse, maybe?) and sits on the ground. It could also come across as ugly and, for a car thats supposed to be made in 2076, on Apples centennial, not exactly very futuristic looking.Looks can be deceiving, though.This car sits low on the ground because it doesnt have wheels. Cam imagines it for a future in which roads are magnetic, so the vehicle is using magnetic levitation technology to move around. In simpler terms, it has magnets mounted underneath, using repulsion for propulsion. Change the onboard magnets inclination, and you can enable acceleration, deceleration, and directional control.As for the shape, that too is deceiving. This future-proof car aims for the minimalist, edgy style of many Apple products, but its minimalist only in appearance. The roof is made of smart glass, and the entire interior is one giant display. Access is possible by means of fingerprint or retinal scan, so the car will only let in the rightful owner.With this concept, Cam reinvented almost everything about the modern vehicle. The door opens in two segments: a part in the top moves upward, much like a gullwing, while the lower part opens like a suicide door. There are screens everywhere, including on the inside of the doors.Inside, the vehicle is like a luxury lounge, with benches to the front and rear, facing each other. Since the car is autonomous, all that space is being reused  and filled with screens. As a side note, so many screens would probably be a necessity considering that the vehicle is too low to allow any other position than sitting.The Apple Car has a holographic display in the center and is gesture-enabled, while the smart glass roof would allow for a completely immersive digital experience. Other than that, it wouldnt be particularly different than many AV concepts were getting today: a moving lounge that would further feed our reliance on tech under the guise of connectivity.That said, regardless of the viral moment this concept is having, the real Apple Car's design remains anyones guess. Were not saying it could be anything like the 2076 concept, but if anything, its one way of passing the time guessing.
A woman who tied nearly 1,000 cacti and succulent plants to her body in an attempt to smuggle them into New Zealand in 2019 has been sentenced to 100 hours of community service and 12 months of intensive supervision for violating the countrys biosecurity laws, government officials said.

The woman, Wenqing Li, 38, was twice caught with plants and seeds at Auckland International Airport when returning from China to her home in Auckland, New Zealands Ministry for Primary Industries said in a statement. The Ministry said Ms. Li intended to sell the plants on Trade Me, an online classified advertising site similar to Craigslist.

In the first incident, on March 24, 2019, Ms. Li tied stockings containing 947 succulents and cacti to her body and attempted to sneak them into the country, the ministry said.

An airport official approached Ms. Li with a detection dog, which took notice of her, and she rushed to a bathroom to try to dispose of the plants, said Gary Orr, the director of compliance services for the ministry. Among the agencys duties is enforcing biosecurity regulations intended to keep diseases and harmful organisms from contaminating native plants and animals.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. will lay off 120 cabin crew members as of March 2, blaming the measure on the lack of flights to Mexico and the Caribbean.

A worker carrying a disinfectant sprayer walks past a WestJet Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft, after cleaning another plane at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Thursday, January 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

WestJet Airlines Ltd. will lay off 120 cabin crew members as of March 2, blaming the measure on the lack of flights to Mexico and the Caribbean.

WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell says the company's employees were notified of the additional cuts on Friday morning.

"We continue to provide all eligible laid off employees access to CEWS and have no additional workforce updates to announce at this time," Bell said.

The layoffs come as Canadian airlines agree, at the request of the federal government, to suspend all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30.

Canada is also implementing new measures such as mandatory hotel quarantines for international travellers in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

In response to the new government measures, Air Canada said Friday that it is weighing measures such as shortened work weeks to temporarily reduce management levels as a way of preserving cash.

"We continue to manage staffing levels through mitigation as the situation requires, just as we have done since the start of the pandemic," Air Canada spokeswoman Pascale Dery said.

Air Canada also said this week that it will pause all operations of Air Canada Rouge and lay off 80 employees starting Feb. 8 as a result of the flight suspensions.

Air Canada's flights to Mexico and the Caribbean had been operated primarily by Rouge, Air Canada said Thursday. Rouge's operations were suspended for part of 2020, but were resumed ahead of the winter travel season.

Friday's announcement by WestJet follows other rounds of layoffs in the airline sector since the start of 2021, after a spike in virus cases prompted additional travel restrictions.

Air Canada announced last month that it would lay off around 1,700 workers and cut more routes after seeing a drop in travel demand. WestJet also laid off 1,000 workers in January and further reduced its flight schedule.

As of Jan. 7, travellers to Canada have been required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, a measure that airlines say has had an immediate impact on bookings.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)
Sustainable tourism will likely become more mainstream as a consequence of the pandemic, Gorny said. As popular tourist destinations were closed to visitors, unexpected positive outcomes included less pollution and degradation of natural and cultural resources, and a return to a less intrusive way of life for local residents. Many countries would like to keep it this way and reduce economic dependence on overtourism.
File photo

USAA has donated $2 million to San Antonio micro-lender LiftFund for the creation of a program to help small-business owners affected by the pandemic, social unrest and economic conditions.

Participants in the program  called Helm  will have access to low-interest and COVID-19 recovery loans and business products, industry experts, and LiftFunds client directories and marketplaces to help increase community support for their businesses.
OTTAWA - Canada's national unemployment rate was 9.4 per cent in January. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

OTTAWA - Canada's national unemployment rate was 9.4 per cent in January. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

_ Newfoundland and Labrador 12.8 per cent (12.6)

_ Prince Edward Island 7.9 per cent (9.9)

_ Nova Scotia 8.3 per cent (8.8)

_ New Brunswick 8.8 per cent (9.6)

_ Quebec 8.8 per cent (6.8)

_ Ontario 10.2 per cent (9.6)

_ Manitoba 8.0 per cent (8.3)

_ Saskatchewan 7.2 per cent (8.0)

_ Alberta 10.7 per cent (11.1)

_ British Columbia 8.0 per cent (7.2)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 17:01:52|Editor: huaxia

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GUIYANG, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Li Di never doubts China's FAST will provide faster access to epoch-making discoveries for human beings.

"Unexpected discoveries will be made with the help of some equipment that has achieved a leap in observation capability," said the chief scientist of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST).

Starting formal operations on Jan. 11, 2020, FAST, located in a deep and round karst depression in southwest China's Guizhou Province, is believed to be the world's most sensitive radio telescope.

The largest single-dish radio telescope in the world has a huge potential for verifying and exploring mysteries of the universe in fields including gravity theory, galaxy evolution, the origin of stars and planets and even the origin of matter and life, according to Li.

With the assistance of the FAST, scientists have made a series of breakthroughs. They have discovered a new fast radio burst (FRB), which are mysterious signals believed to be from the distant universe, while detecting the neutral hydrogen line emission from extragalactic galaxies for the first time, which could help enrich the understanding of dark matter.

Li said astronomy is an open discipline, and experts worldwide have participated in most of the early scientific achievements of the FAST, which will be available for global service from April 1.

The National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the operator of the telescope, confirmed that scientists across the world can make online appointments to use the device for observation from April 1. An allotted timetable will be available by Aug. 1.

It is the motive force and ultimate goal of building the FAST to explore the origin of the universe and reveal its mysteries. Foreign scientists are welcomed to lead research projects independently or as the leaders using the FAST for observation.

Both Chinese and foreign scientists comply with the same online application formality for observation. And their research projects are not evaluated by Chinese scientists, but by the top international experts in their respective fields such as interstellar molecules and pulsars.

"No matter who is leading the project, everyone is moving toward the same scientific goal," said Li Kejia, a researcher at the NAOC. Enditem
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Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.

SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The COVID-19 pandemic has kept consumers in their homes more than ever and USAA is responding by reducing renters insurance rates in Colorado by as much as 4.8%. This rate reduction, which can bring the cost of renters insurance to as little as $10 per month1, will save 45,000 USAA members more than $250,000. Current members may see the savings at policy renewal while new members will receive the savings at purchase.

"At USAA, we are committed to serving the military community  as they protect our nation," said Retired Vice Admiral, United States Navy, and USAA's Property and Casualty President Jim Syring. "We are committed to providing competitive products and services that support military families  and rate reductions are just one way we bring our mission to life."

In addition to rate reductions, members may be eligible for additional savings through bundling with their auto insurance2.

Members and future members are encouraged to visit usaa.com/renters to learn about USAA's renters insurance and quote a policy.

USAA

Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking and investment and retirement solutions to 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, USAA has offices in seven U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs more than 35,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work. For more information about USAA, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@USAA), or visit usaa.com.

1 Countrywide average price for policyholders who have $2,500 personal property coverage, $100,000 liability coverage and $5,000 medical payments coverage as of January 2020. Rates vary by location and risk. Rates are subject to change.

2 Savings are off total premium. Not available in all states or in all situations. To qualify auto policy must be active before home issue. Subject to change. Restrictions apply.

Use of the term "member" or "membership" refers to membership in USAA Membership Services and does not convey any legal or ownership rights in USAA. Restrictions apply and are subject to change. To join USAA, separated military personnel must have received a discharge type of "Honorable". Eligible former dependents of USAA members may join USAA.

Property and casualty insurance provided by United Services Automobile Association, USAA Casualty Insurance Company, USAA General Indemnity Company, Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Company, based in San Antonio, TX; USAA Limited (UK) and USAA S.A. (Europe) and is available only to persons eligible for P&C group membership. Each company has sole financial responsibility for its own products.

Contact: USAA Media Relations

[email protected]

210-498-0940

USAA on Twitter: @usaa

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WASHINGTON - A fiery Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., declared Friday that the House's decision to remove her from her committee assignments has liberated her to build a political network aimed at supporting former president Donald Trump and pushing the GOP further to the right.

Greene's comments during a 20-minute news conference outside the Capitol demonstrated that - far from being cowed by the uproar over the various extremist remarks she made in the years leading up to her election in November - she has only been emboldened in her social-media-fueled campaign against Democrats, cultural elites and the media.

"Going forward, I've been freed," she said. "I have a lot of free time on my hands, which means I can talk to a whole lot more people all over this country and . . . make connections and build a huge amount of support that I've already got started with."

Asked about how she saw her role, Greene said she planned to "vote very conservative" and use her influence to cement Trump's imprint on the GOP: "I'm going to be holding the Republican Party accountable and pushing them to the right."

The House voted 230 to 199 Thursday to remove Greene from the Budget Committee and the Education and Labor Committee. Eleven of 211 Republicans voted with every Democrat to sideline Greene in a rebuke of her embrace of extremist ideology.

As recently as late last year, Greene had been an open adherent of the QAnon ideology - a sprawling web of false claims that have incited violence and that played a role in inspiring the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. In addition, she made comments on social media suggesting that some mass shootings were staged by supporters of gun control, that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were orchestrated by government forces and that a Jewish cabal had sparked a deadly wildfire with a laser beam from space.

Ahead of the vote Thursday, Greene renounced some of her most outrageous claims in a House floor speech. But she also lashed out at Democrats and the media - equating their reporting with QAnon's falsehoods - while sidestepping many of her most troubling actions, including social media postings endorsing the assassinations of prominent Democrats and her harassment of a well-known gun-control advocate.

Many Democrats, and some Republicans, said they did not believe Greene was sufficiently contrite and had avoided a straightforward apology for her actions - including her promulgation of QAnon falsehoods, which she explained Thursday as, "I was allowed to believe things that weren't true."

At the news conference Thursday, a reporter asked her if she was truly sorry.

"I'm sorry for saying all those things that are wrong and offensive, and I sincerely mean that," she said, before declining to tender an apology to the young gun-control activist, David Hogg, who had survived the 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school. Greene in 2019 shot a cellphone video of her peppering Hogg with questions as he walked around the Capitol grounds amid a lobbying push for new gun laws,

"I'm very opposed to those policies," Greene said Friday. "My voice matters, too. And so, no, I'm not sorry for telling him he shouldn't push for gun control."

Stripped of her committees, Greene's most important role inside Congress may be to serve as an avatar for a purely pro-Trump strain of conservatism that shows no sign of retreating after Trump's November loss.

Greene is part of a growing strain of Republican lawmakers who view legislating as a less important task than communications, focused their messages on right-wing media while largely ignoring the more traditional local media outlets most new members of Congress have tended to in the past.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., also first elected in November, recently told lawmakers that he "built my staff around comms rather than legislation," according to a Time magazine report last month. Just one month into office, Cawthorn's communications focus has made him a regular on Fox News.

They are following a path blazed by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., first elected in 2016, who has focused his energy on political theatrics that command attention on cable news and social media. Last week, as conservatives erupted following Rep. Liz Cheney's vote to impeach Trump, Gaetz flew to her state of Wyoming to attend a rally of her opponents.

This focus has left centrist lawmakers bewildered.

"We live in a political environment in which theatrics and division and hate are what elevates stars," said Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., a second-term member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group focused on legislating.

"I don't want to give oxygen to someone who is not worthy of it," Phillips said, frustrated by the attention Greene continues to consume. "And it saddens that any member that would want to come here and say that committee work doesn't matter - then what are you doing here?"

These GOP theatrical stars are in part mimicking their political idol, Trump.

The former president has publicly praised Greene in the past, and Greene has suggested she intends to meet with Trump in the near future. On Friday, Greene offered Trump extensive praise and noted that "a record number of Republicans" voted for him.

"It's because they loved his policies. They loved his fight. They love the fact that, for once, we had a president that stood up for America, stood up for American businesses and remembered the forgotten man," she said, adding, "Republican voters support him still. The party is his, it doesn't belong to anybody else."

That proposition is debatable. While only 11 Republicans broke with party leaders and voted to marginalize Greene, Cheney survived another proxy battle to hold onto her position as the GOP conference chairwoman, No. 3 in leadership.

A push from Trump loyalists to remove Cheney from her leadership position failed in a secret-ballot vote where more than two-thirds of Republicans voted to keep her in place - heeding a call by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for unity ahead of the 2022 midterms.

After Greene posted on Twitter Friday morning that Democrats were a "bunch of morons . . . for giving some one like me free time," one of her sharpest GOP critics, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., responded that the sentiment proved her contrition was a facade: "There is no remorse here for her past comments. Just a huge desire to be famous."

Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., who co-founded Problem Solvers, said Friday that he just met Greene this week for the first time and recently met Cawthorn, encouraging them to delve into more policy-focused practices.

"You need to have that substance upon which the communication is delivered," he said. "I hope maybe we can show that you need to be able to do both and I encourage them to explore those options."

Later on Friday, Greene accused her GOP critics of being the true traitors to the party, citing McCarthy's efforts to retake the majority. "When you have Republicans in the ranks voting against one of their own . . . that really is a big betrayal," she said.

But her sharpest comments were reserved for Democrats and the media, accusing them of operating in tandem to attack conservatives and sideline their views.

At one point she accused journalists of "addicting our nation to hate" and suggested conservatives were equally culpable for attacking figures such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. - just moments after Greene herself accused Ocasio-Cortez of orchestrating a "hoax" in describing her experience during the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.

She concluded her anti-media broadside with a nod to a new political reality, where a politician with fringe views from a politically homogenous part of the country can reach a national audience and quickly build a financial and ideological base of support. Greene claimed she had raised upward of $330,000 from 13,000 small donors over 48 hours this week.

"My district is thrilled with me. People are all over the country are thankful and supporting me," she said. "And, for that, I'm grateful to them."
The unmet HIV prevention and treatment needs of female sex workers and especially their male clients could contribute substantially to ongoing HIV transmission in South Africa, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Bristol, UK.

The researchers used mathematical modelling to look at the contribution of commercial sex, sex between men, and other heterosexual partnerships to HIV transmission in South Africa.

They found that, over a ten-year period (2010-19), sex between female sex workers and their paying clients contributed 6.9 per cent of new HIV infections, while sex between clients with their non-paying partners contributed 41.9 per cent.

Sex between men contributed 5.3 per cent and sex between men who have sex with men and their female partners contributed 3.7 per cent.

The study, published in Journal of the International AIDS Society, also looked at the potential impact and efficiency of increasing HIV treatment among each risk group. Increasing treatment among female sex workers, their paying clients and men who have sex with men would be up to five times more efficient for reducing HIV transmission than increasing treatment among the general population.

South Africa has made a considerable investment in scaling up interventions for preventing and treating HIV and are close to achieving the UNAIDS HIV treatment targets. However, the rate of new HIV infections remains over twice the UNAIDS 2020 target. To close this gap, and to regain momentum, the HIV response must adapt to focus on those communities where the risks and disease burden are greatest, which for South Africa are the paying clients of female sex workers." Dr Jack Stone, Study Lead Author, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol

Professor Peter Vickerman, from the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behavioural Science and Evaluation at the University of Bristol, who supervised the study, said:

"The HIV response in South Africa has traditionally focused on the general population. This is based on the assumption that key populations such as female sex workers and men who have sex with men play a small role in HIV transmission in countries where HIV is endemic. Our findings show this is not the case and suggest that South Africa, and indeed other countries, may not be focusing new initiatives on those who most need them, which, in South Africa, are the paying clients of female sex workers."

Dr Jenny Coetzee, CEO of the African Potential Foundation and Principal Researcher at the Perinatal HIV Research Unit, who contributed data from a study on male clients, commented that: "The response to HIV in South Africa places the burden of responsibility for prevention and behavioural change upon women. It is vital that we begin to draw men into the solution. This study highlights the importance of a criminalised and often marginalised group of men who have clearly been overlooked in our national response".
Kerala: Fishers slam MoU for trawlers

February 05,2021 | Source: The Hindu

Fishers unions have slammed reports that the Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) is building 400 trawlers for a US-based company, even as the Fisheries Department categorically denied any knowledge of an MoU between the two entities for the trawler project. Both Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedhi and Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation, representing traditional fishers, said the widely reported development was an indication of the invasion of the fishing sector by big capital. It is totally against the policies of the State government and will seriously impact the current equilibrium in the sector, said Charles George of Aikya Vedhi. Meanwhile, Minister for Fisheries J. Mercykutty Amma denied any knowledge of the development. She said no licence was being issued to trawlers. According to her, the Fisheries Department is in negotiation with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for building 10 tuna long liners and gillnet boats for the cooperative sector. The Minister felt that more vessels in the fishing scene could trigger conflict for resources.



V.D. Majeendran of the Matsya Thozhilali Federation said no stakeholder was aware of any development related to building or deploying more trawlers off the Kerala coast. There is no space for more vessels, as marine resources are already much stretched, he said. A senior KSINC official said the MoU to build 400 trawlers for the US-based EMCC International at ?2,950 crore was a work order. For KSINC it is a huge work order. They will utilise it [trawlers] in Gujarat or Odisha if they have any issues in Kerala.



KSINC, created in 1975, is the pioneer in the public sector in inland navigation in Kerala waters. While it operates barges, the company has also two yards where it builds small vessels and carries out maintenance work. The PSU also operates two cruise vessels  Sagararani and Nefertiti. The official also said the order for the vessels was from a private investor, who had signed an agreement with the State government during the investment promotion conclave ASCEND 2020. KSINC is to construct the vessel and provide infrastructure. He said people were confusing other issues with KSINCs work. Mr. Majeendran was of the view that big capital is pressing to exploit the resources off the coast just as it has done on the coast. Reports of MoU for building trawlers is an indication of the shape of things to come when traditional fishers will be alienated.



Mr. George, citing official estimates, argued that deep sea fishing off the coast of Kerala could support 37 tuna long liners and gillnet boats and 11 squid jiggers. More large vessels in the scene could end up in over-exploitation as we are already harvesting resources at the optimum, sustainable level, he said. He also warned against any attempt by big capital to enter the scene, where traditional fishers are now struggling to eke out a living.
Dame Julie Andrews has led tributes to her The Sound Of Music co-star Christopher Plummer, who has died aged 91.

The Canadian actor died at home on Friday in Connecticut, in the US, according to his manager.

Dame Julie, 85  who starred opposite Plummer in the 1965 hit, labelled him a consummate actor and a cherished friend.

In a statement to the PA news agency, she added: I treasure the memories of our work together and all the humour and fun we shared through the years.

My heart and condolences go out to his lovely wife Elaine and his daughter Amanda.

Plummer enjoyed a varied career across film, television and theatre and in 2012 became the oldest actor to win an Oscar.

He was handed the best supporting actor gong for his part in Beginners.

The official Twitter account for The Oscars shared a tribute to Plummer.

Christopher Plummer beguiled audiences across generations in memorable roles from Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music to Harlan Thrombey in Knives Out, a statement said.

Christopher Plummer beguiled audiences across generations in memorable roles from Captain von Trapp in "The Sound of Music" to Harlan Thrombey in "Knives Out." He worked steadily for 60+ years, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2012 for "Beginners." He will be missed. pic.twitter.com/Mu6KRJTk7P  The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 5, 2021

He worked steadily for 60+ years, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2012 for Beginners. He will be missed.

Sir Ridley Scott, who worked with Plummer in All The Money In The World, has paid tribute to the late actor.

In a joint statement with his wife Gianna, the director said: What a guy. What a talent. What a life.

And I was fortunate enough to work with him less than two years ago and had a wonderful experience.

My heartfelt condolences go to Elaine.

He will be really missed.

James Bond actress Ana De Armas starred alongside Plummer in 2019 whodunnit Knives Out, and said I will always think of you with love and admiration.

Alongside behind-the-scenes pictures from the set of Knives Out, she wrote on Instagram: My heart is broken, my dear Chris. I feel your loss deep inside. How lucky was I having you next to me in whats been one the best experiences of my career.

Thank you always for your laughter, your warmth, your talent, your stories about Marilyn, the vitamins when I got sick, your patience, your partnership and your company. I will always think of you with love and admiration. Rest In Peace.

Actor Eddie Marsan said he was so sad to hear about Plummers death.

In a tweet, he added: I was lucky enough to work with him on the exception and it was like watching a master class.

He had nothing to prove anymore so he was completely free, kind, funny mischievous & beautiful to watch. RIP.

Lord Of The Rings actor Elijah Wood tweeted: So sad to hear that Christopher Plummer has passed. What a legend.

Star Trek star George Takei labelled Plummer a giant of stage and screen.

In a tweet, he added: Rest in eternal music, Captain Von Trapp.

Inception actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt tweeted: Christopher Plummer one of the greats.

Netflix described Plummer as a master of the craft whose films will live on forever.

Christopher Plummer brought warmth, humanity, and complexity to every performance throughout his extensive career, a tweet from the streaming giant added.

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Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau labelled Plummer one of our most iconic and beloved actors.

In a tweet, he added: From the Stratford Festival to The Sound Of Music to Star Trek, and countless other performances, Christopher Plummer gave life to so many characters we love and cherish  and always performed with gravitas and heart.

Plummer continued to star in major films well into later life and played the wealthy patriarch of a dysfunctional family in Knives Out, starring alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

However Plummer, who also starred on Broadway and in Royal Shakespeare Company productions, is perhaps best known for playing Captain Georg von Trapp in 1965 film The Sound Of Music.

In 2017, it was announced the actor would replace Kevin Spacey in All The Money In The World after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged against Spacey.

The following year he was nominated for another Oscar for his role, after being enlisted at the 11th hour, as frugal billionaire J Paul Getty in Sir Ridleys film.
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Petro Oleshchuk

President Volodymyr Zelensky this week issued a decree enforcing sanctions on 112, NewsOne, and ZiK TV channels, believed to be controlled by Vladimir Putin's crony Viktor Medvedchuk, which caused a huge public stir. This is indeed a significant move that could have quite serious consequences.

If we analyze these outlets' activity over the recent period, we will see that they had been openly promoting narratives fitting the interests of Russia and its external influence efforts

A blow to Russia's information influence in Ukraine

Representatives of pro-Russian political forces, as well as their media pool, immediately jumped on a train of spinning claims of censorship, violations of freedom of speech, and so on. At the same time, Ukraine's Western partners have backed sanctions against the said TV channels, as evidenced by statements by British, American and a number of other embassies, who said that information is a weapon in modern times, and that information security is no less important than any other.

If we analyze these outlets' activity over the recent period, we will see that they had been openly promoting narratives fitting the interests of Russia and its external influence efforts. For example, a campaign to promote the Russian vaccine was indicative, being spun despite the fact that the drug is not certified. Therefore, if the ban on these TV channels is implemented consistently, Russia's information influence on the territory of Ukraine will significantly decrease, although it will not disappear permanently. In this case, we are talking about the tools of total information defeat, which these TV channels were in their essence. I think that in the future their blocking will become even more extensive, including through YouTube bans.

How channel blocking harms a pro-Russian political force OPZZh

The ban on TV outlets creates serious problems for the OPZZh, as it will greatly complicate any growth of their public support.

Moreover, it is possible that OPZZh competitors will make use of the situation. For example, the OppoBloc may try to get its second wind or perhaps another similar project may emerge with a focus on the relevant target audience, but with a different list of investors. After all, it was precisely due to their media pool that the OPZZh once managed to crush the OppoBloc and all other competing projects.

In addition, this shifts the balance of power within the OPZZh itself  between Liovochkin's and Medvedchuk's groups. It's no secret that their relations have been rather complicated, to say the least. So their unification within a single political project was a forced move rather than that consistent with their shared vision of the future. Now Liovochkin is getting a certain advantage in this struggle. Therefore, it is possible that centrifugal processes are awaiting the OPZZh. However, it is too early to talk about it.

Due to the blocking of OPZZh's channels, their basic electorate won't go anywhere, but this will definitely be an issue in relation to any electoral expansion

This political force has an ambitious goal  to return to power, the OPZZh certainly doesn't seek to be an "honorary opposition." However, in order to regain power, they need to constantly expand their electorate, ensuring a steady growth of popular support. But the fewer information resources they have, the fewer opportunities they get to influence the audience, rock the country, seek snap elections, provoke unrest, and so on.

Due to the blocking of OPZZh's channels, their basic electorate won't go anywhere, but this will definitely be an issue in relation to any electoral expansion. OPZZh is unlikely to be able to get anywhere beyond their electoral ghetto.

Implications for the authorities and personally for Zelensky

None of the blocked information resources could be referred to as friendly to Volodymyr Zelensky. The alternative for Zelensky would be to claim freedom of speech and watch himself being annihilated in the media space. After all, over the past period, these channels' content has turned into streams of dirt, provocation, and fake news, primarily targeting the president. Therefore, having decided to block these TV channels, Zelensky definitely loses nothing. However, there are no grounds for overly optimistic suggestions that he would immediately take the lead in the patriotic niche of voters and that ex-President Petro Poroshenko's supporters would immediately side with the incumbent.

Currently, many Ukrainians experience cognitive dissonance. After all, there has long been an opinion in our society that Zelensky was a pro-Russian politician. But after his move on blocking Medvedchuk's channels, many who loathe Zelensky have their reality picture fractured. And now moderately patriotic citizens of Ukraine will at least start looking closely at the president.

Russia traditionally uses military blackmail as key leverage on Ukraine

Zelensky retains opportunities to attract a variety of voters. At present, he continues the search for electoral opportunities and options  he remains oriented towards centrism, avoiding any radical manifestations and, I believe, will continue to try to keep the balance, clearly supporting a pro-European and Euro-Atlantic vector.

Will things get heated in Donbas again?

Russia traditionally uses military blackmail as key leverage on Ukraine. The big question, however, is whether Russia will apply any major military blackmail tactic this time. After Joe Biden took over power in the United States, it is difficult for Russia to expect that any serious escalation in eastern Ukraine will remain unnoticed and not lead to another package of Western sanctions.

Therefore, Moscow will definitely try to put some kind of pressure on Ukraine, but most likely it will be limited to purely ideological issues, such as claims on the possible accession of Donbas and voyages by Russian propaganda pundits to the occupied Donetsk.

Probability of the banned channels resuming broadcast

I don't really believe that 112, NewsOne, and ZiK will be able to lift the blockade through courts. After all, there's no mechanism for appealing sanctions. They could only challenge the constitutionality of the presidential decree in the Constitutional Court and its validity  in the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, however, is also unlikely to hear the case

However, the Constitutional Court is unlikely to be able to hand down any decisions in the near future, given the tension around it. If the Constitutional Court now overturns the presidential decree and the three TV channels in question get back on air, the reaction won't take long  a crowd will do a "Maidan" outside the CCU HQ. And the judges seem to be quite aware of such developments so they are likely to pass on the issue.

The Supreme Court is also unlikely to take up the case, as judges might be wary of creating a problem for themselves in the future by overturning a presidential decree.

Besides, the president's decree does have a legal basis to back it: it's the law on sanctions, the Verkhovna Rada decision, the relevant evidence gathered by the SBU, as well as the established practice of imposing sanctions, which was used earlier.

Petro Oleschuk is a political scientist, lecturer at the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Science in the Public Interest is urging the Food and Drug Administration to protect consumers from unprocessed poppy seeds, which are often contaminated with the plant's naturally occurring opiate residues. The nonprofit nutrition and food safety watchdog group today filed a regulatory petition with the FDA on behalf of six families injured by contaminated poppy seeds and medical experts. They're asking regulators to clean up America's poppy seed supply by setting a maximum threshold for opiate contamination and establishing controls on imported seeds.

Steve and Betty Hacala of Rogers, AR, lost their 24-year-old son Stephen in 2016 to a poppy seed tea overdose.

"It was hard for us to believe that something as innocent and common as poppy seeds could be lethal," said Steve Hacala, one of the petitioners. "Now we want to make sure the poppy seeds brought into this country are cleaned, to spare other families this kind of loss."

Poppy seeds used in baking come from the same plant that produces opiates, including morphine and codeine. The poppy plant cannot be legally grown in the United States, meaning all poppy seeds sold in this country are imported from countries where cultivation is permitted. While the seeds themselves contain negligible amounts of opiates, they can be contaminated with plant debris and require washing and processing to reduce opiate contamination to safe levels.

Not all importers adequately process their seeds, and some sellers even market poppy seeds as "unwashed" or "unprocessed," to convey that they have high levels of opiates to consumers who may purchase the seeds to brew poppy seed tea. This tea is typically used for medicinal, therapeutic, or recreational purposes and can concentrate the opiates from a batch of seeds. Consumers of these seeds may not be aware that the effects from the consumption of the seeds may be due to opiates. In addition, opiate contamination levels can vary widely from batch to batch, putting those who drink the tea at increased risk of accidental overdose or other health consequences.

Other signatories of the petition include Linda Golden of South Carolina and Jeffery Folds of Georgia, the mother and cousin of Todd Shirley, who passed away at age 48 in 2019 due to poppy seed tea overdose; and Bob and Lori Morales, and Kristen Harris, all of Nevada, the parents and wife of Kendall Harris, who passed away at age 38 due to overdose from unwashed poppy seeds purchased on Amazon. Paul Lancia of St. Louis, MO, joined the petition after his wife suffered multiple strokes which her doctor suspected were caused by heavy poppy tea consumption.

Some signatories to the petition were shocked to find they tested positive for drugs after unwittingly consuming contaminated poppy seeds. Neither Elizabeth Dominguez of Tonawanda, NY, nor Jamie Silakowski of Depew, NY, used any opioids during their pregnancy, but both tested positive after eating baked goods with poppy seeds.

"I'm devastated that a simple poppy seed bagel could cause this much distress," said Dominguez, who tested positive for opioids during routine drug testing given to mothers prior to delivery in some hospitals. She was temporarily separated from her newborn and visited at home multiple times by Child Protective Services because of the test triggered by poppy seeds.

The petition was also joined by Dr. Irving Haber, a pain medicine specialist, and Dr. Madeleine Swortwood, a researcher at Sam Houston State University, who have published studies documenting the risks of poppy seed tea.

The petition follows publication last month of a study coauthored by CSPI scientists in Clinical Toxicology showing that adverse events from the consumption of opiate-contaminated poppy seeds may be on the rise. Medical and government publications have documented over 600 reported adverse events including 20 overdoses and 19 total fatalities attributed to poppy in the U.S., with most fatalities having occurred since 2015.

CSPI previously called on the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Agency to address the risks of contaminated poppy seeds in April of 2019. In December 2019, the DEA clarified that selling opiate-contaminated poppy seeds can be illegal under the Controlled Substances Act.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is America's food and health watchdog.

SOURCE Center for Science in the Public Interest

Related Links

cspinet.org


The Oregon International Air Show has postponed its dates for the Hillsboro Airport event scheduled for May 2021 due to ongoing coronavirus concerns. The new date will be sometime in May of 2022.

The McMinnville Airport show, scheduled for July 30-August 1, 2021, is still on as scheduled.

While we believe the environment for a live outdoor event will be improving by this May, we want to exercise an abundance of caution to provide the safest environment possible for our guests, performers, volunteers and everyone in the community so we believe the best decision at this time is to postpone this years Hillsboro show, said Bill Braack, president of the Oregon International Air Show said in a recent release.

The air show had attempted to move the dates later in 2021 but couldnt find dates that worked, according to the release.

Tickets already purchased for the 2021 Hillsboro show will be transferred automatically to the shows new dates in 2022, and customers do not need contact the promoter at this time. If customers would like to transfer tickets to the 2021 McMinnville show, or receive a refund, they can visit www.oregonairshow.com for more information.

The 2021 McMinnville show will feature the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. Tickets are available now www.oregonairshow.com.
Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee says he hopes to lead a bipartisan investigation of the extremist groups, their overseas ties, and amplification of their message by foreign powers.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will examine the influence of Russia and other foreign powers on antigovernment extremist groups like the ones that helped mobilize the deadly attack on the Capitol last month, the panel's new chairman said.

Committee chair Senator Mark Warner said it would be vitally important for the influential committee to do a "significant dive" into antigovernment extremism in the United States, the ties those groups have to organizations in Europe and Russia's amplification of their message, The New York Times reports.

In an interview on Wednesday, Warner outlined among his priorities the spread of disinformation, the rise of antigovernment extremist groups, Chinese domination of key technologies, Russias widespread hacking of government computer networks and strengthening watchdog protections in the intelligence agencies.

Read alsoRussian chants heard in video of protesters storming CapitolThe White House has ordered the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to work with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI on a new analysis of the threat from domestic extremist groups and the support they receive from foreign powers or overseas organizations.

Those antigovernment extremists include QAnon, the conspiracy movement, and the Proud Boys, a far-right organization that Canada named as a terrorist group on Wednesday. Supporters of those groups and others were part of the attack on the Capitol building on January 6, which aimed to stop the transfer of power to the Biden administration.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will examine both white supremacist groups on the right, and antifascist, or antifa, groups on the left, though Warner was quick to say that the danger the groups posed was not the same. "I don't want to make a false equivalency argument here," he said, "because the vast preponderance of them are on the right."

Reporting by UNIAN
Dear Mr. President:

We extend our compliments and congratulate you on the achievements made in Liberia during the first three years of your administration. Despite the many challenges, we are confident that when the implementations of the "Po-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD) is fully achieved, the benefits to the Liberian people could be far reaching. .

Mr. President, our mission in Liberia is to assist all governments to succeed in improving the livelihood of all citizens and to empower all Liberians throughout many decades ahead. THE LIBERIAN ADVOCATES FOR CHANGE THROUGH SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS, aims to identify the cause and offer possible solutions to issues that seem to tear the social fabric of our communities and municipalities.

We have observed that the cause of a good number of issues facing our nation, stem from a total disregard for a single clause of Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia, thereby, fueling the prevailing political turmoil in the country. Article 1 states that, "... in order to ensure a democratic government which responds to the wishes of the Governed ... " A clause that was intentionally crafted by writers of the constitution to ensure:

a framework that should create a dialogue between the government and the people.

that citizens formally make wishes that should provide guidance to the government regarding issues which must be prioritized for the immediate safety and happiness of the people.

power to the people to check, test, and monitor the performance of their public servants to guarantee good governance, accountability, unity, peace and stability of the country etc..

that the government enjoys smooth governance through citizens cooperation.

In principle, the clause in Article 1 above implies that the citizens have a civic duty under the constitution, to instruct their public servants to prioritize and resolve the issues that are of utmost importance to their safety, well-being, and happiness. Similarly, under the constitution, it is the responsibility of the democratic government to respond to the wishes of the Governed when these wishes have been made in a democratic and in an organized way. The current governing system as it is, is not fostering citizens' participation in political decisions. Consequently, the lack of popular participation in the governing process of the country, has fostered a disconnect between the government and the people and their problems. As a result, our nation and its citizens have gravely endured the effects of corruption, bad governance, violence, protest, and a whole host of dire issues accompanied by catastrophic consequences since the independence of the country in 1847. In a nutshell, the general public is unhappy and feels unsafe.

Mr. President, in an attempt to buttress government's efforts to promote the welfare of the Liberian people, ADVOCATES FOR CHANGE, has adopted a two step approach and is committed to providing possible solution(s) to the above named problems.

1, ADVOCATES FOR CHANGE, will recommend legislation at three levels that will foster the successful implementation of the wishes of the Governed appropriately and in time as stipulated by Article 5 subsection (a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia, which states that "... the legislature shall enact laws promoting national unification and the encouragement of all citizens to participate in government." The below listed laws, Mr. President, are no exception:

Two months before general elections or before the citizens vote, the wishes of the Governed shall be submitted to an independent commission for annotation.

On inauguration day and during the inauguration ceremony, the wishes of the Governed shall be submitted to the government.

The government shall prioritize the wishes of the Governed and successfully carry them out during or before the six- year long administration ends.

2.ADVOCATES FOR CHANGE has put in place a strategic platform that will help citizens to communicate with their public servants about issues that affect their respective communities, albeit in a democratic and an organized way. ADVOCATES FOR CHANGE, Is now creating public awareness on how to use our platform, http://www.wakeupliberia.com, a prototype platform created by us. While advocating, ADVOCATES FOR CHANGE, has traveled to and has united fourteen districts in five counties in a period of two weeks in the Republic of Liberia. Our program has been welcomed with greatest enthusiasm by the general public in those counties and is intended to extend to all of the districts in the fifteen counties for a nationwide consultation and to educate all citizens on how to vote on issues that are crucial to their safety, well-being and happiness. God's willing, we shall be in Montserrado county on March 1st, 2021. We should be glad if you could afford us the honor to share the details of our platform with your administration. It is quite unlikely for the government to resolve all of the issues facing the country in six years, ADVOCATES FOR CHANGE, will recommend that only five of the selected issues, (two for the national government and three for local governments) be considered in order of magnitude as a national manifesto obeying the wishes of the Governed.

Mr. President, the reason why ADVOCATES FOR CHANGE, is employing the above strategies is, on the one hand because Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia is at the heart and soul of the democratic system of governance in Liberia, and on the other hand because Liberia, as a member state of the United Nations Organization, is compelled to implement the United Nations Development Goals by 2030.

Our organization will, in accordance with the constitution of the Republic of Liberia and the UN Development Goals four, five and sixteen, educate the citizens on how to make wishes known to their government appropriately with an aim to create a dialogue between the people and the government. In addition, our program will promote citizens' participation in governance as well as nation building, national unification, and a sound public administration

1. Mr. President, the implementation of our approach will eventually achieve the goals of the "PAPD," and the Global Goals adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015. Our aim is to adequately address the issues of mitigating social inequality ; of eradicating bad practices, corruption, human rights abuses, social injustice, sexual abuse, the exploitation of women and children, domestic violence of all forms, as well as public health issues, poverty, unemployment, economic imbalances child labor, and the generalized suffering of the population throughout Liberia. We also aim to promote human rights & economic and social development in each community. These rights, in accordance with the fifth sustainable development goal of the United Nations, namely, of achieving gender equality, will promote the inclusion of women and girls and their empowerment through better education. It will foster the respect of all children's rights in accordance with the goals of the UNICEF. Furthermore, our platform will advance social and economic development in accordance with goals number one, eight, ten and sixteen, among others including the goals of the four pillars of the 'PAPD."

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Liberia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Finally, in order to provide a remedy to the prevailing political turmoil that the country is going to and the host of issues that are caused by such a crisis, it is imperative to create a conducive atmosphere that will transition our democratic system of governance back to its foundation.

Respectfully yours,

Emmanuel B. Tarnue.

Founder & CEO

OUR VOTE, OUR FUTURE
OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 4, 2021 /CNW/ - The ties that bind Canada and Hong Kong run deep. The first Hong Kong residents arrived here over 150 years ago, contributing immensely to Canada's economic, social and political life. Canada continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong, and is deeply concerned about the new National Security Law and the deteriorating human rights situation there. Against this backdrop, in November 2020, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced several new initiatives to help more Hong Kong residents come to Canada.

Today, Minister Mendicino announced that Hong Kong residents will be able to apply for new open work permits beginning on February 8, 2021. Valid for up to 3 years, these permits will allow Hong Kong residents to gain valuable employment experience and make significant contributions to Canada. Hong Kong residents must have graduated with a Canadian post-secondary diploma or degree in the last 5 years, or hold an equivalent foreign credential. A post-secondary diploma program must be a minimum of 2 years.

Hong Kong residents currently in Canada temporarily, including visitors, students and workers, can apply online from within Canada. Those applying from abroad remain subject to current travel restrictions and may not be able to come to Canada at this time, unless they have a job offer or meet a travel exemption and comply with all public health requirements. More details will be available on the IRCC website on the launch date.

In addition to open work permits, the Government of Canada continues to implement 2 other pathways to permanent residence for young Hong Kong residents, which will be available later this year. The first will be for Hong Kong residents with at least 1 year of work experience in Canada and who meet the language and education criteria. The second will be for Hong Kong residents who have graduated from a post-secondary institution in Canada; who can then apply directly for permanent residence. More information will be available in due course.

Quote

"The launch of the Hong Kong immigration pathway is a historic initiative that will attract young, talented and experienced graduates who will help to drive Canada's economy forward. With flexible open work permits and a fast-track to permanent residency, skilled Hong Kong residents will have a unique opportunity to develop their careers and help accelerate Canada's economic recovery. This is a landmark immigration initiative that will strengthen our economy and will deepen the ties between Canada and the people of Hong Kong."

 The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P., Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Quick facts 

On November 12, 2020 , Minister Mendicino announced new immigration measures to support Hong Kong residents who wish to come to Canada to study, work and settle.

, Minister Mendicino announced new immigration measures to support residents who wish to come to to study, work and settle. Eligible spouses or common-law partners, as well as dependent children, can also apply for a study or work permit, as appropriate.

These measures apply to Hong Kong residents who hold a Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR) or British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passport.

residents who hold a special administrative region (SAR) or British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passport. We have also implemented an exemption to the 12-month bar on a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) for Hong Kong residentsmeaning that some individuals who were previously ineligible may now get another, updated assessment on whether they can stay in Canada .

residentsmeaning that some individuals who were previously ineligible may now get another, updated assessment on whether they can stay in . Hong Kong residents at risk of persecution who have fled to another country may also be eligible under Canada's existing resettlement programs, including the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program and the Government-Assisted Refugees Program.

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SOURCE Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

For further information: Contacts for media only: Alexander Cohen, Minister's Office, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-954-1064, [email protected]; Media Relations, Communications Branch, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-952-1650, [email protected]

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Loading The arrests of Mr Lee in Thailand and Mr Tse in the Netherlands are among the most significant in the history of the federal polices efforts to counter organised crime with the help of drug enforcement agencies across Asia, Europe and North America. Official sources said they signal the determination of federal police Commissioner Reece Kershaw to revitalise the agencys attack on transnational organised crime, which generates tens of billions of dollars every year in Australia. Mr Kershaw elevated the combating of organised crime alongside countering terrorism and foreign interference in his 2020 National Press Club address. While former prime minister Kevin Rudds declaration in 2008 that organised crime was a national security priority was heralded at the time by federal and state police agency chiefs as a long overdue recognition of the damage wreaked in Australia by transnational crime syndicates, the fight against organised crime has mostly struggled to get the attention and resourcing of successive federal governments.

This is despite persistent warnings from local and international security agencies that offshore crime groups corrupt government agencies in Australia and overseas, undermine stability in nations with weak governance and engage not only in drug trafficking and money laundering, but human trafficking, cyber crime and weapons smuggling. Mr Lee has been on the radar of Australian police for almost 40 years. In the 1980s, he was arrested in NSW over a suspected heroin importation in a case that collapsed after a co-accused was found dead in jail. The federal polices drug taskforces investigated Mr Lee again in the 1990s and early 2000s, and he is also suspected to have helped set up the 14 K triad drug hub in the Netherlands that flooded Europe with heroin sourced from the Golden Triangle in south-east Asia. Mr Tse and Mr Lee are suspected to have been jointly involved in multiple billion-dollar drug importations into Australia over several decades and their pending extraditions come 25 years after the pair were arrested by the FBI for smuggling heroin into New York. Melbournes Crown casino. Credit:Scott McNaughton

Official sources involved in international drug enforcement and who are not authorised to speak publicly said both Mr Tse and Mr Lee had connections to senior officials in Asian countries, including a minister in Taiwan and powerful officials in Thailand. In December an associate of the pair, Triad boss Broken Tooth Wan Kuok Koi, was blacklisted by the US. The government, which barred him and his family from any dealings with the US financial system, alleged Wan had attached his extensive criminal operations to the Chinese governments Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The case against Mr Lee will rely on hundreds of phone conversations intercepted by the federal police as part of an operation codenamed Volante, as well as statements from federal agents about how they cracked a complex cipher code used by The Company. Macau crime boss Wan Kuok Koi, known as Broken Tooth, walks out of Coloane Prison in Macau in 2012. Credit:AP The code was allegedly used by Mr Lee while he was based in Hong Kong in 2012 to instruct Australian syndicate members about what phone numbers to call to receive money laundering or drug trafficking directions.

In the 2016 Melbourne court case of a local drug supplier, federal agents referred to a man called John  who was allegedly Mr Lee  who told his Australian associates to describe heroin as Mr A, cocaine as Mr B and ice as Mr C. It was only by cracking Lees cipher that Australian investigators, with the help of Hong Kong police, were able to conduct surveillance of a meeting at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Hong Kong in 2012 and allegedly identify John as Mr Lee. However, it is understood lawyers for Mr Lee are alleging the federal police has mistaken his identity and are fighting efforts to extradite him. While global media attention has focused on the arrest of Mr Tse due to his senior position in The Company, Mr Lees resilience, success and longevity as a suspected transnational drug trafficker is on par with many of the worlds better known drug bosses. Policing authorities say that The Company is a prime case study of the modernisation and corporatisation of organised crime. The syndicate is an amalgam of once competing Chinese Triad groups that have variously worked with Australian bikies, South American cartels and European crime bosses.

The Company mostly avoided generating media headlines and viewed violence as bad for business as it industrialised drug production via super laboratories in Myanmars lawless Shan State and accessed massive stockpiles of precursor chemicals in southern China. Loading A police intelligence report circulated among overseas agencies warned The Company had corrupted policing and security agencies across Asia. In 2019, Mr Tse even obtained the contents of a highly confidential Australian Federal Police document circulated among partner forces which alerted him to the fact that he was Target 1 of an operation created to capture him. Mr Lee was also listed on the same document as Target 6. The operations of The Company were first reported in 2019 by The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Sixty Minutes in a story documenting how triads had infiltrated Crown Resorts.
Defending national interests must be a permanent process, the security official stresses.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, says the task of the Ukrainian authorities is to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from seizing Ukraine.

The comment came during an online discussion panel of the Kyiv Forum "Sanctions against Russian Propaganda," an UNIAN correspondent reports.

The NSDC Secretary said that Ukraine should in no case cease to defend its interests.

Read alsoMedia freedom gives no right to spread "malicious propaganda"  U.S. envoy to OSCE"If we stop and if we fail to defend our national interests, we'll lose. And then Putin's dream that he conceived, let's say, in 2000, when he put it into his head the idea that he would take over Ukraine... that dream could come true. Our task is to not let him succeed," Danilov said.

At the same time, the NSDC secretary remains confident that Ukraine is able to hinder Putin's plans.

"I periodically communicate with Volodymyr Zelensky and clearly understand further developments. I know how we will defend our sovereignty to ensure that we're independent of anyone. And I'm sure that victory will on our side, 100%," Danilov said.

Zelensky's ban on pro-Russian media outlets

President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 2 enacted a package of sanctions put forward by the National Security and Defense Council, effectively blocking a number of media assets, including 112 Ukraine, ZIK, and NewsOne TV channels that had been multiple times accused of preaching pro-Russian rhetoric, formally owned by Taras Kozak  an MP and ally of Vladimir Putin's crony Viktor Medvedchuk.

Read alsoSanctions on pro-Russian TV channels challenged in Supreme CourtCommenting on own move, President Zelensky said he strongly supports freedom of speech, but not "propaganda financed by the aggressor country."

SBU security service chief Ivan Bakanov said, "There is a big difference between freedom of speech and outright anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. Freedom of speech ends where signs appear of encroachment on territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine."

U.S. diplomats in Ukraine have supported the move and called for joint efforts "to prevent disinformation from being deployed as a weapon in an information war against sovereign states."

Meanwhile, the European Union's External Service said it was "assessing the implications" of the ban on TV channels.

Reporting by UNIAN
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Advanced telehealth technology is being used to improve patient care in the field by connecting rural emergency medical services (EMS) responders to Tucson emergency medicine physicians in a joint project involving the University of Arizona Health Sciences and Banner - University Medical Center Tucson.

Rural EMS and ambulance agencies face several challenges in providing sustainable prehospital care to remote communities, including low call volumes, long transport distances, reliance on volunteers, an aging workforce and difficulty meeting increased educational standards. The Arizona Rural EMS Advanced Telemedicine Demonstration Initiative (AzREADI) addresses these challenges by giving rural EMS responders 24/7 access to real-time consultations with board-certified EMS physicians.

Connecting to a remote specialist prior to hospital arrival can decrease the time from symptom onset to treatment, which is especially important for stroke or traumatic brain injury, for instance, when 'time is brain.'" Joshua Gaither, MD, Associate Professor and EMS Fellowship Director, UArizona College of Medicine - Tucson's Department of Emergency Medicine

The use of telemedicine services is vital in rural areas, where the COVID-19 pandemic has stressed already limited resources. AzREADI capitalizes on improvements in wireless broadband capabilities to extend communications and improve real-time patient care while optimizing resources and decreasing costs.

"EMS vehicles are being equipped with broadband cellular connection and high-speed internet access to the Banner - University Medical Center Tucson Emergency Department, making it much easier for an emergency department physician to immediately access the information, make a diagnosis, recommend a transfer or prepare the medical equipment necessary to treat the patient upon arrival," Dr. Gaither said.

Two partner EMS agencies are participating in the pilot program: the Rio Rico Fire and Medical District, serving the rural area just north of the Arizona-Mexico border; and the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District, serving rural communities between Tucson and Sierra Vista. Cobmined, their EMS service areas include 19,941 Arizona citizens and span 792 square miles in southern Arizona.

"Having the AzREADI resource available to the crews gives them a very near 'in-person' medical support experience," said Richard Johnson, deputy chief of the Rio Rico Medical and Fire District. "The ability for them to contact a physician and, via the technology, hear the medical recommendation is a great comfort to me as a supervisor, knowing that my personnel are supported to that extent regardless of their location."

"With the technology resources provided by AzREADI, we now have the ability to share vital clinical information with doctors in real time, which makes for more effective decision making and ensures that patients get the best care while allowing us to maximize our resources," added Marc Meredith, acting operations chief of the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District. "We are grateful to be part of this important program to enhance medical care in rural settings."

AzREADI is funded by a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant with the UArizona Center for Rural Health at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. The Center for Rural Health was one of only eight recipients in the nation to receive a three-year, $750,000 supplement to its HRSA Rural Hospital Flexibility Program award for the AzREADI project.

"EMS providers can use the AzREADI telehealth platform at the scene of the accident or illness or en route to a medical facility to virtually receive additional input on the best treatment option for the patient," said co-investigator Amber Rice, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine who also serves as medical director for two Tucson fire departments. "The anticipated effects are better triaging, advanced onsite care, and referrals to facilities that could best meet the patient's needs."

Other co-investigators are: Melody Glenn, MD, assistant professor and base hospital medical director for Banner - UMC Tucson, and Daniel Spaite, MD, professor and Virginia Piper Distinguished Chair of Emergency Medicine, from the Department of Emergency Medicine; and Arizona Telemedicine Program Founding Director Ronald Weinstein, MD.

"We are thrilled to partner with these outstanding agencies, using technology to help connect patients and providers to more resources," Dr. Glenn said. "This innovative project allows us to achieve one of the main goals of high-quality prehospital care: get the right care to the right patient at the right time."
Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran of the Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police, was arrested on charges of homicide Wednesday in the December 22 killing of Andre Hill, a 47-year-old African American man who was unarmed at the time of the shooting.

Coy, who is white, was suspended and then fired after the December shooting. He has also been charged with dereliction of duty and felonious assault.

Andre Hill (Facebook)

Officer Coy and his partner were responding to a complaint from a neighborhood resident, who claimed they had seen a suspicious vehicle in the area.

Coy failed to activate his body camera before the encounter, in violation of department protocols. However, the cameras are programed to record footage 60 seconds before they are turned on, and this fail-safe measure recorded Hills slaying.

The audio from the first portion of the video is cut out, but it shows Coy and his partner walking up the driveway to the open garage, where Hill was reportedly visiting a friend, with guns and flashlights drawn. Hill slowly and casually walked out of the garage to meet the officers with his cellphone in his left hand, possibly recording the encounter, while his right hand was in his jacket pocket.

Seconds after Hill emerged from the garage Coy opened fire, hitting him four times. It is at this point that officer Coy officially turned his body cam on.

As the officers approached the wounded Hill and turned him over searching for a weapon, he can be heard moaning in agony. Neither officer attempted to perform first aid on their victim. For the next five minutes both walked back out onto the street while they waited for back-up to arrive. Coy can be heard retching and dry heaving, possibly aware that he had just committed murder. When additional police finally arrived, they handcuffed the wounded Hill before transporting him to a hospital, where he died later that night.

Attorney Mark Collins, who is representing Coy, told the media that his client believed Hill was holding a silver revolver in his right hand at the time of the shooting, a claim unsupported by the video footage.

Coy has a documented history of violence going back to 2003, when nine written complaints were lodged against him, four of those in the course of one month. In 2012 he was suspended for 160 hours after dashcam footage showed him assaulting a drunk-driving suspect. Coy punched the driver repeatedly, slammed his head into the hood of the car four times, and threw the suspect on the ground. An investigation later concluded that the driver was not resisting arrest and the city paid $45,000 to settle an excessive force lawsuit related to the incident.

Hills murder came only three weeks after Columbus police shot and killed unarmed 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. as he was unlocking the front door to his house. Police at the time claimed they were hunting a wanted fugitive, and that Goodsons killing was a case of mistaken identity. Goodson was also African American.

Goodsons murder sparked large-scale protests. Though his killing remains under investigation, no charges have been brought so far.

The charging of Coy was a political necessity for Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, who tried to head off mass protests by calling for the officer to be fired and prosecuted within days of the incident, and by former police chief Thomas Quinlan, who released a statement soon after the killing stating, Known facts do not establish that this use of deadly force was objectively reasonable.

Chief Quinlan also stated at the time that other officers who responded to the scene were also under investigation for failing to render aid to Hill. In a later written statement to the Columbus Director of Public Safety encouraging the firing of Coy, Quinlan also stated that the police dispatcher did not provide Officer Coy any indication there was criminal activity occurring or a present danger in the neighborhood. Radio merely advised to check the area for a suspicious vehicle.

Quinlan was demoted by Mayor Ginther on January 28 of this year to deputy chief, the position he had previously held, while the previous deputy chief was appointed to his position in an acting capacity until a replacement is found.

In a further indication that the authorities in Ohio viewed the outcome of Hills killing as politically hazardous, the grand jury hearings which resulted in the charging of Coy were directly overseen by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who told the New York Times that his office acted as a special prosecutor in the case.

Neither the police chief, the attorney general, nor the mayor have attempted to give any explanation as to why Coy had continued to work as a police officer despite his documented history of violent conduct.

Columbus officials have pledged to spend $4.5 million on updated body cameras and to install a new nine-member civilian review board to oversee the police. These impotent measures, along with promoting minorities into positions of leadership within police departments, have been put in place in many other communities after police killings of unarmed civilians, particularly in the six years since mass demonstrations erupted after the police murders of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City. These cosmetic reforms have done nothing to slow the pace of police murders, however, which have averaged around 1,000 a year since 2015.
This year is an important one for Boeing Co.'s presence in South Carolina. As of March, the Palmetto State will be the only place where the company builds its 787 Dreamliner.

When the planemaker announced in October it would make North Charleston its sole home base for the program, it was a shift that planted its footprint more firmly in South Carolina and marked a retreat from its longtime manufacturing stronghold in the Pacific Northwest.

The consolidation comes during a tumultuous time for both Boeing and the 787 program  one that goes beyond the pandemic that has decimated demand for passenger aircraft.

Quality issues are being reviewed, planes are being inspected and not a single 787 has been delivered since October.

Boeing leaders reiterated during their quarterly earnings report Jan. 27 that consolidation of the 787 assembly line in South Carolina would happen in March, several months earlier than initially planned.

But the timeline is still unclear for other key aspects of the Dreamliner program: in the short-term, when deliveries are resuming and, in the long-term, when the sales outlook will recover from the pandemic.

Delivery drought

For several months, Boeing has been inspecting all of its completed 787s for a production flaw in the jet's fuselage. Suppliers were directed to check for the issues, too, and that  along with COVID-19  has been blamed for a total pause in deliveries.

In the Jan. 27 earnings report, CEO Dave Calhoun confirmed that those delays had continued into the new year.

January was another zero-delivery month, and February will see "few, if any" of the jets handed over to customers, Calhoun said. That means there will have been, at least, a three-month delivery drought for the 787.

Because of that, the jets piled up in inventory  about 80 in total, finance chief Greg Smith said. That means, in order to unload all of them by the end of 2021, as he said the company intends to, Boeing must deliver an average of just over seven of those jets per month starting this month.

Additionally, new airplanes coming off the line will need to be handed over to customers, too.

The aircraft that helped put South Carolina on the global aviation map will be built at a much lower rate this year  low enough that the North Charleston plant will be pushing out two fewer planes each month on average than it was when the program was at its peak.

When 14 of the 787s were made a month, South Carolina built about half. Now, after several rate reductions announced in 2020, the plant will assemble just five per month. That means at least 60 planes will roll out of the final assembly plant off International Boulevard this year.

In 2019, when the program was unencumbered by the pandemic or a major production issue, Boeing delivered 158 Dreamliners, or an average of about 13 per month, between both 787 sites.

In 2020, just 53 were delivered, and three months came and went with zero deliveries.

Getting more 787s into customers' hands this year is critical for Boeing. Dreamliner deliveries will be "the largest driver of the improvement in cash flow" in 2021, Smith said in the January meeting.

Some of this year's deliveries will still take place on the West Coast, despite the impending consolidation next month.

Dreamliners built in Everett, Wash., will still be handed over at that location, Boeing said, and work connected with the quality issues will continue to be done there.

Boeing has also set up what it calls a "join verification site" in Victorville, Calif., where inspections and rework will be done on Everett-made planes.

With output at the North Charleston plant going down to five per month and the inspections of Everett-built jets being handled on the West Coast, the North Charleston site "should be able to handle the flow" of building jets, inspecting them and, eventually, delivering them, said Uresh Sheth, an analyst who tracks 787 production.

Next month's move

While the official consolidation of the program in March means no more assembly work for Everett, it doesn't signal major changes for how the plant next to Charleston International Airport will operate day to day.

Production has already slowed to meet the new rate.

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Inspections for issues with South Carolina-made jets are underway.

And near-term employment changes aren't expected, particularly since the company's South Carolina workforce shrank by 1,163 in 2020, according to an annual employment update released this week.

While some Lowcountry politicians spoke hopefully in 2020 about bringing jobs to the region when Boeing announced South Carolina would maintain its sole 787 assembly site, the company would need to add back hundreds of jobs it shed in the past year just to reach pre-COVID employment levels.

Financial pressure brought on by the health crisis led to widespread buyouts and layoffs companywide in 2020, and Lowcountry jobs weren't immune.

Now, Boeing employs fewer than 5,800 South Carolinians, according to the new headcount, knocking the planemaker down to the second-largest private employer in Charleston County from No. 1, behind Roper St. Francis Healthcare.

More job cuts are planned this year. Boeing South Carolina spokeswoman Libba Holland said this week that the company still expects its workforce to drop to about 130,000 employees worldwide by the end of the year  as of Jan. 1, the count was about 141,000  but she could not specify if the North Charleston sites would be affected.

Adding jobs has been the key bargaining chip the manufacturer has used to secure hundreds of millions of dollars worth of public assistance in the form of tax breaks and other incentives since bringing 787 assembly to South Carolina more than a decade ago.

787 outlook

On Jan. 27, Calhoun told investors he'll maybe "take a hit on that one," referring to the monthslong inspection process for the 787.

"But this is a moment where we get to fix some things and do some things the way we would like to do them," Calhoun said. "And so I have put very little pressure on the production and engineering team to resolve things too quickly."

Right now, 787s in production are being inspected and reworked if needed, so they won't require additional reviews after they come off the line.

But whatever the underlying issue is that's causing some 787 aircraft to not meet engineering specifications hasn't been solved at this point.

Calhoun said there "won't be a formal signoff" from the Federal Aviation Administration on the 787 issues, but he stressed that the company will "make sure the FAA is comfortable with every act" they've taken.

In a statement to The Post and Courier, the FAA said that it "continuously engages with Boeing through established Continued Operational Safety and manufacturing oversight processes to appropriately address any issues that might arise."

One of the big questions for the 787 program going forward is how much it will be affected by the shift in the market from twin-aisle to single-aisle jets, said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst with Fairfax, Va.-based Teal Group.

Widebodies like the Dreamliner are favored for long-haul overseas flights, which are expected to take the most time to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Certainly, it's in a better position than bigger jets, but it's still vulnerable," Aboulafia said of the 787.

Those "bigger jets" include the Washington-state made 777X, whose debut Boeing just pushed back to 2023. On Feb. 2, Bloomberg reported that the biggest customer for the 777X, Emirates, was considering swapping some of its order for the smaller 787 Dreamliner.

Right now, Aboulafia said, having one production line in North Charleston making 787s at a low single-digit rate is viable. It's unclear, though, when production could be ramped up again and by how much.

The 787 program could see a "reach-forward loss," if production has to be reduced again, Smith told investors in the January meeting.

That reference to a "reach-forward loss" has to do with Boeing's method of accounting. Boeing adds up what it expects the entire program to cost and expenses portions of the cost against deliveries. The number of deliveries and the pace of production affect profitability over the life of that program.

In 2020, Boeing changed its accounting to be based on an expectation of delivering 1,500 of its 787 jets over the life of production. That's adjusted down from 1,600 pre-pandemic.

That's not a major difference, though, said Bjorn Fehrm, an analyst with aviation-focused Leeham News.

"The program is not in real trouble," Fehrm said.

Yes, the market has changed because of the pandemic, and quality issues must be fixed. But, he said, the 787 "is a good aircraft," and, he argued, Boeing should go on to deliver hundreds more.
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Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
The five leaders named, Anthony Vickery, 21, Kongie Richardson, Keith Joseph, 24, Raelyn Person, 23, and Jason Bryson, were responsible for organizing one of Lompoc's largest demonstrations for social justice following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a Caucasian police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes on Memorial Day.
NAIFA is reaching out to members to encourage them and their clients to share their stories with Protecting Every Future.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is pleased to announce that Protecting Every Future, a program of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), has joined the Financial Security Alliance.

Protecting Every Future is a network of diverse voices and people who believe in common-sense policies that protect and strengthen the financial futures of all Americans. It provides a platform for advocates to speak their minds about financial security to all levels of government. Protecting Every Future is also committed to supporting financial literacy and education as part of ACLIs Economic Empowerment & Racial Equity Initiative. NAIFA is reaching out to members to encourage them and their clients to share their stories with Protecting Every Future.

NAIFA members work every day with Main Street consumers and businesses to help them achieve financial security and prosper. Our members have a lot of great stories to tell, and they know better than anyone how financial and retirement planning have amazing impacts on the lives of everyday Americans and their families, said John Wheeler, NAIFA Member and Chair of the Financial Security Alliance. We are pleased to welcome Protecting Every Future to the Financial Security Alliance and look forward to working with them and our other partners to improve financial literacy and encourage a new generation of young professionals to go into the insurance and financial services business.

The Financial Security Alliance seeks to ensure consumers have access to financial education resources, deliver financial wellness courses in local communities, and elevate the insurance and financial services profession to attract top-notch talent and promote their career success. Since its inception, founding partners NAIFA and Life Happens have been joined in the Alliance by the International Disability Insurance Society, EveryIncome, the ILTCI Conference, and Forum 400.

Protecting Every Future looks forward to working with a professional association of NAIFAs stature, said ACLIs Grassroots and Strategic Initiatives Director, Bryanna Evans. NAIFA has a robust history of strong political advocacy, with a membership that represents the financial interests and wellbeing of Americans from every community. NAIFA members and their clients have just the types of stories Protecting Every Future is committed to sharing with our nations policymakers.

ABOUT NAIFA: The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is the preeminent membership association for the multigenerational community of financial professionals in the United States. NAIFA members subscribe to a strong Code of Ethics and represent a full spectrum of financial services practice specialties. They work with families and businesses to help Americans improve financial literacy and achieve financial security. NAIFA has 53 state and territorial chapters and 35 large metropolitan local chapters. NAIFA members in every congressional district advocate on behalf of producers and consumers at the state, interstate and federal levels.

ABOUT PROTECTING EVERY FUTURE: Protecting Every Futures mission is to keep advocates informed on policies impacting financial security at all levels of government and promote the importance of planning for a reliable financial future. PEF is a program of the American Council of Life Insurers.
By Ivan Ssenabulya

The International Criminal Court has faulted government of Uganda for the failure to protect citizens during the 20 year carnage in the North which claimed hundreds of lives.

This is entailed in the full judgment of former LRA commander Dominic Ongwen, by panel of three judges presided over by Bertram Schmitt.

The ICC on Thursday found Ongwen guilty of 61 counts out of the 70 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including; murder, rape, sexual enslavement, forced marriage ,abducting young children under the age of 15, torture among others that were carried out in the early 2000s.

Breaking down the judgment, Sarah Kihika Kasande the head of International Center for Transitional Justice, Uganda office said that court noted that in most attacks UPDF flee instead of protecting the villagers.

She says that the Judgement exposed the failure by the state because some attacks could be prevented.

Ongwen committed the crimes to civilians in IDP camps of Lukodi, Pajule, Idek and Poka between October 2003 and June 2004 in Northern Uganda.

Ongwen who is yet to be sentenced, is the first member of the Lords Resistance Army to appear before ICC and to be convicted.

The late legendary Christopher Plummers career stretched across six decades. However, perhaps his most well-known role was in The Sound of Music.

In the beloved 1965 musical, Plummer played Captain Von Trapp, a surly man who eventually falls in love with Maria (Julie Andrews), a young nun who is hired to care for his seven children. The movie was set against Nazi-occupied Austria.

One of the most memorable moments of the film is when Plummer sings Edelweiss. This is what we know about that specific moment in the movie.

The Sound Of Music | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Christopher Plummer hated filming The Sound of Music

Plummer was not at all impressed with The Sound of Music. As a Tony-Award winning Broadway actor, he felt that the role and the Hollywood musical itself were beneath him.

I had become a pampered, arrogant young bastard, spoiled by too many great theatre roles, he revealed in his memoir In Spite of Myself. I still harbored the old-fashioned stage actors snobbism toward moviemaking. At the time Plummer told the Boston Globe that he was a bit bored with the character of Captain von Trapp. The New York Times revealed that hed called the movie, The Sound of Mucus.

In fact, Plummer wasnt all that enthusiastic about the film years later. [I]t was so awful and sentimental and gooey, the actor told Insider in 2011, You had to work terribly hard to try and infuse some minuscule bit of humor into it.

RELATED: The Sound of Music Star Christopher Plummer Hated the Film, Calling it So Awful and Sentimental and Gooey

Christopher Plummer was drunk while filming a pivotal scene in The Sound of Music

Since Plummer could barely tolerate being in the film, he often got drunk on The Sound of Music set. He also enjoyed flirting with actor Charmian Carr, who played his on-screen daughter Liesl to pass the time. Carr was 21 when The Sound of Music was filmed.

In the 35th anniversary edition of the DVD, for The Sound of Music, Plummer admitted that he was completely wasted when filming the all-important music festival scene.

I was drinking like mad at the time, Plummer revealed in his 2008 memoir. There was no reason for me to drink as I was making quite a lot of money, but I felt I wasnt doing the kind of things Id rather be doing.

He said later, My behavior was unconscionable.

Christopher Plummer didnt actually sing Edelweiss in The Sound of Music

In one of the films best scenes. Captain Von Trapp sings a stunning rendition of Edelweiss. However, Plummer didnt actually sing the song. Instead, the filmmakers chose to dub his voice over so that it would match perfectly and be in pitch with Andrews

They did for the long passages, the late actor told NPR. It was very well done. The entrances and exits from the songs were my voice, and then they filled in  in those days, they were very fussy about matching voices in musicals. And Julie, of course, had been  you know, trained since day one as a  I mean, she was .tone perfect since she was in her cradle, which is an exasperating thing to admit. And it was awfully hard to match her and her sustained, long notes. So yeah, I was  they did it very well cause it sounded very much like me.
The drill program, which was designed to develop the parameters of the H1 mine, will include six new 220-to-250-metre boreholes

Previous drilling resulted in graphite veins of varying thickness being intercepted at various depths between 67 to 142 metres

( ) (OTCMKTS:CYLYF) (FRA:CCY) announced an expanded drill program at its H1 site in Sri Lanka, according to a statement Thursday.

The drill program, which was designed to develop the parameters of the H1 mine, will include six new 220-to-250-metres boreholes, the company told shareholders.

The site is one of 121 grids held by Ceylons subsidiary Sarcon Development (Pvt) Ltd under EL 222.

Drilling at H1 first started in 2019, when the company sank four bore holes and cleared adits prior to the pause in operations due to COVID-19. According to Ceylon, the bore holes resulted in graphite veins of varying thickness being intercepted at various depths between 67 to 142 metres.

We are pleased to begin drilling at scale again and look forward to completing the drill program in the next few months, said Ceylon Graphites CEO Bharat Parashar in a statement.

Previous drilling at H1 has produced good results and we anticipate even better results in this program due to the close proximity to the recently discovered large high grade surface vein. In addition to the drilling, we have restarted work on an adit which, will follow the vein in the overburden up to the rock and then will be converted into a shaft to access the mine.

Commercial graphite production is underway at Ceylons K1 site and Ceylon began the application process for an Industrial Mining License Category A for its M1 site, on which it expects to begin commercial production in 3Q 2021.

Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas
A former caseworker for New Jersey's child protection agency admitted to producing child pornography, according to federal authorities.

The caseworker, Kayan Frazier, pleaded guilty Thursday via video conference in federal court to one count of sexual exploitation of a child, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said in a press release. He's been in custody since his arrest in July 2019.

The crime occurred between March 2017 and April 2019 and involved an underage boy, according to the charging document. It states that Frazier, 28, "did knowingly employ, use, persuade, induce, entice or coerce" the victim to "engage in sexually explicit conduct."

Authorities began investigating after they received a report that child sexual abuse images were being distributed on Tumblr. Law enforcement identified the sender as Frazier, who at the time was a caseworker for New Jersey's Department of Child Protection and Permanency.

In April 2019, prosecutors in Atlantic County obtained a search warrant for Frazier's Somers Point apartment. While executing the warrant, authorities found him "in the company of an underage boy," the release states.

"Law enforcement officers recovered thousands of additional images of child sexual abuse on Fraziers cellular telephone and other electronic media, which included images of the boy taken in Fraziers apartment. Frazier admitted that he took the images with a cellular telephone," the attorney's office said.

Frazier's attorney, Lisa Lewis, said, "My office has a no comment policy on all matters."

He faces a maximum prison sentence of 30 years and a $250,000 fine. He's scheduled to be sentenced on June 8.

Frazier was also charged by Atlantic County prosecutors with distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography, both second-degree offenses. County prosecutor Damon Tyner said an investigation uncovered "more than 1,000 images depicting sexual exploitation or abuse of a child."

Story continues

An FBI special agent wrote in a 2019 complaint that Frazier was fired from his job as a substitute teacher after he was accused of letting a young male student "visit his home and sleep in his bed." He was accused of texting a 9-year-old student after hours.

Frazier denied any inappropriate conduct with the first student and said he was the boy's mentor, according to the complaint. He acknowledged texting the 9-year-old, it states.

The complaint also alleges that Frazier threatened to harm the family of one victim if the boy did not comply with his sexual advances or if he told anyone.

Frazier was fired from his teaching job in March 2017 and began working as a caseworker six months later, according to NJ.com. A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Families told the outlet that the agency could not discuss specific investigations due to confidentiality laws but that all employees are subject to background checks and screenings for abuse cases.

Jammu/Srinagar, Feb 5 : The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday announced restoration of 4G mobile Internet services in the entire Union Territory.

"4G mobile Internet services being restored in entire J&K," government spokesman Rohit Kansal said in a tweet.

At present, 4G mobile services were available in only two districts of J&K -- Udhampur in the Jammu division and Ganderbal in the Kashmir division.

All other 18 districts of the Union Territory had only 2G mobile Internet services.

Mobile telephony and Internet services were suspended on August 5, 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated and the state bifurcated and downgraded to a Union Territory.

While mobile telephony was restored after five months, restrictions on Internet services had since continued.

There had been growing demand from businesses, students and professionals for the restoration of 4G mobile Internet services. Poor internet connectivity compounded the problems of people across the UT particularly students as absence of high speed internet impacted the effectiveness of online classes.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the restoration of high speed internet.

"I thank the Hon'ble PM @narendramodi Ji and HM @AmitShah Ji for acceding to our request and restoring 4G services in the entire J&K UT. The move will fulfil the aspirations of the people, particularly the youth," he said in a tweet.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the move.

"4G Mubarak! For the first time since Aug 2019 all of J&K will have 4G mobile data. Better late than never," he tweeted.
The third edition of Tax, Accounting and Audit in India is updated for 2017, and provides an overview of the f...
42 Senate Democrats Support Direct Payments to Illegal Immigrants in Vote-a-Rama

Dozens of Democrat senators in a Senate session that is still going early Friday voted to show their support for sending stimulus checks to illegal immigrants.

Republicans offered a flurry of amendments during the Senates budget reconciliation debate as Democrats aim at using the budget process to ram through President Joe Bidens COVID-19 relief package. The nonbinding amendments are a way to get Democrats on the record about various issues.

Senate Republicans will be ready and waiting with a host of amendments to improve the rushed procedural step thats being jammed through. Well be getting senators on the record about whether taxpayers should fund checks for illegal immigrants, whether Democrats should raise taxes on small businesses in the midst of this historic crisis, and whether generous federal funding should pour into school districts where the unions refuse to let schools open, and this is just a small taste, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor.

Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) later introduced an amendment that would prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving Economic Impact Payments, or direct payments from the government.

It would establish a dangerous precedent if the federal government were to give a direct cash payment to those who have jumped the line and subverted our nations immigration system to enter the United States, Young said in a statement. We shouldnt give checks to foreigners whove broken our laws. Pandemic relief should go only to Americans, not illegal immigrants, Cotton added.

The amendment passed with support from eight Democrats. But 42 went on the record indicating support for sending payments to people in the country illegally, including Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and newly elected Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

Republicans also proposed other amendments, partially as a way to make it more difficult to pass the budget resolution. The process is known colloquially on Capitol Hill as vote-a-rama.

Republicans wanted to show their displeasure with how Democrats are resorting to a budget tool to work on passing Bidens $1.9 trillion relief plan without Republican votes. The GOP largely opposed the package, noting that money remains unspent from the $918 billion plan Congress passed late last year.

Sen. John Thune (R-Wyo.) noted that the Senates 5050 deadlock can only be broken by Vice President Kamala Harris and asserted voters gave lawmakers a mandate for bipartisanship. He also referenced Bidens promise to try to unify the country.

Its common to talk about unity at inaugurations. I have been to a lot of them. But all too often, that commitment is quickly forgotten. And, unfortunately, were already seeing signs that members of the Democrat leadership are rapidly abandoning the presidents call for bipartisanship, he said. Democrats turn toward budget reconciliation, a process that allows certain legislation to pass the Senate with a simple majority instead of 60 votes, which is normal here, would be more understandable if Republicans had categorically refused to consider any additional COVID legislation. But that isnt even close to being the case.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) speaks in Washington on Jan. 26, 2021. (Tom Williams/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Democrats, who have accused Republicans of not acting with enough urgency to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, griped about the overnight session.

We need to remember what this is all about. This is not about a goofy 10-hour or 12-hour or 15-hour process where we stack amendments and try to set each other up, that well somehow trick someone into taking a bad position that can be turned into a campaign advertisement, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told colleagues on the Senate floor. It is nonsense, and everybody should ignore it if they can. Do anything to not watch vote-a-rama.

During the session, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) joined with Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to propose withholding additional funding to schools that dont reopen for in-person classes after teachers have received COVID-19 vaccines. Teachers unions in major cities have resisted returning to classes, arguing the safety measures in place arent adequate. The decision has earned widespread ire, including from former Democrat presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.

The measure failed 5050, in a party-line vote.

Among the other measures that failed to pass: an amendment aimed at making sure COVID-19-related deaths of residents or staff at nursing homes are accurately reported, a commentary at the ongoing situation in New York; an amendment that would decrease funding for building roads in foreign countries in favor of building roads in the United States; and an amendment disapproving of any legislation to change the number of Supreme Court seats.

Other amendments came from Democrats or were proposed with Democrat support. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) proposed one that says a new round of stimulus checks shouldnt go to upper-income taxpayers. The amendment drew support from every member of the body except for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

Senators also approved an amendment that is aimed at providing funding to schools in states that lose revenue because of Bidens pause on oil and natural gas permits, an amendment that seeks to fund a public awareness campaign for COVID-19 vaccines, and an amendment expressing support for keeping the U.S. embassy in Israel in Jerusalem, where former President Donald Trump moved it to from Tel Aviv.

The debate on the budget ended around 5:30 a.m. with a 51-50 approval.
The first seeds to what became the Carousel Center, and later Destiny USA, were planted thirty years ago this week.

It began with a dramatic proposal from prominent local developer Robert Congel on July 10, 1987 to transform Syracuse's Oil City, a decaying industrial section, into "a retail, residential, recreation, preservation and light-industrial district, stretching from Onondaga Lake to downtown.

The centerpiece of his vision was a $100 million, two-to-three story shopping mall, which he said would "be the largest regional center in Central New York."

He hoped that it would become the catalyst needed to persuade other developers to build houses, apartments, restaurants, marina slips and offices throughout a triangle shaped piece of land bordered by Onondaga Lake and Interstates 81 and 690.

"I think it would be a bonanza for the city of Syracuse," Congel said. "It would be good for an area that's fairly distressed."

Congel made it clear that day that his proposal was only in its infancy, and he did not know how much it would cost to carry it out, but he estimated it would "represent hundreds of millions of added value to the city."

Syracuse Mayor Tom Young, who met with Congel that morning, was intrigued by the proposal.

"My reaction initially is one of excitement and cautious enthusiasm," he said.

The plans came at a time when city and Onondaga County officials were looking for ways to redevelop Onondaga Lake's shoreline, especially Oil City, where several dozen petroleum storage tanks, many unused, dominated.

"It takes the whole chunk of what at this point is less-than-desirable property in Syracuse and offers the prospect of making it one of the most exciting in-city developments in the Northeast," Mayor Young added.

Despite the excitement there were obstacles that would have to be overcome.

Acquiring land from individuals and businesses was going to be expensive.

Contamination of the ground and water by the fuel tanks might require a costly cleanup not to mention cleaning up Onondaga Lake's shoreline for development.

And odors from the nearby Metropolitan Sewage Treatment Plant might discourage the building of housing and restaurants.

(When Post-Standard reporter Robert Haggart interviewed people in the area, John Kyanka, a manager at a nearby Hess station said: "Shopping mall? It smells like when you open a cesspool, you know, a septic tank when you open it and clean it.")

Others were concerned the adverse effect the new mall would have on downtown Galleries, that was scheduled to open in October, the soon to be built Great Northern Mall and, as the Herald Journal wrote, "a dozen more old, new and refurbished shopping centers, malls and/or strips."

"Can this community really support yet another yet another - and perhaps the biggest of all - mall?" the newspaper asked.

Three days after the proposal was announced the Post-Standard's editorial page listed all of these obstacles and said,"One could go on and on. Indeed, there are enough arguments against any bold venture to persuade the meek never to set forth on the quest."

But the editorial closed on a high note: "But right now, let us draw inspiration from Congel's optimistic vision, and try to imagine what could be. Let is, in the poet Wordsworth's phrase, enjoy "the glory and freshness of a dream."

The Carousel Center opened on Oct. 15, 1990.

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle: Email | 315-427-3958.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2021) The US Air Force will review security protocols at its bases around the world after an unarmed man broke into a C-40 aircraft at Joint Base Andrews, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said on Friday.

The C-40 aircraft is used to transport the US vice president, defense secretary and other top government officials.

"The acting Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff are going to order the Air Force Inspector General to fully investigate this issue, everybody takes seriously what happened," Kirby said. "This investigation by the Air Force IG [Inspector General] will also include their installations worldwide.

"

The Air Force has made adjustments to its security protocols at Joint Base Andrews following the incident, Kirby said.

Earlier on Friday, the Air Force said in a statement that an unarmed man gained unauthorized access to the flightline at Joint Base Andrews and broke into a C-40 aircraft. The man was detained and interviewed by security forces then turned over to local law enforcement after it was revealed he had two outstanding warrants, the statement said.

There is no indication that the man has any ties to extremist groups, the statement said.
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The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website:

We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service.


The situation is under full control of the Ukrainian military.

The Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces has reported one wounded in action (WIA) amid four violations of the latest ceasefire agreement committed by Russia-controlled armed groups in the Donbas warzone on Thursday, February 4.

"In the past day, February 4, four ceasefire violations were recorded in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) zone," the press center of the Ukrainian JFO Command said on Facebook in an update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on February 5, 2021.

In particular, the Russian Federation's armed formations fired proscribed 82mm mortars and rifles near the village of Pivdenne.

"A Ukrainian defender was wounded as a result of the shelling. He was rushed to the hospital where he received medical assistance," the report says.

Read alsoMinister tentatively assesses damage from Russian occupation in DonbasAlso, enemy troops carried out engineering works toward Ukrainian defense positions outside the village of Krymske.

What is more, Russia-led forces used an anti-tank grenade launcher near the village of Vodiane, as well as hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and rifles near the village of Pavlopil.

Since Friday midnight, one ceasefire violation by the Russian occupation forces was recorded near the village of Novomykhailivka, where the enemy fired hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers and rifles.

The violations were reported to OSCE representatives through the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of the ceasefire in Donbas.

The situation is under full control of the Ukrainian military.

Donbas ceasefire: Background

Participants in the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE) on the peace settlement in Donbas on July 22 agreed on a full and comprehensive ceasefire along the contact line from 00:01 on Monday, July 27.

On the very first day of the newly-agreed truce, Russia's hybrid military forces mounted three attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has reported more such violations over the latest period.

Reporting by UNIAN

Tamil Nadu: As threats increase, communitys efforts to save Pulicat lake continues

February 05,2021 | Source: Mongabay

Meerasas story is one of displacement. The son of a boat maker and a resident of Dhonirevu (Karimanal island), one of many villages around the Pulicat lake, Meerasa and his parents were evicted from their home in 1985 during ISROs Sriharikota expansion. Meerasa now lives in Jameelabad and has worked in conservation since he graduated from school. But with industrial expansion around Pulicat lake threatening the land and the mangrove forests that surround them, Meerasa fears that history might be repeating itself.



About 50 km north of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is Pulicat lake, the second largest brackish water ecosystem in India. Known as Pazhaverkadu, meaning forest of the rooted fruit, Pulicat lake was once covered by dense mangrove trees. But over the centuries  from mangroves being hacked for the construction of the Dutch fort in the 1600s, to the gradual clearing of forests owing to spreading urbanisation and industrial expansion  the mangroves of Pulicat have now been reduced to sporadic patches along the coast. And the mangrove destruction for industrial expansions have both severely affected biodiversity and endangered the livelihood of the fisherfolk who depend on the mangrove ecosystem.



Around 1,200 families are completely dependent on the mangroves for their income. They make between 100 to 300 rupees a day during the summer season, and 1,500 to 2000 rupees a day during the monsoon season. Meerasa says. Fishing that involves tiger prawns and mud crabs are very lucrative, with a kilo of mud crabs costing as much as 1,500 rupees and tiger prawns costing about 1,200 rupees. Both the tiger prawns and mud crabs need the mangroves to thrive. They provide them with shade as well as feed in the form of falling leaves, and are critical to the livelihood of the fishing communities. Meerasa says. The mangroves have many uses, for starters, many marine species use them as nurseries during the early stage of their lives. The mangrove tree shedding, along with the accumulation of bacteria, provides young marine life with plenty of food, as well as a thick refuge to hide from larger animals.



The Pulicat lagoon ecosystem is highly threatened by natural and anthropogenic factors. Over the years, the mangrove species diversity has significantly reduced, thereby threatening many microniches of a range of fauna that use these habitats as nurseries. Some noteworthy species that breed in mangroves are flathead mullet, the iconic edible oyster Crassostrea madrasensis and Brachyuran crabs. says Riddhika Ramesh, a scientist at the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2007, fisheries lose about 480 kg in annual production for every hectare of forest that is destroyed. The mangroves, while acting as nurseries, preserve the fish stock in the long term, ensuring a reliable source of income for the people who depend on it. Mangroves also provide the community with timber, have enabled ecotourism, and protect the coasts from flooding.



Many waterlogged muddy areas of mangrove habitat are now transformed to vast arid areas which are dominated by invasive plant species Prosopis juliflora and Casuarina equisetifolia along the fringes of the lagoon. With increasing aridity from reduced rainfall and rise in summer temperature, reduced seawater exchange in the northern part of the lagoon and hypersaline conditions of the lake has made restoration of mangrove species challenging. It is because of this highly complex process that we are losing the biological integrity of a brackish water lagoon system. Ramesh says.



Yuvan Aves, a naturalist and educator says the wetlands of Pulicat are important because of the mosaic of different ecologies that can be found here. The Kosasthalai, Arani, and Kalangi rivers that empty into this lagoon make it possible for riverine floodplains, tidal flats, salt pans, mangroves, tropical dry evergreen forests, backwaters, coastal sand dunes, sandy beaches and the large Pulicat ecosystem itself to exist. He goes on to add that the mangroves of Pulicat lake also acts as a natural buffer against floods. The bioregion is Chennais largest flood catchment area and cyclonic buffer zone, for a city thats constantly frequented by cyclones, its important that this land is preserved, Aves says. The Kattupalli megaport expansion will also put one-forth of Chennais drinking water that comes from the wellfields and other sources at risk, and would put over 10 lakh people under serious water stress. Meerasa has been involved in restoring mangroves of Pulicat lake, raising awareness among the community, and conserving the wetland ecosystem for over two decades. Illustration by Harmeet Rahal for Mongabay.



This is our land and I know that no one else but us will fight for it



Meerasa remembers when his family was evicted from their village Dhonirevu in May 1985. Before we were asked to vacate, there was at least a kilometer separating two villages, but once the relocation began, they started stuffing us in the free space between the villages. The overpopulation led to scarcity of water, the overfishing created a strain on the lake, and there were resentment and communal riots between the existing and resettled communities. Meerasa fears that the expansion plan of the Kattupalli port would have similar consequences. In addition, it threatens around 500 hectares of mangroves, resulting in displacement and loss of livelihood of hundreds of fishing families.



I became active because this is our land and I know that no one else but us will fight for it, Meerasa says, talking about his inspiration to protect the mangroves. Driven by a sense of duty to protect the ecosystem that has allowed him and his community their livelihoods, Meerasa started working with CReNIEO (The Center for Research on New International Economic Order), a rural development nonprofit organisation, right after school. As far as I can remember, all the efforts to protect the lake have been community-driven. On August 5, 2002, when the Enoor North Thermal power station (North Chennai Thermal Power Station near Ennore Port) released hot water into the lake, fishes, prawns and crabs died by the hundreds. I remember walking into the lake when it was 43.5 degrees Celsius as opposed to the summer high of 35 degrees Celsius. It was the community that protested for five straight days and got the power station to cool the water and change the direction of the flow before sending it back into the river. This motivated me and Ive been involved in community-driven efforts ever since.



Meerasa first partnered with CReNIEO in 1988, when he enrolled for a computer course sponsored by the organisation. There were many outreach programs back then, for example, in the late 1980s, boatmen from Pulicat had to travel all the way to Chennai to get their engines repaired. But then CReNIEO organised a three-month-long engine repair workshop to produce homegrown mechanics, and now all the boat mechanics in Pulicat are a result of that workshop. As part of the organisation, Meerasa has been active with community outreach and has worked with over 30 schools these past 20 years. We organise trips for school students to get familiar with the mangroves, and weve also published booklets and teaching material for students and teachers so that theyre informed about their surroundings. Its important that people develop a feeling of ownership. This is our land, this is our livelihood and our future, and its our right to fight for it, he says.



Fighting off worm poachers



All of this outreach has paid off because the community takes action and mobilises all on its own today. The boatmen who take tourists to see the mangroves make it a point to never leave anything behind, the villagers get together to clean the lake, and just last month we were approached by women whod fought off worm poachers. Its a problem weve been having for the past three years, and its one thats caused great harm to the ecosystem, says Meerasa. Polychaete worms are found in large quantities on this side of the lake, with one kilo of worms fetching 1,200 rupees and as much as 4,000 rupees when resold in the market. These worms are sought after as feed by prawn farmers and aquarium dealers, who pay agents to acquire them from the lake. But the polychaete worms are important to aquatic life as well as the birds that visit the Pulicat lake. The main problem arose when hired workers dug two feet holes in the ground to acquire these worms. These holes caused sudden drops in the ground. This resulted in falls and broken bones among the prawn picking women of Pulicat. The women banded together and fought off the poachers. They now pick the worms themselves, but in measured quantities.



Restoring mangroves



The biggest community-driven undertaking, however, was the mangrove reforestation effort started in 2012. Aided by the Global Nature Fund and partnering with CReNIEO, the project involved fishermen and boatmen, labourers and prawn pickers, and utilised the local community in the restoration process. Thereby empowering them to take charge of their environment and enabling them to regain the livelihoods lost when the mangroves were destroyed.



In 2012, we began digging canals to improve the water circulation, especially during the summer. We dug around 3000 meters of canals over three years, and began planting the mangroves on the bunds of the canals. Wed tried this out once before in 2010, using the indigenous Avicennia marina seeds, but this was a failure owing to the high mortality rate of the plant. Avicennia marina seeds are about the size of a tamarind and remain small even after growing them in a nursery. Meerasa says, We learned from our mistakes and this time around, we used the Rhizophora mucronata plant. Rhizophora seeds are about a foot long, have lower mortality rates, and grow two to three feet when kept in the nursery. We got the help of the womenfolk around the lake to grow these seeds in nurseries; labourers were paid to work on the canals, and we listed the help of fishermen to plant the mangroves on the bunds. He adds, The canals also helped the plants regenerate naturally. Avicennia marina seeds that drifted away would settle on the bunds and grow, and soon a site with 100 plants had over 5,000 plants.



Its hard to monitor the plants and keep count because they would significantly reduce in numbers during the summer  they would either drift away and the lack of water was a major issue. Just last year we got labourers to manually water the mangroves during the summer. But just as everything was going great, tragedy struck. During the monsoon of 2015, Pulicat was hit by a historic flood, a flood that submerged the plants for 10 days and resulted in the loss of about 90% of the restored mangroves. Mangroves have several adaptations that enable them to tolerate up to 100 times more salt than most other plants. They get rid of the salt by storing them in their leaves and bark and shedding them, but at same time they also need freshwater to survive. They would last about a week or so submerged completely by saltwater, after that they begin to deteriorate.



The community lost a lot of its plants during the floods, but havent given up yet. The people continued with their reforestation efforts, and are now able to see its advantages materialise. I used to find two or three tiger prawns at most, but now after the mangrove growth, I pick 10 to 12 prawns on average, says Rajee, a prawn picker. Babu, a boatman who helped plant the mangroves, says that he makes detours during his tours of the lake to show tourists the mangroves. I like to show off these plants, and people are always surprised to learn about a tree that can grow in saltwater, he says.



Threat of port expansion looms



The Kattupalli megaport, the largest proposed port project in India, is set to be constructed as an expansion to the existing 330-acre L&T shipyard, amidst protests. The public hearing over the construction of the 6111-acre megaport on Kattupalli island was scheduled to take place on January 22 but has been postponed after taking into account the large number of people who would turn up and the potential COVID-19 hazard it could cause.



Despite the looming threat of the Kattupalli port expansion, and the possibility of history repeating itself again, Meerasa is optimistic about the future. Hes convinced that people are better informed this time around, and that theyre more willing to act. No one knows what the future holds, but we know how to protect our surroundings. We will continue our work preserving our land and our mangroves, and we will continue to fight for our land and our livelihood, he says.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be in SVG by mid to late February.

A number of Caribbean countries are expected to received thousands of vaccines through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility.





St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and some Eastern Caribbean Countries who signed agreements with the COVAX Facility have been informed of the indicative allocation of COVID 19 vaccines.





St Vincent and the Grenadines is expected to receive 45,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The vaccines are the first of the assigned doses to satisfy COVAXs agreement with this country.





The COVAX facility has advised that vaccines will be delivered effective mid to late February with 357, 600 doses of the AstraZeneca AZD1222 vaccine distributed among Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





The main objective of this allocation is for countries to begin vaccinating their priority populations as quickly as possible.





The allocation was determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) panel of experts and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance of a publicprivate global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunisation in poor countries.





Minister of Health St Clair Prince hails the development as a significant boost in the fight against the disease and the safety of the population, that complement the measures already in place in this countrys COVID-19 response.





Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer Dr Simone Keizer-Beache said that: "The allocation of 45,600 AstraZeneca COVID vaccines to SVG with 25% being available in the first quarter, is an extremely important development in our battle to control the spread of COVID-19 in SVG and to return to some level of normalcy.





Studies find that the combined average across different dosing regimes for late-stage trials found the AstraZeneca vaccine was 70 per cent effective in protecting against symptomatic disease. Pfizers preliminary results suggest the shots are 95 per cent effective.




A nearly $14 million settlement has been reached in a lawsuit over a 2018 crash that killed a Kentucky police officer.

The money will go to the son of Louisville Metro Police Detective Deidre Dee Dee Mengedoht, who died on Christmas Eve in 2018 after a semitruck driven by a Metropolitan Sewer District employee crashed into the officers cruiser during a traffic stop, news outlets reports.

Mengedohts family accused driver Roger Burdette of negligence in the crash and accused the Metropolitan Sewer District of not properly employing, supervising and training him.

Louisville attorney Ron Hillerich says lawyers mediated all day Saturday before reaching the $13.65 million settlement. He said Mengedohts son is the beneficiary.

The loss of a child for a mother, and the loss of a mother for a child (is) a loss that never ends, Hillerich said. The money will certainly help this young man, and we hope some of these wounds will start to heal because of the closure  but its a great loss.

Sewer district spokeswoman Sheryl Lauder said the $13.65 million settlement will be paid by insurance and that the agency continues to mourn the loss of the officer.

Attorney Marc Murphy, the lead counsel for Burdette in the civil case, said he could not comment on the settlement due to the pending criminal prosecution.

Burdette has pleaded not guilty to charges from the crash including murder, wanton endangerment and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Kentucky
A man who was filmed smashing windows in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, at the spot where Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot, was arrested Saturday after a family member tipped off the FBI, federal prosecutors said.

Zachary Jordan Alam was arrested in Pennsylvania and faces charges of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon, destruction of government property, unlawful entry in a restricted building without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct, a federal criminal complaint said.

Image: Zachary Alam (via FBI)

In photos and videos cited by the affidavit, an FBI officer said Alam was seen breaching Capitol grounds wearing a dark colored jacket, a black and tan fur-lined hat, and a black shirt with a yellow and red label on the front.

Video footage showed Alam  with his mask pulled down  pushing past security personnel and screaming F--- the blue! before reaching the doors of the Speakers Lobby, which leads to the House Chamber, the affidavit said.

There, Alam grabbed a black helmet from another rioter and used it to smash the glass panes, shattering the windows, according to the document. Shortly after, Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt tried to climb through the shattered glass and was fatally shot by a Capitol police officer, the affidavit said.

Alam was arrested after an anonymous family member contacted the FBI National Threat Operations Center on Jan. 14, the court document said.

Court records did not say whether he had retained a lawyer. Efforts to reach Alam by phone at numbers listed for his home were unsuccessful.

Alam was the latest in a handful of pro-Trump rioters whose family members and ex-romantic partners have turned into authorities for their alleged participation in the Capitol incursion.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Larry Brock was arrested on Jan. 10 after his former wife of 18 years contacted the FBI National Threat Operations Center saying she recognized him in video.

Accused rioter Guy Reffitt, an apparent member of a Texas militia group, was arrested and accused of threatening his adult children if they "crossed the line and reported" him to authorities, according to a criminal complaint. His son Jackson Reffitt had apparently made the call before his father allegedly threatened his family, the affidavit said.

Dozens of other people have been arrested or charged after the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in a riot that led to the death of five people, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

Customers are urged to stay cautious against rampant scam and fraud activities ahead of Tet holidays.

Over the past few days, many banks in Vietnam have warned customers of messages appeared to be sent from them that include website links. Once customers click those links and fill out bank data, money in their bank accounts would instantly be evaporated.

A warning from Sacombank against suspicious link.

Please do not click on any links that are included in mobile message, email, social network, of even from sender named Sacombank, stressed the bank in a message to their customers.

The move came after many customers said they receive a message that informed them of irregularities related to their bank accounts and urged them to log in the website address of http://i-sacombank.com to verify information and change bank password.

The message was sent from a Sacombank SMS brandname created almost no suspicion, and many have clicked on the link and fill in all the fields required in the link. However, right after completing the final step of entering the OTP verification code, all money in the bank account would be gone in a matter of seconds.

Another type of message from the same Sacombank sender that saying the lender would give a voucher worth VND50,000 (US$2.17) ahead of Tet for customers and asked them to verify their bank information. And once all the personal details have been provided, their bank accounts would be empty.

A representative of Sacombank said all those messages are a scam, saying the process of sending SMS brandname message is conducted via its service provider IRIS Media.

The bank is reviewing its system and working with local authorities to address the issue, he noted.

Meanwhile, Sacombanks customers are not the only one targeted by scammers, as similar messages have been sent to those of OCB.

OCB bank has also asked its customers to be cautious against fake lending contract. According to the bank, swindlers would look for their victims among those seeking loans in social networks, and then approach them as employees of OCB to ask them to apply for loans at the bank.

Customers would then be asked to pay up to VND2.5 million (US$108) upon receiving these contracts via shippers.

To prevent more customers from being misled, Sacombank urged customers not to click on any link exceptthe bank's two official website addresses, including https://www.sacombank.com.vn and http://isacombank.com.vn.

The bank also instructed customers to directly type the link onto the web browsers, instead of using those sent from messages or email.

In a similar move, Vietcombank and Agribank also asked customers not to enter their passwords or OTP code into links sent via SMS, zalo, or social networks.

Given rampant fraud and scam activities ahead of Tet holidays, customers are advised to stay cautious and update information from official sources to ensure safety in transactions.

Ngoc Thuy (Hanoitimes)
[February 05, 2021] Lower North Shore now connected to improved Internet network

QUEBEC, Feb. 5, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Quebecers know that high-speed Internet access is no longer a luxury; it is essential for everyone, including those living in rural and remote regions. The current crisis has highlighted how much we all rely on high-speed Internet, and this need is sure to be even greater in the future. Access to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service is more essential now than ever, whether it's for working, learning or communicating with loved ones. The lower North Shore is now benefiting from access to mobile telephone service and an improved Internet network thanks to a combined investment of more than $23 million from the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec and TELUS. More than 2,000 households in 14 communities on the lower North Shore, including the Indigenous communities of Pakuashipi and La Romaine, can now access a new 4G LTE wireless network. Will Amos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (Science), along with Quebec representatives Jonatan Julien, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for the Cote-Nord Region, and Gilles Belanger, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier (high-speed Internet), today announced the completion of the project. The $23.9-million project, led by TELUS, was completed nearly one year ahead of the initial deadline. The Government of Quebec contributed $11 million to the project and the Government of Canada contributed $9.3 million, for a total of $20.3 million from the two levels of government. TELUS invested $3.6 million. Thanks to these investments, the new service was able to be launched throughout the lower North Shore. The Government of Quebec continues to roll out similar initiatives across the province through its broadband program. Ensuring that Quebecersespecially those living in rural areashave access to high-speed Internet is one of the govenment's top priorities. Work to ensure that residents of remote areas have reliable infrastructure will continue until 2026.



The Government of Canada has allocated billions of dollars to improving Internet infrastructure in rural and remote regions, including through the $1.75-billion Universal Broadband Fund. These investments will help connect 98% of Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2026 and the entire population by 2030. First project under the 20202023 Northern Action Plan successfully completed

As part its 20202023 Northern Action Plan, the Government of Quebec committed to enhancing the telecommunications network for families and businesses in the lower North Shore region. This action, under the key direction "An attractive, dynamic living environment," will eventually allow the population to benefit from the advantages of online learning or telemedicine. Fibre optic last-mile infrastructure has also been rolled out in the region, serving 16 public organizations, including the health centre network. Quotes "High-speed Internet service is key to the success of residents in rural Quebec communities. The COVID-19 crisis has shown us how important it is to be able to access the digital worldnow more than ever. By investing in this project through the Connect to Innovate program, we are continuing to bridge the digital divide so Canadians in Quebec's rural regions can also benefit from all the advantages the digital world has to offer. To date, the Government of Canada has invested over $213 million in 54 projects, which will connect up to 250,293 households in Quebec."

 Will Amos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (Science) "The Northern Action Plan seeks to promote a unique region and ensure a quality living environment for northern communities. Access to high-speed Internet is essential today in all regions of Quebec. We are very pleased to have been able to quickly carry out this flagship project under our plan. A reliable and efficient connection is necessary for both the economic and social development of the region, and the communities of the lower North Shore can now take full advantage of it."

 Jonatan Julien, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for the Cote-Nord Region "Providing service to remote communities, in a region such as the lower North Shore, is a significant challenge. Our government is proud to have contributed to this important project that allows businesses and residents to access services on par with those available in large centres. We are on track to meet our goal of ensuring all Quebecers have access to high-speed Internet by 2022."

 Gilles Belanger, Member of the National Assembly for Orford and Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier (high-speed Internet) Stay connected Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

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The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is ranked among the top 5% of think tanks in the nation, according to the latest Global Go to Think Tank Index Report.

The center, headquartered in downtown Midland, is listed as the 83rd most influential think tank out of 2,203 such organizations in the United States. The index includes organizations with viewpoints that span the entire political spectrum and university-affiliated think tanks.

The report, produced by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, examines 11,175 think tanks worldwide. Highly ranked organizations in the index excel in research, analysis and public engagement on a wide range of policy issues with the aim of advancing debate, facilitating cooperation between relevant actors, maintaining public support and funding and improving the overall quality of life in the United States.

To be considered, think tanks must go through a nominating process before being ranked by peers and experts. Finalists then participate in a final selection process with members of an expert panel.

"Since its founding in 1987, the nonpartisan Mackinac Center has been a champion for liberty and a voice of sound economic policy," states a news release. "Through its work in advancing the principles of free markets and limited government, the center is responsible for numerous policy changes that have helped improve the quality of life in Michigan."

The center engages in policy issues of interest to current politicians, but also strives to introduce new ideas for policymakers to consider in the future. These new ideas stretch the Overton Window of political possibilities, a concept that was developed by the Mackinac Center. In addition to its policy staff, the center has a distinguished Board of Scholars, which includes faculty from the University of Michigan, Hillsdale College, George Mason University and many more. The board also includes professional economists, attorneys and other specialists.

Were proud to rank among the top 5% of U.S. think tanks, said Joseph G. Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center. Midland, a city known for insight, discovery, and generosity, has been the perfect community for our incubation, growth and success. We look forward to continuing our work on sound policy solutions throughout this next year and beyond."
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The Chinese government criticizes interference in its internal affairs and charges Washington with promoting anti-Chinese elements in the former British colony. US politicians: the democratic movement is fighting peacefully for its rights. Democratic leader Martin Lee also proposed for recognition.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Chinese government is attacking US senators who want to nominate the Hong Kong democracy movement for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In yesterday's press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the recognition should be given "to people who have seriously contributed to maintaining and promoting world peace."

According to the nine US politicians - Republicans and Democrats - Hong Kong's Democratic Front should be rewarded for its courageous commitment to human rights and its fight against the erosion of its rights.

In the letter to the Nobel Committee promoting the Nobel, they stressed that several democratic activists "are already in prison or in exile, while others are awaiting trial for the sole reason of having peacefully expressed their thoughts".

As usual, Beijing dismissed the initiative of US lawmakers as interference in its internal affairs. For the Chinese, Washington uses the Nobel Prize as a tool to incite the "anti-China elements" to subvert the order in Hong Kong. In his speech, Wang went so far as to advise American senators to "see China in an objective and rational light" and to work to improve Sino-US relations.

Chinese authorities seem to have a real obsession with the Nobel Prize. The government run Global Times noted that for the fourth consecutive year Western politicians have nominated Hong Kong opposition leaders for the Award. In 2018 the young activist Joshua Wong was indicated; in 2019 it was the turn of the "people" of the city and in 2020 the democratic movement.

In recent days, two members of the Norwegian parliament also supported the candidacy of Martin Lee Chu-ming, Hong Kongs "father of democracy" and one of the founders of the Democratic Party. Lee, 82, is a profound Catholic. He was a parliamentarian before and after Hong Kong's passage to China in 1997, and is also one of the staunchest defenders of freedom in the territory and in the motherland.

Chinese winners of the Prize include writer Liu Xiaobo, left to die in prison in Liaoning. It was only towards the end that he was hospitalized.
Winchester College has been accused of condoning underage sex after 13-year-old boys were told they would not be prosecuted for having 'consensual' intercourse.

Parents at the 41,700-a-year public school reacted with fury after the leader of a sex education class told pupils in years nine and ten that the age of consent is not meant 'to punish young people'.

Dr Eleanor Draeger, from an organisation called It Happens, told boys that in a 'happy, healthy relationship' where 'you both want to have sex and you both have sex, you are unlikely to be prosecuted from that because it's not in the public interest'.

Parents at the 41,700-a-year public school reacted with fury after the leader of a sex education class told pupils in years nine and ten that the age of consent is not meant 'to punish young people'

According to The Telegraph, Dr Draeger continued: 'It's just two 14 year olds who want to have sex with each other who are consensually having sex.'

She went on to say that if a 19-year-old teacher had sex with a child then he would be prosecuted, but: 'So the age of consent is not there to prosecute [or] punish young people for having consensual sex.'

Having sex with anyone under the age of consent is a criminal offence, even for people who are also under 16.

Dr Draeger, who describes herself as a sexual health and HIV doctor, was speaking in a virtual class to boys aged 13 and 14.

The lesson is said to have sparked several complaints to the school from parents, with one source saying: 'It was pretending to be about sexual health but it was basically advocating underage sex.'

Dr Draeger also went on to say that 'biology isn't binary' during a discussion about male and female chromosomes.

The comments prompted a source to complain that the pupils were being 'indoctrinated' with views from the 'transgender lobby' that were not age-appropriate.

It Happens provides talks and training sessions to school pupils across the UK.

The organisation describes the sessions as 'straight-talking, open and honest' and vows to create a 'safe space' to discuss sensitive topics.

Dr Eleanor Draeger, from an organisation called It Happens, told boys that in a 'happy, healthy relationship' where 'you both want to have sex and you both have sex, you are unlikely to be prosecuted from that because it's not in the public interest'

In December, Eton parents revealed how pupils as young as 13 had been given a 'creative workshop' on pornography while a child was left asking 'Is it ok to be a boy and like rugby?' after a session on 'toxic masculinity'.

One parent said children were being indoctrinated by a 'partisan, political' Woke agenda, which involves contested ideas about gender and race being presented as fact with any opposing view silenced for being politically incorrect.

A 'creative workshop' run by the Eton 'Femsoc' [feminism society] entitled 'Sex Positivity, Feminism and Pornography' was targeted at boys in years nine and ten - meaning some would have been as young as 13.

The session was run by a group called the School of Sexuality Education.

One mother, who has a son and several other relatives at the school and asked to stay anonymous to protect them, said: 'Parents are really concerned about the pushing of age-inappropriate sexual content to children below the age of consent.

'This talk was given to boys in E and F block, who are 13 and 14. This is an explicit sexual talk being put in a political, partisan way with an activist streak.

'It is unbalanced and it is absolutely wrong that it should have been open to those year groups.'

In December, Eton parents revealed how pupils as young as 13 had been given a 'creative workshop' on pornography while a child was left asking 'Is it ok to be a boy and like rugby?' after a session on 'toxic masculinity'

At the time, Eton College Femsoc said the talks had received overwhelmingly positive feedback and noted that the School of Sexuality Education had given talks in hundreds of other UK schools.

Today, both Winchester College and It Happens claimed the comments about the age of consent had been taken out of context.

Winchester said: 'It Happens are members of the PSHE Association. They advise schools on how to implement the statutory guidance for the teaching of sex education in independent schools.

'The presentations were delivered by specialist consultant Dr Draeger, who has worked in the NHS for 16 years. Their content was in line with both NHS and WHO guidance.'

Meanwhile, It Happens said the lesson had received 'positive feedback', with a spokesman adding: 'Eleanor is a hugely experienced NHS doctor who has been working in Sexual Health for 16 years and has extensive experience delivering Sex Education training to teachers and talks for pupils in school for many years'.
Gigi Hadid has fired back at rumors that she has had plastic surgery, insisting that any changes to her appearance over the last few years are the result of advanced makeup skills - not filler or cosmetic procedures.

The 25-year-old model mother addressed speculation and rumors about alterations to her face in a new Vogue Beauty Secrets video, insisting that she has 'never' undergone any plastic surgery to change her appearance.

'People pull up pictures [of me in high school] and they're like, "Oh, Gigi's nose looks different in these pictures than now." Or they'll talk about something with my face and be like, "It's changed on Gigi."

Spot the difference? Gigi Hadid shut down rumors that she's had plastic surgery, insisting that her face looks different than it did a few years ago because she has learned how to do makeup

Way back when: Many have speculated that the model, pictured when she was in high school, has had cosmetic procedures because of how her face has changed since her teens

Recent: Gigi, now 25, revealed in a new Vogue video that she has 'never done anything to her face', explaining that she has simply learned how to use makeup to better accentuate it

Then and now: The new mother (pictured left in her high school yearbook and right in the Vogue clip) said she was never 'a huge makeup person' until she became famous

'...That's the power of makeup. I've never done anything to my face, but the way that I've learned to contour in certain places, to put bronzer in some places and leave it out in other places, that's something that you have to learn.

'I [used to] just put it everywhere. And then [your face] is just all one shape!'

Gigi first stepped into the public eye as a teenager living in Malibu, when she made several appearances on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alongside her mother, Yolanda, who was a castmember for several seasons.

During her time on the show, a fresh-faced Gigi - whose early days as a model were also documented by the cameras - would often appear without makeup, and when she did apply cosmetics for any public appearances, she now admits she didn't really know what she was doing.

The model, who welcomed her first child with boyfriend Zayn Malik in September, added that she only really began learning how to best flatter her face with makeup when she started working full-time as a model and spent much more time in the public eye and in front of photographers.

'In high school I wasn't really a huge makeup person,' she explained.

'I think that I became more of a makeup person when I had to be in public places, or I guess the more I got photographed, the more I learned what looked good on me. And also through makeup artists, I learned what was good on my face.'

Gigi's changing public face has been the focus of much speculation in recent years - with several plastic surgeons suggesting that she has undergone a handful of cosmetic procedures, including fillers in her lip, cheekbones, and jaw.

Explanation: 'I think that I became more of a makeup person when I had to be in public places, or I guess the more I got photographed, the more I learned what looked good on me,' she said

Youthful: Gigi, pictured in 2012, said that she used to simply apply bronzer 'everywhere' which made her face look like it was 'just one shape' but she has since learned to define her features

Praise: The catwalk star (pictured left in 2016 and right in 2020) paid tribute to the makeup artists who have helped her to learn new skills

In July, Dr. Sabrina Shah-Desai, a London-based surgeon who specializes in reconstructive procedures, and Dr Grigoriy Mashkevich, a facial plastic surgeon at Specialty Aesthetic Surgery, told DailyMail.com that that there are a few areas of Gigi's face that could well have benefited from a cosmetic procedure or two

'Gigi has not changed too dramatically, Dr. Shah-Desai - who has not treated the supermodel - said, adding: 'She looks like she has had minimal lip plumping and jawline fillers.'

Dr. Mashkevish noted that Gigi's lips and cheeks 'look fuller than in the high school photo,' explaining that this is likely the result of filler, however he explained that a number of other factors could have played a role in her transformation, including camera angles and makeup.

According to Gigi, makeup is the main reason that her face has evolved throughout her career - specifically skilled contouring, a talent that she only learned in recent years.

Joking that she wishes she could 'teach her high school self a few things', the model documented her day-to-day beauty routine, revealing how she transforms her face with a few simple tips and tricks that she has learned during her time as a model.

However, she admitted that motherhood has drastically reduced the amount of time she spends on cosmetics, joking: 'I know that sometimes, I'm not washing my face these days, I don't brush my hair for a few days.

'Sometimes I go a week without touching makeup. Just putting on deodorant is like... we're doing great.'

While makeup might not be one of her priorities as a new mother, one thing Gigi says she made sure to focus on during her pregnancy was implementing an all-natural skincare routine to ensure that she didn't expose her daughter Khai to any harmful chemicals.

Hydration station: Gigi applies several moisturizing products to her skin, before using two glowy primer products to give her a boost of radiance

Hands-on: The model revealed that she likes to blend her foundation in with her fingers because it results in a more natural look

Accentuate: Gigi contours her face by applying bronzer in the hollows of her cheekbones, beginning right at the edge of her face by her ear

Trick: She also uses the technique on her nose to make it more defined, drawing bronzer down the sides, and then connecting the lines in an arrow shape at the tip

'While I was pregnant I really moved towards really clean, natural products. I used a brand called Oliveda,' she explained. 'It's just olive tree extract and they have everything from cleanser to moisturizer.'

'I really enjoyed using that but that was also during the summer and now I have moved on to my winter routine, which really for me is about a thicker moisturizer because my skin gets so dry. My skin is always dry.'

To combat her dryness, the runway star makes sure to use a range of incredibly hydrating products, kicking off with the Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Cream, before layering the Odacite Facial Serum for Very Dry Skin on top.

After that, she will apply the Lanolips 101 Ointment Multi-Balm to any areas where she gets particularly dry patches - and she also uses the product on her lips to make sure they are hydrated before she applies any color to them.

'I think all-purpose ointments are great,' she said. 'I put it on my lips and then I dab it wherever my skin feels dry, sometimes like on the tip of my nose.'

For her foundation, Gigi relies on a custom mix of glowy and matte products to give her skin a natural radiance - without resulting in too much shine.

'I really like a base that doesn't look dry so I like a little bit of a glow but I obviously don't want to look oily so I have a mixture,' she said, revealing that she mixes the Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Face Primer, the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter, and the Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Liquid Foundation before blending them all in with her fingers for a more natural finish.

Her finely-tuned contouring skills come into play after she has applied concealer and face powder, and filled in her brows using a pencil and some wax: 'I like [my brow] fluffy, I like it pretty natural and looking fierce.'

Wow factor: 'I like [my brow] fluffy, I like it pretty natural and looking fierce,' she revealed

Final touches: The new mother admitted that she do her makeup too often now that she has a young baby, but when she does she likes to exercise her creativity

Motherhood: 'Sometimes I go a week without touching makeup. Just putting on deodorant is like... we're doing great,' Gigi joked

Adapting: Gigi revealed that she tried to implement an all-natural beauty routine while she was pregnant with her daughter Khai, who was born in September

Using the Maybelline City Bronzer, she applies the product to the hollows of her cheeks, beginning by her ear and drawing it down to the center of her cheek.

She then applies the same bronzer along her jaw, before moving on to her nose, a trick that she learned from makeup artists.

'I'm going to take the same powder with a round smaller brush,' she explained, while drawing two lines down either side of her nose.

'Then - this is my favorite - take a little and put it right on the bottom [of the nose] and kind of connect it like a little arrow,' Gigi added.

The fashion favorite also uses a few face-flattering tricks when it comes to her eyeshadow, revealing that she has learned over the years how to best accentuate her eyes with makeup application.

'I go right under my brow bone, then I go from my eyebrow down, and then I go across,' she revealed.

'I have a really high brown bone so I think it adds a good dimension and it pushes that part of my lid back so my eyes pop more.'

Gigi adds even more definition to her face with the use of two highlighters - one cream and one powder - which she applies on several different areas that naturally catch the light.

'I pull it [along my cheekbone] and then I go in a line right down the middle of my nose,' she explained, while applying her Maybelline FaceStudio Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter.

'Then I put some over my [top] lip. Then I [apply it to the arch of the brow].

'Sometimes if I'm feeling extra poppin' not only will I do the cream but I will take the powder [on top].'


Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported suspicion to ex-head of the JSC State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine, a British citizen, who, according to preliminary data from the investigation, organized an illegal mechanism for embezzling state corporation funds.

"By his actions, the state has been inflicted material damage worth more than UAH 9 million," the SBU said on its website on Thursday.

At the same time, the special service didn't name the name of the ex-official.

At the same time, it is known that British citizen Simon Cherniavsky acted as head of the board of the State Food and Grain Corporation from December 2019 to April 2020, after which he refused to extend the employment contract with the state corporation. Prior to his appointment, he served as Director General of the Mriya Agro Holding.

According to the SBU, investigators suspect the official of committing a criminal offense under Part 5 of Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement of property or taking possession of it by abuse of office) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The exposing of the illegal actions of the ex-official was carried out by the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence Protection of the State's Interests in the Field of Economic Security of the SBU, together with investigators of the Investigative Directorate of the Office of Large Taxpayers of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office. At the present time, investigative actions are underway to establish all the circumstances of the case and bring the other persons involved to justice.

JSC State Food and Grain Corporation was established by the government of Ukraine in August 2010. It includes an extensive network of branches: linear and port elevators, mills, feed and cereals factories. In total, 53 divisions of the corporation's branch can store 3.7 million tonnes of grain, including about 2.5 million tonnes per year of total capacities for shipment of grain cargo for export in Odesa and Mykolaiv ports.

In the first half of 2020, State Food and Grain Corporation increased its net loss 4.1 times compared to the same period in 2019, up to UAH 3.45 billion, and its revenue decreased 2.2 times, to UAH 4.17 billion.
Militant group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham have commented on a photo showing the groups leader posing with an American journalist, reports Alsouria Net.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) issued a statement regarding a photo of its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani with American journalist, Martin Smith, in Idleb, a few days ago.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, HTS said that the photo that was circulated was taken during Smiths visit to Idleb, which lasted for three days, without specifying the time of the visit.

HTS added that the visit included a field tour and a press meeting with Julani, during which the latter addressed the most important milestones, transformations, and questions about the current situation and the future.

Julanis meeting with Smith aimed to put an end to the isolation and let the international community in on the reality of things. In its statement, HTS said, We think that it is our duty to end our isolation and to convey our reality in any legitimate way made available to us, and communicate that to the region and the world, which would benefit our blessed revolution.

Smith published on his Twitter account a picture of him with Julani and wrote, I just returned from a three-day visit to Idleb in which I met the founder of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front. We talked about the September 11 attacks, Al-Qaeda, and the US.

In the photo, Julani appeared wearing modern attire for the first time, instead of his usual military outfit or traditional uniform.

The photo provoked strong reactions on social media. The State Departments Rewards for Justice account commented on the photo in the spoken Syrian dialect, stating, Hello, handsome Julani. What a great suit! You can change your attire all you want, but you will always remain a terrorist. Send us any information about Julani to receive a reward of up to $10 million dollars, via Telegram, Signal, or WhatsApp: 0012022941037.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.

Moscow, Feb 5 : The detention of protesters at the recent "illegitimate rallies" in Russia is a police measure against law violators, not an act of repression, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The ongoing protests first broke out across Russia on January 23 when thousands of people took to the streets against the detention of opposition figure and Kremlin critic, Alexei Navalny.

Addressing a daily briefing on Thursday, Peskov said that claims of repression were emotionally charged, and added that there were multiple direct assaults on police officers during these demonstrations in support of Navalny.

While overcrowded detention centres are under pressure, all possible measures are currently being taken to tackle paperwork problems, he said.

Peskov also slammed a US Congress bill on sanctions against Russia over the Navalny case.

"We consider such approaches in bilateral relations unacceptable," the spokesman said.

A Moscow court on Tuesday ruled to replace a suspended sentence in 2014 for Navalny with three and a half years in jail due to his breaches of probation conditions by failing to show up for regular checks.

The Kremlin critic was detained on January 17 upon his landing at a Moscow airport from Germany, where he had received medical treatment for alleged poisoning over the past few months.

Navalny's detention sparked the mass protests in major Russian cities, including capital Moscow, St Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yakutsk, Omsk and Yekaterinburg, during the past two weekends as his supporters took to the streets demanding his release.

Western countries have also pressured Moscow to free him.
Belgrade, Feb 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Feb, 2021 ) :Inside the dome of Belgrade's concrete fair hall, dozens of nurses in hazmat suits inject Covid-19 shots into young and old alike, working with an efficiency that has turned Serbia into continental Europe's fastest vaccinator.

The small Balkan country has inoculated more than 450,000 of its population of seven million in almost two weeks, a rate that exceeds all other states in Europe apart from Britain, according to the scientific publication Our World in Data.

One key difference is that most of the vials are filled with a vaccine made by Chinese pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm.

As the European Union's rollout is snagged by delays and controversies, Serbia -- which lies outside the bloc's borders -- has raced ahead by turning its gaze to the East, securing deals with Chinese and Russian producers.

When registering for an appointment, Serbs can tick off their vaccine of choice -- the Pfizer/BioNtech, Sputnik V and Sinopharm jabs are currently on the menu.

Yet it is the latter Chinese-made vaccine that is making up the lion's share of injections after Serbia received a one-million-dose shipment in mid-January that kicked off its mass immunisation campaign.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, a populist leader who does not miss the chance to cast himself as the hero in a crisis, has framed the vaccination success as the fruit of his personal friendships and diplomacy.

"I wrote to Xi Jinping in October, and the price was drastically lowered", Vucic told local media of the "good deal" he struck with his Chinese counterpart for the Sinopharm vaccine.

"When you see the price, you'll erect a monument in my honour one day," he added.

- 'Saving Serbia'- After arriving at the vaccination centre in the capital, patients receive a quick medical check-up before following red arrows along the floor to a registration zone and then a row of booths where they receive the jab.

Not including the short wait afterwards to monitor for any adverse reactions, visitors can be whisked through the process in 15 minutes.

In a country better known for the soul-crushing pace of its bureaucracy, the smoothness of the nationwide vaccine rollout has been a surprise for some.

"Everyone knew exactly what they were doing, there was enough staff, all of them were kind", Snezana Krivokapic, a 38-year-old communications manager, told AFP after receiving her shot.

Apart from the batch of Chinese-made jabs, the Balkan country has also imported over 30,000 Pfizer/BioNtech vaccines and 40,000 Russian Sputnik V shots.

Vucic recently announced that Serbia's "friends" will send another one million doses before March, without revealing any details.

One pro-government tabloid summed it up in the following headline: "Vucic, Putin and Xi are saving Serbia".

Such a narrative is playing out as the EU faces accusations of neglecting its Western Balkan neighbours in the vaccine race.

Aside from Albania, Serbia is the only country in the region to have started immunisation thanks to its own deals with pharmaceutical companies.

Elsewhere, Western Balkan governments were left out of the EU's December vaccination rollout and are still waiting for shots promised to them through the COVAX mechanism, a pooling initiative set up to help poorer countries.

- Beijing bond - China was also cast as succeeding where the EU failed at the start of the pandemic, when Serbia gave wall-to-wall coverage of China's quick shipment of masks and other equipment while paying little attention to similar EU aid.

Beijing and Belgrade have become increasingly close in recent years, turning Serbia into key foothold for China's economic projects and influence in Europe.

It has also left Belgrade indebted to Beijing for a series of infrastructure loans, leading Serbian analyst Stefan Vladisavljev to raise the question of what was offered in exchange for the vaccine doses.

"Considering the nature of their cooperation over the last decade... we can conclude that Serbia must have done some math in order to secure this shipment," he told AFP.

For its part, Beijing is also motivated to "position themselves as global leader in fight against Covid-19," he added.

Inside the EU, neighbouring Hungary is the only member state to break rank to approve both Chinese and Russian-made vaccines, claiming to have ordered five million doses of Sinopharm's jab.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently hailed Serbia's "inspiring example" -- and called the country a "laboratory" to see how the Sinopharm jab plays out.

Sinopharm says its vaccine, which is named Velo and uses an inactivated virus, is 79 percent effective, though Western sceptics note a lack of transparency and data from clinical trials.

Dragana Milosevic, a Serbian doctor helping lead the vaccination in Belgrade's fair hall, says they have been injecting up to 2,000 citizens daily with the jab without a hitch.

"There have been absolutely no side effects so far," she said.

NEW DELHI : Pfizer Inc has withdrawn its application for emergency licensure in India for now after a subject expert committee of the Indian regulator sought additional information from the company on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the company said on Friday.

Based on the deliberations at the meeting and our understanding of additional information that the regulator may need, the company has decided to withdraw its application at this time. Pfizer will continue to engage with the authority and resubmit its approval request with additional information as it becomes available in the near future," the spokesperson said.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

While the nature of the information sought by the SEC is not yet known, the company said that it remains committed to making its vaccine, which Pfizer developed with German ferm BioNTech, available for use by the Government in India.

The company will pursue emergency licensure so as market its vaccine in India, the spokesperson said.

Pfizer had approached the Drugs Controller General of India V.G. Somani for emergency authorisation of its messenger RNA vaccine in December along with Bharat Biotech International and Serum Institute for India, but had so far not made its presentation to the SEC--from whom a crucial recommendation is needed for EUA.

On the other hand, Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute had recieved the nod for Covaxin and Covishield from Somani on 3 January, following which the vaccination process began 13 days later.

To be sure, the government also has not shown much interest in using the Pfizer vaccine in India due to its high cost and requirement of -70 degree Celsius ultra-low temperature freezers.

Pfizer's mRNA vaccine costs $19.5 per dose in the US. While it has said it will provide the vaccine at a lower cost in India, expectation is it will still be more expensive than Serum Institute's Covishield that costs 200 per dose, a little less $3, for the Indian government. Bharat Biotech has priced Covaxin at 295 ($4 per dose).

Further, Pfizer's trial in the US and other countries had a very low representation of Asians.

Only 4.3% of the 40,000-odd participants in its global phase 3 trial were Asian, while the efficacy rate for the diverse ethnic group was 74.4%. In contrast, the companys overall efficacy was 95% for a cohort, which comprised 83% whites, according to the documents published by the US FDA.

Ethinicity and regional variations have an impact on vaccine efficacy.

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Rudy Giulianis conspiracy theories will now come with a lengthy disclaimer for listeners of his daily afternoon show on New Yorks 77 Talk Radio WABC.

The former New York City mayor and personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump sounded furious on Thursday when he seemingly discovered the station would begin airing the disclaimer before his afternoon programmes just as he was going live.

The disclaimer said the views, assumptions and opinions expressed by Mr Giuliani and his guests are strictly their own and do not necessarily represent that of the station or its advertisers.

Appearing surprised, Mr Giuliani responded on air. I would have thought they would have told me about that before just doing what they just did. Rather insulting, he said.

Gives you a sense of how far this free speech thing has gone, and how they frighten everybody the former mayor continued. I mean, were in America, were not in East Germany.

He added: Theyve got to warn you about me? Im going to have to give that a lot of consideration. I also think putting it on without telling me  not the right thing to do. Not the right thing to do at all.

Mr Giulianis reaction was immediately followed by a guest phone call he took during the show from a listener who asked if he ever felt guilty about spreading a lot of unproven conspiracy theories to folks who may not have the ability or the critical thinking skills to look through his claims.

The disclaimer came hours after it was reported Mr Giuliani was named in a $2.7 billion libel suit  one of the largest of its kind  filed by Smartmatic USA, a voting technology company which operated systems used in Los Angeles county, California during the 2020 elections.

That lawsuit  which followed a separate $1.3 billion lawsuit filed by another voting tech company, Dominion Voting Systems  argued Mr Giuliani took part in a disinformation campaign to support the former presidents false claims of rampant voter fraud, along with attorney Sidney Powell and Fox News, both of which were also named in the suit.

"Defendants' story was a lie," the complaint read. "But it was a story that sold."
Education minister Anna Nghipondoka has heaped praise on the class of 2020 for performing relatively well in last year's Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) ordinary and higher level despite challenging circumstances.

Schools such as St Joseph's RC High School in Khomas, Nehale Secondary School (Oshikoto), and Oshakati and Iipumbu secondary schools were severely hit by Covid-19, with scores of learners testing positive for the virus following the resumption of face-t0-face learning last year.

"For learners, educators, their families and communities, the loss of schooling erodes the social glue that holds everyday life together, and it also becomes a fertile ground for our learners to fall prey to social ills like alcohol, drugs, pregnancies, etc," said Nghipondoka.

Hence, we applaud the class of 2020 for their perseverance and persistence to make it through their final year. This cohort has given a true meaning to the word resilience.

Our graduates have bounced back and took charge of their learning amidst all the challenging situations they were exposed to. We congratulate them on their resilience and hard work."

The grade 12 NSSC (ordinary level) results of last year show a slight improvement of 0.4%, with the percentage of ungraded entries reduced to 0.5% when compared to 2019. A cumulative 63.5% was obtained in the NSSC (higher level) examination results indicating an improvement of 2.5% when compared to 61% in 2019.

The higher-level cohort, however, recorded a slight drop of 0.3% in English Second Language at grade 1, while improvements were noted in Mathematics (0.5%), Physical Science (0.4%) and Biology (0.4%). According to the higher level results, part-time candidates obtained a cumulative percentage of 44.6 over the three quality grades 1-3. Overall graded entries represent 79.8% and resulted in an improvement of 2.5% compared to 2019. "The ungraded subject entries dropped from 22.7% in 2019 to 20.2% in 2020 examinations. The performance of part-time candidates at this level may improve if the centres screen candidates entering for higher level subjects properly." Nghipondoka said teachers have challenges but also have an important job to do during this crisis, which is to protect, plan, motivate and continue to deliver and provide quality and equitable education.

"There was a slight improvement through the quality of grades which is a move in the right direction as having such an improvement resonates with quality efforts for quality learning outcomes," said Nghipondoka.

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She stated that throughout the grades, the class of 2020 shows an improvement. "The interruption of the school calendar and face-to-face teaching has unleashed the urge for both the teachers and learners to give their best during the limited time at their disposal. It has paid off and with these results, we are convinced that it can be done, no matter the circumstances as long as all of us pull in the same direction," added Nghipondoka.

Status of grade 11

A total number of 21 648 NSSC ordinary level (new curriculum) candidates registered at 329 centres for the first time in the history of the country.

Their results have been provided to the schools through their respective regional education directorates by way of broadsheets.

"This decision was taken to enable the regions to do timely planning for the placement of the successful candidates to advance to subsidiary schools with the individual statements to be availed as from next week," informed Nghipondoka.

Misconduct during exams

Meanwhile, Nghipondoka said the results of some candidates were withheld pending investigations due to irregularities or malpractice, which were detected.

"In some cases, appropriate action has already been taken. This has to be done to protect the integrity of our national qualification and examination," said the disappointed Nghipondoka.

She urged examination officials to refrain from taking part in acts such as aiding candidates or being dishonest during examinations sessions and for candidates to study hard and take education seriously at all times.
Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which gave the call for the nationwide 'chakka jam' on Saturday, has said that all roads leading towards Delhi will remain open except the ones where farmers' protest are already going on. All national and state highways across India will be blocked for the 'chakka jam' tomorrow.

Haryana Police have decided to step up security measures in light of the nationwide 'chakka jam' on Saturday which is being organised by farmers protesting against the Centre's new farm laws

Senior police officers have been directed to personally oversee security and traffic arrangements at important junctions and roads. District police chiefs have been asked to ensure deployment of necessary personnel, according to an official communication released by Haryana police.

"In view of the January 26 incidents in Delhi, some anti-social elements and aggressive youth creating law and order problems, cannot be ruled out," as per the communication dated released on February 4, 2021.

"It is assessed that as part of the protest programme on February 6, protesting farmers/unions may attempt road blockades of important national highways, state highways and interior roads," it said, asking the police to ensure necessary security arrangements are in place.

"The police commissioners and district police chiefs have also been asked to make all out efforts to liaise with local leaders of farmer organisations to ensure peaceful conduct of their proposed programme," the statement added.

Earlier, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has said that protesting farmers will not enter Delhi during the 'chakka jam' scheduled for February 6. Barring Delhi, the blockage will take place in several other parts of NCR. Chakka Jam is also expected to be carried out in other states including Southern states.

On Monday, Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the 40 farmer unions protesting against the Centre's new farm laws, had called for a 'chakka jam'. The 'chakka jam' is being organised as a response to the Union Budget 2021 which farmers believe has ignored their demands. The 'chakka jam' is a blockage on roads and highways which will last for about 3 hours between 12 noon and 3 pm on Saturday.

Also read: Greta Thunberg shares 'updated toolkit' on how to support farmers' protest on social media, ground

Also read: Mia Khalifa expresses solidarity with farmers protests
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) - Kenorland Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: KLD) ("Kenorland" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a definitive purchase and sale agreement (the "Agreement") with J2 Metals Inc. ("J2") for the sale of its Napoleon Project, located in Alaska, USA to J2, a private mineral exploration company.

Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, at closing, Kenorland will transfer the shares in its wholly owned subsidiary 1223615 B.C. Ltd., which indirectly owns a 100% interest in the Napoleon Project, to J2 in exchange for:

15% of the issued and outstanding shares in J2 on a fully diluted basis;

a 1% net smelter returns royalty on the Napoleon Project; and

$500,000 in committed expenditures on the Napoleon Project by J2 within 12 months of the effective date pursuant to an operator services agreement in which Kenorland acts as operator on market standard fees.

Kenorland President and CEO, Zach Flood commented: "We are very pleased to have entered into this agreement with J2 Metals. The divestment allows us to focus on our core assets in Alaska while retaining exposure to upside through the ownership interest in J2 as well as an NSR on the Napoleon Project."

Grant of Options

The company announces that it has granted an aggregate of 740,000 stock options to directors, officers, employees and consultants in accordance with the Company's stock option plan. Each option is exercisable into one common share at a price of $1.00 for a period of five years. The options vest 25% immediately followed by 25% every 6 months thereafter.

About Kenorland Minerals

Kenorland Minerals Ltd (TSXV: KLD) is a mineral exploration company incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia and based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kenorland's focus is early to advanced stage exploration in North America. The company currently holds three projects where work is being completed under an earn-in agreement from third parties. The Frotet and Chicobi Projects, which are both located in Quebec, Canada, are optioned to Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd. and the Chebistuan Project, also located in Quebec, is optioned to Newmont Mining. The company also owns 100% of the advanced stage Tanacross porphyry Cu-Au project as well as an option to earn up to 70% from Newmont Corporation on the Healy Project, both located in Alaska, USA.

Further information can be found on the Company's website www.kenorlandminerals.com.

Kenorland Minerals Ltd.

Zach Flood

President and CEO

Tel: +1 604 363 1779

zach@kenorlandminerals.com

Kenorland Minerals Ltd.

Francis MacDonald

Executive Vice President, Exploration

Tel: +1 778 322 8705

francis@kenorlandminerals.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans", "expects', "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing these forward-looking statements are reasonable based upon the information currently available to management as of the date hereof, actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. Readers are therefore cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73708
Regulatory News:

ESI Group (Paris:ESI) (FR0004110310 ESI), leader and pioneer in Virtual Prototyping solutions, hereby releases the total number of shares making up the company's capital and the total number of voting rights in January 31, 2021, in accordance with articles 223-16 and 221-3 of the General Regulations of the "Autorite des Marches Financiers".

Number of shares Number of theoretical voting rights * Number of voting rights ** 6,055,605 8,317,017 7,950,862

* The number of theoretical voting rights is calculated based on all shares eligible for voting right (single or double), including shares temporarily deprived of voting rights (treasury shares).

** All Group shares have equal right to vote, except treasury shares, which are deprived of the right to vote, and registered shares held for more than four years that are eligible for double voting rights.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005125/en/

Contacts:

ESI Group
IRMO  In an unassuming whitewashed brick building within an Irmo office park, a biotechnology startup born out of the University of South Carolina now finds itself breaking down barriers that have held back scientific research into treatments and cures of neurodegenerative diseases.

IMCS, short for Integrated Micro-Chromatography Systems, Inc., got its start engineering and producing enzymes, which speed up chemical reactions in the body, like those that break down food during digestion, to make corporate drug testing faster and more accurate.

Now the biotech firm, which has grown its staff threefold in the last five years, is putting enzymes to work aiding in scientific advances to treat diseases from Alzheimer's to Parkinson's, as well as some cancers.

Our brains are largely made up of sugar and fat groupings, called glycolipids, which aid in brain function. It's a chemical reaction caused by enzymes that create them.

When it comes to the progression of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's, scientists have found the loss of such complex chemicals and the enzymes that make them impacts neurological function. With generation of these chemicals, mutations also can occur, causing other neurological problems.

Being able to simulate this at the lab level will allow scientists to see how the process changes and reacts when new treatments are introduced. But making such compounds to study their function has been difficult.

"Because it's a newly developing field, scientists need the enzymes to study it," said IMCS Chief Scientific Officer Andrew Lee. "But those enzymes can be so expensive."

That's where IMCS comes in.

The scientists at the biotechnology firm are partners with University of California, Davis on a $900,000 National Institutes of Health grant meant to bridge the funding gap. They're looking for a faster, more cost-effective way to make enzymes and the the sugary compounds that make up our brains, more broadly available and therefore more affordable to researchers working to combat neurological diseases, as well as viruses and bacterial infections.

Ronald Schnaar, a professor of pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, likened the project to building Legos. While the scientists aren't the ones developing cures, they are creating the molecular building blocks, a library of tools, that could be used in such research.

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If you give us the pieces to build the Lego (structure), we can generate the tools to study anything from cell activity to testing potential therapeutics," he said. "You can use this to build anything.

Since Lee and two other USC scientists pooled their money in 2013 to form the company, IMCS has fine-tuned its enzyme into a molecular multi-tool with a broad range of research uses.

The company was profitable within a year and saw five years of double digit revenue growth, said Mark Hanna, chief revenue officer and co-founder of IMCS. It has 40 people in its employ now, including a dozen scientists, that have carved out a niche in the precision medicine world, serving 600 clients globally.

And they've gone from a USC incubator space to two buildings off Broad River Road in the Dutch Fork Business Park. It's hard to imagine the buildings, tucked inconspicuously behind a Food Lion grocery store between a safety equipment supplier and a lawn fertilizer company, house a multi-million dollar research lab in doing molecular engineering more commonly associated with such hallowed institutions as Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical.

When IMCS was getting its start, drug testing companies were using more crude enzymes. Through genetic engineering, IMCS made a better one that broke down the particles of blood and urine samples faster and gave a more accurate reading of the substances within. In particular, using prior testing methods, the illicit drug heroin could show up as morphine, giving a false negative.

Because of their work, the IMCS scientists learned how to clone and make large quantities of a whole host of lab-created enzymes, which will come in handy as new research buoys demand.

It's advances in research techniques like these that made COVID-19 vaccines created by drug makers like Pfizer and Moderna the fastest ever developed.

Going back to its birthplace, the company also is working with USC on bettering the research process for virus strains, like those that produced the COVID-19 virus, isolating them more quickly and from a smaller sample size.

Enzymes also aren't the only work IMCS does.

IMCS is finding success adding its own innovations to a common lab tool called a pipette tip.

The tips are used to measure and move liquidized samples from one container to another. But IMCS made it faster by adding a chemical-separating resin inside the tips themselves, reducing a step along with the chance for contamination and error.
Rachael Finch has shared an update from her hospital bed, after having her breast implants removed on Friday.

The model, 32, posted two photos to Instagram, showing her recovering in bed with bandages on and what appeared to be cooling packs against her chest.

The beauty queen said she was staying in hospital overnight, but that the surgery was a success, and that thankfully, the doctor ascertained that only one of her implants had ruptured.

Recovery: Rachael Finch (pictured) has shared an update from her hospital bed, after having her breast implants removed on Friday. The model posted photos to Instagram showing her recovering in bed with bandages on and what appeared to be cooling packs against her chest

In clips posted to Instagram Stories, she told her fans: 'I will be staying here overnight. Surgery went really, really well.

'It was just the left implant that was ruptured. He got everything out including the capsules around the implant.

'Not too much pain but I am pretty groggy from the drugs. But overall feeling good,' she said, as well as thanking her husband Michael Miziner for doing 'everything' for her while she recovers.

In clips posted to Instagram Stories, she told her fans: 'I will be staying here overnight. Surgery went really, really well. It was just the left implant that was ruptured. He got everything out including the capsules around the implant'

In captions on her Instagram Stories, Rachael added: 'My doctor said at the start there's a chance the other implant might be ruptured too but it was just the left!

'He removed everything and said it was better than what he thought! You have no idea how good I feel right now despite the pain'.

Additionally, she captioned her Instagram photos: 'Day 0 explant surgery after getting breast implants when I was 17. Uphill from here. Thank you to every one of you for all your messages of love and support it honestly means the world to me.

Additionally, she captioned her Instagram photos: 'Day 0 explant surgery after getting breast implants when I was 17. Uphill from here. Thank you to every one of you for all your messages of love and support it honestly means the world to me'

She added: 'Pain is manageable, a little groggy from the drugs, and [my husband] Michael is going way above and beyond. Can't really do much for myself for these next few days'

'Surgery was a huge success and I actually feel like I can breathe deeper! My doctor said beforehand that there's a chance the other side would also be ruptured but it wasn't.

'Pain is manageable, a little groggy from the drugs, and Michael is going way above and beyond. Can't really do much for myself for these next few days but I can FaceTime my family 10 x per day they will be so sick of me haha!'

Earlier, the former Miss Universe Australia revealed she had undergone the cosmetic procedure at the start of her modelling career when she was just 17 years old.

Scared: The model announced on Friday she was about to undergo explant surgery because her left implant had ruptured. 'I'm also shaking with fear,' she said

She announced on Friday she was about to undergo explant surgery because her left implant had ruptured.

'At [17] I made the decision to have them put in and they have been a part of me for pretty much all my adult life,' Rachael explained in an Instagram post.

She said she'd first started having problems with her implants two years ago.

'I woke up and noticed one was a little different to the other,' she said.

Changes: The Miss Universe Australia had undergone the cosmetic procedure at the start of her modelling career when she was just 17 years old

'I immediately went in for an MRI [and] the doctor told me I had a capsular contracture in my left breast - meaning the skin the body creates around the implant to protect itself has tightened.

'I was told it was fine, common and nothing needed to be done urgently.'

Rachael, a mother of two, later sought a second opinion after experiencing pain in her left breast and other symptoms she did not associate with her implants at the time.

Family: Rachael (pictured with her husband, dancer Michael Miziner, and their children, Violet, seven, and Dominic, three) first started having problems with her implants two years ago, but didn't get them removed at the time because the results of an MRI scan were misinterpreted

She was told by a specialist last week that her left implant had in fact ruptured, meaning there was a hole and its contents were leaking out.

Rachael explained that her original MRI two years ago had detected the rupture, but the results were 'read wrong to me'.

'I'm excited and I'm also shaking with fear because the implant has been ruptured for so long we won't know until after the operation just how much damage has been done,' she added.

Urgent: She was told by a specialist last week that her left implant had in fact ruptured, meaning there was a hole and its contents were leaking out

The former Dancing with the Stars contestant said she wouldn't be able to hold her children, Violet, seven, and Dominic, three, for weeks after the surgery.

She concluded in a message to fans: 'Please, if you ever feel something is not right with your body, listen to your instinct and don't stop searching.'

In a separate post on Instagram Stories, Rachael posed for a selfie in her hospital gown and confessed she was 'the most nervous I've been my whole life'.
En su presentacion ante el pleno del @congresoperu, la ministra Pilar Mazzetti confirmo la presencia de la variante brasilena del SARS-CoV-2 en las regiones de Loreto, Huanuco y Lima. pic.twitter.com/W3wvLlqDuC
It was in the early 1900s when one of the first Muslims to live in Manitoba arrived in the province.

It was in the early 1900s when one of the first Muslims to live in Manitoba arrived in the province.

His name was Ahmed Awid, and he came from what is now Lebanon  one of perhaps fewer than 1,000 Muslims in Canada at the time.

Awid settled in Brandon, where he married a local woman and established two successful businesses before moving to Edmonton in 1928.

Awids story is one of many told in a new book: Muslims in Manitoba: a History of Resilience and Growth.

"Many people, including many Muslims, think the history of the Muslim community in Manitoba only goes back to the 1960s," said author Ismael Ibrahim Mukhtar.

"In fact, it goes back all the way to the early 1900s."

Mukhtar, a chartered public accountant, came to Manitoba from Eritrea 30 years ago. He has always been interested in history of various kinds, including about the Muslim community in the province.

Ahmed Awid

"Ive had this idea for a book about Muslims in Manitoba for some time," he said.

One of his goals is to share those stories with local Muslims, so they know more about their history in Manitoba. For non-Muslims, he hopes it will help them learn more about their Muslim neighbours and how they have contributed to life in the province.

"I hope non-Muslims will learn about our shared values as Manitobans, whatever faith we are," he said.

The book is also a way for him to honour and document the pioneering contributions of Muslims who helped establish and build up the community.

"I wanted to be sure those stories werent forgotten and lost," said Mukhtar, a former president of the Manitoba Islamic Association and a volunteer imam. "I want to recognize their efforts."

The book wont shy away from the challenges, conflicts and controversies in the community over issues such as the role of women, integration, assimilation and other social issues. It will also explore how the community has been impacted by, and dealt with, Islamophobia over the years.

"We have our challenges, just like any other community," Muhktar said of the estimated 20,000 Muslims in Manitoba. "But we have been successful in meeting them."

One issue the book will highlight is what happened to the local community after the 9/11 terror attacks.

That was a hard time, he said, but it "also helped us come together, become stronger and interact with others. It created opportunities to reach out and share about Islam with Manitobans."

For Idris Elbakri, chairman of the MIA board, the book is timely.

"The Muslim community Manitoba is maturing and coming of age," he said. "Now is the time to preserve the story of our history here."

This includes how Muslim leaders 50 years ago transcended racial and ethnic differences in the community to start the first mosque in 1976.

"They planted the seeds for what we have today," he said.

For Payam Tofigh, president of Manitoba Multifaith Council, a book like this is important because it shows "the diversity of our province, and the unity we have in that diversity."

Its also a way to "appreciate the contributions of Muslims in Manitoba," he said.

The book will be available in April.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
In December, Japan's "Twitter Killer" who admitted to killing nine people in his home was given the death sentence.

It can be recalled that the 30-year-old murderer made a guilty plea to the murder of one man and eight women. This was after cops discovered butchered human remains and bones inside cooler boxes found in his apartment.

Who is the "Twitter Killer"?

The "Twitter Killer," also known as Takahiro Shiraishi was given the nickname after it was discovered that he used the social media platform in order to lure his victims.

According to The Daily Beast, Shiraishi's modus operandi (MO) was to convince suicidal people he found on Twitter to come to his home, where he would help them die.

At one point the infamous serial killer even used the platform to appear desperate. He even posted things saying he just wanted to forget everything and to disappear.

Moreover, police discovered that the "Twitter Killer" made several internet searches on how to dismember bodies. It was also found that he even bought a meat cleaver and a saw.

In addition, authorities also discovered plastic hand ties in his flat. They noted that this could possibly suggest that he restrained and kept some of his victims alive before he killed them.

All of his victims, with the exception of one, were women who were between the ages of 15 and 26.

Read also: FBI Agents Shot in Florida, 2 Dead, 3 Wounded

Before becoming the "Twitter killer," Shiraishi was jobless. It was noted that he grew up in Zama, Japan with his parents and a younger sister.

After he graduated from high school, it was reported that Shiraishi entered several odd jobs and eventually became a scout for a prostitution ring in Japan.

The Death Sentence

The "Twitter Killer's" death sentence followed his guilty plea in the murder of nine people.

According to Japan Times, it was Tokyo District Court that gave the death sentence to Shiraishi back in December.

Shiraishi's crime was even described by Judge Naokuni Yano, who presided the proceedings as one of the most vicious crimes in Japan's history.

Moreover, Yano ruled that all of the Twitter Killer's victims did not consent to be mutilated and that the perpetrator was in a good mental state to be held accountable.

Relatives of the victims mourned the deaths of their family members, a father of the 25-year-old even stated that he will never forgive the murderer even in death.

How did police discover the Twitter Killer?

Shiraishi was caught after one of his neighbors reported smelling a sewage-like smell from his apartment.

Authorities then came and investigated the place. In October of 2017, they discovered the dismembered bodies in Shiraishi's apartment while they were investigating the sudden disappearance of a woman.

According to reports, the woman was last seen with Shiraishi.

In addition, one of Shiraishi's neighbors even said that the smell started coming out of the apartment as of August that year.

The Twitter Killer even tried to cover his tracks by burying severed flesh under cat litter in order to hide evidence. There were at least 240 bone parts, including the victim's heads found in containers in the apartment, The Sun reported.



Related article: Remains of Three Skiers Killed in a Colorado Avalanche Found Buried Under 20 Feet of Debris

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Ben Affleck has not been seen in two weeks as he has been under lockdown.

But on Friday the 48-year-old actor - who split from Ana de Armas over a month ago - was spotted outside his home as he picked up an order from Dunkin' Donuts.

The Argo director seems to be growing a beard as he wore winter clothes.

Comfort food: On Friday, Ben Affleck was seen picking up an order from Dunkin' Donuts that had been left outside of his Los Angeles home

He has made a habit of ordering an assortment of items from the fast-food chain and having them delivered to his doorstep in the weeks since his breakup from his girlfriend.

Affleck was seen wearing a navy blue puffy jacket to keep himself comfy in the chilly winter weather. Underneath his outer layer, the Good Will Hunting actor wore a red t-shirt.

The screenplay author tied off his casual ensemble with a pair of slim black jeans.

The Dogma actor has recently been allowing his beard to grow out, and his hair appeared to be unbrushed as he picked up his food.

Coping mechanism: The actor has frequently ordered from his beloved fast food chain in the weeks since his breakup from Ana de Armas

Affleck and de Armas first met on the set of the upcoming thriller film Deep Water, which they star in.

Last March, the two vacationed together in the 32-year-old actress' native country of Cuba before taking another shared trip to Costa Rica.

During her time with Affleck, the actress bonded with his daughters Violet, aged 14, and Seraphina, aged 11, as well as his son Samuel, aged eight.

The actor's ex-wife Jennifer Garner was said to be supportive of her former spouse's relationship.

Costars: The former couple first met on the set of the upcoming thriller film Deep Water

A good match: The Knives Out actress quickly bonded with Affleck's three children, and the actor's former spouse Jennifer Garner was supportive of his new relationship; the former couple is seen in June of 2020

However, the news about Affleck's separation from his ex-girlfriend was first made public late last month.

According to People, the actress was the one who ended the relationship, with a source commenting that the bond the two shared was 'complicated.'

The insider also commented that de Armas was not interested in living in Los Angeles, where the Daredevil actress has raised his children.

All things must end: Affleck and de Armas split up in the middle of last month, with a source commenting that their relationship was 'complicated'; they are spotted on a shared stroll in 2020

Another source commented that the two were operating on different levels and that they still admire each other as people.

'They are in different points in their lives; there is deep love and respect there. Ben continues to want to work on himself,' the insider remarked.

Despite dealing with his breakup from the Knives Out actress, Affleck currently has several projects in development.

The Mallrats actor was recently confirmed as the director of the upcoming film adaptation of the book series Keeper Of The Lost Cities.

He will also appear as Batman in the long-awaited Zack Snyder's Justice League, which is set to debut on March 18th.
A musical is a machine with a thousand moving parts, and Moulin Rouges Karli Dinardo needs to know them all. Shes what the biz calls a swing, which means she has to be ready at a moments notice to step in and fill the shoes of any ensemble member.

Sickness, vacation, even a sprained ankle mid-show  Dinardo must be primed to slip into the role so seamlessly that even the other performers dont notice anything has changed.

Added to this is her other role as dance captain: where the choreographer is responsible for building the machine, Dinardo keeps it oiled, delivering notes on the nights performance, training understudies, helping the cast make the dancing look effortless. For that job, she has to be intimately familiar with the choreography for every cast member, lead and ensemble, male and female.

Karli Dinardo at Melbournes Regent Theatre: needing to step in at a moments notice is a constant mind game. Credit:Joe Armao

Dinardo was performing in Moulin Rouge on Broadway last year when the pandemic closed New Yorks theatres. Even the Great Depression couldnt bring the home of music theatre to a stop but for the first time, every musical machine in the city ground to a halt.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

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ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

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Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

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Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

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France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

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Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

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Wrexham becomes part of Key Cities group with hope more tangible positive outcomes for the county borough will be seen

This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 5th, 2021

Wrexham has joined a network of town and cities across the UK with the hope a joint voice will be stronger to help draw benefits for members.

The Key Cities Group was established in 2013 and consists of 21 urban areas across Wales and England, including Swansea, Newport, Salford and Preston.

Now Bath, Exeter, Lincoln and Wrexham will join the network  locally the decision has been made following the Executive Board approval of the 10,000 a year membership fee, which comes with a six months free introductory offer.

In December we reported that Wrexham Council was looking to join the UK-wide organisation, which represents almost half of the UKs urban areas.





Key Cities works with other cities, towns and organisations across local government and beyond to deliver prosperity, protect the environment and raise standards of living across the country. The network champions for the future of the UKs urban centres by producing research, responding to consultations and engaging with politicians and policy makers.

The group say the new members will further strengthen the networks ability to influence national policy, share and scale new ideas, and drive economic and social growth.

Key Cities say their work will also play an important role in the UKs post-Covid recovery, particularly on issues relating to ports, housing, culture, climate, levelling up and devolution.

Mark Pritchard, leader of Wrexham County Borough Council, said: We are very happy to have been given the opportunity to join the Key Cities Group, and it is good to have received recognition of our status as a major urban area at the heart of North Wales economic and social ambitions.

We share the groups ambition to work with the UK government and others to test practical solutions for social and economic issues, including post pandemic economic recovery, and we want to work with the group towards more tangible, positive outcomes for the county borough.

Wrexhams membership will be for the six month free period and the twelve month paid period, and will be reviewed following the first 18 months of membership to ensure that it delivers benefits and value for money.
Munich: The US is on pace to vaccinate 75 per cent of its population against COVID-19 this year, while Canada would need almost a decade to reach that coverage level, according to Bloomberg data.

The starkly different trajectories show how unevenly countries around the world have kicked off the largest mass vaccination drive in history.

Britain and Israel are also on a path to administer a two-dose vaccine regimen to three-quarters of people this year  reaching a rough estimate for when herd immunity might kick in  while much of Europe would need a few years for that.

Vaccines hold the key to bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control. Credit:Getty

Though overall the US is faring relatively well compared with other countries, the picture varies by individual states. Hawaii is headed for the key coverage level this year, with New York currently looking at summer 2022.
Hong Kong: National security education explained

National security education aims to help students develop a sense of national identity.

Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung made the remarks at a media session today, adding that national security and national education are closely linked.

National security is part and parcel of the whole national education. They are very much related.

We are talking about helping students to develop a sense of national identity, being national citizens, and they have to develop a sense of taking up the responsibility to protect our country.

When asked if primary school students are too young to learn about national security, Mr Yeung noted that it is a continuous process.

At the earliest stage, such as primary schools, I think students could start to learn that Hong Kong is part of China, they are Hong Kong residents and at the same time, they are also Chinese citizens.

Then gradually, they can build on these fundamental concepts. They can start to learn more about the concept of national security and then they will know more about the details of the law as they grow up. That is the whole idea.

That is why when you look at the curriculum framework in relation to national security education, we are talking about a number of areas spreading across different stages of learning. It is sort of a continuous process. That is part of the education as well - education is about a process, not a single topic.

Mr Yeung added that the Education Bureau will provide teachers with a lot of factual information about the National Security Law which they can make reference to.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Adelaide, Feb 5 : The government of South Australia (SA) has been urged to bring international students back to the state on charter flights.

Chief Executive of the International Education Association of Australia Phil Honeywood recently called on SA to follow the lead of the Northern Territory (NT) to revive its international education industry, reports Xinhua news agency.

The NT in November 2020 used a charter flight to bring 63 students into Darwin from Singapore.

They were the first international students to enter Australia since borders were closed in March 2020.

Honeywood praised the initiative and said SA should follow suit, describing the state's current plan of having international students take seats on commercial flights not filled by returning Australians as a "lottery".

"Because the number of returning Australians is constantly changing, it becomes something of a lottery for any state government trying to pick up so-called empty seats," he said, according to News Corp Australia on Friday.

"Charter flights are a viable alternative which has been proven by the NT government and perhaps we really need to have that as an option." Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, international education was worth about A$2 billion ($1.5 billion) per year to the SA economy.

James Stevens, an SA federal government MP, said the "massive" industry was in jeopardy if governments do not push ahead with plans for more international students to enter the country.

Australia has so far registered 28,838 confirmed coronavirus cases, and the numbers of locally and overseas acquired cases in the last 24 hours were one and eight respectively.

The death toll stood at 909.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Leading Christie's Modern British Art Evening Sale on 1 March 2021 will be led by Sir Winston Churchill's Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque (1943, estimate: A1,500,000-2,500,000), which is being offered from The Jolie Family Collection.

The painting is the only work that Churchill created during the Second World War, executing the painting in Marrakech following the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. Churchill invited Franklin D. Roosevelt to join him in Marrakech the day after the conference concluded, motivated by his desire to share the views of the city and the light at sunset, which he so revered, with Roosevelt. The view impressed Roosevelt so much that Churchill decided to capture the scene for him as a memento of their excursion. This act was seen not only as an indication of their friendship but of the special relationship between the UK and the USA.

Nick Orchard, Head of Department, Modern British Art, Christie's: "Christie's is delighted to offer such a historically significant painting as the leading highlight of the Modern British Art Evening Sale. Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque was created following the Casablanca Conference where it was agreed by the Allied forces that only complete surrender by the Axis powers would be acceptable. It is the only work that Churchill painted during the war, perhaps encouraged by the recent progress made by the Allies in what he considered to be one of the most beautiful countries he had encountered. Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque is therefore arguably the best painting by Winston Churchill due to the significance of the subject matter to him, and the fact that it highlights the importance of the friendship between the two leaders. The gifting of the work to Roosevelt underlines the fact that Churchill held the American President in such high regard and points to their joint efforts in guiding the Allied powers to the outcome of the Second World War." Sir Winston Churchill began painting scenes of Morocco after being encouraged to visit the country by his painting tutor, Sir John Lavery. Upon his first visit in 1935, he felt that the light and scenery were unrivalled, creating some 45 paintings of the country. Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque stands out as the only painting created between 1939 and 1945, and the work is expected to realise one of the top prices for Sir Winston Churchill's paintings at auction.

(IANSlife Features can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

Police described the action as "peaceful" and now this family is clearly gearing up for a White House run as they push back against activists in a case that should provide even more time in the spotlight.

Read more . . .
Over the last few years, New York and California dumped more than 75,000 students from school when they removed the religious exemption to vaccination. My home state of Connecticut is ramming through a similar bill, after having tabled it last winter. Children in Connecticut will be sent home without access to school because of their vaccination status. Healthy children. During COVID, we have watched our nations' children freefall into depression, families pushed to the brink of financial ruin and fatigue. And experts are coming to their defense. Rightly so. But why did none of this matter for the families whose kids were kicked out for lack of X, Y or Z vaccination before COVID? Student equity was never mentioned.



At my youngest daughter's small school for special education, mostly autism, 40% of the 42 students used the religious exemption. When COVID struck last Spring, the Founder and board closed the school for good, with two weeks notice to staff and families. Bella was home for 5 months until we were able to enroll her in a new program close to home and where she is thriving. When her school closed, families wondered what was the real reason, surely it wasn't COVID restrictions as so many private and special education schools have found a way to stay open. They sold the land in well to do Southport, Connecticut for more than $5,000,000 according to news reports. And the land had been DONATED when the school launched. A ha! But the tired cynic in me wonders if they did not see the writing on the wall regarding vaccination choice and knew that 40% of their kids would be tossed out and their six figure tuition lost once Connecticut forced through the removal of the Religious Exemption?



Healthy children belong in school. Period. Take a look at Chicago, where the Teachers' Union is refusing to go back and the even the Mayor is losing her patience. For us? Mayors and Governors lost their tempers, their heads and their compassion. What a difference a pandemic makes?

ABC 7 Chicago: CHICAGO (WLS) -- In an update Thursday morning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union still have not reached a deal, despite progress being made throughout the week.

Lightfoot reiterated what steps the city has taken in an effort to ensure safety and said the CTU created chaos, and the ball is in their court.

Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union still have not agreed to a deal Thursday.



"Schools are safe," Lightfoot said. "My patience is up."

Based in Los Angeles and founded following the merger between Rubicon Project and Telaria in April 2020, Magnite is claimed to be the largest independent sell-side advertising platform, having integrated Rubicon Projects expertise as a scaled programmatic exchange and Telarias connected TV (CTV) capabilities to connect publishers with buyers and brands. The companys omnichannel advertising platform is designed to enable publishers to monetise across all auction types and formats including CTV, desktop display, video, audio, and mobile.RTL Group acquired a 65% majority shareholding in SpotX for 107 million in 2014, and took full ownership of SpotX in 2017, acquiring the remaining shareholding for 123 million. The sale of SpotX is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021 and the purchase price consists of US$560 million (468 million) in cash and 14.0 million shares of Magnite stock. The agreement implies a full enterprise value for SpotX of US$1.17 billion (977 million) based on the closing price of Magnite stock as of 4 February 2021.Commenting on the sale, RTL Group CEO Thomas Rabe said: The sale of SpotX is fully in line with our strategy to concentrate on growing our European digital businesses in streaming, advertising technology, digital video and audio as well as our global content business, Fremantle. SpotX is a fantastic business, focused on the United States and with significant potential. We look forward to participating in the future success of SpotX and Magnite as shareholders in the combined entity.Sellers have been looking for a scaled independent alternative to the giant companies who dominate the CTV marketplace, added Magnite president and CEO Michael Barrett. The combination of Magnite and SpotX will make this a reality by bringing together the best CTV technologies and teams at a critical time. Ad-supported CTV is just beginning to draw budgets from linear TV and we will be well-positioned to participate in the strongest segment of industry growth for the foreseeable future.Despite the sale, Rabe stressed that advertising technology remained a strategic priority for RTL Group, an area that would going forward be addressed by its other ad-tech companies Smartclip and Yospace.To successfully transform our business, two factors are particularly important. One is higher reach, in both linear and non-linear TV. The second is better monetisation of our reach, through targeting and personalisation  and this requires state-of-the-art advertising technology and data management. With our European ad-tech companies Smartclip and Yospace, we have made significant progress in building an open European ad-tech platform and in tapping into the high-growth market of addressable TV advertising. RTL noted that in Germany alone, the market for addressable TV advertising is expected to grow to more than 500 million by 2025.In its recently published 2021 Global Video Advertising Trends report, SpotX predicted growth this year in addressable TV, programmatic, supply path optimisation, and data-layered campaigns. It noted that in 2021 programmatic budgets will surge with the rise in connected TV (CTV) streaming, as well as advancements in addressable technology that are finally bringing linear inventory into digital buying workflows.
Young was arrested Thursday while at his grandmothers house, where he was on electronic monitoring, prosecutors say, because he was previously arrested Oct. 12 for an unlawful use of a weapon case due to carrying a handgun with an extended clip. During the October arrest, he was wearing the same kind of shoes and what appear(ed) to be the same pants as the shooter caught on camera, but the gun he had was a different caliber than the weapon used in the shooting.
OTTAWA - Canada is committed to helping poor countries obtain COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday as he rebutted criticism over Canada's decision to draw from an international fund designed to help poor countries.

A medic administers a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to a fellow medic during a campaign to vaccinate front-line medical workers, at the health ministry, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Nasser Nasser

OTTAWA - Canada is committed to helping poor countries obtain COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday as he rebutted criticism over Canada's decision to draw from an international fund designed to help poor countries.

Oxfam Canada and the ONE Campaign say it is wrong for the federal government to agree to accept almost 1.9 million doses of vaccine from the COVAX Facility by the end of June.

But as Trudeau noted on Friday, Canada is one of the leading donors to COVAX, a new international partnership under the World Health Organization created last year to help deliver billions of expensive vaccine doses to poor countries that cant afford them.

In return, donor countries are allowed to receive vaccines for their own use.

Canada is facing shortfalls in the delivery of vaccines for Canadians from two major international biotech firms, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which has the Trudeau Liberals under fire from their political opponents.

"When wealthier countries invest in COVAX, half of that funding is for doses at home, and the other half is to buy doses for low- and middle-income countries," Trudeau said Friday.

"Our contribution was always intended to access vaccine doses for Canadians, as well as to support lower income countries."

Diana Sarosi, Oxfam Canada's policy director, says it is wrong for Canada to accept COVAX vaccines because of domestic political pressure and says it will ultimately do harm in poorer countries.

"Canada should not be taking the COVAX vaccine from poor nations to alleviate political pressures at home. Receiving one or two million doses isn't going to solve Canadas vaccination challenges and it is going to cause harm elsewhere in the world for the poorest and most marginalized people," Sarosi said in a statement.

"Purchasing more vaccines, when Canada has already purchased enough to vaccinate the entire population four times over, is not a viable solution."

Trudeau said Canada remains committed to helping poor countries, through its commitment to COVAX and other international agreements.

Canada has pledged $220 million to COVAX and another $865 million to the ACT Accelerator, which tries to ensure low- and middle-income countries have equitable access to medical treatments during the pandemic.

"Canada is committed to making sure that the rest of the world doesn't get left behind when it comes to vaccination. That's why we are one of the world's top donors to COVAX," Trudeau said. "To beat this virus anywhere, we have to beat it everywhere."

Sarosi and Stuart Hickox, the Canadian executive director of the ONE Campaign, called on Canada and other governments to force vaccine makers to give up their intellectual property rights so their vaccines can be more rapidly and affordably reproduced.

Hickox said Trudeau should join French President Emmanuel Macron and 100 other countries that are calling for a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization.

"There's no doubt that this makes Canada look bad. What's lost in this frenzy is the fact that COVAX is operating as it was designed, and that Canada is one of the biggest donors," said Hickox.

"Once the domestic vaccine rollout stabilizes, Canada should announce a clear strategy of how Canada will share back the extra vaccines the government secured."

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole skirted a question on Thursday about whether he would reject the COVAX doses if he were prime minister.

Instead, O'Toole said he never would have let the current shortfalls happen if he were in charge 10 months ago. He said the fact that Canada was dipping into COVAX was a sign that the government had rolled out an inadequate plan to vaccinate Canadians.

"Canada should have made sure that we had a domestic supply that ensured we were vaccinated quickly so we could reopen the economy, get the economy moving together," O'Toole said.

Only then, he said, should Canada play its role in helping the developed world.

"I would like to see the vaccines rolled out here as quickly as possible," said O'Toole.

Green party Leader Annamie Paul said Friday that Canada is embarrassing itself on the world stage by taking doses from COVAX.

There is a very big difference between having a right and doing whats right, said Paul. This is not right.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the COVAX issue highlights Canada's inability to produce vaccines.

"This is all very troubling and just highlights how bad things are," Singh told reporters Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.

During my annual leave last Friday, I picked up my phone to check Twitter to read about the topic of the afternoon and was shocked to see that it was me.

Over a series of tweets Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, had launched into a tirade because I asked her a question she didnt like. She posted screenshots of two emails that Id sent to her press office as part of my research into a story and also tagged my employer, HuffPost.

Last Thursday and Friday, I approached the ministers office asking for comment on my understanding that she had refused to participate in a video featuring Black cross-party politicians seeking to encourage the take up of Covid-19 vaccinations. Far from being fabricated, as she alleged, this information was shared with me by multiple senior political figures.

For her to log into Twitter and suggest that I had made the story up is an incredibly damaging allegation that goes to the heart of my professional integrity  while absolving her of her responsibility to be answerable to the very taxpayers who pay that internet bill.

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The minister suggested that I was creepy and bizarre for putting my sources claims to her. I am not. What I am is a young Black journalist simply doing my job. I have faced obstacles common to all aspiring reporters, as well as ones faced disproportionately by women and women of colour.

Journalist Nadine White / Nadine White

This includes frequently facing online abuse  a problem which she exacerbated through an ill-conceived decision to single me out with erroneous claims about my respectability on a social media platform. Following the ministers thread, I was trolled via Twitter, Instagram and email, as well as nuisance calls, and I was forced to close my Twitter account.

I have witnessed Badenochs ascension to power as a Black woman  a rarity in politics. Theres a parallel to be drawn between her example and mine, as I too navigate an industry as part of a marginalised cohort in news. I did have respect for the ministers ambition and it was disappointing to see her resort to, what was in my opinion, malicious, frankly tragic behaviour that is most unbecoming of an elected public official.

Ive found the ordeal to be humiliating and stressful, particularly at a time when Im grieving the death of my older sister, 41, who passed away from Covid-19 three weeks ago. Prior to that, my mother contracted Covid, as did both my brothers and most of my immediate family. Last year, I lost my cousin who was in his sixties to the virus and friends.

Kemi Badenoch and Nadine White's tweets / Screenshot

While reckoning with the personal devastation that the virus has wreaked upon my life, Ive continued to report on the pandemic on the nations behalf. I care deeply about how this pandemic is affecting Britain yet the minister accused me of peddling disinformation in a story that was never actually published.

The vaccine hesitancy thats rife in our Black communities is rooted in mistrust of the government. This is not the first time Badenoch has made inflammatory comments and as a result her relationship with some Black communities leaves a lot to be desired. Last year she accused the BBCs community affairs correspondent Rianna Croxford of fanning the flames of racial division over a story about a black doctor who had been sidelined from leading a review into a coronavirus BAME report. In October 2020, in an interview with The Spectator the MP appeared to claim that Why Im No Longer Talking to White People About Race author Reni Eddo-Lodge actually wants a segregated society. In light of this, the equalities ministers absence from this video about equality was noted by many people. Badenoch has since said it was actually she who 'suggested and promoted the video.'

Kemi Badenoch next to Chancellor Rishi Sunak / Getty Images

So the question of whether she refused to participate in a video tailored specifically to Black communities lends itself, I think, to grave ongoing questions about the extent to which she has the confidence of these parts of the community.

Badenoch may find that her valiant efforts to promote vaccine uptake through taking part in the Novavax trials - which is why she couldn't take part in the campaign video in question - may go in vain, for some Black people because of these very questions. This compelled me to put my sources claims to the minister.

Free press is essential to the function of any democracy. The ministers attack suggests that power should not be held to account which threatens a dangerous precedent indeed.

The reaction from the world of journalism speaks for itself. Her actions have been called out by media industry colleagues, as well as right-thinking, alarmed members of the public from all walks of life including public figures from Afua Hirsch to Lord Simon Woolley.

The NUJ and the Council of Europes Safety of Journalists have criticised the ministers behaviour, as well as the Coalition for Women in Journalism, The Society of Editors and The Media Freedom Rapid Response. In addition to this, the Labour Party has raised a potential ministerial code breach too. This is more than just some misguided personal spat.

One week later, Badenoch has not deleted her tweets or apologised. I sent private correspondence to the minister earlier this week beseeching her to do the right thing in taking this action and asking her to let me know what her intentions will be by Thursday.
Donald M. Voiret Named Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Office

Director Christopher Wray has named Donald M. Voiret as the special agent in charge of the Seattle Field Office. Most recently, Mr. Voiret served as the FBI legal attache to London.

Mr. Voiret joined the FBI as a special agent in 2002 and was assigned to the Providence Resident Agency in Rhode Island, under the Boston Field Office. He primarily worked counterterrorism cases.

Mr. Voiret was promoted to supervisory special agent in 2007 and transferred to the Counterterrorism Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mr. Voiret moved to the Washington Field Office in 2010 and served as a supervisor of the Extraterritorial Counterterrorism Squad.

In 2013, Mr. Voiret was promoted to assistant inspector in the Inspection Division at Headquarters. The Inspection Division conducts internal investigations, reviews operational performance and use of enforcement authorities across all investigative programs, and conducts special inquiries.

Mr. Voiret was promoted to assistant special agent in charge (ASAC) in the Salt Lake City Field Office in 2015. As ASAC, Mr. Voiret oversaw the cyber, counterintelligence, and intelligence programs covering Utah, Idaho, and Montana.

In 2017, Mr. Voiret was promoted to inspector in the Inspection Division. He was named legal attache in the London office in 2018. Legal attaches serve as the FBI directors personal representative in their assigned foreign nations and build and maintain relationships with law enforcement and security agencies.

Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Voiret worked as a law enforcement officer for 16 years in Florida. He graduated from Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Florida.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Food delivery and technology company is scaling up its programme to support It has onboarded 300 on its platform, across six cities in the first phase.

The Deepinder Goyal-led firm has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under the Prime Minister Street Vendors AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme to onboard food on its platform.

With this, these street vendors would be able to serve their loyal customers within the safety of their own homes. They would also be able to reach a much larger customer base using Zomatos technology and last-mile delivery services.

Happy to witness the exchange of MoU between mission director, PM SVANidhi in my Ministry & vice president of Zomato, a digital platform to order foods, Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, tweeted.

ALSO READ: Fast-food chains get future-ready as curbs are fully lifted, biz recovers

Based on learnings in a month, will upscale the initiative to 125 cities. is looking to create a more sustainable and abreast ecosystem for food street vendors and facilitate greater earning opportunities for them. In the first phase, it will be working with 300 street food vendors across six cities- Bhopal, Raipur, Patna, Vadodara, Nagpur, and Ludhiana. Considering the popularity of street food in these cities, there is an immense growth potential for these vendors in the sphere.

Along with the self on-boarding facility, Zomato is setting up a dedicated team to help these vendors through the onboarding and then order fulfilment process. The Gurugram-based firm will work with the Ministry to help street vendors with digitizing and pricing their menus for food delivery. It will also provide them with training on food safety, hygiene, and advanced packaging practices to ensure these vendors are fully equipped to serve through Zomato.

Zomato has over 200,000 live on the platform for food delivery and over 1.5 lakh delivery partners across about 500 cities in India. It has been working with for the development of the foodservice industry for more than a decade.

Zomatos rival is already collaborating with the government for the Prime Minister Street Vendors AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme through a programme it has in 125 cities.

ALSO READ: Ind AS adoption for banks could be deferred till FY24, say sources

This follows a successful pilot that initiated with the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in the cities of Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Chennai, Delhi and Indore. In the pilot stage, has already onboarded over 300 street vendors on its platform.

The SVANidhi scheme had received loan applications from 147,000 street food vendors so far. From these, in the first phase alone, Swiggy will onboard about 36,000 vendors to whom the loan has been disbursed in 125 cities, potentially making this initiative by Swiggy and MoHUA the largest of its kind not just in India, but globally.

There are many changes and challenges that street food vendors have faced in the wake of the pandemic. This had forced many of them to shut shop overnight. Also, there has been a long-term change in consumer behaviour regarding continued social distancing and heightened demand for online services like food delivery. These efforts by Swiggy and Zomato aim to provide meaningful support to the street food vendors to revive their business and offer much-needed visibility.
Australian pop musician and songwriter Sia has attached a warning message to her feature directorial debut, Music, shortly after the controversial film scored two Golden Globe nominations.

On Thursday, the Chandelier hitmaker responded on Twitter to criticism from the autism community surrounding the musical movie, which stars Dance Moms alum and frequent collaborator Maddie Ziegler, who is not autistic, as a non-verbal autistic teen.

Australian musician Sias directorial debut Music has been on the receiving end of harsh criticism. Credit:AP

Sia later deactivated her Twitter account but not before Variety transcribed her tweets.

I promise, have been listening, she wrote. The motion picture Music will, moving forward, have this warning at the head of the movie.


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Three officers at New Jerseys only womens prison have been charged with official misconduct and accused of other crimes after female inmates said they were severely beaten by staff last month, the state attorney generals office announced Thursday.

More charges against other officers could come as the investigation continues, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said during a virtual press conference.

At least six women at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility have said they were hurt around Jan. 11, a higher number than previously reported, according to Grewal, interviews with two prisoners and relatives of three others.

They were not treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve, Grewal said. In fact, they were assaulted physically and violently.

One woman at the Hunterdon County prison told NJ Advance Media she was sexually assaulted by an officer, and others reported they were beaten so badly that one said she suffered a broken eye socket and cheek bone while another told her mother she was diagnosed with a concussion and had bruises all over her body.

Officials confirmed that one inmate had an orbital fracture and they said women also suffered psychological trauma.

Grewal added that the investigation was hampered by officers who lied and attempted to cover it up by filing false reports about the incident, downplaying the seriousness of the incident and failing to document the true nature of the officers actions that evening.

Two people charged were supervisors, who officials said failed to stop other officers from using excessive force.

Sgt. Amir E. Bethea, 35, of Springfield faces two counts of second-degree official misconduct and two counts of third-degree tampering with public records.

It was not immediately clear if Bethea has a lawyer, and two numbers listed for him did not work.

Sgt. Anthony J. Valvano, 38, of Bound Brook, was charged with second-degree official misconduct and third-degree tampering with public records.

Messages left at two numbers listed for Valvano were not immediately returned. A man did pick up at one of the numbers, but the line immediately disconnected after an NJ Advance Media reporter identified himself.

If convicted, an official misconduct charge carries a minimum of five years in prison.

Officer Luis A. Garcia, 23, of Nutley, was also charged with second-degree aggravated assault, second-degree official misconduct and third-degree tampering with public records, according to Grewals office.

Garcia punched one woman 28 times around the face, despite the fact that she was trying to protect herself while pressed up against a cell wall, Grewal said.

Garcias attorney, Robert Cannan, said his client adamantly denies these allegations.

He will plead not guilty and ultimately looks forward to complete vindication and restoration to his pay status and his career, Cannan said.

The allegations have prompted lawmakers to demand Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks lose his job.

Gov. Phil Murphy ordered an independent investigation into the incident.

In a statement after the charges were announced, Murphy thanked the attorney general for taking swift action and filing criminal charges in the wake of the horrifying incident at Edna Mahan.

Any abuse of power is abhorrent and violates the public trust, and can never be tolerated or excused, Murphy said.

A spokesman added in an email that, Findings of the investigation and recommendations will be released publicly.

The prison commissioner has said he fully supports the independent investigation.

The department has zero tolerance for anyone who defies our mission of operating safe and humane facilities, Hicks wrote to staff Jan. 29 in a memo obtained by NJ Advance Media. Let me be clear when I say, my administration has ushered in a new dawn at the NJDOC.

Hicks suspended staff and initiated the criminal investigation days after the alleged beatings, according to a spokeswoman.

The incident began as an attempt to pull some inmates out of their cells and lasted into the early morning of Jan. 12, according to charging records.

The highest-ranking person to be placed on leave so far is Associate Administrator Sean St. Paul, who has previously been sued at least three times in recent years by inmates who said he either assaulted them or failed to stop violent officers.

Although St. Paul was not named, Grewal said Thursday that were going to hold everyone accountable that contributed to the events of January 11 and January 12, regardless of where they fall on the chain of command.

A total of 32 staff at Edna Mahan were put on paid administrative leave after the incident, according to William Sullivan, president of PBA Local 105, the states largest corrections union.

That includes two additional suspensions Jan. 27, he said, after dozens were initially removed Jan. 15. Half are men and half are women, Sullivan added.

There are about 330 officers total, not counting supervisors, who guard almost 400 women at the prison, according to the union.

Video of the incident shot by at least one officer and taken from at least one surveillance camera will eventually be released, Grewal said.

He also asked anyone with more information to step forward.

The time to speak to our investigators is now, he said.

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Blake Nelson can be reached at bnelson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BCunninghamN.

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London: Statues of Captain Cook in Britain are under scrutiny after campaigners added the genocidal explorer to a national hit list.

Two statues in London and Whitby - his hometown, two museums and a pub are among 125 landmarks and tributes that activists want renamed or removed.

The list follows similar moves in Australia, where in Sydney, for example, a bronze statue of Captain Cook that dates back to 1879 was defaced during Black Lives Matter protests in June.

Additions to the British list include Captain Cook Square, Captain Cooks Crescent, James Cook University Hospital and a Captain Cook museum, all of which are in Middlesbrough, plus the Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby.
The Berks County Commissioners unanimously agreed this week to support and participate in a Tri-County Rail Committee to pursue the restoration of passenger rail service in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties.

A July 2020 study by Transportation Economics and Management Systems, Inc., funded by Berks Alliance, identified a strong case for the return of passenger rail service from Berks County to New York City and Washington D.C. via Pottstown, Phoenixville and Philadelphia, a press release said.

The study, Restoring Passenger Rail Service to Berks County, PA, found that restoring rail service would produce substantial economic benefits for all the communities along the line, including jobs, income and property development opportunities. The project would also generate benefits for travelers and could be effectively integrated into the Northeast Corridor rail services to both New York and Washington D.C., according to the release.

Commissioners from the three counties involved determined that a committee of representatives from each county should be formed to help begin implementing the next steps of the project. The Berks County Commissioners intend to name Berks three representatives in the next few weeks, along with their recommendations for technical partners, the release said.

This committee represents the high level of cooperation and leadership that will be necessary to successfully drive this project towards the goal of restoring passenger rail service for Berks County, Commissioners Chair Christian Y. Leinbach said. We are pleased to work with officials who believe in the project and its positive local and regional economic benefits.

The Restoring Passenger Rail Service to Berks County, PA study is available for review on the County of Berks website at this link.

PennDOT also recently published an analysis on restoring passenger rail service between Reading and Philadelphia. That study can be found at www.planthekeystone.com.
A man who spent 10 days in Londonderry's Altnagelvin hospital fighting for his life has said the impact of the coronavirus on him should serve as a wake-up call to others.

Eugene Bell (52) has no underlying health conditions, doesn't smoke, drinks only socially and regularly exercises at the gym - but medics have told him to expect to need help breathing until at least April or May.

Remarkably Mr Bell's recovery has exceeded expectations and he is now back at home with his partner, Paul McShane, although he still requires oxygen and is taking antibiotics and steroids to fight off the virus.

"This has been one of the most frightening experiences of my life and there were times I was really worried that I might not survive," he said.

"Six days after I tested positive I was struggling so hard to breath my partner Paul rang for help. The nurse he was speaking to asked to speak to me and the minute she heard how I was breathing she told me she was sending an ambulance which arrived about 10 minutes later.

"I was scared that I might not get home again. On the way to the hospital, the ambulance staff prepared me for what would happened but even with that it was hard not to feel afraid. The doctor told me he was moving me to Intensive Care and that's where I was for the next 10 days."

Doctors told Mr Bell that there was a chance they would need to put him on a ventilator if his body didn't respond to the initial treatment within two hours. Thankfully this wasn't necessary.

He was discharged last week but remains under the care of community medical team.

He said: "I have recovered well and that is probably due to the fact that I am only 52 and I do look after myself but even so, this virus took a huge toll on me and that has been a real wake-up call for a lot of people.

"This is not a flu, it has been lethal for so many people and needs to be taken seriously."

Mr Bell added: "I couldn't begin to thank all the staff that looked after me while I was in the hospital. They were amazing and they just couldn't do enough for me.

"They are working 12-hour shifts that in reality are 13 or 14 hour shifts and they are doing that five days a week, making enormous sacrifices and we must never forget that."
Where exactly its come from is still to be determined, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said. Were confident at the moment its not been picked up in the community but from one of the residents in the hotel. Premier Daniel Andrews addresses the media on Friday as Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton looks on. Credit:Paul Jeffers Victoria recorded no new locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Friday, after the young mans diagnosis sparked a mass testing effort across Melbourne and the tightening of mask-wearing rules and gathering limits. As well as the hotel worker, a returned traveller is suspected of also being infected with the British strain after viral particles spread from another hotel room. Epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws said the possibility that infection had spread between the rooms was extremely concerning.

If the air in the room of that family of five is so dense with virus that it can then go into the corridor to then infect somebody on the other side then we have got a serious problem, she said. With about 40,000 Australians stuck overseas and trying to get home the program is likely to continue for some time, but infections have emerged in quarantine hotels in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, NSW and South Australia. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Professor Lidia Morawska, director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at the Queensland University of Technology wants quarantine to be led from Canberra and has called for a review of every hotel providing quarantine in Australia. So, here we are again. The most important aspect is acknowledgement at the top level in Australia that airborne transmission is a main route of transmission in general. This is the golden rule: hazard, not recognised [will] never be controlled and they are stubbornly refusing to recognise this hazard, Professor Morawska said.

Loading [Airborne transmission] has been rejected, rejected and rejected, even though it is so obvious. There is no one magic solution. This needs a team of building engineers who know the system ... to investigate which way air flows, and whether there is the possibility of transferring air from one room to another room. University of South Australia biostatistics and epidemiology professor Adrian Esterman said he had been calling for a nationally driven quarantine response for months. He said the vaccine would never be a silver bullet even if every high-risk hotel quarantine staffer in Australia got immunised.

The thing about the vaccine is although it is going to be highly effective at reducing symptomatic disease, it will likely be far less effective at reducing transmission, he said. The issue here is even if youre vaccinated, theres still a chance of you being infected and even though you wont have severe symptoms you will still potentially be infectious. The Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists immediate past president Andrew Orfanos said while health authorities accepted the risk of airborne transmission in hospitals, there was reluctance to do the same in hotel quarantine. A quarantine worker at the Grand Hyatt tested positive. Credit:Paul Jeffers We have ... ensure that the ventilation systems in the hotels are effectively bringing in fresh air and not just re-circulating potentially contaminated air, he said. You have to dilute the virus by blowing lots and lots of fresh air in there. While Australian Medical Association Victorian president Julian Rait believes Victorias hotel quarantine program was among the best in Australia, he said there remained a deficiency around fit-testing of face masks.

Fit-testing  which ensures a mask seals to the face  is mandatory for workers dealing with asbestos and silica, but not for all hotel quarantine workers. In Victoria, all hotel quarantine workers must all wear high quality N95 masks. Those working at hot hotels for coronavirus positive returned travellers must have fit-tested masks. However, those working in the cold hotels with returned travellers who have yet to test positive are not required to fit their masks. Unless you ensure an airtight seal around your in N95 theres no point having one, Professor Rait said. Following a national cabinet meeting on Friday, Mr Morrison said hotel quarantine would remain the primary system for isolating returned travellers.

Loading It has been incredibly effective, he said. Over 211,000 people have gone through that process, and the number of breaches weve had  albeit, when they do occur, theyre serious  is incredibly small in comparison to that large volume. As well as expanding the capacity at the Howard Springs quarantine facility in the Northern Territory the Prime Minister confirmed he was actively considering a proposal for a 1000-bed purpose-built quarantine site in Toowoomba, 130 kilometres west of Brisbane. Victoria will lift the number of returned travellers it takes at its quarantine hotels each week to 1300, up from around 1100 now but significantly fewer than the big jump the Andrews government had flagged it would soon be taking. Section 51 of the Australian Constitution gives quarantine powers to the Commonwealth, but it is not compelled to exercise these powers. It can instead opt to allow the states public health safeguards to operate alongside it.
Civil society organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders have expressed concern over what they describe as government's continued secrecy in the oil and gas sector, saying it fuels grand systemic corruption and tax evasion.

According to the CSOs, failure to avail the details of production sharing and double taxation agreements also bar the public from scrutinising the management of the sector.

"Who exactly are we dealing with (in the oil and gas sector)? Who are the investors and where are their headquarters? That determines the taxes they pay depending on the agreements," Mr Henry Bazira, a member of the Energy and Extractives Working Group, told journalists in Kampala on Tuesday.

He added that insider dealing in the oil and gas sector has led to the influx of many international briefcase companies into the country, leaving out genuine local ones.

"There are people who fly out of Uganda, return in two weeks. They register a company, open up a shop, leave one receptionist in the office, get an address, and deposit $50,000 in a Bahamas account and come with bank statements saying they have had five years operations in the Bahamas yet they have only been there for two weeks," Mr Bazira said.

"Then you come here and bid for a contract in our respective ministries. And because they are international companies, they are given tax holidays, tax exemptions and before you know it, the competent companies are out," he added.

Ms Regina Kavuga, the programme coordinator at SEATINI-Uganda, explained that the government has kept out details of oil production agreements from the public.

"We know our counterparts, especially those multinationals from developed countries, spend a lot of time analysing how to doge taxes. We might spend a lot of time on the rules and the law but to them, even a comma means something and yet for us we might miss some of the issues (in agreements)," Ms Navuga said.

She added: "If we miss out on all these tax revenues (from oil), our citizens will not be able to get quality services that would have been made available with that money."

The Civil Society Coalition on Oil and Gas (CSCO), a loose coalition of 60 organisations working towards sustainable governance of Uganda's oil and gas resources, said without transparency, corruption and lack of knowledge on tax regimes in the country will lead to oil revenue leakage when production begins.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Uganda Petroleum By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"The major international companies currently involved in Uganda's oil sector are registered in tax havens and some have concealed ownership structures, which pose a high illicit financial flows risk," Mr James Ruhindo from CSCOs and other stakeholder group said.

He added: "Although Uganda currently has rather comprehensive transfer pricing rules aimed at reducing incidences of tax avoidance as a result of price manipulation in transactions between related companies, these are difficult to enforce due to secrecy, information unavailability and limited institutional capacity." Mr Robert Kasande, the Energy ministry permanent secretary, yesterday was not available for a comment.

But in August last year, after Uganda was admitted to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the government committed to make public its dealings with oil and mining companies in a report to be published within the next 18 months. EITI is a global standard to promote the open and accountable management of the extractive industry.

The head of the EITI Uganda multi-sectoral group, Mr Moses Kaggwa, who is also the director of economic affairs at the Ministry of Finance, told Daily Monitor then that a work plan had been put in place to guide the next processes.

BACKGROUND

Uganda discovered commercially viable oil deposits in the Albertine graben in 2006 but production is yet to begin. In August 2020, Uganda joined the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The initiative is a global standard to promote accountable management of the extractive industry.

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No, youre not dreaming. Thats the sound of bubbling water and the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the air as you contemplate waking up. The Barisieur coffee maker and alarm clock lets you start your day with a freshly brewed cup of joe (or loose leaf tea) without leaving the cozy confines of your bed. The beautifully designed (and pricy) system created by British industrial designer Joshua Renouf is composed of hand-blown borosilicate glass and polished stainless steel components that sit on a wood tray, giving it a science lab meets contemporary sculpture vibe. Barisieur even has a built-in mini milk fridge to keep everything you need within reach. The clocks display dims as the night goes on and theres a built-in USB charger for your phone. Just set Barisieur to start brewing 5 minutes before the alarm and stay in bed a little longer. $445, b8ta.com
New York, Feb 5 : In his agenda-setting foreign policy speech, US President Joe Biden has made China the principal adversary of America, but failed to make any mention of the Indo-Pacific region or of India in confronting it.

The US will "take on directly the challenges posed" to "our prosperity, security, and democratic values by our most serious competitor, China", Biden said in his speech at the State Department on Thursday.

Challenging Beijing, he declared: "We'll confront China's economic abuses; counter its aggressive, coercive action; to push back on China's attack on human rights, intellectual property, and global governance.

"American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the US." The strong language was a turnaround from his globalist past as Senator and Vice President and his campaign statements like, "They're not competition for us" and "China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man".

He did not layout a concrete plan in his speech to take on the China challenge, but spoke in generalities.

"We will compete from a position of strength by building back better at home, working with our allies and partners, renewing our role in international institutions, and reclaiming our credibility and moral authority, much of which has been lost.

"But we are ready to work with Beijing when it's in America's interest to do so," Biden added.

His predecessor Donald Trump had made the Indo-Pacific region, the main theatre of confrontation, a focus of his strategy on China with the Quad -- US, India, Japan and Australia -- as an emerging force there, an alliance of democracies bookended by Washington and New Delhi.

Biden did not mention the Indo-Pacific or, while speaking of allies, the Quad or India.

But he mentioned his conversations with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Australia in the region with a view to "rebuilding the muscle of democratic alliances that have atrophied over the past few years of neglect".

Biden is yet to speak to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, two foreign policy leaders in his administration, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan have spoken of the importance of the Indo-Pacific and India.

Blinken "underscored India's role as a pre-eminent partner of the US in the Indo-Pacific" in his discussions with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, according to the State Department.

The White House said that when Sullivan called his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, they spoke about "continuing close co-operation in the Indo-Pacific region and promoting regional security".

Biden listed climate change and Russia as his other global adversaries.

He said that he was "integrating climate objectives across all of our diplomacy" and raising the targets for reducing carbon emissions so that "we can challenge other nations, other major emitters".

The President said the US must deal with "the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy" and its days of "aggressive actions -- interfering with our elections, cyberattacks, poisoning its citizens -- are over. We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interests and our people".

In Europe, Biden said that the US was halting the withdrawal of 12,000 troops from Germany that was ordered by Trump.

Glaring omissions in his speech were Israel, with which Trump strengthened the already close relations; Afghanistan, where a rocky peace process is underway between the US, the Taliban and the elected government in Kabul, and Iraq, which the US and its allies had invaded with Biden's backing.

Trump had also ordered a withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Biden said that Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will "lead a Global Posture Review of our forces so that our military footprint is appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities".

Promotion of democracy was theme woven into his speech.

The US will "rally the nations of the world to defend democracy globally, to push back the authoritarianism's advance", he said.

Although during his campaign, he had criticised Trump's "America First" policies, Biden presented his own vision of America primacy, the world's dominant power setting the global agenda.

But in a major shift, he said that he would achieve that through cooperation with other countries and through diplomacy.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Convicted bank robber Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks, famously said, because thats where the money is.

In todays socially distanced world, criminals increasingly are turning their attention to the money inside automated teller machines  whether outside a bank or inside a neighborhood convenience store. And their smash-and-grab method of extraction  often involving heavy equipment stolen from nearby construction sites  has become yet another COVID-19 cost driver for insurance carriers.

Travelers says that claims for damages because of ATM thefts increased by 220% from 2019 to 2020. Due to COVID-19 bank closures or restricted hours, customers are encouraged to use ATMs and banks are holding more money in them than before.

You might not hear too many instances of someone just walking into a bank and robbing it, said Tracey Santor, bond product manager for Travelers. People might be relying more on ATMs. Thats where the money is going.

Santor said claims for cash stolen from smashed ATMs are often accompanied by significant property damages. The ATMs themselves can cost $30,000 to $80,000, she said. They may be stuffed with $40,000 in cash.

Ive seen front-end loaders or big equipment take out the entire wall, she said. Ive read stories about liquor stores, in the middle of the day they ran their truck into it and they are like a pit crew in a NASCAR race.

The Texas Bankers Association noted the uptick in ATM crimes and appointed an ATM Crime Task Force last fall to focus public attention to the problem. A TBA report says that Houston and Southeast Texas have long been a hotbed of ATM crimes, but last summer and fall its member banks reported even more numerous smash and grab attacks on the money machines. Criminals were using construction vehicles or heavy-duty trucks to rip apart ATM encasements to get access to cash.

The association said the FBI also alerted it to a growing problem when it issued a Private Sector Liaison report in October that said criminals were using explosives to breach ATMs. Also that month, an insurance carrier told the associations Bankers Insurance Agency that they were experiencing losses at such a rate that it could soon impact bank policy deductibles and premiums.

The task force said in a November report that organized crime is the predominant source of ATM crimes in Texas, with about 95% of those groups based in the Houston area. FBI officials taking part in the task force meeting said that they have made more than 50 arrests and are actively tracking about 250 suspects believed to be involved in the crime rings.

Law enforcement sources told the task force that Texas banks have lost about $13 million from ATM thefts, but thats only half the problem.

When the cost of equipment damage is combined with cash losses, the total estimated ATM smash and grab losses in Texas skyrocket to $24 million, the report says.

Civil unrest after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd created a diversion that emboldened the ATM crime rings. A report by the Wall Street Journal, citing information from ATM supplier Cardtronics, said criminals attempted to breach 240 ATMs in 17 cities between late May and the end of June. About half of those were in Chicago and Philadelphia.

The Journal, citing Philadelphia police, reported that 157 ATMS in the city were damaged or destroyed with explosives in 2020  compared to five in 2019 and two in 2018. The head of the police departments bomb disposal unit told the newspaper that most of the explosions occurred during civil unrest. Hundreds of other machines were damaged by mechanical means, the Journal reported.

Security device manufacturer 3SI, citing data from the ATM Industry Association, said the number of ATM crimes increased 148% from 2019 to 2020. Theft of the whole ATM using a vehicle increased by 53% and the use of explosives in safe breaking attacks increased by 23%.

Texas had the most ATM crimes by far, nearly doubling the number in more populous California, which ranked second. The average amount stolen was $83,000, 3SI said.

The increase in crime led to the release of a new product. On Wednesday, 3SI announced that the launch of the ATM Cassette Tracker, a device that augments the ATM Tracker product that tracks the location of stolen machines.

Lisa Moughan, marketing and communications manager for the Malvern, Pa.-based company, said each the tracking devices sends a signal directly to 911 dispatchers whenever motion is detected. She said the dispatchers can track the exact locations of stolen machines or cassettes as the criminals make their escape. She said the system protects responding police officers because they can hold off on moving in until the criminals reach a location that appears the most safe. That avoids high-speed chases that endanger police and bystanders both.

Moughan said 95% of the money stolen from ATMs that are equipped with 3SI trackers is recovered by police. She said often the criminals have to leave the money behind because police start responding before theyve opened up the machines.

Moughan said 3SI added the cassette tracker to its product offerings because criminals have upgraded their techniques. Instead of stealing entire machines, they use a hook and chain attached to a truck or tractor to yank the door off the machine and make off with the cassettes inside that hold the cash.

They get more sophisticated all the time, she said.

About the photo: A member of the Philadelphia bomb squad surveys the scene after an ATM machine was blown-up at 2207 N. 2nd Street in Philadelphia, Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (David Maialetti/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Joe Biden is sticking with the teachers' unions against science and the welfare of America's children and their parents. For the first time in over half a century of watching the politics of public education, the education unions and the Democrats they support are in danger of losing public support. Biden, whose public approval is either robust or very marginal, depending on which polling organization you believe, is in danger of alienating many of the parents of young children.

Closed government schools are driving parents into private schools and homeschooling, and some of the children will never return to government indoctrination centers.

There is no scientific justification at all for keeping schools closed, as children are at almost no risk of coming down with or transmitting COVID. That means that teachers, too, are at little risk of acquiring the illness, which, if treated promptly, has a 99%+ rate of cure for all but the elderly, too old to remain in the classroom.

Certainly, classroom teaching generates no more risk than that faced by supermarket clerks or many other service industry workers who have kept vital industries running throughout the crisis.

Meanwhile, a generation of children is falling behind on learning and socialization skills, many of which can never be recovered. They will go through life at a disadvantage, as will our country, since most of our global competitors have kept schools open or reopened them long ago. China, seeking to displace us as the hegemonic power, is having a great laugh over our self-sabotage.

Parents, single mothers in particular, but at least one member of intact couples, too, are forced to care for children at home, and so are unable to work at jobs they formerly held. This decreases family income and causes hardship, while also slowing the national economic recovery.

Worst of all, there is growing evidence that our children are being harmed psychologically, as evidenced by the soaring rates of suicide, and the pall that a lack of socialization with peers casts on childhood.

Grassroots pressure is building on local politicians, far closer to their constituents than Biden, to reopen schools. New York City already reopened schools (though they were briefly closed due to the recent snowstorm). In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot  no opponent of unions  is currently publicly battling with the Chicago Teachers Union, attempting to force them to do their jobs:

.@chicagosmayor: We already updated schools with Covid-mitigation policies like "ventilation, testing, health screening, face coverings, enhanced cleaning," but "the [Chicago Teachers Union] blew up that success and created the chaos that we are now enduring." pic.twitter.com/T6EmBY1tjn  Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 4, 2021

Former New York Mayor and failed presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is blunt in telling the unions to suck it up:

Bloomberg: "Its time for Joe Biden to stand up and to say, the kids are the most important things. And important players here. And the teachers just are going to have to suck it up and stand up and provide an education. Otherwise, these kids have no chance whatsoever" pic.twitter.com/Qo4Qt4m2Ec  Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 3, 2021

Presidential press secretary Jen Psaki is trying to have it both ways, of course.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday reiterated that President Biden wants to see children back in classrooms, but would not commit to standing up to unions if forced to choose between the prolific Democratic donors and reopening schools. Psaki also said that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky wasn't discussing official CDC guidance but rather new data as she's repeatedly said in recent days that teachers don't need to be vaccinated for schools to reopen in person. "Dr. Walensky spoke to this in her personal capacity. Obviously, she's the head of the CDC. But we're going to wait for the final guidance to come out so we can use that as a guide for schools around the country," Psaki said. "[Biden] believes that even with vaccinations for teachers or for any American, that there are a number of other mitigation steps that are important to take ... the wearing of masks, social distancing, ventilation, these are all factors that are important for... the reopening of schools."

"Private capacity"? She spoke in front of the CDC logo. This is ex post facto BS. The excuses used to keep schools closed get weaker and weaker, while the damage to children and families mushrooms with the passage of time. I am hoping Mayor Lightfoot of Chicago forces the issue, reopens schools, and fires teachers who don't do their duty. The political power of the unions may make that unlikely, but with parental anger growing nationally, and with private and parochial schools open and not spreading COVID, she might well find herself a hero to a nationwide constituency.

Joe Biden, for his part, remains the species of "honest politician" who stays bought once he's bribed with campaign contributions and volunteer manpower, both of which are abundantly supplied by the teachers' unions to Democrats. I suppose he feels that this gives him the moral high ground.

Photo credit: Twitter video screen grab.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.

Twenty-one Luzerne County nursing homes  including one in Drums that is being investigated for COVID-19 containment concerns  were awarded more than three-quarters of a million dollars from a national federal fund set up to reward facilities that have lower COVID-19 infection and death rates compared to overall rates within the county they are located.

The Nursing Home Quality Incentive Program was launched in September as part of the governments efforts to encourage nursing homes to aggressively employ mitigation strategies to halt the spread of the virus.

Congress earmarked $2 billion for the fund, which is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. The funds are being distributed in several phases based on the homes performance from September to December.

As of Jan. 25, HHS distributed $854.4 million to nursing homes nationwide that met standards in September and October, including $24 million to 895 facilities in Pennsylvania.

In Luzerne County, 21 homes qualified for $784,665 in aid, with Highland Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Exeter receiving the most with $73,716.

It was followed by The Pavilion at St. Luke Village and The Manor at St. Lukes Village with $71,904 and $69,546, respectively.

Among the other Luzerne County nursing homes that got funding were Mountain Top Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, which received $57,013; Kadima Rehabilitation and Nursing in Drums, which received $25,774; Smith Health Care in Mountain Top, which received $21,774, and Mountain City Nursing and Rehabilitation in Hazleton, which received $18,179.

Eligibility for the incentive was determined based on an analysis of data nursing homes submit to several federal databases. HHS officials utilized a complex formula to assess each facilitys performance and the amount of payment. Generally speaking, homes qualified if the number of infections and deaths fell below the expected number of infections, given the infection/death rate in their county.

Jim Brogna, spokesman for Allied Services, said it has steadfastly followed state and federal guidance since the pandemic began in March.

We are inspired by the commitment of our healthcare heroes whove fought tirelessly for the past 11 months, Brogna said in an email. They are all to be commended for the quality care provided and protection of our residents and patients.

Dr. Richard Feifer, medical director for Genesis  whose Riverstreet Manor in Wilkes-Barre received $13,962  said its homes also have followed guidelines and in many cases adopted even more stringent infection precautions.

We are very proud of the hard work and dedication our leadership and center staff have shown throughout this entire pandemic, Feifer said in an email.

James Halpin and Jill Whalen, staff writers, contributed to this report.
Rodney Scott, head of the U.S. Border Patrol, has been accused of being part of an effort to shield agents after the 2010 death of a man who repeatedly shocked with a stun gun while in custody.

Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, 42, was beaten with batons and shocked several times as he lay handcuffed on the ground at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego after trying to cross the border from Mexico into California.

Hernandez suffered five broken ribs, brain damage and other injuries, according to court documents, and died several days later at a hospital.

An autopsy concluded that the shocks, along with physical exertion and methamphetamine use, contributed to his death from a heart attack.

Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, 42, died after trying to cross the border from Mexico into California

New testimony in the case said Rodney Scott signed a subpoena that was used 'illegally'

New testimony from Department of Homeland Security officials points to a cover up to shield the agents who beat Rojas

The accusation against Scott was made in a filing from the International Human Rights Law Clinic and and Alliance San Diego on behalf of Rojas' family before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The filing contains new testimony from three Department of Homeland Security officials who point to a cover up in the case.

Maria Puga, the widow of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas and the petitioner in the case, said in a press release from Alliance San Diego that she demands an apology from the Department of Homeland Security.

'More than anything, I want an apology for what border agents did to my husband. They treated him like an animal, not a human and they killed him," she said.

'They destroyed my family and they continue to destroy other families. They will not stop until they are held accountable.'

Puga is also demanding a new investigation in light of the new testimony and 'evidence that was ignored.'

The death attracted intense scrutiny in 2012 after an eyewitness video that aired on PBS appeared to show Hernandez being shocked while lying on the ground, surrounded by about a dozen agents.

According to court documents, eight officers and agents from the Border Patrol and other agencies acknowledged using force while nine others were present.

Emails from the Associated Press seeking comment from U.S. Customs and Border Protection weren't immediately returned late Thursday night.

At the familys request, the case is under review by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, part of the Organization of American States that has examined human rights abuses, including massacres and disappearances, chiefly in Central and South America.

It is the first time that the commission is examining allegations of an extra-judicial killing involving a U.S. law enforcement agency.

The commissions ruling won't have legal force in the United States but a negative decision could have a symbolic and international impact on the reputation of the United States.

It new testimony, from three high-ranking former officials from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, contend that officials pushed a false narrative that Hernandez was combative.

Videos received international outrage after they showed CBP agents beating Rojas

No criminal charges were filed in the case after video showed agents shocking Rojas

Hernandez suffered five broken ribs, brain damage and other injuries and later died in the hospital

The Mexican government strongly condemned a 2015 decision from the U.S. Justice Department that the use of force was 'reasonable'

The affidavits also claimed that officials erased some video of the incident and obstructed criminal investigations while conducting its own probe that had 'no legitimate or lawful purpose.'

Border Patrol agents collected some evidence at the hospital and inappropriately were present at Hernandezs autopsy, according to testimony from James Tomsheck, chief of CBPs internal affairs from 2006 to 2014.

Agents used an administrative subpoena signed by Rodney Scott, then acting deputy chief of the San Diego sector of the Border Patrol and, since last year, chief of the agency.

The subpoena was used to obtain Hernandezs medical records from the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office and the hospital.

Tomsheck said use of the subpoena was 'illegal and potentially obstruction of justice.'

No criminal charges were filed in the case.

In 2015, the U.S. Justice Department said it accepted the authorities contention that the force they used was reasonable and necessary to restrain Hernandez Rojas when he was 'noncompliant and physically assaultive.'

The Mexican government strongly condemned the decision.

In 2017, the U.S. government settled a federal lawsuit by agreeing to pay $1million to Hernandezs five children.
At least 41 high-profile figures face imminent arrest over corruption allegations, including those sucked in a US$23 million scam at the embattled National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).

The wide investigation net is targeting murky tender deals, government projects, land scandals and underhand dealings in banks.

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) spokesman John Makamure said dockets against 41 top-ranking government and private sector executives had already been handed to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

The names of the big fish under probe cannot be immediately released, as this can jeopardise investigations.

However, more dockets are being worked on, with 180 expected to be completed this year. Under the investigators' hawk's eye are 250 institutions in the public and private sectors, including the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development; allocation, occupation and corrupt sale of government houses.

To clampdown on grand corruption stalking government and state-owned entities, Zacc is setting up 20 integrity committees to plug graft loopholes.

Also under probe is the NRZ, where a jaw-dropping US$23 million was allegedly misappropriated at a time the parastatal is struggling to stay afloat and owes workers unpaid salaries. Management at NRZ is also accused of pampering itself with luxury vehicles -- Toyota Land Cruisers and Fortuners -- when the coffers are empty.

The alleged misappropriated US$23 million could easily turnaround the fortunes of the parastatal which has collapsed since the 1990s.

NRZ has been sinking in financial doldrums and efforts to secure US$400 million for recapitalisation flopped after the government cancelled a contract with a lethargic potential investor.

Some of the investigations underway, according to Makamure, include procurement of Covid-19 consumables by management at the National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm), the Bulawayo city council land deals and town clerk's contract and conditions of service, the National Building Society (NBS) and Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

"We targeted 80 dockets for submission to NPA in 2020 but we surpassed that target by 10 dockets. Twenty-nine of these dockets are on trial at different stages; 15 were given trial dates in January and February while 46 are with the set down office of the NPA undergoing the normal vetting process. Forty-one of the 90 dockets are high profile cases. We achieved six convictions and three acquittals. We are targeting 180 dockets to be completed and submitted to the NPA in 2021. Priority areas will be land cases, government aided projects, electronic case management system and asset recovery," he said.

With rampant corruption in councils, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Work has teamed up with Zacc to investigate 27 councils.

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The land probe commenced in all urban councils between September and December 2020, and arrests are looming against all those who were caught on the wrong side of the law.

Said Makamure, "Public awareness campaigns undertaken target key government institutions such as Grain Marketing Board (GMB), Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) and Registrar General's office. More institutions where high levels of corruption have been reported to be targeted in 2021.

"The department initiated a corruption prevention and capacity building exercise for 92 local authorities. Major issues included the need to establish integrity committees in councils and training in corruption prevention mechanisms. The exercise is still ongoing."

To fight graft, Zacc was allocated ZW$71 million in 2020, ZW$317 million in 2021; ZW$407 million in 2022; and ZW$476 million in 2023

"Corruption, especially grand corruption, must be fiercely fought for this overall objective of the budget to be realised.

"One of the seven pillars of the budget is effective institution building and governance. This will entail peace and security; alignment of laws to the Constitution; property rights; social contract, state owned enterprises reform and fighting corruption

"Current staff establishment is 192 while 48 are investigators; 20 investigators seconded by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and our new structure establishment provides for 506 staff members."

Corruption remains Zimbabwe's headache as top public and private sector bosses line their pockets at the expense of the ailing economy.
OTTAWA - Every COVID-19 vaccine maker Canada signed a contract with last summer was asked if they could make the doses in Canada and all of them concluded they could not, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Thursday.

Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand is seen via videoconference as she speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA - Every COVID-19 vaccine maker Canada signed a contract with last summer was asked if they could make the doses in Canada and all of them concluded they could not, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Thursday.

Anand told the House of Commons industry committee that her department "proactively and repeatedly approached leading vaccine manufacturers" about the matter.

"We took this issue up with suppliers at every turn at the negotiating table to discern whether they would come to the table with this possibility of domestic biomanufacturing," Anand said.

"The manufacturers reviewed the identified assets here in Canada and concluded that biomanufacturing capacity in this country, at the time of contract, which was last August and September, was too limited to justify the investment of capital and expertise to start manufacturing in Canada."

Many of the COVID-19 vaccine makers sought partners to help produce their product. Moderna signed a 10-year exclusivity agreement with Swiss manufacturer Lonza to make its vaccine. AstraZeneca sought deals with multiple countries to produce its vaccine last summer and fall, including China, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, India and South Korea.

NDP MP Don Davies questioned why Canada isn't among them, and Anand said "I raised this issue personally with AstraZeneca last August."

A spokesman for AstraZeneca confirmed Anand's statements related to its vaccine, known as AZD1222.

"During the course of our discussions with the Canadian government, we reviewed in-country manufacturing capability and available capacity against the technical requirements for AZD1222," said Carlo Mastrangelo, AstraZeneca's director of corporate communications and sustainability.

"After discussion with the government and our technical experts, we agreed that the fastest and most effective option to ensure timely Canadian supply of AZD1222 was to leverage an existing supply chain that was already established and beginning the qualification process."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced earlier this week Canada has a new contract with Maryland-based Novavax to eventually make doses of its vaccine at a new National Research Council facility going up in Montreal.

Novavax CEO Stanley Erck said in a statement his company sees the deal with Canada as "an important step forward in our quest to deliver an urgently needed safe and effective vaccine.

"The memorandum of understanding also includes a broader intention for the government of Canada and Novavax to work together to increase the companys Canadian presence," he said.

But the new NRC building won't be finished until the summer and the new doses are not likely to start being pumped out until late fall at the earliest, long after Canada expects to import enough doses to vaccinate the entire population.

Vaccine manufacturing will be newly available at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan next year, and at Precision Nanosystems in British Columbia in 2023. But none of that helps Canada make doses of COVID-19 vaccines today, and the delays to Canada's shipments continue.

Delays getting Lonza's second and third production line up and running in Switzerland is blamed for Moderna's smaller deliveries this month. Moderna was to deliver 230,000 doses to Canada this week, but 180,000 arrived Thursday morning instead.

A spokeswoman for the company says it will still deliver two million doses total by the end of March. The company has delivered about half a million thus far, leaving 1.5 million for the only two shipments planned after this week before that deadline.

But Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander managing logistics of vaccine deliveries for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Thursday Canada doesn't expect to get the 249,600 doses it was initially allocated for the Feb. 22 shipment either.

That comes after a month of smaller shipments from Pfizer-BioNTech, which was supposed to deliver more than 1.1 million doses between Jan. 18 and Feb. 14, and instead is delivering fewer than 340,000.

Fortin said Pfizer is resuming more normal shipments on Feb. 15, with 335,000 doses coming that week, and almost 400,000 the week after.

Provincial governments are expressing their exasperation with the vaccine supply shortages and the lack of clear information from Ottawa about what is coming and when.

"I have advocated for both a consistent supply of vaccines and a consistent supply of information," Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said

"Unfortunately, we continue to get neither."

He said he would push Trudeau to do better during the weekly first ministers' phone call later Thursday.

After that call, a federal official said Trudeau assured premiers that despite the uncertainty over the supply of vaccines from week to week, Pfizer and Moderna continue to promise that Canada will receive six million doses by the end of March, as they contracted to do.

He also told premiers that the federal government is sharing all information it gets from the companies about the vaccine supply as soon as it receives it and is holding nothing back, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly about the call.

Canada's reliance on foreign production of vaccines came to the forefront in the last week when Europe  where all of Canada's current vaccines are made  imposed export controls to protect their own supplies. Europe has assured Canada it won't affect Canada's shipments and Anand said so far that is true.

Canada's shipments from Pfizer and Moderna this week were allowed to go out, and Anand said next week's Pfizer shipment has been approved as well.

Canada is also going to get fewer than 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine this winter, after believing just two days ago it could be more than twice that. Those doses are coming from the global vaccine initiative known as the COVAX Facility but can't be released until the World Health Organization approves AstraZeneca's vaccine.

Dr. Seth Berkley, the CEO of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, which is one of the COVAX's coordinators, said some doses are now not coming until the summer because of a delay getting that approval from WHO.

Canada should get about 475,000 doses before the end of March, and another 1.4 million by the end of June, pending approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine by WHO and Health Canada. Both are expected imminently.

Canada has also ordered 20 million doses from AstraZeneca directly, but Fortin was tight-lipped about when any of those doses will arrive.

"We are planning a number of contingencies," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2021.
A protester raises a mask inscribed with justice during a rally in Manila to mark International Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, 2020.

A Philippine judge dismissed charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives Friday against a journalist, Lady Ann Salem, who was arrested in December in what rights and media groups said was a government attempt to silence critical voices.

The judge also dismissed similar charges against a trade union activist, Rodrigo Esparago. The two were among seven people taken into custody on Dec. 10, when police officers allegedly found weapons and explosives in their homes after serving them with search warrants.

The warrants served on Salem and Esparago were issued in violation of the constitution and Rules of Court, Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio, of the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court, said in her order dismissing the charges.

Therefore, items found during the course of their arrest were deemed inadmissible in evidence, being fruits of the poisonous tree and leaving the cases with no leg to stand on, the judge ruled.

Because of numerous inconsistencies in the testimonies of the police officers, which were the sole basis for the issuance of the search warrants, Quisumbing-Ignacio said probable cause was not sufficiently established.

Salem is the editor of an online publication, Manila Today. The military had accused it of being a front for communist insurgents. Salem had strongly denied the accusation.

Kristina Konti, Salems lawyer, said they may file counter-charges against the police and the judge who issued the warrant.

[W]e can  focus our attention on exacting accountability, she told BenarNews.

The Public Interest Law Center (PILC), a legal rights NGO, called the decision to dismiss charges against Salem and Esparago a severe blow to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, a body whose mission it is to end a 52-year insurgency.

The task force had claimed the arrests as a victory in the anti-insurgency campaign, PILC said.

The military task force has red tagged several people, in addition to Salem.

As part of red tagging, the military names groups or individuals as being supporters of communist rebels, or as insurgents themselves involved with alleged legal fronts for the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New Peoples Army.

This week, the task forces spokesman, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., accused another journalist of being a propagandist for communist insurgents.

The reporter, Tetch Torres-Tupas, works for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. She had reported about a petition by two members of an Aeta tribe against an anti-terrorism law, which the government passed last year.

Torres-Tupas wrote about the tribe members asking for the Supreme Courts permission to join 37 petitions that seek to declare the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 unconstitutional. Rights groups have said the law is meant to stifle dissent against the government of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Harassment of the reporters has become common in the Philippines. Duterte has been at odds with journalists for reporting on his administrations drug war, which has left thousands of dead since he took office in 2016.

In addition, his legislative allies last year shut down the free channel of national broadcaster ABS-CBN Corp., while the head of online news site Rappler, Maria Ressa, was convicted of cyber libel, but remains free pending an appeal.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says that the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) to impose sanctions on the 112 Ukraine, NewsOne and ZIK television channels is justified and legal.

"The NSDC's decision is legal, logical, justified and fair. And it is fully supported by the United States and the European Union as well as the G7 countries, which clearly see the difference between censorship and the protection of national interests," Zelensky said in his vlog released on social networks on Friday evening.
Gather round, good people. Have I got some news that will change your lives 

Dont feel like doing your homework or your job or paying your bills or your taxes? Just dont.

Are bosses (or teachers or parents or significant others) on you to do something, or maybe to stop doing something? Pffft, whos gonna make you?

For real, any time youre called to take responsibility for whatever, whenever, dont sweat it. Because whos really held accountable for much of anything anymore? Not treasonous presidents, not seditious Republican lawmakers, not even a Capitol rioter who was given permission to vacation in Mexico while out on bail. (Insurrections can be so exhausting!)

And lately, not our mayor.

Last month it was revealed that Mayor Kenney would only sit for an interview with independent investigators looking into the citys monumental mishandling of police protests if the questions were provided in advance and if follow-up questions were submitted in writing.

And now he has declined  declined!?  to appear at a hearing Friday to testify about his administrations central role in the Philly Fighting COVID vaccine debacle.

Not to say I told you so, but I told you so many times (here and here and here ) that unchecked accountability only leads to more unchecked accountability. Tolerating bad behavior begets more bad behavior. (Citing an inspector general investigation, Kenneys administration has been refusing to answer some questions from Council and reporters. But that was news to the IGs office.)

And yet, even I was floored that, under the circumstances, Kenney just got to tap out.

I mean, sure, several members of his administration will testify, and the only time mayors usually appear before Council is during the annual budget address.

But this is the man in charge. Top of the food chain, baby. The here in the-buck-stops-here, and he just gets to say, Nah, Im good.

At a news conference this week, Kenney said he understands that as mayor, he is blamed for most things.

That comes with the territory, he said. Ive got my big boy pants on.

OK, then he should hike those bad boys up and accept that part of his job is being held accountable for not holding others accountable.

And when hes done with those big boy britches, wouldnt it be nice if we could Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants them to Washington, where national leaders continue to behave as if accountability is optional?

Last month Sen. Lindsey Graham stood on the the floor of the Senate just hours after the attack on the U.S. Capitol and condemned efforts to overturn the election.

Enough is enough! he said. Count me out.

Less than 24 hours later we learned this should also include counting him out of supporting the 25th Amendment to get rid of Trump. And now, counting out even the most vile Republicans from facing consequences for their parts in inciting an insurrection, and continuing to wreak havoc on democracy.

Boy, did Graham squirm when confronted by reporters about QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes hateful and violent comments that, in a flicker of partisan accountability, got her tossed from her committee seats (though real accountability would see her expelled).

In essence, Grahams defense was: She seems nice. And who knows if the social posts are accurate? Could be they were manipulated, he mused, sounding devilishly close to breaking out a hypnotic Youre getting sleepier just to escape uncomfortable questioning.

Because arent facts just an illusion now?

This week Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spent an hour and a half on Instagram Live speaking about the trauma she experienced during the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6.

She also spoke about Republican colleagues trying to minimize or straight-out deny what happened that day.

These people are just trying to tell us, Its not a big deal, and theyre trying to say, Youre making too big a deal over it, she said.

This is where Im going to ask you to take a very short detour with me to Rochester, N.Y., where this week body camera footage showed police handcuffing and pepper-spraying a clearly distressed and emotional 9-year-old Black girl.

The layers of wrong are for another column. But I was struck by something the police union chief said in defense of officers who have since been suspended.

They were trying to get her into the car and made a decision. He made a decision there that he thought was the best action to take. The result ... , he said, stumbling over his words, no injury to her.

Those four words have been playing in my head since: No injury to her.

Its in those kinds of denials where people in power absolve themselves and others of accountability. Where victims are re-traumatized by being forced to prove harm.

Because no harm, no consequences, right? Just shut up and move on, everyone. Nothing to see  or do  here.

Deny the facts and victims pain, and no one has to be held accountable for terrorizing a little girl. Deny facts and fear, and no one has to be held accountable for the assault on our lawmakers and our democracy.

In his inauguration speech, President Biden said it is our obligation to defend the truth and defeat the lies.

The only way to do that is by holding everyone accountable, however uncomfortable or inconvenient that may be.
Gregory S. Bates GID is well-prepared for the future investing in people, technology, and processes to secure our leadership position in the industry well into the future. GID will grow strategically and with purpose in our primary business lines while staying true to our core values.

Leading national real estate company GID today announced that Gregory S. Bates has been named Chief Executive Officer, in addition to his current position as President of the company. In this new role, Bates becomes responsible for providing strategic and day-to-day leadership. He will continue to serve on the Executive Committee and on the various Investment Committees of GID; sourcing new capital relationships; providing direct management oversight of GIDs investment management businesses; and investigating new business lines for the company. His appointment is effective as of January 1, 2021. Former CEO Robert E. DeWitt retains the position of Vice Chairman and will remain active in the company for the foreseeable future as he continues to be an involved member of the Executive Committee and various Investment Committees.

A great deal of thoughtful and transparent planning has gone into this transition over an extended period of time, stated Gardner Wallace, Chairman of GID. GID is stronger now than at any point in our 60-year history and Greg brings not only a commitment to preserving the legacy of the company but using our many strengths to grow the enterprise. His real estate investment, development and operating knowledge, leadership skills, sound judgement and talent for inspiring others will ensure our continued success in the future.

Previously, Mr. Bates was President and COO of GID. He joined the company in January 2017 after working six years at privately-owned Building and Land Technology (BLT) in Stamford, CT, where he built and led BLTs third-party real estate private equity platform. Prior to BLT, Mr. Bates was an executive at GE Real Estate and served the company in various capacities over a 17-year career.

I wish Greg continued success as he moves into his new position, stated Bob DeWitt, GID Vice Chairman. I am passing the torch to the next generation of leaders and am confident Greg and his team will continue to enhance our firms standing in the industry and amongst our key partners, many of whom are the most sophisticated investors in the world. I am humbled and proud to have led GID over the last 23 years through a period of significant transformation and growth.

I am excited to build on GIDs strong foundation and culture, which has been cultivated over six decades. We have an incredibly talented leadership team and proven investment partners, said Greg Bates, GID President and CEO. GID is well-prepared for the future investing in people, technology, and processes to secure our leadership position in the industry well into the future. GID will grow strategically and with purpose in our primary business lines while staying true to our core values.

Bates most recently participated in the 2020 MFE Executive Leadership Panel and 2019 NMHC Diversity and Inclusion panel. He is a member of the Urban Land Institutes (ULI) Multifamily Blue Council, National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) and Up for Growth, a non-profit organization committed to supporting a pro-housing agenda that works for communities of all sizes, in all parts of the country.

Bates and his wife Elise are Founders and Board Members of EAT (End Allergies Together), an organization focused solely on raising money for food allergy research. They have a daughter with severe food allergies which prompted their dedication to fund allergy research.

Mr. Bates received a BA degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

About GID

GID is a privately held and fully integrated real estate company that develops, owns, and operates a premier portfolio of multi-family, industrial, and mixed-use development space. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, GID is an experienced real estate private equity investor and fund manager supported by a vertically-integrated operating platform and has deep expertise across multiple asset classes. GIDs existing and under-development properties are valued at $19 billion.

During its 60-year history, GID has acquired or developed over 79,000 residential units and 16.8 million square feet of commercial space in twenty-four states. The current portfolio includes 37,000 residential units and 5.5 million square feet of commercial space. GIDs development activities include more than 9,000 units and 2.5 million square feet of commercial space currently under construction or in the pipeline. More information is available at http://www.gid.com.

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Former Columbus Police Department Officer Adam Coy, 44, had his bond set at $3 million by a judge on Friday. Pictured: Coy's booking photo by the Franklin County Ohio Sheriff's Department, unndated

A magistrate judge has set the bond of the white former Ohio police officer who killed an unarmed black man at $3 million.

Adam Coy, 44, fatally shot 47-year-old Andre' Hill in December 2020 just seconds after he emerged from a garage with a cellphone in his hand.

The former officer was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday following a month-long investigation by the Ohio Attorney General's Office into the incident.

Mark Collins, a defense attorney representing Coy, had argued for a bond between $25,000 and $250,000.

But the Ohio Attorney General's Office, which is prosecuting Coy, contended that the high bond was necessary given the facts of the case.

Franklin County Court Magistrate Elizabeta Saken also ordered Coy not to have contact with any witnesses in the case, including other police officers.

Coy, who has been charged with murder, pleaded not guilty on Friday.

Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, Ohio's top law enforcement official, said he was pleased with the $3 million bond.

Hill was his friend's home in Columbus, on the morning of December 22 when a neighbor placed a non-emergency call about a suspicious car in the street.

The neighbor told the operators that there was man outside the home in a vehicle and he was turning it on and off again repeatedly.

Cops arrived at the friend's home at around 1.47am. Hill emerged from the garage with his hands up, holding a cellphone. No weapon was found at the scene.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Coy (left) was arrested and charged with murder for fatally shooting an unarmed black man, 47-year-old Andre Hill (right) on December 22. Bodycam footage shows that Coy fired six seconds after Hill emerged from a garage with his hands up, holding a cellphone

Coy has pleaded not guilty and claims he 'honestly believed' Hill was holding a 'silver revolver' in his hand. Pictured: Hill holding a cellphone when emerging from a garage

Bodycam footage showed it took Coy a mere six seconds to fire his gun,

The footage does not have audio because Coy did not turn his camera on until after he shot Hill.

According to police, this triggered a 'look back' feature on the camera that captures picture but not sound.

In the moments after Hill was fatally shot, additional bodycam footage shows two other Columbus officers rolled Hill over and put handcuffs on him before leaving him alone again.

None of them, according to the footage released, offered any first aid even though Hill was barely moving, groaning and bleeding while laying on the garage floor.

Hill was rushed to Riverside Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2.25am.

Coy will fight the charges based on case law that examines such use of force incidents through the eyes of a 'reasonable police officer,' his attorney, Collins, said.

Collins added that his client has fully cooperated with investigators and 'honestly believed that he saw a silver revolver coming up in the right hand of the individual.'

The union representing Columbus police officers issued a short statement saying it will wait to see how the case plays out.

Coy 'will have the ability to present facts on his behalf at a trial just like any other citizen,' said Keith Ferrell, president of the local FOP.

'At that time, we will see all the facts for the first time with the public as the process plays out.'

The charges faced by Coy include failure to use his body camera and failure to tell another officer he believed Hill presented a danger.

According to the bodycam footage released (above), offered any first aid even though Hill was barely moving, groaning and bleeding while laying on the garage floor

When the incident occurred, Coy was a 19-year-veteran of the force with at least 36 complaints lodged against him. Pictured: Coy is seen remotely on a television during his initial appearance at the Franklin County Common Pleas Courthouse, February 2021

When the incident occurred, Coy was a 19-year-veteran of the force with at least 36 complaints lodged against him.

While Hill's family welcomed the news of Coy's indictment, data shows and experts conclude that Yost and the prosecution team will face a hard battle to secure a conviction.

Only 46 percent of cases of on-duty police shootings in which murder or manslaughter charges were brought over the past 16 years ended up in convictions, according to data compiled by Philip Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

The overall rate for murder convictions among the general population is about 70 percent, according to U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics data.

This is the second Columbus police officer recently charged with murder. Former vice squad officer Andrew Mitchell was charged in state court in 2019 with fatally shooting a woman during a 2018 undercover prostitution investigation.

Mitchell is also charged federally with forcing women to have sex with him under threat of an arrest, pressuring others to help cover up crimes and lying to federal investigators when he said hed never had sex with prostitutes. He has pleaded not guilty.
Former top prosecutor and later private attorney Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lanzo has died at a facility in Boston.

Mr. Lanzo was the lead prosecutor during the tenure of Gary Gerbitz as district attorney, which lasted 21 years.

He handled a number of high profile cases, including the one in which Kenneth Stanley King and Jackie Renner Robinson were accused of killing Hixson dentist Robert P. Elliott.

Mr. Lanzo on one occasion, when Robinson was on the run, spotted him while driving on the downtown freeway. He got off at the next exit and caught up with the Robinson vehicle. He followed him to a motel north of town, where police were summoned and he was taken into custody.

Robinson, who was the suspect in multiple murders for hire, was convicted and later died in prison.

Attorney Lanzo was a practicing attorney for some 54 years.

He was a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law.
Three more Laredo bars that have been temporarily closed by the City of Laredo for allegedly violating COVID-19 orders will remain closed for at least the next few weeks.

Two weeks ago, the Laredo Police Department announced that the city had been granted temporary restraining orders to shut down four restaurant-bars: Blue Moon Country Patio, Social Bar & Grill, Vibe and La Patrona Disco Bar.

Last week, a judge ruled to keep Blue Moon closed until at least Feb. 19. Hearings on the three other temporary restraining orders were set for Thursday.

Social Bar and the city agreed to extend their temporary restraining order and remain closed through March 2, when there will be an evidentiary hearing, according to Assistant City Manager Kristina Hale.

Vibe agreed to a temporary injunction where they will continue to stay closed; a hearing for a permanent injunction is set for March 23.

And the attorney for La Patrona requested that he and the city confer and come to an agreement where the bar could pay fines and be able to reopen, Hale said.

If any of these bars are issued a permanent injunction, per city ordinance they would have to remain closed and wait for a year to apply for another certificate of occupancy.

LPD officers visited Vibe on Jan. 17 and counted 143 people exiting the establishment, according to the citys original petition. With an occupancy load of 250, the bar should only have 125 people inside under Gov. Greg Abbotts emergency order.

An officer also conducted a walkthrough at Vibe and found that no food was being served. In order for bars to operate right now, at least 50% of their sales must be from food.

Officer Jalomo made contact with Property Manager Pedro Escamilla and requested to see the kitchen or where food was being prepared, reads the original petition. Mr. Escamilla informed Officer Jalomo that the Property had a grill in the front patio at the bar, but that the cook did not show up for work.

On Jan. 16, officers visited Social Bar and witnessed customers walking around without masks, five employees not wearing masks, social distancing requirements not being enforced and no food being served or offered, according to the original petition.

Officer Jalomo visited the bar the next night and again observed that no food was being prepared or offered to customers. When he asked to see the kitchen, the owner said there is a food truck parked outside but that it was closed, according to court documents.

LPD received an anonymous tip through their app on Jan. 16 that showed a video of La Patrona at full capacity, with patrons not wearing masks or social distancing, court documents state. The bar also posted photos to social media showing large groups of people not wearing face coverings, according to the citys original petition.

Undercover officers visited La Patrona after receiving the tip and noted people not wearing masks, that no food was being served or offered and that large groups were not adhering to social distancing requirements.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
Yves here. This post explains the seeming contradiction of severe Covid-induced distress in many sectors of the economy, such as restaurants, retail stores in central city office districts, hotels, personal services, with a decline in the number of bankruptcy filings. The authors attribute the disconnect to government support, which they argue will decline before theres enough improvement in fundamentals to get business owners out of their hole. Remember also some US states and cities have imposed rent and/or eviction moratoriums. That does not make the payments away, but merely defers when they have to be paid. And when those stays of execution end or are about to end, its not hard to think that that alone will trigger additional bankruptcies.

Another factor that some have argued is working in the US is that a higher proportion of businesses than normal are closing not by using the bankruptcy process but by simply shuttering their operations. The argument is that for small businesses, bankruptcy almost always means a personal bankruptcy too, since most lenders require the owner to guarantee the obligation personally. A personal bankruptcy makes it hard to get credit or a new job, so its better if possible to wind up a business rather than resort to bankruptcy. And as much as it is draining to shutter a company, bankruptcy is even more so.

Can readers provide any intelligence about the fragility of businesses in your area, and if waning government support is increasing distress?

By Simeon Djankov,Policy Director, Financial Markets Group, London School of Economics and Eva (Yiwen) Zhang, Researcher, Peterson Institute for International Economics. Originally published at VoxEU<

Bankruptcies have fallen sharply in OECD economies because of the array of COVID-related support available to businesses, as well as imposed moratoria on bankruptcy filings. This column argue that this situation wont last, and that governments should start planning for a surge by the end of 2021  ideally by reforming their bankruptcy laws, as the UK has done, and lessening the burden on courts.

Bankruptcies have fallen sharply in OECD economies because of the array of COVID-related support available to businesses, as well as imposed moratoria on bankruptcy filings. This column argue that this situation wont last, and that governments should start planning for a surge by the end of 2021  ideally by reforming their bankruptcy laws, as the UK has done, and lessening the burden on courts.

Economic crises bring an upturn in bankruptcies. Companies suffering losses struggle to survive, and many fail. A wave of bankruptcy filings was expected in the wake of COVID-19 too (Bailey et al. 2021). Yet during 2020, the number of corporate bankruptcy filings in most advanced economies  members of the OECD  fell by 17% relative to 2019, and by even more relative to previous years (Figure 1). This decline in bankruptcy cases demonstrates the success of the initial COVID-19 response measures. On second glance, however, it brings worries too (Blanchard et al. 2020).

Figure 1 Average 2020 bankruptcy filings are 17% lower than in 2019

Note: The index is based on total number of bankruptcies in 25 advanced economies (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. For 12 economies (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom), the latest available data (most often to November 2020) are annualized to 2020 annual aggregates.

Source: Authors calculation using national data (accessed through Macrobond on 26 January 2021).

Bankruptcy Filings Have Declined in 24 of 25 Advanced Economies

Data for 2020 are available on bankruptcy filings in 25 OECD economies. In the US, these fell by 16% relative to last year. The other major economies show the same pattern of decline. In Japan and Germany the falls are 7% and 13%, respectively; in Canada and the UK, bankruptcies fell by around a quarter (Figure 2). The largest decline is in Australia and France (40%), while Poland is the only country that shows no change relative to 2019.

Figure 2 Bankruptcy cases decline across advanced economies

Note: The index is based on total number of bankruptcies in 25 advanced economies (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. For 12 economies (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom), the latest available data (most often to November 2020) are annualized to 2020 annual aggregates.

Source: Authors calculation using national data (accessed through Macrobond on 26 January 2021).

The reasons for this decline are twofold. The COVID-19 pandemic has induced governments in many advanced economies to finance job support programmes to assist workers and to temporarily halt bankruptcy procedures  providing lifelines to keep firms alive through the crisis, at a time when premature bankruptcy can worsen the recession. The job support programmes have been updated and expanded in most OECD countries, while the bankruptcy moratoriums are expiring soon in many countries. Australia, for example, returned to normal bankruptcy procedures on 1 January 2021 (Australian Financial Security Authority 2021).

For many employers and businesses, the government programmes have worked. Businesses have reacted by keeping employees on board or hiring new ones when restrictions on business operations became less onerous. In turn, the support keeps businesses open, in the hope that the economy turns around.

This availability of plentiful financial support to businesses cannot continue for long. A large number of firms will need debt restructuring once government support programmes run out and the courts open up. Extensive reorganisation or liquidation procedures, which may work in normal times, will prove insufficient to service a large wave of insolvencies. Changes to existing regimes should be done now, before the wave on bankruptcies comes. In March 2019  a year before COVID started closing down businesses  the European Parliament adopted a new directive on preventive restructuring, aiming to increase the efficiency of insolvency proceedings (Becker 2019). The Reform Directive specifies that a new procedure must be in place in all EU member countries by 2022. The UK has done just that and thus provides an example for other governments to follow.

The UK Has Added Three Features to Its Bankruptcy Law

The amendments to the UK insolvency law, adopted in June 2020, add three features (Balloch et al. 2020). First, these amendments introduce a two-month moratorium, during which the company benefits from a payment holiday from the majority of its debts. Second, the amendments allow the debtor to propose a rescue plan that can be forced onto every creditor if the majority of creditors agree. Third, suppliers are prevented from stopping deliveries once they find out that the debtor has trouble paying creditors, as long as the firm pays for its supplies on time  even ahead of bank creditors. Research on bankruptcy procedures around the world (Djankov et al. 2008) shows that the type of changes the UK has enacted increase the likelihood firms will survive, as they continue operating during their restructuring.

Some economists are concerned that keeping insolvent firms alive will drain resources from the healthy parts of the economy (Acharya 2020). These fears are fundamentally misguided. Policies to force businesses to shut down permanently risk slowing down the COVID recovery (Laeven et al 2020). As businesses shut down, they break a supply chain that affects other businesses, including in healthier sectors. Such breakage should be avoided as much as possible.

See original post for references
The EU's position on Ukraine in negotiations with Russia must be firm and united, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.

He said this on Thursday, February 4, during an online panel discussion to mark the opening of the Atlantic Council's Europe Center, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"In critical, deadlock situations that concern Ukraine as well as [Russian opposition leader Alexei] Navalny, it is extremely important to be firm and have full solidarity," Macron said.

In his opinion, the European side should hold comprehensive dialogue on other issues in relations with Russia.

"In this very sensitive region - I mean Ukraine and Belarus - we need a political discussion with Russia. [] When I see the results of the previous strategy for Ukraine, as well as the current one for Belarus, these results are not positive. We have to restore the principles of our discussion regarding these countries," he said.

Speaking about his policy aimed at resuming and continuing the dialogue with Russia, Macron said that Europe and Russia have a common history and culture and are geographical neighbors.

According to him, it is impossible to establish peace and stability on the European continent without negotiations with Russia.

"For various reasons, mainly due to Russia's aggressive actions, as well as NATO enlargement, we have created a situation where our borders have moved eastward, but this has not reduced the level of conflict and threats on these borders. I believe that common approaches to building peace and security across the continent need to be clearly established in the coming decades," Macron said.

Photo: EPA
[February 05, 2021] Gertsburg Law Firm Launches New M&A Advisory Firm Gertsburg Acquisition Partners

Today, Gertsburg Law Firm announced the launch of Gertsburg Acquisition Partners (GAP), a new and independent, full-service M&A advisory firm for middle-market enterprises headquartered in Cleveland, OH. The firm is led by business law veteran Alex Gertsburg, Esq., and has hired Sean Coleman, vice president of mergers and acquisitions, to lead client relations and deal development. Prior to founding Gertsburg Acquisition Partners, Mr. Gertsburg spent over 20 years as a practicing business attorney and litigator, representing public and private corporate clients on behalf of Roetzel & Andress and Calfee, Halter & Griswold; as General Counsel for Broadvox (News - Alert) , a Cleveland-based telecom company; and as CEO of his private practice, Gertsburg Law Firm. He also serves on the board of COSE and is a combat veteran, having served as an Army officer for six years, including a year of deployment in Iraq in 2003. He brings extensive leadership experience in helping business owners and executives achieve their growth goals. "The launch of Gertsburg Acquisition Partners is an example of how we are always looking to innovate and provide value for our clients," said Mr. Gertsburg. "Our success representing businesses with their legal needs naturally expanded into middle-market M&A opportunities, and I'm excited about what we'll continue to accomplish on behalf of our clients via this new venture." Mr. Coleman will led client relations, buy- and sell-side advisory services, and head development of the firm's strategic partnerships and deal network. His years as an investment banker, Wall Street analyst and start-up CEO bring a deep network and unique perspective to the role.



"I'm truly excited to join the GAP team," said Mr. Coleman. "Having worked with countless business owners, we know there is no 'one-size-fits-all' when it comes to M&A. By leveraging our deep experience, tested strategies, and professional network, we are focused on providing clients with the most innovative and strategic M&A solutions." About Gertsburg Acquisition Partners

Headquartered in Cleveland, OH, Gertsburg Acquisition Partners (GAP) is a full-service mergers and acquisition firm serving middle-market companies and corporate-asset investors. GAP is the sister company of Gertsburg Law Firm Co., LPA, the home of CoverMySix, an innovative, anti-litigation service developed specifically for middle-market enterprises. To learn more about GAP, please visit gacqpartners.com. You can also follow GAP news and updates on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter for deal information and company announcements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005345/en/

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A casino has been fined 650,000 after a gambler killed himself after losing 25,000 in a single night on roulette and 'crack cocaine' slot machines.

An investigation by the Gambling Commission into the death of Huseyin Yaman found that Aspers Casino had failed in its social responsibility to properly monitor the businessman during a night of heavy gambling.

The Turkish family man, 37, was found hanged at his home in Hackney, North London, after losing the five figure some in just a few hours playing one of the controversial machines and a gaming table at Aspers Casino at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford, east London, in November 2018.

An inquest later ruled his death as suicide.

Huseyin Yaman, 37, blew a five figure sum on the roulette table and highly-addictive machines in just a few hours

Mr Yaman was a VIP guest at the casino and was said to have previously racked up losses of around 100,000.

On the night of his death, police had to be called to the casino after he became argumentative with staff and he was escorted from the premises.

Apsers bosses had failed to adhere to its social responsibility code to look out for customers whose behaviour might indicate a problem with betting, the Gambling Commission report found.

Slot machines sit on the gaming floor at Aspers Casino at Westfield Stratford City Mall in London

The commission ruled that they failed to talk with Mr Yaman, who was not named in the report, identified only as Mr X.

It said the casino had a 'misguided assumption that Mr X could afford the level of losses. There were failures in record keeping.'

It said the scale of 'failures in relation to Mr X were exceptional'

Sources say Mr Yaman was approached on two occasions and asked if he had a gambling problem, but was not removed from the casino at Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford

The casino was also criticised over its monitoring of cash purchases by its customers.

They failed to make any inquiries of Mr Hassan in September 2017 when he spent 46,000 and 51,000 over two days.

They also allowed him to go over the 5,000 limit on three other visits when he played on electronic roulette.

After Mre Hasan's death Aspers launched its own investigation into lapses in their code of conduct and in its report the commission said the company had attempted to rectify its failings.

They were initially ordered to pay a 1.8m fine, but this was reduced to 652,00 after representations from the casino over its financial situation due to the lockdown.

Mr Yaman, who owned a stake in a Turkish supermarket, had been gambling for up to two years at Aspers.

Sources said was approached on at least two occasions and asked if he had a gambling problem, but was not removed from the casino.

A family member told MailOnline after his death they had 'no idea' that Mr Yaman had a gambling problem and had they known, they would have stepped in to help him.

'Huseyin was not in financial difficulty,' said the relative. 'He was a cheerful guy. This has come as a complete shock to the family. We didn't know that he was gambling heavily. We didn't have to collect him from betting shops.

'If he had money troubles, I would have helped him. He seemed happy. We just didn't see this coming.'

A spokesperson for Aspers said: 'We co-operated fully with the Gambling Commission's investigation into this tragic event and accept the Commission's findings and sanction. We acknowledge that our policies, procedures and controls at the time could have been better in some important respects and that there were weaknesses and shortcomings in relation to their effective implementation.

'Following an immediate internal review in 2018 and extensive dialogue with the Commission and other public authorities, these have been fully addressed.

'Before recording her verdict of suicide on our customer, the Coroner heard that there were a number of circumstances which may have contributed to it. Naturally, our deepest sympathies remain with the family for their loss.'
Gettyimagesbank



By Anna J. Park



Financial authorities announced earlier this week that a ban on short-selling will be extended until early May, responding to an outcry among retail investors over the resumption of the trading practice viewed by many here as favoring only foreign and institutional investors.



From May 3, short-selling will be partially allowed again on 200 blue-chip companies out of 917 listed firms on the benchmark KOSPI and 150 companies out of 1,470 listed firms in the tech-heavy KOSDAQ. The short-selling ban will remain in place on other listed companies.



However, this compromise remedy does not seem to satisfy anyone.



Those who are vehemently against the short-selling system in Korea argue that the KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 companies account for around 88 percent of the benchmark index's market capitalization and about the half of the tech-heavy index. Put together, these companies account for about 15 percent of all listed firms in terms of number, but they take up more than 82 percent of the combined market cap of the KOSPI and KOSDAQ.



Opponents also stressed that most companies which have been targets of short-selling so far, such as Celltrion, are still included in the list of companies subject to resumed short-selling.



They also criticize the timing of the resumption. A retail investors' association  the Korea Stockholders Alliance  stressed that delaying the resumption of short-selling by seven more weeks, from mid-March to early May, serves to benefit the ruling party and the government during the by-elections on April 7. The upcoming vote, which will determine the new mayors of Seoul and Busan, is seen as a gauge of public support for the embattled ruling party.



"To put it bluntly, the delay is simply for election purposes," Jung Eui-jeong, head of the Korea Stockholders Alliance said. "If blue-chip companies' prices go down with the resumption of short-selling (starting in early May), other companies cannot escape from the bearish influence from them, as they're all linked in index-tracking financial products.



"Why don't they just resume short-selling immediately after the election? Could lifting the short-selling ban then be too obvious and end up exposing their motive? Anybody can see why they chose early May as the resumption date," a retail investor said.



Yet financial experts view that the resumption of short-selling is necessary, adding that they welcome the efforts of authorities to improve the system, while acknowledging that the playing field could become a bit more even for retail investors.



Financial authorities said some qualified retail investors will be able to engage in short-selling with more ease than before, while punitive measures and supervision will be strengthened to root out illegal short-selling practices like naked shorting.



According to a study by the Korea Capital Market Institute, stock market growth rates after the COVID-19 market plunge last March between countries that banned short-selling and those that did not ban the practice do not show significant differences.


"These three local authorized Invisible Fence dealerships have dedicated over 53 combined years of service to their communities, changing the lives of pets in New York since 1988," said Ed Hoyt, Senior Director of Invisible Fence.

Acquiring the Upstate New York dealerships is the company's second acquisition of the new year, followed by five acquisitions in 2020; the most recent being the merger of Invisible Fence of Michigan. With over 240 authorized dealers, Invisible Fence has the largest support network for pet containment in the US and Canada.

"We're excited for the opportunity to directly serve pet owners in Upstate New York and continue to provide the innovative solutions and same high-level of attention customers have come to expect," said Hoyt.

Invisible Fence offers premier dog fence solutions including professional installation, Perfect Start Plus Training and exclusive Boundary Plus Technology. Recommended by veterinarians, dog trainers, animal behaviorists and other pet experts, Invisible Fence offers pet fences that can be customized for clients' unique needs.

In addition to serving over 52,000 pet owners in Allegany, Brome, Cattaraugus, Chemung, Delaware, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Ontario, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, and Wyoming counties, the local Invisible Fence dealers were also actively involved in their communities. Local animal shelter donations, adoption events and the Project Breathe Program are among some of the ways Invisible Fence of Upstate New York will continue to contribute to local pet welfare in the community.

For additional information or questions, customers can call 1-800-578-3647, visit InvisibleFence.com.

About Invisible Fence Brand

Invisible Fence pioneered the pet containment industry in 1973, making it their mission to provide safe boundaries inside and outside of the home. The Radio Systems Corporation owned company predominantly sells pet containment, avoidance and access solutions across the U.S. and Canada. In addition to offering award-winning products like Boundary Plus Technology, Authorized Dealers provide professional installation, Perfect Start Plus Training and integrated solutions that have protected more than three million pets to date. Invisible Fence also founded the Project Breathe Program in 2006, donating more than 32,000 pet oxygen masks to fire departments and first responders. For more information on Invisible Fence or to find a local dealer, visit InvisibleFence.com or follow the company on Facebook .

Contact: Tricia Everett

(865) 235-8791

SOURCE Invisible Fence Brand

Related Links

https://www.invisiblefence.com


Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Hungary plans to begin administering the Chinese-made Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine to its citizens later this month, a government minister said Friday.

Hungary broke ranks with the EU last month by becoming the first bloc member to approve and order both Sinopharm and Russia's Sputnik V jab, in quantities of five million and two million doses respectively.

The Chinese shipment "is enough for 2.5 million people," Gergely Gulyas, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, told a press briefing in Budapest.

"That is enough for 250,000 people in each of February, March and April, and then the rest of the contracted amount in April," he said.

Orban, who previously said that he will choose the Chinese jab for his own inoculation, said Friday that the vaccine is "on its way", but added that further tests by the Hungarian authorities would have to be carried out.

He said during a radio interview that the experiences of non-EU member Serbiawhich neighbours Hungarywith both the Russian and Chinese vaccines were "reassuring".

The first batch of Russian vaccines could be administered to Hungarians "perhaps next week" pending final approval by the local public health authority, said Orban.

Hungarian officials have criticised the slow pace of vaccine approval and procurement by EU authorities, which have so far sent the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots to Budapest.

So far, around 260,000 people have received at least the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 92,000 people have been given both shots, Orban said.

Hungary has been under a partial lockdown since November that includes an evening curfew, a gathering ban, and the closure of restaurants, schools and universities.

Gulyas said the government would weigh a gradual lifting of pandemic restrictions, with the first phase starting March 1 and the second on April 1, if there is no third wave.

Hungary's coronavirus statistics all improved during January, but have seen a small upturn in February so far.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
A day ahead of the three-hour-long chakka jam on February 6 by farmers, as they continue their agitation against Centre's farm laws at various borders of the national capital, the Delhi Police on Thursday wrote a letter to the DMRC. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has said that the chakka jam will not take place in Delhi, UP and Uttarakhand.

READ | Pan-India 'chakka jam' on February 6 except..., says BKU leader Tikait

In the letter, New Delhi DCP asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to stay prepared to shut down a dozen metro stations, if the need arises, within a short notice. The DCP has said that given the circumstances of law and order and to control the crowd, the metro staff should be ready.

The 12 metro stations are--Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhawan, Lok Kalyan Marg, Janpath, Mandi House, RK Ashram, Supreme Court, Khan Market and Shivaji Stadium (Airport Express Line). All these metro stations fall within the New Delhi area. The Delhi Police is taking all measures ahead of the 'chakka jam'.

Earlier, speaking to reporters at the Ghazipur border protest site, Tikait said that the farmers would provide food and water to the people who will be stuck due to chakka jam`. "There will be a three-hour-long chakka jam on February 6. It won't take place in Delhi but everywhere outside Delhi. The people that will be stuck in it will be given food and water. We will tell them what is the Govt doing with us," Tikait said.

When asked to comment on nails fixed near barricades at the Ghazipur border (Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border), Tikait said, "We were growing crops there and they (government) fixed nails."

Responding to comments by the international celebrities on farmers` protests in India, he said that there is no harm in Hollywood artists supporting farmers` movement. "There is no harm in Hollywood artists supporting farmers` movement, I don`t know them personally, but they are supporting without any expectation," he said.

The Ministry of External Affairs had also said that the government has passed the laws "after a full debate and discussion" and has "initiated a series of talks" to address the farmers` issues.

The MEA also condemned celebrities, who have drawn attention to the farmers` protest on social media. The MEA`s response came after American pop star Rihanna extended support to the farmers` protest.

"Why aren't we talking about this?!", Rihanna tweeted on Tuesday, along with the hashtag `#FarmersProtest`. Soon after Rihanna`s tweet, several other prominent international celebrities and activists including Jay Sean, Amanda Cerny, Lilly Singh, and Greta Thunberg came out in support of the farmers.

Farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers` Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Live TV
Former Labor minister Ian Macdonald was acting in the interests of the people of NSW and not the Obeid family when he opened up areas of the state for coal exploration, his barrister has told the NSW Supreme Court.

At the end of his long-running criminal trial, Macdonalds barrister Jonathan Martin told Justice Elizabeth Fullerton that the the inescapable conclusion was that his client was not part of any conspiracy with his former colleague Eddie Obeid and his son Moses and had no knowledge of the Obeids property or commercial interests.

Former Labor minister Ian Macdonald arrives at the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on 5th February, 2021. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The Crown case is that Macdonald committed eight acts of misconduct. He is alleged to have met with fellow MP Eddie Obeid on May 8, 2008. The next day Macdonald, via his staff, instructed his department to ascertain how much coal there was in the Mt Penny area.

The Crown has alleged that Macdonald was aware that the Obeids owned Cherrydale Park, near Mt Penny, in the Bylong Valley, and that his actions in drawing up a coal exploration area which covered their farm delivered a handsome financial outcome for the Obeids.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would halt the withdrawal of American troops stationed in Germany and end support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen as top foreign policy goals.

In his first visit to the State Department as president, Biden called for a return to the "grounding wire of our global power. He sought to cheer the diplomatic workers with his speech. Many of them had expressed unhappiness over the last several years about the policies and actions of former President Donald Trump.

America is back. Diplomacy is back, Biden said in brief comments to State Department workers. "You are the center of all that I intend to do. You are the heart of it. Were going to rebuild our alliances.

Biden administration officials said the president was hoping to send an unmistakable signal that the U.S. is ready to return to its position as a world leader.

Last year, Trump announced plans to redeploy about 9,500 of the estimated 34,500 U.S. troops stationed in Germany. The country is home to important American military bases, including the headquarters for U.S. European and U.S. Africa Command operations.

Trump announced the withdrawal after repeatedly accusing Germany of not paying enough for its own defense. He described the longtime NATO ally as delinquent" for failing to spend two percent of its total national product on defense. The provision is part of NATO membership terms.

No reductions or changes have been made to U.S. troop levels since Trump's announcement. The new defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, suggested that he and the German foreign minister would discuss reconsideration of the withdrawal plan, Austins chief spokesman said.

Biden also announced Thursday that the U.S. would end support for a five-year, Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen. The conflict has deepened suffering in the poor country. Biden called the decision part of restoring a U.S. emphasis on diplomacy, democracy and human rights.

The ending of U.S. support for the offensive will not affect any U.S. operations against the Yemen-based group al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula said national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Biden called for a cease-fire, an effort to increase humanitarian aid to Yemen and a return to peace talks. He also announced the choice of Timothy Lenderking as special diplomat to Yemen. The career foreign service member has served in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries in the Middle East.

Im Caty Weaver.

The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

________________________________________________

Words in This Story

global  adj. worldwide; international

intend  v. to have in mind as a purpose or goal

delinquent  adj. not paid at the required or expected time

provision  n. a measure taken beforehand to deal with a need

emphasis  n. special importance or attention given to something

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Russia on Friday expelled three European diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden for participating in unauthorized rallies in support of Alexey Navalny, the EU Observer portal reports, citing sources in the EU

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) Russia on Friday expelled three European diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden for participating in unauthorized rallies in support of Alexey Navalny, the EU Observer portal reports, citing sources in the EU.

According to the publication, the diplomats were expelled during a press conference of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

Borrell is in Moscow on an official visit. This is the first visit of the head of European diplomacy to the Russian capital since 2017.

Earlier, a source in Moscow told reporters that a Swedish diplomat thad taken part in an unauthorized rally on Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg on January 23. The Swedish embassy said the diplomat had only watched the action. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on the actions of Western embassies regarding uncoordinated actions in Russia and the presence of diplomats at the trial in the Navalny case, said that Moscow would work on every such case.
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Gas Sensor Market Growth & Trends

The global gas sensor market size is expected to reach USD 4.49 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 8.7% from 2021 to 2028. The growth can be attributed to the growing demand for gas sensors to monitor gas emissions from industrial facilities. The increasing demand for wearable gas sensors for human health and environmental monitoring also bodes well for the growth of the market over the forecast period.

Various government bodies worldwide are imposing limits on vehicular emissions to curb atmospheric pollution and enhance fuel efficiency. For instance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revised the Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets and the greenhouse gas emission standards for passenger cars in April 2020. The need to abide by the newer emission standards is expected to trigger the demand for gas sensors over the forecast period.

Deteriorating air quality, particularly in urban areas, is a major problem in most parts of the world. Several people worldwide are suffering from various health disorders due to harmful gases emitted from vehicles and industrial facilities. At this juncture, gas sensors can potentially help in assessing the levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and other gases in the air and contribute favorably to curbing air pollution.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is anticipated to create new opportunities for the market players. The demand for carbon dioxide gas sensors is expected to increase significantly in particular. Carbon dioxide gas sensors are being used widely in European countries for monitoring the indoor environment in schools to control the spread of coronavirus. Guidelines published by the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Associations also recommend installing carbon dioxide monitoring systems in schools.

Request a free sample copy or view report summary: Gas Sensor Market Report

Gas Sensor Market Report Highlights

The oxygen sensor segment is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. The increasing adoption of oxygen gas sensors in medical equipment is expected to drive the growth of the segment

The demand for wireless gas sensors is rising owing to the benefits, such as ease of installation and flexibility, associated with wireless devices

The demand for electrochemical gas sensors is rising owing to the ability of these sensors to detect harmful gas emissions and help in improving air quality

The increasing number of smart cityprojects being rolled out worldwide are driving the demand for IoT enabled gas sensors for monitoring environmental gas

Rapid urbanization in emerging economies, such as China and India, is expected to create growth opportunities for the Asia Pacific regional market

Gas Sensor Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global gas sensor market based on product, type, technology, end use, and region:

Product Outlook (Volume, Million Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Oxygen (O2)/Lambda Sensors

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Sensors

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Sensors

Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Sensors

Methyl Mercaptan Sensors

Others (Hydrogen, Ammonia, Hydrogen Sulfide)

Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Wireless

Wired

Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Electrochemical

Semiconductor

Solid State/MOS

Photo-Ionization Detector (PID)

Catalytic

Infrared (IR)

Others

End-use Outlook (Volume, Million Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Medical

Building Automation & Domestic Appliances

Environmental

Petrochemical

Automotive

Industrial

Agriculture

Others

Regional Outlook (Volume, Million Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

North America US. Canada Mexico

Europe UK. Germany

Asia Pacific China India Japan

South America Brazil

Middle East & Africa

List of Key Players of Gas Sensor Market

ABB

AlphaSense Inc.

City Technology Ltd.

Dynament

Figaro Engineering Inc.

Membrapor

Nemoto & Co. Ltd.

Robert Bosch LLC

Siemens

GfG Gas Detection UK Ltd.

FLIR Systems, Inc.

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has branded the lack of normality as the key problem in the relations between Russia and the European Union.

"Of course, the main issue that we are all facing is the lack of normality in relations between Russia and the European Union, the two biggest actors in the Eurasian space," he said Friday when opening talks with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

"It is definitely not a healthy situation which benefits no one," TASS cited Lavrov as saying.
The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) is a powerful lobby representing branded drugs manufacturers in Ireland. For decades it has been an important player in price negotiations over new medicines.

It strikes periodic pricing deals typically lasting three to six years. The IPHA is due to agree a new deal with the HSE and the Departments of Health and Public Expenditure and Reform early this year.

The new deal's timing could not be more challenging. Our health service is still under acute strain from Covid.

Even when the acute phase passes, the hangover of unmet need from more than 10 months of cancelled planned care and suppressed demand will take years to clear.



Similarly, Covid has required enormous additional expenditure from health budgets and public spending in general. All of this comes on top of the HSE's existing poor waiting time performance and regular, large annual overspends.

A key element of IPHA pricing deals is the cost-effectiveness threshold. This is the limit on what the public health system agrees to pay for the equivalent of one year's good health, the QALY. The current threshold is 45,000/QALY.

It is used to decide if new drugs offer sufficient value for money to merit funding. The higher the threshold, the faster we can expect access to more novel treatments and a bigger drugs bill. IPHA will likely press for maintenance of the current threshold.

While the threshold appears to impose a price on life, something many understandably consider unethical and impossible to judge, health economists view it another way: as a rule of thumb to balance the costs of new services with existing care.

James O'Mahony: "Irish electorates have long-known not to expect timely access from the HSE and those with means use private health insurance to skip queues. While a politically convenient solution, this is morally bankrupt."

When we fund new services, there are always other services that we implicitly decide not to fund. In principle, the threshold should represent these other services.

The worrying problem is the current threshold fails to correspond to these other services. Indeed, it is not supported by any evidence at all, but rather is the outcome of industrial negotiation behind closed doors.

I have written academic papers about my concerns that clinically basic and highly cost-effective elective care in Ireland is being neglected while we maintain an excessively generous threshold for new drugs. An excessive threshold that adds expensive, high-tech medicines to an otherwise weak system risks damaging population health, not enhancing it.

A generous threshold is fine if there are no waiting lists for basic services such as hip replacements and knee replacements or cataract removals.

The reality in Ireland is that we have huge and growing lists for such care.

The threshold needs to be tethered back to the reality of poor access in our health system. I and other health economists argue that we need to adopt a lower, stricter threshold.

This is needed to balance spending on new services with ensuring sufficient access to existing care. The pressures of Covid mean the need for a reality check on the threshold has never been greater.

A stricter threshold will mean slower access to new therapies. You can expect doctors and patient groups to complain.

While this might seem penny-pinching by health economists, it is a call for a fair balancing of the needs of patients within the health system. It is unfair and inefficient to press ahead with ground-breaking new treatments when basic care is neglected.

In the coming weeks you may hear industry lobbyists, patient groups and doctors extolling the need to remain at the forefront of access to new medicines.

Do not forget that this cutting-edge access comes at the cost of massive waiting lists for painful conditions for our children, chronic conditions deteriorating unchecked by simple interventions and undignified treatment on trolleys in overcrowded corridors for our older people.

Many reading this will be insulated from the problems of our over-generous threshold. Those services that suffer the most because of our out-of-touch threshold for elective care.

Irish electorates have long-known not to expect timely access from the HSE and those with means use private health insurance to skip queues. While a politically convenient solution, this is morally bankrupt.

Faced with the Covid hangover, the time is nigh to adopt a stricter threshold that reflects the inconvenient truths about access within our health system. It is hoped that this pressing need will not be lost on the new Department of Health interim secretary general, the economist Robert Watt.
Filipino Student Creates Solar Panels From Waste Food, Wins James Dyson Award for Sustainability

Every year, students compete to win the James Dyson Sustainability Award. The contest has produced remarkable, innovative inventions, from bionic hands to the O-Wind turbine and single-use plastic alternatives.

This year, a Filipino engineering student has caught international attention for his ingenious method of turning food waste into eye-catching decorative solar panels.

Twenty-seven-year-old Carvey Ehren Maigue was awarded the James Dyson Sustainability Award for using food waste to generate energy from the sun. Maigue is the first-ever Sustainability winner of the James Dyson Award.

The award was given for his AuREUS system that turns waste crops into cladding, or layers of one material over anotherhis colorful solar panels are layered decoratively over the windows of buildingswhich generates clean energy from UV light.

The invention is truly remarkable, considering regular solar panels cannot collect large amounts of UV light. According to SolarQuotes, traditional solar panels convert visible light into electrical energy and are only able to capture small portions of ultraviolet light.

This technology upgrade makes it possible for the AuREUS panels to collect UV light, even on a cloudy day.

Even better, the production of these innovative panels is completely sustainable.

We upcycle the crops of the farmers that were hit by natural disasters such as typhoons, Maigue said. By doing this, we can be both future-looking and solve the problems that we are currently experiencing now.

It may seem obvious that Maigues project is both unique and remarkable, but the young man was humbled by the award. He said it took him a few days to process that he was the winner.

I was very happy because I know that through this award, I will be able to reach more people, he added. This is my second time applying, and through persistence, I managed to win. Im very, very happy and excited that I have this chance.

The founder of the award, James Dyson, said that he started the competition to prove that a single person can make all the difference in the world and that Maigues invention honors that vision.

AuREUS is impressive in the way it makes sustainable use of waste crops, but Im particularly impressed by Carveys resolve and determination, Dyson said in a press statement.

Having failed to make the national stage of the Award in 2018, he stuck at it and further developed his ideathis will be a very important character trait as he embarks on the long road to commercialization. I wish him every success because, as a farmer, I have always been concerned about covering fertile, food-producing, agricultural land in photovoltaic cells. Carveys invention demonstrates a convincing way to create clean energy on existing structures, like windows, within cities.

The James Dyson Foundation posted an Instagram video announcing that Carvey was the winner of the Sustainability award.

Ive always truly believed that young people want to change the world, Dyson said in the video. Thats absolutely right. They should do it, they can literally do that.

Youre the winner of the Sustainability award, Dyson said to Maigue, who reacted with an expression of utter shock.

Thank you, thank you, thank you very much, Maigue said in response.

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If theyre not deliberately abusing the law, it can only mean one other thing -- that neither the police nor ministers know what sedition is

Accusing people who say things you dont like or act in ways you disagree with of sedition has become the favourite weapon of governmental retribution. In recent years its been used against cartoonists, students, journalists, historians, authors, actors, directors, and even little children. Yet every time its been misused, and on each occasion the concerned government has allowed this to happen. If theyre not deliberately abusing the law, it can only mean one other thing -- that neither the police nor ministers know what sedition is. Its about time they found out. If they read on, they will.

Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, which is the sedition law, refers to: Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government. This, I accept, is pretty sweeping. It could cover practically anything spoken or done. But -- and this is the point the police and governments seem to be ignorant of -- that is not how the law stands today.

In 1962, in the Kedar Nath Singh judgment, the Supreme Court limited the application of Section 124A to action or speech that clearly and imminently provokes violence. In doing so, the court explicitly distinguished this from very strong speech or vigorous words critical of the government. In other words, Section 124A has been read down. Its no longer what the language seems to suggest. Today it has very limited application.

Equally important, since 1962 the Supreme Court has repeatedly adhered to this interpretation. In 1995, in the Balwant Singh case, it ruled that Khalistan Zindabad is not seditious. Remember, this ruling referred to slogans raised the very day Indira Gandhi was killed. Despite that the Supreme Courts position was clear and forthright: Raising some slogan only a couple of times  which neither evoked any response nor any reaction from anyone in the public cannot attract the provision of Section 124A. And then the court significantly added: The police officers exhibited lack of maturity and, more, of sensitivity in arresting the appellants for raising the slogans  (the slogans) did not constitute any threat to the government as by law established nor could the same give rise to feelings of enmity or hatred among different communities or religions or other groups. The court could not have been clearer.

However, when both the police and various governments continued to disregard its ruling, the Supreme Court forcefully repeated it. In September 2016, the court explicitly reaffirmed its stand: We are of the considered opinion that the authorities, while dealing with offences under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, shall be guided by the principles laid down by the Constitution Bench in Kedar Nath Singh versus State of Bihar.

Frankly, after this, the status of the law of sedition has been so clearly explained that it is beyond any doubt. There are absolutely no grounds for any police force or any government not to know it. Yet last week Shashi Tharoor, Rajdeep Sardesai, Mrinal Pande and several other journalists were charged with sedition because they tweeted about how a protesting farmer had met his death. Tweets, that in many instances, were speedily corrected and/or deleted.

Now, even if they got their facts initially wrong -- which may or may not be the case -- theres no way anyone can claim that Mr Tharoor and the others were clearly and imminently provoking violence. Even if their tweets were mistaken -- or outright wrong -- these did not and cannot amount to sedition. And the police know this well. Of that there can be no doubt. Which means they are using sedition to harass people they dont like, not prosecute alleged wrongdoers. And this is proven by the fact that similar cases have been filed in five different police jurisdictions -- right across the country.

Actually, so ludicrous is this charge of sedition that it brings the police themselves and the concerned governments into ridicule. Yet preposterous as this application is, I can think of worse occasions when sedition has been even more manifestly wrongly used. In 2019 the chief judicial magistrate in Muzaffarpur ordered the Bihar police to charge 49 persons, whose only act was to write to the Prime Minister expressing concern about mob lynching, with sedition. They promptly complied. At the time Justice A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice of the Delhi and Madras high courts, said: Leave alone sedition, no criminal offence is made out. Fortunately, the Bihar police dropped the charge. Lets hope the five police forces show similar but belated good sense with Mr Tharoor, Mr Sardesai and the others.

The blunt truth is that its time this law is repealed. As far back as March 18, 1922, writing in Young India, Mahatma Gandhi made his position crystal clear. He called Section 124A the prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen. As for attempts to incite disaffection towards the government, this is what he had to say: I hold it as a virtue to be disaffected towards the government  one should be free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection, so long as he does not contemplate, promote or incite to violence.

If our police forces or governments find this hard to accept, its time someone reminded them how easily its followed in other democracies. Incidentally, these are democracies we believe we are the equivalent of. When American university students rose in protest against the Vietnam war, including rallies in support of Ho Chi Minh and the burning of the Stars and Stripes, Lyndon Johnson didnt charge them with sedition or arrest them. Instead, he let them spend their passion, knowing it would eventually diminish. Similarly, in 1968, when Tariq Ali, then a Pakistani citizen, claimed he was leading a revolution, the British didnt slap sedition charges or even deport him. They simply advised him against travelling to France where the authorities might not be so tolerant! A few years later they made him a British citizen as well.

If our claim to be the largest democracy in the world is about the quality of that commitment and not merely the size of our population, its time we learnt a few lessons from the Brits and the Yanks!
This is an opinion piece from the San Antonio Express-News. For opinions from the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, click here.

Texans got a double dose of awful news in late January. We learned our state lost more jobs in 2020 than any year on record, and that intensive care units in 50 Texas hospitals were full, overwhelmed by a deadly and persistent pandemic.

With these grim facts in hand, Sen. Ted Cruz took to Twitter to trade juvenile insults with Hollywood actor Seth Rogen and share a preening picture of himself  unmasked  standing with four National Guardsmen called to Washington to protect the city from a right-wing insurrection that he helped inflame. A week later, while trashing President Joe Bidens climate plan, Cruz lamented that the people of Pittsburgh would suffer under his decision to rejoin the Paris climate accord. Pittsburgh?

It all begged the question: What are you doing, Sen. Cruz? Seriously, what are you doing for Texas? The answer  as usual  is not much, just grandstanding.

The junior senator from Texas desperately wants us to forget the everlasting shame he brought on himself with seditious calls to block Joe Bidens legitimate claim to the U.S. presidency. Many prominent voices rained outrage on Cruz and called for his resignation in the days after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, but perhaps former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro captured the nations collective disdain best.

Ted Cruz is like Trump: he would watch democracy burn if he got to rule the ashes, Castro tweeted. He has embarrassed Texas and the entire nation.

Its clear Cruz will continue playing to the national media, hoping his faux populism will help him win over enough deluded Trump voters to fuel his own presidential ambitions in 2024. But back here in Texas, were considering Cruzs record and shaking our heads in dismay. We love this great state, but lets face it: Texas has serious problems. Were one of the least-educated states in America, our health care is abysmal, and were nearly dead last in environmental quality.

Sadly, Texans dont see Cruz bothering himself with those issues. Thats because hes the ultimate Washington show pony, whether hes convening breathtakingly dishonest hearings to minimize the climate crisis, triggering a 17-day government shutdown with a futile filibuster to kill Obamacare or blocking sensible immigration reform. Legislating to get results for a state as big and complex as Texas takes hard work and consensus building. Cruz has shown little capacity for either, with the amiable former Republican House Speaker John Boehner once declaring that hed never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.

There have been fleeting moments when the junior senator from Texas showed interest in doing the hard work of legislating and consensus building, such as when he vowed to work with liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to ban members of Congress from lobbying after leaving office. That was exciting, but predictably, once the headlines faded, so did Cruzs interest. Now, there is little chance the two controversial politicians will resume these discussions, especially after Ocasio-Cortez accused Cruz of trying to get me killed after the Jan. 6 raid on the U.S. Capitol. Cruz scoffed, chalking her accusation up to partisan rage and anger.

Conservative Texans embraced Cruzs flamboyant and articulate crusades against Democratic Party ideals during his first term, but its clear his appeal is fading. When Democrat Beto ORourke ran for Cruzs Senate seat in 2018, he came within three points of victory, marking the closest contest for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas since 1978. Now, a group of disaffected Republicans led by Olivia Troye, who served as former Vice President Mike Pences national security adviser, has ordered 16 billboards across Texas demanding that Cruz and fellow Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert resign.

Im a Texas Republican. I grew up in Texas. I love Texas, Troye told the Dallas Morning News. These people have shown repeatedly theyre unfit for office.

With his popularity suffering, Cruz is resuming his favorite role: seeking the limelight, demagoguing and antagonizing Democrats to shore up support for a presidential run in 2024. That may work for Fox News and the right-wing Breitbart news site, but Texans are increasingly seeing Cruz for what he is: a cynical politician who is all about himself, with little to show for his constituents.

Michael Coleman is the communications strategist for Public Citizens Texas office. He was the Albuquerque Journals Washington correspondent from 2000-2018.
"In the meantime, the nationwide strike takes effect from 12 midnight, 5 February 2021, pending any contrary resolution by the branches," the official said.

The Leadership of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the non-teaching staff unions of universities says it will go ahead with its nationwide strike on February 5.

This is to compel the Federal Government to address their demands, a statement from the unions has said.

The JAC non-teaching staff are the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of the Universities (NASU).

Peters Adeyemi, NASU General Secretary, said this in a statement jointly signed by Mohammed Ibrahim, SSANU president, on Thursday, in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the JAC of the two unions NASU and SSANU had last week threatened to embark on strike on February 5, to press home its demands.

The demands included, rectifying inconsistencies in the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS), non-payment of arrears of minimum wage, delay in renegotiation with government, NASU and SSANU 2009 agreement, among others.

It would also be recalled that Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, and other government officials, had met at a meeting on Wednesday, to address most of the unions' demands.

NAN also reports that a joint committee was set up to address anomalies complained of by the unions and they were given 48 hours, to communicate a possible date for the next meeting.

Outcome

According to Mr Adeyemi, in view of the outcome of the meeting, the leadership of the JAC of NASU and SSANU at the branches had been directed to convene joint general meetings on Friday, February 5.

"This is to give reports on the outcome of the conciliation meeting and pass resolutions on the way forward. The resolutions of the branches must reach the respective National Secretariats on or before Tuesday, February 9.

"In the meantime, the nationwide strike takes effect from 12 midnight, 5 February, 2021, pending any contrary resolution by the branches," he said.

NAN
An experimental cancer drug could help hospitalised coronavirus recover quicker, researchers believe.

Israeli academics today claimed 29 of 30 patients with moderate to severe case of Covid treated with EXO-CD24 made a full recovery within five days.

Further human trials are now needed to prove that the inhaled drug - designed as a medication to fight ovarian cancer - actually works.

The study did not compare the drug to a placebo, meaning scientists cannot say for certain that the medicine was behind the patients' speedy recovery.

Experimental cancer drug EXO-CD24 has been hailed as the cure to coronavirus by Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, after a successful clinical trial. Pictured: An Israeli woman receives a Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination center in Tel Aviv on Tuesday

However, data shows the average coronavirus patient needing hospital treatment spends up to three weeks in a bed.

Scientists gave 30 patients with serious or moderate Covid infections a dose of the drug.

It is not clear how old the patients were but data shows younger patients are much less likely to die from coronavirus and recover quicker.

Twenty-nine showed significant improvement within three to five days. It is not clear whether the patients were also receiving other drugs or treatment.

What is EXO-CD24? Professor Nadir Arber of Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv's Integrated Cancer Prevention Center spent years developing EXO-CD24 for cancer treatment before trialling it on coronavirus patients EXO-CD24 is an experimental cancer drug initially developed to treat ovarian cancer. It is breathed in as a gas and performs locally on the lungs. The drug uses tiny carrier sacs called exosomes that shuttle materials between cells to deliver a protein called CD24. This protein helps regulate the body's immune response, reducing the number of cytokines released. Cytokines are produced by the body to fight off infection, but too many can result in deadly hyperinflammation, which occurs in the worst cases of coronavirus. Professor Nadir Arber of Ichilov's Integrated Cancer Prevention Center told the Times of Israel: 'The preparation is inhaled once a day for a few minutes, for five days. 'The preparation is directed straight to the heart of the storm  the lungs  so unlike other formulas which selectively restrain a certain cytokine, or operate widely but cause many serious side effects, EXO-CD24 is administered locally, works broadly and without side effects.' Advertisement

The thirtieth patient's symptoms also got better but outside of the five-day window, Israeli media claimed.

The trial's sample size was also too low to draw any note-worthy conclusions about the drug's efficacy. The data was not published in a journal.

Professor Nadir Arber, of Ichilov's Integrated Cancer Prevention Center, spent years developing the drug for ovarian cancer before trialling it on coronavirus patients.

EXO-CD24 is taken once every five days and is relatively inexpensive, according to Professor Arber, but he did not reveal exactly how much it costs.

It was initially developed to treat ovarian cancer before researchers considered its potential for coronavirus treatment.

It works by reducing the immune system's overreaction to the virus.

Coronavirus can trigger a brutal immune response that shuts down the body's main organs known as a cytokine storm.

The drug uses tiny carrier sacs called exosomes that shuttle materials between cells to deliver a protein called CD24 straight to the lungs.

Researcher Shiran Shapira told the Times of Israel: 'This protein is located on the surface of cells and has a well known and important role in regulating the immune system.'

Professor Arber told Israeli news site Arutz Sheva: 'Even if the vaccines do their job, and even if there aren't any new mutations, one way or another, the coronavirus will be staying with us.

'That's why we developed this special medication: EXO-CD24. This is unprecedented.

'It's been about half a year from the time the idea was hatched and the technologies created, to the first human trials conducted and phase one of testing completed.'

The researchers are planning to carry out studies of the drug on hundreds of patients and compare the results to a placebo.

Israel announced today it will ease lockdown measures but keep its international airport and land borders closed following a slight fall in the spread of coronavirus cases.

'The government has accepted a proposal from the prime minister and the health minister to ease lockdown measures from 7am on Sunday,' their offices said in a joint statement.

Despite what has been termed the world's fastest vaccination campaign per capita, Israel has still been registering a daily average of 6,500 new Covid-19 cases, down from around 7,000 last week, official figures show.

A strict nationwide lockdown in force since December 27 has been extended four times to combat the infection rate, but January was the deadliest month with more than 1,000 Covid fatalities.

According to latest figures from the health ministry, Israel has registered a total of more than 675,000 cases of Covid-19, including 5,019 deaths.
Cicely Tyson was a Harlem, New York native who never lived in East Orange. But the impact she had on the New Jersey city, called New Jerseys Crossroads, made her not only a Hollywood icon, but a local hero.

Tyson died last Thursday at the age of 96.

Thursday evening, a vigil mourning the Hollywood trailblazer brought out a chorus of students, educators and community members who had a chance, and in some cases, several opportunities, to be in the presence of the legendary actress.

I was blessed to be her guest when President Obama presented her with her Medal of Freedom, said Merolyn Kelly, a retired guidance counselor. It was just awesome.

The city has a long history with Tyson. In 1995, the Vernon Davey Junior High School located on Elmwood Avenue was renamed the Cicely Tyson Community School For The Performing Arts (a new $143 million complex on Winans Street opened in 2009). Tyson accepted her role as namesake under the condition shed be involved in school decisions, graduations, meetings and even sit in on some classes, city officials and longstanding faculty members told NJ Advance Media Thursday.

Kelly said she got to know Tyson over the years, when the actress would come back to give commencement speeches, hold master classes or volunteer her time and expertise wherever else it may have been needed.

Thats the thing about Mrs. Tyson. Once she got to know you, she loved you. She was like family. So its heartbreaking, Kelly said.

Robin Lewis, who has served as an educator in East Orange for more than 40 years, remembered Tysons altruism.

Every Christmas Eve, I would pick (Tyson) up and meet her, and wed go to this restaurant, Lewis said. And you know how at the end of the day they would throw the food out? She would make sure they donated it to a church. We would bring some to some (local) agencies.

She would have Macys send coats and gloves for the students here. She was always involved in community service, Lewis said.

Both Kelly and Lewis said Tyson inspired generations of students and really challenged them to perfect their craft.

Memorials were set up around the Cicely Tyson Community School For The Performing Arts as students, faculty and alumni gathered for a socially-distanced vigil on Feb 4, 2021.

Public memorials were set up outside near the schools parking lot and inside the schools auditorium. Photos of Tyson were hung up around campus and many put out flowers and laid candles in her honor. Nearly 100 people came to pay their final respects, organizers said. Many were current students and alumni.

To the world, Ms. Cicely Tyson was a ground-breaking award winning actress, icon, and a trailblazer. To the East Orange community, Ms. Cicely L. Tyson was that and more, said East Orange School District Superintendent Abdulsaleem Hasan.

She was our districts leading lady, an advocate for our students, a teacher, a mentor, and role model for our students and staff.

East Orange Mayor Ted Green (left) with Hollywood trailblazer Cicely Tyson at a commencement ceremony. Tyson died last Thursday.

Tyson was known in the city for her master classes, where she held assemblies and invited special guests such as Maya Angelou, Tyler Perry, and Rosa Parks, the city said. She also visited the school annually for commencement speeches and her birthday celebration.

Her career broke barriers for Black women on screen. Tysons industry honors include Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, Kennedy Center Honors and an honorary Oscar. At times, she would invite the schools choir to perform at her award ceremonies, organizers said.

She was known for films such as The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Sounder and other portrayals of strong Black women.

To have been in the presence of Ms. Cicely L. Tyson has been a privilege. To have formed a relationship with her has been an even greater blessing, Hasan said. We will miss more than ever Ms. Tysons light and her physical presence, but her light will never dim and her legacy will live on in the East Orange School District.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Tennyson Donyea may be reached at tcoleman@njadvancemedia.com.

By Ruth Anderah

Buganda road magistrates court has issued an arrest warrant against city pastor Franklin Mugisha alias Pr Mondo who is wanted to answer charges of obtaining money by false pretense and conspiracy to defraud.

Mondo has on several occasions failed to turn up to court following various summons prompting prosecution to ask for an arrest warrant

His lawyers last time informed court that he had flown to South Africa for covid-19 treatment, however on their appearance today, they repeated the same narrative which was objected by prosecution .

Prosecution lawyers noted that Mondos lawyers failed to produce medical forms indicating his admission to the hospital.

The trial Buganda Road grade one magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu issued an arrest warrant against Mondo after being convinced by prosecution that the accused can only be compelled to court by the warrant.

Pastor Mondo Mugisha is said to have conspired with Pastor Siraje Ssemanda and a lawyer Jimmy Arinaitwe for defrauding from their followers and fellow pastors of shs4.5billion claiming to offer them scholarships and jobs abroad whereas not.
(Alliance News) - Savannah Energy PLC on Friday said it has struck a seven-year gas sales agreement with Mulak Energy Ltd.

Under the contract, the company's unit Accugas will supply energy from Savannah's majority-owned Uquo field in Nigeria for an initial two years, though on an interruptible basis. The final five years of the pact will be on a firm contract basis, the Nigeria and Niger-focused energy firm said.

"During the interruptible gas delivery period, Mulak is able to nominate a maximum daily quantity of up to 2.5 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. Volumes in the firm delivery period will be agreed by the parties before the end of the Interruptible gas delivery period," Savannah added.

"The GSA is priced to reflect Mulak's status as an industrial customer; Accugas, therefore, expects to see its weighted average gas sales price realisation increase as a result of this contract, without the need for any incremental capital expenditure beyond our previously announced plans."

Mulak is part of Egyptian conglomerate Mansour Group, which has operations in 100 countries.

Savannah Chief Executive Officer Andrew Knott said: "We are delighted to announce this new gas sales agreement with Mulak Energy and the Mansour Group. This recognises, Accugas' status as the most reliable supplier of natural gas in Nigeria."

Savannah shares were up 6.4% at 17.45 pence each in London on Friday morning.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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In a significant political development ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in West Bengal, the alliance between Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), and the newly-formed Indian Secular Front (ISF) of Abbas Siddiqui, is likely to run in to a rough weather with the new political equation emerging between ISF and the Congress-Left Front.

Owaisi saw a huge political opportunity in the State and since 2011, his party has slowly started working in the bordering areas of the State where the Muslim population is high. After winning the Kishanganj seat in Bihar for the first time, Owaisi paid more attention towards West Bengal. Though he is yet to launch AIMIM officially in the State, Owaisi has already engaged local youths to spread its ideology and partys stand towards the Muslims, mainly in Kolkata, North Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Jalpaiguri and Nadia districts.

But with the new political equation emerging in States politics, it is difficult for Owaisi despite his recent unscheduled meeting with Siddiqui, to create any impact in the upcoming elections if the party decides to contest.

The talks between Siddiqui and the leaders of the Congress and the Left Front are going on since December, 2020. In all the meetings, Siddiqui was told that the Congress and the Left Front are only interested in alliance with him if he dissociates himself with Owaisis AIMIM. The reason: both the Congress and the Left feel that AIMIM is not a secular party.

As Owaisi reportedly expressed his desire that Siddiqui should contest the elections on AIMIMs symbol, the Congress and the Left leaders asked him to form a separate political party as they are not interested in AIMIM.

It seems that even Siddiqui is more inclined towards having an alliance with the Congress and the Left Front and it was evident when he named his new political party Indian Secular Front (ISF) on January 21 as suggested by leaders like Md Salim, Adhir Chowdhury, Abdul Mannan and veteran (late) Ghani Khan Chowdhurys brother, Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury, popularly known as Dalu da.

While announcing his new political party, Siddiqui had said, I am not going to contest the polls but I will play the role of a kingmaker.

It seems that the political equation between Owaisi and Siddiqui is almost over after Congress leader Abdul Mannan wrote a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi seeking her nod for the alliance with Siddiqui.

We have started unofficial dialogue with ISF and WBPCC President Adhir Chowdhury has visited Siddiqui of Furfura Sharif shrine. He called our move a positive development. The addition of ISF in the Left-Congress alliance may be a game changer in the ensuing Assembly elections, Mannan letter reads.

Speaking to the News18.com, CPI (M) Politburo Member, Md Salim said, It is known to all that we were in touch with Abbas Siddiqui for the last few months. We told him to form a secular party and then only we can negotiate further on how to contest the polls. Now, he has floated a secular party, which consists of minority, matua community leaders, marginalised people and tribal leaders, we will talk further, we can further initiate talks on seat sharing formula.

He said, Since, we want to have alliance with Abbas Siddiqui without Asaduddin Owaisi and the Congress already got a nod from their high command in Delhi, this alliance is certainly going to help us to keep forces like Trinamool Congress and the BJP away from Bengal in this upcoming polls.

When contacted by senior State AIMIM leader Zameerul Hassan, he said, It is difficult to predict anything in politics. But it is a fact that the communication between Abbas Siddiqui and AIMIM leaders are not happening as it should be and that too when the election is near.

He said, If wife and husband are not on talking terms then divorce is the only option.

Abbas Siddiquis brother Naushad Siddiqui, the Chairman of Indian Secular Front, is very much optimistic about their alliance with the Congress-Left Front and claimed that soon they will be able to communicate a clear picture on how many seats all three combined (ISF, Congress and Left Front) will contest in the upcoming polls.

In the context of AIMIM, he said, Our main target is to fight against the communal forces like BJP. As of now we are optimistic about the alliance with the Congress-Left Front. Lets see what happens in future. At present we are in talks on seat adjustment and soon it will be clear.

Abbas Siddiqui is an influential cleric of Furfura Sharif Darbar located in Jangipara in Hooghly district and his decision to contest the 2021 state elections could be a worry for Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee due to inevitable division of Muslim vote share.

Though he is against the BJP, his decision to contest the assembly polls is likely to help the saffron brigade as TMC is going to suffer the most due to division in Muslim vote share.

With more than 30 per cent vote share, Muslims are undeniably a deciding factor to turn the tables for any political party in West Bengal. They were the deciding factor during the Left rule till TMC came to power in 2011 under Mamata Banerjee.

Mamata knows it well that any significant division in the Muslim vote share, a deciding factor in nearly 90 Assembly segments out of 294 Assembly seats in the State, could jeopardise her mission 2021 Assembly polls.

Time will tell how things will unfold but certainly this Assembly poll is going to be one of the toughest fights for TMC and the BJP.
Colombia's president called for international help Wednesday in vaccinating almost a million undocumented Venezuelan migrants against the coronavirus, saying donors should put their money where their mouths are.

Ivan Duque was widely criticized for announcing in December that Venezuelans without migration papers would be excluded from the campaign to inoculate Colombia's 50 million inhabitants.

He has now changed his tune, telling journalists he hoped to shortly announce "measures to try" to include the vast migrant community in the vaccination drive due to start later this month.

"We would like to call on the international community to help us mobilize resources and vaccines to serve this population," the president said.

Duque sought to justify his former stance, saying he had wanted to prevent "a stampede, a massive influx of migrants seeking vaccination."

And he criticized what he said were scarce international resources to deal with the exodus of people driven by Venezuela's long-running economic crisis.

"There is a lot of concern about migrants and refugees... a lot of people are beating their chests, and they say: 'What pain, what pain,' But the mobilization of resources has been very meager," he said.

Duque claimed 10 times as much donor money was spent on a Syrian migrant than a Venezuelan one.

He said he would take the matter up with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, due to visit Colombia next week.

The United Nations estimates that more than five million Venezuelans have fled the country since the end of 2015, most for Colombia.

Bogota says 55 percent of the 1.7 million Venezuelans living in the country are undocumented.

Colombia is one of the countries in Latin America hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, registering over two million cases and more than 54,000 deaths.
A Garda investigation is under way into an incident in which an ordained Presbyterian Church elder was sacked by church authorities because he is in a same-sex marriage.

Steven Smyrl said the investigation is being carried out under hate crime legislation after the incident in Christ Church, Sandymount, in Dublin in October 2019.

A spokesperson for the gardai said they do not comment on named individuals.

Mr Smyrl has hit out at two draft policy documents which were circulated to Presbyteries, one on credible professions of faith and the other on guidelines for the pastoral care of same-sex attracted people and their families.

The Presbyterian Church has questioned Mr Smyrl's comments.

It comes after the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI)'s general assembly voted in June 2018 to exclude same-sex couples from taking communion, and also approved a move not to baptise children from a same-sex relationship.

Mr Smyrl said he was the first person to fall victim to the "homophobic" legislation imposed within the church.

"Because it is 'religion', this sort of othering, which diminishes lives, can be openly and publicly practiced without fear of any form of legal reprisal," he said.

He was present at the General Assembly where the resolution was adopted, after which he was removed from his position for exercising his constitutional right as an Irish citizen to marry the person of his choice, his partner Roy Stanley, he said.

The first document on credible profession of faith is a "crass attempt" to justify the 2018 resolution, he said. The second document on pastoral care is "hypocritical" given the impact the church's actions had on him. "No such consideration was ever afforded to me during the course of the Presbytery Commission's investigation," he said.

Most recently, a judicial commission in Belfast sanctioned an inquiry into the minister and church council of Sandymount that allowed Mr Smyrl to remain an elder following his marriage.

He added that he had "heard from many Church members, telling me harrowing tales about their treatment simply because they were gay".

The Church of Scotland has found a way to accommodate different views on same-sex relationships, said Mr Smyrl, but the PCI has cut them adrift.

He said the "PCI urgently needs to take steps to restore its own credibility by publicly recognising" what it has inflicted upon gay people "over many decades".

A spokesperson for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland said: "We are aware that Mr Steven Smyrl has made a complaint to the Gardai, which we gather is currently under investigation.

"While it would not be appropriate to comment in detail, Mr Smyrl's description of the subject of the investigation would be at variance with what we understand the subject to be.

"With regards to Mr Smyrl's comments and allegations in relation to the two draft reports that have been sent to our regional Presbyteries for discussion and consideration, again his comments are in our view somewhat inaccurate."
HAYWARD, Calif., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oliphenol LLC, Hayward, California, announces the publication of a discovery focused upon the SARS-CoV-2-inactivating activity of Hidrox, an olive polyphenols formulation for a potential treatment against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The Paper, "The SARS-CoV-2- Inactivating Activity of Hydroxytyrosol-Rich Aqueous Olive Pulp Extract (Hidrox(r)) and its use as Virucidal Cream for Topical Application " was published by the International Journal "Viruses" as part of their special issue "Unconventional Antiviral Agents" and is available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/2/232/pdf . The publication discloses a collaborative effort to study the SARS-CoV-2-inactivating activity of Hidrox, a proprietary formulation of olive polyphenols developed by the U.S. company. The experimental work was conducted in Japan at the Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, in collaboration with Dr. Roberto Crea, CEO and CSO of Oliphenol. The published results show a virucidal activity of Hidrox against SARS-CoV-2, when delivered both as a liquid and a lotion (cream) form.

"The experiments show clearly that our product can kill the virus very quickly by several order of magnitude in less than few hours," explains Dr. Crea.

"The main component of Hidrox, called hydroxytyrosol, delivered in its natural environment, is a potent virucidal compound." Few years ago, the research group at Obihiro University discovered the antiviral activity of olive derived hydroxytyrosol, used as pure component, to demonstrate antiviral activity against other viruses, like influenza and Newcastle viruses.

"When we started to test Hidrox against SARS-CoV-2 we had in mind its superior activity (more than 20 times) versus the pure hydroxytyrosol, also confirmed in two recent publications," states Dr. Crea, the inventor of Hidrox.

"We have shown that the Hidrox solution exhibits time- and concentration-dependent SARS-CoV-2-inactivating activities with much more potent virucidal activity than pure HT. The study of mechanism of action suggested that both Hidrox and HT induced structural changes in SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins." In addition, Hidrox or HT treatment disrupt the viral genome. The virucidal mechanism is a mix of cross linking the subunit S1 and interfering with the integrity of the genetic material, the viral RNA.

A demand for the development of complementary approaches for preventing or treating viral infection still exists. The use of natural compounds from plants with proven activity against pathogenic viruses is one such strategy. Exploratory research of natural components which show anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity is actively conducted worldwide. Plant polyphenols are naturally-derived compounds, which show antiviral activity against several pathogenic viruses.

"This could lead to an oral antiviral treatment targeted of COVID-19 with a natural plant formulation which, in the course of several years, we have showed is safe, inexpensive and available in large amount from the by-products of the olive oil industry," continues Dr. Roberto Crea.

Hidrox is a GRAS self-certified natural formulation extracted from the juice of organic olives and rich in polyphenols, especially hydroxytyrosol.

The safety of Hidrox is well established. It was the first Olive Polyphenol formulation that went through rigorous toxicity and safety studies, already in 2004. The results were very positive and based upon lack of side effects and cytotoxicity this natural formulation of hydroxytyrosol was declared safe by a panel of food safety experts. Hidrox was also successfully tested clinically in 2005 in Arizona (A.S.U.) with 99 patients affected by osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis for its anti-inflammatory activity.

"We intend to take Hidrox into clinical trials to confirm its antiviral activity in COVID-19 patients," declares Dr. Crea, "We wish to start working with the FDA and any other International Health Agencies to expedite the testing of Hidrox with COVID-19 patients."

COVID-19 drugs in development and on the market must be administered via injection or intravenously under the care of a physician, Hidrox can be administered orally in different ways, as capsules and as liquid, even mixed with other foods and beverages. "We are also working on a nasal and oral spray," concludes Dr. Crea. This may enable in-home treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Although the virucidal activity of Hidrox was tested in a laboratory set up in Japan at concentration of 0.9 mg/ ml., it is well known that the bioavailability of hydroxytyrosol in humans is very high especially when delivered in its natural environment. Approximately 70- 75% of hydroxytyrosol is capable to cross the gastrointestinal tract into the blood stream and reach cells and organs.

For further information, please contact:

For Oliphenol LLC: Dr. Roberto Crea, CEO and CSO, 26225 Eden Landing Road, Suite C, Hayward, CA. 94545. [email protected]. [email protected]

Tel. +1 510- 586-0011. [email protected].

SOURCE Oliphenol LLC

Related Links

http://www.oliphenol.com


Zoe Foster Blake looked glamorous as she filmed a commercial for Tourism Australia with her husband, Hamish Blake, in Sydney on Thursday.

The journalist-turned-businesswoman, 40, flaunted her sensational figure in a series of outfits as she posed up a storm at the five-star Ovolo hotel in Woolloomooloo.

During the shoot, Zoe put on a colourful display in a long dress as she sat in a small boat with Hamish, who hosts Channel Nine's Lego Masters.

Dressed to impress! Zoe Foster Blake looked glamorous as she filmed a commercial for Tourism Australia with her husband, Hamish Blake, in Sydney on Thursday

New commercial: The journalist-turned-businesswoman, 40, flaunted her sensational figure in a series of outfits as she posed up a storm at the five-star Ovolo hotel in Woolloomooloo

The mother of two tied her brunette locks in a low bun and wore sunglasses as she relaxed alongside her comedian husband.

She wore a full face of makeup, including dewy foundation and red lipstick.

Meanwhile, Hamish dressed in black shorts, a blue shirt and a captain's hat.

After capturing the scene, the couple returned to the wharf and enjoyed a break while chatting to the crew.

Scene one: During the shoot, Zoe put on a colourful display in a long dress as she sat in a small boat with Hamish, who hosts Channel Nine's Lego Masters

Natural beauty: The mother of two tied her brunette locks in a low bun and wore sunglasses as she relaxed alongside her comedian husband

Stunning: She wore a full face of makeup, including dewy foundation and red lipstick

Zoe then changed into a silver sequinned dress with feathers.

She styled her brunette locks out and wore statement earrings as she filmed another scene at the hotel's restaurant.

Hamish also looked dapper in a black tuxedo and white shirt as he sat down at a table with his wife.

Stylish: Hamish also dressed to impress in a pair of black shorts, a blue buttoned shirt and wore a captains hat

And... cut! After capturing the scene, the couple returned to the wharf and enjoyed a break while chatting to the crew

Wardrobe change: Zoe then changed into a silver sequinned dress with feathers

The Blakes are ambassadors for Tourism Australia's 'Holiday Here This Year' campaign, and have already featured in several ads.

Just before Christmas, they spent $8.925million on a property in the upmarket Sydney suburb of Vaucluse.

The five-bedroom, six-bathroom estate sits on 885 square metres and features two sets of garages.

While the four-level home does not have ocean views, it is considered architecturally noteworthy and was featured on Grand Designs Australia in 2013.

The beauty guru and her husband, 39, inspected a number of properties across the eastern suburbs before finally settling on their home.

Take two: She styled her brunette locks out and wore statement earrings as she filmed another scene at the hotel's restaurant

Colourful display: Zoe, who completed her ensemble with purple sandals, was all smiles as she walked along the pier

Busy at work: Hamish waved his hand in the air as the couple sat on a small boat

The house is just a short drive from the Surry Hills headquarters of Zoe's highly successful Go-To beauty company.

Before the big move, Hamish had announced on Instagram his family was moving from Melbourne to Sydney.

'Exciting times ahead: we are moving to Sydney baby! For a long time I have known that stealing my wife from Sydney would mean one day we'd venture there to live for a while,' he wrote.

'The loose plan is for a few years, but however long it's for, we're excited for this adventure with our little family.'

He scrubs up well! Hamish also looked dapper in a black tuxedo and white shirt

New home: Just before Christmas, the couple spent $8.925million on a property in the upmarket Sydney suburb of Vaucluse

Zoe and Hamish have been married for more than eight years, having tied the knot in 2012 at the Wolgan Valley in the Blue Mountains.

'I married the love of my life, several lives perhaps, in a very small ceremony that was genuinely the best, most fun, perfect day of both our lives,' Zoe wrote in her blog.

The pair have two children, son Sonny, four, and daughter Rudy, one.

History: Zoe and Hamish have been married for more than eight years, having tied the knot in 2012 at the Wolgan Valley in the Blue Mountains

Monrovia  Innovative approaches in the provision of school feeding, such as students' take-home rations, proved to be an effective way of keeping schoolchildren in Nimba and Maryland Counties safe while reading and reviewing their lessons at home when schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Liberia and the World Food Programme (WFP) provided food packages of rice, oil, and beans in April 2020 and June 2020 to support over 90,000 schoolchildren from kindergarten to grade six to continue their learning activities.

For Theresa M. Jarteh, 42, a teacher at the William R. Tolbert Elementary School in Saclepea, Nimba County, the school closures meant a loss of face-to-face classroom activities, but not home-learning where children studied under the supervision of their parents.

Mrs Jarteh recounted how the take-home rations were visible in the narratives that the children, parents, and teachers are now telling. "There are lots of testimonies of the wonders that the take-home rations played in helping our children to not only keep studying but to also stay at home and avoid the perils of catching the virus", said Theresa.

She is hopeful that take-home rations will continue in 2021 due to the surge in enrolment, as more parents are encouraged to send their children to school to bring home the transformative monthly rations. "The food is a big encouragement for parents to enrol more students than before because when you have two or more children bringing food home, your worries to feed the family reduce seriously," Theresa explained.

In March 2020, Liberia confirmed its first case of COVID-19. The resulting national state of emergency led the Ministry of Education to announce indefinite closures for all schools, including elementary, secondary, and tertiary institutions. It also meant that the over 90,000 students benefiting from the WFP school feeding programme stayed at home.

Prior to March 2020, WFP and the Ministry of Education provided school meals to more than 90,000 students in Nimba and Maryland Counties making the school feeding programme one of the largest social safety net programmes in the country. A key component of the WFP "saving lives, changing lives" strategy, school feeding provides multiple benefits for the development of Liberian children. School feeding boosts school enrolment and attendance, improves classroom participation and retention, discourages school dropouts, prevents school-time hunger among children, and lessens the financial burden of lunch money on parents.

In Liberia, WFP and the Ministry of Education have been providing daily hot meals to students in kindergarten through grade six, and monthly take-home rations to girl students in grades four to six to encourage the enrolment of girls in a country where boys are traditionally sent to school over girls.

The WFP strategy to provide take-home family rations to both girls and boys during the COVID-19 school closures was successful and became an impressive game changer for teachers, children and parents, said Naomi Harris, 32, a parent and mother of three children who also benefit from school feeding in Nimba County. "It helped us and was so good for the family. The other children in the house and our neighbours' children who were also not going to school benefited because we shared the food with them. Getting enough food then was hard".

She continued, "When the school feeding food came, some families organized study classes with children sitting far apart. The food encouraged the children to remain at home to study instead of passing around looking for mangoes or anything they could find for their stomachs".

"As a parent, I am today happy because my son who was a beginner and could not write his name is now writing his name. I only hope that more WFP take home rations will come because the first one helped us and our neighbours, and it united us", said Naomi.

Patience Charpea, a grade four student at the W.R. Tolbert Elementary School in Saclepea, Nimba County remembers the take-home ration distribution in April 2020. "It helped me to study because when we got the food the entire family used it including my little brother and sister. I used to study English and science more as my best subjects. The food gave us the strength to read, write, spell, and do math also. Because of my home study last year, I am now making better progress in class", said Patience.

She also has a vision, "I want to become a nurse to help sick people get well. When I become a nurse, I will remember the take-home food and will tell my patients and children the story".

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Mr. G. Markson Pewue, the Ministry of Education School Feeding Coordinator in Nimba County, lauded the WFP take-home rations as a unifying force for the family. "Families of primary school students in 301 schools in Nimba benefited from the WFP take-home rations in April and June 2020 during the COVID-19 school closures. Parents were involved in ensuring their children remained close to their lessons, reviewing notes and listening to Ministry of Education radio reading programmes".

He expressed optimism for more student enrolment in 2021. "If the provision of WFP take-home rations continue, both parents and students will be attracted to the schools, thus increasing school enrolment and retention as well as increasing parent's involvement in their children's education"

In early 2021, WFP will provide 1,000 schoolboys and girls with a commodity voucher or mobile money with a transfer value of USD 15 that will support access to locally available, nutritious foods. Throughout 2021, WFP and the Ministry of Education will provide school meals to 90,000 students through cash-based transfers, take-home rations, and on-site school meals.
Children in Amber Alert found safe near Mitchell

The missing children were recovered and are safe, according to the Davison County Sheriff's Office.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced Thursday that all of Region 4 moved to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois Plan, effective immediately.

The region was the last of 11 in Illinois to have COVID-19 mitigations lessened. Other Region 4 counties include Bond, Clinton, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington.

Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton talked to a reporter by phone Thursday about the change.

Its very exciting to see we are able to move in a better direction, he said. Its better news than we expected.

To move to this phase from Tier 1, test positivity rates needed to be less than or equal to 6.5 percent for three days in a row (seven-day average); and staffed ICU bed availability had to be greater than or equal to 20 percent for three consecutive days; and no sustained increase in COVID patients in hospital (seven-day average of seven of 10 days).

It means residents have been smart and safe, protecting themselves and others, Patton said. Theres a light at the end of the tunnel.

As of Feb. 3, the Madison County Health Department reported: a 9.14 percent seven-day average case positivity rate; 128 new cases; three new deaths and 442 total deaths; 33 patients in county hospitals and three on hospital ventilators.

Were turning the corner on this and were moving out of the high-risk category but were not out of the woods yet, Patton said.

In addition, 16,242 vaccines have been given, 12,628 (4.8 percent) of them were first doses with the remainder (1.37 percent) as second doses.

San Gabriel Memory Care in Glen Carbon has a pop-up to greet visitors to its website, noting that everyone in its Godfrey facility has been vaccinated while its Glen Carbon and Highland residents will be inoculated on Feb. 9 and 10, respectively.

According to verbiage on its website, the facility has been hyper-vigilant about testing.

Each San Gabriel resident is tested three times a day, once on each shift, for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and is given a temperature reading. If any resident shows signs or symptoms of COVID-19 and/or has an elevated temperature, he or she will receive a Madison County Health Department-approved COVID-19 test from the building nurse.

Edwardsvilles Emergency Management Coordinator, James Whiteford, issued his own media release on Thursday outlining many of the IDPH points.

What Phase Four means for Madison County residents

Masks and social distancing are still required but indoor dining and drinking is now permitted for up to 10 people, with seated areas arranged for at least six feet between parties. Standing areas in restaurants or bars should be limited to no more than 25 percent of standing area capacity. Food service should follow these guidelines.

Buffets and self-service food stations (e.g. hot and cold bars, bulk items, baked goods) should stick to additional minimum guidelines. Self-serve beverage fountains are allowed with additional precautions.

Establishments with standing area are encouraged to convert them into seated areas to limit patrons from moving throughout the premises.

Retails and service counters continue to have a limit of 50 percent occupancy; same for personal care services.

Bowling alleys and skating rinks, along with indoor playgrounds are to remain closed but other indoor recreation facilities can open up to 50 customers or 50 percent of capacity, whichever is less. However, dance floors should remain closed.

Museums can have up to 25 percent occupancy and any guided tours should be limited to 50 or fewer people per group.

Meetings and social events can have up to 50 people or 50 percent of room capacity, whichever is less. If the facility permits, multiple groups may meet under the same roof if they are socially distanced in separate rooms, however, multiple meeting sessions should require presenters to rotate rooms or arrive virtually on a screen, not allow the audience to change rooms.
Relationships soured, culminating in this weeks army takeover.

Its not clear what comes next. The army says it will hold new elections within a year. But new elections, even with the armys guaranteed 25 percent of seats in Parliament, will almost certainly lead to yet another victory for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyis party. The key then for the army may be to find some way to sideline her. But this will hardly be acceptable to her millions of supporters. Either way, the political stalemate will only continue.

And Myanmar cannot afford a political stalemate. There has been no improvement in the plight of Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh since their violent expulsion from Myanmar in 2016 and 2017, no accountability for the violence against them and no letup in the discrimination faced by those Rohingya people left in the country.

In the same part of the Myanmar, fighting over the past two years between government forces and a new insurgency, the Arakan Army (affiliated with the local Buddhist Rakhine minority), has displaced tens of thousands of civilians. In the eastern uplands, especially near the border with China, there is a patchwork of dozens of nonstate armed groups (the largest having over 25,000 well-armed troops) and militia, some defending ethnic minority communities, others intimately tied to an international methamphetamine industry worth over $60 billion a year. Cease-fires are tenuous at best.

Myanmar is also one of the poorest and most unequal countries in Asia, with an economy almost entirely dependent on the export of primary commodities and unskilled labor. Climate change has already led to the migration of millions. And while Ms. Aung San Suu Kyis government had done a reasonably good job of handling the coronavirus pandemic, the economic impact of Covid-19 has been catastrophic. According to one survey taken last year, the percentage of the population making less than $1.90 a day rose from 16 percent in January 2020 to 63 percent in September 2020, with more than a third reporting no income that month.

Violent conflict and economic inequality mean that tens of millions in Myanmar live the most precarious of lives. Whats allowed a degree of political freedom coupled with some economic growth over these past 10 years has been the compact between the army and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi to try to work together. Thats most likely finished forever.
Loading The arrests of Mr Lee in Thailand and Mr Tse in the Netherlands are among the most significant in the history of the federal polices efforts to counter organised crime with the help of drug enforcement agencies across Asia, Europe and North America. Official sources said they signal the determination of federal police Commissioner Reece Kershaw to revitalise the agencys attack on transnational organised crime, which generates tens of billions of dollars every year in Australia. Mr Kershaw elevated the combating of organised crime alongside countering terrorism and foreign interference in his 2020 National Press Club address. While former prime minister Kevin Rudds declaration in 2008 that organised crime was a national security priority was heralded at the time by federal and state police agency chiefs as a long overdue recognition of the damage wreaked in Australia by transnational crime syndicates, the fight against organised crime has mostly struggled to get the attention and resourcing of successive federal governments.

This is despite persistent warnings from local and international security agencies that offshore crime groups corrupt government agencies in Australia and overseas, undermine stability in nations with weak governance and engage not only in drug trafficking and money laundering, but human trafficking, cyber crime and weapons smuggling. Mr Lee has been on the radar of Australian police for almost 40 years. In the 1980s, he was arrested in NSW over a suspected heroin importation in a case that collapsed after a co-accused was found dead in jail. The federal polices drug taskforces investigated Mr Lee again in the 1990s and early 2000s, and he is also suspected to have helped set up the 14 K triad drug hub in the Netherlands that flooded Europe with heroin sourced from the Golden Triangle in south-east Asia. Mr Tse and Mr Lee are suspected to have been jointly involved in multiple billion-dollar drug importations into Australia over several decades and their pending extraditions come 25 years after the pair were arrested by the FBI for smuggling heroin into New York. Melbournes Crown casino. Credit:Scott McNaughton

Official sources involved in international drug enforcement and who are not authorised to speak publicly said both Mr Tse and Mr Lee had connections to senior officials in Asian countries, including a minister in Taiwan and powerful officials in Thailand. In December an associate of the pair, Triad boss Broken Tooth Wan Kuok Koi, was blacklisted by the US. The government, which barred him and his family from any dealings with the US financial system, alleged Wan had attached his extensive criminal operations to the Chinese governments Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The case against Mr Lee will rely on hundreds of phone conversations intercepted by the federal police as part of an operation codenamed Volante, as well as statements from federal agents about how they cracked a complex cipher code used by The Company. Macau crime boss Wan Kuok Koi, known as Broken Tooth, walks out of Coloane Prison in Macau in 2012. Credit:AP The code was allegedly used by Mr Lee while he was based in Hong Kong in 2012 to instruct Australian syndicate members about what phone numbers to call to receive money laundering or drug trafficking directions.

In the 2016 Melbourne court case of a local drug supplier, federal agents referred to a man called John  who was allegedly Mr Lee  who told his Australian associates to describe heroin as Mr A, cocaine as Mr B and ice as Mr C. It was only by cracking Lees cipher that Australian investigators, with the help of Hong Kong police, were able to conduct surveillance of a meeting at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Hong Kong in 2012 and allegedly identify John as Mr Lee. However, it is understood lawyers for Mr Lee are alleging the federal police has mistaken his identity and are fighting efforts to extradite him. While global media attention has focused on the arrest of Mr Tse due to his senior position in The Company, Mr Lees resilience, success and longevity as a suspected transnational drug trafficker is on par with many of the worlds better known drug bosses. Policing authorities say that The Company is a prime case study of the modernisation and corporatisation of organised crime. The syndicate is an amalgam of once competing Chinese Triad groups that have variously worked with Australian bikies, South American cartels and European crime bosses.

The Company mostly avoided generating media headlines and viewed violence as bad for business as it industrialised drug production via super laboratories in Myanmars lawless Shan State and accessed massive stockpiles of precursor chemicals in southern China. Loading A police intelligence report circulated among overseas agencies warned The Company had corrupted policing and security agencies across Asia. In 2019, Mr Tse even obtained the contents of a highly confidential Australian Federal Police document circulated among partner forces which alerted him to the fact that he was Target 1 of an operation created to capture him. Mr Lee was also listed on the same document as Target 6. The operations of The Company were first reported in 2019 by The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Sixty Minutes in a story documenting how triads had infiltrated Crown Resorts.
The Essential Oils market will register an incremental spend of about USD 5.1 billion, growing at a CAGR of 10.15% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Essential Oils sourcing can unlock several opportunities for buyers. This report also offers market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Download free sample pages

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What are the key market trends?

What are the category growth drivers?

What are the constraints on category growth?

Who are the suppliers in this market?

What are the demand-supply shifts?

What are the major category requirements?

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SpendEdge's reports now include an in-depth complimentary analysis of the COVID-19 impact on procurement and the latest market data to help your company overcome sourcing challenges. Our Essential Oils market procurement intelligence report offers actionable procurement intelligence insights, sourcing strategies, and action plans to mitigate risks arising out of the current pandemic situation. The insights offered by our reports will help procurement professionals streamline supply chain operations and gain insights into the best procurement practices to mitigate losses.

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Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for Essential Oils market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Essential Oils pricing levels, pros and cons of prevalent pricing models such as volume-based pricing, spot pricing, and cost-plus pricing and category management strategies and best practices to fulfill their category objectives.

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Some of the top essential oils suppliers listed in this report:

This essential oils procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

doTERRA International LLC

Young Living Essential Oils

Biolandes

Sydney Essential Oil Co. Pty Ltd.

The Lebermuth Co. Inc.

FAROTTI SRL

Moksha Lifestyle Products

H.Reynaud Fils

Aromatika BV

Jiangsu Taiyang Reducer Co. Ltd.

This procurement report helps buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers for their essential oils requirements by answering the following questions:

Am I engaging with the right suppliers?

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What are the essential oils category essentials in terms of SLAs and RFx?

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Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

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STURGEON BAY, WI -- Members of the U.S. Coast Guard and several other agencies saved 66 people who were stranded on ice floes on Lake Michigan Thursday. The people were trapped after three separate floes broke away from the shore when cracks formed in the ice between the fishermen and the shore.

High winds from an approaching winter storm helped push the floes further from the shore.

According to the Associated Press, the rescue mission took more than four hours to complete and involved members from Coast Guard Ice Rescue teams from Sturgeon Bay, Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay, two helicopters from Traverse City, Michigan, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and local government agencies.

Todays success is a direct result of effective training and the long standing and close relationships with our agency partners in the greater Sturgeon Bay Area, said Cmdr. Bryan Swintek, search and rescue coordinator for Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan.

The teams used a combination of ice boats and helicopters to get out to the fishermen and then guide them back to safety. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Earlier today Air Station Traverse City launched two helicopters to respond to reports of over 60 ice fishermen stranded... Posted by U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City on Thursday, February 4, 2021

READ MORE:

Fridays travel conditions in Michigan to be worst weve seen all winter, NWS says

Coast Guard flies out to fix remote Michigan lighthouse known as the Loneliest Place in the World

High-resolution snow map shows where heaviest snow will fall through Saturday morning
Why has the Lankan MPs links to Kasargod come under the ambit of the Indian agencies

Not that I dont regret, I do regret my lord, lone ISIS accused tells Bombay HC

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 05: The Bombay High Court has asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) about how long will the case against an accused in an Islamic State case will take. The lone ISIS accused facing trial in India has been lodged in prison for six years, while the minimum punishment for his offence is five years, the court said.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the NIA against the trial court order that granted to the accused. In March 2020, the trial court granted bail to Areeb Majeed, but put the order on hold for the agency to agency to appeal in the higher court.

NIA charges two for propagating violent Jihad in Kerala ISIS Omar Al Hindi case

Majeed who has been arguing his own case told the High Court that his trial has been moving at a snail's pace. The NIA keeps saying that the witnesses are not coming. I have admitted many documents to expedite the trial, but even then they are examining witnessing with regard to those documents.

How can they promise to expedite the trial, Majeed asked.

To Majeed's submissions, the prosecution said that the pandemic has delayed many trials. The trials have only started now and we will try to complete it as early as possible. From our side, there will be cooperation and we shall complete the trial as soon as possible, it was further submitted.

Majeed said that he has already spent six years in jail. I have suffered in the past six years. I have been kept away from the people I returned for. He also pointed how he himself had made contact to be brought back from Syria. From Syria to Turkey to Istanbul, I met officials at the Indian consulate who facilitated my stay and travel here. On November 28, 2024, I was arrested at the Mumbai airport. They are saying that I was illegally trying to enter India as they do not want to admit their own role in my return, he also said.

I will not shy away from what wrong I have done, but I will not admit the allegation that they are making against me, Majeed also said.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

When the court pointed out to Majeed that if he had utilised his time while he was 21, it would have been a matter of joy for his family and country, Majeed said, this is what I regret. It is not that I do regret my lord, he also said. The court has reserved the verdict for February 23.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  The Sandiganbayan's fourth division has ruled that retired Lt. Gen. Jacinto Castillo Ligot, former military comptroller, "unlawfully acquired" over 102 million worth of properties which are now ordered forfeited in favor of the government.

In a 70-page decision promulgated on Wednesday, the anti-graft court said Ligot and his family failed to prove the assets they acquired from 2001 to 2004 were out of their lawful income. These include condominium units, houses, pieces of land, and investments in the Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loan Association, which were either under Ligot's name or the names of his family members. While they denied purchasing some of the properties, they did not present evidence to back their claims, according to the decision penned by Associate Justice Bayani Jacinto.

Ligot served in the Armed Forces for more than two decades, from 1982 until his retirement in 2004. Ligot's total acquisitions during that period amounted to 110.9 million, while his total dispensable income for the same period only stood at 9.1 million, the Sandiganbayan said.

It added that based on his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, Ligot had a net worth of 105,000 in 1982. This ballooned to 3.2 million by 2003, but properties worth over 108 million were not declared in his SALNs from 1982-2003.

In deciding on which should be declared ill-gotten, the Sandiganbayan noted several factors, including that the public official's total cash outflow must be "manifestly out of proportion" to the dispensable income.

Meanwhile, the forfeiture case against Ligot's brother-in-law, Edgardo Tecson Yambao, was dismissed. Yambao was accused of acting as Ligot's front in purchasing some of the properties, but the Sandiganbayan said he was able to submit evidence of his independent financial capacity.

Ligot became controversial for his involvement in a 2011 corruption scandal, when another military official revealed a supposed incentive system called "pabaon" within the military organization. Under the scheme, retiring chiefs of staff appointed by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were allegedly given hefty amounts in addition to the usual retirement benefits.

In 2019, the Sandiganbayan found Ligot guilty of perjury over false declarations in his SALNs, sentencing him to at least six years in jail. He applied for probation to avoid imprisonment.

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ROME (AP)  As Mario Draghi worked to secure the backing in Parliament he needs to govern, Italy's outgoing leader on Thursday warned against the former European Central Bank chief's opting to lead the pandemic-battered country with a team of technocrats instead of politicians.

Caretaker Premier Giuseppe Conte told reporters he had a long, very open talk a day earlier with Draghi, shortly after Italys president asked the banking expert to try to form a government to replace Contes collapsed coalition.

While President Sergio Mattarella has said the new government mustnt be identified with any political formula, Draghi and his Cabinet must win confidence votes in both chambers of Parliament to take power.

Draghi must rely on political support to pass measures aimed at helping Italy emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and revive its economy, already stagnant before being pummeled by lockdown measures.

He hasn't said if he'd draw his Cabinet from politically-independent technocrats, politicians or both.

Conte, saying he'll continue to work for the good of the country, offered his view of a success formula for the next government.

I hope for a political government that is solid and has sufficient cohesion to be able to make political choices, because the urgencies of the country need political choices, they cant be entrusted to technocrats, Conte said.

A day earlier, Draghi expressed enthusiasm for setting to work quickly on plans on how Italy could employ more than 200 billion euros (dollars) in European Union funding to repair its health system and revive its economy, especially through institutional reforms.

Conte's appeal might help rally crucial support for Draghi from Parliament's largest party, the populist 5-Star Movement.

Already splintering before the latest political crisis and with its roots in euro-skepticism, the Movement risks further division over Draghi, a figure identified with European Union financial policies.

Story continues

The Movement anchored back-to-back Conte governments starting in June 2018, until his latest coalition collapsed last month after a tiny centrist ally, led by former Premier Matteo Renzi, withdraw support.

Conte also pitched to two other parties from his unraveled coalition, the center-left Democrats and the leftist Free and Equal Party. His call for a political alliance appeared to indicate Conte intended to stay in politics, even while out of office.

Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri, a prominent Democrat, quickly seized on Conte's appeal to what the minister called the "the democratic, progressive and pro-Europe forces that could help Draghi clinch the support needed to govern.

Draghi snared pledges of support as he began meetings on Thursday afternoon with delegations from some of Italy's tiniest parties, which are now in the opposition.

Among those were Sen. Emma Bonino's +Europe - Action party. A Draghi government would be a real novelty for the country, the staunchly pro-Europe senator said.

On Friday, Draghi will pitch for support from bigger parties, including the far-right Brothers of Italy, which has been growing in popularity and whose leader Giorgia Meloni insists new elections is what Italy needs now. Also meeting with Draghi will be the center-right forces of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who could consider backing Draghi.

Leaders of Parliament's two biggest parties will sit down with Draghi on Saturday. After the 5-Star Movement, the next-biggest force is the League of Matteo Salvini, who has disdained prospects for a Draghi government.
Nobody had heard of Captain Sir Tom Moore before Covid.

It was during the first lockdown that the 99-year-old caught the public imagination. There was something poignant about the frail, bent figure, still smart in a navy blazer, and with his war medals on proud display, doggedly walking laps of his garden to raise money for NHS charities.

The donations poured in. Before he passed away earlier this week, aged 100, Captain Tom had raised almost 33m. No wonder he has been hailed as a hero, an inspiration - and above all, a national treasure.

To be a national treasure, you must embody the perceived ideals of a nation: what it means to be great. The BBC obituary for Captain Tom summed it up: "With stubbornness, courage and optimism, he was the right man at the right time. He was Britain as it needed to see itself: selfless, patriotic and undefeated - and never taking a backward step."

Essentially, the national treasure loses their own identity and turns into an emblem, a cause, an icon. Captain Tom became a very powerful, deeply emotive emblem of nationhood, with which politicians were keen to align themselves.

Witness the national clap in his memory presided over by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday evening. Yes, it was framed as a tribute and many joined in to pay their respects. But Mr Johnson was no doubt hoping that some of the public affection would rub off on himself. Anything to distract from his woeful handling of the pandemic.

While Captain Tom's fundraising achievements were extraordinary, we must remember that the NHS itself is not a charity. It is a huge, bureaucratic and radically underfunded health care system. The brave frontline staff work wonders, driving themselves to the point of exhaustion, doing the best with what they've got.

It is the government's duty, on our behalf, to provide the NHS with sufficient staff and resources to do what a national health system is supposed to do: protect the public, even in the event of a pandemic. Not vice versa, with the public instructed to protect the NHS - and in some tragic cases, paying with their own lives.

That Captain Tom died with Covid added yet another layer of poignancy to his passing. But according to his family, the pensioner had regularly tested negative for Covid until he went to hospital suffering from pneumonia, where he stayed 10 days.

It was only on the day of his discharge from hospital that he tested positive for Covid. This may indicate that Captain Tom caught the virus while in hospital - a so-called nosocomial infection, which is far more common that the authorities would like to admit.

That the hero may have died with an infection contracted within the NHS itself, the very institution he sought to support during all those hours he spent shuffling along with his walking frame - that is a much darker story than the officially-approved narrative.

Here in Northern Ireland, the idea of who or what should be considered a national treasure is inevitably a divisive one. To state the obvious, we are not a nation - we're a small, argumentative and politically divided statelet. We can never agree on who our shared heroes should be, with the result that we don't really have any.

In some ways this is a lack. During the pandemic, we haven't had anyone like Captain Tom to bring us together, inspiring hope and uniting us in a shared sense of endeavour. Certainly, we can applaud the captain's achievements, if we're not too blinkered by bigotry - for some, those gleaming medals on the war veteran's chest mean that nothing he could do would be worthy of admiration.

But we have nobody of our own to rally the troops, as it were.

In other ways, perhaps it is a good thing.

The British actor Judi Dench, now 86, is often described as a national treasure, and she absolutely hates it. In a recent interview she explained how she feels suffocated by the unasked-for label. "Do you know what it's like?" she said. "It's like they've picked me up and put me inside a little glass-fronted cabinet. Then they've locked the door so I can't get out."

The problem with national treasures is that the public adoration of them says more about who the people of a country want to be, rather than who they actually are. It's about myth-making rather than truth-telling - the human equivalent of a flag, or banner.

Captain Tom served his country well to the very end.

But we cannot allow hero-worship to blind us to the complicated, uncomfortable nature of reality.
Mr Sowore arrived at the proceedings late, but early enough to avert being slammed with a similar fine.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday awarded N150,000 cost against Olawale Bakare, the co-defendant of Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters.

The two men are being prosecuted for treasonable felony by the Attorney-General of the Federation's office.

Trial judge, Ijeoma Ojukwu, initially awarded N100,000 cost against Mr Bakare for his absence from court on Thursday.

She, however, added N50,000 to it after the defence lawyer said it was impossible for the defendant to be available for the hearing scheduled for Friday.

Mr Sowore arrived at the proceedings late, but early enough to avert being slammed with similar fine.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Bakare moved to the UK to pursue an academic programme despite the ongoing court case.

Hearing

At the resumed hearing Thursday morning, neither the defendants nor their lawyers were present.

But the judge noted that the defence team led by Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, sent in a letter dated January 29 asking that the trial scheduled for Thursday and Friday be postponed to another day.

Reacting, the prosecuting counsel, Aminu Alilu, said the letter failed to adduce any reason for the request to be granted.

He urged the court to revoke the bail granted the defendants and award costs against them for their absence.

The judge stood the matter down till after mid-day to rule.

By the time the hearing resumed in the afternoon, a lawyer from the defence team, Marshall Abubakar, appeared, and about 25 minutes into the proceedings, Mr Sowore too walked in.

Mr Abubakar said the defence team had not been informed of any counter-directive from the judge or a counter-opinion from the prosecution concerning the defence's January 29 letter.

So both the defence lawyers and the defendants had presumed that the proceedings fixed for Thursday and Friday had been postponed as requested in the letter.

He insisted that the letter by the defence had given enough notice and constituted sufficient grounds for the request contained in it to be granted.

He said "As your lordship is aware, January 25, this matter was scheduled to go on and we were ready and in court.

"However, owing to the demise of Justice Watila of Abeokuta Division, the court could not proceed.

"It was hoped that if the proceeding had gone on, we would have informed your lordship that today's date would not be convenient for the defence."

Responding, the prosecuting counsel described Mr Abubakar's submission as "very shocking and alarming that this honourable court for the second time will be waiting for these eminent defendants."

He recalled how the court awarded N200,000 cost against the prosecution for causing a delay last year.

He urged the court to revoke the bail granted the second defendant who was absent.

Ruling

Ruling, the judge said the presumption by the defence that the case had been fixed for another date on the basis of their letter that was anchored on no reason was baseless.

She said she would refrain from revoking Mr Bakare's bail, but she awarded the cost of N100,000 against him.

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The court awarded another N50,000 cost against him after the prosecution urged the judge to order the trial to continue Friday as earlier scheduled and the defence lawyer made it clear that it was impossible for Mr Bakare to travel from Osogbo in Osun State and be in Abuja by Friday.

It will be recalled that the judge had in her ruling granting bail to the defendants restricted Mr Sowore to Abuja and Mr Bakare to Osogbo, except when he needed to travel to Abuja for his trial.

Mrs Ojukwu said the total cost of N150,000 awarded against Mr Bakare on Thursday was to discourage "inordinate delay" in the case.

She adjourned the trial till April 28 and 29.

The Attorney-General's office accused the two defendants of organising a protest tagged #RevolutionNow allegedly aimed at toppling President Muhammadu Buhari.
Washington, Feb 5 : The US has failed to develop a surveillance system that would allow researchers to track dangerous mutations of the novel coronavirus, according to a media report.

To discover consequential genetic variations of the virus, like more transmissible variants first identified in Britain and South Africa, research is essential, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday citing the Guardian report as saying.

However, as of January 29, the US had only plotted and shared the genetic sequences of 0.3 per cent of its Covid-19 cases, ranking 30th in the world, the report said.

"It's just been a head-in-the-sand approach," Diane Griffin, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health was quoted in the Guardian report as saying.

"It was really a failure of leadership." According to the latest data by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the hardest-hit country has so far reported more than 470 cases of the new coronavirus variants in at least 32 states.

According to the CDC data issued on Monday, vast majority of these cases, 467, were caused by the variant known as B.1.1.7, which was originally detected late last year in Britain, reports Xinhua news agency.

There were three cases of a strain initially detected in South Africa, called B.1.351, and one of the P.1 strain first found in Brazil.

These cases were identified based on the sampling of SARS-CoV-2-positive specimens, and do not represent the total number of coronavirus variant cases that may be circulating in the US, said the CDC.

The pandemic has so far infected a total of 26,673,780 people across the US and killed 455,657 others, according to the Johns Hopkins University's latest update on Friday morning.

January 2021 was by far the deadliest month of the pandemic in the country, with over 95,000 Covid-19 deaths, surpassing December 2020's total of over 77,000 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

After four years of refusing to hold Donald Trump accountable for his lies, conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric, Republicans passed up another chance to purge those forces from their ranks Thursday when they overwhelmingly opposed Democrats' efforts to rebuke Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The GOP is complaining that Democratic leaders are not only overreaching but also setting a dangerous precedent in both punishing Greene and pursuing a doomed-to-fail impeachment trial for an ex-President in the Senate next week.

But genuinely unprecedented events have forced Democrats to take action. Despite national outrage about Trump's undemocratic actions, only 10 House Republicans voted to impeach him last month. And most Republicans balked Thursday at punishing Greene for espousing the dangerous lies and violent rhetoric that threaten the future of their party, with only 11 House Republicans joining Democrats in voting to kick Greene off her committees.

Before being elected to Congress from Georgia, Greene compiled a long list of unhinged comments and social media posts, including endorsement of violence against and assassinations of top Democrats, 9/11 trutherism and denials of school shootings. For weeks, she was unrepentant -- at least until her fate was sealed Thursday, when she showed shades of contrition on the House floor -- though her combative speech adopted many of the outlandish tropes of Trumpism.

Paradoxically, by seeking to punish Trump and Greene, Democrats may actually be helping to perpetuate the cycle of victimhood and complaints about "cancel culture" that each uses to crank up the anger of their radical base. Greene has seized Trump's mantle by remaining defiant and insisting that she will not apologize for her mistakes in interviews and social media posts. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called the move by Democrats to take away the congresswoman's committee assignments a "partisan power grab."

Rather than taking full responsibility for her actions in her Thursday speech, Greene said the media that exposed her lies and lunacy is as bad as the QAnon conspiracy theory she espoused. She called Democrats -- rather than Trump's rioters who invaded the Capitol on January 6 -- a "mob."

"It's not just me they want to cancel. They want to cancel every Republican," she tweeted on Thursday before the vote. "Don't let the mob win."

The Trump playbook

Greene is following a familiar playbook. Trump has long used the idea of victimhood as an anchor of his appeal to grassroots supporters who feel ostracized from the Washington establishment. In fact, one of the pillars of his defense in his Senate impeachment trial next week will be an argument that Democrats are trying to cancel his right of free speech -- which he used to discredit a fair election and to send a mob to sack the Capitol. That's a message Greene echoed with her mask on Thursday, which read, "Free Speech."

Greene's loss of her committee assignments may actually give her an opportunity to portray her rebuke as the result of standing up to liberals and even "establishment" members of her own party. She has told her supporters she has raised at least $1.6 million during the uproar over the past week. And she's now sure to become a star of right-wing conservative media and the Republican primary circuit while establishing a template for how an extremist, conspiratorial, outsider can swiftly gain fame and political power in only a few weeks in Washington.

While just 11 House Republicans voted to remove Greene from her committee assignments Thursday night, 61 voted the night before to remove Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking member of the conference, from her leadership position over her vote to impeach Trump.

Rather than showing contrition on the eve of the vote to oust her from House committees, Greene told The Washington Examiner that in removing her from her assignments Democrats "don't even realize they're helping me. I'm pretty amazed at how dumb they are."

She argued that the loss of her committee assignments would give her more time to help future candidates of her ilk in the 2022 midterms. She has said she hopes to keep driving the Republican Party further to the right in Trump's image, telling the Examiner that Trump is "sick and tired of weak Republicans that won't fight."

Apparently looking to score points as an outsider, she also called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell "Mr. Big Turtle" and described McCarthy as "all talk and no action" in the interview.

"The entire Marjorie Taylor Greene disaster has been a meteor headed directly at the GOP conference since she won her primary. She should have been put on the bench then," said Republican strategist Rob Stutzman. "But the President liked her -- and liked the Q crazies because they liked him. GOP leadership needs to get onto cutting this craziness out of the party or it will proliferate."

"Think of Greene as a virus. Forceful and decisive action has to be taken to prevent the spread," Stutzman added. "It's difficult to see majorities in either chamber in 2022 if this defines us."

Republicans could have taken more forceful action to drive Greene and her radical sentiments from their party at any time in the last few months -- or over the past year when she was running for Congress. Instead, Greene got a standing ovation from many in the House Republican Conference meeting Wednesday night. Similarly, a majority of the House GOP voted not to certify President Joe Biden's election, relying on a fantasy of lies by Trump and ignoring his failure to produce any evidence of fraud.

The former President on Thursday declined to answer for his seditious behavior, turning down a request by House impeachment managers to testify for his trial. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Republican senators will punt on casting judgment on the unprecedented insurrection incited by an outgoing President -- by taking refuge in the dubious claim that the trial is moot because he's a former President.

Charting their 2022 path

The furor over Trump and Greene shows that even with the ex-President out of office, most of the Washington GOP is not willing to take issue with the radical fringe that festers among its most loyal voters.

By backing Greene and refusing to take action against her reprehensible rhetoric, McCarthy has made clear that he believes the path to victory in the midterm elections lies in the support of those who manage to keep extremist voters within their ranks.

"In the House, I tell you what I think's going on. I think they're trying to play both sides," former Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich said on CNN's "The Situation Room" on Thursday. "They don't want to aggravate the people who sort of sign up to QAnon and these conspiracy theories. They don't want to aggravate them but they also want to win the majority. It's all a fight for power."

McCarthy's approach also means that the hopes of establishment Republicans, especially in the Senate, that the end of Trump's presidency will lead to an ideological reset for the party are likely to be dashed, in the short-term at least.

For many in the party, Trump's unrepentant departure after trying to tear democracy down with false claims of vote fraud and Greene's rocket to fame as a "Make America Great Again" heroine are a nightmare scenario.

The direction of the GOP raises the question whether its endless quest to appease its most agitated base activists will yet again squander its support among more moderate voters in the suburbs where elections are won.

"I do think as a party we have to figure out what we stand for, and I think we've got to be a party of ideas and policies and principles and get away from members dabbling in conspiracy theories," South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune told CNN's Manu Raju on Thursday. "I don't think that's a productive course of action or one that's going to lead to much prosperity politically in the future."

As establishment Republicans in the Senate fret at the pandemonium being unleashed by their House colleagues, Democrats are already making an aggressive effort to brand Greene and her ilk as the authentic face of the GOP.

"The House Republican Conference has been taken over by QAnon caucus, the crackpot caucus and the conspiracy caucus at the same time," Democratic House Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries told CNN's Erin Burnett Thursday night.

"The party of Lincoln is gone. The party of Reagan is gone. The party of John McCain is gone. This is now the party of Marjorie Taylor Greene."
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Brent crude oil prices gained 0.7% to US$58.87 a barrel, having earlier hit its highest level since February 21, 2020 at US$59.04.

The gold prices is trading at US$1,795.10 per ounce and is on course to post its worst week in ten.

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) has bounced back from yesterdays losses, with the index up 1.04% to 6,836 by about 1.43 pm.

Local stocks are gaining for the fourth time in five days and are up ~3.5% this week.

Many moving parts to recovery

Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe was answering questions from a House of Representatives committee for economics today morning on the broader outlook for Australia and post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

Dr Lowe explained there are many moving parts to the recovery and said border shutdowns are affecting the tourism and education sectors and are likely to for some time.

He added: In the face of all these moving parts, the housing market has been more resilient than expected and this has been helpful in terms of the overall economy.

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Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Less than a day after being left seriously injured while filming a segment for Today, Allison Langdon was pushed through Gold Coast Airport in a wheelchair.

The 41-year-old TV host returned home to Sydney on Friday, after badly injuring her leg during a stunt gone wrong while filming in Burleigh Heads on Thursday.

Allison was wheeled through the airport by airline staff, with her injured right leg extended in front of her in a leg brace.

Accident: Less than a day after she was left seriously injured while filming a segment for Today, Allison Langdon (pictured) was pushed through Gold Coast Airport in a wheelchair

She clutched a pair of crutches in one hand, while supporting her hurt leg with the other hand.

A pillow rested underneath her knee, and she wore a white compression sock on her left leg, frequently given to patients after surgery.

Meanwhile, a hospital band was visible on her left wrist after she was rushed to emergency following the accident.

Heading home: The 41-year-old TV host returned home to Sydney on Friday, after badly injuring her leg during a stunt gone wrong while filming in Burleigh Heads on Thursday

Ouch: Allison was wheeled through the airport by airline staff, with her injured right leg extended in front of her in a leg brace

Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, and she appeared fresh-faced underneath a blue face mask.

A young woman trailed behind her with two suitcases in tow, with the group attracting the attention of fellow travellers.

After being wheeled outside onto the tarmac, Allison was then pushed up a ramp and onto her flight.

Injured: She clutched a pair of crutches in one hand, while supporting her hurt leg with the other hand

Out of hospital: A pillow rested underneath her knee, and she wore a white compression sock on her left leg, frequently given to patients after surgery

The TV star appeared to be in high spirits despite her injury, smiling and conversing with the airport staff.

Allison had been filming alongside co-host Karl Stefanovic when she badly injured her leg and needed to be taken to hospital.

Meanwhile, a serious-looking Karl, 46, was also spotted returning to Sydney on Friday following the accident.

Going natural: Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, and she appeared fresh-faced underneath a blue face mask

Eyes on her: A young woman trailed behind her with two suitcases in tow, with the group attracting the attention of fellow travellers

Unfortunate: Allison had been filming alongside co-host Karl Stefanovic when she badly injured her leg and needed to be taken to hospital

Walking through Sydney Airport, he appeared unusually sombre after disembarking from his flight.

He was dressed casually in a pair of black skinny leg jeans and a plain black T-shirt, which he paired with brown Chelsea boots.

The veteran TV host wore a khaki green face mask and carried a designer travel bag on one of his shoulders.

Flying high: After being wheeled outside onto the tarmac, Allison was then pushed up a ramp and onto her flight

Gone wrong: Allison was injured while hydrofoiling during a pre-recorded segment for the breakfast program on Queensland's Gold Coast

Leaving on a jet plane: The TV star appeared to be in high spirits despite her injury, smiling and conversing with the airport staff

Karl appeared deep in thought as he made his way through the airport terminal after his colleague's accident.

Allison was injured while hydrofoiling during a pre-recorded segment for the breakfast program on Queensland's Gold Coast.

Explaining his colleague's absence from the Today show on Friday, Karl confirmed Allison had been rushed to hospital after the accident.

Comment: In a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Friday, Channel Nine described the incident as 'an unfortunate accident'

'After nearly an hour of incident-free filming of a segment about hydrofoiling, Ally fell awkwardly as she headed back to the marina at the end of the shoot,' said Nine

'It was an unfortunate accident, and she was immediately taken to hospital. Both Karl and Ally had looked forward to the experience, and both had a wonderful time,' said Nine

'She had a bit of an accident yesterday she hurt herself really badly. She's in hospital this morning,' he said on Today.

As Karl updated viewers, dramatic footage was shown onscreen of Ally being pulled from the water after her accident.

The reporter was put on her back while wearing a life vest and helmet and dragged back to a wharf by two male rescuers.

Colleague: A serious-looking Karl Stefanovic was also spotted returning to Sydney on Friday following the accident

Serious: Walking through Sydney Airport, he appeared unusually sombre after disembarking from his flight

She then sat up by the water and composed herself as Karl helped her take off her helmet.

Channel Nine personality Leila McKinnon was called in at the last minute to fill in for Allison on Friday morning's show.

Leila, 48, told Karl that Allison had messaged her and seemed to be doing okay.

Eventful trip: Karl appeared deep in thought as he made his way through the airport terminal after his colleague's acciden

Dressed down: He was dressed casually in a pair of black skinny leg jeans and a plain black T-shirt, which he paired with brown Chelsea boots

'She messaged me this morning at 3am asking how I liked the alarm, so she still has the same great spirit, but yeah, doing it a bit tough. But she is a tough one,' she said.

Karl noted: 'We love you, Ally. We know you will be watching this morning or sleeping in.'

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Friday, Channel Nine described the incident as 'an unfortunate accident'.

Emergency: Explaining his colleague's absence from the Today show on Friday, Karl confirmed Allison had been rushed to hospital after the accident

'She had a bit of an accident yesterday she hurt herself really badly. She's in hospital this morning,' he said on Today

'After nearly an hour of incident-free filming of a segment about hydrofoiling, Ally fell awkwardly as she headed back to the marina at the end of the shoot,' they said.

'It was an unfortunate accident, and she was immediately taken to hospital.

'Both Karl and Ally had looked forward to the experience, and both had a wonderful time.

Extreme sport: Hydrofoiling, also known as foil surfing, is a relatively new watersport. The foil is attached to the bottom of a surfboard and features a wing-like design that helps lift the rider above the water

'They had a comprehensive safety induction, and a thorough run-through of all aspects of hydrofoiling.

'As with every shoot, safety requirements, briefings and subsequent after-care, are strictly followed and prioritised.'

Earlier on Friday, a Nine spokesperson confirmed Allison would be returning to Sydney after being hospitalised in Queensland.

Helping hand: The reporter was put on her back while wearing a life vest and helmet and dragged back to a wharf by two male rescuers

Post-accident: As Karl updated viewers, dramatic footage was shown onscreen of Ally being pulled from the water after her accident

'Ally hurt her leg after landing awkwardly during filming for a story yesterday and was sent to hospital,' they said at the time.

'She is expected to return home to Sydney over the weekend. We wish her well and a speedy recovery.'

They added: 'We thank Leila McKinnon for taking a late-night call to join Karl for the Today OB at Burleigh Heads.'

Stepping in: Channel Nine personality Leila McKinnon (right) was called in at the last minute to fill in for Allison on Friday morning's show

Hydrofoiling, also known as foil surfing, is a relatively new watersport.

The foil is attached to the bottom of a surfboard and features a wing-like design that helps lift the rider above the water.

Balance is key on the board, and riders have to place more of their weight on their back leg.
President Joe Bidens maiden foreign policy speech would have come off as a string of cliches in normal times. But in the wake of Donald Trumps four years of diplomatic decline and atrophy, it seemed fresh, even bracing.

The very fact that Biden delivered the speech at the State Department (which Trump scorned as the Deep State Department) and devoted much of it to thanking diplomats for their work (I value your expertise  I will have your back) must have been a morale booster to a foreign service whose ranks Trump and his team disparaged and decimated.

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Diplomacy is back, at the center of our foreign policy, Biden proclaimed, along with other fine words about American values, the crucial need for alliances, the universality of human rights, the centrality of strengthening American markets and American workers, the importance of holding tyrants accountable while cooperating with them in the pursuit of common interests.

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In the biggest news to come out of the speech, he announced that the U.S. would no longer provide support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemenhe also named an emissary to Yemens long-dormant peace talkswhile at the same time pledging to continue helping the Saudis protect themselves from Iranian-backed missile attacks on their territory.

He also said he would rebuild Americas long-standing program to admit refugees, raising the limit to 125,000 in his first fiscal year (Trump had reduced it to 15,000, the lowest ever). He directed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to lead a review of U.S. troop deployments worldwide, so that our military footprint is appropriately aligned with foreign policy priorities. This would be the first such review in many yearsand it is significant that he said the review would be coordinated with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and all other national security agencies. Meanwhile, he added, he was suspending the troop withdrawals from Germany that Trump had ordered.

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The speech was also notable for topics he did not mention. He uttered not a word about the Iran nuclear deal or about North Korea ormaybe a first for any presidents foreign policy speech in the past 70 years or soIsrael.

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Biden has said he wants to restore the nuclear deal, but not until Iran resumes complying with its terms. (The Iranians want to return to the deal as well, but not until the U.S. returns to compliance. It may take a third party to devise a formula for who goes first.) His slighting of Kim Jong-un may reflect that a new U.S. policy is still in the works, but certainly it puts the hermit of Pyongyang on notice that the new American president might simply ignore him. As for Israel, Biden is on record for many years as a defender of its sovereigntyBlinken said in his confirmation hearings that he wont retract Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as its capitalbut hes also known to resent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus intrusions in U.S. domestic politics, and he clearly meant to signal that the days of unquestioning obsequiousness from the White House are over.

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However, other elements of Bidens speech were vague and unclearhardly unusual for these sorts of things, but in this case the ambiguities might come back to haunt him.

For instance, he said that Russia should release the jailed dissident Alexei Navalny immediately and without condition; told China to stop stomping on the human rights of its own people; and instructed the leaders of Myanmars military coup to relinquish their power, release detainees, and lift restrictions on communicationsadding that, in all these pressure campaigns, he will work with our partners to impose consequences on those responsible for the violations.

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These are all fine words, but how will Biden translate them into action? There arent many more sanctions to be levied against Russia, including specific Russian officials and oligarchs. Chinese President Xi Jinping is determined not to let Biden compartmentalize policy toward Beijing, seeking cooperation on climate change while engaging in confrontation on other aspects of policy. (Striking the right balance on China will probably be Bidens knottiest challenge. Both leaders may have to give a little to accomplish any goal.) As for working jointly with allies to maximize the pressure, whether against Russia or China or Myanmar or anyplace else, Trumps dissing of U.S. partners may have taken its toll. Some of the European leaders have already learned how to go their own way, when they can. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for instance, has struck ambitious trade deals with China, making clear that she has no desire to take sides in some new cold war between Washington and Beijing.*

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Biden is well aware of the damage that Trump has wreaked. In restating his plan, which he has mentioned before, to host an international summit of democracies early in his presidency, he acknowledged that many gasp or chuckle at any American effort to lead or lecture the world about democracy, given the rancor over our recent presidential election (to say nothing of our electoral systems general bizarreness), capped by the near-insurrection of Jan. 6. In his speech, Biden argued that the events of the past month have strengthened our credibility on this score because, even pushed to the brink, we emerged more determined to unite the world in defending democracy because we have fought for it ourselves.

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This isnt exactly a closer. At best, our allieseven many of our own citizenswill read this claim, cock their eyebrows, and sigh, Well see.

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Biden repeatedly stressed the strong link between U.S. foreign and domestic policy. He talked about a foreign policy for the middle class, a theme that his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has outlined in some depth. It may also be significant that Biden appointed Susan Rice, an experienced diplomat who was on his short lists to be vice president and secretary of state, as the head of his Domestic Policy Council.

And yet its not clear what Biden means by a foreign policy with, as he also put it, American working families in mind. It seems to suggest a strategy of protectionisman inference bolstered by his proposal that the U.S. government, to the extent possible, should Buy American in procuring supplies. In the past, Biden has been a firm advocate of free trade. Even many free traders now support rerouting of supply chains away from Chinawhich can pose national security dangerstoward more reliable, preferably domestic suppliers. But how far is Biden willing to go on this, with what economic implications?

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Bidens presidency is barely two weeks old. A speech such as this cant be expected to plunge deeply into policies. Many of the policies are still being worked out. Nonetheless, Biden and his team are facing a very tough road, due in part to the ravaged landscape that Trump has left but also in part to the global changesin the nature of new threats and the shifting balances of power among nationsfrom even the time, not so long ago, when Biden last spent time in the White House.

The watchwords of his foreign policy team are competence, experience, and familiarity. Almost all of them have worked with Biden, and with one another, in the past. They have similar views and similar approaches. There are likely to be fewer internecine clashes and bureaucratic rivalries than there are in the early days of many administrations. But that wont make it easy to reassert American influence, much less solve the worlds problems.

Correction, Feb. 4, 2021: This piece originally misidentified Angela Merkel as prime minister of Germany. She is chancellor.
A bunch of Covid-19 vaccine candidates got approval from the expert panel to conduct clinical trials in India, including one from Novavax, Bharat Biotechs intra-nasal candidate, and a measles vector-based candidate from

In its February 3 meeting, the subject expert panel (SEC) advising the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) recommended that approval be granted for conducting phase II/III clinical trials to Serum Institute of India (SII) for the Novavax candidate. This vaccine is based on protein nanoparticle and uses the proprietary Matrix-M adjuvant from Novavax. Adjuvants are pharmacological or immunological agents that improve the immune response of a vaccine.

The SEC has noted that participants randomised in the placebo arm may be un-blinded 60 days after the second dose, upon request from the clinical trial participant only. Blinded vaccine trials are those where the participant, investigator and sponsor do not know whether a person was given a vaccine or a placebo.

As for Bharat Biotechs chimpanzee flu virus (adenovirus) based intra-nasal vaccine candidate, the SEC recommended grant of permission for phase I trials.

Ahmedabad-based got approval for conducting phase I/II trials for the 2019-nCoV vaccine 3mg (two dose schedule). The SEC has noted that safety should be the primary objective of the study.

This is Zydus Cadilas second vaccine candidate, developed by its European research arm Etna Biotech. It is a live weakened recombinant measles virus vector-based vaccine against Covid-19. The genetically engineered measles virus vector would express proteins of the novel coronavirus and, thus, induce long-term specific neutralising antibodies.

Meanwhile, Aurobindo Pharmaceuticals has been asked to submit a revised clinical trial protocol for its vaccine candidate UB-612. The firm presented animal study and phase I data before the committee. The SEC recommended that Aurobindo submit the phase II/III clinical trial protocols approved by the regulatory authority of Brazil and some other conditions.
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MOSCOW  While doing time in a Russian penal colony, Aleksandr Y. Margolin saw prisoners savagely beat another inmate, and from that point on, the beaten man obediently cleaned the toilet every day, a demeaning chore signaling that he had fallen into a low caste in the prison hierarchy, known as the degraded.

The conditions are not very homey, Mr. Margolin said of Russias prison camps, descendants of the Soviet gulag, many of them scattered across Siberia.

Inmates are housed not in cell blocks but in free-standing, rough wood or brick barracks, dozens of men in each one, with nothing to separate victimizers from victims. The open floor plan arrangement, little modified since the time of the gulag, has over the decades given rise to a coarse, often brutal prison culture requiring care to navigate.

This is the world the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny is likely to face, after a Moscow court found that he had violated his parole and, this week, sentenced him to spend more than two years in a so-called general-security correctional colony. He is appealing the sentence, but even his allies hold little hope that it will be overturned.
Premier Brian Pallister said he's not worried about a possible rash of resignations by government appointees in light of Monday's edict forbidding out-of-province travel.

Premier Brian Pallister said he's not worried about a possible rash of resignations by government appointees in light of Monday's edict forbidding out-of-province travel.

At a news conference Thursday, Pallister called travel for pleasure by senior government officials, political staff and appointees to provincial agencies, boards and commissions "a career-limiting move."

Responding to a question at a news conference as to why he failed to take action immediately when he learned that Winnipeg Regional Health Authority board chairman Wayne McWhirter travelled to Arizona last month, the premier suggested he needed time to consider his decision.

"I tend to think about things... before I act," he said. "I think that's the appropriate way to lead and to govern."

Pallister said he and chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin have made their opposition to unnecessary travel "eminently clear" for some time.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Premier Brian Pallister said he's not worried about a possible rash of resignations by government appointees in light of Monday's edict forbidding out-of-province travel.

"The directive I put out this week was designed to give additional clarity to that, and that there would be consequences for people who do travel beyond the restrictions," he said.

Pallister initially urged leniency for McWhirter because of his largely "volunteer" position with the WRHA, but by Monday evening he announced that the health board chair would be stepping down. At the same time, he announced that all those appointed to their positions by cabinet would be terminated if they flouted provincial health advice by travelling out of province.

The directive angered some Progressive Conservative board appointees, and a few who were out of the country or had travelled abroad over their holidays have tendered their resignations, sources said.

One longtime PC supporter who serves as a government appointee and was out of province this week said the premier's threat against board members will hasten demands within the party that Pallister resign.

On Tuesday, a member of the Brandon University board of governors announced he would be stepping down because of the edict.

Kerry Auriat

Kerry Auriat told the Brandon Sun he travels frequently and didn't want to bring "embarrassment or dishonour" to his alma mater by being removed from his position if he travels in the future.

Monday's directive came after reports that the province's top bureaucrat worked from his Ottawa home over the Christmas holidays, a senior political staffer vacationed in Eastern Canada over the same period and a backbench government MLA and his family took a holiday driving trip to British Columbia.

MLA James Teitsma was removed from one legislative committee, but that was the extent of the consequences for those in government who disregarded health advice.

"The fact that the premier is unwilling to hold accountable those who work most closely with him shows you that this is more about spin and damage control than actually asking his insiders to live up to the same standards that every Manitoban has been abiding by," NDP Leader Wab Kinew said of the premier's directive.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said the directive was a ploy by Pallister to get himself out of a political mess created by the WRHA board chairman's travels.

"He tried to cook up an excuse to get rid of a political embarrassment... without having to do anything to punish his staff, who did exactly the same thing but worse," he said of the premier.

Meanwhile, Pallister suggested Thursday that his travel directive was government-wide, although he did not spell out what consequences there may be for unionized civil servants who travel out of province for leisure.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Pallister said he and chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin have made their opposition to unnecessary travel "eminently clear" for some time.

"This directive went out to everyone in government  top to bottom, everybody, all of us," he said at one point in his news conference.

Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union, said she agreed that public health rules and penalties should apply to everyone.

"Instead of singling out and threatening particular groups of workers, the province should focus on providing clear rules and penalties that apply to all Manitobans, regardless of where they work. We are all in this together," she said in a statement.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
A New War on Terror on Americans

Commentary

The campaign to define supporters of opposition leader Donald Trump as domestic terrorists took a new turn this week when a center-right publication argued that American citizens should be treated like the Islamic extremists responsible for the 2001 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.

We defeated al Qaeda and can do the same to the fascist thugs who attacked our democracy last month, former CIA officer Kevin Carroll wrote in the Washington Examiner. But only if we take similar hard measures against the enemy within.

The Jan. 6 protest, which saw sporadic violence, has been used by left-wing media organizations, segments of the national security establishment, and other Democratic Party institutions as a pretext to send federal law enforcement after the more than 74 million Americans who didnt vote for Joe Biden. The ghoulish campaign is nakedly partisan, or the same institutions would have pushed to define as domestic terror groups the Black Lives Matter and Antifa networks responsible for the spring and summers nationwide George Floyd riots that led to hundreds of felonies, including arson, theft, assault, and murder. But those two organizations are aligned with parts of the Democratic Party. BLM, according to its own website, is a Democratic Party fundraising mechanism.

Thats where the Washington Examiner comes in: By reinforcing from the right the false narrative about the events of Jan. 6, the conservative publication legitimized the Democratic Partys campaign to use law enforcement to target the right.

Carroll is a former CIA officer and affiliated with the Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump organization whose co-founder reportedly attempted to groom underage boys for sex. Among other methods that might be used to break Americans, Carroll recommends bringing the heaviest felony charges possible on as many participants in the Jan. 6 protests; using internet chatrooms to entrap American citizens; and compelling fire and police departments to require loyalty oaths of their employees.

We ruthlessly hunted down foreign terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Carroll wrote, and must do the same to their domestic equivalents.

Emails to the Examiners top editors and spokesman requesting comment regarding the ethics and probity of publishing an article arguing that Americans should be treated like foreign terrorists responsible for nearly 3,000 deaths in one day went unanswered. Requests for comment from the Examiners owner Phillip Anschutz also werent answered by press time.

It should come as little surprise that the U.S. national security establishment wants to refit the counterterrorism industry to go after Americans. With the war on terror and the sweeping illegal surveillance of U.S. citizens both rationalized in the aftermath of 9/11, the two strands were destined to become entwined at some point. The U.S. oppositions ongoing challenge to the legitimacy of Americas corporate and political elite hastened the inevitable.

Over the past two decades, the war on terror has become one of Washingtons most lucrative job programs, feeding not only the Pentagon and the defense industry but also the State Department and the many nongovernmental organizations employed to build local and state institutions on behalf of those who use American force to destroy their enemies. Since the departments of Defense and State represent important Beltway constituencies, the war on terror was designed to last indefinitely. And so nearly 20 years after 9/11, U.S. troops are still in Afghanistan and Iraq, and continue to conduct operations throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia.

Few if any of these missions now help protect Americans at home. Preventing prospective terrorists from entering the United States best ensures our security against terrorists. But recall how Trumps Cabinet pushed back when he wanted to impose a ban on foreigners from countries incapable of providing reliable information about those traveling under their passports.

Top Pentagon officials complained that keeping Iraqi nationals from obtaining visas angered the Iraqi leadership from whom they needed permission to conduct counterterrorism operations. That is, the senior officials responsible for U.S. national security preferred to let potential terrorists enter the United States rather than risk the Pentagons freedom to kill those the Iraqi government designated as terrorists.

The targets are almost exclusively Sunni. Since the Baghdad government and its security and military apparatus are controlled by Shiite-ruled Iran, U.S. troops are directed against ISIS or al-Qaeda or any Sunni that the Iraqi government says is a terrorist. Iraqs murderous Shiite militias allied with Iran are off-limits. Because the arrangement that U.S. officials made is corrupt at its corein order to keep money pouring into Washington, they agreed to use American power to settle scores on behalf of one Muslim faction against the otherit was a foregone conclusion that the corruption would poison America at home.

Implementing the Iraqi model requires reframing facts. American citizens who broke the law on Jan. 6 should be charged with the misdemeanors or felonies they are alleged to have committed. Redefining the protest as an insurrection and the protestors as domestic terrorists rationalizes the use of the unconstitutional means recommended by elements of the national security establishment whose apparent aim is to split the country. For them, it seems that Americas ultimate counterterrorism mission is to go after the supporters of one American political party for the sake of the other.

Lee Smith is the author of the recently published book The Permanent Coup: How Enemies Foreign and Domestic Targeted the American President.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Hyde follows family tradition, takes home PIAA gold in shot put

"It's awesome," Hyde said. "It really feels like a tradition, now. It will be cool to see our names next to each other in the record books."
People clap to make noise as they participate in a symbolic act of civil disobedience to protest against military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2021. About 70 recently elected lawmakers defied the new military government on Thursday by convening a symbolic meeting of the Parliament that was prevented from opening. They signed their oaths of office at a government guesthouse in the capital, Naypyitaw, where about 400 of them were detained in the aftermath of the takeover. (AP/PTI)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A 16-year-old boy died in a suspected suicide at the Stapleton Houses Thursday afternoon.

Police responded to 75 Hill St. at around 2 p.m. after the teen jumped off the building, an NYPD spokesman said.

When police arrived at the scene the teen was unconscious, according to police.

The teen was transported to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton where he was pronounced deceased, the spokesman said.

Police are investigating the incident as a suicide, the spokesman said.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney has proposed giving at least $3,000 (2,500) per child to millions of American families, lending bipartisan support to President Joe Bidens push to dramatically expand child benefits.

Romneys proposal would provide $4,200 (3,510) per year for every child up to the age of six, as well as $3,000 per year for every child aged six to 17. Senior Democrats are drafting legislation as part of their $1.9trn (1.34trn) stimulus proposal that would provide $3,600 (3,010) per year for every child up to the age of six, as well as $3,000 for every child aged six to 17.

The emergence of Mr Romneys child benefits plan as Democrats prepare a similar effort could give the White House an opportunity to incorporate policies with bipartisan support into its relief package. The Utah senator has suggested Mr Bidens stimulus proposal is too expensive, meaning he may vote against the broader plan even if it includes much of his new child benefits proposal.

Mr Romneys new plan, like the one being explored by senior Democrats, would provide benefits monthly by depositing it directly in recipients bank accounts.

Advocates for expanding child benefits say they will make an enormous dent in child poverty in the United States, although some right-wing scholars argue the benefits may discourage parents from pursuing employment. Republican support for Mr Romneys proposal is unclear.

Read More

His Family Security Act would be paid for, in part, by eliminating Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a welfare programme, as well as other existing federal tax credits for children and working families. Many Democrats are likely to oppose this part of Mr Romneys plan.

The Family Security Act creates a new national commitment to American families by modernising and streamlining antiquated federal policies into a monthly cash benefit, said a statement from the office of the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. This plan would immediately lift nearly three million children out of poverty, while providing a bridge to the middle class.

The United States has among the highest rates of child poverty in the developed world, a trend exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

That has led Democratic members of congress to spearhead legislation to expand child benefits that command near-universal support among Democratic politicians.

Their push is now gaining bipartisan momentum in part because of social conservatives such as Mr Romney and Senator Mike Lee, who have expressed alarm about high levels of child poverty.

Mr Romneys plan would have a dramatic impact on lowering child poverty, according to an analysis by the Niskanen Centre think tank. The percentage of children in poverty would fall by about 32pc, with close to three million lifted out of poverty.

Additionally, the percentage of children in deep poverty would fall by about 50pc, meaning about 1.2 million children would be lifted out of poverty.
Segun los informes, el general de cuatro estrellas Lloyd Austin esta en la lista corta para ser el secretario de defensa de Joe Biden (AFP via Getty Images)

Christian Whiton, a senior adviser in both the Trump and Bush administrations, told Newsmax that Joe Biden's Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was likely hired because he was Black.

Mr Whiton appeared on Newsmax to discuss an announcement from the Pentagon that it would enact military-wide stand downs for the next 60 days to tackle extremism and white supremacy within its ranks.

The former Trump and Bush adviser said the decision to root out extremism in the military was "cancel culture" and then disparaged Mr Biden's pick for Secretary of Defense by claiming he was likely hired solely because he is Black.

Mr Whiton said that Mr Austin "frankly, was chosen probably for his skin colour rather than his qualifications" after complaining that there was "no evidence of extremism in the military."

He also complained that the effort to root out extremism in the world's largest military would unfairly focus on conservatives.

Mr Austin is a four-star general and served as the commander of the US Central Command and of US forces during the invasion of Iraq. He also was the vice chief of staff of the US Army.

Mr Whiton is the senior vice president of a marketing company, Banner Public Affairs, and his role in the Trump and Bush administrations appears to have been in a communications context.

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Beyond his racist assumption that Mr Austin was likely hired for being Black, Mr Whiton's claim that there is no evidence of extremism in the military is also incorrect.

A 2019 Military Times poll found that at least one-third of all active-duty respondents said they saw signs of white supremacists or racist ideology in their ranks.

Further, that poll suggests that US military members are in agreement with the Pentagon; extremism should be rooted out.

Troops responding to the poll said they viewed domestic white nationalism as being as dangerous to the US as al-Qaida and ISIS, and more dangerous than North Korea, Afghanistan or Iraq.

Story continues

Domestic extremist groups target military members and police officers in their recruiting efforts.

In one instance, an active-duty airman sympathetic to the "Boogaloo" movement shot and killed a federal security officer in Oakland, California.

In 2019, the Army launched an investigation into a solider at Fort Benning, Georgia, over claims that a mid-level officer had been repeating racist, anti-government rants through their Reddit account.

Another soldier, Private Ethan Melzer, was indicted for plotting to attack his own unit and was found to have connection to the "Order of the Nine Angles," a group with neo-Nazi and Satanic beliefs.

In 2018, a Marine was found to have joined the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division.

Read More

Austin orders military leaders to address extremism in ranks

A new kind of American radicalism: Capitol rioters a mainstream movement not connected to far-right extremism

Biden orders review of domestic extremism threat in US

Susan Rice says threat of white supremacists plain for all Americans to see after Capitol riot

White supremacists were plotting to attack US power grid over Trump election loss

Tucker Carlson warns viewers they could be hurt in Bidens war on white supremacists
While NPLs have generally risen, several banks managed to defy the odds and make headways

As of December 31, 2020, Techcombank had the lowest NPL ratio stood in the system at 0.5 per cent, lower than 0.6 per cent on September 30, 2020 and 1.3 per cent as of December 31, 2019.

Meanwhile, Vietcombank  one of the largest state-owned lenders in Vietnam  recorded VND5.229 trillion ($227.35 million), down more than 50 per cent compared to the end of September and down 10 per cent compared to the beginning of 2020.

The bank's NPL ratio dropped sharply from 1.01 per cent at the end of this years third quarter to 0.62 per cent by the end of 2020  also the lowest level in its history.

ACB's NPL ratio remains one of the lowest levels in the landscape. According to the banks financial statements, soured debts at the end of 2020 were VND1.840 trillion ($80 million), up 27 per cent compared to the beginning of the year.

Similarly, BAC A BANK's NPL ratio increased slightly but was still controlled below 1 per cent. The bank's NPLs at the end of 2020 amounted to VND628 billion ($27.3 million), up 25.6 per cent from the beginning of the year.

The fifth lender reporting an NPL ratio below 1 per cent is ViettinBank (around 0.94 per cent as of December 31, 2020), according to local newswire Doanh nghiep & Tiep thi. This is also its lowest NPL ratio in the 2016-2020 period.

VietinBank and ACB in 2020 have signed exclusive bancassurance contracts with major life insurers (VietinBank with Manulife, ACB with Sun Life). These deals are envisaged to provide the two lenders with a large amount of revenue, while also boosting their stock value.

HDBank and MB had more than 1 per cent NPL ratios due to their consumer finance companies (HD Saison of HDBank, and MCredit of MB). However, the asset quality of the parent banks remains basically good in the domestic banking system.

The bad debt ratio of HDBank's banking arm by the end of 2020 was only 0.93 per cent, while that of MB was 0.92 per cent.

Another local lender below the 1 per cent threshold is NamABank, the newly-listed ticker in UPCoM. The banks total bad debt ratio decreased from 1.97 per cent at the end of 2019 to 0.83 per cent as of December 2020.
Underpinned by a new platform, the next-generation Land Cruiser and Tundra are believed to feature a plug-in hybrid V6 as the top-of-the-line powertrain option. This outcome would spell the end of the 5.7-liter V8 known as the 3UR-FE as well as the 2UR-GSE 5.0-liter V8 of the LC 500.Although unconfirmed by the Japanese automaker, Best Car understands that November 2021 is when the Lexus IS F will be revived with a free-breathing motor capable of 481 PS (474 horsepower). The LS F and LC F would follow suit with a twin-turbo lump rated at 670 PS (661 horsepower) from 4.0 liters of displacement, which sounds extremely appealing indeed.If the force-fed V8 does happen, Toyotas luxury division may put a lid on it when the fifth-generation LS and first-generation LC reach the end of their life cycles. But on the other hand, the Japanese automaker isnt known to discontinue an engine after such a short timeframe. The more I think about it, the more I cant put the finger on Toyotas intentions.The plot gets even thicker if you remember the Environmental Challenge 2050 announced with great pomp and circumstance six years ago. Our new-vehicle emissions challenge aims to reduce the CO2 output of our vehicles by 90 percent by 2050 compared to the levels we had in 2010, said Toyota, which is nothing more than wishful thinking at the moment.Honda intends to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and every other automaker has a similar agenda for two reasons. As mentioned earlier, emissions targets have prompted everyone in the industry to pour billions over billions of dollars in BEVs and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Secondly, everyone and their dog want a Tesla because Elon Musk made eco-friendly vehicles cool with the help of Autopilot and neck-snapping performance.
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Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to isolated thunderstorms overnight. Low near 75F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

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State police incidents reported

State police at Hazleton reported the following:

 Wanda M. Goodman, 55, Tobyhanna, was driving a Volvo on the Interstate 81 north off ramp in Hazle Twp. on Jan. 28 at 6:53 p.m. and turned left, hitting the front drivers side of a Toyota Tacoma stopped in the left turn lane on Route 924 operated by Dennis M. Shaffer, 38, Berwick. No injuries were reported and the Toyota was towed.

 A piece of snow or ice dislodged from the top of a Freightliners trailer, hitting and breaking the passenger-side mirror of a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado on Interstate 81 south in Dorrance Twp. on Tuesday at 5:40 p.m. Neither drivers name was released and neither reported injury.

 A rented white Hyundai semi trailer with Tennessee registration 017398T was reported stolen from a distribution center at 1104 N. Park Drive in Hazle Twp. It was last seen on the property Sunday at 6 p.m. Anyone with information can call troopers at 570-459-3890. The trailer is owned by Bowman Sales & Equipment Inc., Williamsport, Maryland.

 A 41-year-old Hazle Twp. man told troopers on Oct. 16 that he paid someone $2,225 as a down payment on a roofing project on April 6 but the work was never completed and the man was unable to contact the person he paid. The investigation continues.

TAMAQUA

Incidents reported

Tamaqua police reported the following:

 Timothy M. Morales Sr., 49, Tamaqua, was cited for disorderly conduct after police were called to 545 E. Elm St. at 1 a.m. Jan. 6 for a person making noise and found Morales doing yard work.

 Jorge C. Segura, 30, Lansford, faces receiving stolen property and a summary violation for not having a valid drivers license after he was stopped by police Jan. 11 in the St. Lukes parking lot, off Pine Street, while driving in a vehicle with a license plate that was reported to state police at Schuylkill Haven.

NESQUEHONING

Traffic stop leads to drug charges

Nesquehoning police arrested a New York man after finding nearly 10 ounces of marijuana in a vehicle they stopped for a Jan. 22 traffic violation, court papers say.

Elvis Rumardo, 39, Bronx, was charged with manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, possession of a controlled substance and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

His bail was set at $5,000 Jan. 23 by Magisterial District Judge Eric Schrantz, Jim Thorpe, which he posted two days later.

Arrest papers state he was a passenger in a black Toyota sedan police stopped in the 400 block of West Catawissa Street at 9:42 p.m. for driving without headlights on. Police said they found about 277 grams of marijuana and a scale in the trunk of the vehicle, and Rumardo admitted it was his.
Feb. 5, 1926

Bandit found guilty for role in Laurel Line holdup

Paul Fasci, the last of the Laurel Line bandits, was found guilty of first-degree murder for his role in the July 1923 holdup of Laurel Line in which Edward Murphy was killed, several passengers were injured and $72,000 for the West End Coal Co.s payroll was stolen.

The jury received the case on Feb. 3 and finally reached a verdict before lunch on Feb. 5.

Judge George Maxey reconvened court at 2 p.m. The jury arrived first and then Maxey. The Rev. John Bender, jury foreman, was asked if they reached a verdict. He said yes and handed the sealed verdict over to Maxey. James Frutchney, a clerk of the courts, read the verdict.

Fascis attorney, John Owens, asked that the jury be polled. Each responded: Guilty of murder in the first degree, death.

Maxey asked Owens if he would like Fasci to be sentenced at that time or wait. Owens asked for a delay, and Maxey agreed.

This verdict was a first in Lackawanna County since a new state law was passed that had allowed a jury to render a punishment recommendation of either life in prison or a death sentence along with the verdict.

The other men involved in the holdup  John Torti and Tony Burchanti  were also all found guilty of first-degree murder at their trials and were sentenced to death. Their sentences were carried out in 1925.

Three other individuals involved in this heist had died or were awaiting death for their roles in a different bank holdup.

Comerford building new theater in Scranton

The Comerford Amusement Co. announced plans to construct a new theater in Scranton at 511 Lackawanna Ave.

The theater company purchased the three-story building on Lackawanna Avenue that was home to offices and stores from A.E. Rogers Co. It was believed the purchase price was $125,000.

The building would be transformed into a movie theater and modeled after the Embassy Theater on Broadway in New York City.

Construction would begin once the existing leases of the buildings tenants had been completed.
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analysis

The United States of America, believed by many to be the sole superpower post-Cold War, has arguably the most staggering defence budget ever known to humanity. Post the cataclysmic attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent promulgation of the Bush Doctrine, the United States defence budget has witnessed a constant increase, hovering at or around 5-6% of its GDP. In real terms, the budget peaked in 2010, witnessing a jaw-dropping US$800 billion figure.

There is a direct correlation between this figure and the way the Bush Doctrine, later on finalised into the National Security Strategy, formed the core of the US foreign policy. For pragmatic appreciation of nuances around the doctrine, it is prudent to realise that it aspired to achieve preemption in attack as a means and mechanism of self-defence.

Contextually, as elucidated by the 43rd president himself, sovereign states perceived to be bastions or active supporters of "terrorists" were treated as such and the military-centric approach to counter terrorism was used to decimate and redefine their politics. In short, the sovereignty of these states did not matter for as long as they represented an omnipresent threat to the "national interests" of the USA.

Subsequently, President Barack Obama, religiously followed and enforced this doctrine to the letter despite campaign rhetoric. The enforcement of the doctrine peaked during the Arab Spring, when, under the auspices of "promoting democracy" within the Arab World, Obama allowed the region to descend into total chaos and anarchy despite the obvious warnings of the hawkish Israeli PM, Netanyahu.

The epitome of this doctrine occurred on May 2, 2011 when, before an appreciating global audience, Obama announced that the US Navy Seals Team 6 had carried a daring pre-dawn raid in the sprawling low-density suburb of Abbottabad in Pakistan that resulted in the liquidation of Osama bin Laden, then leader of Al-Qaida.

Trump happened. He campaigned on the troop withdrawal mantra. It is important to recognise that at its peak, the US had a troop contribution of around 98 000 in Afghanistan and Iraq. The war in Syria and the emergence of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi brought new policy headaches to the Pentagon.

Trumpism ushered in its own challenges as the twice-impeached president indicated that he was inspired to withdraw US troops from all spheres of warfare. Negotiations with the Taliban gathered pace in Qatar and before long, an agreement of some sort was reached. Meanwhile, Trump continued bombing Syria under the guise of the doctrine of responsibility to protect. The defence budget remained where it was whilst the rise of China and the repeated tension in the Persian Gulf meant the isolationist posture sought by Trumpism was going to fail the electoral test. It did.

What will Biden do?

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Zimbabwe Governance Human Rights By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Biden will definitely seek to "re-affirm" US hegemony and "international leadership". The Iran Nuclear deal will be moderated and "seduced" probably getting a new lease of life whilst most of Trump's failed signature foreign policy disasters will most likely get rescinded, most likely the gaffe in Venezuela and the North Korean comedy.

US national interests will not change but its foreign policy will retrace its footsteps from the disastrous Trumpian era. Hybrid warfare is the new weapon of choice of waging wars within the current set up. Interstate wars are gradually dwindling whilst irregular warfare is increasingly becoming more and more popular.

Fighting via proxy or through entirely new theatres of warfare such as cyberspace, the US and at large most states are capable of influencing decisions and actions of adversaries in numerous ways never before seen to humanity. The National Security Advisor to then-US President Trump, Robert Charles O'Brien Jr, quipped that Zimbabwe, alongside Iran, Russia and China, poses a threat to the national interests of the US and as such, the incoming Biden administration is not expected to tweak the national interests of the US as they practise their foreign policy in favour of such adversaries, Zimbabwe included. Cyberwarfare, itself a domain of war after land, sea, air and space, will escalate due to advantages it brings as regards attribution and lack of deterrence. Irregular wars inspired by a rekindled version of the Bush Doctrine will sprout across the globe while the US Defence budget might probably top US$1 trillion under the Biden Administration.

For Zimbabwe and similar ideological poles to American national interests, the reality is everything will remain the same!

Sapien Sapien is the pen name of Zimbabwean expert on war studies
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Charleston, said that controversial GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene shouldn't have been stripped of her House committee assignments by Democrats even though the Georgia politician has espoused extremist viewpoints.

The Democratic-controlled House's vote was largely along party lines on Feb. 4 and was a bold move to punish the freshman for comments she's made on social media and in person.

Greene has been called out this week for comments such as claiming that some mass shootings are staged, that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated by government forces and that a Jewish cabal sparked a wildfire with a space laser beam.

Mace, who has publicly spoken out against conspiracy theories in the Republican Party, said in an emailed statement that Democrats kicking Greene off her committee assignments was an unprecedented move.

One party stripping a member of another party of his or her committee assignments for comments made before taking office has never been done before," Mace said. "Like most Americans, I am tired of the division. Im tired of talking about the loudest voices in the room."

In her statement, Mace also called on Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to takes action against her party's members, such as U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters from California and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, for past statements they've made as elected officials.

Mace has reportedly not gotten along with Greene since the two freshman GOP congresswomen came to Washington.

Axios reported last month that the two got into a heated exchange on a text chain with all freshmen GOP members following the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill which were sparked by unsubstantiated claims that the presidential election leading to Donald Trump's defeat was fraudulent.

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Greene is well-known for her support of the QAnon conspiracy theory that alleges Trump is secretly fighting a deep state ring of pedophiles, and has also alleged unproven election fraud leading to his loss.

Mace called her out in the texting thread.

"Im disgusted by what you and other Q-conspiracy theorists did last week in the chamber after all of the violence," Mace reportedly sent Greene.

Still, Mace joined all other GOP members of South Carolina's delegation in voting to keep Greene on her committee assignments.

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia, voted in favor of removing Greene from her posts. The House Majority Whip said the move was necessary because the GOP had refused to punish the congresswoman.

"Today the House acted because Republican leadership refused to reject violent and hateful rhetoric," Clyburn tweeted. "The privilege of committee appointments cannot be granted to those who spout conspiracy theories and threaten colleagues."
A rare face and hands transplant changed Joe DiMeos life six months ago. A transplant is a medical operation in which an organ or body part is removed from one person and attached to another person.

DiMeo is 22 years old and comes from the state of New Jersey. He had the operation last August. He received the new face and hands two years after being badly burned in a car crash.

Today, he is relearning how to do simple movements. He works on smiling and opening and closing his eyes. With his new hands, he is relearning actions like squeezing and pinching.

I knew it would be baby steps all the way, DiMeo told The Associated Press. Youve got to have a lot of motivation, a lot of patience. And youve got to stay strong through everything.

Experts say the operation appears to be a success. But they warn it will take some time to know for sure. Doctors at New York Universitys medical center NYU Langone Health performed the surgery.

Worldwide, surgeons have completed at least 18 face transplants and 35 hand transplants. Those numbers come from the United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the U.S. transplant system. But it is extremely rare to get a face and double hand transplant at the same time. The operation had only been tried two times before.

The first attempt was in 2009 on a patient in Paris, France. That patient died one month later from problems related to the surgery. Two years later, doctors in Boston, Massachusetts, attempted the operation on a woman who had been attacked by a chimpanzee. Days later, doctors had to remove the hands.

Dr. Bohdan Pomahac is a surgeon at Bostons Brigham and Womens Hospital. He led the second attempt. The fact they could pull it off is phenomenal, he said of the doctors who operated on DiMeo.

DiMeo will have to take medications for the rest of his life to prevent his body from rejecting the transplants. He also will continue with treatment and exercises to help him gain sensation and movement in his new face and hands.

In 2018, DiMeo fell asleep while driving, he said, after working overnight as a product tester for a drug company. His car hit the edge of the street and then a structure. It rolled over and caught on fire. Another driver who saw the accident pulled over to rescue DiMeo from the burning car.

After the accident, doctors used drugs to keep him in a deep sleep called a coma. He had 20 surgeries and special operations on his skin to treat his extensive burns.

His doctors realized, however, that usual surgeries could not help DiMeo regain use of his face, eyes or hands. So, his medical team began preparing for the risky transplants in early 2019.

But almost immediately, the NYU team dealt with difficulties, including finding a donor. Doctors estimated DiMeo only had a six percent chance of finding a donor whose hands and face would work for his immune system. Doctors also wanted to find someone of the same sex and skin color.

During the search for a donor, the COVID-19 health crisis hit. Organ donations dropped sharply. During New York Citys increase in virus cases, doctors in the transplant area in the hospital were asked to work with COVID-19 patients instead.

In early August, the team finally identified a donor in Delaware. The 23-hour operation happened a few days later.

Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez led the medical team of more than 140 people. He said that, so far, DiMeo has not shown any signs of rejecting his new face or hands.

Since leaving the hospital in November, DiMeo has been working with rehabilitation specialists to relearn many physical movements. Rehab is pretty intense, DiMeo said. The work involves retraining yourself to do stuff on your own again, he added.

DiMeo, who lives with his parents, can now dress and feed himself. He can take part in some sports. He can also play with his dog, Buster.

You got a new chance at life, DiMeo said. You really cant give up.

Im Ashley Thompson.

The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

smile v. to turn up the corners of your mouth in an expression of happiness or pleasure

motivation n. the act or process of giving someone a reason to do something

surgery n. a medical operation

phenomenal adj. very good or great; impressive

rehabilitation n. the process of bringing a person back to a healthy condition after an illness or health problem

Burma Myanmar has 134 More Political Prisoners Following Military Coup

(From the top left) detained filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, Mandalay monk U Thawbita, 88 activist U Mya Aye, writer Daw Than Myint Aung, minister U Win Myat Aye, reggae singer Saw Phoe Kwar, Yangons social affairs minister U Naing Ngan Lin, Yangons immigration minister Daw Moe Moe Suu Kyi

As of Friday morning, 134 officials, leaders and lawmakers from the National League for Democracy (NLD), political activists, monks and writers have been detained by the military, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

While many detainees whereabouts are still unknown, the militarys crackdown has also intensified on Thursday with the arrest of three university students in Mandalay Region who protested peacefully against the coup and the NLD patron U Win Htein, the ailing confident of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was overseeing the partys affairs after the leaders were arrested.

Only some of the 134 detainees have been taken from where they were being held back to their government accommodation and put under house arrest. Union government members, state and regional cabinet members and parliamentary speakers are among those who were put under house arrest.

We are deeply concerned for the safety and health of detainees whose whereabouts are still unknown, Ko Aung Myo Kyaw of the AAPP said.

Prominent democracy activist Ko Mya Aye, filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, student activist Ko Min Thway Thit, writer and Yangon City Development Committee member Daw Than Myint Aung, writer Maung Thar Cho, writer U Htin Linn Oo and monks U Thawbita, Shwe Nya War Sayadaw and Sayadaw U Arriyawuntha were among those detained since Monday.

The detentions also left families in great distress. Wutyee Yanant, the daughter of Ko Mya Aye, tweeted that the family still does not know the location and condition of her father along with other activists who have been detained. The daughter of Ko Mya Aye told The Irrawaddy that her father was arrested at around 5:30am on Monday and the family has heard nothing since.

As a family, we want to know at least his whereabouts and whether he is in good health, she said. I never thought I would see my father being arrested again. Hearing nothing about him increases our worries.

All detainees must be released, Ko Aung Myo said, adding that locking up civilians who are not charged for more than 24 hours is unlawful detention and a grave violation of human rights.

Among the first prosecutions by the military was monk U Thawbita, who was sentenced to two years in prison under the Telecommunications Laws Article 66(d). He was charged before the coup by the military for defamation. State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint were also charged under Export and Import Law and Natural Disaster Management Law respectively, and both were remanded until February 15.

Additional reporting by Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint

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Myanmar President Moved from Official Residence, Suu Kyi in Good Health

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In 1984, UCSF research professor Millie Hughes-Fulford took a leave from that position and left her Mill Valley home for Houston so she could become an astronaut and work on the Spacelab, a laboratory in Space Shuttle Columbia.

Her mission was postponed and Hughes-Fulford was at Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, watching on that cold morning of Jan. 28, 1986, as Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in the air shortly after liftoff  a national tragedy broadcast live to much of America. It took another five years for Hughes-Fulford to get back into Columbia. But when it launched, on June 5, 1991, she spent nine days in orbit, drawing blood and conducting all form of tests on herself and her six crew mates while floating around to measure the effects of weightlessness on the heart, lungs and balance.

The research conducted on her flight, at age 46, laid a foundation for all the knowledge that has been built on the effect of space flight on humans, and shaped the rest of her career when she returned in 1991 to open the Hughes-Fulford Laboratory at the San Francisco VA Healthcare System.

She came back to her world as a scientist and carried this experience of having flown in space and that became a unique filter through which she passed all of her scientific work, said Dr. Mike Barratt, a NASA flight surgeon assigned to Columbia. Everything she did had this base of space work and it was very credible.

The Hughes-Fulford Laboratory was active at the San Francisco VA Healthcare System, in the Outer Richmond District, right up through Hughes-Fulfords own seven-year battle with lymphoma. She died Tuesday, Feb. 2, at her home of 50 years. She was 75. Her death was confirmed by her granddaughter, Kira Herzog of Mill Valley, who spent the last year recording an oral history of Hughes-Fulford, with the intent of writing her biography.

She was one of the bravest people Ive ever met. She told me that when she was taking off in the shuttle she had absolutely no fear, said Herzog. She was logically thinking of what her next task was and that is how she faced everything including her cancer.

At the VA, Hughes-Fulford studied the effects of weightlessness on the immune system, and why astronauts returning from space are susceptible to infection. A lab instrument she modified was able to study bone cell structures in a condition that mimics outer space.

Millie was an absolute delight to work with. Her enthusiasm for science was infectious, said Dr. Carl Grunfeld, who was her supervisor and colleague at the VA lab for 40 years. Even during her illness she was writing papers and coming up with ideas for grants that she would bounce off of me. She never gave up.

Millie Elizabeth Hughes was born Dec. 21, 1945, in Mineral Wells, Texas. Her father ran a country grocery and feed store where Hughes started working as soon as she was tall enough to stock shelves. The Hughes family had a TV console in Mineral Wells and there was always a crowd when space adventurer Buck Rogers came on. Hughes-Fulford was 5 years old when it premiered in 1950 and she idolized Bucks sidekick Wilma Deering.

As soon as she was proficient at calculating prices and change in her head she was promoted to cashier where she worked up through graduation from Mineral Wells High School, in 1962. Always tall and rail thin, Hughes was 5 feet 11 inches tall at age 16 when she entered Tarleton State University, which later became part of the Texas A&M system. She majored in chemistry and biology and was often the only the woman in a class full of men, who did not appreciate it when she outscored them on exams.

There was even hostility from some of the professors and the dean, said Herzog. They definitely did not want her in that program.

After graduating at or near the top of her class in 1968 she enrolled at Texas Womans University, in Denton, to earn her doctorate in biochemistry. By then she was married to police officer Rick Wiley, and they had a daughter, Tori. After earning her doctorate in 1972, she hand-typed applications for maybe 100 academic jobs around the country. She got four responses and accepted a lab position at Southwestern Medical Center. That turned out to be the right choice because within a year or two that entire lab relocated to the VA hospital overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Outer Richmond District.

Hughes-Fulford had been to California once, on a family trip, in a truck with a camper on it, to visit Disneyland when it opened in 1955. When she returned to the Golden State she had Tori, then 4, and they both brought a thick Texas drawl to the canal zone of San Rafael where they lived before moving to Greenbrae, and later to Strawberry, on the Richardson Bay side of Mill Valley.

Hughes-Fulford was content with her research at the VA, until the moment in 1978 when she saw an ad in the back of Family Circle magazine, asking for applications to be the first woman in space. There were 8,000 applicants and Hughes-Fulford made it to the final 20 before Sally Ride was selected to be the first female astronaut, aboard the Challenger in June 1983.

While going through the selection process in Houston, Hughes-Fulford learned that NASA was looking for bone researchers. She called a colleague at the VA and told him to start working on a NASA grant. That opened the door to her trip on the Columbia.

In the late 1970s she and Riley were divorced. In 1981, she met George Fulford, a United Airlines pilot based in San Francisco. They were married in 1983, and left on their honeymoon the same week she was accepted to the astronaut program at NASA.

She was always smiling and enjoyed every second of her training, said Dr. Barratt. She just seemed happy to be there. But along with that she had the focus of a scientist.

Columbia continued to fly. On its 28th mission, in February 2003, it broke apart when returning to the earths atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. But neither catastrophe shook Hughes-Fulfords dedication to space exploration, which she displayed in lectures at schools, national conferences and most recently on Zoom.

She was devoted to getting young people excited about science, said Dr. Grunfeld. She realized what happened in space flight had implications for aging.

In 2018, which was after she had technically retired, Hughes-Fulford partnered with Dr. Aenor Sawyer to start the University of California Space Health Program, based at UCSF. The program draws in researchers from the 10 campuses and three national laboratories. During its first conference, at the Rutter Center at Mission Bay in November 2019, Hughes-Fulford was a featured speaker on immunology. That same day she joined a panel of three astronauts to share her space travel expertise.

Even now, Hughes-Fulford is co-author of a scientific paper titled Women in Space being submitted to a medical journal.

Millie was an inspiration on so many levels, from the surface of the earth to the low-earth orbit, said Dr. Sawyer. She infused every conversation with compassion, optimism, energy, humor, and an un-shakable confidence that a solution could be found.

She is survived by her daughter, Tori Herzog and granddaughters Shoshana Herzog and Kira Herzog, all of Mill Valley. Donations in her name may be made to Stand Up to Cancer, P.O. Box 843721, Los Angeles, CA 90084-3721.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com. Twitter:@samwhitingsf
opinion

New Delhi, India  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on Twitter: "We must get to work to make sure the vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere. With this pandemic, none of us are safe until all of us are safe."

As the pandemic spills into its second year, the WHO tracker lists eight Covid-19 vaccines already in public use. Several others are awaiting regulatory approval. This is unprecedented in vaccine history and with effective international coordination, it presents the global community with a real chance for both pandemic and economic recovery in 2021.

Instead, however, the world is on the brink of a 'catastrophic moral failure' on vaccine distribution, to use the words of WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Countries are mired in a stalemate of 'vaccine nationalism', with the rich world having secured contracts to vaccinate their entire populations thrice over by the end of this year, while 85 poor countries will not get vaccine rollouts until early 2023, if at all.

This hoarding of vaccines by rich countries for profit constitutes 'vaccine apartheid', which not only grants rich countries an unjust privilege but also naively approaches the pandemic as a national or regional problem, despite its obviously global nature.

And as a recent study showed, vaccine nationalism could cost rich countries alone USD 4.5 trillion because of its global economic interlinkages.

European hypocrisy

But even with the imbalance already strongly in its favour, the European Union lashed out at pharma giant AstraZeneca when the company announced it would be delivering fewer than half the 80 million jabs it promised by March 2021, disrupting the bloc's plans to vaccinate 70 per cent of its adult population by the end of the summer.

Meanwhile, a large majority of poor countries -- most of the world's population -- will be lucky if they can vaccinate even 10 per cent of their populations by the end of the year.

In October 2020, South Africa and India moved a proposal at the WTO for a TRIPS waiver on patents, industrial designs and trade secrets that restrict access to vaccines and medicines or manufacturing of medical products essential to combat Covid-19.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, argued in November that the best strategy against the virus was geopolitical cooperation -- not competition. Yet her ongoing fiasco with AstraZeneca has exposed the EU's hypocrisy -- as the EU threatened to invoke the same emergency provisions on behalf of Europeans that the EU are currently opposing for citizens of the global South.

At the international level, rich countries and pharmaceutical corporations hide behind the innocuously named but disastrously enforced regime of 'intellectual property'. Since its inception in 1995, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has arguably been the World Trade Organisation's weakest link.

While TRIPS paradoxically advanced corporate monopoly rights, the rest of WTO agreements exhorted competition, deregulation and free trade.

AIDS: the global health crisis of the 1990s

When the HIV/AIDS epidemic was raging in the late 1990s, the prevailing cost of patented antiretroviral (ARV) drugs was over USD 12,000 per patient, per year. South African president Nelson Mandela led a worldwide revolt for access to affordable, lifesaving ARV drugs by overriding TRIPS provisions and launching a frontal attack on big pharma. In response to this call, the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla stunned the world in February 2001 by introducing a drug to fight AIDS at less than USD 1 per day.

Buoyed by this victory, developing countries fought off US and EU opposition in pushing for the November 2001 Doha Declaration on TRIPS, which underlined the right to public health and access to medicines.

Two decades and another global health crisis later, a similar script is being played out by the same set of actors.

Publicly funded innovation

In October 2020, South Africa and India moved a proposal at the WTO for a TRIPS waiver on patents, industrial designs and trade secrets that restrict access to vaccines and medicines or manufacturing of medical products essential to combat Covid-19.

The proposal has now gained heft with sponsorship by Kenya, Pakistan, Venezuela, Egypt and Bolivia, along with the endorsement of nearly 100 countries at the WTO. The WHO, UNAIDS and several UN special rapporteurs are also backing the waiver.

Just like twenty years ago, a powerful cabal of rich countries led by the EU, US, UK and Japan are blocking the waiver. They argue that a waiver on patents will undermine innovation and that the TRIPS already offers flexibilities for public health.

The waiver can play a critical role in rapid expansion of vaccine supplies.

Both these arguments are flawed.

A study of 210 drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 2010 and 2016 showed that public funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was the greatest contributor to research and innovation.

A more recent study showed that governments have allocated at least 88bn to Covid-19 vaccine companies in 2020, demonstrating the marginal role of corporate funding in innovation.

Rich countries should support the TRIPS waiver

Developing countries have long argued at the WTO that stringent provisions in the TRIPS have made it virtually impossible to use the existing flexibilities, and any attempt to invoke flexibilities results in arm-twisting and retaliatory trade pressures from powerful members such as the EU and US.

The waiver can play a critical role in rapid expansion of vaccine supplies. Given that the expertise to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine is reasonably widespread, production can be expanded in firms across the developing world.

In India, its production has been licensed only to the Serum Institute of India, which is struggling to keep up with demand. It is a scandal that while AstraZeneca is charging the EU less than USD 2 per dose, Thailand -- a far poorer country -- is being charged around USD 5 per dose. Locating production domestically will also help countries to bring down costs substantively.

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If the US and EU are serious about contributing to a cooperative global effort on vaccines, they should support the waiver proposal when it comes up for discussions at the WTO on 4 February.

The pandemic is a global problem that requires a global solution, not a few national ones. It is of the utmost importance that all countries take quick and decisive action to put people and health before profits. Only then can we defeat this pandemic.

Source: International Politics and Society. Launched in January 2017, the online journal highlights global inequality and brings new perspectives on issues such as the environment, European integration, international relations, social democracy and development policy.

Based in the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's Brussels office, International Politics and Society aims to bring the European political debate to a global audience, as well as providing a platform for voices from the Global South. Contributors include leading journalists, academics and politicians, as well policy officers working throughout the FES's global network.

Benny Kuruvilla heads the India office of Focus on the Global South, an Asia-based think tank providing analysis and building alternatives for just social, economic and political change.
I never once said any of the things that I am being accused of today during my campaign. I never said any of these things since I have been elected for Congress. These were words of the past and these things do not represent me, she said.
Latest news Spain will only use the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for people aged 18 to 55

Spain will not administer the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to anyone over the age of 65. That was the decision made on Thursday by the public health committee of Spains National Healthcare System, made up of health experts from the central and regional governments. The commission, however, has still not decided whether the age limit for this vaccine should be lowered even further to 55. Sources present at Thursdays meeting said the issue will be discussed again on Friday.

At least seven European countries have decided to only use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine with under-65s, as a minimum, given that there is not yet sufficient evidence of its efficiency for the older age group. Germany has set the limit at 65, Poland has restricted the use of the vaccine to the under-60s, while Italy has put the threshold at 55. Despite this, in the United Kingdom, the vaccine is being used among seniors given that clinical trials have shown it to generate antibodies against SARS-Cov-2.

In the second wave of the pandemic, over-80s represented 66.5% of all official Covid-19 deaths in Spain, despite making up just 6% of the population

The decision means that Spain will need to revise its vaccination plan and add a new priority group to receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, of which 1.8 million doses are set to arrive this month. Phase 1 of the immunization drive, which is currently underway, targets residents and employees of care homes, followed by frontline health workers, other healthcare personnel, and people with need for daily assistance who are not living in a care facility. But many social service residents are over the age of 65, meaning they will not be able to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine. After Phase 1, it will be the turn of the over-80s, but before this group begins their vaccinations, the AstraZeneca vaccines are likely to have arrived in Spain.

The Health Ministry announced on Friday that this Covid vaccine will go to healthcare personnel who are not frontline workers and do not work at a care home or directly with Covid patients. After this group, the vaccine will be administered to other vulnerable groups (below the age of 65 of 55, depending on the commissions decision) and other essential workers.

The decision to restrict the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been supported by Spains medical associations, which agree the treatment should be reserved for younger age groups until it has proven its efficiency among seniors.

A health worker vaccinating a care home resident in Torrijos in Castilla-La Mancha. olmo calvo

Between now and when there is more scientific evidence from the studies that are still underway into the vaccine, the correct thing to do is to continue using the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine for this age range [over-65s], said Jose Gutierrez, a vaccines expert at the Spanish Geriatrics Society.

But in the United Kingdom, experts argue that the possibility of saving lives is greater than the risk of the vaccine not being completely effective, particularly given the shortage of treatments. A perfectly acceptable vision is that we know the vaccine is safe in older ages, that the evidence of an antibody response strongly suggests that it will provide protection, and for that reason, it is reasonable to us to suppose that it will, said Martin McKee, a professor from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. If it were a country where there are many other vaccines, like the one from Pfizer and BioNTech, then that could justify the administration of this vaccine to older people and the AstraZeneca vaccine to younger people.

In Spain, more than 1,300 people over the age of 80 died every week in January due to Covid-19, according to data from the Carlos III Health Institute. Although the number of contagions has fallen slightly in February, the epidemic in the country remains at extreme levels. In the second wave of the pandemic, over-80s represented 66.5% of all official Covid deaths in Spain, despite making up just 6% of the population (2.8 million people).

English version by Melissa Kitson.




[February 04, 2021] University of Phoenix and Chicago United to Bring Together Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Executives to Discuss How Businesses Can Be a Force for Change

Recent events in our country have brought a renewed focus within organizations on diversity training and inclusive hiring practices. Despite a strong commitment to these initiatives, many are still wondering if these efforts are driving meaningful change. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204006167/en/ University of Phoenix and Chicago United will co-host a panel of diversity, equity and inclusion leaders across industries to share what their companies and organizations are doing to shift from simply mandating diversity to creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace. The panel will provide practical steps employers can take within their company to build cultural diversity. They will also discuss why diversity, equity and inclusion practices are not only the right thing to do but should also be a driving force for the future of businesses. The webinar will begin at 11 a.m. MST on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, moderated by Chicago United President, and CEO, Tiffany Hamel. University of Phoenix President Peter Cohen will make opening remarks sharing how the University is working to build a more diverse, inclusive and equitable future society.



Panelists Include: Melissa Donaldson, chief diversity officer, Wintrust Bank

Carlos Butler Vale, global director diversity, equity and inclusion, McDonalds Corporation

Susy Francis Best, PsyD, director of D&I, ERG and leadership development, Allstate Insurance

Marquis Miller, chief diversity officer, City of Chicago To register for this free event, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dei-a-driving-force-for-future-businesses-tickets-137500687257

About University of Phoenix University of Phoenix is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses and interactive learning help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. We serve a diverse student population, offering degree programs at select locations across the U.S. as well as online. For more information, visit phoenix.edu. About Chicago United Chicago United's mission is to achieve parity in economic opportunity for people of color by advancing multiracial leadership on corporate boards, in executive management, and in business diversity. Our research and programs support the business community's ability to engage in leading inclusion practices so individuals may realize their potential while supporting the success of their employer organizations. For more information, visit www.chicago-united.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204006167/en/

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PHILIPSBURG:--- On Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021, Parliament approved all three laws pertaining to the enforcement of cost-cutting measures. This was not done without much reservation from Members of Parliament.

The Members of Parliament of the National Alliance faction firmly believes that Government and Parliament alike, must provide for and safeguard the well-being of the people of Sint Maarten. This surely calls for tough decisions that may not be desired by all.

During the deliberations, Members of Parliament strongly expressed their displeasure with the manner in which these conditions and laws were imposed upon us. As Kingdom partners,

it should not be so that in order for Sint Maarten to receive help during a crisis, our autonomous status must be infringed. This seems to be the new modus operandi with the Government of the Netherlands, as they continuously set conditions that are not favorable to Sint Maarten and its people.

The reality is, there will be days when the decisions are taken that will sit well with the public, and then there are days like today when the decisions seem to not be in favor of the public. However, we can all agree that the only way to safeguard our people, the public, and our current situation is to accept these temporary laws. Tough decisions had to be made.

We are not pleased by the fact that Civil Servants of this Country can no longer enjoy their vacation allowance. This is certainly undesirable for us all and if circumstances were better, this would absolutely not be accepted. However, we are certain that if Civil Servants are asked whether they would prefer their benefits cut or their salaries cut, they would choose to maintain their salaries over maintaining their benefits. Our Government fought to ensure that salaries of Civil Servants

(with the exception of one top earner) remain untouched, but at the end of the day, due to our current crisis and the lack of contingency plans in the past, cuts had to be made in some areas.

Although there is a diverse mix of senior, sophomore, and rookie Members of Parliament and a plethora of philosophies and purviews, we are certain that love for Sint Maarten is something that we all have in common. With this shared love for Sint Maarten, Members of Parliament should be able to put their heads together, put pride aside and take decisions that would best benefit the people. Currently, this decision is securing the salaries of our Civil Servants. So again, even though we are dissatisfied with the laws and conditions being forced down our throats, we will hold the Government accountable in ensuring that these laws remain temporary. The government is urged to take actions and continue to seek ways to improve our current status so that we will soon be back in a position to give our Civil Servants

their benefits.

With this love we have for Sint Maarten, there are many other things that Parliament should be dramatically debating right now. Lets debate healthcare and the changing of legislation to improve the environment in which our specialists can operate. Lets talk about the minimum wage and the fact that it is extremely too low in comparison to the cost of living.

It is a fact that this pandemic has affected us all. However, it is the job of the Representatives of this Country to keep the ball rolling so that in the near future, the people of Sint Maarten can experience some relief and know that we are looking out for them. The pandemic is not the only thing happening at the moment. Many other pertinent issues need addressing and as a faction, we will bring them forward (again) soon.

As a faction, we could have taken a prideful or emotional decision to not pass these laws because of how they were forced down our throats, but how would we then be able to look at our people and explain to them that their salaries would be non-existent? Thousands of households would be left without an income. No representative with a good conscience would be able to bear seeing their people in that state. As a faction, we would like to strongly reiterate that these laws did not sit well with us. We did not agree with how these laws were imposed on us and if there were other feasible options on the table, we would not have accepted them. Unfortunately, our options were; take it or leave it. So the tough decisions were made now to look out for you, the people of this Country.

We are fully aware that it may get even tougher before it gets easier. We are also aware that due to our crippled economy, we may be in a position to yet again have to make unpopular decisions. However, we assure you that your well-being will remain our moral compass when we are taking decisions and we will always fight for you.

National Alliance Faction in the Parliament of St. Maarten.
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The early prognosis of high-risk older adults for amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), using noninvasive and sensitive neuromarkers, is key for early prevention of Alzheimer's disease. A recent study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, by researchers at the University of Kentucky establishes what they believe is a new way to predict the risk years before a clinical diagnosis. Their work shows that direct measures of brain signatures during mental activity are more sensitive and accurate predictors of memory decline than current standard behavioral testing.

"Many studies have measured electrophysiological rhythms during resting and sleep to predict Alzheimer's risk. This study demonstrates that better predictions of a person's cognitive risk can be made when the brain is challenged with a task. Additionally, we learned that out of thousands of possible brain oscillation measures, left-frontal brainwaves during so-called working memory tasks are good predictors for dementia risk," explained lead investigator Yang Jiang, associate professor of behavioral sciences and an affiliated faculty member at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

When looking for a specific car in a large parking lot, older persons increasingly make more mistakes and take more time than young people due to brain and cognitive aging. Jiang says it has already been reported that brain waves associated with that type of daily memory task differ in cognitively normal older people and those of patients with memory loss and dementia. For this new study, researchers followed healthy older adults for 10 years. They reported that a specific pattern of frontal brainwaves during an everyday memory task predicts a person's risk of cognitive impairment roughly five years before clinical diagnosis. This pattern was not observed in older people who remained cognitively normal over the next 10 years.

Jiang says predicting and preventing cognitive decline is very important to allow preventive measures, such as life-style changes, and for researchers to help achieve a greater quality of life for the rapidly growing aging population. "Compared to current methods using neuroimaging as biomarkers, this method of measuring can be easily set up in clinics, is non-invasive, fast and affordable. Also, reliably predicting the risk of cognitive decline in an individual is new. Our older participants will soon be able to have better version of brainwave tests here at UK."

The clinical and translation work of this study was a team science effort with multiple investigators from UK's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging serving as coauthors including Erin Abner, Richard Kryscio, Greg Jicha, Fred Schmitt, Charles Smith, and collaborators from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee, and the Institute of Psychology, Beijing China.

This project was brought to SBCoA by scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory co-author Nancy Munro to David Wekstein and Drs. William Markesbery and Charles Smith nearly 15 years ago with funding from the Department of Energy. The research team received funding from NIH in recent years to expand this work in large-scale and diverse populations. Jiang says their longitudinal study underscores the importance of having a successful Alzheimer's research center at UK.

Linda Van Eldik, director of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, said, "This further emphasizes the long-standing national and international reputation of UK's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the high quality of our investigators and the research they do."

Explore further Testing memory over four weeks could predict Alzheimer's disease risk

More information: Yang Jiang et al, Memory-Related Frontal Brainwaves Predict Transition to Mild Cognitive Impairment in Healthy Older Individuals Five Years Before Diagnosis, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2020). Journal information: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Yang Jiang et al, Memory-Related Frontal Brainwaves Predict Transition to Mild Cognitive Impairment in Healthy Older Individuals Five Years Before Diagnosis,(2020). DOI: 10.3233/JAD-200931
Alex Sohal, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the Queen Mary University of London, supported by 140 general practitioners wrote to the Chief Medical Officer of the UK to include runny nose and common cold in COVID-19 test criteria.

"It is vital to now change the UK Covid-19 case definition and test criteria to include coryza and cold, making them consistent with the World Health Organization (WHO)," Sohal wrote."Tell the public, especially those who have to go out to work and their employers, that even those with mild symptoms (not only a cough, high temperature, and a loss of smell or taste) should not go out, prioritizing the first five days of self-isolation when they are most likely to be infectious," she added.But, as per Indian health experts, the scenario may be different in India."This letter does not reflect the current Indian scenario of Covid-19 as it was done in the UK where extremely infectious UK strain is causing an increased number of cases daily," Jyoti Mutta, Senior Consultant, Microbiology, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, told IANS."But we still need to watch our symptoms carefully. In case you experience or develop any flu like symptoms associated with Covid-19, it is best to get tested immediately and self-isolate," Mutta added.According to Shiba Kalyan Biswal, Consultant, Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Narayana Hospital, Gurugram, common cold, running nose and sore throat etc are very common in this current weather."Although the possibility of Covid-19 cannot be denied as per the symptoms, but as far as the common cold, running nose, sore throat etc are concerned, these are overlapping symptoms which may be the signs of any major disease or just a minor infection," Biswal said.In the letter, published by The British Medical Journal, Sohal wrote that as general practitioners, they review patients with mild symptoms -- for example, a runny or blocked nose, sore throat, hoarseness, myalgia, fatigue, and headache -- who subsequently turn out to be Covid-19 positive."These symptoms are often inadvertently picked up while dealing with patients' other more pressing health issues. These patients have frequently not even considered that they may have Covid-19 and have not self-isolated in the crucial early days when they were most infectious," Sohal said."The national publicity campaign focuses on cough, high temperature, and loss of smell or taste as symptoms to be aware of -- only patients with these symptoms are able to access a Covid-19 test online through the NHS (National Health Service) test booking site. General practitioners have to advise patients to be dishonest to get a Covid-19 test," she added.Sohal also highlighted that the WHO's case definition of Covid includes other symptoms such as coryza, sore throat, vomiting, and diarrhoea, while NHS guidance states that patients should keep self-isolating for more than ten days if they have a runny nose or sneezing.In India, the total active caseload for Covid-19 in the country dropped to 1.55 lakh on Thursday. India's present active cases now consist of just 1.44 per cent of the total positive cases.Source: IANS


Salman Khan is currently gearing up for the release of Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai and has several other films in the pipeline including Antim, Tiger 3, Kick 2, and Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali. However, the superstar confessed that the traditional big-screen release is not the best option as people are still skeptical to visit the theatres.

During an interaction at the launch of Indian Pro Music League in the city, Salman Khan said, "There are three films of mine that are ready for release, and the problem with single-screen theatres is that there are very few films being released over there. Nowadays, there is a kabristan (graveyard) kind of feel to single-screen theatres, as no one goes there to watch films."

"Obviously, the people who own these have no other option than running them, and there are so many theatres that have shut down due to financial reasons. I feel it is not a good sign. We are in the profession of acting, so we make films. But where should we release them?" he added.

It was being speculated that Salman's next film Radhe will be releasing on an OTT platform, however, the actor cleared the air by issuing a statement on Instagram. While talking about releasing Radhe in theatres on Eid, the actor added, "It's a catch-22 situation as we are incomplete without them (theatre owners) and they are incomplete without us. I have a good hold over single-screen theatres, so they (theatre owners) requested me to release 'Radhe' in single screen theatres."

In his statement, the actor had assured exhibitors that he would release the film only in theatres. He also urged theatre owners to follow safety precautions, and said, "Covid-19 is still there, so we have requested theatres owners to follow safety precautions while screening films, so that no one gets infected."

Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai by Prabhu Deva, also stars Disha Patani, Randeep Hooda and Jackie Shroff in pivotal roles.

ALSO READ: Salman Khan On Farmers' Protest: The Most Correct Thing Should Be Done

ALSO READ: Antim: Salman Khan Wraps Up The Shooting Of Mahesh Manjrekar's Gangster Film In Just 60 Days
The recovery mission continues on the Gold Coast after a womans body washed up on a beach on Thursday night and the man with whom she was believed to have gone swimming remains missing.

Police said they dont expect to find anybody alive. The sea conditions in the area on Friday were rough and expected to worsen, and there was a hazardous surf warning in place for the Gold Coast.

The drowning victim was a woman aged in her late 20s. She lived in Victoria, but Queensland police believe she was originally from Europe and officers were still trying to contact her next to kin.

Passers-by found the womans body washed up on Kurrawa Beach at Broadbeach about 10.15pm on Thursday. She was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.
BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Visiting poor villages has been a key part of Xi Jinping's more than 80 domestic inspections since he was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in late 2012.

His tour in the less-developed Guizhou Province this week, however, signals a change.

As the country has gained a decisive victory in ending absolute poverty, the focus of work concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers has shifted to promoting rural vitalization.

A priority is to consolidate poverty relief achievements. The more difficult it is for a region to shake off poverty, the greater the need to consolidate and expand its poverty eradication results.

By choosing Guizhou, home to the last nine counties removed from the country's poverty list, Xi wanted to see in person the living conditions of those who had shaken off poverty, and promote steady progress in rural vitalization.

He went to Huawu Village in Qianxi County that was once reeling under extreme poverty but has received support to develop rural industries and tourism.

Xi visited a Miao embroidery workshop there, giving thumbs up to its role in promoting rural vitalization.

He joined the family of Zhao Yuxue in Huawu Village to make a traditional snack for festivals and wished the family "a happier and sweeter life."

As Xi has pointed out on various occasions, rural vitalization involves work in the following aspects:

-- rural industries must be bolstered to turn farming into promising work;

-- favorable conditions must be created for those who choose to stay in the countryside;

-- cultural activities must be enriched;

-- the environment and ecology must be good and village-level organizations should be full of vigor.

The message of shifting the focus in work concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers has become clear over time.

A key session of the 19th CPC Central Committee last October called for efforts in consolidating achievements secured in poverty eradication and fully promoting the strategy of rural vitalization.

At the annual central rural work conference held in last December, Xi stressed that China should push forward rural vitalization in an all-round way as "a historic shift" in the focus of its work concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers.

The year 2021 marks the start of China's 14th five-year plan for economic and social development and its new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country.

In that pursuit, the rural areas remain where the most formidable tasks, as well as the broadest and most profound foundations, lie.

Xi's Guizhou tour is expected to point out the future direction for promoting rural vitalization.

As he has said, being lifted out of poverty is not an end in itself but the starting point of a new life and a new pursuit.
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced on Thursday to more than 15 years in prison for abusing four underage girls in Kenya, where he had operated an orphanage for about a decade before returning home, the authorities said.

The man, Gregory Dow, of Lancaster County, had traveled halfway around the world to prey on incredibly vulnerable victims, Jennifer Arbittier Williams, the acting United States attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. His crimes are nearly incomprehensible in their depravity.

In addition to the prison term, Mr. Dow was also ordered to pay $16,000 in restitution.

Lawyers for Mr. Dow, 61, did not immediately respond to email and telephone messages on Thursday evening.

Mr. Dow pleaded guilty in 2020 to four counts of abusing the girls over a four-year period, starting when the youngest victims were 11 years old. At that time, prosecutors said they were prepared to present evidence detailing Mr. Dows years of abuse.

One of the private companies which runs the post primary transfer test for P7 pupils has said it is pressing on with preparations for tests next November, despite coming under increasing financial pressure.

Company records show AQE, which is run as a non-profit organisation, made a loss of over 27,000 in the year ending 2019.

That almost doubled to over 50,000 in 2020.

Earlier this week AQE said it would fully reimburse all parents who had entered a child for this year's test at a cost of 55 per pupil.

That amounts to a 400,000 hit for the company, which provides tests for 34 of Northern Ireland's grammar schools.

Instead, the Board of Governors at those grammar schools have set their own criteria for the admissions of new pupils to Year 8 in September.

RBAI in Belfast, Enniskillen Royal and Dalriada in Ballymoney are among a small group of schools that usually use the AQE test that still plan to use academic ability as a criteria to admit pupils this September - but this time by asking for proof of achievement from standardised tests taken in primary school.

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The AQE said it is already planning negotiations with grammar schools over the procedures for next year after cancelling all tests for current P7 pupils.

"AQE and its 34 member grammar schools intend to initiate preparations for proceeding with the assessment for the next academic year," said Dr Darrin Barr, co-chief Executive of AQE Limited, who also confirmed every entry fee for the test would be refunded

"However, this will all be kept under review due to Covid-19 and we will be continuing to engage with all relevant stakeholders with the aim of providing further details when known.

"The safety and wellbeing of the children are our main priorities," said Dr Barr.

"AQE Ltd has written to the parents and guardians of all of the children that had been registered for the 2020/21 AQE assessment to inform them that they will receive a full refund of 55 following the cancellation of this year's assessment, due to Covid-19.

"Although the registration forms stated that only 20 would be refunded if the assessment was cancelled, the AQE Board and its membership of 34 local grammar schools decided unanimously that an additional exceptional ex-gratia payment of 35 should also be provided, given this year's unique circumstances. We shall therefore be refunding 55 in full.

"As a not-for-profit organisation funded by its membership and parents/guardians, the AQE along with the member schools will be covering all costs in relation to the preparation for this year's assessment along with the refunds. We anticipate that all refunds should be completed within three months."

Catholic grammar schools who would normally have used the PPTC transfer test have abandoned academic selection after seeking legal advice. Lawyers warned any schools that ignored guidance on non-academic admissions criteria were likely to face legal action.

In letters to parents, several said they sought advice before deciding what methods to use.

Admissions criteria have been published on the Education Authority website.
Moscow announced the expulsions just hours after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss ties

Moscow: Russia on Friday expelled diplomats from three European countries for taking part in protests in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny after the European Union said ties with Moscow had hit a new low.

With EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Moscow for a rare visit, Russia said it had declared diplomats from Poland, Germany and Sweden persona non grata for participating in "illegal protests" on 23 January in support of Navalny.

The West has fiercely condemned Navalny's arrest in mid-January, a crackdown on mass demonstrations by his supporters, and a court ruling on Tuesday to jail the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner for nearly three years.

Moscow announced the expulsions just hours after Borrell met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss ties, with the unspecified number of diplomats "ordered to leave Russia in the near future".

The foreign ministry did not provide details of how they had been involved in the protests, saying only that Russia expects foreign diplomats to "strictly follow the norms of international law".

Russia has bristled at Western backing for Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent, accusing Europe and the United States of interfering in its domestic affairs.

"Our relationship is indeed in a difficult moment," Borrell told Lavrov during the talks, adding that the relationship is "under severe strain and the Navalny case is a low point".

The two men said there were hopes for cooperation in some areas, including on the coronavirus pandemic, but the announcement of the expulsions was unlikely to help ease tensions.

In a statement on Friday, Borrell said he had learned of the decision to expel three European diplomats in his meeting with Lavrov.

Borrell "strongly condemned this decision and rejected the allegations that they conducted activities incompatible with their status as foreign diplomats".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the action as "not justified", while French President Emmanuel Macron "condemned" the decision.

Sweden's foreign ministry said the decision was "completely unfounded" and warned that it reserved the right "to an appropriate response", while Poland said it could lead to the "further deepening of the crisis in bilateral relations".

Borrell's visit was the first to Russia by a senior EU envoy since 2017, following years of deteriorating relations sparked by Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Navalny back in court

Ties have further worsened in recent months, after three European labs concluded that Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-designed nerve agent in an attack in Siberia in August.

He blames Putin for the poisoning, a charge the Kremlin denies.

Navalny was flown to Germany to recover from the poisoning then arrested at a Moscow airport when he returned to Russia in mid-January.

He was accused of violating the parole conditions of a 2014 suspended sentence on fraud charges and on Tuesday jailed for two years and eight months.

He was back in court on Friday on separate charges of defaming a World War II veteran, which could see him jailed for an additional two years.

The hearing was adjourned to Friday, 12 February.

The trained lawyer is accused of describing people who appeared in a pro-Kremlin video -- including the 95-year-old veteran -- as "the shame of the country" and "traitors" in a June tweet.

In court Navalny and his lawyers said the case was politically motivated and a pretext to silence him.

'Truth is on my side'

"It is clear to everyone that the truth is on my side," he said, standing in a glass cage for defendants in the Moscow courtroom.

Borrell's visit drew criticism from some European capitals worried Moscow would spin it as evidence Brussels is keen to return to business as usual, with some in Europe calling for new sanctions on Russia.

The Kremlin on Friday also lashed out against what it called "aggressive and unconstructive rhetoric" from the United States this week.

"We've already said that we will not heed patronising statements of this sort," said Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

President Joe Biden on Thursday said the US will no longer be "rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions" and his officials said they would take action against Moscow over Navalny and for other "malign" behaviour.
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Jacqueline Maley and Nigel Gladstone have confirmed my belief that all awards should be given to those working voluntarily for the good of the community. Politicians, the armed forces and public servants are well paid for their jobs and should not be rewarded with any honours. Robyn Lewis Raglan, NSW

Out of order The honours awards [January 23] can be greatly improved with two simple changes. The first is to only have one level of award: Order of Australia. The second is to only honour non-paid activities. The medical, legal and political associations can develop their own member awards for a job well done. These guidelines are used in Victorian municipal annual awards for citizen of the year. In general, the awards go to very deserving volunteers. Peter Hanrahan Clunes, Vic

Send us a picture or Instagram one of Good Weekend in your life, using the hashtag #goodweekendmag. We choose one each week to publish here and in print.

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Ive successfully nominated three people for an Australian honour. Two devote their lives to helping others, one in a country town, one in Vietnam; all three happen to be blokes. My advice to anyone thinking of nominating someone worthy: gather 25 letters of support, preferably on an organisational letterhead, thus saving the honours secretariat from having to do the heavy lifting.

Michael Thornton

Richmond, Vic

Reading the article by Jacqueline Maley and Nigel Gladstone made me wonder again why we need an honours list at all. Lets face it, apart from the recipients and their close relatives and acquaintances, who really knows or cares who receives an Order of Australia award? How many readers can even recall off the top of their heads any of the winners of the major awards from 2020, let alone those from five or 10 years ago? The only names we remember are the inexplicable selections like Bettina Arndt, Graham Richardson or, heaven forbid, Bronwyn Bishop. Lets do away with the awards altogether. Surely worthy people can take pride and satisfaction in a job well done without needing a public pat on the back.

Col Nicholson

Hawks Nest, NSW

This was an interesting article reflecting my own views on the Australian honours system. While it drew attention to the gender bias and the dearth of Indigenous awards or representation on the council for the Order of Australia, there was no mention of Australian Olympic medallists. The gold medallists seem to be automatically given an award for receiving an award!

Vee Saunders

Weetangera, ACT

It helps to be rich, well-connected, powerful and male. Yes, but you forgot to mention that it also helps an awful lot if youre a celebrity (and not necessarily a male one).

John Howes

Rowville, Vic


Shahid Kapoors hot bod has always proved that the hunk has been a fitness freak. But what makes us come to the above conclusion of his workout being his caffeine is the fact that off late he has been posting pictures early in the morning and they all have been about his workout.



This morning too, he shared a click on IG story where we see a shot of his gym and he has captioned it Good Morning. Well, looks like the actor is super busy prepping for his web debut and it has got to do a lot with the physical aspect. Shahid is in Goa and the actor has been working out like crazy. From gym gadgets to sexy selfies, Shahid is showing us his transformation. And we dont mind at all, because the gym-clicks get us motivated alright.Shahid Kapoors web debut is directed by Raj and DK and joining him is South actress Raashi Khanna. The actor will be in Goa for a long time as this is an extensive schedule and there is a lot of action required for the actor to perform. This actor is giving it his all and after 18 years in the industry, it's yet again a debut year for the star. Shahid Kapoor will also be seen in the remake of Jersey opposite Mrunal Thakur.
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All the Prime Ministers Men - Al Jazeera Investigations

An explosive investigation reveals how a criminal gang is colluding with the security forces of Bangladesh and has links to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. https://www.ajiunit.com/investigation/all-the-prime-ministers-men/

Bangladeshs army chief and a tale of revenge

by David Bergman and Al Jazeera Investigative Unit (4 Feb 2021 https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/2/4/bangladesh-army-chief-and-tale-of-revenge-aziz-ahmed
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Punjab National Bank reported an 18 per cent quarter-on-quarter drop in its standalone net profit to Rs 506 crore in the December quarter (Q3). The state-owned banks net interest income dropped marginally by 1 per cent to Rs 8,313 crore in Q3, compared with the previous quarter. In the third quarter of last financial year, had reported a net loss of Rs 492 crore.

On a year-on-year basis, the banks net interest income  the difference between interest earned through lending and interest paid to depositors  grew 28 per cent. It grew 22 per cent to Rs 23,539 crore during the April-December period.

The year-on-year numbers are not comparable as Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank of India merged into Punjab National Bank from April 1, 2020.

The banks gross non-performing assets ratio dropped by 44 basis points to 12.99 per cent from 13.43 per cent as of September. The banks net NPA ratio was at 4.03 per cent in Q3, a 4.75 per cent sequential decline.

The lender has not classified any account that was not an NPA as on August 31, 2020, as a bad loan based on the Supreme Courts blanket ban on fresh recognition of soured loans. However, the public sector bank has made a contingent provision of Rs 2,520 crore for such accounts that were not classified as NPA.

If the bank would have classified such accounts as NPA, the lenders gross NPA and net NPA ratio would have been 14.71 per cent and 5.65 per cent, respectively, it said.

PNBs provisions in Q3 increased 15.7 per cent sequentially to Rs 5,433 crore, of which Rs 3,118 crore was on account of bad loans. The banks provision coverage ratio as of December-end was 85.16 per cent, against 83 per cent in September 2020.
The chair of Dublins joint committee on policing has called for a knife amnesty at garda stations to deal with a spate of violent stabbings in the capital.

In recent weeks there have been at least six serious knife attacks in the city which have resulted in two fatalities.

Mother-of-two Urantsetseg Tserendorj (48) was stabbed while walking home from work in the inner-city on January 20 and passed away on Wednesday.

A 15-year-old has been charged in relation to the incident.

Last week a 16-year-old schoolboy was killed during as tabbing in East Wall and a man has been charged with murder as part of that investigation.

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Fianna Fail councillor Daithi de Roiste, chair of Dublin citys Joint Policing Committee (JPC), said that a knife amnesty in garda stations may prevent future serious crimes.

We need a campaign to bin the blade or something that will educate young people about the serious harm carrying a knife can cause.

As part of this a knife amnesty should be incorporated whereby a person can drop such a weapon into their local garda station with no questions asked.

There should be a campaign involving guards, politicians and local community workers.

Stabbings are the new shootings and its just not good enough, Mr de Roiste told the Sunday World.

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Yesterday senior politicians, including Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, a local TD, met with members of the North Inner City Community Coalition to discuss recent violent incidents in the area.

The Taoiseach said after the meeting: I extend my deepest sympathies to all those impacted by the shocking incidents which have taken place in Dublin in recent weeks. This sort of behaviour cannot continue, and I know that the Minister for Justice and Garda Commissioner have been meeting this week to discuss a plan to tackle these recent incidents.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that people in the area should not be afraid to leave their homes because of a small minority determined to cause harm.

My Department and An Garda Siochana will continue our outreach programmes, engagement and interventions but we will formulate new ways of targeting young people when they cannot participate in their normal activities and programmes,Ms McEntee added.









Kashmir Solidarity Day was commemorated all over Azad Kashmir with full zeal and renewal of the pledge moral, political and diplomatic support to freedom movement if Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) on Friday

MUZAFFARABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Feb, 2021 ):Kashmir Solidarity Day was commemorated all over Azad Kashmir with full zeal and renewal of the pledge moral, political and diplomatic support to freedom movement if Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) on Friday.

The day begun with one minute silence in the memory of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of their motherland and with special prayers in mosques.

Human chains were made by the people Pakistan and Azad Kashmir at all entry points linking Azad Kashmir with Pakistan to express solidarity with the people of IIOJ&K.

Public rallies were organized by different political parties in different cities and towns of Azad Kashmir to condemn Indian atrocities in IIOJ&K and to assure political support to them for their struggle for just right to self determination.

In this connection a public rally was also organized at Burhan Wani Chowk in the capital of AJK under the aegis of Pasban-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir.

National anthems of Pakistan and Kashmir were played, flags of AJK and Pakistan were hoisted and people marched from Burhan Wani Chowk to Central Press Club while chanting Anti India and Pro-freedom slogans.

Large number of women, children, elders and youth participated in the rally to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people and freedom-loving youth.

The participants of the rally made chains of human hands to pay homage to the eternal sacrifices of the Kashmiri people.

While addressing the rally, Chairman Pasban-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir Uzair Ahmad Ghazali said that today 220 million Pakistanis, 4.1 million people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 1.8 million citizens of Gilgit-Baltistan are renewing their commitment for the independence of the occupied state from India.

"Today, through expressing solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, we are determined to continue our resistance against India until India's military occupation in the state ends" Ghazali maintained.

He said that we are grateful to the people of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir who stand by us in difficult times.

"Pakistan is the only country in the world that is openly supporting the Kashmiri people politically, diplomatically and morally for the right to self-determination" Uzair stated.

He said that India should remember that the misuse of force cannot crush the rightful movement for freedom despite of military terrorism and oppression on innocent and unarmed civilians.

"The Kashmiri people have pledged that they will continue their struggle till the end of the Indian military occupation" he added.

He called on the United Nations, the Security Council, the European Union and the OIC to fulfill their promise of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Participants in the rally condemned the all illegal actions taken by India in the disputed state on 5th August 2019.

PPP leader Shaukat Javed Mir, Hurriyat leader Malik Mohammad Aslam, All Pakistan Muslim League leader Javed Ahmed Mughal, Refugees' representative Chaudhry Muhammad Ismail, Raja Zakheer Khan, Muhammad Aimal Farzam, Liaquat Ali Rana, Faisal Farooq and Muhammad Iqbal and others also addressed on the occasion.

Youth in the protest procession were also wearing shrouds to express their determination for freedom from Indian occupation till death.
Pine Point Mining Limited Submits Environmental Assessment Reports To NWT Regulators

Posted by Publisher Internet

Osisko Metals Incorporated (the \Company\ or \Osisko Metals\  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/osisko-metals-inc/) (TSX-V: OM; OTCQX: OMZNF; FRANKFURT: 0B51) is pleased to announce that Pine Point Mining Limited, its 100%-owned subsidiary that controls the Pine Point project, has submitted an Environmental Assessment Initiation Package to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board. This key step will commence the Environmental Assessment (?EA?) process for the Pine Point Project.?

The initiation package includes a detailed Project Description, the Developers Assessment Proposal detailing the information to be included in the Developers Assessment Report on which the assessment will be based along with supporting documents.

The EA should be completed in approximately eighteen months. Following the successful conclusion of the EA, permit applications for the proposed mine will be submitted to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board and it is expected to take approximately 12 months to process by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board.

At the completion of the permitting process, the project will be green lighted for the construction and operation of the proposed mine.

Hydrogeological & In-fill Drilling Update

Drilling is progressing at Pine Point with the completion of 2 holes in the R190 prismatic deposit and 2 hydrogeological test holes in the Western and Central Zones of the Project. The Winter program will consist of a total of twenty holes: ten holes designed for hydrogeological & infill, two holes for infill only, and eight holes for hydrogeological purposes only which will be drilled outside of the mineralized trends. Encouragingly, none of the holes drilled to date are producing water to surface. All completed holes will be monitored for water outflow until such time as flow tracing and pumping tests can be performed in Q2 of this year.

About Osisko Metals

Osisko Metals Incorporated is a Canadian exploration and development company creating value in the base metal space. The Company controls one of Canada?s premier past-producing zinc mining camps, the Pine Point Project, located in the Northwest Territories for which the 2020 PEA has indicated an after-tax NPV of $500M and an IRR of 29.6%. The Pine Point Project PEA is based on current Mineral Resource Estimates that are amenable to open pit and shallow underground mining and consist of 12.9Mt grading 6.29% ZnEq of Indicated Mineral Resources and 37.6Mt grading 6.80% ZnEq of Inferred Mineral Resources. Please refer to the technical report entitled ?Preliminary Economic Assessment, Pine Point Project, Hay River, North West Territories, Canada? dated July 30, which has been filed on SEDAR. The Pine Point Project is located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, near infrastructure, paved highway access, and has 100 kilometres of viable haulage roads already in place.

The current Mineral Resources mentioned in this press release conform to NI43-101 standards and were prepared by independent qualified persons, as defined by NI43-101 guidelines. The abovementioned Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves as they do not have demonstrated economic viability. The quantity and grade of the reported Inferred Mineral Resources are conceptual in nature and are estimated based on limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological grade and/or quality of continuity. Zinc equivalency percentages are calculated using metal prices, forecasted metal recoveries, concentrate grades, transport costs, smelter payable metals and charges (see respective technical reports for details).

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains \forward-looking information\ within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and constitute forward-looking information. This news release may contain forward-looking information pertaining to the Pine Point Project, including, among other things, ?the results of the PEA and the IRR, NPV and estimated costs, production, production rate and mine life; the expectation that the Pine Point Project will be an robust operation and profitable at a variety of prices and assumptions; the expected high quality of the Pine Point concentrates; the potential impact of the Pine Point Project in the Northwest Territories, including but not limited to the potential generation of tax revenue and contribution of jobs; and the Pine Point Project having the potential for mineral resource expansion and new discoveries. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management, in light of management?s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, including, without limitation, assumptions about: favourable equity and debt capital markets; the ability to raise additional capital on reasonable terms to advance the development of its projects and pursue planned exploration; future prices of zinc and lead; the timing and results of exploration and drilling programs; the accuracy of mineral resource estimates; production costs; operating conditions being favourable; political and regulatory stability; the receipt of governmental and third party approvals; licences and permits being received on favourable terms; sustained labour stability; stability in financial and capital markets; availability of equipment; and positive relations with local groups.? Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information are set out in the Company?s public documents filed at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Popular Kollywood couple Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan had acquired the production rights of Tamil Drama movie Koozangal. This directional debut of PS Vinod Raj got selected in the Tiger Competition for the 50th International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFRR). Vignesh and Nayanthara were seen at the screening of Koozhangal at IFFR in the Netherlands and the pictures along with the cast have been shared on social media.

Also Read: Kalaiyarasan Joins The Ensemble Cast Of Simbu's Upcoming Action Film Titled 'Pathu Thala'

IFFR Screening

IFFR is an annual film festival held every year at the end of January which showcases selective works on independent and experimental filmmaking from around the world. Koozhangal has got the additional honor of being the only Indian feature film that has been selected in the Tiger Award competition. The international edition of the film has been titled Pebbles. The official Twitter handle of Rowdy Pictures recently shared the couples pictures along with the crew from the screening of the film at IFFR. They captioned it The much-awaited crew photo of our film Koozhangal that's premiering today!. Check out the Twitter post about IFFR Screening-

The much awaited crew photo of our film Koozhangal that's premiering today! pic.twitter.com/mWZQ9O4zvW  Rowdy Pictures Pvt Ltd (@Rowdy_Pictures) February 4, 2021

Also Read: Nayanthara & Vignesh Shivan Acquire Vasanth Ravi's 'Rocky', Take A Look At The Tweet

Koozangal

Koozangal depicts the story of a poverty-stricken father and son wandering in a South Indian landscape where their anger and frustration is seen to be hotter than the sun. Vignesh Shivan broke the exciting news to his followers about the 'Tiger Award' selection on Twitter in December. The trailer for the movie was released at the same time. The film features a host of newcomers and has music composed by Yuvan Shankar. Check out the trailer of Koozangal-

Koozangal will be the third project that will be released via Rowdy Pictures production house which has also produced Nayantharas upcoming Tamil thriller Netrikann. Directed by Milind Rau, the film will star Ajmal, Manikandan, Saran in pivotal roles. The banner will also be the presenter for the upcoming Tamil action-thriller Rocky. Written and directed by Arun Matheswaran, the film will star Vasanth Ravi and Raveena Ravi in the lead roles.

Also Read: Nayanthara's Birthday: 15 Facts You Need To Know About 'Babu Bangaram' Actor

Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara's Works

Vignesh is currently busy shooting his upcoming Tamil comedy Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kadhal in Hyderabad. The film will star Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara, and Samantha Akkineni. Nayanthara who had recently wrapped up shooting for the Malayalam film Nizhal will soon be joining him in Hyderabad for the shoot. Nayanthara was last seen in the film RJ Balaji's Mookuthi Amman. She essayed the role of a Goddess in the movie and the film released on the occasion of Diwali on Disney+ Hotstar on November 14, 2020. The film also starred Balaji in the lead role and Urvashi, Smruthi Venkat, Madhu Mailankody, Abinaya, Moulee, and Ajay Ghosh in supporting roles.

Image Source- Rowdy Pictures Twitter Handle

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.


Google has lost a couple of talents due to the way it treated and the departure of its former top AI ethics researcher, Dr. Timnit Gebru. According to Reuters, engineering director David Baker left the tech giant last month after 16 years with the company. In a letter seen by the news organization, Baker said Gebrus exit extinguished [his] desire to continue as a Googler. He added: We cannot say we believe in diversity, and then ignore the conspicuous absence of many voices from within our walls.

Software engineer Vinesh Kannan, who built infrastructure and features for organic shopping on the website, has also left the company. Kannan explained in a tweet that he made his decision because Google's mistreatment of @timnitGebru and @RealAbril (April Christina Curley) crossed a personal red line.

Yesterday was my last day at Google. I left because Google's mistreatment of @timnitGebru and @RealAbril crossed a personal red line I wrote down when I started the job. I know I gained a lot from Google, but I also gained a lot from both of their work, and they were wronged.  Vinesh Kannan (@vineshgkannan) February 3, 2021

Timnit Gebru used to colead Googles Ethical Artificial Intelligence Team until her controversial exit. Gebru said she was fired after sending an email to the companys internal Brain Women and Allies list. In a report trying to get to the bottom of what happened, MITs Technology Review said Gebrus departure was a result of a conflict over a paper she co-authored. The paper discussed issues with training language AI, including its environmental impact and its potential to cause a disadvantage to marginalized groups.

Google AI head Jeff Dean reportedly told colleagues in an internal email that the paper didnt meet [the companys] bar for publication. Gebru apparently pushed back on orders to pull the research and told the tech giant she would resign if her conditions werent met. She wrote on Twitter that Google didnt agree to her conditions and accepted her resignation, ending her employment much earlier than the date she specified and even before she got back from vacation.

I need to be very careful what I say so let me be clear. They can come after me. No one told me that I was fired. You know legal speak, given that we're seeing who we're dealing with. This is the exact email I received from Megan who reports to Jeff  Timnit Gebru (@timnitGebru) December 3, 2020

As for Curley, she was a diversity recruiter who said she was fired for calling Google out on [its] racist bullshit. Both Gebru and Curley are Black women. Google told The Verge it doesnt agree with the way April describes her termination, but its not appropriate for [the company] to provide a commentary about her claims.

Gebrus exit caused an uproar, prompting thousands of Googlers, as well as academic, industry and civil society supporters to sign a letter calling on Google Research to strengthen its commitment to research integrity and to unequivocally commit to supporting research that honors the commitments made in Googles AI Principles. The Google Ethics AI team also demanded the removal of Megan Kacholia, vice president of engineering at Google, and for Gebrus reinstatement at a higher position. Google CEO Sundar Pichai apologized for how the company handled her departure in an internal email and pledged to investigate what happened to identify all the points where [the company] can learn.
Vancouver, British Columbia and Johannesburg, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) - Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (TSX: PTM) (NYSE American: PLG) ("Platinum Group" or the "Company") reports that it has entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement (the "Sales Agreement") with BMO Capital Markets Corp. ("BMO"), effective as of February 5, 2021. Under the Sales Agreement, Platinum Group may sell its common shares in the capital of the Company from time to time for up to US$50.0 million in aggregate sales proceeds in "at-the-market" transactions. No offers or sales of common shares will be made in Canada, to anyone known by BMO to be a resident of Canada or on or through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") or other trading markets in Canada.

For more complete information about the Company and the offering, investors are directed to read the prospectus supplement relating to and describing the terms of the offering, and the related registration statement on Form F-3 and other documents that Platinum Group has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, copies of the prospectus supplement relating to the offering may be obtained, when available, from:

BMO Capital Markets Corp.

3 Times Square

New York, NY 10036

Facsimile: (212) 702-1205

Attention: Equity Capital Markets Desk

or by emailing bmoprospectus@bmo.com.

The Company has relied on the exemption for "Eligible Interlisted Issuers" under Section 602.1 of the TSX Company Manual in connection with the listing of the common shares on the TSX under the offering.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities being offered, nor may there be any sale of the securities being offered in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to repay a portion or all of the Company's secured loan facility with Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP ("Sprott") entered into on August 15, 2019 (the "2019 Sprott Facility"), and for general corporate purposes, including pre-construction engineering, site work and preparation for the Waterberg Project. The Company may elect to use a portion of the net proceeds of the offering allocated to general corporate purposes to repay a portion or all of the Company's 6 7/8% convertible senior subordinated notes due 2022.

About Platinum Group Metals Ltd. and Waterberg Project

Platinum Group Metals Ltd. is the operator and majority owner of the Waterberg Project, a bulk underground palladium, platinum, gold and rhodium deposit located in South Africa. The Waterberg Project was discovered by Platinum Group and is being jointly advanced with the shareholders of Waterberg JV Resources (Pty) Ltd. ("Waterberg JV Co."), being Platinum Group, Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, Hanwa Co. Ltd. and Mnombo Wethu Consultants (Pty) Ltd. ("Mnombo").

In 2019, the Company founded Lion Battery Technologies Inc. in partnership with Anglo American Platinum Limited to support the use of palladium and platinum in lithium battery applications.

On behalf of the Board of

Platinum Group Metals Ltd.

R. Michael Jones

President and CEO

For further information contact:

R. Michael Jones, President

or Kris Begic, VP, Corporate Development

Platinum Group Metals Ltd., Vancouver

Tel: (604) 899-5450 / Toll Free: (866) 899-5450

www.platinumgroupmetals.net

Disclosure

The TSX and the NYSE American have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this news release, which has been prepared by management.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic and related measures taken by government create uncertainty and have had, and may continue to have, an adverse impact on many aspects of the Company's business, including employee health, workforce productivity and availability, travel restrictions, contractor availability, supply availability, the Company's ability to maintain its controls and procedures regarding financial and disclosure matters and the availability of capital and insurance and the costs thereof, some of which, individually or when aggregated with other impacts, may be material to the Company.

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. securities laws (collectively "forward-looking statements"), including statements with respect to the sale of common shares under the Sales Agreement and the amount and uses of proceeds thereof. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes any forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct.

The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including possible adverse impacts due the global outbreak of COVID-19 (as described above), the Company's inability to generate sufficient cash flow or raise sufficient additional capital to make payment on its indebtedness, and 2019 Sprott Facility is, and any new indebtedness may be, secured and the Company has pledged its shares of Platinum Group Metals (RSA) Proprietary Limited ("PTM RSA"), and PTM RSA has pledged its shares of Waterberg JV Co. to Sprott, under the 2019 Sprott Facility, which potentially could result in the loss of the Company's interest in PTM RSA and the Waterberg Project in the event of a default under the 2019 Sprott Facility or any new secured indebtedness; the Company's history of losses and negative cash flow; the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's properties may not be brought into a state of commercial production; uncertainty of estimated production, development plans and cost estimates for the Waterberg Project; discrepancies between actual and estimated mineral reserves and mineral resources, between actual and estimated development and operating costs, between actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries and between estimated and actual production; fluctuations in the relative values of the U.S. Dollar, the Rand and the Canadian Dollar; volatility in metals prices; the uncertainty of alternative funding sources for Waterberg JV Co.; the Company may become subject to the U.S. Investment Company Act; the failure of the Company or the other shareholders to fund their pro rata share of funding obligations for the Waterberg Project; any disputes or disagreements with the other shareholders of Waterberg JV Co. or Mnombo; the ability of the Company to retain its key management employees and skilled and experienced personnel; conflicts of interest; litigation or other administrative proceedings brought against the Company; actual or alleged breaches of governance processes or instances of fraud, bribery or corruption; exploration, development and mining risks and the inherently dangerous nature of the mining industry, and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks and other risks and uncertainties; property and mineral title risks including defective title to mineral claims or property; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and South Africa; equipment shortages and the ability of the Company to acquire necessary access rights and infrastructure for its mineral properties; environmental regulations and the ability to obtain and maintain necessary permits, including environmental authorizations and water use licences; extreme competition in the mineral exploration industry; delays in obtaining, or a failure to obtain, permits necessary for current or future operations or failures to comply with the terms of such permits; risks of doing business in South Africa, including but not limited to, labour, economic and political instability and potential changes to and failures to comply with legislation; the Company's common shares may be delisted from the NYSE American or the TSX if it cannot maintain compliance with the applicable listing requirements; and other risk factors described in the Company's most recent Form 20-F annual report, annual information form and other filings with the SEC and Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov and www.sedar.com, respectively. Proposed changes in the mineral law in South Africa if implemented as proposed would have a material adverse effect on the Company's business and potential interest in projects. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73767
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- A 35-year-old Ocean Springs man has been charged with arson after fire and police units responded to a house fire on Bowen Avenue early Friday morning.

According to Ocean Springs police Capt. Ryan LeMaire, the fire was reported shortly after midnight Friday. Ocean Springs firefighters were able to extinguish the fire, which had been contained to the front yard.

Investigation revealed gasoline had been poured on the front door, porch, steps and front lawn of the residence. The gasoline had been lit, but did not spread to surrounding areas or the main structure.

A suspect was identified as Patrick Cobb of Ocean Springs. Cobb was taken into custody and charged with fourth degree arson, with additional charges pending as the investigation into the fire continues.

According to LeMaire, Cobb did not live at the residence nor have any ties to the homeowner. A motive has yet to be determined.

Cobb is being held without bond at the Jackson County Adult Detention Center.
A WOMAN has been accused of endangering a garda's life by driving a car at him, forcing him to jump out of the way to avoid being knocked down.

Charlotte Spence (32), who denies the allegation, had the case against her adjourned at Dublin District Court for hearing on a later date.

Ms Spence, of Silver Hill, Bundoran, Co Donegal, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and intentionally or recklessly engaging in conduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another.

The offences are alleged to have happened at Clondalkin/Fonthill train station, Fonthill Road, on January 17 last year.

A garda sergeant said the DPP was consenting to the case remaining in the district court.

The court heard it was alleged Ms Spence drove at speed straight toward the garda, who avoided being hit by jumping out of the way.

Judge Bryan Smyth accepted jurisdiction of the case in the district court after hearing the outline of the allegations.

The sergeant said there would be eight prosecution witnesses in the case.

Judge Smyth adjourned the case to September and remanded the accused on continuing bail.
An estimated 390 000 people became ill with tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa in 2018, according to the country's first-ever National TB Prevalence Survey released on Friday.

The higher than expected number follows World Health Organization (WHO) figures published in 2020 that estimated that around 360 000 people in the country fell ill with the disease in 2019. The WHO estimates, in turn, were around 20% higher than its previous estimates of around 300 000.

Of the estimated 390 000 people who fell ill with TB in 2018, only 235 652 were diagnosed. This means that an estimated 154 348 people with TB were not diagnosed.

Commenting on the finding that many people with TB are never diagnosed, Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said: "The implications of this is continued transmission. To break the cycle of transmission, we need to extend services to communities through outreach programmes and sustain infection-control practices from COVID-19."

The prevalence of pulmonary TB in people 15 years and older in South Africa in 2018 was estimated to be 852 (range 679- to 1 026) per 100 000 people while the estimated prevalence of all types of TB and in all ages was estimated to be 737 per 100 000.

Is symptom screening enough?

One of the most significant findings of the survey was the high percentage of people who were found to have active TB but who showed none of the traditional symptoms of the disease, including cough, night sweats, weight loss and fever.

Of the 234 people found to have TB in the study, more than half, around 58%, had abnormal x-rays without any TB symptoms, 35% had both abnormal x-rays and TB symptoms, and around 7% had symptoms only. Around 35 000 people participated in the survey, well short of the targeted 55 000.

These findings have serious implications for South Africa's TB screening approach, which heavily relies on asking patients if they have any of the traditional symptoms associated with TB.

Mkhize noted the survey found a "blind spot", "showing positive cases having no symptoms" which means there "has to be a whole rethink of how we screen for TB".

The survey also found that two thirds of people (66.6%) who had one or more symptoms of TB did not seek care for a variety of reasons. These reasons included that they were still going to seek care, that they regarded their symptoms as not serious, that they had no money to travel to health facilities and that health facilities were located too far from where they lived.

Time for mobile x-ray technology?

One of the key recommendations coming out of the survey is to increase "access to TB screening and testing services through outreach programmes using mobile testing and x-ray facilities".

According to Dr Sizulu Moyo from the Human Sciences Research Council sub-clinical (asymptomatic TB) TB is "underestimated" when it comes to the total burden of TB. Moyo, one of the principal investigators in the survey, presented the key findings of the survey on a Department of Health webinar. "Given that they have no symptoms but have bacteriologically confirmed TB when tested, chest x-rays play a key role and should be given a greater role in active case finding," she said.

Mkhize also noted the need to include new technologies to expand "the use of chest x-rays for TB screening at facility and community level".

A pilot study is currently underway in six districts looking at the feasibility of using mobile and portable x-ray technologies in combination with "artificial intelligence to simplify interpretation for clinicians". (Spotlight previously reported on the use of AI and x-rays in TB detection.)

More TB than expected in HIV negative people

In South Africa, HIV has long been considered the main driver of the country's TB epidemic. While it is clearly still the case, it may not be as much so as previously thought. In the survey, only 28% of those found to be ill with TB were also living with HIV.

"TB is underdiagnosed in HIV negative people," said Moyo, who added that HIV negative people need to be included more prominently in TB strategies going forward.

The survey also confirmed that TB rates in men were much higher than in women.

"TB prevalence is 1.6 times higher in men than in women," said Moyo. Yet it was also found that men were much less likely to seek care compared to women.

Mkhize noted the need to "focus on men" who "tend to be shy of seeking health assistance" and to "integrate" them more effectively into TB detection strategies.

"Of the recommendations that we made is to integrate TB into other men's health programmes, for example, the voluntary medical male circumcision programme," Moyo said. "There are already some mechanisms in place to reach men which we can use [to identify more cases of TB in this group]."

After long delays

Spotlight understands that the survey findings were ready a year ago in February 2020. In June 2020, Spotlight requested access to the findings in terms of the Protection of Access to Information Act, a process that dragged on for some months. The Department of Health had twice previously scheduled webinars to announce the findings and then postponed the webinars. Some of the findings were briefly presented at a TB conference in October 2020 that was not open to the public.

On today's webinar Deputy Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla "unreservedly" apologised for the repeated "delays and postponements" of the report which, he noted, is "long overdue". The significant delay in releasing these findings were entirely attributed to the unforeseen onslaught of COVID-19.

He said that "often when there is a delay like this" there are some "suspicions" that "people in government are trying to doctor the report". "I can assure you that no such thing happened... most of [the delays] were due to circumstances beyond our control. Over the last 12 months, we've been living with a pandemic that has affected our lives in almost everything we do. The release of this report did not escape adverse effects of this pandemic," he said.

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Mkhize noted that the TB response suffered under COVID-19 but that the lessons learnt from the new pandemic can be used in the fight against TB.

"We need to begin to look at how to integrate COVID, together with TB, because TB screening has suffered from a focus solely on COVID. Integration needs to be prioritised - a lot of work needs to be done," he said.

Dr Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen, of the activist organisation TB Proof, in a press release noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic it was evident the difference high quality data on disease prevalence makes to inform a co-ordinated and targeted public health response. "We do not have the same quality data for TB, and based on the national TB prevalence survey, it seems like the true prevalence of TB is substantially higher (about 20%) than initially thought. Health workers and patients will benefit from knowing the exact extent of the TB pandemic, as it will help determine where the biggest gaps in care are and inform care seeking behaviour," she said.

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Western Australians will begin to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as early as this month, WA Premier Mark McGowan and Health Minister Roger Cook have announced.

Mr Cook said on Saturday that 10,000 doses of the vaccine would be arriving on February 22 with the Pfizer vaccine to be the first available.

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Despite the urgency, it is important to stress that COVID-19 vaccines undergo the same stringent Therapeutic Goods Administration approvals, just in this case, its on a condensed time frame, he said.

I encourage everyone to take up the vaccination when it is made available to you.

He said all Australian adults were recommended to take up the vaccine once they were eligible but it was not recommended for children under 16.

Everyone in Western Australia will have the opportunity to be vaccinated by the end of 2021, he said.
Doctors inject sisters Claudia Scott-Mighty, left, Althea Scott-Bonaparte, who are patient care directors, and Christine Scott, an ICU nurse, with their second shot of the Pfizer vaccine at NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, N.Y., on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. (Kevin Hagen/AP Photo).

People Who Recovered From COVID-19 Should Receive Only 1 Dose of Vaccine: Study

Amid reports of vaccine shortages occurring around the world, a new study (pdf) suggests that people who have already had COVID-19 should get only one shot of the mRNA vaccine to avoid possible unnecessary adverse reactions and free up supplies for those who need it more.

The study, which hasnt been peer-reviewed, evaluated vaccine reactions after receiving the first dose in 231 individuals83 with a past infection of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus and 148 who had never had an infection.

Researchers from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that both groups equally reported experiencing pain, swelling, and redness at the injection site at the time of vaccination, which improved in a couple of days. However, people with a prior infection experienced more severe systemic reactionsfever, headache, chills, muscle or joint pain, and fatiguethan those who had never been infected.

We also noted that vaccine reactogenicity [expected reactions] after the first dose is substantially more pronounced in individuals with pre-existing immunity akin to side-effects reported for the second dose in the phase III vaccine trials [of both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna], the researchers stated.

A severe systemic reaction to a vaccine prevents daily activity, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Overall, there was a higher report of local and systemic adverse reactions in the vaccine group compared to the placebo group in both the Moderna (pdf) and the Pfizer-BioNTech (pdf) phase 3 studies that continue to collect data on vaccine safety and efficacy.

The study also looked at the immune systems response to the vaccines in 109 people: 41 who had recovered from COVID-19 and 68 whove never had the disease, and found those in the recovered group had 10-20 times higher antibody levels than those who had never been infected.

More studies are needed to further investigate the studys findings due to the small number of participants.

Some scientists and doctors are questioning why people with prior CCP virus infection still need to get the vaccine when they already have some measure of immunity against the virus especially when theres a limited number of vaccines available.

The CDC says people should be vaccinated whether or not theyve had COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus.

Due to the severe health risks associated with COVID-19 and the fact that reinfection is possible, CDC recommends getting vaccinated regardless of whether you already had COVID-19 infection, a spokesperson from the CDC told The Epoch Times in an email. Experts do not yet know how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19.

However, because the risk of reinfection is low in the months after initial COVID-19 infection, while vaccine supply remains limited, people who have a recent infection may choose to temporarily delay vaccination, the spokesperson added.

But opponents say that the possibility of reinfection is rare, so vaccines shouldnt be promoted to those with prior infection.

In its most recent guidance on Returning to Work updated on Feb. 2, the CDC says that cases of reinfection of COVID-19 have been reported but are rare and that its expected for some reinfections to occur based on what we know from similar viruses.

Health Care Workers Declining Vaccines

A medical worker prepares the COVID-19 vaccination at the University of CaliforniaIrvine Medical Center, in Orange, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Some health care personnel are declining a COVID vaccine, citing concerns of side effects, vaccine safety, and efficacy, the speed at which the vaccine was developed, and a lack of trust.

In Chicago, more than half of the staff at Roseland Community Hospital have declined to receive the vaccine as reported by CBSN Chicago.

According to the hospitals CEO, Tim Egen, last month, 75 percent of their staff have refused to get the shot.

Were trying to overcome some pretty prominent hurdlesyou know, a lack of trust in the medical testing, he told CBSN Chicago.

Almost a month later, CBS Evening News reported that 73 percent of the hospitals employees say they will continue to wait out on the vaccine.

A survey involving 5,287 employees of SUNY Upstate Medical University in New York who were asked about their belief, attitudes, and willingness to receive a COVID vaccine found that 58 percent would get the shot, while one-third of the respondents were unsure.

The authors said research scientists and doctors showed the highest acceptance in the 58 percent group, and respondents who were older, males, White, or Asian were more likely to get vaccinated compared to other groups.

While a different survey of more than 8,000 nursing home staff in Indiana published in Journal of The American Geriatrics Society in December 2020 says only 45 percent of respondents indicated they will get a COVID vaccine once it was made available, and 44 percent who first declined the vaccine said they would consider it in the future.

The survey has been cited in a report by the CDC.
The Government has extended the deadline for replacing the old passport by 10 months due to disruption caused by Covid-19.

Interior CS Fred Matiang'i now says Kenyans have until 31st December 2021 to acquire the new East Africa Community biometric e-passport.

"Due to the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Directorate of Immigration services scaled down its operations in an effort to mitigate the spread of the virus," said Matiang'i.

The CS said this will be the last such extension barring any unforeseen circumstances urging Kenyans to take advantage and acquire the biometric passports at the earliest possible opportunity.

"For the avoidance of doubt, starting January 1, 2022, the old dark blue passport will be null and void. No Kenyan will be able to travel abroad without a valid East Africa Community biometric e-passport," he said.

In November, the Directorate of Immigration announced that it had downscaled its operations in full compliance with a directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta owing to the upsurge in Covid-19 positive cases.

The Kenyatta directive on the measures to contain Coronavirus was directed to all government departments.

"We have downscaled our operations. All passport applicants are required to book new dates for submission," the statement read at the time.

The directorate had already canceled current appointments for passports submission applications and biometrics enrolment.

An applicant with an urgent need to travel was to be required to provide documentary evidence.
Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. Anurag Singh Thakur at Office in New Delhi on Friday (Photo By Qamar Sibtain) Image Source: IANS News

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. Anurag Singh Thakur at Office in New Delhi on Friday (Photo By Qamar Sibtain) Image Source: IANS News

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. Anurag Singh Thakur at Office in New Delhi on Friday (Photo By Qamar Sibtain) Image Source: IANS News

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. Anurag Singh Thakur at Office in New Delhi on Friday (Photo By Qamar Sibtain) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Feb 5 : India needs more profitable and robust banks to fully meet the growing demand and privatisation of two state-run lenders is a move in that direction, Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur, told IANS.

In a post-Budget exclusive conversation with IANS, Thakur elaborated on the need for public sector banks to become more profitable, as the Centre cannot recapitalise them every year.

Notably, banking sector reforms have been a major talking point of Budget 2021-22, specifically the proposal to privatise two state-run lenders along with a general insurance company.

Till now, the Centre's intent to privatise two lenders have received a healthy response from the investors and the stock markets. However, the banking unions have opposed the move.

When asked about the opposition to the privatisation plan, Thakur said the Centre has strengthened the banks by reducing their NPAs and by taking them out of the prompt corrective action (PCA) norm.

He mentioned that around Rs 5.5 lakh crore has been infused into the banks and an amalgamation and merger exercise has also been conducted.

According to Thakur, the last divestment experience has shown that both the employees and the company benefit from the exercise.

The employees, he said, will benefit from the move via higher pay scale in the future.

Besides, he said that the Centre will take all required steps to conduct a healthy divestment process.

On the speculation about inclusion of weak banks in the divestment plan, he said that buyers' perspective should also be looked at before making an offer.

(Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in and Subhash Narayan can be contacted at subhash.n@ians.in) -IANS

rv/sn/arm
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SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Along Came Trudy remains open for dine-in Thursday, despite a fine from the state of Oregon.

On Wednesday, Oregon OSHA fined the restaurant $9,215 following many weeks of the business remaining open for indoor dining against COVID-19 restrictions. That same day, the owner said they have no plans of shutting down, despite the fines.

RELATED: ALONG CAME TRUDY REMAINS DEFIANT IN FACE OF FINES

Multiple complaints about Along Came Trudy were reportedly made to the agency.

State officials say the fine was issued following an inspection that opened on Dec. 21, finding two violations. By allowing indoor dining, OSHA said the restaurant willfully disregarded the ban on indoor dining in extreme risk areas like Lane County. The second violation regards a failure to make sure customers inside the restaurant wear a face covering.

OSHA said armed people outside the business threatened regulatory agencies and their staff members.

Employers have 30 days to appeal citations.
The Opposition on Friday pounded the government on the contentious Agri laws, questioning the internet shutdown and snapping of power and water supply at protest sites and targeting of critics with sedition cases, with a senior Congress MP comparing the barricades erected at a farmers' protest site with the Berlin Wall and war prison.

Top guns from the Opposition benches like Congress' Anand Sharma and Mallikarjun Kharge, BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut and NCP's Praful Patel sought to put the government on the mat during the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address even as they condemned the violence at Red Fort during tractor rally on Republic Day.

Pratap Singh Bajwa, a senior Congress MP from Punjab, made a spirited attack while seeking to find holes in the government's defence of the three farm laws as well as its handling of the farmers' protests at Delhi borders and comparing it with the scenes in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and Uganda. "This is not the country that Mahatma Gandhi envisaged," he said.

Read: Tikait says 'chakka jam' to be pan-India except Delhi

"(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi-ji says he is just a call away. Who has your phone number, Modi-ji?" Bajwa said, referring to the prime minister's comments during the all-party meeting in which he said that the government's doors are open for discussion.

Describing the farm laws as "death warrants" for farmers, Bajwa told Modi that this is the time to become a statesman by going to the Delhi borders to meet the farmers and announce the repealing of laws.

"How can farmers trust you...You are erecting barbed wires as if the Berlin Wall is being built. You are giving Delhi borders the shape of war prisons...Parliament is in session. Leaders of Opposition parties went to Ghazipur border but police did not allow them to meet the farmers. Is this democracy?", he said while referring to the snapping of power and water supply as well as the internet.

Read more: FIR against deceased farmer's family for insulting national flag

"You brand us as Khalistanis...anti-nationals.. .Don't teach us nationalism. Every month a child from Punjab and Haryana returns home wrapped in the Tricolour...Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed his life to protect the Kashmiri Brahmins...My brother, a brigadier at 192 Mountain Brigade, led the victory in the Tiger Hills," he said.

BSP floor leader Mishra said that the government has "dug up trenches to suppress farmers' stir". "You've not done it for them, but for yourself. You snapped their water and electricity supplies and even removed toilets, without thinking that women are also there. This is a human rights violation," he said.

Shiv Sena's Raut said people speaking the truth are dubbed as a "traitor" or an "anti-national" and cases of sedition have been slapped against those criticising the government.

Also read: Centre's offer to amend farm laws doesn't mean shortcomings in legislations: Tomar

"We heard minister Dharmendra Pradhan is asking us to listen to the truth. For the last six years, we have been listening to the truth, even if the untruth has been dubbed as truth. The atmosphere of the country today is such that anyone writing the truth is dubbed as a traitor and an anti-national," he alleged.

BJD's Sasmit Patra demanded that the Centre implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee report properly, which asks for Minimum Support Price at 1.5XC2 (comprehensive assessment of the cost of production).
This story has been edited for length. The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
A victim of an IRA bomber appointed to the board of the Education Authority (EA) has told how he was stunned to learn that taxpayers were paying the wages of the man who tried to kill him.

John Radley, a member of the Irish Guards when an IRA bomb went off at Chelsea Barracks in 1981, said the appointment of Paul Kavanagh had left him angry and upset.

The convicted bomber was one of Sinn Fein's three nominations to the body.

Mr Kavanagh, who was sentenced to five life terms for his role in an IRA bombing campaign in England, took up his position on February 1.

He was convicted, alongside Thomas Quigley, of the murder of two passers-by at Chelsea Barracks and the murder of a bomb disposal officer at Oxford Street, but released from jail under the terms of the Belfast Agreement.

Mr Radley led condemnation of his appointment.

"That taxpayers are funding the life of the man who's a convicted murderer and (who) tried to kill many more is beyond belief. He did irreparable damage to me," he said.

"It's an insult to all of us who pay our taxes that a man who took to the bullet and the bomb is now in this position."

Mr Kavanagh, a former Sinn Fein special adviser who is also employed by the Martin McGuinness Peace Foundation, will receive 8,800 per year, plus travel and subsistence allowances, as part of the position.

Kenneth Howorth, the Army bomb disposal officer killed in 1981 as he dealt with another device at a restaurant on Oxford Street, was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

"That someone who set out to kill men, women and children - to destroy families - is in a role in schools... that just shouldn't happen," Mr Radley added.

Mr Kavanagh is married to Foyle Sinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson. He won compensation in 2013 after losing his role as a special adviser after a bill drafted by TUV leader Jim Allister prevented anyone with a criminal record from holding the position.

Mr Allister said the appointment sent a dreadful message to a new generation of children.

Making the appointment announcement, the Department of Education said: "Mr Kavanagh brings to the board experience of communication and influencing skills, developing and maintaining co-operative working relationships within a corporate governance framework and analytical ability and decision-making as a school Governor."

A number of parents reacted angrily after Mr Kavanagh was proposed as a member of the board of governors at Londonderry's Lumen Christi College in 2012. He has held the position for the past nine years.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell said the appointment would trigger outrage.

Kenny Donaldson, spokesman for Innocent Victims United, said victims were "annoyed and deeply hurt at this recent development, but not at all surprised".

"This is not the calibre of appointment that Northern Ireland needs within the education fraternity," he added.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said: "Paul Kavanagh has a wealth of experience in education, government and policy development."

Also nominated for EA positions by Sinn Fein were Angela Mervyn, currently employed by the West Belfast Partnership Board as an education programmes manager, and Frank Maskey, who recently retired as the principal of Corpus Christi College.

Gillian McGrath, a recently retired director of education at the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, was nominated by the NI Commission for Catholic Education to represent the interests of trustees of maintained schools.

The EA board is made up of 20 members, some nominated by political parties.

The authority is responsible for the delivery of education services across Northern Ireland.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: "Under the Education Act 2014, 12 board members are appointed directly by the Department of Education, with the remaining eight appointed directly by political parties in accordance with the d'Hondt principles.

"Under this legislation, political members are not ministerial appointments and as such the minister and the department have no role in the nomination process."
A policeman has been injured after he was accidentally shot by a fellow officer in Sydneys inner-west on Friday night.

Just before 11pm, officers were on patrol as part of an operation targeting anti-social behaviour when they saw a car parked at a reserve on Bayview Terrace at Earlwood.

As four officers approached the sedan from behind, the male driver and struck one of the officers.

Reacting to a colleague being hit by the car, another officer then used his gun to fire - accidentally shooting a second officer in the arm.

A police officer will have surgery after being accidentally shot by a colleague when on patrol in Sydney's inner-west on Friday night (stock image)

The police were targeting anti-social behaviour when a sedan in Earlwood reversed, striking one officer prompting another officer to shoot, with a fragment striking a second officer in the left forearm (stock image)

He was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital where he is expected to have surgery to remove the fragment on Saturday.

The driver, 26, and his female passenger are continuing to assist police with their inquiries.

A crime scene has been established with investigations continuing.

Anyone with information about this incident should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Australians have died being denied access to potentially life-saving medical treatments by big government, claims Coalition MP Craig Kelly in comments about COVID-19 made on a podcast by controversial ex-TV host Pete Evans.

The maverick MP told Evans government has interfered with the doctor-patient relationship to prevent doctors prescribing the two medications Kelly pushes on his Facebook page - hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.

Liberal MP Craig Kelly during Question Time. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Doctors and scientists have published overwhelming evidence that the drug Mr Kelly most admires does not effectively treat or prevent COVID-19, and may cause serious harm, including heart complications.

Government says, Well we dont care what you think as a doctor or an expert in this field. We, as big government, know better, and you are not allowed to prescribe hydroxychloroquine, he said.
Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 5:49 pm

When James Alford starts talking about the COVID regulations farmers have to abide by, he starts getting frustrated.

"The problem is that when you read the rules that are written, they weren't written by anyone with an agriculture background," said the president of the Franklin County Farm Bureau. "We're being treated like we're mistreating the workers. We care about our workers."

The frustration with Gov. Jay Inslee's third renewal of statewide emergency rules has boiled over into a lawsuit by the Washington Farm Labor Association and the Washington State Farm Bureau Federation. They filed the complaint Tuesday in Yakima County Superior Court.

They are asking a judge to put a stop to what they say are arbitrary and sometimes dangerous rules.

The suit comes as thousands of farm workers are beginning to apply for the federal H-2A guest worker program.

John Stuhlmiller, the Farm Bureau's chief executive officer, and Dan Fazio, the association's executive director, said they wish a lawsuit hadn't been needed.

"Our goal is to keep workers safe and to keep farmers in business," Fazio said. "What we've been asking is for the state to work with the farm community. We haven't seen that."

Officials in the governor's office declined to comment on the lawsuit since they hadn't been served with the paperwork and legal counsel hadn't reviewed it yet.

In a previous letter that denied appeals from the farm groups, Inslee said state agencies didn't make mistakes in establishing the rules.

"Last growing season, Washington saw 145 outbreaks in agricultural settings and two fatalities in temporary worker housing," he said in a letter. "I am unaware of evidence demonstrating that the risk of COVID transmission in agricultural settings will dissipate before widespread vaccination."

The farm groups dispute the governor's figures.

But Elizabeth Strater with the United Food Workers said they fought with the state early in the spring to have more stringent rules put in place to protect workers.

"It seems like a significant stretch to claim that these rules are arbitrary when state agencies have outlined exactly why the rules are necessary," she told the Herald.

The laborers need those protections or face the danger of dying without medical attention thousands of miles from home, she said.

Problems with rules

The set of emergency rules that were initially adopted in May were renewed in September and again in January.

The farmer groups are particular concerned about the requirement that farmers to be able to get a worker to emergency medical services within 20 minutes of a work site and to a hospital with a ventilator within an hour.

For many farmers who are dozens of miles from the nearest town, getting a laborer to an emergency room in 20 minutes would require excessive driving speeds.

For example, the closest emergency room to the association's farm worker housing in Mesa is Lourdes Medical Center more than 30 miles away in Pasco.

In addition, the rules require workers with COVID or COVID-like symptoms to be checked by a doctor twice a day.

The rule isn't practical, Stuhlmiller and Fazio told the Herald. Rural healthcare systems already are stretched thin dealing with the pandemic, and it would be better to make laborers a higher priority for the vaccines.

The lawsuit also raises issues requiring windows to remain open if housing is not mechanically vented and with a limit of 15 people inside a group shelter.

Unlike other organizations, they said this rule seems to be arbitrary and doesn't take into consideration how much floor space is available or that people may be sleeping in bunks.

Alford pointed out he can be shoulder to shoulder with people on an airplane, but there can't be more than 15 workers riding a farm bus.

Cost of labor

More than 25,000 workers are expected to come into the U.S. as part of the federal H-2A program.

And Alford said it's a highly skilled, career workforce.

At many orchards and other farms, the don't have the luxury of scaling back production in the face of COVID. The same amount of work needs to be done whether there are workers or not, Stuhlmiller and Fazio said.

In one example, Fazio said a small Royal City farm spent $100,000 making safety improvements last year, and brought up 10 workers, about half of what is normally needed.

"He can't operate his orchard with 10 workers," Fazio said. "This is not like a shoe factory where you can close the door and open it back up next year."

Most farmers operate on thin margins, and often find themselves losing money, Alford said.

"We made it through last year carefully," he said.

Risk to workers

The union and the farm groups disagree on the level of risk for farm workers.

Strater said a study by University of California-San Francisco researchers found that food and agricultural workers had the greatest increase in mortality rates compared to other essential workers.

And he wants to protect workers who could die from COVID if they aren't closely being monitored by doctors.

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries fined an Okanogan company more than $2 million after 24 violations of state rules were linked to the deaths of two workers from COVID.

"It's more onerous to think about the level of risk those workers are taking," said Strater. "When you think about the process of who has to explain that not only is your dad not coming back but you can't even have his body back. H-2A is not just an administrative program, these are human beings."

But sh noted it's also in the workers' best interests for the growers to stay in business.

"We really should be able to find some commonsense collaborative ways to move forward," she said. "That common sense needs to go both ways. We should be able to find a way to protect the lives of those farm workers."
Nairobi  Embattled former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko was sent back behind bars until Tuesday when the court will rule on his bail application in an investigation on alleged terror links.

Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) is seeking to have him in their custody for 30 days to facilitate an investigation on alleged financing of terrorism activities and arming a militia group.

He already faced robbery with violence and assault charges stemming from 2019 offenses in Buru Buru which he denies.

Kahawa West Chief Magistrate Diana Kavedza hearing the case ordered he be remanded at the Gigiri Police Station until Tuesday when a ruling on his bail application will be made.

On Tuesday, he will be required at the Kahawa West Law Courts for the ruling on the 30 days sought by ATPU, and will also be required at the Kiambu Law Courts for the bail ruling in the robbery and assault cases.

His lawyers John Khaminwa, Assa Nyakundi, Evans Ondieki and Alfred Nyamu have protested against the charges, terming them "politically motivated."

On Thursday, Sonko's bodyguards Clifford Ouko and Benjamin Ochieng were charged at the Kahawa West Law Courts for attempting to rescue the former Governor who was impeached in November 2020.

The prosecution said the two were arrested on February 3 outside the Kamiti court where they allegedly planned to help him out.

Sonko's woes deepened Wednesday after the prosecution applied to have him detained at the Kamiti Maximum Prison to facilitate investigations on alleged links to financing terrorism activities.

An affidavit filed in court also indicated that Sonko is under investigation for arming a militia group in a dramatic turn of events a day after facing multiple robbery and assault charges stemming from offenses allegedly committed in 2019.

On Tuesday, Sonko denied a total of 12 counts leveled against him and which his lawyers said were politically motivated due to public statements he made recently linking Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho to the 2017 violence.

Others said his arrest and prosecution were linked to statements he made during a roadside rally in Narok last week against President Uhuru Kenyatta who had spoken about him in Nyeri where he told a youth meeting that the Governor was impeached due to incompetence.

Sonko denied the charges when he was arraigned at the Kiambu Law Courts on Tuesday and was ordered remanded at the Gigiri Police Station for two days to enable police conclude investigations.

But in a surprise turn of events, Sonko was arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts Wednesday during the mention of his corruption cases, only for him to be taken to the Kahawa West Law Courts in the evening where an affidavit was filed indicating that he was under active investigation on terrorism activities.

"I have intelligence information that the suspect is connected to financing of terrorism activities and he is in the advance stage of procuring arms and ammunition using a wide syndicate which is complex ad sophisticated," an affidavit filed in court by a Chief Inspector Newton Thimangu of the Anti Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), an arm of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) states in part.

He also indicated that Sonko had "started arming his private security agents with full military attire namely military boots, military jungle uniforms and firearms. The suspect who was in company of unknown person had worn militia attire and together with the suspect they were both spotted in public in full glare of the media and in front of huge mass of people in a public rally."

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An undated photograph of Sonko and an unknown person was attached to the affidavit.

Charges read out to him on Tuesday stated that he assaulted two people in Buru Buru in 2019, leaving them with serious injuries.

The charges include assault causing actual bodily harm, robbery with violence and destruction of property.

He also faced an additional charge of entering private property without permission or a search warrant.

His case was heard by Kiambu Senior Principal Magistrate Stellah Atambo who ordered he be remanded at the Gigiri Police Station.

Sonko was impeached in November over gross misconduct, abuse of office and corruption.

He is also facing corruption charges in court alongside several county officials and suppliers accused of colluding to siphon public funds.
A TEN-year-old old boy from County Limerick was one of the occupants of a stolen car which crashed into another vehicle earlier this week.

The Limerick Leader has learned that five juveniles, all from West Limerick, travelled in the stolen car to County Kerry early yesterday morning where the crash occurred.

It's understood the car belonged to a relative of one of the youths and that it was taken without their permission or knowledge.

"An Garda Siochana and emergency services attended the scene of a two-vehicle road traffic collision in the Ahafona Cross area of Ballybunion, County Kerry. No injuries were reported after the incident. The road was closed for a brief period after the collision," confirmed a garda spokesperson.

It's understood the juveniles, the oldest of whom is aged 15, fled the scene of the collision but that they were located in the Ballybunion area a short time later.

Gardai in Newcastle West, who are investigating the theft of the car on Wednesday night, have confirmed that two juveniles have been arrested in relation to that incident.

"Two males, aged in their teens, have been arrested in relation to this incident. One male was released without charge pending further investigation and the second currently remains in garda custody," said a spokesperson

Investigations into both the theft and the collision are ongoing.

By Gavin Jones and Angelo Amante

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's largest parties are weighing whether to support Mario Draghi's efforts to form a government ahead of crucial meetings with the prime minister designate on Saturday, as mutual vetoes still block his way to power.

The head of state Sergio Mattarella asked the former European Central Bank chief on Wednesday to try to form an administration after the previous one, led by Giuseppe Conte, was brought down due to the collapse of the ruling coalition.

While a handful of parties have pledged support, including traditional foes, the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and centre-right Forza Italia, Draghi needs to find broader backing to secure a majority in both houses of parliament.

Much attention is focused on the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the biggest parliamentary group, which has yet to decide what to do. Without its help, it will be extremely difficult for Draghi to assemble a coalition.

Beppe Grillo, who founded 5-Star in 2009, will lead it at Saturday's meeting, setting up an intriguing encounter between the former comedian and the central banker who personifies the euro project that 5-Star used to rail against.

Italian financial markets have rallied on the expectation Draghi will succeed. On Friday Italy's 10-year bond yield headed for its biggest weekly drop since July, while the gap over the German Bund yield narrowed to its lowest in five years.

Investors hope the man widely credited with saving the euro during the 2012 sovereign debt crisis can spearhead reforms to boost growth in a country that has long underperformed its European peers, weighing down the whole euro zone.

NO OBVIOUS ROUTE

However the parliamentary arithmetic still does not add up, with a series of apparently non-negotiable party conditions blocking any obvious route to a majority.

The second largest group in parliament, the right-wing League, has said it will not support any government backed by 5-Star, while the PD has voiced its opposition to joining a majority with the League.

Story continues

Former premier Matteo Renzi, who triggered Conte's downfall when he withdrew his centrist Italia Viva party from the coalition, urged the other parties to get behind Draghi.

"Those who are now imposing vetoes are rejecting the appeal of head of state" for a broad parliamentary majority, he said after meeting Draghi on Friday.

Matteo Salvini, the League's firebrand leader, dismissed speculation his party would abstain in the key confidence votes needed to launch a government. "We are either in or out," he told RAI state television in an interview.

He is due to see Draghi on Saturday.

Salvini's conservative ally, Forza Italia, which is led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, said on Friday it wanted in after long talks with the veteran banker.

"Forza Italia expects a high level executive that is capable of representing to the utmost the unity of the country," deputy party leader Antonio Tajani said, adding he wanted to see a cross-party coalition get behind a "government of the best".

It may take some time before the situation becomes clear. Politicians said after meeting Draghi on Friday that he planned to hold a second round of talks with parties next week, and would also consult trade unions and employers' groups.

Mattarella did not give the former ECB chief a deadline to report back when he gave him a mandate, but the head of state will not want to see things drag on too long.

Minutes before summoning Draghi to his palace in a shock announcement on Tuesday, the president stressed a new government must take office rapidly to avoid Italy missing out on more than 200 billion euros ($243 billion) from a European Union fund designed to help overcome the economic slump.

(Additional reporting by Giselda Vagnoni and Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Philippa Fletcher and Crispian Balmer)
The Centre is expected to offer 6-10 airports for the next stage of airport privatisation, a senior official said on Thursday. The process that is expected to commence from FY22 will have 6-10 airports.

At present, the Centre is in the process of identifying these airports which will be offered via competitive bidding to the private sector for a lease period of 50 years for operation, management and development of these assets.

Briefing about the Budget 2021-22 proposals for the aviation sector, Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Kharola said that both profitable and non-profitable airports will be clubbed for bidding.

On Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to continue with the next round of airport privatisation on a lease basis.

She said that the next lot of airports will be monetised for operations and management concession.

At present, six airports, namely Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru, have been awarded via a competitive bidding process.

On the fare price band, Kharola said this norm will be removed, as and when demand and capacity utilisation reaches normal levels.

According to Kharola, till now only 60-65 per cent of the allowed capacity of 80 per cent has been utilised.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the Centre had implemented a cap on domestic airfare.

The price band has been extended till March 31, 2021. These fare bands came into force with effect from May 21, 2020.

Also Watch:

It is based on the duration of a flight with seven route classification.

The base minimum airfare of domestic flights in each category ranges has also been fixed from Rs 2,000 to Rs 6,500 and the maximum ranges from Rs 6,000 to Rs 18,600.

Airlines have to make available 20 per cent (earlier 40 per cent) of total seats in an aircraft at less than the midpoint price between the highest and lowest fares.
Sudden cardiac arrest is more often fatal in people with COVID-19, a new study shows. Those responsible for the research see the results as a wake-up call for the public and care providers alike.

The survey now published in the European Heart Journal is a register-based observation study. It covers all 3,026 cases of sudden cardiac arrest that were reported to the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in the period from 1 January to 20 July 2020 -- that is, both before and during the pandemic.

The Registry's statistics show that, in Sweden, there are 6,000 cases of sudden cardiac arrest annually in which the person is not admitted to hospital. Some 600 of these people survive. The corresponding figures for cardiac arrest during inpatient care are 2,500 cases and 900 survivors.

The study results indicate that mortality from sudden cardiac arrest is higher if the person has COVID-19, but that different patient groups show divergent differences in mortality rates.

During the study period, 1,946 cases of sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospitals were registered. In 10 percent of the cases in this group, the person had COVID-19, and the risk of a fatal outcome proved to be 3.4 times higher for these people than for the other group members.

Of the 1,080 cases of sudden cardiac arrest that took place in hospitals, COVID-19 was present in 16 percent. Among the patients with COVID-19, mortality was 2.3 times higher than for the others in this group.

The largest mortality difference was noted in the group of women who were already receiving inpatient care at the time of their cardiac arrest. In these women, ongoing COVID-19 infection was associated with nine times the risk of a fatal outcome during the initial months and a sevenfold risk from April onward.

The study, carried out by researchers at the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and the University of Gothenburg, received financial support from the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation. This Foundation's prompt funding action was crucial for the implementation, emphasizes Araz Rawshani, registrar and researcher at the Faculty of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, who also works at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

"We hope our results can help to raise awareness of COVID-19 complications among the public, care providers, and decision-makers. That could improve care and mobilize resources for high-risk patients," he says.

Kristina Sparreljung is the Secretary-General of the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation.

"We hope these results will help to enable more lives to be saved. This study is a direct result of the emergency grant provided by the Heart-Lung Foundation for research on COVID-19 connected with cardiopulmonary disease back in spring 2020," she says.

The survival rate for cardiac arrest has risen successively in recent years, but mortality remains high. Surviving a sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospital requires, pending arrival of an ambulance, immediate action in the form of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).

###

Title: Cardiac Arrest in COVID-19: Characteristics and outcomes of in- and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. A report from the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
AMSTERDAM, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 2020 was a record year for Americans giving up their citizenship, according to the experts and tax specialists of Americans Overseas.

A record 6,705 Americans gave up their citizenship in 2020

A 260% increase from 2019 when 2,577 Americans gave up their citizenship

Renunciations triple despite U.S. consulates being closed for large parts of the year due to COVID-19

This is the highest year on record; the previous record was 5,411 cases in 2016

US Americans Giving Up Citizenship, 2020 highest year on record.

There are an estimated 9 million U.S. Americans living overseas . Every three months the U.S. Government publishes the names of all Americans under the IRS rules (section 6039g), who give up their citizenship. 2020 saw 6,705 Americans renounce their citizenship, 260% more than 2019 when 2,577 Americans renounced. This number possibly would have been higher if U.S. Embassies worldwide had not been closed for large parts of the year due to COVID-19 regulations. If this trend continues 2021 renunciation numbers will be record-breaking.

Surprisingly enough, it's not only politics that drive renunciations but also a law called Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). This law forces banks outside the U.S. to report all American account holders under threat of astronomical fines. Banks now want to rid themselves of U.S. clients as they pose a liability. Many Americans living outside the U.S. are therefore forced to renounce and provide a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) to keep their banking services.

U.S. citizens that renounce must pay a $2,350 government fee and appear in person at the U.S. Embassy in their country of residence. In addition, a complete tax return must be filed and exit tax might be owed. Despite these obligations, there has been a growing trend of U.S. citizens renouncing.

"A law intended to catch tax evaders inside the U.S. is now dragging innocent Americans living outside the U.S. down. Lobbying efforts by the EU have so far not led to any change in policy by the U.S.," says Daan Durlacher, partner at Americans Overseas.

"The onerous and costly tax reporting obligations also play a big role. People with a U.S. citizenship or Greencard must file their taxes regardless of where they live in the world every year. They also need to report every single bank account (FBAR), even if they are only authorized to sign, which feels intrusive for many."

Ironically, the U.S. stimulus checks of $1,200 + $600 are also being used towards the cost of renouncing - a difficult, irreversible decision with a profound impact on an individual's life, especially in these difficult, special times.

Americans Overseas spoke to U.S. citizens worldwide who are looking to renounce their citizenship, and expects a huge increase again when the U.S. embassies open up again full time.

Media Contact:

Daan Durlacher

[email protected]

+31202389420 CET

Americans Overseas is a European based organization specializing in U.S. tax preparation and supplies information to governments for policy updates.

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FATCA

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Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
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Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Top Tier Capital Partners (TTCP) today announced it has closed on nearly $1.2 billion in new capital commitments for Top Tier Venture Capital IX, Top Tier Venture Velocity Fund 3, and related separate accounts. The firm invests in niche-focused funds of funds and high-growth, expansion-stage software and technology startups across the globe.

The firm's overall portfolio of more than 350 fund interests includes investments in prominent Silicon Valley firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Mayfield Fund, True Ventures, and Accomplice, and direct and indirect exposure to more than 9500 portfolio companies spanning biotechnology, SaaS software, and frontier technologies. With this new funding, Top Tier Capital Partners' total regulatory capital under management increased to more than $7.5 billion.

Top Tier Capital Partners' nearly $1.2 billion in new capital commitments follows a strong series of funds raised since 2011, when the firm spun out of Paul Capital Investments. The firm, including its predecessors, has been active as a fund and venture capital investor for the past 20 years. Since spinning out from Paul Capital ten years ago, however, TTCP has added additional flexibility and capabilities in direct co-investments and secondary investments.

"We focus on delivering not only consistent capital investment, but also direct support to our portfolios' positions," said David York, Managing Director at Top Tier Capital Partners. "Our insight and perspective into the innovation economy are fueled by more than two decades of carefully curated data. Through that considerable insight, we are able to offer our investors unique access to a select group of top-tier managers across the globe."

To help accelerate growth across the portfolio, Top Tier Capital Partners has deployed its "Velocity" strategy, which combines co-investments and secondaries with niche-focused funds of funds. Leveraging its data and fund relationships, and calling on the expertise of teams in San Francisco, Boston and London, the firm is able to identify appropriate secondaries and direct co-investments to accelerate capital deployment into the venture market. Along with financing, TTCP's fund investing business is dedicated to creating supportive capital and leveraging a deep global network, enabling the firm to stand behind its managers for multiple fund cycles.

"The goal is to deploy friendly capital to both funds and companies," said Garth Timoll, Sr., Managing Director at Top Tier Capital Partners, who leads the Velocity team executing co-investment and venture secondary investment activity. "We've been doing direct secondary and co-investment deals for more than a decade now, and we're very proud of our track record and returns. With our extensive experience and comprehensive data, we've proven ourselves as a go-to fund for capital in later rounds."

With investments in more than 350 funds worldwide and a database of more than 9500 companies, Top Tier Capital Partners is uniquely positioned to offer reliable data-driven insights into the innovation private market. The firm's sheer amount of data gathered over two decades gives TTCP highly reliable pattern recognition, allowing it to triangulate trends and understand GP blind spots. The firm's success shows in its distributions as wellin 2020, TTCP's portfolio saw 36 IPOs and returned more than $800M to investors.

To learn more about Top Tier Capital Partners, please visit https://www.ttcp.com/.

About Top Tier Capital Partners

Top Tier Capital Partners, LLC (TTCP) is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco specializing in managing niche-focused funds of funds. Leveraging two decades of experience and an extensive global network, Top Tier Capital Partners makes primary and secondary investments in venture capital funds and co-investments in select portfolio companies. Whether entrepreneurs sell to businesses, consumers or both, Top Tier Capital Partners offers a powerful network and data-driven support to an impressive set of diverse portfolio companies, primarily in the software and technology sectors. With more than $7.5 billion under management via direct growth investments and early-stage fund investments, Top Tier Capital Partners was built to spot emerging trends early, develop longstanding partnerships, and deliver optimal returns. Find us in San Francisco, Boston and London and at https://www.ttcp.com/. Follow us @TTCP_SF and on LinkedIn.

Lauren Graffort

PR Representative

BuzzKat, Inc.

[email protected]

This release was issued through WebWire. For more information, visit http://www.webwire.com.

SOURCE Top Tier Capital Partners

Related Links

https://www.ttcp.com


Rep. Lauren Boebert addresses supporters during a campaign rally in Colona, Colo. on Oct. 10, 2020. (Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images)

Rep. Boebert Granted Concealed Carry Permit In Washington

First-year congresswoman planned to carry a firearm on Capitol grounds

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), the newly elected Republican who confirmed she planned to carry firearms on Capitol grounds, has been granted a concealed carry permit in the District of Columbia, acting Police Chief Robert Contee said in a press conference Thursday.

A concealed carry permit was issued in that case, Contee said when asked if the permit was granted for the first-year congresswoman.

As we do with all our permits, if citizens are allowed to carry, then we grant them a permit, Contee said. In this case, she was allowed to carry and she was granted a permit.

Boebert made headlines before being sworn into Congress because she applied for a concealed carry permit in Washington and planned to carry her firearm in Washington and Congress.

In an advertisement that quickly went viral last month, the congresswoman appeared to be touting a gun as she walked around Capitol grounds and vowed that she will remain armed while serving at the U.S. Capitol.

Members of Congress are allowed to keep guns inside their offices and can transport them on Capitol grounds provided they are unloaded and securely wrapped.

Even though I work in one of the most liberal cities in America, I refused to give up my rights, especially my Second Amendment rights, Boebert said in the video. I will carry my firearm in D.C. and in Congress.

I walk to my office each morning by myself, Boebert says in the ad. So as a 5-foot tall, 100-pound woman I choose to protect myself legally, because I am my best security.

Contee noted on Thursday that while the majority of the video was filmed on Capitol grounds and suggested that she was armed, viewers were unable to see clearly if Boebert was carrying a firearm.

He added that after the video was released, he learned that there was a permit application that had been in the works with the Metropolitan Police Department.

The police chief added that he had reached out to Boeberts office and that he did not know if any other members of Congress had concealed weapons permits but was certain there are probably others.

In a statement to The Hill, Boebert Communications Director Benjamin Stout said that she has received her concealed carry permit, adding, as a Co-Chair of the Second Amendment Caucus, she has proudly helped some of her colleagues receive this permit as well.

The protests at the Capitol building in Washington on Jan. 6 prompted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to install magnetometers specifically targeting members who want to bring guns on the House floor.

In December, more than 20 members of Congress wrote a letter (pdf) to Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) calling on them to amend the House Rules package for the 117th Congress, banning members from carrying firearms on Capitol grounds.

The current regulations create needless risk for Members of Congress, their staff, members of the Capitol Police, and visitors to the Capitol grounds, the letter dated Dec. 15 said. A provision in the Rules package directing the Capitol Police Board to ensure that Member of Congress may not possess firearms on Capitol grounds would ensure clarity surrounding firearms policy and protect all individuals in and around the Capitol.

I was shopping online late at night. There was a deal on one website that said if you spend 100, you could get 25 off.

I added items to my basket and paid for my shopping via Paypal. I didn't realise, as I had to log in through Paypal, that it took the time to two minutes past midnight.

The site charged me the full amount and when I questioned it, customer service told me it was because the deal ended at midnight.

Some companies have been found to leave adverts up for deals no longer taking place

However, the deal was advertised on the site well past midnight and even some time for the next day.

It feels unfair I was charged more, what are my rights if the website hasn't updated in time?

Grace Gausden, This is Money, replies: More people than ever are shopping online at the moment due to the ongoing pandemic.

This has led to more consumer and shopping queries and I can understand why you would be frustrated in this situation.

If a website is still advertising a deal on its homepage, it is very unlikely customers would think this deal is not ongoing.

You mentioned that the small print of the advert said 'ends tonight'. However, 'tonight' was not defined anywhere as midnight.

No doubt those who saw it considered tonight meant until the next day, as that is how long the advert stayed up for.

Annoyed at the situation, you contacted the firm which offered its apologies and gave you a refund.

Whilst it handled this in the best way possible, it does still lead to questions about consumer rights in this scenario.

Jill Paterson, consumer law specialist at Leigh Day, replies: The situation outlined by the consumer does feel unfair. It happens all too frequently that consumers are disappointed by these time limited offers.

Unfortunately, however, on the face of it the website did not have to extend the offer past the advertised deadline.

If the website appeared to have applied the discount to the basket and accepted the order, then they may be obliged to still apply the discount. This may be visible from screenshots or email receipts.

Sales: More customers are shopping online at the moment due to the ongoing pandemic

With any discount offer, consumers need to carefully review the terms to avoid being caught out. Website advertisers in the UK are required to prominently display conditions, including closing dates.

Generally, the companies making website offers are not required to offer the discount beyond the advertised limits. A good website, however, may choose not to disappoint customers this way.

The consumer could initially approach the website to ask that the discount be applied in any event.

If the website refuses, the consumer could consider cancelling their order, which they may be entitled to do under the Consumer Contracts Regulations and/or the website's cancellation policy.

They can then wait for the next offer to come up.

If the website is UK based, it will be regulated by the Advertising Standards Agency and Trading Standards.

The consumer may wish to report the website if an expired offer continues to be advertised, however it is possible that the information has been kept online as information for those who have taken advantage of the offer.

Grace Gausden, This is Money, adds: Consumers are advised to always check the terms on a sale and have to allow reasonable time for ad banners to be updated.

However, if the adverts were up a lot longer after the end of the sale it could be a breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Under these rules, bait advertising, which lures in consumers with attractive advertising around special prices when the trader knows that they cannot offer that product, or only has a few in stock at that price, is banned.

Whilst your situation may not come under this, it is still a tactic to look out for.
Smartphone manufacturers are rolling out their latest models for the next generation of mobile networking, with the arena likely dominated by popular brands instead of local newcomers.

Vietnam clears path for influx of 5G-ready products.

Local smartphone maker Bkav is planning to launch its 5G Bphone devices this year, with research on the new items have been taking place for a few months. The new phone may use the 865 Snapdragon chip mainly geared towards 5G smartphones.

The main market of the products is likely to continue to be outside Vietnam, however. To date, Bphones are mainly exported to Myanmar and are planned to penetrate other regional markets soon.

We entered Myanmar to prepare the new market for Bphone and build a national smartphone brand there, said Le Quang Hiep, general director of Bkav Myanmar. Therefore, we have focused on developing our brand first and step-by-step enhanced the foothold in Myanmar.

Through a collaboration with Qualcomm, Bkav has organised talks with large distributors from the United States and regional telecom companies to figure out effective export methods to markets like Indonesia, Thailand, India, and others.

However, in Vietnam the phones market share remains tiny as overseas players dominate. According to data published last November by GfK, Germanys largest market research institute, Bphone has completely evaporated from the list of leading smartphones brands in Vietnam. Moreover, over the years, there was no information about the companys shares or annual sales.

To date, the country sees Vingroup as the only local company successfully developing 5G smartphones, with its flagship Vsmart Aris 5G. Similar to Bkav, the conglomerate also focuses on exporting the phones to the US market.

GfKs data also stated that overseas players including Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Apple, and Realme occupy nearly 80 per cent of the local market share, in which Samsung and Oppo lead with 31 and 18.6 per cent, respectively.

Recognising the issue, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) last December issued Circular No.43/2020/TT-BTTTT outlining national technical criteria for terminal equipment, which will take effect from July 1.

According to the regulation, 2G and 3G devices will not be allowed to be imported to Vietnam. Mobile phones manufactured or imported from other markets will have to integrate E-UTRA or 4G technology. The circular is applied to Vietnamese individuals, organisations, and also overseas organisations that have mobile manufacturing activities in Vietnam.

The overall goal of the legislation is to accelerate use of 4G and 5G technologies, and from there to popularise smartphone usage by 2025 to comply with the National Digital Transformation Programme with a vision to 2030.

Moreover, the MIC is also stimulating the use of low-cost smartphones produced in Vietnam. As such, local telecom companies and smartphone makers have jointly launched pilots that support mobile phone subscribers to shift from 2G phones to 4G smartphones. Last year, Bkav and Viettel officially offered 4G mobiles worth VND600,000 ($26) in the market.

A Nokia representative told VIR that such regulations that allow 5G to be easily deployable are an essential precondition to kick-start the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Vietnamese government is strongly supporting the deployment of new technologies, especially 5G, and is promoting Industry 4.0 use-cases and trials. Accelerated investments in 5G infrastructure and 5G-ready policy frameworks are critical priorities to reap the benefits of digitalisation, the representative said.

Moreover, to enable a high adoption rate, regulators should ensure that a sufficient and affordable spectrum of devices is available promptly.

Nikolai Dobberstein, managing partner for Malaysia at US-based consulting firm Kearney, said that the high-end smartphone market is led by well-known brands like Samsung and Apple, and it will be hard to penetrate for newcomers.

In markets like India, local smartphone brands can establish a position in the lower and mid-end segments, though they struggle to maintain their positions. More often than not, they lose the battle to Chinese brands, Dobberstein explained. Hence, the question for local phone makers is whether they will be able to sustain and demonstrate the required marketing skills, feature-rich products, aggressive pricing, and distribution of online sales efforts.

According to Jen Vu Huong, community programme manager at technology developer BK Holdings, the first thing to focus on is the interest of consumers. Although we already have low-cost 4G phones, their recognition has been largely limited. Businesses should constantly research market demand before deciding to offer any products to consumers, said Huong.

Van Anh (VIR)

Vietnamese tech firms export more 5G devices to the world While the commercial 5G network is not yet operational in Viet Nam, local tech firms are exporting their 5G technology to the world.

A TV weatherman helped pull the body of missing British gym instructor from rough surf on the Gold Coast moments after speaking live on air.

A massive search for Jake Jacobs, 32, was launched on Thursday after the body of his female friend washed up not long after they entered the water.

The pair had gone for a late-night swim at Kurrawa Beach in Broadbeach.

The woman was in her late 20s and lived in Victoria, but was originally from Europe. Police were still trying to contact her next of kin on Friday evening, and as a result, Brisbane Times has chosen not to identify her.
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Impact investing firm, i(x) investments, is pleased to acknowledge the exciting milestone of one of its platform companies, WasteFuel, as announced in a February 4, 2021 press release. This newly launched partnership between WasteFuel and the worldwide leader in private aviation, NetJets, is a significant leap forward in creating a more sustainable aviation industry.

WasteFuel is a next-generation waste to fuel company that uses proven technology to convert municipal waste into renewable fuels that burn at an 80% reduction in carbon to fossil fuel-based aviation fuel. NetJets has made a significant investment in the company and will purchase 100 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from WasteFuel over the next ten years. The two companies in partnership with leading infrastructure developer Prime Infra are developing a biorefinery in Manila, Philippines which will convert 1 million tons of municipal waste into 30 million gallons of SAF annually. They also have plans to develop additional plants around the world.

"We express our congratulations to Trevor Neilson, Chairman and CEO, and the entire WasteFuel team. Their efforts will have a meaningful, positive outcome in addressing climate change. These WasteFuel biorefineries will decrease carbon emissions while solving the ever-growing global environmental issue of municipal landfills and methane missions," said i(x) investments CEO, Steve Oyer. "This is exactly the type of outcome we envision for our shareholders as we deploy capital into companies like WasteFuel to deliver on our mission of Profit with Purpose."

About i(x) investments

Founded in 2015, i(x) investments is a permanently capitalized holding company for investors who want to create long-term economic growth in combination with positive, measurable social impact. i(x) believes the world's biggest problems are also the biggest market opportunities and invests in areas of human need: Renewable Energy, Green Commercial Real Estate, Gender Equality, Media, Education, Workforce Housing, Technology, Water, Food and Health. The company uses a multi-strategy investment approach throughout the entire capital structure. For more, please visit https://www.ix-investments.com/.

About WasteFuel

WasteFuel is a next-generation waste to fuels company that uses proven technology to address the climate emergency and revolutionize mobility. With an initial focus on air travel, WasteFuel uses proven technology that converts municipal waste into aviation grade biofuel that burns at an 80% reduction in carbon to fossil fuel-based aviation fuel. For more information visit: www.wastefuel.com.

SOURCE i(x) investments

Related Links

https://www.ix-investments.com


Hundreds of employees of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Friday took out a protest rally against the proposed divestment of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of the steel- maker.

The parties, including the ruling YSR Congress, supported the agitation.

The protestors demanded that the Centre withdraw its proposal and save the steel plant as it is one of the biggest and profitable public sector undertakings in the state.

The Union Cabinet had cleared the privatisation of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), DIPAM (Department of Investment & Public Asset Management) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted on February 3. The RINL strategic sale proceeds would be part of the disinvestment target for next fiscal.

The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from disinvestment in 2021-22 fiscal beginning April 1.

"The CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) had, on January 27, 2021, given in-principle approval for 100% strategic disinvestment of the GoI (government of India) shareholding in RINL along with management control by way of privatisation," Pandey tweeted.

General Secretary of the Steel Employees Congress M Rajasekhar said all the unions are opposing the Centres move and would launch a state wide agitation if the government does not withdraw its decision.

Addressing the gathering, Assistant Secretary of the CPI, Andhra Pradesh, JV Satyanarana Murty demanded that the Centre drop the move of withdrawing its stake in RINL.

He said the plant had increased steel production from 3.4 million tonne to 7.3 million tonne with its own funds and with bank loans reflecting its financial strength.

He demanded that the Central government allocate captive iron ore mines to the Vizag Steel to make it profitable.

MVV Satyanarayana, YSRCP Lok Sabha member from Visakhapatnam, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to stop privatising the steel plant which, according to the LS member, is one of the low-cost steel producer in the world and the only integrated steel plant in South.

He said the RINL paid Rs 43,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh and the Centre towards various taxes and dividends so far.

Also Read: Fire breaks out at Uttam Galva metallic steel plant in Wardha; 38 workers injured

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Bern, 04.02.2021 - Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will pay an official visit to North and West Africa from 7 to 13 February. The trip will take him to Algeria, Mali, Senegal and The Gambia. Talks will focus on the priorities of the new strategies for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and sub-Saharan Africa in 202124. Key issues to be covered include the promotion of dialogue, economic development, and cooperation in relation to digitalisation. The public health crisis surrounding Covid-19 will also be discussed.

Following the Federal Council's recent adoption of Switzerland's strategies for the MENA region and sub-Saharan Africa, the head of the FDFA will travel to Africa to discuss implementation over the next four years. With these new strategies, Switzerland aims to optimise coordination between the different diplomatic, economic and development policy instruments, taking account of existing links between North Africa and the Sahel region.

Official visits to four countries

Mr Cassis will first travel to Algeria, where he will discuss regional peace and security issues with Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad and Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum. In Algiers, he will meet the Algerian-Swiss Business Club and discuss vocational education and training with local Swiss companies.

From 9 to 11 February he will be in Mali, where meetings with President Bah N'Daw and Foreign Minister Zeyni Moulaye are planned. Here Mr Cassis will hold talks on peace support, development cooperation and humanitarian aid. In Bamako, he will visit the Swiss contingent of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). He will also inspect rural development projects supported by Switzerland.

From 11 to 13 February Mr Cassis will visit Senegal, where he will meet President Macky Sall and Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall. The focus of the discussions will be Senegal's strong economic potential as well as cooperation in the field of digitalisation and climate issues. A visit to an online learning project is also on the agenda.

Finally, Mr Cassis will travel to The Gambia on 13 February. The programme in Banjul includes talks with Vice-President Isatou Touray and Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara.

Mr Cassis will be accompanied on his trip by National Councillors Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter, a member of the National Council's Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC), and Nicolas Walder, a member of the FAC and of the delegation to the French-speaking Parliamentary Assembly.

Building on Africa's opportunities

The new Sub-Saharan Africa Strategy 202124, recently adopted by the Federal Council on 13 January, reflects the vast diversity on the African continent. In particular, it profiles the growing momentum and opportunities in Africa's 'lion economies', which include Senegal. In Mali and the Sahel region, Switzerland's focus is on peace, quality basic services and sustainable development.

Address for enquiries

FDFA Communication

Federal Palace West Wing

CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland

Tel. Communication service: +41 58 462 31 53

Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55

E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch

Twitter: @SwissMFA

Publisher

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html




We must help the next generation gain better access to the instruction and materials they need to succeed, rather than adding to their financial burden through hidden textbook charges.

Joint authors, Assemblymembers Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield), and Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), and bill co-sponsors, Michelson Center for Public Policy and the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), today announced the introduction of AB 403, the Fair Access to College Textbooks Act. The Act requires that higher education institutions entering into automatic billing agreements include consumer protection provisions for students.

As virtual learning and digital materials grow in usage and versatility, I am proud to author AB 403 to ensure that students have basic consumer protections in this new age of the textbook market, said Assemblymember Kalra. This critical piece of legislation will help protect students financial welfare at a time when so many are facing increasing or unexpected costs associated with navigating higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fair Access to College Textbooks Act was prompted by the United States Public Interest Research Group Education Funds (U.S. PIRGs) February 2020 report, Automatic Textbooks Billing: An Offer Students Cant Refuse, funded by the Michelson 20MM Foundation. The report analyzed the college textbook industrys automatic billing framework. Rather than a substantial step towards textbook affordability, automatic billing is a tactic for publishers to recoup market share (and increase sales revenue) lost due to the proliferation of free and cheaper alternatives to commercial textbooks found online. U.S. PIRGs research found that automatic billing fails to save students money and reduces faculty and student choice around instructional materials. Class action lawsuits filed by students and independent booksellers are now pending in federal court and allege that college publishers are colluding to reshape the marketplace to the detriment of student consumers.

Automatic billing allows publishers to add the costs of course materials directly into a students tuition bill. Under this model, students typically receive access to a platform of online learning materials, including digital books, homework assignments, quizzes, tests, educational videos, and other multimedia content. However, a student's access to these materials is time-bound and usually expires at the end of the semester. Since they never owned a physical product and only the official campus bookstore can sell automatically billed materials, students are unable to recoup costs by buying or selling used materials. As a result, automatic billing makes it difficult for students to shop around, obtain, and retain affordable textbooks.

Automatically billing students for course materials chips away at the already limited options students have in the textbook marketplace, said Cailyn Nagle, Affordable Textbooks Campaign Director with CALPIRG. To find the best deals, students need more options and more information so that they can find the materials that work best for them--and their limited budgets.

If AB 403 passes, post-secondary students in California would need to opt-in to having the course materials charge added to their tuition bill. This requirement would save students from having to navigate the complicated opt-out process if they find out that they can get the assigned materials for a better price elsewhere.

All Californians deserve to be protected from predatory hidden fees, and college students are no exception, said Assemblymember Bonta. The cost of attending college is simply too high, and for so many students, every penny counts. This bill takes on the textbook industry and gives students more choice.

Additionally, the Act requires that the price for materials must be significantly less than what a student can acquire similarly from any other sources. If a contracts pricing is based on factors like a students' major or the number of class credits that semester, the implementation of an automatic charge must be approved by a student election, as would any subsequent increases of the charge.

During these challenging times, we need to make sure that our students have the tools they need to succeed and create a brighter future in California. This means making textbooks more affordable and equitable for everyone, states Assemblymember Salas.

The schemes created by publishers to increase revenues victimizes those who can least afford it; low-income college students who are struggling to get by, said Dr. Gary K. Michelson, founder and co-chair, Michelson Center for Public Policy and the Michelson 20MM Foundation. We must help the next generation gain better access to the instruction and materials they need to succeed, rather than adding to their financial burden through hidden textbook charges.

AB 403 is Authored by:

Assemblymember Ash Kalra was first elected to the California Legislature in 2016, representing the 27th District, which encompasses approximately half of San Jose and includes all of downtown. In 2020, he was re-elected to his third term. Assemblymember Kalra is the Chair of the State Assembly Labor and Employment Committee and also currently serves as a member on the Housing and Community Development, Judiciary, Transportation, and Water, Parks, and Wildlife committees.

Assemblymember Rudy Salas was first elected to the California Legislature in 2021, representing the 32 District, which includes a portion of the city of Bakersfield as well as the cities of Arvin, Avenal, Corcoran, Delano, Hanford, Lemoore, McFarland, Shafter, and Wasco. Assemblymember Salas serves as the Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee as well as on the Veterans Affairs, Water, Parks & Wildlife, Governmental Organization, and Business and Professions Committees.

Assemblymember Rob Bonta was first elected to the California Legislature in 2012, representing the 18th District, which includes the cities of Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. Assemblymember Bonta currently serves as the Assistant Majority Leader, he is also on the Appropriations, Communications and Conveyance, Governmental Organization, and Health Committees.

AB 403 is Cosponsored by:

The Michelson Center for Public Policy is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that propels legislative change through meaningful collaboration with elected officials, government agencies, and civic leaders to achieve positive outcomes in education, equity, medical research, and animal welfare. The Michelson Center for Public Policy is an affiliated but separate organization from the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations (Michelson 20MM Foundation, Michelson Found Animals Foundation, and Michelson Medical Research Foundation). It complements the Michelson Philanthropies thought leadership and expertise with bold and effective advocacy.

California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) is a statewide non-profit and member of PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups, that works to protect consumers and public health from threats to our health, safety, and financial wellbeing. For more information on CALPIRG visit http://www.CALPIRG.org.
(@FahadShabbir)

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) Russia is going to allocate up to 460,000 Euros ($550,000) to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the fight against cancer diseases, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said.

In 2004, the IAEA launched the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy aimed at using its experience in radiation medicine and technology to contribute to the fight against cancer.

"Russia is supporting the implementation of this IAEA program. We are going to provide the agency with up to 460,000 euros as a voluntary contribution as well as a non-financial contribution [educational courses and scientific events] equivalent to 31.4 million rubles [over $400,000]," Ulyanov wrote on his Twitter page on late Thursday.

On Thursday, World Cancer Day took place to raise awareness of the disease and promote its prevention, detection and treatment.
A secretary at a Nazi concentration camp has been charged with complicity in the murders of 10,000 people during the Holocaust, German prosecutors said today.

The 95-year-old woman was a stenographer and a secretary to the commandant of Stutthof concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.

Identified by German media as Irmgard F, she is accused of having 'assisted' her superiors in the systematic killings of Jewish prisoners, Polish partisans and Soviet prisoners of war between 1943 and 1945.

It is the first such case in years against a female staff member, as authorities race to bring the last surviving suspects to justice 76 years after the end of World War II.

A secretary at the former Stutthof concentration camp, pictured in 2016, has been charged with complicity in the murders of 10,000 people during the Holocaust

The woman, who lives in a retirement home and is thought to be healthy enough to stand trial, will face a juvenile court because she was a minor at the time of the Holocaust.

She is charged with 'aiding and abetting murder in more than 10,000 cases' as well as complicity in attempted murder, said prosecutors in the city of Itzehoe.

In a previous interview with NDR, she claimed she had never actually set foot in the camp itself and insisted she had only learned about the atrocities after the war.

Her boss, SS officer Paul Werner Hoppe, was convicted for his role at the camp and sentenced to nine years in prison by a West German court in 1957. He died in 1974.

The secretary worked for Nazi commandant Paul Werner Hoppe (pictured), who was convicted by a West German court in 1957 and died in 1974

In evidence during that investigation, given nearly 70 years ago, the woman acknowledged working for Hoppe but said she knew nothing of the gas chambers.

She also claimed at the time that she was aware of executions taking place but thought they were a punishment for specific crimes, rather than the systematic genocide they really were.

But today's prosecutors say they will lay out evidence of her 'concrete responsibility for the functioning of the camp'.

The Stutthof camp was established in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, and enlarged in 1943 with a new camp surrounded by electrified barbed-wire fences.

As many as 100,000 people would eventually be deported there, some of them moved from other camps abandoned by the Nazis in the later stages of the war.

In addition to gas chambers and lethal injections, many prisoners died of disease in the camp's horrific conditions under the supervision of the SS.

Around 60,000 people are thought to have died in the camp, while another 25,000 perished while evacuating in the chaotic final weeks of the Third Reich.

Finally liberated by Soviet forces in May 1945, the camp is now once again within Poland's borders, with the town going by the Polish name of Sztutowo.

Last year, another Stutthof operative was tried and convicted at the age of 93 for helping to murder 5,322 prisoners in the final months of the war.

Bruno Dey admitted being an SS guard but had claimed that his presence at the camp did not amount to guilt.

Last year 93-year-old Bruno Dey, pictured, was convicted for his part in the Holocaust after serving as an SS guard at Stutthof

Having been a teenager when those events took place, he was tried in a youth court and was eventually given a suspended two-year prison sentence.

Another former Stutthof guard was put on trial in 2018, but his trial was later stopped because his heart problems meant he was not fit to stand trial.

The 95-year-old man claimed that he was never a Nazi and felt ashamed to be at the camp, but admitted he had never voiced any criticism of his superiors.

Prosecutors have launched a number of other cases in recent years as time runs out to convict any Nazi perpetrators who have evaded justice until now.

A landmark case in 2011 established that those who worked in the Nazi concentration camps could be found guilty as accessories to murder even if it could not be proved that they directly took part in killings.

Among those who were brought to late justice were Oskar Groening, an accountant at Auschwitz, and Reinhold Hanning, a former SS guard at the same camp.

Both were convicted of complicity in mass murder at the age of 94 but died before they could be imprisoned.

A poll in January 2020 found 76 per cent of Germans agreeing with the statement that surviving Nazi war criminals should be put on trial even now.

In the same survey, 77 per cent agreed that Germany has a responsibility to make sure that the history of the Holocaust and Nazi dictatorship are never forgotten.

But 53 per cent also agreed with the statement that it was time for Germany to 'draw a line' under its Nazi past.
Twenty years later, in a rather dull Broadway restaging of King Lear from Plummers classical home base of Ontarios Stratford Festival, the actor took on one of the supreme challenges in dramatic literature. At one point, as I wrote in a Tribune review at the time, Lear realizes his wits and his life are both nearing the end. As spoken by Plummer, the line O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven! disregards the exclamation point, taking the entreaty inward. Its one of those exquisitely painful moments when all pomp and bombast are stripped away, revealing an imperfect human soul.  Anyone attending this King Lear with one overriding desire  lets see some acting!  will get what they want from one of our cagiest classical actors.
Judge orders documents from June Medical Services Supreme Court abortion case to be unsealed

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In a victory for pro-life activists, a federal judge ordered the release of documents from a recent Supreme Court case that abortion providers fought to keep under seal.

In an order written last Thursday that was published this week, Magistrate Judge Richard Bourgeois of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana ordered the release of several documents related to the 2020 case June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo.

In that case, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Louisianas Unsafe Abortion Protection Act, which required abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, was unconstitutional because it created an undue burden for women seeking abortions. June Medical Services, along with other abortion providers, filed the lawsuit against the law.

Bourgeois court ruling lists some of the documents that abortion providers had hoped to keep under seal, including hospital bylaws, admitting privileges or procedures, (and) credentialing processes or procedures as well as testimony pertaining to clinic conditions and practices, and/or hospitalizations relating to abortions.

While many documents that abortion providers sought to keep under seal will be released under the order, a handful of documents will remain confidential.

Jeff Landry, the Republican attorney general of Louisiana, reacted favorably to Bourgeoiss order to unseal documents.

For too long, the public has been barred from critical information relating to the safety of women and girls in Louisiana, said Landry. The State has fought for more open access; yet journalists and elected officials alike were prohibited from accessing public facts only because they had become part of the courts record.

Today, that affront to our First Amendment is over, he added. Now the public may be able to see the full record in cases where abortion providers are seeking to minimize regulation against a backdrop of documented health and safety violations, destruction of medical records, and medical malpractice.

Landry contends that access should never be able to supersede safety.

As explained in a court filing submitted on their behalf, a group of journalists, academics and legislators had sought access to the court records, arguing that they needed the documents to write and publish news stories and law review articles analyzing the Supreme Courts decision, as well as to pass new laws that do not create an undue burden.

The record documents proposed to be sealed are of vital importance to the applicants, the court filing argued. In this case this Court, the Fifth Circuit, and the Supreme Court all viewed the same facts yet came to different conclusions. This is because, in part, the undue burden standard that potentially renders an abortion law unconstitutional is a fact-specific standard.

The brief claims that without these documents, the Applicant Journalists and Other Members of the Media and Applicant Academics will be constrained in their ability to write and publish on the Supreme Courts holding because they will be limited to a sanitized record that reveals only what Plaintiffs want to see.

Those seeking access to the court records argued that Supreme Court precedent from the 1978 case Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc. proves that they had a First Amendment right to access the documents.

The aforementioned Supreme Court case found that the courts of this country recognize a general right to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.

Under federal law, these public documents can only remain under seal if a party can demonstrate good cause for protecting them from public scrutiny.

The plaintiffs seeking to keep the documents from being unsealed argued that unsealing would reveal the identities of the abortion providers.

However, evidence exists that several aspects of these identities are already known, lawyers for the movants assert.

The publics right to access judicial records is not absolute, but given such a right, to deny intervention would be inappropriate, Bourgeois wrote in the order. Intervenors seek to assert and protect the publics general right to access judicial records, an essential interest that is not currently represented, and therefore, intervention is justified and appropriate.

A 'true blue Aussie' father has saved his home from a bushfire with a kettle and rum bottle.

Steve Curtis, 56, battled the blaze at his property in Gidgegannup, north-east of Perth, with his son Danny, 25, on Monday.

The pair had agreed to leave when the flames got too high, but Mr Curtis said he never really planned on abandoning the family home.

A Western Australian 'true blue Aussie' father (pictured with his son Danny) has saved his home from a bushfire with a kettle and rum bottle

Mr Curtis has lived at his Gidgegannup property for more than 20 years but has always been resistant to technology with no television or internet.

His son Danny said they made a pact to leave when the fire got too fierce, and so they both set off in different cars on Monday with Danny leading the way.

But Mr Curtis had tricked his son, and returned to the home to defend it.

Once Danny realised what his dad had done, he turned back too and found his father 'running around like a madman' he told NCA Newswire.

Now cut off by the blaze, the pair spent the next 28 hours putting out spot fires with a kettle and rum bottle, trying desperately not to waste the water.

Western Australia Fire brigade had advised residents to leave their properties unless it too late, and said it is extremely dangerous to return to a fire zone.

56-year-old Steve Curtis battled the blaze at his property in Gidgegannup north east of Perth with his son Danny, 25 on Monday. Pictured: Firefighters assessing damage of fire in Gidgegannup on February 4

The pair had agreed to leave when the flames got too high, but Mr Curtis said he never really planned on abandoning the family home. Pictured: Remains of a shed and chicken coup in Gidgegannup on February 4

'Under no circumstances should people put themselves in danger by returning to areas that have not been declared safe by emergency services,' WA duty assistant fire and emergency services commissioner Rick Curtis said.

'We had to watch out for burning embers, so we were keeping a watchful eye,' Danny Curtis told NCA Newswire.

'The only thing we saved was the house.'

Mr Curtis lost his tools, sheds, vehicles and clothes, said his sister Lynda who set up a GoFundMe page to support him.

The pair had made agreed to leave the property when the flames got too high, but Mr Curtis said he never really planned on leaving the family home. Pictured: Home under threat outside Wooroloo, WA, on February 2

She said Mr Curtis did not have house insurance as he had a 'horrible accident last year' and was on 'basic wages'.

'Steve's a guy who has worked hard his whole life, always willing to help anyone out who needs mechanical advice or aid. A guy who loves the bush and a simple life,' she wrote.

'He is now helping his neighbours as well and I know he will share what ever tools and equipment he gets with those around him as that's just what Steve does. He's a true blue Aussie.'

The GoFundMe page has raised just over $7,000 and Lynda said her brother planned on sharing it with his neighbours who 'lost more'.

The Biden administration is looking into the steps it can take to provide student debt relief through executive action, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.

If it finds a way to cancel some portion of the $1.5 trillion in federal student debt, it can lift burdens off 43 million Americans who owe it, reported The Washington Post. This comes even after the administration called on Congress to pass legislation to help student debt borrowers and their families.

"The President continues to support the cancelling of student debt to bring relief to students and families," Psaki said in a tweet.

Psaki further noted that their team is reviewing any steps the president can take through executive action, adding that "he would welcome the opportunity to sign a bill sent to him by Congress."

Joe Biden Initially Dismissed Executive Action

President Joe Biden said he would support up to $10,000 in student debt forgiveness per borrower, reported The Associated Press.

Despite the administration's plans to help through executive action now, Biden did not initially show interest in pursuing executive action.

Read also: President-Elect Joe Biden's Plans on Economy, Stimulus Check After Inauguration

In an earlier briefing, Psaki appeared to dismiss the idea of using presidential powers to erase students' debt. Instead, she said at the time that the president only had plans to pause student debt payments during the pandemic.

"He would look to Congress to take the next steps," Psaki said.

The Biden administration announced its plans for student debt relief hours after Democrats in the Senate led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reintroduced a resolution on the matter. According to CNBC, the Senate Democrats' entails a $50,000 forgiveness for all borrowers.

Democratic legislators said the resolution would help boost the economy and close the nation's racial wealth gap. In a statement, Schumer noted that during this time of crisis, communities of color are being disproportionately affected.

"We must do everything in our power to deliver real relief to the American people, lift up our struggling economy and close the racial wealth gap," Schumer said.

Biden expressed hesitation about canceling student debt through executive action, but pressure from his own party members is mounting.

Schumer added that Democrats were "committed to big, bold action," and the resolution "is one of the strongest steps the president can take to achieve these goals."

Does the Biden Administration Have Power Over Student Debt Relief?

Legal scholars have been back and forth so far about whether the Biden administration has the power to address student debt relief. However, some say that it's unlikely it will survive a legal challenge, The Associated Press noted.

During the Trump administration, steps were taken to block broad debt cancellation in early January. In an Education Department memo, it was concluded that the secretary had no authority to provide such assistance to borrowers, and the decision had to be up to Congress.

However, Schumer said he and Sen. Elizabeth Warren researched on the matter and concluded that "this is one of those things the president can do on his own."

Related story: COVID-19, Education: Top Priorities as Biden Outlines His 10-Day Executive Orders

He noted that the past presidents had been able to clear debt. But not on the scale that was being proposed.

The resolution was first proposed in the Senate last year and was introduced to the House by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Mondaire Jones.
It promises to be a good weekend to stay indoors, with dangerously cold temperatures making it risky to venture out.

Wind chills could fall to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit across central Illinois this weekend and into next week, according to the National Weather Service.

By mid- to late afternoon Saturday, the cold should start to set in as an arctic cold front comes through, said Kirk Huettl, a meteorologist with the weather service in Lincoln. Light snow also is in Saturdays forecast, he said.

We stay pretty cold this weekend into much of next week for the area, Huettl said. It looks like this is more of a long duration of more Canadian cold air coming into our area.

Saturdays forecast calls for a high of 25 degrees with wind chills in the single digits to below zero, Huettl said.

Sundays forecast calls for temperatures around 18 degrees with a wind chill around 5 to 10 degrees below zero.

If the predicted low temperatures materialize, it would be the coldest conditions central Illinois has experienced since January 2019.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has directed state public safety agencies to work with state agencies and local jurisdictions to ensure the appropriate resources are available as arctic cold temperatures and snow take aim at the state.

Its the first cold snap that weve had this year so people need to be prepared, said Phil McCarty, Jacksonville-Morgan County Emergency Management director. Be prepared, dress in layers.

If a person must go out, McCarty said, he or she should limit the amount of time outside, not travel great distances unless absolutely necessary and make sure the vehicle is prepared for the weather.

Hypothermia is possible and can set in quickly, he said.

Those venturing out also should keep their cellphone charged and be aware that its battery might not last as long in cold weather, McCarty said.

At Jacksonville High School, the wind chill threshold for closing school is minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit, Superintendent Steve Ptacek said. There is no option for a later start this year with altered Jacksonville Middle School and JHS schedules. He said he is much more reluctant to close school because of cold than ice.

The falling temperatures also can be a concern for the regions homeless community.

Jacksonvilles emergency temporary shelter at 948 N. Main St., is open from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. seven days a week, said Alan Bradish, Jacksonville Police chaplain.

The shelter currently doesnt offer daytime accommodations, but people can find shelter ffrom the daytime cold at The Salvation Army, Bradish said.

You always want to have those extra supplies like blankets, McCarty said. You want to have a plan. Be aware its coming and be prepared.
The United States should urgently re-open talks with the Taliban to delay a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan beyond the May 1 deadline agreed to by the Trump administration, a bipartisan experts group recommended Wednesday after months of studying potential pathways to peace.

Sticking to the deadline, without first achieving a decline in violence and progress in peace talks, could lead to a collapse of the Afghan state and a resumption of civil war, the Afghan Study Group said in its report. On the other hand, it noted that if the Taliban don't accept a delay beyond May in completing the withdrawal of foreign troops, the militants might abandon the nascent peace process.

The overall strategy that the group is proposing, however, depends on the U.S. negotiating team making clear to the Taliban that they have not fulfilled the conditions in the Doha agreement under which a U.S. withdrawal can take place, the report said. It was referring to the deal struck in Doha, Qatar, last February that raised hopes of concluding America's longest war, which in October will mark its 20th year.

The recommendation, part of a broader proposed strategy, offers a possible way forward for a Biden administration which, like its predecessor, sees no military solution in Afghanistan but seems more doubtful of the Talibans commitment to a negotiated peace.

Although the administration is not required to accept the groups recommendation, the report could be given some consideration by policymakers because the study group was created by Congress in a bipartisan 2019 vote.

Pentagon officials in recent days have expressed skepticism of fulfilling the withdrawal commitment made one year ago in Doha. The Pentagon's chief spokesman, John Kirby, said last week the Taliban have made it that much more difficult for final decisions to be made about force presence by their reticence to commit to reasonable, sustainable, and credible negotiations at the table.

Kirby said the administration is undertaking a broad review of Afghanistan policy.

Retired Gen. Joseph Dunford, a lead member of the study group, told reporters that instead of setting a timetable for the full U.S. withdrawal, decisions about force levels ought to be linked to conditions on the ground, including progress in peace talks. He said the group's recommendations have been briefed to Biden administration officials. He said they found it helpful, but he did not elaborate.

The report offered a potential rationale for the U.S. to seek a renegotiation of the May timetable. It said that would be based on the fact that the peace talks agreed to in Doha were six months late getting started.

The Biden administration can make the case that there has been insufficient time for these negotiations to create the hoped-for conditions under which international military forces could leave Afghanistan by May, as envisaged in the Doha agreement, the report said. A withdrawal would not only leave America more vulnerable to terrorist threats; it would also have catastrophic effects in Afghanistan and the region that would not be in the interest of any of the key actors, including the Taliban.

In addition to Dunford, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during most of Donald Trumps presidency and previously commanded U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, the group included people with extensive backgrounds in diplomacy, politics, intelligence, counterterrorism and military operations.

The Doha deal was widely seen as a hopeful step toward easing Afghans' prolonged suffering after decades of conflict. It includes a number of Taliban commitments, including a pledge to break ties with al-Qaida and other extremist groups who threaten the security of the United States and its allies.

Echoing concerns raised by U.S. government and military officials, the study group said the Taliban has not yet demonstrated that it is able or even willing to fulfil its commitment to part ways with al-Qaida, the group whom the Taliban sheltered prior to the 9/11 attacks. The report said the Taliban is not an international terrorist organization with an intent to attack the United States, but it does accept assistance from al-Qaida.

For its part, the U.S. agreed at Doha to fully withdraw by May 2021, starting by reducing troop levels from 14,000 to 8,600 by July 2020. The Trump administration went further, reducing to about 4,500 last summer. Last month it cut further, to 2,500, just days before President Joe Biden took office. That current total is the lowest since 2001, the year the United States invaded Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks that it said were generated by al-Qaida from its base in Afghanistan.

Central to U.S. calculations about withdrawing completely from Afghanistan is an assessment of the outlook for a negotiated peace. Talks began last year and resumed for a second session in January but have made little progress.

The study group said it came to the collective judgment that a complete U.S. withdrawal without a peace agreement would allow extremist groups to gradually rebuild their capabilities such that they might be able to attack the U.S. homeland within 18 months to three years.

A return to conflict in the wreckage of the political process would leave the United States in a difficult position: wanting to withdraw; yoked to a disunited government; and facing, with far fewer resources on the ground than before, an emboldened insurgency, it said.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
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In July 2020, the Safety and Health Codes Board of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry approved an emergency temporary standard for COVID-19. In so doing, Virginia became the first state to issue such a temporary standard.

On Jan. 13, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board enacted a permanent standard for COVID-19. The "Final Permanent Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus that Causes COVID-19" will be enforced by the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health program (VOSH) and took effect on Jan. 27.

The permanent standard largely reiterates the provisions and requirements of the emergency temporary standard, and for the most part, employers that are already in compliance with the emergency temporary standard will be able to comply with the permanent standard by maintaining existing policies and practices.

However, there are several material modifications within the permanent standard, and employers will likely need to adjust their practices to reflect those changes. Notably, all required revisions to Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plans and training requirements are effective March 26.

Significantly, the permanent standard modifies and/or clarifies the emergency temporary standard in the following respects:

Employers that are unable, despite a good-faith effort, to obtain required personal protective equipment (PPE) due to commercial shortages, may be afforded leniency from enforcement of PPE requirements.

Several key definitions are revised as follows:

"Face covering" is more strictly defined to require "two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric that fits snugly against the sides of the face without any gaps, completely covering the nose and mouth and fitting securely under the chin," and exhalation valves or vents are prohibited.



"Minimal occupational contact" is defined to refer to remote or solitary job assignments or where contact inside of six feet is brief and incidental (such as passing another person in a hallway).



"Severely immunocompromised" means "a seriously weakened immune system  from being on chemotherapy for cancer, being within one year out from receiving a hematopoietic stem cell or solid organ transplant, [having] untreated HIV infection with CD4 T lymphocyte count < 200, [having] combined primary immunodeficiency disorder, and receipt of prednisone >20mg [per] day for more than 14 days. The degree of immunocompromise is determined by the treating provider."

The threshold for positive case reporting to the Virginia Department of Health has changed from any positive case to "two or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 [amongst the employer's] own employees present at [a single] place of employment within a 14-day period."

The symptom-based standard for return to work after a case of COVD-19 has been updated as follows: "Symptomatic employees known or suspected to be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus are excluded from returning to work until all three of the following have been met:

(i) The employee is fever-free (less than 100.0 F) for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medications,



(ii) Respiratory symptoms, such as cough and shortness of breath have improved, and



(iii) At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared."

"Employees known to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 who never develop signs or symptoms are excluded from returning to work until 10 days after the date of their first positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 RNA." (The permanent standard also recognizes that "a limited number of employees with severe illness may produce replication-competent virus beyond 10 days that may warrant extending duration of isolation for up to 20 days after symptom onset. Employees who are severely immunocompromised may require testing to determine when they can return to work.")

Two or more employees traveling together in a single vehicle must wear employer-provided face coverings until respiratory protection is readily available.

Face coverings are required where minimum occupational contact may occur (such as passing in the hallway).

Where "a face covering cannot be worn due to medical contraindications, employers shall provide and employees shall wear" face shields (in compliance with specific design and use criteria) and comply with physical distancing requirements.

Requirements for "medium," "high" and "very high" exposure risk hazards or job tasks are modified and/or clarified with respect to specific requirements for airflow, ventilation, and air filtration and compliance with the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standards.

Biosafety requirements for "[d]iagnostic laboratories that conduct routine medical testing and environmental specimen testing for COVID-19" are relaxed.



The scope of analysis for an Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan is expanded to require consideration of exposure risk for employees working in "higher risk activities involving potentially large numbers of people or enclosed work areas."

Digital means (rather than physical or electronic signatures) are permitted for verification of employee training.

Key Takeaways

The revisions convey an overall intention by VOSH to provide clarification and make compliance a bit easier. For instance, providing a list of requirements for ventilation systems is easier to comply with than a reference to "follow all applicable ASHRAE standards." Most employers have no idea what ASHRAE is, much less how to comply with its requirements. Additionally, the requirement to permit digital verification of training is a welcome one.

Some provisions still require further clarification. VOSH mandates "training requirements" to take effect on March 26, 2021, but the permanent standard does not add any new training requirements. Instead, it permits digital verification of training instead of physical or electronic signatures. Must employers now retrain all employees just to notify them of this one new detail?

Other regulations, such as the requirement to wear face coverings when in a vehicle with two or more employees, remain fuzzy. That standard only permits face coverings "[u]ntil adequate supplies of respiratory protection and/or personal protective equipment become readily available for non-medical and non-first responder employers and employees." Reaching a point where N95 supply can meet or exceed the healthcare sector's voracious demands seems unlikely to happen in the near future.

VOSH also provides a defense to a violation for failure to provide adequate PPE, "if (i) such PPE is not readily available on commercially reasonable terms and (ii) the employer or institution makes a good faith effort to acquire or provide such PPE as is readily available on commercially reasonable terms."

What does "readily available" mean? Are easier-to-obtain KN95s considered PPE by VOSH? There is also the issue with the term "commercially reasonable terms," which traditionally means two very different things to employers and the agency. In many inspectors' eyes, PPE is never unavailable because it is too expensive, arguing one cannot put a price on the cost of human health.

The permanent standard carries forward several challenges from the emergency temporary standard. First, it still continues to take a one-size-fits-all approach that does not account for significant differences in industries. Second, several of its provisions relating to return to work and close contact do not enable employers to benefit from continually evolving guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Third, it includes whistleblower protections for employees who report concerns to the news media or social media, which may invalidate some employers' media policies. Third, the permanent standard lacks per se "safe harbor" protections for employers that protect employees by following CDC guidance. Finally, the permanent standard does not address COVID-19 vaccines or whether employers will be required to mandate their employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

W. Kyle Dillard is an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Greenville, S.C. John Martin is an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Washington, D.C. Kyle Elliott and Jimmy Robinson Jr. are attorneys with Ogletree Deakins in Richmond, Va.  2021 Ogletree Deakins. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.

Student gets religious accommodation to high school's sex ed requirement

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A public high school in Illinois has approved a students request for a religious exemption from a required sexuality program after a national legal group voiced concern that the student faced the threat of possible discipline for her refusal to take part in the program.

The First Liberty Institute announced Thursday that senior Marcail McBride's parents are satisfied with the offer from administrators at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora for their daughter to complete an alternate assignment instead of participating in the schools Student Gender and Sexuality Program.

In a statement, the legal group said that the academy reversed its position and approved senior Marcail McBrides request for a religious accommodation.

We are grateful to President [Jose] Torres and school officials at IMSA for following the law by granting our client an accommodation, First Liberty Institute Counsel Keisha Russell said in a statement.

Schools should respect the religious beliefs of their students. Marcail and her parents are pleased that she will not be punished for acting according to her conscience.

On Tuesday, Russell sent a letter to Torres urging the IMSA to grant McBride an accommodation from the requirement that students participate in the program that the family felt contradicted their religious beliefs on sexuality and gender identity.

In the letter, Russell claimed that the family first submitted a written request for their daughter to be excused from the program in November. The program, he said, forced the student to participate in activities and discussions regarding human sexuality that require, pressure, or coerce her to violate her religious principles.

The program thus does not respect differing religious beliefs about gender and sexuality and pressures students to affirmatively signal their agreement with the curriculum, Russell argued.

The program "classifies anyone who believes homosexuality is sinful or immoral as being in the same category as those who are repulsed by it or think it is 'crazy.' It also rewards students who affirm the program's teachings with SafeZone stickers and pins and calls them an "ally."

The legal group reported that Associate Director of Student Affairs, Chief Hearing Officer Dana Ginnett sent an email ordering McBride to complete the program by Jan. 30 or face disciplinary action. Ginnett allegedly cited a school policy requiring students to attend all required assemblies and meetings of a non-academic nature.

On Monday, the student was reportedly informed that the IMSA Student Affairs Department would conduct a disciplinary hearing this week. The next day, First Liberty Institute intervened by sending Russells demand letter to Torres.

Tami Armstrong, head of the schools public affairs office, told CP on Tuesday that the school had reached out to the student's parents and offered an alternative solution that will resolve this matter.

She again confirmed Wednesday that the school had provided accommodations to the schools diversity and education requirements for the student.

First Liberty Institute Director of Communications Chris Freund told CP Wednesday that instead of participating in the program, McBride will have to write a brief essay on creating a safe environment at school for all students.

We take these matters seriously, and will use this as an opportunity to review all of our practices and ensure that our students feel safe and welcomed at IMSA," the school assured in a formal statement.

"IMSA embraces an inclusive environment where all students feel supported and are extended a sense of belonging regardless of race, class, gender, religion, accessibility, and socioeconomic status identity.





When I was conducting interviews for Why We Cant Sleep: Womens New Midlife Crisis, my book about the stressors on Generation X women in midlife, one woman after another told me she felt like she was reaching breaking point.

Between caregiving duties, work stress, perimenopause and all the other pressures, many said they were on the verge of blowing it all up.

The book is not a sleep guide  actually, I was using sleep as an example of how the cornucopia of stresses on us can manifest themselves. It could have been called Why We Drink or Why We Just Threw Our Phone Against the Wall.

And yet, as I lay awake at four this morning wondering if my son would have school in person again this year, if Id make it through this whole thing without getting sick, and if my parents were going to stay safe, I had to admit that sleep  or the lack of it  is a big part of midlife right now, particularly for women.

Read More

The stereotypical male midlife crisis involves busting stuff up  mostly marriages but also careers, norms, reputations.

In my observation  and many experts Ive spoken with have affirmed  womens crises tend to be quieter.

More often, she sneaks her suffering in around the edges of caretaking and work. Women might drain a bottle of wine while watching TV alone, or cry every afternoon on the way to school pickup.

Or, in the middle of the night, they might lie wide-awake, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Generation X women  born 1965 to 1980  were the first to be raised from birth hearing the tired cliche having it all. We thought we could have thriving careers and rich home lives, and make more and achieve more than our parents. But most of us have gained little if any advantage.

And when I set out to talk to women having a midlife crisis, it turned out to be harder to find one who wasnt. Then along came Covid, which blew it up, for real.

Those who were worried about their job stability were furloughed. Women have been hard hit by rising unemployment. Those worried about help with children lost their childcare  and had to learn how to homeschool while working from home.

Those trying to find a partner or start a family were marooned at home alone  in some cases, for what felt like the end of their fertile years.

Those whose marriages were on the brink were sent into the crucible that is a home with two people trying to do Zoom meetings on one wi-fi network.

Those who got sick found themselves slow to recover, or suffering from long-haul symptoms.

Everything bad got much worse: more caregiving, less work security, more isolation, less financial security, and a resulting surge in depression, anxiety, and loneliness. And our sleep has suffered more than ever.

A report by the Society for Womens Health Research says women, already more likely to suffer from insomnia, are experiencing that even more now.

Theres an insidious cyclical connection between sleeplessness and stress.

The more stressed we are, the more sleepless, and the more sleepless, the more stressed. And on and on until were so tired were pulling out our credit card to open our front door and our keys at the cash machine.

According to a recent Canadian study, sleep disturbances are common after natural disasters, and the pandemic reached a whole new scale: Such a major stressful life event is also likely to have impaired sleep and circadian rhythms, at a time when healthy sleep is particularly important to cope adaptively with this crisis and uncertainty about the future, the authors write.

In other words, now we really need the peace and restorative function of sleep, its hardest to come by.

Just like always, the crisis found those in midlife caught between Boomers and the younger generations. Our parents were right in the diseases crosshairs; our Gen Z children were sent home for us to educate. Many seniors werent as careful as we wanted them to be. A lot of young people were still partying over the summer.

Now that the vaccine is here, midlife women I know in the US feel like theyve entered some kind of new Hunger Games challenge in which they use skills honed competing for gig tickets in the Nineties to score their parents an appointment and possibly save their lives.

The only good news might be that Generation X was almost engineered for this emergency. And yet, no one needs to be told twice that this year has been hard. And hard times make for sleepless nights.

So whats the fix? Were often told to get on a schedule. Ive found this to be a challenge.

For me, times gone squishy in quarantine. Every day feels like the 87th of Thurstober. The other night, exhausted after hours of Zooms and cooking, I put on pyjamas and started to get into bed. My husband pointed out that it was only 7:30. A.m. or p.m? I asked.

We struggle with sleep because, even without a global pandemic, this is a rough stage of life. We were raised with the mantra that we could have it all, only to find out that compromises and sacrifices come along with having even some of it.

And now, weve added on a very real fear of illness, financial turmoil, isolation, uncertainty about our parents vulnerability, and our childrens faltering education.

For perspective, I spoke to sleep expert Janet Kennedy, psychologist and founder of NYC Sleep.

She told me: The mental load is astounding and the presumption that we will just pick up all of this tremendous slack is rage-inducing.

Whats interesting is that women are sucking it up and dealing [with it] in a lot of cases. Im seeing a lot of men whose sleep has finally forced them to seek treatment.

"But women seem to expect and accept that its going to be horrible and kind of stop there  probably, at least in part, because they simply dont have time to add anything to their lists.

That rings true for me. A hundred million sick. Two million dead. Tragedy on that scale is almost impossible to wrap our minds around by day. Is it any wonder that by night those numbers wreak havoc on our dreams?

Dr Kennedy says following the news while stuck in my house for weeks on end is a recipe for more stress: Its also important to understand that, even while life is monotonous, this situation is over-stimulating.

Waiting for the end of the pandemic, waiting for a night of unbroken sleep - the two are intertwined.

And for many of us, the second might not come before the first.

 Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2021

Read More




The Democratic group American Bridge, which spent about $62 million on ads in 2020 to defeat President Donald Trump, plans to relaunch next month with a new effort aimed at defending the record of President Joe Biden and a nine-figure ad budget to maintain Democratic congressional majorities through the midterm elections.

Former Montana governor Steve Bullock, former Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez and former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards will join as co-chairs, according to a statement from the group. They will join former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, who began advising the group last year.

The announcement marks the first major reorganization of the external Democratic infrastructure that helped elect Biden, with more moves expected in the coming weeks as the Biden White House prepares to roll out additional details on its own political program.

"In 2022, Democratic fortunes are going to sink or swim on Biden's success, so we want to engage on that front from the outset," said Bradley Beychok, the group's president, who will step down to become a senior adviser next month. "Biden's policies are going to impact American families. Our job is to make sure that those impacts are seen and heard by voters starting now."

Jessica Floyd, the managing director of campaigns for the Hub Project, a network of liberal groups involved in elections, plans to take over as president on March 1, working with the group's co-founders, Beychok and David Brock. At the Hub Project, she oversaw nearly $30 million in spending to defeat Republicans in Congress in 2018 and previously worked for the independent expenditure arm of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

American Bridge has scheduled a March donors conference, drawing on a pool of about 750 high-dollar donors, with the goal of raising $125 million over the next two years, including $100 million for advertising and grass-roots outreach in advance of the 2022 elections.

During the 2020 campaign cycle, American Bridge expanded from its roots as a hub for opposition research on Republican campaigns to invest in a major advertising effort in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, aimed at working-class White voters. The group also spent significantly on the Georgia Senate runoff elections in January. Biden won the three states, which in 2016 had sided with Trump, and Democrats won both Senate seats.

"With a unified Democratic government and a divided Republican Party, we're doubling down on our efforts to grow Democratic electoral power and build on our momentum heading into 2022 and beyond," Brock said in a statement.

Another major Democratic group founded by Biden allies, Unite the Country, which spent nearly $50 million during the last campaign, plans to continue its work as well, though the group has not yet announced new spending plans.

"We are going to amplify the message of the Biden-Harris White House," said Amanda Loveday, an adviser for the group. "We will focus on the midterms in the states that matter to him."

Priorities USA, which the Biden campaign blessed as its favored outside spending effort during the campaign, is deliberating on its path forward, after spending $138 million through its political action committee arm during the presidential election cycle. In the 2018 midterm elections, Priorities was a central clearinghouse for Democratic spending on digital advertising in House and Senate races.

"Priorities is focused on protecting the right to vote in light of ongoing voter suppression efforts, defending the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, and supporting the Biden agenda," the group's senior strategist Josh Schwerin said. "We are currently in the midst of a significant research project examining the 2020 election and working with our partners to chart the path forward."

The new co-chairs of American Bridge will help fill a spot vacated by former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, a former adviser to the group whom Biden has nominated as his secretary of energy. Perez, the outgoing party chair, has also begun teaching at Georgetown and has been talked about as a possible candidate for elected office in his native Maryland.

"Democrats are clear-eyed about the crises the Biden administration is facing and the lengths the Republican Party will go to obstruct, mislead, and distract," he said in a statement. "But after all of the hard work over the last four years to take back the House, Senate, and White House, we cannot and will not be turned back now."

Bullock, who is coming off a presidential campaign and Montana Senate campaign last year, is expected to guide the group's continued focus on rural communities, Beychok said. Richards will help guide efforts targeted at female voters, particularly in pivotal suburban communities that are important for maintaining Democratic majorities.

The group also expects to maintain its role as a repository of opposition research on Republican candidates. A fact sheet distributed by the group suggested Trump and the more divisive elements of the Republican Party will remain a focus.

"After four years of enabling Donald Trump's destruction, we know the Republicans will stop at nothing to prevent the Biden administration from undoing the damage and moving our country forward," Richards said in a statement.
Dear reader,

Welcome to Gandhara's weekly newsletter. This briefing brings you the best of our reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

If youre new to the newsletter or havent subscribed yet, you can do so here.

More Afghan journalists fear for their lives

Media workers in Afghanistan find themselves in a tight spot as they work to defend the countrys independent media, which is one of the countrys crowning achievements since the days of the Taliban. Increasing instances of mob violence and targeted attacks are now forcing many Afghan journalists to abandon their profession .

Following a mob attack on a radio station in Kunduz in January, local journalists say the situation is deeply worrying and cite staff walkouts. Haseebullah Hasas, a radio journalist for a station also called Kunduz, told Radio Free Afghanistan that before Radio Zohra was ransacked we only worried about being attacked by terrorist groups, but now we fear fellow citizens, too.

Violence against journalists is part of an insurgent campaign to target prominent Afghans during the deadlocked peace talks. A report by a U.S. watchdog this week noted that casualties from improvised explosive devices and magnetic bombs  two favorite insurgent tactics -- have risen significantly.

Pakistans opposition scrambles to rebrand

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) faces some difficult choices after Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to quit by the opposition alliances January 31 deadline. Its members have backed off their vows to resign from the parliament but are still planning to march on Islamabad next month.

Each of the PDMs 11 member parties is driven by its own interests, analysts maintain, which complicates a show of unity. Past rivalries such as that between the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party and Pakistan Peoples Party further sow discord in the ranks.

This has created a kind of distrust among their top leaders that is not easy to overcome, Suleman Khan Kakar, a political analyst in Islamabad, told me.

Pakistans debate over Islamic identity heats up

A new bill mandating Arabic lessons at Islamabads schools has revived a hot-button debate about whether Pakistan, 73 years into its independence, should push to create an Islamic nation or accept being a multicultural state.

It is an old debate with potentially explosive consequences, Farzana Shaikh, a Pakistan scholar at the Chatham House think tank in London, told me. The idea that Pakistan is going to become some expression of a South Asian Arab polity is really not something people are ready to buy [into] in Pakistan today.

Iran grooms its alliance with the Taliban

A high-profile visit by Taliban leaders to Iran this week coincided with a new U.S. report that calls on Washington to extend the May deadline for withdrawing the remaining 2,500 troops from Afghanistan as the fate of a crucial U.S. deal with the Taliban hangs in the balance.

Despite their rocky past, the Shiite clerical regime in Tehran and the Afghan hard-line Sunni group are mending fences for their mutual benefit. An analyst tells my colleague Golanaz Esfandiari that Tehran is hoping for a long arm in Afghanistan, whether the Taliban become a part of the Afghan government or remain as a loyal or armed opposition.

Female Afghan commandos

Fighting in Herat Provinces 207 Zafar Corps, over 100 women serve in an elite group of female Afghan commandoes. Many of them told us they fear the Talibans return to power will end their military careers.

Women from other countries come here to serve in our country, Mariam Noorzai, one of the soldiers, told Radio Free Afghanistan in this video report from their training. Why cant I do that and defend my people and my country?

Unlocking Pakistans Buddhist past

In another video report, we introduce you to the archaeologists who recently discovered a 2,000-year-old Buddhist site in Swat Valley. The discovery adds to monuments across Afghanistan and Pakistan that bear testament to the once glorious Gandhara civilization.

Preservation efforts are under way on the newly unearthed school, shrines, and living quarters.

We will rebuild it according to its original structure and it will be designated a religious site, Saqib Raza, the lead archeologist, told us.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks newsletter, and I encourage you to share it with colleagues who might find it useful. If you havent subscribed yet, you can do so here.

I also encourage you to visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

You can also reach us directly at gandhara@rferl.org.

Yours,

Abubakar Siddique

Editor

Kolkata:

The West Bengal government on Saturday said it would set up a judicial panel to look into the communal clashes at Baduria and Basirhat in the North 24 Parganas district following a Facebook post.



We have decided to initiate a judicial probe into the Baduria and Basirhat riots. We want to see who were involved in them and the government will provide every input to the judicial commission. Let there be an impartial probe, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters in Kolkata.



She added that the law would take its own course and strict action would be taken against those responsible for the clashes.



Banerjee also said her government would take action against two national-level television channels for showing fake videos and claiming them to be related to the clashes.



Video clips of an incident in Comilla, Bangladesh and a Bhojpuri film were being shown as if these incidents had taken place in Bengal, she alleged.



Banerjee congratulated the people of Baduria and Basirhat for not falling into the BJPs trap, in spite of provocations.



Hitting out at the saffron party, she alleged that it was destroying the federal structure of the country with the sole aim of grabbing power.



How can some people from across the border intrude and start disruptions here? Who is in-charge of border security, the Centre or the state? Once again I am saying, it is the ploy of the BJP to disturb the peace of the state, she said.



Regarding representatives of various political parties, including the BJP, attempting to visit the troubled areas today, the chief minister said, What is the need to disturb the people there? Let them settle down. Trinamool Congress MPs did not go. They could have gone there as well.



Regarding her partys stand on the July 17 presidential poll, Banerjee said We will support the Congress nominees both in the presidential and vice-presidential elections.

Suggested read: Basirhat riot: Banerjee blames Centre for non-cooperation; MHA hits back, asks 'Why WB not using forces provided'

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
When Elon Musk changed his Twitter bio to #bitcoin last week it moved the market, but not just for bitcoin itself.

Users of UniWhales could see big holders making moves in real-time. Matt Aaron, the CEO of UniWhales, sent CoinDesk screenshots showing three big moves of liquidity providers exiting USDC/ETH and USDT/ETH positions on Uniswap. In 11 minutes, $47 million worth of liquidity had exited the Uniswap system right after Musk told the world:

Our thesis is that whales control the market, Aaron told CoinDesk in a phone call. People with more money tend to have better information.

Related: First Mover: Tesla Sends Bitcoin Mooning Past $44K as Snoop Wins #dogebowl

UniWhales started in September as a simple Telegram channel with a bot that flagged large buys on Uniswap. Thats why its called UniWhales. It started analyzing the moves of big holders (whales) on Uniswap, the leading automated market maker on Ethereum.

Santiago Roel of ParaFi Capital told CoinDesk via email that he has been using the product for a while.

Their subscription model offers a glimpse into how SaaS could be brought on chain, which will be an emerging theme as a new monetization model, he wrote.

Initiated by a pseudonymous developer called Timur, Aaron, a crypto alum, was an early adopter. I was addicted to this channel, just like as a fan, he said.

Related: Bitcoin and Ether Hit New All-Time Highs as Tesla Invests $1.5 in BTC and CME Launches ETH Futures Trading

The approach took off quickly and the two decided to turn it into a business together.

In a pickle

Liquidity moves are telling but it all started with big buys.

For example, on Jan. 26, the price of the Ethereum token PICKLE shot up 40% (from just under $11 to almost $14), and members of the UniWhales community watched it happen in real time.

The UniWhales Telegram bot was flagging $1.6 million worth of PICKLE getting picked up in a short span of time on Uniswap. That was 75% of the daily trade volume all at once. Spotting this kind of movement is the heart of what PICKLE is all about.

Story continues

Traders need alerts to know if something big is happening with a token they have a position in or if it means they should take a position. Some traders will simply follow momentum but others use UniWhales as an alert to see if they need to start looking at Twitter or Telegram to see what just happened.

Correlation is not causation, but Aaaron showed CoinDesk a tweet that seemed to correspond nicely with the moves:

As ever, the name of Andre Cronje is powerful out there among the DeFi degens. The news that Yearns founder had finalized his plan to make those who got the short end of the stick in the exploit somewhat whole was bullish, for at least some bag holders.

Pickle started as a publicly minded Weird DeFi project aimed at helping stablecoins hold their peg. Before long, the anon-led endeavor evolved into something like an imitation of Yearn Finance, the leading robo-advisor for yield. Like other anon-led projects before it, Pickle got exploited.

Yearn, in turn, absorbed it, in its quest to be the powerhouse of decentralized finance.

Eventually Timur and Aaron developed the UWL token, which enables access to the app, exclusive webinars and to premium Telegram channels. Like any startup, UniWhales is still working on its business model, but its focus is on building a strong analytics community for DeFi.

How it works

UniWhales describes itself as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) but only in the loosest sense.

By holding UWL, users can express their opinions to Aaron and Timur about whats needed.

We are definitely benevolent dictators, Aaron said, though he noted they have an open dialogue with everyone in their community.

If, for example, they ever have any doubt about which direction to go, they have a gang in Telegram 16 hours a day that always has an opinion on any particular direction.

To access the communitys private channels, a user needs to hold 5,000 UWL. UniWhales uses Mintgate and CollabLand to verify token holdings and allow premium access.

The basic membership provides access to the app and channels with bots that flag things like big buys on Uniswap or SushiSwap, new or unknown tokens and (like in the example up top) big moves into or out of liquidity pools.

For 16,000 UWL, users get access to the power channel, which shows moves by wallets known to be tied to major players in crypto, such as big funds or well-known investors.

The total supply is 10 million UWL. Of that, 35% was sold in a public and private sale and 25% was set aside for the liquidity supply. The sales happened in November and the team raised a total of 400 ETH.

All the funds were put into liquidity pools on automated market makers, and those LP tokens were locked up for six months. The team allocation of 15% is also locked up for six months.

Aaron said thats to signal to the community that we are trying to build it for the long term.

Right now, the only recurring revenue the team has are the underlying LP fees on Uniswap and SushiSwap and any liquidity mining benefit either might proffer. Aaron said they are looking into other ways they might make the project more sustainable, though if fees get introduced anywhere he said they will accrue value to all token holders, not just the company.

We want to make sure the token holders are rewarded for participating in our project, Aaron said.

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EBRD invests 9 million in bonds by Erste & Steiermarkische Bank

Securities compliant with EU regulation

Engagement to strengthen resilience and green agenda

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is investing 9 million in bonds issued by Erste & Steiermarkische Bank d.d., the Croatian subsidiary of Austrias Erste Group Bank AG, as part of a 45 million issuance listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange and marketed mainly to local institutional investors.

It is the EBRDs first purchase of a bond eligible under the Minimum Requirement for own funds and Eligible Liabilities (MREL) issued by a local financial institution in Croatia. It also is the first MREL-eligible instrument issued by a Croatian bank on the local or international market since the introduction of the EUs Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) and the MREL guidelines in Croatia.

Under the regulations of the EU Banking Union participating banks must meet regulatory targets so as to be able to absorb losses and restore their capital position, allowing them to perform their economic functions during and after a crisis. MREL represents one of the key tools in enhancing banks resolvability.

The proceeds of the issuance will support Erste Banks regulatory compliance, the diversification of its funding base, the increase of its loss-absorption capacity and crisis resilience and promote the green agenda in Croatia.

The bond combines two of the EBRDs key goals in Croatia: strengthening the local capital market and developing the green economy. This is the first time when a bond issued by a Croatian bank will adopt Green Economy Transition (GET) eligibility criteria, with Erste Bank allocating majority of the EBRDs investment to GET-eligible projects  mainly renewable energy and internationally - certified green buildings.

In total, the EBRD has invested more than 3.97 billion in Croatia in 226 projects to date.
News of the World (12A)

Verdict: Hanks for the memory

Rating:

Malcolm & Marie (15)

Verdict: Almost unendurable

Rating:

Director Paul Greengrass has made some terrific feature films about dark real-life events, such as United 93, Bloody Sunday, 22 July and, for television, The Murder Of Stephen Lawrence.

So a British audience might assume that his latest drama, News Of The World, has something to do with phone-hacking and the demise of a popular Sunday newspaper.

Not a bit of it. It's a western, starring Tom Hanks (who also teamed up with Greengrass in the 2013 hit Captain Phillips).

This makes it a departure not only for co-writer Greengrass but also for Hanks; amazingly, unless you count Toy Story's Woody, he is a newcomer to one of cinema's most venerable genres.

Of course, newcomers in westerns come in two forms. There's the unsmiling, dangerous killer type and there's the paragon of virtue. To which category does the Hanks character belong? As if you need to be told.

Despite his lengthy and illustrious career, Tom Hanks (pictured as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd with Johanna Leonberger played by Helena Zengel) is a newcomer to the Hollywood Western

He plays Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a Civil War veteran who, by 1870, is making a living by travelling through Texas reading the latest federal and regional news to often illiterate townsfolk  a mobile Huw Edwards, if you will.

It's a noble-minded and also decidedly solitary endeavour until he encounters a ten-year-old white girl, Johanna (the excellent Helena Zengel, nominated this week for a Golden Globe), alone and scared in a wood.

Johanna, it seems, was abducted from German settlers and then raised by the Kiowa tribe, from whom she has been separated. Kidd decides that his moral obligation is to return her to her original family.

There are resounding echoes of John Ford's 1956 masterpiece The Searchers, though I was reminded, too, of all those films that trade on the generation gap between a grown-up and a child not his or her own, especially the wonderful Paper Moon (1973).

News of the World is a road movie, an odd-couple movie, a western and a Tom Hanks vehicle, all in one. Pictured: Tom Hanks as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd in the Paul Greengrass film

Actually, News Of The World (based on a 2016 novel) would inspire a heck of a Venn diagram. It's a road movie, an odd-couple movie, a western and a Tom Hanks vehicle, all in one.

Moreover, you don't need to look too hard to find a few cheeky references to the U.S. presidency just gone, in some rabble-rousing shouts of fake news.

It's a thriller as well but, a little surprisingly, that's where Greengrass, who also has three Jason Bourne films to his name, is less sure-footed.

The perilous journey through Texas amounts to a kind of check-list of obstacles, as Kidd and his brave young charge  who speaks no English  find themselves dealing with communication issues, assorted baddies including human traffickers, tricky topography, a fierce dust storm and a chase that composer James Newton Howard, in a different sort of film, might have set to One Wheel On My Wagon.

The perilous journey through Texas amounts to a check-list of obstacles. Pictured: (from left) Doris Boudlin (Mare Winningham), Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) and Johanna Leonberger (Helena Zengel, back to camera) in News of the World directed by Paul Greengrass

If that sounds a bit flippant, then rest assured there's a great deal to like, above the burgeoning bond between these two unlikely fellow-travellers, and the clever way in which we are fed fragments of Kidd's background story until we have a satisfying whole.

There are flaws both large and small (my wife pointed out that Johanna maintains throughout a 'lovely graduated bob' possibly not compatible with her challenging lifestyle).

But it's almost always a pleasure to spend a couple of hours in the reliably splendid company of Tom Hanks, a cinematic axiom this film does nothing to undermine.

By stark contrast, I found an hour-and-three-quarters in the company of John David Washington's character in Malcolm & Marie nigh-on unendurable.

Sam Levinson's film, a two-hander shot in black and white, chronicles the aftermath of a glitzy film premiere, taking us back to a chic beach house where the hysterically self-centred director, Malcolm (Washington), and his reformed drug-addict girlfriend, Marie (Zendaya), mull over the evening's events.

This, in turn, forces them to assess their entire relationship.

This two-hander, shot in black and white, chronicles the aftermath of a glitzy film premiere. Pictured: Zendaya as Marie and John David Washington as Malcolm, a film director

The basic premise will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered what might unfold privately after a star has stood in the spotlight and forgotten to thank a partner, which is Malcolm's oversight.

But soon we are pitched into a shrieking melodrama as the pair of them row, reconcile and row again, punctuated by Malcolm's ferocious rants about racism and film critics (nice of him to take us seriously, at least).

The film  a product of the coronavirus lockdown, after production was halted on Levinson's HBO drama Euphoria (also featuring Zendaya as an addict)  is being tipped for awards.

Well, if there's one for actorly speechifying and writerly grandstanding, then bring it on.

Between real-life couples, anger is never unleashed as word-perfect, barnstorming rhetoric. Washington has made an award-worthy job of learning his overwritten lines, but that's all

Admittedly, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? trod similar ground 55 years ago and won a heap of Oscars, but there's a phoniness here that anyone who has ever had a late-night marital barney, especially one fuelled by alcohol, will surely recognise.

Between real-life couples, anger is never unleashed as word-perfect, barnstorming rhetoric. Washington has made an award-worthy job of learning his overwritten lines, but that's all.

News Of The World is available on Netflix from next Wednesday; Malcom & Marie is on Neflix now.

Comet the hour, comet the man

Disaster movies in which all of humankind ends up relying on Gerard Butler have practically become a genre in their own right, and I confess to approaching Greenland (4/5) with trepidation.

But, if you do have the stomach for a film in which the planet is under existential threat, it's pacy, well-written and all too credible. I recommend it.

Butler plays John, a structural engineer from Scotland but living in Atlanta, estranged from his wife, Allison (Morena Baccarin), with whom he has a cute young son, Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd).

Gerard Butler in Greenland

A comet, nicknamed Clarke, is about to collide with Earth and it soon becomes clear that the very future of humanity is at stake. There follows a race against time, as John and his family (no spoilers, but imminent planetary destruction turns out to be great for marital reconciliation) try to get to Greenland, where old Cold War bunkers can keep them safe until Clarke has finished wreaking havoc.

As disaster movies go, it's better and a sight more plausible than most.

Rams (3/5) offers a different take on the word 'disaster', as a remote sheep-farming community in Western Australia is clobbered by a parasitic disease, meaning all the precious rare-breed flocks have to be destroyed.

This is terrible news for two crotchety old brothers (Sam Neill and Michael Caton), who run neighbouring farms but haven't spoken to each other in decades. A low-key adaptation of an Icelandic film, Rams mixes gentle comedy with a convincing portrayal of the kind of corrosive sibling hostility that (as I know, living in rural Herefordshire) is rife in farming families, and always, always concerns land. Its pleasures, which include Miranda Richardson as a Pommie vet, are small but perfectly formed.

Bliss (2/5) begins promisingly, with a hapless employee (Owen Wilson) accidentally killing his boss. But when he meets a mysterious woman (Salma Hayek) in a bar and is shepherded into a pair of parallel universes, it quickly gets much more silly than compelling.
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COVID-19 vaccination: Healthcare workers to receive second dose from Feb 13

The second dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine will be administered to healthcare workers from February 13, the Centre said on Thursday, highlighting that 45 per cent of them have been inoculated so far. Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 45,93,427 beneficiaries have been vaccinated against COVID-19 till 1.30 PM on Thursday.

Over 21% Indians already exposed to COVID-19, shows sero-survey

The latest national sero-survey by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has revealed that over 21 per cent of the country's population, aged 10 years or above, have shown evidence of already being exposed to COVID-19, a government statement said on Thursday. Centre has noted that a vast majority of the population are still at risk of COVID-19 infection.

HCL Technologies to hire 1,000 people for Nagpur campus

HCL Technologies on Thursday said it plans to hire 1,000 employees in the next few months for its campus at MIHAN (Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport) in Nagpur. Currently, the company has 2,000 employees working at the campus, where it plans to create a global IT development centre. This will include efforts to recruit, train and employ local talent and create sustainable ecosystems for them, HCL Technologies said in a statement.

US calls for dialogue to end farmers' protests; says farm reforms to improve efficiency

Largely restricted to the outskirts of New Delhi, the mostly peaceful protests were marred by violence on Jan 26. "We encourage that any differences between the parties be resolved through dialogue," a U.S. embassy spokesperson said in a statement that also proffered general support to government measures to "improve the efficiency of India's markets and attract greater private sector investment." The farmers, who enjoy most support in northern India's breadbasket states, argue that three new farm laws will hurt their interests while benefiting large firms.

BigBasket's FY20 revenue jumps 36% to Rs 3,818 crore

Online grocery delivery company BigBasket has reported a 36 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in its revenue at Rs 3,818 for the financial year ended March 31, 2020. Its losses also zoomed 26 per cent to Rs 710 crore during the year. The company's operations were disrupted due to a nationwide lockdown imposed in March last year to curb the spread of coronavirus infections. However, the lockdown also helped the company double its business from pre-COVID levels.
Govt to raise FDI limit in insurance to 74%, allow full foreign control with safeguards

The government will amend the Insurance Act, 1938 to increase the permissible limit of foreign direct investment (FDI) from 49 per cent to 74 per cent and allow foreign ownership and control, with safeguards, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced while presenting the Union Budget 2021-22 in Parliament.

Under the proposed new structure, the majority of directors on the board and key management persons would be resident Indians, with at least 50 per cent of directors being independent directors, and specified percentage of profits being retained as general reserve.

Government will also be privatising at least one general insurance con=manyalong with two public sector banks as part of its divestment and asset monetisation drive.

In 2021-22, government would also sell shares in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) through an initial public offer, for which an amendment to the Insurance Act is proposed in the current session of Parliament.

The finance minister stated an asset reconstruction company and asset management company would be set up to consolidate and take over the existing stressed debt and then manage and dispose of the assets to alternate investment funds and other potential investors for eventual value realisation. The move will help the public sector banks to manage their stressed assets.

In order to consolidate the financial capacity of public sectors banks, the government has proposed further recapitalisation of Rs20,000 crore during fiscal 2021-22.

Further, the finance minister stated that the hovernment had, last year, approved an increase in the deposit insurance cover for bank customers from Rs1 lakh to Rs5 lakhs. In order to help depositors of banks that are currently under stress. The government will be moving an amendment to the DICGC Act, 1961 in the current session of Parliament to streamline the provisions, so that if a bank is temporarily unable to fulfil its obligations, the depositors of such a bank can get easy and time-bound access to their deposits to the extent of the deposit insurance cover.

To improve credit discipline while continuing to protect the interest of small borrowers, for NBFCs with minimum asset size of Rs100 crore, the minimum loan size eligible for debt recovery under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (Sarfaesi) Act, 2002 is proposed to be reduced from the existing level of Rs50 lakh to Rs20 lakh, the minister added.
OTTAWA - The Department of National Defence says military police have launched an investigation following allegations former defence chief Jonathan Vance engaged in inappropriate conduct.

Then chief of the defence staff Jonathan Vance responds to a question during a news conference Friday, June 26, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - The Department of National Defence says military police have launched an investigation following allegations former defence chief Jonathan Vance engaged in inappropriate conduct.

Defence Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier says the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service investigation is separate from an independent examination that has been ordered by top military officials.

Global News reported on Tuesday that Vance allegedly had an ongoing relationship with a woman he significantly outranked, and that he made a sexual comment to a second, much younger soldier in 2012, before he was appointed chief of the defence staff.

Vance could not be reached for comment on Thursday and the allegations against him could not be independently verified.

Vance acknowledged he dated the first woman nearly 20 years ago, according to Global, but said the relationship had evolved over the years and was not sexual.

The former defence chief also said he had no recollection of making a sexual comment to the other junior member, adding if he did make the comment it would have been intended as a joke and that he was prepared to apologize.

The allegations against Vance come less than a month after he turned over command of the Canadian Armed Forces to Admiral Art McDonald following more than five years in the position.

"We can confirm the CFNIS is investigating this matter," Le Bouthillier said in a statement on Thursday, without providing further details.

"In order to preserve the integrity of the investigative process, no additional information can be provided at this time."

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan faced questions in the House of Commons on Thursday about whether he was aware of the allegations against Vance, who took over as Canada's defence chief in July 2015.

Sajjan said he has "always ensured that any allegations that were brought to my attention had been reported to the appropriate authorities to begin an investigation, regardless of rank or position.

"I have always followed all of the appropriate processes in pursuing issues related to workplace harassment whenever allegations have arisen."

Sajjan repeated that assertion in a statement provided to The Canadian Press.

"We will ensure a full thorough independent investigation is conducted," he added. "However, the specifics around any such review have yet to be determined."

The official Opposition Conservatives have nonetheless called for an emergency meeting of the Commons defence committee to probe what Sajjan knew, and when.

McDonald and Defence Department deputy minister Jody Thomas on Tuesday described the allegations as troubling, but have not said whether they have been substantiated.

McDonald subsequently sent a message to all Armed Forces members on Wednesday, describing the allegations against Vance as "distressing and hurtful for all of us to contemplate."

He went on to describe those who had come forward to make the allegations as having done so "courageously," and promised that they would not face any repercussions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2021.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : The Subject Expert Committee of India's central drug regulatory authority has given a go-ahead to the Serum Institute of India to conduct Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials for Novavax's Covid vaccine candidate in the country.

According to the minutes of meetings accessed by IANS, the Pune-based vaccine manufacturing giant will be conducting bridging trials of American vaccine manufacturer's Covid vaccine in India.

The SII had applied for the trails earlier but the SEC was not satisfied with the trial protocols and recommended the firm to re-submit the revised protocols.

"In light of recommendations of SEC committee dated 18.12.2020 and 13.01.2021, the firm presented its proposal along with a revised protocol for conducting Phase II/III clinical trial of SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein Nanoparticle Vaccine with Matrix-M1 Adjuvant before the committee," the SEC's observation in the minutes' document said.

The revised protocol was found satisfactory by the experts' committee after which it recommended to grant permission to conduct late trials bridging studies for the Novavax vaccine.

"After detailed deliberation, the committee recommended for grant of permission to conduct Phase II/III clinical trial," the SEC said.

However, the recommendation was given to a condition that the participants randomised in the trial for the placebo arm may be unblinded 60 days after the second dose upon request of the clinical trial participant only.

"Such participant may be offered investigational vaccine as per the dose and schedule prescribed in the protocol," the committee said.

A week ago, Novavax said that its Covid vaccine was 89.3 per cent effective in preventing the Covid-19 in a trial conducted in the UK.

Meanwhile, its preliminary analysis and was nearly as effective in protecting against the variant found in the UK.

In September last year, Novavax had announced its deal with the SII to produce 2 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
[February 05, 2021] Bambuser Augments Live Video Shopping Platform with New Features for Audience Engagement and Accessibility

- Latest platform updates focus on increasing viewership of retailers' shoppable live streams STOCKHOLM, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bambuser today announced the launch of several new features enabling retailers to increase the impact of their Live Video Shopping initiatives. The added capabilities are designed to drive awareness and audience growth while enhancing engagement and facilitating social sharing of interactive e-commerce experiences, before, during and after live events. The feature enhancements include: Floating Action Button (FAB) Previews A powerful way to increase awareness of and drive traffic to Live Video Shopping events, Bambuser's FAB Previews are small video overlays that unobtrusively alert site visitors to upcoming events. When deployed in the moments prior to going live, the pop-up teaser videos elicit a heightened sense of urgency, leading to significantly higher visitor-to-viewer conversions. Event Spotlight Modules Also driving the conversion of site visitors to show viewers, Event Spotlight Modules enable retailers to seamlessly promote current, past and upcoming Live Video Shopping events on curated landing pages and video banners. These fully-customizable, plug-and-play modules are easy to embed on any web page, and, when automated, significantly reduce friction and administrative burden. Audio Descriptions Augmenting its previously-announced closed captioning capabilities, Bambuser added a new audio captioning feature that enables audible descriptions of key visual elements from the video (settings, actions, facial expressions, scene changes etc.) to be added to events. The feature, which greatly increases retailers' ability to serve people with visual impairments, was developed as part of Bambuser's ongoing commitment to exceeding the standards for Americans with Disability Act (ADA)-compliant websites. In third-party testing prior to the launch of both audio and text captioning, the platform scored well above average for ADA compliance. Bambuser expects to achieve a near-perfect score upon the next review. Added Social Options Elevating the potential for virality, Bambuser added Share from Pre-Screen, a new capability that allows viewers to share upcoming Live Video Shopping events with their social connections across all popular platforms. Also added is the ability to share from a specific timestamp in a recorded show, which allows highlighting specific products and memorable moments during the event. Complementing these capabilities is a new Add to Calendar option, a feature that will help ensure people who are interested in a particular Live Video Shopping event receive reminders and notifications, which increase the chances they will ultimately attend. "As a pioneer in video streaming technology, Bambuser has one of the most robust infrastructures possible when it comes to delivering exceptional viewer experiences. Now that the popularity of Live Video Shopping is growing rapidly, we're focused on anticipating the market's future needs and wants and being first to market with solutions that exceed expectations," said Jesper Funck, Chief Product Officer at Bambuser. "We look forward to developing even more tools and capabilities to ensure retailers, brands and audiences are able to get all of the benefits of and full enjoyment from our platform." To see how the new features work, check out this video: http://bmb.sr/newfeatures. Contact information Maryam Ghahremani, CEO Bambuser | press@bambuser.com | +46 8 400 160 02 About Bambuser Bambuser is a software company specializing in interactive live video streaming. The Company's primary product, Live Video Shopping, is a cloud-based software solution that is used by customers such as global e-commerce and retail businesses to host live shopping experiences on websites, mobile apps and social media. Bambuser was founded in 2007 and has its headquarters in Stockholm. Erik Penser Bank AB is Bambuser's Certified Adviser. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/bambuser/r/bambuser-augments-live-video-shopping-platform-with-new-features-for-audience-engagement-and-accessi,c3279932 The following files are available for download:







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PHOENIX  Republicans who control the Arizona Senate voted Thursday to fast-track a resolution finding Maricopa County in contempt for failing to turn over elections equipment and ballots cast in the November election as a subpoena demanded.

The rules change brought furious opposition from minority Democrats, who called the effort further evidence that GOP senators have bought into unfounded conspiracy theories that President Joe Biden won Arizona because of problems with vote counting.

The more we play along with this silly game the more we are lying to the people of Arizona about it, Sen. Martin Quezada, a Glendale Democrat, said. We need to cut this out, and we need to cut it out now.

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The 16-13 party-line vote to waive requirements for committee hearings and full debate sets up a formal vote on the resolution as soon as Monday. If it passes, county supervisors could be arrested for failing to comply with the subpoenas.

Republicans said they were not challenging the election results, noting that Biden is now president. Instead, they said they want to do their own audit of the countys voting machines and review ballots to restore confidence in the countys elections.

What we are trying is to prove to the voters of Maricopa County that they can trust and count on their election process, GOP Sen. Rick Gray said during the vote. I think that is reasonable. I think that is necessary.

The county Board of Supervisors held an emergency meeting shortly after the Senate adjourned for the day and voted unamimously to have their attorneys go to court protect the integrity of the electoral process and the privacy of the ballots and of the voters of Maricopa county in the courts.

The Senate introduced the resolution Wednesday afternoon, and all 16 Republican senators are listed as sponsors, meaning it is virtually certain to pass. It authorizes Senate President Karen Fann to take all legal action needed to enforce the subpoena.

Republican Sen. Sonny Borrelli said the countys refusal to allow access to its voting equipment was infuriating.

This is a challenge, a direct challenge to your authority, to this body. And Im really surprised you that you dont recognize this and youre making it a partisan issue, Borrelli said. We have a political subdivision literally spitting in the face of the state Senate.

The Republican-dominated board on Tuesday again refused to comply with subpoenas GOP lawmakers issued as they try to show that fraud or other election misdeeds might have led to Bidens win in the state. Courts rejected eight lawsuits filed by backers of former President Donald Trump after his loss, finding there was no evidence that he did not lose.

The Senate has demanded access to voting machines and all 2.1 million ballots cast in the election. The board has said it cant comply because ballots are sealed by law and the voting machines the Senate wants to examine need to remain secure.

The supervisors have repeatedly pointed to multiple tests of the voting machines done before and after the election and hand counts of a sample of ballots that showed the count was accurate. They fought subpoenas issued in December by the Senate Judiciary Committee with the backing of Fann in court. Still, the county is conducting two new voting machine audits.

New subpoenas were issued after a new Legislature was sworn in on Jan. 11. No new proceedings have been initiated by either side befoe the county action Thursday afternoon.

GOP county Supervisor Bill Gates issued a statement after the resolution was introduced saying I will never be in favor of turning over ballots without a court order.

Not only is it illegal under Arizona state law for this Board to turn over custody of the ballots, it is also unfathomable that the Arizona Senate has hired a known, and frequently debunked, conspiracy theorist to conduct their audit, he said in a statement that he also posted on Twitter.

Documents released Wednesday by the county show that Fann is considering hiring a firm with strong connections to the Trump campaigns efforts to overturn election results in multiple battleground states to do its audit.

Fann said Thursday that no firm has been hired, and that arresting the supervisors isnt the only option if the resolution passes.

First and foremost, the supervisors could pick up the phone and say youre right, lets get a third independent (auditor) and do that, Fann said.

She listed other options, such as going again to court or asking the attorney general to intervene.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 13:09:14|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia registered 38 new COVID-19 cases, raising its national caseload to 1,928, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Friday.

The latest cases were detected in the country's capital Ulan Bator, Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's surveillance department, said at a daily press conference, urging citizens to stay at home, maintain good personal hygiene habits and keep social distance.

Meanwhile, 32 more recoveries were reported, bringing the national count to 1,430, she added.

The Asian country has so far recorded four COVID-19-related deaths. Enditem
Will Ferrell is sick and tired of Norway beating the United States in selling electric cars, and he's doing something about it in General Motors' Super Bowl ad.

The 53-year-old actor is showcased front and center of GM's ad, promoting their new electric vehicle (EV) initiative.

After learning that Norway sells more EV's that the United States, Ferrell rounds up fellow comedians Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina to help the cause.

Sick and tired: Will Ferrell is sick and tired of Norway beating the United States in selling electric cars, and he's doing something about it in General Motors' Super Bowl ad

Help: After learning that Norway sells more EV's that the United States, Ferrell rounds up fellow comedians Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina to help the cause

The 90-second ad - an extended version from the 60-second spot that will run during the first quarter of the big game - begins with a bearded Ferrell dropping some EV knowledge.

'Did you know that Norway sells way more electric cars per capita than the U.S.? Norway!' Ferrell says with a laugh, before turning angry.

He grunts and punches through the globe, saying he, 'won't stand for it,' though he cannot get the globe off of his fist.

Knowledge: The 90-second ad - an extended version from the 60-second spot that will run during the first quarter of the big game - begins with a bearded Ferrell dropping some EV knowledge

Globe: He grunts and punches through the globe, saying he, 'won't stand for it,' though he cannot get the globe off of his fist

The funnyman decided to let it go and hopped in his Cadillac, adding that, 'With GM's new Ultimum Battery, we're gonna crush those lugers.'

He pulls up to Kenan Thompson's house, who is dressed up like a pirate, as Ferrell tells him, 'Kenan, Norway's out-EV-ing us,' before asking about his outfit.

'Oh it's my daughter's birthday. She's really into pirates,' though Ferrell interrupts and adds, 'I don't care,' asking him to 'grab an EV and meet me in Norway,' while denying him permission to say goodbye to his family.

Crush: The funnyman decided to let it go and hopped in his Cadillac, adding that, 'With GM's new Ultimum Battery, we're gonna crush those lugers'

Pirate Kenan: He pulls up to Kenan Thompson's house, who is dressed up like a pirate, as Ferrell tells him, 'Kenan, Norway's out-EV-ing us,' before asking about his outfit

His next stop is at Awkwafina's house, who is practicing her archery skills when Ferrell tells her that, 'Norway is beating us in EVs.'

While she refuses to believe this stat, Ferrell convinces her by catching a few of her arrows before telling her to meet him in an hour, while declining her a ride.

Ferrell explains that GM's Ultium Battery is, 'made for all types of vehicles so soon everyone can drive an EV.'

Archery: His next stop is at Awkwafina's house, who is practicing her archery skills when Ferrell tells her that, 'Norway is beating us in EVs'

No ride: While she refuses to believe this stat, Ferrell convinces her by catching a few of her arrows before telling her to meet him in an hour, while declining her a ride

Ferrell drives his Cadillac into a shipping container that's set out to sea, while Awkwafina asks why they didn't all go together, with Thompson adding Ferrell is probably, 'flying private.'

After an arduous journey by sea, Ferrell finally arrives in Norway, getting out of his car with a bullhorn to give them a piece of his mind.

'OK Norway, listen up you fish-loving...' Ferrell begins, before taking a glimpse at his surroundings and calming down immediately.

Private: Ferrell drives his Cadillac into a shipping container that's set out to sea, while Awkwafina asks why they didn't all go together, with Thompson adding Ferrell is probably, 'flying private'

Calm: 'OK Norway, listen up you fish-loving...' Ferrell begins, before taking a glimpse at his surroundings and calming down immediately

'Oh, this place is adorable. Damn it,' he adds, before getting a phone call from Kenan and Awkwafina.

When he asks where they are, they say they're in Finland, which frustrates Ferrell who says he's in Norway.

A blonde woman walks up to him and says, 'Norway? You're in Sweden,' which a frustrated Ferrell responds with, 'Damn it!'

The ad ends with, 'We're coming Norway,' revealing that GM is rolling out 30 new EVs by the year 2025.

GM has also recently announced plans to become fully carbon-neutral by the year 2040, and eliminating tailpipe emissions from light-duty vehicles by 2035.

Adorable: 'Oh, this place is adorable. Damn it,' he adds, before getting a phone call from Kenan and Awkwafina

Finland: When he asks where they are, they say they're in Finland, which frustrates Ferrell who says he's in Norway
The US Air Force said on Friday that it will carry out a review of security on its bases around the world after an intruder sneaked onto a C-40 plane used to carry VIPs that was parked in the key military facility that is home to Air Force One.

An unarmed adult male was able to make his way onto Joint Base Andrews on Thursday and enter a C-40 aircraft, a military version of the Boeing 737, officials said.

They added that there were no indications that he had any links to extremist groups.

Joint Base Andrews, roughly 15 miles southeast of the White House in Washington, DC, is used by the president, vice president, and cabinet leaders to travel around the country and world.

'Everybody in the (Defense Department) and certainly everybody in the Air Force understands what a serious matter this is,' Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

In a statement, the Air Force said the service's inspector general was reviewing the break-in.

In addition to that review, the Air Force will be doing a 'comprehensive review' of security of bases around the world.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House for comment.

An intruder sneaked onto a C-40 aircraft, a military version of the Boeing 737, at Joint Base Andrews (pictured above) in Maryland on Thursday. The security breach prompted the Air Force to launch an investigation

Joint Base Andrews is home to Air Force One (pictured above in October 2018 at Joint Base Andrews). The White House says that the intruder was 'no where near' the president's plane

A White House spokesperson told the Military Times the man was 'no where near' the Boeing 747 that is called Air Force One when the president is aboard.

The military said that the man entered a C-40 aircraft assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing.

The Air Force's 89th Airlift Wing consists of more than 1,000 enlisted men and women who oversee air travel and logistics planning for the president, vice president, combat commanders, and other senior leaders.

No information was immediately available about when the incident occurred or how close the individual got to the aircraft.

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) was initially leading the investigation into the incident, but then turned the man over to local authorities.

'He was booked by OSI and given a federal summons for trespassing. He was turned over to local law enforcement, given that he had two outstanding warrants,' according to the release.

OSI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for more information.

'The guy was turned over to Prince George's County,' AFOSI spokeswoman Linda Card told Military Times on Friday morning.

'Nothing was threatened and the guy was turned over to the local police.'

Authorities said that the man was not armed and did not appear to be connected to any extremist organizations.

'The security of our installation is paramount,' said Col. Roy Oberhaus, the vice wing commander of the 316th Wing at Joint Base Andrews.

The military said that the man entered a C-40 aircraft (like the one pictured above) assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing. The Air Force's 89th Airlift Wing consists of more than 1,000 enlisted men and women who oversee air travel and logistics planning for the president, vice president, combat commanders, and other senior leaders

'This was a serious breach of security and Joint Base Andrews is investigating the incident to determine how this happened so it doesnt happen again.'

The breach took place a day before President Biden was scheduled to take his first flight aboard Air Force One.

The president is flying to his home state of Delaware where he will spend the weekend - the first trip he has made since taking office on January 20.

'Technically, "Air Force One" is used to designate any Air Force aircraft carrying the President, but it is now standard practice to use the term to refer to specific planes that are equipped to transport the Commander-in-Chief,' the White House states on its website.

'Today, this name refers to one of two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft, which carry the tail codes 28000 and 29000.

'The Air Force designation for the aircraft is VC-25A.'

New Delhi, Feb 5 : The energy and mysticism of Sufi, they say are the two factors that keep them consistently magnetised towards the genre. Adding that the opportunity of involving classical music is a plus , the band members of Kolkata-based 'Humsufi' say, "Singing in front of youngsters and watching them dance to sargams is thrilling. While Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was the first influence for us, we went deeper into the subject and started relating to the concept of one God and felt a spiritual connection," says band frontman Krsna.

Conceived in 2012, the members were already a part of a classical fusion outfit before they decided to form 'Humsufi'. "Whilst doing the show we got a few requests of Sufi songs which we happened to know and that's how the idea was seeded. Sufi as a genre was a common interest of all the members and we found a ground to express our musical influences." Stressing that it is extremely tough to survive as an independent band, the members lament that the market has become extremely competitive, especially after the advent of online streaming, and it's a challenge for independent bands to reach out to a larger audience.

"We have been fortunate that our live performances have been extremely well received by audiences even from the very early days of the band. For us, live gigs continue to be the primary medium to spread our music," the band members say.

Krsna adds that the main challenge lies in giving something new to the listeners. "To sustain as a band, live gigs are the lifeblood, it's been a journey of struggle and constant experimentation. For us, it's a game where there are new levels and a constant urge to push ourselves to keep on delivering." Lamenting that the lockdown was a major downer considering it became tough for them to to meet up and practice, the lead member adds that though they started performing in virtual gigs from August last year, the absence of a live audience took a huge toll on them.

"However, it was also an eye-opener of sorts as the the band members had a better understanding about each other considering they underwent a kind of contemplation and understood the value of the band in their lives even more. The period made us more determined to rise up to the need of the hour." The band, which will play during HCL Soundscapes on February 5 feels that it is important that more corporate houses step in to support the arts. "Considering the period we are going through, the future of the industry as a whole is dependent on initiatives like these." Although they have worked on multiple studio projects including jingles and background scores, Krsna says that after the amount of time that devoted to developing live productions, there are very few days left to work in studio based projects. "We have always wanted to compose and sing for films and are waiting for a good opportunity," he adds.

Planning to release originals soon and build up their social media connect considering they are mainly dependent on live gigs, the members who look upto bands like Euphoria, Indian Ocean, say, "Now we intend to spread our connect even more." (Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Darjeeling (WB):

The Army was on Saturday redeployed in Darjeeling hills after fresh violence broke out at Sonada where Gorkhaland supporters torched a police outpost and a toy train station after a youth was killed in alleged police firing last night.



Activists of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) also clashed with the police at Sonada and Chawkbazar in Darjeeling as the indefinite shutdown in the hills entered its 24th day.



Two columns of the Army comprising around 100 personnel were deployed in Sonada and Darjeeling in the wake of fresh violence, defence sources said.



GNLF spokesperson Neeraj Zimba claimed that the youth Tashi Bhutia was shot dead by the security forces last night when he had gone out to purchase medicines at Sonada.



The police, however, said they did not have any report of firing.

Read | Basirhat riot: Banerjee blames Centre for non-cooperation; MHA hits back, asks 'Why WB not using forces provided'



We dont have any report of police firing as of now. We are looking into the incident. We can give you details later, a police officer said.



Inspector General of Police (IGP) Javed Shamim, when asked about the firing, said, It will be known only after the inquiry.



The GJM and other hill parties have lodged a police complaint accusing the police of killing the youth.



The youth was killed by the police without any reason. His body has bullet injuries. We demand that the policemen involved be punished, GJM leader Binay Tamang said.



As news of his death spread, hundreds of Gorkhaland supporters came out on the streets and raised slogans against police atrocities.



They clashed with the police and set on fire a police outpost at Sonada and the toy train station of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railways, a UNESCO World Heritage site.



The GJM said that it will take out a rally with the body in the Chowkbazar area of Darjeeling later in the day.



The Centre had said yesterday that it was keen on holding tripartite talks with the GJM and the West Bengal government to end the agitation.



With food supply severely hit due to the indefinite strike, the GJM and various NGOs distributed food amongst the people.



Barring medicine outlets, all shops, schools, colleges remained closed. Internet services remained suspended for the 21st day.

The police and the security forces patrolled the streets and kept a vigil on the entry and exit routes.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A young man charged with driving a car along Bourke Street Mall, causing panic among pedestrians, was on bail at the time of the alleged incident.

Bryce ODonnell was arrested in Ballarat on Thursday afternoon after evading police for a week after he was allegedly behind the wheel of the car that drove along the mall on January 28.

Bryce ODonnell. Credit:Victoria Police

Mr ODonnell, 20, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday via a video link from custody on 11 charges, including reckless conduct endangering life and offending while on bail.

Police allege he drove a green Mitsubishi Lancer away from Swanston Street when police tried to pull him over in relation to a traffic incident.
opinion

The appointment of the new service chiefs is in order.

The President and Commander-in-Chief has finally succumbed to public pressure and replaced the former Service Chiefs. The changes were long overdue and justified considering the fact that there was not much progress in defeating the insurgents in the North East, stopping the spate of killings by people suspected to be herdsmen across the country and the state of general insecurity in nearly all parts of the country. These were not the only acts of insecurity and criminality that concerned the populace. Equally of concern were the virtual state of siege in parts of the country as exemplified by attacks on public highways and the rampage by lawless individuals and groups. The change of service chiefs is therefore commendable.

The President and his advisers once again proved responsive to public opinion. The decision took time understandably to avoid past mistakes of appointing unfit persons into sensitive positions of leadership. Many of us believe that the president made well-informed choices in the appointment of the new service chiefs. Not even his most ardent critics could fault the choice of the new service chiefs. The appointments addressed the twin problems of lopsidedness and brazen disregard of the federal character principles and ethno-religious balancing. Much more important however is the issue of competence, loyalty and restoring professionalism in the services which demand extreme caution.

I am compelled to write to underscore the importance of caution which in the past was not exercised in such appointments resulting in failure to defeat the security threats that have engulfed the country in the last one decade. We believe the president and his advisers exercised due diligence. It is important to note that past efforts failed to appreciate our realities. The persistence of insecurity in the country is to a large extent also due to lack of required assets to pursue the wars and deficiencies in strategies being deployed. There is also the problem of dishonesty. I have often advised that there can be no success in any enterprise when there is no honesty in the pursuit of the mission. There is also the indispensability of the support of the citizenry.

It is a known fact that no counter intelligence war has ever been successful without the support of the citizenry. In almost all cases, the efforts of the security forces should be complemented with the support of the citizens in intelligence sourcing and identification of criminal elements. Some of us believe that the forces can make do with more psychological support to encourage the troops to defeat the criminal elements. It should also be pointed out that the ongoing counter insurgency war in the North East suffered immeasurable losses due to uncomplimentary remarks by individuals who should know better. Demanding invitation of foreign mercenaries to deal with the insurgents is ill-informed and smacks of lack of knowledge on the issues being dealt with that constitute serious distractions.

There are also other tendencies that should be discouraged. Change in the attitude of those who find themselves in political leadership is necessary. Politicians must appreciate the predicament of the security forces. We need to insulate the current efforts from politics and parochial sentiments. Conversely the security forces must accept genuine criticisms from critics in order to make amends. It has been observed that a major problem in the ongoing war against the current security challenges is that many in the corridors of power are allergic to what they misconstrue as unwarranted criticisms. We believe some of the criticisms are honest and well- intended as suggestions that some things could be done differently are acceptable in democratic settings. Those defending the government inevitably end up making more enemies for the government when they are less tolerant of honest advice.

Another deficiency that is very glaring in the ongoing wars against insurgency, kidnapping, banditry and attacks on communities is the dearth of actionable intelligence. Not much progress can be made without the required intelligence. The new service chiefs must therefore revitalize their intelligence gathering strategies and assets.

The new service chiefs should avoid deception and playing to the gallery and be weary of false claims being churned out. This is the reason why some critics wondering just how many insurgents and bandits there are, considering the frequency of announcements of successes and "neutralization". There is so much sceptism over some of the claims being made by the spokesmen of the security forces who have formed the habit of only telling their principals what they want to hear. This attitude needs to be discarded as it is poses serious credibility problems in the ongoing efforts against the security challenges.

There are also the challenges of welfare of personnel. The major area of concern of those prosecuting the wars is the negligence of their warfare and the non-availability of assets and platforms that could help bring the various security threats to an end. Their efforts have also been undermined by the activities of insider saboteurs and those that have lost relevance. The fact is our security forces are generally resilient and could give their best in every situation but they could easily be frustrated when their leadership is not living up to expectations. Accordingly, the new service chiefs, if they are to succeed, should frontally deal with the menace of sycophancy, nepotism and compromise that frustrate honest attempts to deal with problems at hand.

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The near mutinous situations in some military formations in the past hardly speak well of those in command positions. Finally, there is the problem of inadequacy of men in the theatres of war. It will be fool hardy to expect that the security challenges would be won with security forces that are terribly inadequate, ill-equipped and overstretched. Not much progress would be made without addressing the problems of equipment, staffing and leadership. The new service chiefs should note that what the country expects from them is bringing to an end all the security challenges in the land. This is possible.

We wish to congratulate the new Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Lucky Irabor and the New Chief of Army Staff, Major General Ibrahim Attahiru, previous Commanders of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North East. The two officers did exceptionally well and gave good account of themselves as commanders. We pray they will live up to expectation.

Gadzama OFR, mni, is Chairman, Board of National Institute of Security Studies
Piers Morgan has said his GMB co-host Kate Garraway is 'in terrible limbo' over her husband Derek Draper battle with coronavirus.

The TV presenter, 55, reflected on the former lobbyist's ongoing fight with Covid-19 on Friday, saying his 'heart breaks' for the broadcaster, 53.

Derek, 53, remains in hospital after being admitted in March last year with the virus, while he no longer has it the disease has left him suffering from multiple health conditions including diabetes and holes in his heart and lungs.

'My heart breaks for her': Piers Morgan shared his sympathy for Kate Garraway on Friday and claimed she is in a 'terrible limbo' amid husband Derek Draper's Covid battle

Speaking to The Sun about Kate and Derek, Piers said they 'hoped he would make a quick recovery', but claimed: 'It's talked about that he may never come out of it, she doesn't know, she's living in this terrible limbo.'

Going on to talk about Kate and Derek following her stint in 2019's I'm A Celebrity, he went on: 'I've never seen them happier, they were going to review their wedding vows. Then that happened

'Kate went from being on top of the world to being at the bottom of the world. My heart breaks for her. And it carries on breaking for her. It's a nightmare for her.'

Illness: Derek (pictured with Kate in December 2019) remains in hospital after being admitted in March last year with the virus

Struggle: Of Derek's health condition, Piers said they 'hoped he would make a quick recovery', but claimed: 'It's talked about that he may never come out of it, she doesn't know'

On Tuesday, Lorraine Kelly revealed Kate told her she has to 'keep going for the kids' as her husband Derek remains in hospital.

The Good Morning Britain host has often spoken candidly about her husband's ongoing fight and supporting their two children Darcey, 14 and William, 11, since he was diagnosed with the potentially deadly virus in March last year.

Speaking to OK! magazine, fellow ITV star Lorraine, 61, described Kate as 'incredible' amid Derek's health battle.

Thoughts: Going on to talk about Kate and Derek following her stint in 2019's I'm A Celebrity, he went on: 'I've never seen them happier, they were going to review their wedding vows'

Emotional: Piers added, 'Kate went from being on top of the world to being at the bottom of the world. My heart breaks for her. And it carries on breaking for her'

She said: 'Honestly, she is the bravest girl. I don't know how she does it. We've known each other for years and I've always really liked her because, obviously, she's lovely but she is also a steel magnolia.

'She's been incredible. She says she's not doing anything anyone else wouldn't do but I'm not so sure about that. And of course, she says she's to keep going for the kids.'

Lorraine recalled interviewing Kate on her chat show about how she was dealing with Derek's prolonged stay in hospital.

Support: On Tuesday, Lorraine Kelly revealed Kate told her she has to 'keep going for the kids' as her husband Derek remains in hospital

Lorraine said: 'She's been incredible. She says she's not doing anything anyone else wouldn't do but I'm not so sure about that. And of course, she says she's to keep going for the kids'

The broadcaster said it reminded her how 'serious' Covid is and is also why she gets so angry with people who do not wear masks or believe conspiracy theories about the pandemic.

She said: 'We were talking about Derek and I just wanted to give her a big cuddle. Because of what happened to her, it brought it home to all of us at work just how serious this is.'

Speaking recently on the 5 Years Time podcast, Kate confessed that after months of uncertainty, she is still unsure if Derek will recover, but is continuing to hold out hope.

She explained: 'It's been really tough for us. Derek got really sick in the beginning of March. Even though we're hoping he can recover, it's taking a very, very long time.

Finally: Kate's children, daughter Darcey, 14 and son William, 11, finally got to visit their father in hospital in December (pictured in 2018)

'We don't know how much he can recover. So that's impacted on us obviously dramatically. So, it's been really difficult.'

Revealing that she had a more positive outlook this year, she added: 'Everybody is hoping 2021 will bring just a bit of hope and relief.

'The vaccine is here now, so everybody is hoping that will help Covid, I think, and help us regain some normality.'

Kate also noted that returning to work on GMB and hosting Smooth Radio has provided a welcome distraction amid her personal crisis.

Honest: Kate recently confessed that after months of uncertainty, she is still unsure if Derek will recover, but is continuing to hold out hope (Derek pictured with their children in 2019)

Back in September, he passed the grim milestone of becoming the longest patient battling coronavirus in hospital in the UK, with doctors telling Kate that Derek's infection was the 'highest they had seen in a patient who had lived'.

Although Derek continues to fight his illnesses, doctors have warned that he may 'never come out of a coma'.

Speaking on GMB last week, Piers urged viewers to take the virus seriously and made the stark revelation that Derek remains in perilous condition.

In his desperate message to viewers, Piers said: 'We know from our colleague Kate Garraway, whose husband is still in a coma from Covid. He may never come out of that coma. She's been told this, and it's heartbreaking.'

Health: While Derek no longer has coronavirus, the virus has left him suffering from multiple health conditions including diabetes and holes in his heart and lungs (pictured in 2019)

Just days before, Kate gave a heartbreaking update on her husband's ongoing battle with Covid-19, saying 'his body has been ravaged' by the virus.

Kate spoke to Piers and Susanna Reid about her upcoming book which will detail the last year of her family's life, admitting she's been feeling 'physically low and at the end of my tether' since Christmas.

'Derek's still ravaged from the effects of Covid from way back in March, his recovery is incredibly uncertain,' Kate explained.

Tough year: Kate will release a book about her struggle, The Power Of Hope, in April

She added that she's working with Derek's medical team to come up with new treatments but she's finding the scale of the current Covid death rate 'unbearable'.

'I'm trying to look for new things and new ways and talking to doctors about what we can do for him meanwhile people are still dying in extraordinary numbers - people that aren't older and haven't got underlying conditions, it's unbearable.'

She added to Piers that he inspired her to write her book The Power Of Hope after he told her to keep a diary since the early days of Derek's illness:

'You and Susanna say: "You're just an inspiration to keep going", and I thought if I could tell my story and some of the people that have helped me then maybe that will be helpful for people.'

Kate took to Instagram to share the front cover of her 'raw and emotional story', The Power Of Hope, about her husband's 'long fight'.

Kate told her followers Derek's 'journey is far from over' and the family are working out what their 'new future will look like'.

She wrote: 'Hello everyone - I've not been on here for a while as I've been taking time to gather myself and focus like everyone else on getting through this latest lockdown.

'The pandemic is far from over and so is Derek's journey but I have decided to share our story and what's helping to keep me going, as we all try to work out what our new futures will look like.

'I am really hoping that it will help you with all that you are going through.'

Derek has regained minimal consciousness from his medically induced coma and while he has not been speaking, he heartbreakingly mouthed the word 'pain' in October last year.

Kate's children finally got to visit their father in hospital in December.

She admitted the family reunion was 'heightened with emotion' because her children saw how Derek was 'very changed' by his battle with the virus.

She explained: 'It was very heightened with emotion, because he's very changed.

'So all the routines that we'd normally do, it was one of those moments that it was so wonderful but also it amplified how sad everything was. And how different it is.

'But it was still fantastic, and we're very grateful to have had that opportunity.'

Kate has been unable to see Derek due to new restrictions introduced during the third lockdown, which bans any visitors on the COVID-19 ward where he is recovering.
NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Michael R. Bloomberg as his Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions. The COP26 High Level Climate Action Champions, Gonzalo Munoz and Nigel Topping, also named Mr. Bloomberg the first Global Ambassador for the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience campaigns.

In his third Special Envoy role, Mr. Bloomberg will mobilize stronger and more ambitious climate action in the lead-up to the pivotal Glasgow Climate Conference  COP 26  in November 2021. Building on decades of proven experience fighting climate change across business, government and philanthropy, Mr. Bloomberg will support the Secretary-General's work to grow and strengthen the coalition of governments, companies, cities and financial institutions committing to net-zero before 2050. He will also engage government officials and members of the private sector and civil society  particularly in high-emitting countries, industries and sectors  to vastly accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy and help deliver on the Secretary-General's global call for an expedited phase out of coal, in line with the Paris Agreement.

"Mayor Bloomberg is a leader who is undaunted by the big challenges and we are pleased to welcome him back in this role as Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions in this critical year," said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Mayor Bloomberg's deep commitment to climate action and his essential experience bridging the interests of business, finance, policy makers and philanthropy are uniquely suited to helping to accelerate impact as we rebuild better together and drive toward a global commitment for COP26 and beyond."

Mr. Bloomberg's work will be rooted in the Secretary-General's call to ensure efforts to rebuild better together from the COVID-19 pandemic do not just reset the world economy but transform it  through new investment in clean infrastructure, new jobs, and a resilient future free from dirty fossil fuels.

"Fighting climate change is a global challenge that requires strong global collaboration. I'm honored to be returning as Special Envoy to the UN Secretary-General to help drive the fight forward and secure a greener, healthier future for generations to come," said Michael R. Bloomberg. "I look forward to continuing to rally and support the efforts of cities, states, businesses, and local groups through our ongoing work at Bloomberg Philanthropies, and by serving as ambassador for the UNFCCC's Race to Zero and Race to Resilience campaigns. Local climate action is so vital to achieving the UN's climate targets  and together, we can make even more progress accelerating the transition to clean energy and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050."

As the first Global Ambassador for the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience campaigns, Mr. Bloomberg will continue to draw on his long track record of spurring ambitious subnational climate action to work with the UN's Climate Ambition Alliance to rally leadership and mobilize support from cities, regions, businesses, and investors in the largest ever coordinated campaign to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 at the very latest.

"We are delighted to welcome Mr. Bloomberg as the first Global Ambassador for the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience," said Nigel Topping, COP26 High-Level Champion of the United Kingdom. "In this position, he will play a pivotal role in helping to raise awareness and drive growth for both campaigns, with a special emphasis on engagement with cities and regions."

Gonzalo Munoz, COP25 High-Level Champion of Chile, added, "The appointment of Mr. Bloomberg as the first Global Ambassador will be followed by further appointments of men and women across the world who will join him as fellow representatives to unlock the efforts of non-state actors in support of a zero carbon, resilient world."

These positions build on Mr. Bloomberg's previous appointments as UN Special Envoy for Climate Action in 2018 and UN Special Envoy on Cities and Climate Change by then Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in 2014.

As founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and the 108th mayor of New York City, Mr. Bloomberg is globally recognized for his work to accelerate climate action, including support for the Beyond Coal movement, which has successfully turbocharged the clean energy transition in the United States and other countries, and America's Pledge  an initiative to quantify and report the actions of U.S. states, cities, businesses, and organizations to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

In addition to leading a wide range of global climate initiatives, Mr. Bloomberg uniquely supports efforts of cities and mayors taking climate action at the local level. Mr. Bloomberg is the board president of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a global network of 97 major cities, and co-chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, a network of more than 10,000 cities and local governments. Mr. Bloomberg also currently serves as chair of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and at the Secretary-General's request, formed the Climate Finance Leaders Initiative in 2019.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 810 cities and 170 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $1.6 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok.

About Race to Zero

Race to Zero is the international campaign for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery. Led by the UNFCCC Champions for Climate Action, it aims to bring together net-zero commitments from cities, businesses and investors across the climate action community in the run up to COP26. Race to Zero collaborates with multiple international networks and initiatives, which have independently been mobilizing net-zero commitments. All of them require their participants to meet the Race to Zero's minimum criteria. For a full list of partners see here. Visit the Race to Zero website here.

SOURCE Bloomberg Philanthropies

Related Links

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Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

Like many women in their 30s, I feel a certain nostalgic connection to Britney Spears. In high school, I remember watching her dizzying rise as Americas golden girl. Then came her public struggles and searing battering by the paparazzi and tabloids while I was in my early 20s.

I have also felt a fascination with her unusual court-approved conservatorship, a legal arrangement, now 13 years old, that put others in charge of her physical and mental health and her finances.

It appears to raise a contradiction: How can someone be seemingly able to function at a high level as a superstar performing sold-out shows in Las Vegas, while also being so unable to take care of herself and at risk that this layer of intense protection is needed?
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  Mandaluyong will do a house-to-house COVID-19 vaccination for bedridden residents, the citys health officer announced Friday.

Sa mga pasyente ho natin na bedridden, per the instructions of the mayor and in cooperation ng mga health center physicians, sila po ay pupuntahan po bahay bahay. Scheduled po ito, Alex Sta. Maria said in a forum on Mandaluyongs COVID-19 vaccination plan.

[Translation: Our bedridden patients, per the instructions of the mayor and in cooperation with our health center physicians, will be vaccinated in their homes. This will be scheduled.]

The officer also added the local government is doing house-to-house profiling to urge their constituents to get vaccinated against a disease that has infected more than 6,400 people and killed nearly 200 in the city. It has also launched last month a portal where residents could pre-register to get free jabs.

He noted 22,302 residents have signed up here since the pre-registration opened two weeks ago.

Around 330,000 Mandaluyong residents are eligible to get the vaccine, Sta. Maria said. Of the number, around 66,000 are included in the initial vaccine priority list.

The city health officer said 10 schools were designated as vaccination centers. Each vaccination site will be manned by 97 personnel.

Nakita ho natin most of these schools po mayroon po silang quadrangle and we can use their rooms and covered po ang kanilang quadrangles in the event na magkaroon ng changes in the weather, we can still proceed with the vaccination, he said.

[Translation: We saw that most of these schools have quadrangles and we can use their rooms. The schools' quadrangles are covered so in the event there are changes in weather, we can still proceed with the vaccination.]
Patrick Kelly's tenure as the Order's 14th Supreme Knight will commence March 1.

Statement by retiring Supreme Knight Carl Anderson:

"The Knights of Columbus board has elected an extraordinarily well-qualified new Supreme Knight in Patrick Kelly. Patrick has dedicated his life in service to the Church, his country, and the Knights of Columbus. He has served as Deputy Supreme Knight for four years and is a well-rounded public servant with diplomatic and military experience. He is ideally suited to carry on the work of the Knights of Columbus as we enter a new era, faithful to our principles of charity, unity and fraternity, and in close collaboration with the Holy See and the bishops throughout the world. As Deputy Supreme Knight, Patrick has played a leading role in several major initiatives, including our international religious freedom efforts, our pro-life Ultrasound Initiative, and our new public initiation ceremony. He also served as Executive Director of the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, leading its transformation through the creation of its worship spaces and world-class exhibit on the life of St. John Paul II. Most recently, Patrick led the Knights' grassroots response to the COVID-19 pandemic titled "Leave No Neighbor Behind." Through this initiative, brother Knights around the world are serving those isolated and alone in quarantine, supporting food banks and blood centers in need of vital supplies, and providing other essential services. Patrick has the experience and strong faith necessary to lead the Knights into the future."

For over a decade, Patrick Kelly has worked at a senior level on the frontlines of the Knights' work in charity, advocacy, and the management of the organization's multibillion-dollar insurance and investment operations. Mr. Kelly joined the Knights as a university student in Wisconsin in 1983 and later served as State Deputy in the District of Columbia from 2012-2013. He was named the Knights' Vice President for Public Policy in 2006 and was elected Deputy Supreme Knight in January 2017.

Statement by Archbishop William E. Lori, Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus:

"The Knights of Columbus board has elected a brilliant new Supreme Knight with whom I have had the pleasure of working with for more than a decade. Patrick Kelly is a devoted husband, father of three young daughters, and a man of deep faith with many years of experience as a public servant. He possesses the knowledge, experience and commitment necessary to carry the Order forward in service to our brother Knights, their families, our parishes, and our communities."

The newly elected Supreme Knight is a retired Navy Captain with 20 years of military service. In 2016, he retired from the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps Reserve, where he specialized in international and operational law and served as the Commanding Officer of the international law unit at the United States Naval War College. Previously, Mr. Kelly had a long career of public service that included advisory roles to Congress and the Department of Justice. Mr. Kelly also served as Senior Advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom at the State Department. His responsibilities included serving as the Department's principal interlocutor with the Holy See and other nations on religious freedom issues.

Mr. Kelly holds a law degree from Marquette University Law School and a master's in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America.

Acceptance Statement by Supreme Knight-elect Patrick Kelly

"I am honored, thankful and blessed. I am honored to be called to serve as Supreme Knight. I am thankful to my wife and family, and to my brother Knights for affording me this honor and privilege. I am blessed to have worked beside Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, who has done so much to strengthen the Knights of Columbus and fulfill our mission through acts of love, kindness, compassion and prayer that have helped countless people here at home and around the world. Carl has long been a friend to me, and while I count myself among our many colleagues who will miss his daily collaboration, I know that he will continue to contribute much to the good of the Order as Past Supreme Knight and a member of the board of directors. I wish Carl, his wife Dorian, and the entire Anderson family the very best and thank them for everything they have done in service to the Knights and the Church."

"I look forward to continuing Carl's great work and will strive to guide the Knights of Columbus by the principles of charity, unity and fraternity according to the vision of Blessed Michael McGivney. These principles are as important today as they were almost 140 years ago at our founding. They are a proven path to deepen our Catholic faith, and build strong families, strong parishes, and strong communities that work together for the common good and recognize the dignity and worth of every human being. I ask for prayers as I endeavor to advance the great history and traditions of the Knights of Columbus in service to the Lord, his Church, our brother Knights and their families, our parishes and our communities."

To read Mr. Kelly's full bio, click here.

About the Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus is one of the world's leading fraternal and service organizations with 2 million members in more than 16,000 parish-based councils. During the past year, Knights around the world donated more than 77 million service hours and $187 million for worthy causes in their communities. The organization also offers extensive life insurance services to members and their families, resulting in more than $114 billion of life insurance in force. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors offers investment services to individuals and institutions in accord with Catholic social teaching and has over $26 billion in assets under management. From helping children in need, to providing wheelchairs for the disabled, to helping stock food banks, to offering top-rated and affordable insurance products to its members, to creating a legacy of giving, the Knights of Columbus has supported families and communities for more than 138 years. To learn more please visit us at kofc.org.

SOURCE Knights of Columbus

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www.kofc.org


Kathmandu, February 5

Nepali mountaineers Vinayak Jaya Malla and Tenji Sherpa have decided to discontinue their bid to climb Manalsu this year.

Both internationally certified mountain guides (IFMGA), Sherpa and Malla arrived in Gorkha district late in December 2020 to attempt to climb the eighth highest mountain in the world in the alpine style.

The team trekked, experienced the arrival of winter and broke the trail to the base camp through heavy snow early in January, paving the path for others who followed.

The duo, however, hit a brick wall on the way to Camp II where they encountered an impassable crevasse at around 6,200 m on January 27 along the standard route on the Northeast Ridge.

As they would need ladders to cross the crevasse, the duo decided to cancel their summit bid. Photo: Abiral Rai

We are quite gutted, says Malla. We tried a lot to get around the crevasse but it was just not possible. With the weather expected to get worse, we decided to call off our expedition.

Malla says that if they were using fixed ropes, there might have been a chance for the summit, but with the duo attempting it in the alpine style, they decided it was better to call off their climbing bid and head home.

The pair were attempting to become the first all-Nepali climbing team to successfully tackle a winter 8,000er in Nepal.

With elements beyond their control, the snow conditions and the forecast ahead, the team is walking off the mountain safely ascertaining that the alpine style (no fixed ropes, fast and light climbing) on Manaslu is not possible this season.
Vietnam earns hundreds of millions of US dollars from the export of fresh produce, but preservation techniques still lag behind other nations. Photo: Le Toan

The pandemic has raised the need to increase the preservation of fresh fruit, but weaknesses in technology and methods have made it difficult for Vietnamese products to add value for exports to the US market.

The huge supply of fresh fruit throughout the year is a significant advantage for Vietnamese exporters and Pham Quoc Bao, director Sancopack JSC, hopes to sell more products with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), a technology that equips products with selective air permeability, limiting the respiration of the fruit, and preventing rapid ripening.

Prices for MAP products are only a third of imported equivalents while their storage efficiency amounts to 90 per cent compared to imported products. Sancopack also buys packaging films from Germany and Australia and resells them to domestic exporters.

The Vietnam Institute of Chemistry researched and applied the MAP technology first in 2016, presenting some advantages in preservation methods for exports as MAP was one of the first post-harvest preservation techniques.

Nevertheless, Vietnam has not achieved significant milestones in preservation methods for exports, as MAP only partially solves related issues. Weaknesses in preservation are the biggest barrier to the export of fresh fruits, including fresh dragon fruit  one of Vietnams main export products.

In the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, dragon fruit prices fell sharply in November due to large oversupply. According to Nguyen Van Huong from Cho Gao district, the price of red dragon fruit fell to VND5,000-6,000 (21-26 US cents) per kilogramme, while the fruit during the high season usually sells for VND10,000 (43 US cents) per kg.

Huong is worried that the price of dragon fruit is on a general downward trend. Last year, Cho Gao expanded its plantation area for the popular fruit to about 6,500 hectares, following Tien Giangs development project started in 2008.

Meanwhile, Vietnams dragon fruit exports in the first 11 months of 2020 decreased by 11.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, only reaching $3.01 billion, according to the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Competitive market

On the contrary, the agency also stated that the global demand for dragon fruit is growing at about 4 per cent per year, with the trend expected to continue in the coming years. However, this market is shared among regional markets such as Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, and China.

China boasts just over 35,500ha of plantations, equivalent to the area in Vietnam, thus representing a direct competitor in dragon fruit export, the agency warned.

Overseas consumers meanwhile seem to prefer using fresh fruit as a solution to increase natural resistances amid the pandemic. However, processes like fruit irradiation before the import into the US are not always running smoothly.

As the pandemic broke out last year, the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ordered its supervisors in Ho Chi Minh City to return home, thus stalling operations in Vietnam until their return.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association, said that according to US regulations, fruits exported to its market are required to be supervised at irradiation facilities. The fact that Vietnam has only one irradiation plant, Nguyen said, has presented many shortcomings and impedes the development of a local competitive edge.

While the Vietnamese fruit and vegetable sector is struggling with internal problems, neighbours from Thailand continue to profit off preservation technology supported by the government and invested in by several local businesses. A system of four irradiation plants located in key agricultural areas is helping Thai fruit compete in export markets.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, general director of produce exporter Vina T&T, said, We are losing to Thailand in terms of seed and preservation technology.

Vietnams technology seems even more inferior compared to Chinas, as the latter owns a synchronous system of very good methods enabling a long storage period. Even though Vietnamese dragon fruit can currently be kept fresh for up to 35 days, this period is still far behind that of Chinese competitors.

Developing standards

The prerequisite for increasing exports to the US remains to meet food safety standards, testing plants and animals, and monitoring processing. Vietnamese fruit can still regain share in the North American market when following the Thai example.

That countrys preservation technology for agricultural exports comes mostly from the governments efforts in promoting its products all around the world, as well as from strictly overseeing and meeting international standards.

While exports of fresh fruit to the US offer great opportunities for local exporters, the most obvious change in the overseas market is the shift from canned fruit and vegetables to fresh produce. The cost for trade promotion of fresh products may be higher in the US than in some other markets but could be compensated if the manufacturer can sell directly to the supermarkets without a middleman, with payment cycles also being shorter.

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) showed that in 2019, the output of fruit exported to the US amounted to roughly 13,000 tonnes, while it reached nearly 6,500 tonnes in the first six months of 2020.

Currently, 80 per cent of Vietnams preservation technology is similar to that of Thailand. And despite the latters more developed system, Vietnam may have one advantage as its farmers can grow crops all year round, while their Thai counterparts only have seasonal crops.

Nevertheless, Vietnamese fruit exporters cannot conquer the world alone but need to be supported by the government through dedicated research in preservation technology.

In 2008, when Vina T&T exported the first dragon fruit to the US, almost the entire contents of the first two containers were completely ruined due to the irradiation and the lack of proper preservation methods. After more than 10 years, the company only reached a preservation period of 35 days. We have learned our lesson for over a decade, and have paid the price, Tung said.

Preservation can be seen as equally important as manufacturing, processing, and packaging. But so far, neither the MARD nor the MoIT has focused on preservation technology and not seen it as a key factor for the export of agricultural products.

While investment in research on preservation technology may be required, successful implementation could enable a common standard for enterprises to share and follow instead of letting them self-research everything.

Located in a tropical monsoon climate, Vietnam is one of the countries with the richest and most diverse vegetables and fruit in the world. Every year, the country earns hundreds of millions of US dollars from the export of fresh produce.

However, export hopes remain limited, mainly due to the quick deterioration rates of these products after harvest  with waste accounting for more than 20 per cent of total output.

Nguyen Duy Lam, director of the Centre for Food Quality and Safety Research said, it is necessary to standardise processes in production, harvest, pre-processing, storage, packaging, and distribution, adding that in Vietnam, fruit after harvest is often piled up and rarely classified by size and quality.

Meanwhile, at orange farms in the US, only half of the fresh oranges are selected for sale and are the same size, colour, and quality. The rest is then delivered to juice factories.

If the Vietnamese fruit and vegetables industry can comply with the standards of import markets, the value of its agricultural products will certainly rise to a higher level, Lam argued.

Sydney, Feb 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Feb, 2021 ) :Australia on Friday said it would keep a mandatory two-week quarantine for all overseas visitors, even as vaccinations are rolled out across the country and the world.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly said there is still not enough evidence about vaccines' ability to limit transmission to allow the dismantling of border controls that have virtually closed the country off from the world for almost a year.

Most non-citizens are barred from entering Australia; there are strict caps on how many residents can return each day and anyone who does so must undergo two weeks of self-paid hotel quarantine.

A few thousand short-term visitors now enter the country every month, down from more than one million before the pandemic began.

Kelly said that although preliminary data shows the AstraZeneca vaccine does reduce transmission of the virus, the evidence was not yet conclusive enough for Australia to let its guard down.

Asked if quarantine would remain until further notice, Kelly said "yes". "At the moment, that two-week quarantine in hotels -- as has been so successful up till now -- remains regardless of vaccination." Prime Minister Scott Morrison meanwhile announced that the government would very slightly ease the caps on overseas arrivals and look into expanding capacity at an existing government-run Outback quarantine camp and developing more facilities.

The news will come as a blow to Australia's tourism industry, worth roughly US$50 billion a year.

Hopes of reopening Australia's borders have been severely dented by the emergence of new strains of the virus, which have prompted many countries to introduce or strengthen their own quarantine systems.

Australia has almost no current cases of community transmission and expects to begin vaccinations this month.
Basil Eldadah assumed his fathers funeral would be simple. Years before, Basils father had taken steps to make the process easy on the family, purchasing plots and making arrangements. But in 2012, when his father died, Eldadah and his family discovered how complicated and impersonal the American funeral industry could be.

First, Eldadah learned that what his father had purchased was only the plot itself. Digging the grave, installing the concrete grave liner, and filling in the gravesite were not included. But the larger issue was that the cemetery required the use of a vault or burial liner: a concrete box that encases the coffin, keeping dirt from collapsing the casket. Eldadahs family is Muslim, and its customary in Muslim traditions for a body to be placed directly in the soil. He described Muslim burial as a process that reminds us of the humility of being from dust and returning to dust. But most American cemeteries require concrete vaults or grave liners to prevent dirt settling at the gravesiteit makes the cemeteries easier to mow and eliminates the spooky depressions overtop gravesdespite the fact that it is counter to the religious traditions of Muslims and some Jewish denominations. For Eldadahs father, the best the family could do was to add some dirt to the inside of the vault.

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Later, as the grief began to lift, Eldadah questioned whether there was a more reverent, natural approach to burial. As an active member of his local Muslim community and as a researcher who studies aging, he knew that his experience wasnt unique. My fathers funeral really kind of planted the seed in my mind, he told me. He eventually learned that there is a name for what he wanted: a green burial ground.

Green burial doesnt have an official definition but generally refers to a range of cemetery practices that limit fossil fuel usage and the amount of human-made materials put into the ground. More broadly, the green burial movement wants to help people approach death with a more natural, and less commercial, outlook.

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Green cemeteries substitute exotic hardwood caskets with renewable wood coffins or burial shrouds, and they dont line graves with concrete. They shun mown lawns for native grasses and trees. Some green cemeteries mark graves with native stone or plant memorial trees; others dont mark graves at all. They reject embalming as unnatural, unnecessary, and toxic. (Embalming chemicals contribute to high rates of cancer in mortuary workers.) Green cemeteries look more like nature preserves or parks than the orderly cemeteries were accustomed to.

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The nonprofit Green Burial Council certifies cemeteries as greenits kind of like LEED building certificationand keeps tabs on the environmental impact of conventional burial. It says that each year American burials put more than 4 million gallons of embalming fluid, 20 million board feet of hardwood, 81,000 tons of metal, and 1.6 million tons of concrete into the ground. Cremation, promoted by the death care industry as the greener alternative, uses the equivalent of around 20 gallons of gasoline per cremation and vaporizes heavy metals (from dental fillings and surgical implants) into the atmosphere. While cremation conserves physical space, green burial conserves energy.

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Burial wasnt always so complicated. Embalming only gained traction among wealthy Americans during the Civil War, which essentially started the modern funeral industry. (Abraham Lincoln was embalmed for his funeral train, and reembalmed at many stops, but onlookers thought he looked nasty.) Concrete grave liners came later, allowing for todays flat, uniform suburban cemeteries.

Generally speaking, laws governing burial are complicated and vague. In most states you can bury a loved one on your own property, but local zoning ordinances often contradict the state laws. While no states legally require embalming or grave liners, the funeral industry has made them so standard that in some places, theyre essentially requirements. Neither practice has any public health benefit, but embalming stretches the possible time between death and funeral. Embalming is popular only in the U.S. and Canada; in the rest of the world, its actually quite rare. Funeral homes have normalized embalming because it saves on refrigerator space and because they can sell larger funeral packages.

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After his fathers funeral, Eldadah let his idea percolate until he found the right partner, one whod also been surprised by the cost of a funeral. In 2019, Eldadahs friend Haroon Mokhtarzada, a successful tech entrepreneur, received a call asking him to help fund the burial of a local community member. He was glad to help, but the cost rattled him.

I was thinking it was going to be a couple hundred bucks and it was several thousand dollars, he said. And I came to learn that the average burial in Maryland is $10,500. The national average, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, is about $9,000. (This chart shows how complicated itemized funeral expenses can be.) Mokhtarzada said, of the funerals cost, Theres something that bothered me about that to my core.

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He asked, Why does a hole in the ground cost $10,000? The same use of embalming fluid, concrete, and hardwood that make death so polluting also make it expensive. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, funeral costs jumped 225 percent since 1986; GoFundMe hosted 125,000 memorial campaigns in 2020. Funeral poverty is an underreported crisis in America.

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Eldadah had contacted Mokhtarzada previously about the project, but he was too busy to get involved. Seven years later, backed with his money and startup expertise, Mokhtarzada emailed Eldadah and said, Were going to make this thing happen. Together, they set to work making metro D.C.s first nonprofit green cemetery. If it works, it will be the most urban green cemetery in the U.S.

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There are 82 cemeteries in America certified as green by the Green Burial Council (you can read about the certification standards here), but the movement has struggled to take hold near major cities due to the price of land. Pete McQuillin, who operates Penn Forest Natural Burial Ground near Pittsburgh, told me that it took him three years to find a property close to the city. In the nine years since Penn Forest opened, it has interred only 205 bodies. (Because people usually want to be buried next to their deceased loved ones, cemeteries are notoriously tough to get started.) But the number of burials is growing steadily every year, as does the execution of Penn Forests broader mission: It strives to be a multiuse park, hosting guided nature hikes, community roundtables on death, and a DIY coffin-making class.

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Mokhtarzada and Eldadah have similar goals for their site, a woody, 40-acre plot in Silver Spring, Maryland, tucked between a concrete factory and a church. (The price? Almost $2 million.) When I first talked to them in July, they were excited to explain the projects overarching goals. Weve started to envision a community-gathering place, Mokhtarzada said. Not just a creepy place where you only go to pay your respects and then you leave. But some place where people would want to spend quality time  a space where not only do the living serve the dead by providing simple, natural, and dignified burials, but also where the dead can fuel life.

By December, they were feeling the weight of bureaucracy. In between fielding questions from their new neighbors about water quality and funeral traffic, the two men had poured $200,000 into the project before breaking ground. There were nonprofit lawyers, land-use lawyers, engineers, architects, permitting fees. And they were still struggling to come up with a name. Like burial, starting a cemetery was more complicated than anticipated.

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While Mokhtarzadas startup experience was helpful, he learned that the cemetery business is unique. In a startup mode, he said, you just figure out as much as you need to figure out, you dont figure out what this things going to be in five and 10 years. But what Ive found that was different in this creative process is we had to think decades into the future. We had to think in three dimensions in decades.

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To help with that part, Eldadah and Mokhtarzada hired architect Jack Goodnoe, who has designed some of Americas best-known green burial grounds. Goodnoe started designing conventional cemeteries in the 1980s and began working with green cemetery movement when the movement began in the late 90s. While Goodnoe supports greening the death industry, he also thinks that green and conventional cemeteries need to learn from each other. The green burial movement has been led by charismatic industry outsidersacademics, environmentalists, spiritual typeswith big ideas offset by a lack of knowledge about cemetery management. Goodnoe recommends that when someone wants to start a green cemetery, they partner with a traditional cemetery that can bring all the legal, grief, record-keeping elements that theyve learned from decades in the industry.

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Eldadah and Mokhtarzada dont plan to work with a traditional cemetery, but they have implemented some conventional cemetery practices at Goodnoes recommendation. For example, some green cemeteries let people choose their own burial site anywhere on the property, which Goodnoe worries could lead to record-keeping issues for future cemetery managers. At their site, Eldadah and Mokhtarzada have taken Goodnoes advice of burying in one area at a time and evenly spacing gravesites like a conventional cemetery might.

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They hope to open for burials in 2021 and have already generated some interest among the local Muslim community. But in order to fulfill their inclusive mission, Eldadah and Mokhtarzada will have to expand beyond green burials usual demographic. Hannah Rumble, an anthropologist who studies burial in the U.K., told me that green burial has been quite a middle-class aesthetic and cultural practice, and hasnt yet become popular among the working-class people who could most benefit from lower burial prices (often less than half the price of conventional burial) and less upkeep responsibility. But traditions change slowly, she says, and as the last rite of passage, burial traditions are usually some of the last to change.

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On a more spiritual level, Rumble has observed the way that green burial has influenced the grieving process of people shes interviewed. She says, The bereaved like to go over time to watch the trees grow, to watch the site developed to maturity, to watch the plants bed in. Its interesting how their own emotional journey with grief has changed and how they see it reflected in the development of the natural burial ground.  And so now their visits are more about just going and enjoying the bird songs, seeing how the sites developed, seeing what initiatives are going on. It becomes a kind of community, a community of practice.

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This sentiment is ultimately how the green burial movement overlaps their ecological and spiritual goals. Conventional cemeteries, with their permanent headstones and concrete grave liners, encourage us to think that even in death, well last forever. What natural burial offers is the reminder that death and grief are like all natural processes: They change and evolve, grow and decay. Like Rumble says, I think whats really powerful about that ecological metaphor is its fairly timeless. And its one that, irrespective of your faith, people can relate to.

Correction, Feb. 5, 2021: Due to a production error, this piece originally was published with the wrong author byline.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
NASA has awarded Firefly Aerospace, a company based in Cedar Park, Texas, a $93.3 million contract to carry out a mission to conduct experiments and test new technologies on the Moon. In 2023, the companys Blue Ghost lander will touch down in Mare Crisium, a 300-mile wide basin on the near side of the satellite.

It will carry about 207 pounds in equipment to study the lunar surface. One of its 10 instruments will capture x-ray images of the Earth to study the suns solar winds, while another will drill into the Moon to collect data on its thermal properties. Yet another instrument will act as a target for a laser NASA and Firefly will use to determine the exact distance between Earth and the Moon.

The entire mission, which Firefly will carry out mostly on its own, will feed into NASAs Artemis program. As part of the project, the agency has been awarding contracts to companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin to speed up its timeline. But in recent weeks its become unclear if NASA will be able to meet its ambitious 2024 target for putting humans back on the moon.

At the end of January, it came out that the agency had quietly pushed back the award timeframe for two lander contracts from late February to the end of April. Additionally, in its latest spending bill, Congress only allocated $850 million to NASAs Human Landing System project, instead of the $3.2 billion the agency had requested.
Silvergate Announces Virtual Participation at Canaccord Genuity's Digital Asset Symposium

Silvergate Capital Corporation ("Silvergate" or the "Company") (NYSE: SI), the leading provider of innovative financial infrastructure solutions to the digital currency industry, today announced that Alan Lane, chief executive officer, and Ben Reynolds, chief strategy officer, will present at Canaccord Genuity's Digital Assets Symposium at 4:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.

Interested investors and other parties can access a live webcast of the presentation by visiting the investor relations section of Silvergate's website at ir.silvergatebank.com. An online replay will be available on the same website following the presentation.







About Silvergate

Silvergate Capital Corporation (NYSE: SI) is the leading provider of innovative financial infrastructure solutions and services for the growing digital currency industry. The Company's real-time payments platform, known as the Silvergate Exchange Network, is at the heart of its customer-centric suite of payments, lending and funding solutions serving an expanding class of digital currency companies and investors around the world. Silvergate is enabling the rapid growth of digital currency markets and reshaping global commerce for a digital currency future.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005066/en/
During the Monetary Policy Committee announcements on Friday, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that retail investors could now open gilt accounts with the central bank. The Governor said that this move would broaden investor base and provide retail investors with enhanced access to participate in the government securities market.

"The central government and the Reserve Bank have taken several measures to encourage retail investment in Government Securities. These include introduction of non-competitive bidding in primary auctions, permitting stock exchanges to route primary purchases and allowing a specific retail segment in the secondary market. In continuation of these efforts, it is proposed to provide retail investors with online access to the government securities market -- both primary and secondary -- directly through the Reserve Bank ('Retail Direct')," said Governor Das.

This structural reform places India amongst one of the few countries to have similar facilities. This, along with bonds held-to-maturity (HTM) relaxation will help the government in its borrowing programme in 2021-22.

"The Indian economy is poised to move in only one direction and that is upwards. It is our strong conviction, backed by forecasts, that in 2021-22, we would undo the damage that COVID-19 has inflicted on the economy. After the chaos and despair of the year gone by, through which we have sailed together and shall continue to sail ahead," said RBI Governor.

WHAT ARE GILT ACCOUNTS

Gilt accounts are opened and maintained for holding government securities by an entity or a person including a person who resides outside India with a 'custodian' as permitted by the RBI to open and maintain Constituent Subsidiary General Ledger account with the public debt office of the apex bank. For persons residing outside India, gilt account activities are governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2000.

Also read: MPC meet: What RBI's policy stance means for debt mutual fund investors

Also read: Liquidity stance continues to remain accommodative: RBI
NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Award winning market research company Fact.MR's recent report on the global connected worker solutions market projects massive gains in 2021, given the increasing reliance on smart technologies by key industries amid the pandemic crisis. Growth in 2021 won't be an outlier, with the research firm projecting a CAGR of over 23% in this decade.

According to Fact.MR, adoption of connected worker solutions has witnessed an increase, thanks to general positive consensus on Industry 4.0. Vendors have especially garnered momentum across the construction and hydrocarbon projects respectively, mostly to ensure employee safety at project sites.

mCloud Technologies Corp. unveiled its new AssetCareTM connected workers solution for ensuring safety of oil & gas, wind and nuclear industry workers through its smart glasses offering in September 2020. Further, Avnet's Smart Connected Worker IoT software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution has greatly helped enhance safety across manufacturing plants, refineries, mining operations and power generation facilities.

"In the wake of a rapidly digitizing workforce ecosystem, prominent industry verticals are increasingly seeking real-time employee tracking systems to prevent accidents which jeopardize workers' physical safety, prompting service providers to introduce state-of-the-art monitoring systems," comments the Fact.MR analyst.

Request a report sample with 170 pages to gain comprehensive insights https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2956

Key Takeaways from Fact.MR's Connected Worker Solutions Market Study

Mobile-based hardware to remain lucrative in the wake of rising smartphone ownership

Oil & gas exploration to confer substantial gains amid growing needs to secure existing supply chains

Large enterprises will chiefly driver revenues with adoption among SMEs growing at an encouraging rate

U.S. to garner an attractive market share, driven by enhanced uptake of high-end technologies such as 5G connectivity

Emphasis on offsetting 'skill drain' to bolster connected worker solutions adoption across the U.K.

Germany and France to witness high growth, attributed to rising demand for enhancing construction safety standards

and to witness high growth, attributed to rising demand for enhancing construction safety standards China to be a hotbed for connected worker solutions investments, fueled by increasing EV production

to be a hotbed for connected worker solutions investments, fueled by increasing EV production Increasing manufacturing prowess to accelerate uptake across India , Japan & South Korea to remain lucrative markets

Competitive Landscape

Key players profiled in Fact.MR's connected worker solutions market include Honeywell International Inc., Fujitsu Limited, Oracle Corp., Tata Consultancy Services, Avnet Inc., Zebra Technologies Corp., Wearable Technologies Limited and TELUS. To enhance their market footprint, service providers leverage targeted acquisitions and collaborations to provide improved service offerings.

In May 2020, Honeywell International Inc. collaborated with Wood, a global leader in consulting, projects and operations solutions energy and the built environment, to offer its Forge Workforce Productivity, deploying such connected worker equipment as hands-free devices, including intelligent wearables and a sophisticated workflow software. This technology has helped Wood equip its frontline workers in the energy industry to streamline uptime operations and enable business continuity.

In February 2021, Fujitsu Limited partnered with the Hokkaido University for developing a new technology based on "explainable AI" to improve data result outcomes for critical industries. This breakthrough is likely to eliminate the "black-box phenomenon" where conclusions are reached through unclear means, by providing individual reasons for decisions.

Get access to research methodology prepared by experts

https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RM&rep_id=2956

More Valuable Insights on Connected Worker Solutions Market

Fact.MR, in its new offering, presents an unbiased analysis of the global connected worker solutions market. The study divulges essential insights on the connected worker solutions market on the basis of component (hardware, tools & software, and services), size of enterprise (small & medium enterprises and large enterprise), and industry vertical (manufacturing and services), across major regions of the world (North America, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia & Oceania, and the Middle East & Africa).

Key questions covered in the report:

How will Efficient Deployment of IIoT Impact Connected Worker Solutions?

What are the Key Challenges for Connected Worker Solution Providers?

Why is there Huge Scope for Connected Worker Solutions in the U.S.?

Why are Connected Worker Solution Providers Eyeing China?

What is the Potential of Mobile Devices in Connected Worker Solutions?

What is the Market Share of Large Enterprises in Connected Worker Solutions?

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Explore Fact.MR's Coverage on the ICT Domain

Airport Runway Foreign Object Debris Detection Systems Market: A new market study published by Fact.MR on the global airport runway foreign object debris (FOD) detection systems market provides readers with an exhaustive analysis on key market dynamics, including the drivers, restraints, opportunities, and trends, along with comprehensive data on the market structure for the assessment period 2021 to 2031.

Physical Access Control Systems (PACS) Market: A recent study by Fact.MR on the physical access control system (PACS) market offers a 10-year forecast from 2021 to 2031. The study analyzes crucial trends that are currently determining market growth. This report explicates on vital dynamics, such as the drivers, restraints, and opportunities for key market players along with key stakeholders and emerging players.

Serial Console Server Market: A recent study by Fact.MR on the serial console server market offers 10-year forecast for 2020-2030. The study analyzes crucial trends that are currently determining the growth of the serial console server market. This report explicates on vital dynamics, such as the drivers, restraints, and opportunities for key market players along with key stakeholders as well as emerging players associated with the development of serial console servers.

About Fact.MR

Market research and consulting agency with a difference! That's why 80% of Fortune 1,000 companies trust us for making their most critical decisions. We have offices in US and Dublin, whereas our global headquarter is in Dubai. While our experienced consultants employ the latest technologies to extract hard-to-find insights, we believe our USP is the trust clients have on our expertise. Spanning a wide range  from automotive & industry 4.0 to healthcare & retail, our coverage is expansive, but we ensure even the most niche categories are analyzed. Reach out to us with your goals, and we'll be an able research partner.

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Then-Gov. Gray Davis championed a bill that allocated $8.3 million to tourism advertising after Sept. 11. California saw a 10% jump in travel over the next 12 months and was one of just three states in 2001 to grow their hospitality market share, McGuire said.

"We know that this formula works. It's worked like gangbusters in the past and we know that it's going to work here in 2021," the Democratic senator said.

McGuire touted his bill's bipartisan support, as well as some "unlikely bedfellows" that support the bill, including the UNITE HERE! and the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council on one side and the California Travel Association on the other.

"Many times, labor and lodging aren't on the same side of an issue," McGuire said.

Barb Newton, president and CEO of the California Travel Association, said in a statement that COVID-19 has hit the travel and tourism industry harder than any other.

"The stimulus provided by SB 285 will allow Visit California to expand its industry-funded marketing program to inspire Californians to travel safely and responsibly in state, not only to rediscover the wonders of California, but to help struggling hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses return to solvency, replenish their payrolls and support local governments," she said.
A pall of gloom hangs over the house of Adam Omar in a remote village in Sudan's South Darfur; he has lost seven family members including two sons in recent tribal clashes.

Omar, 75, belongs to the Fallata tribe, one of several African ethnic minorities who suffered the brunt of a devastating civil war against the Arab-dominated government of now-ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

Though the main conflict has waned, Omar has witnessed many clashes between his people and rival Arab tribes, often bringing back dark memories of the fighting from 2003, which left 300,000 people killed and 2.5 million displaced.

His village of Al-Twail Saadoun saw violence flare again on January 18 when heavily armed members of the rival Arab Rzeigat tribe rode motorbikes, camels and horses into the village, killing some 60 people and wounding scores.

They also burned down houses and shops in the attack, and looted farmland vital to the local people.

"I lost seven of my family members in those clashes," Omar told AFP outside his wooden, thatched shack in the village, some 85 kilometres (50 miles) south of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.

The attack left some of the resident's basic wooden huts burned entirely to the ground /  AFP

"None of the perpetrators have been arrested yet."

The attack came just two weeks after the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission UNAMID came to an end after more than a decade.

Government troops have been stationed on the edge of the village to prevent further attacks.

But when AFP visited, residents were vigilant and on edge, moving through the dusty streets in groups of three or four, with batons to hand or knives strapped to their waists.

Round patches of scorched earth showed where huts had stood before they were set alight. In one, a singed metal bedframe was all that remained.

- 'Stolen cows' -

It all started with a dispute over stolen cattle on January 4.

"Members of our tribe had gone to bring water from a nearby well when they realised several of their cows had gone missing," said Ibrahim Younes, the village's mayor, sitting in the dappled shade of his hut.

"They followed the animals' tracks, which led them to one of the villages of the Arab Rzeigat tribe, who agreed to give back the cows."

But it did not end there.

Over the following days, Rzeigat members killed two Fallata herders and attacked a Fallata village, according to Younes.

Residents of the Fallata village are heavily dependent on their livestock and farmland /  AFP

The Rzeigat, who according to state media appeared to be avenging the Fallata's killing of one of their young men, attempted to attack Al-Twail Saadoun but government troops prevented them.

A few days later on January 18, the Rzeigat noticed that those troops were not present and pounced on the opportunity to attack, Younes said.

The fighting lasted three hours, according to witnesses.

Some villagers alleged that some of the attackers had carried heavy weapons and wore military uniforms, similar to those of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The group, led by senior member of Sudan's post-Bashir ruling body Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, is largely made up of the notorious Janjaweed militias which were drawn from nomadic Arab tribes.

Rights groups have long accused the Janjaweed of committing atrocities in the 2003 Darfur conflict.

A Rzeigat tribal leader told AFP that "we, as a tribe, did not organise this attack".

"The people who carried it out were out of control and could be from other tribes."

Neither the RSF nor the army could immediately be reached for comment.

- 'Neutral force' -

The Al-Twail Saadoun attack came just days after similar clashes between rival Arab and non-Arab tribes in the neighbouring state of West Darfur that killed nearly 160 people.

The bloodshed was the deadliest since an October peace accord between Sudan's transitional government and rebel groups that had sparked hopes for an end to decades of conflict.

The latest violence did not appear to involve any signatories to the deal. It did however coincide with the end of the UNAMID mission in Darfur on December 31.

South Darfur residents suffered years of violence in a civil war starting in 2003 /  AFP

UNAMID has since embarked on a phased withdrawal of its 8,000 uniformed and civilian staff within six months.

Darfuris have protested its departure, fearing an upsurge in violence, but Al-Twail Saadoun residents say the attack on their village may have happened even if it had been present.

"UNAMID didn't hold patrols around our village," according to Younes.

"They only visited to write fact-finding reports after attacks."

Sudan's transitional government has deployed troops to protect the village.

But after recent violence in Darfur left over 200 people dead, the village's residents remain in fear.

"Those militias want to push us out of our villages by repeatedly launching these attacks," said one, Ibrahim Eissa.

Younes said the villagers could never trust government forces.

"They include the RSF, whose members often fight with their own tribes," he said. "We want a neutral force to protect us."

Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
In June 2020, just six months after the World Health Organization first learned of a viral phenomenon in Wuhan, China, that would become the COVID-19 pandemic, life in the city where the disease was first identified was largely back to normal. The Chinese government attributed the success of a brutal lockdown period to its citizens voluntarily adopting safety precautions. Even when residents of Wuhan were no longer required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) in public, 35 year-old resident Pan Yuan told Reuters that people still wear masks.

That same month in the United States, Tim Walters, co-founder of an anti-lockdown protest group "ReOpen Maryland," announced on social media that despite contracting COVID-19, he would continue not wearing a mask and would not be assisting in contact tracing efforts.

These are, of course, just anecdotesthe Chinese government has plenty of incentive to showcase its success in containing the virus, and Walters' actions don't represent American response as a whole. But the contrast illustrates an ongoing conflict over how to react to a global pandemic; a conflict that persists despite overwhelming evidence that masks are effective in slowing the spread of a disease that has killed thousands and injured millions physically and economically. Countries that embrace masks as a cultural norm, however, have been far more resilient to the viruss impact, providing ample incentive for the United States to make mask-wearing a cultural norm.

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Face mask habits dont spontaneously appear in fashion like Ugg boots or a bolo tie; theyre nearly always the product of an environmental or biological catalyst. Japan, one of the countries quickest to embrace face masks as a precaution, has been using them for centuries.

Tomatsu Hirai, a clinical pharmacist in Tokyo and a collector of vintage medical paraphernalia, told The Japan Times that wearing masks to contain unclean breath dates back to the Edo Period (1602 - 1868) at the latest, and the custom became more widespread after Japan suffered back-to-back disasters in the 1918 influenza pandemic and the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which triggered massive fires that choked the island nation with smoke and ash for weeksnecessitating daily mask wear. When a second flu pandemic hit Japan in 1934, its population had barely had a chance to break the habit.

After that, wearing a mask in Japan became de rigeuer for the sick, the immuno-compromised, and those simply observing an abundance of caution.

Masks serve an entirely secondary function for young people in countries that have adopted masks as casual wear, too: They act as a social firewall. In the U.S., its not uncommon to wear headphones in public not only to listen to music, but as a not-so-subtle hint that you arent interested in conversation. Masks serve a similar purpose, with the added implication that it might actually be dangerous to talk to you, since you may be sick with something nasty.

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While it might seem obvious, the fact remains that masks are only effective with widespread use. Its a community effort achieved by collaboration rather than the efforts of a lone hero, and it's influenced largely by social pressure: Jamie Cho, an immigrant from South Korea living in New York, told the Huffington Post that she always wore a mask when sick during her childhood, but changed that habit when she moved to the United States.

(My mother) was scared of me seeming more foreign than I already was at the time as a young immigrant, she said, because of that, Ive never worn a mask in a Western country prior to COVID.

In 2021, young people are disproportionately responsible for spreading SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in the U.S., and a Centers for Disease Control study found that social or peer pressure to no wear mask had a large impact on their personal health decisions. Meanwhile, in Asian countries where mask wearing has been common for decades, studies from both the current pandemic and the 2002 SARS epidemic show that normalized mask wearing had a dramatic effect on stopping the spread.

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Its clear that when the U.S. faces its next pandemic, cultural acceptance of masks can play a significant role in mitigating its impact. As for the likelihood of widespread acceptance, New Zealand, which also dealt with anti-mask protests in the early days of the COVID pandemic, provides an example.

There havent been mass protests, but there have been some small ones, Professor David Murdoch, MD, of the University of Otago, Christchurch, told SFGATE. I think for a start that a kind of collective responsibility is stronger in New Zealand. But it was still a transition.

On March 16, 2020, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern mandated that anyone arriving in New Zealand, including citizens returning from abroad, had to quarantine. She made no apologies for what she claimed were the strictest regulations in the world, and by July, New Zealand was free of cases.

Nobody knows exactly how the world will change following this pandemic, but it's naive to think the ongoing lockdown that's approaching a year in length wont have a long-term impact on social norms and customs.

I think face masks will continue to be used by the general public in times when they dont feel well, Dr. Panagis Galatsatos, a critical care doctor who works with COVID-19 patients, told CNBC. And honestly, were realizing that no one feels slighted without a handshake.

Others take a harder line: I do think we need a new culture of masks, said former director of the CDC Dr. Tom Frieden, at least any time not feeling well.

The good news is that the partisan nature of this issue seems to have dissipated over time. According to a PEW Study. In June, 76% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans said they were usually wearing masks in public, but by August, those percentages had increased to 92% of Democrats and 76% of Republicans, reducing the partisan gap from 23 percentage points to 16 percentage points.

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The CDC study also identified confusing messaging as harmful to mask participation. The agency struggled to clarify its message early in the pandemic, and has recently come into conflict with the advice of foreign world leaders. With time and experience, however, that confusion is likely to have less of an impact on the average person's day-to-day decision-making.

Ultimately, masks are effective and simple, making it difficult to argue that the inconvenience of foggy glasses and mild maskne outweigh having to relive the darkest days of 2020. But mask wearing in the future will require mainstream acceptanceand not forgetting the lessons of half a million dead Americans.
San Francisco families, mayor and state elected officials formed a united front Thursday in urging school and labor leaders to listen to the health experts, come to an agreement and reopen schools as soon as possible.

At a press conference sponsored by the parent group, Decreasing the Distance, a tearful Mayor London Breed, standing before children holding signs saying I miss my friends, urged the adults to end division and finger-pointing to get schools open.

It just really breaks my heart to be here to see these kids and these families to know what theyve been going through, Breed said. Kids are struggling in our city and we all know it.

The citys schools have been closed since mid-March, even though 15,000 private school students in San Francisco are back in classrooms.

The press conference came a day after City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a lawsuit against the school district and school board, claiming they failed to create a specific and concise state-required plan to reopen.

The organizers of the event Thursday announced the creation of a citywide petition, urging the school board and teachers union to reach an agreement by Feb. 18 on the conditions required to reopen schools.

San Franciscos state Sen. Scott Wiener said he was appalled that the day after the school board voted to rename 44 schools, a letter went out to parents from the superintendent saying middle and high schools would likely not reopen this school year.

I have always been a big supporter and fan of this school district, he said. My frustration is what I see is a defeatist attitude.

School board President Gabriela Lopez did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the press conference, but posted photos on social media earlier in the day as she toured a school to see the status for reopening.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

Our school administrators and our district staff have been working non-stop to make this happen, a task that is hard to do across the state, she said in the posts.

School district officials said earlier in the week that they are ready to reopen to the youngest and most at-risk students, pending an agreement with labor unions.

Negotiations have been ongoing for months, with the teachers union calling for health and safety standards that surpass what is recommended or required by local, state and national health officials  including demands for toilet lids and air monitoring in every classroom.

We know the schools can open, said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. We know the schools can open because the professional health officials tell us we can open.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) (L) talks to Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) as they walk in the Cannon tunnel at the U.S. Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 4, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

House Votes to Strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of Committee Posts

The House has adopted a resolution to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from two committee posts over her past comments and actions.

A Thursday vote on the Democratic-backed resolution was 230199, largely on party lines. Three lawmakers did not vote. Eleven Republicans joined Democrats in voting yes to remove Greene from the committees.

They were: Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Young Kim (R-Calif.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), and Fred Upton (R-Mich.).

Greene had been assigned to the House Budget Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee.

Republican leadership in the House opposed the vote, saying it could set a dangerous precedent for punishing lawmakers over comments made before taking office. But Democrats said the action was necessary, alleging a failure in Republican leadership after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) did not move to remove Greene from her committee posts. McCarthy on Wednesday denounced her past comments.

Greene, a first-term lawmaker who supports former President Donald Trump, hours before the vote took time to clarify some of her past comments and actions. She said that her statements about school shootings and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks do not reflect her views today.

Greene had speculated that the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks were a false flag and alleged that deadly U.S. school shootings were staged, among other popular conspiracy theories.

Media outlets and Democrats have also accused Greene of being a supporter of QAnon. Its proponents, who follow clues from cryptic messages posted to anonymous imageboards, allege that some of the most powerful people in the world are part of a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles and cannibals who have engaged in child sex trafficking and ritual abuse.

Reports also claimed that Greene had liked a Facebook comment suggesting that a bullet to the head of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would be quicker.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is seen in Washington on Jan. 15, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Greene in her speech on the House floor said that the statements she made were words of the past.

I was allowed to believe things that werent true, and I would ask questions about them and I would talk about them, and that is absolutely what I regret, Greene said, adding that she stopped supporting QAnon in 2018. Greene added that she is a very regular American who entered politics after Trump ran for office in 2016.

On Wednesday, Greene said on Twitter that Democrats were engaged in a mob cancel campaign and that mainstream media outlets were refusing to air her rebuttals.

They are only set out to destroy Republicans, your jobs, our economy, your childrens education and lives, steal our freedoms, and erase Gods creation, she wrote.

Greene called for election integrity in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. After the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Joe Biden, Greene filed articles of impeachment against him.

Republicans argued on the House floor that the way Greene was removed from committees violated her due process.

Representative Greene is not being given the courtesy of a referral to the Ethics Committee, the body empowered to investigate the conduct of members. Shes not being given the same due process that was given to others before facing punishment by the House. Why should the majority not do that before they strip her of her committees? Todays resolution raises serious questions for this institution, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said.

Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) said his Republican colleagues purport not to support Representative Greenes conduct and instead rely on process, adding: This is an effort for her to be shielded from this egregious language and action.

The last congressperson to be stripped of their committee assignment was Republican congressman Steve King in 2019 after he questioned, in a media interview with the New York Times, why Western civilization was considered offensive and was being associated with white supremacy. He is no longer in Congress.

Update: This article was updated to better clarify past comments from Steve King.

Correction: This article was adjusted to correct a name of a House Rep. who voted to remove Greene from the committees. The Epoch Times regrets the error.

Jack Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.


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A gunman who killed a police officer was yesterday shot dead in a hail of bullets on the highway after a 30-mile chase across New Mexico.

Omar Felix Cueva, 39, was gunned down after speeding across the I-10 from Luna County where he had slain 28-year-old officer Darian Jarrott during a traffic stop.

Footage from a witness shows Cueva's truck reversing wildly down the highway after being spun out by a patrol car.

Cueva leaps from the truck with his pistol drawn and crouches behind the hood of a police car as an officer kneels opposite him behind the trunk.

Dozens of shots are fired before Cueva is eventually seen lying beside the door of his truck as dozens of armed officers crowd around aiming their weapons at him.

Cueva leaps from the truck with his pistol drawn and crouches behind the hood of a police car as an officer kneels opposite him behind the trunk (left) and Cueva then backs off towards his truck as an officer aims his gun over the roof of the squad car (right)

Omar Felix Cueva, 39, is seen aiming at cops behind the hood of a patrol car (left) and officers crowding around his body after he was gunned down (right) on the I-10 in New Mexico Thursday

A police officer was wounded by Cueva during the shootout and was flown to the hospital by helicopter but his injuries were not life-threatening.

NMSP Chief Robert Thornton fought back tears at a Thursday night press conference as he mourned officer Jarrott who he called 'our fallen hero.'

Father-of-three Jarrot had been on the force since 2015 and was expecting his fourth child this year.

Darian Jarrott, 28, a father-of-three was gunned down by Cueva during a traffic stop on Thursday

The chief said Cueva was a man with a 'violent criminal history that included drug trafficking and other felonies.'

Officer Jarrott had stopped Cueva's vehicle while assisting a Homeland Security investigation on I-10.

Cueva was suspected to be heading to a drug deal when he opened fire on Jarrott.

He then sped down the highway away from the scene. The video footage captured the violent end of that chase.

The Las Cruces Police Department closed the interstate near the shooting scene last night and told drivers to use a different route until the investigation has been completed.

Democrat New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered flags across the state to fly at half mast.

'I am shocked, heartbroken and enraged by the loss of this public servant. I am praying for the local officer who was also shot and injured,' the governor said in a statement.

'I am horrified as we grieve another life cut down, another family crushed by senseless violence in our state.

'Violent crime is a scourge on New Mexico, and the men and women who step up and put on the badge to protect our communities fight it with everything they've got every day.'

Police officer standing over Cueva's body after the deadly gun battle on the highway

A freight truck is seen driving down the other side of the highway as Cueva slumps to the ground after the gun battle

Greg Baca, the Republican leader of the state Senate, joined the Governor in condemning the shooting.

'The senseless violence gripping our state has taken the life of a devoted public servant and law enforcement officer,' he said in a statement.

'Tonight, we send our prayers and deepest condolences to the family members and friends of Officer Darian Jarrott.

'Words cannot express the depth of gratitude we owe to those who risk their lives for our protection, and we stand with the entire law enforcement community in grieving this tragic loss.'
Congressman John Moolenaar issued a statement this week announcing that as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which funds federal cancer research, he has worked across the aisle to ensure cancer research funding is included in federal legislation.

Last year, Moolenaar voted to fund research at the National Institutes of Health and its National Cancer Institute.
100 years ago  1921

On Friday evening, the annual assemblage of the Elks was held in the Armory at Tamaqua, and was one of the most successful dances ever conducted by the Elks of that town. A large number of people were present.

75 years ago  1946

Rev. W. Sherman Skinner, D.D., pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Germantown, Philadelphia, will be guest preacher at the second of the 23rd Annual Community Preaching Services in the First Methodist Church, Pottsville, Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. His sermon subject will be The Top Secret.

50 years ago  1971

Astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Edgar D. Mitchell, ghostly figures in an alien world, walked on the surface of the moon today after a bulls eye landing that came within minutes of being cancelled by false computer signals.

25 years ago  1996

With yelps of joy and a salsa beat, 24 women strutted up the aisles at Pottsville Area High School Saturday. As their sombreros shook, they took the stage, forming a bouncing conga line, ducking low for the limbo and all the while flashing mile-wide smiles. The annual Winter Carnival Senior Princess Pageant had begun, its South of the Border theme bringing a much-needed Mexican flair to winter-weary Schuylkill County. Krista M. Chabon, of Frackville, was named Queen of the Snows at the pageant, the finale to the 29th annual Greater Pottsville Winter Carnival. Some 900 people were on hand for the show. I thought Oh, my God!  Chabon, a 21-year-old Pottsville Hospital School of Nursing student said afterward. I just never imagined I could win. From the start, I just wanted to have fun, beef up my social life and meet some new people. This was just an added bonus. Chabon was sponsored by J-Elen Bridals of Frackville. Her prizes for winning included $500 cash, a color television and four-day trip to the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City this September.


Dairy farming is not a 40-hour per week job. With labor laws becoming more restrictive, though, employers may have to treat it as such.

Overtime requirements were a topic of much discussion on the February 3 Hoards Dairyman DairyLivestream focused on agricultural labor, as the standards being set by some states could create precedence for other parts of the country to follow. Agricultural Workforce Specialist Richard Stup of Cornell Cooperative Extension pointed out that although the vast majority of state laws mirror the federal laws regarding work week and minimum wage, if an individual state decides to enact stricter standards, that is what must be followed.

Three top-10 dairy states are among those leading the charge with more protection for agricultural workers: California, New York, and Minnesota.

For example, as of last year, New York farm workers receive overtime pay (defined as time and a half) after 60 hours in a week. While Stup says that most farmers have found a reasonable way to handle that constraint, wage officials considered reducing that number even more. Due to the pandemic, that argument on changing the 60-hour-a-week metric was dropped for 2021.

All of these changes in New York are the result of a 40-year political battle in the state, and theyve really left the industry in an uncertain position with clearly higher labor costs than most other states and Canada, which is right next door, Stup added.

California dairy farmers must already deal with further limitations. In the effort to get agricultural workers down to a 40-hour work week by 2022, as of January 1 this year, businesses with more than 26 employees must pay overtime if an employee works more than 8.5 hours a day or 45 hours a week. For farms with fewer than 26 employees, the 40-hour work week will be implemented in 2025, and the phase-in period begins in 2022 at 55 weekly hours.

Additionally, just last November, Washington state established overtime pay for agricultural employees past 40 hours in a week. Washington state dairy is a special case. Their state supreme court ruled that the states exemptions for farm labor were unconstitutional because dairy farm jobs are hazardous, Stup described. Farmers there are currently fighting against having to pay retroactive overtime pay going back years, he continued.

Handling the regulations

Overtime pay has its roots in the Great Depression. The purpose of overtime as a government policy was to force employers to create more jobs and hire more of the people who had no work. It was a policy designed to create more jobs during a time of high unemployment, Stup explained. This is in contrast with recent state actions to implement overtime in farm labor when unemployment was very low, and employees are hard to find.

Echoing that contradiction was Frank Cardoza, who manages a dairy in California and works with other farmers as a consultant. Every January 1, you have to decide what changes youre going to make to be successful in this industry, he said. Weve looked at different options and weve tried different options as far as hiring more people and reducing hours, but in our case, its better for us to just pay the overtime. The employee makes more money, so he seems to be happier.

Providing good jobs is clearly a priority at Cardozas dairy. The labor advances that have been made have been good ones, he said, just as improvements have been made in animal welfare over the last decades.

However, overtime pay can create a financial burden and more challenges for farmers. Theres an obvious cost to having to keep more employees.

Whats really complex about it is the dairyman is in the middle. Weve got to take care of the cows, but we also have laws to protect people, Cardoza said. Its a very difficult situation for a dairyman because hes got so many regulations, which we should have, but at the end of the day, he doesnt make any money, and its tough.

Stup added that in the labor battles in New York, worker advocacy groups dont consider the economic argument as a legitimate part of the discussion Its simply a justice issue, he said. For them, economics simply do not matter.

The challenge, of course, is that economics do matter, he emphasized. If you cant run a business properly, youre not going to be there very long. The other piece of that is that the employment is tied to that business. If you cant run a profitable business, you wont have those jobs, and those jobs will disappear.

An ongoing series of events

The next broadcast, "How we're evaluating farm loans these days," will air on Wednesday, February 17 at 11 a.m. CST. Each episode is designed for panelists to answer over 30 minutes of audience questions. If you havent joined a DairyLivestream broadcast yet, register here. Registering once registers you for all future events.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2021

February 4, 2021
" Its something we just do not deal with. And so we cant deal with it appropriately, because we dont deal with it at all. We just dont have strategies. Sian Clifford is talking about something we dont really talk about: grief.

And yet, at the moment, its the topic on everyones mind. Our nation is collectively mourning the harrowing milestone of over 100,000 Covid-19 deaths, as well as the wounding loss of a year of memories never made with friends and family. Grief was at the heart of Fleabag, for which Clifford, 38, won a Bafta last year for her career-defining role as Fleabags sister Claire. This month she returns to the subject again in Good Grief, a new hybrid work of theatre and film being released online.

Filmed on a Covid-secure set over two days in early December, Lorien Haynes play charts how one womans death knocks two people off their axis. Nikesh Patel plays Adam, her partner, and Clifford is Cat, her best friend. When I first read the play it totally knocked me sideways, Clifford tells me on Zoom. What really struck me particularly is that its a real celebration of the person who has died  she feels very present in the play to me, and its not in a sort of morose, melancholic way but in a really fun way.

We may be historically bad at talking about grief, but Clifford does think theres been progress recently, particularly in the past year. Certainly for me, one of the most beautiful things that has come out of all of this is that its completely changed certain relationships I have, and the openness of conversations around mental health  really asking people and meaning it, how are you doing?

Nikesh Patel and Sian Clifford in Good Grief / Platform Presents

The making of Good Grief was a whirlwind process, with two weeks of rehearsals on Zoom - including Clifford and Patel trying to set up their rooms to make it feel like they were in the same space. Produced by Platform Presents and directed by Natalie Abrahami, the project intermingles theatre and film by borrowing the benefits of both forms: intimate close-ups, alongside a deliberately sparse set that invites to audiences to join in the imaginative work. The production crew are shown between scenes, a reminder of the workforce required to make it happen. We wanted to celebrate the fact that we were doing this despite everything and because of everything. This project and the innovation is borne entirely of Covid  looking at ways that we can keep theatre going and contribute to saving that industry, while theatres remain closed, says Clifford.

While her focus is now towards screen work  thats where I want to hone my craft, and it scares me more  Clifford would return to the stage again for the right project. Shes worked with a formidable range of theatre talents, from directors Katie Mitchell and Lyndsey Turner, to writers like Annie Baker and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. (Oh, stop! she yelps with delight when I bring up her performance in the latters shockingly violent Gloria in 2017). I want theatre always to be a part of my life. Its the bedrock of my training  Ive been doing theatre since I was six years old so its really just in my bones.

Based in London, Clifford acquired a puppy in lockdown (which you may have heard barking excitedly in her post-Bafta win interview) but work has kept her busy. None of her projects were cancelled and when we speak shes back on set filming an as-yet-unannounced project. After the whirlwind ride of Fleabag, followed by starring in the first big telly hit of lockdown, Quiz, she was thankful for a moment to slow down. A current fellow cast member of hers was also in a show that was hugely popular in lockdown, and they were saying, at the beginning of lockdown it was really tough for them because they had a lot of energy. I was coming off a years press tour for Fleabag, with awards season and managing work and new responsibilities and opportunities. Yeah, it was a lot. There was definitely a period of restoration in the beginning of lockdown that I was so grateful for.

The rigorous safety measures of her current set make everyone look, in her words, like youre living in 2001: A Space Odyssey, but being in a space with other people is an experience of unbridled joy. Everyone is so happy to be there and to be able to be working and to be doing what we love. But at the same time I found myself saying to someone the other day, oh yeah, everythings pretty normal for me. But of course, I look around see all these people in robotic looking outfits  of course its not. We have just adapted, and I think its one of the things that humans are best at.

Sian Clifford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge at the 2019 Emmy Awards / Getty Images

Although shes not able to spill the beans on forthcoming projects, Clifford is thrilled by the opportunities being given to her post-Fleabag  including doing some writing of her own. I have a lot of ideas. Often I have to struggle to turn the faucet off because I think of things all the time, but Im a terrible, terrible procrastinator. Hence the fact shes just bought an egg timer to try and practise the Pomodoro method (a time management technique that splits the time you have available into 25 minute chunks separated by short intervals of between five and 20 minutes).

The future also holds  of course  working with Phoebe Waller-Bridge again, who Clifford has known since drama school. Waller-Bridge wrote the role of Claire especially for Clifford, and the magic of female creative partnerships like Billie Piper and Lucy Prebble, and Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan, has inspired some truly brilliant work. Is now the time for women to celebrate being each others muse? I just love that word muse  and I absolutely think thats what Phoebe and I are to each other, if that doesnt sound too sycophantic. Im so inspired by her courageousness  Ive seen her full trajectory from when she was 18 years old, Clifford agrees.

Waller-Bridge has been Cliffords champion and she is keenly aware of that. "This job that I just started, I sent her a picture of my call sheet on Monday and I just said, thank you from the very depths of my soul. Because it is ultimately because of her belief in me that I got here. I mean, shell always argue that it was me that did the work, but I think were going to have that argument for the rest of our lives about who to give credit to.

Theres plenty on the horizon for Clifford - Im overwhelmed on the daily at the moment about what has happened to my life - but one thing thrills her most of all, and it should thrill all of us too. One of the projects that Im going to do with Phoebe is definitely the thing I think were both more excited about than anything else. We cant wait to share it with the world.
Marc Denis Vallin, 39, was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of aggravated battery over the attack, which occurred at the Nautilus Hotel last Saturday night

A Miami Beach security guard has been arrested after security video showed him slamming a kicking a hotel guest in the head and slamming him into a door.

Marc Denis Vallin, 39, was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of aggravated battery over the attack, which occurred at the Nautilus Hotel last Saturday night.

According to police, the male victim was hospitalized and suffered a concussion after being attacked by Vallin, who weighs over 200 pounds and is 6ft 2in tall.

Vallin was working at the hotel when he purportedly became embroiled in an argument with the male guest from Michigan over his 'attire'.

The guest can be seen in the security footage wearing a navy pair of shorts and a light blue T-shirt without a collar.

The man was accompanied by his female partner at the time he was pulled up by Vallis, and things soon turned physical.

The victim can then be seen laying helplessly out front of the hotel before Vallin kicks him in the head and proceeds to walk off

The woman told police Vallin 'pushed her down three steps and that she was kneeling on the ground when her partner came over to help her up', The Miami Herald reports.

She then claimed that Vallin grabbed her partner by the head and led him outside.

That moment was captured on camera, with the woman heard screaming as Vallin pushes the man's head into a glass door.

The victim can then be seen laying helplessly out front of the hotel before Vallin kicks him in the head and proceeds to walk off.

The victim was treated at Mt. Sinai Hospital before flying home to Michigan.

Vallis was not arrested until four days after the incident, following a police review of the tapes.

He was released from jail on bond on Friday and is due to return to court at a later date.
Chinas Coast Guard Law took effect only two days after Mr. Biden took office as US President.

According to the Chinese media, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the highest legislative body in China, passed the Coast Guard Law on January 22. The law came into effect on February 1, 2021.

Accordingly, the Chinese Coast Guard is allowed to use "all necessary means" to block or avoid threats from foreign ships. The law specifies the conditions under which weapons, such as firearms, ship-mounted weapons, or aircraft weapons, can be used.

China's Coast Guard Law makes a lot of concern for the world

Chinas Coast Guard Law took effect only two days after Mr. Biden took office as US President. Beijing's announcement of the Coast Guard Law at this time demonstrates the following issues:

First, China wants to take advantage of the opportunity. When Mr. Trump was still the US President, China would not be foolish to "anger" Mr. Trump, who always made very sudden and unpredictable decisions.

For President Biden, he is focusing on domestic issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic crisis and post-Trump political problems. This is an opportunity for China to take advantage of without fear of response from the US-China's biggest rival.

Second, this can also be seen as a "deterrence" to countries that have maritime disputes with China. China is at a sea dispute with Japan in the East China Sea and with many Southeast Asian countries in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea).

Third, this is also an action to "probe" the new US government to see its interest and involvement in the East Sea.

Threats from Chinas Coast Guard

China's Coast Guard Law creates a lot of concern for the world. Article 19 of this law empowers the Chinese maritime forces to use weapons when national sovereignty, sovereignty and jurisdiction are infringed by foreign organizations or individuals at sea or facing the danger of being violated illegally.

The problem is that China always makes illegal claims at large seas, including the East Sea and East China Sea.

The Chinese Coast Guard Law also allows the coast guard forces to put artificial islands illegally built by China in the East Sea (including 7 island features in the Truong Sa Archipelago (Spratly Islands) and some features in the Hoang Sa Archipelago (Paracel Islands) within its range of protection, allowing them to participate in law enforcement on all exclusive economic zones, continental shelf and even in the air.

The law even allows Chinese Coast Guard to remove foreign-built structures in waters they claim to be under "control" of this force. In addition, this force is allowed to confiscated and destroyed foreign ships if they "illegally violate the waters" of China.

The Chinese Coast Guard force has repeatedly chased away other foreign fishing vessels, sometimes leading to collisions and sinking of foreign ships. With the new law passed, it is worried that China is making the East Sea an outbreak of clashes.

China for many years has been claiming sovereignty and increasingly fierce in establishing sovereignty over most area of the East Sea.

Flaunting power

During the past time, many waters in the region have been stirred by the activities of fleets from China. In the East China Sea, Chinese ships are exploring the waters around Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, which is controlled by Japan. In the East Sea, China turns the island features it illegally seized in Truong Sa and Hoang Sa (of Vietnam's sovereignty) into solid military bases.

The United States and its allies have sent increasingly large warships to the waters to challenge Chinese claims. The Chinese navy, the world's largest navy, is also more active than ever. However, the country's Coast Guard forces plays an increasingly important role in maritime disputes.

The newest ship, CCG 3901 (short for China Coast Guard), entered service in 2017.

In 2013, China merged several civil maritime law enforcement agencies with a new agency, called the Coast Guard Department. Five years later, this force is under the control of the People's Armed Police, a paramilitary force that reports to the Central Military Commission - China's supreme military agency.

In fact, this has turned the Coast Guard into a branch of the Chinese armed forces.

Currently, the Chinese Coast Guard has more than 500 ships, ranking the first in potential in the region. Japan ranks second, with 373 ships. The Philippines has 86 ships and Indonesia has 41 ships.

The Chinese ships are also stronger. One decade ago, China had only 10 ships, with displacement of at least 1,500 tons (equivalent to the size of a small warship). But by 2015, China had 51 such ships. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (a London-based consulting organization) said that China currently has 87 ships.

Many Chinese coast guard vessels are bigger than the largest warships of the navies in the region. For example, the Zhao Tou class vessel of the Chinese Coast Guard weighs 12,000 tons. The deck is large, accommodating two helicopters, one cannon 76mm and one arsenal.

China has two such ships. One ship is deployed on the east coast. The newest ship, CCG 3901 (short for "China Coast Guard"), entered service in 2017 during its first patrol in the East Sea, which is the area where it operates. The appearance of this giant ship has one purpose: China supports its sovereignty claims in the above area with such a "steel block".

China uses the Coast Guard not only to enforce conventional maritime laws but also to show strength. In 2019, when China sent the Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey ship to the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Vietnam, they dispatched a fleet of Coast Guard ships to escort it, including the CCG 3901.

In April 2020, when the Haiyang Dizhi 8 arrived in Malaysia's EEZ, the CCG 3901 was sent along.

A report released in 2019 by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said that 14 Chinese maritime vessels patrolling disputed island features in the East Sea broadcast their position on the automatic identification system, an international ship tracking network, to demonstrate "a clear, frequent presence of China".

The presence of Chinese Coast Guard in the East Sea is thanks to the supplies it receives from newly built outposts of China in the region.

Chinese Coast Guard ships also regularly patrol the vicinity of islands in the East China Sea and frequently enter the 12-nautical mile territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Air Force is also present in the Senkaku Islands and the southern islands of Japan.

Viet Hoang
Banks in Britain have been shielded from the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by government relief measures and the toughest time has yet to come, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods said on Friday. Government relief schemes such as furlough payments and guarantees on banks' loans to companies have cushioned banks against fallout from the crisis, but these will be wound down in coming months. "We feel good about what's happened so far but in a way the tougher bit is coming," Woods told a London School of Economics webinar. "The government ...

Tommy Thomas poses outside his office in Putrajaya after being appointed as Malaysian attorney general, June 6, 2018.

Malaysian police are investigating whether Tommy Thomas, the nations former attorney general, violated defamation laws and the Official Secrets Act by writing a memoir about his tenure as chief prosecutor for the government of Mahathir Mohamad, officials said Friday.

Mahathir and his predecessor as prime minister, Najib Razak, along with a former solicitor general, are among those raising questions about Thomass recently published memoir that, according to excerpts in the media, contains allegations against them. Before Mahathirs government collapsed last year, Thomas was the attorney general who brought charges of massive corruption against Najib tied to the 1MDB financial scandal.

Seven police reports have been filed against the ex-AG over his book, My Story: Justice in the Wilderness, said Deputy Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

Two investigation papers were opened under Section 500 of the Penal Code for defamation, and the OSA [Official Secrets Act]. Give some time for the investigators to do their work. They will determine the right time to call in Thomas and other witnesses relevant to the case to record their statements, Acryl Sani told BenarNews.

Section 500 stipulates that anyone found guilty of defaming another person shall be punished with up to two years in prison, a fine or both. Acryl Sani did not specify which section under the Secrets Act would be applied to the investigation.

Also on Friday, a Malaysian court ruled to allow defense and prosecution lawyers in an infamous murder trial to file a contempt of court action against Thomas over one of the passages in his book.

Thomas was appointed as attorney general in June 2018, barely a month after the Pakatan Harapan political coalition pulled off an upset in a general election that led to Mahathir returning as prime minster  the office he last held in 2003. Shortly after Mahathirs resignation in February 2020, Thomas stepped down from his post as well.

Malaysian media published excerpts from the book targeting Mahathir, including:

It must be kept in mind that Tuns resignation was personal, only as prime minister. The resignation was confined to that office, not the entire government, and, This is probably without precedent in modern politics. A prime minister who is comfortably in power, resigns of his own free will and volition.

Another excerpt noted that Thomas had unexpected support for the top prosecutors post.

Apparently, a public statement issued by PAS that night stating that they had no objections to my appointment, especially since I had represented the PAS governments of Terengganu and Kelantan in their petroleum royalty cases against Petronas, had surprised Tun (Mahathir).

Thomas, a Christian who was the first member of Malaysias ethnic Indian minority to be appointed attorney general, was referring to a public statement drawing support from the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS).

In an interview with Free Malaysia Today on Friday, Mahathir expressed regret over naming Thomas to his cabinet.

But I was prepared to defend him, but had I known this would have happened, I would have elected somebody else, Mahathir said. But at the time, I thought it would be a new experience, we have an AG who is professional, I thought he was.

Thomas declined to comment when contacted by BenarNews.

Another printing

Publisher Gerakbudaya announced the books launch on Jan. 26, and described Thomas work as a candid memoir that is the first insiders account by a senior Pakatan Harapan official on the achievements, disappointments, and failures of the administration.

The publisher has since posted notices on its Facebook page announcing the book had sold out but that additional copies were being printed to meet demands.

Since its publication, prominent figures including former Attorney General Apandi Ali and former Solicitor General Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria have lodged reports with police, alleging that contents were inaccurate, local media reported.

When contacted by BenarNews, Chong Ton Sin, the publishing houses founder, said authorities had summoned him to federal police headquarters on Friday and recorded a statement from him, a day after authorities visited Gerakbudayas book store.

I had my statement taken earlier. The Home Ministry also came to purchase one of the books yesterday, Chong told BenarNews.

Contempt proceeding

Meanwhile, the Shah Alam High Court in Selangor on Friday approved allowing lawyers to initiate a contempt proceeding against Thomas.

This came after lead defense counsel Shafee Abdullah informed the court that Thomas had touched on concerns about evidence against a women who is stranding trial on murder charges for the death of her husband, Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan. Two boys whose identities cannot be revealed because of their ages were charged as well.

According to allegations by defense team member Rahmat Hazlan, Thomas wrote that evidence in the case was not credible.

We are saying that it is an ongoing trial and it is something for the court to determine whether evidence is to be believed, whether it is credible or not, Rahmat told BenarNews.

He said the judge suggested that the prosecution initiate a contempt proceeding against Thomas, and deputy public prosecutors asked for time to seek instruction from the Attorney Generals Chambers.

Rahmat said the defense would initiate action if the prosecution passes.

Najib linked to 1MDB

Thomas also wrote about Najib, the former prime minister whom he prosecuted on charges linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Najib established 1MDB in 2009 when he was prime minister and finance minister ostensibly to benefit the Malaysian people. He is now appealing his July 2020 conviction on charges that he illegally received 42 million ringgit (U.S. $9.67 million) from a 1MDB subsidiary.

Malaysian and U.S. prosecutors allege that at least $4.5 billion (18.8 billion ringgit) was stolen from 1MDB and diverted through acquisitions of real estate, artwork and luxury properties by Najib and his associates.

In his book, Thomas touched on the case of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, particularly on the accusation by one of her convicted killers alleging that Najib had personally ordered her killing, according to local media. The killers were members of Najibs security detail when he served as defense minister.

Najibs lawyers on Tuesday sent a legal letter to Thomas, saying his allegations were totally untrue and defamatory. The letter demanded Thomas make a public retraction and publish an apology in Malaysian media. Najibs lawyers also demanded that Thomas pay 10 million ringgit (U.S. $2.45 million) in damages for the injury to his reputation.

Lawyer Farhan Shafee, who represents Najib, told BenarNews that Thomas had replied to the letter.

I am informed he has replied denying that he has committed defamation, so we will take the necessary steps, Farhan said.

Najib himself took to Facebook on Friday to condemn Thomas for making allegations against his late father, Abdul Razak Hussein, another former prime minister, over race riots in 1969. Thomas alleged that an attempted coup staged by Abdul Razak, then the countrys deputy premier, led to the riot.

It is way too much for him to touch on someone who is no longer here, who cannot defend himself and it was immoral. He did not even provide any evidence, Najib said, adding that he believes more people Thomas wrote about might take legal action.


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Victor Davis Hanson offers a perspective on what the future under Fake Joe Bidens administration may be:

The corruption of the Renaissance Church prompted the Reformation, which in turn sparked a Counter Reformation of reformist and more zealous Catholics.

The cultural excesses and economic recklessness of the Roaring 20s were followed by the bleak, dour, and impoverished years of the Great Depression.

The 1960s counterculture led to Richard Nixons landslide victory in 1972, as carefree hippies turned into careerist yuppies.

So social, cultural, economic, and political extremism prompt reactionsand sometimes counterreactions.

The Bush-Clinton-Obama continuum of 24 years (from 1993 through 2015) cemented the bipartisan fusion administrative state. Trump and his Make America Great Again agenda were its pushback.

The counterreaction to the populism of the Trump resetor Trump himselfis as of yet unsure.

Joe Bidens tenure may mark a return to business as usual of the Bush-Clinton years. Or more likely, it will accelerate the current hard-left trajectory.

Either way, it seems that Biden is intent on provoking just such a pushback by his record number of early and often radical executive ordersa tactic candidate Biden condemned.

On almost every issueopen borders, blanket amnesties, canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, promoting the Green New Deal, and hard-left appointeesBiden is touting positions that likely do not earn 50 percent public support.

When Biden made a Faustian bargain with his partys hard-left wing of Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to win the election, he took on the commitment to absorb some of their agenda and to appoint their ideologues.

But he also soon became either unwilling or unable to stand up to them.

Now theyand the countryare in a revolutionary frenzy. The San Francisco school district has canceled over 40 schools honoring the nations bestWashington, Jefferson, and Lincolnlargely on racist grounds that they are dead, mostly white males.

Statues continue to fall. Names change.

The iconic dates, origins, and nature of America itself continue to be attacked to meet leftist demands. And still, it is not enough for the new McCarthyites.

Social media are banning tens of thousands. Silicon Valley and Wall Street monopolies go after smaller upstart opponents.

A wrong word destroys a lifelong career. Formerly sane pundits now call for curtailing the First Amendment. Thousands of federal troops blanket a now-militarized Washington, D.C.

If Trumps pushback tried to return to traditions ignored during the Obama years, Bidens reset promises to become far more radical than Obamas entire eight years.

Trump likely lost his second pushback term for two reasonsneither of which had anything to do with his reset agenda.

First, the sudden 2020 pandemic, quarantine, recession, summer-long demonstrations and riots, and radical changes in voting laws all ensured that 100 million ballots were not cast on Election Day, derailed a booming economy, and finally wore the people out.

Second, Trump underestimated the multitrillion-dollar power and furor of Silicon Valley, Wall Street, the media, Hollywood, and the progressive rich. Those forces all coalesced against him and swamped his outspent and outmanned campaign.

With 24/7 blanket ads, news coverage, endorsements, and social media messaging, Trump sometimes was easily caricatured as a twittering disrupter. The inert and mute Biden in his basement was reinvented as the sober and judicious Washington wise man antidote to Trumps unpredictability.

Had Biden continued his moderate campaign veneer, the current left-wing radicalism might not have prompted a counterreaction.

Instead, Biden is now unapologetically leading the most radical left-wing movement in the nations history. [Theres more]

Source: Click here to read the rest of the article: When (or If) Comes the Pushback? - American Greatness (amgreatness.com)

Dominic Ongwen at his first appearance hearing at the International Criminal Court in The Hague (file photo).

Former LRA commander Dominic Ongwen's journey from abduction at the age of 10 to his surrender, and trial at The Hague.

1975: Ongwen is born in the village of Coo-rom, Kilak County, Amuru District, northern Uganda.

1986: Rebellion in northern Uganda breaks out after NRA/M captures power.

1988: Ongwen is abducted on his way to school and thereafter placed in the hands of Vincent Otti, a senior LRA commander at the time.

1994: At the age of 14 he is moved to Sudan where he undergoes military training in Khartoum, and is tasked with overseeing field operations.

1998: He is promoted to the rank of Major.

2003: Uganda makes referral of Ongwen and four other LRA deputies to the International Criminal Court.

2004: ICC begins investigations into war atrocities reportedly committed by LRA.

2005: Ongwen is reported dead by the UPDF in one of the field operations. ICC issues arrest warrants for Ongwen and other LRA deputies.

2006: ICC confirms that Ongwen is still alive after cross- examining generic fingerprints of the said body collected with DNA samples of his known surviving relatives. Reports later confirm that he is still alive and is somewhere in the Equatorial province, present day South Sudan,.

2007: LRA leader Joseph Kony orders the execution of Otti and his other close aides but Ongwen is spared. Negotiations with Uganda fail and LRA rebels push backwards to DRC.

2008: In June he leads a raid on a South Sudanese military garrison in Nabanga in which several rebels die

2009: After the botched raid he refuses to join the rest of the LRA group in Central African Republic. Kony also receives reports that Ongwen is communicating with Ugandan officials with the intention of surrendering alongside his 60 fighters.

2010: Kony sends a large force of loyal troops to intercept Ongwen's group, which at that time operates along the Duru River in DRC. They split up Ongwen's group and replace key members with fighters from Kony's loyalist Central Brigade. Kony demotes him and gives Lt. Col. Binany command of LRA forces in Congo.

2011: He meets Kony again, is demoted on spot and threatened with execution.

2012: In August he escapes and moves further north into CAR. UPDF reports attacking Ongwen's group in the process.

2013: Defectors indicate that he may have regrouped with Kony again and promoted back to senior leadership.

2014: LRA conducts occasional attacks in areas where UPDF/US troops are stationed.

2015: On January 3 he slips into the hands of the Seleka Muslim outfits near Samouandja province in south east CAR.

On January 5 he is handed over to the US troops who airlift him to their bases in Obo town and is positively identified by the UPDF. Talks between Uganda and The African Union's Regional Counter LRA Task Force commence on the next course of action.

On January 15 he is handed over to the UPDF troops for processing.

On January 16 UPDF hands him over to Central African Republic to hand him over to ICC.

On January 17 CAR authorities hand him over to ICC and he is flown to the ICC headquarters at The Hague.

2016: Ongwen trial before the International Criminal Court begins in December.

2021: The International Criminal Court is set to deliver judgment today after trying Ongwen.

Man hugs God after kiss with death in LRA camp

Richard Kakanyero, 36, was abducted by LRA rebels in December 2001 as he returned from Christmas shopping. He narrated his ordeal in captivity to our reporter Cissy Makumbi

'I had escaped from previous LRA captivity. Prior to my abduction, my mother had given me a piece of tree bark as a charm that would bring protection. I kept it on me all times.

Life in the LRA captivity was hard. I missed home all the time and because of the poor feeding (and lack of food), my body wasted away fast. My commander was disgusted with me and multiple times wanted me killed.

During my time in the captivity, we rotated within Kilak hills in Amuru District to elude tracking by UPDF. I was very worried. It was at that time that God spoke to me so clearly and said. 'Why don't you try trusting me'?

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Then I decided to throw away my charm that I had been secretly keeping, and I made a deal with God and told Him that if he took my thoughts of home away from me, I would live for Him.

On a day I was supposed to be killed, some of our enemies (Uganda government soldiers) attacked us, and everyone scattered and by the time everything settled down days later, they had forgotten to kill me!

One day I was chosen, along with other soldiers from our group to go to the border of Sudan and welcome LRA leader Joseph Kony (the leader of the LRA). After that I was given a gun and a lot more freedom. So, one evening God brought back my thoughts of home.

It was on that day, seven months after I was abducted, that I just walked away from LRA camp in Amuru District."

Compiled by Frederic Musisi

& Anthony Wesaka

graphic by Muhammad Tamale
File image

Various opposition parties like the Shiv Sena, SAD, NCP, Samajwadi Party and Left parties on Friday demanded in Rajya Sabha that the three new farm laws be repealed and fresh ones brought after wider consultations.

Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, the members of opposition parties attacked the government for dubbing the farmers protesting against the farm laws as "anti-nationals" and for "defaming" their agitation.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut alleged that anyone speaking the truth is dubbed as a "traitor" or "anti-national" and that cases of sedition have been slapped against those criticising the government.

Participating in the debate, he said farmers fighting for their rights have been branded as anti-nationals or Khalistanis.

He said the farmers, who were known as 'warriors' when they fought the Mughals and the British, are now dubbed as anti-nationals when they are fighting for their rights on Delhi's borders.

Raut said farmers from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, who are sitting on the borders of Delhi, are fighting for the peasants from across the country and demanded that their voice be heard and the farm laws be repealed.

"We heard minister Dharmendra Pradhan asking us to listen to the truth. For the last six years, we have been listening to the truth, even the untruth dubbed as truth. The atmosphere in the country today is such that anyone writing the truth is dubbed as traitor and anti-national," he alleged.

"When the farmers are uniting and fighting for their rights, you see anti-national acts. They are not anti-nationals or 'khalistanis'

"Till the time this movement is alive, the nation will remain alive and this 'andolan'," he said.

"If you would have built such barricades at the international borders, as those put up at Delhi borders, China would not have dared to come into Indian territory," the Sena member said.

Praful Patel (NCP) said the Centre and states have together fought the COVID-19 pandemic along with medical professionals and the mortality rate in the country was low as compared to other countries.

He said when the government is talking of working for the welfare of farmers, why did it not send the farm laws to the Select Committee for wider consultations to avoid the situation that has arisen now.

"On our demand, had the government sent the bills to a Select Committee for wider consultations, the scenes witnessed today around Delhi would not have been witnessed. What was the hurry to bring these laws,"he asked.

Patel sought to clarify that former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's letter of 2007 is being circulated to misrepresent the facts.

"The 2007 letter he wrote to chief ministers was to seek their comments on the amendment to farm laws. The Bill was never brought in Parliament. The government, however, is unnecessarily raising the issue to misrepresent facts," he said.

The NCP leader said if the government is ready to put these laws in abeyance for 1.5 years, why does it not repeal them and bring new ones after proper consultations.

BSP member Satish Chandra Misra demanded that the government should repeal the three new farm laws and also provide legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) on all crops, alleging that the government's intention are not clear.

Misra slammed the government for trying to stop farmers' protest and alleged that multi-layered barricades, barbed wires and iron nails studded on roads have been put up on Delhi-borders.

He said water and electricity supplies have been cut and access to toilets have also been stopped. "This is a human rights violation."

"I am not able to understand when you (the government) are ready to suspend the laws for 1.5 years, what is stopping you to withdraw these Acts," he said, urging the government to shed its ego and accept the farmers' demand.

SAD leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said the prime minister should intervene and listen to the farmers' demands.

The Akali Dal member said the government should accept the farmers' demand to repeal the three laws. He said all Opposition parties are also demanding the same.

Dhindsa said he had written to the prime minister when Ordinances were brought but did not get any reply. He said agriculture is a state-subject and the Centre is weakening the federal system by bringing these farm laws.

Highlighting the sacrifice made by Sikhs during the country's Independence struggle, Dhindsa rued that Sikhs are being described as terrorists and Khalistanis.

Dhindsa also said there should be a scientific method to fix the MSP.

Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa demanded setting up a committee headed by a Supreme Court judge to conduct an impartial probe within two months into the incidents on January 26 that led to violence.

He compared the barricades set up at the farmers' protest site at Ghazipur with the Berlin Wall and concentration camps, and took a strong objection to farmers being branded as anti-national and Khalistanis.

IUML member Abdul Wahab demanded restoration of MPLADs fund.

Earlier, CPI member Binoy Viswam hit out at the government for terming the economic crisis as an act of God, and said the policies of the government are squarely responsible for the situation and not the almighty.
The government is following a four-pronged approach to reduce the compliance burden on businesses and promote ease of living, said Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra.

These are decriminalising minor offences in all central government laws, removing redundant laws, introducing citizen governance, and easing license requirements for businesses, Mohapatra told journalists.

Ministries have asked to identify outdated laws, rules and regulations that do not promote ease of living living or ease of doing business, Mohapatra said. About 1,400 such Acts have already been removed since the government came to power, he said. Citing an example of recent reforms, he said the government relaxed the norm for attestation of documents. In times of adversity it has helped everyone. Simple initiatives have removed irritants, he said. A number of state legislation like Shops and Establishment Act, Labour Act, Civil Supplies Act are being reviewed.

Lastly, ministries and states have to identify compliance hurdles for trade and businesses based on the feedback from their representative bodies by March 31. For instance, renewal of facilities, like shops, can be done away with, he said. After registration, let such establishments continue without any renewals, till they want to continue, he added. f renewals are necessary, they should not be mandated annually, but for about five years or so. Also being explored is if registrations, inspections can be made faceless and automated.

for all sectors by March-end

Mohapatra said the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme announced by the government for 10 additional sectors, besides mobile equipment manufacturers, medical devices, and active pharmaceutical ingredients, will be notified before the end of the ongoing fiscal year.

The will promote global champions in India for the world, Mohapatra said.

The government has allocated about Rs 1.97 trillion for the for 13 sectors to be spent for a five-year period starting fiscal year 2021- 22.

The government is actively monitoring about 1,000 global companies that are looking to expanding or entering Indian market, Mohapatra said.
The New York Times

Confronted with the possibility of coronavirus variants that may evade current vaccines, therapies and tests for the virus, the Food and Drug Administration is readying a plan for action in the next few weeks. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have so far proven to be effective against known variants of the coronavirus, but they are less potent against the variant first identified in South Africa. That variant has only been confirmed in three people in the United States so far, but the countrys surveillance is thin and may be missing other cases.

As of Thursday, all but seven of the 618 coronavirus variant cases identified in the United States so far have involved a fast-spreading variant first observed in Britain, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If variants emerge that are not prevented, that the vaccines have poor efficacy against, then we will need to rapidly change, Janet Woodcock, the agencys acting director, said in a call with reporters Thursday. New versions of the vaccine would need to be rapidly manufactured, tested and distributed.

Officials at Pfizer and Moderna have said they are prepared to tweak their vaccines as needed and that the process could be complete in as little as six weeks.

Dr Woodcock declined to reveal any details of how the FDA plans to evaluate the tweaked vaccines, but said that the agency would probably require smaller and shorter trials than in the original trials run by Pfizer and Moderna.

If the current vaccines prove ineffective against a new variant, we cant go through more 30,000 patient trials, she said. There are things short of doing full-fledged efficacy trials that we can use to shift or perhaps add components to the existing vaccines.

Dr. Woodcock said the plans will be released for comment from scientists before they are implemented. The agency may also look to an advisory committee to help guide any changes to existing vaccines.

The F.D.A. also plans to release guidance documents for monoclonal antibody treatments and for tests of the virus. The monoclonal antibody made by Eli Lilly and one of the two antibodies in the cocktail made by Regeneron are powerless against the variant circulating in South Africa, according to a recent study.

We knew from the very beginning that monoclonals were vulnerable to this type of strain shift, she said.

Laboratory tests for the coronavirus that rely on a technique called P.C.R. seem to detect the new variants accurately, but if that were to change, they could easily be altered, Dr. Woodcock said. But it would be much more complicated to determine whether antigen tests that are manufactured en masse are missing variants.

Apoorva Mandavilli. c.2021 The New York Times Company
The 16 grassland monoliths come from the Kaserstattalm in the Tyrolean Stubaital - a site for long-term ecosystem research. Credit: Eliza Harris

Scientists led by Eliza Harris and Michael Bahn from the Institute of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck have succeeded in studying emissions of the greenhouse gas N 2 O under the influence of environmental impacts in an unprecedented level of detail. The study, which has now been published in Science Advances, is thus also a starting point for the creation of models that could predict future trends in the greenhouse gas emission dynamics of ecosystems under global climate change.

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a potent greenhouse gas whose atmospheric growth rate has accelerated over the past decade. The largest share of anthropogenic N 2 O emissions results from the fertilization of soils with nitrogen, which is converted into N 2 O via various abiotic and biological processes. A team of scientists led by Eliza Harris and Michael Bahn from the Functional Ecology research group at the University of Innsbruck has now been able to trace in detail the N 2 O production and consumption pathways that occur within the nitrogen cycle, and ultimately lead to the emission of this greenhouse gas, as part of the FWF-funded project NitroTrace. In an experimental setup at the University of Innsbruck, 16 intact grassland monoliths of the subalpine Long-Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) site Kaserstattalm in the Stubaital region of Tyrol were studied. The soil blocks were exposed to extreme drought and subsequent rewetting. These weather conditions reflect the climatic changes to which many regions across the globe, including the Alps, are increasingly exposed.

"Our goal was to quantify the net effect of drought and rewetting on N 2 O formation processes and emissions, which is currently largely unexplored," says Eliza Harris. Contrary to expectations of the researchers, the process of denitrification, the breakdown of nitrate to N 2 O and molecular nitrogen (N2) by specialized microorganisms, was found to dominate N 2 O production in very dry soils.

According to previous assumptions, this process takes place primarily in moist, oxygen-poor soils, and as a result more N 2 O can be released into the atmosphere during drought than expected. The researchers had expected the process of nitrification to predominate in dry soils, producing nitrate, which is an important chemical compound for plants. "We assumed that if the soil was dry, there would be enough oxygen available for nitrification. After closer examination, we were able to detect drought-induced accumulations of nitrogen-containing organic matter on the surface of our soil samples and identify them as triggers for denitrification in dry soil. This suggests a strong role for the previously poorly understood chemodenitrification and codenitrification pathways, where additional abiotic and biotic processes lead to the formation of N 2 O," explains Eliza Harris the surprising result. Overall, N 2 O emission was greatest during rewetting after extreme drought.

The results provide researchers with unprecedented insights into the nitrogen cycle and the processes involved in the formation of the greenhouse gas N 2 O in response to environmental parameters. A better understanding of production and consumption reactions can help to find solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which have been increasing for decades.

Innovative analysis method

Crucial to the research success was the use of laser isotope spectroscopy, made possible through the FFG-funded project LTER-CWN. "Through this novel analytical technique, we can determine the isotopic composition of N 2 O. Thus, we get a kind of fingerprint for the formation process of the emitted N 2 O, which in turn helps us to understand its microbial formation process," emphasizes Eliza Harris the importance of this procedure. Molecular ecology analyses also helped them determine which genes and microbes were involved in the nitrogen transformation. In addition, spatial analysis techniques helped determine elemental composition and distribution in the soil. "We hope that by continuing to apply the combination of these methods in future similar research projects, we will gain further insights into feedback effects between climate change and the nitrogen cycle across different ecosystems and environments," says Eliza Harris. The researchers' long-term goal is to use models to predict ecosystem emission dynamics in the context of climate change.

Explore further First field measurements of laughing gas isotopes

More information: "Denitrifying pathways dominate nitrous oxide emissions from managed grassland during drought and rewetting" Science Advances (2021). Journal information: Science Advances "Denitrifying pathways dominate nitrous oxide emissions from managed grassland during drought and rewetting"(2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb7118
Preston Chaney died of COVID-19 after more than three months at the Harris County Jail on allegations he stole lawn equipment and frozen meat. Two days later, Chaneys court-appointed lawyer, whod logged just two hours on his case, billed for additional work.

Chaney had a hold and was rejected for personal bail under Gov. Greg Abbotts pandemic order banning the release of anyone with violent charges or prior arrests. Had the 64-year-old been able to scrape together $100, he could have waited for trial away from the packed downtown lockup.

Civil rights lawyers submitted Chaney and others as examples of abject failure by judges, prosecutors and private lawyers to hasten the release of thousands of vulnerable people who are presumed innocent and eligible for bail but are stuck at the jail simply because theyre poor. Elizabeth Rossi and a team of lawyers for the jailed pretrial inmates said in a pleading Wednesday that amid a humanitarian crisis, the key decision-makers kept passing the buck.

The court records they compiled show deep indifference to human suffering and illness, they say.

Lawyers and judges should take swift action to make bail reduction hearings happen, Rossi said. They should hold hearings or release these people.

The Harris County District Attorneys Office opposes bail reductions for a list of violent offenses. The plaintiffs say people with money can get out of jail when charged with those offenses by paying high bail, while people without means cannot.

Dane Schiller, spokesman for the district attorneys office, said, Prosecutors dont have the legal authority to order that anyone be held or released from jail, as such decisions are entirely up to judges; prosecutors can merely make recommendations, as can defense lawyers.

Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted on Saturday that although he doesnt run the jails, his staff would explore the allegations of people being held unnecessarily at the jail.

No one is supposed to be in jail for failing to pay a $100 bond on a non violent offense, Acevedo said in the tweet.

The state attorney general, felony judges and appointed lawyers for inmates highlighted in the pleading did not comment.

But Joe Vinas, president-elect of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, read the pleading and said of his fellow criminal lawyers: Some are very good about bonding, some are terrible. He feels most are doing the best job they can under the circumstances.

Counsel for the indigent defendants say Chaney and many others who would otherwise have qualified for no-cash bonds were unlawfully detained under Abbotts GA-13.

They showed examples of cases that sat dormant for months while lawyers racked up fees. Some defendants could not get in touch with their lawyers. Several only saw their lawyers at their guilty pleas. As their cases got continually reset, some people caught the coronavirus. Others did their own legal work from the jail, requesting bail reductions and reduced charges in hand-scrawled missives to the court.

A man accused of breaking into a Louisiana Fried Chicken wrote his judge in April that he wanted his charge knocked down to a misdemeanor because he was in fear for my life at every moment because of COVID-19. He pleaded guilty in October and was sent to state jail.

Among those they noted languishing in jail were two 17-year-olds, one the mother of an infant. She sat in jail on high bail, while apparently no judge or defense lawyer had made attempts to secure her release.

At 16 status conferences in the federal bail dispute, top state and local stakeholders and lawyers have combed over lists of candidates for release, but the needle hasnt budged. The jail is still nearly at capacity, with 300 more inmates than it had at the end of 2019, even though bookings are down 25 percent.

The judge in the case, Lee H. Rosenthal, has pleaded with officials to act, remarking that a failure to do so could create a killing field at the jail.

Yet court officials arent pushing for many bail hearings, the filing says. For example, the sheriff arranged access to video bail hearings, but very few judges took him up on it. Only 72 video bail hearings took place during a 10-month stretch ending in October.

As the virus spread through the jail in March and April, Judge Ramona Franklin of the 338th Criminal Court took six weeks to appoint a lawyer for an inmate named Jacolby Brown.

Kristine Ferrell, 47, who recently pleaded guilty to an assault charge, contracted COVID twice while she was in jail. She told advocates at the Texas Jail Project that her case had been reset five times. During that stretch, she received a letter she thought could help clear her, but she didnt get a chance to present it because her lawyer had not responded to her queries.

Ferrell, who is disabled, is legally blind and has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, was given a $30,000 bail. She wrote, Im at a lost (sic) if I never get a chance to go to court to change counsel or lower my bond How (sic) am I ever going to get a chance to Prove im inosent (sic)?

Nola Andrews, 17, was arrested in October on a charge of robbery causing bodily injury. Her bail was set at $10,000 because she was a danger to the community, but probable cause proceedings offered the view that a co-defendant was the person behind the injury.

The full-time student and mother to a 1-year-old finally posted bail after Judge Teiva Bell in January granted a lower amount. But Andrews tested positive for COVID and is still in the jails medical unit, according to the filing.

Isaiah Fields, also 17, forfeited his bail because of a possible paperwork error. He missed a court date on his aggravated assault case, but only after a judge told him to make his next appearance on a date that had already occurred, court records show

Fields was rearrested, and a judge appointed him an attorney. After the plaintiffs made a flurry of inquiries, he was released on bond Thursday.

gabrielle.banks@chron.com

samantha.ketterer@chron.com
Male, Feb 5 : Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih said that it would take up to two years for the island nation to revive its pandemic-hit and tourism-dependent economy, The president made the remarks when he delivered an address Thursday marking the reconvening of the Maldives' Parliament, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

Solih highlighted the continuing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and the way forward in his speech.

"We established a treatment system, trained a total of 362 health workers, and today, we are capable of carrying out more than 5,600 Covid-19 tests a day," he said.

The President urged citizens to register for vaccinations in order to speed up the process of restarting businesses and schools. He noted the relief given to workers and businesses amid the pandemic in the form of subsidies and low-interest loans.

He said it would take up to two years to revive the tourism-dependant economy, which has been one of the most affected sectors by the pandemic.

"In order to recover as soon as possible, the government has begun working on diversifying the economy and significantly boosting our economic activity," Solih said.

The Maldivian Parliament will hold its first sitting for this year on February 8.
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Hyderabad, Feb 5 : University of Hyderabad (UoH) teachers and students on Friday organised a walk on the campus against encroachment of varsity land.

A Joint Action Committee comprising faculty, students and non-teaching staff organised the protest.

The University of Hyderabad Teachers Association (UHTA), the Non Teaching Association, UoH, the Students Union, and the Dalit Students Union participated in the walk.

They alleged that the land grabbers were making attempts to encroach upon the university land by demolishing the compound walls and laying roads.

An attempt was made on January 9 when a 100 feet compound wall was brought down using earth-movers.

The protestors marched from the Administration Block to the encroached land site. They raised slogans of 'save university land', 'save not sale' and 'save university save education' and carried placards.

Demanding that the university land be used strictly used for academic purposes and not to serve the interests of the real-estate corporates backed by the state government, the varsity community vowed to stand firmly to protect the university land and wage a united struggle.

The UHTA earlier stated that there have been many struggles in the past by the university community to prevent the university land being given away to other organisations. It appealed to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to intervene for the protection of the university land.

The teachers' body urged the university authorities to properly fix the boundaries and protect the land from grabbing by appealing to the President, who is the Visitor of the University, the Telangana Governor, who is the Rector of the University, the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission.

Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile had met Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on January 9 and submitted a memorandum on the land issue.

The Telangana High Court on January 12 directed authorities to maintain status quo. It gave the interim direction on the petition filed by the UoH challenging the decision to lay an approach road through its campus.

The University sought direction to the state authorities not to interfere with the UoH's peaceful possession of the land admeasuring 18 acres.

The site is part of the 2,324 acres allotted by the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government in 1975 to establish the university campus.
NEW DELHI: Indian companies were awarded defence contracts worth $37 billion during 2016-19, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday, adding that New Delhi will endeavour to bring down its defence equipment import bill by at least $2 billion by 2022.

Speaking at an event that is part of the three-day Aero India show, Singh said India plans to scale up its domestic military hardware manufacturing base from the current $11 billion to $25 billion by 2025.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

"Of this, we further intend to create an export component of $5 billion," he said on the last day of the Aero India show. More than 500 companies, including 80 foreign firms participated in the event this year held against the backdrop of the covid-19 pandemic.

With an aim of encouraging the manufacture of defence related items in India, our endeavour will remain to bring down defence imports by at least $2 billion by 2022. Between 2016 and 2019, 138 proposals worth over $37 billion for domestic manufacturing have been approved," the minister said.

India has announced an ambitious Atmanirbhar Bharat, or Self Reliant India, goal that aims to strengthen its domestic manufacturing base that would in turn help it plug into global supply chains. To attract foreign investment into defence manufacturing, the Modi government last year announced a slew of measures including raising the cap on foreign investment from 49% to 74%. It has also brought out a list of 101 items that India will not import.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India was the second largest arms importer  second only to Saudi Arabia  between 2015-19. Saudi Arabia, India and China were also among the top five importers during the period 201014. At the DefenceExpo last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set Indian industry the task of ensuring $5 billion in defence exports by 2025.

In his speech in the Aero India show, Singh said there were 128 MoUs (memoranda of understanding or preliminary pacts) signed besides 19 transfers of technology agreements. There were 18 new product launches that happened during the event, he said.

Further, 45 MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) participating in Aero India have already bagged orders worth 203 crore," Singh said adding that this was a major achievement."

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Attorney for the President, Rudy Giuliani, speaks at a news conference in the parking lot of a landscaping company on 7 November, 2020 in Philadelphia (AFP via Getty Images)

Rudy Giulianis conspiracy theories will now come with a lengthy disclaimer for listeners of his daily afternoon show on New Yorks 77 Talk Radio WABC.

The former New York City mayor and personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump sounded furious on Thursday when he seemingly discovered the station would begin airing the disclaimer before his afternoon programmes just as he was going live.

The disclaimer said the views, assumptions and opinions expressed by Mr Giuliani and his guests are strictly their own and do not necessarily represent that of the station or its advertisers.

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Appearing surprised, Mr Giuliani responded on air. I would have thought they would have told me about that before just doing what they just did. Rather insulting, he said.

Gives you a sense of how far this free speech thing has gone, and how they frighten everybody the former mayor continued. I mean, were in America, were not in East Germany.

He added: Theyve got to warn you about me? Im going to have to give that a lot of consideration. I also think putting it on without telling me a not the right thing to do. Not the right thing to do at all.

Mr Giulianis reaction was immediately followed by a guest phone call he took during the show from a listener who asked if he ever felt guilty about spreading a lot of unproven conspiracy theories to folks who may not have the ability or the critical thinking skills to look through his claims.

The disclaimer came hours after it was reported Mr Giuliani was named in a $2.7 billion libel suit  one of the largest of its kind  filed by Smartmatic USA, a voting technology company which operated systems used in Los Angeles county, California during the 2020 elections.

That lawsuit  which followed a separate $1.3 billion lawsuit filed by another voting tech company, Dominion Voting Systems  argued Mr Giuliani took part in a disinformation campaign to support the former presidents false claims of rampant voter fraud, along with attorney Sidney Powell and Fox News, both of which were also named in the suit.

Story continues

"Defendants' story was a lie," the complaint read. "But it was a story that sold."

Read More

Voting company sues Fox News, Giuliani and Powell for $2.7 billion alleging disinformation campaign
Kolkata: One detained in connection with 8-year-old girl's murder case

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Kolkata, Feb 5: One person was detained in connection with the probe into the sexual abuse and murder of a minor girl in the city, police said on Friday.

The girl''s body was recovered on Thursday from the staircase of a residential building in the city''s Jorabagan area, sparking protests by locals, who claimed that the "police did not take action when the family had reported that she was missing".

"We have detained one person from the locality and are interrogating him. He works as a security guard of a residential building in the area. Probably, he knows certain things as we found a discrepancy in his statement," a senior officer said.

The Kolkata Police''s detective department has taken over the investigation, he said.

Secure immediate conviction of accused in Tanveer Sait attempt to murder case: HVP

"We are also talking to the residents of the building from where the girl''s body was recovered. She might be killed somewhere else and her body was dumped inside the building. It seems that the criminal or the group of criminals came from outside," the officer said.

The nine-year-old girl, who was found lying in a pool of blood on the staircase that led to the terrace of the multi-storey building, was "first sexually abused and then killed", the police had said.

The victim, a resident of Sovabazar area in the city, was visiting her maternal uncle''s residence in Jorabagan.

Preliminary investigations suggested that the girl, who went missing on Wednesday evening, was sexually abused, thrashed, strangled before her throat was slit by a person or a group of persons, they said.

Sleuths of the Kolkata Police spotted a couple of teeth and a few hair strands on the staircase where the minor''s body was found.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

A blood-stained knife, suspected to be the murder weapon, was found from a drain, just beside the multi-storey building, the officer said.

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Story first published: Friday, February 5, 2021, 15:28 [IST]
The World Health Organization (WHO) investigators admitted that their Wuhan research mission would not reveal how the COVID-19 jumped to humans from animals.

WHO says No revelation of COVID-19 origin on Wuhan mission

A week ago, the 13-strong team of international experts started probing into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, today, it was revealed that they are dismissing some theories that a Chinese laboratory leaked the coronavirus.

Peter Ben Embarek, lead WHO investigator said their investigation, which would conclude within the next week, would help fully understand the origins of the COVID-19.

Embarek added that even if they do not come up with the 'ultimate full understanding' of the COVID-19 origin, it will still be an excellent initial step.

However, the WHO investigator insisted that he and his team had a 'very frank' discussion with the Chinese scientists regarding the virus's source. According to Daily Mail, the WHO's failure to achieve its goal casts doubt over the UN agency, which parroted Beijing's false claims in the pandemic, in its ability to unveil the truth.

In the absence of a conclusion on the origins of COVID-19, China, whose diplomats have thrown support behind suspicions that the virus came in another region, may play a part.

Yesterday, the WHO researchers visited the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology, the facility at the center of theories that leaked the virus.

Read also: New COVID Variant May Affect the COVID Vaccines Due to Its Mutation

Team member Dr. Peter Daszak said they were given data that 'no one had seen before' and that Beijing was open with them and allowed them to explore wherever the evidence leads. Daszak added they had not ruled out that COVID-19 escaped from a laboratory.

But Embarek dismissed today some of the notorious theories linking to the coronavirus's origin after discussions with Chinese scientists.

The investigator claimed that talking to the Chinese scientists helped understand the staff's position regarding many statements and claims that everyone has read and seen in the news.

China denied theories of COVID-19 coming from the top research lab

Reporters accompanied the team to the high-security site, but as with prior visits, there was no clear access to team members who have so far offered few details about their meetings and visits.

Uniformed and plain-clothed security officers stood watch, but there was no sign of the team members wearing protective suits on Tuesday during a visit to an animal disease testing study, as per the ABC News.

After the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, one of China's leading research labs built an archive of bat coronaviruses' genetic details. It led to unproven theories that it may be connected to the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan in late 2019.

China has rejected the idea and supported theories that the virus might have originated abroad or even been introduced overseas into the country with shipments of frozen seafood infected with the virus, a concept that foreign scientists and agencies have roundly refused.

The WHO team, which is comprised of experts from 10 countries, has visited hospitals, conventional wet markets, and research institutes related to many of the first cases after two quarantine weeks. Their visit followed months of talks. China tries to maintain close leverage over information on the epidemic and the investigation's root, likely to avoid blame for possible early response errors.

In late 2019, the first COVID-19 clusters were identified in Wuhan, China, which caused the government to place the region of 11 million under a strict 76-day lockdown. More than 89,000 cases and 4,600 deaths have been recorded in China since then, with new cases mostly clustered in the northeast and local lockdowns and travel bans being placed to curb the outbreaks.

With just 15 reported on Wednesday, new local transmission cases continue to drop as the Chinese government interest appeals not to fly later this month for the Lunar New Year holiday, Global News reported.

Read also: US Vaccination Campaign To Open More Community Centers

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Since Louisiana prisoners over 70 became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, about 85% of them have accepted the offer, leaving corrections officials optimistic that large swaths of the state prison population will follow suit.

The high acceptance rate comes in contrast to low turnout among other eligible groups, especially health care workers. Many Louisiana hospitals and nursing homes reported an unexpected early reluctance among staff whop were offered the vaccine, and recent nationwide polling suggests at least a quarter of Americans plan to avoid ever getting vaccinated and another roughly 20% want to wait.

Louisiana corrections officials are offering inmates a $5 canteen credit for receiving the vaccine and promising wider access to visitation and programming once those activities resume. The ultimate goal is herd immunity, both inside and outside prison, which requires about 70% of people to get vaccinated.

Prisons and jails nationwide became epicenters of the virus in many communities, which experts said was inevitable because of close quarters and enclosed spaces that make social distancing impossible. Some experts argue vaccine distribution plans should take that into account, emphasizing that detention centers are not isolated from cities and towns surrounding them.

+4 After Louisiana women's prison flooded in 2016, temporary dorms inundated with coronavirus In one massive room filled with rows of metal bunk beds about an arm's length apart, 70 women share three toilets and four sinks. There's no s

Some other states are giving prisoners and prison staff higher priority in their vaccine distribution plans, but Louisiana officials have shied away from seriously prioritizing those groups. Rhode Island, for example, placed incarcerated people in Phase 1 of their distribution plan; officials have already vaccinated about a quarter of prisoners and 60% of jail and prison staff, according to data collected by the COVID Prison Project.

Inmates are not mentioned in the publicly released current guidelines for Louisiana. Those rules place corrections officers and jailers in the group that will be eligible for vaccines next, alongside grocery store workers, schoolteachers and employees of homeless shelters and other congregate group homes.

Officials have not provided a timeline for when the state will move into that phase of its vaccination plan, though officials announced Friday that the state will expand eligibility to people over 65 next week, meaning more inmates and guards will likely get vaccinated.

COVID cases among inmates and staff remain a concern in the meantime, but data released by DOC suggests the virus swept through the prison system earlier in the pandemic and has since subsided to some degree. However, officials have noted persistent staffing challenges because of prison guards staying home to quarantine or recover from the virus.

+2 Broken cell doors, understaffing at Louisiana prison led to alleged rape by inmate, guard says A combination of broken cell doors and chronic understaffing created the circumstances under which a Louisiana prison inmate raped a female co

Those affected in recent weeks include the warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, the sprawling maximum security facility in West Feliciana that houses thousands of inmates. Warden Darrel Vannoy has been out sick with COVID, a DOC spokesman confirmed. Officials declined to provide additional details about his condition.

At least 34 inmates and six DOC employees have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic started. Those numbers include the warden and medical director of Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Avoyelles Parish, who died within days of each other during the early weeks of the pandemic.

Initial draft guidelines placed Louisiana prisoners on the same tier as grocery clerks and teachers, but those plans appear to have changed. Under the current guidelines, inmates are becoming eligible for the vaccine when they fall into other categories: Right now that means being 70 or having end-stage renal disease.

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That places Louisiana among at least 35 states that have reported vaccine distribution behind bars, according to the COVID Prison Project.

Of the 460 eligible Louisiana inmates, 394 have opted to get vaccinated  an 85% vaccination rate among that group, according to DOC. Prison settings could help the state reach herd immunity if the trend continues as more inmates become eligible.

"The numbers are there," DOC spokesman Ken Pastorick said. "Obviously you're gonna have folks in any group that may decide not to take the vaccine, but 85% is pretty solid."

Another 19 state inmates over 70 who are being held in local jails across Louisiana have received the first dose, Pastorick said. Other inmates over 70 in local jails  the vast majority are awaiting trial and have not been convicted of a crime, unlike in prisons  could be vaccinated soon as well, an effort coordinated by the Louisiana Sheriffs Association.

Baton Rouge jail inmates' request for release amid coronavirus has been denied by federal judge A federal judge has denied a request from Baton Rouge jail inmates seeking the immediate release of medically vulnerable prisoners who are at 

Pastorick said DOC is strictly adhering to vaccine guidelines from the state Department of Health. In addition to people over 70, most health care workers are also eligible, including prison medical staff. That also includes any corrections officers assigned to areas housing COVID-positive inmates, Pastorick said.

So far, 465 prison health care and front-line staff members have received their first dose. More than 300 of them have also received a second dose, officials said. The department is in the process of vaccinating employees over 70  including Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc, who received his first dose Jan. 20.

DOC was unable to provide data showing the percentage of eligible staff members who have opted to receive the vaccine. Pastorick emphasized that it's strictly voluntary. The department is not offering incentives for staff members who choose to get vaccinated, besides the potential health benefits.

The department prepared two separate informational videos about the vaccine, one for staff and another for inmates. Both offered a precise scientific explanation of how the vaccine works and debunked rumors about possible negative side effects.

The inmate version emphasized that prison life will sooner return to normal  with family visits, expanded educational programming, club activities and mentoring opportunities  if a large percentage of prisoners opts to get vaccinated. DOC Medical Director Dr. Randy Lavespere said the minimal risks associated with taking the vaccine greatly outweigh the risks of catching COVID behind bars.

Similar efforts to dispel misinformation about the vaccine among prisoners are underway in many other states, said Dr. Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, an assistant professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-founder of the COVID Prison Project. Those efforts are especially important given the "long and justified history of mistrust" rooted in past examples of inmates being used as medical test subjects without their consent and other unethical practices, she said.

"For good reason there is distrust about vaccines and the prison system," Brinkley-Rubinstein said. But despite that backdrop, she said emerging data suggest prisoners are eager to get vaccinated against COVID, which bodes well for public health both inside and outside prison walls.
Dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale, has called on Ghanaians to check their COVID-19 status for early diagnosis and treatment of the virus which has claimed millions of lives globally.



Shatta, in an Instagram post sighted by GhanaWeb revealed, that his test result for COVID-19 came out negative.



He again called on the public to adhere to government's safety precautionary measures like the wearing of nose masks, regular handwashing and social distancing in public places, to prevent the spread of the virus.



The SM Boss also in a video, gave his fans a sneak peek of himself undergoing his COVID-19 test at the LEDing Medical Laboratory.



Guys please kindly get tested to know your stand because covid is indeed real. Am sure if I had used my real name, the results would have come out positive ????. Controversial name Mr Charles Nii Armah Mensah, he said in his post.



Ghana is among several countries to have been hit by the Novel Coronavirus with a recorded number of 433 deaths since its outbreak in March 2020.



See the video below:











Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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PHILIPSBURG(DCOMM):---The Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labour (Ministry VSA) Collective Prevention Services (CPS) continued with its stakeholders COVID-19 Vaccine awareness campaign on Wednesday evening where two virtual presentations were given to the faith-based organizations and the Indian Merchants Association (IMA). On Thursday evening, sessions were held with the Community Councils and the Senior Citizen Organization.

Incredibly good and important questions were brought forward from the community leaders. At the end of all meetings, the role of the community leaders was discussed, as they play a vital role in stopping the spread of misinformation within their respective communities. The CPS looks back at five very constructive and engaging meetings and for the support coming from the communities.



Information was provided by the Head of CPS: Epidemiologist Eva Lista-de Weever and assisted by Dr. Leigh Bowman also from CPS. Dr. Raghosing and Bregje Boetekees, operational manager of the White & Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF) was also present to answer questions.

The community representatives were briefed about the COVID-19 vaccine; how the rollout will take place on Sint Maarten; and a Question & Answer segment at the end of the session.

The same presentation was given about how vaccines work; how they are developed; how the COVID-19 vaccine was developed so fast; which vaccine will the Sint Maarten population receive; safety and efficacy; what side effects can be expected; who should get the vaccine and why it is so important to get vaccinated; vaccination locations, procedures, and registration.
Challenge posed by China will be taken on directly says Biden

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Washington, Feb 05: The United States will take on the challenges being posed by China directly, but will not hesitate to work with Beijing when it is in America's interest to do so, President Joe Biden said on Thursday.

"We will confront China's economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive action to push back on China's attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance," Biden said in his address to State Department employees at its Foggy Bottom headquarters in Washington.

"But we are ready to work with Beijing when it is in America's interest to do so. We will compete from a position of strength by building back better at home, working with our allies and partners, renewing our role in international institutions, and reclaiming our credibility and moral authority, much of which has been lost," he said, giving the glimpse of his administration's policies on China.

Most sophisticated repression of minorities conducted by China abroad: Report

"That is why we have moved quickly to begin restoring American engagement internationally and earn back our leadership position to catalyse global action on shared challenges," Biden said.

Earlier in the day, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that their priority is not to get access for Goldman Sachs in China. "Our priority is to make sure that we are dealing with China's trade abuses that are harming American jobs and American workers in the United States," he said.

The Biden administration believes that once the US establishes its position of strength, it will be able to compete more effectively with its competitors across the board and especially with China in every domain, including economic, diplomatic, technological and security.

"We will be able to counter Russia more effectively and we will be better equipped to address threats from climate change, to pandemics, to nuclear proliferation. We will also be able to more effectively pursue a foreign policy for the middle class. This is not just a tagline, it is an organising principle for the work that we will do," Biden said.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Senator Rick Scott underscored that the threat of communist China must be a top priority for Pentagon.

"As the United States faces increasingly frequent and dangerous threats from adversaries across the globe -- namely communist China, Iran, Russia and North Korea -- there has never been a more important time to ensure that our men and women in uniform have every resource they need to stand strong and combat threats to our freedoms and interests," he said.

"Communist China is undoubtedly our greatest enemy and must be treated as such. The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) policy of genocide against the Uyghurs, theft of American technology and dangerous actions to build its military presence and threaten the security of the United States and its allies cannot be tolerated," Scott wrote to Austin.

Encouraged by the defense secretary's candour regarding the threat communist China poses to nations around the world, Scott urged Austin to take the strongest possible position to ensure that the Biden administration places accountability and strength at the top of its policy agenda.

"We cannot forget, when the reckless actions of communist China adversely impact our allies, especially those in the Indo-Pacific region including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, India or Taiwan, they also threaten the safety and security of the United States," he said.

US will not hesitate to raise cost on Russia: Joe Biden

Meanwhile, Congressman Brad Wenstrup led 45 lawmakers in writing to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Sullivan regarding the CCP's coercive population control efforts and grave human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

"There is little doubt that China poses one of the most significant challenges to the United States going forward. As part of the administration's effort to confront this challenge, we urge you to prioritise holding the Chinese government accountable for the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang and stand up for the rights to life, human dignity and religious freedom for all people," the members wrote.

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Uncertainty yesterday loomed large over the future of civil society organisations in the country after President Museveni ordered that operations of Democratic Governance Facility (DGF), their principal funder, be "immediately suspended".

President Museveni ordered the Inspector General of Government (IGG), police and State House Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate how the Ministry of Finance authorised the DGF to operate in Uganda and allegedly bankroll NGOs and government agencies to undermine him.

The DGF is financed by governments of Denmark, Ireland, Austria, UK, Sweden, Norway and the European Union, with an aim of ensuring equitable growth, poverty eradication, rule of law and long term stability in Uganda.

It started in 2011 as a five-year programme, which was extended and the entity is now running its second five-year plan until December 2022.

On January 2, President Museveni wrote to Finance minister Matia Kasaija, telling him about his discomfort with DGF.

Mr Museveni said DGF had been "irregularly and unilaterally" licensed by the Finance ministry's Permanent Secretary to be operated exclusively by a foreign mission in Uganda without consultation and limited involvement of Ugandans.

"How is it possible that the Ugandans whose affairs are being dealt with here can only be spectators in the management of their own affairs? This is not the financing of a private business but the funding of State and non-state actors to achieve the political objective of the funders," Mr Museveni wrote to Minister Kasaija.

He further charged: "How and why did the Minister of Finance unilaterally make such a major decision with far reaching consequences, let alone one whose effect is to surrender the sovereignty of the people of Uganda to foreigners? Was this a reason of subversion, corruption, or criminal intelligence, or all of these? Why wasn't Cabinet and I consulted?"

The President said authorising DGF with an estimated worth of 100m (about Shs500b) at its commencement is "unacceptable."

Mr Museveni also announced suspension of DGF activities in Uganda "until Cabinet has fully reviewed this matter" and after a new governance structure, with adequate local representation, has been agreed upon.

The President's letter was widely circulated on social media sites.

However, the Danish ambassador to Uganda, Mr Nicolaj Hejberg Petersen, told Daily Monitor last evening: "We have not received any formal communication from the government. As development partners, we remain open to dialogue with the government."

Denmark is currently the development partners' chair of DGF which bankrolls at least 74 institutions, both state and non-state actors.

Attempts to reach Mr Kasaija were futile by press time but the ministry of Finance's spokesperson, Mr Jim Mugunga, said: "There is an established mechanism through which the minister, to whom the letter was addressed, acts on such executive instruction."

"Likewise there exists a clear communication channel between parties to the letter. I have no reasons to believe that any of the parties including the minister is not already undertaking appropriate actions. This is a process...we should await outcomes from investigations and assessment of new information that is available," Mr Mugunga added.

Investigations

The IGG spokesperson, Ms Ali Munira, confirmed they had received the President's instructions to investigate DGF.

"Our investigations started yesterday [Tuesday], and we'll be examining how the relationship between government and the said entity was reached for possible culpability," Ms Munira said.

Sources familiar with the situation told this newspaper that the DGF issue was brought to the President's attention last month at the height of the election campaigns as security agencies were trying to block all avenues for financial mobilisation for the National Unity Platform presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine.

One official said the security hierarchy suspected part of the money Mr Kyagulanyi used in the campaign were transmitted through NGOs.

Daily Monitor reached out to some of the heads of the beneficiary institutions who described President Museveni's decision as outrageous.

Mr Peter Mwesige, the executive director of African Centre for Media Excellency (ACME), said as far as they know, DGF has not received any official communication from Ugandan authorities requesting them to suspend their activities in the country.

He, however, said he was aware that the development partners that contributed to the DGF fund basket are already engaging on the matter and seeking clarification from government on the reports that are circulating about the suspension.

Mr Mwesige said DGF has been supporting media houses to strengthen their institutional capacity to develop their newsroom staff and publish quality public affairs stories that can promote citizen engagement through training and reporting grants.

Mr Stephen Okello, the executive director of National NGO Bureau at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said their work will not be affected by the suspension of DGF since NGO Bureau is a government entity.

He said DGF has been funding quarterly dialogue meetings between NGO sectors and government.

Mr Okello said they would also hold reflection meetings where they could go to the field to meet district leaders to find out how they were implementing NGO regulatory framework and whether they were regulating their works effectively.

"For the bureau, our work will not be affected because this is a government entity, and for them, they were just coming in to compliment a few areas, but our mandate and work will still stand since the government has the mandate to support the bureau," Mr Okello said.

What some political parties say

Political parties that have been receiving funds from the DGF through the Netherlands Institute of Multiparty Democracy will also be affected.

The president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Mr Patrick Amuriat, said this was a cowardly move by President Museveni, which any democracy-seeking person would not do.

"This is Museveni fighting democracy. He knows the work of DGF in supporting CSOs and also the activities of political parties in the country in promoting democracy. This has a danger to political survival. Museveni has launched an attack on the activities of CSOs. These are collateral damages. It is a political kind of move meant to curtail the progress of political parties," Mr Amuriat said.

"...It is very unfortunate, and an insensitive move since the livelihood of many Ugandans employed in the organisations that are supported by DGF is going to be deprived," he added.

Mr Asuman Basalirwa, the president of JEEMA Party, said DGF has been conducting their activities openly.

"It is unfortunate that the government can take such a decision. DGF has been supporting political processes in an open and transparent manner and the government has been aware of all their operations. I cannot understand why the government should be closing activities of DGF. In any case, government has been the greatest beneficiary of DFG. Government should not panic to this extent," Mr Basalirwa said.

The affected say

Mr Robert Ssempala, the executive director of Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-U), said the suspension of DGF operations will not only affect the outreach activities they have been doing for journalists in Uganda, but will also affect salaries of its staff who have been paid using grants from DGF.

"The very surprising termination of operations of DGF will certainly affect us fundamentally. DGF has been funding a lot of our outreach programmes including those that seek to empower journalists in terms of their safety and security, doing community engagement on the role of the media. We have been using their funds to support journalists with psychosocial therapy, medication and relocation and also supporting part of our litigation to ensure that we pursue justice on behalf of journalists," Mr Ssempala said.

The affected beneficiaries

Parliament of Uganda

Ministry of internal affairs (National Bureau of NGOs)

Action Aid

Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development

School of Women & Gender Studies, Mak University

Uganda Law Society (ULS)

Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA)

Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

Public Interest Law Clinic, Makerere University

Uganda National NGO Forum(NGO-FORUM)

Advocates Coalition for Development & Environment

African Centre for Media Excellency (ACME)

Uganda Media Women's Association (UMWA

Human Rights Network for Journalists in Uganda

African Centre for Energy and Mineral Policy

African Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)

Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG)

Food Rights Alliance (FRA)

Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU)

African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims.

Legal Aid Service Provider Network

Initiative for Social and Economic Rights(ISER)

International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)

Gulu Women Economic Development & Globalisation

Ecology Christian Organization (ECO)

Global Rights Alerts (GRA)

Community Driven Network Uganda (CODNET)

Community Integrated Development Initiative (CIDI)

Centre for Governance and Economic Development

Centre for Basic Research (CBR)

Center for Women in Governance (CEWIGO)

Amuria District Development Agency(ADDA)

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Alliance for Mayors & Municipal Leaders (AMICAALL)

African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET)

Akina-Mama Wa Afrika (AMWA)

Uganda Women's Network (UWONET)

Alliance for Finance Monitoring (ACFIM)

African Centre for Trade and Development

African Leadership Institute (ALI)

African Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)

Justice Defenders (JD)

Kabarole Research and Resource Centre (KRC)

Kapchorwa Civil Society Organisation Alliance

Kitgum District Local Government

Kind Initiative for Development (Kind-Ug)

Kituo-cha Katiba - (KCK)

Meandeleo ya Jamii (MYJ)

Muslim Centre for Justice Law (MCJL)

National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders

Nebbi District local government

New Vision Printing and Publishing Company Ltd.

Renal Reform International (RRI)

Platform for Labour Actions (PLA)

Refugee Law Project-Makerere University (RLP)

Restless Development Uganda (RD)

Rwenzori Anticorruption Coalition

Rwenzori Forum for Peace and Justice

Teso Anti-corruption Coalition (TAC)

Teso Religious Leaders Efforts for Peace & Reconciliation

The Apac Anti-Corruption Coalition (TAACC)

The Human Rights Centre Uganda (HRC-U)

Transparency International Uganda (TIU)

The Women's International Peace Centre (WIPC)

Uganda Debt Network (UDN)

Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC)

Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC)

Uganda Law Council (ULC)

Uganda Project Implementation and Management Centre

Uganda Radio Network (URN)

West Minister Foundation for Democracy (WMFD)

Wizarts Media

World Voices Uganda.

Justice Centre Uganda

Kasese District Local Government
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Washington  Rep. John Katko voted Thursday night to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments, breaking with Republicans to rebuke a member of his party over her racist and violent rhetoric.

Katko, R-Camillus, was among only 11 Republicans to vote with a unanimous bloc of Democrats in favor of punishing Greene over conspiracy theories she touted before taking office last month. The final vote was 230-199.

I supported the resolution before the House today, reaffirming my long-held stance that hurtful rhetoric and baseless conspiracy theories have no place in our public discourse, Katko said in a statement after the vote.

The vote forced Republicans to go on the record to defend or rebuke Greene after GOP leaders refused to do so on their own.

Before todays vote, House Democrats tried to convince Republicans to handle the matter internally and remove Greene from her committee assignments, including a seat on the House Education Committee.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pressured his GOP colleagues to act, calling Greenes comments loony lies and a cancer for the Republican Party.

Somebody whos suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.s airplane is not living in reality, McConnell said earlier this week.

But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., decided not to punish Greene  a favorite of former president Donald Trump  after meeting with the GOP conference on Wednesday night.

Katko said he was disappointed that Republican House leaders didnt act against Greene.

I am frustrated that inaction by leaders in the House allowed this issue to rise to such a level, interrupting the pivotal work before us, Katko said. As Americans continue grappling with the harsh health and economic impacts of this pandemic, we should be focused on developing consensus-driven policies to help our nation recover. We need to get back to governing.

The vote was Katkos second high-profile split with his party in the past month. The fourth-term congressman was among 10 House Republicans who voted Jan. 13 to impeach former president Donald Trump for inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol earlier in the month that left five people dead.

Greene repeatedly embraced far-right conspiracy theories in the past, supporting calls for violence against Democrats and suggesting mass shootings at schools were faked.

She once posted a video of herself harassing a survivor of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting.

Greene has also suggested that a Jewish-owned financial firm was involved in a plot to spark California wildfires using a space laser.

Before Thursdays vote, Greene said she regrets some words of the past but she stopped short of offering an apology.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
Michael Gilmore, Associate Professor, School of Integrative Studies, received $40,334 from ACEER Foundation for the CHSS Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.

As part of this arrangement, the postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Brian Griffiths, will devote 25 percent of his time to teaching and will assume a 1:1 spring/fall load. The fellow also will co-lead at least one field course per academic year to the Peruvian Amazon with Gilmore, pending CDC travel guidelines.

The postdoctoral fellow will dedicate 25 percent of his time to active research. In this role, the fellow will continue his active research program in ecology, conservation, and sustainability.

By November 2021, the fellow will have submitted two major grant proposals to the National Geographic Society and the National Science Foundation's Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Economic Systems (DISES) program whose combined budgets total almost $1 million.

Additionally, the fellow will undertake a project in the Amazon in 2021 with recently acquired research funds, which is expected to result in at least five peer-reviewed publications.

Funding for this award began in January 2021 and will end in December 2021. Funding is renewable for three years.

###

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- A Springfield man was arrested for allegedly kidnapping his sister's three daughters Thursday night.

Officers responded to reports of a bleeding and distraught woman at the 7-11 at 5808 Main Street on Feb. 4, around 7:40 p.m. The woman said her three daughters, ages 8, 6 and 4, had been kidnapped by her brother, 28-year-old Michael Patrick Hill who was experiencing a mental health episode.

Michael Patrick Hill Michael Patrick Hill

Earlier that night, the children's mother went to her father's house at 8557 Thurston Road, where Hill was staying after recently being released from the Oregon State Mental Hospital. The three children remained in the car while their mother tried to resolve a family dispute between her father and Hill.

During the dispute, Hill made a statement that he was going to hell. He then ran out of the house and into the vehicle with the three children in it. Their mother tried to stop Hill from leaving but he drove away, dragging the mother with the vehicle. She fell and sustained minor injuries as her brother drove off with her daughters.

The car was located near Highway 126 and Highway 36 in Mapleton. Officials say it appeared Hill was attempting to drive to the Florence area when he pulled over the take a nap. He was taken into custody and the three children were returned to their mother unharmed.

Hill faces three kidnapping charges, four counts of reckless endangering, second-degree assault, unauthorized use of a vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Hill is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
The Comeragh Mountains provide the backdrop to the 4,461 sq ft home on an acre of land in Faha, Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford

Carraig na Radairc, Faha, Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford

Asking price: 649,000

Agent: Palmer Auctioneers (051) 872061

To extend or not to extend? That is the question many homeowners ask themselves as their families outgrow the space on offer. This is the quandary that John and Monica ODonnell from Faha, Co Waterford, found themselves in during the early 2000s.

Their children were fed up sharing bedrooms and the house they were living in was no longer fulfilling their needs, so they thought that building on was the best option. That was until John went out for a drive and came home with a new vision.

I went past this site, and I knew it and the owner very well. I said to Monica over a cup of tea when I got back: I wonder would he sell that plot of land to us? Then we thought, no, if he wanted to, he would have sold it by now. But there was only one way to find out, so John contacted the landowner and asked him straight out.

Expand Close Owners John and Monica ODonnell, who installed insulated plasterboard so the house is easy to heat. Photo: Bryan Meade / Facebook

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I couldnt believe my good luck when he agreed. So I said to him: Listen, Ive come on you kind of sudden, so Ill come back to you on Sunday evening when youve had the weekend to think about it. On Sunday, I put 1,000 in my pocket and went back to him and we agreed the price and I gave him the money as a down payment.

A family friend had given them some architectural magazines from America and this is where the idea for the design of the house came.

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You could buy the drawings from the houses in the magazine for very small money, so I did that and gave them to a guy up the road, explains John. He whittled them down a bit, if you know what I mean, to take it from about 6,000 sq ft to 4,500 sq ft. It took a little bit of time, but we got there eventually.

After a long planning process, work on the house finally began in 2008. The project went by without a hitch, with John and Monica getting involved anywhere they could.

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We got a block-layer in to lay the blocks and another guy to do the roof, recalls John. We did all the internal insulation ourselves and with a little bit of help, we also did the wiring, plumbing and floors.

The result is a 4,461 sq ft ranch-style property sitting on an elevated site, with different levels and roof shapes making for a unique-looking building on the Waterford landscape.

Off the entrance hall on the ground floor is the living room to the right and two bedrooms to the left. At the back of the house is a large kitchen/dining room with a utility to the side. This open living space is the couples favourite part of the house.

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We have an Aga in the kitchen, so when you come down in the morning and its nice and warm, theres nothing better, says John. I often get up early on my own and make a cup of tea in the kitchen and its like somebody has been down before me and has the place heated up for me.

On the first floor, there is the master bedroom with ensuite and dressing room, two further double rooms, a study and a shower room. On the lower ground floor, there is a gym and a games room.

The house has a B3 BER, which is down, in the most part, to the couples forward thinking at the time of construction

We put Kingspan insulated plasterboard on the inside of the walls because my theory is that you have to keep the heat at source, says John. We also got the cavities pumped so the house is very easy to heat.

It is heated by oil and there is also an air-to-water system in the basement, as well as solar panels that help heat the water.

Behind the property is a two-storey garage with a Mansard-style roof that is insulated and floored. It was built with an office in mind, but could easily convert to a granny flat or self-contained accommodation for an au pair.

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Outside, there is also a smaller shed and a cobblelock patio. The one acre around the house is laid mostly in lawn, with plants and trees providing colour and privacy.

The site was well chosen and the view is something John and Monica never grow tired of. If either of them has to get up during the night, they say its easy to get distracted on the way back to bed once you look outside, with the lights of the village of Kilmacthomas down below and the Comeragh Mountains behind never failing to mesmerise them.

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Their children have fledged the nest and set up home themselves, with two of their sons staying close by in Faha. The ODonnells have already built another house for themselves in the area, sticking with the American-design style, albeit on a smaller scale.

Monica was very emotional after their previous house move because they were leaving a home where the children were born and it held a lot of memories for the family.

But this time round, they both feel ready for the next stage of life and are looking forward to many more good times in the years ahead.
New Delhi: Veteran producer Anand Pandit, who has worked with Abhishek Bachchan in the upcoming film 'The Big Bull,' is all praises for the star's work ethic and passion for perfection.

On Abhishek Bachchan's birthday (February 5), the veteran producer Anand Pandit opened up about what it was like to work with the actor in the eagerly-awaited, forthcoming film, 'The Big Bull.'

"On his birthday this year, I just want to wish Abhishek the best of everything. In 2020, in the thick of this pandemic, the Bachchans went through a medical crisis and yet Abhishek was back on the sets as soon as he had recovered from COVID-19. He is a remarkable person and actor and always a hundred per cent committed to anything he takes on. His passion for perfection is hereditary and he always rises up to any challenge that life confronts him with. And then goes on to ace it. And he does it quietly. Without bringing any attention to himself", he said.

Recalling the months he spent with Abhishek on the sets of 'The Big Bull,' Pandit said, "for Abhishek, acting is a craft that must be constantly improved and fine-tuned. He is very nuanced as an actor and very subtle but can also be larger-than-life if the script demands it. You will see a new side to him in 'The Big Bull'. As a person, he has been raised with a certain set of values and on sets, he never throws his weight around and always makes sure that everyone is at ease and comfortable. He comes to the sets every day with the mindset of a student, reads the script thoroughly and respects everybody's time. He leads by example and because he sets a certain standard of behaviour and professionalism, everybody follows suit. As a producer, he is a dream to work with. And he is a fighter who never quits. I am truly proud to know him and would love to work with him again."

A Lancaster County mother who police said left her 4-year-old child alone in her apartment while she went to a party has been charged with felony child endangerment.

The child didnt stay in the apartment, Manheim Township police said in announcing the arrest of 20-year-old Ariana Ford.

Police said they began investigating after her child was observed screaming alongside the roadway in 20-degree weather.

Investigators said Ford left the child alone in the apartment in the 1300 block of Atkins Avenue when she went to the party at 11:15 p.m. Saturday. She didnt return until 12:30 a.m. Sunday, after officers summoned her, police said.
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 63F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 63F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
If a scheduled patient cancels an appointment or doesnt show up, the end of the workday at this clinic becomes a search for a new vaccine recipient, regardless of age or eligibility. Although the boxes of vaccine are stamped with an expiration date of 2069, once a vial is opened it must be used that day.
A Cabinet sub-committee last night discussed a proposal from Tanaiste to provide financial support for thousands of businesses excluded from the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS).

The proposal by Tanaiste Leo Varadkar would create a new subsidy scheme, named the Covid Business Aid Scheme (CBAS) to support businesses across different sectors which have been excluded from the CRSS.

It is understood that the new CBAS scheme would help thousands of businesses to reopen and bring them out from the cold.

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Some of these businesses would include sole traders such as florists and bookmakers.

Certain sole traders have not qualified for CRSS, the governments current wage subsidy scheme for businesses impacted by coronavirus restrictions.

Around 239 million has to date been claimed under the CRSS in respect of 20,000 business premises, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe told the Dail last week.

The weekly sub-Cabinet meeting was attended by Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, Ministers Eamon Ryan, Michael McGrath, Catherine Martin, Paschal Donohoe, Simon Coveney and Heather Humphreys as well as their officials.

The scheme will be demand led and it is understood that the amounts the scheme will cost are yet to be determined.

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Reschenthaler: Trump Should Have Been Given at Least One Nobel Prize

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) said in an interview on Feb. 4 that former President Donald Trump would have received at least one Nobel Prize had he not been a Republican.

I think that history will regard his legacy in a very favorable light, and I think his impact is here to stay, Reschenthaler told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He would be given at least one Nobel Peace Prize had he not been a RepublicanI truly believe that.

Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize at least four times, most recently for securing a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Reschenthaler lauded Trumps achievements, including record-breaking economic growth, protection of religious liberties, and confronting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He likened the former presidents foreign policy to that of Theodore Roosevelt and his commitment to avoid wars to that of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Reschenthaler does not believe that Trump incited the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, an accusation for which the former president will be tried in the Senate next week. In a speech on Jan. 6, Trump urged supporters to make their voices heard peacefully. The Democrats and establishment media have instead seized on an excerpt from the speech during which Trump said we fight like hell when describing his own legal efforts in challenging the integrity of the 2020 election outcome.

House Republicans took two consequential votes this week. In the first vote, the majority of the party voted to keep Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who had voted to impeach Trump, in her leadership role. Reschenthaler said he voted to keep Cheney in her role.

I consider Liz a friend, he said. I dont always agree with her positionsand I certainly did not agree on her vote to impeach the president.

In the second vote, 11 Republicans voted with the Democrats to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) of her committee assignments. Reschenthaler voted against removing Greene from the committees. He criticized the Democrats move as cancel culture and warned that it set the precedent of Republicans to do the same in the future.

The resolution stripping Greene of her posts did not cite the conduct for which she was being punished, but Greene has been accused of expressing interest in the QAnon conspiracy theory, which posits that a group of global elites are part of a cabal engaged in Satanism and pedophilia. Greene told reporters on Friday that she said and believed things that were wrong.
CAIRO  As Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia fail to reach a satisfactory agreement over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) despite the many rounds of negotiation over the past years, Cairo is looking to boost cooperation with Sudan.

The rapprochement includes military exercises as well as efforts to achieve joint cooperation in industry and trade and foster social ties between the Egyptian and Sudanese people as well as help them counter the GERD together.

In late January, Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevin Jameh visited Sudan for a few days and met several Sudanese officials. During her trip she said that Egypt had completed a feasibility study for an Egyptian industrial zone in Sudan, aimed at strengthening industrial and commercial cooperation between the two countries.

Jameh confirmed in a press statement that the project site has been agreed upon, saying, We are awaiting the Sudanese side's response about the project. Jameh praised the planned industrial zone for generating investment opportunities in the two countries.

Cairo's promotion of the industrial zone with Sudan started when Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who is a trained engineer, visited Sudan in August 2020. It was his first visit to Khartoum after the overthrow of the previous regime on April 11, 2019.

The project to establish an Egyptian industrial zone in Sudan will serve the common interests of both countries in the GERD crisis, according to Egypt's former ambassador to Sudan, Mohamed El-Shazly.

Shazly pointed out that there have been radical changes in the governments policy in Khartoum since the fall of President Omar al-Bashir. Sudan's current government has become aware that Ethiopias actions concerning the GERD and borders have become a clear threat to Sudanese national security, placing Cairo and Khartoum on the same side against Ethiopia.

Cairo is also seeking to establish a railway linking Egypt and Sudan. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the railway project during his visit to Khartoum in late 2018, but the project stumbled as unrest erupted in Sudan in early 2019. In October 2020, the Egyptian and Sudanese transportation ministers resumed discussion on the project.

Shazly added to Al-Monitor that Egypt aims to achieve industrial integration with Sudan and link Egyptian and Sudanese interests. There is a lot that can be achieved by Cairo and Khartoum, especially since the two countries have great historical, geographical and cultural ties. For example, Sudan can achieve food security not only for Egypt, but for all of Africa.

Regarding the current Egyptian position on the dam crisis, Shazly affirmed that Cairo is counting on the international community to break Ethiopias intransigence. Cairo will not resort to threats or escalation, though it could. Rather, it will insist on dialogue so long as its legitimate rights to the Nile are protected. Egypt wants Ethiopia to be aware of the risks of its obstinacy.

At the first Egyptian-Sudanese Joint Business Council in Sudan, Sudanese Minister of Industry and Trade Madani Abbas Madani expressed happiness at the plans for an Egyptian industrial zone in Sudan. He asserted that the zone will meet the needs of both parties, boost Sudanese trade and industry and create a major market for Egyptian products.

Egyptian researcher in international relations Mohammed Hamed believes the industrial zone is a step toward stronger Egyptian-Sudanese relations, especially at the industrial level. This is a quantum leap in bilateral relations strained by the 30-year rule of Sudan's Omar al-Bashir and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hamed explained over the phone to Al-Monitor that the development of industrial ties will naturally lead to stronger political and diplomatic relations and enable the two countries to form a solid front against the Ethiopian maneuvres aimed to drive a wedge between Egypt and Sudan. It seems bilateral relations are being bolstered at all levels and industry is an important pillar. Four agreements have been reached between the two sides in terms of residence, visas, movement and property ownership.

Yasser Al-Sharqawi, president of the African Egyptian Entrepreneurs Association, noted that Egyptian-Sudanese rapprochement has become necessary and inevitable.

Sharqawi told Al-Monitor that the zone will allow Egypt to share industrial expertise with Sudan. This expertise will be exploited to revive industry and trade between the two countries. Sudan is known for its vast quantities of livestock, which may be tapped to stimulate the leather industry and trade, in addition to the promising agricultural industry in Khartoum.

He continued, The zone will enhance investment opportunities for businessmen from all parts of Africa. It will also contribute to raising the capabilities of the two countries in the field of industry and trade and providing job opportunities for African youth in general."
RESTON, Va., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE:LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, was recently named Federal Breakaway Partner of the Year by Cisco at their annual partner conference. Leidos was honored for the company's innovation, leadership and best practices as a valued Cisco business partner.

Awarded to channel partners who rise to business challenges, the Cisco Partner Summit Global awards are designed to recognize superior business practices and reward best-in-class methodologies. Areas of consideration include innovative processes, architecture-led successes, strategic business outcome-focused programs, seizing new opportunities and sales approaches. These Cisco awards reflect the top-performing partners within specific technology markets across the United States. All award recipients are selected by a group of Cisco Global Partner Organizations and regional executives.

"This prestigious recognition highlights the long-term partnership between Cisco and Leidos, along with our ability to collaboratively drive success for federal, state and local customers," said Leidos Intelligence Group President Vicki Schmanske. "We're honored and look forward to continuing our work with Cisco, helping global organizations and agencies leverage IT innovation to meet mission imperatives."

"Cisco is fortunate to work with some of the best channel partners in the U.S. to take advantage of tremendous digital transformation opportunity and help customers achieve positive business outcomes," said Carl De Groote, Area Vice President for Cisco U.S. Public Sector. "It is my privilege to recognize that the Partner Summit Award has been presented to Leidos for its outstanding achievement as a Cisco channel partner in the U.S."

Leidos' partnership with Cisco has been essential to supporting mission success for customers across the government and intelligence community. Together they secure, manage, monitor and sustain some of the most sensitive networks in the world.

In addition, Leidos recently became a Cisco Gold Certified Partner. This designation enabled the company to accelerate networking capabilities and expand its Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Secure Access Secure Edge (SASE) technologies, among others. Additionally, key training with Cisco has led to nearly 1,000 Cisco qualifications for Leidos staff. The company has also has doubled the number of Cisco Certified Internetwork Engineers (CCIEs) accepted world-wide  one of the most prestigious certifications in the networking industry.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 38,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $11.09 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2020. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

About Cisco

Cisco is the worldwide leader in technology that powers the Internet. Cisco inspires new possibilities by reimagining your applications, securing your data, transforming your infrastructure, and empowering your teams for a global and inclusive future. Discover more on The Network and follow us on Twitter. Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 3, 2020, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

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Matt Richardson (PA)

Dancing On Ice newcomer Matt Richardson has revealed he has already suffered an injury that saw him sent home for the day.

The comedian is replacing Rufus Hound in the ITV competition, after the star tested positive for the coronavirus.

And before he has even made his debut, Richardson has already suffered a black eye and a concussion.

Read more: Denise van Outen threw up from pain of Dancing On Ice injury

Speaking on ITVs Lorraine, he explained that it happened during training and joked that judge Christopher Dean was to blame.

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I was injured, he said.

It was entirely Christopher Deans fault, I think even he knows that deep down.

On the masterclass day, I went to skate and I was terrible and they said the problem was my limbs, which isnt ideal.

He gave me a pole to skate with to stop my arms moving and as I was skating with the pole, I caught the front of my blade and went over the front of the pole and because I was holding something I couldnt put my hands out to stop myself, so my face took all of the fall.

I ended up being sent home with concussion and a black eye, he added.

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As a reserve, Richardson has been training for as long as everyone else and said being a replacement suits him.

Watch: Rebekah Vardy arrives for Dancing On Ice training as libel case begins

I think actually for me it is the best thing that they have bounced me in, he told host Lorraine Kelly.

I havent had much time to think about it, I have just got to go for it without too much trepidation and hopefully it will go alright.

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Hound announced earlier this week that he was leaving the competition.

The comedian had already been self-isolating after coming into contact with someone with the virus, then tested positive himself.

Read more: Amy Tinkler says Dancing On Ice has helped with body image issues

Addressing his fans in a video on YouTube, he said having to hang up his skates sucks.

Lorraine is on weekdays from 9am on ITV.

Dancing On Ice airs on ITV on Sunday evenings.

Watch: Myleene Klass suffered miscarriage on her radio show
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Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran, during a meeting with Minister of Defense of India Rajnath Singh and commanders of the Land and Naval Forces of India, invited the Indian side to take part in multinational military exercises taking place on the territory of Ukraine, in particular, in multinational exercises Sea Breeze - 2021.

As reported on the website of the Defense Ministry, during the meeting, the parties discussed the current state of bilateral cooperation and further steps of cooperation in the military and technical sphere, as well as issues of training and education of servicemen under the exchange program in higher military educational institutions and units of the two states.

The Ukrainian delegation headed by Taran is on a visit to India at the 13th international exhibition for aerospace and defence industries Aero India 2021 in Bengaluru.

As reported, on January 26, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the president's decision to admit units of the Armed Forces of other states to Ukraine in 2021 to participate in multinational exercises.
The Independent Book Publishers Association announced that IBPA board of directors has elected Patagonia Books director Karla Olson to her second term as board chair during its meeting on January 27. Olsons second term will begin on July 1 and it will be her final year in the position.

In addition, the IBPA board nominating committee has selected seven candidates to stand for election to the association's board during the IBPAs 2021 annual meeting to be held April 7. The candidates that are elected to the board will serve a two-year term staring July 1.

The candidates include Renita Bryant, founder and CEO of Mynd Matters Publishing; Maggie Langrick, founder and publisher of Wonderwell; John Maher, news and digital editor, Publishers Weekly; Candysse Miller, copublisher, director of marketing and communications, Interlude Press/Duet Books; Ashley Mireles, director of sales and marketing, Familius Publishing; Kristina Radke, v-p of business growth, NetGalley; and Kathryn Sparks, senior editor, American Academy of Pediatrics.

Thanking the board for her re-election, Olson cited the IBPA staff, board and volunteers for finding, innovative ways to create community and support our members during this time of separation and unknowns, and to revamp services and benefits to meet the new normal. She also noted the work of IBPA in addressing inclusivity in our organization and the publishing industry as a whole. Im honored that the board and members value this direction and I look forward to steering it for another year."
This is the eighth consecutive year the GovCon community celebrates the accomplishments of the top 100 esteemed executives with this award, honoring those who continue to demonstrate excellence in leadership, vision, reliability, innovation and achievement. The recipients hail from across the federal marketplace and continue to drive innovation and growth with groundbreaking initiatives related to policy and emerging technology.

"We are pleased to recognize Kevin Plexico for the second year in a row as a recipient of the 2021 Wash100 Award. Kevin's leadership and innovation makes him a go-to source in the government contracting community," said Jim Garrettson, Executive Mosaic's founder and CEO. "Especially throughout 2020, Kevin helped many government contractors pivot and grow their businesses despite the uncertainty that the pandemic brought," Garrettson continued.

"Thank you for this recognition, it's an honor to be amongst such a distinguished group of professionals and friends," said Plexico. "2020 has been a trying year, though through innovation and the strength of the GovCon community, I've seen extraordinary growth and resilience. It's a privilege to work with such talented people in the government market and I'm excited for the future."

This is not the first time Deltek has been honored with the Wash100 award. In 2015 and 2019, Deltek's President & CEO Mike Corkery was named a recipient of the Wash100 and Kevin Plexico was also honored in 2020. Plexico is also a member of the GovCon Expert program, a forum showcasing the most significant voices of influence in the government contracting community.

See the full list of winners at Wash100.com. Site visitors can also cast a vote for their favorite GovCon executives to receive recognition for their accomplishments in 2020 and their upcoming success in 2021.

About Executive Mosaic

Jim Garrettson founded Executive Mosaic in 2002 to provide a cross-media platform and exclusive forum for top-tier executives in the Washington, D.C., region. Executive Mosaic offers highly coveted executive events, breaking business news on the GovCon industry, and robust and reliable content through influential websites and three consequential E-newswires. Headquarters are located in Tysons Corner, Va. Visit www.executivemosaic.com.

About Deltek

Better software means better projects. Deltek is the leading global provider of enterprise software and information solutions for project-based businesses. More than 30,000 organizations and millions of users in over 80 countries around the world rely on Deltek for superior levels of project intelligence, management, and collaboration. Our industry-focused expertise powers project success by helping firms achieve performance that maximizes productivity and revenue. Learn more at www.deltek.com.

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By Melissa Fares, Richa Naidu and Lisa Baertlein

NEW YORK/CHICAGO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. retailers and pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS Health are preparing for a fresh round of "bot" attacks by scalpers hoping to snap up COVID-19 vaccine appointments as they did hoarding Sony PlayStation 5s and Nike sneakers.

For over a decade, the retail industry has battled so-called scalper bots, programmed to cut digital lines and snap up limited-supply products within milliseconds of their release, that are resold at significant mark-ups.

The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the problem because the boom in online shopping expanded scalpers' sights to new categories from fitness equipment to essential goods like toilet paper and detergents. In Britain, scalpers using bots have also snatched online grocery delivery slots reserved for at-risk senior citizens.

The Joe Biden administration said this week that it will soon start distributing about 1 million doses per week directly to about 6,500 pharmacies in the first phase of a federal program that aims to expand access to vaccines.

Security companies that track this activity now warn that U.S. retailers and pharmacies enlisted to play a big role in COVID-19 vaccine dissemination could be the next target of bot attacks as they begin distributing as early as Feb. 11.

These fears stem from problems retailers have faced this past holiday shopping season, when the latest PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox consoles were nearly impossible to find because scalpers attacked major retailers.

Queue-jumpers are branching out. Their tools are now being used to target other high-demand items, said Matt Gracey-McMinn, head of threat research at bot security firm Netacea.

Walmart told Reuters in December most of the significantly higher traffic for the consoles came from bots, and that the company had to conduct after-sale audits, cancelling orders placed by bots and making those products available to regular consumers.

Story continues

Another attack like the one retailers faced over the holiday shopping season could further snarl a fragile process where just 32 million doses have been administered since federal regulators in December granted emergency approval to two vaccines, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

NOT ENOUGH SLOTS

In recent weeks, people shared on social media networks horror stories of attempting to secure vaccination appointments from government sources, with some blaming bots for site crashes and stolen slots.

The private sector is girding for tech problems. The Walgreens team is working to ensure only authorized and eligible patients will have access to schedule a vaccine appointment, said Jim Cameli, Walgreens Boots Alliances Chief Information Security Officer.

To do so, security measures such as bot detection and prevention will play key roles in delivering this critical service to patients.

CVS said its program could thwart bot attacks. "Our vaccination appointment site has a layered defense that includes capabilities to detect automated cyber attacks, such as botnets. Those capabilities, together with our application design and user input validation, enable us to validate legitimate users," a CVS Health spokesman said.

When asked if it was worried about bots attacking Covid-19 vaccine appointments, Walmart said it would focus on security and any necessary mitigation steps that help us provide fair and equitable vaccination sign-ups.

Walmart said in a blog post on Tuesday that, starting late next week, once the retailer receives doses from the federal government at select pharmacies in 22 states, vaccine-eligible customers can use a scheduling tool to lock in appointments online while allocation lasts.

Such websites, however, make retailers easier targets for bots than the states currently handling vaccine appointments, two cybersecurity experts said.

Securing appointments by going through local governments requires a more complicated process of navigating different websites. This makes it harder for both people and bots to complete the process.

The complexity of securing vaccine appointments from the government, even without explicit evidence of bots tampering the process, inspired a few programmers to create website monitoring programs like Georgia Vax, Visualping and NYC Vaccine List, which alert people to available appointments at a local level for free.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) said on a media call Friday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plans to launch "Vaccine Finder," a tool the health organization has "developed over time" to help those eligible locate the vaccine.

The CDC was not immediately available for comment.

It would be hard for anyone to really make a lot of money attacking states because every county is different, said Ben Warlick, an Atlanta-based lawyer who has been writing appointment monitoring bots for free to help people get the vaccine. Creating a large nationwide system would just be too difficult to set up.

But for retailers, the threat is real.

Several of our customers have come to us worried about the frightening dilemma they will ultimately face: how do we manage vaccine appointments without it being upended by automated, bot attacks? said Edward Roberts, a specialist at security firm Imperva.

He added, The dam will explode once vaccines are available for all citizens.

(Reporting by Melissa Fares, Richa Naidu and Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Kenneth Li, Vanessa O'Connell, Aurora Ellis, and Nick Zieminski)
More than 200 members of the Obama administration urged Congress on Friday not to shrink its stimulus bill in response to Republicans criticism about deficit spending, warning that Democrats risked repeating the same mistake they made 12 years ago, amid the last economic crisis.

The signers of the open letter argue that the decision by the Democratic-led Congress in 2009 to pass a stimulus of $787 billion, less than what some economists at the time said was needed, unnecessarily prolonged the Great Recession.

The resistance we faced from deficit fearmongers seeking to water it down ate up valuable time and diluted the amount of aid that reached struggling families and small businesses, the letter says of the 2009 stimulus package. We know from history that they are wrong and sabotaging the ability of our nation to fully and equitably recover.

The signers include several members of Mr. Obamas cabinet, among them Tom Perez, who was labor secretary and later led the Democratic National Committee; Julian Castro, who was secretary of housing and urban development and ran for president last year; and Kathleen Sebelius, who was secretary of health and human services. High-ranking advisers such as Valerie Jarrett, Dan Pfeiffer and John Podesta also signed.
The perennial underfunding of the health sector by the government has severely weakened the fight against Covid-19.

The pandemic has claimed more than 1 000 lives, including Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso B Moyo, Transport minister Joel Biggie Matiza, Agriculture minister Perrance Shiri and Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Ellen Gwaradzimba.

The impact of the coronavirus -- the virus that causes Covid-19 -- which is thought to have emanated from Wuhan in China, has been devastating with countries such as the United States, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and France being the hardest hit in terms of fatalities. This is coming at a time the country's health sector has deteriorated over the years due to gross underfunding and rampant corruption.

Nothing encapsulates this more than the number of demonstrations by health workers in public hospitals over lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other consumables to treat the increasing number of patients infected by the respiratory disease.

Nurses at public hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo earlier this month downed tools after being forced to work without PPE. This came after a matron at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in Harare succumbed to the disease.

Last year the Health ministry admitted, in a High Court case in which the government was sued by health workers for failing to provide essential materials to treat patients affected by the coronavirus, that they are yet to receive the US$200 million from the Treasury to purchase materials crucial for health workers.

Health practitioners have also demonstrated over poor working conditions, a development that has become commonplace in public hospitals. This adds to the woes of poorly resourced public hospitals that have become death traps without basics, including painkillers. This has resulted in the political elite going outside the country for treatment abandoning local health facilities.

The parlous state of the health sector has been further stretched by the pandemic with hospitals overwhelmed by the number of Covid-19 infections. The private hospitals put in place for Covid-19 infections are charging between US$500 and US$3 000 for admission, which is unaffordable to most ordinary Zimbabweans.

The underfunding of the health sector has left the country woefully unprepared to fight the pandemic, according to business consultant Simon Kayereka.

"Our health sector has been underfunded for decades leading to decay in infrastructure and frustrated staff. It is one thing to build hospitals, but quite another to maintain and equip them. Most of the money allocated to the sector has gone to recurrent expenditure leaving very little for anything else," Kayereka noted.

"It is known that Third World countries carry 27% of the disease burden and yet they are underfunded. For us to be talking about PPEs for health staff after nearly a year since the outbreak signals the mess we are in. Places like India, South Africa, China and Malaysia have become popular destinations for our elites. We are not prepared to deal with Covid-19. They say your health is your wealth, but in Zimbabwe the reverse seems to apply."

Government has consistently failed to fund the health sector according to the Abuja Declaration. In April 2001, African Union countries pledged to allocate at least 15% of their annual budget to improve the health sector and urged donor countries to scale up support. Even with the country ravaged by Covid -19, the government only allocated 13% of the total budget to the health sector.

Economist Prosper Chitambara said the struggle by the underfunded health sector to control the Covid-19 pandemic indicates the unfolding disaster.

"The underfunding of the health sector has hindered our response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those countries which could have assisted us have also been affected by the pandemic," he said.

"This is a wake-up call for us to take our health funding seriously. We have not attained the benchmark of the Abuja Declaration. With Covid-19, we should work towards achieving that target."

The fight against Covid-19 has been blighted by corruption. Then Health minister Obadiah Moyo awarded a US$60 million Covid-19 supply contract to a shelf company, Drax, without going to public tender. This led to the arrest of Moyo as well as three executives of the state-owned National Pharmaceutical Company.

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President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose family was implicated in the scandal, then fired the minister who was replaced by Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce chief executive Christopher Mugaga said the poor state of the health sector is a culmination of the country's economic decline.

"It is not only the health sector which is underfunded, but the economy as a whole," Mugaga pointed out. "The budget is not catering for the economy, but just a fraction of the whole economy. The health sector has been underfunded since Independence and the gap has widened ever since."

Mugaga warned that the foreign currency auction system is under threat as the need to import drugs will supersede the need to import inputs for export as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-06 05:40:46|Editor: huaxia

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QUITO, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador registered 2,073 COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, for a total of 255,412 cases, the Ministry of Public Health said on Friday.

In its daily report, the ministry also documented 14 deaths in the same period, bringing the death toll to 10,290, with another 4,692 "probable deaths."

At the national level, the capital Quito is the current epicenter of the pandemic, where there are no longer hospital beds available, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, local authorities are appealing to citizens to redouble biosecurity measures during the country's general elections on Sunday.

The country, which keeps its borders closed and in-person classes suspended, started its pilot vaccination plan on Jan. 21, with health personnel and seniors in nursing homes, followed by the mass vaccination of its population in March. Enditem
The newly formed Alphabet Workers Union isnt wasting time challenging the tech giant on alleged labor abuses. Bloomberg reports the union has filed a National Labor Relations Board complaint accusing Google partner Adecco of illegally silencing contract workers. Management at a Google data center in South Carolina reportedly banned staff from discussing pay, while technician Shannon Wait said shed been suspended after posting on Facebook that shed joined the union to address poor treatment of contract workers.

Wait said management not only suspended her a day after the post, but was investigating her as a security risk.

Weve asked Adecco and Alphabet for comment.

This is the first formal complaint from the Alphabet Workers Union, and reflects the groups approach to demanding change. Rather than pushing for collective bargaining, which wouldnt cover workers contracted through Adecco, the union is using complaints and protests to pressure Google into addressing labor issues.

That pressure is only likely to intensify. Alphabet unions around the world recently formed an alliance to tackle issues that involve global coordination, such as allegedly poor treatment of content moderators. Workers have accused Google of union busting and otherwise trying to thwart collective action, but any attempts going forward might face stiffer opposition.
WASHINGTON - A fiery Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., declared Friday that the House's decision to remove her from her committee assignments has liberated her to build a political network aimed at supporting former president Donald Trump and pushing the GOP further to the right.

Greene's comments during a 20-minute news conference outside the Capitol demonstrated that - far from being cowed by the uproar over the various extremist remarks she made in the years leading up to her election in November - she has only been emboldened in her social-media-fueled campaign against Democrats, cultural elites and the media.

"Going forward, I've been freed," she said. "I have a lot of free time on my hands, which means I can talk to a whole lot more people all over this country and . . . make connections and build a huge amount of support that I've already got started with."

Asked about how she saw her role, Greene said she planned to "vote very conservative" and use her influence to cement Trump's imprint on the GOP: "I'm going to be holding the Republican Party accountable and pushing them to the right."

The House voted 230 to 199 Thursday to remove Greene from the Budget Committee and the Education and Labor Committee. Eleven of 211 Republicans voted with every Democrat to sideline Greene in a rebuke of her embrace of extremist ideology.

As recently as late last year, Greene had been an open adherent of the QAnon ideology - a sprawling web of false claims that have incited violence and that played a role in inspiring the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. In addition, she made comments on social media suggesting that some mass shootings were staged by supporters of gun control, that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were orchestrated by government forces and that a Jewish cabal had sparked a deadly wildfire with a laser beam from space.

Ahead of the vote Thursday, Greene renounced some of her most outrageous claims in a House floor speech. But she also lashed out at Democrats and the media - equating their reporting with QAnon's falsehoods - while sidestepping many of her most troubling actions, including social media postings endorsing the assassinations of prominent Democrats and her harassment of a well-known gun-control advocate.

Many Democrats, and some Republicans, said they did not believe Greene was sufficiently contrite and had avoided a straightforward apology for her actions - including her promulgation of QAnon falsehoods, which she explained Thursday as, "I was allowed to believe things that weren't true."

At the news conference Thursday, a reporter asked her if she was truly sorry.

"I'm sorry for saying all those things that are wrong and offensive, and I sincerely mean that," she said, before declining to tender an apology to the young gun-control activist, David Hogg, who had survived the 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school. Greene in 2019 shot a cellphone video of her peppering Hogg with questions as he walked around the Capitol grounds amid a lobbying push for new gun laws,

"I'm very opposed to those policies," Greene said Friday. "My voice matters, too. And so, no, I'm not sorry for telling him he shouldn't push for gun control."

Stripped of her committees, Greene's most important role inside Congress may be to serve as an avatar for a purely pro-Trump strain of conservatism that shows no sign of retreating after Trump's November loss.

Greene is part of a growing strain of Republican lawmakers who view legislating as a less important task than communications, focused their messages on right-wing media while largely ignoring the more traditional local media outlets most new members of Congress have tended to in the past.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., also first elected in November, recently told lawmakers that he "built my staff around comms rather than legislation," according to a Time magazine report last month. Just one month into office, Cawthorn's communications focus has made him a regular on Fox News.

They are following a path blazed by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., first elected in 2016, who has focused his energy on political theatrics that command attention on cable news and social media. Last week, as conservatives erupted following Rep. Liz Cheney's vote to impeach Trump, Gaetz flew to her state of Wyoming to attend a rally of her opponents.

This focus has left centrist lawmakers bewildered.

"We live in a political environment in which theatrics and division and hate are what elevates stars," said Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., a second-term member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group focused on legislating.

"I don't want to give oxygen to someone who is not worthy of it," Phillips said, frustrated by the attention Greene continues to consume. "And it saddens that any member that would want to come here and say that committee work doesn't matter - then what are you doing here?"

These GOP theatrical stars are in part mimicking their political idol, Trump.

The former president has publicly praised Greene in the past, and Greene has suggested she intends to meet with Trump in the near future. On Friday, Greene offered Trump extensive praise and noted that "a record number of Republicans" voted for him.

"It's because they loved his policies. They loved his fight. They love the fact that, for once, we had a president that stood up for America, stood up for American businesses and remembered the forgotten man," she said, adding, "Republican voters support him still. The party is his, it doesn't belong to anybody else."

That proposition is debatable. While only 11 Republicans broke with party leaders and voted to marginalize Greene, Cheney survived another proxy battle to hold onto her position as the GOP conference chairwoman, No. 3 in leadership.

A push from Trump loyalists to remove Cheney from her leadership position failed in a secret-ballot vote where more than two-thirds of Republicans voted to keep her in place - heeding a call by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for unity ahead of the 2022 midterms.

After Greene posted on Twitter Friday morning that Democrats were a "bunch of morons . . . for giving some one like me free time," one of her sharpest GOP critics, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., responded that the sentiment proved her contrition was a facade: "There is no remorse here for her past comments. Just a huge desire to be famous."

Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., who co-founded Problem Solvers, said Friday that he just met Greene this week for the first time and recently met Cawthorn, encouraging them to delve into more policy-focused practices.

"You need to have that substance upon which the communication is delivered," he said. "I hope maybe we can show that you need to be able to do both and I encourage them to explore those options."

Later on Friday, Greene accused her GOP critics of being the true traitors to the party, citing McCarthy's efforts to retake the majority. "When you have Republicans in the ranks voting against one of their own . . . that really is a big betrayal," she said.

But her sharpest comments were reserved for Democrats and the media, accusing them of operating in tandem to attack conservatives and sideline their views.

At one point she accused journalists of "addicting our nation to hate" and suggested conservatives were equally culpable for attacking figures such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. - just moments after Greene herself accused Ocasio-Cortez of orchestrating a "hoax" in describing her experience during the Jan. 6 Capitol siege.

She concluded her anti-media broadside with a nod to a new political reality, where a politician with fringe views from a politically homogenous part of the country can reach a national audience and quickly build a financial and ideological base of support. Greene claimed she had raised upward of $330,000 from 13,000 small donors over 48 hours this week.

"My district is thrilled with me. People are all over the country are thankful and supporting me," she said. "And, for that, I'm grateful to them."
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3's important details are leaked by different sources! The most exciting rumor is the devices' launching since they both have the same release date, as claimed by a popular Twitter user with a great track record when it comes to leaks.

According to Tech Radar's latest report, Twitter user @Universelce claimed that fans and other interested consumers would have to wait five months until the two products are released into the market. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, speculations said that the leaked release date should not be surprising anymore.

We may have to wait 5 months to see Flip 3 and Fold 3.  Ice universe (@UniverseIce) February 4, 2021

However, when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, five months of waiting is sort of disappointing since the previous Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 was only unveiled in August 2020.

The original Samsung Galaxy Z Flip landed in February 2020, so it's now been around a year since it came out. On the other hand, The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 G was released in July. However, the tech giant manufacturer only added a 5G connection and a slightly faster processor.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3's specs

In the case of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, there are no confirmations yet regarding its features and other capabilities. However, there are some sources that already leaked the specs of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.

Also Read: iPhone 13 Will Receive New Cool Feature! The Upcoming Apple Device is Expected to Have Optical In-Display Fingerprint Sensors

GSM Arena reported that the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 could have a plastic body instead of the UTG or Ultra-Thin-Glass composition. Speculations stated that it could also have a 7.55-inches internal display. On the other hand, the foldable device's cover display is expected to be only 6.21-inches.

How much would they be?

The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is expected to cost around $2,000, which is also the price of the Z Fold 2 when it was launched. Alleged rendered images of this device revealed that it looks like a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, but with a folding feature. It also looks like that it will arrive also with an S Pen.

On the other hand, there is no confirmation yet regarding the possible price of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.

For more news updates about Samsung's upcoming foldable smartphones, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Huawei Mate X2 Foldable Phone Launches Feb 22: Specs, Price, and More

This article is owned by TechTimes.

Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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The police in Edo State said they have killed eight suspected kidnappers in the state in the last three weeks.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Phillip Ogbadu, disclosed this on Friday in his maiden media briefing since assumption of office.

Mr Ogbadu also disclosed that two kidnap victims were rescued within the period under review.

He said, From January 13 to today February 5, that is three weeks since I resumed office here, we have killed eight kidnap suspects during operations.

Within the period under review, the command also arrested 71 suspects for various crimes in the state.

He explained that those arrested included 26 people for alleged cultism, 17 for alleged armed robbery and 11 persons for alleged kidnapping.

Others were three suspected ritualists, six murder suspects, one rape suspect, while five suspects were arrested for alleged unlawful possession of fire-arms and two for alleged assault.

The police commissioner said exhibits, which included two AK-47 rifles, one TO6 gun, eight locally made guns, 119 live ammunition and 27 cartridges, were recovered from the suspects, while eight vehicles, one motorcycle, three empty magazines and two dummy guns were also recovered.

The command adopted a due diligence system of administration, robust tactical operations and ensured that cases are properly investigated and prosecuted.

Highlights of the activities undertaken in the period under review include anti-crime patrols and raid operations around identified black spots and these are still ongoing.

ALSO READ: Police in Edo confirm escape of 10 suspects from custody

Bush combing patrols are also ongoing in the state and town hall stakeholders meetings have commenced and will be regularly held to review the security situation.

Engagement of community members in accordance with community policing philosophy of the IGP, as well as intelligence-led policing will be encouraged, he said

The police commissioner called for cooperation and support from the government and residents in the state in order to rid the state of crimes.

He urged members of the public, landlords, agents, traditional rulers, park operators and opinion leaders to be sensitive and responsive to strange faces seen within their communities.

(NAN)
Many cities in the western third of Lower Michigan have 5 to 8 inches of new snow. Now the snow evolves to pure lake effect snow and is expected to pile on in a more widespread way over the snowbelts.

Heres a look at how much additional snow is expected through this weekend.

Additional snow forecast from 10 a.m. Friday, February 5 to 1 a.m. Monday, February 7

The snow forecast map above does a great job at showing you where the heaviest additional snow will fall from today through the weekend. Anywhere in the purple shading could have another 6 inches to 1 foot of snow over the next 48 hours. This would include western parts of Kent County and the western part of Grand Rapids. It would also include all of the cities up the Lake Michigan coast and inland to U.S. 131. Muskegon, Ludington, Manistee, parts of the Traverse City area, Charlevoix and Petoskey are all in that additional up to foot snow area.

RELATED: New interactive snow map shows snowfall forecast for your hometown.

The Lake Superior shoreline could have one to 2 feet of additional snow.

The lake effect will push inland over Lower Michigan thanks to a fairly stiff southwest wind today and tonight. From the east side of Grand Rapids eastward to Lansing there could be another 2 to 4 inches of snow today and tonight. Id include Kalamazoo and Battle Creek in that area also. The southwest wind is not super favorable for Kalamazoo to be in heavy snow, but occasional snow would still bring a couple of inches.

For southeast Lower Michigan, you will have another one or two inches of snow today and tonight. There may be a snowband stretching from the west side of the state that stay nearly stationary somewhere in Saginaw or Genesee County. That persistent snow could make an isolated strip of 3 inches of snow. But generally plan on 1 to 2 inches of additional snow for Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City and Midland.

Jackson may be south of the additional accumulating snow, but certainly another inch is possible today.

READ MORE

See road conditions, track snow plows in your area with MiDrive cameras

13 things to stow in your vehicle in case of a winter storm, and other ways to be prepared
Mayfield Couple Sought by Police Found, Arrested

By West Kentucky Star Staff

GRAVES COUNTY - A Mayfield couple sought by police are now behind bars.The Graves County Sheriffs Office says 52-year-old Fred (Freddy) Max Balisteri Jr. and 37-year-old Diana Kay Balisteri have been located and arrested.Both were being sought for probation violation warrants. Both were supposed to turn themselves in but failed to do so. The Balisteri's were recently charged with first degree trafficking in a controlled substance when a search warrant was executed at their home on January 3.Fred Balisteri Jr. was already on probation for a 2016 Graves County Circuit Court case for a felony charge of receiving stolen property. Diana Balisteri was on probation for a 2018 Graves County Circuit Court case on a charge of trafficking in a controlled substance.

New York, Feb. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Music Acquisition Corporation (the Company) today announced the closing of its initial public offering of 23,000,000 units, which includes the 3,000,000 units sold pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option in full. The offering was priced at $10.00 per unit, resulting in gross proceeds of $230,000,000. The Companys units are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE) and commenced trading under the ticker symbol TMAC.U on February 3, 2021. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the shares of Class A common stock and warrants are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the symbols TMAC and TMAC WS, respectively.

The Music Acquisition Corporation is a blank check company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. While the Company may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic region, the Company intends to focus its search for an initial business combination on businesses that are either directly or indirectly connected with the music sector, with particular emphasis on businesses where the Companys significant strategic and operational expertise and long-standing position within the music industry will be a value-additive proposition to potential target businesses. The Company is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Neil Jacobson and Chief Operating Officer Todd Lowen. In addition to Messrs. Jacobson and Lowen, the Companys Board of Directors includes Michael Levitt, Ben Silverman, and Tunde Balogun.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as joint bookrunning managers for the offering.

Of the proceeds received from the consummation of the initial public offering and a simultaneous private placement of warrants, $230,000,000 (or $10.00 per unit sold in the public offering) was placed in the Companys trust account. An audited balance sheet of the Company as of February 5, 2021 reflecting receipt of the proceeds upon consummation of the initial public offering and the private placement will be included as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC).

A registration statement relating to these securities was declared effective by the SEC on February 2, 2021. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

The offering was made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Attention: Prospectus Department, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at (800) 831-9146; and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Prospectus Group, 499 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022, or by telephone at (1-212) 915-1067 or by email at prospectus@cantor.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements, including with respect to the initial public offering and search for an initial business combination. No assurance can be given that the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's registration statement and prospectus for the initial public offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Investor Contact:

Neil Jacobson

Neil.jacobson@musicacquisition.com

(747) 203-7219

# # #
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan received Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopykin and his delegation in order to discuss the process and prospects of the Armenian-Russian commercial cooperation, the ministry told Armenpress.

Armenias partnership with Russia is developing successfully, however there is potential to further deepen it. We are planning to develop a multi-sector cooperation agenda with Russia, and I hope it will contribute to intensifying the economic ties between the two countries, the Armenian minister said.

In his turn the Russian Ambassador said that economy is among the priority fields of the bilateral cooperation, adding that its time to think of strengthening the economic ties and further intensifying them, which will lead to the attraction of new investments.

The minister shared the view of the Ambassador and highlighted creation of business financing infrastructure in Armenia.

Thereafter, the sides discussed a number of issues relating to the Armenian-Russian economic cooperation.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
On a consolidated basis, Brigade Enterprises reported a net loss of Rs 16.12 crore in Q3 FY21 as against net profit of Rs 49.33 crore in Q3 FY20.

Net sales during the quarter increased by 16.7% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 644.63 crore.

The company recorded an exceptional charge of Rs 40 crore during Q3 FY21. The Group had investment of Rs 40 core in Tier II bonds of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its communication in November 2020, advised the administrator of LVB to write down the Tier II bonds issued by LVB pursuant to the amalgamation of LVB with DBS Bank India and LVB being non-viable under Section 45 of Banking Regulation Act. The Group has filed a writ petition in Bangalore High Court against the order of the RBI. Considering the overall uncertainty on recoverability of the aforesaid amount, the Group has made provision in this regard.

EBITDA declined by 8% to Rs 157.5 crore in Q3 FY21 from Rs 171.9 crore in Q3 FY20. EBITDA margin was at 24% as on 31 December 2020, lower than 30% as on 31 December 2019.

Pre-tax loss was at Rs 26.67 crore in Q3 December 2020 as against a pre-tax profit of Rs 36.03 crore in Q3 December 2019.

In Q3 FY21, the company achieved all time high pre-sales of approximately 1.53 million square feet with a sale value of Rs 923.2 crore.

Brigade's real estate sales have risen by 60% from the previous quarter by value. Its sales realization increased by 3% from previous quarter. Rental collection stood at approximately 99% in office portfolio.

Brigade Enterprises is Brigade group's flagship company. Brigade group was established in 1986, with property development as its main focus.

The scrip rose 1.93% to Rs 268.85. It traded in the range of 266.15 and 270.50 so far during the day.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Campaigners have today questioned the legality of force used by police in a video showing an asylum seeker being dragged back inside a former Army barracks following an apparent Covid breach.

The man, believed to be a resident of Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, is seen being lifted by his arms and legs and forcibly moved back through the gates in the clip.

Human rights barrister Adam Wagner has claimed the footage was 'very troubling', adding that he was unsure about the legal basis for the use of force.

But police say 'reasonable force' was used to 'return him safely back inside' because they claim he had been directed to self-isolate amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The barracks have been used by the Government to house 400 asylum seekers since September. Residents are not detained at the site and are free to leave, but must obey lockdown restrictions.

The man, believed to be a resident of Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, is seen being lifted by his arms and legs and forcibly moved back through the gates in the clip. Pictured: The incident

Around 120 people living within the accommodation - which primarily houses migrants who have crossed the Channel in dinghies from France - have recently tested positive for Covid.

The Home Office, which has loaned the site from the Ministry of Defence, insists the barracks is 'safe and secure' despite the outbreak.

It comes as police arrested another nine people on Sunday after Napier Barracks was allegedly torched by angry asylum seekers who faced 'freezing cold' conditions with no heating or hot water.

Riot police and firefighters were called out to the barracks last Friday amid reports that a 100-strong group started a riot, torched buildings and threatened staff at the temporary site.

No serious injuries were caused by the fire, but there was a 'significant amount of damage' inflicted on one part of the site.

Police say 'reasonable force' was used to 'return him safely back inside' because they claim he had been directed to self-isolate amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Pictured: The scene

The barracks have been used by the Government to house 400 asylum seekers since September

A total of 14 people have been arrested, and one man charged, following last week's scenes, which followed complaints over conditions inside the barracks.

Further controversy has now been sparked after a clip of an asylum seeker being moved back into Napier Barracks emerged this week.

It is understood the incident took place on Wednesday.

According to the National Police Chiefs' Council, if a constable or PCSO considers that a notified person is away from the place where they are self-isolating they can 'direct that person to return to the place where they are self-isolating'.

They are also able to 'remove that person to the place where they are self-isolating', if the 'authorised person is a constable.'

Reasonable force may only be used by a constable, where necessary, in the exercise of the power to remove.

The guidance states that such powers should only be used where it is a 'necessary and proportionate means of ensuring compliance with the requirement to self-isolate'.

The video clip, shared by migrant charity Care4Calais, appears to show a number of police gathered outside the barracks gates.

It comes as police arrested another nine people on Sunday after Napier Barracks was allegedly torched by angry asylum seekers who faced 'freezing cold' conditions with no heating or hot water. Pictured: The fire

Dozens of emergency service workers were on the scene as huge flames engulfed the barracks

Towards the end of the video, the man is seen being lifted through the open gate and set down on the wet tarmac a few feet inside.

Kent Police said officers 'engaged with a man to explain and encourage him to follow government regulations and return to the site'.

However the force said he refused and officers were required to use 'reasonable force to physically return him safely back inside' and no enforcement action was taken.

On the use of force, Kent Police added: 'Service users at the Napier Barracks site are currently required by law to self-isolate within the grounds of the site following a localised outbreak of Covid-19.

'As such, when officers attended the site on 3 February following reports of a service user leaving the site, officers were required to use reasonable force to return the individual back to the venue.

Riot police and firefighters were called out to the barracks last Friday amid reports that a 100-strong group started a riot, torched buildings and threatened staff at the temporary site. Pictured: Stock image of the scene

'Police officers are permitted to use reasonable force in circumstances where they believe it to be appropriate in the prevention of crime under the Criminal Law Act 1967.'

Mr Wagner commented on the video on Twitter, saying: 'This is very troubling footage. These are not detainees. I am dubious that there is a legal basis for the police using force.

'There is a power under the self-isolation regulations to use reasonable force to return somebody to the place they are supposed to be isolating but as far as I know, people at barracks weren't given formal notifications to self-isolate... and therefore there was no power of enforcement'.

Police said the asylum seeker was later seen outside the barracks again and allegedly assaulted an officer and was arrested and taken into custody.

The Home Office has declined to comment.




An appellate court on Friday upheld an earlier prison sentence of a face mask importer convicted for bringing over Chinese mask products and selling them as South Korean-made products during the height of the pandemic last year to make unfair profits.







The Jeonju District Court's appellate division sentenced the person, 49, to 18 months in prison for importing some 1.08 million units of face masks made in China and retailing some 11,000 of the items online after falsely labeling them as South Korean-made goods in August of last year.







The demand for protective face masks soared at the time as the country was gripped by the second wave of COVID-19, after cluster infections broke out following a mass anti-government rally held in central Seoul on the Liberation Day national holiday on Aug. 15.







The court also upheld the six-month suspended prison sentences for two accomplices, convicting them of violating the Foreign Trade Act.







"The nature of the defendants' crime is bad in that they took advantage of the mask shortage (during the pandemic)," the court said. (Yonhap)


Buganda Road Chief Magistrate's Court has ordered the arrest of Pastor Franklin Mugisha Mondo of Empowerment Christian Centre Church International on allegations of fleecing worshipers of more than Shs4.5b in bogus scholarship programmes.

Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu Thursday issued the arrest warrant after Pastor Mondo failed to show up in court to answer the charges. His lawyer, Mr Robert Lutaro, did not appear either.

Ms Kamasanyu said on January 28, Mr Lutaro told court that Pastor Mondo did not appear in court that day because he had been taken to South Africa for treatment for Covid-19.

The state prosecutor, Ms Mariam Njuki, told court that Mr Lutaro had promised that Mr Mondo would show up yesterday.

However, when his case file was called up yesterday, Mr Mondo was absent.

"Since criminal summons were extended on January 28 in agreement that his counsel brings him (Mondo) today, but in vain a warrant of arrest is hereby issued to compel him to come to court," Ms Kamasanyu stated.

Court adjourned the case to February 11.

Pastor Mondo is charged with obtaining money by false pretence and conspiracy to commit fraud.

He is jointly charged with Pastor Siraj Ssemanda, the founder of Revival Church Bombo in Luweero District. Mr Ssemanda is on remand.

Other suspects are Jimmy Arinaitwe, and musician Margaret Nakayima, alias Nabbi Omukazi. The duo is also on remand.

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Nakayima is also charged with helping Mr Ssemanda to escape justice over fleecing thousands of worshippers.

The prosecution contends that on November 15, 2020, between Kampala and Mutukula border in Kyotera District, Nakayima assisted Ssemanda escape punishment.

Prosecution states that Mr Ssemanda, Mr Arinaitwe, Mr Mondo and others still at large between 2017 and March 2019 in Bombo in Luweero and Kampala fraudulently obtained millions of shillings from various people by false pretence.

They claimed that their organisation, Hands Across the World Initiative Uganda, would construct churches for pastors, houses for the needy, offer scholarships and educate the local needy children whose parents had contributed the money.

Last year, Mr Ssemanda was charged at Buganda Road Chief Magistrate's Court after he was arrested in a joint operation led by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit commander ,Lt Col Edith Nakalema, and police at Mutukula border with Tanzania as he attempted to leave the country.
BERLIN (AP)  German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday stood by her backing for a German-Russian gas pipeline project despite the Navalny case and the threat of U.S. sanctions.

Merkel said her governments position on Nord Stream 2 is still unaffected by tensions over Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who recovered in Germany from his poisoning with a nerve agent last summer and was arrested on his return to Russia.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would bring Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, also faces bipartisan opposition in the United States.

Washington has said that the project would make Europe more dependent on Russian gas and hurt European energy security. The Kremlin has responded by accusing the U.S. government of trying to promote sales of its own liquefied natural gas.

Nord Stream 2 is owned by Russian state company Gazprom, with investment from several European companies. The project is close to completion, though the threat of U.S. sanctions has caused delays.

Merkel insisted that the European Union is able to ensure that it wont become unilaterally dependent on Russia but pointed to a long history of gas deliveries from Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Merkel has said she wants to talk to the new U.S. administration about the issue but objects to extraterritorial sanctions.

Speaking after a videoconference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Merkel downplayed differences on the issue between the two European heavyweights.

It's clear that this is a controversial project that is being discussed in Europe," she said Friday. But I think that, with the framework I have named, we can reach common solutions.

Macron indicated that he at least won't oppose the pipeline project.

"I had questions at the beginning, we coordinated, a decision has been made and I am in full solidarity, he said.
Elizabeth Taylor will be played by Ballers actress Serinda Swan in the upcoming Korean War movie Devotion.

The film is about two real-life U.S. Navy fighter pilots whose story became famous after the Battle Of Chosin Reservoir in 1950.

Serinda, 36, will appear as Elizabeth during a sequence in Cannes where the two lead characters Tom 'Lou' Hudner and Jesse Brown will be shown on leave.

Spot the resemblance: Elizabeth Taylor (pictured left in 1948) will be played by Ballers actress Serinda Swan (pictured right in 2010) in the upcoming Korean War movie Devotion

'Feeling incredibly honored to be joining such an amazing cast and crew for @devotion and to be bringing Elizabeth Taylor to the screen ( I know there are some children that follow me so I cannot express how I truly feel but.... i mean you get it),' Serinda gushed on Instagram as the news broke.

Referring to director J.D. Dillard she wrote: 'JD I cannot wait to work with you again my friend, thank your for the trust and opportunity:).'

J.D. directed Serinda in an episode of the new The Twilight Zone revival called Downtime which aired last year.

Just four years ago Serinda could be seen on TV screens playing Elizabeth's fellow screen icon Ann Bancroft on the Ryan Murphy show Feud - Bette And Joan.

Throwback: Elizabeth is pictured attending the Lord Mayor's Parade in London in 1948 two years before the movie Devotion is set

Side by side: Elizabeth is pictured in 1946 (left) and Serinda is pictured in 2017 (right)

Black and white: Serinda gushed on Instagram that she is 'Feeling incredibly honored' by her casting; she is pictured on social media last August

Devotion stars Glen Powell as Lou Hudner and Jonathan Majors as his wingman and pal Jesse Brown while they served as fighter pilots during the Korean War.

During the Battle Of Chosin Reservoir Jesse was shot down by the Chinese - prompting Lou to crash-land his own plane to try and save him.

Jesse died in the wreckage of his plane in spite of his friend's attempts but Lou was still awarded the Medal Of Honor for his bravery in the battle.

Because Jesse was black he also dealt with racial discrimination in the U.S. Navy which was still segregated when he began to serve.

Heroics: Devotion stars Jonathan Majors (left) as U.S. Navy fighter pilot Jesse Brown (right) who was killed in the Korean War in 1950

Dashing: The sizzling Glen Powell who is pictured in February 2020 will be playing Jesse's friend and fellow fighter pilot Tom 'Lou' Hudner

Salute: Lou Hudner won a Medal Of Honor for trying to save Jesse from the wreckage of his plane which was shot down by the Chinese; he is pictured in 2012

Devotion also features Joe Jonas, who is married to Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner, and the dashing Thomas Sadoski, who is married to Amanda Seyfried.

There was no Cannes Film Festival in 1950 as the event was strapped for cash and had to cancel so it is unknown in what context Elizabeth will be shown there.

However the city in the South Of France became a memorable part of Elizabeth's notoriously tempestuous love life during the 1960s.

Glamour then and now: Elizabeth is pictured in a 1950 publicity shot (left) while Serinda is seen posing up at the Summer TCA Tour in 2017 (right)

She and Richard Burton carried on a torrid affair at the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc, the starriest digs in town known for its sumptuous accommodations.

When the affair started Elizabeth was married to Eddie Fisher, whom she stole from his first wife Debbie Reynolds, and Richard was with his first wife Sybil Williams.

After 'Liz and Dick' split up from their spouses and started the first of their two failed marriages to each other, they returned to the Hotel Du Cap for their honeymoon.
The open work permit is the first of the new immigration measures becoming available to Hongkongers this year.

Canada launching new work permit for Hong Kong graduates, skilled workers The open work permit is the first of the new immigration measures becoming available to Hongkongers this year.

Canada launching new work permit for Hong Kong graduates, skilled workers The open work permit is the first of the new immigration measures becoming available to Hongkongers this year.

Canada launching new work permit for Hong Kong graduates, skilled workers The open work permit is the first of the new immigration measures becoming available to Hongkongers this year. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Hong Kong residents will be able to apply for a new Canadian open work permit starting February 8.

The new three-year work permits will allow Hongkongers to gain work experience in Canada. They can then use that experience toward an immigration application. Canadas popular Express Entry system highly values candidates with Canadian work experience.

In order to be eligible for the open work permit, Hongkongers must have graduated with a Canadian post-secondary diploma or degree within the last five years, or hold an equivalent foreign credential. Post-secondary diplomas need to be from programs of at least two years in duration, in order to be eligible.

Visitor visa holders, students, and temporary workers who are currently in Canada can apply for the new open work permit online. Those who are applying from abroad are subject to Canadas coronavirus safety measures, including travel restrictions, mandatory quarantine, and testing.

Get help with a Canadian work permit application

Hongkongers who are outside Canada will need to have a job offer or meet another travel exemption, and comply with all public health requirements in order to enter the country. More details will be available on the government website when the program launches, according to an IRCC media release.

In addition to the open work permits, Canada is working on two new permanent immigration pathways specifically for Hong Kong residents. One will be for those who have at least one year of Canadian work experience, and who meet the language and education criteria. The other will allow international students from Hong Kong to apply directly for permanent residence after graduating from a Canadian post-secondary. These new programs will be launched later this year.

The new immigration measures apply to those who hold a Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR) or British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passport.

Hong Kong residents are now also exempt from the 12-month bar on pre-removal risk assessments, which means that some previously ineligible individuals may get an new assessment to determine whether they can stay in Canada.

Those who have fled to another country, and are at risk of persecution, may also be eligible under Canadas existing resettlement programs, such as the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program or the Government-Assisted Refugees Program.

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino had announced these measures in November, as part of an effort to support Hongkongers who want to immigrate to Canada.

With flexible open work permits and a fast-track to permanent residency, skilled Hong Kong residents will have a unique opportunity to develop their careers and help accelerate Canadas economic recovery, Mendicino said in the release. This is a landmark immigration initiative that will strengthen our economy and will deepen the ties between Canada and the people of Hong Kong.

Get help with a Canadian work permit application

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
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John Deere has announced it will not attend the worlds largest trade fair for agricultural machinery due to the current Covid circumstances.

Agritechnica is still on course to take place in Hanover in November later this year, and organisers are expecting more than 2,000 exhibitors.

Around 90 percent of the shows exhibitor space is already booked, according to the DLG (German Agricultural Society).

John Deere, however, will not be making a presence as the 'future remains uncertain', namely due to virus mutations and the slow progress of vaccination.

Despite numerous controlling measures, such as business restrictions, lockdowns and event cancellations, the pandemic has not yet been sustainably brought under control, said Alejandro Sayago, vice president sales & marketing, John Deere Region 2.

As such an adequate protection of worlds population cannot yet be ensured, which would be an essential prerequisite for participation in an international trade fair.

Last year, the machinery giant did confirm that it would not attend any events in Europe during the companys 2021 fiscal year.

John Deere said its key focus in 2021 would be the change in its operating model, to become a smart industrial company.

The firm said it was moving towards being a 'production system-based organisation', in order to build a 'more customer driven and streamlined business'.
The Portland man who was flying a Cessna Citation 560 that crashed into the Mutton Mountain Range on Warm Springs land in early January was likely flying the plane alone for the first time and was not certified to fly that type of aircraft, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The preliminary report was released Thursday and is subject to change.

The pilot of the flight that left Troutdale en route to Boise Jan. 9 was identified last month as Richard Boehlke, 72, of Portland, by the Warm Springs Police Department. Early reports indicated there was also a passenger on board but authorities determined Boehlke was alone when the plane went down.

According to the new report, which does not identify Boehlke by name, the pilot of the downed plane held a private pilot certificate that was rated for the Grumman G-111 Albatross and Learjet, but FAA records did not indicate that he held a type rating for the Citation 560.

The aircraft is registered to SX Transport LLC, a company with no listing in the Oregon business registry, but with an address on Marine Drive houseboat slip in Portland where Boehlke appeared to live.

He had taken Citation 560 training toward the end of 2020 at a training facility in Arizona, the report said. However the owner of the facility stated that the pilot had not performed to a level sufficient to be issued a type rating or single pilot exemption.

Historical flight data and interviews with people who knew Boehlke led the NTSB to conclude the Jan. 9 flight was likely the first time he had flown the airplane on his own.

The report said Boehlke boarded the Cessna 560 and closed the cabin door at 12:44 p.m. Boehlke took off by 1:07 p.m., after some back and forth with the ground controller.

Early on, the pilot had some issues, the report showed. When a controller provided Boehlke with a heading change, Boehlke didnt respond. Two controllers made multiple attempts to contact Boehlke and he responded on the fifth attempt.

As the flight continued, Boehlke continued to be slow to respond to directions from controllers. At one point, a controller told Boehlke to turn right, but the plane turned left, the report said.

Around the time Boehlke reached the area of Mount Hood, he made contact with the Seattle Center frequency, the report said. The plane was at 14,000 ft and a Seattle controller immediately provided the pilot with a low altitude alert warning.

Boehlke responded, the report said, and the plane continued to climb.

Then, the report said, the controller asked Boehlke if he was having problems with his radio. Boehlke responded, No, I think its cleared up now. Radio loud and clear.

According to the report, around 1:23 p.m. the Cessna reached 19,000 ft. When a controller provided Boehlke with a new frequency, he responded with the wrong one and was corrected.

Five minutes later, at 1:27 p.m., the plane hit an altitude of 27,000 ft and began to track to the right while continuing to climb, the report said.

A controller alerted Boehlke that he was about 30 degrees off course, but Boehlke didnt respond. A minute later, the plane reached 31,000 ft. Then, it began to descend. The plane spent the next eight minutes in a spiraling decent and then hit the ground at an elevation of 3,600 ft in the Mutton Mountains.

The report said investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and other wreckage, which will be examined.

Warm Springs Police Lt. Ron Gregory told Central Oregon Daily News in late January that investigators hadnt determined an official cause of the crash. FAA did confirm that during his last transmissions, it sounded like Boehlke was slurring his words, possibly indicating some sort of medical issue but nothing beyond that has been confirmed, Gregory said.

Boehlke is listed on business registration documents for Senexus Services, a senior living company he founded in 2010, according to the companys website. Court records show he was sued in October for allegedly failing to pay back an $825,000 loan that he obtained in 2019 for the company.

It could take a year or more for the NTSB to release a final report about Boehlkes crash.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
A year-long attempt by South Africa  as chair of the African Union (AU) in 2020  at mediating talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to break a decade-long deadlock in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations ended to no avail due to Addis Ababa's persistent intransigence.

The last seventh round of negotiations, held online on 10 January, ended in a stalemate, and a legally binding agreement  a goal pursued by Egypt and repeatedly dodged or rejected by Ethiopia  was nowhere in sight.

Sudan recently boycotted the scheduled rounds of talks, voicing displeasure with Ethiopia's approach of ignoring Khartoum's concerns over the impact of GERD on its own dams.

The 34th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly is set to start on Saturday, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) assuming the presidency of the AU in 2021 and therefore replacing South Africa as mediator in any future GERD talks.

However, before the DRC takes on the tough task that eluded South Africa, an assessment of South Africa's own efficacy in mediating talks and negotiations between the three sides is in order.

African affairs expert at Al-Ahram Establishment Attia Essawy believes that South Africas role in the negotiations' methods were lukewarm... no meaningful progress was made in the negotiations under its auspices.

That was because it [South Africa] did not play any effective role during the negotiations, represented in not submitting any alternative proposals to those rejected by any of the three parties, Essawy told Ahram Online.

Hani Raslan, head of the Sudan and Nile Water Basin department at Egypt's Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, told Ahram Online he believes that the role of South Africa in overseeing the negotiations was meagre, and was even tainted by favouritism towards Ethiopia.

The GERD negotiations under the presidency of South Africa proceeded in a vicious circle without any controls or clear goals, and there was no significant progress achieved, Raslan said.

Essawy explained that since the US-sponsored negotiations took place in Washington DC in early 2020  where the three sides agreed on 90 percent of the points of disagreement but Ethioipia refused to sign on anything  there was no significant progress in the remaining 10 percent of disputed issues during the sponsorship by the AU, represented by South Africa, of negotiations.

In November 2019, the US stepped in to host negotiations after Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia announced that talks on the operation and filling of the dam had reached a dead end.

Though the three sides agreed during these talks to entrust the US and the World Bank with the preparation of a draft agreement, Ethiopia skipped the signing meeting in February 2020, citing "domestic reasons."

So, Essawy believes, "one cannot say that South Africa's period of sponsorship of the GERD negotiations was positive."

South Africa: Impartial mediator?

In June 2020, South African President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, the 2020 chairperson of the AU, launched efforts to sponsor and push the negotiation process forward between the three sides after a one round of Khartoum-brokered negotiations, which followed the aborted attempts in Washington, had also deadlocked.

South Africas involvement in the negotiations process came a few days before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was scheduled to discuss the GERD dispute in an open session upon Egypts request.

In the same month, an emergency online GERD-focused summit of the AUs three countries was chaired by Ramaphosa. The three sides agreed in the meeting that they would "refrain from taking any unilateral measures, including the filling of the dam," before a final agreement was reached.

The three sides agreed in the meeting to form a committee of technical and legal experts from the three countries and the AU in order to conduct further negotiations and reach a deal in two weeks.

That two-week deadline never materialised, and Ethiopia started immediately after the online summit the first filling of the dam, announcing shortly afterwards that it has completed the initial filling with 4.9 billion cubic metres of Blue Nile water in the GERDs reservoir.

The AU held two summits last summer in dam negotiations, after which Ethiopia reversed what was agreed upon in both meetings, and South Africa did not issue even a statement about such violations as if nothing had happened, Raslan said.

Such unilateral action by Ethiopia was not only a breach of the outcomes of that AU summits, but was also a violation of its legal obligations, especially the Declaration of Principles in 2015, Egypt charged at the time.

Ethiopia recently announced, in a new sign of disdain for any meaningful negotiation process or hopes for a deal, that it would start the second phase of filling the controversial dam during the rainy season of August 2021 with 18.4 billion cubic metres of water.

DRCs mediation: What to expect?

The mediation of the GERD file is due to be shifted from South Africa to the DRCs hands after the DRC assumes the 2021 presidency of the AU at the African summit on Saturday, which is due to be held online over coronavirus concerns.

Regarding what to expect in the GERD file under DRC sponsorship, Egypts former Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Nasr Allam said that in order to judge, we initially need to clarify what is supposed to be required from the sponsoring party.

A roadmap for meaningful negotiations to reach a deal that ends the dispute requires "setting a reasonable timeframe for negotiation, setting an agreed-upon agenda, determining what the contentious items are and presenting the position of international law on them  all this is the role of legal experts and the African Commission," Allam explained to Ahram Online.

If the DRC can impose such rules of engagement, the negotiations will be fruitful in the coming period, Allam said.

Essawy, however, maintained that he is "not optimistic" that the DRC chairmanship and mediation can change things as they now stand.

Though the DRC is enthusiastic to make progress in the GERD negotiating file, its good relations with Egypt might lead Ethiopia to claim that it favours Cairo," Essawy fears.

"From a different perspective, despite the countrys large size and potentials, the DRC is neither diplomatically nor economically as strong as South Africa in a way that would allow it to pressure the three parties to reach an agreement, Essawy said.

Meanwhile, in Raslans point of view, DRCs management of the GERD file might work in ways different from South Africa's.

The most important thing, however, is whether DRC can make an impact on the talks; I do not think that DRC will be able to deter Ethiopia, especially given that Ethiopia is boastful in its stances even though they violate international law, Raslan said.

Essawy not only echoed Raslans pessimistic forecast for the coming period in negotiations, but also provides reasons and other conflicts beyond the GERD issue that warrant a pessimistic outlook.

I do not think there will be progress in the negotiating process in the near future because the dispute is no longer centred solely on the rules for regulating the filling of the GERD during drought, prolonged drought or even the need to reach a legally binding agreement on the operation of the $4.8 billion mega-dam, but also because of the conflict on the borders between Ethiopia and Sudan, Essawy said.

Since late last year, tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan over the disputed eastern border region of Al-Fashqa have been mounting, with both sides trading opposed claims over ownership of the agricultural area.

The decades-old dispute over Al-Fashqa, land within Sudan's international boundaries that has long been settled by Ethiopian farmers, erupted into weeks of clashes between forces from both sides in late-2020.

Essawy believes that the tension on the borders between the two countries would have an impact in one way or another on the GERD issue, and will lead to hardening of both parties' positions during the negotiation."

If these border tensions are settled, and Ethiopia gives up its obstinate stance in negotiations and accepts a greater role for observers, then there could be progress in the deadlocked GERD talks, he said.

What if negotiations continue to stall under DRCs sponsorship?

In the event that differences are resolved and an agreement is reached, this is fine, but if solutions are not reached, the AU is supposedly obligated to submit a report to the UNSC regarding the issue, Allam said.

Raslan, meanwhile, believes that prolonged deadlock in negotiations might spur new US mediation efforts, and this could facilitate the role of the DRC.

Likewise, Essawy said the US may have a role in facilitating negotiations and bringing views closer, but only if the new administration in Washington is able to win Ethiopia's trust.

This scenario could materialise only if Ethiopia gives up its rejection of the involvement of a "third" party in the mediation, Essawy noted.

According to Allam, the Declaration of Principles signed between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in 2015 stipulates that mediators can be resorted to in the event that a solution is not reached during negotiations, and we have been negotiating for 10 years now with little progress."

Raslan stresses that Ethiopia is afraid of involving a mediator in the negotiations because it fears pressure, especially because Addis Ababa believes it is not in a position to challenge the US or resist its pressures given the problems it already faces because of strife inside the country.

Ethiopias Tigray conflict has entered its fourth month, with thousands of people killed as Ethiopian and allied forces fight those of the now-fugitive Tigray government that once dominated the country's government for nearly three decades.

On Thursday, the new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed in a call with Ethiopia's prime minister grave concern about the crisis in the embattled Tigray region and urged immediate, full and unhindered humanitarian access to prevent further loss of life, a US spokesman said, according to AP.

Essawy picked up the same thread, saying that pressure is in itself the basis for Ethiopia's acceptance or rejection of mediation, because if it is left without pressure, it will not accept the intervention of any party as a mediator."

Arab role?

Essawy suggested that certain Arab countries could also play such a role.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait can also play the same role of mediating, especially since they have great economic interests with Ethiopia, Essawy said, referring to the similar role that the UAE and Saudi Arabia successfully played in 2018 between Eritrea and Ethiopia to settle their border conflicts.

The UAE, which imports half of its meat needs from Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, which imports 20-30 percent of its meat from Ethiopia, and Kuwait, which hosts about 50,000 Ethiopian workers, are able to bridge the gap and reduce discord, he said.

Egypt has from $3 to $5 billion investments  mainly in infrastructure projects  in Ethiopia. And if the negotiation process gets tough, we should start with ourselves and withdraw such investments and then cut off diplomatic relations, and after that we may ask the Arab countries to put economic pressure on Ethiopia, he said.

Back to the UN?

Also, Egypt can, without anyone blaming it, return to the UNSC, or can with Sudan file a complaint with the International Court of Justice, Essawy noted.

Though the courts decision is not binding, it can still be used in the UNSC, which may issue a decision according to it. The UNSC can also form a committee to study the issue and take a binding decision, impose sanctions, or even intervene by force according to Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, he said.

Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations provides the framework within which the UNSC may take enforcement action. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to make recommendations or to resort to non-military and military action to "maintain or restore international peace and security."

Raslan, however, doubts the possibility that the UNSC could play a role in resolving the dispute.

In June 2020, the UNSC held an open session on the dam  in response to Egypts request  in which Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed during his speech that the council should remain actively seized of the matter until efforts are successful towards an agreement.

Holding a session in the UNSC last year to discuss the GERD crisis was a success for Egyptian diplomacy. However, the council has never resolved or even looked into such issues before, Raslan said.

Egyptian and Sudanese fears

During the UNSCs GERD session last year, Shoukry stressed an unwavering commitment to support African nations, especially in the Nile Basin and including Ethiopia in efforts towards greater prosperity, adding that Cairo has cooperated with every Nile Basin state in constructing dams and other projects.

This reflects our unshakable belief in our common destiny as Africans, and confirms our conviction that the Nile River is not the exclusive property of Egypt or of any riparian state, but the common heritage and sacred trust of all our peoples, Shoukry said.

He also affirmed Egypts commitment to negotiations on the 6,000-megawatt dam for almost a decade in an aim to reach a fair and just agreement that guarantees that Addis Ababa achieves its developmental objectives while minimizing effects of the dam on Egypt and Sudan.

Egypts 100 million-plus population relies on the River Nile for more than 95 percent of its renewable water resources. It fears the massive $4.8 billion hydropower near-complete project will significantly diminish its crucial water supply, which is already below scarcity level.

According to an independent study on the GERD by Deltares, published by the Egyptian Embassy in the US, a decrease of only 1 billion cubic metres of water could eliminate more than 1 million jobs and $1.8 billion in economic production annually in all economic sectors in Egypt.

Urbanisation would skyrocket due to rural depopulation, which would lead to an increase in unemployment, crime rates and transnational migration, causing serious ramifications in the Middle East and Europe.

A loss of 1 billion cubic meters of Nile water would cost Egypt 130,000 hectares of lost cultivated land, $430 million of lost agricultural production, and $150 million increase in food imports, the embassy said, quoting the Deltares study.

Such figures come amid Ethiopias continuous refusal during the decade-long negotiations to provide any socio-economic and environmental impact studies of the dam on downstream countries  a requirement under international law. Moreover, the embassy said, Ethiopia has blocked every attempt to conduct such studies, whether through an impartial party, or jointly with its co-riparians.

On the other hand, in its three-page letter to the UNSC last June, Sudan said the GERD "will completely change the flow regime of the Blue Nile" by flattening its hydrograph, and with its gigantic size it "poses substantial threats to Sudan if not properly designed, constructed, filled and operated."

Even though the AU called for a binding agreement on the GERD filling and operation, Ethiopia announced that it is not seeking a binding agreement, but rather guidelines that can be modified any time at Ethiopias discretion.

Among such harmful impacts, Sudan fears the GERD would put the operation of its Roseires dam and the lives of Sudanese citizens  20 million Sudanese rely on the Blue Nile  at "a very high risk" if an agreement regulating its operation and filling is not reached.

Sudan depends on its Roseires dam  whose reservoir is located only 15km away from the Ethiopian dam and is 12 times smaller than the storage capacity of the GERD's 74 billion cubic metre reservoir  to generate 280 megawatts.

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"Agriculture is a critical component of the global economy and has been the cornerstone of Nagamasa Global's business," said Fuyuki R. Setsuna, President and Chief Executive Officer. "By providing financial tools to help producers and agribusiness participants manage the risks they face, they are better able to focus on what they do best  feeding the world. We believe this collaboration to create the Nagamasa Global Economy Indicator will provide an essential resource for monitoring the health of the food industry and vital insight into the global economy."

"Japan's Center for Commercial Agriculture has a long tradition of pushing us toward better food security, safety and sustainability with their cutting-edge research," said Shogo Teru, Head of Commodities Trading. "We can imagine no better partner than Nagamasa Global to help us analyze and report the real-time economic health of agriculture, on which literally every citizen and the rest of the economy depends."

Each month, the Nagamasa Global Economy Indicator will provide a sense of the agricultural economy's health with an index value. Results to calculate the index are obtained through a survey of large agricultural producers on economic sentiment. In addition, JCCA will bring its research and agricultural economics expertise to measure producers' expectations of key farm economy drivers such as farm profitability; farmland prices; capital expenditures; row crop, livestock and dairy prices; and seasonal drivers such as seed, fertilizer and feed ingredient prices.

"The indicator is the ongoing monthly measure of the health of the agricultural economy," Mr. Shogo Teru said. "Also unique is that the index is calculated based on producer sentiments about both current conditions and future expectations."

About Nagamasa Global

Nagamasa Global provides insights in the commodities markets to all market participants to allow them to make better business decisions with confidence. The firm includes a team of experienced financial and market advisors offering a vast list of services for small-scale businesses, individuals, corporate and governmental entities. The company is emerging as a trusted commodity broker with customers from different sectors looking for expertise in pricing, news, and analytics. The company focuses on feasibility more than anything else, and this is the reason it provides a wide array of products and services to its clients that allow them to better sustain their investments.

Press Contact:

Haruto Subaru

0556-959395

http://nagamasa-global.com

SOURCE Nagamasa Global
ANI

After the unprecedented chaos and violence that unfolded in the national capital on January 26, both the farmers' unions and the law enforcement are making sure that there is no repeat of such incidents. On Saturday, the protesting farmers will be holding a 'Chakka Jam' across the country. But unlike the last time, Delhi has been exempted from the showdown. Read more



Here's a list of top stories that made the headlines today:

India Gifts COVID Vaccines To 17 Nations

ANI

It seems India's vaccine diplomacy is at full display. India has gifted 56 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccines to a number of countries while 100 lakh doses were sent under commercial supplies, the ministry of external affairs said on Thursday. MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Indian vaccines are scheduled to reach the Caribbean countries, Pacific Island states, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Mongolia, in the coming weeks. Read more



Hyd Metro Used To Transport Live Heart For Transplant

Twitter

For the first time ever, the metro was used to transport live heart from LB Nagar to Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad, to save a precious life. Hyderabad Metro created a special green corridor for the transport, without passengers and covering a distance of 21 kilometers in just 30 minutes. The organ, which was harvested from a 45-year-old man found to be brain dead, was transported from Nagole metro station to Jubilee Hills Check post Metro station. Read more



Comedian Munawar Granted Bail, SC Says 'FIR Vague'

Twitter

Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, in jail for over a month over allegations of "insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses" during a show, was granted interim bail today by the Supreme Court, which also issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh government and put on hold a warrant against him in Uttar Pradesh. The court said that the allegations mentioned against him in the FIR are vague. Read more



SC Panel Puts Value Of A Tree At Rs 74,500 A Year

BCCL

For the first time, a Supreme Court-appointed committee has put a value on trees, taking into account everything a tree produces in its lifetime. This includes oxygen, micro-nutrients, compost, and bio-fertilizer and the fact that the trees are valuable members of the natural environment. Putting everything together the SC-appointed committee has pegged the value of a tree at Rs 74,500 a year. Read more


North Carolina prosecutors called Friday for some immediate changes and more training, funding and data collection to make the criminal justice system more fair.

The Conference of District Attorneys issued the Report on Race, Equity and Criminal Justice after a working group of eight district attorneys representing 21 counties examined inequities in the criminal justice system. Wake County DA Lorrin Freeman and Mecklenburg County DA Spencer Merriweather were part of the working group.

Freeman described the report as a mix of achievable goals that could be accomplished during this legislative session, and longer terms goals.

Some of the issues they hope to tackle this session include requiring timely first court appearances for all people accused of crimes and giving judges discretion on a bail bond amount after someone misses court, she said.

The conference is the latest organization to release recommendations in response to protests last summer over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people killed by police.

Gov. Roy Cooper established a Task Force on Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, which made more than 100 recommendations in December. The N.C. Sheriffs Association released its report in the fall, along with the N.C. Association of Chiefs of Police.

While some of the changes outlined in all the reports could be made through local policy and departmental changes, many would require state leaders approval on funding and legislative changes.

The Conference of District Attorneys report centers on four topics:

 Quality and professionalism recommendations include increased anti-bias training for prosecutors and public defenders, and data collection on the quality of representation and racial disparities. Additional funding should be provided to district attorney and public defenders to improve data collection, staffing and other items, the report states.

In almost all instances, prosecutors across North Carolina carry caseloads that are substantially larger than recommended, the report states. Experts in combating implicit bias in proprietorial discretion routinely recommend adopting a slower, more deliberate process in evaluating cases.

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Lisa Williams, a Durham defense attorney, said more funding for public defenders is important because many people, including her, are taking their names off the public defenders list.

I think it is the pay, the resources, the overwork, the stress, among other issues, she said.

 Alternatives to prosecution recommendations include funding to increase mental health and substance abuse resources across the state; expanding the use of conditional discharges, which allow some people convicted of misdemeanors or lower level felonies to be released on probation.

There are many kinds of diversion programs across the state, which depend on local services, the report states.

The results show there are vast differences in treatment and options and services to effectively support diversion programs, the report states.

Conditional discharges for certain felonies, Freeman said, would allow people who successfully complete their probation have the charges dismissed and possibly expunged.

 Pretrial custody and alternatives recommendations include timely first appearances after someone is arrested, updated bond policies; and changes in state law to remove a minimum $1,000 bail in cases in which defendant fails to appear on a pending charge, giving the discretion to the judge. In addition there should be more training for police officers and magistrates on citations and summons in lieu of arrest on non-violent offenses, the report states.

An in-depth study of alternatives to money bail that will continue to promote public safety while seeking to ensure equal treatment of defendants, irrespective of their ability to pay, should be conducted, the report states.

Currently, a first appearance is required for felonies within 96 hours or the next court date, but not misdemeanors. If timely misdemeanor first appearances were required, it could help address situations in which people are left in jail on low bail for days and weeks while waiting to get in front of a judge, said Jim Woodall, district attorney for Orange and Chatham counties.

 Sentencing outcomes recommendations include identifying disparities in case outcomes, continuing the state structured-sentencing model and establishing pilot sites with additional probation officers to conduct pre-sentencing evaluations.

Orange and Chatham counties have implemented a pilot project that gathers and presents information to the judge about offenders and their circumstances, the report said.

The experience in these counties has been that offenders are more likely to meet the conditions of their sentence to successfully complete their probation if they are provided with condition of their sentence and successfully complete their probation if they are provided necessary services tailored to their needs, the report states.

Woodall said the process gathers information about their family, employment history and perspectives to create a better sentencing plan.

It helps a judge craft a judgment that is better for that person, Woodall said.

Epiphany

Williams said the Conference of District Attorneys acknowledging that changes need to be made is a big deal.

I think for them it is an epiphany, she said.

While more urban areas may already be considering or implementing some of the proposed reforms, court officials in smaller counties arent as open to proposals like racial bias training and bail reforms, Williams said.

I am happy to see them waking up, Williams said.

Raleigh defense attorney Paige Feldmann supports the reports proposal to improve mental health services and increasing the use of using civil summons over arrest warrants.

Implicit bias training is necessary for sure, she wrote in a text, as unfortunate as that may be.
By Samuel Shen and Tom Westbrook

(Reuters) - In his Hangzhou apartment in eastern China, Wen Hao had just finished his daily stockpicking video when he discovered he'd been barred from social media platform Toutiao, a day after inviting netizens to join his stock-recommending community.

In a country where trading activities are closely monitored and the internet censored, Wen, 35, reckoned his own blocking showed why the mass buying that sent shares in U.S. videogame retailer GameStop more than 2,000% higher over two weeks could never happen in China.

"It's OK if you have one hundred followers," said Wen, a self-styled investment adviser who livestreams his stock recommendations everyday via Wechat. "But if you ask thousands of followers to buy a stock at the same time via social media in China, the police will visit you."

GameStop's rally grabbed world market headlines for the manner in which swarms of Reddit users took on big short-sellers and hedge funds.

Efforts to emulate that sort of drama in Asia's idiosyncratic markets have been isolated so far. There was a small-scale online crusade to support Malaysia's heavily shorted glove makers, and calls in South Korea to retain a ban on short-selling.

But such retail cheerleaders have struggled to attract much of a following. China's stock market once had the reputation of being a casino, yet the country's stringent censorship, absence of famous short-sellers and a general tendency to not cross state directives stymie their efforts.

Dean Li, a blogger on Xueqiu.com, a Reddit-like investor community, said the GameStop saga had demonstrated that "if a short-seller dares to rashly announce bearish bets against a listed company, it will be in trouble."

But both short-selling and option trading, the key drivers of GameStop's stratospheric rise, are restricted in China, making such a duel impossible, he said.

Huang Wei, founder of an online investment community that comprises what he calls "grassroots investors", said he empathizes with U.S. retail investors in their "riot" against Wall Street short-sellers, but in China, there's no grounds for a retail investor uprising.

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"It's a clash of people's value outlook. It's like farmers uprising against tyranny," Huang said.

NO CHE OR MAO "

There isn't widespread public discontent at the moment.... so you don't see Che Guevara or Mao Zedong in the market," Huang said, referring to the charismatic leaders in Cuban and Chinese revolutions.

The chance of a Chinese equivalent to GameStop emerging has been dimmed further by recent capital market reforms aimed at weeding out weak companies and encouraging long-term investment. Chinese regulators are also cracking down on price manipulation and Internet stock recommendations.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission campaign last September scrutinized illegitimate stock recommendations, also taking aim at "market black mouths" who spread misleading information to influence stock prices, as well as "black apps", which attract investor clients using chat groups on social media.

Chinese hedge fund manager Yuan Yuwei said the trading patterns seen in GameStop are not new in China, or Hong Kong, where speculators have talked up stocks in pump-and-dump schemes.

"The pattern is identical. You drive up share prices and attract followers. And then, you dump your holdings to late comers. The only difference is that you have no or little short positions (in China)," he said, adding such practices have become much less common in China in recent years.

Still, Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, head of consumer equity research at Tellimer, said he expected the retail frenzy to flare up soon in Asia, including China.

"That could be a perfect storm where you have the use of these Robinhood-type platforms, plus, the spread of internet chat groups, plus, the highly shorted names. That would create a potent cocktail," said Tiruchelvam, who identified stocks including China Literature and MTR Corp as potential targets. "This is actually the beginning of a massive wave of investing behavior along these lines."

(Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Gerry Doyle)
Photo: Brendan Kergin

WestJet Airlines Ltd. will lay off 120 cabin crew members as of March 2, blaming the measure on the lack of flights to Mexico and the Caribbean.

WestJet spokeswoman Morgan Bell says the company's employees were notified of the additional cuts on Friday morning.

The layoffs come as Canadian airlines agree, at the request of the federal government, to suspend all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30.

Canada is also implementing new measures such as mandatory hotel quarantines for international travellers in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Air Canada says it is weighing measures such as shortened work weeks to temporarily reduce management levels as a way of preserving cash.

Air Canada said Thursday that it will pause all operations of Air Canada Rouge and lay off 80 employees starting Feb. 8 as a result of the flight suspensions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)
EDWARDSVILLE  An Alton man faces several felony charges after being arrested for DUI Thursday.

Dylan M. Bass, 34, was charged Feb. 4 with aggravated driving under the influence, a Class 2 felony, and driving while license revoked (sixth subsequent offense), a Class 4 felony.

The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department.

According to court documents, on Feb. 4 Bass was found to be driving a 1999 Chevrolet Lumina while under the influence of alcohol, while having been convicted of or receiving court supervision for similar offenses in another state. He also had numerous convictions for driving while revoked, stemming from DUI and other offenses, dating back to 2006.

Bail was set at $40,000.

The Madison County States Attorneys Office also filed numerous drug-related felony charges on Feb. 4, including:

 Britney M. Prier, 30, of Collinsville, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the East Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on Nov. 21, 2019 Prier was found to be in possession of less than 15 ounces of fentanyl. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Mark T. Carter, 54, of East Alton, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the East Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on Nov. 20, 2019 Carter was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Jason C. Spink, 44, of East Alton, was charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the East Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on Sept. 16, 2019 Spink was found to be in possession of less than five grams of methamphetamine. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Heather M. Gobble, 25, of Bethalto, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the East Alton Police Department. According to court documents, on Oct. 4, 2018 she was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of fentanyl. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Glenda K. Dunnigan, 56, of Grafton, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on Nov. 23 Dunnigan was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of Xanax. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Arthur S. Zumwalt, 37, of Livingston, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on Sept. 6 he was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of fentanyl. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Fallon J. Vallejo, 37, of St. Louis, was charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on Sept. 14 he was found to be in possession of less than five grams of methamphetamine. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Ronald C. Patterson, 55, of Granite City, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. According to court documents, on Sept. 16, 2019, Patterson was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Scott A. Wyant, 37, of Granite City, was charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. According to court documents, on May 14 Wyant was found to be in possession of less than five grams of methamphetamine. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Javion J. Hawkins, 25, of Collinsville was charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. According to court documents, on July 15 Hawkins was found to be in possession of less than five grams of methamphetamine. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Colton A. Talbot, 25, of Highland, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. According to court documents, on May 28 Talbot was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of fentanyl. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Keyshawn G. Smith 19, of Fairview Heights, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. According to court documents, on July 6 Smith was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of Clonazolam. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Philip S. Shoemaker, 31, of Owensville, Missouri, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. According to court documents, on August 7 Shoemaker was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of fentanyl. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Jessica A Hart, 35, of Caseyville, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. According to court documents, on May 19 Hart was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of fentanyl. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Judith E. Bennett, 35, of Collinsville, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. According to court documents, on Sept. 24 Bennett was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of fentanyl. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Melissa M. Bell, 38, of Collinsville, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. According to court documents, on July 28 Bell was found to be in possession of less than 15 grams of Alprazolam. Bail was set at $15,000.



The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted Thursday evening to punish Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene for her advocacy of fascist conspiracy theories and threats of violence by stripping her of her committee assignments. A resolution to discipline Greene, a QAnon adherent, passed the House on a near-party-line vote, 230-199. Only 11 Republicans voted in favor of the resolution.

The measure to remove Greene, House Resolution 72, advanced past the Rules Committee on Wednesday and was taken up by the House on Thursday. The resolution only requires that Greene be taken off the two committees to which she is currently assigned, and does not prohibit her from serving on other committees or bar her from future assignments.

An LED billboard calling for the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is seen on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, in Dalton, Ga. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The measure was taken up after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy refused to remove Greene from her assignments on the Budget Committee and the Education and Labor Committee following recent exposures of Greenes social media accounts, on which she advocated assassinating Democratic politicians, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, and characterized mass school shootings as false flag events staged by supporters of gun control.

Facing denunciations from Democratic members as well as some Republicans, Greene, in a speech from the floor of the House on Thursday, attempted to portray herself as a free speech advocate who has been the victim of cancel culture and an all-powerful media conspiracy. Unconvincingly claiming to be a very regular American Greene parroted such lines as, You see, school shootings are absolutely real, and, I also want to tell you, 9/11 absolutely happened. That she had to grit her teeth and spit out such statements only underscored her embrace of the delusional ultra right.

Greene never apologized for liking social media comments advocating the assassination of Democratic politicians, nor did she recant comments in which she claimed that Muslims shouldnt serve in the government, that Jewish bankers started the wildfires in California with space-based lasers or that George Soros (a Jewish billionaire) was funding migrant caravans.

Attempting to excuse her past support for QAnon, a fascist conspiracy theory that postulates that Donald Trump is the leader of movement that will massacre Satan-worshiping, child sacrificing, cannibalistic Democratic politicians, Greene claimed, The media  is just as guilty as QAnon of presenting truth and lies to divide us.

Early Wednesday morning, McCarthy met with House Majority Leader Representative Steny Hoyer to discuss his proposal that Greene give up her seat on the Education and Labor Committee but retain her position on the Budget Committee. Hoyer and the Democrats rejected the proposal, with Hoyer telling reporters on Wednesday that the outcome was not sufficient  given her consistent statements before and after her membership in the Congress, which have given great concern for peoples individual safety.

Shes placed many members in fear for their welfare, Hoyer said. We believe she also gave aid and comfort to those who led an insurrection. Why Hoyer did not seek to have Greene arrested and prosecuted, in that case, he did not say.

In 2019, McCarthy stripped Iowa Representative Steve King of his committee assignments after King signaled his support for white nationalism and questioned what was offensive about white supremacy in an interview with the New York Times. But he declined to take the same action against Greene, who has been publicly backed by former president Trump.

During a roughly four-hour-long Republican caucus meeting late Wednesday night Republicans discussed what to do about Greene as well as a possible challenge to the third-ranking member of the leadership, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, daughter of the former vice president. Cheney was one of the 10 House Republicans to join Democrats in voting to impeach Trump, and Trump loyalists have demanded her removal from the leadership.

McCarthy essentially balanced the two cases against each other, rejecting action against either congresswoman. After Greene addressed the caucus, McCarthy declared his opposition to any disciplinary action, and the assembled Republicans reportedly gave the fascist a standing ovation. At the same time, Cheney retained her position, as the caucus voted 145 to 61 to reject a call for her resignation.

Demonstrating the degree to which the Republican party has doubled down and shifted even further to the right in the wake of the January 6 coup attempt, McCarthy put out a statement Wednesday night condemning Greenes comments while praising her for privately denouncing QAnon in the caucus meeting. He argued that the comments were made before she was ever a member of Congress, as though that lessened the significance of her call for murdering one of the leaders of that Congress (Pelosi). Removing Greene from her committee assignments would set a bad precedent, he said.

Despite Greenes claims that she had stopped believing in QAnon in 2018, she has defended the conspiracy theory on social media as late as December 4, 2020, after her election to Congress from Georgias 14th District. The district, in the northwest corner of the state, has a long history of ultra-right and fascist representatives, including Larry McDonald, a member of the John Birch Society.

While the Republicans attempt to paper over the differences between the growing fascist elements within their ranks and the more established wing of the party, represented by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Representative Cheney, the disciplinary action against Greene will do nothing to stop the growth of fascism in the US and internationally, which arises from the contradictions of the capitalist system which the Democrats defend as much as the Republicans.

Greene, like her hero Trump, is not merely a deranged or repugnant individual. Both are the products of the turn toward fascism and violent repression by an American ruling class that is responding to the decline of the global position of American capitalism and terrified of the growing resistance and militancy in the working class.


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PHOENIX  A proposal that would make it a felony in Arizona for a doctor to perform an abortion because the fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down Syndrome was approved by a state Senate panel on Thursday. The measure also adds a slew of other provisions to the states already tough anti-abortion laws.

Republican Sen. Nancy Barto of Phoenix said her proposal protects the most vulnerable and restores dignity to aborted fetuses by requiring that they be buried or cremated. It also repeals an old law allowing women to be charged for seeking an abortion, which Barto said was needed in case the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 decision that found women have a constitutional right to seek an abortion.

This bill will stop abortions solely based on the childs genetic abnormalities, Barto said. My bill also protects Arizona women. They deserve more than to have their health gambled to benefit the abortion industrys bottom line.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee all opposed the measure, which they said intrudes on a womans right to make health decisions in consultation with her doctor.

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This will definitely chill that kind of medical advice because a doctor is potentially facing up to 8 years in prison for informing his patient of these abnormalities, Tucson Democratic Sen. Kirsten Engel said.

Doctors who perform abortions because the mother decides she does not want to carry a child with a genetic abnormality could face between two and nearly nine years in prison. There are exceptions for medical emergencies. The proposal also confers all civil rights to unborn children, allows the father of an aborted child to sue, and bans the spending of any state money with organizations that provide abortion care, while banning state universities from providing abortion care.

Another provision bans abortion-inducing medication from being delivered by mail. Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, which pushes anti-abortion bills each year at the state Legislature, claimed medical abortions are more dangerous than surgical ones.

Theres a nationwide push to send abortion pills through the mail, Herrod said. Women who take chemical abortion pills are four times more likely to have complications than those that have surgical abortions.

The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice group that advocates for access to safe abortions, disputes Herrods claim that medication abortion is more dangerous.

The attacks we are seeing on medication abortion have nothing to do with safety, its about politics, as the evidence shows that the risk of complications for abortion, including medication abortion is extremely low, said Elizabeth Nash, a spokeswoman for the organization.

Planned Parenthood also opposes the bill.

This bill is about restricting abortion care and banning abortion, and its not about protecting those with disabilities as the sponsor would lead us to believe, said Marilyn Rodriguez of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. She called it a cruel attempt to yet again limit abortion, this time by targeting families who seek this option after learning their fetus has developed a disability.

The proposal is one of several introduced in the Republican-controlled Legislature this year, including one that would require prosecutors to charge women who decide to get abortions and the doctors who perform the procedures with homicide. That proposal from GOP Rep. Walt Blackman has not been assigned to a committee.

Republican-dominated Legislatures in several states who have been emboldened by the possibility that a more conservative Supreme Court could overturn the Roe decision have embraced proposals that could completely ban abortion this year.

For instance, lawmakers in South Carolina are considering a heartbeat bill that would effectively ban abortion because most women are unaware they are pregnant before a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
press release

The supply of safe and effective vaccines for all is being artificially rationed because of the protection of exclusive rights and monopolies of pharmaceutical corporations, the People's Vaccine Alliance said today.

The alliance warned that the three biggest vaccine companies in the world are largely sitting on the sidelines - they currently plan to produce enough COVID-19 vaccines for only 1.5 per cent of the global population in 2021. A number of other large manufacturers are not yet producing any of the successful, proven COVID-19 vaccines.

At the same time, the producers of approved vaccines, Pfizer/ BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca, aim to produce enough doses to vaccinate around a third the global population. But because rich countries have bought multiple doses of these vaccines the actual figure of humanity covered is a lot less. While Astra Zeneca has sold the majority of its doses to developing countries, Pfizer/ BioNTech and Moderna have sold almost all of their doses to rich nations, while failing to share their successful technology openly, despite huge public subsidies. Their vaccines are prohibitively expensive for many poor nations.

In the face of worldwide vaccine shortages and dramatic moves by the EU to restrict vaccine exports, the alliance, which includes the health NGO EMERGENCY, Frontline AIDS, Oxfam and UNAIDS, urged governments and the pharmaceutical industry to scale up production. It said they should remove the artificial barriers to tackling the global supply crisis, including by suspending intellectual property rules, sharing technology and ending monopoly control, so that everyone, everywhere has access to the vaccine as quickly as possible.

This week the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Tedros Adhanom has said that sharing of technology and waiving of intellectual property will make vaccinating the world and controlling this disease possible.

Anna Marriott, Oxfam's Health Policy Manager said: "The world is in a race to reach herd immunity to get this disease under control, save millions of lives and get our economy going again. This is a race we have to win before new mutations render our existing vaccines obsolete. Yet the pursuit of profits and monopolies means we are losing that race.

"People out there would be forgiven for thinking that every major vaccine company is working flat out to vaccinate the world, but this is simply not the case. We need every company on earth that can make safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19 to be making them right now. We urgently need to lift the veil of corporate secrecy and instead have open-source vaccines, mass-produced by as many vaccine players as possible, including crucially those in developing countries.

"By refusing to share their technology and waive their intellectual property, companies like Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, are artificially rationing the supply of successful vaccines with the hopes of reaping huge financial rewards. This is despite both benefiting from huge public subsidy. This will cost lives and prolong the economic pain which is hitting the poorest hardest."

The three biggest global vaccine-producing pharmaceutical corporations by market value are GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Merck and Sanofi and between them they have only pledged to produce 225 million vaccines this year. Earlier this week GSK announced that it will be working with CureVac to develop a vaccine to tackle emerging variants of COVID-19 next year and will help manufacture up to 100 million doses of CureVac's vaccine which is still in clinical trials.

Last week Sanofi announced a deal to help produce 125 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, but this is a drop in the ocean in comparison to the scale of need and will likely only benefit EU countries. Before setbacks in the clinical trials of their own potential joint vaccine, Sanofi and GSK had supply deals to produce almost five times as many doses than they are offering to produce of Pfizer and CureVac's COVID-19 vaccines respectively.

Merck, the second biggest vaccine company in the world had been building up capacity to produce hundreds of millions of doses of one or both of its COVID-19 vaccine candidates, but the company recently announced it would be discontinuing development of these vaccines due to poor trial results.

GSK, Sanofi and Merck have received over $2billion from the US government as part of its Operation Warp Speed to support production of vaccines.

Meanwhile the Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic this week offered up the capacity to produce 240 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in its factory, but none of the successful vaccine companies have taken up the offer so far.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director UNAIDS, said: "Every company with capacity to manufacture vaccines must be drafted in to support the herculean effort that is required.

"An all hands on deck approach is the only way to protect everyone, everywhere. This will require the current leading vaccine producers to share their knowledge and come to reasonable agreements to lead us all out of this global crisis."

More than 108 million people have been vaccinated so far, but only 4 per cent of total vaccinations have been in developing countries, the vast majority of which have been in India. Of the poorest countries in the world only Guinea has been able to vaccinate 55 people [1]. Rich countries have bought up enough doses to vaccinate their populations three times over, leaving developing countries to compete for the leftovers. Analysis by the Peoples Vaccine Alliance has shown that the limited supply of the approved vaccines means that unless action is taken only one in ten people will be vaccinated by the end of the year in many developing countries.

It is also likely that potential capacity in developing countries is being overlooked. The Serum Institute of India is already producing hundreds of millions of vaccines for COVID-19 on behalf of AstraZeneca and Novovax as well as developing their own, but there are at least 20 more vaccine manufacturers in India. Many other vaccine producers in developing and rich countries may already have or could quickly increase capacity to manufacture proven safe and effective vaccines if they had the know-how and intellectual property licenses. Globally, UNICEF data suggests just 43 per cent of reported COVID-19 vaccine production capacity is currently being used for the approved vaccines [2].

The People's Vaccine Alliance is calling on US President Joe Biden and the governments of the UK and EU to use their emergency powers and to leverage their massive public funding to put pressure on Pfizer/ BioNTech, Astra Zeneca, Moderna and other subsequently successful vaccine producers, to openly share their vaccine science and technology, to waive their patents and insist that all other major vaccine producers get involved in the production. President Biden could use the Defense Production Act to help maximize the production of vaccines in the coming months.

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Lois Chingandu, Director of Frontline AIDS, said: Over $100 billion of taxpayers' money has funded these vaccines, while the companies behind the three successful vaccine candidates are set to make over $30 billion in revenue this year alone.

"Public investments mean these are public goods, which should be used to benefit all humanity, not private property there to benefit shareholders. Leaders must act now to override this broken system of patents, monopolies, and secrecy to deliver a People's Vaccine for all."

Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech use mRNA technology, which potentially allows production to be rapidly scaled-up. Yet both companies are not committed to openly sharing their technology, leaving many potential producers on the sidelines.

The alliance is also calling on the US and other governments like Germany to invest in new production facilities especially in developing countries, in order to massively scale up the production of safe and effective vaccines and to build infrastructure that can respond better to future pandemics.

Heidi Chow, Senior Campaigns and Policy Manager at Global Justice Now, said: "Business as usual is not enough in a global pandemic. In times of war, manufacturers have often put aside normal competition to work together for a common cause. Surely governments should be insisting that the same spirit applies today, when so many people's lives and livelihoods are at stake?"
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 22:40:33|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has provided 20 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and 122 hospital beds to hospitals in Lebanon to help alleviate the strain on the Lebanese healthcare system amid the COVID-19.

A statement released on Friday by the agency explained that the equipment was donated as part of UNHCR's COVID-19 support to 13 hospitals across Lebanon.

"For UNHCR, the COVID-19 response is about saving lives. We started responding to COVID-19 very early on, and our efforts have been centered on ensuring that all communities in Lebanon - Lebanese, refugees, and others - will have timely access to lifesaving treatment," said UNHCR's Representative in Lebanon Ayaki Ito.

Lebanon has been witnessing a surge in daily COVID-19 cases amid a lack of needed medical equipment caused by the financial and economic crisis in the country. Enditem

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Prospects for local farmers, fishermen and traders in the Lake Zone Region are expected to brighten as Nyamirembe port in Chato District, Geita Region re-opened to unlock new business and investment opportunities.

Placed in the group of cluster ports (small ports), Nyamirembe port, which recently reopened its gates and berth for marine operations after upgrading work is billed to boost domestic as well as intra-regional trade given its strategic geographical location. The port is expected to serve serving passengers using vessels plying from various islets in the Lake Victoria to Chato and the neighbouring areas and handle cargo destined to eastern DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Its geographical positioning makes it an ideal port for providing an alternative route to Burigi-Chato and Rubondo tourist destinations.

The port was opened in 1960's and was placed under the East African Railway and Harbours until the first East Community (EAC) collapsed in 1977.

Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) took over the management of the ports until 1997 when they were placed under the administration of Marine Services Company Limited (MSCL). The Nyamirembe port was previously serving vessels from Mwanza, Kagera, Musoma and neighbouring countries but later stopped operations until TPA made the decision to revive it spending 4.128bn/- to build a jetty (berth) of 128 metres in length, waiting lounge, cargo shade, fence, gates and water infrastructure.

However, the terminal later underwent second phase of improvement by increasing the length of the jetty at the cost of around 800m/-. In so doing the depth at the anchorage site was deepened, allowing large ships such as 'MV Mwanza - Hapa Kazi Tu' that is currently undergoing construction to dock.

The current depth of Nyamirembe terminal is 3.5 metres during low tide and 4 metres during high tide. Records show that when MSCL was operating, some ships were docking at Nyamirembe port to load consignments of cotton and cotton seed, coffee and bananas before ferrying them to Mwanza. From other parts vessels that docked at the terminal brought other commodities such as hardware and general merchandise.

Nyamirembe port is generally viewed as the terminal that will boost business within the Lake Zone as well as boost intra-regional trade between Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda.

A distance of about 50 minute-drive from Nyamirembe port in Chato the Authority has established another cluster port known as Magarini in Muleba district, Kagera region , simplifying further an access to the two tourist destinations through Lake Victoria.

This means that by building infrastructures at the two cluster ports, tourists who prefer using marine transport, can fly up to Mwanza airport before boarding vessels that ply in Lake Victoria, disembarking at either Nyamirembe or Magarini ports.

Alternatively, tourists can access the newly established Burigi Chato National Park and Rubondo tourist destination by flying directly to Chato following the construction of GeitaChato airport or by travelling overland by tourist vehicles or buses from Mwanza City.

Besides Nyamirembe and Magarini ports the Authority has built other new small ports of Lushamba, Mtama, Kyamkwikwi and Bwigobolo to fully exploit the potential brought about by Lake Victoria.

Apart from viewing the establishment of the cluster ports from tourism perspective, the terminals including Nyamirembe Port are important in unlocking business potential that has lied unexploited for years, including securing the country.

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Speaking recently exclusively on the Port, TPA Lake Zone Manager, Doreen Minja said the terminal would provide room for both small and large-scale investors, following its big space to accommodate not less than six boats, with the capacity to ferry 50 passengers each and one big ship with the capacity of carrying 200 passengers at a time.

She further clarified that port rehabilitation and construction was to ensure economic opportunities in the Lake Zone were well-utilized and that there were reliable transport and interactions of people.

According to Marine Services Company Limited (MSCL)'s acting marketing and commercial manager, Mr Philemon Bagambilana, the Company has already prepared the new route for Nyamirembe Port, using the passenger vessel - MV Clarias, which has the capacity to ferry about 216 passengers and 10 tonnes of cargo.

MV Clarias is currently undergoing maintenance, including installation of the new machinery, as among the preparations for this new route.
Heartbroken relatives are demanding a change in the law so they have the same right to hug home residents as social care staff.

Up to 50 per cent of staff at major care homes are refusing to have the vaccine, MPs warned yesterday, yet they can still give close personal care.

Meanwhile family members are forbidden from indoor visits to loved ones  even when both have been vaccinated and both have tested negative.

Banning indoor visits to elderly relatives in care homes could soon be made illegal

A huge body of scientific evidence shows visits are essential for the mental and physical health of care home residents, but relatives have been banned from giving them love and touch.

Distraught families yesterday said it is galling to see staff give their husbands or wives a hug, while they have been told they will be able to visit only when they are close to death.

Parliaments cross-party Joint Committee on Human Rights has now drawn up emergency legislation which would make blanket visiting bans illegal and give one key relative or friend the same legal status as a social care worker.

The law, which has been backed by campaigners and the Labour Party, would enshrine the rights of residents to have meaningful contact with these essential family carers.

Visits had restarted in December following a Daily Mail campaign which led to the rollout of rapid tests for visitors. But they were paused again during lockdown  with relatives now back to square one.

Liz Kendall, Labours care spokesman urged ministers to pass emergency legislation

Liz Kendall, Labours care spokesman, yesterday urged ministers to pass the emergency legislation to prevent the health of residents deteriorating further.

Miss Kendall said: We need a law for clinical reasons and we need it done quickly. I cannot see a reason either morally, on health grounds or on human rights grounds why these visits should not happen.

She added: Ive met [care minister] Helen Whately and said we can do this on a cross-party basis. But there was no sign she wanted to pass legislation.

In fact, she seemed to be suggesting that families would have to wait at least until residents have had a second vaccine dose.

Miss Kendall also raised concerns about low take-up of the vaccine, adding that up to 50 per cent of staff at some major care home chains had declined it.

Elderly care home residents and their carers were top of the Governments vaccine priority list and 90 per cent of residents have been vaccinated. However, take-up is much lower among social care staff.

Nadra Ahmed, chairman of the National Care Association, said yesterday that around 20 per cent of social care staff were refusing the Covid-19 vaccination.

Yesterday, at a briefing organised by the Labour Party, 12 distraught relatives shared their agony at going months without seeing loved ones while agency carers were allowed to hug them.

West End actress Ruthie Henshall, who has not seen her 87-year-old mother for a year, broke down in tears.

She said: I am absolutely done with not having the ability to go and love my mum.

'The only thing she has left is touch and love  and shes being denied that. There is no reason whatsoever that we cannot become one of their essential carers.

The risk is so minimal with the PPE [personal protective equipment], the temperature checks, the swab, and we will do anything to keep them safe.

Others spoke of the fear they will not see their loved one until they are about to die.

Helen Johns, who has not touched her mother for nearly a year, said: I dont want to get that phone call that says you can hold her hand in the last 24 hours. I want to love her now.

Jenny Morrison, from Campaign Group Rights for Residents, said: People are grieving for people that are still alive. They are grieving for somebody that they cant touch.

'I know if my mum was given the choice  would you like to live for three months and see your daughters, or do you want to have 12 months locked in a room on your own  they would choose to live with meaningful contact.

A Government spokesman said: We know visits to care homes are crucial in supporting the health and wellbeing of residents, which is why we have updated guidance to ensure visits can continue to take place safely during periods of national lockdown.

The Government is looking to ensure that a wider range of visiting arrangements are made available for care home residents when it is safe to do so.

'My disabled girl needs a cuddle'

Linda Arthur has devoted much of her life to caring for severely disabled daughter Alexandra.

But like thousands of parents of disabled young adults, she has been banned from hugging her child, now 32, for almost a year.

Mrs Arthur, 67, said: When you have a child who has severe learning difficulties the most important thing is sensory contact.

'Its touch, its holding, its hugging and we havent had that.

Linda and John Arthur's daughter Alex, 32, can't speak and can only communicate with her eyes. They used to spend every weekend with her but have only seen her twice since March

We need to be recognised as essential carers and given that status so we have the possibility of visiting in a protected safe way.

Mrs Arthur, from Hastings in East Sussex, said of her daughter, who is quadriplegic:

Weve been very fortunate that weve been able to talk to her over video connection but its just not the same.

What worries me is that gradually, they withdraw into their own lives, and they forget what has been.

'I want to hold my wife's hand'

Trevor Salomon and wife Yvonne have both been vaccinated  yet its been nearly a year since he could hold her hand.

Meanwhile staff at her home can come and go to give her personal care, even though around 40 per cent of them have refused the jab.

Trevor Salomon with wife Yvonne Salomon who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease

Mr Salomon, from Pinner in north-west London, said: What really exasperates me is my wife has been vaccinated. I have been vaccinated. I dont socialise, I strictly adhere to government guidelines.

I am not allowed in her care home, but carers are. I want to see her in her own room for a private visit, where I can hold her hand.
Scott Goshorn Since those early days, Goshorn has been involved in all angles of real estate: as an investor, a commercial development deal maker, a fix and flipper, a short sale negotiator, and an owner.

Haute Residence is pleased to welcome Scott Goshorn to the exclusive Haute Residence Network as its representative in the Brentwood, California, luxury real estate market.

Real estate runs deep in Scott Goshorn's blood. He grew up watching his mother hustle as a real estate agent in his home state of Ohio and her love of the business transferred over to him. Since those early days, Goshorn has been involved in all angles of real estate: as an investor, a commercial development deal maker, a fix and flipper, a short sale negotiator, and an owner.

It was only natural that he would parlay this experience into a full-time real estate career with Rodeo Realty.

"Joining this amazing company was a no brainer," he says. "They are large in stature but like family in nature and offer what I call the 'old school touch'. Since joining Rodeo Realty, I have been recognized as a Presidents Circle top producer in 2016/2017 and a Presidents Elite Platinum Circle producer in 2018 and 2019 representing the top 1.5% of agents. I was recently recognized by Los Angeles Magazine as one of their annual 2020 Real Estate All-Stars out of 10,000+ agents."

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Plans to establish a Petroleum Hub in the Jomoro Municipal Area in Western Region have been given a major boost following the assurance of the Paramount Chief of Western Nzema Traditional Area, Awulae Annor Adjei III to make land available for the project.

Awulae Adjei III gave the assurance at a consultative meeting organised by the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority at the Jomoro Municipal Assembly as part of the regional level stakeholder engagement process for the preparation of Spatial Plans for the development of a Petroleum Hub in the Western Nzema Traditional Area.

He implored the government to fast track the land acquisition processes and pay the necessary compensation to those who would be affected to pave the way for the development of the project.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, Lawrence Z. Dakurah told the participants at the forum that the objective of the consultation was to solicit views of the stakeholders to ensure that no one was short-changed in the implementation of the project.

He said the Authority was working hard to prepare the Spatial Plans within the time frame to pave way for the full implementation of the project to enable the country to realise its full benefit.

The Municipal Chief Executive of Jomoro, Ernest Kofie noted that the project would attract investors into the area which would bring migrants into the area.

He said to that extent the Assembly was working hard to upgrade existing social infrastructure in the area to contain the pressure of the expected influx.

He added that the Municipal Assembly was in consultation with the stakeholders of the project to ensure that every stage of the project benefits the people in the area.

The petroleum hub is one of the government's strategic anchor initiatives to transform the economy.

The government needs about 20,000 acres of land along the coast of Western Nzema to establish the Petroleum Hub, which would accommodate other auxiliary facilities such as refineries, petrochemical plants, storage tanks for crude and finished products, jetties and berths.
ADDIS ABABA - The Ethiopian American Civil Council (EACC) has urged the Ethiopian Diaspora community to expose groups who attempt to give a false representation of government's law enforcement operation in Tigray State and the current situation of the country.

EACC Chairperson Deacon Yosef Teferi recently told local media that various anti-Ethiopia elements have been engaging in fabricating and disseminating false information about the country by allocating huge sum of money and hiring lobbyists around the world. "We do not have to spend as much money as they do to expose the fake news because we have the truth."

"These groups are working day in, day out to get their distorted information to international institutions including media organizations," he said, adding that Ethiopians should be proactive to detect and uncover cases of disinformation and avail verifiable information to the international community about the objective reality of the country.

Noting that the social media, mostly the Twitter is a tool for users to publish and distribute fake news, Yosef called on strong measures to regulate false contents in the platform. The recent appeal Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) made to Ethiopians in the Diaspora to fight misinformation and disinformation is timely and very important.

The chairperson further stated that a woman who promotes the ideology of Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the name of journalism has appeared at the forum which was organized by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

During the forum, which was attended by the Chairperson of the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Weldon Meeks and focused on African issues, she provided distorted information and misled the Committee regarding the current situation of Ethiopia. "Following this, the Ethiopian

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American Civic Council (EACC) and Ethiopian Advocacy Network (EAN) submitted a letter to the Chairperson requesting corrective action."

"As we have explained in our letter to organizers of the forum that the woman was being invited as a journalist but she conveyed biased narratives as a party activist and failed as a journalist."

The woman failed to mention the remarkable works Tigray's Interim Administration has been carrying out in supplying aid and public service amidst of difficult circumstances, he said. "On the humanitarian front, she failed to mention the work being done by various NGOs."

Yosef also urged the Committee to readdress the issue by bringing independent experts to provide balanced and accurate information.

When preparing discussions, the Committee needs to invite experts who present the real situation of the country in a balanced manner instead of inviting biased and unqualified individuals, the chairperson insisted.
It has been announced that the royally-bred and supremely talented Sunfire Blue Chip p, 2, 1:52.4f, 3, 1:48.3f, BT1:47.3 has been retired and will stand stud in Ontario for the 2021 breeding season.

Sunfire Blue Chip will join the stallion roster at Mac Lilley Farms in Dutton, Ontario. He concludes his harness racing career with $1.6 million in earnings and several stakes titles to his credit.

As a sophomore, the Jimmy Takter-trained horse captured the Adios elimination and final, an elimination of the Messenger (second, by a head, in the final), the Tattersalls Pace, Empire Breeders Classic elimination (second in final), Hempt elim (third, by a half length in final) among other victories.

As an aged horse the 40-time winner captured the $200,000 Prix Dete, $150,000 Bobby Quillen Memorial, second in the Molson Pace (by a neck in a track record), third in the Roll With Joe, third in Molson Pace and Ben Franklin elimination.

Sunfire Blue Chip hails from one of the sports most sought-after families. He is by American Ideal and is the second foal of the Cams Card Shark mare Shot Togo Bluechip. His full brother is $1.7 million Breeders Crown winner Heston Blue Chip p, 3, 1:48f.

His second dam is a full sister to $1.4 million winner Kikikatie (dam of Rockin Image $903,424, Time To Roll $782,792, Rockin Amadeus $722,609, Tellitlikeitis $513,917), Just Wait Kate ($387,931), Kiss Me Kate ($284,820 & dam of Kissin In The Sand - $1,852,427) and half-sister to multiple stakes winner Katie Said ($209,273).

From a limited group of mares, Sunfire Blue Chip has already produced Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final winner B Stoney p,3,1:50.1, BT1:49.2 ($286,532), Gord & Illa Rumpel Memorial winner Stash The Cookies p,3,1:54 ($125,153), Dreamfair Zenfire p,3,1:53 ($110,932) and freshman New Jersey Sires Stakes champion Fika Time p,2,1:55.4 ($91,200).

Sunfire Blue Chips average earnings per starter is an incredible $76,182.

Sunfire Blue Chip will stand for a fee of $2,500. Multiple mare and loyalty discounts will apply. Lifetime breedings will also be available.

For more information please call Mac Lilley Farms at 519-762-3423.

(Mac Lilley)

An intruder breached security at Joint Base Andrews, where presidential planes are kept, and got inside one of the aircraft used to transport the nations elected leaders, top government officials and first ladies, the base confirmed Friday.

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations detained and interviewed the unidentified man on Thursday, after he drove past security personnel and onto Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

The individual gained unauthorized access to the flightline and entered a C-40 aircraft assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Andrews said in a statement. Joint Base Andrews Security Forces responded, detained and interviewed the individual. U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations assisted with the interview.

He was booked by OSI and given a federal summons for trespassing. He was turned over to local law enforcement, given that he had two outstanding warrants, the base statement said. The man was unarmed and did not harm any personnel and there is no indication that the individual has any links to extremist groups.

The C-40 is the Air Force equivalent of a 737, painted in blue and white, and can be used to transport government officials, including the vice president and the first lady.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the incursion had prompted the Air Force to request that its inspector general investigate how Air Force personnel are securing access to their bases, flight line and aircraft, not only at Andrews but at installations worldwide.

Everybody is taking this very seriously, Kirby said at a media briefing.

The Air Force also adjusted some of their security protocols at Andrews this morning, he said, declining to provide specifics for security reasons.

The incident occurred a day before President Joe Biden was scheduled to depart from Andrews for Delaware, and amid heightened security around Washington following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Thousands of National Guard members remain in the capital due to intelligence reports of potential risk for violence at upcoming protests.

Story continues

The White House referred all questions to the Air Force.

Former first ladies Michelle Obama and Melania Trump have flown on C-40 aircraft in recent years, and one was used to bring home Americans held hostage in North Korea.

The sprawling base is home to the presidential planes, which are designated Air Force One when the president is on board, and dozens of additional military executive transport aircraft used to fly other government officials.

Other aircraft stationed at Andrews include F-16 fighter jets, large C-17 cargo planes that ferry Secret Service motorcade vehicles and a squadron of dark blue and white Air Force UH-1N Huey helicopters.

One of those Hueys was shot at over Virginia last August, injuring the pilot. The FBI has not identified a suspect in that case, which remains under investigation, the FBI Washington Field Office told McClatchy this week.

McClatchy White House reporter Michael Wilner contributed to this report.
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Photo: The Canadian Press Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller responds to a question during a news conference Thursday, February 4, 2021 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Canada has seen nearly a 30 per cent drop in active COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, but the country's chief public health officer says strict measures should remain in place as more contagious variants of the virus threaten to derail this downward trend.

In a daily update Thursday, Dr. Theresa Tam said there are 48,221 active COVID-19 cases in Canada, down from more than 68,400 cases two weeks ago.

Tam said the daily federal tally has also been trending downwards, with an average of 4,061 new infections reported per day over the past week.

She said this slowdown has led to a gradual decline in severe COVID-19 outcomes. Over the past seven days, an average of 3,711 patients were treated in hospitals each day, including 792 in intensive care.

Even with this decline, Tam said the current caseload continues to burden local health-care resources, particularly in regions with high infection rates.

"The risk remains that trends could reverse quickly," Tam said in a statement, noting that the spread of the virus is accelerating in some parts of the country and outbreaks continue to occur in high-risk communities.

"These factors underscore the importance of sustaining public health measures and individual practices and not easing restrictions too fast or too soon.

"This is particularly important in light of the emergence of new virus variants of concern that could rapidly accelerate transmission of COVID-19 in Canada."

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller echoed this call for continued vigilance Thursday as his department reported that the number of people with COVID-19 in First Nations communities has declined to the lowest point since Dec. 6, with 1,869 active cases reported as of Wednesday.

Miller said more than 64,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to First Nations on reserve, Inuit and in the territories as of Feb. 3. But as authorities wait to see how Canada-wide delays in vaccine shipments will impact the rollout, Miller warned this isn't the time to let down our guards.

Moderna was to deliver 230,000 doses to Canada this week, but 180,000 arrived Thursday morning instead.

A spokeswoman for the company says it will still deliver two million doses total by the end of March. The company has delivered about half a million thus far, leaving 1.5 million for the only two shipments planned after this week before that deadline.

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander managing logistics of vaccine deliveries for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Canada doesn't expect to get the 249,600 doses it was initially allocated for the Feb. 22 shipment either.

As federal authorities urge restraint, Manitoba is considering loosening restrictions to allow restaurants, lounges, gyms and churches to reopen at a reduced capacity.

Current measures expire next week and the province is seeking public feedback about changes moving forward.

Non-essential businesses were forced to close in November as COVID-19 infections and deaths surged.

Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, said while numbers have significantly dropped, any steps to reopen must be taken cautiously.

Meanwhile, Ontario is considering cancelling March break as it moves to reopen schools that remain shuttered in southern parts of the province.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said he's waiting on the opinion of the province's chief medical officer of health before making a final call, stressing the importance of preventing travel as COVID-19 variants run rampant abroad.

Public Health Ontario released data Thursday indicating that mutations were found in 5.5 per cent of COVID-19 cases screened on a single day in January, most of them linked to a deadly outbreak at a nursing home in Simcoe-Muskoka.

Officials say more will be revealed about the prevalence of variants in the province as testing ramps up.

In Quebec, junior college and university students will be gradually welcomed back to campus starting next week, offering an alternative to the online education they've received since last March.

Students will be allowed to attend in-person classes at least once a week, and eventually, up to several times a month, Higher Education Minister Danielle McCann told reporters Thursday. Classrooms will be capped at 50 per cent capacity.

British Columbia also announced that it's expanding its mask mandate in schools, requiring students in middle and secondary school and staff for kindergarten through Grade 12 to wear face coverings in all indoor areas.
In November 2018, San Antonio voters approved two of three ballot propositions from the firefighters union designed to weaken the power of our city government.

The election, a bitter disappointment for city leaders, was widely interpreted as an early sign that Mayor Ron Nirenberg was in political trouble.

Sure enough, Nirenberg faced the fight of his life the following spring, when then-Councilman Greg Brockhouse took him to a runoff and got within 2.2 percentage points of victory.

In November 2020, San Antonio voters resoundingly passed three propositions that called for sales-tax investment in workforce development, public transit and pre-kindergarten education.

The 2020 election was widely interpreted as evidence of the political strength of Nirenberg, who supported all three measures.

If Nirenbergs public standing has changed over the past two years, however, you wouldnt know it by the actions of Brockhouse.

On Saturday, nearly two years to the day after he launched his first mayoral challenge with a West Side blowout at Del Bravo Record Shop, Brockhouse will kick off another bid for mayor with a live-streamed virtual gathering.

Brockhouses announcement will come three days after Nirenberg held his own virtual campaign christening.

The players are the same, but everything feels different.

Two years ago, Brockhouse excoriated Nirenberg for helping to pull Chick-fil-A  a company with a long history of supporting organizations that are hostile to the LGBTQ community  from an airport concessions contract and for declining a chance to have San Antonio host the 2020 Republican National Convention.

Nirenberg went after his challenger over two alleged incidents, reported in the Express-News by Brian Chasnoff, of domestic violence by Brockhouse.

We probably wont hear much about those issues this year, in part because theyve already been litigated in one campaign, but primarily because the COVID-19 pandemic overshadows all other considerations.

Brockhouse suggests that Nirenberg has used the pandemic to promote himself, through the mayors nightly press briefings with County Judge Nelson Wolff.

In early December, Brockhouse said the pandemic is essentially all (Nirenberg) can run on, because those other pieces of accomplishment just aren't there.

At the same time, Brockhouse argues that Nirenberg has failed the city during the pandemic with strict public-health mandates  mask mandates, restrictions on large gatherings, a Thanksgiving holiday curfew, the temporary closing of some non-essential businesses  that Brockhouse regards as excessive.

He will argue that the citys approach has been inconsistent, because it has been tough on small businesses while allowing more than 11,000 people to congregate at the Alamodome for the December fight between Canelo Alvarez and Callum Smith.

What recovers our city is making money, Brockhouse said in a recent episode of his webcast, The BrockCast.

Its a snappy line, and its an easy one to use when youre not in charge of controlling the worst pandemic of the past 100 years, when you dont have the weight of crowded hospitals and decimated families on your shoulders.

Nirenberg has correctly worked from the assumption that we cant get our economy rolling again until we get our public-health crisis under control.

If my goals can be summed up with one word, it is to be healthy: to have a healthy city with healthy people, a healthy economy, healthy opportunities and a healthy future, Nirenberg said in his six-minute campaign announcement.

I will be working with (Wolff) to knock on every single door we can to get more vaccines to San Antonio, he added.

Nirenberg will present himself as a leader who looked beyond political expediency during a time of crisis and took action to protect his constituents.

Nirenberg and Brockhouse will also be compelled to provide their views on police reform, an issue which will be on the ballot in the form of an initiative from Fix SAPD to repeal collective bargaining for police officers.

Brockhouse has a long association with the police union and tends to defend a system that allows rogue officers to get away with abuses of power. Nirenberg has been sympathetic to reform, but needs to address it in greater detail during this campaign.

Both candidates also should be expected to provide a strong vision for how we deal with a homelessness problem that has been inflamed by the pandemic.

This week, city crews displaced at least 85 homeless people from a downtown tent camp under Interstate 37. This is unacceptable and the mayoral campaign must include a serious discussion of how this city treats its homeless population.

The stakes are too high in 2021 for cheap pandering or personal vitriol. San Antonians deserve real answers.

ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

Feb. 5, 2021



NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on an article by the Associated Press on the Catholic Church's participation in the Payroll Protection Program:

Nancy Pelosi's husband, who has a net worth of $120 million, co-owns a company that received a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan; he and his wife are worth $202 million. The Los Angeles Lakers, which are worth $4.4 billion, received PPP funding as well; they gave back the $4.6 million loan after being publicly embarrassed. Lucrative Hollywood law firms also raked in PPP funds.

None of this is of any interest to the Associated Press (AP). On February 4, it continued its obsession with the Catholic Church by running a lengthy piece on this subject (it ran another barn burner in July on the same subject).

What exactly did AP find that upset it so much? It learned that 112 Catholic dioceses collected $1.5 billion in PPP loans; it estimates that if all the dioceses shared their financial statements the figure would be about double that amount. It contends that given the resources of the Catholic Church in the United States, this money was too generous.

Of course, the case could be made that the money was not generous enough.

Due to restrictions on church attendance occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, donations to parishes have taken a serious hit. Catholic schools have been especially hit hardover a hundred have closedas many parents have found it difficult to pay tuition expenses. Moreover, many of those who work for the dioceses have had to be laid off, and wage cuts had to be made for others. AP makes brief mention of these hardships but still insists that the Church received too much money.

AP claims that the Catholic Church is sitting on $10 billion in total assets. How does it come up with such a figure? It estimates real estate properties owned by the Church, as well as funds held by charitable foundations. It also includes "funding that dioceses had opted to designate for special purposes instead of general expenses; excess cash that parishes and their affiliates deposit with their diocese's savings and loan; and lines of credit dioceses typically have with outside banks."

It is striking to note that AP did not do the same computation for other religions. The reason we don't know ballpark estimates of the total holdings of Protestant churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and other religious institutions is because the AP has no interest in conducting such a probe. It is singularly focused on the Catholic Church.

Did the Church need the PPP funds? Not according to AP. How does it know? It quotes Fr. James Connell, a retired administrator who worked in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. "Was it want or need?" Connell said. "Need must be present, not simply want." If that isn't lame enough, consider who Connell is.

He is a long-time Church dissident who co-founded Catholic Whistleblowers in 2013, a tiny group of malcontents that sought to out priests who abused minors. Perversely, Connell was charged several years earlier with covering up for the worst American molester in the history of the Catholic Church, Fr. Lawrence Murphy. Yet AP considers him to be a trusted source.

AP never bothers to tell its readers that the Catholic Church is the nation's largest non-government supplier of social services. The Church serves millions of people in need, many of whom are not Catholic. It operates schools, hospitals, foster care agencies, homeless shelters, orphanages and the like, never turning away anyone for lack of funds. An honest article on the Church's PPP loans would dig deep into this story.

Last July, AP ran its first story on this issue. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, made an interesting observation at that time that is relevant to AP's latest story. "Nationally," he wrote, "the Small Business Administration [SBA] approved over 88,000 loans to religious organizations, supporting more than 1 million jobs. Why then focus solely on the Catholic Church, unless the reporters had some animus towards the Church (which we suspect they do)?"

It is not as though AP could not find data on other religions. The Detroit Free Press published a story on July 10, 2020the same day the initial AP story ranthat was rich with evidence.

"Michigan Churches, Synagogues, Mosques Get Millions in Federal PPP Loans" detailed exactly how much various religious organizations received. Unlike AP's story, it never tried to tar the Catholic Church. This begs the question: If this local paper had access to data on other religions, why did AP choose not to report it?

Under the Trump administration, houses of worship hit hard with COVID-19 were treated by the SBA the same way secular institutions were. It is this policy of non-discrimination that bothers AP the most. Lest we forget, the SBA's PPP was included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It was unanimously passed in the Senate and was approved via a voice vote, without opposition, in the House.

AP is no longer the respected national wire service it once was. No wonder the majority of the American people no longer trust the media.

Contact Sally Stapleton, global religious editor: sstapleton@ap.org
Tear gas, pepper spray and impact munitions have been deployed by police for months against protesters in Portland, Oregon, enveloping neighborhoods and even a school yard in clouds of stinging, choking chemical agents.

Now, Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Portland-area Democrat, is seeking to ban their use against crowds in one of the most sweeping measures in the country restricting tear gas and other riot-control munitions.

Bynums legislative subcommittee on equitable policing heard a parade of witnesses this week via video link describe the harm caused by the substances. One woman said she almost died when tear gas was used on a crowd.

Such munitions have been regularly deployed as Portland police and federal agents have struggled to deal with some of the most persistent protesters in the country as they seek racial justice, an end to police brutality and immigration reform. Most demonstrators have been peaceful, but some have thrown objects at police and committed vandalism.

Under Bynums bill, local and state law enforcement could only use the munitions against an individual if physical force is justified.

Oregon State Police Superintendent Terri Davie testified that sometimes her troopers are compelled to indiscriminately use tear gas if some members of a crowd are committing crimes.

We determine, in order to maintain or even regain the order, the entire crowd needs to be dispersed, Davie said. Physically battling rioters to subdue and arrest them could result in injuries or death, she said.

Keeley Higgins, who has asthma, described being terrified after being gassed by Portland police while attending a protest for the first time. She and her partner tried to run to their car as the crowd was chased by riot police. Some protesters collapsed on lawns, vomiting or appearing to have seizures, she recalled, her voice choking with emotion.

I began to have trouble breathing as I continued to stumble down a residential street, Higgins said. At one point I could no longer breathe. I looked into my partners eyes and I thought I was going to die.

She said her partner saved her by using an emergency inhaler she had in her car.

I dont care if 5% or 90% of a crowd is deemed violent by the most violent police force in the U.S., Higgins said. Zero percent of people should ever be poisoned, let alone by their own city.

The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science has been frequently blanketed by tear gas and smoke grenades deployed by federal agents battling protesters at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, across a street from the school.

We regularly find pellets, pepper balls and munitions in our play yard, school Executive Director Amanda McAdoo told the legislative panel, adding that soil samples have been sent to a lab for testing. McAdoo urged lawmakers to vote yes on the bill.

She said in a telephone interview that she is worried about chemical munitions residue affecting children who may return after spring break as the school looks at reopening. It has conducted distance learning while being closed for 10 months amid the coronavirus pandemic.

We are concerned about being able to do so until we know that our yard is safe for them to be playing, McAdoo said.

The school was advised to circulate more outside air into the building because of the virus, but that raised concerns that surfaces and the air might be contaminated by the chemical agents.

McAdoo wrote to federal officials on Monday, asking that their personnel stop using these munitions in the neighborhood and disclose what chemicals have been released and the possible health impacts. She also requested help to assess contamination levels at the school and clean it up.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, complained to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday about the extensive use of tear gas and other chemical agents in Portland, including near Cottonwood School.

He reiterated a request for details about the munitions being used by federal agents, saying the Trump administration had not adequately responded.

If Bynums bill becomes law, authorities in Oregon would have to inform federal agents about it and attempt to enforce it.

However, federal agents couldnt be compelled to comply, said Jim Ferraris, the police chief in Woodburn who testified on behalf of associations of Oregon police chiefs and sheriffs.

Washington state and California are among other states looking at curbing the use of chemical agents.

Last year, Colorado lawmakers passed a law involving police accountability that bans officers from shooting rubber bullets indiscriminately into a crowd or targeting someones head, torso or back. Officers cannot use tear gas, pepper spray, or other chemical irritants without issuing a clear order to disperse and allowing time for people to do so.

___

Associated Press writers James Anderson in Denver, Rachel La Corte in Olympia, Washington; and Don Thompson in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.

__



Hamburg:

India on Saturday refused to elaborate on the range of issues discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their informal conversation on Friday in Hamburg, in the backdrop of a standoff between their armies in the Sikkim sector.

We have tweeted that the two leaders discussed a range of issues. A range of issues means a range of issues. I dont want to add anything further...I leave it to you to draw your conclusion, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

His response came when during a briefing here he was asked if a range of issues discussed during the conversation between Modi and Xi ahead of the informal meeting of the BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit included the standoff in the Sikkim sector.

Im not commenting on it because we have said what we have (to say) and as to the picture, well, the old saying is that a picture speaks more than a thousand words, was Baglays response when asked about whether the picture along with the tweet showing the two leaders smiling was indicative of any de-escalation of tension between the two countries.

MOST READ | India of 2017 will suffer worse losses than 1962 war if it incites border clash: China

The informal interaction between Modi and Xi came a day after a top Chinese foreign ministry official had said that the atmosphere is not right for a formal bilateral meeting between them in Hamburg.

The standoff between China and India in the Doklam area near the Bhutan tri-junction has dragged on for the past three weeks. It started after a Chinese Armys construction party attempted to build a road.

Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.

Baglay also asserted that the prime minister was here to attend the G20 summit meetings. He participated in the proceedings and Indias contribution to these discussions is the main focus for us here. At the same time, the prime minister had several bilaterals on the margins, he added.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Malaysian authorities have arrested and charged a politician turned sovereign wealth fund chairman with bribery and money laundering over allegations he oversaw a scheme to inflate the price of Australian property purchases in return for kickbacks.

The charging of Dato Mohammad Lan Bin Allani by Malaysias Anti-Corruption Commission was sparked by an investigation by The Age and Sydney Morning Herald into multimillion-dollar property acquisitions in Australia by a Malaysian government wealth fund set up to alleviate rural poverty.

Senior Malaysian political figure Mohammad Lan Bin Allani.

The commission used evidence in a leaked draft investigation report by auditors Ernst and Young and which was prepared for the Malaysian government but only made public after reporters in Australia published its contents in September.

That document, along with offshore bank records also uncovered by the newspapers, revealed how Mr Allani and other serving and former Malaysian officials may have extracted bribes worth up to $23.5 million by laundering funds via a number of Australian property developments including a student accommodation block called Dudley House in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield.
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Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Covid-19 vaccines being rolled out across the UK are safe, with the overwhelming majority of suspected side-effects being mild, the drugs regulator has said.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said its analysis showed a reporting rate of three suspected side-effects for every 1,000 doses of vaccine administered  with the issues reported being similar to those for the annual flu vaccine.

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chairman of the expert working group of the Independent Commission on Human Medicines, told a media briefing that Covid-19 vaccines were extremely safe.

He added: The benefits far outweigh the risks. I say that to my family as well.

It is the first time data on side-effects for jabs in use in the community has been scrutinised, including for the newer Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine.

From December 9 to January 24, the MHRA received 22,820 reports of suspected side-effects, with the vast majority being mild and in line with most other types of vaccine, the MHRA said.

These included sore arms and mild flu-like symptoms (such as headache, chills, fatigue and aching muscles) that are short-lived, reflecting the bodys normal immune response to vaccines.

Dr June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said: Vaccines are the most effective way to protect against Covid-19 and save lives and prevent serious complications from this terrible virus.

(PA Graphics)

The data we have collected provides further reassurance that the Covid-19 vaccines are safe and continue to meet the rigorous regulatory standards required for all vaccines.

We remain confident that the benefits of these vaccines outweigh any risks.

Our priority is to ensure the public have safe and effective vaccines and we will continue to analyse, monitor and review all the safety data for these vaccines.

Id like to thank everyone who has reported a potential side effect to us  every report matters.

In its report, the MHRA said its analysis covered a period when an estimated 5.4 million first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine had been administered, and around half a million second doses.

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As of January 24 across the UK, 16,756 Yellow Cards had been reported for Pfizer/BioNTech alongside 6,014 for AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, and 50 where the brand of the vaccine was not specified.

The overwhelming majority of reports were for mild suspected side-effects.

The MHRA said data showed that severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine were very rare (less than one in 10,000 people receiving the jab), with a rate of one to two cases per 100,000 doses administered.

Overall, the MHRA received 101 reports of severe allergic reactions  associated with anaphylaxis or anaphylactoid reactions  for the Pfizer jab, and 13 for the Oxford vaccine. All the people recovered as far as the MHRA was aware.

A dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is prepared (Yui Mok/PA)

The regulator said anaphylaxis can be a very rare side-effect to many types of vaccines.

The regulator also received 69 reports of facial paralysis or weakness with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and six for the AstraZeneca jab.

When it compared such reports with the rate at which facial paralysis can occur naturally, it said the rate was similar and does not currently suggest an increased risk following the vaccines.

Some 107 reports involved patients who died shortly after vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNTech jab, alongside 34 reports for the Oxford vaccine.

The majority of these reports were in elderly people or people with underlying illness, the MHRA said in its study.

Review of individual reports and patterns of reporting does not suggest the vaccine played a role in the death.

Of other suspected reactions, the MHRA said there are currently no indications of specific patterns or rates of reporting that would suggest the vaccine has played a role.

Side-effects overall appeared to be more common in younger age groups, but the MHRA suggested there may be biases in reporting, with younger people more likely to report side-effects.

It said other strands of data being monitored had not thrown up any safety concerns.
Dr. Miguel Rodriguez and his fellow pulmonologists at Holyoke Medical Center have treated many patients with symptoms of COVID-19 since last year, and continue to see some of those patients whose symptoms like chest and joint pain have lingered despite the absence of infection.

We are learning as we go, said Rodriguez of what SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can do when it infects the bodys cells. The goal is to help people in recovery and to help them while they are going through the illness. We are doing the best we can.

His comments echo those of other health care providers locally and nationally who, as the cumulative number grows of those recovered from COVID-19, are seeing more of them as patients who say their symptoms continue to linger months into recovery.

A lot of the recovered patients I am seeing are not even those who were hospitalized, but they are having these ongoing lingering symptoms that are preventing them from getting back to their regular functional status and their regular quality of life, said Dr. Ali Haider, an interventional cardiologist at Cooley Dickinson in Northampton.

Haider said some of symptoms he sees as a cardiologist, including in people who are very young and had mild COVID, are that people are getting significant rapid heart rate, palpitations, and exaggerated tachycardia, meaning a very exaggerated heart rate response just walking down the hallway and going up a flight of stairs.

Haider said he does cardiac testing on such patients and has them wear heart monitors in part to help reassure them that their heart is functioning normal and that the lingering symptoms they are experiencing are not uncommon in some post-COVID-19 patients.

Some patients I have have gotten much better over the course of weeks or a couple months, and I have some folks six months out who are still not normal, Haider said.

This is not a well understood phenomena. We dont have great answers in terms of telling patients how long this will last which does not help the patients state of mind.

A long convalescence is not unusual with a viral illness, but much about the clinical course of a SARS-CoV-2 infection remains unknown even as more studies emerge about its recovery phase and more health care systems look to address what is sometimes referred to as post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Baystate Health has said it will offer a multidisciplinary team approach to treating this syndrome, and more than a month ago, Trinity Health Of New England, which includes Mercy Medical Center, launched its Center for COVID Recovery Care.

Connecticut and Massachusetts were among the hardest hit states early in the pandemic and as the number of recovered COVID-19 patients grew we have seen many looking for guidance on lingering symptoms that can include fatigue, depression, some memory issues, and they just want to get back to baseline, said Dr. Manjula Cherukuri, Trinity Health Of New Englands chief quality and digital health officer.

She, too, called treatment for this patient population a learning experience for everyone and Trinitys approach a holistic one in the access to medical and behavioral health care it offers.

We start with a virtual health visit because that is where we are able to screen the patient, answer the patient and triage the patient and, based on the symptoms, determine what is needed, Cherukuri said.

There are so many members in the community who may not have been hospitalized or only had a brief hospitalization for COVID-19 and recovered well from their acute symptoms but notice these lingering symptoms months later. It is a growing patient population.

SARS-CoV-2 emerged in late 2019 as a newly detected virus out of China and its resultant infection was described initially as a rare form of pneumonia. Infected travelers help spread the virus into a global respiratory disease now known as capable of invading all of the bodys organs thanks to an enzyme on most cells that acts as a receptor for SARS-CoV-2.

COVID tends to affect the lungs and then it just spreads to all the other organs through that ACE2 receptor, causing injury, blood clots and all types of things that it has been very hard to see people go through, said Holyoke Medicals Rodriguez.

According to the World Health Organization, most people infected by SARS-CoV-2 experience mild or moderate symptoms and typically recover in two to six weeks. It estimates that some 10 to 15 percent of people infected will become severely ill and about 5 percent, critically ill.

Rodriguez said patients who sometimes refer to themselves as long-haulers in recovery are generally those whose symptoms continue for months.

In general, the expectation in people who have that moderate to severe disease I would say is that it would take them a good six-to-eight weeks to recover, Rodriguez said.

We are not used to this prolonged period of recovery and this is why we start looking at different long-term effects of COVID, but the severity of the disease can result in a longer recovery period than normal for people. This is not really considered a long-hauler. This is just recovery itself.

Rodriguez said the issue of a long-haul recovery months out occurs in about 10 percent of people that we see, even if they had minimal COVID, where they end up with what appears to be post-COVID syndrome with ongoing symptoms.

The challenge in treating those in recovery, no matter where they are in the time span, Rodriguez said, is determining the cause of the lingering symptoms that vary and prescribing an effective course of therapy.

This post-COVID group unfortunately is very heterogeneous, said Rodriguez who may prescribe anti-inflammatories, pulmonary rehabilitation as well as inhalers to address respiratory issues.

He encourages people to stay focus on recovery and hopeful that they will get back to the quality of life they had before.

This virus causes a lot of psychological difficulties in people, Rodriguez said.

Going through having the virus and having any symptoms return people worry is this virus coming back and people get depressed and this ultimately takes a toll. Deconditioning is another big issue. Someone may have been very fit and once they get hit with this virus they get very deconditioned. They get short of breath. All these different entities play a role in this prolonged process.

Yet, Rodriguez said, the patients he sees in recovery are getting better.

It may be longer than we like. It may be three or four months, but they are getting better, Rodriguez said.

It is amazing to see a CAT scan that was completely covered with COVID in the upper respiratory track and then we see that repeated CAT scan three months later and it is completely clearing. It is really reassuring that the body is able to heal if we just give it enough time.

Rodriguez said that a lot of the post-COVID syndrome has to do with how the virus affects those particular organs it has entered and caused damage.

He added that sometimes people stay symptomatic even without evidence of any abnormalities in those studies.

There may be more of a cellular injury that we cannot measure, Rodriguez said. I wonder in time if there is going to be more testing where we can measure that more microscopic injury, that cellular injury, to be able to stay on top of people symptoms and to understand more of the cellular physiology.

Related content:
(Newser)  Two people claiming to work for Sean Penn's nonprofit posted public comments griping about working conditions, and the actor is not having it. As People reports, Penn's Community Organized Relief Effort is currently focused on helping with the vaccination rollout in Los Angeles and elsewhere. When the New York Times wrote a story about this last week, the two anonymous people griped in the comments section. One carped about having to put in 18-hour days and the other about getting "the same old lettuce wraps" for lunch every day. That prompted Penn to fire back with a lengthy letter to staffers that was quickly leaked to the Los Angeles Times. (The newspaper adds that the letter was pretty much begging to be leaked.)

story continues below

To "whoever authored these, understand that in every cell of my body is a vitriol for the way your actions reflect so harmfully upon your brothers and sisters in arms," wrote Penn. "I have taken counsel and here will refrain from using the words with which I would otherwise choose to describe the character of your actions. And if they're not happy putting in long hours to help get people vaccinated, Penn has some advice. "It's called quitting," he wrote. "Quit for CORE. Quit for your colleagues who won't quit. Quit for your fellow human beings who deeply recognize that this is a moment in time. A moment of service that we must all embody sometimes to the point of collapse." (When Penn made a TV appearance to plug the work, his bed-head was epic.)

Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
P ower struggles, in-fighting and the bathos of video-conferencing: the compulsively watchable viral video of the Handforth Parish Council meeting is surely 2021s answer to The Thick of It.

With its heated debates and instantly iconic characters, this spiritual successor to Armando Iannuccis pitch black political comedy deserves the TV treatment, and execs are surely scrambling to commission one of Britains best screenwriters (James Graham? Sally Wainwright? Mike Leigh?) to bash out a 90 minute special. Move over true crime - were only interested in hyper-local politics now.

Iannucci's surely a shoo-in to direct, but which British acting luminaries have what it takes to bring these inadvertent comic heroes to life on the small screen? We have some ideas

Jackie Weaver - Imelda Staunton

We can see Staunton getting a Bafta for this

Imelda Staunton will soon reign supreme as The Crowns latest Queen Elizabeth II, but before that, its imperative that she uses her considerable acting talents to embody another national treasure - the unflappable clerk Jackie Weaver. Just imagine the 2022 TV Baftas playing a clip of Staunton saying Please refer to me as Britney Spears from now on in her highlights reel. Depending on the videos international reach, though, Australian actress Jacqui Weaver might also have grounds to make a play for this one.

Handforth PC Clerk - Gary Oldman

Just don't tell Daniel Day Lewis / Dave Benett

We need an actor worthy of facing off against Staunton here - Handforth PC Clerks layered character and dramatic story arc, plus the potential for donning some transformative prosthetics a la his Churchill get-up in Darkest Hour mean that Gary Oldman is surely already calling his agent in the hopes of seeing off competition from Daniel Day Lewis (whos probably already running for his local parish council in preparation).

Sue - Judi Dench

Dench has won Oscars for less / Dave Benett

Prepared to make peace with the baying crowd in the waiting room and not willing to stand for any unpleasantness, Sue feels like the moral compass of our motley crew. Its a part that has heart-warming star turn from Judi Dench written all over it. Shes won Oscars for less (ahem, Shakespeare in Love).

Cyn - Glenda Jackson

Did you know she's from the Wirral? / Dave Benett

I wouldnt say egg shells, Id say glass. My feet are cut to ribbons. Theres something a little Shakespearean about Cyns richly metaphorical turns of phrase - who better to give her the theatrical stature she deserves than stage icon Glenda Jackson, wholl also be able to draw on her 23 years in politics? Plus, Jackson grew up in Birkenhead, Wirral, which is - as her colleagues seem to be obsessed with pointing out - where Cyn hails from.

Julies iPad - Sarah Lancashire

Supremely relatable / Dave Benett

A cautionary tale of forgetting to stick yourself on mute before you enter the meeting, the supreme relatability of Julies disembodied voice (Im in a meeting, can I call you back?) combined with her Northern tones make this a perfect cameo for Happy Valley star and Corrie alumna Sarah Lancashire.

John Smith - Bradley Walsh

Affability is Walsh's speciality / PA

John Smith ends up taking a leading role in the meeting with all the business-like affability of an ITV prime time quiz host, complete with genial wisecracks, making this role a shoo-in for his doppelganger Bradley Walsh.

Aleds iPad 1 - Ian McKellen

Minimum time, maximum impact / Dave Benett

Two men crop up on the screen described as Aleds iPad - the elder of the pair is a pivotal role, one that needs to make an impact with limited screen time. Surely this requires one of our most celebrated thesps - someone get McKellen on the phone.

Aleds iPad 2 - Steve Coogan

The Partridge energy is strong in this one / Dave Benett

The Partridge energy of READ THE STANDING ORDERS! and WERE TRYING TO HAVE A TEAMS MEETING YOU FOOL! meltdown in the first act is frankly off the charts.

Alans iPad - Bill Nighy

Nighy could do Alan's iPad in his sleep / Dave Benett

This supporting player steals the scene midway through the meeting, when hes finally brought back from waiting room purgatory (hed been erroneously evicted) and proceeds to crack everyone up with some gentle humour. Its the sort of charming walk-on part that Bill Nighy could do in his sleep.

Peter Moore - Vincent Franklin

Peter would be a great cameo for Vincent Franklin

For added Thick of It parallels, member of the public Peter is a dead ringer for the seriess Tory spin guru Steve Hilton, making this a great cameo for TTOI actor Vincent Franklin.

Ian - Timothy Spall

Is it really a Brit drama without Spall? / Dave Benett

Torrox town hall, along with the town's civil protection officers, have distributed 20,000 FFP2 masks to people over the age of 65.

Around 1,300 households have received packs containing five masks.

"You deserve the best," said mayor Oscar Medina addressing Torrox's older population last Friday.

This is the third time since the start of the pandemic that masks have been handed out to the town's over 65s.


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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene finally said Friday that she was sorry for backing QAnon and saying 'those things that are wrong and offensive,' but she had no remorse over her treatment of Parkland schol shooting survivor David Hogg.

'David Hogg was working with the organization that was, they were going around working hard for strict gun control laws,' Greene said. 'I'm very opposed to those policies and so being in the same situation as David Hogg, my voice matters too - and so no, I'm not sorry for telling him he shouldn't push for gun control.'

Greene assembled a press conference outside the Capitol Building in the aftermath of the Democrat-led House's decision to strip her of her committee assignments in a vote Thursday evening of 230 to 199, with 11 Republicans voting alongside every Democrat.

The Georgia Republican got angry when reporters asked her about some of the controversial comments she made that led to the vote, with a question about her support on Facebook for executing House Speaker Nanchy Pelosi prompting her to flee the scene.

'You know, here's the thing, when you want to keep telling the same story over and over, but you don't want to tell the truth, that's your problem. And that is how we end press conferences,' she said marching off toward the Capitol Building, with a gaggle of reporters in hot pursuit.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks to reporters outside the Capitol Building Friday on the heels of being pushed out of committees for making controversial statements

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene got annoyed with a question about her indicating support for executing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and ended the press conference, heading back to the Capitol Building with a gaggle of reporters in tow

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene walks out of the Capitol Building to address the press Friday morning

Reporters gathered on Capitol Hill for a press conference with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was ousted out of her committee assignments by the majority-Democrat House of Representatives

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she wasn't sorry for following David Hogg (right) around Capitol Hill and making nasty comments about him. Hogg appeared on CNN Friday morning (pictured)

THE CLAIMS TAYLOR GREENE HAS NOT PUBLICLY RENOUNCED The California Camp Fire which killed at least 85 was caused by a space laser linked to the Rothschilds and the state's high-speed rail. PG&E admitted it was caused by a faulty power line and went into bankruptcy to fund a $13.5bn settlement and pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin cut off a child's face while she was alive, Clinton wore it as a mask so the terrified child would produce 'adrenachrome' and then organized the killing of a cop who knew about it.

The Las Vegas massacre was organized by Democrats to help them ban guns and shooter Stephen Paddock was not a lone wolf.

' I am told that Nancy Pelosi tells Hillary Clinton several times a month that we need another school shooting in order to persuade the public to want strict gun control.'

Seth Rich leaked Hillary Clinton's emails and was murdered in revenge by her aide John Podesta because the emails revealed that a D.C. pizza restaurant had a child-smuggling operation in its basement. It does not even have a basement.

The world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles and the Q in QAnon exists and is the 'best chance to take them out.'

Barack Obama and Valerie Jarrett are Muslims.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was replaced by a body double.

The Clintons has JFK Jr. killed by organizing his plane crash.

She wasn't the person who posted a call to assassinate Nancy Pelosi to her own Facebook page. Advertisement

Before that, Greene had been asked by a reporter if there were statements she was sorry she made.

'Oh, of course, I'm sorry for saying all those things that are wrong and offensive and I sincerely m ean that and I'm happy to say that, I think it's good to say, say when we've done something wrong,' she said.

Immediately after that, she said she was not sorry for harassing Hogg, noting that he was an 'adult' at the time.

After CNN reported on her Facebook posts that indicated she supported top Democrats being killed a viral video came out of her running after Hogg when the gun control activist was lobbying on Capitol Hill.

'I want you to know I know that fear David Hogg felt,' she said Friday. 'It's terrifying.'

Greene said when she was in 11th grade, at age 16, one of her schoolmates brought three guns into a classroom, which led to students being in a five-hour hostage situation.

'It's terrifying when the only person in the building with a gun is very upset and is there to do evil. And there's no good guy with any guns to protect us,' she said.

At the top of the press conference, Greene told several dozen masked reporters that she 'truly' supported the freedom of press.

'I think it's one of the things that makes our country so great and I really hope that you'll be able to tell my story a little bit better,' the Georgia lawmaker said.

That tune quickly changed, as she blamed the press for Washington's toxic partisanship.

'Do you want your legacy to be the platform that destroyed our nation and caused our people to hate one another or would you rather be a platform that told the truth because you're given the great gift, the freedom of press,' Greene said.

Those comments came directly after she pointed a finger at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the Democratic caucus' most liberal members, and said AOC was responsible for a 'hoax' by saying she feared for her life during the insurrection.

'I was in the chamber, unlike AOC, Representative Ocasio-Cortez, that faked her outrage with another hoax, another hoax that gets shared everywhere,' Greene said.

She called both Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Cori Bush, who had an altercation with Greene in a Capitol Hill hallway, liars.

'This is the kind of fake outrage that is dividing our Congress along with the fake outrage on the news every single day,' Greene said.

'You know what the media does? And you guys are great at it. And I'm telling you this because I want to like you. But you're doing a really good job addicting our nation to hate, teaching people to hate people like me, President Trump and then on the right it's the same way, teaching people to hate AOC, Ilhan Omar, Nancy Pelosi, see it goes both ways doesn't it?' Greene continued.

'Teaching people to hate, and addicting them to it, is killing our country,' she told the gathered reporters.

Greene defended Trump throughout her press conference, noting that a 'record number of Americans' voted for him. She neglected to mention that even more Americans voted for now President Joe Biden.

'Do you know why? Because they loved his policies. They loved his fight. They loved the fact that for once we had a president who stood up for America, stood up for American businesses and remembered the "forgotten man,"' Greene said. 'He was a president who didn't care about your skin color because God created us all equal.'

'I want to tell you Republican voters support him still, the party is his,' Greene said.

She called next week's Senate impeachment trial a 'circus' and suggested it was just a way for media companies to line their pockets.

The House voted 230 to 199 to strip her committee assignments

REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED TO REMOVE GREENE Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania) Carols Gimenez (Florida) Chris Jacobs (New York) John Katko (New York) Young Kim (California) Adam Kinzinger (Illinois) Nicole Malliotakis (New York) Maria Salazar (Florida) Adam Smith (New Jersey) Fred Upton (Michigan) Mario Diaz-Balart (Florida) Advertisement

'The American people are disgusted with you because you're lying,' she told reporters, pointing out how media coverage over the summer described Black Lives Matter protests as predominantly peaceful. 'People are sick of it, they're fed up because they lost their businesses and they may have gotten hurt and they're tired of being attacked because they want to wear a red hat that says "Make America Great Again" or they voted for Trump and were proud of it.'

She also said neither Trump nor Republicans in Congress were responsible for the January 6 MAGA mob.

'Everyone here knows he did not cause this attack on the Capitol, not did I, nor did any Republican, but the responsibility falls squarely on those that invaded the Capitol,' Greene said. 'The ones that planned it ahead of time, those are the people who should be held accountable.'

A barb-wired, fenced perimeter still stands around the Capitol and National Guard troops were seen in the distance during Greene's press conference.

Greene had woke up in a fighting mood Friday, calling fellow Republicans who voted to strip away her committee assignments 'morons' and embracing her reduced stature as liberating.

'I woke up early this morning literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats (+11) are for giving some one like me free time,' she wrote, just hours after taking to the House floor to disavow QAnon conspiracy theory beliefs she said she gave up in 2018.

'In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway. Oh this is going to be fun!' she wrote, shortly before 8 am on Twitter.

She reiterated the point several times during the press conference.

Republican Representative from Georgia Marjorie Taylor Greene (C) walks on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 04 February 2021. She said it would be 'fun' being kicked off committees, and called those who voted against her 'morons'

Greene's new posture came after earlier indicating she planned to fight to try to get her assignments back, after the Democratic-run House voted 230-199 to take away her Education & Labor and Budget Committee assignments.

It had echoes of the way Trump tried to ridicule his political opponents before he got kicked off Twitter following the Jan. 6. MAGA riot.

On Thursday night, Greene retweeted a post from Andy Biggs, a Republican congressman from Arizona, telling his colleagues 'not to give in to the Left's lawless authoritarianism.'

'Time for Republicans to do what's right and correct this unprecedented wrong. Put Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene back on her committees,' Biggs wrote.

One House Democrat, Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California said the punishment was not enough, and is pushing to have her expelled from the House. He also said he would support a resolution to censure her, although he wrote in an op-ed that would be insufficient.

Greene said she gave up on her QAnon beliefs in 2018 and that Sept. 11th 'happened'

Congressman Jimmy Gomez of California says Greene should be expelled from the House

'If you look at her behavior and comments  in the context of what had been going on in the country before Nov. 3, then after the elections, and finally during and after the insurrection that occurred on Jan. 6  removing her from the committees is not enough, he wrote in an op-ed for NBC.

'It's a great first step, because somebody who peddles in lies and conspiracy theories should not have a platform to try to influence the education policy of the United States. But it's not enough.

'She participated in inciting the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol to overturn the results of a free and fair election, which is the cornerstone of our democracy,' he continued.

'Censuring her does not send a strong enough message to the country about how seriously the House of Representatives takes individuals who peddle in lies, who use the language of political violence and who try to incite violence in order to get their way in either electoral politics or in the legislative process,' he said of a method that has been used to rebuke lawmakers for campaign finance violations and language unbecoming of the House.

'And even after facing the possibility of punishment by the House, she hasn't apologized: instead, she blamed the backlash to her dangerous statements on cancel culture, simply affirmed the fact that 9/11 happened, that school shootings aren't all fake and said that, when it came to her embrace of the cult-like QAnon conspiracy theory, she had been 'allowed to believe things that weren't true.'

She also continued to fundraise of the controversy, he noted. She will continue to be able to try to build her profile, while no longer having to put in committee work.

Democrats, and 11 Republicans, voted Thursday to remove Greene from both her committee assignments for espousing QAnon conspiracies before being elected to Congress  including supporting calls online for Nancy Pelosi's execution.

The 230-199 vote created the simple majority needed for Greene to get booted from her posts on the Education and Labor Committee and Budget Committee.

Ahead of the vote Thursday, Greene dramatically abandoned her QAnon conspiracy theories in a speech to the House of Representatives.

The Georgia Republican said '9/11 absolutely happened,' and that 'school shootings are real,' disclaiming two of the bizarre claims which had made her the focus for opprobrium from Democrats and condemnation from her GOP colleagues.

'I also want to tell you 9/11 absolutely happened. I remember that day crying all day long watching it on the news. It's a tragedy for anyone to say it didn't happen,' Greene told the House

'Later in 2018 when I started finding misinformation, lies, things that were not true in these QAnon posts, I stopped believing it,' Greene said during her floor remarks. 'So I walked away from those things '

'Cancel culture is a real thing. It is very real. And when big tech companies like Twitter, you can scroll through and see where someone may have retweeted porn, this is a problem.'
Con Court to hear argument on police failures in gang rape case

CALS is set to present argument on secondary trauma and the duty of care that police have towards victims of crime, particularly sexual offences

[UPDATE: The Court has reserved judgment in the matter. A recording of the hearing is available here.]

On Tuesday 9 February, the Constitutional Court is set to hear an appeal brought by activist and rape survivor Andy Kawa against the Minister of Police. The case centres on the polices failure to properly investigate the crimes of kidnapping and rape perpetrated against Ms Kawa, and whether police should be forced to pay damages for their negligence. CALS has been admitted as a friend of the court in the matter.

In December 2010, author and entrepreneur Andy Kawa was abducted and brutally gang raped near Kings Beach in Port Elizabeth, a life-changing ordeal she documents in her recent memoir Kwanele, Enough! Ms Kawa spent years pushing for the police to investigate the crimes committed against her, but was failed time and again by those who are meant to protect her. Police failed to promptly obtain physical evidence, interview potential suspects and witnesses, or pursue video evidence, among other things.

After years of fierce advocacy, Ms Kawa turned to the courts in an attempt to hold the police accountable for these failures. The High Court ruled in her favour, granting damages against the police, but this judgment was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal. Ms Kawa has now taken the matter on appeal to the Constitutional Court, arguing that it raises important constitutional issues.

The Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) has been admitted as a friend of the court in the matter. Our argument focuses on the duty of care that police have towards victims of crime and particularly sexual offences, the importance of taking a victim-centred approach to cases of gender-based violence, and the secondary trauma and victimisation that may result from failure to investigate.

Lack of professional, considerate, diligent policing may result in tremendous trauma to victims of sexual offences, but it may also have dire effects on the decision of other survivors to come forward and report crimes, says Sheena Swemmer, head of the Gender Justice programme at CALS. The treatment of victims in the criminal justice system, including by police, is one of the most often cited reasons that sexual offences are under-reported. This limits access to justice.

The fact that Ms Kawas constitutional rights have been infringed upon is not in dispute, agrees Basetsana Koitsioe from CALS. Failing to properly investigate limits a number of intersecting rights, including the rights to dignity, equality, bodily and psychological integrity and the right to be free from all forms of violence. We argue the failure of police to perform their duties in line with the Constitution could result in a valid damages claim against them.

The matter is set to be heard virtually by the Constitutional Court on 9 February 2021.

Read our heads of argument here.

For inquiries, please contact:
A toddler shot Thursday night in western Birmingham has died.

The Jefferson County Coroners Office on Friday identified the child as Major Turner. He was 2.

The shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday in the Kimbrough Homes public housing complex in the Wenonah Community. Sgt. Rod Mauldin said police were notified of a double shooting in the 2900 block of John Bryant Road. They arrived to find the mother and Major wounded.

Police radio traffic indicated the child was struck in the neck and taken to Childrens of Alabama with critical injuries. He was pronounced dead at 2:45 a.m.

Major Turner, 2, was shot Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, in a west Birmingham apartment. He died early Friday. (Contributed)

The mother was also hospitalized but her injuries didnt initially appear to be life-threatening.

Mauldin said the victims were inside their apartment when someone from the outside opened fire. Neighbors reported hearing at least eight to 10 shots, with a pause in between some of them.

No arrests have been announced.

A double shooting investigating was underway Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021 in Birmingham Kimbrough Homes public housing community.

Any time you have anyone thats shot, its concerning but tonight we had a 2-year-old along with the mother wounded by gunfire,' Mauldin said. Were not sure if anyone was outside, but this is a close-knit community, so we know people know something.

It wasnt immediately clear whether the apartment or the victims were specifically targeted. We dont know if it was an ongoing dispute or not but we know somebody knows something so were urging people to come forward with information,' Mauldin said. Stand up for your community and come forward.

Major is Birminghams 11th homicide in 2021. In all of Jefferson County there have been 18 homicides, including the 11 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
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Home Search ICH Question Everything! Purpose and Intent of this website: Im a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay and I have a message for President Biden



I have no interest in revenge, but I would like people to know what happened to me and how it has been swept under the carpet



By Ahmed Rabbani February 04, 2021 " Information Clearing House " - President Biden is someone who has suffered his own personal tragedies: first losing his wife and daughter in 1972 to an accident, and then his son Beau from a brain tumor. He has felt so much pain; I hope that means he will understand mine. The last two decades of my life have been a nightmare without end  and the worst of it is that my family are also trapped inside it. I sit here writing this in Guantanamo Bay, and I can only hope the president finds some empathy for my situation, and that of the other detainees who languish here in this terrible prison. When I was kidnapped from Karachi in 2002 and sold to the CIA for a bounty with a false story that I was a terrorist called Hassan Ghul, my wife and I had just had the happy news that she was pregnant. She gave birth to my son Jawad a few months later. I have never been allowed to meet my own child. President Biden is a man who speaks of the importance of family. I wonder if he can imagine what it would be like to have never touched his own son. Mine will soon be 18 years old, and I have not been there to help him or to guide him. I have been locked up for his entire childhood, without charges or a trial. In that time, the president has served a full term as a Senator, eight years as vice president of the US, and challenged Donald Trump for the presidency and won, fulfilling his lifes ambition. I doubt I would have done anything like that, but I cant help but question what I might have done with those years, had they not been stolen. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Newsletter When Biden took the oath of office to become vice president in January 2009, at Barack Obamas side, he joined an administration that had sworn to close Guantanamo. An executive order, issued that week, promised to "restore the standards of due process and the core constitutional values that have made this country great even in the midst of war. Obama promised on his second day in office to close Gitmo for good. I am not here to judge him for the failure to carry out those plans in the face of obstruction in Congress, or to suggest that it will be easy to close Guantanamo now. But it gives me heart that the US is again led by a president who believes in justice and the rule of law. The Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture was completed on his watch, as they say, in 2014. Its a report that I feature in. It says that I was tortured for 540 days in the Dark Prison in Afghanistan without authorization  whether that makes it better or worse, I am still undecided. I can confirm that the torture did take place, although I couldnt have counted the days myself: the days and nights blended into one while I was hung from a bar in a black pit, in agony as my shoulders dislocated. I doubt that President Biden can understand what this torture is like; to hear a woman screaming in the next room and to be told it is your wife, and that if you do not do as they insist, they will rape her or kill her. I have no interest in revenge, but I would like people to know what happened to me and how it has been swept under the carpet  so that we are protected from presidents like Bidens predecessor who might make someone face it again. The stain of torture can be excised from American history. Biden and his administration cant just put their heads in the sand and pretend it did not happen. The US is currently paying $13.8 million a year just to keep me here, so he could save a lot of money by just letting me go home. I am just taxi driver from Karachi, a victim of mistaken identity. The CIA even captured the real Hassan Ghul, but after interrogating him they let him go and kept me imprisoned. Perhaps they are embarrassed by their mistake? As Biden settles in the White House, he will be living in splendor. I dont want to compare the Oval Office to my cell here in Guantanamo. However, it strikes agony into my heart to think about how my family  without a father or husband  live in such miserable conditions. The new president will attend fancy banquets, while I am in year seven of a hunger strike, protesting the fact that I am held without trial. I am under half of the weight I was when I was first seized in Karachi, and the way it has been going, even while they force-feed me, I will die here in my cell. President Biden has the power to do something. I would like justice, obviously, for all the abuse I have suffered, but most importantly, I do not want to go home in a coffin or a body bag. I just want to go home to my family, and to finally  for the first time  hold my son. Ahmed Rabbani, Guantanamo ISN 1461, supplied this op-ed via the human rights organization Reprieve Post your comment below Registration is necessary to post comments. We ask only that you do not use obscene or offensive language. Please be respectful of others. See also The Post-American World; Crooke, Escobar, Blumenthal and Marandi lay it all out Search Information Clearing House The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load.
Pretoria  FORD Motor Company is investing US$1,05 billion (R15,8 billion) in its South African manufacturing operations.

This marks the biggest investment in Ford's 97-year history in the Southern African country.

It also represents one of the largest-ever investments in the South African automotive industry and boosts Ford's production capability and creating new jobs.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attended the announcement at a media briefing attended by government and Ford officials on Tuesday.

The overall investment includes US$686 million (R10,3 billion) for extensive upgrades to the Silverton Assembly Plant that will increase production volume and drive significant improvements in production efficiency and vehicle quality.

Ford also will invest US$365 million (R5,5 billion) to upgrade tooling at the company's major supplier factories.

"This investment will further modernise our South African operations, helping them to play an even more important role in the turnaround and growth of our global automotive operations, as well as our strategic alliance with Volkswagen," said Dianne Craig, President of Ford's International Markets Group.

With this investment, Ford's Silverton Assembly Plant is expected to generate revenues exceeding 1,1 percent of South Africa's gross domestic product.

The annual installed capacity at the Silverton plant will increase to 200 000 vehicles from 168 000, supporting production of the all-new Ford Ranger pickup truck for the domestic market and export to over 100 global markets.

The plant also will manufacture Volkswagen pickups trucks as part of the Ford-VW strategic alliance.

The expanded production will help create 1 200 incremental Ford jobs in South Africa, increasing the local workforce to 5 500 employees, and adding an estimated 10 000 new jobs across Ford's local supplier network, bringing the total to 60 000.

- CAJ News
Tecnam Aircraft Homepage by Digital Silk "Just as Tecnam sets the standards in our industry, so does our new website. Our team at Digital Silk has interpreted our proud corporate legacy into a beautiful digital experience. - TECNAM Managing Director Giovanni Pascale Langer

Digital Silk, a creative digital agency, announces the launch of a new, cutting-edge website for Tecnam Aircraft, an Italian next-generation piston aircraft manufacturer.

The new website, as prestigious as the brand itself, is designed to reflect Tecnams recognizable style best described as "the Italian way to fly.

Website visitors can now glide through the site, exploring the companys latest aircraft models, technological innovation, corporate information, news center and more.

Digital Silks goal was to create a luxurious user experience true to Tecnams identity, that would help the company increase their global brand awareness. From the digital strategy to design and development, the agency crafted every aspect of the site carefully to educate the user on the companys unique value proposition, as well as guide them effortlessly to the conversion points.

A defining aspect of the companys brand, Digital Silks designers translated Tecnams compelling history into an immersive visual experience. The Legacy page walks the user through the memories and photos of the brands defining moments, starting in 1935 and safely landing on the present day.

Even in these unpredictable times Tecnam keeps launching new initiatives to spread positivity in the market, said TECNAM Managing Director Giovanni Pascale Langer. The new website is an important pillar in Tecnam's new marketing strategies. Just as Tecnam sets the standards in our industry, so does our new website. Our team at Digital Silk has interpreted our proud corporate legacy into a beautiful digital experience.

About Digital Silk:

Digital Silk is a creative digital agency focused on growing brands online. From custom websites to digital marketing, Digital Silk creates SUPERIOR digital experiences to drive higher conversions, greater brand engagement and measurable results.

About Tecnam:

Tecnam is an Italian aircraft manufacturer with a global network of dealers and service centers. The company produces light general aviation next-generation piston aircraft with two to 11 seats for commercial operators, special mission, flight schools and private owners.
Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Streets great inflation trade is losing steam, judging by a slew of cross-asset signals and where all the investing billions are actually going.With reflation strategies again playing second-fiddle to the crypto volatility and meme stock mania, stable Treasury yields helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average by the most in seven weeks.Debt gauges of inflation retreated from multi-year highs, while the S&P 500 largely sat still to give the benchmark the smallest monthly move since January 2020. Even the value strategy finally stalled, after notching some of the biggest gains since the financial crisis earlier this year.Given the reopening euphoria, a cool-down is to be expected. And recent days still delivered ammo to the price-growth camp: Jobless claims delivered surprises again, while two Federal Reserve officials signaled the U.S. economic expansion may warrant a taper discussion soon enough.All that suggests the reflation rally may yet power ahead if the business cycle booms anew and renews investor conviction. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for one, estimates money-manager positioning in inflation-sensitive assets including commodities is still below post-2008 peaks.Investor expectations had caught up with the better economic data, said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services. Thats more of a pause to us instead of a trend change.As lockdowns get lifted and trillions in stimulus heats up the American economy, the biggest question in markets is whether prices are on the cusp of breaking out of their decades-long doldrums. For many, bets on bonds still make sense right now when the Fed has the markets back and the data remains uncertain. Meanwhile Chinese policy moves of late are undercutting bullish wagers on commodities.On all this, the world of exchange-traded funds is sending mixed signals: Inflation-linked bonds took in $3 billion in May even as nominal government debt and corporate securities kept drawing new money, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.Market-derived expectations of price growth are sending a clearer message as the two-year breakeven gauge further outpaced five- and 10-year levels this month -- bucking the norm.Fixed income investors have emphatically concluded that it will be transitory, Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at Reynolds Strategy LLC, wrote in a note, referring to inflation.Stocks have been taking their cue from the lack of inflation drama in the bond market of late. A long-short value strategy -- which tends to bet on more cyclical companies and benefits from higher rates -- dropped this week by the most since the middle of April.Systematic styles in quality and low-volatility names also picked up. Its a sign defensive investors are seeking visible growth in earnings rather than bidding up companies acutely linked to the economic expansion, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.Hedge funds are also in wait-and-see mode. Clients at JPMorgans prime brokerage are adding exposures to both cyclical and growth shares -- suggesting reluctance to bet on one side of the inflation debate.Yet with commodity and wage pressures, theres a growing chance the Fed will tighten monetary policy sooner than expected, according to Sushil Wadhwani, chief investment officer at QMAW, a PGIM unit. As long as financial conditions stay loose, it makes sense to go long commodities and stocks while betting on a steepening yield curve, according to the London-based systematic investor.Macroeconomic policy especially in the U.S. is incredibly expansionary by historical standards, Wadhwani said. Im increasingly concerned that 2022 inflation will not go back as low as they say.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Many people are probably aware that BTS is made up of members who were born and raised in South Korea. They came from different parts of the country, but BTS was eventually formed in the capital city of Seoul.

However, when BTS first began, some people from North Korea apparently believed that the group had a member from the Hermit Kingdom.

BTS | Han Myung-Gu/WireImage

K-pop has been getting popular in North Korea

North Korea is known for being isolated from the rest of the world. According to the BBC, most people in the country surf the internet using an internal North Korean intranet, which restricts the kinds of content they can access.

However, K-pop, American films, and other pop culture items from all over the world still find their way into North Korea nonethelessoften illegally. In a new video posted by South Korean Youtube channel AYO, two North Korean defectors talk about K-pops popularity in their home country. The two agree that its common for North Koreans to listen to K-pop, even if its not allowed. Many North Koreans have cell phones as well as clever ways to hide their CD collections.

Park Yoo-Sung reveals that North Koreans often wore earmuffs in the winter, and they can easy hide earpieces underneath to listen to K-pop.

Meanwhile, Kang Na-Ra shares that she watched a lot of music videos by popular K-pop artists in North Korea. She even admits that South Korean pop culture was a big reason she decided to leave her country.

Why some North Koreans used to think BTS had a North Korean member

RELATED: BTS Felt They Lost Everything During the Pandemic

When BTS debuted in 2013, North Korean K-pop fans were aware of the group, and some even believed one member could have been from North Korea.

This was based on the meaning of BTSs name. In Korean, BTS stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan, which means Bulletproof Boy Scout. Because North Korea has a strong military culture, BTSs name seems to tie the group to the country, even if they are not actually from there.

In North Korea, when BTS first came out, many people said, There must be a member from North Korea. Or the person who produced BTS must be from North Korea, Park shares.

Kang also adds, In North Korea, people say words like bulletproof a lot.

BTS fans in North Korea could face severe punishments if caught supporting the group

RELATED: BTS Is Making Magazines Print More Copies Due to Overwhelming Demand

While BTS has been getting attention in North Korea, many people do not openly support them the same way fans in other countries might.

Park reveals that being K-pop fan in public could come with severe punishments, saying, There, you risk your life by geeking out. You could get shot for real.

Because of this, some people have found ways to get around the governments restrictions. For example, when talking about BTS, they might refer to the group with a code name like Bulletproof Backpack.

In any case, based on what Park and Kang shares, its clear that K-pop really can transcend barriers.
Security agencies have extended amnesty to residents of Samburu County who are willing to surrender illegal firearms in their possession, even as a forceful disarmament and mop up exercise looms.

County police commander Samson Ogelo said that no charges will be preferred against those who surrender the illegal arms within the amnesty period.

"I urge Samburu locals, especially those in conflict zones where we believe there are illegal guns to surrender them. We know the dangers of guns in the wrong hand. The government is the sole authority in providing security," Mr Ogelo said.

Mr Ogelo said Samburu has made great progress in security, which he attributed to the good working relationship among leaders, citizens and government agencies.

He revealed that 17 illegal firearms have been surrendered between the months of November and January this year, noting that residents have been repentant and cooperated with security agencies.

The police boss praised residents for surrendering the arms, saying they were being used to kill and steal livestock, fuelling conflict among communities. Mr Ogelo said it was against the law for residents to continue possessing firearms without government permission.

According to Mr Ogelo, they will continue to engage locals in meetings together with other local administrators to educate them on the need to surrender the firearms.

"We will engage locals leadership and local administration to sensitise them on the need to surrender the weapons in this period," he said.

Mr Ogelo assured residents that police will provide them with enough security and said there is no need to have firearms to protect themselves.

The officer called on residents to keep surrendering the weapons warning that the government will use force once the amnesty period elapses.

Northern part of Samburu, especially in Baragoi, is volatile after a series of raids by armed bandits that left behind massive deaths and losses. Political leaders recently criticized the government for its decision to disarm police reservists. But the government defended the disarmament saying that some rogue police reservists were behind the insecurity in the Northern part of Kenya.
Pharma major on Friday said it has decided to withdraw its application for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine in India.

was the first pharmaceutical firm to seek an emergency use authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for its COVID-19 vaccine in the country, after it secured such clearance in the UK and Bahrain.

"In pursuance of the Emergency Use Authorisation of its COVID-19 vaccine, participated in the Subject Expert Committee meeting of the Drug Regulatory Authority of India on February 3. Based on the deliberations at the meeting and our understanding of additional information that the regulator may need, the company has decided to withdraw its application at this time," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

Pfizer will continue to engage with the authority and resubmit its approval request with additional information as it becomes available in the near future, the statement said.

"Pfizer remains committed to making its vaccine available for use by the Government in India and to pursuing the requisite pathway for emergency use authorisation that enables the availability of this vaccine for any future deployment," the spokesperson said.

Pfizer in its application submitted to the drug regulator in December 2020, had sought permission to import the vaccine for sale and distribution in India, besides waiver of clinical trials on Indian population in accordance with the special provisions under the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, official sources had said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Nairobi, Feb 5 : The fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly will take place -- online for the first time -- on February 22 and 23, it was announced on Friday.

It is the highest-level meeting on the state of the environment since the UN Secretary General stated in December that making peace with nature would be the defining task of the 21st century.

The UN Environment Assembly meets biennially to set priorities for global environmental policies and develop international environmental law. Decisions and resolutions then taken by member states at the assembly define the programme of work of the UN Environment Programme.

Due to the pandemic, the member states agreed on a two-step approach to UNEA-5: an online session (February 22 and 23) will tackle urgent matters, including the approval of UNEP's new medium-term strategy, its programme and its budget.

The UNEP will also launch a comprehensive blueprint for addressing the climate, nature and pollution crises, and participants will consider a consensual statement on how to build a resilient and inclusive post-pandemic world.

A leadership dialogue will be convened on the contribution of the environment to sustainable development and to building a resilient and inclusive post-pandemic world.

The UNEA-5 will resume in February 2022, with an in-person meeting held at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, where decision-makers will tackle matters requiring face-to-face negotiations.

The highlights of UNEA-5 include: Making peace with nature: This new report by UNEP presents the most comprehensive blueprint yet for addressing the climate, nature and pollution crises simultaneously to secure a sustainable future and prevent future pandemics.

The report explains how scientific progress and bold policy-making can open a path towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and a carbon neutral world by 2050.

The report will be officially launched at a high-level, virtual press conference on February 22.

DALLAS, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ERF Wireless, Inc. (OTC PINK: ERFB) The Company is issuing this press release to correct information in its January 28, 2021 press release indicating an Effective Date of a reverse split of the common stock in a ratio of 10,000 to 1. The subject reverse split did not happen as anticipated and reported by the Company due to inaccurate advice from an outside technical advisor. This error has also caused a ten-day trading halt as directed by the SEC. The Company will provide further updates as to the details as to the status of these matters as soon as possible.

About ERF Wireless, Inc.

ERF Wireless, Inc. ( www.erfwireless.com ), founded in 2004 as a "Critical Communications Infrastructure Company", has long been associated with the energy sector by and through its provision of wireless internet and other services in the exploration, drilling, and production phases of oil and gas. All financials associated with the wholly-owned Zona Resources, Inc. oil and gas operations will be consolidated into the public ERF Wireless, Inc. holding company financials and would be expected be reflected in its common stock valuation for its public stockholders.

Forward Looking Statements :

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve numerous risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "potential," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set forth in the Company's filings with OTC Markets.

SOURCE ERF Wireless, Inc.

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New Delhi: Pfizer Inc has withdrawn an application for emergency-use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine in India that it has developed with Germany's BioNTech, the company told Reuters on Friday.

The US-based pharma company, which was the first drugmaker to apply for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine in the country, had a meeting with India's drugs regulator on Wednesday and the decision was made after that, the company said.

"Based on the deliberations at the meeting and our understanding of additional information that the regulator may need, the company has decided to withdraw its application at this time," it said in a statement to Reuters, adding it will in the future look to resubmit its application with the additional information that the regulator requires.

Pfizer will continue to engage with the authority and resubmit its approval request with additional information as it becomes available in the near future, the statement said.

"Pfizer remains committed to making its vaccine available for use by the Government in India and to pursuing the requisite pathway for emergency use authorisation that enables the availability of this vaccine for any future deployment," the spokesperson said.

In response, the Indian drug regulator committee said not recommended granting permission for emergency use for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine .

In a statement, the CDSCO's expert committee said, "Pfizer did not propose any plan to generate safety and immunogenicity data in Indian population."

The committee also said that it noted side effects reported abroad, causality of events being investigated.

Pfizer was the first pharmaceutical firm to seek from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for the emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine in the country. Meanwhile, India started its mass vaccination against the virus from 16 January after approving two Covid-19 vaccines from emergency use in the countyr  Serum Institute of India's locally produced Oxfoed Covid-19 vaccine Covishield and Bharat Biotech's indegenously manufactured Covaxin.

The UK became the first country in the world to approve Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus candidate on December 2 after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) found the jab safe.

The country has already ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to vaccinate its 20 million population. After the UK, Bahrain has also approved the vaccine for 'emergency use'. Bahrain's drug regulatory body said the approval was granted after a thorough analysis and review of all available data.

Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine need to be stored in an extremely low temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius since the vaccine uses synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) to prompt an immune response against the virus.

Moreover, Pfizer on Tuesday said it expects to generate $15 billion, or about a quarter of its total revenue this year, from sales of its COVID-19 vaccine co-developed with German partner BioNTech SE.

Sales from the vaccine - on track to be the drugmaker's top product this year - could top $15 billion if the company signs more supply contracts, it said.

Pfizer aims to make two billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.

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The Punch journalist, Okechukwu Nnodim, was kidnapped from his residence in the Kubwa area of Abuja on Thursday.

Gunmen, who invaded the residence of a PUNCH journalist, Okechukwu Nnodim, alongside two others, have demanded N10million ransom for his release on Friday.

The journalist, according to his wife, Oluchi Nnodim, was abducted at his home in Kubwa a satellite town in Abuja, on Thursday night after firing several shots at the windows and eventually pulled down the burglary proof.

"My husband asked me to stay with the children in their room. I heard the men asking him to bring out money but he told them he didn't have money in the house," Mrs Nnodim was quoted by the PUNCH, as saying.

The gunmen, who were reportedly five in total, also kidnapped two sons of Mr Nnodim's neighbour.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs Nnodim said the kidnappers had made demands but that she was not at liberty to discuss it as an unnamed person was in charge of the situation.

However, another report ascribed to the victim's sister in Lagos, said the assailants had demanded a sum of N10million to secure the journalist' release.

As at the time of filing this report, PREMIUM TIMES could not ascertain if the money has been paid but a brief conversation with Mrs Nnodim indicated that negotiation is ongoing.

This reporter was also unable to contact the family of the other two victims.

Biden condemns 'political extremism' in National Prayer Breakfast speech

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President Joe Biden delivered remarks at the 2021 National Prayer Breakfast, using the occasion to condemn "political extremism" and call on Americans to unite as the country grapples with the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Biden, the first Roman Catholic to serve as President of the United States since John F. Kennedy, delivered a speech at the annual breakfast Thursday, which took place virtually this year because of COVID-19. He began the speech by thanking Americans for praying for himself and first lady Jill Biden. "I'm honored to continue this tradition of reflection and fellowship that started with President Eisenhower," he said.

The president used his first address to the National Prayer Breakfast of his presidency to weigh in on the "violent assault on the U.S. Capitol ... an assault on our democracy, on our Capitol, a violent attack that threatened lives and took lives." According to Biden, "We know now we must confront and defeat political extremism, white supremacy and domestic terrorism."

While Biden singled out the fringe Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, he did not mention the violence perpetrated by Antifa and Black Lives Matter riots that engulfed major American cities last summer that resulted in over 20 people being killed and over $2 billion in destruction to small businesses and homes burned while children inside, including an apartment building where residents were trapped on the second floor.

The president spent the bulk of his speech addressing the volatile political climate the United States finds itself in, specifically referencing the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic fallout, the "call for racial justice," and "the existential threat" of climate change.

"For so many in our nation, this is a dark, dark time. So, where do we turn?" he asked.

"Faith," he responded. Quoting from Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, Biden proclaimed that "faith sees best in the dark."

"I believe that to be true. For me, in the darkest moments, faith provides hope and solace. It provides clarity and purpose as well. It shows the way forward as one nation in a common purpose to respect one another, to care for one another, to leave no one behind."

"These aren't Democrats and Republicans going hungry in our nation; they're our fellow Americans, fellow human beings. There aren't Democrats and Republicans going without healthcare in America; they're our fellow Americans, fellow human beings. There aren't Democrats and Republicans being evicted from their homes; they're fellow Americans, fellow human beings," he continued.

"This is not a nation that can or will simply stand by and watch this. It's not who we are," Biden asserted. "It's not who faith calls us to be. In this moment, we cannot be timid or tired. We have too much work to do."

Biden concluded his speech by predicting that "we're going to get through all of this," adding, "the Bible tells us 'weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.'"

Acknowledging that "we still have in front of us many difficult nights to endure," he maintained that "we'll get through them together."

"We need one another. We need to lean on one another, lift one another up, and with faith guide us through the darkness into the light."

Brian Burch, the president of CatholicVote, a national faith-based advocacy organization, issued a statement following Biden's address. Burch criticized the president for ignoring "the aggressive and hostile steps taken by his administration against people of faith, including the anti-science transgender mandate and the deeply unpopular decision to fund abortion around the world."

While Biden has repeatedly touted his Catholic faith, he has faced criticism from some Catholic officials over his support for abortion, which contradicts church teaching.

"It's important to also remember that President Biden does not speak for Catholics or the church. In fact, he explicitly departs from many of the church's non-negotiable beliefs and teachings. For this reason, the Catholic Bishops of the United States have rightly pointed to deep concerns about Biden's policies that would 'advance moral evils' on issues such as marriage, family, religious liberty, and the defense of vulnerable children in the womb,'" Burch added.

"Our country is desperately in need of healing and unity. Throughout our history, our leaders have called the country to prayer and obedience to the truths of our Judeo-Christian heritage. President Biden's words this morning were both underwhelming and disappointing."

While four of the five living former presidents also participated in this year's National Prayer Breakfast in some form, Biden's immediate predecessor, former President Donald Trump, did not.
ODM leader Raila Odinga says his latest criticism of the Jubilee government was aimed at Deputy President William Ruto and not President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mr Odinga Thursday accused the deputy president of making grand promises during the 2013 and the 2017 elections, including free laptops for Standard One pupils and transforming the country's economy into a digital one, only to go around the country promising young people wheelbarrows and propagating the "Hustler" narrative.

Speaking on Spice FM Thursday morning, Mr Odinga said the DP had become a hypocrite, and was accusing the ODM party of meddling in the affairs of the Jubilee party. He said the DP was hoodwinking Kenyans with empty promises after failing to deliver on earlier ones.

"These people have been making wild allegations against us (ODM) that we disrupted the agenda of the Jubilee government. They have been going around preaching the "hustler" narrative. What I have been telling the DP is that what he is saying is not new. He promised laptops to Class One pupils who are now in Class 8. And now he is promising them wheelbarrows. I have been responding to the DP and not criticising President Uhuru Kenyatta," Mr Odinga said.

Mr Odinga, who later spoke on Inooro FM, also took a swipe at the DP and his lieutenants over claims that the Orange party was to blame for the failures in the ruling party, insisting that ODM was still in the opposition.

The Orange party leader said he has been in the forefront fighting corruption and other government excesses, like the Arror and Kimwarer dams scandal, which he said he brought to the attention of the President before anyone else did.

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"I am in the opposition and ODM is still the biggest opposition party in the country. Even on the issue of Arror and Kimwarer, I called the President and informed him of the matter and I am happy with the action he took. We (ODM) have continued to play our role and our Members of Parliament have continued to play their oversight role," said Mr Odinga.

Mr Odinga also defended the speed with which the Siaya county assembly debated and passed the BBI document, saying he is confident that the right procedure was followed.

He said the county, unlike others, published the document immediately after the IEBC sent it to counties and conducted a public participation exercise, before eventually passing it on Wednesday.

"People have their own way of doing things and there is a desire to finish the work. You must remember that when I met MCAs in Nairobi on Monday, Siaya was among the county assemblies that did not show up, alongside Vihiga, Kakamega and Kilifi, because they told me that they wanted to carry out the public participation exercise. They wanted to be number one, and have now paved the way for other counties. We hope to get 24 counties before the end of this month," said Mr Odinga.
Coronavirus Diaries is a series of dispatches exploring how the coronavirus is affecting peoples lives.

Hi Sandra, Im sorry to have to tell you, but the company has decided to close the newspaper due to COVID so, unfortunately, youve been terminated.

It sucked the air out of the room is an expression Id heard many times but didnt fully grasp until my publisher delivered that message during a phone call late last August. The call about the closure of my beloved community paper came two weeks before my 62nd birthday. Even as I processed what it meant to lose the job Id loved for 20 years, and to lose a newspaper that had been around for 112, the realist in me knew immediately this layoff would reverberate. Because of my age and the ever-diminishing number of print and digital news publications, I knew this likely meant the end of my journalism career.

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Six months earlier, when the coronavirus was emerging in North America, almost all the staff had been given a temporary layoff. I worried we wouldnt be brought back, so I spent six hours the day after our layoff sorting and cleaning my desk. I shed tears rereading letters grateful readers sent me over the years, and even found a couple of death threats Id kept as a kind of badge of honor. Sitting at my desk for the last time, I realized Id be losing the almost-daily contact Id had with my colleagues/friends from the editorial team, some of whom I had worked with for two decades. During those years, we spent more waking hours together than with our families. Now, while we still keep in touch, our weekly online get-togethers have dwindled to once a month or every six weeks. The Slack channel created after our layoffs is where we keep one another posted on our job hunts and other personal and professional news.

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My entry into the newspaper business came later than most. I was 37, with shared custody of my son, when I decided to become a journalist. I was fortunate to have an ex-husband who took on more of the parenting duties while I attended class. I was so excited to start journalism school I wasnt even put off by naysayers. A male faculty member once told me that while Id be a great addition to the program, because of my age and the fact journalism was dying, Id be better off using it as a launch pad for a career in public relations.

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His advice just made me work harder. Before Id even graduated, I was named best junior reporter by a (now defunct) provincial journalism foundation. I also won a provincial Victoria Press Gallery Award while still in school. One of the newspapers used as an example of what we should strive for at my school was the Vancouver Courier, which at the time was known for its long-form feature stories. I gave myself a goal of five years to get hired there. I made it in three.

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With no assigned beats initially, we were expected to come up with our own story ideas.

We were also encouraged to dig deep, which is how I began writing investigative features. It was while working on those stories that I found myself dressed as a sex trade worker walking a stroll, attending a Saturday afternoon matinee at a porn theater, and investigating the inordinately large number of young men who went missing from southwestern British Columbia between 2008 and 2010. In 2010, I was named best investigative community reporter for my missing men series, as it came to be known. As the mother of a son who fit the general age and description of many of these missing menshort hair, little or no facial hair, muscular with distinctive tattoosI was driven to find answers for the parents, siblings, and friends I interviewed over the course of a year. Despite my best efforts, I couldntthe majority of those men are still missing.

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At the time of my termination, I was the newspapers lifestyle and travel editor, a move I made about eight years earlier in an effort to save my job when I saw how much the media landscape was changing. While the Courier had an editorial department full of talented journalists, it had never had a dedicated lifestyle editor to tackle special sections. After creating my position, my job title eventually grew to include travel editor and editor/writer for numerous magazines we published, including Lifetime, dedicated to older adults.

Working at the same community newspaper for years meant we had the unique opportunity to get to knowin detailissues important to our city, through readers emails, phone calls, and dreaded handwritten letters. Our collective knowledge and long history together allowed us to understand the city and its people in ways few others could. We put that theory to the test with an award-winning series featuring different Vancouver neighborhoods, which we published over 14 months. Now thats all over.

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I had always imagined colorful ways my journalism career would eventually end, including me storming out one day after finally having enough. A pandemic had never made the list. But as the pandemic spread and lockdowns were implemented, many of the businesses who regularly advertised in the Courier were no longer able to do so, and there went our revenue. In the months Ive been out of the newsroom, Ive slowly come to realize living life without daily deadlines or dealing with an increasingly volatile public or walking through most days like a zombie due to stress-related insomnia has its benefits.

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Im certainly not alone in the job loss. In September, I joined the ranks of more than 1.5 million Canadian women who lost employment in 2020 due to the coronavirus, many of whom were in female-dominated fields. While men have begun returning to the workforce, far fewer women have been reemployed, according to a recent study conducted by Royal Bank of Canada. Many of those women may end up finding other jobs or go back to school. I hope age doesnt dissuade them, like it didnt dissuade me 25 years ago, when I was told journalism was dying, so dont bother.

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The question I grappled with those first few months after termination was, Who am I, if not a journalist? I could have just packed it in and retired, but the writer in me refuses to give up. What Ive learned mostly is I am still a journalist, just one without a full-time job. I still have a reporters curiosity. I still ask too many questions of people I barely know. Ive been doing some freelancing and am threatening to finish a book I started writing 10 years ago. Im attempting to reinvent myself once again, this time as a content writer and freelance editor. Ive also been applying for full-time work, but the number of journalism jobs that come up are very few and far between, so instead Ive been concentrating on any jobs where I can put my writing to use. Im having a website builtboomer604.com, and Im attempting to learn WordPress. Im not sure whos going to read it, but I keep hearing the voice of that instructor who told me because of my age I shouldnt pursue my dream, so Im going to keep writing.
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A worldwide computer chip shortage has been forecast to dent Ford Motor Co.'s annual earnings by as much as $2.5 billion.

The Detroit car maker said the lack of semiconductors is expected to reduce first quarter earnings by as much as 20 percent.

It is cutting production of the F-150 truck - America's most popular vehicle and the firm's biggest profit spinner - over the chip shortage which has hamstrung manufacturers across the world.

Remote working has caused a huge demand for computers and other technology which has overwhelmed chip makers mostly based in Taiwan.

The latest model of the Ford F-150 truck, America's favorite car which has been rocked by a global semiconductor shortage and is estimated to cost the firm $2.5 billion this year

Honda and Volkswagen have also raised concerns about their supply lines, while Apple has said its new iPhone 12s would be limited by the availability of semiconductors.

General Motors has announced downtime at three of its factories - one in the U.S, one in Canada and one in Mexico - due to the chip shortage, starting February 8.

Ford's chief financial officer John Lawler told the Financial Times: 'The semiconductor situation is changing constantly, so it's premature to try to size what availability will mean for our full-year performance.

'Right now, estimates from suppliers could suggest losing 10 per cent to 20 per cent of our planned first-quarter production.'

He said that pre-tax earnings of $8 billion to $9 billion had been forecast for 2021, but that the shortage could reduce this by $1 billion to $2.5 billion.

Starting Monday, Ford will cut two shifts at its Dearborn, Michigan, facility, going down to one shift per day.

It is also cutting a shift at its Kansas City, Missouri, plant, going down to two shifts per day.

Both plants produce the F-150 pickup truck, roughly one rolls off a Ford assembly line every minute.

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley and Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. pose next to a new 2021 Ford F-150 pickup truck at the Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, September 17

A United Auto Workers assemblyman works on a 2018 Ford F-150 truck being assembled at the Ford Rouge assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan, September 2018

Both plants will be back to three shifts starting February 15.

While other car makers have tried to shield against shortages affecting their top-selling vehicles, Ford said that the F-150 requires a unique type of chip.

'We are working closely with suppliers to address potential production constraints tied to the global semiconductor shortage and working to prioritize key vehicle lines for production, making the most of our semiconductor allocation,' the company said in a statement.

The chips are the latest setback for Ford which reported an annual loss of $1.3 billion last year, with revenue shrinking by 18 percent on 2019.
Reserve Bank Governor on Friday said three investors have submitted their offers for reconstruction of crisis-ridden Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank and evaluation for those are underway.

Last month, administrator A K Dixit in a letter to customers and stakeholders had informed that three prospective investors were given time till February 1, 2021 for submission of their final offer.

"I have been informed that three final offers have been received. I am given to understand that the itself is evaluating the offers," the RBI governor told reporters after announcing the monetary policy.

He said once the evaluation is done, the bank would approach the RBI.

In September 2019, the RBI had superseded the board of and placed it under various regulatory restrictions after detection of certain financial irregularities, hiding and misreporting of loans given to real estate developer HDIL.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Russia on Friday expelled diplomats from three European countries for taking part in protests in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, after the European Union said ties with Moscow had hit a new low.

With EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Moscow for a rare visit, Russia said it had declared diplomats from Poland, Germany and Sweden persona non grata for participating in "illegal protests" on January 23 in support of Navalny.

The West has fiercely condemned Navalny's arrest in mid-January, a crackdown on mass demonstrations by his supporters, and a court ruling on Tuesday to jail the 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner for nearly three years.

Moscow announced the expulsions just hours after Borrell met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss ties, with the unspecified number of diplomats "ordered to leave Russia in the near future".

RELATED NEWS Two European Diplomats Briefly Detained at a Mixed-gender Party in Iran

The foreign ministry did not provide details of how they had been involved in the protests, saying only that Russia expects foreign diplomats to "strictly follow the norms of international law".

Russia has bristled at Western backing for Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent, accusing Europe and the United States of interfering in its domestic affairs.

"Our relationship is indeed in a difficult moment," Borrell told Lavrov during the talks, adding that the relationship is "under severe strain and the Navalny case is a low point."

The two men said there were hopes for cooperation in some areas, including on the coronavirus pandemic, but the announcement of the expulsions was unlikely to help ease tensions.

EU spokesman Peter Stano said Borrell had learned of the decision in his meeting with Lavrov.

Borrell "strongly condemned this decision and rejected the allegations that they conducted activities incompatible with their status as foreign diplomats," he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the action as "not justified", while Sweden's foreign ministry said it was "completely unfounded" and warned that it reserved the right "to an appropriate response".

Borrell's visit was the first to Russia by a senior EU envoy since 2017, following years of deteriorating relations sparked by Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Navalny back in court

Ties have further worsened in recent months, after three European labs concluded that Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-designed nerve agent in an attack in Siberia in August.

He blames Putin for the poisoning, a charge the Kremlin denies.

Navalny was flown to Germany to recover from the poisoning then arrested at a Moscow airport when he returned to Russia in mid-January.

He was accused of violating the parole conditions of a 2014 suspended sentence on fraud charges and on Tuesday jailed for two years and eight months.

He was back in court on Friday on separate charges of defaming a World War II veteran, which could see him jailed for an additional two years.

The trained lawyer is accused of describing people who appeared in a pro-Kremlin video -- including the 95-year-old veteran -- as "the shame of the country" and "traitors" in a June tweet.

In court Navalny and his lawyers said the case was politically motivated and a pretext to silence him.

'Truth is on my side'

"It is clear to everyone that the truth is on my side," he said, standing in glass cage for defendants in the Moscow courtroom.

Borrell's visit drew criticism from some European capitals worried Moscow would spin it as evidence Brussels is keen to return to business as usual, with some in Europe calling for new sanctions on Russia.

The Kremlin on Friday also lashed out against what it called "aggressive and unconstructive rhetoric" from the United States this week.

"We've already said that we will not heed patronising statements of this sort," said Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

President Joe Biden on Thursday said the United States will no longer be "rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions" and his officials said they would take action against Moscow over Navalny and for other "malign" behaviour.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : A man has been arrested under the Pocso Act after a minor girl filed a police complaint that she was physically and mentally exploited by him after he befriended her on Instagram, Delhi Police said on Friday.

The girl also told the police that slowly on the pretext of family problems, the accused started taking money from her through Paytm.

"The accused met the victim in July 2020 at Dwarka wherein he offered her a cold drink where after she felt dizzy. He later on started extorting money from the girl, threatening to make objectionable photos of her taken during her dizziness viral on social media. The extent of threats and extortion led the girl to steal the gold ornaments of her mother to meet his demand," DCP, Dwarka, Santosh Kumar Meena, said.

The Paytm details of the girl as well as the man were obtained. Call detail record and other information from the phones was collected, technical surveillance zeroed down the latest location of the man to Haryana's Karnal and he was arrested.

Two mobile phones used in the crime were also seized.

"The accused has deleted the Instagram and WhatsApp data two days earlier but admitted to his crime. Assistance from cyber experts are being to retrieve the deleted data. Further investigation is under progress," the DCP added.
LONDON  Around 40% of British companies that import and export said the shift to a new trading arrangement with the European Union had made trade more cumbersome last month, a survey showed on Thursday.

The report from HSBC UK and polling firm YouGov showed 40% of importers and 42% of exporters reported a hit from the end of the Brexit transition period.

Related: UK Businesses Are Being Hit with Post-Brexit Delays, Bureaucracy  And Higher Costs

The findings are in line with other recent surveys that show the British companies struggled with supply chain issues last month, with the shift in trading arrangements exacerbating problems resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The end of the transition period coupled with the third national lockdown has presented a challenging start to the year for businesses who are desperate to start executing strategies to recover, said Ian Tandy, head of international trade for HSBC UK.

More than a quarter of the companies reporting an impact cited increased time spent on bureaucracy, HSBC said.

Under a deal struck last month, trade between Britain and the European Union remains free of tariffs and quotas but a new full customs border means goods must be checked and paperwork filled in.

Using a phrase that has angered many business owners, Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the disruption as teething problems which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trade analysts think some of the extra cost and bureaucracy will be permanent. Proponents of Brexit say Britain will benefit in the long run by striking its own trade deals and forming its own regulations outside the EU.

Nearly half of the companies in the HSBC UK survey said they expected to grow over the next 12 months while just under a quarter expect to shrink.

The message from businesses is that government needs to continue to deliver trade deals with new markets to help firms reach their growth targets through 2021 and beyond, Tandy said.

The survey of 1,000 businesses was conducted between Jan. 11 and Jan. 18.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)

Topics Europe Uk Brexit
Michael Laraya, a 40 year-old Filipino or Pilipino (from the Philippines) man has been charged and forwarded to the Ganta Magisterial court for 'criminal attempt to commit rape and sodomy.

The disclosure was made by the Administrative Officer of the Ganta Police detail, Sargent Delling S. Fallah on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 at her office.

In an interview with reporter, Stg. Fallah explained that Laraya was apprehended for attempting to have a sexual intercourse with a 22-year-old motorcyclist, Spensor Zuu on Monday 1 February.

He has since been charged with Sodomy and sent to court. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, Sodomy is anal or oral copulation with a member of the same or opposite sex also : copulation with an animal.

According to the Cyclist, he was compelled by the man to make love to him in room-14 of the Angel Hill Top Guest house on Guinea Road Community, Ganta.

Explaining his ordeal to the press, Zuu said he encountered the Philipno man at a local bike watch before the guest house towards the Guinea border.

He narrated: "I went to wash my bike to Guinea Road junction. I was sitting down under certain booth there because the sun was too hot. When the man was washing my bike, one white man ooo, he just came and sat down side me and said the sun too hot then he sat down side me and asked my name. Then I called my name; from there he told me say you can report from the bike? Then I say yes. Then he asked how much thousand you can report? I said $1,000 LD a day."

After befriending him, Zuu said he was invited by the Philipno at his guest house room#14 for a better discussion.

"So when he took my number, he said I should carry him to Angel Hill Top Guest house. But I said let them finish washing my bike then we can go. Then he agreed." Zuu explained.

He said after taking him to the guest house, Laraya requested him to go and buy for him food, a request he didn't honor at the moment on ground that he was carrying his (Spensor) older brother's phone back home.

Upon return, he got a telephone call from Laraya asking him to hurry up and meet with him.

"When I got there, he was inside and I told the big sis that was to the gate, I came to one white man inside there. Then one oldma too was there said, I shouldn't enter. I said no the man ls my friend he say I should come go buy him something". He averred.

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Immediately while in conversation with the ladies, the alleged perpetrator phoned the Cyclist ordering him to enter.

He furthered: "when we entered, he took me straight to room-14 and asked me to go take bath then I said no I get water to my house. So when we were talking, then he put rude show on. I say oh! How the brabe will call me to go buy something for him then he put rude show on? And he asking me to take off my sweater.

He disclosed that Laraya decided to convince him with $20USD to sodomize him.

Being amazed by the man's attitude, he decided to find his way out but it wasn't easy because the door was already shout, adding: "so while trying to get out, he hold me on my waist and I pushed him and managed to get outside even though, the man did not succeed, according to him.

Not giving up, the man decided to follow him outside and unfortunately, he was arrested by police.

It is not clear whether he admitted committing the act.

But according to the police charge sheet, a copy of which this paper has, Laraya said he is a bisexual person and usually has sex with both male and female.

According to the police, his mission in Liberia has not been disclosed to them.

"That I have not gone through. That I don't know his business in Liberia here," Stg. Fallah explained.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A study led by William & Mary Assistant Professor of Economics Peter Savelyev and funded by the National Science Foundation argues that college education leads to healthier and longer lives.

The study, "Understanding the Mechanisms Linking College Education with Longevity," was published in September in the Journal of Human Capital.

Researchers around the world still debate whether education affects health. Savelyev and his team support the claim that education improves heath by demonstrating the mechanisms behind this effect while using state-of-the art statistical analysis.

"In our paper, we show that education increases health and longevity though healthier lifestyles, superior earnings and better work conditions," he said.

Savelyev and his co-authors examined data obtained from men and women who graduated from high school in Wisconsin in 1957. This specific timeframe was important to allow for data collection on at least a partially deceased U.S. cohort.

William & Mary News recently spoke to Savelyev about this study. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Could you elaborate on the mechanisms that contribute to the effect college education has on better health?

Variables related to healthy lifestyles that proved to be important are participating in physical exercise, maintaining a healthy body weight and abstaining from smoking tobacco. We also study the role of extremely dangerous work conditions, such as cutting trees or being exposed to infectious diseases. Educated people are less likely to face such jobs. The work conditions mechanism does not necessarily imply diminishing job-related risks for the general population, but it is a personal benefit for those who study hard and receive advanced degrees.

How impactful are healthy habits that are developed during college years?

It is well known that many essential life determinants emerge early in life. Later in life, things are harder to change. College education is a powerful contributor to human development that increases health and longevity, among many other good effects, and it should be supported in situations when free market solutions do not work well enough.

Is it difficult for persons later in life to develop those healthy habits?

Our simulations demonstrate that major health differences created by college education are hard to close later in life, even by strong hypothetical policy interventions, such as greatly increasing taxation of cigarettes.

Does your study help explain why?

Partly, this is because the effect of education is strong, and it works through many different mechanisms. It is not easy for an intervention that targets just one specific mechanism to overcome a strong effect created through dozens of mechanisms. Also, some policies, such as taxation of cigarettes, affect behavior of both the college-educated and those who did not go to college, so the effect on the difference between these two groups is small.

Is there a major gender difference in the effect of education on longevity?

We find that obtaining a bachelor's degree leads to about three additional years of life for men. However, we could not find any effect of college education for women, who live longer than men regardless of their education status. We identified from our data two mechanisms that partly explain the gender difference. One is that men tend to take more dangerous jobs than women. Another is that educated women of this historic cohortborn in late 1930s in Wisconsinwere less likely to be married, which created a negative contribution to their longevity that masked a positive contribution related to higher income. Marriage is good for your longevity. Since a negative effect of college education on marriage no longer takes place for more recent cohorts of women, we can expect a stronger effect of college on their longevity, as confirmed by our simulations.

Explore further Education may be key to a healthier, wealthier US

More information: Understanding the Mechanisms Linking College Education with Longevity. Understanding the Mechanisms Linking College Education with Longevity. ftp.iza.org/dp13118.pdf
opinion

Today it's my 6th day at home recuperating very well after a discharge from hospital following staring death in the eye and escaping from it.

I survived Covid-19 and here is my story for awareness.

On the night of December 22, 2020, I had a fever and a sore throat.

The following day in the morning, I had a test for Covid-19 and it was confirmed that I was positive.

Since I had mild symptoms consisting of a mild cough, the doctor whom I consulted prescribed the necessary medication but this doctor failed to tell me a simple message: "If this cough persists beyond four days, please seek medical attention." (I later contacted him about this and he has been very contrite about what he did not do.)

The lack of this information or advice for me was to be near fatal for me.

I did lots of home remedies of steaming, zumbani, garlic, etc trying to heal. I can tell you that those things don't work. But they aren't harmful but will give you a false sense of security when your situation is fast deteriorating.

I had a cough and a headache for 11 days until a friend visited me at home where I was isolating. He asked me to buy a pulse oximeter and it was noticed that my oxygen saturation wasn't enough. Panic!

I was attended to by another private doctor at home and then put on an oxygen concentrator at home for two days (December 30-31) with no meaningful change. It was him who made the prudent decision that I'd better be hospitalised. The following day on New Year's Day I was hospitalised in Harare at a private facility. I was taken first into the High Dependency Unit, and then Intensive Care Unit as the situation got worse.

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I was put on life support for the severest stage of this disease and I was being treated of its worst form: Covid-19 pneumonia while I had an underlying condition as a Type 2 diabetic. You can imagine the double trouble. My lungs were now in their worst! My oxygen saturation was not improving.

In all this, as a patient you are by yourself with the medical team. No visitors allowed.

For a total of 32 days I was fighting this disease and for 22 days I was hospitalised.

Although I have since lost 12kg that some of you who know me physically may fail to easily recognise me, my life was not lost. It was too close to death!

I can't thank my friend, the private doctor and the medical team enough. It was very tough for me, but I'm thrilled to be alive.

To you all my family members, relatives and friends, your messages to me while I was in hospital gave me hope, courage and strength to live and fight the disease.

The will to live or that positive urge to stay alive is a wonder! I SURVIVED the worst of Covid-19!!!
THE Fish volunteer centre in Sonning Common has relocated after almost two years of planning.

The charity has moved from Kennylands Road to the old police station in Lea Road after raising 150,000 to pay for it.

The move was delayed twice due to heavy rain in November and the third national lockdown that began last month.

Clive Mills, the former Fish chairman, who oversaw the process, said: Im really pleased that weve been able to move at long last as it has been a long time coming.

It was a big, big team effort and it just shows the strength of our charity and the great work that has happened over the last 43 years. Many great people have come through this organisation.

Mr Mills said he had two objectives when he was chairman. One was to move the charity into the 21st century by getting new computers.

The other was to find a permanent home for the charity instead of continuing to rent rooms at Springhill, the home of former village GP Dr Peter Hemphill.

He said: The reason for wanting to move was because we wanted to take care of the future of Fish.

We were very happy at Springhill and we understood we were more than welcome to stay there but in the future the family might have wanted to sell the property.

The old police station was closed by Thames Valley Police in 2017 to save money. It was put up for sale about 18 months ago and the charity put in an offer to buy the property.

This was declined but Mr Mills found the company which bought it, EXP Property, and pleaded the charitys case.

He said: EXP Property were supportive of the charity and after much debate we agreed a price for them to sell to us and they priced up the external works for us as well.

Once we had an idea of how much it would cost we started to campaign to raise the funds.

The money was raised through a buy a brick appeal, a donation from the Mulberry Trust, a grant from South Oxfordshire District Council and the charitys own reserves.

Mr Mills said: The money was raised from some very, very generous supporters of the charity, the parish councils in the area and South Oxfordshire District Council  we shouldnt underestimate the support.

With all the money we were able to sign a contract with the developers.

Northgate Developments began transforming the property in October last year by gutting the inside, building a new rear wall and replacing the roof.

The builders finally completed the work last week.

Fish plans to show the new facilities to the community as soon as the coronavirus restrictions allow.

Mr Mills said: We will carry on our work as normal and we wish to welcome the community to the new home as soon as we can.

We have a new community room where we usually have a foot practitioner come in and carry out appointments and we have carer groups during the afternoons.

We would like to organise some jigsaw afternoons as well and maybe a knit and natter session.

We have a brilliant new kitchen area which can cater for everyone.

Mr Mills said he was grateful for all the support from the community and the businesses which offered their services free or at a discounted rate.

He singled out Gary Buckett, who runs a removal company in Sonning Common, Simon Cole, of Northgate Developments, and Jack Jiggens, of EXP Property.

With the project completed, the charity is already looking at work it can take on next.

Mr Mills said: We are looking at finding a shed or a barn which could be set up for pottery workshops or fixing furniture.

People could just come for a cup of tea and chat  that will be our next project.

The other properties on the site, including the old police house and two garages, are still being renovated by EXP Property.

Mr Mills said he expected these to be on the market by March.

Fish (Friendship In Sickness and Health) has continued some of its services throughout the pandemic such as taking people to the shops, the doctor and hospital or picking up and delivering prescriptions and shopping for people who are vulnerable or shielding.

For more information, visit www.fishvolunteercentre.org.uk
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has expressed her gratitude to the Indian government and the people for "most generous" donation of COVID-19 vaccine doses.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister on Thursday, Mottley said: "I trust that you are well and safe. On behalf of my Government and people, I wish to express gratitude to you, your Government and the people of the Republic of India for its most generous donation of the Covishield vaccines (under the auspices of Oxford Astrazeneca)."

Last month, Mottley wrote to Prime Minister Modi, requesting for access to vaccines to provide immunisation coverage for the island nation.

Recently, Barbados media reported that the country will be receiving 1,00,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from India.

Barbados, which as a population of over 2.87 lakhs, has recorded 1,641 confirmed cases of and 1,274 persons have recovered.

Mottley said that the country's health ministry has confirmed that the Covishield vaccine has been approved for use in Barbados and will be administered in accordance with the manufacturers' guidelines.

"The Minister of Health and Wellness and the Chief Medical Officer both have confirmed that the vaccine has been approved for use in Barbados and will be administered in accordance with the manufacturers' guidelines. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration," the letter read.

The first supply of 50,000 vaccines, comprising 100,000 doses, from India will be targeted towards frontline workers, police and security forces, essential services, hotel workers, supermarket employees as well as the elderly, Loop Cayman reported on Wednesday.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Katie Price said she is registered disabled and has applied for a blue badge after breaking her feet in a fall during a holiday in Turkey (Rick Findler/PA)

Katie Price said she is registered as disabled and has applied for a blue badge after breaking her feet in a fall during a holiday in Turkey.

The former glamour model, 42, was injured last year after reportedly falling off a 25ft wall.

Price told The Sun that walking leaves her in agony and compared the pain to shocks of lightning shooting up my feet all day.

She said: Im registered disabled and have got letters from the doctors to certify me for a blue badge, which Ive sent off for.

I have to park near the entrances to shops all the time, otherwise it would cripple me to walk from the back of a car park to a shop and back again.

I cant carry anything from the shops either or even walk up the stairs with anything. The heavier items, the more it hurts my feet.

Price previously told how, after falling onto a concrete ramp in July, she underwent an eight-hour surgery.

Expand Close Katie Price said she is registered disabled following a fall in Turkey (Chris Radburn/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Katie Price said she is registered disabled following a fall in Turkey (Chris Radburn/PA)

The reality TV star said she can only walk for 20 minutes at a time before the pain becomes unbearable.

Last month Price, a mother of five, said she wants another baby with boyfriend Carl Woods.

Her oldest son, 18-year-old Harvey, is severely disabled and in January Price was praised after they appeared in a BBC documentary together.

She also told the paper last month she had decided to move her son Harvey into a residential college, where he will be taught skills which will help him to lead a more independent life.

Blue badges can enable certain concessions to holders, such as parking for up to three hours on single and double yellow lines, dependant on the location and local rules.

According to online Government guidance, the badges allow people easier access to shops and services by allowing them to park closer to their destinations.

The permit is only for use by the person it has been issued to and the Government warns that misuse may result in a 1,000 fine and confiscation.
For many veterans, even those with GI Bill benefits, the price of going to a traditional four-year university can come with extreme sticker shock.

Paying potentially tens of thousands of dollars over four (or more) years to study for a degree that doesn't even guarantee a job in the field can seem like a risky bet for separating veterans.

"Some people think if you have the GI Bill, you should be in school full time," William Hubbard, the chief of staff for Student Veterans of America, told The New York Times. "That is true if you are a 25-year-old single person with no obligations. But most people have families, work full time and are nontraditional students."

For many veterans who spent years in the military developing skills with hands-on training, "nontraditional" means lacking interest in taking classes in a university setting to get an office job they may not even want -- or be able to get in a competitive market.

But there is another way forward: vocational training.

Read: Vocational Training with Your GI Bill

In the 1980s and 1990s, skilled trades and vocational schools experienced a large dip in enrollments, as baby boomers impressed the importance of higher education on younger generations, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

A PBS NewsHour story in 2017 found that the dip in vocational school enrollment came from a "decades-long" push toward college enrollment. Now, 40 years later, that dip is leading to what some foresee as a dearth of talent in skilled trades.

"The last Department of Labor study in 2013 found that the median age of America's advanced manufacturing employee was 59 years old," said Hernan Luis y Prado, founder of San Diego-based Workshops for Warriors, a nonprofit that trains veterans in skilled trades. "In six or seven years, they'll be exiting the workforce and taking those manufacturing skills with them, something I call the 'Silver Tsunami.'"

Luis y Prado estimates that the number of advanced manufacturing jobs left unfilled will balloon to 3.4 million within the next decade, a need that creates opportunities for separating veterans, along with another 30 million jobs that require certifications, but not a bachelor's degree.

The reason veterans aren't flocking to skilled trades may be because of the social stigma of going to a vocational school instead of a four-year university program.

In many school districts, lower-performing students considered unsuited for an academic environment were pushed into vocational education in "declining industries," according to Georgetown University professors Harry Holzer and Sandy Baum. That push didn't translate to better outcomes for students, employers or the U.S. economy.

Another misconception about skilled trades is that the pay is significantly lower than a job requiring a bachelor's degree. In reality, according to a 2019 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, skilled earners make as much or more than the U.S. national average of $61,000.

Incomes in larger cities and for specialized trades can be even higher, with many earning more than six-figure salaries, all without ever taking out a student loan.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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India approves 156 defence equipment for export

India on Thursday approved the export of 156 defence equipment, including Astra missiles and Tejas indigenous Light Combat Aircraft, artillery guns, explosive, tanks and missiles, anti-tank mines and others, worth an estimated Rs35,000 crore, as the government is looking at enhancing defence exports to friendly countries.

The export list also includes 19 aeronautical systems, 16 nuclear-biological-chemical equipment, 41 armament and combat systems, 28 naval systems, 27 electronic and communication systems, 10 life protection items, four missile systems, four micro-electronic devices and seven other material.

Defence Research Development Organisation (DRD0) released the extended list, which now includes even Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile Astra, anti-tank guided missile Nag and Brahmos weapon system.

Earlier, it was the Akash missile that was given clearance for export.

Akash is a surface-to-air missile system that provides short-range air defence and can operate in autonomous or group modes of operation with a range of three to 25 km.

The Astra missile is a beyond-visual air-to-air system integrated with Indian Air Force's Su30 MKI. In times to come, other Indian fighter jets will also be integrated with the Astra.

Brahmos is a supersonic missile intended for use by the Army, Navy and Air Force. This universal missile can be launched from ships, mobile launchers, submarines and aircraft.

The government is now looking at enhancing its defence exports, aiming to record export of defence equipment worth Rs35,000 crore ($5 billion) by 2025, as per the Defence Production Export Promotion Policy 2020.

The new policy aims at enhancing exports and building a domestic defence industry for self-reliance, and targets a turnover of Rs1,75,000 crore ($25 billion dollars) by 2025.

The policy also looks at doubling the domestic procurement from the Indian industry.
A global humanitarian organisation says delivery of critical humanitarian assistance to millions of people in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region has stalled.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said that humanitarian operations have not begun since conflict broke out in the region last year.

The Ethiopian government has repeatedly said that humanitarian assistance to Tigray is in full swing.

"Aid organisations are unable to reach the Central and Western parts of the region, and two refugee camps are completely inaccessible," the NRC said. "In the few instances where agencies are accessing the region, it is limited to areas along major roads or the capital Mekelle."

According to the NRC, access to the Tigray region remains significantly constrained.

"Aid workers face an unpredictable approval process with blurred lines of authorisations, as well as unclear and shifting approval procedures," the statement says.

A number of international humanitarians have urged the Ethiopian government to grant unrestricted and unhindered access to conflict-affected areas.

Addis Ababa made a deal with the United Nations that it would allow a humanitarian corridor for the delivery of emergency aid to millions of people, including the more than 25,000 Eritrean refugees sheltered at two camps in the region.

Despite the deal with UN, there is growing criticism that the government has done little to implement the agreement.

As a result, many people could face starvation.

The news on possible starvation first arose earlier in January after a note from Tigray's interim administration official was leaked to the media. He said, "hundreds of thousands of people could starve to death in Tigray".

"In all my years as an aid worker, I have rarely seen a humanitarian response so impeded and unable to deliver in response for so long, to so many with such pressing needs," said Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

"As an international community, we are clearly failing to deliver against the humanitarian imperative we are facing... The basic elements of a response on the scale needed are still not in place.

"It is false to say that aid is increasingly getting through."

He said humanitarian aid has only reached areas with little conflict and is not keeping pace with the humanitarian crisis as it grows.

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Egeland urged all authorities in Ethiopia to allow access to those most in need, regardless of their locations, to avoid any further aid delivery lags.

A recent United Nations situational report indicated that some 4.5 million people in the Tigray region are in need of emergency food assistance, a figure Ethiopia said was exaggerated.

The federal government's military operation in Tigray ended in late November after the federal forces took control of Mekelle ousting the TPLF, the former regional ruling party.

However, sporadic fighting has reportedly continued in many parts of Tigray.

After about two months of silence, TPLF Chairman, Debretsion Gebre-Michael, last weekend said fighting in the Tigray region did not stop. He said the conflict has led to many human rights violations in the region and the suppression of freedoms of people in Tigray.

There was no immediate reaction from the Ethiopian government over Debretsion's remarks.

Last week, the US State Department called for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray.

The Ethiopian government has repeatedly denied allegations that the Eritrean army was involved in the conflict in Tigray. It also downplayed reports of involvement of Somali soldiers.
The US is one step closer to having a single-dose coronavirus vaccine after Johnson & Johnson asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize its vaccine on Thursday night.

Now that it has submitted its application for emergency use authorization, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine could be greenlit within weeks.

The US has an agreement, signed last year under the Trump administration, for 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, which the company says it can deliver by June, pending authorization.

The drugmaker's application to the FDA follows its January 29 report in which it said the vaccine had a 66 percent rate of preventing infections in its large global trial.

The shot is also 57 percent effective in South Africa, where a variant of the virus that dulls vaccine effectiveness is spreading.

If regulators approve the vaccine, it would be the third shot made available to the American public after vaccines from Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc were approved in December.

J&J's single-shot vaccine could help boost supply and simplify the U.S. immunization campaign and bring President Joe Biden closer to his goal of 150 million shots in arms in the first 100 days of his term.

It also comes amid concerns of fresh surges due to the more contagious UK variant and the potential of lower vaccine efficacy against the variant that first emerged in South Africa.

Johnson & Johnson has asked the FDA to authorize its single-shot coronavirus vaccine. It is 72% effective against the dominant US variants and prevents 100% of COVID-19 deaths

If J&J's vaccine gets the green light, the shot will be a massive boost to President Biden's goal of 100 million dose administered in 100 days. The US is currently vaccinating just 1.3 million people a day

Currently, 27 million Americans - 8.2 % of the population - have received one dose and 6.9 million - 2.1% of the population - are fully immunized

'Today's submission for Emergency Use Authorization of our investigational single-shot COVID-19 vaccine is a pivotal step toward reducing the burden of disease for people globally and putting an end to the pandemic,' said Dr Paul Stoffels, J&J's Chief Scientific Officer, in a statement.

'Upon authorization of our investigational COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, we are ready to begin shipping....we are working with great urgency to make our investigational vaccine available to the public as quickly as possible.'

Unlike the two currently authorized vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, J&J's does not require a second shot or need to be shipped frozen.

It also does not use new mRNA technology but rather combines genetic material from the new virus with the genes of the adenovirus - which causes the common cold - to induce an immune response.

It is the same technology the company used to make an experimental Ebola vaccine for people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2019.

After the J&J's application, regulators will need time to analyze the data and an advisory committee will need to meet.

Last month, Stoffels said J&J was on track to roll out the vaccine in March.

The US has an agreement to buy 100 million doses of J&J's vaccine for $1 billion, making each dose priced around $10. Pictured: Vials of the J&J vaccine in the US, December 2002

Shares of J&J, Moderna and Pfizer were little changed in after-hours trade.

The US has an agreement to buy 100 million doses of J&J's vaccine for $1 billion, and the option of purchasing an additional 200 million doses.

This prices the vaccine at around $10 per dose, but the New-Jersey drugmaker has pledged not to price its inoculations for profit.

By comparison, the US is paying $19.50 per dose for the Pfizer immunization and $32 to $37 per dose of Moderna's jab.

Meanwhile, the jab being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is estimated to cost between $3 and $4 per dose.

J&J said it aims to deliver one billion doses in 2021 with production in the United States, Europe, South Africa and India.

So far, 55 million doses have been distributed across the country, but states say they are running out of doses

President Biden aims to get 150 million shots in Americans' arms by late April. This would mean at least 1.5 million people would have to be vaccinated every day, but currently just 1.3 million are.

States say they are running out of doses of vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, but bothfirms say they are manufacturing as fast as they can and the White House is desperate to boost its supply of shots.

Because J&J's vaccine requires just one dose, 100 million doses would get twice as many people full protection as 100 million doses of either Pfizer's or Moderna's vaccine.

And J&J has shown its value not just against the older forms of coronavirus, but the new variants that threaten to reverse the encouraging downward trend of cases and hospitalizations in the US over the past three weeks.

In the trial of nearly 44,000 volunteers, the level of protection against moderate and severe COVID-19 was 66 percent in Latin America and just 57 percent in South Africa, where a particularly worrying variant of the novel coronavirus is circulating.

J&J's data suggests its vaccine completely prevents hospitalization and death. No participants who received the shot died of or had to be hospitalized for COVID-19.

Those results compare to the high bar set by two authorized vaccines from Pfizer Moderna, whose two-dose shots were around 95 percent effective in preventing symptomatic illness.

Those trials, however, were conducted mainly in the US and before the broad spread of new variants now under the spotlight.

So far, more than 57 million doses have been distributed with 27 million Americans - 8.2 percent of the population - have received one dose and 6.9 million - 2.1 percent of the population - are fully immunized , according to data from Bloomberg and the CDC.
Vietnam launched preparations for the Lunar New Year with a fish release on Thursday. The tradition involves releasing fish called carp into rivers and lakes in the country a week before the the holiday known as Tet officially begins.

The tradition comes from an ancient story of three Kitchen Gods. The three, two males and a female, take a ride on the brightly colored carp at the end of the year. They go to Heaven to meet with the Jade Emperor, the God who rules there. The Kitchen Gods report news about the families they represent to seek the emperors care and protection. Their efforts help to keep the kitchen fires burning, and families happy and healthy.

Vietnamese believe the fish release brings good luck to their families.

As the gods go to Heaven, families clean their houses in preparation to celebrate Tet. A clean house, Vietnamese believe, will bring luck in the new year. On Lunar New Year's Eve, the gods will return to earth and their duties in the kitchen of the house.

Releasing the fish makes me feel better about myself, said Nguyen Hong Nhung of Hanoi. Its like Ive done a good deed, so Ill be luckier in the new year.

Thursdays event, which takes place across Vietnam, was more restrained than in years past because of the new coronavirus. It is spreading in several northern areas of the country.

However, Vietnam has increased contact tracing, mass testing, and quarantine measures to slow the spread. The aggressive action has limited infections in the country to 1,948 cases. Vietnam has reported only 35 deaths from COVID-19.

A fast-spreading coronavirus variant from Britain is the cause of the latest increase in cases.

Vietnamese will still follow the tradition of releasing the fish, but COVID-19 has made people keep a safe distance, said Tran Van Toi as he released carp from a plastic bag at Hanois West Lake.

Thich Tinh Giac, a Buddhist monk, noted, This year, due to COVID, there are fewer people releasing fish here, but there is a major change in attitude towards plastic bags, Giac said.

After years of persuasion, now they dont throw the plastic bags into the water anymore but collect them to be recycled.

The Lunar New Year is also celebrated in China, Korea, Laos, Tibet and other Asian countries.

Im Mario Ritter, Jr.

Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English with additional reporting from Reuters. Caty Weaver was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

deed - n. something that is done: an act or action

contact tracing - n. the practice of identifying, notifying, and monitoring individuals who may have had close contact with a person having a confirmed or probable case of an infectious disease as a means of controlling the spread of infection

quarantine - n. the situation of being kept away from others to prevent a disease from spreading

variant - n. different in some way from others of the same kind

attitude - n. the way you think and feel about someone or something


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A study from Oxford AstraZeneca says its vaccine can reduce transmission. Photo: Reuters/Dado Ruvic

The over-70s are facing a postcode lottery for where they will receive their Covid-19 vaccine.

Those in urban areas are likely to be vaccinated in large GP practices and people in rural Ireland having to travel to a specially converted centre such as a parish hall, it emerged today.

HSE chief Paul Reid said the decision not to give the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to this group and administered as planned by GPs, calls for an major overhaul.

The plan for GPs to dispense to their patients in their surgeries would only be possible in cities and towns where there are large practices with multiple doctors.

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Outside of these areas vaccination hubs will need to set up and patients will have to travel to them to get the jab.

The taskforce overseeing the roll-out is meeting this afternoon to discuss how this will operate.

It will be necessary to have space in vaccination centres for observation areas, administration and refrigeration.

The decision was made yesterday to make the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines the preferential jabs for the over-70s because there is still not enough evidence to show how much protection the AstraZeneca vaccine gives to older people.

He said the aim was to still have given a first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to the near half a million over- 70s by the end of March but this will be a big challenge.

It is dependent on Pfizer and Moderna increasing weekly deliveries of doses.

Location of vaccination centres has yet to be finalised.

Among the major hurdles is the need to ensure vaccines are maintained at a low temperature.

Under the revised national vaccine plan it is hoped the vaccination of over-85s will go ahead as planned on February 15. They will be followed by over-80s, over-75s and over-70s.

GP hubs will be set up around the country to administer Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Meanwhile, the vaccination of non-frontline health workers is to be brought forward and will begin next week on February 8.

The HSE is getting around 40,000 doses a week from Pfizer but the hope is that this will increase.

Modernas deliveries are less reliable and should be 10,000 doses a week.

Some deliveries will also have to be held back next week to ensure there are second doses available for residents of long term care facilities.

Around 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are due to be delivered here before the end of March and these vaccines will now be offered to thousands of frontline healthcare workers still waiting for their first dose.

Doses will also be offered to healthcare workers who are not in direct patient contact and were originally earmarked to vaccinated after the over-70s.

However, because the HSE is now giving second doses of the Pfizer vaccine to long term care residents and staff, as well as frontline healthcare workers, there may be less to share with the over-70s. He said they would do everything in their power to give all the over-70s a first dose by the end of March .There is a 28 day gap between the first a second dose.

So far 219,000 doses have been administered including first and second doses.

The HSE will be holding new talks with GPs.

Meanwhile, there were 1,308 patients with Covid-19 in hospital today. Intensive care beds have 305 patients, including those who do not have the virus and they are still in surge capacity.

Dr Colm Henry, HSE head of clinical care said the system is still too heated to have any level of comfort.

Separately, the fall in the spread of the virus still has to have significant impact on levels of infection in nursing homes and other residential centres.

There are currently 560 outbreaks in hospitals and residential care facilities. Of these 132 are in hospitals and the worst hit areas are in the south and east regions.

Currently around one in three nursing homes is dealing with an outbreak. There are 47 which are getting intensive support from the HSE.

There are 4,600 health staff out due to Covid-19, including 2,800 hospital workers.
Mardi Gras in San Antonio will look a lot different this year thanks to the pandemic, but that doesn't mean every indulgent event has been canceled.

Here are food, music and drink-filled events to fill your soul before the Lenten season arrives.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Gov Tim Walz has authorized the Minnesota National Guard to deploy in preparation for potential civil unrest during the upcoming trials of four ex-Minneapolis police officers charged in the killing of George Floyd last summer.

The Democratic governors executive order authorizes the deployment of an unspecified number of troops in Minneapolis and St. Paul. They would serve during both the trial of ex-officer Derek Chauvin, which is scheduled to begin March 8, and three other former officers scheduled for trial in August.

Authorities have been preparing for months, fearing a repeat of violence that erupted after Floyd's death last May.
Now more than ever, says Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, there isnt much space in life to let go and see what happens. To abandon control, to take a risk. Denmark is a pretty chaste country in some ways, he says. Very rational. We like to think of ourselves as happy people: its a bit of a shire, really, with hobbits! But then there is this need to go crazy, which I find very interesting.

And, as we all know  whether were in Denmark, supposedly the happiest country on Earth, or sequestered in Australias suburbs  you can take the fast-track to crazy just by opening the liquor cabinet. Theres your ticket to abandonment.

Another Round is Vinterbergs cinematic equivalent of a Scandinavian drinking song, celebratory and winter-dark at the same time. You dont know, as you sink the punch ladle, which way it will ultimately go.

Drinking is a contract, somehow, with the uncontrollable, Vinterberg says. You put the bottle to your mouth and you allow yourself into a different space where you might get laid, fall in love, get beaten up or end up in a lake, whatever. It may just make you more fun: Let me ask how many couples do you know who found each other sober? Not that many. Or it may kill you.
This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 -- also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19 -- isolated from a patient in the US. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. The spikes on the outer edge of the virus particles give coronaviruses their name, crown-like. Credit: NIAID-RML

USC researchers have developed a new method to counter emergent mutations of the coronavirus and hasten vaccine development to stop the pathogen responsible for killing thousands of people and ruining the economy.

Using artificial intelligence (AI), the research team at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering developed a method to speed the analysis of vaccines and zero in on the best potential preventive medical therapy.

The method is easily adaptable to analyze potential mutations of the virus, ensuring the best possible vaccines are quickly identifiedsolutions that give humans a big advantage over the evolving contagion. Their machine-learning model can accomplish vaccine design cycles that once took months or years in a matter of seconds and minutes, the study says.

"This AI framework, applied to the specifics of this virus, can provide vaccine candidates within seconds and move them to clinical trials quickly to achieve preventive medical therapies without compromising safety," said Paul Bogdan, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at USC Viterbi and corresponding author of the study. "Moreover, this can be adapted to help us stay ahead of the coronavirus as it mutates around the world."

The findings appear today in Nature Research's Scientific Reports

When applied to SARS-CoV-2the virus that causes COVID-19the computer model quickly eliminated 95% of the compounds that could've possibly treated the pathogen and pinpointed the best options, the study says.

The AI-assisted method predicted 26 potential vaccines that would work against the coronavirus. From those, the scientists identified the best 11 from which to construct a multi-epitope vaccine, which can attack the spike proteins that the coronavirus uses to bind and penetrate a host cell. Vaccines target the regionor epitopeof the contagion to disrupt the spike protein, neutralizing the ability of the virus to replicate.

Moreover, the engineers can construct a new multi-epitope vaccine for a new virus in less than a minute and validate its quality within an hour. By contrast, current processes to control the virus require growing the pathogen in the lab, deactivating it and injecting the virus that caused a disease. The process is time-consuming and takes more than one year; meanwhile, the disease spreads.

USC method could help counter COVID-19 mutations

The method is especially useful during this stage of the pandemic as the coronavirus begins to mutate in populations around the world. Some scientists are concerned that the mutations may minimize the effectiveness of vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna, which are now being distributed. Recent variants of the virus that have emerged in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil seem to spread more easily, which scientists say will rapidly lead to many more cases, deaths and hospitalizations.

But Bogdan said that if SARS-CoV-2 becomes uncontrollable by current vaccines, or if new vaccines are needed to deal with other emerging viruses, then USC's AI-assisted method can be used to design other preventive mechanisms quickly.

For example, the study explains that the USC scientists used only one B-cell epitope and one T-cell epitope, whereas applying a bigger dataset and more possible combinations can develop a more comprehensive and quicker vaccine design tool. The study estimates the method can perform accurate predictions with over 700,000 different proteins in the dataset.

"The proposed vaccine design framework can tackle the three most frequently observed mutations and be extended to deal with other potentially unknown mutations," Bogdan said.

The raw data for the research comes from a giant bioinformatics database called the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) in which scientists around the world have been compiling data about the coronavirus, among other diseases. IEDB contains over 600,000 known epitopes from some 3,600 different species, along with the Virus Pathogen Resource, a complementary repository of information about pathogenic viruses. The genome and spike protein sequence of SARS-CoV-2 comes from the National Center for Biotechnical Information.

COVID-19 has led to 87 million cases and more than 1.88 million deaths worldwide, including more than 400,000 fatalities in the United States. It has devastated the social, financial and political fabric of many countries.

The study authors are Bogdan, Zikun Yang and Shahin Nazarian of the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at USC Viterbi.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
The U.S. Senate early Friday morning approved a budget resolution that will allow passage of President Joe Bidens coronavirus stimulus bill and also agreed that it would restrict high-income taxpayers from claiming the $1,400 direct payments.

Lawmakers worked through the night on a bevy of amendments to the resolution, which will trigger a procedure known as reconciliation and Democrats to pass a $1.9 trillion package by majority vote without the threat of a filibuster. The final vote was cast just after 5:30 a.m.

Adopting several amendments proposed by Republicans would allow President Joe Biden to claim that the stimulus package was bipartisan even if every GOP senator eventually votes no.

On one bipartisan proposal, senators voted, 99-1, in favor of provision that could exclude wealthier households from any payments. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., cast the only no vote.

The amendment does not define upper income but in the first stimulus bill, individuals earning $75,000 or less and married couples earning $150,000 or less received the full $1,200, while individuals making up to $99,000 and married couples making up to $198,000 received a smaller check based on income.

I dont think a single person on this floor would disagree to target the relief to our neighbors who are struggling, said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. There are other families who have not missed a single paycheck as a result of this pandemic. It does not make sense to send a check to those individuals.

The amendment was proposed by many of the same senators, including Manchin and Maine Republican Susan Collins, who worked together on a stimulus bill that led to the $900 billion measure that became law last December.

The question before us is quite simple, Collins said. Do we want stimulus checks to go to households with family incomes of $300,000? Or do we want to target the assistance to struggling families who need the help and provide a boost for the economy?

Collins also was part of a group of 10 Senate Republicans who proposed a $618 billion stimulus bill that President Joe Biden rejected as too small. That measure included $1,000 payments that would cut off at $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Senators also passed an amendment offered by U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., to ban unauthorized immigrants from getting stimulus checks by a vote of 58-42.

One proposal that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said would not fly would be to substantially reduce the cost of the bill.

If there are good-faith amendments from the other side, we look forward to them, Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor Thursday. What we cannot do, however, is think small in the face of big problems. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past. We cannot do too little. We cannot lock our country into a long and slow recovery.

Once the Senate completes its work, the House would vote on the amended resolution, and has made plans to do so later Friday. That will allow lawmakers in both houses to begin drafting and debating the $1.9 trillion bill.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that the price tag was right.

We want to save lives and save livelihoods; its going to cost some money to do so, she said. It is a reasonable plan. It meets the needs. It is not excessive. It is coronaviruscentric, it is in a timely fashion, and thats where we have to go.

But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who used the same parliamentary procedure in 2017 to pass a tax law that the Congressional Budget Office said would increase the deficit by the same $1.9 billion, objected to the size of the stimulus bill.

There is no doubt that some families are still struggling, McConnell said Thursday on the Senate floor. This isnt finished. But experts agree the remaining damage to our economy does not require another multi trillion-dollar, non-targeted Band-Aid.

However, S&P Global reported that a $1.9 trillion stimulus would have the strongest impact on the economy this year, and the Brookings Institution, a Washington research organization, said a package that high would restore the economy to pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of the year.

The path out of the pandemic

Countries that are moving quickly to vaccinate their populations are poised to move out of the deadliest phase of the pandemic in a matter of weeks.

At the front of the pack is Britain, which is on track to give everyone in the country the first shot of a two-dose regimen by the end of June, if supply and logistical issues dont get in the way. The most vulnerable people in the U.K.  those over 70, health care workers, and nursing home residents and staff members  are on schedule to receive their first dose within the next two weeks. If achieved, it could considerably reduce the number of deaths, as together these groups account for 88 percent of all Covid deaths in the country.

The timeline below shows Britains path out of the pandemic through inoculations, and even if the pace of vaccinations slowed down by 20 percent, the country should still be able to give everyone a shot by the end of July.
Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
Here we round up new and forthcoming childrens titles including a postapocalyptic novel, a spooky series starter, a YA novel set in a quarantined city, a very English romance, and many more.

The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold. Viking, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-593-20222-7. With a haunting, deliberately paced tale of postapocalyptic survival, Arnold (Mosquitoland) creates a devastated world held together by myth and memory.

Super Detectives (Simon and Chester Book #1) by Cale Atkinson. Tundra, $12.99; ISBN 978-0-7352-6742-8. Atkinson revisits the banter-filled unlikely friendship between the ghostly Sir Simon Spookington and his dark-skinned human housemate, Chester, in this entertaining graphic novel for early readers, the first in a series and a spin-off to picture book Sir Simon: Super Scarer.

City of the Uncommon Thief by Lynne Bertrand. Dutton, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-525-55532-2. Odd Thebes travels the aerial lines that connect the thousand towers of his ancient, long-quarantined city, running errands for each sequestered structures inhabitants, who produce their respective guilds crafts.

Hot British Boyfriend by Kristy Boyce. HarperTeen, $11.99; ISBN 978-0-06-302591-2. Determined to leave a public humiliation behind, Ellie plans to skate by academically while taking in England and landing a hot British boyfriend in this YA novel.

In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race by Amy Cherrix. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-288875-4. Cherrix (Backyard Bears) uncovers how a quest for weapons transformed into space initiatives culminating in the moon walk, and reveals national secrets on both sides, such as how the U.S. side concealed the Nazi past of involved scientists.

The Girl from Shadow Springs by Ellie Cypher. Simon & Schuster, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-5344-6569-5. Blood Red Road meets The Snow Queen in this winter-bound Western YA novel following 16-year-old Jorie Harrow, who scavenges dead men outside the Gold Rush town of Shadow Springs, where spring hasnt come for a generation.

Sunny-Side Up by Jacky Davis, illus. by Fiona Woodcock. Greenwillow, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-257307-0. This picture book offers a realistic take on how much emotional stamina can be required to make it through a day gone wrong when the protagonists mother leaves for the day.

Paris by Phone by Pamela Druckerman, illus. by Benjamin Chaud. Putnam, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-399-16506-1. Having shown adults the ways of French parenting in 2014s Bringing Up Bebe, Druckerman now turns to the picture book set. Her protagonist, Josephine, yearns for la vie Parisienne.

One Jar of Magic by Corey Ann Haydu. HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-268985-6. With taut underlying tension and a sympathetically flawed protagonist, Haydus (Ever Cursed) middle grade novel literalizes magics effects on a family and community. The book earned a starred review from PW.

The Best Place in the World by Petr Horacek. Candlewick, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-1285-3. In this picture book, Hare surveys his animal friends one by one to ask if they think the meadow where they all live is the best place in the world.

The Iron Raven by Julie Kagawa. Inkyard, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-335-09176-5. Told from the first-person perspective of Robin Goodfellow, also known as the fast-talking chaos causer Puck, this series starter set in the world of Kagawas Iron Fey saga follows Robin and Keirran, King of the Forgottenexiled son of Iron Queen Meghan Chase, and sole wielder of all three glamours, Summer, Winter, and Ironas they investigate a malevolent darkness in the Between.

Road Trip! A Whiskers Hollow Adventure by Steve Light. Candlewick, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-0947-1. Light (Black Bird Yellow Sun) does some whimsical world-building in welcoming picture book readers to Whiskers Hollow, where the animals are avid motorists and the roadways are huge tree branches.

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire by Joy McCullough, illus. by Maia Kobabe. Dutton, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-5255-5605-3. McCullough (Blood Water Paint) uses the legend of Marguerite de Bressieux, a medieval French noblewoman who avenged her sexual assault by going into battle against her attackers, to view the story of Em Morales, a biracial (Guatemalan and presumed white) Seattle high schooler reeling after her sister Nors brutal rape at a fraternity house. The illustrated YA novel earned a starred review from PW.

How to Catch a Clover Thief by Elise Parsley. Little, Brown, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-316-53428-4. Parsley (Neck & Neck) channels the irreverent spirit of classic Warner Bros. cartoons in this battle of wills in which a warthog and a gopher compete over a clover patch. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

Game Changer by Neal Shusterman. Quill Tree, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-06-199867-6. The protagonist of this YA novel enters an alternative reality in which he leads a wealthy existence at an all-white high school in a world where segregation never ended, and finds himself grappling with realities of class, gender, race, and sexuality.

Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids by Edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Heartdrum, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-286994-4. In a letter to reviewers, editor Smith (enrolled Muscogee Creek) describes this anthology as a sampling of the many rising Indigenous voices who are changing childrens literature for the better. Using the framework of an intertribal powwow, 17 Indigenous authors craft stories that explore themes such as ethnic identity and ancestry. The middle grade volume earned a starred review from PW.

As Far as You'll Take Me by Phil Stamper. Bloomsbury, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-5476-0017-5. Seventeen-year-old Marty Pierce is a rule follower who Googles everything in advance to avoid surprises. Hes also pretty good at lyingfirst to keep his sexuality a secret from his religious, homophobic parents, and now to craft an elaborate escape plan from his suffocating life in Kentucky.

The Last Rabbit by Shelley Moore Thomas, illus. by Julie Mellan. Random/Lamb, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-593-17353-4. Thomas (Secrets of Selkie Bay) blends life lessons and magical elements in an imaginative journey of mourning and maturation following a magicians rabbit. The middle grade novel earned a starred review from PW.

Hello, Jimmy! by Anna Walker. Clarion, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-358-19358-6. A boys connection with his father, which has dimmed after his parents divorce, is renewed after Dad adopts a flamboyant parrot. The picture book earned a starred review from PW.

No Buddy Like a Book by Allan Wolf, illus. by Brianne Farley. Candlewick, $16.99; ISBN 978-1-5362-0307-3. In this snappy addition to the shelf of book-extolling books, Wolf (The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep) supplies a string of examples showing how books can teach and enlighten.

For more childrens and YA titles on sale throughout the month of February, check out PWs full On-Sale Calendar.
Hundreds of coronavirus vaccine appointments have been left unfilled at the new mass vaccination site at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.

The site has slots available for Bronx residents only due to the borough reporting the highest positivity rate in the city.

But when DailyMail.com visited Somosvaccinations.com on Thursday afternoon, the day that the website launched, at least 300 slots between February 7 and February 12 had not been booked.

Lawmakers slammed the city for its 'poor outreach,' particularly among the Bronx's high number of black and Latino residents, many of whom are wary and reluctant to get the shot.

On Thursday, New York City opened a mass vaccination site at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx but, by the afternoon, at least 300 appointments had still not been filled between February 7 and February 12 (left and right)

New York City Councilman Mark Levine slammed the city for poor outreach and said more canvassers needed to be on the ground scheduling appointments. Pictured: Unfilled slots for vaccinations at Yankee Stadium

However, a dark history of medical experiments has fueled hesitancy among minority communities. Pictured: Workers arrange barricades outside Yankee Stadium one day ahead of the opening of the vaccination site, February 4

New York City Councilman Mark Levine, who represents District 7 in New York City (northern Manhattan) shared a screen grab of the many unfilled appointment slots on Twitter.

'There are still...vaccine appts available at Yankee stadium next week. They are not disappearing fast,' he wrote on Thursday.

'This is good news - but also bad news. It means NYC is not doing enough outreach to people on the ground. The City should have teams out all over the [Bronx] signing people up.'

Levine lamented that not enough canvassing teams had been dispatched in the borough to signs up residents.

'Everyone please help spread the word. We don't want one [appointment] slot to go unused!' he tweeted.

When Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the the Yankee Stadium mass COVID-19 vaccination site would open, he said it would ensure equity in distribution of the shots.

'It's abundantly clear that Black, Latino and poor communities have been hit the hardest by COVID, and the Bronx is no exception,' he said in a statement on Wednesday.

'Our efforts to target vaccinations by locations with higher positivity rates have been working to not only keep the infection rate down, but to help ensure equity in our vaccine distribution process.'

Since the rollout began in mid-December, fewer vaccines have been going into arms of black and Latino Americans.

Vaccination rates are in-line with population share for white people, but blacks and Latinos have accounted for just 5.4 percent, and 11.5 percent according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

This is despite the fact that black people make up 12.5 percent and Latino people make up 19 percent of the U.S. population.

In New York City, white residents are three-fold more likely to receive the coronavirus vaccine than Latinos residents and four-fold more likely than black residents, city demographic data revealed.

Yet, according to CDC data, black and Latino Americans are about 1.5 times more likely to contact the virus than white Americans and about three times more likely to die.

But it's not just disparities, such as access to healthcare, that are causing these stark differences. Some blacks and Latinos are reluctant to get the COVID-19 vaccine at all.

In New York City, white residents are three-fold more likely to received the coronavirus vaccine that Latinos residents and four-fold more likely than black residents

Vaccination rates are in-line with population share for white people, but blacks and Latinos have accounted for just 5.4% and 11.5% of vaccinations despite comprising 12.5% and 19% of the US population, according to CDC data

This is because, in the past, racist health policies have preyed upon America's communities of color.

One of the most well-known examples are the Tuskegee experiments from 1932 to 1971, in which black men were used to track the progression of syphilis.

However, the study was run without their consent and they never received treatment to cure the sexually transmitted infection.

'If you think historically for African Americans in the U.S. in terms of what the history has been with respect to their interaction with the healthcare system, of course we know the Tuskegee study,' Dr Diana Grigsby-Toussaint, an associate professor in the department behavioral and social sciences an the department of epidemiology as the Brown University School of Public Health told Healthline.

'Tuskegee was not that long ago. The last surviving member died in 2004. It's not something that is far removed. It's still in people's memory.'

There were also eugenics movements that saw black, Latina and Native American women sterilized across the country in the 20th century.

Grigsby-Toussaint said these past experiments that led to people of color being used as 'guinea pigs' might make people uneasy about new immunizations.

A November 2020 report from Unidos US, the NAACP, and COVID Collaborative found that just 14 percent of black Americans and 34 percent of Latin Americans trust that coronavirus vaccines is safe.

Additionally, only 18 percent of blacks and 40 percent of Latinos believe that the shots are effective.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the low vaccination rates in minority communities is due to mix of distrust and racial inequality.

'We've got a profound problem of distrust and hesitancy, particularly in communities of color,' he said during a press conference on Sunday.

'We've got a problem of privilege, clearly, where folks who have been privileged have been able to access the [vaccines] with greater ease.

'We've got to have a more systematic approach to ensuring that we focus on the places where the danger is greatest.'

De Blasio said the city plans to retool the city's scheduling website and add more vaccination sites to improve.

He added that application forms will be available in more languages aside from English and Spanish such as Arabic, Russian, Chinese and Haitian Creole.
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
The former deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Foday Momodou Hydara, in his TRRC testimony revealed that most of the suspects of 2006 Ndure Cham's abortive coup were tortured by the junglers before their appearance at the investigative panel.

Testifiying on the nature of the NIA, Hydara said the NIA was an institution that operated on wishes of former President Yahya Jammeh. He added that the NIA officers used to monitor and spy on political parties to the advantage of the then government.

The witness said among other illegal things that the NIA was involved in was to tap mobile phones of politicians who they believed could create problem in the political environment.

On the allegation that the NIA officers used to involve in drug trafficking, Hydara said it wasn't happening during his time but said he was involved in investigating one drug saga.

Giving account of the March 2006 abortive coup, Mr. Hydara told the commission that they had a source who informed them about the planned coup.

"When Daba Marena got the information, he briefed the counter terrorism unit to handle the matter as he was away with the President in Mauritania. When things were calmed, Bunja Darboe was brought to the NIA by Alhagie Martin, Manlafi Corr and other soldiers who told me that the president ordered for immediate start of the investigation. The way I saw Bunja, I knew he was brutalised because I saw his arm broken."

He added that Bunja was interviewed after two hours of his arrival at the NIA, adding that he was later joined by officials from the police and the military. He said the junglers were later present with their masks and it was intimidating.

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Hydara said the rights of the suspects were never respected, saying that moment was a disaster in the country.

He confirmed to the commission that there was no proper rule of law, saying some of the suspects were beaten before facing the panel.

Commenting on Wassa Camara's statement before the TRRC that he saw a broken tooth, some blood and a hammer on the desk of the investigators, the witness denied that, rather admitting Wassa was slapped by Baba Saho in the presence of the panel.

"The junglers were responsible for tortures outside the panel in which we objected. We told those in power: Harry Sambou and Lang Tombong to stop beating the suspects but they didn't. To my understanding it was Jammeh who gave orders for the junglers to torture suspects because he enjoys seeing people in pain. We all knew at the moment that the junglers were brutal and could do whatever they wanted and nothing would come out of it."

At this juncture Counsel Faal ordered a televised testimony of Pierre Mendy, who claimed that he (Hydara) gave the command for his torture by the junglers. However, Hydara denied the allegation, saying he just ordered him out because he was not cooperating.

"Daba Marena appeared before the commission once and his story never changed till we heard he was executed. I know the execution of Daba must come from President Jammeh."

Witness revealed he was once arrested and taken to Mile 2 before his subsequent release.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-06 03:25:37|Editor: huaxia

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U.S. President Joe Biden (C) attends the inauguration ceremony of the 46th President of the United States in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Jan. 20, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

President Joe Biden's goal "is to reverse his predecessor's policies and move the country in a very different direction," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West said.

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's first weeks in office foreshadow what his priorities will be, and where he will stand on the pandemic, the economy, immigration, foreign policy and other pressing issues, experts said.

"His goal is to reverse his predecessor's policies and move the country in a very different direction," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.

PANDEMIC CONTROL

Biden has signed several orders including improving supply chains for the pandemic, and expanding treatment for COVID-19. Most importantly, he has tweaked former President Donald Trump's vaccine distribution plan by providing better coordination.

The former administration's vaccine distribution plan was blasted as leaving it up to county and city administrators, who have zero experience with vaccine distribution plans, especially not one of this magnitude.

The spread of more infectious variants of the coronavirus has increased concern over a new surge across the country and heightened the urgency of vaccination.

Residents receive COVID-19 vaccines in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, Jan. 15, 2021. (Xinhua)

Experts noted that the first three months of Biden's presidency will be dominated by the effort to jab 100 million people in 100 days.

Biden has also signed an executive order that urged Americans to wear masks, and made it a requirement on federal property.

Billed the "100-day masking challenge," the order requires people to wear masks and practice social distancing in federal buildings and on all federal land, as well as on airplanes and trains.

Increasing mask-wearing across the United States by just 10 percent would significantly curb the transmission of the coronavirus, according to a study published on Jan. 19 in The Lancet Digital Health.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Biden will have to deal with an economy that has been ravaged by lockdowns amid the pandemic, and his first major economic challenge is to pass a massive relief bill.

Biden has unveiled a 1.9-trillion-U.S.-dollar COVID-19 relief proposal, which has drawn opposition from congressional Republicans.

People pick up food at a food bank distribution site in the Brooklyn borough of New York, the United States, on April 24, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

White House economic adviser Brian Deese has urged Congress to approve the bill, warning that the nation could otherwise fall into a "very serious economic hole."

But some experts blasted the bill. Desmond Lachman, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said the stimulus "threatens to keep the U.S. budget very high and the public debt rising for a long time," noting that it would come on top of a few trillion U.S. dollars worth of previous stimulus funds.

Biden is also taking flak for an executive order that blocks the Keystone XL Pipeline. Republicans are blasting the president for making a move they said will kill jobs amid the worst recession in decades.

FOREIGN POLICY

Biden is re-joining a number of global organizations, out of which his predecessor had withdrawn. Those include the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement on climate change. He has also had phone calls with half a dozen allies.

While critics said Trump's America First policy isolated the United States from allies and global organizations, Biden wants to strengthen those ties.

An Iranian flag is pictured at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Jan. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

Biden was part of the administration that inked the Iran nuclear deal, which the Trump administration later scrapped. Experts said the current president is likely to return to the agreement.

However, the administration may not simply snap back to the deal, which fell short of addressing issues including terrorism, missiles and militias, experts said.

"Biden has done the predictable things, almost all of them good in my mind," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon told Xinhua.

"But the hardest tasks clearly still remain - starting with building a new strategy towards China," O'Hanlon said.

IMMIGRATION CHANGE

Biden has issued six executive orders on immigration in his first ten days of office. Those include counting unauthorized immigrants in the Census, which determines the number of representatives each state has in Congress; ending travel bans from certain countries; and ordering a pause on the construction of Trump's southern border wall.

A man protests against border wall near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, the United States, on March 13, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Ying) (nxl)

Jessica Bolter, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, told Xinhua that Biden is "taking a very active approach to immigration. He is not wasting any time ending some of the most well-known policies of President Trump's administration."

"Biden has set out an incredibly ambitious framework for an immigration bill," Bolter said.

The framework includes a program to legalize the vast majority of the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States, the scholar noted.

"This would be a broader legalization than the United States has ever seen before," Bolter said. 
An Iranian diplomat has been sentenced to prison by a Belgian court in connection with a bomb plot against an Iranian opposition group in France.

Assadolah Assadi received a 20-year sentence Thursday in Antwerp. Assadi worked for the Iranian Embassy in Vienna, Austria. He was found guilty of attempting to bomb a National Council of Resistance of Iran rally near Paris that was held in 2018. French authorities said he acted on orders from Iranian intelligence, Reuters reported.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran is a coalition of Iranian dissident groups that seeks to overthrow the Islamic Republic. The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq is the main group in the coalition. The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq is sometimes called a "cult" and is criticized by other Iranian opposition groups and the Iranian government. It has a presence in Iranian diaspora communities, including in Europe.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Assadis sentencing, saying it constituted a blatant violation of international law. Iran claimed Assadi should not have been arrested because he had diplomatic immunity; European officials, however, said he was arrested in Germany and that his diplomatic immunity only was in effect in Austria. Iran said the charges had been trumped up, and also blamed the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq for the ruling, saying the decision was made with "influence of the atmosphere that has been created by the hostile  terrorist group on Europes soil, the state-run Press TV reported.

Three Iranians who had had dual Belgian citizenship were convicted along with Assadi and sentenced to 15 to 18 years in prison. It was the first terrorism trial for an Iranian official in Europe since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979, according to Reuters.

Iranian diplomats have run afoul of European authorities before. In October, Denmark summoned the Iranian ambassador following reports of the Iranian Embassys alleged involvement in coercive divorces there. In 2018, the Danish government accused Iran of involvement in the attempted killing of an Arab Iranian separatist leader in the city of Ringsted.

Police at the scene of the Sean Grahams bookmakers shooting as family members and survivors lay flowers.

Police at the scene of the Sean Grahams bookmakers shooting as family members and survivors lay flowers.

Police at the scene of the Sean Graham bookmakers shooting as family members and survivors lay flowers.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill has requested an urgent meeting with the PSNI Chief Constable after police arrested a victim of a Troubles shooting during an anniversary event.

Mark Sykes was detained in the Ormeau Road area of Belfast after officers intervened at the memorial marking the 29th anniversary of a loyalist massacre at the Sean Graham's bookmakers shop, his lawyer said.

Public gatherings of more than six people are currently prevented under Covid-19 lockdown regulations in Northern Ireland.

Five people, including a 15-year-old boy, were murdered and several others injured in February 1992 when Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) opened fire at the bookies.

Footage of angry exchanges involving officers and those attending Friday's event have been posted online.

Mr Sykes was later released from Musgrave PSNI station in Belfast.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne appealed for calm following the incident and in a statement issued on Friday evening he acknowledged that it had taken place on what was a "difficult day" for the families involved.

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Mrs ONeill said in a statement on Friday evening that she requested the urgent meeting with Mr Byrne "to discuss the response to the awful scenes in Belfast today".

The man was arrested at an event to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the Massacre, in which five people including a child were killed by loyalist gunmen using weapons brought into Ireland by a British agent," she explained.

The arrest by the PSNI of this man who was at a wreath laying ceremony attended by family members of those killed has caused unprecedented anger and distress across the community."

She added: "The PSNIs response tonight is inadequate. It further adds insult to injury to the families of the victims who have been waiting almost three decades for truth about the deaths of their loved ones.

I have also contacted the families and am seeking to meet with them as soon as possible.

The Chief Constable needs to understand the damage that the actions of his officers today has had on community confidence in policing."

The Sinn Fein vice president continued: This standard of policing is not acceptable and should not be acceptable to any section of this community.

Mr Byrne said footage of the incident, including body cam footage, will be reviewed.

Outside the police station earlier Mr Sykes' lawyer Niall Murphy said: "Every year the victims and survivors gather in dignity to remember their loved ones and to say a short prayer.

"This year because of Covid restrictions it was restricted to the five families who maintained a dignified silence and left flowers down.

"The police attended, for what reason I will never know, approached victims and survivors of an atrocity and commenced to harass, push and assault man, woman and child."

Mr Murphy said his client was arrested on suspicion of disorderly behaviour.

"The only disorderly behaviour that happened on the Ormeau Road today was by the police who had no right to be there and who have wreaked havoc on community relations both in the Ormeau Road and in the wider community," he said.

Sinn Fein Policing Board member Gerry Kelly said he was "shocked and appalled" at the man's arrest.

He accused police of "heavy handed" tactics.

"The man and other relatives of the five victims of the massacre, which included a 15-year-old boy, were laying wreaths at the scene of the murders to mark the 29th anniversary of the slaying of their loved ones," he said.

Mr Kelly said family members had gathered to call for the publication of a delayed police ombudsman's report into the murders, amid allegations of state collusion.

"As the relatives were dispersing police moved in and arrested a victim of the Bookies' Massacre," he said.

Mr Kelly added: "This man should be released immediately and the police should apologise for adding insult to injury to the families of those who lost their lives in the massacre and who have waited almost 30 years for truth and justice."

Mr Byrne said in a statement on Friday evening officers from the South Belfast Local Team came across a group of "between 30 and 40 people" at the memorial event.

"As the event concluded, two officers approached a person to talk to him about a breach of the Health Protection Regulations," he explained.

"The situation quickly escalated and a man was arrested for disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest. He was taken to Musgrave Police Station and was released at 4.04pm. In the course of the incident a police officer sustained a minor injury to his face."

The senior police chief added: "We are now reviewing all footage of the incident including our officers Body Worn Video and have notified the Office of the Police Ombudsman, and we are carrying out an assessment of the conduct of the officers involved.

"I have personally spoken to the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister, the local Member for Parliament and a range of other stakeholders to brief them on what has happened."

Mr Byrne added: "I fully recognise the sensitivities of this incident and just how difficult a day this would have already been for the families who lost loved ones in the atrocity. That should not be forgotten.

"We are acutely aware that this is the latest incident to raise concerns about the enforcement of Coronavirus Regulations and illustrates there are no easy answers. I would appeal for calm at this time."
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Wyatt honored for his service to local government

Steve Wyatt speaking to Board of Commissioners is shown in a 2017 Lightning file photo.

Henderson County Manager Steve Wyatt, the county's top administrator for the past 15 years, received the prestigious John Whitehurst Service Award at the North Carolina City & County Management Association Winter Seminar on Thursday for his service and dedication to local government management.

The award, given only when exceptional candidates are nominated, was developed to honor North Carolina managers who follow Mr. Whitehursts example of consistency and diligence in his support of all local government professionals.

Wyatt has more than 38 years of city and county management experience and has been the Henderson County Manager since 2006. His previous local government management experience includes stints in Moore, Polk and Catawba counties, the town of Chadbourn and Kingstree.

An alumnus of Appalachian State University, Wyatt was a founding member and past president of ASU Local Government Alumni Association, whose mission is to support professional training and continuing education. He has been presented with their Distinguished Alumni Award and served as the chairman of the University Board of Visitors.

He has been actively involved with the NCCCMA throughout his career. He has served on the Emergency Response Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Scholarship Committee. In addition to serving on the Membership Support Committee, he is also a past Chairman. He has also served colleagues across the state through his work with the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners. He has served on the Finance and Taxation Policy Committee, the Legislative Goals Committee and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Lee County Manager John Crumpton, in a letter of nomination, stated I cannot think of another manager who has devoted himself to the profession as has Steve Wyatt, this award is well deserved and a result of the love he has for our profession and the people in it.
Love Island star Rachel Fenton confirmed she received the Covid-19 vaccine on Friday after previously contracting the virus twice.

The Orthopaedic Clinical Nurse Specialist, 27, shared a selfie receiving the injection to Instagram as she thanked the medical field and hoped that 'it's the beginning of the end'.

She revealed she tested positive for the novel coronavirus in December after catching it for the first time in March, and she disclosed she also had antibodies, leading her to question if she had the mutant strain.

Staying protected: Love Island star Rachel Fenton confirmed she received the Covid-19 vaccine on Friday after previously contracting the virus twice

Vaccine: The Orthopaedic Clinical Nurse Specialist, 27, shared a selfie receiving the injection to Instagram as she thanked the medical field and hoped that 'it's the beginning of the end'

The blonde beauty sported a face mask and cream jumper as a fellow nurse pressed a needle into her exposed arm while wearing gloves and medical scrubs.

The NHS frontline worker wrote in the accompanying caption: 'The beginning of the end. thank you to all the incredible doctors and scientists for creating this vaccine and helping us become one step further to beating this virus' (sic) .

Rachel took to her social media just before Christmas in 2020, to reveal her 'scary' news and said anyone who has been infected before is not immune to catching the virus again.

She wrote on Twitter: 'I've been re-infected with COVID-19. I tested positive back in March and also had the antibodies.

Shock: She revealed she tested positive for the novel coronavirus in December after catching it for the first time in March, and she disclosed she also had antibodies, leading her to question if she had the mutant strain

'I knew reinfection did happen but I didn't think it was that common? I think it's important people know that reinfection is happening, it could be the new strain?

'I've had another positive swab recently. I had very mild symptoms which were not like the symptoms I had before.

'Has anyone else experienced a second positive Covid-19 swab?'

Then taking to her Instagram Story, Rachel discussed her positive test result further and said that luckily she had been on annual leave and hadn't been in contact with patients.

She said: 'I wasn't sure if I should talk about this, but it's quite important. I was diagnosed with Covid back in March. I also had the antibodies.

'I'm tested weekly as a nurse and I've always tested negative since, but I've recently tested positive again. I've been reinfected with the virus.

'It's quite scary. I knew reinfection did happen but I was not aware it was that common. Clearly there is another strain of it around.

'Everyone needs to be extremely careful. Reinfection does happen. Once you've had it, you are not immune to it.

Diagnosis: Rachel took to her social media just before Christmas in 2020, to reveal her 'scary' news and said anyone who has been infected before is not immune to catching the virus again

'I was on annual leave, so there was no patient contact, thank God.

'It's so important to socially distance and wear a mask and it's important to know reinfection happens even if you have the antibodies.'

'Show us the evidence': Scientists call for clarity on claim that new Covid-19 variant strain is 70% more contagious The Prime Minister has warned the new variant of coronavirus may be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than previous strains and could overwhelm the NHS. But last night one scientist demanded greater transparency over the number that shut down swathes of the UK. Carl Heneghan, Professor of Evidence Based Medicine at Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Primary Care, expressed scepticism over the 70 per cent figure. He said: 'I've been doing this job for 25 years and I can tell you can't establish a quantifiable number in such a short time frame.' He added 'every expert is saying it's too early to draw such an inference'. Professor Heneghan said there was no doubt this time of the year, the 'height of the viral season', was a difficult time for the NHS. But he said failure to put out the basis of the figures was undermining public trust. He added: 'I would want to have very clear evidence rather than 'we think it's more transmissible' so we can see if it is or not. 'It has massive implications, it's causing fear and panic, but we should not be in this situation when the Government is putting out data that is unquantifiable.' He added: 'They are fitting the data to the evidence. They see cases rising and they are looking for evidence to explain it.' Advertisement

Back in April, Rachel had said she was awaiting a negative test after falling ill, so she could return to work.

At the time, she revealed she struggled to be sick without her family close by.

She said at the time: 'I've been having lots of messages asking how I am and when my re-swabs are and what's the situation moving forward.

'I've had my first swab done and I'm going for my second one tomorrow. I haven't had any results back yet but I think I get them back on Friday.

'But I am not entirely sure. I know my work are really busy swabbing other nurses, so just having to be quite patient with this whole process.'

She continued: 'My symptoms have completely gone now which is really good. I feel completely back to normal. I feel maybe a little more fatigued than I normally would.

'I'm still isolating at the moment until I get my two negatives and I can go back to work. I'm going to be in my flat with my flatmate.

'Interestingly, she has had no symptoms whatsoever of coronavirus. She has been living with me when I got my positive diagnosis and she has not presented any symptoms.

'It's really weird. So she might have had it and just had no symptoms or she might not have had it. It's pretty strange.'

Rachel had also urged anyone else struggling, to do some online quizzes, saying she was 'really struggling over Easter, not seeing her family' and that they helped.

At the start of the month, Rachel had taken to Instagram as she discussed losing her sense of taste and smell, and revealed she had experienced sleep disturbance and flushed cheeks.

Alongside a snap in her nurse uniform, Rachel penned: 'I'm so overwhelmed & grateful for everyone's lovely messages of support at this time.

'It's scary and uncertain for so many - I'm determined to beat this virus as soon as possible so I can get back to the hospital to help those most in need. Sending love to everyone & hope you're all staying safe and well x'.

Taking to her Stories, Rachel clarified her own symptoms from the virus.

She recalled at the time: 'I first started feeling bad last Thursday, my sense of taste and smell started to really go on Saturday.

'I think my taste is slightly coming back but I do know people whose symptoms have lasted two, three weeks...

'My sleep is really disturbed, I wake up in the middle of the night and I see things in my room and not know what they are. It's really weird.'

Revealing that she was feeling better, Rachel continued: 'My chest pain is kind of going. I feel OK, I haven't got a cold anymore or a sore throat so I hope I'm on the mend.

'I know people who have felt better before they feel worse so I hope that isn't going to happen to me.

'One of my friends suggested I put myself forward for clinical trials to help the NHS find a vaccine and that's something I'm considering.'
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RT Kendall tackles the pervasive problem of being a Pharisee in new book

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Are you a Pharisee? According to a newly released book by distinguished theologian, pastor and author R.T. Kendall, the answer is very likely yes.

Kendall outlines the nature of modern Pharisee tendencies in You Might Be a Pharisee If...: Twenty-five things Christians do but Jesus would rebuke, released Tuesday through Charisma House.

While the term originally meant one who was separated, in modern language, a Pharisee is generally considered someone who is hypocritical on religious issues or sanctimonious.

Kendall explains that he was inspired to write the book during a theological debate via correspondence with prominent Jewish leader Rabbi David Rosen.

In his book, Kendall wrote that Rosen actually preferred the term Pharisee, believing that the phrase was given an unjustly negative meaning in the New Testament.

The 25 examples of Pharisee behavior listed by Kendall included: "We esteem 'the way we've always done it' above change, even when the latter is not heretical," "We are more concerned to uphold our theology than to help people," and "We major on minors."

Other listed examples were: "We love to point the finger," "We do not practice what we preach, "We are motivated by money, and "We call another person a 'Pharisee.'"

In an interview with The Christian Post on Monday, Kendall explained that he believed every single one of them is pervasive in American churches.

The interesting thing is, when I sent this book, the manuscript, to some friends, four or five of them, every single one of them, no exception, wrote back and said, 'your book made me see that I'm a Pharisee, he recalled.

There's Pharisaism in all of us because we are all by nature self-righteous and this just pops out all the time. It pops out in me and we're not exempt from it, but its something we should be conscious of and guard against."

Kendall, who told CP that he mostly struggles with pointing the finger, judging another person, said that those outside of the Christian faith are just as susceptible to being Pharisees.

"Everybody by nature is born with a self-righteous attitude. I'm sure the Pharisees that Jesus referred to, they were not converted at all. They thought they would get to Heaven by their good works, said Kendall.

There are unconverted people who think that their good works save them and then, sadly, there are also Christians who, out of faulty theology, still are trusting in their works."

In recent years, some Christian writers, among them Dan Delzell, pastor of Wellspring Church in Papillion, Nebraska, have felt a need to address the concern of modern Pharisee tendencies.

In an op-ed published by CP in 2018, Delzell put forth five questions to ask oneself to determine how much of a Pharisee one might be:

Is there any category of people who are "bigger sinners" than me? Does the story of Simon the Pharisee have relevance for others, but not so much for myself? When Scripture identifies examples of sin, do I tend to think about the sins of others rather than my own sin? Is there anyone I am mad at right now who needs to change more than I do? Would I be shocked to see Jesus accept certain sinners if they came to Him in repentance and faith?

If you answered Yes to one of these questions, then you have identified a little Pharisee in you, added Delzell. And if you answered Yes to more than one question, then the Pharisee in you is probably a lot more active than you realize.

Kendall told CP that he hoped his book would help preachers gain a greater awareness of their own propensity to be Pharisees, thus helping their ministry efforts.

I would hope that they would be conscious themselves and make them gentle with their people, those that they speak to, they preach to, they lead, he said.

Being aware that all of us are like this, so that we would be less judgmental and more humble, gracious when talking to those who are following us."
Deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger arrives for a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Sept. 11, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Dont Fall for Chinas Negotiation Traps: Former Trump Advisor

The new U.S. administration should stand firm when dealing with Beijing and avoid falling into the communist regimes crafty negotiation traps, a former White House security official has said.

Dont fall for a trap that Beijing sets time and again for administration after administration, which is to try to lure the United States into a long, formal, mid-level bottoms-up negotiation, said former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger in his first public speech since leaving the White House in January.

Pottinger, whose role was central to forging the Trump administrations China policy, made the remarks during a Feb. 3 panel hosted by Florida International Universitys Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs.

He said that the former White House cabinet only learned not to let China draw out the clock after a year of back and forth negotiations, and after reviewing the previous dialogues of the last two decades in which the United States got trapped, leading to the U.S. trade deficit and our hemorrhaging of intellectual property.

For about a decade after 2006, the two countries engaged in semi-annual talks, dubbed Strategic Economic Dialogue, to resolve economic disputes. But the Trump administration criticized the process for not delivering enough tangible outcomes, and eventually abolished it as the United States shifted toward a hardline approach on communist China.

It got worse and worse with each successive administration, each successive formal dialogue, Pottinger said. So we should be talking on our terms, and we should be speaking with actions.

Top Chinese officials have, in recent speeches, indicated that the ruling communist party has no intention of changing its plans for China. Yang Jiechi, Chinas top foreign policy diplomat, on Feb. 1 told the Biden administration to play by the partys rules, warning that potential actions on the regimes handling of Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang constitute a red line that must not be crossed.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi speaks after meeting then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at the latters official residence in Tokyo on Feb. 28, 2020. (Kimimasa Mayama/AFP via Getty Images)

Beijing has long claimed the self-ruled island as a renegade province, threatening to reunify it with the mainland by force. With Hong Kong now firmly under its grip, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is escalating military aggression toward Taiwan, sending dozens of military craft just days after President Joe Bidens inauguration.

The people of Taiwan need to understand how significant and dangerous the situation is getting, and that thats no fault of their leadership. That is all about Beijing, and its appetites and ambitions, Pottinger said. The people of Taiwan need to really rally around their leadership and understand that they are going to have to make sacrifices. There are things that they are going to have to do to prepare for war in order to hopefully deter war.

Speaking at the same conference via pre-recorded video, Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the CCP our greatest foreign policy challenge for years to come.

The CCPs record of aggression, suppression, and broken commitments should give the United States pause before rushing into signing agreements and pursuing expansive cooperative initiatives such as a climate deal with Beijing, Risch said.

Pottinger, whose wife is a virologist with years of experience at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, urged people to revisit a Jan. 15 fact sheet issued by the State Department under the Trump administration, which slammed the CCPs deadly obsession with secrecy around the origin of SARS-CoV-2.

The fact sheet has been very carefully vetted by officials across U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the intelligence leadership, and the White House, he added.

Security personnel gather near the entrance of the Wuhan Institute of Virology during a visit by the World Health Organization team in Wuhan in Chinas Hubei Province, China, on Feb. 3, 2021. (Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Although the Wuhan Institute of Virology, located in the worlds first COVID-19 hotspot, regularly handles dangerous viruses, it claimed to have zero infections among its staff at the outset of the pandemic. But according to the fact sheet, the United States has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019 with symptoms similar to COVID-19.

On Wednesday, World Health Organization investigators visited the Wuhan lab as a highlight of their mission to probe the origins of the virus outbreak. The Wuhan trip took place after months of delays and lengthy negotiations, with Beijing turning back the team last minute in early January.

The WHO team left the lab after roughly three hours, without speaking to the reporters who were waiting outside.

Very interesting. Many questions, said Danish researcher Thea Fischer as the teams vehicle sped away.
Thank you for reading!

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Sydney, Feb 5 : Amid the ongoing new media code row, Google has launched its News Showcase platform in Australia where a growing number of local and regional publishers will be paid to provide content for News Showcase.

Panels on News Showcase display an enhanced view of an article or articles, giving participating publishers more ways to bring important news to readers and explain it in their own voice, along with more direct control of presentation and branding.

The panels will appear across Google News on Android, iOS and the mobile web, and in Discover on iOS, bringing high-value traffic to a publisher's site.

"We also plan to bring News Showcase to Search as well as the other surfaces of Google News and Discover in the future," said Kate Beddoe, Head of News, Web & Publishing Product Partnerships, APAC.

The Google News Showcase has already reached nearly 450 publications across a dozen countries, the majority of which are local and regional.

Google said that its investment of $1 billion over the next three years towards news partnerships and for Google News Showcase helps support publications to produce, distribute and explain essential information to users in new ways.

"As this early version of News Showcase rolls out, the partnerships will provide financial support for some of the country's most respected independent, local and regional publications including The Canberra Times, The Illawarra Mercury, The Saturday Paper, Crikey, The New Daily, InDaily and The Conversation," the company announced.

The announcement comes at a time when the News Media Bargaining Code has triggered a bitter war between Google and the Australian government.

Google said that it supports a fair Code but the current version remains unworkable.

Rod Sims, chair of the watchdog Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), has said that Google and Facebook just don't want the code to be implemented.

Google said the News Showcase would operate within this new law, with binding arbitration on News Showcase as a backstop to resolve any disputes.

The tech giant has threatened to pull its Search engine from Australia if a proposed media bargaining law, that directs Google to pay news publishers, goes into effect.
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It may not be obvious from the highway, but ZF's sprawling transmission plant in Gray Court will undergo a $200 million transformation over the next three years.

The German auto supplier announced Thursday that it would be adding a major new production line and equipment to make commercial vehicle transmissions by 2023. All of the work will take place within the existing footprint of the 1.7 million-square-foot facility just off Interstate 385 in Laurens County.

With production of the new commercial-grade "PowerLine" transmissions line will come 500 additional jobs within minutes of the Greenville County line.

Hiring is ongoing at the Gray Court plant, ZF spokeswoman Ashley Van Horn told The Post and Courier.

"Our thing is about constantly developing the talent because at some point it's like, 'Where are all these people coming from for all these jobs?'" Van Horn said. "It's a lot of people. But y'all have them."

The automaker's eight-speed PowerLine transmission will accommodate both gas-fueled and plug-in hybrid vehicles, Van Horn said.

"We're no longer investing money in internal combustion engine technology," Van Horn said. "That does not mean that we're not supplying transmissions for traditional internal combustion engines. It's just that everything we are doing now is working toward electrification."

ZF's top leaders announced six months ago that the company would focus entirely on electrification moving forward. It is in line with GM's announcement last week that it would go mostly electric by 2035 and the Biden administration's move to an all electric fleet for federal vehicles.

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ZF's North American headquarters are in Detroit, but its nine-year-old plant in Gray Court is "far and away" the company's largest facility in the United States, Van Horn said.

It has been in near constant expansion mode, she said, since the plant's 2012 ribbon cutting, attended by then Gov, Nikki Haley.

"When they cut the ribbon, they announced they were already expanding," Van Horn said. "They've been in a constant mode of expansion ever since 2013."

This expansion will accommodate new "multiyear" contracts ZF has signed with "multiple North American customers," the company's announcement said.

Van Horn said she could not disclose who the companies are that will be receiving the transmissions, but the ZF drive-train components will suit medium-duty commercial trucks, buses and heavy-duty pickup trucks, according to the company announcement.

ZF  which is short for "Zahnradfabrik" or "gear factory"  is based in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and started life in 1915 supplying Zeppelin airships.

The company began production of the PowerLine transmissions in Germany for its U.S. customers late in 2020. Once Gray Court is at full production with the PowerLine transmissions, the plant here will supply all of ZF's North American customers.

ZF is also a major supplier to BMW, which has an SUV plant in nearby Spartanburg. At the moment, ZF's Gray Court plant does not supply transmissions to BMW's Spartanburg plant, but that will change next year when the German automaker's X models will be equipped with ZF's passenger-car electric and hybrid transmissions.
A nationwide hunt has been launched to find a missing teen who has gone missing, as police say they are concerned for her safety.

Anna Stoian, 14, was reported missing yesterday at 7pm.

It came after she had been brought back to Leeds from London where she had been found after going missing from Blackburn recently.

The youngster is from a Romanian family and is described as 5ft 4inches tall with black shoulder-length hair in a ponytail.

Anna Stoian, 14, was reported missing yesterday at 7pm after being found in London having recently gone missing

She was last seen wearing a black coat, lilac knee-length hoody, black leggings and black trainers with white soles.

West Yorkshire Police say she has connections to the Eltham and Thamesmead areas of south-east London and to Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and Blackburn, Lancashire, as well as Leeds.

Detective Inspector Carl Morrison, of Leeds District Safeguarding Unit, said: 'There are concerns for Anna's welfare and we urgently need to find her and check she is okay.

'We would like to hear from anyone who has seen her or who has any information that could assist in locating her.'

Writing on Twitter to appeal for information, West Yorkshire Police said: 'Concerns for missing 14 yr old female from Leeds, Anna Stoian.

'Described as 5ft4 white female with black shoulder-length hair, middle parting in a ponytail, wearing a lilac knee-length hoody, black coat on top, black leggings and black trainers with white sole on.'

They added in a later post: 'She has links to Eltham and Thamesmead, south-east London, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, Blackburn, Lancashire, and Leeds.'

Anyone with information that could lead to finding Anna should call 101, quoting log number 1535 of February 4.
The Rossiya Segodnya news agency's executive director, Kirill Vyshinsky, on Friday staged a one-man protest against the crackdown on Russian media in Latvia by picketing the Russian Foreign Ministry's House of Receptions in Moscow

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) The Rossiya Segodnya news agency's executive director, Kirill Vyshinsky, on Friday staged a one-man protest against the crackdown on Russian media in Latvia by picketing the Russian Foreign Ministry's House of Receptions in Moscow.

The picket came ahead of the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, who is on a first official visit to Moscow since 2017.

"I came here to once again draw the attention of European diplomacy to what is happening in the European Union with our colleagues who, under far-fetched pretexts, are being prosecuted just to be prevented from working in the language they want and expressing the thoughts they want to express," Vyshinsky told reporters.

He added that the detained journalists' collaboration with the Rossiya Segodnya media group led to the threat of criminal prosecution, searches and seizure of equipment.

"I just hope that European diplomacy, which is so concerned about the human rights situation in Russia, will try to at least pay attention, let alone take any measures, so that our fellow journalists have the opportunity to work in the EU, in those media that are close to them in editorial policy, and where they can freely express their thoughts," Vyshinsky added.

In December, several Latvian Russian-speaking journalists, including those who wrote articles for Baltnews and Sputnik Latvia outlets, were accused of violating EU sanctions. Their apartments were searched and they were put under their own recognizance not to leave the country. Sputnik Latvia and Baltnews are part of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, whose director general, Dmitry Kiselev, is on the EU sanctions list.

The Russian Foreign Ministry says that the EU sanctions are individual and concern only Kiselev and thus cannot be applied to everyone, who cooperates with the media group. According to Moscow, Latvia uses EU sanctions as an excuse to justify its "punitive campaign" against Russian media.
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. The next session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will take place in Russia.

The respective decision was adopted at todays session of the Council in Almaty, Kazakhstan, attended by the prime ministers of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)  Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.

The Prime Ministers noted that in the recent period they met in Minsk, Yerevan and Almaty. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin proposed to hold the next session in Russia, but the city where the session will take place will be announced later. The session will take place on April 23, the assistant to the Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission said at a press conference.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
(Newser)  An American who ran an orphanage in Kenya has received a prison sentence of more than 15 years after being convicted of sexually abusing four girls there. Gregory Dow "traveled halfway around the world to prey on incredibly vulnerable victims," a federal prosecutor said. "His crimes are nearly incomprehensible in their depravity." Dow, of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty last year to four counts of abusing girls over four years, the New York Times reports. His youngest victims were 11 years old. An FBI official said agents were determined to build the case against Dow. "If he thought no one would care because these were underprivileged Black children he victimized, this investigation and today's sentence have most emphatically proved him wrong," he said.

story continues below

Dow and his family moved to Kenya in 2008 to start the Dow Family Children's Home, which received donations from the US. Prosecutors said Dow knew that his wife had birth control devices implanted in the arms of his victims. After allegations of sexual abuse surfaced in 2017, prosecutors said, Dow shut the orphanage and left Kenya. He'd also pleaded guilty in 1996 to sexually abusing a minor in Iowa. On Thursday, the court ordered Dow, 61, to pay $16,000 in restitution. A period of supervised release will follow his prison term, per WPMT. "The defendant purported to be a Christian missionary who cared for these children and asked them to call him Dad, prosecutors said in a statement, per the Raleigh News & Observer. "But instead of being a father figure, he preyed on their youth and vulnerability. (Read more sexual abuse stories.)


Former President Donald Trump's lawyers dismissed a request for him to testify under oath at the pending Senate impeachment trial.

House Democratic impeachment managers led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sent a letter to the former president calling on him to testify at his second impeachment trial. According to them, if he does not, they would use it against him during the trial, which is a similar argument tactic they used during his first impeachment trial.

Trump Refuses to Testify

House Democrats on Thursday also challenged Trump to respond to their charge of inciting insurrection for a mob to storm the US Capitol. According to his attorney, Trump will not testify.

Although Democrats may not have the power to force the former president's testimony, the request from House impeachment managers is part of their general effort to put the violent rampage of January 6 on the record for history and hold him responsible for his statements. They will be able to use his decline to testify against him as they contend that Trump has evaded responsibility for his actions, reported Star Tribune.

The request in the letter from impeachment managers does not require him to appear, though the Senate could later force a subpoena. The request makes clear their determination to present a firm case against the former president even though he has left the office.

According to Rep. Jamie Raskin, "We would propose that you provide your testimony (of course including cross-examination) as early as Monday, February 8, 2021, and not later than Thursday, February 11, 2021. We would be pleased to arrange such testimony at a mutually convenient time and place," reported AA.

Also Read: Trump Gives First Remarks Since Leaving Office Prior to Impeachment Trial

Also, according to Raskin, "Two days ago, you filed an Answer in which you denied many factual allegations set forth in the article of impeachment. You have thus attempted to put critical facts at issue notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence of your constitutional offense. I write to invite you to provide testimony under oath, either before or during the Senate impeachment trial, concerning your conduct on January 6, 2021," reported The Epoch Times.

Trump's attorney, David Schoen, responded that Raskin was attempting a "public relations stunt" by sending the letter to the former president.

Also, following the release of the letter, Trump adviser Jason Miller stated the former president refuses to testify in an unconstitutional proceeding.

The Senate impeachment trial commences on February 9. Trump is charged with inciting violence on January 6 when a mob of his supporters broke into the Capitol in an attempt to halt the electoral vote count for the certification of President Joe Biden's victory. Five people died in the US Capitol siege.

Trump is the first president in the history of the United States to be imposed impeachment twice.

Attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen told Raskin he could not prove claims against Trump, who the legal team said is now a "private citizen." They remarked there is no such thing as a negative inference in this unconstitutional series of activities.

Related Article: Trump Responds to House Democrats' Arguments for Impeachment, Says It Goes Against the Constitution

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

The Lunar New Year holiday is usually a busy time for flower farms in Hong Kong. The farms prepare to sell plum blossoms, orchids and daffodils at flower markets during the cheerful season. But the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on such markets this year has affected many farms. Farmers worry that they may be left with an oversupply of flowers.

Lunar New Year fairs  known as flower markets in Cantonese  are usually held before the holidays. Thousands of flower sellers and goods dealers sell their products to the public. This year, the Hong Kong government will place restrictions on such markets. They will only be permitted to operate with half the usual number of people and must shorten their business hours.

The policy concerns farm owners like Yeung Siu-lung. He runs one of Hong Kongs largest orchid farms. He had grown over 30,000 pots of orchids in 10 greenhouses in Hong Kongs rural New Territories area to prepare for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Yeung had first planned to have 16 selling spaces in flower markets. Now, he is planning other ways to sell his supply of orchids, including selling them online or urging buyers to visit the farms directly.

Lunar New Year traditionally brings an increase in sales for some businesses in Hong Kong. There is usually a big seasonal sale of goods such as holiday foods, gifts and home decorations, which often include flowers.

Flower farms like Yeungs usually make about 50 percent of their profits from the Lunar New Year season alone, says business expert Francis Lun.

Pinky Chan is one of Yeungs customers who drove an hour to his farm to buy orchids. Chan thought it was still important to create a cheerful atmosphere during difficult times.

We Chinese people feel happier if our homes are filled with red and green during the Lunar New Year, Chan said. Because of the pandemic, we are all not very happy, we are not able to meet with our families. So I hope buying a pot of flowers for my parents can make them feel a bit happier.

Im Jonathan Evans.

Alice Fung and Nicole Ko reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

customers  n. people who buy goods or services from a business

decorations  n. things added to something else to make it more attractive

greenhouses  n. buildings or part of buildings that have glass walls and a glass roof and are used for growing plants

pots  n. deep, usually rounded containers
U.S. President Joe Biden will announce a freeze on a U.S. troop redeployment from Germany that his predecessor had planned, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.

"Today he will announce that Secretary [of Defense Lloyd] Austin will lead a global force posture review. And during the pendency of that review will freeze any troop redeployments from Germany," Sullivan told reporters during a briefing.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump had announced plans last year to withdraw around 12,000 US troops from Germany, amid a long-running spat with Berlin about defence spending.

The U.S. currently has around 34,500 troops stationed in Germany, a close ally in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

"Everything we do in our foreign policy and national security will be measured by a basic metric: is it going to make life better, safer, and easier for working families," Sullivan said.

The decision to put a temporary freeze on troop redeployment will be welcomed by many foreign policy experts in Washington, who had long criticized the idea, DPA reported.
Lehigh Hanson releases EcoCemPLUS

05 February 2021

Lehigh Hanson has launched EcoCemPLUS at its Edmonton cement plant in Alberta, Canada. EcoCemPLUS is an innovative blended Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) available in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.



"The motivation behind the EcoCem brand of products is to reduce the embodied carbon of cement and concrete," said Shawn McMillan, vice president cement for Lehigh Hansons Canada region. "The introduction of EcoCemPLUS to the Prairie market builds on our commitment to providing environmentally responsible types of cement that deliver excellent performance while dramatically reducing CO 2 emissions."



Lehigh's latest cement product provides strength and durability while significantly reducing the carbon footprint in concrete. EcoCemPLUS can lower the carbon footprint by more than 22 per cent (-184kg CO 2- eq), claims Lehigh Hanson, as compared to Lehigh's General Use (GU) cement and 32 per cent (-308.5kg CO 2 -eq) compared to the current industry average GU cement when comparing EPDs.

HeidelbergCement, Lehigh Cement's global parent company, has committed to reducing 30 per cent of its carbon emissions by 2025 and providing carbon-neutral concrete by 2050. EcoCemPLUS is the latest of several new products recently developed to help achieve those goals.

Published under
A few months ahead of Assembly elections, the AIADMK government in on Friday announced waiver of Rs 12,110 crore crop loans availed by 16.43 lakh farmers from cooperative banks.

Making the announcement in the state assembly, Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the scheme would come into immediate effect and a Government Order shall be issued while the required financial allocation would be made in the interim budget.

Asserting 'Iam a farmer too,' Palaniswami said it was his first duty to address the grievances of the farming people and ruling party MLAs welcomed his announcement by thunping the desks while the opposition benches were vacant.

The principal opposition party DMK, which staged a walk out ahead of the Governor's address on February 2, had already announced boycott of the session. Assembly elections are likely in April or early May in

The waiver would pave the way for 16.43 lakh farmers to continue cultivation without any hassles, he said.

Targeting the DMK, Palaniswami said the party had promised two acres of land to landless farmers in the run up to 2006 Assembly polls, but they could not fulfill the promise and people knew it and it is the truth.

Similarly, during 2019 Lok Sabha polls, leader of opposition and DMK chief M K Stalin had assured waiver of farmers' crop loans in cooperative societies.

After it won 38 out of 39 constituencies, DMK forgot the promise it made to the people.

"This is the routine they follow during every election," he said, adding the AIADMK was the only party that fulfilled promises. His party gave assurances that could be honoured and also came up with fresh welfare measures, Palaniswami said.

After winning polls and retaining power in 2016, late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had waived Rs 5,318.73 crore farm loans, benefitting 12.02 lakh small and micro farmers. In 2017, his government provided Rs 2,247 crore drought relief to ryots.

Farmers faced travails due to COVID-19, the back to back cyclones Nivar and Burevi last year besides the unseasonal rains that caused heavy damage to crops ready for harvest, he said.

Considering their welfare, crop input assistance of Rs 1,717 crore for 16.43 lakh farmers was ordered and the amount was being credited to their bank accounts directly, he said.

Though this measure would help them, the government wanted to extend further support to help them continue farming. Also, farmers and various farmers associations have been urging the government to waive crop loans considering damage to crops, the Chief Minister said and announced the crop loan waiver.

Ministers and Deputy Speaker Pollachi V Jayaraman hailed the Chief Miniser for the initiative.

Speaker P Dhanapal lauded the move on behalf of the House and MLAs could be seen walking up to Palaniswami to greet and thank him for the crop loan waiver. Some legislators touched his feet and took his blessings.

AIADMK's allies during the Lok Sabha polls, the PMK and DMDK, welcomed the announcement.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
State leaders on Friday participated in a round-table discussion put together by Kean University about COVID-19 vaccination apprehension among the states Black and brown communities.

Young Hispanic males are 2.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19 in New Jersey than their white counterparts. And Black men and women in the state are two times more likely to die from the coronavirusJ than their white counterparts, said N.J. Commissioner of Health Judith Persichilli.

These statistics are alarming, she said.

The roughly 30-minute discussion was the first of a series of round-tables planned by Kean that will deal with COVID-19 issues.

Through open dialogue we want to show why facts and science, not fear, need to guide us as we all work together to help end this pandemic, said Kean University President Lamont Repollet.

Some people of color are hesitant to get the vaccine, Repollet said, because of current and historical experiences. Namely, the Tuskegee Study and Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells were collected without her knowledge.

There is a tremendous need for ... trusted voices, to be able to talk to people about why its important to vaccinate, said Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. The more people we get vaccinated  the quicker we can get back to work, the quicker our economy can get where its going to get and our children can get back to school.

Senior Advisor to Gov. Murphy Rev. Derrick Green said that the state is partnering with faith and community-based institutions to connect with hard-to-reach and underserved communities.

New Jersey began its vaccine rollout program the week before Christmas and has doled out more than 850,000 doses. But Black and Hispanic New Jerseyans account for only 8% of those, Persichilli said.

However, were very early in the vaccination process, she said. And when there is more supply and with targeted populations becoming eligible we expect to see the diversity increase in our vaccinated groups.

The state has set up a vulnerable populations team to develop a plan, which involves working with community and religious leaders and FEMA to operate pop-up sites in places of worship, senior centers, community centers and local health agencies. The first of these sites is expected to open the middle of next week in a church in Franklin Township, Persichilli said.

In addition, community health workers will be trained and deployed in communities of color and in densely populated communities to provide education, help with registration and to provide access to vaccination sites, she said.

The plan uses the same strategies that the state used to ramp up COVID-19 testing in urban centers, Persichilli said.

Community health workers will be trained to discuss key issues, such as that the vaccine will be provided at no cost. And undocumented residents will be informed that their registration data will not be shared with immigration officials.

The state will also host virtual town halls. The first will be for New Jerseys Black and Caribbean communities on Feb. 11. It will feature medical professionals who will discuss the facts, fears and the myths about the COVID-19 vaccine. A second one will have leaders and medical professionals from Hispanic communities, Persichilli said.

The state health commissioner also announced an expansion to the federal pharmacy program that will bring approximately 50 more vaccine sites through CVS and Rite Aid to communities of color and urban centers to increase access to vaccine distribution.

There is a level of mistrust with COVID-19 vaccines within communities of color due to long standing inequities in the healthcare system and the department is working to build confidence in the vaccine, she said.

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Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
Two young women who allegedly stabbed then abducted a friend in the boot of a car presented contrasting lives of glamour and hardship online.

Latia 'Tia' Henderson, 18 and Kayley 'Kayza' Lee Ketley, 24, were stopped by NSW Police about 11.30am on Wednesday after a passing truck driver saw a woman's hand waving out the boot of a white Holden Commodore driving down the busy highway.

That hand - and car - allegedly belonged to Nisha Phillips, who at 10.30pm the night earlier had allegedly been attacked by Henderson and Ketley.

Adding further mystery to the bizarre case, a warrant has been issued by Queensland police for the victim, Ms Phillips.

The 24-year-old had reportedly relocated to NSW in recent months, but the nature of the alleged offence cannot be legally revealed.

Both Henderson and Ketley were denied bail in Picton Local Court on Thursday on multiple charges leading to the alleged stabbing and abduction of Ms Phillips.

Police are said to be investigating whether the violent incident was drug-related.

Both accused are both facing charges of unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, driving a vehicle without owner consent and detaining to gain advantage causing bodily harm.

'Hustle the pretty things ': Latia Henderson (pictured) posted dozens of glamorous photos of herself on Facebook and Instagram and loved attention

Kayley Lee Ketley reads the bible and is a Seven-day Adventist, according to her Facebook profile

Henderson posted dozens of glamorous, airbrushed, pouting photos of herself on Facebook and Instagram - sometimes not wearing much, other times with her younger sisters.

She evidently thrived on the validation and encouragement of friends and relatives and seemed heartbroken over the loss of a boy, Brayden Dillon, who was murdered at the age of 15 in a revenge killing.

She also lost a younger sister, Indy, who died aged three.

Her timelines were punctuated with sombre messages about loss and moving on from difficulties.

Henderson said in her Instagram bio: 'Hustle the pretty things in life.'

Kayley Lee Ketley posted images of herself in sunglasses showing off her jewellery, tattoos, alcohol, and cash

Latia Henderson, 18, and Kaylet Ketley, 24, were arrested and denied bail after the incident in which Nisha Phillips, 24 was allegedly stabbed and abducted

Henderson also appeared to be a rev-head, posting several photos of cars and bikes.

With one photo of a black car she posted a strange message about wanting to 'marry a Commodore'.

Ketley notes on her Facebook profile she is a Seventh-Day Adventist and lists the Bible as one of her interests.

She regularly posted images of herself in sunglasses showing off her jewellery, tattoos, alcohol, and cash.

Henderson seemed heartbroken over the loss of a boy, Brayden Dillon, who was murdered at 15

In many photos she posts quotes and comments about loyalty, respect and trust.

With one photo of herself with a friend she posted lyrics from Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.

What brought them together to allegedly commit a violent crime against Philips - a friend to both on Facebook, is not yet clear.

Latia Henderson posted a photo of a black car with a strange message about wanting to 'marry a Commodore'

Henderson and Ketley allegedly subjected Ms Phillips to more than 12 hours of terror after meeting her at her Claymore home in southwestern Sydney on Tuesday night.

The pair allegedly attacked Ms Phillips, stabbing her in her knee, thigh and forearm, before allegedly stuffing her into the boot of her own car, which they then allegedly stole.

They drove south over 80km and where apprehended on the Hume Highway by police, who are investigating whether they were heading to the infamous Belanglo State Forest - where Australia's worst serial killer Ivan Milat buried his victims.

They were stopped by NSW Police about 11.30am on Wednesday after a passing truck driver saw a woman's hand waving out the boot of a white Holden Commodore driving down the busy highway.

Nisha Phillips (pictured) was allegedly stuffed in the boot of her own Commodore after 12 hours of terror

That hand allegedly belonged to Ms Phillips, frantically waving through the smashed tail light of her car.

Ms Phillips managed to break the tail light from inside the boot and wave her bloodied hand through the hole as the car was driven along the Hume Highway in Berrima, police said.

She managed to attract the attention of a passing truck driver, who alerted police.

Officers stopped the car shortly before midday and allegedly found the woman suffering stab wounds to her knee, thigh and forearm as her two alleged kidnappers were arrested.

The pair was arrested and Ms Phillips taken to Liverpool Hospital.

Henderson and Ketley are both due to appear at Campbelltown Court on April 17.
Gardai have warned that a new 100 fine for non-essential cross-border travel will come into effect on Monday morning.

They revealed today that of the approximately 4,600 fines issued for breaches of Covid-19 regulations, 3,523 have related to non-essential travel.

From 7am on February 8, anyone not ordinarily resident here and engaging in travel in this jurisdiction without a reasonable excuse may be liable to receive a fine.

If enforcement is required, Gardai will issue a Fixed Payment Notice (FPN) for 100 to every adult present who is in breach of this regulation, Gardai have said in a statement this afternoon.

Read More

For example, if the driver of a car has two adult passengers then each of the three adults in the car will receive a 100 fine.

Travelling to an airport or port to take a holiday abroad is not an essential journey and since January 29, Gardai have issued approximately 375 fines at Dublin Airport to people for leaving the country for non-essential travel.

Gardai also revealed that six people will appear before District Courts in March for non-payment of a Covid-19 fine. The people will appear before District Courts in Dublin, Cork, Meath, Waterford and Limerick.

Over the last few days, An Garda Siochana have also attended breaches of health regulations by licensed premises, restaurants, retail outlets, hair and beauty salons amongst other business premises. In all instances, files will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Gardai said in a statement.

Read More

An Garda Siochana continue to investigate potential breaches of Public Health Regulations associated with funerals which can currently have a maximum 10 mourners and weddings where only six attendees can attend."

People issued with a Covid-19 related fine have 28 days to pay the fine.

An Garda Siochana has a process in place with the Courts Service where anyone who fails to pay their fine within 28 days will receive a Court date shortly after, Gardai added.

It is a matter for the Court, but failure to pay the FPN can result in conviction for a first offence in the District Court in a fine of 1,000 and/or imprisonment.

An Garda Siochana has also to date issued 94 fines for the non-wearing of face masks in certain locations with the vast majority of these  70  being in retail premises.

People are advised that under public health regulations they must wear a face mask in retail premises, they added.

Read More

Under the regulations, An Garda Siochana can take enforcement action in relation to such matters once it has been informed of the alleged breach by a relevant authority i.e. the manager of a retail premises.

Meanwhile, Gardai will be manning nationwide checkpoints and high visibility patrols at public amenities across the country this weekend in support of public health regulations.

People are reminded that the 5km limit includes the distance travelled from their home to a location for exercise. In other words, you cant travel more than 5km to a location to exercise, Gardai said.

Deputy Commissioner, Policing and Security, John Twomey said: "Despite the significant challenges and sacrifices, the vast majority of people continue to comply with the public health advice. We thank them for that and ask them to keep it up."

"However, there also continues to be a minority who are putting themselves, their loved ones, their friends, and their neighbours at risk of getting Covid-19 by not adhering to the regulations.

Covid-19 doesnt switch-off so that people can attend parties, or go on holidays, or gather in large groups.

The message is clear and has been for some time  people should only make essential journeys, reduce their contacts, practice social distancing, and wash their hands. Please stay safe and keep others safe by staying home.





Gurugram, Feb 6 : The Gurugram Police have been put on high alert in view of the farmer's threat of blocking toll plazas and state and national highways to protest against the three Central farm laws on February 6.

The 'Chakka Jam' by the farmers is scheduled to take place for three hours, between 12 noon and to 3 pm.

The Gurugram police have intensified security and deployed huge force on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway (NH-48), Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, Kheri Daula toll plaza on the NH-48 and state highways.

All the Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) and Deputy Commissioners of police (DCPs) have been asked to ensure patrolling in their respective areas. Police presence have been increased along the border areas and near the Kheri Daula toll plaza.

"The protesters have announced to block the highways for three hours on Saturday. The Gurugram district has been peaceful ever since the beginning of the farmers' agitation and till now no untoward incident has been reported. But we have beefed up security arrangements to maintain peace in Gurugram," said Commissioner of Police, K.K. Rao.

The police said that the Delhi-Jaipur Highway and the KMP Expressway are lifelines for the daily commuters. If these two stretches are disturbed for a few minutes, it will affect many other areas. In view of this, the Gurugram police have depolyed force along with the stretch.

Apart from this, special instructions have been issued to the police force to keep a vigil on suspicious elements.

"Policemen have been deployed in all the crowded areas, including the Sadar Bazar. The police strength has also been increased around the Metro stations, railway stations and bus stands to maintain law and order," Rao said.
Almost a year after being caught up in one of the biggest privacy scandals and outed over some sickening treatment of vulnerable customers, three with suicidal thoughts, the Chinese-owned energy giant Alinta is trying to make amends.

Its public mea culpa began with a press release and video of Alinta boss Jeff Dimery apologising for some shabby behaviour to customers experiencing financial hardship.

Alinta CEO Jeff Dimery deeply sorry to customers. Credit:Louie Douvis

We got it wrong and Im deeply sorry, Dimery said.

These customers were asking for help and they didnt get that from us. What they were told was wrong, confusing and unfair and that is unacceptable, he said.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us

We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.
This hypocrisy is very serious and dangerous

Editorial

What would be India's response if Sri Lanka's high commissioner to India visits Jammu and Kashmir and interferes in its political affairs? What would India say if the Sri Lankan high commissioner to India called for the complete repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a draconian law that has plagued the lives of the people in states in North-East (since 1958) and Jammu & Kashmir (since 1990) for decades? They will respond with strong words, threatening not to interfere in internal affairs of their country. The truth is that Sri Lanka does not interfere in the internal affairs of any country. As an independent state, Sri Lanka maintains its discipline and cooperation while respecting diplomatic principles, that is, respecting the sovereignty of every State at all times. But some neighbouring countries are interfering in Sri Lanka's internal affairs.

Representatives of the Indian High Commission in Colombo have been busy for the past few days, the media reported. They have met with some politicians in the country and asked them to come forward to implement the 13th Amendment, the legislation engineered by India more than three decades ago, to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. We have doubts as to whether India is once again trying to stage another drama that has hampered the development of this country for decades. Unconfirmed sources say that Sri Lanka has been asked to immediately repay the currency swap facility worth US$400 Million offered by India to uplift the living standards of the people in Sri Lanka as they have not been able to reach the worst possible trade agreement, leasing a container terminal to an indecent and controversial business tycoon which Subramanian Swamy termed as Trapeze Artist of Modi Administration. If this behaviour of Indian policymakers and their feeders is true, then Sri Lanka needs to be very careful. Indian policymakers are showing their true colours, signs of forthcoming bad weather. This hypocrisy is very serious and dangerous.

What we present here is not merely hypothetical. This is the bleak history that Sri Lanka faced. India has hampered the stability of Sri Lankan society for decades. Indian policymakers played with the sentiments of the Tamil people in this country in various ways and used them as a tool to undermine and intimidate the social and political stability of the country. India has not yet claimed any responsibility for the grave damage done to Tamil women and their property by the Indian peacekeeping force deployed to bring peace to the north and east parts of the Island. But now under the guise of the Thirteenth Amendment to cover up its true nature, it sets every possible trap to destabilize Sri Lankan society. When a stable government comes to power, Indian schemers do not hesitate to create internal rifts within that government. We do not understand what happiness India can bring by destabilizing Sri Lanka. We do not understand why those policymakers on this land which has given birth to the father of non-violence are so keen on scheming and destabilizing Sri Lanka.

So we say to the policymakers and implementers of the world's largest democratic state: It is ugly in the fullest sense of the word to insist that Sri Lanka should live in a way that is consistent with 1987, not in a way that is in line with 2021. We hope that the ordinary people of India will join Sri Lanka in this humble and innocent plea. As a regional power, it is important for India to act in a more dignified and cooperative manner without interfering in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka. Let Sri Lanka get rid of the misfortunes it has faced for decades and achieve decent livelihood for all.

RELATED EDITORIAL: Is India jealous of Sri Lanka's development and social stability?
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Officers of the Volta Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service on Wednesday intercepted a bus with illegal immigrants from Benin and Togo at the Asikuma Inland Checkpoint in the Volta Region.



The 51 ECOWAS nationals, included 49 Beninese and two Togolese, who were travelling on board a Hyundai vehicle with registration number AW9955-19.



Deputy Superintendent of Immigration Philip Essuman, Commander of the checkpoint, in a release copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the suspects were arrested after scrutiny during a routine stop and search at the checkpoint.



He said they were suspected to have gained entry into the country illegally from neighbouring Togo, using unapproved routes.



The suspects, comprising 15 females and two minors, were sent to the Aflao GIS Command and written statements confirmed that commercial motorbike operators on the Togo side of the border aided their entry.



DSI Essuman said the driver of the vehicle Osei Asibbey was arrested and handed over to the Aflao Command.



He said the suspects claimed they were on transit to Abidjan, the Ivorian capital but were sent back to Togo.



The Commander appealed to travellers using the Asikuma and Sogakope inland checkpoints to comply with the various security measures.



Mr Felix Klu-Adjei, Volta Regional Public Relations Officer of the Command, said it was a crime to facilitate the entry into the country of immigrants and warned recalcitrant members of the public would face the rigours of the law.



We are entreating all citizens and individual drivers who frequently use the Asikuma and Sogakope Inland Checkpoints, as a matter of responsibility and obligation to the state, cooperate with current strategic security arrangements; which is aimed at tracking illegal immigrants at the said locations, he said.

Source: GNA









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Egypt has provided around four million citizens with on-the-ground health awareness training on the preventive measures against the coronavirus pandemic since the outbreak of the pandemic's last winter, Minister of Health Hala Zayed said.

According to an official statement on Friday, Zayed said the awareness training is part of the ministrys goals to intensify education and health awareness campaigns for the awareness-raising of citizens on sound health practices.

Such health education campaigns had a positive impact on lowering infection rates in the past period, she added.

Around 5,000 of the ministrys health educators have provided awareness to 3.178 million citizens nationwide through 347,510 awareness campaigns.

The campaigns saw awareness training on the importance of adhering to preventive measures against the pandemic, including wearing facemasks, maintaining social distancing, washing hands regularly and disinfecting homes.

The ministry also launched the coronavirus hotline 105 to help citizens report infection cases.

The ministry also provided health awareness training to 821,334 citizens to curb the spread of the pandemic under the existing presidential initiative to detect and treat chronic diseases.

Around 105,312 education seminars have been organized through providing several health messages to citizens suffering from chronic diseases to raise awareness on the importance of regular follow-ups of their health status and adhering to a healthy lifestyle.

Last December, the country had to reckon with a second wave of the pandemic with daily infection rates and deaths rising fast after stabilizing for months.

In response, the government tightned the enforcement of several measures to curb the second wave of the pandemic, including levying an immediate EGP 50 fine for not wearing masks in closed public places, public transportation, as well as underground metro and railway stations.

The authorities collected thousands of fines for violators, helping to lower the rate of daily reported infections in the past period.

Officials recently announced that the worse of the second wave was behind us.

In lare January, Egypt began vaccination campaign against coronavirus using the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine late January by first inoculating hundreds of medical workers at quarantine hospitals.

The vaccine roll-out will see each person receiving two shots administered 21 days apart.

The health ministry recently concluded the vaccination of medical staff in 22 isolation hospitals nationwide, beginning vaccinating health staff in 86 chest and fever hospitals nationwide as a second phase of the immunisation program.

The country has recorded a total number 168,057 coronavirus and 9,512 deaths since the start of the pandemic in February 2020.

On Thursday, Egypt reported 532 virus cases and 52 new deaths.

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Refuting the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) allegations that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal has denied permission to hold a rath yatra from Nadia district, the TMC said on Twitter that the party was indulging in "malicious propaganda".

"GoWB has not denied permission to any Yatra, as claimed by @BJP4Bengal They are indulging in malicious propaganda with neither substance nor truth. BJP must show material evidence of GoWB denying permission to their Yatra. This is BJP's attempt to claim victimhood," the Trinamool Congress tweeted.

GoWB has not denied permission to any Yatra, as claimed by @BJP4Bengal. They are indulging in malicious propaganda with neither substance nor truth.BJP must show material evidence of GoWB denying permission to their Yatra. This is BJPs attempt to claim victimhood. (1/2) All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) February 5, 2021

"A BJP functionary had sought permission from Chief Secy, whose office directed them to local authorities. Meanwhile, a PIL was also filed regarding the same in the High Court & the matter is now sub judice. We thereby clarify that AITC has nothing to do with this issue," the party said.

BJP party president JP Nadda is set to flag off the parivartan (change) rath yatra from Nadia on Saturday. However, the Trinamool Youth Congress in the district has announced that it would also hold a janasamarthan (people's support) yatra on motorcycles tomorrow, NDTV reported. It is not clear whether the two processions will meet at any point.

According to the report, Nadia district police top boss has granted BJP permission. The police chief, in fact, has sought details about Nadda's reception since he enjoys 'Z' category protection. The police has also asked for other details of the yatra like it's route, destination, halts and lodging arrangements and asked the party to ensure Covid-19 safety.

West Bengal BJP general secretary Pratap Banerjee has said that the party only asked district authorities about its political programme and did not seek permission for rath yatras. Meanwhile, the state's BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said that the party's parivartan yatra will be the antim (last) yatra for TMC.

Nadda will inaugurate the party's 'Poribartan Yatra' at Nadia as it steps up its campaign to end the Trinamool Congress' 10-year-old reign in the state. The party said in a statement that the yatra will be in five phases and cover all the 294 assembly constituencies

A PIL was filed before the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday, praying for its interference to prevent the BJP's planned 'rath yatra' across West Bengal, claiming that it would impact the COVID-19 situation and law and order in the state. The BJP has sought permission from the state government for its month-long 'rath yatra' ahead of the assembly elections, which is due in April-May.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh had on Thursday said the rath yatra was part of the party's outreach programme ahead of the polls and alleged that the TMC was trying to create obstacles but will not succeed.

Ghosh also said the party will go as per law. Earlier, in 2018, the BJP had planned rath yatras across the state, but the programme was called off at the very last moment as the state government refused to give permission.

(With PTI inputs)
Islamabad, Feb 5 : The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance comprising 11 of the country's opposition parties, has said that it will begin its anti-government long march to Islamabad on March 26, the media reported on Friday.

"The decision to hold a long march towards Islamabad has been taken. Caravans from all over the country will leave for Islamabad on March 26," Dawn news quoted Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief and PDM president Maulana Fazlur Rehman as saying at a briefing on Thursday.

Without providing further details of the march, Rehman added that the PDM will also contest the Senate elections this year.

The announcements came following a meeting of the alliance which was also attended by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Zardari, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif via video link, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

Thursday's development came after the PDM in December 2020 set a deadline for the incumbent Imran Khan-government to resign by January 1, 2021.

Following its inception last year, the PDM held a total of six power shows against the government.
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, leading live streaming, social selling online network talkshoplive announced their month-long partnership with The King Center in honor of Black History Month. The site's built-in "donate" button, which appears on EVERY checkout site-wide, will direct all funds raised to The King Center's "BE LOVE" campaign, a growing movement of courageous acts to achieve justice.

The "BE LOVE" campaign encourages participants to pledge to create what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called "The Beloved Community," a society driven by love in their thoughts, words, decisions and actions, honoring the humanity of every individual. The campaign also urges individuals to register for Nonviolence365 "BE LOVE" virtual training series at www.TheKingCenter.org/belove. Nonviolence365 equips individuals with the necessary tools to navigate today's climate and dismantle and transform unjust systems. The BE LOVE 3-part training series will be an introduction to Nonviolence365training, which prepares participants to utilize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s nonviolent philosophy and methodology as a vessel for social change, as a way of life and as the path to the Beloved Community.

"We are honored to be partnering with The King Center and helping to raise funds for the crucial work that they are doing to create a more just, humane, and peaceful world guided by the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," said Bryan Moore, CEO of talkshoplive. "talkshoplive is an open and welcoming community and we encourage those utilizing the platform to consider donating not only financially, but with their everyday actions as we celebrate Black History Month and strive for equality."

The campaign will launch today and continue throughout the month of February. talkshoplive will continue to profile the donate button on its platform, encouraging a variety of charities to join live commerce as a meaningful way to fundraise, interact, and grow their digital communities.

"We invite people to join us as we use the power of love to overcome our current circumstances of injustice and inequity," said King Center CEO, Dr. Bernice A. King. "Together, we have the capacity to create a more just, humane, equitable and peaceful world but we must make the commitment to BE LOVE as we implement justice and correct centuries of injustice."

For additional information, visit https://talkshop.live/ and https://thekingcenter.org/belove/.

About talkshoplive

Talkshoplive is the leading live streaming, social selling online network. Sellers showcase their products via live shows, displaying product details and chat in real-time with customers that they can purchase with one-click on the buy button. The platform and iOS app are full service for sellers - from live show creation to order processing to ease of shipping and payouts. Buyers are able to access unlimited channels and live product shows. With talkshoplive, buying has never been more interactive and entertaining.

An incredible lineup of stars and brands have launched their own talkshoplive live channels including Best Buy, Fred Segal, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton, Alicia Keys, Julie Andrews, Meghan Trainor, Tim Tebow, Kristin Cavallari, Tim McGraw, Jenna Dewan, Kathy Ireland Worldwide and many more!

About The King Center

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center) is a 501(c) (3) organization established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King. The King Center is the official living memorial and programmatic nonprofit organization committed to educating the world on the life, legacy, and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The King Center serves to inspire new generations to carry forward King's unfinished work, strengthen causes and empower change-makers who are continuing his efforts today. The King Center's premiere educational initiative, Nonviolence365, is based on Dr. King's nonviolent philosophy and methodology. His teachings engage participants from various sectors of society, including emerging and next generation leaders, in modules and exercises that enhance communication, leadership, interpersonal and conflict reconciliation skills.

SOURCE talkshoplive

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Dozens of activists and a handful of angry neighbors clashed verbally outside District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevinos field office early Friday as they waited for city workers to clear out the homeless staying overnight on the premises.

The expected city crew never showed up  Trevino, who didnt want the people removed, spent the night in his office, afraid the homeless he considers his guests might be rousted in the middle of the night. But the removal plan was canceled at the last minute.

Being homeless is not a crime, its someone in crisis, Trevino said. When somebody comes to this office and asks for help, were going to give them help. Try to stop me.

Thats exactly what neighbors wanted to do, though, interrupting the councilman as he gave an impromptu news conference before sunrise.

Single mother Linda Gomez, 51, broke in as he was talking, saying she was scared even to buy tacos at a nearby restaurant on Sundays, before church, because of the homeless around the field office.

You have abandoned us and have left us here to suffer, Gomez said, her voice shaking. I know they need help, I dont want to abandon them, but youre abandoning us ... Were hurting, too.

The advocates, brandishing signs behind Trevino, began chanting, Stop the Sweep, momentarily drowning her out. But Trevino asked them to let her speak.

Jaime Nicholson, Trevinos outreach specialist, sought to reduce the tension.

This doesnt have to be us versus them, Nicholson said.

As the commotion went on around them, the few homeless on the premises appeared to be trying to sleep. Later in the day, one man who said he had been staying there for several weeks explained that he had left Thursday because he didnt want to be there if the removal was conducted as expected.

I just didnt want to be in the middle, said Konrad Sayles, 51, as he crafted flowers from palm fronds.

During the cold weather, the city had slowed down its abatements, the term officials use for cleaning up encampments and forcing the homeless to leave, but conducted two sweeps this week.

Wednesday, city and state worked together to remove at least 85 people from under Interstate 37 at Brooklyn. Friday, while they didnt remove the people at Trevinos field office, city workers did eject 12 to 15 homeless from an encampment along Interstate 35 and Main Avenue.

In regard to the homeless staying behind Trevinos field office on Vance Jackson, the City Managers Office had signed off on the plan after receiving a safety concern, city officials said late Thursday. The removal was set for 6 a.m. Friday but it was scuttled at the last minute.

The area wont be touched for now, after Trevino met with City Attorney Andy Segovia and City Manager Erik Walsh on Friday morning, but its long-term fate is up in the air.

For the next 2-3 weeks, we will continue to allow people to sleep at the District 1 Field Office, Walsh said. The Citys Department of Human Services will work with our partners and the councilmans staff to do intense case management and get the individuals who need help connected with the appropriate services.

Our goal is to eliminate the need for the encampment in the coming weeks, Walsh said. We will continue to monitor the situation.

Trevino warned that the solution isnt that simple, and cant be put on a deadline.

Were talking about building relationships and a lot of that stuff doesnt necessarily fall on a timeline, Trevino said. Were trying to concentrate those efforts so that we can help the most people we can instead of driving them back into the shadows.

But neighborhood residents are eager to see the homeless gone.

These neighbors are afraid, said Ernesto Salinas, the president of the Dellview Neighborhood Association. This property is not suited for this.

Trevino said the homeless who sleep outside his office often are there to get Nicholsons help. Since starting those efforts in July, district officials said, she has worked with several agencies and they have helped get 30 to 40 people off the streets, connecting them to drug treatment or other resources  and finding them shelter.

Walsh said he visited the area last week, and that the problems he saw needed to be addressed through outreach and removal of the people staying there.

Criminal behavior at the encampment will not be allowed, Walsh said. We also will be enforcing no trespassing, camping, drug activity, defecating, urinating and loitering at the adjacent Westfall Library, the parking lot and the grassy areas. It is essential for library users to feel safe and secure when using the library.

Patrick Steck, the assistant director for the citys Department of Human Services, said the homeless arent removed until there have been extensive efforts to help find other places to stay.

At the encampment under I-35 near Main Avenue, Steck said, outreach specialists with the Department of Human Services and SAMMinistries were in communication with the homeless staying there Jan. 27, Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, offering resources before the removal Friday.

About three people in that encampment agreed to seek services  two went to Haven for Hope, and a pregnant mother is being connected with a provider, Steck said.

The tents were right on the edge of the embankment to the lower level of the expressway, Steck said. Very, very dangerous for both the people staying there, and potentially as well a dangerous situation for motorists.

City officials said the goal is to prevent encampments from forming in the first place. To that end, the city is providing more resources to help the homeless population.

A $16.9 million grant in federal CARES funds will be spent on the problem over the next two years, including rapid rehousing of 350 people by September 2022, sometimes directly from the street, Steck said.

The city is partnering with Haven for Hope, Salvation Army and SAMMinistries for the two-year initiative, housing folks for up to a year.

Those funds will also go toward expanding the citys outreach team, which is hiring more people so there will be enough on staff to assign one person to each of the 10 council districts, another specifically for the downtown area and an outreach manager.

liz.hardaway@hearst.com
Border patrol agents from Yuma arrested 11 Iranians, including two children, after they crossed illegally into the United States from Mexico on Monday night.

The agents encountered the group near San Luis, Arizona on a bridge near County 21st Street and were brought to Yuma Station for processing.

Among those arrested in the group were five women, ages 28, 30, 35, 35, and 37. There were also four men, ages 24, 31, 36, and 43. Two boys, ages 10 and 12, were also among the group, according to a 12 News report.

Yuma Sector officials stressed that the Border Patrol's primary mission is to prevent nefarious people and devices from entering the United States.

"Iran is a designated Special Interest Country and the agents of Yuma Sector work diligently to protect our borders for the safety of our nation," the officials said in a Breitbart report.

Officials further noted that the Yuma Sector continues to lead the apprehension of Iranian illegal migrants. Citing the records during the last fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, they said Yuma Sector agents arrested eight Iranians. This compares to a total of 14 from the other eight sectors along the U.S. southwest border with Mexico.

Related story: Mexican Protesters Ask for Enforcement of US-Mexican Border Crossing Ban

Iran as a Special Interest Country

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released a statement regarding the Iranian group's arrest. The agency said Iran is a special interest country, which means that the U.S. regards the country as having terrorist and terrorist organizations.

The agency did not provide details on how the Iranians got to Mexico or why they entered the country, according to a The Hill report.

The statement noted that the Yuma Sector agents regularly encounter people from various parts of the world, including those in special interest countries.

"Agents adjudicate each arrest in accordance with law and policy in order to secure our nation's borders," the statement added.

Border Crossing

The CBP reported a 219 percent increase in single adults' encounters in the El Paso sector, which includes West Texas and New Mexico.

According to a USA Today report, border agents recorded 23,869 encounters from October to December, which is an increase from 7,474 encounters during the same three months a year ago.

Meanwhile, Border Patrol listed a 178 percent increase across the entire southwest border regarding encounters in the first three months of the fiscal year from 65,085 to 180,633.

Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Gloria Chavez said that for them as U.S. Border Patrol, they have gotten used to the constant change. In her experience, Chavez added some of this change is planned, and sometimes it just happens, and they adapt and overcome those changes.

The administration under President Joe Biden is trying to undo some immigration policies instilled by the Trump administration.

It includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order that allows Border Patrol to quickly return migrants to their home country. This policy might be the most challenging policy to undo, especially that there is still an ongoing health crisis.

Read also: Illegal Border Crossings Reduced by Half Due to Pandemic Measures




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BEML has signed of MoUs with 11 entities to explore and enhance the business in Defence & Aerospace Sector.

These include:

With UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) to explore the opportunities for establishing ware house storage for parts and activity center for servicing come overhauling of BEML products (MRO).

With Advance Navigation Positioning Company (ANPC) for joint manufacturing of transponder landing system (TLS) for Indian armed forces, Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Oil exploration companies.

With Primoco UAV SE, Czech Republic for manufacturing of '150 kg class' Surveillance UAV for Indian as well as global requirements such as Intelligence based agriculture, Remote mapping, Pipeline Monitoring, Mining Support, Security & intelligence, Disaster Management & Surveillance.

With IIT Kanpur for joint development and manufacturing of 25 kg class Tactical UAV for Armed forces.

With Torus Robotic Pvt Ltd, Chennai for joint development Artificial intelligence (Al) based unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), Robotics, Light weight, Ingenious electric power drive system for defence and commercial applications.

With Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Aeronautics Laboratory (NAL) to develop in the areas of advance composite and autoclaves, Mini unmanned aerial vehicles, Design & analysis of aircraft structure and systems.

With Outdu Mediatech, Bangalore for Artificial intelligence based vision system and face recognition system for surveillance & monitoring applications.

With SKAT Systems, Russia for joint manufacture of High Altitude UAVs for Indian and Global requirements.

With Hacklab Solutions Pvt Ltd, Bangalore for Al Based Lightning System (headlamps / fog lamps) on Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) current and future products in order to make mare competitive.

With JSC 'Rosoboron'export, Russia for projects such as infantry combat vehicle 'Boomerang', light armored vehicle 'Strela', Auxiliary power units for T-71 / T-90 tanks, Air Defence Systems.

With S'YOMKA S VOZDUHA, Russia (Shooting from Air) for manufacturing of Marine Drones and Anti Drone Systems.

With Adani Defence Systems & Technologies Limited to provide mobility systems for armed vehicles such as wheels armored personal carriers, infantry combat vehicles and main battle tanks. Apart from development and production of Jigs and fixtures for UAVs, Air borne structures, ground handling and ground support equipment for Airports.

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Approximately 10,000 people are spending the rest of their 15-day quarantine in locked-down areas in the southern Vietnamese province of Binh Duong after a university student was confirmed as a COVID-19 patient.

The entire campus of Thu Dau Mot University, Binh Duongs largest of its kind, has been sealed off after a student tested positive for the novel coronavirus on January 31.

The student, who was confirmed as patient No. 1,843 by the health ministry, came into close contact with another patient prior to her diagnosis.

Aside from the university, neighborhood No. 5 and parts of neighborhoods No. 3, 6, and 7 in Phu Hoa Ward, Thu Dau Mot City were also fenced off.

People wait for their turn to receive supplies in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Viet Hung / Tuoi Tre

Although more than 530 direct contacts of patient No. 1,843 have tested negative for the novel coronavirus, about 10,000 people inside these locked-down areas still have to finish their 15-day quarantine, starting on February 1, in accordance with regulations.

Authorities and volunteers have been supplying rice, vegetables, and other essentials to students at the Thu Dau Mot University campus and residents of the neighborhoods.

Everyone is required to wear face masks in public, while other COVID-19 measures are also applied in these areas.

Face masks are supplied to people in a locked-down area in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Viet Hung / Tuoi Tre

Aside from their daily activities, these students and residents have tried to boost their physical health by playing badminton or doing other forms of exercise.

The military has also been disinfecting all corners of Thu Dau Mot University and the neighborhoods.

Vietnam has documented 1,957 COVID-19 as of Friday morning, with 1,465 having recovered and 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Binh Duong Province has recorded five community-based cases since a new wave of infections hit the country last week.

The military disinfects a section of Thu Dau Mot University in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Viet Hung / Tuoi Tre

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DHS Bulletin Warns Of Continued Threat Of Extremist Violence

Law enforcement agencies in the Southland and across the nation were warned today of a heightened threat environment still percolating from the recent change of presidential administrations that could lead to acts of domestic terrorism by extremists.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin, warning that the increased threat of potential violence could persist for several weeks.

Information suggests that some ideologically motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence, according to the bulletin.

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The bulletin did not cite any specific anticipated violent attacks, but referenced protests that occurred over the past year and a 2019 anti- immigration shooting carried out in El Paso, Texas, that killed 23 people.

It also noted that some extremists may be emboldened by the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., to target elected officials and government facilities.

DHS encourages state, local, tribal and territorial homeland security partners to continue prioritizing physical security measures, particularly around government facilities, to protect people and critical infrastructure, according to the bulletin.

It also urged members of the public to report any suspicious activity and threats of violence, including online activity, to local law enforcement or the FBI.

The Radio Television Digital News Association was among those reacting to the bulletin, noting that the alert cites ongoing threats toward critical infrastructure like telecommunications. RTDNA urges newsrooms to prepare safety plans and practice extra vigilance in the field.
In a sign of the urgency President Biden feels about Iran, the White House is convening a National Security Council principals committee meeting Friday focused on the country's nuclear program, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.

Why it matters: The Biden administration is still refining its strategy about how to resurrect the 2015 deal that President Trump backed out of in 2018, but it wants to work with allies to slow Iran's effort to enrich uranium and prevent an arms races in the Middle East.

Principals committee meetings  held in the Situation Room and attended by the secretaries of Defense and State and other key national security players  are designed to discuss policy at the highest level before presenting recommendations to the president.

They are preceded by a meeting of the deputies from all the national security agencies. On Wednesday, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer led one such session focused on the Middle East.

One of the main action items Friday is whether to push toward returning to the nuclear deal before the June presidential elections in Iran or wait until after, a source familiar with the issue said.

The State and Defense departments declined to comment. An NSC spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Driving the news: Secretary of State Tony Blinken is also scheduled to have a virtual meeting Friday with the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Germany and France, with Iran on that agenda, too.

During Thursday's White House press briefing, national security adviser Jake Sullivan hinted at the administration's coming diplomatic push on Iran.

"We are actively engaged" with European partners, he said. "The consultations will produce a unified front when it comes to our strategy."

The intrigue: During a visit to the State Department later Thursday, the president didn't mention his efforts to resuscitate the nuclear deal, a signature achievement of the Obama administration's then-Secretary of State, John Kerry. Most congressional Republicans heavily criticized it, and Trump later bailed out of it.

Biden did announce the U.S. would no longer support Saudi Arabia in its military offensive against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemens civil war.

However, he pledged to continue to supply the Saudis with defensive systems, citing "threats from Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries."

The big picture: After withdrawing from the deal in 2018, Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran. His "maximum pressure" campaign, led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, targeted its oil exports and central bank, aiming to force Tehran back to the negotiating table.

Nonetheless, Trump couldnt persuade other members of the original agreement, including China, France, Russia, the U.K. and Germany, to reinstate the sanctions.

The Iranians also hunkered down and waited him out.

Last month, Iran announced it had increased its uranium enrichment levels to 20%, well above the agreements limit of 5%  a clear breach of the deal.

Blinken has asked his newly appointed Iran envoy, Rob Malley, to form a negotiating team made up of diplomats and experts with a range of views on the path forward with Iran, Barak reported Wednesday.

Blinken even asked Malley to bring in people who are more hawkish on Iran, according to a source close to the administration.

Between the lines: Blinken has suggested Iran would first need to come back into compliance with the deal before the United States lifted any sanctions.
Under the united Planet name, we will continue to grow and enhance the exemplary service that has earned us many accolades including multiple Triple Crowns, Presidents Awards, and recognition as a J.D. Power Dealer of Excellence year after year.

World Class Automotive Group, a leader in the automotive industry in Texas, is pleased to announce two dealerships are now operating under a stellar new name. Randall Reeds Prestige Ford in Garland, Texas is now Randall Reeds Planet Ford 635. Randall Reeds Park Cities Ford in Dallas has changed its name to Randall Reeds Planet Ford Dallas Love Field. The rebranding reflects a vision to align the entire dealership groups Planet-branded locations already across Texas to create the Power of the Planets for consumers.

Planet Ford is a new dealership name in the Dallas area, but its well known across Texas for being No. 1 in sales and service for decades, said Randall Reed, owner and CEO of World Class Automotive Group. At our Dallas and Garland locations, our loyal customers will work with the same hard-working team who will continue to deliver the same award-winning service, selection, and out-of-this-world savings they have come to expect from our Randall Reed family of dealerships for the past 30 years.

The Planet power-house of dealerships now includes the following locations:



Randall Reeds Planet Ford 635 at 3601 S. Shiloh Rd., Garland, TX 75041

Randall Reeds Planet Ford Dallas Love Field at 3333 Inwood Rd, Dallas, TX 75235

Randall Reeds Planet Lincoln Dallas Love Field at 7767 Lemmon Ave, Dallas, TX 75209

Randall Reeds Planet Ford at 20403 I-45, Spring, TX 77388

Randall Reeds Planet Lincoln at 20403 I-45 North, Spring, TX 77388

Randall Reeds Planet Ford in Humble at 19000 Eastex Frwy, Humble, TX 77338

The Reed family is proud to own one of the largest, privately held, award-winning dealer groups in the country with locations throughout Texas. In addition to its Planet Ford and Lincoln locations, the group also has multiple Quick Lane Tire and Auto Centers in Dallas, Garland, Spring, Humble, and Porter.

For over three decades, our family of dealerships have delivered excellence in sales, service, parts, and collision repair to our wonderful customers, said Shelby Reed, co-owner and President of World Class Automotive Group. Under the united Planet name, we will continue to grow and enhance the exemplary service that has earned us many accolades including multiple Triple Crowns, Presidents Awards, and recognition as a J.D. Power Dealer of Excellence year after year, she added.

The Reeds and their partners have transformed the automotive experience for customers by providing "autotainment" that includes cafes, comfortable lounges, work zones with Wi-Fi, and customer care beyond compare. They have evolved the traditional automotive purchasing process into a distinctive experience that revolves around the customer and their total automotive satisfaction.

About World Class Automotive Group

World Class Automotive Group is owned by Randall, Sherry, and Shelby Reed. The family-owned business is comprised of several award-winning dealerships throughout Texas, including: Randall Reeds Planet Ford Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Randall Reeds Planet Ford 635 in Garland, Randall Reeds Planet Lincoln Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Randall Reeds Planet Ford in Spring, Randall Reeds Planet Lincoln in Spring, and Randall Reeds Planet Ford in Humble, Texas. To learn more, visit http://www.PlanetFord.com or http://www.ReedHasIt.com.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WTVA) - A public high school teaching students from across the state in Columbus faces challenges other schools do not need to consider when thinking about the safety of their students during the pandemic.

The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) is located on the campus of Mississippi University for Women (MUW). It accepts students from across Mississippi.

The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) is a high school located on the campus of Mississippi University for Women (MUW, The W) in Columbus. Photo Date: Feb. 4, 2021.

The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) is a high school located on the campus of Mississippi University for Women (MUW, The W) in Columbus. Photo Date: Feb. 4, 2021. The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) is a high school located on the campus of Mississippi University for Women (MUW, The W) in Columbus. Photo Date: Feb. 4, 2021. The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) is a high school located on the campus of Mississippi University for Women (MUW, The W) in Columbus. Photo Date: Feb. 4, 2021.

Students are provided learning experiences similar to any other high school; however, the school is also a residential school.

With this pandemic, whereas traditional schools or day schools only have to worry about students during the day, we see the students 24/7, Executive Director Germain McConnell said.

McConnell has served eight years as executive director but said this has been the most difficult school year hes ever faced.

This is a prime example that any leader has to be flexible, but you want to make sure that you have options available for whats going to happen, but nobody knows exactly whats going to happen.

To navigate the pandemic as best as possible, MSMS has limited the number of students on campus at one time.

The school allowed 120 students to attend this year, half of the usual number of students.

McConnell said students alternate every four and a half weeks between the junior and senior housing.

The number one priority is to maintain a safe and secure environment," he said. "The best way to do that is to take the precautions that weve been taking to help keep everybody safe.

Along with social distancing and masks, McConnell said teachers determine which students will be in-person and which will be virtual each day.

But as time goes on, he believes the best lessons will come out of this challenge.

Weve learned a lot of things and Im sure all of us as educators are learning some things that we can continue to implement in the future well beyond the pandemic.

In order to keep students connected and engaged, whether they're on-campus or off-campus, all club meetings have been virtual.

When Hobby Airport traveler Shara Fisher discovered her cherished bracelet containing her mom's ashes was missing, she was beyond distressed.

Fisher had traveled from Dallas to Houston last Thursday to see her daughter, Amber Crabtree, and discovered after her journey that the jewelry had disappeared. The next morning, Fisher desperately went in search of the missing bracelet.

"I knew I lost it somewhere between Dallas and Houston," Fisher told Chron. "I had left voicemails at Dallas Love Airport Lost and Found and Hobby Airport Lost and Found."

Thanks to another Hobby Airport traveler, Desiree Encinas, and the power of Facebook, Fisher was reunited with the bracelet that carried her mother's ashes on January 28. When Encinas, an Arizona native, found the bracelet, she knew it was a important piece for someone and took to social media to find its owner. Her post soon went viral. It was Fisher's daughter Amber who first broke the news that the prized memento had been found.

'IT JUST FILLS YOUR HEART': Free student-run grocery store helps Texas families struggling in the pandemic

"My daughter said, 'Oh my gosh, mom they found your bracelet!'"Fisher said. "She told me that a lady traveling through Hobby Airport had contacted the news and social media to look the owner of the bracelet."

Fisher said it was one of the most emotional moments for her when she heard the bracelet was recovered. The silver bracelet has a heart-shaped charm attached with a thumbprint engraved on the side. The thumbprint belonged to her mother, Evelyn who had passed away on Christmas Eve.

Shara Fisher

"I was actually driving. I finally got to crying so hard that I had to pull over on the side of the interstate," Fisher said. "I was ecstatic. I was shocked. I couldn't believe it."

Looking back at the unique reunion of the bracelet, Fisher felt it was a sign from her mother.

"I think she's letting me know that she's ok," Fisher said."I can't describe it. I'm grateful, thankful and blessed. I'm just thankful that my bracelet ended up in the hands of someone who realized that it was important to somebody."

Update: We found the owner! Great job Facebook! Last night 1/28 I found this bracelet that seems to have a loved ones... Posted by Desiree Encinas on Friday, January 29, 2021

Fisher believes it's ironic and serendipitous that the bracelet was found by an Arizona traveler. Sedona just happened to be her mother's favorite place to visit. In fact, Evelyn had asked that her ashes be spread there.

Shara Fisher

"Sedona was where my mom always wanted to be. She always said she felt healthiest in Arizona," Fisher said. "She loved the mountains and the sunshine. One way or the other, my determined mother found a way to make it to Arizona."

Fisher said that she and her sisters and brothers plan to fly to Arizona, visit the Encinas, and retrieve the bracelet. Then, they plan to spread her mother's ashes in Sedona. Fisher has a special message of thanks to Encinas for the bringing the bracelet back to her.

"I thank her for having the decency, humanity to know the importance of the bracelet and for going to the great lengths to find the owner,," Fisher said.
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. has held talks with Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. about building an electric vehicle, though the discussions paused recently, according to people familiar with the situation.

Apple has also been discussing similar plans with other auto manufacturers, the people said. They asked not to be identified discussing private matters.

The secret project has ramped up in recent months. It has the potential to upend the automotive industry and its supply chain in a similar way to Apples reinvention of the consumer device market.

Apple declined to comment. In January, Hyundai, which owns a controlling stake in Kia, backed away from a statement that said it was in talks with Apple.

That announcement, and other reports of talks, have upset Apple, which keeps development projects secret for years and controls relationships with suppliers with ruthless efficiency.

Its unclear if -- or when -- discussions between Apple and Hyundai might resume. There are only a handful of global automakers with the capacity and capability to mass manufacture vehicles, and its unclear how many of them would be interested in collaborating with Apple.

There are other hitches, too. One is a dispute within the Hyundai group over which of its two brands, Hyundai or Kia, may get to manufacture a car for Apple, one of the people familiar with the situation said. If talks end up resuming, Kia is seen as more likely and is seeking to build an Apple car at its plant in Georgia, said the person.

A key question for the industry is how serious Apple is about taking on Tesla Inc., General Motors Co. and other electric vehicle makers, and whether it needs an established manufacturer to be able to roll out its own product.

The Cupertino, California-based company has a small team of engineers developing drive systems, as well as designers, but with development work is at an early stage, any roll out probably wont happen for another five years. That suggests Apple has more time to decide on potential auto-industry partners.

Story continues

Read more: Apple Self-Driving Electric Car Is at Least Half a Decade Away

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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With the cold weather well and truly upon us, MGM Springfield has taken the initiative to help in the fight against the pandemic by donating food and a heated tent to the American Medical Response testing team for the next 30 days at the Eastfield Mall.

AMR employees have been working relentlessly during the coronavirus crisis, not only on the frontlines testing more than 1,000 Western Massachusetts residents daily but also responding to emergency calls from Springfield residents.

The AMR team is on the frontlines going above and beyond to care for our community every day. We are grateful for all they do and hope our contribution provides a well-earned sanctuary, said Chris Kelley, president of the MGM Resorts Northeast group. My sincere gratitude to AMR Northeast Regional Director Patrick Pickering as well for his continued leadership and dedication to Springfield.

MassLive previously spoke to one of the over two dozen staff members distributing COVID testing at the Eastfield Mall location. Emergency medical technician Jessica Wright sees thousands of people coming to the COVID testing site. The mall often has queues of cars waiting to have a vital analysis carried out.

AMR first responders engage at a moments notice to assist people through their worst days, and with this donation, we hope to show our appreciation for everything they do, said Erica Bishop, AMR account executive for the northeast region. We cannot thank MGM Springfield and the City of Springfield enough for their help in Governor Bakers Stop the Spread initiative. Without the collaboration between these fine partners, we would not be able to successfully continue our mission of keeping the Commonwealth safe, especially during the Covid crisis.

Since August, AMR has been part of the Massachusetts Stop the Spread initiative and testing outside the Eastfield Mall. Wright joined the AMR team in November 2019 only a few months before the state shut down in March.

Gov. Charlie Baker and his administration announced the states Stop the Spread initiative that offers free COVID-19 testing with a 24-to-72 hour turnaround of results. AMR was set up as part of the initiative at the Eastfield Mall site and also helped Agawam town officials with a one-day testing site on Dec. 21.

Joe Biden is re-opening a child migrant detention center, but neither the establishment media nor left-wing politicians appear to care. The response is starkly different from when President Trump operated the detention centers he inherited from the Obama-Biden administration.

(Natural News) (Article by Raheem Kassam republished from TheNationalPulse.com)

The move is said to be a direct result of the relaxation of border enforcement, a stunning admission made in CNN reports.

A recent article states:

The Biden administration is opening an overflow facility for unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the US-Mexico border, the federal agency tasked with the childrens care told CNN in a statement.

The Health and Human Services Department will reopen a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, that can accommodate about 700 children and can be expanded if necessary.

The reopening of the facility comes amid an increase in apprehensions of unaccompanied children on the Southwest border, fueled in part by deteriorating conditions in Latin America and a perceived possible relaxation of enforcement, and reduced capacity limits at other facilities due to Covid-19. It also comes as President Joe Biden rolls out new immigration executive orders tackling migration to the US southern border.

The silence from the national, establishment media as well as Democrats on Capitol Hill has been notable.

Once known for crying at a fence overlooking a parking lot, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has  at the time of publication  said nothing about Bidens new move to put kids in cages.

National advocacy groups are also silent, and outlets such as the New York Times and CNN have failed to criticize Biden and his regime for re-opening the center and congregating migrant children in close conditions.

Perhaps the most important part of why these centers need to reopen in the first instance is the most important: the relaxation of enforcement. In other words, Joe Biden has signaled for people to come, illegally, into the United States.

When they arrive, hes putting them in detention centers.

Read more at: TheNationalPulse.com

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The Mukono Municipal council authority has threatened to destroy the dilapidated commercial buildings in the area to allow the business community operate in a safe environment.

The Deputy town clerk Mukono Municipal council Nanyonga Sseruwangi says the municipal council has issued out circulars asking the owners of buildings to comply.

Nanyonga made the remarks, while receiving a donation of paint from the managing director of Kansai Plascon-Uganda which will help to paint the Mukono police station, because the Municipals order will also affect the government buildings which are dilapidated.

She asked the residents to comply with immediate effect.
An attempt to expose the misappropriation of development funds in Senapati district, proved very costly for Kh. Enoch, a social activist from lower Phaibung village of Manipur.

Enoch along with P. Johnson of Taphon Phymai Village in Senapati district had sought information under RTI act on the dispersal of funds for various development projects, carried out by Autonomous District Council.

A sizable chunk of the funds meant for all Nagas were allegedly embezzled by some corrupt ADC members in collusion with senior leaders of NSCN/Isak-Muivah faction, and used for personal gain.

On January 20, armed cadres of the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction abducted Enoch and tortured him for daring to file an RTI in the matter. They kept him locked up for around 10 days at some unknown location and pressured him with death threats to withdraw the RTI.

Unable to bear the torture, Enoch gave in to the threat of his captors and agreed to withdraw the RTI application. His wife had filed a missing person FIR, which too was withdrawn.

He was fined Rs 15 lakhs for filing the RTI application and a separate fine of Rs 1.5 lakhs was imposed for filing the FIR.

Meanwhile, Enoch's abduction scared other RTI activists and P. Johnson, Ngari Taidulomai moved out of Senapati to take refuge in Imphal.

"The family members of three activists are being threatened to force them to surrender before the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction but the three have refused to cow down and are willing to risk their life to unravel the corruption, which has deprived the Nagas of development of any kind," a source told Zee News.

The Naga inhabited districts of Manipur witnesses a unholy nexus with the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction taking over all election processes in the area, using their muscle power to ensure victory of their favored candidates.

The objective of the hijacking of democratic rights of the people is to take away a sizable chunk of the development funds, get employment for friends and relatives in departments under the ADC and get contracts awarded to their front men.

The blatant embezzlement of funds is an not a secret and any dissent is brutally suppressed by the goons of the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction, which claim to be fighting for the rights of the Nagas.

The money is mostly pocketed by a handful of top leaders of the outfit, who have prospered in such an arrangement at the expense of the Naga populace.

Such behaviour begs the question, as to why the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction, who have been in negotiations with the Indian government for last 24 years, is coming up with impractical demands and prolonging the negotiation process. And if the status quo/stalemate suiting the top leaders of the outfit- all authority, prosperity but no responsibility and accountability.

The top leaders of the different Naga Underground faction, especially the NSCN-Isak Muivah faction, have prospered under this status quo. A trip through the bylanes of the colonies in Dimapur, inhabited by top leaders of the outfit, would clearly show where this money is being invested.

Apart from owning huge lands and palatial buildings these leaders are suspected to be hoarding huge sums in cash as well.

This dirty secret, had come out in the open, when Rayilung Nsarangbe, a Colonel of NSCN-Isak Muivah faction and the ADC of the Th. Muivah, General Secretary of the outfit, was arrested in July 2020 from Dimapur. A whopping Rs 1.58 crores was recovered from his residence and more money was found in multiple bank accounts.

If this continues, the Naga inhabited areas are likely to be left out of the development map of this nation.

Live TV
The revaluation of cryptocurrency from just over 8,000 euros in early December to more than 33,000 in early January caught the attention of a multitude of investors in Mallorca.

Bitcoin sits at number 5 on the list of cryptocurrencies and is probably the best known.

A few months ago a BitBase office opened near Placa del Bisbe Berenguer de Palou in Palma. The company has 15 branches in Spain and acts as an exchange office: from euros to bitcoins and vice versa.

"We went from the virtual world to the physical world," says BitBase Marketing Director Jorge Rodriguez. In January more than 200 people bought cryptocurrencies worth between 200 and 1,500 euros, but the average amount was 1,500.

We check where the money comes from and collaborate with the Police, he warned. The data is collated and checked against an International list of people who cannot invest in bitcoins, such as terrorists, to avoid money laundering.

The Mallorcan company Criptoarea launched the first cryptocurrency ATMs in restaurants and hotels in tourist areas in 2019.

"We were planning to expand this year, but the virus has stopped us in our tracks, so we will resume as soon as tourism returns," says Criptoarea General Director, Jaime Martinez.

The Criptoarea App also allows tourists to exchange cryptocurrencies into euros to spend at hotels and restaurants etc in holiday destinations.

In a pilot test, tips in cryptocurrencies were 20% more generous than usual, according to Martinez. "We were so successful that restaurants and hotels throughout Mallorca want to participate."

Risks

Cryptocurrency is not a pyramid scam, its blockchain, an information system that has value because people want bitcoins, says Economist Paul Monserrat. Cryptocurrencies are carried on a computer or pen drive and the money can be transferred from mobile to mobile, he adds. Bitcoin is widely used in Argentina and Venezuela where the currencies have been greatly devalued. Young people are not afraid of Bitcoin and invest small amounts, but it is a very speculative and risky asset, he warns.

National Police sources claim that a number of complaints related to cryptocurrencies have already been received.

These are complaints from people who receive offers from Russian companies, the sources said. People invested in bitcoins, but when they asked for the profits the companies didnt respond and the investors lost their money. In the Balearic Islands 14 people have lost between 3,000 and 5,000 euros.
Michigan launches free app to protect mobile devices from threats

Michigan launches free app to protect mobile devices from threats

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Feb. 4, 2021

Caleb Buhs, buhsc@michigan.gov or 517-282-6018

LANSING, Mich. -- The state of Michigan is now providing residents access to a free mobile application that can detect threats to their mobile devices. The Michigan Secure app alerts an individual of suspicious activity on their mobile device, allowing them to interact with the digital world with greater confidence.

Our reliance on mobile devices has been met with a surge in activity by cybercriminals looking to access those devices to steal our personal information, and possibly much worse, said DTMB Director and State Chief Information Officer Brom Stibitz. The Michigan Secure app is a huge step towards protecting Michiganders from these criminals and giving us all some peace of mind as we use our phones and tablets.

Michigan Secure empowers users by informing them of the threats they encounter as they interact with an increasingly technology-driven world. The application warns users if the Wi-Fi they are trying to connect to could be compromised. It can also scan other Android mobile apps for potential threats and alert users before they are downloaded. Michigan Secure even has a database of potential threat indicators to notify individuals of activity on their phone that matches a documented threat.

While the security of our mobile devices is critical, it is also important to respect peoples privacy, explained Stibitz. Michigan Secure does not require anyone to share their personal information or mobile data. It exists for the sole purpose of detecting threats and notifying the user.

The Michigan Secure app does not collect, store, or monitor the personal information of users that download it. The apps code and privacy configuration settings have received the approval of the American Civil Liberties Union for the way they protect individual privacy.

Michigan Secure is available for mobile devices running iOS 11 or higher, Android 6.0 or higher, and Chromebooks with Android Apps Support. You can download Michigan Secure on the App Store or Google Play. For more information, visit Michigan.gov/MichiganSecureApp.

For Michiganders interested in learning more about how to protect themselves and their loved ones online, visit the Michigan Cybersecurity website at Michigan.gov/Cybersecurity for information ranging from how to practice proper cyber hygiene to learning about what to do if you are a victim of a cybercrime.

###
Two journalists responsible for some of The New York Timess most high-profile work of the last three years have left the paper after their past behavior was criticized inside and outside the organization.

In two memos on Friday afternoon, Dean Baquet, the papers executive editor, and Joe Kahn, the managing editor, informed the staff of the departures of Donald G. McNeil Jr., a science correspondent who reported on the coronavirus pandemic, and Andy Mills, an audio journalist who helped create The Daily and was a producer and co-host of Caliphate, a 2018 podcast that was found to have serious flaws after an internal investigation.

Mr. McNeil, a veteran of The Times who has reported from 60 countries, was an expert guide on a Times-sponsored student trip to Peru in 2019. At least six students or their parents complained about comments he had made, The Daily Beast reported last week. The Times confirmed he used a racist slur on the trip.

In their memo, Mr. Baquet and Mr. Kahn wrote that Mr. McNeil has done much good reporting over four decades but added that this is the right next step.
Troopers Find Semi Suspected in Man's I-69 Death

By West Kentucky Star Staff

WESTERN KENTUCKY - The Kentucky State Police on Friday night located the commercial truck involved in the death of a Dawson Springs man after receiving several tips from the community.Troopers said they are still looking to identify the driver of the white Freightliner Cascadia.Police said the semi is suspected to have struck Michael "Andrew" Dowd earlier this month, causing damage to the front passenger headlight assembly and hood. Police say it's possible that the driver did not realize they struck a pedestrian and may have suspected they struck an animal or object.

Dowd's body was found Feb. 7 off I-69 near the city of Nortonsville. He had been reported missing a few days prior.
Abuja  An Abuja-based journalist with The PUNCH Newspapers,Mr. Okechukwu Nnodim, was on Wednesday night kidnapped in Kubwa, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Nnodim was said to have been kidnapped around 11 pm by four gunmen who scaled the fence of his house.

It was gathered that the kidnappers who are believed to be Fulani, fired several gunshots after which they broke into the living room through the windows.

He was said to have finished praying with his family and was about going to bed when the incident occurred.

A source told THISDAY that after the kidnappers gained access to his apartment, and was asked where he kept the money.

According to the source, it is true that when they gained access to his house that they were shouting where is the money. Maybe they thought he brought money at home.

It was further gathered that the kidnappers made their way to the second apartment where two other young guys were also kidnapped.

"They were planning to enter the third apartment, but someone outside beamed the full light of his car on the clustered house and consistently pressed the horn, while a Naval officer who lives three blocks away shot in the air and the kidnappers left in a hurry."

THISDAY findings revealed that the kidnappers are yet to make contact with the family or his office.

It was also gathered that his office is treading on a side of caution and also reluctant to issue a statement about the kidnap incident in order not to put his life in danger.

It was gathered that the kidnappers followed the hill behind the house where he was whisked away alongside the two other persons.

Meanwhile, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command yesterday launched a manhunt for the kidnappers.

A source at the command said it was making concerted effort to free the journalist.

"We are making frantic efforts to free him and reunite him with his family.

"He was kidnapped in Pyagi in the outskirts of Abuja. We have been on the matter since 2am (yesterday)," the source said.

The source further said: "we are treating him as our own. We are all stakeholders"
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Mixing optimism with frustration, Lehigh Valley physicians joined state officials in a telephone town hall Thursday on the status of COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

It was organized by state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, and featured Dr. Brian Nester, CEO of the Lehigh Valley Health Network; Dr. Timothy Friel, the networks department of medicine/infectious disease chairman; and Joan Bradberry, executive director of the Pennsylvania Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

The participants took questions from Brownes constituents on the line, enforcing the idea that everyone should be vaccinated when they have the chance, that masks will still need to be worn and that side effects are expected but are nothing like a bout with the actual coronavirus illness.

With demand far outstripping supply, Nester said vaccinations continue to be focused on health care workers, residents and workers in long-term care facilities, people ages 65 and older and those ages 16 to 64 with certain health problems that could complicate a COVID-19 infection.

Thats Phase 1A, and includes about 3.5 million to 4 million Pennsylvanians, according to Bradberry. The state Department of Health on Wednesday said 1.1 million vaccines have been administered, with about 2% of the states population already getting both shots needed for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines currently available.

Itll be months before efforts move on to Phases 1B and 1C, largely defined by what kind of job someone has, Nester said. The catchall Phase 2 is then projected to last six months before Phase 3 arrives, when vaccine availability exceeds demand.

Nester described the current situation as a vaccine scarce environment, but noted there is tremendous capacity to ramp up vaccinations at both LVHN and St. Lukes University Health Network. The LVHN capacity includes a mass vaccination site set up at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and which builds on the networks decades of experience doling out up to 8,000 influenza shots a day.

We have lots of capacity, he said, noting there are currently no Dorney Park vaccination sessions scheduled. As soon as we can get the vaccine we will get it into arms, and I think were going to get through this.

The mission here is to reach herd immunity so the virus is deprived of hosts, said Bradberry: The more people that are vaccinated the safer we all will be.

Joining hospital networks in distributing what vaccine is available are pharmacies working with long-term care facilities and offering shots in retail settings like CVS, Walgreens, Wegmans, Giant, ShopRite and Weis, Bradberry said.

LVHN invites area residents to pre-register for the vaccine once it becomes available, via mylvhn.org. To get the vaccine through St. Lukes, anyone can pre-register at sluhn.org/vaccine.

The vaccines approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration offer about a 95% reduced risk of becoming infected with COVID-19, Friel said. The other 5% can include a mild case, on up to infections requiring hospitalization. None of the clinical trial participants, who are being monitored for two years, have died, he said.

That of and in itself is fantastic and exceeds any of our wildest dreams when we embarked on our journey and our quest to develop effective vaccines, Friel said.

Side effects include pain at the injection site, affecting about 80% of recipients; muscle and joint pain and a headache; fatigue and fever, usually setting in 12 to 18 hours after the shot.

That has been expected and those side effects are actually what I call a good thing because its reflective of the fact that our immune system is revving up and reacting to the vaccine, Friel said.

He acknowledged that in his experience with getting vaccinated, the second shot was worse than the first.

Both vaccines currently available use an mRNA signal to tell cells in the body to build proteins offering protection against infection if and when someone is exposed to the virus, Friel explained; the immune system then remembers those proteins and can re-stimulate response against the virus as needed.

Its not yet known whether the vaccine will be required annually, Friel said, though tweaks to its composition may be necessary to ward off variants spreading that were traced to South Africa, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

For someone who has had COVID-19, they have some immunity already that should make them comfortable waiting 90 days or so after recovery to get the vaccine, according to Friel.

Yes, even if the vaccine works, people will still have to wear masks, the doctors said. Thats because the vaccines prevent symptomatic illness, but more data is needed on whether they prevent asymptomatic cases that can still infect others.

The vaccine is for everyone, Friel stressed, not just those at risk for complications. Thats how vaccines have successfully suppressed diseases like measles and mumps, he said.

It is dependent on all of us to really step up to do our part to get us to these better days ahead, he said.

Pennsylvania has seen 856,986 cases of COVID-19 since the virus was first detected in March, with 22,101 people dying. New Jersey, which is dealing with its own shortage of vaccine, has had 633,731 cases with 21,793 deaths.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
After the 1916 Easter Rising, sixteen of the Irish Republican leaders were executed and thousands of Irishmen were arrested and interned.

Trials had been held in secret and many Irish people were angered at their harsh treatment and their resistance against British rule grew. There was an escalation of emotion. General Tom Barry, who was a prominent Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader during the War of Independence, blamed the actions of his British opponents for the shift in Irish peoples attitudes and said, We are now hard, cold and ruthless, as our enemy has been since hostilities began they (the British) have gone down into the mire to destroy us and our nation, and down after them we had to go.

In early 1920, Michael Collins ordered the IRA to target small groups of British troops in quick ambush attacks and to target RIC Barracks. He sent word to the East Limerick Brigade to get these Limerick men into the fight.

The Dromkeen Ambush took place on February 3, 1921. This ambush has great significance as it marked an escalation in the Volunteers campaign in the War of Independence (1919-1921). The ambush was the largest IRA ambush to occur outside of County Cork, and was one of the most effective nationally.

In January 1921, Richard OConnell, commander of the Mid-Limerick Flying Column, along with Captains Sean Lynch and Morgan Portley began planning the ambush. The activities of the local RIC had been observed for several months. Local Volunteer John Purcell, Caherconlish, found that on the first Thursday of every month, two lorry loads of Black and Tans and RIC men left Pallasgreen barracks for Fedamore to pay the police in the barracks there. They seemed to use the same route and returned on the same day.

Richard OConnell, one of the Volunteers at the ambush, said: I went and had a look at this place at Dromkeen. We drove there one night looked at the positions there, sized them up and decided it would be an ideal place for an ambush.

There were 40-50 local IRA Volunteers under the command of Donnocha OHannigan. In The Dromkeen Ambush: Down Into the Mire in County Limerick, Joe Gannon wrote, The ambush location was well selected. The lorries would be coming from the west. There was a severe right-hand turn at Dromkeen House, where the road turned east for several hundred yards in a straight line, to an intersection that split to the north and south.

The plan was to block both of these roads. On the morning of the ambush, Donnocha OHannigan put Volunteers David Guerin, Sean Stapleton and Maurice Meade, at the corner to be the lookouts for the convoy. At around 2.30pm, the lookouts near De- Burghs house Dromkeen let them know the lorries were coming.

The plan was to let the lead lorry reach the barricade before they opened fire, expecting them to be widely spaced. The lorries were closer than expected and the men lining the road near Dromkeen House opened fire first at the second lorry when it was near to prevent it getting beyond them.

The first lorry was driven by Constable Cox, District Inspector Sanson sat beside him and there were three in the back. The lead lorry turned left and on seeing the barricade, tried to turn right and in doing so hit a ditch and turned the lorry over. The three men in the back of the lorry were shot straight away. Cox and Sanson were in civilian clothes and got out of the lorry without being hit.

Richard OConnell in his witness statement said: "Because they were in civilian clothes the IRA hesitated about opening fire, thus allowing the two men to run down the road and over a fence into a field before the IRA realised who they were".

According to Joe Gannon, All the Volunteer participants said the firing only went on for a few minutes, with the RIC and Black and Tans able to mount very little resistance.

Eleven policemen were killed, nine at the scene and two who tried to escape, a Black and Tan named Samuel Adams and RIC Constable Patrick Foody, who were later executed. Only one IRA man  Liam Hayes from Ballinlough, Kilteely was wounded. There were no IRA fatalities.

A dilemma faced the Volunteers regarding what to do with the two who tried to escape. The British had announced that Volunteers captured with arms would be executed and they had already carried out this new policy. The Volunteers had sent a request to GHQ in Dublin looking for instruction on what to do in a similar situation and had received no reply. They voted and the result was 3-2 for execution.

In his witness statement, Volunteer Maurice Meade said: The reason for shooting these Tans after they had surrendered was that O'Hannigan had an order from GHQ in Dublin that we were to shoot all Tans and peelers who fell into our hands".

Just a few months earlier, six Black and Tans were wounded in the Kildorrery Ambush however the wounded were not harmed, and a nurse treated them. This shows how much more vicious the war had become.

Following the ambush, the enormity of what had happened dawned on people and families in the locality feared the worst. Their fears were added to by threats from the British forces that they would burn every house in the area. They burned ten homes and farms. They removed furniture from one house and burned that first, then burned the house. They also posted a notice warning people against keeping their hands in their pockets, or being out of their homes after 7pm.

Public opinion at the time was that if District Inspector Sanson had been killed, reprisals would have been more severe. He used his influence to restrain the force under his command, as a result no one was shot.

When I interviewed my aunt Phyl Guerin, Kilteely, granddaughter of David Guerin, she said the family recounted stories that David Guerins house was due to be burned by the Black and Tans.

When they came to the door, there was a picture hanging in the hallway of a British Naval officer, who was married to one of the family and the RIC Sergeant would have known this fact. They left and did no damage to the house.

The Dromkeen Ambush was well planned and organised and carried out with brilliant military precision. It was a huge success for the IRA and a major morale boost for the Limerick Volunteers. While the people in the community lived in fear of British reprisals, they rallied together and their resistance against British rule and the fight for independence grew stronger. I believe that ambushes carried out during this time would not have been a success without the support of the local people.

In an interview given by Volunteer Sean McNamara of Clare, he recalls some of the lengths people went to, to show their support for the IRA: There should be some kind of a plaque placed in every house that housed us, minded us and took care of us, people came out of their beds when we were three or four days out on a mountain, they gave us their own beds, people really won the war because they stuck by us, they had the good sense to keep their mouths shut.

The number of ambushes carried out during the War of Independence grew and they were an important tactic of the IRA. They were able to inflict casualties without suffering too much in return. During this time, there was an increased number of attacks on RIC barracks and as a result, the British Government decided to close all smaller RIC stations.

Many of these events, especially those during the last few months of the War, played a major part in bringing about the truce on July 11, 1921, which ended the War of Independence and led to the Treaty being signed on December 6, 1921.

On February 8, 2009, a memorial to the ambush was unveiled in Dromkeen and was attended by up to 2,000 people. As we approach the centenary of the ambush, we can reflect that this was a time when there was oppression of the people by British rule and ordinary civilians were coming under increased attack. Communities felt there was a necessity to take action. Michael Collins said that the ambush at Dromkeen put the fear of hell into England and thats the sort of fight that will teach them sense.

The Dromkeen Ambush can be viewed as a vital step in the struggle to gain a free and independent country.

This article was published in the most recent issue of the Grean before Christmas.
Dominic Ongwen at his first appearance hearing at the International Criminal Court in The Hague (file photo).

press release

The Hague, Netherlands  The verdict may be appealed by either party to the proceedings within 30 days after the notification of the Judgment

Today, 4 February 2021, Trial Chamber IX of the International Criminal Court (ICC or Court) (www.ICC-cpi.int) found Dominic Ongwen guilty for a total of 61 comprising crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed in Northern Uganda between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005. The verdict may be appealed by either party to the proceedings within 30 days after the notification of the Judgment.

ICC Trial Chamber IX, composed of Judge Bertram Schmitt, Presiding Judge, Judge Peter Kovacs and Judge Raul Cano Pangalangan, analysed the evidence submitted and discussed before it at trial and found, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Mr Ongwen is guilty of the following crimes:

attacks against the civilian population as such, murder, attempted murder, torture, enslavement, outrages upon personal dignity, pillaging, destruction of property and persecution; committed in the context of the four specified attacks on the Internally Displaced Persons camps (IDP camps) Pajule (10 October 2003), Odek (29 April 2004), Lukodi (on or about 19 May 2004) and Abok (8 June 2004); sexual and gender based crimes, namely, forced marriage, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enslavement, forced pregnancy and outrages upon personal dignity he committed against seven women (whose names and individual stories are specified in the judgment) who were abducted and placed into his household; A number of further sexual and gender based crimes he committed against girls and women within the Sinia brigade, namely forced marriage, torture, rape, sexual slavery and enslavement; and The crime of conscripting children under the age of 15 into the Sinia brigade and using them to participate actively in hostilities.

The Chamber found that these crimes were committed in the context of the armed rebellion of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) against the government of Uganda. The LRA, including Dominic Ongwen, perceived as associated with the government of Uganda, and thus as the enemy, the civilians living in Northern Uganda. This concerned in particular those who lived in government-established IDP camps.

The Chamber found that Dominic Ongwen is fully responsible for all these crimes. The Chamber did not find evidence that supported the claim that he suffered from any mental disease or disorder during the period relevant to the charges or that he committed these crimes under duress or under any threats.

Following this verdict, the Chamber will impose on Dominic Ongwen the sentence for the crimes of which he has been convicted. For this purpose, it will receive submissions on the appropriate sentence by the Prosecutor, the Defence for Dominic Ongwen and the legal representatives of the participating victims. A decision in this regard, including as concerns the timeline of the proceedings leading to the imposition of the sentence, has also been issued by the Chamber today. The ICCs founding treaty, the Rome Statute, does not provide for a death penalty; the sentence may be up to 30 years of imprisonment (and under exceptional circumstances a life imprisonment) and/or a fine. Furthermore, a phase dedicated to the reparations to victims will be opened.

Background: The trial in this case opened (https://bit.ly/2Mr7tdX) on 6 December 2016. The Prosecution and the Defence have completed the presentation of their evidence. The Legal Representatives of Victims also called witnesses to appear before the Chamber. On 12 December 2019, the Presiding Judge declared the closure of the submission of evidence in the case. The closing briefs were filed on 24 February 2020. The closing statements (https://bit.ly/36JhGsR) took place from 10 to 12 March 2020.

Over the course of 234 hearings, the Office of the ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, presented a total of 109 witnesses and experts, the Defence team lead by Krispus Ayena Odongo presented a total of 63 witnesses and experts and 7 witnesses and experts were called by the Legal Representatives of the Victims participating in the proceedings. The judges ensured the respect of the rights guaranteed by the Rome Statute to each of the parties, including the right to question the witnesses.

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A total of 4095 victims, represented by their legal counsels Joseph Akwenyu Manoba, and Francisco Cox, as well as Paolina Massidda, respectively, have been granted the right to participate in the proceedings. They have expressed their position on matters heard before the Chamber and were authorised to examine witnesses on specific issues.

The Trial Chamber issued 70 oral decisions, and 506 written decisions during the trial phase of the proceedings. The total case record, consisting of the filings of the parties and participants and the Chamber's decision, currently includes more than 1760 filings.
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Mumbai, Feb 5 : In a jolt to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, the saffron party's Mumbai Vice-President and ex-legislator Krishna Hegde joined the ruling Shiv Sena here on Friday evening.

When contacted by IANS, Hedge confirmed the development after emerging from a meeting with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence.

"I have joined the Shiv Sena. The CM has asked me to help the party's growth, especially in Vile Parle, and work for the progress of Mumbai," Hegde said briefly.

A former Congress legislator from Vile Parle, Hegde, 54, had quit the party in 2017 citing infighting to join the BJP, where he remained for four years before jumping ship to the Shiv Sena on Friday evening.

Last month, Hegde had shot into the limelight when he lodged a complaint against a woman who allegedly tried to honey-trap him for extortion purposes.

Incidentally, the same woman had accused Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde of allegedly raping her for several years, but later withdrew her police complaint.

Hegde was elected on a Congress ticket from the Vile Parle Assembly constituency in 2009, but in the 2014 elections, he was trounced by BJP's Parag Alvani.

Hegde was instrumental in securing the release of Bhavesh Parmar, a jobless IT engineer from Mumbai, who had strayed into Amritsar from where he had boarded the Samjhauta Express in 2005 and reached Pakistan.

Parmar was caught there without a passport, visa or any other documents and consequently spent seven years in a Pakistan prison before he was repatriated home in 2012.
North Augusta, SC (29841)

Today

Partly cloudy skies during the evening giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low 61F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies during the evening giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low 61F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
The vaccination will be conducted on a voluntary basis.

Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister, Chief Medical Officer Viktor Liashko says Ukrainian citizens residing in Russia-occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and Crimea will be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Ukraine for free.

Speaking during an online briefing on Friday, he said they would be vaccinated at vaccination points located in Ukrainian-controlled territory and the vaccination will be conducted on a voluntary basis, an UNIAN correspondent reported.

Read also Several EU countries agree to sell surplus COVID-19 vaccines to Ukraine  Deputy PM COVID-19 vaccine for Ukraine

On January 30, 2021, Ukrainian Deputy Health Minister, Chief Medical Officer Viktor Liashko said Ukraine would receive 117,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine within the COVAX (the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility) in February.

From the middle of February to the end of June 2021, Ukraine will obtain 2.2 million to 3.7 million doses of an AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine.

First to get vaccinated will be healthcare workers, the elderly, and seriously ill patients.

In December 2020, the Health Ministry's coronavirus task force approved a COVID-19 immunization plan under which at least 50% of Ukrainians (20 million people) are to be vaccinated during 2021-2022.

On January 29, the National Commission for technology-related and environmental safety and emergencies approved a schedule for vaccination against the coronavirus in Ukraine in 2021.

***COVAX is a global initiative created by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) to accelerate the development, production, and equal access to tests, treatment and vaccines against COVID-19.

Ukraine joined the COVAX initiative under the GAVI Advance Market Commitment for COVID-19 Vaccines. The first part of the application to GAVI was submitted on December 7, 2020, and was verified on December 11. Thanks to this, Ukraine will be able to receive at least 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for 4 million Ukrainians.

Reporting by UNIAN
Netflix has announced its full slate of new original movies to be released in 2021.

New releases from actors including Leonardo Di Caprio, Gal Gadot, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Amy Adams, Ryan Reynolds, Halle Berry and Chris Hemsworth feature in the line-up, which also includes new films from acclaimed directors Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Paolo Sorrentino (The Hand of God) and Adam McKay (Dont Look Up).

At least one new film will be arriving every week throughout the year on the streaming service. A video posted today (12 January) offered a preview of some of the forthcoming titles.

Dont Look Up stars DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as two low-level astronomers who undertake a giant media tour warning mankind of a deadly Earth-destroying comet. Timothee Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill and Cate Blanchett also appear in the film, which is directed by McKay (Vice).

Halle Berrys directorial debut Bruised sees the Oscar-winning actor play a former MMA fighter battling for custody of her son.

Idris Elba stars in Concrete Cowboy, a drama coming to Netflix in 2021 (Netflix)

Ana de Armas stars as Marylin Monroe in Andrew Dominiks (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) new biopic Blonde, based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates.

Justice League director Zack Snyder will make his Netflix debut with Army of the Dead, a zombie heist film starring Dave Bautista.

Netflixs rom-com hits To All the Boys Ive Loved Before and The Kissing Booth will be receiving second sequels in 2021, turning both franchises into trilogies.

Elsewhere, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda directs tick, tick BOOM!, a new musical starring Andrew Garfield as an aspiring theatre composer.

Recommended 39 hidden movie gems to stream in lockdown

Zendaya and John David Washington front the Oscar-tipped Malcolm & Marie, arriving on Netflix in February, and Chris Hemsworth plays the lead in Escape from Spiderhead, an adaptation of George Saunders chillingly bleak short story.

Amy Adams also stars in an adaptation of AJ Finns The Woman in the Window, alongside Gary Oldman, and Red Notice is a crime thriller starring Reynolds, Johnson and Gadot.

In addition to the films listed, the streaming service has said it will still acquire new films as the year progresses.

Zendaya and John David Washington play the titular couple in Malcolm & Marie (DOMINIC MILLER/NETFLIX  2021 )

See below for Netflixs full 2021 slate of films, along with their respective release dates where available

8 Rue de l'Humanite

A Boy Called Christmas

A Castle for Christmas

Afterlife of the Party

Army of the Dead

Awake

A Week Away

A Winters Tale from Shaun the Sheep

Back to the Outback

Bad Trip

Beauty

Blonde

Blood Red Sky

Bombay Rose

Beckett

Bruised

Concrete Cowboy

Don't Look Up

Double Dad

Escape from Spiderhead

Fear Street Trilogy

Fever Dream

Finding Ohana (29 January)

Fuimos Canciones

I Care A Lot (19 February)

Intrusion

Kate

Love Hard

Malcolm & Marie (5 February)

Monster

Moxie (3 March)

Amy Poehler directs herself in Moxie, released on Netflix later this year (Colleen Hayes/NETFLIX  2020)

Munich

Nightbooks

Night Teeth

No One Gets Out Alive

O2

Outside the Wire (15 January)

Penguin Bloom (27 January)

Pieces of Woman (7 January)

Red Notice

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Robin Robin

Skater Girl

Stowaway

Sweet Girl

The Dig (29 January)

The Guilty

The Hand of God

The Harder They Fall

The Kissing Booth 3

The Last Letter from Your Lover

The Last Mercenary

The Loud House Movie

The Power of the Dog

Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty in The Dig (Larry Horricks/Netflix  2021 )

The Princess Switch 3

There's Someone Inside Your House

The Starling

The Swarm

The White Tiger (22 January)

The Woman in the Window

Things Heard and Seen

Thunder Force

tick, tick...BOOM!

To All The Boys: Always and Forever

Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans

Untitled Alexandre Moratto

Untitled Graham King

Untitled Alicia Keys Rom-Com

Wish Dragon

YES DAY (12 March)

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The N. C. Board of Education showed Thursday why school choice is the only thing that can save our children. The Board split along party lines, 7-5 to approved a new social studies curriculum that is strongly anti-American. Jeff Moore, writing at First in Freedom Daily.com reports:

All five Republicans on the State Board of Education voted against the measure that member Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, the most vocal opponent of the new standards, deems divisive and overtly political. Yet the seven Democrats on the Board are not backing off their drive to transform education, and American history specifically, into the Woke version necessary to advance their cause.

Those members, like the Radical Leftist James Ford, contend that the days of hailing American exceptionalism are gone because America is getting browner. He shares the delusion that the traditional education curriculum presents America as flawless, and the interest in presenting it has inherently and systemically racist.

Such standards are no less than an embrace of the Critical Theories that are fueling the Black Lives Matter Inc. and the associated Woke Cultural Revolution. Even so, the supporters argue that the standards are more guidance, than specific curriculum assignments. One look at the themes of the standards, though, leaves no doubt that this would mandate a Woke Education in social studies across North Carolina public schools. OHeres a brief overview of what the standards actually change, from Andrew Dunn at Carolina Journal:

[] The standards outline the broad topics and themes that teachers must cover at every grade level, K-12, in North Carolinas public schools. Theyre not curriculum, and dont dictate the specific events to be studied and books to be read. That will come later.

The new standards add a particular focus on indigenous, religious, gender and racial groups as early as the second grade. They also redefine racism, moving away from personal prejudice and toward a complex system of racial hierarchies and inequities.

The changes have been nearly two years in the making and have gone through multiple drafts. More than 7,000 people submitted comments on the proposals.

Back in July, the State Board of Education voted to delay adopting any revisions to the social studies curriculum until more work could be done. []

Redefining racism in this way isnt some feel-good compromise on how to treat the nuances of racism; it specifically adopts the language of the Woke in a defacto endorsement of its fundamental anti-American, ant-Capitalism, anti-Western philosophy. All under the Orwellian guise of Anti-Racism.

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has spoken out powerfully on these standards and why they should be opposed. For that, he was depicted by the Leftist media as a KKK member. After all, he opposes the Woke worldview, and therefore must be a fervent racist, aiding in the white supremacist culture set up by our founders and ingrained over generations of evil capitalism.

Due to the radical nature of the standards, the language was softened some. Systemic racism became merely racism (the guidance makes it clear enough that it is systemic); gender identity becomes identity (well, yeah, amorphous, pick-your-victim identity goes beyond gender. We must allow for white Wokies to identify as black, right?); and, other term changes that make the indoctrination less blatant, but no less comprehensive.

Parents of public school kids who dont wish to see their children brainwashed with such Woke drivel will have to actively combat it with actual education at home. Even if theyre not back in the classrooms on account of Pandemic Panic, these America is Racist themes will be pushed out in virtual form, to complement the near constant onslaught of such themes from popular culture and corporate America.

Notably, the two pressures together  insufferable school closures and insufferable Woke indoctrination standards  maybe the biggest things going for school choice in North Carolina. If this doesnt convince people that we need more choice in education, what will?

Original source: Woke Studies: State Board of Education Votes 7-5 to Approve New 'America is Racist' Social Studies Curriculum | First In Freedom Daily
A second New Jersey Republican congressman has deleted his Twitter account.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd Dist., left the social media platform this week, following Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., who did it last month. They are the only two Republicans in the New Jersey delegation.

Both lawmakers acted after they voted against impeaching President Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

All 10 House Democrats and both U.S. senators from New Jersey are still on Twitter.

Van Drew did not respond to several requests for comment from NJ Advance Media, but told the Press of Atlantic City that nothing good can come from Twitter. Twitter seems particularly bad among social media sites, he said. He also said it was a coincidence that he and Smith both left Twitter.

Sample HTML block

Smith explained his decision to delete his account as a reaction to security concerns and to help the district and nation move toward unity during this difficult time.

Unlike other New Jersey lawmakers such as Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, neither Van Drew nor Smith were prolific tweeters nor engaged with their followers. Both still have Facebook pages.

Twitter banned Trump permanently due to the risk of further incitement of violence, after the Capitol riot.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Coup is not our business, says army chief

THAILAND: Army chief Gen Narongphan Jitkaewtae yesterday (Feb 4) insisted on maintaining Aseans principle of non-interference in Myanmars military coup, while declaring that another coup in Thailand was something that had never crossed his mind.

militaryMyanmar

By Bangkok Post

Friday 5 February 2021, 07:47AM

The army and the government would adhere to Aseans principle of non-interference in the matter, Army chief Gen Narongphan Jitkaewtae said yesterday. Photo: Bangkok Post.

Asked if he had discussed the coup with his Myanmar counterpart, he said he hadnt because it was a political issue and all his previous talks with the Myanmar army chief had dealt solely with military affairs, not political ones.

Pressed further for his opinion of what happened this week, Gen Narongphan said he didnt have one and the army would adhere to Aseans principle of non-interference in the matter, as would the government.

The military relationship between Thailand and Myanmar remained as good as ever, he said.

Asked a second time to voice his opinion, the army chief said: I have no feelings about that. And like I said this word [coup] has not crossed my mind for a long time.

Reporters then switched their questions to the suggestion that certain political groups in Thailand were using Myanmars coup as a reason to justify new political attacks on the Thai military.

Gen Narongphan replied bluntly: Military journalists should ask about military affairs only. When they ask about political affairs that is the end of the story.

He said no signs of unusual movements had been detected along the Thai-Myanmar border since the coup but high-security measures were being maintained there as part of the governments ongoing containment of the pandemic.

There are 356 Thais currently in Myanmar, 137 of whom had expressed their intention to return to Thailand since the coup, said Tanee Sangrat, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The rest, he said, intended to stay there.
According to a latest report published by Persistence Market Research, the global 3D cell culture market was valued at US$ 982 Mn in 2020, and is expected to witness an impressive CAGR of close to 10% during the forecast period (2021  2031).

Key Takeaways from 3D Cell Culture Market Study

Scaffold-based 3D cell culture is expected to contribute more than 80% of revenue share to the market.

By application, cancer research held the highest market share in 2019.

North America holds a significant share of over 42% in the global 3D cell culture market.

holds a significant share of over 42% in the global 3D cell culture market. Leading players are focused on improving their product portfolios and focusing on regional expansion through collaborations.

Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industries are expected to hold close to half of the market share, due to 3D cell culture playing a vital role in drug development.

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a positive impact on the global 3D cell culture market, as 3D cell culture models are one of the vital methods during drug development against COVID-19.

The market in Germany is projected to expand at a CAGR of close to 12% through 2031.

is projected to expand at a CAGR of close to 12% through 2031. The U.S. market has a share of more than 90% in North America , and is expected to progress at a CAGR of 10% over the next ten years.

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"Increased adaption and demand for 3D cell culture for drug discovery and cancer research will boost the global market," says an analyst of Persistence Market Research.

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Collaborations & Acquisitions Key Strategies amongst Market Players

Leading players in the 3D cell culture market are strengthening their product portfolios through acquisitions and expanding their regional presence.

For instance, in October 25, 2018 , Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. completed its previously announced acquisition of the advanced bioprocessing business of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company.

, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. completed its previously announced acquisition of the advanced bioprocessing business of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company. In March 2018 , Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc announced the acquisition of IntegenX Inc.

, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc announced the acquisition of IntegenX Inc. In December 2017 , Becton Dickinson and Company acquired C.R. Bard, Inc. to create a highly differentiated medical technology company, with approximately US$ 16 billion in annual revenue.

Various players in the 3D cell culture market are focusing on growth strategies such as collaborations and agreement licences.

In August, 2020, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc signed a Companion Diagnostic Agreement with Hengrui Therapeutics, Inc.

In March 2020 , Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc signed an agreement with Janssen to co-develop companion diagnostics for cancer.

, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc signed an agreement with Janssen to co-develop companion diagnostics for cancer. In December, 2017, Nanofiber Solutions, Inc collaborated with Hilliard for tissue engineering.

What Does the Report Cover?

Persistence Market Research offers a unique perspective and actionable insights on the 3D cell culture in its latest study, presenting historical demand assessment of 2016  2020 and projections for 2021  2031, on the basis of product (scaffold-free 3d cell culture and scaffold-based 3d cell culture), application (drug discovery, tissue regeneration & regenerative medicines, cancer research, stem cell technology, and others), and end user (biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, academic research institutes, hospital laboratories, and contract research organizations), across seven key regions of the world.

Browse Research Release at: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/3d-cell-cultures-market.asp

Browse End-to-end Market: Healthcare

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Bipolar Coagulator Market: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/bipolar-coagulator-market.asp

Distention Systems Market: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/distention-systems-market.asp

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To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At Persistence Market Research, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.

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A Dominos Pizza deliveryman from North Adams has been arrested and charged in connection with the violent uprising Jan. 6 at the Capitol in Washington.

Brian McCreary, 33, was charged with three counts of Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds and two counts of Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority, according to a statement released by the Boston FBI office.

McCreary and a Maine resident, 37-year-old Kyle Fitzsimons, were arrested earlier Thursday, a spokeswoman for the agency said.

Court records say McCreary returned to work after traveling to Washington, telling his co-workers he raided the Capitol.

Photos show McCreary leaning against a wall in the Capitol taking video footage with his phone near one of the most emblematic characters of the insurgency, Jacob Anthony Chansley, who was shown in images wearing an animal pelt helmet and face paint.

McCreary is not accused of violence, but said he was present when one of the rioters was fatally shot by Capitol police, and re-entered the building after he was told to leave by security.

During an interview with the FBI, McCreary painted himself a peacekeeper.

McCreary stated he directed people inside the building not to harm police officers or commit any acts of violence. McCreary further stated that he understood going into the building might not have been legal but he made a personal choice at that point, a narrative provided by the FBI said.

Two other Massachusetts residents  Suzanne Ianni, a Natick Town Meeting member, and Mark Sahady, of Malden  were charged in January in connection with the insurrection.

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ADDIS ABABA - The Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) yesterday signed a contract to build eight road projects covering 738.19 Kms in various parts of the country for the coming one up to four years with an outlay of over 18.2 Billion Birr.

Briefing Journalists, Eng. Habtamu Tegegne, Authority General Director said that the country has been challenged by lack of road infrastructure for a century and the community in some parts of the nation is still heard of complaining about it.

Inversely, the allocated budget for road projects has not been properly utilized for successfully hitting the set target over the past many years.

Of the eight road projects, the FDRE government will cover the cost of seven projects, while that of the remaining one will be covered by JICA, AfDB, and WB in addition to the budget from the government.

It was learnt that the Jimma -Chida road project is the only project whose expense will be fully covered by the budget secured from others, not by the federal government.

Representing Jima zone of Dido district in Oromia state MPs Shebrie Sherif told The Ethiopian Herald that the place is one of the coffee producing areas, but the community is still seriously challenged by lack of road access.

Due to this reason, farmers do not adequately benefit out of coffee products due to lack of market access following the absence of road infrastructure. However, the new road project will play an indispensable role in alleviating communities' road problem.

Particularly, the road has enabled to join two regions: Oromia and South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples state and used for fostering market access and strengthening social interaction.

The Authority signed 21 road projects in aggregate including eight projects which are signed yesterday and has allocated a total of spend over 43.3 billion Birr within the fiscal year, and the whole project has covered more than 1774 kilometers.

On the other hand, out of the 21 road projects which signed by the Authority, 14 projects are shared by local contractors and 20 projects expense of construction is covered by FDRE government.

Denton, TX (76205)

Today

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 63F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 63F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
GMT - Greenwich Mean Time - is soon to be history as a reference for time of day.

Like most other countries in the world, Luxembourg will stop using GMT and refer to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) instead. This changes nothing in practice: the local time in Luxembourg is referred to as UTC+1 in winter, UTC+2 in summer.

Even though there is no impact on how time is measured, the change of reference requires a change in law, and a bill must be voted.

The exact time in Luxembourg is determined by the atomic clock of the Ilnas metrology office in Esch-Belval. This atomic clock is part of a network of 50 such clocks worldwide, with UTC being calculated as their average.

During the discussions of the Economy Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, MPs pointed out that work is still ongoing at EU level to scrap the change between summer and winter time. Talks about this in the European Parliament are said to be in deadlock, however. Either way, Luxembourg can hardly have a different opinion on the matter than its neighbours.
Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
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KELOWNA, BC, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - The Valens Company Inc. (TSX: VLNS) (OTCQX: VLNCF) (the "Company" or "The Valens Company"), a leading manufacturer of cannabis derivative products, is pleased to provide an operational and corporate update regarding the progress of its second white label and custom manufacturing facility in Kelowna and its facility in the Greater Toronto Area (the "GTA Facility"), in addition to an update on the LYF Food Technologies Inc. acquisition (the "LYF Acquisition").

K2 and GTA Facility Progress Update

The Valens Company has commenced its first shipments of cannabis derivative products from its newly-operational K2 Facility, including a wide range of products such as crumble, beverages, THC drops, vapes, and tinctures. Currently, the Company has commissioned the manufacturing of vapes, tinctures, beverages, and bath bombs in the K2 Facility. Valens intends to further operationalize the facility over the next few quarters to increase the production, packaging, and shipping of its existing portfolio, as well as a number of soon-to-be launched product formats such as hash and pre-rolls.

With the K2 Facility in operation, Valens now has the ability to fully leverage its low-cost cannabis platform to drive product sales, accelerate entry into new innovative product verticals and increase output volumes. The 42,000 square foot K2 Facility is built to EU GMP standards and designed to efficiently execute on each step of the cannabis consumer packaged goods supply chain, positioning the Company as a leader in Cannabis 2.0 and 3.0 product manufacturing.

"The K2 facility significantly bolsters our market position by giving us the operational footprint and expertise to fulfill the Valens vision and make us the go-to name in cannabis consumer packaged goods manufacturing in Canada and beyond," said Tyler Robson, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder and Chair of The Valens Company. "We are in the process of ramping up our K2 Facility in order to accommodate the growth we expect to see in our product volumes, launches and provincial demand  especially as we begin to introduce product formats that are new to the Canadian market."

Additionally, construction is nearing completion at the Company's GTA Facility which will focus on manufacturing products with SoRSE by Valens technology, including the production and co-packing of cannabis-infused beverages. Valens is in the process of finalizing its Health Canada cannabis micro-processing licence application and site evidence package for expected submission in February.

LYF Acquisition Update

The Company is preparing for the integration of LYF's platform and workforce as the LYF Acquisition closing process continues.

Last week, LYF received an amendment to its existing standard cannabis processing licence, authorizing the sale of cannabis derivative products. Under the amended Health Canada standard processing licence, LYF is now permitted to sell cannabis products, including topicals, extracts and edibles, directly to provincially and territorially authorized retailers from its 10,500 square foot edibles manufacturing facility in Kelowna, British Columbia. With this licence amendment, LYF is able to further leverage and provide additional sales capabilities to its partner network, including licensed producers, third-party operators, and brand houses, which were previously only obtainable through B2B sales channels.

Jeff Fallows, President of The Valens Company, said, "The Valens team congratulates LYF on this milestone achievement which is the culmination of years of dedication and hard work. Not only will this amended licence work to widen LYF's domestic reach, but it will also benefit consumers nationwide who have been awaiting increased access to more advanced and innovative edible products at affordable prices. Following the closing of the LYF Acquisition, we look forward to bringing LYF's next generation product capabilities to our existing customer base, and further increasing our position as a leading third-party manufacturer."

Pending closure of the LYF Acquisition, the LYF facility, in addition to Valens' K1 and K2 Facilities, will serve as 2.0 and 3.0 manufacturing and sales hubs for LYF and Valens' combined roster of new and joint customers, including consumer packaged goods companies who have demonstrated interest in the cannabis space. LYF's edible products are expected to be ready for shipment from its facility directly to provinces and territories in the second quarter of 2021.

The closing of the LYF Acquisition remains subject to approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange and customary conditions, and approvals from senior lenders. The LYF Acquisition is on track to close on or around February 18, 2021.

About The Valens Company

The Valens Company is a leading manufacturer of cannabis derivative products with a mission to bring the benefits of cannabis to the world. The Company provides proprietary cannabis processing services across five core technologies, in addition to best-in-class product development, formulation and manufacturing of cannabis consumer packaged goods. The Valens Company's high-quality products are exclusively formulated for the medical, therapeutic, health and wellness, and recreational consumer segments, and are offered across numerous product formats, including oils, vapes, concentrates, edibles and topicals, as well as pre-rolls, with a focus on next-generation product development and innovation. Its breakthrough patented emulsification technology, SoRSE by Valens, converts cannabis oil into water-soluble emulsions for seamless integration into a variety of product formats, allowing for near-perfect dosing, stability, and taste. In partnership with brand houses, consumer packaged goods companies and licensed cannabis producers around the globe, the Company continues to grow its diverse product portfolio in alignment with evolving cannabis consumer preferences in key markets. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Valens Labs Ltd., the Company is setting the standard in cannabis testing and research and development with Canada's only ISO17025 accredited analytical services lab, named The Centre of Excellence in Plant-Based Science by partner and scientific world leader Thermo Fisher Scientific. Discover more on The Valens Company and its subsidiaries at http://www.thevalenscompany.com .

Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements

All information included in this press release, including any information as to the future financial or operating performance and other statements of The Valens Company that express management's expectations or estimates of future performance, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are included for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Wherever possible, words such as "plans", "expects", "scheduled", "trends", "forecasts", "future", "indications", "potential", "estimates", "predicts", "anticipate", "to establish", "believe", "intend", "ability to", or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might", "will", or are "likely" to be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of these words or other variations thereof, have been used to identify such forward-looking information. Specific forward-looking statements include, without limitation, all disclosure regarding future results of operations, future outcomes of transactions (including the LYF Acquisition), economic conditions, and anticipated courses of action. Investors and other parties are advised that there is not necessarily any correlation between the number of SKUs manufactured and shipped and revenue and profit, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information.

The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others, Canadian regulatory risk, Australian regulatory risk, U.S. regulatory risk, U.S. border crossing and travel bans, the uncertainties, effects of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, reliance on licenses, expansion of facilities, competition, dependence on supply of cannabis and reliance on other key inputs, dependence on senior management and key personnel, general business risk and liability, regulation of the cannabis industry, change in laws, regulations and guidelines, compliance with laws, limited operating history, vulnerability to rising energy costs, unfavourable publicity or consumer perception, product liability, risks related to intellectual property, product recalls, difficulties with forecasts, management of growth and litigation, many of which are beyond the control of The Valens Company. For a more comprehensive discussion of the risks faced by The Valens Company, and which may cause the actual financial results, performance or achievements of The Valens Company to be materially different from estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, please refer to The Valens Company's latest Annual Information Form filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com or on The Valens Company's website at www.thevalenscompany.com. The risks described in such Annual Information Form are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Although the forward-looking statements contained herein reflect management's current beliefs and reasonable assumptions based upon information available to management as of the date hereof, The Valens Company cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. The Valens Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The Valens Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Nothing herein should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell securities of The Valens Company.

SOURCE The Valens Company Inc.

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The Education Ministry has decided to name the residential schools and hostels funded under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme as "Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose residential schools", sources told news agency PTI on Friday.

"A total of 1,063 residential facilities (383 residential schools and 680 hostels) have been sanctioned to States and UTs so far. It has been decided to rename the residential schools and hostels funded under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme as "Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose residential schools," the report added.

"In addition to the regular school curriculum, interventions for all-round development of children such as the provision of Specific Skill Training, physical self-defense, medical care, community participation, monthly stipend are also made available to children. These residential schools and hostels follow the same norms as followed by Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) and aspire to achieve the standards set by the KGBVs," they said.

The association of these schools with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will act as an inspiration to the children and will also motivate the teachers, staff, and administration to enable them to achieve high standards of excellence.

In order to ensure universal enrolment and schooling facilities in areas that are sparsely populated with a low density of population (mostly tribal areas) where the opening of schools may not be viable and for children in urban areas who are in need of care and protection, the Ministry of Education under Samagra Shiksha provides financial assistance to States and UTs for opening and running of residential schools and hostels in hilly terrain, small and sparsely populated areas for children without adult protection who are in need of shelter and care, in addition to the provision of regular schools.

The residential facilities are also provided to child labour rescued, migrant children who belong to poor landless families, children without adult protection, separated from their families, internally displaced persons, and children from the areas of social and armed conflict and natural calamities.

In this regard, preference is given to Educationally Backward Blocks (EBB), Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts, Special Focus Districts (SFD), and the Aspirational districts identified by NITI Ayog.

Earlier, the Central government had decided to celebrate January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, as 'Parakram Diwas'.

Modi visited 'Netaji Bhavan', the iconic leader's ancestral home, and was shown the 'Wanderer' car he had used in 1941 for his great escape from British surveillance on way to Japan and Germany through Afghanistan to mobilise diplomatic and military support for India's freedom from colonial yoke.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged the Centre to declare January 23 as a national holiday.

She also said a monument, named after Azad Hind Fauj, will be built in Rajarhat area and a state-funded university, which is also being set up, will be dedicated to Netaji.

"....This year's Republic Day parade in Kolkata will be dedicated to Netaji. A siren will be sounded today at 12.15 PM. We urge everyone to blow shankh (conch) at home. Centre must also declare January 23 as a National Holiday.

With agency inputs

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A highly contagious strain of coronavirus is circulating in the corridors of Australias quarantine hotels, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said.

Queenslands existing hotel quarantine systems are set to be overhauled when the report into the Grand Chancellor Hotel outbreak is made public on Friday.

A report into the Grand Chancellor outbreak will be made public on Friday. Credit:Matt Dennien

The UK strain of the virus spread between families on the seventh floor of the hotel, a cleaner and her partner, sparking Ms Palaszczuks calls to shift quarantine facilities away from major population centres.

The state government confirmed the report would rule out airconditioning and deliberate quarantine breaches as sources of the outbreak.
The House  i.e., House Democrats joined by 11 Republicans, on a near party-line vote  removed Republican outlier Marjorie Taylor Greene from the committees to which she had been assigned. The AP story on the vote is here. Condemning the remarks that have brought Greene into disrepute, Senator Tom Cotton commented further on yesterdays edition of SiriusXMs Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow:

Make no mistake, plenty of Democrats do and say outlandish things, too. Ilhan Omar has made multiple anti-Semitic statements. Maxine Waters urged mobs to attack Trump administration officials. Eric Swalwell cavorted with a Chinese spy. Chuck Schumer threatened two Supreme Court justices [if] they didnt rule the way he wanted. I dont see MSNBC and CNN and the liberal media calling them out for it.

But just because Democrats and the media accept that doesnt mean we should, Cotton added. We want to win elections. We see the consequences, right now, of losing elections in the Senate when Chuck Schumer is jamming through a two-trillion-dollar giveaway to liberal special interests, and the next up is amnesty. The DREAM Act is coming down the pipe.

Cotton went on, The way to stop this woke Democratic agenda is to win elections, and we will win elections with strong credible conservatives who stand up for America. If our party tolerates conspiracy theories, then were only going to lose elections and America is going to be much worse for it.

Cotton stated, What the Democrats proposed to do, to reach into the minority and decide who the minority party is going to put on committees is unprecedented, and if they go down that path, then mark my words, Republicans in two years, well go down the same path. Should Ilhan Omar, whos made multiple anti-Semitic statements, be sitting on the Foreign Relations Committee? Should Eric Swalwell, cavorting with a Chinese spy be sitting on the Intelligence Committee?

Cotton added, This is a very dangerous precedent that the Democratic majority in the House wants to set when theyre on the precipice of losing that majority next year. What Democrats and the liberal media want to do is to leverage a fringe of extremist statements and violence from the right against mainstream conservatives in a way that they would never do on the left.

Cotton recalled, Remember, it was a Bernie Sanders supporter who showed up in Alexandria, Virginia, and shot Steve Scalise, almost killed him, and tried to commit mass murder against congressional Republicans, and would have done so if it hadnt been for the bravery and quick action of Capitol police officers who were there at that ballpark.

When it was discovered that that was a Bernie Sanders supporter, it was out of the news within 24 hours, not something that could be discussed, and frankly a lot of Republicans didnt discuss it either because he was plainly a crazy person, and there was not an effort by Republicans writ large to leverage that kind of extremist violence or extremist rhetoric  against mainstream Democratic liberals, concluded Cotton.
A small-town New Jersey police chief could not imagine going into the office on Thursday that just hours later, he would end up laying atop a borrowed plastic kayak on the frozen Passaic River, clawing his way to a mother and toddler who had fallen through the ice.

The dramatic rescue took place in Elmwood Park, where a 911 caller reported at around 1.30pm seeing a woman and child in the water about 50 to 75 yards from shore.

Police Chief Mike Foligno was doing paperwork in his office when he heard the report and rushed to the scene on River Drive.

A screenshot from a video shows a mother and child being rescued on the Passaic River in New Jersey after falling through the ice on Thursday

Elmwood Police Chief Michael Foligno is seen in a red kayak in the middle of the frozen river, with a firefighter in a wetsuit (right) wading toward them

The woman, seen sitting in the kayak with her back to the camera, had fallen through the ice while walking across the river with her daughter on Thursday

Rescuers in cold-weather gear arrived on the scene in Elmwood Park 25 minutes after the initial 911 call

Foligno, seen sitting up in the kayak, at one point laid atop the woman and child to keep them warm

Foligno arrived on the scene first and borrowed the kayak from a gas station to reach the mother and her two-year-old daughter, who were floundering in the icy water

Upon arrival, he saw the 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter floundering about in the middle of the river between Elmwood Park and neighboring Paterson, with the mother screaming in terror.

'Thirty seconds felt like 10 minutes. The mother was screaming. She said she couldn't hold the child anymore. I couldn't sit still and do nothing,' Foligno told CBS New York.

With no time to waste, the chief, wearing his standard uniform without any specialized cold-weather gear, borrowed a plastic kayak from a nearby gas station attendant and tried to use a shovel to propel himself toward the victims, but it failed to work.

'So I lay down on my stomach and just started digging into the ice with my fingers to claw my way out. It felt like eternity with her screaming,' Foligno told NorthJersey.com.

Firefighters are seen standing on the shore and pulling in the kayak

Foligno, pictured sitting on the kayak, said the mother was screaming, 'We're going to die!'

A firefighter is a wetsuit is pictured being helped out of the river by a colleague

Foligno, seen in the boat, had only his standard uniform on when he rushed into the river

Paramedics said the two-year-old girl's core body temperature had plummeted down to 80 degrees after the ordeal

The victims are being loaded into an ambulance to be taken to the hospital

When the chief reached the victims and tried to place the child into the kayak, she would not let go of her mother. Foligno said he was worried in those moments that his flimsy vessel would tip over and send him to the bottom of the frigid river.

Foligno eventually was able to get the toddler into the boat and wrapped her in his jacket for warmth, and had the mother lie down flat in the kayak to maintain balance.

'We're going to die!' the panic-stricken woman was heard screaming in the kayak.

About 25 minutes into the emergency, firefighters arrived, and one of them donned a wetsuit and waded into the river to pull the mother, child and Foligno to shore.

The police chief noted that their rescuer was about 6-foot-5 and the icy water was up to his neck.

A crack is seen leading from the shore to the middle of the river, where the mother had fallen through the ice while trying to walk across

Foligno said he lay on top of the woman and toddler to keep them warm during the rescue. He marveled that the mother and child lasted as long as they did in the river.

When they finally reached dry land and paramedics examined the two-year-old, they found that her temperature had plummeted down to 80 degrees.

Both the woman and child were taken by ambulance to St Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson. Their conditions were unknown on Friday.

Foligno said he emerged from the ordeal feeling cold and physically and emotionally drained, but was otherwise unharmed.

Police are now looking into what the mother was doing with her young child in the middle of the frozen river. The woman was said to have told Foligno that she was just trying to walk across the ice, likely thinking it was thick enough to sustain her weight, when it cracked underneath her.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed critics who accuse her of exaggerating her experiences in the riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying they are 'minimizing the experiences of survivors.'

Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, appeared on CBS This Morning on Friday to defend her account of the January 6 riot and slam those who suggested she's making a 'mountain out of a molehill'.

The controversy has spanned the week, after Ocasio-Cortez described her stark terror and fear of death in an Instagram Live video on Monday, while critics, including Republicans in the House, pointed out that she was in the Capitol's office complex during the attack, not in the domed Capitol Building building itself.

'You know, so many survivors fear being publicly doubted. But the fact of the matter is, is that the account is accurate,' she said in the interview.

'And you know, when it comes to minimizing the experiences of survivors, that is extremely damaging as well,' Ocasio-Cortez added.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared with Rep. Jason Crow in an interview on Friday, accusing skeptics of their fear of rioters of 'minimizing the experiences of survivors'

Ocasio-Cortez described her stark terror and fear of death in an Instagram Live video on Monday, but faced skepticism from Republican critics

AOC's office is in the Cannon House building which is 0.3 miles from the Capitol Building itself. All of the buildings in the Capitol office complex were placed on lockdown, but the mob only ever breached the domed Capitol Building

'I think it's unfortunately kind of the spring to deny and to politicize our accounts with something that I sat with,' she said.

'And it was a big reason why, you know, on top of making sure that we could clear our story due to security concerns, there's also a reason why I sat on my story, as well,' the congresswoman continued.

Democrat Rep. Jason Crow appeared along side of her in support, calling attempts to cast doubt on their account of the assault 'horrific.'

'There's no other way to describe it. This re-victimization, this minimization of survivors. This is a big part of the problem, and it has to stop,' he said.

It comes after Ocasio-Cortez spoke on the House floor Thursday night in a speech dedicated to her 'lived experience' of the riot.

'Sadly, less than 29 days later, with little to no accountability for the bloodshed and trauma of the 6th, some are already demanding that we move on,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'Or worse, attempting to minimize, discredit or belittle the accounts of survivors.'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke on the House floor Thursday night and pushed back at critics who tried to say she was making a 'mountain out of a molehill' when recounting her experience during the January 6 insurrection

Ocasio-Cortez planned a special hour of speeches on the House floor so members could share what happened to them that day

AOC has been in an argument this week with South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace after the New York Democrat went on Instagram Live on Monday night, to go on to say how terrified she was during the riot, believing, she said, that she might die.

Ocasio-Cortez recalled hiding in her office's bathroom and hearing that someone was after her.

'I just hear these yells of 'Where is she? Where is she?' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'This was the moment where I thought everything was over. I thought I was going to die.'

The congresswoman than revealed it was a Capitol Police officer who was there to secure her office -- but claimed that the cop 'was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility.'

'I didn't know if he was there to help us or hurt us,' she said.

She ended up sheltering in place in her colleague Rep. Katie Porter's office.

During the Instagram Live, Ocasio-Cortez also revealed she was a sexual assault survivor.

Mace slammed AOC saying that 'insurrectionists were never in our hallway.'

Ocasio-Cortez hadn't said that they were, only she had been frightened that they might be.

In a tweet Wednesday, AOC called out conservative critics who diminished her experience during the January 6 insurrection by pointing out she was in a Capitol office building

In a Monday night Instagram Live, AOC recounted her experience hiding in her office bathroom and fearing for her life during the January 6 insurrection

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walks through Statuary Hall on Thursday. She led a special hour allowing her colleagues to speak on the floor about what they observed during the insurrection

Among the conservatives attacking her this week was Rep. Nancy Mace, who said there were no insurrectionists in their hallway. AOC shot back that 'none of us knew in the moment what areas were compromised'

'This is a deeply cynical & disgusting attack,' Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. 'As the Capitol complex was stormed and people were being killed, none of us knew in the moment what areas were compromised. You previously told reporters yourself that you barricaded in your office, afraid you'd be hurt.'

Ocasio-Cortez pointed to a news story where Mace had told journalists she was hiding in her Congressional office during the insurrection 'after she voted to certify the electoral votes.'

Mace also tweeted on January 6 that she had been evacuated due to the threat.

Responding to the criticism from the right, AOC organized a special order hour where lawmakers could come to the Hosue floor Thursday night and share their experiences about January 6.

'Tonight for this special order we will begin to hear and commit to the Congressional record just some of those many stories,' Ocasio-Cortez said, kicking it off.

During her own turn she talked about the danger in minimizing survivors' trauma.

'In doing so, they not only further harm those that were there that day and provide cover for those responsible, but they also send a tremendously damaging message to survivors of trauma all across this country,' she said. 'As the way to deal with trauma, violence and targeting is to paper it over, minimize it and move on.'

She said this is the reason trauma victims 'don't get care.'

A number of AOC's top allies chose to speak including Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Cori Bush of Missouri.

AOC ended the hour by thanking Capitol Police, food service workers and calling one of her staffers, who stayed by her side that day, a 'hero.'

Former President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial begins next week.

He was impeached by the House just days before he left office for his role in inciting the insurrection.

Only 10 House Republicans voted with Democrats to impeach Trump.

Trump pushed the lie for months that widespread voter fraud was the reason he wasn't getting a second term.

At a rally at the ellipse on January 6 he encouraged supporters to march on the Capitol, where Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress were gathered to certify the election results.

A MAGA mob ambushed the Capitol and five were killed, including a Capitol Police officer, in the immediate aftermath.

India is restoring 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior government official said Friday evening, 18 months after imposing a sweeping communications blackout in the Muslim-majority region in an attempt to curb the spread of potential backlash over New Delhi's decision to revoke Kashmir's semiautonomous status in August of 2019.

Rohit Kansal, principal secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir government, said 4G internet services were being restored in the entire region.

India partially lifted the ban on internet in two districts -- out of 20 -- of the state last year but maintained speed restrictions (2G internet), after a ruling from the Supreme Court that found an indefinite shutdown of the internet in the state unwarranted, and demonstrated abuse of power by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

The lifting of restrictions at the time had applied to 301 "whitelisted" services that included entertainment platforms such as Netflix and Amazon and some news outlets including The New York Times. Many Indian news outlets remained blocked, along with all social media. Many residents complained that the slow 2G speeds barely allowed them to check their emails and WhatsApp messages.

The internet ban in Jammu and Kashmir, home to more than 13 million people, has been by far the longest by any democracy.

In August, New Delhi told Supreme Court that it will start offering high-speed internet in one district of Jammu and one of Kashmir Valley on a "trial basis." Late last year, the government resumed broadband service in the region. Critics have said that ban on internet has cost citizens of Jammu and Kashmir hundreds of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars.

Raman Jit Singh Chima, a senior international counsel and Asia Pacific Policy director at Access Now, a nonprofit internet advocacy organization, said today's move was welcoming, but "let's be clear -- the previous shutdown was excessive, mindlessly repeated. Glad that all Jammu and Kashmir residents will soon have internet restored, denied to them in violation of their rights under the Indian Constitution."

Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, celebrated the news, adding "For the first time since Aug 2019 all of J&K will have 4G mobile data. Better late than never."
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President announced on Thursday the United States was ending support for a grinding five-year Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen that has deepened suffering in the Arabian peninsula's poorest country, calling the move part of restoring a US emphasis on diplomacy, democracy and human rights.

"The war has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe," Biden told diplomats in his first visit to the State Department as president. "This war has to end."



The Yemen reversal is one of a series of changes Biden laid out on Thursday that he said would mark a course correction for US foreign policy. That is after President Donald Trump -- and some Republican and Democratic administrations before his -- often aided authoritarian leaders abroad in the name of stability.

The announcement on Yemen fulfils a campaign pledge. But it also shows Biden putting the spotlight on a major humanitarian crisis that the US has helped aggravate. The reversing of policy also comes as a rebuke to Saudi Arabia, a global oil giant and US strategic partner.

Saudi Arabia responded on Thursday, welcoming an assurance by Biden that the US would continue cooperation on the kingdom's defence. In a statement on the official Saudi press agency, the kingdom said it appreciated diplomatic efforts, affirming "its firm position in support of a comprehensive political solution to the crisis". The kingdom also stressed its humanitarian aid to Yemenis.

The ending of US support for the offensive will not affect any US operations against the Yemen-based al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, group, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

Biden also announced an end to "relevant" US arms sales but gave no immediate details on what that would mean. The administration already has said it was pausing some of the billions of dollars in arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia's main partner in its offensive.

While withdrawing support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen, the Biden administration said it intends to help the kingdom boost its defences against any further attacks from Yemen's Houthis or outside adversaries. The assurance is seen as part of an effort to persuade Saudi Arabia and other combatants to end the conflict overall.

Saudi officials have offered a series of conciliatory gestures and remarks since Biden's election, seeking to soothe the 75-year-old relationship with the US. On Thursday, the State Department said the kingdom had conditionally released two dual Saudi-US citizens detained in a crackdown on civil society there, and reduced a sentence for a third, Dr Walid Fitaihi, convicted of "disobedience" to the government.

Yemen, the biblical kingdom of Sheba, has one of the world's oldest constantly occupied cities -- the more than 2,000-year-old Sanaa -- along with mud brick skyscrapers and hauntingly beautiful landscapes of steep, arid mountains. But decades of misgovernment have worsened factional divisions and halted development, and years of conflict have now drawn in intervention by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, which officials say has lent increasing support to the Houthis.

The Obama administration in 2015 gave its approval to Saudi Arabia leading a cross-border air campaign targeting the Houthi rebels, who had seized Sanaa and other territory and were sporadically launching missiles into Saudi Arabia.

US targeting assistance to Saudi Arabia's command-and-control was supposed to minimise civilian casualties in airstrikes. But Saudi-led strikes since then have killed numerous Yemeni civilians, including schoolboys on a bus and fishermen in their boats. Survivors display fragments showing the bombs to be American-made.

The stalled war has failed to dislodge the Houthis and is helping deepen hunger and poverty. rights experts say both the Gulf countries and Houthis have committed severe rights abuses.

Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman, a co-winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her role in Yemen's unsuccessful Arab Spring popular uprising, urged Biden to stay involved in Yemen peace efforts.

"Deeper US engagement -- and a refusal to side with dictators who have chosen bloodshed over democratic change -- is vital so that the Yemeni people can return to the project of democracy" that warring parties inside and outside of Yemen interrupted, Karman said in a statement.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the US action will give more space and more hope "not only to the talks but, more importantly, more hope to the people of Yemen".

Biden called on Thursday for a ceasefire, an opening of humanitarian channels to allow more delivery of aid and a return to long-stalled peace talks.

The weeks-old Biden administration has made clear that shifting its stance toward the Yemen war, and toward Saudi Arabia over the Yemen offensive and other rights abuses, was a priority. Other measures have included a review of the Trump administration's categorisation of the Houthis as a terror group. Critics say the designation hinders delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemenis.

Biden also announced the choice of Timothy Lenderking as special envoy to Yemen.

Lenderking has been a deputy assistant secretary of state in the department's Middle East section. A career foreign service member, he has served in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A delivery cyclist accused of murdering a schoolboy in Dublin last week can be named by the media, a judge has ruled.

Judge Victor Blake noted yesterday that the accused, George Gonzaga Bento, and the 16-year-old boy were not known to each other, and there was no risk that naming him would identify the victim.

The teen suffered fatal injuries last week and was rushed to the Mater Hospital but was later pronounced dead. The secondary schoolboy cannot be identified due to a recent judgment preventing the news media from identifying any deceased child victim. Mr Bento, who is from Brazil but has lived and worked in Dublin for several years, was charged on Saturday.

He appeared at Dublin District Court later that day when Judge John Campbell made an order that his name could not be published either, to protect the identity of the victim.

He later told a solicitor for Independent News & Media, the publishers of Independent.ie and the Irish Independent, that it was an interim order until the defendants next appearance, and the matter could be taken up then.

Mr Bento, a food delivery cyclist living in Dublin, appeared before Judge Victor Blake at Cloverhill District Court yesterday. He was remanded in continuing custody to appear again on March 4 for formal directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions to be obtained.

Dressed in a light brown tracksuit, Mr Bento listened to the proceedings with the assistance of an interpreter. He did not address the court.

Tom Murphy BL, for the national newspapers and RTE, asked the judge not to prevent the naming of the accused.

The original order had been made in error and publishing his name would not prejudice his right to a fair trial, the barrister argued. It was accepted the child could not be identified due to reporting restrictions under Section 252 of the Children Act. State solicitor Mairead White said the medias application was not opposed, and she asked Detective Sergeant Shane Noone to give the court some factual background. In evidence, he told the court that three parties were at the incident, and none of the three were known to each other.

It is the investigation teams belief, and my belief, that they were not known to each other, that they were strangers, he said. There were two in one group, eight to 10 in another, and one other person was the third party, he told the court. The State solicitor said on that basis the application would not be opposed. The medias barrister argued that this case differed to another recently, where an adult could not be named to prevent identification of a deceased child.

There is no link whatsoever between the accused and the deceased in this case, Mr Murphy said, adding that, there is no risk to the identity of the child, which I acknowledge is prohibited, there is no risk of that happening by identifying the accused.

Barry Ward BL, for the defence, did not object. Following a request by the defence, Judge Blake ordered that Mr Bentos specific address could not be reported.




She was hearing negative things about it, Harden said. She said, Ill have to pray on it. When I got an email saying she could have an appointment, I asked her if she wanted the shot. She said, Yes, I feel at peace about it. God will watch over me.
Review at a glance









A gruelling true-life story of incarceration and torture is made eminently watchable by a central performance from Tahar Rahim that ranks among his best. As the titular Mauritanian  Mohamedou Ould Slahi, an engineer detained without charge in Guantanamo Bay for 14 years, whose account of his time there became a bestselling book  the star of A Prophet and The Serpent is his usual ferociously subtle self and deserves any awards (hes in the running for a Bafta) that come his way.

The focus on Slahi is what makes Kevin Macdonalds project stand out from other liberal post 9/11 legal dramas. In Rendition, say, or The Report, Americas War on Terror allows horrible things happen to innocent men of colour, but the pain the victims endure somehow eclipses their personalities. Not here. Slahi is terrified, canny and playful (during a conversation with an articulate and unseen inmate from Marseille, Slahi dangles from the bars of his outdoor cage, seemingly drunk on delight).

When clenched defence attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) takes up his case, she doesnt feel like a white saviour. Slahi is our centre of gravity and the mystery of what makes him tick  how does he stay sane in Gitmo?  is what absorbs us.

Shailene Woodley and Jodie Foster / STXfilms

The other source of tension is supplied by military prosecutor, Lt Colonel Stu Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch). Personally, I felt sick with dread that Cumberbatchs Southern accent would wobble. But  phew! - no problems there.

Stu has a lot of angst-ridden conversations with his bullish superiors, and though Cumberbatch is brilliant, the characters brave quest to uncover the truth is a tad generic. Its only in the quieter moments that we get the measure of the man. At a party, Couchs exquisite gallantry around the womenfolk demonstrates his aversion to conflict, and hints at what this case might be costing him.

Shailene Woodley, as Hollanders assistant, does wonders in a tiny role, but shes not what youll remember about The Mauritanian. Rahims performance sets us up perfectly for the coda. Footage of the real Slahi is magical. Hes so bubbly and idiosyncratic youll want to dive into the screen and hug him.

The US military, taking their lead from the US government, did things to Slahi that cannot be undone. Yet they must surely rue the day they set eyes on this low-ranking computer engineer. Its not that hes found a way to exact revenge; its more that his communication skills, in particular his gift for storytelling (hes just published a novel) have allowed him, on every level, to get the last word.


The ongoing smear campaigns against the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) on social media are intentionally being carried out by some Irresponsible individuals and junta's apologists, therefore, ENDF would take legal actions against those who are spewing lies about the Ethiopian army, ENDF Chief of Staff General Birhanu Jula said.

The general further said since the TPLF junta was terribly defeated at the battlefields, its sympathizers have opened information war against the ENDF and they are busy at spreading false information on every available media outlets.

Gen. Birhanu told local media that members of the ENDF are now keeping peace and order in Tigray State. "The law enforcement operation was over and now we are searching for few junta's fugitives apart from supporting Tigray interim administration in its efforts of rehabilitating the state ."

Members of the ENDF have been taking part in re-establishing the security service and delivering humanitarian aid to the affected people in the state, he added.

Regarding the alleged sexual violence against women and widespread robberies in the state , the chief of staff said that most of such reports are fabricated ones and far from truth. " The junta itself and the whole world know that Ethiopian army is well -mannered and put the public's interests and security first under any circumstances. Hence ,these are pretty lame accusations."

He, moreover, said that the Ethiopian soldiers have been showered with accolades by international community as they have been playing pivotal role in the international peacekeeping mission
New Delhi, Feb 6 : A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation on Friday met the Election Commission (EC) and requested it to deploy only Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls to maintain the sanctity of the process.

The eight member BJP delegation was led by its National General Secretary Bhupender Yadav and party's West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh.

"Mamata Banerjee government can't be allowed to hijack democratic processes and let violence go on. BJP Bengal stands committed to restoring rule of law. Met EC officials with party leaders seeking early deployment of forces for peaceful polls," Yadav tweeted after meeting with EC.

In a memorandum to the Election Commission, the BJP said that it is necessary to "deploy members of only CAPF", duly trained to ensure fairness, dignity, and sanctity of the process.

The BJP delegation requested that the EC should appoint "special observers" to oversee the police and administrative, machineries of the state including their role in deployment of central forces.

The BJP also demanded that police officers who have been accused of political partnership in the past, should be strictly kept out of any or all poll related duties.

The party pointed out that in past there been reported incidents of CCTV cameras been deliberately malfunctioned or destroyed or disruption of its webcast facility in order to effect electoral malpractices.

"Fresh CCTV guidelines be framed wherein re-polling should be mandated for any or all polling stations having CCTV malfunction or destruction or any disruption to its webcast proceedings," it said.

The BJP also demanded that an all party meeting be called for identification or marking of sensitive booths with real time webcast facilities.

Elections for 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal will take place in April- May this year.

The party further requested the EC to in lieu if "postal ballot" facility -- for senior citizens (above 80 years), persons with disability flagged in the electoral roll and Covid affected or suspected person -- separate and additional polling booths or stations be made so that they can cast their valuable votes with ease and convenience.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have discussed the normalization of relations between Moscow and Washington during their phone call on Thursday, along with issues of strategic stability, the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Syrian regulation and the Alexey Navalny case, the Russian Foreign Ministry informed.



Lavrov congratulated Blinken on his appointment, expressing readiness for constructive dialogue on a wide range of issues.



"As a follow-up to the phone call between Presidents [Vladimir] Putin and [Joe] Biden, they have welcomed the prolongation of New START until 2026, which will facilitate improvement of the general situation in the sphere of international security and strategic stability," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "They have touched upon the matter of ensuring predictability in the sphere of arms control, considering the U.S. pullout from the INF Treaty and in the context of prospects of the Treaty on Open Skies."



Besides, Lavrov reminded the U.S. Secretary of State of Moscows earlier proposals to approve joint Russian-US statements on the impermissibility of nuclear war and non-interference in each others domestic affairs.



The ministry added that Blinken had touched upon the situation with Navalny. "In connection with the situation with Navalny, touched upon by Blinken, the minister gave detailed explanations as to the need to respect legislation and judicial system of the Russian Federation," the Russian Foreign Ministry reported. "[Lavrov] pointed out to the Secretary of State the issues related to the persecution of individuals who were protesting in the U.S. due to presidential election results, and called for ensuring transparency of the corresponding judicial procedures," the statement notes.



Lavrov confirmed that Russia is open for joint work to normalize the entire range of bilateral relations based on mutual trust and balance of interests. They have reaffirmed readiness to mutually address the accumulated difficulties in the functioning of Russian and U.S. diplomatic missions on each countrys territory," the ministry said. "Antony Blinken has expressed readiness to organize expert dialogue on these issues."



The Russian Foreign Ministry also noted that the top diplomats "agreed to maintain regular working contacts."



The sides have also expressed their support for cooperation in the sphere of COVID-19 vaccine development. Lavrov and Blinken "have spoken in favor of establishing cooperation in the sphere of combating the coronavirus, including cooperation on vaccine development and improvement," TASS cited the statement as saying.



The Russian Foreign Ministry added that Lavrov and Blinken had discussed a number of international issues, including aiding peaceful regulation in Syria and Libya, as well as the situation in Ukraine.
A man working on a robot at the Vietnam - Japan Center for Training and Technology Transfer in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Vien Thong.

Vietnam has moved up two places to 55th in the list of the world's 60 most innovative economies compiled by Bloomberg, but lags far behind Asian peers.

With an overall score 49.01 out of 100, Vietnam fared badly in the against countries such as Singapore (2nd), Malaysia (26th) and Thailand (36th) in the annual Bloomberg Innovation Index.

The ranking measures the worlds 60 most innovative countries based on seven criteria: research and development intensity, productivity, patent activity, concentration of researchers and tertiary efficiency, hi-tech density, and value-added manufacturing.

Vietnam raked highest, 40th, in hi-tech density, 44th in both tertiary education efficiency and patent activity, 43rd in research and development intensity, and 55th in value-added manufacturing.

It did not fare well in concentration of researchers (56th) and productivity (59th) either.

Based on purchasing power parity at 2011 constant prices, Vietnam's labor productivity is at $4,792, lower than that of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, according to official statistics.

Vietnam has been focusing on developing hi-tech products in recent years as it seeks to have 500 manufacturers of hi-tech products and 200 agriculture companies using hi-tech applications by 2030.

South Korea returned to first place in this year's ranking, followed by Singapore and Switzerland.
opinion

Since he captured power as leader of the second successful post-colonial African guerrilla rebel group, after Hissen Habre in Chad, President Museveni repeatedly claimed he fought the 1981 to 1986 war to restore democratic governance and respect for human rights.

In the initial years of his rule, he superintended modestly progressive reforms that gave voice to the citizenry through local level political participation and public accountability. While for long spells armed insurgency in the north was a huge human rights disaster, the rest of Uganda returned to a sound, stable and secure state.

Until the late 1990s, Museveni's democratic credentials appeared credible and compelling precisely because he had not been tested yet. Western political and diplomatic actors saw him as representing the 'new breed of African leadership.' All seemed rosy and reassuring until Museveni faced a real test of his democratic credentials.

It was during the 2001 elections, and subsequent electoral cycles that Dr Kizza Besigye fully exposed Museveni's pretensions and hollow promises of a reformer and progressive incumbent who had heretofore earned plaudits.

From 2001 and on, State organised violence and blatant repression against opposition parties and politicians became the mainstay of Uganda's electoral landscape.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Western media and at least sections of the academia, perhaps in sync with diplomatic and security assessments of their respective governments, either painted a positive image or at worst maintained a largely lukewarm interest in the deepening tenor of Museveni's authoritarian rule.

The West's half-hearted and often approving stance towards Museveni's rule derived from his favourable standing at the Pentagon as an invaluable ally in the war on terror, especially countering perceived Islamist threats under the tutelage of Sudan's Omar al-Bashir, and of course the situation in Somalia. He also was seen as an outstanding student of neoliberalism and the Washington consensus, who undertook thoroughgoing reforms making Uganda's economy arguably the most liberalised and privatised in Africa.

Against the background of the West's lukewarm and sometimes approving attitude, come 2021elections and a dramatic turn.

In an instant, Bobi Wine became a fetish, valorised and sensationalised in ways that betray an historical understanding of Uganda's political landscape. Quite remarkably, a flurry of Western advocates and promoters of democracy have been hard at work on the streets of Twitter and Facebook, urging their respective home governments in Europe and North America to call out Museveni's excesses, to issue tough statements.

In a particularly instructive 'show of solidarity,' they demanded that their embassies in Kampala, literally, order Museveni to lift the military/police siege on Bobi Wine's house, effectively under house arrest since the night of the polls. This proposed nostrum, of their governments issuing tough orders to Mr Museveni to 'behave,' apparently is justified because Museveni is a net beneficiary of Western foreign aid who should be reined in by his benefactors. But resisting and defeating an entrenched authoritarian ruler is no walk in the forest, not reducible to the fiat of pressure from Western powers. The forces and fuel that can bring about change in a manner that advances the cause of genuine democracy and freedom, must necessarily evolve and emerge from Uganda and among Ugandans.

After 35 years in power, Museveni has taken Uganda down a dangerous path. His rule has become more repressive, characterised by mounting brutality against political opponents and a rusted response to biting socioeconomic difficulties. Bringing about meaningful change is not as simple as chasing out an autocrat and installing a new messianic figure with a populist appeal.

It may well be an easier job to overthrow Museveni in a popular process. The tougher job is forging a new Uganda of peace and prosperity. The issue is not merely one of 'removing a dictator,' it is also about understanding how a post-Museveni Uganda can be viably pursued and prudently implemented. For foreign actors genuinely fired up for freedom and liberation of suffering Ugandans, I propose more humility and less hubris. Uganda is at grave political crossroads. The possibility of social disintegration is real. The country's social fabric is fragile. The youth bulge presents a daunting task. Land conflicts portend the most important source of social disharmony and violence.

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The country's democratic experiment requires a total rethink. Tackling these endemic problems requires a candid and concerted national conversation to turn the corner.

The country wants to free itself from Museveni's mess, but Museveni too needs to be liberated from his own trap of power. It is a delicate and difficult negotiation to be navigated. It needs thoughtfulness and perceptiveness.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-03 23:06:59|Editor: huaxia

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Tunisian President Kais Saied (1st L) attends a funeral of the late soldiers who were killed by the explosion of a landmine in Tunis, Tunisia, Feb. 4, 2021. Four soldiers were killed by the explosion of a landmine in Tunisia's western province of Kasserine, local private radio MosaiqueFm said on Wednesday. Tunisian security authorities have warned for years against the armed extremist groups in Kasserine, as mountain ranges there serve as a suitable shelter for terrorists. (Tunisian Presidency/Handout via Xinhua)

TUNIS, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Four soldiers were killed by the explosion of a landmine in Tunisia's western province of Kasserine, local private radio MosaiqueFm said on Wednesday.

"The explosion took place in Mghila mountain when a military unit was on routine patrol as part of the fight against terrorist threats," Mohamed Zekri, the Defence ministry spokesman, told Xinhua

Tunisian security authorities have warned for years against the armed extremist groups in Kasserine, as mountain ranges there serve as a suitable shelter for terrorists.
By Enda Curran and Michelle Jamrisko,

The global economys recovery risks being dampened or even derailed by the lag in coronavirus vaccinations for poorer nations relative to their wealthier peers.

Bloombergs Vaccine Tracker shows 4.54 million doses were given on average across the world each day over the last week, but its far from an even spread. The US and UK make up about 40% of the 119.8 million doses administered globally.

Developing and emerging markets are, by and large, doing far less well. In Africa, only Egypt, Morocco, Seychelles and Guinea are recorded as having given any of the vaccines at all. Much of Central Asia and Central America has yet to begin vaccinating or is moving slowly.

Read: Covid-19 vaccination Phase 3 begins in March: Here's who can get jab

That means emerging economies risk falling further behind economically and limits room for rebound even in fully-inoculated countries by depriving them of demand for their goods and a supply of manufacturing parts. Worse still, not combating Covid-19 everywhere may mean harder-to-contain mutations of the virus generate fresh health and economic crises.

With the virus mutating, no country is safe until the whole world is inoculated and achieves herd immunity, said Chua Hak Bin, senior economist at Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte in Singapore.

A recent study commissioned by the International Chamber of Commerce concluded an unequal allocation of injections could deprive the world economy of as much as $9.2 trillion.

Similar research by Rand Corporation estimated the annual cost could hit $1.2 trillion. Global growth this year could be less than half the World Banks 4% estimate if vaccine distribution doesnt move quickly, said Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart.

Such calculations put rich nations under intensifying pressure to share their vaccine stocks, even though their publics may not support such generosity. Yet the signs point to ongoing hoarding.

European countries are already at odds over access to vaccines, just as they were over personal protective equipment a year ago. A program aimed at enabling access to vaccines is being underfunded by the biggest economies.

In China, which has paced the global economic recovery after getting the virus under control, a lack of urgency means it is now lagging the West in its rollout of vaccines, according to an analysis by Gavekal Dragonomics.

Some developing economies worldwide might see some relief soon through the World Health Organizations Covax initiative, which will send 97.2 million vaccine doses to India in its first tranche of distribution, even as current supply in the country is seen outpacing demand. Pakistan is due to receive 17.2 million shots from the program, with Nigeria getting 16 million.

A slow rollout of the vaccine presents a serious risk to our outlook. An unchecked virus outbreak means emerging economies will continue to underperform in the long term. The virus could compound other EM problems and the pre-pandemic stagnation may continue, according to economists Ziad Daoud and Scott Johnson.

Also read: Nearly 50 lakh in India vaccinated against Covid-19

Rand estimated that so-called vaccine nationalization could end up costing high-income countries $119 billion per year versus a $25 billion price tag for supplying low-income countries with vaccines. The US and Germany would face the biggest hit in absolute terms from the lack of a global inoculation, according to a December report.

Meantime, the study sponsored by the International Chamber of Commerce and written by academics from Koc University and the University of Maryland reckoned 49% of the economic cost of a lingering worldwide pandemic would be borne by advanced economies even if they enjoy total vaccination.

Almost half of the respondents in a survey of executives by Oxford Economics Ltd. see activity in their business remaining below pre-pandemic levels throughout 2021. More than four in five respondents flagged repeated pandemic waves as a significant or very significant risk over the medium term.

Emerging and developing economies are vulnerable to richer countries hoarding their doses because their fragile health systems are straining under the weight of mounting infections, they lack the resources to generate and distribute vaccines as fast as their wealthier peers, and foreign investment is flowing to safer locations.

Take Indonesia. Its the worlds fourth-largest economy and home to 274 million people, yet Covid-19 cases and deaths have accelerated at record paces. Almost half a million people received a first dose of the vaccine by end-January, falling short of a government goal of 598,400 that month. The nation is currently one of the least-vaccinated populations across 66 nations, at 0.30 doses per 100 people as of February 5, according to Bloombergs Vaccine Tracker.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics spelt out the dilemma posed by so-called vaccine nationalization bluntly in a report published this week titled: The pandemic is not under control anywhere unless it is controlled everywhere.

If you have public health out of control somewhere, its not just a local economic problem, its a global economic problem, said Monica de Bolle, a senior fellow at Peterson and one of the reports authors. But, unfortunately, Im not sure anyone is gearing up to actually do anything about it.
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Parents have been accused of abusing the key worker system and lying about their jobs in a bid to send their children to school.

Schools have been forced to check with employers that parents are key workers amid a surge in classroom numbers compared to the previous lockdown.

Current guidance allows any child whose parent is a key worker to attend school, even if their parent works from home.

But figures show attendance has rocketed, with up to 2,000 schools in England having more than 40 per cent of pupils attending since the start of lockdown - suggesting many are 'lying' about their jobs.

It has lead to a furious backlash from genuine key workers, who have been denied school places for their children and had to quit their jobs as a result.

One mother branded the situation a 'joke' and said she was unable to send her own children to school because of the sheer number of pupils in class, adding, 'key worker kids my a***'.

A teacher explains social distancing measures to a group of year 7 students in a classroom at City of London Academy Highgate Hill (pictured before the lockdown)

Hundreds of teachers in London 'book Covid vaccine through NHS booking link sent on Whatsapp' Hundreds of teachers in London have been able to book coronavirus vaccinations after being forwarded links intended for NHS workers, it was claimed today. A booking link and password reserved for staff at Barts Health NHS Trust were circulated among school staff groups via WhatsApp, according to the BBC. Several teachers were able to bypass the vaccines priority list - which says over-70s and frontline healthcare staff should be first - and have already received their jabs. The exploit was distributed to local school staff in the Labour-run boroughs of Hackney and Camden, as well as in Barnet. Teachers said the messages had been sent via school management and were spreading in private WhatsApp groups with dozens of members. Labour has repeatedly called for classroom staff to be prioritised for Covid vaccines, arguing it could get children back in education sooner. The Barts trust said it was investigating the reports and promised to make its booking system more secure. It said anyone skipping the queue would be turned away from their appointment, but the BBC reports 'some' teachers have already been jabbed. The trust has admitted it had sent booking links to non-frontline hospital staff to use up leftover doses of its vaccines. It is thought that the exploit was leaked this way. Speaking in an anonymous capacity to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, one teacher revealed he had been able to book an appointment through the Barts Health system. 'I was sceptical that it would accept the appointment right up to the point it was confirmed,' he said. 'I thought during the booking process, if it wasn't something I was entitled to, I thought there would be something that would close it down or would refuse the appointment. 'But I went through the booking system and entered my details, my school details, my job details and then received a confirmation of the appointment itself.' The chair of the Royal College of GPs, Professor Martin Marshall, warned there was 'certainly a risk' of queue-jumping during complicated vaccine roll-outs. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for all school staff to be vaccinated in England over the February half-term, when the four most vulnerable groups are set to have received their first doses. The party says there is 'growing evidence' the jabs slam the brakes on transmission of the virus, reducing disruption to lessons if teachers test positive and possibly getting children back in the classroom sooner. But a hardline union dismissed the plan to vaccinate the country's entire classroom staff during a seven-day window this month. Other unions have blasted Mr Johnson's plans to open schools by March 8 as 'too early' and claimed they would ultimately lead to a fourth national squeeze. Advertisement

When the national lockdown was announced at the start of the year, parents were asked to fill in forms and provide information to prove they were keyworkers.

Parents have been urged by the Department for Education to 'honour the spirit' of the lockdown and to keep children at home where possible.

But schools have revealed they have had to send out letters and emails warning parents they will check their employee status, amid rising classroom numbers.

Department for Education data released this week showed that some 15 per cent of all pupils on roll in state-funded schools were in attendance on 28 January - up from 14 per cent in the previous two weeks.

And a survey by the NAHT school leaders' union suggested that up to 2,000 schools in England have had more than 40 per cent of pupils in class since the start of lockdown.

One furious mother told Teesside Live she was unable to send her own children to school because other parents were lying about being key workers.

The 32-year-old said: 'Here's me an actual key worker working from home but I daren't send my kids into their school because it's full of kids whose parents aren't key workers.

'How selfish at a time when we all should be pulling together and doing our bit.

'It's putting teachers' lives at risk, and risking their own children.

'They should be ashamed.'

She added: 'God knows what these parents are telling teachers about why their kids have to come into school but they're not actually eligible if it was properly policed - key worker kids my a***.'

Those who qualify as key workers include workers essential to running the justice system, religious staff, food production workers, charity workers, and some employed by local government, utilities, communications and financial workers.

Figures from Teacher Tapp last month show that 35 percent of primary schools had at least 20 percent of pupils in school, and 15 percent of primaries had at least 30 percent.

A spokesman for Teacher Tapp suggested attendance figures have gone up since then.

London-based group Teacher Station told MailOnline: 'Many more children are in school this time round and parents have definitely been taking places when only one parent is a keyworker.

'This was the criteria the government set, BUT they also said that children should stay at home if possible.

'Therefore many children could probably be at home and aren't.'

In a post online, The Teacher Station wrote: 'When school closures were announced in March last year, there were very very few numbers of children in school, which is how it should be.

'There were maybe 8 or so children in a bubble and only a few bubbles altogether.

'This time round however, something has changed dramatically.

'I have heard reports that there are far greater numbers of key worker children attending schools.

'Some are running at near full class sizes which is shocking.

'Not only is this unsafe for everyone, it is putting excess pressure on staff who are trying to teach in person and online.'

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told MailOnline that schools had 'better things to do with their time' than verify parents' claims.

A survey by the NAHT school leaders' union suggested that up to 2,000 schools in England have had more than 40 per cent of pupils in class since the start of lockdown (file photo)

He added: 'Schools clearly have much better things to do with their time than having to phone employers to check that places are really needed but they have been placed in the very difficult position of having much higher demand than in the first lockdown.

'We have made repeated requests to the government for firm guidance on how many children should be in school at any one time, but this has not been forthcoming.

'Many schools are therefore having to perform a delicate daily juggling act in order to balance in-school teaching for quite large numbers of pupils with remote education for everyone else.

'It is very difficult to square this with the government's message to the public to stay home, protect the NHS, and save lives.'

Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary at the NEU told MailOnlie: 'There is a significantly greater demand for on-site learning in this lockdown compared to the first, and the list of who is eligible to attend is longer than before.

'Schools and colleges will meet the needs of all key worker and vulnerable children, as well as those learning remotely, but Government advice is that everyone should stay at home where possible and that parents should keep their children at home wherever possible.'

Psychologist mother-of-two says she was forced to quit work to home-school her children after her boss refused to furlough her  as employers are accused of 'sex discrimination' against working mums

A psychologist has revealed how she was forced to quit her job to home school her children because her employer refused to furlough her.

Analise La-Band, a chartered occupational psychologist and mother-of-two, had to quit her job last summer in order to teach her children at home as schools closed during lockdown.

Her story comes as it emerged more than 2,000 mothers have had their requests to be furloughed refused amid the lockdown this year.

Employers are now being warned they face an imminent 'mental health crisis' and could be guilty of sex discrimination if they refuse to furlough parents.

Analise La-Band (left) a chartered occupational psychologist and mother-of-two, had to quit her job last summer in order to teach her children at home as schools closed during lockdown. Right, Joeli Brearley, who set up the organisation 'Pregnant Then Screwed', which fights for parents' rights

Seven in 10 requests for furlough turned down for working mothers According to a study by the Trade Union Congress union, nearly three-quarters of working mothers who have applied for furlough following the latest school closures have had their requests turned down. Of those 3,100 who requested furlough, around 2,200 (71%) had their request turned down. It also found that some 78 per cent hadnt been offered furlough by their employers. And 2 in 5 (40%) of all mothers who replied were unaware that the furlough scheme was available to parents affected by school or nursery closures. Nearly all (90%) of those who replied said that their anxiety and stress levels had increased during this latest lockdown. And almost half (48%) were worried about being treated negatively by their employers because of their childcare responsibilities. Around half (44%) of mums told the TUC they were worried about the impact having to take time off work would have on their household finances. A quarter (25%) of mums were using annual leave to manage their childcare  but nearly 1 in 5 (18%) had been forced to reduce their working hours and around 1 in 14 (7%) were taking unpaid leave from work and receiving no income. Source: TUC Advertisement

Ms La-Band told Radio 4's Today programme that she was forced to resign due to the pressures of home schooling.

The mother-of-two said: 'Unfortunately I was forced to resign last summer as a result of the difficulty of trying to balance work and home school.

'My request for furlough was rejected and I didn't see any other option so I've not been working since.

'I'm obviously very concerned with how I can maintain my career and get into the workforce again at some point, having had to make a very difficult decision to withdraw from it when i really wouldn't have had i had any other choice at the time.'

The job retention scheme currently allows bosses to furlough parents who can't work due to a lack of childcare.

But the Trade Union Congress revealed that more than 2,000 working mothers, or 70 per cent, have had furlough requests turned down following the recent school closures.

Joeli Brearley, who set up the organisation 'Pregnant Then Screwed', which fights for parents' rights.

She told the BBC that bosses who are rejecting furlough requests could be guilty of 'indirect sex discrimination' if they refuse to furlough working mothers.

She also warned of a mental health crisis as burnt out parents are being forced to work 17-hour days, incorporating six hours of tuition into their working day.

She said couples are taking it in turns to do home schooling, beginning work at 5am then rotating child care and working late into the night.

She told MailOnline: 'Women are now just walking out of their jobs because they just can't keep doing it, and their mental health is so bad. They're walking away.

'Our analysis from ONS data shows that women aged between 25 and 34 have the highest per cent of redundancies and between August and October last year, women were 60 per cent more likely to be unemployed than men.

'It's so concerning having mothers out of the workforce because it's so dificult to get them back in.

'We should be deeply concerned about it, because it is about child poverty at the end of the day it - it affects whole families.'

Rishi Sunak's job retention scheme currently allows bosses to furlough parents who can't work due to a lack of childcare

She told Radio 4: 'Many are not getting any break whatsoever...you've got six hours of unpaid work you now need to cram in to you job.

'The average day has increase from 9 hours to 11 hours under lockdown  that's already 17 hours of work you have to do before you consider cooking or cleaning or shopping or sleeping, or doing anything for yourself whatsoever.

'We're hearing from frantic mothers who are completely burnt out and their mental health is rapidly deteriorating.

'They can request to be furloughed and we would hope that their employer would consider that - but 70 per cent of mothers who've requested to be furloughed have had that request rejected.

'That could be indirect sex discrimination, because the caring responsibilities usually fall to women.

'And so if [employers] say you can't be furloughed, that could be perceived as sex discrimination.

'We would really ask them to seriously consider that and if they don't, they're they're going to have a mental health crisis on their hands.

'Over the summer between a third and 40 per cent of employers made redundancies so many are surviving on skeletal staff and desperately trying to rebuild their business.

'Of course they need their employees, and they need them on full productivity, but sadly we're seeing mothers being pushed out of their jobs because they're unable to work on full productivity.'

According to a study by the Trade Union Congress union, nearly three-quarters of working mothers who have applied for furlough following the latest school closures have had their requests turned down (file photo)

Founder of the blog Mother Pukka, Anna Whitehouse added: 'What working parents have been tasked with in lockdown is not humanly possible.

'You're looking at an average eight hour working day, six hour school day, 12 hours of parenting wrapped around that - that's 26 hours in a 24 hour day. And I'm hearing daily from women who are stepping back, standing down and logging off because they're burning out.

'Some are quitting out of choice, many not. Because who looks after kids home-schooling? Who looks after pandemic patients when out of hospital? Who takes a Tesco shop to elderly neighbours? Who runs community What's App groups making sure everyone has everything they need?'
sorsillo/iStockBy BILL HUTCHINSON, ABC News



(BOSTON) -- The governor of Massachusetts has rescinded a plan to shorten the sentences of inmates in the state's prison system for getting COVID-19 vaccinations, officials said Thursday.



Gov. Charlie Baker canceled the controversial plan less than a week after state Department of Correction Commissioner Carole Mici said in a memo that inmates could receive "earned good time" credit for getting the shot, writing, "I have determined the vaccine is significantly valuable to rehabilitation."



But a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security told ABC News on Thursday that Baker, a Republican, called off the plan as soon as he was briefed on it.



When the Governors office became aware of the memo, the decision was made to rescind it because the memo is not consistent with the Administrations policies regarding reduced prison terms," the spokesperson said in a statement.



In her memo, dated Jan. 28, Mici said that more than 3,500 of the state's prison inmates had already received the first dose of the two-dose vaccination. Mici referred to the program as the "Vaccine Rehabilitative Program."



Mici had offered 7 1/2 days of earned good time credit for inmates who watched and read educational materials about the virus and received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.



"This will be the sole opportunity to earn EGT in this program category for the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic," Mici wrote.



"While we are working to stifle this virus through 'herd immunity,' we are not there yet," Mici wrote. "We must remain vigilant by properly wearing masks, regularly hand washing/sanitizing and social distancing, as these practices continue to be our best defense."



Prisons and jails throughout the country have been the settings of some of the biggest COVID outbreaks that health experts say stem from being in crowded, confined spaces that make social distancing difficult.



Data collected by The Associated Press and the Marshall Project shows that one in every five state and federal prisoners in the United States has tested positive for COVID.



At least 275,000 prisoners throughout the country have been infected by the virus and more than 1,700 have died as of mid-December 2020, according to data reviewed by the news organizations.



Copyright  2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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Press Release

February 5, 2021 On the Actions of DND Secretary Lorenzana and Lt. Gen. Parlade More at: https://pinglacson.net/2021/02/05/on-the-actions-of-dnd-secretary-lorenzana-and-lt-gen-parlade/ While Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana should be commended for taking a step backward in agreeing to open the lines for future discussions with University of the Philippines President Danny Concepcion in finding a common ground to resolve the issues involving the state's security concerns and the UP alumni's time-honored academic freedom, Armed Forces of the Philippines Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. keeps opening new fronts for the defense establishment to address which could have been avoided but for his careless and insensitive remarks. Coming at a time when the Solicitor General is defending the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 against 37 petitions, particularly on the issue involving "overbreadth doctrine" among others, such remarks from a high-ranking military official is uncalled for and totally unnecessary. There are basic freedoms that remain to be protected and upheld under RA 11479, foremost is the freedom of speech or expression. Accusing a journalist of "aiding the terrorists by spreading lies," assuming that such comment was accurately attributed to him, surely does not help the government to convince the magistrates of the Supreme Court to rule in its favor. At a time unity is needed against threats such as terrorism, actions that threaten to divide are the last thing our country needs.
(Natural News) The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has declassified its decades-old records about unidentified flying objects (UFOs) ahead of the June deadline requiring American intelligence agencies to disclose UFO-related information.

The records are now available for perusal on the Black Vault, an online repository of declassified government records. The website includes more than 2,700 pages of top-secret documents about unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), which is the U.S. governments term for UFOs.

Declassified starting the 1980s, the documents cover dozens of incidents, such as the 1991 report of a mysterious midnight explosion in a small Russian town and the 1976 account of a top government employee who was hand-delivered a mysterious piece of UFO intel.

The records were released just months before officials from the Department of Defense and other intel agencies are due to appear before Congress and reveal what they know about UFOs. This was after the COVID-19 relief and government funding bill was signed into law last December. The bill includes a committee comment requiring the submission of a report about UAPs.

Declassified documents bear chilling UFO accounts

Website founder John Greenewald, Jr. spent the last 25 years trying to get his hands on the documents by hammering the CIA with Freedom of Information Act requests. Last year, the CIA finally allowed Greenwald to obtain a copy of a CD-ROM containing the UFO records.

Greenewald finished uploading all 700 documents to his website a week ago. Soon after, several alien hunters started poring through them, revealing chilling accounts of hundreds of UFO sightings dating as far back as the 1950s.

In one report, CIA officials discussed the possibility that UFOs were behind a mysterious blast in the small Russian town of Sasovo in 1991. Residents reported that a fiery sphere descended from the sky before a shockwave tore through the town and leveled an entire block.

Investigators failed to account for the explosions cause, opening the incident to speculation. Some people are talking about munitions left buried since the last war, while others claim that a powerful bomb fell. A third group [blames] it on a meteorite, and a fourth group blame UFOs  There are people who supposedly saw a moving fiery sphere,' the report read.

One 1976 document indicated that the governments then-assistant deputy director for science and technology was shown UFO-related information that was hand-carried to him, according to Greenewald on Black Vaults Twitter account. The deputy said he would personally look into it and then gave advice on moving forward, but that advice is still classified. (Related: Human-like aliens may have come from another dimension, according to declassified FBI file.)

Many details including the deputys identity were redacted from the report, but Greenewald said he is determined to uncover more, particularly what the advice was. Greenwald also said that he is investigating whether there are additional documents being withheld by the CIA.

Although the CIA claims this is their entire collection, there may be no way to entirely verify that, Greenwald wrote in a statement on his website.

Intel agencies to disclose UFO info in June

The documents came ahead of the June deadline that will see Pentagon officials and other intel agency chiefs disclosing UFO-related information. The disclosure is ordered in the committee comment under the annual intelligence authorization act, which is rolled into the COVID-19 Economic Relief Bill passed into law in December last year.

The comment orders the director of national intelligence to submit a report within 180 days  to the congressional intelligence and armed services committees on unidentified aerial phenomena. Though the report may contain top-secret information, the comment stated that the report has to be put together in consultation with other intel agency chiefs.

The provision comes at the heels of the Pentagon declassifying three Navy videos of UFOs darting around several planes in 2004 and 2015. Media outlets leaked the videos before, but it was only last year that the Pentagon officially acknowledged they were true. (Related: Pentagon UFO videos just tip of the iceberg, says former U.S. government agent.)

Since then, several lawmakers including Sen. Marco Rubio have been pressuring the department to lay bare what it knows about UFOs. Rubio, the acting chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that authored the disclosure comment, said in the middle of last year that he wanted more clarity as a matter of national security.

We have things flying over our military bases and places where we are conducting military exercises and we dont know what it is  and it isnt ours, Rubio said in July.

Learn more about what the CIA and Americas intel agencies are hiding at UFOs.news.

Sources include:

LiveScience.com

TheBlackVault.com

DailyMail.co.uk

Twitter.com

NYPost.com
Workplace Safety Review, global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLPs OSHA podcast, has released episode 10, OSHA Enforcement: Its History & Its Future in Workplace Safety. Greenberg Traurigs Michael T. Taylor and Adam Roseman speak with Richard Fairfax, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. Fairfax discusses his first-hand experience working within OSHA, including achievements he is proud of, challenges the agency faces, OSHAs standard setting process, and where he has seen success in working with employers, among other topics.

Host of Workplace Safety Review and Chair of the firms OSHA Group, Taylor interviews influential environmental, health, and safety professionals across the country in a broad range of industries. Previous episodes include:



A Look Ahead at 2021 - More of the Same for EHS or a Whole New Ballgame?

Interview with Doug Parker, Cal-OSHA Chief

Accident Investigations: What You Need to Know

Interview with Nevada OSHAs Chief Administrative Officer, Jess Lankford

OSHAs Process Safety Management Standard, A 30-Year Review With David Moore of AcuTech Consulting

Interview with Greg Richey of Colden Corporation on COVID-19 and Returning to Work, the Non-Essentials

Interview with Hamid Arabzadeh on OSHA Recordkeeping Regulations During COVID-19

All episodes are available on the Greenberg Traurig website, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Taylor focuses his practice exclusively on representing employers regarding OSHA and Chemical Safety Board (CSB) matters across the country. Over the last 18 years, Taylor has defended scores of employers during enforcement litigation before federal OSHA, Cal-OSHA, SC-OSHA, WA-DOSH, as well as other state plan states. Many of these representations have involved a significant injury, fatality, or catastrophic event in the workplace.

Roseman, an associate in the firms OSHA Group, focuses his practice on federal and state labor and employment investigations, counseling and litigation arising under Title VII, the Fair Labor Standards Act, whistleblower retaliation under Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and restrictive covenants.

Check out all of Greenberg Traurigs Podcasts.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT), has approximately 2200 attorneys in 40 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. The firm is net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage and Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certified. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law


WASHINGTON -- The General Services Administration is embarking on yet another phase of the long-stalled effort to relocate the FBI headquarters from its 45-year home in downtown Washington D.C., teeing off a complex lobbying battle over the jobs and financial investment the project would entail.

The omnibus spending bill recently approved by Congress requires the GSA, whose Public Building Service operates as a sort of centralized landlord for the federal government, to come up with a plan for a new headquarters within 90 days. The bill also specifies that the headquarters should remain in the National Capital Region.

The GSA under President Donald Trump canceled a decade-long plan to relocate the headquarters,leaving the intelligence agency stuck with a crumbling building that doesn't meet its security requirements.

With new leadership settling in at the GSA, it is too early for the agency to have made significant progress on the plan. But officials from the District, Maryland and Virginia are already jockeying for the honor of hosting whatever is ultimately built.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D, said Thursday that the federal government's premier law enforcement body should remain in the nation's capital -albeit at a new address. Possible sites in the city include Poplar Point or Buzzard Point, or the abandoned St. Elizabeths Hospital campus in Congress Heights.

"We believe that there's a better use for the current FBI building on Pennsylvania Avenue. We also believe that the FBI wants to remain in Washington," Bowser said.

Redeveloping the J. Edgar Hoover building would return a piece of valuable real estate to the District, while offering an opportunity to create a retail, commercial, residential or mixed-used project that would draw people downtown as the city tries to recover from the coronavirus pandemic-triggered economic slowdown.

At the same time, the District doesn't want to lose the thousands of law enforcement personnel who currently work out of the Hoover Building to either the Maryland or Northern Virginia suburbs.

Maryland's congressional delegation, on the other hand, sees the headquarters project as an opportunity to revitalize a section of Prince George's County, at a time when job creation and investment in the suburbs that border Washington have lagged.

The state is home to a number of large corporations, including Marriott International, as well as several sizable federal government agencies. But job growth has been far stronger in Northern Virginia, which in recent years has attracted headquarters projects for companies like Nestle and Amazon.

"A new modern headquarters with enhanced security standards, which we can offer in Maryland, will allow the FBI to best meet its law enforcement mission today and decades into the future. We also welcome the thousands of jobs and economic benefits that this opportunity would bring," Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, R, said in a statement earlier this week.

Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., said Trump's loss to President Joe Biden cleared the way to relaunch the FBI relocation project, which Trump had sidelined days before a new site was announced. The top contenders were believed to be Landover or Greenbelt, Md., Springfield, Va., or the District.

"Let's just get it back on track," Brown said in an interview Friday. "That's not a difficult lift, with Trump out of the way."

Brown said once the GSA analysis is complete, "Team Maryland" will launch a full lobbying effort to secure the headquarters, involving the congressional delegation - led by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. - Hogan and state lawmakers.

The proposed Landover site, which is in Brown's district, provides easy transportation ties to the Interstate 495 portion of the Capital Beltway and a Metro stop, Brown said. Unlike the Springfield location, he said, Landover's 86 acres do not require razing buildings or relocating people.

"You could even do a firing range on that site," he said.

In Virginia, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D, said Maryland could "compete fair and square" for the project, but insisted that Springfield would be the most desirable site.

He described its transportation access - the Metro, the confluence of I-495, I-95 and I-395, and the remade "mixing bowl" - as "unrivaled by any competitor," while also noting that the FBI's archives and training academy, as well as the CIA headquarters and the Pentagon, are all in Virginia.

"Only the site in Virginia offers synergies with the FBI itself," Connolly said. "At the end of the day, this is not about whose turn is it, or who benefits economically. This is about the functionality of the FBI."

- - -

The Washington Post's Julie Zauzmer and Meagan Flynn contributed to this report.
Aerial photo taken on April 7, 2020 shows the illuminated Yellow Crane Tower, or Huanghelou, a landmark of the city of Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Li He)

This is the Wuhan that the West would never see. A recorder is put beside a patient's bed, repeatedly broadcasting the innocent voice of the patient's grandchild; music floats in the makeshift hospital where a bunch of infected patients dance with doctors; storing instant noodles in the car, a couple of doctors turn this cramped space into their temporary home; personal items left behind by the diseased are handed out to their beloved one by nurses who say sorry for not saving their lives in tears.

Images speak louder than words

The documentary named "Days and Nights in Wuhan" was released on January 22, unveiling how the ordinary, including the patients, doctors, nurses and community volunteers, lived through during the lockdown in Wuhan. The documentary was filmed by more than 30 photographers who worked on the frontlines during the Wuhan lockdown.

Authentic is the distinguishing feature of this documentary. "This documentary shows us what Wuhan looked like during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each frame is precious, which offers a look into the life of the ordinary during this time, " said a comment written on Douban, an influential Chinese media review website.

Without actors, voice-overs or prepared lines, real footage and conversations were used to pull the audience back to the early stage of the outbreak, especially those who experienced life and death in the Wuhan hospital during that time.

"Our team reached a consensus that we must truly and objectively reveal people's life during the early stage of the outbreak in Wuhan," said Cao Jinlin, a director of the documentary. "Being authentic is the soul of this documentary, and we hope everyone who experiences the outbreak in China can resonate with this film," she said.

Shining light on the Wuhan lockdown, the documentary earns tears from moviegoers who recall unforgettable memories of the national fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. "From nationwide supply donations, to the mobilization of medical workers, what happened in Wuhan during that time is still vivid in my mind," a comment said on Douban, "I felt like I was living this over again."

"Ten stories of Wuhan residents in the film portrayed the fight against the COVID-19 comprehensively and thoroughly. This is not only the memory of Wuhan but also the memory of China," another moviegoer wrote.

"The film should be released around the world, to allow people in the U.S. to watch it. Then they can see how strong-willed Chinese people are and how they respect life. They can also learn how Chinese people survived through this epidemic," said Xu Zheng, a famous Chinese director.

A resident (R) takes vegetables purchased at the Sanmin residential community in Dongxihu District of Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, May 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

A ghost town under BBC's filter

Unfortunately, western society has barely caught a glimpse of the real Wuhan. Immersed in distorted information, some westerners believe that Wuhan was a "broken and horrible ghost town" where residents were "brainwashed" and "suppressed" by the government.

What brings such a sharp contrast between this documentary and BBC documentaries , answer: the use of out-of-context and untenable evidence and camera technique, which are powerful weapons to defame China.

In BBC's newly released video "54 Days," Dr. Gao Fu, head of China's CDC, was depicted as a liar as he said in the press conference that the COVID-19 is not as deadly as SARS, which scientists all agree on.

Abruptly cutting out Gao's conversation, BBC distorted Gao's words by adding a satiric voice-over saying, "but the virus is more contagious than SARS," to imply that Dr. Gao was covering up the outbreak at that time. However, Chinese authorities warned about how contagious the virus can be in the press conference multiple times.

Such misleading "evidence" and "accusations" are sprinkled in almost every one of BBC's documentaries. Without mentioning the fact that China gave regular updates to the World Health Organization about the virus on Jan. 3, 2020, or that China released the virus pathogen eight days after the outbreak, BBC emphasizes assumptions with no evidence to slander China of covering up the outbreak.

BBC used footage where, during a riot, police arrested a resident with his head covered by a blanket in order to smear China of infringing on citizen's human rights during the lockdown. As it turns out, the footage is from an anti-terrorism exercise. BBC even failed to locate Hubei Province in China.

Except for fabricating materials, some western media outlets are also good at using deliberated settings to mislead the audience. Chinese cities cannot cast off the dull image of less-developed areas, because the press always chooses cramped and chaotic wholesale markets and dark light to represent the city, which Chinese netizens mock as "the filter comes from the hell."

"These are typical camera techniques to give the audience an impression of suppression and disorder," a film and TV industry insider noted.

BBC epitomizes the western media's technique in reporting news related to China. "They are more likely to cover the bad side and sometimes wrong side," said Cao Peixin, a professor from the department of journalism at Communication University of China.

When reporting news related to the COVID-19 pandemic in China, most western media concentrate on the accusation of covering up and holding China accountable, according to a study conducted by a Chinese big data research platform CGCL, which analyzed 16,554 news report about the COVID-19 news in China from Dec. 31, 2019, to April 25, 2020. "It's hard to give a full picture of the outbreak in China when media hold a biased attitude," the study concluded.

"Biased reports blind and distort the public view toward the world, which could have a setback to its society," said Cao. "If the press reported objectively, they would learn China's valuable lessons, such as wearing masks in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," he added.

At the end of the "Days and Nights in Wuhan," spring falls on the city. Under the cherry tree, a child is bargaining with his grandfather, who this time doesn't need to hear from the recorder. Wuhan is moving on, but the West chooses not to see.

Medical staff from Wuhan No. 1 Hospital gesture to bid farewell to a medical assistance team from Guangdong Province at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)
Burma NLD Patron U Win Htein Arrested for Sedition After Condemning Coup

National League for Democracy patron U Win Htein (center) and chairperson Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (right) are seen on June 20, 2015. / The Irrawaddy

Police detained National League for Democracy (NLD) patron U Win Htein on Thursday night on a sedition charge, following the military takeover on Monday.

The 80-year-old, who is not in good health, returned from Naypyitaw to his home in Yangon on Thursday afternoon, but was arrested at midnight, according to his family and the party.

He was brought back to Naypyitaw and was being held at Oattara Thiri Police Station on Friday morning.

Ma Chit Su Win Htein said, They said he is charged under Article 124(a) of the penal code. Article 124(a) criminalizes sedition, defined as attempting to excite disaffection against the government. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Shortly after the military seized power on Monday, U Win Htein, a former military captain-turned-politician, condemned the coup as the result of military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaings personal ambition for power.

During the pre-dawn coup, the military detained 133 people including government ministers, senior NLD leaders, and a number of lawmakers and political activists, according to a list compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Only 11 were released the next day.

State Counselor and NLD chairperson Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, union ministers, and state/regional chief ministers and ministers were placed under house arrest.

U Win Htein, who spent years in prison after joining the NLD in 1988, and was also a Lower House lawmaker, has long been loyal to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and a key party member. After the 1988 pro-democracy demonstrations, U Win Htein was held in Yangons Insein Prison from 1989 until 1995. In 1996 he was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on charges of providing misinformation to foreign journalists, eventually being released from prison in 2010. He won a Lower House seat in the 2012 by-election and represented Mandalay Regions Meiktila from 2012 to January 2016.

U Win Htein on Monday urged the public to Oppose it [the coup] as much as you can in a nonviolent way, as called for by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Object through civil disobedience, speak up against their action and do not collaborate with their program.

His video message reflected comments made by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a message to the public that was prepared before the coup and released after her detention.

Saying that previous military takeovers had impoverished the country, U Win Htein said the coup would take the country back to zero.

Since the coup, the Myanmar public has shown its disapproval of the military regime and denounced the coup through social media campaigns and acts of civil disobedience, including banging on pots and pans at 8 p.m.

On Thursday, three university students from Mandalay were arrested for protesting against the military coup.

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Man pushes wife off 3rd floor, flees after informing sis-in-law in Rajasthan

Five officials held in Rajasthan on charges of bribery

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Jaipur, Feb 05: Five people, including a deputy director of the Ayurveda department and a police head constable, were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for taking bribes in four separate cases in Rajasthan on Thursday.

Dr Roshan Lal Sharma, the deputy director of Ayurveda department posted in Jaisalmer, was trapped while taking a bribe of Rs 4,000 for clearing a bill from a vehicle contractor.

The complainant's vehicle is attached with the department and to clear the bill, the accused demanded the bribe.

4 cops from Mumbai held for taking bribe in Jaipur

After verification, an ACB team led by Deputy SP Anil Purohit caught him red-handed, DG (ACB) B L Soni said in Jaipur.

He said Head Constable Sohan Lal, posted in Jurhara police station of Bharatpur district, was arrested while receiving Rs 7,000 as bribe for taking action in a theft case.

In Jaipur, a computer operator of Jaipur Heritage Municipal Corporation Dinesh Kumar was also caught while taking a bribe of Rs 400 for issuing a marriage certificate to the complainant.

Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui granted interim bail after over a month in jail | Oneindia News

The ACB team in Sriganganagar arrested computer operator Vinod Singh and a Class IV employee Jitendra Kumar, both posted in the Water Resources Department, for taking a bribe of Rs 1,500 from a man for official work.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : From textile, science and technology, health and family welfare to finance, almost six ministers will share a record account of their ministries in the Lok Sabha on Friday while giving written replies to the parliamentarians.

These ministers will share written information about their ministries to separate questions asked by various parliamentarians after the House assembles at 4 p.m. for the day.

Union Minister Smriti Zubin Irani will submit replies from the Ministry of Textiles; Harsh Vardhan for the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences; Sripad Yesso Naik for the Ministry of AYUSH; and Ashwini Kumar Choube for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Union Minister Babul Supriyo will submit answers to questions regarding the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Anurag Thakur for the Ministry of Finance.

However, the Lower House is likely to face pandemonium for the fourth straight day again on the three contentious farm laws as seen during the last three days. The entire opposition is dissatisfied with the assurances from the government regarding the farmers agitation.

Over 12 opposition parties since the day after Budget presentation have been creating ruckus in the House seeking open discussion on the three farm laws that were enacted in September last year during the Monsoon Session. The Congress, DMK, NCP, CPI(M), CPI, SP, BSP, VCK, YSRCP, AAP and RSP are among those parties protesting against the government.

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) former allies Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena are also playing a major role in the protest over the farm issue.

The opposition parties are seeking a withdrawal of these laws and term them as "black laws" and "anti-farmer".

The opposition parties held a separate meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday evening requesting him to hold detailed discussion on the farm issue avoiding other House business considering the plight of thousands of farmers who are staging agitation on different borders of the national capital since November 26 demanding repeal of these laws, but they did not get solution to their demands.

As the Business of the Lower House is scheduled for only one-and-half hour between 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. and Private Members Business is scheduled further from 6.30 p.m. to 9 p.m., there is no sign of proper functioning of the House on Friday again, most of the parliamentarians, both from treasury benches and opposition, told IANS.

However, two Committee reports will be submitted despite the anticipated commotion in the House during Business Hour, a member from the ruling party told IANS, requesting anonymity.

Report of Committee of Privileges and reports of Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment will be tabled in the House by Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Sunil Kumar Singh, and Rama Devi and Rekha Arun Verma respectively.

Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal will also make a statement in the House regarding government Business during the week commencing from Monday.

The Business of the Lower House has listed about resuming motion of thanks on the President's address but the chances are very dim that it could be held amid opposition's protests.

(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
opinion

ZIMBABWE'S loss of voting rights in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly over a measly US$81 000 debt is reflective of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's lethargic approach towards re-engagement efforts.

In 2020, Zimbabwe, endowed with vast mineral resources, raked in US$2,4 billion in base metal export earnings, but failed to pay a paltry US$81 000 UN membership fee.

A debt settlement plan is dead in the water after Zimbabwe missed key targets under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff-Monitored Programme (SMP).

Zimbabwe joins other failed states whose voting rights were terminated such as Somalia, Niger, South Sudan, Libya, Central Africa Republic (CAR) and Sao Tome and Principe.

These nations share a common history of brazen human rights abuses, economic turmoil and political unrest.

The loss of voting rights has negative connotations like failure to contribute in key discussions around global security, climate change and terrorism.

Zimbabwe's suspension, ironically, comes at a time Mnangagwa's administration splurged millions of dollars in taxpayers' money on foreign jaunts.

Mnangagwa charters a US$30 000 per hour plane and travels with a huge entourage each time he flies out. The unending trips were curtailed by the ravaging effects of Covid-19.

The government's failure to service UN membership fees, embarrassingly fly in the face of claims that the country has been recording surplus figures, according to Finance minister Mthuli Ncube.

Consolidated Financial figures of 2019, show that Zimbabwe posted a ZW$437 million (US$5,329 million) surplus.

University of London professor of World Politics Stephen Chan had no kind words for the Mnangagwa's administration.

"The arrears are minor. It is an act of carelessness to incur such a small debt. The amount is less than the salary of Zimbabwean representatives to the UN. Zimbabwe has not been visible in (UN) Assembly matters, but has chaired important committees. An image of active involvement is symbolically of huge importance.

"Only war-torn countries have defaulted their dues in recent times, so it makes people wonder just how deep Zimbabwe's problems might be. Basically, no price is too high for diplomatic respect. US$81 000 seems a very small amount to lose such respect."

Last year, Mnangagwa's advisor and businessman Kuda Tagwirei was slapped with US sanctions for misappropriating public funds for his murky role in the US$3 billion Command Agriculture programme.

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In 2020, former Health and Child Care minister Obadiah Moyo was booted out of government for alleged illegal dealing in a US$60 million contract to a shadowy company -- Drax International -- for procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Mnangagwa's son, Collins was linked to the multi-million-dollar scandal through Drax representative Delish Nguwaya.

In another corruption scandal, former Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president Henrietta Rushwaya was arrested attempting to smuggle 6kg of gold worth over US$300 000 to Dubai.

These, among other examples of high-level corruption cases blighting Mnangagwa's administration, have tainted Zimbabwe.

Harare has over the years struggled to finance operations of its foreign missions around the world, scuttling efforts for the southern African country to effectively drive its re-engagement agenda.

Economist Tawanda Purazeni noted that Zimbabwe's failure to pay its UN subscription fees dented the country's credit rating image -- already soiled following decades of isolation from multilateral lending institutions.

"Failure to settle a paltry US$80 000 subscription fee demonstrates Zimbabwe's disregard for an important institution," Purazeni said.

"That aside, this whole thing is an embarrassment considering the fact that this body is interrelated with multilateral financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF. Our government has been trying to woo these institutions over the years. The latest development will not help the cause."
U.S. President Joe Biden called Chinas Americas most serious competitor, but said the United States is ready to work with China when it is in its interests to do so.

"We will ... take on directly the challenges posed (to) our prosperity, security and democratic values by our most serious competitor, China," Biden said in a speech during his first visit to the State Department.

"We will confront Chinas economic abuses, counter its aggressive course of action to push back Chinas attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance," Reuters cited him as saying.

"But were ready to work with Beijing, when its in Americas interest to do so," Reuters cited Biden as saying.
Makhanda  Rubbish is piling up in illegal dumpsites in parts of Makhanda in the Eastern Cape.

The municipality says it regularly collects rubbish, but some residents say they haven't seen a municipal rubbish truck for years.

They say the illegal sites are a health hazard and provide hiding places for criminals.

Parts of Makhanda are drowning in a flood of uncollected rubbish, with flies swarming over babies' nappies, adult diapers, and dead animals in illegal dumpsites. The municipality says rubbish is collected regularly, but families in areas GroundUp visited said they hadn't seen a municipal rubbish truck for a while.

GroundUp visited areas like Phumlani, Fingo Village, Extension 9 and Joza , where residents took us around the illegal dumping sites which they say are becoming an uncontrollable problem. In some places vegetation and long grass showed that the dumping sites have been there a long time.

Mvikeli Saki in Fingo Village showed us a dumping site right next to homes. "We are breathing this filthy stench from these dumping sites. The garbage in the area has caused smells and rats that come inside our homes. I can't recall the last time I saw the municipal rubbish truck. If the municipality was serious about fighting illegal dumping they would intensify the collection of rubbish across. People just find a spot and throw rubbish. Because if you hang a bag on your gate and wait for the municipal truck to collect, dogs, donkeys and dogs will tear up that rubbish and scatter it around," said Saki.

Mbulelo Nzwili from Phumlani location said the illegal dumping sites are not just a health hazard but also hiding places for thugs. "Even during the day here in Phumlani you can't pass these illegal dumping sites alone."

In Extension 9, resident Eric Matyobeni, said the municipality used to distribute black refuse bags to every household in Makhanda.

"I don't know what happened but that stopped years ago. Every week, on the day the truck came to collect rubbish they used to distribute the refuse bags. That was done regularly and illegal dumping sites were not like this. We are buying the black refuse plastic bags on our own now. Those who can't afford end up throwing their rubbish in these illegal dumping sites," said Matyobeni.

This is an illegal dumping site in Phumlani location and residents feel unsafe from thugs because of it. Photo: Loyiso Dyongman

Joza resident Sizeka Mantshongo said several streets in the area were littered with garbage and open field were covered with dumped rubble.

"The municipality fails to collect refuse regularly and animals help themselves and scatter the rubbish. In the past few weeks business people have cleaned up another illegal dumping site next to Samuel Ntlebi and CM Vellem Primary Schools. We are living a very sad life including the unstoppable sewage running in the streets," said Mantshongo.

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Makana Municipality Infrastructure and Engineering Services Portfolio Chairperson Ramie Xonxa dismissed the allegations by residents. He didn't answer question of what causes these illegal dumping sites, but he said it was "not true" that the municipality did not collect rubbish regularly. Each area knows its day for collection," he said. "The municipality collects refuse weekly."

He said the municipality also supplied rubbish bags.

GroundUp visited Luvuyo location in Fingo Village on Wednesday and there was no municipal truck collecting rubbish. Residents said years back the truck used to come on Wednesdays twice a month. In Joza GroundUp did see the truck, but resident Zintle Bunyonyo said households did not receive refuse bags. "I can't remember when we last received the refuse bags but it's years ago," said Bunyonyo.

In Kwamnqayi, residents said rubbish used to be collected on Thursdays but was no longer being collected. There was no sign of a truck when GroundUp visited. In Zolani Location, residents also said refuse was not collected and no refuse bags were distributed.

An illegal dumping site in Luvuyo Location in Fingo is right next to houses. Photo: Loyiso Dyongman

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Frontline Ventures, the Dublin-based early-stage venture capital firm, has announced a new 70m fund.

Its Seed Fund III is a 70m pot to finance European startups that focus on business-focused technology and which are trying to contend with US competition.

It comes as industry analysts continue to warn about a shortfall in Irish funding to early-stage startups, with investors choosing to place their money with established tech firms instead.

Seed Fund IIIs investors include AIB, the State-backed Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and the European Investment Fund.

The venture capital firm, whose partners include Twitter's former European boss Stephen McIntyre, now has a total of 250m under management.

Profitable recent investments include Pointy, the Dublin e-commerce startup company sold to Google last year for 140m. Previous exits include Logentries and Orchestrate, both acquired by larger companies.

The new fund aims to offer between 250,000 and 2.5m to early-stage startups at a time when other sources are drying up.

There has been a significant decline in investment into early-stage tech startup companies, with many struggling to raise the necessary private capital to invest in innovation and staff to grow and expand, said Brian Caulfield, chairman of Scale Ireland.

The Irish Venture Capital Associations (IVCA) most recent quarterly figures cited a collapse in early-stage funding here, describing it as a major concern.

According to the last reported IVCA figures, first-time funding fell by almost 60pc with only a handful of startups raising their first equity rounds.

This will have an impact on future investment levels, particularly as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt the economy, said Sarah-Jane Larkin, director general of the IVCA.

The new Frontline fund is being launched almost a year after it announced an $80m (67m) fund to focus on high-growth US tech startups that need to expand into Europe but are unsure how to get it right.

So far, it has invested in the $5bn-valued TripActions, People.ai and Clearbanc.

At the launch, Frontline partner Stephen McIntyre described it as a fund to help deal with flawed expansion strategies that Frontline executives say they saw adopted by fast-growing US companies when picking and launching a European base.

The US accounts for 52pc of the global software market and Europe accounts for a further 26pc, said Frontline partner William McQuillan.

When we looked at the data at the very start of Frontline in 2012, it was clear that European entrepreneurs lacked the infrastructure and support to build a global business out of Europe.

"Today, Europe finds itself on top-tier US investors target list, but global expansion remains an important challenge to solve. As a team, weve pooled all of our experience and resources into helping our founders cross the Atlantic.

"Seed Fund III will be an extension of our work, to help founders get off the ground and go global.
Normally at this time of year, Kern Studios and Mardi Gras World CEO Barry Kern is making sure floats are finished and parades are on time.

With Carnival parades called off by the coronavirus pandemic, Kerns team has stayed busy creating house float displays and contributing to the drive-through Floats in the Oaks event at City Park.

But the typically hands-on, omnipresent Kern has been noticeably absent from his companys endeavors this week.

Thats because, in an ironic twist, he came down with COVID-19 the same week the canceled parades would have started rolling.

If I was going to get it, its kind of funny I got it at this time, Kern, 58, said Friday.

Cantrell announces new Mardi Gras Covid restrictions: bar closures, street barricades Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Friday announced major restrictions for the final days of Carnival, including the closure of all bars, a ban on all t

On Monday, he was at a film shoot for a Popeyes commercial. Like everyone else on set, he was tested for COVID-19. The result came back negative.

But the next morning, he woke up feeling terrible, with an excruciating headache, upper respiratory congestion, a cough, soreness and fever. He was tested for COVID-19 again, and this time, he was positive.

So instead of overseeing house float installations and tweaking the presentation at Floats in the Oaks, hes been quarantining and convalescing at home.

Kern isnt sure where or how he contracted COVID-19. He recently traveled to Dallas and Orlando, but said he is careful about wearing a face mask and taking other precautions.

I do everything youre supposed to do, he said. Theres no way to know. I think everybody thats not vaccinated may get it eventually. Its hard not to, just by living.

He was feeling a bit better by Friday morning. Meanwhile, his Kern Studios staffers are probably happy that he cant be on-site right now. Instead, hes scrutinized their work virtually via FaceTime.

His eldest son, Fitz, the fourth generation of Kerns to be involved in the family business, has served as Barrys eyes and ears.

If we work 12 hours a day, I talk to him no less than 48 times a day  at least four times an hour, Barry Kern said.

I hate not being out there to see whats going on at Floats in the Oaks or to get up close and personal with the house floats. Its a little disappointing.

+13 'Floats in the Oaks,' the glittering ghost parade is meant to keep Carnival spirits alive It started like any other Carnival parade, with a screaming police siren and lights splashing the arms of oak trees. But City Parks Floats i

If parades were to have rolled this year, his disappointment would have been even more profound. As his father, the late Blaine Mr. Mardi Gras Kern, once did, Barry typically rides along at the front of most major parades.

I would have been beside myself if I couldnt be involved with it, he said. If I was going to get COVID, this was the year to have it. But if there wasnt COVID, we wouldnt be in this situation.

The only real upside to parades being canceled is that Kern Studios is now way ahead of schedule. Floats designed and built for this year will instead roll in 2022. So the studio can get a big head start on 2023.

Were a little further out than we expected to be, Kern said. I dont normally have this kind of time, under any circumstances. Its an opportunity to start thinking about the next year.

New Orleans Mardi Gras restrictions: Here's where you can't gather under new city rules Mardi Gras and the weekend leading up to it will look quite different in New Orleans this year amid the lingering coronavirus pandemic.

He hopes to be fully recovered in time for the last few days of this unusual Carnival season, when hes slated to host several local and national TV crews at Mardi Gras World. He and his team are also heavily involved in the production of "Mardi Gras for All Y'all," the virtual Carnival webcast airing on NOLA.com Feb. 12-14.

And he plans to throw open the doors to Mardi Gras World on Fat Tuesday so locals can tour the facility for free. Masks will be required and social distancing protocols enforced.

Not everyone can go to Floats in the Oaks, he said. This is for New Orleanians who dont have a chance to go and still want to see floats.
Despite its successes, Israel remains vulnerable. After a dip in new cases at the end of January, the average rate is climbing back up again. The contagiousness of the B.1.1.7 variant may be partly to blame, along with lower compliance with the current lockdown compared to previous ones. And all but a handful of Palestinians in the occupied territories are still waiting for vaccines, leaving them and Israelis less protected in any new surges.

There is also no telling what would happen if a more worrisome variant began spreading in Israel. A variant first identified in South Africa is not only more contagious, but might also render vaccines less effective.

At the same time, Israels much-vaunted vaccine program appears to have hit a snag as the numbers of those vaccinated dropped dramatically last week, suggesting that the countrys initial enthusiasm may be waning. The slowdown left some vaccination centers deserted this week.

The vaccination program has encountered resistance among some groups, particularly ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arab citizens, two communities that have been hit hard by the virus.

The government and health networks are launching new efforts to bring in more people to get vaccinated. Israels health networks made vaccines available to anyone 16 or older this week. Experts advising the government recommended allowing only those teachers who have been vaccinated back into the classroom.

As an additional incentive once lockdown restrictions are eased, they are recommending limiting attendance at cultural or religious gatherings to people who have been fully vaccinated, have recovered from Covid-19 or can show a recent, negative test.

Galia Rahav, the head of the Infectious Disease Unit and Laboratories at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, said the main takeaway from the new research was that it was very critical to vaccinate the nearly half a million Israelis over 50 who have not been inoculated as quickly as possible.
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The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City on Feb. 14, 2019. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Labor Board Denies Amazons Bid to Block Voting by Mail in Unionization Election

A federal labor board on Friday denied Amazons request to change an upcoming unionization vote from mail-in to in-person.

An acting regional director for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided last month that the election for Amazons Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse should take place by mail because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Warehouse workers are poised to choose whether to join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union.

Amazon appealed the decision, arguing that voting in-person would be the best approach to a valid, fair and successful election. The Seattle-based company alleged the acting director, Lisa Henderson, made the wrong decision.

The NLRB sided with the union, saying the issues Amazon raised were not substantial and didnt warrant review.

The board also rejected a request to delay the election. Chairman Lisa McFerran said the number of workers at the Bessemer facility who tested positive for COVID-19 supports a mail ballot election.

As the board decided in a previous case that Henderson relied on, the public interest and safety of all involved in the election is best served, at this time, by avoiding the type of in-person gatherings that a manual election entails, she added.

Because of the ruling, the election will move forward as planned. The board will mail ballots to approximately 6,000 workers on Feb. 8. Workers must return their ballots by March 29.

An Amazon.com Inc. delivery driver carries boxes into a van outside of a distribution facility in Hawthorne, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2021. (Patrick Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Amazon opposes the unionization efforts.

A spokeswoman told The Epoch Times via email that since the company opened the facility in March 2020, it has created more than 5,000 full-time jobs with a starting pay of $15.30 an hour plus benefits.

We work hard to support our teams and more than 90 percent of associates at our Bessemer site say they would recommend Amazon as a good place to work to their friends, she said. Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire, and we encourage anyone to compare our total compensation package, health benefits, and workplace environment to any other company with similar jobs.

Organizers are pointing to Amazons mixed record on employee safety, particularly in its warehouses, and telling workers that a union would be able to negotiate better working conditions.

A Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union official told The Epoch Times this week that the union was reaching out to all of the workers who vote to try to make their case for why to vote to unionize. The official said the unions ability to make gains in the poultry industry during the pandemic and its public support of the Black Lives Matter movement drew Bessemer workers to them and that the vote isnt necessarily about Amazon itself.

Amazon, the second-largest employer in the country, has struggled with worker safety in recent years. Its regularly listed as an unsafe workplace by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. The council said in April 2020 that workers suffered hundreds of injuries due to breakneck pace of next-day delivery.

Substandard conditions in warehouses are increasingly a public concern, something the upcoming vote highlights, Beth Gutelius, research director for the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told The Epoch Times.

Youve seen some companies like Amazon benefiting massively from their role in providing consumer goods during the pandemic, whereas workers have not seen substantial gains, she said.

And I think warehouse work for a long time has been invisible, to most people and most consumers anyway, and undervalued by firms. And I think its possible that what were starting to seeand this Amazon effort is sort of maybe a canary in the coal minethat were witnessing the start of a pretty big course correctiona market correction, reallywhere youre seeing the value of this industry being seen in a new light.
A portrait of Kilkenny campaigner Vicky Phelan has raised over 55,000 at auction for frontline workers.

The triptych portrait by artist Vincent Devine was auctioned by Sheppard's Irish Auction House and all proceeds , including the donation of Sheppards auctioneer fees, brings the total to over 55k which will go directly to Heroes Aid a charity supporting frontline healthcare workers.

Vicky, who is from Mooncoin, who is currently undergoing treatment for her cancer in the US said she is thankful for the generosity shown and shared a special story behind the man who bought the painting.

"The painting was bought by a very, very close friend of my family, David Brennan.

David wanted to buy the painting to thank my parents, John and Gaby Kelly, for being so good to him when he was a young lad. David practically lived in our house when he was a teenager. His hope for the painting is that it will be made publicly available to the people of Ireland and that it will continue to do good and raise awareness for cancer and will keep my candle lit for generations to come," she said.
Military rule in Myanmar might 'never end' after coup, religious leader warns

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The military coup in Myanmar might signal the end of democracy in the country if it succeeds, a religious leader from Myanmar now living in the United States said.

On Feb. 1, Myanmars military seized power, capturing the nations elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and overturning nine years of civilian government. Suu Kyi had spent 15 years in prison while peacefully advocating for democracy in Myanmar. She leads the pro-democracy NLD party.

The religious leader originally from Myanmar, whose name will not be revealed due to security reasons, told The Christian Post that even when democracy was functioning, Suu Kyi had to worry about the militarys response to her actions. When the military attacked Myanmars Muslim minority, there was little she could do to oppose them.

American people need to know that in order to make change in Myanmar, this is the final and the last opportunity. If nothing happens at this point, this rule will never end. It has been five years since moving into democracy, and we are moving back to the beginning again, he said.

He stressed that Myanmars people love Suu Kyi, but its unclear how much power she has to negotiate with the military.

The last five years have been peaceful and prosperous for Myanmar, he noted. As the people had freedom and the country was succeeding economically, the military felt its power fading, he observed.

A lot of people talk about the bad things about the military junta. The junta sees themselves as losing their people, and the people are hating them so much, he said.

The military likely launched a coup because it knew it would not control Myanmars future, he contended. In the 2020 election, the NLD party won in a landslide.

The military, led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, claimed that the landslide election victory of the pro-democracy party was a result of voter fraud and declared a one-year state of emergency. It now enforces a curfew on citizens and has closed the countrys airports.

International Christian Concern Southeast Asia Regional Manager Gina Goh expressed concern that the military would crack down on minority religious groups as they did in the past.

The military is notorious for its relations with the ultranationalist ultra-Buddhist group the Ma Ba Tha, she said. The military together with Ma Ba Tha has targeted the Muslims in the country, but they also go after Christians. Once they get a hold of the power, they might resort to things they were doing before they passed the power to the civilian government. They kill. They rape minority Christians.

The religious leader who spoke to CP believes a lack of support for Myanmar from the Trump administration may have given Myanmars military the confidence it needed to launch the coup. In contrast, visits from former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Obama administration encouraged democracy, he argued.

In Myanmar, the military holds immense power and controls 25% of the government, according to the countrys constitution. Military leaders are nationalists who support the countrys majority religion of Buddhism.

[The coup is] a power play," said Goh. "The military is almost like a gang. They can use their power to intimidate people.

The military has paid protesters to support the coup alongside soldiers, the religious leader said. International pressure and sanctions will not affect the armys decisions.

A lot of people have been praying for Myanmar and many countries have shown their concerns, he said. There is nothing international pressure can do to the military junta. They know how to handle it. They have known how to handle it for a long time. They dont care about the political sanctions or all of it.

The best thing Christians worldwide can do to help is pray, he said.

I dont know what will happen right now. The military junta hates Christians, he said. People are crying right now. They are all sad, including me. We dont even know what we feel right now.
People have become immune to what he says on climate change; its just Craig being Craig, but his comments on the Capitol riots [in Washington, DC] shocked people. His comments on COVID-19 are really damaging. Its like having [celebrity chef] Pete Evans in the party room. For many readers, the message was clear: Kellys views were dangerous and it was time for him to be forced out of politics. philt: Shut him down ScoMo. He is harming the party.

Loading WS Jevons: Craig Kelly  another failed provincial politician who has no moral sense of the balance between the right to freedom of speech versus the responsibility for ensuring evidence-based policy. The sooner he is thrown from office the better for Australian society and the public institutions that are the pillars of our nation. Cgaw: Diverse, informed opinions can bring enlightened discussion. Uninformed, bigoted, ill-considered rants will empower the deplorables  we have seen that just recently. Prof Antiantihoon: This is not about a difference of opinion: if Mr Kelly was a climatologist or an immunologist, his opinions would be worthwhile. But he is not. He is manifestly unqualified to proffer opinions on either of these matters. BuckStopsHere: If you repeatedly deny proven science, then you should be disqualified from having a seat in Parliament. Australia needs representatives that will look after them.

Ajfwelch: Its like having Pete Evans in the party room. Best put-down of Kelly this year. Chazza: Craig Kelly truly has the support of the Liberal party then it says a lot about the Liberal party (and none of it good). We need politicians who have the capacity to tell truth from fiction, and the character to provide real leadership. However, the MP has some support among readers. Rob: A brilliant member of parliament. Chad: Kelly is a legend. He knows his subject matter and wont be silenced by the Left. They hate that.

Booker T: Craig Kelly is a true Liberal. Telling it as it is without fear of consequences from Head Office. A role model local member! Hot2Trot: I respect and support Craig Kelly in putting forward the truth rather than the propaganda put forward by others in the interest of political power. We need more representatives like Mr Kelly. Random.stuff added: Perhaps hes just reflecting his electorate. Replying to Random.stuff however, Matt wrote: If the majority of his electorate truly believe the misinformation (which I doubt) his job is to help educate them, not exacerbate the problem. Massola said whether they loved him or hated him, clearly our readers care about how the MPs messages could impact Australians, particularly with so much at stake with a vaccine roll-out.

The last story I wrote that attracted as many emails, texts and calls was the Thai cave rescue - and that was a huge global news event, Massola, who most recently was this mastheads south-east Asia correspondent, said. I was really struck by the number of comments, like those from readers philT, AJFWelch, CGaw and Pip123, about the damage being done to the national government and the dangers posed by uninformed commentary. Speaking in question time on Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his views do not align with those of Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer/Alex Ellinghausen Theyre spot on  this isnt just an internal Liberal Party matter or a free speech issue. Kellys message damages the government and the potential for a successful vaccine roll-out across Australia  and that affects all of us.

Heading into the sitting week, readers such as Ian were asking: Why doesnt ScoMo jump on this MP? Trim the cat added: The standards you walk past are the standards you support. With Kelly, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and then Scott Morrison went out of their way to protect him and his ridiculous conspiracy theories. Also the grassroots Liberals excused these dangerous outbursts by rationalising it was just Craig being Craig...The existence of Craig Kelly is a damning indictment of the whole party. Subsequent stories about Kelly throughout the week continued to capture readers attention. A news report detailing Kellys run-in with Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek in the corridors of Parliament on Wednesday, by The Age and the Heralds chief political correspondent David Crowe, attracted more than 900 comments from readers. Later that day, Scott Morrison went on to rebuke Kelly in question time.

I think Scott Morrison has done just about enough to distance himself from Craig Kelly and to make clear his displeasure with the MP this week - though Im sure many will disagree, Massola said. Loading Not calling out Kelly would be far more damaging to the PM than the alternative. Morrison was applauded by some readers for acting, however some readers described the Prime Ministers response as laughable. Doug6: Morrison has had a lot of time to address the Kelly issue however like his lax response to the initial COVID outbreak, he doesnt take risks, even safe risks. He waits and pontificates.
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Article 29 of the Vienna Convention protects diplomats from arrest and detention and grants them immunity from civil or criminal prosecution.

President Muhammadu Buhari's surprise nomination on Thursday of his immediate past service chiefs as non-career ambassadors may have been to shield them from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for atrocities and rights abuses committed by the Nigerian military under their watch.

This is the view of some Nigerian lawyers who spoke with Premium Times on the development.

There have been calls since their retirement last week for the prosecution of especially Mr Buratai who led the Nigerian Army for about five and a half years.

But Thursday evening, a statement by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said the president had forwarded the names of the former service chiefs to the Senate for confirmation as non-career ambassadors.

They include former Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olonisakin; former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai; former Chief of Air Staff, Ibok Ibas; and former Chief of Naval Staff, Abubakar Sadique.

Their nominations come a week after they resigned from service and their replacements were inaugurated.

Their confirmation as ambassadors will confer on them diplomatic immunity.

Article 29 of the Vienna Convention protects diplomats from arrest and grants them immunity against civil and criminal prosecution.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported some of the human rights abuses carried out under the watch of the retired Army Chief, Mr Buratai. His tenure of over five years was characterised by the extrajudicial killings of hundreds of Nigerians by soldiers.

These ranged from the killing of hundreds of Shiites in Zaria, the shooting of innocent civilians who were protesting at the Lekki Toll Gate to the extrajudicial killings in Oyigbo, an Igbo settlement in Rivers State.

The soldiers and officers involved in the killings were never prosecuted or punished, an indication the atrocities were committed with the approval of the army leadership.

Calls for prosecution

Mr Buratai, a lieutenant-general, was appointed by President Buhari in July 2015.

Nigeria's main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), just last week asked the ICC, INTERPOL and other world bodies to institute investigations into Mr Buratai's tenure as army chief.

The PDP, in a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, alleged that Mr Buratai and the other former military chiefs committed crimes against humanity.

Also, the Concerned Nigerians Group said it had instituted a case against the former COAS at the ICC over what it described as human rights violations and crimes against humanity by the army during his tenure.

In a letter last Thursday by its Convener, Deji Adeyanju, the group asked the ICC to investigate, arrest and prosecute Mr Buratai to serve as a deterrent to others.

The ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had said last year that the court had received sufficient information to investigate Mr Buratai and his colleagues for alleged war crimes in the war against the Boko Haram insurgents in the Nigeria's North-east.

But Mr Buratai had dismissed the statement, saying he was not afraid of being charged for war crimes.

Immunity

Going by the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, Mr Buratai will enjoy diplomatic immunity while he remains an ambassador.

The convention grants privileges to member nations like Nigeria that enable their diplomats to perform their duties without the fear of arrest or prosecution.

Article 29 of the convention states:

"Diplomats must not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. They are immune from civil or criminal prosecution, though the sending country may waive this right under Article 32."

Other articles which protect diplomats include Article 22 which protects diplomatic premises such as embassies. It states that such embassies must not be entered by host countries except with permission.

"The host country must never search the premises, nor seize its documents or property. Article 30 extends this provision to the private residence of the diplomats," another provision of the law reads.

Also, Article 24 establishes that the archives and documents of a diplomatic mission are inviolable. The receiving country shall not seize or open such documents.

It further states that a diplomatic bag must not be opened even on suspicion.

Angry lawyers

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Afam Osigwe, expressing disappointment at the nomination of the former service chiefs as diplomats.

He said the government should have waited for the outcome of their investigation before their nomination.

Mr Osigwe said the manner of the nomination suggests it was done solely for the sake of conferring immunity on the former service chiefs.

"I would have thought the government should have been circumspect in nominating any person who has charges pending against him or her before the ICC for crimes against humanity.

"I thought it would have been better for any responsible government to have waited for the outcome of such investigation before appointing such persons.

"The manner the five former service chiefs are being nominated for ambassadorial posting makes it look as if the whole idea is to give them diplomatic immunity from prosecution and that should worry all of us about the image of the country and what message we are sending across to the entire world.

"But then, the appointment is still subject to confirmation by the Senate. Going by what we have seen from the Senate, I do not expect to see the Senate reject any of those nominations.

"But then again, the countries to which these individuals may be posted reserve the right to accept their letters of credence, accepting them as Ambassadors of their countries.

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"We watch and see but I do not think this goes well for Nigeria, for human rights and also accountability in governance," he said.

Another lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, described the appointment as an immoral attempt to convey diplomatic immunity on them so that they can evade the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the ICC.

He urged the Senate to reject the nominations.

"President Buhari has by this ignoble appointments reminded Nigerians that he is deaf to their cries and blind to their suffering. No leader in this country in my lifetime has exceeded Buhari's parochialism and provocative indifference to public opinion.

"These former service chiefs were supposed to be fired long ago, but because we have a president who has an unbreakable covenant with failure, they were retained in defiance of the resolutions of the National Assembly and the opinion of most Nigerians.

"After removing them belatedly, this president has now rewarded them for superintending over the mass murder(s) of citizens by the Armed Forces and non-state actors such as Boko Haram and the so-called bandits. In other words, Buhari is telling them 'thank you for keeping to my covenant with failure'.

"The appointments appears to be an immoral attempt to convey diplomatic immunity on them so that they can evade the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

"If the Senate has an iota of self-respect and decency, they should reject these abominable nominations. If they are confirmed, it will reinforce the belief that the current National Assembly is working against the interest of the citizens," Mr Effiong said.
Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand is seen via videoconference during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 1, 2021. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Every Vaccine Maker Was Asked to Make Their Doses in Canada and All Said No: Anand

OTTAWAEvery COVID-19 vaccine maker Canada signed a contract with last summer was asked if they could make the doses in Canada and all of them concluded they could not, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Thursday.

Anand told the House of Commons industry committee that her department proactively and repeatedly approached leading vaccine manufacturers about the matter.

We took this issue up with suppliers at every turn at the negotiating table to discern whether they would come to the table with this possibility of domestic biomanufacturing, Anand said.

The manufacturers reviewed the identified assets here in Canada and concluded that biomanufacturing capacity in this country, at the time of contract, which was last August and September, was too limited to justify the investment of capital and expertise to start manufacturing in Canada.

Many of the COVID-19 vaccine makers sought partners to help produce their product but Canadas biomanufacturing industry has shrunk considerably in the last half century and investments dried up.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced earlier this week Canada has a new contract with Maryland-based Novavax to eventually make doses of its vaccine at a new National Research Council facility going up in Montreal.

But that building wont be finished until the summer and the new doses are not likely to start being pumped out until late fall at the earliest, long after Canada expects to import enough doses to vaccinate the entire population.

Vaccine manufacturing will be newly available at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan next year, and at Precision Nanosystems in British Columbia in 2023. But none of that helps Canada make doses of COVID-19 vaccines today.

AstraZeneca sought deals with multiple countries to produce its vaccine last summer and fall, including China, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, India and South Korea. The company says it has a dozen supply chains now involving 15 different countries.

NDP MP Don Davies questioned why Canada isnt among them.

I raised this issue personally with AstraZeneca last August, Anand replied. That was not an issue they wanted to pursue with Canada at the time.

Anand said Canada also wanted the quickest route to getting vaccine doses and that importing the doses was faster than trying to build capacity at home.

Moderna signed a 10-year exclusive agreement with Swiss-based Lonza, to make their vaccine. Lonza had to retool its production entirely to accommodate the new mRNA vaccine.

Delays getting Lonzas second and third production line up and running in Switzerland is blamed for Modernas smaller deliveries this month. Moderna was to deliver 230,000 doses to Canada this week, but 180,000 arrived Thursday morning instead.

A spokeswoman for the company says it will still deliver two million doses total by the end of March. The company has delivered about half a million thus far, leaving 1.5 million for the only two shipments planned after this week before that deadline.

But Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander managing logistics of vaccine deliveries for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said Thursday Canada doesnt expect to get the 249,600 doses it was initially allocated for the Feb. 22 shipment either.

That comes after a month of smaller shipments from Pfizer-BioNTech, which was supposed to deliver more than 1.1 million doses between Jan. 18 and Feb. 14, and instead is delivering fewer than 340,000.

Fortin said Pfizer is resuming more normal shipments on Feb. 15, with 335,000 doses coming that week, and almost 400,000 the week after.

Provincial governments are expressing their exasperation with the vaccine supply shortages and the lack of clear information from Ottawa about what is coming and when.

I have advocated for both a consistent supply of vaccines and a consistent supply of information, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said

Unfortunately, we continue to get neither.

He said he will be pushing Trudeau to do better during the weekly phone call between Trudeau and premiers Thursday night.

Canadas reliance on foreign production of vaccines came to the forefront in the last week when Europewhere all of Canadas current vaccines are madeimposed export controls to protect their own supplies. Europe has assured Canada it wont affect Canadas shipments and Anand said so far that is true.

Canadas shipments from Pfizer and Moderna this week were allowed to go out, and Anand said next weeks Pfizer shipment has been approved as well.

In addition to the smaller supplies from Moderna this month, cold water was thrown quickly on news that Canada could soon get as many as 1.1 million doses of AstraZenecas vaccine from the global vaccine-sharing initiative known as the COVAX Facility.

The initiative, co-ordinated by the World Health Organization and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, told Canada Jan. 30, and then confirmed Feb. 2, that Canada would get between 1.9 million and 3.2 million doses by the end of June. That was to include 500,000 to 1.1 million by the end of March.

But Gavi CEO Dr. Seth Berkley said a delay in getting the vaccine licensed for use by the WHO means some of the expected doses wont arrive now until the summer. Canada is expecting to get about 475,000 AstraZeneca doses in February and March.

Those deliveries are pending approval by WHO and Health Canada, which in the very final stages of its review. Another 1.4 million doses will be shipped in the spring.

Canada has also ordered 20 million doses from AstraZeneca directly, but Fortin was tight-lipped about when any of those doses will arrive.

We are planning a number of contingencies, he said.

By Mia Rabson
Three new piles of limestone rocks sit at the bottom of Galveston Bay, dropped there in December as an experiment in helping hard-hit oysters. The coastal area was once a top Texas oyster producer. Then came drought  and Hurricanes Ike and Harvey.

A state agency and two environmental groups are carrying out this latest attempt to support the bivalves. Officials this week banned harvesting over a 40-acre site to let the oysters grow. After 21 months, one rock pile will remain protected. The other two will be harvested.

If all goes as hoped, the protected population will repopulate the fished ones, creating a sustainable model for how to harvest. The idea could be replicated throughout the bay and others to support an animal  and industry  that experts say is threatened globally by over-harvesting, storms and disease.

Gulf oysters comprise the worlds largest native harvested population, said Jennifer Pollack, chair for coastal conservation and restoration at Texas A&Ms Harte Research Institute. Texas and Louisiana are top producers. More than 5 million pounds of eastern oysters, worth $33.5 million, were harvested in Texas in 2019.

Still, the amount of Texas oysters collected is trending down. And while Galveston Bay historically played a big role in the business, storms and drought have accelerated the decline of its population. Researchers and advocates recreated reefs, but so many oysters there now are so young that Texas recently banned public harvesting in the bay altogether.

The oysters world is also only getting trickier to live in: Climate change is expected to make more frequent the intense storms that can decrease the bays salinity with rain, making oysters seal up, or bury the oysters in sediment with a surge.

The newest project is a joint effort of the state, The Nature Conservancy and the Galveston Bay Foundation. It highlights a shift toward thinking broadly about the bay, instead of reef by reef, organizers say. It comes amid growing public interest in where seafood comes from  and how its harvested.

These are very valuable, iconic things about our coast, Pollack said. So if its going down, we need to think about these different strategies for managing it. Its not just business as usual anymore.

A lot of sense

Bill Rodney, a coastal ecologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is among those waiting to see if baby oysters waft over to the new rocks and glom on.

Rodney has devoted much of his career to helping this creature, struck by how oyster reefs provide homes for lots of marine life. The reefs are basically oyster shell piles on which oysters grow. Those shells, its habitat, are removed when theyre fished. Storms can also bury them in sediment. To address this, Parks and Wildlife puts material such as limestone in the bay to build reefs back, and it requires fishermen to return  or pay to replace  some of the shell they collect.

But thats just one approach. The Galveston Bay Foundation, unlike the state, often rebuilds reefs too close to shore to be harvested. Their strategy stems from how much work goes into it. Shannon Batte spends three days a week driving to restaurants to collect shells from oysters that people have eaten, discarded in blue bins with stray lemons, forks and Tabasco packets.

Batte on Wednesday drove 14 bins to a clearing on a wooded lot in Pasadena, shoving them off a trailer with gloved hands and spilling their stinky contents on the ground. A piece of oyster wound up on her shoe. Wildlife will eat the leftovers and the sun will kill anything unwanted before staff pick out the trash and return the shells to the bay.

The new reef rebuild model is something neither has tried, a hybrid of allowing fishing and protecting. It tests the idea that oyster populations arent necessarily on the same reef but connected through currents, as larvae fertilized in the water float around to find a home.

Rodney was following the restoration literature, and, he said, it just seemed like it made a lot of sense.

Ian Terry / For the Chronicle

Common goal

When a chance arose to apply for funding after BPs 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill  which shut down Louisiana oyster fishing and increased demand in Texas  Rodney worked on a proposal. Someone at The Nature Conservancy had a similar idea. (They have a like project going near Rockport in Copano Bay.)

Both groups, with the foundation, received $2.3 million in grant funds to test it where Trinity and Galveston bays connect.

All recognized the once-thriving spot needed a boost. In 2008, Hurricane Ike suffocated a significant chunk of oysters with sediment. Drought also made the bays salty. Disease spread, as did snails that make holes in oyster shells and eat the gooey animals.

Next came heavy rains, which triggered massive spring floods in 2015 and 2016 and devastated the region during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The bays became less salty. Oysters sealed up and stopped filtering water for food and oxygen. Oystermen all the while kept fishing as allowed.

Luckily, oysters tend to bounce back, said Haille Leija, habitat restoration manager with the Galveston Bay Foundation. Those helping to run two big oyster businesses on the bay  Prestige Oysters in San Leon and Jeris Seafood in Smith Point  agreed the population now seems improved.

Its like anything else, said Tracy Woody, Jeris president, you have to manage your harvest.

Woody thinks this sort of project might help. So does Raz Halili, who learned about oysters from his parents. Now vice president of Prestige, he didnt see the states project as the savior or single miracle for the industry, but part of a needed broad effort toward a single goal: having a healthy ecosystem.

emily.foxhall@chron.com
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The beloved classic "Cinderella" live-action movie starring Brandy and Whitney Houston will finally arrive at Disney+.

On Thursday, Disney officially announced the arrival of the 1997 epic fairytale film "Cinderella" on its streaming platform, per Variety.

The company revealed that "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella" will grace Disney+ on February 12 "at the stroke of midnight," mimicking the story's midnight spell.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

The Walt Disney Television creation adapted Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical.

In the film, Whitney Houston served as the co-producer and Cinderella's Fairy Godmother.

Meanwhile, Brandy landed in the titular role and worked with other cast, including Jason Alexander (Lionel), Whoopi Goldberg (Queen Constantina), Bernadette Peters (Stepmother), Veanne Cox (Calliope), Natalie Desselle (Minerva), Victor Garber (King Maximillian), and Paolo Montalban (Prince Christopher).

The movie's arrival has been long-awaited by fans ever since Brandy herself asked the company to acquire its rights.

Last summer, the 41-year-old actress told Rolling Stone that she did not know why the award-winning fairytale story had not arrived on the platform yet.

But since her movie with Diana Ross, "Double Platinum," made it to Netflix, she remained hopeful that Disney would do the same on "Cinderella."

"That's hope that maybe Disney can come on up and scoop up Cinderella. That would be awesome, I would love that," Brandy expressed at the time.

Following the news, the actress appeared with Goldberg on ABC's "The View" to share the good news.

"It's pretty remarkable that people have been begging for 'Cinderella' to be re-released for almost 24 years. I mean, what do you think, is it possible?" Goldberg teased.

Meanwhile, Brandy approved and said that the release is possible. She also shared her excitement as their movie found a home at Disney+ now.

"Cinderella" Movie Milestones

Before its arrival on the streaming platform, the movie did not need any help to win people's hearts.

The film originally arrived on ABC's "The Wonderful World of Disney" on November 2, 1997.

During that time, around 60 million viewers watched the televised broadcast of the movie adaptation. It then flaunted Rodgers & Hammerstein's original songs, including "In My Own Little Corner," "Ten Minutes Ago," "Impossible," "A Lovely Night," "Ten Minutes Ago," and "Do I Love Your Because You're Beautiful," among others.

In 1998, it scored seven Emmy nominations and won the art direction for a variety or music program category.

Now that it will be relived again, the producer shared how excited he is upon learning the news.

"As the service got up and running, I became inundated on my social media by inquiries from fans asking why the movie was not included in its programming," producer Debra Martin Chase told Variety. "It is so rewarding that over 25 years later, our Cinderella is still relevant and beloved."

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
FLINT, MI  Flint residents looking to make repairs or improvements to their homes can now apply for low- or no-interest loans of up to $20,000 through the Flint Home Improvement Fund.

To be eligible, applicants must own and occupy a single-family home in the city of Flint as their primary residence. Funding is available for homeowners of all income levels and is not contingent upon the assessed value of a home, according to a joint press release from Genesee County Habitat for Humanity and Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

In addition, homeowners may not have to pay back the entire amount borrowed. The amount to be paid back will be determined on a sliding scale based on household income.

This is a golden opportunity for residents to be able to make home improvements at a fraction of the cost, Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said. The Flint Home Improvement Fund is a groundbreaking partnership that I am so proud is being launched in our city to help families, neighborhoods and the overall community.

Partners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors have come together to create and promote the Flint HIF, which will be managed by Genesee County Habitat for Humanity. Other partners include the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, city of Flint, the Community Foundation of Greater Flint (CFGF), Genesee County Land Bank Authority, Huntington National Bank, Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and the Neighborhood Engagement Hub.

The Mott Foundation granted a total of $661,878 to provide funding for no-interest home repair loans for low-income Flint residents and to support Habitats management of the program. MSHDA contributed $500,000 from its Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds, which will be used to help homeowners with low-to-moderate incomes make improvements and repairs. CFGF granted $15,000 in funding for staff support to facilitate the loan program. In addition, Huntington will provide low-interest, unsecured home improvement loans for all income- and credit-qualifying borrowers, per the press release.

This is an exciting partnership that will remove the barriers many residents have faced in making repairs and improvements to their homes, Ridgway White, president and CEO of the Mott Foundation, said. And that positive change will add up, home by home, to help strengthen neighborhoods across the city.

Loans through the Flint HIF can be used for a variety of repair and improvement projects, including but not limited to:

Furnace and hot water heater replacement

Roof replacement or repairs

Kitchen and bath upgrades

Deck and porch replacement

New siding

This is a monumental step toward creating a system where all homeowners in the city of Flint can access funds to improve their homes, Thomas Hutchison, executive director of Genesee County Habitat for Humanity, said. By helping residents access capital to improve their homes with flexible and affordable repayment options, the Flint Home Improvement Fund strives to create strong neighborhoods where residents can maintain their homes while avoiding burdensome debt.

Its an approach MSHDA hopes will extend beyond Flint.

This collaboration fits our guiding principle of engaging partners in creating innovative, sustainable housing solutions, Gary Heidel, acting executive director at MSHDA, said. Were glad to pilot the program in Flint with such strong partners and hope to replicate it in communities across the state.

Greg Viener, president of Huntingtons mid-Michigan region, said homeownership is a powerful tool to help people improve their lives and build wealth.

After Flint homeowners apply to the Flint HIF, Genesee County Habitat for Humanity will work with them to see which funding applies to their income level and situation, as well as to answer any questions they may have, according to organizers of the new program.

With sliding scale repayment options on these low- to no-interest loans, there is no reason not to apply, Hutchinson said. Even if you dont qualify now, we will work to find a way to put you in a position where you can access these or other funds to repair your home.

Because loan approval will be based on funds available at the time of application, residents are encouraged to apply early. To support even more homeowners, Flint HIF partners are looking to bring additional resources to the fund.

To learn more or apply, visit Flint-HIF.org or call 810-766-9089, ext. 213.

Related news:

State seeking Genesee County applicants for home improvement grant program

Mott Foundation begins $1M Focus on Flint initiative with $120,000 to help repair seniors homes





Haiti - Diaspora : Soon mobile consulates in France





The Consul General of the Republic of Haiti in Paris, Wedlyne Francois Pierre, has decided to set up a new program called "Konsila vi n pi pre w" intended to make the services of the Consulate closer to our compatriots.



This program started from the observation that our compatriots in provincial towns invest too much time and money to get in touch with the Consulate. It is unacceptable that some of our compatriots spend between six and eight hours before being able to arrive at the Consulate General of Haiti in Paris. In some cases, they are obliged to spend the night with a relative or worse, if they do not know anyone in the Paris region, they are obliged to rent a hotel room to be sure to arrive on time to our services. .



The "Konsila vi n pi pre w" program will consist of going out to meet compatriots in provincial towns where they are found in large numbers, such as Rennes, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Orleans among others. The Consultate will work in partnership with associations in order to find out the number of compatriots who would need to renew their passports or request an act from the legal service. As soon as the number of requests reaches a reasonable level, the Consulate will organize a day during which our compatriots will be able to carry out all their procedures on the spot.



Note that this program is reminiscent of the mobile Consulate service organized in particular by the Consulate of Haiti in Orlando (Florida) for several years.



HL/ HaitLibre


















Rep. Adam Schiff is quietly lobbying Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies to appoint him Californias next attorney general, according to people familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: If Newsom selects Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee and a confidant of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Democrats would lose a powerful party voice in the U.S. House and temporarily give up a seat in their slim 221-211 majority.

Nonetheless, Pelosi has given her approval to Schiffs bid, a clear sign she thinks she can manage without him. according to people familiar with the matter. Spokespersons for Schiff and Pelosi declined comment.

The attorney general's job also would better position Schiff, a high-profile Democrat who led the Russia investigation into then-President Trump, to run for Sen. Dianne Feinsteins seat, should the 87-year-old decide not to run for reelection in 2024.

The AG's job is being vacated by Xavier Becerra, who President Biden has nominated to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services.

The big picture: While Schiff represents Californias Los Angeles-based 28th District, a safe seat for Democrats, it would take roughly six months for a special election to select his successor.

Under Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, House vacancies are not filled by appointment  as in the Senate  only by election.

Driving the news: Once Becerra is confirmed, Newsom has the authority to name his replacement as attorney general.

It would mark the third high-profile appointment for Newsom, who tapped Secretary of State Alex Padilla to replace Kamala Harris in the Senate, making him the states first Hispanic U.S. senator.

Newsom then filled Padilla's job with Shirley Weber, making her the state's first Black secretary of state.

The intrigue: Newsom, whose approval rating on the pandemic has plummeted to 31% and who faces a recall effort, has not publicly indicated who he is inclined to pick for the attorney general job, but lobbying campaigns across the state are heating up.

Other potential candidates are Rob Bonta, a member of the state Assembly, and Rick Chavez Zbur, director of Equality California, a LGBTQ advocacy group, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Its pretty clear that there are advocates for their favorites," said Bill Carrick, a California political strategist. "But its not clear that that will have any influence on the one person who will make the decision: Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Gov. Gavin Newsom's approval rating specifically on the pandemic has plummeted to 31%, and that he is facing a recall effort.
Erica Salazar and her team, like the entire SPARC research and development effort, approached its work with a focus on eventual commercialization, usability, and ease of manufacture, with an eye toward accelerating fusions viability as an energy source. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The pursuit of fusion as a safe, carbon-free, always-on energy source has intensified in recent years, with a number of organizations pursuing aggressive timelines for technology demonstrations and power plant designs. New-generation superconducting magnets are a critical enabler for many of these programs, which creates growing need for sensors, controls, and other infrastructure that will allow the magnets to operate reliably in the harsh conditions of a commercial fusion power plant.

A collaborative group led by Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) doctoral student Erica Salazar recently took a step forward in this area with a promising new method for quick detection of a disruptive abnormality, quench, in powerful high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets. Salazar worked with NSE Assistant Professor Zach Hartwig of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) and Michael Segal of spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), along with members of the Swiss CERN research center and the Robinson Research Institute (RRI) at Victoria University in New Zealand to achieve the results, which were published in the journal Superconductor Science and Technology.

Stanching quench

Quench occurs when part of a magnet's coil shifts out of a superconducting state, where it has no electrical resistance, and into a normal resistive state. This causes the massive current flowing through the coil, and stored energy in the magnet, to quickly convert into heat, and potentially cause serious internal damage to the coil.

While quench is a problem for all systems using superconducting magnets, Salazar's team is focused on preventing it in power plants based on magnetic-confinement fusion devices. These types of fusion devices, known as tokamaks, will maintain a plasma at extremely high temperature, similar to the core of a star, where fusion can occur and generate net-positive energy output. No physical material can handle those temperatures, so magnetic fields are used to confine, control, and insulate the plasma. The new HTS magnets allow the tokamak's toroidal (doughnut-shaped) magnetic enclosure to be both stronger and more compact, but interruptions in the magnetic field from quench would halt the fusion processhence the importance of improved sensor and control capabilities.

With this in mind, Salazar's group sought a way of quickly spotting temperature changes in the superconductors, which can indicate nascent quench incidents. Their test bed was a novel superconducting cable developed in the SPARC program known as VIPER, which incorporates assemblies of thin steel tape coated with HTS material, stabilized by a copper former and jacketed in copper and stainless steel, with a central channel for cryogenic cooling. Coils of VIPER can generate magnetic fields two-to-three times stronger than the older-generation low-temperature superconducting (LTS) cable; this translates into vastly higher fusion output power, but also makes the energy density of the field higher, which places more onus on quench detection to protect the coil.

A focus on fusion's viability

Salazar's team, like the entire SPARC research and development effort, approached its work with a focus on eventual commercialization, usability, and ease of manufacture, with an eye toward accelerating fusion's viability as an energy source. Her background as a mechanical engineer with General Atomics during production and testing of LTS magnets for the international ITER fusion facility in France gave her perspective on sensing technologies and the critical design-to-production transition.

"Moving from manufacturing into design helped me think about whether what we're doing is a practical implementation," explains Salazar. Moreover, her experience with voltage monitoring, the traditional quench-detection approach for superconducting cable, led her to think a different approach was needed. "During fault testing of the ITER magnets, we observed electrical breakdown of the insulation occurring at the voltage tap wires. Because I now consider anything that breaks high-voltage insulation to be a major risk point, my perspective on a quench detection system was, what do we do to minimize these risks, and how can we make it as robust as possible?"

A promising alternative was temperature measurement using optical fibers inscribed with micro-patterns known as fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). When broadband light is directed at an FBG, most of the light passes through, but one wavelength (determined by the spacing, or period, of the grating's pattern) is reflected. The reflected wavelength varies slightly with both temperature and strain, so placement of a series of gratings with different periods along the fiber allows independent temperature monitoring of each location.

While FBGs have been leveraged across many different industries for measurement of strain and temperature, including on much smaller superconducting cables, they had not been used on larger cables with high current densities like VIPER. "We wanted to take good work by others and put it to the test on our cable design," says Salazar. VIPER cable was well-adapted for this approach, she notes, because of its stable structure, which is designed to withstand the intense electrical, mechanical, and electromagnetic stresses of a fusion magnet's environment.

A new extension on FBGs

A novel option was provided by the RRI team in the form of ultra-long fiber Bragg gratings (ULFBGs)a series of 9-milimeter FBGs spaced 1 mm apart. These essentially behave as one long quasi-continuous FBG, but with the advantage that the combined grating length can be meters long instead of millimeters. While conventional FBGs can monitor temperature changes at localized points, ULFBGs can monitor simultaneously occurring temperature changes along their entire length, allowing them to provide very rapid detection of temperature variation, irrespective of the location of the heat source.

Although this means that the precise location of hot spots is obscured, it works very well in systems where early identification of a problem is of utmost importance, as in an operating fusion device. And a combination of ULFBGs and FBGs could provide both spatial and temporal resolution.

An opportunity for hands-on verification came via a CERN team working with standard FBGs on accelerator magnets at the CERN facility in Geneva, Switzerland. "They thought FBG technology, including the ULFBG concept, would work well on this type of cable and wanted to look into it, and got on board with the project," says Salazar.

In 2019, she and colleagues journeyed to the SULTAN facility in Villigen, Switzerland, a leading center for superconducting cable evaluation operated by the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC), which is affiliated with Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, to evaluate samples of VIPER cable with optical fibers set into grooves on their outer copper jackets. Their performance was compared to traditional voltage taps and resistance temperature sensors.

Quick detection under realistic conditions

The researchers were able to quickly and reliably detect small temperature disturbances under realistic operating conditions, with the fibers picking up early-stage quench growth before thermal runaway more effectively than the voltage taps. When compared to the challenging electromagnetic environment seen in a fusion device, the fibers' signal-to-noise ratio was several times better; in addition, their sensitivity increased as quench regions expanded, and the fibers' response times could be tuned. This enabled them to detect quench events tens of seconds faster than voltage taps, especially during slowly propagating quenchesa characteristic unique to HTS which is exceptionally difficult for voltage taps to detect in the tokamak environment, and which can lead to localized damage.

" sing fiber optic technologies for HTS magnets quench detection or as a dual verification method with voltage show great promise," says the group's write-up, which also cites the manufacturability and minimal technological risk of the approach.

"The development of sensitive temperature measurements with FBGs is a very promising approach to the challenging problem of protecting HTS coils from damage during quenches," observes Kathleen Amm, director of the Brookhaven National Laboratory Magnet Division, who was not affiliated with the research effort. "This is critical to the development of game-changing technologies like compact fusion, where practical, high-field, high-temperature superconducting magnets are a key technology. It also has the potential to solve the problem of quench protection for many industrial HTS applications."

Work is underway on refining the location and installation of the fibers, including the type of adhesive used, and also on investigating how the fibers can be installed in other cables and on different platforms, says Salazar.

"We're having a lot of dialog with CFS and continuing to coordinate with the RRI team's ULFBG technology, and I am currently creating a 3-D model of quench dynamics, so we can better understand and predict what quench would look like under different conditions," states Salazar. "Then we can develop design recommendations for the detection system, like the type and spacing of the gratings, so it can detect in the desired length of time. That will allow the controls engineers and the engineers working on quench detection algorithms to write and optimize their code."

Salazar praised the experimental team's outstanding collegiality, noting, "the collaboration with RRI and CERN was special. We all converged in Switzerland, worked hard together, and had fun putting our efforts in and getting great results."

Explore further Superconductor technology for smaller, sooner fusion

More information: Erica Elizabeth Salazar et al. Fiber optic quench detection for large-scale HTS magnets demonstrated on VIPER cable during high-fidelity testing at the SULTAN facility, Superconductor Science and Technology (2021). Journal information: Superconductor Science and Technology Erica Elizabeth Salazar et al. Fiber optic quench detection for large-scale HTS magnets demonstrated on VIPER cable during high-fidelity testing at the SULTAN facility,(2021). DOI: 10.1088/1361-6668/abdba8

This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.
Chloe Ferry's cosmetic brand is reportedly 10,000 in debt, four years after she first launched her line.

According to The Sun, the 25-year-old Geordie Shore star's most recent accounts show Chloe Ferry Cosmetics Ltd has just over 8,008 in cash - a 21,000 difference from 2019.

The company's debts have reportedly exceeded its income and assets  leaving it 10,625 in the red for last year.

Financial woes: Chloe Ferry's cosmetic brand is reportedly 10,000 in debt, four years after she first launched her line

Influencer Chloe - who recently returned to the UK following a lengthy 'work' trip to Dubai - became a millionaire at 24, after raking in the cash from her TV work, modelling, Instagram earnings, beauty products and personal appearances.

Despite the dip in sales, the model took to her business Instagram to share an image of sacks of orders.

Chloe Ferry Cosmetics' account - which is followed by 136,000 users - is updated daily and often treats customers to discounts in a bid to boost sales.

The TV star has two firms to handle her income, with both boasting more than 250,000 in cash.

A fall: The 25-year-old Geordie Shore star's most recent accounts show Chloe Ferry Cosmetics Ltd has just over 8,008 in cash - a 21,000 difference from 2019

Keeping busy: Despite the dip in sales, the model took to her business Instagram to share an image of sacks of orders

Sales: Chloe Ferry Cosmetics' account - which is followed by 136,000 users - is updated daily and often treats customers to discounts in a bid to boost sales

In 2018, the former Celebrity Big Brother star paid 61,000 in Corporation Tax and will be paying even more due to her earnings from the past year.

Including expenses like travel, entertaining, office costs for her business, mileage and salary payments, Chloe has earned over 1million in the last two years alone.

The media personality boasts 3.5million followers on Instagram and her large following means she can charge up to 3,000 per sponsored post.

Impressive: The influencer became a millionaire at 24, after raking in money from her TV work, modelling, Instagram earnings, beauty products and personal appearances (pictured in 2020)

Like much of the reality TV world, the blonde had escaped the UK coronavirus crisis and imposed herself upon the United Arab Emirates for a 'business trip'.

The nature of her work was not made clear at any point in the trip, however she did litter social media with an onslaught of beach and clubbing snaps.

Travel abroad for leisure was prohibited under Tier 4 guidelines with exceptions only allowing reasons such as work, education and childcare.

At the end of last month, the government banned direct passenger flights from the UAE.


[February 05, 2021] Insurity Named "Dominant Provider" in the 2021 Novarica Market Navigator Report for Property and Casualty Claims Systems

Insurity, a leading provider of cloud-based systems for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs, today announced it has been named a "Dominant Provider" and "Established Player" for its ClaimsXPress and Claims Decisions solutions, respectively, in the 2021 Novarica Market Navigator report for property and casualty claims systems. Additionally, Insurity's recently acquired company, CodeObjects, was named a "Contender" for its claims solution. "We are honored to be recognized by Novarica as both a dominant provider and established player for our market-leading claims solutions," said Jatin Atre, chief marketing officer at Insurity. "Insurity's claims solutions support the full spectrum of the P&C insurance industry, from small to large personal and commercial line insurance carriers, monoline and multi-line carriers, as well as MGAs. Our world-class software and analytics solutions, in combination with our deep insurance expertise and cloud leadership, enure that we can provide customers with best-in-class solutions that simplify their business, deliver exceptional policyholder experiences, and support growing market demands."



Jeff Goldberg, executive vice president of research and consulting at Novarica, said, "As customer and employee expectations continue to change due to market forces outside the insurance industry, insurers require advanced claims systems to create a seamless and transparent experiences for policyholders, while also improving operational efficiency that helps them drive down loss adjustment expenses and loss costs that are primarily claims-related." The Novarica Market Navigator: Property/Casualty Claims Systems report provides an overview of all available claims systems for the US property and casualty insurers, profiling and segmenting 27 total solutions into four categories: Dominant Providers, Contenders, Established Players, and New Entrants. Dominant Providers have strong market positions and momentum with well-known solutions; Contenders have substantial customer experience and momentum; Established Players have generally been in the market longer and have substantial customer experience; and New Entrants represents emerging providers in this segment.

To download the Novarica Market Navigator: Property/Casualty Claims Systems report, click here. For more information on the ClaimsXPress, Claims Decisions, and CodeObjects ClaimEnterprise solutions, visit https://www.insurity.com. About Insurity Insurity is a leading provider of cloud-based systems for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs. Through its best-in-class digital platform and with unrivaled industry experience and thought leadership, Insurity is uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional value, empowering customers to focus on their core businesses, optimize their operations, and provide superior policyholder experiences. With users worldwide and more cloud-based deployments than any other core system provider in the insurtech space, Insurity is trusted by 15 of the top 25 property and casualty carriers in the US. For more information, visit www.insurity.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210205005458/en/

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Dr. Godwin Friday, Leader of the Opposition, (inset) has once again called for a time-limit closure of air (AIA pictured) and sea ports.

The practice of persons who test positive for COVID-9 and are told to go home to quarantine without the assistance of any specialized arrangement needs to stop.





This call was made by Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday during his contribution to the debate of the Appropriation Bill, February 1.





Dr. Friday told the House of Assembly that he had heard of stories of persons with no access to private transport who, after being tested positive for COVID-19 at district flu clinics, have been sent home to quarantine.





"They do not have anyone to call for a rideand when they get on the van where there were only two persons, but then the van gets full  that is recklessness, Friday asserted, saying in the same breath, "There had to be a better solution.





The government, according to the Opposition Leader, believed they can ride the pandemic out. This was not plausible.





It was with this in mind that he recommended that all air and sea ports be closed to non-essential travel, with an exception in the case of returning nationals.





He suggested that this be implemented for 28 days initially.

"Let us get control of the disease in our communities, Friday said, and warned that, "We cannot be compounding the problem by having persons coming in every week.





And in highlighting that testing has fallen behind and that people are complaining about the long wait for results, he asked, "Why compound the issue by having more people coming in?





Friday reminded the House that when the Opposition made a similar call in 2020, during the initial onset of the coronavirus, the government rejected the suggestion and mischaracterized it as a call to lockdown "tight like a drum.





Yet, he noted, when Air Canada announced it was cancelling flights, the government acknowledged that as being a good thing.





Repeating something he had broached during his contribution to the debate on the 2021 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, and referencing that when he first broached the suggestion he was ridiculed by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves and Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves who said that the schools were designated as evacuation centres in the event of an explosive eruption of the La Soufriere, Friday called for schools to be as isolation/quarantine centres, with appropriate renovation being put in place.
Man who punched pregnant boss apologises for blowing a fuse

PHUKET: The man who punched his eight-month-pregnant boss in the face on Wednesday after she told him that he had failed probation as a parcel delivery man has publicly apologised for blowing a fuse, but also said that he would file a counter-complaint against his former employer for defamation.



By Eakkapop Thongtub

Friday 5 February 2021, 06:10PM

Sutthiporn with his wife Sunny and their young child at their home in Phuket Villa 3 today (Feb 5). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Sutthiporn Thanarit, 30, invited reporters to his home at Phuket Villa 3 in Wichit today (Feb 5) to hear his explanation of the events that led to him punching Natthaporn Fon Srithep, 23, manager of the Best Express courier service office in Baan Nabon, Moo 1, Chalong, in the face.

Ms Natthaporn is eight months pregnant, and was left with a black eye from the attack.

Sutthiporn today said that he did not mean to attack Ms Natthaporn, although the entire incident was recorded on the office security CCTV, clearly showing him to be the aggressor.

He just needed an explanation about his salary being cut, he said.

I was a parcel delivery man. For the last month, I delivered more than 1,000 parcels. The manager should have given me slightly more than B13,000. However, I received only B11,000. I wanted to know where the B2,000 had gone, Sutthiporn said today.

We had been arguing. I always followed the company rules, but the manager was not happy with me because the manager brought her father and brother to work in the company, he alleged.

She wants her father to deliver parcels in the areas that I was responsible for, he added.

Sutthiporn said he felt guilty for blowing a fuse and attacking Ms Natthaporn.

I have to apologise, but people do not know how she spoke to me, he said.

Sutthiporn confirmed that he had presented himself at Chalong Police Station at 10am yesterday and admitted to the charges of attacking another person, trespass in the daytime and damaging property belonging to another person.

I told the police that the manager had reported to the main branch that I often took leave. I always had a medical certificate to show her. Carrying and shouldering parcels left me with a sore back, so I had to receive medical treatment, Sutthiporn said.

Staff of the main branch told me that I had passed probation, so why did she tell me that I had failed? I never had any overdue parcels for my areas, he said.

Sutthiporn asked for fairness from the media. There are always two sides to a coin. Id like you to listen. If I had gone to attack the manager, why would I take my child along?

He added that he was struck with a plastic chair during the incident, and Ms Natthaporns mother had hit him with an umbrella.

He also said that there were people already in the office waiting for him.

I want justice for myself. Today, my wife and I will go to Chalong Police Station to file a complaint. The manager also hit me with a plastic chair while her mother hit me with an umbrella. I do not have CCTV footage from the office as evidence to support me, he said.

Sutthiporns wife, who asked to be named only as Sunny, repeated that her husband and the manager had been arguing for a long time.

Other [work] colleagues know that he had been treated badly, but they never spoke out, as they may be afraid of losing their jobs, she said.

Sunny today played down a text message that she sent to Ms Natthaporn before Sutthiporn went to the office on Wednesday, saying in Thai, I dont think you will have a chance to give birth. Be careful, see you.

Today, Sunny said that she did not mean that Ms Natthaporn would lose her unborn child.

I want to clarify that all that was meant was that my husband wanted to clear everything with her before she gave birth. It did not mean that he would hurt her child at all, she said.

My husband is a good man, works hard, but does not understand the young manager. She may not be happy with her husband, who is overworked. Where my husband received and delivered parcels, there were no problems.

I want the media to see both sides. We admit that my husband was too hot tempered and hurt the young manager, but when he entered [the office] they were already prepared, waiting for him. It shows that the manager and the managers mother were prepared for this. We ask the media to look here too, she said.
Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
The ongoing farmers' agitation against the Centre's three new farm laws has become a topic of debate not just in India, but on the international platform as well. While many bigwigs from the film industry have refrained from speaking on this issue, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan finally broke his silence on these protests at the launch of a music show in Mumbai.

At the event, when the Bharat actor was asked about the farmers' protest, he responded by saying, "The right thing should be done. The most correct thing should be done. The most noble thing should be done." Meanwhile, the other two Khans, Shah Rukh and Aamir, haven't spoken about this matter yet.

Earlier this week, the farmers' protest gained international attention after American pop star Rihanna and teenage activist Greta Thunberg tweeted their support. Later, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement on foreign individuals commenting on the situation, and said that it is "unfortunate to see vested interest groups trying to enforce their agenda on these protests, and derail them."

Soon, many Bollywood celebrities like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Karan Johar, Lata Mangeshkar, Suniel Shetty and others took to social media to urge the country to 'stand united' as the farmers' protests drew global attention, along with the hashtags 'India together' and 'India Against Propaganda.'

On the other hand, celebrities like Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker, Sayani Gupta and others called out their industry colleagues for sharing MEA's rebuttal to Rihanna.

ALSO READ: Swara Bhasker, Sayani Gupta, Anubhav Sinha Slam B-town Colleagues For Sharing MEA's Statement

ALSO READ: Suniel Shetty On Getting Trolled For His 'India Against Propaganda' Tweet: I Am A Farmer Myself
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Investigative Unit agents cited a Lake County bar Thursday night for violating coronavirus-related health orders that are put in place to curb the spread of the virus.

The Well in Kirtland was cited along with Kokomos at the Keys in Huron, according to a news release from OIU.

Agents walked into the The Well at 7:45 p.m. and found 20 people inside with no social distancing measures or physical barriers in place, the release says.

The establishments will appear before the Ohio Liquor Control Commission where the commission will determine what penalties the businesses should face.

Read more coronavirus coverage on cleveland.com:

Why Donald Trump -- not Gov. Mike DeWine -- should get credit for Ohio nursing home vaccinations: This Week in the CLE

Swimming is helping my mental health  Exercise keeps anxiety attacks at bay: Coping Through Covid

91 new confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases, 2 more deaths reported in Cleveland: Thursday update

Johnson & Johnson asks U.S. regulators to OK its one-shot COVID-19 vaccine

Ohio reports 2,274 new K-12 student coronavirus cases, 968 staff last week, as state vaccinates school staff
At his inauguration, President Joe Biden said, We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts. If we show a little tolerance and humility.

Whether one voted for him or not, President Bidens words are worth breaking down. The beginning of the quote is one I take to heart. At this point in my career, I have lived throughand studiedmy fair share of administrations. But Bidens hopeful words imply a deeper notion at play.

Red against blue rural against urban conservative against liberal

Humans are naturally homophilic (meaning love of the same), and our brains subconsciously seek clues in other people, philosophies, and situations similar to ours. In an age when diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts seek to challenge homophily, influences like social media have brought intense focus on our own tendencies to surround ourselves with likeminded people. By shedding the us versus them mentality, we open ourselves to a world of possibilities, innovation, and creative solutions to complex problems. But do we have the collective will to do that?

Since before the Civil War, Americans have witnessed a pendulum phenomenon with U.S. House and Senate majorities, especially during mid-term elections. Youd be forgiven for thinking these swings might be beneficial where political diversity is concerned; after all, every partys agenda would regain the spotlight with a new crop of lawmakers in charge. This would probably have been true in previous decades, but not in todays hotbeds of partisanship where reaching a supermajority of 60 votes seems nearly unattainable on all but the least controversial legislation.

Modern partisanship has led to legislative obstruction, a dearth of civility, and the extinction of compromise. The uncivil war that pits us against one another is destructive to our democratic experiment, and unless we can find the will to pull ourselves out of the us against them quagmire, we will find ourselves in a barren wasteland in which possibilities, innovation, and creative solutions to complex problems dont exist.

Is there a chance we can change direction now that the executive branch and both chambers of the legislative branch are controlled by one political party? Some would say a one-party government trifecta could be beneficial because it can increase efficiency in passing legislation and avoid gridlock. Others may argue that government trifectas are undesirable because one side can easily pass its agenda unopposed.

The much anticipated blue wave didnt quite materialize in 2020. Some blame intraparty bickering, and lack of a coherent, unified message. While an opposing red wave may serve as a formidable countermeasure, there is a lack of coherence in corners of that space, as well.

So, here we are again, as dividedif not more sothan ever.

When the terrible events of Jan. 6 unfolded at our nations Capitol, I received an influx of messages regarding our PAC contributions, which are deliberately nonpartisan in nature. Leagues like Cornerstone work with the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) to ensure that were supporting credit union champions across the country, regardless of party. The interconnectedness of the federal- and state-level associations is part of the secret sauce that makes our system work.

With the 2020 Census behind us, redistricting will take place this year, possibly determining who controls national and state legislative bodies. In fast-growing states like Texas, redistricting will also lead to reapportionment. The process will be complex and contentious, and the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be redistributed amongst the 50 states. Will this lead to a reexamining of political ideology? That remains to be seen.

Perhaps a quick review of the intersection of U.S. and credit union history will give us some clues. The Great Depression of the 1930s was rife with poverty, unemployment, and economic disintegration. More than 15 million American wage-earners were unemployed with no insurance or compensation, driving people to stand for hours in bread lines. Now almost 90 years later, our nation faces some disturbing parallels.

After more than 9,000 banks closed between 1930 and 19334,000 in 1933 aloneFranklin Delano Roosevelts New Deal gave rise to new banking policies and regulations that led to long-term stability in the financial services industry. By the time Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act into law in 1934, cooperatively structured credit unions had gained popularity by creating a system to promote thrift and sound financial practices. The credit union movement started as innovators in the midst of incomparable American strife.

Bidens words inspire hope, but more importantly, they inspire action. In a world of possibilities, wouldnt it be a mark of our success as a movement if credit unions could once again be an innovative solution to some complex problems? Afterall, weve been helping consumers rise above the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic for the last year, and we will continue to lift people up as we always have.

But how can we make lawmakers see credit unions as part of the answer? Rhetoric isnt enough, of course. Well need solid data.

Leagues and credit unions can show our financial power and innovation as a result of the lengths credit unions wentincluding and beyond the Paycheck Protection Programto provide creative first-responder financial assistance to millions of struggling Americansmany who were turned away by banks. Credit unions may share their stories by submitting short videos to CUNAs Advancing Community site to help in CUNAs communications with elected officials.

Another way credit unions can amplify their voices is by discovering their member of Congress, state senator, and state representative and connecting with their office. Visit their websites to find out which committees they serve on and when they are back in the district. Ensure to have their contact information to expedite contact on priority issues. Some helpful resources include https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials and https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.

Additionally, you can get more involved by participating in governmental affairs conferences (GACs), either CUNAs, or your state leagues. Though this years GACs will be mostly virtual, they are still powerful events that showcase our grassroots strength. The more credit unions participate, the stronger our presence and the greater our influence.

As a credit union leader, I have faith our economy will bounce back. As a citizen, I am concerned about how we as humans can hope to be better if we cant embrace those unlike ourselvesif we cant, as Biden said, open our souls instead of hardening our hearts and show a little tolerance and humility.

If we show a little tolerance and humility.

My final thoughts on this topic rest on the last sentence in the quote. Tolerance lets us stand silently in the same room as our adversaries. Humility breaks down a barrier and opens our hearts to engage in dialogue. Whether that dialogue is productive is up to you.
Fort Myers, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) - WhereverTV Broadcasting Corp. (OTC Pink: TVTV), which endeavors to deliver Over The Top (OTT), prepaid, no-contract, subscription television services to a variety of devices including smartphones, tablets, streaming media players, computers and connected televisions, released an update in the lawsuit WhereverTV, Inc. v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, Case No. 2:18-cv-529, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. On June 12, 2020 the Court conducted a claims construction hearing. On November 13, 2020, the Court issued an Order regarding claim construction. On February 1, 2021, the Court issued a new case management and scheduling order, setting the trial for the month of March 2022.

Contact:

Ph: (239) 319-2692

Email: info@Wherever.TV

This news release contains forward-looking statements, which may not be based on historical facts. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments.

SOURCE WhereverTV Broadcasting Corp.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73701
A woman of the Miao ethnic group arranges handicrafts at a poverty alleviation workshop in Huawu village, Xinren Miao township of Qianxi county, Bijie city, Southwest China's Guizhou province, Feb 3, 2021. (Photo/Xinhua)

Miao ethnic village shows the benefits of relocation and jobs at garment workshop

Since he became general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in 2012, Xi Jinping has gone on an inspection tour in the country before Spring Festival every year.

He has used the trips to visit people and officials at the grassroots level, learn about people's livelihoods, and extend New Year's greetings to people from around the country.

With the traditional festival falling on Feb 12, Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, chose Guizhou province, one of the least developed provinces, with a large number of ethnic groups, as his destination.

He arrived at his first stop, Huawu, a village in Bijie, on Wednesday afternoon. There, he talked with villagers participating in festive activities in a public square and extended his New Year's greetings to people of all ethnic groups across the country.

At the home of ethnic Miao villager Zhao Yuxue, Xi chatted with the family while they were making huangba, a local traditional snack for festivals made from sticky rice and soybean flour wrapped in reed leaves.

The 38-year-old villager and his family members moved into new homes in 2016, thanks to a local resettlement project aimed at getting poor people out of poverty through relocation from environmentally fragile areas.

Zhao said their lives are becoming better, and last year, his family's income exceeded 60,000 yuan ($9,280), much more than before resettlement.

"I wish you a happier and sweeter life," Xi told the family.

While visiting a workshop that helps villagers reduce poverty, Xi was attracted by the exquisite handmade Miao embroidery garments and ornaments made there.

Yang Wenli, 25, who works at the workshop, said a handmade Miao embroidery garment costs more than 10,000 yuan, and 70 percent of their products are sold to customers through livestreaming.

Xi learned about the workers' craft and gave a thumbs-up to the use of Miao embroidery to pass down traditional ethnic culture, aid in the battle against poverty and promote rural vitalization.

"What's traditional is also fashionable," Xi said, urging the promotion of Miao embroidery to make a greater contribution to rural vitalization.

Reducing poverty and improving people's livelihoods have been at the top of the agenda during Xi's 80-plus inspection tours at home since 2012.

He proposed the idea of targeted poverty alleviation in November 2013 when he visited the poverty-stricken village of Shibadong during an inspection tour of Hunan province. The idea became a guideline for the country to meet the target of eradicating extreme poverty in rural areas by the end of last year.

He has said on many occasions that all ethnic groups are part of the big family of the Chinese nation, and no single ethnic minority group will be left behind as the country works toward a moderately prosperous society.

Ahead of Spring Festival in 2020, Xi visited a village of the Wa ethnic group in Tengchong, Yunnan province, where he learned about the locals' poverty relief work and called for efforts to speed up the development of ethnic minorities and areas with large ethnic minority populations.

The last nine poverty-stricken counties in Guizhou province, which were also the last remaining poverty-stricken counties in China, were officially removed from the poverty list in November.

With the country having won the battle against extreme poverty, the CPC Central Committee has decided to shift the focus of the country's rural work from battling poverty to promoting rural vitalization.

The central rural work conference in December stressed the need to consolidate and extend the achievements of poverty alleviation, align the achievements of poverty alleviation with rural revitalization, and prevent people from falling back into poverty.
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LAS VEGAS  A Phoenix-area man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in Nevada to possessing numerous California unemployment benefits debit cards all issued under different names, federal officials said.

A federal judge in Las Vegas scheduled a May 11 sentencing after 32-year-old Delashaun Dean of Tolleson, Arizona, pleaded guilty Wednesday to possession of counterfeit and unauthorized access devices, officials said.

A statement issued by the U.S. Attorneys Office for Nevada and the U.S. Department of Labor said Dean intended to fraudulently obtain nearly $223,000 in benefits through 15 cards issued by the California Employment Development Department.

The cards, a fake drivers license and a notebook with multiple peoples personal identifying information used to apply for unemployment insurance benefits were found by Las Vegas police in Deans hotel room last October, the statement said.

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Mr Kelly is seeking to overturn that advice. Examine newsletter Science and health explained and analysed with a rigorous focus on the evidence. Examine is a weekly newsletter by science reporter Liam Mannix. Sign up to receive it every Tuesday. In an earlier unpublished interview with The Age and Sydney Morning Herald in October, Mr Kelly described a meeting he had with Mr Hunt on the matter last year. I said Greg [Hunt] these people are wrong. They are not looking at the relevant studies. They are relying on a study that has been debunked. There are numerous, Im talking 20-plus, other studies, that show hydroxychloroquine is reducing the rate of death, he said. Greg says I have to listen to the taskforce. I have to listen to the TGA. So I put all my efforts into trying to influence the task force and the TGA, Mr Kelly said last October.

A spokesman for Mr Hunt said Mr Kellys views have been rejected categorically and have had zero impact. Comment was also sought from the TGA on Mr Kellys approaches. A spokesperson for the task force said there was no relationship between it and the TGA. On Friday, Mr Kelly said he had stopped lobbying late last year after his private correspondence was the subject of freedom of information applications. As a member of the government, I have a responsibility to make sure that groups that are government funded ... if they are making recommendations to the government, they are not missing crucial bits of the puzzle, he said on Friday. Opposition health spokesman Mark Butler said Prime Minister Scott Morrison needs to immediately reassure the public that Mr Kelly will no longer seek to influence the task force and the TGA.

MPs should not be trying to influence the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce and the TGA. The TGA must be able to make its important decisions with complete independence and free of any attempts of influence from members of Parliament. The taskforce is part-funded by the federal government to bring together the nations top health bodies to review evidence and develop guidelines on preventing and treating COVID-19. Mr Kelly said the task forces conclusions on hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin were wrong. He said he had been emailing the taskforce on a weekly basis [to] explain to them, [the studies] they rely on.... has been debunked and discredited.

In October, Mr Kelly said he was attacking the position of the government I belong to, because were the ones that set up this task force. They are denying Australians access to a medicine and medical treatment. I think this is perhaps one of the greatest medical scandals in living memory. I dont say that lightly. Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week reprimanded Mr Kelly for airing his disputed claims about COVID-19. Mr Kelly held a press conference on Wednesday in which he confirmed Mr Morrison had phoned him the day before, but he said the call had not included any criticism of his public statements or his decision to appear on a podcast with celebrity chef Pete Evans, who has been removed from Facebook for spreading misinformation about COVID-19.

Mr Morrison declined to comment for this story. Emails from Mr Kelly to taskforce members, released to The Age and Sydney Morning Herald under freedom of information laws, show he asked them to make urgent recommends [sic] to state chief medical officers to remove their ban on doctors prescribing [hydroxychloroquine] to treat Covid. The emails were first reported by Business Insider. Senator David Leyonhjelm at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday 12 February 2019. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Meanwhile, the TGA has confirmed it is considering taking action against a former federal politician, ex-Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm, for promoting the use of an ivermectin worming product for horses as a treatment for COVID-19.

Mr Leyonhjelm tweeted an image of the worming product with the caption: In several countries, ivermectin is being used to treat Covid. For those who want some, this horse product is probably the most economical source. Enough to treat the street too. Loading A spokeswoman for the TGA, Australias drugs watchdog, said the tweet appeared to promote an equine drug for human use. Unapproved therapeutic goods and prescription medicines cannot be advertised to consumers in Australia, the spokeswoman said. The TGA is concerned about this kind of promotion. The TGA strongly advises against using any product which states it is for animal use only for personal use.
Trinity College Dublin (TCD) will appoint a woman as Provost, for the first time in its 429-year history.

The university, which was established in 1592, has confirmed that the shortlist of applicants to replace Professor Patrick Prendergast are all female.

They are all senior academics at Trinity: Linda Hogan, Professor of Ecumenics and former Vice-Provost, Linda Doyle, Professor of Engineering and the Arts and former Dean of Research, and historian Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, who was Trinitys first Vice-President for Global Relations.

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Prof Ohlmeyer was the only female candidate when Professor Prendergast was elected Provost in 2011.

While technically not the first woman to lead one of Irelands traditional universities, the new Trinity Provost will be the first female appointed to the top role in the sector on a permanent basis. It is a 10-year term.

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Last year, the University of Limerick (UL) appointed Professor Kerstin Mey as Interim President, after an open competition, when Dr Des Fitzgerald announced his early retirement

UL is now embarking on a recruitment process for its next President, which is expected to take 12-18 months.

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Meanwhile, the search is also on for a successor to Professor Philip Nolan, who steps down as President of Maynooth University in mid-August.

Professor Nolan has become a household name over the past year in his role as chair of the Nphet Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, which is charged with predicting the course of Covid-19.

Last month Professor Maggie Cusack took on the job of President of the new Munster Technological University (MTU).

The selection of the Provost differs from the appointment process for president in other higher education institutions.

The position was advertised internationally in 2020 and there are three stages to the process, with the final stage kicking off from today.

It allows academic staff , members of the College Board and its University Council to vote on their choice. The election will take place on Saturday April 10 and the new Provost will take up office on August 1.

Interviews took place in January after which each successful candidate proceeded to the second stage and was asked to seek 12 nominations from the electorate.

The gender balance across all senior roles in Irish academia has been the subject of criticism.

A report to former Junior Minister for higher Mary Mitchell OConnor in 2018 found that while women made up half of staff at third level, they held only a quarter of the professor jobs

At the time, no woman had ever held the position of university president, and only two had been appointed to lead an institute of technology.

In a bid to redress the gender imbalance, Ms Mitchell OConnor announced an initiative opening 45 women-only senior academic posts.
A Cabinet sub-committee last night discussed a proposal from Tanaiste to provide financial support for thousands of businesses excluded from the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS).

The proposal by Tanaiste Leo Varadkar would create a new subsidy scheme, named the Covid Business Aid Scheme (CBAS) to support businesses across different sectors which have been excluded from the CRSS.

It is understood that the new CBAS scheme would help thousands of businesses to reopen and bring them out from the cold.

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Some of these businesses would include sole traders such as florists and bookmakers.

Certain sole traders have not qualified for CRSS, the governments current wage subsidy scheme for businesses impacted by coronavirus restrictions.

Around 239 million has to date been claimed under the CRSS in respect of 20,000 business premises, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe told the Dail last week.

The weekly sub-Cabinet meeting was attended by Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, Ministers Eamon Ryan, Michael McGrath, Catherine Martin, Paschal Donohoe, Simon Coveney and Heather Humphreys as well as their officials.

The scheme will be demand led and it is understood that the amounts the scheme will cost are yet to be determined.
Democrats are pushing President Joe Biden's cancellation of $50,000 in debt for federal student loan borrowers through an executive order. However, the White House suggested it must be done by legislative means.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), accompanied by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and other Democratic lawmakers, prompted Biden to take executive action to erase $50,000 per borrower.

Biden Administration Weighs Forgiving Student Loan Debt

The Biden administration is pondering over using executive action to forgive Americans' federal student loan debt, according to the White House's chief spokeswoman in response to pressure from Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups.

President Biden has earlier questioned his ability to use executive action for the cancellation of some or all of Americans' federal student loan debt.

The average cost at a public university is $25,000 yearly, while it stands at $50,000 for a private school.

Numerous students seeking higher education have to take out loans for school as without doing so, they cannot afford it.

Schumer, White House at Odds Over How to Erase Student Loan Debt

Schumer and the White House are divided over how to set forth in the upcoming months the key progressive priority of forgiving large swaths of the outstanding $1.5 trillion of federal student loan debt.

The conflict foresees a looming fight over student loan cancellation that could be a significant test of how far progressives could push President Biden, who has sought to identify himself as a bipartisan unifier and dealmaker.

The group of progressive lawmakers also included Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Vernon Jones, D-Ga., and Alma Adams, D-N.C., who introduced the resolution.

Also Read: Biden, Open to Sending $1,400 Stimulus Checks to Smaller Groups

According to Schumer, "President Biden has taken some good steps in the direction of student debt, but we think he has to go much further," reported Fox Business.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated on Thursday, "I think he took a step through executive action on the first day and would look to Congress to take the next step. She referred to an executive order extending a halt on student loan payments, reported WCYB.

However, she later wrote on Twitter that the White House is "reviewing whether there are any steps he can take through executive action," alluding that the option is not entirely cast aside.

The resolution is much like a resolution earlier introduced by Schumer and Warren in September. Since then, Schumer made it apparent that their proposal does not apply to all student loan borrowers.

Also, according to Schumer, "[Student loan debt] is a huge anchor on our entire economy" and argued there are few more powerful economic tools at Biden's disposal than canceling $50,000 in student debt, which could bolster the economy, reported Forbes.

Pressley stated, "Broad-based student debt cancellation is precisely the kind of bold, high-impact policy that the broad and diverse coalition that elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris expect them to deliver."

The White House remarked on Thursday it was open to canceling debt without a move by Congress.

The burden of taking out loans prevents students from buying a house following graduation and results in a financial struggle for many years.

Related Article: Democrats Plan to Provide $3,000 Payments per Child Through IRS

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Correspondent

When the sad news broke, my initial reaction was one of disbelief.

In fact, I did not want to believe or accept that High Court judge, Justice Clement Bigboy Phiri or "Mbhambi" as he liked calling his friends from our days at the University of Zimbabwe Law School, had passed on.

Clement and I enrolled in 1981. We were the Class of 81, a dynamic class of freshmen coming in from different backgrounds.

Some were straight from high school, those were the lucky ones, others had just completed military conscription, yet others were returnees from Britain, compelled to return and study at the local university, yet others were former guerrillas, while others were former war collaborators.

The dynamism of this combination made for a first year class of mutually disagreeable law students in and out of class.

Some notable characters included Justice Ben Hlatswayo (acting Constitutional Court judge), Professor Welshman Ncube, Justice Charles Hungwe (Supreme Court), Innocent Gonese, the late Shepherd Nzombe, Luke Mhlaba, Victor Nkiwane, James Musemburi, Zine Chitepo, Patty Maramba, Lilian Mavhuna (Goredema), Mufuka, Tshuma, Don Middlemost, Ian Cameron, Mary Walsh, Rainor Robinson, the late Bruno Mugabe, Barry Bruce, Calvin Mantsebo, among others.

Clement Phiri distinguished himself by his ability to get on with everyone.

He had a disarmingly charming personality and a level of maturity that surpassed most of us who were given to squandering our stipends first before getting down to serious study.

I remember an occasion where he rescued one of our friends whose name shall remain anonymous of course, from a water drain on campus.

That rescued Mbhambi is now a top legal adviser in the Attorney General's Office of a SADC state, whose further particulars shall also remain undisclosed lest the identity of that Mbhambi be inadvertently exposed.

Clement was a teetotaller to the end. He did not smoke anything.

He lived off campus with one Mufuka and others in a complex. I was resident in Carr Saunders Hall. On completion of my first degree, I joined the Office of the Attorney General as a public prosecutor in 1984.

Clement remained behind to complete the second degree in order to gain automatic qualification to private practice. I would return to complete the LLB degree in 1986.

Upon qualification, Clement was snapped by Messrs Coghlan Welsh and Guest, where he honed his skills in litigation. He later left the firm to pursue theological studies to join the priesthood of his Roman Catholic faith in South Africa.

He told me years later that he felt that he was being called to serve God. After a year or so of study, he decided not to become a priest.

Clement was somewhat disheartened by some of the things he witnessed which he wouldn't particularise, but I got the sense that he would have pursued that calling if he could have been allowed to have a family.

I told him he could have come to join us in the Anglican faith, but he was so deeply Catholic he discounted that option.

Despite his acceptance that when the Pope speaks ex-Cathedra he makes church law, he believed that some changes to the calling of Catholic priesthood is inevitable sometime in the future.

On occasion, court time permitting, he would ask us to accompany him for lunch mass at the Catholic Cathedral. Instead of heading west to the Anglican Cathedral on Nelson Mandela Avenue I would go north with him, Harare Law Chambers are at the corner of both streets.

When my best man, the late Godfrey Mamvura, was diagnosed with cancer, Clement accompanied me to Michael Gelfand Clinic and Avenues Clinic.

He would be first to volunteer a prayer. Such was his Christian spirit.

Upon his return, he practised for his own account at Marondera until he came to the bar to which he had now been called.

I was out of the country then pursuing a personal interest in the United States of America. I would return to the AG's Office for three years before accepting an offer of employment in Namibia where I would work for the Government for 13 years.

Upon my return, I found Clement was an advocate practising with, among others Adv Linus Mazonde, out of Harare Law Chambers. He was by then married to his dear wife whom I had the pleasure to meet.

I was toying with the idea of pursuing an academic career which would enable me to share my experiences gained in four countries on three continents in the field of law with younger students in law school.

I also had a long-cherished ambition to be an advocate. Clement had little difficulty convincing me to join Harare Law Chambers once I found him there.

He warned me that it would be tough financially, but would pay off in the long run. Now he is gone.

I remember the days we would struggle to meet our rent and operational costs due to clients failing to settle counsel fees on time or at all.

Clement represented any person who required his services. He did not specialise. Among his clients were politicians and high ranking public servants most of whom abused his magnanimity, leaving him to struggle to meet his obligations.

He also acted for his church and the business of one particular Order of Catholic nuns so much preoccupied his time that if he did not appear at his chambers for days, we would joke about his relationship with the sisters behind his back.

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Clement soon heard about it and took it in good humour.

Having married a South African woman, he had the option to practise in South Africa where she was based and to take up South African citizenship, but he chose to work in his country of birth while she took care of the children in South Africa.

Clement was born to immigrant parents from Nyasaland (now Malawi) during the period of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

Considering the level of his integrity, remarkable Catholic work ethic and public spirit, he was indeed destined to higher calling.

Indeed, he was called from the bar to the bench and served diligently for nearly six years until his highest calling.

Mbhambi (mubharanzi), you shall be sorely missed.

Justice Phiri was born on June 24, 1960.

He studied law at the University of Zimbabwe and after completing his legal studies he worked briefly in the then Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development.

In 2004, Justice Phiri became an advocate, a position he held until he was appointed judge of the High Court on September 16, 2015.

Ray Goba is an advocate and former prosecutor general.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 20:50:24|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attends a high-level virtual dialogue with European business leaders in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2021. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday hosted a high-level virtual dialogue with European business leaders in Beijing.

Li started by giving an overview of the current state of the Chinese economy and its outlook, and exchanged views with participants on China-Europe trade and investment cooperation, China's business environment, COVID-19 response, climate change and other issues of mutual interest.

The high-level dialogue was moderated by Peter Mandelson, former European trade commissioner and British first secretary of state, and attended by business leaders representing close to 30 leading European companies including VOLVO, Airbus, JCDecaux, Astra Zeneca, L'Oreal, BASF, and SAP. Enditem
A federal judge in South Dakota was blunt last summer when she sentenced Paul Erickson, a seasoned Republican operative who had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.

"What comes through is that you're a thief, and you've betrayed your friends, your family, pretty much everyone you know," federal District Judge Karen Schreier told Erickson in July, before sentencing him to seven years in prison for scamming dozens of people out of $5.3 million.

But Erickson, who had advised GOP presidential campaigns and a noted conservative organization, had a way out.

He had the ear of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, a member of President Donald Trump's inner orbit. And, unrelated to his conviction, he had been caught up in the investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, an inquiry much reviled by Trump.

And so after less than five months in prison, Erickson received a pardon and was freed on Inauguration Day - part of a blizzard of 144 clemency grants issued in Trump's final hours in office after a process marked by unprecedented favoritism and a rush by well-paid lobbyists.

Erickson and his attorney declined to comment.

"I was completely blindsided," said Lisa Coll Nicolaou, a New Jersey teacher whom Erickson persuaded to invest in a fraudulent medical device company after befriending her at their 25th college reunion. Contrary to Trump's oft-cited pledge to root out corruption in Washington, Coll Nicolaou said: "He pardoned the swamp."

The Constitution gives the president the virtually unchecked power to grant clemency. Trump's use of that power reflected how he viewed the presidency through the prism of his own interests and as a way to reward friends and spite enemies, according to longtime clemency advocates and people who participated in the process.

His transactional approach largely sidelined low-level offenders who had waited years after filing petitions through the Justice Department and elevated those with personal connections to the White House - or the money to pay someone with those connections.

Even Trump allies who advised the White House on clemency say they were startled and disappointed by who was on the final list.

In all, Trump granted 237 pardons and commutations, according to the Justice Department, the majority of which he issued in a frantic final session with White House lawyers during his last night as president. A Washington Post review of pardon records found that about 100 of those granted clemency had never even petitioned the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney, which reviews applications using standardized criteria to impose order and fairness on the process. Only about one-third of the grants went to drug offenders serving long sentences.

An additional 14,000 people who had filed petitions under the federal guidelines were left in limbo.

"Along with the devastating harm Trump wrought upon clemency as an institution are the unfathomable injustices of Trump diverting the power from those critically needing and warranting clemency to his menagerie of undeserving recipients," said Larry Kupers, who ran the pardon office at the beginning of the Trump administration.

Former White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.

When President Bill Clinton pardoned 140 people on his last day in office in 2001, including fugitive financier and Democratic donor Marc Rich, Republicans railed against what they dubbed "Pardongate," and criminal and congressional investigations were opened.

There has been little such blowback for Trump, whose last-minute pardon spree has been eclipsed by the fallout from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, including his second impeachment.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., whose House Judiciary subcommittee will hold a hearing Tuesday about preventing abuse of the clemency process, said a full-scale congressional investigation of Trump's pardons is needed.

Cohen pointed to Alice Johnson - a former Tennessee resident imprisoned for nearly 22 years for nonviolent drug crimes - as an example of someone who was deserving of clemency but didn't receive it until Kim Kardashian West, a Trump-friendly celebrity, brought her name to the White House.

"Under Trump, pardon decisions were all about who you knew," Cohen said. "The overall Trump record is a perversion of the pardon power and an abuse of it."

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said this week that he has deep concerns about Trump's pardons and will reintroduce legislation that would require the Justice Department and the White House to provide detailed information to Congress about any presidential pardon or commutation involving the president or his relatives, obstruction of Congress or contempt of Congress.

For years, criminal justice experts have pushed to overhaul the Justice Department's backlogged system for vetting pardon applicants, in which prosecutors wield significant influence. Some initially held out hope that a Trump administration that touted its commitment to reforming the criminal justice system might improve the clemency process, helping to alleviate the racial inequities in the country's prison population.

Instead, pardons were doled out haphazardly, driven largely by personal connections rather than public policy decisions, according to people with knowledge of the decisions. And even some of those whose clients benefited acknowledge that the process broke down.

Brett Tolman, a former U.S. attorney, had feet in both camps: He advised the White House on pardons while also charging some clients to lobby for their clemency.

Although he says he thinks the traditional process run by the Justice Department is flawed, "I also don't like this informal system that developed with the Trump White House, in which people were pushing to get their names in," he added. "That, to me, is not a system that is right, because there are thousands of people who don't have that chance."

- - -

By late 2019, Trump seemed intent on identifying people with compelling stories who were deserving of clemency, such as Johnson, who had been sentenced to life for a first-time drug offense.

That October, more than one year after her release, she was invited to attend a speech the president gave on criminal justice reform in Columbia, S.C. In the middle of his remarks, Trump called on Johnson to help him find other inmates worthy of pardons.

Johnson said she took Trump at his word. She became part of an informal kitchen cabinet that included Tolman, who echoed Trump's concerns about voter fraud in the November presidential election; Mark Holden, chairman of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity; Matt Whitaker, a former acting U.S. attorney general under Trump; and Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general who represented the president in his first impeachment.

The group viewed itself as part of a White House initiative - led by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner - aimed at creating a more organized and streamlined clemency system.

But soon, a cottage industry emerged of lawyers and lobbyists who sought to leverage their access to the White House for clients seeking pardons.

Among those who were paid to lobby last year for pardon-seekers, according to public records, were Jack Burkman, a political operative who has repeatedly spread debunked claims and commanded more than $92,000 from the wife of one convicted fraudster who did not secure a pardon; Joshua Nass, a New York-based public relations executive who received $100,000 in December from four clients, none of whom received clemency; and Nick Muzin, a former top aide to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who has worked as a foreign agent for Qatar.

Muzin reported receiving $75,000 to lobby on behalf of Eliyahu Weinstein, who served eight years of a 24-year sentence for a real estate fraud that bilked investors out of $200 million, according to court filings. Trump commuted his sentence. Muzin said in an email that he is "proud" of the role his firm played in giving Weinstein "a second chance."

Nass said he pushed successful clemency petitions earlier in the Trump administration and sought to "manage expectations" for his clients so that they understood the "great challenge."

Burkman did not respond to requests for comment.

Separately, the Washington, D.C.-based Sonoran Policy Group publicly registered Monday as a lobbyist seeking a presidential commutation in connection with George Nader, an international business executive who tried to broker ties between the United States and foreign leaders before he pleaded guilty to child sex charges. According to the filing, which did not disclose the amount of the fee, the group's registration was effective as of Dec. 17.

Nader, who was sentenced in June to 10 years in prison, has not received clemency. Robert Stryk, who leads the Sonoran firm, declined to comment.

Alan Dershowitz, who served as a lawyer for Trump during his first impeachment, said he also was hired by Nader's team in late 2019 to advise on legal issues and that they discussed clemency, but said he did not help Nader file a petition and that his advice was "not encouraging."Dershowitz was named in the White House release as having endorsed four successful pardon requests among Trump's final grants of clemency.

"Knowing who to call in the White House is a not a guarantee of success by any means," he said. "I had a mixed record."

It is unclear how many lobbyists were paid to pursue Trump pardons. Federal lobbying guidelines do not explicitly cover appeals for clemency, and lawyers and other advocates have not traditionally registered as federal lobbyists when seeking pardons. A Justice Department investigation of allegations of unregistered lobbying for a pardon - revealed in heavily redacted court documents unsealed in December - may have spurred some lobbyists to disclose their clients and fees.

Tolman, who served as U.S. attorney in Utah during the George W. Bush administration and went on to advocate for changes in the criminal justice system, had been involved in policy discussions with the White House when he registered as a lobbyist for eight people seeking pardons last year.

He said he started charging lobbying fees of up to $25,000 because he was trying to keep up his law practice while juggling a flood of clemency requests, some of which demanded as much work as preparing for trial.

"It was a labor of love borne out of my desire to change the system and my compassion for those individuals than it was for my financial gain," he said.

Tolman said he also advocated during the Trump administration for at least 20 other people on a pro bono basis. They mostly included drug offenders serving long sentences, as well as well-heeled insiders such as Kushner's father, real estate developer Charles Kushner, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. Trump granted Kushner a pardon in December.

Tolman said that although he had not spoken to Trump personally since late November, he was able to directly email the White House Counsel's Office - an advantage he realizes many others who deserved pardons did not have.

"I don't think it's inconsistent to say I wanted to get clemencies and that was the damn system we had to deal with it," he said.

He registered as a lobbyist, he said, to "err on the side of transparency."

But in the two cases in which his clients received clemency, the White House identified Tolman as a former U.S. attorney who backed the requests - not as a paid lobbyist. He noted that his lobbyist registrations were public.

The biggest fee reported by the clemency-seeking lobbying corps went to a staunch Trump ally: Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, who charged $750,000 for about a month of work, public filings show.

Schlapp's lobbying client was Parker "Pete" Petit, a prominent Atlanta-area biopharmaceutical executive convicted of securities fraud on Nov 19. His lawyers were trying to move quickly to secure a pardon before Trump left office.

"Pete Petit is 81 years old and suffering from bladder cancer. A sentence of incarceration for Mr. Petit would be the equivalent of a death sentence," Michael Volkov, one of Petit's attorneys, said in a written statement to The Post.

Although the longtime Republican donor had served as finance chairman for the Trump campaign in Georgia in 2016, Petit did not have a personal relationship with the president, according to people familiar with his case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of his upcoming sentencing.

Petit's lawyers decided they needed someone who could plead his case directly to Trump. They contacted Schlapp, the husband of former White House communications adviser Mercedes Schlapp.

Schlapp referred questions to Volkov, who said Schlapp reported the lobbying fee based on legal advice and because "we all wanted to do this right."

"Matt Schlapp agreed to help Mr. Petit seek a Presidential Pardon along with additional consulting services related to Pete's desire to pass on life lessons and play a role in criminal justice reform efforts," he added.

Schlapp personally asked Trump about the pardon, according to a person familiar with the process. Petit's team was optimistic about his chances, but he was not on the final list.

The omission surprised Clayton Halunen, a Minnesota lawyer who represented a whistleblower involved in the Petit case.

"When I looked the pardon list, I would have bet my life that his name would be on it - and that was before I learned that he hired a lobbyist and paid $750,000," Halunen said. "Obviously, there's a big problem if you think that you can use money to buy justice or forgiveness."

- - -

In the last days of the Trump administration, aides prepared paperwork for more than 400 pardons and commutations as the president kept vacillating about which ones to grant, according to people involved in the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive discussions.

Aides said Trump solicited clemency requests from a wide range of advisers, sometimes even offering pardons to those who did not request them, and considered granting pardons to himself and his family, though they have not been charged with any crimes.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone officially ran the process, but Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner served as key gatekeepers, the people said.

In the end, the final list that the White House released at 12:50 a.m. on Trump's last night as president had been assembled so hastily that it contained inaccurate information about some cases. Detailed background information was provided about some clemency recipients and the people who had vouched for them, but there was little information about others who were chosen.

Holden, of Americans for Prosperity, and other advocates were crushed to find that some inmates they had been told would be freed were not.

"It's like a sick joke, because we were so excited," said Nick Scarmazzo of Modesto, Calif., whose younger brother, Luke Scarmazzo, was seeking a commutation of a 22-year sentence for selling marijuana. "It would have been better if we had never known he was close."

Added Holden, who had helped push for Scarmazzo's release: "I don't know why some people made the list and others didn't."

Doug Deason, a major Texas-based Trump donor and supporter of criminal justice reform, said the White House appeared "distracted" after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, as he and other advocates pressed for commutations for hundreds of inmates serving long sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.

"Everyone was disappointed," Deason said of the clemency list. "I don't know what happened to many of the names."

Among those who made it on the list was Republican megadonor Elliott Broidy, who had raised millions for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

His pardon was among several clemency grants that some top White House officials, including Cipollone, urged Trump to resist, according to the people familiar with the process.

Justice Department guidelines recommend inmates wait five years after conviction or release from confinement - whichever comes later - before submitting a pardon application. Broidy, who had served as a top finance official at the Republican National Committee, pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign lobbyist just three months ago and had not even been sentenced.

His case touched directly on the Trump administration. In court filings, he acknowledged that he illegally lobbied top White House officials on behalf of Malaysian and Chinese interests without registering and, as part of his illegal activity, attempted to broker a meeting between Trump and the Malaysian prime minister. He also had a criminal record from a 2009 guilty plea in which he agreed that he gave illegal gifts to officials involved in New York state's pension fund.

The White House did not explain why Trump extended him mercy, beyond saying that Broidy is "well known for his numerous philanthropic efforts" and citing 21 people, including several Trump allies, who endorsed his application.

Broidy has not spoken to Trump for two years, and never spoke with him or any White House personnel about his case, according to a representative for the Los Angeles-based investor. The representative added that the White House indicated that Trump had heard from people he respected who supported the pardon request.

One former associate of Broidy was particularly upset about his pardon: Nickie Lum Davis, a Hawaii business executive who pleaded guilty in August to aiding and abetting him in his lobbying efforts. She is set to be sentenced in June.

As part of her plea, she had agreed to cooperate with the government, a decision that the Justice Department generally views favorably. Trump, however, has shown disdain for people who cooperate with prosecutors.

Filings show that Davis paid $100,000 to a consulting firm led by Mark Cowan, a member of Trump's transition team, to try to secure clemency for herself, but was unsuccessful.

Cowan declined to comment. William McCorriston, an attorney for Davis, said her submission to the White House included letters of support and proof of her philanthropy. He said her legal team did not learn why Broidy was pardoned and she was overlooked, even though she had acted in a secondary capacity to his crime.

He said she was "distraught."

"She doesn't understand how this equates to justice," McCorriston said. "It is incomprehensible that any decision to grant clemency to Mr. Broidy would not also include a pardon for Ms. Davis."

H. Christopher Bartolomucci, an attorney for Broidy, said in a statement that "the fact that the President decided to pardon Mr. Broidy but not Ms. Lum Davis does not mean that his pardon was somehow improper or that she was improperly denied one."

Another pardon that generated criticism was the one that went to Erickson, a conservative political operative well known in Republican circles.

Erickson came under the scrutiny of federal investigators because he was romantically linked to Maria Butina, a Russian graduate student who pleaded guilty in 2018 to acting as an unregistered agent of the Kremlin.

As part of her plea, Butina admitted that she worked with an American political operative - identified by government officials as Erickson - to advance Russia's interests by forging ties with the National Rifle Association, conservative leaders and presidential candidates such as Trump.

Butina served 15 months in prison and was then deported to Russia. Erickson was never charged in her case.

But in 2019, prosecutors in South Dakota accused him of wire fraud and money laundering connected to three investment schemes dating to 1996. He agreed to plead guilty nine months later to two felonies in a case unrelated to his work with Butina.

Among his many friends in Washington is Conway, who spoke to Trump and the White House Counsel Office about his pardon, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

The Trump White House said in its statement about the final clemency grants that Erickson's conviction "was based off the Russian collusion hoax. After finding no grounds to charge him with any crimes with respect to connections with Russia, he was charged with a minor financial crime."

The language infuriated Erickson's victims, who lost money in fraudulent businesses that had no connection to Russia.

"Minor to who?" demanded Susan Holden, a Yale classmate of Erickson's who at his urging had invested in a scheme to build housing for workers in North Dakota's Bakken oil fields.

For years, Holden said that Erickson lied to her on a near-daily basis about the project, guaranteeing that she would not lose money. He even traveled to North Dakota to meet her and her 80-year-old mother, showing off a parcel of land he claimed had been purchased with her money.

In fact, Erickson admitted in court that he never bought any land for the project. His pardon means he no longer has to pay her or his other victims restitution.

"I was crushed," Holden said. "All I could think of was, 'Goddamnit, Trump, you didn't even look into the case. Kellyanne walked into your office and said, 'This poor guy, Russia witch hunt' - and you did it.'"

Asked about criticism of the pardon, Conway said: "President Trump reviewed the Erickson matter and hundreds of requests like it at length with his legal counsel." She added that she received no money for the pardon, adding, "It had never crossed my mind that individuals would either offer or accept money with the expectation of a presidential pardon."

- - -

The Washington Post's Carol D. Leonnig, Alice Crites, Aaron Schaffer and Amy Brittain contributed to this report.
Ambassador RON KIRK, who is senior of counsel with Gibson, Dunn & Crutchers Dallas and D.C. offices, and MARC WATTS, who is president of The Friedkin Group, serve on the Texas 2036 Board of Directors. To learn more, visit www.texas2036.org/poll.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed his historic trip to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Despite the importance of the trip to Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to postpone the visit at this stage due to the closing of the skies, read a Thursday press release from the prime ministers office.

Netanyahu was scheduled to visit the two Gulf states next week. However, Israel is currently experiencing a major outbreak of COVID-19, despite its fast-paced vaccination campaign. In late January, Israel instituted a flight ban to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. The prime ministers office cited the air travel situation as justification for postponing the UAE and Bahrain trips.

Israel established relations with the UAE and Bahrain last year as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords. The UAE and Bahrain were only the third and fourth Arab states to normalize ties with Israel after Egypt and Jordan. Since then, both countries have signed numerous agreements with Israel to strengthen their economic relations.

Postponing the trip is a blow to Netanyahu, who is touting his diplomatic successes ahead of Israel's March 23 elections.

The trip would have been the first by an Israeli head of government to the UAE and Bahrain.
Catholic Church amassed billions in PPP aid despite having billions of own money: report

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Catholic churches and their related institutions amassed at least $1.5 billion in funding from the governments Paycheck Protection Program while sitting on billions of dollars of their own money, a new Associated Press investigation has found.

The PPP was designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses, including faith-based organizations and other nonprofits, to keep their workers on the payroll as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the economy. If all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities, these loans, which are administered by banks and other federally insured depository institutions, will be forgiven.

Evidence highlighted by the AP suggested, however, that many Catholic churches and their related institutions, which enjoyed some of the highest approval for government funds during the pandemic, received taxpayer aid despite not experiencing financial hardships.

While collecting at least $1.5 billion in government funds through the program, the investigation showed that Catholic churches and their related institutions were sitting on more than $10 billion of their own funds. And instead of taking hits to their coffers as many small businesses were forced to do amid the pandemic, many saw their wealth increase.

The AP analysis shows that overall, the nations nearly 200 dioceses, where bishops and cardinals govern, and other Catholic institutions received at least $3 billion, making them perhaps the biggest beneficiary of PPP funds.

And one of the reasons Catholic Church operations was able to collect so much money from the program was through special treatment. After Congress allowed nonprofits and religious organizations to participate in the PPP, Catholic officials further lobbied the Trump administration to be exempted from the affiliation rule that disqualifies applicants with more than 500 workers.

Without that break, many dioceses would have missed out because  between their head offices, parishes, schools and other affiliates  their employee count would exceed the limit, the AP report said.

This exemption allowed the Catholic Church to collect about the same amount of funds as the combined total collected by the other top five religious groups in the program  Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Jewish operations.

So many Catholic entities received help that reporters could not identify them all, even after spending hundreds of hours hand-checking tens of thousands of records in federal data, the AP report said.

The Rev. James Connell, an accountant for 15 years before joining the priesthood and becoming an administrator in the Milwaukee Archdiocese who is also a retired canon lawyer, said the APs findings show that the Catholic entities did not need government funding particularly when thousands of small businesses were forced to close.

Was it want or need? he asked. Need must be present, not simply the want. Justice and love of neighbor must include the common good.

One pastor in a Western state told AP that even though diocesan officials repeatedly pressed him to apply for the funds, he refused. One high-ranking official even questioned why he was leaving free money on the table but the pastor who spoke on condition of anonymity said he felt a sound moral conviction that the money was meant more for shops and restaurants that, without it, might close forever.

We didnt need it, the pastor said, and intentionally wanted to leave the money for those small business owners who did.

Last April, leaders of black churches nationwide raised concern that they were being shut out of accessing financial assistance under the Small Business Administrations Paycheck Protection Program even as other churches appeared to be getting help, the NAACP said.

"We have representation from all of our nine major African American denominations," Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in an NPR report. "Most of them have complained about the lack of responsiveness from the banks to which they have submitted applications. These are churches from San Francisco to Detroit to Florida to Connecticut. We hear a consistent concern from church leaderships across the country."

The Rev. James Perkins, pastor of Greater Christ Baptist Church in Detroit, which has a predominantly African American congregation, said because he received no help, he was forced to lay off most of his churchs nine employees while others had to take salary cuts.

"I haven't taken any scientific survey, but a number of black pastors with whom I have relationships in Detroit are concerned because they did not receive funding [too]," Perkins said.

The Christian Post reached out to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops about the report Thursday and a response is still pending. Conference spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi told the AP in a statement that the PPP was designed to protect the jobs of Americans from all walks of life, regardless of whether they work for for-profit or nonprofit employers, faith-based or secular.

Congress initially pumped $659 billion into the PPP last spring and an additional $284 billion in December. Changes were also made to the requirements to ensure only businesses that lost money would get help while the size of those businesses must now be 300 or fewer employees.

A wave of evictions is throwing Texans out of their homes and putting lives at risk during the pandemic. As we work to get vaccines to our communities in 2021, local governments must exert that same sense of urgency to stop the eviction crisis facing our communities.

A recent study found the lack of an eviction moratorium in Texas has led to tens of thousands of evictions, and that those evictions are associated with 4,500 excess deaths in the state. Homelessness, crowded shelters and the financial strain of displacement kill Texans. People asked to adhere to safety protocols are now facing damaging and life-threatening consequences.

In the Houston area, more than 15,000 households have had evictions filed against them since March. In San Antonio, the number is nearly 5,000. But in Austin, only about 700 evictions have been filed since the start of the pandemic.

The difference is that Austin and Travis County have filed strong emergency rules that ban landlords from starting the eviction process if a tenant simply cannot pay the rent. Protections are also in place against foreclosures for homeowners. The Austin City Council supplemented these rules with a Right to Cure ordinance that provides tenants 60 extra days to pay rent.

In San Antonio, local leaders have stepped up to create the first Right to Legal Counsel program in Texas, because often tenants lose their homes simply because they dont have a lawyer. This, along with a proposed renters commission and new legal kiosks throughout the city can help slow the eviction wave. Additionally, some elected officials in San Antonio have supported the call for anti-eviction rules similar to Austins; unfortunately, those initiatives have not been passed by the City Council.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

Local government is both the first and last line of defense for residents. Elected leaders must take more decisive measures to ensure families remain sheltered for the duration of the pandemic. The promise of more aid by the federal government from the Biden administration is positive. Stimulus checks, unemployment assistance and protections for those facing eviction will be key in protecting the vulnerable while we navigate the remainder of the pandemic; however, we do not know when to expect this relief, which is why it is imperative local government quickly act.

As rent goes unpaid, mom-and-pop landlords are also struggling. Elected officials must find a way to clear outstanding rent to support tenants and property owners alike. Austin and San Antonio have established some of the largest rent relief programs in the state. Of the nearly 70,000 residents in households assisted through San Antonios program, 46.9 percent were children.

Unfortunately, our local funds will only go so far and cant do it alone. Texas should explore accessible options  like using the $2 billion in unallocated COVID-19 relief or some of its massive rainy day fund to help eliminate back rent for Texans. Municipalities should look to combine their available dollars from general or emergency funds as well. Doing so would broaden the social safety net for families in need who do not usually qualify for assistance under federal and/or state guidelines.

It is nearly impossible to protect someones health if theyre homeless. If were serious about protecting our families from this virus, then we need to take assertive action to stop evictions with sensible rules, resolve back rents, and ensure policies are in place acknowledging housing as a basic human right in our cities and state. Texan lives depend on it.

San Antonio City Councilman Roberto Trevino represents District 1. Gregorio Greg Casar is on the Austin City Council and a movement organizer for housing justice and anti-gentrification.
Graphical abstract. Credit: European Heart Journal

COVID-19 patients who suffer a cardiac arrest either in or out of hospital are far more likely to die than patients who are not infected with the coronavirus. In particular, women have the highest risk of dying: they are nine times more likely to die after suffering a cardiac arrest in hospital, according to research published today in the European Heart Journal.

The study from Sweden included 1946 people who suffered a cardiac arrest out of hospital (OHCA) and 1080 who suffered one in hospital (IHCA) between 1 January and 20 July. During the pandemic phase of the study, COVID-19 was involved in at least 10% of all OHCAs and 16% of IHCAs. Coronavirus patients who had an OHCA had a 3.4-fold increased risk of dying within 30 days, while IHCA patients had a 2.3-fold increased risk of dying within 30 days. None of these patients had been discharged alive from hospital by the time the study was written in October 2020. Many had died and the rest were still being treated in hospital.

The first author of the study, Dr. Pedram Sultanian, a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), said: "Our study clearly shows that cardiac arrest and COVID-19 is a very lethal combination. Patients with the coronavirus should be monitored intensively and measures taken to prevent cardiac arrest, for instance with the use of continuous heart monitors for patients at high risk."

This is the first detailed report of characteristics and outcomes in COVID-19 patients who suffer cardiac arrest. The researchers analysed data from the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (SRCR), which is a nationwide registry that started to collect data on COVID-19 from 1 April 2020 onwards. The researchers included all cardiac arrests registered in the SRCR from 1 January to 20 July 2020, and divided them into a pre-pandemic group (before 16 March) and a pandemic group (16 March to 20 July).

They found that 7.6% of pre-pandemic patients were still alive 30 days after suffering an OHCA. Once the pandemic started, 9.8% of patients without COVID-19 and 4.7% with COVID-19 survived for 30 days; 83.4% of COVID-19 patients died within 24 hours.

Pre-pandemic, 36.4% of IHCA patients survived for 30 days, but once the pandemic started 39.5% of non-COVID-19 patients and 23.1% of COVID-19 patients survived for 30 days; 60.5% of COVID-19 patients died within 24 hours.

The slightly improved survival for uninfected patients suffering OHCA and IHCA during the pandemic is not statistically significant, but the researchers believe that if there is an actual improvement, it might be explained in part by the 8.2% increase in cardiac arrests witnessed by bystanders and the 47% increase in bystanders using defibrillators.

When they compared pre-pandemic cases with COVID-19 cases, the researchers found that the overall risk of dying following an OHCA nearly tripled; it was increased 4.5-fold for men and by a third for women. The overall risk of dying after an IHCA more than doubled; it was increased by a half in men and more than nine-fold in women.

The researchers also found a 2.7-fold increase in the proportion of OHCAs caused by breathing problems, and an 8.6% increase in compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the pandemic. The percentage of people who were treated with both chest compression as well as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, fell from 33% pre-pandemic to 23% during the pandemic. In March the European Resuscitation Council and the Swedish Resuscitation Council issued guidelines recommending that bystanders who see a cardiac arrest should avoid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and concentrate on chest compressions in the case of suspected COVID-19 infection.

Senior author of the study, Dr. Araz Rawshani, physician and researcher at the University of Gothenburg, said: "Although previous studies have indicated that compression-only CPR delivered by bystanders may be as effective as compressions and ventilation combined, this may not apply to cases with COVID-19, since they are primarily suffering from respiratory failure. We believe this is an important finding that could possibly help authorities in handling the pandemic. Since COVID-19 transmits through droplets, bystanders should avoid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in accordance with current recommendations. There is no unanimous answer for how society and healthcare providers should adapt in the light of this issue."

He added: "The study also shows that fewer patients in hospital with COVID-19 were monitored with electrocardiograms, which is potentially life-saving as it enables a cardiac arrest to be spotted immediately. We believe that COVID-19 patients should be monitored with ECGs and monitored for oxygen saturation, as this would allow for prompt recognition of irregular heartbeats and declining oxygen saturation."

Limitations of the study include the fact that the county of Stockholm, where the majority of coronavirus cases have occurred, had not reported data on OHCAs at the time of the study and this reduced the number of COVID-19 patients in the study; and some cases of COVID-19 may have been misclassified, particularly for cardiac arrests occurring out of hospital.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

(Newser)  As lost-and-found stories go, this one has more drama than usual. Last Friday, flutist Donald Rabin got off a train in Chicago and realized he had left behind his $22,000 gold and silver flute, reports the Chicago Tribune. The instrument had sentimental as well as practical value, as his grandmother left him the money to buy it. The 23-year-old reported it to the Chicago Transit Authority and to police, and he spent hours searching trains himself, all with no luck, per the Washington Post. "I pray a good soul has my flute," he wrote in a Facebook post about his plight. The search picked up national attention, but Rabin still had no leads by Tuesday, when he was sitting on a plane about to return to Boston. That was when a CNN reporter let him know that somebody had responded to his Facebook post. As it turns out, it was a homeless man named Lukas Mcentee.

story continues below

Mcentee informed Rabin that he had pawned the flute for $500 and would accompany Rabin to the pawn shop to get it back. Rabin was a little wary about this and reached out to police instead. And while that was unfolding, the pawn shop owner caught wind of the missing-flute story on the news and independently contacted police to return it. The happy ending: Police reunited Rabin with his flute, and he gave them a mini-concert. He also donated money to a fundraising page for Mcentee and his wife, and he encouraged others to do the same. "I really do empathize with the homeless couple," he tells the Post. The not-so-happy ending belongs to pawn shop owner Gabe Coconate. "I'm out $500 for doing the right thing," he tells the Chicago Sun-Times. (Read about the weird things that get left behind in Ubers.)
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament adopted a resolution on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, calling on Azerbaijan to return the Armenian prisoners of war, the Armenian Embassy in the Czech Republic reports.

At its sitting on February 4, 2021 the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament adopted a resolution on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, by which it welcomed the establishment of the ceasefire and expressed regret over Azerbaijan's non-compliance with the ceasefire clause on returning prisoners, calling on the latter to return the remaining prisoners. At the same time, the Committee called for a political settlement to the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, the statement says.
Not just that, the Canada-listed business has planted flags in Germany and the Netherlands

PharmaDrug Inc ( ) (OTC:LMLLF) encompasses almost all the facets of the evolving medical cannabis and psychedelics industry.

In one package you have a business that is involved in THC, CBD and psilocybin, and which recently expanded into the sphere of biotechnology with a reboot of a naturally-occurring, potent medicine that has shown early promise in cancer.

Not just that, the Canada-listed business has planted flags in Germany and the Netherlands, has supply chain expertise and a nascent retail strategy too.

PharmaDrug is the brainchild of Daniel Cohen, who speaks and thinks at a mile a second, barely pausing for breath as he takes me on a whistle-stop tour of the business.

Germany is the foundation stone

While the acquisition of Toronto-based Sairiyo Therapeutics is the latest evolution of his strategy, the business has its roots in Germany, Europes most advanced market for medical cannabis.

Here PharmaDrug holds a license that allows it to import and export schedule-one narcotics. It also has good manufacturing practice (GMP) accreditation.

Both are integral to its plans in Germany, allowing it to stock and sell THC products from Bedrocan, one of the worlds largest growers and suppliers.

While demand hasnt been a problem for PharmaDrug, sourcing adequate supply to satisfy that demand has. So, it is also teaming up with a Canada-based multinational company to source further supplies of EU-GMP certified medical cannabis.

We will be having access to this new product sometime in February, says Cohen. So, at that point, we'll be selling both the new product and Bedrocan product.

Cementing its position in Germany, the company is working with Canadas to find a plant strain it can white label. After that, PharmaDrug will move into cannabis extracts and CBD.

The aim this year is to have a flower under our own name and our own extract, says Cohen. We are going to have Bedrocan and the new product and we are in discussions with Canopy Growth, which has a high-THC product. So, we are going to be a one-stop-shop in Germany.

The Netherlands adds a second growth prong

Before we get to the Sairiyo deal, it is worth also looking at the Netherlands, which is the second of PharmaDrug's three growth prongs.

Amsterdam is known as Europes party city; however, Cohens vision is a world away from this hedonism of the coffee shops and smartshops (the former host recreational cannabis users, the latter sell psychedelics).

PharmaDrug wants to create a chain of trusted stores that follow the ethos of some of Americas best dispensaries that aim to advise and support clients.

We want to take smartshops away from drug tourism and gear them towards going after the educated professional who wants to use psychedelics for increased cognitive performance, PTSD or micro-dosing, says Cohen. Its a different approach; its a different perspective.

The company has bought a store, but future expansion is likely to be done on a greenfield basis.

The plan is to acquire a license and build a superstore in the Dutch capital under its newly developed brand, Slim Winkle, which means smart store in the native tongue.

With coronavirus restrictions still in place, the brand is being built online initially, says Cohen, who is itching for normal service to resume.

Moving into biotech

On to Sairiyo then, which it acquired in return for 75 million PharmaDrug shares, and would look like a departure for the company.

However, it makes perfect sense when you see where the industry is headed  towards the medicinal use of psychedelics that undergo rigorous clinical trials.

While Sairiyos lead drug is cepharanthine, a naturally occurring compound that has been used for hair loss and snake bites, Cohen plans to expand its newly-acquired biotechnology franchise.

We're already working on something on the psychedelic side that we hope to be able to launch soon and talk about, he says.

In the meantime, cepharanthine, which has been around 70 years, offers a world of new opportunities.

A drug with great promise

It has been repurposed to seriously enhance its bio-availability (the rate at which the treatment gets to the parts of the body where it is required) and it is being developed to treat cancer.

It carries US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) orphan drug designation for its indications in oesophageal cancer.

This is a significant tick in the box as it affords extended protection for any successful new drug as well as tax breaks and a possible diversion along the regulatory fast-track.

With C$3mln in the bank and C$1mln-worth of in-the-money warrants, the company is well funded for its immediate needs.

And, as we have seen, there are plenty of potential milestones and inflexion points to come  so watch this space.

Contact the author at ian.lyall@proactiveinvestors.com
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The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the most widely covered topics at the annual meeting. Of the 701 sessions presented, 162 discussed some aspect of COVID-19 and primary care.

Other topics that were the focus of extensive research included telehealth/telemedicine (88 sessions), social determinants of health (48 sessions), opioids (37 sessions) and hypertension (24 sessions).

The research of three organizations affiliated with the AAFP  the Robert Graham Center , the AAFP National Research Network and HealthLandscape  was featured at the meeting.

Among the AAFP NRNs 12 presentations, those of particular interest to family physicians included the following.

Barriers and Facilitators to Continuous Glucose Monitoring for Diabetes in Primary Care: This presentation was based on collaborations between the AAFP NRN and the University of Colorado Department of Family Medicine. In this study, researchers surveyed AAFP members to identify primary care clinicians experience with continuous glucose monitoring, as well as barriers and facilitators to CGM use in primary care. They found that 38% of respondents have prescribed CGM and that practicing further away from an endocrinologist was associated with higher likelihood of having prescribed CGM. In addition, 72% of respondents reported being likely to prescribe CGM if they had access to either a workshop/education session or a consultation on insurance coverage issues. T project helps inform the need for development of education for primary care physicians that focuses on use of CGM and addresses insurance coverage issues related to CGM prescribing.

Cluster-Randomized Trial of Intervention to Improve Care of Chronic Pain: This study was based on collaborations between the AAFP NRN and the University of Missouri Department of Family and Community Medicine. It tested whether a photo-elicitation intervention designed to improve patient and clinical communication and create a shared understanding of living with chronic pain would improve a three-item pain measure, as well as ratings of self-efficacy and patient-centeredness of the physician-patient interaction. While the study did not demonstrate any statistically substantial effects, the intervention showed promise by helping refocus the pain conversation, creating a clearer understanding of the functional impact of chronic pain, creating a more collaborative visit and strengthening the patient-physician relationship.

Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 and Willingness to Be Vaccinated in African American/Black & Hispanic/Latinx Asthmatic Adults: This research was based on collaborations between the AAFP NRN, Brigham and Womens Hospital, the DARTNet Institute and Harvard Medical School. It examined the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on African American and Hispanic/Latinx patients in a large asthma trial and their willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in the future. About two-thirds of participants reported hesitancy or unwillingness to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine. The authors stated that future studies are needed to explore associations between socioeconomic stressors and asthma outcomes over time, and to understand COVID-19 vaccine receptivity in this population.

Of the RGCs nine presentations, those of particular interest to FPs included the following.

Beyond Flexible: The Family Medicine Workforce and Clinical Redeployment During COVID-19: his research focused on the volume of evaluation and management services across six sites of care for a cohort of 78,416 family medicine physicians in Medicare practicing in both urban and rural areas. The research found that family physicians had wider scopes of practice and higher representation in rural (i.e., higher need) areas than other specialties.

Capacity of Primary Care to Deliver Telehealth in the United States: In this session, researchers used data from the 2016 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to explore and quantify the telehealth capacity of primary care. Of 850 million total encounters, 394 million encounters occurred in primary care. Nearly half of primary care physicians provided telephone or e-consults to patients. Thirty-five percent of all patient-physician interactions, and 42% of encounters in primary care, were defined as being amenable to telehealth, meaning that the physical presence of the physician was not required to provide a service.

HealthLandscape also delivered three presentations at the meeting.



Comparing Clinical Quality Outcomes for Appalachia and Non-Appalachia Health Centers: This research explored clinical quality measures for health centers within and outside the Appalachian region. The investigators found that health centers in Appalachia perform better than non-Appalachia health centers for most quality measures, including diabetes control and geographic variation of clinical quality within the Appalachian region. Given the disparities in health outcomes for Appalachia compared to non-Appalachia, increasing access to care for health centers could help improve health outcomes in the region.

Identifying Priority Areas for Improving Access to Maternity Care: This research identified priority rural maternity care deserts based on geographic distance to care, social deprivation and race/ethnicity. The results indicated that specific rural maternity care deserts in the United States face higher barriers to maternity care or are at risk for worse maternal care outcomes. The research makes that case that maternity care interventions should be targeted based on diverse criteria that incorporates geographic access, social deprivation and race/ethnicity.

Place Matters: Improving Population Health in the Era of COVID-19: This session described the importance of geography to population health; gave a practical understanding of the tools, methods and data available to conduct population health research and practice; and considered ways in which care providers can use these resources to inform their practice, with a particular emphasis on COVID-19.

Westfall summarized how the research presented at NAPCRG affects the way FPs and other primary care clinicians practice.

NAPCRG is the home to primary care research. Thats the research that is most relevant to family doctors, conducted in family practices, and feasible for family practice, said Westfall, adding, The research results are immediately relevant because they came from primary care practice, and were mostly conducted in primary care practice.

Christina Hester, Ph.D., M.P.H., the NRNs research director thanked the AAFP members and members of the AAFP NRN who participated in projects, including those who invited researcher into their practices.

The contributions of the practicing clinicians to these research endeavors ensure that the findings will be relevant for real-world clinical care, Hester said.

New Opportunities Ahead

Julie Sutter, M.P.A., M.S., C.A.E., NAPCRGs executive director, told AAFP News that the transformation to a virtual setting created opportunities that could prove beneficial at future meetings.

Even though the recent conference featured rich research and interactive sessions, we were not able to offer some programs that had traditionally been included in the meeting in the past, said Sutter. As a result, we plan to host other programs next year to connect primary care researchers with year-round programming beyond the annual meeting.

In addition, Westfall encouraged clinicians to participate in the research process and present their findings.

NAPCRG is a great place to exercise your natural curiosity. You can learn, you can meet people, you can start asking questions that matter to you and your patients, and you can find partners to work with you along the way, he said.

The next NAPCRG annual meeting is scheduled for Nov. 19-23 at the Quebec City Convention Center in Quebec, Canada  an event Sutter is already looking forward to.

This has been a year of looking for silver linings, and I am excited about how this community pulled together to connect and engage despite the difficult circumstances, Sutter said. This experience has set the stage for a lineup of new or enhanced programs next year to supplement the annual meeting.
A woman in Lukodi, Uganda, weeps as she listens on the radio to the ICC's verdict against Dominic Ongwen (AFP or licensors)

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has convicted a former commander in the Ugandan rebel group Lords Resistance Army (LRA) of dozens of war crimes and crimes against humanity, ranging from multiple murders to forced marriages. Dominic Ongwen faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

By Stefan J. Bos

Presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt took his time to outline horrific crimes he said were committed by the commander of a feared Ugandan militia.

The judge said that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had convicted Ongwen of 61 offenses compromising both crimes against humanity and war crimes.

He stressed that as a commander of the LRA, Ongwen oversaw several attacks. They included atrocities in camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) in northern Uganda in the early 2000s, and abuse of women forced to be his wives.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report

Dominque Ongwen has been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of a number of crimes committed in the context of the four specified attacks on the IDP camps Pajule (10 October 2003), Odek (29 April 2004), Lukodi (on or about 19 May 2004) and Abok (8 June 2004), Schmitt said.

Attacks against the civilian population, murder, attempted murder, torture, enslavement, outrages upon personal dignity, pillaging, destruction of property, and persecution, the judge added.

Abducted as a boy

The shadowy militia abducted Ongwen as a 9-year-old boy. He was transformed into a child soldier and later promoted to a senior leadership rank. His lawyers had argued that Ongwen was a victim and perpetrator at the same time.

Researcher Oryem Nyeko of advocacy group Human Rights Watch agrees. He should be held accountable for any crimes that he may have committed as an adult. But the fact that he was abducted, I think, should definitely be taken into consideration as a mitigating factor because his situation is so unique.

But Presiding Judge Schmitt cautioned that the case is about crimes Ongwen committed as a fully responsible adult and a commander of the LRA militia in his mid-to-late 20s.

The ICC is still considering a sentence. Ongwen, now 46 years old, faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The LRA was founded and led by one of the worlds most-wanted war crimes suspects, Joseph Kony.

Female civilians captured by the group were turned into sex slaves and wives for fighters. The LRA also made children into soldiers. Men, women, and children were murdered in attacks on camps for internally displaced persons.

The court found that civilians were shot, burned, and beaten to death, including in a May 2004 attack on a camp in the Ugandan village of Lukodi. Fighters commanded by Ongwen carried it out. LRA founder Kony promoted Ongwen to the rank of colonel after the Lukodi attack.

On Thursday, Lukodi residents gathered around a portable radio to follow the proceedings in The Hague. Journalists said that some broke down, weeping when the guilty verdicts came in.
Prices of protective facemasks have inched-up and as they become the quickest and lucrative commodity just as the country records a surge in COVID-19 new infections.



At the time President Nana Akufo-Addo is encouraging the public to mask-up, and security agencies enforcing the wearing of the facemask, the commodity has become a cash cow for producers and traders.



The Ghana News Agency (GNA) on a visit to retail shops and street hawkers observed that prices had shot up again to GH50.00 for a pack of 50 pieces.



The prices of the same quantity of surgical facemask a week ago was between GH20.00 to GH39.00.



Business centres visited included Latex Foam Company Limited, the China Mall, street vendors at the Central Business District of Accra, Lapaz, Kaneshie, and Kwame Nkrumah Circle.



Sales officials at the Latex Foam outlet in the North Industrial Area, who declined to mention their names, told the GNA, a box of a facemask sold at GH35.00 last week but the management of the company had asked them to sell it at GH50.00.



I have no idea why the price has changed.



Even with the GH50.00 price, we have a limited stock, he said.



A section of patrons and traders the GNA spoke to suggest that the Government needed to find a way of controlling the prices of both the facemask and sanitizers in other to reduce the rate of infection.



Madam Sylvia Lamptey, a trader at the Central Business District, said when the distributors of the protective gear increase the prices, the retailers had no option than to pass on the cost to patrons.



Every trader wants profit so we do not have a choice but to increase it in order to recoup our capital and get profit. If the price is controlled it will be affordable and accessible in the right quantities and there will be no need to horde the products, she added.



On the other hand, Mr George Atiso, a patron said in other to successfully enforce the face mask directive, the government needed to control the prices of the facemask and deter traders from selling at exorbitant rates.



A recent study conducted by the Ghana Health Service showed that only 42 percent of Ghanaians wore facemasks correctly.



Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General, Ghana Health Service, at a recent media engagement said the survey was conducted at public spaces including lorry parks in some key districts leading to the number of COVID-19 cases in the Greater Accra Region between 7:00 hours and 10:00 hours on January 29, 2021.



He said the data showed that 36 per cent of people had facemasks but were wearing them inappropriately while 22 percent of people were found not in facemasks at all.



Ghana as of Thursday, February 4, 2021, had recorded 5,786 active cases of COVID-19 out of a total of 68,559 cases, with 433 deaths.



The new cases were 777.

Source: GNA









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As far as the U.S. truck market is concerned, Dodge upgraded the 2009 Ram 1500 full-size pickup to coil springs for a few notable reasons. First of all, coils improve ride comfort and cornering stability due to less unsprung mass. Secondly, this setup provides better articulation off the beaten path.Turning our attention over to mid-size pickups from domestic manufacturers, Ford comes to mind with the Ranger Raptor. As opposed to lesser trim levels, the off-road specification combines a coil-sprung solid axle with a Watts linkage, Fox 2.5-inch internal bypass dampers, and special bracketry.The Ram 1500 TRX and all-new Ford F-150 Raptor also feature coil springs, and as the headline implies, the next generation of the Ranger Raptor will also employ coil springs. Spy photos uploaded on the Ranger6G Forum confirm this setup, along with 285/75 by 17-inch BFG rubber shoes.If youre curious what those dimensions mean in terms of diameter, make that 33.8 inches as opposed to 32.7 inches for the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon and 30.56 inches for the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison. Proven at Baja and rated for severe snow, the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tires also happen to be arguably the best OEM solution for off-road applications.Expected as a 2023 model at the earliest, the Ranger Raptor for the U.S. market wont feature the 2.0-liter EcoBlue bi-turbo diesel sold in Europe and Australia. The Ford Motor Company is most likely hiding a twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost under the hood, but were not quite sure which one of them.The 2.7-liter Nano in the Bronco may be on the underwhelming side of internal combustion because the Nissan Frontier also develops 310from a free-breathing engine. As a result, Im willing to wager ten bucks on the 3.0-liter Nano of the Explorer ST. In the mid-size, the six-cylinder lump offers 400 horsepower and 415 pound-feet (563 Nm) of torque.
There has been no lockdown for the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic in Egypt, but the cultural scene was nonetheless hit hard. The Panorama of European Film hosted by Zawya Art House, for example, was scheduled to take place last month. But due to governmental measures to curb the spread of the virus, Zawya head filmmaker-producer Marianne Khoury announced that the Panorama would be postponed till further notice. Most cultural centres also closed, so did cinemas like Zamalek. Other movie theatres are holding only commercial screenings at a low capacity.



It was in this context that I recalled, again, the two classic movies that I regard as the most significant films in Egyptian cinema; Youssef Chahines Cairo Station (1958) and Kamal El Sheikhs Al-Leila Al-Akhira (The Last Night, 1963). The latter was selected to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1964. I saw it for the first time only a few years ago, but Ive come to regard it as one of the most underrated masterpieces ever made. Unlike Chahines work, which is widely celebrated and viewed, El Sheikhs is often  unjustly  forgotten.

When I realised tomorrow marks El Sheikhs birthday, it felt like the perfect time to organise my own little retrospective.Born on 5 February 1919 in Menofiya, EL Sheikh joined the team of Studio Misr in 1937 and was trained by the late famous director Niazi Mustafa, the head of the editing department at the time.

It came as no surprise for me that he started his career as a film editor. His debut in filmmaking was Al-Manzil Rakam 13 (House Number 13, 1952), starring Faten Hamama and Emad Hamdi, with a screenplay co-written by El Sheikh and Ali Al-Zorkani.

It spelled the birth of an extraordinary filmmaker, with a work built around the real-life case of a Scottish doctor who used to hypnotise one of his patients to commit crimes through him. It not only established his credentials but created his trademark, with a slow-burn psychodramas and suspense earning him the title of the Hitchcock of Egyptian cinema. His virtuosity is especially evident in pacing, with an uncanny ability to keep the viewer hooked and breathless till the last moment.



Exploring El Sheikhs world is an engrossing experience. Watching The Last Night one more time proved as stimulating as before. The psychodrama is set on 5 October 1942, as Hamamas narration specifies. This is the date of Nadia Borhans wedding, but when Nadia wakes up that day she finds herself in her sister Fawzias bed. Her brother-in-law walks in and, calling her Fawzia, behaves as though she were his wife. Later she finds out it is her daughters wedding and the house will be filled with guests. But Nadia keeps her cool as she endeavours to understand what is going on.

The powerful premise is effectively pursued, with El Sheikh pacing things perfectly as the story is plotted. Alongside excellent performances from the two male leads, Mahmoud Morsi and Ahmed Mazhar, Hamama gives an exemplary performance  a true lesson in acting  with inner turmoil balanced against outer calm in astonishing ways.



Though he acknowledged Hitchcocks influence, in a televised interview El Sheikh cited Fritz Langs The Woman in the Window (1944) as his major source of inspiration. The most important and the most difficult stage in making a film is the screenplay, he told the host. I have to be convinced of the incidents in the script so that my style can come through in the film.

Using this method, El Sheikh spent an average of two years to make a film like Al-Suoud Ila Al-Hawya (Ascent to the Abyss, 1978) or Qahir Al-Zaman (Time Conqueror, 1987), the latter, a science fiction classic  and a rare thing indeed in Arab cinema  being his last film. Asked about working with actors, he gave a brilliant answer: When we do the rehearsals, I ask the actors not to give their full performance. I want the full performance to come out in front of the camera. I dont wish to drain the actor, I prefer to save their emotions and energy for the camera.

El Sheikh often joined forces with the late screenwriter and director Rafaat El-Mihi and so they founded a production company together.

Their first production was El Sheikhs Ala Maan Notlek Al-Rasas (Who Should We Shoot, 1975), another classic example of tightly controlled suspense in the service of a political message. After a powerful and suspenseful opening  in which the actor Mahmoud Yassin is seen asking to meet the chairman of one of the leading government owned real estate companies, only to shoot the man dead once he enters his office  the film quickly becomes a statement on corruption and decadence.

It tells the dual stories of the man who is shot (Gamil Rateb) and his killer, later hit by a car  as well as their wives, played by Soad Hosni and Fardous Abdel-Hamid, respectively  as they lie side by side in the same hospital.

In 1970, before the launch of their production company, El Sheikh and El-Mihi collaborated on the film Ghoroub wa Shorouk (Sunset and Sunrise), based on Gamal Hammads novel with a screenplay by El-Mihi.

Set on 26 January 1952 in the wake of the Cairo Fire, the film follows Madiha (Soad Hosni), the daughter of Azmi Pasha the head of the secret police (brilliantly played by Mahmoud Al-Meligi), as she ends up alone at the flat of her husband Samirs womanizer friend Essam (Roushdy Abaza), who is hit by a car and, not knowing she is his wife, asks Samir to go to the flat to let her know and let her out.This eventually results in Azmi Pasha having Samir (Salah Dhulfuqar) killed and Madiha marrying Essam, who as it turns out is a political dissident who uses the opportunity to end Azmi Pashas career.

El Sheikh also directed films based on the novels Al-Leiss Wal Kelab (The Thief and the Dogs, 1962) and Miramar (1969) by Naguib Mahfouz, Al-Ragol Alladhi Faqad Dhelo (The Man Who has lost his Shadow, 1968) by Fathi Ghanem, and Shiee fi Sadry (Something in My Heart, 1971) by Ihsan Abdel-Quddous.Another remarkable film is Al-Tawous (The Peacock, 1982), starring Nour El-Sherif, Laila Taher, Raghda and Salah Zulfakar, with a screenplay by Abdel-Hai Adeeb. Hamdi (Nour El-Sherif) is secretly in love with his sister-in-law Samiha (Raghda). Confronted by his wife Nadia (Laila Taher) on their anniversary, he ends up having a car accident that temporarily paralyses him. But when he is able to walk again Hamdi keeps it a secret so as to carry out his plan of murdering Nadia  only to be exposed thanks to Nadias uncle (Salah Zulfakar) and a peacock-shaped brooch.

Here as elsewhere in his work El Sheikhs brand of suspense is subtle, and his unhurried pace makes it all the more effective. In Haya aw Mout (Life or Death, 1954), for example, a little girl picks up the medicine for her father and leaves before the pharmacist realises he made a fatal mistake in the preparation and attempts to find her to save the mans life.El Sheikh died in 2004 at the age of 84, having received the State Appreciation Award in Arts in 1991.

Filmography:



*1952: Al-Manzil Rakam 13 (House Number 13)



*1953: Mouamra (Conspiracy)



*1954: Haya aw Mout (Life or Death)



*1955: Hob wa Demou (Love and Tears)



*1956: Hob wa Eadam (Love and Execution)



*1956: Al-Gharib (The Stranger)



*1956: Ard Al-Ahlam (The Land of Dreams)



*1957: Togar Al-Mout (Death Merchants)



*1957: Al-Malak Al-Saghir (The Small Angel)



*1957: Ard Al-Salam (Land of Peace)



*1958: Sayedet Al-Qasr (Lady of the Palace)



*1959: Min Agl Hobi (For the Sake of My Love)



*1959: Min Agl Emraa (For the Sake of a Woman)



*1959: Qalb Yahtarek (A Burning Heart)



*1960: Malak wi Shitan (An Angel and a Devil)



*1960: Hobi Al-Wahid (My Only Love)



*1961: Lan Ataref (I Wont Confess)



*1962: Al-Leiss Wal Kelab (The Thief and the Dogs)



*1963: Al-Leila Al-Akhira (The Last Night)



*1963: Al-Shitan Al-Saghir (The Little Devil)



*1965: Al-Khaaena (The Unfaithful)



*1966: 3 Prisoners



*1967: Al-Mokhareboun (Saboteurs)



*1968: Al-Ragol Alladhi Faqad Dhelo (The Man Who has lost his Shadow)



*1968: Aboul Houl Al-Zogagi (The Glass Sphinx)



*1969: Miramar



*1969: Beir Al-Herman (The Well of Deprivation)



*1970: Ghoroub wa Shorouk (Sunset and Sunrise)



*1971: Shiee fi Sadry (Something in My Heart)



*1974: Al-Hareb (The Fugitive)



*1975: Ala Maan Notlek Al-Rasas (Who Should We Shoot)



*1978: Wa Thalethoum Al-Shitan (The Devil Makes Three)



*1978: Al-Soud Ela Al-Hawya (The Ascent to the Abyss)



*1982: Al-Tawous (The Peacock)



*1987: Qahir Al-Zaman (The Time Conqueror)

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 February , 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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New Delhi, Feb 5 : One of the most vocal voices in the party for organizational reforms, Kapil Sibal is one of the highest donors to his party as per the filing by the Congress to the Election Commission.

Kapil Sibal donated Rs 3 crore, while many party leaders including party president Sonia Gandhi contributed Rs 50,000 and Rahul Rs 54,000 to the party fund in 2019-20, as per the declaration to the Election Commission given by party interim treasurer Pawan Bansal.

Sibal, who is a lawyer by profession, was also the biggest individual contributor to the party fund among all the party leaders. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, late Ahmed Patel, former Defence Minister AK Antony, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were among those who donated Rs 54,000 to the Congress fund.

The names of Jyotiraditya Scindia and Mausam Noor, who switched sides and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and the TMC respectively were also in the donors list. Scindia had rebelled which led to the collapse of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh in March last year.

As per the Peoples Representation Act all the political parties are required to submit details to the Election Commission regarding all donations above Rs 20,000 made to the party fund.

The Congress received more than Rs 139 crore in donations in 2019-20. The list shows that donations by ITC and associated companies were over Rs 19 crore, while Prudent Electoral Trust contributed Rs 31 crore.

The other members of the 'G23', the dissenting group, are also in the list of donors including Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Morgan County, like the rest of North Alabama, is struggling to keep up with the demand for COVID-19 vaccines.

But, the county wants to assure people that if you've already gotten your first dose, your second dose is ready and waiting for you when the time comes.

Health officials say they've learned from the stories across the country of people not getting their second dose because it was given to someone else. It's done because they were expecting shipments from the federal government. But, if that shipment doesn't come, you're out of luck. So, with that in mind, Morgan County has made it clear that when a shipment arrives, the number of doses is cut in half and viewed as number of people to make sure everyone is vaccinated correctly.

"I want to make sure that everyone understands that we are saving enough in our shipments to ensure that everyone who gets their primary dose here gets their second dose here. And we go ahead and schedule that at the time of your first dose," said Decatur Morgan Hospital President Kelli Powers.

The state of Alabama says Monday is a 'go' when it comes to getting those 65 and older vaccinated. But, North Alabama ADPH Administrator Judy Smith says they just aren't in a position to do that yet at the Morgan County Health Department vaccine clinic.

"We are clearly, extremely concerned that on Monday, there will be a lot more folks who need it, who want it, who we want to give it to, and there's just not going to be the vaccine there to do that," said Smith.

That vaccine clinic is still working on finishing up those who got their first shot already in group 1A. Smith says there are still 3,573 people who need to get their second dose. The original goal was to have everyone done with their first dose who wanted it last Friday.

Over at Decatur Morgan Hospital, though, the situation is a bit different.

"We're opening it up already to register the 65 and older and everyone that's in 1B that is eligible...they're already getting called," Powers said.

Right now, Decatur Morgan Hospital is wrapping up its supply of Moderna vaccines on second-dose patients. Starting today, first-dose patients will receive the Pfizer vaccine because the hospital received a shipment of 2,925 doses from them. Whichever shot you got for your first dose, you'll get the same for your second.

Powers says it's important to make sure you sign up for the vaccine online. Once you're in the system, you'll get a call to schedule your shot. Currently, she says there's about 1,200 people in the queue online.

Register for the vaccine waitlist at Decatur Morgan Hospital here.
At the peak of its game, SportPesa made about Sh285,000 every minute from betting-hungry Kenyans.

Annual financial statements for SportPesa's local operating company, Pevans East Africa, reveal the firm's relatively humble beginnings of Sh1.27 billion revenue in 2014-- when the company was set up with the help of a Sh68m loan-- to Sh150 billion turnover in 2018, before the government pulled their licence over a tax dispute and security concerns about some of its owners.

The financials shared with the Nation show that SportPesa enjoyed explosive growth and was on course to raking in Sh172.9 billion revenue in 2019, the year the government unceremoniously stopped the merry-go-round.

This is more than half total revenues Safaricom makes in a year or enough to fund the development budget of the infrastructure ministry for one year.

Private Kenyan companies do not have to publicly disclose their accounts, and therefore SportPesa's spectacular financials have always been shrouded in mystery.

Its Bulgarian and Kenyan directors and shareholders raked in at least Sh7.79 billion in salaries and dividends, while the taxman was left wondering why his take was shrinking.

By this time, reports of betting-related suicides had begun to appear with grim regularity in the media. The Credit Reference Bureau had blacklisted half a million youngsters under the age of 25 for defaulting on loans taken out for betting. Church leaders were pleading with President Uhuru Kenyatta at public prayer meetings to bring the betting craze under control.

SportPesa's directors and shareholders made hay while the sun shone, the financials show.

The biggest shareholders in the company were Bulgarian co-founders Guerassim Nikolov and Gene Grand with 21 percent each.

Their late Kenyan business partner Dick Wathika, a former MP and Nairobi mayor, also held 21 percent -- a stake which passed to his widow Asenath Wachera Maina after his death in 2015.

Each of these shareholders has pocketed as much as Sh1.64 billion in dividends.

Other Kenyan investors, such as former chairman Paul Ndung'u and chief executive Ronald Karauri, were also laughing all the way to the bank.

Mr Ndung'u's 17 percent stake would have earned him a Sh1.3 billion return on his investment while Mr Karauri's 6 percent stake -- bought with the proceeds from selling a plot of land, he once told the media -- would have paid out a Sh468 million share of the dividends.

The bonanza did not end there for Mr Karauri and his fellow executive directors, who included Global CEO Nikolov as well as Grand.

SportPesa paid its directors Sh213.5 million in salaries, fees and perks in 2017, the financials show.

To put this directors' remuneration into perspective, the 2017 figure was the equivalent of one-third of its total wage bill for hundreds of staff.

Perhaps in belated recognition of this imbalance, the generous executive pay packages were cut back in the following year and had fallen to 11 percent of the total wage bill in 2019.

SportPesa's payroll was projected to hit Sh1.2 billion in 2019 before the government withdrew its betting licence that July.

The company claimed that the government's decision to withdraw its betting licence in July 2019 resulted in more than 400 job losses.

It is therefore likely that, in addition to fat cat directors, SportPesa also hired a number of extremely well paid staff as the projected 2019 wage bill averages out at more than Sh3 million per employee.

As betting income soared, SportPesa could afford to be generous with its punters, too. Betting companies typically pay the majority of bets back to punters as winnings. SportPesa is no different.

Pevans steadily increased its winnings payouts as a percentage of bets placed, from 77 percent in 2014 to 88 percent in 2018. This would only have increased hungry punters' betting appetites, and deepened the country's gambling addiction problem.

SportPesa accounted for two-thirds of the local betting industry's market share, according to leaked betting income declarations for May 2019 and revealed by the Nation last year.

The same data shows that punters staked an average of Sh180 with SportPesa on each bet, slightly above the industry average of Sh170.

If you divide Pevans's 2018 betting income of nearly Sh150 billion by the average stake for the industry, then punters would have placed around 2.3 million bets with SportPesa every single day - a mind-bending figure.

These top-line figures have puzzled analysts, who wonder whether wananchi really had this sort of money to throw at bets with a single company.

The 2019 population census shows that there are around 25 million Kenyans over the legal gambling age of 18. Every single one would need to have bet Sh6,000 with SportPesa over the course of the previous year to make up Pevans's 2018 betting income figures.

Tony Watima, a Kenyan economist who has been looking at the SportPesa's books for a while, says that the betting giant's numbers have never added up.

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"There has always been something that doesn't add up in SportPesa numbers, it portrays a picture of so many Kenyans in mobile betting but statistics had a different story," Mr Watima told the Nation in an interview.

"To give proper perspective, 2.3 million is close to the number of Kenyans who have registered for a KRA PIN. That is how big those Sportpesa numbers are. Bearing in mind that they only have two thirds of market share," he added.

The economist said that available data from the Central Bank of Kenya report shows that only 1.9 percent of mobile users used mobile money for betting in 2018.

"The question is that where do SportPesa get those millions of users daily? That figure is very unrealistic because it's far off than what the survey shows," Mr Watima says.

The balance retained by a betting company after winnings are paid is called the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR).

Even as SportPesa steadily gave an additional ten percent of its betting revenues back to punters, Pevans's GGR exploded from just Sh300,000 in 2014 to around Sh20 billion in 2018.

One might expect a betting company whose GGR was growing by 20 percent year-on-year to be more profitable and to pay more tax on those profits. In SportPesa's case, you would be wrong.
New Jersey prosecutors have filed charges against a correctional officer and two sergeants who oversaw a cell extraction at a womens prison that allegedly turned into a series of violent assaults, leaving inmates with injuries including a concussion and an orbital wall fracture.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, who announced the charges at a news conference Thursday, said an investigation was ongoing. He added that more charges are expected in connection with the Jan. 11 incident at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, New Jerseys only womens prison, which houses about 700 people and has been plagued by reports of abuse. A scathing report released last year by the U.S. Department of Justice found the New Jersey Department of Corrections as a whole fails to keep prisoners at Edna Mahan safe from sexual abuse by staff.

According to Grewal, six women at the prison in Hunterdon County reported injuries in the January incident, which involved more than two dozen officers.

They deployed pepper spray, rushed into the inmates cell, and beat several of the victims without justification, Grewal said. He said one woman was beaten while handcuffed. Another was punched 28 times as she huddled against a wall, trying to shield her face with her arms.

Then, he said, the officials tried to cover it up.

Sgts. Amir Bethea and Anthony Valvano, two officials who led extraction teams, are charged with official misconduct, which carries a minimum five-year sentence, and tampering with public records. Officer Luis Garcia faces those same charges, along with aggravated assault.

Contacted by a reporter, Valvano hung up without commenting. Bethea and Garcia could not be reached on Thursday.

Grewal said the assaults were caught on video, which will be released once the investigation is complete. The incident was first reported by NJ.com, which said that one woman was wheelchair-bound after the attack and that dozens of staff were suspended.

William Sullivan, president of Policemens Benevolent Association Local 105, which represents correctional officers in New Jersey, said he was still determining whether the union would be representing the officers.

While a review of the allegations lodged against the officers are disturbing, P.B.A. 105 fully supports a thorough investigation being conducted regarding the incidents at issue before any judgments are made, Sullivan said in a statement.

Meanwhile, advocates said the allegations highlight the need for immediate reforms. The ACLU of New Jersey urged the state to invest in meaningful and robust corrections oversight, by strengthening the Office of the Corrections Ombudsperson, among other steps.

Gov. Phil Murphy, who has called the incident horrific, sickening, and abhorrent, released a statement Thursday pledging that the charges will be accompanied by a full accounting of how this incident was able to happen, so that we can put in place necessary reforms and safeguards. He has charged former State Comptroller Matt Boxer with leading that investigation.

The New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee will hold its own investigatory hearings, Speaker Craig Coughlin said in January. We need answers and we need reform, he said.

Theres a long and ugly history at Edna Mahan, Grewal said. Were using all of our tools to hold accountable those that engage in this conduct.
The most vulnerable age group of people in the country, those aged above 50 will get the first jab in March second week onwards, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan informed Parliament on Friday.

The Health Minister said since the drive for the second phase to cover over 2 crore frontline workers is under progress, it is difficult to announce any fixed date right now but it is expected that the third phase of the vaccination drive will start in the second, third or fourth week of March.

Replying to a question during Question Hour session of Lok Sabha, the Minister made the announcement saying "The third phase drive will cover the most vulnerable people over the age of 50".

Vardhan said that the first phase of the world's biggest vaccination drive, which was rolled out on January 16 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, had aimed to inoculate around 1 crore healthcare workers and the second phase targeted 2 crore frontline workers.

Currently, India is inoculating indigenously made Covid-19 vaccines Covishield and Covaxin.

The Minister further said that seven more vaccines are under process and India has so far administered vaccines to 5 million people across the country.

Vardhan also mentioned that 22 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan have so far requested India to supply Covid-19 vaccines and 15 of them have been provided 161 lakh doses.

A YOUNG man was among a group of people arrested when a row in a fast-food restaurant escalated into violence, with chairs being thrown around.

Robert Prunila (21) admitted his part in the brawl, which happened "on a night out".

Construction worker Prunila, of Castlecurragh Heath, Mulhuddart, pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Judge Bryan Smyth struck the charge out, leaving him without a conviction, after he made a 400 charity donation.

Dublin District Court heard a dispute broke out between two groups of people at a Burger King restaurant on O'Connell Street at 3.55am on December 1, 2019.

A fight ensued, resulting in chairs being "thrown around the place", a garda sergeant said.

Gardai were called and the accused was arrested. He had no previous convictions.

Prunila, who "did not go out that often", was on a night out, alcohol was involved and the incident escalated, his solicitor said.

The accused had "put his hands up" and admitted his part in what happened.

He was not working, and a criminal conviction could affect his future job prospects, the solicitor said.

Judge Smyth said he considered the case a "serious enough matter".

The sergeant said the acc- used had since contacted gardai and apologised.

Judge Smyth said he would give Prunila a chance, but warned that if he came before the court again the case could be brought to the attention of the presiding judge.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to media in the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Cruz Places Hold on Confirming Bidens Commerce Secretary Pick to Pressure Admin on Huawei

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday placed a hold on the confirmation of President Joe Bidens pick for Commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, saying she has not yet clarified whether she backs keeping China-based company Huawei on a restricted trade list.

The move is likely to delay the floor vote by up to 30 hours as the Republican seeks to pressure the Biden administration to commit to policies that will fend off national security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Ill lift the hold when the Biden admin commits to keep the massive Chinese Communist Party spy operation Huawei on the Entity List, Cruz said in a statement on Twitter.

A day earlier, Cruz voted against approving Raimondo as Commerce secretary. He said her ethics issues and soft stance on China, including her refusal to commit to keep Huawei on the list is deeply troubling.

Gina Raimondos ethics issues and soft stance on China including her refusal to commit to keep Huawei on the Entities List is deeply troubling. Thats why I voted against advancing her nomination and I urge my colleagues to refuse to confirm her.  Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) February 3, 2021

Although the procedural action of formally placing a hold on Raimondos confirmation is not enough to stop the confirmation, the move can delay the procedure significantly. The informal practice notifies the majority leader that a senator may filibuster a motion or resolution.

Cruzs action comes two days after a group of almost two dozen House Republicans, led by Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released a statement outlining the giant threat Chinese telecom equipment poses to national security.

McCaul said in a statement on Thursday that he is pleased Cruz agreed with him and the coalition of House Republicans.

As I have repeatedly expressed, Huawei is not a normal telecommunications companyit is an arm of the CCPs military that poses a significant threat to U.S. national security and supports the CCPs genocide in Xinjiang, McCaul said.

The Biden Administration must take this seriously, he added. No more delays or promises to circle back. The American people and our allies deserve a clear and straightforward answerwill President Biden commit to keeping Huawei on the Entity List and clarify its export control policies on CCP-controlled or influenced entities?

Raimondo, during her nomination hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on Jan. 26, vowed to protect U.S. telecommunications networks from Chinese companies but declined to commit to keeping Huawei on the blacklist.

The Trump administration placed Huawei on the Commerce Departments entity lista trade blacklistdue to national security concerns in May 2019.

Former President Donald Trump also led a global campaign to convince allies to exclude Huawei from their 5G networks. Washington has long said Huawei equipment could be exploited by Chinas communist regime for espionage or to disrupt communication networks.

U.S. officials have pointed to laws in China that compel companies to cooperate with intelligence agencies when asked. Huawei, which was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, a former officer in the Peoples Liberation Army, the military arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has denied these allegations.

House Foreign Affairs Committee GOP Spokesperson Leslie Shedd told The Epoch Times that there has been bipartisan support in the past to keeping Huawei on the Entity List, including prominent Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and prominent Republicans like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).

Congressman McCaul, and the more than 20 House Republicans who have joined him in his call, urge these Senators to stick to their principles on this issue and demand the Biden Administration clarify their intentions for Huawei before they allow the floor vote for Governor Raimondo to occur, Shedd said. If it was wrong when President Trump appeared to soften on Huawei, it should also be wrong if President Biden softens on Huawei.

Janita Kan contributed to this report.
Furious residents near a soon-to-be-built airport fear the value of their properties will be plummet under proposed rezoning plans that see areas deemed 'green space'.

The New South Wales government recently unveiled its detailed vision for the new Western Sydney Aerotropolis, which will include a 'Western Parkland City.'

The emphasis of the plans will be to create a cooler and greener city.

Residents living north of the new airport under construction in Sydney's south-west were shocked to discover a massive chunk of their properties earmarked for green space such as bushland and parks.

A battle is looming similar to the one portrayed in the 1990s Australian film classic The Castle, where the Kerrigan family overcome the odds and win the fight to keep their suburban home after developers try to acquire the land to expand the nearby airport.

The new airport in Sydney's south-west will be the surrounded by a 'parkland city'. Pictured is an artist impression for the Western Parkland City

A David versus Goliath battle could be looming similar to the one portrayed in the 1990s Australian hit film The Castle (pictured are the fictional Kerrigan family from the film)

Luddenham residents Rob and Deb Heffernan live in what's proposed to be the Northern Gateway Precinct, where most streets will have open views to parklands.

A third of their ten hectare property has been designated as riparian parkland under the government proposal while the remainder has been zoned for enterprise.

The local council doesn't have to offer compensation to buy land earmarked for riparian parkland or nature parks under the Environment, Planning and Assessment Act's current zoning laws.

'It's like we're giving away part of our land for free  at the end of the day we just want a fair deal and we're not getting that,' Mr Heffernan told the Daily Telegraph.

'With a stroke of a pen they've made our land worthless  it's a raw deal.'

The NSW government recently released a more details vision for the new Western Sydney Aerotropolis (pictured)

In The Castle, Darryl Kerrigan played by Michael Caton (left) wins his fight against developers trying to acquire his home to expand a nearby airport. Pictured is a scene from the hit film

Michael and Jenny Schweers live on a nearby 30 hectare block which have been in the family for more than 200 years.

Their land has since been earmarked by the government as green space.

'It's devastating. What you think might be your kids' future, within a matter of a piece of paper it's gone downhill,' Mr Schweers said.

Planning minister Rob Stokes told the publication that the government vision for a parkland city need parks and discussions with residents about acquiring private land had been upfront and transparent.

The minister recently unveiled its latest infrastructure and precinct plans for the Aerotropolis and Western Parkland City.

'After more than two years of planning and community consultation, we are shaping a strong vision for a new city with green neighbourhoods within 30 minutes of jobs and the necessary infrastructure to support growth,' Mr Stokes was quoted in the government media release.

Many residents were shocked to find out their land could be worthless under plans to turn it into parks and green space. Pictured is an artist impression of the proposed green space

'Turning paddocks into a thriving metropolis around an international airport isn't a cheap endeavour. '

'It is the landowners who will benefit enormously from the uplift in value as a result of rezoning who should be contributing to the infrastructure needed, not mums and dads being hit in their hip pocket via tax.'

The plans have been slammed by local state Labor MP Hugh McDermott.

'The government has again shown more disregard for the people surrounding Western Sydney Airport,' he tweeted on Friday

'People deserve to remunerated properly for their land and treated with respect by the Government

The public has until February 26 to have their say on the draft precinct plans.
In a top-two primary system, Herrera Beutler will almost certainly make the runoff, even if another Republican gets more Republican-leaning votes in the primary. But in the general, shell pick up independents and many Democrats, as she did in the past. She won by 13 percentage points last November, in a district that Trump carried by four points.

Removing the leverage to knock out Herrera Beutler in the primary allows her to be more accountable to her constituents than to her party. Little wonder that shes also a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

Newhouse has already survived an attack from the far right, in 2014, when he got only 26 percent of the primary vote, versus 32 percent for the right-winger. Still, that was enough to make it to the November election, where he beat the extremist with the help of Democrats and independents. He has won by wide margins since then.

Kim Wyman, Washingtons Republican secretary of state, said the top-two (or four) open primary system encourages higher turnout and promotes candidates with a broader reach. You have to appeal to a wider group of voters than your base, she told me. For a lot of states, this is a radical concept  giving voters the choice and the power.

With top-two primaries, the incentive is actually to take more risk; the more voters you appeal to of all political stripes, the better your chance of winning office.

The downside of the top-two system is that it might leave, say, a majority-Democratic district without a Democratic candidate in the general election. If something like a half-dozen Democratic candidates were to split the primary vote equally, it could allow two Republicans to get just enough to make the general.

In that instance, one-party choice can mean no choice for the party left off the general election ballot. This system also makes it very hard for minor-party candidates to advance.
TUSCOLA COUNTY  During a normal year, the Tuscola County Sheriffs Office presents an award to the employee of the year. However, in this difficult year it didn't seem fitting to honor just one.

Instead, the award has been adapted to honor every employee this year.

According to Tuscola County Sheriff Glen Skrent, every deputy that put on their uniform and came to work, confronting the daily challenges, deserved to be recognized.

It was far from a normal year, rightfully so it was impossible to have one normal, singular award, Skrent said.

A plaque, presented to the employees who worked between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of 2020, explains that the deputies honored faced the worst pandemic of the century, riots and efforts to defund the police, peaceful protests, and an unprecedented contentious political election that divided the country.

Due to pandemic restrictions, we are unable to hold our annual award meeting, Skrent said. That is why we have decided to release the plaque early, so everyone can appreciate it.

We are in the process of typing up individual awards, he added. And we will continue to distribute crime specific awards to individual officers.

Skrent suspects that moving forward, the department will return to the individual annual employee of the year awards. Several employees and inmates of the Tuscola County Jail had contracted COVID-19 throughout the year. Skrent said there were no issues or complaints related to any of the issues deputies faced.

Everyone worked together to keep the inmates, the public, and each other safe over the course of the year, Skrent said. It was a team effort to handle the challenges of 2020.

According to the plaque inscription, it will be displayed at the Tuscola County Jail. It will hang alongside the other officer of the year awards, as a reminder of the hard work and perseverance of the Tuscola County deputies throughout the year.

On June 5, activists gathered outside the Tuscola County Courthouse to protest police brutality and racism through a peaceful demonstration that included laying on the courthouse lawn and walking through the community. Despite concerns leading up to the event, Undersheriff Robert Baxter and protesters confirmed that everything remained peaceful and the presence of police was welcomed.

I couldnt thank them enough, Courtney Hartman, event organizer, had reported. They deserve recognition.

I dont think it would have gone as well without their presence, she had added. It made an impact.

According to nation wide statistics, 330 police officers died in 2020 in the line of duty. Two hundred and twelve of these deaths were coronavirus related and 45 were caused by gunfire. April of last year saw the highest death toll, with 49 total police officer deaths.

Michigan saw a total of 10 line of duty deaths of police officers, half of which were related to the coronavirus.

Officers listed on the plaque are Steven Anderson, Joel Angle, Robert Baxter, Rebecca Bills, Miles Breinager, Ashley Calles, Heidi Chicilli, Emily Cockerill, Spencer Coleman, Brent Dawson, Kirk Dutcher, Rodney Friday, Matthew Greenway, Shannon Gwizdala, Brian Harris, Nolan Harrison, Bryan Hemerline, Ryan Herford, Joshua Herman, Deanna Higley, James Hook, Ted Hull, Cory Jacobs, Scott Jones, Michael Kemp, Michael Kennedy, Brittany Kirk-Glumm, Ryan Laflure, Nathan Licht, Daniel Lisowski, Debbie Mika, Cody Neuville, Justin Nitz, Kyle Nordstrom, Thomas Peterson, Tyan Pierce, Jonathon Ramirez, Ryan Robinson, Michael Schuman, Brandon Smithhart, Jordan Wade, William Webster, Christopher Whetstone, Dennis Ziemba, and Timothy Zube.
Former rugby star Jamie Heaslip (left) and Noel Anderson at the Four Courts on the first day of their High Court action in October. Photo: Collins Courts

The managing director of Dublin bar Lemon & Duke said it should never have come to this after the High Court found in favour of four publicans who sued insurer FBD over its refusal to pay out on business interruption claims.

Noel Anderson, who co-owns the venue with rugby players Sean O'Brien, Jamie Heaslip and brothers Rob and Dave Kearney, said the decision represents vindication for Lemon & Duke and the other businesses.

Sean's Bar in Athlone, Sinnott's Bar, the Leopardstown Inn and Lemon & Duke in Dublin all took test cases against the insurer last year after it argued they were not entitled to recover losses from the Covid-19 pandemic, despite a clause in their policies stating they were covered if forced to close in the event of outbreaks of a contagious or infectious disease on the premises or within 25 miles of same.

Judge Denis McDonald has published his lengthy judgment today after delaying the decision to await the outcome of a similar case in the UK.

Read More

We could not have achieved this outcome without the tremendous faith and understanding shown by our staff during these very testing times where they were understandably concerned about the implications for their livelihoods, Mr Anderson said.

It should never have come to this. I specifically had taken out a business interruption policy to protect us against Covid-19 and its potential impact on our business. As the court heard during the trial, this was acknowledged in writing by FBD.

Yet in order to have our claim settled we were forced to go through 10 months of deep financial uncertainty, significant additional risk in taking this action as well as extensive stress and strain, to arrive at an outcome which should have been clear from the outset.

We would encourage FBD and other insurance providers to reflect on the outcome of this case and where valid business interruption policies exist we hope they will be forthcoming in making payments to the relevant pubs and other businesses impacted as they fight for their survival.

In his judgment, Mr Justice McDonald disagreed with FBDs interpretation that the closure of bars was not due to an outbreak of Covid on the premises or within 25 miles, but because of the national situation.

He said that cover still stands if there are nationwide outbreaks provided there was also an outbreak within the 25-mile radius.

The language clearly responds to outbreaks of disease both on the premises or within 25 miles, he said.

Mr Justice McDonald said the case of Lemon & Duke was different from the rest in that a specific side letter was furnished to Mr Anderson on March 2, 2020, outlining he would be covered in the event his pub had to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In my view, the email is quite clear. It does not represent that cover would be provided in respect of losses sustained solely as a consequence of the impact of coronavirus; it very clearly states that the pub must be forcibly shut down and cannot be voluntary, he outlined.

Chris Kelly, owner of Sinnott's bar and chief executive of the Chris Kelly Group, said: These are extraordinarily difficult times for publicans. FBDs thwarted attempt to deny cover to our business, and several hundred other publicans across the country, has only compounded our anguish at the worst possible time.

The distress for those who have been refused payment has gone on too long. This must end immediately.

Stephen Cooney, co-owner of the Leopardstown Inn and executive director of the Loyola Group, urged FBD to swiftly accept the courts decision and to make payments to all those insured.

Our premises and all the other FBD-insured pubs across Ireland were shut on March 15 last in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. FBD let us down when we needed our insurance most. FBDs refusal to honour its obligations has meant extreme hardship for our businesses and our staff.

With significant reluctance, and despite the enormous risks involved, we were compelled to bring our claim to court. At the time when our businesses were weakest, we had to take on a large insurance company with enormous financial resources. FBD fought the case aggressively on every conceivable point, as was its legal entitlement. Now its defence has been dismissed, we trust it will apply as much resources to paying its policy holders quickly and fully.

The Licensed Vinters' Association (LVA), which represents pubs in the Dublin area, also welcomed the decision.

These publicans deserve enormous credit as their action will prove critical to pubs with similar policies right around Ireland, it said.

It was grossly unfair that these family businesses had to go to the High Court against the might of a publicly quoted insurer to have their claims validated.

We are now calling on insurers to quickly review their business interruption policies in light of today's decision and to promptly pay all valid claims.

The outcome of this case is now expected to have a significant impact on around 1,100 businesses who also had similar policies.

FBD said the judgment provides "much needed clarity" to all concerned.

A spokesperson said the insurer is committed to paying valid claims and will endeavour to process them as quickly as possible.

"We understand the significant challenges our public house insurance policyholders currently face. FBD will arrange interim payments to affected policyholders while awaiting final clarity on quantum.

"We will now consider the effects of the judgment with our reinsurers and will revert to the market in due course on the estimated net cost of Covid-19 related business interruption claims to the company. We expect the cost to be well within the range of considered financial outcomes, with FBD remaining strongly capitalised.

"FBD believes that the court process was the fairest way to reach a resolution in this matter and tried to ensure that proceedings were as quick and efficient as possible for all concerned.

"We have had the privilege of supporting individuals, farms and businesses in Ireland for over 50 years and our commitment to our customers remains as strong as ever."
Scheduled On Monday, February 8, at 11.00 at Interfax-Ukraine

ORGANIZERS: Federation of Public Medical Associations of Ukraine and the Association of Private Medical Institutions of Ukraine

The BROADCAST of the press conference will be available here.

PARTICIPANTS: First Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Iryna Sadoviak, People's Deputy of Ukraine, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on National Health, Medical Assistance and Health Insurance Mykhailo Radutsky, Corresponding member of NAMSU, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Doctor of Ukraine, President of the Ukrainian Federation of Professional Medical Associations and State Prize of Ukraine laureate Vyacheslav Kaminsky, Board Member of the Association of Private Medical Institutions of Ukraine, and State Prize laureate Valeriy Zukin and medical lawyer, adviser to the Minister of Health of Ukraine, people's deputy of the VIII convocation, Vice-president of the Ukrainian Federation of Professional Medical Associations Iryna Sysoenko.

Additional information on tel. (073) 320-30-82, info@apmi.com.ua (Tatiana, Secretary of the Association of Private Medical Institutions of Ukraine); (067) 721-96-19 (Andrey Tkachenko, Ukrainian Federation of Professional Medical Associations).

The situation in Ukraine

The number of "medical" cases in Ukraine is growing steadily.

The facts in brief:

Two criminal proceedings are opened daily in Ukraine against doctors (data of Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office), and about half of them are against obstetricians-gynecologists.

Some nine out of ten charged doctors are found guilty in Ukrainian courts, with punishment per Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (based on Unified State Register of Court Decisions)

According to the Ukrainian Medical Union, many doctors are victims of online bullying (online and social media grievances). Media are very willing to publish "revealing" materials. Of course, there are many tragedies in medicine. A doctor is a person who stands between life and death. The doctor is not always successful. We do not deny the need to bring truthful information to the public. But often difficult cases, even for the professional community, are absolutely clear for journalists. The doctor is liable for unsuccessful treatment, and the journalist immediately becomes both a prosecutor and a judge. But he forgets that according to the Constitution of Ukraine, anyone can be found guilty only by a court ruling.

Ukrainian legislation does not have a clear definition of the term "medical error" or "improper performance of professional duties by a medical or pharmaceutical worker" (Criminal Code of Ukraine, Article 140). This legal ambiguity does not protect the rights of doctors and patients.

What are the consequences of the current situation?

1. The public confidence in doctors is decreasing. This leads to a delay in seeking medical attention in severe cases. The recent death of a woman in labor after giving birth at home in Rivne is the best example of mistrust in doctors.

2. The hard work of physicians is oftentimes unappreciated. They receive low wages and are constantly at risk. Therefore, young doctors either leave their profession or go to work abroad. And the labor migration trends of doctors and nurses are growing every year.

3. After graduating from a medical university/ institute, medical students either leave the profession immediately, or avoid the most difficult specialties - surgeon, obstetrician-gynecologist, pediatrician.

What are our suggestions?

1. Improvement of legislation on medical law.

2. Increasing the role of professional associations in the examination of controversial cases.

3. Compulsory medical liability insurance.

4. Regulation of media coverage of medical issues.

5. Increase the responsibility for the use of violence against a health worker in the performance of his professional duties.


The pantheon of American business is filled with countless titans. Figures so celebrated, so powerful, that while the early black and white photos of them in stiff portrait poses have long since faded, their names live on - and affect our lives still.

JP Morgan and Levi Strauss shaped and still shape how we spend and what we wear. Andrew Carnegie taught us how to make money, and then how to give it away. The entertainment empire created by Walt Disney has never been more powerful than it is today.

But when we assess the career of Jeff Bezos at Amazon, two luminaries in particular loom from the mists of the past: John D Rockefeller and Henry Ford.

How did Jeff Bezos get so successful and rich? Looking at Henry Ford can explain that story.

Rockefeller, after all, became the richest man in the world by riding the wave of a new economy - oil. His Standard Oil aggressively pursued rapid expansion and control of logistics and distribution at every stage of the process from crude well to gas pump, driving down prices and crushing competition. The story, of course, ended with the company being deemed a monopoly and broken up by the courts.
Carmela Duarte Guerrero is 92 years old. Shes a widow, and mentioned she is afraid, but she is going to get vaccinated anyway because she affirmed that I prefer to die from another cause and not of Covid. With these emotional words and a call to young people to take care of themselves, this Wednesday morning Carmela told ADN Hoy shes leaving her house for the first time in 10 months to specifically get the coronavirus vaccine.

Minutes before leaving to the healthcare facility where she will receive the medicine, Carmela nostalgically tells us that she does not even crosses the door and adds: They bring me lunch. Im alone, Ive been a widow for about 18 years and I had a stroke about 20 years, so I cant go out. Im always shut in my house, I dont talk to anyone () Im going to get vaccinated, Im happy because Im going to get vaccinated. I have a daughter in Buenos Aires and I asked her for permission, because I tell her about everything that happens to me.

Carmela also said that she has two other children. One of them is in Australia and hes 40 years old, and her older daughter, whos 70 years old, is ill and cannot come visit me, although all of them will also receive the antidote.

Im ready I put on some perfume, so I dont go out just like that.

For Carmela, going out for the first time in 10 months is a special occasion, so she mentioned that even though she slept well, shes excited, something she couldnt hide in her trembling words.

Im ready. I washed up, I put on some perfume, so I dont go out just like that, but Im happy. Im happy to go get vaccinated, because Im very afraid of it. I know Im going to die, Im 92 years old, but I dont want that to be the cause of my death. I want to die from an attack, but not of Covid, so I thank these ladies who are going to go with me, because I had no one to go with, she said.

Finally, she had a message for the youth and acknowledged that At first, I didnt want to get vaccinated, but shes more afraid of coronavirus.

My message for young people is to not do things they shouldnt do, the masks how much money do you need to buy a mask? My message is to please take care of themselves, because Covid is terrible. Maybe kids dont believe in it, Im telling them Im 92 years old and Ive lived very well () At first, I didnt want to, but I prefer to die from another cause and not of Covid, so I thank you very much for coming to pick me up. Last night I slept splendidly well when I thought about these good girls that God sent to me, Carmela Duarte concluded with a smile, minutes before going for her Covid-19 vaccine.

Carmela was inoculated in the commune of Santiago. She was welcomed by Health Minister Enrique Paris and other authorities, and later posed happily with her vaccination record card, which indicates when she has to receive the second dose of the vaccine again.
Germany should not drop support for the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia, the man best placed to be the next German chancellor said.

Pointing to U.S. purchases of crude oil from Russia, Armin Laschet described himself as a political realist and said: "We have to take the world as it is in order to make it better."

Laschet, who last month won an election to the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkels Christian Democrats (CDU), said both values and interests were important in diplomacy.

"But feel-good moralising and domestic slogans are not foreign policy," Laschet, who is premier of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said.

Asked directly whether Germany should change course and renounce the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, Laschet replied: "For 50 years, even in the aggressive times of the Cold War, Germany has bought gas from the Soviet Union, now from Russia. The German government is following the right course."

Laschet stressed that he had criticised the attack on Navalny and his imprisonment, and also supported European Union sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

"We must guarantee Ukraines geopolitical interests and secure our energy supply through this private-sector project," he said of Nord Stream 2.

Laschet did not believe these differences would be a coalition deal breaker. I dont think Nord Stream 2 will be a big election issue. Moreover, I think consensus with the Greens, for example, is possible," Reuters cited him as saying.
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The 75,000 claimants whose unemployment benefits have expired or lapsed will have their claims resolved by Feb. 12, Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo announced Friday.

The Labor Department will be sending emails to claimants once their claims are unpaused, informing them when to certify for weeks that were missed. If there are no issues, funds could land in peoples accounts as soon as Feb. 15, depending on when they certify and on their banks, he said.

Since the second stimulus package was signed in late December, tens of thousands of unemployed workers have been waiting for news on the 11-week benefit extension, which extends federal programs like Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation. It also added a weekly supplemental $300 check to anyone collecting unemployment benefits through March 14.

States across the country have run into issues programming the 11-week benefit extension, partially becauseCongress and former President Donald Trump finalized the second stimulus bill one day after benefits had already lapsed, not giving states enough time to program the new extension, the Labor Department has said.

New Jersey finished part of its programming Tuesday, Asaro-Angelo said, so that no additional claimants would be added to the 5% of claims that are currently in limbo and expect to be processed by Feb. 12. More than 300,000 claimants were moved to the new benefit extension seamlessly, he added.

Hopefully, yes, I am confident that claims will be ready to go by next Friday, he said. At the same time, theres been problems in the past and I cant tell you whats going on in the future.

Claimants will have to certify for every week missed, so people who havent received money since Dec. 26 will have to certify for five weeks. And if a claimants day to certify is Saturday, by next Monday or Tuesday, they should see a lump sum in their bank account for every week missed, and another lump sum of the extra weekly $300 checks, Asaro-Angelo explained.

Since the pandemic derailed the economy and job market after Gov. Phil Murphy effectively shut down the state to curb the spread of the virus, nearly 2 million claims have been filed to the New Jersey Department of Labor seeking unemployment benefits.

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Statehouse Reporter Matt Arco contributed to this report.

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.

Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz.

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Three MPs directed parliamentary interpellations at Minister of Public Enterprise Hisham Tawfik this week, accusing him of taking a unilateral decision to liquidate the Helwan-based Egyptian Iron and Steel Company (EISC).

MP Mustafa Bakri said Tawfiks liquidation decision posed a threat to national stability, constituted an insult to MPs who had voiced concern over the fate of the company and violated the constitution.

According to Bakri, Tawfiks hostility towards public sector companies resulted in EISCs board of directors liquidating the company and dividing it into two entities on 11 January. This was done on the direct orders of Tawfik, claimed Bakri. Tawfik also ordered that other public sector companies be liquidated despite strong objections from MPs and the public.

Bakri warned that such actions would cost thousands of jobs and opened the door wide for private sector companies to monopolise the iron and steel market. He noted that MPs had called on Tawfik in a plenary meeting on 21 January to abandon EISCs liquidation and instead work towards improving the companys financial position and administration.

Parliaments Industrial Committee also announced it would form a fact-finding commission to investigate the companys conditions and seek solutions, said Bakri. Yet Minister Tawfik opted to ignore MPs and public opinion and continue with a policy that will fuel social unrest, worsen unemployment, and pave the way for private monopolies. Bakri charged that Tewfik had also publicly accused MPs of turning public sector companies into idols and sacred cows.

According to Bakri, the liquidation of EISC will lead to the state losing LE12.5 billion.

The land on which EISC is built is slated to be sold at LE495 per metre when its real value is LE5,000 per metre, claimed Bakri. EISCs liquidation will also lead 7,500 workers to be laid off.

MP Ahmed Al-Sharkawi said in his interpellation that the job of the Ministry of Public Enterprise was to reform public sector companies, develop their assets and help them access local and foreign markets, not to liquidate them and sell them off. A-Sharqawi added that as well as EISC, Tawfik was seeking to wind up the Kafr El-Dawar Spinning and Weaving Company and the Delta Fertiliser Company.

MP Maha Abdel-Nasser also accused Tawfik of adopting a hard line towards public sector companies.

This is a minister who belongs to a family of investment bankers who see little value in public sector companies, said Abdel-Nasser. Since he came to office Minister Tawfik has ignored all requests to reform the company, insisting from the beginning on liquidating it and selling its assets to private investors.

She argued that the EISCs key activity is the manufacturing of iron and steel products of the highest quality and at the lowest cost based on the needs of the local and global markets, and as such it was a strategic asset.

Nader Riad, a high-profile industrialist who heads the Egyptian-German Businessmen Council, warned in an article in Al-Ahram on 19 January that EISC plays a key role in stabilising the price of iron products on the local market and that the liquidation of the company would allow private producers to monopolise the market and lead the prices of iron and steel products to skyrocket.

In a bid to contain public anger, Tawfik said in a TV interview that the decision to liquidate EISC was very difficult and likened his role to that of a surgeon who sometimes has to acknowledge that he is dealing with a hopeless case.

I coordinated with consultants, contractors, industrial investors and watchdog authorities to reform EISCs plant in Helwan, but all the reform plans failed, added Tawfik.

In an interview with Al-Ahram on 31 January, Tawfik said his main job is to reform  rather than liquidate  companies, but the conditions in the Helwan company were very complicated and it had been incurring losses since 1997.

The accumulated losses of the company hit LE15.6 billion in 2020, a huge amount, and it suffers from serious technical problems owing to its outdated technology.

A fact-finding committee formed by the Ministry of Finance concluded early this year that the liquidation of the company was the only available solution. The company currently employs 7,500 workers and the resolution stipulated that EISC be divided into a company for iron and steel and another for mines and quarries. The move lays the groundwork for private sector investment to play a role in the two companies in the future, and come within the states plans to make use of its loss-making assets and untapped opportunities, said the minister.

Tawfik insisted EISCs liquidation is in line with the public enterprise law which states that public sector companies will be liquidated if their losses exceed their capital.

While EISCs registered capital is estimated at LE500 million, its losses now stand at LE15.6 billion, said Tawfik. He promised that EISC workers will be offered a generous early retirement package and that each EISC worker will receive a minimum of LE225,000 in compensation.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 4 February , 2021 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Help India!

The panchayat starts with a discussion on Rakesh Tikaits tearful speech and the support for the farmers movement in Delhi and calls for more people to join the farmers protest.

By Aas Mohammad Kaif, TwoCircles.net

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Political experts from all over the country are wondering how lakhs of people are gathering in panchayats based on the notice of a few hours. Till now, lakhs of people have gathered in four panchayats held within a week in Muzaffarnagar, Mathura, Baghpat and Bijnor in western Uttar Pradesh. The number of people gathered in any panchayat has not been less than thirty thousand. The Panchayat phase is still going on and 10 big panchayats have been announced for the next fifteen days. All these panchayats have the same agenda: the farmers movement. The panchayat starts with a discussion on Rakesh Tikaits tearful speech and the support for the farmers movement in Delhi and calls for more people to join the farmers protest.

Khap panchayats in western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have gone active after Rakesh Tikaits heart-wrenching appeal to support the farmers movement. There is a Khap of every community here. Khap is also known as big clan. Panchayat is a system in the hands of elder persons of the village. To settle any issue, these elders choose a panch and then decide. The ones who do not accept the decision of the panchayat, their hookah water is stopped. Hookah water closure means the societal boycott of the concerned.

Farmer leader Raju Ahlawat, who has detailed information about Khap Panchayat, says that though the talk of Khap Panchayats in all 36 fraternities is considered to be Loha Lat, but Jats and Gurjars have the highest impact. Especially in Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh, the Khap Panchayats opinion is the most important in society related issues and people do follow it.

Devraj Panwar of Muzaffarnagar says that the Jats alone have three and a half thousand Khaps. Among them are Balian, Deshwal, Gathwala, Laatiyan, Chaugala, Ahlawat, Battis Khap, Kalkhande, Kalsyan & Pachada, etc.

Rakesh Tikait is from Balian Khap. The credit for strengthening Balian Khap also goes to his father Chaudhary Mahendra Singh Tikait. Now Rakesh Tikaits elder brother Naresh Tikait is the Chaudhary (head) of this Khap.

During the Panchayat of Muzaffarnagar, when Naresh Tikait said that he made a mistake by defeating Ajit Singh in Muzaffarnagar election, it was a big message. The Khap panchayat is usually active on social and sensitive issues, but after the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, the Jat Khap panchayat began to tilt towards the BJP. The politicization of Balian Khap was also the reason for the support of Muzaffarnagar MP and Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan and the defeat of Chaudhary Ajit Singh.

RP Tomar says that usually, Khap stays away from Panchayat politics because it is run by straightforward, simple and honest people. They keep themselves away from politics. The 2013 Khap has swept away in emotion. This is why Naresh Tikait publicly confessed that he made a mistake, he said.

Khap panchayats have a widespread impact. For example, 3 MLAs in Bijnor, many former ministers and Jayant Chaudhary himself also sat on the ground among the farmers for hours. Jitendra Hooda of Shamli states that no leader is older than Khap Chowdhury. He is very old and no one dares to hold his talk, he said.

The social boycott by Khap Panchayat is the biggest punishment within Khap society. Once the panchayat boycotts someone, it becomes very difficult for the family even to marry their children.

Jeetendra says that in the name of this punishment in society, they tremble. The one who has fallen from the eyes of society cannot stand anywhere, he said.

It is the effect of the Khap Panchayat that in many villages of western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the banners were isolated due to the boycott of public representatives associated with the BJP government.

On 30 January, in the Panchayat of Muzaffarnagar, Jayant Chaudhary put salt in lota and appealed for a social boycott against those opposing the farmers movement.

Neeraj Choudhary, a farmer from Jat Mazera, strongly agreed with Jayant Chaudhary. He said that in Panchayat to put returned salt in lota, means everyones consent on a particular matter. Now that we have added the returned salt, we will no longer tolerate the opponents of the farmers, he said.

Another identity of Khap panchayat is Hookah and Ranasingha. Be it Chaudhary Suraj Pal, who came to participate in the Kisan Panchayat with the hookah in Bijnor, or 81-year-old Ghulam Mohammad Joula, closest to the late Mahendra Singh Tikait, who arrived for Indian Farmers Union, everyone has the same point, We will not tolerate any brutality against our Annadata (provider).
Maryland's first mass testing site for the coronavirus transformed into one of its first mass vaccination sites Friday, marking an evolution in the region's response to the pandemic after 11 months.

The "soft launch" of the site at Six Flags America in Prince George's County included 250 appointments, beginning at 9 a.m., but will ramp up to 6,000 appointments a day, said acting state health secretary Dennis Schrader. State officials also launched a mass vaccination site Friday at the Baltimore Convention Center Field Hospital, the latest attempt to connect residents with a limited supply of doses in the Washington region.

Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, and County Council Chairman Calvin Hawkins II toured the Six Flags site Friday, watching as cars snaked through the parking lot and residents received shots from their cars then waited for 15 or 30 minutes in a separate "observation area" of the parking lot for any possible allergic reactions.

"What could be better?" Sally Farrell asked as she waited for the vaccine, her car window open on the sunny day. "I'm excited. Totally excited. I can't wait."

Farrell, of Ellicott City, Md., registered for an appointment in Howard County but never got one scheduled. The 73-year-old said her son-in-law signed her up for the appointment at Six Flags and also got appointments for two other relatives at a Giant Food pharmacy.

"He gets lots and lots of points," she said with a laugh.

Hogan said priority was given to residents of Prince George's County who were preregistered for appointments, but he did not know how many of the slots had been filled by Prince Georgians, partly because state contractors had difficulty contacting people to tell them about their appointments.

Hogan said a state website with appointments at Six Flags that are available to all Marylanders launched at 8 a.m. Friday. Within two hours, he said, 10,000 appointments had been filled.

"They certainly had the first crack at it," Hogan said of Prince Georgians. "There is a lot of reluctance . . . Many people in Black and Brown communities are refusing to take the vaccine."

Alsobrooks said it is the government's obligation to provide people with the education they need to feel comfortable receiving the vaccine.

"Everybody deserves to have the vaccine, whether they are concerned about it or not," Alsobrooks said, noting that she was grateful to the state for choosing to put its first mass vaccination site in Prince George's, which has had the most infections Maryland.

Prince George's resident Sandra David, who spent eight days in the hospital because of complications due to virus last year, said Friday that she was feeling "fine, but cautious" as she waited for her first shot.

"If they open the schools back up, I want to be as prepared possible," said David, a 60-year-old prekindergarten teacher.

David said the vaccination process had been smooth - she received an email two days ago alerting her about the appointment Friday. She had registered about two weeks earlier.

Montgomery County resident Larry Lynn said he was reading the news Friday morning when he got a text from the state telling him an appointment was available at Six Flags.

Lynn, who had appointments canceled four times, said he was pleasantly surprised. He got dressed and hopped in his car. "I feel good," the 72-year-old said.

As jurisdictions moved to vaccinate more residents Friday, highly transmissible variants of the coronavirus continued to be reported in the greater Washington region.

The Virginia Department of Health announced Friday the state's first case of the variant first identified in South Africa. The person is an adult resident of Eastern Virginia and health officials are assessing the person's travel history, but no other details were released.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified state health officials of the case, which was identified through a commercial laboratory. The only other cases of the virus have been in South Carolina and Maryland.

Virginia officials will begin training 750 additional workers Saturday to operate the state's call center for the coronavirus vaccine amid increased frustrations from seniors who are struggling to sign up for appointments, Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, announced Friday.

The training will be complete within a week and the phone line will go live soon after. Calls will be taken in English and Spanish, and callers will be able to request a callback in one of 60 other languages.

Virginia health officials say they expect to surpass more than one million total doses of the vaccine over the weekend. Northam noted that the state received 23% more doses this week than last week, but that demand is still larger than supply.

"It's still not a huge jump, but it's a step in the right direction," he said.

The federal government will also start shipping additional doses to Virginia pharmacies next week, including CVS Pharmacy, Walmart and Kroger.

Coronavirus metrics in the state, including case counts, percentage of positive tests and hospitalizations in Virginia are trending downward, Northam said.

"While these are all positive trends, we cannot let down our guard," Northam said.

The greater Washington region recorded 6,885 new coronavirus infections Friday and 126 fatalities. Virginia added 5,069 cases and 82 deaths; Maryland added 1,547 cases and 36 deaths; and the District of Columbia added 269 cases and eight deaths.

The rolling seven-day average number of new infections in the region has continued to fall since peaking at 8,698 on Jan. 12. On Friday, that number stood at 4,961. The most recent average number of daily deaths attributed to the virus was 85.

Maryland has administered 634,055 doses of the coronavirus vaccine, and 258,900 people have been fully vaccinated. Virginia has administered 963,953 doses of the vaccine, and 157,507 people have been fully vaccinated. The District has administered 62,219 doses of the vaccine, or nearly 75% of the doses delivered, as of Jan. 30.
Piedmont Natural Gas is still exploring whether it will build a new gas pipeline from Taylors to Travelers Rest, and Upstate representatives on the states Public Service Commission urged the utility to use right-of-way that already exists during a public meeting Thursday.

Environmental advocates questioned the need for Piedmont to expand its infrastructure at all even as its parent company, Duke Energy, is increasingly shifting its energy portfolio toward renewable sources of energy. Commissioners wondered aloud whether the state should consider more oversight of utilities' capital projects before they are allowed to go forward.

It marked the first public discussion by Piedmont Natural Gas of its plans and came only when the PSC asked to hear about the project seven months after the company filed notice that it wanted to build a roughly 10-mile addition to its high-pressure transmission gas lines through an environmentally-sensitive part of northern Greenville County.

Piedmont is not required to seek approval from the PSC to build the $38 million pipeline, nor for any of its other 15 capital projects planned over the last year. It is only required to file a notice with the commission of its plans.

Landowners found out about the pipeline plan in the fall of 2020 when about three dozen of them received mailed letters that Piedmont planned to survey their land as possible right of way for the pipeline.

Neighbors, with assistance from the environmental nonprofit Upstate Forever, banded together and fought the proposal citing its location near Beaverdam Creek in the upper Enoree watershed. They also cited its proximity to endangered plant species like the Bunched Arrowhead, which are only found in that part of northern Greenville and lower Henderson County in North Carolina.

Piedmont eventually said it wouldnt use their land and would reconsider its options.

At the hybrid meeting Feb. 4, Neil Moser, Piedmonts director of gas engineering and asset planning, said the companys engineers are now exploring alternatives that are most beneficial and least controversial to the public and its customers.

In the original project scope, Piedmont planned to extend a line from Taylors and tie it in to another existing line near U.S. 25 in Travelers Rest. Moser said the tie-in point is variable so the route can change, including the possibility of sticking to SCDOT right of way where the utility can use existing easements.

Brian Weisker, Piedmonts chief operating officer of natural gas, said using SCDOT right of way along U.S. 25 was a potential route high on the list the company is evaluating.

Piedmont said the line extension had been in its plans for years but came to the forefront due to growth in the city of Greenville that could weaken gas pressure for its more far-flung customers. It would also allow the company to service new customers in the northern part of the county, Moser said.

Shelley Robbins, Upstate Forevers energy and state policy director, questioned Piedmonts motives. She said homeowners in northern Greenville are trying to limit rapid growth new infrastructure would assist in bringing and that pipeline construction in the mountainous area would cause environmental damage.

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The new pipeline may signal a shift by the utility away from its local public service roots and toward its corporate owner, Duke Energy, she said.

Piedmont filed plans for the pipeline project on July 7, 2020, two days after Duke Energy and its partner Dominion Energy abandoned plans to build the $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline due to rising costs and uncertainty about the projects economic viability.

In early August, Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good told investors in the companys earnings call that it would seek to make up the $1.6 billion in losses from the ACP project in part by building out its Piedmont Natural Gas infrastructure through capital projects.

Piedmont would almost certainly be able to recoup the entire cost of the northern Greenville project from its customers under South Carolina law. That could also include the use of eminent domain if needed.

As utilities increasingly shift away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner renewable energy sources, Robbins said the pipeline may leave ratepayers to foot the bill for abandoned assets in the future.

South Carolina is seeing the impact that a supermonopoly utility can have on ratepayers. As parent company Duke Energy seeks to move away from fossil fuel reliance, its subsidiary is seeking to spend millions to expand its fossil fuel use, said Frank Holleman of Greenville, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Project.

This is a project that nobody in the community asked for, to our knowledge literally no one, Holleman said.

Moser said the utility does need the project to serve its existing customers but chose to reevaluate after outcry because it doesnt want to be seen as an unhearing, unlistening opponent.

These are people that we hope would be customers, Moser said, noting that the company needs to put its existing customer needs first so it can ensure supply at peak times on the coldest days of the year.

Tom Ervin, a commissioner from Greenville, and Mike Caston, of Clemson, asked extensive questions throughout the hearing. Ervin warned Piedmont officials that they were treading on sensitive ground by seeking to build in some of the states most sensitive and beautiful natural areas.

He further warned that Piedmont was poking the bear when it deals with historically fiercely independent residents from The Dark Corner in northern Greenville.

Theyd better run it down a public right of way and hope that satisfies everybody because this is not the crowd to pick on, Ervin said.
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The publisher behind Horse & Hound and Country Life magazines has been rocked by a backlash over an 'excessive' bonus scheme that could hand its chief executive up to 41million.

Future faces a revolt over the pay plans at its annual general meeting next week, after influential advisory services ISS and Glass Lewis urged shareholders to vote against them.

Ahead of the poll, investors have also voiced their concerns about the 'controversial' proposals.

Bonus row: Future, led by Zillah Byng-Thorne, faces a revolt over the pay plans at its annual general meeting next week

Future boss Zillah Byng-Thorne is already one of the country's best-paid executives after she scooped an 18million bonus in 2019.

But she could be entitled to 14.3 per cent of a 285million pot of shares allocated to staff under the bonus scheme  amounting to a maximum possible payout of about 40.8million.

The scheme's awards will be dished out in three tranches of up to 95million each, based on whether the company's share price goes up 10 per cent a year.

A Future spokesman said that for the bonus scheme to pay out in full, the firm must create 4billion of 'additional shareholder value' over five years.


The pandemics toll on the healthcare workforce  the number of nurses, doctors and other professionals sickened by and killed by the coronavirus  will be counted and publicly reported, under a law Gov. Phil Murphy signed on Thursday that was sought by a union that has been critical of inconsistent safety precautions on the front lines.

Hospitals, surgery centers, long-term care facilities and home healthcare agencies must collect the number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities among their employees and report them on a bimonthly basis to the state Department of Health. No later than 12 months after the COVID-19 public health emergency is declared over, the health department must compile a public report containing the findings, according to the legislation.

The legislation was necessary because health care facilities were not making the information available in real time, Debbie White, president of Health Professionals and Allied Employees, the union that represents 14,000 nurses in New Jersey.

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Front-line essential healthcare workers have been and continue to be exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace. Many HPAE members continue to struggle with long term effects of the virus after being exposed to the virus at work. Six that we know of have died, White said in a statement Thursday.

Getting accurate data on healthcare worker exposure and COVID illness is critical to understanding healthcare worker safety during a pandemic outbreak, Whites statement said. It is important that this information is not only collected, but also analyzed, to guide future policy in protecting those workers who are exposed and at-risk.

The bill (S2384) received widespread support in both houses of the state Legislature, passing without any votes in opposition. The bill was sponsored by Assemblyman William Spearman, D-Gloucester and Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-Middlesex.

There have been 633,0731 confirmed cases and 19,606 confirmed deaths related to the pandemic, according to the state health department COVID-19 data tracker. Additionally, there have been 75,386 probable cases and 2,187 probable deaths attributed to the coronavirus, so designated because there was not enough information in medical records to confirm the diagnosis.

Throughout the 11-month outbreak, have been reports of outbreaks among staff at some New Jersey hospitals, but public health departments and hospitals have declined to reveal number of employees affected.

An informal survey of HPAE members in the spring found one in five tested positive for COVID-19. Of those who got sick, one in four returned to work before they felt they had recovered.

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Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.
China's premier silver producer

A profitable, underground mine specialist

Aiming for healthy returns via organic growth and acquisition of good projects

What Silvercorp Metals does:

(NYSEAMERICAN:SVM) ( ) has been an underground mine operator in China since 2006 and has a track record of growing organically through its own cash flow.

The Vancouver-headquartered company has also built up substantial reserves. A profitable company, it is focused on mining silver, lead and zinc.

The group's flagship asset is the Ying project, which was acquired in March 2004 and which started commercial production on April 1, 2006. It lies 240 kilometers (km) southwest of Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan Province in central China and consists of six separate mines which feed two mills with 3,200 tonnes per day (tpd). Six smelters lie within 200 km.

Elsewhere, the company has the GC mine in Guangdong province. Output started in 2014 and the projected mine life of 12 years, through to 2031, is based on proven and probable reserves, at an average annual production rate of about 300,000 tonnes.

An updated report in 2019 for the GC asset showed a resource of 9.1 million tonnes in the measured and indicated categories, an increase of 42%, which contained around 24.5 million ounces of silver, 233 million pounds of lead and 564 million pounds of zinc.

Between April 2006 and December 2019, Silvercorp produced a consolidated 69.7 million ounces of silver and 999.2 million pounds of lead and zinc. In terms of resources, its consolidated measured and indicated resources of contained metal is around 151 million ounces of silver, 736,000 tonnes of lead and 470,000 tonnes of zinc.

Silvercorp also owns around 29% of Corp (CVE:NUAG), which has a market cap of about C$920 million, and hopes to grow this investment.

Silvercorp also wants to bring its BYP gold mine in Hunan province, suspended since 2014, back into production, targeting 30,000 ounces of the yellow metal a year. An NI 43-101 resource for BYP has shown 421,000 ounces in the measured and indicated (M&I) and 110,000 in inferred.

How is it doing:

On May 21, 2021, Silvercorp Metals posted its results for the fiscal year to end-March 2021, which showed a 35% increase in net income compared to the year-earlier period, on revenue, which was 21% higher. The company, recorded net income attributable to shareholders of US$46.4 million in the fiscal year, compared to US$34.3 million in fiscal year 2020.

Revenue came in at US$192.1 million versus US$158.8 million for the previous year after the company sold around 6.3 million ounces of silver, 4,700 ounces of gold, 67.1 million pounds of lead, and 27.9 million pounds of zinc. That was an increase of 1%, 42%, 3%, and 10%, respectively, compared to fiscal 2020.

In the fourth and final quarter of fiscal 2021, net income was US$7 million, up 122% from the US$3.1 million recorded a year earlier, while revenue was up 89% in the quarter to US$35.7 million. In 4Q, the company mined 163,072 tonnes of ore and milled 180,674 tonnes of ore, up 53% and 76%, respectively, compared to the prior-year quarter.

The group's all-in-sustaining-cost (AISC) per ounce of silver metric, net of by-product credits, for the full year came in at US$7.49, a bit higher than the US$6.86 figure seen the previous year, but in the fourth quarter, the figure was US$12.55 per ounce of silver, down from US$15.17 an ounce in the same period a year earlier. For fiscal 2021, cash flow from operations was US$85.9 million, up 11% or US$8.7 million, compared to US$77.2 million in the prior year.

Silvercorp had reported its 4Q and fiscal 2021 production results on April 16, 2021, which came in bang in line with its guidance. For the three-month period ended March 31, 2021, the company nearly doubled its silver output and saw marked increases in its lead and zinc levels compared to the year-ago quarter.

Total production of silver was around 1.2 million ounces compared to 696,000 in 4Q 2020, while lead output came in at 12.2 million points compared to 7.8 million and zinc increased from 3.3 million pounds to 4.7 million in the current quarter. All told, Silvercorp sold nearly 1.1 million silver ounces, 10.9 million pounds of lead and 4.6 million pounds of zinc in fiscal 4Q.

The results meant that Silvercorp either met or exceeded its 2021 production guidance. Throughout its fiscal 2021, the company produced around 6.3 million ounces of silver and 68.4 million pounds of lead, meeting the production guidance of between 6.2 to 6.5 million ounces of silver and 66.1 to 68.5 million pounds of lead. The company beat its zinc guidance, producing 28 million pounds of zinc  higher than the 24.5 to 26.7 million pounds it had targeted. Gold production from its Ying mining operation came in at 3,500 ounces.

On a consolidated basis, Silvercorp sold about 6.3 million ounces of silver, 4,700 ounces of gold, 67.1 million pounds of lead, and 27.9 million pounds of zinc, up 0.9%, 42.8%, 2.7%, and 9.9%, respectively, over fiscal 2020.

Silvercorp has been expanding in 2021. On April 29, the company said it had increased the mining potential at its flagship Ying project, revealing that it has been granted three new exploration permits. The metals producer said the new permits range over 48.8 square kilometers (sq km) and cover the depth extensions of three mining permits, namely SGX, HPG, and TLP-LME-LMW. Silvercorp started commercial production at Ying in 2006. The asset consists of six separate mines - the SGX, HZG, HPG, TLP, LME, and LMW properties - which feed two mills with 3,200 tonnes per day (tpd).

In January this year, Silvercorp added to its portfolio in China by successfully bidding for the exploration rights at the Zhonghe silver project via an online auction, offering RMB 495 million, or around US$76 million. The project covers an area of nearly f5 sq km and lies around 75 km by road northeast from the firm's producing Ying project, which is also in Luoning County, Henan Province, and the company said it plans to begin a drilling campaign in the first quarter of 2021 that will be completed by 2022.

And in February, the miner revealed that its subsidiary New Infini Silver Inc had acquired the La Yesca silver project in Nayarit State, Mexico. The project covers an area of around 47.7 sq km with previous exploration activities between 2014 and 2018. A silver-lead-zinc soil geochemical anomaly of more than 500 meters (m) in width and 7.5km long has been defined at the site.

Looking at existing operations, on January 6, 2021, the group reported drill assay results from the HPG mine in Chinas Henan Province, which included a 1.58 metre (m) interval grading 17.08 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 301 g/t silver, and 18.66% lead in a new vein. Exploration drilling and tunneling are continuing at this mine and all the firm's others in the Ying mining district (six mines in all), the firm said.

Inflection points:

More resource upgrades and exploration success

Start of work at newly-acquired projects

Further possible expansion moves

What the broker says:

In a note on May 24, 2021, analysts at Roth Capital raised their target price for Silvercorp Metals to $9.00 from $8.75 and reiterated their 'Buy' rating on the stock following fiscal Q4 and full-year 2021results from the company.

Roth's analysts noted that Silvercorp's revenue of $35.7 million in Q4 was slightly below their estimate of $36.2 million due to price realizations, however, Q4 EPS of $0.04 was in line with the analysts' estimate. They concluded: "Other than the slight revenue shortfall, results were uneventful, in our view."

The Roth analysts estimate that Silvercorp will report production of 6.6 million ounces of silver, 27.4 million pounds of zinc, 67.6 million pounds of lead, and 2,800 ounces of gold in fiscal 2022. As a result, they estimate the company's fiscal 2022 free cash flow (FCF) to equity to be $50.9 million. The analysts noted that Silvercorp's fiscal 2022 and 2023 cash flow should benefit from a temporarily lower take rate.

The Roth analysts also said that they anticipate Silvercorp should generate strong free cash flow in 2022 and beyond. Additionally, they believe the company remains undervalued compared to its peer group and that there is significant upside for the company's equity investments, which could provide external catalysts for the company.

What the boss says:

In January this year, the group's vice-president Lon Shaver spoke to Proactive's Steve Darling following news of the Zhonghe silver project acquisition.

"We are very comfortable with what it's going to take to do the work, to move this project ahead, and hopefully bring it on as another production centre for the company," Shaver said.

Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. Authorities of the Ararat Province are denying as disinformation the reports alleging that during the February 3 visit of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan they discussed surrendering the town of Tigranashen to Azerbaijan.

The provincial government issued a statement saying that the discussions they had focused solely on issues of the implemented and ongoing projects in the province.

Please do not spread such disinformation and refrain from serving the interests of foreign and domestic enemies, it said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan


Members of Congress on Friday requested that a tree be planted on the U.S. Capitol grounds in memory of Police Officer Brian Sicknick, the South River native killed when supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the building.

The request to the Architect of the Capitol came from Reps. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist., and Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist., along with Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va.

Watson Coleman counts members of Sicknicks family among her constituents. Sicknick lived in Beyers district. The two lawmakers also have introduced legislation to posthumously award Sicknick the Congressional Gold Medal.

The lawmakers suggested that a tree native to both New Jersey and Virginia be planted.

A memorial tree would serve as a representation of Officer Sicknicks unwavering commitment and tremendous sacrifice to our nation, the lawmakers wrote. Officer Sicknick had a passion for the outdoors that led him to join the mountain bike unit with Capitol Police, patrolling these grounds daily, and it would be fitting to honor him in this way. Our hope is that all who pass by will remember his bravery and honor his life.

Earlier this week, Sicknicks remains lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda as his fellow officers, members of Congress, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris paid their respects. A memorial service was held Wednesday.

Sicknick served in the New Jersey Air National Guard for six years before joining the Capitol Police in July 2008. He was killed during the insurrection by pro-Trump rioters while members of Congress were certifying the electoral votes that would make Biden president. Four others also lost their lives.

After the building was cleared of the Trump supporters, Congress resumed the vote counting. A majority of House Republicans, including 2nd Dist. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, voted against certifying the votes in two battleground states.

Trump was impeached a week later for an unprecedented second time on charges that he incited the rioters.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant.

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Nearly three months after Kelsey Townsend gave birth to her fourth child, the 32-year-old Wisconsin woman was finally face to face with her.

Lucy, now bright-eyed and alert, flashed her a smile.

'Hi. I love you. I love you so much. Yeah, I've missed you,' Kelsey Townsend told her.

Townsend was in a medically-induced coma with COVID-19 when she gave birth to Lucy via via cesarean section on November 4, not long after getting to SSM Health St. Marys Hospital in Madison.

She ended up spending 75 days on life and lung support.

The Townsend family poses for a photo in Poynette, Wisconsin, the day mom Kelsey Townsend came home from the hospital, nearly three months after being admitted due to COVID-19

Derek Townsend brings his daughter Lucy to meet her mother Kelsey Townsend for the first time. She finally met the daughter she delivered face to face on January 27. She spent 75 days on lung and life support before being discharged from University Hospital in Madison

Baby Lucy is pictured soon after she was born on November 4 - she is now three months old

She finally met Lucy on January 27 - the day Kelsey was discharged from University Hospital in Madison.

'We instantly bonded when we met. She gave me a great big smile and looked at me like she knew exactly who I was and that made me feel just so happy,' the Poynette, Wisconsin, woman said.

Dr. Jennifer Krupp, a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist and the Womens and Newborn Health Medical Director for SSM Health Wisconsin Region, said it has been rare for the hospital to deliver a baby to a mother so sick with COVID-19.

Kelsey Townsend's oxygen saturation was very low when she arrived at the hospital - so low that a fetus' brain and other organs could be damaged - and her skin was tinged grey and blue, Dr. Thomas Littlefield said via email Wednesday, so her baby had to be delivered as soon as possible.

Townsend gave birth to Lucy via C-section on November 4 while in a medically induced coma due to COVID-19

Doctors thought Townsend might need a double lung transplant at the end of December. But then she started improving - so much that she was moved out of the intensive care unit, taken off a ventilator in mid-January and removed from the transplant waiting list.

Townsends husband, Derek Townsend, described the experience as a 'big roller coaster.'

'There was many, many nights that I would get phone calls late at night and into the early morning, and the doctors kind of informed me that they've done all that they can to support Kelsey and theyre having a hard time stabilizing,' he said.

'So there was many times that we thought we were going to lose her.

'Her strength throughout this whole process is what inspired our whole family to have strength. Many times she was down and out, but she pulled through,' Derek said.

Townsends husband, Derek Townsend, described the experience as a 'big roller coaster'

Kelsey Townsend is pictured making up for lost time as she cradles her newborn daughter

Derek Townsend says even his baby daughter seemed to notice someone was missing when his wife was still hospitalized.

'The past three months with Lucy, you know, her head is always moving and shes always looking. And I told Kelsey that I believe shes just constantly looking for, for her,' he said.

The pair contracted COVID-19 despite taking precautions, Derek Townsend said. As he got better, his wife got worse. Thats when they went to the hospital.

'Family is everything to me,' Kelsey Townsend said. 'So I have everything to live for right here and coming home. There was no question that I wouldnt.'

Dr. Daniel P. McCarthy, UW Health cardiothoracic surgeon and director of the ECMO program, who closely cared for Townsend, said he doesn't know what allowed her lungs to bounce back after battling the virus for months.

'We really don't completely understand why some people recover and others don't  or what triggers the lungs to all of a sudden start repairing and healing themselves in a way that allows us to make the progress we did,' McCarthy said to NBC News.
A trio of Democratic senators have introduced a bill that would make online platforms more liable for the content that their users post, particularly if those posts lead to harm. The SAFE TECH Act aims to limit the protections that social media companies are afforded under Section 230, a provision of the Communications Decency Act 1996 that shields them from accountability for user activity.

Sens. Mark Warner, Mazie Hirono and Amy Klobuchar said in a joint statement that the bill would make the likes of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube more liable for "enabling cyberstalking, targeted harassment and discrimination." According to Protocol, staffers for the three senators consulted with civil rights groups and experts in online harm as they drafted the bill.

If the act becomes law, platforms wouldn't be able to claim Section 230 liability for ads or other paid content  many of them have been limiting political ads to varying degrees. The provision would not shield companies from complying with court orders or alleged violations of civil rights, antitrust, cyberstalking or human rights laws at state and federal level. Additionally, the bill makes it clear that Section 230 would not protect platforms from civil actions stemming from wrongful deaths.

The bill also aims to limit Section 230 at a broader level to ensure the provision applies only to speech and not all online activity, such as the dealing of illicit goods. It would modify the language of Section 230 (currently "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider") by replacing "information" with "speech."

For years, Section 230 provided a Get Out of Jail Free card to platform companies as their sites are openly and repeatedly used by bad actors to cause damage and injury. Section 230 will be brought into the present-day with the SAFE TECH Act creating targeted exceptions. (2/8)  Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) February 5, 2021

Although the Democrats hold power in both houses of Congress, it remains to be seen whether the senators can muster enough support to push through their bill. While there's a general consensus among politicians (and even the likes of Facebook and Twitter) that Section 230 should be changed, there are differing opinions on how best to do so. Other senators have recently introduced proposals to reform the provision, which underscores the fact many politicians are training their sights on it.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 06:18:49|Editor: huaxia

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FRANKFURT, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest lender, on Thursday posted a full-year net profit of 113 million euros (135 million U.S. dollars) in 2020, the first annual net profit since 2014.

It was a dramatic turnabout from a net loss of 5.718 billion euros for 2019, when the bank unveiled its massive restructuring plan to improve profitability.

Christian Sewing, chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank, said the results are "ahead of our own expectations". The bank was able to more than offset transformation-related effects and elevated credit provisions despite the global pandemic, Sewing said in a statement.

The bank managed to be profitable in all four quarters, according to its preliminary annual results. In the final quarter, it reaped a net profit of 51 million euros.

Its investment bank division posted a stellar performance, with net revenues surging 32 percent to 9.3 billion euros in 2020. The increase was driven by "significantly higher revenues and reductions in adjusted costs, which more than offset a rise in provision for credit losses resulting from COVID-19," the bank said.

Net revenues for the corporate and private bank divisions were almost flat from a year ago while asset management net revenues dropped 4 percent.

The bank said it remained on track for all strategic and financial objectives. Among them, sustainable financing and investment volumes were over 40 billion euros in 2020, well ahead of its target threshold of 20 billion euros. (1 euro = 1.2 U.S. dollars) Enditem

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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. On the margins of his working visit to Kazakhstan, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan today attended the Almaty Digital Forum 2021, which is held under the motto: Digital Reset: The Leap To The Next Normal. Among the participants are the heads of government from EAEU-member states, Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Mikhail Myasnikovich, CIS Executive Committee representatives, the PMs Office told Armenpres.

A ceremonial video session was held prior to the plenary session, after which the Armenian Prime Minister joined the heads of government of other participating countries to get acquainted with the exhibits displayed in the Museum of Digital Projects.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia delivered a speech at the plenary session of the Digital Conference, in which he stated:

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to start my speech by thanking Kazakhstan for hosting this digital conference. The conference has become a traditional platform for discussing issues relevant to the digital economy.

It is obvious that high technologies play a decisive role in enhancing the states competitiveness and security, as well as in raising peoples living standards. The highly technological nations are at the forefront of the international arena.

The Government of Armenia considers digitization, innovation and the latest technologies to be the most important tool for engineering an efficient and representative system of public administration, a favorable business environment and ensuring progressive economic growth.



The high-tech sector and digital technologies are the fastest growing sector of our economy. The turnover of IT companies in Armenia amounted to more than USD 400 million in 2020. It grew by about 20% as compared to the previous year. Staffing has grown by 22% in this area. More than 1200 operating IT companies are registered in our country at this point of time. Tangible tax benefits are available in accordance with the policy pursued by the Armenian government.

The pandemic posed highly challenging problems for society, businesses and the state, in general. They had to be addressed in conditions of quarantine or all-out lockdown. The need to work under such conditions led to the introduction of both a new management culture and the widespread use of digital technologies and solutions. The latter turned out to be the most important amid limited opportunities for physical contact practically along the entire chain of government and socio-economic activity.

We have been using digital technologies, electronic document management systems and e-government tools in Armenia. I would like to note that the social groups in need of support were identified with a high degree of accuracy and transactions on support measures were completed in the shortest possible time thanks to the use of appropriate technologies.

We provide for the implementation and development of government data policy, electronic services, e-government systems, coordination of digital processes, creation of common standards and digital environment. The government encourages the use of electronic tools to facilitate the introduction of digital technologies in the private sector.

The digitization process goes in tune with the common EAEU digital agenda. A platform for interaction between databases is being created, which optimizes data exchange processes between different systems and the digitization of a large number of public services.

I am pleased to state that the EAEU countries were able to use digital technologies in overcoming some of the problems caused by the pandemic. I mean the Traveling without Covid-19: digital platform, which kicked off on February 1, and actually restored the free movement of citizens between Armenia, Russia and Belarus.

Armenia supported the EDB Digital Initiatives Fund project from the very outset, and we are grateful to our colleagues from the Fund and from the governments of Russia and Belarus for the joint work done under this project.

We need to move actively towards the implementation of other joint digital projects by using the capabilities of supranational institutions and development institutions. In addition to implementing joint projects, we should also work to scale successful solutions. There are many of them in each of our countries.

We should strive to achieve full-fledged and all-encompassing digitalization of services provided to citizens by the state. To this end, we need to use the entire range of electronic services - mobile phones, network services, cloud technologies, and so on.

We should strive to ensure that the borders between the EAEU states disappear at the digital level, and that existing restrictions are minimized. We see that the opportunities opened up through digitization can be used to increase the efficiency of free labor movement. The appropriate mobile application can collect and store within a one-stop-shop all information on available jobs throughout the EAEU, enabling people to fill out and submit the necessary documents to get the job of our choice.

I am confident that our joint work and exchange of experience will help us move confidently forward in all sectors of digital technology, to achieve success and the desired results. Thank you.
ATLANTA, Ga., February 5, 2021  Breckenridge Insurance Services is pleased to welcome expert energy broker Thomas Blanquez to the wholesale brokerage and binding firm. Blanquez joins the organization as a vice president, broker with more than 20 years of insurance experience. He is located in San Antonio, Texas.

Blanquez spent most of his career at Quirk & Company, a managing general agency, and led significant growth of business and carrier partner relationships during his tenure. As senior vice president, he oversaw underwriting for all in-house facilities domestically and internationally. While primarily focused on energy risks, his broker experience also spans all lines of coverage for transportation, manufacturing, construction, habitational and retail/specialty.

Thomas is well respected in the insurance community and his in-depth knowledge of energy risks will substantially expand our capabilities in this segment, said Trevor Pierce, president of Breckenridge Insurance Services. I am also thrilled to establish a footprint in San Antonio, TX. With the leadership skills Thomas possesses, I am confident in his ability to help Breckenridge grow our wholesale brokerage team and presence in central and south Texas.

Blanquez added, Ive competed for business through many different market cycles at this point in my career and choosing to join Breckenridge gives me the ability to readily address the needs of agents and insureds. The energy of the team itself is compelling. I know they are committed to collaboration and being an integral agent partner and that is a work ethic I share.

Blanquez can be reached at tblanquez@breckis.com or 210.862.4475.

About Breckenridge Insurance Services:

BRECKENRIDGE INSURANCE SERVICES is a national wholesale insurance brokerage/MGA delivering top-rated, competitive commercial coverage solutions. With more than three decades of providing responsive counsel and risk management insights, Breckenridge has become a recognized leader and trusted partner to valued agents and coveted carrier partners internationally. With significant in-house contract binding authority and expert, award-winning brokers spanning nearly all property and casualty, workers compensation and professional liability risks, we offer collaborative, comprehensive solutions. As part of Breckenridge Group, the team has access to additional resources and expertise to help clients go further. For more information, please visit WWW.BRECKIS.COM or call 855.728.8822. CA Insurance License #0G13592

About Breckenridge Group:

Headquartered in Atlanta, Breckenridge Group is the parent company of several best-in-class brands that provide insurance and risk management solutions and services to diverse audiences across three practice areas: insurance, financial and member services. For more than a decade, the company has built a reputation for strategic growth by empowering expert talent who achieve inspiring results. More than 350 employees work across its seven divisions including Breckenridge Insurance Services, Blue River Underwriters, Breckenridge General Agency, OSC Insurance Services, Southeastern Underwriters, Target Markets Program Administrators Association and Insurance Networks Alliance. For more information, please visit WWW.BRECKGRP.COM

Media Contact:

Contact: Caren Henry

chenry@breckgrp.com 267.961.8252

Topics Agencies
Another 19,114 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,911,573, according to official figures released on Friday.

The country also reported another 1,014 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 111,264. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

The latest figures were revealed as Downing Street confirmed that all British adults aged 50 and older are expected to be offered a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine by early May.

Nearly 11 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that Britain remains "on track" to complete the vaccination of the top priority groups, which cover 15 million people, by mid-February. Britain aims to offer all adults their first dose by autumn.

Earlier Friday, the British government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said Britain's coronavirus reproduction number, known as the R number, has dropped slightly to between 0.7 and one.

The R number, one of many indicators scientists use to determine how fast COVID-19 is spreading in the country, is slightly narrower than last week's number, which was between 0.7 and 1.1.

The growth rate for Britain is between minus 5 percent and minus 2 percent, which means the number of new infections is shrinking by between 2 percent and 5 percent every day, according to the SAGE.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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HONG KONG  First come the colorful visuals: an animation of Hong Kongs skyline, like the opening sequence of a childrens show. Then, a grinning girl and boy pop up onscreen, sandwiching a cartoon owl wearing a graduation cap and round spectacles. Together, they deliver an unusual exhortation.

Lets learn about national security!

So begins a chipper video unveiled by the Hong Kong government this week to instill patriotism, loyalty and a strict love for the law in its youngest residents.

Over the next seven minutes, the boy and girl, led by Uncle Owl, take a whirlwind tour through dangers facing Hong Kong, such as terrorism and hostile foreign powers. They learn about the forces guarding them from those dangers: the Hong Kong police and, ultimately, the central Chinese government.

We are still young. How can we contribute to our society and country? the boy asks, a thought bubble floating over his head.
Businessman to spend nearly 5 years in prison for $7 mln embezzlement

 flickr.com/ Marco Verch

13:26 05/02/2021

MOSCOW, February 5 (RAPSI)  A court in the Murmansk Region has sentenced a businessman to 4 years and 10 months in prison for embezzling over 500 million rubles (about $7 mln) of credit funds, the press service of the Prosecutor Generals Office has told RAPSI.

Additionally, he has been fined 700,000 rubles. He has been also ordered to return the embezzled money.

According to case papers, from March 2008 to February 2010, the entrepreneur stole the funds from bank accounts of the firms he had founded.
New Delhi: Probing Republic Day violence at Red Fort on January 26 by protesting farmers, Delhi Police zeroed-in on one organisation for extending support to the violent protest and strategizing for it from abroad. In its preliminary investigation of the 'controversial' toolkit shared by Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, the police have now found the role of a Canada-based pro-Khalistan organisation.

The outfit, Poetic Justice Foundation, is allegedly responsible for authoring the controversial toolkit shared by Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg on the ongoing farmers protest to create unrest in the country.

Canada-based MO Dhaliwal or Monminder Singh Dhaliwal is the co-founder of the Poetic Justice Foundation, and his alleged role is being probed for the creation of a toolkit on the farmers' protest. The toolkit was provided to Greta Thunberg as part of a larger conspiracy to create disharmony in the country to undermine India's image on the international stage.

The role of Dhaliwal is under the scanner of the Indian security agencies. He is a known sympathizer of the Khalistani activists and has been part of several anti-India demonstrations abroad. The Poetic Justice Foundation was registered as an NGO in 2020 and its status is currently active.

The NGO has four other directors including Hardeep Singh Sahota, Monminder Singh Dhaliwal, Anita Lal, and Sabrina Sohi. In further research about these four people, Zee News got startling information. These people have been propagating against India through their Twitter handle for the past several days. They are also associated with Khalistan, showing that they might be remotely controlling the farmers' agitation in India.

Dhaliwal, who is a self-proclaimed Sikh separatist and close to top Khalistani activists, reportedly took part in a demonstration outside the Indian Consulate in Canada on January 26 - the day India celebrated its 72nd Republic day. He also addressed the gathering there and said that their real goal is to break India into several parts.

A video also surfaced on social media where Mo Dhaliwal is seen speaking about the Khalistani movement and agri laws during a protest outside the Indian consulate on 26th January 2021.

Live TV

Notably, Dhaliwals uncle was a top Khalistani terrorist and was eliminated by Indian security forces during Operation Blue Star in 1984. He is also an alumnus of the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia from where he did his two-year Business Administration diploma course, according to his social media profile. His name also came to the fore in Canada when he had come up with the slogan Love and courage for the 2017 New Democratic Party leadership campaign of Jagmeet Singh.

In a Facebook post, he clearly writes "I am a Khalistani. You might not know this about me. Why? Because Khalistan is an idea. Khalistan is a living, breathing movement."

He makes his intentions clear and writes, "A movement towards an independent Punjab, rooted in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution  a beautifully progressive and optimistic doctrine for a self-governing state if there ever was one."

"Second, because in India, advocating for or simply discussing this idea can result in your disappearance or murder. I support the promotion of Khalistan specifically for the fact that talking about Khalistan is enough to get you killed. It tells you a lot about the worlds largest democracy," he added.

Dhaliwal further writes, "Now, Im asking you to stand up. Please consider supporting the 50+ Sikh scholars from the UK, USA, and Canada who have condemned this report equating Sikh advocacy to extremism. We are demanding that @MLInstitute and @CBCTerry retract it before the harm spreads further than it has already."

Dhaliwal is also the founder and director of a Vancouver-based digital branding creative agency called SkyRocket. Dhaliwal describes himself as the Director of Strategy of this public relations company on Facebook.

You will be surprised to know that the company displays Canadian MP Jagmeet Singh's picture on its official website. Jagmeet Singh, whose Visa was canceled by the Government of India in 2013 because India's investigative agencies had cited his connection with Khalistan.

Jagmeet Singh is the leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada and his party extends support to the Justin Trudeau government. If his party withdraws its support, the government of Justin Trudeau will fall. This connection between Dhaliwal and Jagmeet Singh amply shows the power connection in Canada. Perhaps, this is the reason that Canada has become the epicenter of Khalistani propaganda against India.

Zee News is the first news channel to report that the violence unleashed during the farmers tractor rally on Republic Day was part of a sinister international conspiracy to defame India. It also unmasked the real culprits behind the violence with ample evidence that suggested Canada link to the tractor rally violence in Delhi.

Earlier, it reported that the farmers' movement has been hijacked by the Khalistanis and the anti-national elements, besides reporting about the Khalistanis who were serving the malicious interests of Pakistan by remote controlling the agitation from countries like Britain, America, and Canada.

The Centre too accepted the fact that Khalistan supporters have infiltrated the farmers' protest, as Attorney General KK Venugopal had told the Supreme Court that the Khalistan supporters have infiltrated the farmers' protests.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Police Special Commissioner Praveer Ranjan had on Thursday said, "We have not named anybody in the FIR. It is only against the creators of the `toolkit` which is a matter of investigation. Delhi Police will be investigating that case."

"We have identified some 300 accounts spreading dissatisfaction and disharmony towards the Government of India. Toolkit account was being run by a group of Khalistanis. They had decided to conduct a digital strike post the Republic Day incident," he said.

He further said, "We have recovered a document about the planned execution. We have found out it is a copycat execution. As of now, we have registered cases against the authors of that account. The case has been handed over to the cyber cell. Investigations are underway."
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-06 01:33:49|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan on Friday stressed concrete efforts to ensure a good start to education development in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

Sun made the call at a symposium held in the Ministry of Education, urging addressing the problems of unbalance and inadequacy in education development and establishing a high-quality education system.

Noting that an improved education system will underpin the building of a new development paradigm, she called for efforts to make ideological and political education more targeted and practical, improve the structure of education, disciplines, and talent cultivation and foster more high-caliber and technical talented people.

As more than 840,000 college students will stay at schools during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, Sun urged measures and services to ensure them a safe and happy holiday.

China achieved significant breakthroughs in education development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, with the nine-year compulsory education retention rate reaching 95.2 percent and the gross enrollment rate for senior high schools 91.2 percent. Enditem
Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew easily passed a party leadership review last weekend. When asked whether the party should hold a leadership race, 93 per cent of the 288 voting members gave the idea a thumbs-down and Kinew a thumbs-up. This good news for the NDP leader comes as the party is enjoying both new fundraising strength and renewed popularity, particularly in Winnipeg.

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Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew easily passed a party leadership review last weekend. When asked whether the party should hold a leadership race, 93 per cent of the 288 voting members gave the idea a thumbs-down and Kinew a thumbs-up. This good news for the NDP leader comes as the party is enjoying both new fundraising strength and renewed popularity, particularly in Winnipeg.

Parties fortunes rise and fall, but its worthwhile to take note of how the state of the NDP has changed in a relatively short time. It was just over six years ago that five ministers resigned from then-premier Greg Selingers NDP cabinet, citing "grave concerns" with the premiers leadership. Selinger requested a leadership race to clarify his role in the party which he won by the skin of his teeth. He led the hobbled, fractious NDP into the new provincial elections and was thoroughly shellacked by Brian Pallisters Progressive Conservatives.

Kinew inherited a party that was riven by internal discord and factionalization. Most members of the partys shrunken caucus following its 2016 defeat had their own unique histories of conflict within the party. Kinew, in contrast, was a relative newcomer, and he struggled to keep his party focused and in line. Pallister often faced an Opposition that was more interested in critiquing itself than the government.

The last provincial election went a long way toward changing that. Kinew lost to Pallister, but there was little desire in the NDP to oust the leader and, contrary to some expectations, Kinew decided to stick around. The NDP caucus grew in the 2019 election. But more importantly, the character of the party and especially of the caucus changed.

The departure of some old warriors meant fewer MLAs had a stake in fighting old battles, and the decision to bar Steve Ashton from running for re-election prevented old wounds related to the former minister from being reopened. Kinews neophyte MLAs hadnt been around for the old conflicts and had no interest in re-fighting them.

Furthermore, the partys new MLAs were elected under Kinews leadership and so had some degree of loyalty to the leader from the outset.

The result was an immediate boost in both party discipline and focus. The party seemed to make a conscious decision to focus on government cuts to health and education, knowing that these were the issues that could be used to pry suburban Winnipeg seats out of the hands of incumbent Tory MLAs.

The party has been measured rather than hysterical in its criticisms of Pallister and his ministers, with the seeming goal of presenting itself as a respectable government-in-waiting.

One example of the new NDP approach came in 2020 when it was revealed that then-education minister Kelvin Goertzen had attended a webinar on home-schooling which, it turned out, was also attended by a far-right German politician. Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont went bananas in response to this revelation, accusing Goertzen of "flirting with fascists."

But the NDPs education critic, MLA Nello Altomare, struck a different tone, saying he was more concerned with the governments cuts to education funding than with who Goertzen was hanging out with. The Tories, Altomare argued, were making cuts first and asking questions later.

The temptation to take a swipe at Goertzen must have been intense. But Altomare instead stayed focused on the NDPs winning issue, cuts to education, and avoided hysterical attacks.

Altomares admirable discipline has not always been emulated by his colleagues. Some MLAs have taken to their Twitter accounts to freelance on party policy, often appearing intent on dragging the party as far to the left as possible. These efforts will get a thumbs-up from communities in which the NDP already scores landslide victories on election night, and the new language of privilege will be popular on university campuses. But these efforts are likely to be met with confusion and even alienation from residents of precisely the suburban Winnipeg ridings the NDP needs to win to form a government in this province.

The question for the future is whether Kinew and the NDP are simply benefiting from the current governments pandemic missteps, which have dragged the premiers popularity into the basement. The smart money is still on Pallister stepping down as leader prior to the next election, which means Kinew will likely face a PC leader who is not weighed down by Pallisters baggage, particularly related to COVID-19.

The next Manitoba election is likely to be a competitive, exciting race. And whatever the outcome, the NDPs turnaround from a party in shambles to a disciplined contender in just a few years is a remarkable achievement.

Royce Koop is an associate professor in the department of political studies and co-ordinator of the Canadian studies program at the University of Manitoba.

On 31st January 2020, VDN Group released another Episode of Third Party Source which they reviewed United Showbiz.



Abeiku Santana hosted the show filling in for Nana Ama Mcbrown. His guests Kuami Eugene and Yaayaa alongside Arnold Baidoo and Kwame Aplus, had a discussion about Controversies.



Arnold Baidoo went ahead to say controversy sells and in a way sounded like Ghanaian artists couldnt survive in the industry without controversies. Kuami Eugene was also for the motion saying controversy makes ups 40% of an artists career.



Rems and Cassandra both Producers and hosts of the show third Party Source had a different opinion about what was discussed on United Showbiz and made their point clear that not all artists in Ghana are controversial but have still made it and still making it big in the industry.



Arnold Baidoo then responded with a post on Facebook and lashed out at Ameyaw Debrah for posting the content, he said LEARN! Having a camera in front of you and a microphone stuck close to your mouth is not enough.



Ameyaw Kissi Debrah, you have become the cheerleader for my friends at VDN Group and their commentary over some of things we mutter on United Showbiz. I love what they are doing  it makes it all fun but, kindly tell them to learn, learn and learn. These stripes didnt come easy. Brethren, learn!. Were yet to see if VDN Group responds to this.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  A military officials latest move threatening possible prosecution against a journalist could be a stumbling block in the governments efforts to defend the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Supreme Court, Senator Panfilo Ping Lacson, one of the authors of the controversial law, said Friday.

Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., chief of the Southern Luzon Command, earlier branded Inquirer.net reporter Tetch Torres-Tupas as a propagandist over an article she wrote on two Aetas seeking to join petitions against the anti-terrorism law. It contained the Aetas narration on how they were tortured by the military and falsely charged of terrorism.

This legal document was used by Torres-Tupas and other journalists in reporting about the 38th petition filed against the Anti-Terrorism Act, but Parlade accused her of using propaganda machines of the Communist Party of the Philippines as reference. He said in a Facebook comment that Torres-Tupas may be held liable under the law for "aiding the terrorists by spreading lies.

READ: Lawyers, journalists call out Parlade comment vs. reporter as 'credible threat' under anti-terrorism law

In a statement, Lacson said these remarks are uncalled for and totally unnecessary, especially during a crucial time when the high court is holding oral arguments on petitions seeking to junk the anti-terrorism law. Petitioners said its provisions are vague and overly broad, posing a threat to government critics who could easily be tagged as terrorists, and violate constitutional rights.

Accusing a journalist of 'aiding the terrorists by spreading lies,' assuming that such comment was accurately attributed to him, surely does not help the government to convince the magistrates of the Supreme Court to rule in its favor, Lacson said. He stressed that the freedom of speech and expression should remain protected, and actions that threaten to divide the country instead of unite it against terrorism should be avoided.

In an earlier statement, the Justice and Court Reporters' Association, which Torres-Tupas is part of, said actions such as Parlade's accusations "are what petitioners claim as evidence of a credible threat of prosecution - threat that can warrant a judicial review of the law he seeks to protect and promote."

Parlade has been criticized for red-tagging personalities and groups critical of the government. At the sidelines of the Armed Forces of the Philippines change of command ceremony Thursday night, new Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana distanced the AFP from the latest controversy.

Sobejana said that although Parlade is a high-ranking military official, he was speaking on behalf of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, not the AFP. He admitted, however, that his remarks are still reflective of the organization, thats why we need to discuss all these things.

Sobejana earlier told CNN Philippines that the AFP under his six-month stint will only go after the real threat  local terrorist groups  and take deliberate steps to avoid collateral damage.
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This Februarys issue of Poetry magazine is meant as a statement. The magazine is filled by poems and artwork by incarcerated people, former prisoners, and the relatives of prisoners. These are people whose work isnt typically seen in literary journals, and Joshua Bennett, one of the issues three guest editors, is upfront about his aims in publishing the work of incarcerated writers: The issue is dedicated, Bennett writes in his introduction, to the abolition of interlocking systems of capture and control which seek to limit their life chances.

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The issue went online Monday. Within days, it was embroiled in controversy, as readers found among the poets a former English professor at Allegheny College, Kirk Nesset, who was convicted of possessing and distributing child pornography in 2015.

I'm saddened and disappointed at @poetrymagazine for choosing to feature a well-known groomer and predator in its latest issue. There were so many other writers that could've been chosen.  pril (@HeyLimLim) February 1, 2021

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Oh cool, thanks for the trauma reminder. Fun Fact, Kirk Nesset's predatory behavior was so well know I was warned by other professors not to have him as my advisor or be alone in a room with him.  Julie W (@ZuliLyn) February 2, 2021

A petition was launchedit currently has been signed by more than 1,000 peopleto urge Poetry to remove Nessets poem, One Place Is as Good as the Next, from the site, and to apologize to Nessets voiceless victims, their readers and subscribers, and victims of sexual violence everywhere. That such an established publication would use their widely-read and highly selective platform to further the work and career of a predator cannot be labeled an oversight, nor defended, the petition reads. It is an offensive and a destructive misuse of power.

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This struck me as absurd. It is clear that Kirk Nesset did terrible thingsthe prosecutor in his case told reporters that Nessets computer held the most child pornography that I have seen in 15 years as a federal prosecutor. But any arts program focused on prison populations, as a matter of course, is going to interact witheven support the work ofpeople who have done terrible things. Theyre not all going to be Jean Valjean. But they are all people.

Where do you draw the line? Child pornography is terrible, but is it more terrible than rape? Murder?

This is a standard point in arts programs for imprisoned people. We dont want to see them as their crime, Robby Henson told me. We want to see them as a human being. Henson is the director of Voices Inside, a theater-in-prisons program run by the Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, Kentucky. Henson says that he, and other volunteers with the program, generally tries not to ask participants about the reasons for their imprisonment.

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Poetry took the same tack in creating its special issue, which has been in the works since 2017. The three guest editorsalongside Bennett, theres Sarah Ross, a co-director of Chicagos Prison + Neighborhoods Arts/Education Project, and Tara Betts, a poet whos worked with PNAPwere given blind submissions, without identifying information attached about the writers crimes. Betts writes in her introduction to the issue:

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The contributors, who are often no longer perceived as people in the non-incarcerated world, are indeed human. Many of them have partners, families, friends, and try to help other people. Some of them have made mistakes. Some have faced cycles of violence and abuse themselves. I hope that people come to this issue with open minds, and Id like to underscore that openness by saying that poets are not members of the jury. No one undertook this project to declare a verdict on any of the contributors therein.

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In response to Twitter users identifying Nesset, though, Betts seemed to have second thoughts. As a Guest Editor, I have contacted the staff to make them aware of the issue, she tweeted. I do hope that this does not detract from the many other contributors.(I reached out over email and Twitter DM to the guest editors of the issue but received no response. The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, responded that it had no one available to speak with me Thursday but would keep me updated.)

Many of those protesting Nessets inclusion took pains to make clear that they did not oppose the project of the special issueonly Nessets inclusion. I feel for the other poets, says one representative tweet, who do not deserve to be lumped in with this Kirk Nesset.

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But prisons do lump all those people in with this Kirk Nessetthats one of the points of the carceral system, and to pretend otherwise seems disingenuous to me. One reason, Henson says, that he strives not to learn about the crimes of the prisoners he works with is that he doesnt want to start worrying about whether one prisoner is less worthy of outreach than another. Where do you draw the line? Child pornography is terrible, but is it more terrible than rape? Murder? I dont feel qualified to answer those questions, and I dont know that I want a poetry journal addressing them either. These programs are not about drawing lines, Henson said. Theyre about letting incarcerated writers tell their story.

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The poet Paisley Rekdal made a delineation on Twitter that seems crucial in understanding what it is that many find objectionable about Nessets appearance in the issue. In prison education programs you never ask about peoples pasts, Rekdal, who has worked in such programs, wrote. But prison education (you can argue) is a fundamental human right everyone should have. Publishing in Poetry is not. But Joshua Bennett, who initiated the project at Poetry, believes that the issue is a statement about what the literary world owes to the incarcerated, as he writes. Publishing, and working to continuously cultivate, the writing of incarcerated people the world over should be absolutely central to the mission of present-day literary institutions.

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Its not unusual for arts-behind-bars initiatives to garner angry responses. Henson, director of the theater-in-prisons program, recalls that, about eight years ago, a relative of one of Voices Insides imprisoned writers found a Facebook post about the program and angrily replied, Do you know what this person did? The first time youre confronted with this, Henson said, you do, like all liberal people do, you start to question yourself. What am I doing? Am I causing pain to people? But I tried to remember: There are programs out there that help victims. Thats not our program. Were trying to do our thing.

In this particular imbroglio, it seems clear to me that two cultural waves are crashing against each other: from one direction, the growing visibility and acceptance of the prison abolition movement, and from the other, the rising understanding of how damaging sexual abuse is and how often privileged abusers escape punishment. Nessetwhite, educated, repugnant, directly connected to the academic English community that makes up much of Poetrys audiencebecomes the perfect nexus for those two issues. (Its notable that with just a few minutes of Googling, I learned that a different poet in the issue was convicted in a terrible case of child molestation, but thus far, no outrage has collected around him.) You could argue that Nessets mental illness, the crux of his defense in court, makes him another victim, in his way, of Americas carceral system; you could argue, as the petition does, that his five years in prison do not come close to remedying the damage hes done to his victims. Youre right, in both cases, and youve come no closer to answering the question of whether he deserves the things that other prisoners deserve.

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You have to decide, if Jeffrey Dahmer is Homer, were gonna publish his poem. Or you say, no way, Jeffrey Dahmer cannot be in the issue.  Reginald Dwayne Betts, New York Times Magazine poetry editor

You could also argue that an issue of Poetry dedicated to highlighting voices outside the mainstream blew it by publishing someone with a Ph.D., no matter how many years he spent in prison. Thats at the heart of the problem the poet Reginald Dwayne Betts has with this special issue. I think the equity issue is real, Betts (who has no relation to the Poetry guest editor Tara Betts) told me. Should this person have been published anyway? Probably not. But the way they published this issue is bullshit. Betts, the poetry editor at the New York Times Magazine, served eight years in prison for his role in a carjacking when he was 16. The problem here, he said, is that the blind submission perpetuates the same inequities that are always present in Poetrys selection process. Poetry already privileges access and opportunity. Blind submission? Its gonna privilege folks that have more access to that skill development, whether its an MFA or a prison program. The inclusion of this cat is more evidence that the process didnt work.

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Betts takes a dim view of the online outrage about Nesset and thinks it intersects poorly with the abolitionist opinions many of the same people espouse. Its easy to be righteous in the anger at his crime, Betts said. This guy was a pedophile. But shit, I carjacked somebody! If I was in that issue I could see the person I did that to asking, Why the hell is this guy in here? In fact, the only reason hes in here is because he carjacked me and went to prison! Thats why the outrage seems false, because theyre only willing to do it on this case.

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Betts views Poetrys willful blindness to their writers crimes as a mistake. I think that we dont get rid of our issues of incarceration by allowing people not to name the crimes that they committed, he said. We deal with those issues by being really thoughtful about the crimes theyve committed. He thinks Poetry ought to have identified those crimes and then made a decision as to whether they would draw some line in the sand, or take an affirmative stand that every prisoner, regardless of their crime, deserved to be in the issue. And you say, if Jeffrey Dahmer is Homer, were gonna publish his poem. Or you say, no way, Jeffrey Dahmer cannot be in the issue.

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Poetry has defended the issue, and the process behind its creation, on Twitter. We recognize the life-shattering impact of violence & denounce harm, said the statement. People in prison have been sentenced & are serving/have served those sentences; it is not our role to further judge or punish them as a result of their criminal convictions. (Update, February 5: Poetry magazine has issued a statement about the controversy.)

But Betts thinks that ignoring the crimes the writers have committed robs the issue of meaning. Theyre not doing a special issue on, like, people who wanted to be astronauts but quit before they finished. This is a special issue on people who are incarcerated. If youre specifically highlighting writers who have been in prison, he said, it makes sense to take a stand about their crimes. Violence and crime are so essential to the project of incarceration, he said, that you cant avoid talking about it.
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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 5, 2021) - Oakley Ventures Inc. (CSE: OAKY) (the "Company" or "Oakley") is pleased to announce the closing of a fully-subscribed non-brokered private placement at a price of $0.12 per unit (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of $750,000. On February 5, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 6,250,000 units to various subscribers, with each unit consisting of one common share of the Company and one share purchase warrant. Each warrant is exercisable into one common share of the Company at a price of $0.50 per share for a period of 24 months.

One director of the Company, Saman Eskandari, invested $6,000 in the Offering in exchange for 50,000 units.

In connection with the Offering, the Company paid a cash finder's fee of $34,650 to one person, an arm's length party to Oakley, representing 7% of the gross proceeds raised from investors introduced to the Company by the finder.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a standard hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Oakley expects to use the net proceeds from the Offering to fund the exploration and development of the Company's projects as well as for general corporate purposes.

None of the securities referenced herein have been or will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the foregoing securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Oakley Ventures Inc .

Oakley Ventures Inc. is a junior Canadian-based mining company with a focus on identifying and evaluating mineral resource projects for further exploration and future development, if warranted. The Company is currently focused on exploring the ESN Project located in White Pine County, Nevada, which Oakley has the sole and exclusive option to acquire, and the Koster Dam property located in the Clinton Mining Division of British Columbia, in which Oakley has a 45% interest.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Glenn Collick

Chief Executive Officer, Director

For further information, please contact:

Glenn Collick

Chief Executive Officer, Director

(778) 868-2226

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Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release except as required by law.

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Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi has begun talks on forming a new Italian government as the largest party in parliament, the 5-Star Movement, softened its initial hostility to his appointment.

Italy is in the middle of a health and economic crisis and the previous coalition government, which included the anti-establishment 5-Star, collapsed in acrimony.

Outgoing Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, in his first public comments on the political tumult, wished Mr Draghi well and said he hoped the next government would have a political nature and not comprise only unaffiliated technocrats.

Mr Contes words  he is not a member of any party but is close to 5-Star  have been seen as a signal that his cabinet allies should consider working with Mr Draghi, one of the most respected institutional figures in Italy and across Europe after steering the eurozone through the financial crisis. He was asked to form a new government by President Sergio Mattarella.

Given its large presence in parliament, the 5-Star could play a crucial role in the coming days.

Traditionally opposed to technocrat governments, it was instinctively hostile to Mr Draghi when he was first given the nod.

However Luigi Di Maio, the outgoing foreign minister and senior 5-Star politician, urged caution yesterday.

In my opinion, the 5-Star Movement has the duty to meet [Mr Draghi], listen and then take a position, he said. It is precisely in these circumstances that a political force shows itself to be mature in the eyes of the country.

Expand Close Arrivederci: Outgoing Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte after speaking to the media. Photo: Reuters/Remo Casilli / Facebook

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Whatsapp Arrivederci: Outgoing Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte after speaking to the media. Photo: Reuters/Remo Casilli

Mr Draghi is not due to talk to 5-Star until tomorrow when he will wrap up his consultations and decide if he has sufficient backing to form Italys 67th government since WWII.

Financial markets have cheered his sudden arrival on the political scene, hopeful he can spearhead long-awaited reforms to boost growth in a country that has long underperformed against its European peers, weighing down the whole euro zone.

Mr Draghi is a famously reserved figure and has not said anything in public about the possible make-up of his cabinet.

One option would be to rely on the parties that made up the outgoing coalition, but he is more likely to seek broad cross-party support given the huge challenges facing Italy.

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi suggested he might be ready to help out  a move that could cause a rift within the right-wing opposition bloc.

Praising the decision to appoint Mr Draghi, Mr Berlusconi said in a statement he had a high institutional profile around whom we can try to build substantial unity.

One of Mr Berlusconis allies, the far-right Brothers of Italy, has ruled out backing Mr Draghi, while the largest party in the bloc, the eurosceptic League, has sounded at best lukewarm, saying early elections would be the best option for the country.

Matteo Renzi, the head of the small Italia Viva party which triggered Mr Contes downfall by withdrawing from the cabinet, has offered Mr Draghi unconditional support and said a new government could take office next week.
Gold massively outperformed other export with cumulative earnings hitting $1.7b (Shs6.3 trillion) for the period between December 2019 and November 2020.

The earnings represent a 44 per cent contribution out of total exports, which during the period stood at $3.8b (Shs14.3 trillion), according to data from Bank of Uganda.

Gold has in the last five years become Uganda's largest export overtaking coffee, which during the period earned $509m (Shs1.8 trillion), representing a percentage contribution of 13 per cent.

Fish and fish products, which is recovering from a slump, fetched $130m (Shs481b), representing a 3 per cent contribution.

Maize, which is most the exported commodity within the East African region, earned $94m (Shs347b) with a percentage contribution of 2.4 per cent while tea and cocoa fetched $77m and $74m in earnings, respectively.

They each contributed 1.9 per cent to the export share during the period, according to Bank of Uganda.

Gold exports have been growing rapidly in the last five years with re-exports from DR Congo taking the largest share of the commodity's export volumes.

During the same period during 2018/19, gold exports earned $1.2b (Shs4.5 trillion), which represented a 30 per cent contribution to the total share of $4b (Shs15 trillion) exports earnings.

The growth had been an improvement on the $476b (Shs1.7 trillion) earnings, which the commodity had posted in the same period in 2017/18 and 2016/17 - $418m (Shs1.5 trillion) export.

Uganda exports much of its gold to the Middle East with UAE being the most favoured destination.

At least 96.01 per cent of Uganda's exports to the Middle East are gold, according to data from Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

The rapid growth of Uganda's gold exports was first noticed between December 2015 and November 2016 when the country earned $365.2m (Shs1.3 trillion).

Uganda's gold exports, according to Bank of Uganda, during December 2019 and November 2020 grew to 34,450 kilogrammes from 27,025 kilgrammes in the same period in 2018/19.

This was a growth from 12,430 kilogramme that were exported in the period between December 2017 and November 2016 and 10,679 kilogrammes exported in the same period in 2016/2015.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  More snow could be heading to Staten Island on Sunday.

There is a chance that snow could start noon and end at around 7 p.m., causing a coating to a possible inch of accumulation, according to Nicole LoBiondo, a meteorologist at AccuWeather.

This snow storm will be very different from what we just experienced because the storm will not be long and drawn out like the previous one was, LoBiondo said. It will be a quick mover. It wont stick around for very long.

The snow would be the result of a system that is passing through the East Coast that will likely impact the Southeast, more like Virginia.

You guys wont be worried about digging out or anything like that, LoBiondo said.

Because the storm is moving by quickly, AccuWeather is predicting two possible scenarios.

In the first one, the snow would likely impact upstate New York without even touching Staten Island.

A possible snowstorm is heading our way on Sunday. (AccuWeather)

In the second scenario, Staten Island would see the accumulation.

A possible snowstorm is heading our way on Sunday. (AccuWeather)

Temperatures will stay in the high 30s and drop to the 20s at night, according to AccuWeather.

W. R. Berkley Corp. announced the appointment of David Brosnan as chief executive officer of W. R. Berkley Syndicate Management Ltd., the Lloyds managing agent for W. R. Berkley Syndicate 1967.

He succeeds Alastair Blades, who will continue in his role as chief underwriting officer. The appointment is subject to required regulatory approvals, including Lloyds.

Brosnan has 35 years of insurance industry experience. He most recently served as chief executive officer of the international division of CNA Hardy in London (from February 2014 to September 2020). He first joined CNA in May 2013 as senior vice president of International. Previous to CNA, he was with ACE Canada, most notably serving as president and CEO of ACE INA and ACE INA Life Insurance Cos. Prior to that, he served as president of ACE Casualty Risk and held various underwriting positions, including European Zone underwriting officer with Chubb in London.

Brosnan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Blades, who has nearly 35 years of experience in the insurance industry, joined Berkley in 2009 to lead the underwriting strategy for the newly formed W. R Berkley Syndicate 1967. He successfully led the team at W / R / B Underwriting through the transition from a London market insurer with a Lloyds presence to a Lloyds-centric business that was well positioned for Brexit.

In announcing the appointment, W. Robert Berkley Jr., president and chief executive officer, said: We are delighted to welcome David to Berkley with his demonstrated leadership, superb market reputation and extensive management experience. Alastair has provided pivotal leadership in developing our integrated Lloyds platform. The decoupling of the chief executive officer and chief underwriting officer roles provides each of David and Alastair the opportunity for even greater focus that will enable the W / R / B Underwriting team to maximize its capabilities and expansion opportunities in this improving market.

Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corp. is an insurance holding company that is among the largest commercial lines writers in the United States and operates worldwide in two segments of the property/casualty insurance business: insurance and reinsurance & monoline excess.

Source: W. R. Berkley Corp.
She often keeps her social media followers entertained with an array of scantily clad snaps.

And Rebecca Gormley put on another sizzling display as she posed up a storm in a series of pink lingerie snaps.

The Love Island star, 22, displayed her jaw-dropping figure in the photos she shared with her Instagram followers on Friday.

Stunning: Rebecca Gormley put on a sizzling display as she posed up a storm in a series of pink lingerie snaps she shared on Instagram on Friday from the comfort of home

The Newcastle native tilted her head as she fixed the camera with a sultry stare and posed on a set of stairs.

Displaying her taut midriff and ample assets in the bright two-piece, Rebecca simply captioned the snap: 'Pretty in pink'.

Letting her brunette locks fall loose down her shoulders, the reality star also wore a light amount of makeup.

Rebecca, who took part in the fifth series of the ITV2 reality show, recently admitted she may be scarred for life following a horrific fall.

'Pretty in pink': The winter Love Island star, 22, displayed her jaw-dropping figure in the photos as she fixed the camera with a sultry stare and posed on a set of stairs

In a clip shared to Instagram, she revealed she almost broke her neck as she damaged her collarbone and right arm after a fall.

The model - who wore a cast in the video - admitted she's 'just sick of crying and being in pain' as she addressed her fans while reflecting on her life exactly a year on from entering the South African villa.

Former beauty queen Rebecca shared: 'Hi everyone I just wanted to come and chat to quickly to give you an update. I'm struggling to reply to people because I'm right handed and that's the arm I've damaged.'

'Basically I fell and that's the arm I damaged really bad. Basically I fell and I'm lucky I didn't snap my neck. You've got this clavical (collarbone) bone. It's like it came out of its place but it's damaged as well.

Admitting she can 'hardly move', the influencer - who was dressed in silk PJs by Dior - elaborated: 'It's like one of the four worst bones to damage or break in your body so you can imagine the pain I'm in.'

'I'm just sick of crying and being in pain': The Newcastle native has admitted she may be scarred for life as she sustained agonising injuries following a horrific fall

The TV star went on to detail the recovery process, explaining she will need to undergo surgery if the injury doesn't heal within two months.

She said: 'Honestly my arm is deformed and it could take six weeks if not longer to heal. I can get an operation after that if it doesn't heal but then I'm going to be left with a massive scar and it could still be deformed.

'I'm just absolutely sick because I can't do anything for myself. I'm very independent so I like it do things for myself. I'm so so frustrated, so frustrated.'

Recalling when she first appeared on the ITV2 show, the media personality added: 'How times have changed. This time last year I was in my way into the villa and I was on my way to South Africa to go into the villa and now I'm on the sofa and can hardly even move.'

The social media star later expressed her gratitude towards her fans, mother, and boyfriend Biggs Chris, who she met on the show, for their support.
Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Streets great inflation trade is losing steam, judging by a slew of cross-asset signals and where all the investing billions are actually going.With reflation strategies again playing second-fiddle to the crypto volatility and meme stock mania, stable Treasury yields helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average by the most in seven weeks.Debt gauges of inflation retreated from multi-year highs, while the S&P 500 largely sat still to give the benchmark the smallest monthly move since January 2020. Even the value strategy finally stalled, after notching some of the biggest gains since the financial crisis earlier this year.Given the reopening euphoria, a cool-down is to be expected. And recent days still delivered ammo to the price-growth camp: Jobless claims delivered surprises again, while two Federal Reserve officials signaled the U.S. economic expansion may warrant a taper discussion soon enough.All that suggests the reflation rally may yet power ahead if the business cycle booms anew and renews investor conviction. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for one, estimates money-manager positioning in inflation-sensitive assets including commodities is still below post-2008 peaks.Investor expectations had caught up with the better economic data, said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services. Thats more of a pause to us instead of a trend change.As lockdowns get lifted and trillions in stimulus heats up the American economy, the biggest question in markets is whether prices are on the cusp of breaking out of their decades-long doldrums. For many, bets on bonds still make sense right now when the Fed has the markets back and the data remains uncertain. Meanwhile Chinese policy moves of late are undercutting bullish wagers on commodities.On all this, the world of exchange-traded funds is sending mixed signals: Inflation-linked bonds took in $3 billion in May even as nominal government debt and corporate securities kept drawing new money, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.Market-derived expectations of price growth are sending a clearer message as the two-year breakeven gauge further outpaced five- and 10-year levels this month -- bucking the norm.Fixed income investors have emphatically concluded that it will be transitory, Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at Reynolds Strategy LLC, wrote in a note, referring to inflation.Stocks have been taking their cue from the lack of inflation drama in the bond market of late. A long-short value strategy -- which tends to bet on more cyclical companies and benefits from higher rates -- dropped this week by the most since the middle of April.Systematic styles in quality and low-volatility names also picked up. Its a sign defensive investors are seeking visible growth in earnings rather than bidding up companies acutely linked to the economic expansion, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.Hedge funds are also in wait-and-see mode. Clients at JPMorgans prime brokerage are adding exposures to both cyclical and growth shares -- suggesting reluctance to bet on one side of the inflation debate.Yet with commodity and wage pressures, theres a growing chance the Fed will tighten monetary policy sooner than expected, according to Sushil Wadhwani, chief investment officer at QMAW, a PGIM unit. As long as financial conditions stay loose, it makes sense to go long commodities and stocks while betting on a steepening yield curve, according to the London-based systematic investor.Macroeconomic policy especially in the U.S. is incredibly expansionary by historical standards, Wadhwani said. Im increasingly concerned that 2022 inflation will not go back as low as they say.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Arsenic, lead and other toxic metals that can harm brain development have been found in many popular baby foods, including organic brands.

The Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy requested internal data from seven companies in 2019 after a nonprofit called Healthy Babies Bright Futures published results of testing it did on baby foods, according to a congressional report released Thursday.

Four of the companies shared documents with the subcommittee, including: Gerber, Beech-Nut, Earths Best Organics maker Hain Celestial and Happy Family Organics maker Nurture Inc.

Walmart, Sprout Foods and Campbell Soup Co., which makes Plum Organics baby food, didnt cooperate, the subcommittee said.

A congressional report said that lead, arsenic and other deadly heavy metals have been discovered in baby food

Plum Organics maker Campbell Soup, left, and Parent's Choice maker Walmart, right, didnt cooperate with the congressional report

'The Subcommittee is greatly concerned that their lack of cooperation might be obscuring the presence of even higher levels of toxic heavy metals in their baby food products than their competitors' products,' the report said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury harmful to human health.

'Children's exposure to toxic heavy metals causes permanent decreases in IQ, diminished future economic productivity, and increased risk of future criminal and antisocial behavior,' the report reads.

According to the FDA, the metals found have 'no established health benefit' and 'lead to illness, impairment, and in high doses, death.'

'Even low levels of harmful metals from individual food sources, can sometimes add up to a level of concern,' according to the FDA.

Currently, there is no federal standard on these toxins, or warning to parents about them, the report reads.

Arsenic is ranked number one among substances present in the environment that pose the most significant potential threat to human health, according to health officials. Lead is number two and mercury is number three on the list, with cadmium placing seventh.

Not all the products were tested or tested with high levels of the heavy metals, the investigators found.

But all four of the companies who complied with the investigation sold products with amounts much higher than limits set for items like for drinking water by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency.

The Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, is led by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat.

'The Subcommittee's investigation revealed that manufacturers knowingly sell tainted baby food to unsuspecting parents, in spite of internal company test results showing high levels of toxic heavy metal, and without any warning labels whatsoever,' Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.

Michael Hansen, a senior staff scientist with Consumer Reports, said these metals can remain in the environment for decades from past pesticide and herbicide use.

Toxic metals might be more common in baby foods because of the vitamins and minerals added to those foods during processing, he said.

Rice, a common ingredient in baby foods, also tends to have high levels of arsenic. Rice is grown in water, and arsenic from the soil dissolves when it comes in contact with water, he said.

Because babies' brains are still developing, there is a lot of concern about how those metals could damage that development, Hansen said. By the time symptoms like behavioral problems show up, it can be difficult to trace them back to foods, he said.

The FDA, pictured, says the metals are in many foods, and they are making progress in removing them

Hansen said parents who are concerned should switch to unprocessed fruits and vegetables. The FDA also recommends feeding babies a variety of grain-based cereals, not just those made with rice.

Last August, the FDA finalized guidance for infant rice cereal, recommending it contain no more than 100 parts per billion of arsenic. The subcommittees report said Beech-Nut used some ingredients that tested as high as 913 parts per billion for arsenic, while Earths Best Organics used ingredients testing as high as 309 parts per billion for arsenic.

The report found some instances where manufacturers tested ingredients but not final products, even though levels of toxic metals might be higher in the finished products. It also found instances where manufacturers set internal standards but still sold foods that exceeded them.

The subcommittee said it wants the FDA to set standards for the presence of heavy metals in baby foods. Manufacturers should be required to test finished products and publish the results, the subcommittee said in its report.

In a statement Thursday, the FDA said it takes exposure to toxic elements in the food supply very seriously. The agency said baby food makers have made progress in reducing arsenic in baby food since 2016, when it first proposed setting the 100 ppb guidance.

'We acknowledge that there is more work to be done, but the FDA reiterates its strong commitment to continue to reduce consumer exposure to toxic elements and other contaminants,' the agency said.

Campbell Soup Co. said it did respond to the subcommittee's questions. In that submission, it noted that the FDA doesn't have standards for heavy metals in baby food. But it said its testing shows that metals in its baby foods are within acceptable limits.

Walmart also said it reached out to the subcommittee, but made clear that any product testing would be managed by its suppliers.

Happy Family Organics said it was disappointed in the report, which it said didnt make clear that metals and minerals are found in trace amounts in many foods.

A chart showing arsenic levels found in Hain ingredients and that they were accepted despite high levels

A chart showing arsenic levels found in Beech-Nut ingredients and that they were accepted despite high levels

A chart showing the names of Nurture's products with high levels of lead found in them

A chart shows a summary of Nurture's products with inorganic arsenic found in them

The company also said the test results it provided in 2019 dont reflect all of the current products.

Earths Best Organics also said the report referenced outdated data. The brand said it removed brown rice from its products, changed other ingredients and expanded testing of finished products after a meeting with the FDA last year.

Beech-Nut said it is still reviewing the report, but assured parents its baby food is 'safe and nutritious.'

A message seeking comment was left with Gerber.

Hansen said the FDA should require baby food companies to test the final products and make the results available, particularly for organic brands.

'You cant just allow the companies to do their own thing,' he said.

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Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula yesterday said his ministry has no power to authorise families to exhume bodies of their loved ones who have died due to Covid-19.

Government this week amended its Covid-19 burial protocols, allowing families to transport the remains of loved ones who have succumbed to the virus for burial at a site of their choice.

However, questions have been asked whether families would also be granted permission to exhume remains of loved ones who were buried under the former protocol. By law, only a magistrate can authorise exhumation.

Approached for comment, Shangula, who has assumed wide-ranging powers under the Public and Environmental Health Act, responded the exhumation of bodies is not within the jurisdiction of the portfolio ministry but of the courts.

He directed all queries to the justice ministry. In response, justice minister Yvonne Dausab said her ministry was not responsible for exhumation of dead bodies, referring this reporter to attorney general Festus Mbandeka. "I am thinking about the legal aspect, taking into consideration the non-retrospective application of the law.

"But I have not applied my mind, so you best ask the AG," she added.Mbandeka said the matter had nothing to do with his office, adding that it was a health matter.

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 in the country, government regulations opposed the transportation of Covid-19 victims' remains for fear the bodies would transmit the virus. This essentially meant families had no right to bury their loved ones in cemeteries of their choice but within the locality of death unless cremated.

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The new turn of events has triggered questions about whether those already buried at Covid burial sites can be exhumed and reburied at a location chosen by their family to tie in with tradition.

Recently, the family of Covid-19 victim Laban Shapange has appealed to the authorities to have his body exhumed from the Oniipa old cemetery for reburial at his home village of Ondobe in Ohangwena region.

The loved ones are dissatisfied with the manner in which the late Omusati education director was buried. Shapange succumbed to Covid-19 complications in September last year in Onandjokwe hospital. His remains were buried within 72 hours in line with the government's Covid-19 burial protocols at the time.

According to the Burial Place Ordinance 27 of 1966, except where the exhumation of a dead body is ordered in terms of any other law for the purposes of forensic medicine or public health, no person shall exhume a body or the mortal remains of a body buried in a burial place without the written permission of the "administrator".
Tampere  After two days of courtroom housekeeping and official reading of his charges, prosecution and defense lawyers continued to further present their arguments on Thursday in the trial of Sierra Leonean war crimes suspect Gibril Massaquoi. The two sides provided context within which each will argue their case going forward.

Massaquoi, 51, is charged with committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia between 1999 and 2003. Prosecutors say he committed and commanded the murder and rape of civilians in Lofa County and Monrovia, Liberia. Massaquoi denies the charges.

Prosecution, led by State Prosecutor Tom Laitinen, began the day by showing the court maps and aerial images of Lofa County, the northern Liberian country on the border with Sierra Leone. Their aim was to help the Finnish court understand the location and landscape of the events listed in the charges.

According to one charge, civilians had fled the village of Kamatahun Hassala to other villages. "Civilians were brought from these villages [to Kamatahun Hassala], upon orders from Massaquoi, and locked in houses. The houses were then set on fire," the prosecution told the court. Additional charges of violence in Kamatahun Hassala include the rape and killing of at least seven women.

The prosecution also showed images of the areas in Monrovia where Massaquoi allegedly killed and ordered the killing of civilians.

But Massaquoi's defense team refuted the prosecution's claims, reemphasizing their client was not in Liberia when the alleged offenses were carried out. Lawyers Kaarle Gummerus and Paula Sallinen argued that Massaquoi had traveled to Monrovia frequently due to his role as an RUF delegate, but that his last visit there happened in June 2001. According to them, Massaquoi had come to Monrovia collect some of his belongings but ended up having to flee for fear of violence.

Both prosecution and defense agreed that Massaquoi demonstrably held a high position within RUF, having been the RUF spokesman for a number of years as well as the group's delegate in Sierra Leone's peace process. "We will prove that somebody in Massaquoi's position had no motive to go to war on the side of Charles Taylor," said Gummerus, slamming the prosecution for having no evidence to convict the former him. "This case is all about the reliability of the witnesses' narratives, because they are the only evidence the prosecution has."

Around 80 witnesses are expected to testify in Liberia and Sierra Leone. This was seen as the best solution, given the court's relatively smaller size. This way, Laitinen explained to reporters earlier, the court would also not have to ask people to interrupt their lives in order to undertake extensive travel to attend court in Finland.
MOSCOW -- Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Inc. (RFE/RL) has appealed a string of Russian court decisions to fine several of the broadcaster's Russian-language endeavours and the general director of its operations in Russia for allegedly failing to comply with new restrictions under the countrys controversial foreign agent law.

RFE/RL's lawyers on February 5 filed the appeals against the decisions by the Tverskoi District Court in Moscow to approve several administrative protocols submitted by Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor "for noncompliance by the media performing the functions of a foreign agent with the requirements of the law on labeling information disseminated by them."

Among other things, the law on foreign agents requires certain news organizations that receive foreign funding to label content within Russia as being produced by a foreign agent.

RFE/RL's lawyers stated in their appeals that Roskomnadzors moves prevent journalists from performing professional activities and contradict the Russian Constitution and laws on media by restricting competition.

The appeals also say that censorship is officially banned in Russia, stressing that Roskomnadzors orders will "distort the essence of reports [and] change the way they are received by the audience."

According to the lawyers, following Roskomnadzor's requests would create distrust and rejection of the reports and materials of RFE/RL's projects, while many of the requests cannot even be technically executed.

These fines represent nothing less than a state-sponsored campaign of coercion and intimidation, targeting a media company whose editorial independence is protected by law," RFE/RL's Regional Director for Europe and TV Production Kiryl Sukhotski said.

"Our audiences in Russia have long depended on RFE/RL to be trustworthy, credible, and factual; to be an alternative to disinformation and spin. These qualities are, and will always remain, at the core of RFE/RLs reporting, Sukhotski said.

Russian regulators have singled out RFE/RL, whose editorial independence is also enshrined in U.S. law, over other foreign news operations in Russia.

An independent nonprofit corporation that receives funding from the U.S. Congress, RFE/RL has not complied with the "foreign agent" law, while the mounting fines could potentially force the company to shutter its presence within Russia.

The February 5 appeal regards the court's January 27 decisions regarding the first four protocols that imposed a total of 1.1 million rubles ($14,500).

At this moment, the combined fines overall total 7.15 million rubles ($94,000), a sum that may increase as court decisions on Roskomnadzor's other protocols targeting RFE/RL are pending.

Roskomnadzor's protocols target four of RFE/RL's Russian-language projects -- its main service for Russia, Radio Liberty; the Current Time TV and digital network; and Siberia.Reality and Idel.Reality, two regional sites delivering local news and information to audiences in Siberia and the Volga-Urals.

RFE/RL also says that the law on foreign agents puts its journalists at risk for criminal prosecution.

U.S. Republican and Democratic lawmakers recently called for new sanctions against Moscow if the Kremlin moves to enforce the stringent restrictions and punishing fines that threaten RFE/RLs news operations in Russia.

Since early in Vladimir Putins presidency, the Kremlin has steadily tightened the screws on independent media. The country is ranked 149th out of 180 places in the World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders.
Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested three persons, including celebrity manager Rahila Furniturewala and British national Karan Sajnani, in connection with a drugs case linked to Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death last year, an official said on Friday.

The arrests were made after the alleged role of the trio in the case was established, said the official of the apex drug law enforcement agency.

Narcotics Control Bureau

The third arrested accused is Jagtap Singh Anand, brother of co-accused Karamjeet Singh Anand, an alleged drugs supplier who was nabbed in September last year, he said.

The NCB had arrested Furniturewala, Sajnani along with one more person in a separate case in January and seized contrabands after raiding premises linked to them in suburban Bandra and Khar, the agency had said.

The seized contrabands, weighing approximately 200 kg, included imported strains of ganja like OG Kush and curated marijuana, it had said.

Sushant Singh Rajput

The contrabands were sourced from the USA besides local areas, the central agency had said.

After their interrogation, the NCB had arrested a co-owner of the famous 'Mucchad Paanwala' shop in south Mumbai.

During further investigation, the alleged involvement of Furniturewala, Sajnani and Jagtap Anand in the drugs case came to light, the NCB official said, adding a probe was underway.
The National Treasury will leave out 15 counties holding huge sums in their accounts at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) when disbursing funds to devolved units in the future, Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani has said.

Mr Yatani said this will minimise pressure on the National Treasury, which has been criticised for late remittance of money to county governments, sometimes stretching several months.

"There are situations in which county governments do not utilise resources given to them. Others have more than Sh3 billion in their accounts but keep asking for additional resources. It is the responsibility of the National Treasury to enforce good financial management," the minister said in Nairobi on Wednesday.

Treasury attributes the lengthy delays in disbursing funds to counties to the tough economic times caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Yatani said Treasury released equitable share revenue to counties for the months leading to November.

He added that the December and January's amounts will only be credited to the accounts of county governments that do not have huge, underutilised balances at the CBK.

Counties ordinarily draw funds from CBK, based on their approved budgets and detailed procurement programmes that are scrutinised by the Controller of Budget.

They cannot, for example, interchange funds released to build a road for payment of salaries.

Legal hurdles

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Mr Yatani's directive could face legal challenges from county governments that cannot get the money due to procedural restrictions.

The CS accuses devolved units of holding more than Sh30 billion at the CBK, while pressuring the Treasury to release more.

"Let them move with speed and implement projects and pay for them in order to improve their absorption rates. The end of the financial year is approaching," Mr Yatani said as he hosted his Devolution colleague Eugene Wamalwa and Council of Governors chairman Martin Wambora at the National Treasury offices.

Mr Wambora said reducing the period for the release of funds to counties would be among his priorities, adding that the delays deny devolved units the ability to perform key services. He said employees feeling exposed.

"We can cope with a one-month delay, but it hits us hard when it extends to two or three months," Mr Wambora said.

The Embu governor added that he would be meeting top officials from the 15 counties to find out why the money mentioned by the CS is not being utilised.

The Treasury says government revenue collection has started picking up and expects to start disbursing the December funds to counties next week.

"2020 was a tough year because revenue fell behind our projections. But I am telling you confidently that revenue has picked up," Mr Yatani said.

"We were able to meet our targets in December. From the look of things, all projections are good."
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) The Yemeni Shia Houthi rebels have welcomed the US decision to stop its support for the offensive operations in Yemen, the movement's foreign minister told Sputnik.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said Washington was stopping all support for Saudi-led offensive operations in war-torn Yemen but would continue to defend its ally against other threats. Biden also vowed to step up diplomatic efforts aimed at solving the conflict by peaceful means.

"Sanaa is supporting all the US efforts aimed at ending sufferings of the Yemeni people caused by the military aggression as well as at terminating this pointless war, lifting the blockade, reaching the settlement and fair peace for the benefit of Yemen and the Yemeni people and the preservation of its sovereignty," Hisham Sharaf Abdalla said.

From his point of view, the appointment of Tim Lenderking as the special envoy to Yemen confirms the US Administration's interest in terminating the aggression of its allies.

The minister said nothing would prevent the Houthis from cooperating with any other country to terminate the aggression, lift the blockade and withdraw foreign troops.

Abdalla also refuted rumors about the Houthis' direct contacts with Biden's Administration.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels since 2014.

The Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched an operation to support the internationally recognized government of Hadi in 2015. The Houthis continue to maintain control over the vast part in the north of the country, including the capital of Sanaa.
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By Devjyot Ghoshal

BHAINSWAL, India (Reuters) - Thousands of farmers in a politically important Indian state on Friday rallied in opposition to new agricultural laws, signalling growing support for a months-long campaign to have the government reforms scrapped.

Angry at what they see as legislation that benefits private buyers at the expense of growers, tens of thousands of farmers have been camped on the outskirts of the capital, New Delhi, for more than two months, calling for the withdrawal of laws introduced in September.

Much of the initial support for the protests has come from rice and wheat growers from northern India, particularly opposition-ruled Punjab state.

But in a sign of a growing challenge to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than 10,000 farmers from across the political and religious spectrum rallied on Friday in Uttar Pradesh state to show their support for the protests.

Ramkumar Choudhary, a local leader from Bagpat district, told Reuters thousands more would head to Delhi unless the government rolled back the laws.

"Only 1% of people have come out of the villages so far. The day we send 50% of our people, there will be no place to move in Delhi," he said after addressing the crowd of Hindu and Muslim farmers in Bhainswal village.

Devender Singh, a sugarcane farmer who attended the rally, said the agitation was drawing widespread support.

"100% of farmers from all communities are joining the protest," he said, "Farmers are unable to make ends meet."

Hundreds of police, many armed and wearing riot gear, stood by, but there was no trouble.

Uttar Pradesh is India's largest state and a critical battleground state in elections.

While Modi's party commands a comfortable majority in parliament, the support for the protests from Uttar Pradesh's politically influential sugarcane farmers will be a worry.

The farmers say the laws mean the end of long-standing support prices for their crops and will leave them vulnerable to the whims of big buyers. They are demanding that the laws be annulled.

Story continues

The government says reform of the inefficient agriculture sector will open up new opportunities for farmers and while it has offered some concessions, it has ruled out withdrawing the laws.

The protests have been largely peaceful but flared into turmoil on Jan. 26 as some farmers clashed with police in New Delhi and one person was killed and hundreds were injured.

To the government's annoyance the protests have drawn increasing international scrutiny, with celebrities including pop star Rihanna and environment campaigner Greta Thunberg announcing their support for the farmers.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told India's upper house on Friday farmers were being "misled" and that the government was committed to finding a solution.

(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal in Bhainswal; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Robert Birsel and Steve Orlofsky)
San Francisco, Feb 5 : A number of social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter this week took measures to target users involved in reslling hijacked user accounts across their platforms, cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs reported.

These users who have now been banned have played a major role in facilitating the trade and resale of highly sought-after usernames.

Hundreds of accounts have now been seized as a result of the action by the social media platforms, KrebsOnSecurity reported on Thursday.

At the heart of the account ban effort are some of the active members belonging to OGUsers, a forum that facilitates selling access to hijacked online accounts.

This community particularly gives priority to short usernames which can be "resold for thousands of dollars", said the report.

Instagram has confirmed to The Verge that it has disabled hundreds of accounts that were stolen as part of online hacking operations that had aimed to gain access to and sell coveted usernames.

"Today, we're removing hundreds of accounts connected to members of the OGUsers forum. They harass, extort and cause harm to the Instagram community, and we will continue to do all we can to make it difficult for them to profit from Instagram usernames," a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying by The Verge.

The report comes after Instagram earlier this week released a new feature that allows people recover deleted posts, in the event a hacker takes control of their account and removes posts.
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A compulsive shopper who spends more in charity shops than on food and struggled to get into her bedroom because of the clutter has revealed how she's 'afraid' to let things go because it would feel like a bereavement.

Joanne, 71, who lives in Wembley, North West London, allowed Only Human to document her treatment for extreme hoarding with psychotherapist Stelios Kiosses.

The collector who has difficulty entering many of the rooms in her three-bedroom house, invited fellow hoarder Tina, 44, from east London, into her home to show how compulsive shopping can escalate.

'I would say I spend more on charity shops than I do food,' Joanne said.

Joanne explained she began collecting items after her grandmother left her the house and doesn't want to declutter because it would be like losing her family again

Joanne, 71, (pictured) who lives in Wembley, revealed she spends more on charity shops than on food, as she continues to fill her three-bedroom home with clutter

She explained that her collecting habits began after her grandmother left her the house when she died 35 years ago.

'It was such a big thing, to be left this house and be able to cope on my own. That's when the collecting started,' Joanne said.

'The rooms that I use are the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. I sometimes have difficulty getting in the bedroom.'

Joanne revealed she's addicted to buying from charity shops and has had to set herself a limit to spend no more than 20 a day.

She continued: 'I've collected a lot of ornaments, clothes, paintings, books.

'The amount of books I have, I could open a book shop. I hardly ever leave charity shops without getting something.'

Tina, 44, from east London (pictured right) who has been hoarding since her teens, admitted she wants to treat her compulsive behaviour to avoid regrets in the future

Joanne revealed she wants to declutter her home, so that she can live comfortably and have guests.

Tina who has been hoarding since her early teens, added that she wants help for her compulsive behaviour to avoid the regret of not doing something about it in ten years time.

Stelios Kiosses brought the two together at a group cooking therapy in Birmingham, saying: 'Cooking therapy is so important because it energizes the brain, where as stress and worry numbs it.

'They can use the medium of food and cooking as a way of escaping from the constant turmoil that some of the clients think and feel, when they're on their own.'

Psychotherapist Stelios Kiosses, said he wanted Tina to meet Joanne (pictured) to get an understanding of how her hoarding could escalate

He instructed the pair to attend with friends, however Tina chose to come alone.

The psychotherapist asked Joanne to share her hoarding with Tina because he believes she is a 'mirror' of what Tina could become.

Visibly emotional, Joanne said: 'I'm afraid of letting go of things and memories. My parents, I lost them. I don't want to lose my possessions. It would be like losing my parents again.'

Tina added: 'One of the things I started to realise because I collect so much stuff, is it's like they've replaced them [friends and family] because they're not around my life at the moment.'

Joanne decided to begin sorting out her belongings after her meeting with Tina left her feeling motivated.

Joanne praised Tina for helping her to organise items throughout her house (pictured) and for giving her the encouragement to declutter

Friends that came to help admitted they had never been in her house before because Joanne previously put them off entering.

Crying, Joanne said: 'I'm not use to having people and I get confused.'

She admitted she was eager to monitor what they were throwing away.

Tina advised Joanne to place some of her ornaments in a box to be able to see clearly and then decide at a later time what she wants to keep.

'I couldn't have done this without your help. You've done so much,' Joanne said.

'You've given me encouragement, incentive, everything. I'd like you to come again and maybe we can tackle the front room.

'I wish I'd met Tina years ago, she's been my saviour.'
Hindustan Unilever Ltd is quoting at Rs 2277.1, up 1.4% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 5.6% in last one year as compared to a 23.29% jump in NIFTY and a 12.82% jump in the Nifty FMCG index.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd is up for a third straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 2277.1, up 1.4% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.46% on the day, quoting at 14964.65. The Sensex is at 50902.95, up 0.57%. Hindustan Unilever Ltd has slipped around 5.8% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty FMCG index of which Hindustan Unilever Ltd is a constituent, has slipped around 1.01% in last one month and is currently quoting at 34507.65, up 0.49% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 24.91 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 24.44 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark February futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 2282.35, up 1.41% on the day. Hindustan Unilever Ltd is up 5.6% in last one year as compared to a 23.29% jump in NIFTY and a 12.82% jump in the Nifty FMCG index.

The PE of the stock is 69.87 based on TTM earnings ending December 20.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Yemen reversal is one of a series of steps Biden laid out Thursday that he said would mark a course correction for US foreign policy

US president Joe Biden announced Thursday the United States was ending support for a grinding five-year Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen that has deepened suffering in the Arabian Peninsulas poorest country, calling the move part of restoring a US emphasis on diplomacy, democracy, and human rights.

This war has to end," Biden told diplomats in his first visit to the State Department as president, saying the conflict had created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe".

The Yemen reversal is one of a series of steps Biden laid out Thursday that he said would mark a course correction for US foreign policy. That's after former President Donald Trump  and many Republican and Democratic administrations before his  often sided with authoritarian leaders abroad, in the name of stability.

The announcement on Yemen fulfills a campaign pledge. But it also shows Biden putting the spotlight on a major humanitarian crisis that the United States has helped aggravate. The reversal of policy also comes as a rebuke to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has been conciliatory in its response to rebuffs from Biden, who as a candidate blasted the kingdom's current rulers for rights abuses and as president has made clear he intends to distance his administration from Saudi leaders. But the Biden administration also says it will help the kingdom boost its defenses against outside attacks, as part of maintaining key security, counterterrorism, and military ties with Saudi Arabia, a strategic partner, and global oil giant. Saudi state media focused on that part of Biden's announcements Thursday.

We welcome President Bidens stated commitment to work with friends and allies to resolve conflicts, and deal with attacks from Iran and its proxies in the region, Saudi Prince Khalid bin Salman, a son of King Salman and the kingdoms deputy defense minister, tweeted.

Yemen, the biblical kingdom of Sheba, has one of the worlds oldest constantly occupied cities  the more than 2,000-year-old Sanaa  along with mud-brick skyscrapers and hauntingly beautiful landscapes of steep, arid mountains. But decades of Yemeni misgovernment have worsened factional divisions and halted development, and years of conflict have now drawn in increasing intervention by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

The Obama administration in 2015 gave its approval to Saudi Arabia leading a cross-border air campaign targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels, who were seizing ever more territory, including Sanaa. The Houthis have launched multiple drones and missile strikes deep into Saudi Arabia. The US says the Saudi-led campaign has entrenched Iran's role in the conflict, on the side of the Houthis.

US targeting assistance to Saudi Arabia's command-and-control was supposed to minimise civilian casualties in the Saudi-led airstrikes. But bombing since then has killed numerous Yemeni civilians, including schoolboys on a bus and fishermen in their boats. Survivors have displayed fragments showing the bombs to be American-made.

The stalled war has failed to dislodge the Houthis and is helping deepen hunger and poverty. International rights experts say both the Gulf countries and Houthis have committed severe rights abuses.

Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman, a co-winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her role in Yemen's unsuccessful Arab Spring popular uprising, urged Biden to stay involved in Yemen peace efforts.

Deeper US engagement  and a refusal to side with dictators who have chosen bloodshed over democratic change  is vital so that the Yemeni people can return to the project of democracy that warring parties inside and outside of Yemen interrupted, Karman said in a statement.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the US action will give more space and more hope not only to the talks but, more importantly, more hope to the people of Yemen".

Biden called Thursday for a cease-fire, an opening of humanitarian channels to allow more delivery of aid and a return to long-stalled peace talks.

Biden also announced an end to relevant US arms sales but gave no immediate details on what that would mean. The administration already has said it was pausing some of the billions of dollars in arms deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabias main partner in its Yemeni offensive.

The ending of US support for the offensive will not affect any US operations against the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, group, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

In what was seen as the latest in several Saudi gestures toward Biden, the State Department said Thursday the kingdom had conditionally released two dual Saudi-US citizens detained in a crackdown on civil society there, and reduced a sentence for a third, Dr Walid Fitaihi, convicted of disobedience to the government.

The weeks-old Biden administration has made clear that shifting its stance toward the Yemen war, and toward Saudi Arabia over the Yemen offensive and other rights abuses, was a priority. Other measures have included a review of the Trump administration's categorisation of the Houthis as a terror group. Critics say the designation hinders the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemenis.

Biden also announced the choice of Timothy Lenderking as a special envoy to Yemen.

Lenderking has been a deputy assistant secretary of state in the department's West Asia section. A career foreign service member, he has served in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other countries in West Asia and elsewhere.
Opposition leader of National Unity Platform (NUP) party Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, has asked the European Union (EU) to cause an audit of the January 14 presidential elections which he says he won, but was robbed of his victory by President Museveni.

Mr Kyagulanyi put his request to the EU officials who met him at his home at Magere, Kasangati in Wakiso District, yesterday.

A source, who attended the two-hour meeting but preferred anonymity, said Mr Kyagulanyi also asked the EU that government be held accountable for the violence against civilians during the election campaigns.

"EU called for the meeting last week and their intention was to find out how they can help Bobi. Bobi Wine asked the EU to help and hold [Mr] Museveni accountable for the different human rights violations and killings. He also asked EU to push for an audit into the just-concluded elections," the source said.

The source added: "During the meeting Bobi Wine also wanted EU to have government officers accountable for the atrocities of November and other brutality meted out to him and other Opposition politicians."

The EU Head of Delegation in Uganda, Mr Attilio Pacifici, led eight other diplomats, including representatives from other EU countries such as Belgium, Germany, Austria, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy and Sweden.

The Bobi Wine team included the party's deputy president for the North, Ms Lina Zedriga, deputy president for Central region Mathias Mpuuga, party Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya and party spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi, among others.

The source further said the EU team proposed to Kyagulanyi to have talks with President Museveni but the Opposition leader rejected the proposal.

"EU asked Bobi to allow a dialogue with Museveni, but he refused, citing the double standards of his opponent," the source told Daily Monitor.

"The EU then promised to continue following up the issues Bobi raised and would return with a position," the source added.

Daily Monitor could not readily establish whether there was any written commitment between Bobi and EU but the source said: "The EU responded by saying they are taking these matters seriously and looking at taking serious action."

Shortly after the meeting, Mr Paciffici tweeted : "Together with EU colleagues I met with @NUP_Ug leaders today to exchange views and hear their concerns following the elections. We value and encourage dialogue with and between all political actors. I look forward to meetings also with other political parties in the near future."

In his address to the media after the meeting, Mr Ssenyonyi said: "As friends to the people of Uganda, don't pay a blind eye to these violations happening to Ugandans. We have not and we are not asking them to even support any political party. What we have asked them is to be on the side of the people of Uganda because Ugandans are the ones being killed, arrested and facing all these violations. So that was our general request to them."

It is not clear why Mr Kyagulanyi asked the EU to cause audit of the election yet he has filed a petition in court challenging the same election results. The NUP leaders did not explain how the EU-sanctioned audit would run parallel to the petition in court.

Hours after elections on January 14, the musician-turned-politician was placed under house-arrest for more than 10 days. Many of his party leaders were denied access to his home including the American Ambassador to Uganda, Ms Natalie Brown.

Bobi Wine regained freedom after court on January 25 ordered the security to leave his home.

Election results

On January 16, the Electoral Commission declared incumbent President Museveni winner of the elections with 58 per cent against Kyagulanyi's 35 per cent.

Mr Kyagulanyi has rejected the EC results, claiming he won the election. He has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Mr Museveni's victory.

In the aftermath of the 2016 General Election, four-time presidential candidate of the Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Dr Kizza Besigye, declined to go to court and instead demanded that an international body audits Uganda's elections. The audit did not happen.

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Government response

The State minister for Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance, Mr Peter Ogwang, said the audit would not change anything since the elections were transparent.

"So I don't understand what he is asking about but in my opinion, we did vote using biometrics. I don't have any problem with that thinking because at the end of the day, whatever was done, was done in a transparent manner," Mr Ogwang told Daily Monitor in a telephone interview.

He added: "I want to ask him to accept defeat and he is in court, so let's wait for the court outcome."

Mr Ogwang said Mr Kyagulanyi should look at the Declaration of Results (DR) forms collected by his agents deployed at various polling stations across the country on polling day.

"...So before he asks for an audit, he should first find out whether his political party had such structures in the 34,000 polling stations in the whole country," he said.
Federal agents have launched an investigation into claims that high-powered explosives have gone missing from a Marine Corps training installation in California.

About 10 pounds of composition C-4 plastic explosives disappeared from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms during a January exercise, ABC10 News in San Diego reported.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the matter, said Jeff Houston, a spokesman for the agency.

Read Next: Air Force Investigating After Intruder Breaches Joint Base Andrews

Marine Corps officials referred questions -- including when the explosives are believed to have gone missing, how they're typically safeguarded, what units were involved in the recent exercise, and whether any suspects have been identified -- to NCIS. Houston declined to answer those same questions.

"Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS does not comment on or confirm details relating to ongoing investigations," he said.

ABC10 News reported that military officials fear the explosives may have been stolen.

"The unit's commanding officer is considering extending the training exercise until the explosives are found," sources said, according to the outlet. "They also confirm the commanding officer messaged subordinate commands about a monetary reward for any information leading to the discovery of the C-4."

Retired Capt. Kelly Mayer told ABC10 that C-4 is one of the most powerful manufactured explosives, with a single pound of it capable of blowing up a vehicle when detonated.

Marine Corps photos show combat engineers and explosive ordnance disposal technicians training with the explosives at Twentynine Palms.

North Carolina-based Marines are currently training at the base, including 2nd Marine Division, based out of Camp Lejeune, and 2nd Marine Air Wing, based out of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, according to Marine Corps Times.

Members of 2nd Marine Division's 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, lost two rifles and a flak jacket during a 2019 exercise in North Carolina. NCIS is still investigating that incident. The weapons were never recovered.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: A Year Later, NCIS Still Investigating the Case of the Missing Marine Corps Rifles
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SFP Holding, Inc. (Summit Companies), a premier fire and life safety company, announced the recent completion of six strategic acquisitions by the company's subsidiaries, Summit Fire & Security and Summit Fire Protection. Five of the six acquisitions help expand Summit's presence in the South and Southwest.

Since CI Capital Partners' investment in September 2017, Summit has pursued an expansion strategy to build a premier national fire and life safety business through its subsidiaries, completing 41 add-on acquisitions. These acquisitions have served to both establish new territories and improve density, service offerings and operational efficiency in existing territories. Through its subsidiaries, Summit now operates branches in 14 states  Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin  and provides services throughout the rest of the country through a growing national accounts division.

Overview of Acquisitions:

Sound & Signal Systems specializes in fire alarm and security / access control services, and expands Summit Fire & Security into Albuquerque, New Mexico

Kimbrough Fire Extinguisher Company provides Summit Fire & Security with a market-leading suppression business in the state of Texas and gives the company a presence in the greater Dallas  Fort Worth market

and gives the company a presence in the greater  market HcFco will be merged with Kimbrough's operations in Dallas  Forth Worth to expand Summit's fire alarm capabilities in the region

 Forth Worth to expand Summit's fire alarm capabilities in the region Better Fire, based in College Station, Texas , is a rapidly growing sprinkler business that will enhance Summit Fire & Security's sprinkler expertise throughout the state of Texas

, is a rapidly growing sprinkler business that will enhance Summit Fire & Security's sprinkler expertise throughout the state of Mountain High Fire & Safety gives Summit Fire & Security its first branch in the state of Colorado

Night Owl Security expands Summit Fire Protection's security offerings in Fargo, North Dakota

"We are very proud to welcome these teams to Summit Companies. Each of these businesses is run by well-respected experts in their geographies who share Summit's commitment to providing excellent customer service," said Jeff Evrard, CEO of Summit Companies. "With these acquisitions, Summit furthers its goal of providing more complete service offerings and ease of access to local and national customers. Through the acquisitions of Kimbrough, HcFco, Better Fire, and the four previous acquisitions in Texas, Summit Fire & Security is now able to serve the majority of customers' fire and life safety needs in Texas."

ABOUT SUMMIT COMPANIES

SFP Holding, Inc. (Summit Companies), through its subsidiaries, provides premier fire and life safety services with an expanding national presence. Since 1999, Summit has been a leader in the fire and life safety space with experience and capabilities that create a one-stop-shop solution for fire detection and fire suppression on a local and national scale. Summit Companies' subsidiaries meet all of a customer's requirements for fire protection, fire security, consulting and engineering services. SFP Holding, Inc., the parent company of the Summit Companies subsidiaries, is owned by management and CI Capital Partners, a leading North American private equity investment firm with approximately $1.3 billion in assets under management. Learn more at: www.SummitCompanies.com

ABOUT CI CAPITAL PARTNERS

CI Capital Partners LLC is a leading North American private equity investment firm with approximately $1.3 billion in assets under management that has invested in middle-market companies since 1993. CI Capital forms partnerships with experienced management teams and entrepreneurs to build substantial businesses through add-on acquisitions, organic growth and operational improvements. Since inception, CI Capital and its portfolio companies have made over 375 acquisitions representing approximately $10 billion in enterprise value. For more information on CI Capital Partners, please visit www.cicapllc.com.

Media Contact:

Kekst CNC

Daniel Yunger

[email protected]

917.574.8582

SOURCE CI Capital

Related Links

https://cicapllc.com


WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- America's leading professional organization for journalists applauded on Thursday efforts by U.S. lawmakers to advance press freedom.

Legislation filed in the House Thursday would bar foreign aid for government entities that the U.S. government determines to have egregiously violated journalists' human rights, and it would require sanctions on individuals who participated in such acts.

The bill, named "The Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability Act of 2021," was authored in the House by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. A companion measure was offered in the Senate last year by Democratic Sens. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian Washington Post columnist, was killed in October 2018 in Turkey by agents of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Meanwhile, a separate bill unveiled in the Senate on Thursday would direct the U.S. State Department to establish an ambassador-at-large for press freedom and train foreign-service officers on how to promote media independence and protect foreign journalists. The bill, "The Global Press Freedom Act," was written by Sens. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, and Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat.

In 2020, 21 journalists were killed because they reported the news, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Several other indicators of press independence and safety have shown declines of late.

National Press Club President Lisa Nicole Matthews and NPC Journalism Institute President Angela Greiling Keane issued the following statement:

"Every year, dozens of journalists worldwide are either killed or attacked, and the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi was one of the more horrific examples of this unacceptable phenomenon. We applaud any effort that would serve justice in cases where journalists are killed or otherwise grossly abused or that would promote global press freedom."

The National Press Club, founded in 1908, is the world's Leading Professional Organization for Journalists with nearly 3,000 members worldwide. The Club is a strong voice for press freedom abroad and at home.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the Club's non-profit affiliate, promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement.

Contacts:

John M. Donnelly, NPC Press Freedom Team Chairman; [email protected] , (202) 650-6738

Lindsay Underwood for the National Press Club; [email protected], (202) 662-7561

SOURCE: NATIONAL PRESS CLUB

SOURCE National Press Club

Related Links

https://www.press.org


Przepraszamy!

Ogoszenie na stanowisku:

Robotics Process Automation (RPA) Developer



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Inne ogoszenia, ktore mogy byc w kregu Twoich zainteresowan:

Australian banknotes in Melbourne on November 7, 2017. (Paul Crocker/AFP via Getty Images)

Late Payments Strain WA Small Businesses in Pandemic

Late payments are adding to the financial strain on West Australian small businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic, a report has found.

The Bankwest Curtin Economic Centre report found more than a third of small businesses reported revenue losses last year.

But optimism is considerably higher for 2021, with roughly the same number of firms expecting revenue to increase as the states economic recovery continues.

BCEC director Alan Duncan says almost a quarter of small businesses had reported receiving payments from larger firms that were at least 30 days late, placing additional stress on owners and restricting their ability to operate.

This report calls for action to address the ongoing issue of late payments for WA small business owners who have already experienced a challenging 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Duncan said on February 5.

Mandated payment terms should be considered to improve this issue and increase the success of WAs small business operators.

Federal parliament is considering legislation which aims to ensure small businesses are paid on time.

With much of WA plunged into lockdown this week to curb a COVID-19 outbreak, BCEC deputy director Rebecca Cassells warned such responses could dent business confidence.

What we do know is that support measures such as JobKeeper, the ATO cash-flow boost and payroll tax relief were reported as being most helpful for small business owners during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, Associate Professor Cassells said.

These are important supports and give small businesses the ability to maintain operations and pay workers and other costs without any revenue coming in due to closures.

The report found there were more than 230,000 small businesses operating in WA, contributing about $50 billion each year to the state economy.

About a quarter of the firms expect to hire additional staff in the first six months of 2021.

Michael Ramsey in Perth

This story is about the good neighbour, who never forgot the love and kindness shown to him by the Kelly family.

Vincent Devines iconic portrait of Vicky Kelly Phelan was sold for 46,500 when the hammer dropped at Sheppards auctioneers yesterday.

The 34-year-old artist gave us a masterpiece. He hit it off with Vicky. They are friends and collaborators now.

She emptied out her life onto that canvas. From her tumours to her babies, and everything after, and in between.

Throw in Sheppards fees at 9,606 and the total going to Heroes Aid came to 55,712. Sheppards gave their fees to Heroes Aid and a lot more besides.

Read More

I spoke to Vincent Devine immediately after the auction. He was delighted.

The one worry I have is that the portrait went to someone who will covet it, he said.

Vincent need not have worried. The portrait came home.

David Brennan did well. His company, Southgate Engineering, has landed many prestigious contracts in England. Vicky and David lived in Comeragh Drive in the South Kilkenny village of Mooncoin.

The young boy spent plenty of time in the Phelan home. He was like our brother, said an ecstatic Vicky from Maryland, where she is undergoing experimental treatment for 11 tumours.

I was so nervous. David has been in touch with me all through my treatment. He told me last night he would be bidding. David just called me to say he bought it. I am so delighted.

After the auction, David said: Vickys mother and father were very good to me when I was a young lad. I burst out crying when I saw Vicky speak about the painting on The Late Late Show. My wife Alicia said, David we have to buy Vickys painting.

So the near neighbour from Comeragh Drive buys his childhood friends portrait  and earns more than 50,000 for Heroes Aid.

I have the blessing of having enough to buy the portrait. The painting is owned by the people of Ireland now. Its up to Vicky where it goes.

Im hoping we can do some good and maybe increase awareness. Maybe Vicky and Vincent can bring it around the country.

The plan then is to get Vickys message out there. She is all for testing. And taking notice of what our bodies are telling us.

Vicky Phelan suffered so much due to the failures of our health system, but she never threw the baby out with the bath water.

David started out Eastgate Engineering in 2013 from modest beginnings.

He couldnt afford to go to college and trained as an electrician. Eastgate Engineering won the electrical and instrumentation contract for the biggest potash mine in the world at Whitby in England, and many more projects besides. The company employs 160 people.

He is emotional. He cried again yesterday.

I want to keep Vickys candle lit for decades and generations to come. I want her children and her grandchildren to see the painting, he said.

I want to keep her memory alive. This painting is for everyone.

It all worked out grand in the end, but beforehand, Vicky was nervous.

She was so hoping the incredibly intimate public triptych of her every body part would fetch a decent bid.

Mary Leahy co-founded Heroes Aid, a new enough charity which was one of the best things to come out of Covid-19.

She watched the auction from Galway. Vicky was in her apartment in Maryland. Vincent was in Offaly.

We were in touch with Vicky. When the bids hit 30,000 Vicky said were flying now.

There was a big cheer when Davids final bid came in.

Mary, who is never in bad form, is close to Vicky.

We would love to have had a drink to celebrate. The bidding stuck for a few seconds on 700. It was terrible but then the bids came in and it was over in a matter of minutes.

She added: Vicky is on our board. She brought us all together.

Candles were being lit all week. I told Vicky the parish priest calls the Fire Brigade every time I go in to the church. Vicky lost her faith in God a while ago but she still asks for candles and prayers.

The bravest woman in Ireland is afraid of what is to come. She is very spiritual and feels a connection with those she loved who went before her.

We will let it to Vicky to figure it all out, as she surely will. There is no one brighter or more able.

I say to Vicky, I think we are in the middle of a miracle.

I hope so Billy, I hope so.

Mary Leahy says Vicky is going nowhere. She has too much to do here.

Vicky says she is feeling very well right now. Her treatment continues on Tuesday next when she will be given all three drugs in the treatment.

Her friend David is well entitled to the last word.

Vickys mother and father were very good to me. I bought this as a thank you for Gaby and John.

David and Vicky, neighbours and friends never forgot who they were, or where they came from.

You can donate to Heroes Aid at heroesaid.ie

Read More




Syracuse, NY  At 17, Zhuantina Hayes stabbed a Corcoran High School teacher. She didnt mean to: she was fighting off a bully, but swung at the substitute teacher who intervened, fearing it was another attacker.

Her teacher, her probation officer and even the prosecutor urged the judge to seal her record and give her a second chance after the May 2017 stabbing.

The judge instead sentenced her as an adult to three years in prison on a felony assault conviction.

Now, an appellate court says the judges sentence was too harsh.

But the ruling came too late for Hayes: She already served her time in jail and state prison, spending more than twice as long behind bars as she likely would have as a youthful offender.

The five-judge panel ordered Onondaga County Court Judge Stephen Dougherty to resentence Hayes under strict guidelines governing youthful offenders. That happened Friday morning.

The appellate court had already sealed Hayes case and wiped her record clean. Hayes appearance Friday was a legal formality.

Because Hayes spent more than a year in local jail before sentencing, she likely would have spent only a couple of months in prison as a youthful offender. Instead, she spent another year and a half bouncing among state prisons -- a trauma that Hayes says she tries not to think about.

Hayes, now 20, has been out of prison for more than a year trying to make ends meet as a convicted felon during the coronavirus pandemic. She works at Burger King and runs a hair studio.

Hayes says shes not bitter. What good would that do, anyway? she says.

Everything happens for a reason, she told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard on Thursday. Maybe I just needed to grow up or maybe I just needed to get stronger.

In perhaps the most extraordinary moment of an extraordinary case, the stabbed teacher, Ryan Elsenbeck, met with Hayes in jail before her guilty plea back in 2018. Hed been stabbed in the hand and the chest, causing minor -- but permanent  injuries.

Elsenbeck, a substitute teacher, came from a family of law enforcement. He worked as a process server for the district attorneys office. Nothing compelled him to give his attacker a chance. But he did. After all, hes teacher, he told her. Hes supposed to help kids.

To Hayes, Elsenbeck didnt offer forgiveness, exactly. But it was his belief that she deserved a second chance. That came with a warning, Hayes recalled: If he vouched for her, she couldnt screw it up.

Im never coming back to jail, she told him during their meeting.

Leaving prison last year as a free woman, Hayes said she had two goals in life: help other women affected by the prison system, and never go back.

A search for justice

Dougherty, the judge who sent Hayes to prison, stressed the gravity of the crime in explaining his rejection of youthful offender treatment before he sentenced her to state prison.

Its only for the grace of God that (the teacher) and the other student werent more seriously injured, Dougherty said three years ago.

Hayes had brought a knife into a school and swung it during a fight, hitting a teacher. By that point, shed already been charged in a series of shopliftings, one with an allegation of punching a clerk and slamming the clerks head. She was out of control, he said.

Judge Stephen Dougherty. Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com

Many others at the time -- including the teacher, probation officer and prosecutor -- didnt see the case quite as harshly. Now the appellate court agrees: She was defending herself.

Faced with the threat of a violent attack in her school, defendant had few options -- none of them good -- and, although her decision to carry a knife in order to protect herself was without a doubt the wrong choice, we conclude that her use of the knife was a hasty or thoughtless act that cannot be seen as the serious deed of a hardened criminal, the appellate court wrote.

In sealing Hayes record, the appellate judges didnt accuse Dougherty of wrongdoing, but took action in the interests of justice.

Its what Elsenbeck had asked Dougherty to consider before sentencing three years ago.

I pray that this is the part where growth begins ..., he wrote the judge. While calling Hayes actions appalling, Elsenbeck added that it was too simple to lock her in prison and throw away the key.

A youthful offender adjudication  as granted eventually by the appellate court  gives her the opportunity to face her actions and own her consequences with the future in her own hands, Elsenbeck wrote.

In an extraordinary move, the special prosecutor, Oswego County DA Gregory Oakes, and a probation officer, agreed.

She had just turned 17 the month before this incident, and it appears she has learned a valuable lesson from this experience, Oakes said in pushing for youthful offender adjudication. (Oakes was brought in to handle the case after Dougherty took it from Syracuse prosecutors, noting the teachers employment with the office as a conflict of interest.)

During oral arguments in December, the appellate court took special notice of Oakes advocacy in Hayes case: the unusual stance of a prosecutor trying to talk a judge out of a harsher punishment.

When the prosecutor acts in that manner, in good faiththat should be called out, Judge Stephen Lindley said.

Oswego County DA Greg Oakes was brought in to handle prosecution of Zhuantina Hayes after a judge disqualified the Onondaga County DA office, because the victim was a part-time employee.

The circumstances of the crime have been widely discussed: she had been bullied and brought a knife to school to confront her tormentor. When attacked by the bully, Hayes first lowered herself into a defensive position, security video shows. She then pulled out the knife in self-defense, swinging it at her attacker and another person who jumped into the fray.

That additional person happened to be the teacher, Elsenbeck. And his decision to give Hayes a second chance is one she wont forget, she said.

A long road

Like many troubled youth, Hayes faced an uphill battle in life: her mother struggled with mental limitations, her father was never around and other relatives were abusive, the appellate court noted.

By 15, Hayes admits she was stealing from stores at Destiny USA. She denies allegations that she assaulted anyone, but at the time agreed to a $2,100 judgement to repay the stores for everything shed stolen. (The appellate court also questioned allegations that Hayes attacked a store clerk, noting that the clerk suffered no injuries and Hayes faced no assault charges.)

But Hayes biggest mistake came only a month after turning 17: instead of getting help with a bully at school, who constantly physically attacked her, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

I didnt plan on trying to kill her. I was just trying to scare her, Hayes says now of the knife attack.

In an instant, Hayess decision to swing the knife cost her what remained of her childhood. But it also helped her to grow up, she said.

Looking back, Hayes realizes she wasnt going to graduate high school. She was late for class. Stealing. In trouble with the law.

But in Onondaga Countys jail, her smarts took over. Forced to take school classes, Hayes obtained her GED a year earlier than she would have graduated high school, she said. She took painting classes and ended up painting her jail pod. She obtained certificates in other trades, too, like cosmetology and janitorial work, which came in handy when she was released.

The 400-plus days she spent in local jail, hoping the judge would relent to a youthful offender adjudication, were still tough. She started in the mental health ward on suicide watch, before gaining her footing, she said.

Eventually, Hayes impressed not only the stabbed teacher, the prosecutor and a probation officer, but also the appellate court judges, with her attitude.

In yet another extraordinary twist, Judge Shirley Troutman described Hayess compassion in the courts decision, noting a simple gesture that could have easily been overlooked.

[S]hortly before her 18th birthday, there were only two girls left (in that area of the jail), Troutman wrote, citing an account in the court record. Hayes mother had given her the tragically false hope that she could post her bail. Knowing what it was like to endure de facto solitary confinement, (Hayes) asked that her mother be given the message to wait until the other girls court date, when she was expected to be released, so [the other girl] would not be left alone.

Thats all the judge needed to know about Hayes reputation in custody.

Hayes told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that being alone in the jail was tough. I didnt want her to be in there by herself, she explained of her concern.

Once sentenced to state prison, Hayes collected more skills. She took college courses through prison programs, earning more than 20 credits, she said. She dreamed up ways to help others like her and drew up business plans.

When released, Hayes started a non-profit, The HER Too Project, which stands for Healing, Empowering, and Rising to overcome obstacles: a promise to help other girls stay out of prison and a promise to herself never to go back.

She bought T-shirt printing machines and set up social media accounts. But then life got in the way. She worked at a hair salon and then at a thrift store. But the thrift store closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so she needed to find new work. She landed at Burger King.

So shes taking a break from trying to start up her non-profit, focusing instead on paying for an apartment and running a hair business  HAIR By HER Too  on the side.

Hayes talks now like shes learned her lessons. Shoplifting and skipping school wasnt the right path. She should have told someone about the bully instead of bringing a knife to school. The experience of jail and prison taught her that she never wants to go back.

But she also knows its a big part of who shes become.

Before, I was really attached to my mom, now Im on my own, she said. Before, I didnt really know what I wanted to be in life. Now, Im independent.

Staff writer Douglass Dowty can be reached at ddowty@syracuse.com or 315-470-6070.
NEW DELHI : Governments recent move to reduce customs duty on gold could bode well for jewellery players, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said in a research note on Friday.

Ind-Ra believes that the reduction in customs duty will improve business volume as it makes gold jewellery more affordable and further unlock pent-up demand from price sensitive buyers for the remaining wedding season," it said in a note.

Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowly

Sharp increase in gold prices had weighed on jewellery retailers, especially in the year when demand remained depressed due to covid-induced lockdowns. In August, gold prices had hit a record high of 56,200 per 10 gram.

Revenue for the top organized players declined by average 32% year-on-year in the first half of FY21, India Ratings said.

Jewellery sales, however, lifted in the third quarterdriven by pent-up demand, festival-linked buying, over 10% decline in gold prices from its peak in August 2020, and improved customer sentiments.

In the Budget announcement earlier this week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will rationalise customs duty on gold and silver. The government announced cut in customs duty on gold and silver to 7.5% from 12.5%. In July 2019, as part of revenue-raising budget, the customs duty on import of gold was increased to 12.5% from 10%. India imports bulk of its gold and silver requirements.

India Ratings and Research said the move will support demand for the yellow metal in the long-term.

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) believes that governments Union Budget 2020-21 proposal to reduce the customs duty on gold and silver to 7.5% from 12.5% will make the illegal trade of gold imports less attractive and curtail the increasing trend of gold smuggling in India. The move will also improve the governments overall revenue from the sector. The duty reduction will support sectoral demand in the long term, as jewellery costs will come down and customers purchasing power will improve," it added.

Gold was currently trading around the 47,000 level in the domestic market. The recent fall in global rates and import duty cut announced in the Budget pushed gold rates in India to a near seven-month low, Mint reported on Friday.

India is among the worlds leading consumers of gold. Weddings, along with the festivities, drive demand for the yellow metal here.

Reduction in gold prices may lead to temporary inventory losses for the jewellers with unhedged inventory in their books. However, it could be compensated by gains in volume terms, India Ratings and Research said.

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The threat of a fascist military coup in America that erupted to the surface with the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 has not ended; it has only just begun.

This is the only serious conclusion one can draw from the extraordinary order issued Thursday by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for a stand-down by the entire US military and its 2.1 million personnel to discuss the problem of extremism in the ranks.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits National Guard troops deployed at the U.S. Capitol and its perimeter, Friday, Jan. 29, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, Pool)

The order followed a meeting between Austin, a retired general and former commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), civilian service chiefs and the uniformed Joint Chiefs of Staff which made clear that the Pentagon brass has no clear idea of the extent of the spread of fascist and white supremacist forces in the military, nor has it carried out any systematic effort to uproot them.

Following the meeting, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the Capitol coup attempt had been a wake-up call for the military. Extremism in the military was not an insignificant problem, he said, and the number of troops involved was not as small as anyone would like.

The meeting of the top brass convened by Austin follows reports that former and active-duty military personnel comprised up to one-fifth of those arrested for storming the Capitol building in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Joseph Bidens election as president and the defeat of Donald Trump.

It was clear from the Pentagon press conference that the senior command has no coherent plan for confronting the issue. We dont know how were going to be able to get after this in a meaningful, productive, tangible way, and that is why he had this meeting today, and that is certainly why he ordered this stand-down, Kirby said.

The stand-down, which is to be organized across the sprawling US military over the next 60 days, as yet appears to be conceived as little more than commanding officers delivering pep talks to their units professing the Pentagons opposition to extremism.

In no sense, clearly, will the stand-down signal any reduction in US military acts of aggression and provocation around the globe. On the contrary, the first weeks of the Biden administration have seen US warships stage provocative deployments in the Black Sea and the Strait of Taiwan, while US B-52 bombers are continuing their menacing overflights of the Persian Gulf.

The role of current and former military personnel in the January 6 events has emerged with increasing clarity over the past month. Among those killed in the coup attempt was Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, shot by police as she attempted to break into the Speakers Lobby.

Among those criminally charged is Lt. Col. Larry Rendall Brock, a retired Air Force officer who broke into the Senate chamber holding zip ties, presumably intended for use in seizing members of Congress as hostages. Meanwhile, active-duty Army Captain Emily Rainey is under investigation for organizing buses to the Trump rally from the area of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

In the storming of the Capitol, militias that recruit former and current soldiers, including most prominently the Oath Keepers, played a pivotal role, organizing military-style squads to breach the entrances to the building. Former military personnel in the Oath Keeperswhich continues to call for its supporters to fight against the communists and deep state traitors who have stolen the White Househave been charged with conspiracy, as have members of the Proud Boys, whom Trump infamously told to stand back and stand by.

Those participating in the physical storming of the Capitol were only the most visible military participants in Trumps coup plot. Retired Gen. Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security adviser, played a leading role in the stop the steal campaign based on the fabricated claims of a stolen election, which set the stage for the January 6 coup. He was a vocal advocate of Trump invoking the Insurrection Act and imposing martial law to overturn the election and establish what would have amounted to a presidential dictatorship.

Flynns extreme right-wing politics are undoubtedly shared by other senior officers still in uniform. Still unexplained by the Pentagon is the role played by his brother, Lt. Gen. Charles A. Flynn, who participated in the deliberations that led the Army to delay the dispatch of National Guard troops to the Capitol until the mayhem was over.

Trump clearly had a plan to utilize sections of the military and neutralize others in his attempt to overturn the election and hold onto power. In the immediate aftermath of his defeat at the polls, he carried out a wholesale purge of the Pentagons top leadership, installing extreme right-wing loyalists in key positions, headed by former Special Forces Colonel Christopher Miller.

Nearly a year before the election, Trump had demonstratively sought to curry favor with the militarys Special Operations personnel with his lionizing of, and pardons for, convicted war criminals like Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher.

There is no doubt that the Trump administration cultivated the growth of extreme-right and outright fascist elements within the military. The roots, however, run far deeper. They lie most fundamentally in the inextricably linked deepening of the crisis of US and world capitalism and the corresponding crumbling and disintegration of democratic forms of rule.

A key element in this process has been the inexorable growth of US militarism, as American capitalism has sought to offset its economic decline by increasing reliance on armed might. The result has been 30 years of uninterrupted war waged by Washington in the Middle East and Central Asia. The use of an all volunteer force to wage these wars, in many cases through multiple deployments, and the concentration of immense political power in the hands the Pentagons combatant commanders, has steadily eroded the constitutional principle of civilian control of the military.

In his brilliant June 1933 essay on the rise of Hitlers Nazis in Germany, What Is National Socialism?, Leon Trotsky wrote:

The banner of National Socialism was raised by upstarts from the lower and middle commanding ranks of the old army. Decorated with medals for distinguished service, commissioned and noncommissioned officers could not believe that their heroism and sufferings for the Fatherland had not only come to naught, but also gave them no special claims to gratitude. Hence their hatred of the revolution and the proletariat.

Among the 2.7 million military personnel who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, there are doubtless not a few who share similar sentiments about their own sufferings in Washingtons dirty colonial-style wars having come to naught.

The alternatives posed in 1933socialism or fascismare the same ones that now confront the working class in the United States and internationally.

The combined threat of militarism and fascism is by no means a uniquely American phenomenon. From Germany to Brazil, Spain and across the globe, there is a growth of both fascist elements within the security forces and support by the military for fascistic movements.

The role played by the Democrats and Biden demonstrates the futility and danger in relying on any section of the capitalist ruling class, its parties or institutions to counter these threats or defend democratic rights.

Together with the media and virtually the whole of the pseudoleft, they have sought to cover up the high level conspiracy and role of the military in the events of January 6. Instead, Biden appeals for unity with his Republican colleagues who provoked and directly aided the coup attempt. They are united in a common defense of the interests of a ruling financial oligarchy and in the imposition of a homicidal policy that places profits above lives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Defeating the threat of fascism and military dictatorship and the defense of democratic rights can be achieved only through the methods of class struggle and the fight for the socialist transformation of society.
Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press

WATERFORD  Police were called to the CVS pharmacy on Boston Post Road Thursday afternoon when a group of older adults from New York came seeking coronavirus vaccines, officials said.

The police chief said he was notified by a representative from the Ledge Light Health District that the group had traveled to the area after apparently scheduling vaccination appointments through the CVS app.
Texas could reduce the price of health care and boost the economy if only we could find some compassion for the poor.

Countless studies show people with health coverage who routinely visit a primary care physician have lower health care costs. Insured people are also less likely to let a problem become a crisis and end up in an emergency department. They do not run up huge bills that go unpaid.

When doctors and hospitals get stuck with unpaid bills, they charge other patients higher prices to cover their losses. Gall bladder surgeries will be cheaper if fast-food workers can see a nurse for the flu rather than end up with colossal ER bills.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: America's health care system flails again, focused on profit over patients

Yet our Republican-led Texas lawmakers worry about appearing too-generous toward impoverished people, who mostly do not vote for them. For a decade now, leaders like Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have rejected attempts to expand coverage for the needy and working poor.

Unsurprisingly, Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation at 18.4 percent, compared to Massachusetts with only 3 percent. Texas ranks 50th in the country for access to care, and highest for people delaying treatment due to cost, according to the UnitedHealth Foundations annual rankings.

Three-quarters of the uninsured would like coverage, but they cannot afford it because Texas rejected federal Medicaid subsidies. Meanwhile, other states such as Arkansas expanded Medicaid coverage for the uninsured and saw a 6 percent drop in the fatality rate among adults aged 20 to 64, a University of Chicago study proved.

Abbott, Patrick and fellow Republican lawmakers could reduce our workforce death rate by 6 percent if they agreed to accept $5.4 billion in annual federal funding. Employers could experience lower absenteeism due to illness if their workers could routinely see a doctor.

Expanding Medicaid would boost the economy and the quality of life for 1.4 million Texans while lowering health care costs for all.

Texass leaders want to do the opposite. Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading the effort to take coverage away from the millions of Texas enrolled in the Affordable Care Act by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to declare Obamacare unconstitutional.

If the Court rules in Paxtons favor, 20 million more Americans will lose coverage and drive up health care costs for all.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is trying to expand the Affordable Care Act with measures welcomed by both doctors and financial markets.

Opening the ACA exchanges provides a crucial lifeline at a time when people are losing insurance because of job layoffs as a result of the pandemic, the American Medical Association said in a statement. We also applaud the Administrations move to eliminate barriers to Medicaid enrollment, which will repair holes in the health care safety net.

Fitch Ratings, a bond rating firm also owned by the Hearst Corporation, said expanding coverage would boost not-for-profit hospitals that have struggled due to unpaid bills and COVID-19 costs.

The Biden administration is expected to focus on reducing the number of those who are uninsured by  encouraging the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the ACA to adopt expanded coverage, Fitch analysts wrote. This latter change would be credit-positive for hospitals in states where Medicaid has not been expanded, although political headwinds in key states like Texas persist.

A non-partisan group called Texas 2036, led by President George W. Bushs former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, has launched a website where visitors can understand the costs and benefits of more than 500 possible health care policy decisions using a database.

TOMLINSONS TAKE: Hospitals gouge private health insurance to care for others

Fully expanding Medicaid in 2025 to cover 846,000 people would cost the state an annual premium of $55.60 per person a year, according to the model. If Texas set up its own ACA Exchange, rather than rely on HealthCare.gov, the cost drops to $36.00 per person.

Make a few more tweaks, and the states cost drops even further. The program does not calculate the potential increase in state revenue from a healthier population growing the economy faster. Economic forecasting experts at the Perryman Group ran those numbers.

The net total dynamic fiscal benefits during the 2022-23 biennium would include $2.5 billion to the state and nearly $2.0 billion to local government entities across Texas, veteran Texas economist Ray Perryman concluded. For every $1 of non-federal funds invested, $1.95 is returned to the state in dynamic tax revenue.

Texas should expand Medicaid out of simple human decency. But the economic case for expansion is even more compelling. If only Texass top leaders would put Texans first instead of sticking to an outmoded way of thinking.

Chris Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and politics.

twitter.com/cltomlinson

chris.tomlinson@chron.com
NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DLA Piper represented food technology company Pairwise in its recent US$90 Series B financing. The round was led by Pontifax Global Food and Agriculture Technology Fund and existing investor Deerfield Management Company, and included new investor Temasek and existing investor Leaps by Bayer.

Pairwise is using cutting-edge technology to build a healthier world by introducing better fruits and vegetables with improved taste, enhanced convenience, increased shelf life, improved yield, simplified harvesting or lengthened season availability. To address challenges with inconsistent flavor, seeds, shelf life, year-round availability and snackability, Pairwise will bring to the produce aisle new varieties of nutritious fruits and vegetables, and is currently developing new types of leafy greens, berries and cherries. Its first product is expected in 2022.

"We were thrilled to partner with Pairwise to complete this financing, which will enable Pairwise to continue developing advancements that address important challenges in food and agriculture," said Randy Socol, the DLA Piper partner who led the firm's deal team. "This is an extremely talented management team, and together with a strategic set of investors and experienced and thoughtful board, Pairwise is well positioned to continue its efforts to bring healthy, sustainable foods to market. We are excited about our partnership with the Pairwise team and look forward to providing additional support as they continue to build a great company."

"As a rapidly scaling startup, it is essential that the Pairwise team has the right partners in place," said Ian Miller, EVP of Business Operations for Pairwise. "The DLA Piper team brought expert domain knowledge and strategic counsel to the closing of our US$90 million Series B round."

In addition to Socol (San Diego), the DLA Piper team representing Pairwise included associates Shehzad Huda and Leon Johnson (both of San Diego).

DLA Piper's Emerging Growth and Venture Capital practice includes more than 200 lawyers in the US who provide strategic counsel to emerging companies in high-growth industries, including healthcare, insurance, biotech, manufacturing, communications, software and semiconductors. Over the last three years, DLA Piper has completed more than 2,100 financings totaling over US$31 billion.

DLA Piper's global Technology sector lawyers work across practice areas and offices to support technology clients  from startups to fast-growing and mid-market businesses to mature global enterprises  doing business around the world.

About DLA Piper

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising. dlapiper.com

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From Labor damning Craig Kellys dangerous views on vaccines to the Prime Minister revealing a warm and engaging conversation with US President Joe Biden  the first parliamentary sitting week of 2021 showed both parties gearing up for what may become an election year.

In todays episode of Please Explain Daily, national editor Tory Maguire and national affairs editor Rob Harris discuss the topics that are likely to dominate federal politics this year.

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A court in Stockholm has upheld the acquittals of three former senior officials at the telecom giant Telia in a case involving approximately $320 million payments made to Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of Uzbekistan's late President Islam Karimov.



Lars Nyberg, the former chief executive officer of Telia, and two other men were accused of bribing a local business partner in Uzbekistan between 2007 and 2010, which they denied.



Stockholm's court of appeals on February 4 upheld a lower court ruling to acquit the three men.



The trio went on trial in September 2018 and were acquitted in mid-February 2019.



The Stockholm District Court ruled at the time that the defendants could not be convicted as it had not been proven that Karimova held any official position connected to the telecom sector, which had been the prosecutor's main argument.

Nyberg, along with Telia's former adviser for Eurasia, Olli Tuohimaa, and the company's former deputy chief, Tero Kivisaari, were charged in 2017 after the Stockholm-based company agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in penalties to help settle the yearslong corruption probe.



Telia is not the only international telecom company that has been accused of bribing Uzbek officials.



In February 2017, Dutch-based VimpelCom, which was controlled by a Russian-owned holding company, agreed to pay $795 million to resolve U.S. and Dutch bribery charges.



Karimova, 48, once seen as a possible successor to Islam Karimov, was placed under house arrest in Tashkent in 2014 while her father was still alive and running the country. Karimov died in 2016 and was succeeded by President Shavkat Mirziyoev.



In December 2017, Karimova was sentenced to a 10-year prison term, but the this was later changed to house arrest and shortened to five years. She was placed in jail in March 2019 for allegedly violating the terms of her confinement.



In March 2020, Karimova received an additional 13 years and four months in prison after being found guilty of extortion, money laundering, and other crimes.

With reporting by Sverigesradio and Telecompaper
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday expressed his gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping for supporting Harare's fight against COVID-19.

Mnangagwa delivered a State of the Nation Address in the capital, also giving an update on the country's progress in the fight to stop the spread of the virus.

He noted his "heartfelt and sincere gratitude to the President of the People's Republic of China, the government and people of China for their 200 000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.

"We applaud China for taking a leading role of contributing to our national vaccination strategy.

"This kind of gesture is addition to the numerous donations support and interventions made by China since the outbreak of the virus.

"It further attests to the fact that the Peoples Republic of China is a true friend of Zimbabwe," local Zimbabwe Mail quotes Mnangagwa.

By Thursday, the Southern African country had recorded 33,964 COVID-19 infections with 1,269 deaths.

In his address, President Mnangagwa noted that his administration has set aside funds to acquire vaccines to help curb further spread of the virus in Zimbabwe.

He announced that the vaccination jabs would be free for all Zimbabweans, and would be rolled out soon.

(CGTN)

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Deputy Mairead Farrell, in her article of 4th February on the ratification of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) raised a number of issues in relation to the EU Canada Trade Agreement, and the stance of the Green Party in 2017 and now.

It is our commitment in government to make extraordinary change a reality for the sake of the planet and our people. As a minority party not only in government, but in the Oireachtas, we have punched well above our weight, at a time when Ireland and the world is gripped by Covid-19 - one of the most serious issues of our time.

We have stepped up to form a government when many would not.

The ratification of Ceta, a deal not well understood by many, was signed up to by Ireland in 2017 and is now due to be voted on. What the Green Party must do now, is to recognise the huge changes made to Ceta due to the work of many and to be really honest about the politics of opposing such a deal. Other parties should also be honest.

Green Party and Ceta

The Green Party was active in criticising the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) in Europe and at home over a number of years. We pointed out the democratic and social shortcomings of such trade deals.

Since that time, there have been a number of developments in how the deal would operate, including an opinion from the European Court of Justice. These changes have been in large part due to the work of our MEPs and activists across Europe and they have changed the deal to an extent that cannot be ignored. Nor can the realities of working to make real lasting change happen in Ireland.

Deputy Farrell makes a number of assertions in her article about the effects such deals will have on the regulation of things like environmental protection, labour rights and other aspects of our shared lives.

Most of these are now explicitly excluded from the deal as it stands, changes that are a testament to the hard work and campaigning of so many in Ireland, Canada and the EU.

Changes include the replacement of the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism with a more transparent investor court system, and include a clause that protects countries based on their environment and workers' rights laws.

The work now for our European Greens and all parties is to ensure that in all of the trade deals that follow they continue to protect workers and environment rights, and that they go further than Ceta. Sinn Fein has an obligation to do this too at a European level and has been found lacking.

Politics as art of possible

Politics is the art of the possible. It is not academics and it is not about standing on the sidelines shouting in. It is our commitment in government to bring about extraordinary change and we are already doing this.

It is the responsibility of every politician and every group to leave a legacy. This is why each one of us in the Green Party got into politics - to achieve the goals that we fought for.

The achievements of the Green Party include a commitment to an average annual reduction of 7% in greenhouse gas emissions, a revolutionary Climate Action Bill that not only sets this in law, but ends the exploration of oil and gas off our shores and the ending of LNG terminals.

Senator Pauline O'Reilly: "We will never argue that Ceta is a perfect trade deal and in fact have yet to see a perfect trade deal."

We have also secured the largest commitment ever to the restoration of peatlands and support for the communities grappling with this change to their jobs. On animal welfare we have doubled funding and are reviewing and investing in the National Parks and Wildlife Services, while other parties continue to advocate for barbaric practices.

Next week there will be new requirements for farming grants to ensure sustainable practices. As well as all of this, we pushed for the most transformative budget in public and active transport ever in the history of the State, including 1 million a day and new staff for every council.

These will be the legacies of our small party that the people of Ireland deserve.

No such thing as a perfect trade deal

We will never argue that Ceta is a perfect trade deal and in fact have yet to see a perfect trade deal. The Brexit trade deal for instance, currently working its way through the ratification process in the European Parliament, is filled with challenges, but to oppose it on the basis that it doesn't fit our perfect model, would be irresponsible and misguided.

International trade is fraught with challenges  competing legislation across countries, jobs and investment bring with them investors.

This is why since our stance in 2016, Ceta was changed and now includes a clause, Article 24.4. which recognises the rights of each country to set its environmental priorities, to establish its levels of environmental protection, and to adopt or modify its laws and policies accordingly.

If we are very honest with ourselves, across the political spectrum, Ceta may not be Green Party policy but it is the policy of the majority of politicians, not only in the government but in the Dail.

It will be ratified with or without us and now the decision for our small party is where lies our responsibility?

To vote against our government partners is to risk gains in other areas that they would then vote against. This is a bitter pill to swallow, but they also have bitter pills to swallow.

In the general election a year ago, the one defining message of our campaign was that it has never been more important to have Greens in government. We could not have been any clearer about our desire to get in there, to engage in the necessary deal-making and consensus building that would ensure that Ireland would begin to turn the corner on its record on environmental and climate action.

We knew that going into government in the current climate was not going to be easy. We are in the middle of a pandemic and a climate and biodiversity crisis and its all hands to the wheel to set this right.

If the current administration was a single party Green Party government, there is little question we would not sign up to Ceta. While the deal is improved, it is not the vision that we would advance for the promotion of socially just and environmentally sustainable trade.

Read More Green TDs under pressure from the public over Ceta vote
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  The initial review of the controversial war on drugsinvolving over 5,000 police operationscontained "not so flattering" findings against law enforcers, according to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

During the Laging Handa briefing, Guevarra said the Department of Justice selected certain areas with high number of deaths related to drug operations for its initial investigation.

The initial report, he reiterated, was submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte last December. "We made certain findings, not so flattering, against certain police enforcement officers involved in drug operations," Guevarra said.

He added the DOJ gave a copy of the initial review to the Philippine National Police to comment on the findings.

Data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency showed the drug war death toll already hit the 6,000 mark as of December 2019. Since it started in 2016, when Duterte assumed the presidency, the anti-illegal drug campaign already detained 273,014 individuals.

The report will be shared with the public "in proper time" as the DOJ has yet to review operations in Visayas and Mindanao, Guevarra noted.

"We don't want to make it appear [that the] initial findings in certain pilot areas like Regions 3 and 4 and in major cities are a true representative of what is happening," he said.

Guevarra assured the public there was "no intention to hide" the report, adding the DOJ also targets to include actions it intends to take regarding the findings.

For the initial report on the drug war deaths, however, the Commission on Human Rights was not included.

CHR commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit earlier said this was an "unfulfilled promise" to Filipinos. "We have respectfully, diligently, consistently, and repeatedly asked the Department of Justice concerning the role of the Commission on Human Rights in the said panel."

But Guevarra said the DOJ may still ask for the CHR's participation in the full report of the panel.

"We intend to engage with the CHR in this endeavor. As I said, the initial report is only a partial one. Our efforts have been severely hampered by current restrictions on mobility and physical access to records. Much collaborative work remains to be done," he earlier explained.
[February 05, 2021] LexisNexis Risk Solutions Reveals the State of Fraud in the United States and Canada Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

ATLANTA, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LexisNexis Risk Solutions unveiled findings on the current State of Fraud, detailing key fraud trends occurring in 2020 for organizations in the United States and Canada while also looking ahead at what to expect in 2021. LexisNexis Risk Solutions compiled these findings from a review of multiple studies it conducted in 2020. The consolidation of the report findings uncovers a perfect storm of trends that have impacted fraud throughout the past year and those that may linger into the new year. The COVID-19 pandemic caused 2020 to be a year of unique circumstances and disruption to the global economy. One thing that has stayed the same is fraudsters' willpower to gain access to money and confidential information. While many believe that fraud victims are mostly the technologically naive, 2020 validated that anyone can be a victim. LexisNexis Risk Solutions examined consumer behavior, popular fraud methods, social uncertainty due to the pandemic when compiling this data and suggests what organizations of all shapes and sizes can do to protect their business. The Shift of Consumer Behavior Towards Digital Transactions

2020 saw major changes in the ways in which consumers behave. Digital transaction in the U.S. and Canada increased 42% year-over-year leading up to June 2020 with 60% representing mobile transactions; 67% made via a mobile app and 33% made by a mobile browser. Consumers now engage in more digital transactions and use different payment methods that fraudsters leverage to target a broader set of businesses through more sophisticated and complex fraud methods. These often involve the mobile channel and the purchase of digital goods and services. Difficult to detect fraud methods like synthetic identities, identity fraud rings, multiple device linkages and bot attacks create identity proofing challenges for businesses. Identity proofing could prove to be a significant challenge for organizations in 2021, as fraudsters leverage digital channels to launch more sophisticated and complex types of fraud. According to the Federal Reserve, 86%-95% of applicants identified as potential synthetic identities escape flagging by traditional fraud models. This is something every organization should be on the lookout for particularly with the rise in igital transacting.



Breached Consumer Data Fuels Sophisticated Fraud Methods

This is more than just about PINs and passwords: this data is valued for both the physical and digital identity attributes linked to transactions and devices, such as email addresses, billing addresses and phone numbers. The LexisNexis Digital Identity Network indicates a risk in fraudulent events through emails are likely from data breaches and are used by multiple fraudsters. Fraudsters are no longer always hidden  they can take the form of a visible business or a network of businesses or devices. Physical and digital consumer data is fuel for fraudsters. With 45% of people in the United States having had their personal information compromised by a data breach in the last five years, fraudsters have a trove of personally identifiable information that enables them to use this sensitive information to launch account takeovers and new account creation attacks. Javelin estimates that account takeover attacks are up 72% year over year while the LexisNexis Risk Solutions Cybercrime Report January - June 2020 notes that one in seven new account creations are likely fraudulent.

Bad Actors Exploit Weaknesses as Economic Uncertainty Continues

Last year overall market and economic uncertainty due to COVID-19 significantly increased successful fraud attempts. This is especially true for the e-commerce, retail, financial services and lending sectors. We expect the trend will continue in 2021. While professional fraudsters are always ready to attack, economic hardships can also induce others to engage in fraudulent activities. These can be individuals with no criminal behavior history. Typically, organizations are more sensitive to customer friction during slower economic periods and more concerned about lost opportunities. That does not mean they can let their guard down. In addition to those who attack with intent, consumer stress and fear can lead consumers to riskier transaction behaviors, which may increase successful tactics for malware infection on devices and theft of personal identification information. This presents more opportunities for fraudsters leading to more attacks. Businesses must use both physical and digital identity data to get a full view of their customers to effectively fight emerging fraud attacks. They should also utilize multiple layers of fraud defense like actionable decision analytics and investigation tools. This, coupled with integrating their digital customer experience and cybersecurity strategies, will protect the relationships that businesses have with their customers and their information. "Businesses can no longer use a check-the-box, incremental approach towards addressing these challenges and trends one at a time because fraud always evolves," said Kimberly Sutherland, vice president, fraud and identity management strategy at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. "These factors feed on each other and require an integrated and holistic approach to detecting, assessing and mitigating fraud risks moving forward. 2021 will likely be another challenging year for the world in many ways, but organizations can and should make sure they take a comprehensive view of their customers so that they can effectively fight fraud." Methodology

The 2020 State of Fraud Report examines key fraud trends occurring in 2020 for U.S. and Canada, along with solutions to help organizations navigate these trends while growing their businesses in 2021. Findings come from three LexisNexis Risk Solutions reports: 2020 LexisNexis Risk Solutions True Cost of Fraud e-Commerce/Retail and the 2020 LexisNexis Risk Solutions True Cost of Fraud Financial Services & Lending; LexisNexis Risk Solutions Cybercrime Report January  June 2020; and an internal analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior and fraud trends. About LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. We provide data and technology solutions for a wide range of industries including insurance, financial services, healthcare and government. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, please visit www.risk.lexisnexis.com and www.relx.com. Media Contact:

Marcy Theobald

678.694.6681

Marcy.Theobald@lexisnexisrisk.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lexisnexis-risk-solutions-reveals-the-state-of-fraud-in-the-united-states-and-canada-amid-covid-19-pandemic-301223199.html SOURCE LexisNexis Risk Solutions

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Sporadic violence marred local council elections across the country yesterday as locals elected leaders for sub-counties, town councils and municipal divisions.

LC3 chairpersons and councillors play a direct supervisory role of people at the grassroots.

Cases of violence were reported in the districts of Bukedea, Apac, Isingiro, around Mt Elgon area and other districts. There was chaos reported in several districts in Bukedi and Mt Elgon Sub-regions.

In Tororo, for instance, police was engaged in running battles with voters in Malaba Town council during morning hours. The angry locals were protesting alleged arrest of one of their colleagues by police.

The district police commander, Mr Rogers Chebene, however, said they were dispersing criminals who wanted to disrupt the voting exercise.

"They became rowdy and we had to intervene to restore sanity," he said.

In Sironko Town, there were also cases of violence reported at some polling stations as supporters of opposing candidates accused each of bribing voters.

The Elgon Police spokesperson, Mr Robert Tukei, said they had not registered any serious cases of violence.

In Bukedea District, violence erupted during the early voting hours.

At Tamula Polling Station in Bukedea Town council, voters descended on a polling assistant after he allegedly handed two ballot papers to a voter.

Agents of various contestants accused the polling assistant of aiding election malpractices by issuing more than one ballot paper to people supporting his candidate.

An eyewitness said calm was restored after the ballot paper was withdrawn.

In Isingiro District, there was heavy deployment of the army in Kabingo Town Council.

Locals claim there was ballot stuffing in favour of the NRM candidate.

At around 2.30pm, locals at Ruhimbo Polling Station, armed with stones and sticks, chased after a group of people whom they accused of carrying pre-ticketed ballot papers.

The vehicle in which they were travelling overturned as they sped off to safety. They abandoned it and ran away. Locals claim the army deployment was for covering up election rigging.

At Katoogo Polling Station in Kacheera Sub-county, Rakai District, police had to intervene to stop a physical fight between supporters of two aspirants for councillor for Byakisana Parish.

In districts such as Masaka, Lyantonde, Lwengo, Luweero, Mityana, Kassanda Mukono and Nakaseke, the exercise went on smoothly, with no major incidents reported by press time.

In Ibuje Town Council, Apac District, two people were injured on Tuesday after fighting broke out between supporters of Mr Jowasso Engim (NRM) and his rival, Mr Jimmy Ojok (UPC).

Missing ballot papers

In Apac, the election of councillor representing Central Ward in Akere Division in Apac Municipality was cancelled over missing ballot papers.

Apac returning officer Michael Oguttu said two candidates were nominated for the seat but the NRM flag bearer died before voting day.

Another candidate was nominated later but the Electoral Commission did not have enough time to prepare the ballot papers.

"We are going to prepare a residual election next week," Mr Oguttu said.

There were also reported cases of mismatch of names of candidates' particulars on the ballot papers in some areas of Lyantonde and Kyotera, forcing EC officials to cancel the exercise in the affected areas.

Ms Christine Kunihira, the Mubende District returning officer, said they cancelled the elections in Nabingoola Sub-county since particulars for one of the candidates, Mr Sam Kwizera, were missing on the ballot paper.

"We shall sit and agree on another day when voters in the affected sub-county will elect their leaders," she said.

In Kyotera District, election for councillor to represent Bulinda Ward at Kalisizo Town Council was cancelled after one of the candidate, Ms Resty Nanyunja's name was misspelt to read as Nanyonga and her clock symbol was replaced by a ball on the ballot paper, leaving her voters confused.

Ms Nanyunja castigated the EC for dispatching materials without verifying information on the ballot papers.

Mr Coleb Nahamya, the Kyotera District returning officer, said fresh election will be conducted for Bulinda Ward.

In Bundibugyo, the EC suspended elections for LC3 chairperson for Bundibugyo Town Council after a picture of one of the candidates missed on the ballot papers.

Delay in delivery of ballot papers

Voting in Ntungamo Municipality for municipal division chairpersons and councillors was characterised by delay in delivery of polling materials, mix up of ballot boxes and in some cases, absence of polling officials.

At Ntungamo Health Centre IV Polling Station, voting started at 11am after the presiding officer of the polling station was transferred at the last minute.

Some impatient voters went back home before they could cast their vote.

The ballot box for Nyakihanga Polling Station in Kahunga Ward had been taken to Nyamisha Polling Station in Muko ward in Western Division and vice versa.

In Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District, voting materials arrived late at most of the polling stations. Cases of low voter turnout were also registered across the district.

Voter turnout

In Bushenyi District, voter turnout was low in the morning hours but the number of people queuing to vote increased in the afternoon.

The district registrar, Mr Godfrey Mbabazi, said the turnout was generally fair but added that voter apathy grew after presidential and parliamentary elections.

In Rukungiri, the voter turnout was low. At Nyakagyeme Sub-county headquarters Polling Station, about five voters were arriving to cast their votes every 30 minutes during the morning hours.

At Rukungiri Taxi Park Polling Station in Western Division, only about 20 people had voted by 11 am.

Handwashing, one of the standard operating procedures (SOPs0 for prevention of Covid-19, was not being observed.

At some polling stations, there was no water and soap for washing hands. Where they were provided, people did not bother to wash their hands and were not be being directed to do so.

In Ibanda Municipality, the voter turnout was fair at Kyaruhanga, Kitwe, Bright Grammar, Kafunjo, Kyabashambo, Misani church centre, Kyarukoobwa A and B, Kigarama and Kankyende polling stations that Daily Monitor visited in the morning hours.

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At most of the polling stations in other sub-counties such Merikit and Kwapa, voter turnout was high and voting started at 9am.

However, in some areas, some agents of different candidates were seen dishing out goodies like salt to voters.

Mr Eric Gimei, the district returning officer, said voting started on time.

"The voting is going on well and the election materials reached the 581 polling stations on time," he said.

In Mbale City, voting also started late at around 10am at most of the polling stations.

Mr Robert Madoi, a voter at Bubyangu Primary School Polling Station, said they waited for about three hours before voting could start.

In Kumi Municipality, there was low turnout. At Township Primary School Polling Station, only about 10 people had voted by 10am.

At Madrasa polling grounds with more than three polling stations, the turnout also remained poor, with no observance for Covid-19 SOPs.

In Kaberamaido District, voter turnout at several polling stations this newspaper visited was poor.

While other places registered low voter turnout, districts of Otuke and Kamuli had different stories to tell. Voter turnout was good at most of the polling stations in the two districts.

By Bill Oketch, Santo Ojok, Denis Edema, George Emuron, Vicent Emong, Emmanuel Olila, Opio Sam Caleb, Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Jessica Sabano, Ambrose Musasizi, Barbara Nalweyiso, Wilson Kutamba, Rajab Mukombozi, Elly Katahinga, Ronald Kabanza, Elly Karenzi, Milton Bandiho, Alfred Tumushabe, Joseph Omollo, Longino Muhindo & Oliver Mukaaya
A Greenfield man is in custody and facing a murder charge in connection with the Jan. 29 shooting death of Michael Dudley in Hartford, according to reports.

Jordan Register, 21, is being held on a fugitive from justice warrant after his arrest Thursday afternoon in Springfield. He was taken into custody by state and Springfield police and U.S. Marshals, according to the Hartford Courant.

Register is being held overnight and is scheduled to be arraigned in Springfield District Court on a charge of fugitive from justice. Once he is returned to Hartford, police there intend to charge him with murder.

Register is accused of shooting Dudley, 27, of Durham, just before 9:30 p.m. Jan. 29. on Webster Street in Hartford, according to the Courant. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The seventh meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council will take place in Brussels, the Kingdom of Belgium, on February 11, 2021.

The Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, and the European Union  by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, the Government portal reported.

The meeting will also be attended by EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi.

The meeting of the Association Council will take place with an aim to ensure the development of the agreements reached during the 22nd Ukraine-EU Summit (October 6, 2020, Brussels). It is envisaged to agree on a number of further joint steps for the practical implementation of the summit agreements, many of which are quite ambitious and comprehensive.

During the meeting, the parties are also to discuss progress in the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, the pursuing of a broad reform agenda in Ukraine, and to determine joint steps aimed at the development of Ukraine's political association and economic integration with the EU.

Particular attention will be paid to countering Russia's ongoing armed aggression, as well as the security and humanitarian situation, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

A joint statement will be made following the meeting.
Venture capital firm AirTree Ventures has doubled down on its investment in startup DroneDeploy as COVID-19 causes a boom in construction, energy and agricultural businesses using drones.

DroneDeploy powers drones and ground level cameras enabling users to undertake automated flight safety checks, workflows and make maps both from the air and inside buildings.

COVID has given a real kick to the whole industry, AirTree partner James Cameron said. Theres no more socially distanced worker than a drone and so it fits the bill perfectly for doing inspections in a safe and accurate way.

Founders of DroneDeploy: Jono Millin, Nick Pilkington, and Mike Winn.

On Friday the startup announced it raised $US50 million($64 million) led by AirTree and US firm Energize Venture Capital following on from a $US50 million capital raising in 2019 in which AirTree also participated.
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A British tech tycoon has been warned he faces 'emotional torture' in an American jail if he is extradited to the US.

Mike Lynch, who set up Cambridge software group Autonomy and was once dubbed Britain's Bill Gates, has been accused of cooking the company's books before it was sold to Hewlett Packard for 7billion.

The 55-year-old entrepreneur denies the allegations but could be jailed for ten years if he is extradited under a 2003 Anglo-American treaty and found guilty in the US.

Accused: Mike Lynch set up Cambridge software group Autonomy and was once dubbed Britain's Bill Gates

As he prepares to fight his extradition in a hearing that starts on Monday, Lynch has sought advice from 'Natwest Three' member Giles Darby about how to deal with the possibility that he could be incarcerated in the US. During his time in jail, Darby witnessed the brutal beatings of other inmates in a prison that contained convicted paedophiles and other sex offenders.

Darby, a former Natwest banker, was controversially extradited to the US with two colleagues in 2006 amid claims they were involved in a major fraud committed by executives at bust energy giant Enron.

The 58-year-old eventually spent six months in Allenwood Federal prison after the trio admitted to a lesser crime in a plea-bargain deal which saw their sentence commuted from a maximum of 35 years to 37 months.

Ahead of Lynch's hearing, Darby has been trying to prepare the entrepreneur for the challenges he faces if his bid to remain in the UK is unsuccessful.

Speaking to the Mail, Darby said: 'This is what I told Mike: 'My advice to you is you should be talking to [the US prosecutors] now about going over there, cutting a deal, getting something done. Don't put yourself through the strain we went through'.

'We got to Texas in July 2006 and we went to prison in May 2008. That was two years of our lives fighting everything.'

Lynch has maintained his innocence in a case which has seen him accused of cooking the books at Autonomy so that Hewlett Packard overpaid when it bought the firm in 2011. The UK's Serious Fraud Office has already opted not to bring charges against him.

Darby and his colleagues also initially denied any wrongdoing when they were extradited more than a decade ago. But they eventually agreed to the plea-bargain deal over fears that if they went to trial, and lost, they could spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

The judge in a court hearing told their lawyer: 'You need to go back and tell your boys they need to do a deal with the Feds.

'If they don't do a deal, and if they insist on going to trial in my courtroom and if they are found guilty, I'm going to lock them up and throw away the key. They will never go home.'

Darby is due to publish his book on the ordeal, Inside Allenwood: The Story of a British Banker In A US Prison, in May.

It documents how he was 'emotionally tortured' during his time in jail by being separated from his five young daughters, witnessing brutal beatings of other inmates, and being forced to share a space with sex offenders.

But he said that his time in jail is now behind him, and he would urge Lynch not to risk a lengthy and futile fight against the justice system with the prospect of an even lengthier sentence if he does not succeed.

'Going to prison is horrific, you're terrified. Then you're in solitary confinement for a while. So you've spent four years stressing about being extradited and two years stressing about prison before you even get there.'
 "Narrating Context and Rehabilitating Rehabilitation: Federal Sentencing Work in Yale Law Schools Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic" | Main | Notable new research on criminal justice impact of a safe consumption site 

As reported in this local article, headlined "House of Delegates backs abolishing death penalty, signaling end of capital punishment," the Commonwealth of Virginia is on the cusp of historic criminal justice reform. Here are the details:

In a landmark vote Friday, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill to abolish the death penalty in the state that since Colonial times has executed more people than any other. With the Senate approving similar legislation Wednesday and Gov. Ralph Northam backing both measures, the action all but ends the death penalty in Virginia, which will now join 22 other states without a capital punishment law on the books.

"In the 20th century, few would have thought this was likely to happen at all, much less that Virginia would be the first in the South to eliminate capital punishment," said Larry Sabato, a political analyst at the University of Virginia. "This is a watershed moment. It shows dramatically how different the new Virginia is from the old," he said.

The House passage, 57-41, was largely along party lines, with three Republicans  Dels. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield, Roxann Robinson, R-Chesterfield and Jeff Campbell, R-Smyth  voting with the Democrats who hold the majority in the House. The votes followed passionate debate in each chamber this week over the government's ultimate sanction.

Since 1608, Virginia has executed almost 1,400 people  113 of them since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976, the second-highest toll in the U.S. in modern times.

Speaking Thursday on behalf of the bill he sponsored, Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, a prosecutor in Hampton, said, "There are many arguments for why we should abolish the death penalty. These arguments touch on everything from the moral implications of the death penalty, to the racial bias in how it is applied, to its ineffectiveness, to the extraordinary cost."

"But perhaps the strongest argument for abolishing the death penalty is that a justice system without the death penalty allows us the possibility of being wrong," he said. He cited the case of Earl Washington Jr., Virginia's only death row exoneree among 174 across the U.S. Washington came within days of execution in 1985 for a rape and murder that DNA later proved was committed by another man. "How many people are we willing to sacrifice to vengeance," Mullin asked.

Shortly before the House vote Friday, Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk, who is vying for the Democratic nod to run for attorney general, urged passage, saying the United States is the only Western country that still has the death penalty. "The death penalty is the direct descendant of lynching. It is state-sponsored racism and we have an opportunity here to end this today," he said....

Supporters of the death penalty did not have the backing of the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys this year as the organization decided to let each member argue their own cases. A dozen top prosecutors in the state favored abolition.

Michael Stone, executive director of Virginians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said, Friday's vote in the House, "is a repudiation of the long and violent policy of 1,390 executions carried out by the Commonwealth since 1608. We look forward to Governor Northam signing this bill into law." Northam, following the Senate passage Wednesday, said, "The practice is fundamentally inequitable. It is inhumane. It is ineffective. And we know that in some cases, people on death row have been found innocent."...

There have been no now new death sentences imposed in the state since 2011 and no executions since 2017. Under the legislation approved this week, the two men remaining on Virginia's death row  both convicted in Norfolk  will have their death sentences changed to life without parole....

If made law, the legislation would mean that all the current 15 types of capital murder  such as murder in the commission of a rape or robbery or the slaying of a law enforcement officer  would become aggravated murder punishable by life in prison without parole. However, as many critics point out, when sentencing, a judge  except in the case of the murder of a police officer  could suspend part or all of such a sentence. That was a sticking point for some Republicans, particularly Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, who opposes the death penalty but said he could not vote for the legislation if it meant such a killer might someday be free.
BUCHANAN, MI -- Last year was a crazy time for River Saint Joe Brewery.

Yes, we know, it was a crazy time for all of us!

But imagine planning for nearly five years to open a farmstead brewery with an organic, farm-to-table menu in the tiny Southwestern Michigan village of Buchanan, and then imagine your big opening day to be interrupted by a pandemic?

We had the comically, tragic timing of opening March 22, said River Saint Joe co-founder and CEO Brian Dougherty.

Our timing was impeccable.

Even their March 22 opening day had to be delayed, officially opening on April 2. The whole year was one adjustment after another, Dougherty said.

There were some advantages; just a few, he said. We didnt have to lay a bunch of people off... Systems werent entrenched. It was easy to pivot to something new because it was all we knew.

We visited River Saint Joe Brewery this week while on our search for Michigans Best Outdoor Dining, and we discovered a beautiful, Pure Michigan setting on the 180-acre Flatwater Farms, overlooking the St. Joseph River. Not to mention, it offers a picturesque view of 5 1/2-acres of organic hops.

There are seven fire pits at River Saint Joe Brewery in Buchanan, Michigan. The outdoor area can accommodate about 100 people. Dining tents are also available. It is on our search for Michigan's Best Outdoor Dining.John Gonzalez

The brewery finished second in our poll with 30 percent of the votes in the Kalamazoo and SW Michigan region.

Dougherty couldnt be more thrilled for the recognition as a busy summer generated dedicated customers, and the cold winter months have brought out a loyal following with their seven fire pits and multiple outdoor dining tents.

They also added a little fun and games.

River Saint Joe Brewery in Buchanan, Michigan is a farm-to-table restaurant and organic brewery. It is on our search for Michigan's Best Outdoor Dining.John Gonzalez

They created River Rocks, a game where teams can rent one of the three ice lanes to challenge each other. Many first-time visitors are checking it out.

Its our response to needing to be out in winter, said Dougherty, who displayed how to play for us in an MLive video. Participants push stones toward a target to see what team gets the most points.

Its where curling and shuffleboard meet.

We call it shuffleboard on ice, he added.

Cost is $40 for one hour and $70 for two hours. Customers can book a lane on the River Saint Joes website.

Its been really popular, Dougherty said. Book it online, reserve your court, drink some beer, eat some food and play River Rocks with friends and family.

RELATED: Michigan farmstead brewery offering curling-like outdoor winter game, River Rocks

You can get a Winter Salad with Michigan cherries at River Saint Joe Brewery in Buchanan, Michigan. The farm-to-table farmstead brewery is part of our search for Michigan's Best Outdoor Dining.Ann Tuite

With about 10 beers on tap, all made from their 15 variety of organic hops, to a food menu sourced locally, Dougherty and his team hope people come out to enjoy their outdoor slice of heaven that can accommodate about 100 customers.

The outdoor canopy tables can seat up to eight people where the goal is for customers to be comfortable enough to take off their coats, he said. They are available first come, first served. There are seven of them. No fee.

Dougherty said theyve been branding River Saint Joe as Plant to Pint, Sprout to Sip and Grain to Glass.

You can choose your favorite, he said with a laugh. We just want you to come out.

River Saint Joe Brewery in Buchanan, Michigan is a farm-to-table restaurant and organic brewery. It is on our search for Michigan's Best Outdoor Dining.John Gonzalez

IF YOU GO

River Saint Joe

15475 Walton Rd, Buchanan, MI 49107

269-409-8015

Current Hours: 4-8 p.m. Thursday, 2-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon-6 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday-Wednesday

More info: riversaintjoe.com/ or on Facebook at facebook.com/riverstjoebrewery

The search for Michigans Best Outdoor Dining is sponsored in part by Warm Fitness.

River Saint Joe Brewery in Buchanan, Michigan grows all of its own organic hops for a variety beers. It is on our search for Michigan's Best Outdoor Dining.John Gonzalez

If you have questions about this search or suggestions for future searches, feel free to email us.

Amy Sherman: asherma2@mlive.com

John Gonzalez: gonzo@mlive.com

Metamorphosis is a good word said The Beer Grotto - Dexter manager Phil Blass describing the changes the bar has... Posted by MIBest on Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Follow our Michigans Best adventures on social media:

@mlivemibest on Twitter

@mlivemibest on Instagram

Facebook at MLiveMIBest.

Join in by using the hashtags #mibest and #outdoordining.

In addition:

Amy Sherman is on Twitter @amyonthetrail, as well as Facebook and Instagram @amyonthetrail.

John Gonzalez is on Twitter @michigangonzo, as well as Facebook and Instagram @MichiganGonzo.

The carnitas taco platter is pictured on the patio of The Curragh Irish Pub on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021 in Holland. The restaurant is a finalist for Michigan's Best Outdoor Dining. (Hope Davison | MLive.com)Hope Davison

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This week, the first graders in Tamar LaSure-Owens class have started social studies lessons the same way every day: belting out the lyrics to a Black Lives Matter song that encourages them to speak up about social injustice.

LaSure-Owens used the catchy song to engage students in her virtual class at the Leeds Avenue School in Pleasantville to mark Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. Teachers across the country are sharing lessons and having frank conversations about the movement with students of all ages.

All skin colors are as good as each other. Thats why we should be treated the same. But for far too long Black people have suffered, so all around the world we are saying that must change, the class sang.

In Philadelphia, where more than 50% of students are Black, students began learning about the Black Lives Matter movement in 2017. Other cities, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, are also teaching it. The idea was the brainchild of the Caucus of Working Educators, an activist group within the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

City schools are participating for the fifth straight year, said district spokesperson Monica Lewis. Teachers are encouraging students to see the value of respecting one another and living in a more inclusive society steeped in equity and appreciative of diversity, she said.

 READ MORE: Black Lives Matter Week of Action, born in Philly, goes national

The Black Lives Matter movement in schools has taken on new meaning ignited after the killing last year of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minnesota. His death after an officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes sparked unrest around the world and protests, some organized by students. A Norwegian lawmaker this week nominated Black Lives Matter for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for their struggle against racism and racially motivated violence.

We need to make sure we do not lose that momentum, said Stephanie James Harris, executive director of the New Jersey Amistad Commission, which helps schools incorporate African American history into their curriculum. Students need to know how they can galvanize around the idea of how they can be change agents. They are going to be our next generation of leaders.

The National Education Association, one of the countrys largest teachers unions, encouraged its members to participate in activities from Feb. 1 to 5, but not just lesson plans. It called for implementing restorative justice practices, hiring more Black teachers, and mandating Black history and ethnic studies.

When we come together for education justice, all students win, wrote Rocio Inclan, senior director of the NEA Center for Social Justice. Locally, the New Jersey Education Association has endorsed the movement and distributed resources to teachers who educate the states 1.1 million public school children.

The lessons are not mandatory. It is left to individual teachers whether they participate and how they want to share the curriculum with their students.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania require history to be taught, but districts decide the content of their courses. Students have called for schools to address systemic racism and implicit bias among staff and students.

Harris, who provides professional development to help teachers, said the lessons should be developmentally appropriate and incorporated into the regular curriculum  the same approach she encourages for Black history instruction.

 READ MORE: Haddonfield High School students raise $18K for Black Lives Matter

In Pleasantville, all four of the districts K-through-fifth-grade schools are participating in the Black Lives Matter lessons, LaSure-Owens said. The district is developing a curriculum for its middle and high school students, she said.

During the hour-long social studies class with first graders, ages 6 and 7, LaSure-Owens showed the class a Sesame Street Black Lives Matter video. In the clip, Elmo questions his father about racism and protests. Students listened intently. Most responded by putting sad emojis on a jamboard.

That means not right, treating people unfairly, LaSure-Owens explained.

LaSure-Owens peppered the students with questions. How did it make you feel? How can you stand up to injustice? She asked them to explain being mean and they gave examples such as bullying. They also discussed how to help others and ways to show kindness.

Everybody should be treated fairly. All Black Lives Matter! said Anibal Ayala.

Yes, they do, responded LaSure-Owens.

The lesson ended with an upbeat goodbye song that LaSure-Owens plays at the end of every class. She joined students singing and dancing.

Many districts such as Lower Merion this year said they have not planned a specific curriculum on Black Lives Matter, partly because of remote lessons due to the pandemic. Instead, they plan to use the movements principles for ongoing antiracism efforts and cultural lessons. Other schools are focused on Black History Month programs.

Collingswood High School history teacher Eric Fieldman said he supports teaching about the movement but wants it presented throughout the school year. He teaches American history and a civil rights and social justice elective course.

It cant just be the one and done, said Fieldman. Black history is American history.
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The Mekong River is shown in front of the town of Houeixay in Bokeo province, Laos, late January 2021.

Water levels on a stretch of the Mekong River along the border of Thailand and Laos, already low because of equipment testing at Chinas upriver Jinghong Dam, have failed to rise again, raising concerns in communities living downstream, sources say.

Chinese authorities at the end of December had announced that discharges of water from Yunnan provinces Jinghong Dam would be reduced from 1,900 cubic meters per second to 1,000 cubic meters per second starting on Jan. 5.

Though testing was set to end on Jan. 24, water levels in the area have not been restored, sources in the area say.

The Mekong River water level is still low, and a long stretch of sand has emerged because the Chinese are not yet releasing water, the owner of a floating restaurant in the town of Chiang Saen in Thailands Chiang Rai province told Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews, on Feb. 2.

It looks like China doesnt care about people living downstream, added Niwat Roikaew, a member of the Thai environmental NGO Love Chiang Khong Group, based in the Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai province. The Mekong River is now low like this every year, and this has severe impacts on everyone living downstream.

Suwit Kulapwong, coordinator of the Lower Mekong River-Esan Network, another Thai NGO, said Thai authorities should file a complaint against China for breaking its promise to restore water flow to its previous level.

The promise was that China would have increased their discharge of water by Jan. 25. China should treat those of us who live downstream fairly, Suwit said. I understand that China was holding water back for repairs, but China shouldnt hold on to the water forever.

I dont understand why the MRC and its members are so quiet about this, Suwit said, referring to the Mekong River Commission, a Southeast Asian intergovernmental organization that works to jointly manage water resources and promote sustainable development along the Mekong.

Besides the Chinese dams, the Xayaburi Dam in Laos also impedes water flows from Laos to Cambodia and Vietnam, Suwit said.

The river is still dry

Authorities and residents in Bokeo province in northern Laos confirmed on Jan. 28, three days after water flow was to have been restored, that levels on the river in their area were still low.

Yes, the Mekong River is still dry, said an official of Bokeos Natural Resources and Environment Department, speaking to RFA on condition of anonymity.

The water level in the province is now only two meters deep, but sometimes it goes up and down, he said.

The Mekong River has been dry since last month, a villager added in Bokeos Hoeixay district. All boats here have been ordered to dock due to the drought and because of the threat of COVID-19.

Levels may rise again

Speaking to RFA on Tuesday, Brian Eyler, Southeast Asia Program director at the Washington-based Stimson Center, said that the Mekong Rivers level in Chiang Saen, predicted to be severely low by the next day, would soon begin to rise again.

The extremely low levels might only be temporary, as Chinas dry season releases are likely soon to begin again, he said.

Higher than normal levels of wetness in Chinas portion of the upper basin are filling Chinas reservoirs, Eyler said And for the last three years meaningful releases from Xiaowan and Nuozhadu [dams] have begun around this time of year, raising the level of the river in the Golden Triangle and beyond far higher than its normal dry season level.

China has been a target of criticism from the international community for its cascade of 11 mega-dams on the Mekong River, which China calls the Lancang, with the lower Mekong basin experiencing severe drought over the past year and some stretches of the river even drying up entirely.

In October 2020, Beijing agreed to share data with the MRC, as some 60 million people in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam use the river for agriculture and fishing.

Local vaccination centre remains six day a week operation after concerns over vaccine supply (+ full council update)

This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 5th, 2021

Update: The Health Board have told us there is no issue with the supply of Pfizer so the Catrin Finch Centre will operate over six days next week  with the earlier update from Wrexham Council mentioning a possible 3-4 day operation due to concerns over supply.

Original information below

Wrexham Council has issued another weekly update on the state of the pandemic locally, with news that restricted supply of vaccine means one large local vaccination centre will reduce its opening.

Last week the Catrin Finch centre was spooled up to a six day a week opening, with the caveat that it would remain or exceed that if supply of vaccine allowed. It appears that increase was short lived, as now it is moving to a 3-4 day a week operation for the next week or so, because of lower supplies of Pfizer vaccine expected.

We have asked the local health board on detail of where the vaccine supply issue lies, when it is expected to be resolved, and in terms of number of doses how many less are turning up than expected  and as of yet there is no reply.

Wrexhams figures still are the worst in Wales, being the only local authority area in the 300s per 100k with nearby Flintshire being the only one in the 200s. However, that is marked improvement on recent weeks  having halved from two weeks ago.

The Council note that hospital admissions for Covid-19 in North Wales (178 for week ending 24th January  a figure that PHW have updated from the 144 reported last Friday) have plateaued, but occupancy levels remain very high, placing continued strain on over-stretched local hospitals. No regular update has been forthcoming from the healthboard on the local figures or outbreak since the 22nd, despite a request for the latest information.

Todays update also says Sadly, deaths from Covid-19 in North Wales have quadrupled over the last three weeks to a record high (102 for week ending 24th January).

The update contains information on local vaccinations, however there was also a further update from Welsh Government on the Wales-wide picture  and some local data earlier today  you can read about that here.

The full council update from today is copied in full below, as usual any bolding or italics is from Wrexham Council:

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Harvard University did little to address multiple allegations of sexual harassment against a powerful professor over four decades - and instead promoted him to a top administrative post, an external review found this week.

Professor Jorge Dominguez, who worked in the Ivy League school's Latin American Studies department before being appointed vice provost, is believed to have harassed at least 18 women dating back to 1979, when a woman first reported him.

After a year of investigation, an external panel published a 26-page report on Thursday that said the college has a 'permissive' culture when it comes to sexual harassment.

The report attributed the lack of action over the years to a 'high-ranking power' imbalance, senior staff 'protecting' each other, the demotion of junior staff who complained as 'trouble-makers' and a chronic lack of female faculty and students.

Harvard President Lawrence Bacow also apologized to Stanford Professor Terry Karl, 73, who was allegedly assaulted by the now 76-year-old Professor Jorge Dominguez in 1983 when she was an assistant professor at Harvard. She said the assault included kissing, groping and once Dominguez saying, 'This would be a nice place for a rape'.

Karl had reported Dominguez to Harvard at the time, and the school found her allegations to be 'factually accurate,' according to the recent report. A 'letter was placed in his file' and he was relieved of administrative duties for three years and forbidden, the school says, from participating in any of Karl's future promotions.

He took a leave of absence in 1984 when 'news spread' of the unpublicized sanctions, but returned to his position in 1985. Harvard said its secrecy was compliant with policy at the time.

Karl later left for Stanford University, citing concerns of working alongside him.

Bacow said: 'Harvard failed her. She deserved better.'

In the report from Thursday, multiple current and former students and staff said Dominguez's behavior was an 'open secret', with women frequently warned not to be alone with him.

But the report also found Dominguez was far from alone - with multiple reports made against other, unnamed male faculty members over the years, also not acted upon.

Former Harvard Professor and Vice Provost Jorge Dominguez, pictured in 2013 at the John F Kennedy Jr. Forum, introducing the President of the Republic of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon

Terry Karl, 73, now a professor at Stanford, left Harvard after Dominguez sexually assaulted her in 1983 but the university continued to promote him. At least 18 women claim he asexually harassed or assaulted them since 1979

Harvard president Lawrence Bacow has apologized to Professor Terry Karl who first accused Dominguez of harassment in 1983, and said that Harvard 'failed' her

Harvard campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The report found it was 'permissive' of sexual harassment

Dominguez stepped down in 2018 after The Chronicle of Higher Education published multiple exposes on the allegations, that caused a total of 18 women to come forward, including Karl.

In May 2019 an investigation under Title IX  the federal law outlawing sex discrimination in education  found Dominguez 'engaged in unwelcome sexual conduct toward several individuals, on multiple occasions over a period spanning nearly four decades.'

He was later stripped by Harvard of his title of professor emeritus and banned from campus.

That same month, DailyMail.com found Dominguez at a home in New Hampshire, but he refused to come to the door, sending his wife instead.

'I'm going to say he doesn't wish to speak,' Dominguez's wife, Mary, said in 2019. 'No comment is all you are going to get.'

The external panel was appointed by Harvard in September 2019 to investigate why victims did not come forward, why staff did not address the claims and what could be done to protect staff and students in the future.

Susan Hockfield, former president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), chaired the panel into Harvard's culture of sexual harassment that published its findings this week

The committee, headed by former MIT President Susan Hockfield, recommended close to a dozen changes for Harvard, including greater transparency when faculty are sanctioned for sexual harassment, centralizing personnel records, strengthening the vetting process for promotions, improving the faculty gender balance, and monitoring employees with past violations.

'Cultures that are permissive of sexual harassment are characterized by members feeling that it would be too risky to report their experience of sexual harassment, that their complaint would not be taken seriously, and that no corrective action would be taken in response to their complaint,' according to the report.

Over more than a year the panel interviewed four of the women who came forward to the Chronicle, as well as multiple current and former students, staff, faculty, administrators. They also combed the university's archives.

The panel found that: 'Dominguezs harassment was a matter of common knowledge among some members of the Government Department. However, many who suffered from or knew of Dominguezs misconduct did not report it.'

The report highlighted that 'the pronounced power hierarchy' at Harvard stopped many women coming forward with allegations against the 'powerful administrator' Dominguez and other accused staff, as well as senior staff closing ranks and being 'highly collegial among themselves and protective of each other'.

It said: 'The close ties among the senior faculty left studentsand even junior facultyfeeling uncertain of their status and rights. In this culture, junior members feared their careers could be derailed or destroyed if they triggered the displeasure of a senior member. Even in the absence of direct retaliation, students worried about being branded as 'troublemakers' by powerful members of the community.'

The panel said one individual did not report Dominguez's harassment for fear that her mentor, who was untenured, would lose his job.

Another student described a departmental forum [in 2018] at which a senior faculty member began the proceedings by describing Dominguez as a 'friend', which inhibited students from speaking openly about him.

Former Harvard vice provost Jorge Dominguez, pictured in 1993, was found to have sexually harassed and assaulted at least 18 women since 1979, but was promoted to high-ranking jobs anyway

In 2019 Dominguez was found to be living in New Hampshire, pictured driving his car near his home there

The allegations started in 1983 when former assistant professor at Harvard Terry Kay made a formal complaint against Dominguez who she claimed kissed her, and put his hand up her skirt, telling her he was going to be the next head of department and he would be the one who would decide her future advancement.

It wasn't Karl's only example. She said: 'He always touched me. He repeatedly tried to kiss me. All this was found to be true by Harvard. He was found responsible but still they gave him higher positions.'

Another night they were walking on campus when he turned to her and allegedly said: 'This would be a nice place for a rape.'

'It was totally creepy', she said. 'Any time I exerted my own judgment he threatened me.'

But although Dominguez was initially reprimanded, he soon returned and began to 'rebuild his career', the report found.

He turned to me with this strange look in his eyes and said,'This would be a nice place for a rape.'

Karl, on the other hand, departed for Stanford shortly after the Dominguez returned to campus in the mid 1980s, citing the difficulty of carrying on working with him.

Over four decades, even while women on three occasions reported inappropriate behavior by Dominguez, no action was taken against him, the panel said.

Despite these allegations, and many more unreported ones, Dominguez was promoted, pointing to significant problems in Harvards culture and shortcomings in its sexual harassment reporting procedures, the report said.

But after the 2018 investigation in The Chronicle was published, even more women came forward - eventually with a total of 18 women having made claims that Dominguez harassed them over the past 40 years.

Cleveland lawyer Charna Sherman, 64, said she reported the professor in 1979, when 'he got up from his desk, came across the room and kissed me full on the lips'.

University of Baltimore law professor Nienke Grossman, 44, said she was a senior in 1998 when Dominguez allegedly touched her, first on her back and arm, eventually grabbing her thigh.

Karl, 73, (right) was a new member of faculty at Harvard in 1981 (pictured left). Dominguez was her superior and he soon made her realize who was in charge

Cleveland lawyer Charna Sherman was one of the Harvard alumni who read the Chronicle piece. 'I saw Professor Dominguez's name and my jaw dropped,' Sherman, 64, told DailyMail.com. She had reported the professor in 1979, two years before Karl's problems with him allegedly started. She claims he kissed her unprompted

Nienke Grossman, now a law professor at the University of Baltimore, said Dominguez allegedly started to touch her, first on her back and arm. Eventually he grabbed her thigh, Grossman said. 'The next thing I knew was finding myself on the other side of the room, kind of confused as to what had occurred,' she told DailyMail.com

Karl told The Boston Globe she hasnt had a chance to read the entire report, but appreciates the apology, which comes about 40 years after the harassment began.

'Apologies mean such a great deal when an institution, a university department, and a predator try to take away your dignity and your future,' Karl said.

But most women who are sexually harassed dont get apologies from their institutions, she said.

Sophie Hill, a fifth-year doctoral student in Harvards government department who pushed the university to conduct an outside review including inviting Professor Karl to campus in February 2020 to talk about the allegations, said the results show the extent of the problem at the university.

'Its such a case study of how many people looking the other way can accumulate to this gross injustice,' Hill said. 'Its not about Dominguez but the frailty of our institutions.'

Meanwhile, according to the Globe, Harvard has several open investigations into sexual harassment by faculty.
Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Streets great inflation trade is losing steam, judging by a slew of cross-asset signals and where all the investing billions are actually going.With reflation strategies again playing second-fiddle to the crypto volatility and meme stock mania, stable Treasury yields helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average by the most in seven weeks.Debt gauges of inflation retreated from multi-year highs, while the S&P 500 largely sat still to give the benchmark the smallest monthly move since January 2020. Even the value strategy finally stalled, after notching some of the biggest gains since the financial crisis earlier this year.Given the reopening euphoria, a cool-down is to be expected. And recent days still delivered ammo to the price-growth camp: Jobless claims delivered surprises again, while two Federal Reserve officials signaled the U.S. economic expansion may warrant a taper discussion soon enough.All that suggests the reflation rally may yet power ahead if the business cycle booms anew and renews investor conviction. JPMorgan Chase & Co., for one, estimates money-manager positioning in inflation-sensitive assets including commodities is still below post-2008 peaks.Investor expectations had caught up with the better economic data, said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services. Thats more of a pause to us instead of a trend change.As lockdowns get lifted and trillions in stimulus heats up the American economy, the biggest question in markets is whether prices are on the cusp of breaking out of their decades-long doldrums. For many, bets on bonds still make sense right now when the Fed has the markets back and the data remains uncertain. Meanwhile Chinese policy moves of late are undercutting bullish wagers on commodities.On all this, the world of exchange-traded funds is sending mixed signals: Inflation-linked bonds took in $3 billion in May even as nominal government debt and corporate securities kept drawing new money, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show.Market-derived expectations of price growth are sending a clearer message as the two-year breakeven gauge further outpaced five- and 10-year levels this month -- bucking the norm.Fixed income investors have emphatically concluded that it will be transitory, Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at Reynolds Strategy LLC, wrote in a note, referring to inflation.Stocks have been taking their cue from the lack of inflation drama in the bond market of late. A long-short value strategy -- which tends to bet on more cyclical companies and benefits from higher rates -- dropped this week by the most since the middle of April.Systematic styles in quality and low-volatility names also picked up. Its a sign defensive investors are seeking visible growth in earnings rather than bidding up companies acutely linked to the economic expansion, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.Hedge funds are also in wait-and-see mode. Clients at JPMorgans prime brokerage are adding exposures to both cyclical and growth shares -- suggesting reluctance to bet on one side of the inflation debate.Yet with commodity and wage pressures, theres a growing chance the Fed will tighten monetary policy sooner than expected, according to Sushil Wadhwani, chief investment officer at QMAW, a PGIM unit. As long as financial conditions stay loose, it makes sense to go long commodities and stocks while betting on a steepening yield curve, according to the London-based systematic investor.Macroeconomic policy especially in the U.S. is incredibly expansionary by historical standards, Wadhwani said. Im increasingly concerned that 2022 inflation will not go back as low as they say.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Hamburg:

As G20 leaders continued their Summit discussions for the second day in Hamburg on Saturday, US President Donald Trump on Saturday walked up to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an impromptu interaction.



Arvind Panagariya, sherpa for India at the Summit, tweeted about the interaction, along with pictures of the two leaders and others just before start of the second day of working sessions of the G20 Summit ending on Saturday.



In an impromptu interaction at the G20 Summit, POTUS (President of the US) waves to the PM, walks to him, other leaders gather around. Gr8 moments, Panagariya tweeted.

ALSO READ | G20 Summit live: PM Modi gets warm response from world leaders, extends business relations, invites investments



He further described the interaction as some memorable moments just before the second day of the G20 Summit begins.



Panagariya, also the vice-chairman of government think-tank Niti Aayog, is representing India in the negotiations for the leaders communique.



Besides a series of bilateral meetings, Modi had brief chats with various leaders at the Summit, including with IMF chief Christine Lagarde and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In an impromptu interaction at G20 Summit, POTUS waves to the PM, walks to him, other leaders gather around. Gr8 moments pic.twitter.com/LzvLlfqaB2  Arvind Panagariya (@APanagariya) July 8, 2017

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Worcester State University president Barry Maloney stood at half court inside the 101,000-square-foot Wellness Center on campus, surrounded by city leaders. The facility represents the latest super vaccination site in Massachusetts.

The university stepping into this role to serve the community may not have been possible only a few years ago.

For those who remember Worcester State before this building was built, we would have been lucky to get a good poker game together in this court, Maloney said.

Now, the site will see about 1,000 residents a day starting Feb. 16. The site, which Saint Vincent Hospital will oversee clinically, hopes to expand to administer up to 2,000 vaccines per day after several weeks of operation.

These are some of the benefits, the very tangible benefits of living in a city like Worcester with all these great institutions of higher learning, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said.

About 650 nursing and medical school students have been trained to administer the vaccine, Worcester Medical Director Dr. Michael Hirsh said.

Thats a huge army to tap into, Hirsh said. Im not the leader of that army. But Im glad to see they will be out there storming the beaches and helping us put these needles in arms in great numbers.

Worcester State University will host a super vaccination site for Central Massachusetts that could provide up to 2,000 doses of the COVID vaccine per day.

The site will open Feb. 16 and operate Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Appointments for the site can be made via mass.gov and through the Saint Vincent Hospital website.

After appointments fill up a waitlist option will be available where people can register to receive a call if last-minute appointments become available.

CEO of Saint Vincent Hospital Carolyn Jackson said the site will administer the Pfizer vaccine. She envisions the site using Pfizer throughout the process, but it could change.

Regardless of the company, officials are confident the site will be supplied with sufficient doses.

The commonwealth has suggested that as the pipeline continues to grow, these sites are the places they want to make sure get access to the vaccine because theyre going to be some of the bigger funnels to get the shots in the arms, Augustus said.

The Worcester location joins other mass vaccination sites around that state including Gillette Stadium, Fenway Park, Eastfield Mall in Springfield, the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury and the Doubletree Hotel in Danvers.

Beyond the super site, Augustus announced other steps the city is taking to administer the virus, including on-site clinics for seniors beginning in February or March and programs that would deliver the vaccine to seniors living in a single-family or two-or-three family home.

Worcester State University will host a super vaccination site for Central Massachusetts that could provide up to 2,000 doses of the COVID vaccine per day.

The initiatives present challenges as the vaccines are not easy to transport due to the necessity of extreme cold storage.

Augustus said Commonwealth Medicine has agreed to help the city develop those programs.

Commonwealth Medicine and UMass Medical School will each be helping operate logistics and staffing for the super site. Volunteers are still needed to help operate the super site. Those interested can register at commed.umassmed.edu.

Well have all our assets here in the community making sure not one is left behind when it comes to accessing the vaccine, Augustus said.

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A former Westpac branch in the prime Bondi Beach precinct will test investor appetite when it goes to market. Located at 26 Hall Street, the site is being sold by a Melbourne family who has taken the opportunity to capitalise on the demand for substantial land holdings near the famous stretch of sand.

After 40 years, Westpac has vacated from the beachside freehold which has provided the selling Agents Miron Solomons and Matt Pontey of Colliers the opportunity to deliver the asset to market as a potential development site or investment.

Mr Solomons and Mr Pontey said over the course of 2020, Bondi Beach demonstrated that it was a safe haven for investment as investors and developers sought out markets with strong fundamentals and track record.

The former Westpac branch in Bondi Beach is being offered at auction.

Other recent high-profile sales in along the beach in 2020 include the Colliers sale of 134 Campbell Parade for $26 million; 286a-294 Campbell Parade for $25.4 million which was jointly sold with William Manning of McGrath Estate Agents and the Sothebys sale of 56 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach for $20.65 million.
TROY  More than 10,000 State University of New York students will be auto-enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, according to Chancellor Jim Malatras.

The initiative will benefit SUNY students facing food insecurity, who are eligible for benefits but may not be signing up for the food assistance program expanded by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in October.

An internal survey of SUNY students showed that only 23 percent of eligible students considered even enrolling in SNAP, and auto-enrollment will close that gap.

Malatras made the announcement this week from the Capital District Educational Opportunity Center at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.

Within our Educational Opportunity Centers alone, 50 percent of our students have suffered from food insecurity at some point, which is why SUNY is tackling this issue on multiple fronts whether it is having food pantries on or near campuses to todays important program of automatically enrolling eligible students into the SNAP program, Malatras said. Students can thus focus on their academic pursuits and career goals instead of where they will get their next meal, he said.

In order to be eligible for auto-enrollment, students must be engaged at least half-time in career and technical education program, remedial course, basic adult education, literacy, or English as a second language, which are available within SUNYs free Online Training Center, Educational Opportunity Centers, and Advanced Technology Training and Information Networking labs.

Previously, these students did not qualify for SNAP assistance, unless they met certain criteria such as working at least 20 hours per week, or caring for a child, or were unable to work, among others.

The new state rules allow students to substitute certain coursework for the 20-hour work requirement, opening eligibility to single college students who are struggling financially.

The program builds on existing anti-hunger programs on SUNY campuses. HVCC has had a physical food pantry on campus for decades, and during the pandemic, the college established a grocery e-gift card program for students in need. College President Roger Ramsammy said students at HVCC and across New York are facing unprecedented challenges from the pandemic.

The SNAP expansion made it possible for students like Serina Brown to receive assistance for food costs. She started at SUNYs Rochester Educational Opportunity Center, then for further post-secondary education at SUNY Empire State College and SUNY Brockport.

"The money freed my thoughts about how to keep my children fed and allowed me to have money to be used to pay my bills," Brown said. "It enabled me to focus on making life better."

Malatras said the measure is part of the SUNY for All campaign to help more New Yorkers earn a degree.

Since the start of the pandemic, food banks have seen a 58 percent increase in food demands for struggling families, many of whom qualify for the free skill-building, college preparatory, English language skills, and employment certification programs available through SUNYs free Online Training Center.

Students who complete any one of the Online Training Center certificates with a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential will be automatically accepted to any of SUNY's 30 community colleges, SUNY Empire State College, or SUNY Canton, excluding Cantons nursing and veterinarian tech programs. The application fee will be waived.
A most-wanted overground worker of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorist outfit was arrested on Friday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi after his deportation from Qatar, police said here.

Kulgam police #arrested a wanted top OGW of JeM #terror outfit Munib Sofi of Bijbehara from Indira Gandhi International #Airport, #NewDelhi who deported today from Qatar. He was working for Pakistani #terrorist Waleed Bhai who was killed in an #encounter at #Kulgam last year. pic.twitter.com/5ubiCHmwPz  Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) February 5, 2021

Sofi was a militant associate or overground worker (OGW) for Pakistani militant Waleed Bhai who was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam last year.

"Today a police party from Kulgam has arrested a most wanted terrorist associate, namely Muneeb Ahmad Sofi...linked with proscribed terror outfit JeM from Indira Gandhi International Airport New Delhi after his deportation from Qatar, a police spokesman said.

He said Sofi was involved in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act regarding collection of funds for the terror outfit JeM.

"During the course of the investigation of the said case, one terrorist associate was arrested who revealed that he along with other terrorist associates were collecting money from various districts in Kashmir valley for JeM," he said.

The spokesman said the collected amount was then handed over to Sofi who was staying in Qatar and was in contact with Pakistan-based militant Waleed Bhai for purchasing arms and ammunition from Pakistan.

Waleed Bhai -- also linked with JeM -- was killed in an encounter in Kulgam last year.

"Accordingly, a lookout notice was published against Sofi and a non-bailable warrant...was obtained from the court concerned. Consequent upon the deportation of the said accused from Qatar to India, he was arrested at IGI Airport New Delhi, the spokesman said.

He said further investigation in the case is in progress.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Germany is over the peak of its latest surge in coronavirus cases but she wants to wait for data on the spread of new variants before deciding on lifting restrictions.

In an interview with German broadcaster RTL, Merkel said she warned months ago that the country faced a hard winter.

'And still we can say, the crest of the second wave has been passed,' she said, adding that Germans need to 'hold out a little longer' until vaccinations start having an effect on hospitalizations and the number of older people becoming seriously ill from COVID-19.

Merkel said 70 of the countrys 401 regions saw the number of new cases go below the target threshold of 50 per 100,000 inhabitants in a week

'I can see a light shining at the end of the tunnel,' Merkel said. However, the chancellor also cautioned against 'false hopes.'

As Germany nears 60,000 confirmed deaths in the pandemic, Merkel said she wanted to wait for fresh data on the prevalence of new coronavirus variants in the country before deciding whether to discuss easing restrictions at a meeting with state governors Wednesday.

Schools, restaurants and most stores have been shut since December, helping push down the number of cases in many parts of Germany.

Merkel said 70 of the countrys 401 regions saw the number of new cases go below the target threshold of 50 per 100,000 inhabitants in a week.

'We're going to get information at the end of the week or the beginning of next week on how widespread the mutation, this British virus, is,' she said, referring to a variant that first appeared in England last year and which scientists say may spread more easily.

Merkel said she's had some restless nights trying to make decisions that affect the lives of millions, and cited a town hall meeting earlier Thursday in which she spoke to families struggling under the strain of the lockdown.

A person wearing a face mask enters a drug store, which is allowed to be open, in Berlin, Thursday. Most shops in Germany are still closed to avoid the spreading of the coronavirus, only essential stores are open

The veteran leader again defended the sluggish vaccine rollout in Germany, which has been blamed on slow regulatory approval and late orders by the European Union. About 14 million people across the 27-nation EU had received a first shot of a coronavirus vaccine by Wednesday, less than half the number who received an initial dose in the United States. Germany has vaccinated just over 2 million people so far.

Merkel noted that the U.S., which has numerous vaccine production sites, doesn't allow domestically produced doses to be exported, unlike in Europe, where some manufacturers' plants supply the rest of the world. The EU recently announced it, too, will tighten vaccine export rules.

The veteran leader again defended the sluggish vaccine rollout in Germany, which has been blamed on slow regulatory approval and late orders by the European Union

In total, the EU has purchased enough vaccine to inoculate its 450 million inhabitants twice over, if all orders come through. Merkel acknowledged the slow start.

'I think we're going to catch up quite a bit,' she said, adding that new mutations might require routine vaccinations in the future, similar to the flu.

Asked how she manages to keep her signature hairstyle in shape during the lockdown, which has led to the closure of hairdressers, Merkel acknowledged receiving 'the help of an assistant.'

'Of course, we adhere to all the hygiene requirements,' she said. 'And the fact that one slowly turns grey is something one has to live with. So I'm looking forward to hairdressers being able to open again.'
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg

By Rajesh V and Meera Manu

Greta Thunbergs social media manager is being bombarded with threat calls after the Swedish climate activist expressed her support for farmers protest in India.

Adarsh Prathap is a climate activist in India who serves as a delegate at the UNs Climate Change organization. He also handles Gretas social media handles. Now, Adarsh is being blamed for passing over information to Greta regarding the ongoing farmers' protest in India.

Adarsh who hails from Kerala told News18 that there has also been an attempt to hack his Facebook page.

"My job is to repost what Greta writes, and not to add my opinions into it," Adarsh told News 18. He said he has been to the United Nations in 2017-18 period as youth reporter of Climate Change Conference.

Gretas tweets in support of the protests near Delhi against farm reform laws are among many posts that have drawn international attention over the past two many days to the farmers' agitation that began in November.

READ: How Rihanna, Greta Thunberg's tweets backing farmers' protest put agitation on global map

On February 3, ministry of external affairs (MEA) issued a statement saying it is unfortunate to see vested interest groups trying to enforce their agenda on these (farmers) protests, and derail them. Delhi Police on February 4 Thursday filed a case against unknown persons in connection with the toolkit, tweeted by Greta, one among Nobel Peace Prize nominees this year.

Adarsh said first met Greta on the sidelines of the UN conference on climate change. In 2018, Fridays For Future, a movement started in which Greta Thunberg, then 15, and other young activists sat in front of the Swedish parliament every schoolday for three weeks, to protest against the lack of action on the climate crisis.

Also read : 'How dare you?': Here are instances of Greta Thunberg taking on world leaders

People following her page is on the rise and I continue re-posting. We aim to drive home the message of global climate change. I am not interfering with her personal opinion," Adarsh said.

In January 2020, a Facebook bug revealed that the accounts behind some of the posts were those belonging to her father Svante Thunberg and Adarsh. But Greta has since reached out to her nearly three million followers insisting she has written every single one of them.

Enacted in September 2020, the three farm laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector. But the opposition parties allege that the farm laws were brought 'without any consultations with states and farmer unions and lacked national consensus'.

Thousands of protesting farmers, primarily from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at several Delhi border points for over two months, demanding the repeal of the laws, and a legal guarantee on minimum support prices (MSP) for their crops.
(CNN)  Life on Earth began in the water. When animals moved onto the ground, they switched fins for limbs.

How exactly that might have happened hundreds of millions of years ago, however, has long been an evolutionary mystery that has puzzled scientists.

Now, US scientists say they may have stumbled on a possible answer.

By tweaking a single gene, researchers at Harvard University and Boston Children's Hospital have engineered zebrafish that showed the beginning of limblike appendages.

To answer how animals made the transition from sea to land, scientists have traditionally looked to the fossil record. But in the past 30 years, scientists have searched for changes in genes that can account for the shift from fin to modern limb.

"Most surprising to me is that such a dramatic change to the fin skeleton and musculature is possible with just a single mutation," said Brent Hawkins, a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University and Boston Children's Hospital and the first author of the study that published Thursday in the journal Cell.

"Before this discovery, the fin-to-limb transition was presumed to involve manifold changes to a myriad of genes," he noted via email.

"Of course this transformation was still a very gradual and complex process, but our mutants show that it might have involved quick leaps as well, and that developing animals are able to incorporate new bones quite easily."

Innate ability

While previous research has identified genes that are required to make fin and limb bones, no one has previously found a genetic change that causes a fin to shift to a more limblike pattern, explained Hawkins via email.

The mutation the researchers found causes a change in the zebrafish's pectoral fin bones, which attach to the fish shoulder joint a little like how the human arm attaches to the shoulder.

A new set of long bones -- called intermediate radials -- develops, making a joint similar to a human elbow. The genetic change includes new muscles and joints that are found in limbs but not the simple fins.

The scientists' discovery has shown that the fish, which had been thought to have lost the machinery necessary to evolve limblike body parts, actually retain an innate ability to form these structures.

Thumbnail-size zebrafish have become a mainstay of genetic research. They are easy to keep in large numbers and breed easily, with a single mating pair producing hundreds of eggs each week. These fish are also gentle and easy to handle, plus their eggs and embryos are translucent and easy to examine.

The researchers mutated the zebrafish genes at random and then screened the fish systematically to find those that underwent interesting changes to their form -- in this case the limblike structures.

They then sequenced the DNA to discover which genes were affected before using the CRISPR gene editing tool -- a method to modify genes that won the Nobel prize for chemistry last year.

This genetic link between fins and limbs could, with more research, shed light on how some animals made the transition from sea to land and what genetic mechanics are necessary to make it happen.

One question the team hopes to examine next is whether the new bones change how the zebrafish's fins function and how the fish moves.

"That such complex and coordinated changes can result from changing a single letter of DNA was quite shocking, and reveals that our fishy ancestors had the raw genetic material and latent capacity to create limbs," Hawkins said.

This story was first published on CNN.com One change took this fish from fins to limbs
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Soldiers from the Indian and the US armies will participate in land exercise 'Yudh Abhyas 20' from February 8 to February 21 this year at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan.

'Yudh Abhyas 20' provides excellent opportunities for professional and cultural exchanges that strengthen our partnership through shared learning and training.

Training commences with expert academic exchanges and professional development workshops that focus on training at the corps-level and below; combat against conventional, unconventional and hybrid threats; humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

This exercise involves approximately 250 US Army and 250 Indian army soldiers.

The 11th Battalion of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, and 2nd battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment of 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team will carry out the exercise.

This annual training exercise enhances combined interoperability capabilities through training and cultural exchange, which fosters enduring partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region through common defense objectives.

The command post exercise (CPX) will focus on the UN peacekeeping operation staff tasks in a combined military setting.

A field training exercise (FTX) will involve company-strength elements from each nation exercising combined, fundamental war-fighting skills to enhance combined operational capacity.

Both of it will run concurrently.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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(Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Myanmar's cities on Saturday to denounce this week's coup and demand the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi despite a blockade on the internet by the junta.

In an upwelling of anger in the country's largest city, Yangon, protesters chanted, "Military dictator, fail, fail; Democracy, win, win" and held banners reading "Against military dictatorship". Bystanders offered them food and water.

Late in the evening, a rumour of Suu Kyi's release - quickly denied by her lawyer - triggered noisy street celebrations.

Cheering and letting off firecrackers, residents said the message was shared by the military-run media Myawaddy. But Suu Kyi's lawyer Khin Maung Zaw denied that the 75-year-old leader had been freed and told Reuters she was still in detention.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won Nov. 8 elections in a landslide, a result the generals have refused to recognise, claiming fraud.

Earlier, thousands marched on Yangon's City Hall. Drivers honked horns and leaned out of their cars and raised the three-finger salute, a gesture returned by protesters. Some of them held up NLD flags or pictures of Suu Kyi and clapped and danced.

By evening, the protesters had mostly dispersed. But for a fifth night, a cacophony rose in the darkness as people banged on pots, pans and drums in a show of resistance even as power cuts affected many districts of the city.

Thousands more took to the streets in Myanmar's second city Mandalay and its military-built capital Naypyidaw, home to the nation's government servants, where demonstrators chanted anti-coup slogans and called for Suu Kyi's release.

The protests built despite a blockade of the internet imposed after demonstrators first began to gather. All day, the state-run broadcaster MRTV showed scenes praising the military.

Monitoring group NetBlocks Internet Observatory reported a "national-scale internet blackout", saying on Twitter that connectivity had fallen to 16% of usual levels.

Story continues

The junta did not respond to requests for comment. It extended a social media crackdown to Twitter and Instagram after seeking to silence dissent by blocking Facebook, which counts half of the population as users.

Facebook urged the junta to unblock social media.

"At this critical time, the people of Myanmar need access to important information and to be able to communicate with their loved ones," Facebook's head of public policy for Asia-Pacific emerging countries, Rafael Frankel, said in a statement.

The United Nations human rights office said on Twitter that "internet and communication services must be fully restored to ensure freedom of expression and access to information."

Norwegian mobile network provider Telenor ASA said authorities had ordered all mobile operators to temporarily shut down the data network, although voice and SMS services remained open.

Myanmar civil society groups appealed to internet providers to resist the junta's orders, saying in a joint statement they were "essentially legitimising the military's authority".

Telenor said it regretted the impact of the shutdown on the people of Myanmar but said it was bound by local law and its first priority was the safety of its local workers.

INTERNATIONAL FALLOUT

Army chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power alleging fraud, although the electoral commission says it has found no evidence of widespread irregularities in the November vote.

The junta announced a one-year state of emergency and has promised to hand over power after new elections, without giving a timeframe.

Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi, has been charged with illegally importing six walkie-talkies, while ousted President Win Myint is accused of flouting COVID-19 restrictions. Neither has been seen since the coup. Their lawyer said they were being held in their homes.

NLD member Aung Moe Nyo, chief minister of the Magway region, said on Facebook before the shutdown: "It is not OK to let the country fall under junta government. I am very much thankful to those who oppose this, to those government staff who oppose this. This act is to save the country."

Sean Turnell, an Australian economic adviser to Suu Kyi, said in a message to Reuters on Saturday he was being detained.

Australia's government, without naming Turnell, said it had summoned the Myanmar ambassador to register "deep concern" over the arbitrary detention of Australian and other foreign nationals in Myanmar.

A civil disobedience movement has been building in Myanmar all week, with doctors and teachers among those refusing to work. Every night people bang pots and pans in a show of anger.

The protests in Yangon would resume on Sunday, demonstrators said. One, who asked not to be named, said: "We will go and protest again tomorrow. If they arrest one person, we will try to pile in and fill up the [police] truck as a group."

The coup has sparked international outrage, with the United States considering sanctions against the generals and the U.N. Security Council calling for the release of all detainees.

It has also deepened tensions between the United States and China, which has close links to Myanmar's military. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in a phone call on Friday to condemn the coup, the State Department said.

The generals have few overseas interests vulnerable to sanctions but the military's extensive business investments could suffer if foreign partners leave - as Japanese drinks company Kirin Holdings said it would on Friday.

Suu Kyi spent 15 years under house arrest after leading pro-democracy protests against the long-ruling military junta in 1988.

After sharing power with a civilian government, the army began democratic reforms in 2011. That led to the election of the NLD in a landslide victory four years later. November's election was meant to solidify a troubled democratic transition.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Writing by Matthew Tostevin, Grant McCool and Stephen Coates; Editing by William Mallard and Ros Russell)
SALEM, Ore.-- The Oregon Health Authority director warned lawmakers in Salem on Wednesday of possible chaos as more seniors become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Starting Monday, seniors 80 and older can begin getting vaccinated. Patrick Allen, the director of OHA, told a legislative committee, 19,900 doses will be available across the state during the first week. But there are 168,000 people eligible in that group. He told lawmakers other states are seeing similar problems as they vaccinate their seniors.

"Every state that's opened to seniors has had some form of chaos on its hands and I want to be completely transparent. We're gonna have some form of chaos on our hands too," Allen said.

By the end of the month, a total of 766,000 people 65 and older will be eligible. Allen said about 104,000 people in that group already got a shot because of health issues or living in long-term senior housing or some other qualification of the 1A group. Subtracting those who already got their shot, that leaves about 662,000 people eligible.

Allen said eventually Oregon will receive 66,000 doses a week, but it will take about ten weeks to vaccinate everyone in that group.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted largely along party lines to remove Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her posts on the education and budget committees as punishment for past statements she made that supported QAnon conspiracy theories, questioned whether school shootings and the Sept. 11 terrorist attack at the Pentagon were faked, and indicated support for executing prominent Democrats.

Eleven Republicans - none of them from Ohio - joined the institutions Democrats in the 230 to 199 vote to sanction the newly elected Greene, which occurred after she delivered a ten minute speech that disavowed her past interest in QAnon, declared school shootings are absolutely real, and acknowledged that the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks absolutely happened.

She said she explored QAnon online in 2017 and stopped believing it after discovering it was riddled with falsehoods.. She said she hadnt discussed QAnon during her campaign, or since shed been elected to Congress, saying those were words of the past that dont represent her, her district or her values.

Any source of information that is a mix of truth and a mix of lies is dangerous, no matter what it is saying, what party it is helping, anything or any country its about, its dangerous, said Greene. And these are the things that happen on the left and the right.

Greenes speech suggested Democrats were hypocrites for tolerating members of Congress who condoned riots where police officers were attacked, federal buildings were occupied and businesses were burned and yet want to condemn me and crucify me in the public square for words that I said and I regret a few years ago.

What shall we do as Americans, shall we stay divided like this? she asked. Will we allow the media that is just as guilty as QAnon of presenting truth and lies to divide us? Will we allow ourselves to be addicted to hate, and hating one another? I hope not, because thats not the future I want for my children and its not the future I want for any of your children.

Democrats faulted her speech for neglecting to address the threats shed made against Democratic officials, and said her problematic conduct continued while she was a candidate and after her election. House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland brought a photo Greene posted on social media to the House floor titled Squads Worst Nightmare, which showed Greene with an assault rifle next to photos of Democratic legislators Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. Hoyer also criticized Greenes approval of a statement that said suggested House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California should be shot. He said removing Greene from her committees was about principle, not partisanship.

No member ought to be permitted to engage in the kind of behavior that Rep. Greene has and face zero consequences, said Hoyer, who criticized Republicans for failing to sanction her themselves.

A statement from Columbus Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty called Greenes words and actions disturbing, despicable, dangerous, and said they fly in the face of the very oath she and every elected official takes to defend the Constitution.

I will not stand idly by as she spews outrageous lies, bullies gun violence survivors, and celebrates threats toward my colleagues and friends, Beatty continued. She has no business serving on any congressional committee, let alone being called a Congresswoman.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Niles-area Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan questioned her claim that the media is as guilty of falsehoods as QAnon.

What are you talking about? said Ryan. QAnon spurred on violent insurrectionists who scrawled murder the media on a door in the US Capitol. They erected gallows outside. You dont get to bothsides this.

Champaign County Republican Rep. Jim Jordan defended Greene on the House of Representatives floor, saying that everyone has said things they wish they didnt say, everyone has done things they wish they didnt do. So whos next? Who will the cancel culture attack next?

Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said Democrats peddled the biggest conspiracy theory of all time, the Russia hoax, despite the fact that the nations intelligence director told the House Intelligence Committee he saw no evidence that President Trumps campaign conspired with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election.

Jordan issued an early campaign endorsement of Greene, recording a political ad that called her exactly the kind of fighter needed in Washington to stand with me against the radical left. His campaign committee gave her a $4,000 donation and a political action committee run by the House Freedom Caucus that Jordan co-founded donated more than $100,000 to Greenes campaign treasury, according to tallies by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Marjorie Greene Endorsed by Congressman Jim Jordan! Thankful for the endorsement from Congressman Jim Jordan, President Trump's top ally in Congress! I look forward to fighting the Socialist Democrats alongside him as the first-ever Congresswoman representing Northwest Georgia! Here is our radio running on radio stations across Northwest Georgia! Save America. Stop Socialism. #sass -- Marjorie Posted by Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday, April 23, 2020

Rocky River Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez said Wednesday that he felt Greenes advocacy of political violence, anti-Semitic remarks and claims that school shootings were false flags, were disgusting behavior, but observed that voters in her district elected her and she didnt hide who she was.

Her voters knew these things about her and they sent her anyway, said Gonzalez, who said he thought Greene should not be removed from Congress

Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs said Greenes comments were terrible and he would never condone them, but noted that she made those remarks before she was elected to Congress and voters were aware of them before they elected her.

It sets a very dangerous precedent because people in Congress could determine that you shouldnt be here even though you just got elected and this was not new information, Gibbs said. Thats my concern.

The media is just as guilty as QAnon? What are you talking about?



QAnon spurred on violent insurrectionists who scrawled murder the media on a door in the US Capitol. They erected gallows outside. You dont get to bothsides this.  Congressman Tim Ryan (@RepTimRyan) February 4, 2021

Bainbridge Township Republican Rep. Dave Joyce released a statement that said the Republican Partys big tent has room for those who admit to, and apologize for, mistakes made prior to being sworn in as a Member of Congress. It does not have room for crackpot conspiracy theories.

I am relieved that Rep. Greene apologized last night to our conference and renounced such theories on the House floor earlier today, Joyce continued. Why she did not do so sooner escapes me. I have made it abundantly clear, both in previous statements and in person last night, that any similar rhetoric used while in office must be met with strong and swift repercussions.

However, if we start stripping Members of their committee assignments for mistakes they previously made as private citizens, Congress will find itself with sparsely populated committees unable to adequately review and produce legislation to meet the needs of the American people. That is not a precedent I am willing to set.

My statement condemning Rep. Greenes disturbing past rhetoric  pic.twitter.com/txSKgv4wAz  Dave Joyce (@RepDaveJoyce) February 2, 2021

Read more:

Senate Banking Committee approves Rep. Marcia Fudges nomination to be Housing and Urban Development Secretary

Ohios Jim Jordan endorsed QAnon-linked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and continues to defend her

Rep. Jim Jordan will cheer on former President Trump from the sidelines during his Senate impeachment trial

Rep. Bob Gibbs gives thumbs up to border fence, thumbs down to Capitol Hill security fence

Rocky River Republican Rep. Anthony Gonzalez gets flak for voting to impeach President Donald Trump but doesnt regret taking a stand

Sen. Rob Portman hopes for coronavirus compromise with Biden administration

Nina Turner takes big fundraising lead in congressional race to succeed Marcia Fudge; her donors include actress Susan Sarandon and entrepreneur Andrew Yang

Sherrod Brown hopes Senate can pass $15 hourly minimum wage and coronavirus aid for local governments with or without Republican support

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan wont run for U.S. Senate next year

Senators grill Ohios Rep. Marcia Fudge at her confirmation hearing to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Sen. Rob Portman backs measure to question constitutionality of impeaching former President Donald Trump

Rob Portman talks about his future plans and whats ahead for the Republican Party

Sen. Rob Portman announces he wont seek re-election

U.S. Capitol riot prompts Democrat Jeff Sites to seek Rep. Jim Jordans congressional seat
The apex Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has denied that Fulani or any Northerner for that matter in the South-east was ordered to leave the region.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo called on the elite of Northern and Southern Nigeria to desist from inflammatory statements, warning that such statements could trigger conflicts and inflame passions.

The Igbo apex socio-cultural body however condemned vehemently, the activities of herdsmen instigating crises in the land through the invasion of farmlands, vandalism, rape, and murders.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo tasked the Northern leaders to work for a return to the lawful herdsmen with whom Igbo communities have interacted in various Hausa settlements across the South-east over many decades.

Ohanaeze, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia, said: "Ohanaeze Ndigbo is concerned about recent developments in Nigeria around the activities of herdsmen of Fulani stock said to be foreigners from outside Nigeria who have caused damage across the land and elicited negative reactions. While that is disturbing enough, we are distressed by the tenor of conversations on the subject pushed by persons who should otherwise do better.

"Many are framing it as a North versus South conflict. This is not correct. Ohanaeze Ndigbo calls on the elite of Northern and Southern Nigeria to desist from inflammatory rhetoric and the canvassing of narratives that could stoke conflict and inflame passions. No one would gain from the consequences of such idle chatter but Nigeria will lose big time.

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"Specifically, we assert that no one in the South, not the least the South-east, has issued quit orders to all Northerners or will ask Northerners to leave. Ndigbo are nation builders and not destroyers.

"Rather, what has happened in both the South-eest, the South-eouth, South-east and the Middle Belt of Nigeria are plaintive cries of citizens and their governments for lawless inhabitants of our forests and lands to stop criminality? Surely, no upright and well-meaning citizens will dispute the imperative of having law-abiding citizens who pursue their vocations without doing harm to others.

"We declare that our people demand the observance of due process by all groups. We deplore rash and unlawful retaliatory actions. We condemn even more the activities of herdsmen instigating crises in the land through the invasion of farmlands, vandalism, rape, and murders.

"We call on Northern leaders to enjoin a return to the lawful herdsmen with whom our communities have interacted in various Hausa settlements across the South-east over many decades. It is the same call that citizens are making in the South-west, South-south and the North-central.
Despite the attacks on comedians like Munawar Faruqui, Kunal Kamra and many others, not everyone is intimidated. (Image credit: Instagram)

Can one really laugh ones way to a stronger democracy at a time when one stand-up comedian in the country is in the jail for a joke he didnt crack and an affidavit by another tells the Supreme Court that the suggestion that my tweets could shake the foundations of the most powerful court in the world is an overestimation of my abilities?

I believe not only one can. But one must. Especially in a charged atmosphere. That is the only way to take the wind out of the sails of those who seek to intimidate on one pretext or the other.

Humour is a social corrective. It provides a safety valve for anger. It can strike the heart of power in a good-natured way, which is why many see comedy as arguably the most democratic form of speech.

There is a reason why humour is such a popular tool in the modern activists arsenal. It works, as Srdja Popovic points out in his fabulous and funny book Blueprint for Revolution. The only thing that trumps fear is laughter.

Popovic was among the Serbian protesters who helped overthrow Slobodan Milosevic and went on to train protest movements around the world. One of the best-known stunts by the young protesters involved an oil barrel with Milosevics picture painted on it. It was rolled down a busy street; people were asked to toss in a coin in a slot for the privilege of whacking Milosevic with a bat, as an article in Foreign Policy noted. It was a delicious prank and put the government in a quandary. If it had let the barrel roll, it would have looked helpless and feeble. But when the cops stepped in, the activists had vanished and the images on television the next day showed the police arresting a barrel and loading it into the police van.

Popovics book talks about many such examples. Humour has a cultural context; it varies from country to country. But laughtivism has surfaced in Russia, Poland, Iran, even Bashar al-Assads Syria in varying degrees. It may not immediately achieve its intended goal, but it sustains public interest when conventional ways of protesting become difficult.

Humour punctures the narrative of fear.

Which brings me back to India and the ongoing attacks on comedians. Despite the attacks on comedians like Munawar Faruqui, Kunal Kamra and many others, not everyone is intimidated.

In which other countries are comedians being attacked, asked movie writer Darab Farooqui, speaking in a recent webinar organised by LiveLaw. The topic: Criminalising Comedy and Cinema.

A Google search, Farooqui said, revealed one country where comedians had been having a rough time was Uganda, which instantly evokes memories of Idi Amin for Indians of a certain generation. It was Amin who famously said: There is freedom of speech, but I cant guarantee guarantee freedom after speech. That was a long time ago.

Last year, the Ugandan police arrested four comedians of Bizonto Comedy Group. The reason: the comedians released a skit on YouTube that satirised ethnic and regional appointments in Uganda. The underlying message was about the ethnically motivated government appointments. Needless to say, the government didnt like it but the comic skit went viral on social media.

Other countries where comedians have been under attack in recent times include Brazil, Egypt, Syria, North Korea. India is now part of this august group, said Farooqui.

Think of comedian Munawar Faruqi, who was jailed for jokes he didnt make but which someone thought he might make, and a joke that purportedly would have made fun of Indian gods and goddesses.

Just imagine!

Sanjay Hegde, a senior advocate and another panellist, noted that the Constitution has no position on jokes, but it allows people to elect jokers to Parliament.

No comic sets out to deliberately insult anything or anyone, be it religion or any other subject, said the stand-up comedians on the panel. Stand-up comics are entertainers; they have a social contract with their audience; if their audience doesnt find them funny, that is the end. Nothing affects a comedian more.

But its also true, as another stand-up comedian Sanjay Rajoura said, comedy is also a deadly serious business. And comedians dont cease to be citizens. They can have a sense of social justice and wish to make people think while being entertainers.

I believe there need be no defence for jokes. Jokes are based on a comedians perception, which they use to make the audience that shares that perception laugh. These jokes are not reality, and dont claim to be so. Most people do not react to jokes that dont make them laugh; they ignore them, like our political leaders ignore their critics, says comedian Kunal Kamra in his affidavit in the Supreme Court. The affidavit was filed in response to a notice asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for his tweets about the Supreme Court and the judiciary. Kamra argued that public faith in the judiciary was founded on the institutions own actions and not criticism of it.

Do we always have to agree with every comedian? Obviously, no. It is perfectly okay not to laugh if you dont find someone funny. But how can one arrest anyone who tries to make people laugh for a living or leisure?

The human race, Mark Twain once said, has one really effective weapon -- laughter. Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand. It is important to remember that.
President Joseph Biden's pledge to put democracy and human rights at the center of American foreign policy faces an early test Friday in Turkey, a NATO ally that has become increasingly authoritarian over the past decade. Passing this test is crucial given that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's repressive rule poses a danger not just for American interests, but also for American citizens, CNBC reported.

Biden has an immediate opportunity to change course and show support for democratic values in Turkey. On Friday, an Istanbul court resumes its high-profile show trial targeting the prominent Turkish American academic Henri Barkey and the leading Turkish philanthropist and civil society figure Osman Kavala. The men are being tried on charges of committing espionage and aiding the 2016 coup attempt in Ankara. If convicted, they face life sentences.

The seriousness of the charges belies the complete lack of the evidence behind them. With its baseless indictment and denial of due process for the defendants, the entire prosecution is a charade, carried out by a judiciary that is increasingly under the control of the presidency. It is also the latest in a flurry of politically motivated criminal proceedings against US citizens and employees in Turkey in recent years. Biden should raise the case directly with Erdogan and convey that continuing this unjust prosecution targeting an American citizen will damage U.S.-Turkey ties.

U.S. officials may prefer to avoid prioritizing this case in their agenda with Ankara. They might worry that raising this issue at the highest levels will only antagonize Turkey, weakening U.S. influence with a long-standing strategic partner that is increasingly straying from NATO and toward the orbit of U.S. adversaries like Russia and China. Others might argue that addressing Turkey's disruptive regional behavior, such as threatening Greece and Cyprus with its navy in the Eastern Mediterranean, should take priority.

But it would be a mistake to believe that standing up for democratic values and for American citizens will undermine U.S. leverage or that Erdogan's domestic repression is unconnected to his aggression abroad. Turkey will act as an effective member of the transatlantic alliance only when it respects the values for which the alliance stands. Biden should make it clear to Erdogan that respect for the rule of law and an end to state-fostered anti-Americanism are nonnegotiable prerequisites for a better U.S.-Turkish relationship.

Washington has too often looked away when Erdogan has scapegoated the United States to deflect blame for Turkeys political, economic and diplomatic crises. Yesterday, the State Department took an important step to counter such polemics and publicly denounced Turkeys assertions about U.S. involvement in the 2016 coup attempt. But that isnt enough. The U.S. must also speak up clearly about cases like that of Barkey and Kavala, which uses such theories as a basis to prosecute Turkish and American citizens
For seven days, citizens held their breaths, hanging on to hope and praying that Andrea Bharatt would be found alive.

That hope dissolved in tears yesterday afternoon when her body was found down a precipice along a road in the forested Heights of Aripo, Arima.

The decomposing body of 22-year-old Andrea was identified by the clothing she was wearing on her last day at work on Friday by her father, Randolph Bharatt.
WASHINGTON - At last year's National Prayer Breakfast, President Donald Trump brandished newspapers headlined "Trump acquitted" and simply "ACQUITTED" to boast of his recent impeachment victory; aimed thinly veiled attacks at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah; and challenged the notion that Christians should strive to love their enemies.

At this year's online version of the event on Thursday, President Joe Biden took a far lower-key approach, citing the recent assault on the Capitol to criticize violence and urge bipartisanship. "We know now we must confront and defeat political extremism, White supremacy and domestic terrorism," Biden said.

Biden's message - and the return of the event's historically lofty tone - highlighted the president's effort to restore Washington institutions to their traditional, pre-Trump form. For nearly seven decades, the breakfast had marked a respite from Washington's partisan warfare, but after Trump's barb-filled blast last year, some supporters of the event even suggested suspending it.

"Last year's breakfast had a great spirit, and there were a lot of wonderful things that came of it - related to finding unity among Democrats and Republicans against religious persecution and about the theme of 'love your enemy' - and the president really blew it," said Rep. Thomas Suozzi, D-N.Y., a co-chair of the event. "He just didn't seem to get the spirit of the occasion."

The living former presidents also delivered remarks Thursday, other than Jimmy Carter, who sent a letter instead due to his declining health. Trump did not appear, but Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., another co-sponsor, said recently departed presidents generally are not invited to avoid eclipsing their successor.

Asked whether Trump would be invited next year, Moolenaar said, "That would be something that could certainly be an option." Tape from a previous address Trump gave to the breakfast was played Thursday, along with snippets from other presidents' addresses.

Even without his presence, Trump's behavior remained a subtext, as all the presidents reflected on how the country could unify in the wake of the violence at the U.S. Capitol that Trump has been accused of inciting.

"We just witnessed images that we never imagined, images that we'll now never forget - a violent assault in the U.S. Capitol, an assault on our democracy and our capital, a violent attack that threatened lives and took lives," said Biden said via video.

The event was held remotely because of social distancing restrictions even as Trump is in the throes of another impeachment proceeding - this one for allegedly encouraging the mob that attacked the Capitol. Jason Miller, a spokesman for the former president, did not respond to a request for comment.

Shortly after taking office, Trump shattered tradition during his first appearance at the annual event, when he took the opportunity to mock Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had replaced him on "The Apprentice."

"The ratings went right down the tubes. It's been a total disaster," Trump told the crowd. "I want to just pray for Arnold if we can, for those ratings."

Schwarzenegger expressed incredulity at Trump's choice of venue for leveling the insult. "The National Prayer Breakfast?" he tweeted.

If Trump used the 2017 event to announce his unorthodox style, Biden used the 2021 version to declare his hoped-for return to normalcy.

Biden taped his remarks from the White House library, with a backdrop of books and at a podium that featured the presidential seal. He noted that he had frequently attended the event in the past, and added that he was "grateful" for the participation of the past presidents.

Biden described the cascade of wrenching crises facing the country - climate change, long lines at food pantries, massive job losses and "the call for racial justice, some 400 years in the making."

"This is a dark, dark time," Biden said. "So where do we turn? Faith."

Biden, an observant Catholic who regularly attends Mass, tied his personal tragedies to those facing the country. "For me, in the darkest moments, faith provides hope and solace - and provides clarity and purpose as well," he said. "It shows the way forward as one nation in a common purpose: to respect one another, to care for one another, to leave no one behind."

The former presidents offered similar messages, using their own experiences to talk about how the country had healed in the past and could do so again. In echoing Biden's remarks, they created a sense of continuity that in some ways cast Trump's presidency - not just his performances at the prayer breakfast - as a departure or aberration.

Former president George W. Bush, 74, said that prayer "helped heal and unite our nation" in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Prayer is the language of reconciliation," Bush said. "It has the vocabulary of grace, love and peace."

Former president Bill Clinton, also 74, said a healthier public discourse could help knit the country closer together. "We need to know each other better, to listen to each other more, to learn from one another and to go forward," Clinton said.

He said the "violence against our seat of government in recent weeks has shaken" the country's foundation. "Healing requires humility, understanding that we are all imperfect people in search of more perfect laws," he added.

Former president Jimmy Carter also reached back to his White House tenure in his remarks, which came via a letter read by Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del. Carter is 96 .

"I'm no stranger to seeing God's hand at work in the midst of political disagreement," Carter wrote, referring to the Camp David Accords that brought together the leaders of Israel and Egypt for the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty. "One of the first things we could agree on was the need for prayer."

Citing the attack on the Capitol, Carter described the deep political divisions engulfing the country. "It's tempting to focus on what divides us, rather than those things that unite us - our commitment to democracy, freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion," he wrote.

Former president Barack Obama, 59, turned to poetry, reciting what is quickly becoming the most famous line from a poem written by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman for Biden's inauguration: "Being American is more than a pride we inherit, it's the past we step into and how we repair it."

"That's who we are and who we must be," Obama added.

He listed problems facing the country, ticking off a widening wealth gap, a pandemic and national protests over what he called "the enduring legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment."

"While we may never achieve perfection," Obama said. "We can become more perfect."
Ryan Reynolds honors the hospitality industry in a new Super Bowl commercial unveiled on Friday.

Reynolds, owner of Aviation Gin, teamed up with Diddy, who owns Deleon Tequila and David Beckham, who owns Haig Club Whisky, to create a new cocktail, before realizing they are terrible mixologists.

In the funny clip, Reynolds says they added some 'botanicals and natural ingredients from Tampa bay and Kansas City' to mix up 'something special' for Sunday's big game.

Terrible mixologists: Ryan Reynolds teams up with Diddy and David Beckham in a new commercial which sees the trio combine their liquor brands

Unsurprisingly, the mix of gin, tequila and whisky is not a winning combination and Diddy declares it tastes like 'a** feet' as he promptly spits it out.

'For the last 10 months, Diddy, David and me, Ryan Reynolds have been hard at work on an industry first.' Reynolds narrates in the clip.

'A daring combination of Deleon Tequila, Haig Club Whisky, Aviation American Gin, and natural flavors found in both Tampa Bay and Kansas City, made to be the one cocktail, everyone can enjoy this Sunday.'

'For the last 10 months, Diddy, David and me, Ryan Reynolds have been hard at work on an industry first.' Reynolds narrates in the clip

'A daring combination of Deleon Tequila, Haig Club Whisky, Aviation American Gin, and natural flavors found in both Tampa Bay and Kansas City, made to be the one cocktail, everyone can enjoy this Sunday.'

Let's give this a go: Each of the stars mix up the cocktail as they're filmed at home. Beckham completes his with a cocktail umbrella

Taste test: They each take their first sip, with Diddy toasting the camera from his backyard in Miami, 'Here's to you guys,'

They each take their first sip, Diddy toasting the camera from his backyard in Miami, 'Here's to you guys,' before they each immediately spit out the drink.

The camera cuts back to Reynolds who splutters expletives which are beeped out, 'dammit, that's so f*cking gross.'

'Ryan, that tastes like a** feet,' Diddy summarizes, while Beckham says, 'Ryan, this it not gonna work.'

Not good: Reynolds spits out the drink as it's clear the combination of gin, tequila and whisky is not good

Not mixologists: Diddy declared it tasted like 'a** feet' after he promptly spat it out

Beckham said, 'Ryan, this it not gonna work.' after spitting out his drink

Nope: The camera cuts back to Reynolds who splutters expletives which are beeped out, 'dammit, that's so f*cking gross.'

'This is why we need mixologists,' the caption reads as the screen goes black.

It's then revealed that the trio have donated $1 million to support the bartending community affected by the pandemic. The donation will be split between Another Round, Another Rally, Bartender's Benevolent Fund and Drinks Trust UK.

All of the organizations aim to help those who have been struggling in the hospitality industry over the last year.

Reynolds didn't confirm the commercial will air during Super Bowl but he mentioned Sunday in his tweet so it's likely to broadcast at some point on the day.
Dear Amy: I saw my next-door neighbor in the footage of the rioters at the Capitol on January 6.

After the election in November, this neighbor moved out of his house and back in with his mother, and got involved in all the stop the steal efforts that culminated in him traveling to Washington, D.C., and storming the Capitol.

After I showed the footage of him to his (Biden-voting) wife, she told me shed been texting with him during the day, telling him to stay away, and telling him that it was a federal crime to go inside, etc., but that hed gone inside, anyway.

Later I heard that he was so excited about seeing himself on this video footage that hes planning to get it made into a photo and have it framed.

Hes been my next-door neighbor for nine years. When his tree blew down, I grabbed my chainsaw and helped cut it up. When my fence blew down, he came over and helped. Hes jumped my car battery. Ive cut his grass when theyre out of town. Next-door neighbor stuff.

I dont know if I should report him or not. On the one hand, if those people arent punished, they might be emboldened to do something else. I also dont believe the penalty (if any) will be significant.

 Concerned in the South

Dear Concerned: As of this writing, over 200 people have been arrested for participating in what Republican (former) Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called an armed and failed insurrection attempt in the U.S. Capitol building by a mob which was fed lies, provoked by the president [Donald Trump] and other powerful people.

The FBI has explicitly asked for the publics help in identifying participants (send online tips to tips.fbi.gov) or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

USA Today is publishing an updated list of those arrested, including details of their alleged crimes and how they were caught. Some have turned themselves in, but the Bureau has also reportedly received over 140,000 tips leading to arrests  the majority coming from family members, friends, neighbors, and people who went to high school with the rioters and recognize them from footage taken inside the Capitol.

So yes, report your neighbor, unless you have reason to believe that doing so would place you in danger.

If your neighbor is so proud of his crime and behaving so boldly now, there is a likelihood that someone else has also reported him (his wife or his mother, for instance).

Being a helpful neighbor to you does not preclude this person from also being a danger to the public  and the Republic.

Amy Dickinson, author of the 'Ask Amy' column.TNS

Dear Amy: I feel like I have an unhealthy fear of death. I think about it at least once a day, and always worry about my husband and baby dying, too.

How do I stop this?

I am really tired of thinking this way, but dont know how to stop.

Do you have any advice?

 Deathly Afraid

Dear Afraid: We are in the midst of a global pandemic. Over 400,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. Many of us are unable to have many of the quotidian daily experiences that serve as important distractions from this simple fact: Every living thing dies.

This fear actually connects you with others. Anyone who isnt ruminating at least a little bit about death these days isnt paying attention.

Having a husband and a new baby has upped the ante for you. Your protective instincts have kicked in. Loving other living things reminds you of how precarious life is.

Address your thoughts directly. Make friends with your fear. Name it Stan.

When thoughts arise, say to yourself, Not today, Stan. Ive got things to do.

Immediately and deliberately distract yourself. I suggest smelling the top of your babys head. This scent is a tonic, guaranteed to chase away all bad things.

Dear Amy: Dog Worshipper wanted your help in talking his parents into getting a dog.

I am a volunteer with Above and Beyond English Setter Rescue. After I read your answer to this boy (which was very good), I thought about suggesting that they sign up to foster.

Local shelters and mixed/all-breed rescues are always in need of foster homes. The rescue/shelter pays for vetting fees such as spay/neuter, heartworm treatment, and vaccines.

Fostering can be hard, but it can also be very rewarding, and it makes room for another dog at a shelter or to be helped by a rescue.

 Pat Nichols

Dear Pat: Fostering is a fantastic suggestion. Thank you!

(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)

2021 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Read more advice:

Ask Amy: Separated soulmates are eager to connect

Dear Annie: Looking to hop off the hamster wheel

Dear Abby: Children cut off stepmother with dads power of attorney
Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects were told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics theyre given. This week, he talks to Kiruna Stamell. The UK-based Australian actor, 39, made her debut in Moulin Rouge! and has since performed extensively on stage and screen. She is best known for her work hosting ABC TVs Play School.

Kiruna Stamell: My advice is to find things you love doing. Build your own resilience and strength. Realise what you can control. Credit:Gareth Berliner

RELIGION

Youve rolled religion. Are you religious? Good god, no! [Laughs] My dads side is Greek Orthodox, Mums side is Catholic on one side, Protestant on the other, and my husband is Jewish. But every religion can be quite ableist. Ive walked into various religious settings and immediately felt people in the room shift their prayers to me. Or theyve said things like, God will give you a perfect body when you die.

Wait, people have said that to you explicitly? Even in primary school  even though I went to a government school  they made you do religious studies in the morning. The woman assisting the priest wouldnt let me join in the religious dances because she wanted all the girls to be the same height in a chorus. Id think, You must really not know God, if youre banning me  a little girl  from joining dances. Experiences like that have really alienated me from nearly every church that Ive walked into.
A lab assistant at Parmalat (now Lactalis) stopped work, concerned about exposing her elderly mother and asthmatic son to Covid-19.

She was fired in April 2020.

She said there was sanitiser and physical distancing but no personal protective equipment at the time.

She had offered to take unpaid leave.

A laboratory analyst fired for putting her family's safety first and refusing to work during the Covid-19 level five lockdown has been reinstated.

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) noted that she had been afraid of infecting her elderly mother and her asthmatic son.

Read the CCMA's ruling

The company, Parmalat, designated as an essential service, was more concerned about "creating a possible precedent" than about its employee's circumstances said the commission.

Commissioner Naledi Bisiwe took note that this was at a time when President Cyril Ramaphosa had urged companies to take care of their workers in the exceptional circumstances created by the pandemic.

The employee, identified as Ms Beck, had been employed with the company from July 2010. She was dismissed at the end of April 2020 after a disciplinary inquiry found her guilty of being absent without leave for 21 days.

She testified that while she respected the company's call for its employees to work during level five lockdown, she had feared exposing her child and her mother to Covid-19.

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She said her manager was aware of this. She asked for leave but it was denied. She then offered to take unpaid leave but this was also denied. She then decided to stay home.

She said that although there was sanitiser and physical distancing, personal protective equipment was not provided at that time.

Company representatives told the commissioner that it had made exceptions for pregnant employees and those with chronic illnesses and other underlying conditions, but Beck did not fall into these categories. All other employees were expected to work and all leave had been cancelled.

Commissioner Bisiwe said, "What strikes me as odd is that the company showed no willingness to consider her request (for leave and then unpaid leave), check how much time she needed to be away, and what disruptions this would cause in the lab."

"It simply stopped her in her tracks. She was willing to sacrifice her salary to protect her family, but that offer was not even entertained."

The commissioner ruled that Ms Beck had a reasonable excuse for her absence, even though she was contractually obliged to work.

She said employers had a responsibility to manage the workplace by evaluating circumstances and not just performing a "tick box" exercise.

She ruled that the dismissal was substantively unfair and that Ms Beck must be reinstated.

GroundUp is being sued after we exposed dodgy Lottery deals involving millions of rands. Please help fund our defence. You can support us via Givengain, Snapscan, EFT, PayPal or PayFast.
Hyde follows family tradition, takes home PIAA gold in shot put

"It's awesome," Hyde said. "It really feels like a tradition, now. It will be cool to see our names next to each other in the record books."

Jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has accused Russian officials of "fabricating" a slander case against him for comments he wrote on Twitter about several people who appeared in a pro-Kremlin video.

Navalny was in court on February 5 to face charges he slandered a World War II veteran who took part in the promotional video in support of last year's constitutional amendments that cleared the way for President Vladimir Putin to run for two more terms in office after 2024 if he wants.

Navalny was charged after describing the veteran, Ignat Artyomenko, and others in the video as "the shame of the country" and "traitors" on Twitter in June 2020.

"I understand very well how this case arose, why it was fabricated...the whole thing was invented," Navalny told the court.

"This is a PR process, the Kremlin needs the headlines, 'Navalny Slandered A Veteran,'" he added.

The trial centers on a social-media post from June 2 where Navalny, one of Putin's most vocal critics, described those in the promotional video as traitors, people with no conscience, and corrupt lackeys.

Russia's Investigative Committee said the comments contained "deliberately false information denigrating the honor and dignity" of the World War II veteran.

Navalny faces penalties ranging from a fine of 1 million rubles ($14,255) to 240 hours of community service if convicted.

The prosecutor said in court that Navalny knew that his comment that people in the video were "corrupt lackeys" was false, adding that the words caused "moral harm" to the veteran.

The trial was interrupted at one point in the afternoon after Artyomenko said he was feeling ill and was taken away by ambulance.

Before he was taken away, Artyomenko said he wanted a public apology from Navalny, who said he didn't know who the veteran was and believed that the elderly man was being used "like a doll on a chain."

"You have perverted criminal law, and now you are using Artyomenko to defend the thief Putin and his friends with [Artyomenko's] medals," Navalny told the court.

Judge Vera Akimova adjourned the hearing until February 12 after listening to the testimonies of Artyomenko and three other witnesses in the case.

The new trial comes just three days after the Kremlin critic was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for violating the terms of a suspended sentence handed down in a widely criticized embezzlement case. Navalny will serve 2 years and 8 months of the sentence because of time already spent in detention, according to the ruling.

The sentencing sparked mass protests across Russia and condemnations by the West. U.S. President Joe Biden on February 4 called on Moscow to release the opposition leader immediately and without condition.

"Mr. Navalny, like all Russian citizens, is entitled to his rights under the Russian Constitution. He's been targeted for exposing corruption, Biden said in his first foreign-policy address as president where he warned Moscow that the U.S. would no longer be "rolling over" when it came to human rights abuses and other activities that harmed U.S. interests.

More than 10,000 Russian protesters have been arrested during protests demanding Navalnys release.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Interfax
After considerable discussion, the Plan Commission voted to give a favorable recommendation to the City Council for developer Jim Sapps request that the property be zoned as a planned business park. Sapp said there would be about 125 tenants, most of whom would solely rent warehouse space. Others would have a small office in front and a warehouse in back.
Agartala, Feb 5 : Integration of women in international trade and business and to ensure gender equality while crafting trade policies would further boost trade and business and accelerate the growth of women entrepreneurs, feel experts and industry body officials.

While participating in a virtual discussion on "Mainstreaming Shepreneurs in International Trade", the experts and various industry body officials emphasised that bridging the digital divide from a gender lens is important for the growth of women entrepreneurs along with trade and jobs.

The virtual discussion was organised late on Thursday evening by CUTS International, a Jaipur-based think-tank and NGO, to launch animation videos produced by the CUTS to educate women entrepreneurs on trading procedures and motivate them to participate in the global market.

According to the CUTS International, this initiative is a part of a project titled "Gender Dimensions of Trade Facilitation: Evidence from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal" supported by the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office under its Asia Regional Trade and Connectivity Programme.

CUTS International Executive Director Bipul Chatterjee said that one of the significant issues among various challenges in the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal sub-region is asymmetric information resulting in barriers for women to do business including cross-border trade.

Stressing on the importance of 'access to information for trade', World Trade Organisation's Head of Trade and Gender Anoushder Boghossian participating in the talk said that better and right knowledge helps women to dispose off middlemen while doing business.

She stated that the WTO has gathered evidence on women entrepreneurs in East Africa, South Asia, and in Latin America.

She said that there is room for action that needs to be concrete and grounded with the needs of women entrepreneurs and traders.

"The WTO is coming up with a programme dedicated to women entrepreneurs in line with their needs to fill-in existing gaps in knowledge and training," Boghossian said.

"Governments can integrate a gender lens while crafting trade policies. For example, women engaged in the informal sector are not tech-savvy; therefore, the government needs to make policies inclusive of each aspect of doing business and trade," she underlined.

A study by the CUTS International found that despite low level of knowledge on trade rules, women were eager to participate in the export sector.

"Around 92 per cent of women-led enterprises were interested in taking trade-related training," the study said.

Industry body FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) National President and Director of Assam based JTI Group Jahnabi Phookan pointed out that the changing global economy provides women with new opportunities through services, global value chains and digital technologies.

She said that for women to benefit from these opportunities, they should have equal opportunities in policy-making through a gender lens.

Gender sensitivity for targeted interventions are vital. While presenting FLO's work, Phookan informed about a recently-concluded memorandum of understanding with the National Skills Development Corporations that provided free access to learning resources and digital skilling awareness drives through e-skills.

This has increased home-prenuers in urban and semi-urban areas in India. Minimum investment with maximum profit has been a boom for them. "It is giving them a flexible work environment, direct connection to buyers and cutting out the middlemen," she added.

Speaking on the occasion, Mia Mikic, Permanent Advisor, Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade, said that it is critical to position trade policy as a gender transformative policy so as to understand its impact on the ground.

"This is yet to happen fully because gender difference is not measurable due to the absence of gender disaggregated data. Therefore, governments should invest in data collection to create more transparency in their trade policies and to make them more impactful," she said.

According to Mikic, women in this sub-region are predominantly responsible for taking care of their household needs. For a more productive use of their time for entrepreneurship, the government should simplify the trade procedures to the best of their knowledge using digital technologies as much as possible.

She mentioned that the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific is working with various digital companies to help women entrepreneurs create a database of their transactions, which can be used as digital assets for applying for loans, among other benefits.

In her presentation, Nandita Baruah, Country Representative, The Asia Foundation, highlighted that challenges would remain but opportunities have increased through massive scale-up of digital platforms for any economic activity including knowledge generation and trade.

"The question is how to make them sustainable including for making-up the lost opportunities due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on business." Baruah suggested that in order to increase the footprints of women entrepreneurs in the trading sector, one needs to first look at their role in the domestic economy and for that to happen, capacity gaps are to be addressed in a decentralized manner including through the lens of value chains.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
60 Minutes is actually 70 minutes this Sunday, screening in a 7pm slot leaving Nine with The Trump Show: Downfall at 8:10pm.

Straight to the Point

COVID-19 is not only a dangerous respiratory disease, it also messes with our heads. Just when we start to applaud the fact were bringing it under control, it breaks free and causes chaos. This week it has been Perth and Melbournes turn to face the consequences. But on 60 Minutes, a sight to make all Australians smile with relief. For the first time were taking you inside the Melbourne facility where 50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine are starting to be produced. As Sarah Abo reports, just getting to the point of having workable vaccines has been an enormous and impressive undertaking, and proof of the brilliance of scientists  including many Australians  all over the world. This story includes the latest news on plans to roll out the vaccine to Australians from Health Department boss, Professor Brendan Murphy, as well as an Australian exclusive interview with US infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci.

Reporter: Sarah Abo

Producers: Natalie Clancy, Joel Tozer

Power of Attorney

He may no longer be President, but Donald Trump cant stop making headlines. In the next few days he goes on trial in the US Senate charged with inciting his supporters rampage on the Capitol building last month. But while the world was shocked by the shameful attack on democracy, Trumps former attorney, Michael Cohen, wasnt surprised at all. In fact two years ago he predicted it. Cohen used to be The Donalds closest ally but ended up an enemy, and in prison, when he took the fall for covering up Trumps affair with porn star Stormy Daniels. And now, in an extraordinary interview with Tara Brown, filmed while he serves the remainder of his sentence under house arrest in New York, Cohen is happy to spill all of his old bosss dirty secrets.

Reporter: Tara Brown

Producer: Thea Dikeos

W.H.O. in Wuhan

Despite enduring the COVID pandemic for more than a year, there are still multi-trillion-dollar questions the world needs answered. Most importantly, how and why it began? Up until now China has been reluctant to help, hindering efforts to determine the truth about the disease. But in the last few days, the World Health Organisation has finally been allowed to send experts to Wuhan to investigate. And already theres been significant progress, including by an Aussie doctor on the team who has been able to contact and interview the first known case of COVID-19, patient zero.

Reporter: Tom Steinfort

Producer: Garry McNab

The Devil Wears Dior  update

There has been an enormous response to Tom Steinforts investigation last week into the accused Australian con-woman, Melissa Caddick. Not only have New South Wales Police been inundated with sightings of the missing 49-year-old millionaire, this week on 60 Minutes Steinfort also reveals details of an explosive leaked document which shows more of Caddicks alleged misdeeds.

Reporter: Tom Steinfort

Producers: Tracey Hannaford, Alex Bernhardt

7pm Sunday on Nine.

Related
An Australian man pleaded guilty to securities fraud for cheating investors of over $US90 million ($118.5 million) by squandering money they spent on his cryptocurrency fund, prosecutors said.

Stefan He Qin, 24, entered the plea to a single count of the fraud charge in Manhattan federal court on Thursday (US time). Authorities said the fraud occurred from 2017 to 2020 as Qin operated the fund titled Virgil Sigma.

Qin will be sentenced in the US in May.

Stefan He Qin drained almost all of the assets from the $US90 million cryptocurrency fund he owned, stealing investors money, spending it on indulgences and speculative personal investments, and lying to investors about the performance of the fund and what he had done with their money, US Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a release.

She said Qin then tried to steal money from another fund he controlled to meet the redemption demands of the defrauded investors in the former fund.


The high-ranking official participated in a Parliament virtual plenary session to address the Government's strategy aimed at facing the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We reaffirm our desire for transparency and permanent dialogue among the State powers ()," she expressed.

"What we are going to present is the current situation of the pandemic and the Executive Branch's strategy to face this situation. There are four issues that we are going to address (...)," she said.

The first topic is the scope of the strategy in order to take a holistic view of what the Executive Branch proposes and executes.

The second entails a current view of the pandemic in Peru within the context of what is happening at the international level.

In this sense, Bermudez affirmed that this reduction is carried out through three lines of work: preventing contagion, attending to COVID-19 patients, and vaccinating citizens.

Ahora | La presidenta del Consejo de Ministros, @VBermudezV, se presenta ante el @congresoperu para comunicar los avances de la llegada de las vacunas al Peru. pic.twitter.com/dqdte18wul
CHICAGO, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- G Squared Ascend I Inc. ("G Squared Ascend I" or the "Company") announced the pricing of its upsized initial public offering of 30,000,000 units at a price of $10 per unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $300 million. The units are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on February 5, 2021 under the symbol "GSQD.U". Each unit consists of one share of the Company's Class A common stock and one-fifth of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Company expects that its Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols "GSQD" and "GSQD.WS", respectively. UBS is acting as the sole book running manager for the initial public offering. The Company has granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 4,500,000 units at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments, if any.

G Squared Ascend I is a blank check company, also commonly referred to as a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Although G Squared Ascend I may pursue an initial business combination target in any business industry or sector, it intends to focus on opportunities that fall within six core megatrends: Software-as-a-Service, Online Marketplaces, Mobility 2.0/Logistics, Fintech/Insurtech, New Age Media, and/or Sustainability.

G Squared Ascend I was founded by Larry Aschebrook, who also founded G Squared Equity Management LP, as well as Ward Davis, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Director.

The public offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. When available, copies of the prospectus for G Squared Ascend I may be obtained for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or from UBS Securities LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019, by telephone at 888-827-7275 or by e-mail at [email protected].

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with, and declared effective by, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on January 20, 2021. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About G Squared:

Our sponsor is an affiliate of G Squared Equity Management LP ("G Squared"), an SEC registered investment adviser ("RIA") and venture capital fund manager founded in 2011 by Larry Aschebrook. G Squared has 25 professionals across four offices, Chicago, San Francisco, Greenwich, and Zurich, Switzerland, and has deployed more than $2 billion of capital across several funds, separately managed accounts, and co-investment vehicles focused on growth stage opportunities in the global technology sector.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements," including with respect to the Company's initial public offering and the anticipated use of the net proceeds of such offering. No assurance can be given that the initial public offering will be completed on the terms described, or at all, or the net proceeds of the offering will be used as indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Registration Statement and prospectus for the Company's initial public offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov . The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Contact:

Antonia Korduba

[email protected]

SOURCE G Squared Ascend I Inc.
Remains of a horse thought to be from the Ice Age are actually from just a few hundred years ago, a new study reveals.

The 'Lehi horse', uncovered from the city of Lehi in Utah, was thought to have lived in the Pleistocene Epoch  which lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago.

However, new analysis of its remains  and distinctive traces of damage to its bones caused by a human on a saddle  put its death in the late 17th century or maybe even later, after it was raised, ridden and cared for by Native American people.

Researchers generated 3D imagery of bones from the Lehi horse in order to identify skeletal features linked with horseback riding.

DNA readings also indicated it was a female domestic horse, likely cared for as part of a breeding herd after becoming injured and no longer able to transport people.

Lehi horse's almost complete skeleton  about the size of a Shetland pony  was originally unearthed in 2018 when a Utah couple was doing landscaping in their backyard near the city of Provo.

Study coauthor Isaac Hart of the university of Utah compares a healthy talus bone from the Lehi horse with one heavily impacted by arthritis

Scientists originally believed that the horse was so ancient in part because of its location deep in the sands along the edge of Utah Lake.

But its Native American caretakers appeared to have dug a hole and intentionally buried the animal after it died, making it look initially as if it had come from Ice Age sediments.

'It was found in the ground in these geologic deposits from the Pleistocene  the last Ice Age,' said study author Dr William Taylor, a curator of archaeology at the CU Museum of Natural History at the University of Colorado Boulder.

'Our results suggest that the animal lived sometime between roughly 1680 to 1850, or the late 17th through mid-19th centuries.'

DNA analysis by study co-authors at the University of Toulouse in France showed that the Lehi horse was a roughly 12-year-old female belonging to the species Equus caballus  today's domestic horse  and not an ancient horse at all.

In 2018, a Utah couple was doing landscaping in their backyard near the city of Provo when they unearthed something surprising: an almost complete skeleton of a horse about the size of a Shetland pony

Ancient horses first evolved in North America and were common during the Pleistocene, but went extinct at about the same time as many other large mammals like mammoths.

Dr Taylor is something akin to a forensic scientist, except he studies the remains of ancient animals, from horses to reindeer.

He believes scientists can learn a lot by collecting the clues hidden in bones  just like a forensic anthropologist studying human remains.

'The skeleton that you or I have is a chronicle of what we've done in our lives,' Dr Taylor said.

'If I were to keel over right now, and you looked at my skeleton, you'd see that I was right-handed or that I spend most of my hours at a computer.'

When Taylor first laid eyes on the Lehi horse in 2018, he was immediately sceptical of the idea that it was an Ice Age fossil.

He saw it had characteristic fractures in the vertebrae along its back that often occur when a human body bangs repeatedly into a horse's spine during riding.

Pictured, researchers conduct 3D digitisation of bones from the Lehi horse in order to identify skeletal features linked with horseback riding

These fractures rarely show up in wild animals, and are often most pronounced in horses ridden without a frame saddle.

Dr Taylor, who described this clue as 'an eyebrow raiser' decided to look into this further with colleagues.

The team performed radiocarbon dating that showed that it had died sometime after the late 17th century.

It would have been a domesticated horse that had likely belonged to Ute or Shoshone communities before Europeans had a permanent presence in the region.

It also seemed to be suffering from arthritis in several of its limbs.

'The life of a domestic horse can be a hard one, and it leaves a lot of impacts on the skeleton,' Dr Taylor said.

Despite the animal's injuries, which would have probably made the Lehi horse lame, people had continued to care for it, possibly because they were breeding her with stallions in their herd.

For many Plains groups, horses quickly changed nearly every aspect of life for the native people.

'There was more raiding and fewer battles,' said study co-author Carlton Shield Chief Gover.

'Horses became deeply integrated into Plains cultures, and changed the way people moved, traded hunted and more.'

Despite the creature's less impressive age than previously assumed, the animal reveals valuable information about how Indigenous groups in the West looked after their horses.

'This study demonstrates a very sophisticated relationship between Indigenous peoples and horses,' said Dr Taylor.

'It also tells us that there might be a lot more important clues to the human-horse story contained in the horse bones that are out there in libraries and museum collections.'

The study has been published in American Antiquity.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued an order to all telecom operators in India and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to strictly implement regulatory consumer safeguards, in a bid to protect them from the myriad phishing attempts, financial scams and other related frauds. The ruling comes on the back of a writ petition filed at the court by Paytm Payments Bank and its holding company, One97 Communications. The court order asks TRAI and all Indian telcos to strictly restrict the telemarketing sector, in a bid to cut down on an increasing volume of scam calls and financial frauds.

The court petition, filed jointly by Paytm Payments Bank, and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) representing multiple digital payment service operators, urged the court to restrict access of bulk messaging and special numbers to unregistered telemarketers, and penalise registered marketers in cases of spam and various types of frauds that have become increasingly common in the present world. One such type of fraud that is very common incidentally affects Paytms digital wallet and the Paytm Payments Bank accounts, where scammers attempt to defraud Paytm customers in pretext of account verification.

Urging TRAI and all telcos to adhere to the regulatory bodys Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations of 2010 (TCCCPR), the Delhi High Court order gives telcos the need to assess such bulk scammers, and analyse reports to actively block them from operating. The order will also enable digital payment service operators (PSOs) to approach the Delhi HC to seek recourse against such cases of fraud. "We strongly believe that all of us including regulator, government and access providers have to come together to fight the menace of fraudulent calls and SMSs in the country. We are sanguine that Telcos will abide by the courts order in true spirit. This is important to further reinforce the trust of citizens in digital transactions and help in building a truly digital and AtmaNirbhar Bharat," says Satish Kumar Gupta, CEO & Managing Director, Paytm Payments Bank Ltd.

Paytm alleged that such cases of frauds not only impose financial losses and disruption of mental peace for its customers, but also causes a significant impact on the brands reputation, which the said order will reportedly help in addressing. Other PSOs will also be benefactors of the move, which can help the companies better address cases of targeted frauds  something that has significantly increased over the past few years.
A charity boss has been jailed for three months after she and her daughter started a mid-air 'riot' on board a passenger jet after being told off for drunkenly swearing as they were flying out on holiday to Morocco.

Karin Parkes, 57, and former civil servant Carrie Parkes, 35, triggered a 'full on fight' involving up to 20 men at 30,000 feet after they and friends were told off by cabin crew while drunk on wine and duty free pink gin.

Terrified staff on the easyJet flight, which had 186 passengers on board, had tried to calm the two women and asked them to behave but mother-of-two Carrie stuck her fingers in her ears and said: 'I'm not listening to that vile c***.'

Karin Parkes, 57, (left) and former civil servant Carrie Parkes, 35, triggered a 'full on fight' involving up to 20 men at 30,000 feet. They are pictured outside Manchester Crown Court

A cabin manager also urged the group to refrain from using bad language but was told: 'You can f*** off you c***. Do what the f*** you want I'm not a****. we will see what happens.'

The captain of the aircraft, which was flying from Manchester to the Moroccan city of Agadir, had to divert to Casablanca after staff told him the rear of the cabin where the group were sitting was 'out of control.'

During the mayhem, Karin Parkes - who is a manager for a charitable organisation which provides home care for the disabled - swung a punch at a steward while Carrie had to be forcibly held down by other passengers after she demanded to use the toilet when the plane was coming into land.

A virtually empty one litre bottle of Gordon's Pink Gin and empty bottles of vodka were found near their seats.

The pair, both from Blackpool, were later detained by police after being booed off of the plane by other passengers.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Karin was convicted of assault and being drunk on aircraft and was also banned from easyJet flights for ten years.

Carrie who was convicted of being drunk on an aircraft was given three months jail suspended for 12 months and was also issued with a ten year ban.

A third passenger Jonathan Thomas, 38, also from Blackpool, was given three months suspended for a year with an order to complete 150 hours unpaid work after he was convicted of being drunk on an aircraft.

He was also banned from easyJet flights for ten years and ordered to pay 620 costs.

Terrified staff on the easyJet flight, which had 186 passengers on board, had tried to calm the two women and asked them to behave but mother-of-two Carrie (left) stuck her fingers in her ears and said: 'I'm not listening to that vile c***'

The incident on January 19 last year after flight EZ1905 took off at 3.30pm from Terminal One, Manchester.

Originally Karin was supposed to be going with her partner, Thomas, and another a work colleague but Carrie joined them last minute after the colleague dropped out due to illness.

While waiting to board the daughter bought the pink gin in a duty free store before she and her mother later began consuming it at the rear of the aircraft and talking animatedly to a party of 14 men who were thought to be heading out on a 'boys-only' holiday.

Cabin manager Liam Dickson said: 'There were people at the back being loud and using bad language.

' I addressed this an hour into the flight but as I turned away I heard abuse being thrown at me - I knew it was daughter's voice because I had just been talking to her.

'I said there is no need to speak to me like that but she wasn't interested - I could tell she had had a few drinks.'

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Karin (pictured) was convicted of assault and being drunk on aircraft and was also banned from easyJet flights for ten years

At things seemed fairly calm but the pair got 'louder and louder', Mr Dickinson said.

'Then the mother started coming towards me she was staggering towards me and again I could smell alcohol.

'Her words were ''You've got no duty of care for my daughter'' and she did actually put her fists up towards me I managed to step back her knuckles did catch the right side of my jaw. She was very close. She was just out of control.

'There were lads at this point who had jumped out of their seats and I didn't know if they were coming to protect or attack us. I stepped back and there was quite a big passenger who had grabbed Karin by her arms and dragged her to the back galley.

A third passenger Jonathan Thomas, 38, also from Blackpool, was given three months suspended for a year with an order to complete 150 hours unpaid work

'There was a lot of fists flying around with other passengers. It was as if there was a riot happening at the back of the cabin and there were at least 15-20 men stood up at this point and I was very concerned.

'I actually went into the flight deck to tell them that the cabin was out of control and a full on fight was happening. '

Air stewardess Beth Halliwell said: 'My colleagues were very shaken up like we had lost all control of the cabin.

'I have never been so scared in my life at work it was very intimidating it was just not a nice experience at all.'

Carrie claimed she had been drinking wine to calm herself when she she realised she did not have her medication for bipolar disorder.

She told the hearing: 'I was being extremely chatty and loud and my language isn't the best. When I get excited I'm not aware of my surroundings my mum pulls me up on it be aware of other people.

'I remember arguing but I have blackouts because of my medication. I have got a whole plane of passengers, 186 people, booing me and one of my triggers is rejection. I must have just lost it on that plane.

'I can't remember anything until coming round in a third world hospital with my mum crying. I apologise for my behaviour but there is triggers and things I am now getting help for. I felt ashamed and humiliated.'

Karin accused cabin crew of 'exaggerating' the incident and told the hearing: 'When we got on the plane there was no welcome on board or anything.

Originally Karin (pictured) was supposed to be going to Morocco with her partner, Thomas, and another a work colleague but Carrie joined them last minute after the colleague dropped out due to illness

A lady in front of me turned round and said sarcastically: 'they are a happy bunch aren't they?' - meaning the flight crew.

'Carrie then started to get a bit anxious and went: 'mum I haven't got my medication.'

'She was going a million miles an hour like when she's moving from the baseline to crisis point.

'I was hushing Carrie telling her to calm down then something coming over the tannoy saying they are landing the plane because of all this and I was gobsmacked.

'I stood up in her defence because she's a vulnerable adult and I'm her mother. She didn't say the C-word - I would be absolutely disgusted and Carrie knows that she wouldn't use that word in front of me.'

Sentencing Judge John Edwards said: 'This was an extremely challenging flight for the crew of the easyJet flight.

'I have seen footage from a mobile phone and it was a scene of chaos and yet the crew managers were professional throughout. They were able to quell what could have been a dangerous situation.

'The captain said this was the worst incident he had ever had to deal with whilst passengers were unable to escape the utter misery of this ordeal.

'The experience of having a drunk person on an aircraft is deeply unpleasant, particularly on a flight such as this.'
Cat lovers around the world have rallied over the case of a beloved Brooklyn feline who was reportedly killed by a pair of dogs egged on by their owners.

Tuxedo was mauled to death on January 13 after the owners of two dogs knocked him out of a tree with a stick and set the hounds on him, the New York Post reported, citing a witness.

Since then, a petition calling on the NYPD to investigate the incident and arrest the dogs' owners has gathered more than 17,500 signatures from people in more than 80 countries.

Tuxedo, named for his black and white coat, was known as 'the mayor' of the NYC Housing Authority's Breukelen Houses.

He had lived in the complex since 2011 as part of a 'managed feral colony' cared for by Latonya Walker, the New York Post reported.

'When it first happened, I wanted to die, I couldn't even get out of the bed for three days,' Walker, who has been feeding the complex's cats for more than a decade, said.

Cat lovers around the world have rallied over the case of a beloved Brooklyn feline who was reportedly killed by a pair of dogs egged on by their owners. Tuxedo (pictured) was mauled to death on January 13 after the owners of two dogs knocked him out of a tree with a stick and set the hounds on him, the New York Post reported

In response to a previous report by the paper on Tuxedo's death, animal rights group Animal Victory launched the petition urging the NYPD to investigate.

'The dogs ripped the friendly cat apart, causing fatal injuries. The [NYPD] is dragging their feet to make arrests and we want to show them that Tuxedo's life mattered!,' the petition reads.

'Please sign the petition today to let the authorities know that this animal cruelty case MUST be fully investigated and the couple must be charged!'

Walker has also claimed that the NYPD are not doing enough to investigate, the New York Post reported.

No arrests have been made over the January 13 incident.

The NYPD on Thursday said the investigation is 'active and ongoing'. Police officials initially said they needed to determine whether the dogs' owners could be charged with animal cruelty.

A petition calling on the NYPD to investigate the incident and arrest the owners of the dogs that killed Tuxedo the cat has gathered more than 17,500 signatures from people in more than 80 countries. Pictured: Comments on the petition

Some signatories of the petition pointed out that the dogs or the owners allegedly involved could pose a danger to humans as well as other animals. Pictured: A comment on the petition

Animal Victory CEO Janelle Babington told the New York Post that the petition will be sent to Rodney Harrison, chief of detectives for the 69th precinct as well as the New York State Animal Protection Federation. Pictured: A comment on the petition

Animal Victory CEO Janelle Babington told the New York Post that the petition will be sent to Rodney Harrison, chief of detectives for the 69th precinct as well as the New York State Animal Protection Federation.

'This crime in particular was extremely horrific and disturbing. It needs to be investigated and the people who did this need to be brought to justice or it will continue to happen,' Babington told the paper.

The group's petition has signatories from as far away as Zimbabwe, Egypt, Japan and Kazakhstan, with many outraged by what happened to Tuxedo.

'These so called human beings need to pay for what they did,' Ragnheiur Gunnarsdottir, from Iceland, wrote.

'Barbarism must be condemned,' Thierry Goossens, from Belgium, posted.

'So what they are saying is it is okay to have dogs attacking cats Here we are not allowed to do that kind of thing,' Helle Darling, a fellow cat owner from Denmark, wrote.

People across the United States were also incensed by Tuxedo's death, with some pointing out that the dogs or the owners allegedly involved could pose a danger to humans as well as other animals

People across the United States were also incensed by Tuxedo's death, with some pointing out that the dogs or the owners allegedly involved could pose a danger to humans as well as other animals.

'If NYPD does not see this is cruelty they need to get out of the law enforcement business. Next time it will be a child or an elderly person,' Louisa Cornell from Alabama wrote.

'NYPD please take this seriously!' Susan Ridge from Maryland commented.

'These people will easily abuse other people if they abuse animals. It's been proven over and over. This is a heinous crime.'
Over 37 herdsmen with 5,000 cattle were on Thursday evicted from forest reserves by the Ondo State Government.

The states security network, also called Amotekun Corps, which effected the ejection, said the herders failed to comply with the directive of the state government to register before they could be allowed to operate in the area.

Director General of the corps, Adetunji Adeleye, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday in a telephone interview that the process of effecting the directive of the state government was ongoing.

He said those who failed to cooperate with the corps would leave the forest, even as he noted that a number of the herders were cooperating with Amotekun.

The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, had earlier ordered that herdsmen grazing in the forest reserves should either register with the appropriate agencies or vacate the reserves.

The governor had also issued a ban on night and under-age grazing in the state as part of measures to curb the prevailing insecurity in the state.

Before Thursday, the herders had refused to vacate the forest reserves, a development which prompted the Amotekun corps to swing into action to evict them from the forest reserves.

It was gathered that the herds and their owners were escorted out of the forests by operatives of the corps.

Mr Adeleye said the eviction would be total as most of the herders had vowed not to comply with the registration order of the state government.

The herdsmen were said to be removed from the Ala, Oda and Ofosu Forests Reserves of the state to neighbouring states.

Those who felt they cannot comply with out registration have opted to leave the forest, said Mr Adeleye.

Those that are staying with their families are going through the processes of registration.

He noted that the registration will help to determine the criminals from those carrying out their legitimate businesses within the forests.

That is why we are not through with the registration yet, we need to do the needful in terms of biometrics and all that, to be able to know who is qualified, he said.

The position of the government is clear, criminal elements masquerading as herders should vacate the forest.

We did not say Fulanis, the government is not against any ethnic group.

The order was given due to the rising cases of kidnapping in the state, traceable to herdsmen operating with AK47 rifles in the forests.

The eviction order had created tensions between the state government and the Presidency, a development that also drew inspiration from the controversies of a similar order in Oyo State.

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However, the timely intervention of the Nigerian Governors Forum led by its Chairperson, Kayode Fayemi, had doused tensions and allayed the fears of the herders.
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It looks like Tesla has gone all-in on Texas. Not only is the electric car company moving some manufacturing operations to Austin, its founder, Elon Musk, is said to be relocating there, and it will soon be offering its own brand of car insurance in the Lone Star State.

The state insurance department in late January approved a revised policy form submitted by Redpoint County Mutual Insurance Co. for a Tesla Insurance Program for private passenger autos.

Redpoint specializes in private passenger auto coverage written through independent managing general agencies. According to documents filed with the Texas Department of Insurance, Teslas insurance program, underwritten by Redpoint, will be distributed through the Tesla Insurance Services of Texas Inc. (Tesla), an MGA formerly known as Samson General Agency.

Tesla currently offers insurance coverage for Tesla vehicles in California and according to information on the Tesla Insurance website it expects to expand into additional states. Texas appears to be the first step in that expansion.

Tesla Insurance on its website says its product is competitively priced and designed to provide Tesla vehicle owners with up to 20% lower rates, and in some cases, as much as 30%.

Physical damage, bodily injury and liability are among the basic coverages offered by Tesla Insurance. The company says it also offers additional financial protection against theft of the car, and damage to the car for events other than traffic collisions.

In addition to basic and other enhanced coverage offerings, an Autonomous Vehicle Protection Package is available. This package includes Autonomous Vehicle Owner Liability, Wall Charger Coverage, Electronic Key Replacement, and covers Cyber Identity Fraud Expenses, the Tesla Insurance website states.

An emailed request to Redpoint for comment on the rollout of the Tesla Insurance Program in Texas was not returned by press time.

Topics Texas Auto Tesla
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

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MUSKEGON, MI  Muskegon Public Schools will finally welcome students back to the classroom in the coming weeks after being online-only since schools closed last March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The district of roughly 3,500 students is one of the few public school districts in Michigan to remain in fully remote learning at the start of February.

Grades K-5 will return to the classroom on Tuesday, Feb. 16, and will attend classes in-person four days a week with Wednesday being a districtwide remote learning day, according to a letter to families posted online Thursday, Feb. 4.

Middle school students will begin in-person instruction Monday, March 1, while high school students must wait until Monday, March 29, for in-person classes. They will also attend school four days a week.

Muskegon Superintendent Matthew Cortez said although in-person instruction is the best learning model for students, he wants families to be able to choose if they want to stay home during the pandemic.

We want to allow parents the ability to choose their childs pathway until they are comfortable to return to in-person learning, Cortez said.

The in-person instruction model is optional and families can continue fully remote learning if they choose, administrators said.

If a family wants to opt out of in-person learning, parents must contact the district by the Tuesday before their schools first day of in-person classes. That means the final opt-out date is Feb. 9 for elementary families and Feb. 23 for middle school families.

High schoolers have to opt out of in-person instruction by Wednesday, Feb. 17, according to a Facebook post by the district.

Students will not have access to lockers while they are at school. The district will not serve breakfast at school, but will send breakfast and lunch meals to registered homes. Families can register for meal delivery by calling 231-720-3170.

Families have to complete a COVID symptom screener every day before sending their student to school. Students are required to wear a mask at all times at school, including during bus rides.

Water fountains will be closed in all buildings in accordance with health regulations, but water bottles will be provided to students, according to the letter.

Preliminary parent surveys have shown that families are split about 50-50 between the choices of in-person and virtual learning, Cortez said.

Muskegon Public Schools has been online-only since the start of the school year, but offered daily in-person tutoring to all students to complement virtual learning during the pandemic. The 55-minute sessions were limited to no more than eight students in a classroom and offered five days a week.

To help you navigate this complicated fall, were pleased to offer you a simpler way to get all of your education news: Our new Michigan Schools: Education in the COVID Era newsletter delivered right to your inbox. To receive this newsletter, simply click here to sign up.

More on MLive:

Saline talks teacher vaccinations, progress toward more in-person classes

Some parents are speaking out against returning to in-person classes in Ann Arbor

Limited supply means some schools cant vaccinate their teachers against COVID like others can
Canara Bank SO admit card 2021: One of India's largest public sector banks, Canara Bank has released the admit cards for recruitment of Specialist Officers (SO) across disciplines and Specialist Recruitment Drive for ST category. Through its latest recruitment drive, Canara Bank aims to fill 220 vacancies. Eligible and interested candidates can download the admit card from the official Canara Bank website between February 4, 2021 to February 14, 2021.

Steps to download Canara Bank SO admit card

Step 1: Visit the official Canara Bank website: canarabank.com

Step 2: Go to careers link on the homepage and select recruitment folder

Step 3: Click on the 'Canara Bank recruitment project-2/2020' link

Step 4: You will be redirected to a new page. Key in details like registration number, date of birth, captcha code and click on submit option

Step 5: Download the Canara Bank SO admit card and take a printout for future use

The admit card will comprise details regarding examination centre, reporting time and important instructions. No candidate shall be allowed to enter the examination hall without an admit card under any circumstances.

Canara Bank's online SO 2021 examination will take place on February 14, 2021. Test for Officer Scale I is slated for the morning shift whereas those for Officer Scale II and III are scheduled for the afternoon shift.

Also read: Twitter deletes Kangana Ranaut's tweets; cites hate speech rule violation
One week after Portland Public Schools leaders announced plans to phase elementary and middle schoolers back into classrooms in early April, the union representing district teachers says its opposed because reopening schools may put Black, Indigenous and other families of color at high health risk.

The Portland Association of Teachers is demanding the district mount a comprehensive survey of those families before solidifying its plans.

The union does not have a long track record of elevating concerns about students and educators of color above other priorities. A July 2020 report by OPB noted the union shelved a report it commissioned about racial equity within the organization.

Nichole Watson, the Black educator hired to research and write the report, left Portland Public Schools to become principal of Prescott Elementary in the Parkrose district last fall.

The tussle between union and Portland district leaders over reopening plans is the latest such episode since October, when educators in rural Douglas County refused to show up for work after officials in the Winston-Dillard district announced plans to bring high schoolers back for part-time in-person learning.

In January, Lake Oswego teachers issued a fiery letter to Superintendent Lora De La Cruz after she announced an early February start for in-person instruction at the districts elementary schools. Officials subsequently postponed their plans by a matter of weeks and, in an about-face from previous comments, said vaccinations for school employees would be a factor in their reopening timeline.

In a letter to Portland Public Schools decision-makers, the school board and Gov. Kate Brown, union leaders wrote that they oppose the districts reopening timeline, claiming white and affluent families will be best poised to send their children back to school. That, they wrote, would shift resources away from students of color and those in low-income households.

Educators are very concerned that any decisions being made going forward about how well be shifting resources should be centered on equity, union President Elizabeth Thiel told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

District officials say theyre doing just that.

Senior Advisor for Racial Equity and Social Justice Dani Ledezma told The Oregonian/OregonLive that principals have checked in with families of students of color, those who speak languages other than English and others historically not well served throughout the year, answering parents questions about district plans and assuring them regarding any fears they may have.

Community organizations Portland Public Schools contracts with to provide cultural support, such as Latino Network and Self Enhancement Inc., have similarly been in touch with families to check in on student progress and relay parent concerns to the district.

Ledezma also said Portland Public Schools has hosted several focus groups, in some cases exclusively with Black, Indigenous and other families of color, to ensure theyre taking the right approach.

What we recognize is theres so much complexity to this work, so much complexity to our communities of color, she said.

All told, Ledezma estimates Portland Public Schools has informally polled some 200 families of color throughout the year. She bristled at the idea that the district hasnt done enough to reach out to families of color and address their concerns.

Were keenly aware theres a trust gap, Ledezma said. We have to move past just saying what the problem is and moving toward co-creating solutions. How do we collectively move through that fear?

Still, Thiel and other union leaders are calling for a broader survey that includes disaggregated demographic information.

We have not seen any centralized data from the district that reflects or sought the opinion widely of families, Thiel said.

Union leaders acknowledged Oregons relatively low rate of coronavirus infections, saying the state is relatively safe from COVID-19 compared with others. Still, they say that Black, Indigenous and Latino families represent a disproportionate share of infections.

Health and education officials at the state and local levels have similarly voiced concern over the pandemics impacts on communities of color.

The latest Oregon Health Authority figures show Black Oregonians have made up 2.4% of overall detected coronavirus cases but represent 1.2% of people vaccinated so far. About 4.9% of Oregons vaccinations have gone to Latinos.

Willamette Week first reported the discrepancy among Black Oregonians.

Multiple studies have shown school reopenings dont contribute to community spread of coronavirus. In a three-month study of 17 Wisconsin school districts, the Centers for Disease Control traced seven coronavirus infections among nearly 4,900 students back to classrooms. A significantly higher share of people caught the virus in other community settings.

Portland Public Schools leaders also argue the pandemic has exacerbated academic disparities, a key factor in deciding which students to offer limited in-person learning.

There are multiple ways communities of color bore the brunt of the pandemic, Chief of Systems Performance Russell Brown said. The educational learning losses, we believe, are disproportionately being piled on communities of color.

District officials say they chose sites for limited in-person instruction based on which students were struggling most with distance learning. A little more than half of the students chosen for in-person support at Madison High, where two-hour lessons aimed toward credit recovery began last week, are Black and Latino.

Officials expect Grant High to host a similar program in the coming weeks.

Chief of Schools Shawn Bird said he left it up to principals to decide which students would attend those sessions. He wanted to stress invitations were voluntary  a district-issued letter asking a student to show up for in-person support might be misconstrued as a mandate, he said.

Those invitations were very personalized and catered to individual students, he said. Its much more well-received if its not coming from the district.

Bird, Brown and Ledezma also stressed that the districts hybrid options will also be voluntary and that their availability is dependent on infections remaining on a downward trajectory from their high in December. The district is also surveying families to gauge how many will opt to keep their children learning virtually through the end of the school year.

There isnt one standard student or family experience, Bird said. Were not going to do anything in a way thats not safe and wont contribute to the confidence of our community.

Polls and other findings both locally and nationally have highlighted that parents of color are less likely to want their children to return to in-person learning, worrying they cant trust official reassurances it will be safe based in part on historic abuses of and lies to people of color by the U.S. medical establishment as well as disproportionate virus infection rates among Pacific Islanders and Latinos in Oregon.

But in Portland, families of color on both sides of the debate chafe at the idea that communities of color walk in lockstep when it comes to school reopenings.

Marcus Mundy, the executive director for the Coalition of Communities of Color, told the school board in January that, anecdotally, member organizations have heard opinions on school reopening that run the gamut.

Were not all in consensus, he said. We have a lot of members. Some want their kids back in schools. Some have questions about (vaccinations for) teachers. And others want this pandemic problem to be solved before they even go near that situation.

--Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano | Eder on Facebook

Eder is The Oregonians education reporter. Do you have a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email ecampuzano@oregonian.com.
The Garda National Protective Services Bureau has formally established Organised Prostitution Investigation Unit, to police all aspects of organised criminality within the sex trade, including the enforcement of legislation criminalising the purchase of sexual services.

The Organised Prostitution Investigation Unit, formally known as and operating as Operation Quest is attached to the Garda National Protective Services Bureau, under Assistant Commissioner, Organised and Serious Crime based at Harcourt Square.

"The establishment of this specialised unit reinforces An Garda Siochanas commitment to protecting vulnerable persons, including victims of human trafficking involved in prostitution in Ireland," a Garda Press statement read.

"This will be achieved by, tackling crime gangs involved in organisation prostitution, by targeting the demand for prostitution and by safeguarding those persons trafficked for sexual exploitation.

"The Unit have been actively targeting organised prostitution and brothel-keeping. For example, a 44-year-old male and a 26-year-old female are currently before the courts charged with multiple offences in relation to Organised Prostitution, Brothel Keeping, Money Laundering and Fraud related offences in the greater Dublin area.

"In addition to the above investigation, the Garda National Protective Services Bureau have been active in investigating attacks on persons in the sex trade."

Detective Chief Superintendent Declan Daly said: "A physical or sexual assault on a prostitute is a serious crime and an attack on a vulnerable person in the community. Any person who commits such an attack can expect to be subject to a criminal investigation. Those persons who seek out and purchase sexual services also commit a criminal offence and will be prosecuted.



The Organised Prostitution Investigation Unit have a number of persons before the Courts involved in violent attacks on vulnerable persons involved in the Sex Trade.

An Garda Siochana are conscious that a significant number of serious attacks on individuals in the Sex Trade go un-reported, however An Garda Siochana "encourage those in the sex trade to report all such attacks, which will be rigorously investigated.
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Friday sent his strongest message yet that he intends to move forward on his economic relief plan without Republican support, as the House gave final approval to a budget bill that will allow him to do just that.

The House voted 219-209 to approve the budget plan, which the Senate had already passed early Friday morning, beginning the process of turning Biden's stimulus proposal into legislation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday she aims to pass Biden's stimulus plan through the House within two weeks.

The rapid movement by congressional Democrats came as Biden gave his sharpest criticism to date of the Republican approach to the stimulus package, suggesting further negotiations with the GOP could cause an unacceptable delay to critical relief.

"Are we going to say to millions of Americans who are out of work - many out of work for six months or longer, who have been scarred by this economic and public health crisis - Don't worry, hang on, things are going to get better' " Biden said in remarks at the White House on Friday. "That's the Republican answer right now. I can't in good conscience do that. Too many people in the nation have already suffered for too long."

Biden's declaration that he will not wait for Republicans represents a pivotal moment in his presidency, given his pledges restore bipartisanship to Washington. Biden spent 40 years shaping a political identity as a figure who reaches across the aisle - often attracting mockery or derision for it - and he campaigned on pulling the country together after the divisiveness of the Donald Trump era.

Biden invited Republicans to the White House for negotiations over the stimulus, and White House officials said they would still try to incorporate GOP ideas into the final package. But on Friday, Biden sounded ready to push ahead with only the Democrats' tiny majorities reliably behind him.

"I see enormous pain in this country. A lot of folks out of work. A lot of folks going hungry, staring at the ceiling at night wondering, 'What am I going to do tomorrow?' " Biden said. "So I'm going to act, and I'm going to act fast."

Washington Post photo by Salwan Georges.

The budget plan passed by the House will direct committees to start working on the details underlying Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package. The Senate approved that measure in the early-morning hours Friday by a 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tiebreaking vote in the chamber after more than 15 hours of debate.

The stimulus package would include checks up to $1,400 for low- and moderate-income families, extended jobless benefits, and provide $160 billion to strengthen the public health response to the pandemic, improving the vaccine distribution and increased testing, among other measures.

The Friday votes are the latest sign of a more partisan effort underway in pursuing final passage of Biden's relief package through a narrow majority.

Top Democrats in both chambers say they are moving with an increased sense of urgency, as the economic recovery from the pandemic continues to show signs of stalling. Meanwhile GOP lawmakers have called for slowing down the relief effort and substantially scaling back the $1.9 trillion effort, which conservatives have derided as unnecessarily increasing the federal deficit.

For his part, Biden, on Friday, accused Republicans of "rediscovering" the danger of the deficit, which rose during the Trump administration with massive tax cuts.

A new jobs report out Friday provided the latest glimpse of the faltering economy, which added just 49,000 jobs in January, an anemic amount of growth, coming a month after the labor market shed jobs. The U.S. has only recovered about half of the 22 million jobs it lost between February and April.

"We now have three disappointing months in a row. We have to admit we've stalled out. There's a danger of double-dip recession," Austan Goolsbee, who served as a senior economist in the Obama administration, said on CNBC Friday morning while talking about the January jobs report.

Indeed, Democrats have been rushing the stimulus package through, in part, because tens of millions of Americans would begin to lose federal unemployment benefits under existing law in mid-March.

Biden on Friday hosted House Democratic leaders, including Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., at the White House to make the case for swiftly passing the relief effort. He also cited increases in suicides, drug abuse and violence against women during the pandemic.

Pelosi also told House Democrats in a letter Friday that they aim to "finish our work" on the relief package before the end of February. Asked if she could guarantee the legislation would be passed before unemployment aid expires for millions of Americans in mid-March, Pelosi said: "Absolutely. Without any question. Before then."

"Hopefully in a two-week period of time, we will send something over to the Senate," Pelosi said, flanked by the Democratic committee chairs. "We hope to be able to put vaccines in people's arms; money in people's pockets; children safely in schools; and workers in their jobs."

Earlier on Friday, the Senate passage of the budget resolution moved the "budget reconciliation" process along, clearing the way for the final stimulus package to pass the Senate with a simple-majority vote, instead of the 60 normally required. That allows Democrats to move forward with no GOP votes if necessary, although Democrats and Biden officials insist that they hope Republicans will join them.

The Senate spent most of Thursday afternoon and Friday morning voting on some 45 amendments on a range of issues, including passing a motion that said stimulus payments should not go to affluent Americans.

"The American people deserve for the conversation about next steps to begin with them and their needs. Not partisan rush jobs. Not talking points," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor on Thursday. "It will not serve Americans to pile another huge mountain of debt on our grandkids for policies that even liberal economists say are poorly targeted to current needs."

Not all Democrats have been thrilled with Biden's approach. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., the most conservative Senate Democrat, has said he would strongly prefer a bipartisan bill than one approved only with Democratic votes. On Friday, a bipartisan group of centrist House lawmakers called the Problem Solvers Caucus called for Congress to first approve legislation boosting vaccine distribution -- an approach rejected by the White House.
Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 5:19 pm

An Auburn-area man and prominent member of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys, who was captured on video leading a pro-Trump mob to the U.S. Capitol just before it was breached and ransacked, was arrested and charged Wednesday for his alleged role in planning and participating in last month's deadly insurrection.

Ethan Nordean, a 30-year-old bodybuilder known in right-wing circles by his alias, Rufio Panman, faces four federal criminal counts in the District of Columbia, including obstructing an official proceeding, aiding and abetting injury to government property, disorderly conduct and knowingly and violently entering a restricted building, according to a criminal complaint.

Nordean faces more than 30 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Corey Endo, Nordean's federal public defender, did not immediately respond to a voicemail left for her Wednesday afternoon. Attempts to reach Nordean in the week before his arrest were unsuccessful.

Charging documents identify Nordean as the self-described "Sergeant of Arms" of the Seattle chapter of the Proud Boys, a group that often wears yellow and black clothing, prohibits women from joining its ranks and is known in the Northwest for street brawls and violent clashes with antifascist activists.

Calling themselves a "pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists," the Proud Boys have been condemned as a hate group by extremist watchdogs, racial justice advocates and others.

Just before the deadly riot on Jan. 6 that interrupted Congress' certification of the presidential election results, Nordean was widely captured in videos and photographs as known Proud Boys members and other pro-Trump demonstrators rallied and marched on Washington.

One video taken by Eddie Block, a Proud Boys livestreamer, featured Nordean at various times speaking through a bullhorn and leading a large group to the Capitol, just before the mob broke through a police line and breached the building.

An FBI's agent's probable cause affidavit supporting Nordean's arrest includes images of what appear to be Nordean, bearded and wearing a ballcap backwards, within the mob that pushed into the Capitol. The 21-page affidavit alleges Nordean was "among those who entered the U.S. Capitol building after rioters forced entry and pushed past Capitol Police officers."

In the days leading up to the insurrection, authorities contend Nordean also wrote a post under his alias on Parler, the social-media platform widely used by Trump supporters and right-leaning groups, that indicated "he and other Proud Boys members were planning in advance to organize a group that would attempt to overwhelm police barricades and enter the United States Capitol building."

Nordean allegedly posted on Dec. 27: "Anyone looking to help us with safety/protective gear, or communications equipment it would be much appreciated, things have gotten more dangerous for us this past year, anything helps," according to the affidavit. The post then linked to a fundraising site called "Protective gear and communications by Rufio Panman," the affidavit states.

On Jan. 4, Nordean also allegedly posted a link to his video podcast, "Rebel Talk with Rufio," that included a variety of incriminating statements, as well as a video captioned, "Let them remember the day they decided to make war with us," the affidavit alleges.

In Seattle, Chief Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida presided over Nordean's initial appearance via Zoom on Wednesday afternoon. Since the allegations against Nordean originate in another district, Tsuchida said Nordean had the option of admitting he is the person wanted in D.C. or forcing the government to prove he is the same person named in the government's complaint.

Tsuchida ordered Nordean to be temporarily held in detention until Monday, when a status hearing will be held to address the issues of detention and identity.

Nordean, a married father of one, lives with his wife on the same suburban street just outside of Auburn as his parents, about a 10-minute drive from Flaming Geyser State Park. An avid bodybuilder, he was selling protein powder through a since-dissolved business called Bangarang Elite Supplements about the time he started showing up at right-wing rallies in mid-2017, according to extremist watchdog groups.

Late last year, Nordean and his wife launched a new retail company, Rebel Life, state business records show. Shopify recently stopped hosting Nordean's store, after receiving complaints from people monitoring Nordean and other Proud Boys on Parler.

Nordean's father, Michael Nordean, who owns and runs two restaurants  Wally's Chowder House in Des Moines and Wally's Drive-In in Buckley  has publicly disavowed his son's extremism and ties to the Proud Boys. In June 2020, the elder Nordean posted a lengthy statement to his restaurants' website calling his son's beliefs "misguided" and noting, "Ethan no longer works for our restaurants."

Amid scrutiny of his son following the deadly insurrection, Michael Nordean issued another brief statement last week through a publicist hired by the family: "We absolutely do not support the actions of Ethan or the extremist group he belongs to," it said.

In another statement Wednesday, the family said: "We have tried for a long while to get our son off the path which led to his arrest today  to no avail. Ethan will be held accountable for his actions."

Extremist watchdog groups began taking notice of Nordean in the summer of 2017, when he started showing up at rallies in Seattle and Portland staged by the far-right Patriot Prayer group.

"He's particularly noteworthy for the extraordinary levels of thuggish violence he brings to these events," Dave Neiwert, an author and journalist for the progressive news website Daily Kos who has written about the radical right, noted in a recent social media post about Nordean.

Nordean's celebrity in right-wing circles took off after a Proud Boys rally in Portland in June 2018 disintegrated into a street brawl between the group and counterprotesters.

When one black-clad activist swung a baton at him, Nordean appeared to knock the man out with one punch, a video that captured the moment shows. The Proud Boys quickly created a meme featuring the image of Nordean's knockout blow that went viral. Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes posted a loop of it on social media and hailed the punch as "the turning point in our war against antifa," reported Neiwert, a former contributor to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Soon after, Nordean was named "Proud Boy of the Week" and landed a guest spot on rightist conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' InfoWars broadcast. Nordean used the appearance to help recruit new members to the Proud Boys.

"If you want to get involved, there's no better time than now," Nordean said on the broadcast. "Get involved, find your local chapter, hit him up."

Nordean's alias, "Rufio Panman," soon began showing up on the Proud Boys leadership lists, and he started taking an active role in organizing rallies and events for the group, said Devin Burghart, Seattle-based president of the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights.

"He's been helping map the direction of the organization and recruiting members," Burghart said. "In no small part, he's been responsible for moving the group even more to the extreme far right and on a more violent path forward."

In Block's video taken just before the insurrection on Jan. 6, Nordean is featured in a leadership role among a large group of Proud Boys. At times, he can be seen talking through a bullhorn and alongside Joe Biggs, a Florida-based Proud Boys organizer who barked instructions into a walkie-talkie.

At one point, Nordean and Biggs appeared at the head of a large gathering of Proud Boys, as the group marched down a street toward the Capitol, the video shows.

"Two men on a mission, with about 500 behind them ready to kick some butt for the benefit of this country," Block can be heard narrating, while Nordean and Biggs led the march.

An FBI probable cause affidavit supporting the Jan. 19 arrest of Biggs also named Nordean, raising speculation among extremist watchdogs and others that he, too, would be charged.

The attack on the Capitol temporarily halted Congress' certification of Democrat Joe Biden's election as president and led to the deaths of five people, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer. In a list that officials say is growing by the day, federal authorities have since identified some 400 suspects and arrested more than 165 in connection with the siege.

Nordean is the second Washington resident to be charged in connection with the Capitol siege. Mark Leffingwell, 51, of Seattle, a former Washington National Guardsman, was arrested inside the Capitol last month and charged with assaulting a federal officer and three other criminal counts.

The day before the riot, Nordean allegedly posted a message of forewarning to his Parler page:

"It is apparent now more than ever, that if you are a patriot, you will be targeted and they will come after you, funny thing is that they don't realize is, is we are coming for them," Nordean wrote, according to the FBI affidavit. "You've chosen your side, black and yellow teamed with red, white and blue against everyone else."
Pa. COVID-19 mask mandate will be lifted by June 28 or sooner

Pennsylvania announced Thursday that the commonwealth will eliminate its mask mandates by June 28 as COVID-19 cases drop and vaccinations increase.
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Reconciliation with Turkey would likely deliver a fatal blow to beleaguered Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Amberin Zaman writes in her article on Al-Monitor.

Normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey is out of the question in the near future, said a high-ranking Armenian diplomat on condition of anonymity. According to him, the Turkish initiatives are connected with the promise of President Joe Biden to join the growing number of nations that officially recognized the massacre of more than a million Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as genocide. Turkeys open support to Azerbaijans war of aggression in the form of its top military expertise, consultants, weapons as well as recruitment and transportation of Islamic mercenaries [from Syria] resuscitated century-old held Armenian fears of genocide, the diplomat said. It is shocking that a country may stick to genocidal intent for a century, without feeling an inch of guilt for what it its predecessors did, [rather than] acknowledge and repent for the crime, he added.

Such sentiments are widespread. Reconciliation with Turkey is likely to deal a fatal blow to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is facing numerous calls for his resignation. Jake Hanrakhan, creator of the independent platform Popular Front, who recently visited Nagorno-Karabakh, believes that the Armenian people will absolutely oppose any rapprochement with Turkey. There are literally Turkish flags visible from [the Armenian-held town] Stepanakert [in Nagorno-Karabakh] right now hanging from [Azerbaijan-held] Shushi, a place where Armenians had their heads cut off on camera by Turkish-backed Azerbaijani forces, he told Al-Monitor. If the Armenian government decides to do this now, they will lose what scraps of faith they had from the people of Karabakh, Hanrahan added.

Hanrahan was referring to several gruesome footage on social media during the war, when two Armenians were beheaded by Azerbaijani forces.

Lawrence Broers, director of Caucasus programs at Chatham House, agrees that with such bitterness, dialogue between Turkey and Armenia is difficult. A humiliating defeat in which Turkey played a key role is of course not an enabling context for normalization. Any such process should be just that  a process, built up over time and realized across multiple dimensions  societal, cultural, ideational  not just as a geopolitical tradeoff, he said.

Richard Giragossian, director of the Regional Studies Center, a think tank in Yerevan, believes Armenia may not have much influence in this regard. Armenias now entrenched reluctance may become less of an obstacle and more of a minor inconvenience, Giragossian said, citing two reasons: First Turkey may initiate a unilateral effort to reopen the border, threatening to isolate Armenian leaders by forcing them into a self-defeating refusal.

His second reason that normalization may result from an agreement imposed on Armenia between Russia and Turkey, sounds illogical. But Giragossian argues that Russian President Vladimir Putin will see this as an important way to strengthen the Eurasian Economic Union by expanding its borders to include Turkey. Russian border guards control that border and the Russian-owned Armenian railway network will benefit. For Moscow its a further way to isolate Georgia, he said.

Broers argues that a tough approach can produce quick results, but does not guarantee stability. Since Russia's former monopoly in the South Caucasus has been threatened by Ankara's decisive intervention on Azerbaijan's side and is now largely security-constrained, Turkey will need to decide whether it wants to use its influence as another hegemon over Armenia or have a different kind of relationship based on soft and economic power.

Turkey's aggressive stance in Syria, Libya, and the eastern Mediterranean suggests it is likely to opt for the former. The whole dynamic of regionalization suggests Turkey is looking for near-abroad theaters in which to project hegemony. Hegemonic power gets you a long way in the South Caucasus, but ultimately also falls victim to regional fracture, Broers concluded.
Liberia leads the number of motor road accidents globally, according to Transport Minister Samuel Wulue. Making the shocking revelation when he appeared before the Liberian Senate on Capitol Hill in Monrovia, Minister Wulue disclosed that most of these accidents are attributed to the current state of road conditions in the country.

He stressed an urgent need for government allocate sufficient financial resources in the National Budget to ensure that roads are adequately and timely rehabilitated to reduce the increasing wave of road accidents here.

The Transport Minister warned that if nothing were done about the growing wave of road accidents, Liberia risks more accident cases.

Mr. Wulue called on the 54th Legislature to seriously provide additional funds in upgrading roads that are currently depreciating due to lack of regular maintenance.

At the close of 2020, the Inter Ministerial Task Force which comprises the Ministry of Transport (MoT), Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Ministry of Public Works (MPW), Ministry of Education (MOE), and the Ministry of Health (MOH) held a joint program in Monrovia with several speakers calling for increased budgetary support to the Road Safety Secretariat (RSS) aimed at minimizing road accidents in Liberia.

In order to reduce the level of road accidents in the country, the government's Road Safety Secretariat (RSS) based at the Ministry of Transport has embarked on the 2nd Phase of the Road Safety Awareness and Sensitization campaign in four counties.

According to the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Mr. Lemuel O. Kleeme, and the Coordinator of Road Safety Secretariat at the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Samuel Wonasue, the campaign, slated for February 7-19, 2021, will be held in Bong, Margibi, Grand Bassa, and Grand Cape Mount Counties respectively.

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According to them, the awareness and sensitization campaign is aimed at providing road safety education to drivers, motorcyclists, tricyclists, pedestrians, marketers, students and workers, to help reduce the high rate of motor accidents across the country.

They disclosed that during the conduct of the awareness, the Road Safety Secretariat will hold stakeholders' meeting and also conduct Training-of-Trainers (TOT) workshops with local authorities, marketers, the transport unions, private and public school authorities as well as streets promotion and the distribution of road safety information flyers, stickers and T-shirts.

They added that the program will be held in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County from 8:00AM to 6:00Pm daily as of February 1- 15, 2021.

Meanwhile, the Government of Liberia (GOL) through the Road Safety Secretariat of the Ministry of Transport is inviting all transport stakeholders and the general public during these activities.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 17:40:55|Editor: huaxia

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A huge banner of Youdao is seen hanging on the New York Stock Exchange building in New York, the United States, Oct. 25, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

"Instead of decoupling financially, the U.S. and China now have one of the largest and fastest-growing bilateral investment relationships in the world," the FT quoted Nicholas Borst at Seafarer Capital Partners, an investment adviser as saying.

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Despite the United States' strategic rivalry with China, when "it comes to making money, there is much more that attracts than repels," The Financial Times (FT) said in an analysis published Thursday.

In its article "U.S.-China investment flows belie geopolitical tensions," the FT said that "data show efforts by Former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to decouple the Chinese and U.S. economies have fallen apart."

U.S. institutional investors, including Fidelity and BlackRock, feature prominently among investors in the IPO of Kuaishou, a popular Chinese short video platform, which is expected to raise up to 6.3 billion U.S. dollars, the article said.

"Instead of decoupling financially, the U.S. and China now have one of the largest and fastest-growing bilateral investment relationships in the world," the FT quoted Nicholas Borst at Seafarer Capital Partners, an investment adviser as saying.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk poses with Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicle owners during a ceremony in Shanghai, east China, Jan. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

Bilateral investment ties are much deeper than official statistics suggest since American investors held 1.1 trillion dollars in equity issued by Chinese companies at the end of 2020 -- or about five times more than the 211 billion dollars captured by official U.S. data as of September 2020, the article said, citing estimates from research company Rhodium Group.

In 2020, Chinese companies raised 19 billion dollars in primary and secondary offerings on U.S. exchanges last year, a total eclipsed only in 2014 thanks to Alibaba's mammoth 25-billion-U.S.-dollar IPO in New York, the FT said.

Endeavors by the Trump administration to blacklist Chinese companies or bar Americans from investing in them, have "clearly not curbed market appetite for greater financial integration," the paper quoted Thilo Hanemann, a partner at Rhodium as saying. 
Amaravati, Feb 5 : In a deviation of stance within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre and its Andhra Pradesh wing, party state president Somu Veerraju said AP BJP leaders will definitely fight for Visakhapatnam steel plant on Friday.

"We will definitely fight for Visakhapatnam," said Veerraju, assuring about the steel plant located in the port city, which the Central government has decided to privatize.

Veerraju said he agrees with the locals' contention against privatizing Vizag Steel Plant.

"In the current atmosphere, AP BJP completely agrees with it. Yesterday, Madhav met Nirmala Sitharaman and tomorrow external affairs minister is coming, GVL (Narasimha Rao) is hereOn Feb 14 we are going to attend a meeting in Delhi, then we will meet the president (party) and convey the thoughts on the steel plant," said Veerraju.

He reminded that the steel plant came to Visakhapatnam after a massive movement some decades ago when he was a school boy and invoked Amruta Rao's name, a Dalit MLA who fought for it.

Meanwhile, he alleged that recently Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Buddha Venkkana charged at BJP leaders when they were addressing the media after visiting several temples allegedly attacked.

Veerraju claimed that Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took up building temples because the BJP fought for it.

"Chandrababu never built. He just appointed a committee. In the CAG report, it was mentioned how temples funds were expended during Chandrababu's time. But now he is chanting 'Jai Shriram' at Ram's temple, what can we say?" observed the BJP leader.

He alleged that money was not paid for the temple lands taken during Nara Chandrababu Naidu's tenure as chief minister.

"Until a few days back, Naidu said reservations should be given for Christians. Then no Hindu will be left in the scheduled castesNow he says Jagan is converting people," claimed Veerraju.

As the BJP is in power at the Centre, Veerraju said one should be careful while talking and claimed that he was only talking about issues, without undermining anyone. Eom/355 words
Al-Shabaab group said they will issue a 6 part documentary series on the performance of President Farmaajo's administration.

In a statement, the group said they are attempting to represent the "Somali public" with comprehensive research that combines an "accurate analysis" of the political situation in Somalia.

"The series documentaries series is the result of rigorous and extensive research and took a year to compile and prepare," Al-Shabaab said.

"It rellies exclusively on authentic reports and official documents to argue its case, using Farmaajo's speeches and campaign pledges during the 2017 elections as a basis in order to evaluate his administration,"

The group said the documentary will be released in both English and Somali languages and will compromise in 6 parts.

Last year the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in a report, officially labelled al-Shabaab militants as a transnational security threat in the East Africa region.

This comes barely a week after the militant group released a video of Manda bay attack in Lamu county in Kenya in which 3 Americans were killed.

As was shown in the video the attackers were from Kenya and Ethiopia, as well as Uganda and Tanzania.

Al-Shabaab controls parts of Somalia and has carried out attacks in neighbouring countries including Kenya.
Scene of the blaze at Eglantine Place in the University area of Belfast

Five people including a child were rescued from a burning building in south Belfast on Thursday morning after flames spread from a car that had been set alight.

Police have launched an investigation into the attack, which occurred at 6.30am in Eglantine Place.

Detective Sergeant Natalie Moore said police are treating "this reckless attack" as arson with intent to endanger life.

After they were rescued the five people were treated by Ambulance Service staff. It is understood one of the adults was taken to hospital.

A vehicle in a ground floor apartment car park was torched and the flames spread to other vehicles and the building above.

The Fire Service said smoke from the blaze had entered the flats.

Local SDLP councillor Gary McKeown said the blaze could have resulted in a tragedy and criticised those responsible.

"This arson attack in Eglantine Place had the potential to take lives, so I am very thankful that the Fire Service was able to bring the situation under control and rescue the affected residents," he said.
EV

Nestled in Irelands Wicklow mountains this is AVA Studio at Powerscourt.



This is where the Hyperclassic will be built. pic.twitter.com/TFwn93mUtw  AVA (@AvaElectrifi) February 4, 2021

AVA Stingray is a new-born project to re-awake, electrify, and immortalize the iconic C2 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray . And theyll do it in the 1,200 to 2,000 hp range with help from none other than Peter Brock and Ian Callum.According to its own description, Studio AVA is a small company stemming from Powerscourt, which is nestled in Irelands Wicklow mountains. And this is where they intend to build the AVA Stingray, which for some reason is alternatively labeled as the Hyperclassic.Probably because theyre trying to bring to life hypermodern pace, power, and performance enveloped in the body of body and soul of a classic. Yeah, that might be the reason for that bombastic nickname. And you know what, with the people they claim to have involved, it might be entirely fitting.Thats because theyre not only recreating the original C2 Vette Sting Ray with modern internals and calling it a day. They somehow managed to bring on board for the bespoke's design a couple of grand names of automotive design One is Ian Callum, the former styling manager at Jaguar and Aston Martin and a successful entrepreneur who already has experience with unique and limited-edition products.The other one is none other than Peter Elbert Brock, the youngest ever designer hired by GM Styling. He is the last surviving member of the team that shaped the original C2 Corvette into existence, and the man that designed the Shelby Daytona Cobra, among others.So far, Studio AVA has shared little tangible information about the AVA Stingray . We have no idea when production kicks off, how many units are planned, how much this Hyperclassic is going to cost, or when the first deliveries are planned.The trail of hints left by the company on social media includes its prior experience with another cult classic that got electrified, Ferraris 308 (a couple of beauty shots are in the gallery). We also found out that AVA plans to build the new Stingray at home in Powerscourt in a tailored but strictly limited fashion. Furthermore, each car will be instilled with the unique personality of its owner as well as EV power levels of between 1,200 and 2,000 hp.

The heat is on Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa with a section of his own community demanding that he quit his post if he is powerless to care for the community.

A sub-sect of the Lingayat community, the Panchamshalis who form almost 70 per cent of the Lingayats, is demanding reservation under the 2A category, which could give them access to nearly 15 per cent quota in education and jobs. Currently, Panchamshalis are in the 3B category, which has only a five per cent reservation.

Seers are on a padayatra for the last few days from the holy place of Kudalasangama to Bengaluru demanding the quota.

What irked the seers is the reply of the Chief Minister in the legislature Assembly on Friday that this was not in his hands and it was under the purview of the central government.

The seers upped the pressure on the CM, calling for his resignation if he was incapable of serving the needs of his own community. They said he must make way for some other efficient Lingaayt leader to head the State.

Lingayats form the BJPs major vote bank in Karnataka.

Panchamshali seer Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swami said that, It's enough that the Centre supports BSY as the Chief Minister. Let the PM or Amit Shah or Nadda give him an honourable exit and place some other able Lingayat as the CM. Today our protest is changing... Our demand is either you give Panchamshalis the reservation or you give your resignation.

Amit Shah is not our CM, nor is Modi nor is Nadda. BSY is the CM here and the State has the full powers to bring in the reservation to protect communities. He is passing the buck to the Centre, he is saying he will take MPs to go and talk to them. We doubt now whether he has read the Constitution at all. He has lost our trust. He has been the CM for three times, he must know he has powers on this. Otherwise let him make way for another mass Lingayat leader as CM, the seer added.

The Panchamshali sub-sect has been on a padayatra for the last three weeks now covering over 250 kms, with hundreds of supporters joining them along the way. They are expected to reach Bengaluru by February 15.

As part of their agitation, the protestors burnt tyres on the Bengaluru-Chitradurga highway on Friday.
She was up bright and early Thursday morning to help announced the nominations for the 2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

And later in the day, Lily Collins still managed to look bright eyed and bushy tailed as she stepped out in Beverly hills.

The actress, 31, looked stylish as she paired a loose-fitting brown sweater with matching color shoes by Birdies and distressed blue jeans.

Coordinated look: Lily Collins looked incredibly stylish as she paired a loose-fitting brown sweater with matching color shoes and distressed blue jeans in Beverly Hills on Thursday

The daughter of rock star Phil Collins wore her dark hair styled back from her face and was in full glam makeup.

She appeared to be chatting away on her phone as she walked carrying it flat in one hand.

Collins had teamed up with Hamilton actor Daveed Diggs to reveal the 27th annual SAG Awards nominations in an Instagram Live session.

The pair between them ran off the names of those up for trophies in 13 film and television categories.

Out and about: The actress, 31, wore her hair styled back from her face and was in full makeup. She appeared to be chatting away on her phone as she walked carrying it flat in one hand

Big news: Collins had been up bright and early on Thursday to announce the nominees for the 2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards along with Hamilton actor Daveed Diggs on Instagram Live

It's been quite a week for Collins who early on Wednesday morning learned she had received a Golden Globe nomination for her Netflix series Emily In Paris.

She's nominated in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy category and the Darren Star-created show was also nominated for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy.

In an Instagram post, in which she was seen cuddling up to her beloved pup Redford, Collins shared: 'Words cannot express how extremely grateful and excited I am to be nominated for my role in Emily in Paris and for the show's nomination!'

Honored: It's been quite a week for Collins who early on Wednesday morning learned she had received a Golden Globe nomination for her Netflix series Emily In Paris

She went on: 'The greatest gift of playing Emily has been providing a sense of escapism and fun during a time when we all needed it most. I'm so proud of this show and so thankful to the HFPA, Netflix, Darren and the entire cast and crew without whom Emily would be truly lost.'

This is her second Golden Globe nomination; she was previously nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 2017 for her performance in the Warren Beatty movie Rules Don't Apply.

In September, Collins and filmmaker boyfriend Charlie McDowell announced their engagement.
February 05 : Salman Khan is busy shooting for Antim: The Final Truth along with Ayush Sharma, which is nearing its completion. Directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, the film went on floor in November last year. The gangster-drama, a remake of Pravin Tarde's 2018 film Mulshi Pattern, also features Nikitin Dheer, Mahima Makwana and Pragya Jaiswal.

Antim: The Final Truth has been shot in Pune, Mumbai, and Mahabaleshwar. It is Salmans first film which will wrap up within 60 days, and out of these two months, Salman has shot for about 35 days.

Now the actor is gearing up to shoot the last song of the film, a dance number. Bhai Ka Birthday, with which he will wrap up the film. The dance number will be shot at Madh Island. Aayush, Mahima Makwana and Pragya Jaiswal will also be a part of the song, which is reportedly the Hindi counter song of the Ararara Khatarnak song from the original film. The song has been choreographed by Shabina Khan and Mudassar Khan.

With Antim closing to an end, Salman will move on to his forthcoming film Tiger 3 in March. The actor plays an extended cameo in the Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham starrer Pathan. In March, the actor will shoot back-to-back for Pathan and Tiger 3. Salman will shoot for about 15 days for Pathan.

Meanwhile, at the launch event for a music reality show, Indian Pro Music League, in Mumbai on Thursday, Salman expressed his thoughts on the ongoing farmers' protest in the country, which became controversial, and divided Bollywood into two sections. When asked about his opinion on the farmers protest, Salman, avoiding to give an official statement on the controversial issue, gave a general reply and said, The right thing should be done, the most correct thing should be done, the most noble thing should be done.
1 of 1

Centre seeks more time to consider extra attempt of UPSC Civil Services exam 2021



The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing for February 5 for a plea seeking a second chance for UPSC aspirants who had given their last attempt in Oct 2020. The central government has requested the Supreme Court in todays hearing to give more time for the consideration of the matter regarding providing an extra attempt for the UPSC Prelims 2021 examinations to be conducted this year. The issue regarding the extra attempt of the civil services examination has been heard by the Supreme Court several times till now, and they had recently asked the central government to consider another attempt of the UPSC prelims 2021.



Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had asked the central government to present an affidavit regarding the governments decision during the first hearing of the case. Today, the government has asked the apex court to give more time regarding the decision.



Many candidates came together to file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an extra attempt for the UPSC civil services prelims 2021 exam. These candidates had appeared for their last attempt for the exam in 2020 and want another chance at the test.



These candidates argued that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of students could not give their best during the exam last year and thus, deserve another chance to appear for the UPSC prelims 2021 and seek a post in the Union Public Service Commission.



During the previous hearing of the matter in the Supreme Court, the central government had said that it will not be possible to give these candidates an extra attempt in the exams. The Supreme Court had further asked the Centre not to release any new rules for the exam till the next hearing.




Howey Ou, who is the same age as the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, said she was inspired by the Swede's protests.

Friday's protest outside the German capital's natural history museum was attended by a handful of supporters of the movement's Berlin chapter.

They had gathered to hand over a list with demands to the city of Berlin, such as a "recycling economy" and "sustainable handling of resources" as well as the introduction of the subject "climate justice" in schools from next year.

Video Transcript

HOWEY OU: Many people, including many politicians enjoy their privilege of staying at home, getting paid, and avoiding the virus. But they waste their privilege by refusing to act, waiting for the elections, waiting for lockdown to be over. But they are only using the coronavirus as an excuse for their failure to protect this world from a bigger ecological crisis.

As an activist in China, I was kicked off by summer school, and I was rejected from going back to school, because of the activism. Here, the activists who protest on the streets, go sprays on the eyes and even stroke by the police. (SPEAKING MANDARIN)

A 41-year-old South Jersey woman has been charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy when she was a substitute teacher last year at the Alternative School at Bookbinder in Willingboro, authorities said Friday.

Kameelah Kareem, of Willingoro, was taken into custody Wednesday and released Thursday after a hearing in Superior Court, the Burlington County Prosecutors Office said. She is also charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Reached by phone Friday, Kareem declined to comment.

The Prosecutors Office said its investigation began last month after authorities learned of the inappropriate relationship and discovered that Kareem had assaulted the student on multiple occasions outside of the school during the 2019-20 school year.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-05 20:58:35|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian health authorities said on Friday that the country aims to cut malaria infection rate to 3.5 percent by 2025.

"The government intends to eliminate malaria in Tanzania by 2030," Deputy Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children Godwin Mollel told lawmakers in the capital, Dodoma, responding to a question by a member of parliament.

Maida Hamad Abdallah, a legislator for special seats, observed that despite government efforts to fight malaria, the disease continues to affect people, especially children.

Tanzania's malaria infection rate, at 40 percent in the 2000s, fell to 7.5 percent in 2017, thanks to government efforts, Mollel told lawmakers. Enditem
But he acted decisively and, pending no more cases, will start picking up momentum again in a short period of time although he may have not really lost that much. Loading Opposition Leader Zak Kirkup rebounded from a horror week and found fertile COVID-19 pressure points. Mr Kirkup turned the screws on the lack of clarity for small businesses as big lobby groups like WAs Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Australian Hotels Association started to sense the lockdown would indeed end on Friday. Not giving the community an idea of what to expect in a best-case scenario was a misstep by the government but a few short sound bites and talking head moments on the television bulletins will hardly give Mr Kirkup the kind of boost he needs to establish his brand recognition.

On a positive side, his performance may have helped turn the tide slightly in holding his marginal seat of Dawesville. Mr Kirkup and the business lobby were not the only characters to have questions about the short lockdown as a familiar foe to Mr McGowan made his return. Clives back baby A little under a month ago, Queensland-based mining billionaire and former federal MP Clive Palmer said he would not get involved in the upcoming WA election. Mr Palmer had gotten into a spat with Mr Kirkup in January as the young Liberal leader tried to distance his party from any connection to the magnate while Mr McGowan declared the two were in cahoots.

The billionaire was irked when Mr Kirkup jumped on the radio and said his party would not take any donations or support from Mr Palmer. Mr Palmer  who has not been Mr McGowans favourite miner due to the Queenslanders litigious nature and border stance  responded by saying Mr Kirkup was leading the Liberals to election annihilation and people should just vote for Labor. Without a registered party in WA, Mr Palmer said he was not going to be a part of the upcoming election. I dont intend spending one dollar in the Western Australian election Clive Palmer, January 11, 2021 He did not follow through on that promise.

WAs snap lockdown on Sunday brought Mr Palmer out of his political slumber with a new attack ad, which featured first on his Twitter account before taking out a full page in The West Australian during the week. At a cost of a couple of thousands dollars per ad, it appears Mr Palmer might have meant he wasnt going to spend just one dollar on the election. Tokaji goes it alone Disendorsed Liberal candidate Andrea Tokaji fronted the cameras on Sunday to announce an independent run for Baldivis, and it was something.

Former Liberal turned Independent Baldivis candidate Andrea Tokaji. Credit:WA Liberals Ms Tokaji was grilled by reporters for more than 20 minutes on Sunday about her COVID-19 views, aired in a blog post on a conservative website, but said she had just been asking questions at a time when much about the pandemic was unknown. I simply posed a question, to be fair scientists themselves do not know the long-term adverse effects of technology we are using today, she said. Ms Tokaji said she never made any definitive conclusions despite writing that radio waves, satellite signalling and electromagnetic fields poisoned the human biological system. The former Liberal candidate said she still had support in the party but would not name names or say whether that included sitting MPs.

Ms Tokaji said she submitted several of her articles for vetting, but not her opinion piece on COVID-19, which Liberal vetters also did not ask her about. The Hungarian-born human rights lawyer was dropped by the Liberals quicker than a cup covered in coronavirus when her opinion piece drawing correlations between the virus spread and 5G towers came to light. The radiation that is emitted into the airwaves is attacking our immune system and our neurone functioning, leading to the most vulnerable in our communities such as the elderly, the young and those with pre-existing medical conditions more susceptible to air-borne viruses, she wrote in April last year. This stealth-enemy is killing people globally  this is a humanitarian crisis on global proportions. In WA, while we are in self-isolation, 5G towers are being rolled out, against our knowledge  despite the known under-reported health risks.

Meanwhile the Liberals are in a tough spot, having to find a new candidate for the seat before February 11. Quigley scam Attorney-General and Commerce Minister John Quigley, whose portfolio ironically includes Consumer Protection, has been the victim of identity theft. A beneficiary scam saw a website with a fake law firm, featuring the likeness of Mr Quigley, trying to trick people into handing over personal details. The Attorney-Generals office was notified by members of the public and the website has been taken down.

Writs set official election cut-offs in motion Loading Governor Kim Beazley has issued the election writs to the WA Electoral Commission which outline the dates nominations must be lodged, when the roll closes, and sets March 13 as judgement day. Candidate nominations opened on Thursday and close on February 11, the same day the electoral roll closes for voters. You can now apply for a postal vote and about 70 early voting centres around WA will be opened on February 24.

There are 19 registered political parties in WA which are eligible to contest the election. Campaigning by the major parties is still suspended but the thaw could start once bushfires threatening lives are extinguished, given there are only 2 weeks before a tidal wave of early votes are expected to be polled. Hold the line, Mark isnt always on time While parts of the business community may not have liked how long it took to hear the post-lockdown plan, plenty of the WA public are still experiencing McGowan fandom. Social media platforms like TikTok had a resurgance of posts featuring the Premier as people were once again stuck at home waiting to hear from the state leader.

A Twitter account started with the sole purpose of informing the public when Mr McGowans daily press conferences were scheduled for but, just like the reporters who cover these events, West Australians found out there could be a gap between when he says he will arrive and when he does. The phenomenon has reached the point of self-awareness for Mr McGowan, who joked about being on time for Thursdays late night press conference. The promises you might have missed this week There werent many but both major parties managed to get out some education commitments on Saturday before the lockdown, with the Liberals announcing $68 million worth to Labors $103.9 million of promises.
CFSB Center Named Regional COVID Vaccination Site

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MURRAY - State officials have selected Murray State University's CFSB Center to serve as a regional COVID-19 vaccination site.Vaccinations will take place on February 10 and February 17 from 8 am until 12 pm.To register, visit the Calloway County Health Department website at the link below or call 270-753-3381.Project partners include Murray-Calloway County Hospital, the City of Murray, Calloway County, and Murray State University Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bob Jackson.As of February 1, the COVID-19 vaccination priority is phase 1b, which includes anyone age 70 or older. All vaccination sites have been asked to prioritize this population until further notice. Anyone that was included in phases 1a and 1b will remain eligible.As vaccine quantities and available appointment times allow, anyone in phase 1c can also be scheduled to ensure that each vaccination site administers 90 percent or more of the vaccine doses they receive within seven days of arrival."Murray State University is very pleased to assist the Commonwealth and Gov. Beshear as a regional COVID-19 vaccination site," said Murray State President Dr. Bob Jackson. "We have excellent facilities, dedicated people and an important duty to help with delivering vaccinations to this region in partnership with the Calloway County Health Department, Murray Calloway County Hospital, Murray State Health Services, and many others in the Jackson Purchase as we work to end this pandemic."On the Net:

DUBLIN, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "NGOs and Charitable Organizations Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2030: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report describes and evaluates the global NGOs and charitable organizations market. It covers two five-year periods, one three-year period, and one six-year period including, 2015 to 2019, termed the historic period, 2019 through 2023, the forecast period, 2023-2025 forecast period, and 2025-2030 the forecast period.



The global NGOs and charitable organizations market reached a value of nearly $255,705.9 million in 2019, having increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.4% since 2015. The market is expected to decline from $255,705.9 million in 2019 to $253,336.3 million in 2020 at a rate of -0.9%.



The decline is mainly due to lockdown and social distancing norms imposed by various countries and economic slowdown across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures to contain it. The market is then expected to recover and grow at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2021 and reach $294,313.5 million in 2023. The market is expected to reach $325,651.4 million in 2025 at a CAGR of 5.2%, and 411,195.4 million in 2030 at a CAGR of 4.8%.



Growth in the historic period resulted from strong economic growth in emerging markets, and rise in household disposable income. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were government bans on some types of funding sources, and misuse of funding. Going forward, increasing corporate social responsibility, rising environmental awareness, and increasing use of internet will drive the growth. Factors that could hinder the growth of the NGOs and charitable organizations market in the future include geopolitical tensions, stringent regulations, and COVID-19.



The top opportunities in the NGOs and charitable organizations market segmented by type will arise in the trust and foundations segment, which will gain $27,471.9 million of global annual sales by 2023. The top opportunities in the NGOs and charitable organizations market segmented by mode of donation will arise in the online segment, which will gain $38,925.0 million of global annual sales by 2023. The top opportunities in the NGOs and charitable organizations market segmented by organization location will arise in the domestic segment, which will gain $28,612.5 million of global annual sales by 2023.



The NGOs and charitable organizations market is segmented by type into Trust And Foundations, Voluntary Health Organizations, Environment, Conservation And Wildlife Organizations, Human Rights Organizations, and Others - NGOs And Charitable Organizations. The trust and foundations market was the largest segment of the NGOs and charitable organizations market segmented by type, accounting for 56.8% of the total in 2019. It is also expected to be the fastest growing segment in the NGOs and charitable organizations market, going forward, at a CAGR of 4.43% during 2019-2023.



The NGOs and charitable organizations market is also segmented by mode of donation into online, and offline. The online market was the largest segment of the NGOs and charitable organizations market segmented by mode of donation, accounting for 84.6% of the total in 2019. It is also expected to be the fastest growing segment in the NGOs and charitable organizations market, going forward, at a CAGR of 4.2% during 2019-2023.



The NGOs and charitable organizations market is also segmented by organization location into domestic, and international. The domestic market was the largest segment of the NGOs and charitable organizations market segmented by organization location, accounting for 69.0% of the total in 2019. It is also expected to be the fastest growing segment in the NGOs and charitable organizations market, going forward, at a CAGR of 3.8% during 2019-2023.



North America was the largest region in the global NGOs and charitable organizations market, accounting for 32.6% of the total in 2019. It was followed by Asia Pacific, Western Europe, and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the NGOs and charitable market will be Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, where growth will be at CAGRs of 4.5% and 4.3% respectively. These will be followed by North America, and Eastern Europe, where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 3.6% and 3.4% respectively during 2019-2023.



The NGOs and charitable organizations market is highly fragmented, with large number of regional players operating in the market. The top 10 companies in the market occupied 4.21% of market share in the global NGOs and charitable organizations market. Major players in the market include Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Direct Relief, Medecins Sans Frontieres, AmeriCares, and The American Red Cross.



Key Topics Covered:

1. NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market Executive Summary

2. Table of Contents

3. List of Figures

4. List of Tables

5. Report Structure

6. Introduction

6.1. Segmentation By Geography

6.2. Segmentation By Type

6.3. Segmentation By Mode Of Donation

6.4. Segmentation By Organization Location

7. NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market Characteristics

7.1. Market Definition

7.2. Segmentation By Type

7.2.1. Trust And Foundations

7.2.2. Voluntary Health Organizations

7.2.3. Human Rights Organizations

7.2.4. Environment, Conservation And Wildlife Organizations

7.2.5. Others - NGOs And Charitable Organizations

7.3. Segmentation By Mode Of Donation

7.3.1. Online

7.3.2. Offline

7.4. Segmentation By Organization Location

7.4.1. Domestic

7.4.2. International

8. NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market, Supply Chain Analysis

8.1.1. Resources

8.1.2. Financial Institutions

8.1.3. NGOs And Charitable Organizations

8.1.4. End Users

9. NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market, Product/Service Analysis -Product/Service Examples

9.1.1. Environment, Conservation And Wildlife Organizations

9.1.2. Environment, Conservation And Wildlife Organizations

10. NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market Customer Information

10.1. Level Of Trust In Different Countries

10.2. Donations By Cause

10.3. Technology Adoption Among The NGOs

10.4. Financial Impact Of COVID-19 Pandemic On The NGOs In The UK

11. NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market Trends And Strategies

11.1. Mobile Technology For Donations

11.2. Crowd Funding Platforms To Raise Funds

11.3. CRM Software To Track Donations

11.4. NGO-Corporate Partnerships

11.5. Predictive And Descriptive Analytics

11.6. Drones For Wildlife Conservation

12. Impact Of COVID On The NGOS And Charitable Organizations Market

12.1. The Role Of NGOs During The Pandemic

12.2. Negative Impact On Charitable Organizations

13. Global NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market Size And Growth

13.1. Market Size

13.2. Historic Market Growth, 2015-2019, Value ($ Million)

13.3. Forecast Market Growth, 2019 - 2023, 2025F, 2030F Value ($ Million)

14. NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market, Regional Analysis

14.1. Global NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market, By Region, Historic and Forecast, 2015 - 2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Million)

14.2. Global NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market, 2015 - 2023, Historic And Forecast, By Region

14.3. Global NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market, 2019-2023, Growth And Market Share Comparison, By Region

15. Global NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market Segmentation

15.1. Global NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic And Forecast, 2015 - 2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Million)

15.1.1. Trust And Foundations

15.1.2. Voluntary Health Organizations

15.1.3. Others - NGOs And Charitable Organizations

15.1.4. Environment, Conservation And Wildlife Organizations

15.1.5. Human Rights Organizations

15.2. Global NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market, Segmentation By Mode of Donation, Historic And Forecast, 2015 - 2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Million)

15.3. Global NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market, Segmentation By Organization Location, Historic And Forecast, 2015 - 2019, 2023F, 2025F, 2030F, Value ($ Million)

15.3.1. Domestic distribution channel

15.3.2. International distribution channel

16. Global NGOs And Charitable Organizations Market Comparison with Macro Economic Factors

Companies Mentioned

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Direct Relief

Medecins Sans Frontieres

AmeriCares

The American Red Cross

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/81w2nz



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A Winnipeg judge has ordered fallen fashion mogul Peter Nygard to remain in custody pending possible extradition to the U.S. on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, saying she was not confident he wouldnt try to tamper with witnesses if he were released.

Appearing by video from Headingley Correctional Institution, Peter Nygard showed no change in expression when Queens Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg denied him release. (La Liberte Manitoba files / Tadens Mpwene)

A Winnipeg judge has ordered fallen fashion mogul Peter Nygard to remain in custody pending possible extradition to the U.S. on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, saying she was not confident he wouldnt try to tamper with witnesses if he were released.

Nygard, appearing by video from Headingley Correctional Institution for a bail hearing Friday morning, furrowed his brow and appeared to listen intently, showing no change in expression when Queens Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg denied him release.

Nygard, 79, has been in custody since Dec. 14 after prosecutors in New York filed a nine-count indictment involving dozens of alleged victims and offences that span decades.

Nygards lawyers argued he is in frail health and that keeping him in custody would amount to "a death sentence" given the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Nygard executive Greg Fenske offered to be a surety for Nygard and allow him to live in a $1-million house he owns on John Bruce Road. Court was told the house was paid for with Nygards own money.

Peter Nygard's fashion empire has crumbled since U.S. prosecutors indicted him last year, alleging that from 1995 to 2020 he engaged in a pattern of criminal conduct involving at least dozens of victims. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)

Nygards defence team proposed installing a sophisticated security system with round-the-clock monitoring at the house, paid for by Nygard, and supplemented by security staff.

The pandemic is a factor for the court to consider, but "its not a get-out-of-jail-free card," Greenberg said Friday.

She said the installation of the security system and other monitoring measures would do nothing to prevent Nygard from contacting alleged victims or witnesses by phone, or have "loyal employees" do so on his behalf.

"I am concerned that if released, Mr. Nygard may tamper with witnesses," Greenberg said, referring to allegations listed in extradition documents that say he paid witnesses for false information and threatened at least one alleged victim.

Greenberg said the true state of Nygards finances remains murky, noting Nygards bail plan could only be paid for by someone with significant liquid assets.

Greenberg rejected testimony by Fenske that suggested the only financial assets Nygard has left are his cottage at Falcon Lake and his Bahamian estate and that he doesnt even have access to enough cash to pay for a passport.

"I accept that Mr. Nygards fortunes have declined, but the idea that he cannot afford to renew his passport and that he would place his last dime in the control of an employee (Fenske) is hard to believe," Greenberg said.

An indictment filed by U.S. prosecutors alleges that from 1995 to 2020, Nygard alongside his business associates and co-conspirators  engaged in a "pattern of criminal conduct involving at least dozens of victims in the United States, the Bahamas, and Canada, among other locations."

Nygard is accused of raping and sex trafficking women and girls, often targeting individuals from "disadvantaged economic backgrounds" with a "history of abuse," and keeping them quiet through "threats, false promises of modelling opportunities" and "other coercive means."

Hes alleged to have used the "facade of legitimacy his fashion business created  as well as the Nygard Groups business operations, reputation and resources  to facilitate and conceal his crimes," U.S. authorities allege.

Greenberg said Nygards continued detention is necessary to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice.

"The allegations relate to decades of conduct that was supported by a coterie of others," Greenberg said. "Counsel for the attorney general described it as an industry. Perhaps too strong a descriptor, but one made to make the point that this is an unusual case."

In an email to the Free Press, a lawyer who represents dozens of alleged victims in a U.S. class-action lawsuit against Nygard, applauded Greenbergs decision, saying it recognizes "the imminent danger that he and his myriad conspirators pose to the safety and well-being of society. This is a first step in a belated path to justice for hundreds of innocent victims."

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
South Africa: Government commemorates anniversary of Lily Mine incident

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Lily Mine accident wherein three employees lost their lives in the tragic accident at the Barbeton, Mpumalanga based mine.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy would like to convey our sadness in commemorating the loss of Ms Yvonne Mnisi, Ms Pretty Nkambule and Mr Solomon Nyirenda.

The three were trapped when the lamp-room container they were working in collapsed in a fall-of-ground accident in 2016. Rescue efforts after the accident were hampered by subsequent tremors following the accident, which have made the area completely inaccessible.

The department completed the inquiry into the cause of the accident in terms of section 65(1) of the Mine Health and Safety Act No 29 of 1996.

The report was submitted to the Director for Public Prosecutions in August 2018. An administrative fine of R1 million was issued in September 2020, to Vantage Goldfields (Pty) Ltd as per the recommendation of the inquiry report.

The department is greatly concerned with the prolonged business rescue process. In this regard, there were several meetings that the department held with the business rescue practitioner, prospective new owners, families, and the current mine owners which is Vantage Goldfields (Pty) Ltd to monitor progress of the business rescue process.

In addition, the department has written a letter to the non-executive chairperson of Vantage Goldfields Limited expressing concerns regarding the prolonged business rescue process.

The chairperson subsequently responded to the effect that the company has decided to re-finance their subsidiary and their initial focus will be on the retrieval of the employees.

We will continually update the families on the business rescue process. Since Lily Mine was closed, hundreds of employees have lost their jobs. Further, many workers have lost due to the current pandemic, and it would be in the interests of the greater community for the mine to be re-opened as soon as possible, said the department.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A businessman has told the High Court that he "will not budge" and is prepared to remain in Mountjoy Prison, where he is being held over his failure to comply with an order to stay away from two properties in County Monaghan.

Fergal Deery has now spent almost nine weeks, including the Christmas and New Year's holidays, behind bars after the High Court found him in contempt of orders made in March 2020 in relation to what has been a long running dispute.

Following his arrest by gardai, Mr Deery was committed to Mountjoy Prison in early December by Mr Justice Senan Allen, who held that the businessman was in breach of court order made the previous March.

The court then ordered that Mr Deery, who had breached orders originally made by the High Court in 2015, not to trespass or interfere with two premises located in Monaghan Town, which had previously been controlled by Mr Deery's family.

The application seeking Mr Deery's attachment and committal to prison was made by Wardglade Limited which acquired the properties, which operated as a bar and a nightclub, from a receiver in 2015.

Mr Deery, who denies breaching the order, is unhappy over the sale, which he alleged was fraudulent and claims he was illegally evicted from the property in 2013.

The case was reviewed by the High Court on Tuesday.

Mr Deery told Ms Justice Allen via a video link from the prison what he has stated in previous hearings of the matter, that he was not prepared to purge his contempt.

In reply to the judge, Mr Deery said that he was not prepared to budge on the matter, and would not be purging his contempt.

The judge said that Mr Deery could "make a call, at any time," and come before the court and secure his freedom by agreeing to comply with the orders at any time.

However, until he was prepared to do this, Mr Deery has to remain in prison.

In 2015, Wardglade secured orders against Mr Deery, of Drumhillock, Monaghan, restraining him from trespassing on the properties.

Mr Deery was committed to prison in July 2018 for two weeks after he was found in contempt of the 2015 orders.

He was released after he purged his contempt and gave undertakings to stay away from the premises, and to stop making comments on social media or in public about Wardglade director Ciaran Marron and Seamus and Frank McEnaney.

Last year, Wardglade brought fresh proceedings claiming that there had been further breaches of the orders. It claimed Mr Deery and related parties had entered the properties without Wardglade's consent on several occasions in 2019.

It also claimed that Mr Deery commenced a campaign of intimidation against persons associated with Wardglade, and had made threats against Mr Marron's family, business associates and his solicitor on social media.

When the case was called on last March, Mr Deery did not attend court, citing transport difficulties. The judge adjourned the hearing for 24 hours to allow Mr Deery get to court.

However, Mr Deery did not attend at the subsequent hearing.
Becamex IDC plans to plunge 50 per cent of profit this year

Becamex IDC has published its business plan for 2021, announcing expectations to acquire VND6.7 trillion ($291.3 million) in revenue, including an after-tax profit of VND1.12 trillion ($48.7 million). VND2.5 trillion ($108.7 million) is expected to come from the industrial park (IP) business, VND3.5 trillion ($152.17 million) from apartment and urban area real estate business, and VND700 billion ($30.43 million) from other sources.

Regarding investment activities, Becamex IDC will complete the infrastructure of the expanded Bau Bang IP and Cay Truong IP.

Besides, the sale of land plots, resettlement projects, and residential areas is expected to bring Becamex IDC about VND2.3 trillion ($100 million).

This plan is built based on the forecast of continued COVID-19 impacts on the operation of its partners.

Last year, the company acquired VND7.72 trillion ($335.65 million) in net revenue and VND1.95 trillion ($84.8 million) in gross profit, dropping 6 and 18 per cent on-year.

At the end of 2020, the company reported VND48.19 trillion ($2.1 billion) in assets, up 11 per cent on-year. 51 per cent of these assets are unsold goods.

Becamex IDC owns 14 IPs with a total area of more than 14,400 hectares, occupying 11.4 per cent of the total industrial land area in Vietnam.

In September 2020, Becamex IDC officially listed more than 1 billion shares to trade for the first day on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on August 31 at the reference price of VND28,000 ($1.22).

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Rudy Giuliani on Thursday blasted the New York radio station that pays him to host a daily call-in talk show on Thursday after it aired a lengthy and 'insulting' disclaimer before his program saying they did not share his views.

New York's 77 Talk Radio WABC aired the disclaimer just before Giuliani's show aired on Thursday.

Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, has served in recent years as former President Donald Trump's personal attorney.

After Trump lost the November presidential election, Giuliani was at the forefront of a legal and public relations campaign aimed to overturn the results citing unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud.

'The views, assumptions, and opinions expressed by former U.S. attorney, former attorney to the president of the United States, and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, his guests, and callers on his program are strictly their own and do not necessarily represent the opinions, beliefs, or policies of WABC radio, its owner, Red Apple Group, and other WABC hosts or our advertisers,' the disclaimer said.

The WABC legal disclaimer aired the same day Giuliani was among several entities named in a defamation lawsuit filed by Smartmatic, a voting technology company that was accused of fraud in the November presidential election.

Rudy Giuliani lashed out at his employer, New York's 77 Talk Radio WABC, after it aired a lengthy and 'insulting' disclaimer before his show saying they did not share his views. The former New York City mayor is seen above in Philadelphia on November 4

Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, has been at the forefront of a legal and public relations campaign to overturn the election results. He alleged widespread fraud resulted in former President Donald Trump's loss. Giuliani has been serving as Trump's personal attorney

Giuliani hosts a daily call-in talk show at Talk Radio 770 AM WABC. He is seen above during his radio show in this 2001 file photo

An insulted Giuliani appeared taken aback. After the disclaimer aired, he expressed anger that management did not speak to him about it beforehand.

'I would have thought they would have told me about that before just doing what they just did,' the former New York mayor and personal attorney to former President Donald Trump said.

'[The disclaimer was] rather insulting. And gives you a sense of how far this free speech thing has gone and how they frighten everybody.

'I mean we're in America, we're not in East Germany.'

Giuliani appeared to hint that the disclaimer may force him to quit the station, saying: 'They've got to warn you about me? 'I'm going to have to give that a lot of consideration.

'I also think putting it on without telling me, not the right thing to do, not the right thing to do at all.'

Giuliani added: 'But got to tell you another thing, my dedication to free speech outweighs a lot of other things I can do.'

He then continued on with his radio show by inviting a caller to ask a question.

'Let's go to Art, Westchester,' Giuliani said.

He then warned Art, saying: 'You've got to be warned, Art. Arthur, I want to warn you, you know you're talking to me, doesn't express anybody else's viewpoint but mine.

'But you kind of already knew that anyway, didn't you, you didn't really need to be reminded of that, did you?'

Art, however, said he didn't agree with Giuliani's claims alleging voter fraud.

A defamation lawsuit by the Smartmatic voting machine company names 'Kraken' lawyer Sidney Powell

'Well, you see, I'm actually a different listener to WABC, I actually disagree with almost everything that you say so I'm going to challenge you a little bit,' Art said.

Art then asked the former mayor: 'Do you ever feel somewhat guilty about spreading a lot of unproven conspiracy theories to folks who may not have the ability or the critical thinking skills to kind of look through it?

'Do you feel that maybe you're taking advantage of the gullible?'

Smartmatic on Thursday filed a massive $2.7billion lawsuit against Giuliani and another pro-Trump attorney, Sidney Powell, as well as media giant Fox News  claiming the parties knew the election wasn't rigged but spread the narrative of a stolen election.

The suit  on the heels of another by Dominion Voting Systems  blasts the election fraud narrative that Trump's lawyers put forward as he sought to cling to power  and claimed Fox used its powerful airwaves to defame the company in the process.

'The Earth is round. Two plus two equals four. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 election for President and Vice President of the United States,' the suit begins.

'The election was not stolen, rigged, or fixed. These are facts. They are demonstrable and irrefutable.'

The suit names Giuliani, who spearheaded his election fraud claims in TV interviews, on his own podcast, and in testimony before panels organized by Republican lawmakers as Trump sought to overturn results.

It also names former Trump campaign lawyer Powell, who appeared alongside Giuliani in an infamous news conference in Washington, DC, days after the election.

During that event, they made several wild claims about a foreign conspiracy to rig the election in favor of Joe Biden involving the late Venezualen dictator Hugo Chavez, China, Cuba, Dominion, and Smartmatic.

It also names three of Trump's favorite cable TV hosts in the Fox empire: Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, Fox business host Lou Dobbs, and Fox host Judge Jeanine Pirro.

The complaint filed in New York State Court names the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox Corp., the Fox News Network and Fox hosts Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro as defendants.

Unlike Dominion, whose technology was used in 24 states, Smartmatic's participation in the 2020 election was restricted to Los Angeles County, which votes heavily Democratic.

Smartmatic's limited role notwithstanding, Fox aired at least 13 reports falsely stating or implying the company had stolen the 2020 vote in cahoots with Venezuela's socialist government, according to the complaint.

The suit identifies the three Fox hosts by name

Rudy Giuliani points to a map as he speaks to the press about various lawsuits related to the 2020 election, inside the Republican National Committee headquarters on November 19, 2020 in Washington, DC

The suit names as a defendant Fox News host Jeanine Pirro

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo is also named in the suit

Pirro visited the White House and Trump posed with her book

Voting machine maker Smartmatic has filed a lawsuit for defamation against Fox News hosts and former president Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuilani, who spoke at the 'stop the steal' rally before the Capitol riot, is also named

This alleged 'disinformation campaign' continued even after then-Attorney General William Barr said the Department of Justice could find no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

'Night after night, publication after publication, Fox News reached out to its millions of viewers and readers around the world with a story: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did not win the 2020 election; Smartmatic stole the election for them,' it said, pointing to the role of the network, which aired Trump surrogates and allies making the claims.

The suit says the election fraud claim not only caused direct financial harm to the election company, but harmed the country as well. 'The story turned neighbor against neighbor,' it says.

'The story led a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol.'

Under the theory spelled out in the suit, the defendants knew Trump lost, but wanted him to win.

'Defendants had an obvious problem with their story. They needed a villain. They needed someone to blame. They needed someone whom they could get others to hate'  prompting them to invent the tale involving Smartmatic.

'Without any true villain, Defendants invented one. Defendants decided to make Smartmatic the villain in their story,' it says.

Also named in the suit are former New York mayor Giuliani, the ex-president's personal lawyer, and Sidney Powell, a lawyer for the Trump campaign who falsely claimed that voting machines had flipped votes for Trump to Biden.

Smartmatic's 285-page complaint said the defendants 'have always known these facts.

The suit includes exhibits with TV appearances by Giuliani and others

Dobbs' program included Powell's assertions tying the company to Venezuela

'It was a well-orchestrated dance between Ms. Bartiromo and Mr. Giuliani, as she set it up and he brought home a new aspect of the disinformation campaign,' the suit says

'They knew the election was not rigged or fixed,' it said, but they 'decided to tell people that the election was stolen' and to 'make Smartmatic the villain in their story.'

In December, Dobbs aired a bizarre segment taking on election fraud claims, evidently after receiving a 20-page letter from the company threatening legal action. ''There are lots of opinions about the integrity of the election, the irregularities of mail-in voting, of election voting machines and voting software,' the host said.

The network aired fact-check segments December included an expert saying he had not seen any evidence of the software being used for fraud. Pirros' show and Bartiromo's aired similar segments.

Fox News broadcast 13 reports stating and implying Smartmatic had stolen the election and that its technology was used in six states where the results were in dispute, the complaint said.

In fact, Smartmatic provided election technology and software only in Los Angeles County, California, it said, and county officials lauded its performance.

The complaint makes 16 claims of defamation and disparagement against the defendants and seeks $2.7billion for economic and punitive damages.

In a statement, Fox said 'Fox News Media is committed to providing the full context of every story with in-depth reporting and clear opinion.

'We are proud of our 2020 election coverage and will vigorously defend this meritless lawsuit in court,' Fox said.
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Nine panda cubs have met the public together for the first time ahead of Lunar New Year at a breeding centre in south-western China.

Adorable footage and images show the fluffy baby bears crawling on a decorated stage as the keepers posed for a group photo while holding the cubs during the Thursday debut in Sichuan Province.

The cubs were among the 14 pandas born last year during the coronavirus pandemic at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding centre.

Nine panda cubs have met the public together for the first time ahead of Lunar New Year at a breeding centre in south-western China. Pictured, three keepers at the Chengdu breeding centre pose for a photo with three of the cubs on Thursday

Adorable footage and images show the fluffy baby bears crawling on a decorated stage as the keepers posed for a group photo while holding the cubs during the Thursday debut in the south-western city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province

Ahead of Chinese lunar new year celebration, a group of nine panda cubs that were born in 2020 had a debut at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province on February 4, Thursday

The festive debut took place on February 4, which marks the 'Little New Year' on the Chinese lunar calendar and the start of the Chinese New Year's preparation phase. Pictured, a keeper holds one of the cubs during the debut ceremony on Thursday

The group's public appearance saw Ai Jiu, who was born on June 5 as the heaviest newborn panda the facility has seen. She was accompanied by Run Yue, who shares the same birthday.

The centre's youngest cubs, a pair of twins delivered in October, also appeared on the stage. They were named Qiang Qiang and Guo Guo, meaning 'strong country'.

Four older cubs, such as Ai Jiu and Run Yue, have met the public in previous occasions. While the five younger ones, including Qiang Qiang and Guo Guo, had never appeared in front of the camera before.

The Thursday ceremony was the first time the nine cubs met the public together as a group.

The festive debut took place on February 4, which marked the 'Little New Year' on the Chinese lunar calendar and the start of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

The Lunar New Year, the most important annual festival in the Chinese culture, falls on February 12 this year.

The adorable little guys appear to be in a playful mood as they tumble around while frolicking with each other on the stage

The pandas' public appearance was inspired by the Chinese tradition to celebrate the day by eating Tangyuan, a kind of rice dumplings with sesame fillings, said the centre staff. Pictured, the panda cubs tumble around the stage on Thursday

Camera shy: While some cubs at the debut appear to be in a playful mood, others seem to be running away from the limelight

The Chengdu panda breeding centre hosted the festive event before China's 2021 Lunar New Year, which falls on February 12

The pandas' public appearance was inspired by the Chinese tradition to celebrate the day by eating Tangyuan, a kind of rice dumplings with sesame fillings, said the centre staff.

The baby bears with their black-and-white fur bear a striking resemblance of the white rice dumplings with black sesame fillings.

'On the day of the Little New Year, [we] want to give the people all over the country the cutest 'Tang Yuan',' the breeding base wrote in a statement.

'Wishing you all a happy new year and all the best in the coming year,' it added.

Nine adorable panda cubs made their debut at a Chinese centre in southwestern China ahead of Lunar New Year on Thursday

a group of nine pandas born last year gather at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu City, Sichuan

Hello everyone: The breeders introduced the cubs by placing them in a row on the stage before a crowd of visitors

The baby pandas appear to be having a whale of a time as they tumble around and play with one another in China on Thursday

In an adorable clip, the breeders introduced the cubs by placing them in a row on the stage with festive decorations before a crowd of visitors and journalists.

Most of the baby bears appear to be in a playful mood as they curiously wandered around and frolicked with one another.

But others seemed shy in front of the cameras as they kept trying to run off the stage before being stopped and put back to the stage by the keepers.

A total of 14 panda cubs were born at the Chengdu centre in 2020 and they are all said to be healthy.

A total of 14 panda cubs were born at the Chengdu centre in 2020 and they are all said to be healthy. Nine of them are pictured during a festive debut ceremony at the centre on Thursday ahead of China's Lunar New Year next week

Earlier this week, another ten panda cubs met the public for the first time at the Shenshuping Panda Base in Wolong of Sichuan Province. Pictured, the panda cubs roll around the stage in Chengdu of Sichuan Province on Thursday

Official statistics show that 44 panda cubs were born last year in China, raising the number of captive pandas in the nation to 633. The baby bears at the Chengdu centre were pictured frolicking around the stage during their Thursday debut ceremony

Earlier this week, another ten panda cubs met the public for the first time at the Shenshuping Panda Base in Wolong of Sichuan Province.

The little bears, aged from four to six months, frolicked among Chinese lanterns and traditional decorative ornaments at a festive debut ceremony on Wednesday.

Official statistics show that 44 panda cubs were born last year in China, raising the number of captive pandas in the nation to 633.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  The Department of Health said it is looking into the ammonia leak that occurred inside an ice plant in Navotas.

Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire called the incident at the T.P. Marcelo & Co. ice plant "unique," and assured the public the agency has standards in place to ensure this would not happen in areas chosen as COVID-19 vaccine warehouses.

"'Yung nangyari dito sa Navotas noong isang araw, ito po ay atin na ring iniimbestigahan para nakakapag-implement tayo ng mga standards at maiwasan po natin ang pangyayari na ganito sa susunod pa," Vergeire said in a Friday press briefing.

[Translation: We are also investigating the incident in Navotas that happened the other day so we can implement standards and prevent its repeat.]

The Navotas ammonia leak left two factory workers dead and exposed 2,590 families to foul and hazardous air on Wednesday afternoon. The local fire bureau and police investigators are probing the incident, with around 20 people still hospitalized as of Thursday afternoon.

It was the first major leak at the 50-year-old plant, which is one of six such facilities within the city. The plant is owned by relatives of Mayor Toby Tiangco, who has said the company will provide support to all victims.

RELATED: Navotas officials to study safety precautions in ice plants, cold storages in city after ammonia leak incident

Ammonia is a health hazard. Exposure to the chemical  which is used in refrigeration systems  can result in irritation, severe respiratory injuries, and could be fatal at high concentrations, according to health experts.

Authorities scrambled to find cold storage chains to handle foreign-made coronavirus vaccines expected to reach the country this year, as some of these require subzero temperatures to preserve the potency of the doses.

Royal Cargo Inc., one of the private companies tapped for vaccine storage in the Philippines, said they do not use ammonia as a cooling chemical for their freezers.

"The food storing cold stores are all ammonia-based, but they are not of pharmaceutical grade. GDP (Good distribution practices) certified pharmaceutical and vaccine depots are not ammonia-based," Michael Raeuber, chief executive officer of Royal Cargo, told CNN Philippines in a text message.

Fridges and freezers maintained by the DOH for its regular immunization program for diseases such as polio and measles are only capable of storing medical products at 2 degrees Celsius and higher. Vaccines manufactured by brands like Pfizer need to be stored at temperatures of about negative 70 degrees Celsius.

READ: 10 ultra-low temp freezers to be repurposed for Pfizer vaccine storage  Duque

The DOH has been careful in choosing where to stow the vaccine doses once these are shipped here.

"Kung ano man pong kemikal ang nasa loob at ginagamit para dito sa mga storage facilities na ito, unang-una we ensure that there is quality," Vergeire said.

"Isa sa conditions lagi sa mga kontrata namin with them (third party facilities) is for them to ensure yung safety nito, yung quality nito, at hindi dapat masira ang mga bakuna namin na mina-manage nila," she added.

[Translation: Whatever chemical is inside and are being used for these storage facilities, primordial to us is ensuring its quality. One of the conditions we always set in the contracts with third party facilities is for them to ensure the safety and quality, and that our vaccines will not spoil under their watch.]

Psychologists define the mental stress induced by trying to balance two contradictory thoughts at the same time as cognitive dissonance. Its the sort of conflict thats likely to afflict pro-choice Catholics or gay Muslims. As a pro-death-penalty/anti-affirmative-action liberal, I know how it feels.

During high school, one of my classmates became a Jehovahs Witness. Hed planned to go to college but decided against it, based on his denominations study of selected Bible passages, which convinced them the Second Coming would take place in 1975. This wasnt something they believed; it was something they knew. Hence, starting college in 1969 would have been a waste of time and money.

After enduring relentless and nonsensical preaching on fictional history (e.g., Noahs Flood), pseudoscience (young-earth creationism) and mythological cosmology (Genesis), I let him know that the first voice hed be hearing on Jan. 1, 1976 would be mine, and Id be asking, What happened to the Apocalypse? By New Years Eve 1975, wed lost touch; however, around 12:01 a.m., I managed to drunkenly dial his number to convey my relief at surviving the End Times. But, sadly, no one answered, leaving me to wonder how hed handled the conflict between what he knew to be The Truth and reality.

Of course, theres nothing new under the sun. In 1831, Baptist lay minister William Miller proclaimed his conviction, based largely on his study of the Book of Daniel, that Jesus was returning sometime in 1843 or 1844. In a short time, Millerism would become a national movement. Adherents gave away their worldly goods and gathered outdoors to await the Second Advent. When a series of prophesied dates passed uneventfully, the Millerites suffered what came to be known as the Great Disappointment.

Despite 2,000 years of unfulfilled prophecies, and the Gospels doctrine that concerning that day or hour no one knows  neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son (Mark 13:32), American evangelicals have been unable to resist predicting the End of Days. From pastor F. Kenton Beshore, who forecast the Apocalypse to be 1988, then 2018, then 2028, to evangelist Harold Camping, whos wrongly predicted Armageddon some 12 different times, fundamentalists seem to lack any ability to practice skepticism.

Gullibility is a key trait of the Christian conservative bloc of the Trump base. Evidently, his perfunctory efforts to ban abortion and win the war on Christmas enable them to accept the former president as the Chosen One  a blessed figure, anointed by God to rule. Theyve forgiven him for having unsafe sex with a porn star while his third wife was delivering his fifth child. No problem with cognitive dissonance there.

Trump cultists have short memories about promises made and unkept. The Wall is nowhere near finished, no Mexicans paid for any of it and the balanced budget promised to the Tea Party morphed into tax cuts for the rich, financed by the largest deficits in human history. His pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare (with a great plan) was never seriously attempted. Tax returns Trump vowed to release are still state secrets (the IRS is performing that audit with an abacus and Roman numerals), and even the most credulous can count up the number of pardons required by his undrained swamp.

Although the more fanatical nutjobs among the evangelicals are unlikely to abandon their loyalty to the Orange Messiah, theres been talk lately that some of the QAnon conspiracy theorists feel betrayed by Trumps acquiescence to Bidens election, the GOPs lukewarm response to their insurrection and The Donalds failure to arrest everyone connected with the Obama administration.

QAnon isnt an entity one joins, like the KKK or the American Nazi Party. Its a mindset (aka The Great Awakening), in the same way that antifa (which stands for anti-fascism) is a philosophy, rather than an organization. However, theyre two opposing movements. I like to think that my father was antifa for enlisting in the U.S. Navy to fight Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and imperialist Japan during World War II. Violent QAnon traitors  who need a catchier name (I suggest pro-fa)  showed their anti-democracy bona fides by seizing the Capitol to overturn a lawful election.

Some radicalized QAnon followers have become disillusioned that the 30,000 reputed indictments of Deep State liberals were never unsealed, martial law wasnt declared and military tribunals havent indicted the Clinton/Obama pedophile/cannibalism ring. Many had faith that everyone from Oprah to Tom Hanks would be arrested, and theyve also ranted about how Biden wouldnt be inaugurated, because he was headed for prison.

Some were also disheartened that the former president claimed, Im with you, while inciting the Capitol takeover, but then watched the insurrection from his White House La-Z-Boy. If they werent such deplorable pro-fa sheep, this might damage QAnons enthusiasm for the Patriot Party that Trump is rumored to be initiating.

The decline of Trumpism and QAnon is probably wishful thinking on the part of anti-MAGA patriots. After all, despite the Great Disappointment, the Millerites became the Seventh-day Adventists, and their 18.7 million members represent one of the worlds fastest-growing denominations. And, although being relentlessly mistaken in predicting the End Times, the Jehovahs Witnesses have 8.5 million committed adherents.

Even four years of racism, mendacity and corruption  and more than a quarter-million COVID deaths  didnt stop 74 million people from voting for Trump. From the American Taliban to QAnon, too many of us have developed an immunity to our consciences, our democratic tendencies and cognitive dissonance.

Greenwich native Mark Drought (markdrought4@gmail.com) is an editor at a Stamford IT firm and was an adjunct English professor at the University of Connecticut-Stamford.
Lokman Slim, 58, had increasingly worried about his fate

A prominent Lebanese publisher and vocal critic of the Shiite militant Hezbollah group was found shot dead in his car on Thursday morning.

Lokman Slim, 58, was found slumped over the passenger seat of his car with multiple wounds from gunshots fired at close range.

He had been missing for hours late on Wednesday when his family posted social media messages looking for him.

Slim had increasingly worried about his fate. Last year he predicted that if anything happened to him, Hezbollah would likely be responsible.

His death is a brazen killing that has sparked fears of a return to political violence in the country, which is also gripped by social and economic upheaval.

To his friends, Slim was a fearless critic of Lebanon's powerful politicians, Hezbollah and its allies Iran and Syria, and a major resource on the history of Lebanon's civil war.

Critics, however, accused Slim of sowing sedition, undermining national unity and being a Zionist because of his criticisms of Hezbollah.

Slim's body was found slumped over the passenger seat of his car with multiple wounds from gunshots fired at close range

'He was carrying the weight of this country on his shoulder,' his sister Rasha al-Ameer told reporters at their home after the news of the killing broke.

She said she has no faith in local investigations and that the family would carry out its own private forensic probe.

'Up until today in the history of Lebanon, all investigations have led to a dead end,' she told reporters.

Rasha Al-Ameer, Slim's sister, said she has no faith a local investigation into her brother's death will bring justice and that the family would carry out its own private forensic probe

Slim's wife, Monika Borgmann, called for an international probe into her husbands death

Protesters gathered outside the Justice Palace in Beirut yesterday calling for an investigation into Slim's death

His wife, Monika Borgmann, standing next to al-Ameer, called for an international probe. 'This killer has to be punished,' Borgmann said.

Security forces found Slim's car on a rural road near the southern village of Addoussieh, in Sidon province.

He was visiting friends in a southern village and was heading back to Beirut in the evening.

Afif Khafajeh, a coroner who inspected Slim's body, said there were six bullets in Slim's body - three in the head, one in the chest and one in the back.

Blood was splattered over the passenger car seat.

A security official at the scene said Slim's ID, phone and gun were missing. His phone was later found.

Officials spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Lebanon has a history of political crimes and violence and with rising tension amid a deepening political dispute and economic crisis, officials have warned of a return of violence and assassinations.

Earlier on Wednesday evening, both Slim's wife and sister posted on social media that he had not answered his phone for hours.

Al-Ameer said he left this friends' house after 8 pm.

The family began to worry two hours later when he still had not returned home.

Al-Ameer hinted that Hezbollah was behind the killing, without naming the group, by saying it was well known which group controlled the area of southern Lebanon where her brother was found dead.

'Killing for them is a habit,' she said.

Hezbollah and its allies dominate the area in southern Lebanon.

Slim's body was found in a rental car on the side of a road in southern Lebanon

The Iranian-backed Shiite militia condemned Slim's killing and called for a swift investigation.

The group also urged security agencies to do more to combat crimes it said have spread across Lebanon.

These crimes have been 'exploited politically and by the media at the expense of security and domestic stability', Hezbollah said in a jab at their critics.

Interior Minister Mohammad Fahmi, speaking to local TV station MTV, called it a 'horrific crime.'

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab deplored the 'heinous crime' and vowed a speedy investigation.

But in Lebanon, perpetrators of political violence or corruption are almost never identified or prosecuted.

An investigation into the massive explosion in the Beirut port that killed 204 people and destroyed the capital last August still has not uncovered what caused it and who is responsible.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the killing, calling it 'cowardly and unacceptable to resort to violence, threats, and intimidation as a means of subverting the rule of law or suppressing freedom of expression and civic activism.'

He urged Lebanese officials to act quickly to bring those response to justice.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the killing and urged Lebanese officials to act quickly to bring those response to justice

US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea said Slim spoke publicly and privately about threats made against his life but continued his work, pushing for justice, accountability and rule of law in Lebanon.

She called the killing an attack on Lebanon itself and urged a speedy inquiry.

'In a country that so desperately needs to recover from the multiple crises it faces, political assassinations send exactly the wrong signal to the world about what Lebanon stands for,' she said.

The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis also called for a quick investigation.

'This investigation must not follow the pattern of the Beirut port blast investigation that 6 months on remains inconclusive and without accountability.

'People must know the truth,' Kubis tweeted.

Amnesty International's deputy director in the region, Lynn Maalouf, said Slim was the 'victim of this decades-old pattern of impunity which has ensured that past and present targeted killings of activists, journalists and intellectuals remain unpunished, and for which the Lebanese state is ultimately responsible.'

She also called on Lebanon to ensure a transparent investigation into the killing.

Slim was born in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, where he lived all his life.

He returned home from abroad during the 2006 war with Israel when the suburbs were being bombed and most people were leaving.

He founded Umam, a research and film production house with a library documenting Lebanon's and Shiite history.

His family owns a publishing house and Slim hosted public debates, political forums and art shows, including exhibitions documenting the civil war's missing.

He and his wife worked on a film documenting the atrocities of Syria's notorious Tadmor prison.

In 2009, he and his wife organised a private viewing at their centre for an Oscar-nominated anti-war Israeli cartoon about Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and the rise of the then-President Bachir Gemayel, in defiance of Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities, which banned it.

Slim also set up Haya Bina, or 'Let's go,' a group that encouraged participation in 2005 parliamentary elections, called for changes to Lebanon's sectarian-based system, and taught women English.

'It is a big tragedy,' said Makram Rabah, a close friend and history lecturer.

'Anyone who knows Lokman they know who his enemies are.'

Rabah said he and Slim were strong opponents of Hezbollah's grip on power and called for sovereignty and diversity in Lebanon.

They were both attacked by a group of young men during a public debate at the height of anti-government protests in 2019.

At the time, Slim accused Hezbollah supporters of being behind the attack.

Slim also accused Hezbollah supporters days before that attack of threatening him at his home, holding rallies and hanging posters on its walls accusing him of treason.

Alex Rowell, editor of the English language al-Jumhuriya website, said Slim always believed he was safe from physical harm.

His killing would leave many unable to sleep easily in Lebanon, Rowell said.

'In the memory of Lokman's fearless grin, however, they may find courage - and in the silhouettes of his cowardly murderers they may know their enemy,' he said.

Brendan Lee was planning his mini-retirement for almost as long as hed been working.

At 24, Lee was already three years into his career, working full-time as an accountant. Three years was enough to realize that he needed a change.

To be honest, I never doubted the decision to leave my job, he told In The Know. Its what Id wanted for years.

Lee, now 35, isnt alone. Theres plenty of data showing that millennials, more than any generation before them, are likely to change jobs early and often in their careers. Many have taken mini-retirements along the way.

For those who arent familiar, a mini-retirement is basically a short-term, mid-career break from working life. Its a sort of counter to the traditional image of retirement, where you save for a lifetime until, one day, you never have to work again.

Taking a six month, 12 month or even multi-year hiatus from your career is obviously a big decision. Still, Lees advice to Gen Zers and millennials is clear: Do it early, if you can.

[In your early to mid-20s], your mind is still fresh and curious, he said. You have a great capacity to learn, and your energy levels are high. Its also a time when most people are still trying to figure out exactly what they want to do with their lives  and mini-retirements are an ideal way to explore that.

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Of course, the pandemic has changed everything about how we view travel  including when and how to plan vacations. A recent study by CNBC found that, in 2020, more than 90 percent of Americans canceled, rescheduled or avoided vacations due to the pandemic.

Its unclear how those pent-up travel dreams will affect our post-COVID universe, but one thing is for sure: Plenty of us will be ready for a vacation.

For those looking to turn that vacation into a full-on mini-retirement, heres everything you need to know about planning one  straight from the people whove actually done it.

How much should you save for a mini-retirement?

Theres no magic number that will tell you if youre ready for a mini-retirement. That amount differs based on who you are, what you want to go and, of course, where you want to go.

Story continues

However, there are plenty of strategies that can help you reach your number. As Chris Durheim, who took a mini-retirement in 2017, puts it, the saving all comes down to the little wins.

Those little wins add up so much, especially over a span of three to five years, Chris told In The Know. Those small actions today compound over time.

Chris and his wife Jaime, who together run a personal finance blog called Keep Thrifty, used the time off to reflect, spend more time with their kids and build their dream home.

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Thats another one of Chriss tips: having a plan. Setting a clear goal of what you want to do will help you know how to save  and it can help motivate you if you ever get deterred. As Jaime explained, staying motivated is its own distinct challenge.

When Chris and I did this, no one thought it was a good idea, she said.

The Durheims friends and family had trouble wrapping their heads around the mini-retirement, so the couple found support elsewhere. As Jaime pointed out, there are countless blogs, podcasts and websites dedicated to the concept. Finding those outlets  and utilizing their advice  can go a long way.

When should you take a mini-retirement?

Timing, of course, is also subjective. Still, Lee sees a clear, obvious benefit of taking a mini-retirement early in life, just like he did.

I would say its probably the best time to do it, for most people, he said. Its the time when your responsibilities are fewest and your body is the healthiest. If youre going to try to bootstrap your travels and sleep on couches and floors and benches in train terminals and endure 20-plus-hour flights, its best to have a young body, believe me!

According to Lee, who essentially travels full-time now, theres also a demographic benefit to taking a big break when youre young, especially if you plan on jet-setting around the globe. The New Zealand native told In The Know that, in his experience, most people on similar journeys also tend to be pretty young.

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Jaime and Chris, meanwhile, were in their mid-30s when they took their mini-retirement. The advantage here is also clear: It gives you plenty of time to save up for it.

It also gave them plenty of time to get their priorities straight. Chris told In The Know that, while hed encourage anyone to take a mini-retirement, he doesnt think you should do it just to take one.

[Jaime and I] are constantly having discussions about, Is our life what we want it to be? Are we doing the things we want?

Best mini-retirement ideas

The last, and maybe most exciting question: What should you do with your time off? According to Lee, its best not to over-plan.

Some people leave home and have six months of travel planned out to the day  then they end up spending half their days rebooking hotels and canceling flights and rearranging their timetable, Lee said.

Instead, Lee suggests planning about one month in advance. That way, you can make use of your time while staying flexible to open opportunities. Of course, this suggestion works best for those taking their mini-retirement after the pandemic, when (hopefully!) travel can return to normal.

If youre looking to take a break during our current state of existence, the Durheims have their own suggestion.

Digital nomad visas, which offer an affordable way to live and work remotely overseas, have seen a huge jump in popularity during the pandemic. Countries like Barbados, for example, are charging just $2,000 to Americans looking to move there for a year.

In the context of mini-retirements, these visas offer a sort of halfway point. Its a chance to live abroad and explore a new place all while maintaining some sort of steady income  either with a remote full-time job or through freelance work.

To Jaime, its almost too good of an opportunity to ignore. The mom told In The Know that if she and Chris were younger and childless, theyd strongly consider living in the Caribbean for a year.

Does that mean everyone should go move to the Caribbean? Probably not. But theres a larger point in the Durheims advice  COVID has changed everything about mini-retirements, but that doesnt mean they arent still a good idea.

If you really want to go do something, I dont think you should let COVID stop you, Chris said. [Instead], figure out how to make it happen with COVID.

These heated gloves will keep your hands toasty all winter long:

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If you liked this story, check out this article on why more millennials are living the #RVLife.

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How do you fight a war, when the enemy is constantly changing? Thats the challenge researchers face in the battle against COVID-19.

According to a report by Live Science, the novel coronavirus has developed a number of unsettling mutations , resulting in new variants surfacing around the world. Now, theres a new study that explains how the virus so easily mutates and why these mutations help it escape the bodys immune response, Live Science reports.

Live Science cited the study - published Feb. 3 in the journal Science - where researchers found that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, often mutates by simply deleting small pieces of its genetic code. The study further explained that although the virus has its own proofreading mechanism that fixes errors as the virus replicates, a deletion wont show up on the proofreaders radar.

Study senior author Paul Duprex, director of the Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh, told Live Science, Its devilishly clever. He added, You cant fix whats not there.

According to the study, for SARS-CoV-2, these deletions frequently show up in similar spots on the genome - sites where peoples antibodies would bind to and inactivate the virus. But, because of these deletions, certain antibodies cannot recognize the virus, the study explained.

Heres an illustration.

Duprex provided an illustration, likening the deletions to a string of beads where one bead is popped out - which might not seem like a big deal, but to an antibody, its completely different, he said via Live Science. These tiny little absences have a big, big effect.

The deletions were sneaky.

Live Science noted that these deletions were first noticed by Duprex and his colleagues, in a patient with a weakened immune system - preventing them from properly clearing the virus - and resulting in an unusually long infection, of 74 days. The researchers noted that the coronavirus began to evolve as it played cat and mouse with the patients immune system during the lengthy infection, ultimately developing deletions.

Curious about how common such deletions were, Live Science reported that by using a database called GISAID to analyze some 150,000 genetic sequences of SARS-CoV-2 collected from samples around the world, researchers began to see a pattern emerge.

Study lead author Kevin McCarthy, assistant professor of molecular biology and molecular genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, said, These deletions started to line up to very distinct sites, Live Science cited.

McCarthy added, We kept seeing them over and over and over again, in SARS-CoV-2 samples collected at different times, from different parts of the world.

The researchers wrote in their paper that it seemed that these viruses strains were independently developing these deletions due to a common selective pressure, Live Science said.

Researchers had their first clue.

Dubbing these sites recurrent deletion regions, the researchers noticed that these regions tended to occur in spots on the viruss spike protein where antibodies bind in order to disable the virus, Live Science said.

McCarthy said, That gave us the first clue that possibly these deletions were leading to the escape or the evolution [of the virus] away from the antibodies that are binding.

Predicting variants in the future.

Live Science said that when the researchers started their project in the summer of 2020, coronavirus wasnt thought to be mutating in a significant way.

However, the deletions that popped up in their data told researchers otherwise. In October 2020, they spotted a variant with these deletions that would later come to be known as the  U.K. variant , or B.1.1.7, which in December 2020 gained global attention when it spread rapidly in the United Kingdom, Live Science said.

Live Science cited the studys authors, who wrote: Our survey for deletion variants captured the first representative of what would become the B.1.1.7 lineage, emphasizing the importance of monitoring closely the viruss evolution by tracking these deletions and other mutations.

McCarthy said, We need to develop the tools, and we need to reinforce our vigilance for looking for these things and following them  so we can begin to predict whats going on, Live Science cited.

Live Science noted that even though the virus may mutate to evade some antibodies, other antibodies can still effectively bind to and inactivate the virus.

Live Science cited Duprex, who said in a statement: Going after the virus in multiple different ways is how we beat the shape-shifter. He added, Combinations of different antibodies [i.e. different monoclonal antibody treatments]  different types of vaccines. If theres a crisis, well want to have those backups.

Duprex added, Anything that we can do to dampen the number of times it replicates  will buy us a little bit of time.

The studys findings highlight the importance of wearing a mask and implementing other measures to prevent the virus from spreading - the more people it infects, the more chances it has to replicate and potentially mutate, Live Science said.

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Catholics urge Jesuits to censure Fr. James Martin for lauding image of Mary with LGBT rainbow halo

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A petition has circulated asking the Jesuit Order to censure one of its priests for blaspheming one of the most sacred images of the Virgin Mary.

Life Petitions, a project of the pro-life news site Life Site News, started a petition asking the Jesuit Order to censure James Martin, SJ, for offending Poland by blaspheming the Black Madonna one week ago. As of Wednesday morning, the petition had garnered more than 17,384 signatures.

Martin sparked outrage when he tweeted a picture of a Black Madonna painting that replaced the golden halos surrounding Mary and Jesus with rainbow-colored halos.

As the Life Petition explained, the Black Madonna, also known as Our Lady of Czecstochowa, is venerated and revered in Poland as representing the Virgin Mary, who is the patroness and protectress of the country.

Martins post came as part of a lengthy Jan. 19 Twitter thread in which he condemned Poland, a country where he claimed, "homophobia is rampant" and "LGBT people are on trial for desecrating a copy of the Black Madonna with rainbow-colored halos.

After arguing that there is a long history of portraying (Mary) as part of different faith communities and ethnicities, he complained that the LGBT community has few images like this.

Thread: In Poland, where homophobia is rampant, LGBT people are on trial for "desecrating" a copy of the Black Madonna. But Mary is for everyone, including LGBT people, and there is a long history of portraying her as part of different faith communities...https://t.co/MmgK80AF5b  James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) January 19, 2021

So it is not surprising that they would add their own symbol, the rainbow, in a respectful way, to a beloved image of their mother, he said in the thread that included a close-up of the Black Madonna with rainbow halos. How appropriate that she is weeping, for it her son who suffers whenever an LGBT person is persecuted.

The LGBT community has few images like this. So it is not surprising that they would add their own symbol, the rainbow, in a respectful way, to a beloved image of their mother.



How appropriate that she is weeping, for it her son who suffers whenever an LGBT person is persecuted pic.twitter.com/BlpYTMMBp8  James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) January 19, 2021

Emphasizing that the history of this sacred image is the history of Poland and the Polish people  a history of struggle and resilience, steeped in orthodox Roman Catholicism, the Life Petition asking for Martins censure accuses the Jesuit priest of having deeply offended Polish religion, history, culture and tradition.

The petition was addressed to the Superior General of the Jesuit Order and carbon copied to the Polish and American Jesuit conferences.

This kind of offensive promotion must be given a sharp rebuke, the petition reads. Therefore, we ask you to publicly censure Fr. Martin for the offense he has caused to the Polish nation, culture, and religion, and, moreover, for the scandal his behavior has caused to the faithful, generally.

The reason people are really outraged at James Martin, SJ, is not just because (he) offended Poland and the Poles, but because he is blaspheming Our Lady and Our Lord with this foul image. Fr. Martin clearly crossed the line with his decision to subvert this holy icon. Please address the situation publicly.

Over the years, Martin has often received strong criticism from conservative Catholics for his embrace of LGBT activism and his efforts to reach out to the community. Martin has advocated for the changing of church teaching so that same-sex attraction is characterized as differently ordered as opposed to intrinsically disordered.

According to Martin, If the church uses terms that are dated, unknown, overly clinical or considered disrespectful or even offensive (as same-sex attracted is with most LGBT people), the church risks preventing real dialogue with the group.

Martin has maintained that naming LGBT people what they ask to be named is part of the respect called for by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, suggesting that, If the church desires to address the contemporary world effectively it must consider using the terms by which the world understands itself.

He has also called upon the Catholic Church to embrace families headed by same-sex couples as one of many ways to be a family besides the traditional nuclear family.

Martins advocacy on behalf of the LGBT community has also been met with criticism from prominent figures in other denominations of Christianity.

Al Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, contended that by describing same-sex attraction as differently ordered, Martin subverted the Catholic Churchs understanding of the doctrines of creation, of humanity, of sin, of redemption, (and) of the church and indicated a desire to seek an entire re-orientation of the Catholic faith.
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What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Hanoi is verifying reports that China is building a missile base 20km from the border with Vietnam, Le Thi Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press briefing on Thursday.

Society

-- Vietnam reported zero community COVID-19 cases on Friday morning, with the national tally standing at 1,953, according to the Ministry of Health.

-- New coronavirus outbreaks have basically been put under control, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said on Thursday.

-- All employees of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Cam Ranh International Airport in Khanh Hoa Province, Can Tho International Airport in Can Tho City, Vinh International Airport in Nghe An Province, and Lien Khuong Airport in Lam Dong Province have tested negative for COVID-19, Vietnamese aviation authorities said on Thursday. The staff members of 16 other airports in the country will also be screened for the contagious respiratory disease.

-- A ship was dispatched by the Nha Trang Maritime Rescue Cooperation Center early on Thursday to bring ashore a foreign sailor falling ill aboard a Marshall Islands-registered vessel, the Vietnam News Agency reported the same day.

Business

-- A Vietnamese company has sued a London-headquartered investor, demanding 20 billion (US$24 billion) in damages.

-- The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has asked airlines to deny service to those passengers failing to properly wear face masks amid COVID-19 outbreaks in the country.

Sports

-- Organizers have decided to call off a motorcycle racing tourney annually organized during the Lunar New Year festival, due next week, in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, Nguyen Khanh Tung, director of the municipal Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said on Thursday.

World News

-- "A mammoth effort by Australian firefighters saved homes from an out-of-control bushfire near Perth overnight, authorities said Thursday, but warned strong winds and rough terrain posed an ongoing challenge," AFP reported.

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CALGARY - TransAlta Corp. says the CEO who supervised its transition away from a provincially focused provider of coal-fired power to an international utility with natural gas and renewable power generation plans to retire at the end of March.

TransAlta CEO Dawn Farrell speaks during the company's annual general meeting in Calgary on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal

CALGARY - TransAlta Corp. says the CEO who supervised its transition away from a provincially focused provider of coal-fired power to an international utility with natural gas and renewable power generation plans to retire at the end of March.

The Calgary-based company says Dawn Farrell, 61, is to be replaced by John Kousinioris, currently chief operating officer and president of subsidiary TransAlta Renewables Inc.

As part of the transition, Kousinioris is to step down as president and a director with TransAlta Renewables and will be replaced by TransAlta's chief financial officer Todd Stack.

TransAlta board chair John Dielwart credited Farrell for guiding TransAlta through the final stages of electricity deregulation in Alberta and "aggressively" adjusting strategy to respond to shifts in the regulation of carbon emissions.

Farrell has led TransAlta for almost a decade and oversaw the development of TransAlta's renewables business through the purchase of Vision Quest Windelectric and then Canadian Hydro Developers Inc.

Farrell said her tenure was marked by numerous electricity sector changes due to regulatory shifts, increased competition and new technologies.

"I'm proud that TransAlta has faced into these challenges and has been able to accomplish a momentous multi-year transformation from a primarily Alberta-based, coal-fired electricity company into a leading clean and renewables-focused electricity company spanning three countries, delivering growing cash flows, and competitively positioned to take on the vast opportunities ahead of the net zero economy," she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TA, TSX:RNW)
Porterville, CA (93257)

Today

Mainly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
When will the pandemic end? Its the question hanging over just about everything since Covid-19 took over the world last year. The answer can be measured in vaccinations.

Bloomberg has built the biggest database of Covid-19 shots given around the world, with more than 119 million doses administered worldwide. U.S. science officials such as Anthony Fauci have suggested it will take 70% to 85% coverage of the population for things to return to normal. Bloombergs Vaccine Tracker shows that some countries are making far more rapid progress than others, using 75% coverage with a two-dose vaccine as a target.

Israel, the country with the highest vaccination rate in the world, is headed for 75% coverage in just two months. The U.S. will get there just in time to ring in the 2022 New Year (though North Dakota could get there six months sooner than Texas). With vaccinations happening more rapidly in richer Western countries than the rest of the globe, it will take the world as a whole seven years at the current pace.

Bloombergs calculator provides a snapshot in time, designed to put todays vaccination rates into perspective. It uses the most recent rolling average of vaccinations, which means that as vaccination numbers pick up, the time needed to hit the 75% threshold will fall.

The calculations will be volatile, especially in the early days of the rollout, and the numbers can be distorted by temporary disruptions.

For example, New Yorks target date was briefly pushed out to 17 months this week after a winter blizzard prevented some from getting vaccinated (its now back down to 13 months). Likewise, Canadas vaccination rate dropped by half in recent weeks following reports of delayed vaccine shipments. Based on Canadas latest rate of inoculations it would take more than 10 years to reach 75% coverage. That might serve as a wake-up call to Canadian politicians and health officials, but it doesnt mean the country is doomed to a decade of social distancing. Canada has contracts to buy more vaccine doses per person than any other country, and its vaccination rates are expected to climb.

The pace is likely to accelerate further as more vaccines become available. Some of the worlds biggest vaccine-manufacturing hubs in India and Mexico are only just getting started. More than 8.5 billion doses of vaccine have been contracted by countries through more than 100 agreements tracked by Bloomberg. Only a third of countries have even begun their vaccination campaigns.

Vaccinations protect against Covid-19 within a few weeks of getting the shots. But if just a few people in a community get vaccinated, the virus can continue to spread unchecked. As more people get the vaccine, groups of people start to build a collective defense against the virus so that isolated sparks of infection burn out instead of spreading into an outbreak. The concept is known as herd immunity.

In the scientific community, there are conflicting definitions for when herd immunity is achieved. Is it when enough people are protected that it begins to have a measurable effect on the speed of transmission? That could begin well before 75% of people are fully vaccinated. Others define it as the point when outbreaks can no longer be sustained. For example, even if theres a cluster of measles cases in an unvaccinated community, herd immunity prevents it from rippling across a country.

How We Run the Numbers

The vaccines available today require two doses for full vaccination. Our calculations for coverage are based on two doses per person in the population but don't distinguish between first doses or second doses administered. Those breakdowns can distort daily vaccination rates and arent available in more than 20% of the countries were tracking.

A new vaccine by Johnson & Johnson recently showed positive results using a single dose in a large clinical trial. If approved, well adjust the number of doses required proportionate to its market share in each country.

The vaccines havent been authorized for use in children  those studies are currently underway. Our calculator, like the virus, includes children in the population needed to be protected.

One metric Bloombergs calculator doesnt account for is any level of natural immunity that might result from recovering from Covid-19. Its possible that hard-hit places might require a lower level of vaccination to prevent widespread transmission. While theres evidence that people who recover from illness do retain some level of natural defenses, its unclear how much protection is offered or how long it might last. The vaccine is still recommended for people who have recovered from illness.

The calculator is the latest feature from Bloombergs Covid-19 Tracker. The projections are updated daily and are based on the average daily vaccinations in data gathered from 67 countries and the U.S. states and territories. Countries may be excluded when they are in the earliest stages of vaccinations or if they provide infrequent updates on their vaccination numbers. More than 119 million shots have been given. See the latest numbers on Bloombergs Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker





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New Delhi, Feb 5 : Opposition leaders have given notice of amendment to the motion of thanks on President Ram Nath Kovind's address while the BJP has issued a three-line whip to its party members to be present in the Upper House from Monday onwards.

The discussion on the address concluded on Friday with Rajya Sabha sitting for another half-an-hour enabling the speakers to participate in the discussions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reply to the motion of thanks on the President's address in the Rajya Sabha on Monday and then the motion of thanks is likely to be passed.

The ruling BJP initiated the debate by fielding former Congress MPs Bhubaneswar Kalita and Jyotiraditya Scindia, both now with the BJP. On Friday,the party had used Neeraj Shekhar, a former Samajwadi Party leader who is now in the BJP.

But the opposition was not deterred. Armed with farm laws' arsenal, Congress leader Anand Sharma launched a scathing attack on the Modi government in the Rajya Sabha. A number of opposition leaders have given notice of amendment to the motion of thanks on the President's address. These include Congress MPs Digvijaya Singh, K.C. Venugopal, Deepender Singh Hooda, Chhaya Verma and Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP Elamaram Kareem, among others.

The opposition is up in the arms with Congress Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa attacking the Modi government for bringing in farm laws through the backdoor. He said,"What was the need for an ordinance? Why could we not wait for six months as no political party has mobilised the farmers, it is a spontaneous movement?" he asked.

The BJP, which attacked the opposition, is preparing for a show of strength in the Upper House by issuing a three-line whip to its party members to be present in the House from Monday onwards. Although the BJP is now comfortably placed in the Upper House, its floor managers are still preparing for voting if pressed by the opposition.

In a heated debate on Friday, Congress leader Anand Sharma said it was a black day when farm laws were passed. He demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court into the January 26 violence.

"The way the farm ordinances were brought in during the pandemic was not normal. What was the hurry? Why was it not sent to the Select Committee?" asked Sharma.

He alleged that there was a conspiracy behind the January 26 violence. "I condemn it but there should be a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court as to how a few tractors reached the Red Fort? Who allowed them entry." "Nobody has the right to attack those who are discharging their duties. The Red Fort incident has sent shockwaves across the nation and it should be investigated. We express sympathy for the police personnel and officials who got injured during the January 26 violence," Sharma said.

The Congress leader urged the Modi government to shun arrogance and withdraw the farm laws immediately.

"We will support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central government in the interest of the country but will challenge any decision which is against the democratic values of the country," Sharma added.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh commented on the resolution adopted recently by the Australian State of South Australia, by which it recognized Artsakh, the ministry told Armenpress.

The process of international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh at the level of administrative-territorial units of different foreign countries continues. The latest achievement in this process has been the adoption of a resolution recognizing the Republic of Artsakh and supporting the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination by the legislature of the Australian State of South Australia.

We consider it important that the resolution condemns the Turkish-Azerbaijani armed aggression launched against the Republic of Artsakh on September 27, 2020, the policy of hatred against Armenians pursued by the Turkish and Azerbaijani authorities and the consistent destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in the occupied territories of Artsakh, as well as calls upon the federal authorities of Australia to recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh.

We are convinced that the international recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh is of key importance towards creating the necessary conditions for its people to live freely, safely, and decently in its homeland. It will also be an additional impetus for a just and lasting settlement of the Azerbaijan - Karabakh conflict, which should be based on the recognition of the right to self-determination exercised by the people of Artsakh and the cessation of the occupation of the territories of the Republic of Artsakh.

We express our gratitude to all those who made a decisive contribution to the adoption of this resolution and appreciate the resolute stance of the legislature of the State of South Australia, which affirms its commitment to the ideas of human rights, freedom and justice, the statement says.
EDWARDSVILLE  The Madison County States Attorneys Office has filed a forfeiture claim for $4,820 found during a drug arrest in January, and documents filed reveal that both methamphetamine and psilocybin mushrooms had been hidden inside a pie.

The forfeiture claim was filed Feb. 4 against Rachael R. Pender, 42, of Shelbyville.

She and Alan J. Logsdon Jr, 48, also of Shelbyville, were charged Jan. 26 after a traffic stop by an Illinois State Police trooper revealed drugs and cash.

In the subsequent forfeiture filing, he is referred to as Alan J. Logson.

Both had been charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony, while Logsdon was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony.

The request noted that the money was found in close proximity to illegal drugs, a trained narcotics dog had detected the presence of drugs, both had a history of drug-related arrests and/or convictions, the two had made inconsistent statements, Pender has no visible means of support and admitted selling and/or possessing drugs.

According to documents filed Feb. 4, an Illinois State Police trooper made a traffic stop on Jan. 25 after the drivers license associated with the truck the two suspects were in returned as suspended. In addition to two adults in the vehicle, there were two juveniles.

An Alton K9 officer conducted a search of the vehicle, with the dog all3gedly alerting to the odor of drugs.

During a search police allegedly found $4,820 in cash, about 10 grams of suspected meth and 4.1 grams of mushrooms hidden in a pie, another 1.6 grams of meth in a Camel Crush cigarette box and about 1.3 grams of suspected cannabis.

Court records stated the group had been traveling from Shelbyville to Washington, Missouri so Pender could purchase a Cadillac Escalade.

During a recorded interview, Logsdon said he did not know who the meth belonged to or who put it in the pie, which had been bought at the Blue Springs Cafe in Highland.

During her interview, Pender said she smokes Camel Crush cigarettes. She also said they had stopped to eat at Dennys, where Logsdon offered her mushrooms to put on her hamburger. After dinner they stopped at the Blue Springs Cafe for pie. She said the money was hers and that, although she was unemployed, she was receiving unemployment benefits and selling items online.

Court records state that one of the juveniles allegedly said they picked up Logsdon from a house one of them knew to commonly have drugs sold out of, and that after dinner he saw Pender in the truck smoking meth from a pipe. The youth also said the two adults were eating pie when they were pulled over, and Logsdon handed the pie to the other juvenile, who placed it in the very back storage compartment of the vehicle.

The documentation was signed by an agent of the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois.
One of the UK's most prominent bankers has dismissed Frankfurt and Paris as threats to London after Brexit.

Barclays boss Jes Staley said the UK's departure from the European Union would most likely be 'on the positive side' for the City but warned that the focus must be on competing with major financial centres in New York and Singapore.

The US banker's comments come as the UK prepares to thrash out a financial deal with the EU over the coming months amid fears London could lose access to key markets on the Continent.

Confident: Barclays boss Jes Staley said the UK's departure from the European Union would most likely be 'on the positive side' for the City

But while the negotiations will be hard fought, many believe London will maintain dominance over its smaller European rivals in Germany and France.

Staley told the BBC: 'What London needs to be focused on is not Frankfurt or Paris  it needs to be focused on New York and Singapore.

'If we get it wrong, the main beneficiary is probably Asia.'

He added: 'Yes, there are some jobs that are going to Europe, that otherwise would have been in the UK, but it's in the hundreds.'

Staley said the City should instead try to become 'a centre of innovation around financing climate issues'. He continued: 'The regulatory environment that we've faced this past 10 years put this bank on a much safer footing.

'We learned to deal with this regulation and it makes the banks safer so I'm not going to point a finger at it.'
Investigations editor

Larry Parnass, investigations editor, joined The Eagle in 2016 from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he was editor in chief. His freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant and CommonWealth Magazine.
Syracuse, N.Y.  A more-contagious version of the novel coronavirus, first found in the United Kingdom, has now been confirmed in Central New York.

Infectious disease specialists say it was inevitable that the variant would pop up here, but its a cause for concern, not panic.

I dont think we should be losing a lot of sleep over it right now, said Dr. Helen Jacoby, infectious disease specialist at St. Josephs Health. She said it appears that the current Covid-19 vaccines offer good protection against coronavirus variants

Its an area that needs to be investigated, Jacoby said, but everything I have heard is that the vaccines were getting now will have at least some efficacy against these new variants and probably a lot of efficacy against them.

The state Department of Health last week found a single case of the U.K. strain in Onondaga County. The department gave no further information.

While the U.K. variant does not appear more deadly than the version of the virus now circulating, experts say the variant spreads more easily, creating the potential for more cases and stress on the hospital system. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said a month ago the combination of rising Covid-19 case numbers and the presence of the U.K. variant would be New Yorks worst case scenario.

Fortunately, that scenario hasnt materialized yet. On Thursday, Cuomo announced that the rate of positive coronavirus tests in New York has fallen to 4.38 percent, the lowest since Nov. 28.

Onondaga Countys numbers have followed a similar trend. The seven-day average positivity rate is 2.5%, down from 8.6% a month ago.

Cuomo said today the state is tracking the U.K. variant, and will adjust Covid-19 restrictions if necessary.

If those new threats actualize, we will respond to them accordingly as we have all through this, he said.

Its no surprise that coronavirus variants are emerging across the world as the pandemic enters its second year. Viruses excel at mutation: Its how theyve succeeded at infecting everything from dinosaurs to bats, and at leaping the barrier from animals to humans. Most mutations dont offer the virus any advantage and so they fade away. But mutations that make a virus more contagious gives that new variant a leg up on its less contagious cousins.

Coronavirus mutations have been popping up since at least April, said Dr. Stephen Thomas, chair of the infectious disease unit at Upstate Medical University. Some of them were similar to the current variants, with a slight mutation in the spike protein that latches onto human cells.

Viruses are constantly mutating and constantly changing, said Thomas, who was the lead investigator and ran a local clinical trial for the Pfizer vaccine. They are serious business, and they are a cause for concern because where these mutations are occurring are in that spike protein, which is the business end of the virus and could it create a more transmissible virus.

Thomas noted that weve mostly seen the U.K. variant studied in a lab, not the real world.

Is it a variant thats going to cause a higher level of virus in people and make them sicker? We havent seen that yet, he said.

The variants could become different enough from previously common strains that people who have been sick with Covid-19 could get sick again from a new variant, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.

Moderna and Pfizer, the two drug companies who have been first out of the gate with vaccines in the U.S., say they are developing booster shots to specifically combat new variants. Thousands of Central New Yorkers have already received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and many have now had their booster shot as well.

Pfizer and Moderna presented evidence to the Food and Drug Administration that their vaccines are 95% effective against the dominant forms of the virus. In other words, 19 out of 20 people who get the two doses will not get severely ill if theyre infected.

The vaccines appear to be working on the variants to keep people from getting sick, said Brian Leydet, who teaches infectious disease and epidemiology at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

There have been no large-scale studies that show the vaccines are less effective against variants, said Leydet, who also runs the saliva testing program for ESF and adjacent Syracuse University. You really wont know until more people are vaccinated and (researchers) start following people. Well know more in a month.

Relatively few people have been vaccinated so far, however, so a virus made more contagious by a mutation would have a ready supply of susceptible people. Just over 3,000 people in Onondaga County have received the two-shot regimen. The countys population is about 460,000.

Its impossible to know just how widespread the variants are because there is relatively little testing for them. New York states Wadsworth Center laboratory is examining just 90 samples a day for variants out of about 200,000 tests administered each day across the state.

Wadsworth has found 59 cases of the U.K. variant across the state, from Long Island to Niagara Falls. The lab found no cases of two other variants, from South African and Brazil, in 3,400 samples from across the state, said Department of Health spokeswoman Erin Silk. The South African variant was first confirmed in the U.S. a week ago, in South Carolina, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The CDC said preliminary data suggest the U.K. and South African variants are more contagious than the dominant form of the coronavirus, but they do not appear to be more deadly.

A more contagious virus, however, can cause more deaths simply by sheer numbers. If more people contract the virus, more people will become sick and die, experts say.

Leydet said its time-consuming to sequence the genetic blueprint of the variant, and that labs are already overwhelmed. Besides, he said, its only important to test widely for variants if that will change how we handle the pandemic.

Youre still going to be wearing a mask and social distancing and getting a vaccine, he said. From a public health standpoint, is there any difference to what youre doing now? Were going to be doing the same exact things.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

NY is watching UK variant, will adjust if needed, Cuomo says

In Syracuses deadliest nursing home, an overwhelmed staff could not put out the Covid fire

No Covid-19 vaccine yet for Onondaga County waiters, Uber drivers. Heres why

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
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Sam Pollard knows the power of film.

Goin Back to T-Town, which he made with Joyce Vaughn, is resonating with audiences 100 years after the events happened.

The film tells the story of Greenwood, an extraordinary Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that prospered during the 1920s and 30s despite hostile segregation.

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Torn apart in 1921 by one of the worst racially motivated massacres in the nations history, the neighborhood rose from the ashes, and by 1936, it boasted the largest concentration of Black-owned businesses in the United States, known as Black Wall Street.

Ironically, it could not survive the progressive policies of integration and urban renewal of the 1960s.

The film is told through the memories of those who lived through the events. It is narrated by Ossie Davis and was first aired in 1993. American Experience will present an encore broadcast at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, on New Mexico PBS.

It was a story that I didnt know much about, the Tulsa race riot and massacre, Pollard says. We learned a lot about it while we were on the ground.

Cameo George, executive producer of American Experience, says being able to pull this film out of the vault for rebroadcast is a special opportunity and a reminder of the unique legacy of the series.

 Goin Back to T-Town is a film that was made for the series nearly three decades ago, and yet it is shockingly relevant today, George says. The story of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre was hidden for generations, but as of last year, forensic experts began searching for the mass graves of Black Tulsa citizens who were killed by white mobs. This film features some of the last recorded eyewitness accounts from survivors of that atrocity.

Even before the Civil War, African Americans  some free and some enslaved by Native Americans  were settling in the territory of Oklahoma. By the turn of the century, Black communities began to dot the landscape  more than 27 by the early 1900s. But none of them was as extraordinary as Greenwood in Tulsa.

When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, the all-white Legislature passed laws designed to keep Blacks separate and in their place: schools, hospitals, businesses, even telephone booths were segregated. But seven years earlier, a group of Black businessmen had purchased a small piece of land in the northeastern section of Tulsa. They called it Greenwood, and as segregation grew in white Tulsa, Black businesses  and Black life  thrived there.

But no one could have foreseen what would happen on the night of May 31, 1921, after newspapers falsely reported that a Black man had attacked a white woman in an elevator. When angry white people gathered outside the courthouse where the accused was being held, Black residents came out to prevent a lynching. A scuffle broke out, and shots were fired. Rioting ensued, and a white mob looted and burned Greenwood to the ground.

When the night was over, city officials put the death toll at 36; newspapers listed almost 100 deaths. The Red Cross reported more than 300 were killed. More than 35 blocks of Tulsas Black community burned, and over 4,000 people were left homeless. The search for remains of additional victims continues to this day.

Undaunted, the people of Greenwood refused to leave. Black citizens began to rebuild a new Greenwood from the ashes, making it stronger and more alive than ever.

After the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawed segregation in public schools, integration slowly came to Tulsa. White businesses competed for Black customers, hurting the neighborhood. But the final blow came when a new expressway was built through the heart of Greenwood, cutting the community in two. Its business establishments never recovered.

I dont think racial segregation is a good thing, Greenwood resident Jim Goodwin says in the film. But the quality of our lives, in many respects, was better in the days of segregation, and the challenge today is to make it as good or better.

Pollard says production started on the film in 1991.

He believes the story resonates today because we saw the same type of insanity on Jan. 6 when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Its fascinating to see what happened recently and think back to the same type of insanity happening in Tulsa now 100 years ago, he says. In Tulsa, white people felt like Black people were stepping out of place. This isnt an anomaly. When people feel like they arent treated right, they attack. We keep repeating the same mistakes.

Pollard says the film is a testament to the resilience of the Black community in Tulsa.

The community survived, he says. With integration and highways going through these communities, they survived in some way.

On TV

American Experience will air an encore broadcast of Goin Back to T-Town at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, on New Mexico PBS
Best in State: Gold award  Successful Fulfillment of Client/Owner Needs

COWI North America and HNTB

Photo courtesy of ACEC Completing the South Lander Street grade separation remedied long-standing congestion problems in the essential east-west corridor in Seattles Sodo District.





Project: South Lander Street grade separation

Client: Seattle Department of Transportation

In Seattle, the busy Lander Street corridor  serving more than 13,000 vehicles, 1,400 pedestrians and 100 bicyclists daily  was frequently blocked by train traffic, causing long lines of waiting cars and trucks. Completing the South Lander Street grade separation project remedied long-standing traffic congestion problems in the essential east-west corridor in Seattles Sodo District.

The new bridge is better designed to handle traffic from the Port of Seattle, King County Metro, regional freight, daily commuters and visitors. It has also reduced vehicle emissions and improved freight flow, supporting economic rejuvenation for Washington state.

COWI North America worked as the prime consultant for the preliminary and final design with HNTB, who was responsible for construction management. Together, they managed the design and construction of a new bridge to span over multiple active rail lines in a dense urban area. A total of four spans supported on five piers were built over the rail lines, providing four lanes of traffic and a protected 14-foot-wide bicycle-friendly and ADA-accessible pedestrian pathway.

With an original cost estimate based on 2007 plans, the engineering team value-engineered a $20 million reduction in the overall project cost. This significant construction savings enabled the city to reallocate budgets to other city projects crucial to public safety and community development.

This is an example of what SDOT can do, and the scale of projects we can deliver under budget, to build a safer, more livable and just city for all Seattleites, said Sam Zimbabwe, SDOT director.





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El Gedaref / Nyala / Khartoum  Protests continued for a second day in a row in the city of El Gedaref on Thursday, accompanied by acts of violence, vandalism, and looting. Protests over bread, transport, and excessive force by authorities during demonstrations continued in Nyala and Khartoum.

The protesters stormed a rural municipality office in El Gedaref, burning two vehicles and a motorcycle and also targeted a number of houses and shops. These protests have meant that the market has remained closed.

Dozens of protesters looted market shops while the police withdrew from the vicinity. Activist Jafar Khadar told Radio Dabanga that there was a complete absence of any police presence at the market.

The leader of the protests, Mataz Mohamed, was detained by the police after accusing the police of being responsible for the chaos in El Gedaref market, said Khadar.

Khadar accused the former regime of being involved in what he described as a "conspiracy".

An official spokesman for the state government, Abdelwahab Awad, condemned the sluggishness of the state security forces in a press statement. He explained that "the demonstrations were paid for by the former regime" and exploited by those who opposed the rise in transportation tariffs.

The situation is now calm but a "resumption of the demonstrations is expected" if the police forces remain lenient with the demonstrators, he said.

Student protests

On Thursday, in Nyala, student demonstrations protested for a fourth consecutive day against rising bread and transportation prices. The demonstrators marched towards the General Secretariat of the state government.

The wali (governor) of South Darfur, Mousa Mahdi, pledged to the students protesting in front of the Government Secretariat building that he would begin solving the issues raised next week.

Mousa Mahdi also pointed out that the law guarantees the right to peaceful protest, rather than demonstrations that sabotage, loot, or include any 'disgraceful behaviour'. He accused parties he did not name of being behind these demonstrations.

Excessive force

In Khartoum, the organization of December Revolution Martyrs' Families organised a protest in front of the Cabinet office. The protestors demanded that the state pays medical expenses and provides social support to all those injured during protests in Sudan, in addition to an ambulance present at protests to transport the injured. The organisation also stressed the prevention of the use of excessive violence, sound bombs, and tear gas to disperse protesters.

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The Resistance Committees of Nyala also condemned the use of excessive violence by the police during a recent demonstration, calling on the police director to stop arresting the demonstrators.

Attacks

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, more than 200 people were killed and 240 injured as a result of attacks on El Geneina and El Tawil village this week in South Darfur, according to Sudan's Ministry of Health and Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC). In the attack on El Tawil village by Rizeigat gunmen, 56 people were killed and 42 were injured.

Reportedly, about 100,000 people were displaced when large groups of gunmen attacked a number of districts of El Geneina and the two Kerending camps for displaced people on Saturday and Sunday. 60,000 of them sought refuge in schools and government buildings in central El Geneina, while 40,000 others fled to neighbouring villages. 1,500 families have recently arrived in Tawila locality.
A long time ago there was a guy who donned a tinfoil hat. It was a risky move professionally, but he was an ornery sort who enjoyed rocking the boat every now and again, upending received wisdom and then sitting back to watch the fallout.

Sometimes it seemed to his contemporaries that he made outrageous claims simply for the ripples of discontent they produced within his small community, for most of the time they involved trivial matters important only to a tiny coterie of scholars. But on this one particular occasion he launched a claim that had much broader implications. He was certain that an extraordinary fraud had been perpetrated which had gone relatively unquestioned for quite some time -- one which, unlike most of his provocative assertions, had real-world consequences.

I say relatively unquestioned because this trouble-maker was not the first person to suspect the fraud had taken place, for others had expressed skepticism over the years. But he was the first person to lay out a coherent justification for these doubts, and in the end, after he had published his opinion, hed not only exposed the massive conspiracy for the fraud that it was, hed launched a new academic discipline.

Our conspiracy theorists name was Lorenzo Valla and he was born in 1407. His claim was that a certain document the papacy used to justify its temporal powers over the Western portion of Christendom was a forgery. It was allegedly composed in the 4th century by the Emperor Constantine himself, but Valla showed that it actually had to have been forged centuries later.

The document was known as the Donation of Constantine and it appeared to gift the entire Western hemisphere to Pope Sylvester in gratitude for his having cured the emperor of leprosy. The document explicitly stated . . . we give over . . . to the most blessed pontiff and universal pope, our father Sylvester, and to the power and sway of him and his successor pontiffs, not only our palace . . . but the city of Rome and all the provinces, places, and cities of Italy or the western territories . . . and we grant that they should remain under the law of the holy Roman church.

Why was this important? At around the same time, a group of forgeries called The False Decretals were composed presumably with the intent to boost Romes power at a time when it was weakening. The purpose of back-dating these proofs of church authority was to reinvigorate it in its contests with secular rulers. And the Donation, included amongst these Decretals, was indeed used throughout the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance to justify the authority of the Church over the state. In addition, it bestowed an impressive amount of material wealth on the papacy in land, palaces, Church sees, and so forth. Further, the papacys claims to ownership of this vast territory justified its demands for periodic tribute as well.

Throughout the centuries, whenever Rome flexed its muscles, objections to the Donation would surface here and there but nothing ever came of them. It wasnt until Valla published his scathing critique On the Donation of Constantine -- a demolition if there ever was one -- that the brightest light was shown on the document confirming it to be the fraud that it was.

Since the Renaissance, what appears to have interested scholars most was Vallas skillful analysis of the Donations language, for it was there that one found the most definitive proof that the document was a forgery. For instance, the writer used expressions that had not yet come into common parlance until well after the 4th century. The document also referred to political functionaries whose role did not yet exist at the time of the alleged composition. Some of the most enjoyable bits are when Valla, being something of a snob where style and rhetoric were concerned, unleashes scathing condemnation of the forgers clumsy sentence structure and inept syntax. He positively excoriates the forgers Latin.

But thats not what interests me about Vallas critique, for he doesnt begin his attack with these technical points, and while theyre definitive, theres something else that demands attention. When I first considered writing an essay on Valla I thought the most important thing was to point out (for the benefit of our college-educated illiterati) that conspiracies to commit fraud arent new. If young people received an actual education, this case of a Renaissance humanist exposing a massive fraud concocted centuries earlier would be tucked away somewhere in their minds to be recalled whenever they heard contemptuous dismissals of conspiracy theorists. They might even consider the possibility that, as Paul Joseph Watson has pointed out, . . . conspiracy theories are just inconvenient truths that the political establishment wants to remain hidden.

But then right before our very eyes this extraordinary election fraud took place, and it was in the reaction of fraud deniers to this epochal event that my attention was forcibly shifted to the specific way in which Valla approached his thesis.

As I said above, he doesnt begin with specifics; rather, Valla opens his monograph with an examination of the likelihood of this gift having been made (and received) in the first place. In other words, before getting down to the nitty gritty details that prove his thesis, he steps back and lays out the probability of the entire scenario. For instance, he first observes that empire-building monarchs are manifestly aggressive about the acquisition of territory, often to extremes. Consequently, it would be highly unlikely that a figure as ambitious as Constantine would undergo a character reversal so extreme that hed decide one day to simply give away an empire hed worked hard to sustain. Then Valla questions how Constantine could possibly have withstood the pleadings and admonishments from his vast family and friends, some of which would have surely included threats, as Valla dramatizes in his imaginings of what those confrontations would have entailed. He spends time on these questions and others, carefully delineating the context in which this gift would have taken place -- a context he reveals to be thoroughly illogical. Only then does he move on to specifics by examining the Donation more closely.

Now this is exactly what those individuals who assert election fraud are attempting to do. They pose general questions such as How likely is it that Joe Biden could have won so overwhelmingly when he couldnt even rustle up more than a handful of people at his rallies? or What is the probability of so many voters voting exclusively for the president and no one else on the ballot? Those familiar with the issue can offer manifold examples of their own.

It is most important, however, to emphasize that those individuals who ask these questions are engaging rationally with the logic of the context. And the questions surrounding probability (and improbability) are the essential indicators that something might be amiss. Situations that involve a staggering number of improbabilities demand investigation. It is the height of irresponsibility to ignore them and no one can claim any degree of intellectual integrity if they do. Ignoring the illogical and the improbable is tantamount to abdicating reason itself.

My fanciful introduction did Valla a disservice, because it wasnt a tinfoil hat he put on his head. It was something much less shiny.

It was a thinking cap.

Jocelynn Cordes is an author, essayist and literary critic. Under the pen name Plum McCauley, she has published two novels, It All Started with a Bicycle and Worthy of Prometheus.

Image: Picryl / public domain
Weve entered the politics-as-judo phase of the Democratic primary for Philadelphia district attorney.

Challenger Carlos Vega is trying to turn a strength of incumbent Larry Krasners  a geographically diverse base of contributors  into a weakness.

Vega, an assistant district attorney for decades before Krasner fired him in 2018, raised $131,412 in the last three weeks of 2020, according to campaign-finance reports filed this week. Krasner raised nearly $162,000 in all of 2020.

Krasner had $166,000 in the bank as of Dec. 31, compared with nearly $130,000 for Vega. Krasners campaign on Thursday said that number is now more than $300,000, suggesting campaign cash has started to flow more freely in the new year. Vegas campaign declined to provide a current total.

But back to the judo.

Vega campaign manager Trevor Maloney crunched the numbers and found that more than 78% of his guys money came from Philly residents. By contrast, 75% of Krasners 2020 cash came from outside Pennsylvania, he said.

Maloneys take: People directly affected by Krasners policies are voting with their wallets for Vega.

Krasner campaign manager Brandon Evans said the district attorney enjoys broad support, locally and nationally.

We are also supported by those who lack money but show up at the ballot box, as those most impacted by the criminal justice system and abusive police practices often lack the means to contribute to campaigns, Evans told Clout. That doesnt make their voices less important.

 READ MORE: Larry Krasner is happy driving his opponents crazy as he seeks reelection as Philly DA

A couple of lessons from 2017 come to mind.

Krasner, a longtime civil rights attorney and political novice who first ran on criminal justice reform, raised about $320,000 before winning the 2017 seven-candidate primary. That put him in the middle of the pack for resources.

And money isnt everything. Another 2017 candidate, Michael Untermeyer, invested $1.3 million of his own money in that race and finished a distant fifth.

The key is outside money, and how it is spent. An independent political action committee funded with nearly $1.7 million from billionaire George Soros supported Krasners 2017 election. Soros, a philanthropist, has spent millions backing progressive, reform-minded candidates since 2015.

A spokesperson for that PAC, dormant since late 2017, didnt respond to requests for comment. We know Soros has circled back to help reelect candidates he propelled into office. He invested $2 million last year to help Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx win a second term in Chicago after backing her in 2016.

Another unanswered question: Protect Our Police PAC, an anti-Krasner group started by retired Philadelphia police officers, still hasnt filed a campaign-finance report.

So you want to be a judge in Philly

That steady rumble you hear is a stampede of attorneys running for Common Pleas or Municipal Court judge in Philadelphia this year.

There are eight open Common Pleas seats and three for Municipal Court. Expect to see several candidates file for both courts in a process that runs more on luck and influence than policy and jurisprudence.

The Philadelphia Bar Association said 29 attorneys have submitted information, hoping to secure the coveted title of recommended. Thats not an endorsement from the group. And plenty of judges won without being recommended.

Bob Brady, chairman of the Democratic City Committee, said 22 lawyers made their pitches for the partys endorsement last week. The partys Policy Committee was set to consider endorsements Thursday evening.

History shows many candidates will drop out if they dont win an endorsement. More will end their campaigns when positions on the ballot are determined via a lottery. A top ballot position is crucial since few voters know much about the candidates. A low position can kill a campaign.

No Black attorneys were elected as judges in 2019, despite two winning Democratic endorsements. That caused consternation, still evident as former Common Pleas Judge Frederica Massiah-Jackson, who retired last month after 37 years on the bench, offered advice this week to would-be candidates in a Facebook Live event organized by City Commissioner Omar Sabir.

Noting that about a third of the seats on both courts are held by people of color, she urged candidates to find ways to get their faces known to voters. A photo is worth 1,000 words, Massiah-Jackson said.

Brady on Thursday predicted that at least five Black attorneys will win his partys endorsement for one of the two local courts, though he is leaving it up to ward leaders to decide which candidates get the nod.

The world according to Joe Gale

Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale has a theory about how Bruce Castor landed as a last-minute addition to former President Donald Trumps legal team as the Senate prepares for an unprecedented second impeachment trial: Its all about Gale.

He declared this week that fellow Republican Castor, a former Montgomery County commissioner and district attorney, was being propped up by the Pennsylvania GOP swamp to harm Gales political future.

Political insiders are in panic-mode that I will run for Governor or U.S. Senate in 2022, said Gale, accusing those unnamed insiders of resurrecting Castors career to offset my growing popularity.

This isnt the first time the controversial Gale has suggested sinister GOP forces are after him. He tried to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2018, but a judge ruled him ineligible as a candidate because the state Constitution limits eligibility for that office to citizens who shall have attained the age of 30 years. Gale, who was 28 when he announced his candidacy and when he was removed from the ballot, would have been two months shy of 30 at the start of the lieutenant governors term in early 2019.

Gale then accused the judge of doing the dirty work of the GOP establishment swamp.

Staff writer Laura McCrystal contributed to this column.

Correction: An earlier version of this column misstated the reason Gale was removed from the ballot The judge did not rule he was two years shy of a requirement to be a candidate.
Denis Poroy /Associated Press

A man caught smuggling heroin and fentanyl at a local international bridge claimed he had gone to Mexico to visit his grandparents, according to an arrest affidavit filed on Thursday.

Jose Martinez Torres was arrested and charged with import, attempt to import and conspire to import heroin and fentanyl.


A Zimbabwe-born Australian woman who says she is pregnant with Temba Mliswas twins claimed that the late foreign minister Sibusiso Moyo gave her US$40,000 for baby preparation after she fell pregnant with his son.

Susan Mutami, 32, has asked the 49-year-old Norton MP for US$30,000 for their unborn twins, telling him: They deserve to have nice things too, and to be born in luxury.

ZimLive has obtained a readout of WhatsApp messages, audio recordings and pictures shared between the two feuding former lovers, in which Mutami  who claims to be a fucken millionaire  repeatedly threatens to have an abortion, accusing Mliswa of neglecting her.

She also claims to have carried out an unexplained assignment for state security minister Owen Mudha Ncube, and in one exchange claims that police chief Godwin Matanga okayed her move to repossess 7,000 bricks from a Norton woman with the help of the police.

After Moyos death last month from Covid-19, Mutami sent a message to Mliswa claiming that three friends of the former army general had delivered three sets of US$10k for Tendai, her four-year-old son. The money, she claimed, was delivered by SBs best friend identified only as Moris, who is at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwes Financial Intelligence Unit and used to be CEO of ZMDC. A picture accompanying the WhatsApp message is that of Moris Mpofu, once the director of exchange control at the RBZ, now a non-executive director at ZIMRA.

Mutami claims Tendai was the product of a 12-year affair with Moyo, who was married to Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission boss Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo.

Mliswa met Mutami in October last year when she went to Norton to donate medical equipment she sourced in Australia, where she works in the health services.

The two hit it off almost immediately, Mliswa sealing the courtship after taking her to his rural home. In a voice note to Mliswa in early November, she told him she had heard from one of his associates that she had donated her thighs to the MP.

Ask them what I should have done? I got there and I was given my own bedroom, and a plate full of meat. The man of it was very nice to me and treated me like a lady. What did they want me to do? Mutami says, while also speaking effusively about Mliswas package.

They wanted me to let you go with all your nice things? Yes, I donated my thighs. I enjoyed, and Ive no pressure. Im actually waiting for you to come and knock me out, in that way you only know how. It doesnt take you five minutes to get me there.

Smitten Mliswa soon moved Mutami into his luxury pad in Avondale where she stayed rent-free with her child.

But within weeks, Mutami was pregnant. A few days later, after a scan, she told the father of 18 she was not just pregnant but she was expecting twins.

Mliswa did not appear particularly impressed, although Mutami reminded him it was he who said he wanted a child with her.

The exchanges between the two lovers soon grew into monologues, with Mutami doing all the messaging and Mliswa not responding.

We have never spoken about the future of us but you are talking to yourself, Mliswa tells her at one point.

A frustrated Mutami compared Mliswa to her former lovers, one of them Moyo, who swapped military fatigues for a suit as foreign minister after a military coup in 2017 which ousted long-time leader Robert Mugabe.

Sibusiso himself was there for Tendais first ultrasound. He flew me to Singapore so he could see his son, leaving his work while he was still at KG6, Mutami fumed.

Describing Moyo as my first love and the man that took my virginity, she said he was also generous, covering the rather huge bill for her baby preparation, including sending her a helper for six months after the child was born.

Im gonna need US$30k cash when I go back to Australia for preparation for the twins from you. They deserve to have nice things too and be born in luxury, she said in one WhatsApp message.

Tendais preparation cost me around US$40k. Things arent cheap in Australia. I need to keep that same standard for all my kids. They deserve to have the Stokke prams just like Tendai. And mamaroos and have everything tech savvy. US$30k is decent enough for them. Thats an equivalent of 4 Chanel handbags.

By late December, the tempestuous romance had become an on-off affair, with Mutami calling time on the romance and repeatedly threatening to terminate the pregnancy, only to apologise.

My career is at its peak, and being pregnant and lonely is what I dont want, she wrote to Mliswa. Im suggesting we do a termination ASAP and save ourselves a lot of stresses. My family is in Australia, I feel bashed and unwanted yet Im a woman of class and its just unfortunate I agreed to move here, not because I didnt have anywhere to stay but because I wanted to be with you. I wanted to give you all my love and attention.

On one occasion, Mutami appears to have gone to the mall with at least one of Mliswas daughters, who was unhappy when she told her that she was pregnant with her fathers twins. Mliswas daughter also suggested she abandoned them before a payment was made.

I went to the mall and Mudha gave me an order ASAP and its that simple, he comes first, Mutami responded, referring to the state security minister. So they are unappreciative of what I did for them? Before I bought Owens stuff?

Mutami had donated 7,000 bricks to a Norton woman, but she went to retrieve the bricks, accusing the woman of being in a love relationship with Mliswa.

I thought I was helping her out by buying her bricks to build, yet she was busy sleeping with my husband. We dont play those games. Godwin said I have every right to take them back, she wrote, referring to the police commissioner general Matanga.

Mliswa began moves to evict Mutami in early December, writing a formal letter stating that as you are well aware, you are yet to pay rent for Avon Villas despite signing a lease and being there for over a month now.

But no sooner had he initiated the process, the couple appeared to get back in good books.

I apologise for being childish before, and shouting at you Shumba. Please forgive me, Mutami wrote to Mliswa, whom she described as the best I have ever had.

The armistice didnt last however, and by the end of December, the war had erupted again, with Mliswa pushing harder to evict Mutami from Avon Villas. You leave that place or I will change the locks Vacate those premises please by this weekend or pay to Josephine since you are a millionaire, Mliswa wrote to her.

On New Years Eve, Mutami had checked herself into Trauma Centre in Harare, from where she bought herself more time.

She told Mliswa she had registered with Australias department of foreign affairs to be evacuated from Zimbabwe with her son, which would happen anytime after January 12.

Im not ready to go, I wish I could have spent more time with you. You have been a blessing to me and Tendai and my only wish is for you to come and witness the birth of your twins, Mutami wrote.

Dipping back into her dating history, Mutami added this bizarre line: The last man who cared for me the way you do died in 2005, and somehow I found him in you. I know Im a stubborn ass baby mama but I want you to know that from the bottom of my heart I love you Peter and this is my promise to you for life.

In late January however, the relationship finally went off the tracks with Mutami accusing Mliswa of hurting me with your silence and listening to what people say about me, people that hate me and want no good to come out of me yet Im a great woman who has stuff going for her.

Im invisible to you I have to send 60 messages for you to come home and f*** me. Im hurt honestly. Im going back to Australia we have no plan whatsoever for the twins. No day care. I pay for my ultrasound and doctors appointment visits when you are there. Never have I seen you even contributing or even being concerned requesting for pics and all. This was a mistake Temba, and I need to fix it, Mutami lamented.

Mutami told Mliswa to bear in mind Im only 32 and my sex drive is at its peak. I love having sex with someone that I have a connection with almost like everyday.

One session every two weeks for me wont do Shumba. No-one has ever f***** me the way you do. You calmed me down, she added.

Following Moyos burial on January 27, Mutami was ready to move after finding alternative accommodation, with a Colonel Mbibi from the army facilitating the transportation of her personal belongings.

She claimed Moyo had given her a house for Tendai before his death. Weeks earlier, she had told Mliswa in another WhatsApp message: I have my own multi-million-dollar properties that are fully paid for, you can ask Sibusiso because he paid for them.

She also boasted that she was a diplomat of a foreign nation, presumably Australia, and had a very good job with the Queensland government under the department of health. On January 25, she claimed that she had a job at the United Nations waiting for her.

Temba, Im a fucken millionaire, she wrote once after she felt the politician had spoken to her as if it was a job interview, questioning my worth and what I bring to the table.

The WhatsApp exchanges also revealed that Mliswa sat Mutami down and told her he had 18 children with over a dozen women. She was only too happy to give him his 19th and 20th.

In the end, it appeared, Mutamis love was not enough for the super dad. I loved you Peter, Mutami said, referring to Mliswa by his middle name. Im the type of woman that would even bring another woman in bed for you to be happy and eat that ass and balls up. Thats how loyal I am to you but I am not getting that love back in return. Context being theres nothing that I wouldnt do for you. Im hurt.

At the January, Mutami approached an online newspaper and claimed Mliswa was gay and had tried to bring a man into their bed, claims which Mliswa denies.

Mliswa told ZimLive that Mutami was a fortune-seeking slay queen who is also bipolar and needs our prayers, not condemnation.

Mutami said she only spoke out publicly after Mliswa employed anonymous social media users to tarnish my image all because I broke up with him.

Temba needs to grow up and he needs serious help. I will drag him. Im no pushover, said a defiant Mutami, who is still in Harare.

In 2011, Mutami  working as a nurse aide  was hailed as a hero in Australia after she blew the whistle on the attempted cover-up of a nursing home residents death. The resident had drowned due to the negligence of staff at the nursing home, but management blamed the death on a heart attack.

A controversial figure known by friends to embellish her successes, she was humiliated in 2018 when hairstylist and hair-merchandiser Jennifer Okai launched an Instagram appeal to locate her. Mutami had taken her three wigs worth US$900 in August 2017 before she stopped taking her calls.

Okai was shocked to read online that Mutami was being honoured for integrity and honesty, yet she had given her every possible excuse in the book to avoid settling her debt. ZIMLIVE
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VA Church Goes Back to Appeals Court

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Liberty Counsel

Feb. 5, 2021



RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 5, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Lighthouse Fellowship Church has appealed for the second time to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in the federal lawsuit against Governor Ralph Northam for violating its religious freedom by targeting churchgoers. Liberty Counsel represents the church on Chincoteague Island.

Under the governor's original unconstitutional orders, the church could hold meetings with an unlimited number of people to feed, shelter, and provide social services, but religious services were restricted to no more than 10 people.

The Fourth Circuit previously denied the motion for preliminary injunction and sent it back to the district court. Then Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen dismissed the lawsuit by incorrectly ruling that the church could not sue the governor. Every other case in the country involving COVID Executive Orders include the respective governors as a defendant.

Police served a summons last year to Pastor Kevin Wilson on Palm Sunday for holding a church service for 16 people spaced far apart in a sanctuary that is rated for 293 people. The charge was violating Virginia Governor Northam's COVID Order 55 with a penalty up to a year in jail and/or a $2,500 fine. Yet, commercial establishments in the area were filled with people. The Commonwealth of Virginia has since dropped the criminal charges against Pastor Wilson.

On April 5, before the service on Palm Sunday, a local police officer entered the church. He gave no introduction and did not ask for the pastor. Following the governor's orders, he abruptly said they could not have more than 10 people spaced six feet apart. Then, after the service, two police officers entered the church in full mask and gloves and asked to speak with the pastor. They issued him a summons and informed him that if he had service on Easter, all attending would get the same summons.

Lighthouse Fellowship Church helps keep people free of drug addiction, brokenness, mental illness, poverty, and prostitution. The church, which does not have internet, provides physical, emotional and spiritual services to the community. Many of the members do not have driver's licenses and are dependent on the church family for rides to get food, supplies, and go to medical appointments and personal care services like haircuts. Many attendees are on limited income obtained from government assistance -- whether disability or social security, Medicare or Medicaid -- and the church has helped various members with electric or gas bills, rent, groceries, and physical labor. The church also offers a blanket ministry, prayer ministry, discipleship programs, and counseling services.

The Supreme Court has unequivocally stated, "[i]f there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein." W. Va. State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 642 (1943) (emphasis added). The Commonwealth of Virginia does not have the authority to dictate the manner or form of worship, whether that be online or a 10-person limit.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court granted an emergency petition for an injunction pending appeal on behalf of New York City synagogues and Roman Catholic churches in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo and Agudath Israel v. Cuomo. As a result, churches in Colorado, New Jersey and Nevada have now received favorable court decisions regarding unconstitutional worship bans.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, "Governor Ralph Northam's worship restrictions were unconstitutional, and the court must prevent him from reverting back to these restrictions at any whim. The governor clearly discriminated against Lighthouse Fellowship Church, which provides essential physical, emotional, and spiritual services to the community. Churches have a First Amendment right to exist, and the Supreme Court has ruled accordingly in favor of religious freedom."

Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost.

SOURCE Liberty Counsel



CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org



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Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group.

Dear Care and Feeding,

Our family has had to be super COVID safe due to a higher potential for adverse outcomes. Its meant weve taken it a lot on the chin: canceling needed therapies for the kids; Mom not working so that she can implement those therapies (poorly) via telehealth; virtual school; very small safe pod; no family visits or respite, etc. We recently decided to open up to some in-home therapies after extensive safety planning. At some point, the loss of ability is a bigger problem than exposure, but were trying to be as safe as we can.

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We have been holding out hope that the adults who interact with our kids would be vaccinated. Our therapists are all Black women, and we just learned theyve decided not to get the vaccine when its offered by their employer. Their reasons are completely valid; they dont trust the vaccine. I am aware of the generational trauma of procedures performed on POC without their consent, and I am aware of ongoing and justified mistrust of the medical profession. Im also a mom who is trying to minimize risk for my higher risk kids as much as I can. I dont want to add to the difficulties these women are experiencing by insisting they be vaccinated, which could jeopardize their employment. But I also need to keep my kids as safe as possible. Id appreciate any guidance in navigating what feels to me like an ethical dilemma mixed with Mama Bear safety planning. I have a feeling well be encountering this situation in more settings than just this one, given the low rates of vaccination in various health care settings.

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Dont Wanna Be Vaccine Karen

Dear D.W.B.V.K.,

While your compassion is admirable, your safety concerns are valid, too. You can require masks and try to maintain social distance during these visits (depending on the therapies involved), and perhaps even conduct some of them outdoors when the weather permits. If that feels safe enough, then thats probably your best option. Otherwise, I think you need to respect both these womens wishes not to be vaccinated and your own qualms about having unvaccinated persons in your home. Let them know that you understand their feelings but that your serious concerns about exposing your children to COVID make it so that you strongly wish to have only vaccinated persons working with them. Its likely that these therapists have given some serious thought as to what it means to reject the vaccine, so I doubt your feelings will surprise them. Talk to them and your childrens doctors, and let your commitment to keeping them safe guide your final decision. Wishing you all the best!

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Help! How can I support Slate so I can keep reading all the advice from Dear Prudence, Care and Feeding, Ask a Teacher, and How to Do It? Answer: Join Slate Plus.

Dear Care and Feeding,

When each of my three kids was born, my dad opened mutual funds for them with the thought they would be used for college. Years later, my oldest is now a few years away from graduating high school. She is gifted and driven and, of my children, she has the greatest chance of receiving academic scholarships; her account also has the most money, by far. Conversely, my youngest child has a lot of challenges ahead in school as he has several different learning disabilities and has to work more than twice as hard as either of his siblings to earn passing grades. I am considering transferring some of his sisters money into his account to try for some equity. He will need the money more than she does, and I feel like he has earned it with all the extra time and work he puts into his therapies and schoolwork. Maybe this idea is not fair, but is it equitable? For the record, none of the kids even know these accounts exist, so its not as if the oldest would even know what she lost.

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Equity or Theft?

Dear Equity,

I would imagine that part of the thinking behind gifting your children college funds was that helping them to pay for school would also help you, and Id also expect that your father would trust you to make decisions on behalf of your children that serve the familys collective needs. With the caveat that it would be wise to consult a financial adviser regarding all of the implications, I dont think theres anything inherently wrong about moving some of the money around.

That said, before doing so, Id first want to be confident that cost will definitely not be an issue that prevents your daughter from attending the school of her choice, with all the attendant fees and other, often surprising costs beyond tuition. If it seems that shed be able to pay most college fees from scholarships and even a reduced amount in this account, then great. If, however, dividing the pie put her in a situation where, say, shed need a loan that might not otherwise been necessary, then you may want to take that into consideration.

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I am certain that other people may feel otherwise, but it sounds like having an equitable share of the overall pot could make a tremendous difference for your sons future and may even save you from having to take out loans on his behalf. If you can do so without taking away anything from your daughter, I say go for it.

 If you missed Thursdays Care and Feeding column, read it here.

 Discuss this column in the Slate Parenting Facebook group!

Dear Care and Feeding,

Three years ago, when my daughter was 10, we were taking the bus back from a day out when an elderly white homeless man who was clearly struggling with some mental illness got on and started screaming incoherently at us about dirty Indians while waving a (closed) Swiss Army Knife at us. The driver immediately made him leave, and while I was just shaken, it left my daughter with a fear of homeless people, as well as taking the bus. No matter how many times I explain to her that the man was mentally ill, that not every homeless person she sees is like that, that people can end up homeless for many reasons, and that in all of the years Ive taken the bus, incidents like that have happened twice, she still doesnt get it. She has pulled me across the street to avoid a sleeping homeless man and refused to ride the bus to a summer program at the local university because she doesnt feel comfortable even traveling on them in a group with her friends. Even though she probably wont be taking the bus anytime soon, Id still like her to feel comfortable going on it alone, and I really want to change her attitude towards homeless people. Is there anything more I can do besides continuing to explain to her about how things like that rarely happen, or should I try therapy, assuming it isnt too late?

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Afraid of Buses in Berkley

Dear A.B.B.,

Your daughter and you were witness to a racially motivated episode, one that involved a weapon. Its unfortunate that shes taken on such fearful attitudes, but its not terribly surprising considering the ways that the impoverished are treated in media and the fact that she had this really, really traumatic experience. You must get her into therapy; her current anxieties are not going to allow her to move around the world with much ease and that could be absolutely devastating. Seeing unhoused people as inherently bad or dangerous could have many possible ramifications for her own life as well as the lives of unhoused people that she comes across in her day-to-day travels. This is not good for her mental health, nor for how she treats other human beings. Therapy NOW, please.

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Dear Care and Feeding,

Lately, my 14-year-old daughter has become obsessed with the Beetlejuice musical on Broadway. This is all she talks or sings about. Anything coming out of her mouth is related to Beetlejuice, the afterlife, or being recently deceased. I decided that she should watch the movie, as she is a fanatic of the musical, and, unsurprisingly, she loved it. Now, she quotes it left and right. At first, I didnt have a problem with this, but now I think its going too far. I just learned she considered attempting suicide. I thought she was happy (she lives a very comfortable life), but I guess shes been having suicidal thoughts. This obsession with the afterlife and death, as well as suicidal thoughts, is not stacking up in her favor. Im considering putting a ban on the musical and the movie in this house if it keeps my daughter alive. Am I being rational?

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Blaming the Ghost With the Most

Dear B.G.M.,

Is there necessarily a connection between your daughters interest in Beetlejuice and her suicidal ideation? Thats hard for me to say. Perhaps whatever challenges she is dealing with led her to obsess over death, and theres a through line between the interest in this story and what she did. Perhaps not. Regardless, the best way to sort this out would be in therapy. You need to find out as much as you can about what is driving your child these days: why this show/film, why death and, most urgently, why might she have considered ending her own life.

Withdrawing her favorite movie and show may cause her some additional upset that works against your goal of getting her to feel better about living, but, if you find that her engagement with Beetlejuice is powering fixation with death in a dangerous way, then you must exercise your discretion to limit or eliminate it from her life. No matter what, your child has admitted to considering suicide, and therapy is an absolute must going forwardASAP. Wishing you all lots of luck.

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Jamilah

More Advice From Slate

My brother-in-law taught his children to call my husband Uncle Ditz when they started to talk, and now at ages 9 and 11, they call him Ditzy. I am sure this was initially a playful insult to my scatterbrained husband. Ive always found Ditzy disrespectful, given that the kids are now old enough to easily say his actual name and can understand the meaning of ditzy. My parents taught us to call adults by their titleuncle, auntie, Mr., Miss, or Mrs.and Ive explained my discomfort to my husband based on the values I was taught. He refuses to address this with his brother. I understand its endearing to have a special name from your family, but I still cant help but cringe when I hear a child call an adult Ditzy. I do not want our child (due this spring) to hear this name. How do I approach this?
A second suspect has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Luis Tiru-Romero, who was shot in Worcester last summer and died in hospice care last month, authorities said Friday.

Anthony Negron, 26, of Camden, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty Friday in Worcester District Court to the murder charge. Judge Robert J. Pellegrini ordered Negron held without bail, according to the office of Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr.

Worcester police went to 6 Mount Pleasant St. on the afternoon of July 9, where they found Tiru-Romero in a hallway suffering from gunshot wounds to his chest and head. After the shooting, Tiru-Romero remained hospitalized and in medical facilities until his death on Jan. 30 in hospice care in New York, Earlys office said.

Negron has faced other charges in connection with the shooting. He was indicted on Sept. 15 and previously arraigned in Worcester Superior Court for charges of assault and battery; carrying a firearm not at home or work; carrying a loaded firearm not at home or work; possession of a firearm while committing a felony; discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling; aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; assault and battery by discharge of a firearm; and armed assault with intent to murder.

Jose A. Merced, 32, of Worcester, has also been charged with murder in connection with the shooting. He was arraigned Monday in Worcester District Court, where he was ordered held without bail. Merced had also been indicted on Sept. 15 for several charges in connection with the shooting, the district attorneys office said.

A witness saw a person shoot Tiru-Romero with a handgun in a hallway, detectives wrote in a police report.

A photo array was compiled and displayed to the witness, who then identified Merced with 99% certainty, the report said.

The shooter was a friend of the victim and was with the victim at 6 Mount Pleasant St. just before the incident, walking down the front hallway stairs, according to court documents.

A witness stated that as they went downstairs toward the front entrance he/she observed two men standing in the hallway on the first floor. The front door was closed and both men were wearing sunglasses and black face masks. The shooter pointed at the victim and stated to the men, what are we going to do about him, documents read.

The men grabbed the victim, court documents indicate, and pulled him to the ground before the shooter fired a small black handgun at the victim.

Through surveillance images, police determined that Negron helped the shooter, according to court documents.

Negron is slated to return to court on March 25. Merced is expected to return to court on March 1.

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Jolted into action by the tragic loss of four ministers, President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration has approved mass importation of anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin to battle Covid-19.

Covid-19 cases and deaths ballooned exponentially since the beginning of the year. The country has so far recorded over 32 300 positive cases and 23 687 recoveries.

A total of 300 new cases and 23 deaths were recorded on Wednesday. Zimbabwe has lost 1 122 people to the virulent contagion to date.

In a letter to the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe acting director Robert Rukwata, Health and Child Care acting secretary Robert Mudyiradima said while the government had a critical obligation to protect patients, it could not "deny them effective treatment regimes" in these difficult times of Covid-19.

"It is in this regard that authority is granted for you to proceed under Section 75 of the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act to allow importation and use of these medicines under supervision and guidance you outlined," Mudyiradima wrote.

"Ivermectin can be evaluated for both treatment and prophylaxis (prevention)."

Covid-19 has claimed four government ministers, Perrance Shiri, Ellen Gwaradzimba, Rtd Lt-General Sibusiso Moyo and Joel Biggie Matiza while Rtd Brigadier-General Collen Moyo; former ZPCS Commissioner-General Rtd Major-General Paradzayi Zimondi; and other Zanu PF bigwigs also succumbed to the dreaded virus.

Moyo, Matiza and Zimondi were interred at the national heroes' acre on Wednesday at an unprecedented triple burial presided over by the Acting President Constantino Chiwenga, who is also Health and Child Care minister.

Recently, a prominent medical practitioner, Jackie Stone stirred controversy in the medical fraternity after prescribing Ivermectin, Doxycycline and Nano Silver as Covid-19 therapy, reportedly despite lack of clinical evidence for safe use.

Other medical practitioners said her prescriptions were "a worrying combination of therapy for patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and Covid-19".

The Medical and Dental Professional Council of Zimbabwe also wrote a letter of complaint about Stone's behaviour to the Medical and Dental Professional Council of Zimbabwe registrar Josephine Mwakutuya last week, demanding a review of her fitness to continue practicing.

Stone, who has been prescribing Ivermectin to her patients, said her current focus was to get it regularised. She said if the use of the drug was delayed further, it would cause 75% unnecessary Covid-19 deaths.

Zimbabwean doctors, who are at the forefront of fighting Covid-19, also wrote to the Health ministry seeking permission to use Ivermectin and Nano Silver to treat Covid-19.

In a letter dated January 24, 2021, to the Health ministry secretary Jasper Chimedza by the College of Primary Care Physicians of Zimbabwe, the physicians claimed to have successfully used Ivermectin together with Nano Silver, with good results.

"We feel comfortable using this drug which has been around for 40 years on the WHO essential drugs list and has an excellent safety profile. We understand that it was currently not registered in Zimbabwe, but we fill out section 75 forms for non-registered drugs all the time in the course of our practice," part of the letter signed by 23 local doctors read.

One of the medical professors who complained about Stone's prescriptions, Rashida Ferrand yesterday said testing of Ivermectin under government regulation was not a problem.

"Testing with regulation is appropriate," Ferrand said

The Employers' Confederation of Zimbabwe (Emcoz) also wrote to Chiwenga seeking authorisation of Ivermectin for prevention and treatment of Covid-19.

"There is increasing evidence that the anti-parasite drug Ivermectin has the potential to improve outcomes for patients affected by Covid-19. It also protects or prevents infection of both high risk individuals such as healthcare workers and those exposed to contacts of persons infected with Covid-19," reads a letter dated January 18, 2021, by Emcoz vice-president Demos Mbauya.

He further claimed that evidence showed that the veterinary vaccine could reduce the need for hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients and shorten healing time.

Mbauya said while there were veterinary and human formulations of Ivermectin, their proposal referred only to the human version of the vaccine. Over three billion doses have already been administered worldwide.

"The medicine is on the World Health Organisation (WHO) list of essential medicines and it won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for its beneficial impact on humanity. The medicine has an excellent safety profile and most of the side-effects associated with the use of Ivermectin are side-effects resulting from the body eliminating the parasites that have been killed by it," he said.

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Following diligent efforts of physicians associated with a United States group - Frontline Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance, the US' National Institute of Health last week recommended the "miraculous" drug Ivermectin, making it an option in treating Covid-19.

The United Kingdom has also approved the use of the drug, according to The Times.

Last week in South Africa, a group of doctors, clinicians, pharmacists, public health specialists and scientists interested in exploring the potential of Ivermectin to prevent and treat Covid-19 lodged an application with the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority seeking permission for doctors to prescribe the drug to patients.

According to the doctors, Ivermectin has been approved for use at provincial level in Argentina, at State level in India and country level in Belize and Macedonia, while possible use was being explored in the US and Australia.
2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning --

4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS.

We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover.

We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.
The President of the National Communication Council, Peter Essoka, has commended pressmen for their sense of professionalism in the first week of the two-week campaign.

Media professionals in the country have been commended for their "good behavior" in the first week of the two-week presidential campaign which began on Saturday September 22. Peter Essoka, President of the National Communication Council said journalists have so far shown professionalism in their coverage, despite some lapses. He was speaking at the NCC head office in Yaounde, Monday October 1, during a press briefing to present the count of airtime and space allocated by private and public media organs to the presidential hopefuls.

Going by statistics generated by NCC technical services, between September 22 and September 29, the audio visual media sample, 12, retained for monitoring allowed 2,428 people to speak on the presidential poll. Of that number, 2,050 were men while 378 were women. English language accounted 22 per cent while French hit 78 per cent.

It is based on the statistics which the boss of the media regulatory agency said the coverage has so far been satisfactory. However, Essoka called on journalists to correct a few shortcomings, notably the respect for the principles of equality, pluralism, transparency and balance in the coverage of the campaigns of the nine presidential candidates. "The success of the democratic process in our country calls for the responsibility of each and everyone of us," Essoka said.

For the monitoring, the NCC selected CRTV Television, CRTV Radio, Cameroon Tribune, Radio Tiemeni Siantou, Magic FM, Amplitude FM, Balafon FM, Radio Equinoxe, STV, Vision 4, Canal 2 International, Equinoxe TV, LTM Television, Le Jour, La Nouvelle Expression, Le Messager, Mtutations, Emergence, The Guardian Post, 237online.com, Camer.be, Actucameroun.com, Journalducameroun.com and Cameroondailyjournal.com The NCC is carrying out the monitoring within its mission of meeting on a permanent basis during election campaign periods to ensure compliance with legislation, the principle of equitable access of political parties, and their representative to public media. Prior to the launch of campaigns, Essoka had called reporters and media organs operating in the country to shun the dissemination of information which can destabilize social peace, national unity and integration, democracy and human right
The Lebanese Community in Ghana has offered a one-year scholarship, totalling GH39, 000, to five needy but brilliant Ghanaian students of the Ghana School of Law (GSL).



Under the Communitys scholarship scheme, the amount is half of the full package given to the beneficiaries who are studying the professional law course at the Accra and Kumasi Campuses.



The beneficiaries, comprising three males and two females, are Andrews K. Benin Aning, Akua Nyantakyiwaa Sarpong, Kenneth Afriyie Appiah, Bright Tabiri and Keziah Hillary Engmann.



At a brief ceremony in Accra yesterday where a cheque was presented to the schools authorities, the Lebanese Ambassador to Ghana, Maher Kheir, assured the students that the community would continue to support them.



The Lebanese Community is still committed to supporting your academic journey until you fully realised your ambition. Your ambition is a major pillar in our battle for victory of life, he said.



Reflecting on 2020, Mr Kheir said, although the year was a difficult one due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had taught humanity to appreciate the worth of life and essence of human relations.



However long and dark the night may be, there is always an hour when the day breaks at last. So we are pinning our hopes on you to continue brightening future prospects for the world, he said.



Mr Kheir expressed gratitude to partners and their community members for their contribution to the scholarship scheme and urged them to continue contributing to sustain the scheme.



A member of the Community, Naaman Ashkar, told the Ghanaian Times in an interview that the scheme was in line with the communitys civil duty to their host country.



He said since its inception in 2013, more than 170 Ghanaian students had been supported in the areas of law, languages, arts and journalism at various universities in the country.



The acting Director of Legal Education of the GSL, Mr Maxwell Opoku-Agyeman,who received the cheque, commended the Community for the gesture and hoped that it would be extended to cover more students.



One of the beneficiaries, Mr Appiah, thanked the Community on behalf of her counterparts, saying the gesture had given them sound mind to pursue their dreams.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Scientists have discovered a miniature chameleon that they believe could be the smallest reptile on Earth.

Small enough to stand on a human fingertip, two of the lizards, a male and a female, were discovered in a patch of rainforest in northern Madagascar.

But the species might already be threatened with extinction, the journal Scientific Reports said.

Poverty and growing populations have led to the clearing of rainforests to make room for farmed animals in the country in the Indian Ocean. More than 90 per cent of Madagascars forests have been razed, according to Nasa.

The pair, about the size of a sunflower seed, were found by a German-Madagascan team.

The scientists recommended the species be assessed officially for the IUCN red list of threatened species as soon as possible.

Mark Scherz, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Potsdam and study co-author, told National Geographic: Its all good and well to say, I really hope that people stop deforesting this forest, but until the economic future of Madagascar changes, theres no hope for any of its wildlife because the people have to eat.

However, Oliver Hawlitschek, a scientist at the Centre of Natural History in Hamburg, said: The nano-chameleons habitat hasunfortunately been subject to deforestation, but the area was placed underprotection recently, so the species will survive.

Recommended Scientists find Madagascar chameleon last seen 100 years ago

The male Brookesia nana, or nano-chameleon, has a body that is only 13.5mm (just over half an inch) long, making it the smallest of all the roughly 11,500 known species of reptiles, zoologists said. Its total length from nose to tail is nearly 22mm.

The female is far bigger, at around 29mm long.

The tiny reptile has a projectile tongue, which it uses to nab prey, mostly mites.

Frank Glaw, who was part of the international team of researchers that classified the new species, said the pair were spotted on a mountainside by a local guide. You really have to get down on your knees to find them, he said. They are obviously camouflaged and they move very slowly.

He and his colleagues performed a CT scan of the female and discovered that it harboured two eggs, confirming that it was an adult.
An original Apple computer with a wooden case is up for sale for 1.1 million ($1.5 million) on eBay  some 2,250 times more than its original price tag in 1976.

The 'Apple-1' was the first product to be developed under the Apple name by company co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and launched in 1976.

Around 175 of 200 Apple-1 machines were sold in total, each carrying a price tag of $666.66 (equivalent to some $3,126 today.)

The fully-functional model is being sold by Krishna Blake of the US, who purchased the machine in 1978, and comes with its manuals and a cassette interface.

Also included in the sale is a period Sony TV-115, which was the monitor model originally recommended by Mr Jobs to use to display the computer's output.

According to Mr Blake, the sale of this rare piece of computing history on the online auction site is 'truly a first for eBay.'

In March 2020, another functioning Apple-1 model  this one without its original wooden casing  sold for $458,711 (around 335,000) at auction in Boston.

An original Apple computer with a wooden base is up for sale for 1.1 million ($1.5 million) on eBay  some 2,250 times more than its original price tag in 1976

The 'Apple-1' (the inside of which is pictured) was the first product to be developed under the Apple name by company co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and launched in 1976

The fully-functional model (pictured) is being sold by Krishna Blake of the US, who purchased the machine in 1978  and comes with its manuals and a cassette interface

A far cry from Apple's modern 'works-right-out-of-the-box' offerings, the Apple-1 was originally conceived as a kit to be sold to electronics hobbyists and the members of the so-called Palo Alto Homebrew Computer Club.

However, the machine became one of the first computers not to need soldering by the end user when Paul Terrell  owner of early personal computer store 'The Byte Shop' in Mountain View, California  agreed to buy 50 fully assembled units for sale.

In total, around 200 Apple-1 machines were produced from the garage of Mr Job's parents' home in Mountain View, California, of which units Messrs Jobs and Wozniak ended up selling a total of 175.

The Apple-1 would pave the way for the development of the more advanced Apple II in early 1977, which came in a plastic housing with an integrated keyboard.

Sale of the Apple II and its accessories and software saw Apple Computer's annual revenue rise from $774,000 to $118 million within just three years.

The Apple-1 being auctioned is one of The Byte Shop's models and comes complete with its original koa wood case, making it one of only six of the remaining Apple-1 units to be intact, with the other five encased models in museum collections.

Mr Blake's machine  listed as #79 on the Official Apple-1 Registry  is said to be in the best condition of these six machines, thanks to having been kept in special storage for much of its life.

The machine was been authenticated as a genuine original by Apple-1 expert Corey Cohen back in August 2019 at the Vintage Computer Festival West in California.

Beyond reinforcement to the case's transformer area, the unit is said to have never been modified or repaired and comes with its original power supply and keyboard.

'This piece of original technology has also now become a piece of collectible art, and never replaceable,' said Mr Blake.

'I took possession in early 1978 from the original owner as part of a trade-in for a newer Apple II computer at the computer store where I maintained all Apple IIs in Montreal, Canada until Apple came to Canada,' he explained.

In March 2020, another Apple-1 model  this one without its original wooden casing, unlike Mr Blake's model (pictured)  sold for $458,711 (around 335,000) at auction in Boston

Also included in the sale is a period Sony TV-115 (pictured), which was the monitor model originally recommended by Mr Jobs to use to display the computer's output

According to Mr Blake, the sale of this rare piece of computing history on the online auction site is 'truly a first for eBay.' Pictured: the internal circuitry of the Apple-1 computer

The sale of the machine includes software originally supplied with the Apple-1, including 'Basic Language, Games, Low and High memory Tests, 30th Anniversary Video and more', Mr Blake said.

The computer, which is reportedly securely stored in a bank vault in Florida, will be hand deliver to its future owner, as the machine is 'too valuable to risk any damage, loss or fraud.'

More information on the Apple-1 unit can be found on its eBay listing.
London, Feb 5 : Travellers returning to the UK from more than 30 "red list" countries will have to quarantine for 10 days in government-approved accommodation like hotels, starting from February 15, the government announced on Friday.

The measure is being introduced in an effort to control the spread of new Covid-19 variants of first identified in South Africa and Brazil, which scientists believe may be more infectious and may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, Xinhua news agency reported.

Countries on the list include the entire South America, southern Africa, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates.

Non-residents and nationals from these countries have already been banned from entering the UK.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said its was "working at pace to secure the facilities we need to roll out managed quarantine for British nationals returning home from the most high-risk countries".

"In the face of new variants, it is important that the government continues to take the necessary steps to protect people and save lives," the spokesperson said.

More details will be set out next week on how travellers can book the quarantine accommodation, according to Sky News.

A BBC report published on Friday said that hotels near airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen are expected to be booked up for quarantine.

Quarantined travellers will be served three meals a day in their rooms, with hot and cold options, according to documents seen by the BBC.

Tea, coffee, fruit and water will be available and the hotels would also be required to work with government-approved security staff.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.

Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

As of Friday, the UK has reported a total of 3,903,706 coronavirus cases, the fourth highest caseload in the world after the US, India and Brazil.

The country's death toll has hovered to 110,462, the fifth largest number of fatalities after the US, Brazil, Mexico and India.
A devastating loss. Dustin Diamonds close friend Dan Block is opening up about what the late actor was looking forward to before losing his battle with stage IV small-cell carcinoma.

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The Saved By the Bell alum died on Monday, February 1, at the age of 44, less than one month after revealing his cancer diagnosis. According to Block, the California native had high hopes of reprising his role as Screech on Peacocks reboot of the 90s show alongside Kevin, his characters robot friend.

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There was a leak that came out that they were going to write Screech with a robot up in space and two years ago, I commissioned someone to make Kevin and I had it almost ready to go  and I sent him that and he was so excited, Block exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, February 5. He was like, Oh, my God, youre going to have Kevin. If they ask me to come back to the show and Im not well enough to be on camera, then maybe I can just do the voice and they can have the voice come through the robot. He was so excited and he had something to live for  something to look forward to.

The Behind the Bell authors rep, Roger Paul, confirmed in a statement on Monday that Diamonds brutal, relentless form of malignant cancer spread rapidly throughout his system. His passing was sudden but Dustin did not suffer, the rep added.

Read article

Block told Us that Diamond will be cremated with his ashes being placed in urns for both his father, Mark Diamond, and his girlfriend, Tashana. Dustin didnt really want to have a service or memorial, his friend said. The people that he wanted there, were there. He knows that there [are] people who love him all over the place and he just didnt want to have to burden anybody and with [the coronavirus pandemic] and everything else. He just wanted to be at peace.

Before his death, Dustin was getting concerned about his prognosis and was nervous about the side effects of his treatment. He had called me a couple of weeks ago and told me he thought the chemo was going to kill him  He was really scared, Block said.

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While a large funeral wasnt part of Dustins plan, he and Block thought of ways they could give back to other people whose lives have been impacted by cancer. He wanted to raise money for Susan G. Komen [because his mom passed from breast cancer], the Insurance King president explained. We havent contacted them yet but thats what were planning on doing because thats kind of what he wanted to do.

Tributes from Dustins former Saved By the Bell costars flooded social media following the sad news of his death. On Tuesday, February 2, Mario Lopez revealed that the pair had recently talked about working on something together in the coming years.

Read article

Im happy to say and I feel good about always having stayed in touch with Dustin. He had some struggles and a complicated life, but we all do, Lopez explained during an episode of Access Hollywood. I dont abandon, like, my friends or never turn my back on people that are always there for me and I stood by him.  We were actually discussing, when I talked to him recently, just two weeks prior to him passing, about the upcoming season and figuring out doing something cool. I was trying to convince him to do something in the reality space that Id be producing for him. It was actually pretty funny.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen and more Saved By the Bell alums sent love to Dustins family following his death, but the late actor had a particularly close bond with Lopez, 47.

Dustin and Mario have a [special] thing, Block told Us. If and when his girlfriend wants to speak, she is going to speak to Mario first.  Dustin loved Mario.

With reporting by Diana Cooper
NEW DELHI: The authors of the controversial toolkit on the ongoing farmers protest that was tweeted and later deleted by teen Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg have been reportedly identified.

According to the sources, Poetic Justice Foundation, a group founded by M O Dhaliwal, had created the toolkit on the farmers' protest for Greta Thunberg. According to the sources, the toolkit was created to garner support for the ongoing farmers protest and was allegedly provided to Greta Thunberg as part of a larger conspiracy to create disharmony.

Dhaliwal, who is under the scanner of the Indian security agencies, is a known sympathiser of the Khalistani activists and has been part of several anti-India demonstrations abroad.

Canada-based Dhaliwal is a self-proclaimed Sikh separatist and also close to top Khalistani activists. Several other organisations, including a PR agency, are currently under the scanner of the Indian security establishment in connection with the controversial toolkit on farmers protest, which is being seen as a part of a "larger sinister conspiracy" to defame the Narendra Modi government at the centre.

It has now emerged that Dhaliwal had taken part in a demonstration outside the Indian Consulate in Canada on January 26 - the day India celebrated its 72nd Republic day. Addressing a gathering there, Dhaliwal said that their real goal is to break India into several parts. It may be recalled that Dhaliwals uncle, who was eliminated by the Indian security forces during Operation Blue Star in 1984, was a top Khalistani terrorist.

Amid all this, Delhi Police on Friday said that it will write to Google to get the IP (internet protocol) address or the location from where the toolkit document was created and uploaded on the social media platform and shared by Greta Thunberg.

According to Delhi Police sources, this inquiry is being done to identify the authors of the toolkit which was shared on Google Docs. "Delhi Police is going to write to Google to get the IP address or the location from where the doc was made and uploaded on the social media platform. This is being done to identify the authors of the toolkit which was shared on the Google Doc," Delhi Police sources said.

Delhi Police are going to write to Google to get the IP address or the location from where the doc was made and uploaded on social media platform. This is being done to identify the authors of the toolkit which was shared on the Google Doc: Police sources  ANI (@ANI) February 5, 2021

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Police Special Commissioner Praveer Ranjan had on Thursday said they had registered a case against creators of `Toolkit` and no one had been named in the FIR.

"We have not named anybody in the FIR. It is only against the creators of the `toolkit` which is a matter of investigation. Delhi Police will be investigating that case," he said. Ranjan said protests by farmers at Delhi borders have been going on for days and Delhi Police has been closely monitoring several social media accounts.

"We have identified some 300 accounts spreading dissatisfaction and disharmony towards the Government of India. Toolkit account was being run by a group of Khalistanis. They had decided to conduct a digital strike post the Republic Day incident," he said.

"We have recovered a document about the planned execution. We have found out it is a copycat execution. As of now, we have registered cases against the authors of that account. The case has been handed over to the cyber cell. Investigations are underway," he added.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg had posted the toolkit in a tweet on Wednesday which she later deleted. She had also extended support to protest by farmer unions on the borders of Delhi against the new farm laws."We stand in solidarity with the Farmers Protest in India," she had said in a tweet.

Reacting to it, the External Affairs Ministry had said on Wednesday that protests by farmer unions against new farm laws must be seen in the context of India`s democratic ethos and polity, and the efforts of the government and the concerned farmer groups to resolve the impasse.

It had said that the temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is "neither accurate nor responsible."

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It was the second time in a year that someone had reported Diei for her social media posts; the first time, the university ordered her to write a letter of reflection. This time, she got a letter Sept. 2 saying that her conduct is a serious breach of the norms and expectations of the profession. One of her public posts, it said, included an image identifying her as a pharmacy student at the school; Diei disputes that.

Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

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Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

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Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 50F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Gigi Hadid has spoken out about shooting a Vogue magazine cover just 10 weeks after giving birth.

Over the span of four years, Gigi has made 35 appearances on international Vogue magazine covers, but this one was different, taking place less than three months after she welcomed daughter Khai in September.

In an empowering message, the 25-year-old supermodel said she wasn't fazed about covering America's fashion bible as although she knew her body had changed with pregnancy, she embraced her new shape, telling any critics to go and 'suck it'.

New mother: Gigi Hadid has spoken out about shooting a Vogue magazine cover just 10 weeks after giving birth to her first child, daughter Khai, in September

She told Vogue: 'I know that I'm not as small as I was before, but I also am a very realistic thinker. I straight up was like, "Yeah, I'll shoot a Vogue cover, but I'm obviously not going to be a size 0"'.

She added: 'Nor do I, at this point, feel like I need to be back to that. I also think it's a blessing of this time in fashion that anyone who says that I have to be that can suck it.'

Gigi welcomed her baby daughter on September 23 and discussed her 'crazy' home birth in extraordinary detail for the first time in a candid interview for the magazine.

Empowering: Gigi said she wasn't fazed about covering America's fashion bible as although she knew her body had changed with pregnancy, she embraced her new shape

The cover girl revealed she welcomed her first child at her family ranch in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on September 20 with boyfriend Zayn Malik, her mother, Yolanda; her sister, Bella; and a local midwife and her assistant by her side.

Admitting that she looked 'crazy' during labour, Gigi described her experience by stating, 'I was an animal woman'.

Gigi also revealed that Zayn caught their newborn when she delivered Khai at home following a 14 hour labour.

She said of labour: 'I had to dig deep. I knew it was going to be the craziest pain in my life, but you have to surrender to it and be like, "This is what it is". I loved that.'

Post-baby bod: The 25-year-old supermodel shared that she is perfectly secure in the way that her body has changed as a result of her pregnancy, telling any critics to 'suck it'

Motherhood has also had an impact on her career choices as 'I'm veering toward things that feel more stable than being in a different country every week.'

Last September 23 Gigi welcomed her baby daughter Khai by her on-again boyfriend Zayn Malik of One Direction fame.

However they waited for four months before publicly disclosing her name, and Gigi also told Vogue about her emphasis on keeping the baby's life under wraps.

Remember when: Gigi is seen walking the runway in Hollywood in February 2020 a little over eight months before she had her baby

Although Gigi's modelling career began at the age of two when she was began shooting with Baby Guess, her childhood was kept largely out of the spotlight.

This is something both Gigi and Zayn want for their daughter, with the blonde bombshell explaining that she wants to protect her child's privacy.

She consulted with some of her famous friends on the issue - citing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds - who have three daughters called James, Inez and Betty - as the type of parents she wishes to emulate.

Doting daddy: Revealing that she had no idea she had even given birth amid the wild experience, Gigi explained that she looked up to see new dad Zayn cradling their newborn

Blake gave birth to Betty in 2019 but the baby's name only went public the following year after Taylor Swift named a song after her.

'I have friends who are public figures and that's how they've gone about it, and I see their kids really blossom in a different way,' Gigi dished.

Meanwhile, Blake told the magazine that she and Gigi began speaking about the matter months ago, with Blake advising the star to do whatever she feels is right, noting that while she may be open on social media, it is up to her the 'boundaries' she wishes to set.

Girl power: The cover girl revealed she welcomed her first child at her family ranch in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in September with her mother, Yolanda and sister, Bella at her side

Having moved to her family's ranch amid the pandemic, Gigi has kept her social media activity to a minimum, but does often treat her fans to glimpses at her life as a new mother.

Although Gigi gave birth in September, she chose to keep her daughter's name private until last month, when she quietly changed her Instagram bio to read, 'Khai's mom'.

The internet was lit up with speculation the newborn had been named Dorothea, after her friend Taylor Swift released a song of the same name back in December.

Support: Gigi has revealed that she asked advice from friend Blake Lively on how much of her child she should share with the world (pictured together in 2017)

The name does, however, bear a resemblance to Gigi's sister Bella Hadid's middle name, Khair.

Fans have also suggested the name is a nod to the Arabic roots in both of their families.

According to some speculators, the name Khai reportedly means 'crowned' in Arabic, which would fit nicely with Zayn's surname which means 'King'.

Gigi and Zayn were first linked in November 2015 after she split from Joe Jonas; by January 2016, Gigi donned a Z necklace to Paris Fashion Week and had him as her phone background, although Zayn said they were 'good friends.'

That same month, Gigi starred in his Pillowtalk music video, which had several steamy moments between the two.

The couple covered Vogue in April 2016 for a love filled shoot and one month later, they attend the Met Gala together.

Khai's mom: Although Gigi gave birth in September, she chose to keep her daughter's name private until last month, when she quietly changed her Instagram bio to read, 'Khai's mom'

Gigi and Zayn split in March 2018 but one month later, they were seen kissing in New York City.

By January 2019 they split again but were back together by December 2019; the couple confirmed their romance again in February 2020. She shared a throwback snap of Zayn at the Hadid family farm in December 2019.

By April 28, 2020, Gigi was rumored to be pregnant, which she confirmed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Vogue's March 2020 issue is available on newsstands nationwide on February 16th.

Looks like someone started listening to the reasonable voices in her head. Although, this woman is so crazy that her saying that 9/11 happened makes me go, Wait, did it?  TREVOR NOAH

You know what? This may come as a surprise to you, but those of us who watched those buildings burn with our bare eyes here in the New York City area are not that impressed with your willingness to admit that it happened. I believe we as a nation promised to always remember it happened. Whats her bumper sticker say, 9/11  oops, I forgot? STEPHEN COLBERT

All right, well, at least now we know 9/11 happened. Can you imagine having to go in front of the House of Representatives to say 9/11 happened? Yeah, we know. We know it happened. Youre the crazy one, not us.  JIMMY KIMMEL

Oh, my God, thank you, it is so big of you to admit that. What else would you like to clarify? [Imitating Greene] I would also like to make clear that Inception is just a movie, RoboCop is not real, and the giant glowing orb in the sky is, in fact, the moon and not a secret sky bank where Bill Gates keeps all his gold bars.  SETH MEYERS

But, hey, Im glad that shes come around to the standard Republican belief that school shootings are real and that nothing should be done to stop them.  TREVOR NOAH

But, yes, you see, its all Facebooks fault for allowing her to believe in those things. So dont blame her  blame Mark Zuckerberg, with his social media lies and his space lasers.  TREVOR NOAH

Teachers and students in Australia have signalled their support for educators in Chicago, who are resisting the drive of the Biden administration and city authorities to reopen schools amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

The educators and pupils have not been informed of the courageous struggle of the Chicago teachers by the Australian education unions. Like their counterparts in the US, the unions function as a police force of governments and school managements, enforcing cuts to conditions and working to prevent any struggle by teachers and students against the systematic assault on public education.

The Committee for Public Education (CFPE), a group of rank-and-file teachers, school staff and academics, organised independently of the unions, has been alerting Australian educators of the stand being taken in Chicago. Below are responses from several teachers and students.

Susan, a primary school teacher in Melbourne: I want to offer my absolute support to the courageous teachers in Chicago for standing up for the safety of teachers and students. I am once again disgusted with the unions response. They are supporting the governments homicidal policy to open schools, blatantly ignoring the fact that not only are students spreading COVID-19, but some are also getting sick and dying from it. It is imperative that teachers and workers unite. Our lives cannot be seen as expendable.

The WSWS and CFPE are the only source of this important information in Australia. People need to understand this struggle as a global struggle that requires an international response. The fight for educator rank-and-file safety committees is urgent and the only way forward.

Many teachers here have warned about the role of the Democratic Party and the teacher unions, based on similar bitter experiences in Australia.

Jack, a university student from regional Victoria: As a student and worker from Australia, I stand in support of the teachers and educators of Chicago fighting against the homicidal program of reopening schools and universities amid the out-of-control pandemic. Scientific evidence shows that schools are a major source of transmission of the virus. Your determined struggle against the Democratic Party and the Chicago Teachers Union for the safety of teachers, students and the broader public, is highly commendable and must be made known to the broader international working class.

Jack

A secondary teacher in Melbourne: The directive issued by the US Democratic Party and Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to reopen schools in the middle of a deadly pandemic must be recognised and opposed by educators around the world. COVID-19 and its variants continue to wreak havoc globally, while politicians and health officials make decisions that put teachers, students and communities at risk. The health of ALL Chicagoans is taking second place to other corporate, financial and political interests.

Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot should be condemned by educators world-wide for her attempt to remove access to online learning platforms, placing teachers in an option-less and dangerous situation. All educators, regardless of political affiliation, should stand against this potentially deadly decision made by the US Democrats and CTU. We need to raise the volume of our collective questioning of authorities, who continue to put secondary interests above the health of the people in the midst of a global health crisis.

Martin, a retired teacher: The Chicago teachers are literally fighting for their lives and the lives of their students. Mayor Lightfoot, the Biden administration and the Chicago Teachers Union are fighting for the pandemic profiteers of Wall Street and the corporate oligarchs! Rank and file teachers are on the front line of what will prove to be a decisive battle for the future of the right to a safe and beneficial education for all working-class children in the US.

Martin

That this battle takes place on the 41st anniversary of the betrayal of the PATCO air-traffic controllers strike of 1981 is of particular significance to me. Twelve months earlier, in August 1980, after a six-week lockout of myself and twenty-one other teachers in Australia, we were betrayed by our union in such a blatant manner as would make Judas blush! Therefore, put not one ounce of trust in the teacher unions in the US. They will betray you! Instead, form rank-and-file committees in schools, at the suburban and city-wide level. Build this strike as part of a campaign for a nation-wide general strike to defeat the pro-pandemic campaign of the merchants of death who confront you!

Steve, a retired secondary teacher from New South Wales: It is utterly astonishing that in a country where 2.7 million children have contracted COVID-19, teachers are being asked to return to work. It is even more astonishing, but not surprising, that the teachers unions are effectively supporting the government calls to return to work. Chicago teachers will soon experience the confounding negligence of their unions inaction. Lives will be lost, morale will continue to decline and teachers will further experience the direct trauma of state neglect. Lives must be put before economics, health before hubris and ethics before efficiency.

Steve

A secondary teacher from a regional town in Queensland: Educators in the US have had to live through a lot in the last 12 months. The Chicago teachers current stance against the profit-before-people policies of the new Biden administration should be held on a pedestal for the working class to witness the power of workers and the need for rank-and-file committees. Their action displays the revolutionary character of the working class and brings into light the true inadequacies and contradictions of the trade unions and capitalist governments. Stick together, organise together, stay safe together, and bring about change for us all. We are with you.

Sofia, a student from Monash University in Melbourne: Chicago authorities, by their own admission, know that reopening other parts of the city would be unsafe given that there are over 2,000 new cases of coronavirus every day in Illinois. Yet they are insisting that teachers and students return to school campuses across the city. In doing so, they are attempting to force teachers to risk their own lives in the classroom, as well as the lives of their families, their students and the community around them.

We only have to look at international precedent to see the consequences. In May, Israel re-opened schools against the advice of epidemiologists. One month later, nearly 1,000 pupils and teachers had contracted the coronavirus. The US is in a far worse position than Israel was in May. Israel had fewer than 100 new daily infections on a country-wide basis, the US is now averaging more than 110,000 new cases per day.

It is inevitable that if schools return to in-person learning, cases will spread. People will die, or else may be left with long-term health effects. The situation in Chicago is more evidence that authorities do not care about the wellbeing of workers, and further reveals the heartlessness of capitalism that the pandemic has put on full display. Me and many other Australians stand on the side of teachers, that is, the side of science, students and the working class.

Rick

Rick, a retired teacher: As a former teacher I congratulate the Chicago teachers willingness to fight against the terrible situation that the city authorities and their co-conspirators in the union have forced on you and your community. Your strength and determination are inspiring, not just to me, but to all workers who are informed about your struggle. The union will attempt to divide and isolate you. I urge teachers to join rank-and-file committees to take control of the struggle and make connections with workers in other industries, where you will find massive support, and begin the fight for a socialist society.

Thank you for reading!

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Friday, February 5, 2021

Some conspiracy books claim that while Clay Shaw was acquitted, the jury also believed there was a conspiracy in the JFK assassination. It's a bit of a nonsensical question since the jury were not asked to make any determination of a conspiracy in the assassination. And, while Garrison might have put the Warren Report on trial, Shaw's defense team was focused only on getting a 'not guilty' plea. They had neither the time, the resources, or the interest in putting on a defense of the Warren Report.

Here is what two of the conspiracy books say about this issue. Bill Davy, in his book Let Justice Be Done (on page 173), says that "interviewed after the trial, some jurors felt Garrison had proved a conspiracy but he had not adequately linked it to Shaw or provided a motive." There is no source for that statement.

Joan Mellen, in her book, A Farewell to Justice (on page 318), says "The jury told Mark Lane they had agreed that there had been a conspiracy, with the United States government a participant." Her source for that was an interview with Mark Lane.

Here is a little excerpt from the LA Free Press of March 14-21, 1969.

But, there was no such article in the next issue.

Here is what Lane told Muhammad Speaks in September 1969:

These claims are very definitive. Was the jury convinced that Garrison had "destroyed the Warren Report"?

One of the few people to actually speak to jurors was James Kirkwood, author of American Grotesque. Here are some pertinent excerpts from his book:

Sidney Hebert, the jury foreman .

He told Kirkwood that "He [Lane] never talked to any juror that I know of." He did make one comment on the Warren Report - "In fact, I didn't think too much of the Warren Report either until the trial. Now I think a lot more of it than I did before this trial."

Oliver Schultz

Kirkwood: Do you think Mr. Garrison in his closing remarks wanted to use Mr. Shaw to get at the Warren Report.

Schultz: I think like he thinks. I think somebody higher up had more to do with that and what I thought that he was trying to do was bring him to say - you know, bring out some more names or something, you know? So he could convict these other ones, bring them down here and convict them. I thought this whole case was - trying to get the higher-ups. And I still say it's the higher-ups that had more to do with it than just the fellow that shot him, you know."

David Powe

David Powe was contacted by Mark Lane, and in his interview with Kirkwood wondered "How did his name [Clay Shaw] get in the hat to be pulled out? This frankly is the question that is being asked. If he's not guilty, why pick Clay Shaw? Why not pick someone else?"

Larry Morgan

"I asked Larry Morgan what he thought the weakest part of the state's case was, and he said, "Well, the whole thing. I was surprised, I just couldn't picture the type of case the state put on. The caliber of witnesses was really unbelievable for the seriousness of the case. That's my opinion ... After it was all over, it was like - wow, what happened! What - that's it? We just couldn't imagine the state had brought up a case against Clay Shaw - absolutely nothing!'

That being said, Morgan also said that "There's something still to this and whether Clay Shaw's involved in it, I don't know. I'm sure myself that there's more to this than anyone knows about."

Charles Ordes

"I kept waiting for the state to present a case. I don't think they had enough to get this far. I was surprised that it was even presented on this evidence. I was just waiting for something to happen. I just kept waiting, you know, something's gonna come up. I just can't see where they had a case. I feel the grand jury should have stopped them.

As for conspiracy, Ordes said this about Shaw, "I think maybe he could have been involved in the conspiracy had there been one. But none of this has ever been proved. The possibility's always been there."

Clay Shaw's defense team put together a document with comments from various jurors taken from the press:

Given the above document, and the quotations from the Kirkwood book, there is no way that Mark Lane's statement that all the jurors believed in a conspiracy can be sustained. A few did, but most had quite ambiguous feelings - and their attention was clearly focused, as it should have been, on the guilt of Clay Shaw.
A TV weatherman has stripped to his underwear to help pull a swimmer from the surf at a Gold Coast beach - moments after he finished a live cross.

Channel Nine broadcaster Luke Bradnam raced into the ocean at Narrowneck beach on the Gold Coast on Friday night moments after being asked for help by a boogie board rider.

Newsreader Melissa Downes told viewers at the end of the first news segment 'our weatherman' had just discovered a body in the surf.

After the break, a shirtless Bradnam appeared on air to confirm he and a boogie boarder had pulled the lifeless body of the man from the water.

The discovery came as rescue efforts continue to find British gym manager Jake Jacobs, 32, who was last seen entering the surf with a woman, 29, at Kurrawa Beach in Broadbeach - about 6km away - at 9.20pm on Thursday night.

Channel Nine broadcaster Luke Bradnam raced into the ocean at Narrowneck beach on the Gold Coast on Friday night moments after being asked for help by a boogie board rider

British national Jake Jacobs, 32, was last seen entering the surf at Kurrawa Beach, Broadbeach - on the Gold Coast - about 9.20pm on Thursday night

A second unidentified body, a woman, was also found on the beach about an hour later. It is not yet known if the two bodies are the missing pair.

CCTV cameras showed the woman and a man earlier on Thursday evening outside the Kurrawa Surf Club before entering the water together for a late-night swim.

The pair had reportedly gone skinny dipping - with the 32-year-old local's car found at the scene decorated with a 'Get Naked Australia' sticker.

Locals found the body of the woman, believed to be a Victorian on holiday, near Kurrawa Surf Club and called an ambulance at 10.20pm on Thursday.

Walkers discovered the woman's body in a swimsuit in the water and dragged her to shore.

Witnesses and paramedics desperately tried to revive the woman but she died at the scene.

The British gym managers body is yet to be found.

'It was just an incredible moment,' Bradnam told Daily Mail Australia after pulling the dead man from the water.

'We'd seen this boogie board rider motioning to us from the water and he looked like he was in distress.'

'I felt like I had to do something because there didn't look like there was anyone else around who'd be much good.'

Bradnam, a member of Northcliffe Surf club and a strong swimmer, had been reporting on the Gold Coast's treacherous surf conditions from Narrowneck all week.

Tragedy on the Gold Coast: authorities with a body that washed up on the shore at Narrowneck beach

'I got out there and sure enough, there's a body face down in the water.

'The body boarder was looking like he was in shock and I've never experienced anything like that. I've never seen a dead body before.'

'Because I'm a swimmer I knew how to get us out the rip. I just knew to maintain my composure and get us into a position to get back to the shore.'

'I didn't even know if I could swim out there because I tore a muscle in my shoulder at the gym during the week and my arm is meant to be in a sling.

Surf conditions at Narrowneck on the Gold Coast were described as treacherous

'It held up long enough to get him back to shore.'

He said he had the body in a 'brother handshake' with the boogie boarder as they brought him back to the shore.

'Thankfully the police arrived as we got to the shore because we didn't know what to do, there were people taking their evening stroll along the beach,' he said.

'I'm just happy we might be able to give closure to a family,' said Bradnam after the ordeal.

'Experiencing this, I have even more respect for police and ambos who do this every day.'

The search for the missing man resumed on Friday morning with aerial assistance and personnel scouring the beach.

During the search, two officers suffered multiple injuries after they were thrown from the rescue boat.

One of the officers in his 30s suffered rib, facial and back injuries, and an officer in his 40s sustained rib and facial injuries.

The Gold Coast City Council lifeguards have closed all beaches from North Burleigh to The Spit due to dangerous conditions brought on by a heavy easterly swell.

Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar has called on the international community to express outrage at Myanmars military for this weeks coup detat.

The military, called the Tatmadaw in Burmese, in one swift action overturned more than a decade of hard-won progress toward democratic development in Myanmar on unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Many people in Myanmar have taken to beating on pots and pans in protest of the coup.

While the response from the international community in the days since the coup has been overwhelmingly supportive of democracy in Myanmar, the UN Security Council was unable to issue a clear statement condemning the Tatmadaws seizure of power as China and Russia pose obstacles to such a declaration.

Further complications could arise because State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, who was deposed by the coup, had been the target of international criticism for defending the military against allegations of crimes against humanity against Rohingya Muslims. Additionally, recent moves toward peace with armed ethnic insurgent groups may now be in jeopardy.

In an interview with Ye Kaung Myint Maung of RFAs Myanmar Service, Andrews talks about how the international community can stand with the people of Myanmar. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: The people of Myanmar are desperately looking for an international response against the Myanmar military. You said previously that it would require a strong and unified international response so the generals will understand there is a price to pay for their actions. What kind of measures do you have in mind?

Andrews: My first call was for the international community to express its outrage at what happened in Myanmar, and its opposition to what happened, in very clear unmistakable unequivocal terms, and that has happened to a very large extent. I was very gratified to hear very strong voices being echoed around the planet. Thats number one. But number two, what is now required is a strong action.

A price needs to be paid for this this violation. The generals have stolen developing democracy from the people of Myanmar. They have assaulted the fundamental rights of the people of Myanmar to control their own destiny, to have their own country accountable to themselves. And so, it is a real violation that we all have to recognize.

Of course, there are challenges, for those living inside of Myanmar, and I've been hearing the pots banging you know, and meetings I've been having, discussions with friends there in Myanmar, it is It is terrific.

People are talking, organizing, I know that there's various groups that are working on ways of engaging in civil disobedience, which is tremendous. But what is really important I believe is that they know that we in the international community are watching closely, that we are with the people of Myanmar. We stand with the people of Myanmar, and we too are willing to take action.

Now, I have specifically called for targeted sanctions to be imposed on the generals, those who are responsible for this for this coup, and an international arms embargo. Now, that means that we need to be clear that we are directing this action to those who need to be held accountable, that we are not impacting the people of Myanmar that have already been victimized by the regime. So, crafting this these sets of sanctions, crafting the action necessary, takes deliberation and discussion.

I've been engaged with a series of discussions with various individuals and groups about the form that this will take and the time frame and so forth. So, it takes a bit of time. But I am confident that in not too much time we are going to see announcements of sanctions, of actions, and a very firm commitment by the international community to stand with and stand for the people of Myanmar who have been victimized in this way.

RFA: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the UN will do everything it can to mobilize all key actors to make sure that coups fail. Do you think U.N. has enough ground to intervene in the military coup in Myanmar?



Andrews: Well clearly, there are significant human rights violations going on here in Myanmar, violations of international law, and so every mechanism that is available should be looked at very very seriously and applied very very seriously. I'm very happy that the secretary general is speaking very clearly and very forcefully about this because that's exactly what is required.

Now each government needs to look and decide what it is able to do, what it is capable of doing and how quickly it can move forward. And we are providing them with whatever thoughts, ideas, recommendations, that we can and certainly urging them to take action. So, there is a range of things that can occur. But what's important right now is that the will to action is there and having a strong voice by the secretary-general and strong voices from the president of the United States for example, the European Union and others, speaking forcefully about the need for action is critical because it's that political will that's the first critical step forward.

Then we begin to put down the mechanics of how these things can work, and then we put forward as forceful, as direct, and hopefully as successful a series of sanctions and pressure that will make sure that the generals understand that we will not let this stand.



RFA: We saw the UN Security Council meeting initially fail to produce a condemnation against Myanmars military because China and Russia do not see eye to eye with most other U.N. member states. Do you think China and Russia could be persuaded to stop funding for the military?



Andrews: Well, I certainly hope so. I mean the fact that the Security Council met and discussed these issues and that there have been expressions of concern throughout the region is, I think a very positive step. Each country is different obviously, and historically, China has been there to provide the generals with weapons, with trade, with protection in the Security Council we all know that, but this is such an egregious violation that certainly it is not in the interest of China to have such a development right on their right on their border and to have such lawlessness and disregard for the rule of law to be to be right there. So, this is a threat I believe, to not only the people of Myanmar but to the region and to the world. And so, it is in everyone's interest, I believe, to take the steps necessary to hold the generals accountable and to make certain that we do everything possible not to allow this coup to be successful.

RFA: State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyis image has been tarnished recently, as she refused to blame the Tatmadaw for human rights violations, even defending their actions at the International Court of Justice. Do you think people will rally behind her?

I think what is critical is that the people of the world rally around the people of Myanmar. This is not about a particular leader or government official or political party official. This is about an assault on an entire people. This is about the theft, or the attempted theft, of an emerging democracy. And so that is exactly where I believe the focus of the international community needs to be. And I'm going to do everything possible to make sure that our focus is on the people of Myanmar because that's where our focus just needs to be.



RFA You said previously that the Tatmadaws allegations of election fraud are unsubstantiated and absurd. Can you elaborate on this matter?



Andrews: First of all, you had 8.6 million voting irregularities, allegedly and I couldn't find any evidence that had been put forward for any of the 8.6 million. And what I guess they could provide evidence for was this idea that walkie talkies were in the possession of the state counsellor. I think this is just completely absurd and ridiculous and I don't know if the generals realize, they're very insular, how ridiculous they appear to the world. But it's just completely absurd in a in a word.

And the fact is, if you have concerns, issues, problems, criticisms of the election, the way it occurred, and any aspect of the election, OK, there there's a right way to go about dealing with those concerns voicing those concerns, having those concerns processed. And there's a wrong way to go about it.

And the absolute wrong way to go about concerns about an election is to destroy and overturn a democracy and undermine the basic fundamental rights of the citizens of an entire country. So regardless of what your issues might have been with voting or any other aspect of the election, a coup detat is absolutely inexcusable and unacceptable as a way to address whatever concerns you might have.



RFA: The militarys coup may have brought uncertainty to the ongoing peace process with armed ethnic groups. Will the peace process now stall?

Andrews: Well, obviously, we have to see. Therere so many questions, obviously that have come to the fore as a result of this, the peace process of course being a very important one. I know that there are some groups that are protesting, that are calling throughout Myanmar, that are there protesting this coup detat. I know that there are communities that are very vulnerable under any circumstances but now that this coup has occurred and there are even fewer sources of accountability for the military, I'm very concerned about all communities, communities that are in conflict zones, communities that are vulnerable, communities that have been dealing with a variety of challenges. This makes all of that worse. And it's even more reason why we need to work as quickly as possible to overturn this coup and restore basic rights and democracy for the people of the country.



RFA: Myanmar is already struggling with massive civilian displacement, armed conflict and a COVID-19 outbreak. What could be the humanitarian fallout from this political crisis?

Andrews: Well, the people who are the most vulnerable and cant afford to be hurt the most are of course the ones that are going to be hurt the most. It's very tragic to those that have been displaced I urge friends to think about this, if there's any group of people on the planet who should not be having to go through this, it's the people of Myanmar, a people dealing with a pandemic, many dealing with an economy that's been on the ropes, the various conflicts that are going on in the country and that continue to prolong the displacement of significant numbers of people.

This is the worst development possible for them. It's all the more reason that those of us in the international community work as hard as we possibly can to stand with and for the people of Myanmar and do that through concrete, strong, focused action on their behalf. And that's what I certainly intend to do.
Stocks to watch today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Friday's trading session based on latest developments. Investors are also awaiting July- Sept quarter earnings that are scheduled to be released today. Companies set to announce their earnings are Mahindra & Mahindra, Pfizer, Punjab National Bank, Alkem Laboratories, Aditya Birla Capital, Ashoka Buildcon, Britannia, Cadila Healthcare among others.

Share Market News Live: Sensex above 51,000, Nifty hits 15,000 ahead of RBI MPC outcome

Stove Kraft: The company will list equity shares on February 5.

Bharat Electronics: The company entered into offset contract with Russian company JSC Rosoboronexport.

FDC: The company's consolidated net profit for the December quarter came in at Rs 75.25 crore, as against Rs 74.15 crore a year ago.

Container Corporation: The company's net profit in the December quarter rose sharply to Rs 240 crore from Rs 180 crore in the year-ago period. Company's revenue rose to Rs 1,766.9 crore from Rs 1,544.7 crore YoY.

PSP Projects: The company received additional work order worth Rs 236 crore for an institutional project at Gujarat, and ranked L1 bidder for projects worth Rs 420.89 crore medical colleges construction in UP.

Trent: The company reported a net profit of Rs. 79.66 crore for the quarter ended December 31, as against Rs. 55.74 crore for the corresponding period a year ago. Its revenue fell to Rs 853.6 crore from Rs 988.3 crore YoY.

Adani Transmission: The company reported a nearly 128 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 464 crore for the quarter ended December 31. Its total income declined to Rs 2,597 crore from Rs 2,777.5 crore YoY.

Biocon: Biocon's subsidiary, Biocon Biologics, signed a pact with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to expand access to cancer biosimilars in over 30 countries in Africa and Asia as a part of the Cancer Access Partnership.

Vedanta: The board approved expansion of Lanjigarh alumina refinery from 2 MTPA to 5 MTPA at a cost of Rs 3,779 crore.

Q3 earnings today: Mahindra & Mahindra, Pfizer, Punjab National Bank, Alkem Laboratories, Aditya Birla Capital, Ashoka Buildcon, Britannia, Cadila Healthcare, Equitas Holdings, Fortis Healthcare, GlaxoSmithkline Pharma, Gujarat Gas and Jubilant Life Sciences among others will be reporting their financial results for the October-December period on Friday.
President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to Delaware over the weekend, his first out-of-town trip since taking office. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans forgo travel as the coronavirus pandemic rages.

Biden, who has a home outside Wilmington, Delaware, has made getting the pandemic under control the central focus of the early weeks of his presidency, with much of his administration's attention centered on improving the rollout of vaccines.

The White House, which announced Bidens plans for travel Thursday evening, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about why the president planned to travel. Any time the president travels, an entourage of support and security personnel and media travel with him.

The CDC's guidance notes that travel increases your chance of spreading and getting COVID-19" and the agency recommends that you do not travel at this time."

Biden, who flies aboard Air Force One, will avoid many of the risks of travel associated with commercial flights or traveling by bus or train. He also got his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine more than three weeks ago.

The CDC recommends that individuals who must travel first complete their vaccinations  if they're eligible to receive them  and then wait two weeks after the second dose before departing.

Biden and his aides have been meticulous about how they go about their business as they try to reduce chances of infection among White House staffers. Mask wearing is mandatory throughout the White House complex, much of the administration is working remotely, and the duration and size of meetings has been limited.

Biden also has made few appearances outside the White House complex during the first weeks of his presidency  all for official business or to attend church.
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The incumbent LCIII chairman for Rubanda town council in Rubanda District, Mr Noman Tushabe has retained his seat after spending half of the polling day admitted in hospital following a car accident which left his leg fractured.

Mr Tushabe who doubles as the Rubanda District National Resistance Movement (NRM) vice chairman polled 3,039 votes while his only challenger Mr Johnbosco (Independent) got 2,874 votes.

The police spokesman for Kigezi Mr Elly Maate said the driver and the car that knocked Mr Tushabe were in police custody as investigations continue.

"On Wednesday at around 11am at Kashakyi cell Nyarurambi ward Rubanda town council while being ridden on a motor cycle, Mr Tushabe was knocked by a vehicle that was being driven by one Wilbroad Byamukama, 31, a lecturer at Kabale University, resident of Murole A cell Nyakabungo ward Rubanda district and a sympathizer to an independent candidate one Mr John Bosco Tumwesigye who was contesting with Mr Noman Tushabe for the same seat. The accused driver was arrested and vehicle impounded for further investigations. The case has been recorded at Rubanda police station as TSD04/03/02/2021 as serious accident that was later turned into attempted murder," Mr Maate said.

Mr Tushabe was first admitted at Kabale hospital but was later transferred to Terraceland specialized health care clinic in Kabale town for better medical attention.

"The operation has been completed and the patient is stable. The patient has a shuttered bone on the left leg. He will soon be okay," Dr Robert Mugarura, a physician at Terraceland specialized health care Clinic said.

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On Thursday morning, Mr Tushabe said that although he has deep pain all over his body, he was happy that he won his seat back.

"It's by the grace of God that I am still alive and extremely amazing that I won the election in my absence. The accused person intentionally knocked me because I was stopping his group from frustrating my agents and supporters by denying them chance to vote for me at different polling stations," Mr Tushabe said as he laid on his hospital bed.

He added that; "The agents of my opponent stared trailing me using different vehicles until when they found me at Kashaki polling station in Nyarurambi ward Rubanda town council and knocked the motorcycle I was being ridden on before I fell down and the tyre of the vehicle run over my left leg. Well-wishers picked me and took me to the hospital for medication. I am so grateful to my agents that remained strong until 4pm when we won the elections."
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New Delhi: Superstar Sanjay Dutt's elder daughter Trishala Dutt had a fun chat session with her followers on Instagram a few days back. While answering one of the questions, Trishala Dutt opened up on her past toxic relationship.

The question was 'have you ever made mistakes in your relationship? You seem so strong and I feel so weak. To this Trishala Dutt replied:

Trishala is Sanjay Dutt and first wife late Richa Sharma's daughter. The 33-year-old stays in the US and was raised by her maternal grandparents. Sanjay Dutt's first wife Richa Sharma died of a brain tumour in 1996. Trishala was just eight when she lost her mother.

Earlier, Trishala had shared how her boyfriend died in 2019 and it had a severe impact on her mental health. She also opened up about undergoing a therapy post his death and said she had to quit her job too. She had breakdowns in public, developed an eating disorder and gained several kilos.

Trishala is an avid social media user and often shares interesting posts on Instagram.
Sydney Mikayla is one of the strongest younger actors in daytime television right now. Starring on General Hospital in the role of Trina Robinson, shes also in more front-burner storylines now that both of her characters parents are on the shows canvas.

Sydney Mikayla and Real Andrews on General Hospital | Todd Wawrychuk via Getty Images

The storyline surrounding Trina Robinson and her parents

Prior to Trinas parents officially being confirmed to be Marcus Taggert and Portia Robinson, fans talked on social media about many different theories to as to who her parents may be. Some more outrageous theories suggested that she could be Nikolas Cassadines real daughter. And though it is popular for some fans to think Taggert is not her father, some also think that there is a chance that Portia may not be her mother. Instead, they believe it may be Jordan Ashford. The most prominent and believable theory, however, is that Curtis Ashford is Trinas father.

The soap even insinuated some parental reveals may be goinig on by setting up a feud between Curtis and Trina earlier this year. Viewers already know that Portia and Curtis knew each other years ago, giving this theory more credibility. Theres also the fact that Curtis aunt, Stella Henry, took a DNA test which revealed that she was related to someone in Port Charles that she doesnt know and it was believed that this person could be Trina.

RELATED: General Hospital: Eden McCoy Thinks She Got the Role of Josslyn Because of 1 Thing She Said During Her Audition

This theory that Curtis could be Trinas father was the one that has always made the most sense, especially when compared to other theories like Gia Campbell or Jordan Ashford being her real mother.

When asked about the rumor and possibility of Curtis being Trinas father, Donnell Turner (the actor who plays Curtis) gave his thoughts.

I think if they go in that direction, it would be awesome, he said when speaking to Soap Opera Digest. Shes a lovely young lady in real life and it would give them somewhere to go and would further establish this budding family in Port Charles. I think it would be a great move.

What Sydney Mikayla says about Trinas parents

In a recent interview with TV Insider, Mikayla talked about her characters relationships with both Portia and Taggert. The actress said that the introduction of Portia added a lot to Trinas story.

We're back with all-new episodes of #GeneralHospital on Monday. In the meantime, have a happy (and safe) holiday! #GH pic.twitter.com/IFaobHGhCU  General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) December 24, 2020

Brook [Kerr] is so talented and weve really connected  we both have a love of dance, she said. Her maternal energy is great. I think that Trina had been the best friend character. Now, its great that she has someone whom she can turn to, too. Shes had Ava [Jerome] to talk to, but thats still a work relationship. Trina idolized her father and his lie about having been killed caused a shift in their relationship. Now, Trina trusts her mom even more.

She also talked about Taggertor rather acting opposite a different actor when Real Andrews had to take a short break from the show.

I remember showing up at the studio one morning and meeting Asante [Jones], she said. I thought he was playing another character on the show. Then, someone told me, Hes playing your dad! We rehearsed our scene and I just used the same kind of acting skills and visualization that I normally do. Asante is such a strong actor.

General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.
Posted Thursday, February 4, 2021 6:02 pm

Research has shown wildfires across the Western United States have grown larger and more frequent with time, as a majority of fires in the last 60 years have occurred since 2000.

And while it's documented that wildfire smoke can cause respiratory issues and worsen preexisting conditions, a new theory coauthored by a University of Idaho researcher suggests smoke particulates also may carry potentially harmful microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi.

The research, recently published in Science, explains that wildfire smoke can carry quantities of microbes from sources including disturbed soil and burnt plant matter. Leda Kobziar, an associate professor of wildland fire science at the University of Idaho, said researchers have developed a list of more than 1,000 different microorganisms recovered from smoke plumes that were not found in ambient air conditions.

The health and ecological effects of these microorganisms are among the unanswered questions for researchers, said Kobziar, who coauthored the paper published in Science magazine with Dr. George Thompson III, an associate professor from UC Davis. In light of the research, Kobziar said she believes the precautions people already take in a smoke-inundated area are still appropriate.

"We know that smoke in general has deleterious health impact on people," she said, "but we don't know the connection between infectious diseases and how much people are exposed to smoke."

Kobziar used a drone in September to capture smoke samples from fires in Eastern Washington and Oregon, she told the Los Angeles Times.

It is unclear exactly how far these microbes can travel in smoke. According to the Science paper, some microorganisms and bacteria can potentially travel hundreds of miles  depending on fire behavior and atmospheric conditions  before they are deposited or inhaled downwind.

Research said studying wildfire smoke is becoming more relevant as wildfire seasons get more severe with climate change.

In 2020, more than 58,250 wildfires burned approximately 10.3 million acres nationwide, according to the Congressional Research Service. Federal data shows an average of 70,685 wildfires per year burned an average of 7.1 million acres between 2011 and 2020, more than doubling the 3.3 million average acres burned in the '90s despite a lower average number of wildfires.

"More and more people are becoming interested in this topic, which is exciting," Kobziar said.

While smoke plumes can reach temperatures high enough to kill off some microbial organisms, variables in "fuel, ambient air mixing and fire behavior" can make for environments in which organisms can latch onto smoke particulates, according to the research.

"Smoke emissions from high-intensity, large wildfires have been transported across continents, increasing particulate matter concentrations in distant locations," researchers wrote in Science. "The consequences for more immediate populations, such as firefighters on the front line who often spend up to 14 consecutive days in smoky conditions, are likely greater given that microbial concentration in smoke is higher near the source of a fire."

Kobziar said she and other researchers have evaluated wildfire smoke over several years.

Petri dish samples taken in 2015 from smoke plumes during prescribed burns in the University of Florida's Austin Cary Forest helped form the basis of a 2018 study published in Ecosphere. Seventy aerosolized microbial morphotypes were recovered from that study, which documented pathogenic and nonpathogenic fungal species.

Kobziar said the research methodology has since developed, with researchers employing drones to fly into plumes to sample smoke at various distances. She said researchers used drones to sample smoke plumes at 10,000 feet from Fishlake National Forest in Utah, finding more than 900 different bacteria and over 100 different fungal species.

"Fire has been a natural thing and playing its natural roles at least since the last glaciation in North America, and these types of effects have been happening for a long time," she said. "We just haven't thought of smoke this way before."

Greg Mason can be reached at (509) 459-5047 or gregm@spokesman.com

___

(c)2021 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.)

Visit The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) at www.spokesman.com

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Photo: Contributed

During this past month of being in the constituency, Ive been working hard connecting with hundreds of people, organizations and companies.

Back in Ottawa this week, weve hit the ground running on many important issues.

The Official Opposition successfully introduced two emergency debate motions on the governments vaccine plan and on Keystone XLs cancellation. This allowed the opportunity to ask questions and hold the government accountable to Canadians.

There is a lot riding on a vaccine plan. It is critical we have a smooth and steady rollout for those who want it, which not only protects our health, but allows Canadians to return to work, reopen their businesses, and reunite with family and loved ones.

As provinces run out of vaccines, its increasingly apparent the federal government has no meaningful roll-out plan. I get asked every day from residents when they will be able to get the vaccine.

Vaccine export restriction mechanisms were announced on Jan. 29 by the European Union (EU) which could halt vaccine exports to countries outside of the EU.

They provided a list of more than 100 countries that would be exempted from restrictions, but Canada was not on this list.

As many of the vaccines Canada relies on are produced in the EU, my colleagues and I on the Trade Committee called an emergency meeting with the minister to ask questions on why we werent on the list and what it meant, however we only had verbal assurances.

The impact of Keystone XLs cancellation can be felt right here in Kelowna-Lake Country.

I have spoken with many local residents whose livelihoods depend on a strong and robust energy sector. Yet, at best, we continue to see indifference from the Prime Minister who simply said he was disappointed, and failed to provide a meaningful plan of action.

The Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement is moving through parliamentary processes. The U.K. is Canadas fifth largest trading partner and businesses, including those in Kelowna-Lake Country rely on this access.

Though there are many changes that should have been negotiated into this agreement, and little meaningful public consultations were done, it is still important to give certainty right now to businesses.

It has been a privilege to lead on this file on behalf of the Official Opposition.

Canadian exporters also face another major obstacle that Ive spoken to potentially affected local businesses about. U.S. President Joe Biden recently signed an Executive Order imposing stringent new Buy American federal procurement rules, some of the strongest weve ever seen.

When a Buy America plan was announced in 2009 by former President Barrack Obama, the previous Conservative government negotiated an exemption agreement.

In my role as Shadow Minister, Ive called on the government to protect Canadian businesses and jobs and immediately seek a similar exemption agreement.

A private members bill by one of my Conservative colleagues sought to increase minimum sentences for being in possession of smuggled guns, as well as making it harder for gun smugglers to get bail.

Unfortunately, this bill was not supported by the Liberals or the NDP. It is puzzling why MPs would not support this public safety bill considering 80% of guns used in Canadian crimes were smuggled from the United States.

The government implemented strict new international travel rules. Ive heard from people who work between Canada and other countries, and from their families, who are shocked at further upcoming rules.

The 14-day quarantine rules have been in effect since last March, however, these new upcoming rules charging fees and requiring people to stay at hotels is a questionable process that needs investigation as well as explanation how this is safer than going directly to your own home.

If you need any assistance with programs or have any thoughts to share, feel free to reach out. Stay well.

250-470-5075 or [email protected]. tracygraymp.ca

One of the out-of-order signs in the North Adams lockup. The police union says the police station is outdated, unhealthy and falling apart. A tangle of wires in one of the offices. Water from the tap. The single bathroom. PreviousNext

North Adams Police Union Details Deficiencies, Health Risks in Police Station



The original windows in the 1955 building are sealed around the edges with duct tape to keep out the drafts. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  A decade ago, former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown held his hand over a duct-taped original 1955 window in the police station to feel the cold draft coming through.

Brown's long gone but the tape is still on that window.

So are the water-stained ceilings, cramped quarters, missing and crumbling tiles, one frightening bathroom, broken cells, mildewed carpets and outdated heating system.

The deficiencies of the 66-year-old public safety building are well documented. Tours of the building over the years by the public safety commissioner and later the police and fire chiefs have pointed out the urgent need for a new building.

What's been lacking is funding and location. But officers are getting tired of waiting.

In a letter to iBerkshires last month, the local police union, Massachusetts Coalition of Police (MCOP) Local 382, offered a litany of problems with the deteriorating structure that they say is hampering their ability work and serve the public.

"Given the track record and documented articles continuing from 2012 and much earlier, through 2019, officers are losing faith in the idea of hearing a solution, all while still working in an outdated and extremely hazardous environment that has only continued worsening. Regardless of the complete lack of adequate resources, equipment and space provided to public safety staff, we have continued to strive to provide the highest level of service we can," the letter states.

Images provided by the union show the poor condition of the building and inadequate environment officers are working in. The public safety building was built for the Fire Department, facing Ashland Street, and the Police Department, facing Summer Street and one level up.

The structure is also under a U.S. Department of Justice order dating back to a 2010 audit of the city's compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act that rose from a complaint about the police station. The city spent more than $1.2 million making upgrades but little of that went to the public safety building, which city officials have expected to completely replace.

There is a distinct lack of handicapped access: The entrance to the building is up a set of stairs to small entry and then up another set of stairs to the lobby.

"Our service to the public will always be our first priority," said the union. "Therefore, we believe the most important issue facing the North Adams Police Department is a complete lack of handicap access to our building. On numerous occasions, officers have had to take reports from citizens with disabilities in the parking lot of the Steeple City Plaza. We have also had several handicap citizens suffer falls while attempting to navigate our stairways."

Officers say they had to carry one citizen in a wheelchair to access the police station, which they believed was degrading to the individual. And any citizens with police business are consigned to the small lobby or hallway through which "combative and disruptive arrestees" are also taken. And domestic violence suspects are walked right past their victims.

"This is unacceptable and traumatic to the people involved and we owe it to the public to do better," the union says. "Officers must walk, and sometimes physically fight, a combative prisoner up three sets of stairs and through two thresholds containing glass doorways in order to bring them to a booking area that also serves as a common area, report writing space, and even a meal room as we do not have an actual break area or kitchenette."

Cells don't meet current standards, several are broken, there is no running water in them and the room has no heat or air conditioning. Prisoners often overflow the toilets causing water issues and mold in the garage area below and making it "filthy and hazardous" for officers who have to enter through the garage. There's worries over crumbling asbestos tiles and black mold.

There's no space to have private conversations or secure environment; most rooms are multifunctional with desks, lockers, and computers. A coffeepot and microwave in a closet serves as a break area. There could be disruptive arrestees and hazardous materials, such as fentanyl, all within this area.

There are now four women working in the department but their locker room has had to be used for equipment storage and access to the interview rooms' recording equipment is through the locker room. It also houses the emergency 911 phone terminals and equipment and officers changing for duty have been walked in on by those maintaining the equipment. "The Police Union, with the support and direction from Chief [Jason] Wood, installed a keypad lock on this door to give our female officers a small amount of privacy," the letter states.

There is one functioning toilet for 20 men and women officers and no showers. Both locker rooms are outdated, dirty and mildewed. There are no laundry facilities.

"COVID-19 precautions are also unable to be met due to the fact that the Police Department does not have hot water for officers to wash their hands anywhere in the building," the letter states.

From early December through the beginning of January, there was no heat in the the basement because the radiant heating tubes in the floor rotted away.

Union representatives did not want speak on record, saying the letter and accompanying images expressed their concerns. They indicated they had spoken with Mayor Thomas Bernard and looked at a possible location for the department.

Bernard confirmed that a potential site, which he declined to identify, had been looked at and was "still on the table." But, he said, there's a cost to it and it doesn't solve the problem of the fire station. The heating issue was addressed and repaired, he said.

"I appreciate their frustration, and I share their frustration," the mayor said. "We've made efforts to address chronic issues and try and clean the place up a little bit."

There are major infrastructure problems the city is trying to address, of which the public safety building is a priority, Bernard said. But the city has been hesitant to put more money into the current structure and had to argue for a state waiver to put a roof on it last year.

"It's part of a comprehensive challenge that we're facing. We have a lot of long-standing deferred maintenance issues in the city," he said. "The bill, whether whether literally or operationally, is coming due on a lot of them."

The public safety building will be at the top of the list when the officials begin preparing a capital budget this year. With the new Biden administration and Congress talking about infrastructure spending, Bernard is hoping there will be potential for future funding if the city has a shovel-ready project in hand.

"I have a monthly meeting with my public safety team, and I have indicated to the union that I would like to include them in at least part of that monthly meeting to talk about building issues," the mayor said. "One of the big things is siting, the other big thing is current issues and conditions."

The North Adams union, after seeing their colleagues in Williamstown move into a new station in 2019, are tired of working in a structure that's been failing for more than 20 years.

"We wish to have a real world solution be communicated to us, so that the proverbial can is not kicked farther down the road and police personnel don't have to wonder how long they'll continue to work in perhaps the most hazardous public safety facility in Massachusetts."
Virginia is set to become the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, after the state House of Delegates passed legislation Friday that would end capital punishment in the Commonwealth a day after the state Senate passed a similar bill and the governor said he plans to sign it.

Friday's vote on the bill in the House of Delegates was 57-41, with three Republicans joining the Democratic majority in support of the measure.

Virginia's Democratic-led Senate passed their version of the bill on Wednesday on a party-line vote, and it was referred to a House committee Friday.

The two bills will need to be approved by the other chamber, and Virginia House Democrats are 'confident that both bills will be passed by both chambers, as they are identical,' the majority's press secretary Kate Sarna told CNN.

But Friday's passage in the House effectively guarantees the legislation will reach the governor's desk.

Virginia's Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam supports abolishing the death penalty, and after the Senate's vote on Wednesday, said he looks forward to signing the bill.

Virginia has executed more than 1,300 people -- more than any other state since the Jamestown colony's first recorded execution in 1608 for espionage, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

If the bill is signed into law, Virginia would be the first southern state to repeal the death penalty since the US Supreme Court reinstated the punishment in 1976.

Debate among the Virginia lawmakers this week over the bill has been emotionally charged.

Ahead of the final vote Friday, GOP state Del. Jason Miyares, who voted against the bill, argued that the death penalty is not about revenge, but about justice for the victims.

During Thursday's debate on the bill, Miyares, a former criminal prosecutor, held up pictures of murder victims in Virginia, describing the horrible and violent ending to their lives, and arguing that 'victims have been completely left out in this debate over the death penalty.'

The House bill's sponsor, Del. Mike Mullin, and other Democrats argued that the death penalty should be abolished because it 'is immoral, racially biased, ineffective, and costly.'

'What keeps me up at night is that we run the risk of executing an innocent person,' the Democratic lawmaker said in a statement.

Democratic Del. Mark Levine got choked up on Friday as he shared emotional testimony of how his sister Janet was murdered by her husband.

Levine said that the House bill is not about him, or the victims, but 'about the fact that the state may end up killing innocent people.'

'Killing someone else doesn't bring Janet back to me,' Levine said, adding that wrongfully executing an innocent person would be 'evil.'

The legislation would eliminate capital punishment sentencing effective July. It would also commute existing death sentences to life imprisonment without parole.

Some Senate Republicans had objected to that chamber's bill because it did not include a mandatory minimum life sentence for aggravated murder without the possibility of parole. There were two inmates on death row in Virginia as of December 2020, according to Virginia's Department of Corrections.

Marijuana legalization

The House also voted Friday to legalize recreational marijuana in Virginia by a vote of 55-42, with two abstaining, and the Senate later Friday passed its own measure by 23-15.

If the legislation is signed by Northam, Virginia would become the first Southern state to legalize recreational use.

The bills would create the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority and establish a regulatory structure for the cultivation, manufacture, wholesale and retail sale of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products, to be administered by the authority.

The measures would also provide a process to automatically expunge certain marijuana-related convictions.

According to their summaries, the bills have staggered effective dates and would allow retail marijuana sales to start on January 1, 2024, while certain provisions do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2022 session of the General Assembly.

Northam has pushed for marijuana to be legalized this session and signed legislation last year that decriminalized marijuana possession.

CNN has reached out to his office requesting comment on Friday's votes.

This story has been updated with the Virginia Senate's vote on marijuana legalization.
Lilongwe, Malawi (PANA) - Amnesty International has expressed concern for the safety of people with albinism in Malawi following the resurgence of their killings and abduction
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Indias expert panel on Covid-19 drugs and vaccines has turned down US pharmaceutical major Pfizer's application for emergency use authorisation for its vaccine candidate -- already in use in the US and UK -- in the absence of any plan on the firm's part to generate safety and immunogenicity data in the local population.

Immunogenicity means the ability of a vaccine candidate to generate the desired immune response against the pathogen.

on Friday said it had withdrawn its application, and would submit additional data as it becomes available in the near future.

India has insisted on having a safety and immunogenicity trial in the country. This became an important consideration for the expert panel, which noted that there had been several serious adverse events in the case of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the causality of these events was being investigated.

The company met the subject expert committee (SEC) on February 3. Sources revealed that the Indian drug regulator had decided to not allow emergency use approval for any vaccine candidate unless it was backed by data from a local bridge trial. "Safety and immunogenicity data from at least a 1,600-volunteer bridge trial in India is a must for the expert panel to recommend approval to any vaccine candidate," said a source in the know.





ALSO READ: When will the Covid-19 pandemic end? In 7 years at today's vaccine rates

A spokesperson for Pfizer, however, said, Based on the deliberations at the meeting and our understanding of additional information that the regulator may need, the company has decided to withdraw its application. will continue to engage with the authority and resubmit its approval request with additional information as it becomes available in the near future.

The SEC noted, The firm presented its proposal for emergency use authorisation of its Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, BNT162b, before the committee. The committee noted that incidents of palsy, anaphylaxis, and other serious adverse events (SAEs) have been reported during post marketing, and the causality of the events with the vaccine is being investigated. Further, the firm has not proposed any plan to generate safety and immunogenicity data in Indian population. After detailed deliberations, the committee has not recommended for grant of permission for emergency use in the country at this stage.



Earlier, the firm had missed appearing before the SEC thrice, blaming a short notice and time-zone difference for it.

The source added that had also indicated there were no plans to manufacture the vaccine in India. Pfizer's shipments have been falling globally, and the firm may have decided to focus on these geographies for the moment and increase production. To get approval in India, it would not only have to come back with data on facial palsy cases, but also with the clinical trial protocol for the bridge trial," said the source.





ALSO READ: More Covid-19 vaccine candidates get approval for clinical trials in India

The US administration is trying to order more Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna through the summer. These companies have to supply 100 million doses each to the US and will have to significantly increase the number of weekly doses they release to achieve that goal.

While it has withdrawn the application, the firm said it remained committed to making the vaccine available for use in India.

Pfizer remains committed to making its vaccine available for use by the government in India and to pursuing the requisite pathway for emergency use authorisation that enables the availability of this vaccine for any future deployment," it said. Pfizer did not wish to comment on when it can re-apply for approval in India.

The vaccine requires refrigeration at minus 70 degree Celsius. The company had drawn up elaborate cold-chain plans for the same.
Land encroachment charges for Thanathorn, family

THAILAND: The Royal Forest Department has filed a complaint against Progressive Movement founder Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and his family, accusing them of encroaching on forest reserves in Ratchaburi.

landnatural-resources

By Bangkok Post

Friday 5 February 2021, 07:54AM

Thanathorn: Accused of forest encroachment. Photo: Bangkok Post.

In its complaint, the department said the family has been receiving benefits from an illegally established commercial eucalyptus plantation in the province for over 30 years.

The departments chief, Adisorn Nuchdamrong, yesterday (Feb 4) filed the complaint with the Natural Resources and Environmental Crimes Division along with evidence to back the allegation.

The complaint recommended six charges relating to forest encroachment be filed against Mr Thanathorn and his family, as outlined by 1964 National Reserved Forest Act, the 1941 Forest Act and the 1947 Land Act.

This wasnt the first forest encroachment charges filed against the Progressive Movement founders family - in December last year, the department filed charges against Somporn Juangroongruangkit, Mr Thanathorns mother, over her ownership of at least 77 land plots in Ratchaburi which it said encroached on forest reserves.

A further investigation found that Mr Thanathorn, along with his sister Chanapan, the vice president of Thai Summit Group, occupied the land to plant eucalyptus trees.

Mr Adisorn said Mr Thanathorn and his family acknowledged in the sale agreement that the land plots they purchased is inside a national forest reserve, and that their right to the land can be withdrawn at any time.

This shows a clear intention to illegally occupy and possess the land, which is solid evidence to launch legal proceedings against them, he said.

Meanwhile, Cheewapap Cheewatham, chief of the Payak Prai forest protection operation, said his team found the eucalyptus trees on the plots owned by Mr Thanathorn are more than 30 years old, which means the family has benefited from the illegal plantation for at least the same period.
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Axios

Southwest and American airlines won't yet resume in-flight alcohol service as planned after a flight attendant was recently assaulted by a passenger and other in-flight incidents.What they're saying: Southwest had initially planned to resume the service in June, but Sonya Lacore, the airline's head of in-flight operations, said in a memo obtained by CNN that "based on the rise in passenger disruptions in flight, I've made the decision to re-evaluate the restart of alcohol service on board."Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. Catch up quick: Last Sunday, a female passenger allegedly struck a flight attendant during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego  Southwest said two of the attendant's teeth had been knocked out. The passenger was then arrested on suspicions of battery causing serious bodily injury. The flight attendant was taken to a hospital once the plane landed, according to a police report. Southwest said Friday it banned the female passenger from flying with the airline again.The big picture: The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it had received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior since Jan. 1, with about 1,900 reports being of passengers refusing to follow federal mask mandates.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
Shares of State Bank of India (SBI), the nations largest by assets, extended gains to a record high after quarterly profit beat analysts expectations. SBI shares today rose as much as 15% to 408 in early trade as many brokerages increased their target price on the stock.

"SBI reported a robust operating performance in a challenging environment. Loan growth is showing a healthy recovery in the retail portfolio, with disbursements in many business segments surpassing pre-COVID levels. Deposit growth stood strong, while margin remains broadly stable," Motilal Oswal said in a note.

The brokerage maintains a buy on the stock and has revised target price higher on the stock to 430/share.

Earnings of SBI, which accounts for about a fifth of loans in the countrys banking sector, is a key indicator of the health of Indias economy.

The economic revival is coming back with a vengeance," SBIs Chairman Dinesh Khara said in a post-earnings media call, adding that the lender expects credit growth to return to double digits.

SBI reported a 15.5% growth in retail loans in December quarter, helping drive an overall credit growth of 6.73% for the reported quarter.

"It has a strong retail asset quality as witnessed during the COVID outbreak. The bank is well on track to keep credit cost under control, while recoveries from the resolution of large accounts can further support earnings. We believe the earnings normalization cycle for SBI has begun as the uncertainty ushered by COVID-19 has receded significantly," Motilal Oswal said.

The banks gross bad-loan ratio was 4.77% at the end of December, compared with 5.28% three months earlier. But that ratio would have been 5.44% if Supreme Court hadnt barred banks from classifying any loans as non-performing assets.

The lender's net profit came in at 5,196.22 crore as against 5,583.36 crore in the year-ago period and 4,574.16 crore in the preceding September quarter.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said that the year-ago period had seen the resolution of the Essar Steel loans, resulting in an over 4,000 crore interest income and 500 crore other income benefit.

Yes Securities has a target price of 440 on the stock with a buy rating. "Strong indications of improved asset quality outcomes driving profitability normalization. With capital and credit scenario no more a constraint, SBIs loan growth is expected to move past 10-12% over the medium term supported by increasing lending opportunities," the brokerage said.

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Attorney General Nessel Urges FCC to Protect Consumer Access to Affordable Communications Services

Attorney General Nessel Urges FCC to Protect Consumer Access to Affordable Communications Services

Ryan Jarvi 517-599-2746 Attorney General

February 5, 2021

LANSING  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined 16 other attorneys general in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make sure that it protects millions of Americans continued access to affordable communications services through its Lifeline program. The coalition requests that before considering approval, the FCC should obtain additional information on Verizons proposed acquisition of Tracfone  a prepaid no-contract mobile phone provider. The attorneys general stress that an unchecked acquisition continues an alarming trend of reducing competition in the telecommunications market and could significantly reduce access to affordable communications services.

The Lifeline program is in place to provide low-income subscribers with a discount on monthly telephone, broadband internet or voice-broadband bundled services purchased from participating providers.

"The telecommunications industry has become such an essential part of American life that any significant change to its corporate organization may have an immediate and direct impact on Michigan consumers, Nessel said. Ensuring access to this technology remains affordable for low-income individuals and families is an obligation we have as attorneys general, and we urge the FCC to put the interest of the American consumer before that of big business and request additional information before allowing this acquisition to happen.

The coalition urges the FCC to adopt specific conditions to this proposed acquisition such as obtaining a commitment from Verizon to provide Lifeline services to customers at an affordable rate with sufficient quality, or to provide service packages that are comparable or better than Tracfones existing lowest-cost Lifeline packages.

The coalition also reminds the FCC that if this merger, which is to occur in an already concentrated market, results in a decrease in the number or quality of Lifeline services, it would be contrary to the public interest and have an adverse impact on consumers and the communications industry.

Attorney General Nessel joins the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington in submitting this letter.
India's exports of pharmaceutical products during April-December 2020-21 grew by 12.43 per cent to USD 17.57 billion, Parliament was informed on Friday.

India's exports of pharmaceutical products have not declined and they are growing consistently, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Hardeep Singh Puri said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

"During 2019-20, India's exports of pharmaceuticals were USD 20.58 billion with a growth rate of 7.57 per cent over the previous year. Total during April-December 2020-21 were at USD 17.57 billion, registering a growth rate of 12.43 per cent over the same period of the previous year," he said.

Replying to a question on FDI, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said that during the last three years, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow increased from USD 44.85 billion in 2017-18 to USD 49.97 billion in 2019-20.

According to the data, FDI in defence industries stood at USD 0.63 million. It was USD 2.20 million in 2019-20.

The retail trading sector attracted USD 1.26 billion in April-November 2020-21 period, while telecommunications received USD 19.65 million.

In reply to a separate query, Parkash said total FDI inflow in terms of percentage of GDP has increased from 2.21 per cent (2009-10 to 2013-14) to 2.41 per cent (2014-15 to 2018-19).

On a question about single window approval system for industry, Parkash said the central government is working on setting up a Single Window System for clearances and approvals of industry in the country.

Despite the presence of several IT platforms for investing in India such as in departments of the Government of India and State Single Window Clearances, investors need to visit multiple platforms to gather information and obtain clearances from different stakeholders, he said.

"To address this, the creation of a Centralized Investment Clearance Cell, which would provide end-to-end facilitation support, including pre-investment advisory, information related to land banks and facilitating clearances at central and state level was proposed," Parkash added.

The cell, he said, is being planned as a one-stop digital platform to obtain all requisite central and state clearances/ approvals required to start business operations in India.

The cell "will be a National portal that integrates the existing clearance systems of the various ministries/ departments of Government of India and of state governments without disruption to the existing IT portals of ministries and will have a single, unified application form," the minister added.

This will eliminate the need for investors to visit multiple platforms/ offices to gather information and obtain clearances from different stakeholders and provide time-bound approvals and real time status update to investors, Parkash informed.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The Manitoba Metis Federation has received an infusion of $15 million from Western Economic Diversification to inject into its economic development projects.

The Manitoba Metis Federation has received an infusion of $15 million from Western Economic Diversification to inject into its economic development projects.

Flying under the radar, the MMF has quietly been amassing a growing portfolio of new businesses and land holdings and these funds will provide additional capital for further growth.

David Chartrand.

Dan Vandal, minister of northern affairs, said the funding, which is a symbol of the path to reconciliation that the government and country is on, comes with few strings attached.

"This is a very important day for Canada, Manitoba and the Metis people as well as for me as a proud member of the Metis Nation," Vandal said. "The path forward on reconciliation is long and sometimes bumpy. The country remains committed to walking that path. This is an example of how far our journey has brought us. This is the next step we will take together."

He said funding is a symbol of the willingness of the government of Canada to "work with the Metis as nation to nation."

The rationale for the funding is to help close socio-economic gaps, promote Metis economic development, and create jobs for Manitoba Metis.

According to the ambitious, ongoing economic development projects the MMF is currently engaged in, that gap should be getting smaller.

David Chartrand, president of the MMF, said it already has tens of millions of dollars worth of development projects underway.

The new funding, which is to be in place by April and needs to be invested by the end of 2023, will help fund a number of projects.

For starters, the MMF has just recently taken possession of the historic Bank of Montreal building at Portage and Main. It plans to build a Metis heritage centre in the building that was built in 1913.

Design details have been selected and the renovation of the building will begin soon.

Another high-profile project in the works is a boutique hotel Chartrand said is being designed in partnership with Ida Albo, owner of the Fort Garry Hotel, on the site of Albos Yoga Public spa on Fort Street.

The plan is to build two additional storeys on top of the current two-storey building for a boutique hotel with about 40 rooms, featuring a spa and gym and health conscious cafe.

Chartrand said Albo, who could not be reached for comment, would operate the hotel. Engineering and architectural designs are underway and he said he hopes permits will be in place for construction to start this year.

"We will have the advantage of her expertise in championing the heritage Fort Garry Hotel and if the concept works we are planning to build more," he said.

Vandal said the manner in which the money will be spent will be entirely up to the MMF.

"The funding is intended to create economic prosperity for the Metis people," he said. "As per the nation-to-nation agreement the purview and responsibility (regarding the investment decisions) flows to MMF."

And by the sounds of it, the MMF has no shortage of development plans in the works.

In addition to building its new heritage centre and the boutique hotel, the MMF has been amassing a significant real estate portfolio.

Just in the past year or so the MMF has acquired the smaller, 80,000 square foot, National Research Council building on Ellice Avenue. It has also acquired the Behavioural Health Foundation and accompanying land in Breezy Point with potential future development to take place there.

It also has plans to invest about $2 million in two large tree greenhouses that it will construct in Manitoba.

Chartrand said a partnership with the oil and gas company Enbridge is being negotiated for that project.

Those facilities may also develop into medicinal cannabis production sites as part of the MMFs investment in the Penticton, B.C., company, Green Mountain, which may expand to Manitoba.

As well, the MMF is about to open its second pharmacy in Dauphin, with additional locations planned for Brandon and Yorkton, Sask. It is also in the process of building a number of daycare centres.

Chartrand said after deploying the $15 million in funding from the Western Economic Diversification, he believes it will assist in the creation of hundreds of jobs in addition to the 800 currently on the MMFs payroll.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
The Pentagon will deploy more than 1,000 troops to assist getting Americans vaccinated against COVID-19, the White House said Friday.

Coronavirus senior adviser Andy Slavitt announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved a request for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Only 8.7 percent of the US population has gotten one or more dose so far and the US is giving an average of 1.7 million shots a day, according got Bloomberg data. ]

Slavitt said the troops will be deployed across the country, but only specified one state where they will be sent: California.

The hard-hit state is seeing an average of 18,000 new infections a day - although they are declining - but just 1.6 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated with two doses of the shot. It ranks 27th in the nation for the pace of its rollout.

Two are opening there, and Slavitt said military personnel will arrive at those centers in the next 10 days, and start vaccinating by February 13.

President Joe Biden has called for setting up 100 mass vaccination centers around the country within a month, and his plan could soon get another assist, from the National Football League (NFL).

In Friday letter, the league told President Biden all 30 of its stadiums are ready to be converted into mass vaccination sites - as soon as Super Bowl Sunday is over.

The White House also announced that the Defense Production Act is being invoked to ramp up the production of Pfizer's vaccine. Officials did not specify by how much its assistance would raise the company's manufacturing capacity.

The Pentagon will deploy 1,000 troops to speed the US vaccination effort which is getting just 1.7 million 'shots in arms' a day

The first 1,000 troops will be sent to California, but the White House said they will be deployed across the country within a month

President Joe Biden wants to open 100 mass vaccination sites across the US, and his administration is starting with deploying military personnel to states

The Pentagon has scheduled a news briefing later Friday to provide more information about the military role.

Pharmacies could soon administer 100M vaccine doses Pharmacies across the U.S. may be able later this year to administer up to 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine per month, under a federal program to ramp up immunizations. Starting on February 11, the Biden administration will start shipping vials directly to major outlets such as CVS Health. Walgreens Co, Walmart Inc, Rite Aid Co and Costco Wholesale, as well as supermarket pharmacies. Some 6,500 retail pharmacies around the country will receive a total of one million doses, with plans to eventually reach 40,000 pharmacy locations nationwide Drug stores have become a mainstay for flu shots and shingles vaccines, and the industry is capable of vaccinating tens of millions of people monthly. But some public health experts say that pharmacies, especially large chains, have the capacity to administer as many 3.3 million shots per day as soon as the supply becomes available, according to CNN. Advertisement

Slavitt said support from the military will play a critical role in supporting vaccination sites, helping administer thousands of shots a day.

Currently about 6.9 million Americans have received the full two-dose regimen required to get maximum protection from the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

That translates to about two percent of the US population.

To reach widespread or 'herd' immunity - about 70 percent to 85 percent of Americans must be vaccinated.

The US is in a race with the virus, which is also spawning mutations that may prove resistant to vaccines.

There are now at laest 628 cases of the UK's more infectious B117 variant in the US. At least five cases of the South African variant and two cases of the Brazilian variant that may dull vaccine effectiveness.

The US also has at least four homegrown variants.

Vaccination is critical not only to stop these from spreading and becoming dominant in the US, but to keep more variants from arising because more cases mean more opportunities for the virus to mutate as it copies itself inside human bodies.

Rollout got off to a painfully slow start on December 14, amid widespread confusion over when shots would arrive, whether to hold back second doses and who was eligible to get vaccinated.

President Biden set a goal of 100 million shots given during his first 100 days in office, then raised it to around 1.5 million shots given a day - but walked back that aim.

His administration is taking a multi-pronged approach to speeding up the rollout.

In addition to deploying the military and FEMA, doses will now be sent directly to pharmacies, with one million expected arrive this week and a goal of 100 million a month.

Starting on February 11, the Biden administration will start shipping vials directly to major outlets such as CVS Health. Walgreens Co, Walmart Inc, Rite Aid Co and Costco Wholesale, as well as supermarket pharmacies.

Some 6,500 retail pharmacies around the country will receive a total of one million doses, with plans to eventually reach 40,000 pharmacy locations nationwide

Drug stores have become a mainstay for flu shots and shingles vaccines, and the industry is capable of vaccinating tens of millions of people monthly.

But some public health experts say that pharmacies, especially large chains, have the capacity to administer as many 3.3 million shots per day as soon as the supply becomes available, according to CNN.

'Based on conservative assumptions, pharmacies have the capacity to meet the demand for 100 million vaccine doses in one month when that level of the vaccine supply is available,' Steven Anderson, president and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, told reporters on a phone call last month.

The first phase involves vaccines being sent to pharmacies and states selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This is based on 'their ability to reach some of the populations most at risk for severe illness from Covid-19, including socially vulnerable communities,' Jeff Zients, coordinator of the president's COVID-19 task force, said earlier this week.

Every pharmacy will be following the federal and state guidelines and only vaccinating those who are eligible under the state-mandated order.

CVS plans to begin offering vaccinations from doses that arrive on the first day, February 11.

The pharmacy is expecting 250,000 doses arriving at 330 stores across 11 states including California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

Meanwhile, Walgreens said it will begin administering doses the day after shipments arrive, February 12, across 15 states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia, and Puerto Rico.

Source: Xinhua| 2021-02-04 03:05:35|Editor: huaxia

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AMMAN, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese ambassador to Jordan on Wednesday called on Jordanian PhD students to help boost bilateral exchange and cooperation between China and Jordan.

Chen Chuandong made his remarks during the 2021 Networking Event with China-Aid PhD Students, where he spoke highly of the joint efforts of both sides in fighting COVID-19.

The ambassador emphasized that Jordan and China have stood shoulder to shoulder and helped each other, reflecting the profound friendship between the two peoples.

The two countries enjoy huge potential for cooperation in fields such as infrastructure, production capacity, communication and new energy, and their economies are highly complementary, he said.

Chen called on the students to study hard, so as to contribute to Jordan's development, and act like a bridge to promote bilateral exchange and cooperation.

By the end of 2019, more than 2,800 Jordanians participated in China-aid training programs, of whom around 50 were students pursuing PhD or master degrees. Enditem
Lollie May Martin and Taylor Brittany Maanao married after five years together. But they say they actually fell so hard and so fast for one another that they wanted to marry after only six months.

Ms. Maanaos mother had strongly suggested they wait. She told us that we still had so much to learn about each other. So, we waited, Ms. Martin says.

Ms. Martin, 31, is majoring in paralegal studies at Austin Community College and began an internship at the Stewart Law firm in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 18. Taylor Brittany Maanao, 29, works as a personal assistant and property manager at Tiger Lily Ranch in Sheridan, Texas. They live in Round Rock, Texas.

They met Aug. 11, 2012, when Ms. Martin was bartending in Austin. I saw Taylor from across the room and I remember thinking, Wow, that girl is amazingly beautiful, Ms. Martin said.
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PHOENIX  Advocates on Thursday called on Arizona to prioritize people with disabilities and their caregivers when it comes to administering COVID-19 vaccines.

State disability rights groups say Gov. Doug Duceys changing to an age-based vaccine plan has them worried about those in their 40s and younger who have disabilities.

His hybrid approach introduces age categories, but it completely ignores people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and those who live with Down syndrome, said Sey In, an attorney with the Arizona Center for Disability Law.

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According to In, the state Department of Health Services never responded to a letter in December from several disability rights organizations about the matter. Besides better priority status, advocates say the state also needs to provide more communication resources for the registration process and at vaccine sites.

Louise Bowden, executive director of Down Syndrome Network, pointed to Down syndrome being on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions list of medical conditions that put people more at risk if infected by the virus. Adults with Down syndrome tend to age faster. So, those who are only in their 40s may experience certain conditions one would see in the elderly, according to Bowden.

It only makes sense that people with Down syndrome receive the vaccine now, Bowden said.

Christine Kendzior, who has four children including a 10-year-old daughter with Down syndrome and autism, said caregivers of people with disabilities should also be prioritized.

Because my daughter is too young for the vaccine, my husband and I should be prioritized because we are her first-line of defense, Kendzior said. Other states have already allowed eligibility for the disability community. And I am begging for Arizona to do the same.

When asked about people with disabilities at a news conference Wednesday, state Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ asserted the age-based plan will actually lead to them becoming eligible earlier.

Otherwise, they would have been with the general population under the previous phase. So, this will actually move the majority of those individuals up, Christ said.

Counties in Arizona are also responsible for prioritizing vaccine distribution for vulnerable communities, she added. They are working on strategies for high-risk groups and homebound residents.

The issue comes as Arizona reported Thursday 1,154 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 96 deaths as seven-day rolling averages of daily new cases and daily deaths dropped amid the continued slowing of the coronavirus outbreak.

The latest figures reported by the state increased the pandemic totals to 821,108 cases and 16,185 cases, according to the states coronavirus dashboard.

COVID-19-related inpatient hospitalizations dropped to 1,072 as of Wednesday, the fewest since Nov. 13 when the fall and winter surge was on the rise.

The rolling average of daily new cases dropped from 1,687.1 to 1,140.9 Wednesday while the rolling average of daily deaths declined from 85.9 to 66.2 during the same period, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
The thirteenth edition of Aero India, a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India, kicked off on February 4 and finishes today. Russian companies are running over 200 military hardware exhibits at this years Aero India event, The National Interest informs.

Russias Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev lauded the event: [I am] highly appreciate efforts of the Indian organizers to hold in the current conditions the 13th edition of Aero India 2021 - one of the most prominent exhibitions in the world, also adding that Russia is among the shows biggest exhibitors. We plan to demonstrate Su-57, Su-35 and MiG-35 fighter jets, helicopters Ka-52, Ka-226, Mi-17B-5, Mi-26, S-400 systems, and many others, noted Kudashev.

It was revealed earlier that a model of the Su-57E, the export variant of Russias fifth-generation Su-57 fighter, will be displayed at Aero India 2021. Though a potential Su-57 deal remains the big prize for Moscow, Russian arms export officials have not ruled out the possibility of a joint Su-35 production contract with New Delhi. India is likewise seen as a prime import candidate for Russias latest attack, reconnaissance, and surveillance helicopters. Russian defense executives are optimistic that these models, including the more recent export variants of the Mi-28 attack helicopter and Mil Mi-17 transport helicopter, will grab Indias attention.

The pandemic has not stymied the pace of military cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi. Ambassador Kudashev listed some of the current bilateral projects between the two countries: We are successfully moving towards implementation of all priority projects - S-400 systems deliveries, AK-203 Kalashnikovs contract, Ka-226 helicopters supplies and production in India, as well as an advanced cooperation in the areas of combat aviation (including Su-30MKI), main battle tanks (T-90), frigates, submarines and missiles, along with joint production of the unique Brahmos. Moreover, there are several pending additions to this list. Russian executives say that Indias Defense Ministry has expressed interest in Russias new 9K333 Verba man-portable surface-to-air missile system. Further, it was announced on Wednesday that Russian and Indian officials are in talks for a prospective upgrade package to Indias aging fleet of Il-76 multipurpose strategic planes.

Despite the looming threat of retaliatory sanctions from Washington, it appears that India is moving forward with its October 2018 acquisition of Russias flagship S-400 missile system. Indian specialists arrived in Russia earlier this month to undergo training on how to operate the parts comprising the S-400 system, with the full delivery of Indias first S-400 regiment scheduled to occur by the end of 2021.

Russias defense industry continues to play a prominent role in Indias efforts to strengthen its domestic defense sector, part of a Prime Minister Narendra Modis broader Atmanirbhar Bharator Self-Reliant Indiaprogram to mitigate Indias dependence on certain import goods. These efforts have involved extensive technology transfers and licensing arrangements, recently illustrated by the joint 2019 Kalashnikov venture for the local production of hundreds of thousands of AK-203 rifles in Indian facilities.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 5)  A Mandaluyong court has junked the case against a journalist and a union organizer who were arrested for alleged illegal possession of firearms and explosives last December.

The Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court Branch 209 on Friday dismissed the case against Lady Ann Salem, an editor of alternative media outfit Manila Today and communications officer of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television, and union organizer Rodrigo Esparago.

In a previous statement, the Criminal Investigation and Detection GroupNational Capital Region said the two were arrested as part of its campaign against loose firearms and criminal groups.

Police said they seized handguns, grenades, and ammunition, among others from Salem. An armalite, pistols, and ammunition were seized from Esparago.

Presiding judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio argued the law enforcers' search warrant was declared void for being vague after they failed to seize only those items listed in the warrant.

Instead of only one laptop and one unit of cellphone, the law enforcers took four laptops and five cellphones of different brands.

"The raiding team did not limit themselves to the items listed in the Search Warrants... The seizure of these items is unlawful as even the 'plain view doctrine' is clearly inapplicable to these cases," the order read.

The court also found substantial inconsistencies and contradictions in the testimonies of informant Kharl Lou Dela Cruz Geronimo, Patrolman Ernie Ambuyoc, and Police Captain Michael Nathaniel Visco.

"Since the sole basis of the issuance of the Search Warrants were their sworn statements and testimonies, the Court finds that probable cause was not sufficiently establish," it said.

Several groups denounced Salem's arrest, calling it another attempt to silence free press.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines previously noted that Manila Today was one of the alternative media outfits red-tagged in a recent Senate hearing.

"Icy's (Salem) arrest is proof this administration is bent on silencing the independent and critical Philippine media so it can manipulate the flow of information to the detriment of our people and of our democracy," the NUJP said.
SARS-CoV-2 under the helium ion microscope for the first time

Scientists at Bielefeld University's Faculty of Physics have succeeded for the first time in imaging the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus with a helium ion microscope. In contrast to the more conventional electron microscopy, the samples do not need a thin metal coating in helium ion microscopy. This allows interactions between the coronaviruses and their host cell to be observed particularly clearly. The scientists have published their findings, obtained in collaboration with researchers from Bielefeld University's Medical School OWL and Justus Liebig University Giessen, in the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology.

'The study shows that the helium ion microscope is suitable for imaging coronaviruses - so precisely that the interaction between virus and host cell can be observed,' says physicist Dr Natalie Frese. She is the lead author of the study and a researcher in the research group Physics of Supramolecular Systems and Surfaces at the Faculty of Physics.

Coronaviruses are tiny - only about 100 nanometres in diameter, or 100 billionths of a metre. So far, mainly scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been used to examine cells infected with the virus. With SEM, an electron beam scans the cell and provides an image of the surface structure of the cell occupied by viruses. However, SEM has a disadvantage: the sample becomes electrostatically charged during the microscopy process. Because the charges are not dispersed from non-conductive samples, for example viruses or other biological organisms, the samples must be coated with an electrically conductive coating, such as a thin layer of gold.

'However, this conductive coating also changes the surface structure of the sample. Helium ion microscopy does not require a coating and therefore allows direct scanning,' says Professor Dr Armin Golzhauser, who heads the research group Physics of Supramolecular Systems and Surfaces. With the helium ion microscope, a beam of helium ions scans the surface of the sample. Helium ions are helium atoms that are each missing an electron - they are therefore positively charged. The ion beam also charges the sample electrostatically, but this can be compensated for by additionally irradiating the sample with electrons.

Furthermore, the helium ion microscope has a higher resolution and a greater depth of field.

In their study, the scientists infected cells - artificially produced from the kidney tissue of a species of monkey - with SARS-CoV-2 and studied them in dead state under the microscope. 'Our images provide a direct view of the 3D surface of the coronavirus and the kidney cell - with a resolution in the range of a few nanometres,' says Frese. This enabled the researchers to visualise interactions between the viruses and the kidney cell. Their study results indicate, for example, that helium ion microscopy can be used to observe whether individual coronaviruses are just lying on the cell or are bound to it. This is important in order to understand defence strategies against the virus: an infected cell can bind the viruses, which have already multiplied inside it, to its cell membrane on exit and thus prevent them from spreading further.

'Helium ion microscopy is well suited for imaging the cell's defence mechanisms that take place at the cell membrane,' says virologist Professor Dr Friedemann Weber, too. He is investigating SARS-CoV-2 at Justus Liebig University in Gieen and collaborated with the Bielefeld researchers on this study. Professor Dr Holger Sudhoff, head physician at the University Clinic for Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical School OWL at Bielefeld University, adds: 'This method is a significant improvement for imaging the SARS-CoV-2 virus interacting with the infected cell. Helium ion microscopy can help to better understand the infection process in COVID-19 sufferers.'

Helium ion microscopy is a comparatively new technology. In 2010, Bielefeld University became the first German university to acquire a helium ion microscope, which is used primarily in nanotechnology. Worldwide, helium ion technology is still rarely used to examine biological samples. 'Our study shows that there is great potential here,' says Golzhauser. The study appears in a special issue of the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology on the helium ion microscope.

###

Original publication:

/ www. doi. org/ 10. 3762/ bjnano. 12. 13

Natalie Frese, Patrick Schmerer, Martin Wortmann, Matthias Schurmann, Matthias Konig, Michael Westphal, Friedemann Weber, Holger Sudhoff, Armin Golzhauser: Imaging of SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero E6 cells by helium ion microscopy. Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, https:/, published on 2 February 2021.

This story has been published on: 2021-02-04. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Let me tell you about my wifes family, formerly oppressed immigrants who came to this country legally, and love the USA as only formerly oppressed immigrants could. They are being mistreated over politics by some of their Carmel, Indiana, neighbors who should be very ashamed of themselves.

My father-in-law was born in Poland during a German bombing attack during World War II. All the neighbors huddled in the basement of the apartment building while his mother gave birth to him. She was on her own because his father was in the Polish Air Force based in the UK and fought in the Battle of Britain. which saved that country once and for all from the threat of a German invasion.

After enduring countless indignities and threats to life, my father-in-law endured the equally bad occupation of Poland by Russians who quickly established Communist control after the war. Because it was dangerous for Polish veterans to return home, when my father-in-law was 7 years old, and suffering from tuberculosis and malnutrition, he, his older brother, and his mother were literally smuggled out of Poland to finally meet his father.

The family moved to Argentina because they were not welcome in Great Britain after the wareven after their great military service to that nation. The British didnt want to irritate their Soviet allies, so Poles were prevented from marching in victory parades in England!

My mother-in-law was born in the Catholic country of Croatia, which was then part of the nation of Yugoslavia. World War II was extremely bitter there, and we get our modern word partisan from the Croatian language.

Her grandfather was lined up against a wall and shot by Titos communist forces. They wanted her father too. He, a professor of languages, escaped to the first country he could, which happened to be Argentina. Nearly 10 years later, my mother-in-law and her family reunited there with her father.

Despite their difficult beginnings, both my in-laws made a life in Argentina. As college students studying neuroscience and chemistry, my parents-in-law fell in love, married, and had three daughters. As Argentinas dirty war got underway in the mid-70s, lasting until the early 80s, life there was unstable and dangerous.

It is believed that the dictatorial Argentinian government killed as many as 30,000 suspected Communists. They simply disappeared without a trace -- never having had a trial or even a legitimate review of any evidence. As a child, my wife remembers her neighbors being shot in the street as suspected Communist sympathizers.

My parents-in-law ultimately decided they must leave Argentina and applied for research positions and professorships at universities around the world. They were both accepted at the Central Caribbean University in Puerto Rico. To them, Puerto Rico meant the United States, along with the freedom and security that it stood for to oppressed peoples all over the world.

They very excitedly moved to Puerto Rico and became proud American citizens. My wife, grateful that her family was safe for the first time in generations, volunteered and was accepted at the US Military Academy at West Point. She went on to serve as a captain in the 82d Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, and as fate would have it, she served in Bosnia and Croatia during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

About a year ago, and after 40 years of university work, my parents-in-law partially retired from teaching and research at the medical school, and moved to a middle-class home in Carmel, Indiana. They were able to vote in their very first presidential election because as Puerto Rico is not a state, people there cannot vote for president.

My father-in-law voted for Trump. He did not vote for the man, but for the ideas that Trump represented: Capitalism, the Constitution, the rule of law, being Pro-Life, and being relatively conservative. Whether or not you agree with father-in-laws perceptions, for him, having seen socialism and fascism in many forms and the awful destruction they bring, he could not vote Democrat.

Not only did my father-in-law vote his conscience, but he also advocated for Trump. In time-honored American tradition, he had signs in his yard, a flag connected to his garage door, and a large banner across his driveway to the effect of Want to turn the USA into Venezuela?  Vote for Biden Harris.

When his signs were stolen, he sort of laughed it off. When his American Trump flag was very meticulously cut up and parts left hanging on his garage door, he was saddened. As a response to this theft and vandalism, he left his Venezuela banner hanging across the driveway even after the election. Very recently, someone went to the trouble of cutting that banner into two pieces.

The neighbor across the street has an unmolested yard sign stating things like Black Lives Matter, No One is Illegal, Water is Life and some other Democrat slogans. Youve probably seen them around. No one bothers it, of course. This contrast between how my parents-in-law have been treated and how progressives are treated is exactly what my wifes family had hoped to escape from all those years ago. For them, it is an ominous sign.

Is that what we are evolving to in the United States? Will we continue to divide and eventually begin killing each other? We must learn to live together and speak to each other again  despite our political differences.

After all, this is Carmel, Indiana, Im speaking of a city consistently voted as one of the top places in America to live. Regardless of party affiliation, shouldnt we be ashamed of and condemn these cowardly acts?

I am a 4th generation army veteran. My family, and especially my parents-in-law, who dearly love this country, should be safe, free, and happy in their retirement. What does their experience portend for our country as a whole?

IMAGE: Trump calls legal immigrant to stage. YouTube screengrab.
The Office of The Inspector General of Police in a press release says it has learned with dismay, the unwarranted attack on one Ousman Camara, a Sierra Leonean national, who frequents the West Field Junction area chanting the name of the President. It added that they are investigating the matter.

"In a video circulating on social media, certain unscrupulous individuals are seen jointly hitting, kicking and violently assaulting him causing injury.

This ugly and barbaric act is totally condemned and seriously frowned upon as it has no place in any civilised society.

To this effect, the public is hereby informed that an investigation has been opened and anyone found wanting will be strictly dealt with according to law.

The public is further advised to report matters to the appropriate authorities for redress and never must they take the law into their own hands.

The Inspector General's Office wishes to stress that, in a democratic and pluralistic society, individuals are entitled to their opinions, religious beliefs and political affiliations and therefore, no one deserves to be brutalised for such.

The Gambia has been known to be a peaceful country which has cordial relations with countries within the sub-region and beyond including Sierra Leone which has strong historical ties with The Gambia. Therefore, no individual or group is allowed to treat citizens of other countries in such inhumane manners.

Members of the public are urged to volunteer any information that may be useful to the investigation.

The cooperation and understanding of the public is highly solicited.
When will the pandemic end? Its the question hanging over just about everything since Covid-19 took over the world last year. The answer can be measured in vaccinations.



Bloomberg has built the biggest database of Covid-19 shots given around the world, with more than 119 million doses administered worldwide. science officials such as Anthony Fauci have suggested it will take 70 per cent to 85 per cent coverage of the population for things to return to normal. Bloombergs Vaccine Tracker shows that some countries are making far more rapid progress than others, using 75 per cent coverage with a two-dose vaccine as a target.

Israel, the country with the highest vaccination rate in the world, is headed for 75 per cent coverage in just two months. The will get there just in time to ring in the 2022 New Year (though North Dakota could get there six months sooner than Texas). With vaccinations happening more rapidly in richer Western countries than the rest of the globe, it will take the world as a whole seven years at the current pace.

Bloombergs calculator provides a snapshot in time, designed to put todays vaccination rates into perspective. It uses the most recent rolling average of vaccinations, which means that as vaccination numbers pick up, the time needed to hit the 75 per cent threshold will fall.





The calculations will be volatile, especially in the early days of the rollout, and the numbers can be distorted by temporary disruptions.

For example, New Yorks target date was briefly pushed out to 17 months this week after a winter blizzard prevented some from getting vaccinated (its now back down to 13 months). Likewise, Canadas vaccination rate dropped by half in recent weeks following reports of delayed vaccine shipments. Based on Canadas latest rate of inoculations it would take more than 10 years to reach 75 per cent coverage. That might serve as a wake-up call to Canadian politicians and health officials, but it doesnt mean the country is doomed to a decade of social distancing. Canada has contracts to buy more vaccine doses per person than any other country, and its vaccination rates are expected to climb.

The pace is likely to accelerate further as more vaccines become available. Some of the worlds biggest vaccine-manufacturing hubs in India and Mexico are only just getting started. More than 8.5 billion doses of vaccine have been contracted by countries through more than 100 agreements tracked by Bloomberg. Only a third of countries have even begun their vaccination campaigns.

Getting to Herd Immunity



Vaccinations protect against Covid-19 within a few weeks of getting the shots. But if just a few people in a community get vaccinated, the virus can continue to spread unchecked. As more people get the vaccine, groups of people start to build a collective defense against the virus so that isolated sparks of infection burn out instead of spreading into an outbreak. The concept is known as herd immunity.

In the scientific community, there are conflicting definitions for when herd immunity is achieved. Is it when enough people are protected that it begins to have a measurable effect on the speed of transmission? That could begin well before 75 per cent of people are fully vaccinated. Others define it as the point when outbreaks can no longer be sustained. For example, even if theres a cluster of measles cases in an unvaccinated community, herd immunity prevents it from rippling across a country.

How We Run the Numbers



The vaccines available today require two doses for full vaccination. Our calculations for coverage are based on two doses per person in the population but don't distinguish between first doses or second doses administered. Those breakdowns can distort daily vaccination rates and arent available in more than 20 per cent of the countries were tracking.

A new vaccine by Johnson & Johnson recently showed positive results using a single dose in a large clinical trial. If approved, well adjust the number of doses required proportionate to its market share in each country.

The vaccines havent been authorized for use in children  those studies are currently underway. Our calculator, like the virus, includes children in the population needed to be protected.

One metric Bloombergs calculator doesnt account for is any level of natural immunity that might result from recovering from Covid-19. Its possible that hard-hit places might require a lower level of vaccination to prevent widespread transmission. While theres evidence that people who recover from illness do retain some level of natural defenses, its unclear how much protection is offered or how long it might last. The vaccine is still recommended for people who have recovered from illness.

The calculator is the latest feature from Bloombergs Covid-19 Tracker. The projections are updated daily and are based on the average daily vaccinations in data gathered from 67 countries and the states and territories. Countries may be excluded when they are in the earliest stages of vaccinations or if they provide infrequent updates on their vaccination numbers.
Consumer electronics retailer B8ta has temporarily closed two San Francisco stores, the latest shuttering coming after an armed robbery on Wednesday at its Hayes Valley location amid a surge in violent crime.

Security camera footage shows a man with a scooter entering the store and flashing a silver gun at the store manager, who backs away. The man, who is wearing a mask and baseball cap, takes two laptops and leaves the store on the scooter.

B8ta CEO Vibhu Norby said crime has gotten much worse this year in San Francisco. Last month, an unmasked man clearly on drugs took an $800 product and ran out, he said. Separately, another man went into the stores back room and damaged products and broke a sign, according to a police report. At its Union Square location, two women stole multiple bags last month, according to a police report. That store is also now closed and all of the incidents are under investigation, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

Burglaries, classified as theft with forced entry or intimidation, have skyrocketed in San Francisco over the past year, with closed stores and homes becoming popular targets during the pandemic. Citywide, burglaries jumped 50.9% in 2020 to 7,487 cases compared to 4,962 cases in 2019, according to police. In the departments northern district, which includes Hayes Valley, burglaries were up 44%.

Its another hurdle for retailers who were forced to close for months during the pandemic and now have restrictions on occupancy. Many shoppers have switched to online ordering, reducing foot traffic.

B8tas high-end products include laptops and speakers worth thousands of dollars, and robberies have been a problem since the Hayes Valley store opened in 2017. But the recent incidents, culminating with a gunman in the store this week, made keeping the store open impossible, Norby said. An unarmed security guard was powerless to stop the robbery.

Violent crime isnt a problem at the companys stores outside of San Francisco, which include other Bay Area cities like Palo Alto, Corte Madera and San Jose. This doesnt exist in other places where we have stores, he said.

Now Playing: Video: B8ta

Someone even broke a window at the companys store at Chase Center last month, which is a block from police headquarters, but was thwarted by a second pane of glass.

Norby said its disappointing that some of San Franciscos premier shopping areas have become dangerous, and he wants to reopen the stores when it feels safe.

Hayes is one of the best shopping streets in the city, he said. The Union Square location is next to luxury store Hermes.

Hes calling on city officials to prioritize safety in the areas.

I dont have a solution for you but I do have a challenge, which is keep this block safe for a month, Norby said.

The citys Office of Economic and Workforce Development said it connected B8ta to Union Squares Community Benefit District, which partners with local merchants on public safety and other services, and to Northern Station Police Captain Paul Yep.

We are sorry Mr. Norby and his employees have had to experience this. Our hope is to continue to bring COVID-19 cases down, so that we can resume reopening our economy and start allowing people to come back into the corridors to shop and eat, and to do them safely, the agency said.

Interactive Vaccine Tracker: Latest developments Detailed information about the coronavirus vaccines as it becomes available.

This is a deeply concerning development, and our office has been in direct touch with the owner, as well as the SFPD and District Attorney, in response. We are determined to address this issue and make sure our neighborhood businesses and their workers are protected, Supervisor Dean Preston, who represents Hayes Valley, said in a statement.

B8ta has raised over $93 million from investors, including Macys and Khosla Ventures, in an effort to reimagine brick-and-mortar retail for tech products, but the pandemic ravaged its business. The company laid off over half of its corporate employees and furloughed around 250 retail workers last March. Many workers have been rehired, and the company was aided by a $2.26 million Paycheck Protection Program loan, Norby said. The company now has around 130 workers.

Weve been finding ways to make ends meet. Were definitely not out of the woods, he said, predicting it will be another year before things recover.

Last March, the company closed its San Francisco office and changed its mailing address to its warehouse in Austin, Texas, but Norby intends to keep B8tas headquarters in San Francisco, where he lives, and hopes to eventually reopen the shuttered stores.

S.F. is such a great city, itd be a shame to not have a store here, he said. Were not leaving.

Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf
South Africa: Many South Africans are living with undetected TB, survey finds

Many South Africans are living with undetected tuberculosis (TB), while those who show symptoms delay seeking medical care, a survey has shown.

This is according to the countrys first TB Prevalence Survey Findings released on Friday.

The study estimated that 390 000 people had TB in 2018, with 235 652 notified cases, while 154 348 were missed TB patients or undetected.

The survey, conducted by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and National Institutes for Communicable Disease (NICD), enrolled 55 000 participants, who were older than 15, across all province in 110 clusters.

The National Department of Health commissioned the entities to lead the study to determine the bacteriological or laboratory-confirmed prevalence of the TB disease in South Africa.

Speaking at the launch of the finding, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, said South Africa continues to battle a TB epidemic.

He also raised concerns about undetected TB cases in communities that may lead to the further spread of the disease.

To break the cycle of transmission we need to extend services to communities through outreach programmes and sustain infection control practices from COVID-19, he said.

Meanwhile, research also revealed that more than two-thirds of HIV negative symptomatic participants had not sought care for their symptoms.

The participants cited various reasons, which include them still planning to go to the health facility, their symptoms not being too serious or not having money to travel to a clinic.

Mkhize said the late presentation for care may lead to avoidable hospitalisations and deaths.

The study also discovered that a higher proportion of HIV negative people are asymptomatic than those who are HIV positive.

This has been a key finding which will require a shift in the way we achieve proactive health-seeking behaviour. Previously, we focused on symptomatic patients and those living with HIV. We now need to encourage everyone to screen and test for TB to achieve elimination," said the Minister.

Finding solutions

He said government should employ innovative ways of providing health services in an integrated manner for efficiency.

These should include the use of digital technology.

We have made a lot of strides in the health information system space during the COVID-19 response and will leverage some of these technologies for TB screening, contact tracing and treatment adherence.

The Minister also encouraged people to use the TB Health Check app that has been developed and can be accessed by dialling *134*832*5# or send 'TB' to +27600123456 on WhatsApp.

The app provides an easy way for individuals to screen themselves for TB.

It also guides users through a series of questions and then advises them on whether they need a TB test or not, of which over 9 000 South Africans used have already used.

Just over one in 10 of those tested were found to have TB. These individuals are now on treatment. I would like to encourage people to use this service.

The Minister is also advocating for home delivery of medicines for patients by community health workers. He is also calling for the inclusion of TB medicines in the Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) system.

Mkhize has also proposed integrating TB and COVID-19 testing using Gene Xpert technology, championed by the National Health Laboratory Service for mobile screening and testing units.

He thanked researchers for their work and was hopeful that future studies will delve into the prevalence of TB among children under the age of 15.

We know that, in this country, children are affected by TB and many of them go onto developing chronic lung problems and I hope children below fifteen will be included in the subsequent studies.

Ending TB

Meanwhile, government remains resolute to fight the disease amid the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to ravage the entire world.

The Minister believes that advocacy work will need to adopt a multi-sectoral approach and partner with civil society, social partners and those in the communication sector to spread the word.

In addition, the State will develop strategies to address stigma and discrimination.

Mkhize, urged for the analysis of dynamics that resulted in findings that men above the age of 60 and between 35 and 44 are least able to access TB services.

He further acknowledged the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health services, particularly, TB.

A lot of effort will be required to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 and still ensure that we attain our set targets, he said. - SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-02-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has published the new postage rates and service fees which will apply as from 1 April 2021.

The price to send a standard letter in South Africa will increase from the current R4.90 to R5.34 in April.

To send a medium letter (B5) will cost R10.75  up from the current R9.85  and a large letter (B4) will be R13.15  up from the current R12.05.

In line with these increases, the price for a booklet of 10 stamps will rise from R49.00 to R53.40.

Fastmail prices will also be higher from 1 April. The price for a standard Fastmail letter will increase from R8.00 to R8.70.

To send a medium letter via Fastmail will cost R20.60 (up from R18.90) and a large letter will be priced at R24.90 (up from R24.90).

In the new pricing document, ICASA highlighted that surface mail for African countries has been discontinued with the exception of Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, and Botswana in the 2019/20 control period.

Surface Mail has also been discontinued for Brazil and Canada in the 2021/22 control period.

The table below proves an overview of the new SA Post Office prices which kick in on 1 April 2021.

SA Post Office Pricing Ordinary mail Product Current Price From 1 April 2021 Small maxi R4.90 R5.34 Medium (B5) R9.85 R10.75 Large (B4) R12.05 R13.15 Prepaid envelope Small R5.20 R5.70 Medium R11.30 R12.30 Large R15.10 R16.50 Postcard Small maxi R4.90 R5.34 Medium (B5) R9.85 R10.75 Large (B4) R12.05 R13.15 Stamp booklet Booklet of 10 stamps R49.00 R53.40 Boxes of 50 R2,450.00 R2,670.50 Fastmail Small maxi R8.00 R8.70 Medium (B5) R18.90 R20.60 Large (B4) R22.85 R24.90 Business Reply Service New licence R349.10 R380.50 Renewal of licence (annually) R349.10 R380.50

New SA Post Office prices

Now read: SA Post Office on the brink of collapse
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The EU shouldnt gang up on China with the U.S. even if it stands closer to Washington by virtue of shared values, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, Politico reports.

A situation to join all together against China, this is a scenario of the highest possible conflictuality. This one, for me, is counterproductive, Macron said, speaking in English, during a discussion broadcast by Washington-based think tank the Atlantic Council on Thursday.

This kind of common front against China  as other European leaders have advocated given the new Biden administration's revived openness to traditional alliances  risks pushing Beijing to lower its cooperation on issues like combatting climate change, and exacerbating its aggressive behavior in Asia, including in the South China Sea, according to the French president.

Macron also said the coming semesters will be very critical for Chinese leaders and China, given the Biden administrations reengagement in multilateral frameworks like the World Health Organization.

As the U.S. is reengaging itself, what will be the behavior of China? Macron asked.

He pitched, once again, holding a summit of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council  China, France, the U.S., U.K. and Russia. He had tried to hold such a summit in 2020 but it had fallen prey to Sino-American tensions and never materialized.

Macron was answering questions from a handful of U.S. think-tankers, professors and former officials via video link in a 90-minute session recorded at the Elysee on Wednesday afternoon.

The French president was the first European leader to make it a point to engage with China as a European bloc by including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and then-EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a bilateral visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to France in March 2019.

Macron and European partners didnt share the Trump administrations outwardly aggressive stance on China, instead theorizing that it was at once a partner, competitor and systemic rival.
Headlines

- The Senate adopts a budget resolution which will allow the $1.9trn stimulus bill to be passed

- VP Kamala Harris required to break Senate deadlock (51-50)

- Senate voted in favour of non-binding ammendment to tighten stimulus check eligibility

- Group of 10 Republican lawmakers had proposed new $600bn covid relief bill with $1,000 stimulus checks (full details)

- GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell: "They've chosen a totally partisan path."

- Biden intent on passing $1,400 stimulus checks as part of his American Rescue Plan

- Group of 50 House Democrats call on Biden to consider recurring $2,000 stimulus checks

- Reports that Biden is willing to alter eligibility requirements to pass stimulus checks (full story)

- Adult dependents could be entitled to $2,000 stimulus checks ($1,400 + $600) as retroactive payment

- Proposal could see child tax credit max entitlement raised to $3,600 per dependent in stimulus plan (full details)

- US covid-19 cases/deaths: >26.6 million / 455,875 (live updates)
Fallout over Rep. Liz Cheneys vote to impeach former President Donald Trump continues throughout the Cowboy State as county Republican parties continue voicing their displeasure with the vote.

The Sweetwater County Republican Party was no different Saturday after its central committee approved a motion to condemn Cheneys vote. According to a copy of the resolution posted to the Sweetwater Republican Partys Facebook Page, the condemnation accuses her of siding with Democrats in voting to approve articles of impeachment brought against Trump without undergoing a formal hearing.

In...
Janus Henderson Group plc (NYSE/ASX: JHG; the 'Company') announces today the pricing of the secondary offering of 30,668,922 shares of common stock by its largest stockholder, Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (the 'Selling Stockholder'), at a price of $29.25 per share. The Company has agreed to purchase, as part of the offering, 8,048,360 shares of common stock through the underwriters pursuant to the Company's previously announced repurchase program at the price at which the shares of common stock are sold to the public in the offering, less the underwriting discount. The Company intends to fund the repurchase with cash on hand. The repurchased shares will be cancelled and no longer outstanding following the completion of the repurchase.

The offering will result in the Selling Stockholder exiting its entire ownership position in the Company. The Selling Stockholder will receive all the proceeds from the offering. The Company is not offering any shares of its common stock in the offering and will not receive any proceeds from the sale of its common stock by the Selling Stockholder. The offering is expected to close on 9 February 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

The secondary offering is occurring simultaneously in the United States and internationally through underwriters led by sole book-running manager Goldman Sachs Co. LLC.

The Company has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC, including the preliminary prospectus supplement dated 4 February 2021, for more complete information about the Company and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, any underwriter or any dealer participating in the offering will arrange to send you the prospectus and the prospectus supplement, when available, if you request them by contacting Goldman Sachs Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, by telephone at +1 866 471 2526, or by email at prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com.

This announcement shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Janus Henderson

Janus Henderson Group is a leading global active asset manager dedicated to helping investors achieve long-term financial goals through a broad range of investment solutions, including equities, fixed income, quantitative equities, multi-asset and alternative asset class strategies.

At 31 December 2020, Janus Henderson had approximately US$402 billion in assets under management, more than 2,000 employees, and offices in 26 cities worldwide. Headquartered in London, the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release, and other statements that the Company may make, not based on historical facts are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'Exchange Act'), and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'). Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those discussed. These include statements as to the Company's future expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, objectives, events, conditions, financial performance, prospects or future events. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as 'may', 'could', 'expect', 'intend', 'plan', 'seek', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'estimate', 'predict', 'potential', 'continue', 'likely', 'will', 'would' and similar words and phrases. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company and its management, are inherently uncertain. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made and are not guarantees of future performance. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements.

Various risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors that could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from those expressed by any forward-looking statements included in this press release include, but are not limited to, risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors discussed in filings or furnishings made by the Company with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and, except as required by law, the Company assumes no duty to and does not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210204006187/en/

Contacts:

Investor enquiries

Melanie Horton

Co-Head Investor Relations (Non-US)

+44 (0)20 7818 2905

melanie.horton@janushenderson.com



Jim Kurtz

Co-Head Investor Relations (US)

+1 303 336 4529

jim.kurtz@janushenderson.com



Media enquiries

Stephen Sobey

Head of Media Relations

+44 (0)20 7818 2523

stephen.sobey@janushenderson.com



Sarah de Lagarde

Global Head of Communications

+44 (0)20 7818 2626

sarah.delagarde@janushenderson.com
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Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : Bollywood actor Sonu Sood on Friday informed the Supreme Court that he was given wrong advice in the matter pertaining to illegal construction, and it allowed him to withdraw the plea challenging the Bombay High Court order, which junked his case on alleged illegal construction at his residential building in Juhu area.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Sood, urged withdrawal of this petition as also the the civil suit pending before the Bombay City Civil Court at Borivili Division, Dindoshi, in view of the application for regularisation filed pursuant to the notice on October 24, 2020 under Section 44 of the Maharashtra Regulation and Town Planning Act, 1966.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde allowed this prayer.

The bench, also comprising Justices A. S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, in its order, said: "We direct the concerned Authorities to consider and decide the said application on its own merits and in accordance with law. Accordingly, the special leave petition and the civil suit being L.C. Suit No.1368 of 2020 are dismissed as withdrawn." During the hearing, the top court orally observed that no coercive action should be taken against Sood until the civic authorities take a decision decide on his application for regularisation.

At the outset, Rohatgi submitted before the bench that he had advised his client to withdraw the plea, and instead seek the liberty that BMC should take a decision on his application for regularisation.

At this, the bench told Rohatgi: "That is good advice". The Chief Justice emphasised that he had given the right advice to his client.

The Chief Justice said the court does not want to seem sarcastic, but this appears to be the rare occasion when, by way of correct advice, it sees litigation getting resolved.

Rohatgi said his client is a Bollywood actor. "He has no knowledge about all this. He was misguided," he submitted.

The bench replied: "No, no, we don't mean any disrespect to anyone. We are only saying that your advice was absolutely right." In a lighter vein, the bench said that "the script has been written well".

On January 21, the Bombay High Court's Justice Prithviraj Chavan, dismissing Sood's plea, said law helps only those who are diligent.

The plea, filed by the actor and his wife in the apex court, said: "The petitioners have already stopped the work of internal renovation which requires no permission as per the provisions of Section 43 of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, therefore, the respondents may kindly be restrained from demolition of the renovation work already done in the building."

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  If youre looking to propose to your significant other this Valentines Day, Dunkin has you covered.

In addition to its new Valentines Day drinks and donuts, the coffee chain is selling wedding merchandise and sponsoring a Marriage is on the Menu contest in New York.

Dunkin will launch its first-ever, wedding-themed online pop-up shop starting Feb. 11. Little is known about what the merchandise will look like, but the chain hints that its signature pink and orange colors will be incorporated. More information will be available on Dunkins website as the date gets closer.

In addition, Dunkins Marriage is on the Menu contest launched in January, giving fans in New York a chance to win a unique wedding experience with a Dunkin twist. The company teamed up with I Do Drive Thru, an international drive-up wedding service created to help people get married in a fun and safe way during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, to perform the ceremonies.

The winning couple will kick off Valentines Day weekend with a Dunkin-themed wedding Friday, Feb. 12, at a store in Wallkill, New York.

Other couples can also visit the location at 350 Route 211 East in Middletown, N.Y., between 3 and 4 p.m. that day for a drive-thru vow renewal or commitment ceremony conducted by I Do Drive Thru.

(A general manager at a Dunkin store in Oklahoma City was married at the drive-thru where the couple met, helping to inspire the romance-themed initiative.)

Those who arent looking to get hitched this year can simply sip on Dunkins new seasonal drinks, which include a Pink Velvet Macchiato made with espresso and a red velvet cake flavor or a Mocha Macchiato, which combines rich espresso and deep chocolate flavors.

Seasonal donuts also are back on the menu, including the Brownie Batter Donut filled with brownie batter-flavored buttercream and topped with vanilla flavored icing and chocolate sprinkles as well as the Cupids Choice Donut filled with Bavarian Kreme and topped with strawberry-flavored icing and pink sprinkles.

Dunkin currently has 37 locations on Staten Island.
Page Content

~ A sacrifice was made, but salaries ensured ~





Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs together with Minister of Finance Ardwell Irion presented the three publicly debated legislative amendments to the Parliament of Sint Maarten on the cost cutting measures. The first being the Temporary National Ordinance to standardize the top incomes and reduce the employment benefits by 12.5% per July 1, 2020, within the (semi) public sector entities in order to meet the conditions set by the Government of the Netherlands for receiving the second tranche of liquidity support. This measure will also apply to existing employment contracts with a maximum salary to a limit of 130% of the new standardized salary, including an equal maximum of the secondary employment conditions of the Prime Minister of the country and with an equal effect on the rates for consultants. This law was successfully passed in Parliament with 14 votes in favour and one against on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, after much deliberation between the Ministers and the members of Parliament.





During Tuesdays public meeting, Members of Parliament (MPs) also passed a motion tabled by MP Claudius Buncamper, for the government to evaluate whether the three temporary national ordinances are still needed within no more than six months, and every six months thereafter until further notice. Government continues to state that it is until St. Maarten has improved financially to the point where there is no longer a need for financial assistance for governments budget.





Today, February 3, 2021, Parliament unanimously passed the Temporary National Ordinance to amend the employment conditions of political authorities. As such, this law will reduce the employment conditions of political authorities by 25% per July 1, 2020. This evening, Parliament also passed the third Temporary National Ordinance to reduce the employment conditions for civil servants by adjusting the terms of employment by 12.5% per July 1, 2020. This will entail the temporary reduction of holiday allowance and the right to holiday hours, the non-granting of increases in the remuneration and the reduction of the remuneration for overtime for government employees until the government finds itself in a position to afford such.





Prime Minister Jacobs stated, Moving forward, here we are at a crossroads where the work of recovery and getting St. Maarten back on its feet financially is far from done. There is lots of work to do. None of us are happy to come here with this type of law. No one wants to touch the income of civil servants. We all have to grow and youre never too old to grow. The words you say, the actions you do and your very thoughts come back three-fold. Even your thoughts, the words you speak in secret and the actions that you do in secret will come back to you. A liar has to remember a lie, and through the consistency of what has been said, sent and repeated over and over and over again, I have shown what are the facts, and so I thank the members of Parliament and the people of St. Maarten who understand the position, stated Prime Minister Jacobs.





The passing of these temporary national ordinances will make the implementation of these cost cutting measures enforceable. All previous governments before, stood on the precipice, but never took any cuts in solidarity with the people of St. Maarten and civil servants. The Government and Parliament of St. Maarten put the country above itself. They took office during one of the most difficult moments in the countrys recent history during this COVID-19 pandemic which struck not only St. Maarten but the entire world. The government will continue to do what is right, ensuring that its vision for the country is realized; building back better, building reserves and strengthening St. Maartens economic capacity.





I challenge you the people of St. Maarten to read; its fundamental. My love of reading as a child has served me well today. I do not have a law degree but I can read laws and I can analyze them. In our earlier education days, we were rewarded for remembering and regurgitating. Now, we talk about reading to analyze and apply... this is what I want for our people  to be able to listen, read and draw their own conclusions. In every situation, you do not have to be in four walls to learn and COVID-19 taught us that. We do not need to leave the country to learn either. Everyone needs to be looking online for all the free courses possible. Build yourself up, because when you build yourself up individually as a united front we are stronger, she continued.





We do not want to hurt our civil servants. There are civil servants who we need to still assess. There are those we want to get to work. Lets find ways to get them to work. That is what I say as the head of General Affairs. For those doing their work and the work of others, thank you. Without you, we could not be here today. We are not standing on your backs and your shoulders and taking any kind of credit for it. Every time I stand and I speak, I speak on behalf of you. You are government. I look forward in a positive manner towards better days, concluded Prime Minister Jacobs




Egypt releases Al Jazeera reporter arrested in 2016 Mahmoud Hussein suspected of 'spreading false information'

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, FEBRUARY 5 - Egypt on Thursday released an Egyptian journalist of Qatari pan Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera, Mahmoud Hussein, who had been detained since December 2018 on charges of "spreading false information", a security source said.



The broadcaster had repeatedly said that the journalist had been detained without a formal charge, a trial or a conviction.



(ANSAmed)
Armenia ex-minister of emergency situations hospitalized with heart attack

Mher Grigoryan: Clarification of border points is possible only after withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenia

Suspicious deal: Whether there was profit from buying DNA IDs?

Armenia ex-president says current authorities are trying to blame Russia for defeat in war

4 people killed in Afghanistani bus attack

Robert Kocharyan: This war could not have happened, it was a consequence of the policy of the authorities

Kocharyan: I have to ask people how it happened that overwhelming majority elected this leader

Armen Gevorgyan presents 'Armenia' bloc program: We offer the concept of a working country

Biden's administration proposed to leave unchanged amount of financial support to Armenia

US Embassy in Baku calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release Armenian POWs

Luxembourg MFA calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian prisoners

Russia peacekeepers climb to Armenia Gegharkunik Province village positions

Biden strongly condemns manifestations of antisemitism in US

Iran intensifies its diplomacy amid Armenia-Azerbaijan border tensions

Armenia acting PM on forthcoming snap parliamentary elections: We hope to get 60% of votes

Lukashenko accuses West of destabilizing situation in Belarus

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief on snap elections: No legal basis for postponing, suspending any function

Armenias Pashinyan is met by Yerevan district residents chanting against him

We are ready to be fully engaged in negotiation process to resolve Karabakh issue, says Armenia acting PM

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan gives interview to Russia TV channel

Armenia acting premier: We are ready to start withdrawing troops at any moment

Canada MFA expresses concern over 6 Armenian soldiers capture by Azerbaijan troops

There are omissions in registration documents of political forces that applied to Armenia Central Electoral Commission

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: There is activeness in Yerevan for the past day or two

Three new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Group of US Congress members threaten Azerbaijans Aliyev regime with sanctions

Chicago mayor is sued for allegedly refusing interview with white reporter

Iran exports oil to US for first time after long interval

"Armenia" bloc top 50 MP candidates are announced

42 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Sri Lanka public beach is covered in charred plastic pellets due to fire in container ship

US preparing list of targeted sanctions on Belarus authorities

China believes it will own America by 2035, Biden says

15 al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia

Newspaper: Armenia political forces that applied for running in election impatiently await CEC decision

Newspaper: Changes are expected in Artsakh

California prisoner who considers himself Satanist beheads cellmate, dismembers his body

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM's "mutually beneficial" proposal to collapse state system?

Armenia National Security Service Reserve Officers' Union members meet with His Holiness Karekin II

EU is ready to help Armenia and Azerbaijan with border delimitation and demarcation

ARF-D member on Nikol Pashinyan: 103 years ago Armenia's founding fathers would have executed him for treason

Iran President hails brotherly ties with Azerbaijan

Robert Kocharyan on years of his leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia

Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still tense, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, May 28 digest

"Armenia" alliance of political parties paying tribute to founder of First Republic Aram Manukyan

Yerevan.today: Armenia acting PM not greeted at ruling party's headquarters, citizens call him 'capitulator'

Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

We can provide our army with some key, modernized weapons, says Armenia ex-President Kocharyan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anita Anand is seen via videoconference as she speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
British Ambassador to the United Nations and President of the Security Council Barbara Woodward reads a statement on Myanmar at the Security Council stakeout area at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York, USA, Feb. 4, 2021. EPA-Yonhap



The United Nations Security Council issued a statement on Thursday in strong support of democracy in Myanmar, calling for those arrested earlier this week in a military coup to be released.



Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's civilian leader, was arrested along with other politicians and activists by the military known as the Tatmadaw on Monday when it seized control of the government by declaring a nationwide state of emergency.



The military said the state of emergency was called over alleged irregularities in November's parliamentary elections in which Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy Party secured a landslide victory.



The Security Council said it expressed "deep concern" over the emergency declaration and the "arbitrary detention" of Suu Kyi and the others.



"The members of the Security Council emphasized the need for the continued support of democratic transition in Myanmar," the statement said. "They stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law."



The U.N.'s most powerful body also said it calls for the two sides to pursue dialogue and reconciliation "in accordance with the will and interests of the people of Myanmar."





Students march with a student union flag in protest against the military coup in the compound of Dagon University in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 5, 2021. EPA-Yonhap



It also expressed concerns over reports of restrictions to civil society, including those affecting Internet access, while reiterating its support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its statement issued on Monday calling for Myanmar to adhere to the principles of democracy.









"The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and unity of Myanmar," the Security Council said



Several global powers have expressed condemnation for the military coup, including the United States and the European Union, but the Thursday statement from the Security Council is its first official comment on the situation after the 15-member body failed to agree to one on Tuesday after hearing from Christine Schraner Burgener, the U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, who said she "strongly" condemns the military incursion.



Following the meeting, Barbara Woodward, this month's council president and the ambassador to the council from Britain, the nation that drafted the statement, told reporters that there were disagreements between member states, but she expressed hope "we'll be able to speak with one voice."



China has taken a subdued stance toward the situation with Xinhua news organization describing the coup as "a major cabinet reshuffle" and its foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stating on Monday that China was aware of what happened in Myanmar and was "learning more information on the situation."





A large poster reading 'We all people welcome and support Mother Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her new government' with the portrait of detained Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to show their resistance against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 4, 2021. EPA-Yonhap

Kabul, Feb 5 (IANS) At least 26 people were killed during clashes between security forces and Taliban militants in Afghanistan's Kunduz province on Friday, a top official confirmed.

"In the clash 16 pro-government militiamen including their commander Abdul Hakim and 10 Taliban rebels were killed and nine others including five rebels were injured," the official told Xinhua news agency.


Colum Eastwood is calling on London and Dublin to urgently set up all-party talks to reduce tensions around the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The SDLP leader has written to Boris Johnson and Micheal Martin proposing that they convene the dialogue in an attempt to "find solutions to the problems we face".

Arlene Foster has appealed for calm and has said that unionist frustrations must be channelled through peaceful means.

A DUP online parliamentary petition to exert pressure on the Prime Minister to trigger Article 16 reached more than 67,000 signatures last night. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was among those who signed.

Mr Eastwood called on political leaders to "set aside bitter animosity" and work together in the "substantial common interests" of those they represent.

"I have written to the Taoiseach and Prime Minister to propose that they convene an all-party dialogue aimed at putting politics to one side and finding solutions to the challenges we face," he said.

"We have already shown that flexibility is possible. Whether it's steel imports or second-hand cars, we can resolve problems by working together.

"Every party has a stark choice. They can continue to lay siege to the delicate relationships between parties and people across these islands, or (they) can return to the politics of partnership."

Speaking yesterday at an Executive Press conference with Sinn Fein Finance Minister Conor Murphy, Mrs Foster said that a way forward must be found quickly to dissipate tensions.

"We do want everyone to stay calm and we do want people to act through constitutional politics, but if they're being ignored, then they become more angry and even more tense," the DUP leader added.

Mr Murphy said there were structures to find solutions to any problems around the protocol, which sees physical inspections on goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain.

"We need a dialling down of the rhetoric. We've heard some comments which I think are dangerous from people who should know better on radio and programmes," he Added.

"Those people will never be the ones who will either suffer as a consequence of any action taken nor be involved in it themselves and will engage in some hand-wringing if violence does break out."
The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
In a major move aimed at encouraging small investors to become direct investors in government bonds or stated simply to an infinite source of lending to the government, the Reserve Bank on Friday said it will allow them to directly buy government debt, making India the first Asian country to do so and among a handful globally.

The central bank, tasked with managing a whopping Rs 12 lakh crore in government borrowing target next fiscal, hopes the move will allow greater depth to the gilt market in particular and the overall debt market in general thus deepening the financial markets as lack of depth has been the biggest bane of the domestic debt market all this while.

In effect the RBI has opened a long, endless tap for the government to borrow from-- just as is done in the domestic stock market now, with the only difference being this will be under direct the watch of the RBI.

Currently, the RBI allows small investors to buy government bonds via the Gobid platform on BSE and NSE, but it has not gained any traction.

While no country allows a direct retail participation as the RBI has promised now, Britain, Brazil and Hungary allow small investors to buy/sell through third-party controls.

This is the second major step that the RBI is taking to encourage to enter the gilt market after it had allowed entry through the stock exchanges a few years back but did not elicit the intended result.

Under the new plan, all an investor needs to do is to open a gilt securities account ('retail direct') with the RBI is all what it said, as details of the facility will be issued separately.

As part of continuing efforts to increase retail participation in government securities and to improve ease of access, it has been decided to move beyond aggregator model and provide online access to government securities market, both primary and secondary, along with the facility to open a gilt securities account (retail direct) with the RBI, Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the monetary policy.

It can be noted RBI has been encouraging retail participation in the government for long with several initiatives like introduction of non-competitive bidding in primary auctions, permitting stock exchanges to act as aggregators/facilitators for and allowing odd-lot segment in the NDS-OM (negotiated dealing system-order matching) secondary market, among others, in the past.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)




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California recently adopted significant amendments to its financial code, resulting in what is now known as the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CFPL), or colloquially as the California mini-CFPB Act. The California CFPL substantially mimics the federal Consumer Financial Protection Act, which was a key part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).

The federal Dodd-Frank Act, through its Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as the primary federal regulator of consumer financial products and services that are not overseen by another federal functional regulator. The California CFPL has renamed the states Department of Business Oversight as the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). While exemptions for the insurance industry from the purview of the CFPB and the DFPI are very similar, there are some nuanced differences. Questions have arisen about the potential for regulatory creep by the CFPB and DFPI into insurance-related businesses that usually involve quasi-insurance products sold to consumers. These include extended warranties (otherwise known as service contracts), various types of auto protection products, and certain types of insurance-related businesses that, while regulated by state insurance departments, either do not require state insurance licensing per se or do not constitute the business of insurance under the federal McCarran-Ferguson Act.

Consumer Financial Products and Services Regulated by CFPA and CFPL

Both the federal CFPA and the California CFPL enumerate a list of consumer financial products and services over which the CFPB and DFPI, respectively, have regulatory authority. The chart below compares the lists of the ten CFPA and eleven CFPL regulated consumer financial products and services (subject to exceptions not discussed in this article). Providers of these consumer financial products and services are known as a covered entity.

Type of Product/Service Federal CFPA California CFPL Extending Credit X X Extending/Brokering personal or real estate leases that are purchase agreement functional equivalents X X Real estate settlement services X X Deposit-taking and custody X X Selling/issuing stored value or payment instruments X X Check cashing, guaranty or collection X X Financial advisory services not regulated by SEC or state securities commission X X Debt collection X X Payments or other financial data processing X X Consumer reports X X Brokering franchises X

Because California mini-CFPB Act (unlike the CFPA) applies to brokering of franchises, the California mini-CFPB Act may apply to sales of insurance agent or broker businesses conducted on a franchise business model in California.

In addition, both the CFPB and DPFI have rule making authority to add additional regulated consumer financial products and services if they determine that (i) the product or service has the purpose of evading any consumer financial law or (ii) are permissible for a bank or financial holding company to provide under federal law or a regulation and have, or are likely to have, a material impact on consumers.

Service Providers Treated as Covered Entities

Both the federal CFPA and the California CFPL treat a service provider to a covered entity as also effectively being a covered entity. A service provider is any person that provides a material service to a covered person in connection with a consumer financial product or service, including (i) participating in designing, operating, or maintaining the consumer financial product or service or (ii) processing transactions relating to the consumer financial product or service, other than unknowingly or incidentally transmitting or processing financial data in a manner that the data is undifferentiated from other types of data of the same form as the person transmits or processes. However, service providers do not include a person solely because it provides to a covered person (a) a support service of a type provided to businesses generally or a similar ministerial service or (b) advertisement space or time for a consumer financial product or service through print, newspaper, or electronic media.

Insurance Industry Exemptions

Both the federal CFPA and the California CFPL provide insurance industry exemptions in a twofold, prophylactic manner. Specifically, the two acts exempt (1) persons regulated by a state insurance department (DOI) (Insurance Regulated Person Exemption) and (2) products or services that are the business of insurance (Insurance Product Exemption). Each of these exemptions is discussed separately below. However, neither the CFPA nor the CFPL expressly reference the McCarran-Ferguson Act, which reverse preempts any federal statute that invalidates, impairs or supersedes any state law enacted for the purpose of regulating the business of insurance, unless such federal statute specifically relates to the business of insurance. Under the McCarran-Ferguson Acts judicial precedents, there is a tripartite test for determining what is the business of insurance: (1) whether the business at issue has the effect of transferring or spreading the putative policyholders risk, (2) whether the business at issue is an integral part of the relationship between the putative insurer and insured and (3) whether the business at issue is limited to entities within the insurance industry.

Federal CFPA Insurance Industry Exemptions

First, the CFPA excludes persons subject to regulation by a state insurance department, except to the extent such a person offers a consumer financial product or service under the purview of the CFPB:

(f) Exclusion for Persons Regulated by a State Insurance Regulator.

(1) In general. No provision of this title shall be construed as altering, amending, or affecting the authority of any State insurance regulator to adopt rules, initiate enforcement proceedings, or take any other action with respect to a person regulated by a State insurance regulator. Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Bureau shall have no authority to exercise any power to enforce this title with respect to a person regulated by a State insurance regulator.

(2) Description of activities. Paragraph (1) does not apply to any person described in such paragraph to the extent that such person is engaged in the offering or provision of any consumer financial product or service or is otherwise subject to any enumerated consumer law or any law for which authorities are transferred under subtitle F or H.

(3) State insurance authority under Gramm-Leach-Bliley. Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the Bureau shall not exercise any authorities that are granted a State insurance authority under section 505(a)(6) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act with respect to a person regulated by a State insurance authority.

(22) Person regulated by a state insurance regulator. The term person regulated by a State insurance regulator means any person that is engaged in the business of insurance and subject to regulation by any State insurance regulator, but only to the extent that such person acts in such capacity.

Note, however, by referring to consumer financial products regulated by the CFPB, the Insurance Regulated Person Exemption is somewhat interwined with the Insurance Product Exemption and thus may not be truly a standalone exemption. Moreover, not all persons regulated by a DOI are necessarily engaged in the business of insurance within the meaning of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, even if the person must be licensed by a state insurance department, such as insurance premium finance lenders and third party administrators (at least to the extent performing services for self-insured ERISA plans) .

Second, the CFPA provides that the term financial product or service does not include the business of insurance. For purposes of the CFPA, the business of insurance means:

(3) Business of insurance. The term business of insurance means the writing of insurance or the reinsuring of risks by an insurer, including all acts necessary to such writing or reinsuring and the activities relating to the writing of insurance or the reinsuring of risks conducted by persons who act as, or are, officers, directors, agents, or employees of insurers or who are other persons authorized to act on behalf of such persons.

California CFPL Insurance Industry Exemptions

The California mini-CFPB Act embraces a similar approach towards the insurance industry. Its definition of financial product or service excludes: Insurance, as defined in Section 22 of the [California] Insurance Code, regulated by the Department of Insurance. In addition, the California mini-CFPB Act does not apply to any licensee (or employee of a licensee) of any California state governmental agency other that the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation acting under the authority of such other state governmental agency license.

Certain Insurance Exemption Similarities and Differences between CFPA and CA CFPL

Putting these frameworks together, there are multiple nuanced applications of these two statutory frameworks, for example:

Insurance Premium Finance Lenders

Even before the adoption of the California mini-CFPB Act, the California Department of Business Oversight (DFPIs predecessor name) regulated insurance premium finance agencies and the insurance premium finance business. Thus, these lenders should be subject to the DFIs oversight to the extent their insurance premium finance loans are made to consumers. Under the CFPA, consumer insurance premium finance lenders are likely subject to the CFPBs jurisdiction because they are engaged in making consumer loans, a covered product, and such lending is arguably not the business of insurance, even though these loans finance payments of insurance premiums. Therefore, concurrent CFPB and DFPI jurisdiction likely exists for consumer insurance premium finance loans such as for personal auto and life insurance policies.

Extended Warranties/Service Contracts

Under state insurance statutes, extended warranties or service contracts are essentially contracts which, but for their treatment under state service contract laws, would be insurance contracts where the obligor under the extended warranty or service contract is a third party  meaning not the manufacturer or a seller (wholesaler or retailer) of the underlying product in its supply and distribution chain. Therefore, most state service contract laws deregulate extended warranties or service contracts from being classified as insurance contracts, but they are still regulated in most states within their state insurance codes by insurance departments. Importantly, the vast majority of the state service contract acts wholesale exempt extended warranties or service contracts as being insurance, while a few of the other state service contract acts provide that extended warranties or service contracts are not subject to the insurance code (except for certain retained provisions of applicability, such as the unfair claims settlements or unfair trade practices acts within state insurance codes), thereby making these products insurance contracts at least in part for purposes of such retained provisions of an insurance code. Nevertheless, some cases have held that service contracts are insurance, while cases others have found that these products are not insurance, for state insurance law purposes.

Automobile dealers, many of which also sell motor vehicle service contracts and other types of vehicle protection products like tire and wheel and paintless dent removal products, have their own specific exemption under the CFPA. The CFPB is prohibited from exercising its authorities over a motor vehicle dealer that is predominantly engaged in selling or leasing and servicing motor vehicles, except to the extent that a motor vehicle dealer is involved in extending retail credit or retail leases for motor vehicles directly with consumers and the credit or lease agreements are not routinely sold in secondary market transactions. Motor vehicles include not only private passenger automobiles but also boats, motorcycles and motor homes. A motor vehicle dealer is a person who is licensed under state law to sell motor vehicles and owns or take physical possession of them.

In California, the state insurance department regulates motor vehicle service contracts and home warranties, so their issuers should not be subject to the California CFPL. In contrast, the California Bureau of Household Goods and Services regulates service contracts covering most types of consumer electronics, and therefore, these products are likely regulated under the California Mini-CFPB Act as it is doubtful that they are the business of insurance. Under the CFPA, the CFPB could seek to add service contracts to its list of covered products by regulation because they are not insurance products, which is especially clear in states where insurance codes expressly state that they are not insurance and do not require their issuers to be licensed by a DOI. Nevertheless, under both the CFPA and the California Mini-CFPB Act, where the purchase price of a service contract is financed by a loan, which typically is rolled into the purchase money loan for the underlying product for which the service contact provides coverage, the issuer of the service contract can be a service provider to the lender.

Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) Products

Guaranteed asset protection products, which are waivers by lenders of a consumers auto loan repayment obligation to the extent the loan balance exceeds auto insurance policy proceeds paid for the theft or total destruction of an auto, are another anomaly in the insurance industry exemption analysis for the CFPA and California mini-CFPB Act. The California DOI regulates GAP product issuers, and thus they are exempt from the California mini-CFPB Act. But, for CFPA purposes, GAP products are a consumer financial product or service, a species of a covered loan product, and not the business of insurance. Moreover, sellers of guaranteed asset protection products, which are typically auto dealers, can be a service provider to the lender.

Secondary Life Insurance Market

The life insurance settlement market, the sales by original life insurance policies to investors, is a highly regulated business under the purview of the California Department of Insurance. Both life settlement providers, the regulated companies that purchase in-force life insurance policies, and life settlement brokers must be licensed by the California Department of Insurance. However, life settlements themselves are not the business of insurance (although investments in life settlements can constitute securities in certain circumstances). Accordingly, life settlement providers and brokers are not subject to the California Mini-CFPB Act. However, because these transactions are not the business of insurance and similar to service contracts, the CFPB could by rulemaking attempt to add them as a covered consumer financial product or service. Nevertheless, presently neither the CFPB nor DFPI has regulatory authority over life settlement providers and brokers.

Additional Classification Issues

The examples above are far from the only ones that raise nuanced classification issues. For example, discount medical cards, identity theft protection products, and road hazard products also require nuanced classification analysis under these regimes. Similarly, the recent California Supreme Court opinion in Heckart v. A-1 Self Storage, Inc., 415 P.3d 286 (Cal. 2018) raises the question of how these statutes classify consumer indemnity products that technically meet the definition of insurance but are not submit to regulation as insurance under the judicially-created primary purpose test.

Moreover, the insurance industry exemption under the California mini-CFPB Act may be broader than its cousin under the CFPA. The California mini-CFPB Act exempts all persons that the California Department of Insurance regulates, even those persons that are not insurance companies engaged in the business of insurance as defined under the McCarran-Ferguson Act. These exempt persons include holders of a myriad of types of licenses from the California DOI, such as insurance agents and brokers, third party administrators, insurance claims adjusters, providers of vehicle service contracts and life settlement providers and brokers. On the other hand, the CFPAs Insurance Regulated Person Exemption is limited to persons engaged in the business of insurance, which effectively means issuing insurance policies, not other insurance or quasi-insurance products and services. The bottom line is that financial products and services offered to consumers by holders of licenses from the California DOI are exempt from the California mini-CFPB Act, even if those financial products and services are not really the business of insurance under the McCarran-Ferguson Act. The same would not be true under the CFPA if the CFPB were to expand its list of consumer financial products and services to include insurance related products and services that are not insurance policies.

Conclusion

The California mini-CFPB Act is an important legal development that raises interesting insurance-related classification issues which may take some time to fully resolve. Yet, while the form of these questions is new, the underlying analysis is familiar. Indeed, these questions are variations of the same dilemmas that courts and legislatures have struggled with for years when trying to distinguish between traditional insurance products and the parties that sell them and new products forms that have some but not all of those traditional characteristics.

Topics California

Hamburg:

The leaders of 20 global superpowers on Friday pledged to fight terrorism in a firm and united manner. The leaders, who met in Hamburg, reaffirmed their commitment to countering terrorism in accordance with the UN Charter and all obligations under international law, including international human rights law.



Here are the 21 key points adopted by G20 leaders:



1. We, the Leaders of the G20, strongly condemn all terrorist attacks worldwide and stand united and firm in the fight against terrorism and its financing. These atrocious acts have strengthened our resolve to cooperate to enhance our security and protect our citizens. Terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated in every part of the world.



2. We reaffirm that all measures on countering terrorism need to be implemented in accordance with the UN Charter and all obligations under international law, including international human rights law.

Implementing international commitments and enhancing cooperation



3. We call for the implementation of existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and compliance with relevant resolutions and targeted sanctions by the UN Security Council relating to terrorism. We commit to continue to support UN efforts to prevent and counter terrorism.



4. We will address the evolving threat of returning foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) from conflict zones such as Iraq and Syria and remain committed to preventing FTFs from establishing a foothold in other countries and regions around the world. We recall UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014), which requires a range of actions to better tackle the foreign terrorist fighter threat.



5. We will facilitate swift and targeted exchanges of information between intelligence and law enforcement and judicial authorities on operational information-sharing, preventive measures and criminal justice response, while ensuring the necessary balance between security and data protection aspects, in accordance with national laws. We will ensure that terrorists are brought to justice.



6. We will work to improve the existing international information architecture in the areas of security, travel and migration, including INTERPOL, ensuring the necessary balance between security and data protection aspects. In particular, we encourage all members to make full use of relevant information sharing mechanisms, in particular INTERPOL's information sharing functions.

Read | G20 Summit: Modi equates Pak-based terror outfits with ISIS, Al Qaeda



7. We call upon our border agencies to strengthen cooperation to detect travel for terrorist purposes, including by identifying priority transit and destination countries of terrorists. We will support capacity building efforts in these countries in areas such as border management, information sharing and watch-list capability to manage the threat upstream. We will promote greater use of customs security programs, including where appropriate, the World Customs Organization's (WCO) Security Programme and Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which focus on strengthening Customs administrations' capacity to deal with security related issues and managing the cross-border flows of goods, people and means of transport to ensure they comply with the law.



8. We will address in close coordination the evolving threats and potential vulnerabilities in aviation security systems and exchange information on risk assessments. We recall the UN Security Council's Resolution 2309 (2016) which urges closer collaboration to ensure security of global air services and the prevention of terrorist attacks. We will promote full implementation of effective and proportionate aviation security measures established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in partnership with all its contracting states as necessary. We call to urgently address vulnerabilities in airport security related measures, such as access control and screening, covered by the Chicago Convention and will act jointly to ensure that international security standards are reviewed, updated, adapted and put in place based on current risks.



9. We highlight the importance of providing appropriate support to the victims of terrorist acts and will enhance our cooperation and exchange of best practices to this end.

Fighting terrorism finance



10. We underline our resolve to make the international financial system entirely hostile to terrorist financing and commit to deepening international cooperation and exchange of information, including working with the private sector, which has a critical role in global efforts to counter terrorism financing. We reaffirm our commitment to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing and our call for swift and effective implementation of UNSCR and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards worldwide. We call for strengthening measures against the financing of international terrorist organisations in particular ISIL/ISIS/Daesh, Al Qaida and their affiliates.



11. There should be no safe spaces for terrorist financing anywhere in the world. However, inconsistent and weak implementation of the UN and FATF standards allows them to persist. In order to eliminate all such safe spaces, we commit to intensify capacity building and technical assistance, especially in relation to terrorist financing hot-spots, and we support the FATF in its efforts to strengthen its traction capacity and the effectiveness of FATF and FATF-style regional bodies.

12. We welcome the reforms agreed by the FATF Plenary in June and support the ongoing work to strengthen the governance of the FATF. We also welcome the FATF intention to further explore its transformation into a legal person, which recognises that the FATF has evolved from a temporary forum to a sustained public and political commitment to tackle AML/CFT threats. We also appreciate FATF commencing the membership process for Indonesia that will broaden its geographic representation and global engagement. We ask the FATF to provide an update by the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in 2018. We call on all member states to ensure that the FATF has the necessary resources and support to effectively fulfil its mandate.

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13. We welcome that countering terrorist finance remains the highest priority of FATF, and look forward to FATF's planned outreach to legal authorities, which will contribute to enhanced international cooperation and increased effectiveness in the application of FATF's standards.



14. We will advance the effective implementation of the international standards on transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements for the purposes of countering financing terrorism.



15. Low cost attacks by small cells and individuals funded by small amounts of money transferred through a wide range of payment means are an increasing challenge. We call on the private sector to continue to strengthen their efforts to identify and tackle terrorism financing. We ask our Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to work with FATF, FSB, the financial sector, Financial Intelligence Units, law enforcement and FinTech firms to develop new tools such as guidance and indicators, to harness new technologies to better track terrorist finance transactions, and to work together with law enforcement authorities to bridge the intelligence gap and improve the use of financial information in counter-terrorism investigations.



16. We call upon countries to address all alternative sources of financing of terrorism, including dismantling connections, where they exist, between terrorism and transnational organized crime, such as the diversion of weapons including weapons of mass destruction, looting and smuggling of antiquities, kidnapping for ransom, drugs and human trafficking.



Countering radicalization conducive to terrorism and the use of internet for terrorist purposes



17. Our counterterrorism actions must continue to be part of a comprehensive approach, including combatting radicalization and recruitment, hampering terrorist movements and countering terrorist propaganda. We will exchange best practices on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, national strategies and deradicalisation and disengagement programmes, and the promotion of strategic communications as well as robust and positive narratives to counter terrorist propaganda.



18. We stress that countering terrorism requires comprehensively addressing underlying conditions that terrorists exploit. It is therefore crucial to promote political and religious tolerance, economic development and social cohesion and inclusiveness, to resolve armed conflicts, and to facilitate reintegration. We acknowledge that regional and national action plans can contribute to countering radicalisation conducive to terrorism.



19. We will share knowledge on concrete measures to address threats from returning foreign terrorist fighters and home-grown radicalised individuals. We will also share best practices on deradicalisation and reintegration programmes including with respect to prisoners.



20. We will work with the private sector, in particular communication service providers and administrators of relevant applications, to fight exploitation of the internet and social media for terrorist purposes such as propaganda, funding and planning of terrorist acts, inciting terrorism, radicalizing and recruiting to commit acts of terrorism, while fully respecting human rights. Appropriate filtering, detecting and removing of content that incites terrorist acts is crucial in this respect. We encourage industry to continue investing in technology and human capital to aid in the detection as well as swift and permanent removal of terrorist content. In line with the expectations of our peoples we also encourage collaboration with industry to provide lawful and non-arbitrary access to available information where access is necessary for the protection of national security against terrorist threats. We affirm that the rule of law applies online as well as it does offline.



21. We also stress the important role of the media, civil society, religious groups, the business community and educational institutions in fostering an environment which is conducive to the prevention of radicalisation and terrorism.

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China's state-owned pharmaceutical Sinopharm has officially declared interest in supplying Kenya with a coronavirus vaccine.

The big pharma's vaccine is not only approved in China for general public use but is also being used in a number of countries, including the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking to the Nation on Wednesday, Dr Willis Akhwale, the chairman of Kenya's Covid-19 advisory task force for vaccine deployment and vaccination, disclosed the company had officially reached out but the Ministry of Health (MoH) is yet to respond.

"The company wrote to us but we have not managed to have a meeting, though we know their vaccines have been presented to Covax for evaluation," he said.

Negotiations with China

A few weeks ago, in an interview with the Nation, Kenya's director general of health, Dr Patrick Amoth, however indicated the country is in negotiations with China.

"We are in talks with many manufacturers including Russia and China," the director said.

The MoH says it is ready and open to buy from other sources because under the Covax programme, there is a lot of competition from other parties that purchase directly from manufacturers.

"The final decision has not yet been made," the chairman clarified.

Requests to Gavi

Kenya has already submitted its requests to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, an organisation appointed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to oversee procurement, allotment and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to 92 countries that have signed up for the Covax facility.

"Covax assured us they will deliver by end of February. Initially they had not been committing but now they have," Dr Akhwale revealed.

The programme will only cover the most vulnerable 20 per cent of each country's population.

With each vaccine requiring the administration of two doses, Africa, with a population of 1.3 billion, will protectively need at least 1.6 billion doses to cover the 60 per cent vaccination target.

Many African countries, in an attempt to cover Covax's narrow reach, are embracing the idea of buying from Russia and China, with China's BBIBP-CorV vaccine, which is manufactured by Sinopharm, emerging as a favourite.

This is despite the fact that medical experts have questioned the vaccine's safety considering China is not willing to release publicly any of their trial results.

Russia vaccine

Russia's leading vaccine, Sputnik V, according to an interim analysis published by The LancetJournal this week, was found to be 91.6 per cent effective against patients who have Covid-19 symptoms.

Sinopharm's vaccine was approved on January 4 after registering a 79 per cent efficacy rate during its late-stage trials, according to Chinese officials.

Reports indicated a small-sample lab study released on Tuesday showed two Covid-19 vaccines from Chinese big pharmas, including Sinopharm, triggered immunity against a highly transmissible coronavirus variant that was first discovered in South Africa, though their effect appeared weaker.

According to the researcher, 12 serum samples, each taken from recipients of two vaccines developed by a subsidiary of Sinopharm and a unit of Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products, retained neutralising activity against the South African variant.

Africa's Covid hotspot

South Africa is Africa's coronavirus hotspot, with 1.4 million confirmed cases, according to officials.

The head of the country's coronavirus task force, Dr Salim Abdool Karim, recently said the peak of the new wave appears to be subsiding after the nation, from late December 2020, started experiencing a second wave featuring a new variant called 501.V2.

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The good news is that the current vaccines are expected to work.

"South Africa has been more hit than us, that's why they are proactive," Dr Akhwale explained.

He said the fact that South Africa was the first to explore direct procurement of Covid-19 vaccines from the Serum Institute of India (the world's biggest vaccine maker) immensely helped the country receive its first batch this week.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, accompanied by other officials, witnessed as the first vaccine shipment from the Serum Institute of India landed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Monday afternoon via an Emirates flight.

"The scale of delivery is unprecedented in terms of the number of people who have to be reached within a short space of time," the president and African Union (AU) chairman said.
Nearly a decade after leaving Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler will finally reunite with Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson.

NBC has set an April 1 premiere for the new spin-off Law & Order: Organized Crime, which will bring Elliot Stabler back to New York City.

The premiere will be part of a two-hour crossover with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, with SVU airing at 9 PM and Organized Crime at 10 PM.

Stabler returns: Nearly a decade after leaving Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler will finally reunite with Mariska Hargitay's Olivia Benson

Spin-off: NBC has set an April 1 premiere for the new spin-off Law & Order: Organized Crime, which will bring Elliot Stabler back to New York City

Crossover: The premiere will be part of a two-hour crossover with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, with SVU airing at 9 PM and Organized Crime at 10 PM

Law & Order: Organized Crime will follow Stabler as he returns to the New York Police Department to run its Organized Crime division.

Stabler returns to the NYPD after suffering, 'a devastating personal loss,' ass he tries to 'rebuild his life.

Part of his 'rebuild' will include forming an 'elite task force that is taking apart the city's most powerful criminal syndicates one by one.'

Big loss: Stabler returns to the NYPD after suffering, 'a devastating personal loss,' as he tries to 'rebuild his life'

Meloni will star alongside Dylan McDermott and Tamara Taylor, though no details were given for their characters.

Law & Order: Organized Crime was created by Dick Wolf, who will executive produce along with Ilene Chaiken, Terry Miller, Fred Berner, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski.

The show was originally announced in late March 2020, and it was originally slated to debut this past fall, though a number of complications arose.

Complications: The show was originally announced in late March 2020, and it was originally slated to debut this past fall, though a number of complications arose

Back in October, showrunner Matt Olmstead left the show amid creative challenges, which shifted the show off of the fall schedule.

The network announced in December that The L Word creator Ilene Chaiken had come aboard to step in as showrunner, after serving as showrunner on Empire.

McDermott joined the cast last week with Taylor coming aboard this week, though it's unclear when production will get started.

Law & Order: Organized Crime was created by Dick Wolf, who will executive produce along with Ilene Chaiken, Terry Miller, Fred Berner, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski.

Organized: Law & Order: Organized Crime was created by Dick Wolf, who will executive produce along with Ilene Chaiken, Terry Miller, Fred Berner, Arthur W. Forney and Peter Jankowski

Meloni starred alongside Hargitay on SVU from the beginning in 1999, with the detectives rapport making them one of the most dynamic duos on television.

SVU is now in its 22nd season, the longest-running live-action primetime program in television history.

NBC and Dick Wolf Productions signed a new five-year deal back in February 2020, which included unprecedented three-season renewals for SVU along with Wolf's trio of Windy City shows - Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med.
BUFFALO, N.Y., Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB)("M&T") will participate in the KBW Winter Financial Services Symposium being held in a virtual format. Representatives of M&T are scheduled to address investors and analysts on February 10, 2021 at 10:15 a.m. (ET).

A live audio-webcast of the event will be available via the Internet at: https://ir.mtb.com/events-presentations. The discussion and webcast may contain forward-looking statements and other material information. A replay will also be made available following the event.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T's principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, operates banking offices in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Trust-related services are provided by M&T's Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank.

 2021 M&T Bank. Member FDIC.

Investor Contact:

Donald J. MacLeod

(716) 8425138

SOURCE M&T Bank Corporation

Related Links

http://www.mandtbank.com



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Russia MOD reports on maintenance of ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia acting MOD meets with Russian counterpart in Moscow

Armenia 2nd President: I see possibility of restoring borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

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Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Captives issue is not one that any opposition force can resolve

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs release statement on detention of 6 Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijan

Armenian acting Deputy PM: Discussion on issues possible only after withdrawal of Azeri troops from Armenia's territory

Armenia acting PM on Syunik roads, Russian military posts: This is only place where there are working nuances

Armenia acting PM: Process of return of POWs will intensify after upcoming elections

Putin congratulates Aliyev on Republic Day

Josep Borrell: A group of EU Ministers will visit Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan

Armenia acting PM: We're not going to escalate situation for 30% of Sev Lake

Armenia 3rd President visits Vanadzor, pays tribute to heroes of Battle of Gharakilisa (PHOTOS)

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan lays flowers at Battle of Karakilisa memorial (PHOTOS)

Armenia acting PM: Solution to captives issue is matter of time

Shoygu to Harutyunyan: Russia, Armenia strengthen military cooperation

Armenia acting premier: We are 100% honest toward our country

Artsakh President pays tribute at Stepanakert memorial, Shushi Tank-Monument

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan on Meghri corridor plan: Not beneficial to us now to discuss it as "corridor"

Acting PM: "Cement," "fittings" were stolen while constructing Armenia state "building"

Two new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Catholicos of All Armenians visits Sardarapat Memorial, again separate from state officials

MOD dismisses Azerbaijan statement on Armenia army firing toward Nakhchivan

Jerusalem Post: Israel prepares for a new war with Hamas

France, UN World Food Programme partner to support displaced people in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Today we are not full-fledged negotiating party

Norwegian prime minister opposes series of NATO reforms

Armenia deputy FM briefs UN, Red Cross leaders on consequences of Azerbaijan aggression against Artsakh

NATO Secretary-General: Afghans must take full responsibility for peace and stability in their country

104 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia acting premier: Our sovereignty, independence cannot be subject of discussion

Karabakh state-finance minister announces resignation

Artsakh MFA: Sardarapat victory has inspired all Armenians for over a century

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: In contrast to kneeling, disgraceful authorities of the day, we have determination

Armenia President: Today we stand on threshold of Sardarapat of morality, dignity

Catholicos of All Armenians: Our people shall find strength to overcome this ordeal as well

Armenia First Republic Day event is held under very modest conditions

Newspaper: Armenia authorities claiming to be popular close off First Republic Day event to public

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: Now or never!

Armenia President, then acting premier arrive at Sardarapat Memorial

Newspaper: Armenia acting PM Pashinyan's new "cleverness?"

France ambassador: I wish Armenia to be able to live its independence in peace, prosperity

Bashar al-Assad wins Syria presidential election

Reporters not allowed entering Sardarapat Memorial of Armenia

US continues to face very serious problems in trade and economic relations with China

Armenia 1st President: There is a risk of civil war

Scenes of apprehension of Azerbaijani who attacked Armenian in Moscow disseminated on the Internet

Germany, France, Netherlands urge tech giants to test start-up purchases

Armenia 1st President: There has never been such rough dialogue between Armenian and Azeri leaders as there is now

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan military fired several shots at border area of Gegharkunik Province village

California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development opening office in Yerevan

US Department of State issues statement on detention of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces

Armenia 1st President says Aliyev is certain that Pashinyan won't win elections and is trying to get all that he can

UN calls for $ 95 million in aid to Palestinians
Highlights Google will launch one unified Drive for Desktop and Google Drive File Stream, Backup and Sync will become defunct later this year.

Google noted that it is merely a name change for Google Drive File Stream for business users as the functionality remains the same.

It also noted that the Backup and Sync users will have to transition to the unified Drive for Desktop when the deadline comes. However, as of now, there is no action required from personal account users.

Google Drive File Stream, Backup and Sync will become defunct as separate platforms later this year as Google looks to launch a unified Drive for desktop. It will sync clients for Windows and macOS. As of now, there are two sync apps, Drive File Stream for business users, and Backup and Sync for consumer users. Google notes that the development will create a powerful and unified sync client for anyone who uses Drive whether it is for business or personal purposes. It further notes that the sync will help users by curbing confusion about which app to use, resulting in better performance, and make it easier for admins and IT teams to manage deployments.

Google Workspace in a blog post noted, "Some of our Google Workspace customers have deployed both sync solutions, which can be confusing for end users and challenging for IT departments to manage. To address this, we're planning to unify these sync clients later in 2021, bringing the most used features from both Drive File Stream and Backup and Sync to all of our users."

Google notes that the unified platform will be available later in 2021. However, the new unified client will be available in beta and will help organisations and users understand how the unified client will work before it becomes generally available in 2021.

As of January 29, 2021, Google changed Drive Stream's name to Google Drive for desktop. Google in its release notes wrote that it is only the branding that has changed with the functionality remaining the same and that as of Version 45 the Google File Stream is Google Drive for Desktop. Google also changed G Suite's name to Workspace. Google noted that the application name has been changed to Google Drive on macOS. "The mount point path remains the same, so you can still find all your files in the same places, but shortcuts to the application have been renamed to Google Drive," Google noted.

Google said that it will give a 3 months' notice for Google Workspace admins and end-users before the time comes to transition to Drive for desktop. It also said that the transition will be self-serve for end-users, meaning users will have to switch to the platform themselves. However, there is no action required from Backup and Sync users with personal Google accounts as of now. The name change from Drive File Stream to Drive for desktop will take place by default and will be visible to users with Google Drive for desktop version 45 and up.
This Morning viewers were left cringing on Friday after chef Clodagh McKenna burst into a bizarre rap during a cooking segment.

The Irish cook, 45, was branded 'bonkers' by some as created a delicious-looking chicken, mushroom and kale pie for hosts Alison Hammond, 46, and Dermot O'Leary, 47.

The lively cookbook author was full of personality during her appearance so much so she delivered an impromptu rap about 'pimping' her pastry, which left Dermot and birthday girl Alison giggling.

Impromptu: This Morning viewers were left cringing on Friday after chef Clodagh McKenna burst into a bizarre rap during a cooking segment

She began: 'I'm pimping up my pastry OK. If you asked my friends they'd tell you I'm the queen of pimping things up. I love pimping up anything.'

To which Alison shared: 'I say, I love it up. The more love you put [into it].'

Inspired by Alison's comments, Clodagh then proceeded to say, 'I'm loving up my pastry' before she started an impromptu rap about her pastry and started gesturing her arms out wide.

'I love pimping up my pastry man,' she attempted to say in an American accent. 'I've got some pie going on, I've got a lil bit of egg wash, we're making this yo, yo, yo.'

Having a laugh: Her unscripted performance had Alison Hammond, 46, laughing as Dermot O'Leary, 47, chuckled into a napkin

Cooking up fun: The Irish cook, 45, was branded 'bonkers' by some as created a delicious-looking chicken, mushroom and kale pie

The unscripted performance caused Dermot to laugh into his napkin while Clodagh (pronounced Clo-dah) continued on with the segment.

Despite the trio giggling in studio, some viewers were left bewildered by Clodagh's performance and took to Twitter to say the segment left them cringing.

One viewer penned: 'What was that Clodagh? I mean: "Yo, yo, yo..." #ThisMorning'.

'Clodagh is OFF HER NUT! #ThisMorning,' another declared.

Rapping up: Clodagh (pronounced Clo-dah) began gesturing her arms out wide as she attempted to rap in an American accent

Cringe: Despite the trio giggling in studio, some viewers were left bewildered by Clodagh's performance and took to Twitter to say the segment left them cringing

A third claimed: '@thismorning clodagh is annoying' [sic].

Although some had their reservations about the chef, many took to social media to beg This Morning bosses to have Clodagh on more often.

'They need to team up Clodagh with Alison,' a viewer shared. 'I mean it would probably be chaotic but it would at least be funny.

'I know some on here arent fans of Alison but she does have her funny moments #ThisMorning'.

Fans: Although some had their reservations about the chef, many took to social media to beg This Morning bosses to have Clodagh on more often

Another commented: 'Clodagh is making me laugh. #ThisMorning. Great personality. Silliness just like me #CookingOnThisMorning'.

'Should have clodagh on more often she's very chirpy #thismorning,' a viewer suggested.

A fourth penned: 'Clodagh on is killing me Love it! Making cooking really fun' [sic].

Aside from impromptu musical performance on This Morning, Clodagh also baked Alison a special carrot cake with orange blossom frosting for her birthday.
Mark Bonica via Creative Commons

The elite Rhode Island School of Design has been ordered to pay $2.5 million to a former study-abroad student who was raped on her first night in Ireland after a federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, determined the school should have provided a lock on her bedroom door.

The woman, referred to as Jane Doe in court documents, was assigned a single room next to her perpetrator referred to as John Doe in a four-bedroom holiday house rented by the Burren College of Art when she arrived at the program on June 18, 2016. The house only had a lock on the exterior door, not on interior bedrooms. Students were told where the key to the outside door would be hidden, but at no time offered individual locks on their bedroom doors, according to the complaint.

The victim was part of a group of students who went out for drinks to celebrate the birthday of John Doe on their first night at the program. Before midnight, Ms. Doe and John left together and John escorted Ms. Doe back to her room. Prior to leaving her room, John asked Ms. Doe if she would kiss him. Ms. Doe said she would kiss him on the cheek. John left and Ms. Doe closed the door to her room and got into bed, wearing all her clothing, according to the court filing. Then, after sending several text messages to her friends at home, Jane Doe fell asleep only to wake to the smell of vomit and alcohol coming from a man on top of her. Ms. Doe was unable to lock her bedroom, so the room remained unlocked while she slept. Later in the night, Ms. Doe awoke to the feeling of someone on top of her. Feeling paralyzed, she realized it was John and that she no longer had clothes on. John raped Ms. Doe, orally and by vaginal penetration.

The victim reported the sexual assault to the Rhode Island School of Design immediately, filing a formal complaint against the assailant and requesting a no-contact restraining order. Her assailant was dismissed from the program, accepting all responsibility for the sexual assault. The victim then sued the school for failing to protect her by not providing a lock on her door. Before the Ireland rape, a student in the Rhode Island School of Designs Rome program was also raped by a fellow student under similar circumstances, which the judge determined should have put the school on notice regarding the potential for such attacks.

Story continues

U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell ruled that the school had failed to provide safe and secure housing that would have allowed the student to lock her bedroom door and prevent the perpetrator from gaining access to her room. McConnell found that the school had breached its duty by failing to ensure that the students had keys to their rooms and that its negligence led to the attack in Ireland.

A spokeswoman for the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), which had originally sought to dismiss the case on the grounds that it happened in Ireland, expressed disappointment with the ruling, telling the Providence Journal, We take allegations of sexual misconduct by or against our students very seriously, and we are dedicated to providing thorough, prompt and equitable responses to such allegations when brought forward.

RISD was the cradle of art rock in the 1970s, spawning bands such as the Talking Heads, who met there as students. Other alumni include Gus Van Sant, Seth MacFarlane, and Shepard Fairey.

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The number of children living in poverty in eastern Ukraine due to the armed conflict and the coronavirus pandemic has increased from 36% to over 50%.

Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine Lotta Sylwander said this at the conference entitled "COVID-19 Pandemic in the Context of Humanitarian Crisis: Situation in Eastern Ukraine," an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

According to our data, the percentage of children living in poverty has increased from about 36% to over 50%, she said.

According to Sylwander, poverty is caused by the consequences of the military conflict, such as lack of work, lack of transport and roads, and destruction of infrastructure facilities. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an additional economic burden for vulnerable populations.

In addition, the UNICEF representative noted that the Fund had recorded an increase in the number of children living in poverty compared to adults.

Families with multiple children or one child are more likely to be in need, especially in a situation related to COVID-19, Sylwander summed up.

As Ukrinform reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, at a meeting with UNICEF Representative in Ukraine Lotta Sylwander, emphasized the importance of developing new programs of cooperation with the Fund that protect the safety and rights of children.

ish
QINGDAO, China, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SOS Limited (NYSE: SOS) (the "Company" or "SOS") announced today that it has entered the framework agreement with Leibodong Hydropower Station ("Leibodong") in Hejiang, Luzhou, Sichuan Province, where hydropower resources are much richer and electricity prices much lower than the rest part of China. Pursuant to the agreement, Leibodong will supply SOS with electricity to its cloud crypto mining and big data center.

Leibodong is located in Dazuoba village, Fubao Town, Hejiang County, Luzhou, Sichuan Province. It is a level three cascade hydropower station of Dacao River Basin of Tang River, the first-level tributary of the upper Yangtze River. The normal water level of Leibodong is 560m, with the function of daily adjustments. Its adjustment capacity is 1.57 million m3. The actual installed capacity of the power station is 25000 KW, the average annual power generation is 99.8 million KW / h.

Pursuant to the agreement, Leibodong will supply electricity to a cloud crypto mining center to be built by SOS for a price between 0.22-0.38kW/h. The parties will enter into definitive agreement with respect to the price and other terms and conditions contemplated by the framework agreement. SOS expects the first shipment of crypto mining machine will be installed on or about Feb. 14, 2021.

SOS Chairman Yandai Wang commented, "one of the key success factors for cloud crypto mining is to secure cheap power in regions with rich renewable energy resources,. Southwest China, such as Sichuan province, is one of such regions. SOS will continue to search for cheap and sustainable electricity to execute its aspiring cloud crypto mining strategy."

About SOS Limited

SOS Limited, through its operating subsidiary, SOS Information Technology Co., Ltd. ("SOS") is a high-technology company providing a wide range of services to its corporate and individual members, including marketing data, technology and solutions for emergency rescue services. SOS transforms digital technology into data-driven operations through the research and development of big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, blockchain and artificial intelligence.

We have created a SOS cloud emergency rescue service software as a service (SaaS) platform with three major product categories: basic cloud, cooperative cloud, and information. This system provides innovative marketing solutions to clients such as insurance companies, financial institutions, medical institutions, healthcare providers, auto manufacturers, security providers, senior living assistance providers, and other service providers in the emergency rescue services industry.

SOS has obtained a national high-tech enterprise certification and the title of "big data star enterprise," awarded by Gui'an New District Government. Staying on the forefront of digital technology innovation, the Company has registered 99 software copyrights and 2 patents. For more information, please visit: http://www.sosyun.com/

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made herein are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "plan," "outlook," and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Such forward-looking statements include timing of the proposed transaction; the business plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of the parties;, SOS's estimated and future results of operations, business strategies, competitive position, industry environment and potential growth opportunities market acceptance of our products; the ultimate impact of the current Coronavirus pandemic, or any other health epidemic, on our business, our research programs, healthcare systems or the global economy as a whole; our intellectual property; our reliance on third party organizations; our anticipated financial and operating results, including anticipated sources of revenues; our assumptions regarding the size of the available market, benefits of our product offering, product pricing, timing of product launches; management's expectation with respect to future acquisitions; statements regarding our goals, intentions, plans and expectations, including the introduction of new products and markets; and our cash needs and financing plans and etc. These forward-looking statements reflect the current analysis of existing information and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. As a result, caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. SOS may not realize its expectations, and its beliefs may not prove correct. Due to known and unknown risks, our actual results may differ materially from our expectations or projections. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact our expectations and projections can be found in our periodic filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year endedDecember 31, 2019. SOS's SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. SOS disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE SOS Limited

Related Links

http://www.sosyun.com